2. Sergeant Long.
12. Hope, do.
3. Corporal Joliffe.
13. Kellet, do.
4. Petersen, soldier
14. Mrs Rae
5. Belcher, do.
15. Mrs Joliffe.
6. Rae, do
16. Mrs Mac-Nab.
7. Marbre, do
17. Mrs Paulina Barnett.
8. Garry, do
18. Madge.
9. Pond, do
19. Thomas Black
10. Mac-Nab, do.
In all, nineteen persons to be transported several hundreds of miles
through a desert and imperfectly-known country.
With this project in view, however, the Company had collected everything
necessary for the expedition. A dozen sledges, with their teams of dogs,
were in readiness. These primitive vehicles consisted of strong but
light planks joined together by transverse bands. A piece of curved
wood, turning up at the end like a skate, was fixed beneath the sledge,
enabling it to cleave the snow without sinking deeply into it. Six swift
and intelligent dogs, yoked two and two, and controlled by the long
thong brandished by the driver, drew the sledges, and could go at a rate
of fifteen miles an hour.
The wardrobe of the travellers consisted of garments made of
reindeer-skins, lined throughout with thick furs. All wore linen next
the skin as a protection against the sudden changes of temperature
frequent in these latitudes. Each one, officer or soldier, male or
female, wore seal-skin boots sewn with twine, in the manufacture of
which the natives excel. These boots are absolutely impervious, and
are so flexible that they are admirably adapted for walking. Pine-wood
snow-shoes, two or three feet long, capable of supporting the weight of
a man on the most brittle snow, and enabling him to pass over it with
the rapidity of a skater on ice, can be fastened to the soles of the
seal-skin boots. Fur caps and deer-skin belts completed the costumes.
For arms, Lieutenant Hobson had the regulation musketoons provided by
the Company, pistols, ordnance sabres, and plenty of ammunition;
for tools : axes, saws, adzes, and other instruments required in
carpentering. Then there was the collection of all that would be needed
for setting up a factory in the remote district for which they were
bound : a stove; a smelting furnace, two airpumps for ventilation, an
India-rubber boat, only inflated when required, &c., &c.
The party might have relied for provisions on the hunters amongst them.
Some of the soldiers were skilful trackers of game, and there were
plenty of reindeer in the Polar regions. Whole tribes of Indians, or
Esquimaux, deprived of bread and all other nourishment, subsist entirely
on this venison, which is both abundant and palatable. But as delays and
difficulties had to be allowed for, a certain quantity of provisions was
taken with them. The flesh of the bison, elk, and deer, amassed in the
large battues on the south of the lake; corned beef, which will keep for
any length of time; and some Indian preparations, in which the flesh of
animals, ground to powder, retains its nutritive properties in a very
small bulk, requiring no cooking, and forming a very nourishing diet,
were amongst the stores provided in case of need.
Lieutenant Hobson likewise took several casks of rum and whisky; but
he was firmly resolved to economise these spirits, so injurious to the
health in cold latitudes, as much as possible. The Company had placed
at his disposal a little portable medicine-chest, containing formidable
quantities of lime-juice, lemons, and other simple remedies necessary
to check, or if possible to prevent, the scorbutic affections which take
such a terrible form in these regions.
All the men had been chosen with great care; none were too stout or
too thin, and all had for years been accustomed to the severity of
the climate, and could therefore more easily endure the fatigues of an
expedition to the Polar Sea. They were all brave, high-spirited fellows,
who had taken service of their own accord. Double pay had been promised
them during their stay at the confines of the American continent, should
they succeed in making a settlement beyond the seventieth parallel.
The sledge provided for Mrs Barnett and her faithful Madge was rather
more comfortable than the others. She did not wish to be treated better
than her travelling companions, but yielded to the urgent request of
Captain Craventy, who was but carrying out the wishes of the Company.
The vehicle which brought Thomas Black to Fort Reliance also
conveyed him and his scientific apparatus from it. A few astronomical
instruments, of which there were not many in those days-a telescope for
his selenographic observations, a sextant for taking the latitude, a
chronometer for determining the longitudes, a few maps, a few books,
were all stored away in this sledge, and Thomas Black relied upon his
faithful dogs to lose nothing by the way.
Of course the food for the various teams was not forgotten. There were
altogether no less than seventy-two dogs, quite a herd to provide for by
the way, and it was the business of the hunters to cater for them. These
strong intelligent animals were bought of the Chippeway Indians, who
know well how to train them for their arduous calling.
The little company was most skilfully organised. The zeal of Lieutenant
Jaspar Hobson was beyond all praise. Proud of his mission, and devoted
to his task; he neglected nothing which could insure success. Corporal
Joliffe, always a busybody, exerted himself without producing any very
tangible results; but his wife was most useful and devoted; and Mrs
Paulina Barnett had already struck up a great friendship with the brisk
little Canadian woman, whose fair hair and large soft eyes were so
pleasant to look at.
We need scarcely add that Captain Craventy did all in his power to
further the enterprise. The instructions he had received from the
Company showed what great importance they attached to the success of the
expedition, and the establishment of a new factory beyond the seventieth
parallel. We may therefore safely affirm that every human effort likely
to insure success which could be made was made; but who could tell what
insurmountable difficulties nature might place in the path of the brave
Lieutenant I who could tell what awaited him and his devoted little
band.
CHAPTER V. FROM FORT RELIANCE TO FORT ENTERPRISE. The first fine days
came at last. The green carpet of the hills began to appear here
and there where the snow had melted. A few migratory birds from the
south-such as swans, bald-headed eagles, &c.--passed through the warmer
air. The poplars, birches, and willows began to bud, and the redheaded
ducks, of which there are so many species in North America, to skim the
surface of the numerous pools formed by the melted snow. Guillemots,
puffins, and eider ducks sought colder latitudes; and little shrews
no bigger than a hazel-nut ventured from their holes, tracing strange
figures on the ground with their tiny-pointed tails. It was intoxicating
once more to breathe the fresh air of spring, and to bask in the
sunbeams. Nature awoke once more from her heavy sleep in the long winter
night, and smiled as she opened her eyes.
The renovation of creation in spring is perhaps more impressive in the
Arctic regions than in any other portion of the globe, on account of the
greater contrast with what has gone before.
The thaw was not, however, complete. The thermometer, it is true, marked
41° Fahrenheit above zero; but the mean temperature of the nights kept
the surface of the snowy plains solid--a good thing for the passage of
sledges, of which Jaspar Hobson meant to avail himself before the thaw
became complete.
The ice of the lake was still unbroken. During the last month several
successful hunting expeditions had been made across the vast smooth
plains, which were already frequented by game. Mrs Barnett was
astonished at the skill with which the men used their snow-shoes,
scudding along at the pace of a horse in full gallop. Following Captain
Craventy’s advice, the lady herself practised walking in these
contrivances, and she soon became very expert in sliding over the snow.
During the last few days several bands of Indians had arrived at the
fort to exchange the spoils of the winter chase for manufactured goods.
The season had been bad. There were a good many polecats and sables; but
the furs of beavers, otters, lynxes, ermines, and foxes were scarce. It
was therefore a wise step for the Company to endeavour to explore a new
country, where the wild animals had hitherto escaped the rapacity of
man.
On the morning of the 16th April Lieutenant Jaspar Hobson and his party
were ready to start. The route across the known districts, between the
Slave Lake and that of the Great Bear beyond the Arctic Circle, was
already determined. Jaspar Hobson was to make for Fort Confidence, on
the northern extremity of the latter lake; and he was to revictual at
Fort Enterprise, a station two hundred miles further to the north-west,
on the shores of the Snare Lake, By travelling at the rate of fifteen
miles a day the Lieutenant hoped to halt there about the beginning of
May.
From this point the expedition was to take the shortest route to Cape
Bathurst, on the North American coast. It was agreed that in a year
Captain Craventy should send a convoy with provisions to Cape Bathurst,
and that a detachment of the Lieutenant’s men was to go to meet this
convoy, to guide it to the spot where the new fort was to be erected.
This plan was a guarantee against any adverse circumstances, and left
a means of communication with their fellow-creatures open to the
Lieutenant and his voluntary companions in exile.
On the 16th April dogs and sledges were awaiting the travellers at the
postern gate. Captain Craventy called the men of the party together and
said a few kind words to them. He urged them above all things to stand
by one another in the perils they might be called upon to meet; reminded
them that the enterprise upon which they were about to enter required
self-denial and devotion, and that submission to their officers was
an indispensable condition of success. Cheers greeted the Captain’s
speech, the adieux were quickly made, and each one took his place in the
sledge assigned to him. Jaspar Hobson and Sergeant Long went first; then
Mrs Paulina Barnett and Madge, the latter dexterously wielding the long
Esquimaux whip, terminating in a stiff thong. Thomas Black and one of
the soldiers, the Canadian, Petersen, occupied the third sledge ;and
the others followed, Corporal and Mrs Joliffe bringing up the rear.
According to the orders of Lieutenant Hobson, each driver kept as nearly
as possible at the same distance from the preceding sledge, so as to
avoid all confusion--a necessary precaution, as a collision between two
sledges going at full speed, might have had disastrous results.
On leaving Fort Reliance, Jaspar Hobson at once directed his course
towards the north-west. The first thing to be done was to cross the
large river connecting Lakes Slave and Wolmsley, which was, however,
still frozen so hard as to be undistinguishable from the vast white
plains around. A uniform carpet of snow covered the whole country, and
the sledges, drawn by their swift teams, sped rapidly over the firm
smooth surface.
The weather was fine, but still very cold. The sun, scarce above the
horizon, described a lengthened curve; and its rays, reflected on
the snow, gave more light than heat. Fortunately not a breath of air
stirred, and this lessened the severity of the cold, although the rapid
pace of the sledges through the keen atmosphere must have been trying to
any one not inured to the rigour of a Polar climate.
“A good beginning,” said Jaspar Hobson to the Sergeant, who sat
motionless beside him as if rooted to his seat; “the journey has
commenced favourably. The sky is cloudless; the temperature propitious,
our equipages shoot along like express trains, and as long as this fine
weather lasts we shall get on capitally. What do you think, Sergeant
Long?”
“I agree with you, Lieutenant,” replied the Sergeant, who never
differed from his chief.
“Like myself, Sergeant, you are determined to push on as far north as
possible--are you not?” resumed Lieutenant Hobson.
“You have but to command to be obeyed, Lieutenant.”
“I know it, Sergeant; I know that with you to bear is to obey. Would
that all our men understood as you do the importance of our mission, and
would devote themselves body and soul to the interests of the Company!
Ah, Sergeant Long, I know if I gave you an impossible order-- “
“Lieutenant, there is no such thing as an impossible order.”
“What? Suppose now I ordered you to go to the North Pole?”
“Lieutenant, I should go !”
“And to comeback!” added Jaspar Hobson with a smile.
“I should come back,” replied Sergeant Long simply.
During this colloquy between Lieutenant Hobson and his Sergeant a slight
ascent compelled the sledges to slacken speed, and Mrs Barnett and
Madge also exchanged a few sentences. These two intrepid women, in their
otter-skin caps and white bear-skin mantles, gazed in astonishment upon
the rugged scenery around them, and at the white outlines of the huge
glaciers standing out against the horizon. They had already left behind
them the hills of the northern banks of the Slave Lake, with their
summits crowned with the gaunt skeletons of trees. The vast plains
stretched before them in apparently endless succession. The rapid flight
and cries of a few birds of passage alone broke the monotony of the
scene. Now and then a troop of swans, with plumage so white that the
keenest sight could not distinguish them from the snow when they settled
on the ground, rose into view in the clear blue atmosphere and pursued
their journey to the north.
“What an extraordinary country !” exclaimed Mrs Paulina Barnett.
“What a difference between these Polar regions and the green prairies
of Australia! You remember, Madge, how we suffered from the heat on the
shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria--you remember the cloudless sky and
the parching sunbeams?”
My dear,” replied Madge, “I have not the gift of remembering like
you. You retain your impressions, I forget mine.”
“What, Madge !” cried Mrs Barnett, “you have forgotten the
tropical heat of India arid Australia? You have no recollection of
our agonies when water failed us in the desert, when the pitiless sun
scorched us to the bone, when even the night brought us no relief from
our sufferings !”
“No, Paulina,” replied Madge, wrapping her furs more closely round
her, “no, I remember nothing. How could I now recollect the sufferings
to which you allude--the heat, the agonies of thirst--when we are
surrounded on every side by ice, and I have but to stretch my arm out of
this sledge to pick up a handful of snow? You talk to me of heat, when
we are freezing beneath our bearskins; you recall the broiling rays of
the sun when its April beams cannot melt the icicles on our lips! No,
child, no, don’t try to persuade me it’s hot anywhere else; don’t
tell me I ever complained of being too warm, for I sha’n’t believe
you!”
Mrs Paulina Barnett could not help smiling.
“So, poor Madge,” she said, “you are very cold!”
“Yes, child, I am cold; but I rather like this climate. I’ve no
doubt it’s very healthy, and I think North America will agree with me.
It’s really a very fine country !”
“Yes, Madge; it is a fine country, and we have as yet seen none of
the wonders it contains. But wait until we reach the Arctic Ocean;
wait until the winter shuts us in with its gigantic icebergs and thick
covering of snow; wait till the northern storms break over us, and the
glories of the Aurora Borealis and of the splendid constellations of
the Polar skies are spread out above our heads; wait till we have lived
through the strange long six months’ night, and then indeed you will
understand the infinite variety, the infinite beauty, of our Creator’s
handiwork !”
Thus spoke Mrs Paulina Barnett, carried away by her vivid imagination.
She could see nothing but beauty in these deserted regions, with their
rigorous climate. Her enthusiasm got the better for the time of her
judgment. Her sympathy with nature enabled her to read the touching
poetry of the ice-bound north-the poetry embodied in the Sagas, and sung
by the bards of the time of Ossian. But Madge, more matter of fact
than her mistress, disguised from herself neither the dangers of an
expedition to the Arctic Ocean, nor the sufferings involved in wintering
only thirty degrees at the most from the North Pole.
And indeed the most robust had sometimes succumbed to the fatigues,
privations, and mental and bodily agonies endured in this severe
climate. Jaspar Hobson had not, it is true, to press on to the very
highest latitudes of the globe,; he had not to reach the pole itself,
or to follow in the steps of Parry, Ross, Mc’Clure, Kean, Morton,
and others. But after once crossing the Arctic Circle, there is little
variation in the temperature; it does not increase in coldness in
proportion to the elevation reached. Granted that Jaspar Hobson did not
think of going beyond the seventieth parallel, we must still remember
that Franklin and his unfortunate companions died of cold and hunger
before they had penetrated beyond 68° N. lat.
Very different was the talk in the sledge occupied by Mr and Mrs
Joliffe. Perhaps the gallant Corporal had too often drunk to the success
of the expedition on starting; for, strange to say, he was disputing
with his little wife. Yes, he was actually contradicting her, which
never happened except under extraordinary circumstances!
“No, Mrs Joliffe,” he was saying, “no, you have nothing to fear.
A sledge is not more difficult to guide than a pony-carriage, and the
devil take me if I can’t manage a team of dogs !”
“I don’t question your skill,” replied Mrs Joliffe; “I only ask
you not to go so fast. You are in front of the whole caravan now, and
I hear Lieutenant Hobson calling out to you to resume your proper place
behind.”
“Let him call, Mrs Joliffe, let him call.”
And the Corporal, urging on his dogs with a fresh cut of the whip,
dashed along at still greater speed.
“Take care, Joliffe,” repeated his little wife; “not so fast, we
are going down hill.”
“Down hill, Mrs Joliffe; you call that down hill? why, it’s up
hill!”
“I tell you we are going down!” repeated poor Mrs Joliffe.
“And I tell you we are going up; look how the dogs pull !”
Whoever was right, the dogs became uneasy. The ascent was, in fact,
pretty steep; the sledge dashed along at a reckless pace, and was
already considerably in advance of the rest of the party. Mr and Mrs
Joliffe bumped up and down every instant, the surface of the snow became
more and more uneven, and the pair, flung first to one side and then to
the other, knocked against each other and the sledge, and were horribly
bruised and shaken. But the Corporal would listen neither to the advice
of his wife nor to the shouts of Lieutenant Hobson. The latter, seeing
the danger of this reckless course, urged on his own animals, and the
rest of the caravan followed at a rapid pace.
But the Corporal became more and more excited-the speed of his equipage
delighted him. He shouted, he gesticulated, and flourished his long whip
like an accomplished sportsman.
“Wonderful things these whips!” he cried; “the Esquimaux wield
them with unrivalled skill !”
“But you are not an Esquimaux!” cried Mrs Joliffe, trying in vain to
arrest the arm of her imprudent husband.
“I have heard tell,” resumed the Corporal--” I’ve heard tell
that the Esquimaux can touch any dog they like in any part, that they
can even cut out a bit of one of their ears with the stiff thong at the
end of the whip. I am going to try.”
“Don’t try, don’t try, Joliffe !” screamed the poor little
woman, frightened out of her wits.
“Don’t be afraid, Mrs Joliffe, don’t be afraid; I know what I can
do. The fifth dog on the right is misbehaving himself;. I will correct
him a little!”
But Corporal Joliffe was evidently not yet enough of an Esquimaux to be
able to manage the whip with its thong four feet longer than the sledge;
for it unrolled with an ominous hiss, and rebounding, twisted itself
round Corporal Joliffe’s own neck, sending his fur cap into the air,
perhaps with one of his ears in it.
At this moment the dogs flung themselves on one side, the sledge was
overturned, and the pair were flung into the snow. Fortunately it was
thick and soft, so that they escaped unhurt. But what a disgrace for the
Corporal! how reproachfully his little wife looked at him, and how stern
was the reprimand of Lieutenant Hobson!
The sledge was picked up, but it was decided that henceforth the reins
of the dogs, like those of the household, were to be in the hands of
Mrs Joliffe. The crest-fallen Corporal was obliged to submit, and the
interrupted journey was resumed.
No incident worth mentioning occurred during the next fifteen days. The
weather continued favourable, the cold was not too severe, and on the
1st May the expedition arrived at Fort Enterprise.
:
CHAPTER VI. A WAPITI DUEL. Two hundred miles had been traversed since
the expedition left Fort Reliance. The travellers, taking advantage of
the long twilight, pressed on day and night, and were literally overcome
with fatigue when they reached Fort Enterprise, near the shores of Lake
Snare.
This fort was no more than a depôt of provisions, of little importance,
erected a few years before by the Hudson’s Bay Company. It served as a
resting-place for the men taking the convoys of furs from the Great Bear
Lake, some three hundred miles further to the north-west. About a dozen
soldiers formed the garrison. The fort consisted of a wooden house
surrounded by palisades. But few as were the comforts it offered,
Lieutenant Hobson’s companions gladly took refuge in it and rested
there for two days.
The gentle influence of the Arctic spring was beginning to be felt. Here
and there the snow had melted, and the temperature of the nights was no
longer below freezing point. A few delicate mosses and slender grasses
clothed the rugged ground with their soft verdure; and from between the
stones peeped the moist calices of tiny, almost colourless, flowers.
These faint signs of reawakening vegetation, after the long night of
winter, were refreshing to eyes weary of the monotonous whiteness of
the snow; and the scattered specimens of the Flora of the Arctic regions
were welcomed with delight.
Mrs Paulina Barnett and Jaspar Hobson availed themselves of this leisure
time to visit the shores of the little lake. They were both students and
enthusiastic lovers of nature. Together they wandered amongst the ice
masses, already beginning to break up, and the waterfalls created by
the action of the rays of the sun. The surface itself of Lake Snare
was still intact, not a crack denoted the approaching thaw; but it was
strewn with the ruins of mighty icebergs, which assumed all manner
of picturesque forms, and the beauty of which was heightened when the
light, diffracted by the sharp edges of the ice, touched them with all
manner of colours. One might have fancied that a rainbow, crushed in a
powerful hand, bad been flung upon the ground, its fragments crossing
each other as they fell.
“What a beautiful scene!” exclaimed Mrs Paulina Barnett. “These
prismatic effects vary at every change of our position. Does it not seem
as if we were bending over the opening of an immense kaleidoscope, or
are you already weary of a sight so new and interesting to me?”
“No, madam,” replied the Lieutenant; “although I was born and
bred on this continent, its beauties never pall upon me. But if your
enthusiasm is so great when you see this scenery with the sun shining
upon it, what will it be when you are privileged to behold the terrible
grandeur of the winter? To own the truth, I think the sun, so much
thought of in temperate latitudes, spoils my Arctic home.”
“Indeed!” exclaimed Mrs Barnett, smiling at the Lieutenant’s last
remark; “for my part, I think the sun a capital travelling companion,
and I shall not be disposed to grumble at the warmth it gives even in
the Polar regions !”
“Ah, madam,” replied Jaspar Hobson, “I am one of those who think
it best to visit Russia in the winter, and the Sahara Desert in the
summer. You then see their peculiar characteristics to advantage. The
sun is a star of the torrid and temperate zones, and is out of place
thirty degrees from the North Pole. The true sky of this country is the
pure frigid sky of winter, bright with constellations, and sometimes
flushed with the glory of the Aurora Borealis. This land is the land of
the night, not of the day; and you have yet to make acquaintance with
the delights and marvels of the long Polar night.”
“Have you ever visited the temperate zones of Europe and America?”
inquired Mrs Barnett.
“Yes, madam; and I admired them as they deserved. But I returned home
with fresh love and enthusiasm for my native land. Cold is my element,
and no merit is due to me for braving it. It has no power over me; and,
like the Esquimaux. I can live for months together in a snow hut.”
“Really, Lieutenant Hobson, it is quite cheering to hear our dreaded
enemy spoken of in such terms. I hope to prove myself worthy to be your
companion, and wherever you venture, we will venture together.”
“I agree, madam, I agree; and may all the women and soldiers
accompanying me show themselves as resolute as you. If so, God helping
us, we shall indeed advance far.”
“You have nothing to complain of yet,” observed the lady. “Not a
single accident has occurred, the weather has been propitious, the cold
not too severe-everything has combined to aid us.”
“Yes, madam; but the sun which you admire so much will soon create
difficulties for us, and strew obstacles in our path.”
“What do you mean, Lieutenant Hobson?”
“I mean that the heat will soon have changed the aspect of the
country; that the melted ice will impede the sliding of the sledges;
that the ground will become rough and uneven; that our panting dogs will
no longer carry us along with the speed of an arrow; that the rivers and
lakes will resume their liquid state, and that we shall have to ford
or go round them. All these changes, madam, due to the influence of the
solar rays, will cause delays, fatigue, and dangers, the very least of
which will be the breaking of the brittle snow beneath our feet, or the
falling of the avalanches from the summits of the icebergs. For all this
we have to thank the gradual rise of the sun higher and higher above
the horizon. Bear this in mind, madam: of the four elements of the old
creation, only one is necessary to us here, the air; the other three,
fire, earth, and water, are de trop in the Arctic regions.”
Of course the Lieutenant was exaggerating, and Mrs Barnett could easily
have retorted with counter-arguments; but she liked to hear his raptures
in praise of his beloved country, and she felt that his enthusiasm was a
guarantee that he would shrink from no obstacle.
Yet Jaspar Hobson was right when he said the sun would cause
difficulties. This was seen when the party set out again on the 4th
May, three days later. The thermometer, even in the coldest part of the
night, marked more than 32° Fahrenheit. A complete thaw set in, the
vast white sheet of snow resolved itself into water. The irregularities
of the rocky soil caused constant jolting of the sledges, and the
passengers were roughly shaken. The roads were so heavy that the dogs
had to go at a slow trot, and the reins were therefore again entrusted
to the hands of the imprudent Corporal
Joliffe. Neither shouts nor flourishings of the whip had the slightest
effect on the jaded animals.
From time to time the travellers lightened the sledges by walking little
way. This mode of locomotion suited the hunters, who were now gradually
approaching the best districts for game in the whole of English America.
Mrs Paulina Barnett and Madge took a great interest in the chase, whilst
Thomas Black professed absolute indifference to all athletic exercise.
He had not come all this distance to hunt the polecat or the ermine, but
merely to look at the moon at the moment when her disc should cover
that of the sun. When the queen of the night rose above the horizon, the
impatient astronomer would gaze at her with eager eyes, and one day the
Lieutenant said to him
“It would be a bad look-out for you, Mr Black, if by any unlucky
chance the moon should fail to keep her appointment on the 16th July
1860.”
“Lieutenant Hobson,” gravely replied the astronomer, “if the moon
were guilty of such a breach of good manners, I should indeed have cause
to complain.”
The chief hunters of the expedition were the soldiers Marbre and Sabine,
both very expert at their business. Their skill was wonderful; and the
cleverest Indians would not have surpassed them in keenness of sight,
precision of aim, or manual address. They were alike trappers and
hunters, and were acquainted with all the nets and snares for taking
sables, otters, wolves, foxes, bears, &c. No artifice was unknown to
them, and Captain Craventy had shown his wisdom in choosing two such
intelligent men to accompany the little troop.
Whilst on the march however, Marbre and Sabine had no time for setting
traps. They could not separate from the others for more than an hour or
two at a time, and were obliged to be content with the game which passed
within range of their rifles. Still they were fortunate enough to kill
two of the large American ruminants, seldom met with in such elevated
latitudes.
On the morning of the 15th May the hunters asked permission to follow
some fresh traces they had found, and the Lieutenant not only granted
it, but himself accompanied them with Mrs Paulina Barnett, and they went
several miles out of their route towards the east.
The impressions were evidently the result of the passage of about
half-a-dozen large deer. There could be no mistake about it; Marbre
and Sabine were positive on that point, and could even have named the
species to which the animals belonged.
“You seem surprised to have met with traces of these animals here,
Lieutenant,” said Mrs Barnett.
“Well, madam,” replied Hobson, “this species is rarely seen beyond
57° N. lat. We generally hunt them at the south of the Slave Lake,
where they feed upon the shoots of willows and poplars, and certain wild
roses to which they are very partial.”
“I suppose these creatures, like those with valuable furs, have fled
from the districts scoured by the hunters.”
“I see no other explanation of their presence at 65° N. lat.,”
replied the Lieutenant-”that is, if the men are not mistaken as to the
origin of the footprints.”
“No, no, sir,” cried Sabine; “Marbre and I are not mistaken. These
traces were left by deer, the deer we hunters call red deer, and the
natives wapitis.”
“He is quite right,” added Marbre; “old trappers like us are
not to be taken in; besides, don’t you hear that peculiar whistling
sound?”
The party had now reached the foot of a little hill, and as the snow
had almost disappeared from its sides they were able to climb it,
and hastened to the summit, the peculiar whistling noticed by Marbre
becoming louder, mingled with cries resembling the braying of an ass,
and proving that the two hunters were not mistaken.
Once at the top of the hill, the adventurers looked eagerly towards the
east. The undulating plains were still white with snow, but its dazzling
surface was here and there relieved with patches of stunted light green
vegetation. A few gaunt shrubs stretched forth their bare and shrivelled
branches, and huge icebergs with precipitous sides stood out against the
grey background of the sky.
“Wapitis! wapitis!-there they are !” cried Sabine and Marbre at
once, pointing to a group of animals distinctly visible about a quarter
of a mile to the east.
“What are they doing?” asked Mrs Barnett.
“They are fighting, madam,” replied Hobson; “they always do when
the heat of the Polar sun inflames their blood-another deplorable result
of the action of the radiant orb of day !”
From where they stood the party could easily watch the group of wapitis.
They were fine specimens of the family of deer known under the various
names of stags with rounded antlers, American stags, roebucks, grey elks
and red elks, &c. These graceful creatures have slender legs and brown
skins with patches of red hair, the colour of which becomes darker in
the warmer season. The fierce males are easily distinguished from the
females by their fine white antlers, the latter being entirely without
these ornaments. These wapitis were once very numerous all over North
America, and the United States imported a great many; but clearings
were begun on every side, the forest trees fell beneath the axe of
the pioneer of civilisation, and the wapitis took refuge in the more
peaceful districts of Canada; but they were soon again disturbed, and
wandered to the shores of Hudson’s Bay. So that although the wapiti
thrives in a cold country, Lieutenant Hobson was right in saying that it
seldom penetrates beyond 57° N. latitude; and the specimens now found
had doubtless fled before the Chippeway Indians, who hunt them without
mercy.
The wapitis were so engrossed in their desperate struggle that they were
unconscious of the approach of the hunters; but they would probably
not have ceased fighting, had they been aware of it. Marbre and Sabine,
aware of their peculiarity in this respect, might therefore have
advanced fearlessly upon them, and have taken aim at leisure.
Lieutenant Hobson suggested that they should do so.
“Beg pardon, sir,” replied Marbre; “but let us spare our powder
and shot. These beasts are engaged in a war to the death, and we shall
arrive in plenty of time to pick up the vanquished.”
“Have these wapitis a commercial value?” asked Mrs Paulina Barnett.
“Yes, madam,” replied Hobson; “and their skin, which is not quite
so thick as that of the elk, properly so called makes very valuable
leather. By rubbing this skin with the fat and brains of the animal
itself, it is rendered flexible, and neither damp nor dryness injures
it. The Indians are therefore always eager to procure the skins of the
wapitis.”
“Does not the flesh make admirable venison?”
“Pretty good, madam; only pretty good. It is tough, and does not taste
very nice; the fat becomes hard directly it is taken from the fire, and
sticks to the teeth. It is certainly inferior as an article of food to
the flesh of other deer; but when meat is scarce we are glad enough to
eat it, and it supports life as well as anything else.”
Mrs Barnett and Lieutenant Hobson had been chatting together for some
minutes, when, with the exception of two, the wapitis suddenly ceased
fighting. Was their rage satiated?- or had they perceived the hunters,
and felt the approach of danger? Whatever the cause, all but two fine
creatures fled a towards the east With incredible speed; in a few
instants they were out of sight, and the swiftest horse could not have
caught them up.
Meanwhile, however, two magnificent specimens remained on the field
of battle. Heads down, antlers to antlers, hind legs stretched and
quivering, they butted at each other without a moment’s pause. Like
two wrestlers struggling for a prize which neither will yield, they
would not separate, but whirled round and round together on their front
legs as if riveted to one another. What implacable rage !” exclaimed
Mrs Barnett.
“Yes,” replied the Lieutenant; “the wapitis really are most
spiteful beasts. I have no doubt they are fighting out an old
quarrel.”
“Would not this be the time to approach them, when they are blinded
with rage?”
“There’s plenty of time, ma’am,” said Sabine; “they won’t
escape us now. They will not stir from where they are when we are three
steps from them, the rifles at our shoulders, and our fingers on the
triggers !”
Indeed? Yes, madam,” added Hobson, who had carefully examined the
wapitis after the hunter’s remark; “and whether at our hands or
from the teeth of wolves, those wapitis will meet death where they now
stand.”
“I don’t understand what you mean, Lieutenant,” said Mrs Barnett.
“Well, go nearer, madam,” he replied; “don’t be afraid of
startling the animals; for, as our hunter says, they are no longer
capable of flight.”
The four now descended the hill, and in a few minutes gained the theatre
of the struggle. The wapitis had not moved. They were pushing at
each other like a couple of rams, and seemed to be inseparably glued
together.
In fact, in the heat of the combat the antlers of the two creatures had
become entangled together to such an extent that they could no longer
separate without breaking them. This often happens in the hunting
districts. It is not at all uncommon to find antlers thus connected
lying on the ground; the poor encumbered animals soon die of hunger, or
they become an easy prey to wild beasts.
Two bullets put an end to the fight between the wapitis; and Marbre
and Sabine taking immediate possession, carried off their skins to be
subsequently prepared, leaving their bleeding carcasses to be devoured
by wolves and bears.
CHAPTER VII. THE ARCTIC CIRCLE. The expedition continued to advance
towards the north-west; but the great inequalities of the ground made it
hard work for the dogs to get along, and the poor creatures, who could
hardly be held in when they started, were now quiet enough. Eight or ten
miles a day were as much as they could accomplish, although Lieutenant
Hobson urged them on to the utmost.
He was anxious to get to Fort Confidence, on the further side of the
Great Bear Lake, where he hoped to obtain some useful information. Had
the Indians frequenting the northern banks of the lake been able to
cross the districts on the shores of the sea? was the Arctic Ocean open
at this time of year? These were grave questions, the reply to which
would decide the fate of the new factory.
The country through which the little troop was now passing was
intersected by numerous streams, mostly tributaries of the two large
rivers, the Mackenzie and Coppermine, which flow from the south to the
north, and empty themselves into the Arctic Ocean. Lakes, lagoons, and
numerous pools are formed between these two principal arteries; and
as they were no longer frozen over, the sledges could not venture upon
them, and were compelled to go around them, which caused considerable
delay. Lieutenant Hobson was certainly right in saying that winter is
the time to visit the hyperborean regions, for they are then far easier
to traverse. Mrs Paulina Barnett had reason to own the justice of this
assertion than once.
This region, included in the “Cursed Land,” was, besides, completely
deserted, as are the greater portion of the districts of the extreme
north of America. It has been estimated that there is but one inhabitant
to every ten square miles. Besides the scattered natives, there are some
few thousand agents or soldiers of the different fur-trading companies;
but they mostly congregate in the southern districts and about the
various factories. No human footprints gladdened the eyes of the
travellers, the only traces on the sandy soil were those of ruminants
and rodents. Now and then a fierce polar bear was seen, and Mrs Paulina
Barnett expressed her surprise at not meeting more of these terrible
carnivorous beasts, of whose daily attacks on whalers and persons
shipwrecked in Baffin’s Bay and on the coasts of Greenland and
Spitzbergen she had read in the accounts of those who had wintered in
the Arctic regions.
“Wait for the winter, madam,” replied the Lieutenant; “wait till
the cold makes them hungry, and then you will perhaps see as many as you
care about !”
On the 23d May, after a long and fatiguing journey, the expedition at
last reached the Arctic Circle. We know that this latitude 23° 27’
57” from the North Pole, forms the mathematical limit beyond which
the rays of the sun do not penetrate in the winter, when the northern
districts of the globe are turned away from the orb of day. Here, then,
the travellers entered the true Arctic region, the northern Frigid Zone.
The latitude had been very carefully obtained by means of most accurate
instruments, which were handled with equal skill by the astronomer and
by Lieutenant Hobson. Mrs Barnett was present at the operation, and
had the satisfaction of hearing that she was at last about to cross the
Arctic Circle. It was with a feeling of just pride that she received the
intelligence.
“You have already passed through the two Torrid Zones in your previous
journeys,” said the Lieutenant, “and now you are on the verge of the
Arctic Circle. Few explorers have ventured into such totally different
regions. Some, so to speak, have a specialty for hot countries, and
choose Africa or Australia as the field for their investigations. Such
were Barth, Burton, Livingstone Speke, Douglas, Stuart, &c. Others, on
the contrary, have a passion for the Arctic regions, still so little
known. Mackenzie, Franklin, Penny, Kane, Parry, Rae, &c., preceded us on
our present journey; but we must congratulate you, Mrs Barnett, on being
a more cosmopolitan traveller than all of them.”
“I must see everything or at least try to see everything,
Lieutenant,” replied. Mrs Paulina; “and I think the dangers and
difficulties are about equal everywhere. Although we have not to dread
the fevers of the unhealthy torrid regions, or the attacks of the fierce
black races, in this Frigid Zone, the cold is a no less formidable
enemy; and I suspect that the white bears we are liable to meet with
here will give us quite as warm a reception as would the tigers of
Thibet or the lions of Africa. In Torrid and Frigid Zones alike there
are vast unexplored tracts which will long defy the efforts of the
boldest adventurers.”
“Yes, madam,” replied Jaspar Hobson; “but I think the hyperborean
regions will longer resist thorough exploration. The natives are
the chief obstacle in tropical regions, and I am well aware how many
travellers have fallen victims to savages. But civilisation will
necessarily subdue the wild races sooner or later; whereas in the Arctic
and Antarctic Zones it is not the inhabitants who arrest the progress of
the explorer, but Nature herself who repels those who approach her, and
paralyses their energies with the bitter cold !”
“You think, then, that the secrets of the most remote districts of
Africa and Australia will have been fathomed before the Frigid Zone has
been entirely examined?”
“Yes, madam,” replied the Lieutenant; “and I think my opinion is
founded on facts. The most intrepid discoverers of the Arctic regions
- Parry, Penny, Franklin, M’Clure, Dane, and Morton -- did not get
beyond 83° north latitude, seven degrees from the pole -- whereas
Australia has several times been crossed from south to north by the
bold Stuart; and even Africa, with all its terrors, was traversed by
Livingstone from the Bay of Loanga to the mouth of the Zambesi. We are,
therefore, nearer to geographical knowledge of the equatorial countries
than of the Polar districts.”
“Do you think that the Pole itself will ever be reached by man?”
inquired Mrs Paulina Barnett.
“Certainly,” replied Hobson, adding with a smile, “by man or
woman. But I think other means must be tried of reaching this point,
where all the meridians of the globe cross each other, than those
hitherto adopted by travellers. We hear of the open sea, of which
certain explorers are said to have caught a glimpse. But if such a sea,
free from ice, really exist, it is very difficult to get at, and no one
can say positively whether it extends to the North Pole. For my part, I
think an open sea would increase rather than lessen the difficulties of
explorers. As for me, I would rather count upon firm footing, whether on
ice or rock, all the way. Then I would organise successive expeditions,
establishing depôts of provisions and fuel nearer and nearer to the
Pole; and so, with plenty of time, plenty of money, and perhaps the
sacrifice of a good many lives, I should in the end solve the great
scientific problem. I should, I think, at last reach the hitherto
inaccessible goal !”
“I think you are right, Lieutenant,” said Mrs Barnett; “and if
ever you try the experiment, I should not be afraid to join you, and
would gladly go to set up the Union Jack at the North Pole. But that is
not our present object.”
“Not our immediate object, madam,” replied Hobson; “but when once
the projects of the Company are realised, when the new fort has been
erected on the confines of the American continent, it may become the
natural starting-point of all expeditions to the north. Besides, should
the fur-yielding animals, too zealously hunted, take refuge at the Pole,
we should have to follow them.”
“Unless costly furs should go out of fashion,” replied Mrs Barnett.
“O madam,” cried the Lieutenant, “there will always be some pretty
woman whose wish for a sable muff or an ermine tippet must be gratified
!”
“I am afraid so,” said Mrs Barnett, laughing; “and probably the
first discoverer of the Pole will have been led thither in pursuit of a
sable or a silver fox.”
“That is my conviction,” replied Hobson. “ Such is human nature,
and greed of gain will always carry a man further than zeal for
science.”
“What! do you utter such sentiments?” exclaimed Mrs Barnett.
“Well, madam, what am I but an employé of the Hudson’s Bay Company?
and does the Company risk its capital and agents with any other hope
than an increase of profits?”
“Lieutenant Hobson,” said Mrs Barnett, “I think I know you well
enough to assert that on occasion you would be ready to devote body and
soul to science. If a purely geographical question called you to the
Pole, I feel sure you would not hesitate to go. But,” she added, with
a smile, “the solution of this great problem is still far distant. We
have but just reached the verge of the Arctic Circle, but I hope we may
cross it without any very great difficulty.”
“That I fear is doubtful,” said the Lieutenant, who had been
attentively examining the sky during their conversation. “The weather
has looked threatening for the last few days. Look at the uniformly grey
hue of the heavens. That mist will presently resolve itself into snow;
and if the wind should rise ever so little, we shall have to battle with
a fearful storm. I wish we were at the Great Bear Lake !”
“Do not let us lose any time, then,” said Mrs Barnett, rising;
“give the signal to start at once.”
The Lieutenant needed no urging. Had he been alone, or accompanied by a
few men as energetic as himself, he would have pressed on day and night;
but he was obliged to make allowance for the fatigue of others, although
he never spared himself. He therefore granted a few hours of rest to
his little party, and it was not until three in the afternoon that they
again set out.
Jaspar Hobson was not mistaken in prophesying a change in the weather.
It came very soon. During the afternoon of the same day the mist became
thicker, and assumed a yellowish and threatening hue. The Lieutenant,
although very uneasy, allowed none of his anxiety to appear, but had a
long consultation with Sergeant Long whilst the dogs of his sledge were
laboriously preparing to start.
Unfortunately, the district now to be traversed was very unsuitable
for sledges. The ground was very uneven; ravines were of frequent
occurrence; and masses of granite or half-thawed icebergs blocked up
the road, causing constant delay. The poor dogs did their best, but the
drivers’ whips no longer produced any effect upon them.
And so the Lieutenant and his men were often obliged to walk to rest the
exhausted animals, to push the sledges, or even sometimes to lift them
when the roughness of the ground threatened to upset them. The incessant
fatigue was, however, borne by all without a murmur. Thomas Black alone,
absorbed in his one idea, never got out of his sledge, and indeed be was
so corpulent that all exertion was disagreeable to him.
The nature of the soil changed from the moment of entering the Arctic
Circle. Some geological convulsion had evidently upheaved the enormous
blocks strewn upon the surface. The vegetation, too, was of a more
distinctive character. Wherever they were sheltered from the keen north
winds, the flanks of the hills were clothed not only with shrubs, but
with large trees, all of the same species -- pines, willows, and firs
-- proving by their presence that a certain amount of vegetative force
is retained even in the Frigid Zone. Jaspar Hobson hoped to find such
specimens of the Arctic Flora even on the verge of the Polar Sea; for
these trees would supply him with wood to build his fort, and fuel to
warm its inhabitants. The same thought passed through the minds of his
companions, and they could not help wondering at the contrast between
this comparatively fertile region, and the long white plains stretching
between the Great Slave Lake and Fort Enterprise.
At night the yellow mist became more opaque; the wind rose, the snow
began to fall in large flakes, and the ground was soon covered with a
thick white carpet. In less than an hour the snow was a foot deep, and
as it did not freeze but remained in a liquid state, the sledges could
only advance with extreme difficulty; the curved fronts stuck in the
soft substance, and the dogs were obliged to stop again and again.
Towards eight o’clock in the evening the wind became very boisterous.
The snow, driven before it, was flung upon the ground or whirled in the
air, forming one huge whirlpool. The dogs, beaten back by the squall
and blinded with snow, could advance no further. The party was then in
a narrow gorge between huge icebergs, over which the storm raged with
fearful fury. Pieces of ice, broken off by the hurricane, were hurled
into the pass; partial avalanches, any one of which could have crushed
the sledges and their inmates, added to its dangers, and to press
on became impossible. The Lieutenant no longer insisted, and after
consulting with Sergeant Long, gave the order to halt. It was now
necessary to find a shelter from the snow-drift; but this was no
difficult matter to men accustomed to Polar expeditions. Jaspar Hobson
and his men knew well what they had to do under the circumstances. It
was not the first time they had been surprised by a tempest some hundred
miles from the forts of the Company, without so much as an Esquimaux hut
or Indian hovel in which to lay their heads.
“To the icebergs! to the icebergs !” cried Jaspar Hobson.
Every one understood what he meant. Snow houses were to be hollowed
out of the frozen masses, or rather holes were to be dug, in which each
person could cower until the storm was over. Knives and hatchets were
soon at work on the brittle masses of ice, and in three-quarters of an
hour some ten dens had been scooped out large enough to contain two or
three persons each. The dogs were left to themselves, their own instinct
leading them to find sufficient shelter under the snow.
Before ten o’clock all the travellers were crouching in the snow
houses, in groups of two or three, each choosing congenial companions.
Mrs Barnett, Madge, and Lieutenant Hobson occupied one hut, Thomas Black
and Sergeant Long another, and so on. These retreats were warm, if not
comfortable; and the Esquimaux and Indians have no other refuge even in
the bitterest cold. The adventurers could therefore fearlessly await the
end of the storm as long as they took care not to let the openings of
their holes become blocked up with the snow, which they had to shovel
away every half hour. So violent was the storm that even the Lieutenant
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