Chapter 52 Chapter 20 Footprints in the Snow

The Fourth of July slid through thick fog all day. The road to the north became arduous; every moment had to be exacted.Fortunately nothing happened in the dark; only Bell's snowshoes were lost, having been accidentally smashed against a ledge during the trip. "By God!" said Johnson, "I thought I'd be able to show off a lot after I got through the fog of Morise and Taze, and it turns out I was wrong!" "Then," Bale responded, "we should light the torch as we did in London or Liverpool!" "Why not?" praised the doctor. "It's a good idea! The torches may not do much to light the way, but at least they will allow us to see our guides clearly and allow us to walk more accurately."

"What can be used to make a torch?" Bell asked. "Soak waste cotton with alcohol and fix it on the top of our support stick." "Brilliant," Johnson applauded, "and, besides, it's not hard to do." A quarter of an hour later, under the illumination of the flames, a small team was walking in the dense darkness. Even if they rush forward without stopping, it is impossible to go fast.The gray mist was unlikely to disperse before the sixth of July; the ground grew colder, and the northerly wind swept in, tearing the mist to shreds. Soon, the doctor measured the position and found that the travelers only traveled an average of eight miles a day in this thick fog.

On July 6th, everyone was eager to make up for the lost time, and got up early in the morning to hurry.Altamon and Bell were back at the vanguard, drilling the ground and searching for game; Duck was with them; In addition, the doctor saw their every move clearly. Surprisingly, suddenly, they stopped and stood dumbfounded; it seemed that they were looking nervously into the distance, with an expression that seemed to be asking for the horizon. After that, he bent down, inquired carefully, and stood up in surprise.Bell expressed his desire to rush up to see what happened; but was held back by Altamon.

"Ah! Here! What are they doing?" asked the doctor to Johnson. "I want to know the answer as much as you do, Mr. Crawburn," replied the old sailor. "I don't understand their posture at all." "They found animal footprints," Hatteras explained. "That may not be right," corrected the doctor. "why?" "Because Duck is barking!" "But they were looking at footprints." "Go ahead," suggested Hatteras, "and find out soon." Johnson drives the hounds pulling the cart to make them go faster.

Twenty minutes later, the five travelers gathered, and Hatteras, the Doctor, and Johnson were soon as surprised as Bell and Altamon. In fact, they are human footprints, which are clearly discernible, unmistakable, fresh as if they were printed the day before yesterday, scattered in the snow. "It's what the Eskimos left behind," Hatteras said. "Indeed, you see, here are their snowshoe prints," replied the doctor. "You really think so?" asked Altamon. "One hundred percent correct!" "So, this footprint?" Altamon pointed to another footprint that had been repeated many times.

"This footprint?" "You think they're Eskimos?" The doctor was stunned after looking carefully; European-style leather shoes with spikes, the soles and heels were once deeply embedded in the snow; no one could doubt that a man, a stranger, had passed by here. "The Europeans have been here!" exclaimed Hatteras. "Obviously," echoed Johnson. "However, this is unbelievable and must be confirmed before asserting it." The doctor concluded. After investigations over and over again, the doctor finally had to accept that it originated from the astonishing place of Europe.

If Daniel Defoe's hero, on his isolated island, finds a footprint buried deep in the sand, experiences not only consternation and fear, but here Hatteras feels even more strongly the annoyance.How close are Europeans to the North Pole! In order to better identify them, everyone continued to track forward.These footprints, mixed with other snowshoe and moccasin prints, turned to the west after extending straight for more than 400 meters. At the fork, the traveler asks himself whether he should continue to follow the footprints. "No need," Hatteras ordered. "let's go……"

The doctor's exclamation interrupted their conversation.The doctor had just picked up a more convincing item from the snow, the lens of a pocket telescope.In this way, their origin becomes clear. "This time," said he, "there is no longer any doubt that a stranger has actually been here! . . . " "Go on!" Hatteras dropped the words. He spoke so harshly that everyone followed him wordlessly; and after a short pause the team resumed their journey. Everyone was staring intently at the horizon, except Hatteras, sulking and looking at nothing.However, since people were afraid of falling into the hands of a traveling party, they had to be extremely cautious; and, besides, it was not a happy thing to have to hurry on this strange road!Although the doctor, who was always naturally optimistic, didn't feel as angry as Hatteras, he couldn't help but feel a little bit depressed.Altamon also looked annoyed, with Johnson and Bell muttering expletives.

"Come on, let's face it squarely!" said the doctor. "It has to be admitted," Johnson said, ignoring Altamon's feelings. "If the place we seek has already been conquered, there will be no fun in the North Pole!" "However," Bell continued to express his opinion, "There is no way to doubt..." "No!" said the doctor, "I just turned around in my head, and I kept comforting myself that this is impossible, impossible, but I must admit the fact; if this pair of shoes were not worn on one pair of legs, the pair of shoes If the legs weren't attached to a human body, they wouldn't automatically be engraved in the snow. If it was really an Eskimo, I can forgive you, but it's a European!"

"The truth is," Johnson said, "it would be more heart-wrenching if our travelers at the pole of the world found out that the beds were booked!" "It will be heart-wrenching!" said Altamon. "Well, let's see!" The crowd began to move again. Every new thing discovered that day in this new America confirmed the presence of strangers in it.In the evening, the team finally selected a campsite. A rather violent gale swept in from the North Pole, so it was necessary to find a safe place at the bottom of the ditch in which to pitch the tent; kind of a dance; occasionally the mist drags the ground loosely.In this case, it is really difficult to make the tent withstand the storm.

"It's going to be a terrible night," Johnson said after dinner. "It won't be cold at night, but it will be noisy and chaotic," said the doctor. "We have to strengthen our defenses, especially using big rocks to hold down the back corner of the tent." "It makes sense," said Mr. Croubney, "that if a storm takes our tent away, God will know where to get it back." After laying out more detailed protective measures, the travelers tried to lie down and sleep.However, this gradually turned into their extravagant hope-the storm came, and it rushed up from south to north with an incomparably fierce offensive.The clouds fled in all directions, spreading in the air like steam from a newly exploded boiler.In the end, the mudslide rushed towards the torrent with the posture of a hurricane, and the dull echoes came from all directions. It seemed that a drama was being staged in the atmosphere, filled with a desperate battle between air and water, but the only one in the war There is no fire. Overwhelmed hearing discerned particular sounds from the general rumble.It is not the noisy sound accompanied by heavy falling objects, but the crisp tearing and popping sound after the object is broken; people can accurately distinguish the popping sound, impact sound, clattering sound, and booming sound, just like the steel foil snapping suddenly. , the rumble in the storm. This phenomenon can be explained by the object being broken off by the avalanche and then swept up and thrown down by the cyclone, but the doctor does not know what to say about other phenomena. Taking advantage of the heart-wrenching silence during which the hurricane seemed to breathe again to roar in with greater force, the travelers traded their guesses. "The impact and collision are happening right in front of our eyes, just like the collision between icebergs and ice sheets," the doctor said. "Yes," Altamon replied. "It's like the earth's crust is being smashed away. Hey, are you listening?" "If we were near the ocean, I would really think it was an ice tear," the doctor responded. "Actually, the sound can be interpreted in another way," Johnson replied. "We're nearing the coast, aren't we?" asked Hatteras. "It's not impossible," the doctor speculated. "Listen, after a violent tearing sound, could it be the breaking of ice floes? We are probably very close to the surface of the ocean." "If that's the case," said Hatteras excitedly, "then I'll dive into the ocean and cross the ice without hesitation." "Oh!" said the doctor, "perhaps after such a storm, if anything is broken, we'll see to-morrow; in any case, if there is any traveling party traveling on such a night, I will give them my deepest condolences." pity." The hurricane blew non-stop for ten hours, and none of the tent occupants could rest for a moment, and the whole night was spent in this extreme anxiety. In fact, the same circumstances, such as storms, hurricanes, can cause significant delays.The doctor would have loved to go out and see what was going on outside, but how could he risk it in this raging wind? Fortunately, the hurricane eased at dawn the next day; everyone was finally able to leave the tent that had resisted the hurricane stubbornly. Together, the doctor, Hatteras, and Johnson walked towards a hill up to a height of three hundred yards; they easily Climb to the top of the mountain. Before their eyes was a dreamlike landscape without ice made up of rocks of various shapes and steep side peaks.It is already the sudden summer after the winter that was blown away by the storm. It seems that the snow has not yet melted into water after being grinded by the fierce hurricane. But it was north that Hatteras was eager to throw.The water level seemed to be soaked in a black mist. "The scenery in front of me is probably the result of the action of the ocean." The doctor explained. "You are right," Hatteras agreed. "The sea should be nearby." "This color is what we call 'dazzling' living water," Johnson said. "Exactly!" replied the doctor. "Get on the sleigh, then!" cried Hatteras, "and head for the new sea!" "It makes you very happy," said Dr. Crawburn to the captain. "Of course!" replied the captain enthusiastically. "Soon we shall reach the North Pole! And you, my good doctor, are you not happy with this prospect?" "Me! I am always happy, especially when I see other people's happiness!" The three Englishmen rejoined the small ravine, the sledges were ready, and the camp was left.On the road again, everyone couldn't help but feel worried, afraid of encountering the footprints of the day before yesterday; fortunately, for the rest of the journey, there were no footprints left by strangers or aborigines.Three hours later, the small group reached the shore. "The sea! The sea!" they shouted in unison. "Smooth sea!" cried the captain in surprise. It was already ten o'clock in the morning. Hurricanes, in fact, have done their magic over this polar basin; the shattered and dismembered pieces of ice are scattered in all directions; Anchor is lifted."The basin was attacked by violent winds, and on the sea level around the rocks, there were sharp edges and debris that were scattered after the ice blocks were smashed and broken.The ice sheet that remains at the shore level has not yet completely melted; there are some faded clumps of seaweed on the rocks where the waves beat. In this way, the Arctic Ocean appeared in front of us, an endless ocean, with neither an island nor any new land existing on the horizon at the same time. The coast forms two fjords on the east and west sides. Due to long-term wave erosion, its slope has gradually become gentler; The land of America will disappear in the Arctic Ocean in this way, not suddenly, but gently and slightly inclined to evolve into a very wide circular bay, forming a wider port of anchorage surrounded by fjords on both sides.In the center, a protruding rock becomes a natural haven because it is covered on three sides; the melted snow and ice rolls down the river bed, forming a turbulent current. Hatteras, after inspecting the terrain of the coast, decided to prepare for departure immediately. The boat was put into the sea, the sled was dismantled, and everything was ready for departure. As the day drew to a close, the tents were pitched.After a refreshing supper, they set to work; the doctor took the opportunity to take out the measuring instruments and determine the geographical position of the bay section. Hatteras urged, he was eager to go, he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible and rush forward, and reach the sea before the other expeditions. At five o'clock, Johnson and Bell had nothing to do, arms folded.The skiff floated gracefully, sails out, jib drawn low, foresail supported on the reefing rigging; provisions and dismantled sledges were loaded on board, only the tent and some bivouac tools remained Wait until the next morning to resettle. When the doctor returned, he found everything in place.When his eyes touched the boat that was leisurely sheltered from the wind, he suddenly had the idea of ​​naming this island, and he suggested that the island be called "Altamon Island". There's no disputing it, everyone agrees it's very beautiful and the best name. Therefore, the port was named "Port Altamont". According to the doctor's measurement data, the island is located at latitude 87°5' north and longitude 118°35' east of Greenwich, that is to say, it is 3° short of the North Pole. Explorers had traveled two hundred miles from Victoria Bay to Altamont Harbour.