Chapter 27 Chapter 27 The Cold of Christmas

There was a desperate moment.The thought of death and freezing took on a horrible guise; the last coal burned with a terrible crackle; the fire was about to go out, and the temperature in the room dropped markedly.Johnson, however, went to find a few pieces of fresh fuel provided by marine animals.Put it in the furnace; he added to it waste hemp soaked in frozen oil, and soon got enough heat that the taste of this fat was almost unbearable; but how could it be removed!We should think of a way.Johnson himself believes his stopgap needs to be improved, which won't have any success among Liverpool's middle-class families.

But, he added, this particularly bad taste can have good results. what result?asked the carpenter. It will no doubt draw bears to us as they salivate at the smell. Well, Bell asked rhetorically, what's the use of a bear? Bell friend, replied Johnson, we can no longer count on the seals; they are gone, and for a long time; and if the bears do not provide us with fuel, I do not know what our end will be. You are right, Johnson, our fate is far from certain, and the situation is dire.If it doesn't end up being this way of heating I don't know what to do There will be another one!

Another kind?Bell said again. Yes Bell!There is really nothing to do, but the captain has always said that he may have to do it anyway. Old Johnson shook his head mournfully, lost in thought, and Bell would not wake him.He knew that these hard-won fat lumps would not last for eight days, and it was useless to try to save them. The boatswain was right.Many bears, attracted by the stench, were conspicuous on the leeward side of the Vanguard; healthy men hunted them; but these beasts were born with incredible speed and cunning to see all tricks; approaching them was impossible , even the most seasoned hunter can't shoot them.

The crew faced the ordeal of freezing to death; it was impossible to maintain the temperature in the common room for 48 hours.Everyone watches in horror as the last piece of fuel burns out. The hour of three o'clock in the evening of December 20th came; the fire died out; and the sailors sat round the fire, looking at one another with wide, frightened eyes.Hatteras was motionless in his corner; the doctor paced anxiously up and down as usual; he no longer knew what to think. The temperature in the room suddenly dropped to minus twenty-two degrees Celsius. If the doctor has racked his brains, if he doesn't know what to do, someone else has thought of it for him.Shandon, calm and determined, and Penn, with fire in his eyes, came towards Hatteras with two or three companions, and whoever they could pull past.

captain!Sandon said. Hatteras was deep in thought, and didn't hear his cry. captain!repeated Sandon, who touched him with his hand. Hatteras stood up. Sir, he said. Captain, we have no more fire. What's wrong?Hatteras replied. If you would rather let us freeze to death, we beg you, Sandron went on, to inform us! What I mean, Hatteras replied firmly, is that everyone here has to do their part until the end. There is something above duty, the captain, replied the latter, which is the right to preserve the individual.Let me tell you again, we are out of fire, and if this goes on, none of us will be dead in two days!

I have no wood, Hatteras replied dully. All right!Payne yelled, when there is no wood, go to the place where the wood grows! Hatteras paled with anger. where to goHe said. aboard!The sailor replied arrogantly. aboard!The captain also said that his fists were clenched and his eyes were shining. Yes, replied Penn, burn the ship when it is no longer fit for a crew! At the beginning of this sentence, Hatteras had seized an axe; at last, the axe was raised above Penn's head. Despicable fellow!he shouted. The doctor threw himself in front of Penn and pushed him away; the ax fell to the ground, making a deep gash in the floor.Johnson, Bell, and Simpson stood around Hatteras, seemingly determined to support him.But voices of misery, complaining, and pain came from the places that had become grave-beds.

fire!fire!cried the unfortunate sick that the cold had penetrated their quilts. Hatteras checked himself, and after a moment's silence, he said these words in a calm tone: How can we get back to England if we wreck the ship? Sir, said Johnson, we can probably burn the least useful parts, the ship's sides, the bulwarks, without damage. There will always be boats, Sandon added, and besides, who will stop us from building a smaller one out of the remains of an old ship! impossible!Hatteras replied. But many sailors raised their voices. We also have a lot of alcohol.Hatteras replied, burning to the last drop.

OK, go get the alcohol!Johnson replied that he was putting on an air of confidence that didn't come from his heart at all. With the help of large wicks dipped in this liquid, pale tongues of fire licking the walls of the furnace raise the temperature of the room by a few degrees. In the days that accompanied this bleak scene, the wind turned south, the temperature rose, and there were snowflakes in the less severe weather.A few men could leave the ship in less humid weather; but eye disease and scurvy kept most of them on board; besides, neither hunting nor fishing could do. In addition, this was just an intermission in the severe cold. On the 25th, an unexpected wind blew up, and the frozen mercury disappeared into the mercury tank of the thermometer again; people had to use alcohol as a thermometer, and the coldest weather would not Freeze it.

Doctors were horrified to find that the temperature had dropped to minus fifty-two degrees Celsius.The temperature is almost unbearable for people. Ice stretched across the floor like long faded mirrors; thick fog filled the room; moisture fell again as snowflakes; people could not see each other; people's heat receded from their extremities; With the iron ring, the mind freezes, shrinks, and freezes, leading to delirium.Horrible symptom: Tongue can no longer speak. Hatteras spent hours wandering the decks from the day the crew threatened to burn the ship.He watched, watched.Wood is his flesh and blood!Just chopping off a piece of wood is equivalent to cutting off one of his legs.He bears his weapon and watches closely, oblivious to the cold and snow that freezes his clothes and threatens him like pincers of granite.Dak understood what he meant and yelped at his feet, accompanying him with howls.

However, on December 25, he came to the common room.Using what little strength he had left, the doctor walked straight to him. Hatteras, he said to him, without fire we shall perish! Won't!Hatteras said he knew exactly what request he was answering. We need it, the doctor said kindly again. No, said Hatteras more emphatically, I would never agree.Whoever wants to, don't obey me! It was some kind of promise of freedom of movement, and Johnson and Bell rushed to the deck.Hatteras wept when he heard the logs of his ship cracking under the axe. This day is Christmas, which in the UK is a family holiday, a children's party!How bitter are the memories of happy children around the Christmas tree tied with ribbons!Who wouldn't have thought of the long, roasted slices of fattened beef served on the occasion?The round pies and patties so dear to the British are made especially for this day?But here, it is the most unbearable pain, despair and misfortune, and the Christmas logs are a few logs from a ship lost in the depths of the ice and snow region!

But, under the action of the fire, affection and strength returned to the hearts of the sailors; and the temporary comfort of hot tea and coffee, and hope, that which is so tenacious in the human spirit, men had hope again, that Among these changes sent 1860, the year in which the early arrival of winter thwarted Hatteras' valiant plans. But it was precisely January 1, 1861, that was brought to the fore by an unexpected discovery.The weather was not so cold; the doctor resumed his usual research; he read Edward.Bilcher's Travels in the Polar Sea.Suddenly, a passage that had not been noticed at the time startled him; he read it again, and there was no way he could be mistaken. It was, he said, a remnant of civilized housing far above the crude customs of the wandering Eskimo tribes that one might think of.Their walls rested firmly in the ground dug deep; the ground within was covered with a thick layer of sand of a good texture, and the ground was paved.A large number of reindeer, walrus and seal bones can be seen.We have coal. After reading the last few words, an idea flashed in the doctor's mind, and he took the book to discuss the matter with Hatteras. coal!the latter shouted. Yes, Hatteras, it's coal, our savior! coal!On this desolate shore!Hatteras said, no, that's impossible! Why doubt, Hatteras?Bilcher would not have brought up such a thing if he hadn't been sure, if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. So, what's next, doctor? We were less than a hundred nautical miles from shore where Bilcher saw the coal.What's the point of walking a hundred nautical miles?negligible.I often travel longer distances through snow and ice and in severe cold.Let's go, Captain! Let's go!cried Hatteras, he made up his mind, his imagination was very active, and he saw dimly the hope of deliverance. Johnson immediately learned of the decision; he approved of the plan; he told the news to his companions; some with great excitement, others with indifference. There's coal on the coast!Wall said he was buried in pain on the bed. Let them go!Shandon answered him treacherously. However, before making preparations for departure, Hatteras wanted to determine the position of the ship as accurately as possible again.It is easy to understand the importance of this measurement and why it is necessary to know the position precisely.Once away from the ship, it cannot be found without a definite number. Hatteras came on deck, and he gathered at different times the many distances and meridian heights of the principal stars. Serious difficulties were encountered with these observations; the temperature was so low that Hatteras's breath covered the surfaces of the glass and mirrors of the instrument with a layer of ice; and more than once his eyelids were burned while wearing the brass telescope. But he still got the basic data needed for calculation, and he went back to the house to calculate.After the work was over, he raised his head in astonishment, took the map, pointed with his finger, and stared at the doctor. how?the latter asked. At what latitude do we start wintering? The latitude is seventy-eight degrees fifteen minutes, and the longitude is ninety-five degrees thirty-five minutes, just at the extreme of cold. Well, Hatteras added in a low voice, our ice fields have shifted. We've shifted two degrees north and two degrees west, at least three hundred nautical miles from your coal bunker! These unfortunates don't know it yet!shouted the doctor. Do not talk!said Hatteras, putting his hand to his lips.