The Field of Ice Read online

  A SEVENTEEN DAYS' MARCH.

  These first words of Altamont had completely changed the wholeaspect of affairs, but his communication was still incomplete, and,after giving him a little time to rest, the Doctor undertook thetask of conversing again with him, putting his questions in such aform that a movement of the head or eyes would be a sufficientanswer.

  He soon ascertained that the Porpoise was a three-mast Americanship, from New York, wrecked on the ice, with provisions andcombustibles in abundance still on board, and that, though she hadbeen thrown on her side, she had not gone to pieces, and there wasevery chance of saving her cargo.

  Altamont and his crew had left her two months previously, taking thelong boat with them on a sledge. They intended to get to Smith'sSound, and reach some whaler that would take them back to America;but one after another succumbed to fatigue and illness, till at lastAltamont and two men were all that remained out of thirty; and trulyhe had survived by a providential miracle, while his two companionsalready lay beside him in the sleep of death.

  Hatteras wished to know why the Porpoise had come so far north, andlearned in reply that she had been irresistibly driven there by theice. But his anxious fears were not satisfied with this explanation,and he asked further what was the purpose of his voyage. Altamontsaid he wanted to make the north-west passage, and this appeared tocontent the jealous Englishman, for he made no more reference to thesubject. "Well," said the Doctor, "it strikes me that, insteadof trying to get to Baffin's Bay, our best plan would be to go insearch of the Porpoise, for here lies a ship a full third of thedistance nearer, and, more than that, stocked with everythingnecessary for winter quarters."

  "I see no other course open to us," replied Bell.

  "And the sooner we go the better," added Johnson, "for thetime we allow ourselves must depend on our provisions."

  "You are right, Johnson," returned the Doctor. "If we startto-morrow, we must reach the Porpoise by the 15th of March, unlesswe mean to die of starvation. What do you say, Hatteras?"

  "Let us make preparations immediately, but perhaps the route maybe longer than we suppose."

  "How can that be, captain? The man seems quite sure of theposition of his ship," said the Doctor.

  "But suppose the ice-field should have drifted like ours?"

  Here Altamont, who was listening attentively, made a sign that hewished to speak, and, after much difficulty, he succeeded in tellingthe Doctor that the Porpoise had struck on rocks near the coast, andthat it was impossible for her to move.

  This was re-assuring information, though it cut off all hope ofreturning to Europe, unless Bell could construct a smaller ship outof the wreck.

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  No time was lost in getting ready to start. The sledge was theprincipal thing, as it needed thorough repair. There was plenty ofwood, and, profiting by the experience they had recently had of thismode of transit, several improvements were made by Bell.

  Inside, a sort of couch was laid for the American, and covered overwith the tent. The small stock of provisions did not add much to theweight, but, to make up the deficiency, as much wood was piled up onit as it could hold.

  The Doctor did the packing, and made an exact calculation of howlong their stores would last. He found that, by allowingthree-quarter rations to each man and full rations to the dogs, theymight hold out for three weeks.

  Towards seven in the evening, they felt so worn out that they wereobliged to give up work for the night; but, before lying down tosleep, they heaped up the wood in the stove, and made a roaringfire, determined to allow themselves this parting luxury. As theygathered round it, basking in the unaccustomed heat, and enjoyingtheir hot coffee and biscuits and pemmican, they became quitecheerful, and forgot all their sufferings.

  About seven in the morning they set to work again and by three inthe afternoon everything was ready.

  It was almost dark, for, though the sun had reappeared above thehorizon since the 31st of January, his light was feeble and of shortduration. Happily the moon would rise about half-past six, and hersoft beams would give sufficient light to show the road.

  The parting moment came. Altamont was overjoyed at the idea ofstarting, though the jolting would necessarily increase hissufferings, for the Doctor would find on board the medicines herequired for his cure.

  They lifted him on to the sledge, and laid him as comfortably aspossible, and then harnessed the dogs, including Duk. One final looktowards the icy bed where the Forward had been, and the little partyset out for the Porpoise. Bell was scout, as before; the Doctor andJohnson took each a side of the sledge, and lent a helping hand whennecessary; while Hatteras walked behind to keep all in the righttrack.

  They got on pretty quickly, for the weather was good, and the icesmooth and hard, allowing the sledge to glide easily along, yet thetemperature was so low that men and dogs were soon panting, and hadoften to stop and take breath. About seven the moon shone out, andirradiated the whole horizon. Far as the eye could see, there wasnothing visible but a wide-stretching level plain of ice, without asolitary hummock or patch to relieve the uniformity.

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  As the Doctor remarked to his companion, it looked like some vast,monotonous desert.

  "Ay! Mr. Clawbonny, it is a desert, but we shan't die of thirstin it at any rate."

  "That's a comfort, certainly, but I'll tell you one thing: itproves, Johnson, we must be a great distance from any coast. Thenearer the coast, the more numerous the icebergs in general, and yousee there is not one in sight."

  "The horizon is rather misty, though."

  "So it is, but ever since we started, we have been on this sameinterminable ice-field."

  "Do you know, Mr. Clawbonny, that smooth as this ice is, we aregoing over most dangerous ground? Fathomless abysses lie beneath ourfeet."

  "That's true enough, but they won't engulph us. This whitesheet over them is pretty tough, I can tell you. It is alwaysgetting thicker too; for in these latitudes, it snows nine days outof ten even in April and May; ay, and in June as well. The ice here,in some parts, cannot be less than between thirty and forty feetthick."

  "That sounds reassuring, at all events." said Johnson.

  "Yes, we're not like the skaters on the Serpentine--always indanger of falling through. This ice is strong enough to bear theweight of the Custom House in Liverpool, or the Houses of Parliamentin Westminster."

  "Can they reckon pretty nearly what ice will bear, Mr.Clawbonny?" asked the old sailor, always eager for information.

  "What can't be reckoned now-a-days? Yes, ice two inches thickwill bear a man; three and a half inches, a man on horse-back; fiveinches, an eight pounder; eight inches, field artillery; and teninches, a whole army."

  "It is difficult to conceive of such a power of resistance, butyou were speaking of the incessant snow just now, and I cannot helpwondering where it comes from, for the water all round is frozen,and what makes the clouds?"

  "That's a natural enough question, but my notion is that nearlyall the snow or rain that we get here comes from the temperatezones. I fancy each of those snowflakes was originally a drop ofwater in some river, caught up by evaporation into the air, andwafted over here in the shape of clouds; so that it is notimpossible that when we quench our thirst with the melted snow, weare actually drinking from the very rivers of our own native land."

  Just at this moment the conversation was interrupted by Hatteras,who called out that they were getting out of the straight line. Theincreasing mist made it difficult to keep together, and at last,about eight o'clock, they determined to come to a halt, as theyhad gone fifteen miles. The tent was put up and the stove lighted,and after their usual supper they lay down and slept comfortablytill morning.

  The calm atmosphere was highly favourable, for though the coldbecame intense, and the mercury was always frozen in thethermometer, they found no difficulty in continuing their route,confirming the truth of Parry's assertion that any man suitablyclad may walk abroad with impunity in the lowest temper
ature,provided there is no wind; while, on the other hand, the leastbreeze would make the skin smart acutely, and bring on violentheadache, which would soon end in death.

  On the 5th of March a peculiar phenomenon occurred. The sky wasperfectly clear and glittering with stars, when suddenly snow beganto fall thick and fast, though there was not a cloud in the heavensand through the white flakes the constellations could be seenshining. This curious display lasted two hours, and ceased beforethe Doctor could arrive at any satisfactory conclusion as to itscause.

  The moon had ended her last quarter, and complete darkness prevailednow for seventeen hours out of the twenty-four. The travellers hadto fasten themselves together with a long rope to avoid gettingseparated, and it was all but impossible to pursue the right course.Moreover, the brave fellows, in spite of their iron will, began toshow signs of fatigue. Halts became more frequent, and yet everyhour was precious, for the provisions were rapidly coming to an end.

  Hatteras hardly knew what to think as day after day went on withoutapparent result, and he asked himself sometimes whether the Porpoisehad any actual existence except in Altamont's fevered brain, andmore than once the idea even came into his head that perhapsnational hatred might have induced the American to drag them alongwith himself to certain death.

  He told the Doctor his suppositions, who rejected them absolutely,and laid them down to the score of the unhappy rivalry that hadarisen already between the two captains.

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  On the 14th of March, after sixteen days' march the little partyfound themselves only yet in the 82 deg. latitude. Their strength wasexhausted, and they had a hundred miles more to go. To increasetheir sufferings, rations had to be still further reduced. Each manmust be content with a fourth part to allow the dogs their fullquantity.

  Unfortunately they could not rely at all on their guns, for onlyseven charges of powder were left, and six balls. They had fired atseveral hares and foxes on the road already, but unsuccessfully.

  However, on the 15th, the Doctor was fortunate enough to surprise aseal basking on the ice, and, after several shots, the animal wascaptured and killed.

  Johnson soon had it skinned and cut in pieces, but it was so leanthat it was worthless as food, unless its captors would drink theoil like the Esquimaux.

  The Doctor was bold enough to make the attempt, but failed in spiteof himself.

  Next day several icebergs and hummocks were noticed on the horizon.Was this a sign that land was near, or was it some ice-field thathad broken up? It was difficult to know what to surmise.

  On arriving at the first of these hummocks, the travellers set towork to make a cave in it where they could rest more comfortablythan in the tent, and after three hours' persevering toil, wereable to light their stove and lie down beside it to stretch theirweary limbs.

  CHAPTER IV.