Left on Labrador Part 21

A Barren Sh.o.r.e, and a Strange Animal, which is captured by blowing up its Den.--Palmleaf falls in with the Esquimaux, and is chased by them.--"_Twau-ve!_"--"A Close Shave."--An Attack threatened.--The Savages dispersed with the Howitzer.

To avoid the thick patches of heavy ice which were this afternoon driving out toward the Atlantic, we bore up quite near the mainland on the north side, and continued beating on, with the wind north all night, at the rate of--at a guess--two knots per hour. It was dull work. We turned in at twelve, and slept soundly till five, when the noisy rattling of the cable through the hawse aroused us. The wind had died out, and they had dropped the anchor in forty-three fathoms. It was a cloudy morning: every thing had a leaden, dead look. We were about half a mile from the sh.o.r.e; and after breakfast, having nothing better to do, fell to examining it with our gla.s.ses. Shelving ledges rose up, terrace on terrace, into dark mountains, back two and three miles from the sea. The whole landscape seemed made up of water, granite, and ice. The black, leathern lichens added to the gloomy aspect of the sh.o.r.e-rocks, on which the waves were beating--forever beating--with sullen plashings. Terrible must be the aspect of this coast in winter. Now the hundreds of water-fowl wheeling over it, and enlivening the crags with their cries, softened its grimness. Farther along the sh.o.r.e-ledges Kit presently espied a black animal of some kind, and called our attention to it.

"He seems to be eating something there," said he.

We looked at it.

"It's not an Esquimau dog, is it?" Wade asked.

"Oh, no! head don't look like a dog's," observed Kit. "Besides, their dogs are not so dark-colored as that."

"This seems from here to be almost or quite black," Raed remarked; "as black as Guard. Not quite so large, though."

Wade thought it was fully as large.

"If we were in Maine, I should say it was a small black bear," said Kit; "but I have never heard of a black bear being seen north of Hudson Straits."

The head seemed to me to be too small for a bear.

"Captain, what do you think of that animal?" Kit asked, handing him his gla.s.s.

Capt. Mazard looked.

"If it hadn't such short legs, I should p.r.o.nounce it a black wolf," he replied. "It's too large for a _fisher_, isn't it? I don't know that _fishers_ are found so far north, either. How is that?"

"Hearne, in his 'Northern Journey,' speaks of the fisher being met with, farther west, in lat.i.tude as far north as this," said I.

"But that's too big for a fisher," said Raed; "too thick and heavy. A fisher is slimmer."

"Who knows but it may be a new species!" exclaimed Kit, laughing.

"Now's a chance to distinguish ourselves as naturalists. If we can discover a new animal of that size in this age of natural history, and prove that we are the discoverers, it will be monument enough for us: we can then afford to retire on our laurels. Call it a long Latin name, and tack our own names, with the ending _ii_ or _us_ on them, to that, and you're all right for distant posterity. That's what some of our enterprising young naturalists, who swarm out from Yale and Cambridge, seem to think. Only a few weeks ago, I was reading of a new sort of minute infusorial insect or mollusk, I don't pretend to understand which, bearing the name of '_Mussa Braziliensis Hartii Verrill_.' Now, I like that. There's a n.o.ble aspiration for fame as well as euphony. Only it's a little heavy on the poor mollusk to make him draw these aspiring young gentlemen up the steep heights of ambition. But if they can afford to risk two names on a tiny bit of jelly as big as the head of a pin, say, I think we should be justified in putting all four of ours on to this big beast over here. And, since the captain thinks it's like a wolf, suppose we call it '_Lupus rabidus Additonii Burleighii Raedwayvius_'"--

"There, that'll do!" cried Raed. "You've spelt! Go up head!"

"There's another creature coming along the rocks!" exclaimed Wade.

"That's a bear! He's coming out where the black one is!"

"There," said Raed, "you can see now that the bear is much the larger."

"Yes; but a white bear is considerably larger than a black bear,"

replied Kit.

"Look quick!" cried Wade. "There's going to be a brush! See the black one bristle up!"

"He's got something there he don't want to give up," said the captain.

"Bear says, 'I'll take your place at that,'" laughed Kit. "He walks up to him. By George! did you see the black one jump at him? Bear sent him spinning with his paw. He won't go off. Stands there _growling_, I'll bet."

"I should really like to know what sort of a beast that is," said Raed. "Captain, have the boat let down, if you please. I would like to go over there."

"Good chance to get another bear-skin," observed Kit. "We need one more."

The boat was lowered; and we four, with Guard, and Weymouth and Don to row, got into it, and paddled across toward where the bear was feeding, and the black creature, sitting up like a dog, watching him.

We worked up quietly to within about half a cable's length (three hundred and sixty feet) without disturbing them. It was a pretty large bear: but the black animal did not seem more than two-thirds as large as Guard; and, the nearer we came to it, the more in doubt we were as to its species.

"I never saw any thing at all like it," remarked Raed.

"Wouldn't it be jolly if it should prove to be a new, undiscovered animal!" exclaimed Wade.

"That's rather too good to be true," replied Kit; "but we'll see."

Just then Guard got his eye on them, and barked gruffly. The bear looked round: so did the black creature.

"Kit, you and Wade take the bear," advised Raed. "Wash and I will fire at the black one. Get good aim, now."

We took as good aim as the rocking of the boat would permit, and fired nearly together. The bear growled out savagely: the black beast snarled.

"There they go!" exclaimed Weymouth.

The bear was running off along the sh.o.r.e, galloping like a hog. The black animal was going straight back over the ledges.

"Pull in quick!" shouted Raed.

The boat was rowed up to the sh.o.r.e. Jumping out, we pulled it up on the rocks.

"Here, Guard!" cried Kit, running forward to where the ledges gave a better view. "There he goes! take him now!" for we had got a momentary glimpse of the black animal crossing the crest of a ledge several hundred yards away.

"Come on, Weymouth!" exclaimed Wade; "and you, Donovan! Let's we three go after the bear. They'll take care of the _new species_: we'll go for the _old_."

Kit had run on after Guard. Raed and I followed as fast as we could.

The Newfoundland, chasing partly by sight and partly by scent, was already a good way ahead; and we soon lost sight of him among the ledgy hillocks and ridges. We could hear him barking; but the rocks echoed the sound so confusedly, that it was hard telling where he was.

Hundreds of kittiwakes were starting up all about us too, with such a chorus of cries that it was not very clear which was dog. Presently we lost _sound_ of Guard altogether, and wandered on at random for ten or fifteen minutes, but finally met him coming back. As soon as he saw us, he turned and led off again; and, following him for thirty or forty rods, we came to a fissure between two large rocky fragments, partially overlaid by a third. Guard ran up, and by a bark seemed to say, "In here!" Kit thrust in his musket, and we heard a growl.

"Holed him!" cried Raed.

"Pretty strong _posish_, though," said Kit, looking about. "If we only had a big _pry_ here, we might heave up this top rock, and so get at him."

"I don't suppose there's a tree big enough to use as a lever within a hundred miles of here," remarked Raed, looking around.

We ran in our muskets, but could not touch the creature. He seemed to have crept round an angle of one of the bottom rocks, so as to be well out of reach and out of range. The hole was scarcely large enough to admit Guard, and the dog did not seem greatly disposed to go in. We fired our muskets, one at a time, holding the muzzles inside the opening, hoping to frighten the animal out; but he didn't see fit to leave his stronghold.

"If we had only a pound or two of powder here," observed Raed, examining the crevices about the rocks, "I think we might mine this top rock, and blow it up."

"That will be the only way to get at him," said Kit.

"Well, we can go back to the schooner for some," I suggested.