"Commander!" said he in a trembling voice, "we can't go any further."
"What do you say?" replied Shandon, whose consciousness of
disregarded authority made the blood rise to the roots of his hair.
"Commander," replied Bolton, "we say that we've done enough for that
invisible captain, and we are decided to go no further ahead."
"You are decided?" cried Shandon. "You talk thus, Bolton? Take care!"
"Your threats are all the same to us," brutally replied Pen; "we won't
go an inch further."
Shandon advanced towards the mutineers; at the same time the mate
came up and said in a whisper: "Commander, if you wish to get out
of here we haven't a minute to lose; there's an iceberg drifting up
the pass, and it is very likely to cork up all issue and keep us
prisoners."
Shandon examined the situation.
"You will give an account of your conduct later on, you fellows,"
said he. "Now heave aboard!"
The sailors rushed to their posts, and the -Forward- quickly veered
round; the fires were stuffed with coals; the great question was to
outrun the floating mountain. It was a struggle between the brig and
the iceberg. The former, in order to get through, was running south;
the latter was drifting north, ready to close up every passage.
"Steam up! steam up!" cried Shandon. "Do you hear, Brunton?"
The -Forward- glided like a bird amidst the struggling icebergs, which
her prow sent to the right-about; the brig's hull shivered under the
action of the screw, and the manometer indicated a prodigious tension
of steam, for it whistled with a deafening noise.
"Load the valves!" cried Shandon, and the engineer obeyed at the risk
of blowing up the ship; but his despairing efforts were in vain. The
iceberg, caught up by an undercurrent, rapidly approached the pass.
The brig was still about three cables' length from it, when the
mountain, entering like a corner-stone into the open space, strongly
adhered to its neighbours and closed up all issue.
"We are lost!" cried Shandon, who could not retain the imprudent
words.
"Lost!" repeated the crew.
"Let them escape who can!" said some.
"Lower the shore boats!" said others.
"To the steward's room!" cried Pen and several of his band, "and if
we are to be drowned, let's drown ourselves in gin!"
Disorder among the men was at its height. Shandon felt himself
overcome; when he wished to command, he stammered and hesitated. His
thought was unable to make way through his words. The doctor was
walking about in agitation. Johnson stoically folded his arms and
said nothing. All at once a strong, imperious, and energetic voice
was heard to pronounce these words:
"Every man to his post and tack about!"
Johnson started, and, hardly knowing what he did, turned the wheel
rapidly. He was just in time, for the brig, launched at full speed,
was about to crush herself against her prison walls. But while Johnson
was instinctively obeying, Shandon, Clawbonny, the crew, and all down
to the stoker Warren, who had abandoned his fires, even black Strong,
who had left his cooking, were all mustered on deck, and saw emerge
from that cabin the only man who was in possession of the key, and
that man was Garry, the sailor.
"Sir!" cried Shandon, becoming pale. "Garry--you--by what right do
you command here?"
"Dick," called out Garry, reproducing that whistle which had so much
surprised the crew. The dog, at the sound of his right name, jumped
with one bound on to the poop and lay quietly down at his master's
feet. The crew did not say a word. The key which the captain of the
-Forward- alone possessed, the dog sent by him, and who came thus
to verify his identity, that commanding accent which it was impossible
to mistake--all this acted strongly on the minds of the sailors, and
was sufficient to establish Garry's authority.
Besides, Garry was no longer recognisable; he had cut off the long
whiskers which had covered his face, which made it look more energetic
and imperious than ever; dressed in the clothes of his rank which
had been deposited in the cabin, he appeared in the insignia of
commander.
Then immediately, with that mobility which characterised them, the
crew of the -Forward- cried out--"Three cheers for the captain!"
"Shandon!" said the latter to his second, "muster the crew; I am going
to inspect it!"
Shandon obeyed and gave orders with an altered voice. The captain
advanced to meet his officers and men, saying something suitable to
each, and treating each according to his past conduct. When he had
finished the inspection, he returned on to the poop, and with a calm
voice pronounced the following words:
"Officers and sailors, like you, I am English, and my motto is that
of Nelson, 'England expects that every man will do his duty.' As an
Englishman I am resolved, we are resolved, that no bolder men shall
go further than we have been. As an Englishman I will not allow, we
will not allow, other people to have the glory of pushing further
north themselves. If ever human foot can step upon the land of the
North Pole, it shall be the foot of an Englishman. Here is our
country's flag. I have equipped this vessel, and consecrated my
fortune to this enterprise, and, if necessary, I shall consecrate
to it my life and yours; for I am determined that these colours shall
float on the North Pole. Take courage. From this day, for every degree
we can gain northwards the sum of a thousand pounds will be awarded
to you. There are ninety, for we are now in the seventy-second. Count
them. Besides, my name is enough. It means energy and patriotism.
I am Captain Hatteras!"
"Captain Hatteras!" exclaimed Shandon, and that name, well known to
English sailors, was whispered amongst the crew.
"Now," continued Hatteras, "anchor the brig to the ice, put out the
fires, and each of you return to your usual work. Shandon, I wish
to hold a council with you relative to affairs on board. Join me with
the doctor, Wall, and the boatswain in my cabin. Johnson, disperse
the men."
Hatteras, calm and haughty, quietly left the poop. In the meantime
Shandon was anchoring the brig.
Who, then, was this Hatteras, and for what reason did his name make
such a profound impression upon the crew? John Hatteras was the only
son of a London brewer, who died in 1852 worth six millions of money.
Still young, he embraced the maritime career in spite of the splendid
fortune awaiting him. Not that he felt any vocation for commerce,
but the instinct of geographical discoveries was dear to him. He had
always dreamt of placing his foot where no mortal foot had yet soiled
the ground.
At the age of twenty he was already in possession of the vigorous
constitution of a thin and sanguine man; an energetic face, with lines
geometrically traced; a high and perpendicular forehead; cold but
handsome eyes; thin lips, which set off a mouth from which words rarely
issued; a middle stature; solidly-jointed limbs, put in motion by
iron muscles; the whole forming a man endowed with a temperament fit
for anything. When you saw him you felt he was daring; when you heard
him you knew he was coldly determined; his was a character that never
drew back, ready to stake the lives of others as well as his own.
It was well to think twice before following him in his expeditions.
John Hatteras was proud of being an Englishman. A Frenchman once said
to him, with what he thought was refined politeness and amiability:
"If I were not a Frenchman I should like to be an Englishman."
"And if I were not an Englishman," answered Hatteras, "I should like
to be an Englishman."
That answer revealed the character of the man. It was a great grief
to him that Englishmen had not the monopoly of geographical
discoveries, and were, in fact, rather behind other nations in that
field.
Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of America, was a Genoese; Vasco
da Gama, a Portuguese, discovered India; another Portuguese,
Fernando de Andrada, China; and a third, Magellan, the Terra del Fuego.
Canada was discovered by Jacques Cartier, a Frenchman; Labrador,
Brazil, the Cape of Good Hope, the Azores, Madeira, Newfoundland,
Guinea, Congo, Mexico, Cape Blanco, Greenland, Iceland, the South
Seas, California, Japan, Cambodia, Peru, Kamtchatka, the Philippines,
Spitzbergen, Cape Horn, Behring's Straits, Tasmania, New Zealand,
New Brittany, New Holland, Louisiana, Jean Mayen Island, were
discovered by Icelanders, Scandinavians, French, Russians,
Portuguese, Danes, Spaniards, Genoese, and Dutch, but not one by an
Englishman. Captain Hatteras could not reconcile himself to the fact
that Englishmen were excluded from the glorious list of navigators
who made the great discoveries of the 15th and 16th centuries.
Hatteras consoled himself a little when he turned to more modern times.
Then Englishmen had the best of it with Sturt, Burke, Wills, King,
and Grey in Australia; with Palliser in America; with Cyril Graham,
Wadington, and Cummingham in India; with Burton, Speke, Grant, and
Livingstone in Africa.
But for a man like Hatteras this was not enough; from his point of
view these bold travellers were -improvers- rather than -inventors-;
and he was determined to do something better, and he would have
invented a country if he could, only to have the honour of discovering
it. Now he had noticed that, although Englishmen did not form a
majority amongst ancient discoverers, and that he had to go back to
Cook in 1774 to obtain New Caledonia and the Sandwich Isles, where
the unfortunate captain perished in 1778, yet there existed,
nevertheless, a corner of the globe where they seemed to have united
all their efforts. This corner was precisely the boreal lands and
seas of North America. The list of Polar discoveries may be thus
written:
Nova Zembla, discovered by Willoughby, in 1553; Weigatz Island, by
Barrough, in 1556; the West Coast of Greenland, by Davis, in 1585;
Davis's Straits, by Davis, in 1587; Spitzbergen, by Willoughby, in
1596; Hudson's Bay, by Hudson, in 1610; Baffin's Bay, by Baffin, in
1616.
In more modern times, Hearne, Mackenzie, John Ross, Parry, Franklin,
Richardson, Beechey, James Ross, Back, Dease, Simpson, Rae,
Inglefield, Belcher, Austin, Kellett, Moore, McClure, Kennedy, and
McClintock have continually searched those unknown lands.
The limits of the northern coasts of America had been fixed, and the
North-West passage almost discovered, but this was not enough; there
was something better still to be done, and John Hatteras had twice
attempted it by equipping two ships at his own expense. He wanted
to reach the North Pole, and thus crown the series of English
discoveries by one of the most illustrious attempts. To attain the
Pole was the aim of his life.
After a few successful cruises in the Southern seas, Hatteras
endeavoured for the first time, in 1846, to go north by Baffin's Sea;
but he could not get beyond the seventy-fourth degree of latitude;
he was then commanding the sloop -Halifax-. His crew suffered
atrocious torments, and John Hatteras pushed his adventurous
rashness so far, that, afterwards, sailors were little tempted to
re-commence similar expeditions under such a chief.
However, in 1850 Hatteras succeeded in enrolling on the schooner
-Farewell- about twenty determined men, tempted principally by the
high prize offered for their audacity. It was upon that occasion that
Dr. Clawbonny entered into correspondence with John Hatteras, whom
he did not know, requesting to join the expedition, but happily for
the doctor the post was already filled up. The -Farewell-, following
the track taken in 1817 by the -Neptune- from Aberdeen, got up to
the north of Spitzbergen as far as the seventy-sixth degree of
latitude. There the expedition was compelled to winter. But the
sufferings of the crew from the intense cold were so great that not
a single man saw England again, with the exception of Hatteras himself,
who was brought back to his own country by a Danish whaler after a
walk of more than two hundred miles across the ice.
The sensation produced by the return of this one man was immense.
Who in future would dare to follow Hatteras in his mad attempts?
However, he did not despair of beginning again. His father, the brewer,
died, and he became possessor of a nabob's fortune. Soon after a
geographical fact bitterly stirred up John Hatteras. A brig, the
-Advance-, manned by seventeen men, equipped by a merchant named
Grinnell, under the command of Dr. Kane, and sent in search of Sir
John Franklin, advanced in 1853 through Baffin's Sea and Smith's
Strait, beyond the eighty-second degree of boreal latitude, much
nearer the Pole than any of his predecessors. Now, this vessel was
American, Grinnell was American, and Kane was American. The
Englishman's disdain for the Yankee will be easily understood; in
the heart of Hatteras it changed to hatred; he was resolved to outdo
his audacious competitor and reach the Pole itself.
For two years he had been living incognito in Liverpool, passing
himself off as a sailor; he recognised in Richard Shandon the man
he wanted; he sent him an offer by an anonymous letter, and one to
Dr. Clawbonny at the same time. The -Forward- was built, armed, and
equipped. Hatteras took great care to conceal his name, for had it
been known he would not have found a single man to accompany him.
He was determined not to take the command of the brig except in a
moment of danger, and when his crew had gone too far to draw back.
He had in reserve, as we have seen, such offers of money to make to
the men that not one of them would refuse to follow him to the other
end of the world; and, in fact, it was right to the other end of the
world that he meant to go. Circumstances had become critical, and
John Hatteras had made himself known. His dog, the faithful Dick,
the companion of his voyages, was the first to recognise him. Luckily
for the brave and unfortunately for the timid, it was well and duly
established that John Hatteras was the captain of the -Forward-.
CHAPTER XIII
THE PROJECTS OF HATTERAS
The appearance of this bold personage was appreciated in different
ways by the crew; part of them completely rallied round him, either
from love of money or daring; others submitted because they could
not help themselves, reserving their right to protest later on;
besides, resistance to such a man seemed, for the present, difficult.
Each man went back to his post. The 20th of May fell on a Sunday,
and was consequently a day of rest for the crew. A council was held
by the captain, composed of the officers, Shandon, Wall, Johnson,
and the doctor.
"Gentlemen," said the captain in that voice at the same time soft
and imperious which characterised him, "you are aware that I intend
to go as far as the Pole. I wish to know your opinion about this
enterprise. Shandon, what do you think about it?"
"It is not for me to think, captain," coldly replied Shandon; "I have
only to obey."
Hatteras was not surprised at the answer.
"Richard Shandon," continued he, not less coldly, "I beg you will
say what you think about our chance of success."
"Very well, captain," answered Shandon, "facts are there, and answer
for me; attempts of the same kind up till now have always failed;
I hope we shall be more fortunate."
"We shall be. What do you think, gentlemen?"
"As far as I am concerned," replied the doctor, "I consider your plan
practicable, as it is certain that some day navigators will attain
the boreal Pole. I don't see why the honour should not fall to our
lot."
"There are many things in our favour," answered Hatteras; "our
measures are taken in consequence, and we shall profit by the
experience of those who have gone before us. And thereupon, Shandon,
accept my thanks for the care you have taken in fitting out this ship;
there are a few evil-disposed fellows amongst the crew that I shall
have to bring to reason, but on the whole I have only praises to give
you."
Shandon bowed coldly. His position on the -Forward-, which he thought
to command, was a false one. Hatteras understood this, and did not
insist further.
"As to you, gentlemen," he continued, turning to Wall and Johnson,
"I could not have secured officers more distinguished for courage
and experience."
"Well, captain, I'm your man," answered Johnson, "and although your
enterprise seems to me rather daring, you may rely upon me till the
end."
"And on me too," said James Wall.
"As to you, doctor, I know what you are worth."
"You know more than I do, then," quickly replied the doctor.
"Now, gentlemen," continued Hatteras, "it is well you should learn
upon what undeniable facts my pretension to arrive at the Pole is
founded. In 1817 the -Neptune- got up to the north of Spitzbergen,
as far as the eighty-second degree. In 1826 the celebrated Parry,
after his third voyage to the Polar Seas, started also from
Spitzbergen Point, and by the aid of sledge-boats went a hundred and
fifty miles northward. In 1852 Captain Inglefield penetrated into
Smith's Inlet as far as seventy-eight degrees thirty-five minutes
latitude. All these vessels were English, and Englishmen, our
countrymen, commanded them." Here Hatteras paused. "I ought to add,"
he continued, with a constrained look, and as though the words were
unable to leave his lips--"I must add that, in 1854, Kane, the American,
commanding the brig -Advance-, went still higher, and that his
lieutenant, Morton, going across the ice-fields, hoisted the United
States standard on the other side of the eighty-second degree. This
said, I shall not return to the subject. Now what remains to be known
is this, that the captains of the -Neptune-, the -Enterprise-, the
-Isabel-, and the -Advance- ascertained that proceeding from the
highest latitudes there existed a Polar basin entirely free from ice."
"Free from ice!" exclaimed Shandon, interrupting the captain, "that
is impossible!"
"You will notice, Shandon," quietly replied Hatteras, whose eye shone
for an instant, "that I quote names and facts as a proof. I may even
add that during Captain Parry's station on the border of Wellington
Channel, in 1851, his lieutenant, Stewart, also found himself in the
presence of open sea, and this peculiarity was confirmed during Sir
Edward Beecher's wintering in 1853, in Northumberland Bay, in 76
degrees 52 minutes N. latitude, and 99 degrees 20 minutes longitude.
The reports are incontestable, and it would be most unjust not to
admit them."
"However, captain," continued Shandon, "those reports are so
contradictory."
"You are mistaken, Shandon," cried Dr. Clawbonny. "These reports do
not contradict any scientific assertion, the captain will allow me
to tell you."
"Go on, doctor," answered Hatteras.
"Well, listen, Shandon; it evidently follows from geographical facts,
and from the study of isotherm lines, that the coldest point of the
globe is not at the Pole itself; like the magnetic point, it deviates
several degrees from the Pole. The calculations of Brewster, Bergham,
and several other natural philosophers show us that in our hemisphere
there are two cold Poles; one is situated in Asia at 79 degrees 30
minutes N. latitude, and by 120 degrees E. longitude, and the other
in America at 78 degrees N. latitude, and 97 degrees W. longitude.
It is with the latter that we have to do, and you see, Shandon, we
have met with it at more than twelve degrees below the Pole. Well,
why should not the Polar Sea be as equally disengaged from ice as
the sixty-sixth parallel is in summer--that is to say, the south of
Baffin's Bay?"
"That's what I call well pleaded," replied Johnson. "Mr. Clawbonny
speaks upon these matters like a professional man."
"It appears very probable," chimed in James Wall.
"All guess-work," answered Shandon obstinately.
"Well, Shandon," said Hatteras, "let us take into consideration
either case; either the sea is free from ice or it is not so, and
neither of these suppositions can hinder us from attaining the Pole.
If the sea is free the -Forward- will take us there without trouble;
if it is frozen we will attempt the adventure upon our sledges. This,
you will allow, is not impracticable. When once our brig has attained
the eighty-third degree we shall only have six hundred miles to
traverse before reaching the Pole."
"And what are six hundred miles?" quickly answered the doctor, "when
it is known that a Cossack, Alexis Markoff, went over the ice sea
along the northern coast of the Russian Empire, in sledges drawn by
dogs, for the space of eight hundred miles in twenty-four days?"
"Do you hear that, Shandon?" said Hatteras; "can't Englishmen do as
much as a Cossack?"
"Of course they can," cried the impetuous doctor.
"Of course," added the boatswain.
"Well, Shandon?" said the captain.
"I can only repeat what I said before, captain," said Shandon--"I
will obey."
"Very good. And now," continued Hatteras, "let us consider our present
situation. We are caught by the ice, and it seems to me impossible,
for this year at least, to get into Smith's Strait. Well, here, then,
this is what I propose."
Hatteras laid open upon the table one of the excellent maps published
in 1859 by the order of the Admiralty.
"Be kind enough to follow me. If Smith's Strait is closed up from
us, Lancaster Strait, on the west coast of Baffin's Sea, is not. I
think we ought to ascend that strait as far as Barrow Strait, and
from there sail to Beechey Island; the same track has been gone over
a hundred times by sailing vessels; consequently with a screw we can
do it easily. Once at Beechey Island we will go north as far as possible,
by Wellington Channel, up to the outlet of the creek which joins
Wellington's and Queen's Channels, at the very point where the open
sea was perceived. It is now only the 20th of May; in a month, if
circumstances favour us, we shall have attained that point, and from
there we'll drive forward towards the Pole. What do you think about
it, gentlemen?"
"It is evidently the only track to follow," replied Johnson.
"Very well, we will take it from to-morrow. I shall let them rest
to-day as it is Sunday. Shandon, you will take care that religious
service be attended to; it has a beneficial effect on the minds of
men, and a sailor above all needs to place confidence in the Almighty."
"It shall be attended to, captain," answered Shandon, who went out
with the lieutenant and the boatswain.
"Doctor!" said Hatteras, pointing towards Shandon, "there's a man
whose pride is wounded; I can no longer rely upon him."
Early the following day the captain caused the pirogue to be lowered
in order to reconnoitre the icebergs in the vicinity, the breadth
of which did not exceed 200 yards. He remarked that through a slow
pressure of the ice the basin threatened to become narrower. It became
urgent, therefore, to make an aperture to prevent the ship being
crushed in a vice of the mountains. By the means employed by John
Hatteras, it is easy to observe that he was an energetic man.
He first had steps cut out in the walls of ice, and by their means
climbed to the summit of an iceberg. From that point he saw that it
was easy for him to cut out a road towards the south-west. By his
orders a blasting furnace was hollowed nearly in the heart of the
mountain. This work, rapidly put into execution, was terminated by
noon on Monday. Hatteras could not rely on his eight or ten pound
blasting cylinders, which would have had no effect on such masses
as those. They were only sufficient to shatter ice-fields. He
therefore had a thousand pounds of powder placed in the blasting
furnace, of which the diffusive direction was carefully calculated.
This mine was provided with a long wick, bound in gutta-percha, the
end of which was outside. The gallery conducting to the mine was filled
up with snow and lumps of ice, which the cold of the following night
made as hard as granite. The temperature, under the influence of an
easterly wind, came down to twelve degrees.
At seven the next morning the -Forward- was held under steam, ready
to profit by the smallest issue. Johnson was charged with setting
fire to the wick, which, according to calculation, would burn for
half an hour before setting fire to the mine. Johnson had, therefore,
plenty of time to regain the brig; ten minutes after having executed
Hatteras's order he was again at his post. The crew remained on deck,
for the weather was dry and bright; it had left off snowing.
Hatteras was on the poop, chronometer in hand, counting the minutes;
Shandon and the doctor were with him. At eight thirty-five a dull
explosion was heard, much less loud than any one would have supposed.
The outline of the mountains was changed all at once as if by an
earthquake; thick white smoke rose up to a considerable height in
the sky, leaving long crevices in the iceberg, the top part of which
fell in pieces all round the -Forward-. But the path was not yet free;
large blocks of ice remained suspended above the pass on the adjacent
mountains, and there was every reason to fear that they would fall
and close up the passage. Hatteras took in the situation at one glance.
"Wolsten!" cried he.
The gunsmith hastened up.
"Yes, captain?" cried he.
"Load the gun in the bow with a triple charge," said Hatteras, "and
wad it as hard as possible."
"Are we going to attack the mountain with cannon-balls?" asked the
doctor.
"No," answered Hatteras, "that would be useless. No bullet, Wolsten,
but a triple charge of powder. Look sharp!"
A few minutes after the gun was loaded.
"What does he mean to do without a bullet?" muttered Shandon between
his teeth.
"We shall soon see," answered the doctor.
"Ready, captain!" called out Wolsten.
"All right!" replied Hatteras.
"Brunton!" he called out to the engineer, "a few turns ahead."
Brunton opened the sliders, and the screw being put in movement, the
-Forward- neared the mined mountain.
"Aim at the pass!" cried the captain to the gunsmith. The latter obeyed,
and when the brig was only half a cable's length from it, Hatteras
called out:
"Fire!"
A formidable report followed his order, and the blocks, shaken by
the atmospheric commotion, were suddenly precipitated into the sea;
the disturbance amongst the strata of the air had been sufficient
to accomplish this.
"All steam on, Brunton! Straight for the pass, Johnson!"
The latter was at the helm; the brig, driven along by her screw, which
turned in the foaming waves, dashed into the middle of the then opened
pass; it was time, for scarcely had the -Forward- cleared the opening
than her prison closed up again behind her. It was a thrilling moment,
and on board there was only one stout and undisturbed heart--that
of the captain. The crew, astonished at the manoeuvre, cried out:
"Hurrah for the captain!"
CHAPTER XIV
EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN
On Wednesday, the 23rd of May, the -Forward- had again taken up her
adventurous navigation, cleverly tacking amongst the packs and
icebergs. Thanks to steam, that obedient force which so many of our
Polar sea navigators have had to do without, she appeared to be playing
in the midst of the moving rocks. She seemed to recognise the hand
of an experienced master, and like a horse under an able rider, she
obeyed the thought of her captain. The temperature rose. At six
o'clock in the morning the thermometer marked twenty-six degrees,
at six in the evening twenty-nine degrees, and at midnight twenty-five
degrees; the wind was lightly blowing from the south-east.
On Thursday, towards three in the morning, the -Forward- was in sight
of Possession Bay, on the coast of America. At the entrance to
Lancaster Strait, shortly after, the crew caught a glimpse of Burney
Cape. A few Esquimaux pulled off towards the vessel, but Hatteras
did not take the trouble to wait for them. The Byam-Martin peaks,
which overlook Cape Liverpool, were sighted to the left, and soon
disappeared in the evening mists, which also prevented any
observation being taken from Cape Hay. This cape is so low that it
gets confounded with the ice on the coast, a circumstance which often
renders the hydrographic determination of the Polar seas extremely
difficult.
Puffins, ducks, and white sea-gulls showed up in very great numbers.
The -Forward- was then in latitude 74 degrees 1 minute, and in
longitude 77 degrees 15 minutes. The snowy hoods of the two mountains,
Catherine and Elizabeth, rose up above the clouds.
On Friday, at six o'clock, Cape Warender was passed on the right side
of the strait, and on the left Admiralty Inlet, a bay that has been
little explored by navigators, who are generally in a hurry to sail
away west. The sea became rather rough, and the waves often swept
the deck of the brig, throwing up pieces of ice. The land on the north
coast, with its high table lands almost level, and which reverberated
the sun's rays, offered a very curious appearance.
Hatteras wanted to run along the north coast, in order to reach Beechey
Island and the entrance to Wellington Channel sooner; but continual
icebergs compelled him, to his great annoyance, to follow the southern
passes. That was why, on the 26th of May, the -Forward- was abreast
of Cape York in a thick fog interspersed with snow; a very high
mountain, almost perpendicular, caused it to be recognised. The
weather cleared up a little, and the sun, towards noon, appeared for
an instant, allowing a tolerably good observation to be taken; 74
degrees 4 minutes latitude and 84 degrees 23 minutes longitude. The
-Forward- was then at the extremity of Lancaster Strait.
Hatteras pointed out to the doctor on his map the route already taken,
and the one he meant to follow. The position of the brig at the time
was very interesting.
"I should like to have been further north," said he, "but no one can
do the impossible; see, this is our exact situation."
And the captain pricked his map at a short distance from Cape York.
"We are in the centre of this four-road way, open to every wind, fenced
by the outlets of Lancaster Strait, Barrow Strait, Wellington Channel,
and Regent's Passage; it is a point that all navigators in these seas
have been obliged to come to."
"Well," replied the doctor, "it must have puzzled them greatly; four
cross-roads with no sign-posts to tell them which to take. How did
Parry, Ross, and Franklin manage?"
"They did not manage at all, they were managed; they had no choice,
I can assure you; sometimes Barrow Strait was closed to one of them,
and the next year another found it open; sometimes the vessel was
irresistibly drawn towards Regent's Passage, so that we have ended
by becoming acquainted with these inextricable seas."
"What a singular country!" said the doctor, examining the map. "It
is all in pieces, and they seem to have no logical connection. It
seems as if the land in the vicinity of the North Pole had been cut
up like this on purpose to make access to it more difficult, whilst
that in the other hemisphere quietly terminates in tapered-out points
like those of Cape Horn, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Indian
Peninsula. Is it the greater rapidity of the equator which has thus
modified matters, whilst the land at the extremities, yet fluid from
the creation, has not been able to get condensed or agglomerated
together, for want of a sufficiently rapid rotation?"
"That must be the case, for everything on earth is logical, and
'nothing is that errs from law,' and God often allows men to discover
His laws; make use of His permission, doctor."
"Unfortunately, I shall not be able to take much advantage of it,"
said the doctor, "but the wind here is something dreadful," added
he, muffling himself up as well as he could.
"Yes, we are quite exposed to the north wind, and it is turning us
out of our road."
"Anyhow it ought to drive the ice down south, and level a clear road."
"It ought to do so, doctor, but the wind does not always do what it
ought. Look, that ice-bank seems impenetrable. Never mind, we will
try to reach Griffith Island, sail round Cornwallis Island, and get
into Queen's Channel without going by Wellington Channel.
Nevertheless I positively desire to touch at Beechey Island in order
to renew my coal provision."
"What do you mean?" asked the astonished doctor.
"I mean that, according to orders from the Admiralty, large provisions
have been deposited on that island in order to provide for future
expeditions, and although Captain McClintock took some in 1859, I
assure you that there will be some left for us."
"By-the-bye," said the doctor, "these parts have been explored for
the last fifteen years, and since the day when the proof of the loss
of Franklin was acquired, the Admiralty has always kept five or six
cruisers in these seas. If I am not mistaken, Griffith Island, which
I see there on the map, almost in the middle of the cross-roads, has
become a general meeting-place for navigators."
"It is so, doctor; and Franklin's unfortunate expedition resulted
in making known these distant countries to us."
"That is true, captain, for since 1845 expeditions have been very
numerous. It was not until 1848 that we began to be uneasy about the
disappearance of the -Erebus- and the -Terror-, Franklin's two
vessels. It was then that we saw the admiral's old friend, Dr.
Richardson, at the age of seventy, go to Canada, and ascend Coppermine
River as far as the Polar Sea; and James Ross, commanding the
-Enterprise- and -Investigation-, set out from Uppernawik in 1848
and arrived at Cape York, where we now are. Every day he threw a tub
containing papers into the sea, for the purpose of making known his
whereabouts. During the mists he caused the cannon to be fired, and
had sky-rockets sent up at night along with Bengal lights, and kept
under sail continually. He wintered in Port Leopold from 1848 to 1849,
where he took possession of a great number of white foxes, and caused
brass collars, upon which was engraved the indication of the
whereabouts of ships and the store depots, to be riveted on their
necks. Afterwards they were dispersed in all directions; in the
following spring he began to search the coasts of North Somerset on
sledges in the midst of dangers and privations from which almost all
his men fell ill or lame. He built up cairns in which he inclosed
brass cylinders with the necessary memoranda for rallying the lost
expedition. While he was away his lieutenant McClure explored the
northern coasts of Barrow Strait, but without result. James Ross had
under his orders two officers who, later on, were destined to become
celebrities--McClure, who cleared the North-West passage, and
McClintock, who discovered the remains of Sir John Franklin."
"Yes; they are now two good and brave English captains. You know the
history of these seas well, doctor, and you will benefit us by telling
us about it. There is always something to be gained by hearing about
such daring attempts."
"Well, to finish all I know about James Ross: he tried to reach
Melville Island by a more westerly direction, but he nearly lost his
two vessels, for he was caught by the ice and driven back into Baffin's
Sea."
"Driven back?" repeated Hatteras, contracting his brows; "forced
back in spite of himself?"
"Yes, and without having discovered anything," continued the doctor;
"and ever since that year, 1850, English vessels have never ceased
to plough these seas, and a reward of twenty thousand pounds was
offered to any one who might find the crews of the -Erebus- and
-Terror-. Captains Kellett and Moore had already, in 1848, attempted
to get through Behring's Strait. In 1850 and 1851 Captain Austin
wintered in Cornwallis Island; Captain Parry, on board the
-Assistance- and the -Resolute-, explored Wellington Channel; John
Ross, the venerable hero of the magnetic pole, set out again with
his yacht, the -Felix-, in search of his friend; the brig -Prince
Albert- went on a first cruise at the expense of Lady Franklin; and,
lastly, two American ships, sent out by Grinnell with Captain Haven,
were drifted out of Wellington Channel and thrown back into Lancaster
Strait. It was during this year that McClintock, who was then Austin's
lieutenant, pushed on as far as Melville Island and Cape Dundas, the
extreme points attained by Parry in 1819; it was then that he found
traces of Franklin's wintering on Beechey Island in 1845."
"Yes," answered Hatteras, "three of his sailors had been buried
there--three men more fortunate than the others!"
The doctor nodded in approval of Hatteras's remark, and continued:
"During 1851 and 1852 the -Prince Albert- went on a second voyage
under the French lieutenant, Bellot; he wintered at Batty Bay, in
Prince Regent Strait, explored the south-west of Somerset, and
reconnoitred the coast as far as Cape Walker. During that time the
-Enterprise- and the -Investigator- returned to England and passed
under the command of Collinson and McClure for the purpose of
rejoining Kellett and Moore in Behring's Straits; whilst Collinson
came back to winter at Hong-Kong, McClure made the best of his way
onward, and after being obliged to winter three times--from 1850 to
'51; from 1851 to '52; and from 1852 to '53--he discovered the
North-West passage without learning anything of Franklin's fate.
During 1852 and '53 a new expedition composed of three sailing vessels,
the -Resolute-, the -Assistance-, the -North Star-, and two steamers,
the -Pioneer- and -Intrepid-, set sail under the command of Sir Edward
Belcher, with Captain Kellett under him; Sir Edward visited
Wellington Channel, wintered in Northumberland Bay, and went over
the coast, whilst Kellett, pushing on to Bridport in Melville Island,
explored, without success, that part of the boreal land. It was at
this time that news was spread in England that two ships, abandoned
in the midst of icebergs, had been descried near the coast of New
Scotland. Lady Franklin immediately had prepared the little screw
-Isabelle-, and Captain Inglefield, after having steamed up Baffin's
Bay as far as Victoria Point on the eightieth parallel, came back
to Beechey Island no more successful than his predecessors. At the
beginning of 1855, Grinnell, an American, fitted up a fresh expedition,
and Captain Kane tried to penetrate to the Pole----"
"But he didn't do it," cried Hatteras violently; "and what he didn't
do we will, with God's help!"
"I know, captain," answered the doctor, "and I mention it because
this expedition is of necessity connected with the search for Franklin.
But it had no result. I was almost forgetting to tell you that the
Admiralty, considering Beechey Island as the general rendezvous of
expeditions, charged Captain Inglefield, who then commanded the
steamer -Phoenix-, to transport provisions there in 1853; Inglefield
set out with Lieutenant Bellot, and lost the brave officer who for
the second time had devoted his services to England; we can have more
precise details upon this catastrophe, as our boatswain, Johnson,
was witness to the misfortune."
"Lieutenant Bellot was a brave Frenchman," said Hatteras, "and his
memory is honoured in England."
"By that time," continued the doctor, "Belcher's fleet began to come
back little by little; not all of it, for Sir Edward had been obliged
to abandon the -Assistance- in 1854, as McClure had done with the
-Investigator- in 1853. In the meantime, Dr. Rae, in a letter dated
the 29th of July, 1854, and addressed from Repulse Bay, which he had
succeeded in reaching through America, sent word that the Esquimaux
of King William's Land were in possession of different objects taken
from the wrecks of the -Erebus- and -Terror-; there was then not the
least doubt about the fate of the expedition; the -Phoenix-, the
-North Star-, and Collinson's vessel then came back to England,
leaving the Arctic Seas completely abandoned by English ships. But
if the Government seemed to have lost all hope it was not so with
Lady Franklin, and with the remnants of her fortune she fitted out
the -Fox-, commanded by McClintock, who set sail in 1857, and wintered
in the quarters where you made your apparition; he reached Beechey
Island on the 11th of August, 1858, wintered a second time in Bellot's
Strait, began his search again in February, 1859, and on the 6th of
May found the document which cleared away all doubt about the fate
of the -Erebus- and the -Terror-, and returned to England at the end
of the year. That is all that has happened for fifteen years in these
fateful countries, and since the return of the -Fox- not a single
vessel has returned to attempt success in the midst of these dangerous
seas."
"Well," replied Hatteras, "we will attempt it."
CHAPTER XV
THE "FORWARD" DRIVEN BACK SOUTH
The weather cleared up towards evening, and land was clearly
distinguished between Cape Sepping and Cape Clarence, which runs east,
then south, and is joined to the coast on the west by a rather low
neck of land. The sea at the entrance to Regent Strait was free from
ice, with the exception of an impenetrable ice-bank, a little further
than Port Leopold, which threatened to stop the -Forward- in her
north-westerly course. Hatteras was greatly vexed, but he did not
show it; he was obliged to have recourse to petards in order to force
an entrance to Port Leopold; he reached it on Sunday, the 27th of
May; the brig was solidly anchored to the enormous icebergs, which
were as upright, hard, and solid as rocks.
The captain, followed by the doctor, Johnson, and his dog Dick,
immediately leaped upon the ice, and soon reached land. Dick leaped
with joy, for since he had recognised the captain he had become more
sociable, keeping his grudge against certain men of the crew for whom
his master had no more friendship than he. The port was not then
blocked up with ice that the east winds generally heaped up there;
the earth, intersected with peaks, offered at their summits graceful
undulations of snow. The house and lantern erected by James Ross were
still in a tolerable state of preservation; but the provisions seemed
to have been ransacked by foxes and bears, the recent traces of which
were easily distinguished. Men, too, had had something to do with
the devastation, for a few remains of Esquimaux huts remained upon
the shores of the Bay. The six graves inclosing the remains of the
six sailors of the -Enterprise- and the -Investigator- were
recognisable by a slight swelling of the ground; they had been
respected both by men and animals. In placing his foot for the first
time on boreal land, the doctor experienced much emotion. It is
impossible to imagine the feelings with which the heart is assailed
at the sight of the remains of houses, tents, huts, and magazines
that Nature so marvellously preserves in those cold countries.
"There is that residence," he said to his companions, "which James
Ross himself called the Camp of Refuge; if Franklin's expedition had
reached this spot, it would have been saved. There is the engine which
was abandoned here, and the stove at which the crew of the -Prince
Albert- warmed themselves in 1851. Things have remained just as they
were, and any one would think that Captain Kennedy had only left
yesterday. Here is the long boat which sheltered him and his for a
few days, for this Kennedy, separated from his ship, was in reality
saved by Lieutenant Bellot, who braved the October temperature in
order to go to his assistance."
"I knew that brave and worthy officer," said Johnson.
Whilst the doctor was examining with all an antiquarian's enthusiasm
the vestiges of previous winterings, Hatteras was occupied in piling
together the various provisions and articles of fuel, which were only
to be found in very small quantities. The following day was employed
in transporting them on board. The doctor, without going too far from
the ship, surveyed the country, and took sketches of the most
remarkable points of view. The temperature rose by degrees, and the
heaped-up snow began to melt. The doctor made an almost complete
collection of northern birds, such as gulls, divers, eider-down ducks,
which are very much like common ducks, with white breasts and backs,
blue bellies, the top of the head blue, and the remainder of the
plumage white, shaded with green; several of them had already their
breasts stripped of that beautiful down with which the male and female
line their nests. The doctor also perceived large seals taking breath
on the surface of the ice, but could not shoot one. In his excursions
he discovered the high water mark, a stone upon which the following
signs are engraved:
(E. I.)
1849,
and which indicate the passage of the -Enterprise- and
-Investigator-; he pushed forward as far as Cape Clarence to the spot
where John and James Ross, in 1833, waited with so much impatience
for the breaking up of the ice. The land was strewn with skulls and
bones of animals, and traces of Esquimaux habitations could be still
distinguished.
The doctor wanted to raise up a cairn on Port Leopold, and deposit
in it a note indicating the passage of the -Forward-, and the aim
of the expedition. But Hatteras would not hear of it; he did not want
to leave traces behind of which a competitor might take advantage.
In spite of his good motives the doctor was forced to yield to the
captain's will. Shandon blamed the captain's obstinacy, which
prevented any ships following the trace of the -Forward- in case of
accident. Hatteras would not give way. His lading was finished on
Monday night, and he attempted once more to gain the north by breaking
open the ice-bank; but after dangerous efforts he was forced to resign
himself, and to go down Regent's Channel again; he would not stop
at Port Leopold, which, open to-day, might be closed again to-morrow
by an unexpected displacement of ice-fields, a very frequent
phenomenon in these seas, and which navigators ought particularly
to take into consideration.
If Hatteras did not allow his uneasiness to be outwardly perceived,
it did not prevent him feeling it inwardly. His desire was to push
northward, whilst, on the contrary, he found himself constrained to
put back southward. Where should he get to in that case? Should he
be obliged to put back to Victoria Harbour, in Boothia Gulf, where
Sir John Ross wintered in 1833? Would he find Bellot Strait open at
that epoch, and could he ascend Peel Strait by rounding North
Somerset? Or, again, should he, like his predecessors, find himself
captured during several winters, and be compelled to exhaust his
strength and provisions? These fears were fermenting in his brain;
he must decide one way or other. He heaved about, and struck out south.
The width of Prince Regent's Channel is about the same from Port
Leopold to Adelaide Bay. The -Forward-, more favoured than the ships
which had preceded her, and of which the greater number had required
more than a month to descend the channel, even in a more favourable
season, made her way rapidly amongst the icebergs; it is true that
other ships, with the exception of the -Fox-, had no steam at their
disposal, and had to endure the caprices of an uncertain and often
foul wind.
In general the crew showed little wish to push on with the enterprising
Hatteras; the men were only too glad to perceive that the vessel was
taking a southerly direction. Hatteras would have liked to go on
regardless of consequences.
The -Forward- rushed along under the pressure of her engines, the
smoke from which twisted round the shining points of the icebergs;
the weather was constantly changing from dry cold to snowy fogs. The
brig, which drew little water, sailed along the west coast; Hatteras
did not wish to miss the entrance to Bellot Strait, as the only outlet
to the Gulf of Boothia on the south was the strait, only partially
known to the -Fury- and the -Hecla-; if he missed the Bellot Strait,
he might be shut up without possibility of egress.
In the evening the -Forward- was in sight of Elwin Bay, known by its
high perpendicular rocks; on the Tuesday morning Batty Bay was sighted,
where the -Prince Albert- anchored for its long wintering on the 10th
of September, 1851. The doctor swept the whole coast with his
telescope. It was from this point that the expeditions radiated that
established the geographical configuration of North Somerset. The
weather was clear, and the profound ravines by which the bay is
surrounded could be clearly distinguished.
The doctor and Johnson were perhaps the only beings on board who took
any interest in these deserted countries. Hatteras was always intent
upon his maps, and said little; his taciturnity increased as the brig
got more and more south; he often mounted the poop, and there with
folded arms, and eyes lost in vacancy, he stood for hours. His orders,
when he gave any, were curt and rough. Shandon kept a cold silence,
and kept himself so much aloof by degrees that at last he had no
relations with Hatteras except those exacted by the service; James
Wall remained devoted to Shandon, and regulated his conduct
accordingly. The remainder of the crew waited for something to turn
up, ready to take any advantage in their own interest. There was no
longer that unity of thought and communion of ideas on board which
are so necessary for the accomplishment of anything great, and this
Hatteras knew to his sorrow.
During the day two whales were perceived rushing towards the south;
a white bear was also seen, and was shot at without any apparent
success. The captain knew the value of an hour under the circumstances,
and would not allow the animal to be chased.
On Wednesday morning the extremity of Regent's Channel was passed;
the angle on the west coast was followed by a deep curve in the land.
By consulting his map the doctor recognised the point of Somerset
House, or Fury Point.
"There," said he to his habitual companion--"there is the very spot
where the first English ship, sent into these seas in 1815, was lost,
during the third of Parry's voyages to the Pole; the -Fury- was so
damaged by the ice on her second wintering, that her crew were obliged
to desert her and return to England on board her companion ship the
-Hecla-."
"That shows the advantage of having a second ship," answered Johnson.
"It is a precaution that Polar navigators ought not to neglect, but
Captain Hatteras wasn't the sort of man to trouble himself with
another ship."
"Do you think he is imprudent, Johnson?" asked the doctor.
"I? I think nothing, Mr. Clawbonny. Do you see those stakes over there
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