Nequa; or, The Problem of the Ages

by Alcanoan O. Grigsby; Mary P. Lowe

"Mr. Adams is admirably qualified, and I think we had better place him in charge of the scientific work of the expedition. We can assist him as occasion requires. This will enable us to give our entire attention to the exigencies of the situation in the dangerous waters of the Arctic regions, while Mr. Adams will keep a record of everything discovered that may be of value, and send out duplicates of the same by the balloons, as we intended, so that if the expedition should be lost, the winds may carry some account of our discoveries to the civilized portions of the globe." Evidently in the mind of Captain Ganoe, I had already been appointed to the position which of all others I would have preferred, and one that would always keep me near his own quarters. And to this, Captain Battell assented, saying:

"I met Mr. Adams on his arrival, and was favorably impressed with his appearance and evident determination to see the senior officer of the Ice King." And turning to me he continued, "I will now take pleasure in showing you through the library, which will be your quarters during the voyage."

Captain Battell was the opposite of Captain Ganoe in his personal appearance. He was powerfully built, of medium height, dark complexion, dark hair, and steel grey eyes set beneath a broad and beetling brow. The general contour of his features indicated courage, firmness, and strength of character. He was just that type of a man who might be expected to appear to the best advantage in some great emergency that demanded qualities of a high order.

All the appointments for the scientific work were of the first quality. The library contained the leading scientific publications, together with encyclopedias, and historic and general literature, carefully catalogued for easy reference.

Every kind of scientific instruments, charts, maps, globes, cameras, etc., had been selected with the greatest care. Among the special supplies were the balloons to which Captain Ganoe had referred. These were small and could be inflated at short notice. They were designed to be sent up from time to time with accounts of the expedition, its progress, discoveries etc., hermetically sealed. It is well known that at the equinoxes, the heated air from the tropics ascends to the higher altitudes and flows toward the poles, while the cold air flows toward the equator to fill the vacuum, producing the equinoctial storms. These little balloons were expected to be carried south by the winds, and find a resting place on the land surface where they might be picked up by civilized people; or if they fell into the water, the bottles would preserve the dispatches and the ocean currents might carry them into civilized countries. Thus every precaution was taken to secure to the world the benefit of any discovery that might be made, even though the expedition should be lost.

I was well pleased with my quarters. All the surroundings would be, to me, most satisfactory, no matter what the trials and dangers that we might encounter. I was enlisted for the expedition, and in the position I preferred above all others, as it brought me into frequent consultation with the commander, and I should be able to acquaint myself with his present views and feelings and note what changes had taken place since I saw him last.

I lost no time in having my trunks brought on board and made ready for the voyage. The Ice King was soon at sea. We stopped at one of the Aleutian Islands where we took on our dog teams, which were to be used for explorations on the ice. The sledges were so constructed that they might readily be converted into boats that would accommodate the whole crew and a good supply of provisions, in case we should be compelled to abandon the ship. We expected to be locked up in the ice during the winter, but with our sledges and dog teams, we could continue our explorations for long distances in every direction, with the ship for headquarters. Captain Battell was a whaler and familiar with all the methods of Arctic travel. His long experience on these northern waters enabled him to forsee many of the dangers we were likely to meet, and to make the needful preparations to overcome them.

From this point our voyage northward through Behring Strait and into the Arctic Ocean, was without any incident worth recording. Our course after passing the strait, was a little east of north to avoid the ice, until we reached longitude 165 degrees West of Greenwich, and then north. Captain Ganoe often came into my cabin to while away an hour in conversation. His marked friendship seemed to increase with each visit. He always addressed me familiarly as Jack, and in these conversations he became more and more confidential, and revealed to me more and more of his inner life, his early hopes and subsequent disappointments.

One evening after we had been at sea about four months, he came into my cabin looking unusually gloomy. After the customary salutation he lighted a cigar and fell into a brown study, not speaking to me for several minutes, when suddenly he said:

"Jack, did you ever think what mere trifles sometimes change the whole course of a life-time? I often wonder at myself for being out here on this wild goose chase, with the certainty of loss of property, business, comfort and possibly life itself, searching for something I have no use for, and which at best if discovered, will only gratify an idle curiosity. And yet, this has been brought about by what was only a trifling incident. Have you ever thought of these strange effects which flow from trivial causes?"