The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras Part 29

"Poor men!" much to the doctor's surprise.

It was the first sentiment of this sort which he had ever noticed in the captain.

"No," he went on warmly, "they must follow me, and they shall."

Still, if the _Forward_ need not fear collision with the ice-streams, she made but little way northward, being much delayed by contrary winds. With some difficulty they got by Capes Spencer and Innis, and Tuesday, the 10th, lat.i.tude 75 was at last reached, much to Clifton's joy.

The _Forward_ was now at the very spot where the American s.h.i.+ps, the _Rescue_ and the _Advance_, commanded by Captain Haven, ran such terrible dangers. Dr. Kane accompanied this expedition; towards the end of September, 1850, these s.h.i.+ps were caught in the ice, and carried with irresistible force into Lancaster Sound.

Shandon told James Wall about it in the presence of some of the men.

"The _Advance_ and the _Rescue_," he said, "were so tossed about by ice, that they could keep no fires on board; and yet the thermometer stood at 18 below zero. During the whole winter the crews were kept imprisoned, ready to abandon their s.h.i.+ps, and for three weeks they did not take off their clothes! It was a terrible situation; after drifting a thousand miles, they were driven to the middle of Baffin's Bay!"

One may easily judge of the effect of such a narration on a crew already discontented.

While this conversation was going on, Johnson was talking with the doctor about an event which had taken place here; the doctor, at his request, told him the exact moment when the brig reached lat.i.tude 75 30'.

"There it is! there it is!" said Johnson, "there is that unlucky land!"

And so speaking, tears came into the boatswain's eyes.

"You mean Lieutenant Bellot's death," said the doctor.

"Yes, sir, of that brave, good man!"

"And it was here, you say, that it took place?"

"Just here, on this part of the coast of North Devon. It was very great ill-luck, and this would not have happened if Captain Pullen had come on board sooner."

"What do you mean, Johnson?"

"Listen, Doctor, and you will see by how slight a thread life is held.

You know that Lieutenant Bellot had already made an expedition in search of Franklin, in 1850?"

"Yes; in the _Prince Albert_."

"Well, in 1853, having returned to France, he got permission to sail in the _Phoenix_, in which I was a sailor, under Captain Inglefield.

We came with the _Breadalbane_ to carry supplies to Beechey Island."

"Those which we did not find!"

"Exactly, Doctor. We arrived at Beechey Island at the beginning of August; the 10th of that month, Captain Inglefield left the _Phoenix_ to rejoin Captain Pullen, who had been away for a month from his s.h.i.+p, the _North Star_. He intended on his return to send the Admiralty despatches to Sir Edward Belcher, who was wintering in Wellington Channel. Now, shortly after our captain's departure, Captain Pullen reached his s.h.i.+p. If he had only come back before Captain Inglefield had left! Lieutenant Bellot, fearing that our captain's absence might be a long one, and knowing that the Admiralty despatches were important, offered to carry them himself. He left the two s.h.i.+ps under Captain Pullen's charge, and left August 12, with a sledge and an india-rubber canoe. He took with him Harvey, quartermaster of the _North Star_, and three sailors, Madden, David Hook, and me. We thought that Sir Edward Belcher would be somewhere near Cape Beecher, at the northern part of the channel; hence we made for that part in our sledge, keeping on the east bank. The first day we encamped three miles from Cape Innis; the next day we stopped on the ice nearly three miles from Cape Bowden. During the night, which was as bright as day, land being only three miles distant, Lieutenant Bellot determined to go and camp there; he tried to reach it in the canoe; a violent southeast breeze drove him back twice; Harvey and Madden tried in their turn, and with success; they carried a rope, and with it they established communication with the sh.o.r.e; three objects were carried across by it; but at the fourth attempt, we felt the ice moving away from us; Mr. Bellot shouted to his companions to loosen the rope, and we (the lieutenant, David Hook, and I) were carried to a great distance from the sh.o.r.e. Then a strong southeaster was blowing, and snow was falling. But we were not in any great danger, and he might have been saved, since the rest of us were saved."

Johnson stopped for a moment, and gazed at the ill-fated sh.o.r.e, then he went on:--

"After losing sight of our companions, we tried at first to shelter ourselves under the cover of our sledge, but in vain; then with our knives we began to cut a house in the ice. Mr. Bellot sat down for half an hour, and talked with us about the danger of our situation; I told him I was not afraid. 'With G.o.d's protection,' he said, 'not a hair of our heads shall be hurt.' I then asked him what time it was.

He answered, 'About quarter past six.' It was quarter past six in the morning of Thursday, August 18th. Then Mr. Bellot bound on his books, and said he wanted to go and see how the ice was moving; he was gone only four minutes, when I went to seek him behind the floe which sheltered us; but I did not find him, and, returning to our retreat, I saw his stick on the opposite side of a creva.s.se about three fathoms wide, where the ice was all broken. I shouted, but there was no answer. At that time the wind was blowing very hard. I searched all around, but I could find no trace of the poor lieutenant."

"And what do you suppose became of him?" asked the doctor, who was much moved by this account.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

"I suppose that when he left the shelter, the wind drove him into the creva.s.se, and that, being thickly clad, he could not swim to the surface. O Dr. Clawbonny, I never felt worse in my life! I could not believe it! That brave officer fell a victim to his sense of duty! For you know that it was in order to obey Captain Pullen's instructions that he was trying to reach the land before the ice began to break! He was a brave man, liked by every one, faithful, courageous! All England mourned him, and even the Esquimaux, when they heard of his death from Captain Inglefield, when he returned from Pound Bay, did nothing but weep and repeat, 'Poor Bellot! Poor Bellot!'"

[Ill.u.s.tration]

"But you and your companions, Johnson," asked the doctor, much moved by this touching account,--"how did you manage to get to sh.o.r.e?"

"O, it was very simple! We remained twenty-four hours on the ice without food or fire, but finally we reached a firmly fastened ice-field; we sprang upon it, and with an oar we got near a floe capable of supporting us, and being controlled like a boat. In that way we reached the sh.o.r.e, but alone, without our brave officer."

At the end of this account the _Forward_ had pa.s.sed by this fatal sh.o.r.e, and Johnson soon lost sight of the scene of this terrible catastrophe. The next day they left Griffin's Bay on the starboard, and two days later, Capes Grinnell and Helpman; finally, July 14th, they doubled Osborne Point, and the 15th the brig anch.o.r.ed in Baring Bay at the end of the channel. The navigation had not been very difficult; Hatteras found a sea nearly as free as that by which Belcher profited to go and winter with the _Pioneer_ and _a.s.sistance_ in lat.i.tude 77. That was his first winter, 1852-53, for the next he spent in Baring Bay, where the _Forward_ now lay at anchor.

It was in consequence of the most terrible dangers and trials that he was obliged to abandon the _a.s.sistance_ in the midst of the eternal ice.

Shandon gave a full account of this catastrophe to the demoralized sailors. Was Hatteras aware of the treachery of his first officer? It is impossible to say, but, at any rate, he said nothing about it.

At the end of Baring Bay is a narrow ca.n.a.l uniting Wellington Channel with Queen's Strait. There the ice had acc.u.mulated very closely.

Hatteras made vain efforts to get through the pa.s.sages to the north of Hamilton Island; the wind was unfavorable; hence it was necessary to go between Hamilton and Cornwallis Islands; five precious days were lost in vain attempts. The air grew colder, and, July 19th, fell as low as 26; the next day was warmer, but this harbinger of the arctic winter warned Hatteras not to linger longer. The wind seemed to blow steadily from the west and delayed his progress. And yet he was in haste to reach the point whence Stewart saw an open sea. The 19th he resolved to enter the channel at any price; the wind blew dead against the brig, which, with her screw, could have made headway against the violent snow-squalls, but Hatteras had before all to be economical with the fuel; on the other hand, the channel was too broad to permit of the brig being towed. Hatteras, without taking into account the fatigue of his crew, made use of a device which whalers often employ under similar circ.u.mstances. He lowered the small boats to the surface of the water, not letting them free from their tackle; then they were made fast, fore and aft; oars were put out, to starboard on one side and to port on the other; the men sat on the thwarts and rowed vigorously, so as to propel the brig against the wind.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Hatteras made use of a device which whalers employ.]

The _Forward_ made slight headway; this method of working was very fatiguing; the men began to murmur. For four days they advanced in that way, until July 23d, when they reached Baring Island, in Queen's Channel.

The wind was still unfavorable. The crew could go no farther. The doctor found the strength of the crew much pulled down, and he thought he detected the first symptoms of scurvy; he used every precaution against this terrible disease, having abundant supplies of lime-juice and chalk-pastilles.

Hatteras soon saw there was nothing more to be got from his crew; kindness and persuasion were fruitless; he resolved to employ severity, and, if need be, to be pitiless; he distrusted especially Richard Shandon, and even James Wall, who, however, never dared to speak too loud. Hatteras had on his side the doctor, Johnson, Bell, and Simpson; these were all devoted to him body and soul. Among the uncertain were Foker, Bolton, Wolston, the gunner, Brunton, the first engineer, who might at any moment declare against him. As to the others, Pen, Gripper, Clifton, and Warren, they openly meditated mutiny; they wanted to bring their companions over and compel the _Forward_ to return to England.

Hatteras soon saw that he could get no more work from his dispirited crew, who now were worn out with fatigue from their hard work. For twenty-four hours they remained in sight of Baring Island without getting a foot forward. Still the weather grew colder, and in these high lat.i.tudes even July felt the influence of the approaching winter.

The 24th, the thermometer fell to 22. The young ice formed during the night to a depth of about half an inch; if snow should fall on it, it would soon be strong enough to bear the weight of a man. The sea soon acquired the turbid tint which indicates the formation of the first crystals.

Hatteras read aright these alarming signs; if the pa.s.ses should close, he would be obliged to winter here, far from the aim of his voyage, and without even having seen that open sea which he must have got very near, according to the accounts of his predecessors. Hence he resolved to get on at any price a few degrees farther north; seeing that he could neither try rowing with his crew exhausted, nor going under sail with the wind always unfavorable, he ordered the fires to be lighted.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE FIRST SIGNS OF MUTINY.

At this unexpected command, the surprise on board of the _Forward_ was very great.

"Light the fires!" said some.

"With what?" said others.

"When we have only two months' supply in the hold!" cried Pen.

"And how are we to keep warm in the winter?" asked Clifton.