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Mealing Cruise of ". Cfeefolpljiir,". AND ..... years previousto the period in which our tale opens, an event occurred which altered the course of ...... iceberg. The narrow escape related in the last chapter was but the prelude to a night of troubles.
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r d c d — R tr p tiv ff c t — O lg anc —Ca f f t r h r arly li f at —A pirat — A t rri bl fi gh t d i c n q nc bg n B by h l m l a h d am id hip — A wh a li ng cr i f h Fr n S a —Sag fl f h P l S II D part r ti r mark f B by f M Bri gh t d agaci f ar rm i d r l ti — I b l — A An xi ti arch pr p d — D part r f th D lp hi f h F N rth d h cr w— I h a h —P lar I II Th v y ag — Th D lp hi c n — M th ad b rvati —Th fir t wh al —G r at xci t m nt d d ang r f IV Th ch a d h batt l — Th ch an i t—S wh aling w — B by div f hi li f d d th whal d l it— A anxi n i gh t which mi h appil y th gh wi th a h avy l — Th c a t f G r i l and — U pp r M i c ll an fl navi k — N w f h P l S ifi M id n i gh t d ay —S i fac t d fa iry li k c n — T m S ingl t n pin i n f — E ca p p r ld w m n— I d ang r f a q V I Th gal — A n ch r d t a b rg which pr v hr b a tr — D an r —B — f t h h P a c k t i t i Mi i g h w nq iring m i nd — TV l —Gal fr h n — C hain d cabl — H ldi ng f n xp c t d di c v ry lif — A —A Nip d i t rri bl c n q nc — Y k d ic b rg V I I N w ch arac t r i nt r d c d — A l d gam nd r n v l i — R markabl app aran m t i th ky — O R il y m t wi t h a mi h ap VI I I Fr d d th d ct r g xc r i n i which am ng th r trang thi ng th y m t wi th d n w d a Whi t b ar d F r d mak hi fir t ay p rt man I! Th D lp hi g t b t i th i —Pr parati n f wi t ri g i t h i —C aptai n G y c d f law X B gi m g f wi nt r— M t k ff ct a r markabl ch ang i t h m n app a anc — M i ng d w rk ing d pla f a wi nt r cam paig I

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sleep by any ch a nce wha tever No weasel was ever half so sensitive on tha t poin t as he was Wherever he happened t o be (and in the course of his ad ven tu r ous life he had been to nea rly all parts of the known world ) he was the fiIs t awake in the morning and t he las t asleep a t night ; he always answered promptly t o the first ca ll and was never known by any man living to have been seen with his eyes shut excep t when he winked and that operation he performed less frequently than o t her men John Buz z by was an Old sa lt — a regular t rue blue jack tar o f t he old scho o l who had be en bo r n and bred a t sea ; had visi ted foreign pa r ts i nn u merable ; had wea thered more s to rms than he could coun t and had witnessed more s trange sights than he could remember He was tough and sturdy and — a first rat e rizzled and bro d and square and massive a g “ specimen of a John Bull and according to himself always kep t his weat her eye Open This remark o f hi s was ap t t o crea te confusion i n t he m in ds of his hearers for J oh n mean t the exp ressio n to be unders tood figuratively while in point o f fac t he alm o s t always kep t one o f his li teral eyes open and the o ther pa rtially closed bu t as b e reversed the order of arrangemen t frequen tly he migh t have been sa id to keep his a

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lee eye as much open as the wea ther one This pe culiarity gave to hi s countenance an exp r essi o n of earn est thoughtful ness mingled with humour Bu z z by was fond o f being th ought Old and he lo ok ed much Older than he really was Men gu essed his age at fi fty five but t hey were t en years ou t in their reckoning for John had numb ered only forty fi ve summe r s and was as tough and muscular as eve r he had be e n — although no t quite SO elas tic John Bu z z by sto od on the pier of the seapo r t to wn of Grayton watching the active ope rations o f the c r ew of a whaling ship which was on the point of s ta r ting for the ice b o und se as o f the frozen regions and making sundry remarks to a s tout fai r hai r ed boy of fif teen who s tood by his side gazi ng at the ship wi th an exp r ession of deep sadness “ She s a trim built craft and a good sea boat I ll be bound “ Mas ter Fred observed the sailor but she s to o small by half accordi n to my notions and I ha ve seen a few whalers in my day Them b ow ti mbers too are sca r ce thi ck enough for goin bump agi n the ice 0 Davis St r aits Ho wsome i ver I ve seen worse craft dri vi n a go od trade in t he Polar Seas “ She s a first rate craft in all respec ts and you have to o high an opinion of y o ur o wn judgm ent replied the youth “ indignantly DO you suppose tha t my father who is an older man than yourself and as goo d a sail or would buy a ship and fi t her o u t and go off to the whale fi shery in he r if he did not think her a good one ? Ah ! Mas ter Fred you re a chip of the old block — n eck or nothing— carry o n all sail t ill you te ar the mas ts ou t of her ! Reef the t galla nt sails of your temper boy and d o n t run foul of an old man who has been all but a we t nurse to ye taugh t ye to walk and swim and pull an c ar and build ships and has haul ed ye o u t o the sea when ye fell i n— from the time ye could barely stump along o n two legs looki n like as if ye was more nor half seas over “ Well Bu z z by replied the boy laughing if you ve been all tha t to me I think you ha ve been a wet nurse too ! But -

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FRE

9

REGRETS

why do you run down my father s ship ? Do you think I m going to s tand t hat ? NO no t even from you old boy “ Hallo ! youngs ter shouted a voice from the deck of the “ vessel in ques tio n r un up and t ell your father we re all ready and if he don t make has te he ll l o se the tide so he will and that ll make us have to start on a Fri day it wi ll an t hat ll no t do for me no how it won t so make sail and l ook sharp abou t it do— won t you ? “ “ What a tongue he s got rema rked Bu z z by Be fore I d go to sea with a first ma te who jawed like t ha t I d be a landsman Don t ever you git to talk to o much Maste r Fred wot ever ye do My maxi m is — a nd i t has served me thro ugh life uncomm o n Keep your weather eye open an d your tongue housed x cept when you ve got occasion to use it If that fellow d use hi s eyes more and his tongue less he d see your fathe r comin d own the read t here right before the wind with his Old sis ter in tow “ How I wish he wo ul d have let me go with him ! mu ttered Fred to himself so r rowfull y “ No chance now I m a feared remarked his companion The gov n or s as stiff as a nor wes t er No t hin i n the world can turn him o nce he s made up his mind but a regu lar so n e as ter Now if you had been my son and yonde r tigh t craft But your fa t her my ship I would have said c o me at once knows best lad and you re a wi se son to obey orders cheer fully with ou t qu estion Tha t s ano t her 0 my maxi ms ! O bey orders an ax no questions Fr ederick Ellice senior who now approached whispering words of consolation in to the ea r of his weeping sis ter might pe r haps have jus t numbered fifty years He was a fine big bold hea r ty English man with a bald h ead gri zzled l o cks a loud bu t no t h arsh voice a rather quick te mper and a kind e arnest! en thusiastic he ar t Like Bu z z by he had spen t nearly all his life a t sea and had become so thoroughly a ccus tomed to walking on an uns table foundation that he fel t quite uncomfortable on solid ground and never remained more than a few months a t a time on shore He was a man of ’



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10

WORLD

THE

OF I CE

good education and gen tlemanly manners and had worked his way up in the merchan t service s t ep by s t ep until he ob tained the command of a Wes t India trader A few years p r evi ous t o t he period in which our ta le Opens an even t occu rred which al tered the c ourse of Captain Ellice s life and fo r a l ong pe ri od plunged him in to the deepest affliction This was the l oss o f his wife at sea under peculiarly dis tressing circums tances At the age of t hirty Cap tai n El lice had marri ed a pretty blue eyed gi rl who resolutely refused t o become a sail or s b r ide unless she should be perm it t ed t o accompany her hus band t o sea This was Without much difficulty agreed t o and fo r th with Alice Bremner became Mrs Ellice and went t o sea It was du r ing her third voyage to the West Indies that ou r hero F r ed was bo r n and it was du r ing this and succeeding “ voyages tha t Bu z z by became all but a wet n urse to him M rs Ellice was a loving gen tle seriously minded w o man She devoted herself heart and soul to t he tr aining o f her b oy and spen t many a pleasant hour in tha t little unste ady cabin in endeav ouring t o i ns til into his infant mind the blessed truths of Ch r istianity a nd i n making the name of Jesus familiar to his car As Fred grew olde r his m o ther encouraged him to hold occasional i nterc o urse with the sa ilors fo r her husband s example ta ught her the val ue o f a bold manl y spiri t and she knew that i t was imp o ssible for her to ins til tha t in to him bu t she was ca r eful to gu a r d him from the evil that he might chance to lea r n from the men by com mit ting him to the t ender care of Bu z z by To do the men jus tice however this was alm ost unnecessary for they fel t that a mother s wa tchful eye was on the child and no un guarded word fell from t heir lips while he wa s romping about the forecas tle Wh en it was time for Fred to go t o school Mrs Ellice gave up her roving life and se t tled in her native town of Gray ton where she resided wi th her wi dow ed sis ter Amelia Brigh t and her niece Isobel H ere Fred received the ru dimen ts of an ex cellent educa tion a t a priva te a cademy A t the age of ,

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USPI CI O U S LOOKIN G

A me res tive

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11

S IL

twelve however Mas ter Fred beca and durin g one of his father s periodical visits home begged t o be taken to Capta in Ellice agreed ; M r s Ellice insisted on a ccom sea pa nying them and i n a few weeks they were once again on their old h o me the ocean and Fred was enjoying his native air in c ompany with his frien d Buz z by who s tuck to t he old ship like one of her o wn s tout timbers Bu t this was destined to be a di sastrous voyage O ne even i n after crossing t he line t hey descried a suspicio u s looking se oon er t o windward bear ing down u pon t he m under a cloud o f c anvas “ Wha t do you think of her Bu z z by ? enquired Captain Ellice handi ng his gl ass t o t he seaman Bu z z by gazed i n silence and with compressed lips for some time ; then he re t urn ed the glas s a t t he same time mu tt ering “ t he word ! Pirate “ I tho u gh t so said the cap tain in a deep uns teady voice There is b ut one c o urse for us Buz z by he con tin u ed glancing t owa r ds his wife who all unconscious of thei r “ dange r sa t near the ta fi ra il empl oyed with her needle ; these fell ows show no mercy beca use they ex pec t none either from Go d or man We mus t figh t t o the last Go prepare the men and get ou t the arms I ll tell my wife Buz z by wen t fo rward bu t the cap ta i n s hear t failed him and he t ook t wo or t hree rapid hesita ting t urns on t he qua r t er deck ere he could make up his mind t o speak “ “ yonder vess el is a Al ice he sa id a t length abrup t ly pirate Mrs Ellice looked up in surprise and her face grew pale as her eye me t t he t roubled gaze of her husband Are you qui te s u re Frederi ck 2 Yes ! ui te Would God t h at I were lef t alone to— bu t nay do no t be alarmed ; perhaps I am wrong ; i t may be a a clipper b ui l t t rading vessel If no t Alice we mus t make some sho wo f f i gh ting a nd t ry to frigh ten t hem Mea nwhile you mus t go below The cap tain spoke encouragi ngly as he led his w ife t o the ,

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12

WO RLD

THE

or

IC E

cabin bu t his candid countenance spoke too tru thfully a nd she fel t that his lo o k of anxi o us concern b ade her fear the w o r st P r essing he r fervently to his heart Captai n Ellice sprang on de ck By this time the news had spread thr ough the ship and the crew consis ting of upwards o f thi r ty men were con v e rsing ea r nestly i n kn o ts of f o u r o r fi v e w hile they sha rpen ed and buckled on cutlasses o r loaded pist ols and carbines “ Send the men aft M r Th ompson said the captain as he paced the deck to and f r o casting his eyes occasionally on “ the schoone r which was r apidly nea ring the vessel Take an other pull at these main topsail halya r ds and send the stewa r d down bel o w for my sw o r d and pistols Let the men look sha r p ; we ve no ti m e to l o se and hot w o rk is bef ore us . I wi ll go for y o ur sword Fathe r c r ied Fred who had jus t come on deck “ Boy boy you mus t go below ; you can be o f no use here But Father you know that I m n o t af ra i d I know tha t boy ; I kn o w i t well ; but you r e too young to fight ; you r e not s trong enough ; besides you must comfort and chee r you r mother she may want you I am old enough and strong en ough to load and fire a pis tol Father ; and I heard one of the men say we would need all the hands o n b oard and more if we had them ; besides i t was my mother who told me wha t was going o n and sen t me o n deck to hel p you to fight A momentary glea m of pride li t up t he coun t enance of the “ captain as he said h astily ! You may stay then and turn ed t owards the men who now s tood assembled on the quarter deck Addressing the crew i n his own blunt vigo r ous s tyle he said ! Lad s yon ras cally sch ooner is a pi ra te as you all know well en ough I need no t ask you if you are ready to fight I see by your looks you are Bu t that s no t enough — you m ust make up your minds to figh t well You kn o w that pira tes give no quar ter I see the decks are swarming with ,

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WO RLD

THE

OF ICE

Again the voice came harshly across the waves as if in “ pas sion ! Hea ve to or I ll sink you At the same momen t the blac k flag was run up t o the peak and a shot passed between the main and fo re mast Stand by to poin t t his gun said the cap ta in in a subdued voice Ay ay sir P Fetch a red ho t i ron ; luff lufi a li ttle — a li ttle more steady so At the last w o r d t here was a puff and a roar and an ir o n messenger flew towards the schooner The gun had been fir ed more as a reply of defiance to the pirate than with the h ope of d oing him any damage but t he sh o t had been well aimed — i t cut the sch ooner s mai n sail yard in two and bro ugh t it rattling d own on deck Ins tan tly the pira te yawed and delivered a broadsid e bu t in the c o nfusi o n on deck the guns were badly aimed and none to ok e ffec t The time lost in this man oeuvre added to the crippled conditi o n of the schooner ena bled the West India ma n to gain consider ably on her antagonis t but the p irate kep t up a well direc t ed fire with his bow chasers and many of the sho ts s truck the hull and cu t the riggi ng seriously As the sun descended towar ds the ho ri zon the wi nd fell gradually and ceased at lengt h alto gethe r so t hat b o t h vessels lay rolling on the swell With their sails flapping idly agains t the mas ts “ They re a gi t tin ou t the boa ts sir remarked Joh n Bu z z by who u n able t o restrain hi mself any l onger had “ c rept upon deck a t the risk of another reprimand ; and if my eyes be n t decei ving me t here s a sail on the hori zon t o wi nd ard — le as tways the direc ti on which was wi nd ard afo r e i t fell c alm She s bringing a breeze along with her remarked the cap “ tain but I fea r the boats will come up before it reaches us There are three in the wate r and manned alre ady There they come Now then call up all hands In a few seconds the crew of the West Indiaman were a t their s ta tions rea dy for ac tion a nd Captain Ellice with Fred a t his el bow s to od bes ide one of t he s tern C hasers Mean ,





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ATTAC K

THE

15

while t he boa ts of t he pira te — fi ve in number— p u ll ed away in differen t direc ti o ns eviden tly wi t h the in ten tion of a ttack ing the ship a t differen t poin ts They were f ull of men armed to t he tee th While they rowed towards t he ship the schooner resum ed i ts fire and on e ball cu t away t he spanker bo om and sligh tly wounded t wo of the men wi th splin ters The guns of the ship were now brough t to bear on the boa ts but withou t effec t al though t he sho t plunged in to the water As they drew nearer a bri sk fire of muske try all round t hem was o pened on t hem and t he occa sional falling o f an oar and confusion o n boa rd showed that the sho ts told The pira tes repli ed vi gorously but wi thou t e ff ec t as t he men of t he ship were shel ter ed by the bulw arks “ Pass the word to load and reserve fire sa id t he cap tain and hand me a musket Fred Load again as fas t as I fire So sayin g t he cap tai n took aim and fired a t t he s teersman of “An the larges t boa t which pulled t owards the s tern o ther Fred At this m o men t a withe r ing volley was pour ed upon the boa t and a savage yell of agony fo llowed while the rowers who remain ed unhur t— paused for an ins tan t as if paralysed Nex t ins tan t t hey recovered and ano ther s t roke would have brough t t hem almos t alon gside when Capta in Ellice poin t ed the li t tle carron ade and fired There was a t erri fic crash the gun recoiled violently to t he o ther side of t he d eck and the pir a te boa t sank lea ving t he sea covered wi t h dead and wounded men A number however who seemed to bear charm ed lives seiz ed their cu tlass es with their t ee t h and swam boldly for the ship This inciden t unfor tuna tely a tt r ac ted too much of th e a tt en tion of t he crew and ere they could prevent it another boa t rea ched t he bow of the ship the crew of which sprang up the side like ca ts formed on the forecas tle a nd poured a volley up o n t he men “ Follow me l ads shou ted th e cap tain as he sprang f orward like a tiger The firs t man he rea ch ed fell by a ball from his pis tol ; in ano ther momen t the opposing pa rt ies me t in a ha nd te hand confli c t Meanwhil e Fred h a ving been ,

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WO RLD

TH E

or

IC E

deeply impressed with the effect of the sho t fr o m t he li ttle car r onade succeeded in raisi ng and r eloadin g i t He had scarcely accomplished this when o ne of the b o a ts reach ed the larboa r d quar te r and t wo of the men sprang up the side Fred obse r ved them and felled the fi r st with a handspike bu t the pi ra te who instantly b efore he reached the deck followed w o uld have k i lled him had he no t been o bse r ved by the second mate who had p r even ted several of the men from j oining in the m é lé e o n the f orecastle in o rder to mee t such an emergency as this Rushing t o the rescue with his pa r ty he drove the pi rates back int o the boat which was imme di a t ely pulled towa rds the b o w whe r e the other two boats were no w grappli ng and discha r ging t hei r c r ews o n the fo r ecastle Indiaman fo ught with d esper Al tho u gh the men o f the West— ate c ou r age they could no t s tand bef ore the inc r eas ing num bers of pirates who now c r owded the f orepa r t of the ship in a den se mass G r adually they were bea te n back and at length were brought to bay o n the quarter deck “ Help Father ! cried Fred pushing through the struggling “ crowd he r e s the carr o nade ready l o aded “ Ha ! boy well done ! cri ed the captain sei zing the gun and with the help of Buz z by who never left his side d r ag ging i t forward Clear t he way lads ! In a moment the little ca nnon was p ointed to the centre of the mass o f men and fi r ed One awful sh riek of agony rose above the din of the fight as a wide gap w as cut th r o ugh the cro wd ; but this o nly seemed to render the su r vivors m or e furi ous With a savage yell they charged the qua r te r deck b u t we r e hu r led back again and agai n by the capta in and a few ch os en men who stood a r ound him At length o ne of the pi rates who had be e n all along conspicuous fo r his stren gth and daring stepped delibera tely up and p ointing a pist ol at the captain s breas t fi r ed Captain Ellice fell and a t the sa me m o ment a ball laid the pi r ate low ; another ch a rge was mad e ; Fr ed rushed forwa r d to protect his father but was thrown down and trodden unde r foo t in the rush and in two minu t es more the ship was in possession of t he pirates ,

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A R ESC UE a t the opposi tion they had

17

Being filled wi th rage me t with these villai ns proceeded as they sa id to make short work of the crew while sever al of them sprang in t o t he cabin where they discovered Mrs Ellice almos t dead with t error Drag gi ng her vi o len tly o n deck they were abou t to cas t her in to the sea when Buz z by who stood with his hands bound suddenly burst his bonds and sprang t owa r ds her A blow f r om the bu tt of a pis tol however stre tched him insensible on the deck “Where is my h usb and i— m boy ? screa m ed Mrs Ellice y ,

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They ve gone before you or they ll soon follow said a savage fiercely as he raised her in his p o werful arm s and hurl ed her overboard A loud shriek was followed by a heavy plunge A t the same momen t t wo of t he men raised the captain in tending t o t hrow him overboard also when a loud boom arres t ed their a tt ention and a cannon sho t ploughed up the sea close in fron t of t heir bows While the figh t was raging no one had observed t he fac t that t he breeze had freshened and a large man of war wi th American colours a t her peak was now wi thin gunsho t of the ship No sooner did t he pira tes make t his discovery t han they rushed to their boats w ith th e in ten tion of pulling to their schooner bu t those who had been left in charge seeing the approach of the man oi war and f eeli ng t ha t there was no chance of escape for t heir comrades or as is more than probable being ut te r ly indifferen t about them crowded all sail and slipped away and it was n ow hu ll d own on t he horizon to leeward The men i n the boa ts rowed a f t er her with t he energy of despair bu t the America ns gave ch a se and we need scarcely add tha t in a very shor t time all we r e cap tured Wh en t he man of war rej oined the Wes t Indiaman t he nigh t had se t in and a s ti ff breeze had arisen so t ha t t he long and laborious search t hat was made for t he body of p o or Mrs Ellice p r oved u tte rly frui t less Captain Ellice whose wound was ve ry severe was st r uck down as if by a t hunde rb o lt and ’



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B

18

THE

WO RLD

OF I CE

for a long t ime his life was despaired of Duri ng his illness Fred nursed him with the u tmos t tenderness and i n seeki ng t o comfor t his fa t her found some relief t o his o w n s t ricken hea rt Months pass ed away Cap ta in Ellice was conveyed to the residence Of hi s sis ter in Gray ton and under he r care and the nursing Of hi s little niece Isobel he recove r ed his won t ed heal th and s trengt h To the eyes Of men Captain Ellice and his son were t hemselves again bu t those w ho judge o f men s h earts by their ou t wa r d appearance and exp r essions in nine cases ou t of ten judge ve ry wide of the ma r k indeed Both had unde rgone a grea t change The brilliancy and glit ter o f this w o r ld had been c o mple t ely and rudely dispelled and both had been led to enqui r e whether the r e was n ot something better to live fo r than me r e p r esent advanta ge and happiness ; something tha t w ould stand by them in those h o urs of sick ness and sorrow which mus t inevi tably sooner or la ter c ome upon all men Bu t Captain Ellice could no t be induced t o resume the com mand of his old ship or voyage again to the West Indies He determined to change the scene Of his future labours and sa il t o the frozen seas where the aspect of every obj ect— even the Ocean i tself— would be very unlikely to recall t he circum stances Of hi s loss Some time af ter his recovery Cap tain E llice purch ased a brig and fitted her ou t as a Whaler dete rmined to try his for tune i n the northern seas Fred pleaded hard t o be taken ou t but his fa ther fel t t ha t he had more need to go to school than to sea ; so he refused and Fred after sighing very deeply once or t wi ce gave in with a good grace Bu z z by too who stuck to his old commander like a leech was equally anxious to go bu t Bu z z by in a sudden and unaccoun table fi t of tender ness had just two months before married a wi fe who might “ be appropri a w described as fat fair and forty and Al as ! Bu z z by Buz z by s wife absolu tely forbade him to go was no l o nger his o wn ma s ter A t the age of forty fi ve he became — as he himself expressed i t — a n abj ec t slave and he .

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19

s u z z s v s THR L

would as soon h ave t ried to s teer in a slipper ba t h righ t in t he tee th of a n e quinoctial hurri cane as have Opposed the will of his wife He used to sigh gr u fily when sp oken to on t his subjec t and c o mpare himself t o a Du tch gallio t tha t made more lee way t han head way even wi th a wind on the qua r ter “ “ O nce he would remark I was clipper buil t and could sail righ t in t he wi nd s eye bu t ever since I t uck t his craf t i n t ow I ve gone to leeward like a tub In fact I find there s only o ne way of go ing ahead wi t h my P01] and t ha t is righ t before the wind ! I used to yaw about a good deal at firs t bu t she tuck that ou t 0 me i n a day or t wo If I pu t t he helm only so much as on e st r oke to s tarboard she guv a tug at the t ow rope t hat br o ugh t t he wind dead af t again ; so I ve gi n it up and lashed the tiller righ t amidships So Bu z z by did no t accompany his old c o mmander ; he did no t even so much as suggest t he possibili ty of i t bu t h e shook his head wi t h grea t s olemni ty as he s tood wi t h Fred and Mrs B r igh t and Isobel a t the end of the pier gazing a t the brig wi t h one eye very much screwed up and a wis tful ex p r ession in the o ther while the graceful craf t spread ou t her canvas and ben t over t o t he breeze .

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CHAPTE R II

p rt

— a r M Br ht r cti — A xi ti ci m k r rmi r l ti —I b l — rch pr p d—D p rt r N rth D IGRESSIONS are bad at t he bes t and we feel some regre t that we shoul d have been compelled t begi our b ok with n ; bu t they are necessa r y evils some t imes so we mus t ask our reader s f rgivene ss and beg him her t o remember tha t we are s till at the commencemen t of r s tory s tanding at t he end f the pier and wa t ching the depar ture of t he P l St whale ship whi ch is n w a scarcely dis t inguishable spec k n t he hori zon

De

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sa g a

A

th e P ole S ta r for th e F

o us r e

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ar s of

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Bu z z b y e

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Seas

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20

TH E

W O R LD

I CE

or

As i t disa ppea red Bu z z by gave a grun t F r ed and Isobe l u tte r ed a sigh i n unison and Mrs B righ t resumed the fi t of weeping which for some time she had unconsciously sus pend ed “ I fear we shall never see him again sobbed M r s Brigh t as she took Isobel by the hand and saun t ered slowly home accompanied by Fred and Bu z z by the latter of whom seemed to rega rd himself in t he ligh t of a shaggy Newfoundland or “ We are ma sti fi who had been lef t t o pro tec t t he family always hearing o f whal e ships being lost and someho w or o ther we never hear o f the crews being saved as one r eads o f when ships are wrecked in the usual way o n the sea sh ore Isobel squeezed her mo ther s hand and looked up i n her “ face Wi t h an expression that said plainly ! Do n t c ry so Mamma I m sure he wi ll come back but she could not find words t o express he r self so she glanced t owards the masti fi for help Buz z by fel t t ha t it devolved upon him t o afford consola tio n under the circums ta nces bu t Mrs Brigh t s mind was of tha t peculia r stamp Which repels advances in the way of consola tion unconsciously and Bu z z by was puzzled He screwed up first the righ t eye and t hen t he left and smo te his thigh repea t edly ; and assuredly if c o n t or ting his visa ge coul d have comfor t ed Mrs Bright she would have re t urned home a happy woman for he made faces a t her violen t ly for full five minu tes ; bu t i t did her no good perhaps because she didn t see him her eyes being suffused with t ea rs “ “ Ah resumed Mrs Bright with ano ther burst I ! yes know t hey will never c ome back and your silence shows tha t you t hink so t oo ; and to t hink of t heir taki ng t wo years pro visions wi th them i n case of accidents —doesn t tha t prove that there are going to be acciden ts ? and didn t I hear one of the sailors say that she was a crack ship A number one ? I don t know what he meant by A number one ; bu t if she s a cracked ship I know she will never come back ; and al though I t old my dear b r other of i t and advised him no t to go he only laughed a t me which was very unkind I m s ur e ,

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22

TH E

WO R LD

or IOE

could carry and s te er ed righ t before the Wind to wards the village Where in a li t tle whi tewashed low roofed oned oored his sp ouse (and dinner) a nd t wo li tt le wi ndowed co ttage a wai ted him To make a long s tory short th r ee years p assed away bu t the P ole Star did not re tur n and no news of her could be got from the various whale ships t hat visited the port of Gray t on Towards the end of the second year Buz z by began to shake his hea d despondingly ; and as the thi r d drew t o a cl ose t he expression o f gl oo m never left his hones t weather beaten face M r s Bright t oo Whose anxiety a t firs t was only half genuine now became seriously alarmed and t he fate of the missing brig began to be the talk of the neighbourh ood Meanwhile F r ed Ellice and Isobel g r ew and improved in mind and body but anxiety as to hi s father s fa t e rendered the former qui t e unable to pursue his s t udies and he de termined a t l as t to pro cure a passage in a Whale ship an d go out in sea r ch of t he br ig It happened that the p r incipal merchan t and ship owner in the t own Mr Single ton by nam e was an intima t e f r iend and old scho ol fellow o f Captain Ellice so Fred wen t boldly to him and prop o sed tha t a vessel shoul d be fi tted ou t i m media t ely and sent off t o sea r ch for his father s brig Mr Singleton smiled a t t he reques t and poin ted o u t the ut t er impossibility o f his ag r eeing to i t ; bu t he revived Fred s sink ing hopes by sayi ng tha t he was abou t to send ou t a Whaler t o t he nor thern seas a t a ny ra te and tha t he would give o rders to t he cap tain to devote a p or ti on o f his t ime t o the search and mor eover agreed t o le t Fr ed go as a passenger in company with his own son Tom Now Tom Singleton had been Fred s bosom fri end and compa nion d uring his firs t year a t scho ol bu t during t he last t wo years he had been sen t t o the Edinburgh Universi ty to prose cu te his medical s tudies and the t wo friends had only me t a t rare in t erval s I t was with unbound ed deli gh t there fore tha t he found hi s old companion n ow a you th o f twen ty was to go ou t as surgeon of t he ship and he could scarce ,

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A N OTHE R D EPA RTU R E

23

conta in hi mself as he ran d own to Bu z z by s cot ta ge to tell him the good news and ask hi m to j oin Of course Buz z by was ready t o go and wha t was of far grea ter importance i n the mat ter his wife t hrew no obs tacle in the way On th e con t rary she undid the las hings of t he helm with her own hand and told her wondering partner wi t h a good humou r ed (but firm ) smile to s t eer where he chose and she would c o n tent herself wi th the socie ty of the t wo young Bu z z bys (both mi nia t ure facsi miles of t heir fa ther ) til l he came b a ck O nce agai n a whale ship prepa red to sail from t he port of G rayton and once again Mrs Bright and Isobel s tood on the pier to see her depa r t Isobel was about t hi rteen now and as pretty a gi rl ac cording to Buz z by as you could meet with i n any par t of Bri tain Her eyes were blue and her hair nu t b r own and her cha r ms of face and fig ure we r e enhanced i m measurably by an ai r of modes ty an d earnes t ness that went st raight home to y o ur hea rt and caus ed you to adore her a t once Bu z z by doa ted on her as if she were his only chil d and felt a sec re t p ri de in being i n some u ndefinable way her Buz z by philosophized abou t her t oo aft er a protec tor “ “ strange fashion You see he would say to Fred it s no t tha t her figu r e hea d is cut al t ogether af ter a parfect pattern ; by no means for I ve seen pic t ur e and statues tha t wos be tter ; bu t she carries her hea d a lit tle down d ye see Maste r Fred and the r e s where i t is ; that s the way I gauges t he worth 0 young w omen j i et accordi n as they carry their chins up or down If their brows c ome well for a rd and they seems t o be lookin a t t he ground they walk on I knows the i r brain s is fi m stuff and in good workin order ; bu t when I sees them ca r r i n their noses high out o the wate r as if t hey wos afeard y o ca t chi n sight 0 their own fee t and their chins elewat ed so that a li ttle boy sta ndin in f r ont 0 them c ouldn t see their faces nohow I make pre tty su r e tha t t othe r end is filled wi th a s ort 0 mush tha t s fit only to think 0 d r ess and dancing On t he present o ccasion Isobel s eyes were red and swollen and by no means i mpr o ved by weeping Mrs Bright too ’

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2 4

W OR LD

THE

IC E

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although three years had done little to al ter her cha rac ter seemed to be less demons tr ative and m uch mo r e sincere tha n us ual i n her grief at parting from F r ed In a few minu t es all was ready Young Single ton and Bu z z by having h astily but earnes tly bade Mrs B right and her daughter farewell leaped on board Fred linge r ed for a moment “ “ fa r ewell ! With God s Once more dear Aunt said he blessing we shall come ba ck so on Wri te to me darling Isobel won t you ? to U pper na vi k o n the coast of G r eenland If none of ou r ships are b ou nd in that di r ection w rite by way O ld Mr Single ton wi ll tell you how to address of Denmark your let ter and see t hat it be a long o ne “ N o w t hen youngster j ump aboard shou ted the captain ; “ lo ok sha rp ! Ay ay return ed Fred and in another m oment he was o n the qua r ter—deck by the side of his friend To m The ship loosed from her mo ori ngs spread her canvas and plunged forwa r d on her ad ven turous voyage But this time she does not grow smalle r as she advances before the f r eshening breeze for you and I reader have embarked i n he r and the land now fades in the distance until it sinks from vi ew on the dis ta nt horiz o n While n o thing meets our gaze but the vaul t o f t he b ri ght blue sky above and the plain of the dark blue sea below ,

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CHAPTE R III Th e

vy

cr w— ah d— l r c —M th d — fi r t whal Gr t xci m t we have fai r ly got in to blue wa t er— the sailor s the landsman s d r e d Th pn ; ! h ! h Th bl h fr h th v rf

—Th

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VOYAG

D LPH IN

E OF TH E

2 5

O

I t s my opinion remarked Buz z by t o Single t on one day as they stood a t t he w eather gangway wa tchi ng the foa m t hat spread from t he vessel s bo w as she breasted the waves of the Atlantic gallantly It s my opinion t ha t our skipper is made 0 the right st uff He s en t e r ed quite int o the spiri t o f the thing and I hear d him say to the firs t ma te yes terday he d made up his mind to ru n right up into Ba ffin s Bay and make enquiries for Capta i n Ellice first before goin to his us ual whalin ground NOW t ha t s wot I call doin the righ t t hing ; for ye see he runs no small risk 0 gettin bese t in t he ice and losing the fishi n se ason alt ogether by so doin “ “ He s a fine fellow said Single t on ; I like him be tter every day and I feel convinced he will do his u tmos t to discover the whereabou ts of ou r missing f r iend ; bu t I fea r much that ou r chances are small for although we know the spot which Capta in Elli ce in tended to visi t we ca nno t t ell to what part of t he frozen ocea n ice and currents may have carri ed him “ T r ue replied Bu z z by giving t o his left eye and cheek jus t that peculiar amoun t of screw which indica t ed in t ense “ sagaci ty and pe ne t ra tion ; but I ve a notion tha t if they are to be found Cap ta in Guy is t he man t o fi nd em I hope it may turn out as you say Have you ever been in t hese seas before Bu z z by No sir never ; but I ve got a half bro t her wot has bi n in the Greenland whale fishery and I ve bi n in t he so u t h —sea line myself “ Wha t line was tha t Bu z z by ? enquired David Summers a s turdy boy of abou t fifteen who acted as a ssistant s te ward “ and was in fac t a nau t ica l maid oi all work Was it a log line or a bow line or a cod line or a bit of the equa tor L—e h ! The old s alt deign ed no reply to this pass ing sally bu t con tinued his converse wi th Singlet o n “ I could give ye many a long yar n abo u t the Sou th Seas said Bu z z by gazing abs t ractedly d o wn in to the deep One time when I was abou t fifty mile to the sou west 0 Cape Horn I ’

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26

THE

WO R LD

OF ICE

s read y si r said a thi n tall ac tive man s tepping smart ly up to Single ton and touching his cap “We must talk over tha t some other ti me Bu z z b The y cap tai n loves punctuali ty So saying the y o ung su rgeo n sprang down the compani o n ladder leaving the old salt to smoke his pipe in s olitude And here we may pause a few seconds to describe our ship and her c r ew The Dolp hin was a tight new barque rigged vessel of abou t three h u nd r ed to ns burden built expressly for the n o rthern Whale fi shery and carried a crew o f f orty fi ve men Ships tha t have to battle with the ice requi r e to be much more p o werfully built than t hose that sail i n unencumbered seas The Dolp hi n uni ted strength wi th capaci ty and bu oyancy The unde r pa rt of her hull and sides were st r engthened with double timb ers and fo rtified externally wi th pla tes of iron while in t ernally stanchions and c r oss beams were so arranged as to cause pressure on any par t to be supported by the Wh ole s tructure ; and on her bows where shocks from the ice might be expected t o be mos t frequen t and severe extra planking I n o t her of immens e s t rength and thickness was secured respec ts t he vessel was fi tte d up much in the same manner as ordinar y me rcha n tmen The only other pe culiari ty abou t her worthy of n otice was the crow s nest a sor t of barrel shaped struc ture fastened to t he fore masthea d in which when at the whaling ground a man is s tationed to l o ok out for whales The chief men in the ship were Captai n Guy a vigor o us ea r nest prac tical Ame r ican ; Mr Bolt o n the firs t mate a stout burly off ha nd Englishman ; and Mr Saunders the second mate a sedate broad shoul dered raw b oned Scot whose Opinion of himself was un bounded whose power of a rgumen t was ex t raordinary no t to say exaspe rating and who st ood six feet three i n his s tocki ngs Mi vi ns the steward was as we have al r eady remarked a tall thin ac tive y oung man of a brisk lively disposition and was somewhat of a butt among the men but being i n a positi o n of power and trust he was respec ted The young surgeon Tom Singl eton whom we “Dinne

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27 A CCO U NT OF THE CREW have ye t c rc ly in trodu ed to the re der w tall slim ti n bu t fi m ly kn i t you th with a kind gentle di p m H w always Open st raigh t forwa d and poli te H e never indulged in b oad humour though he enj oyed i t much seldom ven tured

O

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a witticis m was rather shy in the company of his com panions and spoke little ; but for a q uie t plea sant téte cr téte there was no t a man in the ship equal to Tom Singleton His co un tenance was Spanish looki ng and handso me his ha i r black shor t and curling and his budding mous tache was soft and da r k as the eyebrow of an Andalusian be lle It w o uld be unpa rd o nable in t his ca tal ogue to omit the cook David Mizzle He was round and fa t and o i ly as one “ o f his o wn duff puddi ngs To look a t him you could n o t help suspecting t ha t he pu r loined a nd a te at leas t half of the salt po rk he cooked and his sly dimpling laugh in which every fea t ure participated from the point of his broad chin t o the top of his bald head rather te nded to favou r this suppo si ti o n Mi zzle was prematurely ba ld — being qui te a young man — and when questioned o n the subj ect he usually a tt ri bu ted i t to the fact of his having been so long employed about t he cooking coppe r s that the excessive hea t to which he was expos ed had s tewed all the hai r off his hea d ! The crew was made up of s tout ac t ive men in t he prime of life nea rly all of Wh om had been mo r e or less accus tomed to t he whale fi shi ng and s ome of t he ha rp oo ners were gian ts in mus cula r devel o p ment and bre adth of shoul der if not in height Chief among these harpooners w as Amos Parr a sh or t thi ck set powerful man of abou t thirty five who had been at sea since he was a little bo y and had served in the fisheries of bo t h t he nor t hern and sou t hern seas No one knew what co u n tr y had the honour of producing him — indeed he was ignorant of tha t point himse lf fo r al th ough he had vi v id rec oll ec t io ns of his child hood having been spen t among green hi ll s and trees and strea mle ts he was sent to sea with a s t range captai n before he was old enough to care abou t the name of his na tive land Af terwa r ds he ran away fro m his ship and so lost all cha n ce of ever disc overing who he was ; on

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28

WORLD

THE

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but as he some times remarked he didn t much ca r e who he wa s so long as he was hi mself; so i t didn t ma tter Fr o m a slight peculiarity in his accen t and other qu alities it was surmised that he must be an Irishman— a supposition which he rathe r enco u raged being partial to t he sons and par t i cu larly part ial to the daughte r s Of the Emerald Isle one of which last he had ma rr ied j us t six mon th s before setting ou t o n this whali n g e x pe di tion Such was the Dolp hi n and her crew and merrily they bowled along ove r the broad A tlan tic with favouring winds and without meeting with any thing wor t hy Of no te unt il they neared the coas t of Greenland One fine mo r ning just as the pa rty in t he cabi n had finished breakfas t and we r e dallying with the las t few morsels Of the repas t as men who have more leisure than they desi r e are w o nt to do there was a sudden shock fel t and a sligh t tremor passed through the ship as if something had struck her “ Ha ! exclaimed Captain Guy fi ni shing hi s cup of chocola t e, there goes the first bump Ice ahead sir ! sa id the firs t ma te looki ng down the skylight Is t here much ? asked the captain rising and taking d own a small telescope from the hook o n which it usually hung “ No t much sir — only a stream ; bu t t here is an ice blink righ t ahead all along the hori zon How s her head Mr Bol ton ? No r wes t and by north sir Before t his brief conversat ion came to a close Fred Ellice and Tom Single ton sprang up the companion and s tood on the d eck gazing ahead with feelings of the deepes t in terest Both you ths were well read in the his tory Of polar seas and regions ; they were well acquainted by name a t least wi th floes and bergs and hummocks Of ice bu t neither Of them had seen such in reali ty These Obj ects were ass ociated in their young minds wi th all that was romantic and wild hyper bo r ean and polar brillian t and sparkling and ligh t and white ’

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30

THE

WORLD

OF ICE

there

sails and yards tower above you and masts a nd boa ts and cordage in tercep t your view ; but f r om above you take i n the in tense minuteness Of your home a t a single glance — you s tand a side as it were and in some measure c omprehend the i nsi gn i fi ca nce of t he thing to which you have commi tted you r life The scene witness ed by our friends a t the m as t head Of the Far as Dolp hin on t his occasion was surpassingly beautiful the eye could stre tch the sea was c o vered with islands and fi eld s Of ice Of every conceivable shape Some rose in little peaks and pinnacles s o me floated in t he fo r m o f arches and d omes some we r e br oken and rugged like the ruins of Old borde r strongholds while o thers were flat and level like fields Of whi t e marble ; a nd so calm was it that t he ocean in which they floa t ed seemed like a groundwork Of polished s teel in which the sun shone with dazzling b r illiancy The tops Of the icy islets were pure white and the sides Of t he higher ones of a delica te blue colour which gave to the scene a trans parent ligh t ness that rendered it p r e eminently fairy like “ It far surpasses any thing I ever conceived ejacula ted “ NO wonder tha t authors Single t on after a long silence speak of scen es being indescribable Does i t no t s ee m like a dream Fred ? “ “ Tom said Fred earnes tly I ve been t ryi ng to fa ncy myself i n another world and I have almos t succeed ed When I l o ok long and in tensely at the ice I get alm ost to believe that these are s treets and palaces and cathedrals I never fel t so strong a desi r e t o have wings tha t I migh t fly from o ne island t o a no ther and go fl oating in and ou t a nd round abou t those blue ca ves and sparkling pinnacles I t s a curi o us fancy Fred bu t not unna t ural “ “ has no t t he Tom said Fred af t er ano ther long silence though t occurred to you tha t God made it all ? Some such th ought did cro ss my mi nd Fred for a m o ment bu t it soon pas sed away Is i t not very strange tha t the idea Of the Crea tor is so seldom and so sligh tly c o nnec ted wi th his works in o ur mi nds ? ,

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A

WH A LE

I

IN S GHT

31

Agai n t here was a long si lence Bo t h you th s had a desire to con tinue t he conversation and ye t each fel t an u naccount able reluc tance to renew i t Neither of them dis tinc tly under s t ood tha t the na t ural heart is enmity against God and t hat until he is conver ted by the H oly Spiri t man nei t her loves to t hink of his Maker nor to speak Of him While t hey sa t t hus musing a breeze dimm ed the surface Of the sea and t he Dolp hi n which had hi ther to lai n mo tionless in one of the numerous canals began slowly to advance be t ween the islands Of ice The breeze fres hened and rendered i t impossible to avoid an oc casional collisi o n wi t h the floa ting mas ses ; bu t the good ship was well arm ed for t he figh t and although she quivered unde r the blows and once or t wice rec oiled she pushed her way throu gh t he pack gall antly In the course of an hour or t wo t hey were once more in compara ti vely clear wa ter “ There Suddenly there came a cry from t he crow s nes t ! she blows ! Ins tantly eve r y man i n t he ship sprang to hi s fee t as if he had received an electri c shock Where away ? shou ted the cap t ain On t he lee bo w sir repli ed t he look ou t From a state Of comparative quiet and repose the ship was now th r own in to a condi tion Of the u tmost animation and apparently unmeaning conf u sion The sigh t Of a whale ac ted on the spirits of the men like wild fi r e “ There she blows ! sang ou t the man a t t he mas t hea d again Are we keeping righ t for her ? asked t he captain Keep her away a bit s tead y ! replied the look o ut Steady it is answered the man a t the wheel Call all hands and ge t the boa ts out Mr Bol ton said t he cap tain “ All hands ahoy ! shou te d the ma te in a te mpestuous voice wh ile the men rushed t o thei r res pec tive s ta tion s “ Bo at ste er ers ge t your boa ts ready “A y ay sir ! .

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32

WORLD

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There go flukes ! cri ed the look out as t he whale dived and tossed its flukes i s i ts tail in t he air no t m ore than a mile on the lee bo w ; she s heading right for t he ship “ Do wn wi th the helm ! roared the captain Mr Bo l ton brace u p the mizzen to p sail ! Hois t and swing the b oats ! Lower away ! In another momen t th r ee bo a ts st r uck the wa ter and their respective c r ews tumbled tumultuously in to them Fred and Single to n sp rang into the s te rn shee ts of t he ca p t ain s boa t just as it pushed Ofl and i n less t han five mi nu tes the th r ee boa ts we r e bounding over the sea in the direction Of the whale like race ho r ses Eve ry man did his bes t and the t ough oars ben t like h oops as each boat s c r ew strove to outs trip the others ”

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CHAPTE R IV Th e

ch t rm i

b ttl — ch c d r wh — v d wh l l h ppi y th h wi h h vy l

ase an d

hi s l i fe e

th e a nd s a

t

na es

es

l

a

it

Th e SO

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oug

a

e

an es a n d

th e

oes

t

a

ange s o f

a e a nd

ea

ali ng

it

oses

Ah

div i ht which

war —Buz z b y an

xi

ous n

es

fo r

g

oss.

HE chase was not a long one for while the boa ts were rowing swiftly towa r ds the whale the whale was all u n consci o usly swimming towards the boa ts “ Give way now lads give way said the ca p tain in a suppressed voice ; bend your backs boys and don t let t he ma te bea t us The three boa ts flew over the sea as t he men strained their muscles to t he utmos t and for some time they kept almost in line being pre t ty equally ma tched ; bu t gradual ly the capta in sho t ahead and it became eviden t tha t his harpo oner Amos Parr was to have the honour Of harpooning t he firs t Whale Amos pulled the bow oar and behind him was the t ub with the line coiled away and the harpoon ben t on to i t Being an experienced whaleman he evinced no sign Of excitement save in the brilliancy Of his dark eye and a ve ry sligh t flush on his br onzed face They had now neared the whale and ceas ed rowing for a momen t les t they should miss i t when down ,

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THE F

IG HT

33

There she goes ! c r ied F r ed in a t one of in tense excite ment as he caught sigh t Of t he whale no t m ore than fif ty yards ahead Of the b oat “ spring NOW boys said the cap t ain in a hoarse whisper hard lay back hard I say— sta nd up ! A t t he las t w o rd Am o s Parr sprang t o his fee t and seized the harpoon t he boat ran righ t on to t he whale s back and in an i nsta n t Parr sen t t wo irons t o the hi tches i n t o t he fish “ The men backed their c ar s with all their Stern all ! m i ght in order to avoid t he flukes Of t he wounded mons t er of the deep as i t plunged d own headlong in t o t he sea taking the line ou t perpendicularly like lightning This was a momen t The friction Of t he line as i t passed the of great danger l oggerhea d was so grea t t hat Parr had t o keep cons ta ntly po u r i ng wa t er On i t to preven t i ts ca tching fire A hi t ch in the line a t t hat t ime as it flew ou t Of t he t ub or any acci dental enta nglemen t w o uld have dragged the boat and c r ew right down Many such fa t al acciden t s occur t o whalers and many a p oor fellow has had a foot or an a r m t orn Off or been dragged o verboa r d and drowned in consequence of getting en ta ngled One Of the men stood ready with a small ha tche t to cut the line in a momen t if necessa ry for whales some times run ou t all t hat is in a boa t a t the first plunge and sh ould none Of the other boats be a t hand t o lend a second line t o atta ch t o the one nearly expended there is no t hing for i t bu t to cu t On t he p r esent occasion however none Of these acci den ts b efel th e men Of the ca p ta in s boa t The line ran all clear and long befo r e i t was exhausted t he whale ceased t o descend and the slack was hauled r apidly in Meanwhile the o t her b oa t s pulled up t o the scene Of ac tion and prepared to s t rike the instan t the fish should rise t o the surface It appea r ed suddenly n ot twen ty yards from the mate s boat where Bu z z by; who was harpooner stoo d i n the bow ready to give it the i r on “ Spring lads spring ! shou t ed t he mate as the Whale sp ou ted in to the air a t hick strea m Of water The b oat dashed u p and Bu z z by plan ted his harpoon vigorously In ”

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(B

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34

TH E

WORLD

OF I CE

the

broad flukes of t he tail were t ossed in to the ai r and for a single second spread like a canopy over Bu z z by s hea d There was no escape The quick eye Of the wh aleman saw at a glance that the e ffor t t o back ou t was hopeless He bent his head and t he nex t momen t was deep down in the waves Jus t as he disappeared the flukes descended on the spo t which he had lef t and cu t the bow Of t he boa t c ompletely away sending t he s t ern high in to the ai r with a vi olence that t ossed men and oar s and shattered planks and cordage flying over t he monster s back into t he see thi ng caldron of f oam ar o und him I t was apparently a scene Of the mos t complete and ins tan taneous destruction yet st r ange to say not a man was los t A few sec o nds afte r t he white foam Of t he sea was do t ted with black heads as the men r o se one by o ne t o the surface and st ruck ou t for floa ting oars and pieces Of the wrecked boa t They re l o s t ! cried Fred Ellice in a voice of horror Not a bit Of it youngster ; they re safe enough I ll warran t replied the cap t ain as his own boa t flew pas t t he “ spot towed by the Whale Pay o ut Amos Parr ; give him line or he ll t ear the bows ou t of us “ Ay ay sir ! sang out Amos as he sa t coo lly pouring wate r on the logge r head round which a c oil Of t he rope was “ whizzing like ligh tning ; all right ! The ma te s men are all safe sir ; I counted the m as we sh o t past and I seed Bu z z by come up last Of all blo wi n like a grampus and small wonder consi der i n the dive he to o k “ Take anot her t urn Of the coil Amos and hold on sa id the cap tain The ha r pooneer obeyed and away t hey wen t aft er t he whale like a rocke t wi t h a t remendous s t rain on the line and a bank Of whi t e fo am gu rgling up to the edge of the gunwale that every m omen t threatened to fill the boa t and sink he r Such a catas t r ophe is not of unfrequent occu r rence when whale men thus to wed by a whale are temp ted t o hold o n too l o ng ; and many ins tances have happened Of b oa ts and their c r ews being in thi s way dragg ed under wa ter and lost For tuna tely

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AND

A

F ST

U RI O U S

35

F

the

whale d ash ed horizon tally through the water so tha t the boat was able t o hold on and follow and in a sho rt time the crea ture paused and rose for air Again the men ben t to their oars and the rope was haul ed i n until t hey came qui te close to the fish This t ime a ha rpoo n was throw n and a deep lance th rust given which penet r a t ed t o t he vital parts as was evidenced by the blood which o f i ts huge ca r cass it spou ted and the convu lsive lashing Of i ts tremendous tail While the cap tain s crew we r e t hus engaged Saunders t he sec o nd ma te Observing from the ship the acciden t to the firs t ma te s boat sen t Off a party Of men to the rescue thus setti ng f r ee the third boat which was s teered by a strapping fellow named Peter Grim to follow up the chase Peter Gri m was the ship s carpen ter and he t oo k af ter his name He was as “ the sailo r s exp r ess ed i t a g r im cus tomer being burn t by the sun to a deep rich brow n colour besides being covered n ea rly up t o the eyes with a thick coal black beard and m oustache which completely conceal ed every par t of his vi sage except his prominen t nose and dark fi ery looking eyes He was an immense man t he larges t in t he ship p r obably if we excep t the Sco tch second ma te Saunders to who m he was abou t equal in all respects— except a rgument Like mos t big men he was pea ceable and good humou r ed Loo k ali ve now la ds said Grim as the men pulled “ towards t he whale ; we ll ge t a chance yet we shall if you give way like ti gers Spli t your sides boy s— d O— t ha t s it Ah ! t here she g oes ri gh t down Pull away now and be ready when she rises As he spoke t he wh ale suddenly sounded t ha t is wen t perpendicularly down as i t had done when firs t struck and con tinued to descend un til mos t Of t he lin e i n t he cap tain s boa t was run out “ Hois t an oar cri ed Amos Parr as he saw the coil dimi nishing Grim Observ ed the signal Of distress and en “ couraged his men to use t he i r u t mos t exert ions Ano ther oar ! — ano t her ! shou ted Parr as t he whal e con t inued i ts ,

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36

WO R LD

TH E

OF ICE

Stand by t o cu t the line headl ong descent sa id Cap tain Guy with c ompressed lips N0 ! hold on h old on ! At this m o ment having drawn down more than a thousand fathoms Of r o pe the whale slackened its speed and Parr taking another c oil r ou nd the l oggerhead held on until the boat was almos t d r agged unde r water Then the line beca me loose and the slack was hauled i n rapidly Meanwhil e Grim s boat had reach ed the s pot and the men now lay o n their oars at some distance ahead ready t o pull the instant the whale should show its elf U p it came not twenty ya rds ahead O ne sho r t ene rge tic pull and the second boa t sent a ha r p oo n deep in to it while G r im sp r ang t o the b ow and thrust a lance with deadly force deep int o the carcass The monster sen t u p a stream o f mingled bl o od oi l and wate r and whi rled i ts h uge tail so violently that the sound c o uld be heard a mile o ff Before it dived again the captain s boa t ca me up and suc c eeded in making fast another harpoon while seve ral addi t i ona l lanc e th r usts were given with effec t and it seemed as if the ba ttle we r e abou t to terminate when suddenly the whale s t ruck the sea with a clap like thunder and darted away once more like a rocket to wi ndward tearing the two boats after it as if they had been egg shells Meanwhile a change had come over the scene Th e sun had set red and l o wering behind a bank o f dark clouds and t he r e was eve ry appearance of s tormy weather ; but as yet it was n early calm and the ship was unable t o bea t up agains t the ligh t breeze in the wake Of the t wo boats which we r e soon far away on the ho r i z o n Then a f u ri o us gus t arose and pas sed away ; a dark cl oud c o ve r ed the sky as nigh t fell and so on boa ts and whale were utte rly l o st to vie w “ Waes me c r ied the big Sc o tc h mate as he ran up and “ down the quarter deck wringing his hands wha t i s to be done nOO ? Saunders spoke a mongrel kind Of langu age — a mi xt ure of Sco tch and English — i n which although the Sco t ch words were sparsely scat te r ed the Sco tch accen t was very strong How s her hea d ? “

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38

WO RLD

TH E

OF ICE

helm ; back f ore t op sails ! he shou ted spri nging “ forward ; lower away the boat there ! In a few seconds t he ship was hove to and a boa t with a lan te rn fixed to an oa r was plunging o ver the swell in the direc tion Of t he li ght So o ne r than was expec t ed they came up with it and a hurrah in the distance told tha t all was right He r e we are tha nk God cried Cap ta in Guy safe and sound ! We don t requi r e assis tance Mr Saunders ; pull for t he ship A short pull suffi ced to bring the three boa ts alongside and in a few seconds more the crew were cong r atulating their comrad es with that mingled feeling Of deep hea r tiness and a disposition to j es t which is characteristic of men who are us ed to danger and think lightly Of it after i t is over “ We ve los t our fish however remark ed Cap ta in Guy as “ he pas sed the crew On his way to the cabin ; but we must hope for bet te r luck nex t time “ Well well said o ne Of t he men wringing the water ou t “ we got a good o f his wet clo t hes as he walked forward laugh a t Pe ter Grim if we got n o thin else by our t rip How was that Jack ? Why ye see jist befo r e t he whale gave in i t sent up a s pout 0 bl o od and Oil as thick as the main mas t and as luck would have i t down i t ca me slap on the head Of Grim d renchi n him from head to foo t and makin him as r ed as a lobster “ Ow did you lose t he fish sir ? enqui red Mi vi ns as o ur he r o sprang up the side f oll o wed by Singleton “ Los t him as men lose money i n railway speculati o ns now ad ays We sa nk him and that was the last Of it Af ter he had to wed us I don t know how fa r — ou t of sight of the ship at any rat e — he sudde nly s topped and We pulled up and gave him so me t remendous digs with t he lances until he spouted j e ts Of blood and we ma de sure of him when all a t once down he went head fo rem os t like a cann o n ball and took all the li ne ou t of both boa t s so we had to cu t and he never Down



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AN EOU S REF LECTI O N S 39 came up gain At leas t if he did i t became so dark tha t we ne v er saw him Then we pulled t o where we t hought the ship was and after rowing ne rly all night c ugh t sigh t f your lights ; and here we are dead tired we t to the skin and minus abou t t wo miles f whale line and three harpoons I

M SC ELL

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C H APTE R

Mi c ll Mid i ht S pi i p r

—The

aneous reflec tions

s e

ta

n g

r-

n on o f

o

oo

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t

coas

V

Gr la d — ik— N w ct iry li k c — m i l t d r q cp of

een

n

d a y— Sc i entifl c fa s a nd fa ol d of a s om en— I n ange

w

U p pe rnav e

-

ueez e—

e

th e P ole

S

ng e on s

To

s e n es

Es

s of

a e

'

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N pursua nce Of his original inten t i o n , Captain Guy no w p r oceeded through Davis Strai ts into Ba flin s Bay , a t the ’



hea d of which he in tended t o search for the vessel of his friend Captain Ellice and af t erwards prosecu te the whal e fishery Off the coas t of G r eenland many whalers were seen ac tively e ngaged in warfare with the giants of the P ola r Seas and to several of t hese Cap tain Guy spoke in t he faint hope Of gleaning some i nformation as t o the fate Of the P ole Sta r but without success I t was now apparent t o the crew of t he Dolp hi n t ha t they were engaged as much o n a searching as a whaling expedition ; and the fact that the commander Of “ the lost vessel was the father of y o ung Mr Fred as they styled our hero induced them t o t ake a deep in teres t i n the success Of t heir undertaking This in t eres t was fur ther increased by the graphic accoun t tha t hones t John Bu z z by gave of t he death of p oor Mrs Ellice a nd the en thusias tic way in which h e spoke Of his Old cap tain Fred t o o had by his frank a ffable manner and somewhat reckless disposi tion rendered himself a general favo uri t e with t he men a nd had par ticula r ly recommended himself to Mi vins the s teward (who was possessed o f an i n tensely romantic spi ri t) by s tating once or twice very em pha tica lly tha t he (Fred ) mean t to land o n the coa s t Of Baffin s Bay should t he cap tai n fail t o find his father and ,

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40

WORLD

TH E

OF ICE

con tinue the search on foot and alone There was no d o ubt wha tever tha t poor F r ed was in earnest and had m ade up his mind to die in the search rather t han not find him He little knew the terrible nature of the country i n which for a time his lo t was to be c as t and the h opelessne s s o f such an under taking as he medi ta ted With boyish inconsiderateness he thought no t of how his Obj ec t was to be acc omplished ; he cared no t wha t imp o ssibilities lay in t he way but with manly de termination he made up his mind to qui t the ship and sea r ch for his father th r ough the lengt h and breadth o f the land Let no t t he reader smile a t what he may perhaps style a childish piece o f enthusiasm Many a you th at his age has dreamed o f a t temp t ing as great if n ot greater i m possibilities All honour we say to the boy w ho drea ms impo ssibilities and greater honou r t o him who like Fred resolves to a ttemp t them ! James Wat t s tared at an iron tea kettle till his eyes were dim and meditated the mons tro us imposs ibili ty of making that ke t tle work like a ho r se ; and men might (perhaps did ) smile at James Watt then ; but do men smile a t James Wa t t now ? —now tha t thousands Of i ron kettles are dashing like d r eadful c o mets over the length and breadth of the land not to mention the sea with long tai ls Of men and women and childr en behind them ? “ That s O w it is sir Mi vi ns used to sa y when spoken to “ by F r ed on the subj ec t I ve never bin in cold coun tr ies myself sir but I ve bin i n ot and I knows that with a s tout pai r 0 legs and a will to work a man ca n work is way ha ny where Of course there s no t much of a pop la ti on in them pa rts I ve heer d ; bu t there s Heskimos and where o ne man can live so can another and wha t one man can do so can ano ther— that s bin my hex peri ence and I m not a shamed to hown it I m no t t hough I do say i t as shouldn t and I honour ou sir for your fill era l deta r m i na t ion to find your fa t her sir y and Steward ! shou ted the cap tai n down the ca bin skylight Yes sir ! Bring me the chart .

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U PPERNAV I K

AN D N EWS

O N ES

O

OF TH E L ST

41

Yes sir ! and Mivi ns disa ppeared like a Jack in t he box from the cabin jus t as Tom Singleton en tered i t Here we are Fred he said seizing a telescope tha t hung “ Over the cabi n door within sigh t Of the Danish se ttlement of U pper na vik ; c o me o n deck and see it Fred needed no second bidding I t was here t hat the captain had hin t ed there wo ul d probably be some i nforma ti o n Obtained regarding the P ole Sta r and i t was wi t h feelings o f n o common in t eres t the t wo friends examined th e low r oofed houses of this out Of the way set t lemen t In an hour af t erwards t he captain and firs t ma te wi th our young friends landed amid the clamorous greetings of the en tire popula tion and p r oceeded to t he residence Of the governor who received them wi th grea t kindness and hos pi tali ty ; but the only informa tion t hey could Ob ta in was that a year ago Captain Ellice had been driven t here in his brig by s tress Of wea ther and aft er refi tting and taking i n a supply Of provisions had se t sa il for England Here the Dolp hi n laid in a supply of dried fish and pro cured several dogs besides an Esquimaux interpre ter and hun ter named Meetuck Leaving t his lit tle set t lemen t t hey s t ood ou t once more to sea and threaded t heir way among t he ice wi th which they were now well acquain ted i n all i ts forms from t he migh ty berg or moun tain Of ice to t he wide field They passed in succession one or t wo Esquimaux se ttlements the last of which Yotlik is t he mos t nor therly poin t of coloni za ti on Beyond t his all was terra i ncogni ta H ere enquiry was again made t hrough the medium of the Es quima ux in t erpreter who had been taken on boa r d a t U pperna vik a nd they l earn ed that th e brig in ques ti o n ha d been last seen bese t i n the pa ck and driving to the northward Whe ther or no t she had ever re turned t hey could no t te ll A consul ta tion was now held and i t was resolved to proceed nor th as far as t he ice would permi t towards Smi t h s Sound and examine t he coast carefully in tha t d i rection For sever al weeks past there had been gra d u al ly coming “



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42

TH E

WORLD

or I CE

over the aspec t Of nature a change to which we have no t yet referr ed and which fi lled Fred Ell ice and hi s friend the young surgeon wi th surprise and ad mi ration ; this was the lo ngc on ti nu ed da yligh t which now las ted the whole nigh t round and increas ed i n in tensi ty every day as they ad vanced north They had i ndeed oft en heard and re ad Of i t before but their minds had ut te rly failed to fo r m a correct concep tion o f t he exqui si te c al mness and beau ty Of t he midnight da y Of the north Everyone kno ws tha t in consequence of the a xis of the eart h no t being perpe ndicul ar to t he plane of i ts orbi t round the sun the poles are al terna tely directed more or less towards tha t grea t lumi na ry during o ne pa rt of the yea r and a way from i t during another par t So tha t far north the days d uring th e one season g r ow longe r and longer until at las t there is one long day Of many weeks duration in which the sun does not se t at a ll ; and during the o ther season there is one long night in which the sun is never seen I t was approa ching t he height o f the summer season when the Dolp hin en tered t he Arctic regions and although the sun d escended below the h o r izon for a short time each night there was scarcely any diminution Of the ligh t a t all and as far as one s sensations were concerned there was bu t o ne long continuous day which grew brigh ter and brigh ter a t midnigh t as t hey advanced How thoroughly splendid this is remarked Tom Single to n to Fr ed one night as they sat in their fav o uri te ou t look t he main top gazing down on the glassy sea which was covered wi th snowy icebergs and floes and ba t hed in the “ rays Of t he sun and how wonderful to think tha t the sun will only se t for an hour or so and t hen get up as splendid as ever ! The evening was still as dea th No t a sound broke upon the ear sa ve the gentle cri es Of a few sea birds that dipped ever and an o n in to the sea as if to ki ss i t gently while asleep and t hen ci rcl ed slowly in to the brigh t sky agai n The sails of t he ship t oo fla pp ed very gently and a spa r creaked ,

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TOM

AN D

FRE

D

C

O N VERSE

43

pla in tively as the ves sel rose and fell o n the gentle undula tions t ha t seemed to be the breathing of the ocean ; bu t such sounds did not dis t urb the univer sa l s t illness Of the hour ; neither did t he gambols Of yonder group Of seals and walrus that were a t play round some fan tastic blocks of ice ; nor did the sof t m urmur of the swell that broke in surf a t the foo t Of yonder iceberg whose blue sides we r e seamed wi t h a thousand wa ter courses and wh o se jagged pinnacles rose up like needles o f s te el in t o t he clear atm o sphere There were many be rgs in sight of vari ous shapes and sizes a t some dis tance from the shi p which ca used much anxiety to the ca p tain although they were only a source Of a dmira t ion to ou r young friends in t he main top “ “ Tom said Fred breaking a long silence i t may seem a s trange idea to you but do you k now I canno t help fancy ing that heaven mus t be some thing like this “ I m not sure tha t tha t s such a s trange idea Fred for it has two Of the charac t eris tics of heaven i n i t— peace and rest “ True ; tha t didn t s trike me DO you kno w I wish tha t it were always calm like this and t ha t we had no wind at all “ Tom smiled Your voyage woul d be a long one if t ha t were t o happen I dare say the Es quimaux would join with you in the Wish however for t heir kayaks and oomia ks are be tt er adap ted for a calm than a s tormy sea “ Tom said Fr ed breaking another l ong silence you re very tiresome and s t upid to night ; Why don t you talk to me ? “ Because t his deligh t ful dreamy evening inclines me to think and be silen t “ Ah Tom ! tha t s your chi ef faul t You are always i n cli ned t o t hink to o much and to ta lk to o li tt le Now I on t he con tra ry am always ? Inclined to talk tOO much and think too li ttle ; eh Fred ? Ba h ! don t tr y t o be funny man ; you haven t i t in you Di d you ever see such a miserable set Of crea t ures as the Old ” Esq u i maux women are a t U pper navik ? ,

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44

WO RLD

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o r I CE

Why wh at put them in to y our head ? enquired Tom laughing “ Yonder iceberg ; lo ok a t it ! The r e s the n o se and chi n ex actly of the extr a o rdina r y hag yo u gav e y o u r silk p ocket handkerchief to at pa r ting Now I nev e r saw such a mise r able Old woman as tha t befo r e ; did you ? Tom Singlet o n s whole demean our changed and his dark eyes brightened as the st r ongly mar ked b r o ws f ro wned ove r “ them while he repli ed ! Yes F r ed I have seen Old women more miserable than that I have seen women so old that their tot tering limbs could scarcely suppo r t them going ab o ut in the bitterest N o vember winds wi th cl o thing too scan t t o cover thei r wrinkl ed bodies a nd so ragged and filthy tha t you woul d have shru nk from touching i t— l have s e en such grop~ ing abou t among heaps Of filth that the very d ogs lo oked a t and t urned away as if in disgust Fred was inclined to laugh at his friend s sudden change of manner but there was some thing in the young surge o n s char acter — perhaps i ts deep ea rnestness — that rendered it i m possi ble a t leas t for his f riends t o be j o cular when he was disposed t o be serious Fred became grave as he spoke “ Whe r e have you seen such poor wre t ches Tom ? he asked with a l ook Of in t eres t “ In the cities the civilized cities of our own Christian land If you have ever walked about the st r ee ts Of some o f these ci ties bef ore the res t o f the w o rld was astir a t grey dawn you mu s t have seen them shivering along and sc r a tching among the refuse cast ou t by the t enants of the n eighbou r ing hous es Oh Fred Fred ! in my p r ofessi o nal career sh o rt though it has been I have seen m uch o f these poor old women and many others whom the world never sees on the s t ree ts a t all experie ncing a slow lingering d ea th by sta r va t ion and fatigue and cold It is the foul est blot on our country tha t there is no suffi cien t provi sion for the aged ,

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I have seen t hose Old women too replied Fred never t hough t very seriously about t hem before ,



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46

WORLD

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You may t hink i t strange he co n tinued tha t I speak to you in this way abou t poor old women bu t I feel deeply for their fo r lo r n conditi o n The y oung can help themselves m o re or less and they have st r ength to sta nd their so r rows with hop e blessed h ope t o keep them up ; bu t p oor old men and old women cannot help themselves and cannot s t and their sorr o ws and as far as this life is c o ncerned they have no hop e except to die s oo n and easy and if possible in summer time when the wind is no t so very cold and bi tter “ Bu t how can this be pu t right Tom ? asked Fred in a “ t one of deep co mmisera tion O ur being sor ry for i t and anxious abou t it (and y o u ve made me sorry I assure you ) can do very little g ood you know “ I d o n t know Fred replied Tom sinking in t o his usual “ quie t t o ne If eve ry city and town in Great Britain would s tar t a socie ty whose fi rst resolution should be tha t t hey would not leave one p oor old man or woman unprovided for tha t would do i t Or if the Government would take i t in hand honestly t hat would do it “ Call all hands Mr Bolton cried the cap tain in a sharp voice Get out the ice p oles and lower away the bo a ts “ Hallo ! what s wrong ? said Fred starting up Ge tting t oo near the be rgs I suspect remarked Tom I say F r ed before we go o n deck will you promise to do what I ask you ? “ Well — yes I wi ll Will yo u promise t hen all through your life especially if ever come t o be rich or influen t ial to t hink of and for old o u y men and w o men who are poor ? “ “ I will a nswered Fred bu t I don t know t hat I ll ever be rich or influential o r able t o help them much “ O f course yo u don t Bu t when a t hought abou t them s t rikes you will you always thi nk i t out and if possible act i t out as God shall enable you ? “ Yes Tom I p r omise t o do tha t as well as I can Tha t s righ t thank you my boy ! said the young s urgeon as they descended the shrouds and leaped on deck “

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D A N GER

A H EA D

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Here t hey found the cap tain walking up and down rapidly with an anxi ous expression of face After taking a turn or two he st0 pped sh or t and gazed ou t as tern “ The b r eeze will be up in Set t he stun sails Mr Bol ton a li ttle I think Let t he men pull with a will The order was given and soon t he ship was under a cloud of canvas advancing slowly as the boats t owed her be t ween two large icebergs which had been gr adually drawi ng near to each o ther the whole af tern o on “ Is t here any danger Bu z z by ? enquired F r ed as the stu r dy sailor s tood looking a t the larger berg wi t h an ice po le in his hands Danger ! ay tha t there is lad ! more nor s agreeable d ye see He r e we are wi thou t a breath 0 wi nd to ge t us on righ t be tween t wo bergs as could crack us like a walnu t We can t get to starboard of em for the cu rr ent nor t o larboa r d of em for t he pack as ye see so we must go be t ween t hem neck or nothing The danger was indeed imminen t The t wo bergs were wi thin a hundred yards of each other and the smaller of the two being mo r e easily moved by the cu rrently probably was se tti ng down on the la r ger a t a rate that bade fair t o decide the fat e of the Dolp hin in a few minu tes The men rowed lus tily bu t t heir u tmost exer ti o ns could move the ship bu t slowly Aid was coming however direc t from the hand of Him who is a refuge i n the time of danger A breeze was creeping over t he calm sea righ t aste r n and it was t o mee t this t hat the s tudding sails had been se t a low and aloft so tha t the wide spreading canvas projec ting far to the righ t and left had t o an inexperienced eye the appearance of bei ng ou t of all pr op ort ion to t he li tt le hull by which i t was suppor t ed With brea thless an xi e ty those on bo a r d stood wa tching the t wo be rgs and the approaching b r eeze A t las t i t came A few cat s paws ru ffled the surface of t he sea distending t he sails for a momen t then leaving t hem fla t and loose as before This h owever was sufficient ; an o ther such puff and t he ship was almos t out of d anger bu t ,

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WO R LD or ICE before i t c me the pr j ec ting su mmit f the sm ller berg was overhanging the deck A t t his c r i tical moment th wind began t blow s te dily and soon t he D lp hi was i n the open water beyond Five minut s after she h d passed t he mov ing moun tains st r uck w ith a noise l uder than thunde r ; the summits and large p r tions f the sides fell wi th a successi n f crashes like the r aring f ar t illery just above t he spot 48

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where the ship had lain not quarter of an hour befo re and the vessel for some t ime af ter rocked violently to and fro in the surges tha t t he plunge of t he falling mass es raise d ,

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— b r which pr v tr ch r r —W r — Gal h w q iri i d c bl —H ld x ct d di c v ry— t rribl c q c k ic b r HE n arr w escape rela ted in t he las t chap ter was bu t the p r elude t a nigh t f troubles Fort una tely as we have before men tioned night did no t now add darkness to their di ffi culties Soon af ter passi ng the bergs a sti ff breeze sprang up ff shore between which and the D lp hin there was a thick belt of l ose ice or sludge while ou tside the pack was in mo tion and presen ted a ter r ible scene of crashing and gri nd ing m ss es under the influen ce f t he breeze which soon o es to be a ea e ous o n e to a e g Pa Bes e i n th e i c e—Mi vi ns s o s a n e n u ng m n o i ng o n fo r lite—Ah u ne p e f esh ens C a ns and a es e e g N i p an d i ts e e o nse u en es —Y o ed to an

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freshened to a gale “ Keep her away t wo points said Captain Guy to the man “ at the wheel w e ll make fast to yonde r berg Mr B ol ton ; if this gale carri es us into the pack we shall be swept far o u t of ou r cou r se if indeed we escape being nipped and sent to the bot tom Being nipp ed is one of the numberless dangers to which Arctic navi ga to rs are exposed Should a vessel get be tween t wo moving fields or floe s o f ice there is a chance es pecially in s tormy weather of the ice being forced toge ther and squee z ing in the sid es of the ship ; this is called nipping .

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WA RPING

49

Ah ! remarked Bu z z by as he s tood wi th folded arms by “ the ca pstan many and many a good ship has been sen t to the bo ttom by t ha t same I ve see d a brig with my ow n t wo eyes squeez ed together a m ost fla t by t wo big floes of ice and after doin i t they ji st sepa rate d agi n a le t her go plump down Before she was nipped the crew sav ed t hem to t he bot t om selves by ju mpi n on to the ice and they wos picked up by our ship tha t w o s in company “ There s no d ependi n on the ice by no means remarked “ Am os Parr for I ve see d the self sa me s o r t of thing that ye mention happen to a small schooner in Davis Str ai ts only ins tead 0 cru shi n i t flat the ice lifte d it right high and d ry and then le t i t down again withou t more ou t o t he wa ter ado as sound as iver “ Get ou t the warps and ice anchors there cried the captain In a momen t t he men were in the boa ts and busy heaving and plan ting ice anch ors bu t i t was no t un til several hours had been spen t i n this t edious process tha t t hey succeed ed in making fas t t o the berg They had barely accomplished t his when the berg gave indications of breaking u p so t hey c as t off again in grea t has te and no t long afterwa r ds a mass o f ice many t ons in weight fell from t he edge of the be rg cl ose to whe r e they had been m oored The cap tain now beat up for t he land in the hope of finding anchoring ground A t firs t the ice presen te d an impenetrable barri er but a t length a lead of open wa ter was found through which they p assed to within a few hundred ya r ds of the sh ore which at this spot showed a fron t of high precipitous cliffs “ Stand by to le t go t he anchor shou t ed the ca p tain Ay ay sir ! Down your helm ! Let go ! Down went the anchor to the music of the ra ttling chain cable a sound which had n ot been hea r d since t he good ship left the shores of Old England “ If we were o nly a few yards far ther in sir remarked the fi rs t ma te we should be be tter I m afraid of the strea m of i ce c o ming round yonder poin t ”

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( B 39 2 )

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W O R LD OF ICE “ replied t he cap tain ; bu t we can scarcely S am I manage it I fear n accoun t f t he shore ice Ge t out a boat Mr Saunders and t ry to fix an anchor We m y warp in a 50

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few yards The anchor was fixed and t he men s trained a t the capstan with a will bu t no t withs tanding their u tmost efforts they c ould no t penetrate the shore ice Meanwhile the wind i n c r eased and snow bega n to fall in large flakes The tide t oo as i t receded brough t a s tream of ice round t he poin t ahead A t fi rst the of t hem which bore r igh t down on t heir bows concussions we r e slight and t he ho w of the ship t urned the fi o es aside bu t h eavier m asses soon came down and at las t one fi xed itself on t he cable and caused the a n chor to drag wi th a ha r sh grating sound Fred Ellice who st ood beside the second ma t e nea r the compani o n hatch l oo ked enqui r ingly a t him “ Ah ! that s ha d said Sa u nders shaking his head slowly I dinna like that sound If w er e ca r ried ou t in to the pack there dea r knows where we ll t urn up in the long run “ Perhaps we ll t urn bo ttom up sir sugges t ed the fa t c ook a t the momen t wi th a tray of mea t Mizzle as he passed could no t resis t a joke — no matter how unsui table t he time or dreadful the c o nsequences “ Hold your to gue sir exclaimed Sa unders indignan tly n A ttend to your business and speak o nly when you re spoken .

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Wi th some diffi cul ty the mass of ice tha t had got foul Of the cable was dise ngaged but in a few momen ts an other and a larger mass fi xed U pon it and threa te ned t o carry i t away In t hi s ex t remity the captai n o r de r ed the anch o r to be hove up bu t this was no t eas ily acc omplished and when a t las t it was h o ve up to the ho w bo th flukes were found t o have been broken o ff and the shank was polished brigh t wi th rubbing on the rocks Ice now came rolling down in grea t q uan ti ties and with irresis tible force and at last the ship was whi rled in to the m uchd readed pack whe r e she beca me fi r mly embedd ed and ,

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S A U N D ER S

XP RESSES H IS O PINI O N 51 dri fted along wi t h i t before t he gale in to t he unknown regions To add t o their dis tress and f the n r th all tha t nigh t danger a thick fog overspread the sea so that they could n t tell whi ther the ice was carryi ng them and t o warp ou t f i t was impossible There was no thing for it therefore bu t to d r ive before the gale and take dvan tage f t he firs t opening in the ice t hat sh uld afford them a chance f escape Towards eveni ng of the following day the gale aba t ed and the shone ou t bright and clear bu t the p ck remained close ever drifting steadily t owards the nor th We re far beyon d the mos t nor therly e t ha t has ever yet been reached remarked Cap tain Guy t o Fred and Single ton as he leaned t he wea ther bulwarks and gazed wis t fully over the fields f ice in which they were embedded “ I beg your par don for diffe r ing Cap tain Guy bu t I t hink that Cap tai n Parry was farther north t han this when he t tempted to reach the pole remarked Saunders with the air f a man who was prepared to defend his posi tion to the E

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Very possibly Mr Saunders bu t I t hink we are a t lea s t far the r north i n this direc tion t han anyon e has ye t been ; a t leas t I make i t ou t so by the chart I m no sur e 0 tha t rejoin ed t he second ma te positively ; charts are n ot always to be depended on and I ve heard tha t whalers have been up h ereabouts before now Pe rhaps you are r igh t Mr Saunders replied t he ca p tain “ smiling ; nevert heless I shall ta ke Observa tions and name the various headlands un til I find that others have been he r e before me Mi vi ns hand me the glass ; i t seems to me t here s a wa t er sky to the nor thward What is a wa t er sky Cap tain ? enquired Fred It is a peculiar dark appearance of the sky on the ho r izon which i ndica t es open water— j us t t he reverse of that bright appea rance which you have Of ten seen i n t he dis ta nce and w hich we call the ice blink “ We ll have open wa ter soon remarked t he second ma te au t horita tively .

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52

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Mr Saunders said Mi vi ns who having j us t finish ed clearing away and washing up the deb ris and dishes of o ne meal was enj oying i n c o mple te idl eness the ten minu tes o f leisure that intervened be tween that and p r epara t i o ns for the nex t Mr Saunders si r can you hi nform me sir OW i t is tha t the sea don t f r eeze at Ome t he same as it does hou t ere ? The counte nance of the second ma te b rightened for he prided himself no t a little on his vast and varied stores of kn owledge and n o thing ple as ed him so much as to be ques ti oned par tic u larly o n knotty subj ec ts “ Hem ! yes Mi vi ns I can tell ee that Ye must know that before fresh water can freeze on the surface the wh ole volume of it mus t be co o led do wn to 4 0 degrees and sa lt wat er mus t be co oled down t o 4 5 degrees N0 0 fro st requi r es to be very long con tinued and very sharp indeed bef o re i t can cool the deep sea from the to p to t he bo tt om and un til it is so c ooled i t canna f r eeze “ Oh rema r ked Mi vi ns who only half unders tood the ! “ meaning of the explana ti o n Bu t can you O w ve r y hodd tell me Mr Saunders ow it is tha t them ere hicebergs is made ? Them s wot I don t comprehend no ow “ “ Ay replied Saunders the r e has been many a wiser hea d than yours puzzled for a long time aboo t icebe r gs Bu t if ye ll use yer eyes you ll see how they are f o rmed Do you see the high cliffs yonder away to the no r east ? Weel there are g r eat masses 0 ice tha t have been f o r med agains t them by t he melting and freezing of the snows of many years When these become t oo h eavy to s tick to the cli ffs they tu mble i n to the sea and floa t away as icebergs Bu t the biggest bergs come from t he foo t of glaciers Ye know wha t glaciers are Mi vi ns ! No sir I don t “ The second mate sighed They are immense accumula tions of ice Mi vi ns that have been formed by t he freezings and meltings of the snows of hundreds o f years They cover the mountains of Norway and S witzerland and many other p laces in this world for miles and miles in ex t en t and sometimes ,

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W O RLD OF ICE Numerous walrus rolled abou t in the bays here and they approached much nearer to the vessel than they had ye t done affording those on board a go d view f their huge uncou th vis ges as t hey sho k their shaggy fron t s and ploughed up the waves with their tusks These enormous creatures are the elephants f the Arctic Ocean Thei r aspect is p ti l ly g r im and fierce and being nea r ly equal to elephan t s in In fo r m bulk t hey are no t less terrible t han they appear they somewha t resemble seals having barrel shaped bodies with ro nd or ra ther square blun t heads and shaggy bristling

54

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mo u stache and two l ong ivory tusks which curve downwards instead of upwards se r ving t he purpose frequen tly of hooks by means of which and their fore flippers they can pull them selves u p on t he rocks and icebergs Indeed t hey are s o me tim es fo und at a considerable heigh t up the sides of steep cliffs basking in the sun Fr ed was anxious to procure the sk u ll o f one o f these monstrous animals bu t the threa t ening appea r ance of the weather rendered any a tt emp t t o secure one a t tha t time impossible A dark sinister scowl ove r hung the blink u nder the cloud bank t o the southward and the dovki es which had enlivened t heir progress hither t o forso ok the channel as if th ey dis t rus ted the weather Cap ta in Guy made every po s sible prepara ti o n t o mee t the coming s to rm by warping down under t he shel ter of a ledge of rock to which he made fas t wi t h t wo go od hawsers while everyt hing was made snug on bo ard “ ” We are go ing to ca t ch i t I fear said Fred glancing at the blac k clouds tha t hurried ac r oss the sky to the nor thward while he walked the deck wi th his friend Tom Single t on “ I suspec t so replied Tom and i t does no t raise my spi ri ts to see Saunde r s shaking his huge visage so port en t ously Do you know I have a grea t belief in tha t fell ow H e seems to know every thing and t o have g o ne t hr ough every sort o f experience and I no tice t ha t mos t Of his prognos t ica tions come ” to pass “ So they do Tom sa id Fred bu t I wish he would pu t ,

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55 PARTING HAWSERs come to pas n t hings t ill they d Hi lo k s a b tter fa e are enough to frigh t en one I think we shall require ano ther line t Mr Saunders remarked the cap tain as the gale freshened and t he t wo h ws rs were drawn s t raigh t and rigid like bars f iron ; “ send ashore and make a whale line fas t immedia t ely The sec nd ma te obeyed with a grunt tha t seem d t insinua te t ha t h would have had one t long ago In a few minu tes it was fas t and no t a momen t t s on for imme di t ly after it blew a perfec t hur i cane Heavier and heavier it came and the ice began t o drift m re wildly than eve r The capt in h d j us t given orde r s to make fast ano ther line when t he sharp twanging snap Of a cord w h e rd The six inch hawser had parted and they were swinging by the t wo others with the gale roaring like a lion t hrough the sp rs “ and ri gging Half a minute m re and twang twang ! came anoth er repo rt and t he whale line was gone O nly rope now held them t the land and preve n t ed them being swept i nto t he t u moil f ice and wind and wa ter from which the rocky ledge protect d t hem The hawser was a good n n w t inch rope It sung like the deep t nes f an organ loud above the rattle f t he rigging and the shrouds bu t th t was i ts death song It gave way with t he noise f a c nnon and in the smoke that followed its recoil t hey were d r agged t by t he wild ice and driven hither and hi t her t i ts me r cy With some difficulty the shi p was warped in t o a pl ce f comparative securi ty i n the rushing dri ft bu t i t was soon thr wn loose again and seve r ely squeezed by the rolling masses Then an at t emp t was made t se t the sail nd be t up f t he land bu t the rudder was almos t unman geable owing t o the ice and n thing could be mad e f i t so t hey were compelled t o go righ t before the wind under cl se reefed t p sails in order t keep some command All f t he ship hands were on deck wa tching in silence the ice ah ead of them w hich presen ted a most f rmid ble aspec t e

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Away to the north the strait could be s een growi ng na rrower

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WO R LD

TH E

OF I C E

with heavy ice tables grinding up and clogging i t from cliff t o cliff on ei ther side Abou t seven in t he evening they we r e close upon the piling masses to en ter in to which seemed cer tain des truction “ Stand by to le t go t he anch or cried t he captain in the despe r ate hope o f being able t o wind the ship “ What s that ahea d of us ? exclaimed the fi r st mate sud -

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d enly “

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r oared the

look out The a ttenti on of the crew was for a momen t called f r o m their o wn c ri tical situati o n towards t he s tr ange vessel which now came in to view having been previously conce aled f rom them by a large gr ounded berg Can you make her ou t Mr Bolton ? Yes sir I think she s a la rge brig but she seems much chafed and there s no name left o n the stern if ever there was one As he spoke the driving snow and fog cleared up pa rti al ly and the brig was seen not three hundred yards f r om t hem drifting slowly into t he loose ice There was evidently no and although one or t wo of the sails were o n e o n board loose they hung in shreds from the yards Sca r cely had this been note d when t he Dolp hin struck against a large mass of ice and quivered under the violence of t he shock “ Let go ! shou ted the cap tain Down wen t the heavies t anchor t hey had and for t wo minu tes t he chain flew ou t a t the hawse—hole “ H old on ! The chain was checked but the strain was awful A mass o f ice hundreds o f tons weight was t earing down towards the bow There was no hope of resis ting i t Time was no t even affo rded to at tach a buoy or log to the cable so it was le t slip and thus the Dolp hin s bes t bower was lost for ever But there was no time to t hink of or regre t t his for t he ship was now dri ving down wi th the gale scraping agains t a lee of ice which was seldom less than thirty fee t thick Al -

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A

I NIPPED AN D

BR G

S

U NK

57

m o s t a t t he same momen t the s trange vessel was w hirled close t o them not more t han fif ty yards dis tan t between two driving masses of thick ice “ Wha t if i t should be my father s b rig ? whispered Fred Ellice as he grasped Singleton s arm and turned to him a face of ashy paleness “ No fear of t ha t la d said Bu z z by who s tood near the “ la rboard gangwa y and had overheard the remark I d know your father s brig among a thousand As he spoke t he t wo m asses Of ice closed and the brig was nipped between t hem Fo r a few seconds she seemed to t r emble like a living c r ea t ure and eve ry timber creaked Then she was turned slowly on one side until the crew of the Dolp hi n could see d own into her hold where the beams were giving way and cracking up as ma t ches migh t be crushed i n t he grasp of a s trong hand Then the larboa rd ho w was observed to yield as if it were made of soft clay the s tarboard how was pressed ou t and t he ice was forced in to t he forecas tle Scarcely three minu tes had passed since t he nip comme nced ; in one minu te m ore the b r ig wen t down and t he ice was rolling wildly as if i n t riumph over the spo t where she had disa ppea red The fate of t his vess el which migh t so soon be t heir own threw a momentary gloom over the crew of the Dolp hi n but their position left them no time for thought O ne upturned mass rose ab o ve the gunwale smash ed in t he bulwarks and dep osited half a ton of ice o n deck Sca r cely had t his danger p assed when a new enemy appeared i n sigh t ahead Di rec tly i n their way j us t bey o nd the li ne of floe ice agains t which they were alterna tely thumping and grinding lay a group of be r gs There was no possibili ty of avoiding them and the only question was wh e ther they were to be dash ed to pieces o n their hard blue sides or perchance in some providential nook to find a refuge fro m t he s torm “ Th ere s an open lead be t ween t hem and t h e floe i ce ex claimed Bol t o n i n a hopefu l tone Of voice sei zi ng an ice pole and lea ping on t he gun wale ,

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58

THE

WO RLD

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OF

alive men with your poles cried t he cap tain shove with a will “ The Ay ay sir ! of the men was u tt ered wi th a heartines s t ha t sh owed how powe r fully this gleam of h ope acted on their spiri ts ; but a new damp was cast ove r them when on gaining the open passage they disc o ve r ed that the be rgs were not at rest but were bearing down on the flee ice with slow bu t awful momentum and threatened to crush the ship between the two Just then a low berg came d r i ving up f r om the s o uthward dashing the spray ove r i ts sides and with i ts fo r e head ploughing u p the small er ice as if in scorn A happy though t flashed across the captain s mind “ Down the qua rter boa t he cried In an i ns tant i t s truck t he wa ter and four men were on the thwar ts “ Cas t an ice anchor on tha t berg Peter G r im obeyed the orde r and wi th a swing tha t Her cules would have envied planted i t securely In another momen t the ship was f ollowing in the wake of this novel tug ! It was a moment O f g r ea t dange r fo r the be rgs encroached on their na rr o w canal as they advanced obliging them to brace the yards to clear the impending ice walls and they shaved the la rge be rg so closely tha t the port q uarter boa t would have been crushed if it had no t been taken f r o m the davits Five minu t es o f such travelling bro ught them ab r east of a g r ounded berg to which they resolved to make fas t ; the o rder was given t o cas t off the rope ; away went their white t ug o n his race to the far north and the ship swung round in safety under the lee of the be rg where t he crew acknowled ged with gra ti tude their merciful deliverance from immi nen t danger “

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“a nd

N E w FRIENDs

59

CHAPTE R VII New

ch r ct r i tr d c d—A pp c a a

e s

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d r v l circ m ta c —R m rkabl t with mi hap

ga me u n e no sky ~ O Ri l ey mee

h o ld

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U MP S

was a remarkably grave and sly cha r ac t er and Poker was a wag— a n incorrigible wag— i n every sense of the term M oreover alth o ugh they had an occasional fight Dumps and Poker were excellen t friends and g r eat favouri t es with the crew We have no t yet in troduced these individuals to our re ader ; bu t as they will ac t a conspicuous par t i n the his tory of th e Dolp hin s adventurous ca r ee r in the Ar c tic regions we t hink it righ t now to presen t them While a t Upper na vik Cap ta in Guy had purchased a team o f six good t ough Esquimaux d ogs bei ng desir o us o f taking them t o England and there presenti ng them to several of his friends who we r e anxious t o possess specimens of those animals Two of these dogs stood ou t conspicu ous from their fell o ws no t only i n regard to personal appearance but also i n refer ence t o peculiarities o f charac t er O ne was pure whi t e with a lively expression of countenance a la rge shaggy body t wo erect sharp—poi nted ears and a short proj ection t ha t once had been a tail Owing t o some cause unknown h owever his t ail had been cu t or bi tt en o ff and no thing save the s t ump r e mained But this s t ump did as much duty as if it had been fifty tails i n one It was never at res t fo r a momen t and its owner evidently believed tha t wagging i t was t he t rue and only way t o t ouch the hear t of man ; t herefore the dog wagged i t so t o spea k doggedly In consequence Of this animal s thieving propensities which led him t o be cons tantly poking in to eve ry hole and cor ner of the ship in search o f something Poker had three j e t black spo ts to s t eal he was named P oker in his whi te visa ge— one was the po i n t of his nose t he o ther two were his eyes Poker s bosom fri end Dumps was so na med beca us e he had ,

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T HE WO RLD OF ICE the sul kiest expression f coun t nance tha t 60

ever fell to t he lo t ss ly i nc u rable melancholy seemed to have Hopele o f a de g taken possessi o n Of his mind for he never by any chance smiled — and dogs do smile you know j ust as evidently as human beings do alth ough not exactly with t heir mouths Dumps never romp ed either being old but he sat and allowed his f r iend Poker to r omp r o und him with a sort of sulky satis facti o n as if he expe ri enced the grea test enj oyment hi s nature was capable of in witnessing the antics of his youthful com pani o n — for Poker was young The prevailing colour of Dumps s shaggy hide was a d ir ty brown with black spo ts two of which had fixed themselves rather awkwardly round his eyes like a pair of spectacles Dumps als o was a thief and indeed so we r e all his breth r en D umps and Poke r we r e both of them larger and stronger and in every way bette r tha n their com ra des ; and they afte r wards were the s turdy s teady un flinching lea ders of the team during many a toilsome j ou r ney over the frozen sea One magnificen t afternoon a few days after t he esca pe of th e Dolp hi n j ust rela ted Dum ps and Poker la y side by side in the lee scuppers calmly sleeping off the e ffec ts of a surfeit produced by the eating of a large piece o f pork for which the cook had sea r ch ed i n v ain for three quarters o f an h ou r and o f which he at last found the ba re b one s t icking in the hole of the larboard pump “ Bad luck to them dogs ! exclaimed David Mizzle s troking “ his chin as he surveyed the bone If I c o uld only find ou t now which of ye i t was I d have ye sla ugh tered righ t off an d cooked for the mess I would “ I t was D umps as did it I ll be t you a month s pa y said Pe ter Grim as he sa t on the end of the Windlass refilling his pipe which he had j ust sm oked out “ No t a bit of it remarked Amos Parr who was squat te d o n the deck busily engaged in constructing a r o pe mat while several of the men sat round hi m engaged i n mending sails or s ti tching canvas slippers & c No t a bit of it G rim ; Dumps is too hones t by half to do sich a thing T was Poker as did e

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T HE WO R LD OE ICE who had been pacing t he quar ter—deck wi t h slow gi n t s trides arguing men t ally with himself i n defaul t f a be t ter advers ry “ nly t r d n D m paw sir said M i v i n as he hurried O p “ aft the men are sky larking 62

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larking are you ? said Saunders going forward ; weel l ad s you ve had a lo t 0 hard work of la t e ye may go and t ake a run on the ice Ins tantly t he men like boys se t free from school sp r ang u p tumbled over the side and were scampering over the ice like madmen “ Pitch over t he ball ! — the foo t ball ! they c ri ed In a sec o nd the ball was t ossed over t he ship s side and a vigorous game was begun For t w o days pas t the Dolp hin had been sailing wi t h di ffi cul ty through large fields of ice sometimes d r iving agains t narr o w necks and tongues that in terrup t ed her passage fr o m o n e lead o r canal t o ano t her ; a t o t her times boring with di ffi culty throu gh c o mpac t masses of slu dge or occasi o nally when unable to a dvance farther making fas t to a large berg or field They were compelled t o proceed n orth however in conse u n of the pack having become fixed t o wards the sou t h e c e q and thus rendering r etreat imp o ssible i n t hat direc tion until the ice should be again se t in m o ti o n Captain Guy however saw by the steady advance Of the large r be rgs tha t the curren t of the Ocean in that place fl o wed southwa rd and trusted tha t i n a sh or t time the ice which had been fo r ced into t he s t rai t by the late gales would be released and open up a passage Meanwhile he pushed along the c oas t examining eve ry bay and inle t in the hope of discovering some trace of the P ole Star or her c r ew O n t he day about Which we are wri ting the ship was bese t by large fields the snow whi te surfaces of which extended nor th and s o uth t o the ho ri zon while o n the eas t the cliffs r ose in dar k f r owning p r ecipices from the mids t of t he glaciers tha t encumber them all t he year round It was a lovely Arctic day The sun shone with unclouded splendour and the brigh t air which trembled with tha t Sky

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EAU TI FUL S CEN E S

63

B

liquidi ty of appea rance t h a t one occ asionally sees in very ho t Weather under peculiar circums ta nces was voca l wi th t he wi ld music of thousa nds o f gulls and a wks and other se a birds which clus t er ed on t he neighbouring cliffs and flew overhead in clouds All round the pure surfaces of t he ice fields were broken by the shadows which the hummocks and bergs cas t over them and by the pools of clear wa ter which shone like crys tals in t heir hollows while t he beautiful beryl blue of the la rger bergs gave a delica t e colouring to t he dazzli ng scene W o rds cannot descri be the in t ense glitter tha t charac teri zed every thing Every poin t seemed a diamond ; every edge sen t forth a gleam of ligh t and many of the masses reflec ted the rich prisma t ic colours of the rainbow I t seemed as if t he sun himself had been mul tipli ed i n order to add to t he excessive brilliancy for he wa s surrounded by pa r helia or sun dogs as the men called them This peculiarity in the sun s appea r ance was ve ry striking The great orb o f day was abou t ten degrees above t he hori zon and a h o riz o nta l line of whi te pas sed com pletely through i t extending to a considerable dis tance o n ei ther hand while around it were t wo dis tinc t halos or circles of ligh t O n t he inner hal o were situa t ed t he mock suns which were fo ur in number — one above and one below t he sun and one on each side of him Not a breath of wi nd s t i rred the li ttle flag t ha t dr o oped from the mi zzen peak and t he clam orous ceaseless cries of sea bi r ds added to the mer ry shou t s and laugh ter of the men as they foll o w ed the restless f o o tball rendered t he whole a scene of li fe as it was empha t ically one of be au ty “ Ai n t i t glori o us ? panted Davie Summers vehemen tly as he s topped exhausted i n a headlong ra ce beside one of his com r ades while t he ba ll was kicked h opelessly bey o nd his reach by a comparatively fresh member of the part y i t bates t he o wld coun try i nt ir ely i t does repli ed O Ri l ey wiping the perspiration from his f oreh ead I t is needl ess to say tha t O Ril ey was a n Irishman We have no t mentioned him until now because up to this time he had not done anything to distinguish himself beyond his ,

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TH E

W O R LD or ICE par ticular day O Ril

messmat es ; bu t on this ey s s tar was in the ascendan t and For t une seem ed to have singled him out as an objec t o f her spe cial a tten tion He was a short man and a bro ad man and a par ticularly rugged man —so to spea k He was all angles and corne rs His hair s tuck abou t his head i n vi olen tly rigid and enta ngled t uf ts rendering it a mat ter of wonder how any t hing in t he shape of a ha t could s tick on His brow was a countless mas s of ever va rying wrinkles which gave to his sly visa ge an aspec t of humo r ous anxiety that was highly diverting— and a ll the more diver ting when you came to know tha t the man had no t a spa r k of anxiety in his com posi tion though he of ten said he had His dress like that o f most Jack tars was na t urally rugged and he con t rived t o make it more so than usual An it s ho t to o i t is he con tinued applying his kerchief “ again to his pa te If it warn t for the ice we s tand o n we d be melted down I do b ela ve like bi ts 0 whale blubber Wo t a j olly game fo o tball is ain t i t ? sa id Davie seati ng himself On a hummock and s t ill panting hard “ The only objl cti on I have Ay boy t hat s ji et wha t i t is agin it is tha t it makes ye a most kick the lef t leg clane o ff yer body “ Why don t you kick with your righ t leg then s tupid like o ther peepl e ? enquired Summers “ Why don t I is i t ? Tro th then I don t kn ow for sartin Me father los t his left leg at the great battle 0 the Nile and I ve sometimes thought tha t had somethin to do wid it ; but then me mother was lame o the r ight leg i nti rely and win t abou t wid a cru tc h so I can t make ou t how i t was d ye see ? “ “ Look ou t Pa t exclaimed Summers s tart ing up here comes the ball As he spoke t he football came skimming over the ice ta wards the spo t on which they s tood with abou t thir ty of the men running at full speed and shou ting like maniacs after i t “ That s your sor t my hear ties ! another like tha t and it s home ! Pitch in to i t Mi vins You re the boy for me Now then Gri m trip him up ! Hallo Buz z by you bluff bowed ’



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65

THE IC E

luff ! lufl ! or I ll stave i n y o ur r ibs ! Mind y o ur eye Mizzle there s Green he ll be in to your la r board qua r ter in n o time Hurrah ! Mi vi ns u p i n the air with it Kick bo y kick like a spanker b oo m i n a hur rican e ! Such were a few o f t he exp r essi o ns that showered like hail ro u nd the men as they rushed hither and thither after the ball And here we may re m a r k that the c r ew o f the Dolp hi n played fo o tball i n a somewhat different style from the way i n which tha t n oble game is played by b oys i n England Sid es indeed were chosen and bounda ri es were ma rked ou t bu t ve ry little if any at te nti o n was paid to such sec o nda ry mat ters ! To kick the ball and keep o n kicking it in f r o nt o f his co m panions was the ambiti o n of each man ; and so long as he c o ul d ge t a kick a t it that caused it to fly f ro m the gr o und like a ca nnon shot little rega r d was had by anyone to the But of course in this di r ecti o n in which i t was p r o pelled effort to get a kick the men s oo n became scattered over the field and eve r and anon the ball w o uld fall between t wo men w ho rushed a t i t simul taneously from opp o site di r ections The inevi table resul t was a c ollisi on by which both men were sud Bu t generally d enly and violently arrested i n their career the sh o ck resulte d in one of the men being sent staggeri ng backwa r ds and the other ge tting the ki ck When the t wo we r e p r etty equ ally matched both we r e usually as t hey ex “ p r essed i t brought up all standing in which case a sho rt scuffle ensued as each endeav o u r ed t o tri p up t he heels of his adve r sa r y To p r event undue vi o lence in such s truggles a rule was laid down that hands were no t to be us ed on any acc ou n t They might use their feet legs shoulders and elbows bu t n ot their hands In such r ough play the men were more equally ma tched than might have been expec ted for the want of weight among the s m all er men was often more than coun te r balanced by their activity ; and f r equently a sturdy li ttle fell o w launch ed him self so vig orously against a h eavy tar as to send him r o lling head o ver heels on the ice This was not always the case however and few ven tured to come i n to collision with Pe ter Gri m Du tc hmai i ,



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66

THE

WO R LD or ICE pa r with his immense

whose a c tivi ty was on a size Bu z z by c onten ted himself with gall oping on the outski r ts Of the fight an d pu tting in a kick when fortune sent the ball in his way In this species o f warfa r e he was suppor ted by the fa t cook wh o se oily carcass could nei t her s tand the shocks nor keep up with the p ace of his messmates Mizzle was a pa r t i c u la rly ene r ge t ic man in his way h o weve r and frequently kicked with such good will that he missed the ball al toge ther and the tr emendous swing of his leg lifted him f ro m the ice and laid him sprawling on his back Look ou t ahead ! shouted Green the carpen ter s mate ; there s a sa il bearing down on y o ur larboard bo w Mi vi ns who had t he ball before hi m at the momen t saw his own satellite Davie coming d o wn towards him with vicious in ten tions He quietly pushed t he ball before him for a few ya rds then ki cked i t fa r o ver the boy s head and foll owed i t up like an antelope Mi vi ns depended for success His tall sligh t f rame o n his almost supe r human ac t ivity c o uld not s tand t he shocks of his c o mrades bu t no one c oul d equal or come near to him in speed and he was quite an adep t at dodging a cha rge and allowing his opponent t o rush far pas t the ball by t he fo r ce of his o wn momentum Such a charge did Peter G r im make a t him a t this moment St arboard hard ! yelled Davie Summers as he observed his mas t er s danger “ Starboa r d it is ! replied Mi vi ns and leaping aside to avoid the shock he allowed Gri m to p ass G ri m knew his man however and had held himself in hand so t ha t in a momen t he pulled up and was foll o wing close on his heels “ I t s an ill wind t ha t blows no good cri ed o ne of the crew towards whose foo t the ball rolled as he quie tly kicked it in to t he cen tre of the mass of men Grim and Mi vi ns t urned back and for a time looked on a t the general m el ee that ensued I t seemed as though the ball mus t inevi tably be cr ushed among them as they s tru ggled and kicked hither and thither for five minu te s in t heir vai n efforts to ge t a ki ck ; and during those few exci t ing momen t s many t re mendous ki cks aimed at the .

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e ffec t upon shins and many shou t s Of glee termi na t ed in yells of anguish “ It can t las t much longer ! screamed t he cook his face streaming wi th perspiration and beaming with glee as he “ danced round the ou t side of t he circle There it goes ! As he sp oke the ball flew out of t he circle like a shell from a m o r ta r U nfort unately i t wen t di r ec tly over Mizzle s head Before he could wink he went down before them and the rushing mass of men passed over him like a moun ta in t orren t o ver a blade Of grass Meanwhile Mi vi ns ran ahead of the o thers and gave t he ball a kick that nearly burs t i t and down it came exactly bet ween O Ril ey and Grim who chanced to be far ahead o f “ the others Gri m dashed a t i t Och ! ye big villain m u t te r ed the I r ishman t o himself as he pu t down his head and rushed agains t the carpen t er like a bat tering ram Big though he was Grim staggered back f r om t he impe t uous shock and O Riley followi ng up his advan tage kicked the ball i n a side direction away from everyone excep t Bu z z by who happened t o have been s te ering r ather wildly over the field of i ce Bu z z by o n bei ng b r o u gh t thus unexpectedly within reach of the ball braced up his energies for a kick bu t seeing O Riley coming down t owards him like a runaw ay locomo tive “ he pulled up saying quietly t o himself ! Ye may take i t all yer own way lad ; I m t oo old a bird t o go for t o make my carcass a buffer for a mad cap like you t o run agin Jack Mi vi ns howeve r was troubled by no such qualms He happened t o be abou t the same dis t ance fro m the ball as A pool of wat er O Riley and ran like a deer t o reach i t firs t lay in his pa th however and the necessi ty of going round i t enabled the Irishman t o gain on him a li ttle so tha t it became eviden t tha t bo th would come up a t t he same momen t and a collision be inevi t able “ Hold yer wind Paddy shou ted the men who paused for “ a moment to watch th e result of the race Mind your timbers Mivi ns ! Back your top sails O Riley ; mind how he yaws ! ball

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WO R LD OF I CE momenta r y silence of

68

THE

Then the r e was a brea thless expec ta tion The two men seemed about t o meet with a sh o ck that would annihila t e both when Mi vi ns bounded to on e side like an india r ubber ball O Riley shot pas t him like a r o cket and the nex t ins tan t went head foremos t i n to the pool o f water This unexpec t ed t ermination to the affair conve rted the in tended huzzah of the men in to a yell of mingled laugh ter and c o ns t e r nation as they hastened i n a body t o the sp ot ; but befo r e they reached i t O Riley s head and shoulders reappea r ed and when they came up he was s tanding on the ma r gin of the pool bl owing like a walrus “ Oh the n bu t it is co wld ! he exclaimed wringing the “ wa ter from his garments Och whe r e s the ball ? give me a kick or I ll freeze so I will As he spoke t he d r enched I rishman seized the ball from Mi vi ns hands and gave it a kick tha t sent it high in to the air He was to o we t and heavy to f ollow i t up however so he ambl ed Off t owa r ds the ship as vig or o usly as his clo thes would all o w him followed by the whole crew .

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CHAPTE R VIII Fr e

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xc r i wh ch am th r tra thi th y wh t b r r d mak fi r t y p rt u s on ,

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U T where were Fred Ellice and Tom Single ton all this time ? the reader will probably ask sugges ted they had Long bef re the game a t foo t ball w obtained leave f absen ce fr m the cap tain and loaded with game bags bo tani cal box and ge logical hamme r and a mu ke t were ff along the c s t on a semi i ntifi cruise Y ung Single ton carried the bo tanical box and hammer being an enthusia tic geologist and bo tanis t while Fred c rried the game b g and muske t .

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70

WO RLD

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OF I CE

I know all that replied Fred with a shake of his head ; “ but think of you brig that we saw go down in about t en min u tes “ Well No doub t th e brig was l os t so I do think of it very suddenly bu t t here was ample t ime had there been any t o have l eaped up o n the ice and they migh t o n e o n b oard have got t o land by jumping f r om o ne piece to another To sa y truth Such t hings have happened befo re frequen tly a t eve ry point of land we t urn I feel a so r t of expec tati on amounting almost t o ce r tainty tha t we shall find your father and his par ty t r avelling sou t hward o n t heir way to t he Danish settlements “ Perhaps ou a r e righ t God gran t that i t may be so ! y As he sp oke they reached the fixed ice which ran along the f o o t of the precipices for some dis tance like a r oad of hard white marble Many la rge rocks lay sca tt ered ove r it some of t hem several t ons in weigh t and o n e or two balanced in a very rema rkable way o n the edge of the cli ffs “ There s a curious looking gull I should like t o shoo t exclaimed F r ed p ointing to a bi r d tha t hovered over his head and throwing forward the muzzle of his gun Fi r e away t hen said his friend stepping back a pace F r ed being unaccus t omed t o t he use of fi r earms to ok a wave r ing aim and fired Wha t a bo ther ! I ve missed i t ! T r y agai n rema r ked Tom wi th a quie t smile as the whole cli ff v o mited for th an innumerable hos t of birds whose cries w ere pe r fectly deafening “ “ I t s my opini o n said F r ed with a c omical grin tha t if I shu t my eyes and poin t upwards I can t help hit ting some thing ; bu t I par ticular ly wan t yon fellow because he s beau ti fully ma rked Ah ! I see him si t ting o n a rock yonder so here goes once more Fred now proceeded towards t he cove ted bird i n the fashion tha t is known by the name of sta lking— that is creeping as cl ose up to y our game as possible so as t o ge t a go od sho t ; a n d i t said much for his patien ce and his fu t ure success t he ,

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OTA N ICAL AN D GEO LOGICAL

71

careful manner in which on t his occasi o n he wound himself i n and ou t am o ng the rocks and blocks of ice on the shore in the hope of obtaining tha t sea gull At las t he succeeded in getting to within about fif teen ya rds of i t and then resting his muske t on a lum p of ice and taking an aim so long and steadily that his compani o n began t o fancy he mus t have go ne There was to sleep he fi r ed and blew t he gull t o a toms ! sca r cely so much as a shred of it to be f ou nd F r ed he r e his disapp o in t men t and di scom fit ure manfully He fo r med a res olution then and there to bec o me a good shot and alth o ugh he did not succeed exac tly in becoming so tha t day he nevertheless managed to put several fine specimens of gulls and an awk in to his bag The las t bird amused him much being a creature with a dumpy little body and a beak of prep osterously la r ge size and comical a spect There were al so a g r ea t number of eider ducks flying abou t bu t t hey failed to pro cure a specimen Singleton was equally successful i n hi s scientific researches He found several beautifully g r een mosses one species of which was s tu dded with pale yellow flowers and in on e place where a st r eam trickled down the steep sides of t he cliffs he d isc overed a flow er g r ow th which was rich in variety of colour ing Amid s everal kinds of tufted grasses we r e seen growing a small purple fl o wer and the white star of the chickweed The sight of all this richness of vegetat ion growing in a lit t le sp ot close beside the sn o w and amid such cold Arc tic scene r y would have delighted a much less enthusias tic spi ri t than tha t o f ou r young surge o n He wen t qui te in to rap tures with i t and s t uffed his botanical box with mosses and rocks un til i t could hold no more and be came a b urden tha t cos t him a few sighs before he got back to the ship The r o cks we r e found to consis t chiefly of red sands tone There was als o a go o d deal of greenstone and gneiss and some of the spires Of these tha t sh o t u p to a considerable heigh t were particularly s t riking and picturesque obj ec ts But the grea t sigh t of the day s excu r sion was tha t whi ch unexpectedly gree ted their eyes on rounding a ca pe towards ,

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72

TH E

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O F I CE

which they had been walking for s everal hours On passing this p oint th ey st epp ed with an e xclamation of amazement Bef ore th em lay a scene such as the Ar c tic regi o ns al o ne can p r o d u ce In front lay a vast reach of the strait which a t this place o pened up ab r u ptly and st r e tched away n orthwa r d laden with flo es and fields and hummocks and bergs o f e very shade and siz e to the ho r iz o n where the appearance of the sky indicated Ope n wa ter Ponds of va ri o us sizes and sheets o f wat er wh os e dimensi o ns entitled them to be styl ed lakes spa ngled the white su r face o f the flo es and around these were sp o r ting i nnu mer able flocks oi wild f owl many of which being pure white glanced like sn o w flakes in the sunshine Far off t o the west the ice came down with heavy unif o r mity to the water s edge On the right there was an array o f cliffs wh o se f r owning g r andeur filled them with awe They varied from twelve to fifteen hundred fee t in height and s ome O f the p r ecipices descended sheer down seven or eight hundred feet into the sea over which they cas t a dark shadow Just at the fee t of ou r y ou ng discoverers for such we may truly ca ll them a deep bay o r valley tr ended away to the right a large po r tion of which was filled wi th the Spur of a glacier whose surface was covered with p i nk snow ! One ca n imagi ne with what feelings the two you t hs gazed on t his bea utiful sight It seemed as if t hat valley ins tead of fo rm ing a por tion o f the ste r ile region beyond t he Arc tic Ci r cle were one of the sunniest regi o ns of the south for a warm glow res ted on the b os om of t he snow as if the sun were shedding u p o n it hi s r o siest hues A little farthe r to t he north the red sn o w ceased or only occurred here and there i n patches and beyond i t t here appea r ed another gorge in the cliffs within which rose a tall column of rock so straight and cylind rical that i t seemed t o be a p r oduc tion of ar t The whole of the back coun try was on e great rolling dis tance of glacier and wherever a crevice or gorge in the riven cliffs afforded an Opportunity this ocean of land ice sent down spurs i n to the sea the extremities of which were cons tantly Shedding off huge bergs in to the wa ter .

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CA U S E

OF RED

S N OW

73

Wha t a scene exclai med Tom Single ton when he found “ w ords t o exp r ess his admira tion I did not think tha t our w orld conta ined so grand a sight It su r passes my wildest drea ms of fai ry land “ Fairy land ! ejaculat ed Fred with a sligh t look of con “ t emp t ; do you know si nce I came to this part of the wo r ld I ve come to the conclusio n that fai ry ta les are all stuff and very i nfe r i o r stuff too ! Why this reality is a th o usand milli o n times grander than an ything that was eve r inven te d But what su r prises me most is the red snow Wha t ca n be the cause Of i t ? “ I d o n t know replied Single ton ; i t has long been a matter of dispu te among lea rned men ; but we must examine i t for ourselves so come al o ng The r ema r kable col o ur o f th e snow referred t o although a ma tt er Of dispu te at t he pe r iod of the Dolp hi n s visit to the Arc tic Seas is gene r ally admit ted now t o be the result of a curious and extremely minu te vegetable growth which spreads not o nly over i ts su r face bu t penetrates in to it s ometimes to a dep t h of several fee t The earlier naviga t ors who discovered i t and fi r s t told the as t onished world t ha t the substance which they had been accus t omed to associa te with t he idea of t he pu r es t and mos t radian t whiteness had been seen by them lying r ed upon the gr o und at t ribu t ed the phenomenon to innumerable multitudes of minu te crea t ures belonging t o the o rder Radia ta but the discovery o f red snow among the cent r al Al ps of Europe and in the Py r enees and on the mountains of No rway whe r e ma r ine a ni ma lculee could n ot exis t effec tually ove r t u rned this idea The colouring ma tte r has now been ascer tained to resul t from plants belon ging to the order called A lgae which have a remarkable degree of vitali ty and possess the power to an amazing ex tent of growing and spreading wi t h rap idity even over such an ungenial soil as the Arc tic snow While Singleton was examining the red snow and vainly endeav o uri ng to ascertai n t he nature of the minute specks of mat t er by which i t was colou r ed Fred con t inued t o gaze n

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WO RLD OF ICE increasing e rnes tness t owards the

74

THE

a wi th a l ook of ta ll column a round which a bank Of fog was spreading and partially con c ea li n it f r om view A t leng t h he a t trac t ed t he a tt ention f o g his compani o n t owards it “ I say I m half inclined to believe that yon is n o wo r k of nature but a monument set up t o attrac t the a tt ention of ships Do n t you t hink so ? Single t on r ega r d e d t he o bjec t in questi o n for some tim e I d o n t think so Fred ; it is larger than you suppose for the fog bank deceives us ; but le t us go and see — i t canno t be fa r O ff As they drew n ear to the t all rock Fred s hopes began to fade and s oo n we r e utterly quenched by the fog clea r ing away and showing that t he col u mn was indeed of nature s o w n c o nstruc t ing I t was a single solita ry shaf t Of green limestone which s tood on the b rink of a deep ravi ne and was marked by the slaty limesto ne t ha t once encased it The length of the c olumn was apparently abou t five hund r ed fee t and the pedestal of sandstone o n which it s tood was itself upwa r ds of t wo hundred feet high This magnificent column seemed the flag s taff of a gigantic crys tal fort r ess which was suddenly revealing by the clearing away Of the fog bank to the north I t was the face of the great glacier Of the inte rior which here p r esen ted an u nbr oken perpendicular f ro n t — a sweep of s olid glassy wall whi ch rose three hundred feet above the wa ter level with an unknown depth below it The sun gli tt ered o n t he crags and peaks and bat tlemen t s of this ice fort r ess as if the mys teri ous i n habitants of the far no r th had li t up t heir fires and planted their ar tille ry t o resist further invasion The effec t up o n the minds o f the t wo youths who were probably the firs t t o gaze up o n those wondrous visions of the icy regions was t remendous For a long time nei ther Of them c ould ut t er a word and i t would be idle to at temp t to t ran scribe the language i n which at length their exci ted feelings sough t to escape I t was no t un til their backs had been for some time turned on the scene and the cape n ea r the valley ,

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TH EY CHAS E A BEAR 75 f red snow h d comple tely shu t i t out from vi ew t ha t they oul d c ndescend t o converse gain i n their ordin ry tones n

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ord i nary subj ects As they hastened back over the ice belt at the fo o t of the cli ffs a loud b o om r ang ou t in the di s tance and rolled in solemn echoes al o ng the sho r e “ There go es a gun exclaimed Tom Singleto n hastily pull “ ing out his watch Hallo ! do you know What time it is ? P r etty lat e I suppose ; it was afte r no o n I know when we s ta r ted and we must have been ou t a good while now What time is it ? Just two O cl ock in the morning ! What ! do you m ean t o sa y i t was yester day when we star te d and that we ve be e n walking all night and got into to rnorr ow morning withou t k nowing i t ? “ Even so Fred We have o versh o t o ur t ime and the cap tain is signalling us to make has te He said tha t he would not fire unless there seemed some prospect of the ice moving so we had bet ter run unless we wish to be left behind ; c ome al ong They had n ot p r oceeded mo r e than half a mile when a Polar be ar walked leisurely ou t f ro m behind a lump of ice whe r e i t had been r egaling i tself on a dead sea l and saun tered slowly o ut towards the icebergs seaward no t a hund r ed yards in a dvance of them “ Hallo ! look there ! wha t a monster ! shou ted F r ed as he “ cock ed his muske t and sprang fo r ward Wha t ll you do Tom you ve no gun ? “ Never mind I ll do wha t I can with the hammer O nly make sure you don t miss Don t fire till you are qui te close to him They were ru nning after the bear a t top speed while they thus co n versed i n hasty a nd broken sentences when suddenly they came to a yawning crack in the ice about t hirty feet wi de and a mil e lo ng o n either hand with the rising tide boiling a t the bo ttom of i t Bruin s pu r suers came to an abrup t ha l t .

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W O R LD isn t that disgus ting !

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Probably it was and the expression of chagrin on Fred s coun tenance as he sa id so evidently showed that he meant it but the r e is no doubt tha t this inte r ruption t o their hunt was ext r emely fortunate ; for to attack a p o lar bea r with a musket charged only with smal l sh o t and a ge ol ogi cal hamme r w o u ld have been ab o ut as safe and successf ul an o pe r ati o n as t rying t o st ep a locom otive with o ne s hand Neithe r o f them had yet had expe r ience of the enorm o us st r ength o f this white monarch Of the f r ozen regi o ns and his tenacity o f life alth ou gh both were reckless enough to rush a t him with any arms they chanced to have “ Give him a long sh o t quick ! cried Singleton Fred fir ed instantly and the bear s topp ed and looked round “ as much as to sa y ! Did you spea k gentlemen ? Then no t receiving a reply he walked away with dignified indifference and disappeared amon g the ice hummocks An h o ur af terwards the t wo wanderers were seated at a comfortable breakfast in the cabin o f the Dolp hi n relating their adven tures to the ca p tain and ma tes and al though unwittingly to Mi vi ns who generally managed so to place himself while engaged i n the mys terious Operations of his li ttle pan try tha t most of the cabin talk rea ched his ear an d travelled thence through his mouth to the forecas tle The cap tain was fully aware Of t his fact bu t he winked a t i t for the r e was nothing bu t friendly feeling on board the ship and no secre t s W hen however matters of serious import had to be discussed t he cabin door was closed and Mi vi ns t u r ned to expend himself on Davie Summers who i n the capacity of a lis te ner was absolu tely necessary to t he comfor table exis tence of the wo r thy s teward Having exhaus ted thei r appeti tes and their information Fred and Tom were told that during th eir absence a bea r and two seals had been sho t by Meetuck the Es quimaux in te r pre ter whom they had taken on board a t U pper navik ; and they were fu r ther info r med tha t the ice was i n mo tion to the wes t ward and tha t t here was every proba bili ty of their being ,

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78

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W O R LD

OF I CE

Bay a nd prosecu t e t he whale fishi ng as ener t i ally as possible ; but when day afte r day passed and the e c g ice r o und the ship s till remained imm o vable he became alarmed and sought by eve ry means in his power t o ex trica te hi m self His position was rendered all the more agg rava ting by the fac t that a w e ek af t er he was beset t he main bod y of the ice in the s t rait o pened up and d r ift ed to the sou t hwa rd leaving a c o m paratively clear sea th r ough which he could have push ed his way with out much difficulty i n any di r ecti o n but the solid masses in which they lay embedded were fast to t he ground fo r about fifty ya r ds beyond the vessel seawa r d and until these sh ou ld be float ed away the r e was n o chance of escape “ Get u p some powder and canisters M r Bolton b e ex claimed o ne m o r ning after b r eakfas t ; I ll t ry wha t can be d one by blasting the ice The highest sp r ing tide will occur t o m or r ow and if the ship don t move then we shall He did n ot finish the sentence but turned on his heel and walked forwa r d whe r e he found Bu z z by and some of the men preparing the ice saws Ay ay mu tt e r ed t he ma t e as he wen t below t o give the necessary direc ti o ns you don t need t o conclude y o ur Speech Cap ta in If we d o n t get ou t to l o cked up for o ne win t er a t least if n o t m ore Ay and ye ll no ge t oo t to morrow remarked Saunders with a shake of his head as he l o oked up from the l og book in “ which he was making an ent r y We re hard and fas t so we ll j us t have to make the bes t o t Saunders was r ight as t he e ffo rts of t he nex t day proved The ice lay around the vessel i n solid m as ses as we have said and wi t h each of t he l a s t t hree tides these masses had been Slightly moved Saws and ice Chisels the r efore had been i n constant o pera tion and t he men worked with t he utm o s t energy nigh t and day taking it by t urns and having double allowance Of hot coffee served out t o them We may mentio n here tha t t he Dolp hi n ca rried no Spi ri t s excep t wha t was needed for medicinal purposes and for fuel to several sma ll ’

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A ING THE ICE W ITH G U NPOWDER 79 cooking lam ps tha t had been recently inven ted It h d now been p r oved by many v yagers Of experience that in cold c untries well as hot men w rk ha r der and endure the extremity f hardship bette r without st r ong d r ink than wi th i t and the D lp hi n crew were engaged the distinc t under standing that fl and tea and choc late were to be b ti rum and that spirits we r e never to be given t o any t t d f n n board excep t i n cases f extreme necessi ty B t t return — alth ugh the men wo r ked as only t hose can wh toil for liberation f r om long imprisonment n impression BL ST

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w orth menti o ning could be made on the ice At length the a ttemp t to rend it by means of gunpowder was made A jar conta ining abou t thir ty pounds of powder was sunk i n a hole in an immense block of ice which lay close ag ainst the s tern of the ship Mi vi ns being light of foot was set to fi r e the train He did so and ran — ran so fast that he missed his foo ting in leaping over a chas m and had well nigh fallen in t o the wa ter bel o w There W as a whiz and a loud rep o rt and the eno r mous m ass Of ice hea ved upwards in the cen tr e and fell back in huge fragments So far the result was satis factory and the men were immediately se t t o sink several charges i n vari ous direc tions around t he vessel t o be in r ea di ness for t he highest tide which was soon expec t ed Warps and hawsers were also go t out and fixed t o the seawa r d masses ready to heave on t hem at a moment s notice ; t he ship was lightened as much as possible by lifting her s tores upon t he ice and the whole crew — ca ptain m at es and all — worked and h eav ed like hors es until the perspiration s treamed from their faces while Mizzle kep t supplying t hem with a cons tant deluge of hot coffee Fred and the young su r geon too wo r ked like the res t with thei r coa ts Off handkerchiefs bound r o und their heads and shirt—sleeves t ucked up to their shoulders A t la st the tide rose— inch by i nch and slowly as if i t grudged t o give them even a chance of escape Mi vi ns grew impatien t and unbe lieving under i t I don t think i t ll rise ano ther hinch he remarked to O Riley who s tood near him .

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80

WO RLD

TH E

O F I CE

Niver fear b oy The ca pti ng k nows a sigh t be tter than you do and he says it ll rise a fut yit “ D oes he ? asked Grim w ho was also beginning t o de .

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he do es Sure he t o wld me in a confidi ntial way j ust befo r e he wint to t u r n i n last night —i f it wasn t yi s t u rda y f o r en oo n fo r it s mes elf as niv e r kn o ws an h o ur 0 the day Since the su n became dissipa t ed and tu ck t o sittin u p all night i n this fashi o n Sh u t up yer tatie trap and open yer weather eye mu t there ll be time t ered Bu z z by who had charge o f the ga ng enough to speak afte r we re off Gradually as the tide rose the ice and the Ship move d and it became evident that the latter was almost afl o at though the former seemed t o be only partly raised f r o m t he ground The men w er e at their seve ral p os ts ready for ins tant ac ti on and gazing in anxi o us expectation at the cap tain who s t o od wa t ch in hand ready to give the wo r d No w then fi r e ! he said in a lo w v oice In a m o men t the ice r ou nd t he ship was ren t and upheaved as if some leviathan o f the deep we r e rising from benea th it and the vessel swung slowly round A l oud cheer bu r s t from the men Now lads heave w ith a will ! r oared t he captain Round wen t t he caps t an t he Windlass clanked and the ship fo rged slowly ahead as t he wa r ps and hawsers became rigid At that m omen t a heavy block o f ice which had been over balanced by the moti on o f the vessel fell with a crash o n the r udde r splitting off a large portion of it and d rawing the i r on b ol ts that held it completely out of the stern post “ Never mind ; heave away — for your lives ! cried the “ cap tain Jump on board all of you ! The few men who had until now remained on the ice scrambled u p t he side There was a shee t of ice righ t ahead which the ship could not clear but which she was pushing ou t Suddenly t his t ook t he ground and to sea in advance of her remained motionless Ov

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D I S AP POI N T E D HO PES

O u t t here wi t h ice Chisels

81

a h ole like ligh t ning Prepare a caniste r Mr Bol ton ; qui ck ! shou ted the captain i n despera tion as he sprang over the side and assis ted to cu t into the unwieldy Obstruc tion The charge was soon fixed and fired bu t i t only spli t t he bl ock in two and lef t it motion less as before A few minu t es af te r the ship again grounded ; the ice se ttled round her ; the spring tide was los t and t hey we r e no t deliver ed Those who know the bi tterness of repea ted disappoin t men t and of hope deferred may judge o f the feelings with which the c r ew of the Dolphin now regarded their positi o n Little indeed was said bu t t he grave l o oks of m os t of the men and the absen ce of the usual laugh and jes t and dis posi tion to Skylark which on alm o s t all other occasions chara cte ri ze d them showed too plainly how heavily the prospec t of a win ter in the Arc tic regi o ns weighed upon their spirits They con t i nu ed t heir exert ions to free t he ship however for several days after the high tide and did not finall y give in un til all reas onable hOpe of m ovi ng her was u t terly annihila ted Be fo r e this h o wever a re acti o n began to take place ; the prospec ts o f the coming winte r were discussed and some o f the more sanguine lo oked even beyond th e win ter and began to con side r how they would con tr ive to ge t the ship out of her posi tion in to deep wa te r a gain Fred Ellice to o though t of his fat her and this abrup t check to the sea rch and his spi r its sank again as his h opes decayed But poor F r ed like the others at las t disc o vered that it was o f no use to repine and t hat it was bes t to face his sorrows and difficulties like a man ! Am o ng so many men t here were all sh ad es of character and the fact t hat they we r e doomed t o a year s imprisonmen t i n the f r ozen r egi o ns was received in very differen t ways So me looked gra ve and thought of it seri o usly ; o t hers la u ghed and treated i t lightly ; a few grumbled and spoke profanely but mos t of them became quickly reconciled and in a week or two nea r ly all forg o t the pas t and the future in the duties and ca r es and amusemen ts o f the present Cap tain Guy and -

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82

WO RLD

THE

OF ICE

officers however and a few of t he more sed ate men among whom were Buz z by and Pe ter Grim l ooked forward wi th much a n xiety knowi ng full well t he dangers and tr ials t ha t lay be fore them It is t rue t he ship was provisioned for more than a year but mos t of the provisi ons were salt and Tom Single to n could have told them had they required to be told that withou t fresh provisions they s tood a poor chance of escaping tha t dire disease scurvy before which have fallen so many gallan t tars wh o m nothing i n the shape of dangers or difficulties could subdue There were indeed my riads of wi ld fowl flying about the ship on which the men feas t ed and grew fat eve ry day ; and t he muske ts Of Meetuck and those who ac companied him seldom failed to supply the ship with an abundance of the flesh of seals walrus and pola r bears portions of all of which creatures were considered very good indeed by the men and pa rticula rly by t he dogs which g r ew so fat tha t they began to acquire a very disrepu table wad dl e i n their gai t as they walked the deck for exercise which they seldom did by the way being passi o na t ely fo nd of sleep ! But birds and perchance beas ts might be expec ted to take themselves off when the win te r arrived and lea ve the crew wi t hou t fres h food Then although the Dolp hi n was supplied wi th every nec es sary for a whaling expediti o n and with many luxuries besides she was ill provided with the s u pplies that men deem abso l ut ely i ndispensable for a winter in t he Arctic regions where the c o ld is so bitterly i n tense that afte r a p r olonged s oj ou rn men s minds become alm o st enti r ely eng r ossed by two clamant demands of natu r e — food and hea t They had only a small quantity Of c oal o n board and n othing except a few extra spa rs tha t could be used as a substitu te while the bleak sh ores affo r ded neither shrub nor tree of any kind Meanwhile they had a suffi ciency of everything they requi red for at least two or th r ee months to come and for the res t as G rim sa id “ they had s tou t hearts and strong arms As soon as it became apparent tha t they were to win ter in hi s

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CAPTAI N CU Y S

S PE EC H

TO THE

CR E W

83

the bay which the cap tain named the B y f Mercy all fur ther t t mp t t ex tricate the ship was abandon ed and every pre for spending the win t er was begun and c rried t t i n p vig rously I t was n w t hat Cap tain Guy s qualities as a a

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leader began t o be displayed He knew fro m l o ng experience and observation tha t in o rder t o keep up t he morale of any body of men i t was abs o lu te ly necessary to main tai n t he s trictes t discipline Indeed this r ule is so universal in i ts a pplicati o n t hat many men find i t advanta geous t o impose s t ri c t rules on themselves in the regul ation of their time and affairs in order to keep their own spiri ts under comman d One of t he captain s fi r st re so lves t herefore w as to call t he men together and add r ess them o n this subj ec t and he seized the occasion of the firs t Sa bbath morning they spen t i n t he Bay of Me r cy when the crew were assembled on t he quar ter deck to speak t o them It was an exceedingly b righ t day Cap tain Guy stood up and i n an earnest fi r m t one sa id My lads I c o nsider i t my duty to sa y a few plain words to yo u i n reference t o ou r presen t si tuati o n and p r os pects I feel t hat the res ponsibility of having br ought you here res ts very much upon myself and I deem i t my solemn du ty in m o r e than the ordina r y sense to do all I can to get you o u t You know as well as I do that t his is i m of the ice again possible a t the present time and that we a r e compelled to spend a wi n te r here So me of you kn o w wha t that means bu t the mos t of you know it only by hearsay and tha t s much the same as kn o wing n othing abou t it at all Befo r e the winte r is done your energies and endurance will p r obably be taxed to the ut te r mos t I think i t right to be candid wi t h you The life befo r e you will not be child s play but I as sure you t ha t i t may be mingled with much tha t will be pleasant and hea r ty if Well then t o be you choo se to se t abou t it in the righ t way Short about i t There is no chance wha teve r of ou r ge tting th rough the wi n t er in this ship comfo rta bly or even sa fely unles s the stric t est discipline is main tained aboard I know for I ve be en in sim ilar circums ta nces before tha t when cold ,

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84

THE

W OR LD

o r ICE

and hunger and i t may be sickness press up o n u s— should i t please the Almighty to send these o n us in great severity you will feel du ty to be irksome and you ll think it useless and perhaps be temp t ed to mutiny Now I ask you solemnly while your minds are clear f r om all prej u dices each individu ally to sign a wri t t en code of laws and a written promise that you will obey the same and help me t o enforce them even with the punishment of dea th if need be Now lads will you ag r ee t o tha t ? “ Agreed agreed ! cried the men a t once and in a tone o f promp t decision t ha t convinced their leader he had their enti r e confid ence— a ma t t er o f the highes t impor tance in the critical circumstances in which they were placed “ Well then I ll read the r u les ; they are few but sufficiently co mp r ehensive 1 st Prayers shall be read every morning befo r e breakfas t unless circumstances render it impossible to do so The cap tain la i d down the paper and looked earnes tly at the men “ My lads I have never fel t so strongly as I now do the absolu te need we have of the blessing and g uidance of the Al migh ty and I am pe r suaded tha t it is ou r du ty as well as our in teres t to begin not only the Sabbath but every da y wi th praye r “ 2 nd The ordinary du ties of t he ship shall be carried o n the wa tches r egu la rly set and relieved regular hours observed and the details of du ty at tended to i n the usual way as when in harbour 3 rd The o ffi ce r s shall take wa tch and wa t ch about as he r e to fore except when required t o do o therwise ; the log books and me teo r ol ogica l o bservati o ns & c shall be carr ied o n as us u al “ 4 t h The ca pta in shall have supreme and absolute c o m mand as when a t sea but he on his par t pr omises that sh ould any peculiar circums tance ari se in which the safety of the crew or ship shall be implica ted he will if the men a r e so disposed call a c ouncil of the whole crew i n which case the decision of ,

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86

THE

WO RLD

or

I CE

knee deep the dri ft to windward was almos t level wi th the bulwa r ks eve ry yard was edged with white eve ry rope and cord had a light side and a da rk every point and t r uck had a white butto n o n it and every hole corne r c rack and crevice was choked up The land and the sea were also cl ot hed with this spotless ga r ment which is indeed a st r ikingly appropria te emblem o f purity and the o nly da r k o bj ects visible in the landscape were those precipices which we r e t oo steep for the sn o w to lie o n the to wering form o f the gian t fla g staff and the lead en cl ouds that rolled ang rily acr o ss the sky But these leade n clouds soo n r olled o ff leaving a blue win try sky and a b r ight su n b ehind The sto rm blew i tself out early in the morning and a t b r eakfa s t time on that day when the sun was j ust struggling with the last of the cl o uds Captain Guy rema r ked to his f r iends who were seated r o und the cabin table ! \Vell gentle men we must begi n ha r d work to day Hard w o rk Cap ta in l exclaimed F r ed Ellice pausin g for a second or two i n the hard work of chewing a piece of hard sal t “ junk ; why wha t do you call the work we ve been engaged in for the last few weeks ? Play my lad ; t ha t was only play— j ust to bring o ur hands in before se tting to work in earnest ! What do you t hink of the h ealth of the men Doc t or ? “ Never was bet ter bu t I fear the h o spital wi ll soon fill if you carry ou t your th r eat in regard to w o rk “ N 0 fe ar remarked the sec o nd ma te ; the more work the be tter heal t h is my experience Busy men have no time to gi t seek “ No d oubt of i t sir said the firs t ma te bolting a large “ m o uthful of pork Nothing so good for em as wo rk “There are two agains t you Doc tor said the captain Then it s t wo to two cried Fred as he finished breakfas t for I quite a gree with Tom and with that excell en t proverb which says ! All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy The cap ta in shook his hea d as he sa id ! Of all the nuisances -

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ARRAN GEM ENTS FOR WINTERIN G 87 I ev er me t wi t h i n a ship a semi passenger is t he wors t I th i nk Fred I mus t ge t you bound appren t ice and give you regular wo r k t do you g d fo r nothing We need scarcely say tha t t he capt in jes t ed for Fred was possessed f a spi r it that canno t rest so t o speak unless a t work He w able t do lmos t anything ft f hi n and was never idle f a momen t Even when his hands chanced t be unemployed his brows were kni tt ed busily plan ning what to do nex t “ “ Well now gen tlemen resumed the cap t in le t us con side r the order f business The fi rs t thing tha t must be done now is to unstow the hold and deposit i ts con ten ts n the small island as t ern f us which we shall call Sto r e Island for brevity s sake Ge t a tent pitched there Mr Bolt n and bank i t up wi t h snow Y can leave G rim to supe r in tend t he unloading Then Mr Saunders do y go and set a gang f men t cut a canal th r ough the young ice from t he ship t o the island F r t una tely the floes there are wide en gh apart to let qua r ter—boa t s floa t between them The unshipping won t t ake long Tell B by t o take a dozen men with him and c llect moss ; we ll need a la rge quantity for fuel and if an the r s t orm like this comes it ll be hard w k t ge t d wn t o it Send M t k to me when you go n deck ; I shall t lk t o him as t o p r ospects f finding de r he r eab u t s and arrange a hun t Doctor you may either j in the hun ting par ty pos t up t he observa tions & which have accu m ula t d f la te “ “ Thank y Cap tain said Singlet n I ll accept t he la tt r duty t h more willingly tha t I wish t have careful mi nati n f my bo tanical specimens -

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And what am I to do Capta in ? enquired Fred What you please lad Then I ll go and ta ke care of M eetu ck ; he s ap t to ge t in t o mischief when lef t A t this momen t a tremendous shou t of laughte r long con t i nu ed came from t he deck and a sound as of numbers of men dancing overhea d was heard ,

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88

WO RLD

TH E

or

I CE

The party in the cabin seized their caps and sprang up the compani o n whe r e they beheld a scene that acc o u nted for the laugh ter and induced t hem t o j oin in it At fi r st sight it seemed as if thirty p olar bears had boarded the vessel and were executing a dance of triumph before proceeding to make a mea l of the c r ew ; bu t on closer inspection it be came apparent that the men had unde rgone a s trange transfo r mati o n and were capering wi t h deligh t a t the ridiculous appearance they presen ted They were clad from head to f oo t in Esquimaux cos tume and now bore as s trong a resemblance to po lar b ea rs as man could a t ta in t o Meet uck was the pa tt e r n and the chief instrument in effect ing this change At U pperna vi k Captain Guy had been induced t o purchase a large number of fox skins dee r skins seal skins and other f ur s as a speculati on and had them tightly packed and s t owed away in the hold little imagining the purpose they were ultima tely destined to serve Meetu ck had come on boa rd in a mongrel sor t o f wo r n ou t seal skin dress bu t the ins tant the cold weat her se t in he drew f r o m a bundle which he had b r ough t wi th him a dress made of the furs of the Arctic fox s o me of the skins being white and the I t consiste d o f a l oose coat somewhat i n the o thers blue form of a shirt with a la r ge h ood to it and a shor t elongation behind like t he commencement of a tail The b oo ts we r e made of whi te bear skin which a t the end o f the f oo t were made t o t ermina te with the claws of the animal and they were so l ong tha t they came up the thigh u nder the coat or “ j umper as the men called it and thus served inste a d of trousers He als o wore fur mit tens wi th a bag for the fingers and a separate little bag for the thumb The hair o n the se garmen ts was long and soft and w o r n o utside so that when a man envel oped himself i n them and put up the hood which well nigh concealed the face he became ve ry much like a bear o r some such creature standing on i ts hind legs Meetu ck was a short fat burly little fellow by na tu r e bu t when he put on his winter dress he became such a round s o ft sq ua t ha i ry and comical looki ng creature t ha t no o ne could ,

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W I N T E R CO S TU ME

89

look a t him withou t laughing ; and the shout wi th which he was received on deck the fi r s t t ime he made his appea r ance in his new costume was loud and p r olonged Bu t M eetu ck was as good hum ou r ed an Esqui m aux as ever speared a walrus or lanced a p olar bea r He j oined in the la ugh and cut a ca per or t wo to sh o w that he entered into the spirit of the j oke When the ship was se t fas t and the t hermome te r fell pretty low the men f o und that their ordinary dreadnough ts and pea jackets & c were no t a sufficient protection agains t the cold and it occurred t o the captai n that his fu rs might now be tu r ned to good account Sailors are p r overbially good needle men of a rough kind Meetu ck showed them ho w to set abou t their w o r k ; each man made his own ga r men ts and i n less than a week they were c omple t ed It is t r ue t he b oo ts pe rplexed them a little and the less ingeni ous among the men m a de ve ry ra r e and curious l ooking foo t gea r for themselves bu t t hey succeeded afte r a fashi on and at las t the whole c r ew appeared o n deck in their new habiliments as we have al r eady menti oned capering among the sno w lik e bea r s to their own entire sa tisfaction and to the in t ense deligh t of Meetu ck who no w came to regard the white men as brothers — so tr ue is it that the tailor makes the man ! “ Ow Or ribly ea vy i t is ha in t i t ? gasped Mi vi ns after dancing ro u nd the main ha t ch till he was nearly exhaus ted “ Heavy ? cried Buz z by whose appea rance was such t hat you would have hesi ta ted to say whether his b r eadth o r “ — length was g r ea ter heavy d ye say ? I t must be you r s er ri t s wot s h eavy then for I feel as light as a feather p myself “ 0 mor ther ! t hen may I niver sleep o n a b ed made 0 sich feathers ! c ri ed O Ril ey capering up to G r een the carpente r s mate a nd throwing a mass of snow in his face The fros t rendered it impossible t o f orm the snow in to balls but the men made u p for this by throwing i t abou t each o the r s eyes and ears in handfuls What d ye mea n by i nsult i n my ma te l— take that ! said .

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90

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TH E

O F I CE

Pe ter Grim giving the Iri shman a twi r l that tumbled him on the deck “ splu tter ed O Ri ley as he r ose Oh bad manners t o ye “ and r an away why don t ye hit a man 0 yer own size D eed then i t must be because the r e s not o ne o my own size to hit rema rked the ca rpenter wi th a broa d grin This was true G rim s colossal propor ti o ns were increased so much by his hai ry d r ess t hat he seemed t o spread o u t in t o the dimensi o ns Of t wo la rge men rolled into one Bu t O Ri ley was not to be overturned with impunity Skulking round behind the crew w ho were laughing a t G r im s j oke he came up o n the giant in the r ear and seizing the sho rt tail of his j ump er pulled him vi olen tly down o n the deck “ Ah ! then give i t him b oys cried O Riley pushing the ca r pe nte r flat down and o bliterating his black bea r d and his whole visage in a mass of snow Seve r al o f the wilde r spirits am o ng the men l eaped on the pr ost ra t e G rim and nea r ly sm o thered him befo re he c o uld ga t he r hi m self up for a s truggle ; then they fled i n all di r ections whil e their victim regained his fee t a nd r ushed wildly after them At l ast he caugh t O Ril ey and g rasping him by the two sh o ulde rs gave as Amos Parr hi m a heave that was in tended and “ afterwards remarked to pi tch him over the fore top sa i l yard ! Bu t an I ri shman is no t easily ove r c o me O Ri ley suddenly straightened himself and held his arms up over his h ead and the violen t heave which according t o Parr was to have sent him to such an uncomfo r table elevation only pull ed the j umper comple t ely off his body and left hi m f r ee to laugh i n the face of hi s big f riend and run away At this point the ca ptain deemed it p r uden t to inte r fere “ Come come my l a ds he c r ied en ough 0 this ! Tha t s no t the m orning w o rk is i t ? I m glad to find tha t your new “ dresses he added wi th a significant smile make you fond o f rough work in t he snow ; t here s plenty o f i t before us C o me down below wi th me Meetu ck ; I wish t o talk with ,

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As t he ca p ta i n

descended

to

the c

a

bin the men gave

a

final

V

AR I O U S ARR AN GEMEN TS

91

chee r and in ten minu t es they were wo r king laboriously at their various duties Bu z z by and his pa rty we r e the firs t re ady and off t o cu t moss They drew a sledge after them towards the Red snow Vall ey which was n ot more than t wo miles dis tan t from t he “ ship This mossing as i t was termed was by no mea ns a pleasant duty Befo re the winter beca me severe the moss c o uld be cut ou t f r o m the beds o f the snow st r eams with comparative eas e but now the mixed t urf of will o ws hea ths grasses and moss was fro zen solid and had t o be qua rr ied with crowbars and car r ied to the ship like so much stone H owever it was p r osecute d vig oro usly and a sufficient quantity was so o n p r ocured to pack on the decks of the ship and around i ts sides so as to keep o u t the cold A t the s ame time the operation o f discha r ging the sto res was carried o n b ri skly and Fred in company wi th Meetu ck O Ril ey and Joseph Wes t star ted with the dog sledge o n a hun ting exp edi t ion In o rder to enable the reade r bet ter to unde r s tand t he conditi o n of the Dolp hi n and her crew we will detail the several ar r angemen ts tha t were made at this time and during the s u cceeding fortnight As a mea sure of preca ution the ship by means of blasting sawi ng and wa r pi ng was with grea t lab o ur go t into deeper water whe r e one night s fros t se t her fast wi th a shee t of ice three inches thick rou nd her ; in a few weeks this ice be cam e seve r al feet thick and the snow d rifted up her hull so much that it seemed as if she were resting o n the land and had taken final leave of her native elemen t St r ong hawse r s we r e t hen secu r ed to Sto r e Island in o r de r t o gua r d agains t the possibility o f her being ca rri ed away by any sudden disruption of t he ice The dispositi on of the mas ts yards and sails were nex t de termined o n ; the top gallan t m a s ts were struck the lower yards go t down to the housings The to p sail yards gaff and j ib boom however were lef t i n their pla ces The to p sails and courses were kep t ben t to the yard s the sh eets be ing unrove and t he clues t ucked in The rest of the binding sai ls were s towed on deck ,

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92

WO R LD

TH E

OF IC E

p r even t their thawing d u r ing winter ; and the spare spars were lashed over the ship s sides t o leave a clea r space for taking exe r cise i n bad weathe r The stores in o r de r to reli eve t he st r ain o n the ship were removed t o Sto r e Island and sn ugly h ou sed und er the tent erected t here and then a thick bank of sn ow was heaped up r o und it After this was acc omplished all the b oats w er e hauled up beside the ten t and cove r ed with snow except the t wo quar t er b oats which we r e left hanging at the davits all winter When t he thermomete r fell bel o w zero i t was found tha t the vap ou r s b el o w and the br eath of the men c ondensed o n t he beams of t he lower deck and in the cabin near the hatchway It was the r efo r e res o lved t o conver t s ome sheet iron which they fo rtu nately p ossessed into pipes which b eing conduc t ed f r o m the c ooking—stove th r ough the length o f the ship se r ved i n s o me deg r ee to r aise the tempe r ature and ventilate the cabins A regular daily allowance of coal was served o ut and fo ur s teady men app ointed t o attend t o the fire in regular wat ches fo r the d ouble purpose o f seeing tha t n o ne of the fuel should be Wasted and o f gua r ding agains t fi r e They had likewise cha rge of the fi r e pumps and b u ckets and two tanks of wate r all of which were kep t in the hatchway in constan t readiness in case o f acciden ts In a dditi o n to this a fi r e b rigade was fo rmed with Jo seph West a steady quie t ac tive young seaman as its captain and their s t ati o ns in the event of fi r e were fixed befo rehand ; als o a h ole was kep t c o nstantly open i n the ice alongside to ensure at all times a su fficient su pply of wat er Strict re gulations as to cleanliness and t he daily ai ring of the hammocks we r e laid d o wn and adhe r ed to th r ough o ut the winter A regular all owance of provisions was appointed to each man so that they should not run the risk o f s tarving before the re tu r n of the wild fowl i n spri ng Bu t t hose pro visi o ns were all sal t and the cap t ain t r usted much to their hun ting expeditions for a supply of fresh food withou t which there would be li ttle hOpe of their continuing in a condi tion of good heal th Coffee was served ou t a t breakfast and cocoa

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94

TH E

W O R LD

OF I C E

ma terial himself and executing the illus t ra tions in a s tyle that would have made M r Leech of the presen t day envious he had t o transc r ibe the vari ous cont ributions he received f r om the men and others i n a n ea t legible hand But this one C opy was perused and r epe r us ed as no single C opy of any paper ex t an t — no t excepting The Times or P unch— has eve r ye t been perused ; a nd when i t was re t urned to the edit o r to be carefully placed in the archives of the Dolp hi n it was emphatica lly the worse for wea r Be sides all this a theat r e was set agoing— of which we shall have m o re to say he r eafte r In thus minu t ely r ec o un ting the various ex p edien t s which these banished men fell up o n t o p ass the long da rk h our s Of an Arctic winter we may pe rhaps give the reader the impressi o n that a g rea t deal of thou gh t and time were bes to wed upon a musemen t as if t hat were the chief end and obj ect o f their life i n th o se regions Bu t we mus t remind him t ha t th ough many m o r e pages might be filled in r ec oun t ing all the par t i cu la r s bu t a small po rt i o n o f t heir time was after all taken up in this way ; and i t would have be en well for them had they been able t o find m o r e t o amuse them than they did fo r the dep r essing influence of the long continu ed da r kness and the want of a sufficiency of regular empl oymen t fo r so many mon ths added to the rigorous nature o f the climate in which they dwelt well nigh broke their spiri ts a t last In orde r to sec u r e warmth during winte r the d eck o f the ship was padded with moss abou t a foo t deep and down below t he walls were lined with the same mate ri al The floors were carefully plastered with comm o n paste and covered wi th oakum a c ouple of inches deep over which a ca r pet of canvas was spread E very Opening in t he deck was fastened down and covered deeply over with moss wi th the exception of one hatch which was their only entrance and this was kep t constan tly closed excep t when it was desirable to ventila te Curt ains were hung up in fron t of it to preven t draughts A canvas awning was also sp r ead over the decks from s te m t o ste r n so that it was confidently h oped t he Dol p hi n would prove a snug tenement even in t he severes t cold ,

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A HU N TI N G EXPED ITI O N id before the snow drif t

95

a lmos t b u ried t he been s a hull of the ship ; and as snow is a good non conductor of hea t this furthe r helped to keep up t he tempera ture wi t hin A staircase of snow was built up to the bulwarks on the la rboard quarter and o n the starboard side an inclined plane of snow was sl oped down to the ice t o facilita te t he launching of the sledges when they had t o be pulled o n deck Such we r e the chief arrangements and prepa ra t ions that we r e made by ou r adven t urers for spending the winter ; but al t hough we have descri bed them a t thi s poin t in o ur s t ory many of them were no t completed un til a much la ter pe riod

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CHAPTE R XI A

h ti xp d ti d r p c liar l w lr d r ng e

un

e

a nge o u s,

sea s,

a

i

o n,

e u

u s,

ee

c r which h t r r rk bl xp ri c r bbit

i n th e ou se of a nd e ma a , a s , a nd

th e

e e

un e s

e n es, a nd

e

wi th m y i t r ti ta c with mak acq

meet

an

n e es

uai n

e

ng ,

n e

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E m u st now return to F r ed Ellice and his compani o ns Meet uck the E squimaux O Ri ley and Joseph Wes t wh o m we left whi le they were on the point o f s ta r ting o n a hun ting expe dition They to o k the direction o f t he ice humm o cks ou t t o the sea and sea t ed comfo r tably on a la rge sledge we r e dragged by t he team o f d ogs o ver t he ice at the rate of ten miles an hou r Well ! did I iver expect t o r ide in a ca rr iage and six ? exclaimed O Ril ey i n a state of g r ea t gl e e as the dogs dash ed fo r ward at full speed while Meetu ck fl o u r ished his awful whip making i t crack like a pist o l sh o t ever and anon The sledge on which they travelled was of the very cu r ious and simple const r u c ti o n peculiar to the Esquimaux and was built by Pe ter Grim under the di r ection of Meetu ck It con sisted of t wo runners of ab ou t ten fee t in length six inches high two i nch es broad and three fee t apar t They were made of tough hick o ry sligh t ly curved in front and were a ttached to ea ch o t her by cross bars At the s tem of t he ,



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96

W O R LD

TH E

OF ICE

vehicle t here was a low back composed o f two up r igh t s and a single ba r acro ss The wh ole machine was fas t ened together by means of tough lashings of raw seal hide so that to all appearance it was a rickety a fla i r ready to fa ll to pieces In reality however i t was very s trong No me tal nails of any kind could have held i n the keen fros t ; they would have snapped like glass a t t he fi r st j olt ; bu t the seal skin fas t enings yielded t o the rude shocks and t wistings t o which the sledge was subj ec te d and seld o m gave way o r if they did were easily and speedily renewed with ou t the aid of any o ther implement than a knife Bu t t he Whi p was the mos t remarkable part of th e equi pa ge The handle was only sixteen inches in length but the lash was twenty feet long m ade Of the toughest seal skin and as thick as a man s wrist near t he handle whence it ta pered The labour of using such a formidable o ff to a fine point weapon is so g r ea t t ha t Esquimaux usually when practicable travel i n c ouple s one sledge behind the othe r The dogs of the la s t sledge follow mechanically and require no whip and the r iders change about so as t o relieve ea ch other When tr avelling the whip trails behind and can be brough t wi th a tremendous crack tha t makes the hair fly from the wretch that is str uck — and Esquimaux are splendid shots so to speak They can hi t any part of a dog with cer tain ty but usually res t satisfied with simply c ra cking the whip a s ound tha t produces an answering yell of te r ror whether t he lash takes e ffect or no t Our hun t ers were clo th ed in their Esquimaux ga rment and cut the o ddes t imaginable figures They had a soft r o tund cuddled u p appea r ance that was powerfully s u ggestive o f comf o rt The sled carried one day s provisions a couple with a sufficien t quanti ty o f re pe f ou r of walrus harpoons muske ts with the requisi te ammunition an Esquimaux co ok ing lamp t wo s tou t spears two tarpaulins to spread on the snow and f o ur blanket sleeping bags These last were six feet long and j us t wide enough for a man to crawl in to at nigh t fee t firs t .

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98

TH E

W O R LD

OF ICE

no damage was done and in five minu t es they were flying over the frozen sea as madly as ever in t he direc tion of the p oin t at the Opp o site side o f Red snow Valley where a cloud o f f r os t sm oke indicate d open water “ Now l ook you Mr Meet uck av ye do t ha t again ye ll better don t let me tell ye Sure t he back 0 me s brack en tirely said O Riley as he rearranged himself with a look of “ comfo rt tha t belied his w ords Och the r e ye go again he cried as the sled suddenly fell abou t six inches f r om a higher level to a lower where the floe had cracked causing the t ee th “ of t he whole party to c ome t ogether wi th a snap A man d u rsen t spake for fear 0 bi t in his tongue o ff “ No fee sa id Meetuck looking over his shoulder with a broader smirk No fee ye lump of pork ! i t s a double fee I ll have to pay the dacter an ye go on like tha t No fee was Meet u ck s best at t emp t at the wo r ds no fea r He had picked up a lit tle English during his brief sojourn with the sailo r s and al r eady understoo d much of what was said to him but words were as ye t few and his manner of p r on ouncing t hem peculia r H ol o ! l o ok ! l ook ! c ri ed the Esquimaux leaping suddenly o ff t he sledge and checki n g the d og s Eh ! what ! whe r e ? ejaculated Fred seizing his musket I think I see s o me thing sir c ri ed West shading his ey es wi th his hand and gazi ng earnestly in the di r ec tion indicated by Meetu ck So d o I be the m o r ti a l ! said O Riley in a hoars e whi sp e r I see t he mountains and the sky I do as plain as the n ose on me face ! “ “ Hush ! stop y o ur nonsense man said F r ed I see a dee r I m ce r tain of it Meetu ck nodded vi olently to indica te tha t Fred was right “ Well what s to be d one ? luckily we a r e well to leeward and i t has neither sighted nor scen ted us Meet uck replied by gestures and wo rds to the effec t that Wes t and O Ril ey shoul d remain with the dogs and keep ,

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GAME AGGED shel ter of a hummock

99

B

them

quie t under the while he and Fred sh o ul d go aft e r the reindeer Acc o rdi ngly away they wen t ma king a pretty long detour i n order to gain the sh o re and come upo n it under the shelter o f t he grounded floes behind which they migh t approach withou t being seen In hu rr ying a lo ng the coas t t hey o bserved the foo tprin t s of a musk o x and also of severa l Arctic hares and foxes which deligh te d them much for hithe r to they had seen none of those animals and we r e begi nning to be fea r ful lest they should no t vi sit tha t par t of the coas t a t all O f course Fred knew not what so rt of animals had made the t racks in ques ti o n bu t he was an adep t at guessing and the satisfied looks o f h i s companion gave him reason to beli eve t ha t he was correct in his surmises In half an hour they ca me wi thin range and Fred af ter debating with himself for s o me t ime as to the proprie ty of taking the firs t shot t riumphed over himself and stepping back a pace mo tioned to the Esquimaux t o fire But Meetu ck was an inna te gentleman a nd modestly declined so Fred a dvanced t o o k a go o d aim and fired The deer bo und ed away bu t s tumbled as i t wen t showing that it was wounded Ha ! ha ! Meetu ck exclaimed Fred as he recharged i n tremendous exci temen t (taking t wice as l o ng to loa d i n conse “ 0 quenco) I ve improved a little you see in my shoo t bother this — ramrod ! — tu t ! tu t ! t here that s i t Ba ng went Meetu ek s muske t a t tha t moment and the deer tumbled over upon the sn o w “ Well done old fellow ! cried Fred sp ringing forward A t the same instant a whi t e ha r e dar ted ac r oss his pa th at which he fired withou t even put ting the gun to his shoulder and kn o cked it over to his own in tense amazemen t The three shots were the sign al for the men to come up with t he sledge which t hey did a t full gallop O Riley dri vin g and fl ourishing the long whip abou t i n a way tha t soon entangled it h o pelessly with the d ogs traces “ Ah then ye ve done i t this time ye have sure enough ! ,

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W O R LD

TH E

OF I C E

Musha ! what a purty cra tur e i t is Now isn t it West ? Stop t hen won t ye (to the restive dogs ) ye ve br oke my hear t enti r ely and t h e whip s tied up in to iver so many knots A r rah Meetu ck ! ye may d r ive yer coach yerself for me you may ; I ve had m ore nor en o ugh o f it In a few mi nu tes t he deer and the hare were lashed to the sledge — which t he Irishman asserted was a g r eat i m provement i nasmuch as the carcass of the forme r mad e an excellent seat — and t hey we r e ofl again at full gallop over the floes They travelled with ou t fu rther inte rr upti o n or mishap until they drew near t o the open water when sud denly t hey came upon a deep fissure or c r ack in the ice ab ou t four feet Wide wi th wa ter in t he bo ttom Here they came to a dea d stop “ Arrah ! what s t o be done now ? enquired O Riley “ Indeed I don t know replied Fred looki ng t oward Mee t uck for advi ce “ Hup cut u p ice mush hurroo ! said t hat fa t individual For tunately he followed his ad vice wi th a practical illustrati o n o f its meaning Seizing an axe he ran to the n earest hum mock and chopping i t down rolled the heavies t pieces he could move in to the chasm The others f ollowed hi s example and in the course o f an hour the place was bridged across and the sl edge passed over But the dogs requi r ed a go od deal of c oaxing to get them to tr us t to this rude bridge which their sagacity taugh t them was not to be depended on like the works of natu r e A quarter of an hour s d r ive brough t them to a place where there was ano ther crack of little mo r e than two fee t ac r o ss Meet uck s tretched his neck and to ok a s t ea dy look a t this as they approach ed it at full gallop Being appa r en tly satisfied with his sc r u tiny he resumed his look of self satisfi ed placidity “ Lo o k out Meetu ck pull up ! c r ied Fred in some alarm ; but the Esquimaux paid no at tenti o n “ 0 mort her we re gone now for iver exclaimed O Riley shu t ting his eyes and clenching his tee t h as he laid fas t hold of t he sides of the sledge ’

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1 02

TH E

W O R LD

OF I CE

enable t hem to app r oach unseen ; bu t the Esquimaux was p r epa r ed for such a contingency He had brought a sm al l sledge of abou t two fee t in length by a fo ot and a half in b r eadth which he now unfas tened from t he large sledge and p ro ce eded quietly to arrange it to the surprise o f his com pa nions who had not t he least idea what he was about t o do an d watched his pro ce edings wi th much inte r es t Is it to sa il on the ice ye r e goin boy ? enquired O Ri ley a t last when he saw M eetu ck fix a couple o f p oles ab out fo u r feet long in to a hole in the little sl edge like t wo mas ts and upon t hese spread a piece of canvas upwa r ds of a yard square with a small hole i n the cent r e of it But Meet uck answered n ot He fastened the canvas sail t o a c r oss yard above and below Then placing a harp o o n and coil o f rope o n the sledge an d ta king up his muske t he made signs to the party to keep under the cover o f a hummock and pushi ng the sledge before him advanced towards the sea ls in a s to oping post u r e so as to be completely hid behind the bit of canvas “ Oh t he haythen I see i t now ! exclaimed O Riley his “ face pucke r ing up wi t h fun Ah bu t i t s a c liver trick no d o ub t of i t ! “ Wha t a capi tal dodge ! sa id Fred crouching be hind the hummock and wa tching the movemen ts o f the Es quimaux with deep in teres t “ Wes t hand me t he li ttle telescope you ll find i t in the p a ck “ Here it is sir said the man pull ing ou t a glass of about six inches long and handing it to Fred How m any is there an ye pla z e ? Si x I think ; yes — o ne two three — I can t make them o ut qui te but I think t here are six besides t he o ne o n the ice His t ! there he see s him Ah ! Meetuck he s too quick for you As he spoke the seal on t he ice began to sh o w sympto ms Meetuck had approached to within sho t bu t he did of a la rm not fire ; the wary Esquimaux had caugh t sigh t of another obj ec t which a lump o f ice had hither to concealed from view

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Y ATTA CK A

WA LRU S

TH E

1 03

This was no less a crea ture than a walrus who cha nced a t that time to come up to take a gulp of fresh ai r and lave his shaggy fro n t in the b r ine bef o r e going down again to the dep ths of his ocean home Meetuck t herefore all o wed t he seal t o glide quietly into the sea and advanced towards t his new objec t of atta ck A t le ngth he t ook a steady aim through the hole in the canvas screen and fired Instan tly the seals dived and a t the same time the wa t er round t he walrus was lashed in t o foam and tinged with red I t was evidently badly wounded for had i t been only slightly hur t i t would probably have dived Meetu ck immediately seized his harpoon a nd rushed to wa r ds the s tr u ggling m o nster while Fred grasped a gun and O Ri ley a ha r p o on and ran to his a ssistance West remained t o keep back the dogs As M eetu ck gained the edge of the ice t he wal r us recovered par tially and t ried wi th savage fury to reach his assailan t who planted t he harpoon deep in its breast and held on t o the rope while the anim al dived “ Whereabouts is he ? cried O Ril ey as he came panting to the scene of ac tion As he sp oke the walrus a scended almost under his nose with a l o ud bellow and the I rishman sta rted back in terro r as he surveyed at close quarters for the first time the colossal and h o r rible coun t enance of t his elephant of the nort hern sea O Riley was no c o ward bu t the suddenness of the appari ti o n was too much for him and we need no t wonder tha t i n his haste he darted the ha r p oo n far ove r the ani m al s head into the sea bey o nd Neither need we feel surprised tha t when F r ed to ok aim a t its forehead the sigh t of its broad muzzl e fringed with bristling mous ta che and defended by huge t usks caused him t o miss it al toge ther But O Ri ley recovered hauled his harpoon back and succeeded i n planting i t deep under the creature s left flipper and Fred rel oading lodged a ball in i ts he ad which finished it Wi t h great labour the four men aided by the d ogs d r ew i t ou t up o n the ice This was a g rea t prize for walrus flesh is not much inferior ,

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1 04

WOR LD

TH E

OF I CE

to beef and w uld be an acceptable addi tion f fr esh mea t f t he use f the D lp hi c r ew and the r e w no chance f it spoiling f the f r st was now seve r en ugh to freeze every o

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animal solid al m ost immediately after it was killed The b ody of this walrus was n ot less than eighteen feet long and eleven in circumfe r ence It was m ore like an elephant in b ulk and rotu ndity than any other creatu r e It pa r to ok very much of the fo r m o f a seal having t wo la rge paw like flippe r s with which when s t ruggling for life it had mo r e than once nea r ly succeeded in getting u pon the ice Its upper face had a square bluff aspect and its br o ad mu zzle and checks were comple tely cove r ed by a c oarse quill like be a r d o f bristles which gave to it a peculia rly ferocious appea r ance The noti o n tha t the wal r us resembles man is ve ry much ove rr a ted The square bluff shape of the head alr eady r eferred to dest r oys the resemblance to humanity when distant and i ts colo s sal size does the same when near Some of the seals dese r ve this distincti o n more thei r droopi ng shoulders and o val faces being st rikingly like to t hose of man w hen at a dis tance The whi te ivo ry tusks o f t his c r eature were ca r efully measured by Fred and found to be thirty inches l o ng The resemblance of the walrus to ou r domes tic land animals has obtained for it am o ng sail ors the names of t he sea h orse and sea cow and the rec ords of its fer o city when at tacked a r e nume r ous Its hide is nearly an inch thick and is pu t t o many useful purposes by the Esquimaux who live to a g r ea t ex ten t on the flesh of this creature They cu t up his hide in to long lines to attach to the ha r poons wi t h which they ca tch himself t he said harpoons being po in te d with his own tu sks This tough hide is no t the only garment the wal r us wears to pro tect him from t he cold He also wears unde r fla nnels of t hick fa t and a to p coa t of cl o se hair so t ha t he can take a sies ta on an iceberg wi thout the leas t i nconve Talking of sies tas by t he way the walrus is sometimes ni enc e “ caugh t napping O ccasionally when the wea ther is i n tensely cold the hole through which he crawls upon the ice .

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1 06

WO R LD

TH E

this

OF ICE

wreat h of h e ar fros t which cove r ed t he upper par ts of “ each of them ; i t s ji et like the ermine that kings and queens wear so I m t o wld and it s chape r a l ong way “ “ I don t know tha t said Joseph West I t has cos t us a r o ugh voyage and a winter in t he Arc tic regi o ns if i t doesn t cost us m o r e yet t o put t ha t ermine f ri nge on our jumpe rs I can make n othing of this kno t ; try what you can do with it messmate will you ? So rra wan 0 me i l t ry it cried O Riley suddenly leaping up and swinging bo th arms vi olently against his shoulde r s ; “ I ve go t t wo hands I have but nive r a finger on t hem leas twise I feel n o ne th ough it is some small d ograe 0 com fort to see t hem “ My t oes are much i n the same condition said Wes t s tamp ing vigo r ously until he b r ou ght back t he ci r culat ion Dance then wid me c r ied the I r ishman suiting his ac tion “ to the w o rd I ve a m or ti al fear 0 bein bit wid the fros t for it s n o j oke le t me tell you Didn t I see a Whole ship s crew wa nce tha t wos wrecked in the Gulf o St Law r ence abou t the begi nni n 0 win ter and befo r e they got t o a part the coast whe r e the r e was a h ouse b el ongi n to the fur 0 traders ivery man j ack o them was frost bit mor e or less they wor Wan l os t a thumb and another the ji nt of a finger or t wo and m o s t 0 them had t wo or three toes ofl an there wos wan po o r fell ow who lost the fro n t half 0 wan fu t an the heel o the o ther an two inches 0 the bone was st i cki n ou t Sure it s t r u th I m t ellin ye for I seed i t wid me o wn t wo eyes I did The earnes t ton es i n which t he las t words were sp oken co n vi nced his c o mrades t ha t O Ri ley was t elling the t ruth so having a decided obj ection to be placed i n similar circum stances they danced and bea t e a ch other un til they were qui te in a glow “ Why wha t are you at there Meetuck ? exc la imed Fred pausing “ Igloe make replied the Esquimaux Ig wha t ? enqui red O Riley -

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B

U I LD I NG

A SN OW HUT

1 07

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O h I see ! shout ed F r ed







he s going to make a sn o w hut — igloes they ca ll them here Capi ta l — I never thought of that ! C o me along ; let s help him ! Meetu ck was indeed abou t to erec t on e of those curi ous dwellings of snow in which for the g r ea ter par t o f the year his primitive count rymen dwell He had no taste for s tar spangl e d bed curta i ns when solid walls whi ter than the purest dimity were to be had for n o thing His firs t opera ti o n in t he e r ection o f this hut was t o mark ou t a ci r cle of about seven feet diame ter From the inside of this circle the sn o w was cu t by m eans of a l ong knife in t he form of slabs nearly a foo t t hick and from two t o three fee t long having a sligh t convexity o n the outside These slabs wer e then so cut and ar r anged that when they were pil ed upon ea ch other round th e ma rgin of the circle they formed a dome shaped struc tu r e like a bee hive which was six fee t high inside and remarkably solid The slabs were cemented toge ther with l oo se snow and every accide n tal chink or crevice filled up with the same ma te ri al The na tives some times inse r t a block of clear ice in the roof for a window but this was dispens ed with on the p r esen t occasion — firstly becaus e there was no li gh t to le t in ; and secondly beca use if there had been they didn t wan t i t The building of the hu t occupied only an hour for the hun t ers we r e cold and hu ng ry and i n their ca se the old pro verb migh t have been paraphrased ! No work no s u pper A hole j ust la rge enough to pe r mit a man to creep th r ough o n his hands and knees formed the door o f thi s bee hive Attach e d to this hole and cemen te d to i t was a low tu nnel of about four fee t i n length When finished both ends of t he tunnel were closed up with slabs of hard snow which served the purpose of double doors and eflectually kep t out the cold While t his tunnel was approaching completion Fred reti r ed to a shor t dis tance and sa t d o wn to res t a few minutes on a block of ice A great change had come over the scene d uring t he time ,

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1 08

THE

WO R

LD

they

O F ICE

were at w o r k o n the sn ow hut The night had settled d o wn and n ow the wh ole sky was lit up with the vivid and beauti ful coruscati o ns of the Au r o ra Bo r ealis — that magni fi cent me teor o f the n orth which in some meas u r e makes up It spread ove r t o the inhabitants for the absence of the sun the whole extent of the sky in the form o f an i r regular arch and was intensely brilliant Bu t the brilliancy va r ie d as the green ethe r eal fi r e waved myste riously to and fro or shot up “ l o ng streame r s to wa r d the zenith These streame r s or mer ry dance r s as they a r e sometimes te rmed were at times p ecu Their c olou r was m ost f r equently yellowish l ia rly bri ght white s om etimes g r eeni sh and once o r t wic e of a lilac tinge The strength of the light was something g r eater than that of the m o on in he r qua r ter and the s ta r s we r e dimmed when the Auro r a passed over them as if they had been c overed with a delicate gauze veil But that which struck o ur hero as being m ost remarkable was the magnitude and dazzling brigh tness of the h ost of sta r s tha t c o vered the black fi r ma m ent It seemed as i f they were magnified in gl o ry and twinkled so much that the sky seemed as it w ere to tremble with ligh t A feeling of deep solemnity filled Fred s heart as he gazed upwards ; and as he though t upon the C r ea tor of these myste r ious worlds and reme m bered tha t He came to this lit tle plane t of ours to w o r k o u t the miracle of o ur redemp tion the words that he had o f ten r ead “ in the Bible ! Lo rd what is man that thou ar t mindful of him ? ca me forcibly to his remembrance and he felt the app r opri a teness of that sen timen t which the swee t singer of “ Is rael has expressed in t he words ! Praise ye him sun and moon ; praise him all ye s tars of ligh t There was a deep solemn stillness all ar o und — a s t illness widely differen t from that peaceful composure which charac t eri z es a calm day in an inhabited land I t was the death like stillness of that mos t peculiar and dreary desolation whi c h resul ts fro m the to tal absence o f animal exis te nce The silence was so opp r essive tha t it was with a feeling of relief he listened to the low dis tan t voices of the men as t hey pa used ever and -

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1 10

THE

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OF I CE

his eyes reluc tan tly he found t hat he was s tre t ched a t full length o n the snow and Joseph Wes t was shaking him by the shoulder as if he mean t to disl o cate his arm “ Hallo Wes t ! is that you ? Let me al one man I wan t t o sleep Fred sank down agai n ins tantly — that deadly sleep pr oduced by cold and f r om which t hose who indulge in it never awaken was upon him “ cried W est f ran tically you ll die sir if you Sleep ! don t r ou se up Hallo ! Meet uck ! O Ri ley ! help here ! “ “ I tell you mu r mured Fred faintly I wan t to sleep Well o nly a m o men t or t w o— ah ! I see ; is the hu t finished ? well go leave me I ll f oll o w — i n— a His v oice died away again j us t as Meetuck and O Ri ley cam e runni ng up The instant the f ormer saw how matters stood he raised F r ed i n his powe r fu l a r ms se t him o n his fee t and sh o ok him wi th s u ch vigour tha t i t seemed as if every bone in his body must be f o r ced ou t of j oin t “ Wha t mane ye by tha t ye bl u bber— bag ? cried the Irish man wra thf u lly d o ubling his mittened fists and advancing in a t hreatening manner t o wards the Esquimaux ; but seeing tha t t he sa vage paid not the lea st attenti on to him and kep t o n shaking Fred violently with a g oo d hum o ured smile on his c o un t enance he wisely desis t ed f r o m in t erfe ring In a fe w minu t es F r ed was able to stand and l ook abou t hi m with a stupid expressi o n and immediately the Esquimaux d ragged and pushed and sh ook hi m al ong towa rds the sn o w hu t into which he was finally th r ust though with s ome tr o uble i n consequence of th e lowness o f the tunnel Here by means o f rubbing and chafing with a little mo r e buflet i ng he w as res to r ed to some degree of hea t ; o n seeing which Mee tuck uttered a quie t grun t and immedia t ely se t abou t prepar ing supper I do believe I ve been asleep said Fred rising and s tre tching himself vigorously as the brigh t flame of a tin lamp sho t fo r th and sh ed a yellow lustre on the white wall s “ Aslape is i t ! be me conscience an ye have jus t Oh t hen may I never indulge in the same sor t 0 slumber ! ,

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NIG H T O N Why so ?

111

THE IC LOE

asd

Fred in some surprise You fell asleep on the ice si r answered Wes t while he busied himself i n sprea ding the t arpaulin and blanke t bags on the floo r of t he hut and you we r e very near frozen to death “ Frozen musha ! I m not t oo shure t ha t he s melted yi t ! said O Riley taking him by the arm and looking at him dubiously “ Fred laughed Oh yes ; I m mel t ed now ! Bu t le t s have supper else I shall fain t for hunger Di d I sleep many h o u rs ? “ You slept only five minu tes said Wes t i n some surprise “ at the ques tion Yo u were only gone about t en minu t es altogether This was indeed t he ca se The in t ense desire for sleep which is prod u ced in Arctic count ries when the fros t seizes hold of the frame so o n confuses t he facul ties of those who c ome under its influence As long as Fred had continued t o walk and w o r k he felt quite warm bu t the instan t he sa t d own on the lump of ice to rest the fr o st acted on him Being much exhausted too by labour and long fasting he was more susceptible than he would otherwise have been to the infl u ence of cold so t ha t i t chilled him at once and pro duced t hat deadly letha rgy fro m which bu t for the timely aid of his compani o ns he would never have reco vered The ar rangemen ts fo r supping and spending the nigh t m ade rapid progr ess and under the influence of fire and animal heat — for t he d ogs we r e ta ken i n beside t hem — the iglo e beca me comfo r tably war m ; yet the snow walls did no t melt o r become moist the in tense cold without being sufficient to c ou n t e r act and pr o tec t t hem from t he hea t within The fair roof howeve r soon became very dingy and t he Odour of melted fa t rather powerful Bu t Arc tic travellers are proof against such t rifles The tarpaulin was spread over the floor and a tin lamp in t o which several fat port ions of t he walrus were put was suspended fro m a s t ick thrus t i n t o the wall Round t his .



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1 12

W O R LD

THE

OF I CE

lamp the hun t ers circled each sea ted o n his blanke t bag and each attended to the duty which devolved up o n him Mee tuck h eld a tin kettle over the flame till the snow w ith which i t was filled melted and became c old wa ter and then gradu ally hea ted unti l i t boiled ; and all the while he empl oyed himself i n masticating a lump o f raw walru s flesh much to t he amusement of Fred and to the disgus t real or pretended Bu t the I r ishman and Fr ed to o and every m a n o f O Ri ley o n boa r d t he Dolphi n came a t last to r eli sh raw mea t an d t o l o ng for it The Esquimaux prefer it raw i n t hese parts of t he world (al t hough some t ravellers asser t that i n m ore southern latitudes they prefer co oked meat ) and with good rea son for it is much m o re nou ri shing than cooked flesh ; and lea r ned scien t ifi c men who have win t ered in the Arctic regions have distinctly sta ted tha t in th ose cold coun tries they found raw meat to be better for them than cooked meat and they assu r e us that they at last came to p r efer it ! We w o uld not have ou r readers to begin forthwith to dispense with the ar t of c ooke r y and cast Soyer to the dogs ; but we would have them hencefo rth refuse t o accep t tha t c ommon Opinion and vulgar erro r that Esquimaux eat their fo od raw They do i t because na ture teaches beca use they are sa vages them t hat under the ci r cu mstances i t is bes t The du ty t ha t devolved upon O Riley was t o roas t small s teaks of the wal r us i n which operati o n he was assis ted by West while Fred under t o ok t o get out t he biscuit bag and pewter plates and t o infus e t he coffee when the water should b oil I t was a s t range feast in a s tr ange place bu t it p r oved t o be a deligh t ful one ; for hunger requi r es no t to be temp ted and is n ot fastidi o us Oh bu t it s g ood isn t i t ? rema r ked O Ril ey smacking his lips as he swallowed a savoury m o rsel of the walrus and tossed the remnan t — a sinewy bi t— to Dumps who sa t gazing sulkily a t th e flame of the lamp having go rged himself long before the bipeds began s u ppe r “ Arrah ! ye won t take i t won t ye ? Here Poker ! Poker sprang forward wagging the s t ump of his tail and -

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114

W O R LD

THE

OF IC E

it s the foxes ; I ll go and l o ok whispered O Riley laying down his pipe and creeping to the mouth of the t unnel He ca me back h o wever fas te r than he wen t with a l ook of conste r nation for the first o bj ec t tha t confron ted him o n l ooking ou t was t he enormous he ad of a Polar bear To glance r ound for t heir fi r earms was the firs t impulse but thes e had unfortunately been left o n the sledge o utside What wa s They had n o thing but their clasp knives in the t o be done ? In this extremity Meetu ck cu t a large hole in the back i gl oe intending to creep out and p r ocure on e of t he of the hu t muskets but the instant the Opening was mad e the bear s head filled i t up With a savage yell O Ri ley seized the lamp and dashed the flaming fat in the c r ea ture s face It was a reckless deed for it left them all in the dark but the bea r seemed t o think himself insulted for he instantly retrea ted and when Meet uck emerged and laid hold of a gun he had disappea r ed They f o und on issuing in to the open air t hat a st ifl breeze was blowing which from the threatening appea rance of the sky promised to become a gale ; but as there was no a ppr e hensi on t o be entertained in regard to the s tability of the floe they returned t o the hut taking care to carry in their arms along with them Having patc hed up the hole clos ed the doo r s reki ndled the lamp and crept in to their re spective bags they wen t to sleep for however much they migh t dread the re turn of B ruin slumber was a necessi ty of natu re that would not be denied Mea nwhile t he gale f r eshened in to a hurricane and was accompanied with heavy snow and when they a ttempted to move nex t mo r ning they fo und it impossible to face i t for a single momen t There was no alte r native t herefore but to await the termina tion o f the gale which las ted t wo days and kept them close pris o ners all the time It was very wea ri s o me doubtless bu t they had t o submi t and sought to console themselves and p ass the time as pleasa n tly as possible by sleeping and eating and drinking coffee ’



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.

O R I LEY WAXES FA CETI O US ’

115

CHAPTER XIII J ou

r yr d b lt ne

esu

me

d

h

meet

un e s

ogs ar e suffe e s

e

wi h b r hav r t fi ht which d r M d wh ch A ctic r ck tr v l—

tr r r —A bea Th e

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Th e

th e i ce

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N the aba ting of t he grea t s torm referr ed to in the las t c hap t er t he hun t ers s ough t to free t hemselves fr o m t heir snowy prison and succeeded in burrowing so t o speak u p wards af ter severe labour for the hu t was bu ri ed in drif t which t he violence of the gale had rendered extremely compac t O Ri ley was th e firs t to emerge in t o t he u ppe r world Having dusted t he sn o w fro m his garmen t s and shaken him self like a Newfo undland dog he made sundry wry faces and gazed round him wi t h t he l ook of a man tha t did not know ve ry well wha t to do wi th himself “ I t s a quare place i t is i nti rely he remarked wi th a shake Of t he he a d t ha t betokened in t ense sagacity while he seate d himself on a mound of sn o w and wa tched his comrades as t hey busied themselves i n drag ing their sleeping bags and g coo king u tensils from the cavern t hey had jus t qui t te d O Riley seemed t o be in a con templat ive mood for he did not venture any further rema r k al t hough he looked unu tt e r able t hings as he proceeded quie tly t o fil l hi s li ttle black p i pe Ho O Riley ! lend a hand you lazy fellow cried Fred ; work firs t and play af terwa r ds yo u sk ul ke r “ Sure t ha t same is wha t I m replied O Ril ey wi t h a “ bland smile which he eclipsed i n a cloud of smoke Haven t I bin w orki n like a na agu r for t wo h o urs to gi t ou t of that hole and ain t I pla yi n a t une on me pipe now ? Bu t I won t be cr o ss grained I ll lind ye a hand av ye be have yerself It s a bad t hing t o be cross—grained he con tinued pocke t ing his pipe and assis ting to arrange t he sledge ; me owld grand mother always towld me tha t and she was wi se she wos beya nd or dn r More like Salomon nor anything else “ She mus t ha ve di rec t ed t ha t rema rk sp ecial ly to you I ,

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1 16

think

THE

WO RLD

o r I CE

said Fred let Dumps lead West he s tougher than the others — di d she not Be no manes I t wos to t he pig she sa id i t Mos t of her conversa tion (and she had a po wer o f i t) wos wid the pig and many s the word 0 go od advic e she gave it as it sat i n i ts us ual pl ace beside the fire for enin t her ; but it was all thr own away it wos fo r there wosn t another pig in all the length 0 I r eland as had sich a wi ll 0 its own ; and it had a screech too when i t wasn t plaa z ed as ba te all the steam whistles in the world it did I ve of ten mora la t ed on that sa me and I ve noticed tha t as i t is wid pigs so it is wid men and women some of them a t las te — t he m ore advice ye give them the less they take “ Do wn Poker ; quie t good dog | said West as he endea vou r ed t o restrain t he ardour o f t he t ea m which being f r es h and full fed could scarcely be held i n by the uni te d effo rts of himself and Meetuck while their compani o ns lash ed their pro visions & c on the sledge Hold on lads ! cri ed Fr ed as b e fas tened t he las t lashing We ll be re ady i n a second Now t hen jump on two o f you ! Ca t ch hold of the ta il line Meetu ck ! Al l righ t ! “ Hall righ t ! yelled the Esquimaux as he le t go t he dogs and sprang upon the sledge The t eam struggled and s trained violently for a few seconds in their efforts to overcome t he vis i nerti ae of the sledge and i t seemed as if the traces would part but they were made o f tough w alru s hide and held on b ravely while t he heavy vehicle g radually fe tched way and a t leng th flew over t he floes a t the ra te of seve n or eigh t miles an hour Travelling howeve r was no t n o w qui te as agreeable as it had been when they set ou t f r om the ship for t he floes were swep t bare in some places by the gale while in o ther places la rge d rifts had c ollec ted so that the sl edge was either swaying to and fr o on the smooth ice and swingi ng t he dogs almost off their fee t or it was plu ng ing hea vily t hrough banks of soft sn o w As the wind was still blowi ng fresh and would have been d ead agains t them had they at temp ted to ret urn by a direc t ’

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1 18

THE

WO RLD

or

ICE

dogs no thi ng daun ted by the fa te of their c omrade attacked the couple in t he rear biting their heels and so dis tr acting t heir attention tha t they could no t make an ene r getic at tack in any direction An other of the dogs howeve r a young on e waxing reckless ventu r ed to o near the old bear, and was seized by t he back and hurled high i n to the air th r ough which it wriggled vi olently and descende d with a s o unding whack upo n the ice A the same momen t a voll ey fr om the hun ters sent several balls into the carcass o f both m o the r and cub ; but a ltho u gh badly wounded neither of them evinced any sign of pa in and exhausti o n as t hey continued to ba ttle with the remaining dogs The dogs that had al ready fallen in the fray had no t been u sed to bear hunting— hence their signal defea t ; bu t this was not the c ase with the o thers all of which were old campaigners ; and P o ker especially although not old in yea r s was a practical fighter having been trained no t to attack bu t t o harass Th e systema tic and s t eady way in which they advanced be fore the bear and retired right and left leading her into a p r ofit less pu r suit was ve ry in t eres ting to witness Another v olley from the hun ters caused them to make off more rapidly and wounded the cub se verely so much so t ha t in a few minu te s i t began to flag Seeing this the mo ther placed i t in front of her and u rged it forward with her snou t so quickl y t ha t it was wi th the u tmos t di fficul ty the men could keep up with them A welld ir ected sho t however from Fred Ellice brought the old bear to the ground ; bu t she rose instantly and again advanc ed pushing her cub before her while the dogs con tinu ed They now began to fear t ha t in spi te of to embarrass her dogs and men the wounded bears would escape when an Oppor tune crack in the ice presen ted itself i n to which they bo t h t umbled followed by t he yelping and we may ad d limp ing dogs Before they could scramble up on the o ther side Meet uck and Fred being ligh t of foo t gain ed upon them sufficien tly to make sur e shots There they go cried Fred as the she bea r bounced ou t Poker s auda ci ty of t he crack wi th Poke r hangi ng to her heels ,

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O N ! UEST

1 19

TH E C

a t last ou ts tripped his sagacity and t he next momen t he was perf o rming a tremendous somersault Before he reached the ice Meetu ck and F r ed fi red simultaneously and when the smoke cleared a way t he old bear was stretc hed ou t in death Hitherto the cub had acted exclus ively on the defensive and entrus ted itself entirely to the pr o tec tion of its dam but now it seemed to cha nge its char acter entirely It sprang upon i ts m o ther s body and assuming an attitude of ext r em e ferocity kept t he dogs at ba y snapping and sna rl i ng righ t and left until t he hunters came up For the firs t time since the chas e bega n a feeling of in tense pi ty touched Fred s hear t and he would have rej oiced at that momen t had the mothe r risen up and m ade her escape with her cub He ste el ed his hea rt however by reflecting that f r esh p r ovisi o ns were much wan ted on board the Dolp hi n ; s ti ll neither he nor his shipma tes could b ri ng themselves to shoo t the gall ant little ani mal and it i s poss ible that they migh t have mad e up t heir minds to all ow it to es ca pe after all had no t Meetu ck quietly end ed their difficulty by put ting a ba ll t hroug h its hea r t “ Ah t hen M eet u ck ! said O Ril ey shaking his h ead as they examin ed their prize ye re a hard hea rted spalpeen ye are to kill a poor little baby like tha t in c o wld bl o od Well well it s yer natur an yer trade so I s pose it s all The weight of this bear whi ch was no t of the largest siz e was aft erwa r ds found to be ab o ve five hundred poun ds and her lengt h was eigh t fee t nine inches The cub weighed u p wards of a hun dred po unds and was larger than a Newfound land dog The operation of cu t ting ou t the en t rails prepa ra tory to pa cking on the sledge was now commenced by Meetuck whose prac tised hand applied t he kn ife wi t h the skill t hough no t wi th the deli ca cy of a surgeon She has been a hu ngry bea r i t seems remarked Fred as he wa tch ed t he progress of th e work if we may judge from the emp tin ess of “ O ch bu t she s had a choice morsel if it was a sma ll wan !

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12 0

W O R LD

TH E

OF ICE

exclaimed O Ri ley in s u r p r ise as he pi cked up a plug of tobacco On f u r ther examinati o n being made it was found that this bea r had dined on raisins tobacco pork and adhesive plas ter ! Such an extr aordi nary mix t ure Of articl es of co u rse led the party to conclude that ei t her she had helped he rself to the stores Of t he Dolp hin placed on Store Island o r that she had fall en i n with those Of some o ther vessel This subject ai forded food for thought and conve r sation d u ring the next h our or t wo as they dro ve towards the ship along the ice belt Of the shore The ice belt referred to is a zone Of ice w hich extends al ong the shore from the unknown regi ons Of the no r th To the s o uth it b r eaks up i n summer and disappea r s alt ogether but i n the latitude which ou r travelle r s had now reached it was a perma nent fea t ure Of t he scenery all the year round follow ing the curva t ures and indentations of bays and rivers and increasing i n winter o r dimini shing in summer bu t never melting en ti r ely away The surface Of this i ce belt was cove r ed wi t h immense masses of rock many to ns in weigh t which had fallen f r om the cliffs above P ointing to one of these as they drove along Wes t rema r ked to Fred “ There is a mys tery explained sir ; I have Of ten wondered how huge solitary s tones tha t no machinery Of man s making could lif t have come to be placed on sandy shores where there were no other r ocks of any ki nd wi t hin many miles of t hem The ice must have done i t I see True Wes t the ice if i t co ul d speak would explai n many things tha t no w seem to us mysterious and yonder goes a big rock on a j o urney that may perhaps termina te a t a thousa nd miles to the s outh of this The rock referred to was a large mass tha t became de tached from the cli ffs and fell as he spoke with a tremendous crash u pon the ice belt along which it rolled for fifty yards There i t would lie all winte r and in sp r ing the mass o f ice to which i t was a t tached would probably break off and floa t away wi th i t to t he sou th gradually melting un til it allowed t he rock to sink to t he bo t tom of the sea or deposi ting it perchance on ’

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12 2

WO RLD

TH E

OF I CE

t inned to make their was

now

way nor thward towards t he ship which sp oken of by the endearing name of home ,

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C H A PTE R

pr r

De

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sun

—Effe

ct d rk i t ri r s of

th e n

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n ess o n

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! IV

d

o gs-

th e Dolp hi n

Wi nter arrangements i n

T is sad t o part wi th a n Old frie nd especially if he be one Of the Oldest and bes t friends we eve r had When the day Of depar ture arrives i t is of no avail that he t ells us kindly he will come back again Tha t assu r ance is indeed a comfor t aft er he is gone and a swee t s ta r Of hOpe tha t shi n es brigh ter and brigh t e r ea ch day until he c omes back ; bu t i t is poor consolation t o us a t the time of parting when we are squeezing his hand for the last time and t rying t o crush back the drops tha t wi ll overflow The crew of t he Dolp hin had i n the course Of t hat Win t er t o par t with one of their bes t friends ; one whom they regarded wi th the mos t dev o ted a t tachmen t ; one who was not expected to return again till the following sp r ing and o ne therefore whom s o me of t hem migh t perhaps n ever see again “ Mi vi ns became quite low spiri t ed abou t i t and said as OW after he was c d ave a cavy car t for hever and hever hamen gone O Riley remarked in refe r ence t o his depar t ure tha t eve r y man in the ship was abou t to lose a son ! Yes indeed he did ; he perpe tra ted that a t ro cious pun and wasn t a bi t ashamed Of it O Ril ey had perpe tra t ed many a worse pun than tha t before ; i t s t o be hoped tha t for t he credi t Of his coun try he has perpe t rat ed a few be tter ones since ! Yes the period a t length arrived when the great s o urce of ligh t and heat was abou t t o wi thdraw his face from these Arc ti c naviga tors for a long l ong time and leave them i n unvarying nigh t I t was a good while however before he wen t away al t oge ther and for many weeks af ter Winter se t in i n all i ts in t ensity he paid t hem a daily visi t which grew ,

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ON

EFFECT

D

OGS

3

gradually shorte r and shorter until that sa d evening in which he finally bade them farewell Abou t the middle of Octobe r the da r k mon t hs overspread the Bay of Me r cy and the reign Of pe rpet ual nigh t began There was something terribly depressing at fi r st i n this u n i nterrup ted gloom and for s o me time after the sun ceas ed t o sh o w hi s disc above the horizon the men Of the Dolp hi n u sed to c o me o n deck at no o n and loo k ou t fo r t he fain t s treak of ligh t that indica ted t he presence Of the life givi ng lumi nary with all the earnes t ness a nd longing of Eas tern fir e wo r shippers The dogs to o became sensibly affec t ed by the continued abs ence Of ligh t and seemed to draw more sympa the tically than ever to their human compa nions in banishmen t A cu r ious and touching ins tance Of this feeling was exhibi ted when the pack were sen t to sleep on St ore Island A warm kennel had been erec t ed for them the r e partly in order tha t the ship migh t be kep t more t horoughly cl ean and pa r tly t hat the dogs migh t act as a guard over the s t ores in case bears or wolves should take a fancy to examine them Bu t no thing would induce the poor animals to keep away fro m the ship and remain beyond the sound of huma n v o ices They des er ted their comfo r table abode wi th one consen t t he first time they were sen t to it preferring to spend the nigh t by the side of the ship upon the ba r e snow Coaxi ng them was Of no us e O Ri l ey t ried i t i n vain “ Ah then said he to Dumps wi t h a wheedling ai r and exp r ession of in tense affection that w o uld have taken by s torm “ the hear t Of any civi lized dog won t ye come now an la y in yer own kennel ? Sure it s a beautiful wan an as warm as the hea r t of an iceberg DOO come now a vi c an I ll show ye the way Bu t Du mps s hea r t was marble He wouldn t budge By means Of a piece Of walrus however he was a t lengt h i nduced t o go with the Irishman t o the kennel and was followed by the en tire pa ck Here O Ri ley endeavoured t o make them comfortabl e and prevail ed on t hem to lie down and go t o ,

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12 4

W O R LD

TH E

O F I CE

sleep bu t wheneve r he a t tempted t o leave them they w ere up a nd at his heels in a moment Och b u t ye r e to o f o nd 0 me entirely ! DOO lie down agin and I ll sing ye a ditty ! T r ue to his w ord O Riley sa t d o wn by the d og kennel and “ gave ven t t o a h owl which his owld g r andmothe r he said used t o sing t o the pig and whether it was the effects Of this lul laby or of t he cold it is imp o ssible to sa y bu t O Ri ley at length succeeded i n slipping away and regaining the ship unobse r ved by his canine f r iends Half an h our later he went on deck to take a mo u thful Of f r esh air befo r e supper and on l ooking ove r the side he saw the whole pack Of d ogs lyi ng in a ci r cle cl o se t o the ship with Dumps c o mfo r tably asleep in the middl e and using P oker s back for a pillow Faix bu t ye must be f ond Of the co wld t o lie there a ll night when ye ve go t a palace on St ore Island “ Fond Of s o ciety rather Observed Capta in Guy who came “ the p o o r creatures cann o t bea r to be o n deck at the momen t lef t alone It is a s trange quality i n d ogs which I have Of ten observed before Have ye Ca pti ng ? Sure I though t i t was all o wi n t o the bad manners 0 tha t bas t e Dumps which is for iver leadin the other dogs in t o mischief “ Supper s re ady sir said Mi vi ns coming up the hatchway and t ouching his cap Lo ok here Mi vi ns said O Ri ley as the cap tain wen t below can ye p oin t ou t t he morni n s tar to me lad ! “ The morning star ? said Mi vi ns slowly as he thrus t his hands in to the breas t Of his jumper and gazed upwards int o the dark sky where the sta rry host blazed in Arctic maj esty “ NO hof course I can t Why don t you know tha t there hain t no mor ni ng star when i t s night all round ! Faix ye re ri gh t I niver t hough t 0 tha t Mi vi ns was eviden t ly a little puffed up with a feeli ng Of sa tisfaction a t t he clever way in which he had go t ou t Of the diffi cul ty Withou t displaying hi s ignorance of astronomy and was even ven turing i n t he pride of his heart t o make some ,

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12 6

THE

WOR LD

OF I CE

there was no dis tinction be tween day a nd nigh t in mid win ter ei ther in t he cabin or ou t—Oi doors I n this snug l o oki ng place t he Ofii cer s and men o f t he ship messed and dwelt and slep t t ogethe r ; but no t withsta nding the app arent snugness it was with t he grea t es t difficulty they could keep themselves in a sufficient degree of warm th to maintain health and comfo rt Whenever the fi r e was all owed t o ge t lo w the beams ove r head became coa t ed with boar f r ost ; and even when t he t empera t u r e was raised t o the u tmos t possible pi tch i t was cold enough a t the extreme ends Of the apa rtment t o f r eeze a jug Of wa t er solid A large table occupied the upper end Of the cabin be tween the stove and the s tern and round this the Officers and crew we r e sea t ed when O Riley entered and t ook hi s place among them E ach individual had his app oin ted place a t the mess table and wi th unva rying regularity these places were filled at t he appoin ted hours The d ogs seem to be disobedien t remarked Amos Parr “ as his comrad e sat d o wn ; they d be the be tter of a taste 0 Meetu ck s ca t I think “ I t s t ru th ye r e sayi n replied O Ri ley commencing a “ violen t assault o n a walrus s t eak ; t hey don t Obey orders at all a t all An D umps the blaggard is as cross grained as me grandmo ther s owld pig A general laugh here inte rrup t ed t he speaker for O Ri ley could seldom ins titu t e a disparaging comparison wi t hou t making empha tic allusion t o the pig that once shared wi t h him the hospi tali ties of his g r andmother s cabin Why everything you speak o f seems to be like t ha t won d er ful pig messma t e said Pe ter Grim “ “ Ye r e wrong there i ntir ely retor ted O Ri ley I niver seed no thing like i t in all me t hra vels excep t yer self and that only in regard t o i ts muzzle which was black and all kivered over with b ris tles it w os I ll t hrouble for ano t her steak messma te ; that walrus is grea t livin We owe ye thanks for killin i t Mis t er Ellice “ You re fishing for c o mplimen ts bu t I m afraid I have none fo r

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ATR I C ALS P LA NNED Your fi r s t ha r poon you know if I recollec t righ t wasn t i t !

12 7

THE

give you was a l i tt le wide Of t he mark “ Yis it wos— ab o ut as Wide as the firs t bulle t I mis remember exactly who fired i t ; wos i t you Meetuck ? M eetu ck being deeply engaged wi th a j unk Of fa t mea t a t that momen t expressed all he had to say in a convulsive gasp without interrup ting his supper “ T r y a bit Of the bea r said Fred t o Tom Si ngle t on ; be tter than the walrus to my tas t e “ I d ra ther no t answer ed Tom with a dubio us shake of the head “ I t s a mos t unconscionable t hing t o ea t a beas t 0 tha t sort rema rked Saunders gravely Es pecially one who has been i n t he habi t of living on raisins and sticking plas t er said Bolton with a grin “ I have been thi nking abou t that said Captain Guy who had been for some time lis tening in silence t o the c o nversa tion and I cannot help t hinking tha t Esquimaux must have found a w r eck somewhere i n t his neighb o u r hood a n d carried away her s t ores which B r uin had managed to steal from them “ May they no t have go t some o f t he stores Of the brig we saw ni pped some months ago ? sugges t ed Single t on Poss ibly they may I dinna think tha t s likely said Saunders shaking his “ head Yon brig had been deser ted long ago and her s tores mus t have bee n consumed if they were taken out of her at all befo r e we thought 0 comin here For s o me t ime t he par ty in t he cabin a t e in silence We mus t wai t patiently resumed t he cap tain as if he were tired of following up a fruitless t rain Of t hough t Wha t Fred ! we mus t ge t t hem se t a g oing as Of your t hea t ricals soon as possible The cap ta i n spoke anima t edly for he fel t tha t wi t h t he pro spec t Of a l ong dark wi nter be fo re t hem i t w as Of t he grea tes t impor tance that t he spiri ts Of t he men should be kep t up “ I find i t di ffi cul t to bea t up recrui ts answered Fred to

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12 8

TH E

WO R LD

OF I CE

laughing ; te r Grim has flatly refused to ac t and O Riley says he could no more lea r n a par t 0 3 by hea rt th an “ His grandmother s pig could in terru p ted David Mizzle who havi ng concluded supper now fel t hi mself free to indulge in conve r sa tion “ Och ! ye spalpeen whispered the Irishman I have written out t he half Of a pla y which I hope to pro d u ce i n a few days on th e boards of our Arctic t hea tr e with a talented company bu t I mus t have one or two mo r e men Will you take tha t pa r t one to act the pa r t o f a lady “ Pe



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Wot ! me ? cried t he individual refe r red to wi t h a s tare Of amazemen t “ O h yes ! do Bu z z b y cried several of t he men wi t h grea t delight You r e j us t cu t ou t for i t “ Blue eyes sa id one Fair hair cried ano ther And plump said a thi rd Wid cheeks like the hide of a walrus cried O Ril ey ; “ bu t sure i t won t show Wid a veil o n Come now you won t refuse Bu t Bu z z by did refuse ; no t however so de terminedly bu t t hat he was induced a t l ast to allow his name to be entered in Fred s note book as a super nume r a ry “ “ Hark ! cried the captain ; surely the dogs mus t have smelt a bear The r e was ins tan tly a dea d silen ce in the cabin and a long loud wail from the dogs was heard ou tside “ It s no t like t heir usual cry when game is near said the second ma te Hand me my rifle Mi vi ns said the cap tain springing up and pulling forward the hood Of his jumper as he hurried on deck follow ed by the crew It was a b r ight s till fr os ty nigh t and the air fel t in tensely sharp as if n eedles were pricking the skin while t he men s brea th issued from their lips i n whi te clouds and se ttled in boar fros t on the edges of their hood s The dogs were seen .

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1 30

W O R LD

TH E

OF I CE

an tics of our canine f ri ends were i t no t for the fac t tha t these an tics a tt ra c ted the notice Of a pe r sonage who me r its pa rticular descrip t ion This was no o ther than one Of the Es quimaux inhabi ta n ts Of the land— a woman and such a woman ! Mos t pe ople would have pronounced her a ma n for she wore p r e ci sely t he same d r ess — fur jumper and l o ng b o o t s — tha t was worn by the men Of the Dolp hi n Her lips were t hick and her nose was blunt ; she wore her hair t urned up and t wis ted int o a knot o n the top Of her head ; her hood was thrown back and inside Of this hood there was a baby — a small and a very fa t baby ! I t was so to speak a c onglomera t e Of dumplings Its cheeks were t wo dumplings a nd its arms were four dumplin gs — o ne above each elbow and o ne below I t s hands also were two smaller dumpli ngs with t en ex tremely little d u mplings at the end Of them This baby had a nose of c ourse bu t i t was so small t ha t i t might as well have had none ; and i t had t oo bu t tha t was so capacious that the half Of i t a mou t h w o uld have been more than eno u gh for a baby double the size As for i t s eyes they were large and black— black as t wo coals and devoid of all expression save tha t Of as t onishme nt bel t Such were t he pair tha t stood o n t he edge Of the ice — gazing down upon Dumps and P oker And no sooner did Dumps and Poker ca t ch sigh t of them t han t hey sprang hastily towards them wagging their tails— or more correctly speaking their tail and a quarter Bu t on a nearer approach those sagacious ani mals discovered tha t the woman and her child were s trangers whereupon they se t up a dismal how] and fled towards t he ship as fas t as they could run N OW i t so happened tha t a t this very time t he howl Of the d ogs fell upon t he ears Of t wo separa t e par ties of t ravellers the one was a band of Esquimaux who were moving abou t in search Of seals and walrus t o which band this woman and her baby belonged ; the o ther was a par ty Of men under command Of Bu z z b y who were re turning t o the ship af te r an unsuccess ful hunt Neither pa r ty saw the o ther for one approached from the east the other from the wes t and the ice bel t on the poin t Of which t he woman s tood rose up be tween them ,

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O R I LEY ’

rs

VAING

O I O US

131

L R

Hallo ! wha t s yo n exclaimed Pe t e r Grim who was fi r s t to observe t he w o man “ Du n n o said Buz z by hal ting ; i t looks like a be ar Faix an it is then it s go t a young wan on its back c r ied O Riley “ We had be tter advance and find out remarked West as he led the way whil e seve r al Of the men th r ew up their arms in token Of their f r iendly in ten tions O Riley cape red s o me what extravagan tly as he dr ew near par tly with the in tenti o n of expressing his feelings Of g o od will towards the unknown and part ly in order to relieve the excitemen t caused by t he u nexpec t ed appa r ition These demonstra tions however had the effec t of t erri fyi ng the w o man who wheeled suddenly round and m ade ’

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i t is a man Hoo r ay boys ! give chas e Men d o n t usually ca rr y ba bies on their backs and t ie t heir hair up in to top kno ts r emarked Gri m as he dart ed pa s t in pursui t A few seconds sufli ced to enable Grim to over ta ke t he woman who fell on her knees the instan t she fel t the sai lor s heavy hand on her shoulder “ Don t be afeard ; we won t hurt ye said Bu z z by in a soothing t one patting the woman on t he head and raising her up “ NO a vi c we s yer fr i nds ; we ll n ot harm a hair 0 yer beau t iful head we w o n t Ah then it s a swa te child it is bless i ts fa t face ! said O Ril ey s tr oking t he baby s head tenderly with his big hand It was wi t h diffi culty tha t t he poo r crea t ure s fears were calmed at firs t bu t the genuine tenderness displayed by the men to wa r ds the baby and t he perfec t complacency with which tha t c o ngl o mera teOf dumplings rec eived their caresses soon relieved her mind and she began t o rega r d her cap tors with much curiosity while they endeavoured by signs and words to converse wi th her U nfor tuna tely M eet uck was not wi t h the par ty he having been lef t on boa rd ship to assis t Och !

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132

THE

W OR LD

OF IC E

in a general cleaning Of the cabin tha t had been ins ti tu ted that day “ Sure now ye d o n t kn o w how to talk with a girl at all ye don t ; let me t ry c r ied O Riley after several o f the pa rty had made numerous i n eflect ual attempts to c o nvey their mean “ ing Listen to me da rli nt and d o n t mind them s tupid Wh e r e have ye corn ed f r om now ; tell me dear gra mpu sses doo now ? O Ri ley accompanied the ques tion with a smile Of ineffable swee t ness and a grea t deal Of ene r getic pantomime which d o ubtless explained much of his mea ning to himself but certainly to no one else “ Ah then ye d o n t ondersta nd me ? Well well no w isn t that s t range ! Lo o k you avi o have ye seen a brig or a b rig s crew anywhere betu ne this and the nort h po le — try now an remi mb er He illustra t ed this ques tion by holding up both arms straigh t above his head to represen t the mas ts o f a brig and sticking his right leg strai gh t ou t i n fron t of him to represen t the bowsprit ; bu t the woman gazed a t him with an air Of ob t use gravity that migh t have damped the h opes even of an Irishman O Riley prided himself h oweve r on not being easily beat, and despi te his repeated failure and the laugh ter Of his messma tes was proceeding to make a thi rd e fi ort when a loud shou t from the cli ffs caused the wh ole party to start and t urn their eyes i n t ha t direc tion The c ry had been u tter ed by a figure whos e c o stume bore so close a resemblance t o t hat which they themselves wore that they thought for a moment i t was one Of t heir own shipmates but a second glance p r oved tha t t hey were mista ken for the i ndivi d u al in question carried a spear which he brandished with exceedingly fierce and warlike in tenti o ns “ Faix it mus t be her husband said O Riley Hallo l ads t here s more o n em ! cried Grim as t en or t welve Es quimaux emerged f rom the rents and ca verns of the ice belt and scrambling to the t op o f surrounding hum m ocks and eminences gazed towards the party of whi te men while they thr ew abou t t heir arms and legs and accompanied .



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1 34

TH E

W O RL D

OF I C E

a mu tual unders tanding as to the fri endly disposition Of their respec tive pa r ties and the woman was delivered up to this big fellow who t urned ou t to be her husband af ter all as The othe r Esquimaux seeing O Ril ey had c o rrectly guessed the amicable te rms on which t he leaders me t crowded in and surro unded them “ eave the half L 0 ye to guar d the arms and come on the res t o f ye withou t em shou te d Bu z z by The men obeyed and in a few minu t es the t wo par ties mingled toge ther wi th t he u t mos t confidence The sailors however deem ed it prudent t o ge t possession Of their arm s again as soon as possible and aft er explaining as well as they could by signs t hat thei r home was onl y at a short d is tance the wh ole band started Off for the ship The na tives we r e in a most upro a r ious s tate o f hila rity and danced and yelled as they ambled along in their hai ry dresses evidently filled with deligh t a t the prospect O f f o r ming a friendship with the white s t rangers as they aft erwards termed the crew Of the Dolp hi n alth ough some Of the sa id crew were f r om exposure only a few shades ligh te r than t hemselves Cap tain Guy was busily en gaged with Fred Ellice and Tom Singleton in measuring and regis t ering the sta te Of t he tide when this ri o to us band t urned the point Of t he ice bel t to the northward and came suddenly i nto view “ Jump down below Fred and fe tc h my rifle and sword ; there are t he natives cried the cap tain seizing his telescope “ Call all hands Mi vi ns and le t them arm ; look alive ! “ All ands ahoy ! shou te d the steward looking down “ the ha tchway ; tumble up there tumble up e r e come the Heskimows Bring your harms wi th ye Look alive ! “ Ay ay ! shouted t he men from below ; and in a few minu tes they crowded up the ha tchway pulling up t heir hoods and haul ing on their mi t tens for i t was in tensely cold Why Cap tain t here are some Of our men with them exclaimed Tom Single ton as he l ooked t hrough hi s pocke t glass at them to

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AMAZEMENT

OF

NATI VES

1 35

there are — I see Bu z z by and Grim ; come tha t s fortuna te for they mus t have m ade friends with them whi ch i t is no t always easy to do Hide your muske ts men but keep o n y o ur cu tl a sses ; it s as well to be prepared t hough I do n t expec t t o find t hose people troublesome Is the soup i n the coppers David Mizzle ? “ Yes sir it is Then pu t in an ex tra junk of pork and fill i t up t o the b rim While the cook wen t below to Obey thi s orde r the cap ta in and half Of the crew desc ended to the ice and advanced u n a rm ed to mee t the natives The remainder Of the men s tayed be hi nd to guard the ship and be ready to affo rd succ o ur if n ee d be ; bu t the precauti o n was unnecessary fo r the Esqui maux me t the sailors in the most frank and confi di ng manner and seemed qui te to unde r stand Captain Guy when he drew a line r o und the ship and s tationed sentri es al o ng it t o preven t them from crossing The natives had their d ogs and sledges with them and the former t hey picke ted to the ice while a few Of t heir numbe r and the woman whose name was Aninga were taken on board and hospitably entertained I t was exce edingly interes ting and amusing to Observe the feelings Of amazement and deligh t expressed by th ose barbarous but good humoured and in tel ligent pe ople a t everything t hey saw While food was prepa r ing for them they were taken round t he ship on deck and bel ow and the sailo r s explained in pan tomime the uses Of everything They laughed and exclaimed and shou ted and even roared with deligh t and touched eve rything wi th their fingers jus t as m onkeys are wont to do whep le t loose Capta in Gu y t ook Aninga and her tal l husband Awa tok to t he cabin where through the medium Of Meetu ck he explain ed the Obj ect of their exp e dition and questioned the chief as to hi s knowledge of the country ! U n fort u nately Awa tok and his ba nd had tr avelled from the in teri o r to the coast and never havi n g been more tha n twenty or t hirty miles to the n o rth Of the Bay of Mercy co u ld give no informa t ion either in rega rd to t he forma tion SO



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1 36

TH E

W R LD O

OF IC E

Of the coas t or t he possibility of Europea ns having winte r ed there In fac t nei ther he nor his count rymen had ever seen Europeans befo r e ; and they were so much exci ted t hat it was difficul t to Ob tai n cohe r ent answe r s to questio ns The cap tain therefore postponed fu r ther enquiries un til t hey had be come somewha t a ccus to med t o the novelty Of thei r p ositi o n Meanwhil e David Mizzle furnished them with a la rg e supply Of pea soup which they seemed to r elish amazingly No t so however the sal t po rk with which it had been made They did indeed c o ndescend t o eat it but they infinitely p r e fe r red a portion Of raw walrus flesh which had been reserv ed as food for the d ogs and which they w o u ld speedily have con sumed had i t not been rem o ved ou t o f thei r reach Havi ng fi ni shed this they we r e o rde r ed to return to their camp o n the ice beside the ship and a vigo r ous ba rter was speedily begun Firs t Of all h owever a number Of presen t s were m ade to th em and it would rea lly have done your heart g o od re ad er to have witnessed the extravagant j oy displayed by them o n rece iving such tri fles as bits Of hoop i r o n beads kni ves scissors need les & c Iron is as p r ecious am ong them as gold is among civilized people The small quantities they possessed o f it had been Ob tained from the few portions Of wrecks t ha t had drif t ed ashore in their ice b o und land They us ed i t for pointing their spea r head s and harpoons which in default of iron were ingeniously m ade Of ivory from the tusks of the walrus and the horn of the narwal A bi t Of i r on t he r ef ore was receiv ed with immense glee and a penny looking glass with shou ts Of delight But the pres ent w hich drew fo r th the most uproari ous applause was a U nion Jack which the ca p ta in gave to their chief Awatok He was in the ca bin when it was presented O n seeing its gaudy colours unrolled and being to ld to him tha t it was a gift to himself and his wife he caugh t his breath and stared as if in doubt al terna tely a t the flag and the cap tain then he gave ven t to a tremendous shou t seized .

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1 38

THE

WOR LD

OF I CE

last them a week for the Esqui maux lived from h and to mouth and t he crew felt tha t they mus t depend o n their own exert ions in the hun t for this indispensa ble ar ticle of f ood wi th o u t which th ey could no t hope to escape the assaul ts of the sail ors d r ead enemy scurvy Meetu ck s du ties were no t ligh t upon this o c casion as you may suppose “ Arrah then don t ye onderstan d me ? cried O Ri ley in an excited tone to a pa r ticu la r ly obt u se and remarkably fa t Esq u imaux who was about as sharp at a bargai n as himself “ Hallo ! Meetu ck come here do and tell this p o rk faced spalpeen wha t I m sa yin Sure I couldn t spake it plainer av I was to try “ I ll never ge t this fellow t o unders ta nd sa id Fred Me et uck my boy come here and explain to him HO M eet u ck shou ted Peter Grim give this Old block head a tas te 0 your lingo I never me t his ma tch for stupidity “ I do believe t hat this rascal wan ts the Ole Of this ba ll 0 twine for t he tusk Of a sea oss Meetuck ! w ere s Meetu ck ? I say give us a and ere li ke a good fellow c ri ed Mi vi ns ; bu t Mi vi ns cri ed in vain for at tha t moment Saunde r s had vi olently collared the in terpreter and d r agged him towar ds an old Esquimaux woman whose knowledge of Sc o tch had not proved sufficien t to enable her to unders tand the energeticall y expres sed w ords Of t he sec o nd mate Du ring all this time the stars had been twinkling brigh t ly i n the sky and the aurora shed a clear light up o n the scene wh ile the air was s till calm and cold ; bu t a cloud or two now began to darken the hori zon to the north ea st and a puff of wi nd blew oc casi o nal ly over the icy plain and struck with such chilling influence on the f rames Of the traffickers tha t with one consen t they closed their busin ess for that day and the Esquimaux prepared to return to their snow village which was abou t ten miles to the southward and which village had been erected by them onl y three days p r evious to their dis covery of the ship ,

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A C

O URT

OF

IN ! UI RY

1 39

I m sorry to find remarked the cap tain to those who “ were standing near him that t hese poo r crea tures have stolen a few t rifling articles f r om below I don t like to brea k th e harmonious feeling which now exis ts between us for t he sake Of a few w o rthless thi ngs but I know t ha t i t does more harm t han good to pas s over an Offence wi th the natives of t hese region s for t hey attribu t e our forbearance to fea r “ Pe r haps you had be tt er tax them with the thef t sug~ “ ges ted the surgeon ; they may confess i t if we don t loo k very angry A few more remarks were made by several of t hose who s tood on t he quar ter deck s uggesting a treatment of t he Esquimaux which was not Of the gen tles t nature for they felt indignan t that their hos pitali ty had been abused NO no replied t he cap tai n to such sugges t ions we mus t exe r cise forbea r ance These poor fellows do not regard t hef t in the same light tha t we do ; beside s i t would be foo lish to risk losing their friendship GO do wn M eetu ck and invi te Awa tok and his wife and half a dozen Of the chief men in to the cabin Say I wish t o have a talk wi th them The in terpre t er obeyed and i n a few minu t es the Officers of the ship and the chiefs o f t he Esquimaux were assembled in solemn co nclave r ound the cabin table “ Tell them Meet uck said the cap tain t ha t I know they have s tolen t wo pieces Of hoop i r on and a t in ke ttle and ask them why they were so ungra teful as to do it The Esquimaux who were becoming ra ther alarmed a t the s tern looks Of those around them pro t ested earn es tly tha t they knew n o thing abou t i t and tha t they had not taken the t hings refe rr ed to “ Sa y that I do not believe them answered the cap ta in “ sternly It is an exceedingly wicked t hing to s teal and to tell lies Whi te men think those who are gu il ty Of such conduct to be very b ad Ah ye vi llai n ! cried Sa unders seizing o ne Of t he Esqui maux na m ed Oosuck by t he shoulder and draw i ng “



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1 40

WO R LD

THE

O F I CE

fo r th an iron spoon which he Observed proj ec ting f r om the end Of his boo t An exclama t ion Of su r prise and displea sure burst f r om t he Officers bu t t he Esquimaux gave vent to a l o ud laugh They evidently t hough t s tealing to be no sin and were not the leas t ashamed of being detec ted Awa tok however was an excep tion He looked g r ave and annoyed bu t whe ther this was at being found ou t or a t th e ingra t itude of his people they could not decide “ Tell t hem said t he ca pta in that I am much displeased If t hey promise to re turn the stolen goods immed ia tely I will pass o ver their Offence this time and we will trade together and live like bro thers and do each other go od ; but if no t and if any m o re articles are taken I will punish them Having had this translated to them the chiefs were dis miss ed bu t the exp r ession Of indi fference on some of their faces proved that no impression had been made up o n them In a quar ter Of an hour the articles that had been m en ti on ed as missing were re t urned ; and in order t o resto r e harmony several plugs of tobacco and a few a ddi tional tri nke ts were re t urned by the messenger Soon af ter the dogs were harnessed the sl edges pac ked and with many pro testations of go od wi ll o n both sides the par ties sepa ra t ed A few cracks Of t heir long whips a few answering howls from the dogs — and t he Esquimaux were off and ou t of sight leaving the Dolp hi n i n her former soli tude under the shadow of the frowning cliffs Fe tch me the telescope Mi vi ns s aid the cap tain calling down the ha tchway Ay ay sir answered t he steward Where s my ha tchet ? cried Pe ter Grim s triding about the deck and looking in to every corner in search of his missing “ implemen t I t s my best one and I ca n t get on wi thou t i t nohow The cap ta in bi t hi s lip for he knew full well t he ca use of its absence .

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1 42

THE

WO R LD

OF IC E

with a c o r d A t the same time poor Aninga a nd he r baby were swiftly transferred t o the sailors sledge Seeing this the whole band Of natives t u r ned ba ck and rushed i n a body to the rescue flourishi ng t heir lances and yelling fiercely F orm line ! shou te d the cap tain handing Awatok and “ Aninga ove r t o t he care Of O Riley Three of you on the righ t fire over their heads and let the rest reserve their fire I wi ll ki ll one of their dogs for it won t do t o le t them fancy tha t nothing bu t n o ise comes o ut Of ou r muske ts Rea dy presen t ! A rattling v o lley followed and at t he same momen t o ne Of the d ogs fell wi th a dea t h yell on t he i ce and dy ed it with its blood “ Forward ! shou t ed the cap tain The men advanced in a body at a smart ru n bu t the terri fi ed Es quimaux who had never h eard t he report Of firearms bef ore did not wait for t hem ; they t urned and fled preci pi ta t ely bu t not before Gr i m captured Oosu ck and dragged hi m forcibly t o the rear where he was pi nioned and placed on the sledge with the others Now t hen lads that will do ; ge t upon the sledge again Away with you Meetu ck Look af ter Awa tok Grim ; O Riley will see that Aninga d oes no t jump Off Tha t he wi ll darlint said t he Ir ishman pa tting t he woman on the ba ck And I shall look af ter the baby said Fred chucking that series Of dumpli ngs under t he chin — an ac t of familia ri ty that seem ed to afford i t immense sa tisfac tion for n otwi ths tanding the melancholy posi tion Of its father and mo ther as prisone rs i t smiled on Fred benignly In five mi nu tes the pa r ty were far on their way ba ck to the shi p ; and in less than five hours after t he Esq uimaux had closed their bar ter and lef t for their vil lage four Of their number including t he baby were close pris o ners in t he I t was not Cap tain Guy s in ten t ion how ever Dolphi n s hold to use unne cessa ri ly h a rsh means for t he recove ry of th e .



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PROMPT

J

U STI CE

1 43

missing articles His Obj ec t was to impress the Esqui with a salutary sense Of the powe r p r omptitude and courage of E u ropeans and t o check at the o u tset their prope nsity for thievi ng Having succe eded i n making two of their chief men p r isoners he felt assured tha t the l o s t te lesc o pe and hatchet would soo n make their appea rance ; and in this he was no t mistaken G oing to the h old Whe r e the p r is o ne r s sat with d o wnc ast l ooks he add r ess ed t o them a lengthened speech as to th e sin and meanness Of s teali ng in gene r al and of stealing f r om those who had been kind to them in par t i cu la r He explained to them the u tte r hopelessness Of their a ttempting to deceive or impose upon the white men in any way Wha tever and assured t hem tha t if t hey tri ed t hat so rt of thing agai n he w o uld punish t hem severely ; bu t tha t if they behaved well and b r ough t plenty of wal rus flesh to the ship he w o uld gi ve them hOOp— iron beads l ooki ng glasses & c Thes e remarks seemed to make a considerable impression on his unc o uth hea rers “ “ And now said the captain in conclusion I shall keep Awato k and his wife and chi ld prisoners here until my tele sc o pe and ha tchet are return ed (Awatok s visage fell and his wife l o oked stolid ) and I shall send Oosuck to his tribe osu ck s fa ce li t up amazingly t ell t hem wha t I have O t o ( ) said In accordance wi th this resolve Oosu ck was se t free and maki ng use of his Oppor tu ni ty wi th pr o mp t alacri ty he sped away on foo t over the ice to th e sou t hward and was quickly lost to view .

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1 44

TH E

W O R LD

OF I C E

CHAPTER XVI Th e

Arctic th

l r d p —Gr t c q i m x b m it b c m

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ea r e e n a

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su c ess of

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a

Th e

s

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HE l s t Of Decembe r was a g r eat day on b oard t he Dolp hi n fo r on tha t day it was announced t o the c r ew that The Arctic Theatre w o uld be Open ed under the able manage “ ment Of Mr F Ellice with the play of Blunderbore ; or The Arctic Giant The bill Of which t wo c o pies were issued gratis to t he crew ann ou nc e d that the celeb r a ted Pe ter G ri m Esq who had so long t r odden the b oards of t he Dolp hin with unpa r alleled s u ccess had kindly consented to appea r in the charac t e r Of Blunder bore for o ne winter o nly The other parts were as follows z— Whackinta a beautiful Esquimaux widow who had been cap tu r ed by two P olar bears bo t h Of which were deeply in love with her by Frederi ck Ellice Es q First Second Dear a li t tle Bea r a big one by Terence O Riley Esq by David Summe r s Esq Ben Bolt a brave British o ne sea man who had been wrecked in Blunderbore s desola te dominions all the c r ew having perished excep t himself by J ohn Bu z z by Esq These cons tituted the va r ious charac te rs Of t he piece the name Of which had been kep t a profound secre t from t he crew un til the morning Of t he day on which i t was ac t ed Fred s duties as manager and author upon this occasion were by n o means light for his troop being unaccustomed to s tudy found t he utmost diffic u l ty i n commi tting the simplest sentences to memo ry O Ril ey turned ou t to be the sha rpest among them bu t having agreed to impe rsona t e the Firs t Bear and having t o act his part i n dumb show— bears no t being s u pposed capable Of speech — his powers of memory had not to be exe r ted Grim was also p r etty g o od but Davie Summe rs could not be go t to remember even the general arrangemen ts of the piece ; and as for Bu z z by he no sooner mas tered a line t han he forgot the one before i t and almost gave it up in despa ir ; bu t by din t of much s t udy and many rehea rsals in ,

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1 46

TH E

WO R LD

OF I C E

said O Ri ley ri sing on hi s hind legs and walki ng Off with his tail literally as well as figu ra tively be tween his legs “ No w Bu z z by now ; it s your t ime — when you h ear the “ word misery come On and figh t like a Tr ojan with the bea r s The doc t or will remind you Fred was remarkably patient and pains taking and hi s pupils t hough no t ap t scholars were will ing so that the mo r ning rehearsa l was gone through with fewe r mista kes than might have been exp ecte d and when the c r ew came ba ck to dinner abou t mid day which however was as dark as mid night t heir p a r ts were sufficiently well got up and n o thing remained t o be done but to a r range the s tage and scene r y for the evening s en t ertainmen t— it having been resolved that the performance sh o uld c ommence af ter s u pper The sta ge was a t the after par t Of the cabin and raised abou t a fo ot above the deck and i ts managemen t had been intrus t ed to the doc t or who a ssis t ed by Pe ter G ri m transfo r med that p o rtion of t he ship i nto a scene so romantically beautiful that the fi r s t sigh t of i t pe tr ified the crew with su r prise But until t he cur tai n should rise all arrangemen ts were ca r efully concealed f r om eve ry o ne excep t the drama tis p ersonce Even the ca p tai n and Officers were forbidden to peep behind the sail tha t f o rm ed a cur tain t o t he s ta ge and this secrecy besides being necessary was ex tremely useful inasmuch a s it exci t ed the curiosity Of the men and affo r ded them food fo r conve r se and specul ation for a week befo r e the great day arrived The longed for hour came at last The cabin tables ha ving been removed and r o ws Of sea ts placed in fron t Of the s tage the men were admitted from the deck t o which they had been expelled an hour previ ous in order not to impede pre li m inary arrangemen ts Th e r e was grea t joking of cou rse as they took their sea ts and c ri tici zed the fittings up David “ Mizzle was Of Opini o n tha t the fo o t lights wos o ncommon grand which was an unquesti o nable fac t for they consiste d o f six t in lamps fill ed with seal Oil fr o m the wicks Of which rose a compound Of yellow flame and sm oke that had a singu larly luminous e ffec t Amos Pa rr guessed tha t the cur tain ’

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THE

GIANT

U N DERBORE

1 47

BL

woul d be certain sure t o ge t jammed at the firs t haul and several of the others were c o nvi nced t ha t O Ri ley would stick H o weve r an end was pu t t o his par t in on e way o r ano ther all remarks and expec tation r ai sed on tip toe by t he ringing and immedia tely the r eafter a vi olent of a small hand bell pul ling a t the cur tain which concealed the stage ; but the cur tain remained immovable (they always do on such occasions ) and a loud whispering was heard behind the scenes C lap on extra tackle and call all hands t o hoist away sugges ted on e of the audience The laugh with which this advice was received was checked in t he bud by t he sudden rising Of the cur tai n with such violence t ha t t he whole framework Of t he thea tre shook again For a few seconds a dead silence reigned for t he men were stri cken dumb with genuine amazemen t at the scene before them The stage was covered with whi te shee ts arranged i n such a manner as to represent sn o w and t he mo r e effectually to carry ou t t he idea several huge blocks Of real ice and a few patches of sn o w were in t roduced here and there the cold i n the after pa rt Of the ca bi n being t oo great to pe rmi t of their mel ting A to p gallant sa il o n whi ch were pain ted several blue cracks and s o me s trong whi te lights di d duty for an ice berg and fill ed up the whole back Of t he scene In fron t of this in the cen tre of the s tage o n an exte mpori zed hummock sat Pet er Grim as t he Gian t Blunde r bore His colossal pro porti o ns were enhanc ed by the addition of an en t ire whi te bear ski n to his Ordinary hairy dress and which was t hrown round hi s broa d shoulders in the fo r m of a tippet A b r oad sca r le t sash was ti ed round his waist and a crown of b r o w n paper pai n te d in al ter na te diamonds Of blue red and yellow sat up o n his b r o w Gri m was i n tru t h a magnificent looki ng fellow with his black beard and mousta che ; and the m ock he r oic fr gwn with which he gazed up (as on e Of the audience sugges t ed ) at t he Aurora Bor ealis w hile he grasped an enor mous club in his righ t hand became hi m well The fi rs t few seconds of dead silen ce with which t his was received wer e succeeded by a long and loud burs t of appla use ,



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1 48

W O R LD

THE

OF ICE

the

heart iness Of which plainly showed tha t the scene far exceeded the expecta t ions of the men “ “ B ravo ! cried the capta in excellent ! no thing could be be tter I t beats nat ur qui t e said one All to sticks cried anothe r And wo t a tree mendons gian t he makes Three cheers for Pe ter Grim l a ds ! Th r ee cheers were pr omptly given with righ t good will b u t the Gi a n t did not move a muscle He was fa r too deeply impressed with the imp orta nce Of playing his par t well to acknowledge the complimen t Having gazed long enough to enable t he men to ge t rid of t heir firs t flow Of en thusiasm Blunderbo r e rose maj estically and coming forward to t he foo t ligh ts looked straight over the hea ds Of the men and a ddressed himself to t he Opposi te bulkhe ad O h ! tis a dismal thing he began and con tinued to spou t his par t wi th flashing eyes and c onsiderable energy un til he came t o the word Blunderbuss when ei t her from a mis taken n o tion as t o when i t was his time t o go on or nervous forget fulness of the plan of the piece the Little Bear sprang over the edge of the iceberg and aligh t ed on the mid dle Of the s tage Oh ! bad luck to yees i nti rely said the Big Bear from behind the scenes in an ang ry whisper which was dis tinctly heard by the audience ye ve gone and s poil ed i t all ye have Come off will ye and take yer t urn at the ri ght time won t .



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In the mids t Of the shou t Of deligh t caused by this mistake O Ri ley forgetting tha t he was a bear rushed o n the stage o n his hind legs seized t he Little Bear by the fore leg and dragged him off a t the o ther side amid loud applause Blunde r bo r e wi th admirable self possession resumed his pa rt t he i h s tant there was a calm and carried i t successfully t o a close Just as he ended F r ed w addled on in the guise of an Esqui maux woman and so well was he got up tha t the crew looked round to see if Aninga (who wi t h her husband had been ,



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1 50

W O R LD

THE

OF I CE

impress the audience wi th her forlo r n condi tion Whacki nta sang a tender and touching di t ty composed by herself ex pressly for t he occasion and sang i t so well tha t i t was enco r ed t wice To all t his Blunderbore listened wi th apparen t rapture and a t length ven tured to advance and disc over himse lf but the instant Wha cki nta saw hi m she fell on her knees and trembled violen tly “ Spare me good king she said ; do not sl ay me I am a poor wi dow an d have been brough t here by two bea rs against my will “ Wo man said t he Gian t my name is Blunderbore I am as you perceive by my crown a ki ng and I am a l o nely man If I kill the two bears you speak of will you marry me ? Oh d o no t ask me go od Blunderbo re I cann o t ! I t is i m p ossible I canno t love you ; you are — forgive me for saying i t — too big and fierce and ugly to love Blunde r bore f r own ed a n gri ly and the audience applauded vocife r ously a t t his “ Yo u cannot l ove me ! Hah exclaim ed the Gian t glaring round with clenched teeth A t this m oment the Big Bear u tt ered an awful roar Wh ack inta gave a piercing sc r eam and fled and Blunderbo r e hid himself has tily behind the hummock The next momen t t he two bears bounded o n the s ta ge and began to gambol round it t ossing up their hind legs and roaring and leaping in a manner tha t drew f orth repea ted plaudits A t length the Little Bear discovered t he baby and ut tering a fran tic roar o f delight to ok i t in i ts fore paws and held it up The Big Bear roared also of course and rushing forward ca ugh t the baby by t he leg and endeavoured to tea r i t away from the Little Bear a t which trea t men t the poor baby agai n com menced to cry pass iona tely In the s t ruggle the ba by s head came off upon which the Li ttle Bear put the head in to i ts mou th and swallowed i t The Big Bea r immedi a tely did the same with the body ; bu t i ts mou th was too sma ll and the body stu ck fas t and co uld not be finally dispos ed of un til ,

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GIAN T BLU N D ERBORE came to the rescue and pushed i t

1

THE

the

ttle Bear f rcibly down its throa t Having finished this delicate little m rsel the t w bea r s rose n their hind legs and danced a hornpipe t ge ther— T m Singlet n playing the t une f them n a flu t e behind the scenes When t his was done t hey danced ff the s tage and i mmedia t ely as if in t he distance was heard t he v ic of a man singing I t came g r adually ne r er and a t las t B by in the character of Ben Bolt swaggered up t o t he foo t ligh ts with his hands in his breeches pocke ts I m a j lly j lly tar Wth d fr m afar A k my f rt i n it ll f t “ s ng B by Bu t I ve no t found i t yi t he con tinued b r eaking int prose and t here don t seem much prospec t fi di n i t here anyhow W t an Orrible cold place it is Li

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was received wi th enthusias tic cheers for he was d r essed i n the old familiar blue jacke t whi t e ducks pumps and s traw ha t se t jaun tily o n o ne side of his he ad — a cos ‘ tume whi ch h a d no t been seen for so many m o n ths by the c r ew Of the Dolp hin t ha t their hear t s warmed t o i t as if it we r e an Old friend Buz z by ac t ed wi t h grea t spiri t and was eviden tly a prime favouri te He c o uld sca r cely recollec t a wo r d of his par t bu t he remembered the general drif t Of it and had ready wi t en o ugh to extemporize Having explained t ha t he was the only survivor Of a shipwrecked crew he proceeded to t ell some of his adven tures i n foreign lands and afterwards de sc r ibed par t Of his experiences in a song t o which t he doc tor played an accom panimen t behind t he scenes The words were “ c o mposed by himself su ng t o the well known Sco tch air Corn Riggs and ran as f ollows Bu z z by

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TH E J OLLY

My

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t k no w

TAR

152

W O R LD

THE

t my d addy cotta g in t h gr n wood 0 ! A n d I ji n ed a ma n o war A n be ca m e a j lly ta A n f gh t fo k i ng n d country on th e hi gh seas 0 ! P l l boy s ch ril y o h me i s n t he sea P ull bo ys m rri ly and l i ghtly 0 ! P ul l bo y s ch ri ly t he wi n d is p ass i ng free A n whirli ng p t h f am an d w ate r sky hi gh 0 I

l

OF ICE



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been man y a nobl e fi gh t B t Trafa l gar was t he s i gh t ks n d Romans in th ir gl ory O ! Th at beat t h G F Bri tai n j lly sons W rked th th nd r bla i ng g ns A nd N lson stoo d t h bra v est i n t he f re front 0 ! P ul l boys & c T



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A r a ing cann n h t hi t h v ry p t C am j mbl i th ck t 0 ! Wh r my l g g cl ic k A d w pt i t v rb ard li ttl h ard Wi th th pr ci ti baccy i th p ck t 0 ! Of pi p P ll b y fi Th y t k m d w b l w w A th y la id m wi th a d w nd d m mat a tabl 0 ! O f ki l l d Th n p c m D K g A ay H r a li vi n l g w p n th t mp if I m abl 0 ! I ll P ll b y & d t rdy li mb Thi g d fi gh i H d b l ng d Ti m ca c ly h d th y w d i t t h ck t 0 ! A Wh n p h h atch I fl w d a h d am ng h cr w A prang b ard th Fr nch man lik a r ck t 0 ! A P ll b y & th i th at gai n d th day Tw th at l g i t cl ar d th way F o r

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1 54

THE

WORLD

OF I CE

o n t his occasion favour For t une however did no t y the brave The Big Bear a t las t caught t he Giant by the heel and pulled him to the ground ; the Li ttle Bear insta ntly seized him by the throat and notwithsta nding his awf u l yells and st r uggles i t would have go ne i ll with Blunde r b o r e had n o t Ben B o lt o pp ortunely ar r ived at tha t identica l sp o t at that identical m o ment in t he course o f his tr avels Oh ! i t was a gl o ri o us thing to see the fear nothing dare anything fashion i n which when he sa w how matters stood Ben Bolt threw d o wn his s tick and bundle drew his cutlass and attacked the two bears at once single hand ed crying Come on in a voice of thunder An d i t was a satisfa cto ry thing to behold the way in whi ch he cu t and slashed a t their he ads (the heads having been previously prepa r ed for such treatmen t ) and the agility he displayed in leaping over their backs and under their legs and h olding on by their ta ils while t hey vainly endeavoured t o catch him The applause was frequent and prol o nged and the two Esquimaux p ris o ners rolled ab ou t thei r burly figu res and laughed till the t ears ran d own their fat cheeks Bu t when Ben Bol t suddenly caugh t the two bea r s by their tails tied them toge ther in a double kno t and fled behin d a humm o ck which the Big Bear passed on o ne side and the little Bear on the other and so as a ma tter of course s tuck hard and fas t the laugh te r was excessive ; and when the gallant British seaman again rushed forwa r d massacred the Big Bear with t wo terrific cu ts sle w the Li ttle Bear wi t h one tremendous back hander and t hen sank down on one knee and pressed his hand to his br o w as if he were exhaus t ed a cheer ran from s tem to stern of the Dolp hi n t he like of which had no t filled t he hul l of tha t good ship since she was launched upon her ocean home ! I t was jus t a t this momen t tha t Wha cki nta chanced curiously enough t o re t u r n to this spo t in t he course of her wanderings She screamed in horror a t t he sight of the dead bears which was quite proper and na tural and t hen she s tar ted a t the sigh t of the exhaus ted Bolt and smil ed swee tly -w hich was also na t ural — as she h as t ened t o a ssis t and sym ci ousl

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TH E

GIA NT

U N D ERBO RE

1 55

BL

wi t h him Ben Bol t fell in love wi t h her a t once and told her so off hand to t he unut terable rage of Blunder bo r e who recovered from his wounds at that m omen t and seizi ng t he sailor by t he throa t vowed he would kill and quar ter and s tew and boil and roas t and ea t him in one minute if he didn t take care what he was about The audience fel t some fea rs for Ben Bolt at this poin t bu t thei r delight kn ew no bounds whe n shaki ng the Giant off and springing backwa rds he buttoned up his coa t and roared rather than said tha t tho ugh he were all the Blunderbo res and Blun de r busses i n the world rolled together and changed into o ne immortal blunder ca nnon he didn t care a pinch of bad snuff for him and wo ul d knock all the t eeth in his head do wn his throa t This valorous th r ea t he followed up by shaking his fis t close under t he Gian t s nose and crying ou t ! “ Come o n ! But the Gian t did no t come o n ; he f o r t una tely recollec ted that he owed his life to the brave sailor so he smil ed and saying he w o uld be his friend through life insis ted on sei zing him by the hand and shaking i t violen tly Thereafter h e took Ben Bo lt and Whacki nta by their right hands and leading them forward to the f oo t ligh ts made t hem a long spe ech to the effec t t ha t he owed a deb t of gra ti tude to the fo rmer for saving his li fe which he could never repay and t hat he loved the la tter to o sincerely to stand in t he way of her happiness Then he j oined their right hands and t hey wen t down on one kn ee and he pl aced his hands on thei r hea ds and l ooked up a t t he audience wi th a benignant smile and the curtai n fell amid rap t urous cheers In th i s play it seemed somewha t curious and unaccoun table that Whackinta forgo t to enqui re for her demolished ba by and appeared t o feel no an xiety wha tever about i t ; it was also left a ma tter of uncertainty whe ther Be n Bol t and hi s Esquimaux bride retur ned to live happily during the re mainder of their lives i n England or took up thei r perm a nen t a bode wi t h Blunde r bore bu t i t is not ou r provi nce to cri ticize —we merely chr onicle even ts as t hey occurred pa thi z e

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1 56

TH E

WO RLD

or

ICE

The en tertainments were to conclude wi th a h o rn pipe from Mi vins but just as that elastic i ndividual had completed the first of a series of c omplica ted evolu tions and was about t o commence the second a vociferous barki ng of the dogs was heard outside accompanied by the so u nd of human v oices The benches we r e deser ted i n a moment and the men r u shed upo n deck catching up muske ts and cu tlasses w hi ch always s tood i n readiness as they went The s o unds pro ceeded f r om a pa rty of about twenty Esquimaux who had been sent f r om the camp with the st olen property and wi th a humble requ est that the offence migh t be fo r given and their chief and his wife returned to them They we r e all unarmed and the sincerity of their repentance was furthe r a t tested by the fact that they brough t back not only t he hatchet and t elescop e but a la rge assortment of minor articles tha t had not been missed Of course t he apology was ac cepted ; and af ter speeches were delive r ed and p r otestations of undying f r iendship made o n both sides th e pa rt y were present ed with a few t rinkets and a plug of tobacco each and sen t ba ck in a state of supreme happin ess to their village where for a we ek Awa tok kep t the men of his t ribe and Aninga the wo me n in a state of in tense amazemen t by their minu te descriptions o f the remarkable d oings of th e whi te st r angers The friendship thus begun between the Esquimaux and the Dolp hin s crew was never once inte r rup ted by any unpl easan t collision during t he months tha t t hey afte r wa rds travelled and hun ted in company Stre ng th of muscle and promptitude in acti o n are qu ali ties which all nations in a savage state under sta nd and respec t ; and the sailors p r oved tha t they possessed these qualities in a higher degree than themselves d u ring the hardships and dangers inciden t to Arctic life while at the same time their seemingly endless resources and con t rivances impressed the simple na tives with the belief tha t white men co uld accomplish any thing t hey chose to a ttempt ,

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1 58

WORLD

THE

or I C E

coun t ry for miles r o und t he ship Scurvy was now beginning to appear among them and Captain Guy felt that alth o ugh they had en ough of sal t provisi ons to last them the greater pa r t of the winte r if used with economy t hey could not possibly subsis t on these al one An extend ed expedition in sea rch of sea ls and walru s was therefo r e pr ojected I t was de t ermin ed that this should consist of two part ies the on e to proceed n o r th the o ther to travel sou th in the tra cks o f t he Esquimau x who had left their t emporary village in sea r ch of walru s — they also being red uced almos t to a state of starva tion The plan of t he expedition was as follows O ne pa rty consisti ng of ten men under Bolto n the fi r s t ma te was t o take the la rgest sledge and the wh ole team of d ogs on which wi th t welve days pro v isions and t heir sleep ing bags t hey were to p r oceed no rthward along t he co as t as far as possible and i n the even t of being unsuccessful they were to t urn homewa r d on the eigh t h day and make the bes t of their way back on short all o wance The other pa r ty consisting of fifteen men under Saunders the second mat e was t o set ofi to the sou thwa r d on foo t dragging a smaller sledge behind t hem and endeavour to find the Esquimaux who i t was supposed c o uld not be far off and would proba bly have fresh mea t in their camp It was a clear c old and beautiful star light day when the two part ies sta rt ed simul taneously on their sepa rate j ou r neys The coruscations of the auro r a were m o r e than usually vivid and the snow gave fort h that sharp dry crunchi ng sound under the heels of the men as they moved abou t tha t denote s in tense f ro st Mind that you hug the land Mr Bol to n said the cap tai n “ a t parting don t get farther ou t on t he fi oes than you can help To mee t with a gale on the ice is no j o ke in t hese lati t udes The fi rs t ma te promised obedience and the second ma te having been also cau tioned to hug the la nd and no t to use t heir small supply of spiri ts for any o ther purpos e t han t ha t .

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STRANG E

I LLN E SS

1 59

or DOG

ligh t i ng t he lamp excep t i n cases o f t he mos t urgen t need they set off with three hearty cheers which were re turned by Captain Guy and those who remained with him in t he ship All the able and effec tive men were sen t on these expedi t ions ; those who remained behind were all more or less affec ted with scurvy except t he cap tain himself whose energetic na t ure seemed i nvulnerable and whose flow of spi r i ts never failed Indeed i t is probable t ha t to this hearty and vigorous tem peram ent under God he owed his immuni ty from disease for; since provisions began to fail he along with all his o fii cers had fared precisely like t he men — t he few delicacies t hey possessed having been reserved for the sick U nfort una tely their s tock of lime j uice was now ge tting low and t he crew had t o be pu t on short allowance As t his acid i s an excellen t anti sc orbu tic or preven t ive of scurvy as well as a cure i ts rapid diminu tion was viewed wi th much concern by all on boa r d The lo ng con tinued absence of t he sun t oo n ow began to tell more severely than ever on men and dogs O n the very day t he expedi tions t ook their departu r e on e of t he latter which had been left behind on acc ount of illness was attack ed wi t h a s trange diseas e of which several of t he t eam even tually died before t he win te r came t o an end I t was seized wi t h spasms and af te r a few wild paroxysms lapsed in t o a le tha r gi c s ta te In t his condition the animal func tions wen t on apparen tly as well as usual the appe tite con tinued no t only good but voracious The disease was clearly men tal It barked furi ously a t nothing and walked in s t raigh t or curved lines perseveringly ; or a t other times it remained for h ours in moody silence and then s tarted In thirty si x hours af ter t he firs t o ff howling as if pursued attack the p o or animal died and was buried in t he snow on Store Island This was the firs t dea th t ha t had occurred on board and al th ough i t was only a dog and no t o ne of the favourites i ts l oss cast a gloom ov er t he crew for several days I t was the f firs t blow o the fell des t royer in t he mi ds t of t heir li ttle com munity which could ill spare t he life even of one of the lower

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1 60

THE

WO RLD

OF I CE

animals and t hey fel t as if the po in t Of the wedge had now been entered and migh t be d ri ven farther home ere long The expressive deligh t o f the poor dogs on being admit ted to th e light of the cabin showed how ardently they lo ng ed for the return of the sun I t was now the beginning of Decembe r and the darkness was comple te Not the fain test ves tige of twiligh t appea r ed even a t noon Midnigh t and noo nday were alike Except when the s ta r s and aurora were b right there was not ligh t enough to distinguis h a man s form at ten pac es dista nt and a blacker mass than the surr ounding darkness alone indi cated where the high cliffs encompass ed the Bay of Mercy When therefore anyone came o n deck the first thing he felt on groping his way about was the cold noses Of the dogs push ed against his hands as they frisked and ga m boll ed round him They howled a t the appea r ance of an acci den tal ligh t as if t hey hope d the sun or at leas t th e moon were going to rise once m ore and they rej oiced on being taken below and leap ed up in t he men s faces for sympa thy and whi ned and all but spoke wi th ex cess of sa tisfaction The e ffec t of the monot ony Of long continued darkness and the absence of novel ty had much to do also wi th the indifferen t health Of many of t he men After the t wo exped i tions were sen t out t hose w ho remained behind became much more low spiri ted and the symptoms of scurvy increased In t hes e cir cu ms ta nces Captain Guy tax ed his i nventive genius t o t he u t m os t to keep up their spi ri ts and engage the i r minds He assum ed an air o f bustling ac tivity and a ttac h ed a degree Of impor tance to the regular performance of the ligh t duties of the ship tha t they did not in reality posses s apart from their influence as discipline The ca bin was swept and aired the stove clean ed t he fi t tings dus t ed the beds mad e the tide s thermome ters and ba rome ters regis tered ; the logs pos ted up clothes mended food cooked t raps visi ted & c with the regu lari ty of clockwork and every possible pla n adop ted to oc cupy every waking hour and to preven t the men f r om broo ding over their posi tion When the labours of the day were over plans were proposed for ge tting up a concer t or a new play in ,

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1 62

TH E

WO RLD

or I OE

mocky and re tarded them so much t ha t they made but slow progress un til they passed the Red Sn o w Valley and doubled t he poin t beyond i t Here they lef t the fi oes and took to the natural highway afforded by the i ce b elt along whi ch they sped more rapidly and arrived a t t he Esquimaux village i n the course of abou t five h o urs Here all was d eser t ed and silen t Bi ts of seal and wal r us hide and bones and tusks were scattered abou t in a ll di r ec ti o ns bu t no v oices issued f r om the d ome shaped huts Of snow “ They re t he lik est things to bee skeps I ever saw r e marked Saunders as he and his party stood c o nte mplating the li ttle group Of hu ts And they don t seem to care mu c h for big doors Saunders referred here to the low tunnels varyi n g fr o m three to twelve feet that formed the entrance to ea ch hut “ Mayhap t here s some 0 them asleep inside sugges ted “ Tom Green t he carpen t er s ma te ; suppose we go in and see ? “ I dare say ye re no far wrong replied the second ma te “ t o wh om the idea seemed to be a new on e GO in Davie Summers ye re a wee chap and can bend your back be tter than the mos t 0 us Davie laugh ed as he went down on his hands and knees and creeping i n at the mou th o f one of t he tunnels which barely permitted him to en ter in that posi tion disappeared Seve r al of t he party at the same time paid similar visits to the o ther hu ts but they all re turned with the same remark “ empty The in terio r s were begrimmed with lamp black and filth and f r om t heir appear ance seemed to have been d eser t ed only a shor t t ime before Bu z z by who formed on e of the party ru bbed his nos e for some time in grea t perplexity u n til he drew from Davie Summers the remark that his pr o boscis was red eno u gh by “ na ture and didn t n eed rubbing It s odd he rema rked “ they seems to ha bin he r e for some time and yi t they ve niver looked nea r the ship bu t once Wo t s be come on em I don t know ,

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THE

N I GHT

A

1 63

M RCH

you ? sa id Davie in a tone of surprise ; now that is odd On e would have th ough t t ha t a fe llow who keeps his wea ther eye so cons tantly Open shoul d know everything “ Do n t chaff b oy but lend a hand to undo t he sled lashings I see t ha t Mr Sau nders is agoi n t o ancho r here for the night The sec o nd mate who had been ta ki n g a has ty glance a t the va r ious huts of the village selecte d t wo of the la rges t as a lod ging for his men and ha ving divided them in to two gangs o r d ered them to t u rn in and sleep as hard as possible Spose we may sup fir s t sa id Summers in a whining tone o f mock humili ty “ In c o o r s s you may answered Tom Green gi ving t he lad a push t ha t ups et him in t he snow “ Com e here Bu z z by I wan t to speak to ee said Saunde r s leading hi m as ide I t seems to me tha t the Esquimaux canna be very far off and I observe t heir tracks are qui te fresh in the sn o w leadin to the southward so I mea n to have a nigh t march aft er t hem bu t as the men seem pre tty was] ti r ed I ll only take two 0 the s tronges t Who d ye think D on



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ght go ?



“ I ’ll

go myself sir Very good and who else t hink ee l Amos Parr seems freshest “ I t hink Tom Green s the man wo t can do i t I seed him capsize Davie Summers ji st now in the snow an when a man ca n skylark I always know he s got lo ts 0 wi nd in im Ve r y go od Then go Bu z z by and order hi m to ge t read y and l oo k sha r p about it Ay ay si r c r ied Bu z z by as he turn ed to prepare Gre en fo r the march In purs u ance o f this plan an hour af terwards Saunders and hi s t wo f oll o wers left t he camp with their sleeping—bags and a day s p r ovisions on their sh o ulde r s having instructe d the men to follow with the Sledge a t the end of five h ou rs whi ch period was deem ed su ffi cien t time for rest and refreshment For t wo hours the t rio plod ded silen tly onward over the i ce bel t by the light of a clear s tar ry sky A t t he end of tha t ,

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1 64

WOR LD

TH E

ICE

OF

time clouds began to gather to t he westward rendering the way l ess distinct but still leaving sufficient light t o r e nder t r avelling tolerably ea sy Then t hey came t o a part Of the coas t Where the i ce belt clung close to a line of pe r pendicular cliffs Of ab ou t three miles in ex t ent The ice belt he r e was ab out twenty feet broad On the lef t the cliffs refe r red t o r o se sheer up seve ral hund r ed feet ; on the right the ice bel t He r e ou r th r ee d escended on ly ab ou t th r ee fee t t o the floes adventurous travelle r s we r e unexpectedly cau ght in a t rap The tide rose so high that i t raised the sea ice to a level with the ice bel t and w elli ng up between t he t wo comple t ely o ver flow ed the latte r The travellers pushed On as q u ickly as p o ssible for the precipices o n thei r left fo r bade all hope Of escape in tha t direction While the gap be tween t he ice belt and the floes which was filled with a gu rgli ng mixture of ice and wa ter equally hemmed them in on the righ t Wo r se than all the tide c o ntin u ed t o rise and when i t rea ched half way to their knees they f o und it dangerous t o advance for fear of stepping into r ents and fissures which were no longer visible “ Wha t s t o be do ne noo ? enquired Saunde rs coming to a f u ll stop and t urning to Buz z by with a look Of blank de spair “ u replied Buz z by with an equally blank l o ok of D n no despair as he sto od with his legs apart and his arms hanging “ — down by his side the ve ry pe r s onification Of imbe cili ty If I wos a fly I d know wot to do I d walk u p the side 0 that Bu t not cl ifl t ill I go t t o a d ry bi t and then I d stick on bein a fly in coorse I can t Bu z z by said this i n a recklessly face ti ous tone and To m “ G r een foll owed i t up wi th a rema r k to the e ffe c t tha t he d be bl owed i f he ever wos in si c h a fix i n his life ; in tima ting his belief at the same time tha t his t o es wos freez i n “ “ No fea r 0 tha t said t he second ma t e they ll no freeze as lang as they r e i n the Wa ter We ll jus t have t o s tand here till the tide goes d oon Sa unders sai d t his in a dogged tone and immediately put ,

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WO RLD OF ICE lamps to enable

1 66

TH E

mixed wi t h oi l to t heir them to cook their food ; a nd how they m a naged by signs and o therwise to unders ta nd that t he s t rangers had come i n search of food a t whi ch t hey (the Esquimaux ) were no t surp ris ed ; and how t hey assured their visi tors (also by mea ns of signs ) that t hey would go a —hun ting with them on the following day Whe r ea t they (the sa i l o r s ) were deligh t ed and sh ook h a nds all round Neither have we space to t ell of ho w t he visitors were obliged to conform to cus tom and sleep i n the same hu t s with men women children and dogs and how they fel t t hankful t o be able to sleep anywhere and anyhow with o u t being frozen All this and a grea t deal more we are compelled to skip o ver here and leave i t unwi llingly to the vivid imagination Of our reader ,

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CHAPTER XVIII Th e

h

ting party—Rec kl

un

ess

d

riv

i ng—A

d prt c

t r wi th

es e a e e n oun e

a

w r

a l us ,

&c

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ATE in the day by the bright ligh t of the s tars the sa il ors and the Esquimaux lef t the snow hu t s o f the vi llage and t ravelling ou t to seaward on the floes with d ogs and sledges la nces and spears a dvanced to do ba ttle with the walru s The n or t hern ligh ts we r e m o r e vivi d t han usual making the sky qui te luminous and there was a sharp f r eshness in the air which While it induced t he hun ters to pull their hood s more tightly rou nd their faces also sen t their blood caree r ing more b ri skly through their veins as they d r ove swif tly over the ice i n the Esquimaux sledges “ Did ye ever see wal ru sses a fore Davie ? enquired Bu z z by who sa t beside Summers on t he leading sledge None bu t wha t I ve seed o n this v oyage They re remarka ble creeturs rej oined Buz z by slapping “ his hand on his thigh I ve seed many a one in my time They fight like a n I can t ell ye lad they re u gly cus tomers good uns and give t he Esquimaux a deal 0 trouble to kill t hem they do ,

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TH E

WALRU S

1 67

Tell me a s tory abou t em Bu z z by— d o like a good chap burying his nose in the skir ts o f hi s said D avie Summers “ ha i ry garment to kee p it warm You re a capital hand a t a ya r n now fire away “ A s to r y lad ; I d o n t know as how I can ex actly tell ye a s to ry bu t I ll give ye wo t they calls a ha necdot e I t wos about five yea r s a go mo r e or less I wos out in Ba ffi n s Bay becalmed O ff o ne 0 the Eski m o settlements when we wos l ookin o ver t he side at the lumps of ice floa ti n past up go t a walru s not very far Offshore and ou t wen t hal f a dozen kayaks as t hey call t he Eskim o men s boa ts and they all sot o n the beas t at o nce Well it w os o ne 0 t he brown wa lrusses which is always the fie r cest ; and the momen t he go t the first harp o on he wen t slap a t the man that t hrew it ; but the fellow backed ou t and then a cry was raised t o le t it alone as i t wos a b r own walrus O ne Young Es kimo ho wsi ver w o uld have an other slap at i t and wen t so close that the bru te charged upse t the kayak and ripped the man up with his t usks S ec iu this the other Eskim os made a das h at i t and wounded it b a dl y ; but the u pshot wos tha t t he walrus pu t them all to fligh t and made Off clear away with six ha r poons fas t in its hide Bu z z by s tellin ye gammon roar ed To m Green who rode o n t he sec o nd sledge i n rea r of tha t on which Davie Summers sa t What is t a ll ab o u t ? “ Abou t gammon o f co o rs s re to rt ed Davie Keep yer mouth shu t for fe a r y ou r teeth fre e ze “ Can t ye lead us a be tter road ? shou te d Saunders who “ rode o n the thi r d sledge ; my bones are ra ttlin abou t inside 0 me like a ba g 0 ninepins “ Give t he d ogs a cut old fellow sa id Bu z z by wi t h a chuckle and a motion of his arm to the Esquimaux who drove his sledge The Esquimaux did not unde r stand the words bu t he qui te unders tood the sly chuckle and the mo tion of t he arm so he sent the las h of the hea vy whi p with a loud cra ck o ver the backs o f the tea m “



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1 68

TH E

WOR LD

OF

ICE



H old o n for li fe ! cried Davie as the dogs sprang forward with a bound The pa r t they were abou t to pa ss over was exceedingly rough and broken and Bu z z by res o lved to give his shipmates a shake The pace was tr emendous The powe r ful d ogs drew their loads af t er them with successive bounds which caused a succession of c r ashes as the sledges sp r ang from lump to lump o f ice and the men s teeth snapped in a truly savage manner B a ck ye r t t o psa i ls will ye l shouted Am o s Pa rr But the delighted Esquimaux leade r who ente r ed qui te in to the j oke had no intenti o n whatever of backing his top sails ; he administered anothe r c rack t o the tea m which yelled m ad ly and bounding over a wide chasm in the ice came down with a crash which snapped the line of the leading dog and se t i t free Here Buz z by caused the d r iver to pull up “ Come to an anchor ! said he Is S top ye varmint ! that a way to drive t he poor dogs ? “ Ye migh t have stopped him sooner I think cried the sec o nd mate in wrat h Hai l shouted the band of Es quimaux pointing t o a hummock of ice a few hundred ya r ds i n advance of the spot o n which t hey stood Ins tantly all were silen t and gazing in t ently ahead a t a dark Obj ect tha t burs t upwa r ds through the ice A walrus ! whispered Bu z z by So i t is a nswered Amos Pa r r “ I ve my d oob ts on tha t point rema rked Saunders Before the doub ts of the second mate could be resolved Esquimaux ut tered ano ther exclama tion and poin ted to a n o ther dark objec t a quar ter of a mile to the righ t It was soon found that there were several of these ocea n elephan ts sporting ab ou t in the neighbourhood and bursting u p the young ice that had formed on several holes by using their huge heads as ba ttering rams I t was quickly arranged that the par ty shoul d divide in to three and while a few remained behind to watch and res train the dogs the remainder were to a dvance on foo t to t he a ttack ,

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1 70

THE

WO RLD

ICE

OF

he fail ed to do more than prick i ts tough sides and render i t still mo r e savage Bu z z by too made seve ral daring efforts to lance it b ut failed and nea rly slipped int o the h o le in his reck lessness I t was a wild scene of confusion — the Spray was dashed over t he ice round the hole and the men as th ey ran ab o u t in ex treme excitement slipp ed and occasionally tumbled i n their has te while t he maddened brute glared at them like a fiend and bellowed in i ts anger and pa in Suddenly i t dived leaving t he men s ta r ing a t each other The sudden cessa tion of noise and t urmoil had a very s t range e ffect Is t away ? enqui r ed Saunders wi t h a look of chagrin He was answe r ed almos t instantly by the wal rus reappear ing and making furi ous effor ts by means of i ts flippers and tusks t o draw itself ou t upon the ice while i t roared with red o ubled energy The sh o t tha t was instan tly fi r ed seemed t o h a v e no effec t and the well di r ected ha r po o n of Awa t ok was u tte rly disrega r ded by i t Amos Pa r r however gave it a lance th rus t that c a used it to h owl vehemen tly and dyed the foam with its blo o d “ “ Hand me a Spea r Bu z z b the muske t y cried Saunders ba lls seem to hurt him as li ttle as pe as Got 0 my gait The second mate made a ru sh so tremend ous that something awful woul d infallibly have resul ted had he not s truck his fo o t agains t a bit of ice and fallen vi olently on his b r eas t The impe t us with which he had sta rted sho t him forward till his h ead was within a foo t of the walrus s grim muzzle For o ne momen t the animal looked a t t he man as if i t were sur p r ised a t his audacity an d then i t recommenced its frantic s truggles snor t ing blood and foam a nd water in to Sau nders s face as he scrambled ou t Of i ts way Immedia tely after Awa t ok fixed an other ha r poo n in i ts side and i t dived again The st r uggle tha t ensued was t remend o us and t he result seemed for a long time t o be doubtful Agai n and again shots were fired and spear thrusts made with effe c t bu t t he huge creat u r e seemed invulnerable I ts ferocity and strength re ed una ba ted while the men — sa ilors and Esquimaux alike .

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ATTLE

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WON

1 71

were nearly exhaus t ed The bat tle had now l as t ed t hree h o u r s ; the men were pan ting fr o m exer tion ; t he walrus still bell o wing was clinging to t he edge of the ice which for several yards r o und the h o le was covered with blood and f oam “ Wot a b r ute i t is ! said Bu z z by si tting down on a lump of ice and lo o king a t it i n despair “ We migh t have killed i t lang ago had I n ot we t my gun g r o wled Saunders rega r ding his weapon whi ch was completely d r enched with a l o ok o f con t empt “ Give it ano t her poke Awa tok cried Amos Parr ; you ll know best whereabouts i ts life lies ; I can make no thi n O t Awa tok obeyed and gave it a t hrus t under t he left flipper tha t seemed t o reach i ts hea r t for i t fell back in to the water and st r uggled violently A t the same momen t Davie Summers moun ted to the t op Of a hummock part of which ove r hu ng the pool and launched a harp oon down upon its back This la tter blow seemed to revive its ferocity for it again essayed to clamber ou t o n the ice a nd looked up a t Davie wi t h a glance Of seeming i ndignation while Buz z by who had a p At pr oached fell backward as he re treated fr o m befo re i t the same time Saunders succeeded in getting his m u sket to go The ball s truck i t in the eye and ente r ing the b rain off caused instan t dea t h a resul t which was gree t ed with three enthusiastic cheers The getting of this enormous crea ture ou t Of t he wat er would have been a matte r Of no small difficul ty had there no t been such a large pa r ty p r esent Even as i t was i t took t hem a considerable time t o accomplish t his fea t and to cu t i t up and pack i t on t he sledges While t he ba t tle above described was going on t wo small er wal r us had been killed and secured and the Esquimaux were in a s t at e of grea t glee for previ ous to the arrival of the sailors they had b een unsuccessful in their hun ts and had been li ving On retu r ning h ome th ere was a general on shor t allowance feasting and merry making and Saunders felt tha t if he re mained there long they woul d no t only ea t up their o wn mea t but his also H e t herefore resolved to re turn immedia t ely t o .

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1 72

TH E

the

,

W O R LD

OF I CE

ship with his p rize and leave par t of his men behi n d to continue the hun t un til he Sh ould retu r n with the sledge But he was preven ted from pu tting this in tention into p r a e t ice by a hurricane which b u rst o ve r the Arctic regions with inconceivable bit te r n e ss and for t wo days kep t all the inhabit an ts of the snow village confined t o their hu ts This hur r ica ne was the fie r c est that had swept o ver these bleak r egions O f ice since the a r rival o f t he Dolp hi n The wind sh r ieked as it swept round the cli ffs and d o wn t he ravi nes and out up on the frozen sea as if a legion of evil spi r i ts we r e embodi ed and concentra te d in each succeeding blast The snow d rift rose in solid masses whirled madly roun d for a few seconds and then was caugh t by the blast and swept away like shee ts of white flame The thermomete r s tood at 2 5 below zero a tempe r a ture that was mild co mpa r ed with what it us u ally had been Of la te bu t the fierce wind abst racted heat fr o m eve rything ex posed to i t so rapidly that neithe r man no r beast could face it for a momen t Bu z z by got a li t tle bi t Of his chin frozen while he merely pu t his head out a t the door of the hut to see how the weather looked and Davie Summers had o ne of his fingers slightly frozen while i n the act of ca rrying in one of the muskets that had been left outside by mistake As fo r t he Esquimaux they r eeked n o t o f the weather Their snow hu ts were warm and thei r mouths were full so like Wise men and women they wai ted patiently wi thin d oors till the s torm should blow itself o ut The d oings Of these p o or people were very curi o us They a t e vo racious ly and evidently preferred t heir mea t raw But when the sail ors showed disgust at this they at o nce made a small fire o f moss mingled with blubber over which they half cooked thei r food Their mode of procuring fire was curious TWO sm al l stones were taken one a piece of white quartz the other a piece of iron s tone and struck together smartly ; the few sparks that flew ou t were thro wn upon a kind of whi te down found o n the will ows under which was pl aced a lump of d ried m o ss I t was usually a conside rable time before they succ eeded in .

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W O RLD OF ICE he r o Fred Pe t er

1 74

THE

mong whom were ou r Grim O Ril ey and Meet uck with t he whole team Of dogs and t he large sledge Being fine wea ther when they se t ou t they travelled rapidl y making twenty miles as near as they could calculat e in the fi r s t six hours The d ogs pulled famously a nd the men stepped out well a t fi r st being chee r ed and invigorated mentally by the p r ospec t o f an adven t urous excu r sion and fresh meat At the end o f the sec o nd day they bu r ied pa r t of their s t ock of p r ovisi o ns at the f o o t Of a conspicuous cliff intending to pick it up o n thei r r e t u r n and thus lightened they advanced mo r e r apidly keeping far ther out on the fl o es in h o pes of falling in with wal r us or seals Their h opes however w e r e do o med t o disappoin tmen t They got only o ne seal and that was a small one — sca rcely sufficien t t o a ffo r d a couple of meals to the dogs “ They were misfortunate enti r ely as O Riley rema rked and to add to thei r misfo rtunes the floe ice became so rugged tha t they could scarcely ad vance a t all “ Things gro w wo r se and w o r se remarked G r im as the sledge for the t wen tieth time that day plunged in to a crack in the ice and had to be unl o aded ere i t c o uld be go t ou t “ The sledge won t stand much 0 sich w ork and if it b r eaks go o d bye to it for i t won t mend withou t wood and t he r e s none here “ “ No fear of i t cried Bol ton encouragingly ; it s made of mate r ial as t ough as y our own sinews G r im and w o n t give way easily as the thumps it has wi ths too d already p r ove Has i t never struck you Fred he con tinued turning t o our “ — hero who was pl odding fo r ward in silence has it never s truck you tha t when things in this world ge t ve r y bad and we begin to feel inclined to give up t hey somehow or other begin to ge t better “ Why yes I have noticed tha t ; bu t I have a vague so rt of feeling jus t now tha t t hings are not going to get bet ter I don t know whether it s t his long conti nued darkness or the wan t of good f o od bu t I feel more downc as t t han I ever was i n my life befor e

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N A RROW ES CAPE

1 75

Bolton s remark ha d been intended to cheer bu t Fred s answe r pr o ved that a discussion Of the merits of the ques tion was no t l ikely to have a good effec t on the men wh o se spi rits we r e evidently very much cas t down so he changed t he sub ject For tunately a t tha t time an inciden t occurred which e ffec ted the mate s pu r pose better than any effo r t s man coul d have m a de I t has f r equently happened that when Arctic v oyage r s have from sickness and long confinement during a mono ton o us wi n ter bec o me so dep r essed in spi r i ts tha t ga m es and amuse men ts of every kind failed t o rouse them f r om their lethargi c despondency sudden danger has given to their minds the needf ul impulse and effected a sa lutary change for a time at leas t in their spi r its Such was t he case a t the presen t time The men were so w o r n wi th ha rd t r avel and the wan t o f fresh fo od and d epressed by disapp oint m en t and longc o nti nu ed darkness that they failed in thei r attempts to chee r each other and at lengt h relapsed into m oo dy silence Fred s tho ugh ts turned c o nstantly to his fathe r and he ceased to rema r k chee r f u lly as was his wo nt on passing Obj ects Even O Riley s j es ts became few and far be t ween and a t la s t ceased altogether Bol ton alone kep t up his spiri ts and sought to cheer hi s men t he feeling of res ponsibili ty being p r obably the secre t Of his superi o rity over them in t his r espect Bu t even Bolton s spi r its began to sink at last While they were thus gro ping sadly along among the hum mocks a large fragmen t of ice was observed t o b r eak Off f r o m a berg just over their heads “ Lo ok ou t ! fol low me quick ! shou t ed the firs t ma te in a loud sha r p voice Of ala r m a t the same time dart ing in t owa r ds the side Of the be rg The star tled men obeyed the order j us t in time for they had ba r ely r ea ched the side Of the berg when the en o rmous pinnacle fell and was shattered in t o a thousand f ragmen ts on the spo t they had jus t left A rebounding emotion sen t the blood in a crims on flood to Fred s forehead and thi s was foll owed by a feeling of gra ti t ude t o the Al migh ty for the ’



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1 76

WO R LD

TH E

ICE

OF

p r ese r va tion of himself and the pa rty Lea ving the dangero us vicinity of the be r gs they afterwards kept m ore insh o re “ Wha t ca n yonde r mound be ? said Fred poin ting to an Obj ect that was faintly seen at a short dista nce Off upon the bleak shore “ An Esquimaux hu t maybe r eplied G rim What .

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t hi nk ee, ’

Meetu ck ?

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M eet uck shook his head and lo oked grave but made ,

no

reply “ Why d o n t you answe r ? said B olton ; but come al ong we ll s oo n see Meet u ck n o w m ade various ineffectual atte mpts to dissuade the party f r o m examining the mou nd which t u r ned ou t to be compos ed Of stones hea ped upon each other ; but as all the conversa ti o n of which he was capable failed to enligh ten his companions as t o what the pile was they instan tly set to w ork to open a pas sage in to the in t erior believing tha t it might contain fresh provisions as the Esquimaux were i n t he habit of thus pres erving their superabundan t food from bears and w olves In half an hour a hole la rge enough for a man to creep through was formed and F r ed ente red but started back with an exclamation of h orror on findi ng himself i n the p r esence of a human skelet on which was seated o n the ground i n the cen t re of this strange tomb with i ts head and arms resti ng on the knees “ I t must be an Esquimaux grave said Fred as he re treated h astily ; tha t mus t be the reas on why Meetuck tried to hinder us I sh ould like to see it said Grim s tooping and thrusting his head and shoulde r s in to the hole “ Wha t have you go t there ? asked Bo l ton as Grim drew back and held up some thing i n his hand “ Don t kn o w exac t ly It s like a bit 0 clo th On ex a mina t ion t he a r ticle was found to be a sh r ed of coarse clo t h Of a blue or black colou r and being an unexpec ted subs tance t o mee t with in such a place Bol ton turn ed round with i t to Meetuck in the hope of ob taining some information But .





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1 78

THE

W O R LD

OF ICE

and mus t h a ve been t here a long time No thing else was found bu t f r o m the appearance of the sk ull a nd the presence t here could be no doub t t ha t i t was of the plate and spoon that of one of the P ole Sta r s crew It was now resolved t ha t they Should proceed al ong the coas t and examine ev ery creek and bay for traces Of the lost vessel “ Oh Bolton my heart misgives me ! s aid Fred as th ey “ drove al o ng ; I fea r tha t t hey have all pe r ished “ Niver a bit Si r said O Riley in a sympathi zing tone yon chap must have died and been bu r ied here be t he crew as t hey wint past You fo rge t that sailors don t bury men under mounds Of s tone with pew ter pla t es and spo o ns beside t hem O Ri ley was silenced for t he remark was unanswe r abl e He may ha bi n lef t or lost on t he sh ore and been found by t he Esquimaux sugges ted Pe t er Grim “ Is that not another t o mb ? enquired one Of the men p oin ting towards an Objec t which s t ood o n the end of a poin t or cape towards which t hey were app r o aching E r e anyone could reply their ears were sal u t ed by the well known ba rk of a pack of Esquimaux dogs In ano ther momen t they dashed in t o the midst o f a snow village and were immedia tely surr ounded by the excited na tives For some t ime no information c ould be gleaned f r om their in t er preter who was to o excited t o make use of his meag r e amoun t of English They Observed however that the na tives al t hough much excited did not see m t o be so much surpris ed at the appearance Of white men am o ngs t t hem as those we r e whom they had firs t met with ne ar the ship In a short time Meetu ck apparen tly had expended all he had to say t o his f riends and tu r ned to make explana tions to Bolto n i n a very exci ted t o ne ; but lit tle more could be mad e ou t than that Wha t he said had s o me reference to white men A t length in despe r at i on he pointed to a large bu t which seemed t o be the principal one of the village and dragging t he ma te towards i t m ade signs to hi m to enter .

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A

J

OYFU L SU RP RI S E

79

Bol t on hesi tated an ins tan t “ He wants you t o see t h chief Of t he t ribe no doub t e “ sa id Fred ; you d be tter go i n a t once A loud voice shouted s o me thing in the Esquimaux lan guage from within the hu t At the sound Fred s hea r t bea t violen tly and pushing past the mate he crep t through t he t unnelled en trance and s t ood within There was li ttle fu rni t ure in t his rude dwelling A d ull flame flickered in a s tone lamp which hung from the roof and revealed the figure of a la rge Esquimaux reclining o n a couch of skins at the raised side of the hut The man loo ked up has t ily as Fred en tered and u tte red a few unin t elligible words “ Fa t her ! cried F r ed gasping for brea th and springing forward Capta i n Ellice for i t was indeed he s tar t ed wi t h apparen t difficulty an d pain in t o a sit ting pos ture and throwing back his hood revealed a face Whose open hear ty benignan t ex p r ession shone t hrou gh a c oat of dark brown which long months of toil and exposure had imprin t ed on it I t was thin however and carew orn and wore an expression t ha t seemed to be the result of long con t inued suffe ring “ Father ! h e exclaimed in an ea rnes t t one ; who calls me father ? Don t you kn o w me Father — d on t you remember Fred ? lo ok a t Fred checked himself for t he wild look of his fa t her frightened him “ “ Ah ! these dreams murmured t he Old man I wish they did not come so Placing his hand on his forehea d he fell backw ards in a s ta t e of insensib i lity in t o the arms of his son .

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1 80

WO RLD

THE

OF ICE

CHAPTE R XX Keepi ng i t

d

o

wn—M tual u

e

xpl

i

h

an at o ns—Dea t —New

y r

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ea

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s

Da y

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T need sca rcely be said tha t the sail o r s o utside did not remain l o ng in igno r ance o f the u nexpected and happy discovery rela ted in the last chapte r Bol ton who had c r ept in aft er Fred with proper delicacy Of feeling re tired the m omen t he found how matte r s st ood and left father and son to expend i n the privacy o f that chamber of snow t h ose feelings and emotions which can be be tt er imagined than described The fi rs t impulse of the men was to give th r ee cheers but Bol ton checked them in the bud “ NO no lads Ye must hold o n he said in an eager but “ subdu ed v o ice Do ubtless it would be pleasant to ven t ou r feelings in a hea rty chee r but it would s tartle the Old gentle man inside Get along with you and let us get rea dy a go od suppe n “ Oh m or ther ! exclaimed O Riley holding on to his sides “ as if he believed what he said me biler ill bust av ye d o n t let me sc r e ec h “ Squeeze down the safe ty valve a bi t l o nger then c r ied Bol ton as they hur ried along wi th the whole p opulation to the ou tski r ts of the village Now then ye may fire away ; they won t hear ye— Huzza ! A long enthusias tic cheer instantly burs t f r om the sai l o rs and was immediately followed by a h owl of delight from the Esquimaux who capered r o und their visit ors with uncouth gestu r es and gri nning faces En tering o ne o f the la rges t hu ts preparations for supper were p r omp tly begun The Esquimaux happen ed t o be w ell suppli ed with walrus flesh so t he lamps were replenished and the hiss o f the f rying s teaks and d ropping fat speedily r ose above all o ther s o unds Meanwhile Fred and his fathe r having mu tually rec overed somewhat of their wonted comp o sure began to te ll each other .

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1 82

THE

WO R LD

O F I CE

ho w te r ri bly you must have Father said Fred fel t the want of kind hands to nurse you d u ri ng th ose dr ea ry months and ho w l o nely you must have been ! It were imp o ssible here to en t er minutely in to the deta ils of a ll tha t Captain Ellice related t o Fred during the next few days w hile they remained tog ethe r in the Esq u ima u x vil lage To tell of the dange r s the a d vent u res and the hai rbread th es capes that the c r ew of the P ole Sta r went th r ough befo re the vessel finally went down would r equi r e a w h ole v olume We must pas s it all over and also the accoun t Of the fe w days tha t followed d u ring whi ch sund r y walrus we r e cap tu r ed and return to the Dolp hin to which Captain E ll ice had been c o nveyed on the sledge carefully wrapped up in deer skins and tended by F r ed A party of the Esqu imaux acc ompanied them and as a number o f the natives from the o ther vi llage had return ed with Saunders and his men to the ship the scene she p r e sented when all pa rti es were uni ted was exce edingly cu r ious and anima ted The Esq ui maux s oo n buil t qui te a little town of snow hu ts all round the Dolp hi n and the n oise of tra ffi c and inte rcourse was peculiarly refreshing t o the ears of those who had l ong been accus t omed to the death like stillness of an Arctic winter The beneficial e ffect Of the change on men and dogs was ins tantaneous Thei r spirits rose at once and this with the ample supply of fresh meat tha t had been procured, soon began to dri ve scurvy away The r e was on e dark spo t however in this o therwise plea sant scene— one impending even t tha t cas t a gloom o ver alL In his narrow bert h in the cabin Jose ph Wes t lay dying Scurvy had ac ted more rapidly o n his delica te frame tha n had been expec te d Despite Tom Single to n s u tmos t efforts and skill the fell disease gained the mas tery and i t s oo n became evident that this he arty and excellent man was to be taken a way from t hem During th e l a s t days of hi s illness Capta in Ellice was his grea tes t co mf ort and his cons tant compa nio n “

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N E W Y EA R S -

D AY



1 83

I t was on Christmas day that Wes t died Next day the body of J o seph Wes t was pu t in a plai n deal coffin and conveyed to Store Island whe r e i t was placed on the ground They had no instrumen t s that could penet r a t e the ha r d rock so were obliged t o c on s truct a t omb of st o nes afte r the manner Of the Esquimaux under which the coffin was laid and left in s olitude New year s Day ca me and prepara tions were made t o cele b rate the day with the usual festivities Bu t the r e cent dea t h had affected the crew too deeply t o allow them t o ind u lge in the un r est r ained hila ri ty of t ha t seas o n Prayers were read in the m o rning and bo t h Captain Guy and Cap ta in Ellice addressed the men feelingly i n allusi o n t o their late ship mate s death and their own p r esent position A goo d dinner was also prepared and seve r al luxuries served ou t among w hich were t he materials for the construction of a la r ge plum pudding Bu t no g r og was allowed and they needed i t no t As the afterno o n advanced stories we r e told and even songs were sung bu t these were Of a quie t kind and t he men seemed f r om an innate feeling of pro prie ty to sui t them t o the o ccasi o n Old f riends were recalled and old familiar scenes described The hear ths of h o me were Spoken of with a depth Of feeling tha t sh o wed how in t ense w as t he longing to be sea t ed round them again and future prospec t s were canvassed with keen in terest and wi th h opefu l v oices New year s Day came and wen t and when it was gon e the men Of “ the Dolp hin did no t say Wha t a j olly day it was ! They sa i d li tt le or no t hing bu t long after t hey thought Of i t as a brigh t spo t i n their dreary winter in the Bay of Mercy — as a day in which they had enj oyed ea rnes t glad and sober communings of hear t -

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1 84

W O R LD

TH E

C HAPTER

t

Fi rs g

l

m of l

ea

or I C E

XXI

— r i ht— rip w lc m r ck — i t vi w T

g

to

O Ril ey i s '

e

o

e

l ess

e

th e sun F rs

trang

Bea s and s e o f th e sun

e

di c v ri

es

s o e

.

HE wisest of men has told us that it is a plea san t thing for t he eyes t o behold the sun but only those who spend a wi nter in the A r ctic regi o ns can fully app r ecia t e the impo rt o f tha t inspi r ed saying It is absolutely essential to existence tha t the bright beams of the great luminary should fall o n a nimal as well as plant M ost o f the poor dogs died for want of this blessed ligh t and had i t been much l onge r withheld doubtless ou r navigat ors w o uld have sunk als o About the 2 0 th of January a faint gleam of ligh t on the ho riz o n told o f the c o ming day I t was hailed with rapture and l ong before the b right sun himself appeared o n the southe r n h orizon the most o f the men made daily excursions to the neighbou r i ng hill t o ps to catc h sight o f as much as possible of his faint r ays Da y by day those rays expanded and at las t a s or t of dawn enligh t ened a dis tan t por tion of thei r earth which fain t though it was at firs t had much the appearance in t heir eyes of a bright day Bu t time were on and rea l day appeared ! The red sun rose in all i ts gl ory showed a rim of its glowing disc above the f r ozen sea and then sank leavi ng a long glads ome smile of twiligh t behind This grea t even t happe ned on the 1 9 th of February and w o uld have occurred sooner b u t for the high cli ffs to t he southward which in tervened be tween t he ship and the horizon O n the day referred to a large pa rty was formed to go to the to p of t he cl i ffs a t Re d Snow Valley t o welcome back the sun There s scarce a man left behind remarked Cap tai n Guy as they s tar te d o n t his t ruly joyous expedition said Bu z z by slapping hi s hands to Only Mizzle sir “ ge the r for t he cold was intense ; he said as how he d s top and have dinner r eady agin our re turn “

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1 86

WORLD

TH E

stu ck

of

I CE

obeyed and Amos being hea vy and pas t t he agile life leaped u pon instead o f over his back and the r e

Bu z z by

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Not so high

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Come Mr ,

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Saunde

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give us a back “ Faix he ’d be tte r go o n hi s hands an knees That s it ! o ver you go ; hur r ah lads ! In five min u tes nea r ly the whole c r ew we r e pan ting from thei r vi o len t exerti o ns and th ose who did no t or c o uld not j oin panted as much f ro m laught er The desi r ed result how eve r was speedily gained They were all soon in a glow o f heat and bad e defiance to the f ros t An h o u r s sharp climb b r ou ght the party almos t to the brow o f the hill f r om which t hey h o ped to see the sun rise for the fi r st time for nearly five months Jus t as they were ab o u t to pass over a ridge in the cliffs Captain Guy who had pushed was observed t o pa use o n i n advance with Tom Single t on abrup tly and make signals for the men t o a dvance with cau tion He evidently saw som ething u nusual for he c r ouched behind a rock and peeped over i t Has tening up as silen tly as possible they discovered that a group of Polar bears were amusing themselves on the other side of the cliffs within long gunshot U nfo rtuna tely no t one of the party had brough t firearms Inten t only on catching a sight of t he sun they had hur ried ofi unmindful o f the possibility of their catching sight of any thi ng else They had no t even a Spear and the few oak cudgels t ha t some ca r ried however effectual they migh t have p r oved at Donnybrook were u tte r ly w orth less there There were four large bears a nd a young one and the gambols t hey performed were of the mos t startli ng as well Bu t tha t which in teres ted and su rprised as amusing kind the crew mos t was the fac t that these bears were playing wi th barrels and casks and ten t poles and sails ! They were engaged in a regular frolic wi th t hese articles tossing them up i n t he air p awing them abou t and leaping over them like ki ttens In these m o vemen ts they displayed t heir enormous .



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S T R A N GE D I S CO V E RY

1 87

strength severa l times Their leaps alth ough pe rform ed with the utmost ease were so g r ea t as t o p r ove the i r on natu r e o f their muscles They t ossed the hea v y casks to o high in the air like tennis balls ; and in t wo instances while the c r ew we r e watc hing them das h ed a cask in piec es with a slight bl o w of their paws The t ou gh can vas yielded before them li ke sheets o f paper and the hav o c they c o mmitted was wonde r ful to beh old “ M o s t ext rao r dina r y ! exclaimed Capta in Guy af te r watch “ ing the m for some time in silence I cann o t imagi ne wh e re these creatu r es can have got hold of such things Were not the goods a t Store Island all right this morning Mr Bolton ? “ Yes sir they we r e No thing missing from t he ship ? No sir nothing It s most unaccoun ta ble Cap ta in Guy said O Riley addressing his commander “ with a s olemn face ha v en t ye m o r e n or wa nce towld me o the queer thing i n the desert s they calls the mir age ? I have answered the cap tain with a puzzled look An didn t ye say t here was s o mething like i t i n the Polar sea s tha t m ade ye see flags an ships an t hings 0 tha t s o rt when t here was no sich t hings t here a t all ? “ Tru e O Ri ley I did “ Faix then it s my opinion t ha t you bears is a mirage an the sooner we gi t out 0 their way t he be tt er A smo t hered laugh gree ted t his solu tion of the difficul ty I t hink I ca n give a better explanation — begging your pardon O Riley said Cap tain Ellice who had hither to “ looked on wi th a sly smile More than a year ago when I was driven pas t this place to t he nor thward I took ad van tage oi a calm to land a supply of food and a few s tores and medicines to be a stand by i n case my ship sh ould be wrecked t o the no r thward Ever since the wreck actually took place I have looked forward to this ca che of pr ovisions as a poin t of refuge on my way sou t h As I have alrea dy told I h a ve never be en a ble to commence t he sou t hw ard u o , y .

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1 88

THE

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OF I CE

j ourney and now I don t requi r e these things which is lucky for the bears seem t o have appr opria ted them enti r ely Had I known of them so o ner Cap tain sa id Captain Guy the bears sh o uld not have had a chance That accoun ts for the supply of tobacco and sticking plas t er we found in t he bear s s tom a ch rema rked F r e d laughing “ True boy ye t it surprises me th at they succeeded in brea king in to my cache for it was mad e of heavy m asses Of s tone many of which r equired two and t hree men t o lift the m eve n with the aid of handspikes “ Wha t s wrong with O Riley ? said Fred p ointing t o that eccen tri c individual who was gazing in tently at the bears mu t te ring be t ween his tee th and clenching his cudgel ner ’

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i t s a cryi n shame he soliloquized in an u ndertone “ qui te unconscious tha t he was Observed tha t ye sh ould escape ye villains av I only had a musket no w — but I ha n t Ar r ah av it was only a spear ! Be the mort ial ! I think I could crack t he skull 0 the small wan ! Faix then I ll try ! A t t he las t word before anyone was aware of his in t en tions this son of Erin whose blo od was now up sprang down the cliffs towards t he bears flourishing his stick and shou t ing wildly as he wen t The bears insta n tly paused in their game bu t showed no dis posi ti o n t o re treat C o me back you m adman ! shou t ed the cap tain ; but the cap tain shou ted in vain “ St op ! halt ! come back ! ch o rused t he crew But O Ril ey was deaf ; he had advanced to wi thin a few yards of the bears and was rushing forward to make a vigor ous atta ck on the little one “ He ll be killed ! exclaimed Fred i n dismay Follow me men sho uted the cap tain as he leaped the “ ridge ; make all t he noise you can In a momen t the surrounding cliffs were reverberating wi t h t he loud ha lloo s a nd fra n tic yells of t he men as t hey burs t Shure ,





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1 90

THE

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OF I CE

leap and high leap sen t i t up many degrees Bu t a general race bro ugh t t hem almos t to a summer temperatu r e a nd a t th e same time mos t unexpe c tedly secured to them a hare This little crea ture of which ve r y few had yet been procu r ed da r ted in an evil hour ou t from behind a rock righ t in f r on t who ha vi ng begun t he race for sp or t now con of the men tinned it ene rge ti cally for profit A dozen sticks we r e h u r led at the luckless hare a nd one o f these felled i t to the ground Afte r this they re t urned h ome in tr iumph keeping up all the way an animated dispu t e as to the amoun t Of hea t shed up o n them by the sun and upon tha t knotty question ! “ Wh o killed the b are ? Nei t her poin t was se ttled when they reached the Dolp hin and we may add for t he sake of t he curious reader nei t her poin t is se ttled ye t .

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! !

CHAPTE R The

Arctic

Sun

—Rats !

rat ! rat s

—A

s

Hard hi p s

s

II

h ti un

ng -p

arty—Ou t

on

th e fi oe s

.

M ONG the many schemes t hat were plann ed and ca rri ed out fo r lightening the l o ng hours of confinemen t to their wo oden home in the Arc t ic regi o ns was the newspaper sta r ted by Fred Ellice and named as we have ah ea dy mentioned The ,

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It was so named be cause as Fred stat ed in his firs t leading article it was intended to t hrow light o n many things at a time when t here was n o othe r sun to cheer them We cann ot help regre t ti ng tha t i t is no t in ou r p o wer to present a c opy of this well thumbed periodical to our readers ; bu t being of Opinion t ha t somethi ng is be tter than nothi ng we t ranscribe the followi ng extrac t as a specimen of the con tribu tions from the forecas tle I t was enti tled ,

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“THE

O N

“J H

ARCTI C



SU N

191

IN

TH I NGS



Buz z s v s OPPI NYU N S



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GI N RAL

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As you was so good as to ax f r om me a I beg b eer t o con t ri b ooti on to your wa lu a bl e peer yoddi ca l st a i t t ha t t his b eer ar t icle is in t ended as a gi u r a l summery Your reeders will be glad to no t ha t O t he n o os wo t s a goi n of late t he we ther s bin gi ttin colder bu t they ll be be tter pleased t o no tha t before the middle 0 ni x t sumer it s likely t o gi t a long chawk warmer There s a giu ral complain t b eer that Mi vins has bin ea ti n the shuger i n t he pan try an t hat s wo t s m akin i t needf u ll t o put us on shor t allowance Davie Summers sais he seed him a t i t and it s a d ooty the guver mi n t owes t o t he publik t o have the ma tter inves tigat ed I t s i n ra lly expected howseve r tha t t he mi l n u v e r t won t t ru b b e g g its b ed with the ma t ter There s bi n an onu su al swa rmi n 0 rats in t he ship of late an Da vie Su mmers has had a r iglar hun t after them The lad has b ecu m m o re t han ornar expert with his bow an arrow for he niver misses now— ex cepti n always when he dusn t hit — a n for the mos t pa r t takes them on t he pin t o n t he snowt wi t h his blunt heded a r ow which he d r ives i n— the snowt not t he arow There s a gi n r al wish among the crew t o no whether the nor t h pole i s a p ole or a Mizzle s ais i t s a d ot and O Ri ley sw ears (no he d o n t d ot d o t ha t for we ve gin up sw ea r i n in the fog—sail ) ; but he sais tha t it s a real post bou t as thick again as the main mast an nine or ten times as by G r im sais i t s no ther wun t hing nor a n u t her bu t a h d eea r t ha t i s su m how or other a fact bu t yit y d o n t exis t a t all Tom Green wan t s t o no if t here s any con ex shu n between it an t he pole tha t s conect ed with elec tions In fact we re all at sea i n a riglar muz abu t this an as Dr Singleton s a syentiffi ck ma n praps he ll give us a leadi n ar ticle i n your ni x t — so no more at presen t from Mr

Ed i ter , —

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Yours t o command

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J OH N B uz z er

” .

192

TH E

WO R LD

I CE

or

This cont ribu tion was a ccompanied wi t h an ou tline i llus tra tion of Mi vins eating sugar with a ladle in the pa ntry and Davie Summers peeping in a t the door — both likenesses being excellen t So me of the articles in the A r cti c S un were g r ave and some were gay but all of them were profitable ; for F r ed took ca r e tha t they shoul d be charged eithe r wi t h matte r of inte r es t or matter provocative of mi r th And assuredly n o newspaper of similar ca libre was eve r looked forward to with such expecta tion or read and reread wi th such avidity It was o ne o f the expedients that las ted lo ngest in keepi ng up the Spiri ts of the men The rat hun ting referred to in t he f oregoing summe ry was not a m e r e fiction of Bu z z by s brain I t was a veritable fact Notwithstanding the ex tr eme cold of this inhospi table climat e the ra t s in the ship inc r eased t o such a degree tha t at last they became a perfect nuisance No thing was safe f rom their attacks ; whether substances were edible or no t they were gnawed t hrough and ruined and t hei r impudence which seemed to increase with their numbers at last exceeded all belief They swarmed everywhere — under the st ove abou t the beds in the locke r s be tween the s o fa cushions amongs t the moss round the walls and inside t he boo t s and mit tens so accus tomed when emp t y the men And they became f o ) ( t o having missiles thrown a t t hem tha t t hey acquired to per “ keeping one s fecti o n that art which Bu z z by described as weather eye open If your hand m o ved You couldn t hi t o ne if you t ried towards an objec t with which you in t ended to deal swift destruc tion the intruder pa used and t urned his sha r p eyes “ t owa r ds you as if to say ! What ! going to try i t again ? c ome then here s a chance for you But when you th r ew a t bes t you c ould only hit the empty space it had occupied the moment before Or if you sei zed a s tick and rush ed at the enemy in wrath i t grinned fie r cely showed i ts long whi te tee th and then vanished with a fling of i ts tail tha t could be construed in t o no thing bu t an expression of con tempt ,

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194

W OR LD

THE

I CE

or

Th ere s Peter Grim sir he s tough ye t and no t much a ffec ted by scur vy and Mr Saunders I thi nk may No in terrup t ed t he d octor Saunde r s must no t go He does not look very ill and I hope is not bu t I don t like s o me of his symp t oms “ Well Doct o r we can do withou t him There s Tom Gree n and O Ri ley No thing seems able t o bring down Then there s O Ril ey There s Fred Ellice cried Fred himself j oining the grou p ; I ll go with you if you ll ta ke me Mos t happy to have you sir ; our healthy hands are very short bu t we can mus t er sufficient I think Th e cap ta in sugges t ed Amos Parr and t wo or t hree more men and then dismiss ed his firs t mate to ge t ready for an immedia te star t I don t half like your going Fred said his fat her “ You ve not been well la t ely and hun ting on the fi o es I know from experience is hard work “ Don t fear fo r me Father ; I ve qui t e recovered from my recen t a t t ack which was bu t sligh t af ter all and I know f u ll well that t hose who are well mus t work as long as they can s ta nd “ Ho lads look alive ther e ! ar e you ready ? shou ted t he firs t ma te do wn t he hatchway Ay ay sir ! replied Grim and i n a few mi nutes t he par ty were assembled on t he ice beside the small sledge wi th their shoulder bel ts on for m os t of the dogs were eithe r dead or dying of t hat strange complain t to which allusion has been made i n a previous chapte r They se t ou t sil ently bu t ere they had got a dozen yards from t he ship Cap tain Guy felt the improprie ty of permitting them thus t o depa r t U p l ads and give them three cheers , he cri ed mounting the ship s side and se tting the example A hear ty generous spiri t when vi gorously displayed always finds a rea dy response from human hear ts The few sailors who were on deck at the time and o ne or t wo of the sick men ’



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S TART

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1 95

FOR THE FL ES

who chanced t o pu t their heads up the ha tchway ru sh ed to the side waved their mit te ns — i h defaul t of caps — and ga ve vent to three hearty Bri tish cheers The effect o n the droo p ing spiri ts of the hunting pa rty was electri cal They pricked up like chargers that had felt t he spu r wheeled round and ret u r ned t he cheer with in te rest I t was an apparently tri fling inciden t but it served to ligh ten the way and make i t seem less d r ea r y for many a long mile “ I m tired Of i t enti r ely c ried O Riley si tting down on a hummock o n the evening of the second day af ter setting ou t o n the hun t here we is two days ou t and no t a sign 0 life nowhe r e “ “ Come don t give in said Bol ton cheerf ull y we re sure to fall in wi th a walrus to day “ I think so cried F red ; we have come so far ou t upon the floes that t here mus t be open water near “ “ Come on t hen cried Pe t er Grim ; do n t was t e time ta l ki ng Thus urged O Ril ey rose and thr owi ng his sledge strap over his shoulder plodded on wea rily with t he res t Thei r provisions were getting low now and it was fel t tha t if they di d no t soon fall in with walrus or bears they mus t return as quickly as possible to the ship i n o r der to avoid s tarving It was therefo r e a mat te r of no small satisfa ction that on t urning the edge of an iceberg they discovered a large bear walking leisurely towards them To drop t heir sledg e lines a nd seize their muske ts was t he work of a momen t Bu t unfort u nately long t ravelling had fi lled the pans with snow and i t required so me time to pick the to uch holes clea r In this ex tr emi ty Pe ter Grim sei zed a ha tc he t and ran towa r ds it while O Ri ley charged i t wi th a spear Grim delivered a tremendous bl o w a t its head with his w eapon bu t his i nten ti o n was bet ter than his aim for he missed the bea r and smashed the c o r ner of a hummock o f ice O Ri ley was m ore successful He th r ust the spear in to the animal s shoulder but the shoulder blade t urned the hea d of t he weapon and ca used i t to run along a t leas t t hree fee t j us t under t he skin The ,

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196

THE

W O R LD

OF IC E

w o und alth ough not fatal was so pa inful that B r uin ut tered a l o ud roar o f disapproval wheeled round and r an away a n ac t o f cowa r dice so unusual on t he par t o f a Polar bear that the wh ole pa r ty were taken by su r prise Several sh o ts we r e fired after him bu t he s oo n d isappeared among the ice hummocks having fairly m ade o ff with O Ri ley s spea r The disappointmen t caused by this was great ; but they had little time to think of it fo r soo n after a stiff breeze of wind sprang up which f r eshened in t o a gale c o mpelling them to seek the shelter Of a cl us t er of icebergs in the midst of which they built a snow hut Before night a te rrific s torm was r aging with the t he r mome ter 40 below zero The sky he came black as ink ; d r ift whirled round t hem in horrid t urm oil and the wi ld blast came direct fr om the no r th over t he f rozen sea sh rieking and howling in i ts s tr ength and fury All tha t night and the next day i t continu ed Then i t ceased ; and for the first time that winter a thaw set in so that ere mo r ning their sleeping bags and socks were th oroughly wetted This was o f sh or t du r a tion however In a few hou rs the f rost se t in again as in tense as ever converting all their wet garments and be dding in to ha r d cakes of ice To add to their misfo r tunes thei r p r ovisions ran ou t and they were o bliged to aband o n t he b u t and push fo r wa r d to wards the ship with the utmost speed Night came on them while they we r e sl owly t oiling t h r ou gh the deep d r ifts that the late gale had raised and to their horror t hey found they had wande r ed ou t and were still bu t a sh o r t dis tance fr om thei r o f t heir way sn ow hut In despa ir t hey retu r ned to pass the nigh t in it and spreading their f ro zen sleeping bags on the snow they lay down silen t and supperles s to rest till mo r ning ,

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1 98

W O R LD

THE

O F I CE

ca nno t t ell us Ou t o n the ice to the n orth is a wide w o rd F r ed F r ed can you not tell us in which di r ecti o n we ought to o to s earch fo r t hem ? g Yes far ou t on the fl o es — among hummocks — far ou t murmu r ed Fred half unconsciously “ We mus t be sa tisfied with tha t Now Mr Saunders assist me t o ge t the small sledge fit t ed ou t I ll go to look af ter them myself An I ll go wi th ee sir said the second ma te promp tly I fear you ar e hardly able No fea r 0 me sir I m be tter than se think “ I must go too added Cap tai n Ellice ; it is qui te eviden t tha t you cannot mus ter a party wi thou t me “ That s imp ossible inte rr up ted the doc tor ; your leg is not strong enough nea-rly for such a trip ; b esides my dea r si r you mus t s tay behi nd to perform my du ties for t he ship can t do withou t a doctor and I shall go with Ca p ta in Guy if he will all o w me “ Tha t he won t cried t he cap t ain You say truly the ship canno t be left withou t a doc tor Neither you nor my fri end Ellice shall leave the ship with my permission Bu t d o n t le t us waste time ta lking Come Summers and Mizzle ou are well enough to j oin an d Meet u ck you mus t be our y guide ; look alive and get yourselves read y In less than half an hour the rescue par ty were equipped and on their way over the floes They we r e six in all — one o f the freshest among the crew having volun teered to j oin those already mentioned I t was a very da rk nigh t and bit terly cold bu t they took no thing with t hem except the clothes on their backs a supply o f provisions for t heir los t c o mrades their sleeping bags and a small lea ther te n t The cap ta in also took ca re to carry with them a flask of brandy The colossal bergs which s tr etch ed li ke wel l known land marks over the sea were their guides a t firs t bu t after travelling ten h o urs wi thou t hal ting they had passed the and r e a t er n u mb r of t hose with which they were fam i liar e g .

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RES C U E

THE

PARTY

199

en tered upon an unknown region Here i t became n ecessary They knew that the los t men to use the utmos t cau tion must be within twenty miles Of them bu t they had no means of kn owing the exact spo t and any footprin ts tha t had been made we r e now obliterated In these circums ta nces Cap tai n Guy had to depend very much on his own sagacity C la mbering to the top Of a hummock he observed a l o ng stre tc h Of level floe t o the northwa r d “ I think it likely he remarked to Saunders who had accompanied him tha t they may have gone in t hat direc tion It seems an a ttractive ro a d among the chaos Of ice hea ps “ “ I m nO sure 0 that obj ected Saunders ; yonder s a pre tty clear road away to t he wes t maybe they to ok tha t Perhaps they did but as Fred said they had gone far ou t on the i ce to the nor th I think i t likely they ve gone i n tha t directi o n “ Maybe yer righ t sir and maybe yer wrang answered As this was t he Sa unders as they returned to the party second ma te s me t hod Of in tima ting tha t he felt t ha t he ough t to give in (t hough he didn t give in and never would give in absolu tely) t he cap tain fel t more confidence i n his own Opinion NOW Meetu ck keep y o ur eyes Open he added as they resumed their rapid march Af te r j o u rneying on for a considerable dis ta nce t he men were ordered to spread ou t over the neighbou ring ice fields i n o rder to multiply the chances Of discove ring tracks ; bu t there seemed to be some irresistible power Of attrac tion which drew them gradually together again however earnes tly they migh t try to k eep separa te In fac t they were beginning to be affec ted by the long con tinued m arch and t he ext remity of the .

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This las t was so grea t that cons tan t mo tion was absolu tely necessary in o rder to preven t them fr o m freezing There was no time all owed for res t — li fe and death were in the scale Their only hope lay i n a con t inuous and rapid advance so as to reach the los t men ere they should freeze or die Of st a rva t io n .

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2 00

TH E

WO RLD

OF IC E

H olo ! look eer ! sh outed Meetu ck as he hal t ed and went d o wn on his knees to examine s ome marks On the sn o w “ These a r e tr acks cri ed Captain Guy eagerly What think you Saunde r s ? “ They l oo k like i t F o ll o w them up Meetu ck GO i n a dvance my lad and let the r est Of you sca tte r again I n a fe w minutes there was a cry hea r d and as the party hastened towa rds the s pot whence it came they found Davi e Summe r s pointing ea gerly to a lit tle snow hut in the midst Of a g r o up Of bergs With hasty s t eps t hey advanced towa r ds it and the cap tain with a terri ble misgiving at hea rt crept in “ Ah then is it yerself da rli nt ? we r e the first words that g r eet ed hi m A loud cheer from those Wi thou t told that they heard and recognized t he words Immedia tely t wo Of them crept in and stri king a light kindl e d a lamp which revea led the ca r e w o r n fo r ms of their l ost com rades stre tched o n the g r ound in their sleeping bags They were alm o st exhaus ted for want O f food bu t otherwise they were uninj u r ed The first c ongratulati ons o ver the rescue part y immediately p ro ceeded to make a r rangemen ts for passing the nigh t They were themselves little better than those whom they had come to save having performed an unin terrupted march Of eighteen hou rs without food or drink It was touching to see t he tears Of j oy and gratitude that filled t he eyes Of t he p o or fell o ws who had given themselves u p for l o s t as they wa tched the movemen t s of thei r com r ades while they p r epa r ed food for them ; and the b r oken fi tful c o nversation was mingled strangely wi th alterna te touches Of fun and deep feeling indica ting the conflic ting emo t ions that struggled in their breasts “ I kn o wed ye would come Cap tain ; bless you sir said Amos Parr in an uns teady voice Come ! Av coorss ye knowed it cried O Riley ener ”



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02

THE

WO R LD

OF IC E

such la bori ous work The floss to o were so rugged tha t they had frequently to lif t the heavy sledge and i ts livi ng l o ad over de ep refits a nd chasms which i n circumstances less despera te they would have scarcely ventured to do Wo rk as they would howev er they could no t make more than a mile an hour and nigh t overto ok them ere they reached the lev el floes But it was of the utmost impor tance that they should con tinue to advance so they pushed fo rward un til a breeze sprang up tha t pie r ced them through and thr ough F o rt unately there was a bright moon i n the sky which enabled them to pick t heir way among the hummocks Sud denly withou t warning the w h o le pa r ty felt an alarmi ng failure Of t heir energi es Cap tai n Guy who was aware Of the imminent danger Of giving way to this feeling cheere d the men to grea ter exerti o n by word and voice bu t fail ed t o r o use them They seemed like men walking in t heir sleep “ Come Saunders cheer up man cri ed the cap tain sha k ing the ma te by t he arm ; bu t Saunders s tood s til l swaying to and fro like a drunken man Mizzle begged to be allowed to sleep if it we r e Only fo r t wo minu tes an d poor Davie Su mmers deliberately threw himself down on the snow from which had he been left he would never mo r e have risen The case was now despera te In vain t he captain sh ook and buffe ted the men They protes te d tha t they did not feel “ — cold they were quite warm and only wan ted a li t tle sleep He saw tha t it was useless to contend with t hem so the r e was nothing left for i t but to pi tch the ten t This was done as quickly as p ossible though with much diffi cul ty and the men were unlash ed from the sledge and pla ce d wi thin it The o thers then crowded i n and falli ng down beside each o ther were asleep i n an instant The excessive crowding Of the li ttle t ent was an advantage at th is time as it te nded to increase their animal hea t Captai n Guy a llow ed t hem to sleep only two hours and then roused them in order to con tinue the journey ; bu t short though t he peri od Of res t was i t prov ed s ufficien t to enable the men t o pursue fo r

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WI NTER

END OF

their

2 03

journey with so me degree of spi r it Still i t was eviden t that their ene r gies had been o ver ta x ed for when they n eared the ship next day To m Singleton who had been on the l ook ou t rw d advanced to mee t them found that they were almost in a state Of stupo r and ta lked incoherently some times givi ng u tterance to sen timen ts Of the mos t absurd na t ure with ex p r essions Of the utmos t gravity Meanwhile good news was brough t them from t he ship Two bears and a walrus had been pu r chased f r om t he Esqui maux a party Of wh om — sleek fa t Oily good humoured and hairy — were encamped o n the lee side Of the Dolp hi n and busily engaged in t heir p r incipal and favouri t e Occupa tion ea ting ! ,

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C HAPTE R

fi r t i ct — r p r ti — —

Wi nte r ends —Th e ou t

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on

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oa s

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INTE R passed away wi th i ts darkness and its f r os t and happily with its sorrows ; and summer— b righ t glow ing summer — came at last to gladden t he heart Of man and beast in the Polar regions We ha ve purposely Omi tted to make men tion Of spring for there is no such seas o n p r o pe r ly so call ed within the Arctic Ci r cle Win ter usually t e r mina te s with a gushing thaw and summer then begins with a blaze Of fervent heat No t t hat t he hea t is really so intense as compared with t hat o f sou t hern climes bu t the contra s t is so great that it seems as though the torrid zones had rush ed towa r ds the Pole Abou t the beginning Of June t here we r e indica tions Of the c o ming h ea t Fresh wa ter began to t rickl e from the rock s and s treamle ts commenced to run d o wn the icebergs Soo n every thing became m oist and a ma rked change t ook pla ce i n the appe arance Of t he ice belt owing to the pools that coll ec te d on i t eve rywhere and overflowed Seals now became more numerous in t he neighbourhood ,

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2 04

W O R LD

TH E

OF IC E

and were frequen tly killed nea r the a tta hs or h o les ; so that f r esh mea t was secured i n abundance and the scurvy received a decided check Reindeer rabbits and p tarmigan t OO began to frequent the bay so that the la r de r was cons tantly full and the mess t able presented a plea sing varie ty — rats being no l o nger t he solitary dish Of f r esh meat at every meal A few small bi r ds made thei r appea rance f r om the southwa r d and these we r e hailed as harbingers Of the coming summe r One day O Ri ley sa t o n the t a flr ail basking in the warm sun and drinking in health and gladness from i ts beams He had been ill and was now convalescen t Bu z z by stood beside him “ “ I ve bin thi nki n said Bu z z by that we don t half kn ow the blessi n s t ha t are given to us in this he r e w orld till we ve had em taken away Look now how we re enjoyi n the sun an the heat j us t as if i t wos so much gold ! “ “ Goold ! echoed O Ri l ey in a t one Of con temp t ; faix I niver t hough t so lit tle 0 goold before let me tell ye Goold can buy many a t hing i t can bu t it can t buy sunshine Hallo ! wha t s t his ? O Ril ey accompanied t he ques ti o n with a sudden sna t ch Of his hand “ Look here Bu z z by ! Have a care now ! ji st wa tc h t he Opening 0 my fi s t “ Wot is it ? enquired Bu z z by approaching and looking earnes tly a t his comrade s clenched hand wi th some curiosity “ There he comes Now then ; not so fast ye spalpeen ! As he spoke a small fly which had been captured crep t ou t from between his fingers and sought t o escape I t was the firs t t ha t had visi t ed these frozen regions for many many months and t he whole crew were summoned on deck t o mee t it as if i t were an Old and valued f riend “ Let it go poor t hing ? cried half a dozen Of the men gazing at the li t tle prisoner with a degree Of in t eres t tha t canno t be t horoughly unders t ood by those who have no t p assed through experiences similar to t hose Of our Arc t ic voyagers ,

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2 06

W O R LD

TH E

OF I C E

— tru t h s na mely man s urgen t need Of all m his powers to a ccomplish the work Of his own deliveran ce and man s u tter helplessness a nd entire depe ndence on the sove r eign wil l of God When shall we sink t he ca n i s ters sir ? asked Bol ton c oming up and touching his ha t “ In an hou r Mr Bolton ; the tide will be full t hen and we shall t ry what e ffect a blast will have “ My Opeeni on is rema rked Saunders who p assed at the moment with two large bags Of gunpowder under his a r ms “ that it ll have no e ffect at a It l l j ust loosen the ice roond the ship “ The captain smiled as he said ! Tha t is all the e ffec t I hOpe fo r Mr Saunders Should the ou t ward ice give way soon we shall then be in a be tter p o sition to avail ourselves Of i t As Sa unders predic ted the effect Of powder and saws was merely to l oo sen and r end t he ice tables in which the Dolp hi n was imbedded ; but deliverance was coming sooner t han any Of th o se on boa r d expe cted Tha t nigh t a storm aros e which for intensity Of vi o lence equall ed if it did no t surpass t he seve r est gales they had yet expe ri enc ed I t se t the great be rgs Of the Polar seas in motion and these moving m ountains Of ice slowly and maj es t ically began their v oyage to southern climes cras hi ng through t he floes overturning the humm o cks and ripping up the ice ta bles wi th quie t but irresis tible mo men t um For t wo days the war of ice contin ued to rage and some t imes t he contending forces i n the shape of huge tongues and co r ners Of bergs were f orced in to the Bay Of Me r cy and threa tening swift destruction to the lit tle craft whi ch was a mere a tom tha t might ha ve been crushed and sunk and scar cely missed in such a wild sce ne A t one time a table of ice was forced out Of the wa ter and rea r ed up like a sloping wall of glass close to the stern Of the Dolp hi n where all t he crew were ass embled with ice poles rea dy to do t heir u tm ost ; bu t their feeble efforts could have a vailed t hem nothi ng ha d the slowly movi ng m ass con tinued i ts onward progress o ni sti c

rently a n t



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I MMIN ENT D A N GE R 2 07 Lower away t he quar t er boat cried th c p t i n as the sheet f i e six fee t t hick c me grinding down towards t h t rbo rd qua r ter B by Grim and several others sprang t ob y bu t before e

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they c ould let go the fall ta ckles the ma ss of ice ro se s uddenly high above the d eck over which it proj ec ted seve r al fee t and caught the boa t In another moment the timbers yielded ; the thwar ts spra ng ou t or we r e b r oken across and slowly yet fo rcibly as a s tro ng hand might cru sh an egg shell the boat was squeezed flat agains t t he s hip s side “ Shove l ads ; if i t comes on we re los t cri ed the capta in sei zing o ne of the long poles with which the men we r e vainly straining every nerve and muscle They might as we ll have t ri ed to arrest t he progress of a berg On i t came and cr ushed i n the starboa rd quar ter bulwarks Providen tially at that moment it gr o und ed and remai n ed fas t ; but the p roj ecting po in t tha t overhung them br o ke off and fell on the dec k with a crash tha t sh ook the good ship f r om stem to s t ern Several of t he men were t hro wn vi o lently d o wn bu t none were se r i ously hurt in t his catastrophe When the s torm ceased t he ice ou t i n the s t rai t was all in motion and tha t round the ship had loosened so much tha t it seemed as if the Dolphin migh t s oon get ou t in to Ope n wa ter and once more float upon its natu r al elemen t Eve r y prepara ti on therefore was made ; t he s t ores were reshipped from Store Island ; the sails were shaken out and t hose o f them that had been ta ken down were ben t on to the ya rds Tackle was overhauled and in short everything was d o ne tha t was possible under the circums tances Bu t a wee k passed away ere they succeeded i n fina lly warping ou t of t he bay into t he Open sea beyond I t was a lovely morni ng when this happy even t was a ccom l i shed Bef o re the t ide was qui te full and while they were p wai ting until the command to hea ve o n the warps should be given Captain Guy assembled the crew for morning prayers in the cabin Ha vi ng concluded he said ! My lads t hrough the grea t mercy of Heaven we have been -

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2 08

TH E

WORLD

OF 1 0 s

excep t o ne spared through the trials and an xi eties o f a lOng and dreary winter and a r e now I trust abou t to make o u r esc ape fr o m the ice that has held us fast so long It bec o mes me at such a time to tell you that if I am spa r ed to return h o me I shall be able to repo r t that eve ry man i n this ship has d o ne his duty You have never fli nched i n the h ou r o f danger and never grumbl ed in the hour Of tr i a l Only o ne man— ou r la te brave and warm hearted c om rade J o seph West — has fallen in the struggle Fo r the mercies t ha t have never failed us and for ou r success in rescuing my gallant friend Captain Ellice we ough t to feel the deepes t gratitu de We have need however to pray for a blessing on the lab o urs that a r e ye t before us for you are well aware that we sh al l probably have many a struggle With t he ice before we are once m ore afloa t o n blue water And now lads away with you on deck and man the capstan for the tide is about full The ca ps tan was manned and the hawsers were hove ta ut Inch by inch t he tide rose and the Dolphin floa te d Then a lusty cheer was given and Amos Parr struck up one of those “ “ hear ty songs in te r mingled wi th Ho ! and Yo heave ho ! tha t seem to be the life and marrow of all nautical exe r tion At las t the good ship forged ahead and boring th r ough the loose ice passed slowly o u t of the Bay o f Mercy “ Do yo u know I feel quite sa d at quitting this drea ry spo t ? said F r ed to his fa ther as they s tood gazing backwa rd “ o ver the mfi ra il I could no t have believed that I should have become so much atta ched to it We be come at tached to any spo t Fred i n which i nciden ts have Occu rr ed to call fo r th f r equently our deeper feelings These r ocks and s tones a r e intima tely ass ociat ed with many even ts that have caused you joy and sorrow hope and fear pain and happiness Men che rish the mem o ry o f such feelings and l ove the spots of ea r th with which they ar e associated Ah Father y o nde r stands o ne stone a t least tha t calls forth feelings of s orrow ! Fred poin ted as he spoke to Store Isla nd which was j u st passing ou t of view On this lonely spo t the men had raised a ll a,

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2 10

WO RLD

THE

OF I C E

Now lads he cried energe tically ge t ou t the bo a ts Bring up p r ovisi ons Mr Bolton and a couple of spare sai ls Mr Saunders see to the ammuniti o n and muske ts ! uick men The cabin wi ll soon be to o ho t to hold you Se tting t he example t he cap tain sprang below followed by Fred and Tom Singleton who secured the char ts a compass chronome ter and quad r an t ; also the log book a nd the vari ou s journals and r eco r ds of t he voyage Cap tain Ellice als o did active service and being cool and self possessed he rec ollected and secur ed several ar ticles which were af terwards of the g r eatest use and which bu t for him would in such a t rying momen t have probably been fo rgo tten Mea nwhile t he t wo largest boa ts in the ship were lowered Provisions m a s ts s ails and oa rs & c were thrown i n The few remaining dogs among whom we r e Dumps and Poke r were also embarked and the crew hastily leaping in pushed Th ey were no t a moment too soon The fi r e had reache d ofl the pla ce where the gunpowder was kep t and although ther e was no t a g r ea t quanti ty of i t the r e was enough when i t exploded to bu rst open the deck The wind having f r ee ingress fanned the fi r e in t o a furious blaze and in a few momen ts the Dolp hin was wrapped in flames from s tem to stern I t was a li ttle after sunse t when t he fi re was dis cove r ed ; i n two hours later the good ship was burned t o the wa ter s edge ; then the waves swep t in and while they ex t i ngu i shed t he fire they sank the bla ckened hull le aving the two cr owded boats floating in darkness on the bos om of the i ce l aden sea “

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ESC

APE IN

11

soa rs

C HAPTE R X XV

cp

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a

e to

r r mh

Up p ernavik —Lette

p

Du m

f

k ra i

o

s an d

r d hr

ome—M eet uc k s g an mot

Po e

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e

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three l o ng weeks t he shipwrecked mariners w ere b u flet ed by winds and waves in open b o ats bu t a t last they were guided in safety thr ough all their dange r s and vicissitudes to t he colony of U pper navik Here they found seve r al vessels on t he p oin t of se tting ou t for Eur ope one o f which was bound for England ; and in this vessel the cre w of the Dolphin res o lved to ship No t hing of pa rticular in teres t oc curred a t this solitary settlement except one t hing bu t tha t one thing was a g r eat even t and deserves very special n o tice I t was nothing less tha n t he receip t of a le tter by Fred from his cousin Isobel ! Fred and Isobel havi ng been brough t up for several years togethe r felt towards each o ther like brother and sist er Fred received the letter from the pas tor of the se t tlement shortly after landing while his fa ther and the cap tain were on b oard the English b r ig making arrangements for their passage home He could scarcely believe his eyes when he beheld the well kno wn hand but having a t last come t o realize the fact that he a c tually held a real let te r i n his hand he da rted be hind on e of th e curious pri mitive co t tages t o read i t He r e he was met by a squad of inquisi tive natives ; so wi th a ges tur e of impatience he rush ed to an o ther sp o t ; bu t he was obse r ved and followed by half a dozen Esquimaux boys and i n despai r he sough t refuge in the small church nea r which he chanced to be H e had not been there a second however when two old w o men came in and approaching him began t o scan him with critical eyes This was t oo much so F r ed th r ust the let ter in to his bosom darted out and was instantly surrounded by a band of na tives who began t o question him i n a n un known tongue Seeing t ha t t here was no other resource F r ed t urned him round and fled towards the moun tains at a pa c e tha t defied pursuit and coming to a h al t in OR

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2 12

WO RLD

TH E

OF ICE

the mids t o f a r o cky gorge tha t migh t have served as an illustration of what chaos was he sa t him down behind a big rock to pe ruse Isobel s le t te r Ha ving read i t he re re a d i t ; having r e rea d i t he read it over again Having read it over again he med i ta ted a little “ exclaiming seve r al times emphatically ! My da r ling Is o bel and then he read bits of it here and the r e ; havi ng d o ne which he rea d the other bits and so go t t hrough it again As the lette r was a p r etty long one it to ok him a considerable time to do all this ; then it suddenly occu r red to him tha t he had been th u s selfishly keeping it all to himself instead Of shari ng it with his fa the r so h e started up and has tened back to the village where he f ound old Mr Ell ice in earnes t con fabulation with the pas tor of the place Seizing his pa r ent by t he arm Fred led him in t o a room in the pas tor s house and looking round to make su r e that i t was emp ty he sough t to bolt the door bu t the door was a primi tive on e and had no bol t so Fred placed a huge old fashioned chair agains t it and si tti ng down therein while his fa ther took a seat Opposite he unf olded the letter and yet once again read it through The le tter was abou t t welve mon ths old and ran thus ,



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M Y DA RLING F RED

AY N

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2 5 th J

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I t is now t wo months since you left us and i t seems to me t wo years Oh how I do wish tha t you were back ! Wh en I think o f the terri ble dangers tha t you may be ex posed t o amongs t the ice my hea rt sinks a nd I sometimes fear that we shall never see you or your dear father again But you are in the hands of ou r Father i n h eaven dea r F r ed and I never cease to p r ay tha t you may be successful and return t o us in safe ty Dea r good old Mr Singleton told me yes terday that he had an Oppor tunity of sending t o the Danish se ttlements in Greenland so I resolved t o write though I very much doub t whether this will ever find you in such a wild far ofl land “ Oh when I think of where you are all the romantic ,

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2 14

TH E

WO RLD

OF I CE

per so nage wh o m O Ri ley chose t o s tyle Mrs Meetuck was Meet uck s g randmothe r That old lady was an Esqui maux whose age migh t be algeb r aically expressed as a n u nkn own qu a nti ty She li v ed in a boa t turned upside down with a small window in t he b o t to m of it and a h ole in the side for a d o or When Cap ta in Ellice and Fred looked in the o ld woman who was a m ere mass o f bones and wrinkl e s was s eated on a heap of m o ss beside a fire t he only chimney to which was a h ole in the bo ttom of the b oat In fr ont of her sat he r grandson Meetuck and on a cloth spread ou t a t her fee t we r e displayed all the presen t s with w hich tha t go od hun t er had been loaded by his comrades o f the Dolp hi n Meet u ck s m o ther had died many years befo re and all the affection in his na turally warm hear t was transferred t o and centred up o n his Ol d grandmother Meet uck s chief delight in the gifts he received was in sha r ing them as far as possible with the old w o man We say as fa r a s p ossi ble because some things could n ot be shared with her such as a splendid new rifle and a silver mounted hunting knife and p o wde r horn all Of which had been presen t ed t o him by Captain Guy over and above his wages as a reward for his valuable services But the t rinkets of every kind which had been given to him by the men were laid at t he fee t of the old woman who looked a t everything in blank amaze m en t ye t with a smile on her wrinkled visage tha t be tokened much satisfac tion Mee tuck s Oily coun t enance beamed with delight as he sa t pu ffing his pipe in his grandmother s face This li ttle a tten tion we may remark was paid designedly for t he old woman liked i t and the youth knew t ha t “ They have enough to make them happy for t he winter said Cap tain Ellice as he t urned to leave the hut Faix t hey have There s only t wo things wanti n to make i t compla t e Wha t are they ! enquired Fred Murphies and a pig su r e That s all they need Wo ts come 0 Dumps and Poker ? enquired Bu z z by as they reached the boa t “



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D U MPS A ND POK t

AGAIN

ER

2 15

t





t

s ay a m inu e , Oh, I qui e forg o t them ! c ri ed Fred ; ’ ” I ll run up and find them They can be far off For s ome ime Fred searched in vain A l as he be ’ h ought hi m of Meetu ck s b u t as being a likely spo in which ’

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t

t t o find

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t

t

them On ente r ing he found the co uple as he had lef t them the only difference being tha t t he poor Old woman seemed t o be growing sleepy over her j oys “ Have you seen Dumps or Poker anywhere ? en q uired Fred Meetuck nodded and poin t ed t o a corner where comfor t ably r olled up o n a mound of d ry moss la y Dumps ; Poker as usual making use of him as a pillow Thems is go bed said Meetuck “ Thems mus t ge t up then and come aboard cri ed Fred whistling At fi rs t the dogs being sleepy seemed indisposed to move but a t last they c o nsen ted and fol lowing Fred t o the beach were s o on c o nveyed aboa r d t he ship Next day Captain Guy and his men bade Meetuck and t he kind hospitable peo ple of U pper navik farewell and spreading their canvas to a fair breeze se t sail for England .

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CHAP TE R XXVI Th

r r

e etu

rpri i hti b tt

n—The su

se —Buz z b y s

Fg

ng

a

l es



ayi

s

n gs a n d

i

o er aga n —C on ’

di cl i

—Th e narrati ve

o ngs

u s on

.

the end Of the quay at Gray ton As Fred s tands the r e all that has occurred during the past year seems to him bu t a vivid d ream Captain Guy is there and Captai n Ellice and Bu z z by and Mrs Buz z b y too and the t wo little Bu z z bys also and M r s Bright and Is obel and Tom Single ton and old Mr Single t on and the c r ew of the wrecked Dolp hi n and in short the “ whole world — of tha t par t of t he coun try I t was a grea t day for Grayton that I t was a wonderful NOE again we are

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2 16

TH E

WO RLD

O F IC E

day — qui te an indescribable day ; b u t there were also some things abou t it that made Captain Ellice feel somehow that it was a mysterious day for while th e r e we r e hea rty congra tu la t i ons and much sobbing fo r j oy on the pa r t of Mrs B r ight there were also whispe rings which puzzled him a good deal “ Come wi t h me b r othe r said Mrs Bright at length “ taking him by the a r m I have to t ell you something Is obel who was on the wa tch j oined them and F r ed als o wen t with them towa r ds the cotta ge “ “ — — Dea r b r other said Mrs B r ight I I Oh Is o bel tell him ! I canno t “ What means all this mystery ? said the cap tai n in an ea r nest tone for he fel t t hat they had something seri ous to c o mmunicate “ “ e r U ncle said Is obel you remember the time when D a the pirates attacked She paus ed fo r her uncle s look frigh tened her Go o n Isobel he said quickly Yo ur dear wife U ncle was not lost a t tha t time “ Captai n Ellice turned pale What m ean you gi r l ? How came yo u t o know this ? Then a thought flashed ac r oss him Seizing Isobel by the shoulder he gasped rather t han said Spea k quick — is — is she alive ? “ Yes dear U ncle she The cap tain heard no more He would have fallen to the gro und had not Fred who was alm o st as much overpowered as his father support ed him In a few mi nutes he recovered and he was told that Alice was alive — i n En gland — in the cotta e This was said as they approach ed t he doo r Al ice g was awa r e of her husband s a rrival In ano ther moment husband and wife and s o n we r e reunited Scenes o f in tense joy cann o t be adeq u a tely described and there a r e meetings in t his world which o u ght n ot to be too cl osely touched u pon Such was the present We will there fo r e lea ve Captain Ellice and his wife and so n to pour ou t the deep feelings of their hea rts t o each other and foll o w the foo t s teps o i h ones t John Bu z z by as he sailed down the village ,

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2 18

THE

WO RLD

OF I OE

did l au ghingly pronouncing Bu z z by to be a trump and “ his be tter half a t rue blue “ Good — d a y Old chap sa id the las t who m ade his exit ; “ till er s fi xed agin m ailed a midshi ps l eh ! “ Hard and fast replied Bu z z by wi t h a broad grin as he sh u t t he d oor and re t urn ed to the bosom of his family Two days la ter a grand feast was given a t M r s Bright s c o ttage to which all the fri ends of the family we r e invi te d to m eet with Cap ta i n Ellice and those who had returned f r o m their long and perilous voyage It was a joyful gathering that a nd glad and gra t eful hear ts were there Two days la ter s till and an o ther feast was given On this occasion Bu z z by was t he host and Bu z z by s cottage was t he scene It was a j oyful meeting t oo and a j o lly one to boot fo r O Ri ley was the r e and Peter Grim and Amos Parr and Da vid Mizzle and Mi vi ns— i n sho r t t he entire crew o f the lost Dolphin —~cap ta in ma te s surgeon and all Fred and his father we r e also there and old Mr Single ton and a number o f other f r iends so that all the ro o ms in t he h o use had to be th r own open and even then Mrs Bu z z by had ba r ely roo m to move It was on this occasion that Buz z by rela ted to his ship ma tes how Mrs Ellice had es ca ped from dro wning o n the nigh t they were attacked by pira tes on board t he West Indiam an He took occ asion t o relate the circumstances jus t before the “ pe ople from the hou se arrived a nd as the reader may per haps prefer Bu z z by s account t o ou r s we give it as it was deliver ed Yo u see i t happe ned t his way began Bu z z by Ha nd us a coal Buz z by to light my pipe before ye begin said Peter Grim Ah then howld yer t ongue Blunde rbore ! cried O Ri ley ha nding the glowing coal demanded with as much nonchalance as if his fingers were made of cast iron “ “ Well ye see resumed Bu z z by when poor Mrs Ellice wos pitched overboa r d as I seed her with my own two ey es o w was er ead at the t imé l Stop Buz z by sa id Mi vi ns “



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THE

up Mi vi ns

Shut

cried several

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NARRA TI VE

2 19 of



the men ;

go

o n,

Buz z by

.









Well I think her ead was sou west if it warn t nor east Anyhow it was pintin somewhe r e or o ther round the compass But as I wos sayin when Mrs Ellice struck the wa te r (a n she told me all abou t it herself ye must know ) she sank and then she comed up and didn t know how it wos bu t she ca ught hold of an oar that wos floa ti n close beside he r and screamed for help bu t no help came for it was da rk and the ship had disappeared so she gave he r self up fo r lost but in a little the oar st r uck agin a big piece 0 the wreck O the pi r ate s boa t and she managed to clamber upon it and lay there a m ost dead with c o ld till m or ni n The fi rs t thing she saw whe n day broke fo r th wos a big ship bea r in right down on her a nd she wos j ust abou t run do Wn when one o t he men observed he r fr o m the bow Hard a po r t ! r oared the man Po r t it is cried the man at the wheel an round went the ship like a duck ji st missi n the bi t of wreck as she passed A boat wos l o we r ed and M r s Ellice wos took aboard Well she fo und that the ship wos bound for t he Sandwich Islands and as they didn t mean to touch at any port in pa ssin Mrs Ellice had to go on with her Mi sfort i ns d o n t come single howsi ver The ship was wrecked on a coral reef and the crew had t o take to thei r boa ts W ich t hey did an got sa fe to land but the land they got t o wos an out o the way island am ong the Feejees and a spo t where ships never come so they had to make up their minds to stop there “ I thought said Amos Parr tha t the Feejees were ca nni bals and that wh o ever was wrecked or ca st ashore on their c oasts was ki lled and roasted and eat up a t once “ “ rej oined Buz z by ; bu t Providence sen t So ye re righ t t he c rew to one o the islands that had bin visite d by a native Chris tian missi o n ary fro m one o the o ther islands and the people had gin up some 0 t hei r w ors t practices and wos t hi nki n o t u rni n over a new leaf al toge ther So t he crew wos spared and t ook to livin among the nat ives quite com -

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2 20

TH E

WO RLD

OF I C E

like Bu t they s o on got ti r ed and t o ok to their boats agin and left Mrs Ellice h o wever d e te rmined to remai n and help the native Christians till a ship sh ould pass that way Fo r th r ee years nothin but ca n o es ho ve in sight 0 that l o nes o me i sland ; then at last a b r ig came and cast anch o r It wo s an Aust ralian t r ad er that had b e e n bl own o ffsh o r e he r cou r se o n he r way t o England so they to o k po o r o ut 0 M r s Ellice aboa rd and b rought he r h ome —and that s ho w it wos Bu z z by s outline although meag r e is so c omprehensive that we do not think it nec es sary to add a word Soon afte r he had conclud ed the gues ts Of the evening came i n and the conversa t ion became gene r al “ as i t was called i n the village was Buz z by s jollifica t i o n l ong re membered as o n e of the m o st int e r esting even ts that had occur r ed fo r many yea r s On e of the chief amusements o f the ev e ning was the spinning of long yarns abou t t he i ncidents of the la te voyage by men who could spin them w ell Thei r battles in the Polar Seas were all fought o er again The wonde ri ng listene r s were t old how Esquimaux we r e chased a nd captured ; ho w walrus were la nced and ha r pooned ; how bears were speared and shot ; how l ong and weary journeys were unde r taken on foot ove r immeasu r able fields of ice and snow ; how icebe r gs had crashed a r ound their ship and chains had been snapped asunde r and tough anchors had been to r n f r om the ground or lost ; how schools had been se t ag oing and a t heat r e go t up ; and how provisions having failed ra ts we r e ea ten — and e aten too with gus to Al l this and a great deal mo r e was to ld o n that celebra ted nigh t— some times by on e s ometimes by another and sometimes to th e c o nfusion of the audience by two or three a t once and not u nf r equen tly to t he still grea ter c o nfusion of story t ellers and audience alike the whole p r oceedings were interrupte d by the outrageous yells and tu r m oil of the two i ndomi table young Bu z z bys as t hey romped in reckless j oviality wi th Dum ps and Poker But a t lengt h the morning ligh t broke up for table

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22 2

WO RLD

THE

them

OF I CE

no t far from t he resi dence of old Mr Single to n who was the fattest and j olliest old gentleman in t he place and the ve ry idol of dogs and boys who loved him to distraction “ Captain Ellice having had,as he said more than his share of the sea resolved to live on shore and being possessed of a m oderat ely comfor ta ble income he purchas ed Mr s B righ t s co ttage on the g r een hi ll t hat overlo oked the harbour and the sea He r e he became celebrated for his benevolence and fo r the ene r gy wi t h which he en tered into all the schemes that w e r e devised for t he b e nefit of the t o wn of G r ay ton Like Tom Single ton and Fred he became deeply inte r es ted in the c o ndition of the p oor and had a special weakness for p oor old women which he exhibi ted by searching up and doing good to every poor Old w oman in the p arish Cap tain Ellice was also celebra t ed for his garden which was a remar kably fine o n e ; fo r his flag s ta ff which was a remarkably ta ll a nd mag nifi cent o ne ; and for his telescope which cons t an t ly protruded f ro m his dra wing room wi nd o w and poin ted i n the d i rection of the sea As for the others — Cap tai n Guy continued hi s ca reer a t sea as commander of an Eas t India man He remained s tou t and true hearted to the las t like one Of the oa k timbers of his o wn good ship Bol ton Sa unders Mi vi ns Pe te r G ri m Amos Parr and the res t of them we r e s cat tered i n a few years as sail ors usually a r e to the fo ur quar ters of the globe O Ri ley alone was “ h eard o f again H e wro te t o Bu z z by by manes of t he ri tin he had la rn d a boo rd the Dolfin info rm ing him tha t he had “ forsaken the say and become a small fa r m e r n ear Co rk He had plen ty of murphies and also a pig— the la t ter “ he said so like the wan tha t bel o nged t o his owld grand mother tha t he t hought i t mus t be the same wan c o med alive or i ts dar t er agin And Buz z by— poor Buz z by— he als o gave up the sea much agains t his will by command of his wife and took to misc ol la neous wo rk of which t here was plenty for an ac tive man in His rudde r poor man was again a seaport like Gray ton .

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C

O N CLUSI O N

223

(and this time permanen tly ) lashed amidships and wha tever b r eeze Mrs B chanced t o blow his business was to sa il right before i t The t wo lit tle Bu z z bys were the j oy of t heir fa t her s hear t They were genuine little true blues both of them and wen t t o sea the moment their legs we r e long enough and came home voyage after voyage with gifts of curiosi ties and gif ts of m o ney to their wor thy pa r en ts Dumps resided du r ing t he remainder o f his days wi t h Cap tain Ellice and P oker dwelt with Buz z by These t r uly re markable dogs kept up thei r atta chmen t to each other to the end Indeed as time passed by they drew cl oser and close r to gether for Poker became m ore sedate and co u s e quen tly a mo r e suitable compani o n for his ancien t f riend The dogs f ormed a connecting link between t he Bu z z by and Ellice families — c ons tan tly reminding each of the other s ex i st ence by the daily interchange o f visi ts Fred and To m soon came t o be known as skilful doc tors T ogether they wen t thro u gh life respected by all who knew them — each year as i t passed ce menting closer and cl o ser that undying f riendship which had fi r s t sta r ted into being in t he gay season of boyhood and had blo o med and ri pened amid the adven tures dangers and vicissitudes o f the Wo rl d o f Ice ,

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B LA C

KI E



KS

Y

S S TOR

B OO

F OR

YS

BO

E R B E RT S TR A N G KO bO 2 A St ry f th R ss J ap n s War Ill trat d 5 K m ch m H b S p vid d h d b y b k m k d will di p i d Ch i m m l i i dv h d fi i i y c d i K b i pid i d J p wc li h i M ik d vic h d W M ch b i d k c c ly c d y pl c — m b d w i b y b k lly k c hi ic ci i m khi k hii d b pck md l y M H M H b —M M H b wh pl did y m p v d b ill ly cc l w i h h ll k i q l vivid i o

o

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In obo , e rt has e u o re t an a goo o s oo for t he r s t m as m ar e t R e a e rs o f To B u r na by no t be s a po n t e o f an e n t u re s an d a ea o f s t r r n g a ar wa r g hts If t he m a n n t e re s t o f p le t he s t o r e nt re s i n t h e o ng s o f o o , t he n t re a a n es e sp y , a n d his fr e n Bo b ’ a o s ser Fa e t t , a n E ng s e n g n e e r i n t he e, C a ng - 0 , t he one-c are ” r t a e s e o n an ar u a s ar se a e A thene u ga n , tra ng

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fr o m t he fo r e , ta e n r so ne r, a nd a ef ar in t he g rea t Co ng o fo re s t A a t e n es a es t o u n e rgo a fe a rfu r ea u p t he n ness e na ng h is fr e n s t o res u es hi m , a nd T o m re a s t he t at T ld t a as t re m na n ts o f t he T ip u T i b g a n g o u r a nd e n”t u s a s e g t fu s t o r fr ca n a ve nt u re s t r t he e art o f a ny oy of sa s ! It is u s t t he so rt o f oo I o u a n s oo bo y , t Lo r o se e e o g y en o e er ag e o f i t for I no he o u ta

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