CHAPTER XX
BEECHEY ISLAND
On the 25th of June the _Forward_ arrived in sight of Cape Dundasat the north-western extremity of Prince of Wales's Land. There thedifficulty of navigating amongst the ice grew greater. The sea isnarrower there, and the line made by Crozier, Young, Day, Lowther,and Garret Islands, like a chain of forts before a roadstead, forcedthe ice-streams to accumulate in this strait. The brig took from the25th to the 30th of June to make as much way as she would have donein one day under any other circumstances; she stopped, retraced hersteps, waiting for a favourable occasion so as not to miss BeecheyIsland, using a great deal of coal, as the fires were only moderatedwhen she had to halt, but were never put out, so that she might beunder pressure day and night. Hatteras knew the extent of his coalprovision as well as Shandon, but as he was certain of getting hisprovision renewed at Beechey Island he would not lose a minute forthe sake of economy; he had been much delayed by his forced marchsouthward, and although he had taken the precaution of leaving Englandbefore the month of April, he did not find himself more advanced thanpreceding expeditions had been at the same epoch. On the 30th theysighted Cape Walker at the north-eastern extremity of Prince ofWales's Land; it was the extreme point that Kennedy and Bellotperceived on the 3rd of May, 1852, after an excursion across the wholeof North Somerset. Before that, in 1851, Captain Ommaney, of theAustin expedition, had the good luck to revictual his detachmentsthere. This cape is very high, and remarkable for its reddish-browncolour; from there, when the weather is clear, the view stretchesas far as the entrance to Wellington Channel. Towards evening theysaw Cape Bellot, separated from Cape Walker by McLeon Bay. Cape Bellotwas so named in the presence of the young French officer, for whomthe English expedition gave three cheers. At this spot the coast ismade of yellowish limestone, presenting a very rugged outline; itis defended by enormous icebergs which the north winds pile up therein a most imposing way. It was soon lost to sight by the _Forward_as she opened a passage amongst the ice to get to Beechey Islandthrough Barrow Strait. Hatteras resolved to go straight on, and, soas not to be drifted further than the island, scarcely quitted hispost during the following days; he often went to the masthead to lookout for the most advantageous channels. All that pluck, skill, andgenius could do he did while they were crossing the strait. Fortunedid not favour him, for the sea is generally more open at this epoch.But at last, by dint of sparing neither his steam, his crew, norhimself, he attained his end.
On the 3rd of July, at 11 o'clock in the morning, the ice-mastersignalled land to the north. After taking an observation Hatterasrecognised Beechey Island, that general meeting-place of Arcticnavigators. Almost all ships that adventure in these seas stop there.Franklin wintered there for the first time before getting intoWellington Strait, and Creswell, with Lieutenant McClure, afterhaving cleared 170 miles on the ice, rejoined the _Phoenix_ andreturned to England. The last ship which anchored at Beechey Islandbefore the _Forward_ was the _Fox_; McClintock revictualled therethe 11th of August, 1858, and repaired the habitations and magazines;only two years had elapsed since then, and Hatteras knew all thesedetails. The boatswain's heart beat with emotion at the sight of thisisland; when he had visited it he was quartermaster on board the_Phoenix_; Hatteras questioned him about the coast line, thefacilities for anchoring, how far they could go inland, &c.; theweather was magnificent, and the temperature kept at 57 degrees.
"Well, Johnson," said the captain, "do you know where you are?"
"Yes, sir, that is Beechey Island; only you must let us get furthernorth--the coast is more easy of access."
"But where are the habitations and the magazines?" said Hatteras.
"Oh, you can't see them till you land; they are sheltered behind thoselittle hills you see yonder."
"And is that where you transported a considerable quantity ofprovisions?"
"Yes, sir; the Admiralty sent us here in 1853, under the command ofCaptain Inglefield, with the steamer _Phoenix_ and a transport ship,the _Breadalbane_, loaded with provisions; we brought enough withus to revictual a whole expedition."
"But the commander of the _Fox_ took a lot of them in 1858," saidHatteras.
"That doesn't matter, sir; there'll be plenty left for you; the coldpreserves them wonderfully, and we shall find them as fresh and inas good a state of preservation as the first day."
"What I want is coal," said Hatteras; "I have enough provisions forseveral years."
"We left more than a thousand tons there, so you can make your mindeasy."
"Are we getting near?" said Hatteras, who, telescope in hand, waswatching the coast.
"You see that point?" continued Johnson. "When we have doubled itwe shall be very near where we drop anchor. It was from that placethat we started for England with Lieutenant Creswell and the twelveinvalids from the _Investigator_. We were fortunate enough to bringback McClure's lieutenant, but the officer Bellot, who accompaniedus on board the _Phoenix_, never saw his country again! It is a painfulthing to think about. But, captain, I think we ought to drop anchorhere."
"Very well," answered Hatteras, and he gave his orders in consequence.The _Forward_ was in a little bay naturally sheltered on the north,east, and south, and at about a cable's length from the coast.
"Mr. Wall," said Hatteras, "have the long boat got ready to transportthe coal on board. I shall land in the pirogue with the doctor andthe boatswain. Will you accompany us, Mr. Shandon?"
"As you please," answered Shandon.
A few minutes later the doctor, armed as a sportsman and a _savant_,took his place in the pirogue along with his companions; in ten minutesthey landed on a low and rocky coast.
"Lead the way, Johnson," said Hatteras. "You know it, I suppose?"
"Perfectly, sir; only there's a monument here that I did not expectto find!"
"That!" cried the doctor; "I know what it is; let us go up to it;the stone itself will tell us."
The four men advanced, and the doctor said, after taking off his hat--
"This, my friends, is a monument in memory of Franklin and hiscompanions."
Lady Franklin had, in 1855, confided a black marble tablet to DoctorKane, and in 1858 she gave a second to McClintock to be raised onBeechey Island. McClintock accomplished this duty religiously, andplaced the stone near a funeral monument erected to the memory ofBellot by Sir John Barrow.
The tablet bore the following inscription:
"TO THE MEMORY OF FRANKLIN, CROZIER, FITZ-JAMES, AND ALL THEIR VALIANT BRETHREN OFFICERS AND FAITHFUL COMPANIONSwho suffered for the cause of science and for their country's glory.
"This stone is erected near the place where they passed their firstArctic winter, and from whence they departed to conquer obstaclesor to die.
"It perpetuates the regret of their countrymen and friends who admirethem, and the anguish, conquered by Faith, of her who lost in thechief of the expedition the most devoted and most affectionate ofhusbands.
"It is thus that He led them to the supreme haven where all men taketheir rest.
"1855."
This stone, on a forlorn coast of these far-off regions, appealedmournfully to the heart; the doctor, in presence of these touchingregrets, felt his eyes fill with tears. At the very same place whichFranklin and his companions passed full of energy and hope, thereonly remained a block of marble in remembrance! And notwithstandingthis sombre warning of destiny, the _Forward_ was going to followin the track of the _Erebus_ and the _Terror_. Hatteras was the firstto rouse himself from the perilous contemplation, and quickly climbeda rather steep hill, almost entirely bare of snow.
"Captain," said Johnson, following him, "we shall see the magazinesfrom here."
Shandon and the doctor joined them on the summit. But from there theeye contemplated the vast plains, on which there remained no vestigeof a habitation.
"That is singular!" cried the boatswain.
"Well,
and where are the magazines?" said Hatteras quickly.
"I don't know--I don't see----" stammered Johnson.
"You have mistaken the way," said the doctor.
"It seemed to me that this was the very place," continued Johnson.
"Well," said Hatteras, impatiently "where are we to go now?"
"We had better go down, for I may be mistaken. I may have forgottenthe exact locality in seven years!"
"Especially when the country is so uniformly monotonous!" added thedoctor.
"And yet----" murmured Johnson.
Shandon had not spoken a word. After walking for a few minutes, Johnsonstopped.
"But no," he cried, "I am not mistaken!"
"Well?" said Hatteras, looking round him.
"Do you see that swell of the ground?" asked the boatswain, pointingto a sort of mound with three distinct swells on it.
"What do you conclude from that?" asked the doctor.
"Those are the three graves of Franklin's sailors. I am sure now thatI am not mistaken; the habitations ought to be about a hundred feetfrom here, and if they are not, they----"
He dared not finish his sentence; Hatteras had rushed forward, a preyto violent despair. There, where the wished-for stores on which hehad counted ought to have been, there ruin, pillage and destructionhad been before him. Who had done it? Animals would only have attackedthe provisions, and there did not remain a single rag from the tent,a piece of wood or iron, and, more terrible still, not a fragmentof coal! It was evident that the Esquimaux had learnt the value ofthese objects from their frequent relations with Europeans; sincethe departure of the _Fox_ they had fetched everything away, and hadnot left a trace even of their passage. A slight coating of snowcovered the ground. Hatteras was confounded. The doctor looked andshook his head. Shandon still said nothing, but an attentive observerwould have noticed his lips curl with a cruel smile. At this momentthe men sent by Lieutenant Wall came up; they soon saw the state ofaffairs. Shandon advanced towards the captain, and said:
"Mr. Hatteras, we need not despair; happily we are near the entranceto Barrow Strait, which will take us back to Baffin's Sea!"
"Mr. Shandon," answered Hatteras, "happily we are near the entranceto Wellington Strait, and that will take us north!"
"But how shall we get along, captain?"
"With the sails, sir. We have two months' firing left, and that isenough for our wintering."
"But allow me to tell you----" added Shandon.
"I will allow you to follow me on board my ship, sir," answeredHatteras, and turning his back on his second, he returned to the brigand shut himself up in his cabin. For the next two days the wind wascontrary, and the captain did not show up on deck. The doctor profitedby the forced sojourn to go over Beechey Island; he gathered someplants, which the temperature, relatively high, allowed to grow hereand there on the rocks that the snow had left, some heaths, a fewlichens, a sort of yellow ranunculus, a sort of plant something likesorrel, with wider leaves and more veins, and some pretty vigoroussaxifrages. He found the fauna of this country much richer than theflora; he perceived long flocks of geese and cranes going northward,partridges, eider ducks of a bluish black, sandpipers, a sort ofwading bird of the scolopax class, northern divers, plungers withvery long bodies, numerous ptarmites, a sort of bird very good toeat, dovekies with black bodies, wings spotted with white, feet andbeak red as coral; noisy bands of kittywakes and fat loons with whitebreasts, represented the ornithology of the island. The doctor wasfortunate enough to kill a few grey hares, which had not yet put ontheir white winter fur, and a blue fox which Dick ran down skilfully.Some bears, evidently accustomed to dread the presence of men, wouldnot allow themselves to be got at, and the seals were extremely timid,doubtless for the same reason as their enemies the bears. The classof articulated animals was represented by a single mosquito, whichthe doctor caught to his great delight, though not till it had stunghim. As a conchologist he was less favoured, and only found a sortof mussel and some bivalve shells.