INVISIBLE COLOR BOOK
CAST AWAY IN THE COLD
By Dr. Isaac I. Hayes
' CHAPTER IV
IN WHICH THE ANCIENT MARINER, CONTINUINO HIS STORY, BORROWS AN ILLUSTRATION FROM THE "ANCIENT MARINER" OF SONGS,
AND THEN PROCEEDS TO TELL HOW THEY WENT INTO THE CO.LD, AND WERE CAST AWAY THERE.
" 'And now there came both mist and snow,
And it grew wondrous cold: .
And ice mast-high came floating by,
As green as emerald.'
RECITE this from a famous poem because it suits so well what
came of us, for you must understand that, while all I have been
telling you was going on, we were approaching the northern regions,
and were getting into the sea where ice was to be expected. You
will remember that we were going after seals, and it is on the ice
that the seals are found.
"At length the man" aloft cried out that he saw ice.
the red-faced mate.
'Where away?' shouted
"The crew of the ship did not give themselves much concern about the Ice
itself; for it was soon discovered that the floes were covered in many places
with seals. .
"As we came farther and farther into the 'pack,' the seals on the ice wen
observed to be more and more numerous. Most of them appeared to be sound
asleep; some of them were wripgling about, or rolling themselves over and over,
while none of them seemed to have the least idea that we had come all the way
from New Bedford to rob them of their sleek coats and their nice fat blubber.
"As soon as we had reached the ice, we sprang out of the boat on to it, and
after digging a hole into it with a long, sharp bar of iron, called an ice-chisel, we
put therein one end of a large, heavy, crooked hook, called an ice-anchor, and then
to a ring in the other end of this ice-anchor we made fast the end of the rope that
we had brought with us. This done, we signaled to the people on board to 'haul in,'
which they -did on their end of the rope, and in a little while the ship was drawn
close up to the ice. Then another rope was run out over the stern of the ship,
and, this being made fast to an ice-anchor in the same way as the other, the shrp
was soon drawn up with her whole broadside close to the ice, as snug s if she
were lying alongside of a dock in New Bedford.
"And now began the seal-hunt. Each one of the seal-catchers was armed
with a short club for killing the seals, and a rope to drag them over the ice W
the ship. We scattered in every direction, our object being each by himself to
appraach a group of seals, and, coming upon them as noiselessly as possible, to
kill as many of them as we could before they should all take fright and rush into
the sea. In order to do this, we were obliged to steal up between the seals and
the water as far as possible.
"My first essay at this novel business was ridiculous enough, and, besides
nearly causing my death, overwhelmed me with mortification. It happened thus.
I made at a large herd of seals, nearly all of which were lying some distance from
the edge of the ice, and before they could get into the water I had managed to
. intercept about a dozen of them. Thus far I thought myself very lucky.
"The seals, of course, all rushed toward the water as last as they could go,
the moment they saw me coming. But I got up with them in time, and struck
one on the nose, killing it, and was in the act of striking another, when a huge
fellow that was big enough to have been the father of the whole flock, too badly
frightened to mind where he was going, ran his head between my legs, and,
whipping up my heels in an instant, landed me on bis back, in which absurd
position I was carried into the sea before I could recover myself. Of course, I
sank immediately, and dreadfully cold was the water; but, rising to the surface
in a moment, I was preparing to make a vigorous effort to swim back to the ice,
when another badly frightened and ill-mannered seal, as I am sure you will all
think, plunged into the sea without once looking to see what he was doing, and
hit me with the point of his nose fairly in the stomach.
"I thought now for certain that my misfortunes were all over, and tha't my
end was surely come. However, I got my head above the surface once more, and
did my best to keep it there; but my hopes vanished when I perceived that I
was at least twenty feet from the edge of the ice. It was as much as I could
do to keep my head above water, without swimming forward, so much em
barrassed was I by my heavy clothing, the great cold, ahd the terrible pains
(worse than those of colic) caused by the seal hitting me in the stomach. I am
quite certain that this would have been the last of John Hardy's adventures,
had not one of my companions, seeing me going overboard on the back of the
seal, rushed to my rescue. He threw me his line for dragging seals (the end of
which I had barely strength to' catch and hold on to), and then he drew me out
as one would haul up a large fish.
"I came from the sea in a most sorry condition, as you can well imagine.
My mouth was full of salt water. I was so prostrated with the cold that I could
scarcely stand, and my pains were so great that I should certainly have screamed
had I not been so full of water that I could not utter a single word.
"The sailors looked upon my adventure as a great joke, never once seeming
to think how near I was to death's door, and my mate simply cried out 'Over
board, eh? Pity the sharks didn't catch him!1
"We continued at this seal-hunting1 for
a good many days, during which we
shifted our position frequentlyand made
what the sealers called a good 'catch,' but
still the barrels in the hold or the snip
were not much more than half of them
filled with oil, when a great storm set in.
"This storm lasted, with occasional
interruptions, thirteen days. We ap
proached the ice several times, only to
be driven off again before we had fairly
succeeded in getting to work, and hence
we caught very few seals.
"By the time the storm was over the
season for seal-fishing was nearly over
too; so we had no alternative, if we
would get a good cargo of oil, but to go
in search of whales. Accordingly, the
course of the vessel was changed, and I
found that we were steering almost due
north, avoiding the ice as much as pos
sible, but passing a great deal of it
" every day.
"At first, when we concluded to go
after whales, there were several vessels
in company with us. At one time I
counted nine, all in eight at one time;
but we had become separated in thick
weather; and whether they had gone
ahead of us, or had fallen behind, we
could not tell. However, we kept on and
on and on; where we were, or where we
were going, I, of course, had not the
least idea; but I became aware, from
day to day, that greater dangers were
threatening us, for icebergs came in
great numbers to add their terrors to
those which we had already in the ice
fields. They became at length (and sud
denly, too) very numerous, and not being
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able to go around them on account of the field-ice, which
was on either side, we entered right amongst them. The
atmosphere was somewhat foggy at the time, and it seemed
as if the icebergs chilled the Very air we breathed. I fairly
shuddered as we passed the first opening. The ice was now
at least three times as high as our masts, and very likely
more than that, and it appeared to cover the sea in every
direction. It seemed to me tnat we were going to certain
destruction, and indeed I thought 1 read a warning written
as it were on the bergs themselves. Upon the comer of an
iceberg to the left of us there stood a white ficure. at Dlain
as anything could possibly be. One hand of this strange, weird-looking figure
was resting on the ice beside it, while the other was pointing partly upward
toward heaven, and backward toward the south whence we had come. L
thought I saw the figure move, and, much excited, I called the attention of
.one of the sailors to it. 'Why, you lubber.' said he, 'don't you know that the
sun melts the ice into all sorts of shapes. Look overhead, if there isn't a man's
face!' I looked up as the sailor had directed me, and, sure enough, there was
a man's face plainly to be seen in the lines of an immense tongue of Ice which
was projecting from the side of a berg on the right, and under which we were
about to pass. .
"I became now really terrified. In addition to these strange spectral objects,
the air was filled with loud reports, and deep, rumbling noises, caused by the
icebergs breaking to pieces.
"I merely mention this as the feeling which oppressed me, and which I
could not shake off.
"It seemed to me now that our doom was sealed that all our hope was left
behind us when we passed the opening to this vast wilderness of icebergs.
"The fog kept on thickening more and more, until we could scarcely see
anything at all. I have never, I think, seen so thick a fog, and it was" with the
greatest difficulty that the ship was kept from striking the Icebergs. Then,
after a while, the wind fell away steadily, and finally grew entirely calm. The
current was moving us about upon the dead "waters; and in order to prevent this,
current from setting us against the ice, we had to lower the boats, and, making
lines fast to the ship and to the boats, pull away with our oars to keep headway
on the ship, that she might be steered clear of the dangerous places. Thus was
made a slow progress, but it was very hard work. At length the second mate,
who was steering the foremost boat, which I was in, cried out, 'Fast ice
ahead.' Now 'fast ice' is a belt of ice which is attached firmly to the land, not
yet having been broken up or dissolved by the warmth of the summer. This an
nouncement created great Joy to everybody in the boats, as we knew that land
must be near, and we all supposed that we would be ordered to make a line fast
to the ice, that we might hold on there until the fog cleared up and the wind
came again. But instead of this we were ordered by the mate to pull away from
it. And then, after having got the vessel, as we supposed, into a good, clear,
open space of water at least, there was not a particle of ice in sight we were
all ordered, very imprudently, as it appeared to every one of us, to come on
board to breakfast.
"We had just finished our breakfast and were preparing .to go on deck, and
then into the boats again, when there was a loud cry raised. 'Ice close aboard!
Hurry up! Man the boat!' were the orders which I heard among a great many
other confusing sounds; and when I got on deck, I saw, standing away up in the
fog, its top completely obscured In the thick cloud, an enormous iceberg. The side
nearest to us hung over from a perpendicular, as the projecting tongue on which
I had before seen the man's face. It was very evident that we were slowly
drifting upon this frightful obiect directly under this overhanging tongue. It
was a fearful sight to behold, for it looked as if it was just ready to crumble to
pieces; and indeed, at every instant, small fragments were breaking off from
ft, with reports, and falling into the sea.
i "We were but a moment getting into the boats. 'Carry your line out to the
fast ice,' was the order we received from the master; and every one of us, realis
ing the great danger, pulled as hard as he could. The 'fast ice was dimly in
sight when we started, for we had drifted while at breakfast toward it, as well
as toward the berg. Only a few minutes were needed to reach it. We jumped
out and dug a hole, and planted the ice anchor. The shin was out of sight, buried
in thefog. A faint voice came from the ship. It was, 'Hurry up! we have struck.
They evidently could not see us. The line was fastened to the anchor in an In
stant, and the second mate shouted, 'Haul in! haul in!' There was no answer,
but 'Hurry up! we have struck.' 'Haul in! haul in!' shouted the second mate,
but still there was no answer. "They can't hear nor see,' said he, hu--iedly; and
then turning to me, said, 'Hardy, you watch the anchor that it don t give way
Boys, jump in the boat, and we'll go nearer the ship so they can hear. 1. he
' boat was gone quickly into the fog, and I
was then alone on the ice by the anchor
how much and truly alone you shall
hear.
"Quick as the lightning flash, sudden
as tne change of one second to another,
there broke upon me a sound that will
never leave my ears. It was as if
volcano had burst forth, or an earth
quake had Instantlv tumbled a whole
city into ruins. A fearful shock, like a
sudden explosion, filled the air. I saw
faintly through the thick mists the masts
of the ship reeling over, and I saw no
morer vessel and iceberg and the dis
appearing boat were buried in choas,
The whole side of the berg nearest the
vessel had split off, hurling thousands
and hundreds of thousands of tons of
ice, and thousands of fragments, crash
ing down upon the doomed ship. Escape
the vessel could not, nor her crew, the
shock came so suddenly. The spray
thrown up into the air completely Ijid
everything from view; but the nois
which came from out the gloom told the
tale.
'Presently there was a loud rush.
Great waves, set in motion by the crumb
ling iceberg, and white crests that were
frightful to look upon came tearing out
of the obscurity, and, perceiving the
danger of my situation, I ran from it
as fast as I could run. And I was just
in time; for the waves broke up the ice
where I had been standing into a hun
dred fragments, and, crack after crack
opened close behind me.
(TO BE CONTINUED
NEXT SUNDAY)