and his soldiers could scarcely set foot outside. Fortunately, all were
provided with sufficient food, and were able to endure their beaver-like
existence without suffering from cold or hunger
For forty-eight hours the fury of the tempest continued to increase. The
wind roared in the narrow pass, and tore off the tops of the icebergs.
Loud reports, repeated twenty times by the echoes, gave notice of the
fall of avalanches, and Jaspar Hobson began to fear that his further
progress would be barred by the masses of debris accumulated between
the mountains. Other sounds mingled with these reports, which Lieutenant
Hobson knew too well, and he did not disguise from Mrs Barnett that
bears were prowling about the pass. But fortunately these terrible
animals were too much occupied with their own concerns to discover the
retreat of the travellers; neither the dogs nor the sledges, buried in
the snow, attracted their attention, and they passed on without doing
any harm.
The last night, that of the 25th or 26th May, was even more terrible. So
great was the fury of the hurricane that a general overthrow of
icebergs appeared imminent. A fearful death would then have awaited
the unfortunate travellers beneath the ruins of the broken masses. The
blocks of ice cracked with an awful noise, and certain oscillations gave
warning that breaches had been made threatening their solidity. However,
no great crash occurred, the huge mountains remained intact, and towards
the end of the night one of those sudden changes so frequent in the
Arctic regions took place; the tempest ceased suddenly beneath the
influence of intense cold, and with the first dawn of day peace was
restored.
CHAPTER VIII. THE GREAT BEAR LAKE. This sudden increase of cold was most
fortunate. Even in temperate climes there are generally three or four
bitter days in May; and they were most serviceable now in consolidating
the freshly-fallen snow, and making it practicable for sledges.
Lieutenant Hobson, therefore, lost no time in resuming his journey,
urging on the dogs to their utmost speed.
The route was, however, slightly changed. Instead of bearing due north,
the expedition advanced towards the west, following, so to speak, the
curve of the Arctic Circle. The Lieutenant was most anxious to reach
Fort Confidence, built on the northern extremity of the Great Bear Lake.
These few cold days were of the greatest service to him; he advanced
rapidly, no obstacle was encountered, and his little troop arrived at
the factory on the 30th May.
At this time Forts Confidence and Good Hope were the most advanced
posts of the Company in the north. Fort Confidence was a most important
position, built on the northern extremity of the lake, close to its
waters, which being frozen over in winter, and navigable in summer,
afforded easy access to Fort Franklin, on the southern shores, and
promoted the coming and going of the Indian hunters with their daily
spoils. Many were the hunting and fishing expeditions which started from
Forts Confidence and Good Hope, especially from the former. The Great
Bear Lake is quite a Mediterranean Sea, extending over several
degrees of latitude and longitude. Its shape is very irregular : two
promontories jut into it towards the centre, and the upper portion forms
a triangle; its appearance, as a whole, much resembling the extended
skin of a ruminant without the head.
Fort Confidence was built at the end of the “ right paw,” at least
two hundred miles from Coronation Gulf, one of the numerous estuaries
which irregularly indent the coast of North America. It was therefore
situated beyond the Arctic Circle, but three degrees south of the
seventieth parallel, north of which the Hudson’s Bay Company proposed
forming a new settlement.
Fort Confidence, as a whole, much resembled other factories further
south. It consisted of a house for the officers, barracks for the
soldiers, and magazines for the furs - all of wood, surrounded by
palisades. The captain in command was then absent. He had gone towards
the east on a hunting expedition with a few Indians and soldiers. The
last season had not been good, costly furs had been scarce; but to make
up for this the lake had supplied plenty of otter-skins. The stock of
them had, however, just been sent to the central factories in the south,
so that the magazines of Fort Confidence were empty on the arrival of
our party.
In the absence of the Captain a Sergeant did the honours of the fort to
Jaspar Hobson and his companions. This second officer, Felton by name
was a brother-in-law of Sergeant Long. He showed the greatest readiness
to assist the views of the Lieutenant, who being anxious to rest his
party, decided on remaining two or three days at Fort Confidence. In the
absence of the little garrison there was plenty of room, and dogs and
men were soon comfortably installed. The best room in the largest house
was of course given to Mrs Paulina Barnett, who was delighted with the
politeness of Sergeant Felton.
Jaspar Hobson’s first care was to ask Felton if any Indians from the
north were then beating the shores of the Great Bear Lake
“Yes, Lieutenant,” replied the Sergeant; “we have just received
notice of the encampment of a party of Hare Indians on the other
northern extremity of the lake.”
“How far from here?” inquired Hobson.
“About thirty miles,” replied Sergeant Felton. “Do you wish to
enter into communication with these Indians?”
“Yes,” said Hobson; they may be able to give me some valuable
information about the districts bordering on the Arctic Ocean, and
bounded by Cape Bathurst. Should the site be favourable, I propose
constructing our new fort somewhere about there.”
“Well, Lieutenant, nothing is easier than to go to the Hare
encampment.”
“Along the shores of the lake?”
“No, across it; it is now free from ice, and the wind is favourable.
We will place a cutter and a boatman at your service, and in a few hours
you will be in the Indian settlement.”
“Thank you, Sergeant; to-morrow, then.” Whenever you like,
Lieutenant.”
The start was fixed for the next morning; and when Mrs Paulina Barnett
heard of the plan, she begged the Lieutenant to allow her to accompany
him, which of course he readily did.
But now to tell how the rest of this first day was passed. Mrs Barnett,
Hobson, two or three soldiers, Madge, Mrs Mac-Nab, and Joliffe explored
the shores of the lake under the guidance of Felton. The neighbourhood
was by no means barren of vegetation; the hills, now free from snow,
were crowned by resinous trees of the Scotch pine species. These trees,
which attain a height of some forty feet, supply the inhabitants of the
forts with plenty of fuel through the long winter. Their thick trunks
and dark gloomy branches form a striking feature of the landscape; but
the regular clumps of equal height, sloping down to the very edge of the
water, are somewhat monotonous. Between the groups of trees the soil was
clothed with a sort of whitish weed, which perfumed the air with a sweet
thymy odour. Sergeant Felton informed his guests that this plant was
called the “ herb of incense “ on account of the fragrance it emits
when burnt.
Some hundred steps from the fort the party came to a little natural
harbour shut in by high granite rocks, which formed an admirable
protection from the heavy surf. Here was anchored the fleet of Fort
Confidence, consisting of a single fishing-boat--the very one which was
to take Mrs Barnett and Hobson to the Indian encampment the next day.
From this harbour an extensive view was obtained of the lake; its waters
slightly agitated by the wind, with its irregular shores broken by
jagged capes and intersected by creeks. The wooded heights beyond, with
here and there the rugged outline of a floating iceberg standing out
against the clear blue air, formed the background on the north; whilst
on the south a regular sea horizon, a circular line clearly cutting sky
and water, and at this moment glittering in the sunbeams, bounded the
sight.
The whole scene was rich in animal and vegetable life. The surface of
the water, the shores strewn with flints and blocks of granite, the
slopes with their tapestry of herbs, the tree-crowned hill-tops, were
all alike frequented by various specimens of the feathered tribe.
Several varieties of ducks, uttering their different cries and calls,
eider ducks, whistlers spotted redshanks, “old women,” those
loquacious birds whose beak is never closed, skimmed the surface of the
lake. Hundreds of puffins and guillemots with outspread wings darted
about in every direction, and beneath the trees strutted ospreys two
feet high-a kind of hawk with a grey body, blue beak and claws, and
orange-coloured eyes, which build their huge nests of marine plants in
the forked branches of trees. The hunter Sabine managed to bring down
a couple of these gigantic ospreys, which measured nearly six feet from
tip to tip of their wings, and were therefore magnificent specimens of
these migratory birds, who feed entirely on fish, and take refuge on
the shores of the Gulf of Mexico when winter sets in, only visiting the
higher latitudes of North America during the short summer.
But the most interesting event of the day was the capture of an otter,
the skin of which was worth several hundred roubles.
The furs of these valuable amphibious creatures were once much sought
after in China; and although the demand for them has considerably
decreased in the Celestial Empire, they still command very high prices
in the Russian market. Russian traders, ready to buy up sea-otter skins,
travel all along the coasts of New Cornwall as far as the Arctic Ocean;
and of course, thus hunted, the animal is becoming very rare. It has
taken refuge further and further north, and the trackers have now to
pursue it on the shores of the Kamtchatka Sea, and in the islands of the
Behring Archipelago.
“But,” added Sergeant Felton, after the preceding explanation,
“American inland otters are not to be despised, and those which
frequent the Great Bear Lake are worth from £50 to £60 each.”
The Sergeant was right; magnificent otters are found in these waters,
and he himself skilfully tracked and killed one in the presence of his
visitors which was scarcely inferior in value to those from Kamtchatka
itself. The creature measured three feet from the muzzle to the end of
its tail; it had webbed feet, short legs, and its fur, darker on the
upper than on the under part of its body, was long and silky.
“A good shot, Sergeant,” said Lieutenant Hobson, who with Mrs
Barnett had been attentively examining the magnificent fur of the dead
animal.
“Yes, Lieutenant,” replied Felton; “and if each day brought us
such a skin as that, we should have nothing to complain of. But much
time is wasted in watching these animals, who swim and dive with
marvellous rapidity. We generally hunt them at night, as they very
seldom venture from their homes in the trunks of trees or the holes of
rocks in the daytime, and even expert hunters find it very difficult to
discover their retreats.”
“And are these otters also becoming scarcer and scarcer?” inquired
Mrs Barnett.
“Yes, madam,” replied the Sergeant; “and when this species becomes
extinct, the profits of the Company will sensibly decline. All the
hunters try to obtain its fur, and the Americans in particular are
formidable rivals to us. Did you not meet any American agents on your
journey up, Lieutenant?”
“Not one,” replied Hobson. “Do they ever penetrate as far as
this?”
“Oh yes !” said the Sergeant; “and when you hear of their
approach, I advise you to be on your guard.”
“Are these agents, then, highway robbers?” asked Mrs Paulina
Barnett.
“No, madam,” replied the Sergeant; “but they are formidable
rivals, and when game is scarce, hunters often come to blows about it. I
daresay that if the Company’s attempt to establish a fort on the verge
of the Arctic Ocean be successful, its example will at once be followed
by these Americans, whom Heaven confound!”
“Bah!” exclaimed the Lieutenant; “the hunting districts are vast,
and there’s room beneath the sun for everybody. As for us, let’s
make a start to begin with. Let us press on as long as we have firm
ground beneath our feet, and God be with us!”
After a walk of three hours the visitors returned to Fort Confidence,
where a good meal of fish and fresh venison awaited them. Sergeant Long
did the honours of the table, and after a little pleasant conversation,
all retired to rest to forget their fatigues in a healthy and refreshing
sleep.
The next day, May 31st, Mrs Barnett and Jaspar Hobson were on foot at
five A.M. The Lieutenant intended to devote this day to visiting the
Indian encampment, and obtaining as much useful information as possible.
He asked Thomas Black to go with him, but the astronomer preferred
to remain on terra firma. He wished to make a few astronomical
observations, and to determine exactly the latitude and longitude of
Fort Confidence; so that Mrs Barnett and Jaspar Hobson had to cross the
lake alone, under the guidance of an old boatman named Norman, who had
long been in the Company’s service.
The two travellers were accompanied by Sergeant Long as far as the
little harbour, where they found old Norman ready to embark. Their
little vessel was but an open fishing-boat, six feet long, rigged like
a cutter, which one man could easily manage. The weather was beautiful,
and the slight breeze blowing from the north-east was favourable to the
crossing. Sergeant Felton took leave of his guests with many apologies
for being unable to accompany them in the absence of his chief. The boat
was let loose from its moorings, and tacking to starboard, shot across
the clear waters of the lake.
The little trip passed pleasantly enough. The taciturn old sailor sat
silent in the stern of the boat with the tiller tucked under his arm.
Mrs Barnett and Lieutenant Hobson, seated opposite to each other,
examined with interest the scenery spread out before them. The boat
skirted the northern shores of the lake at about three miles’
distance, following a rectilinear direction, so that the wooded heights
sloping gradually to the west were distinctly visible. From this side
the district north of the lake appeared perfectly flat, and the horizon
receded to a considerable distance. The whole of this coast contrasted
strongly with the sharp angle, at the extremity of which rose Fort
Confidence, framed in green pines. The flag of the Company was still
visible floating from the tower of the fort. The oblique rays of the sun
lit up the surface of the water, and striking on the floating icebergs,
seemed to convert them into molten silver of dazzling brightness. No
trace remained of the solid ice-mountains of the winter but these moving
relies, which the solar rays could scarcely dissolve, and which seemed,
as it were, to protest against the brilliant but not very powerful Polar
sun, now describing a diurnal arc of considerable length.
Mrs Barnett and the Lieutenant, as was their custom, communicated to
each other the thoughts suggested by the strange scenes through which
they were passing. They laid up a store of pleasant recollections for
the future whilst the beat floated rapidly along upon the peaceful
waves.
The party started at six in the morning, and at nine they neared the
point on the northern bank at which they were to land. The Indian
encampment was situated at the north-west angle of the Great Bear Lake.
Before ten o’clock old Norman ran the boat aground on a low bank at
the foot of a cliff of moderate height. Mrs Barnett and the Lieutenant
landed at once. Two or three Indians, with their chief, wearing gorgeous
plumes, hastened to meet them, and addressed them in fairly intelligible
English.
These Hare Indians, like the Copper and Beaver Indians, all belong to
the Chippeway race, and differ but little in customs and costumes
from their fellow-tribes. They are in constant communication with the
factories, and have become, so to speak, “Britainised” -- at least
as much so as is possible for savages. They bring the spoils of the
chase to the forts, and there exchange them for the necessaries of life,
which they no longer provide for themselves. They are in the pay of the
Company, they live upon it, and it is not surprising that they have lost
all originality. To find a native race as yet uninfluenced by contact
with Europeans we must go to still higher latitudes, to the ice-bound
regions frequented by the Esquimaux, who, like the Greenlanders, are the
true children of Arctic lands.
Mrs Barnett and Jaspar Hobson accompanied the Indians to their camp,
about half a mile from the shore, and found some thirty natives there,
men, women, and children, who supported themselves by hunting and
fishing on the borders of the lake. These Indians had just come from the
northernmost districts of the American continent, and were able to
give the Lieutenant some valuable, although necessarily incomplete,
information on the actual state of the sea-coast near the seventieth
parallel. The Lieutenant heard with considerable satisfaction that a
party of Americans or Europeans had been seen on the confines of
the Polar Sea, and that it was open at this time of year. About Cape
Bathurst, properly so called, the point for which he intended to make,
the Hare Indians could tell him nothing. Their chief said, however,
that the district between the Great Bear Lake and Cape Bathurst was
very difficult to cross, being hilly and intersected by streams, at this
season of the year free from ice. He advised the Lieutenant to go down
the Coppermine river, from the north-east of the lake, which would take
him to the coast by the shortest route. Once at the Arctic Ocean, it
would be easy to skirt along its shores and to choose the best spot at
Which to halt.
Lieutenant Hobson thanked the Indian chief, and took leave after giving
him a few presents. Then accompanied by Mrs Barnett, he explored the
neighbourhood of the camp, not returning to the boat until nearly three
o’clock in the afternoon.
CHAPTER IX. A STORM ON THE LAKE. The old sailor was impatiently awaiting
the return of the travellers; for during the last hour the weather had
changed, and the appearance of the sky was calculated to render any one
accustomed to read the signs of the clouds uneasy. The sun was obscured
by a thick mist, the wind had fallen, but - an ominous moaning was heard
from the south of the lake. These symptoms of an approaching change
of temperature were developed with all the rapidity peculiar to these
elevated latitudes.
“Let us be off, sir! let us be off!” cried old Norman, looking
anxiously at the fog above his head. “ Let us start without losing an
instant. There are terrible signs in the air!”
“Indeed,” exclaimed the Lieutenant, “the appearance of the sky is
quite changed, and we never noticed it, Mrs Barnett!”
“Are you afraid of a storm?” inquired the lady of old Norman.
“Yes, madam,” replied the old sailor; “and the storms on the Great
Bear Lake are often terrible. The hurricane rages as if upon the open
Atlantic Ocean. This sudden fog bodes us no good; but the tempest may
hold back for three or four hours, and by that time we shall be at Fort
Confidence. Let us then start without a moment’s delay, for the boat
would not be safe near these rocks.”
The Lieutenant, feeling that the old man, accustomed as he was to
navigate these waters, was better able to judge than himself, decided to
follow his advice, and embarked at once with Mrs Barnett.
But just as they were pushing off, old Norman, as if possessed by some
sudden presentiment, murmured --
“Perhaps it would be better to wait.”
Lieutenant Hobson overheard these words, and looked inquiringly at the
old boatman, already seated at the helm. Had he been alone he would not
have hesitated to start, but as Mrs Barnett was with him caution was
necessary. The lady at once saw and understood his hesitation.
“Never mind about me, Lieutenant,” she said; “act as if I were not
present. Let us start immediately , as our brave guide suggests.”
“We are off, then,” cried Norman, letting go the moorings, “to the
fort by the shortest route.”
For about an hour the bark made little head. The sail, scarcely filled
by the fitful breeze, flapped against the mast. The fog became thicker.
The waves began to rise and the boat to rock considerably; for the
approaching hurricane affected the water sooner than the atmosphere
itself. The two travellers sat still and silent, whilst the old
sailor peered into the darkness with bloodshot eyes. Prepared for
all contingencies, he awaited the shock of the wind, ready to pay out
rapidly should the attack be very violent. The conflict of the elements
had not, however, as yet commenced; and all would have been well if they
bad been able to advance, but after an hour’s sail they were still
only about two hours’ distance from the Indian encampment. A few gusts
of wind from the shore drove them out of their course, and the dense fog
rendered it impossible for them to make out the coast-line. Should the
wind settle in the north it would probably go hard with the light boat,
which, unable to hold its own course, would be drifted out into the lake
no one knew where.
“We are scarcely advancing at all,” said the Lieutenant to old
Norman.
“No, sir,” replied Norman; “the wind is not strong enough to fill
the sail, and if it were, I fear it comes from the wrong quarter. If
so,” he added, pointing to the south, “we may see Fort Franklin
before Fort Confidence.”
“Well,” said Mrs Barnett cheerfully, “our trip will have been all
the more complete. This is a magnificent lake, well worth exploring from
north to south. I suppose, Norman, one might get back even from Fort
Franklin?”
“Yes, madam, if we ever reach it,” replied the old man. “But
tempests lasting fifteen days are by no means rare on this lake; and
if our bad luck should drive us to the south, it may be a month before
Lieutenant Hobson again sees Fort Confidence.”
“Let us be careful, then,” said the Lieutenant; “for such a delay,
would hinder our projects very much. Do the best you can under the
circumstances, and if you think it would be prudent, go back to the
north. I don’t suppose Mrs Barnett would mind a walk of twenty or
twenty-five miles.”
I should be glad enough to go back to the north, Lieutenant,” replied
Norman, “if it were still possible. But look, the wind seems likely
to settle against us. All I can attempt is to get to the cape on the
north-east, and if it doesn’t blow too hard, I hope to succeed.”
But at about half-past four the storm broke. The shrill whistling of the
wind was heard far above their heads, but the state of the atmosphere
prevented it from as yet descending upon the lake; this was, however,
only delayed for a brief space of time. The cries of frightened birds
flying through the fog mingled with the noise of the wind. Suddenly the
mist was torn open, and revealed low jagged masses of rain-cloud chased
towards the south. The fears of the old sailor were realised. The wind
blew from the north, and it was not long before the travellers learned
the meaning of a squall upon the lake.
“Look out!” cried old Norman, tightening sail so as to get his boat
ahead of the wind, whilst keeping her under control of the helm.
The squall came. It caught the boat upon the flank, and it was turned
over on its side; but recovering itself, it was flung upon the crest
of a wave. The billows surged as if upon an open sea. The waters of the
lake not being very deep, struck against the bottom and rebounded to an
immense height.
“Help! help!” cried old Norman, hurriedly struggling to haul down
his sail.
Mrs Barnett and Hobson endeavoured to come to his assistance, but
without success, for they knew noticing of the management of a boat.
Norman, unable to leave the helm, and the halliards being entangled at
the top of the mast, could not take in the sail. Every moment the boat
threatened to capsize, and heavy seas broke over its sides. The
sky became blacker and blacker, cold rain mingled with snow fell in
torrents, whilst the squall redoubled its fury, lashing the crests of
the waves into foam.
“Cut it! cut it!” screamed Norman above the roaring of the storm.
The Lieutenant, his cap blown away and his eyes blinded by the spray,
seized Norman’s knife and cut the halliard like a harp-string; but the
wet cordage no longer acted in the grooves of the pulleys, and the yard
remained attached to the top of the mast.
Norman, totally unable to make head against the wind, now resolved to
tack about for the south, dangerous as it would be to have the boat
before the wind, pursued by waves advancing at double its speed. Yes, to
tack, although this course would probably bring them all to the southern
shores of the lake, far away from their destination.
The Lieutenant and his brave companion were well aware of the danger
which threatened them. The frail boat could not long resist the blows
of the waves, it would either be crushed or capsized; the lives of those
within it were in the hands of God.
But neither yielded to despair; clinging to the sides of the boat, wet
to the skin, chilled to the bone by the cutting blast, they strove
to gaze through the thick mist and fog. All trace of the land had
disappeared, and so great was the obscurity that at a cable’s length
from the boat clouds and waves could not be distinguished from each
other. Now and then the two travellers looked inquiringly into old
Norman’s face, who, with teeth set and hands clutching the tiller;
tried to keep his boat as much as possible under wind.
But the violence of the squall became such that the boat could not long
maintain this course. The waves which struck its bow would soon have
inevitably crushed it; the front planks were already beginning to
separate, and when its whole weight was flung into the hollows of the
waves it seemed as if it could rise no more.
“We must tack, we must tack, whatever happens !” murmured the old
sailor.
And pushing the tiller and paying out sail, he turned the head of the
boat to the south. The sail, stretched to the utmost, brought the boat
round with giddy rapidity, and the immense waves, chased by the wind,
threatened to engulf the little bark. This was the great danger of
shifting with the wind right aft. The billows hurled themselves in rapid
succession upon the boat, which could not evade them. It filled rapidly,
and the water bad to be baled out without a moment’s pause, or it must
have foundered. As they got nearer and nearer to the middle of the lake
the waves became rougher. Nothing there broke the fury of the wind; no
clumps of trees, no hills, checked for a moment the headlong course of
the hurricane. Now and then momentary glimpses were obtained through the
fog of icebergs dancing like buoys upon the waves, and driven towards
the south of the lake.
It was half-past five. Neither Norman nor the Lieutenant had any idea of
where they were, or whither they were going. They had lost all control
over the boat, and were at the mercy of the winds and waves.
And now at about a hundred feet behind the boat a huge wave upreared its
foam-crowned crest, whilst in front a black whirlpool was formed by the
sudden sinking of the water. All surface agitation, crushed by the
wind, had disappeared around this awful gulf, which, growing deeper and
blacker every moment, drew the devoted little vessel towards its fatal
embrace. Ever nearer came the mighty wave, all lesser billows sinking
into insignificance before it. It gained upon the boat, another moment
and it would crush it to atoms. Norman, looking round, saw its approach;
and Mrs Barnett and the Lieutenant, with eyes fixed and staring, awaited
in fearful suspense the blow from which there was no escape. The wave
broke over them with the noise of thunder; it enveloped the stern of the
boat in foam, a fearful crash was heard, and a cry burst from the lips
of the Lieutenant and his companion, smothered beneath the liquid mass.
They thought that all was over, and that the boat had sunk; but no, it
rose once more, although more than half filled with water.
The Lieutenant uttered a cry of despair. Where was Norman? The poor old
sailor had disappeared !
Mrs Paulina Barnett looked inquiringly at Hobson.
“Norman!” he repeated, pointing to his empty place.
“Unhappy man !” murmured Mrs Barnett; and at the risk of being flung
from the boat rocking on the waves, the two started to their feet and
looked around them. But they could see and hear nothing. No cry for help
broke upon their ears. No dead body floated in the white foam. The old
sailor had met his death in the element he loved so well.
Mrs Barnett and Hobson sank back upon their seats. They were now alone,
and must see to their own safety; but neither of them knew anything of
the management of a boat, and even an experienced hand could scarcely
have controlled it now. They were at the mercy of the waves, and the
bark, with distended sail, swept along in mad career. What could the
Lieutenant do to check or direct its course?
What a terrible situation for our travellers, to be thus overtaken by a
tempest in a frail bark which they could not manage !
“We are lost!” said the Lieutenant.
“No, Lieutenant,” replied Mrs Barnett; “let us make another
effort. Heaven helps those who help themselves !”
Lieutenant Hobson now for the first time realised with how intrepid a
woman fate had thrown him.
The first thing to be done was to get rid of the water which weighed
down the boat. Another wave shipped would have filled it in a moment,
and it must have sunk at once. The vessel lightened, it would have a
better chance of rising on the waves; and the two set to work to bale
out the water. This was no easy task; for fresh waves constantly broke
over them, and the scoop could not be laid aside for an instant. Mrs
Barnett was indefatigable, and the Lieutenant, leaving the baling to
her, took the helm himself, and did the best he could to guide the boat
with the wind right aft.
To add to the danger, night, or rather darkness, for in these latitudes
night only lasts a few hours at this time of year, fell upon them.
Scarce a ray of light penetrated through the heavy clouds and fog. They
could not see two yards before them, and the boat must have been dashed
to pieces had it struck a floating iceberg. This danger was indeed
imminent, for the loose ice-masses advance with such rapidity that it is
impossible to get out of their way.
“You have no control over the helm?” said Mrs Barnett in a slight
lull of the storm.
No, madam he replied; “and you must prep are for the worst.”
“I am ready!” replied the courageous woman simply.
As she spoke a loud rippling sound was heard. The sail, torn away by the
wind, disappeared like a white cloud. The boat sped rapidly along for
a few instants, and then stopped suddenly, the waves buffeting it about
like an abandoned wreck. Mrs Barnett and Hobson, flung to the bottom of
the boat, bruised, shaken, and torn, felt that all was lost. Not a shred
of canvas was left to aid in navigating the craft; and what with the
spray, the snow, and the rain, they could scarcely see each other,
whilst the uproar drowned their voices. Expecting every moment to
perish, they remained for an hour in painful suspense, commending
themselves to God, who alone could save them.
Neither of them could have said how long they waited when they were
aroused by a violent shock.
The boat had just struck an enormous iceberg, a floating block with
rugged, slippery sides, to which it would be impossible to cling.
At this sudden blow, which could not have been parried, the bow of the
boat was split open, and the water poured into it in torrents.
“We are sinking! we are sinking !” cried Jasper Hobson.
He was right. The boat was settling down; the water had already reached
the seats.
“Madam, madam, I am here! I will not leave you!” added the
Lieutenant.
“No, no,” cried Mrs Barnett : “alone, you may save yourself;
together, we should perish. Leave me! leave me!”
“Never!” cried Hobson.
But he had scarcely pronounced this word when the boat, struck by
another wave, filled and sank.
Both were drawn under water by the eddy caused by the sudden settling
down of the boat, but in a few instants they rose to the surface.
Hobson was a strong swimmer, and struck out with one arm, supporting
his companion with the other. But it was evident that he could not long
sustain a conflict with the furious waves, and that he must perish with
her he wished to save.
At this moment a strange sound attracted his attention. It was not the
cry of a frightened bird, but the shout of a human voice! By one supreme
effort Hobson raised himself above the waves and looked around him.
But he could distinguish nothing in the thick fog. And yet he again
beard cries, this time nearer to him. Some bold men were coming to his
succour! Alas! if it were so, they would arrive too late. Encumbered by
his clothes, the Lieutenant felt himself sinking with the unfortunate
lady, whose head he could scarcely keep above the water. With a last
despairing effort he uttered a heartrending cry and disappeared beneath
the waves.
It was, however, no mistake-he had heard voices. Three men, wandering
about by the lake, had seen the boat in danger, and put off to its
rescue. They were Esquimaux, the only men who could have hoped to
weather such a storm, for theirs are the only boats constructed to
escape destruction in these fearful tempests.
The Esquimaux boat or kayak is a long pirogue raised at each end, made
of a light framework of wood, covered with stretched seal-skins strongly
stitched with the sinews of the Walrus. In the upper part of the boat;
also covered with skins, is an opening in which the Esquimaux takes his
place, fastening his waterproof jacket to the back of his seat; so
that he is actually joined to his bark, which not a drop of water can
penetrate. This light, easily-managed kayak, floating as it does, on
the crests of the waves, can never be submerged; and if it be sometimes
capsized, a blow of the paddle rights it again directly; so that it
is able to live and make way in seas in which any other boat would
certainly be dashed to pieces.
The three Esquimaux, guided by the Lieutenant’s last despairing
cry, arrived at the scene of the wreck joints in time. Hobson and Mrs
Barnett, already half drowned, felt themselves drawn up by powerful
hands; but in the darkness they were unable to discover who were their
deliverers. One of the men took the Lieutenant and laid him across his
own boat, another did the sane for Mrs Barnett, and the three kayaks,
skilfully managed with the paddles, six feet long, sped rapidly over the
white foam.
Half an hour afterwards, the shipwrecked travellers were lying on the
sandy beach three miles above Fort Providence.
The old sailor alone was missing !
CHAPTER X. A RETROSPECT. It was about ten o’clock the same night when
Mrs Barnett and Lieutenant Hobson knocked at the postern gate of the
fort. Great was the joy on seeing them, for they had been given up for
lost; but this joy was turned to mourning at the news of the death
of Norman. The brave fellow had been beloved by all, and his loss
was sincerely mourned. The intrepid and devoted Esquimaux received
phlegmatically the earnest expressions of gratitude of those they had
saved, and coulot be persuaded to come to the fort. What they had done
seemed to them only natural, and these were not the first persons they
had rescued; so they quietly returned to their wild life of adventure on
the lake, where they hunted the otters and water-birds day and night.
For the next three nights the party rested. Hobson always intended to
set out on June 2d; and on that day, all having recovered from their
fatigues and the storm having abated, the order was given to start.
Sergeant Felton had done all in his power to make his guests comfortable
and to aid their enterprise; some of the jaded dogs were replaced by
fresh animals, and now the Lieutenant found all his sledges drawn up in
good order at the door of the enceinte, and awaiting the travellers.
The adieux were soon over. Each one thanked Sergeant Felton for his
hospitality, and Mrs Paulina Barnett was most profuse in her expressions
of gratitude. A hearty shake of the hand between the Sergeant and his
brother-in-law, Long, completed the leave-taking,
Each pair got into the sledge assigned to them; but this time Mrs
Barnett and the Lieutenant shared one vehicle, Madge and Sergeant Long
following them.
According to the advice of the Indian chief, Hobson determined to get to
the coast by the shortest route, and to take a north-easterly direction.
After consulting, his map, which merely gave a rough outline of the
configuration of the country, it seemed best to him to descend the
valley of the Coppermine, a large river which flows into Coronation
Gulf.
The distance between Fort Confidence and the mouth of this river is only
a degree and a half-that is to say, about eighty-five or ninety miles.
The deep hollow formed by the gulf is bounded on the north by Cape
Krusenstein, and from it the coast juts out towards the north-west,
ending in Cape Bathurst, which is above the seventieth parallel.
The Lieutenant, therefore, now changed the route he had hitherto
followed, directing his course to the east, so as to reach the river in
a few hours.
In the afternoon of the next day, June 3d, the river was gained. It was
now free from ice, and its clear and rapid waters flowed through a vast
valley, intersected by numerous but easily fordable streams. The
sledges advanced pretty rapidly, and as they went along, Hobson gave his
companion some account of the country through which they were passing. A
sincere friendship founded on mutual esteem, had sprung up between these
two. Mrs Paulina Barnett was an earnest student with a special gift for
discovery, and was therefore always glad to converse with travellers and
explorers. Hobson, who knew his beloved North America by heart, was able
to answer all her inquiries fully.
“About ninety years ago,” he said, “the territory through which
the Coppermine flows was unknown, and we are indebted for its discovery
to the agents of the Hudson’s Bay Company. But as always happens in
scientific matters, in seeking one thing, another was found. Columbus
was trying to find Asia, and discovered America.”
“And what were the agents of the Hudson’s Bay Company seeking? The
famous North-West Passage?”
“No, madam,” replied the young Lieutenant. “A century ago the
Company had no interest in the opening of a new route, which would have
been more valuable to its rivals than to it. It is even said that in
1741 a certain Christopher Middleton, sent to explore these latitudes,
was publicly charged with receiving a bribe of £500 from the Company
to say that there was not, and could not be, a sea passage between the
oceans.”
“That was not much to the credit of the celebrated Company,” said
Mrs Barnett.
“I do not defend it in the matter,” replied Hobson; “and its
interference was severely censured by Parliament in 1746, when a reward
of £20,000 was offered by the Government for the discovery of the
passage in question. In that year two intrepid explorers, William Moor
and Francis Smith, penetrated as far as Repulse Bay in the hope of
discovering the much-longed-for passage. But they were unsuccessful, and
returned to England after an absence of a year and a half.”
“But did not other captains follow in their steps, resolved to conquer
where they had failed?” inquired Mrs Barnett.
“No, madam; and in spite of the large reward offered by Parliament, no
attempt was made to resume explorations in English America until thirty
years afterwards, when some agents of the Company took up the unfinished
task of Captains Moor and Smith.”
“The Company had then relinquished the narrow-minded egotistical
position it had taken up?”
“No, madam, not yet. Samuel Hearne, the agent, only went to
reconnoitre the position of a copper-mine which native miners had
reported. On November 6, 1769, this agent left Fort Prince of Wales,
on the river Churchill, near the western shores of Hudson’s Bay. He
pressed boldly on to the north-west; but the excessive cold and
the exhaustion of his provisions compelled him to return without
accomplishing anything. Fortunately he was not easily discouraged, and
on February 23d of the next year he set out again, this time taking some
Indians with him. Great hardships were endured in this second journey.
The fish and game on which Hearne had relied often failed him; and
he had once nothing to eat for seven days but wild fruit, bits of old
leather, and burnt bones. He was again compelled to return to the fort
a disappointed man. But he did not even yet despair, and started a third
time, December 7th, 1770; and after a struggle of nineteen months, he
discovered the Coppermine river, July 13th, 1772, the course of which
he followed to its mouth. According to his own account, he saw the open
sea, and in any case he was the first to penetrate to the northern coast
of America.”
“But the North-West Passage-that is to say, the direct communication
by sea between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans--was not then
discovered?”
“Oh no, madam,” replied the Lieutenant; “and what countless
adventurous sailors have since gone to seek it! Phipps in 1773, James
Cook and Clerke in 1776 to 1779, Kotzebue in 1815 to 1818, Ross, Parry,
Franklin, and others have attempted this difficult task; but it was
reserved to M’Clure in our own day to pass from one ocean to the other
across the Polar Sea.”
“Well, Lieutenant, that was a geographical discovery of which we
English may well be proud. But do tell me if the Hudson’s Bay Company
did not adopt more generous views, and send out some other explorer
after the return of Hearne.”
“It did, madam; and it was thanks to it that Captain Franklin was able
to accomplish his voyage of 1819 to 1822 between the river discovered
by Hearne and Cape Turnagain. This expedition endured great fatigue and
hardships; provisions often completely failed, and two Canadians were
assassinated and eaten by their comrades. But in spite of all his
sufferings, Captain Franklin explored no less than five thousand
five hundred and fifty miles of the hitherto unknown coast of North
America!”
“He was indeed a man of energy,” added Mrs Barnett; “and he gave
proof of his great qualities in starting on a fresh Polar expedition
after all he had gone through.”
“Yes,” replied the Lieutenant; “and he met a terrible death in
the land his own intrepidity had discovered. It has now been proved,
however, that all his companions did not perish with him. Many are
doubtless still wandering about on the vast ice-fields. I cannot
think of their awful condition without a shudder. One day,” be added
earnestly, and with strange emotion--” one day I will search the
unknown lands where the dreadful catastrophe took place, and-- “
“And,” exclaimed Mrs Barnett, pressing his hand, “I will accompany
you. Yes, this idea has occurred to me more than once, as it has to
you; and my heart beats high when I think that fellow countrymen of my
own-Englishmen-are awaiting succour.”
“Which will come too late for most of them, madam,” said the
Lieutenant; “but rest assured some will even yet be saved.”
“God grant it, Lieutenant!” replied Mrs Barnett; “and it appears
to me that the agents of the Company, living as they do close to the
coast, are better fitted than any one else to fulfil this duty of
humanity.”
“I agree with you, madam; they are, as they have often proved, inured
to the rigours of the Arctic climate. Was it not they who aided Captain
Back in his voyage in 1834, when he discovered King William’s Land,
where Franklin met his fate? Was it not two of us, Dease and Simpson,
who were sent by the Governor of Hudson’s Bay to explore the shores
of the Polar Sea in 1838, and whose courageous efforts first discovered
Victoria Land? It is my opinion that the future reserves for the
Hudson’s Bay Company the final conquest of the Arctic regions.
Gradually its factories are advancing further and further north,
following the retreat of the fur-yielding animals; and one day a fort
will be erected on the Pole itself, that mathematical point where meet
all the meridians of the globe.”
During this and the succeeding journeys Jaspar Hobson related his own
adventures since he entered the service of the Company his struggles
with the agents of rival associations, and his efforts to explore the
unknown districts of the north or west; and Mrs Barnett, on her side,
told of her travels in the tropics. She spoke of all she had done, and
of all she hoped still to accomplish; so that the long hours, lightened
by pleasant conversation, passed rapidly away.
Meanwhile the dogs advanced at full gallop towards the north. The
Coppermine valley widened sensibly as they neared the Arctic Ocean. The
hills on either side sank lower and lower, and only scattered clumps of
resinous trees broke the monotony of the landscape. A few blocks of ice,
drifted down by the river, still resisted the action of the sun; but
each day their number decreased, and a canoe, or even a good-sized
boat, might easily have descended the stream, the course of which was
unimpeded by any natural barrier or aggregation of rocks. The bed of the
Coppermine was both deep and wide; its waters were very clear, and
being fed by the melted snow, flowed on at a considerable pace, never,
however, forming dangerous rapids. Its course, at first very sinuous,
became gradually less and less winding, and at last stretched along in a
straight line for several miles. Its banks, composed of fine firm sand,
and clothed in part with short dry herbage, were wide and level, so that
the long train of sledges sped rapidly over them.
The expedition travelled day and night-if we can speak of the night,
when the sun, describing an almost horizontal circle, scarcely
disappeared at all. The true night only lasted two hours, and the dawn
succeeded the twilight almost immediately. The weather was fine; the sky
clear, although somewhat misty on the horizon; and everything combined
to favour the travellers.
For two days they kept along the river-banks without meeting with any
difficulties. They saw but few fur-bearing animals; but there were
plenty of birds, which might have been counted by thousands. The absence
of otters, sables, beavers, ermines, foxes, &c., did not trouble the
Lieutenant much, for he supposed that they had been driven further
north by over-zealous tracking; and indeed the marks of encampments,
extinguished fires, &c., told of the more or less recent passage of
native hunters. Hobson knew that he would have to penetrate a good deal
further north, and that part only of his journey would be accomplished
when he got to the mouth of the Coppermine river. He was therefore most
eager to reach the limit of Hearne’s exploration, and pressed on as
rapidly as possible.
Every one shared the Lieutenant’s impatience, and resolutely resisted
fatigue in order to reach the Arctic Ocean with the least possible
delay. They were drawn onwards by an indefinable attraction; the glory
of the unknown dazzled their sight. Probably real hardships would
commence when they did arrive at the much-desired coast. But no matter,
they longed to battle with difficulties, and to press straight onwards
to their aim. The district they were now traversing could have no direct
interest for them; the real exploration would only commence on the
shores of the Arctic Ocean. Each one, then, would gladly hail the
arrival in the elevated western districts for which they were bound, cut
across though they were by the seventieth parallel of north latitude.
On the 5th June, four days after leaving Fort Confidence the river
widened considerably. The western banks, curving slightly, ran almost
due north; whilst the eastern rounded off into the coastline, stretching
away as far as the eye could reach.
Lieutenant Hobson paused, and waving his hand to his companions, pointed
to the boundless ocean.
CHAPTER XI. ALONG THE COAST. Coronation Gulf, the large estuary dotted
with the islands forming the Duke of York Archipelago, which the party
had now reached, was a sheet of water with irregular banks, let in, as
it were, into the North American continent. At its western angle opened
the mouth of the Coppermine; and on the east a long narrow creek called
Bathurst Inlet ran into the mainland, from which stretched the jagged
broken coast with its pointed capes and rugged promontories, ending
in that confusion of straits, sounds, and channels which gives such a
strange appearance to the maps of North America. On the other side the
coast turned abruptly to the north beyond the mouth of the Coppermine
River, and ended in Cape Krusenstern.
After consulting with Sergeant Long, Lieutenant Hobson decided to give
his party a day’s rest here.
The exploration, properly so called, which was to enable the Lieutenant
to fix upon a suitable site for the establishment of a fort, was now
really about to begin. The Company had advised him to keep as much as
possible above the seventieth parallel, and on the shores of the Arctic
Ocean. To obey his orders Hobson was obliged to keep to the west; for on
the east--with the exception, perhaps, of the land of Boothia, crossed
by the seventieth parallel--the whole country belongs rather to the
Arctic Circle, and the geographical conformation of Boothia is as yet
but imperfectly known.
After carefully ascertaining the latitude and longitude, and verifying
his position by the map, the Lieutenant found that he was a hundred
miles below the seventieth degree. But beyond Cape Krusenstern, the
coast-line, running in a north-easterly direction, abruptly crosses the
seventieth parallel at a sharp angle near the one hundred and thirtieth
meridian, and at about the same elevation as Cape Bathurst, the spot
named as a rendezvous by Captain Craventy. He must therefore make for
that point, and should the site appear suitable the new fort would be
erected there.
“There,” said the Lieutenant to his subordinate, Long, “we shall
be in the position ordered by the Company. There the sea, open for a
great part of the year, will allow the vessels from Behring Strait to
come right up to the fort, bringing us fresh provisions and taking away
our commodities.”
“Not to mention,” added Sergeant Long, “that our men will be
entitled to double pay all the time they are beyond the seventieth
parallel.”
“Of course that is understood,” replied Hobson; “and I daresay
they will accept it without a murmur.”
“Well then, Lieutenant,” said Long simply, “we have now only to
start for Cape Bathurst.”
But as a day of rest had been promised, the start did not actually take
place until the next day, June 6th.
The second part of the journey would naturally be very different from
the first. The rules with regard to the sledges keeping their rank need
no longer be enforced, and each couple drove as it pleased them. Only
short distances were traversed at a time; halts were made at every angle
of the coast, and the party often walked. Lieutenant Hobson only urged
two things upon his companions not to go further than three miles from
the coast, and to rally their forces twice a day, at twelve o’clock
and in the evening. At night they all encamped in tents.
The weather continued very fine and the temperature moderate,
maintaining a mean height of 59° Fahrenheit above zero. Two or three
times sudden snowstorms came on; but they did not last long, and
exercised no sensible influence upon the temperature.
The whole of the American coast between Capes Krusenstern and Parry,
comprising an extent of more than two hundred and fifty miles, was
examined with the greatest care between the 6th and 20th of June.
Geographical observations were accurately taken, and Hobson, most
effectively aided by Thomas Black, was able to rectify certain errors
in previous marine surveys; whilst the primary object of the
expedition--the examination into the quality and quantity of the game
in the surrounding districts-was not neglected.
Were these lands well stocked with game? Could they count with certainty
not only on a good supply of furs, but also of meat? Would the resources
of the country provide a fort with provisions in the summer months at
least? Such were the grave questions which Lieutenant Hobson had to
solve, and which called for immediate attention. We give a summary of
the conclusions at which he arrived.
Game, properly so called, of the kind for which Corporal Joliffe amongst
others had a special predilection, was not abundant. There were plenty
of birds of the duck tribe; but only a few Polar hares, difficult of
approach, poorly represented the rodents of the north. There seemed,
however, to be a good many bears about. Marbre and Sabine had come upon
the fresh traces of several. Some were even seen and tracked; but, as a
rule, they kept at a respectful distance. In the winter, however, driven
by famine from higher latitudes, there would probably be more than
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