Ungava

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER EIGHT.

  BRYAN'S ADVENTURE WITH A POLAR BEAR, ETCETERA.

  Ice, ice, ice! everything seemed to have been converted into ice whenthe day broke on the following morning and awoke the sleepers in thecamp. A sharp frost during the night, accompanied by a fall of snow,had, as if by magic, converted spring into winter. Icy particles hungupon and covered, not only the young leaves and buds of the bushes, butthe branches also, giving to them a white and extremely airy appearance.Snow lay on the upper sides of the canoes, and weighed heavily on thetent, causing its folds, once seemingly so pure and white, to look dirtyby contrast. Snow lay on the protruding legs of the men, and encircledthe black spot where rested the ashes of last night's brilliant fire.Ice grated on the pebbles of the shore; ice floated on the sea; icyhummocks and mounds rose above its surface; and icebergs raised theirpinnacles on the far-off horizon, and cut sharply into the bright bluesky.

  It was cold, but it was not cheerless; for when Eda put out her head atthe curtain doorway of the tent, and opened her eyes upon the magicscene, the sun's edge rose above the horizon, as if to greet her, andsent a flood of light far and near through the spacious universe,converting the sea into glass, with islands of frosted silver on itsbosom. It was a gorgeous scene, worthy of its great Creator, who in Hismysterious working scatters gems of beauty oftentimes in places wherethere is scarce a single human eye to behold their excellence.

  Although the sea was covered with ice, there were, nevertheless, severallanes of open water not far from the shore; so that when Stanley calleda council, composed of Frank Morton, Dick Prince, and Massan, it wasagreed unanimously that they should attempt to proceed. And it was wellthat they did so; for they had not advanced many miles, winding theirway cautiously among the canals of open water, when they doubled apromontory, beyond which there was little or no ice to be seen, merely afew scattered fragments and fields, that served to enhance the beauty ofthe scene by the airy lightness of their appearance in contrast with thebright blue of the sea and sky, but did not interrupt the progress ofthe travellers. The three canoes always maintained their relativepositions during the journey as much as possible. That is to say, Frankand the two Indians went first in the small canoe, to lead the way,while the two large canoes kept abreast of each other when the openwater was wide enough to permit of their doing so. This, besides beingmore sociable, enabled the two crews to join in the chorus of thosebeautiful songs with which they frequently enlivened the voyage.

  During all this day, and for many days following, they continued toenjoy fine weather and to make rapid progress. Sometimes the ice waspretty thick, and once or twice they narrowly escaped being nipped bycollapsing masses, which caused them to jump out, hastily throw thebaggage on the ice, and haul the canoes out of the water. On theseoccasions the men proved themselves to be sterling fellows, nearly allof them being cool, prompt, and collected in the moment of danger. Nodoubt there were exceptions. La Roche, when any sudden crisis of dangerarose, usually threw himself blindly over the side of the canoe on tothe ice with the lightness and agility of a harlequin. He recked notwhether he came down on his head or his feet, and more than once nearlybroke his neck in consequence of his precipitancy. But La Roche was nocoward, and the instant the first burst of excitement was over he rushedto render effective assistance. Bryan, too, although not so mercurialas La Roche, was apt to lose self-command for about five minutes whenany sudden danger assailed him, so that he frequently sat still, staringwildly straight before him, while the others were actively unloading thecanoes; and once, when the danger was more critical than usual, havingsat till the canoe was empty, and paid no attention to a prompt, grufforder to jump ashore, he had been seized by the strong arms of Gaspardand tossed out of the canoe like a puppy dog. On these occasions heinvariably endeavoured to make up for his fault by displaying, onrecovery, the most outrageous and daring amount of unnecessaryrecklessness,--uttering, at the same time, an amazing number of strangeexpressions, among which "Tare an' ages!" "Och! murder!" and severalothers less lucid in signification, predominated. Chimo was alwaysfirst ashore, and instantly wheeled round to greet Eda, who was also_always_ second, thanks to the strong and prompt arm of Francois, whosat just in front, and by tacit agreement took her under his specialcharge. As for Mrs Stanley, the arm that was rightfully her own, andhad been her shield in many a scene of danger, proved ever ready andable to succour the "first volunteer" to Ungava.

  At times the sea was quite free of ice, and many miles were soon addedto the space which separated the little band of adventurers from therest of the human world. Their encampments varied according to thenature of the coast, being sometimes among pine-trees, or surrounded bydwarf willows; at other times on the bare sand of the sea-shore; andoccasionally at the extremity of long-projecting capes and promontories,where they had to pitch their tent and make their beds in the clefts ofthe solid rock. But wherever they laid them down to rest--on the rock,or on the sand, or within the shade of the forest--it was always found,as Mrs Stanley remarked of the first night's encampment, that they wereextremely comfortable and eminently snug.

  They were successful, too, in procuring an ample supply of freshprovisions. There were ducks and geese of various kinds, andinnumerable quantities of plover, cormorants, gulls, and eider-ducks,the eggs of which they found in thousands. Many of these birds weregood for food, and the eggs of most of them, especially those of theeider-duck, were excellent. Reindeer were also met with; and, amongother trophies of his skill as a hunter, Frank one day brought in ablack bear, parts of which were eaten with great gusto by the Esquimauxand Indians, to the immense disgust of Bryan, who expressed his beliefthat the "haythens was barely fit to live," and were most justly lockedout from society in "thim dissolate polar raygeons." There were manyseals, also, in the sea, which put up their ugly, grotesque heads everand anon, gazed at the canoes with their huge, fishy eyes, as insurprise at the sight of such novel marine monsters, and then sankslowly beneath the wave. These animals were never molested, out ofrespect to the feelings of the two Indians, who believed them to begods, and assured Stanley that the destruction of one would infalliblybring down ill-luck and disaster on the heads of the party. Stanleysmiled inwardly at this, but gave orders that no seals should be shot--an order which all were very willing to obey, as they did not requirethe animals either for food or any other purpose. Several white polarbears were seen, but they also were spared, as they require a great dealof shot to kill them, if not hit exactly behind the ear; and besides,neither their bodies nor skins were of any use to the travellers.

  Thus all went favourably for a time. But life is a chequered story, andthe sun of prosperity does not always shine, as we shall see.

  One fine morning, as they were paddling cheerfully along in theneighbourhood of Cape Jones, it struck Mr Stanley that he might provethe correctness of his sextant and other instruments before enteringupon the country which to most of the party was _terra incognita_. Thiswas the more necessary that he could not depend on the guidance ofOostesimow and Ma-Istequan, they having travelled only once, long ago,through part of the country, while the latter part of it was totallyunknown to them. It was one of those beautiful mornings that arepeculiar to arctic regions, when the air is inexpressibly still, and allinanimate nature seems hushed in profound repose--a repose which israther rendered more effective than otherwise by the plaintive cries ofwild-fowl or the occasional puffing of a whale. There was a peculiarbrilliancy, too, in the atmosphere, caused by the presence of so manyfields and hummocks of white ice, looming fantastically through a thin,dry, gauze-like haze, which, while it did not dim the brightness of thesolar rays, lent an additional charm to every object by shrouding it ina veil of mystery.

  On passing the point the men ceased rowing, and proceeded to solacethemselves with a five-minutes' pipe--an indulgence which voyageursalways claim as their due after a long spell at the oars or paddles.

  "Put ashore here, Massan," said Stanley, turning to
the guide; "I shalltake an observation, if possible, and you can set the men to hunt foreggs. We shall want them, as the larder is rather low just now."

  Massan muttered assent, and, shouting to the other canoe to put ashore,ran alongside the rocks.

  "You'd better hail the little canoe," said Stanley, as he landed. "Ishall want Mr Morton to assist me."

  Massan stepped upon an elevated rock, and, shading his eyes with hishands, looked earnestly ahead where he observed the little canoe almostbeyond vision, and just going to double a point of land. Transferringhis hands to his mouth, he used them as a trumpet, and gave forth ashout the like of which had never startled the echoes of the placebefore.

  "It's no use, sir," said Massan; "he's past hearin'. I'm afeerd thatthey're off in the direction o' the White Bear Hills, in hopes o'gittin' a shot."

  "Try again, Massan," urged Stanley; "raise your pipe a little higher.Perhaps it will reach them."

  Massan shook his head. "Try it, Bryan," he said, turning to theIrishman, who was sitting on a rock leisurely filling his short, blackpipe.

  "Is it to halloo ye want me?" replied Bryan, rising. "Shure the greatgun of Athlone itself could niver hold a candle to ye, Massan, atyellin'; but I'll try, anyhow;" and putting his hands to his mouth hegave forth a roar compared to which Massan's was nothing. There was asort of crack in the tone of it, however, that was so irresistiblyridiculous that the whole party burst incontinently into a fit oflaughter. Loud though it was, it failed to reach the ears of those inthe little canoe, which in a few seconds doubled the point anddisappeared.

  "Ah, bad luck to it!" said Bryan, in disgust; "the pipe's damagedintirely. Small pace to ye, Bob Mahone; for shure it was howlin' andscreechin' at your wake like a born scrandighowl that broke it."

  "Never mind, lad; what remains of it is not bad," said Stanley,laughing, as he proceeded to open the box containing his scientificinstruments.

  Meanwhile his wife and Edith wandered along the rocks picking up shellsand pebbles; and the men dispersed, some to smoke and chat, others tosearch for eggs. Bryan and La Roche, who were both aspiring geniuses,and had formed a sort of rough attachment to each other, askedpermission to take a walk to the point ahead, where they would wait forthe canoes. Having obtained it, they set off at a good round pace, thatwould have been "throublesome to kape up," as Bryan remarked, "withpayse in yer shoes!"

  "Why you come for to jine de company?" inquired La Roche, as they joggedalong.

  "Why? bekase I'd nothin' else to do, as the ould song says. Ye see,Losh," (Bryan had invented a contraction for his friend's name, which hesaid was "convanient")--"ye see, Losh, there may be more nor wan raisonfor a gintleman lavin' his native land in order to thravel in furrinparts. It's thrue I had nothin' in the univarse to do, for I couldniver git work nohow, an' whin I got it I could niver kape it. I nivercould onderstan' why, but so it was. Nivertheless I managed to livewell enough in the ould cabin wid the murphies--"

  "Vat is murphies?" inquired La Roche.

  "Bliss yer innocent face, don't ye know it's praties?"

  "'Tis vat?"

  "Praties, boy, or pit-taties, if I must be partic'lar."

  "Ah! goot, goot, I understan'--pettitoes. Oui, oui, ye call him _pommede terre_."

  "Hum! well, as I was sayin', I got on pretty well wid the pumdeterresan' the pig, but the pig died wan day--choked hisself on a murphy--thatis, a pumbleterre; an' more betoken, it was the last murphy in thehouse, a powerful big wan that my grandmother had put by for supper.After this ivery thin' wint to smithereens. The rot came, and I thoughtI should have to list for a sodger. Well, Bob Mahone died o' dhrink andstarvation, an' we had a beautiful wake; but there was a rig'lar shindygot up, an' two or three o' the county p'lice misbehaved themselves, soI jist floored them all, wan after the other, an' bolted. Well, I wintstraight to Dublin, an' there I met wid an ould friend who was theskipper o' a ship bound for New York. Says he, `Bryan, will ye go?'Says I, `Av coorse; 'an 'shure enough I wint, an' got over the say to'Meriky.' But I could niver settle down, so, wan way or another, I cameat last to Montreal and jined the Company; an' afther knockin' about inthe Columbia and Mackenzie's River for some years, I was sint to Moose,an' here I am, Losh, yer sarvant to command."

  "Goot, ver' goot, mais peculiaire," said La Roche, whose intimacy withthis son of Erin had enabled him to comprehend enough of his jargon tograsp the general scope of his discourse.

  "Av ye mane that lavin' the ould country was _goot_," said Bryan,stooping to pick up a stone and skim it along the smooth surface of thesea, "p'raps ye're right; but there's wan thing I niver could make mymind aisy about," and the blacksmith's voice became deep and his facegrave as he recalled these bygone days.

  "Vat were dat?" inquired La Roche.

  "Why, ye see, Losh, I was so hard druve by the p'lice that I was forcedto lave wid-out sayin' good day to my ould mother, an' they tould me italmost broke her heart; but I've had wan or two screeds from the priestwid her cross at them since, and she's got over it, an' lookin' out formy returnin'--bliss her sowl!--an' I've sint her five pounds ivery yearsince I left: so ye see, Losh, I've great hope o' seein' her yit, foralthough she's ould she's oncommon tough, an' having come o' along-winded stock, I've great hopes o' her."

  Poor Bryan! it never entered into his reckless brain to think that,considering the life of almost constant peril he led in the land of hispilgrimage, there was more hope of the longevity of his old mother thanof himself. Like many of his countrymen, he was a man of strong,passionate, warm feelings, and remarkably unselfish.

  "Is your contry resemblance to dat?" inquired La Roche, pointing, as hespoke, towards the sea, which was covered with fields and mountains ofice as far out as the eye could discern.

  "Be the nose o' my great-grandmother (an' that was be no manes a shortwan), no!" replied Bryan, with a laugh. "The say that surrounds ouldIreland is niver covered with sich sugar-plums as these. But what havewe here?"

  As he spoke they reached the point at which they were to await thecoming up of the canoes, and the object which called forth Bryan'sremark was the little canoe, which lay empty on the beach just beyondthe point. From the manner in which it lay it was evident that Frankand his Indians had placed it there; but there was no sign of theirpresence save one or two footprints on the sand. While La Roche wasexamining these, his companion walked towards a point of rock thatjutted out from the cliffs and intercepted the view beyond. On turninground this, he became suddenly rooted to the spot with horror. Andlittle wonder, for just two yards before him stood an enormous polarbear, whose career was suddenly arrested by Bryan's unexpectedappearance. It is difficult to say whether the man or the beastexpressed most surprise at the rencounter. They both stood stock still,and opened their eyes to the utmost width. But the poor Irishman wasevidently petrified by the apparition. He turned deadly pale, and hishands hung idly by his sides; while the bear, recovering from hissurprise, rose on his hind legs and walked up to him--a sure sign thathe was quite undaunted, and had made up his mind to give battle. As forLa Roche, the instant he cast his eyes on the ferocious-lookingquadruped, he uttered a frightful yell, bounded towards a neighbouringtree, and ceased not to ascend until its topmost branches were bendingbeneath his weight. Meanwhile the bear walked up to Bryan, but notmeeting with the anticipated grapple of an enemy, and feeling somewhatuneasy under the cataleptic stare of the poor man's eyes--for he stillstood petrified with horror--it walked slowly round him, putting itscold nose on his cheek, as if to tempt him to move. But the fiveminutes of bewilderment that always preceded Bryan's recovery from asudden fright had not yet expired. He still remained perfectlymotionless, so that the bear, disdaining, apparently, to attack anunresisting foe, dropped on his forelegs again. It is difficult to saywhether there is any truth in the well-known opinion that the calm,steady gaze of a human eye can quell any animal. Doubtless there aremany stories, more or less authentic, corroborative of the fact; butwhether this be true or not, we are re
ady to vouch for the truth of_this_ fact--namely, that under the influence of the blacksmith's gaze,or his silence it may be, the bear was absolutely discomfited. Itretreated a step or two, and walked slowly away, looking over itsshoulder now and then as it went, as if it half anticipated an onslaughtin the rear.

  We have already said that Bryan was no craven, and that when hisfaculties were collected he usually displayed a good deal of recklessvalour on occasions of danger. Accordingly, no sooner did he see hisshaggy adversary in full retreat, than the truant blood returned to hisface with a degree of violence that caused it to blaze with fiery red,and swelled the large veins of his neck and forehead almost to bursting.Uttering a truly Irish halloo, he bounded forward like a tiger, torethe cap off his head and flung it violently before him, drew the axewhich always hung at his belt, and in another moment stood face to facewith the white monster, which had instantly accepted the challenge, androse on its hind legs to receive him. Raising the axe with both hands,the man aimed a blow at the bear's head; but with a rapid movement ofits paw it turned the weapon aside and dashed it into the air. Anothersuch blow, and the reckless blacksmith's career would have been broughtto an abrupt conclusion, when the crack of a rifle was heard. Its echoreverberated along the cliffs and floated over the calm water as thepolar bear fell dead at Bryan's feet.

  "Hurrah!" shouted Frank Morton, as he sprang from the bushes, knife inhand, ready to finish the work which his rifle had so well begun. Butit needed not. Frank had hit the exact spot behind the ear whichrenders a second ball unnecessary--the bear was already quite dead.