Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $9.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Among the Esquimaux or Adventures under the Arctic Circle
    Among the Esquimaux or Adventures under the Arctic Circle
    Among the Esquimaux or Adventures under the Arctic Circle
    Ebook198 pages3 hours

    Among the Esquimaux or Adventures under the Arctic Circle

    By Edward Sylvester Ellis

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Two Passengers on the "Nautilus"
    A Colossal Somersault
    An Alarming Situation
    Adrift
    An Icy Couch
    Missing
    A Point of Light
    Hope Deferred
    A Startling Occurrence
    An Ugly Customer
    Lively Times
    Fred's Experience
    The Fog
    A Collision
    The Sound of a Voice
    Land Ho!
    Docak and His Home
    A New Expedition
    A Wonderful Exhibition
    The Herd of Musk Oxen
    Close Quarters
    Fred's Turn
    In the Cavern
    Unwelcome Callers
    The Coming Shadow
    Walled In
    "Come On!"
    A Hopeless Task
    Ten Miles
    The Last Pause
    Another Sound
    The Wild Men of Greenland
    Conclusion
    LanguageEnglish
    Publisheranboco
    Release dateSep 6, 2016
    ISBN9783736413450
    Among the Esquimaux or Adventures under the Arctic Circle
    Author

    Edward Sylvester Ellis

    Edward Sylvester Ellis (1840–1916) was the author of hundreds of books and articles under numerous pen names. Born in Ohio, Ellis first gained acclaim as an author with Seth Jones while he was working as a teacher in New Jersey. After this success, he wrote all manner of books and articles, including mysteries, adventures, and history. 

    Read more from Edward Sylvester Ellis

    Related to Among the Esquimaux or Adventures under the Arctic Circle

    Related ebooks

    General Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Skeleton Crew

      Nov 6, 2020

      Skeleton Crew
      6 min read

    • Article

      Skeleton Crew

      Nov 6, 2020

      Skeleton Crew
      6 min read

    • Article

      BOOKS of the YEAR

      Nov 20, 2020

      BOOKS of the YEAR
      4 min read

    • Article

      Lerwick To Bergen

      Sep 12, 2019

      Lerwick To Bergen
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Slow Life

      Nov 12, 2020

      The Slow Life
      7 min read

    • Article

      Poseidon’s Playground

      Nov 28, 2021

      Poseidon’s Playground
      6 min read

    • Article

      A Round-up Of The Latest BOOKS

      May 14, 2021

      In our April issue, we told the story of Rabbit, the small 1965 sloop that was the first design of American yachtsman Dick Carter, who entered her in that year’s Fastnet – and won! Two years later, racing Red Rooster, an even more innovative boat of

      5 min read

    • Article

      In Baltic Waters

      Dec 6, 2024

      In Baltic Waters
      7 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Feb 13, 2020

      Letters
      3 min read

    • Article

      Shattered Dreams

      Aug 30, 2019

      Raivavae (pronounced reh-vah-VYE) is one of the Austral Islands, part of French Polynesia, and it’s one of our favourite lesser-known stops. High and lush, it has an encircling reef that provides multiple safe anchorages, friendly people and low-key

      6 min read

    • Article

      Ships Mail

      Jun 24, 2022

      Having travelled from the UK to Spain on the cruise ferry Cap Finistère (Portsmouth) and Pont-Aven (Plymouth) many times, I have been following Galicia and Salamanca (SM, May) with interest. Compared to Cap Finistère, the new ships are larger, carryi

      6 min read

    • Article

      MESSAGE In A BOTTLE

      Mar 1, 2023

      FOR HUNDREDS OF years scores of Boston-bound ships have foundered on the rocky ledges that lurk just beneath the waves all along the coast of Massachusetts Bay. The wreck of the brig St. John must surely be the most tragic of all. She was a “famine s

      6 min read

    • Article

      MESSAGE In A BOTTLE

      Mar 1, 2023

      FOR HUNDREDS OF years scores of Boston-bound ships have foundered on the rocky ledges that lurk just beneath the waves all along the coast of Massachusetts Bay. The wreck of the brig St. John must surely be the most tragic of all. She was a “famine s

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Frozen Frontier

      Aug 13, 2019

      The Frozen Frontier
      14 min read

    • Article

      Away With The Ferries

      Dec 22, 2022

      Away With The Ferries
      3 min read

    • Article

      DANISH In The MORNING

      Jan 15, 2019

      DANISH In The MORNING
      8 min read

    • Article

      Small Wonders

      Jul 17, 2018

      Small Wonders
      3 min read

    • Article

      Offshore In An Open Boat

      Nov 21, 2019

      Offshore In An Open Boat
      4 min read

    • Article

      Dire Straits

      Dec 21, 2023

      Last spring a friend, the owner of a beautiful Endurance, asked me if I would like to come for a cruise on his other boat. This turned out to be HMS Albion, 20,000 tons of pure lethality, carrying a large crew of Royal Marine Commandos and Naval pers

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Pilot

      Aug 14, 2020

      The Pilot
      5 min read

    • Article

      Ships Mail

      Nov 25, 2022

      Cruise ships are becoming more and more like theme parks, hosting incredible state-of-the-art activities that would never have been possible 20 years ago. The brand-new Disney Wish, for example, features a water-coaster called the Aquamouse, which Di

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Monarch Of All I Survey

      Nov 22, 2019

      The Monarch Of All I Survey
      6 min read

    • Article

      Chartroom

      Sep 27, 2024

      Chartroom
      5 min read

    • Article

      Time Out

      Dec 27, 2024

      London life as an editor at The Guardian and the wild disunity and uncertainty that followed Brexit were two triggers that prompted Susan Smillie to simply sail away in 2016, aboard her Nicholson 26 Isean. What started as a part-time British voyage w

      6 min read

    • Article

      Time Out

      Dec 27, 2024

      London life as an editor at The Guardian and the wild disunity and uncertainty that followed Brexit were two triggers that prompted Susan Smillie to simply sail away in 2016, aboard her Nicholson 26 Isean. What started as a part-time British voyage w

      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Among the Esquimaux or Adventures under the Arctic Circle

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Among the Esquimaux or Adventures under the Arctic Circle - Edward Sylvester Ellis

      CONCLUSION

      Among the Esquimaux OR Adventures under the Arctic Circle

      BY EDWARD S. ELLIS, A.M.

      AUTHOR OF The Campers Out, Etc., Etc.

      AMONG THE ESQUIMAUX

        CHAPTER I

      TWO PASSENGERS ON THE NAUTILUS

      The good ship Nautilus had completed the greater part of her voyage from London to her far-off destination, deep in the recesses of British America. This was York Factory, one of the chief posts of the Hudson Bay Company.

      Among the numerous streams flowing into Hudson Bay, from the frozen regions of the north, is the Nelson River. Near the mouth of this and of the Hayes River was erected, many years ago, Fort York, or York Factory. The post is not a factory in the ordinary meaning of the word, being simply the headquarters of the factors or dealers in furs for that vast monopoly whose agents have scoured the dismal regions to the north of the Saskatchewan, in the land of Assiniboine, along the mighty Yukon and beyond the Arctic Circle, in quest of the fur-bearing animals, that are found only in their perfection in the coldest portions of the globe.

      The buildings which form the fort are not attractive, but they are comfortable. They are not specially strong, for, though the structure has stood for a long time in a country which the aborigines make their home, and, though it is far removed from any human assistance, its wooden walls have never been pierced by a hostile bullet, and it is safe to say they never will be. Somehow or other, our brethren across the northern border have learned the art of getting along with the Indians without fighting them.

      The voyageurs and trappers, returning from their journeys in canoes or on snow-shoes to the very heart of frozen America, first catch sight of the flag floating from the staff of York Factory, and they know that a warm welcome awaits them, because the peltries gathered amid the recesses of the frigid mountains and in the heart of the land of desolation are sure to find ready purchasers at the post, for the precious furs are eagerly sought for in the marts of the Old and of the New World.

      It is a lonely life for the inhabitants of the fort, for it is only once a year that the ship of the company, after breasting the fierce storms and powerful currents of the Atlantic, sails up the great mouth of Baffin Bay, glides through Hudson Strait, and thence steals across the icy expanse of Hudson Bay to the little fort near the mouth of the Nelson.

      You can understand how welcome the ship is, for it brings the only letters, papers, and news from home that can be received until another twelvemonth shall roll around. Such, as I have said, is the rule, though now and then what may be termed an extra ship makes that long, tempestuous voyage. Being unexpected, its coming is all the more joyful, for it is like the added week's holiday to the boy who has just made ready for the hard work and study of the school-room.

      You know there has been considerable said and written about a railway to Hudson Bay, with the view of connection thence by ship to Europe. Impracticable as is the scheme, because of the ice which locks up navigation for months every year, it has had strong and ingenious advocates, and considerable money has been spent in the way of investigation. The plan has been abandoned, for the reasons I have named, and there is no likelihood that it will ever be attempted.

      The Nautilus had what may be called a roving commission. It is easy to understand that so long as the ships of the Hudson Bay Company have specific duties to perform, and that the single vessel is simply ordered to take supplies to York Factory and bring back her cargo of peltries, little else can be expected from her. So the staunch Nautilus was fitted out, placed under the charge of the veteran navigator, Captain McAlpine, who had commanded more than one Arctic whaler, and sent on her westward voyage.

      The ultimate destination of the Nautilus was York Factory, though she was to touch at several points, after calling at St. John, Newfoundland, one of which was the southern coast of Greenland, where are located the most famous cryolite mines in the world, belonging, like Greenland itself, to the Danish Government.

      There is little to be told the reader about the Nautilus itself or the crew composing it, but it so happened that she had on board three parties, in whose experience and adventures I am sure you will come to feel an interest. These three were Jack Cosgrove, a bluff, hearty sailor, about forty years of age; Rob Carrol, seventeen, and Fred Warburton, one year younger.

      Rob was a lusty, vigorous young man, honest, courageous, often to rashness, the picture of athletic strength and activity, and one whom you could not help liking at the first glance. His father was a director in the honorable Hudson Bay Company, possessed considerable wealth, and Rob was the eldest of three sons.

      Fred Warburton, while displaying many of the mental characteristics of his friend, was quite different physically. He was of much slighter build, not nearly so strong, was more quiet, inclined to study, but as warmly devoted to the splendid Rob as the latter was to him.

      Fred was an orphan, without brother or sister, and in such straitened circumstances that it had become necessary for him to find some means of earning his daily bread. The warm-hearted Rob stated the case to his father, and said that if he didn't make a good opening for his chum he himself would die of a broken heart right on the spot.

      Not so bad as that, Rob, replied the genial gentleman, who was proud of his big, manly son; I have heard so much from you of young Mr. Warburton that I have kept an eye on him for a year past.

      I may have told you a good deal about him, continued Rob, earnestly, but not half as much as he deserves.

      He must be a paragon, indeed, but, from what I can learn, my son, he has applied himself so hard to his studies while at school that he ought to have a vacation before settling down to real hard work; what do you think about it, Robert?

      A good idea, provided I take it with him, added the son, slyly.

      I see you are growing quite pale and are losing your appetite, continued the parent, with a grave face, which caused the youth to laugh outright at the pleasant irony.

      Yes, said the big boy, with the same gravity; I suffer a great loss of appetite three or four times every day; in fact, I feel as though I couldn't eat another mouthful.

      I have observed that phenomenon, my son, but it never seems to attack you until the table has been well cleared of everything on it. Ah, my boy! he added, tenderly, laying his hand on his head; I am thankful that you are blessed with such fine health. Be assured there is nothing in this world that can take its place. With a conscience void of offense toward God and man, and a body that knows no ache nor pain, you can laugh at the so-called miseries of life; they will roll from you like water from a duck's back.

      But, father, have you thought of any way of giving Fred a vacation before he goes to work? You know he is as poor as he can be, and can't afford to do nothing and pay his expenses.

      The plan I have in mind, replied the father, leaning back in his chair and twirling his eyeglasses, is this: next week the 'Nautilus,' one of the company's ships, will leave London for York Factory, which is a station deep in the heart of British America. She will touch at St. John, Greenland, and several other points on her way, and may stop several weeks or months at York Factory, according to circumstances. If it will suit your young friend to go with her, I will have him registered as one of our clerks, which will entitle him to a salary from the day the 'Nautilus' leaves the dock. The sea voyage will do him good, and when he returns, at the end of a year or less, he can settle down to hard work in our office in London. Of course, if Fred goes, you will have to stay at home.

      Rob turned in dismay to his parent, but he observed a twitching at the corners of his mouth, and a sparkle of the fine blue eyes, which showed he was only teasing him.

      Ah, father, I understand you! exclaimed the big boy, springing forward, throwing an arm about his neck and kissing him. You wouldn't think of separating us.

      I suppose not. There! get along with you, and tell your friend to make ready to sail next week, his business being to look after you while away from home.

      And that is how Rob Carrol and Fred Warburton came to be fellow-passengers on the ship Nautilus on the voyage to the far North.

        CHAPTER II

      A COLOSSAL SOMERSAULT

      The voyage of the Nautilus was uneventful until she was far to the northward in Baffin Bay. It was long after leaving St. John that our friends saw their first iceberg. They should have seen them before, as Captain McAlpine explained, for, as you well know, those mountains of ice often cross the path of the Atlantic steamers, and more than once have endangered our great ocean greyhounds. No doubt numbers of them were drifting southward, gradually dissolving as they neared the equator, but it so happened that the Nautilus steered clear of them until many degrees to the north.

      The captain, who was scanning the icy ocean with his glass, apprised the boys that the longed-for curiosity was in sight at last. As he spoke, he pointed with his hand to the north-west, but though they followed the direction with their eyes, they were disappointed.

      I see nothing, said Rob, that looks like an iceberg.

      And how is it with you, Mr. Warburton? asked the skipper, lowering his instrument, and turning toward the younger of the boys, who had approached, and now stood at his side.

      We can make out a small white cloud in the horizon, that's all, said Fred.

      It's the cloud I'm referring to, boys; now take a squint at that same thing through the glass.

      Fred leveled the instrument and had hardly taken a glance, when he cried:

      Oh! it's an iceberg sure enough! Isn't it beautiful?

      While he was studying it, the captain added: Turn the glass a little to the left.

      There's another! added the delighted youth.

      I guess we've struck a school of 'em, remarked Rob, who was using his eyes as best he could; I thought we'd bring up the average before reaching Greenland.

      It's a sight worth seeing, commented Fred, handing the glass to his friend, whose pleasure was fully as great as his own.

      The instrument was passed back and forth, and, in the course of a half-hour, the vast masses of ice could be plainly discerned with the unaided eye.

      That proves they are coming toward us, or we are going toward them, said Rob.

      Both, replied Captain McAlpine; we shall pass within a mile of the larger one.

      Suppose we run into it?

      The old sea-dog smiled grimly, as he replied:

      I tried it once, when whaling with the 'Mary Jane.' I don't mean to say I did it on purpose, but there was no moon that night, and when the iceberg, half as big as a whole town, loomed up in the darkness, we hadn't time to get out of its path. Well, I guess I've said enough, he remarked, abruptly.

      Why, you've broken off in the most interesting part of the story, said the deeply interested Fred.

      Well, that was the last of the 'Mary Jane.' The mate, Jack Cosgrove, and myself were all that escaped out of a crew of eleven. We managed to climb upon a small shelf of ice, just above the water, where we would have perished with cold had not an Esquimau fisherman, named Docak, seen us. We were nearer the mainland than we dared hope, and he came out in his kayak and took us off. He helped us to make our way to Ivignut, where the cryolite mines are, and thence we got back to England by way of Denmark. No, added Captain McAlpine, a prudent navigator won't try to butt an iceberg out of his path; it don't pay.

      It must be dangerous in these waters, especially at night.

      There is danger everywhere and at all times in this life, was the truthful remark of the commander; and you know that the most constant watchfulness on the part of the great steamers cannot always avert disaster, but I have little fear of anything from icebergs.

      You need to be told little about those mountains of ice which sometimes form a procession, vast, towering, and awful, that stream down from the far North and sail in all their sublime grandeur steadily southward until they go out of commission forever in the tepid waters of the tropic regions.

      It is a strange spectacle to see one of them moving resistlessly against the current, which is sometimes dashed from the corrugated front, as is seen at the bow of a steamboat, but the reason is simple. Nearly seven-eighths of an iceberg is under water, extending so far down that most of the bulk is often within the embrace of the counter current below. This, of course, carries it against the weaker flow, and causes many people to wonder how it can be thus.

      While the little group stood forward talking of icebergs, they were gradually drawing near the couple that had first caught their attention. By this time a third had risen to sight, more to the westward, but it was much smaller than the other two, though more unique and beautiful. It looked for all the world like a grand cathedral, whose tapering spire towered fully two hundred feet in air. It was easy to imagine that some gigantic structure had been submerged by a flood, while the steeple still reared its head above the surrounding waters as though defying them to do their worst.

      The other two bergs were much more enormous and of irregular contour. The imaginative spectator could fancy all kinds of resemblances, but the cold fact remained that they were simply mountains of ice, with no more symmetry of outline than a mass of rock blasted from a quarry.

      I have read, said Fred, that in the iceberg factories of the north, as they are called, they are sometimes two or three years in forming, before they break loose and sweep off into the ocean.

      That is true, added Captain McAlpine; "an iceberg is simply a chunk off a frozen river, and a pretty good-sized one, it must be admitted. Where the cold is so intense, a river becomes frozen from the surface to the ground. Snow falls, there may be a little rain during the moderate

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1