Ilatsiak - 20
David spent a lot of this time in the crow’s nest looking at the new land around him. At one point he was certain he saw people on the shore of Boothia. A few were paddling around in their kayaks, but then fog rolled in and cut off the view, making it impossible to take a boat over to meet them. Sir John assured David during dinner that evening that there would be plenty of opportunities during the long winter to meet any native people who might be in the area. David’s heart lept at the thought of renewing his adventures with them as he had the natives of Greenland, but he was surprised to hear that Sir John thought they would be spending another winter in the ice...
* * *
Lt. Fairholme looked around for David. “That lad is never where you want him,” he said half to himself as well as to Lt Irving. Even in the small magnetic observation camp here on Cape Felix, David had managed to go missing just when he was needed.“Never saw such an inquisitive boy.” Fairholme continued to himself as he ducked into the main supply tent and cast a quick glance around. Irving shook his head. The boys on the Terror had not turned out much better. His boy Evans was always up to something with Master Peglar and never where he ought to be either. Suddenly David’s head poked up from between the pile of stacked boxes.
“You want me, sir?”
“Yes, Mr. Young. We’re ready to leave.” Fairholme tried speaking in his most commanding tone. “We would appreciate your presence outside.”
“Yes sir. I just want to pack an extra pair of mitts.”
“They won’t be needed, Mr Young. It’s mid-May. Fine weather will be here any day now. Just come along. We wish to leave immediately.”
“Of course, as you say, sir.” David had his doubts, but he came around from the stacks of supplies and followed Fairholme and Irving out of the tent into the brillant sunshine. Cape Felix looked much like any other spot on the northern tip of land they found themselves, a flat series of stoney, snow covered raised beaches, slowly rising to an inland plain of low ridges and still frozen sedge ponds which stretched southward into the distance. The two men joined others who stood waiting for them outside the obervation tent. This was the only building which was designed to be somewhat permanent. In fact, it was the same pre-fabricated building the expedition had used on the Whitefish Islands off Greenland, and during the previous winter on Beechey Island.
“Gentlemen, our party is complete. We’re off!”
The five men began their march. The objective was the supply depot the Terror had deposited off the northernmost of the Matty Islands. It was hoped than these supples could be sledged overland to Cape Felix and placed back on the Terror now that a commitment had been made to follow the west coast of Prince William Land. Three men, picked from the two crews as much for their continuing good health as anything else pulled a light sled of supplies for the exploratory trip south along the east coast of King William Land. Later, larger crews would sledge the material back once a feasible route was determined.
The first day the easy pulling over the snow covered ground went well and 15 miles were made to the southwest before they stopped for the night. David was glad to stop. The whole day Lt Irving had made it his business to torment him for some unknown reason. As well, they were forever moving between the land and the sea ice. Granted in some places they had had to walk on the sea ice itself as the snow cover was too thin on the land to allow the sledge easy travelling, but Irving seemed to enjoy making a game of it switching back and forth for no real reason. This would not have presented a problem had it not been for the jumble of ice caused by the tides which had to be passed through each way. At night, David was forced to play a game of dominos, just he and Irving. The others seemed not to be able to play, or knew that this was Irving’s was of treating those he saw as his servants. Irving must have lifted the game from the Terror to entertain himself at the Observation site. The game had a sinister wrinkle to it which David soon found out. Each time he was unable to play a piece, Irving would demand a piece of meat from David’s next meal. Irving, being the much more practiced player, David found himself forfeiting his meal, and he became more and more frustrated by Irving’s bullying attitude not to mention the glee with which he kept describing how much bigger his next meal was getting. Fairholme chose to take no notice of David’s plight and never intervened. On the third day, they were forced entirely onto the sea ice because of the bareness of the land and its increasingly rocky nature. Around noon, the low lying Matty Islands became visible offshore. Fairholme was keen to cross over to them immediately, making a direct line for them, however Lt Irving held to the original plan of crossing at the narrowest point. He was anxious to avoid getting too far out on the ice where it might be thin and weak. He had made it very clear that he was afraid of going through the ice and for this reason he made David walk a few paces in front of him. He would joke to Fairholme about how grateful he was to have Franklin’s little ice tester out in front of the expedition. Once he passed the comment that when David did plunge into the water, he would get his whole ration rather than a few bites. David had little choice in all this, but to do as he was told, and again Fairholme seemed unwilling to stand up to Irving’s meanness. In the end, Irving’s longer route was followed although it did add an extra day to their trek. The crossing itself went smoothly, the only obstacle being a wide crack which forced them to detour several miles northward before they found a narrow section they could all jump across.
Had it not been for Irving, David would have been happy to be away from the ships and in the open air again. The forced enclosure of on-board life was not his style. He much preferred the outdoors and the freedom it offered. The first winter at Beechey, while much of it was also spent within the confines of the ship, had at least been a novelty to some extent. This past winter had passed much more slowly. First there were none of the on-shore activities, nor were there the sledging trips and exploring they had done the previous year from Beechey Island. The general mood below decks was also less enthusiastic. More men were in sick-bay, the food was less and less to their liking. In fact, David was sure that the food was one of the factors which was making so many men sick. And now more men were ending up like Irving, seeming to delight in making the lives of others as miserable as they could.
The second day on the island they realised that yet another stretch of ice would have to be crossed to reach the depot. Tides running between the two islands had opened up much of the water forcing them once again to circle some distance northward before they felt safe crossing the ice. Before leaving the safety of the first island, they left behind about a third of their supplies to lighten their load.
Finally safe on the easternmost island, it was a short haul to the supplies which stood clearly up out of the flat, dreay landscape. Fairholme and Irving had placed a private wager on whether the supplies had been broken into during the winter. Fairholme lost. The supplies seemed to have been untouched and apart from having some of the canvas covers blown open and torn by the nearly constant winter winds, they were exactly as they remembered them having been left. David was on Fairholme’s side of the bet, not out of any loyalty, but rather because he hoped a break-in would indicate the presence of Eskimos in the area, something he had been hoping would happen sooner rather than later.
While the men and David set about erecting the tents for the evening, Fairholme and Irving made a more detailed inspection of the supplies. Some of the crates were certainly going to present difficulties moving them by sledge. These items might be best moved by ship’s launch during the coming summer and put directly on board, Surely this could be done before the ships moved south through the passage they were presently beset in. The remaining supplies could be moved by sledge provided the ice conditions did not deteriorate too rapidly. Fairholme and Irving were both astounded at how much further advanced the season seemed to be however, on this side of King William Land.
Once in the tents and preparing the evening meal, Fairholme announced to the others the decision to return immediately to the ships the following day. For once Irving had not pulled out his bag of dominos, which pleased David. Fairhomle explained how, if supplies were to be moved it would have to be done immediately before the ice deteriorated much further. David was disappointed with this news. He had hoped to continue exploring southward, but this was not to be if they were to return immediately.
Fairholme and Irving were up early and began urging the others to make haste packing the sledge for the return ship. David suddenly had an idea which, if accepted, would solve both his immediate problems.
“Lt Fairholme, sir. I would like to volunteer to stay with the supplies and protect them, until the sledge party returns, sir, if this meets your approval.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, David knew what the answer would be. Fairholme would see it as another attempt to shirk his duties aboard ship. Irving would certainly object as David was not a member of Terror’s crew, nor would he have anyone to torment on the return leg of the trip.
“Mr Young, that’s a generous offer, but as you can see, no one has disturbed the site for the past nine months. Lt Irving, what do you think...”
“Lt Irving, there’s someone out there... coming... Look sir. Lt Fairholme, out on the ice, to the east, there, maybe a half mile out!” The two crew-men were pointing to a dark figure, about half a mile out from shore, and slowly making his way towards them, leading a dog.
“I’ll be damned... Mr Young, you might get your wish after all. You and Mr Shanks here might find yourselves camp-mates for a while.” Lt Fairholme used his scope to study the figure out on the ice. His dog was dragging something while he walked towards them. He was using a tall stick of some kind which he jabbed into the ice as he walked alone towards the depot.
“Eskimos!” thought David. “Eskimos... Finally!”
Lt. Fairholme looked around for David. “That lad is never where you want him,” he said half to himself as well as to Lt Irving. Even in the small magnetic observation camp here on Cape Felix, David had managed to go missing just when he was needed.“Never saw such an inquisitive boy.” Fairholme continued to himself as he ducked into the main supply tent and cast a quick glance around. Irving shook his head. The boys on the Terror had not turned out much better. His boy Evans was always up to something with Master Peglar and never where he ought to be either. Suddenly David’s head poked up from between the pile of stacked boxes.
“You want me, sir?”
“Yes, Mr. Young. We’re ready to leave.” Fairholme tried speaking in his most commanding tone. “We would appreciate your presence outside.”
“Yes sir. I just want to pack an extra pair of mitts.”
“They won’t be needed, Mr Young. It’s mid-May. Fine weather will be here any day now. Just come along. We wish to leave immediately.”
“Of course, as you say, sir.” David had his doubts, but he came around from the stacks of supplies and followed Fairholme and Irving out of the tent into the brillant sunshine. Cape Felix looked much like any other spot on the northern tip of land they found themselves, a flat series of stoney, snow covered raised beaches, slowly rising to an inland plain of low ridges and still frozen sedge ponds which stretched southward into the distance. The two men joined others who stood waiting for them outside the obervation tent. This was the only building which was designed to be somewhat permanent. In fact, it was the same pre-fabricated building the expedition had used on the Whitefish Islands off Greenland, and during the previous winter on Beechey Island.
“Gentlemen, our party is complete. We’re off!”
The five men began their march. The objective was the supply depot the Terror had deposited off the northernmost of the Matty Islands. It was hoped than these supples could be sledged overland to Cape Felix and placed back on the Terror now that a commitment had been made to follow the west coast of Prince William Land. Three men, picked from the two crews as much for their continuing good health as anything else pulled a light sled of supplies for the exploratory trip south along the east coast of King William Land. Later, larger crews would sledge the material back once a feasible route was determined.
The first day the easy pulling over the snow covered ground went well and 15 miles were made to the southwest before they stopped for the night. David was glad to stop. The whole day Lt Irving had made it his business to torment him for some unknown reason. As well, they were forever moving between the land and the sea ice. Granted in some places they had had to walk on the sea ice itself as the snow cover was too thin on the land to allow the sledge easy travelling, but Irving seemed to enjoy making a game of it switching back and forth for no real reason. This would not have presented a problem had it not been for the jumble of ice caused by the tides which had to be passed through each way. At night, David was forced to play a game of dominos, just he and Irving. The others seemed not to be able to play, or knew that this was Irving’s was of treating those he saw as his servants. Irving must have lifted the game from the Terror to entertain himself at the Observation site. The game had a sinister wrinkle to it which David soon found out. Each time he was unable to play a piece, Irving would demand a piece of meat from David’s next meal. Irving, being the much more practiced player, David found himself forfeiting his meal, and he became more and more frustrated by Irving’s bullying attitude not to mention the glee with which he kept describing how much bigger his next meal was getting. Fairholme chose to take no notice of David’s plight and never intervened. On the third day, they were forced entirely onto the sea ice because of the bareness of the land and its increasingly rocky nature. Around noon, the low lying Matty Islands became visible offshore. Fairholme was keen to cross over to them immediately, making a direct line for them, however Lt Irving held to the original plan of crossing at the narrowest point. He was anxious to avoid getting too far out on the ice where it might be thin and weak. He had made it very clear that he was afraid of going through the ice and for this reason he made David walk a few paces in front of him. He would joke to Fairholme about how grateful he was to have Franklin’s little ice tester out in front of the expedition. Once he passed the comment that when David did plunge into the water, he would get his whole ration rather than a few bites. David had little choice in all this, but to do as he was told, and again Fairholme seemed unwilling to stand up to Irving’s meanness. In the end, Irving’s longer route was followed although it did add an extra day to their trek. The crossing itself went smoothly, the only obstacle being a wide crack which forced them to detour several miles northward before they found a narrow section they could all jump across.
Had it not been for Irving, David would have been happy to be away from the ships and in the open air again. The forced enclosure of on-board life was not his style. He much preferred the outdoors and the freedom it offered. The first winter at Beechey, while much of it was also spent within the confines of the ship, had at least been a novelty to some extent. This past winter had passed much more slowly. First there were none of the on-shore activities, nor were there the sledging trips and exploring they had done the previous year from Beechey Island. The general mood below decks was also less enthusiastic. More men were in sick-bay, the food was less and less to their liking. In fact, David was sure that the food was one of the factors which was making so many men sick. And now more men were ending up like Irving, seeming to delight in making the lives of others as miserable as they could.
The second day on the island they realised that yet another stretch of ice would have to be crossed to reach the depot. Tides running between the two islands had opened up much of the water forcing them once again to circle some distance northward before they felt safe crossing the ice. Before leaving the safety of the first island, they left behind about a third of their supplies to lighten their load.
Finally safe on the easternmost island, it was a short haul to the supplies which stood clearly up out of the flat, dreay landscape. Fairholme and Irving had placed a private wager on whether the supplies had been broken into during the winter. Fairholme lost. The supplies seemed to have been untouched and apart from having some of the canvas covers blown open and torn by the nearly constant winter winds, they were exactly as they remembered them having been left. David was on Fairholme’s side of the bet, not out of any loyalty, but rather because he hoped a break-in would indicate the presence of Eskimos in the area, something he had been hoping would happen sooner rather than later.
While the men and David set about erecting the tents for the evening, Fairholme and Irving made a more detailed inspection of the supplies. Some of the crates were certainly going to present difficulties moving them by sledge. These items might be best moved by ship’s launch during the coming summer and put directly on board, Surely this could be done before the ships moved south through the passage they were presently beset in. The remaining supplies could be moved by sledge provided the ice conditions did not deteriorate too rapidly. Fairholme and Irving were both astounded at how much further advanced the season seemed to be however, on this side of King William Land.
Once in the tents and preparing the evening meal, Fairholme announced to the others the decision to return immediately to the ships the following day. For once Irving had not pulled out his bag of dominos, which pleased David. Fairhomle explained how, if supplies were to be moved it would have to be done immediately before the ice deteriorated much further. David was disappointed with this news. He had hoped to continue exploring southward, but this was not to be if they were to return immediately.
Fairholme and Irving were up early and began urging the others to make haste packing the sledge for the return ship. David suddenly had an idea which, if accepted, would solve both his immediate problems.
“Lt Fairholme, sir. I would like to volunteer to stay with the supplies and protect them, until the sledge party returns, sir, if this meets your approval.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, David knew what the answer would be. Fairholme would see it as another attempt to shirk his duties aboard ship. Irving would certainly object as David was not a member of Terror’s crew, nor would he have anyone to torment on the return leg of the trip.
“Mr Young, that’s a generous offer, but as you can see, no one has disturbed the site for the past nine months. Lt Irving, what do you think...”
“Lt Irving, there’s someone out there... coming... Look sir. Lt Fairholme, out on the ice, to the east, there, maybe a half mile out!” The two crew-men were pointing to a dark figure, about half a mile out from shore, and slowly making his way towards them, leading a dog.
“I’ll be damned... Mr Young, you might get your wish after all. You and Mr Shanks here might find yourselves camp-mates for a while.” Lt Fairholme used his scope to study the figure out on the ice. His dog was dragging something while he walked towards them. He was using a tall stick of some kind which he jabbed into the ice as he walked alone towards the depot.
“Eskimos!” thought David. “Eskimos... Finally!”
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