Adrift in the Ice-Fields
CHAPTER XXII.
THE FORECASTLE OF THE SEALER.--A SEALER'S STORY.--THE LASTHUNT.--ARRIVAL AT ST. JOHN'S.
In the quarters of the men forward, between the lofty and wedge-likebows, the rest of the party met with a warm reception; and althoughgrease was everywhere a prominent feature of the surroundings, still thesense of comfort, warmth, and security, made it a paradise to men whohad passed so many days of discomfort and anxiety.
Huge kids of beef, potatoes, and bread, with hot pannikins of strongblack tea, formed their dinner, which most of the men preferred to eaton deck; but the boatswain, or rather captain of the forecastle, with,perhaps, a dozen others, seated themselves at the long hanging shelfwhich formed the table, and listened intently to the story of theirvaried wanderings and adventures.
As Regnar concluded, a grizzly-haired sealer from Kitty Vitty seized himby the hand.
A SEALER'S STORY.
"Ye've ben lucky, sur; de Lord be praised for't, for dere's many abetter man nor you dat's died wid hunger an' cold on de ice. I mind oncemyself dat I sailed out o' Conception in March, an' tree weeks after datwe were up off Hamilton Inlet. Dere was a big fleet of us boys, for datwas in de ould times when dere were no steamers, but only brigantinesmostly.
"Well, dere was ould Ned Shea in de Li'n, an' Jim Daygle in de Ringdove,an' Bill 'Hearne in de Swiler's Bride, an ourselves in de Truelove, allin company; an' dat night at dusk we made de Greenland ice. Well, dewind was west-nor'-west, an' we put de studdin'-sils onto her, an' awaywe went flamin' mad through der slob.
"Well, de ice giv us many a heavy thump dat night, but de ould Truelovewas well fastened, an' at daylight next mornin', we heard de watch cry,'Swiles! Swiles! On deck, below dere!' You may be sure we wasn't long ingettin' on deck wid our guns an' gaffs, an', sure enough, dere dey was,ould an' young, _atin' de shaydn_ (sheathing) _off her_.
"Den we launched de boats an' took to de ice; an' when we landed, decapten said, 'Trow your guns in de boats, an' at dem wid de gaff;' an'such a massacree I never saw since. De first I killed was a 'harp;' an'den I killed a 'hood' wid de first lick; an' den a 'jenny' an' tree'white coats;' but I took my toe to dem, an' all of 'em in a bit of ahollow not bigger den dis fo'c's'le, an' I sculped dem an' put deresculps on a pinnacle; an' so it was all day an' de next.
"But on de t'ird day we were hard at it a good way from de vessil, an' Itought I saw some swiles under a hummock, an' I ran up swingin' my club;but dey didn't stir, an' den I saw dat dey wasn't swiles. Dey wasHuskies, two of 'em, dead an' frozen stiff. Dere lines an' lances laybeside 'em, an' knives of hoop-iron, wid bone hannles, were in dereboots; but dere was no sign of anythin' to ate, an' dey looked wasted to'natomies.
"I called de odders, an' de capten come up an' looked at dem a minutesorrowful-like, an' den said, 'Poor fellows! dey've been carried off'nde ice, an' starved till dey froze to death;' an' he tould us to burydem daycently, an' we closed dem up in a pinnacle.
"But it was lucky we was near loaded, for dat put a chill on our min',an' de tought of dose dead Huskies lost us many a fine swile, for deboys wouldn't scatter over de ice as dey used to.
"It wasn't long after dat de capten tould us dat we were full enough,an' away we sailed to de sou'-east."
"Dat was de time de Li'n was lost--wasn't it?" inquired anotherislesman.
"Yes; on de way down we had an awful gale, an' de Li'n put into de packan' got 'nipped,' so dat she went down; but her crew was all saved in deboats. We put off to say, an' for two days an' nights I tought we shouldnever say land. Why, we lay to as long as we dared, an' until our deckwas full of water, an' de capten said we mus' do somethin' else, or weshould founder.
"I stood in de fore-riggin' an' watched de big says as dey come downupon us; an' I'll tell you one thing you'll do well to remember.Whenever a big wave come dat I knew would sink us, if it broke upon us,_I made de sign of de holy cross, an' de wave broke before it reachedus_."
"I've done de same ting often myself, an' nivir knew it to fail," saidthe younger man, who, it appeared, was the son of the veteran sealer.
"But how did you get clear finally?" asked Regnar.
"De ould capten dat was drownded de oder day was mate den. He was a wildyoung chap, but smart an' able. He tould de capten to rig one of depumps, and pump some of de oily water out of de hold. So de brakes wasrigged, but he an' de capten had to man dem at first, for all de restwere afeard, an' I was in de fore-riggin' watchin' de says.
"Well, dey pumped a while, an' de oil an' water went overboard, an' aswe went driftin' away to leeward, I saw de slick of de ile spreadin'over de waves. We kept a couple of men at de pumps till night, an' derewasn't another say broke over us."
* * * * *
"Swiles! Swiles! On deck, dere below!" cried some one on deck; and ageneral rush up the steep ladder leading to the deck took place.
Following the others, our three friends soon found their companion, LaSalle, who had pressed through the crowded gangways to his party.
Again they lay below the Deadman's Berg, and around them were the floes,crowded with living seals, as well as the one over which the ravenoussea-birds fluttered, holding high carnival over the multitude of frozenbodies. The crew, armed with guns and clubs, were lowering their lightboats, and the party dragging their own boat to the side, awaited thelowering of a boat to use its falls for their own. Blake approachedthem, and said, kindly,--
"I wouldn't land; you must be tired, and need rest. Just turn in, all ofyou, in the cabin, for we shall be ashore all day."
"We would rather hunt with you, for we shall never probably have anotherchance to see how a Newfoundland sealer kills his game. Only, if youplease, let us have some sheath-knives, and four of your clubs."
Merely saying, "We shall be very glad of your help, for we have to leavetwo of our best men with the captain," Blake spoke to an under-officer,who soon produced four sharp sheath-knives, and as many oaken clubsabout six feet long, ringed at the top with iron, and furnished with asharp hook, or gaff; and lowering their little craft, the four paddledstoutly after the fleet of boats, whose wild crews tore the water intofoam with their oars, as each strove to reach the floes, and to "win thefirst blood."
Sixty men, besides La Salle's party, swept across the pool, almost flungtheir light boats upon the safe ice, and prevented from slipping bytheir spiked crampets, charged at full speed upon the frightened seals,who filled the air with their clamorous roars and whining. Crick, crack!fell the heavy clubs on every side, and seldom was the stroke repeated;but sometimes an "ould hood" would elevate his inflated helmet, and theheavy club would fall upon it, producing a hollow sound, that boomedhigh above the noise of the conflict. Then the officer in charge of thatgang would step up, present his carbine, and the brave seal, shotthrough the brain, would fall back dead, as the report rattled among theice-peaks.
Having disposed of the adults, a regular butchery took place among theyoung seals, who were easily despatched by a blow on the nose, or a kickwith the heavy heel of a sealer's boot on the spinal vertebrae. Thenfollowed the "sculping," or skinning, which was despatched withmarvellous rapidity. At its close the men, covered with blood and oil,gathered to their boats, and leaving the floe crimsoned with gore, andhorrible with bloody and skinless carcasses, hastened to another fieldto continue the work of death.
Such for two days were the scenes presented to the eyes of thecompanions, who received many commendations for their assistance, butwho rejoiced beyond measure when the word was passed through the shipthat she was "full," and that they were to sail at once for St. John's.
Once more the black funnel poured forth its cloud of smoke, and castingoff the lines which attached her to the surrounding ice, the Mercedespressed boldly into the pack, and soon our adventurers gazed for thelast time on the fading outlines of the Deadman's Berg.
Two days later, as the steamer rounded Cape Race, the captain, worn andweak, but evidently in his right mind, appeared at the table. On beingintrod
uced to La Salle, he seemed somewhat agitated, but soon assumed anoverbearing and despotic demeanor. To Mr. Blake he was particularlyinsulting.
"I'll have you know, sir, that I am captain now; ay, and owner, too,sir, for my poor brother left neither chick nor child in the world butme. Damn me, sir! what right have you to invite everybody to my tableand cabin? ay, and put a stranger into my brother's very state-room?"
Blake looked confounded, and the other officers sat with bowed heads andlowering brows at this insult to a man they all loved and respected; butLa Salle unconcernedly turned to the newly-fledged commander, andsaid,--
"I regret, captain--really, I forget your name; but let that pass; butwhen I came on board, I told this gentleman that I would sleep forwardwith the men. I have not cared to speak about it before, but I canassure you that I have the worst dreams in that state-room that I everhad in my life. I shall try to recompense you for the passage of mycompanions and myself when we arrive at St. John's;" and rising, hebowed haughtily, and withdrew to the deck.
Ten minutes later he was joined by Blake.
"The captain has apologized to us, and begs that you will come to hisroom, as he is too weak to leave the cabin."
La Salle attended the good-hearted sailor to the inner cabin, where amattress lay upon the table, and many appliances, among them a couple ofbroad bandages of stout canvas, bore witness to the severity of thecaptain's late illness. The sick man attempted to rise from his chair ashe entered, but was evidently very weak, and La Salle interposed,--
"Don't rise, captain, I beg of you. I see you are very weak, and perhapsI was too ready to take offence. We should not always notice--"
"The disagreeable acts of a sick and almost heart-broken man,"interposed Randall, with a smooth, deceitful softness of tone, thatinstantly reawakened La Salle's antipathies. "I beg you, however," hecontinued, "to excuse me, and to make yourself at home in your oldquarters. I should like to talk with you about your strange cruise, butat St. John's we may have a better opportunity over a bottle of wine."
"I shall be glad to meet you with my friends as soon as I can see Smith& Co., and get some notes changed, so that I can buy suitable clothesfor myself and friends;" and bowing, La Salle withdrew.
That night La Salle looked well to the fastenings of his door, lashingthe knob of the lock to a corner of his berth, where a knot had droppedout of the deal. Several times he felt the thin partition tremble, andheard the noise of some one tampering with the lock; but at last morningcame, and three hours later the steamer lay at anchor off the city ofSt. John's.
The party had funds enough to secure a change of apparel and respectablequarters, until they should hear from Waring's father, to whom he hadtelegraphed their safe arrival, and want of money. A telegram to thewife of the new captain of the Mercedes, conveyed to Baltimore the newsof the death of her brother-in-law.
Of course the party received much attention, and for a few days theywere the lions of the city, although tales of adventure on the ice areof too frequent occurrence in St. John's, to awaken any lastinginterest; for scarcely a winter elapses without the arrival of one ormore crews who have seen their vessel disappear beneath the resistlesspressure of colliding icebergs.