Proverbial philosophy teaches us that misfortunes seldom come singly. Newfoundland, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, does not seem to have been a place of refuge from the operation of that law.
On the morning of the day in which the explorers meant to commence the return journey, a storm of unwonted rigour burst upon them, and swept over the land with devastating1 violence—overturning trees, snapping off mighty2 limbs, uplifting the new-fallen snow in great masses, and hurling3 it in wild confusion into space, so that earth and sky seemed to commingle4 in a horrid5 chaos6.
The first intimation the travellers had of the impending7 storm was the rending8 of a limb of the tree under which they reposed9. The way in which Oliver Trench10 received the rude awakening11 might, in other circumstances, have raised a laugh, for he leaped up like a harlequin, with a glare of sudden amazement12, and, plunging13 headlong away from the threatened danger, buried himself in the snow. From this he instantly emerged with an aspect similar to that of “Father Christmas,” minus the good-natured serenity14 of that liberal-hearted personage.
The question was not uncalled for, the captain having made a plunge16 like that of his son, but unlike his son, having found it difficult to extricate17 himself quickly.
Paul and Hendrick had also sprung up, but the latter, remaining close to the stem of the tree, kept his eye watchfully18 on the branches.
“Come here—quick!” he cried—“the stem is our safeguard. Look out!”
As he spoke19 his voice was drowned in a crash which mingled20 with the shrieking21 blast, and a great branch fell to the ground. Fortunately the wind blew it sufficiently22 to one side to clear the camp. The air was so charged with snow particles that the captain and his son seemed to stagger out of a white mist as they returned to their comrades who were clinging to the weather-side of the tree.
“D’ye think it will go by the board?” asked the captain, as he observed Hendrick’s anxious gaze fixed23 on the swaying tree.
The captain looked up at the thick stem with a doubtful expression, and then turned to Hendrick with a nautical25 shake of the head.
“I never saw a stick,” he said, “that would stand the like o’ that without fore26 an’ back stays, but it may be that shoregoin’ sticks are—”
He stopped abruptly27, for a terrific crash almost stunned28 him, as the tree by which they stood went down, tearing its way through the adjacent branches in its fall, and causing the whole party to stagger.
“Keep still!” shouted Hendrick in a voice of stern command, as he glanced critically at the fallen tree.
“Yes,” he added, “it will do. Come here.”
He scrambled29 quickly among the crushed branches until he stood directly under the prostrate30 stem, which was supported by its roots and stouter31 branches. “Here,” said he, “we are safe.”
His comrades glanced upwards32 with uneasy expressions that showed they did not quite share his feelings of safety.
“Seems to me, Master Hendrick,” roared the captain, for the noise of the hurly-burly around was tremendous, “that it was safer where we were. What if the stem should sink further and flatten33 us?”
“As long as we stood to windward of it” replied Hendrick, “we were safe from the tree itself, though in danger from surrounding trees, but now, with this great trunk above us, other trees can do us no harm. As for the stem sinking lower, it can’t do that until this solid branch that supports it becomes rotten. Come now,” he added, “we will encamp here. Give me the axe34, Oliver, and the three of you help to carry away the branches as I chop them off.”
In little more than an hour a circular space was cleared of snow and branches, and a hut was thus formed, with the great tree-stem for a ridge-pole, and innumerable branches, great and small, serving at once for walls and supports. Having rescued their newly made snow-shoes and brought them, with their other property, into this place of refuge, they sat or reclined on their deerskins to await the end of the storm. This event did not, however, seem to be near. Hour after hour they sat, scarcely able to converse35 because of the noise, and quite unable to kindle36 a fire. Towards evening, however, the wind veered37 round a little, and a hill close to their camp sheltered them from its direct force. At the same time, an eddy38 in the gale39 piled up the snow on the fallen tree till it almost buried them; converting their refuge into a sort of snow-hut, with a branchy framework inside. This change also permitted them to light a small fire and cook some venison, so that they made a sudden bound from a state of great discomfort40 and depression to one of considerable comfort and hilarity41.
“A wonderful change,” observed Trench, looking round the now ruddy walls of their curious dwelling42 with great satisfaction. “About the quickest built house on record, I should think—and the strongest.”
“Yes, daddy, and built under the worst of circumstances too. What puzzles me is that such a tree should have given way at all.”
“Don’t you see, Olly,” said Paul, “that some of its roots are hollow, rotten at the core?”
“Ah! boy—same with men as trees,” remarked the captain, moralising. “Rotten at the core—sure to come down, sooner or later. Lay that to heart, Olly.”
“If ever I do come down, daddy, I hope it won’t be with so much noise. Why, it went off like a cannon43.”
“A cannon!” echoed the captain. “More like as if the main-mast o’ the world had gone by the board!”
“What if the gale should last a week?” asked Olly.
“Then we shall have to stay here a week,” returned Hendrick; “but there’s no fear of that. The fiercer the gale the sooner the calm. It won’t delay us long.”
The hunter was right. The day following found the party en route, with a clear sky, bright sun, and sharp calm air. But the art of snow-shoe walking, though easy enough, is not learned in an hour.
“They’re clumsy things to look at—more like small boats flattened44 than anything else,” remarked the captain, when Hendrick had fastened the strange but indispensable instruments on his feet—as he had already fastened those of the other two.
“Now look at me,” said Hendrick. “I’ll take a turn round of a few hundred yards to show you how. The chief thing you have to guard against is treading with one shoe on the edge of the other, at the same time you must not straddle. Just pass the inner edge of one shoe over the inner edge of the other, and walk very much as if you had no snow-shoes on at all—so.”
He stepped off at a round pace, the broad and long shoes keeping him so well on the surface of the snow that he sank only a few inches.
“Why, it seems quite easy,” observed the captain.
“Remarkably so,” said Paul.
“Anybody can do that,” cried Oliver.
“Now then, up anchor—here goes!” said the captain.
He stepped out valiantly45; took the first five paces like a trained walker; tripped at the sixth step, and went headlong down at the seventh, with such a wild plunge that his anxious son, running hastily to his aid, summarily shared his fate. Paul burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, lost his balance, and went down—as the captain said—stern foremost!
It was a perplexing commencement, but the ice having been broken, they managed in the course of a few hours to advance with only an occasional fall, and, before the next day had closed, walked almost as easily as their guide.
This was so far satisfactory. Our three travellers were quite charmed with their proficiency46 in the new mode of progression, when a sudden thaw47 set in and damped not only their spirits but their shoes. The netting and lines became flabby. The moccasins, with which Hendrick had supplied them from the bundle he carried for his own use, were reduced to something of the nature of tripe48. The damp snow, which when rendered powdery by frost had fallen through the net-work of the shoes, now fell upon it in soft heaps and remained there, increasing the weight so much as to wrench49 joints50 and strain muscles, while the higher temperature rendered exertion51 fatiguing52 and clothing unbearable53.
“I wonder how long I can stand this without my legs coming off,” said poor Oliver, giving way at last to a feeling of despair.
“Seems to me to get hotter and hotter,” growled54 his father, as he wiped the perspiration55 from his face with the tail of his coat—having lost the solitary56 handkerchief with which he had landed.
“I’m glad the thaw is so complete,” said Hendrick, “for it may perhaps clear away the snow altogether. It is too early for winter to begin in earnest. I would suggest now that we encamp again for a few days, to see whether the weather is really going to change; hunt a little, and rest a while. What say you?”
With a sigh of contentment the captain answered, “Amen!” Paul said, “Agreed!” and Oliver cried, “Hurrah!” at the same time throwing his cap in the air.
Two days after that they were enabled to continue the journey on snowless ground, with the unwieldy shoes slung57 at their backs.
The change, although decidedly an improvement was not perfect, for the ground had been made soft, the rivers and rills had been swollen58, and the conditions altogether were rendered much less agreeable than they had been on the outward journey. The travellers enjoyed themselves greatly, notwithstanding, and the captain added many important jottings in what he styled the log-book of his memory as to bearings of salient points, distances, etcetera, while Paul took notes of the fauna59 and flora60, soils, products, and geological features of the country, on the same convenient tablets.
“There can be no doubt about it,” said the latter one morning, as he surveyed the country around him.
“No doubt about what?” asked the captain.
“About the suitableness of this great island for the abode61 of man,” answered Paul; and then, continuing to speak with enthusiasm, “the indication of minerals is undoubted. See you that serpentine62 deposit mingled with a variety of other rocks, varying in colour from darkest green to yellow, and from the translucent63 to the almost transparent64? Wherever that is seen, there we have good reason to believe that copper65 ore will be found.”
“If so,” observed Hendrick, “much copper ore will be found on the sea-coast, on the north side of the island, for I have seen the same rocks in many places there.”
“But there are indications of other metals,” continued Paul, “which I perceive; though my acquaintance with geological science is unfortunately not sufficient to make me certain, still, I think I can see that, besides copper, nickel, lead, and iron may be dug from the mines of Newfoundland; indeed, I should not wonder if silver and gold were also to be found. Of the existence of coal-beds there can be no doubt, though what their extent may be I cannot guess; but of this I am certain, that the day cannot be far distant when the mineral and forest wealth of this land shall be developed by a large and thriving population.”
“It may be as you say, Paul,” remarked Captain Trench, with a dubious66 shake of the head; “but if you had lived as long as I have, and seen as much of the world and its ways, you wouldn’t be quite so sanguine67 about the thriving population or the speedy development. You see, hitches68 are apt to occur in the affairs of men which cause wonderful delays, and tanglements come about that take years to unravel69.”
If Captain Trench had been a professional prophet he could hardly have hit the nail more fairly on the head, for he indicated exactly what bad government has actually done for Newfoundland—only he might have said centuries instead of years—for its internal resources, even at the present time, remain to a very great extent undeveloped. However, not being a professional prophet, but merely an ancient mariner70, the captain wound up his remark with a recommendation to hoist71 all sail and lay their course, as there was no saying how long the mild weather would last.
For several days after this they plodded72 steadily73 onward74, sometimes over the mountains or across the grassy75 plains, where migrating reindeer76 supplied them with abundant venison; at other times among lakelets and streams, whose excellent fish and innumerable wildfowl provided them with variety for the table and music for the ear. Now and then they saw the great moose-deer, which rivals the horse in size, and once Hendrick shot one, at a time when they chanced to have consumed their last caribou77 steak, and happened to enter a great forest without anything for supper in their wallets. For, occasionally, circumstances may render men supperless even when surrounded by plenty.
At last they reached the great lake, with its beautiful islands, where Hendrick had set up his home.
The hunter became very silent as they drew near to its shores.
“You seem anxious,” remarked Paul, as they approached the lake. “Have you reason to fear aught?”
“None—none,” replied his friend quickly; “but I never return after a long absence without feeling anxious.”
A loud halloo soon brought the echoing answer in the shrill78 voice of little Oscar, whose canoe quickly shot out from the creek79. It was speedily followed by the deerskin boat, and, when near enough to be heard, the reply to Hendrick’s anxious inquiry80 was the gratifying assurance—“All’s well!”
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1
devastating
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| adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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3
hurling
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| n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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commingle
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| v.混合 | |
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horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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8
rending
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| v.撕碎( rend的现在分词 )；分裂；（因愤怒、痛苦等而）揪扯（衣服或头发等）；（声音等）刺破 | |
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reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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14
serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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15
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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16
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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17
extricate
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| v.拯救，救出；解脱 | |
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18
watchfully
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| 警惕地，留心地 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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21
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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nautical
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| adj.海上的，航海的，船员的 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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stouter
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| 粗壮的( stout的比较级 )； 结实的； 坚固的； 坚定的 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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flatten
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| v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽 | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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kindle
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| v.点燃，着火 | |
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veered
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| v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
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38
eddy
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| n.漩涡，涡流 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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hilarity
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| n.欢乐；热闹 | |
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42
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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43
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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44
flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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valiantly
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| adv.勇敢地，英勇地；雄赳赳 | |
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proficiency
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| n.精通，熟练，精练 | |
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47
thaw
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| v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和 | |
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48
tripe
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| n.废话，肚子, 内脏 | |
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wrench
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| v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受 | |
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50
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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51
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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fatiguing
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| a.使人劳累的 | |
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unbearable
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| adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的 | |
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54
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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55
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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56
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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57
slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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58
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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59
fauna
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| n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物，动物区系 | |
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flora
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| n.(某一地区的)植物群 | |
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61
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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62
serpentine
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| adj.蜿蜒的，弯曲的 | |
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63
translucent
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| adj.半透明的；透明的 | |
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64
transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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65
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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66
dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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67
sanguine
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| adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的 | |
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68
hitches
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| 暂时的困难或问题( hitch的名词复数 )； 意外障碍； 急拉； 绳套 | |
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69
unravel
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| v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开 | |
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70
mariner
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| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
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71
hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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72
plodded
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| v.沉重缓慢地走（路）( plod的过去式和过去分词 )；努力从事；沉闷地苦干；缓慢进行（尤指艰难枯燥的工作） | |
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73
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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74
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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75
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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76
reindeer
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| n.驯鹿 | |
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caribou
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| n.北美驯鹿 | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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