Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven Our Guide - Hanns Bujack

In the evening I took a short walk on the seashore, and climbed up on the wide planks early in the morning, and fell asleep. When I woke up, I heard my uncle talking loudly in the next room.I got up immediately and hurried to join their conversation. He was talking in Danish to a tall, muscular-looking man who gave the impression of being of exceptional physical strength.His simple, intelligent eyes were sunken in his large face and were a dull blue.His long hair, which would be called red in England, hung over his solid shoulders.The Icelander's demeanor was gentle and composed, and he seldom used gestures in place of words.His disposition appeared to be quite composed, but not lazy.Anyone would understand that he didn't ask for anything, he just did what was right for him, and he had a philosophy of not letting what happened in the world surprise or worry him.

I observed these traits in the man as he listened to his uncle's vehement eloquence.His arms are folded, and he does not move when others gesticulate roughly; if he disagrees, his head turns quietly from left to right; The front is low and his long hair won't move because of it.He is also careful about his actions, almost to the point of being stingy. Of course it never occurred to me that the man was a hunter; he would never scare away birds or beasts, but how could he hit them? I understood the matter somewhat when Mr. Friedrichsen told me how to get the cotton wool fluff.Cotton mallard is a lovely little bird, which often makes its nest in the rocks of many fjords in early summer; after making the nest, it plucks beautiful feathers from its breast and spreads the inner layer of the nest.Whenever a hunter or tradesman comes to snatch the nest, the poor mallard has to make a new nest, and the nest must be made until it has no feathers left; It is hard, thick and worthless, and the nest made will not be snatched by anyone, so it can always stand safely in the rock.The female puffin lays eggs, which soon hatch young cottonwings, which can collect another batch of cottonwing fluff the following year.

Because cotton mallards do not choose steep rocks, but prefer to make their nests in those low rocks that protrude into the sea, hunters can find cotton mallard fluff more easily. This stern, calm and self-possessed man, named Hanns Bujack, will be our guide. His personality is very different from his uncle, but they get along very well.The terms never occurred to either of them—one would take what he was prepared to give, the other would give what he wanted, so the deal was soon settled. Hanns was busy taking us to the southern part of the Snaefer Peninsula, the village of Stamby at the foot of the mountain.He said that the land distance was about twenty-two miles, and my uncle estimated that it could be reached in two days, but later he found that the Danish miles were four times longer than our miles!So we are going to trek for seven or eight days.

We had four ponies—one each for my uncle and I, and two for luggage.Hannes walked according to his habit, and promised to take us the shortest way. His task is not just to bring us to Stamby, he still has to continue to help us with our research work, he wants to pay three dollars a week (about thirteen shillings), and it is expressly agreed that it must be paid every Saturday night money. We decided to set off on June 16. My uncle wanted to pay the hunter first, but he flatly refused. "Later," he said in Danish. "In the future." The professor translated to me.After the two parties agreed, Hans left.

"A wonderful man," cried the uncle, "but he doesn't know what strange things will happen to him." "He came with us to—" "The center of the earth, Aksai." There were still forty-eight hours left before departure, but to my great regret this time had to be spent packing.We used our brains to pack everything in the most suitable way; instruments on one side, weapons on the other, tools in this bag, books in another.Divided into four groups. Instruments include: 1.A Celsius thermometer up to 150 degrees, which seems to me to be both too high and too low.If the temperature of the air rises to one hundred and fifty degrees, we are all dead; if this thermometer is used to measure hot water or molten matter, this limit is not enough.

2.A manometer of compressed air, to measure a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure on the surface of the sea; for when we go down into the ground, the pressure increases as we go down.The usual barometer is not enough. 3.A chronometer made by Buesannes in Geneva and tested on the Hamburg warp. 4.Two compasses, one for inclination and one for declination. 5.A telescope for night use. 6.Two lamps made of Lumkoff coils. Armaments consisted of two rifles, two revolvers, and a considerable amount of gunpowder which was not of good quality.Why carry a weapon?It seems to me that we shall meet neither savages nor beasts.But my uncle seemed to place equal importance on his weapons and instruments, and he was especially careful with the gunwool, which was not afraid of the tide, because its explosive power was much stronger than that of ordinary explosives.

As for tools, there were two cross spades, two picks, a wire rope ladder, three iron-clad side boards, an axe, a hammer, several helices, some screws, and some very long braided rope.These things form a large package, for that ladder alone is three hundred feet long. The last thing is dry food. The package of dry food is not big, but it is enough to satisfy people. As far as I know, the compressed pork and biscuits can last for six months.The only liquid was gin--no water, but we had water bottles, and I suggested to my uncle that if we could find the water we were supposed to find, there might be some question of quality and temperature, but my concerns were entirely ignored.

One more thing I should add: We had a travel kit with blunt scissors, bone guards, ribbons, bandages, plasters, blood containers (horrible), bottles of dextrin, pure alcohol, lead Acetate, ether, vinegar, ammonia, various drugs used in dangerous situations, and the necessary chemicals for making Lumkoff coils. The uncle also carefully remembered to bring tobacco, powder, tinder, and a belt around his waist containing a considerable amount of gold, silver, and banknotes, as well as impermeable leather shoes made of rubber and tar, and some tools. "With such clothing and equipment, you can go to far places." Uncle said to me.

The daytime on the 14th was spent on packing luggage, and at night we ate at the ruler's place, accompanied by the mayor and the famous local doctor, Mr. Yadalin.Mr. Friedrichsen was not present, and I later learned that he and the ruler were at odds over an administrative matter.Owing to his absence, I could not understand a word of the conversation that took place at this semi-official dinner, and I could only see my uncle talking incessantly. On the 15th we got ready, and received from our master a map of 1/480,000 much better than our own, which my uncle liked very much. The night before my departure I had an intimate conversation with Mr. Friedrichsen, and I took a good liking to him.

I didn't sleep well at night, and was woken up by four horses in front of the window at five o'clock in the morning.I hurriedly put on my clothes, went outside, and met Hanns, who had just packed our luggage. When he packed the luggage, he didn't need a lot of movements and was very skilled.At six o'clock everything was ready; we shook hands with Mr. Friedrichsen, and my uncle warmly thanked him for his hospitality.I tried to speak Latin as best I could, and as we set off, Mr. Friedrichsen repeated a quote from Fowcher: We will take whichever way fate tells us to go.