CHAPTER XXVI.RETURN TO THE SOUTH.
Three hours after this sad conclusion to the adventures of CaptainHatteras, Clawbonny, Altamont, and the two sailors were assembled inthe cavern at the foot of the volcano. Then Clawbonny was asked togive his opinion on what was to be done.
"My friends," he said, "we cannot prolong our stay at Queen's Island;the sea is open before us; our provisions are sufficient; we must setout and reach Fort Providence as soon as possible, and we can go intowinter-quarters till next summer."
"That is my opinion," said Altamont; "the wind is fair, and to-morrowwe shall set sail."
The day passed in great gloom. The captain's madness was a sadforeboding, and when Johnson, Bell, and Altamont thought of theirreturn, they were afraid of their loneliness and remoteness. They feltthe need of Hatteras's bold soul. Still, like energetic men they madeready for a new struggle with the elements, and with themselves, incase they should feel themselves growing faint-hearted.
The next day, Saturday, July 13th, the camping materials were put onthe boat, and soon everything was ready for their departure. Butbefore leaving this rock forever, the doctor, following Hatteras'sintentions, put up a cairn at the place where the captain reached theisland; this cairn was built of large rocks laid on one another, so asto form a perfectly visible landmark, if it were not destroyed by theeruption.
"The doctor put up a cairn."]
On one of the lateral stones Bell carved with a chisel this simpleinscription:--
JOHN HATTERAS 1861.
A copy of the document was placed inside of the cairn in anhermetically sealed tin cylinder, and the proof of this greatdiscovery was left here on these lonely rocks.
Then the four men and the captain,--a poor body without a mind,--andhis faithful Duke, sad and melancholy, got into the boat for thereturn voyage. It was ten o'clock in the morning. A new sail was setup with the canvas of the tent. The launch, sailing before the wind,left Queen's Island, and that evening the doctor, standing on hisbench, waved a last farewell to Mount Hatteras, which was lighting upthe horizon.
Their voyage was very quick; the sea, which was always open, was easysailing, and it seemed really easier to go away from the Pole than toapproach it. But Hatteras was in no state to understand what was goingon about him; he lay at full length in the launch, his mouth closed,his expression dull, and his arms folded. Duke lay at his feet. It wasin vain that the doctor questioned him. Hatteras did not hear him.
For forty-eight hours the breeze was fair and the sea smooth.Clawbonny and his companions rejoiced in the north-wind. July 15th,they made Altamont Harbor in the south; but since the Polar Ocean wasopen all along the coast, instead of crossing New America by sledge,they resolved to sail around it, and reach Victoria Bay by sea. Thisvoyage was quicker and easier. In fact, the space which had taken thema fortnight on sledges took them hardly a week by sail; and afterfollowing the rugged outline of the coast, which was fringed withnumerous fiords, and determining its shape, they reached Victoria Bay,Monday evening, July 23d.
The launch was firmly anchored to the shore, and each one ran to FortProvidence. The Doctor's House, the stores, the magazine, thefortifications, all had melted in the sun, and the supplies had beendevoured by hungry beasts.
It was a sad sight.
They were nearly at the end of their supplies, and they had intendedto renew them at Fort Providence. The impossibility of passing thewinter there was evident. Like people accustomed to decide rapidly,they determined to reach Baffin's Bay as soon as possible.
"We have nothing else to do," said the doctor; "Baffin's Bay is notsix hundred miles from here; we might sail as far as our launch wouldcarry us, reach Jones's Sound, and from there the Danish settlements."
"Yes," answered Altamont; "let us collect all the provisions we can,and leave."
By strict search they found a few chests of pemmican here and there,and two barrels of preserved meat, which had escaped destruction. Inshort, they had a supply for six weeks, and powder enough. This waspromptly collected. The day was devoted to calking the launch,repairing it, and the next day, July 24th, they put out to sea again.
The continent towards latitude 83 degrees inclined towards the east.It was possible that it joined the countries known under the name ofGrinnell Land, Ellesmere, and North Lincoln, which form the coast-lineof Baffin's Bay. They could then hold it for certain that Jones'sSound opened in the inner seas, like Lancaster Sound. The launch thensailed without much difficulty, easily avoiding the floating ice. Thedoctor, by way of precaution against possible delay, put them all onhalf-rations; but this did not trouble them much, and their health wasunimpaired.
Besides, they were able to shoot occasionally; they killed ducks,geese, and other game, which gave them fresh and wholesome food. Asfor their drink, they had a full supply from the floating ice, whichthey met on the way, for they took care not to go far from the coast,the launch being too small for the open sea.
At this period of the year the thermometer was already, for thegreater part of time, beneath the freezing-point; after a certainamount of rainy weather snow began to fall, with other signs of theend of summer; the sun sank nearer the horizon, and more and more ofits disk sank beneath it every day. July 30th they saw it disappearfor the first time, that is to say, they had a few minutes of night.
Still, the launch sailed well, sometimes making from sixty toseventy-five miles a day; they did not stop a moment; they knew whatfatigues to endure, what obstacles to surmount; the way by land wasbefore them, if they had to take it, and these confined seas must soonbe closed; indeed, the young ice was already forming here and there.Winter suddenly succeeds summer in these latitudes; there are nointermediate seasons; no spring, no autumn. So they had to hurry. July31st, the sky being clear at sunset, the first stars were seen in theconstellations overhead. From this day on there was perpetual mist,which interfered very much with their sailing. The doctor, when he sawall the signs of winter's approach, became very uneasy; he knew thedifficulties Sir John Ross had found in getting to Baffin's Bay, afterleaving his ship; and indeed, having once tried to pass the ice, hewas obliged to return to his ship, and go into winter-quarters for thefourth year; but he had at least a shelter against the weather, food,and fuel. If such a misfortune were to befall the survivors of the_Forward_, if they had to stop or put back, they were lost; the doctordid not express his uneasiness to his companions; but he urged them toget as far eastward as possible.
Finally, August 15th, after thirty days of rather good sailing, afterstruggling for forty-eight hours against the ice, which wasaccumulating, after having imperilled their little launch a hundredtimes, they saw themselves absolutely stopped, unable to go farther;the sea was all frozen, and the thermometer marked on an average +15degrees. Moreover, in all the north and east it was easy to detect thenearness of land, by the presence of pebbles; frozen fresh water wasfound more frequently. Altamont made an observation with greatexactness, and found they were in latitude 77 degrees 15 minutes, andlongitude 85 degrees 2 minutes.
"So, then," said the doctor, "this is our exact position; we havereached North Lincoln, exactly at Cape Eden; we are entering Jones'sSound; if we had been a little luckier, we should have found the seaopen to Baffin's Bay. But we need not complain. If my poor Hatterashad at first found so open a sea, he would have soon reached the Pole,his companions would not have deserted him, and he would not have losthis reason under his terrible sufferings!"
"Then," said Altamont, "we have only one course to follow; to abandonthe launch, and get to the east coast of Lincoln by sledge."
"Abandon the launch and take the sledge? Well," answered the doctor;"but instead of crossing Lincoln, I propose going through Jones'sSound on the ice, and reaching North Devon."
"And why?" asked Altamont.
"Because we should get nearer to Lancaster Sound, and have more chanceof meeting whalers."
"You are right, Doctor, but I am afraid the ice is not yet hardenough."
"We can try," said Clawbonny.
The launch was unloaded; Bell and Johnson put the sledge together; allits parts were in good condition. The next day the dogs were harnessedin, and they went along the coast to reach the ice-field.
Then they began again the journey which has been so often described;it was tiresome and slow; Altamont was right in doubting the strengthof the ice; they could not go through Jones's Sound, and they had tofollow the coast of Lincoln.
August 21st they turned to one side and reached the entrance ofGlacier Sound; then they ventured upon the ice-field, and the next daythey reached Cobourg Island, which they crossed in less than two daysamid snow-squalls. They could advance more easily on the ice-fields,and at last, August 24th, they set foot on North Devon.
"Now," said the doctor, "we have only to cross this, and reach CapeWarender, at the entrance of Lancaster Sound."
But the weather became very cold and unpleasant; the snow-squallsbecame as violent as in winter; they all found themselves nearlyexhausted. Their provisions were giving out, and each man had but athird of a ration, in order to allow to the dogs enough food inproportion to their work.
The nature of the ground added much to the fatigue of the journey;North Devon was far from level; they had to cross the TrauterMountains by almost impassable ravines, struggling against all thefury of the elements. The sledge, men, and dogs had to rest, and morethan once despair seized the little band, hardened as it was to thefatigues of a polar journey. But, without their noticing it, thesepoor men were nearly worn out, physically and morally; they could notsupport such incessant fatigue for eighteen months with impunity, norsuch a succession of hopes and despairs. Besides, it should be bornein mind that they went forward with enthusiasm and conviction, whichthey lacked when returning. So they with difficulty dragged on; theywalked almost from habit, with the animal energy left almostindependent of their will.
It was not until August 30th that they at last left the chaos ofmountains, of which one can form no idea from the mountains of lowerzones, but they left it half dead. The doctor could no longer cheer uphis companions, and he felt himself breaking down. The TrauterMountains ended in a sort of rugged plain, heaped up at the time ofthe formation of the mountains. There they were compelled to take afew days of rest; the men could not set one foot before another; twoof the dogs had died of exhaustion. They sheltered themselves behind apiece of ice, at a temperature of -2 degrees; no one dared put up thetent. Their food had become very scanty, and, in spite of theirextreme economy with their rations, they had a supply for but a weekmore; game became rarer, having left for a milder climate. Starvationthreatened these exhausted men.
Altamont, who all along had shown great devotion and unselfishness,took advantage of the strength he had left, and resolved to procure byhunting some food for his companions. He took his gun, called Duke,and strode off for the plains to the north; the doctor, Johnson, andBell saw him go away without much interest. For an hour they did notonce hear his gun, and they saw him returning without firing a singleshot; but he was running as if in great alarm.
"What is the matter?" asked the doctor.
"There! under the snow!" answered Altamont in great alarm, indicatinga point in the horizon.
"What?"
"A whole band of men--"
"Alive?"
"Dead,--frozen,--and even--"
"Dead--frozen."]
The American durst not finish his sentence, but his face expressedclearly his horror. The doctor, Johnson, Bell, aroused by thisincident, were able to rise, and drag themselves along in Altamont'sfootprints to the part of the plain to which he had pointed. They soonreached a narrow space, at the bottom of a deep ravine, and there aterrible sight met their eyes.
Bodies were lying half buried beneath the snow; here an arm, there aleg, or clinched hands, and faces still preserving an expression ofdespair.
The doctor drew near; then he stepped back, pale and agitated, whileDuke barked mournfully.
"Horror!" he said.
"Well?" asked the boatswain.
"Didn't you recognize them?" said the doctor in a strange voice.
"What do you mean?"
"Look!"
This ravine had been the scene of the last struggle between the menand the climate, despair, and hunger, for from some horrible signs itwas easy to see that they had been obliged to eat human flesh. Amongthem the doctor had recognized Shandon, Pen, and the wretched crew ofthe _Forward_; their strength and food had failed them; their launchhad probably been crushed by an avalanche, or carried into someravine, and they could not take to the open sea; probably they werelost among these unknown continents. Besides, men who had left inmutiny could not long be united with the closeness which is necessaryfor the accomplishment of great things. A ringleader of a revolt hasnever more than a doubtful authority in his hands. And, without doubt,Shandon was promptly deposed.
However that may have been, the crew had evidently undergone athousand tortures, a thousand despairs, to end with this terriblecatastrophe; but the secret of their sufferings is forever buriedbeneath the arctic snows.
"Let us flee!" cried the doctor.
And he dragged his companions far from the scene of the disaster.Horror lent them momentary strength. They set out again.