Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen: Hatteras' Plan

The appearance of this brave figure brought different feelings to the crew: some people completely sided with him, out of love of money or bravery, others were determined to take risks, and reserved their right to resist until the end. It seemed difficult to deal with such a person, and everyone returned to their respective posts. May 20th was Sunday, the day of rest for the crew. The captain convened a committee of officers, which consisted of Hatteras, Sandon, Wall, Johnson, and the doctor. "Gentlemen," said the captain, in his customary gentle and dignified voice, "you are aware of my plans to go to the Pole, and I would like to know your opinion on the matter. What do you think, Sandon?"

"I have no opinion, Captain," replied Sandon coldly, "just obey orders." Hatteras wasn't surprised by the answer. "Richard Sandon," he went on, equally coldly, "I ask you to tell me the probability of our success." "Well, Captain," replied Sandon, "the facts speak for me. Such ventures have so far been unsuccessful, and I wish we had more luck." "We will. What do you think, gentlemen?" "It seems to me," said the doctor, "that your plan is feasible, Captain, and since it is obvious that voyagers will one day reach the North Pole, I cannot see why this cannot be accomplished by us. "

"And there is reason for us to do it, because we have taken measures for it, and we can use the experience of our predecessors. And in this, Shandon, please accept my acknowledgment of your toil in equipping the ship. Thank you, there are a few black apples in the crew, I'll let them behave, but on the whole I have nothing but praise for you." Shandon bowed grimly. He thought he had command on the "Forward", but it turned out to be nothing.Hatteras understood this, and did not insist any longer. "As for you, gentlemen," he said, turning to Wall and Johnson, "I can't vouch for a braver or more experienced officer than you!"

"Indeed! I am one of your men, Captain," answered Johnson; "though your conduct seems a little bold to me, you can always count on me." "Count on me, too," James Wall said. "As for you, Doctor, I know your worth." "Well, you know more than I do," said the doctor enthusiastically. "Now, gentlemen," Hatteras went on, "you should know a few irrefutable facts that support my claims of reaching the pole. In 1817, the 'Neptune' from Aberdeen sailed to Spitspel The place at latitude 82 in the north of Root Island. In 1826, after the famous Barry sailed three times in the polar ocean, he also set off from the headland of Spitsbergen Island by sled and boat to the north of 150 nautical miles. In 1852 , Captain Eaglefield followed Smith's road as far as latitude 78° 35' N. All these ships were British, under British command, and all our countrymen."

Hatteras paused at this point. "I should add," he went on, with an awkward expression on his face, as if the words could not be said, "I should add that in 1854 the American Kane commanded the 'March' to a much latitude Gao, his Lieutenant Moulton crossed the ice field and steered the American ship beyond the 82nd latitude. Having said this, I will not mention it. However, it should be known that the 'Neptune', 'The Cause' The captains of the SS, the Isabella, and the Forward all observed that from these high latitudes there is a polar submarine basin completely free of floating ice."

"No ice floe!" cried Shandon, interrupting the captain. "This is impossible!" "You will notice, Shandon," continued Hatteras calmly, with a twinkle in his eye, "that I will give you facts and names which are sufficient evidence, and I will add that, in 1851, the During Captain Nee's mooring in the Wellington Strait, his Lieutenant Stuart also found that he was facing an unimpeded sea. This strange phenomenon was confirmed by Sir Edward Bilcher, who was at Northumberland in 1853 De Bay winters at latitude 76°52' and longitude 99°20'; these reports are unquestionable, and it would be insincere not to accept them."

"But, Captain," continued Sandon, "these facts are so contradictory..." "Wrong, Sandon, wrong!" cried Dr. Croubney. "These facts do not contradict any scientific facts. The captain will let me tell you." "Speak, doctor!" Hatteras replied. "Well, listen to this, Sandon: It is evident from geographical facts and the study of isotherms that the coldest place on earth is not at the pole; it is many degrees from the pole, like the magnetic point. Likewise , the calculations of Brewster, Bergheim, and several physicists proved that there are two cold spots in our hemisphere: one in Asia at latitude 79°30′ north and longitude 120° east; the other at latitude 78° north in America Longitude 97° West, the latter is where we are, you see, Shandon, it is 12° below the Pole, well, I ask you, why is there no sea at the Pole like it does in summer at 66° N Ice floes, that is to say south of Baffin Bay?"

"Well said," replied Johnson, "Mr. Crowburne talks like a professional." "It's quite possible," James Wall added. "It's just wild thinking, subjective assumptions! Pure assumptions!" Sandon retorted stubbornly. "Well, Shandon," continued Hatteras, "consider two cases: either the ocean is free of ice, or the opposite. In both cases, nothing can prevent us from going to the Pole. If the sea If there is no ice floe, the 'Forward' will carry us there without difficulty, and if there is ice floe, we will venture by sledge. You must admit that it is not impossible, once we are in the 83° north latitude, We are no more than six hundred miles from the pole."

"What is the six hundred miles," said the doctor excitedly, "it is true that a Cossack, Alexi Markov, spent 24 days on a dog sled along the southern coast of Russia on the frozen ocean. 800 nautical miles?" "You hear me, Shandon," replied Hatteras, "tell me, is the Englishman no better than a Cossack?" "No, never!" said the quick-tempered doctor. "No, never!" repeated the bosun. "And Shandon?" asked the captain. "Captain," replied Sandon coldly, "I can only repeat what I said to you at first: I obey."

"Okay. Now," Hatteras went on, "thinking about our situation, we're stuck with ice floes, and I don't see much chance of going to Smith Strait this year, and that's what we're supposed to do." Hatteras spread out on the table the exquisite map published by order of the Admiralty in 1859. "Follow me, I beg you. If Smith Strait traps us, it is not the case in Longcut Strait on the west coast of the Baffin Sea. I think we should follow this strait up to Barrow Strait, and from there to Belgian Strait." Qi Dao, we head north along the Wellington Strait, the sooner the better, until we reach the exit of the channel connecting the Wellington Strait and the Queen's Strait, that is, where we can see the sea without ice floes. And, we are on May 20 , in another month, and if things go our way, we'll get to that point, and from there we'll be heading for the pole. What do you think, gentlemen?"

"Obviously," Johnson replied, "that's the only way to go." "Well, let's go this way and start tomorrow. Sunday will be regarded as a day of rest. You, Shandon, are responsible for supervising the normal operation of the chanting. These religious ceremonies can save people's minds, especially A sailor should trust in God." "There, Captain," said Sandon, and he went out with the lieutenant and bosun. "Doctor," said John Hatteras, pointing to Sandon, "this is an offended man. Pride has ruined him. I can no longer count on him." The next day, early in the morning, the captain had the canoe put into the sea, and he went to determine the iceberg at the anchorage, which was no more than 182 meters wide.He also noted that this anchorage was in danger of shrinking due to the slow pressure of the iceberg, and that a gap should be opened quickly, or the ship would be crushed by this vise-like iceberg, adopted from John Hatteras It can be seen from the method that he is a man of firm will. He first cut some steps in the ice wall, and then came to the top of an iceberg, from which he saw that it would be easy to make a road to the southwest.In accordance with his orders, the sailors drilled a hole in the center of the hill, and the work was soon set in motion, and was completed on Monday. Hatteras could not rely on the eight- or ten-pound blaster, which was of no use against icebergs of this magnitude; it was only useful in breaking up the ice sheet.He had a thousand pounds of powder placed in the bore, whose direction of blast had been carefully calculated, and which contained a long twisted cord wrapped in gutta-percha, with force reaching the outside.The roads to the emplacements were filled with snow and ice, and the cold of the next night made them as hard as granite.All in all, the temperature dropped to -11°C due to the easterly wind. At seven o'clock the next day, the "Forward" started the steam engine and prepared to use all the exits. Johnson was responsible for lighting the explosives. It was calculated that the twisted rope had burned for half an hour before igniting the gunpowder.Johnson had plenty of time to return to the ship.In the end, he completed Hatteras' order in ten minutes and returned to his post. The crew stood on deck, the weather was dry and sunny, the snow had stopped.Hatteras stood on the poop with Sandon and the doctor, counting the time with a stopwatch. At 8:35, there was a dull explosion, much quieter than people imagined, the outline of the iceberg suddenly changed, as if an earthquake had occurred, and a thick white smoke rose High in the sky, long cracks appeared on the mountain, and the high part was thrown far away, falling around the "Forward" and breaking into pieces. But the road has not been cleared, and the huge slab of ice is supported on the adjacent iceberg and hangs in the air.People feared that the ice wall would collapse and close again. Hatteras surveyed the situation. "Wolson!" he yelled. The officer came running. "Captain!" he said. "Triple charge the front cannons," said Hatteras, "as strong as possible." "Are we going to shell the iceberg?" asked the doctor. "No," answered Hatteras, "it won't do any good, not shells, Watson, but triple powder. Do it quickly." After a while, the cannon was loaded with gunpowder. "What if there are no shells?" Sandon whispered. "Look and see," replied the doctor. "We're ready, Captain," Wallson called. "Good," Hatteras replied. "Brenton!" he called to the mechanic. "Attention, there are seracs ahead!" Brenton opened the intake valve, the propellers began to move, and the "Forward" approached the blown iceberg. "See the way!" cried the captain to the quartermaster. The latter obeyed the order.When the ship was only half a chain away, Hatteras called out: "Fire!" As he gave an order, there was a loud noise, and the ice cubes that were shaken by the atmosphere suddenly fell into the sea one after another.The shaking of the atmosphere was enough for this. "Put on, Brenton!" Hatteras called. "Just straight on, Johnson!" With Johnson at the helm, the boat speeding along the clear road, propelled by the propeller against the frothy waves, the time was ripe. The Forward just passed the exit, and the breach sealed behind it. It was a very exciting moment, and there was only one person on board whose heart was firm and peaceful, and that was the heart of the captain.The whole crew woke up from their work and couldn't help shouting: "Hurrah, John Hatteras!"