Chapter 23 Chapter 23 Attack of the Floes

After commanding the ship to drop anchor, Hatteras returned to his cabin, picked up a map, and studied it carefully: his latitude was seventy-six degrees fifty-seven minutes, and his longitude was ninety-nine degrees twenty minutes. Said it was three minutes away from seventy-seven degrees.This is the place, Edward.Sir Bilcher wintered for the first time aboard the Herald and Salvage.It was from this place that he made expeditions by sled and boat; he discovered the Island of the Round Table, the South Gornuai Islands, the Victoria Peninsula and the Bilcher Strait.He was farther than seventy-eight degrees north latitude, and saw the coast sloping to the southeast.The coast appears to join Jones Strait, which has its mouth opposite Baffin Bay.But in the North-West, on the contrary, there was an unimpeded sea, so his report said, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Hatteras looked excitedly at this area on the chart. A large white area appeared in these unfamiliar areas. His eyes had been fixed on this polar area without ice floes. There was so much evidence, he said to himself, of Stuart's account, of Benny's account, of Bilcher's account, beyond doubt!That's how it should be, these brave sailors saw it, saw it with their own eyes!Can you doubt what they say?cannot!But if this unimpeded sea, due to the early winter, becomes but won't, these discoveries are years past; this sea exists—I'll find it, I'll see it! Hatteras went up to the poop again.Thick fog surrounded the Vampire; the tops of the masts could barely be seen from the deck.But Hatteras had the ice floe pilot come down from the magpie's nest to take his place; he wanted to use a ray of light in the sky to observe the northeast horizon.

Shandon lost no time in saying to the lieutenant: Alas, Wall!Is this ocean unimpeded? You are right, Sandon, replied Wall, we have only six weeks' worth of coal in our barrels. The doctor found some scientific method again, Sandon replied, so that we can keep warm without fuel.I've heard fire can make ice; maybe he'll make our fire out of ice. Shandon returned to his cabin and shrugged. The next day, August 20th, the fog lifted for a while.Hatteras was seen, perched aloft, with eyes eagerly gazing at the horizon; then he came down again, without a word, but ordering forward; but it was easy to see that his hopes had failed for the last time.

The Advance weighed anchor and staggered northward.As she was so tired, the yards of the second and third rigs and all the rigging were thrown to the bottom; to make it no longer useful; the sea was bred here and there in great white streaks, like grease; this was a harbinger of imminent widespread icing; as soon as the wind began to die, the sea was rough at once; but the wind again blew In time, the new ice floe breaks and melts.In the evening, the temperature dropped to minus seven degrees Celsius. When the boat comes to the top of a dead end, it uses a sheep's head ram to drive at full speed towards the obstacle it encounters.Several times it was thought to be motionless; but the unexpected movement of the ice floe opened a new path for it, and it boldly charged; When it encounters cold air, it condenses and turns into snow and falls on the deck.There was another reason why the boat stopped: the ice floes sometimes caught the blades of the propellers, and they were so strong that nothing the engine could do could completely break them; to get the propeller out with a stick; doing so was not only difficult but exhausting and time-consuming.

And so it went on for thirteen days: the Vanguard plodded along Benny Strait.The crew murmured cautiously, but obeyed orders; they knew it was impossible to turn back at this point.Going north is less dangerous than retreating south, so winter should be considered. The sailors discussed the new situation among themselves, and one day they even talked to Richard.Sandon talked about it, and it was clear to them that he agreed with them.The latter disregarded his duties as an officer, and was not afraid to be spoken of the captain's authority in his presence. You mean, Mr. Sandon, Gripper asked him, we can't retreat anymore?

It is too late now, Shandon replied. So, another sailor said, we can only think about wintering? This is our only way!people don't want to believe me next time!Payne replied, he has resumed his daily work, people will believe you. Because I am not the leader Sandon retorted. Who knows?Payne objected, John.Hatteras can go as far as he wants, but no one else has to follow him. Just think, says Gripper again, of his first voyage to Baffin Sea and those who went with him! The Farewell, said Clifton, was wrecked off Spitsbergen under his command! Only he came back alone, Gripper replied.

He was alone with his dog, Clifton retorted. We don't want to sacrifice ourselves for this person to do whatever he wants, Payne added. We are also unwilling to leave behind the rewards we have earned so hard! It was undoubtedly Clifton who mentioned this. Once we've crossed seventy-eight degrees, he added, we're not far off, nine thousand three hundred and seventy-five francs each, six x eight degrees! But, replies Gripper, do we lose the money if we don't bring the captain back? No, replied Clifton, as long as it proved necessary to return. But the captain after all

Don't worry, Gripper, replied Payne, we'll have a captain, and a good captain, Mr. Sandon knows.When a captain goes mad, he is deposed and another is appointed.Don't you, Mr. Sandon? My friends, replied Shandon evasively, you will find in me a faithful heart.But let's wait and see what happens. The struggle in Hatteras' mind was fierce.He is steadfast, energetic, always full of confidence and going forward.In short, if he had not directed his ship's course, his ship would have behaved very heroically; what took him five months, other navigators two or three years!Hatteras now finds only winter; but this condition will not frighten the hard and steadfast heart, the hard-fought, worn-out heart; the brave and hard-worked heart!James.Sir Ross and Mike.Didn't Krull spend three winters in the Arctic?Now that this has been done, can't it be done again?

But, Hatteras repeats, do more, if need be!ah!He regretfully said to the doctor, why didn't I get into the Smith Strait in the north of Baffin Sea, or I'm at the extreme now! good!The doctor replied calmly that he would have faith when he needed it, and that we would be there, Captain, at ninety-nine degrees of longitude instead of seventy-five degrees, it was true, but what did it matter?If all roads lead to Rome, it is even more certain that all meridians lead to the North Pole. On August 31, the temperature reached minus ten degrees Celsius.The end of the sailing season came: the Vampire left Exmouth to starboard, and three days later passed the Island of the Round Table, in the Bilcher Sound.In the not-too-distant era, it was possible to reach the Baffin Sea through this strait. At this time, it is impossible to make such a plan. This sea area is completely blocked by ice floes, and it is impossible to provide a little water flow for the Forward; the next eight months will have to face This endless, motionless ice field.

Fortunately, it is still possible to go a few minutes further north, provided that new ice floes are crushed with big rollers or smashed with firecrackers, the scary thing is that the atmosphere is very calm in low temperature conditions, For the road soon closed, and even Headwind received a warm welcome.A calm night, everything is frozen. But the Vanguard, in her present condition, cannot survive the winter; she is pinched on all sides by wind, icebergs, and channel drift; the first thing is to find a safe shelter; Hatteras hopes to go to New Cornuiy. Go to the coast and find a bay that is well sheltered from the wind and rain at the point of Cape Albert.He sailed tenaciously north.

But on September 8th a continuous, inaccessible, and insurmountable mass of ice floes lay across his northward path; the temperature dropped to minus twelve degrees Celsius.Hatteras looked anxiously for a way out, but in vain, he risked his ship many times, making risky moves with extraordinary sagacity.One may say he is rash, ill-considered, mad, blind; but, as a good sailor, he is well deserved; and of the best! Things got really pretty dangerous with the Vanguard; for, the sea closed behind it, and within a few hours the floes were so strong that people could run around on them, tug boats, very safely. Hatteras, unable to get around the obstacle, resolved to bombard it from the front; he used the most powerful blaster, containing eight or ten pounds of powder; men began to drill holes in the thick ice floes; filled the holes with snow, The blasting tubes were carefully placed in a parallel position so as to blast the largest expanse of ice; the fuse was then ignited, which was protected by a gutta-percha tube. People started blasting the pack of ice, because they couldn't saw through it, the saw stuck to it right away.In any case, Hatteras was counting on passing here tomorrow. But at night a strong wind blew up; the sea swelled under the surface of the floes, and the floes seemed to be shaken by a submarine, and the navigator's terrifying voice came: Watch out for the rear!Watch out for the rear! Hatteras looked in the designated direction, and what he saw in the afterglow of dusk was terrifying. A high pack of ice floes swept northward, racing towards the ship like an avalanche. All come on deck!cried the captain. The moving iceberg was only half a sea mile away; the floes surged, overtook each other, and struck each other like grains of sand swept by a terrible hurricane; and the air resounded with terrible sounds. This is, Mr. Crawburn, Johnson told the doctor, the danger that threatens us the most. Yes, answered the doctor calmly, that is terrible enough. A real attack we need to fight, said the boatswain again. In short, like a pack of giant beasts before the flood, people thought they lived in the North Pole!They drive each other!They are eager to be the fastest. And, added Johnson, some of them have sharp spears, and I advise you to resist, Mr. Crawburn. This is the real siege!The doctor shouted: "Okay, let's go to the city wall!" He hastened to the stern, and the whole crew, with shovels, iron poles, and crowbars, were ready to withstand the terrible attack. The avalanche came and took hold of the heights, and its sweeping ice floes piled up around: at Hatteras's order, break this menacing line with a bombardment from the prow's cannon.But here it came, and flung itself upon the ship; there was a snapping sound, as part of the hull snapped off as the ship's starboard hip was struck. No one is allowed to move!Hatteras yelled, Watch out for the ice floes! The ice floes climbed up with an irresistible force; ice floes weighing several loads rushed to the bulwarks of the ship; Sidestays, chopped up the rigging.The crew was overwhelmed by the innumerable enemies, powerful enough to crush a hundred ships like the March.Everyone did their best to hold back the invading stones, and more than one sailor was wounded by the sharp arrows, including Bourdain, whose left shoulder was shattered.The sound was terrifying.Duck barked wildly at this new type of enemy.The night, adding to the horror of the situation, could not conceal these mad stones, which cast their last flecks of white light in the air. Hatteras' orders echoed in this strange, unimaginable, supernatural struggle between man and ice.Yielding to the tremendous pressure, the ship heeled over to port, with the end of the mainyard resting on the ice and threatening to crush the mast. Hatteras knew the danger; it was a horrible time; the ship could turn over and the mast would be swept away. A gigantic block of ice, as big as the ship, rose along the hull; it rose with an irresistible force, it rose gradually, and already passed the poop; if it fell on the Vampire, it would be all over; It rose quickly, its height over the yard of the third tier, and its bottom began to shake. All the people let out a cry of terror.Everyone flocked to starboard. But at this moment, the boat was fully lifted.It was felt to rise, and for an immeasurable time it floated in the air, and then it descended, and fell again on the ice floe, where it wobbled and split the planks.what happened? It was lifted by the rising tide and pushed out by the ice that collided behind it, over the impassable pack of ice floes.A minute passed, a minute like a century, and it landed on the other side of the barrier after this strange voyage.On top of an ice field; its weight caused the ice field to sink, and the ship recovered. Crossed the ice pack!shouted Johnson, throwing himself on the bow. Praise God!Hatteras replied. However, the ship was still in the midst of an ice floe, which surrounded her on all sides, and although her keel was in the water, she could not move; but if she was motionless, the ice moved with her. We're off course, Captain!shouted Johnson. Let it go!Hatteras replied. Is it possible to resist this procrastination? Day came, and it was clear that the ice field was rapidly drifting northwards under the influence of the undercurrent, and this moving iceberg carried the Forward, which was firmly fixed in the center of the ice field, so that people could not see the edge; Hatteras Anticipating a catastrophe in which the ship was likely to be thrown over the side or crushed by ice floes, he had a great deal of food, camping implements, and crew quilts placed on deck; he followed Mike.What Captain Krull did in the same situation was to have an inflated hammock built around the ship so that it would not suffer too much damage; The bottom piled up, and the ship was surrounded by a wall of ice, only the mast exposed. For seven days it sailed in this way; Cape Albert, which formed the western extremity of the New Golnuy, was swept swiftly on 20th September, and soon disappeared; Since then, it has started sailing eastward. Where is it going?Where to stop?Who can know? The crew waited and watched.Finally, at about three o'clock in the night, September 15th, the ice field undoubtedly collided with another ice field, and stopped suddenly; the ship shook violently; map, he is in the north, no land in sight, longitude ninety-five degrees thirty-five minutes, latitude seventy-eight degrees fifteen minutes, in the center of this region, in the center of this strange sea, the geographer People think that the extreme cold is in this place!