CHAPTER XVI.NORTHERN ARCADIA.
On May 29th, for the first time, the sun did not set; it merelytouched the horizon and then rose at once; the day was twenty-fourhours long. The next day it was surrounded by a magnificent halo, abright circle with all the colors of the prism; this apparition, whichwas by no means rare, always attracted the doctor's attention; henever failed to note the date and appearance of the phenomenon; theone he saw on that day was of an elliptic shape, which he had seldomseen before.
Soon the noisy flocks of birds appeared; bustards and wild geese camefrom Florida or Arkansas, flying northward with inconceivable rapidityand bringing the spring with them. The doctor shot a few, as well asthree or four cranes and a single stork. However, the snow was meltingeverywhere beneath the sun; the salt-water, which overran theice-field through the crevasses and the seal-holes, hastened themelting; the ice which was mingled with salt-water formed a softslush. Large pools appeared on the land near the bay, and the exposedsoil seemed to be a production of the arctic spring.
The doctor then resumed his planting; he had plenty of seed; besides,he was surprised to see a sort of sorrel growing naturally between thedried rocks, and he wondered at the force of nature which demanded solittle in order to manifest itself. He sowed some cresses, of whichthe young sprouts, three weeks later, were already an inch long.
The heath began to show timidly its little pale, rosy flowers. Infact, the flora of New America is very defective; still, this rarevegetation was agreeable to their eyes; it was all the feeble rays ofthe sun could nourish, a trace of the Providence which had notcompletely forgotten these distant countries. At last it became reallywarm; June 15th the thermometer stood at 57 degrees; the doctor couldhardly believe his eyes; the country changed its appearance; numerousnoisy cascades fell from the sunny summits of the hills; the iceloosened, and the great question of an open sea would soon be decided.The air was full of the noise of avalanches falling from the hills tothe bottom of the ravines, and the cracking of the ice-field produceda deafening sound.
A trip was made to Johnson Island; it was merely an unimportant, arid,barren island; but the old boatswain was no less proud of giving hisname to a few desolate rocks. He even wanted to carve it on a highpeak. During this excursion, Hatteras had carefully explored theselands, even beyond Cape Washington; the melting of the snow sensiblychanged the country; ravines and hillocks appeared here and there,where the snow indicated nothing but monotonous stretches. The houseand magazines threatened to melt away, and they had frequently to berepaired; fortunately, a temperature of 57 degrees is rare in theselatitudes, and the mean is hardly above the freezing-point.
By the middle of June the launch was far advanced and getting intoshape. While Bell and Johnson were working at it, the others had a fewsuccessful hunts. Reindeer were shot, although they are hard toapproach; but Altamont put in practice a device employed by theIndians of his own country; he crept over the ground with his gun andarms outstretched like the horns of one of these shy animals, andhaving thus come within easy gunshot, he could not fail.
But the best game, the musk-ox, of which Parry found plenty atMelville Island, appeared not to frequent the shores of Victoria Bay.A distant hunt was determined on, as much to get these valuableanimals as to reconnoitre the eastern lands. Hatteras did not proposeto reach the Pole by this part of the continent, but the doctor wasnot sorry to get a general idea of the country. Hence they decided tostart to the east of Fort Providence. Altamont intended to hunt; Dukenaturally was of the party.
So, Monday, June 17th, a pleasant day, with the thermometer at 41degrees, and the air quiet and clear, the three hunters, each carryinga double-barrelled gun, a hatchet, a snow-knife, and followed by Duke,left Doctor's House at six o'clock in the morning. They were fittedout for a trip of two or three days, with the requisite amount ofprovisions. By eight o'clock Hatteras and his two companions had goneeight miles. Not a living thing had tempted a shot, and their huntthreatened to be merely a trip.
This new country exhibited vast plains running out of sight; newstreams divided them everywhere, and large, unruffled pools reflectedthe sun. The layers of melting ice bared the ground to their feet; itbelonged to the great division of sedimentary earth, and the result ofthe action of the water, which is so common on the surface of theglobe. Still a few erratic blocks were seen of a singular nature,foreign to the soil where they were found, and whose presence it washard to explain. Schists and different productions of limestone werefound in abundance, as was also a sort of strange, transparent,colorless crystal, which has a refraction peculiar to Iceland spar.
But, although he was not hunting, the doctor had not time togeologize; he had to walk too quickly, in order to keep up with hisfriends. Still, he observed the land and talked as much as possible,for had he not there would have been total silence in the little band;neither Altamont nor the captain had any desire to talk to oneanother.
By ten o'clock the hunters had got a dozen miles to the east; the seawas hidden beneath the horizon; the doctor proposed a halt forbreakfast. They swallowed it rapidly, and in half an hour they wereoff again. The ground was sloping gently; a few patches of snow,preserved either by their position or the slope of the rocks, gave ita woolly appearance, like waves in a high wind. The country was stillbarren, and looking as if no living being had ever set foot in it.
"We have no luck," said Altamont to the doctor; "to be sure, thecountry doesn't offer much food to animals, but the game here oughtnot to be over-particular, and ought to show itself."
"Don't let us despair," said the doctor; "the summer has hardly begun;and if Parry met so many animals at Melville Island, we may be aslucky here."
"Still, we are farther north," said Hatteras.
"Certainly, but that is unimportant; it is the pole of cold we oughtto consider; that is to say, that icy wilderness in the middle ofwhich we wintered with the _Forward_; now the farther north we go, thefarther we are from the coldest part of the globe; we ought to find,beyond, what Parry, Ross, and others found on the other side."
"Well," said Altamont, with a regretful sigh, "so far we've beentravellers rather than hunters."
"Be patient," answered the doctor; "the country is changing gradually,and I should be astonished if we don't find game enough in the ravineswhere vegetation has had a chance to sprout."
"It must be said," continued Altamont, "that we are going through anuninhabited and uninhabitable country."
"O, uninhabitable is a strong word!" answered the doctor; "I can'tbelieve any land uninhabitable; man, by many sacrifices, and forgenerations using all the resources of science, might finallyfertilize such a country."
"Do you think so?" asked Altamont.
"Without doubt! If you were to go to the celebrated countries of theworld, to Thebes, Nineveh, or Babylon, in the fertile valleys of ourancestors, it would seem impossible that men should ever have livedthere; the air itself has grown bad since the disappearance of humanbeings. It is the general law of nature which makes those countries inwhich we do not live unhealthy and sterile, like those out of whichlife has died. In fact, man himself makes his own country by hispresence, his habits, his industry, and, I might add, by his breath;he gradually modifies the exhalations of the soil and the atmosphericconditions, and he makes the air he breathes wholesome. So there areuninhabited lands, I grant, but none uninhabitable."
Talking in this way, the hunters, who had become naturalists, pushedon and reached a sort of valley, fully exposed, at the bottom of whicha river, nearly free of ice, was flowing; its southern exposure hadbrought forth a certain amount of vegetation. The earth showed astrong desire to grow fertile; with a few inches of rich soil it wouldhave produced a good deal. The doctor called their attention to theseindications.
"See," he said, "a few hardy colonists might settle in this ravine.With industry and perseverance they could do a great deal; not as muchas is seen in the temperate zones, but a respectable show. If I am notmistaken, there are some four-footed a
nimals! They know the goodspots."
"They are Arctic hares," shouted Altamont, cocking his gun.
"Wait a moment," cried the doctor,--"wait a moment, you hasty fellow.They don't think of running away! See, they'll come to us!"
And, in fact, three or four young hares, springing about in the heathand young moss, ran boldly towards the three men; they were so cunningthat even Altamont was softened.
Soon they were between the doctor's legs; he caressed them with hishand, saying,--
"Why shoot these little animals which come to be petted? We need notkill them."
"You are right, Doctor," answered Hatteras; "we'll let them live."
"And these ptarmigan, too, which are flying towards us!" criedAltamont; "and these long-legged water-fowl!"
A whole flock of birds passed over the hunters, not suspecting theperil from which the doctor's presence saved them. Even Duke wascompelled to admire them.
They were a curious and touching sight, flying about without fear,resting on Clawbonny's shoulders, lying at his feet, offeringthemselves to his caresses, seeming to do their best to welcome theirnew guests; they called one another joyously, flying from the mostdistant points; the doctor seemed to be a real bird-charmer. Thehunters continued their march up the moist banks of the brook,followed by the familiar band, and turning from the valley theyperceived a troop of eight or ten reindeer browsing on a few lichenshalf buried beneath the snow; they were graceful, quiet animals, withtheir branching antlers, which the female carried as well as the male;their wool-like fur was already losing its winter whiteness in favorof the summer brown and gray; they seemed no more timid than the haresand birds of the country. Such were the relations of the first men tothe first animals in the early ages of the world.
"They were a curious and touching sight, flying aboutwithout fear, resting on Clawbonny's shoulders," etc.]
The hunters reached the middle of the band without any one flying;this time the doctor found it hard to restrain the instincts ofAltamont, who could not calmly look on this game without a thirst forblood rising in his brain. Hatteras looked mildly at these gentlebeasts, who rubbed their noses against the doctor's clothes; he wasthe friend of all the animals.
"But," said Altamont, "didn't we come here to shoot?"
"To shoot musk-ox," answered Clawbonny, "and nothing else! We shouldhave no need of this game; we have food enough, so let us enjoy thesight of man walking thus among these animals, without alarming them."
"That proves they have never seen one before," said Hatteras.
"Evidently," answered the doctor; "and so we can be sure that theseanimals are not of American origin."
"And why so?" said Altamont.
"If they were born on the continent of North America, they would knowwhat to think of men, and they would have fled at the sight of us. No;they probably came from the north, from those unknown lands where ourkind has never set foot, and they have crossed the continents near thePole. So, Altamont, you can't claim them as your fellow-countrymen."
"O," answered Altamont, "a hunter does not scrutinize so closely, andthe game belongs to the land where it was shot!"
"Well, calm yourself, my Nimrod! As for me, I would rather never firea gun in my life than alarm this timid population. See, even Dukefraternizes with the charming beasts! Come, we'll be kind when we can!Kindness is a force!"
"Well, well," answered Altamont, who sympathized but slightly withthis sensitiveness; "but I should be amused to see you armed with thiskindness alone among a flock of bears or wolves!"
"O, I don't pretend to charm wild beasts!" answered the doctor; "Ihave little faith in the enchantment of Orpheus; besides, bears andwolves wouldn't come up to us like the hares, partridges, andreindeer."
"Why not," answered Altamont, "if they have never seen men?"
"Because they are naturally ferocious, and ferocity, likemaliciousness, begets suspicion; a remark which is true of man as wellas of animals. A wicked man is distrustful, and fear is commonly foundin those who are able to inspire it."
This little lesson in natural philosophy ended the conversation.
The whole day was passed in this Northern Arcadia, as the doctor namedthe valley, with the consent of his companions; and that evening,after a supper which had not cost the life of a single inhabitant ofthe country, the three hunters went to sleep in a cleft of a rockwhich was admirably adapted for a shelter.