When Mr Mansell was left in charge of the brig a heavy weight lay on
his heart, and he could by no means take part in the preparations for
the theatricals which occupied the rest of the crew. He felt that life
or death depended on the success of the captain in his search for fresh
meat. Already most of the men were ill with scurvy, and some of them
were alarmingly low. Nothing could save them but fresh meat, and when
the first mate thought of the difficulties and dangers of a journey on
the floes in such weather, and the uncertainty of the Eskimos being
discovered, his heart misgave him.
About an hour after the departure of Captain Harvey on the Monday
morning he took Davy Butts aside.
"Davy," said he, "you've been at work on these kites a long time. Are
they nearly finished?"
"Quite finished, sir," answered Butts.
"Then get them up, for there is a good breeze. I shall try them on our
small sledges. It will at least stir up and amuse the men."
Ten minutes after this the crew were summoned on deck to witness an
experiment. A small dog sledge lay on the hard snow beside the vessel,
and near to this Davy Butts and Mr Dicey were holding on to a stout
line, at the end of which an enormous kite was pulling.
This kite was square in shape, made of the thickest brown paper, and
nearly six feet across. That its power was great was evident from the
difficulty with which the two men held it. The end of the line was
fastened to the sledge.
"Now, boys, ease off line till it is taut, and then wait for the word,"
said Davy Butts, jumping on to the sledge. "Now! Let go!"
Away went the sledge over the hard snow at the rate of three miles an
hour, which soon increased to double that rate. Davy cheered and waved
his arms. The men gave one loud "hurrah" of surprise and delight, and
set off in mad pursuit. They were soon left behind. "Hold on, Davy!"
"Good-bye, Butts." "Look out, mind the ridge!"
The last warning was needful. The sledge was rushing furiously toward a
long ridge of ice which rose in a sharp slope to a height of three feet,
and descended on the other side to an equal depth, but without any
slope. Davy saw his danger, but he did not dare to put out foot or hand
to check his progress. Even if he had it would have been of no use. Up
the slope he went as a sea-gull skims over a wave; for one moment he was
in the air--the next, he came down with a crash that nearly dislocated
all his joints, and his teeth came together with a loud snap. (By good
fortune his tongue was not between them!) The sledge was a strong one,
and the thing was done so quickly and neatly that it did not upset. But
now a large and rugged hummock lay right before him. To go against that
would have been certain death, so Davy made up his mind at once, and
jumped off at the smoothest part of the floe he could find. The
lightened sledge sprang away like a rocket, and was brought up with a
sudden jerk by the hummock.
Of course the line broke, and the kite commenced to descend. It twirled
and circled violently round, and at last went crash into an ice-berg,
where it was broken to pieces!
"Not so bad for a beginning," said Mansell, as poor Davy came back,
looking very crest-fallen. "Now, Butts, come below. You have proved
that the thing will do. Mr Dicey, get yourself ready for a trip over
the ice. Let three men prepare to accompany you. I shall send you off
to-morrow."
Dicey, much surprised, went off to obey these orders; and Mansell, with
the assistance of Butts, fitted the second kite for the intended
journey. He made a rough guess at the strength of its pull, and loaded
the sledge accordingly. Two tail ropes were fastened to the last bar of
the sledge for the men to hold on by and check its speed. A sort of
anchor was made by which it could be stopped at any moment, and two
stout poles, with iron claws at the end of them, were prepared for
scraping over the snow and checking the pace.
Next day all was ready. A trial was made and the thing found to work
admirably. The trial trip over, they bade their comrades farewell, and
away they went due south, in the direction where the native village was
supposed to be.
It was this remarkable tow-horse that had filled Captain Harvey and his
companions with so much surprise. The appearance of the sledge
immediately after, with a shout and a cheer from Dicey and the men,
explained the mystery.
Being so near the Eskimo camp they at once returned to it, in order to
allow the newly arrived party to rest, as well as to load their sledge
with as much fresh meat as it could carry; for which supplies the
captain took care to pay the natives with a few knives and a large
quantity of hoop-iron--articles that were much more valuable to them
than gold. As the wind could not be made to turn about to suit their
convenience, the kite was brought down and given to Davy to carry, and a
team of native dogs were harnessed to the sledge instead. On the
following day the united party set out on their return to the brig,
which they reached in safety.
Tom Gregory's account of the Eskimos who accompanied them to their
wooden home is amusing. His journal runs thus:
"The amazement of our visitors is very great. Myouk, his wife and baby,
and his son Meetek, are now our guests. When they first came in sight
of the brig they uttered a wild shout--the men did so, at least--and
tossed their arms and opened their eyes and mouths. They have never
shut them since. They go all round the vessel, staring and gaping with
amazement. We have given them a number of useful presents, and intend
to send them home loaded with gifts for their friends. It is necessary
to make a good impression on them. Our lives depend very much on the
friendship of these poor people. We find that they are terrible
thieves. A number of knives and a hatchet were missed--they were found
hidden in Myouk's sledge. We tried to prevail on Oomia to sell her long
boots. To our surprise she was quite willing to part with _one_, but
nothing would induce her to give up the _other_. One of the men
observed her steal a knife out of the cabin and hide it in the leg of
her boot. The reason was now plain. We pulled off the boot without
asking leave, and found there a large assortment of articles stolen from
us. Two or three knives, a spoon, a bit of hoop-iron, and a marline
spike. I have tried to make them understand, by signs, that this is
very wicked conduct, but they only laugh at me. They are not in the
least ashamed, and evidently regard stealing as no sin.
"We have shot a musk ox. There are many of these creatures in other
parts of the Arctic regions, but this is the first we have seen here.
He fell to my rifle, and is now being devoured by ourselves and our dogs
with great relish. He is about the size of a very small cow; has a
large head and enormously thick horns, which cover the whole top of his
head, bend down toward his cheeks, and then curve up and outward at the
point. He is covered with long, brown hair, which almost reaches the
ground, and has no tail worthy of the name. He seems to be an active
and an angry creature. When I wounded him he came at me furiously, but
had not pluck to charge home. As he turned away I gave him the shot
that killed him. The meat is not bad, but it smells strongly of musk.
Walrus is better.
"Myouk and his son Meetek and I have had a most exciting bear-hunt since
we returned. I followed these men one day, as I thought them bold,
active-looking fellows, who would be likely to show me good Eskimo
sport. And I was not disappointed.
"About two miles from the brig we came on fresh bear tracks. A glow of
the aurora gave us plenty of light. `What is yon round white lump?'
thought I. `A bear? No, it must be a snow-wreath!' Myouk did not
think so, for he ran behind a lump of ice, and became excited. He made
signs to me to remain there while he and his son should go and attack
the bear. They were armed each with a long lance. I must say, when I
remembered the size and strength of the polar bear, that I was surprised
to find these men bold enough to attack him with such arms. I had my
rifle, but determined not to use it except in case of necessity. I
wished to see how the natives were accustomed to act.
"They were soon ready. Gliding swiftly from one lump of ice to another,
they got near enough to make a rush. I was disobedient! I followed,
and when the rush was made I was not far behind them. The bear was a
very large one. It uttered an angry growl on seeing the men running
toward it, and rose on its hind legs to receive them. It stood nearly
eight feet high when in this position, and looked really a terrible
monster. I stood still behind a hummock at a distance of about fifty
yards, with my rifle ready.
"On coming close up the father and son separated, and approached the
bear one on each side. This divided his attention, and puzzled him very
much; for, when he made a motion as if he were going to rush at Myouk,
Meetek flourished his spear, and obliged him to turn--then Myouk made a
demonstration, and turned him back again. Thus they were enabled to get
close to its side before it could make up its mind which to attack. But
the natives soon settled the question for it. Myouk was on the bear's
right side, Meetek on its left. The father pricked it with the point of
his lance. A tremendous roar followed, and the enraged animal turned
towards him. This was just what he wanted, because it gave the son an
opportunity of making a deadly thrust. Meetek was not slow to do it.
He plunged his lance deep into the bear's heart, and it fell at once at
full length, while a crimson stream poured out of the wound upon the
snow.
"While this fight was going on I might have shot the animal through the
heart with great ease, for it was quite near to me, and when it got up
on its hind legs its broad chest presented a fine target. It was
difficult to resist the temptation to fire, but I wished to see the
native manner of doing the thing from beginning to end, so did not
interfere. I was rewarded for my self-denial.
"Half an hour later, while we were dragging the carcass toward the brig,
we came unexpectedly upon another bear. Myouk and Meetek at once
grasped their lances and ran forward to attack him. I now resolved to
play them a trick. Besides my rifle I carried a large horse-pistol in
my belt. This I examined, and, finding it all right, I followed close
at the heels of the Eskimos. Bruin got up on his hind legs as before,
and the two men advanced close to him. I stopped when within thirty
yards, cocked my rifle, and stood ready. Myouk was just going to thrust
with his lance when--_bang_! went my rifle. The bear fell. It was shot
right through the heart, but it struggled for some time after that. The
natives seemed inclined to run away when they heard the shot, but I
laughed and made signs of friendship. Then I went close up and shot the
bear through the head with my pistol. This affair has filled my savage
companions with deep respect for me!"
These two bears were the last they obtained that winter; but as a good
supply of meat had been obtained from the Eskimos, they were relieved
from anxiety for the time, and the health of the men began to improve a
little. But this happy state of things did not last till spring. These
sorely tried men were destined to endure much suffering before the light
of the sun came back to cheer their drooping spirits.