capable of putting forth. Rooney counted as he ran, and in a much
shorter time than had been specified he reached the point, for the level
track, or what we may style sea-shore, of the berg was not a bad
race-course. Suddenly, however, he came to an abrupt halt, and threw up
his arms as if in amazement. Then he turned round and ran back at a
pace that was even greater than he had achieved on the outward run.
Rooney was himself greatly surprised at this, for, as the youth drew
nearer, the expression of his face showed that he had indeed seen
"something" which had not been in the seaman's calculations. He
spluttered and gasped as he came near, in his effort to speak.
"What is it?--take time, lad," said Rooney quietly.
"A b-bear! a bear!" cried Ippegoo.
"What! did it run at you?" asked Rooney, becoming slightly excited in
his turn, and keeping his eye on the ice-point.
"N-no; no. It was sitting on--on its tail--l-looking at the--the
s-sea."
"And we've no weapon bigger than an Eskimo knife," exclaimed the sailor,
with a frown of discontent--"not even a bit of stick to tie the knife
to. What a chance lost! He would have kept us in food for some weeks.
Well, well, this _is_ bad luck. Come, Ippe, we'll go back to the cave,
and consult about this."
On returning to the cheerless retreat, they found the rest of the party
just awakening. The men were yawning and rubbing their eyes, while the
women, with characteristic activity and self-denial, were gathering
together the few scraps of food that remained from the previous night's
supper.
"There is a bear just round the point--so Ippe says--what's to be done?"
asked Rooney on entering.
Up jumped the four men and two boys as if they had been made of
indiarubber.
"Attack it," cried Arbalik.
"Kill it," exclaimed Norrak.
"And eat it," said Ermigit.
"What will you attack it with?" asked Simek in a slightly contemptuous
tone--"with your fingernails? If so, you had better send Sigokow to do
battle, for she could beat the three of you."
The youths stood abashed.
"We have no spears," said Simek, "and knives are useless. Bad luck
follows us."
"It is my opinion," said Okiok, "that whatever we do, or try to do, we
had better eat something before doing it. Bring the victuals, Nuna."
"Okiok is right," said Angut; "and Arbalik had better go out and watch
while we consult, so as to give us timely warning if the bear comes this
way."
Without a word, Arbalik caught up a piece of blubber, and went out of
the cave to enjoy his frugal breakfast while acting sentinel. The
others, sitting down on their respective bearskins, ate and consulted
hastily. The consultation was of little use, for they were utterly
helpless, and the breakfast was not much more profitable, for there was
far too little of it. Still, as Rooney truly remarked when the last
morsel was consumed, it was better than nothing.
"Well now, my friends," said Angut at last, "since our food is done, and
all our talk has come to nothing, I propose that we go out in a body to
see this bear. As we cannot kill him, we must get rid of him by driving
him away, for if we let him remain on the berg, he will come upon us
when we are asleep, perhaps, and kill us."
"Yes, that is best," said Okiok. "If we separate, so as to distract
him, and then make a united rush from all points, shrieking, that will
drive him into the sea."
"Let us put Ippe in front," suggested Simek, with a twinkling eye; "he
yells better than any of us."
"'Specially when he's got the toothache," added Rooney.
The object of this touch of pleasantry smiled in a good-humouredly
imbecile manner. It was clear that his malady had been cured, at least
for the time.
"But we must be very cautious," remarked Rooney, becoming serious, as
they rose to proceed on their adventure. "It would not do to let any of
our party get hurt. To my thinking, the women should take to the
ice-cliffs before we begin, and get upon pinnacles, up which the bear
could not climb."
While he was speaking, Arbalik came running in with the information that
the bear was approaching.
"Has it seen you?" asked Angut, as they all ran out.
"I think not. From the way it walks, I think it has no suspicion of any
one being on the berg."
In a few seconds they reached the point of the promontory or cliff in
which their cave lay, and each member of the party peeped round with
excessive caution, and there, sure enough, they beheld a white Polar
bear of truly formidable size. But it had changed its course after
Arbalik saw it, for by that time it had turned up one of the ice-valleys
before-mentioned and begun to ascend into the interior of the berg. The
slow, heavy gait of the unwieldy animal suggested to Rooney the idea
that an active man could easily get out of its way, but the cat-like
activity with which it bounded over one or two rivulets that came in its
way quickly dissipated that idea.
"The farther he goes up that valley," whispered Simek, "the more trouble
we shall have in driving him into the sea."
"He does not seem to know his own mind," remarked Okiok, as the bear
again changed his course, and entered one of the small gorges that
opened into the larger valley.
"He knows it well enough," said Ermigit. "Don't you see he is making
for the ice-top, where these gulls are sitting? The fool expects to
catch them asleep."
Ermigit seemed to have guessed rightly, for after clambering up the
ice-gorge referred to until he gained a high ledge or plateau, he began
regularly to stalk the birds with the sly patience of a cat.
There was much in the bear's favour, for the recent fall of a pinnacle
had covered the ledge with shattered blocks of all shapes and sizes, in
the shelter of which it could creep towards its prey. Our Eskimos
watched the proceeding open-mouthed, with profound interest. To within
twenty yards or so of its game did that white-robed Arctic hunter
approach. Then it crouched for a rush at the unconscious birds, for no
other lump of ice lay between them and their foe.
The charge was vigorously made, almost too vigorously, for when the
birds flew lightly off the ledge, and descended to a narrower one a
little farther down, it was all the bear could do to check itself on the
very edge of the precipice. If it had gone over, the consequences would
have been dire, for the precipice was, not sheer, but still a very steep
slope of ice, several hundred feet deep, which terminated in those
rugged masses on the berg-shore that had fallen from the cliffs above.
There was only one break in the vast slope, namely, the narrow ledge
half-way down on which the birds had taken refuge.
Going to the extreme edge of the precipice, the bear sat down on his
haunches, and hungrily contemplated the birds, which were now beyond his
reach, twittering noisily as if to tantalise him.
"I would that I had a spear," growled Okiok.
"I would venture at him even with a big stick," said Simek.
"My friends," said Rooney, with sudden animation, "listen to me. If you
will promise me to keep very quiet, and not to follow me whatever may
happen, I will show you how Kablunets overcome difficulties."
Of course the Eskimos were ready to make any promises that might be
required of them, and looked at their friend with surprise as he threw
off his sealskin coat and tightened the belt round his waist. But they
were still more surprised, when, without another word, he set off, in
only shirt and trousers, to climb the valley of ice, and make for the
spot where the bear sat in melancholy meditation.
While ascending, Rooney took care to avail himself of the rugged nature
of the ice, so as to conceal himself entirely from the bear--though this
was scarcely needful, for the animal's back was turned towards the
Kablunet, and his whole attention was concentrated on the gulls. As
Rooney wore Eskimo boots--the soles of which are soft,--he made little
or no noise in walking, and thus managed to gain the platform
unperceived by the bear, though visible all the time to the Eskimos, to
whom he looked little bigger than a crow on the height. Their delight,
however, began to be tempered with anxiety when they saw the reckless
man creep to within twenty yards of the monster, making use of the
ice-blocks as it had done before him.
The intentions of the Kablunet were incomprehensible to his friends.
Could it be that, ignorant of the strength of the beast and its tenacity
of life, the foolish man hoped to stab it to death with a small knife?
Impossible! And yet he was evidently preparing for action of some sort.
But Red Rooney was not quite so foolish as they supposed him to be.
Having gained the nearest possible point to his victim, he made a sudden
and tremendous rush at it. He knew that life and death were in the
balance at any rate; but he also knew that to remain inactive on that
iceberg would remove life out of the balance altogether. He therefore
threw all his energy of soul and body into that rush, and launched
himself against the broad back of the bear. It was an awful shock.
Rooney was swift as well as heavy, so that his weight, multiplied into
his velocity, sufficed to dislodge the wonder-stricken animal. One wild
spasmodic effort it made to recover itself, and in doing so gave Rooney
what may be called a backhander on the head, that sent him reeling on
the ice.
Curiously enough, it was this that saved the daring man, for if he had
not received that blow, the impetus of his attack would have certainly
sent himself as well as the bear over the cliff.
As it was, the monster went over headlong, with a sort of compound
shriek and howl that made the very ice-cliffs ring. Then, down he
went--not head or feet first, or sideways, or any way, but every way by
turns, and no way long. Indeed, he spun and, as it were, spurted down
that mighty face of ice. Each instant intensified the velocity; each
whirl increased the complex nature of the force. The ledge half-way
down, from which the affrighted gulls fled shrieking, did not even check
the descent, but with bursting violence shunted the victim out into
space, through which he hurled till re-met by the terrific slope farther
down, which let him glissade like a shooting star into indescribable
ruin!
Enough of that bear was left, however, to render it worth while picking
up the fragments. Shouting with laughter and yelling with glee, the
Eskimos made for the spot where the mangled carcass lay. Soon after
they were joined by the hero of the day.
"Food enough now for a moon, or more," said Rooney, as he came up.
"Yes; and no need to beat the meat to make it tender," responded Okiok,
lifting and letting fall one of the limp legs of the creature, whose
every bone seemed to have been smashed to pieces in the tremendous
descent.
It was no doubt a considerable reduction of their satisfaction at supper
that evening that they had to eat their bear-chops raw, not having the
means of making fire; but they were not disposed to find fault with
their good-fortune on that account. If they had only possessed two
small pieces of wood with which to create the necessary friction, they
could easily have made a lamp out of one of the bear's shoulder-blades,
and found oil enough in his own fat, while a tag of sealskin, or some
other portion of clothing might have supplied a wick; but not a scrap of
wood was to be obtained on that verdureless island. Okiok did indeed
suggest that Norrak and Ippegoo, being both possessed of hard and
prominent noses, might rub these organs together till they caught fire;
but Norrak turned up his nose at the suggestion, and Ippegoo shook his
head doubtfully.
In the circumstances, therefore, they obtained light at least for the
purposes of vision by commencing supper long before sunset, and most of
them continued it long after dark. Thus the second night was passed on
the berg.
On the third day, the weather being still warm and calm, Angut, Simek,
Okiok, and Rooney ascended, after their bear-breakfast, to the
break-neck height from which that breakfast had been precipitated, for
the purpose of taking a meteorological observation.
"It is quite plain to me," said Rooney--who, being in some sort at sea,
was, as it were, more at home than his companions--"it is quite plain to
me that we have got fairly into the great Polar current, and are
travelling in a sou'-sou'-west direction down Davis Straits."
No doubt Rooney gave "sou'-sou'-west" in some sort of Eskimo jargon with
which we are not acquainted. His lingual powers were indeed marvellous,
and when simple words failed him he took refuge in compound phraseology.
"But," asked Okiok, "how can you tell that we are going south? The mist
is thick; we cannot see land."
"Do you not see the small pieces of ice?" replied Rooney, pointing to
the sea.
"Yes," said the Eskimo; "they are going north faster than we are; that
is all."
"Why do they go north faster than we do?" asked Rooney.
"That I know not."
"I will tell you, Okiok. It is because there is a surface current here
flowing northward, and the small pieces of ice go with it because they
are not deep. But this berg is very deep. There is far more of it
below water than what we see above. Its bottom goes deep down into the
under-current which flows south, and so it is being carried south--not
north at all,--_against_ the variable surface-currents, and it would go
even against the wind if there was any. Do you understand?"
"Huk!" exclaimed the Eskimo, though he still looked perplexed.
"I have seen these bergs breaking from the great land-ice since I was a
little boy," said Angut, with earnest gravity, "and I have seen them
float away and away till they vanished in the far-off. Can Ridroonee
tell where they go to?"
"Truly I can. They are carried by currents out into the great sea--we
call it the Atlantic,--and there they melt and disappear."
"Then shall we disappear with this berg, if we don't escape from it?"
said Okiok, with a look so serious that it was almost humorous.
"That is the pleasant prospect in store for us, as you say," returned
Rooney; "but cheer up, lad. We intend to escape from it; so don't let
your heart sink, else your body won't be able to swim."
On the strength of this consolatory remark, the four men returned to the
cave to recruit their energies and hopes on a fresh supply of the raw
bear.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.
A BRIEF BUT SINGULAR VOYAGE WINDS UP WITH A GREAT SURPRISE.
The calm which had fortunately prevailed since Angut and his friends
found refuge on the iceberg was not destined to continue.
A smart breeze at last sprang up from the northward, which soon
freshened into a gale, accompanied with heavy showers of snow, driving
the party into the cave, where the cold was so severe that they were
forced to take refuge in its deepest recesses, and to sit wrapped in
their bearskins, and huddled together for warmth, as monkeys are
sometimes seen on a cold day in a menagerie.
Being from the north, the wind not only intensified the cold, and
brought back for a time all the worst conditions of winter, but assisted
the great ocean current to carry the berg southward at a high rate of
speed. Their progress, however, was not very apparent to the eyes of
our voyagers, because all the surrounding bergs travelled in the same
direction and at nearly the same speed. The blinding snow effectually
hid the land from their view, and the only point of which they were
quite sure was that their berg must be the nearest to the Greenland
coast because all the others lay on their right hand.
Towards noon of the following day it was observed that the pack-ice
thickened around them, and was seen in large fields here and there,
through some of which the great berg ploughed its way with resistless
momentum. Before the afternoon the pack had closed entirely around
them, as if it had been one mass of solid, rugged ice--not a drop of
water being visible. Even through this mass the berg ploughed its way
slowly, but with great noise.
"There is something very awful to me in the sight of such tremendous
force," said Red Rooney to Angut, as they stood contemplating the havoc
their strange ship was making.
"Does it not make you think," returned the Eskimo, "how powerful must be
the Great Spirit who made all things, when a little part of His work is
so tremendous?"
Rooney did not reply, for at that moment the berg grounded, with a shock
that sent all its spires and pinnacles tumbling. Fortunately, the
Eskimos were near their cavern, into which they rushed, and escaped the
terrible shower. But the cave could no longer be regarded as a place of
safety. It did indeed shelter them from the immediate shower of masses,
even the smaller of which were heavy enough to have killed a walrus; but
at that advanced period of spring the bergs were becoming, so to speak,
rotten, and liable at any moment to fall to pieces and float away in the
form of pack-ice. If such an event had occurred when our Eskimos were
in the cave, the destruction of all would of course have been
inevitable.
"We dare not remain here," said Angut, when the icy shower had ceased.
"No; we must take to the floes," said Simek.
"Another shake like that," remarked Okiok, "might bring the whole berg
down on our heads."
"Let us go, then, at once," said Rooney; "the sky clears a little, so
we'll know how to steer."
No one replied, for all were already engaged with the utmost activity
making bundles of their bear-skins and as much of the bear-meat as the
men could carry--each of the women taking a smaller piece, according to
her strength or her prudence. The sailor followed their example in
silence, and in a very few minutes they issued from the cavern, and made
for the shore of the berg.
Some difficulty was experienced in scrambling over the chaotic masses
which had been thrown up in front of them by the ploughing process
before referred to. When they stood fairly on the floes, however, they
found that, although very rough, these were sufficiently level to admit
of slow travelling. They were in the act of arranging the order of
march, when the berg slid off into deep water, and, wheeling round as if
annoyed at the slight detention, rejoined its stately comrades in their
solemn procession to their doom in more southerly seas.
"Just in time," said Rooney, as they watched the berg floating slowly
away, nodding its shattered head as if bidding them farewell. "Now
then, ho! for the Greenland shore! Come, old Kannoa, I'll take you
under my special care."
He took the old woman's bundle from her as he spoke, and, putting his
left hand under her right arm, began to help her over the frozen sea.
But poor old thing though she certainly was, that antiquated creature
became a griggy old thing immediately, and was so tickled with the idea
of the stoutest and handsomest man of the party devoting himself
entirely to her, when all the younger women were allowed to look after
themselves, that she could scarcely walk during the first few minutes
for laughing. But it must be said in justification of the Eskimo men,
that their young women were quite capable of looking after themselves,
and would, indeed, have been incommoded as well as surprised by offers
of assistance.
Rooney had spoken cheerily, though his feelings were anything but
cheerful, for he knew well the extreme danger of their position, but he
felt it a duty to do his best to encourage his friends. The Eskimos
were equally well, if not better, aware of their danger, and took to the
floes with resolute purpose and in profound silence--for true men in
such circumstances are not garrulous.
A gleam of sunshine from a rift in the dark clouds seemed sent as a
heavenly messenger to guide them. By it the Eskimos as well as the
sailor were enabled to judge of the position of land, and to steer,
accordingly, in what western hunters would call "a bee-line." The great
danger, of course, lay in the risk of the pack breaking up before they
could reach the shore. There was also the possibility of the pack being
a limited strip of floe-ice unconnected with the shore, which, if it had
been so, would have decided their fate. In these circumstances they all
pushed on at their best speed. At first the women seemed to get along
as well as the men, but after a while the former showed evident symptoms
of exhaustion, and towards dusk old Kannoa, despite Rooney's powerful
aid, fairly broke down and refused to walk another step. The seaman
overcame the difficulty by raising her in his arms and carrying her. As
he had not at that time quite recovered his full strength, and was
himself pretty well fatigued, he was constrained to think pretty
steadily of the old woman's resemblance to his grandmother to enable him
to hold out!
After another mile or so the mother of Arbalik succumbed, whereupon her
son put his arm round her waist and helped her on. Then the pleasant
little mother of Ippegoo broke down with a pitiful wail; but her son was
unable to help her, for he was already undulating about like a piece of
tape, as if he had no backbone to speak of. Okiok therefore came to her
aid. As for the hardy spinster Sikogow, she seemed inexhaustible, and
scorned assistance. Nuna was also vigorous, but her sons Norrak and
Ermigit, being amiable, came on each side of her, and took her in tow
before the breaking-down point was reached.
Thus they continued to advance until the darkness became so profound as
to render further travelling impossible. The danger of delay they knew
was extreme, but men must perforce bow to the inevitable. To advance
without light over rugged ice, in which were cracks and fissures and
hummocks innumerable, being out of the question, Rooney called a halt.
"Rest and food, friends," he said, "are essential to life."
"Huk!" was the brief reply.
Without wasting breath on another word, they untied their bundles,
spread their bearskins in the lee of a hummock, fed hastily but
heartily, rolled themselves in their simple bedding, and went to sleep.
During the night there occurred one of those sudden changes which are
common in Arctic lands at that season of the year. Snow ceased to fall,
the sky cleared, and the temperature rose until the air became quite
balmy. The ice of the floes eased off, narrow openings grew into lanes
and leads and wide pools, until water predominated, and the ice finally
resolved itself into innumerable islets. When Rooney was at last
awakened by a blaze of sunshine in his face, he found that the party
occupied a small cake of ice in the midst of a grand crystal
archipelago. Not a zephyr ruffled the sea, and the hills of Greenland
were visible, not more than six or eight miles distant, on their left
hand. What particular part of Greenland it was, of course they had no
means of knowing.
The sight was indeed such as might have filled human hearts with
admiration and joy, but neither joy nor admiration touched the hearts of
Red Rooney and his companions. So far from land, on a bit of ice scarce
large enough to sustain them, and melting rapidly away, exposed to the
vicissitudes of a changeful and stormy climate, without the means of
escape--the case seemed very desperate.
"The Great Spirit has forsaken us," said Angut gloomily, as he surveyed
the scene.
"That He has _not_," returned the sailor, "whatever may befall."
An exclamation from Arbalik drew attention to a particular part of the
horizon.
"A flat island," said Okiok, after a long earnest gaze; "but we cannot
reach it," he added in a low voice.
"You know not," said Angut. "The current sets that way, I think."
"A few minutes will show," said Rooney.
With almost trembling eagerness they watched the islet, and, as Rooney
had said, it soon became evident that the current was indeed carrying
their ice-raft slowly towards the spot.
"We can scarcely expect to drift right on to it," said Rooney, "and it
is apparently our last chance, so we shall have to take to the water
when near it. Can we all swim--eh?"
To this question some answered Yes and some No, while others shook their
heads as if uncertain on the point. But the seaman was wrong. Straight
as an arrow to a bull's eye the raft went at that islet and struck on
its upper end with such force as to send a tongue of ice high on the
shore, so that the whole party actually landed dryshod. Even old Kannoa
got on shore without assistance.