The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras Part 72

"We have no luck," said Altamont to the doctor; "to be sure, the country doesn't offer much food to animals, but the game here ought not to be over-particular, and ought to show itself."

"Don't let us despair," said the doctor; "the summer has hardly begun; and if Parry met so many animals at Melville Island, we may be as lucky here."

[Ill.u.s.tration]

"Still, we are farther north," said Hatteras.

"Certainly, but that is unimportant; it is the pole of cold we ought to consider; that is to say, that icy wilderness in the middle of which we wintered with the _Forward_; now the farther north we go, the farther we are from the coldest part of the globe; we ought to find, beyond, what Parry, Ross, and others found on the other side."

"Well," said Altamont, with a regretful sigh, "so far we've been travellers rather than hunters."

"Be patient," answered the doctor; "the country is changing gradually, and I should be astonished if we don't find game enough in the ravines where vegetation has had a chance to sprout."

"It must be said," continued Altamont, "that we are going through an uninhabited and uninhabitable country."

"O, uninhabitable is a strong word!" answered the doctor; "I can't believe any land uninhabitable; man, by many sacrifices, and for generations using all the resources of science, might finally fertilize such a country."

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"Do you think so?" asked Altamont.

"Without doubt! If you were to go to the celebrated countries of the world, to Thebes, Nineveh, or Babylon, in the fertile valleys of our ancestors, it would seem impossible that men should ever have lived there; the air itself has grown bad since the disappearance of human beings. It is the general law of nature which makes those countries in which we do not live unhealthy and sterile, like those out of which life has died. In fact, man himself makes his own country by his presence, his habits, his industry, and, I might add, by his breath; he gradually modifies the exhalations of the soil and the atmospheric conditions, and he makes the air he breathes wholesome. So there are uninhabited lands, I grant, but none uninhabitable."

Talking in this way, the hunters, who had become naturalists, pushed on and reached a sort of valley, fully exposed, at the bottom of which a river, nearly free of ice, was flowing; its southern exposure had brought forth a certain amount of vegetation. The earth showed a strong desire to grow fertile; with a few inches of rich soil it would have produced a good deal. The doctor called their attention to these indications.

"See," he said, "a few hardy colonists might settle in this ravine.

With industry and perseverance they could do a great deal; not as much as is seen in the temperate zones, but a respectable show. If I am not mistaken, there are some four-footed animals! They know the good spots."

"They are Arctic hares," shouted Altamont, c.o.c.king his gun.

"Wait a moment," cried the doctor,--"wait a moment, you hasty fellow.

They don't think of running away! See, they'll come to us!"

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And, in fact, three or four young hares, springing about in the heath and young moss, ran boldly towards the three men; they were so cunning that even Altamont was softened.

Soon they were between the doctor's legs; he caressed them with his hand, saying,--

"Why shoot these little animals which come to be petted? We need not kill them."

"You are right, Doctor," answered Hatteras; "we'll let them live."

"And these ptarmigan, too, which are flying towards us!" cried Altamont; "and these long-legged water-fowl!"

A whole flock of birds pa.s.sed over the hunters, not suspecting the peril from which the doctor's presence saved them. Even Duke was compelled to admire them.

They were a curious and touching sight, flying about without fear, resting on Clawbonny's shoulders, lying at his feet, offering themselves to his caresses, seeming to do their best to welcome their new guests; they called one another joyously, flying from the most distant points; the doctor seemed to be a real bird-charmer. The hunters continued their march up the moist banks of the brook, followed by the familiar band, and turning from the valley they perceived a troop of eight or ten reindeer browsing on a few lichens half buried beneath the snow; they were graceful, quiet animals, with their branching antlers, which the female carried as well as the male; their wool-like fur was already losing its winter whiteness in favor of the summer brown and gray; they seemed no more timid than the hares and birds of the country. Such were the relations of the first men to the first animals in the early ages of the world.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "They were a curious and touching sight, flying about without fear, resting on Clawbonny's shoulders," etc.]

The hunters reached the middle of the band without any one flying; this time the doctor found it hard to restrain the instincts of Altamont, who could not calmly look on this game without a thirst for blood rising in his brain. Hatteras looked mildly at these gentle beasts, who rubbed their noses against the doctor's clothes; he was the friend of all the animals.

"But," said Altamont, "didn't we come here to shoot?"

"To shoot musk-ox," answered Clawbonny, "and nothing else! We should have no need of this game; we have food enough, so let us enjoy the sight of man walking thus among these animals, without alarming them."

"That proves they have never seen one before," said Hatteras.

"Evidently," answered the doctor; "and so we can be sure that these animals are not of American origin."

"And why so?" said Altamont.

"If they were born on the continent of North America, they would know what to think of men, and they would have fled at the sight of us. No; they probably came from the north, from those unknown lands where our kind has never set foot, and they have crossed the continents near the Pole. So, Altamont, you can't claim them as your fellow-countrymen."

"O," answered Altamont, "a hunter does not scrutinize so closely, and the game belongs to the land where it was shot!"

"Well, calm yourself, my Nimrod! As for me, I would rather never fire a gun in my life than alarm this timid population. See, even Duke fraternizes with the charming beasts! Come, we'll be kind when we can!

Kindness is a force!"

"Well, well," answered Altamont, who sympathized but slightly with this sensitiveness; "but I should be amused to see you armed with this kindness alone among a flock of bears or wolves!"

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"O, I don't pretend to charm wild beasts!" answered the doctor; "I have little faith in the enchantment of Orpheus; besides, bears and wolves wouldn't come up to us like the hares, partridges, and reindeer."

"Why not," answered Altamont, "if they have never seen men?"

"Because they are naturally ferocious, and ferocity, like maliciousness, begets suspicion; a remark which is true of man as well as of animals. A wicked man is distrustful, and fear is commonly found in those who are able to inspire it."

This little lesson in natural philosophy ended the conversation.

The whole day was pa.s.sed in this Northern Arcadia, as the doctor named the valley, with the consent of his companions; and that evening, after a supper which had not cost the life of a single inhabitant of the country, the three hunters went to sleep in a cleft of a rock which was admirably adapted for a shelter.

CHAPTER XVII.

ALTAMONT'S REVENGE.

The next day the doctor and his two companions woke up after a perfectly quiet night. The cold, although not keen, increased towards daybreak, but they were well covered, and slept soundly under the watch of the peaceful animals.

The weather being pleasant, they resolved to consecrate the day to a reconnaissance of the country, and the search of musk-oxen. Altamont insisted on shooting something, and they decided that, even if these oxen should be the gentlest animals in the world, they should be shot.

Besides, their flesh, although strongly flavored with musk, was pleasant eating, and they all hoped to carry back to Fort Providence a good supply of it.

During the early morning hours nothing noteworthy took place; the land grew different in the northeast; a few elevations, the beginning of a mountainous district, indicated a change. If this New America were not a continent, it was at any rate an important island; but then they did not have to trouble themselves about its geography.