The Fur Country · Chapter
X: The Kamchatka Current explained
Victoria Island is caught in the Kamchatka Current and begins drifting northward, away from the American continent.
What happens
Victoria Island is caught in the Kamchatka Current and begins drifting northward, away from the American continent. Despite the arrival of Kalumah and the hope she brings, the island continues its perilous journey. As winter approaches, the sea begins to freeze, and by September 27th, the island becomes trapped in an ice field, motionless and isolated hundreds of miles from any land.
Themes in this chapter
Survival Against Nature
The colonists face the relentless drift northward, the breaking up of the ice field, and the desperate hope for winter to freeze the island in place.
Human Resilience and Camaraderie
Hobson, Mrs. Barnett, Madge, Kalumah, and Sergeant Long show courage and mutual support in the face of the island's dangerous journey.
The Sublime and Uncanny Nature
The island's rotation, the changing cardinal points, and the vast, unknown Arctic solitudes evoke a sense of awe and the uncanny.
Characters to notice
- Lieutenant Jaspar Hobson
Observes the island's displacement and northward drift with dismay; discusses the situation with Mrs. Barnett and Sergeant Long; watches the formation of young ice with extreme attention.
- Mrs. Paulina Barnett
Advises Hobson to wait before revealing the danger to the others; recounts the events at Cape Eskimo; discusses the island's situation with Hobson.
- Kalumah
Arrives at the fort and is warmly received; her appearance raises a brief hope that the island might have grounded; she is forced to stay for the winter.
- Sergeant Long
Agrees with Mrs. Barnett's opinion to keep the danger secret for now; shows courage and resignation.
- Madge
Receives the news of the drifting island with courage and resignation.
- Mac-Nab
Struggles to construct a boat capable of carrying the party; noted as a carpenter.
Key passages
“The island was finally in the grasp of the Kamchatka Current, and was drifting towards the unknown latitudes where the large icebergs come into being; it was on its way to the vast solitudes of the Arctic Ocean, interdicted to the human race, from which there is no return.”
Victoria Island was now caught by the Kamchatka Current, carrying it northward into uncharted waters where icebergs form, a desolate region of the Arctic Ocean from which escape seemed impossible.
Highlights the irreversible and perilous nature of the island's drift.
“The only hope left consisted, as Mrs. Barnett had said, in the fact that they were going to meet the winter. In thus drifting towards the north they would soon encounter those ice-cold waters, which would consolidate and strengthen the foundations of the island.”
The sole remaining hope was that the approaching winter would freeze the sea, solidifying the island's base and halting its drift.
Emphasizes the paradoxical reliance on the harsh winter for safety.
“On September 27th, when the bearings were taken, it was found that Victoria Island had not moved since the day before. It was imprisoned in a vast ice field, it was motionless in longitude 177° 22′, and latitude 77° 57′—more than six hundred miles from any continent.”
By September 27th, the island was frozen in place within a massive ice field, stationary at coordinates far from any landmass.
Marks the moment the island becomes trapped, ending its northward drift.