Indians of his own country; he crept over the ground with his gun and
arms outstretched like the horns of one of these shy animals, and
having thus come within easy gunshot, he could not fail.
But the best game, the musk-ox, of which Parry found plenty at
Melville Island, appeared not to frequent the shores of Victoria Bay.
A distant hunt was determined on, as much to get these valuable
animals as to reconnoitre the eastern lands. Hatteras did not propose
to reach the Pole by this part of the continent, but the doctor was
not sorry to get a general idea of the country. Hence they decided to
start to the east of Fort Providence. Altamont intended to hunt; Duke
naturally was of the party.
[Illustration]
So, Monday, June 17th, a pleasant day, with the thermometer at 41°,
and the air quiet and clear, the three hunters, each carrying a
double-barrelled gun, a hatchet, a snow-knife, and followed by Duke,
left Doctor's House at six o'clock in the morning. They were fitted
out for a trip of two or three days, with the requisite amount of
provisions. By eight o'clock Hatteras and his two companions had gone
eight miles. Not a living thing had tempted a shot, and their hunt
threatened to be merely a trip.
This new country exhibited vast plains running out of sight; new
streams divided them everywhere, and large, unruffled pools reflected
the sun. The layers of melting ice bared the ground to their feet; it
belonged to the great division of sedimentary earth, and the result of
the action of the water, which is so common on the surface of the
globe. Still a few erratic blocks were seen of a singular nature,
foreign to the soil where they were found, and whose presence it was
hard to explain. Schists and different productions of limestone were
found in abundance, as was also a sort of strange, transparent,
colorless crystal, which has a refraction peculiar to Iceland spar.
[Illustration]
But, although he was not hunting, the doctor had not time to
geologize; he had to walk too quickly, in order to keep up with his
friends. Still, he observed the land and talked as much as possible,
for had he not there would have been total silence in the little band;
neither Altamont nor the captain had any desire to talk to one
another.
By ten o'clock the hunters had got a dozen miles to the east; the sea
was hidden beneath the horizon; the doctor proposed a halt for
breakfast. They swallowed it rapidly, and in half an hour they were
off again. The ground was sloping gently; a few patches of snow,
preserved either by their position or the slope of the rocks, gave it
a woolly appearance, like waves in a high wind. The country was still
barren, and looking as if no living being had ever set foot in it.
"We have no luck," said Altamont to the doctor; "to be sure, the
country doesn't offer much food to animals, but the game here ought
not to be over-particular, and ought to show itself."
"Don't let us despair," said the doctor; "the summer has hardly begun;
and if Parry met so many animals at Melville Island, we may be as
lucky here."
[Illustration]
"Still, we are farther north," said Hatteras.
"Certainly, but that is unimportant; it is the pole of cold we ought
to consider; that is to say, that icy wilderness in the middle of
which we wintered with the -Forward-; now the farther north we go, the
farther we are from the coldest part of the globe; we ought to find,
beyond, what Parry, Ross, and others found on the other side."
"Well," said Altamont, with a regretful sigh, "so far we've been
travellers rather than hunters."
"Be patient," answered the doctor; "the country is changing gradually,
and I should be astonished if we don't find game enough in the ravines
where vegetation has had a chance to sprout."
"It must be said," continued Altamont, "that we are going through an
uninhabited and uninhabitable country."
"O, uninhabitable is a strong word!" answered the doctor; "I can't
believe any land uninhabitable; man, by many sacrifices, and for
generations using all the resources of science, might finally
fertilize such a country."
[Illustration]
"Do you think so?" asked Altamont.
"Without doubt! If you were to go to the celebrated countries of the
world, to Thebes, Nineveh, or Babylon, in the fertile valleys of our
ancestors, it would seem impossible that men should ever have lived
there; the air itself has grown bad since the disappearance of human
beings. It is the general law of nature which makes those countries in
which we do not live unhealthy and sterile, like those out of which
life has died. In fact, man himself makes his own country by his
presence, his habits, his industry, and, I might add, by his breath;
he gradually modifies the exhalations of the soil and the atmospheric
conditions, and he makes the air he breathes wholesome. So there are
uninhabited lands, I grant, but none uninhabitable."
Talking in this way, the hunters, who had become naturalists, pushed
on and reached a sort of valley, fully exposed, at the bottom of which
a river, nearly free of ice, was flowing; its southern exposure had
brought forth a certain amount of vegetation. The earth showed a
strong desire to grow fertile; with a few inches of rich soil it would
have produced a good deal. The doctor called their attention to these
indications.
"See," he said, "a few hardy colonists might settle in this ravine.
With industry and perseverance they could do a great deal; not as much
as is seen in the temperate zones, but a respectable show. If I am not
mistaken, there are some four-footed animals! They know the good
spots."
"They are Arctic hares," shouted Altamont, cocking his gun.
"Wait a moment," cried the doctor,--"wait a moment, you hasty fellow.
They don't think of running away! See, they'll come to us!"
[Illustration]
And, in fact, three or four young hares, springing about in the heath
and young moss, ran boldly towards the three men; they were so cunning
that even Altamont was softened.
Soon they were between the doctor's legs; he caressed them with his
hand, saying,--
"Why shoot these little animals which come to be petted? We need not
kill them."
"You are right, Doctor," answered Hatteras; "we'll let them live."
"And these ptarmigan, too, which are flying towards us!" cried
Altamont; "and these long-legged water-fowl!"
A whole flock of birds passed over the hunters, not suspecting the
peril from which the doctor's presence saved them. Even Duke was
compelled to admire them.
They were a curious and touching sight, flying about without fear,
resting on Clawbonny's shoulders, lying at his feet, offering
themselves to his caresses, seeming to do their best to welcome their
new guests; they called one another joyously, flying from the most
distant points; the doctor seemed to be a real bird-charmer. The
hunters continued their march up the moist banks of the brook,
followed by the familiar band, and turning from the valley they
perceived a troop of eight or ten reindeer browsing on a few lichens
half buried beneath the snow; they were graceful, quiet animals, with
their branching antlers, which the female carried as well as the male;
their wool-like fur was already losing its winter whiteness in favor
of the summer brown and gray; they seemed no more timid than the hares
and birds of the country. Such were the relations of the first men to
the first animals in the early ages of the world.
[Illustration: "They were a curious and touching sight, flying about
without fear, resting on Clawbonny's shoulders," etc.]
The hunters reached the middle of the band without any one flying;
this time the doctor found it hard to restrain the instincts of
Altamont, who could not calmly look on this game without a thirst for
blood rising in his brain. Hatteras looked mildly at these gentle
beasts, who rubbed their noses against the doctor's clothes; he was
the friend of all the animals.
"But," said Altamont, "didn't we come here to shoot?"
"To shoot musk-ox," answered Clawbonny, "and nothing else! We should
have no need of this game; we have food enough, so let us enjoy the
sight of man walking thus among these animals, without alarming them."
"That proves they have never seen one before," said Hatteras.
"Evidently," answered the doctor; "and so we can be sure that these
animals are not of American origin."
"And why so?" said Altamont.
"If they were born on the continent of North America, they would know
what to think of men, and they would have fled at the sight of us. No;
they probably came from the north, from those unknown lands where our
kind has never set foot, and they have crossed the continents near the
Pole. So, Altamont, you can't claim them as your fellow-countrymen."
"O," answered Altamont, "a hunter does not scrutinize so closely, and
the game belongs to the land where it was shot!"
"Well, calm yourself, my Nimrod! As for me, I would rather never fire
a gun in my life than alarm this timid population. See, even Duke
fraternizes with the charming beasts! Come, we'll be kind when we can!
Kindness is a force!"
"Well, well," answered Altamont, who sympathized but slightly with
this sensitiveness; "but I should be amused to see you armed with this
kindness alone among a flock of bears or wolves!"
[Illustration]
"O, I don't pretend to charm wild beasts!" answered the doctor; "I
have little faith in the enchantment of Orpheus; besides, bears and
wolves wouldn't come up to us like the hares, partridges, and
reindeer."
"Why not," answered Altamont, "if they have never seen men?"
"Because they are naturally ferocious, and ferocity, like
maliciousness, begets suspicion; a remark which is true of man as well
as of animals. A wicked man is distrustful, and fear is commonly found
in those who are able to inspire it."
This little lesson in natural philosophy ended the conversation.
The whole day was passed in this Northern Arcadia, as the doctor named
the valley, with the consent of his companions; and that evening,
after a supper which had not cost the life of a single inhabitant of
the country, the three hunters went to sleep in a cleft of a rock
which was admirably adapted for a shelter.
CHAPTER XVII.
ALTAMONT'S REVENGE.
The next day the doctor and his two companions woke up after a
perfectly quiet night. The cold, although not keen, increased towards
daybreak, but they were well covered, and slept soundly under the
watch of the peaceful animals.
The weather being pleasant, they resolved to consecrate the day to a
reconnaissance of the country, and the search of musk-oxen. Altamont
insisted on shooting something, and they decided that, even if these
oxen should be the gentlest animals in the world, they should be shot.
Besides, their flesh, although strongly flavored with musk, was
pleasant eating, and they all hoped to carry back to Fort Providence a
good supply of it.
During the early morning hours nothing noteworthy took place; the land
grew different in the northeast; a few elevations, the beginning of a
mountainous district, indicated a change. If this New America were not
a continent, it was at any rate an important island; but then they did
not have to trouble themselves about its geography.
Duke ran ahead, and soon came across some traces of a herd of
musk-oxen; he then advanced rapidly, and soon disappeared from the
eyes of the hunters. They followed his clear barking, which soon grew
so hasty that they knew he had discovered the object of their search.
They pushed on, and in an hour and a half they came up to two of these
animals; they were large, and formidable in appearance. They appeared
much surprised at Duke's attacks, but not alarmed; they were feeding
off a sort of reddish moss which grew on the thin soil. The doctor
recognized them at once from their moderate height, their horns, which
were broad at the base, the absence of muzzle, their sheep-like
forehead, and short tail; their shape has earned for them from
naturalists the name of "ovibos," a compound, and which expresses the
two sorts of animals whose characteristics they share. Thick, long
hair and a sort of delicate brown silk formed their fur.
[Illustration]
They ran away when they saw the two hunters, who came running up after
them. It was hard to reach them for men who were out of breath after
running half an hour. Hatteras and his companions stopped.
"The Devil!" said Altamont.
"That's just the word," said the doctor, as soon as he could take
breath. "I'll grant they are Americans, and they can't have a very
good idea of your countrymen."
"That proves we are good hunters," answered Altamont.
Still, the musk-oxen, seeing they were not pursued, stopped in a
posture of surprise. It became evident that they could never be run
down; they would have to be surrounded; the plateau on which they were
aided this manoeuvre. The hunters, leaving Duke to harass them,
descended through the neighboring ravines, so as to get around the
plateau. Altamont and the doctor hid behind a rock at one end, while
Hatteras, suddenly advancing from the other end, should drive the oxen
towards them. In half an hour each had gained his post.
"You don't object any longer to our shooting?" asked Altamont.
"No, it's fair fighting," answered the doctor, who, in spite of
gentleness, was a real sportsman.
They were talking in this way, when they saw the oxen running, and
Duke at their heels; farther on Hatteras was driving them, with loud
cries, towards the American and the doctor, who ran to meet this
magnificent prey.
[Illustration]
At once the oxen stopped, and, less fearful of a single enemy, they
turned upon Hatteras. He awaited them calmly, aimed at the nearest,
and fired; but the bullet struck the animal in the middle of his
forehead, without penetrating the skull. Hatteras's second shot
produced no other effect than to make the beasts furious; they ran to
the disarmed hunter, and threw him down at once.
"He is lost," cried the doctor.
At the moment Clawbonny pronounced these words with an accent of
despair, Altamont made a step forward to run to Hatteras's aid; then
he stopped, struggling against himself and his prejudices.
"No," he cried, "that would be cowardice."
He hastened with Clawbonny to the scene of combat. His hesitation had
not lasted half a second. But if the doctor saw what was taking place
in the American's heart, Hatteras understood it, who would rather have
died than have implored his rival's interference. Still, he had hardly
time to perceive it, for Altamont appeared before him. Hatteras, lying
on the ground, was trying to ward off the horns and hoofs of the two
animals. But he could not long continue so unequal a struggle. He was
about to be torn in pieces, when two shots were heard. Hatteras heard
the bullets whistling by his head.
"Don't be frightened!" shouted Altamont, hurling his gun to one side,
and rushing upon the angry animals.
One of the oxen fell, shot through the heart; the other, wild with
rage, was just going to gore the captain, when Altamont faced him, and
plunged into his mouth his hand, armed with a snow-knife; with the
other he gave him a terrible blow with a hatchet on the head. This was
done with marvellous rapidity, and a flash of lightning would have lit
up the whole scene.
[Illustration: "Gave him a terrible blow with a hatchet on the head."]
The second ox fell back dead.
"Hurrah! hurrah!" cried Clawbonny.
Hatteras was saved. He owed his life to the man whom he detested most
in the world. What was going on in his mind at this time? What emotion
was there which he could not master? That is one of the secrets of the
heart which defy all analysis.
However that may be, Hatteras advanced to his rival without
hesitation, and said to him seriously,--
"You have saved my life, Altamont."
"You saved mine," answered the American. There was a moment's silence.
Then Altamont added, "We are now quits, Hatteras!"
"No, Altamont," answered the captain; "when the doctor took you from
your icy tomb, I did not know who you were, and you have saved me at
the risk of your own life, knowing who I was."
"You are a fellow-being," answered Altamont; "and whatever else he may
be, an American is not a coward."
"No, he is not," said the doctor; "he is a man! a man like you,
Hatteras!"
"And like me he shall share the glory which is awaiting us!"
"The glory of going to the North Pole?" said Altamont.
"Yes," said the captain, haughtily.
"I had guessed it!" exclaimed the American. "So you dared conceive of
this bold design! You dared try to reach that inaccessible point! Ah,
that is great! It is sublime!"
"But you," asked Hatteras, hurriedly, "were you not on your way to the
Pole?"
Altamont seemed to hesitate about replying.
"Well?" said the doctor.
"Well, no," answered the American,--"no; tell the truth, and shame the
Devil! No, I did not have this great idea, which has brought you here.
I was trying simply to sail through the Northwest Passage, that is
all."
"Altamont," said Hatteras, holding out his hand to the American,
"share our glory, and go with us to the North Pole!"
The two men then shook hands warmly.
When they turned towards the doctor, they saw his eyes full of tears.
"Ah, my friends," he murmured, as he dried his eyes, "how can my heart
hold the joy with which you fill it? My dear companions, you have
sacrificed a miserable question of nationality in order to unite in
your common success! You know that England and America have nothing to
do with all this; that mutual sympathy ought to bind you together
against the dangers of the journey! If the North Pole is discovered,
what difference does it make who does it? Why stand bickering about
English or American, when we can be proud of being men?"
The doctor embraced the reconciled foes; he could not restrain his
joy. The two new friends felt themselves drawn closer together by the
friendship this worthy man had for them both. Clawbonny spoke freely
of the vanity of competition, of the madness of rivalry, and of the
need of agreement between men so far from home. His words, his tears
and caresses, came from the bottom of his heart.
Still, he grew calm after embracing Hatteras and Altamont for the
twentieth time.
"And now," he said, "to work, to work! Since I was no use as a hunter,
let me try in another capacity!"
Thereupon he started to cut up the ox, which he called the "ox of
reconciliation," but he did it as skilfully as if he were a surgeon
conducting a delicate autopsy. His two companions gazed at him in
amusement. In a few minutes he had cut from the body a hundred pounds
of flesh; he gave each one a third of it, and they again took up their
march to Fort Providence. At ten o'clock in the evening, after walking
in the oblique rays of the sun, they reached Doctor's House, where
Johnson and Bell had a good supper awaiting them.
But before they sat down to table, the doctor said in a voice of
triumph, as he pointed to his two companions,--
"Johnson, I carried away with me an Englishman and an American, did I
not?"
"Yes, Dr. Clawbonny," answered the boatswain.
"Well, I've brought back two brothers."
[Illustration: "'Well, I've brought back two brothers.'"]
The two sailors gladly shook Altamont's hand; the doctor told them
what the American captain had done for the English captain, and that
night the snow-house held five perfectly happy men.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE LAST PREPARATIONS.
The next day the weather changed; there was a return of cold; the snow
and rain gust raged for many days.
Bell had finished the launch; it was perfectly satisfactory for the
purpose it was intended for; partly decked, and partly open, it could
sail in heavy weather under mainsail and jib, while it was so light as
not to be too heavy a load on the sledge for the dogs.
[Illustration]
Then, too, a change of great importance was taking place in the state
of the polar basin. The ice in the middle of the bay was beginning to
give way; the tallest pieces, forever weakened by the collision of the
rest, only needed a sufficiently heavy tempest to be torn away and to
become icebergs. Still, Hatteras was unwilling to wait so long before
starting. Since it was to be a land journey, he cared very little
whether the sea was open or not. He determined to start June 25th;
meanwhile all the preparations could be completed. Johnson and Bell
put the sledge into perfect repair; the frame was strengthened and the
runners renewed. The travellers intended to devote to their journey
the few weeks of good weather which nature allows to these northern
regions. Their sufferings would be less severe, the obstacles easier
to overcome.
[Illustration]
A few days before their departure, June 20th, the ice had so many free
passages, that they were able to make a trial trip on board of the new
launch as far as Cape Washington. The sea was not perfectly free, far
from it; but its surface was not solid, and it would have been
impossible to make a trip on foot over the ice-fields. This half-day's
sail showed the good sailing qualities of the launch. During the
return they beheld a curious incident. It was a monstrous bear chasing
a seal. Fortunately the former was so busily occupied, that he did not
see the launch, otherwise he would certainly have pursued it; he kept
on watch near a crevasse in the ice-field, into which the seal had
evidently plunged. He was awaiting his reappearance with all the
patience of a hunter, or rather of a fisherman, for he was really
fishing. He was silent, motionless, without any sign of life. Suddenly
the surface of the water was agitated; the seal had come up to
breathe. The bear crouched low upon the ice, and rounded his two paws
about the crevasse. The next moment the seal appeared, with his head
above water; but he had not time to withdraw it. The bear's paws, as
if driven by a spring, were clashed together, strangling the animal
with irresistible force and dragging it out of the water.
It was but a brief struggle; the seal struggled for a few seconds, and
was then suffocated on the breast of his adversary, who, dragging him
away easily, in spite of his size, and springing lightly from one
piece of ice to another, reached land and disappeared with his prey.
[Illustration: "The seal struggled for a few seconds, and was then
suffocated on the breast of his adversary."]
"A pleasant journey!" shouted Johnson; "that bear has got rather too
many paws!"
The launch soon reached the little anchorage Bell had made for her in
the ice.
Only four days were there before the time fixed for their departure.
Hatteras hurried on the last preparations; he was in a hurry to leave
New America, a land which was not his, and which he had not named; he
did not feel at home.
[Illustration]
June 22d they began to carry to the sledge their camp-material, tent,
and food. They carried only two hundred pounds of salt meat, three
chests of preserved meat and vegetables, fifty pounds of pickles and
lime-juice, five quarters of flour, packets of cresses and cochlearia
from the doctor's garden; with the addition of two hundred pounds of
powder, the instruments, arms, and personal baggage, the launch,
Halkett-boat, and the weight of the sledge itself, the whole weighed
fifteen hundred pounds,--a heavy load for four dogs, especially since,
unlike the Esquimaux, who never travel more than four days in
succession, they had none to replace them, and would have to work them
every day. But the travellers determined to aid them when it was
necessary, and they intended to proceed by easy stages; the distance
from Victoria Bay to the Pole was three hundred and fifty-five miles
at the outside, and going twelve miles a day they could make the
journey in a month. Besides, when the land came to an end, the launch
would enable them to finish the journey without fatigue for dogs or
men.
The latter were well, and in excellent condition. The winter, although
severe, ended favorably enough. Each one had followed the doctor's
advice, and escaped from the diseases common in these severe climates.
In fact, they had grown a trifle thinner, which gave a great deal of
pleasure to Clawbonny; but their bodies were inured to the rigors of
that life, and these men were able to face the severest attacks of
cold and hunger without succumbing. And then, too, they were going to
the end of their journey, to the inaccessible Pole, after which their
only thought would be of returning. The sympathy which bound together
the five members of the expedition would aid their success in this
bold trip, and no one doubted of their success.
As a precaution, the doctor had urged his companions to prepare
themselves for some time beforehand, and to "train" with much care.
"My friends," he used to say, "I don't ask you to imitate the English
racers, who lose eighteen pounds after two days' training, and
twenty-five after five days, but we ought to do something to get into
the best possible condition for a long journey. Now the first
principle of training is to get rid of the fat on both horse and
jockey, and this is done by means of purging, sweating, and violent
exercise. These gentlemen know they will lose so much by medicine, and
they arrive at their results with incredible accuracy; such a one who
before training could not run a mile without being winded, can run
twenty-five easily after it. There was a certain Townsend who ran a
hundred miles in twelve hours without stopping."
"A good result," answered Johnson; "and although we are not very fat,
if we must get thinner yet--"
"There is no need of it, Johnson; but without exaggerating, it can't
be denied that training produces good effects; it strengthens the
bones, makes the muscles more elastic, improves the hearing and the
sight; so let us not forget it."
In short, whether in training or not, the travellers were ready June
23d; it was Sunday, and the day was devoted to absolute rest.
The time for departure drew near, and the inhabitants of Fort
Providence could not see it approach without a certain emotion. It
grieved them to leave this snow-hut which had served so well to
protect them; Victoria Bay, this hospitable shore where they had spent
the last days of the winter. Would they find these buildings standing
when they returned? Would not the rays of the sun melt away its
fragile walls?
In a word, they had passed pleasant hours there. The doctor, at the
evening meal, called up to his companions' memory touching
reminiscences, and he did not forget to thank Heaven for its evident
protection.
At last the hour of sleeping came. Each one went to bed early, so as
to be up betimes. Thus passed their last night at Fort Providence.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XIX.
THE JOURNEY NORTHWARD.
At dawn the next day Hatteras gave the signal for departure. The dogs
were harnessed to the sledge; since they were well fed and had
thoroughly rested, after a comfortable winter there was no reason for
their not being of great service during the summer. Hence they were
not averse to being put into harness.
After all, these Greenland dogs are kind beasts. Their wildness was
partly gone; they had lost their likeness to the wolf, and had become
more like Duke, the finished model of the canine race,--in a word,
they were becoming civilized. Duke could certainly claim a share in
their education; he had given them lessons and an example in good
manners. In his quality of Englishman, and so punctilious in the
matter of cant, he was a long time in making the acquaintance of the
other dogs, who had not been introduced to him, and in fact he never
used to speak to them; but after sharing the same dangers and
privations, they gradually grew used to one another. Duke, who had a
kind heart, made the first advances, and soon all the dogs were
friends. The doctor used to pet the Greenland dogs, and Duke saw him
do it without jealousy. The men were in equally good condition; if the
dogs could draw well, the men could walk well.
They left at six o'clock in the morning; it was a very pleasant day.
After they had followed the line of the bay and passed Cape
Washington, Hatteras gave the order to turn northward; by seven the
travellers lost sight of the lighthouse and of Fort Providence in the
south.
[Illustration: "They left at six o'clock in the morning."]
The journey promised well, much better than the expedition begun in
the dead of winter in search of coal. Hatteras then left behind him,
on board of the ship, mutiny and despair, without being certain of the
object of his journey; he left a crew half dead with cold, he started
with companions who were weakened by the miseries of an arctic winter;
he, too, eager for the north, had to return to the south! Now, on the
other hand, surrounded by vigorous, healthy friends, encouraged and
aided in many ways, he was starting for the Pole, the object of his
whole life! No man had ever been nearer acquiring this glory for
himself and his country.
Was he thinking of all this, which was so naturally inspired by his
present position? The doctor liked to think so, and could hardly doubt
it when he saw him so eager. Clawbonny rejoiced in what so pleased his
friend; and since the reconciliation of the two captains, the two
friends, he was the happiest of men; for hatred, envy, and rivalry
were passions he had never felt. What would be the issue of this
voyage he did not know; but, at any rate, it began well, and that was
a good deal.
The western shore of New America stretched out in a series of bays
beyond Cape Washington; the travellers, to avoid this long curve,
after crossing the first spurs of Mount Bell, turned northward over
the upper plateaus. This was a great saving of time; Hatteras was
anxious, unless prevented by seas or mountains, to make a straight
line of three hundred and fifty miles to the Pole from Fort
Providence.
Their journey was easy; these lofty plains were covered with deep
snow, over which the sledge passed easily, and the men in their
snow-shoes walked easily and rapidly.
[Illustration]
The thermometer stood at 37°. The weather was not absolutely settled;
at one moment it was clear, the next cloudy: but neither cold nor
showers could have stopped the eager party. They could be followed
easily by the compass; the needle was more active as they receded from
the magnetic pole; it is true that it turned to the opposite direction
and pointed to the south, while they were walking northward; but this
did not in any way embarrass them. Besides, the doctor devised a
simple method of staking out the way and thereby avoiding perpetual
reference to the compass; when once they had got their bearings by
some object two or three miles to the north, they walked till they
reached it, when they chose another, and so on. In this way they had a
straight road.
In the first two days they made twenty miles in twelve hours; the rest
of the time was devoted to meals and rest. The tent was ample
protection against the cold when they were sleeping. The temperature
gradually rose. The snow melted away in some places, according to the
shape of the ground, while in others it lay in large patches. Broad
pools appeared here and there, often almost as large as lakes. They
would walk in up to their waists very often; but they only laughed at
it, and the doctor more than any.
"Water has no right to wet us in this country," he used to say; "it
ought to appear only as a solid, or a gas; as to its being liquid,
it's absurd! Ice or vapor will do, but water won't!"
[Illustration]
They did not forget their shooting, for thereby they got fresh meat.
So Altamont and Bell, without going very far away, scoured the
neighboring ravines; they brought back ptarmigan, geese, and a few
gray rabbits. Gradually these animals became very shy and hard to
approach. Without Duke they would often have found it hard to get any
game. Hatteras advised them not to go off farther than a mile, for not
a day nor an hour was to be lost, and he could not count on more than
three months of good weather.
Besides, each one had to be at his post by the sledge whenever a hard
spot, a narrow gorge, or steep inclines lay in the path; then each one
helped pull or push. More than once everything had to be taken off;
and this even did not fully protect against shocks and damage, which
Bell repaired as well as he could.
The third day, Wednesday, June 26th, they came across a vast lake,
still frozen by reason of its being sheltered from the sun; the ice
was even strong enough to bear both men and sledge. It was a solid
mirror which no arctic summers had melted, as was shown by the fact
that its borders were surrounded by a dry snow, of which the lower
layers evidently belonged to previous years.
[Illustration]
From this moment the land grew lower, whence the doctor concluded that
it did not extend very far to the north. Besides, it was very likely
that New America was merely an island, and did not extend to the Pole.
The ground grew more level; in the west a few low hills could be seen
in the distance, covered with a bluish mist.
So far they had experienced no hardships; they had suffered from
nothing except the reflection of the sun's rays upon the snow, which
could easily give them snow-blindness. At any other time they would
have travelled by night to avoid this inconvenience, but then there
was no night. The snow was fortunately melting away, and it was much
less brilliant when it was about turning into water.
June 28th the temperature arose to 45°; this was accompanied with
heavy rain, which the travellers endured stoically, even with
pleasure, for it hastened the disappearance of the snow. They had to
put on their deer-skin moccasins, and change the runners of the
sledge. Their journey was delayed, but still they were advancing
without any serious obstacles. At times the doctor would pick up
rounded or flat stones like pebbles worn smooth by the waves, and then
he thought he was near the Polar Sea; but yet the plain stretched on
out of sight. There was no trace of man, no hut, no cairn nor
Esquimaux snow-house; they were evidently the first to set foot in
this new land. The Greenlanders never had gone so far, and yet this
country offered plenty of game for the support of that half-starved
people. Sometimes bears appeared in the distance, but they showed no
signs of attacking; afar off were herds of musk-oxen and reindeer. The
doctor would have liked to catch some of the latter to harness to the
sledge; but they were timid, and not to be caught alive.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The 29th, Bell shot a fox, and Altamont was lucky enough to bring down
a medium-sized musk-ox, after giving his companions a high idea of his
bravery and skill; he was indeed a remarkable hunter, and so much
admired by the doctor. The ox was cut out, and gave plenty of
excellent meat. These lucky supplies were always well received; the
least greedy could not restrain their joy at the sight of the meat.
The doctor laughed at himself when he caught himself admiring these
huge joints.
[Illustration: "On the 29th Bell shot a fox, and Altamont a
medium-sized musk-ox."]
"Let us not be afraid to eat it," he used to say; "a good dinner is a
good thing in these expeditions."
"Especially," said Johnson, "when it depends on a better or worse
shot."
"You are right, Johnson," replied the doctor; "one thinks less of
one's food when one gets a regular supply from the kitchen."
[Illustration]
The 30th, the country became unexpectedly rugged, as if it had been
upheaved by some volcanic commotion; the cones and peaks increased
indefinitely in number, and were very high. A southeast breeze began
to blow with violence, and soon became a real hurricane. It rushed
across the snow-covered rocks, among the ice-mountains, which,
although on the firm land, took the form of hummocks and icebergs;
their presence on these lofty plateaus could not be explained even by
the doctor, who had an explanation for almost everything. Warm, damp
weather succeeded the tempest; it was a genuine thaw; on all sides
resounded the cracking of the ice amid the roar of the avalanches.
[Illustration: "The masses of ice took the forms of hummocks and
icebergs."]
[Illustration: "On all sides resounded the cracking of the ice amid
the roar of the avalanches."]
The travellers carefully avoided the base of these hills; they even
took care not to talk aloud, for the sound of the voice could shake
the air and cause accident. They were witnesses of frequent and
terrible avalanches which they could not have foreseen. In fact, the
main peculiarity of polar avalanches is their terrible swiftness;
therein they differ from those of Switzerland and Norway, where they
form a ball, of small size at first, and then, by adding to themselves
the snow and rocks in its passage, it falls with increasing swiftness,
destroys forests and villages, but taking an appreciable time in its
course. Now, it is otherwise in the countries where arctic cold rages;
the fall of the block of ice is unexpected and startling; its fall is
almost instantaneous, and any one who saw it from beneath would be
certainly crushed by it; the cannon-ball is not swifter, nor lightning
quicker; it starts, falls, and crashes down in a single moment with
the dreadful roar of thunder, and with dull echoes.
So the amazed spectators see wonderful changes in the appearance of
the country; the mountain becomes a plain under the action of a sudden
thaw; when the rain has filtered into the fissures of the great blocks
and freezes in a single night, it breaks everything by its
irresistible expansion, which is more powerful in forming ice than in
forming vapor: the phenomenon takes place with terrible swiftness.
No catastrophe, fortunately, threatened the sledge and its drivers;
the proper precautions were taken, and every danger avoided. Besides,
this rugged, icy country was not of great extent, and three days
later, July 3d, the travellers were on smoother ground. But their eyes
were surprised by a new phenomenon, which has for a long time claimed
the attention of the scientific men of the two worlds. It was this:
the party followed a line of hills not more than fifty feet high,
which appeared to run on several miles, and their eastern side was
covered with red snow.
The surprise and even the sort of alarm which the sight of this
crimson curtain gave them may be easily imagined. The doctor hastened,
if not to reassure, at least to instruct, his companions; he was
familiar with this red snow and the chemical analysis made of it by
Wollaston, Candolle, Bäuer. He told them this red snow was not found
in the arctic regions alone, but in Switzerland in the middle of the
Alps; De Saussure collected a large quantity on the Breven in 1760;
and since then Captains Ross, Sabine, and others had brought some back
from their arctic journeys.
[Illustration]
Altamont asked the doctor about the nature of this extraordinary
substance. He was told that its color came simply from the presence of
organic corpuscles. For a long time it was a question whether these
corpuscles were animal or vegetable; but it was soon ascertained that
they belonged to the family of microscopic mushrooms, of the genus
-Uredo-, which Bäuer proposed naming -Uredo vivalis-.
Then the doctor, prying into the snow with his cane, showed his
companions that the scarlet layer was only nine feet deep, and he bade
them calculate how many of these mushrooms there might be on a space
of many miles, when scientific men estimated forty-three thousand in a
square centimetre.
This coloring probably ran back to a remote period, for the mushrooms
were not decomposed by either evaporation or the melting of the snow,
nor was their color altered.
The phenomenon, although explained, was no less strange. Red is a rare
color in nature; the reflection of the sun's rays on this crimson
surface produced strange effects; it gave the surrounding objects, men
and animals, a brilliant appearance, as if they were lighted by an
inward flame; and when the snow was melting, streams of blood seemed
to be flowing beneath the travellers' feet.
The doctor, who had not been able to examine this substance when he
saw it on crimson cliffs from Baffin's Bay, here examined it at his
ease, and gathered several bottlefuls of it.
This red ground, the "Field of Blood," as he called it, took three
hours' walk to pass over, and then the country resumed its habitual
appearance.
CHAPTER XX.
FOOTPRINTS ON THE SNOW.
July 4th a dense fog prevailed. They were only able with the greatest
difficulty to keep a straight path; they had to consult the compass
every moment. Fortunately there was no accident in the darkness,
except that Bell lost his snow-shoes, which were broken against a
projecting rock.
"Well, really," said Johnson, "I thought, after seeing the Mersey and
the Thames, that I knew all about fogs, but I see I was mistaken."
"We ought," answered Bell, "to light torches as is done at London and
Liverpool."
[Illustration: "'We ought,' answered Bell, 'to light torches, as is
done at London and Liverpool.'"]
"Why not?" asked the doctor; "that's a good idea; it wouldn't light up
the road much, but we could see the guide, and follow him more
easily."
"But what shall we do for torches?"
"By lighting tow dipped in alcohol, and fastening to the end of
walking-sticks."
"Good!" said Johnson; "and we shall soon have it ready."
A quarter of an hour later the little band was walking along with
torches faintly lighting up the general gloom.
But if they went straighter, they did not go quicker, and the fog
lasted till July 6th; the earth being cold then, a blast of north-wind
carried away all the mist as if it had been rags. Soon the doctor took
an observation, and ascertained that meanwhile they had not made eight
miles a day.
[Illustration]
The 6th, they made an effort to make up for lost time, and they set
out early. Altamont and Bell were ahead, choosing the way and looking
out for game. Duke was with them. The weather, with its surprising
fickleness, had become very clear and dry; and although the guides
were two miles from the sledge, the doctor did not miss one of their
movements. He was consequently very much startled to see them stop
suddenly, and remain in a position of surprise; they seemed to be
gazing into the distance, as if scanning the horizon. Then they bent
down to the ground and seemed to be examining it closely, and they
arose in evident amazement. Bell seemed to wish to push on, but
Altamont held him back.
"What can they be doing?" asked the doctor of Johnson.
"I know no more than you, Doctor; I don't understand their gestures."
"They have found the track of some animals," answered Hatteras.
"That's not it," said the doctor.
"Why not?"
"Because Duke would bark."
"Still, they've seen marks of some sort."
"Let us go on," said Hatteras; "we shall soon know."
Johnson urged on the dogs, who quickened their pace.
In twenty minutes the five were together, and Hatteras, the doctor,
and Johnson were as much surprised as Bell and Altamont.
There were in the snow indubitable traces of men, as fresh as if they
had just been made.
[Illustration]
"They are Esquimaux," said Hatteras.
"Yes," said the doctor, "there is no doubt of that!"
"You think so?" said Altamont.
"Without any doubt."
"Well, and this mark?" continued Altamont, pointing to another print,
which was often repeated.
"That one?"
"Do you think it was made by an Esquimau?"
The doctor examined it carefully, and was stupefied. The print of a
European shoe, with nails, sole, and heel, was clearly stamped in the
snow. There could be no further doubt; a man, a stranger, had been
there.
"Europeans here!" cried Hatteras.
"Evidently," said Johnson.
"And still," said the doctor, "it is so unlikely, that we ought to
look twice before being sure."
Thereupon he looked twice, three times, at the print, and he was
obliged to acknowledge its extraordinary origin.
De Foe's hero was not more amazed when he saw the footprint on the
sand of his island; but if he was afraid, Hatteras was simply angry. A
European so near the Pole!
They pushed on to examine the footprints; for a quarter of a mile they
were continually repeated, mingled with marks of moccasins; then they
turned to the west. When they had reached this point they consulted as
to whether they should follow them any farther.
"No," said Hatteras. "Let us go on--"
He was interrupted by an exclamation of the doctor, who had just
picked up on the snow an object even more convincing, and of the
origin of which there could be no doubt. It was the object-glass of a
pocket telescope.
"Now," he said, "we can't doubt that there is a stranger here--"
"Forward!" cried Hatteras.
He uttered this word so sharply that each one obeyed, and the sledge
resumed its monotonous progress.
They all scanned the horizon attentively, except Hatteras, who was
filled with wrath and did not care to see anything. Still, since they
ran the risk of coming across a band of travellers, they had to take
precautions; it was very disappointing to see any one ahead of them on
the route. The doctor, although not as angry as Hatteras, was somewhat
vexed, in spite of his usual philosophy. Altamont seemed equally
annoyed; Johnson and Bell muttered threatening words between their
teeth.
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