CHAPTER X.DANGEROUS SAILING.
Shandon, Dr. Clawbonny, Johnson, Foker, and Strong, the cook, got intoone of the boats and made their way to shore.
The Governor, his wife and five children, all Esquimaux, receivedtheir visitors kindly. The doctor, who was the philologist of theparty, knew enough Danish to establish friendly relations; moreover,Foker, the interpreter of the party as well as ice-master, knew adozen or two words of the language of the Greenlanders, and with thatnumber of words one can express a great deal, if he is not tooambitious.
The Governor was born on the island of Disco, and he has never leftthe place; he did the honors of his capital, which consisted of threewooden houses, for himself and the Lutheran minister, of a school, andshops which were supplied by what was cast upon the shore from wreckedships. The rest of the town consisted of snow huts, into which theEsquimaux crawl through a single opening.
A great part of the population came out to meet the _Forward_, andmore than one of them went as far as the middle of the bay in hiskayak, fifteen feet long and two broad at the widest part.
The doctor knew that the word Esquimaux meant "eater of raw fish"; buthe knew too that this name is considered an insult in this country, sohe forbore giving it to the inhabitants of Greenland.
And yet, from the oily sealskin clothes and boots, from their squat,fat figures, which make it hard to distinguish the men from the women,it was easy to declare the nature of their food; besides, like allfish-eating people, they were somewhat troubled by leprosy, but theirgeneral health was not impaired by it.
The Lutheran minister and his wife, with whom the doctor had promisedhimself an interesting talk, happened to be away on the shore ofProven, south of Upernavik; hence he was compelled to seek the companyof the Governor. The chief magistrate did not appear to be very wellinformed: a little less, he would have been a fool; a little more, andhe would have known how to read.
In spite of that, the doctor questioned him about the commerce,habits, and manners of the Esquimaux; and he learned, by means ofgestures, that the seals were worth about forty pounds when deliveredat Copenhagen; a bear-skin brought forty Danish dollars, the skin of ablue fox four, and of a white fox two or three dollars.
In order to make his knowledge complete, the doctor wanted to visit anEsquimaux hut; a man who seeks information is capable of enduringanything; fortunately the opening of these huts was too small, and theenthusiastic doctor could not get through. It was fortunate for him,for there is nothing more repulsive than the sight of that crowd ofliving and dead objects, of seal's bodies and Esquimaux-flesh, decayedfish and unclean clothing, which fill a Greenland hut; there is nowindow to renew that suffocating air; there is only a hole at the topof the cabin which lets the smoke out, but gives no relief to thestench.
"Fortunately the opening of these huts was too small,and the enthusiastic doctor could not get through."]
Foker gave all these details to the doctor, but he none the lessbewailed his portliness. He wanted to judge for himself theseemanations _sui generis_.
"I am sure," said he, "that one could get used to it in time." _Intime_ shows clearly the doctor's character.
During these ethnographic studies on his part, Shandon was busyinghimself, according to his instructions, with procuring means of travelon the ice; he was obliged to pay four pounds for a sledge and sixdogs, and the natives were reluctant to sell even at this price.
Shandon would have liked to engage Hans Christian, the skilful driverof the dogs, who accompanied Captain MacClintock, but Hans was then inSouthern Greenland.
Then came up the great question of the day; was there at Upernavik aEuropean awaiting the arrival of the _Forward_? Did the Governor knowof any stranger, probably an Englishman, who had come into theselatitudes? How recently had they seen any whalers or other ships?
To these questions the Governor answered that no stranger had landedon that part of the coast for more than ten months.
Shandon asked the names of the whalers which had last arrived; herecognized none. He was in despair.
"You must confess, Doctor, that it passes all comprehension," he saidto his companion. "Nothing at Cape Farewell! nothing at Disco! nothingat Upernavik!"
"Tell me in a few days from now, nothing at Melville Bay, my dearShandon, and I will salute you as sole captain of the _Forward_."
The boat returned to the brig towards evening, bringing back thevisitors to the shore; Strong had bought several dozen eider-duck'seggs, which were twice as large as hen's eggs, and of a greenishcolor. It was not much, but it was very refreshing for a crewaccustomed to little but salt meat.
The next day the wind was fair, but yet Shandon did not set sail; hewanted to wait another day, and, to satisfy his conscience, to givetime for any member of the human race to rejoin the _Forward_; he evenfired off, every hour, the ship's gun, which re-echoed among theicebergs; but he only succeeded in frightening the flocks ofmolly-mokes[1] and rotches.[1] During the night many rockets were setoff; but in vain. He had to give the order to set sail.
[Footnote 1: Sea-birds common in these latitudes.]
The 8th of May, at six o'clock in the morning, the _Forward_, underher topsails, foresail, and main-top-gallant-sail, soon lost sight ofthe station of Upernavik, and hideous long poles on which were hangingalong the shore the seals' entrails and deers' stomachs.
The wind was southeast, the thermometer stood at 32 degrees. The sunpierced through the fog and the ice melted a little.
The reflection, however, injured the sight of many of the crew.Wolston, the armorer, Gripper, Clifton, and Bell were attacked bysnow-blindness, which is very common in the spring, and which totallyblinds many of the Esquimaux. The doctor advised all, the unharmed aswell as the suffering, to cover their faces with a green veil, and hewas the first to follow his own recommendation.
The dogs bought by Shandon at Upernavik were rather wild; but theysoon got used to their new quarters, and Captain showed no dislike ofhis new companions; he seemed to know their ways. Clifton was not thelast to remark that Captain seemed to be familiar with the dogs ofGreenland. And they, always half starved on shore, only thought ofmaking up for it when at sea.
The 9th of May the _Forward_ passed within a few cable-lengths of thewesternmost of the Baffin Islands. The doctor noticed many rocksbetween the islands and the mainland which were what are calledcrimson cliffs; they were covered with snow as red as carmine, whichDr. Kane says is of purely vegetable origin; Clawbonny wanted toexamine this singular phenomenon, but the ice forbade theirapproaching them; although the temperature was rising, it was easy tosee that the icebergs and ice-streams were accumulating toward thenorth of Baffin's Bay.
After leaving Upernavik the land presented a different appearance, andhuge glaciers were sharply defined against the gray horizon. On the10th the _Forward_ left on its right Kingston Bay, near theseventy-fourth degree of latitude; Lancaster Sound opened into the seamany hundred miles to the west.
But then this vast expanse of water was hidden beneath enormous fieldsof ice, in which arose the hummocks, uniform as a homogeneouscrystallization. Shandon had the furnace-fires lighted, and until the11th of May the _Forward_ advanced by a tortuous course, tracing withher smoke against the sky the path she was following through thewater.
But new obstacles soon presented themselves; the passages were closingin consequence of the incessant crowding of the floating masses; everymoment threatened to close up the clear water before the _Forward_,and if she were nipped, it would be hard to get her out. Every oneknew it and was thinking about it.
Hence, on board of this ship without any definite aim, any knowndestination, which was blindly pushing on northward, some symptoms ofhesitation began to appear; among these men accustomed to dangers,many, forgetting the advantages which were promised them, regrettedhaving ventured so far. A certain demoralization became common, whichwas further increased by the fears of Clifton and the talk of two orthree ringleaders, such as Pen, Gripper, Warren, and Wo
lston.
Exhausting fatigue was added to the moral disquiet of the crew, for,on the 12th of May, the brig was caught fast; the steam was of noavail. A path had to be cut through the ice. It was no easy task tomanage the saws in the floes which were six or seven feet thick; whentwo parallel grooves had divided the ice for a hundred feet, it wasnecessary to break the part that lay between with axes and bars; nextthey had to fasten anchors in a hole made by a huge auger; then thecrew would turn the capstan and haul the ship along by the force oftheir arms; the greatest difficulty consisted in driving the detachedpieces beneath the floes, so as to give space for the vessel, and theyhad to be pushed under by means of long iron-headed poles.
Moreover, this continued toil with saws, capstan, and poles, all ofwhich was persistent, compulsory, and dangerous, amid the dense fog orsnow, while the air was so cold, and their eyes so exposed, theirdoubt so great, did much to weaken the crew of the _Forward_ and toact on their imagination.
When sailors have to deal with a man who is energetic, bold, anddetermined, who knows what he wants, whither he is going, what aim hehas in view, confidence animates them all in spite of themselves; theyare firmly united to their leader, strong with his force and calm withhis calmness. But on board of the brig they were aware of thecommander's uncertainty, they knew that he hesitated before theunknown aim and destination. In spite of the energy of his character,his uncertainty was clearly to be seen by his uncertain orders,incomplete manoeuvres, his sudden outbursts, and a thousand pettydetails which could not escape the sharp eyes of the crew.
And then, Shandon was not the captain of the ship, the master underGod, which was enough to encourage the discussion of his orders; andfrom discussion to disobedience is but a short step.
The malcontents soon brought over to their number the first engineer,who, hitherto, had been a slave to his duty.
The 16th of May, six days after the _Forward_ had reached the ice,Shandon had not made two miles to northward. They were threatened withbeing detained in the ice until the next season. Matters had a seriouslook.
Towards eight o'clock of the evening, Shandon and the doctor,accompanied by Garry, went out to reconnoitre the vast plains; theytook care not to go too far from the ship, for it was hard to find anyfixed points in this white solitude, which was ever changing inappearance. Refraction kept producing strange effects, much to thedoctor's astonishment; at one place, where he thought he had but aneasy jump before him, he had to leap some five or six feet; or elsethe contrary happened, and in either case the result was a tumble,which if not dangerous was at any rate painful, for the ice was ashard and slippery as glass.
Shandon and his two companions went out to seek a possible passage;three miles from the ship, they succeeded with some difficulty inascending an iceberg about three hundred feet high. From that pointnothing met their eyes but a confused mass, like the ruins of a vastcity, with shattered monuments, overthrown towers, and prostratepalaces,--a real chaos. The sun was just peering above the jaggedhorizon, and sent forth long, oblique rays of light, but not of heat,as if something impassable for heat lay between it and this wildcountry.
The sea appeared perfectly covered as far as eye could reach.
"How shall we get through?" asked the doctor.
"I don't know," answered Shandon; "but we shall get through, if wehave to blow our way through with powder. I certainly sha'n't stay inthe ice till next spring."
"But that happened to the _Fox_, and not far from here. Bah!" said thedoctor; "we shall get through with a little philosophy. You will seethat is worth all the machinery in the world."
"I must say," answered Shandon, "this year does not begin very well."
"True, Shandon, and I notice also that Baffin's Bay seems to bereturning to the state it was in before 1817."
"Don't you think, Doctor, it has always been as it is now?"
"No, my dear Shandon, from time to time there have been greatbreakings of the ice which no one can explain; so, up to 1817 this seawas continually full, when an enormous sort of inundation took place,which cast the icebergs into the ocean, most of which reached thebanks of Newfoundland. From that day Baffin's Bay was nearly free, andwas visited by whalers."
"So," asked Shandon, "from that time voyages to the North becameeasier?"
"Incomparably; but for some years it has been noticed that the bayseems to be resuming its old ways and threatens to become closed,possibly for a long time, to sailors. An additional reason, by theway, for pushing on as far as possible. And yet it must be said, welook like people who are pushing on in unknown ways, with the doorsforever closing behind us."
"Would you advise me to go back?" asked Shandon, trying to read intothe depths of the doctor's eyes.
"I! I have never retreated yet, and, even if we should never get back,I say go on. Still, I want to make it clear that if we actimprudently, we do it with our eyes open."
"And you, Garry, what do you think about it?" asked Shandon of thesailor.
"I, Commander, should go straight on; I agree with Dr. Clawbonny; butdo as you please; command, we shall obey."
"They don't all talk as you do, Garry," resumed Shandon; "they are notall ready to obey. And if they refuse to obey my orders?"
"I have given you my opinion, Commander," answered Garry, coldly,"because you asked for it; but you are not obliged to follow it."
Shandon did not answer; he scanned the horizon closely, and thendescended with his companions to the ice-fields.