THE KARA SEA.
In the midst of the ice-floes—Tedious work—Weird effects
at twilight—A strange meeting—We pay a visit to the home
of the walrus-hunter—Curio-hunting—A summer morning in the
ice—Delightful experience—The Arctic mirage—We part from
our new friends—An uncertain post-office—Ice-bound—Novel
experiences—Seal-hunting.
[Illustration: CLEARING THE DRIFT ICE FROM THE PROPELLER.]
Notwithstanding its unpromising aspect, our plucky ice-master put the
_Biscaya_ straight for the icy obstacles, and soon we were surrounded on
all sides by ghostly shapes, which appeared to be hurrying past us like
so many uneasy spirits under the leaden sky. Although the ship was well
and skillfully handled, in a very short time we were actually blocked
in on all sides by huge masses of ice, and remained so for several
hours. Then the floes drifted sufficiently to allow of our gradually
wedging our way through, which we did with considerable difficulty and
not without several severe bumps; in fact, it was a wonder to me how
we managed to get through at all, still more without serious damage.
Curiously enough, all the ice for the moment seemed to be gathered in one
spot, for the sea beyond was clear for several miles ahead after this;
then more drifts appeared, and during the night we were again hemmed in
on all sides.
The next morning the sun was shining in a cloudless sky once more, a
great contrast to our previous evening’s experience, and the effect of
the snow-white drift-ice floating on the blue sea was very beautiful
and novel. This time the water was sufficiently clear ahead to allow
of our passage without much difficulty, and we proceeded without any
special incident for several hours. Towards the afternoon, however, we
observed a curious effect on the horizon before us: it was a sort of
white reflection in the sky. Our experienced ice-master, who had been
up to the mast-head with his glasses, however, did not look at it in
the same light as we did; to him it was neither novel nor interesting.
He told us that it was the reflection in the sky of enormous fields of
ice, which it would be impossible to get through, unless we found a
passage in some part of it. For the moment he could see nothing for it
but to turn back and try another course, as the sea ahead was blocked
on either side as far as he could see. This did not sound cheerful, as
it immediately raised visions of wintering in the Arctic regions, if,
indeed, our ship was not smashed up before then. Without any delay the
_Biscaya’s_ head was immediately turned right round to the southeast, in
the hope of finding a clear passage, and creeping north again under the
shelter of the land. It was wearisome work going right back again over
the old ground, but this was but a forerunner of what we had to do for
some time afterwards, and by the time we had done with the Kara Sea we
had all learnt a good lesson in patience. So as to economize the coal, we
only steamed half-speed ahead all the time. After several hours on this
course, it was decided once more to try our luck and get northward again,
and all that night we went steadily on without meeting with any ice.
The next morning, when we got up on deck, a most provoking sight awaited
us. We were steaming very slowly, for a few miles ahead of us was the
wall of ice we had been trying in vain to avoid. There it lay, stretched
out as far as the eyes could reach on either side in the bright sunshine,
a ghostly barrier between us and our route. Our ice-master was pacing the
deck in a very restless manner, and evidently did not like the look of
affairs at all. At last he told us that it was no good humbugging about
it: we were fairly in for it. As far as he could judge, the Kara Sea was
full of ice to the north, so that the only thing we could do was to dodge
about on the chance of finding a weak spot to try and get through. If we
did not succeed in finding a passage, he thought “it would be a very long
job before we got out of the ice.” His language was forcible enough to
carry weight with it, even if his experience had not, so once more the
ship’s course was altered, and we started on a fresh voyage of discovery,
westward this time. All that day we were pounding along the fringe of
the interminable fields of ice, when, towards evening, it was decided
to try what appeared to be a sort of opening some few miles ahead,
although it did not look a very hopeful undertaking. For an hour or so,
however, before making the attempt, the engines were slowed down as much
as possible, in order to give our captains an opportunity of taking a
little rest, as they knew that, once inside the ice, there would be no
time for sleeping. At eight o’clock the ship’s head was turned due north
again, and in a very short time we were entirely surrounded by ice, which
seemed to get more and more compact as we advanced, if advance it could
be called; for at times we barely moved at the rate of a mile an hour,
with continual stoppages to enable the men to clear away the drift-ice
from the propeller. Round us was an extraordinary scene, and one which
I hardly know how to describe. There was not a breath of air stirring;
in the growing twilight the sea looked like polished glass, and on it
the floating ice, which was rapidly melting, took all sorts of weird
and grotesque shapes, conjuring up visions of low tide on some immense
shore in antediluvian days, with uncouth monsters disporting themselves
in the shallow water. We were so much impressed by our surroundings that
we remained on deck watching the slowly moving panorama all night, or,
rather, during the hours which are usually night, for it was but a sort
of mysterious twilight all the time, which considerably added to the
effect.
[Illustration: THE HOME OF THE WALRUS-HUNTER.]
Towards morning we got into somewhat clearer water, when, to our great
surprise, we sighted some vessels ahead of us in the ice. They turned
out to be walrus-hunters, and, on our getting up to the nearest one, a
sort of sloop with a crow’s-nest at the mast-head, with a man in it on
the look-out, they sent a boat over to us, and we then learnt that they
were all in the same fix as ourselves, and had been blocked in for some
days past, as they also wanted to get north. They hailed from Hammerfest,
and had been in the Kara Sea since April, but hoped to be able to get
out and on their way back to Norway towards the end of August. One of
our party, an enthusiastic curio-hunter (without which no party could
be complete), immediately “scented” his prey, and on inquiry found that
the men had on board a Polar bear’s skin they could sell him, also some
sealskins and walrus tusks; so we jumped into their boat, and they took
us across to have a look at them while their captain and ours hobnobbed
together and talked Norwegian to their heart’s content in the _Biscaya’s_
cabin. On nearer inspection, the sloop proved larger than we had imagined
it, and certainly dirtier. In a few minutes a cask was hauled up out of
the hold, and a large yellowy-brown bundle, covered thickly with wet
salt, pulled out of it and spread on the greasy deck. This was the Polar
bear’s skin we had come to see. Our curio-hunter’s enthusiasm went down
to zero at once, for it was as unlike the snowy-white rugs one sees in
London drawing-rooms as chalk is to cheese; still, they actually asked
the modest sum of £5 for it in this dirty state. The sealskins were also
very disappointing, and we were about to return to the boat, when one of
the crew produced a lot of Samoyede costumes and walrus tusks, which we
all made a rush for, as, at any rate, they were interesting—and clean.
Of such there were enough to satisfy us all, and they were soon bought
up. I got off cheapest, as I managed to get some very curious articles in
return for my Waterbury watch, which took the man’s fancy. On returning
to the _Biscaya_ we found that it had been arranged to tow the sloop a
short distance, as its captain said he knew the coast, and thought he
could pilot us through the ice part of the way. The ships therefore got
under way in company, and most of us then turned in for a few hours,
after a most fatiguing day.
In the morning we were at a standstill, fairly blocked in on all sides
by the ice, which glistened and sparkled round us till one’s eyes ached
from the glare. The sea was as calm as a mill-pond, the sun was shining
in a cloudless sky, and it was so warm that had it not been for the ice
around I should have suggested having the hose out and a bath on deck,
for the thermometer marked fifty degrees in the shade. It was simply
delightful, and made one feel quite pleased to be alive, so to speak.
I could not help thinking, as I breathed the exhilarating air, how few
Londoners have ever experienced such delight, as inhaling this sort of
air seems to impart to one a kind of desire to jump about and give vent
to one’s animal spirits in quite a schoolboyish fashion, reminding one
of one’s youthful days before the cares of manhood were upon us, when
on the weekly half-holiday the rush was made for the cricket-ground.
Owing to the purity of the atmosphere, the refraction or mirage along
the horizon was so great that the ice seemed to be literally standing
straight up, thus producing the impression of our being surrounded by
a high white wall or cliff—an almost indescribable effect, and which,
when seen through the glasses, reminded one of a transformation scene
at a theatre, when the background is formed of painted gauze which
is gradually lifted to disclose further surprises behind. A long and
wearisome delay now occurred, as it was manifestly absurd even to try and
advance any farther in the direction we were in. At last it was decided
that the _Biscaya_ should get out again into the open sea as soon as
possible, as our ice-master did not like the look of the huge masses of
ice which were pressing tightly on her sides. The walrus-hunter expressed
his intention of remaining where he was for a few days, to try and get
some seals. Before parting company we entrusted to his care a packet of
letters which he promised to post at the first port he touched at—rather
a vague promise on his part, as he was uncertain when he would return
to civilization. However, it was worth chancing, as he might possibly
get back before we reached the end of our long journey. I could not help
wondering how long my letter would take to reach the Strand, and felt
certain I should never find a more uncertain post-office than this one.
[Illustration: THE “BISCAYA” ICE-BOUND IN THE KARA SEA.
[_To face p. 24._]
For the next few days we were dodging the ice in all directions. North,
south, east, and west, everywhere it seemed to be closing in on us, till
at last, during a futile effort to break through, we got so hemmed in
that it was deemed advisable to anchor to a floe for a time, and see if
there was any chance of the drifts breaking up with the advancing season.
So we brought up at a huge field of hummocky ice, and some men were
sent down with the ice-anchor. Most of us then enjoyed our first bit of
exercise for a fortnight. It was a novel experience being on one of these
floating islands. Though not very slippery, one had to be careful. Along
the edges the water deepened gradually, as upon a shore, for a couple of
yards or so, till where the ice ended, when it suddenly went off into
hundreds of fathoms, which looked like a black abyss beneath us. There
was very little to see, however, and, although we took our rifles with
us, we did not meet with a single living object, still less a bear or a
walrus, as we had fondly hoped we might.
[Illustration: AFTER SEALS.]
The next few days passed quietly. I managed to do a little sketching,
although it was chilly work for one’s feet on the ice. Then the weather
changed, and it came on to rain, with a thick fog accompanying it, so we
found the close and stuffy cabin very cosy after being in the bleak wind
outside, and, if singing (or, rather, making an infernal row) could help
to pass away the time, we certainly did our best to lose no opportunity,
our only drawback being that we had not a single musical instrument among
us. However, as it generally only was a question who could invent the
most unearthly noise to accompany the “songs,” the result can be more
easily imagined than described. Sometimes we managed to get a shot at
a stray seal which was rash enough to come within range, but, as they
invariably dived down immediately we had fired, we could never tell if
they had been hit or not, still less get them. One brute, with a face
like that of an old man, was particularly “cheeky.” He would come up
alongside and almost stand up in the water and have a good look at us,
as much as to say, “Here I am, you fellows! Why don’t you try and get
me? But you know you can’t!” Then, by the time we had got our rifles
and ammunition ready, he would disappear suddenly, and a few seconds
after come up on the other side of the ship. After a little of this
sort of thing we simply got mad, and at last there was quite a battery
waiting for him when he did appear. The ice-master, who was up at the
mast-head, and could, from that elevated position, see him quite plainly
under the water, directed our movements, and when at last we got a shot
at him grew awfully excited, yelling out, “That’s it! Hit him again
in the same place, and you’ll get him!” We did not get him, however,
for the poor brute dived down, leaving a track of blood in the water,
and did not reappear. We then got out a boat, and went on a sort of
hunting-expedition round about, but without finding anything; in fact, we
came to the conclusion, after paddling about for half an hour, that there
was nothing to find, so we gave it up as a bad job.
At last it was decided to up anchor and once more try our luck, as our
captains, and, in fact, all of us, were getting impatient at the delay,
unavoidable though it was. The rain appeared to have loosened the floes
considerably, so we were a bit more hopeful.