Among the Esquimaux; or, Adventures under the Arctic Circle
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CHAPTER XIX
A WONDERFUL EXHIBITION
Unto no one, excepting him who journeys far into the Northland, isgiven it to view such an amazing picture as was now spread out beforethe enraptured gaze of Rob Carrol and Fred Warburton. In NorthernSiberia, the Scandinavian Peninsula, the upper portion of the AmericanContinent, and the Arctic Sea, the traveler learns in all itswonderful fullness of glory the meaning of the Aurora Borealis orNorthern Lights.
The boys had had partial glimpses of the scene on their voyage throughthe Greenland Sea, and there were flickerings of light which caughttheir eye on the trip from the iceberg to the mainland, and the shortwalk to Docak's hut, but it was during their short stay in the rudedwelling that the mysterious scene-shifters of the skies unfoldedtheir magnificent panorama in all its overwhelming grandeur.
Radiating from a huge nucleus, which seemed to be the North Poleitself, shot the streamers of light, so vast in extent that theirextremities struck the zenith, withdrawing with lightning-likequickness, and succeeded by others with the same celerity anddisplaying all the vivid hues of the rainbow.
At times these dartings resembled immense spears, and then theychanged to bands of light, turning again into ribbons which shiveredand hovered in the sky, with bewildering variation, turning anddoubling upon themselves, spreading apart like an immense fan, andthen trembling on the very verge of the horizon, as if about to vanishin the darkness of night.
At the moment the spectators held their breath, fearing that thecelestial display was ended; the streamers, spears, bands of violet,indigo, blue, orange, red, green, and yellow, with the innumerableshades, combinations, and mingling of colors, shot out and spread overthe sky like the myriad rays of the setting sun.
This continued for several minutes, marked by irregular degrees ofintensity, so impressive in its splendor that neither lad spoke, forhe could make no comment upon the exhibition, the like of which isseen nowhere else in nature.
But once both gave a sigh of amazed delight when a ribbon, combiningseveral vivid colors, quivered, danced, and streamed far beyond thezenith, with a wary appearance that suggested that some giant,standing upon the extreme northern point of the earth, had suddenlyunrolled this marvelous ribbon and was waving it in the eyes of anawestruck world.
One of the most striking features of those mysterious electricalphenomena known as the Northern Lights is the absolute silence whichaccompanies them. The genius of man can never approach in the smallestdegree the beauties of the picture without some noise, but here natureperforms her most wonderful feat in utter stillness. The panorama mayunfold, roll together, spread apart again with dazzling brilliancy andsuddenness, but the strained ear catches no sound, unless dissociatedaltogether from the phenomenon itself, such as the soft sighing of theArctic wind over the wastes of snow, or through the grove of solemnpines.
There were moments when the effulgence spread over the earth, like therays of the midnight sun, and the lads, standing in front of theprimitive dwelling of the Esquimau, resembled a couple of figuresstamped in ink in the radiant field.
For nearly an hour the rapt spectators stood near the entrance to thenative dwelling, insensible to the extreme cold, and too profoundlyimpressed to speak or stir; but the heavens had given too great awealth of splendor, brilliancy, color, and celestial scene-shifting tocontinue it long. The subtle exchange of electrical conditions musthave reached something like an equipoise, and the overwhelming beautyand grandeur exhausted itself.
The ribbons and streamers that had been darting to and beyond thezenith, shortened their lightning excursions into space, leaping forthat longer intervals and to a decreasing distance, until they ceasedaltogether, displaying a few flickerings in the horizon, as thougheager to bound forth again, but restrained by a superior hand with thecommand, "Enough for this time."
Fred drew a deep sigh.
"I never dreamed that anywhere in the world one could see such a sightas that."
"It is worth a voyage from home a hundred times over, and I don'tregret our stay on the iceberg, for we would have been denied itotherwise."
"If there are any people living near the North Pole, it must be likedwelling in another world. I don't see how they stand it."
"I believe that the Northern Lights have their origin between here andthe Pole," said Fred; "though I am not sure of that."
"The magnetic pole, which must be the source of the display, is southof the earth's pole, and I suppose that's the reason for the beliefyou mention. But it is enough to fill one with awe, when he gazes onthe scene and reflects that the world is one great reservoir ofelectricity, which, if left free for a moment by its Author, wouldshiver the globe into nothingness, and leave only an empty void wherethe earth swung before."
"I pity the man who says, 'There is no God,' or who can look unmovedto the very depths of his soul by such displays of infinite power."
"There are no such persons," exclaimed Rob, impatiently; "they mayrepeat the words, because they think it brave and smart before theircompanions, but they don't believe themselves. It is impossible."
"Why didn't we think to tell Jack and Docak, that they might haveenjoyed the scene with us?"
"The native Esquimaux see it too often to care about it. It is hard tounderstand how any one can become accustomed to it, but we know it isso. As for Jack, he must have looked upon it many times before, whenhe was in this latitude. Gracious! but it has become cold," added Rob,with a shiver.
"It isn't any colder than it has been all the evening, but we forgotabout it while the exhibition was going on."
The boys turned about, and, ducking their heads, made their way alongthe long entry, quickly debouching into the warmth and glow of theliving room, where Docak and the sailor, having laid away their pipes,were talking like a couple of old friends who had not seen each otherfor years and were exchanging experiences. Crestana had finished herwork in the kitchen and joined them. She was sitting on the shorterbench, and, like a thrifty housewife, was engaged in repairing some ofher husband's bulky garments, with big needles and coarse thread.
She looked up with her pleasant smile, as the boys entered, theirbodies shivering and their teeth chattering from the extreme cold.
"You chaps must have found it mighty pleasant out-doors," remarked thesailor.
"Ah! Jack, if you had been with us, you would have seen a sight wortha journey around the world."
"What was it? Another polar bear, or two of them?"
"The Northern Lights, and O--"
"The Northern Lights," interrupted their friend, with a sniff ofdisgust; "is that all?"
The boys looked at him, too horrified to speak.
"I'll own that they are rather purty, and the first two or three timesa chap looks onto 'em he is apt to hold his breath, and rub his eyes,but, when you've seed 'em as often as me, it'll get to be an oldstory. Besides Docak and me had more important bus'ness to talkabout."
"What was that?"
"This hunting trip; it's all fixed."
"When do we start?"
"To-morrow morning. There's no saying how long we'll be gone, and I'vetold him that it doesn't make any difference to us, so we get backsome time this year."
"Can we travel without snow-shoes?"
"Luckily we can, for Docak has only two pair. This fog and a littlerain we've had have formed a crust on the snow hard enough to bear areindeer, so that we can travel over it as easy as if it were solidice. The only thing to be feared is another deep fall of snow afore wecan get back. That would make hard traveling, but then a hunter musttake some risk and who cares? We may see sights and meet fun that willlast us a lifetime."