The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras Page 9

  CHAPTER VII.THE ENTRANCE OF DAVIS STRAIT.

  During that day the _Forward_ made easy progress through the looseice; the breeze was in a good quarter, but the temperature was verylow; the wind coming across the ice-fields was thoroughly chilled.

  At night the strictest care was necessary; the icebergs crowdedtogether in this narrow passage; often they could be counted by thehundred on the horizon; they had been loosened from the lofty coastsby the incessant beating of the waves and the warmth of the springmonth, and they were floating down to melt away in the depths of theocean. Often, too, they came across large masses of floating wood,which they were obliged to avoid, so that the crow's-nest was placedin position on the top of the foremast; it consisted of a sort of tub,in which the ice-master, partly sheltered from the wind, scanned thesea, giving notice of the ice in sight, and even, if necessary,directing the ship's course.

  The nights were short; since the 31st of January the sun hadreappeared in refraction, and was every day rising higher and higherabove the horizon. But it was hid by the snow, which, if it did notproduce utter darkness, rendered navigation difficult.

  April 21st, Cape Desolation appeared through the mist; hard work waswearying the crew; since the brig had entered the ice, the sailors hadhad no rest; it was now necessary to have recourse to steam to force away through the accumulated masses.

  The doctor and Johnson were talking together on the after-deck, whileShandon was snatching a few hours of sleep in his cabin. Clawbonny wasvery fond of talking with the old sailor, whose numerous voyages hadgiven him a valuable education. The two had made great friends of oneanother.

  "You see, Dr. Clawbonny," said Johnson, "this country is not like anyother; its name is Greenland, but there are very few weeks of the yearin which it deserves this name."

  "But, Johnson," answered the doctor, "who can say whether in the tenthcentury this name did not suit it? More than one change of this sorthas taken place on the globe, and I should astonish you much more bysaying that, according to Icelandic chroniclers, two hundred villagesflourished on this continent eight or nine hundred years ago."

  "You astonish me so much, Dr. Clawbonny, that I can't believe you; forit's a sterile country."

  "Well, sterile as it is, it supports a good many inhabitants, andamong them are some civilized Europeans."

  "Without doubt; at Disco and at Upernavik we shall find men who arewilling to live in such a climate; but I always supposed they stayedthere from necessity, and not because they liked it."

  "I think you are right; still, men get accustomed to everything, andthese Greenlanders appear to me better off than the workingmen of ourlarge cities; they may be unfortunate, but they are not miserable. Isay unfortunate, but that is not exactly what I mean; in fact, if theyare not quite as comfortable as those who live in temperate regions,they, nevertheless, are accustomed to the severity of the climate, andfind in it an enjoyment which we should never imagine."

  "We have to think so, Dr. Clawbonny, because Heaven is just; but Ihave often visited these coasts, and I am always saddened at the sightof its gloomy loneliness; the capes, promontories, and bays ought tohave more attractive names, for Cape Farewell and Cape Desolation arenot of a sort to cheer sailors."

  "I have often made the same remark," answered the doctor; "but thesenames have a geographical value which is not to be forgotten; theydescribe the adventures of those who gave them; along with the namesof Davis, Baffin, Hudson, Ross, Parry, Franklin, Bellot, if I findCape Desolation, I also find soon Mercy Bay; Cape Providence makes upfor Port Anxiety, Repulse Bay brings me to Cape Eden, and afterleaving Point Turnagain I rest in Refuge Bay; in that way I have undermy eyes the whole succession of dangers, checks, obstacles, successes,despairs, and victories connected with the great names of my country;and, like a series of antique medals, this nomenclature gives me thewhole history of these seas."

  "Well reasoned, Doctor; and may we find more bays of Success in ourjourney than capes of Despair!"

  "I hope so, Johnson; but, tell me, have the crew got over theirfears?"

  "Somewhat, sir; and yet, to tell the truth, since we entered thesestraits, they have begun to be very uneasy about the unknown captain;more than one expected to see him appear at the end of Greenland; andso far no news of him. Between ourselves, Doctor, don't you think thatis a little strange!"

  "Yes, Johnson, I do."

  "Do you believe the captain exists?"

  "Without any doubt."

  "But what reason can he have had for acting in this way?"

  "To speak frankly, Johnson, I imagine that he wants to get the crew sofar away that it will be impossible for them to turn back. Now, if hehad appeared on board when we set sail, and every one had known wherewe were going, he might have been embarrassed."

  "How so?"

  "Why, if he wants to try any superhuman enterprise, if he wants to gowhere so many have failed, do you think he would have succeeded inshipping a crew? But, once on the way, it is easy to go so far that togo farther becomes an absolute necessity."

  "Possibly, Doctor; I have known more than one bold explorer, whosename alone would have frightened every one, and who would have foundno one to accompany him on his perilous expeditions--"

  "Except me," said the doctor.

  "And me," continued Johnson. "I tell you our captain is probably oneof those men. At any rate, we shall know sooner or later; I supposethat at Upernavik or Melville Bay he will come quietly on board, andlet us know whither he intends to take the ship."

  "Very likely, Johnson; but the difficulty will be to get to MelvilleBay; see how thick the ice is about us! The _Forward_ can hardly makeher way through it. See there, that huge expanse!"

  "We whalers call that an ice-field, that is to say, an unbrokensurface of ice, the limits of which cannot be seen."

  "And what do you call this broken field of long pieces more or lessclosely connected?"

  "That is a pack; if it's round we call it a patch, and a stream if itis long."

  "And that floating ice?"

  "That is drift-ice; if a little higher it would be icebergs; they arevery dangerous to ships, and they have to be carefully avoided. See,down there on the ice-field, that protuberance caused by the pressureof the ice; we call that a hummock; if the base were under water, weshould call it a cake; we have to give names to them all todistinguish them."

  "Ah, it is a strange sight," exclaimed the doctor, as he gazed at thewonders of the northern seas; "one's imagination is touched by allthese different shapes!"

  "True," answered Johnson, "the ice takes sometimes such curiousshapes; and we men never fail to explain them in our own way."

  "See there, Johnson; see that singular collection of blocks of ice!Would one not say it was a foreign city, an Eastern city, withminarets and mosques in the moonlight? Farther off is a long row ofGothic arches, which remind us of the chapel of Henry VII., or theHouses of Parliament."

  "Would one not say it was a foreign city, an Easterncity, with minarets and mosques in the moonlight?"]

  "Everything can be found there; but those cities or churches are verydangerous, and we must not go too near them. Some of those minaretsare tottering, and the smallest of them would crush a ship like the_Forward_."

  "And yet men have dared to come into these seas under sail alone! Howcould a ship be trusted in such perils without the aid of steam?"

  "Still it has been done; when the wind is unfavorable, and I haveknown that happen more than once, it is usual to anchor to one ofthese blocks of ice; we should float more or less around with them,but we would wait for a fair wind; it is true that, travelling in thatway, months would be sometimes wasted where we shall need only a fewdays."

  "It seems to me," said the doctor, "that the temperature is falling."

  "That would be a pity," answered Johnson, "for there will have to be athaw before these masses separate, and float away into the Atlantic;besides, they are more numerous in Davis Strait, because the twostretches of land approa
ch one another between Cape Walsingham andHolsteinborg; but above latitude 67 degrees we shall find in May andJune more navigable seas."

  "Yes; but we must get through this first."

  "We must get through, Doctor; in June and July we should have foundthe passage free, as do the whalers; but our orders were strict; wehad to be here in April. If I'm not very much mistaken, our captain isa sound fellow with an idea firm in his head; his only reason forleaving so early was to go far. Whoever survives will see."

  The doctor was right about the falling of the temperature; at noon thethermometer stood at 6 degrees, and a breeze was blowing from thenorthwest, which, while it cleared the sky, aided the current inaccumulating the floating ice in the path of the _Forward_. It did notall follow the same course; often some pieces, and very high ones,too, floated in the opposite direction under the influence of asubmarine current.

  The difficulties of this navigation may be readily understood; theengineers had no repose; the engines were controlled from the bridgeby means of levers, which started, stopped, and reversed theminstantly, at the orders of the officer in command. Sometimes it wasnecessary to hasten forward to enter an opening in the ice, again torace with a mass of ice which threatened to block up their onlyegress, or some piece, suddenly upsetting, obliged the brig to backquickly, in order to escape destruction. This mass of ice, carried andaccumulated by the great polar current, was hurried through thestrait, and if the frost should unite it, it would present animpassable barrier to the _Forward_.

  In these latitudes numberless birds were to be found; petrels andcontremaitres were flying here and there, with deafening cries; therewere also many gulls, with their large heads, short necks, and smallbeaks, which were extending their long wings and braving the snowwhich the storm was whirling about. This profusion of winged beingsenlivened the scene.

  Numerous pieces of wood were drifting along, clashing continually intoone another; a few whales with large heads approached the ship; butthey could not think of chasing them, although Simpson, the harpooner,earnestly desired it. Towards evening several seals were seen, which,with their noses just above the water, were swimming among the greatpieces of ice.

  On the 22d the temperature was still falling; the _Forward_ carried agreat deal of steam to reach an easier sailing-place; the wind blewsteadily from the northwest; the sails were furled.

  During Sunday the sailors had little to do. After divine service,which was read by Shandon, the crew betook themselves to chasing wildbirds, of which they caught a great many. These birds, preparedaccording to Dr. Clawbonny's method, were an agreeable addition to themesses of the officers and crew.

  At three o'clock in the afternoon, the _Forward_ sighted the Kin ofSael, which lay east one quarter northeast, and the Mount Sukkertop,southeast one quarter east half-east; the sea was very high; from timeto time a dense fog descended suddenly from the gray sky.Notwithstanding, at noon they were able to take an observation. Theship was found to be in latitude 65 degrees 20 minutes and longitude54 degrees 22 minutes. They would have to go two degrees farther northbefore they would find clearer sailing.

  During the three following days, the 24th, 25th, and 26th of April,they had uninterruptedly to fight with the ice; the management of theengines became very tedious; every minute steam was shut off orreversed, and escaped from the safety-valve.

  In the dense mist their approach to the icebergs could be known onlyby the dull roar of the avalanches; then the vessel would shift itscourse at once; then there was the danger of running into the massesof frozen fresh water, which were as clear as crystal and as hard asstone. Richard Shandon used to take aboard a quantity of this iceevery day to supply the ship with fresh water.

  The doctor could not accustom himself to the optical illusionsproduced by refraction; indeed, an iceberg ten or twelve miles distantused to seem to him to be a small piece of ice close by; he tried toget used to this strange phenomenon, in order to be able by and by toovercome the mistakes of his eyesight.

  At last, both by towing the brig along the fields of ice and bypushing off threatening blocks with poles, the crew was thoroughlyexhausted; and yet, on the 27th of April, the _Forward_ was stilldetained on the impassable Polar Circle.