Sandy and my brother had now become the real leaders of the party, as
the mate was too ill to issue orders. We speedily built a hut with sods
and stones, and roofed it with the boat's sails. It proved a far more
comfortable abode than the cavern. We also collected all the drift-wood
we could find, including that of the wrecked boat which had so nearly
cost Croil his life. On examining the quantity, however, we saw that it
was utterly insufficient to last us through a winter. My brother,
therefore, proposed that we should cut turf and dry it during the
summer, and advised that the hut should be much increased in size, with
two outer chambers, by which the inner room could be approached and but
a small quantity of cold air admitted. A lamp of walrus' blubber or
bear's grease would be sufficient tor warm it at night, provided that
the walls were thick enough to keep out the cold. Our stock of powder
being small it was necessary to husband it with the greatest care, and
we therefore agreed to shoot only such animals as were necessary to
supply ourselves with food.
I killed three deer and a bear which one night paid us a visit, and
Sandy killed two walruses which he found asleep on the rocks. From the
appearance of the ice Sandy hoped at length that he would be able to
bring round the boat. For several days a huge mass had been seen
floating by, carried on apparently by a strong current, while that in
the bay had either melted or had been blown out by the wind. He
accordingly set off with the boat's crew, carrying provisions for
several days' consumption. Ewen and I meantime made our way northward
to explore the part of the island we had not yet visited. We saw that
it was of far greater extent than we had supposed, and that we should
perhaps have to camp out two or three nights if we persevered in our
attempt.
As Andrew had charged us to return before nightfall we were about to
direct our steps homewards, when Ewen's sharp eyes discovered a peculiar
looking mound at the top of a headland some distance to the northward.
As it would not delay us more than an hour we hurried on. Below the
headland was a bay, on the shores of which we saw a hut. Could it be
inhabited? If so we might meet with some one whose experience of the
country would be of the greatest use. We were considerably disappointed
on entering the hut to find it empty. It had apparently been for a long
time deserted. Without delay we climbed up the top of the headland. We
examined the cairn carefully, and found that it was built round and
contained a bottle, on opening which I discovered a paper having a few
lines apparently written with the burnt end of a stick. They were in
English, but so nearly illegible that it was with difficulty I could
read them. What was my surprise when I made out the words--
"Left here by the whaler _Barentz_. Saw her drift out to sea, beset
by ice. Fear that she was overwhelmed, and all on board perished.
Spent the winter here. A sloop coming into the bay, hope to be taken
off by her.
"David Ogilvy."
Here was a trace of my long-lost brother; what had since become of him?
Had he got off in the sloop and returned to Europe, or had she been
lost? Had the former been the case, we should have heard of him before
we sailed. We hurried eagerly back to discuss the subject with Andrew.
It was dark before we reached the hut. We talked and talked, but could
arrive at no conclusion. Andrew feared for the worst. The boat had not
arrived, indeed we scarcely expected to see her that day. Next day
passed by and she did not appear. Two more days elapsed. We were
constantly on the look out for her. I proposed going over to try to
ascertain what had happened. The mate was getting somewhat better, and
I took Andrew's place that he might go out and take some exercise while
in search of a deer. I was talking with Mr. Patterson, who spoke
hopefully of getting away before the winter commenced, when Ewen rushed
into the hut exclaiming--
"A sail, a sail! She's standing for the bay."
"Go and have a look at her," said Mr. Patterson; "I was sure we should
get off before long."
I rushed down to the beach, where I found the rest of the party
collected, gazing at the approaching vessel.
She was the _Hardy Norseman_, trim and taut. There was no doubt about
the matter. On she came, gliding over the now smooth ocean. A shout of
joy burst from our throats. All our troubles were over, as we thought.
She stood fearlessly on, evidently piloted by one who knew the harbour,
and at length came to an anchor. Her sails were furled immediately, and
a boat approached the shore.
As she got nearer we saw that the boatswain was steering. His boat had
then got off and fallen in with the ship. Such, indeed, he told us, as
he sprang on the beach, had been the case. Had he not done so she would
have passed on, supposing that we had all been lost; for, although
short-handed, the captain had determined on prosecuting the fishery
until the weather compelled him to return.
Carrying the mate and Croil, who--as Andrew said--had turned the corner,
we were soon on board, heartily welcomed by all hands. Our hut and
store of fuel were left for the benefit of any other unfortunate people
who might be cast on the island, but the meat and skins were, of course,
carried with us.
As the sea was now open to the northward, we sailed slowly on, the boats
frequently being sent in to shoot walruses or seals, of which vast
quantities were seen on the rocks and floating ice. We were now off the
coast of Spitzbergen. Passing some islands, we pulled on shore in
expectation of obtaining some walruses. We had killed several, when we
saw among the rocks a number of eider ducks which had just laid their
eggs. The first mate and boatswain, who were in command of the boats,
ordered us to land with the boat-stretchers in our hands, when we rushed
in among the birds, knocking them over right and left. While they lay
stunned, we were directed to pull off the down from their breasts. We
were thus employed for several hours, during which we collected an
enormous quantity of eider down, as well as a vast number of eggs. On
returning on board, the skipper sent us back for a further supply. As
we obtained nearly four hundred pounds of down, and as each pound is
worth a guinea in England, the skipper was well pleased with our day's
work, more so than were the poor ducks, deprived of their warm
waistcoats and eggs at the same time. Happily the stern ice saves them
from frequent visits of the same description.
As we were pulling along we caught sight of a walrus asleep on a rock.
Without disturbing the animal, Sandy and two other men landed. His
harpoon was soon plunged into the side of the walrus, while the end of
the line still remained in the boat. A fierce struggle commenced. The
walrus, rolling into the water with head erect and tusks upraised, came
swimming towards the boat, regardless of the spears thrust at it, and
had almost gained the victory, when a shot through its head put an end
to its existence. The next day, having again landed, we killed a number
of seals by concealing ourselves behind the rocks on the shore, while
they lay enjoying the warm sun on the ice. Andrew, Ewen, and I were
some what ahead of the rest of the party, when we caught sight of a bear
lying down under the shelter of a hummock. We were intending to stalk
him, when we saw a seal sunning itself upon the ice, some distance off.
The bear crept from behind his place of shelter, and began to roll about
as if also to enjoy the sun. The seal lifted up its head, when Bruin
stopped, lying almost on his back, with his legs in the air, and his
eyes directed towards his expected prey. The seal dropped its head, and
the bear began once more to move forward, again to stop and remain
perfectly motionless until the seal's eyes were closed. Again Bruin
advanced, when the seal, which must have been somewhat suspicious of the
hairy creature, looked about it. For yet another time Bruin stopped,
until, the seal's suspicions once more lulled, the bear got near enough
with one leap to bound upon his prey, when, before the seal was dead, he
began tearing away at its flesh. We determined to put a stop to his
supper. While he was thus employed and less on the watch than usual, we
crept up to him and a shot through his head prevented him from gaining
the water. We thus got both bear and seal.
I forgot to mention the two young bears which had been carried on board,
and had become great pets with the men. We added to our menagerie a
couple of young walruses, which we caught after their mothers were
slaughtered. One went by the name of Dick, the other Harry. They and
the bears looked suspiciously at each other, but wisely kept apart. The
walruses were somewhat of a nuisance; for, being of an independent
character, they walloped about the deck, and at night roared far louder
than did the bears, which, frightened at the loud noise, slunk into
their kennels. We fed the walruses on gruel, which seemed to suit them
very well. At length, one evening while Andrew and I were seated in the
cabin, as Captain Hudson was on the point of going on deck, we heard a
tremendous noise, as if some huge body had fallen down, followed by a
cry and some pretty severe expressions from the skipper.
On rushing out, we found him sprawling on the floor with Master Dick,
who had come rolling down the hatchway, walloping and flopping on the
top of him. Having extricated the captain, who was fortunately not much
the worse for his tumble, we hauled the slippery little monster up on
deck, and took it to its proper resting-place--a big tub in which it
ought to have been confined.
Though whales were somewhat scarce, we killed walruses and seals
sufficient to satisfy the skipper, a good many bears, and a vast number
of birds. We continued steering north, keeping away from the land, the
sea being almost entirely open, with masses of ice and occasionally
icebergs floating about. Not a creature of any sort was seen on the
ice, but little auks and sea parrots in vast numbers rose and perched on
the gently rippling sea.
The wind having fallen we got out lines to fish for sharks, and soon
caught one twelve feet in length. It was hoisted on board by a block
and tackle, when, its liver being cut out, Sandy, blowing through a
tube, inflated the stomach of the creature, which was then thrown
overboard. The object of this was to prevent the body from sinking,
when its brethren would have devoted their attention to its remains
instead of to the blubber with which the hooks were baited.
We caught several in the same way. Each liver yielded almost its entire
weight of a fine fish-oil, undistinguishable from cod-liver oil, though
I do not know if it possesses the same qualities. Again a light breeze
from the eastward springing up, we made further progress. A hail from
the crow's nest announcing that a sail was in sight made us all look
out. Having a soldier's wind we were approaching each other from
opposite directions. As the stranger drew near we watched her with much
interest. Captain Hudson and the first mate were examining her through
their glasses.
"If that's not the _Barentz_ it's her ghost!" exclaimed the captain.
"It's a ship of her size, at all events," observed the mate; "she looks
as if she had spent a long time in the ice."
The moment I heard this, my heart leapt with joy at the thought that we
should find our brother David on board, until I recollected the cairn
and the document he had left behind him. Could he, after all, have got
on board his ship, or could he hare been lost while she had escaped?
As the wind was very light a boat was lowered, and Andrew and I having
jumped into her pulled away that we might as soon as possible learn what
had happened. We were soon clambering up the stranger's sides. On her
deck stood a gaunt and famished crew. As our eyes ranged over their
countenances we in vain sought that of our brother David.
"What ship is this?" was the first question we put.
"The _Barentz_," answered her captain, stepping forward.
"Is David Ogilvy on board?" inquired Andrew.
"I regret to say that he is not," answered the captain, at once
quenching all our hopes. "He was on shore, when we were driven off the
land and afterwards carried northward, where we were beset in the ice
from which we have only just escaped. Had he been with us, the lives of
some of our poor people would have been saved, and the health of all
preserved."
On hearing that our ship was the _Hardy Norseman_, the captain expressed
his wish to come on board in our boat, all his own having been lost, or
been rendered utterly unserviceable. I need not say that he received a
warm welcome, while Captain Hudson promised to supply him and his crew
with all the fresh provisions and antiscorbutics he could spare. The
captain of the _Barentz_ was much grieved on hearing of our fears of
David's fate. Still, as I looked at his ship, I could scarcely hope, in
her battered condition, that she would reach port in safety.
Thus, had my brother remained on board it might have been his lot to
perish with all the rest. Captain Hudson suggested that he and his crew
should come on board. This he positively declined doing. Having got
his ship out of the ice and escaped after being shut up for two winters,
he fully believed that he should be able to take her home. Andrew again
went on board the _Barentz_ and prescribed for the sick men among the
crew. It was not until the next day, when a breeze sprang up, that we
parted company, little supposing at the time what was in store for us.
We now found ourselves constantly surrounded by dense mists which made
it difficult to avoid the enormous icebergs and floes, which floated on
the surface of the water. Happily for us, the sea was perfectly calm,
or broken into light wavelets by the gentle breeze. The ceaseless and
melancholy sound produced by the waste of ice disturbed the silence
which would otherwise have reigned over the ocean world.
Sad and solemn was the picture presented to us by the unbroken
procession of icebergs, which, like the ghosts in Macbeth, floated by to
disappear in the warmer regions of the south. Constantly, too, there
came the roar of the ocean swell as it broke among the icebergs and
caverns, or the splash of water like a distant cataract as it fell from
the lofty summits of the bergs, mingling with the crackling noise
emitted by the masses of ice as they struck each other or their summits
were broken off. Sometimes an iceberg would overturn or the top come
hurtling down with a crash into the sea, covering the water with foam,
and sending the birds which had perched there flying in all directions
to seek a more secure resting-place.
We were now never without the light of the sun. According to its
nearness to the horizon, the effects produced varied greatly. During
the night the sky was of a deep ultramarine, while the icebergs, clothed
with a rosy hue, appeared to have gone to sleep. Even the cascades from
the bergs ceased to flow, and few sounds broke the silence. Sea-gulls
and divers could be seen sitting round the edge of a floe with their
heads under their wings. The whole region presented a strange and weird
aspect. On we sailed, the icebergs at every mile becoming more numerous
and of larger dimensions. As I looked ahead it seemed impossible that
we could force our way between them, or escape being crushed by the vast
masses which ever and anon came toppling down from their summits, but
the desire to obtain a full ship lured us on.
As the sun rising in the heavens sent down his warm rays, we could see
numerous seals basking on the floes, or on some projecting point of a
berg. Some of the boats were constantly engaged in shooting or
harpooning the creatures, while others were kept in readiness to go in
chase of the walruses which frequently made their appearance, though we
did not always succeed in getting near them, as, diving beneath a 'berg,
they did not rise again until the opposite side was reached.
The mate and Croil were now perfectly recovered, and enabled to take a
part in everything going forward. Their services were required, for, in
consequence of the hands we had lost, we all had work enough to do. I
went in one of the boats, whenever I could get a chance. I was bound
otherwise to remain on board and assist in managing the ship while they
were away. Frequently we had enough to do, as we floated among the
bergs and floes, to escape those which came drifting towards us, driven
on by some under-current, more than by the wind. The broken state of
the ice induced our captain to believe that we should as easily get out
of it as we had made our way into its midst. He was more inclined to
this opinion, when we suddenly found ourselves in the open sea with
scarcely a floe or berg in sight. Had we met with whales we might have
cruised about in chase of them, and not proceeded further, but only a
few appeared ahead to the northward, and those we failed to kill.
"Never fear, lads," said the captain as the boats returned on board, the
men looking blank at their want of success. "We shall fall in with
plenty more in the course of a day or so, or it may be in a few hours,
and we may still get a full ship, and be south again before the summer
days begin to shorten."
The pack-ice, Captain Hudson told us, was this year much further north
than he had ever known it, but he thought that a good sign, and he hoped
to find lanes through which we might make our way into ponds seldom
reached by whalers, where we might kill the fish faster than we could
flense them.
Voyagers during the Arctic summer day require sleep as much as at other
times, though often it has to be obtained at very unequal intervals.
Having been awake for the best part of twenty hours, I had turned in--I
don't know whether to call it one night or one day--when I was aroused
by a tremendous blow on the ship's bows, which made her quiver from stem
to stern. I was rushing on deck with my clothes in my hands, not
knowing what might happen, when I found that she was forcing her way
through a stream of ice, and that ice surrounded her on every side. A
strongish breeze was blowing, and the canvas was being reduced to
prevent another such encounter, which might produce serious
consequences. Finding that nothing was really the matter, I quickly
dived below again to put on my clothes, when I once more hurried on
deck. As I was looking round my eye was attracted by a dark object at
some distance on the starboard bow. I pointed it out to the captain,
whose glass was directed towards it. "It is a vessel of some sort. A
Russian or Norwegian sloop. She has been nipped probably, for she seems
to lie on the ice, out of the water; but whether her crew are still on
board, or have made their escape in their boats, it is hard to say."
"We must go and ascertain," exclaimed Andrew; "our brother David was
taken off by a vessel of that description, and for what we can tell, he
may be on board."
"It will be impossible to reach her," answered the captain; "there is no
lane leading in that direction. If you attempt to cross the ice it may
open at any moment, giving you little chance of escaping with your
lives."
Still Andrew entreated that he might go, and proposed making an
expedition, three or four of us joining ourselves together by a long
rope. We consulted the boatswain, who at once volunteered to form one
of the party, as did Ewen and Croil. The captain, after ascending to
the crow's nest to examine the ice, gave us leave, and allowed us to
take one of the boats which would carry us part of the way, charging us,
however, not to delay a moment longer than was necessary. Quickly
procuring a long rope, we jumped into the boat and pulled ahead of the
ship, along a lane which opened out to the eastward. Our further
progress was soon stopped. Having fastened ourselves together at the
distance of four or five fathoms, each provided with a long pole, we
leapt on the ice, Sandy taking the lead, we three lighter ones followed,
and my brother brought up the rear. We had some hummocks to climb over,
but generally the surface was level, and we made rapid progress, but
still the sloop appeared much farther off than I had supposed. I saw
Sandy try the ice when he was doubtful of its consistency, as he went
along; but, satisfied that it would bear him and consequently any of us,
he pushed forward.
I eagerly looked out expecting to see some people appear on the deck of
the sloop. As we drew nearer I uttered a loud shout in which my
companions joined, but no one replied. Could all those on board be
dead, or had she, as the captain supposed, been deserted? I asked
myself; and the dread seized me that we should find David frozen or
starved to death. Such things had too often occurred before, and might
have happened in this instance. In my eagerness I could not help
shouting to Sandy to go on faster.
"More speed the less chance we shall have of getting there, my boy," he
answered, stopping to strike the ice in front of him with his pole. He
drove it through. "There, you and I should probably have had a cold
bath," he observed as he turned aside to find more secure footing.
We had to make a considerable round to a sort of bridge, where two floes
had overlapped. We crossed safely, and now the sloop appeared not a
quarter of a mile ahead, her dark hull partly heeling over, and her
shattered mast standing out sharply against the white back-ground. The
distance was soon passed over. Once more we shouted out before we began
to clamber on her deck. Sandy and I, being the first up, eagerly looked
down into her after cabin. It was half full of water. No one could be
seen; so hurrying on to the other hatchways, we peered down them. It
was tolerably evident that no one, alive or dead, was there. So far,
then, our worst fears were not realised.
"Look here!" said Sandy to me, "the crew may have made their escape in
their boats and have been picked up by another craft. See, the sails
are unbent and all the ropes carried off. If it was worth while getting
a wetting we should find that nothing remains of value below, either
fore or aft."
That such was the case, a further examination fully convinced us. Still
Andrew and I would have been thankful if we could have discovered some
traces of our brother, should this have been the sloop he had got on
board. The boatswain, however, remarked that numbers of vessels of the
same description came northward during the summer, that it was just as
likely he had never set foot on her deck, and that we might find he had
got home safe before us.
According to our promise, the instant our inspection was over, we
commenced our return journey. As the ice was becoming firm, we cast off
the ropes and separated from one another, each man taking his own
course. I thus got to a considerable distance from my companions. I
was still some way off the edge of the floe, though in sight of the
ship, and could make out the boat approaching to take us off, when up
started from behind a hummock a huge polar bear, which probably mistook
me for a walrus or seal, and therefore its lawful prey. My first
impulse was to run, instead of Standing still and facing my enemy as I
ought to have done. I had very nearly gained the edge when what was my
horror to see that the bear was within twenty paces of me. A glance
round showed me the boat, still some way off, while my companions were
at too great a distance to afford me assistance. I now did what I
should have done at first, stopped and rammed a bullet into my rifle.
The bear stopped also, sitting up on its haunches, to examine me more
particularly. Could I have got off my shaggy coat, I would have thrown
it at him, to attract his attention, for I guessed his next movement
would be to bound upon me and press me in his terrific embrace. All I
could do, however, was to throw my cap at him, when, dropping down on
all fours, he began to smell at it. Now was my time to fire a shot
which I hoped might kill him. Should I miss, I knew too well that I had
not the remotest chance of escape. Mustering all my nerve, I levelled
my rifle and pulled the trigger. The bullet must have gone through his
brain, for, without making another move, he rolled over and giving one
struggle was dead.
I should have fallen on the ice and rendered thanks to heaven for my
preservation, but in reality I could not for some seconds move a muscle.
I could scarcely persuade myself that the huge monster, which had just
before appeared so terrible, was now a mass of flesh.
The shouts of my companions in the boat who had seen the occurrence
aroused me, and, soon arriving, with the rest of the party, they hauled
the huge carcase on board the boat, and we returned in triumph to the
ship.