"Come on!" answered Bell.
The three companions hastened toward the animal, which had not been
alarmed by the firing; he seemed to be very large, but, without
weighing the danger, they gave themselves up already to the joy of
victory. Having got within a reasonable distance, they fired; the bear
leaped into the air and fell, mortally wounded, on the level ice
below.
[Illustration]
Duke rushed towards him.
"That's a bear," said the doctor, "which was easily conquered."
"Only three shots," said Bell with some scorn, "and he's down!"
"That's odd," remarked Johnson.
"Unless we got here just as he was going to die of old age," continued
the doctor, laughing.
"Well, young or old," added Bell, "he's a good capture."
Talking in this way they reached the small iceberg, and, to their
great surprise, they found Duke growling over the body of a white fox.
[Illustration]
"Upon my word," said Bell, "that's too much!"
"Well," said the doctor, "we've fired at a bear, and killed a fox!"
Johnson did not know what to say.
"Well," said the doctor with a burst of laughter in which there was a
trace of disappointment, "that refraction again! It's always deceiving
us."
"What do you mean, Doctor?" asked the carpenter.
"Yes, my friend; it deceived us with respect to its size as well as
the distance! It made us see a bear in a fox's skin! Such a mistake is
not uncommon under similar circumstances! Well, our imagination alone
was wrong!"
"At any rate," answered Johnson, "bear or fox, he's good eating. Let's
carry him off."
But as the boatswain was lifting him to his shoulders:--
"That's odd," he said.
"What is it?" asked the doctor.
"See there, Doctor, he's got a collar around his neck."
"A collar?" asked the doctor again, examining the fox.
In fact, a half-worn-out copper collar appeared under his white fur;
the doctor thought he saw letters engraved upon it; he unfastened it
from the animal's neck, about which it seemed to have been for a long
time.
"What does that mean?" asked Johnson.
"That means," said the doctor, "that we have just killed a fox more
than twelve years old,--a fox who was caught by James Ross in 1848."
"Is it possible?" said Bell.
"There's no doubt about it. I'm sorry we killed him! While he was in
winter-quarters, James Ross thought of trapping a large number of
white foxes; he fastened on their necks copper collars on which was
engraved the position of his ships, the -Enterprise- and
-Investigator-, as well as where the supplies were left. These animals
run over immense distances in search of food, and James Ross hoped
that one of them might fall into the hands of one of the men of the
Franklin expedition. That's the simple explanation; and this poor
beast, who might have saved the life of two crews, has fallen
uselessly beneath our guns."
"Well, we won't eat it," said Johnson, "especially if it's twelve
years old. But we shall keep the skin as a memento."
Johnson raised it to his shoulders. The hunters made their way to the
ship, guiding themselves by the stars; their expedition was not wholly
without result; they were able to bring back several ptarmigans.
An hour before reaching the -Forward-, there was a singular phenomenon
which greatly interested the doctor. It was a real shower of
shooting-stars; they could be counted by thousands, flying over the
heavens like rockets; they dimmed the light of the moon. For hours
they could have stood gazing at this beautiful sight. A similar
phenomenon was observed in Greenland in 1799, by the Moravians. It
looked like an exhibition of fireworks. The doctor after his return to
the ship spent the whole night gazing at the sight, which lasted till
seven o'clock in the morning, while the air was perfectly silent.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE LAST PIECE OF COAL.
The bears, it seemed, could not be caught; a few seals were killed on
the 4th, 5th, and 6th of November, and the wind shifted and the
weather grew much milder; but the snow-drifts began again with
incomparable severity. It became impossible to leave the ship, and it
was hard to subdue the dampness. At the end of the week the condensers
contained several bushels of ice.
The weather changed again November 15th, and the thermometer, under
the influence of certain atmospheric conditions, sank to -24°. That
was the lowest temperature they had yet observed. This cold would have
been endurable in calm weather; but the wind was blowing at that time,
and it seemed as if the air was filled with sharp needles.
The doctor regretted his captivity, for the snow was hardened by the
wind, so as to make good walking, and he might have gone very far from
the ship.
Still, it should be said that the slightest exercise in so low a
temperature is very exhausting. A man can perform hardly more than a
quarter of his usual work; iron utensils cannot be touched; if the
hand seizes them, it feels as if it were burned, and shreds of skin
cleave to the object which had been incautiously seized.
The crew, being confined to the ship, were obliged to walk on the
covered deck for two hours a day, where they had leave to smoke, which
was forbidden in the common-room.
There, when the fire got low, the ice used to cover the walls and the
intervals between the planks; every nail and bolt and piece of metal
was immediately covered with a film of ice.
The celerity of its formation astonished the doctor. The breath of the
men condensed in the air, and, changing from a fluid to a solid form,
it fell about them in the form of snow. A few feet from the stove it
was very cold, and the men stood grouped around the fire.
Still, the doctor advised them to harden themselves, and to accustom
themselves to the cold, which was not so severe as what yet awaited
them; he advised them to expose their skin gradually to this intense
temperature, and he himself set the example; but idleness or numbness
nailed most of them to their place; they refused to stir, and
preferred sleeping in that unhealthy heat.
Yet, according to the doctor, there was no danger in exposing one's
self to great cold after leaving a heated room; these sudden changes
only inconvenience those who are in a perspiration; the doctor quoted
examples in support of his opinion, but his lessons were for the most
part thrown away.
As for John Hatteras, he did not seem to mind the inclement cold. He
walked to and fro silently, never faster or slower. Did not the cold
affect his powerful frame? Did he possess to a very great degree the
principle of natural heat which he wanted his men to possess? Was he
so bound up in his meditations that he was indifferent to outside
impressions? His men saw him with great astonishment braving a
temperature of -24°; he would leave the ship for hours, and come back
without appearing to suffer from the cold.
"He's a singular man," said the doctor to Johnson; "he astonishes me!
He carries a glowing furnace within him! He is one of the strongest
natures I ever saw!"
"The fact is," answered Johnson, "he goes and comes and circulates in
the open air, without dressing any more thickly than in the month of
June."
"O, it doesn't make much difference what one wears!" answered the
doctor; "what is the use of dressing warmly if one can't produce heat
within himself? It's like trying to heat ice by wrapping it up in
wool! But Hatteras doesn't need it; he's built that way, and I should
not be surprised if his side was as warm as the neighborhood of a
glowing coal."
Johnson, who was charged with clearing away the water-hole every
morning, noticed that the ice was ten feet thick.
Almost every night the doctor could observe the magnificent auroras;
from four o'clock till eight of the evening, the sky in the north was
slightly lighted up; then this took a regular shape, with a rim of
light yellow, the ends of which seemed to touch the field of ice.
Gradually the brilliancy arose in the heavens, following the magnetic
meridian, and appeared striped with black bands; jets of luminosity
shot with varying brightness here and there; when it reached the
zenith it was often composed of several arcs bathed in waves of red,
yellow, or green light. It was a dazzling sight. Soon the different
curves met in a single point, and formed crowns of celestial richness.
Finally the arcs all crowded together, the splendid aurora grew dim,
the intense colors faded away into pale, vague, uncertain tints, and
this wonderful phenomenon vanished gradually, insensibly, in the dark
clouds of the south.
[Illustration: "Almost every night the doctor could observe the
magnificent auroras."]
It is difficult to realize the wonderful, magical beauty of such a
spectacle in high latitudes, less than eight degrees from the pole;
the auroras which are seen in the temperate zone give no idea of it;
it seems as if Providence wished to reserve the greatest wonders for
these regions.
Numerous mock-moons appeared also while the moon was shining, and a
great many would appear in the sky, adding to the general brilliancy;
often, too, simple lunar halos surrounded the moon with a circle of
splendid lustre.
[Illustration]
November 26th the tide rose very high, and the water came through the
hole with great violence; the thick crust of ice seemed pushed up by
the force of the sea, and the frequent cracking of the ice proclaimed
the conflict that was going on beneath; fortunately the ship remained
firm in her bed, but her chains worked noisily; it was as a precaution
against just such an event, that Hatteras had made the brig fast.
The following days were still colder; a dense fog hid the sky; the
wind tossed the snow about; it was hard to determine whether it came
from the clouds or from the ice-fields; everything was in confusion.
The crew kept busy with various interior occupations, the principal
one being the preparation of the grease and oil from the seal; it was
frozen into blocks of ice, which had to be cut with a hatchet; it was
broken into small fragments, which were as hard as marble; ten barrels
full were collected. As may be seen, every vessel became nearly
useless, besides the risk of its breaking when the contents froze.
The 28th the thermometer fell to -32°; there was only ten days' coal
on board, and every one awaited with horror the moment when it should
come to an end.
Hatteras, for the sake of economy, had the fire in the stove in the
after-room put out; and from that time Shandon, the doctor, and he
were compelled to betake themselves to the common-room of the crew.
Hatteras was hence brought into constant communication with his men,
who gazed at him with surly, dejected glances. He heard their
fault-finding, their reproaches, even their threats, without being
able to punish them. However, he seemed deaf to every remark. He never
went near the fire. He remained in a corner, with folded arms, without
saying a word.
[Illustration]
In spite of the doctor's recommendations, Pen and his friends refused
to take the slightest exercise; they passed whole days crouching about
the stove or under their bedclothes; hence their health began to
suffer; they could not react against the rigor of the climate, and
scurvy soon made its appearance on board.
The doctor had long since begun to distribute, every morning,
lemon-juice and lime pastilles; but these precautions, which were
generally so efficacious, did very little good to the sick; and the
disease, following its usual course, soon showed its most horrible
symptoms.
Terrible indeed it was to see those wretches with their nerves and
muscles contracted with pain! Their legs were fearfully swollen, and
were covered with large bluish-black patches; their bleeding gums,
their swollen lips, permitted them to utter only inarticulate sounds;
their blood was poisoned, deprived of fibrine, and no longer carried
life to the extremities.
Clifton was the first to be attacked by this cruel malady; soon
Gripper, Brunton, and Strong had to keep to their hammocks. Those whom
the illness spared could not avoid the sight of the sufferings of
their friends; the common-room was the only place where they could
stay; so it was soon transformed into a hospital, for of the eighteen
sailors of the -Forward-, thirteen were soon down with scurvy. It
seemed as if Pen would escape the contagion; his strong constitution
preserved him; Shandon felt the first symptoms, but it went no further
with him, and plenty of exercise soon restored him to good health.
The doctor tended his patients with the greatest devotion, and his
heart would bleed at the sight of the sufferings he could not assuage.
Still, he inspired as much cheerfulness as he could in the lonely
crew; his words, his consolations, his philosophical reflections, his
fortunate inventions, broke the monotony of those long days of
suffering; he would read aloud to them; his wonderful memory kept him
supplied with amusing anecdotes, while the men who were well stood
pressing closely around the stove; but the groans of the sick, their
complaints, and their cries of despair would continually interrupt
him, and, breaking off in the middle of a story, he would become the
devoted and attentive physician.
Besides, his health remained good; he did not grow thin; his
corpulence stood him in better stead than the thickest raiment, and he
used to say he was as well clad as a seal or a whale, who, thanks to
their thick layers of fat, easily support the rigors of the winter.
Hatteras did not suffer physically or morally. The sufferings of the
crew did not seem to depress him. Perhaps he would not let his
emotions appear on his face, while an acute observer would have
detected the heart of a man beneath this mask of iron.
The doctor analyzed him, studied him, and could not classify this
strange organization, this unnatural temperament.
The thermometer fell still lower; the deck was entirely deserted; the
Esquimaux dogs alone walked up and down it, barking dismally.
There was always a man on guard near the stove, who superintended
putting on the coal; it was important not to let it go out; when the
fire got low the cold crept into the room, formed on the walls, and
the moisture suddenly condensed and fell in the form of snow on the
unfortunate occupants of the brig.
It was among these terrible sufferings that they reached December 8th;
that morning the doctor went as usual to look at the thermometer. He
found the mercury entirely frozen in the bulb.
"Forty-four degrees below zero!" he said with terror.
And on that day the last piece of coal on board was thrown into the
stove.
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE GREAT COLD AT CHRISTMAS.
For a moment he had a feeling of despair. The thought of death, and
death by cold, appeared in all its horror; this last piece of coal
burned with an ominous splutter; the fire seemed about to go out, and
the temperature of the room fell noticeably. But Johnson went to get
some of the new fuel which the marine animals had furnished to them,
and with it he filled the stove; he added to it some tow filled with
frozen oil, and soon obtained sufficient heat. The odor was almost
unendurable; but how get rid of it? They had to get used to it.
Johnson agreed that his plan was defective, and that it would not be
considered a success in Liverpool.
"And yet," he added, "this unpleasant smell will, perhaps, produce
good results."
"What are they?" asked the carpenter.
"It will doubtless attract the bears this way, for they are fond of
the smell."
"Well," continued Bell, "what is the need of having bears?"
"Bell," replied Johnson, "we can't count on seals any longer; they're
gone away, and for a long time; if bears don't come in their place to
supply us with their share of fuel, I don't know what is to become of
us."
"True, Johnson, our fate is very uncertain; our position is a most
alarming one. And if this sort of fuel gives out, I don't see how--"
"There might be another--"
"Another?" asked Bell.
"Yes, Bell! in despair on account of--but the captain would never--but
yet we shall perhaps have to come to it."
And Johnson shook his head sadly, and fell to thinking gloomily. Bell
did not interrupt him. He knew that the supply of fat, which it had
been so hard to acquire, would only last a week, even with the
strictest economy.
The boatswain was right. A great many bears, attracted by the scent,
were seen to leeward of the -Forward-; the healthy men gave chase; but
these animals are very swift of foot, and crafty enough to escape most
stratagems; it was impossible to get near them, and the most skilful
gunners could not hit them.
The crew of the brig was in great danger of dying from the cold; it
could not withstand, for forty-eight hours, such a temperature as
would exist in the common-room. Every one looked forward with terror
to getting to the end of the fuel.
Now this happened December 20th, at three o'clock in the afternoon;
the fire went out; the sailors, grouped about the empty stove, gazed
at one another with haggard eyes. Hatteras remained without moving in
his corner; the doctor, as usual, paced up and down excitedly; he did
not know what was to be done.
The temperature in the room fell at once to -7°.
But if the doctor was baffled and did not know what they should turn
their hands to, others knew very well. So Shandon, cold and resolute,
Pen, with wrath in his eyes, and two or three of his companions, such
as he could induce to accompany him, walked towards Hatteras.
"Captain!" said Shandon.
Hatteras, absorbed in his thoughts, did not hear him.
"Captain!" repeated Shandon, touching him with his hand.
Hatteras arose.
"Sir," he said.
"Captain, the fire is out."
"Well?" continued Hatteras.
"If you intend that we shall freeze to death," Shandon went on with
grim irony, "we should be glad if you would tell us."
"My intention," answered Hatteras with a deep voice, "is that every
man shall do his duty to the end."
"There's something superior to duty, Captain," answered his first
officer, "and that is the right of self-preservation. I repeat it, we
have no fire; and if this goes on, in two days not one of us will be
alive."
"I have no wood," answered Hatteras, gloomily.
"Well," shouted Pen, violently, "when the wood gives out, we must go
cut it where it grows!"
Hatteras grew pale with anger.
"Where is that?" he asked.
"On board," answered the sailor, insolently.
"On board!" repeated the captain, with clinched fists and sparkling
eyes.
"Of course," answered Pen, "when the ship can't carry the crew, the
ship ought to be burned."
At the beginning of this sentence Hatteras had grasped an axe; at its
end, this axe was raised above Pen's head.
[Illustration]
"Wretch!" he cried.
The doctor sprang in front of Pen, and thrust him back; the axe fell
on the floor, making a deep gash. Johnson, Bell, and Simpson gathered
around Hatteras, and seemed determined to support him. But plaintive,
grievous cries arose from the berths, transformed into death-beds.
"Fire, fire!" they cried, shivering beneath their now insufficient
covering.
Hatteras by a violent effort controlled himself, and after a few
moments of silence, he said calmly,--
"If we destroy the ship, how shall we get back to England?"
"Sir," answered Johnson, "perhaps we can without doing any material
damage burn the less important parts, the bulwarks, the nettings--"
"The small boats will be left," said Shandon; "and besides, why might
we not make a smaller vessel out of what is left of the old one?"
"Never!" answered Hatteras.
"But--" interposed many of the men, shouting together.
"We have a large quantity of spirits of wine," suggested Hatteras;
"burn all of that."
"All right; we'll take the spirits of wine!" answered Johnson,
assuming an air of confidence which he was far from feeling.
And with the aid of long wicks, dipped into this liquid of which the
pale flame licked the walls of the stove, he was able to raise the
temperature of the room a few degrees.
In the following days the wind came from the south again and the
thermometer rose; the snow, however, kept falling. Some of the men
were able to leave the ship for the driest hours of the day; but
ophthalmia and scurvy kept most of them on board; besides, neither
hunting nor fishing was possible.
But this was only a respite in the fearful severity of the cold, and
on the 25th, after a sudden change of wind, the frozen mercury
disappeared again in the bulb of the instrument; then they had to
consult the spirit-thermometer, which does not freeze even in the most
intense colds.
The doctor, to his great surprise, found it marking -66°. Seldom has
man been called upon to endure so low a temperature.
The ice stretched in long, dark lines upon the floor; a dense mist
filled the room; the dampness fell in the form of thick snow; the men
could not see one another; their extremities grew cold and blue; their
heads felt as if they wore an iron band; and their thoughts grew
confused and dull, as if they were half delirious. A terrible symptom
was that their tongues refused to articulate a sound.
[Illustration]
From the day the men threatened to burn the ship, Hatteras would walk
for hours upon the deck, keeping watch. This wood was flesh and blood
to him. Cutting a piece from it would have been like cutting off a
limb. He was armed, and he kept constant guard, without minding the
cold, the snow, or the ice, which stiffened his clothing as if it
covered it with a granite cuirass. Duke understood him, and followed
him, barking and howling.
[Illustration: "He was armed, and he kept constant guard, without
minding the cold, the snow, or the ice."]
Nevertheless, December 25th he went down into the common-room. The
doctor, with all the energy he had left, went up to him and said,--
"Hatteras, we are going to die from want of fire!"
"Never!" said Hatteras, knowing very well what request he was
refusing.
"We must," continued the doctor, mildly.
"Never!" repeated Hatteras more firmly; "I shall never give my
consent! Whoever wishes, may disobey me."
Thus was permission given them. Johnson and Bell hastened to the deck.
Hatteras heard the wood of the brig crashing under the axe, and wept.
That was Christmas Day, the great family festival in England, one
specially devoted to the amusement of the children. What a painful
recollection was that of the happy children gathered about the green
Christmas tree! Every one recalled the huge pieces of roast meat, cut
from the fattened ox, and the tarts, the mince-pies, and other
luxuries so dear to the English heart! But here was nothing but
suffering, despair, and wretchedness, and for the Christmas log, these
pieces of a ship lost in the middle of the frigid zone!
Nevertheless, under the genial influence of the fire, the spirits and
strength of the men returned; the hot tea and coffee brought great and
immediate consolation, and hope is so firm a friend of man, that they
even began to hope for some luckier fate. It was thus that the year
1860 passed away, the early winter of which had so interfered with
Hatteras's plans.
Now it happened that this very New Year's Day was marked by an
unexpected discovery. It was a little milder than the previous days
had been; the doctor had resumed his studies; he was reading Sir
Edward Belcher's account of his expedition in the polar regions.
Suddenly, a passage which he had never noticed before filled him with
astonishment; he read it over again; doubt was no longer possible.
Sir Edward Belcher states that, having come to the end of Queen's
Channel, he found there many traces of the presence of men. He says:--
"There are remains of dwellings far superior to what can be attributed
to the savage habits of the wandering tribes of Esquimaux. The walls
are firmly placed on deep-dug foundations; the inside, covered with a
thick layer of gravel, has been paved. Skeletons of moose, reindeer,
and seals abound. We found coal there."
At these last words an idea occurred to the doctor; he took his book
and ran to tell Hatteras.
"Coal!" shouted the captain.
"Yes, Hatteras, coal; that is to say, our preservation!"
"Coal, on this lonely shore!" continued Hatteras; "no, that's
impossible!"
"How can you doubt it, Hatteras? Belcher would not have mentioned it
if he had not been sure, without having seen it with his own eyes."
"Well, what then, Doctor?"
"We are not a hundred miles from the place where Belcher saw this
coal! What is a journey of a hundred miles? Nothing. Longer
expeditions have often been made on the ice, and with the cold as
intense. Let us go after it, Captain!"
"We'll go!" said Hatteras, who had made up his mind quickly; and with
his active imagination he saw the chance of safety.
Johnson was informed of the plan, of which he approved highly; he told
his companions; some rejoiced, others heard of it with indifference.
"Coal on these shores!" said Wall from his sick-bed.
"We'll let them go," answered Shandon, mysteriously.
But before they had begun to make preparations for the trip, Hatteras
wanted to fix the position of the -Forward- with the utmost
exactitude. The importance of this calculation it is easy to see. Once
away from the ship, it could not be found again without knowing its
position precisely.
So Hatteras went up on deck; he took observations at different moments
of several lunar distances, and the altitude of the principal stars.
He found, however, much difficulty in doing this, for when the
temperature was so low, the glass and the mirrors of the instrument
were covered with a crust of ice from Hatteras's breath; more than
once his eyelids were burned by touching the copper eye-pieces. Still,
he was able to get very exact bases for his calculations, and he
returned to the common-room to work them out. When he had finished, he
raised his head with stupefaction, took his chart, marked it, and
looked at the doctor.
"Well?" asked the latter.
"What was our latitude when we went into winter-quarters?"
"Our latitude was 78° 15', and the longitude 95° 35', exactly the pole
of cold."
"Well," added Hatteras in a low voice, "our ice-field is drifting! We
are two degrees farther north and farther west,--at least three
hundred miles from your coal-supply!"
"And these poor men who know nothing about it!" cried the doctor.
"Not a word!" said Hatteras, raising his finger to his lips.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE.
Hatteras did not wish to let his crew know about this new condition of
affairs. He was right. If they had known that they were being driven
towards the north with irresistible force, they would have given way
to despair. The doctor knew this, and approved of the captain's
silence.
Hatteras had kept to himself the impressions which this discovery had
caused within him. It was his first moment of joy during these long
months of struggle with the hostile elements. He was one hundred and
fifty miles farther north; hardly eight degrees from the Pole! But he
hid his joy so well that the doctor did not even suspect it; he asked
himself why Hatteras's eye shone with so unusual a lustre; but that
was all, and the natural reply to this question did not enter his
head.
The -Forward-, as it approached the Pole, had drifted away from the
coal which had been seen by Sir Edward Belcher; instead of a hundred
miles, it would have to be sought two hundred and fifty miles farther
south. Still, after a short discussion between Hatteras and Clawbonny,
they determined to make the attempt.
If Belcher was right, and his accuracy could not be doubted, they
would find everything just at he had left it. Since 1853, no new
expedition had visited these remote continents. Few, if any, Esquimaux
are found in this latitude. The disaster which had befallen at Beechey
Island could not be repeated on the shores of North Cornwall.
Everything seemed to favor an excursion across the ice.
They estimated that they would be gone forty days at the outside, and
preparations were made by Johnson for that time of absence.
In the first place, he saw about the sledge; it was of the shape of
those used in Greenland, thirty-five inches broad and twenty-four feet
long. The Esquimaux sometimes make them fifty feet long. It was built
of long planks, bent at each end, and kept in position by two strong
cords. This shape adapted it to resist violent shocks. The sledge ran
easily upon the ice; but before the snow had hardened, it was
necessary to place two vertical frames near together, and being raised
in this way, it could run on without cutting too much into the snow.
Besides, by rubbing it with a mixture of sulphur and snow in the
Esquimaux fashion, it ran very easily.
[Illustration]
It was drawn by six dogs; they were strong in spite of their thinness,
and did not appear to be injured by the severity of the winter; the
harnesses of deerskin were in good condition; perfect reliance could
be placed on the equipment, which the Greenlanders at Upernavik had
sold in conscience. These six animals alone could draw a weight of two
thousand pounds without inordinate fatigue.
They carried with them a tent, in case it should be impossible to
build a snow-house; a large sheet of mackintosh to spread over the
snow, so that it should not melt at contact with their bodies; and,
last of all, many coverings of wool and buffalo-skin. In addition,
they carried the Halkett-boat.
Their provisions consisted of five chests of pemmican, weighing four
hundred and fifty pounds; a pound of pemmican was allotted for each
man and dog; of the latter there were seven, including Duke; there
were to be four men. They carried, besides, twelve gallons of spirits
of wine, weighing nearly a hundred and fifty pounds; tea and biscuit,
in proper amounts; a little portable kitchen, with a great many wicks;
and much tow, ammunition, and four double-barrelled guns. The men of
the party made use of Captain Parry's invention, and wore girdles of
india-rubber in which the heat of the body and the motion in walking
could keep tea, coffee, and water in a liquid state.
Johnson took special care of the preparation of snow-shoes, with their
wooden frames and leathern straps; they served as skates; on
thoroughly frozen spots deerskin moccasins could be worn with comfort;
every man carried two pairs of each.
These preparations, which were so important because the omission of a
single detail might have caused the ruin of the whole expedition,
required four whole days. Every day at noon Hatteras took an
observation of the ship's position; it was no longer drifting, and
this had to be perfectly sure in order to secure their return.
Hatteras undertook to choose the four men who were to accompany him.
It was not an easy decision to take; some it was not advisable to
take, but then the question of leaving them on board had also to be
considered. Still, the common safety demanded the success of this
trip, and the captain deemed it right to choose sure and experienced
men.
Hence Shandon was left out, but not much to his regret. James Wall was
too ill to go. The sick grew no worse; their treatment consisted of
repeated rubbing and strong doses of lemon-juice; this was easily seen
to without the presence of the doctor being essential. Hence he
enrolled himself among those who should go, and no voice was raised
against it. Johnson would have gladly gone with the captain in his
dangerous expedition; but Hatteras drew him to one side and said to
him in an affectionate, almost weeping voice,--
"Johnson, you are the only man I can trust. You are the only officer
with whom I can leave the ship. I must know that you are here to keep
an eye on Shandon and the others. They are kept to the ship by the
winter; but who can say what plans they are not capable of forming?
You shall receive my formal instructions, which shall place the
command in your hands. You shall take my place. We shall be absent
four or five weeks at the most, and I shall be at ease having you here
where I cannot be. You need wood, Johnson. I know it! But, as much as
possible, spare my ship. Do you understand, Johnson?"
"I understand, Captain," answered the old sailor, "and I will remain
if you prefer it."
"Thanks!" said Hatteras, pressing the boatswain's hand; and he added,
"In case we don't come back, Johnson, wait till the next thaw, and try
to push on to the Pole. If the rest refuse, don't think of us, but
take the -Forward- back to England."
"That is your wish, Captain?"
"It is," answered Hatteras.
"Your orders shall be obeyed," said Johnson, quietly.
The doctor regretted that his friend was not going to accompany him,
but he was obliged to recognize the wisdom of Hatteras's plan.
His two other companions were Bell the carpenter, and Simpson. The
first, who was sturdy, brave, and devoted, would be of great service
in their camping in the snow; the other, although less resolute,
nevertheless determined to take part in this expedition in which he
might be of use as hunter and fisher.
So this detachment consisted of Hatteras, Clawbonny, Bell, Simpson,
and the faithful Duke, making in all four men and seven dogs to be
fed. A suitable amount of provisions was made ready.
During the early days of January the mean temperature was -33°.
Hatteras waited impatiently for milder weather; he frequently
consulted the barometer, but no confidence could be placed in this
instrument, which in these high latitudes seems to lose some of its
customary accuracy; in these regions there are many exceptions to the
general laws of nature: for instance, a clear sky was not always
accompanied by cold, nor did a fall of snow raise the temperature; the
barometer was uncertain, as many explorers in these seas have noticed;
it used to fall when the wind was from the north or east; when low it
foretold fine weather; when high, rain or snow. Hence its indications
could hardly be relied on.
Finally, January 5th an easterly breeze brought with it a rise in the
thermometer of fifteen degrees, so that it stood at -18°. Hatteras
resolved to start the next day; he could no longer endure seeing his
ship torn to pieces before his eyes; the whole quarter-deck had been
burned up.
So, January 6th, amid squalls of snow, the order to depart was given;
the doctor gave his last words of advice to the sick; Bell and Simpson
shook hands silently with their companions. Hatteras wanted to make a
farewell speech to the men, but he saw nothing but angry faces around
him. He fancied he saw an ironical smile playing about Shandon's lips.
He held his peace. Perhaps he had a momentary pang at parting as he
gazed at the -Forward-.
But it was too late for him to change his mind; the sledge, loaded and
harnessed, was waiting on the ice; Bell was the first to move; the
others followed. Johnson accompanied the travellers for a quarter of a
mile; then Hatteras asked him to return, which he did after a long
leave-taking. At that moment, Hatteras, turning for the last time
towards the brig, saw the tops of her masts disappearing in the dark
snow-clouds.
CHAPTER XXIX.
ACROSS THE ICE-FIELDS.
The little band made their way towards the southeast. Simpson drove
the sledge. Duke aided him much, without being disturbed at the
occupation of his mates. Hatteras and the doctor followed behind on
foot, while Bell, who was charged with making a road, went on in
advance, testing the ice with the iron point of his stick.
[Illustration: "The little band made their way towards the
southeast."]
The rise in the thermometer foretold a fall of snow, and soon it came,
beginning in large flakes. This added to the hardships of their
journey; they kept straying from a straight line; they could not go
quickly; nevertheless, they averaged three miles an hour.
The ice-field, under the pressure of the frost, presented an unequal
surface; the sledge was often nearly turned over, but they succeeded
in saving it.
Hatteras and his companions wrapped themselves up in their fur clothes
cut in the Greenland fashion; they were not cut with extraordinary
neatness, but they suited the needs of the climate; their faces were
enclosed in a narrow hood which could not be penetrated by the snow or
wind; their mouths, noses, and eyes were alone exposed to the air, and
they did not need to be protected against it; nothing is so
inconvenient as scarfs and nose-protectors, which soon are stiff with
ice; at night they have to be cut away, which, even in the arctic
seas, is a poor way of undressing. It was necessary to leave free
passage for the breath, which would freeze at once on anything it met.
The boundless plain stretched out with tiresome monotony; everywhere
there appeared heaped-up ice-hills, hummocks, blocks, and icebergs,
separated by winding valleys; they walked staff in hand, saying but
little. In this cold atmosphere, to open the mouth was painful; sharp
crystals of ice suddenly formed between the lips, and the heat of the
breath could not melt them. Their progress was silent, and every one
beat the ice with his staff. Bell's footsteps were visible in the
fresh snow; they followed them mechanically, and where he had passed,
the others could go safely.
Numerous tracks of bears and foxes crossed one another everywhere; but
during this first day not one could be seen; to chase them would have
been dangerous and useless: they would only have overloaded the
already heavy sledge.
Generally, in excursions of this sort, travellers take the precaution
of leaving supplies along their path; they hide them from the animals,
in the snow, thus lightening themselves for their trip, and on their
return they take the supplies which they did not have the trouble of
carrying with them.
Hatteras could not employ this device on an ice-field which perhaps
was moving; on firm land it would have been possible; and the
uncertainty of their route made it doubtful whether they would return
by the same path.
At noon, Hatteras halted his little troop in the shelter of an
ice-wall; they dined off pemmican and hot tea; the strengthening
qualities of this beverage produced general comfort, and the
travellers drank a large quantity. After an hour's rest they started
on again; in the first day they walked about twenty miles; that
evening men and dogs were tired out.
Still, in spite of their fatigue, they had to build a snow-house in
which to pass the night; the tent would not have been enough. This
took them an hour and a half. Bell was very skilful; the blocks of
ice, which were cut with a knife, were placed on top of one another
with astonishing rapidity, and they took the shape of a dome, and a
last piece, the keystone of the arch, established the solidity of the
building; the soft snow served as mortar in the interstices; it soon
hardened and made the whole building of a single piece.
[Illustration]
Access was had into this improvised grotto by means of a narrow
opening, through which it was necessary to crawl on one's hands and
knees; the doctor found some difficulty in entering, and the others
followed. Supper was soon prepared on the alcohol cooking-stove. The
temperature inside was very comfortable; the wind, which was raging
without, could not get in.
"Sit down!" soon shouted the doctor in his most genial manner.
And this meal, though the same as the dinner, was shared by all. When
it was finished their only thought was sleep; the mackintoshes, spread
out upon the snow, protected them from the dampness. At the flame of
the portable stove they dried their clothes; then three of them,
wrapped up in their woollen coverings, fell asleep, while one was left
on watch; he had to keep a lookout on the safety of all, and to
prevent the opening from being closed, otherwise they ran a risk of
being buried alive.
Duke shared their quarters; the other dogs remained without, and after
they had eaten their supper they lay down and were soon hidden by the
snow.
Their fatigue soon brought sound sleep. The doctor took the watch
until three of the morning. In the night the hurricane raged
furiously. Strange was the situation of these lonely men lost in the
snow, enclosed in this vault with its walls rapidly thickening under
the snow-fall.
The next morning at six o'clock their monotonous march was resumed;
there were ever before them the same valleys and icebergs, a
uniformity which made the choice of a path difficult. Still, a fall of
several degrees in the temperature made their way easier by hardening
the snow. Often they came across little elevations, which looked like
cairns or storing-places of the Esquimaux; the doctor had one
destroyed to satisfy his curiosity, but he found nothing except a cake
of ice.
"What do you expect to find, Clawbonny?" asked Hatteras; "are we not
the first men to penetrate into this part of the globe?"
"Probably," answered the doctor, "but who knows?"
"Don't let us waste our time in useless searching," resumed the
captain; "I am in a hurry to rejoin the ship, even if this long-wanted
fuel should not be found."
"I have great hopes of finding it," said the doctor.
"Doctor," Hatteras used to say frequently, "I did wrong to leave the
-Forward-; it was a mistake! The captain's place is on board, and
nowhere else."
"Johnson is there."
"Yes! but--let us hurry on!"
They advanced rapidly; Simpson's voice could be heard urging on the
dogs; they ran along on a brilliant surface, all aglow with a
phosphorescent light, and the runners of the sledge seemed to toss up
a shower of sparks. The doctor ran on ahead to examine this snow, when
suddenly, as he was trying to jump upon a hummock, he disappeared from
sight. Bell, who was near him, ran at once towards the place.
"Well, Doctor," he cried anxiously, while Hatteras and Simpson joined
him, "where are you?"
"Doctor!" shouted the captain.
"Down here, at the bottom of a hole," was the quiet answer. "Throw me
a piece of rope, and I'll come up to the surface of the globe."
They threw a rope down to the doctor, who was at the bottom of a pit
about ten feet deep; he fastened it about his waist, and his three
companions drew him up with some difficulty.
"Are you hurt?" asked Hatteras.
"No, there's no harm done," answered the doctor, wiping the snow from
his smiling face.
"But how did it happen?"
"O, it was in consequence of the refraction," he answered, laughing;
"I thought I had about a foot to step over, and I fell into this deep
hole! These optical illusions are the only ones left me, my friends,
and it's hard to escape from them! Let that be a lesson to us all
never to take a step forward without first testing the ice with a
staff, for our senses cannot be depended on. Here our ears hear wrong,
and our eyes deceive us! It's a curious country!"
"Can you go on?" asked the captain.
"Go on, Hatteras, go on! This little fall has done me more good than
harm."
They resumed their march to the southeast, and at evening they halted,
after walking about twenty-five miles; they were all tired, but still
the doctor had energy enough to ascend an ice-mountain while the
snow-hut was building.
[Illustration: "The doctor had energy enough to ascend an ice-mountain
while the snow-hut was building."]
The moon, which was nearly at its full, shone with extraordinary
brilliancy in a clear sky; the stars were wonderfully brilliant; from
the top of the iceberg a boundless plain could be seen, which was
covered with strangely formed hillocks of ice; in the moonlight they
looked like fallen columns or overthrown tombstones; the scene
reminded the doctor of a huge, silent graveyard barren of trees, in
which twenty generations of human beings might be lying in their long
sleep.
In spite of the cold and fatigue, Clawbonny remained for a long time
in a revery, from which it was no easy task for his companions to
arouse him; but they had to think of resting; the snow-hut was
completed; the four travellers crawled in like moles, and soon were
all asleep.
The following days went on without any particular incident; at times
they went on slowly, at times quickly, with varying ease, according to
the changes in the weather; they wore moccasins or snow-shoes, as the
nature of the ice demanded.
In this way they went on till January 15th; the moon, now in its last
quarter, was hardly visible; the sun, although always beneath the
horizon, gave a sort of twilight for six hours every day, but not
enough to light up the route, which had to be directed by the compass.
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557
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