Part 2 (1/2)
”No,” he answered, ”I wanted to knohat a storlad when it's cale had come over the scene I went on deck, a perfect calm prevailed All round us were piles of ice The blocks arid ainst the sky were cast into shades, while the level floes sparkled like silver in the rising sun Far away to the southe could still see the ocean heaving slowly In a short tis and floes opened out, the water being of the colour of lead All hands were called up toour way between the floes, until open water was reached, though in every direction lofty icebergs and extensive floes were still to be seen Many of the bergs were of the most fantastic form and brilliant colours Some had arches of vast size, others caverns worn in thereen, curtained with glittering icicles, all without being of stainless white
I should fill up the whole of my journal were I to atteions
Our object, hales were not to be met with, was to kill walruses, and for this purpose our boats were provided with the necessary gear
We had in each boat six harpoon-heads, and four shafts of white pine
Each harpoon had fastened to its reck one end of a line, twelve or fifteen fatho coiled away in its proper box It is not necessary to have longer lines, because the walrus does not frequent water more than fifteen fatho to the pressure above hith
Besides these harpoons, we had four lances nine feet in length, to which the iron barbed heads were strongly fixed As ere approaching the ice, we caught sight of two hundred black heads, at least, swi They werewith theress Three boats were instantly lowered with their proper gear I ith Sandy, as an experienced walrus-hunter, and at once took the lead We h the water, while ahead was the herd of walruses bellowing, snorting, blowing, and splashi+ng The herd kept close together, now diving, now reappearing sileaave a spout and took a breath of fresh air, and the next e flippers were to be seen and the whole herd were down
Sandy stood up in the boith his harpoon ready for a dart In a few seconds up again came the walruses, and ere in their midst The harpoon flew from Sandy's hand deep into the body of the nearest walrus
He then seized another harpoon and darted it into a ”junger” which ca its plaintive cry, rushed towards us with her for to recover it; but before she had ti theuns and a plunge froer,” which was only slightly wounded, uttered a whi bark, when a score ortheir heads out of the water, snorting and blowing, ready to tear the boat to fragments Several were killed before the calf had ceased its cries, when they prudently retired to a distance to escape our bullets and the thrusts froh others ounded they sank
So well satisfied was the captain with the result of our chase, that, soon after the blubber and skins had been stoay, he ordered the two boats to be prepared for another chase Andreished to see the sport, went in the boatswain's boat, and Ewen got leave to acco now able to pull an oar well
We could see the land to the ard, and, by keeping as close to it as the ice would alloe hoped to fall in with plenty of galy pulled away to the here the sea was tolerably open
Our as to find the animals asleep on the ice where they could be more easily attacked and secured than in the water in which they have the th to the uttermost, whereas on the ice they were at our th so ot how h the Arctic su the weather continued uncertain We had killed two ordinary-sized walruses, when a third, an enore of the floe We approached cautiously, hoping to kill hiet a harpoon well secured in his body Once he lifted up his head and winked an eye, but did not appear to apprehend danger With bated breaths we urged the boat slowly forward My brother fired and the bullet went crashi+ng into the ani out, drove his harpoon into its body It was fortunate that he succeeded in doing this, as the walrus by a violent effort rolled itself over into the water rapidly carrying out the line, the end of which was secured to the bollard
Sandy had barely time to leap back into the boat, when aent, towed by the walrus, the bow pressed down in a hich threatened to drag it under water Sandy stood ready, axe in hand, to cut the line to save us from such a catastrophe Suddenly the line slackened The walrus dived and shortly afterwards caain
My brother fired and missed The animal disappeared We felt far froreat chance of its rising directly under the boat which it ht tear out a plank with its for by attacking us as we struggled in the water Happily, however, exhausted by the wounds it had received, it rose a short distance ahead, when a thrust from Andrew's spear finished its career
We hauled it up on the ice by means of the tackles we carried for the purpose, to denude the huge body of the skin and blubber
We were so busily engaged in the operation, that we did not perceive the approach of a thick fog which quickly enveloped us, while the wind began to blow directly on the ice It beca to avoid the risk of the boat being dashed to pieces We now steered in the direction we supposed the shi+p to lie, but as we could not see fifty fathoms ahead we kneell that ere very likely toup, threatened every instant to swamp the boat
”It must be done,” cried Sandy; ”heave overboard the blubber and skins, better get back to the shi+p with an eet back at all”
His directions were obeyed and everything not absolutely required in the boat was thrown out of her Notwithstanding this there was still the danger of being cast on adown on us, when our destruction would have been certain We did our utmost to keep the boat's head to the sea, as the only hope we had of saving her fro down
What had become of the other boat we could not tell We looked out for her, but she was nowhere visible Our shi+p, too, was in no sht--should she be unable to beat off the solid ice--be dashed against it and knocked to pieces
All night long we pulled on, a floes, so thrown on one of theether as one was driven against the other
I, for one, did not expect to see another sun rise, nor did probably any of ed between us Sandy sat at the steering oar, keeping an anxious look-out for dangers ahead and occasionally cheering us up to continue our exertions
”Pull away, lads, pull away; as the boat has kept afloat so long, there's no reason why she shouldn't swiale is over,” he cried out Just then, however, a heavy sea caht over our bows, al the boat
”Never fear, bale it out, doctor,” cried Sandy; and my brother and Ewen set to work, and, happily, before another sea struck us, got the boat free None of the rowers, however, could venture to cease pulling for an instant; not that we ress, but it was all-i up soht away to leeward I was just going to draw Sandy's attention to it, when I discovered, close under our lee, a huge iceberg towering up towards the sky Had we been on the opposite side, it would have afforded us soale, provided it did not topple over As, however, ere to ard, we had the greatest difficulty in escaping fro thrown upon it
Sandy's voice sounded aled us to pull ahile he kept the boat off from the furious surf, which, with a sound of thunder, beat upon the lower portion of the berg We did not need urging, for we all saw our danger Though the sea tumbled aboutwas passed Still, other bergs or floes ht have to be encountered, and we knew not at what ht coht I need not say At length it ca a wild scene of confusion around us, the ocean as turbulent as ever We had been h it, and we trusted that our buoyant craft would carry us back to the shi+p She, however, was not to be seen, but we made out, far off, a speck, now on the top of a wave, now disappearing in the trough, which Sandy declared was the other boat
Our spirits rose soer and thirst, for we had no food nor water with us, nor if we had could we have spared tiht increased we made out the land, for which Sandy steered, as the other boat was apparently doing The thought of setting foot on shore, and obtaining a short rest, encouraged us to renew our exertions
The ice had been driven away from us, and formed a barrier some distance off froress than during the night We could now distinguish the other boat clearly over the starboard quarter