Chapter 26 Chapter Three Touring the Island
From that day on, it was decided that as long as the weather conditions allowed, its position should be determined, just like a ship sailing.From then on, is this Victoria Island just a big ship without sail, without rudder, blindly drifting, and unsteerable?
The next day, after taking their bearings, Jasper Hobson noticed that the island had not changed its latitude direction, but had drifted a few nautical miles to the west.So he ordered Mike Knapp, a master carpenter, to build a big boat.Jasper Hobson excused that he would like to explore the coastline of Russian America next summer.The carpenter didn't ask much questions, and began to choose the wood, and set the construction site on the sandy beach at the foot of Bathurst Point, so that it would be easier to push the big ship into the sea.
On the same day, Lieutenant Hobson wanted to carry out his plan of investigation, and to survey the area where he and his companions were trapped.Under the influence of fluctuating water temperatures, the topography of this Iceland has changed dramatically, and it is important to determine its current shape, area, and even the thickness of certain sections.The breaking point seems to be on the isthmus, and it should also be carefully observed. On this new breaking point, it may be possible to distinguish the soil and ice conditions of the island land.
But on this day, a thick fog suddenly filled the air, and a strong wind blew again in the afternoon.The sky immediately became cloudy, and it began to rain cats and dogs.Great hailstones crackled on the roofs, and there was even a distant thunderclap--a rare phenomenon at such a high latitude.
Lieutenant Hobson had to postpone the inspection plan, waiting for the wind and rain to subside.However, the weather conditions did not improve on July 20, 21 and 22.The torrential rain was fierce, the sky was dark, and the sea waves crashed against the shore, making deafening noises.The waves crashed on Bathurst Point with such violence that one feared for its soundness, for it was made of accumulated earth and sand, and had no firm foundation.How pitiful it is for a ship to be subjected to such storms and waves on the sea!But the drifting island does not feel the restlessness of the sea, and its great weight makes it indifferent to the fury of the sea.
On the night of July 22-23, the rainstorm stopped suddenly.A gust of wind blowing from the northeast blew away the remaining fog that had accumulated in the sky.The barometer rose a few notches and the weather conditions seemed to be favorable for Lieutenant Hobson's expedition.
Mrs Polina Barnett and Sergeant Long should accompany him on the expedition.They're going out for a day or two, which won't surprise the rest of the station.They therefore prepared dried meat, biscuits, and a few small bottles of schnapps, which would not overburden the explorers' packs.The days are long at this time, and the sun dips below the horizon for only a few hours.
I'm afraid you don't have to be afraid of running into any dangerous animals.Out of instinct, the bear seems to have left Victoria Island during the peninsular period.However, out of an abundance of caution, Jasper Hobson, Sergeant and Paulina Barnett all took their guns.In addition, the lieutenant and sergeant carried axes and snow knives, such things as a traveler in the Arctic never forgets.
During the absence of Lieutenant Hobson and Sergeant Long, command of the fort rested by rank to Corporal Jolliff, that is to say, to his young wife.Jasper Hobson knew he could count on her.As for Thomas Blake, he could not be counted on, and he would not even go on an expedition.However, the astronomers promised to carefully monitor the northern seas in the lieutenant's absence and to note possible changes in the direction of the sea or islands.
Lady Polina Barnett tried to persuade the poor scholar, but he wanted to hear nothing.He believed, with good reason, that he had been fooled by nature, and that he could never forgive her this deception.
After shaking hands and saying good-bye to everyone, Lady Paulina Barnett and her two companions left the fort.Through the side door, going westward, they followed the long curve of the coast from Bathurst Point to Cape Eskimo.
It was eight o'clock in the morning.The sun slanted, and the coast was covered with tawny brilliance, full of vitality everywhere.The last long waves in the sea are gradually subsiding.Birds scattered by the rainstorm, such as thunder picks, sand sparrows, fulmars, and sea owls, also flew back in thousands.A large flock of wild ducks returned to Barnet Lake in a hurry, and swam unknowingly to Mrs. Jolliff's soup pot.Some arctic hares, martens, muskrats, and ferrets got up in front of the explorers and fled away in a calm manner.Animals obviously felt compelled to interact with human society, and they also sensed a common danger.
"They all know that the sea is upon them," said Jasper Hobson, "and they will never leave the island again!"
"Hares and other rodents," asked Mrs. Paulina Barnett, "don't they have the habit of living south before winter?"
"Yes, ma'am," answered Jasper Hobson, "but this time, unless they escape through the ice sheet, they will be stranded on the island like us. Some of them would freeze to death or starve to death."
"I would have thought," said Sergeant Long, "that the animals could provide us with food. We were lucky that they didn't escape instinctively before the isthmus broke."
"But are the birds afraid to leave us?" asked Mrs Paulina Barnett.
"Yes, ma'am," answered Jasper Hobson. "Birds of all kinds fly away in the first cold. They are able to cross the sky without fatigue, and they are luckier than us in being able to return to land."
"Then why not let them be our messengers?" said the Traveler.
"That's a good idea, ma'am, a good idea," said Lieutenant Hobson. "Nothing prevents us from taking hundreds of birds and tying around their necks a piece of paper on which our condition is written. John Ross tried this method in 1848, and Frankson Survivors of the expedition knew that its ships, the Enterprise and the Explorer, were in the Arctic Ocean. He trapped hundreds of white foxes and riveted a copper ring around their necks , engraved with the necessary briefings, and let them go in all directions."
"Perhaps some of these couriers fell into the hands of the victims?" asked Lady Paulina Barnett.
"Perhaps so," answered Jasper Hobson. "Anyway, I remember one of the arctic foxes, caught at a very old age by Captain Hatteras on his expedition, with the half-frayed collar around his neck, caught between white fur .As for us, we can't do it with quadrupeds, we do it with birds!"
So chatting, talking about future plans, the two explorers and their female companion walked along the coast of the island.They don't see any changes.It's still the same coast, so steep, covered with soil and sand, and there is no new change on the shore.What should be feared, however, is the assumption that the bottom of this gigantic floe would melt and reduce its thickness as it passed through warm currents, a hypothesis that worried Jasper Hobson greatly.
11 am.Explorers have covered the eight miles from Bathurst Point to Cape Eskimo.They found traces of Karuma's family camping.A few igloos are gone, of course; but cold ashes and walrus bones still testify to the presence of Eskimos.
Lady Polina Barnett, Jasper Hobson and Sergeant Long rested here for a short night on their way to Walrus Bay, where they planned to be in a few hours.They ate their lunch sitting on a small mound of sparse grass.In front of their eyes was the endless sea, extremely clear.There is neither a sail nor an iceberg on the open sea.
"Would it surprise you, Mr. Hobson," asked Lady Polina Barnett, "if we had a large ship at this moment?"
"Surprised? No, ma'am," replied Lieutenant Hobson, "but I admit that I would happily be a little surprised. During the warm season, whalers from the Bering Strait often come to this latitude, Especially when the arctic ocean turns into a living fish tank for sperm whales and other whales. But we are now on July 23rd and summer is almost over. All fishing boats are now probably in Colesby Sound at the entrance of the channel Well. Whalers have reason to worry about contingencies in the Arctic Ocean. They are afraid of ice floes, and they are afraid of being trapped by ice floes. However, the icebergs, ice streams, and large ice packs that they are so afraid of. Exactly what we were hoping for!"
"These freezes are coming, Lieutenant," replied Sergeant Long. "Let's be patient. In two months, the sea's tides won't be lapping Cape Eskimo again."
"Cape Eskimo!" said Lady Polina Barnett, smiling, "but the name, the designation, and the names we give to the coves and headlands of the peninsula are a little dubious! We have lost Barnet Harbour, the Ballina River, and who knows if Cape Eskimo and Walrus Bay will disappear too?" "They will too, ma'am," answered Jasper Hobson, "and then the whole of Victoria Island It will also disappear, and since there is nowhere to connect it to the mainland, it will surely sink! This result is inevitable, and our geographical names are useless! However, our names have not yet been established. Approved by the Royal Society, and honorable there is no name to be wiped from the map."
"No, one has to be erased!" said the sergeant.
"Which one?" Jasper Hobson asked.
"Bathurst Point," replied the sergeant.
"Indeed, you are right, Sergeant, that Bathurst Point should now be crossed off the map of the North Pole!"
A two-hour break is enough for explorers.At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, they were ready to continue their journey.
Before setting off, Jasper Hobson stood on the top of Cape Eskimo and glanced at the nearby sea.Then, seeing nothing to attract his attention, he came down again and met Mrs Pauline Barnett, who was waiting for him beside the sergeant.
"Ma'am," he said to her, "you haven't forgotten that native family we met here before the end of winter?"
"No, Mr. Hobson," replied the traveller, "I have fond memories of the sweet little Karuma. She even promised to come and see us at Castle Hope, a promise which I fear cannot be fulfilled now." .But why are you talking to me about this?"
"Because I remembered a fact, ma'am, I didn't pay much attention to at the time, and I recall it now."
"What's up?"
"Do you remember the apprehensive surprise of these Eskimos when we saw the station at the foot of Bathurst Point?"
"Exactly, Mr. Hobson."
"Do you remember, too, that I tried to figure it out, to guess what these natives thought, but I couldn't figure it out?"
"Indeed it is."
"Now, then," said Lieutenant Hobson, "I see what they mean by shaking their heads. These Eskimos, by tradition, by experience, and ultimately for some reason, understand the nature and origins of the Victoria Peninsula. They Knowing that we are not built on a solid ground. But, as has been the case for centuries, they did not think of the imminent danger, so they did not explain it more clearly."
"It may be so, Mr. Hobson," replied Pauline Barnett, "but Karuma certainly does not know the misgivings of her companions, and if she had, the poor child would not hesitate tell us."
Lieutenant Hobson agreed with Paulina Barnett on this point.
"It should be admitted that this is fate," said the sergeant. "The time when we settled on this peninsula is just when it will separate from the mainland and go to the sea to wander! Lieutenant, this has been like this for a long time, a very long time !"
"You could say thousands of years, Sergeant Long," Jasper Hobson replied. "Think about it, the green land we are stepping on now is blown by the wind bit by bit, and the sand is also flown by grain by grain! Think how long it takes for these cedar trees, birch trees, and wild strawberries to The trees have just sown their seeds and grown into dense forests! Perhaps this great ice pack that carries us was formed and connected to the continents even before humans appeared on the earth!"
"Then," cried Sergeant Long, "this wayward mass of ice should wait centuries before drifting away! It will save us so much worry, and perhaps so much danger!"
This just thought of Sergeant Long ended the conversation, and the men set off on their way.
From Cape Eskimo to Walrus Bay, the coast is almost a land projection along the 127th meridian, running north-south. Four or five miles behind, you can see the pointed end of the lagoon, reflecting the sun on the lake, and farther away, It is a green hillside surrounding the lake.Several silenced eagles flapped their wings and flew through the air.Many fur animals, minks, and stoats hid behind sandbags, or hid in the sparse wild strawberry and willow bushes, watching the travelers.They seem to know that they are afraid of being shot.Jasper Hobson also vaguely saw a few beavers running around, which probably started after the creek disappeared.They have no thatched nests to hide in now, and no streams to build their nests. Once the freezing season comes, they will have to freeze to death.Sergeant Long also spotted a pack of wolves running wild on the plain.
It may therefore be thought that all the animals of the Arctic are imprisoned on floating islands, and that the predators, when the winter starves them,--because they cannot go to warm places--would make hope The masters of the castle are fearful.
Only—no need to complain about that—Ice Bear doesn't seem to be on the island anymore.But the sergeant thought he could vaguely see a white mass, very large, moving slowly in a birch grove;
The coastal area next to Walrus Bay is generally not much higher than sea level.There are a few places that are even level with the water surface, and the waves hit the shore with foam, as if they have overflowed the beach. I am afraid that the ground on this part of the island has recently dropped, but there are no detection points, so it is impossible to identify whether there has been a change. How much has changed.Jasper Hobson regretted making a few marks around Bathurst Point before coming out, which would enable him to record the dips and subsidences of the coast.He decided to take this measure when he went back.
No matter whether it is a lieutenant, a sergeant, or a female traveler, no one can go fast in such an investigation.Often they stopped and surveyed the ground to see if there was any opening in the shore, and sometimes the explorers had to go as far as half a mile inside the island.In some places the sergeant had erected willow or birch branches to serve as test stakes at a later date, especially in places where the scour was deep, and their firmness seemed to be somewhat questionable.This way, it is easy to see possible changes later.
Still, the men were on their way, and by 3 p.m. they were only three miles from Walrus Bay to the south.Jasper Hobson had been able to show Lady Paulina Barnett the changes wrought by the rupture of the isthmus, great changes indeed.
Once upon a time the southwestern horizon was a long, slightly rounded coastline, the vast coast of Liverpool Bay.Now, at the end of the horizon is just a waterline.The land disappeared.Victoria Island cuts off abruptly at a broken angle right at the crack.Passing this broken corner, the boundless sea loomed before us, covering the whole southern part of the formerly solid island from Walrus Bay to Washipane Bay.
Lady Polina Barnet watched the new look with some excitement.She knew it would be like this, but her heart was still beating violently.She looked for the land in the sky with her eyes, which was more than two hundred nautical miles behind her, and she really felt that she was no longer stepping on the land of America.To any sensitive person this need not be emphasized, and Jasper Hobson and the sergeant were as thrilled as their female companions.
Everyone hastened their pace in order to reach the Broken Corner, which still shaded the south.This part of the coast is slightly elevated, and the layers of soil and sand are thicker, which shows that the part which formerly joined the island is closely related to the real land, and is inseparable from it.The thickness of the ice and formations at this junction, which I am afraid is increasing every century, explains why the isthmus is able to withstand the phenomena of geological change without breaking.The earthquake of January 8, which shook only the American continent, was enough to shatter the peninsula, subjecting it to the vicissitudes of the sea thereafter.
Finally, at 4 o'clock, the broken corner arrived.The crescent-shaped walrus bay formed by the land is gone and it remains on the mainland.
"Honestly, ma'am," Sergeant Long said gravely to the traveler, "it's a good thing we don't call it Polina Barnet Bay!"
"Indeed," replied Lady Paulina Barnett, "I am beginning to believe that my name is not a proper geographical name."
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