Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen: Hatteras' Plan

The presence of this brave man has mixed feelings among the crew: some are entirely on his side out of love of money or bravery; After all, it seemed to be very difficult to deal with such a person. Everyone returned to their respective posts. May 20th was Sunday, and it was a day for the crew to rest. The captain convened a committee of officers, which consisted of Hatteras, Sandon, Wall, Johnson, and the doctor. Gentlemen, said the Captain in his customary gentle and dignified voice, you are aware of my plans to go to the Pole, and I would like to know your opinion on the matter.What do you think, Shandon?

I have no opinion, Captain, replied Sandon dryly, and it is enough to obey orders. Hatteras wasn't surprised by the answer. Richard.Sandon, he went on equally coldly, I ask you to tell us the probability of our success. Well, Captain, replied Sandon, the facts speak for me, such ventures have so far failed, and I wish we had more luck. We will.What do you think, gentlemen? In my opinion, said the doctor, I think your plan is feasible, Captain, and since it is obvious that voyagers will reach the North Pole one day, I cannot see why it cannot be done by us. And there are reasons for us to do it, because we have taken measures because of this, we can use the experience of our predecessors.And in that regard, Shandon, please accept my thanks for the toil you put into equipping the ship, there are a few black sheep in the crew, I'll let them be honest, but on the whole I have nothing but praise for you that's it.

Shandon bowed coldly. He thought he had the command of the forward ship, but it turned out to be nothing.Hatteras understood this, and did not insist any longer. As for you, gentlemen, he said, turning to Wall and Johnson, I can't vouch for a braver or more experienced officer than you! Indeed!I am one of your men, Captain, replied Johnson, and though your conduct seems a little bold to me, you can always count on me. Count on me too, James.Wall said. As for you, Doctor, I know your worth. Well, you know more than I do, said the doctor excitedly. Now, gentlemen, continued Hatteras, you should know a few irrefutable facts which support my claim of reaching the extreme.In 1817 the Neptune of Aberdeen sailed to the eighty-second latitude north of Spitsbergen.In 1826, after sailing three times in the polar ocean, the famous Barry also set off from the headland of Spitsbergen Island by sled and boat to a place 150 nautical miles to the north.In 1852 Captain Eaglefield followed Smith's road as far as latitude 78°35' north.All these ships are British, commanded by British, and are our countrymen.

Hatteras paused at this point. I should add, he went on, with a somewhat awkward look on his face, as if the words were beyond words, I should add that in 1854 the American Kane commanded the Voyage to a higher latitude, His lieutenant, Moulton, crossed the ice sheet and steered the American ship beyond the eighty-two latitude.Having said this, I will not mention these anymore.It should be known, however, that the captains of the Neptune, Enterprise, Isabella, and Voyager all observed that since these high latitudes there is a polar subsea basin completely free of floating ice. No ice floe!Shandon cried out, interrupting the captain, Impossible!

You will notice, Sandon, continued Hatteras calmly, with a twinkle of his eye, that I will tell you the facts and names that will serve as evidence, and I will add that in 1851 Pepe During Captain Neighbor's mooring in the Wellington Strait, his lieutenant Stuart also found that he was facing an unimpeded ocean. This strange phenomenon inspired Edward.Sir Bilcher attests that he wintered in Northumberland Sound in 1853, at a latitude of 76° 52' and a longitude of 99° 20; these reports are indisputable Yes, it would be disingenuous not to accept them. But, Captain, Shandon added, these facts are so contradictory

Wrong, Sandon, wrong!These facts, cried Dr Crowburny, do not contradict any scientific fact, the captain will let me tell you. Speak, doctor!Hatteras replied. Well, listen to this, Sandon: It is obvious from geographical facts and the study of isotherms that the coldest place on earth is not at the pole; it is many degrees away from the pole, like the magnetic point.Similarly, the calculations of Brewster, Bergheim, and several physicists proved that there are two cold spots in our hemisphere: one in Asia at latitude 79°30°N and longitude 120°E; One is in America at 78 degrees north latitude and 97 degrees west longitude, which is where we are, you see, Shandon, it is more than twelve degrees below the pole, well, I ask you, why Is there no ice in the Pole Ocean like in the summer at 66 degrees north latitude, that is to say, in the south of Baffin Bay?

Well said, replied Johnson, that Mr. Crowburne spoke like a professional. It's very possible, James.Wall said again. It's just cranky, subjective assumptions!Pure assumptions!Shandon retorted stubbornly. Well, Sandon, said Hatteras again, consider the two cases: either the ocean is free of ice, or the other way around.In both cases, nothing can stop us from going to the pole.If there is no ice at sea, the Forward will take us there without difficulty, and if there is ice, let us take the risk with the sled.It is not impracticable, you must admit, that once we were in latitude eighty-three degrees north, we did not go beyond six hundred nautical miles to the Pole.

What is the six hundred nautical miles, the doctor said excitedly, there is indeed a Cossack, Alexi.Markov, who spent twenty-four days on a dog sled along the southern coast of Russia and walked eight hundred nautical miles across the ice? You hear, Shandon, replied Hatteras, tell me, is the Englishman no better than a Cossack? No, never!Said the quick-tempered doctor. No, never!repeated the bosun. So what about Shandon?asked the captain. Captain, replied Sandon coldly, I can only repeat what I said to you at first: I obey. OKNow, said Hatteras again, given our current situation, we are trapped by ice floes, and I don't think it's possible to go to Smith Strait this year, and that's what we should do.

Hatteras spread out on the table the fine map published by order of the Admiralty in 1859. Follow me, I beg you.If Smith Strait traps us, it is not the case in Longcut Strait on the west coast of the Baffin Sea.I think we should go up this strait to Barrow Strait, and from there to Bizie Island, we will go north along Wellington Strait, as soon as possible, until we reach the exit of the channel connecting Wellington Strait and Queens Strait , that is, where you can see the sea without ice floes.And we're on May 20th, and in a month's time, if things go our way, we'll get to that point, and from there we're headed for the pole.What do you think, gentlemen?

Obviously, Johnson replied, it was the only way to go. Well, let's go this way and start tomorrow.Sunday is regarded as a day of rest, and you, Shandon, are responsible for supervising the normal operation of the chanting. These religious rituals can save people's minds, especially a sailor should believe in God. Well, captain, said Sandon, going out with the lieutenant and bosun. Doctor, John.This is an offended man, said Hatteras, pointing to Shandon, pride has ruined him, and I can no longer count on him. The next morning, early in the morning, the captain had the canoe put out to sea, and he went to ascertain the iceberg at the anchorage, which was not more than a hundred and eighty-two meters wide.He also noticed that due to the slow pressure of the iceberg, this anchorage was in danger of shrinking, and a gap should be opened quickly, otherwise the ship would be crushed by this vise-like iceberg, from John.As can be seen in the methods Hatteras employed, he was a man of strong will.

He first cut some steps in the ice wall, and then came to the top of an iceberg, from which he saw that it would be easy to make a road to the southwest.In accordance with his orders, the sailors drilled a hole in the center of the hill, and the work was soon set in motion, and was completed on Monday. Hatteras could not rely on the eight- or ten-pound blaster, which was of no use against icebergs of this magnitude; it was only useful in breaking up the ice sheet.He had a thousand pounds of powder placed in the bore, whose direction of blast had been carefully calculated, and which contained a long twisted cord wrapped in gutta-percha, with force reaching the outside.The roads to the emplacements were filled with snow and ice, and the cold of the next night made them as hard as granite.In short, due to the influence of the east wind, the temperature dropped to minus eleven degrees Celsius. At seven o'clock the next day, the Admiral started her steam engine, ready to use all the exits, and Johnson was in charge of lighting the explosives, and it was calculated that the twisted rope had burned for half an hour before igniting the gunpowder.Johnson had plenty of time to return to the ship.In the end, he completed Hatteras' order in ten minutes and returned to his post. The crew stood on deck, the weather was dry and sunny, the snow had stopped.Hatteras stood on the poop with Sandon and the doctor, counting the time with a stopwatch. At 8:35, there was a dull explosion, much quieter than people imagined. The outline of the iceberg suddenly changed, as if an earthquake had occurred, and a thick white smoke rose. Going up to the sky, long cracks appeared on the mountain, and the high part was thrown into the distance, falling around the forward and becoming fragments. But the road has not been cleared, and the huge slab of ice is supported on the adjacent iceberg and hangs in the air.People feared that the ice wall would collapse and close again. Hatteras surveyed the situation. Watson!he shouted. The officer came running. captain!He said. Charge the front cannons three times as much, said Hatteras, as solidly as possible. Are we going to bombard the iceberg with cannonballs?the doctor asked. No, replied Hatteras, it's no use, not shells, Watson, but three times as much powder.Do it quickly. After a while, the cannon was loaded with gunpowder. What if there are no shells?Shandon whispered. Just look at it, the doctor replied. We're ready, Captain, cried Watson. Well, replied Hatteras, Brenton!He shouted to the mechanic, attention, there is an ice tower ahead! Brenton opened the intake valve, the propellers began to move, and the forward approached the blown iceberg. See the way!shouted the captain to the quartermaster. The latter obeyed the order.When the ship was only half a chain away, Hatteras called out: fire! As he gave an order, there was a loud noise, and the ice cubes that were shaken by the atmosphere suddenly fell into the sea one after another.The shaking of the atmosphere was enough for this. Fire up, Brenton!cried Hatteras, Straight ahead, Johnson! With Johnson at the helm, the ship speeding along the clear path, propelled by the propeller against the frothy waves, the moment was ripe for the Herald to just pass the exit before the breach sealed behind her. It was a very exciting moment, and there was only one person on board whose heart was firm and peaceful, and that was the heart of the captain.The whole crew woke up from their work and couldn't help shouting: Ulla, John.Hatteras!