Jules Verne

“ Cape Bellot was so named in presence of that young French officer to whom the English expedition gave three cheers. At this place the coast consists of a yellowish limestone, very rough in appearance; it is protected by huge masses of ice which the north wind collects there in the most imposing way. It was soon no longer to be seen from the Forward's deck, as she was making her way amid the loose ice towards Beechey Island through Barrow Strait.
Hatteras, having resolved to go on in a straight line, in order not to be carried past the island, hardly left the deck during the subsequent days ”

“ We may be very near the ocean.”
“If it is,” continued Hatteras, “I should not be afraid to go across the ice fields.”
“0,” said the doctor, “they must be broken by such a tempest! We shall see to morrow. However that may be, if any men have to travel in such a night as this, I pity them.”
The hurricane raged ten hours without cessation, and no one of those in the tent had a moment's sleep; the night passed in profound uneasiness.
In fact, under such circumstances, every new incident, a tempest, an avalanche, might bring serious consequences. ”

“ July 3d, at eleven o'clock in the morning, the ice-master saw land to the north; Hatteras soon made it out as Beechey Island, the general rendezvous for arctic explorers. Almost all the ships which sail in these latitudes touch here. Here Franklin passed his first winter before advancing into Wellington Channel. Here Creswell, MacClure's lieutenant, after a march of four hundred and sixty miles on the ice, rejoined the Phoenix and returned to England. The last ship which anchored at Beechey Island before the Forward was the Fox ”

“ They all scanned the horizon attentively, except Hatteras, who was filled with wrath and did not care to see anything. Still, since they ran the risk of coming across a band of travellers, they had to take precautions; it was very disappointing to see any one ahead of them on the route. The doctor, although not as angry as Hatteras, was somewhat vexed, in spite of his usual philosophy. Altamont seemed equally annoyed; Johnson and Bell muttered threatening words between their teeth.
“Come,” said the doctor, “let us take heart against our bad fortune.” ”

“ All that skill, coolness, boldness, and even maritime genius could do, was done by him while sailing through the strait. It is true that fortune did not favor him, for at that season he ought to have found the sea nearly open. ”

“ The Admiralty sent us here in 1853, under the command of Captain Inglefield, with the steamer Phoenix and a transport, the Breadalbane, loaded with supplies; we carried enough to revictual a whole expedition.”
“But did not the commander of the Fox take a great deal away in 1855?” said Hatteras.
“0, don't be anxious, Captain!” answered Johnson; “there will be enough left for you; the cold keeps everything wonderfully, and we shall find everything as fresh and in as good condition as on the first day.”
“I'm not so anxious about the provisions,” answered Hatteras; “I have enough for several years ”

“ But if we were fortunate enough to be of service to Captain MacClure's lieutenant, Bellot, the officer who accompanied us on the Phoenix, never saw his home again! Ah, that's a sad memory! But, Captain, I think it's here we ought to anchor.”
“Very well,” answered Hatteras.
And he gave the proper orders. The Forward lay in a little harbor sheltered from the north, east, and south winds, about a cable-length from the shore.
“Mr. Wall,” said Hatteras, “you will lower the launch and send six men to bring coal aboard.” ”

“ I am always happy, and especially about the happiness of others!”
The three Englishmen returned to the ravine; the sledge was made ready, and they left the camp and resumed their march. Each one dreaded finding new tracks, but all the rest of the way they saw no trace of any human being. ”