Produced by Ron Swanson THE ENGLISH AT THE NORTH POLE PART I OF THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN HATTERAS BY JULES VERNE CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I.--THE "FORWARD" . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 II.--AN UNEXPECTED LETTER . . . . . . . . . 14 III.--DR. CLAWBONNY . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 IV.--DOG-CAPTAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 V.--OUT AT SEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 VI.--THE GREAT POLAR CURRENT . . . . . . . 44 VII.--DAVIS'S STRAITS . . . . . . . . . . . 52 VIII.--GOSSIP OF THE CREW . . . . . . . . . . 61 IX.--NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 X.--DANGEROUS NAVIGATION . . . . . . . . . 78 XI.--THE DEVIL'S THUMB . . . . . . . . . . 88 XII.--CAPTAIN HATTERAS . . . . . . . . . . . 98 XIII.--THE PROJECTS OF HATTERAS . . . . . . . 109 XIV.--EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN . . . 118 XV.--THE "FORWARD" DRIVEN BACK SOUTH . . . 127 XVI.--THE MAGNETIC POLE . . . . . . . . . . 135 XVII.--THE FATE OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN . . . . 144 XVIII.--THE NORTHERN ROUTE . . . . . . . . . . 150 XIX.--A WHALE IN SIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . 155 XX.--BEECHEY ISLAND . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 XXI.--THE DEATH OF BELLOT . . . . . . . . . 170 XXII.--BEGINNING OF REVOLT . . . . . . . . . 178 XXIII.--ATTACKED BY ICEBERGS . . . . . . . . . 184 XXIV.--PREPARATIONS FOR WINTERING . . . . . . 193 XXV.--AN OLD FOX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 XXVI.--THE LAST LUMP OF COAL . . . . . . . . 209 XXVII.--CHRISTMAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 XXVIII.--PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE . . . . . . 222 XXIX.--ACROSS THE ICE . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 XXX.--THE CAIRN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 XXXI.--THE DEATH OF SIMPSON . . . . . . . . . 243 XXXII.--THE RETURN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 CHAPTER I THE "FORWARD" "To-morrow, at low tide, the brig _Forward_, Captain K. Z----, Richard Shandon mate, will start from New Prince's Docks for an unknown destination." The foregoing might have been read in the _Liverpool Herald_ of April 5th, 1860. The departure of a brig is an event of little importance for the most commercial port in England. Who would notice it in the midst of vessels of all sorts of tonnage and nationality that six miles of docks can hardly contain? However, from daybreak on the 6th of April a considerable crowd covered the wharfs of New Prince's Docks--the innumerable companies of sailors of the town seemed to have met there. Workmen from the neighbouring wharfs had left their work, merchants their dark counting-houses, tradesmen their shops. The different-coloured omnibuses that ran along the exterior wall of the docks brought cargoes of spectators at every moment; the town seemed to have but one pre-occupation, and that was to see the _Forward_ go out.