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CAPTAIN HATTERAS.
[Illustration]
JULES VERNE.
[Frontispiece: "The brig was tossed about like a child's toy."--Page
134.]
THE VOYAGES AND ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN HATTERAS.
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF JULES VERNE.
_WITH TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY ILLUSTRATIONS BY RIOU_.
BOSTON: JAMES R. OSGOOD AND COMPANY,
LATE TICKNOR & FIELDS, AND FIELDS, OSGOOD, & CO.
1876.
COPYRIGHT, 1874.
BY JAMES R. OSGOOD & CO.
UNIVERSITY PRESS: WELCH, BIGELOW, & CO., CAMBRIDGE.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
THE ENGLISH AT THE NORTH POLE.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
II. AN UNEXPECTED LETTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
III. DR. CLAWBONNY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
IV. THE DOG-CAPTAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
V. AT SEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
VI. THE GREAT POLAR CURRENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
VII. THE ENTRANCE OF DAVIS STRAIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
VIII. THE TALK OF THE CREW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
IX. ANOTHER LETTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
X. DANGEROUS SAILING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
XI. THE DEVIL'S THUMB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
XII. CAPTAIN HATTERAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
XIII. THE CAPTAIN'S PLANS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
XIV. THE EXPEDITIONS IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN . . . . . . . . . . 102
XV. THE FORWARD DRIVEN SOUTHWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
XVI. THE MAGNETIC POLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
XVII. THE FATE OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
XVIII. THE WAY NORTHWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
XIX. A WHALE IN SIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
XX. BEECHEY ISLAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
XXI. THE DEATH OF BELLOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
XXII. THE FIRST SIGNS OF MUTINY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
XXIII. ATTACKED BY THE ICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
XXIV. PREPARATIONS FOR WINTERING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
XXV. ONE OF JAMES ROSS'S FOXES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
XXVI. THE LAST PIECE OF COAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
XXVII. THE GREAT COLD AT CHRISTMAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
XXVIII. PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
XXIX. ACROSS THE ICE-FIELDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
XXX. THE CAIRN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
XXXI. THE DEATH OF SIMPSON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
XXXII. THE RETURN TO THE FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
PART II.
THE DESERT OF ICE.
I. THE DOCTOR'S INVENTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
II. ALTAMONT'S FIRST WORDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
III. SEVENTEEN DAYS OF LAND JOURNEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
IV. THE LAST CHARGE OF POWDER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
V. THE SEAL AND THE BEAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
VI. THE PORPOISE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
VII. A DISCUSSION ABOUT CHARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
VIII. EXCURSION TO THE NORTH OF VICTORIA BAY . . . . . . . . . 291
IX. COLD AND HEAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
X. THE PLEASURES OF WINTER-QUARTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
XI. DISQUIETING TRACES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
XII. THE ICE PRISON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
XIII. THE MINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
XIV. THE POLAR SPRING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
XV. THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
XVI. NORTHERN ARCADIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
XVII. ALTAMONT'S REVENGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
XVIII. THE LAST PREPARATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
XIX. THE JOURNEY NORTHWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
XX. FOOTPRINTS ON THE SNOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
XXI. THE OPEN SEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
XXII. THE APPROACH TO THE POLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
XXIII. THE ENGLISH FLAG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
XXIV. POLAR COSMOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
XXV. MOUNT HATTERAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
XXVI. RETURN TO THE SOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
XXVII. CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
LIST OF FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
"JOHNSON KNEW ALL THE SAILORS IN LIVERPOOL, AND IMMEDIATELY SET
ABOUT ENGAGING A CREW" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
"EVERYTHING WAS ENVELOPED IN ONE OF THE ORDINARY FOGS OF THAT
REGION" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
"THIS SPACE OF SIX FEET SQUARE CONTAINED INCALCULABLE WEALTH" . . 23
"THE NEWS SPEAD IMMEDIATELY THROUGHOUT THE CITY, AND A GREAT
CONCOURSE OF SPECTATORS THRONGED THE PIERS" . . . . . . . . . 27
"TOWARDS EVENING THE BRIG DOUBLED THE CALF OF MAN" . . . . . . . 29
"WOULD ONE NOT SAY IT WAS A FOREIGN CITY, AN EASTERN CITY, WITH
MINARETS AND MOSQUES IN THE MOONLIGHT" . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
"FORTUNATELY THE OPENING OF THESE HUTS WAS TOO SMALL, AND THE
ENTHUSIASTIC DOCTOR COULD NOT GET THROUGH" . . . . . . . . . . 71
"A STRANGE ANIMAL WAS BOUNDING ALONG WITHIN A CABLE'S LENGTH FROM
THE SHIP" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
"JOHN HATTERAS" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
"HE CAUGHT A LARGE NUMBER OF WHITE FOXES; HE HAD PUT ON THEIR
NECKS COPPER COLLARS" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
"ALL THESE POOR FELLOWS HAD DIED OF MISERY, SUFFERING, AND
STARVATION" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
"THE BRIG WAS TOSSED ABOUT LIKE A CHILD'S TOY" (_Frontispiece_) . 134
"THE WHALE SWAM AWAY FROM THE BRIG AND HASTENED TOWARDS THE
MOVING ICEBERGS" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
"THE FORWARD IN WELLINGTON CHANNEL" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
HATTERAS MADE USE OF A DEVICE WHICH WHALERS EMPLOY . . . . . . . 153
"A CRASH WAS HEARD, AND AS IT CAME AGAINST THE STARBOARD-QUARTER,
PART OF THE RAIL HAD GIVEN WAY" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
"THE MOON SHONE WITH INCOMPARABLE PURITY, GLISTENING ON THE LEAST
ROUGHNESS IN THE ICE" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
"ALMOST EVERY NIGHT THE DOCTOR COULD OBSERVE THE MAGNIFICENT
AURORAS" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
"HE WAS ARMED, AND HE KEPT CONSTANT GUARD, WITHOUT MINDING THE
COLD, THE SNOW, OR THE ICE" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
"THE LITTLE BAND MADE THEIR WAY TOWARDS THE SOUTHEAST" . . . . . 202
"THE DOCTOR HAD ENERGY ENOUGH TO ASCEND AN ICE-MOUNTAIN WHILE THE
SNOW-HUT WAS BUILDING" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
"'FIRE!' SHOUTED THE CAPTAIN, DISCHARGING HIS PIECE" . . . . . . 211
"THEY COULD ONLY THINK OF THEIR PERILOUS POSITION" . . . . . . . 218
"SUDDENLY, WITH A LAST EFFORT, HE HALF ROSE" . . . . . . . . . . 223
"THEN A TERRIBLE EXPLOSION WAS HEARD" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
"THE LARGE PIECES OF THE ENGINE LAY HERE AND THERE, TWISTED OUT
OF SHAPE" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
"THEY HARNESSED THE TIRED DOGS" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
JOHNSON'S STORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
"'YES!' SAID THE AMERICAN" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
"THE DOCTOR WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO FIND A SEAL" . . . . . . . . 258
"AT THE END OF TWO HOURS THEY FELL, EXHAUSTED" . . . . . . . . . 263
"HE PLUNGED HIS KNIFE INTO THE BEAST'S THROAT" . . . . . . . . . 269
"THESE CASTAWAYS LOOKED AT THEMSELVES AS COLONISTS WHO HAD
REACHED THEIR DESTINATION" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
THE FORT WAS COMPLETED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
"I AM NOT AWARE THAT IT BEARS ANY NAME ON THE MOST RECENT MAPS" . 288
"THE DOCTOR REACHED THE SUMMIT WITH SOME LITTLE DIFFICULTY" . . . 291
"THEY ADVANCED IN FULL ILLUMINATION, AND THEIR SHARPLY CUT
SHADOWS RAN OUT BEHIND THEM OVER THE SNOW" . . . . . . . . . . 299
"HE DID HIS BEST TO INSTRUCT AND INTEREST HIS COMPANIONS" . . . . 308
"HATTERAS COULD ONLY KEEP HIS DISTANCE FROM THE ANIMALS BY
THROWING AWAY HIS CAP, HATCHET, AND EVEN HIS GUN" . . . . . . 326
"THE BEARS HEAPED THE ICE IN SUCH A WAY AS TO RENDER FLIGHT
IMPOSSIBLE" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
"AN ENORMOUS BLACK BODY APPEARED IN THE GLOOM OF THE ROOM.
ALTAMONT RAISED HIS HAND TO STRIKE IT" . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
"A LOUD EXPLOSION FOLLOWED" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
"THE CARPENTER SET TO WORK AT ONCE" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
"A HARD STRUGGLE WITH THE ICEBERGS" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
"MACCLURE SAW A MAN RUNNING AND GESTICULATING" . . . . . . . . . 355
"THE DOCTOR, JOHNSON, AND BELL INTERVENED. IT WAS TIME; THE TWO
ENEMIES WERE GAZING AT ONE ANOTHER" . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
"THEY WERE A CURIOUS AND TOUCHING SIGHT, FLYING ABOUT WITHOUT
FEAR, RESTING ON CLAWBONNY'S SHOULDERS," ETC. . . . . . . . . 364
"GAVE HIM A TERRIBLE BLOW WITH A HATCHET ON THE HEAD" . . . . . . 369
"WELL, I'VE BROUGHT BACK TWO BROTHERS" . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
"THE SEAL STRUGGLED FOR A FEW SECONDS, AND WAS THEN SUFFOCATED ON
THE BREAST OF HIS ADVERSARY" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
"THEY LEFT AT SIX O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING" . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
"ON THE 29TH BELL SHOT A FOX, AND ALTAMONT A MEDIUM-SIZED
MUSK-OX" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
"THE MASSES OF ICE TOOK THE FORMS OF HUMMOCKS AND ICEBERGS" . . . 384
"ON ALL SIDES RESOUNDED THE CRACKING OF THE ICE AMID THE ROAR OF
THE AVALANCHES" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
"'WE OUGHT,' ANSWERED BELL, 'TO LIGHT TORCHES, AS IS DONE AT
LONDON AND LIVERPOOL'" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
THE HUT WAS PITCHED IN A RAVINE FOR SHELTER . . . . . . . . . . . 390
"THEY CLIMBED A HILL WHICH COMMANDED A WIDE VIEW" . . . . . . . . 392
"THREE HOURS LATER THEY REACHED THE COAST. 'THE SEA! THE SEA!'
THEY ALL SHOUTED" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
"THE LAUNCH WAS ROCKING GENTLY IN HER LITTLE HARBOR" . . . . . . 393
"AQUATIC BIRDS OF ALL SORTS WERE THERE" . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
"THEN THE EYE GLANCING DOWN INTO THE TRANSPARENT WATER, THE SIGHT
WAS EQUALLY STRANGE" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
"'IT'S A VOLCANO!' HE CRIED" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
"THE LAUNCH TOSSED HELPLESSLY ABOUT" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
"THE FOG, WITHOUT LIFTING, WAS VERY BRIGHT" . . . . . . . . . . . 405
"THIS DRIFTING FLOE WAS COVERED WITH WHITE BEARS, CROWDED
TOGETHER" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
"HER SAIL FLEW AWAY LIKE A HUGE WHITE BIRD; A WHIRLPOOL, A NEW
MAELSTROM, FORMED AMONG THE WAVES" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
"THE MOUNTAIN WAS IN FULL ERUPTION" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
"THEY NOTICED A LITTLE FIORD" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
"ALTAMONT SOON FOUND A GROTTO IN THE ROCKS" . . . . . . . . . . . 412
"THEY WERE ALL READY TO LISTEN TO THE DOCTOR" . . . . . . . . . . 413
"THEY SAW THE CAPTAIN STANDING ON A ROCK" . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
"HATTERAS APPEARED TO WAKE FROM HIS REVERY" . . . . . . . . . . . 421
"THE DOCTOR PUT UP A CAIRN" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
"DEAD--FROZEN" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
"BUT HATTERAS DID NOT LOOK BACK. HE HAD MADE USE OF HIS STAFF AS
A POLE ON WHICH TO FASTEN THE ENGLISH FLAG" . . . . . . . . . 437
"TWO HOURS LATER, AFTER UNHEARD-OF EFFORTS, THE LAST MEN OF THE
FORWARD WERE TAKEN ABOARD THE DANISH WHALER HANS CHRISTIAN" . 438
"A STEAMBOAT CARRIED THEM TO KIEL" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
PART I.
THE ENGLISH AT THE NORTH POLE.
[Illustration: AVENTURES DU CAPITAINE HATTERAS]
CHAPTER I.
THE FORWARD.
"To-morrow, at the turn of the tide, the brig _Forward_, K. Z.,
captain, Richard Shandon, mate, will clear from New Prince's Docks;
destination unknown."
This announcement appeared in the _Liverpool Herald_ of April 5, 1860.
The sailing of a brig is not a matter of great importance for the
chief commercial city of England. Who would take notice of it in so
great a throng of ships of all sizes and of every country, that
dry-docks covering two leagues scarcely contain them?
Nevertheless, from early morning on the 6th of April, a large crowd
collected on the quays of the New Prince's Docks; all the sailors of
the place seemed to have assembled there. The workingmen of the
neighboring wharves had abandoned their tasks, tradesmen had left
their gloomy shops, and the merchants their empty warehouses. The
many-colored omnibuses which pass outside of the docks were
discharging, every minute, their load of sight-seers; the whole city
seemed to care for nothing except watching the departure of the
_Forward_.
The _Forward_ was a vessel of one hundred and seventy tons, rigged as
a brig, and carrying a screw and a steam-engine of one hundred and
twenty horse-power. One would have very easily confounded it with the
other brigs in the harbor. But if it presented no especial difference
to the eye of the public, yet those who were familiar with ships
noticed certain peculiarities which could not escape a sailor's keen
glance.
Thus, on the _Nautilus_, which was lying at anchor near her, a group
of sailors were trying to make out the probable destination of the
_Forward_.
[Illustration]
"What do you say to her masts?" said one; "steamers don't usually
carry so much sail."
"It must be," answered a red-faced quartermaster, "that she relies
more on her sails than on her engine; and if her topsails are of that
size, it's probably because the lower sails are to be laid back. So
I'm sure the _Forward_ is going either to the Arctic or Antarctic
Ocean, where the icebergs stop the wind more than suits a solid ship."
"You must be right, Mr. Cornhill," said a third sailor. "Do you notice
how straight her stem is?"
"Besides," said Mr. Cornhill, "she carries a steel ram forward, as
sharp as a razor; if the _Forward_, going at full speed, should run
into a three-decker, she would cut her in two."
"That's true," answered a Mersey pilot, "for that brig can easily run
fourteen knots under steam. She was a sight to see on her trial trip.
On my word, she's a swift boat."
"And she goes well, too, under sail," continued the quartermaster;
"close to the wind, and she's easily steered. Now that ship is going
to the polar seas, or my name is not Cornhill. And then, see there! Do
you notice that large helm-port over the head of her rudder?"
"That's so," said some of the sailors; "but what does that prove?"
"That proves, my men," replied the quartermaster with a scornful
smile, "that you can neither see nor think; it proves that they wanted
to leave the head of the rudder free, so that it might be unshipped
and shipped again easily. Don't you know that's what they have to do
very often in the ice?"
"You are right," answered the sailors of the _Nautilus_.
"And besides," said one, "the lading of the brig goes to prove what
Mr. Cornhill has said. I heard it from Clifton, who has shipped on
her. The _Forward_ carries provisions for five or six years, and coal
in proportion. Coal and provisions are all she carries, and a quantity
of woollen and sealskin clothing."
"Well," said Mr. Cornhill, "there's no doubt about it. But, my friend,
since you know Clifton, hasn't he told you where she's bound?"
"He couldn't tell me, for he didn't know; the whole crew was shipped
in that way. Where is he going? He won't know till he gets there."
"Nor yet if they are going to Davy Jones's locker," said one scoffer,
"as it seems to me they are."
"But then, their pay," continued the friend of Clifton
enthusiastically,--"their pay! it's five times what a sailor usually
gets. If it had not been for that, Richard Shandon would not have got
a man. A strangely shaped boat, going no one knows where, and as if it
never intended coming back! As for me, I should not have cared to ship
in her."
"Whether you would or not," answered Mr. Cornhill, "you could never
have shipped in the _Forward_."
"Why not?"
"Because you would not have answered the conditions. I heard that
married men were not taken. Now you belong to that class. So you need
not say what you would or would not do, since it's all breath thrown
away."
The sailor who was thus snubbed burst out laughing, as did his
companions, showing in this way that Mr. Cornhill's remarks were true.
"There's nothing but boldness about the ship," continued Cornhill,
well pleased with himself. "The _Forward_,--forward to what? Without
saying that nobody knows who her captain is."
"O, yes, they do!" said a young sailor, evidently a green-hand.
[Illustration]
"What! They do know?"
"Of course."
"My young friend," said Cornhill, "do you think Shandon is the captain
of the _Forward_?"
"Why--" answered the boy.
"Shandon is only the mate, nothing else; he's a good and brave sailor,
an old whaler, a good fellow, able to take command, but he's not the
captain; he's no more captain than you or I. And who, under God, is
going to have charge of the ship, he does not know in the least. At
the proper time the captain will come aboard, I don't know how, and I
don't know where; for Richard Shandon didn't tell me, nor has he leave
to tell me in what direction he was first to sail."
"Still, Mr. Cornhill," said the young sailor, "I can tell you that
there's some one on board, some one who was spoken of in the letter in
which Mr. Shandon was offered the place of mate."
"What!" answered Cornhill, "do you mean to tell me that the _Forward_
has a captain on board?"
"Yes, Mr. Cornhill."
"You tell me that?"
"Certainly, for I heard it from Johnson, the boatswain."
"Boatswain Johnson?"
"Yes, he told me himself."
"Johnson told you?"
"Not only did he tell me, but he showed him to me."
"He showed him to you!" answered Cornhill in amazement.
[Illustration]
"He showed him to me."
"And you saw him?"
"I saw him with my own eyes."
"And who is it?"
"It's a dog."
"A dog?"
"A four-footed dog?"
"Yes."
The surprise of the sailors of the _Nautilus_ was great. Under any
other circumstances they would have burst out laughing. A dog captain
of a one hundred and seventy ton brig! It was certainly amusing
enough. But the _Forward_ was such an extraordinary ship, that one
thought twice before laughing, and before contradicting it. Besides,
Quartermaster Cornhill showed no signs of laughing.
"And Johnson showed you that new sort of captain, a dog?" he said to
the young sailor. "And you saw him?"
"As plainly as I see you, with all respect."
"Well, what do you think of that?" asked the sailors, turning to
Cornhill.
"I don't think anything," he answered curtly, "except that the
_Forward_ is a ship of the Devil, or of fools fit for Bedlam."
Without saying more, the sailors continued to gaze at the _Forward_,
which was now almost ready to depart; and there was no one of them who
presumed to say that Johnson, the boatswain, had been making fun of
the young sailor.
This story of the dog had already spread through the city, and in the
crowd of sight-seers there were many looking for the captain-dog, who
were inclined to believe that he was some supernatural animal.
Besides, for many months the _Forward_ had been attracting the public
attention; the singularity of its build, the mystery which enshrouded
it, the incognito maintained by the captain, the manner in which
Richard Shandon received the proposition of superintending its outfit,
the careful selection of the crew, its unknown destination, scarcely
conjectured by any,--all combined to give this brig a reputation of
something more than strangeness.
For a thoughtful, dreamy mind, for a philosopher, there is hardly
anything more touching than the departure of a ship; the imagination
is ready to follow her in her struggles with the waves, her contests
with the winds, in her perilous course, which does not always end in
port; and if only there is something unusual about her, the ship
appears like something fantastic, even to the least imaginative minds.
So it was with the _Forward_. And if most of the spectators were
unable to make the ingenious remarks of Quartermaster Cornhill, the
rumors which had been prevailing for three months were enough to keep
all the tongues of Liverpool busy.
The brig had been built at Birkenhead, a suburb of the city on the
left bank of the Mersey, and connected with it by numerous
ferry-boats.
The builders, Scott & Co., as skilful as any in England, had received
from Richard Shandon careful plans and drawings, in which the tonnage,
dimensions, and model of the brig were given with the utmost
exactness. They bore proof of the work of an experienced sailor. Since
Shandon had ample means at his command, the work began, and, in
accordance with the orders of the unknown owner, proceeded rapidly.
Every care was taken to have the brig made exceedingly strong; it was
evidently intended to withstand enormous pressure, for its ribs of
teak, an East Indian wood remarkable for its solidity, were further
strengthened by thick iron braces. The sailors used to ask why the
hull of a ship, which was intended to be so strong, was not made of
iron like other steamers. But they were told that the mysterious
designer had his own reasons for having it built in that way.
Gradually the shape of the brig on the stocks could be clearly made
out, and the strength and beauty of her model were clear to the eye of
all competent judges. As the sailors of the _Nautilus_ had said, her
stem formed a right angle with the keel, and she carried, not a ram,
but a steel cutter from the foundry of R. Hawthorn, of Newcastle. This
metallic prow, glistening in the sun, gave a singular appearance to
the brig, although there was nothing warlike about it. However, a
sixteen-pound gun was placed on her forecastle; its carriage was so
arranged that it could be pointed in any direction. The same thing can
be said of the cannon as of her bows, neither were positively warlike.
On the 5th of February, 1860, this strange vessel was successfully
launched in the sight of an immense number of spectators.
[Illustration]
But if the brig was not a man-of-war, nor a merchant-vessel, nor a
pleasure-yacht, for no one takes a pleasure trip with provisions for
six years in the hold, what could she be?
A ship intended for the search of the _Erebus_ and the _Terror_, and
of Sir John Franklin? No; for in 1859, the previous year, Captain
MacClintock had returned from the Arctic Ocean, with convincing proof
of the loss of that ill-fated expedition.
Did the _Forward_ want to try again the famous Northwest Passage? What
for? Captain MacClure had discovered it in 1853, and his lieutenant,
Cresswell, had the honor of first skirting the American continent from
Behring Strait to Davis Strait.
It was nevertheless absolutely certain to all competent observers that
the _Forward_ was preparing for a voyage to icy regions. Was it going
to push towards the South Pole, farther than the whaler Wedell,
farther than Captain James Ross? But what was the use, and with what
intention?
It is easy to see that, although the field for conjecture was very
limited, the imagination could easily lose itself.
The day after the launching of the brig her machinery arrived from the
foundry of R. Hawthorn at Newcastle.
The engine, of one hundred and twenty horse-power, with oscillating
cylinders, took up but little space; its force was large for a vessel
of one hundred and seventy tons, which carried a great deal of sail,
and was, besides, remarkably swift. Of her speed the trial trips left
no doubt, and even the boatswain, Johnson, had seen fit to express his
opinion to the friend of Clifton in these terms,--
"When the _Forward_ is under both steam and sail, she gets the most
speed from her sails."
Clifton's friend had not understood this proposition, but he
considered anything possible in a ship commanded by a dog.
After the engines had been placed on board, the stowage of provisions
began; and that was no light task, for she carried enough for six
years. They consisted of salted and dried meats, smoked fish, biscuit,
and flour; mountains of coffee and tea were deposited in the
store-room. Richard Shandon superintended the arrangement of this
precious cargo with the air of a man who perfectly understood his
business; everything was put in its place, labelled, and numbered with
perfect precision; at the same time there was stowed away a large
quantity of pemmican, an Indian preparation, which contains a great
deal of nutriment in a small compass.
This sort of supply left no doubt as to the length of the cruise; but
an experienced observer would have known at once that the _Forward_
was to sail in polar waters, from the barrels of lime-juice, of lime
lozenges, of bundles of mustard, sorrel, and of cochlearia,--in a
word, from the abundance of powerful antiscorbutics, which are so
necessary in journeys in the regions of the far north and south.
Shandon had doubtless received word to take particular care about this
part of the cargo, for he gave to it especial attention, as well as to
the ship's medicine-chest.
[Illustration]
If the armament of the vessel was small enough to calm the timid
souls, on the other hand, the magazine was filled with enough powder
to inspire some uneasiness. The single gun on the forecastle could not
pretend to require so large a supply. This excited curiosity. There
were, besides, enormous saws and strong machinery, such as levers,
masses of lead, hand-saws, huge axes, etc., without counting a
respectable number of blasting-cylinders, which might have blown up
the Liverpool custom-house. All this was strange, if not alarming, not
to mention the rockets, signals, lights, and lanterns of every sort.
Then, too, the numerous spectators on the quays of the New Prince's
Docks gazed with admiration at a long mahogany whale-boat, a tin canoe
covered with gutta-percha, and a number of halkett-boats, which are a
sort of india-rubber cloaks, which can be inflated and thereby turned
into canoes. Every one felt more and more puzzled, and even excited,
for with the turn of the tide the _Forward_ was to set sail for its
unknown destination.