Left on Labrador

C >> Charles Asbury Stephens >> Left on Labrador

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"I don't suppose there's a tree big enough to use as a lever within a
hundred miles of here," remarked Raed, looking around.

We ran in our muskets, but could not touch the creature. He seemed to
have crept round an angle of one of the bottom rocks, so as to be well
out of reach and out of range. The hole was scarcely large enough to
admit Guard, and the dog did not seem greatly disposed to go in. We
fired our muskets, one at a time, holding the muzzles inside the
opening, hoping to frighten the animal out; but he didn't see fit to
leave his stronghold.

"If we had only a pound or two of powder here," observed Raed,
examining the crevices about the rocks, "I think we might mine this
top rock, and blow it up."

"That will be the only way to get at him," said Kit.

"Well, we can go back to the schooner for some," I suggested.

"Yes," said Kit. "Raed, you and Guard stay here and watch him. Wash
and I will go for the powder."

We started off, and, on getting back to the beach, found Wade, with
Weymouth and Donovan, standing near the boat.

"Where's your bear?" Kit demanded.

"You say," laughed Weymouth, "you were one of the two that shot at
him."

"He showed too much speed for us," said Donovan.

"But where's your _new species_?" Wade inquired.

"Oh! he's all right,--up here in a hole."

"That so? Here's what he was eating when the bear drove him away,"
pointing down among the rocks, where a lot of large bones lay partly
in the water.

"What kind of an animal was that?" Kit asked.

"A finback, I think," replied Weymouth. "Died or got killed among the
ice, and the waves washed the carcass up here. Been dead a good
while."

"I should say so, by the smell. Putrid, isn't it? Why, that beast must
have had a strong stomach!"

Weymouth and Donovan went off to the schooner after the powder in our
places, and came back in about twenty minutes. Palmleaf was with them.

"You haven't come on another bear-hunt, I hope!" cried Wade.

"No, sar. Don't tink much of dem bars, sar. Got a voice jest like ole
massa down Souf. 'Spression very much like his when he used ter take
at us cullered folks with his bowie-knife."

"Pity he hadn't overtaken you with it!" Wade exclaimed, to hector him.
"He would have saved the hangman a job--not far distant."

"Dere's a difference ob 'pinions as to where de noose ought ter come,"
muttered the affronted darky. "Some tinks it's in one place, some in
anoder."

Securing the boat by the painter to a rock, we went up over the ledges
to where Raed was doing sentinel duty before the fissure.

"Has he made any demonstrations?" Kit asked.

"Growls a little occasionally," said Raed. "I've been looking at the
cracks under this top rock. This on the right is the one to mine, I
think. I've cleared it out: it's all ready for the powder. What have
you got for a slow match?"

Donovan had brought a bit of rope, which he picked to pieces, while
Kit and Raed sifted in the powder. The _tow_ was then laid in a long
trail, running back some two feet from the crack.

"Now be ready to shoot when the blast goes off," advised Raed. "He may
jump out and run. Palmleaf, you keep Guard back."

The rest of us took our stand off thirty or forty yards, and, cocking
our guns, stood ready to shoot. Raed then lighted a match, touched the
tow, and retired with alacrity. It flamed up, and ran along the train;
then suddenly went nearly out, but blazed again, and crept slowly up
to the powder; when _whank!_ and the rock hopped out from between the
others, and rolled spitefully along the ground. We stood with our
guns to our shoulders, and our fingers on the triggers. But the beast
didn't show himself.

"Possibly it killed him," said Kit.

Raed picked up some rough pebbles, and pitched one over between the
rocks. Instantly there was a scramble, and our black-furred friend
leaped out and ran.

_Crack-k-k-k!_--a running fire. Guard rushed after him. The creature
fell at the reports, but scrambled up as the dog charged upon him, and
tried to defend himself. But the bullets had riddled him. In an
instant, Guard had him by the throat: he was dead. There were five
shot-holes in the carcass: one of them, at least, must have been
received when we fired at him from the boat.

It was a very strong, muscular creature, with short stout legs and
broad feet, with claws not so sharp and retractile as a lynx's;
seemingly intermediate between a cat's claws and a dog's nails. The
tail was quite long and bushy: indeed, the creature was rather shaggy,
than otherwise. The head and mouth were not large for the body. The
teeth seemed to me much like those of a lynx. I have no doubt that it
was a glutton (_Gulo luscus_), or wolverine, as they are indifferently
called; though none of us had at that time previously seen one of
these creatures. Donovan and Weymouth undertook to skin it; and,
while they were thus employed, the rest of us, with Palmleaf and
Guard, went off to shoot a dozen kittiwakes. We had gone nearly half a
mile, I presume, and secured five birds, when Wade called out to us to
see a large eagle, or hawk, which was wheeling slowly about a high
crag off to the left.

"It's a white-headed eagle, isn't it?" said he.

Kit thought it might be. But Raed and I both thought not. It seemed
scarcely so large; and, so far as we could see, the head was not
white. It occurred to me that it might be the famous gerfalcon, or
Icelandic eagle; and, on mentioning this supposition, Raed and Kit
both agreed with me that it seemed likely. Wishing, if possible, to
secure it, I crept along under the crag, and, watching my chance as it
came circling over, fired. 'Twas a very long shot. I had little
expectation of hitting: yet my bullet must have struck it; for it
flapped over, and came toppling down till within a hundred feet of the
top of the crag, when it recovered itself, mounted a little, but
gradually settled in the air till lost from sight behind the crag.
Thinking it barely possible that it might fall to the ground, I sent
Palmleaf with Guard round where the acclivity was not so great, to
look for it. The negro had seen the bird fall, and started off. I let
him take my musket, and, with the rest of the boys, went down to the
water, which was distant from where we then were not more than a
hundred rods. Donovan and Weymouth had already finished skinning the
glutton, and gone down to the boat. Knowing we had followed off to the
left, they embarked, and came paddling along to pick us up. They came
up; and we got in with our kittiwakes, and then stood off a few yards
to wait for the negro. I had not expected he would be gone so long. We
were looking for him every moment; when suddenly we heard the report
of his musket, apparently a long way behind the crag.

"Confound the darky!" muttered Raed. "What could possess him to go so
far?"

"Perhaps the eagle kept flying on," suggested Kit.

We waited fifteen or twenty minutes. No signs of him.

"You don't suppose the rascal's got lost, do you?" Wade said.

"No need of that, I should imagine," replied Raed.

We waited ten or fifteen minutes longer.

"We might as well go after him," Kit was saying; when, at a distance,
a great shouting and uproar arose, accompanied by the barking of dogs
and all the other accompaniments of a general row and rumpus.

"What the dickens is up now?" exclaimed Kit.

"It's the Huskies!" cried Weymouth.

"You don't suppose they are after Palmleaf, do you?" Raed demanded.

We listened eagerly. The hubbub was increasing; and, a moment later,
we espied the negro bursting over the ledges off to the left at a
headlong run, with a whole crowd of Esquimaux only a few rods behind,
brandishing their harpoons and darts. There were dogs, too. Guard was
running with Palmleaf, facing about every few leaps, and barking
savagely. All the dogs were barking; all the Huskies were
_ta-yar-r-r-ing_ and chasing on.

"They'll have him!" shouted Kit. "To the rescue!"

A smart pull of the oars sent the boat up to the rocks. Raed and Kit
and Wade sprang out, cocking their muskets; Donovan followed with one
of the oars; and I seized the boat-hook, and started after them.
Palmleaf was tearing down toward the water, running for his life. He
had lost the musket. Seeing us, he set up a piteous howl of terror. He
had distanced his pursuers a little. The savages were now six or eight
rods behind; but the dogs were at his heels, and were only kept off
him by the sudden facings and savage growls of Guard, who valiantly
stemmed the canine avalanche. We met him about fifty yards from the
boat, and raised a loud hurrah.

"Into the boat with you!" Raed sang out to him.

The dogs howled and snarled viciously at us. Donovan cut at them with
his oar right and left; while Raed, Kit, and Wade levelled their
muskets at the horde of rushing, breathless savages, who seemed not to
have seen us at all till that moment, so intent had they been after
the negro. Discovering us, the front ones tried to pull up; and, those
behind running up, they were all crowded together, shouting and
screaming, and punching each other with their harpoons.

"Avast there!" shouted Donovan, flourishing his oar.

"Halt!" ordered Wade.

While Kit, remembering a word of Esquimaux, bade them "_Twau-ve_"
("Begone") at the top of his voice.

I must say that they were a wicked-looking lot,--the front ones, at
least,--comprising some of the largest Esquimaux we had yet seen.
There must have been thirty or forty in the front groups; and others
were momentarily rushing in from behind. The dogs, too, fifty or sixty
at least calculation,--great, gaunt, wolfish, yellow curs,--looked
almost as dangerous as their masters.

"We must get out of this!" exclaimed Raed; for they were beginning to
brandish their harpoons menacingly, and shout and howl still louder.

"If we turn, they'll set upon us before we can get into the boat!"
muttered Kit.

"Fire over their heads, to gain time!" shouted Wade. "Ready!"

The three muskets cracked. A great _ta-yar-r-r_ and screeching
followed the reports; under cover of which and the smoke we legged it
for the boat, and, tumbling in, were shoved hastily off by Weymouth.
Before we had got twenty yards, however, the savages were on the bank,
yelling, and throwing stones, several of which fell in among us; but
we were soon out of their reach.

"That's what I call a pretty close shave!" exclaimed Donovan, panting.

"We couldn't have stood against them much longer," said Kit. "I didn't
suppose they had so much ferocity about them. Those we saw down at the
middle islands were kittenish enough."

"These may belong to a different tribe," replied Raed.

Palmleaf, completely exhausted, lay all in a heap in the bow. We
pulled off to the schooner. The savages and their dogs kept up a
confused medley of howls and shouts: it was hard distinguishing the
human cries from the canine.

Capt. Mazard and the men were leaning over the rail, waiting. They had
been watching the fracas, and understood it as little as we did.

"What's the row?" demanded the captain as we came under the stern.
"What's all that beastly noise about?"

"Ask Palmleaf," said Wade.

"I saw you fire," continued the captain. "You didn't kill any of them,
did you?"

"Oh, no!" said Raed. "We fired high to frighten them."

"I'm glad you didn't kill any of the poor wretches."

"Tell us how it happened, Palmleaf," said Kit.

"Did you come upon them? or did they come upon you?" I asked.

"Why, I was gwine arter dat hawk, you know," said the African, still
sober from his terror and his race.

"Yes."

"He was fell down ober behind de crag, as you said he'd be; but he
flew up 'fore I'd gut near 'im, an' kep' flyin' up."

"And you kept following him," added Raed. "Well, what next? How far
did you go?"

"Oh! I went a long ways. I meant ter fotch 'im."

"Half a mile?"

"Yes, sar; should tink so."

"Did you fire at the eagle?" Kit asked.

"Yes, sar: seed him settin' on a ledge, an' fired. He flew, and I
chased arter him agin."

"But how did you come to meet the Huskies?" demanded the captain.

"Well, sar, I'se runnin' along, payin' all my 'tention to de hawk,
when all ter once I come plump onto two ob dere wimin folks wid a lot
ob twine tings in dere han's."

"Snaring birds," said Raed. "Go on!"

"Dey seed me, an' stud lookin', wid dere hair all ober dere faces."

"That stopped you, I suppose?" said Wade.

"I jest halted up a bit, an' cast my eye t'wurds dem."

"You paid the most of your ''tention' to them, then?" continued Wade
maliciously.

"Jest stopped a minit."

"To say a word to them on your own account, I'll warrant."

"Thought I'd jest speak an' tell dem dey needn't be ser 'fraid on me."

"Shut up, Wade!" interposed Kit. "Let him tell his story. What did the
women do?"

"Dey turned an' haked it, an' hollered as loud as dey cud squawk."

Wade and the captain began to laugh.

"A black man with a black dog was too much for them!" exclaimed Raed.
"Well, what next, Palmleaf?"

"Dey run'd; an' twan't a minit 'fore a whole gang ob de men cum
runnin' up, wid dere picked bone tings in dere han's."

"That'll do," said Kit. "We know the rest."

"What became of my musket?" I asked.

"I dunno. I tink I mus' ha' dropped it."

"It does look like that," Kit remarked.

"See here, you 'Fifteenth Amendment'!" exclaimed the captain, turning
to him: "you had better stay aboard in future."

"I tink so too, sar," said Palmleaf.

The crowd on the shore had grown larger. There could not have been
much less than two hundred of them, we thought. The women and children
had come. A pack of wolves could hardly have made a greater or more
discordant din. We went to dinner, and, after that, lay down to rest a
while; but when we went on deck again at three, P.M., the crowd was
still there, in greater numbers than before.

"I wonder what they can be waiting for so long," said Wade.

There was little or no wind, or we should have weighed anchor and
made off. After watching them a while longer, we went down to read.
But, about four, the captain called us. We went up.

"That was what they were waiting for," said he, pointing off the
starboard quarter.

About a mile below the place where the Esquimaux were collected, a
whole fleet of _kayaks_ were coming along the shore.

"Waiting for their boats," remarked the captain.

"They're coming off to us!"

"Do you suppose they really have hostile intentions?" Raed asked.

"From their movements on shore, and their shouts and howls, I should
say that it was not impossible. No knowing what notions they've got
into their heads about the 'black man.'"

"Likely as not their priests, if they've got any, have told them they
ought to attack us," said Wade.

"There are fifty-seven of those _kayaks_ and three _oomiaks_ coming
along the shore!" said Kit, who had been watching them with a glass.

"Hark! The crowd on shore have caught sight of them! What a yelling!"

"I do really believe they mean to attack us," Raed observed. "This
must be some nasty superstition on their part; some of their religious
nonsense."

"Well, we shall have to defend ourselves," said Kit.

"Of course, we sha'n't let them board us," replied Wade.

"Poor fools!" continued Raed. "It would be too bad if we have to kill
any of them."

"Can't we frighten them out of it in some way?" I inquired.

"Might fire on them with the howitzer," Kit suggested, "with nothing
but powder."

"That would only make them bolder, when they saw that nothing came out
of it," said Capt. Mazard.

"Put in a ball, then," said Kit.

"That would be as bad as shooting them here alongside."

"It might be fired so as not to be very likely to hit them," said
Raed. "Couldn't it, Wade?"

"Yes: might put in a small charge, and skip the ball, ricochet it
along the water."

"Let's try it," said Kit.

The howitzer was pushed across to the starboard side.

"Remember that there's a pretty heavy charge in there now," said Wade.
"Better send that over their heads!"

The gun was accordingly elevated to near thirty degrees. Raed then
touched it off. The Esquimaux, of course, heard the report; but I
doubt if they saw or heard any thing of the ball. It doubtless went a
thousand feet over their heads; and just then, too, the _kayaks_ and
_oomiaks_ came up where they were standing, and a great hubbub was
occasioned by their arrival.

"Try 'em again!" exclaimed Donovan.

"Give them a skipping shot this time," said Wade.

A light charge of powder was then put in, with a ball, as before. The
gun was not elevated this time; indeed, I believe Raed depressed it a
few degrees. We watched with a great deal of curiosity, if nothing more,
while Kit lighted a splint and touched the priming. A sharp, light
report; and, a second later, the ball struck on the water off four or
five hundred yards, and ricochetted,--skip--skip--skip--skip--_spat_
into the loose shingle on the beach, making the small stones and gravel
fly in all directions. The Huskies jumped away lively. Very likely the
pebbles flew with some considerable violence. But in a moment they were
swarming about the _kayaks_ again, uttering loud cries. With the
reenforcement they had just received, they numbered full a hundred or a
hundred and fifty men. Should they make a determined effort to board us,
we might have our hands full, or at least have to shoot a score or two
of the poor ignorant wretches; which seemed a pitiable alternative.

"Load again!" cried Wade. "Let me try a shot!"

About the same quantity of powder was used as before. Wade did not
depress the muzzle, if I recollect aright, at all. Consequently, on
firing, the ball did not touch the water till near the shore, when it
skipped once, and bounded to the beach, going among a whole pack of
the howling dogs. A dreadful "_Ti-yi_" came wafted to our ears. One,
at least, had been hit. With a glass we could see him writhing and
jumping about. At this some of the crowd ran off up the ledges for
several rods, and stood gazing anxiously off toward the schooner.

"Give 'em another!" exclaimed the captain.

But, while we were loading, twenty or thirty got into their _kayaks_;
and, one of the _oomiaks_ had eight or ten in it ere Wade was ready to
give them a third shot. He depressed it three degrees this time. The
ball hit the water about half way to the shore, and, skipping on,
struck under the stem of a _kayak_, throwing it into the air, and,
glancing against the side of the skin-clad _oomiak_, dashed it over
and over. The crew were pitched headlong into the water. Pieces of the
bone framework flew up. The skin itself seemed to have been turned
wrong side out.

"Knocked it into a cocked hat!" exclaimed Kit.

"I hope none of them were killed," said Raed.

"I can't see that any of them were," remarked the captain. "They've
all scrambled out, I believe. But it has scared them properly. Lord!
just see them _hake_ it, as Palmleaf says, up those rocks! Give 'em
another before they get over this scare. Knock their old _kayaks_ to
pieces: that frightens them worst of any thing. Let me have a shot."

Reloading, the captain fired, smashing one end of another _oomiak_.
Men, women, and dogs had taken to their heels, and were scampering off
among the hillocks. Kit then fired a ball at an elevation of twenty
degrees, which went roaring over their heads: we saw them all looking
up, then _haking_ it for dear life.

"Routed!" exclaimed Raed. "No blood shed either, except that dog's."

"Poor puppy!" said Wade. "I can see him lying there. Wonder it hadn't
hit some of them."

"Well, it's the best thing we could do," said Kit. "Even if some of
them had been hit, it would be better than fighting them out here."

"Still, I am very glad not to have slaughtered any of the poor
creatures," remarked Raed.

"Don't say too much; they may come back," Capt. Mazard observed.

But, though there was not sufficient wind to enable us to get away
till three o'clock the next day, we saw nothing more of them.

CHAPTER X.

The Dip of the Needle.--The North Magnetic Pole.--A _Kayak_
Bottom up, with its Owner Head down.--Ice-Patches.--Anchoring
to an Ice-floe.--A Bear-hunt in the Fog.--Bruin charges his
Enemies.--Soundings.--The Depth of the Straits.

Before we were up next morning "The Curlew" was on her way.

A great number of small islands, not even indicated on our chart,
compelled us to veer to the southward during the forenoon.

For several days the needle of our compass had been giving us some
trouble by its strong inclination to _dip_. Three times, since
starting, we had been obliged to move the sliding weight out a little
on the bar. The farther north we got, the stronger was the tendency of
the north pole, or end of the needle, to point downward, and the south
pole to rise up correspondingly. By running the sliding weight out a
little toward the south pole, its leverage was increased, and the
parallel position restored. This was what Capt. Mazard was doing when
we went on deck that morning.

"How do you account for this _dipping_ of the needle?" he asked Raed.

"By the present theory of magnetism, the earth itself is considered to
be a magnet with two poles," replied Raed. "These poles attract and
repel the corresponding poles of a magnetic needle, just as another
large needle would. The nearer we get up to the north magnetic pole of
the earth, the more the pole of our needle is pulled down toward it.
We're not such a great distance from it now. What's our latitude this
morning?"

"63 deg. 27'."

"Capt. Ross, in the expedition of 1829, made out the earth's north
magnetic pole to be in 70 deg. north latitude, farther west, in the upper
part of Hudson Bay. At that place he reports that a magnetic needle,
suspended so that it turned easily, pointed directly downward."

"We've got a needle hung in a graduated scale downstairs," remarked
Kit.

We had nearly forgotten it, however.

"Bring it up," said Raed.

Wade went after it.

It was set on the deck, and, after vibrating a few seconds, came to
rest at a _dip_ of about 83 deg..

"If we were up at the point Capt. Ross reached, it would point
directly down, or at 90 deg., I suppose," said Kit.

"That's what he reported," said Raed. "There's no reason to doubt it."

"But where is the south pole?" Wade asked.

"That has never been exactly reached," said Raed. "It is supposed to
be in 75 deg., south latitude, south of New Holland, in the Southern
Ocean. A point has been reached where the _dip_ is 88-2/3 deg., however."

"Of course this magnetic pole that Ross found in 70 deg. is not the _bona
fide_ north pole of the earth," Wade observed.

"Oh, no!" said the captain. "The _genuine_ north pole is not so easily
reached."

"It's curious what this magnetic attraction is," said Kit
reflectively.

"It is now considered to be the same thing as electricity, is it not?"
I asked.

"Yes," replied Kit; "but whether they are a _fluid_ or a _force_ is
not so clear. Tyndall and Faraday think they are a sort of _force_."

"It is found that this _dip_ of the needle, or, in other words, the
position of the magnetic poles, varies with the amount of heat which
the earth receives from the sun," remarked Raed. "We know that heat
can be changed into electricity, and, consequently, into magnetism.
So, at those seasons of the year when the earth receives least
sun-heat, there is least electric and magnetic force."

"That only confirms me in my belief that the luminiferous ether
through which light and heat come from the sun is really the electric
and magnetic element itself," remarked Kit; "that strange fluid which
runs through the earth as water does through a sponge, making
currents, the direction of which are indicated by these magnetic
poles. The same silent fluid which makes this needle point down to the
deck makes the telegraphic instrument click, makes the northern
lights, and makes the lightning."

"I agree with you exactly," said Raed.

It's no use talking with these two fellows: they've made a regular
hobby of this thing, and ride it every chance they get.

Prince Henry's Foreland, on the south side of the straits, was in
sight at noon, distant, we presumed,--from our estimate of the width
of the passage at this place,--about eleven leagues. It is a high,
bold promontory of the south main of Labrador. At this distance it
rises prominently from the sea. The glass shows it to be bare, and
destitute of vegetation. By two o'clock, P.M., we had passed the
scattered islets, and bore up toward the north main again to avoid the
floating ice. At five we were running close under a single high island
of perhaps an acre in extent, and rising full a hundred feet above the
sea, when old Trull, who was in the bows, called sharply to the man
at the wheel to put the helm a-starboard.

"What's that for?" shouted the captain, who was standing near the
binnacle.

"Come and take a look at this, sur," replied the old man.

Kit and I were just coming up the companion-stairs, and ran forward
with the captain. A long, leather-colored _fish_, as we thought at
first, was floating just under the starboard bow.

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