A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder | Page 7

to hear the wished-for report. But no such sound ever came again,
and we heard nothing except the plash of the waves and the crash of breaking ice. Thus
all that day we rowed along, resting at intervals when exhausted, and then resuming our
labors, until at length night came; and again to the snow and ice and waves was added the
horror of great darkness. We passed that night in deep misery. We had eaten nothing
since we left the ship, but though exhausted by long fasting and severe labor, the despair
of our hearts took away all desire for food. We were worn out with hard work, yet the
cold was too great to allow us to take rest, and we were compelled to row so as to keep
ourselves from perishing. But fatigue and drowsiness overcame us, and we often sank
into sleep even while rowing; and then after a brief slumber we would awake with
benumbed limbs to wrestle again with the oars. In this way we passed that night.
Another morning came, and we found to our great joy that the snow had ceased. We
looked eagerly around to see if there were any signs of the ship. Nothing could be seen of
her. Far away on one side rose a peak, which looked like the place where we had landed.
Judging from the wind, which we still supposed to be southerly, the peak lay toward the
northeast; in which case we had been carried steadily, in spite of all our efforts, toward
the south. About a mile on one side of us the ice began, and extended far away; while on
the other side, at the distance of some ten miles, there was another line of ice. We seemed
to have been carried in a southwesterly direction along a broad strait that ran into the vast
ice-fields. This discovery showed how utterly useless our labors had been; for in spite of
all, even with the wind in our favor, we had been drawn steadily in an opposite direction.

It was evident that there was some current here, stronger than all our strength, which had
brought us to this place.
We now determined to land on the ice, and try to cook a portion of our seals. On
approaching it we noticed that there was a current which tended to draw us past the ice in
what I supposed to be a southwesterly direction. This confirmed my worst fears. But now
the labor of landing and building a fire on the ice served to interest us for a time and
divert our thoughts. We brushed away the snow, and then broke up a box which was in
the boat, and also the stern seats. This we used very sparingly, reserving the rest for
another occasion. Then we cut portions from one of the seals, and laid them in thin strips
on the flames. The cooking was but slight, for the meat was merely singed; but we were
ravenous, and the contact of the fire was enough to give it an attractive flavor. With this
food we were greatly refreshed; and as for drink, we had all around us an endless extent
of ice and snow. Then, taking our precious fragments of cooked meat, we returned to the
boat and put off. We could scarcely tell what to do next, and while debating on this point
we fell asleep. We slept far into the night, then awoke benumbed with cold; then took to
the oars till we were weary; then fell asleep again, to be again awakened by the cold and
again to pull at the oars. So the night passed, and another day came.
The snow still held off, but the sky was overcast with dark, leaden-colored clouds, and
looked threatening. Ice was all around us as before; and the open water had diminished
now from ten miles to five miles of width. The ice on one side was low, but on the
opposite side it arose to the height of one hundred feet. We saw here, as we watched the
shore, that the current which had already borne us thus far was now stronger than ever,
and was carrying us along at a rate which made all efforts of ours against it utterly useless.
And now a debate arose between us as to the direction of this current. Agnew suddenly
declared his belief that it was running north, while I was firm in the conviction that it ran
south.
"There's no use rowing any more," said Agnew. "If it runs south we can't resist it. It's too
strong. But I always like to look on the bright side, and so I believe it runs north. In that
case there is no use rowing, for it