Chapter 22 Chapter 22: The Rebellion Begins

The people on the "Forward" were taken aback by this unexpected order. "Light it up!" someone said. "For what?" said others. "We've only got two months' worth of coal!" cried Payne. "How do we keep warm in winter?" Clifton asked. "Shall we," said Gripper, "burn the boat to the waterline?" "The mast tucked into the hearth?" answered Warren, "from the third tier to the sub-yard of the sprit?" Shandon looked at Wall steadily.The stunned mechanics hesitated whether to descend into the engine room.

"Did you hear me?" cried the captain angrily. Brenton started toward the hatch; but before going down, he stopped. "Don't go," said a voice. "Who said that?" Hatteras called. "Me!" said Payne, walking up to the captain. "What did you say?" asked the latter. "I said...I said." Payne replied cursingly, "I said we are bored, we are no longer going forward, we don't want to die of exhaustion and freezing in winter, don't light the fire!" "Mr. Sandon," replied Hatteras coldly, "handcuff this man."

"But, Captain," replied Sandon, "this man said..." "This man said it," answered Hatteras, "and if you repeat it, I'll put you in the cabin and guard you!—take this man up, do you hear?" Johnson, Bell, Simpson approached the sailor, who was furious. "Who touches me first!" he cried, grabbing a sledge stick and holding it over his head. Hatteras walked towards him. "Penn," he said in a calm tone. "If you move again, I'll blow your head off!" As he spoke, he took a pistol and walked towards the sailor. Someone muttered.

"Shut up, the rest of you," said Hatteras, "or let this man die!" At this time, Johnson and Bell handed over Payne's tools, and he stopped resisting, obediently being taken to the bilge. "Go, Brenton," said Hatteras. Prover and Warren followed the mechanic down to his station.Hatteras returned to the poop. "What a mean Penn!" said the doctor to him. "No one is nearer to death," said the captain succinctly. Soon the engines were gaining enough pressure; the Forward weighed anchor; and she headed east, toward Cape Beecher, the bow rail breaking up the new ice floes that had formed.

Between Bering Island and Cape Beecher there are a great number of islands stranded in the ice-fields; glaciers crowd the straits in great numbers, and this part of the ocean seems to have been furrowed.At the relatively low temperature they tended to clump together; here and there there were mounds of ice, which were already tighter, denser, more compact, and would soon form an impenetrable mass in the first freeze. The "Forward" was not without extreme difficulty in navigating the course, surrounded by swirling snowflakes.However, the weather in these areas is changeable, with the sun showing its face from time to time; the temperature rises by a few degrees; and as the hot barriers melt, a beautiful stream of water looks fascinating, rushing to where the ice floes used to block the way.The horizon is a majestic orange, and the eyes can rest comfortably from their perpetual whiteness.

On Thursday, July 26, the "Advance" passed Darth Island, and proceeded northward; but it encountered an ice pack, eight or nine feet high, consisting of small icebergs peeling off the coast; it had to Going in a long circle to the west.The incessant cracking of the ice floe and the neighing of the ship formed a miserable sound like sighs and complaints.Finally the ship found a route and moved forward with difficulty: a huge ice floe often made it stand still for several hours; the fog blocked the pilot's sight; as long as he could see one nautical mile ahead, the obstacle could be easily removed; However, in the misty snow mass, the eye usually can't see more than a chain away.Big waves are tiring.

At times, the smooth and delicate clouds took on a peculiar spectacle, as if they were reflected on the ice; and for days the yellowish light could not penetrate the thick fog. There are still many birds, and their calls are hoarse; the seals lie lazily on the drifting ice floe, raise their heads, not panicking, and shake their long necks to the passing boats; the boats rub against them. Passing by the residence of the ship, the iron pieces on the hull that had been rubbed off were thrown there more than once. At last, after six days of such a long voyage, on August 1st Cape Beecher was at last thrown north; The clear sea Stuart saw at latitude 76°20' would not be far off, but as far as Hatteras could see he saw no sign of ice-free polar seas.He went down without saying a word.

"Do you believe in unimpeded oceans?" Sandon asked the lieutenant. "I'm starting to wonder," James Wall replied. "Have I no reason to regard this so-called discovery as a fantasy and a hypothesis? People don't want to believe me, and neither do you, Wall, you once stood against me!" "Everyone will trust you in the future, Shandon." "Yes," replied the latter, "but it is too late." He went back to his cabin, where he had almost always been shut up since his confrontation with the captain. The south wind blew again in the evening.Hatteras puts the sails out; many days the crew has done the most tiring work, always turning the bow to the wind or drifting with the current, or suddenly reefing and stopping the ship; the mast's brackets are abnormal due to the cold Stiff, poor running between jammed pulleys added to fatigue; it took more than a week to reach Barrow Point. The "Forward" did not walk 30 nautical miles in 10 days.

There the wind returned to the north and the propellers were reactivated.Hatteras still hoped to find an open ocean beyond 77° north latitude, as Edward Bilcher had seen with his own eyes. However, according to Benny's narration, the ocean he is crossing should be unimpeded, because after Benny reached the boundary of the ice floes, he identified the Queen's Strait up to 77° north latitude by boat. Should he regard these connections as unreliable?Or is winter coming earlier in the northern regions? On August 15, the perennial snow-covered peaks of the Percy Mountains rose in the fog; the wind was accompanied by hail that crackled like a hail of bullets.The next day, the sun set for the first time, ending a long day without setting.People are used to this permanent light; but the animals are hardly affected; the Greenlanders go about their daily routines, and Duck sleeps every night with regularity, as if the darkness encroached on the horizon.

However, the night after August 15th was not very dark; although the sun had set, it still gave off a certain light by reflection. On the 19th of August, after careful observation, the ship rounded Cape Franklin on the east coast, and Mrs. Franklin Promontory on the west coast; Gratitude, the willingness to have his faithful wife's name appear opposite his, is a touching sign of the narrow sympathy that wishes them to be together forever! The doctor was very moved to see the connection and spiritual harmony between the two capes in this remote place. The doctor, following Johnson's advice, had grown accustomed to enduring low temperatures; he was on deck almost all the time, despite the cold, wind, and snow.His body, though thinner, was not yet affected by the harsh climate.He waited, however, for other risks, and even watched with joy for the early signs of winter.

"Look," he said to Johnson one day, "look at these flocks migrating south! They're literally running away, flapping their wings, and crying goodbye!" "Yes, Mr. Crawburn," answered Johnson; "something told them it was time to go, and they were on their way." "More than one of us, Johnson, would, I believe, imitate theirs!" "These are weak people, Mr. Crawburn; hell! These animals don't have food like we do, and they'll have to look elsewhere! But the sailors have a good ship under their feet, and should go to the end of the world." "Do you believe that Hatteras' plan will be realized?" "He will, Mr. Crawburn." "I think the same as you, Johnson, will he only have one loyal follower left in the end..." "We are two people!" "Yes, Johnson," answered the doctor, shaking the brave sailor's hand. Prince Albert's Land, which the Forward was passing, was also called Grinnell's Land, though Hatteras, out of hatred of the Yankees, would never agree to call it that, but it was usually called that of.This is where the two names came from: when the Englishman Benny named it "Prince Albert", Lieutenant Haven on the "Rescue" named him "Grinnell Domain", for A tribute to the American wholesaler who financed his voyage in New York. The boat circled it, going through a series of unspeakable difficulties, sometimes with its sails and sometimes with its engine. On 18 August, the Bridannia Hills were seen barely discernible through the fog, and the next day the Forward dropped anchor in Northumberland Sound.It is surrounded on all sides.