September
11th.—Lat. 81 degrees 40' N.; long. 2 degrees E. Still lying-to amid enormous ice fields. The
one which stretches away to the north of us, and to which our ice-anchor is attached, cannot be smaller than an English
county. To the
right and left unbroken sheets extend to the horizon. This morning the mate reported that there were
signs of pack
ice to the southward. Should this form of sufficient thickness to bar our return, we shall be
in a position of danger, as the food, I hear, is already running somewhat short. It is
late in the season, and the nights are beginning to reappear.
This
morning I saw a star twinkling just over the fore-yard, the first since the beginning of May.
There is considerable discontent among the crew, many of whom are anxious to
get back home to be in time for the herring season, when labour always commands a high price upon
the Scotch coast. As yet their displeasure is only signified by sullen countenances
and black looks, but I heard from the second mate this afternoon that they contemplated
sending a
deputation to the Captain to explain their
grievance. I much doubt how he will receive it, as he is a man of fierce temper, and very
sensitive about
anything approaching to an infringement of his rights. I shall venture after dinner to say a few words
to him upon the subject. I have always found that he will tolerate from me
what he would resent from any other member of the crew. Amsterdam Island, at the north-west corner
of Spitzbergen, is visible upon our starboard quarter—a rugged line of volcanic rocks,
intersected by white seams, which represent glaciers. It is curious to think that at the present moment
there is
probably no human being nearer to us than the Danish settlements in the south
of Greenland—a
good nine hundred miles as the crow flies. A captain takes a great responsibility upon
himself when
he risks his vessel under such circumstances. No whaler has ever remained in these
latitudes till
so advanced a period of the year.
Excerpt: Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle, The
Captain Of The Pole Star (1883)
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