return to the fort, was to make inquiries of Thomas Black as to the
situation of the little colony. No change had taken place for the last
twenty-four hours, but, as subsequently appeared, the island had floated
one degree of latitude further south, whilst still retaining its motion
towards the west. It was now at the same distance from the equator as
Icy Cape, a little promontory of western Alaska, and two hundred miles
from the American coast. The speed of the current seemed to be less here
than in the eastern part of the Arctic Ocean, but the island continued
to advance, and, much to Hobson’s annoyance, towards the dreaded
Behring Strait. It was now only the 24th July, and a current of average
speed would carry it in another month through the strait and into the
heated waves of the Pacific, where it would melt “like a lump of sugar
in a glass of water.”
Mrs Barnett acquainted Madge with the result of the exploration of the
island. She explained to her the arrangement of the layers of earth and
ice at the part where the isthmus had been broken off; told her that
the thickness of the ice below the sea level was estimated at five feet;
related the accident to Sergeant Long—in short, she made her fully
understand the reasons there were to fear the breaking up or sinking of
the ice field.
The rest of the colony had, however, no suspicion of the truth; a
feeling of perfect security prevailed. It never occurred to any of the
brave fellows that Fort Hope was floating above an awful abyss, and
that the lives of all its inhabitants were in danger. All were in good
health, the weather was fine, and the climate pleasant and bracing.
The baby Michael got on wonderfully; he was beginning to toddle about
between the house and the palisade; and Corporal Joliffe, who was
extremely fond of him, was already beginning to teach him to hold a
gun, and to understand the first duties of a soldier. Oh, if Mrs Joliffe
would but present him with such a son! but, alas! the blessing of
children, for which he and his wife prayed every day, was as yet denied
to them.
Meanwhile the soldiers had plenty to do.
Mac-Nab and his men—Petersen, Belcher, Garry, Pond, and Hope—worked
zealously at the construction of a boat, a difficult task, likely to
occupy them for several months. But as their vessel would be of no use
until next year after the thaw, they neglected none of their duties at
the factory on its account. Hobson let things go on as if the future of
the factory were not compromised, and persevered in keeping the men in
ignorance. This serious question was often discussed by the officer and
his “staff,” and Mrs Barnett and Madge differed from their chief on
the subject. They thought it would be better to tell the whole truth;
the men were brave and energetic, not likely to yield to despair, and
the shock would not be great if they heard of it now, instead of only
when their situation was so hopeless that it could not be concealed. But
in spite of the justice of these remarks, Hobson would not yield, and
he was supported by Sergeant Long. Perhaps, after all, they were right;
they were both men of long experience, and knew the temper of their men.
And so the work of provisioning and strengthening the fort proceeded.
The palisaded enceinte was repaired with new stakes, and made higher
in many places, so that it really formed a very strong fortification.
Mac-Nab also put into execution, with his chief’s approval, a plan he
had long had at heart. At the corners abutting on the lake he built two
little pointed sentry-boxes, which completed the defences; and Corporal
Joliffe anticipated with delight the time when he should be sent to
relieve guard: he felt that they gave a military look to the buildings,
and made them really imposing.
The palisade was now completely finished, and Mac-Nab, remembering the
sufferings of the last winter, built a new wood shed close up against
the house itself, with a door of communication inside, so that there
would be no need to go outside at all. By this contrivance the fuel
would always be ready to hand. On the left side of the house, opposite
the shed, Mac-Nab constructed a large sleeping-room for the soldiers, so
that the camp-bed could be removed from the common room. This room
was also to be used for meals, and work. The three married couples had
private rooms walled off, so that the large house was relieved of them
as well as of all the other soldiers. A magazine for furs only was also
erected behind the house near the powder-magazine, leaving the loft free
for stores; and the rafters and ribs of the latter were bound with iron
cramps, that they might be able to resist all attacks. Mac-Nab also
intended to build a little wooden chapel, which had been included in
Hobson’s original plan of the factory; but its erection was put off
until the next summer.
With what eager interest would the Lieutenant have once watched the
progress of his establishment! Had he been building on firm ground,
with what delight would he have watched the houses, sheds, and magazines
rising around him! He remembered the scheme of crowning Cape Bathurst
with a redoubt for the protection of Fort Hope with a sigh. The very
name of the factory, “Fort Hope,” made his heart sink within him;
for should it not more truly be called “Fort Despair?”
These various works took up the whole summer, and there was no time for
ennui. The construction of the boat proceeded rapidly. Mac-Nab meant it
to be of about thirty tons measurement, which would make it large
enough to carry some twenty passengers several hundred miles in the fine
season. The carpenter had been fortunate enough to find some bent pieces
of wood, so that he was able quickly to form the first ribs of the
vessel, and soon the stern and sternpost, fixed to the keel, were upon
the dockyard at the foot of Cape Bathurst.
Whilst the carpenters were busy with hatchets, saws, and adzes, the
hunters were eagerly hunting the reindeer and Polar hares, which
abounded near the fort. The Lieutenant, however, told Marbre and Sabine
not to go far away, stating as a reason, that until the buildings were
completed he did not wish to attract the notice of rivals. The truth
was, he did not wish the changes which had taken place to be noticed.
One day Marbre inquired if it was not now time to go to Walruses’
Bay, and get a fresh supply of morse-oil for burning, and Hobson replied
rather hastily—
“No, Marbre; it would be useless.”
The Lieutenant knew only too well that Walruses’ Bay was two hundred
miles away, and that there were no morses to be hunted on the island.
It must not be supposed that Hobson considered the situation desperate
even now. He often assured Mrs Barnett, Madge, and Long that he was
convinced the island would hold together until the bitter cold of winter
should thicken its foundation and arrest its course at one and the same
time.
After his journey of discovery, Hobson estimated exactly the area of
his new dominions. The island measured more than forty miles round, from
which its superficial area[r] would appear to be about one hundred and
forty miles at the least. By way of comparison, we may say that Victoria
Island was rather larger than St Helena, and its area was about the same
as that of Paris within the line of fortifications. If then it should
break up into fragments, the separate parts might still be of sufficient
size to be habitable for some time.
When Mrs Barnett expressed her surprise that a floating ice-field could
be so large, Hobson replied by reminding her of the observations of
Arctic navigators. Parry, Penny, and Franklin had met with ice-fields
in the Polar seas one hundred miles long and fifty broad. Captain Kellet
abandoned his boat on an ice-field measuring at least three hundred
square miles, and what was Victoria Island compared to it?
Its size was, however, sufficient to justify a hope that it would resist
the action of the warm currents until the cold weather set in. Hobson
would not allow himself to doubt; his despair arose rather from the
knowledge that the fruit of all his cares, anxieties, and dangers must
eventually be swallowed up by the deep, and it was no wonder that he
could take no interest in the works that were going on.
Mrs Barnett kept up a good heart through it all; she encouraged her
comrades in their work, and took her share in it, as if she had still a
future to look forward to. Seeing what an interest Mrs Joliffe took in
her plants, she joined her every day in the garden. There was now a fine
crop of sorrel and scurvy-grass—thanks to the Corporal’s unwearying
exertions to keep off the birds of every kind, which congregated by
hundreds.
The taming of the reindeer had been quite successful; there were now a
good many young, and little Michael had been partly brought up on the
milk of the mothers. There were now some thirty head in the herd which
grazed near the fort, and a supply of the herbage on which they feed was
dried and laid up for the winter. These useful animals, which are easily
domesticated, were already quite familiar with all the colonists, and
did not go far from the enceinte. Some of them were used in sledges to
carry timber backwards and forwards. A good many reindeer, still wild,
now fell into the trap half way between the fort and Port Barnett. It
will be remembered that a large bear was once taken in it; but nothing
of the kind occurred this season—none fell victims but the reindeer,
whose flesh was salted and laid by for future use. Twenty at least were
taken, which in the ordinary course of things would have gone down to
the south in the winter.
One day, however, the reindeer-trap suddenly became useless in
consequence of the conformation of the soil. After visiting it as usual,
the hunter Marbre approached Hobson, and said to him in a significant
tone——
“I have just paid my daily visit to the reindeer-trap, sir.”
“Well, Marbre, I hope you have been as successful to-day as yesterday,
and have caught a couple of reindeer,” replied Hobson.
“No, sir, no,” replied Marbre, with some embarrassment.
“Your trap has not yielded its ordinary contingent then?”
“No, sir; and if any animal had fallen in, it would certainly have
been drowned!”
“Drowned!” cried the Lieutenant, looking at the hunter with an
anxious expression.
“Yes, sir,” replied Marbre, looking attentively at his superior,
“the pit is full of water.”
“Ah!” said Hobson, in the tone of a man who attached no importance
to that, “you know your pit was partly hollowed out of ice; its walls
have melted with the heat of the sun, and then “——
“Beg pardon for interrupting you, sir,” said Marbre; “but the
water cannot have been produced by the melting of ice.”
“Why not, Marbre?” “Because if it came from ice it would be sweet,
as you explained to me once before. Now the water in our pit is salt!”
Master of himself as he was, Hobson could not help changing countenance
slightly, and he had not a word to say.
“Besides,” added Marbre, “I wanted to sound the trench, to see how
deep the water was, and to my great surprise, I can tell you, I could
not find the bottom.”
“Well, Marbre,” replied Hobson hastily, “there is nothing
so wonderful in that. Some fracture of the soil has established a
communication between the sea and the trap. So don’t be uneasy about
it, my brave fellow, but leave the trap alone for the present, and be
content with setting snares near the fort.”
Marbre touched his cap respectfully, and turned on his heel, but not
before he had given his chief a searching glance.
Hobson remained very thoughtful for a few moments. Marbre’s tidings
were of grave importance. It was evident that the bottom of the trench,
gradually melted by the warm waters of the sea, had given way.
Hobson at once called the Sergeant, and having acquainted him with the
incident, they went together, unnoticed by their companions, to the
beach at the foot of Cape Bathurst, where they had made the bench-marks.
They examined them carefully, and found that since they last did so, the
floating island had sunk six inches.
“We are sinking gradually,” murmured Sergeant Long. “The ice is
wearing away.”
“Oh for the winter! the winter!” cried Hobson, stamping his foot
upon the ground.
But as yet, alas! there was no sign of the approach of the cold season.
The thermometer maintained a mean height of 59° Fahrenheit, and during
the few hours of the night the column of mercury scarcely went down
three degrees.
Preparations for the approaching winter went on apace, and there
was really nothing wanting to Fort Hope, although it had not been
revictualled by Captain Craventy’s detachment. The long hours of the
Arctic night might be awaited in perfect security. The stores were of
course carefully husbanded. There still remained plenty of spirits, only
small quantities having been consumed; and there was a good stock of
biscuits, which, once gone, could not be replaced. Fresh venison and
salt meat were to be had in abundance, and with some antiscorbutic
vegetables, the diet was most healthy; and all the members of the little
colony were well.
A good deal of timber was cut in the woods clothing the eastern slopes
of Lake Barnett. Many were the birch-trees, pines, and firs which fell
beneath the axe of Mac-Nab, and were dragged to the house by the tamed
reindeer. The carpenter did not spare the little forest, although he cut
his wood judiciously; for he never dreamt that timber might fail him,
imagining, as he did, Victoria Island to be a peninsula, and knowing the
districts near Cape Michael to be rich in different species of trees.
Many a time did the unconscious carpenter congratulate his Lieutenant on
having chosen a spot so favoured by Heaven. Woods, game, furred animals,
a lagoon teeming with fish, plenty of herbs for the animals, and, as
Corporal Joliffe would have added, double pay for the men. Was not Cape
Bathurst a corner of a privileged land, the like of which was not to
be found in the whole Arctic regions? Truly Hobson was a favourite
of Heaven, and ought to return thanks to Providence every day for the
discovery of this unique spot.
Ah, Mac-Nab, you little knew how you wrung the heart of your master when
you talked in that strain!
The manufacture of winter garments was not neglected in the factory. Mrs
Barnett, Madge, Mrs Mac-Nab, Mrs Rae, and Mrs Joliffe—when she could
leave her fires—were alike indefatigable. Mrs Barnett knew that
they would all have to leave the fort in the depth of winter, and was
determined that every one should be warmly clothed. They would have to
face the bitterest cold for a good many days during the Polar night, if
Victoria Island should halt far from the continent. Boots and clothes
ought indeed to be strong and well made, for crossing some hundreds of
miles under such circumstances. Mrs Barnett and Madge devoted all their
energies to the matter in hand, and the furs, which they knew it would
be impossible to save, were turned to good account. They were used
double, so that the soft hair was both inside and outside of the
clothes; and when wearing them, the whole party would be as richly
attired as the grandest princesses, or the most wealthy ladies. Those
not in the secret were rather surprised at the free use made of the
Company’s property; but Hobson’s authority was not to be questioned,
and really martens, polecats, musk-rats, beavers, and foxes multiplied
with such rapidity near the fort, that all the furs used could easily
be replaced by a few shots, or the setting of a few traps; and when Mrs
Mac-Nab saw the beautiful ermine coat which had been made for her baby,
her delight was unbounded, and she no longer wondered at anything.
So passed the days until the middle of the month of August. The weather
continued fine, and any mists which gathered on the horizon were quickly
dispersed by the sunbeams.
Every day Hobson took the bearings, taking care, however, to go some
distance from the fort, that suspicions might not be aroused, and he
also visited different parts of the island, and was reassured by finding
that no important changes appeared to be taking place.
On the 16th August Victoria Island was situated in 167° 27’ west
longitude, and 70° 49’ north latitude. It had, therefore, drifted
slightly to the south, but without getting any nearer to the American
coast, which curved considerably.
The distance traversed by the island since the fracture of the isthmus,
or rather since the last thaw, could not be less than eleven or twelve
hundred miles to the west.
But what was this distance compared to the vast extent of the ocean?
Had not boats been known to be drifted several thousands of miles by
currents? Was not this the case with the English ship Resolute, the
American brig Advance, and with the Fox, all of which were carried along
upon ice-fields until the winter arrested their advance?