The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras Read Online
| The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras |
JULES VERNE.
| The brig was tossed about like a child's toy |
| "The brig was tossed about like a child's toy."—Part I., Chapter 19. |
THE
VOYAGES AND ADVENTURES
OF
CAPTAIN HATTERAS.
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF
JULES VERNE.
WITH TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY ILLUSTRATIONS
BY RIOU.
| Osgood Logo |
BOSTON:
JAMES R. OSGOOD AND COMPANY,
LATE TICKNOR & FIELDS, AND FIELDS, OSGOOD, & CO.
1876.
COPYRIGHT, 1874.
BY JAMES R. OSGOOD & CO.
UNIVERSITY PRESS: WELCH, BIGELOW, & CO.,
CAMBRIDGE.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
THE ENGLISH AT THE NORTH POLE.
| CHAPTER | |
| I. | THE FORWARD |
| II. | AN UNEXPECTED LETTER |
| III. | DR. CLAWBONNY |
| IV. | THE DOG-CAPTAIN |
| V. | AT SEA |
| VI. | THE GREAT POLAR CURRENT |
| VII. | THE ENTRANCE OF DAVIS STRAIT |
| VIII. | THE TALK OF THE CREW |
| IX. | ANOTHER LETTER |
| X. | DANGEROUS SAILING |
| XI. | THE DEVIL'S THUMB |
| XII. | CAPTAIN HATTERAS |
| XIII. | THE CAPTAIN'S PLANS |
| XIV. | THE EXPEDITIONS IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN |
| XV. | THE FORWARD DRIVEN SOUTHWARD |
| XVI. | THE MAGNETIC POLE |
| XVII. | THE FATE OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN |
| XVIII. | THE WAY NORTHWARD |
| XIX. | A WHALE IN SIGHT |
| XX. | BEECHEY ISLAND |
| XXI. | THE DEATH OF BELLOT |
| XXII. | THE FIRST SIGNS OF MUTINY |
| XXIII. | ATTACKED BY THE ICE |
| XXIV. | PREPARATIONS FOR WINTERING |
| XXV. | ONE OF JAMES ROSS'S FOXES |
| XXVI. | THE LAST PIECE OF COAL |
| XXVII. | THE GREAT COLD AT CHRISTMAS |
| XXVIII. | PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE |
| XXIX. | ACROSS THE ICE-FIELDS |
| XXX. | THE CAIRN |
| XXXI. | THE DEATH OF SIMPSON |
| XXXII. | THE RETURN TO THE FORWARD |
PART II.
THE DESERT OF ICE.
| I. | THE DOCTOR'S INVENTORY |
| II. | ALTAMONT'S FIRST WORDS |
| III. | SEVENTEEN DAYS OF LAND JOURNEY |
| IV. | THE LAST CHARGE OF POWDER |
| V. | THE SEAL AND THE BEAR |
| VI. | THE PORPOISE |
| VII. | A DISCUSSION ABOUT CHARTS |
| VIII. | EXCURSION TO THE NORTH OF VICTORIA BAY |
| IX. | COLD AND HEAT |
| X. | THE PLEASURES OF WINTER-QUARTERS |
| XI. | DISQUIETING TRACES |
| XII. | THE ICE PRISON |
| XIII. | THE MINE |
| XIV. | THE POLAR SPRING |
| XV. | THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE |
| XVI. | NORTHERN ARCADIA |
| XVII. | ALTAMONT'S REVENGE |
| XVIII. | THE LAST PREPARATIONS |
| XIX. | THE JOURNEY NORTHWARD |
| XX. | FOOTPRINTS ON THE SNOW |
| XXI. | THE OPEN SEA |
| XXII. | THE APPROACH TO THE POLE |
| XXIII. | THE ENGLISH FLAG |
| XXIV. | POLAR COSMOGRAPHY |
| XXV. | MOUNT HATTERAS |
| XXVI. | RETURN TO THE SOUTH |
| XXVII. | CONCLUSION |
LIST OF FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.
| * | "JOHNSON KNEW ALL THE SAILORS IN LIVERPOOL, AND IMMEDIATELY SET ABOUT ENGAGING A CREW" |
| * | "EVERYTHING WAS ENVELOPED IN ONE OF THE ORDINARY FOGS OF THAT REGION" |
| * | "THIS SPACE OF SIX FEET SQUARE CONTAINED INCALCULABLE WEALTH" |
| * | "THE NEWS SPEAD IMMEDIATELY THROUGHOUT THE CITY, AND A GREAT CONCOURSE OF SPECTATORS THRONGED THE PIERS" |
| * | "TOWARDS EVENING THE BRIG DOUBLED THE CALF OF MAN" |
| * | "WOULD ONE NOT SAY IT WAS A FOREIGN CITY, AN EASTERN CITY, WITH MINARETS AND MOSQUES IN THE MOONLIGHT" |
| * | "FORTUNATELY THE OPENING OF THESE HUTS WAS TOO SMALL, AND THE ENTHUSIASTIC DOCTOR COULD NOT GET THROUGH" |
| * | "A STRANGE ANIMAL WAS BOUNDING ALONG WITHIN A CABLE'S LENGTH FROM THE SHIP" |
| * | "JOHN HATTERAS" |
| * | "HE CAUGHT A LARGE NUMBER OF WHITE FOXES; HE HAD PUT ON THEIR NECKS COPPER COLLARS" |
| * | "ALL THESE POOR FELLOWS HAD DIED OF MISERY, SUFFERING, AND STARVATION" |
| * | "THE BRIG WAS TOSSED ABOUT LIKE A CHILD'S TOY" (Frontispiece) |
| * | "THE WHALE SWAM AWAY FROM THE BRIG AND HASTENED TOWARDS THE MOVING ICEBERGS" |
| * | "THE FORWARD IN WELLINGTON CHANNEL" |
| * | HATTERAS MADE USE OF A DEVICE WHICH WHALERS EMPLOY |
| * | "A CRASH WAS HEARD, AND AS IT CAME AGAINST THE STARBOARD-QUARTER, PART OF THE RAIL HAD GIVEN WAY" |
| * | "THE MOON SHONE WITH INCOMPARABLE PURITY, GLISTENING ON THE LEAST ROUGHNESS IN THE ICE" |
| * | "ALMOST EVERY NIGHT THE DOCTOR COULD OBSERVE THE MAGNIFICENT AURORAS" |
| * | "HE WAS ARMED, AND HE KEPT CONSTANT GUARD, WITHOUT MINDING THE COLD, THE SNOW, OR THE ICE" |
| * | "THE LITTLE BAND MADE THEIR WAY TOWARDS THE SOUTHEAST" |
| * | "THE DOCTOR HAD ENERGY ENOUGH TO ASCEND AN ICE-MOUNTAIN WHILE THE SNOW-HUT WAS BUILDING" |
| * | "'FIRE!' SHOUTED THE CAPTAIN, DISCHARGING HIS PIECE" |
| * | "THEY COULD ONLY THINK OF THEIR PERILOUS POSITION" |
| * | "SUDDENLY, WITH A LAST EFFORT, HE HALF ROSE" |
| * | "THEN A TERRIBLE EXPLOSION WAS HEARD" |
| * | "THE LARGE PIECES OF THE ENGINE LAY HERE AND THERE, TWISTED OUT OF SHAPE" |
| * | "THEY HARNESSED THE TIRED DOGS" |
| * | JOHNSON'S STORY |
| * | "'YES!' SAID THE AMERICAN" |
| * | "THE DOCTOR WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO FIND A SEAL" |
| * | "AT THE END OF TWO HOURS THEY FELL, EXHAUSTED" |
| * | "HE PLUNGED HIS KNIFE INTO THE BEAST'S THROAT" |
| * | "THESE CASTAWAYS LOOKED AT THEMSELVES AS COLONISTS WHO HAD REACHED THEIR DESTINATION" |
| * | THE FORT WAS COMPLETED |
| * | "I AM NOT AWARE THAT IT BEARS ANY NAME ON THE MOST RECENT MAPS" |
| * | "THE DOCTOR REACHED THE SUMMIT WITH SOME LITTLE DIFFICULTY" |
| * | "THEY ADVANCED IN FULL ILLUMINATION, AND THEIR SHARPLY CUT SHADOWS RAN OUT BEHIND THEM OVER THE SNOW" |
| * | "HE DID HIS BEST TO INSTRUCT AND INTEREST HIS COMPANIONS" |
| * | "HATTERAS COULD ONLY KEEP HIS DISTANCE FROM THE ANIMALS BY THROWING AWAY HIS CAP, HATCHET, AND EVEN HIS GUN" |
| * | "THE BEARS HEAPED THE ICE IN SUCH A WAY AS TO RENDER FLIGHT IMPOSSIBLE" |
| * | "AN ENORMOUS BLACK BODY APPEARED IN THE GLOOM OF THE ROOM. ALTAMONT RAISED HIS HAND TO STRIKE IT" |
| * | "A LOUD EXPLOSION FOLLOWED" |
| * | "THE CARPENTER SET TO WORK AT ONCE" |
| * | "A HARD STRUGGLE WITH THE ICEBERGS" |
| * | "MACCLURE SAW A MAN RUNNING AND GESTICULATING" |
| * | "THE DOCTOR, JOHNSON, AND BELL INTERVENED. IT WAS TIME; THE TWO ENEMIES WERE GAZING AT ONE ANOTHER" |
| * | "THEY WERE A CURIOUS AND TOUCHING SIGHT, FLYING ABOUT WITHOUT FEAR, RESTING ON CLAWBONNY'S SHOULDERS," ETC. |
| * | "GAVE HIM A TERRIBLE BLOW WITH A HATCHET ON THE HEAD" |
| * | "WELL, I'VE BROUGHT BACK TWO BROTHERS" |
| * | "THE SEAL STRUGGLED FOR A FEW SECONDS, AND WAS THEN SUFFOCATED ON THE BREAST OF HIS ADVERSARY" |
| * | "THEY LEFT AT SIX O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING" |
| * | "ON THE 29TH BELL SHOT A FOX, AND ALTAMONT A MEDIUM-SIZED MUSK-OX" |
| * | "THE MASSES OF ICE TOOK THE FORMS OF HUMMOCKS AND ICEBERGS" |
| * | "ON ALL SIDES RESOUNDED THE CRACKING OF THE ICE AMID THE ROAR OF THE AVALANCHES" |
| * | "'WE OUGHT,' ANSWERED BELL, 'TO LIGHT TORCHES, AS IS DONE AT LONDON AND LIVERPOOL'" |
| * | THE HUT WAS PITCHED IN A RAVINE FOR SHELTER |
| * | "THEY CLIMBED A HILL WHICH COMMANDED A WIDE VIEW" |
| * | "THREE HOURS LATER THEY REACHED THE COAST. 'THE SEA! THE SEA!' THEY ALL SHOUTED" |
| * | "THE LAUNCH WAS ROCKING GENTLY IN HER LITTLE HARBOR" |
| * | "AQUATIC BIRDS OF ALL SORTS WERE THERE" |
| * | "THEN THE EYE GLANCING DOWN INTO THE TRANSPARENT WATER, THE SIGHT WAS EQUALLY STRANGE" |
| * | "'IT'S A VOLCANO!' HE CRIED" |
| * | "THE LAUNCH TOSSED HELPLESSLY ABOUT" |
| * | "THE FOG, WITHOUT LIFTING, WAS VERY BRIGHT" |
| * | "THIS DRIFTING FLOE WAS COVERED WITH WHITE BEARS, CROWDED TOGETHER" |
| * | "HER SAIL FLEW AWAY LIKE A HUGE WHITE BIRD; A WHIRLPOOL, A NEW MAELSTROM, FORMED AMONG THE WAVES" |
| * | "THE MOUNTAIN WAS IN FULL ERUPTION" |
| * | "THEY NOTICED A LITTLE FIORD" |
| * | "ALTAMONT SOON FOUND A GROTTO IN THE ROCKS" |
| * | "THEY WERE ALL READY TO LISTEN TO THE DOCTOR" |
| * | "THEY SAW THE CAPTAIN STANDING ON A ROCK" |
| * | "HATTERAS APPEARED TO WAKE FROM HIS REVERY" |
| * | "BUT HATTERAS DID NOT LOOK BACK. HE HAD MADE USE OF HIS STAFF AS A POLE ON WHICH TO FASTEN THE ENGLISH FLAG" |
| * | "THE DOCTOR PUT UP A CAIRN" |
| * | "DEAD—FROZEN" |
| * | "TWO HOURS LATER, AFTER UNHEARD-OF EFFORTS, THE LAST MEN OF THE FORWARD WERE TAKEN ABOARD THE DANISH WHALER HANS CHRISTIAN" |
| * | "A STEAMBOAT CARRIED THEM TO KIEL" |
PART I.
THE ENGLISH AT THE NORTH POLE.
| AVENTURES DU CAPITAINE HATTERAS |
CHAPTER I.
THE FORWARD.
"To-morrow, at the turn of the tide, the brig Forward, K. Z., captain, Richard Shandon, mate, will clear from New Prince's Docks; destination unknown."
This announcement appeared in the Liverpool Herald of April 5, 1860.
The sailing of a brig is not a matter of great importance for the chief commercial city of England. Who would take notice of it in so great a throng of ships of all sizes and of every country, that dry-docks covering two leagues scarcely contain them?
Nevertheless, from early morning on the 6th of April, a large crowd collected on the quays of the New Prince's Docks; all the sailors of the place seemed to have assembled there. The workingmen of the neighboring wharves had abandoned their tasks, tradesmen had left their gloomy shops, and the merchants their empty warehouses. The many-colored omnibuses which pass outside of the docks were discharging, every minute, their load of sight-seers; the whole city seemed to care for nothing except watching the departure of the Forward.
The Forward was a vessel of one hundred and seventy tons, rigged as a brig, and carrying a screw and a steam-engine of one hundred and twenty horse-power. One would have very easily confounded it with the other brigs in the harbor. But if it presented no especial difference to the eye of the public, yet those who were familiar with ships noticed certain peculiarities which could not escape a sailor's keen glance.
Thus, on the Nautilus, which was lying at anchor near her, a group of sailors were trying to make out the probable destination of the Forward.
| A sailor's keen glance |
"What do you say to her masts?" said one; "steamers don't usually carry so much sail."
"It must be," answered a red-faced quartermaster, "that she relies more on her sails than on her engine; and if her topsails are of that size, it's probably because the lower sails are to be laid back. So I'm sure the Forward is going either to the Arctic or Antarctic Ocean, where the icebergs stop the wind more than suits a solid ship."
"You must be right, Mr. Cornhill," said a third sailor. "Do you notice how straight her stem is?"
"Besides," said Mr. Cornhill, "she carries a steel ram forward, as sharp as a razor; if the Forward, going at full speed, should run into a three-decker, she would cut her in two."
"That's true," answered a Mersey pilot, "for that brig can easily run fourteen knots under steam. She was a sight to see on her trial trip. On my word, she's a swift boat."
"And she goes well, too, under sail," continued the quartermaster; "close to the wind, and she's easily steered. Now that ship is going to the polar seas, or my name is not Cornhill. And then, see there! Do you notice that large helm-port over the head of her rudder?"
"That's so," said some of the sailors; "but what does that prove?"
"That proves, my men," replied the quartermaster with a scornful smile, "that you can neither see nor think; it proves that they wanted to leave the head of the rudder free, so that it might be unshipped and shipped again easily. Don't you know that's what they have to do very often in the ice?"
"You are right," answered the sailors of the Nautilus.
"And besides," said one, "the lading of the brig goes to prove what Mr. Cornhill has said. I heard it from Clifton, who has shipped on her. The Forward carries provisions for five or six years, and coal in proportion. Coal and provisions are all she carries, and a quantity of woollen and sealskin clothing."
"Well," said Mr. Cornhill, "there's no doubt about it. But, my friend, since you know Clifton, hasn't he told you where she's bound?"
"He couldn't tell me, for he didn't know; the whole crew was shipped in that way.
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