The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras Part 50

"We can't see very far for the fog," said Johnson.

"Without doubt; but since we started we have crossed a smooth field of which we cannot see the end."

"Do you know, Doctor, it's a dangerous walk we are taking! We get used to it and don't think of it, but we are walking over fathomless depths."

"You are right, my friend, but we need not fear being swallowed; with such cold as this the ice is very strong. Besides, it has a constant tendency to get thicker, for snow falls nine days out of ten, even in April, May, and June, and I fancy it must be something like thirty or forty feet thick."

"That is a comfort," said Johnson.

"In fact, we are very much better off than those who skate on the Serpentine, and who are in constant dread of falling through; we have no such fear."

"Has the resistance of ice been calculated?" asked the old sailor, who was always seeking information from the doctor.

"Yes," the latter answered: "everything almost that can be measured is now known, except human ambition! and is it not that which is carrying us towards the North Pole? But to return to your question, my answer is this. Ice two inches thick will bear a man; three and a half inches thick, a horse and rider; five inches thick, an eight-pound cannon; eight inches, a fully harnessed artillery-piece; and ten inches, an army, any number of men! Where we are now, the Liverpool Custom House or the Halls of Parliament in London could be built."

"One can hardly imagine such strength," said Johnson; "but just now, Doctor, you spoke of snow falling nine days out of ten; that is true, but where does all the snow come from? The sea is all frozen, and I don't see how the vapor can rise to form the clouds."

"A very keen observation, Johnson; but, in my opinion, the greatest part of the snow or rain which we receive in the polar regions is formed from the water of the seas in the temperate zones. One flake arose into the air under the form of vapor from some river in Europe, it helped make a cloud, and finally came here to be condensed; it is not impossible that we who drink it may be quenching our thirst at the rivers of our own country."

"That is true," answered Johnson.

At that moment Hatteras's voice was heard directing their steps and interrupting their conversation. The fog was growing thicker, and making a straight line hard to follow.

Finally the little band halted at about eight o'clock in the evening, after walking nearly fifteen miles; the weather was dry; the tent was raised, the fire lighted, supper cooked, and all rested peacefully.

Hatteras and his companions were really favored by the weather. The following days brought no new difficulties, although the cold became extremely severe and the mercury remained frozen in the thermometer.

If the wind had risen, no one could have withstood the temperature.

The doctor was able to corroborate Parry's observations, which he made during his journey to Melville Island; he said that a man comfortably dressed could walk safely in the open air exposed to great cold, if the air were only calm; but as soon as the slightest wind arose, a sharp pain was felt in the face, and an extreme headache which is soon followed by death. The doctor was very anxious, for a slight wind would have frozen the marrow in their bones.

March 5th he observed a phenomenon peculiar to these lat.i.tudes: the sky was clear and thick with stars, and thick snow began to fall without any cloud being visible; the constellations shone through the flakes which fell regularly on the ice-field. This went on for about two hours, and stopped before the doctor had found a satisfactory explanation of its fall.

The last quarter of the moon had then disappeared; total darkness reigned for seventeen hours out of the twenty-four; the travellers had to tie themselves together by a long cord, to avoid being separated; it was almost impossible for them to go in a straight line.

Still, these bold men, although animated by an iron will, began to grow weary; their halts were more frequent, and yet they ought not to lose an hour, for their supplies were rapidly diminis.h.i.+ng. Hatteras would often ascertain their position by observation of the moon and stars. As he saw the days pa.s.s by and the destination appear as remote as before, he would ask himself sometimes if the _Porpoise_ really existed, whether the American's brain might not have been deranged by his sufferings, or whether, through hate of the English, and seeing himself without resources, he did not wish to drag them with him to certain death.

He expressed his fears to the doctor, who discouraged them greatly, but he readily understood the lamentable rivalry which existed between the American and English captains.

"They are two men whom it will be hard to make agree," he said to himself.

March 14th, after journeying for sixteen days, they had only reached lat.i.tude 82; their strength was exhausted, and they were still a hundred miles from the s.h.i.+p; to add to their sufferings, they had to bring the men down to a quarter-ration, in order to give the dogs their full supply.

They could not depend on their shooting for food, for they had left only seven charges of powder and six b.a.l.l.s; they had in vain fired at some white hares and foxes, which besides were very rare. None had been hit.

Nevertheless, on the 18th, the doctor was fortunate enough to find a seal lying on the ice; he wounded him with several b.a.l.l.s; the animal, not being able to escape through his hole in the ice, was soon slain.

He was of very good size. Johnson cut him up skilfully, but he was so very thin that he was of but little use to the men, who could not make up their minds to drink his oil, like the Esquimaux. Still the doctor boldly tried to drink the slimy fluid, but he could not do it. He preserved the skin of the animal, for no special reason, by a sort of hunter's instinct, and placed it on the sledge.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "The doctor was fortunate enough to find a seal."]

The next day, the 16th, they saw a few icebergs on the horizon. Was it a sign of a neighboring sh.o.r.e, or simply a disturbance of the ice? It was hard to say.

When they had reached one of these hummocks, they dug in it with a snow-knife a more comfortable retreat than that afforded by the tent, and after three hours of exertion they were able to rest about their glowing stove.

CHAPTER IV.

THE LAST CHARGE OF POWDER.

Johnson had admitted the tired dogs into the snow-house; when the snow is falling heavily it serves as a covering to the animals, preserving their natural heat. But in the open air, with a temperature of -40, they would soon have frozen to death.

Johnson, who made an excellent dog-driver, tried feeding the dogs with the dark flesh of the seals which the travellers could not swallow, and to his great surprise they made a rich feast out of it; the old sailor in his delight told the doctor. He, however, was not in the least surprised; he knew that in the north of America the horses make fish their main article of food, and what a herbivorous horse could content himself with would certainly satisfy an omnivorous dog.

Before going to rest, although sleep became an imperious necessity for men who had walked fifteen miles on the ice, the doctor wished to have a few serious words with his companions about the dangers of their situation.

"We are only at lat.i.tude 82," he said, "and our supplies are already running short."

"A reason for losing no time," answered Hatteras; "we must push on; the strong can draw the feeble."

"Shall we find a s.h.i.+p when we get there?" asked Bell, who was much depressed by the fatigue of the journey.

"Why doubt it?" said Johnson; "the American's safety depends on ours."

To make sure, the doctor was anxious to question Altamont again. He could speak easily, although his voice was weak; he confirmed all the statements he had already made; he repeated that the s.h.i.+p was aground on some granite rocks, where it could not stir, and that it lay in longitude 120 15', and lat.i.tude 83 35'.

"We can't doubt this statement," resumed the doctor; "the difficulty is not whether the _Porpoise_ is there, but the way of getting to her."

"How much food have we left?" asked Hatteras.

"Enough for three days at the outside," answered the doctor.

"Well, we must get to her in three days," said the captain, firmly.

"We must indeed," continued the doctor, "and if we succeed we shall have no need to complain, for we shall have been favored by faultless weather; the snow has given us a fortnight's respite, and the sledge has glided easily on the hardened ice! Ah, if it only carried two hundred pounds of food! Our dogs could have managed it easily enough.

But still we can't help it!"

"With luck and skill," said Johnson, "we might put to some use the few charges of powder which are left us. If we should kill a bear we should be supplied for all the rest of the journey."

"Without doubt," answered the doctor, "but these animals are rare and shy; and then, when one thinks of the importance of a shot, his hand will shake and his aim be lost."

"But you are a good shot," answered Bell.

"Yes, when four men's dinners do not depend on my hitting; still, I will do my best if I get a chance. Meanwhile let us try to satisfy ourselves with this thin soup of sc.r.a.ps of pemmican, then go to sleep, and to-morrow early we'll start forth again."

A few moments later excessive fatigue outweighed every other feeling, and they all sank into a heavy sleep. Early on Sat.u.r.day Johnson awoke his companions; the dogs were harnessed to the sledge, and they took up again their journey northward.

The heavens were magnificent, the air was very clear, the temperature very low; when the sun appeared above the horizon it appeared like an elongated ellipse; its horizontal diameter appeared, in consequence of refraction, to be double its vertical diameter. It sent forth its clear, cold rays over the vast icy plain. This return to light, if not to heat, rejoiced them all.

[Ill.u.s.tration]