Melville Bay, though easily navigable, was not free from ice; ice-fields lay as far as the utmost limits of the horizon; a few icebergs1 appeared here and there, but they were immovable, as if anchored in the midst of the frozen fields. The Forward, with all steam on, followed the wide passes where it was easy to work her. The wind changed frequently from one point of the compass to another. The variability of the wind in the Arctic Seas is a remarkable2 fact; sometimes a dead calm is followed in a few minutes by a violent tempest, as the Forward found to her cost on the 23rd of June in the midst of the immense bay. The more constant winds blow from off the ice-bank on to the open sea, and are intensely cold. On that day the thermometer fell several degrees; the wind veered3 round to the south, and violent gusts4, sweeping5 over the ice-fields, brought a thick snow along with them. Hatteras immediately caused the sails that helped the screw to be furled, but not quickly enough to prevent his little foresail being carried away in the twinkling of an eye. Hatteras worked his ship with the greatest composure, and did not leave the deck during the tempest; he was obliged to fly before the weather and to turn westward7. The wind raised up enormous waves, in the midst of which blocks of ice balanced themselves; these blocks were of all sizes and shapes, and had been struck off the surrounding ice-fields; the brig was tossed about like a child’s plaything, and morsels8 of the packs were thrown over her hull9; at one instant she was lying perpendicularly10 along the side of a liquid mountain; her steel prow11 concentrated the light, and shone like a melting metal bar; at another she was down an abyss, plunging12 her head into whirlwinds of snow, whilst her screws, out of the water, turned in space with a sinister13 noise, striking the air with their paddles. Rain mixed with the snow and fell in torrents14.
The doctor could not miss such an occasion of getting wet to the skin; he remained on deck, a prey15 to that emotional admiration16 which a scientific man must necessarily feel during such a spectacle. His nearest neighbour could not have heard him speak, so he said nothing and watched; but whilst watching he was witness to an odd phenomenon, peculiar17 to hyperborean regions. The tempest was confined to a restricted area, and only extended for about three or four miles; the wind that passes over ice-fields loses much of its strength and cannot carry its violence far out; the doctor perceived from time to time, through an opening in the tempest, a calm sky and a quiet sea beyond some ice-fields. The Forward would therefore only have to take advantage of some channels left by the ice to find a peaceful navigation again, but she ran the risk of being thrown on to one of the moving banks which followed the movement of the swell18. However, in a few hours Hatteras succeeded in getting his ship into a calm sea, whilst the violence of the hurricane spent itself at a few cables’ length from the Forward. Melville Bay no longer presented the same aspect; under the influence of the winds and the waves a great number of icebergs, detached from the coast, floated northward19, running against one another in every direction. There were several hundreds of them, but the bay is very wide, and the brig easily avoided them. The spectacle of these floating masses was magnificent; they seemed to be having a grand race for it on the open sea. The doctor was getting quite excited with watching them, when the harpooner21, Simpson, came up and made him look at the changing tints22 in the sea; they varied23 from a deep blue to olive green; long stripes stretched north and south in such decided24 lines that the eye could follow each shade out of sight. Sometimes a transparent25 sheet of water would follow a perfectly26 opaque27 sheet.
“Well, Mr. Clawbonny, what do you think of that?” said Simpson.
“I am of the same opinion as the whaler Scoresby on the nature of the different coloured waters; blue water has no animalculae, and green water is full of them. Scoresby has made several experiments on this subject, and I think he is right.”
“Well, sir, I know something else about the colours in the sea, and if I were a whaler I should be precious glad to see them.”
“But I don’t see any whales,” answered the doctor.
“You won’t be long before you do, though, I can tell you. A whaler is lucky when he meets with those green stripes under this latitude28.”
“Why?” asked the doctor, who always liked to get information from anybody who understood what they were talking about.
“Because whales are always found in great quantities in green water.”
“What’s the reason of that?”
“Because they find plenty of food in them.”
“Are you sure of that?”
“I’ve seen it a hundred times, at least, in Baffin Sea; why shouldn’t it be the same in Melville Bay? Besides, look there, Mr. Clawbonny,” added Simpson, leaning over the barricading29.
“Why any one would think it was the wake of a ship!”
“It is an oily substance that the whale leaves behind. The animal can’t be far off!”
The atmosphere was impregnated with a strong oily odour, and the doctor attentively30 watched the surface of the water. The prediction of the harpooner was soon accomplished31. Foker called out from the masthead —
“A whale alee!”
All looks turned to the direction indicated. A small spout32 was perceived coming up out of the sea about a mile from the brig.
“There she spouts33!” cried Simpson, who knew what that meant.
“She has disappeared!” answered the doctor.
“Oh, we could find her again easily enough if necessary!” said Simpson, with an accent of regret. To his great astonishment34, and although no one dared ask for it, Hatteras gave orders to man the whaler. Johnson went aft to the stern, while Simpson, harpoon20 in hand, stood in the bow. They could not prevent the doctor joining the expedition. The sea was pretty calm. The whaler soon got off, and in ten minutes was a mile from the brig. The whale had taken in another provision of air, and had plunged35 again; but she soon returned to the surface and spouted36 out that mixture of gas and mucus that escapes from her air-holes.
“There! There!” said Simpson, pointing to a spot about eight hundred yards from the boat. It was soon alongside the animal, and as they had seen her from the brig too, she came nearer, keeping little steam on. The enormous cetacean disappeared and reappeared as the waves rose and fell, showing its black back like a rock in open sea. Whales do not swim quickly unless they are pursued, and this one only rocked itself in the waves. The boat silently approached along the green water; its opacity37 prevented the animal seeing the enemy. It is always an agitating38 spectacle when a fragile boat attacks one of these monsters; this one was about 130 feet long, and it is not rare, between the 72nd and the 80th degree, to meet with whales more than 180 feet long. Ancient writers have described animals more than 700 feet long, but they drew upon their imagination for their facts. The boat soon neared the whale; on a sign from Simpson the men rested on their oars39, and brandishing40 his harpoon, the experienced sailor threw it with all his strength; it went deep into the thick covering of fat. The wounded whale struck the sea with its tail and plunged. The four oars were immediately raised perpendicularly; the cord fastened to the harpoon, and attached to the bow, rolled rapidly out and dragged the boat along, steered41 cleverly by Johnson.
The whale got away from the brig and made for the moving icebergs; she kept on for more than half-an-hour; they were obliged to wet the cord fastened to the harpoon to prevent it catching42 fire by rubbing against the boat. When the whale seemed to be going along a little more slowly, the cord was pulled in little by little and rolled up; the whale soon reappeared on the surface of the sea, which she beat with her formidable tail: veritable waterspouts fell in a violent rain on to the boat. It was getting nearer. Simpson had seized a long lance, and was preparing to give close battle to the animal, when all at once the whale glided43 into a pass between two mountainous icebergs. The pursuit then became really dangerous.
“The devil!” said Johnson.
“Go ahead,” cried Simpson; “we’ve got her!”
“But we can’t follow her into the icebergs!” said Johnson, steering44 steadily45.
“Yes we can!” cried Simpson.
“No, no!” cried some of the sailors.
“Yes, yes!” said others.
During the discussion the whale had got between two floating mountains which the swell was bringing close together. The boat was being dragged into this dangerous part when Johnson rushed to the fore6, an axe46 in his hand, and cut the cord. He was just in time; the two mountains came together with a tremendous crash, crushing the unfortunate animal.
“The whale’s lost!” cried Simpson.
“But we are saved!” answered Johnson.
“Well,” said the doctor, who had not moved, “that was worth seeing!”
The crushing force of these ice-mountains is enormous. The whale was victim to an accident that often happens in these seas. Scoresby relates that in the course of a single summer thirty whales perished in the same way in Baffin’s Sea; he saw a three-master flattened47 in a minute between two immense walls of ice. Other vessels48 were split through, as if with a lance, by pointed49 icicles a hundred feet long, meeting through the planks50. A few minutes afterwards the boat hailed the brig, and was soon in its accustomed place on deck.
“It is a lesson for those who are imprudent enough to adventure into the channels amongst the ice!” said Shandon in a loud voice.
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icebergs
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| n.冰山，流冰( iceberg的名词复数 ) | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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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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gusts
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| 一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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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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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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morsels
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| n.一口( morsel的名词复数 )；（尤指食物）小块，碎屑 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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perpendicularly
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| adv. 垂直地, 笔直地, 纵向地 | |
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prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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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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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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harpoon
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| n.鱼叉；vt.用鱼叉叉，用鱼叉捕获 | |
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harpooner
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tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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opaque
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| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
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latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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barricading
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| 设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的现在分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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spout
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| v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱 | |
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spouts
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| n.管口( spout的名词复数 )；（喷出的）水柱；（容器的）嘴；在困难中v.（指液体）喷出( spout的第三人称单数 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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spouted
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| adj.装有嘴的v.（指液体）喷出( spout的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水 | |
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opacity
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| n.不透明；难懂 | |
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agitating
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| 搅动( agitate的现在分词 )； 激怒； 使焦虑不安； （尤指为法律、社会状况的改变而）激烈争论 | |
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oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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