CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.
THE GREAT DISCOVERY.
Friendly relations having been established between the Flatlanders andthe Poloese, both nations turned their attention to the arts of peace.
Among other things, Captain Vane and his party devoted themselves oncemore, with renewed energy, to the pursuit of discovery and scientificinvestigation. An expedition was planned to _Great Isle_, not now forthe purpose of consulting Makitok, the oracle, as to the best time forgoing to war, but to gratify the wishes of Captain Vane, who had thestrongest reason for believing that he was in the immediateneighbourhood of the Pole.
"Blackbeard says he must be very near nothing now," observed Chingatokto Anders the day after their arrival.
"Near _nothing_!" exclaimed Teyma, who was sitting close by.
Of course the giant explained, and the premier looked incredulous.
"I wish I had not left my sextant behind me in the hurry of departure,"said the Captain that evening to Leo. "But we came off in such hothaste that I forgot it. However, I'll ask Amalatok to send a young manback for it. I'm persuaded we cannot now be more than a few milesdistant from our goal."
"I quite agree with you, uncle, for when I looked at the north star lastnight it seemed to me as directly in the zenith as it was possible toimagine."
"Ay, lad; but the unaided eye is deceptive. A few miles of differencecannot be distinguished by it. When did the Pole star become visible?"
"Only last night; I fancied I had made it out the night before, but wasnot quite sure, the daylight, even at the darkest hour, being still toointense to let many of the stars be seen."
"Well, we shall see. I am of opinion that we are still between twentyand forty miles south of the Pole. Meanwhile, I'll induce Teyma to getup an expedition to the island of this Maki-what?"
"Tok," said Leo; "Makitok. Everything almost ends in _tok_ or _tuk_hereabouts."
"Who, and what, is this man?" asked the Captain.
"No one seems to know precisely. His origin has been lost in the mistsof antiquity. His first forefather--so tradition styles him--seems,like Melchisedec, to have had no father or mother, and to have come fromno one knows where. Anyhow he founded a colony in _Great Isle_, andMakitok is the present head of all the families."
Leo then explained about the mystery-thing called _buk_, which waswrapped up in innumerable pieces of sealskin.
"Strange," said the Captain, "passing strange. All you tell me makes methe more anxious to visit this man of the valley. You say there is nochance of Grabantak being able to take the reins of government again fora long time?"
"None. He has got a shake that will keep him helpless for some time tocome. And this is well, for Teyma will be ready to favour any projectthat tends towards peace or prosperity."
Now, while preparations for the northern expedition were being made, ourfriend Oolichuk went a-wooing. And this is the fashion in which he didit.
Arraying himself one day, like any other lovesick swain, in his best, hepaid a ceremonial visit to Oblooria, who lived with Merkut, the wife ofGrabantak, in a hut at the eastern suburb of the village. Oolichuk'scostume was simple, if not elegant. It consisted of an undercoat ofbird-skins, with the feathers inwards; bearskin pantaloons with the hairout; an upper coat of the grey seal; dogskin socks and sealskin boots.
That young Eskimo did not visit his bride empty-handed. He carried abundle containing a gift--skins of the young eider-duck to make anundergarment for his lady-love, two plump little auks with which togratify her palate, and a bladder of oil to wash them down and cause herheart to rejoice.
Good fortune favoured this brave man, for he met Oblooria at a lonelypart of the shore among the boulders.
Romance lies deep in the heart of an Eskimo--so deep that it is notperceptible to the naked eye. Whatever the Poloe warrior and maidenfelt, they took care not to express in words. But Oolichuk lookedunutterable things, and invited Oblooria to dine then and there. Thelady at once assented with a bashful smile, and sat down on a boulder.Oolichuk sat down beside her, and presented the bundle ofunder-clothing.
While the lady was examining this with critical eyes, the gentlemanprepared the food. Taking one of the auks, he twisted off its head, puthis forefinger under the integuments of the neck, drew the skin downbackwards, and the bird was skinned. Then he ran his long thumb-naildown the breast and sliced off a lump, which he presented to the ladywith the off-hand air of one who should say, "If you don't want it youmay let it alone!"
Raw though the morsel was, Oblooria accepted it with a pleased look, andate it with relish. She also accepted the bladder, and, putting it toher lips, pledged him in a bumper of oil.
Oolichuk continued this process until the first auk was finished. Hethen treated the second bird in the same manner, and assisted hislady-love to consume it, as well as the remainder of the oil.Conversation did not flow during the first part of the meal, but, afterhaving drunk deeply, their lips were opened and the feast of reasonbegan. It consisted chiefly of a running commentary by the man on theKablunets and their ways, and appreciative giggles on the part of thewoman; but they were interrupted at the very commencement by the suddenappearance of one of the Kablunets sauntering towards them.
They rose instantly and rambled away in opposite directions, absorbed incontemplation--the one of the earth, and the other of the sky.
Three days after that, Captain Vane and his party approached the shoresof _Great Isle_. It was low like the other islands of Flatland, but ofgreater extent, insomuch that its entire circumference could not be seenfrom its highest central point. Like the other islands it was quitedestitute of trees, but the low bush was luxuriantly dense, and filled,they were told, with herds of reindeer and musk-oxen. Myriads ofwild-fowl--from the lordly swan to the twittering sandpiper--swarmedamong its sedgy lakelets, while grouse and ptarmigan were to be seen inlarge flocks on its uplands. The land was clothed in mosses and grassesof the richest green, and decked with variegated wild-flowers andberries.
The voyagers were received with deep interest and great hospitality bythe inhabitants of the coast, who, it seemed, never quarrelled with theneighbouring islanders or went to war.
Makitok dwelt in the centre of the island. Thither they therefore wentthe following day.
It was afternoon when they came to the valley in which dwelt theangekok, or, as Red Indians would have styled him, the medicine-man.
It was a peculiar valley. Unlike other vales it had neither outlet orinlet, but was a mere circular basin or depression of vast extent, thelowest part of which was in its centre. The slope towards the centrewas so gradual that the descent was hardly perceived, yet Captain Vanecould not resist the conviction that the lowest part of the vale must belower than the surface of the sea.
The rich luxuriance of herbage in Great Isle seemed to culminate in thislovely vale. At the centre and lowest part of the valley, Makitok, orrather Makitok's forefathers, had built their dwelling. It was a hut,resembling the huts of the Eskimos. No other hut was to be seen. Theangekok loved solitude.
Beside the hut there stood a small truncated cone about fifteen feethigh, on the summit of which sat an old white-bearded man, who intentlywatched the approaching travellers.
"Behold--Makitok!" said Teyma as they drew near.
The old man did not move. He appeared to be over eighty years of age,and, unlike Eskimos in general, had a bushy snow-white beard. The thinhair on his head was also white, and his features were good.
Our travellers were not disappointed with this strange recluse, whoreceived them with an air of refinement and urbanity so far removed fromEskimo manners and character, that Captain Vane felt convinced he mustbe descended from some other branch of the human family. Makitok feltand expressed a degree of interest in the objects of the expeditionwhich had not been observed in any Eskimo, except Chingatok, and he wasintelligent and quick of perception far before most of those whosurrounded him.
"And what have
you to say about yourself?" asked the captain thatevening, after a long animated conversation on the country and itsproductions.
"I have little to say," replied the old man, sadly. "There is nomystery about my family except its beginning in the long past."
"But is not _all_ mystery in the long past?" asked the Captain.
"True, my son, but there is a difference in _my_ mystery. Other Eskimoscan trace back from son to father till they get confused and lost, as ifsurrounded by the winter-fogs. But when I trace back--far back--I cometo one man--my _first father_, who had no father, it is said, and whocame no one knows from where. My mind is not confused or lost; it isstopped!"
"Might not the mystery-bundle that you call _buk_ explain matters?"asked Alf.
When this was translated, the old man for the first time lookedtroubled.
"I dare not open it," he said in an undertone, as if speaking tohimself. "From father to son we have held it sacred. It must grow--ever grow--never diminish!"
"It's a pity he looks at it in that light," remarked Leo to Benjy, asthey lay down to sleep that night. "I have no doubt that the man whomhe styles first father wrapped up the thing, whatever it is, to keep itsafe, not to make a mystery of it, and that his successors, having begunwith a mistaken view, have now converted the re-wrapping of the bundleby each successive heir into a sacred obligation. However, we mayperhaps succeed in overcoming the old fellow's prejudices. Good-night,Benjy."
A snore from Benjy showed that Leo's words had been thrown away, so,with a light laugh, he turned over, and soon joined his comrade in theland of dreams.
For two weeks the party remained on _Great Isle_, hunting, shooting,fishing, collecting, and investigating; also, we may add, astonishingthe natives.
During that period many adventures of a more or less exciting naturebefell them, which, however, we must pass over in silence. At the endof that time, the youth who had been sent for the Captain's sextant andother philosophical instruments arrived with them all--thermometers,barometers, chronometers, wind and water gauges, pendulums, etcetera,safe and sound.
As the instruments reached _Cup Valley_, (so Benjy had styled Makitok'shome), in the morning, it was too early for taking trustworthyobservations. The Captain therefore employed the time in erecting anobservatory. For this purpose he selected, with Makitok's permission,the truncated cone close to the recluse's dwelling. Here, after takingformal possession and hoisting the Union Jack, he busied himself, in astate of subdued excitement, preparing for the intended observations.
"I'll fix the latitude and longitude in a few hours," he said."Meantime, Leo, you and Benjy had better go off with the rifle and fetchus something good for dinner."
Leo and Benjy were always ready to go a-hunting. They required nosecond bidding, but were soon rambling over the slopes or wading amongthe marshes of the island in pursuit of game.
Leo carried his repeater; Benjy the shot-gun. Both wore native Eskimoboots as long as the leg, which, being made of untanned hide, are, whensoaked, thoroughly waterproof. (See Note.)
Oolichuk and Butterface carried the game-bags, and these were soonfilled with such game as was thought best for food. Sending them backto camp with orders to empty the bags and return, Leo and Benjy took tothe uplands in search of nobler game. It was not difficult to find.Soon a splendid stag was shot by Leo and a musk-ox by Benjy.
Not long after this, the bag-bearers returned.
"You shoots mos' awful well, Massas," said Butterface; "but it's my'pinion dat you bof better go home, for Captain Vane he go mad!"
"What d'you mean, Butterface?" asked Leo.
"I mean dat de Capp'n he's hoed mad, or suffin like it, an' Massa Alfnot mush better."
A good deal amused and surprised by the negro's statement, the twohunters hastened back to Makitok's hut, where they indeed found CaptainVane in a state of great excitement.
"Well, uncle, what's the news?" asked Leo; "found your latitude higherthan you expected?"
"Higher!" exclaimed the Captain, seizing his nephew by both hands andshaking them. "Higher! I should think so--couldn't be _higher_.There's neither latitude nor longitude here, my boy! I've found it!Come--come up, and I'll show you the exact spot--the _North Poleitself_!"
He dragged Leo to the top of the truncated cone on which he had pitchedhis observatory.
"There, look round you," he cried, taking off his hat and wiping theperspiration from his brow.
"Well, uncle, where is it?" asked Leo, half-amused and half-sceptical.
"Where! why, don't you see it? No, of course you don't. You're looking_all round it_, lad. Look down,--down at your feet. LeonardVandervell," he added, in sudden solemnity, "you're _on it_! you'restanding on the North Pole _now_!"
Leo still looked incredulous.
"What I you don't believe? Convince him, Alf."
"Indeed it is true," said Alf; "we have been testing and checking ourobservations in every possible manner, and the result never varies morethan a foot or two. The North Pole is at this moment actually under ourfeet."
As we have now, good reader, at last reached that great _point_ ofgeographical interest which has so long perplexed the world and agitatedenterprising man, we deem this the proper place to present you with amap of Captain Vane's discoveries.
"And so," said Benjy with an injured look, "the geography books areright after all; the world _is_ `a little flattened at the Poles like anorange.' Well, I never believed it before, and I don't believe _yet_that it's like an orange."
"But it is more than flattened, Benjy," said Leo; "don't you see it iseven hollowed out a little, as if the spinning of the world had made asort of whirlpool at the North Pole, and no doubt there is the same atthe South."
Chingatok, who was listening to the conversation, without of courseunderstanding it, and to whom the Captain had made sundry spasmodicremarks during the day in the Eskimo tongue, went that night toAmalatok, who was sitting in Makitok's hut, and said--
"My father, Blackbeard has found it!"
"Found what, my son?--his nothing--his Nort Pole?"
"Yes, my father, he has found his Nort Pole."
"Is he going to carry it away with him in his soft wind-boat?" asked theold chief with a half-humorous, half-contemptuous leer.
"And," continued Chingatok, who was too earnest about the matter to takenotice of his father's levity, "his Nort Pole is _something_ after all!It is not nothing, for I heard him say he is standing on it. No man canstand on nothing; therefore his Nort Pole which he stands on must besomething."
"He is standing on my outlook. He must not carry _that_ away," remarkedMakitok with a portentous frown.
"Boh!" exclaimed Amalatok, rising impatiently. "I will not listen tothe nonsense of Blackbeard. Have I not heard him say that the worldstands on nothing, spins on nothing, and rolls continually round thesun? How can anything spin on nothing? And as to the sun, use your owneyes. Do you not see that for a long time it rolls round the world, fora long time it rolls in a circle above us, and for a long time it rollsaway altogether, leaving us all in darkness? My son, these Kablunetsare ignorant fools, and you are not much better for believing them.Boo! I have no patience with the nonsense talk of Blackbeard."
The old chief flung angrily out of the hut, leaving his more philosophicson to continue the discussion of the earth's mysteries with Makitok,the reputed wizard of the furthest possible north.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note. The writer has often waded knee-deep in such boots, for hours ata time, on the swampy shores of Hudson's Bay, without wetting his feetin the slightest degree.