THE VOYAGES AND ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN HATTERAS.
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF JULES VERNE.
BOSTON: JAMES R. OSGOOD AND COMPANY,
LATE TICKNOR & FIELDS, AND FIELDS, OSGOOD, & CO.
1876.
COPYRIGHT, 1874.
BY JAMES R. OSGOOD & CO.
UNIVERSITY PRESS: WELCH, BIGELOW, & CO., CAMBRIDGE.
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PART I.
THE ENGLISH AT THE NORTH POLE.
[Illustration: AVENTURES DU CAPITAINE HATTERAS]
CHAPTER I.
THE FORWARD.
"To-morrow, at the turn of the tide, the brig -Forward-, K. Z.,
captain, Richard Shandon, mate, will clear from New Prince's Docks;
destination unknown."
This announcement appeared in the -Liverpool Herald- of April 5, 1860.
The sailing of a brig is not a matter of great importance for the
chief commercial city of England. Who would take notice of it in so
great a throng of ships of all sizes and of every country, that
dry-docks covering two leagues scarcely contain them?
Nevertheless, from early morning on the 6th of April, a large crowd
collected on the quays of the New Prince's Docks; all the sailors of
the place seemed to have assembled there. The workingmen of the
neighboring wharves had abandoned their tasks, tradesmen had left
their gloomy shops, and the merchants their empty warehouses. The
many-colored omnibuses which pass outside of the docks were
discharging, every minute, their load of sight-seers; the whole city
seemed to care for nothing except watching the departure of the
-Forward-.
The -Forward- was a vessel of one hundred and seventy tons, rigged as
a brig, and carrying a screw and a steam-engine of one hundred and
twenty horse-power. One would have very easily confounded it with the
other brigs in the harbor. But if it presented no especial difference
to the eye of the public, yet those who were familiar with ships
noticed certain peculiarities which could not escape a sailor's keen
glance.
Thus, on the -Nautilus-, which was lying at anchor near her, a group
of sailors were trying to make out the probable destination of the
-Forward-.
[Illustration]
"What do you say to her masts?" said one; "steamers don't usually
carry so much sail."
"It must be," answered a red-faced quartermaster, "that she relies
more on her sails than on her engine; and if her topsails are of that
size, it's probably because the lower sails are to be laid back. So
I'm sure the -Forward- is going either to the Arctic or Antarctic
Ocean, where the icebergs stop the wind more than suits a solid ship."
"You must be right, Mr. Cornhill," said a third sailor. "Do you notice
how straight her stem is?"
"Besides," said Mr. Cornhill, "she carries a steel ram forward, as
sharp as a razor; if the -Forward-, going at full speed, should run
into a three-decker, she would cut her in two."
"That's true," answered a Mersey pilot, "for that brig can easily run
fourteen knots under steam. She was a sight to see on her trial trip.
On my word, she's a swift boat."
"And she goes well, too, under sail," continued the quartermaster;
"close to the wind, and she's easily steered. Now that ship is going
to the polar seas, or my name is not Cornhill. And then, see there! Do
you notice that large helm-port over the head of her rudder?"
"That's so," said some of the sailors; "but what does that prove?"
"That proves, my men," replied the quartermaster with a scornful
smile, "that you can neither see nor think; it proves that they wanted
to leave the head of the rudder free, so that it might be unshipped
and shipped again easily. Don't you know that's what they have to do
very often in the ice?"
"You are right," answered the sailors of the -Nautilus-.
"And besides," said one, "the lading of the brig goes to prove what
Mr. Cornhill has said. I heard it from Clifton, who has shipped on
her. The -Forward- carries provisions for five or six years, and coal
in proportion. Coal and provisions are all she carries, and a quantity
of woollen and sealskin clothing."
"Well," said Mr. Cornhill, "there's no doubt about it. But, my friend,
since you know Clifton, hasn't he told you where she's bound?"
"He couldn't tell me, for he didn't know; the whole crew was shipped
in that way. Where is he going? He won't know till he gets there."
"Nor yet if they are going to Davy Jones's locker," said one scoffer,
"as it seems to me they are."
"But then, their pay," continued the friend of Clifton
enthusiastically,--"their pay! it's five times what a sailor usually
gets. If it had not been for that, Richard Shandon would not have got
a man. A strangely shaped boat, going no one knows where, and as if it
never intended coming back! As for me, I should not have cared to ship
in her."
"Whether you would or not," answered Mr. Cornhill, "you could never
have shipped in the -Forward-."
"Why not?"
"Because you would not have answered the conditions. I heard that
married men were not taken. Now you belong to that class. So you need
not say what you would or would not do, since it's all breath thrown
away."
The sailor who was thus snubbed burst out laughing, as did his
companions, showing in this way that Mr. Cornhill's remarks were true.
"There's nothing but boldness about the ship," continued Cornhill,
well pleased with himself. "The -Forward-,--forward to what? Without
saying that nobody knows who her captain is."
"O, yes, they do!" said a young sailor, evidently a green-hand.
[Illustration]
"What! They do know?"
"Of course."
"My young friend," said Cornhill, "do you think Shandon is the captain
of the -Forward-?"
"Why--" answered the boy.
"Shandon is only the mate, nothing else; he's a good and brave sailor,
an old whaler, a good fellow, able to take command, but he's not the
captain; he's no more captain than you or I. And who, under God, is
going to have charge of the ship, he does not know in the least. At
the proper time the captain will come aboard, I don't know how, and I
don't know where; for Richard Shandon didn't tell me, nor has he leave
to tell me in what direction he was first to sail."
"Still, Mr. Cornhill," said the young sailor, "I can tell you that
there's some one on board, some one who was spoken of in the letter in
which Mr. Shandon was offered the place of mate."
"What!" answered Cornhill, "do you mean to tell me that the -Forward-
has a captain on board?"
"Yes, Mr. Cornhill."
"You tell me that?"
"Certainly, for I heard it from Johnson, the boatswain."
"Boatswain Johnson?"
"Yes, he told me himself."
"Johnson told you?"
"Not only did he tell me, but he showed him to me."
"He showed him to you!" answered Cornhill in amazement.
[Illustration]
"He showed him to me."
"And you saw him?"
"I saw him with my own eyes."
"And who is it?"
"It's a dog."
"A dog?"
"A four-footed dog?"
"Yes."
The surprise of the sailors of the -Nautilus- was great. Under any
other circumstances they would have burst out laughing. A dog captain
of a one hundred and seventy ton brig! It was certainly amusing
enough. But the -Forward- was such an extraordinary ship, that one
thought twice before laughing, and before contradicting it. Besides,
Quartermaster Cornhill showed no signs of laughing.
"And Johnson showed you that new sort of captain, a dog?" he said to
the young sailor. "And you saw him?"
"As plainly as I see you, with all respect."
"Well, what do you think of that?" asked the sailors, turning to
Cornhill.
"I don't think anything," he answered curtly, "except that the
-Forward- is a ship of the Devil, or of fools fit for Bedlam."
Without saying more, the sailors continued to gaze at the -Forward-,
which was now almost ready to depart; and there was no one of them who
presumed to say that Johnson, the boatswain, had been making fun of
the young sailor.
This story of the dog had already spread through the city, and in the
crowd of sight-seers there were many looking for the captain-dog, who
were inclined to believe that he was some supernatural animal.
Besides, for many months the -Forward- had been attracting the public
attention; the singularity of its build, the mystery which enshrouded
it, the incognito maintained by the captain, the manner in which
Richard Shandon received the proposition of superintending its outfit,
the careful selection of the crew, its unknown destination, scarcely
conjectured by any,--all combined to give this brig a reputation of
something more than strangeness.
For a thoughtful, dreamy mind, for a philosopher, there is hardly
anything more touching than the departure of a ship; the imagination
is ready to follow her in her struggles with the waves, her contests
with the winds, in her perilous course, which does not always end in
port; and if only there is something unusual about her, the ship
appears like something fantastic, even to the least imaginative minds.
So it was with the -Forward-. And if most of the spectators were
unable to make the ingenious remarks of Quartermaster Cornhill, the
rumors which had been prevailing for three months were enough to keep
all the tongues of Liverpool busy.
The brig had been built at Birkenhead, a suburb of the city on the
left bank of the Mersey, and connected with it by numerous
ferry-boats.
The builders, Scott & Co., as skilful as any in England, had received
from Richard Shandon careful plans and drawings, in which the tonnage,
dimensions, and model of the brig were given with the utmost
exactness. They bore proof of the work of an experienced sailor. Since
Shandon had ample means at his command, the work began, and, in
accordance with the orders of the unknown owner, proceeded rapidly.
Every care was taken to have the brig made exceedingly strong; it was
evidently intended to withstand enormous pressure, for its ribs of
teak, an East Indian wood remarkable for its solidity, were further
strengthened by thick iron braces. The sailors used to ask why the
hull of a ship, which was intended to be so strong, was not made of
iron like other steamers. But they were told that the mysterious
designer had his own reasons for having it built in that way.
Gradually the shape of the brig on the stocks could be clearly made
out, and the strength and beauty of her model were clear to the eye of
all competent judges. As the sailors of the -Nautilus- had said, her
stem formed a right angle with the keel, and she carried, not a ram,
but a steel cutter from the foundry of R. Hawthorn, of Newcastle. This
metallic prow, glistening in the sun, gave a singular appearance to
the brig, although there was nothing warlike about it. However, a
sixteen-pound gun was placed on her forecastle; its carriage was so
arranged that it could be pointed in any direction. The same thing can
be said of the cannon as of her bows, neither were positively warlike.
On the 5th of February, 1860, this strange vessel was successfully
launched in the sight of an immense number of spectators.
[Illustration]
But if the brig was not a man-of-war, nor a merchant-vessel, nor a
pleasure-yacht, for no one takes a pleasure trip with provisions for
six years in the hold, what could she be?
A ship intended for the search of the -Erebus- and the -Terror-, and
of Sir John Franklin? No; for in 1859, the previous year, Captain
MacClintock had returned from the Arctic Ocean, with convincing proof
of the loss of that ill-fated expedition.
Did the -Forward- want to try again the famous Northwest Passage? What
for? Captain MacClure had discovered it in 1853, and his lieutenant,
Cresswell, had the honor of first skirting the American continent from
Behring Strait to Davis Strait.
It was nevertheless absolutely certain to all competent observers that
the -Forward- was preparing for a voyage to icy regions. Was it going
to push towards the South Pole, farther than the whaler Wedell,
farther than Captain James Ross? But what was the use, and with what
intention?
It is easy to see that, although the field for conjecture was very
limited, the imagination could easily lose itself.
The day after the launching of the brig her machinery arrived from the
foundry of R. Hawthorn at Newcastle.
The engine, of one hundred and twenty horse-power, with oscillating
cylinders, took up but little space; its force was large for a vessel
of one hundred and seventy tons, which carried a great deal of sail,
and was, besides, remarkably swift. Of her speed the trial trips left
no doubt, and even the boatswain, Johnson, had seen fit to express his
opinion to the friend of Clifton in these terms,--
"When the -Forward- is under both steam and sail, she gets the most
speed from her sails."
Clifton's friend had not understood this proposition, but he
considered anything possible in a ship commanded by a dog.
After the engines had been placed on board, the stowage of provisions
began; and that was no light task, for she carried enough for six
years. They consisted of salted and dried meats, smoked fish, biscuit,
and flour; mountains of coffee and tea were deposited in the
store-room. Richard Shandon superintended the arrangement of this
precious cargo with the air of a man who perfectly understood his
business; everything was put in its place, labelled, and numbered with
perfect precision; at the same time there was stowed away a large
quantity of pemmican, an Indian preparation, which contains a great
deal of nutriment in a small compass.
This sort of supply left no doubt as to the length of the cruise; but
an experienced observer would have known at once that the -Forward-
was to sail in polar waters, from the barrels of lime-juice, of lime
lozenges, of bundles of mustard, sorrel, and of cochlearia,--in a
word, from the abundance of powerful antiscorbutics, which are so
necessary in journeys in the regions of the far north and south.
Shandon had doubtless received word to take particular care about this
part of the cargo, for he gave to it especial attention, as well as to
the ship's medicine-chest.
[Illustration]
If the armament of the vessel was small enough to calm the timid
souls, on the other hand, the magazine was filled with enough powder
to inspire some uneasiness. The single gun on the forecastle could not
pretend to require so large a supply. This excited curiosity. There
were, besides, enormous saws and strong machinery, such as levers,
masses of lead, hand-saws, huge axes, etc., without counting a
respectable number of blasting-cylinders, which might have blown up
the Liverpool custom-house. All this was strange, if not alarming, not
to mention the rockets, signals, lights, and lanterns of every sort.
Then, too, the numerous spectators on the quays of the New Prince's
Docks gazed with admiration at a long mahogany whale-boat, a tin canoe
covered with gutta-percha, and a number of halkett-boats, which are a
sort of india-rubber cloaks, which can be inflated and thereby turned
into canoes. Every one felt more and more puzzled, and even excited,
for with the turn of the tide the -Forward- was to set sail for its
unknown destination.
CHAPTER II.
AN UNEXPECTED LETTER.
This is a copy of the letter received by Richard Shandon eight months
previously:--
ABERDEEN, August 2, 1859.
MR. RICHARD SHANDON, -Liverpool-.
SIR,--This letter is to advise you of a remittance of £16,000,
deposited with Messrs. Marcuart & Co., bankers, at Liverpool. Enclosed
you will find a series of drafts, signed by me, which will enable you
to draw upon Messrs. Marcuart & Co. to the amount mentioned above.
[Illustration]
You do not know me. No matter; I know you, and that is enough. I offer
you the position of mate on board of the brig -Forward-, for a voyage
which may be long and perilous.
If you decline, well and good. If you accept, five hundred pounds will
be assigned you as salary, and at the end of each year of the voyage
your pay will be increased one tenth.
The brig -Forward- does not exist. You will be obliged to have it
built so that it will be possible to set to sea in the beginning of
April, 1860, at the latest. Enclosed is a drawing with estimates. You
will follow them exactly. The ship will be built in the stocks of
Scott & Co., who will arrange everything with you.
I beg of you to be specially cautious in selecting the crew of the
-Forward-; it will consist of a captain (myself), a mate (you), a
second mate, a boatswain, two engineers, an ice-master, eight sailors,
two stokers, in all eighteen men, including Dr. Clawbonny of this
city, who will join you at the proper time.
Those who are shipped on board of the -Forward- must be Englishmen,
independent, with no family ties, single and temperate; for the use of
spirits, and even of beer, will be strictly forbidden on shipboard:
the men must be ready to undertake and endure everything.
In your selection you will prefer those of a sanguine temperament, and
so inclined to maintain a higher degree of animal heat.
You will offer the crew five times their usual pay, to be increased
one tenth at the end of each year. At the end of the voyage each one
shall receive five hundred pounds, and you yourself two thousand. The
requisite sum shall be deposited with the above-named Messrs. Marcuart
& Co.
The voyage will be long and difficult, but one sure to bring renown.
You need not hesitate, then, Mr. Shandon.
Send your answer to the initials K. Z., at Gottenburg, Sweden, -poste
restante-.
[Illustration]
P. S. On the 15th of February next you will receive a large Danish
dog, with hanging lips, of a dark tawny color, with black stripes
running crosswise. You will find place for him on board, and you will
feed him on barley bread mixed with a broth of lard. You will
acknowledge the receipt of this dog by a letter to the same initials
at Leghorn, Italy.
The captain of the -Forward- will appear and make himself known at the
proper time. As you are about setting sail you will receive new
instructions.
K. Z.,
-Captain of the Forward-.
CHAPTER III.
DR. CLAWBONNY.
Richard Shandon was a good sailor; for a long time he had commanded
whalers in the Arctic seas, with a well-deserved reputation throughout
all Lancaster. Such a letter was well calculated to astonish him; he
was astonished, it is true, but with the calmness of a man who is
accustomed to surprises.
He suited all the required conditions; no wife, child, nor relatives.
He was as independent as man could be. There being no one whose
opinion he needed to consult, he betook himself to Messrs. Marcuart &
Co.
"If the money is there," he said to himself, "the rest is all right."
At the banking-house he was received with the respect due to a man who
has sixteen thousand pounds deposited to his credit; having made that
point sure, Shandon asked for a sheet of white paper, and in his large
sailor's handwriting he sent his acceptance of the plan to the address
given above.
That very day he made the necessary arrangements with the builders at
Birkenhead, and within twenty-four hours the keel of the -Forward- was
laid on the stocks.
Richard Shandon was a man about forty years old, strong, energetic,
and fearless, three qualities most necessary for a sailor, for they
give him confidence, vigor, and coolness. He was known to be severe
and very hard to please; hence he was more feared than loved by his
men. But this reputation was not calculated to interfere with his
selection of a crew, for he was known to be skilful in avoiding
trouble.
Shandon feared that the mysterious nature of the expedition might
stand in his way.
"In that case," he said, "it's best not to say anything about it;
there will always be plenty of men who will want to know the why and
the wherefore of the whole matter, and, since I don't know anything
about it myself, I should find it hard to answer them. This K. Z. is
certainly an odd stick; but, after all, he knows me, he depends on me,
and that is enough. As for his ship, it will be a good one, and if
it's not going to the Arctic Ocean, my name is not Richard Shandon.
But I shall keep that fact for myself and my officers."
Thereupon Shandon began to choose his crew, bearing in mind the
captain's wishes about the independence and health of the men.
He knew a very capital fellow, and a good sailor, James Wall by name.
Wall might have been about thirty years old, and had already made some
voyages in the northern seas. Shandon offered him the place of second
mate, and Wall accepted it at once; all he cared for was to be at sea.
Shandon confided all the details of the affair to him and to a certain
Johnson, whom he took as boatswain.
[Illustration]
"All right," answered James Wall, "that's as good as anything. Even if
it's to seek the Northwest Passage, some have come back from that."
"Not all," said Johnson, "but that's no reason that we should not try
it."
"Besides, if our guesses are right," said Shandon, "it must be said
that we start with a fair chance of success. The -Forward- will be a
stanch ship and she will carry good engines. She can go a great
distance. We want a crew of only eighteen men."
"Eighteen men," answered Johnson; "that's the number the American,
Kane, took with him on his famous voyage towards the North Pole."
"It's strange," said Wall, "that a private person should try to make
his way from Davis Strait to Behring Strait. The expeditions in search
of Sir John Franklin have already cost England more than seven hundred
and sixty thousand pounds, without producing any practical good. Who
in the world wants to throw away his money for such a purpose?"
"In the first place, James," answered Shandon, "we are in the dark
about it all. I don't know whether we are going to the northern or the
southern seas. Perhaps there's some new discovery to be tried. At any
rate, some day or other a Dr. Clawbonny is to come aboard who will
probably know more about it and will be able to tell us. We shall
see."
"Let us wait, then," said Johnson; "as for me, I'm going to look after
some good men, and I'll answer now for their animal heat, as the
captain calls it. You can depend on me."
Johnson was an invaluable man; he was familiar with high latitudes. He
had been quartermaster aboard of the -Phoenix-, which belonged to one
of the expeditions sent out in 1853 in search of Franklin; he had been
an eye-witness of the death of the French lieutenant Bellot, whom he
had accompanied in his expedition across the ice. Johnson knew all the
sailors in Liverpool, and immediately set about engaging a crew.
[Illustration: "Johnson knew all the sailors in Liverpool, and
immediately set about engaging a crew."]
Shandon, Wall, and he succeeded in filling the number by the middle of
December, but they met with considerable difficulty; many who were
attracted by the high pay were alarmed by the danger, and more than
one who had boldly enlisted came later to say that he had changed his
mind on account of the dissuasion of his friends. They all tried to
pierce the mystery, and pursued Shandon with their questions. He used
to refer them to Johnson.
"What can I say, my man?" the boatswain used to answer; "I don't know
any more about it than you do. At any rate you will be in good
company, with men who won't shirk their work; that's something! So
don't be thinking about it all day: take it or leave it!" And the
greater number took it.
"You understand," added Johnson, sometimes, "my only trouble is in
making my choice. High pay, such as no sailor ever had before, with
the certainty of finding a round sum when we get back. That's very
tempting."
"The fact is," answered the sailors, "that it is hard to refuse. It
will support a man all the rest of his life."
"I won't hide from you," continued Johnson, "that the voyage will be
long, difficult, and dangerous; that's all stated in our instructions;
it's well to know beforehand what one undertakes to do; probably it's
to try all that men can possibly do, and perhaps even more. So, if you
haven't got a bold heart and a strong body, if you can't say you have
more than twenty chances to one of staying there, if, in short, you
are particular about leaving your body in one place more than another,
here rather than there, get away from here and let some bolder man
have your place!"
"But, at least," said the confused sailor,--"at least, you know the
captain?"
"The captain is Richard Shandon, my friend, until we receive another."
Now it must be said that was what the commander thought; he allowed
himself to think that at the last moment he would receive definite
instructions as to the object of the voyage, and that he would remain
in command of the -Forward-. He was fond of spreading this opinion
about, either in conversation with his officers or in superintending
the building of the brig, of which the timbers were now rising in the
Birkenhead ship-yard like the sides of a huge whale.
Shandon and Johnson conformed strictly with the recommendation about
the health of the crew; they all looked hardy and possessed enough
animal heat to run the engines of the -Forward-; their elastic limbs,
their clear and ruddy skin, showed that they were fit to encounter
intense cold. They were bold, determined men, energetic and stoutly
built; they were not all equally vigorous. Shandon had even hesitated
about accepting some of them; for instance, the sailors Gripper and
Garry, and the harpooner Simpson, who seemed to him too thin; but, on
the other hand, they were well built, they were earnest about it, and
they were shipped.
All the crew were members of the same church; in their long voyage
their prayers and the reading of the Bible would call them together
and console them in the hours of depression; so that it was advisable
that there should be no diversity on this score. Shandon knew from
experience the usefulness of this practice and its good influence on
the men, so valuable that it is never neglected on board of ships
which winter in the polar seas.
When all the crew had been engaged, Shandon and his two officers
busied themselves with the provisions; they followed closely the
captain's instructions, which were definite, precise, and detailed, in
which the quality and quantity of the smallest articles were clearly
set down. Thanks to the drafts placed at the commander's order, every
article was paid for, cash down, with a discount of eight per cent,
which Richard carefully placed to the credit of K. Z.
Crew, provisions, and outfit were all ready in January, 1860; the
-Forward- was approaching completion. Shandon never let a day pass
without visiting Birkenhead.
On the morning of the 23d of January he was, as usual, on one of the
double-ended ferry-boats which ply between the two shores of the
Mersey; everything was enveloped in one of the ordinary fogs of that
region, which compel the pilot to steer by compass, although the trip
is one of but ten minutes.
[Illustration: "Everything was enveloped in one of the ordinary fogs
of that region."]
However, the thickness of the fog could not prevent Shandon from
noticing a short, rather stout man, with a refined, agreeable face and
pleasant expression, who came towards him, seized both his hands, and
pressed them with a warmth and familiarity which a Frenchman would
have said was "very southern."
But if this stranger was not from the South, he had escaped it
narrowly; he spoke and gesticulated freely; his thoughts seemed
determined to find expression, even if they had to burst out. His
eyes, small like the eyes of witty men, his large and mobile mouth,
were safety-valves which enabled him to rid himself of too strong a
pressure on his feelings; he talked; and he talked so much and
joyously, that, it must be said, Shandon could not make out what he
was saying.
[Illustration]
Still the mate of the -Forward- was not slow in recognizing this short
man whom he had never seen; it flashed into his mind, and the moment
that the other stopped to take breath, Shandon uttered these words,--
"Dr. Clawbonny?"
"The same, in person, Commander! For nearly a quarter of an hour I
have been looking after you, asking for you of every one and
everywhere. Imagine my impatience. Five minutes more and I should have
lost my head! So this is you, officer Shandon? You really exist? You
are not a myth? Your hand, your hand! Let me press it again in mine!
Yes, that is indeed the hand of Richard Shandon. Now, if there is a
commander Richard, there is a brig -Forward- which he commands; and if
he commands it, it will sail; and if it sails, it will take Dr.
Clawbonny on board."
"Well, yes, Doctor, I am Richard Shandon, there is a brig -Forward-,
and it will sail."
"There's logic," answered the doctor, taking a long breath,--"there's
logic. So I am delighted, enchanted! For a long time I've been waiting
for something of this sort to turn up, and I've been wanting to try a
voyage of this sort. Now, with you--"
"Excuse me--" said Shandon.
"With you," continued Clawbonny, paying him no attention, "we are sure
of going far without turning round."
"But--" began Shandon.
"For you have shown what stuff you are made of, and I know all you've
done. Ah, you are a good sailor!"
"If you please--"
"No, I sha'n't let your courage and skill be doubted for a moment,
even by yourself. The captain who chose you for mate is a man who knew
what he was about; I can tell you that."
"But that is not the question," said Shandon, impatiently.
"What is it, then? Don't keep me anxious any longer."
"But you won't let me say a word. Tell me, Doctor, if you please, how
you came to join this expedition of the -Forward-?"
"By a letter, a capital letter; here it is,--the letter of a brave
captain, very short, but very full."
With these words he handed Shandon a letter running as follows:--
INVERNESS, January 22, 1860.
-To- DR. CLAWBONNY, -Liverpool-.
If Dr. Clawbonny wishes to sail on the -Forward- for a long voyage, he
can present himself to the mate, Richard Shandon, who has been advised
concerning him.
K. Z.,
-Captain of the Forward-.
"The letter reached me this morning, and I'm now ready to go on board
of the -Forward-."
"But," continued Shandon, "I suppose you know whither we are bound."
"Not the least idea in the world; but what difference does it make,
provided I go somewhere? They say I'm a learned man; they are wrong; I
don't know anything, and if I have published some books which have had
a good sale, I was wrong; it was very kind of the public to buy them!
I don't know anything, I tell you, except that I am very ignorant. Now
I have a chance offered me to complete, or, rather, to make over my
knowledge of medicine, surgery, history, geography, botany,
mineralogy, conchology, geodesy, chemistry, physics, mechanics,
hydrography; well, I accept it, and I assure you, I didn't have to be
asked twice."
"Then," said Shandon in a tone of disappointment, "you don't know
where the -Forward- is going."
"O, but I do, commander; it's going where there is something to be
learned, discovered; where one can instruct himself, make comparisons,
see other customs, other countries, study the ways of other people; in
a word, it's going where I have never been."
"But more precisely?" cried Shandon.
"More precisely," answered the doctor, "I have understood that it was
bound for the Northern Ocean. Well, good for the North!"
"At any rate," said Shandon, "you know the captain?"
"Not at all! But he's a good fellow, you may depend on it."
The mate and the doctor stepped ashore at Birkenhead; Shandon gave his
companion all the information he had, and the mystery which lay about
it all excited highly the doctor's imagination. The sight of the
-Forward- enchanted him. From that time he was always with Shandon,
and he came every morning to inspect the hull of the -Forward-.
In addition he was specially intrusted with the providing of the
ship's medicine-chest.
For Clawbonny was a physician, and a good one, although he had never
practised much. At twenty-five he was an ordinary young doctor, at
forty he was a learned man; being known throughout the whole city, he
became a leading member of the Literary and Philosophical Society of
Liverpool. His moderate fortune allowed him to give some advice which
was no less valuable for being without charge; loved as a thoroughly
kind-hearted man must be, he did no harm to any one else nor to
himself; quick and garrulous, if you please, but with his heart in his
hand, and his hand in that of all the world.
When the news of his intended journey on board the -Forward- became
known in the city, all his friends endeavored to dissuade him, but
they only made him cling more obstinately to his intention; and when
the doctor had absolutely determined on anything, he was a skilful man
who could make him change.
From that day the rumors, conjectures, and apprehensions steadily
increased; but that did not interfere with the launching of the
-Forward- on the 5th of February, 1860. Two months later she was ready
for sea.
On the 15th of March, as the captain's letter had said, a Danish dog
was sent by rail from Edinburgh to Liverpool, to the address of
Richard Shandon. He seemed morose, timid, and almost wicked; his
expression was very strange. The name of the -Forward- was engraved on
his collar.
[Illustration]
The commander gave him quarters on board, and sent a letter, with the
news of his arrival, to Leghorn.
Hence, with the exception of the captain, the crew of the -Forward-
was complete. It was composed as follows:--
1. K. Z., captain; 2. Richard Shandon, first mate, in command; 3.
James Wall, second mate; 4. Dr. Clawbonny; 5. Johnson, boatswain; 6.
Simpson, harpooner; 7. Bell, carpenter; 8. Brunton, first engineer; 9.
Plover, second engineer; 10. Strong (negro), cook; 11. Foker,
ice-master; 12. Wolston, gunner; 13. Bolton, sailor; 14. Garry,
sailor; 15. Clifton, sailor; 16. Gripper, sailor; 17. Pen, sailor; 18.
Warren, stoker.
CHAPTER IV.
THE DOG-CAPTAIN.
The 5th of April, the day of departure, came. The fact that the doctor
had joined the expedition gave some comfort to those on board.
Wherever he could go they could follow. Still, most of the sailors
were very uneasy, and Shandon, fearing that their number might be
diminished by desertion, was very anxious to get to sea. The land once
out of sight, the men would soon be resigned.
Dr. Clawbonny's cabin was situated on the poop, occupying the extreme
after-part of the ship. The cabins of the captain and mate opened on
the deck. That of the captain was kept tightly closed, after it had
been provided with various instruments, furniture, clothing, books,
and utensils, all of which had been set down in detail in a letter. As
he had asked, the key was sent to the captain at Lübeck; so he alone
had admission into the cabin.
This fact annoyed Shandon, and diminished his chances of having chief
command. As for his own cabin, he had arranged it suitably for the
presumed voyage, for he knew very well what was necessary for a polar
expedition.
The second mate's cabin was on the lower deck, where the sailors were
domiciled; the crew had very comfortable quarters; they would hardly
have had such accommodations in any other ship. They were treated as
if they were a valuable cargo; a huge stove stood in the middle of
their sleeping-room.
Dr. Clawbonny was very enthusiastic about it; he took possession of
his cabin on the 6th of February, the day after the ship was launched.
"The happiest animal in the world," he used to say, "would be a snail
who could make himself just such a shell as he wanted; I shall try to
be an intelligent snail."
And, in fact, for a shell which he was not going to leave for some
time, his cabin presented a very comfortable appearance; the doctor
took a scientific or childlike pleasure in arranging his scientific
paraphernalia. His books, his specimens, his cases, his instruments,
his physical apparatus, his thermometers, barometers, field-glasses,
compasses, sextants, charts, drawings, phials, powder, and
medicine-bottles, all were classified in a way which would have done
honor to the British Museum. This space of six feet square contained
incalculable wealth; the doctor needed only to stretch out his hand
without rising, to become at once a physician, a mathematician, an
astronomer, a geographer, a botanist, or a conchologist.
[Illustration: "This space of six feet square contained incalculable
wealth."]
To tell the truth, he was proud of his arrangements, and very
contented in his floating sanctum, which three of his thinnest friends
would have completely filled. They used to crowd there in great
numbers, so that even so good-natured a man as the doctor was
occasionally put out; and, like Socrates, he came at last to say,--
"My house is small, but may Heaven grant that it never be filled with
friends!"
To complete our account of the -Forward-, it is only necessary to add
that a kennel for the huge Danish dog was built just beneath the
window of the closed cabin; but he preferred to keep himself between
decks and in the hold; it seemed impossible to tame him; no one ever
conquered his shyness; he could be heard, at night especially, howling
dismally in the ship's hold.
Was it because he missed his master? Had he an instinctive dread of
the dangers of the voyage? Had he a presentiment of the coming perils?
The sailors were sure that he had, and more than one said the same in
jest, who in his heart regarded the dog as a sort of diabolic animal.
Pen, a very brutal man, one day, while trying to kick him, slipped,
and fell on the corner of the capstan in such a way that he cut his
head badly. It is easy to see how the sailors put all the blame upon
the dog.
[Illustration: PEN.]
Clifton, who was the most superstitious man in the crew, made, one
day, the strange observation that the dog, when on the poop, would
always walk on the windward side; and afterwards, when the brig was at
sea and under sail, this singular animal would shift his position to
the other side after every tack, so as to be windward, as the captain
of the -Forward- would have done.
[Illustration: CLIFTON.]
Dr. Clawbonny, who by his gentleness and caresses would have almost
tamed the heart of a tiger, tried in vain to make friends with the
dog; he met with no success.
The dog, too, did not answer to any of the usual names of his kind. So
the men used to call him "Captain," for he seemed perfectly familiar
with all the ways on shipboard. He had evidently been to sea before.
It is hence easy to understand the boatswain's answer to Clifton's
friend, and how this idea found but few sceptics; more than one would
repeat it jestingly, who was fully prepared to see the dog, some fine
day, take human shape, and with a loud voice assume command.
If Richard Shandon did not share such apprehensions, he was far from
being undisturbed, and on the eve of departing, on the night of April
5th, he was talking on this subject with the doctor, Wall, and
Johnson, in the mess-room.
These four persons were sipping their tenth grog, which was probably
their last, too; for, in accordance with the letter from Aberdeen, all
the crew, from the captain to the stoker, were teetotalers, never
touching beer, wine, nor spirits, except in case of sickness, and by
the advice of the doctor.
For an hour past they had been talking about their departure. If the
captain's instructions were to be completely carried out, Shandon
would the next day receive a letter containing his last orders.
"If that letter," said the mate, "doesn't tell me the captain's name,
it must at least tell us whither we are bound. If not, in what
direction shall we sail?"
"Upon my word," answered the impatient doctor, "if I were in your
place, Shandon, I should set sail even without getting a letter; one
will come after us, you may be sure."
"You have a great deal of faith, Doctor. But, if you please, to what
part of the world would you sail?"
"Towards the North Pole, of course; there can be no doubt about that."
"No doubt indeed!" said Wall. "Why not towards the South Pole?"
"The South Pole! Never!" cried the doctor. "Would the captain ever
have thought of sending a brig across the whole Atlantic Ocean? Just
think for a moment, my dear Wall."
"The doctor has an answer for everything," was his only reply.
"Granted it's northward," resumed Shandon. "But tell me, Doctor, is it
to Spitzbergen, Greenland, or Labrador that we have to sail, or to
Hudson's Bay? If all these routes come to the same end at last,--the
impassable ice,--there is still a great number of them, and I should
find it very hard to choose between them. Have any definite answer to
that, Doctor?"
"No," answered the doctor, annoyed that he had nothing to say; "but if
you get no letter, what shall you do?"
"I shall do nothing; I shall wait."
"You won't set sail!" cried Clawbonny, twirling his glass in his
despair.
"No, certainly not."
"That's the best course," said Johnson, mildly; while the doctor
walked around the table, being unable to sit quiet any longer. "Yes,
that's the best course; and still, too long a delay might have very
disastrous consequences. In the first place, the season is a good one,
and if it's north we are going, we ought to take advantage of the mild
weather to get through Davis Straits; besides, the crew will get more
and more impatient; the friends and companions of the men are urging
them to leave the -Forward-, and they might succeed in playing us a
very bad turn."
[Illustration]
"And then, too," said James Wall, "if any panic should arise among the
men, every one would desert us; and I don't know, Commander, how you
could get together another crew."
"But what is to be done?" cried Shandon.
"What you said," answered the doctor: "wait; but wait till to-morrow
before you despair. The captain's promises have all been fulfilled so
far with such regularity that we may have the best hopes for the
future; there's no reason to think that we shall not be told of our
destination at the proper time. As for me, I don't doubt in the least
that to-morrow we shall be sailing in the Irish Sea. So, my friends, I
propose one last drink to a happy voyage; it begins in a mysterious
way, but, with such sailors as you, there are a thousand chances of
its ending well."
And they all touched their glasses for the last time.
"Now, Commander," resumed Johnson, "I have one piece of advice to give
you, and that is, to make everything ready for sailing. Let the crew
think you are certain of what you are about. To-morrow, whether a
letter comes or not, set sail; don't start your fires; the wind
promises to hold; nothing will be easier than to get off; take a pilot
on board; at the ebb of the tide leave the docks; then anchor beyond
Birkenhead Point; the crew will have no more communication with the
land; and if this devilish letter does come at last, it can find us
there as well as anywhere."
"Well said, Johnson!" exclaimed the doctor, reaching out his hand to
the old sailor.
"That's what we shall do," answered Shandon.
Each one then withdrew to his cabin, and took what sleep he could get
till morning.
The next day the first distribution of letters took place in the city,
but there was none for Commander Richard Shandon.
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