The English at the North Pole

h them their penetrating cold. The night required the severest attention; the floating icebergs drew together in that narrow pass; a hundred at once were often counted on the horizon; they

to protect him from the cold winds while he kept watch over the sea and the icebergs in view, and from which he signalled danger and sometimes gave orders to the crew. The nights were short; the sun had reappeared sinc

ot had a minute's rest; it was soon necessary to have recourse to steam to cut a way through the heaped-up blocks. The doctor and Johnson were talking together on the stern, whilst Shandon was snatching a few hours' sleep in

y is not like all others; they call it Greenland, but there

f this kind has been produced upon our globe, and I daresay I should astonish you if I were to tell you that accordin

ny, that I should have some difficulty in b

ffers a sufficient retreat to its inhabi

nted to live in such climates; but my ideas upon the matter

arge towns; they may be unfortunate, but they are certainly not unhappy. I say unhappy, but the word does not translate my thought, for if these p

lways shrinks at the sight of these wretched solitudes; but they ought to have cheered up these capes, promontories,

anklin, and Bellot, if I meet with Cape Desolation I soon find Mercy Bay; Cape Providence is a companion to Port Anxiety; Repulsion Bay brings me back to Cape Eden, and leaving Turnagain Point I take refuge in Refuge Bay. I have there under my ey

d I hope we shall meet with more Succes

I say, is the crew come roun

fantastic captain; more than one of them expected to see him appear at the extremity

indeed,

e in the capta

ourse

is reasons for act

tice the crew far enough out to prevent them being able to come back. Now if he had been on board whe

why

e others have never been able to reach, do you believe if the crew knew it they woul

trepid adventurer whose name alone was a terror, and who would neve

e," ventured

number of such adventurers. No matter, we shall soon see; I suppose the unknown will come as captain on board from

elville Bay. See how the icebergs encircle us from every point! They scarcely

-field, that is to say a continued surface of

eld, those long pieces of ice mor

lar form we should call it a patch; a

those floati

avoided. Here, look over there: on that ice-field there is a protuberance produced by the pressure of the icebergs; we call that a hummock; if that

ctor, contemplating the wonders of the Boreal Seas; "t

stic shapes, and our men are not behindhand in

own, with its minarets and mosques under the pale glare of the moon? Further on there is a long s

not sail too close to them. Some of those minarets yonder totter on t

ore they had steam at their command! How ever could a

quietly anchored to one of those blocks, and we drifted more or less with it and waited for a favourable moment to set sail again.

octor, "that the temperature

tlantic; besides, they are more numerous in Davis's Straits, for the sea gets narrower between Capes Walsingham and Holste

all we must get t

sage, like the whalers do, but our orders were precise; we were to be here in April. I am

which, although it cleared the sky, assisted the current in precipitating the floating masses of ice into the path of the Forward. All of them did not obey t

watch. Sometimes the brig had to hasten through an opening in the ice-fields, sometimes to struggle against the swiftness of an iceberg which threatened to close the only practicable issue, or, again, some block, suddenly overthrown, compelled the bri

deafening cries, a great number of big-headed, short-necked sea-gulls were amongst them; they spread out their long wings an

ached the vessel, but there was no question of chasing them, although Simpson, the harpooner, was longing to have

on all steam to catch the favourable passes: the wind was

ted by Shandon, the crew gave chase to sea-birds, of which they caught a great number. They were suitably prepared acc

e a vast and inopportune fog fell from the grey sky; however, at noon an exact observation could be taken. The vessel was in 65° 20'

turned off quickly or got up again at a moment's notice, and escaped whistling from its valves. During the thick mist the nearing of icebergs was only known by dull thundering produced

ical delusions that refraction produces on these coasts. An iceberg sometimes appeared to him like a small white lump within reach, when it was at least at

ields and by keeping it free from the most menacing blocks by the aid of long perches. Nevertheless, th