"Mr. Shandon," answered Hatteras, coldly, "have this man put in
irons."
"But, Captain," said Shandon, "what this man said--"
"If you repeat what this man said," retorted Hatteras, "I shall order
you to your cabin and confine you there. Seize that man! Do you hear?"
Johnson, Bell, and Simpson stepped towards the sailor, who was beside
himself with wrath.
"The first man who lays a finger on me--" he cried, seizing a
handspike, which he flourished about his head.
Hatteras walked towards him.
"Pen," he said very quietly, "if you move hand or foot, I shall blow
your brains out!"
With these words he drew a revolver and aimed it at the sailor.
[Illustration]
A murmur arose from the crew.
"Not a word from any of you," said Hatteras, "or he's a dead man."
At that moment Johnson and Bell disarmed Pen, who no longer resisted,
and suffered himself to be led to the bottom of the hold.
"Now go below, Brunton," said Hatteras.
The engineer, followed by Plover and Warren, went below. Hatteras
returned to the quarter-deck.
"That Pen is a worthless fellow," the doctor said to him.
"No man was ever nearer death," answered the captain, simply.
Soon there was enough steam on; the anchors of the -Forward- were
raised; and the brig started eastward, heading for Point Beecher, and
cutting through the newly formed ice.
A great number of islands lie between Baring Island and Point Beecher,
scattered in the midst of the ice-fields; the ice-streams crowd in
great numbers in the little straits into which they divide the sea;
when the weather is cold they have a tendency to accumulate; here and
there hummocks were forming, and it was easy to see that the floes,
already harder and more crowded, would, under the influence of the
first frosts, soon form an impenetrable mass.
It was with great difficulty that the -Forward- made her way through
the whirling snow. Still, with the variability which is a peculiarity
of these regions, the sun would appear from time to time; the air grew
much milder; the ice melted as if by enchantment, and a clear expanse
of water, a most welcome sight to the eyes of the crew, spread out
before them where a few moments before the ice had blocked their
progress. All over the horizon there spread magnificent orange tints,
which rested their eyes, weary with gazing at the eternal snow.
Thursday, July 26th, the -Forward- coasted along Dundas Island, and
then stood more northward; but there she found herself face to face
with a thick mass of ice, eight or nine feet high, consisting of
little icebergs washed away from the shore; they had to prolong the
curve they were making to the west. The continual cracking of the ice,
joining with the creaking of the rolling ship, sounded like a gloomy
lamentation. At last the brig found a passage and advanced through it
slowly; often a huge floe delayed her for hours; the fog embarrassed
the steersman; at one moment he could see a mile ahead, and it was
easy to avoid all obstacles; but again the snow-squalls would hide
everything from their sight at the distance of a cable's length. The
sea ran very high.
[Illustration]
Sometimes the smooth clouds assumed a strange appearance, as if they
were reflecting the ice-banks; there were days when the sun could not
pierce the dense mist.
The birds were still very numerous, and their cries were deafening;
the seals, lying lazily on the drifting ice, raised their heads
without being frightened, and turned their long necks to watch the
ship go by. Often, too, the brig would leave bits of sheathing on the
ice against which she grazed.
[Illustration]
Finally, after six days of this slow sailing, August 1st, Point
Beecher was made, sighted in the north; Hatteras passed the last hours
in the lookout; the open sea, which Stewart had seen May 30, 1851,
towards latitude 76° 20', could not be far off, and yet, as far as
Hatteras could see, he could make out no sign of an open polar sea. He
came down without saying a word.
"Do you believe in an open sea?" asked Shandon of the second mate.
"I'm beginning to have my doubts," answered James Wall.
"Wasn't I right in considering this pretended discovery as a mere
hypothesis? No one agreed with me, and you too, Wall,--you sided
against me."
"They'll believe you next time, Shandon."
"Yes," he answered, "when it's too late."
And he returned to his cabin, where he had kept himself almost
exclusively since his discussion with the captain.
Towards evening the wind shifted to the south. Hatteras then set his
sails and had the fires put out; for many days the crew were kept hard
at work; every few minutes they had to tack or bear away, or to
shorten sail quickly to stop the course of the brig; the braces could
not run easily through the choked-up pulleys, and added to the fatigue
of the crew; more than a week was required for them to reach Point
Barrow. The -Forward- had not made thirty miles in ten days.
Then the wind flew around to the north, and the engine was started
once more. Hatteras still hoped to find an open sea beyond latitude
77°, such as Edward Belcher had seen.
And yet, if he believed in Penny's account, the part of the sea which
he was now crossing ought to have been open; for Penny, having reached
the limit of the ice, saw in a canoe the shores of Queen's Channel at
latitude 77°.
Must he regard their reports as apochryphal, or had an unusually early
winter fallen upon these regions?
August 15th, Mount Percy reared into the mist its peaks covered with
eternal snow; a violent wind was hurling in their teeth a fierce
shower of hail. The next day the sun set for the first time,
terminating at last the long series of days twenty-four hours long.
The men had finally accustomed themselves to this perpetual daylight;
but the animals minded it very little; the Greenland dogs used to go
to sleep at the usual hour, and even Duke lay down at the same hour
every evening, as if the night were dark.
Still, during the nights following August 16th the darkness was never
very marked; the sun, although it had set, still gave light enough by
refraction.
August 19th, after taking a satisfactory observation, Cape Franklin
was seen on the eastern side, and opposite it Cape Lady Franklin; at
what was probably the farthest point reached by this bold explorer,
his fellow-countrymen wanted the name of his devoted wife should be
remembered along with his own, as an emblem of the sympathy which
always united them. The doctor was much moved by this sight in this
distant country.
In accordance with Johnson's advice, he began to accustom himself to
enduring low temperature; he kept almost all the time on deck, braving
the cold, wind, and snow. Although he had grown a little thinner, he
did not suffer from the severity of the climate. Besides, he expected
other dangers, and he rejoiced, almost, as he saw the winter
approaching.
"See," said he one day to Johnson,--"see those flocks of birds flying
south! How they fly and cry adieu!"
"Yes, Dr. Clawbonny," answered Johnson, "something has told them it
was time to go, and they are off."
[Illustration]
"More than one of our men, Johnson, would be glad to imitate them, I
fancy."
"They are timid fellows, Doctor; what a bird can't do, a man ought to
try! Those birds have no supply of food, as we have, and they must
support themselves elsewhere. But sailors, with a good deck under the
feet, ought to go to the end of the world."
"You hope, then, that Hatteras will succeed in his projects?"
"He will succeed, Doctor."
"I agree with you, Johnson, even if only one faithful man accompanies
him--"
"There will be two of us!"
"Yes, Johnson," the doctor answered, pressing the brave sailor's hand.
Prince Albert's Land, along which the -Forward- was now coasting, is
also called Grinnell's Land; and although Hatteras, from his dislike
to Americans, never was willing to give it this name, nevertheless, it
is the one by which it is generally known. This is the reason of this
double title: at the same time that the Englishman Penny gave it the
name of Prince Albert, the captain of the -Rescue-, Lieutenant
DeHaven, named it Grinnell's Land, in honor of the American merchant
who had fitted out the expedition in New York.
As the brig followed the coast it met with serious difficulties, going
sometimes under sail, sometimes under steam. August 18th, Mount
Britannia was sighted through the mist, and the next day the -Forward-
cast anchor in Northumberland Bay. The ship was completely protected.
CHAPTER XXIII.
ATTACKED BY THE ICE.
Hatteras, after seeing to the anchorage of the ship, returned to his
cabin, took out his chart, and marked his position on it very
carefully; he found himself in latitude 76° 57', and longitude 99°
20', that is to say, only three minutes from latitude 77°. It was here
that Sir Edward Belcher passed his first winter with the -Pioneer- and
-Assistance-. It was from here that he organized his sledge and canoe
expeditions; he discovered Table Island, North Cornwall, Victoria
Archipelago, and Belcher Channel. Having gone beyond latitude 78°, he
saw the coast inclining towards the southeast. It seemed as if it
ought to connect with Jones's Strait, which opens into Baffin's Bay.
But, says the report, an open sea, in the northwest, "stretched as far
as the eye could reach."
Hatteras gazed with emotion at that portion of the charts where a
large white space marked unknown regions, and his eyes always returned
to the open polar sea.
"After so many statements," he said to himself,--"after the accounts
of Stewart, Penny, and Belcher, doubt is impossible! These bold
sailors saw, and with their own eyes! Can I doubt their word? No! But
yet if this sea is closed by an early winter-- But no, these
discoveries have been made at intervals of several years; this sea
exists, and I shall find it! I shall see it!"
[Illustration]
Hatteras went upon the quarter-deck. A dense mist enveloped the
-Forward-; from the deck one could hardly see the top of the mast.
Nevertheless, Hatteras ordered the ice-master below, and took his
place; he wanted to make use of the first break in the fog to look at
the horizon in the northwest.
Shandon took occasion to say to the second mate,--
"Well, Wall, and the open sea?"
"You were right, Shandon," answered Wall, "and we have only six weeks'
coal in the bunkers."
"The doctor will invent some scientific way," continued Shandon, "of
heating us without fuel. I've heard of making ice with fire; perhaps
he will make fire with ice."
Shandon returned to his cabin, shrugging his shoulders.
The next day, August 20th, the fog lifted for a few minutes. From the
deck they saw Hatteras in his lofty perch gazing intently towards the
horizon; then he came down without saying a word and ordered them to
set sail; but it was easy to see that his hopes had been once more
deceived.
The -Forward- heaved anchor and resumed her uncertain path northward.
So wearisome was it that the main-topsail and fore-topsail yards were
lowered with all their rigging; the masts were also lowered, and it
was no longer possible to place any reliance on the varying wind,
which, moreover, the winding nature of the passes made almost useless;
large white masses were gathering here and there in the sea, like
spots of oil; they indicated an approaching thaw; as soon as the wind
began to slacken, the sea began to freeze again, but when the wind
arose this young ice would break and disperse. Towards evening the
thermometer fell to 17°.
When the brig arrived at the end of a closed pass, it rushed on at
full steam against the opposing obstacle. Sometimes they thought her
fairly stopped; but some unexpected motion of the ice-streams would
open a new passage into which she would plunge boldly; during these
stoppages the steam would escape from the safety-valves and fall on
the deck in the form of snow. There was another obstacle to the
progress of the brig; the ice would get caught in the screw, and it
was so hard that the engine could not break it; it was then necessary
to reverse the engines, turn the brig back, and send some men to free
the snow with axes and levers; hence arose many difficulties,
fatigues, and delays.
It went on in this way for thirteen days; the -Forward- advanced
slowly through Penny Strait. The crew murmured, but obeyed; they knew
that retreat was now impossible. The advance towards the north was
less perilous than a return to the south; it was time to think of
going into winter-quarters.
The sailors talked together about their condition, and one day they
even began to talk with Shandon, who, they knew, was on their side. He
so far forgot his duty as an officer as to allow them to discuss in
his presence the authority of his captain.
"So you say, Mr. Shandon," asked Gripper, "that we can't go back now?"
"No, it's too late," answered Shandon.
"Then," said another sailor, "we need only look forward to going into
winter-quarters?"
"It's our only resource! No one would believe me--"
"The next time," said Pen, who had returned to duty, "they will
believe you."
"Since I sha'n't be in command--" answered Shandon.
"Who can tell?" remarked Pen. "John Hatteras is free to go as far as
he chooses, but no one is obliged to follow him."
"Just remember," resumed Gripper, "his first voyage to Baffin's Bay
and what came of it!"
"And the voyage of the -Farewell-," said Clifton, "which was lost in
the Spitzenberg seas under his command."
"And from which he came back alone," added Gripper.
"Alone, but with his dog," said Clifton.
"We don't care to sacrifice ourselves for the whims of that man,"
continued Pen.
"Nor to lose all the wages we've earned so hard."
They all recognized Clifton by those words.
"When we pass latitude 78°," he added, "and we are not far from it,
that will make just three hundred and seventy-five pounds for each
man, six times eight degrees."
"But," asked Gripper, "sha'n't we lose them if we go back without the
captain?"
"No," answered Clifton, "if we can prove that it was absolutely
necessary to return."
"But the captain--still--"
"Don't be uneasy, Gripper," answered Pen; "we shall have a captain,
and a good one, whom Mr. Shandon knows. When a captain goes mad, he is
dismissed and another appointed. Isn't that so, Mr. Shandon?"
"My friends," answered Shandon, evasively, "you will always find me
devoted to you. But let us wait and see what turns up."
The storm, as may be seen, was gathering over Hatteras's head; but he
pushed on boldly, firm, energetic, and confident. In fact, if he had
not always managed the brig as he wanted to, and carried her where he
was anxious to go, he had still been very successful; the distance
passed over in five months was as great as what it had taken other
explorers two or three years to make. Hatteras was now obliged to go
into winter-quarters, but this would not alarm men of courage,
experience, and confidence. Had not Sir John Ross and MacClure spent
three successive winters in the arctic regions? Could not he do what
they had done?
"Yes, of course," Hatteras used to say, "and more too, if need be.
Ah!" he said regretfully to the doctor, "why was I unable to get
through Smith's Sound, at the north of Baffin's Bay? I should be at
the Pole now!"
"Well," the doctor used invariably to answer,--if necessary he could
have invented confidence,--"we shall get there, Captain, but, it is
true, at the ninety-ninth meridian instead of the seventy-fifth; but
what difference does that make? If every road leads to Rome, it is
even surer that every meridian leads to the Pole."
August 31st, the thermometer fell to 13°. The end of the summer was
evidently near; the -Forward- left Exmouth Island to starboard, and
three days afterward she passed Table Island, lying in the middle of
Belcher Channel. Earlier in the season it would have been possible to
reach Baffin's Bay through this channel, but at this time it was
impossible to think of it. This arm of the sea was completely filled
with ice, and would not have offered a drop of open water to the prow
of the -Forward-; for the next eight months their eyes would see
nothing but boundless, motionless ice-fields.
Fortunately, they could still get a few minutes farther north, but
only by breaking the new ice with huge beams, or by blowing it up with
charges of powder. They especially had cause to fear calm weather
while the temperature was so low, for the passes closed quickly, and
they rejoiced even at contrary winds. A calm night, and everything was
frozen!
Now the -Forward- could not winter where she was, exposed to the wind,
icebergs, and the drift of the channel; a safe protection was the
first thing to be found; Hatteras hoped to gain the coast of New
Cornwall, and to find, beyond Point Albert, a bay sufficiently
sheltered. Hence he persisted in crowding northward.
But, September 8, an impenetrable, continuous mass of ice lay between
him and the north; the temperature fell to 10°. Hatteras, with an
anxious heart, in vain sought for a passage, risking his ship a
hundred times and escaping from his perils with wonderful skill. He
might have been accused of imprudence, recklessness, folly, blindness,
but he was one of the best of sailors.
The situation of the -Forward- became really dangerous; in fact, the
sea was closing behind her, and in a few hours the ice grew so hard
that men could run upon it and tow the brig in perfect safety.
Hatteras, not being able to get around this obstacle, determined to
attack it boldly in front. He made use of his strongest blasting
cylinders, containing eight or ten pounds of powder. The men would dig
a hole in the broadest part of the ice, close the orifice with snow,
after having placed the cylinder in a horizontal position, so that a
greater extent of ice might be exposed to the explosion; then a fuse
was lighted, which was protected by a gutta-percha tube.
In this way they tried to break the ice; it was impossible to saw it,
for the fissures would close immediately. Still, Hatteras was hoping
to get through the next day.
But during the night the wind blew a gale; the sea raised the crust of
ice, and the terrified pilot was heard shouting,--
"Look out there aft, look out there aft!"
Hatteras turned his eyes in that direction, and what he saw in the dim
light was indeed alarming.
A great mass of ice, drifting northward with the tide, was rushing
towards the brig with the speed of an avalanche.
"All hands on deck!" shouted the captain.
This floating mountain was hardly half a mile away; the ice was all in
confusion and crashing together like huge grains of sand before a
violent tempest; the air was filled with a terrible noise.
"That, Doctor," said Johnson, "is one of the greatest perils we have
yet met with."
"Yes," answered the doctor, quietly; "it is terrible enough."
"A real attack which we must repel," resumed the boatswain.
"In fact, one might well think it was an immense crowd of antediluvian
animals, such as might have lived near the Pole. How they hurry on, as
if they were racing!"
"Besides," added Johnson, "some carry sharp lances, of which you had
better take care, Doctor."
"It's a real siege," shouted the doctor. "Well, let us run to the
ramparts!"
He ran aft where the crew, provided with beams and bars, were standing
ready to repel this formidable assault.
The avalanche came on, growing larger at every moment as it caught up
the floating ice in its eddy; by Hatteras's orders the cannon was
loaded with ball to break the threatening line. But it came on and ran
towards the brig; a crash was heard, and as it came against the
starboard-quarter, part of the rail had given way.
[Illustration: "A crash was heard, and as it came against the
starboard-quarter, part of the rail had given way."]
"Let no one stir!" shouted Hatteras. "Look out for the ice!"
They swarmed on board the ship with an irresistible force; lumps of
ice, weighing many hundredweight, scaled the sides of the ship; the
smallest, hurled as high as the yards, fell back in sharp arrows,
breaking the shrouds and cutting the rigging. The men were overcome by
numberless enemies, who were heavy enough to crush a hundred ships
like the -Forward-. Every one tried to drive away these lumps, and
more than one sailor was wounded by their sharp ends; among others,
Bolton, who had his left shoulder badly torn. The noise increased
immensely. Duke barked angrily at these new enemies. The darkness of
the night added to the horrors of the situation, without hiding the
ice which glowed in the last light of the evening.
Hatteras's orders sounded above all this strange, impossible,
supernatural conflict of the men with the ice. The ship, yielding to
this enormous pressure, inclined to larboard, and the end of the
main-yard was already touching the ice, at the risk of breaking the
mast.
Hatteras saw the danger; it was a terrible moment; the brig seemed
about to be overturned, and the masts might be easily carried away.
A large block, as large as the ship, appeared to be passing along the
keel; it arose with irresistible power; it came on past the
quarter-deck; if it fell on the -Forward-, all was over; soon it rose
even above the topmasts, and began to totter.
A cry of terror escaped from every one's lips. Every one ran back to
starboard.
But at that moment the ship was relieved. They felt her lifted up, and
for an instant she hung in the air, then she leaned over and fell back
on the ice, and then she rolled so heavily that her planks cracked.
What had happened?
Raised by this rising tide, driven by the ice which attacked her aft,
she was getting across this impenetrable ice. After a minute of this
strange sailing, which seemed as long as a century, she fell back on
the other side of the obstacle on a field of ice; she broke it with
her weight, and fell back into her natural element.
"We have got by the thick ice!" shouted Johnson, who had run forward.
"Thank God!" said Hatteras.
[Illustration]
In fact, the brig lay in the centre of a basin of ice, which entirely
surrounded her, and although her keel lay under water she could not
stir; but if she were motionless, the field was drifting along.
"We are drifting, Captain!" shouted Johnson.
"All right," answered Hatteras.
Indeed, how was it possible to resist it?
Day broke, and it was evident that under the influence of a submarine
current the bank of ice was floating northward with great rapidity.
This floating mass carried the -Forward- with it, in the midst of the
ice-field, the edge of which could not be seen; to provide for any
accident that might happen, Hatteras had a large supply of provisions
carried on deck, as well as materials for camping, clothing, and
cover; as MacClure had done under similar circumstances, he surrounded
the ship with hammocks filled with air to protect her from damage.
Soon it was so cold (7°), that the ship was surrounded by a wall from
which only the masts issued.
For seven days they sailed in this way; Point Albert, which forms the
western extremity of New Cornwall, was seen September 10th, and soon
disappeared; the ice-field was seen to be drifting eastward from that
time. Where was it going? Where would it stop? Who could say?
The crew waited with folded arms. At last, September 15th, towards
three o'clock in the afternoon, the ice-field, having probably run
against another one, stopped suddenly; the ship was jarred violently;
Hatteras, who had kept his reckoning all along, looked at his chart;
he found himself in the north, with no land in sight, in longitude 95°
35', and latitude 78° 15', in the centre of the region of the unknown
sea, which geographers have considered the place of greatest cold.
CHAPTER XXIV.
PREPARATIONS FOR WINTERING.
The same latitude is colder in the southern than in the northern
hemisphere; but the temperature of the New World is fifteen degrees
beneath that of the other parts of the world; and in America these
countries, known under the name of the region of greatest cold, are
the most inclement.
The mean temperature for the whole year is two degrees below zero.
Physicists have explained this fact in the following way, and Dr.
Clawbonny shared their opinion.
According to them, the most constant winds in the northern regions of
America are from the southwest; they come from the Pacific Ocean, with
an equal and agreeable temperature; but before they reach the arctic
seas they are obliged to cross the great American continent, which is
covered with snow; the contact chills them, and communicates to these
regions their intense cold.
Hatteras found himself at the pole of cold, beyond the countries seen
by his predecessors; he consequently expected a terrible winter, on a
ship lost amid the ice, with a turbulent crew. He resolved to meet
these dangers with his usual energy. He faced what awaited him without
flinching.
He began, with Johnson's aid and experience, to take all the measures
necessary for going into winter-quarters. According to his calculation
the -Forward- had been carried two hundred and fifty miles from any
known land, that is to say, from North Cornwall; she was firmly fixed
in a field of ice, as in a bed of granite, and no human power could
extricate her.
[Illustration]
There was not a drop of open water in these vast seas chained by the
fierce arctic winter. The ice-fields stretched away out of sight, but
without presenting a smooth surface. Far from it. Numerous icebergs
stood up in the icy plain, and the -Forward- was sheltered by the
highest of them on three points of the compass; the southeast wind
alone reached them. Let one imagine rock instead of ice, verdure
instead of snow, and the sea again liquid, and the brig would have
quietly cast anchor in a pretty bay, sheltered from the fiercest
blasts. But what desolation here! What a gloomy prospect! What a
melancholy view!
The brig, although motionless, nevertheless had to be fastened
securely by means of anchors; this was a necessary precaution against
possible thaws and submarine upheavals. Johnson, on hearing that the
-Forward- was at the pole of cold, took even greater precautions for
securing warmth.
"We shall have it severe enough," he had said to the doctor; "that's
just the captain's luck, to go and get caught at the most disagreeable
spot on the globe! Bah! you will see that we shall get out of it."
As to the doctor, at the bottom of his heart he was simply delighted.
He would not have changed it for any other. Winter at the pole of
cold! What good luck!
At first, work on the outside occupied the crew; the sails were kept
furled on the yards instead of being placed at the bottom of the hold,
as the earlier explorers did; they were merely bound up in a case, and
soon the frost covered them with a dense envelope; the topmasts were
not unshipped, and the crow's-nest remained in its place. It was a
natural observatory; the running-rigging alone was taken down.
It became necessary to cut away the ice from the ship to relieve the
pressure. That which had accumulated outside was quite heavy, and the
ship did not lie as deep as usual. This was a long and laborious task.
At the end of some days the ship's bottom was freed, and could be
inspected; it had not suffered, thanks to its solidity; only its
copper sheathing was nearly torn away. The ship, having grown lighter,
drew about nine inches less than she did earlier; the ice was cut away
in a slope, following the make of the hull; in this way the ice formed
beneath the brig's keel and so resisted all pressure.
The doctor took part in this work; he managed the ice-cutter well; he
encouraged the sailors by his good-humor. He instructed them and
himself. He approved of this arrangement of the ice beneath the ship.
"That is a good precaution," he said.
"Without that, Dr. Clawbonny," answered Johnson, "resistance would be
impossible. Now we can boldly raise a wall of snow as high as the
gunwale; and, if we want to, we can make it ten feet thick, for there
is no lack of material."
"A capital idea," resumed the doctor; "the snow is a bad conductor of
heat; it reflects instead of absorbing, and the inside temperature
cannot escape."
"True," answered Johnson; "we are building a fortification against the
cold, and also against the animals, if they care to visit us; when
that is finished, it will look well, you may be sure; in this snow we
shall cut two staircases, one fore, the other aft; when the steps are
cut in the snow, we shall pour water on them; this will freeze as hard
as stone, and we shall have a royal staircase."
"Precisely," answered the doctor; "and it must be said it is fortunate
that cold produces both snow and ice, by which to protect one's self
against it. Without that, one would be very much embarrassed."
In fact, the ship was destined to disappear beneath a thick casing of
ice, which was needed to preserve its inside temperature; a roof made
of thick tarred canvas and covered with snow was built above the deck
over its whole length; the canvas was low enough to cover the sides of
the ship. The deck, being protected from all outside impressions,
became their walk; it was covered with two and a half feet of snow;
this snow was crowded and beaten down so as to become very hard; so it
resisted the radiation of the internal heat; above it was placed a
layer of sand, which as it solidified became a sort of macadamized
cover of great hardness.
"A little more," said the doctor, "and with a few trees I might
imagine myself at Hyde Park, or even in the hanging-gardens at
Babylon."
A trench was dug tolerably near the brig; this was a circular space in
the ice, a real pit, which had to be kept always open. Every morning
the ice formed overnight was broken; this was to secure water in case
of fire or for the baths which were ordered the crew by the doctor; in
order to spare the fuel, the water was drawn from some distance below
the ice, where it was less cold. This was done by means of an
instrument devised by a French physicist (François Arago); this
apparatus, lowered for some distance into the water, brought it up to
the surface through a cylinder.
[Illustration]
Generally in winter everything which encumbers the ship is removed,
and stored on land. But what was practicable near land is impossible
for a ship anchored on the ice.
Every preparation was made to fight the two great enemies of this
latitude, cold and dampness; the first produces the second, which is
far more dangerous. The cold may be resisted by one who succumbs to
dampness; hence it was necessary to guard against it.
The -Forward-, being destined to a journey in arctic seas, contained
the best arrangements for winter-quarters: the large room for the crew
was well provided for; the corners, where dampness first forms, were
shut off; in fact, when the temperature is very low, a film of ice
forms on the walls, especially in the corners, and when it melts it
keeps up a perpetual dampness. If it had been round, the room would
have been more convenient; but, being heated by a large stove, and
properly ventilated, it was very comfortable; the walls were lined
with deerskins, not with wool, for wool absorbs the condensed moisture
and keeps the air full of dampness.
Farther aft the walls of the quarter were taken down, and the officers
had a larger common-room, better ventilated, and heated by a stove.
This room, like that of the crew, had a sort of antechamber, which cut
off all communication with the outside. In this way, the heat could
not be lost, and one passed gradually from one temperature to the
other. In the anterooms were left the snow-covered clothes; the shoes
were cleansed on the scrapers, so as to prevent the introduction of
any unwholesomeness with one into the room.
Canvas hose served to introduce air for the draught of the stoves;
other pieces of hose permitted the steam to escape. In addition two
condensers were placed in the two rooms, and collected this vapor
instead of letting it form into water; twice a week they were emptied,
and often they contained several bushels of ice. It was so much taken
from the enemy.
The fire was perfectly and easily controlled, by means of the canvas
hose; by use of merely a small quantity of coal it was easy to keep
the temperature of 50°. Still, Hatteras, having examined the bunkers,
soon saw that the greatest economy was necessary, for there was not
two months' fuel on board.
A drying-room was set apart for the clothes which were to be washed;
they could not be dried in the open air, for they would freeze and
tear.
The delicate pieces of the machinery were carefully taken down, and
the room which contained them was hermetically closed.
The life on board became the object of serious meditation; Hatteras
regulated it with the utmost caution, and the order of the day was
posted up in the common-room. The men arose at six o'clock in the
morning; three times a week the hammocks were aired; every morning the
floors were scoured with hot sand; tea was served at every meal, and
the bill of fare varied as much as possible for every day of the week;
it consisted of bread, farina, suet and raisins for puddings, sugar,
cocoa, tea, rice, lemon-juice, potted meats, salt beef and pork,
cabbages, and vegetables in vinegar; the kitchen lay outside of the
living-rooms; its heat was consequently lost; but cooking is a
perpetual source of evaporation and dampness.
The health of the men depends a great deal on the sort of food they
get; in high latitudes, the greatest amount of animal food ought to be
eaten. The doctor had supervised the sort of food to be given.
"We ought to follow the Esquimaux," he used to say; "they have
received their lessons from nature, and are our masters in that; if
the Arabs and Africans can content themselves with a few dates and a
handful of rice, here it is important to eat, and to eat a good deal.
The Esquimaux take from ten to fifteen pounds of oil a day. If that
fare does not please you, we must try food rich in sugar and fat. In a
word, we need carbon, so let us manufacture carbon! It is well to put
coal in the stove, but don't let us forget to fill that precious stove
we carry about with us."
With this bill of fare, strict cleanliness was enforced; every other
day each man was obliged to bathe in the half-frozen water which the
iron pump brought up, and this was an excellent way of preserving
their health. The doctor set the example; he did it at first as a
thing which ought to be very disagreeable; but this pretext was
quickly forgotten, for he soon took real pleasure in this healthy
bath.
When work or hunting or distant expeditions took the men off in the
severe cold, they had to take special care not to be frost-bitten; if
they were, rubbing with snow would restore the circulation. Moreover,
the men, who all wore woollen clothes, put on coats of deerskin and
trousers of sealskin, which perfectly resist the wind.
The different arrangements of the ship, the getting-to-rights on
board, took about three weeks, and they reached October 10th without
any special incident.
CHAPTER XXV.
ONE OF JAMES ROSS'S FOXES.
On that day the thermometer fell to three degrees below zero. The day
was calm; the cold was very endurable in the absence of wind. Hatteras
took advantage of the clearness of the air to reconnoitre the
surrounding plains; he ascended one of the highest icebergs to the
north, but even with his glass he could make out nothing but a series
of ice-mountains and ice-fields. There was no land in sight, nothing
but gloomy confusion. He returned, and tried to calculate the probable
length of their imprisonment.
The hunters, and among them the doctor, James Wall, Simpson, Johnson,
and Bell, kept them supplied with fresh meat. The birds had
disappeared, seeking a milder climate in the south. The ptarmigans
alone, a sort of rock-partridge peculiar to this latitude, did not
flee the winter; it was easy to kill them, and there were enough to
promise a perpetual supply of game.
[Illustration]
Hares, foxes, wolves, ermines, and bears were plentiful; a French,
English, or Norwegian hunter would have had no right to complain; but
they were so shy that it was hard to approach them; besides, it was
hard to distinguish them on the white plain, they being white
themselves, for in winter they acquire that colored fur. In opposition
to the opinions of some naturalists, the doctor held that this change
was not due to the lowering of the temperature, since it took place
before October; hence it was not due to any physical cause, but rather
providential foresight, to secure these animals against the severity
of an arctic winter.
Often, too, they saw sea-cows and sea-dogs, animals included under the
name of seals; all the hunters were specially recommended to shoot
them, as much for their skins as for their fat, which was very good
fuel. Besides, their liver made a very good article of food; they
could be counted by hundreds, and two or three miles north of the ship
the ice was continually perforated by these huge animals; only they
avoided the hunter with remarkable instinct, and many were wounded who
easily escaped by diving under the ice.
[Illustration]
Still, on the 19th, Simpson succeeded in getting one four hundred
yards distant from the ship; he had taken the precaution to close its
hole in the ice, so that it could not escape from its pursuers. He
fought for a long time, and died only after receiving many bullets. He
was nine feet long; his bull-dog head, the sixteen teeth in his jaw,
his large pectoral fins shaped like little wings, his little tail with
another pair of fins, made him an excellent specimen. The doctor
wished to preserve his head for his collection of natural history, and
his skin for future contingences, hence he prepared both by a rapid
and economical process. He plunged the body in the hole, and thousands
of little prawns removed the flesh in small pieces; at the end of half
a day the work was half finished, and the most skilful of the
honorable corporation of tanners at Liverpool could not have done
better.
When the sun had passed the autumn equinox, that is to say, September
23d, the winter fairly begins in the arctic regions. The sun, having
gradually sunk to the horizon, disappeared at last, October 23d,
lighting up merely the tops of the mountains with its oblique rays.
The doctor gave it his last farewell. He could not see it again till
the month of February.
Still the darkness was not complete during this long absence of the
sun; the moon did its best to replace it; the stars were exceedingly
brilliant, the auroras were very frequent, and the refractions
peculiar to the snowy horizons; besides, the sun at the time of its
greatest southern declension, December 21st, approaches within
thirteen degrees of the polar horizon; hence, every day there was a
certain twilight for a few hours. Only the mist and snow-storms often
plunged these regions in the deepest obscurity.
Still, up to this time the weather was very favorable; the partridges
and hares alone had reason to complain, for the hunters gave them no
rest; a great many traps were set for foxes, but these crafty animals
could not be caught; very often they scraped the snow away beneath the
trap and took the bait without running any risk; the doctor cursed
them, being very averse to making them such a present.
[Illustration]
October 25th, the thermometer fell as low as -4°. A violent hurricane
raged; the air was filled with thick snow, which permitted no ray of
light to reach the -Forward-. For several hours there was some anxiety
about the fate of Bell and Simpson, who had gone some distance away
hunting; they did not reach the ship till the next day, having rested
for a whole day wrapped up in their furs, while the hurricane swept
over them and buried them under five feet of snow. They were nearly
frozen, and the doctor found it very hard to restore their
circulation.
The tempest lasted eight days without interruption. No one could set
foot outside. In a single day there were variations in the temperature
of fifteen or twenty degrees.
During this enforced leisure every one kept to himself, some sleeping,
others smoking, others again talking in a low tone and stopping at the
approach of Johnson or the doctor; there was no moral tie between the
men of the crew; they only met at evening prayers and at Sunday
services.
Clifton knew perfectly well that when the seventy-eighth parallel was
passed, his share of the pay would amount to three hundred and
seventy-five pounds; he thought it a good round sum, and his ambition
did not go any further. His opinion was generally shared, and all
looked forward to the day when they should enjoy this hardly-earned
fortune.
Hatteras kept almost entirely out of sight. He never took part in the
hunts or the walks from the ship. He took no interest in the
meteorological phenomena which kept the doctor in a constant state of
admiration. He lived with but a single idea; it consisted of three
words,--The North Pole. He only thought of when the -Forward-, free at
last, should resume her bold course.
In fact, the general feeling on board was one of gloom. Nothing was so
sad as the sight of this captive vessel, no longer resting in its
natural element, but with its shape hidden beneath thick layers of
ice; it looks like nothing; it cannot stir, though made for motion; it
is turned into a wooden storehouse, a sedentary dwelling, this ship
which knows how to breast the wind and the storms. This anomaly, this
false situation, filled their hearts with an indefinable feeling of
disquiet and regret.
During these idle hours the doctor arranged the notes he had taken,
from which this book is made up; he was never out of spirits, and
never lost his cheerfulness. Yet he was glad to see the end of the
storm, and prepared to resume his hunting.
November 3d, at six o'clock in the morning, with a temperature of -5°,
he set off in company with Johnson and Bell; the expanse of ice was
unbroken; all the snow which had fallen so abundantly during the
preceding days was hardened by the frost, and made good walking; the
air was keen and piercing; the moon shone with incomparable purity,
glistening on the least roughness in the ice; their footprints glowed
like an illuminated trail, and their long shadows stood out almost
black against the brilliant ice.
[Illustration: "The moon shone with incomparable purity, glistening on
the least roughness in the ice."]
The doctor had taken Duke with him; he preferred him to the Greenland
dogs to hunt game, and he was right; for they are of very little use
under such circumstances, and they did not appear to possess the
sacred fire of the race of the temperate zone. Duke ran along with his
nose on the ground, and he often stopped on the recent marks of bears.
Still, in spite of his skill, the hunters did not find even a hare in
two hours' walking.
"Has all the game felt it necessary to go south?" said the doctor,
stopping at the foot of a hummock.
"I should fancy it must be so, Doctor," answered the carpenter.
"I don't think so," said Johnson; "the hares, foxes, and bears are
accustomed to this climate; I think this last storm must have driven
them away; but they will come back with the south-winds. Ah, if you
were to talk about reindeer and musk-deer, that might be different!"
"And yet at Melville Island numberless animals of this sort are
found," resumed the doctor; "it lies farther south, it is true, and
during the winters he spent there Parry always had plenty of this
magnificent game."
"We have much poorer luck," answered Bell; "if we could only get
enough bear's meat, we would do very well."
"The difficulty is," said the doctor, "the bears seem to me very rare
and very wild; they are not civilized enough to come within gun-shot."
"Bell is talking about the flesh of the bear," said Johnson, "but his
grease is more useful than his flesh or his fur."
"You are right, Johnson," answered Bell; "you are always thinking of
the fuel."
"How can I help it? Even with the strictest economy, we have only
enough for three weeks!"
"Yes," resumed the doctor, "that is the real danger, for we are now
only at the beginning of November, and February is the coldest month
in the frigid zone; still, if we can't get bear's grease, there's no
lack of seal's grease."
"But not for a very long time, Doctor," answered Johnson; "they will
soon leave us; whether from cold or fright, soon they won't come upon
the ice any more."
"Then," continued the doctor, "we shall have to fall back on the bear,
and I confess the bear is the most useful animal to be found in these
countries, for he furnishes food, clothing, light, and fuel to men. Do
you hear, Duke?" he said, patting the dog's head, "we want some bears,
my friend, bears! bears!"
Duke, who was sniffing at the ice at that time, aroused by the voices,
and caresses of the doctor, started off suddenly with the speed of an
arrow. He barked violently and, far off as he was, his loud barks
reached the hunters' ears.
The extreme distance to which sound is carried when the temperature is
low is an astonishing fact; it is only equalled by the brilliancy of
the constellations in the northern skies; the waves of light and sound
are transmitted to great distances, especially in the dry cold of the
nights.
The hunters, guided by his distant barking, hastened after him; they
had to run a mile, and they got there all out of breath, which happens
very soon in such an atmosphere. Duke stood pointing about fifty feet
from an enormous mass which was rolling about on the top of a small
iceberg.
"Just what we wanted!" shouted the doctor, cocking his gun.
"A fine bear!" said Bell, following the doctor's example.
"A curious bear!" said Johnson, who intended to fire after his
companions.
Duke barked furiously. Bell advanced about twenty feet, and fired; but
the animal seemed untouched, for he continued rolling his head slowly.
Johnson came forward, and, after taking careful aim, he pulled the
trigger.
"Good!" said the doctor; "nothing yet! Ah, this cursed refraction! We
are too far off; we shall never get used to it! That bear is more than
a mile away."
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000