who suffered for the cause of science and for their country's glory.
"This stone is erected near the place where they passed their first
Arctic winter, and from whence they departed to conquer obstacles
or to die.
"It perpetuates the regret of their countrymen and friends who admire
them, and the anguish, conquered by Faith, of her who lost in the
chief of the expedition the most devoted and most affectionate of
husbands.
"It is thus that He led them to the supreme haven where all men take
their rest.
"1855."
This stone, on a forlorn coast of these far-off regions, appealed
mournfully to the heart; the doctor, in presence of these touching
regrets, felt his eyes fill with tears. At the very same place which
Franklin and his companions passed full of energy and hope, there
only remained a block of marble in remembrance! And notwithstanding
this sombre warning of destiny, the -Forward- was going to follow
in the track of the -Erebus- and the -Terror-. Hatteras was the first
to rouse himself from the perilous contemplation, and quickly climbed
a rather steep hill, almost entirely bare of snow.
"Captain," said Johnson, following him, "we shall see the magazines
from here."
Shandon and the doctor joined them on the summit. But from there the
eye contemplated the vast plains, on which there remained no vestige
of a habitation.
"That is singular!" cried the boatswain.
"Well, and where are the magazines?" said Hatteras quickly.
"I don't know--I don't see----" stammered Johnson.
"You have mistaken the way," said the doctor.
"It seemed to me that this was the very place," continued Johnson.
"Well," said Hatteras, impatiently "where are we to go now?"
"We had better go down, for I may be mistaken. I may have forgotten
the exact locality in seven years!"
"Especially when the country is so uniformly monotonous!" added the
doctor.
"And yet----" murmured Johnson.
Shandon had not spoken a word. After walking for a few minutes, Johnson
stopped.
"But no," he cried, "I am not mistaken!"
"Well?" said Hatteras, looking round him.
"Do you see that swell of the ground?" asked the boatswain, pointing
to a sort of mound with three distinct swells on it.
"What do you conclude from that?" asked the doctor.
"Those are the three graves of Franklin's sailors. I am sure now that
I am not mistaken; the habitations ought to be about a hundred feet
from here, and if they are not, they----"
He dared not finish his sentence; Hatteras had rushed forward, a prey
to violent despair. There, where the wished-for stores on which he
had counted ought to have been, there ruin, pillage and destruction
had been before him. Who had done it? Animals would only have attacked
the provisions, and there did not remain a single rag from the tent,
a piece of wood or iron, and, more terrible still, not a fragment
of coal! It was evident that the Esquimaux had learnt the value of
these objects from their frequent relations with Europeans; since
the departure of the -Fox- they had fetched everything away, and had
not left a trace even of their passage. A slight coating of snow
covered the ground. Hatteras was confounded. The doctor looked and
shook his head. Shandon still said nothing, but an attentive observer
would have noticed his lips curl with a cruel smile. At this moment
the men sent by Lieutenant Wall came up; they soon saw the state of
affairs. Shandon advanced towards the captain, and said:
"Mr. Hatteras, we need not despair; happily we are near the entrance
to Barrow Strait, which will take us back to Baffin's Sea!"
"Mr. Shandon," answered Hatteras, "happily we are near the entrance
to Wellington Strait, and that will take us north!"
"But how shall we get along, captain?"
"With the sails, sir. We have two months' firing left, and that is
enough for our wintering."
"But allow me to tell you----" added Shandon.
"I will allow you to follow me on board my ship, sir," answered
Hatteras, and turning his back on his second, he returned to the brig
and shut himself up in his cabin. For the next two days the wind was
contrary, and the captain did not show up on deck. The doctor profited
by the forced sojourn to go over Beechey Island; he gathered some
plants, which the temperature, relatively high, allowed to grow here
and there on the rocks that the snow had left, some heaths, a few
lichens, a sort of yellow ranunculus, a sort of plant something like
sorrel, with wider leaves and more veins, and some pretty vigorous
saxifrages. He found the fauna of this country much richer than the
flora; he perceived long flocks of geese and cranes going northward,
partridges, eider ducks of a bluish black, sandpipers, a sort of
wading bird of the scolopax class, northern divers, plungers with
very long bodies, numerous ptarmites, a sort of bird very good to
eat, dovekies with black bodies, wings spotted with white, feet and
beak red as coral; noisy bands of kittywakes and fat loons with white
breasts, represented the ornithology of the island. The doctor was
fortunate enough to kill a few grey hares, which had not yet put on
their white winter fur, and a blue fox which Dick ran down skilfully.
Some bears, evidently accustomed to dread the presence of men, would
not allow themselves to be got at, and the seals were extremely timid,
doubtless for the same reason as their enemies the bears. The class
of articulated animals was represented by a single mosquito, which
the doctor caught to his great delight, though not till it had stung
him. As a conchologist he was less favoured, and only found a sort
of mussel and some bivalve shells.
CHAPTER XXI
THE DEATH OF BELLOT
The temperature during the days of the 3rd and 4th of July kept up
to 57 degrees; this was the highest thermometric point observed during
the campaign. But on Thursday, the 5th, the wind turned to the
south-east, and was accompanied by violent snow-storms. The
thermometer fell during the preceding night to 23 degrees. Hatteras
took no notice of the murmurs of the crew, and gave orders to get
under way. For the last thirteen days, from Cape Dundas, the -Forward-
had not been able to gain one more degree north, so the party
represented by Clifton was no longer satisfied, but wished like
Hatteras to get into Wellington Channel, and worked away with a will.
The brig had some difficulty in getting under sail; but Hatteras
having set his mizensail, his topsails, and his gallantsails during
the night, advanced boldly in the midst of fields of ice which the
current was drifting south. The crew were tired out with this winding
navigation, which kept them constantly at work at the sails.
Wellington Channel is not very wide; it is bounded by North Devon
on the east and Cornwallis Island on the west; this island was long
believed to be a peninsula. It was Sir John Franklin who first sailed
round it in 1846, starting west, and coming back to the same point
to the north of the channel. The exploration of Wellington Channel
was made in 1851 by Captain Penny in the whalers -Lady Franklin- and
-Sophia-; one of his lieutenants, Stewart, reached Cape Beecher in
latitude 76 degrees 20 minutes, and discovered the open sea--that
open sea which was Hatteras's dream!
"What Stewart found I shall find," said he to the doctor; "then I
shall be able to set sail to the Pole."
"But aren't you afraid that your crew----"
"My crew!" said Hatteras severely. Then in a low tone--"Poor fellows!"
murmured he, to the great astonishment of the doctor. It was the first
expression of feeling he had heard the captain deliver.
"No," he repeated with energy, "they must follow me! They shall follow
me!"
However, although the -Forward- had nothing to fear from the collision
of the ice-streams, which were still pretty far apart, they made very
little progress northward, for contrary winds often forced them to
stop. They passed Capes Spencer and Innis slowly, and on Tuesday,
the 10th, cleared 75 degrees to the great delight of Clifton. The
-Forward- was then at the very place where the American ships, the
-Rescue- and the -Advance-, encountered such terrible dangers.
Doctor Kane formed part of this expedition; towards the end of
September, 1850, these ships got caught in an ice-bank, and were
forcibly driven into Lancaster Strait. It was Shandon who related
this catastrophe to James Wall before some of the brig's crew.
"The -Advance- and the -Rescue-," he said to them, "were so knocked
about by the ice, that they were obliged to leave off fires on board;
but that did not prevent the temperature sinking 18 degrees below
zero. During the whole winter the unfortunate crews were kept
prisoners in the ice-bank, ready to abandon their ships at any moment;
for three weeks they did not even change their clothes. They floated
along in that dreadful situation for more than a thousand miles, when
at last they were thrown into the middle of Baffin's Sea."
The effect of this speech upon a crew already badly disposed can be
well imagined. During this conversation Johnson was talking to the
doctor about an event that had taken place in those very quarters;
he asked the doctor to tell him when the brig was in latitude 75 degrees
30 minutes, and when they passed it he cried:
"Yes, it was just there!" in saying which tears filled his eyes.
"You mean that Lieutenant Bellot died there?" said the doctor.
"Yes, Mr. Clawbonny. He was as good and brave a fellow as ever lived!
It was upon this very North Devon coast! It was to be, I suppose,
but if Captain Pullen had returned on board sooner it would not have
happened."
"What do you mean, Johnson?"
"Listen to me, Mr. Clawbonny, and you will see on what a slight thread
existence often hangs. You know that Lieutenant Bellot went his first
campaign in search of Franklin in 1850?"
"Yes, on the -Prince Albert-."
"Well, when he got back to France he obtained permission to embark
on board the -Phoenix- under Captain Inglefield; I was a sailor on
board. We came with the -Breadalbane- to transport provisions to
Beechey Island!"
"Those provisions we, unfortunately, did not find. Well?"
"We reached Beechey Island in the beginning of August; on the 10th
Captain Inglefield left the -Phoenix- to rejoin Captain Pullen, who
had been separated from his ship, the -North Star-, for a month. When
he came back he thought of sending his Admiralty despatches to Sir
Edward Belcher, who was wintering in Wellington Channel. A little
while after the departure of our captain, Captain Pullen got back
to his ship. Why did he not arrive before the departure of Captain
Inglefield? Lieutenant Bellot, fearing that our captain would be long
away, and knowing that the Admiralty despatches ought to be sent at
once, offered to take them himself. He left the command of the two
ships to Captain Pullen, and set out on the 12th of August with a
sledge and an indiarubber boat. He took the boatswain of the -North
Star- (Harvey) with him, and three sailors, Madden, David Hook, and
me. We supposed that Sir Edward Belcher was to be found in the
neighbourhood of Beecher Cape, to the north of the channel; we made
for it with our sledge along the eastern coast. The first day we
encamped about three miles from Cape Innis; the next day we stopped
on a block of ice about three miles from Cape Bowden. As land lay
at about three miles' distance, Lieutenant Bellot resolved to go and
encamp there during the night, which was as light as the day; he tried
to get to it in his indiarubber canoe; he was twice repulsed by a
violent breeze from the south-east; Harvey and Madden attempted the
passage in their turn, and were more fortunate; they took a cord with
them, and established a communication between the coast and the
sledge; three objects were transported by means of the cord, but at
the fourth attempt we felt our block of ice move; Mr. Bellot called
out to his companions to drop the cord, and we were dragged to a great
distance from the coast. The wind blew from the south-east, and it
was snowing; but we were not in much danger, and the lieutenant might
have come back as we did."
Here Johnson stopped an instant to take a glance at the fatal coast,
and continued:
"After our companions were lost to sight we tried to shelter ourselves
under the tent of our sledge, but in vain; then, with our knives,
we began to cut out a house in the ice. Mr. Bellot helped us for half
an hour, and talked to us about the danger of our situation. I told
him I was not afraid. 'By God's help,' he answered, 'we shall not
lose a hair of our heads.' I asked him what o'clock it was, and he
answered, 'About a quarter-past six.' It was a quarter-past six in
the morning of Thursday, August 18th. Then Mr. Bellot tied up his
books, and said he would go and see how the ice floated; he had only
been gone four minutes when I went round the block of ice to look
for him; I saw his stick on the opposite side of a crevice, about
five fathoms wide, where the ice was broken, but I could not see him
anywhere. I called out, but no one answered. The wind was blowing
great guns. I looked all round the block of ice, but found no trace
of the poor lieutenant."
"What do you think had become of him?" said the doctor, much moved.
"I think that when Mr. Bellot got out of shelter the wind blew him
into the crevice, and, as his greatcoat was buttoned up he could not
swim. Oh! Mr. Clawbonny, I never was more grieved in my life! I could
not believe it! He was a victim to duty, for it was in order to obey
Captain Pullen's instructions that he tried to get to land. He was
a good fellow, everybody liked him; even the Esquimaux, when they
learnt his fate from Captain Inglefield on his return from Pound Bay,
cried while they wept, as I am doing now, 'Poor Bellot! poor Bellot!'"
"But you and your companion, Johnson," said the doctor, "how did you
manage to reach land?"
"Oh! we stayed twenty-four hours more on the block of ice, without
food or firing; but at last we met with an ice-field; we jumped on
to it, and with the help of an oar we fastened ourselves to an iceberg
that we could guide like a raft, and we got to land, but without our
brave officer."
By the time Johnson had finished his story the -Forward- had passed
the fatal coast, and Johnson lost sight of the place of the painful
catastrophe. The next day they left Griffin Bay to the starboard,
and, two days after, Capes Grinnell and Helpmann; at last, on the
14th of July, they doubled Osborn Point, and on the 15th the brig
anchored in Baring Bay, at the extremity of the channel. Navigation
had not been very difficult; Hatteras met with a sea almost as free
as that of which Belcher profited to go and winter with the -Pioneer-
and the -Assistance- as far north as 77 degrees. It was in 1852 and
1853, during his first wintering, for he passed the winter of 1853
to 1854 in Baring Bay, where the -Forward- was now at anchor. He
suffered so much that he was obliged to leave the -Assistance- in
the midst of the ice. Shandon told all these details to the already
discontented sailors. Did Hatteras know how he was betrayed by his
first officer? It is impossible to say; if he did, he said nothing
about it.
At the top of Baring Bay there is a narrow channel which puts
Wellington and Queen's Channel into communication with each other.
There the rafts of ice lie closely packed. Hatteras tried, in vain,
to clear the passes to the north of Hamilton Island; the wind was
contrary; five precious days were lost in useless efforts. The
temperature still lowered, and, on the 19th of July, fell to 26
degrees; it got higher the following day; but this foretaste of winter
made Hatteras afraid of waiting any longer. The wind seemed to be
going to keep in the west, and to stop the progress of the ship. However,
he was in a hurry to gain the point where Stewart had met with the
open sea. On the 19th he resolved to get into the Channel at any price;
the wind blew right on the brig, which might, with her screw, have
stood against it, had not Hatteras been obliged to economise his fuel;
on the other hand, the Channel was too wide to allow the men to haul
the brig along. Hatteras, not considering the men's fatigue, resolved
to have recourse to means often employed by whalers under similar
circumstances. The men took it in turns to row, so as to push the
brig on against the wind. The -Forward- advanced slowly up the Channel.
The men were worn out and murmured loudly. They went on in that manner
till the 23rd of July, when they reached Baring Island in Queen's
Channel. The wind was still against them. The doctor thought the
health of the men much shaken, and perceived the first symptoms of
scurvy amongst them; he did all he could to prevent the spread of
the wretched malady, and distributed lime-juice to the men.
Hatteras saw that he could no longer count upon his crew; reasoning
and kindness were ineffectual, so he resolved to employ severity for
the future; he suspected Shandon and Wall, though they dare not speak
out openly. Hatteras had the doctor, Johnson, Bell, and Simpson for
him; they were devoted to him body and soul; amongst the undecided
were Foker, Bolton, Wolsten the gunsmith, and Brunton the first
engineer; and they might turn against the captain at any moment; as
to Pen, Gripper, Clifton, and Warren, they were in open revolt; they
wished to persuade their comrades to force the captain to return to
England. Hatteras soon saw that he could not continue to work his
ship with such a crew. He remained twenty-four hours at Baring Island
without taking a step forward. The weather grew cooler still, for
winter begins to be felt in July in these high latitudes. On the 24th
the thermometer fell to 22 degrees. Young ice formed during the night,
and if snow fell it would soon be thick enough to bear the weight
of a man. The sea began already to have that dirty colour which
precedes the formation of the first crystals. Hatteras could not
mistake these alarming symptoms; if the channels got blocked up, he
should be obliged to winter there at a great distance from the point
he had undertaken the voyage in order to reach, without having caught
a glimpse of that open sea which his predecessors made out was so
near. He resolved, then, to gain several degrees further north, at
whatever cost; seeing that he could not employ oars without the rowers
were willing, nor sail in a contrary wind, he gave orders to put steam
on again.
CHAPTER XXII
BEGINNING OF REVOLT
At this unexpected command, the surprise was great on board the
-Forward-.
"Light the fires!" exclaimed some.
"What with?" asked others.
"When we've only two months' coal in the hold!" said Pen.
"What shall we warm ourselves with in the winter?" asked Clifton.
"We shall be obliged to burn the brig down to her water-line," answered
Gripper.
"And stuff the stove with the masts," added Warren. Shandon looked
at Wall. The stupefied engineers hesitated to go down to the
machine-room.
"Did you hear me?" cried the captain in an irritated tone.
Brunton made for the hatchway, but before going down he stopped.
"Don't go, Brunton!" called out a voice.
"Who spoke?" cried Hatteras.
"I did," said Pen, advancing towards the captain.
"And what did you say?" asked Hatteras.
"I say," answered Pen with an oath--"I say, we've had enough of it,
and we won't go any further. You shan't kill us with hunger and work
in the winter, and they shan't light the fires!"
"Mr. Shandon," answered Hatteras calmly, "have that man put in irons!"
"But, captain," replied Shandon, "what the man says----"
"If you repeat what the man says," answered Hatteras, "I'll have you
shut up in your cabin and guarded! Seize that man! Do you hear?"
Johnson, Bell, and Simpson advanced towards the sailor, who was in
a terrible passion.
"The first who touches me----" he said, brandishing a handspike.
Hatteras approached him.
"Pen," said he tranquilly, "if you move, I shall blow out your brains!"
So speaking, he cocked a pistol and aimed it at the sailor. A murmur
was heard.
"Not a word, men," said Hatteras, "or that man falls dead!" Johnson
and Bell disarmed Pen, who no longer made any resistance, and placed
him in the hold.
"Go, Brunton," said Hatteras. The engineer, followed by Plover and
Warren, went down to his post. Hatteras returned to the poop.
"That Pen is a wretched fellow!" said the doctor.
"No man has ever been nearer death!" answered the captain, simply.
The steam was soon got up, the anchors were weighed, and the -Forward-
veered away east, cutting the young ice with her steel prow. Between
Baring Island and Beecher Point there are a considerable quantity
of islands in the midst of ice-fields; the streams crowd together
in the little channels which cut up this part of the sea; they had
a tendency to agglomerate under the relatively low temperature;
hummocks were formed here and there, and these masses, already more
compact, denser, and closer together, would soon form an impenetrable
mass. The -Forward- made its way with great difficulty amidst the
snowstorms. However, with the mobility that characterises the
climate of these regions, the sun appeared from time to time, the
temperature went up several degrees, obstacles melted as if by magic,
and a fine sheet of water lay where icebergs bristled all the passes.
The horizon glowed with those magnificent orange shades which rest
the eye, tired with the eternal white of the snow.
On the 26th of July the -Forward- passed Dundas Island, and veered
afterwards more to the north; but there Hatteras found himself
opposite an ice-bank eight or nine feet high, formed of little
icebergs detached from the coast; he was obliged to turn west. The
uninterrupted cracking of the ice, added to the noise of the steamer,
was like sighs or groans. At last the brig found a channel, and
advanced painfully along it; often an enormous iceberg hindered her
course for hours; the fog hindered the pilot's look-out; as long as
he can see for a mile in front of him, he can easily avoid obstacles;
but in the midst of the fog it was often impossible to see a cable's
length, and the swell was very strong. Sometimes the clouds looked
smooth and white as though they were reflections of the ice-banks;
but there were entire days when the yellow rays of the sun could not
pierce the tenacious fog. Birds were still very numerous, and their
cries were deafening; seals, lying idle on the floating ice, raised
their heads, very little frightened, and moved their long necks as
the brig passed. Pieces from the ship's sheathing were often rubbed
off in her contact with the ice. At last, after six days of slow
navigation, Point Beecher was sighted to the north on the 1st of August.
Hatteras passed the last few hours at his masthead; the open sea that
Stewart had perceived on May 30th, 1851, about latitude 76 degrees
20 minutes, could not be far off; but as far as the eye could reach,
Hatteras saw no indication of it. He came down without saying a word.
"Do you believe in an open sea?" asked Shandon of the lieutenant.
"I am beginning not to," answered Wall.
"Wasn't I right to say the pretended discovery was purely imagination?
But they would not believe me, and even you were against me, Wall."
"We shall believe in you for the future, Shandon."
"Yes," said he, "when it's too late," and so saying he went back to
his cabin, where he had stopped almost ever since his dispute with
the captain. The wind veered round south towards evening; Hatteras
ordered the brig to be put under sail and the fires to be put out;
the crew had to work very hard for the next few days; they were more
than a week getting to Barrow Point. The -Forward- had only made thirty
miles in ten days. There the wind turned north again, and the screw
was set to work. Hatteras still hoped to find an open sea beyond the
77th parallel, as Sir Edward Belcher had done. Ought he to treat these
accounts as apocryphal? or had the winter come upon him earlier? On
the 15th of August Mount Percy raised its peak, covered with eternal
snow, through the mist. The next day the sun set for the first time,
ending thus the long series of days with twenty-four hours in them.
The men had ended by getting accustomed to the continual daylight,
but it had never made any difference to the animals; the Greenland
dogs went to their rest at their accustomed hour, and Dick slept as
regularly every evening as though darkness had covered the sky. Still,
during the nights which followed the 15th of August, darkness was
never profound; although the sun set, he still gave sufficient light
by refraction. On the 19th of August, after a pretty good observation,
they sighted Cape Franklin on the east coast and Cape Lady Franklin
on the west coast; the gratitude of the English people had given these
names to the two opposite points--probably the last reached by
Franklin: the name of the devoted wife, opposite to that of her husband,
is a touching emblem of the sympathy which always united them.
The doctor, by following Johnson's advice, accustomed himself to
support the low temperature; he almost always stayed on deck braving
the cold, the wind, and the snow. He got rather thinner, but his
constitution did not suffer. Besides, he expected to be much worse
off, and joyfully prepared for the approaching winter.
"Look at those birds," he said to Johnson one day; "they are emigrating
south in flocks! They are shrieking out their good-byes!"
"Yes, Mr. Clawbonny, some instinct tells them they must go, and they
set out."
"There's more than one amongst us who would like to imitate them,
I think."
"They are cowards, Mr. Clawbonny; those animals have no provisions
as we have, and are obliged to seek their food where it is to be found.
But sailors, with a good ship under their feet, ought to go to the
world's end."
"You hope that Hatteras will succeed, then?"
"He certainly will, Mr. Clawbonny."
"I am of the same opinion as you, Johnson, and if he only wanted one
faithful companion----"
"He'll have two!"
"Yes, Johnson," answered the doctor, shaking hands with the brave
sailor.
Prince Albert Land, which the -Forward- was then coasting, bears also
the name of Grinnell Land, and though Hatteras, from his hatred to
the Yankees, would never call it by its American name, it is the one
it generally goes by. It owes its double appellation to the following
circumstances: At the same time that Penny, an Englishman, gave it
the name of Prince Albert, Lieutenant Haven, commander of the -Rescue-,
called it Grinnell Land in honour of the American merchant who had
fitted out the expedition from New York at his own expense. Whilst
the brig was coasting it, she experienced a series of unheard-of
difficulties, navigating sometimes under sail, sometimes by steam.
On the 18th of August they sighted Britannia Mountain, scarcely
visible through the mist, and the -Forward- weighed anchor the next
day in Northumberland Bay. She was hemmed in on all sides.
CHAPTER XXIII
ATTACKED BY ICEBERGS
Hatteras, after seeing to the anchoring of his ship, re-entered his
cabin and examined his map attentively. He found himself in latitude
76 degrees 57 minutes and longitude 99 degrees 20 minutes--that is
to say, at only three minutes from the 77th parallel. It was at this
very spot that Sir Edward Belcher passed his first winter with the
-Pioneer- and the -Assistance-. It was thence that he organised his
sledge and boat excursions. He discovered Table Isle, North Cornwall,
Victoria Archipelago, and Belcher Channel. He reached the 78th
parallel, and saw that the coast was depressed on the south-east.
It seemed to go down to Jones's Strait, the entrance to which lies
in Baffin's Bay. But to the north-west, on the contrary, says his
report, an open sea lay as far as the eye could reach.
Hatteras considered attentively the white part of the map, which
represented the Polar basin free from ice.
"After such testimony as that of Stewart, Penny, and Belcher, I can't
have a doubt about it," he said to himself. "They saw it with their
own eyes. But if the winter has already frozen it! But no; they made
their discoveries at intervals of several years. It exists, and I
shall find it! I shall see it."
Hatteras went on to the poop. An intense fog enveloped the -Forward-;
the masthead could scarcely be distinguished from the deck. However,
Hatteras called down the ice-master from his crow's nest, and took
his place. He wished to profit by the shortest clear interval to
examine the north-western horizon. Shandon did not let the occasion
slip for saying to the lieutenant:
"Well, Wall, where is the open sea?"
"You were right, Shandon, and we have only six weeks' coal in the
hold."
"Perhaps the doctor will find us some scientific fuel to warm us in
the place of coal," answered Shandon. "I have heard say you can turn
fire to ice; perhaps he'll turn ice to fire." And he entered his cabin,
shrugging his shoulders. The next day was the 20th of August, and
the fog cleared away for several minutes. They saw Hatteras look
eagerly at the horizon, and then come down without speaking; but it
was easy to see that his hopes had again been crushed. The -Forward-
weighed anchor, and took up her uncertain march northward. As the
-Forward- began to be weather-worn, the masts were unreeved, for they
could no longer rely on the variable wind, and the sails were nearly
useless in the winding channels. Large white marks appeared here and
there on the sea like oil spots; they presaged an approaching frost;
as soon as the breeze dropped the sea began to freeze immediately;
but as soon as the wind got up again, the young ice was broken up
and dispersed. Towards evening the thermometer went down to 17
degrees.
When the brig came to a closed-up pass she acted as a battering ram,
and ran at full steam against the obstacle, which she sunk. Sometimes
they thought she was stopped for good; but an unexpected movement
of the streams opened her a new passage, and she took advantage of
it boldly. When the brig stopped, the steam which escaped from the
safety-pipes was condensed by the cold air and fell in snow on to
the deck. Another impediment came in the way; the ice-blocks sometimes
got entangled in the paddles, and they were so hard that all the
strength of the machine was not sufficient to break them; it was then
necessary to back the engine and send men to clear the screws with
their handspikes. All this delayed the brig; it lasted thirteen days.
The -Forward- dragged herself painfully along Penny Strait; the crew
grumbled, but obeyed: the men saw now that it was impossible to go
back. Keeping north was less dangerous than retreating south. They
were obliged to think about wintering. The sailors talked together
about their present position, and one day they mentioned it to Richard
Shandon, who, they knew, was on their side. The second officer forgot
his duty as an officer, and allowed them to discuss the authority
of the captain before him.
"You say, then, Mr. Shandon, that we can't go back now?" said Gripper.
"No, it's too late now," answered Shandon.
"Then we must think about wintering," said another sailor.
"It's the only thing we can do. They wouldn't believe me."
"Another time," said Pen, who had been released, "we shall believe
you."
"But as I am not the master----" replied Shandon.
"Who says you mayn't be?" answered Pen. "John Hatteras may go as far
as he likes, but we aren't obliged to follow him."
"You all know what became of the crew that did follow him in his first
cruise to Baffin's Sea?" said Gripper.
"And the cruise of the -Farewell- under him that got lost in the
Spitzbergen seas!" said Clifton.
"He was the only man that came back," continued Gripper.
"He and his dog," answered Clifton.
"We won't die for his pleasure," added Pen.
"Nor lose the bounty we've been at so much trouble to earn," cried
Clifton. "When we've passed the 78th degree--and we aren't far off
it, I know--that will make just the 375 pounds each."
"But," answered Gripper, "shan't we lose it if we go back without
the captain?"
"Not if we prove that we were obliged to," answered Clifton.
"But it's the captain----"
"You never mind, Gripper," answered Pen; "we'll have a captain and
a good one--that Mr. Shandon knows. When one commander goes mad, folks
have done with him, and they take another; don't they, Mr. Shandon?"
Shandon answered evasively that they could reckon upon him, but that
they must wait to see what turned up. Difficulties were getting thick
round Hatteras, but he was as firm, calm, energetic, and confident
as ever. After all, he had done in five months what other navigators
had taken two or three years to do! He should be obliged to winter
now, but there was nothing to frighten brave sailors in that. Sir
John Ross and McClure had passed three successive winters in the
Arctic regions. What they had done he could do too!
"If I had only been able to get up Smith Strait at the north of Baffin's
Sea, I should be at the Pole by now!" he said to the doctor regretfully.
"Never mind, captain!" answered the doctor, "we shall get at it by
the 99th meridian instead of by the 75th; if all roads lead to Rome,
it's more certain still that all meridians lead to the Pole."
On the 31st of August the thermometer marked 13 degrees. The end of
the navigable season was approaching; the -Forward- left Exmouth
Island to the starboard, and three days after passed Table Island
in the middle of Belcher Channel. At an earlier period it would perhaps
have been possible to regain Baffin's Sea by this channel, but it
was not to be dreamt of then; this arm of the sea was entirely
barricaded by ice; ice-fields extended as far as the eye could reach,
and would do so for eight months longer. Happily they could still
gain a few minutes further north on the condition of breaking up the
ice with huge clubs and petards. Now the temperature was so low, any
wind, even a contrary one, was welcome, for in a calm the sea froze
in a single night. The -Forward- could not winter in her present
situation, exposed to winds, icebergs, and the drift from the channel;
a shelter was the first thing to find; Hatteras hoped to gain the
coast of New Cornwall, and to find above Albert Point a bay of refuge
sufficiently sheltered. He therefore pursued his course northward
with perseverance. But on the 8th an impenetrable ice-bank lay in
front of him, and the temperature was at 10 degrees. Hatteras did
all he could to force a passage, continually risking his ship and
getting out of danger by force of skill. He could be accused of
imprudence, want of reflection, folly, blindness, but he was a good
sailor, and one of the best! The situation of the -Forward- became
really dangerous; the sea closed up behind her, and in a few hours
the ice got so hard that the men could run along it and tow the ship
in all security.
Hatteras found he could not get round the obstacle, so he resolved
to attack it in front; he used his strongest blasting cylinders of
eight to ten pounds of powder; they began by making a hole in the
thick of the ice, and filled it with snow, taking care to place the
cylinder in a horizontal position, so that a greater portion of the
ice might be submitted to the explosion; lastly, they lighted the
wick, which was protected by a gutta-percha tube. They worked at the
blasting, as they could not saw, for the saws stuck immediately in
the ice. Hatteras hoped to pass the next day. But during the night
a violent wind raged, and the sea rose under her crust of ice as if
shaken by some submarine commotion, and the terrified voice of the
pilot was heard crying:
"Look out aft!"
Hatteras turned to the direction indicated, and what he saw by the
dim twilight was frightful. A high iceberg, driven back north, was
rushing on to the ship with the rapidity of an avalanche.
"All hands on deck!" cried the captain.
The rolling mountain was hardly half a mile off; the blocks of ice
were driven about like so many huge grains of sand; the tempest raged
with fury.
"There, Mr. Clawbonny," said Johnson to the doctor, "we are in
something like danger now."
"Yes," answered the doctor tranquilly, "it looks frightful enough."
"It's an assault we shall have to repulse," replied the boatswain.
"It looks like a troop of antediluvian animals, those that were
supposed to inhabit the Pole. They are trying which shall get here
first!"
"Well," added Johnson, "I hope we shan't get one of their spikes into
us!"
"It's a siege--let's run to the ramparts!"
And they made haste aft, where the crew, armed with poles, bars of
iron, and handspikes, were getting ready to repulse the formidable
enemy. The avalanche came nearer, and got bigger by the addition of
the blocks of ice which it caught in its passage; Hatteras gave orders
to fire the cannon in the bow to break the threatening line. But it
arrived and rushed on to the brig; a great crackling noise was heard,
and as it struck on the brig's starboard a part of her barricading
was broken. Hatteras gave his men orders to keep steady and prepare
for the ice. It came along in blocks; some of them weighing several
hundredweight came over the ship's side; the smaller ones, thrown
up as high as the topsails, fell in little spikes, breaking the shrouds
and cutting the rigging. The ship was boarded by these innumerable
enemies, which in a block would have crushed a hundred ships like
the -Forward-. Some of the sailors were badly wounded whilst trying
to keep off the ice, and Bolton had his left shoulder torn open. The
noise was deafening. Dick barked with rage at this new kind of enemy.
The obscurity of the night came to add to the horror of the situation,
but did not hide the threatening blocks, their white surface reflected
the last gleams of light. Hatteras's orders were heard in the midst
of the crew's strange struggle with the icebergs. The ship giving
way to the tremendous pressure, bent to the larboard, and the
extremity of her mainyard leaned like a buttress against the iceberg
and threatened to break her mast.
Hatteras saw the danger; it was a terrible moment; the brig threatened
to turn completely over, and the masting might be carried away. An
enormous block, as big as the steamer itself, came up alongside her
hull; it rose higher and higher on the waves; it was already above
the poop; it fell over the -Forward-. All was lost; it was now upright,
higher than the gallant yards, and it shook on its foundation. A cry
of terror escaped the crew. Everyone fled to starboard. But at this
moment the steamer was lifted completely up, and for a little while
she seemed to be suspended in the air, and fell again on to the
ice-blocks; then she rolled over till her planks cracked again. After
a minute, which appeared a century, she found herself again in her
natural element, having been turned over the ice-bank that blocked
her passage by the rising of the sea.
"She's cleared the ice-bank!" shouted Johnson, who had rushed to the
fore of the brig.
"Thank God!" answered Hatteras.
The brig was now in the midst of a pond of ice, which hemmed her in
on every side, and though her keel was in the water, she could not
move; she was immovable, but the ice-field moved for her.
"We are drifting, captain!" cried Johnson.
"We must drift," answered Hatteras; "we can't help ourselves."
When daylight came, it was seen that the brig was drifting rapidly
northward, along with a submarine current. The floating mass carried
the -Forward- along with it. In case of accident, when the brig might
be thrown on her side, or crushed by the pressure of the ice, Hatteras
had a quantity of provisions brought up on deck, along with materials
for encamping, the clothes and blankets of the crew. Taking example
from Captain McClure under similar circumstances, he caused the brig
to be surrounded by a belt of hammocks, filled with air, so as to
shield her from the thick of the damage; the ice soon accumulated
under a temperature of 7 degrees, and the ship was surrounded by a
wall of ice, above which her masts only were to be seen. They navigated
thus for seven days; Point Albert, the western extremity of New
Cornwall, was sighted on the 10th of September, but soon disappeared;
from thence the ice-field drifted east. Where would it take them to?
Where should they stop? Who could tell? The crew waited, and the men
folded their arms. At last, on the 15th of September, about three
o'clock in the afternoon, the ice-field, stopped, probably, by
collision with another field, gave a violent shake to the brig, and
stood still. Hatteras found himself out of sight of land in latitude
78 degrees 15 minutes and longitude 95 degrees 35 minutes in the midst
of the unknown sea, where geographers have placed the Frozen Pole.
CHAPTER XXIV
PREPARATIONS FOR WINTERING
The southern hemisphere is colder in parallel latitudes than the
northern hemisphere; but the temperature of the new continent is still
15 degrees below that of the other parts of the world; and in America
the countries known under the name of the Frozen Pole are the most
formidable. The average temperature of the year is 2 degrees below
zero. Scientific men, and Dr. Clawbonny amongst them, explain the
fact in the following way. According to them, the prevailing winds
of the northern regions of America blow from the south-west; they
come from the Pacific Ocean with an equal and bearable temperature;
but in order to reach the Arctic Seas they have to cross the immense
American territory, covered with snow, they get cold by contact with
it, and then cover the hyperborean regions with their frigid violence.
Hatteras found himself at the Frozen Pole beyond the countries seen
by his predecessors; he, therefore, expected a terrible winter on
a ship lost in the midst of the ice with a crew nearly in revolt.
He resolved to face these dangers with his accustomed energy. He began
by taking, with the help of Johnson's experience, all the measures
necessary for wintering. According to his calculations he had been
dragged two hundred and fifty miles beyond New Cornwall, the last
country discovered; he was clasped in an ice-field as securely as
in a bed of granite, and no power on earth could extricate him.
There no longer existed a drop of water in the vast seas over which
the Arctic winter reigned. Ice-fields extended as far as the eye could
reach, bristling with icebergs, and the -Forward- was sheltered by
three of the highest on three points of the compass; the south-east
wind alone could reach her. If instead of icebergs there had been
rocks, verdure instead of snow, and the sea in its liquid state again,
the brig would have been safely anchored in a pretty bay sheltered
from the worst winds. But in such a latitude it was a miserable state
of things. They were obliged to fasten the brig by means of her anchors,
notwithstanding her immovability; they were obliged to prepare for
the submarine currents and the breaking up of the ice. When Johnson
heard where they were, he took the greatest precautions in getting
everything ready for wintering.
"It's the captain's usual luck," said he to the doctor; "we've got
nipped in the most disagreeable point of the whole glove! Never mind;
we'll get out of it!"
As to the doctor, he was delighted at the situation. He would not
have changed it for any other! A winter at the Frozen Pole seemed
to him desirable. The crew were set to work at the sails, which were
not taken down, and put into the hold, as the first people who wintered
in these regions had thought prudent; they were folded up in their
cases, and the ice soon made them an impervious envelope. The crow's
nest, too, remained in its place, serving as a nautical observatory;
the rigging alone was taken away. It became necessary to cut away
the part of the field that surrounded the brig, which began to suffer
from the pressure. It was a long and painful work. In a few days the
keel was cleared, and on examination was found to have suffered little,
thanks to the solidity of its construction, only its copper plating
was almost all torn off. When the ship was once liberated she rose
at least nine inches; the crew then bevelled the ice in the shape
of the keel, and the field formed again under the brig, and offered
sufficient opposition to pressure from without. The doctor helped
in all this work; he used the ice-knife skilfully; he incited the
sailors by his happy disposition. He instructed himself and others,
and was delighted to find the ice under the ship.
"It's a very good precaution!" said he.
"We couldn't do without it, Mr. Clawbonny," said Johnson. "Now we
can raise a snow-wall as high as the gunwale, and if we like we can
make it ten feet thick, for we've plenty of materials."
"That's an excellent idea," answered the doctor. "Snow is a bad
conductor of heat; it reflects it instead of absorbing it, and the
heat of the interior does not escape."
"That's true," said Johnson. "We shall raise a fortification against
the cold, and against animals too, if they take it into their heads
to pay us a visit; when the work is done it will answer, I can tell
you. We shall make two flights of steps in the snow, one from the
ship and the other from outside; when once we've cut out the steps
we shall pour water over them, and it will make them as hard as rock.
We shall have a royal staircase."
"It's a good thing that cold makes ice and snow, and so gives us the
means of protecting ourselves against it. I don't know what we should
do if it did not."
A roofing of tarred cloth was spread over the deck and descended to
the sides of the brig. It was thus sheltered from all outside
impression, and made a capital promenade; it was covered with two
feet and a-half of snow, which was beaten down till it became very
hard, and above that they put a layer of sand, completely macadamising
it.
"With a few trees I should imagine myself in Hyde Park," said the
doctor, "or in one of the hanging gardens of Babylon."
They made a hole at a short distance from the brig; it was round,
like a well; they broke the ice every morning. This well was useful
in case of fire or for the frequent baths ordered to keep the crew
in health. In order to spare their fuel, they drew the water from
a greater depth by means of an apparatus invented by a Frenchman,
Francois Arago. Generally, when a ship is wintering, all the objects
which encumber her are placed in magazines on the coast, but it was
impossible to do this in the midst of an ice-field. Every precaution
was taken against cold and damp; men have been known to resist the
cold and succumb to damp; therefore both had to be guarded against.
The -Forward- had been built expressly for these regions, and the
common room was wisely arranged. They had made war on the corners,
where damp takes refuge at first. If it had been quite circular it
would have done better, but warmed by a vast stove and well ventilated,
it was very comfortable; the walls were lined with buckskins and not
with woollen materials, for wool condenses the vapours and
impregnates the atmosphere with damp. The partitions were taken down
in the poop, and the officers had a large comfortable room, warmed
by a stove. Both this room and that of the crew had a sort of antechamber,
which prevented all direct communication with the exterior, and
prevented the heat going out; it also made the crew pass more gradually
from one temperature to another. They left their snow-covered
garments in these antechambers, and scraped their feet on scrapers
put there on purpose to prevent any unhealthy element getting in.
Canvas hose let in the air necessary to make the stoves draw; other
hose served for escape-pipes for the steam. Two condensers were fixed
in the two rooms; they gathered the vapour instead of letting it escape,
and were emptied twice a week; sometimes they contained several
bushels of ice. By means of the air-pipes the fires could be easily
regulated, and it was found that very little fuel was necessary to
keep up a temperature of 50 degrees in the rooms. But Hatteras saw
with grief that he had only enough coal left for two months' firing.
A drying-room was prepared for the garments that were obliged to be
washed, as they could not be hung in the air or they would have been
frozen and spoiled. The delicate parts of the machine were taken to
pieces carefully, and the room where they were placed was closed up
hermetically. The rules for life on board were drawn up by Hatteras
and hung up in the common room. The men got up at six in the morning,
and their hammocks were exposed to the air three times a week; the
floors of the two rooms were rubbed with warm sand every morning;
boiling tea was served out at every meal, and the food varied as much
as possible, according to the different days of the week; it consisted
of bread, flour, beef suet and raisins for puddings, sugar, cocoa,
tea, rice, lemon-juice, preserved meat, salted beef and pork, pickled
cabbage and other vegetables; the kitchen was outside the common rooms,
and the men were thus deprived of its heat, but cooking is a constant
source of evaporation and humidity.
The health of men depends a great deal on the food they eat; under
these high latitudes it is of great importance to consume as much
animal food as possible. The doctor presided at the drawing up of
the bill of fare.
"We must take example from the Esquimaux," said he; "they have
received their lessons from nature, and are our teachers here;
although Arabians and Africans can live on a few dates and a handful
of rice, it is very different here, where we must eat a great deal
and often. The Esquimaux absorb as much as ten and fifteen pounds
of oil in a day. If you do not like oil, you must have recourse to
things rich in sugar and fat. In a word, you want carbon in the stove
inside you as much as the stove there wants coal."
Every man was forced to take a bath in the half-frozen water condensed
from the fire. The doctor set the example; he did it at first as we
do all disagreeable things that we feel obliged to do, but he soon
began to take extreme pleasure in it. When the men had to go out either
to hunt or work they had to take great care not to get frost-bitten;
and if by accident it happened, they made haste to rub the part
attacked with snow to bring back the circulation of the blood. Besides
being carefully clothed in wool from head to foot, the men wore hoods
of buckskin and sealskin trousers, through which it is impossible
'
.
1
2
"
3
,
4
.
5
6
"
7
,
,
,
8
9
.
10
11
"
12
.
13
14
"
.
"
15
16
17
,
-
,
18
;
,
19
,
.
20
,
21
!
22
,
-
-
23
-
-
-
-
.
24
,
25
,
.
26
27
"
,
"
,
,
"
28
.
"
29
30
.
31
,
32
.
33
34
"
!
"
.
35
36
"
,
?
"
.
37
38
"
'
-
-
'
-
-
-
-
"
.
39
40
"
,
"
.
41
42
"
,
"
.
43
44
"
,
"
,
"
?
"
45
46
"
,
.
47
!
"
48
49
"
!
"
50
.
51
52
"
-
-
-
-
"
.
53
54
.
,
55
.
56
57
"
,
"
,
"
!
"
58
59
"
?
"
,
.
60
61
"
?
"
,
62
.
63
64
"
?
"
.
65
66
"
'
.
67
;
68
,
,
-
-
-
-
"
69
70
;
,
71
.
,
-
72
,
,
73
.
?
74
,
,
75
,
,
,
76
!
77
;
78
-
-
,
79
.
80
.
.
81
.
,
82
.
83
;
84
.
,
:
85
86
"
.
,
;
87
,
'
!
"
88
89
"
.
,
"
,
"
90
,
!
"
91
92
"
,
?
"
93
94
"
,
.
'
,
95
.
"
96
97
"
-
-
-
-
"
.
98
99
"
,
,
"
100
,
,
101
.
102
,
.
103
;
104
,
,
,
105
,
,
106
,
,
107
,
,
108
.
109
;
,
110
,
,
,
111
,
,
112
,
,
113
,
,
,
114
;
115
,
.
116
,
117
,
.
118
,
,
119
,
,
120
.
121
,
122
,
123
.
,
124
.
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
;
136
.
,
,
137
-
,
-
.
138
.
139
,
140
.
,
,
-
-
141
,
142
,
143
,
.
144
;
145
,
,
146
,
147
.
148
,
.
149
;
150
;
151
.
152
,
,
153
.
154
-
-
155
-
-
;
,
,
156
,
-
-
157
'
!
158
159
"
,
"
;
"
160
.
"
161
162
"
'
-
-
-
-
"
163
164
"
!
"
.
-
-
"
!
"
165
,
.
166
.
167
168
"
,
"
,
"
!
169
!
"
170
171
,
-
-
172
-
,
,
173
,
174
.
,
,
175
,
.
176
-
-
,
177
-
-
-
-
,
.
178
;
179
,
,
-
,
180
.
181
'
.
182
183
"
-
-
-
-
,
"
,
"
184
,
;
185
186
.
187
-
,
;
188
.
189
,
190
'
.
"
191
192
193
.
194
;
195
196
,
:
197
198
"
,
!
"
.
199
200
"
?
"
.
201
202
"
,
.
.
!
203
!
,
,
204
205
.
"
206
207
"
,
?
"
208
209
"
,
.
,
210
.
211
?
"
212
213
"
,
-
-
.
"
214
215
"
,
216
-
-
;
217
.
-
-
218
!
"
219
220
"
,
,
.
?
"
221
222
"
;
223
-
-
,
224
,
-
-
,
.
225
226
,
.
227
,
228
.
229
?
,
230
,
231
,
.
232
,
233
.
-
234
-
(
)
,
,
,
,
235
.
236
,
;
237
.
238
;
239
.
240
'
,
241
,
;
242
;
243
-
;
244
,
;
245
,
246
;
,
247
;
.
248
,
249
.
-
,
250
;
,
251
.
"
252
253
,
254
:
255
256
"
257
,
;
,
,
258
.
.
259
,
.
260
.
'
'
,
'
,
'
261
.
'
'
,
262
,
'
-
.
'
-
263
,
.
.
264
,
;
265
266
;
,
267
,
,
268
.
,
.
269
.
,
270
.
"
271
272
"
?
"
,
.
273
274
"
.
275
,
,
276
.
!
.
,
!
277
!
,
278
'
.
279
,
;
,
280
,
281
,
,
'
!
!
'
"
282
283
"
,
,
"
,
"
284
?
"
285
286
"
!
-
,
287
;
-
;
288
,
289
,
,
290
.
"
291
292
-
-
293
,
294
.
,
295
,
,
;
,
296
,
,
297
,
.
298
;
299
-
-
300
-
-
.
301
,
,
302
,
-
-
.
303
-
-
304
.
305
.
306
?
;
,
307
.
308
309
310
'
.
311
.
,
,
312
;
313
;
.
314
,
,
,
315
;
;
316
.
317
,
.
,
318
319
.
;
320
,
,
,
321
,
;
322
,
323
.
,
'
,
324
325
.
,
326
.
-
-
.
327
.
328
,
'
329
.
.
330
,
331
;
332
,
-
.
333
334
;
335
,
336
;
,
337
.
,
,
,
338
;
;
339
,
,
,
340
;
;
341
,
,
,
,
;
342
343
.
344
.
-
345
.
,
346
.
347
.
,
348
349
.
350
.
351
;
,
352
353
,
354
355
.
,
,
,
356
;
357
,
,
358
.
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
,
369
-
-
.
370
371
"
!
"
.
372
373
"
?
"
.
374
375
"
'
'
!
"
.
376
377
"
?
"
.
378
379
"
-
,
"
380
.
381
382
"
,
"
.
383
.
384
-
.
385
386
"
?
"
.
387
388
,
.
389
390
"
'
,
!
"
.
391
392
"
?
"
.
393
394
"
,
"
,
.
395
396
"
?
"
.
397
398
"
,
"
-
-
"
,
'
,
399
'
.
'
400
,
'
!
"
401
402
"
.
,
"
,
"
!
"
403
404
"
,
,
"
,
"
-
-
-
-
"
405
406
"
,
"
,
"
'
407
!
!
?
"
408
,
,
,
409
.
410
411
"
-
-
-
-
"
,
.
412
.
413
414
"
,
"
,
"
,
!
"
415
,
.
416
.
417
418
"
,
,
"
,
"
!
"
419
,
,
420
.
421
422
"
,
,
"
.
,
423
,
.
.
424
425
"
!
"
.
426
427
"
!
"
,
.
428
429
,
,
-
-
430
,
.
431
432
-
;
433
;
434
;
435
,
,
436
,
,
,
437
.
-
-
438
.
,
439
,
,
440
,
,
441
.
442
443
,
.
444
445
-
-
,
446
;
447
-
,
448
;
.
449
,
,
450
.
,
451
;
452
;
'
-
;
453
,
;
454
'
455
,
.
456
-
;
457
458
.
,
459
;
,
,
460
,
,
461
.
'
462
.
,
463
,
.
464
;
465
,
,
466
,
;
,
467
.
.
468
469
"
?
"
.
470
471
"
,
"
.
472
473
"
'
?
474
,
,
.
"
475
476
"
,
.
"
477
478
"
,
"
,
"
'
,
"
479
,
480
.
;
481
;
482
;
483
.
-
-
484
.
,
485
.
486
,
.
487
?
?
488
,
489
,
.
,
490
-
.
491
,
492
;
493
,
494
.
,
495
,
496
;
,
497
.
,
,
498
499
;
500
-
-
501
:
,
,
502
.
503
504
,
'
,
505
;
506
,
,
.
,
507
.
,
508
,
.
509
510
"
,
"
;
"
511
!
-
!
"
512
513
"
,
.
,
,
514
.
"
515
516
"
'
,
517
.
"
518
519
"
,
.
;
520
,
.
521
,
,
522
'
.
"
523
524
"
,
?
"
525
526
"
,
.
.
"
527
528
"
,
,
529
-
-
-
-
"
530
531
"
'
!
"
532
533
"
,
,
"
,
534
.
535
536
,
-
-
,
537
,
,
538
,
,
539
.
540
:
,
,
541
,
,
-
-
,
542
543
.
544
,
-
545
,
,
.
546
,
547
,
-
-
548
.
.
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
,
,
-
559
.
560
-
-
561
,
.
562
563
-
-
-
-
.
564
.
,
,
565
,
.
566
,
-
.
567
'
,
568
'
.
-
,
,
569
,
.
570
571
,
572
.
573
574
"
,
,
,
'
575
,
"
.
"
576
.
!
;
577
.
,
578
!
.
"
579
580
.
-
-
;
581
.
,
582
-
'
,
583
.
584
-
.
585
:
586
587
"
,
,
?
"
588
589
"
,
,
'
590
.
"
591
592
"
593
,
"
.
"
594
;
'
.
"
,
595
.
,
596
.
597
,
;
598
.
-
-
599
,
.
600
-
-
-
,
,
601
,
602
.
603
;
;
604
;
605
,
606
.
607
.
608
609
-
,
610
,
.
611
;
612
,
613
.
,
614
-
615
.
;
-
616
,
617
;
618
619
.
;
.
620
-
-
;
621
,
:
622
.
.
623
.
624
,
625
,
,
,
.
626
,
627
.
628
629
"
,
,
.
,
'
?
"
.
630
631
"
,
'
,
"
.
632
633
"
,
"
.
634
635
"
'
.
'
.
"
636
637
"
,
"
,
,
"
638
.
"
639
640
"
-
-
-
-
"
.
641
642
"
'
?
"
.
"
643
,
'
.
"
644
645
"
646
'
?
"
.
647
648
"
-
-
649
!
"
.
650
651
"
,
"
.
652
653
"
,
"
.
654
655
"
'
,
"
.
656
657
"
'
,
"
658
.
"
'
-
-
'
659
,
-
-
.
"
660
661
"
,
"
,
"
'
662
?
"
663
664
"
,
"
.
665
666
"
'
-
-
-
-
"
667
668
"
,
,
"
;
"
'
669
-
-
.
.
,
670
,
;
'
,
.
?
"
671
672
,
673
.
674
,
,
,
,
675
.
,
676
!
677
,
.
678
679
.
!
680
681
"
'
682
,
!
"
.
683
684
"
,
!
"
,
"
685
;
,
686
'
.
"
687
688
.
689
;
-
-
690
,
691
.
692
'
,
693
;
694
;
-
,
695
.
696
697
.
,
698
,
,
,
699
.
-
-
700
,
,
,
;
701
;
702
,
703
.
704
.
-
705
,
.
706
,
707
.
708
,
,
,
,
709
,
!
-
-
710
;
,
711
712
.
713
714
,
715
;
716
;
717
,
,
718
,
719
;
,
720
,
-
.
721
,
,
722
.
.
723
,
724
,
725
:
726
727
"
!
"
728
729
,
730
.
,
,
731
.
732
733
"
!
"
.
734
735
;
736
;
737
.
738
739
"
,
.
,
"
,
"
740
.
"
741
742
"
,
"
,
"
.
"
743
744
"
'
,
"
.
745
746
"
,
747
.
748
!
"
749
750
"
,
"
,
"
'
751
!
"
752
753
"
'
-
-
'
!
"
754
755
,
,
,
756
,
,
757
.
,
758
;
759
.
760
;
,
761
'
762
.
763
.
;
764
'
;
,
765
,
,
766
.
767
,
768
-
-
.
769
,
.
770
.
.
771
,
772
,
773
.
'
774
'
.
775
,
,
776
777
.
778
779
;
;
780
,
.
781
,
,
782
;
;
783
;
-
-
.
;
,
784
,
.
785
.
.
786
,
787
,
788
-
;
.
789
,
,
790
,
-
791
.
792
793
"
'
-
!
"
,
794
.
795
796
"
!
"
.
797
798
,
799
,
,
800
;
,
-
.
801
802
"
,
!
"
.
803
804
"
,
"
;
"
'
.
"
805
806
,
807
,
.
808
-
-
.
,
809
,
,
810
,
811
,
.
812
,
813
,
,
814
;
815
,
816
,
.
817
;
,
818
,
,
;
819
-
.
?
820
?
?
,
821
.
,
,
822
'
,
-
,
,
,
823
,
,
824
.
825
826
,
.
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
;
838
;
839
840
.
841
.
,
.
,
842
.
,
843
-
;
844
;
845
846
,
,
847
,
.
848
849
;
,
,
850
.
851
.
852
,
'
,
853
.
854
,
855
;
-
856
,
.
857
858
859
.
-
860
,
,
-
-
861
;
-
862
.
863
,
,
,
864
865
.
866
.
,
867
;
868
.
869
,
870
.
871
872
"
'
'
,
"
;
"
'
873
!
;
874
'
!
"
875
876
,
.
877
!
878
.
,
879
,
,
880
;
881
,
.
'
882
,
,
,
;
883
.
884
,
885
.
.
886
,
,
887
,
888
.
889
;
890
,
,
891
.
892
;
-
;
893
.
,
894
.
895
896
"
'
!
"
.
897
898
"
'
,
.
,
"
.
"
899
-
,
900
,
'
.
"
901
902
"
'
,
"
.
"
903
;
,
904
.
"
905
906
"
'
,
"
.
"
907
,
,
908
;
,
909
.
,
910
;
'
911
,
.
912
.
"
913
914
"
'
,
915
.
'
916
.
"
917
918
919
.
920
,
;
921
-
,
922
,
,
923
.
924
925
"
,
"
926
,
"
.
"
927
928
;
,
929
;
.
930
931
.
,
932
,
933
.
,
,
934
,
935
-
.
936
;
937
;
.
938
-
-
,
939
.
,
940
.
941
,
,
942
;
943
,
944
.
945
,
,
946
.
,
947
,
948
;
949
.
-
950
,
951
.
952
953
;
954
-
.
955
;
,
956
;
957
.
-
958
,
959
.
960
'
.
961
-
962
,
963
.
964
,
965
.
966
.
,
967
;
968
;
969
,
970
,
;
971
,
,
,
,
,
972
,
,
-
,
,
,
973
;
,
974
,
975
.
976
977
;
978
979
.
980
.
981
982
"
,
"
;
"
983
,
;
984
985
,
,
986
.
987
.
,
988
.
,
989
.
"
990
991
-
992
.
;
993
,
994
.
995
-
;
996
,
997
.
998
,
999
,
1000