by William H.G. Kingston, Esq.
Originally published in Ainsworth's Magazine: A Miscellany of Romance (Chapman and Hall) vol.11 #3 (1847).
I once knew a man, Jonathan Johnson by name. According to his own account, he was born at sea, bred at sea, had all his life lived at sea, had visited every known and unknown part of the globe, and had encountered more adventures than any man living, till, weary of wandering, he had at last settled down in our village. I used to call him the Ancient Mariner, from a very strongly developed propensity he possessed of indulging his auditors in narrations of the wonderful and supernatural, but the villagers, who, in general, were not particularly well versed in literature, called him Captain Johnson, they having conferred on him the title of captain as a sort of brevet rank on his retirement from a sea life. I once told him the name I had given him, thinking to amuse him, and I then narrated the story and repeated some of the verses of Coleridge's magnificently wild poem, but he turned up his nose with disdain, declared that he did not believe a word of it, asserting that one morning, when off the Cape of Good Hope, he killed, with a gun of his own construction, ten thousand albatrosses, that the boats were employed a full day in picking them up; that he had them pickled and salted, that they served to feed the ship's company for six months, and that when his people grew tired of eating them, he sold the last cask to a Yankee skipper for twenty dollars, while after all no harm ever came of it. Now, although I do not wish on any account to impugn the veracity of honest Jonathan, I must beg the reader clearly to understand that I can in no way vouch for the truth of any of his stories, but having full confidence that a discerning and intelligent public will esteem them at their proper value, to their judgment I commit them.
In our village, a quiet little place on the sea-coast, far removed from the busy hum of cities, or of march of intellect societies, every word he uttered was received with the perfect faith bestowed on Gospel truths. He was the oracle of the whole neighbourhood, the arbitrator on all points of dispute, and, if he did not always decide with the wisdom of Solomon, he asserted, that he succeeded in a more difficult task, in pleasing both parties. However incredulous I might have been, with so overwhelming a majority in his favour I could not, of course, venture to express a doubt of the correctness of any of his statements, till, by constantly listening to his stories, I was almost as incapable of discerning the true narratives from the fabulous, as he himself was from frequently repeating them. To which of the two descriptions the following yarns belong, I leave the reader to decide; all I can say is, that I have endeavoured to select as a commencement those which I considered most worthy of belief.
Jonathan Johnson was a stout, tall man, with a very red face, and one sharp twinkling eye—the other by some accident had disappeared—his nose was turned upwards with a peculiar cock, and well covered with carbuncles and other similar ornaments, the effects of potations deep and strong; his hair had been red, but was now sprinkled over with gray; his hands were large and bony, of a dark copper colour, with strane devices marked in gunpowder on their backs; and his arms, which I remember he used sometimes to exhibit to please the youngsters, were tattooed all over in the same way. Such he was in person. The tones of his voice rivalling the thunder's roar in depth and roughness, few were found bold enough to contradict him. Indeed he could silence the loudest ordinary speaker with one discharge from the terrific artillery of his mouth. "It's a fact, by George!" was Jonathan's clencher to all his assertions, with a nod, which meant, "Let no one gainsay me."
Notwithstanding these little peculiarities, Jonathan in the main was a good fellow. He was, too, a most amusing companion on a fishing excursion off the coast; but he was seen in all his glory when found on a winter's evening, in the bar of the Jolly Rover, where at that time he used regularly to resort. There he would sit with his low buckled shoes on the fender, his thick Flushing coat thrown open, his tarpaulin hat at the back of his head, his pipe in hand, and his favourite nor'wester hot and stiff by his side, spinning yarns as long as the main-top bowline and as tough as salt junk twenty years in cask. His auditors were generally the parish clerk, the village butcher, baker, and barber, and one of the coastguard men when off duty (the latter, by the by, would now and then give a knowing wink of his eye, and approach his thumb to the tip of his nose, but said nothing). Then there was the grocer, haberdasher, tobacconist, and dealer in marine stores, combined in one person, mine host of the Jolly Rover, and several nautical characters, such as fishermen, pilots and smugglers. Ever and anon, during the intervals of silence, he would take a deep drawn whiff from his pipe, and a long, steady pull at his glass, looking round on the company for the approbation he felt that he deserved. I frequently, when I came home for the holidays, used to venture into the circle for the sake of hearing Jonathan's yarns, notwithstanding that the atmosphere was somewhat redolent of the fumes of spirits and tobacco-smoke; and [ was always welcomed, for I flatter myself I was, as a boy, a general favourite in our village.
"It's a fact, by George," I heard Jonathan exclaim in a stentorian voice, as one evening I entered the bar-room of the Jolly Rover. While the rest of the party made room for me among them, he nodded familiarly, but did not pause in his narrative.
"I could bring fifty people to swear to it, if that was necessary, but no one ever doubted it before."
Jonathan was addressing a stranger present, a seaman, as his dress betokened, who had expressed some slight incredulity as to an assertion he had made.
"Lord bless you, man, I've seen every day of my life a thousand things more wonderful than that. If you had been where I have you would say so too; why there isn't a harbour on either coast of Europe, Asia, Africa, or America, where I haven't been some time or other of my life; there isn't an island in the Atlantic, nor the north nor south Pacific, nor the Indian Seas, that I haven't sailed round and round, over and over again. There isn't a river that I haven't navigated from its mouth to its source, or, at all events, as high as a canoe could go, in any quarter of the globe, and there isn't a mountain within a hundred miles of the sea, on whose top I haven't stood. Lord bless you, when a man has the will there's always the way. I never was stopped by trifles in my life. Why, I once spent a whole winter wandering about the North Pole, in search of my ship, a whaler, which I had lost while away on a bear-shooting expedition, having left her somewhere on the Greenland coast. My companions all died from sheer fright and fatigue, but as I took their ammunition I had plenty of it, and lived like a prince all the time on the produce of my sport, though I got rather tired of bear's flesh at last, I confess. Now, most other men would have given way to despair, but I wasn't to be done even by the cold—though it was cold at times in a vengeance; why, frequently the frost was so severe, that it froze up even the very air, and if I hadn't melted it now and then by firing off my gun, I should have died for want of breath, and as for moving on those occasions it wasn't possible, without cutting a way for myself through the atmosphere with my axe. I should have found my ship easy enough, for I knew that on leaving her we had kept to the westward, and I had a compass to guide me, but the ice had been carried imperceptibly so far to the northward that I found afterwards that I had been walking all the time round and round the North Pole, steering, as I thought, for the east. It did strike me as strange, that I did not reach some land at last, and I fully expected to make some wonderful discovery. At length, by seeing the print of my own footsteps in the snow, I became aware of my error, so I sat down to consider how it could have happened, and at last the truth flashed across my mind. It was fortunate for me that I found out my mistake, for had I not fallen in with the print of my own footsteps, I should have walked on round and round the world till now, as nothing would have made me give in; I never did so yet, and never will, for I have always found every thing turn up right at last. The advice I give to all youngsters is to put their trust in Providence, and never say die. Now if I had given up, like my companions, I should not have been here to tell the story, instead of which I had a pleasant shooting excursion, and an agreeable walk—rather a long one, but I was hardy, and didn't mind sleeping out at nights. You see it was a very natural mistake I made, for the needle of my compass was all the time pointing to the North Pole just as a capstan-bar does to the capstan, while I was running round at the other end of it. When I arrived at this conclusion, I was, I must confess, rather puzzled to know what to do, for it struck me that if I walked south, as I knew would be necessary, I might, perhaps, find myself directly on the other side of the globe, somewhere probably near Behring's Straits, leading into the sea of Kamtschatka, where there was I thought very little chance of falling in with a ship to carry me away, when the ice began to move on the return of summer. I had sat quiet for some time without coming to any determination as to my future proceedings, and was beginning to get rather chilly, when all of a sudden it occurred to me that having got thus far north, I might, before I returned, render a great service to science, and the world in general, by going chock up to the North Pole itself, and ascertaining of what it is composed. You must know that I was then many degrees nearer to it than either Franklin, Ross, or Parry, whose names I have seen at times in the newspapers, have ever since been; indeed, I cannot say much for any of them, for, in my opinion, had they half the perseverance and determination I possessed, with all the facilities they enjoyed, they might have reached as far as I did, but no further. That I defy-any man to do.
"Well, as I was saying, I determined to walk up to the North Pole, so I rose from my seat in the snow, put my compass down to strike the course I was to take, and then fired off my gun to clear myself a path through the air. After I had carefully reloaded my piece and secured my pack with my stock of frozen bear's flesh on my back for provisions; I set manfully forward with my face away from all human beings."
"But, Captain Johnson," observed the barber, timidly, "how was it you managed to see your way? I thought it was dark in those regions during the winter."
"See! why there were the stars and moon, to be sure, which shed a light almost as bright as that of day, and if they happened not to be shining, there was the aurora borealis blazing up like a great fire, right ahead of me. You have seen the northern lights on a winter's night; now, as you may suppose, up there they area very different affair to what they seem so far south. Lord bless you, man, if it wasn't for them there would be no living in those regions; they serve, by their warmth when blazing up, to keep the atmosphere at a very pleasant temperature, and I fully expected when I got up to them to be able to enjoy the luxury of some roasted bear's flesh, but in that respect I was disappointed, and very nearly got roasted myself instead. Well, on and on I walked, sleeping at nights in huts I made with the snow, just leaving a small opening to breathe through, and it was not unpleasantly cold I assure yous owing to the warm whiffs which every now and then came from the Pole. After progressing thus several days, I observed an extraordinary phenomenon. Whenever I took my compass out of my hand, I felt that the entire instrument had a tendency to move directly before me; this increased gradually as I proceeded, till one morning when I put it down on the ground to mark my course as usual before starting, to my infinite surprise, and, I may say, fear, I beheld my compass-box slide away over the snow, increasing in rapidity of motion as it proceeded. Horrified at what might be the consequence should I lose it, I rushed forward to seize it, and in my eagerness to grasp it I fell prostrate with my face on the snow, having just time to clutch it in my fingers before it escaped me. Think what would have become of me had I been deprived of the only sure means of ascertaining my way. This wonderful occurrence, for I own that it did surprise even me, and I would not have believed it had any other man told it me—brought me to a stand still, and compelled me to form a new plan for my future proceedings. I was unwilling to give up the enterprise, though I saw the full risk I was running, but danger never daunted me, and I determined at every hazard to proceed. My determination, once formed, I lost not a moment in putting it into execution—procrastination is the source of all failures. I accordingly retraced my steps a day's journey, when I found the attractive power of the Pole of less force, and then erecting a lofty pyramid of snow, I placed my compass on its summit and carefully covered it over. On the top of all I fastened a pocket-handkerchief, secured to a walking-stick I had brought with me, to make the object still more conspicuous. Having performed this work, a task of no slight labour, I assure you, for it took me the whole day, I lay down to rest, and the next morning again set forward towards the Pole, from which I felt assured that I could not be many days' journey distant. The air was, as you may suppose, very bracing, so that I could take any amount of exercise without fatigue, and I was therefore able to walk on all day, sitting down merely for convenience sake, when I was taking my dinner off the preserved bear.
"I of course could not cut the flesh with my knife, as it was frozen as hard as a rock, so I was obliged to chop it up into mouthfuls with my hatchet, and even when between my teeth it was some time before it would thaw; but as I had nobody to talk to I had plenty of time for mastication, and I believe it was chiefly owing to that circumstance that I kept my health so well all the time. Nothing is so bad as bolting one's food, except going without it, by the way, which I have had to do more than once for weeks together, but that has nothing to do with my present story. I wish that I had kept a diary of my adventures during this journey, it would have proved highly interesting to scientific people, but I have nothing but my memory to trust to, though that, however, seldom deceives me. Well, after leaving my flagstaff I travelled on, turning neither to the right hand nor to the left, and it is wonderful what a straight course I kept, considering the difficulty of finding one's way over a trackless plain without a compass. I slept at nights as before, in a hole in the snow, but never suffered from cold; indeed, every mile I advanced I found the atmosphere growing warmer and warmer, and the northern lights brighter and brighter. Many a man would have turned back for fear of being roasted alive, but I was not to be daunted; onward I advanced, till I got within about a mile, I calculated, of one of the biggest fires I ever saw.
"The effect was grand and beautiful in the extreme. Moscow in flames was a mere camp fire compared to it. You might suppose yourself looking at a distance on a city fifty times as large as London, with every house in it as big as St Paul's, and every part of it blazing away at the same time, and even then you would have no conception of the magnificence of the scene which met my view as I beheld the source of those far-famed luminaries.
"The flames, you must know, were not of that bright hot colour, which issue from a furnace, but were of a delicate pale red, flickering and playing about in the most beautiful and curious way imaginable, sometimes blazing up to the height of a mile or so, and then sinking down to a few hundred feet. The heat, at the distance I then was from it, was rather pleasant than oppressive; it had not even melted the snow on the ground, but of course that was so hard frozen, that it would require a very warm fire to make any effect on it. Well, as I advanced, I began to lick my chops at the thought of the hot bear steaks I intended dining off,—for, after all, however philosophical a man may be, his appetite must first be satisfied before he is fit for any thing,—when I beheld a line of moving objects, scarcely distinguishable from the snow, encircling the fire.
"I could not at first make out what they were, but on approaching still nearer I discovered the truth, though I could scarcely believe my eyes, for there, sitting up on their hams, were countless thousands of polar bears warming their paws before the aurora borealis. It's a fact, by George! This at once fully accounted to my mind for the a of the greater number of bears during the winter months, and fully refutes the popular idea that they sit moping by themselves in caverns, passing the time by sucking their paws.
"Not liking the idea of losing my hot dinner, not to speak at the disappointment I felt at the thought of not being able to say that I had been right up to the North Pole, I determined to venture among them. I got up near enough to see that they were sitting as close as they could pack, side by side, in a vast circle, and that those who were moving were merely stragglers, who could not find room to squat down, when some of the latter caught sight of me. I, however, boldly advanced, when an immense big fellow came waddling towards me on his hind legs, and growling terrifically with anger. I had my gun loaded in my hand, so when he came within ten yards of me I fired, taking good care to hit him in the eye. Over he rolled, as dead as mutton it seemed, and I had just time to cut a huge slice out of his rump, to serve me for dinner, when another rushed towards me. I loaded calmly, fired, and knocked him over, but this was a signal for fifty others to make a general charge at me. I felt that the bravest man could not hope to contend against such overwhelming numbers, so I did what any person situated as I was, would have done,—I took to my heels, and ran as hard as I could go. I never ran so fast in my life before, and I never had better cause for putting on my best speed, for in the course of a minute there were a thousand bears at least, at my back, every one of them licking their jaws with the thoughts of dining off me. I must say I did not like it. On and on I ran, straight for my signal staff, never once stopping to look behind me, for I could hear the growling of the bears as they came on full tilt not a quarter of a mile in my rear, though so clearly are sounds conveyed over those vast expanses of snow, that they appeared to be close at my heels.
"I did not feel tired particularly, but by the time I had run for full ten hours without stopping, I began to be rather out of breath, and almost to fear that I should not hold out much longer, when, to my infinite satisfaction, the growling of the bears grew lower and lower, and less and less distinct, as they dropped off, one after another, dead beat from their unusual exercise, till at last, turning my head over my shoulder, I found that I was alone. I cannot express how comfortable it made me feel; so I sat down for half an hour just to recover my breath and to eat my dinner. When I got up again, what was my surprise to see my flagstaff in the distance, not ten miles ahead, and it was only then that I discovered how very. fast I must have run, for I had come back in a few hours over a distance it had before taken me four days to perform. I had before heard of fear giving wings to the feet, but though I wasn't afraid, I must have came along at a good pace, I can tell you. I won't say how many miles an hour, twenty isn't up to the mark at all events. Well, I walked on till I got up to my flag-staff, and found my compass all right, though as soon as it was clear of the snow it still had a slight inclination to move northward; so to run no risk, I stowed it away carefully in my pocket. What was rather extraordinary, the handkerchief was frozen as stiff as a board, and I had some difficulty in folding it up for other purposes. I was glad also to have back my walking-stick, for it assisted me wonderfully in getting over the ground. It was only now that the real difficulties of my position burst upon me with their full force. I felt as did a certain traveller I once heard speak of, Bruce, I think, was his name, when he had reached the sources of the Nile, and had to turn his face down the stream again. Not that I mean for a moment to compare him with myself. He, after all, merely saw a simple water-fall, while I witnessed what mortal man had never before beheld—but I confess, even I felt how unsatisfactory it was, and I knew at the time that many would be found who would not believe my account. I did not long, however, indulge in these reflections, I was soon myself again, for I had work on hand to be accomplished. After a few hours' sound sleep, I started towards the west, to and discover the spot where I had first commenced making the circle round the Pole. For several days I was unsuccessful in my search, though I retraced my steps with unerring accuracy, till at last, to my great joy, I beheld a dark object on the snow. I ran towards it, and it proved to be as I expected, the body of one of my unfortunate shipmates—the last who had given in, and it was as fresh as the day on which he died. Poor fellow, I wished that I could have inspired him with some of my spirit, and instead of lying there stiff and stark, he would have enjoyed with me the wonders I had seen, and considerably increased my comfort. But as such wishes were vain, I took off his boots, and pulled them on to my own feet, for mine were worn out with so much walking; I then put on his great-coat in addition to my own, for I began to feel it rather chilly when sleeping at night, and taking a farewell look at his honest countenance, left him for ever. He was a Shetlander, I remember, Murdoc Dew, by name, and as good a seaman as ever lived. One after the other, I came upon the bodies of my former companions, and the carcases of the bears we had killed, and I thus knew that I was steering a direct course for my ship. I afterwards calculated, that had I gone south, when I first thought of doing so, I should have got on shore somewhere to the eastward of Nova Zembla, and had to travel right through Siberia and the whole of Europe before I got back to England, which, considering I had not a purse with me, or a sixpence to put into it, would not have been pleasant."
"But, I say, messmate," interrupted the strange seaman, with a wink at the rest of the company, "how was it, considering the variation of the compass, that you managed to make so exact a circle round and round the pole?"
"The variation of the compass, do you say?" answered Jonathan with a loud laugh, "that's good. Why, my fine fellow, I got so far north, that there was no variation at all. It's only in lower latitudes, to which you, and some such chaps like you, may perhaps have reached, that any variation is found. I went far beyond all that, I can tell you; and now, once for all, Mister Variation, let me warn you never to call my word in question again. I never could bear to have it doubted, and never will—remember that. Some things are probable, and some are improbable, but that's no reason why a fellow, because he happens perhaps to have made a voyage to China and Cape Horn, even if you were ever so far, should set himself up to be wiser than his neighbours. But never mind, messmate, I'm not angry with you, so say no more about it, only never call my word in question again."
And Jonathan shoved out his huge paw towards the sailor.
As the stranger took the pledge of amity, he answered, laughing, "I did not intend to offend you, friend, but I have been further than you mention, though I never saw the bears sitting round the North Pole, warming their paws."
"I should think not," replied Johnson, in a loud, self-satisfied tone, "and what's more, you never will."
"But I say, captain," exclaimed the village barber, who had been deeply interested in the narration, and did not admire the interruption, and the half-aside conversation to which it gave rise, "how did you find your ship at last?"
"How did I find my ship?" repeated Jonathan; "why I'll tell you. I walked on, due south, for several days, without much difficulty, till I into the latitudes where the icebergs are collected, like so many ships in harbour. They are, you know, vast mountains of ice and snow, many thousand feet high; so that, as it was impossible to see any distance before me, as I had hitherto done, I wandered about them, almost in despair of finding my way out again. What was worse also, the summer was coming on, when, as the ice at their bases melt, they tumble about in every way, and create the most terrific commotion, so that I should not have had a chance of escaping, except I could select a moderately low one, with a deep base below water, which, being detached from the rest, might float to the southward, where I might fall in with some homeward-bound ship, and live, in the meantime, on any seals which came on to it for rest. This was a poor chance, though the only one I could then think of should I not find my ship. My food was almost consumed, my ammunition nearly expended, and my boots gave symptoms of wearing out; so I at last began to think that there might be a pleasanter situation than I was placed in, when one day, having climbed, with infinite labour, to the summit of the highest iceberg in the neighbourhood, I beheld a light blue smoke ascending in the distance. Taking the exact bearings of the spot, so eager was I to reach it, that I slid down an almost perpendicular precipice of nearly three hundred feet, at an awful rate I confess, but as I fortunately alighted in the snow, I was uninjured. I ran on as fast as my legs could carry me; for, after a solitude of six months, I longed to see my fellow-creatures, and hear again the human voice, On I went, but no ship appeared in sight, till, at last, I was convinced that I was no longer on the frozen sea, but that my feet were actually once more treading dry land. After this discovery, walking a little way further, I saw in advance of me a low, round hut, evidently the habitation of Esquimaux, a race of people whose habits, manners, and appearance, I was never much given to admire. I ought to have observed that I carried a huge bear-skin over my back, and this I now put on, as I judged it would make me look of more importance in their sight. My beard, and hair also, were very long, so that I dare say, without any unbecoming humility, I did look rather a wild character. As I understood the Esquimaux language pretty well—indeed, there is not a known tongue which I do not understand, more or less, I halloed loudly to them in it, to attract their attention. On this, two men, dressed in skins from head to foot, came out of the hut, and answered me in some extraordinary dialect, with which even I was not acquainted. I then hailed them in Russian, but their answers were perfectly unintelligible; I next tried French; but they shook their heads, as was, I thought, but natural for Esquimaux, who were not likely to have picked any of it up: I then spoke a little Spanish to them ; but I was equally at a loss to understand their answers: Portuguese was as great a failure: even the languages of several tribes of the North American Indians did not assist us in communicating our ideas; I tried Hindostanee, Arabic, and Chinese, with as little effect. This was indeed provoking to a man who had not exchanged a word with a fellow-creature for so many months, till at last, losing temper, I exclaimed in English, more to myself than to them,
"Well, I wonder what language you do speak, then?"
"'English, to be sure,' answered both the men, in a breath, ‘and never spoke any other in our lives.'
"'Are you, indeed, my countrymen?' I cried, and I rushed forward and threw myself in their arms; for, by the tone of their voices, I discovered that not only were they Englishmen, but my own former ship-mates. They, it appeared, had taken me for an Esquimaux, as I had them; and of course they, thinking that I had long been dead, did not recognise me; indeed, I had some difficulty in convincing them of my identity, and of the truth of the account I gave of my adventures since I left the ship. I was certainly rather an odd object, with a beard unshorn for full six months, and which had, during that period, grown to so prodigious a length, that not only did it reach the ground, but I was compelled to tie up the ends, as carters do their horses' tails, to keep it out of the snow. This extraordinary exuberance I attribute entirely to my having lived so completely on bears' flesh, and being obliged to swallow a large quantity of the grease, for the sake of keeping up the animal warmth; indeed, my hair, as well as my eyebrows and moustaches, had increased in the same proportion, so that I was more like a wild beast than a man; but this abundance of hair had contributed much to protect my face from the ice-cold breezes which blew at nights. When cut off, it served to stuff a large-sized pillow, which I afterwards offered to the President of the United States, who was graciously pleased to accept it, and sleeps every night on it to this day.
"My friends told me that they were the only survivors of the crew: that one day before the winter had set completely in, there was a dreadful commotion of the ice, and that while they were on shore, two floes coming together on each side of the ship, with terrific violence, as she was a sharp vessel, squeezed her so tightly, that the pressure sent her flying up into the air full sixty feet, and that when she came down again upon he ice, so great was the concussion, that she split into a thousand pieces, which went skating over the smooth surface in all directions round for miles, and that of course, the bones of every soul on board were broken to pieces. Now, I do not say that this account was not perfectly correct; but still, I will never vouch for the truth of any events of which I have not been myself an eye-witness. There are so many liars in the world, that a man must be very cautious what he believes. My friends, having got over their first surprise, they invited me to enter their hut, where, I must say, I enjoyed a comfortable fire and a warm chop, though the smoke of the first rather inconvenienced me, accustomed as I had been so long to the open air, and I burnt my mouth considerably when eating the second. You know that nothing but iced-food had passed my lips since I left the ship. We then washed down the flesh with some excellent rum, a few casks-full of which my shipmates had discovered near the scene of the catastrophe, in frozen forms, like jellies turned out on a plate, for the wood had been completely torn off when the ship went to pieces. When our repast was concluded, we wiled away the time by narrating our adventures; and though you may have observed that I am not much given in general to talking, I confess I did feel a pleasure in letting my tongue run on, It moved rather stiffly at first, from want or practice; but the hot food and spirits soon relaxed the muscles, and then it did move certainly; my only fear was I should never get it to stop again. We talked on for full twelve hours without ceasing; and, after a little sleep, went on again the whole of the next day.
"I found that my companions had commenced building a boat, in which to make their escape from these inhospitable shores; but as they did not understand carpentering as I did, it was fortunate for them that I arrived in time to assist them, or they would most infallibly have gone to the bottom as soon as they had ventured out on the foaming waves of the North Sea.
"June was approaching, and the ice began to move perceptibly at a distance from the shore; and as the icebergs commenced knocking and tumbling against each other, the crashing noise was truly awful. I can only liken it to a set of vast nine-pins, tumbled about by a party of gigantic Dutchmen the roar of the wind and waves sounding like their voices.
"I must relate one more adventure which happened before we commenced our voyage to the south, as it served to prove to the minds of my friends the perfect correctness of my former statements.
"One night I was just retiring to rest, when I heard footsteps approaching our hut, and looking out I saw an immense white bear sniffing up the air as if he smelt something he would fancy for his supper. Rousing out my companions, who had already turned in, I seized my gun with the intention of knocking bruin on the head, when, as he turned his face towards me, I thought I recognised in his countenance an expression I had before met, and Then: on his nearer approach, I saw that he had but one eye, I felt convinced that he was the identical bear I had knocked over close to the Pole, and left for dead with a steak cut out of his rump. He made towards me, grinding his teeth, and flashing his one eye terrifically with thoughts of vengeance, but I retreated backward, and had just time to slam the door in his face, jamming in one of his paws before he could grasp me in his deadly embrace.
"There he was caught in a trap, but his struggles to free himself were tremendous, and at first I thought he would have carried away the whole hut with him, but my friends coming to my aid, we made fast a strong rope round the lower joint of his paw, and secured him down to a piece of timber which ran along the ground the length of the structure. We then opened the door a little, when he of course put in his other paw, which we secured in the same way, and thus had him fast. At first he was very furious, growling tremendously, but by giving him a piece of roasted meat to suck at the end of a ramrod, he, by degrees, grew tamer, till at last by slacking the rope a little, we were able to shut the door and go to sleep, keeping him outside, and it was only now and then that we were at all disturbed by a low growl as he felt the ropes cutting his wrists.
The next morning he was so much tamer, that we were able to turn him over for the further verification of my suspicions. My companions were fully convinced of the perfect truth of all I had told them; for though the wound had perfectly closed where I had cut out the steak, the cicatrice was there, and the skin completely denuded of hair. Bruin afterwards became so tame, that he would follow us about like a dog; and when we quitted the country, it was with great grief to all parties that we were compelled to leave him behind; but of course we could not attempt to carry him in our frail boat over the stormy ocean. Tears actually trickled down his shaggy breast as he saw us making preparations for our departure."
"I wonder you didn't cut his throat and salt him for sea-stores," interrupted the butcher.
"What, eat up an animal who had been our messmate for so many days!" exclaimed Jonathan, in a tone of offended dignity. "No, we would sooner have died first. Let me tell you, Mr. Sheepgut, that sailors, though rough in form, have tender hearts. At last the ice breaking up, left us a clear channel into the open sea, and we immediately launched our boat into the element upon which it was to float. She was small indeed for the work we had to go through, as she only held our three selves and a very scanty quantity of provisions; but we trusted to supply our wants by means of several fishing-hooks we had with us."
"Beg pardon, Captain Johnson," said the barber, who was of an inquisitive character, "but how did you manage to get the wood and tools to build the boat?"
"From the wreck of the vessel, of course," replied Johnson; "but I must own we had no little difficulty in collecting the tools, for the carpenter's chest had gone to pieces, and we had to pick up a hammer here, an axe there, and every nail separately for miles round.
"Before we set sail we were obliged to make poor Bruin fast down to the beam in our hut by which we had first caught him; but we did it in such a way, that with his usual sagacity, as soon as he had ceased struggling, he would be able to release himself without difficulty. We then hurried to the boat, shoved off from the shore, and stood out to sea. For three days we were in a very critical situation, owing to the vast number of icebergs among which we were navigating; but at the same time we enjoyed an abundant supply of water from the pure bright streams which trickled down their sides. When we thought we were about to get clear of them we filled our water-barrels, and stowed away as many large lumps of snow as the boat would hold, so that there was no fear of our suffering from want of that necessary of life.
"We were running on the next night with a heavy sea and a fresh wind, it being so dark that we could not distinguish objects a fathom ahead, when all of a sudden the bow of the boat came with terrific force against a huge iceberg, and so great was the impetus, that she slid right up it for twenty feet at least, and did not stop till she sunk again into a deep hollow, from which we found it impossible to extricate her. There were we like three young birds in a nest, perched up on the top of an iceberg, and floating about at the mercy of the winds and waves. My companions were in despair at this unlooked-for accident, but I cheered their spirits by telling them all would come right at last, as I knew it would, but not in the way I expected.
"As soon as it was daylight I set them to work to cut away the ice, so as to form a channel down the other side of the iceberg, while I ascended a higher part to look out for any sail which might be in the neighbourhood. While in my lofty perch, I heard a cry of despair from the men below, and looking down, I beheld, to my dismay, our boat rapidly gliding down the iceberg. She reached the water safely, and with canvass set, sailed off before the wind, leaving us behind on our treacherous island.
"I many years afterwards fell in with the identical boat, high and dry, on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific Ocean; and though her timbers and sails were of course rotten, she was precisely in the same condition as when we lost her, with, by the by, the very compass in her, which I had with me when I went to the North Pole, and which I thus, in that extraordinary way, recovered again.
"I calculated by the relative positions of the iceberg and the island I speak of, that she had run a direct course due south of eight thousand miles at least, and she must have had unusually fine weather all the time, or she could scarcely have accomplished it. For my own part I consider it one of the most wonderful events I know of, and if I had not proved it, would certainly not have credited the fact."
"I wonder the boat did not broach too, during all that time, without a hand at the helm," observed the stranger seaman, quietly.
"Oh, ah, so she would certainly if I hadn't brought her into such beautiful trim, that all I had to do was to lash the helm, and she would steer herself," responded Jonathan, with a loud, self-satisfied laugh. "When I turned in at night I used to put the boat on her course, and to tell one of the other men to call me if any thing occurred, and it was from their neglecting to do so that the accident occurred. Now as neither the rudder nor the sails had altered their position when she went over the iceberg, as was to be expected, she continued on the same course she had been going before."
"Oh!" ejaculated the sailor, with a very doubtful expression in his tone.
"I understand clearly, captain," observed the little barber, in his shrill tones. "It's very natural that she should. Now go on, do."
"I wish people wouldn't ask useless questions then," growled out the captain; "but it does not matter, I have an answer for every body. Well, as I was saying, I immediately divined the true cause of the catastrophe I have just spoken of; for the ice having more rapidly melted than the men expected, a huge block suddenly gave way, and before they could secure the boat, she was beyond their reach. Fortunately, they had taken out our fishing-hooks with the other things to lighten her, or we might have perished, but we managed with them to catch abundance of fish to supply our wants."
"Beg pardon," again interrupted the barber, "but did you eat them raw?"
"Of course we did,' answered Captain Johnson, "and very good eating they were, when we got accustomed to them. Lord bless you, man, in some of the South Sea islands, where I've been, the king, queen, and all the court, live upon live fish, and what is more, when they are brought up to table they jump down their throats of their own accord, without any trouble to their majesties. But I'll tell you all about that another time. I should think we did eat raw fish. Where was the fire to come from to cook them, let me ask? I never beheld men in such a state as my companions were when they saw what had happened, till when they were just about to throw themselves into the sea in despair, I told them that I saw something like a ship's long boat approaching us from the distance. I did so, but it was not a boat after all. As it came nearer I saw that it was a huge log of timber, and you will scarcely believe me when I tell you, but it's a fact by George, there was our pet bear, Bruin, towing the timber at the rate of six knots an hour, through a heavy sea. He did not at first perceive me, for he was making after the boat, but when I hailed him he knew my voice, and immediately altered his course for the iceberg. I hurried down to the bottom to receive him, and, poor fellow, he was so tired with his exertion, that he could scarcely climb up out of the water, and when, as a mark of his love, he attempted to embrace us, falling forward on all fours, he rolled over on his side, and could merely lick our hands as we sat down by his head. Talk of the affection of a dog, I should think that was as strong a mark of affection and sagacity as an animal could give. Beat it if you can. Having loosened him from the ropes, and secured the log of timber, we set to work to catch him a dinner of fish. This was the least we could do, and we were so fortunate in our sport, that he enjoyed an abundant meal, which so revived him, that to show his gratitude he played off his usual extraordinary antics for our amusement, such as dancing a jig, standing on his head, or rolling himself up into a ball like any human being, only he did every thing much better than most people. It then struck me that we ought not to throw away the gifts of Providence, and that it was clear the log of timber had been sent to enable us to escape from our perilous situation. Consulting, therefore, with my companions, we agreed that by harnessing Bruin by means of the ropes to the log of timber, his sagacity would enable him to tow us to some place of safety. He, indeed, seemed perfectly to comprehend our intentions, for quietly allowing the ropes to be thrown over his shoulders, when we had placed our stores on the log of timber, and taken our seats, I holding the reins, he gently slipped into the water, and swam bravely on with his snout to the southward. It was of course far from agreeable work, for our feet were wet, and were obliged to sit perfectly quiet, but still it was better than remaining on the iceberg, and we contrived to pass our time tolerably well, by smoking, eating, and catching fish, with which we fed poor Bruin, or I believe he would never have performed the hard work he got through. At last, however, after three days, a sail hove in sight, towards which I guided Bruin, but when the people in her first saw us, they would not believe that we were human beings, though after hailing in English, they hove to, and told us to come on board. We accordingly, having secured the timber astern, climbed up the side, followed by Bruin; and, I was not a little amused by hearing the second mate tell the captain, who was ill in his cabin, there were four men just picked up; he taking the bear all the time for a human being, there was so little difference in appearance between any of us.—Ha, ha, ha! It was some time, too, before the mistake was discovered. The vessel proved to be the Highland Lass, bound from Halifax to Greenock, where we arrived in about three weeks in perfect health and spirits; one of my companions, called James Hoxton, taking charge of poor Bruin. He carried him about the country as a sight, and Bruin rather seemed to like the amusement, for he was evidently fond of travelling, and thus, for many years, enjoyed a happy and contented existence, which is the utmost any human being can wish for. I was really sorry to part from Bruin, for he had become the most civilised and amiable of beasts, though on our introduction to each other, I should never have supposed that such would be the case. Necessity, however, compelled me to leave him, and I hurried up to London to look out for another ship."
"Well, Captain Johnson, that is a wonderful story!" exclaimed all the company in one tone.
"Wonderful, do you call it?" answered Jonathan. "Well, it is somewhat out of the common way, but as to being wonderful! Lord bless you, a thousand things a hundred thousand times more wonderful than those have occurred to me during every part of my life, and some day, when I'm in the humour for talking, perhaps, I'll tell them to you."