Chapter 23 Chapter XXIII The Solar Eclipse of July 18, 1860

The fog still hasn't dissipated.The sun hung in a curtain of milky fog, making astronomers extremely anxious about his eclipse.At times, the fog was so thick that the top of the headland could not be seen even from the fort yard. Lieutenant Hobson was growing concerned.He concluded that the party sent by Relinesburg had lost their way in this wilderness.Again, a vague apprehension, a sad premonition haunted him.This resolute man was always worried about his future.why?He couldn't tell either.However, everything seems to be fine.Despite the difficult winter, the whole settlement is in good health.There is no barrier between fellows, and these brave men work with passion and diligence.There is a lot of prey here, and the fur is also rich. The company can only be satisfied with their achievements.Even if Fort Hope is not supplied, the abundant resources here will allow them not to worry too much about another winter.So why was Lieutenant Hobson so lacking in confidence?

Mrs Paulina Barnet had spoken to him more than once on the subject.The traveler did her best to comfort him and persuade him with the above reasons.On this day, walking with him on the seashore, she firmly defended the cause of Bathurst Point and Commercial Station, which was created through hard work. "Yes, ma'am, yes, you are right," replied Jasper Hobson, "but one cannot control premonitions! I am not a man of hallucinations. Many times in my soldier career I have I am in a critical moment, and I am never worried. For the first time, then, the future worries me! If I were faced with a real danger, I would not be afraid. But it is a vague, Uncertain danger, I just have a hunch!..."

"What is the danger?" asked Mrs. Paulina Barnett. "What are you afraid of, men, animals, or circumstances?" "Animals? Not at all," replied the Lieutenant. "Should be animal hunters from Cape Bathurst. People? No. Only a few Eskimos come here occasionally, Indians seldom come..." "I would draw your attention, Mr. Hobson," added Mrs. Polina Barnett, "that these Canadians, whom you feared would come again for the warm season, did not come—" "I'm sorry, ma'am!" "What! You regret that these competitors are not here? They are obviously against the company."

"Ma'am," replied the Lieutenant, "I'm both sorry and not sorry! . . . It's hard to explain! Please note that the convoy from Fort Reliance was supposed to arrive and it didn't. Likewise, the St. Louis Fur Company Should have come or not. Not even an Eskimo visited this summer..." "Then your conclusion is ... Mr. Hobson?" asked Mrs. Polina Barnett. "That is to say, perhaps it is not so easy for people to come to Bathurst Point and Fort Hope, madam!" The female traveler looked at Lieutenant Hobson with worry on his brows, emphasizing the word "easy" in a strange tone!

"Lieutenant Hobson," she said to him, "since you have no fear of animals or people, I should take it to be the circumstances of your life..." "Ma'am," answered Jasper Hobson, "I don't know whether it's my nerves, or my premonition, that this place seems strange to me. If I'd known it, I think, I don't want to." Will position myself here. I have called your attention to some oddities that I find unexplainable, such as the absolute absence of stones in the whole lot, and the coastal section is so clear! The original formation of this continental strip is also unclear to me! I know The proximity of volcanoes produces certain phenomena... Please remember what I told you about the tides."

"I quite remember, Mr. Hobson." "Over the sea, according to the observations of the explorers, the high tide should raise fifteen or twenty feet, and it only rises by nearly a foot!" "Probably so," replied Lady Paulina Barnett, "but you explain that it is due to the peculiar terrain and the narrowness of the channel..." "I have tried to explain that, that's all!" replied Lieutenant Hobson, "but the day before yesterday I noticed an even more incredible phenomenon which I cannot explain to you, nor, I suspect, the most knowledgeable scholar. Make it clear."

Lady Polina Barnet looked at Jasper Hobson. "What happened?" she asked him. "The day before yesterday, ma'am, was a full moon, and the tide, according to the almanac, was great! And yet, the sea didn't rise even a foot as before! It didn't rise at all!" "You may be mistaken!" suggested Mrs. Polina Barnett to the lieutenant. "I'm not mistaken, I observed it myself. The day before yesterday was the 4th of July, and there was zero tide rise. Absolutely no tide at Bathurst Point Marina!" "And what conclusions do you draw, Mr. Hobson? . . . " asked Mrs. Polina Barnett.

"I have come to the conclusion, ma'am," replied the lieutenant, "that either there has been a change in the laws of nature, or ... that this place is in a special position ... or rather, I cannot come to a conclusion ... I cannot explain ... I do not understand ...and ... I'm concerned!" Lady Polina Barnett no longer presses Lieutenant Hobson.Obviously, this complete absence of tides is unexplained and supernatural, as if the sun were not visible on the meridian at noon.Unless it is an earthquake that completely changes the configuration of the coastal and arctic regions... But this assumption cannot satisfy a person who strictly observes continental phenomena.

As for the suggestion that the Lieutenant might have been wrong in his observations, that is also unacceptable. On the same day, July 6, Mrs. Polina Barnett and he noticed by looking at marks on the shore that a year earlier the tide had risen by at least A foot, and now it's gone, zero elevation! The results of this observation were kept confidential.Lieutenant Hobson had good reason to think that there should be no apprehension in the spirits of his companions.But he was often seen alone, speechless, motionless, on the top of the headland, gazing at the open sea that lay before him. In July, the hunting of fur animals was forced to stop.Minks, foxes and other animals have lost their winter coats.Hunting is limited to edible game, Canadian deer, arctic hares, and others, which, out of curious inclinations, -- Mrs Paulina Barnett also noticed, -- all congregate at Bathurst Point Nearby, although the gunfire gradually distanced them.

On July 15, it was business as usual.No news from Relinesburg.The waiting convoy didn't show up either.Jasper Hobson decided to carry out his plan, and sent for the Captain, since the Captain's men were not coming here. Naturally, the leader of this team can only be Sergeant Long.The sergeant didn't want to leave the lieutenant.True, the parting would be longer this time, since it was impossible to return to Fort Hope before next summer, and the sergeant would have to spend the winter at Reliancesburg.Therefore, leave for at least 8 months.Mike Knapp and Ray could of course have taken the place of Sergeant Long, but these two brave men were married.In addition, Mike Knapp is a carpenter and Ray is a blacksmith. The business station needs them and their work cannot be missed.

This was the reason Lieutenant Hobson put forward, and the sergeant obeyed "firmly".As for the four soldiers who accompanied him, they were Belcher, Pound, Peterson, and Cayley, and they all claimed to be ready to go at any moment. Four sledges and dogs are ready for the journey.They had to bring food and furs, and some of the most precious furs were chosen: fox, ermine, mink, swan, lynx, muskrat, wolverine.The departure date was set for the early morning of July 19, the day after the eclipse.It goes without saying that Thomas Blake went with the sergeant, and that one of the sledges contained his instruments and himself. Admittedly, the venerable scholar was unlucky while anxiously awaiting the eclipse.The weather was sunny and cloudy, there was too much fog, the air was rainy and humid, the wind changed back and forth, never fixed, and all this made him extremely uneasy.He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep, he couldn't live.If during the few minutes the eclipse lasted, the sky was clouded with fog, if both the moon and the sun were hidden behind a milky veil, if he Thomas Blake,--who came for this eclipse,--neither How depressing it must be to see the corona and not see the reddish prominences!I have suffered so much in vain!So many dangers in vain! "Looking at the moon from so far!" his voice was mournfully funny, "and seeing nothing!" No!He can't think like that!As soon as it was dark, the venerable scholar climbed to the top of the headland and looked at the sky.At this moment, he couldn't comfort himself by looking at the blond Phoebe.The moon is three days away from new moon; she accompanies the sun, orbits the earth, and disappears in the sun's radiation. Thomas Blake used to confide his sorrows to Lady Polina Barnett.The good woman could not help pity him, and one day she tried to comfort him as best she could, assuring him that the barometer was heating up, and telling him repeatedly that it was the right time of year! "Good season!" cried Thomas Blake, shrugging his shoulders. "There will be good seasons in this place!" "But, Mr. Blake," replied Polina Barnitov, "if you're unlucky and you don't see a solar eclipse, I guess there will be one later! The 18th of July will probably not be the one of this century. for the last time!" "No, ma'am," replied the astronomer, "no. After this one, there were five more total solar eclipses by 1900: the first, on December 31, 1861, was visible in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Sahara Desert. Total solar eclipse; the second was on December 22, 1870, and was visible in the Azores, southern Spain, Algeria, Sicily, and Turkey; the third was on August 19, 1887, in northeastern Germany, Total eclipse visible in southern Russia and Central Asia; fourth on August 9, 1896, visible in Greenland, Raponi, and Siberia; last on May 28, 1900, fifth in the United States, Spain A total solar eclipse will be visible from Algeria, Egypt, and Egypt." "Well, Mr. Blake," continued Lady Paulina Barnett, "if you missed the eclipse of July 18, 1860, you can find compensation in the eclipse of December 31, 1861! Also Only seventeen months!" "To make it up to me, ma'am," replied the astronomer gravely, "I shall have to wait not seventeen months, but twenty-six years!" "why?" "Because, of all these eclipses, only one, the one of August 9, 1896, could be seen as total at high latitudes, such as Raponi, Siberia, or Greenland!" "So what's the point of looking at such high latitudes?" asked Dame Paulina Barnett. "What's the point, ma'am!" exclaimed Thomas Blake, "of great scientific importance. Solar eclipses and seldom observed near the poles, where the sun is at a constant distance from the horizon, appear to be a gigantic disk. And the moon that covers it, too, so in this case the study of the corona and prominences has the potential to be more comprehensive! That's why, ma'am, I'm going to observe areas above the 70 degree line. However , these conditions will not be recreated until 1896! Can you guarantee that I will live until then?" There is nothing to say about this.So Topas Black was still very unlucky, for the vagaries of the weather threatened to be against him. On July 16, the weather was excellent.But the next day was the opposite, cloudy and foggy.Really hopeless.Thomas Blake was really sick this day.For some time he had been living with heat, which could have turned into a real illness.Lady Polina Barnett and Jasper Hobson reassured him in vain.As for Sergeant Long and others, they don't understand that "Love Moon" will be so unlucky! The next day, July 18, the big day finally arrived. . "What do I want?" the astronomer cried pitifully, pulling his hair, "I just want a corner of the blue sky, a small place, a small place where I can see the solar eclipse, that is, a blue sky without a cloud. How long will it take?" Just four minutes! Then, snow, thunder, whatever, I don't care any more than a snail cares about seconds!" Thomas Blake had reason to be frustrated.It seems that the observation is going to be missed.At sunrise, a thick fog hangs over the horizon.A large cloud was rising to the south, exactly where the eclipse was supposed to occur.But it must have been the astronomer's spirit that took pity on poor Blake, for, just before eight o'clock, a strong wind came from the north and blew the sky clean! what!What a cry of gratitude, what a moving cheer from the heart of a respectable scholar!The sky is clear and the sun is bright, just waiting for the moon, which is still hidden from the sun's radiation, to slowly cover it! Tobas Black's instruments were immediately carried atop the headland and installed.Then, astronomers aimed their lenses at the southern horizon and waited.He had regained the usual patience and calm that observation required.What is he afraid of now?Nothing to be afraid of, as long as the sky doesn't fall down! At 9 o'clock, there is no cloud, no fog, no sky, no sky!Astronomical observations have never encountered such favorable conditions! Jasper Hobson and his comrades, Lady Paulina Barnett and her companions, all wanted to observe.The whole settlement would gather at Bathurst Point, surrounding the astronomer.As the sun rose gradually, it drew a long rainbow and hung over the plain to the south.No one uttered a word, and the people waited solemnly and anxiously. Shortly before 9:30, the solar eclipse began.The moon disc bites the sun disc.But the time when the moon completely covers the sun should be between 11:43:15 and 11:47:57.This is the total eclipse time specified in the ephemeris, and everyone knows it. It has been calculated, verified, and tested by scholars from observatories all over the world, and there is absolutely no mistake. Thomas Blake brought in his astronomer's bag some pieces of black glass which he distributed among his companions, so that each could watch the eclipse without hurting his eyes. The brown moon disc moved slowly forward.Everything on the ground has been dyed a special orange-yellow.The atmosphere of the sky also changed color. At a quarter past ten, half of the sun went dark.A few wandering dogs came and went, looking uneasy, and sometimes barking miserably.The wild ducks stayed motionless by the lake, quacking and squawking, looking for a suitable place to sleep.The female bird is calling for her offspring, and hastened to hide under her wings.For these animals, night is coming and it is time to sleep. At 11 o'clock, the sun was covered by two-thirds.Everything was stained wine red.It's already semi-dark, and within four minutes of totality, it will become completely dark.There are several planets appearing in the sky, such as Mercury, Venus, and some constellations, such as Auriga, Taurus, Gamma Orchid.The darkness grew thicker by the minute. With eyes glued to the telescope, Thomas Blake, motionless and silent, watched the progress of the eclipse. At 11:43, the two disks should be completely coincident. "11:43," said Jasper Hobson, staring intently at the second hand of his stopwatch. Thomas Blake leaned over the instrument, motionless.half a minute passed... Thomas Blake straightened up, his eyes widened.Then, he leaned over the telescope again, stayed there for half a minute, and straightened up again: "She's gone! She's gone!" he shouted in a choked voice. "The moon, the moon is gone, she's gone!" Indeed, the disc of the moon slid onto the disc of the sun without completely covering it!Only cover two-thirds of the sun body! Thomas Blake was thrown back into confusion and amazement!Four minutes passed, and the light gradually returned.The corona was not created! "What's the matter?" Jasper Hobson asked. "That's right!" cried the astronomer, "the eclipse is not total, not complete in this part of the earth! You hear me! No-total!!" "Then your ephemeris is wrong!" "Wrong! Forget it! Go tell someone else about it, Monsieur Lieutenant!" "Then..." cried Jasper Hobson, with a sudden change in his countenance. "Then," replied Thomas Blake, "we are not on the seventieth parallel!" "Damn it!" exclaimed Lady Polina Barnett. "We'll find out soon!" said the astronomer, his eyes flashing with anger and frustration. "In a few minutes, the sun will pass the meridian... My sextant, quick! Get it!" A soldier ran back into the room and fetched the sextant. Thomas Blake aimed the sun, watched it pass the meridian, and then, lowering the sextant, was doing quick numerical calculations in his notebook. "Where is Bathurst Point," he asked, "and what was the latitude measured when we first arrived a year ago?" "It's 70 degrees, 44 minutes and 37 seconds!" Lieutenant Hobson replied. "So, sir, it is 73 degrees, 7 minutes and 20 seconds! You see, we are not on the seventieth parallel. . . . " "Or, we're not on the line now!" muttered Lieutenant Jasper Hobson. He understood it all at once!Those phenomena that have been unexplained until now can be explained! ... Cape Bathurst has "drifted" three degrees north since Lieutenant Hobson and the others arrived here!

---

Notes: