XXII.
The Four Following Days
XXIII.
On A Piece Of Ice
XXIV.
Conclusion
CHAPTER I. A FLOATING FORT. And so Fort Hope, founded by Lieutenant
Hobson on the borders of the Polar Sea, had drifted! Was the courageous
agent of the Company to blame for this? No; any one might have been
deceived as he had been. No human prevision could have foreseen such a
calamity. He meant to build upon a rock, and he had not even built upon
sand. The peninsula of Victoria, which the best maps of English America
join to the American continent, had been torn suddenly away from it.
This peninsula was in fact nothing but an immense piece of ice, five
hundred square miles in extent, converted by successive deposits of sand
and earth into apparently solid ground well clothed with vegetation.
Connected with the mainland for thousands of centuries, the earthquake
of the 8th of January had dragged it away from its moorings, and it was
now a floating island, at the mercy of the winds and waves, and had been
carried along the Arctic Ocean by powerful currents for the last three
months!
Yes, Fort Hope was built upon ice! Hobson at once understood the
mysterious change in their latitude. The isthmus--that is to say,
the neck of land which connected the peninsula of Victoria with
the mainland--had been snapped in two by a subterranean convulsion
connected with the eruption of the volcano some months before. As long
as the northern winter continued, the frozen sea maintained things as
they were; but when the thaw came, when the ice fields, melted beneath
the rays of the sun, and the huge icebergs, driven out into the offing,
drew back to the farthest limits of the horizon--when the sea at last
became open, the whole peninsula drifted away, with its woods, its
cliffs, its promontories, its inland lagoon, and its coast-line, under
the influence of a current about which nothing was known. For months
this drifting had been going on unnoticed by the colonists, who even
when hunting did not go far from Fort Hope. Beach-marks, if they had
been made, would have been useless; for heavy mists obscured everything
at a short distance, the ground remained apparently firm and motionless,
and there was, in short, nothing to hint to the Lieutenant and his men
that they had become islanders. The position of the new island with
regard to the rising and setting of the sun was the same as before. Had
the cardinal points changed their position, had the island turned round,
the Lieutenant, the astronomer, or Mrs Barnett, would certainly have
noticed and understood the change; but in its course the island had thus
far followed a parallel of latitude, and its motion, though rapid, had
been imperceptible.
Although Hobson had no doubt of the moral and physical courage and
determination of his companions, he determined not to acquaint them
with the truth. It would be time enough to tell them of their altered
position when it had been thoroughly studied. Fortunately the good
fellows, soldiers or workmen, took little notice of the astronomical
observations, and not being able to see the consequences involved, they
did not trouble themselves about the change of latitude just announced.
The Lieutenant determined to conceal his anxiety, and seeing no remedy
for the misfortune, mastered his emotion by a strong effort, and tried
to console Thomas Black, who was lamenting his disappointment and
tearing his hair.
The astronomer had no doubt about the misfortune of which he was the
victim. Not having, like the Lieutenant, noticed the peculiarities
of the district, he did not look beyond the one fact in which he was
interested: on the day fixed, at the time named, the moon had not
completely eclipsed the sun. And what could he conclude but that, to the
disgrace of observatories, the almanacs were false, and that the long
desired eclipse, his own eclipse, Thomas Black’s, which he had come
so far and through so many dangers to see, had not been “total” for
this particular district under the seventieth parallel! No, no, it was
impossible to believe it; he could not face the terrible certainty, and
he was overwhelmed with disappointment. He was soon to learn the truth,
however.
Meanwhile Hobson let his men imagine that the failure of the eclipse
could only interest himself and the astronomer, and they returned to
their ordinary occupations; but as they were leaving, Corporal Joliffe
stopped suddenly and said, touching his cap--
“May I ask you one question, sir?”
“Of course, Corporal; say on,” replied the Lieutenant, who wondered
what was coming.
But Joliffe hesitated, and his little wife nudged his elbow.
“Well, Lieutenant,” resumed the Corporal, “it’s just about
the seventieth degree of latitude--if we are not where we thought we
were.”
The Lieutenant frowned.
“Well,” he replied evasively, “we made a mistake in our reckoning,
... our first observation was wrong; ... but what does that concern
you?”
“Please, sir, it’s because of the pay,” replied Joliffe with
a scowl. “You know well enough that the Company promised us double
pay.”
Hobson drew a sigh of relief. It will be remembered that the men had
been promised higher pay if they succeeded in settling on or above the
seventieth degree north latitude, and Joliffe, who always had an eye to
the main chance, had looked upon the whole matter from a monetary point
of view, and was afraid the bounty would be withheld.
“You needn’t be afraid,” said Hobson with a smile; “and you can
tell your brave comrades that our mistake, which is really inexplicable,
will not in the least prejudice your interests. We are not below, but
above the seventieth parallel, and so you will get your double pay.”
“Thank you, sir, thank you,” replied Joliffe with a beaming face.
“It isn’t that we think much about money, but that the money sticks
to us.”
And with this sage remark the men drew off, little dreaming what a
strange and fearful change had taken place in the position of the
country.
Sergeant Long was about to follow the others when Hobson stopped him
with the words--
“Remain here, Sergeant Long.”
The subordinate officer turned on his heel and waited for the Lieutenant
to address him.
All had now left the cape except Mrs Barnett, Madge, Thomas Black, and
the two officers.
Since the eclipse Mrs Barnett had not uttered a word. She looked
inquiringly at Hobson, who tried to avoid meeting her eyes.
For some time not another word was spoken. All involuntarily turned
towards the south, where the broken isthmus was situated; but from their
position they could only see the sea horizon on the north. Had Cape
Bathurst been situated a few hundred feet more above the level of the
ocean, they would have been able at a glance to ascertain the limits of
their island home.
All were deeply moved at the sight of Fort Hope and all its occupants
borne away from all solid ground, and floating at the mercy of winds and
waves.
“Then, Lieutenant,” said Mrs Barnett at last, “all the strange
phenomena you observed are now explained!”
“Yes, madam,” he replied, “everything is explained. The peninsula
of Victoria, now an island, which we thought firm ground with an
immovable foundation, is nothing more than a vast sheet of ice welded
for centuries to the American continent. Gradually the wind has strewn
it with earth and sand, and scattered over them the seeds from which
have sprung the trees and mosses with which it is clothed. Rain-water
filled the lagoon, and produced the little river; vegetation transformed
the appearance of the ground; but beneath the lake, beneath the soil
of earth and sand--in a word, beneath our feet is a foundation of ice,
which floats upon the water by reason of its being specifically lighter
than it. Yes, it is a sheet of ice which bears us up, and is carrying us
away, and this is why we have not found a single flint or stone upon its
surface. This is why its shores are perpendicular, this is why we found
ice ten feet below the surface when we dug the reindeer pit--this, in
short, is why the tide was not noticeable on the peninsula, which rose
and sank with the ebb and flow of the waves!”
“Everything is indeed explained,” said Mrs Barnett, “and your
presentiments did not deceive you; but can you explain why the tides,
which do not affect us at all now, were to a slight extent perceptible
on our arrival?”
“Simply because, madam, on our arrival the peninsula was still
connected by means of its flexible isthmus with the American continent.
It offered a certain resistance to the current, and on its northern
shores the tide rose two feet beyond low-water mark, instead of the
twenty we reasonably expected. But from the moment when the earthquake
broke the connecting link, from the moment when the peninsula became an
island free from all control, it rose and sank with the ebb and flow of
the tide; and, as we noticed together at full moon a few days ago, no
sensible difference was produced on our shores.”
In spite of his despair, Thomas Black listened attentively to
Hobson’s explanations, and could not but see the reasonableness of his
deductions, but he was furious at such a rare, unexpected, and, as he
said, “ridiculous” phenomenon occurring just so as to make him
miss the eclipse, and he said not a word, but maintained a gloomy, even
haughty silence.
“Poor Mr Black,” said Mrs Barnett, “it must be owned that an
astronomer was never more hardly used than you since the world began!”
“In any case, however,” said Hobson, turning to her, “we have
neither of us anything to reproach ourselves with. No one can find
fault with us. Nature alone is to blame. The earthquake cut off our
communication with the mainland, and converted our peninsula into a
floating island, and this explains why the furred and other animals
imprisoned like ourselves, have become so numerous round the fort!”
“This, too, is why the rivals you so much dreaded have not visited us,
Lieutenant!” exclaimed Madge.
“And this,” added the Sergeant, “accounts for the non-arrival of
the convoy sent to Cape Bathurst by Captain Craventy.”
“And this is why,” said Mrs. Barnett, looking at the Lieutenant,
“I must give up all hope of returning to Europe this year at least!”
The tone of voice in which the lady made this last remark showed that
she resigned herself to her fate more readily than could have been
expected. She seemed suddenly to have made up her mind to make the best
of the situation, which would no doubt give her an opportunity of making
a great many interesting observations. And after all, what good would
grumbling have done? Recriminations were worse than useless. They could
not have altered their position, or have checked the course of the
wandering island, and there was no means of reuniting it to a continent.
No; God alone could decide the future of Fort Hope. They must bow to His
will.
CHAPTER II. WHERE ARE WE? It was necessary carefully to study the
unexpected and novel situation in which the agents of the Company now
found themselves, and Hobson did so with his chart before him.
He could not ascertain the longitude of Victoria Island--the original
name being retained--until the next day, and the latitude had
already been taken. For the longitude, the altitude of the sun must be
ascertained before and after noon, and two hour angles must be measured.
At two o’clock P.M. Hobson and Black took the height of the sun above
the horizon with the sextant, and they hoped to recommence the same
operation the next morning towards ten o’clock A.M., so as to be able
to infer from the two altitudes obtained the exact point of the Arctic
Ocean then occupied by their island.
The party did not, however, at once return to the fort, but remained
talking together for some little time on the promontory. Madge declared
she was quite resigned, and evidently thought only of her mistress, at
whom she could not look without emotion; she could not bear to think of
the sufferings and trials her “dear girl” might have to go through
in the future. She was ready to lay down her life for “Paulina,” but
what good could that do now. She knew, however, that Mrs Barnett was not
a woman to sink under her misfortunes, and indeed at present there was
really no need for any one to despair.
There was no immediate danger to be dreaded, and a catastrophe might
even yet be avoided. This Hobson carefully explained to his companions.
Two dangers threatened the island floating along the coast of North
America, only two.
It would be drawn by the currents of the open sea to the high Polar
latitudes, from which there is no return.
Or the current would take it to the south, perhaps through the Behring
Strait into the Pacific Ocean.
In the former contingency, the colonists, shut in by ice and surrounded
by impassable icebergs, would have no means of communication with their
fellow-creatures, and would die of cold and hunger in the solitudes of
the north.
In the latter contingency, Victoria Island, driven by the currents to
the western waters of the Pacific, would gradually melt and go to pieces
beneath the feet of its inhabitants.
In either case death would await the Lieutenant and his companions, and
the fort, erected at the cost of so much labour and suffering, would be
destroyed.
But it was scarcely probable that either of these events would happen.
The season was already considerably advanced, and in less than three
months the sea would again be rendered motion less by the icy hand of
the Polar winter. The ocean would again be converted into an ice-field,
and by means of sledges they might get to the nearest land--the coast
of Russian America if the island remained in the east, or the coast of
Asia if it were driven to the west.
“For,” added Hobson, “we have absolutely no control over our
floating island. Having no sail to hoist, as in a boat, we cannot guide
it in the least. Where it takes us we must go.”
All that Hobson said was clear, concise, and to the point. There could
be no doubt that the bitter cold of winter would solder Victoria Island
to the vast ice-field, and it was highly probable that it would drift
neither too far north nor too far eouth. To have to cross a few hundred
miles of ice was no such terrible prospect for brave and resolute
men accustomed to long excursions in the Arctic regions. It would be
necessary, it was true, to abandon Fort Hope--the object of so many
hopes, and to lose the benefit of all their exertions, but what of that?
The factory, built upon a shifting soil, could be of no further use to
the Company. Sooner or later it would be swallowed up by the ocean, and
what was the good of useless regrets? It must, therefore, be deserted as
soon as circumstances should permit.
The only thing against the safety of the colonists was--and the
Lieutenant dwelt long on this point--that during the eight or nine
weeks which must elapse before the solidification of the Arctic Ocean,
Victoria Island might be dragged too far north or south.
Arctic explorers had often told of pieces of ice being drifted an
immense distance without any possibility of stopping them.
Everything then depended on the force and direction of the currents from
the opening of Behring Strait; and it would be necessary carefully to
ascertain all that a chart of the Arctic Ocean could tell. Hobson had
such a chart, and invited all who were with him on the cape to come to
his room and look at it; but before going down to the fort he once more
urged upon them the necessity of keeping their situation a secret.
“It is not yet desperate,” he said, “and it is therefore quite
unnecessary to damp the spirits of our comrades, who will perhaps not be
able to understand, as we do, all the chances in our favour.”
“Would it not be prudent to build a boat large enough to hold us
all, and strong enough to carry us a few hundred miles over the sea?”
observed Mrs Barnett.
“It would be prudent certainly,” said Hobson, “and we will do it.
I must think of some pretext for beginning the work at once, and give
the necessary orders to the head carpenter. But taking to a boat can
only be a forlorn hope when everything else has failed. We must try all
we can to avoid being on the island when the ice breaks up, and we must
make for the mainland as soon as ever the sea is frozen over.”
Hobson was right. It would take about three months to build a thirty
or thirty-five ton vessel, and the sea would not be open when it was
finished. It would be very dangerous to embark the whole party when
the ice was breaking up all round, and he would be well out of his
difficulties if he could get across the ice to firm ground before the
next thaw set in. This was why Hobson thought a boat a forlorn hope, a
desperate makeshift, and every one agreed with him.
Secrecy was once more promised, for it was felt that Hobson was the best
judge of the matter, and a few minutes later the five conspirators were
seated together in the large room of Fort Hope, which was then deserted,
eagerly examining an excellent map of the oceanic and atmospheric
currents of the Arctic Ocean, special attention being naturally given to
that part of the Polar Sea between Cape Bathurst and Behring Strait.
Two principal currents divide the dangerous latitudes comprehended
between the Polar Circle and the imperfectly known zone, called the
North-West Passage since McClure’s daring discovery--at least only
two have been hitherto noticed by marine surveyors.
One is called the Kamtchatka Current. It takes its rise in the offing
outside the peninsula of that name, follows the coast of Asia, and
passes through Behring Strait, touching Cape East, a promontory of
Siberia. After running due north for about six hundred miles from the
strait, it turns suddenly to the east, pretty nearly following the same
parallel as McClure’s Passage, and probably doing much to keep that
communication open for a few mouths in the warm season.
The other current, called Behring Current, flows just the other way.
After running from east to west at about a hundred miles at the
most from the coast, it comes into collision, so to speak, with the
Kamtchatka Current at the opening of the strait, and turning to the
south approaches the shores of Russian America, crosses Behring Sea,
and finally breaks on the kind of circular dam formed by the Aleutian
Islands.
Hobson’s map gave a very exact summary of the most recent nautical
observations, so that it could be relied on.
The Lieutenant examined it carefully before speaking, and then pressing
his hand to his head, as if oppressed by some sad presentiment, he
observed--
“Let us hope that fate will not take us to remote northern latitudes.
Our wandering island would run a risk of never returning.”
“Why, Lieutenant?” broke in Mrs Barnett.
“Why, madam?” replied Hobson; “look well at this part of the
Arctic Ocean, and you will readily understand why. Two currents, both
dangerous for us, run opposite ways. When they meet, the island must
necessarily become stationary, and that at a great distance from any
land. At that point it will have to remain for the winter, and when the
next thaw sets in, it will either follow the Kamtchatka Current to
the deserted regions of the north-west, or it will float down with the
Behring Current to be swallowed up by the Pacific Ocean.”
“That will not happen, Lieutenant,” said Madge in a tone of earnest
conviction; “God would never permit that.”
“I can’t make out,” said Mrs Barnett, “whereabouts in the Polar
Sea we are at this moment; for I see but one current from the offing of
Cape Bathurst which bears directly to the north-west, and that is the
dangerous Kamtchatka Current. Are you not afraid that it has us in
its fatal embrace, and is carrying us with it to the shores of North
Georgia?”
“I think not,” replied Hobson, after a moment’s reflection.
“Why not?”
“Because it is a very rapid current, madam; and if we had been
following it for three months, we should have had some land in sight by
this time, and there is none, absolutely none!”
“Where, then, do you suppose we are?” inquired Mrs Barnett.
“Most likely between the Kamtchatka Current and the coast, perhaps in
some vast eddy unmarked upon the map.”
“That cannot be, Lieutenant,” replied Mrs Barnett, quickly.
“Why not, madam, why not?”
“Because if Victoria Island were in an eddy, it would have veered
round to a certain extent, and our position with regard to the cardinal
points would have changed in the last three months, which is certainly
not the case.”
“You are right, madam, you are quite right. The only explanation I can
think of is, that there is some other current, not marked on our map.
Oh, that to morrow were here that I might find out our longitude; really
this uncertainty is terrible!”
“To-morrow will come,” observed Madge.
There was nothing to do but to wait. The party therefore separated,
all returning to their ordinary occupations. Sergeant Long informed his
comrades that the departure for Fort Reliance, fixed for the next day,
was put off. He gave as reasons that the season was too far advanced
to get to the southern factory before the great cold set in, that the
astronomer was anxious to complete his meteorological observations, and
would therefore submit to another winter in the north, that game was so
plentiful provisions from Fort Reliance were not needed. &c., &c. But
about all these matters the brave fellows cared little.
Lieutenant Hobson ordered his men to spare the furred animals in future,
and only to kill edible game, so as to lay up fresh stores for the
coming winter; he also forbade them to go more than two miles from the
fort, not wishing Marbre and Sabine to come suddenly upon a sea-horizon,
where the isthmus connecting the peninsula of Victoria with the mainland
was visible a few months before. The disappearance of the neck of land
would inevitably have betrayed everything.
The day appeared endless to Lieutenant Hobson. Again and again he
returned to Cape Bathurst either alone, or accompanied by Mrs Barnett.
The latter, inured to danger, showed no fear; she even joked the
Lieutenant about his floating island being perhaps, after all, the
proper conveyance for going to the North Pole. “With a favourable
current might they not reach that hitherto inaccessible point of the
globe?”
Lieutenant Hobson shook his head as he listened to his companion’s
fancy, and kept his eyes fixed upon the horizon, hoping to catch a
glimpse of some land, no matter what, in the distance. But no, sea and
sky met in an absolutely unbroken circular line, confirming Hobson’s
opinion that Victoria Island was drifting to the west rather than in any
other direction.
“Lieutenant,” at last said Mrs Barnett, “don’t you mean to make
a tour of our island as soon as possible?”
“Yes, madam, of course; as soon as I have taken our bearings, I mean
to ascertain the form and extent of our dominions. It seems, however,
that the fracture was made at the isthmus itself, so that the whole
peninsula has become an island.”
“A strange destiny is ours, Lieutenant,” said Mrs Barnett. “Others
return from their travels to add new districts to geographical maps, but
we shall have to efface the supposed peninsula of Victoria!”
The next day, July 18th, the sky was very clear, and at ten o’clock
in the morning Hobson obtained a satisfactory altitude of the sun,
and, comparing it with that of the observation of the day before, he
ascertained exactly the longitude in which they were.
The island was then in 157° 37’ longitude west from Greenwich.
The latitude obtained the day before at noon almost immediately after
the eclipse was, as we know, 73° 7’ 20” north.
The spot was looked out on the map in the presence of Mrs Barnett and
Sergeant Long.
It was indeed a most anxious moment, and the following result was
arrived at.
The wandering island was moving in a westerly direction, borne along by
a current unmarked on the chart, and unknown to hydrographers, which was
evidently carrying it towards Behring Strait. All the dangers foreseen
by Hobson were then imminent, if Victoria Island did not again touch the
mainland before the winter.
“But how far are we from the American continent? that is the most
important point just at present,” said Mrs Barnett.
Hobson took his compasses, and carefully measured the narrowest part of
the sea between the coast and the seventieth parallel.
“We are actually more than two hundred and fifty miles from Point
Barrow, the northernmost extremity of Russian America,” he replied.
“We ought to know, then, how many miles the island has drifted since
it left the mainland,” said Sergeant Long.
“Seven hundred miles at least,” replied Hobson, after having again
consulted the chart.
“And at about what time do you suppose the drifting commenced?”
“Most likely towards the end of April; the ice-field broke up then,
and the icebergs which escaped melting drew back to the north. We may,
therefore, conclude that Victoria Island has been moving along with
the current parallel with the coast at an average rate of ten miles a
day.”
“No very rapid pace after all!” exclaimed Mrs Barnett.
“Too fast, madam, when you think where we may be taken during the
two months in which the sea will remain open in this part of the Arctic
Ocean.”
The three friends remained silent, and looked fixedly at the chart of
the fearful Polar regions, towards which they were being irresistibly
drawn, and which have hitherto successfully resisted all attempts to
explore them.
“There is, then, nothing to be done? Nothing to try?” said Mrs
Barnett after a pause.
“Nothing, madam,” replied Hobson; “nothing whatever. We must wait;
we must all pray for the speedy arrival of the Arctic winter generally
so much dreaded by sailors, but which alone can save us now. The winter
will bring ice, our only anchor of salvation, the only power which can
arrest the course of this wandering island.”
CHAPTER III. A TOUR OF THE ISLAND. From that day, July 18th, it was
decided that the bearings should be taken as on board a vessel whenever
the state of the atmosphere rendered the operation possible. Was not the
island, in fact, a disabled ship, tossed about without sails or helm.
The next day after taking the bearings, Hobson announced that without
change of latitude the island had advanced several miles farther west.
Mac-Nab was ordered to commence the construction of a huge boat, Hobson
telling him, in explanation, that he proposed making a reconnaissance of
the coast as far as Russian America next summer. The carpenter asked no
further questions, but proceeded to choose his wood, and fixed upon the
beach at the foot of Cape Bathurst as his dockyard, so that he might
easily be able to launch his vessel.
Hobson intended to set out the same day on his excursion round the
island in which he and his comrades were imprisoned. Many changes might
take place in the configuration of this sheet of ice, subject as it was
to the influence of the variable temperature of the waves, and it was
important to determine its actual form at the present time, its area,
and its thickness in different parts. The point of rupture, which was
most likely at the isthmus itself, ought to be examined with special
care; the fracture being still fresh, it might be possible to ascertain
the exact arrangement of the stratified layers of ice and earth of which
the soil of the island was composed.
But in the afternoon the sky clouded over suddenly, and a violent
squall, accompanied with thick mists, swept down upon the fort.
Presently torrents of rain fell, and large hailstones rattled on the
roof, whilst a few distant claps of thunder were heard, a phenomenon of
exceedingly rare occurrence in such elevated latitudes.
Hobson was obliged to put off his trip, and wait until the fury of the
elements abated, but during the 20th, 2lst, and 22d July, no change
occurred. The storm raged, the floods of heaven were let loose, and the
waves broke upon the beach with a deafening roar. Liquid avalanches were
flung with such force upon Cape Bathurst, that there was reason to
dread that it might give way; its stability was, in fact, somewhat
problematical, as it consisted merely of an aggregation of sand and
earth, without any firm foundation. Vessels at sea might well be pitied
in this fearful gale, but the floating island was of too vast a bulk to
be affected by the agitation of the waves, and remained indifferent to
their fury.
During the night of the 22d July the tempest suddenly ceased. A strong
breeze from the north-east dispelled the last mists upon the horizon.
The barometer rose a few degrees, and the weather appeared likely to
favour Hobson’s expedition.
He was to be accompanied by Mrs Barnett and Sergeant Long, and expected
to be absent a day or two. The little party took some salt meat,
biscuits, and a few flasks of rum with them, and there was nothing in
their excursion to surprise the rest of the colonists. The days were
just then very long, the sun only disappearing below the horizon for a
few hours.
There were no wild animals to be feared now. The bears seemed to have
fled by instinct from the peninsula whilst it was still connected with
the mainland, but to neglect no precaution each of the three explorers
was provided with a gun. The Lieutenant and his subordinate also carried
hatchets and ice-chisels, which a traveller in the Polar regions should
never be without.
During the absence of the Lieutenant and the Sergeant, the command of
the fort fell to Corporal Joliffe, or rather to his little wife, and
Hobson knew that he could trust her. Thomas Black could not be depended
on; he would not even join the exploring party; he promised, however,
to watch the northern latitudes very carefully, and to note any change
which should take place in the sea or the position of the cape during
the absence of the Lieutenant.
Mrs Barnett had endeavoured to reason with the unfortunate astronomer,
but he would listen to nothing. He felt that Nature had deceived him,
and that he could never forgive her.
After many a hearty farewell, the Lieutenant and his two companions left
the fort by the postern gate, and, turning to the west, followed the
lengthened curve of the coast between Capes Bathurst and Esquimaux.
It was eight o’clock in the morning; the oblique rays of the sun
struck upon the beach, and touched it with many a brilliant tint,
the angry billows of the sea were sinking to rest, and the birds,
ptarmigans, guillemots, puffins, and petrels, driven away by the storm,
were returning by thousands. Troops of ducks were hastening back to Lake
Barnett, flying close, although they knew it not, to Mrs Joliffe’s
saucepan. Polar hares, martens, musk rats, and ermines rose before the
travellers and fled at their approach, but not with any great appearance
of haste or terror. The animals evidently felt drawn towards their old
enemies by a common danger.
“They know well enough that they are hemmed in by the sea and cannot
quit the island,” observed Hobson.
“They are all in the habit of seeking warmer climates in the south in
the winter, are they not?” inquired Mrs Barnett.
“Yes, madam, but unless they are presently able to cross the
ice-field, they will have to remain prisoners like ourselves, and I am
afraid the greater number will die of cold or hunger.
“I hope they will be good enough to supply us with food for a long
time,” observed the Sergeant,” and I think it is very fortunate that
they had not the sense to run away before the rupture of the isthmus.”
“The birds will, however, leave us?” added Mrs Barnett.
“Oh yes, madam, everything with wings will go, they can traverse long
distances without fatigue, and, more fortunate than ourselves, they will
regain terra firma.”
“Could we not use them as messengers?” asked Mrs Barnett.
“A good idea, madam, a capital idea,” said Hobson. “We might
easily catch some hundreds of these birds, and tie a paper round their
necks with our exact situation written upon it. John Ross in 1848 tried
similar means to acquaint the survivors of the Franklin expedition with
the presence of his ships, the Enterprise and the Investigator in the
Polar seas. He caught some hundreds of white foxes in traps, rivetted a
copper collar round the neck of each with all the necessary information
engraved upon it, and then set them free in every direction.”
“Perhaps some of the messengers may have fallen into the hands of the
shipwrecked wanderers.”
“Perhaps so,” replied Hobson; “I know that an old fox was taken by
Captain Hatteras during his voyage of discovery, wearing a collar half
worn away and hidden beneath his thick white fur. What we cannot do with
the quadrupeds, we will do with the birds.”
Chatting thus and laying plans for the future, the three explorers
continued to follow the coast. They noticed no change; the abrupt cliffs
covered with earth and sand showed no signs of a recent alteration in
the extent of the island. It was, however, to be feared that the vast
sheet of ice would be worn away at the base by the action of the warm
currents, and on this point Hobson was naturally anxious.
By eleven o’clock in the morning the eight miles between Capes
Bathurst and Esquimaux had been traversed. A few traces of the
encampment of Kalumah’s party still remained; of course the snow huts
had entirely disappeared, but some cinders and walrus bones marked the
spot.
The three explorers halted here for a short time, they intended to pass
the few short hours of the night at Walruses’ Bay, which they hoped
to reach In a few hours. They breakfasted seated on a slightly rising
ground covered with a scanty and stunted herbage. Before their eyes lay
the ocean bounded by a clearly-defined sea-horizon, without a sail or an
iceberg to break the monotony of the vast expanse of water.
“Should you be very much surprised if some vessel came In sight now,
Lieutenant?” inquired Mrs Barnett.
“I should be very agreeably surprised, madam,” replied Hobson.
“It is not at all uncommon for whalers to come as far north as
this, especially now that the Arctic Ocean is frequented by whales and
chacholots, but you must remember that it is the 23rd July, and the
summer is far advanced. The whole fleet of whaling vessels is probably
now in Gulf Kotzebue, at the entrance to the strait. Whalers shun the
sudden changes in the Arctic Ocean, and with good reason. They dread
being shut in the ice; and the icebergs, avalanches, and, ice-fields
they avoid, are the very things for which we earnestly pray.”
“They will come, Lieutenant,” said Long; “have patience, in
another two months the waves will no longer break upon the shores of
Cape Esquimaux.”
“Cape Esquimaux!” observed Mrs Barnett with a smile. “That name,
like those we gave to the other parts of the peninsula, may turn out
unfortunate too. We have lost Port Barnett and Paulina River; who can
tell whether Cape Esquimaux and Walruses’ Bay may not also disappear
in time?”
“They too will disappear, madam,” replied Hobson, “and after
them the whole of Victoria Island, for nothing now connects it with a
continent, and it is doomed to destruction. This result is inevitable,
and our choice of geographical names will be thrown away; but
fortunately the Royal Society has not yet adopted them, and Sir Roderick
Murchison will have nothing to efface on his maps.”
“One name he will,” exclaimed the Sergeant.
“Which?” inquired Hobson.
“Cape Bathurst,” replied Long.
“Ah, yes, you are right. Cape Bathurst must now be removed from maps
of the Polar regions.”
Two hours’ rest were all the explorers cared for, and at one o’clock
they prepared to resume their journey.
Before starting Hobson once more looked round him from the summit of
Cape Esquimaux; but seeing nothing worthy of notice, he rejoined Mrs
Barnett and Sergeant Long.
“Madam,” he said, addressing the lady, “you have not forgotten the
family of natives we met here last winter?”
“Oh no, I have always held dear little Kalumah in friendly
remembrance. She promised to come and see us again at Fort Hope, but
she will not be able to do so. But why do you ask me about the natives
now?”
“Because I remember something to which, much to my regret, I did not
at the time attach sufficient importance.”
“What was that?”
“You remember the uneasy surprise the men manifested at finding a big
a factory at the foot of Cape Bathurst.”
“Oh yes, perfectly.”
“You remember that I tried to make out what the natives meant, and
that I could not do so?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Well,” added Hobsou, “I know now why they shook their heads.
From tradition, experience, or something, the Esquimaux knew what the
peninsula really was, they knew we had not built on firm ground. But as
things had probably remained as they were for centuries, they thought
there was no immediate danger, and that it was not worth while to
explain themselves.”
“Very likely you are right,” replied Mrs Barnett; “but I feel sure
that Kalumah had no suspicion of her companion’s fears, or she would
have warned us.”
Hobson quite agreed with Mrs Barnett, and Sergeant Long observed--
“It really seems to have been by a kind of fatality that we settled
ourselves upon this peninsula just before it was torn away from the
mainland. I suppose, Lieutenant, that it had been connected for a very
long time, perhaps for centuries.”
“You might say for thousands and thousands of years, Sergeant,”
replied Hobson. “Remember that the soil on which we are treading
has been brought here by the wind, little by little, that the sand has
accumulated grain by grain! Think of the time it must have taken for the
seeds of firs, willows, and arbutus to become shrubs and trees! Perhaps
the sheet of ice on which we float was welded to the continent before
the creation of man!”
“Well,” cried Long, “it really might have waited a few centuries
longer before it drifted. How much anxiety and how many dangers we might
then have been spared!”
Sergeant Long’s most sensible remark closed the conversation, and the
journey was resumed.
From Cape Esquimaux to Walruses’ Bay the coast ran almost due south,
following the one hundred and twenty-seventh meridian. Looking behind
them they could see one corner of the lagoon, its waters sparkling in
the sunbeams, and a little beyond the wooded heights in which it was
framed. Large eagles soared above their heads, their cries and the loud
flapping of their wings breaking the stillness, and furred animals
of many kinds, martens, polecats, ermines, &c., crouching behind some
rising ground, or hiding amongst the stunted bushes and willows, gazed
inquiringly at the intruders. They seemed to understand that they had
nothing to fear. Hobson caught a glimpse of a few beavers wandering
about, evidently ill at ease, and puzzled at the disappearance of the
little river. With no ledges to shelter them, and no stream by which to
build a new home, they were doomed to die of cold when the severe frost
set in. Sergeant Long also saw a troop of wolves crossing the plain.
It was evident that specimens of the whole Arctic Fauna were imprisoned
on the island, and there was every reason to fear that, when famished
with hunger, all the carnivorous beasts would be formidable enemies to
the occupants of Fort Hope.
Fortunately, however, one race of animals appeared to be quite
unrepresented. Not a single white bear was seen! Once the Sergeant
thought he saw an enormous white mass moving about on the other side
of a clump of willows, but on close examination decided that he was
mistaken.
The coast near Walruses’ Bay was, on the whole, only slightly elevated
above the sea-level, and in the distance the waves broke into running
foam as they do upon a sloping beach. It was to be feared that the
soil had little stability, but there was no means of judging of the
modifications which had taken place since their last visit, and Hobson
much regretted that he had not made bench marks about Cape Bathurst
before he left, that he might judge of the amount of sinking or
depression which took place. He determined, however, to take this
precaution on his return.
It will be understood that, under the circumstances, the party did not
advance very rapidly. A pause was often made to examine the soil, or to
see if there were any sign of an approaching fracture on the coast, and
sometimes the explorers wandered inland for half a mile. Here and there
the Sergeant planted branches of willow or birch to serve as landmarks
for the future, especially wherever undermining seemed to be going on
rapidly and the solidity of the ground was doubtful. By this means it
would be easy to ascertain the changes which might take place.
They did advance, however, and at three o’clock in the afternoon
they were only three miles from Walruses’ Bay, and Hobson called Mrs
Barnett’s attention to the important changes which had been effected
by the rupture of the isthmus.
Formerly the south-western horizon was shut in by a long slightly
curved coast-line, formed by the shores of Liverpool Bay. Now a sea-line
bounded the view, the continent having disappeared. Victoria Island
ended in an abrupt angle where it had broken off, and all felt sure that
on turning round that angle the ocean would be spread out before them,
and that its waves would bathe the whole of the southern side of the
island, which was once the connecting-link between Walruses’ Bay and
Washburn Bay.
Mrs Barnett could not look at the changed aspect of the scene without
emotion. She had expected it, and yet her heart beat almost audibly.
She gazed across the sea for the missing continent, which was now left
several hundred miles behind, and it rushed upon her mind with a fresh
shock that she would never set foot on America again. Her agitation was
indeed excusable, and it was shared by the Lieutenant and the Sergeant.
All quickened their steps, eager to reach the abrupt angle in the south.
The ground rose slightly as they advanced, and the layers of earth
and sand became thicker; this of course was explained by the former
proximity of this part of the coast to the true continent. The thickness
of the crust of ice and of the layer of earth at the point of junction
increasing, as it probably did, every century, explained the long
resistance of the isthmus, which nothing but some extraordinary
convulsion could have overcome. Such a convulsion was the earthquake of
the 8th January, which, although it had only affected the continent of
North America, had sufficed to break the connecting-link, and to launch
Victoria Island upon the wide ocean.
At four o’clock P.M., the angle was reached. Walruses’ Bay, formed
by an indentation of the firm ground, had disappeared! It had remained
behind with the continent
“By my faith, madam!” exclaimed the Sergeant, “it’s lucky for
you we didn’t call it Paulina Barnett Bay!”
“Yes,” replied the lady, “I begin to think I am an unlucky
godmother for newly-discovered places.”
CHAPTER IV. A NIGHT ENCAMPMENT. And so Hobson had not been mistaken
about the point of rupture. It was the isthmus which had yielded in
the shock of the earthquake. Not a trace was to be seen of the American
continent, not a single cliff, even the volcano on the west had
disappeared. Nothing but the sea everywhere.
The island on this side ended in a cape, coming to an almost sharp
point, and it was evident that the substratum of ice, fretted by
the warmer waters of the current and exposed to all the fury of the
elements, must rapidly dissolve.
The explorers resumed their march, following the course of the fracture,
which ran from west to east in an almost straight line. Its edges were
not jagged or broken, but clear cut, as if the division had been made
with a sharp instrument, and here and there the conformation of the soil
could be easily examined. The banks- half ice, half sand and earth-rose
some ten feet from the water. They were perfectly perpendicular, without
the slightest slope, and in some places there were traces of recent
landslips. Sergeant Long pointed to several small blocks of ice floating
in the offing, and rapidly melting, which had evidently been broken off
from their island. The action of the warm surf would, of course, soon
eat away the new coast-line, which time had not yet clothed with a kind
of cement of snow and sand, such as covered the rest of the beach, and
altogether the state of things was very far from reassuring.
Before taking any rest, Mrs Barnett, Hobson, and Long, were anxious to
finish their examination of the southern edge of the island. There would
be plenty of daylight, for the sun would not set until eleven o’clock
P.M. The briliant orb of day was slowly advancing along the western
horizon, and its oblique rays cast long shadows of themselves before the
explorers, who conversed at intervals after long silent pauses, during
which they gazed at the sea and thought of the dark future before them.
Hobson intended to encamp for the night at Washburn Bay. When there
eighteen miles would have been traversed, and, if he were not mistaken,
half his circular journey would be accomplished. After a few hours’
repose he meant to return to Fort Hope along the western coast.
No fresh incident marked the exploration of the short distance between
Walruses’ Bay and Washburn Bay, and at seven o’clock in the evening
the spot chosen for the encampment was reached. A similar change had
taken place here. Of Washburn Bay, nothing remained but the curve
formed by the coast-line of the island, and which was once its northern
boundary. It stretched away without a break for seven miles to the cape
they had named Cape Michael. This side of the island did not appear to
have suffered at all in consequence of the rupture. The thickets of pine
and birch, massed a little behind the cape, were in their fullest beauty
at this time of year, and a good many furred animals were disporting
themselves on the plain.
A halt was made at Washburn Bay, and the explorers were able to enjoy
an extended view on the south, although they could not see any great
distance on the north. The sun was so low on the horizon, that its rays
were intercepted by the rising ground on the west, and did not reach
the little bay. It was not, however, yet night, nor could it be called
twilight, as the sun had not set.
“Lieutenant,” said Long, “if by some miracle a bell were now to
ring, what do you suppose it would mean?”
“That it was supper-time,” replied Hobson. “Don’t you agree with
me, Mrs Barnett?”
“Indeed I do,” replied the lady addressed, “and as our cloth is
spread for us, let us sit down. This moss, although slightly worn, will
suit us admirably, and was evidently intended for us by Providence.”
The bag of provisions was opened; some salt meat, a hare paté from Mrs
Joliffe’s larder, with a few biscuits, formed their frugal supper.
The meal was quickly over, and Hobson returned to the southwest angle of
the island, whilst Mrs Barnett rested at the foot of a low fir tree, and
Sergeant Long made ready the night quarters.
The Lieutenant was anxious to examine the piece of ice which formed the
island, to ascertain, if possible, something of its structure. A little
bank, produced by a landslip, enabled him to step down to the level of
the sea, and from there he was able to look closely at the steep wall
which formed the coast. Where he stood the soil rose scarcely three feet
above the water. The upper part consisted of a thin layer of earth and
sand mixed with crushed shells; and the lower of hard, compact, and, if
we may so express it, “metallic” ice, strong enough to support the
upper soil of the island.
This layer of ice was not more than one foot above the sea-level. In
consequence of the recent fracture, it was easy to see the regular
disposition of the sheets of ice piled up horizontally, and which had
evidently been produced by successive frosts in comparatively quieter
waters.
We know that freezing commences on the surface of liquids, and as
the cold increases, the thickness of the crust becomes greater, the
solidification proceeding from the top downwards. That at least is the
case in waters that are at rest; it has, however, been observed that
the very reverse is the case in running waters-the ice forming at the
bottom, and subsequently rising to the surface.
It was evident, then, that the floe which formed the foundation of
Victoria Island had been formed in calm waters on the shores of the
North American continent. The freezing had evidently commenced on
the surface, and the thaw would begin at the bottom, according to a
well-known law; so that the ice-field would gradually decrease in weight
as it became thawed by the warmer waters through which it was passing,
and the general level of the island would sink in proportion.
This was the great danger.
As we have just stated, Hobson noticed that the solid ice, the ice-field
properly so called, was only about one foot above the sea-level! We know
that four-fifths of a floating mass of ice are always submerged. For one
foot of an iceberg or ice-field above the water, there are four below
it. It must, however, be remarked that the density, or rather specific
weight of floating ice, varies considerably according to its mode
of formation or origin. The ice-masses which proceed from sea water,
porous, opaque, and tinged with blue or green, according as they are
struck by the rays of the sun, are lighter than ice formed from fresh
water. All things considered, and making due allowance for the weight of
the mineral and vegetable layer above the ice. Hobson concluded it to
be about four or five feet thick below the sea-level. The different
declivities of the island, the little hills and rising ground, would of
course only affect the upper soil, and it might reasonably be supposed
that the wandering island was not immersed more than five feet.
This made Hobson very anxious. Only five feet! Setting aside the causes
of dissolution to which the ice-field might be subjected, would not the
slightest shock cause a rupture of the surface? Might not a rough sea or
a gale of wind cause a dislocation of the ice-field, which would lead to
its breaking up into small portions, and to its final decomposition? Oh
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