Chapter 25 Chapter 25 James.an old fox in ross

On this day, the temperature dropped to minus sixteen degrees Celsius.The weather was fairly calm and the cold was easily bearable without the wind.Hatteras took advantage of the clear weather to survey the surrounding plain; he climbed one of the tallest icebergs in the north, and with the help of a telescope he saw nothing but icebergs and ice fields.With no land in sight, but a confused scene, and looking utterly forlorn, he returned to the ship, and tried to calculate how long he might remain there. Hunters, including doctors, James.Wall, Simpson, Johnson, and Bell lost no time in supplying fresh meat to the ship, and the birds had disappeared to the south in search of a less severe climate.Only the rock quail, endemic to this latitude, did not shrink back when winter came.They are easy to take down, and they are plentiful, guaranteeing a good store of prey.

Hares, foxes, wolves, stoats, bears are not rare; a French, English, or Norwegian hunter has no right to complain; It's very difficult to tell them apart because, before the weather turns bitterly cold, they change color and put on winter fur.The doctor, contrary to the views of some natural scientists, believes that this change is not due to a great drop in temperature, for it occurred before October; Cope with harsh arctic winters. Manatees, whales, and animals generally grouped under the seal genus were frequently passed; hunters took particular interest in hunting them, for their hides and fat, which was especially suitable for fuel.Moreover, the livers of these animals make a good food in a time of need; and there were hundreds of them, and within two or three nautical miles to the north of the ship, the ice-fields were nearly all penetrated by the burrows of these gigantic mammals; However, they have an outstanding instinct to identify hunters, and many of them were injured, and easily escaped by diving under the ice floes.

But on the nineteenth Simpson caught one within four hundred yards of the ship; he carefully blocked the hole through which it had escaped, so that the beast was under the control of the hunters.It struggled for a long time, and after being shot several times, it was finally killed.It was nine feet long, its head resembled that of a bulldog, with sixteen teeth in its jaws, a large fin on its breast like a shark's fin, and a very small tail with another pair of fins, which would serve as a perfect octopus. specimen.The doctor, wishing to preserve its head as a natural history collection, and its hide for future use, had them disposed of in a quick and cheap manner.He put the animal's body at the mouth of the hole, and thousands of little shrimps devoured every bit of the meat; and half a day later, the job was done, as well as the most experienced and prestigious tanners of the Liverpool guild could not have done. .

As soon as the sun passes the autumnal equinox, which is September 23, it can be said that winter in the Arctic region has begun.Little by little the benevolent planet sank below the horizon, finally disappearing on October 23, its slanting rays skimming over the snow-capped peaks.Physician bids it his best farewell as scientist and traveler.He won't see it again until February. Don't think that in the long days when the sun is completely gone, there is darkness, and the moon tries to replace it every month; there is also the light of the stars, the brilliance of the planets, the common aurora at the North Pole, and the special reflection at the snowy horizon. light; moreover, the sun is now at its highest southern declination, December 21, near the north pole horizon; therefore there are several hours of twilight each day.However, fog and snow often drag these cold regions into complete darkness.

But the weather had been fair so far; only partridges and hares complained, because the hunters did not allow them a moment's rest; many traps were set for the foxes, but the suspicious animals were not fooled; The snow under the trap ate the baits with no risk; the doctor gave them to the devil, and still felt very sorry for giving him such a gift. On October 25, the thermometer indicated only minus twenty degrees Celsius.An extremely violent hurricane blew up; the sky was full of snow, and not a single light shone on the Vanguard.For hours all feared for the fate of Bell and Simpson, who had gone too far hunting; The snow buried them five feet.They were so close to frostbite that doctors struggled to recirculate their blood.

The blizzard lasted eight days non-stop, people could not go outside, and the temperature varied from fifteen to twenty degrees in one day. They had to be free and do their own things.Some slept, others smoked, some talked in low voices, and when Johnson or the doctor approached, they stopped; there was no spiritual bond between these men on board, they had only to carry on together Evening prayers, the reading of the Lord's Day and the sacraments are only gathered together on Sundays. Clifton calculated very well that after the seventy-eightth degree of north latitude his share of the fee rose to nine thousand three hundred and seventy-five francs;Everyone agreed with him and fantasized about enjoying their hard-earned money.

Hatteras was almost gone.He neither hunts nor walks.He was not at all interested in meteorological phenomena that amazed the doctor; he lived with one thought; and it could be summed up in three words: To the North Pole.All he could think about was the re-exploration of the forward ship, which was finally free. In conclusion, the general feeling of those on board was one of sadness, and nothing could be more sad than seeing the ship, like a prisoner, no longer in its natural state, changed its form beneath the thick ice; it It's like nothing; it's made to move, but it can't move; it's been turned into a log cabin, a storehouse, a dwelling where it was designed to withstand the storm.This abnormality, this unnatural condition, arouses in the minds of men an indescribable feeling of anxiety and regret.

While idle, the doctor organizes his travel journal, and this account is a faithful recreation: he never idles, his even-tempered disposition remains unchanged.It was just that he was very satisfied to see that the storm was over, and the daily hunting resumed. At six o'clock in the morning on November 3rd, the temperature was minus twenty-one degrees Celsius, and he set off, accompanied by Johnson and Bell; The ground was fine to walk on; there was a dry, biting chill in the air, and the moon shone with a light of incomparable purity, which illuminated every unevenness of the ice-field with a marvelous light; Light trails were left on the road they walked, and their huge shadows were projected on the ice with unusual clarity.

The doctor took his friend Duck; for good reason he preferred him to the Greenlander in the pursuit of game; the latter was of little use in similar circumstances, and seemed less enthusiastic than the dogs of temperate regions .Duck sniffed the road as he ran, stopping often at the bear's fresh tracks.However, although it was very alert, the hunters walked for two hours without encountering a hare. Could it be that the prey already sensed the need to move south?said the doctor as he rested at the foot of the mound. "That may be so, Mr. Crawburn," replied the carpenter. I don't think so, I see, answered Johnson, that the hares, foxes, and bears are made of this climate; I see that they disappeared because of the last blizzard; but they appear as soon as the south wind blows.ah!If you're talking about reindeer or musk oxen, that's a different story.

But, on Melville Island, large groups of these animals were found, and the doctor added that this island is more southerly, which is good, and that Barley always catches this wonderful game at random when he is anchored in winter. . We don't quite agree, Bell replied, as long as we can get bear meat, there shouldn't be any complaints. That was precisely the difficulty, retorted the doctor, that bears seemed to me too rare and wild; they were not civilized enough to come forward and get shot. Bell was talking about bear meat, Johnson added, but the animal's fat was more interesting at the moment than its flesh and fur.

You're right, Johnson, Bell replied, you're always thinking about fuel. How can you not want to?Even with maximum sparing use, we have less than three weeks left of us! Yes, says the doctor, here lies the real danger, for we are only at the beginning of November, and February is the coldest month of the year in the Arctic; anyhow, if bear's fat is not available, we must use seal's fat. Not long, Mr. Crawburn, replied Johnson, the animals will soon desert us; they will no longer appear on the surface of the ice pack, either from cold or fear. Then, said the doctor again, it seems to me that the bear should definitely be aimed at, which, I admit, is precisely the most useful animal in these parts of the world, since it alone provides food, clothing, light, and fuel useful to man.Did you hear that, Duck?The doctor stroked the dog and said, We need bears, my friend; find them!look!look for it! Duck was sniffing the ice floe at the moment, he was cheered up by the doctor's words and stroking, and immediately set off like an arrow.It was barking furiously, and though it was far away, the hunters could still hear its powerful cry. The range of sound at low temperatures is astonishing, equal to the brightness of the stars in the arctic sky; light and sound waves can travel great distances, especially in the dry and cold extreme northern nights. Guided by the barking of dogs in the distance, the hunters ran along Duck's trail; they had traveled a nautical mile and arrived out of breath, for the lungs were immediately suffocated in such a climate. up.Dark stopped fifty paces away from a huge thing that was dangling on a knoll. Our dream has come true!The doctor called out and put the gun at the ready. A bear, indeed, a beautiful bear, Bell said, and he did like the doctor. One bear in particular, Johnson said, waited for his two companions to shoot before firing. Duck screamed desperately.Bell took twenty paces forward and fired; but the beast appeared to miss, for it continued to shake its head lumberingly. Johnson approached, took aim carefully, and pulled the trigger. good!The doctor yelled: Still missed!ah!Nasty refraction!We're out of bounds; we'll never fit in!This bear is a thousand steps away from us! Move forward!Bell replied. The three companions ran swiftly to the animal, which was not in the least frightened by the sound of the gun; it looked strong, and the hunters, regardless of the danger of attack, were already in the joy of their conquerors.When they were at a reasonable distance, they fired; and the bear, no doubt mortally wounded, gave a sudden spring and fell at the foot of the knoll. Dak jumped on it. The bear, said the doctor, was not difficult to bring down. Just three shots, Bell said contemptuously, and it's down! That's a little odd, Johnson said. Unless we get there, it's old and dying.The doctor replied with a smile. True, young or old, Bell retorted, was a big bonus. ah!Let's see!cried Bell, how strong it is! real!The doctor said we killed a bear and a fox fell! Johnson didn't know what to say. OK!The doctor shouted, and he was so angry that he laughed, it was still refraction!Always refract! What do you mean, Mr. Crawburn?asked the carpenter. Yes, my friend; it deceives us on size as much as it does distance!It made us see a bear under the fox fur!Hunters have missed more than once in similar situations!all right!That's the price we pay for our imaginations. Indeed, answered Johnson, we must eat the bear as well as the fox.let's take it. But just as the bosun was about to put the beast on his shoulders. This is more useful!he cried. what is itasked the doctor. Look, Mr. Crawburn, look!This beast has a collar around its neck! a collar?asked the doctor back, stooping to the beast. Indeed, a half-worn steel collar appeared among the white fur of the fox; the doctor believed that there would be found the engraved letters; and with a twirl of his hand he removed the collar from the neck, which looked as though it had been put on for a long time. up. What does it mean?Johnson asked. That means, replied the doctor, that we have just killed a fox over the age of twelve, my friends, a fox killed in 1848 by James F.The fox caught by Ross. is it possible!cried Bell. There is no doubt about it; I regret that we killed the poor fox!James.When Ross spent the winter, he managed to trap a large number of silver foxes; men put copper collars around their necks, and carved on them the information of their ships, the Enterprise and the Prospector, and the storage of living supplies.These animals travel across vast areas in search of food, James.Ross hoped some of them would find their way into the hands of someone on Franklin's expedition.That's all there is to explain, the poor animal, who perhaps saved the lives of two convoys, is now lying useless at our guns. Indeed, let's not eat it, said Johnson, after all, it's a twelve-year-old fox!In any case, we shall keep its hide, as a witness to this adventure. Johnson put the animal on his shoulders.The hunters followed the direction the stars directed toward the ship; their expedition was not in vain; they brought down many pairs of sea-birds. An hour before reaching the Forward, a phenomenon occurred which struck the doctor as very strange.It was a veritable meteor shower; tens of thousands, like rockets in the last and most splendid pyrotechnics.The moonlight dimmed.The eye cannot follow the sight for hours at will.The Morav brothers saw the same meteor over Greenland in 1799.It was almost like a real festival given to the earth in this desolate latitude.The doctor observed this phenomenon during the night, when he was back on board, and it did not end until nearly seven o'clock in the morning, when the air was very still.