The doctor could not miss such a chance to get wet to the skin; he remained on deck, gazing at the storm with all the admiration such a spectacle cannot fail to draw forth. One standing next to him could not have heard his voice; so he said nothing, but looked, and soon he saw a singular phenomenon, one peculiar to the northern seas.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
The tempest was confined to a small s.p.a.ce of about three or four miles; in fact, the wind loses much of its force in pa.s.sing over the ice, and cannot carry its violence very far; every now and then the doctor would see, through some rift in the storm, a clear sky and a quiet sea beyond the ice-fields; hence the _Forward_ had only to make her way through the pa.s.ses to find smooth sailing; but she ran a risk of being dashed against the moving ma.s.ses which obeyed the motion of the waves. Notwithstanding, Hatteras succeeded in a few hours in carrying his vessel into smooth water, while the violence of the storm, now at its worst at the horizon, was dying away within a few cable-lengths from the _Forward_.
Melville Bay then looked very different; by the influence of the winds and waves a large number of icebergs had been detached from the sh.o.r.es and were now floating northward, continually crashing against one another. They could be counted by hundreds; but the bay is very broad, and the brig avoided them without difficulty. The sight of these floating ma.s.ses, which seemed to be racing together, was indeed magnificent.
The doctor was wild with enthusiasm about it, when Simpson, the harpooner, came up to him and asked him to notice the changing tints of the sea, which varied from deep blue to olive green; long bands ran from north to south with edges so sharply cut that the line of division could be seen as far as the horizon. Sometimes a transparent sheet would stretch out from an opaque one.
"Well, Dr. Clawbonny, what do you think of that?" said Simpson.
"I agree, my friend, with what Scoresby said about these differently colored waters," answered the doctor, "namely, that the blue water does not contain the millions of animalcules and medusae which the green water contains; he made a great many experiments to test it, and I am ready to agree with him."
"O, but there"s something else it shows!"
"What is that?"
"Well, if the _Forward_ were only a whaler, I believe we should have some sport."
"But," answered the doctor, "I don"t see any whales."
"We shall very soon, though, I promise you. It"s great luck for a whaler to see those green patches in these lat.i.tudes."
"Why so?" asked the doctor, whose curiosity was aroused by these remarks of a man who had had experience in what he was talking about.
"Because," answered Simpson, "it is in that green water that most of the whales are caught."
"What is the reason, Simpson?"
"Because they get more food there."
"You are sure of that?"
"O, I have seen it a hundred times in Baffin"s Bay! I don"t see why the same shouldn"t be the case in Melville Bay."
"You must be right, Simpson."
"And see," Simpson continued as he leaned over the rail,--"see there, Doctor."
"One would say it was the track of a ship."
"Well," said Simpson, "it"s an oily substance that the whale leaves behind it. Really, the whale itself can"t be far off."
In fact, the atmosphere was filled with a strong fishy smell. The doctor began to examine the surface of the sea, and the harpooner"s prediction was soon verified. Foker was heard shouting from aloft,--
"A whale to leeward!"
All turned their eyes in that direction; a low spout was seen rising from the sea about a mile from the brig.
"There she spouts!" shouted Simpson, whose experienced eye soon detected it.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
"It"s gone," said the doctor.
"We could soon find it again, if it were necessary," said Simpson, regretfully.
But to his great surprise, although no one had dared to ask it, Hatteras gave the order to lower and man the whale-boat; he was glad to give the men some distraction, and also to get a few barrels of oil. They heard the order with great satisfaction.
Four sailors took their places in the whale-boat; Johnson took the helm; Simpson stood in the bow, harpoon in hand. The doctor insisted on joining the party. The sea was quite smooth. The whale-boat went very fast, and in about ten minutes she was a mile from the brig.
The whale, having taken another breath, had dived again; but soon it came up and projected fifteen feet into the air that combination of gases and mucous fluid which escapes from its vent-holes.
"There, there!" cried Simpson, pointing to a place about eight hundred yards from the boat.
They approached it rapidly; and the brig, having also seen it, drew near slowly.
The huge monster kept appearing above the waves, showing its black back, which resembled a great rock in the sea; a whale never swims rapidly unless pursued, and this one was letting itself be rocked by the waves.
The hunters approached in silence, choosing the green water, which was so opaque as to prevent the whale from seeing them. It is always exciting to watch a frail boat attacking one of these monsters; this one was about one hundred and thirty feet long, and often between lat.i.tude 72 and 80 whales are found more than one hundred and twenty-four feet long; ancient writers have often spoken of some longer than seven hundred feet, but they are imaginary animals.
Soon the boat was very near the whale. Simpson made a sign, the men stopped rowing, and, brandishing his harpoon, he hurled it skilfully; this, with sharp barbs, sank into the thick layers of fat. The wounded whale dived rapidly. At once the four oars were unshipped; the rope which was attached to the harpoon ran out rapidly, and the boat was dragged along while Johnson steered it skilfully.
The whale swam away from the brig and hastened towards the moving icebergs; for half an hour it went on in this way; the cord had to be kept wet to prevent its taking fire from friction. When the animal seemed to go more slowly, the rope was dragged back and carefully coiled; the whale rose again to the surface, lashing violently with its tail; huge spouts of water were dashed up by it and fell in torrents on the boat, which now approached rapidly; Simpson had taken a long lance and was prepared to meet the whale face to face.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "The whale swam away from the brig and hastened towards the moving icebergs."]
But it plunged rapidly into a pa.s.s between two icebergs. Further pursuit seemed dangerous.
"The devil!" said Johnson.
"Forward, forward, my friends," shouted Simpson, eager for the chase; "the whale is ours."
"But we can"t follow it among the icebergs," answered Johnson, turning the boat away.
"Yes, yes!" cried Simpson.
"No, no!" said some of the sailors.
"Yes!" cried others.
During this discussion the whale had got between two icebergs which the wind and waves were driving together.
The whale-boat was in danger of being dragged into this dangerous pa.s.s, when Johnson sprang forward, axe in hand, and cut the line.
It was time; the two icebergs met with irresistible force, crushing the whale between them.
"Lost!" cried Simpson.