broke by saying--
"My friends, the highest human law is justice. It includes all
others. Let us be just, then, and don't let any bad feeling get in
among us. The priority of Altamont seems to me indisputable. We will
take our revenge by and by, and England will get her full share in
our future discoveries. Let the name New America stand for the
continent itself, but I suppose Altamont has not yet disposed of all
the bays, and capes, and headlands it contains, and I imagine there
will be nothing to prevent us calling this bay Victoria Bay?"
"Nothing whatever, provided that yonder cape is called Cape
Washington," replied Altamont.
"You might choose a name, sir," exclaimed Hatteras, almost
beside himself with passion, "that is less offensive to an
Englishman."
"But not one which sounds so sweet to an American," retorted
Altamont, proudly.
"Come, come," said the Doctor, "no discussion on that subject.
An American has a perfect right to be proud of his great countryman!
Let us honour genius wherever it is met with; and since Altamont has
made his choice, let us take our turn next; let the captain----"
"Doctor!" interrupted Hatteras, "I have no wish that my name
should figure anywhere on this continent, seeing that it belongs to
America."
"Is this your unalterable determination?" asked Clawbonny.
"It is."
The Doctor did not insist further.
"Very well, we'll have it to ourselves then," he continued,
turning to Johnson and Bell. "We'll leave our traces behind us.
I propose that the island we see out there, about three miles away
from the shore, should be called Isle Johnson, in honour of our
boatswain,''
"Oh, Mr. Clawbonny," began Johnson, in no little confusion.
"And that mountain that we discovered in the west we will call
Bell Mount, if our carpenter is willing."
"It is doing me too much honour," replied Bell.
"It is simple justice," returned the Doctor.
"Nothing could be better," said Altamont.
"Now then, all we have to do is to christen our fort," said the
Doctor, "about that there will be no discussion, I hope, for it is
neither to our gracious sovereign Queen Victoria, nor to Washington,
that we owe our safety and shelter here, but to God, who brought
about our meeting, and by so doing saved us all. Let our little fort
be called Fort Providence."
"Your remarks are just," said Altamont; "no name could be more
suitable."
"Fort Providence," added Johnson, "sounds well too. In our
future excursions, then, we shall go by Cape Washington to Victoria
Bay, and from thence to Fort Providence, where we shall find food
and rest at Doctor's House!"
"The business is settled then so far," resumed the Doctor. "As
our discoveries multiply we shall have other names to give; but I
trust, friends, we shall have no disputes about them, for placed as
we are, we need all the help and love we can give each other. Let us
be strong by being united. Who knows what dangers yet we may have to
brave, and what sufferings to endure before we see our native land
once more. Let us be one in heart though five in number, and let us
lay aside all feelings of rivalry. Such feelings are bad enough at
all times, but among us they would be doubly wrong. You understand
me, Altamont, and you, Hatteras?"
Neither of the captains replied, but the Doctor took no notice of
their silence, and went on to speak of other things. Sundry
expeditions were planned to forage for fresh food. It would soon be
spring, and hares and partridges, foxes and bears would re-appear.
So it was determined that part of every day should be spent in
hunting and exploring this unknown continent of New America.
[Illustration: Clambering up the steep, rocky wall, against which
the Doctor's House leaned, he succeeded, though with considerable
difficulty, in reaching the top.--P.77]
CHAPTER VIII.
AN EXCURSION TO THE NORTH OF VICTORIA BAY
Next morning Clawbonny was out by dawn of day. Clambering up the
steep, rocky wall, against which the Doctor's House leaned, he
succeeded, though with considerable difficulty, in reaching the top,
which he found terminated abruptly in a sort of truncated cone. From
this elevation there was an extensive view over a vast tract of
country, which was all disordered and convulsed as if it had
undergone some volcanic commotion. Sea and land, as far as it was
possible to distinguish one from the other, were covered with a
sheet of ice.
A new project struck the Doctor's mind, which was soon matured and
ripe for execution. He lost no time in going back to the snow house,
and consulting over it with his companions.
"I have got an idea," he said; "I think of constructing a
lighthouse on the top of that cone above our heads."
"A lighthouse!" they all exclaimed.
"Yes, a lighthouse. It would be a double advantage. It would be a
beacon to guide us in distant excursions, and also serve to illumine
our plateau in the long dreary winter months."
"There is no doubt," replied Altamont, "of its utility; but
how would you contrive to make it?"
"With one of the lanterns out of the Porpoise."
"All right; but how will you feed your lamp? With seal oil?"
"No, seal oil would not give nearly sufficient light. It would
scarcely be visible through the fog."
"Are you going to try to make gas out of our coal then?"
"No, not that either, for gas would not be strong enough; and,
worse still, it would waste our combustibles."
"Well," replied Altamont; "I'm at a loss to see how you--"
"Oh, I'm prepared for everything after the mercury bullet, and
the ice lens, and Fort Providence. I believe Mr. Clawbonny can do
anything," exclaimed Johnson.
"Come, Clawbonny, tell us what your light is to be, then," said
Altamont.
"That's soon told," replied Clawbonny. "I mean to have an
electric light."
"An electric light?"
"Yes, why not? Haven't you a galvanic battery on board your
ship?"
"Yes."
"Well, there will be no difficulty then in producing an electric
light, and that will cost nothing, and be far brighter."
"First-rate?" said Johnson; "let us set to work at once."
"By all means. There is plenty of material. In an hour we can
raise a pillar of ice ten feet high, and that is quite enough.
Away went the Doctor, followed by his companions, and the column was
soon erected and crowned with a ship lantern. The conducting wires
were properly adjusted within it, and the pile with which they
communicated fixed up in the sitting-room, where the warmth of the
stove would protect it from the action of the frost.
As soon as it grew dark the experiment was made, and proved a
complete success. An intense brilliant light streamed from the
lantern and illumined the entire plateau and the plains beneath.
Johnson could not help clapping his hands, half beside himself with
delight.
"Well, I declare, Mr. Clawbonny," he exclaimed, "you're our
sun now."
"One must be a little of everything, you know," was
Clawbonny's modest reply.
It was too cold. however, even to stand admiring more than a minute,
and the whole party were glad enough to get indoors again, and tuck
themselves up in their warm blankets.
A regular course of life commenced now, though uncertain weather and
frequent changes of temperature made it sometimes impracticable to
venture outside the hut at all, and it was not till the Saturday
after the installation, that a day came that was favourable enough
for a hunting excursion; when Bell, and Altamont, and the Doctor
determined to take advantage of it, and try to replenish their stock
of provisions.
They started very early in the morning, each armed with a
double-barrelled gun and plenty of powder and shot, a hatchet, and a
snow knife.
[Illustration: ]
The weather was cloudy, but Clawbonny put the galvanic battery in
action before he left, and the bright rays of the electric light did
duty for the glorious orb of day, and in truth was no bad
substitute, for the light was equal to three thousand candles, or
three hundred gas burners.
It was intensely cold, but dry, and there was little or no wind. The
hunters set off in the direction of Cape Washington, and the hard
snow so favoured their march, that in three hours they had gone
fifteen miles, Duk jumping and barking beside them all the way. They
kept as close to the coast as possible, but found no trace of human
habitation and indeed scarcely a sign of animal life. A few snow
birds, however, darting to and fro announced the approach of spring
and the return of the animal creation. The sea was still entirely
frozen over, but it was evident from the open breathing holes in the
ice, that the seals had been quite recently on the surface. In one
part the holes were so numerous, that the Doctor said to his
companions that he had no doubt that when summer came, they would be
seen there in hundreds, and would be easily captured, for on
unfrequented shores they were not so difficult of approach. But once
frighten them and they all vanish as if by enchantment, and never
return to the spot again. "Inexperienced hunters," he said,
"have often lost a whole shoal by attacking them, en masse, with
noisy shouts instead of singly and silently."
"Is it for the oil or skin that they are mostly hunted?"
"Europeans hunt them for the skin, but the Esquimaux eat them.
They live on seals, and nothing is so delicious to them as a piece
of the flesh, dipped in the blood and oil. After all, cooking has a
good deal to do with it, and I'll bet you something I could dress
you cutlets you would not turn up your nose at, unless for their
black appearance."
"We'll set you to work on it," said Bell, "and I'll eat as
much as you like to please you."
"My good Bell, you mean to say to please yourself, but your
voracity would never equal the Green-landers', for they devour
from ten to fifteen pounds of meat a day."
"Fifteen pounds!" said Bell. "What stomachs!"
"Arctic stomachs," replied the Doctor, "are prodigious; they
can expand at will, and, I may add, contract at will; so that they
can endure starvation quite as well as abundance. When an Esquimaux
sits down to dinner he is quite thin, and by the time he has
finished, he is so corpulent you would hardly recognize him. But
then we must remember that one meal sometimes has to last a whole
day."
"This voracity must be peculiar to the inhabitants of cold
countries," said Altamont.
"I think it is," replied the Doctor. "In the Arctic regions
people must eat enormously: it is not only one of the conditions of
strength, but of existence. The Hudson's Bay Company always
reckoned on this account 8 lbs. of meat to each man a day, or 12
lbs. of fish, or 2 lbs. of pemmican."
"Invigorating regimen, certainly!" said Bell.
"Not so much as you imagine, my friend. An Indian who guzzles like
that can't do a whit better day's work than an Englishman, who
has his pound of beef and pint of beer."
"Things are best as they are, then, Mr. Clawbonny."
"No doubt of it; and yet an Esquimaux meal may well astonish us.
In Sir John Ross's narrative, he states his surprise at the
appetites of his guides. He tells us that two of them--just two
mind--devoured a quarter of a buffalo in one morning. They cut the
meat in long narrow strips, and the mode of eating was either for
the one to bite off as much as his mouth could hold, and then pass
it on to the other, or to leave the long ribbons of meat dangling
from the mouth and devour them gradually like boa-constrictors,
lying at full length on the ground."
[Illustration: ]
"Faugh!" exclaimed Bell, "what disgusting brutes!"
"Every man has his own fashion of dining," remarked the
philosophical American.
"Happily," said the Doctor.
"Well, if eating is such an imperative necessity in these
latitudes, it quite accounts for all the journals of Arctic
travellers being so full of eating and drinking."
"You are right," returned the Doctor. "I have been struck by
the same fact; but I think it arises not only from the necessity of
full diet, but from the extreme difficulty sometimes in procuring
it. The thought of food is always uppermost in the mind, and
naturally finds mention in the narrative."
"And yet," said Altamont, "if my memory serves me right, in
the coldest parts of Norway the peasants do not seem to need such
substantial fare. Milk diet is their staple food, with eggs, and
bread made of the bark of the birch-tree; a little salmon
occasionally, but never meat; and still they are fine hardy
fellows."
"It is an affair of organization out of my power to explain,"
replied Clawbonny; "but I have no doubt that if these same
Norwegians were transplanted to Greenland, they would learn to eat
like the Esquimaux by the second or third generation. Even if we
ourselves were to remain in this blessed country long, we should be
as bad as the Esquimaux, even if we escaped becoming regular
gluttons."
"I declare, Mr. Clawbonny, you make me feel hungry with talking so
much about eating," exclaimed Bell.
"Not I!" said Altamont. "It rather sickens me, and makes me
loathe the sight of a seal. But, stop, I do believe we are going to
have the chance of a dinner off one, for I am much mistaken if
that's not something alive lying on those lumps of ice yonder!"
"It is a walrus!" exclaimed the Doctor. "Be quiet, and let us
get up to him."
Clawbonny was right, it was a walrus of huge dimensions, disporting
himself not more than two hundred yards away. The hunters separated,
going in different directions, so as to surround the animal and cut
off all retreat. They crept along cautiously behind the hummocks,
and managed to get within a few paces of him unperceived, when they
fired simultaneously.
[Illustration: ]
The walrus rolled over, but speedily got up again, and tried to make
his escape, but Altamont fell upon him with his hatchet, and cut off
his dorsal fins. He made a desperate resistance, but was overpowered
by his enemies, and soon lay dead, reddening the ice-field with his
blood.
It was a fine animal, measuring more than fifteen feet in length,
and would have been worth a good deal for the oil; but the hunters
contented themselves with cutting off the most savoury parts, and
left the rest to the ravens, which had just begun to make their
appearance.
Night was drawing on, and it was time to think of returning to Fort
Providence. The moon had not yet risen, but the sky was serene and
cloudless, and already glittering with stars--magnificent stars.
"Come," said the Doctor, "let us be off, for it is getting
late. Our hunting has not been very successful; but still, if a man
has found something for his supper, he need not grumble. Let us go
the shortest road, however, and get quickly home without losing our
way. The stars will guide us."
They resolved to try a more direct route back by going further
inland, and avoiding the windings of the coast; but, after some
hours' walking, they found themselves no nearer Doctor's House,
and it was evident that they must have lost their way. The question
was raised whether to construct a hut and rest till morning, or
proceed; but Clawbonny insisted on going on, as Hatteras and Johnson
would be so uneasy.
"Duk will guide us," he said; "he won't go wrong. His
instinct can dispense with star and compass. Just let us keep close
behind him."
They did well to trust to Duk, for very speedily a faint light
appeared in the horizon almost like a star glimmering through the
mist, which hung low above the ground.
"There's our lighthouse!" exclaimed the Doctor.
"Do you think it is, Mr. Clawbonny?" said Bell.
[Illustration: Soon they were walking in a bright luminous track,
leaving their long shadows behind them on the spotless snow. --P.87]
"I'm certain of it! Come on faster." The light became stronger
the nearer they approached, and soon they were walking in a bright
luminous track, leaving their long shadows behind them on the
spotless snow.
Quickening their steps, they hastened forward, and in another half
hour they were climbing the ascent to Fort Providence.
CHAPTER IX.
COLD AND HEAT.
Hatteras and Johnson had been getting somewhat uneasy at the
prolonged absence of their companions, and were delighted to see
them back safe and sound. The hunters were no less glad to find
themselves once more in a warm shelter, for the temperature had
fallen considerably as night drew on, and the thermometer outside
was 73° below zero.
The poor hunters were half frozen, and so worn out that they could
hardly drag their limbs along; but the stoves were roaring and
crackling cheerily, and the big kitchen fire waiting to cook such
game as might be brought in. Clawbonny donned his official apron
again, and soon had his seal cutlets dressed and smoking on the
table. By nine o'clock the whole party were enjoying a good
supper, and Bell couldn't help exclaiming--
"Well, even at the risk of being taken for an Esquimaux, I must
confess eating is the most important business if one has to winter
in these regions. A good meal isn't to be sneezed at."
They all had their mouths crammed too full to speak, but the Doctor
signified his agreement with Bell's views by an approving nod.
The cutlets were pronounced first-rate, and it seemed as if they
were, for they were all eaten, to the very last morsel.
For dessert they had coffee, which the Doctor brewed himself in a
French coffee-pot over spirits-of-wine. He never allowed anybody but
himself to concoct this precious beverage; for he made a point of
serving it boiling hot, always declaring it was not fit to drink
unless it burnt his tongue. This evening he took it so scalding that
Altamont exclaimed--
[Illustration: ]
"You'll skin your throat!"
"Not a bit of it," was the Doctor's reply.
"Then your palate must be copper-sheathed," said Johnson.
"Not at all, friends. I advise you to copy my example. Many
persons, and I am one, can drink coffee at a temperature of 131°."
"131°?" said Altamont; "why, that is hotter than the hand
could bear!"
"Of course it is, Altamont, for the hand could not bear more than
122°, but the palate and tongue are less sensitive."
"You surprise me."
"Well, I will convince you it is fact," returned Clawbonny, and
taking up a thermometer, he plunged it into the steaming coffee. He
waited till the mercury rose as high as 131° and then withdrew it,
and swallowed the liquid with evident gusto.
Bell tried to follow his example, but burnt his mouth severely.
"You are not used to it," said the Doctor, coolly.
"Can you tell us, Clawbonny," asked Altamont, "what is the
highest temperature that the human body can bear."
"Yes, several curious experiments have been made in that respect.
I remember reading of some servant girls, in the town of
Rochefoucauld, in France, who could stay ten minutes in a baker's
large oven when the temperature was 300°, while potatoes and meat
were cooking all round them."
"What girls!" exclaimed Altamont.
"Well, there is another case, where eight of our own countrymen--
Fordyce, Banks, Solander, Blagdin, Home, Nooth, Lord Seaforth, and
Captain Phillips--went into one as hot as 200°, where eggs and
beef were frizzling."
"And they were Englishmen!" said Bell, with a touch of national
pride.
"Oh, the Americans could have done better than that," said
Altamont.
"They would have roasted," returned the Doctor, laughing. "At
all events they have never tried it, so I shall stand up for my
countrymen. There is one more instance I recollect, and really it is
so incredible, that it would be impossible to believe it, if it were
not attested by unimpeachable evidence. The Duke of Ragusa and
[Illustration: ]
Dr. Jung, a Frenchman and an Austrian, saw a Turk plunge into a bath
at 170°."
"But that is not so astonishing as those servant girls, or our own
countrymen," said Johnson.
"I beg your pardon," replied Clawbonny; "there is a great
difference between plunging into hot air and hot water. Hot air
produces perspiration, which protects the skin, but boiling water
scalds. The maximum heat of baths is 107°, so that this Turk must
have been an extraordinary fellow to endure such temperature."
"What is the mean temperature, Mr. Clawbonny, of animated
beings?" asked Johnson.
"That varies with the species," replied the Doctor. "Birds
have the highest, especially the duck and the hen. The mammalia come
next, and human beings. The temperature of Englishmen averages
101°."
"I am sure Mr. Altamont is going to claim a higher rate for his
countrymen," said Johnson, smiling.
"Well, sure enough, we've some precious hot ones among us, but
as I never have put a thermometer down their throats to ascertain, I
can't give you statistics."
"There is no sensible difference," said the Doctor, "between
men of different races when they are placed under the same
conditions, whatever their food may be. I may almost say their
temperature would be the same at the Equator as the Pole."
"Then the heat of our bodies is the same here as in England,"
replied Altamont.
"Just about it. The other species of mammalia are generally hotter
than human beings. The horse, the hare, the elephant, the porpoise,
and the tiger are nearly the same; but the cat, the squirrel, the
rat, the panther, the sheep, the ox, the dog, the monkey, and the
goat, are as high as 103°; and the pig is 104°."
"Rather humiliating to us," put in Altamont.
"Then come the amphibia and the fish," resumed the Doctor,
"whose temperature varies with that of the water. The serpent has a
temperature of 86°, the frog 70°, and the shark several degrees
less. Insects appear to have the temperature of air and water."
[Illustration: ]
"All this is very well," interrupted Hatteras, who had hitherto
taken no part in the conversation, "and we are obliged to the
Doctor for his scientific information; but we are really talking as
if we were going to brave the heat of the torrid zone. I think it
would be far more seasonable to speak of cold, if the Doctor could
tell us what is the lowest temperature on record."
"I can enlighten you on that too," replied the Doctor. "There
are a great number of memorable winters, which appear to have come
at intervals of about forty-one years. In 1364, the Rhone was frozen
over as far as Arles; in 1408, the Danube was frozen throughout its
entire extent, and the wolves crossed the Cattigut on firm ground;
in 1509, the Adriatic and the Mediterranean were frozen at Venice
and Marseilles, and the Baltic on the 10th of April; in 1608, all
the cattle died in England from the cold; in 1789, the Thames was
frozen as far as Gravesend; and the frightful winter of 1813 will
long be remembered in France. The earliest and longest ever known in
the present century was in 1829. So much for Europe."
"But here, within the Polar circle, what is the lowest degree?"
asked Altamont.
"My word!" said the Doctor. "I think we have experienced the
lowest ourselves, for one day the thermometer was 72° below zero,
and, if my memory serves me right, the lowest temperature mentioned
hitherto by Arctic voyagers has been 61° at Melville Island, 65°
at Port Felix, and 70° at Fort Reliance."
"Yes," said Hatteras, "it was the unusual severity of the
winter that barred our progress, for it came on just at the worst
time possible."
"You were stopped, you say?" asked Altamont, looking fixedly at
the captain.
"Yes, in our voyage west," the Doctor hastened to reply.
"Then the maximum and minimum temperatures," said Altamont,
resuming the conversation, "are about 200° apart. So you see, my
friends, we may make ourselves easy."
"But if the sun were suddenly extinguished," suggested Johnson,
"would not the earth's temperature be far lower?"
"There is no fear of such a catastrophe; but, even should it
happen, the temperature would be scarcely any different."
[Illustration: ]
"That's curious."
"It is; but Fourrier, a learned Frenchman, has proved the fact
incontestably. If it were not the case, the difference between day
and night would be far greater, as also the degree of cold at the
Poles. But now I think, friends, we should be the better of a few
hours' sleep. Who has charge of the stove?"
"It is my turn to-night," said Bell.
"Well, pray keep up a good fire, for it is a perishing night."
"Trust me for that," said Bell. "But do look out, the sky is
all in a blaze."
"Ay! it is a magnificent aurora," replied the Doctor, going up
to the window. "How beautiful! I never tire gazing at it."
No more he ever did, though his companions had become so used to
such displays that they hardly noticed them now. He soon followed
the example of the others, however, and lay down on his bed beside
the fire, leaving Bell to mount guard.
CHAPTER X.
WINTER PLEASURES
It is a dreary affair to live at the Pole, for there is no going out
for many long months, and nothing to break the weary monotony.
The day after the hunting excursion was dark and snowy, and
Clawbonny could find no occupation except polishing up the ice walls
of the hut as they became damp with the heat inside, and emptying
out the snow which drifted into the long passage leading to the
inner door. The "Snow-House" stood out well, defying storm and
tempest, and the snow only seemed to increase the thickness of the
walls.
The storehouses, too, did not give way the least; but though they
were only a few yards off, it was found necessary to lay in enough
provisions for the day, as very often the weather made it almost
impossible to venture that short distance.
The unloading of the Porpoise turned out to have been a wise
precaution, for she was slowly but surely being crashed to pieces by
the silent, irresistible pressure around her. Still the Doctor was
always hoping enough planks might be sufficiently sound to construct
a small vessel to convey them back to England, but the right time to
build had not come.
[Illustration: ]
[Illustration: ]
The five men were consequently compelled to spend the greater part
of the day in complete idleness. Hatteras lolled on his bed absorbed
in thought. Altamont smoked or dozed, and the Doctor took care not
to disturb either of them, for he was in perpetual fear of a quarrel
between them.
At meal times he always led the conversation away from irritating
topics and sought, as far as possible, to instruct and interest all
parties. Whenever he was not engaged with the preparation of his
notes, he gave them dissertations on history, geography, or
meteorology, handling his subject in an easy, though philosophical
manner, drawing lessons from the most trivial incidents. His
inexhaustible memory was never at a loss for fact or illustration
when his good humour and geniality made him the life and soul of the
little company. He was implicitly trusted by all, even by Hatteras,
who cherished a deep affection for him.
Yet no man felt the compulsory confinement more painfully than
Clawbonny. He longed ardently for the breaking up of the frost to
resume his excursions though he dreaded the rivalry that might ensue
between the two captains.
Yet things must come to a crisis soon or late, and meantime he
resolved to use his best endeavors to bring both parties to a better
mind, but to reconcile an American and an Englishman was no easy
task. He and Johnson had many a talk on the subject, for the old
sailor's views quite coincided with his own as to the difficult
complications which awaited them in the future.
However, the bad weather continued, and leaving Fort Providence,
even for an hour, was out of the question. Day and night they were
pent up in these glittering ice-walls, and time hung heavily on
their hands, at least on all but the Doctor's, and he always
managed to find some occupation for himself.
[Illustration: ]
"I declare," said Altamont, one evening; "life like this is
not worth having. We might as well be some of those reptiles that
sleep all the winter. But I suppose there is no help for it."
"I am afraid not," said the Doctor; "unfortunately we are too
few in number to get up any amusement."
"Then you think if there were more of us, we should find more to
do?"
"Of course: when whole ships' crews have wintered here, they
have managed to while away the time famously."
"Well, I must say I should like to know how. It would need a vast
amount of ingenuity to extract anything amusing out of our
circumstances. I suppose they did not play at charades?"
"No, but they introduced the press and the theatre."
"What? They had a newspaper?" exclaimed the American.
"They acted a comedy?" said Bell.
"That they did," said the Doctor. "When Parry wintered at
Melville Island, he started both amusements among his men, and they
met with great success."
"Well, I must confess, I should like to have been there,"
returned Johnson; "for it must have been rather curious work."
"Curious and amusing too, my good Johnson. Lieutenant Beechey was
the theatre manager, and Captain Sabina chief editor of the
newspaper called 'The Winter Chronicle, or the Gazette of Northern
Georgia.'"
"Good titles," said Altamont.
"The newspaper appeared daily from the 1st of November, 1819, to
the 20th of March, 1820. It reported the different excursions, and
hunting parties, and accidents, and adventures, and published
amusing stories. No doubt the articles were not up to the
'Spectator' or the 'Daily Telegraph,' but the readers were
neither critical nor blasé, and found great pleasure in their
perusal."
[Illustration: ]
"My word!" said Altamont. "I should like to read some of the
articles."
"Would you? Well, you shall judge for yourself."
"What! can you repeat them from memory?"
"No; but you had Parry's Voyages on board the Porpoise, and I
can read you his own narrative if you like."
This proposition was so eagerly welcomed that the Doctor fetched the
book forthwith, and soon found the passage in question.
"Here is a letter," he said, "addressed to the editor."
"'Your proposition to establish a journal has been received by
us with the greatest satisfaction. I am convinced that, under your
direction, it will be a great source of amusement, and go a long way
to lighten our hundred days of darkness.
"'The interest I take in the matter myself has led me to study
the effect of your announcement on my comrades, and I can testify,
to use reporter's language, that the thing has produced an immense
sensation.
"'The day after your prospectus appeared, there was an unusual
and unprecedented demand for ink among us, and our green tablecloth
was deluged with snippings and parings of quill-pens, to the injury
of one of our servants, who got a piece driven right under his nail.
I know for a fact that Sergeant Martin had no less than nine
pen-knives to sharpen.
"'It was quite a novel sight to see all the writing-desks
brought out, which had not made their appearance for a couple of
months, and judging by the reams of paper visible, more than one
visit must have been made to the depths of the hold.
"'I must not forget to tell you, that I believe attempts will
be made to slip into your box sundry articles which are not
altogether original, as they have been published already. I can
declare that, no later than last night, I saw an author bending over
his desk, holding a volume of the "Spectator" open with one
hand, and thawing the frozen ink in his pen at the lamp with the
other. I need not warn you to be on your guard against such tricks,
for it would never do for us to have articles in our "Winter
Chronicle" which our great-grandfathers read over their
breakfast-tables a century ago.'"
"Well, well," said Altamont, "there is a good deal of clever
humour in that writer. He must have been a sharp fellow."
"You're right. Here is an amusing catalogue of Arctic
tribulations:--
"'To go out in the morning for a walk, and the moment you put
your foot outside the ship, find yourself immersed in the cook's
water-hole.
"'To go out hunting, and fall in with a splendid reindeer, take
aim, and find your gun has gone off with a flash in the pan, owing
to damp powder.
"'To set out on a march with a good supply of soft new bread in
your pocket, and discover, when you want to eat, that it has frozen
so hard that you would break your teeth if you attempted to bite it
through.
"'To rush from the table when it is reported that a wolf is in
sight, and on coming back to find the cat has eaten your dinner.
"'To be returning quietly home from a walk, absorbed in
profitable meditation, and suddenly find yourself in the embrace of
a bear.'
"We might supplement this list ourselves," said the Doctor,
"to almost any amount, for there is a sort of pleasure in
enumerating troubles when one has got the better of them."
"I declare," said Altamont, "this 'Winter Journal' is an
amusing affair. I wish we could subscribe to it."
"Suppose we start one," said Johnson.
"For us five!" exclaimed Clawbonny; "we might do for editors,
but there would not be readers enough."
"No, nor spectators enough, if we tried to get up a comedy,"
added Altamont.
"Tell us some more about Captain Parry's theatre," said
Johnson; "did they play new pieces?"
"Certainly. At first two volumes on board the 'Hecla' were
gone through, but as there was a performance once a fortnight, this
repertoire was soon exhausted. Then they had to improvise fresh
plays; Parry himself composed one which had immense success. It was
called 'The North-West Passage, or the End of the Voyage.'"
"A famous title," said Altamont; "but I must confess, if I had
chosen such a subject, I should have been at a loss for the
dénouement."
"You are right," said Bell; "who can say what the end will
be?"
"What does that matter?" replied Mr. Clawbonny. "Why should we
trouble about the last act, while the first ones are going on well.
Leave all that to Providence, friends; let us each play our own
rôle as perfectly as we can, and since the dénouement belongs to
the Great Author of all things, we will trust his skill. He will
manage our affairs for us, never fear."
"Well, we'd better go and dream about it," said Johnson,
"for it's getting late, and it is time we went to bed," said
Johnson.
"You're in a great hurry, old fellow," replied the Doctor.
"Why would you sit up, Mr. Clawbonny? I am so comfortable in my
bed, and then I always have such good dreams. I dream invariably of
hot countries, so that I might almost say, half my life is spent in
the tropics, and half at the North Pole."
"You're a happy man, Johnson," said Altamont, "to be blessed
with such a fortunate organization."
"Indeed I am," replied Johnson.
"Well, come, after that it would be positive cruelty to keep our
good friend pining here," said the Doctor, "his tropical sun
awaits him, so let's all go to bed."
CHAPTER XI
TRACES OF BEARS
On the 26th of April during the night there was a sudden change in
the weather. The thermometer fell several degrees, and the inmates
of Doctor's House could hardly keep themselves warm even in their
beds. Altamont had charge of the stove, and he found it needed
careful replenishing to preserve the temperature at 50° above zero.
This increase of cold betokened the cessation of the stormy weather,
and the Doctor hailed it gladly as the harbinger of his favourite
hunting and exploring expeditions.
He rose early next morning, and climbed up to the top of the cone.
The wind had shifted north, the air was clear, and the snow firm and
smooth to the tread.
Before long the five companions had left Doctor's House, and were
busily engaged in clearing the heavy masses of snow off the roof and
sides, for the house was no longer distinguishable from the plateau,
as the snow had drifted to a depth of full fifteen feet. It took two
hours to remove the frozen snow, and restore the architectural form
of the dwelling. At length the granite foundations appeared, and the
storehouses and powder magazines were once more accessible.
[Illustration: ]
But as, in so uncertain a climate, a storm might cut off their
supplies any day, they wisely resolved to provide for any such
emergency by carrying over a good stock of provisions to the
kitchen; and then Clawbonny, Altamont, and Bell started off with
their guns in search of game, for the want of fresh food began to be
urgently felt.
The three companions went across the east side of the cone, right
down into the centre of the far-stretching, snow-covered plain
beneath, but they did not need to go far, for numerous traces of
animals appeared on all sides within a circle of two miles round
Fort Providence.
After gazing attentively at these traces for some minutes, the
hunters looked at each other silently, and then the Doctor
exclaimed:--
"Well, these are plain enough, I think!"
"Ay, only too plain," added Bell, "bears have been here!"
"First rate game!" said Altamont. "There's only one fault
about it."
"And what is that?" asked Bell.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean this--there are distinct traces of five bears, and five
bears are rather too much for five men."
"Are you sure there are five?" said Clawbonny.
"Look and see for yourself. Here is one footprint, and there is
another quite different. These claws are far wider apart than those;
and see here, again, that paw belongs to a much smaller bear. I tell
you, if you look carefully, you will see the marks of all five
different bears distinctly."
"You're right," said Bell, after a close inspection.
"If that's the case, then," said the Doctor, "we must take
care what we're about, and not be foolhardy, for these animals are
starving after the severe winter, and they might be extremely
dangerous to encounter and, since we are sure of their
number----"
"And of their intentions, too," put in Altamont.
"You think they have discovered our presence here?"
"No doubt of it, unless we have got into a bear-pass, but then,
why should these footprints be in a circle round our fort? Look,
these animals have come from the south-east, and stopped at this
place, and commenced to reconnoitre the coast."
[Illustration: ]
"You're right," said the Doctor, "and, what's more, it is
certain that they have been here last night."
"And other nights before that," replied Altamont.
"I don't think so," rejoined Clawbonny. "It is more likely
that they waited till the cessation of the tempest, and were on
their way down to the bay, intending to catch seals, when they
scented us."
"Well, we can easily find out if they come tonight," said
Altamont.
"How?"
"By effacing all the marks in a given place, and if to-morrow, we
find fresh ones, it will be evident that Fort Providence is the goal
for which the bears are bound."
[Illustration: ]
"Very good, at any rate we shall know, then, what we have to
expect."
The three hunters set to work, and scraped the snow over till all
the footprints were obliterated for a considerable distance.
"It is singular, though," said Bell, "that bears could scent
us all that way off; we have not been burning anything fat which
might have attracted them."
"Oh!" replied the Doctor, "bears are endowed with a
wonderfully keen sense of smell, and a piercing sight; and, more
than that, they are extremely intelligent, almost more so than any
other animal. They have smelt something unusual; and, besides, who
can tell whether they have not even found their way as far as our
plateau during the tempest?"
"But then, why did they stop here last night?" asked Altamont.
"Well, that's a question I can't answer, but there is no doubt
they will continue narrowing their circles, till they reach Fort
Providence."
"We shall soon see," said Altamont.
"And, meantime, we had best go on," added the Doctor, "and
keep a sharp look out."
But not a sign of anything living was visible, and after a time they
returned to the snow-house.
Hatteras and Johnson were informed how matters stood, and it was
resolved to maintain a vigilant watch. Night came, but nothing
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