# XIX: Bering Sea explained — The Fur Country

> Chapter companion for The Fur Country by Jules Verne.

## What happens

The island, driven by the ice-wall, drifts rapidly into the Bering Sea. Mrs. Barnett recounts the harrowing 74 hours she and others spent trapped in the submerged house after the avalanche. Hobson takes bearings and finds the island at 168°12′W, 63°37′N, far from land. Hope of reaching the continent is abandoned; the colonists pin their hopes on passing within sight of a whaler or grounding on one of the Bering Sea islands. Hobson orders construction of a large raft to carry the colony when the island dissolves. The warm weather accelerates melting, and the landscape transforms with lush vegetation. Animals gather near the factory, instinctively seeking human protection.

## Themes in this chapter

### Survival Against Nature

The colonists face the imminent dissolution of their island home and must construct a raft to survive the open sea.

### Human Resilience and Camaraderie

Despite the ordeal, the group works together to build a raft and shelter, and animals even seek human company in a tacit acknowledgment of common danger.

## Character check-ins

### Mrs. Paulina Barnett

Recovers consciousness and recounts the 74-hour ordeal in the submerged house; discusses the island's drift with Hobson and expresses despair at losing hope of reaching land.

### Lieutenant Jaspar Hobson

Takes bearings of the island, determines its position in Norton Sound, concludes that hope of making the continent is lost, and orders construction of a raft.

### Madge

Was trapped in the house with Mrs. Barnett and others; later walks with Mrs. Barnett on the island, observing the transformed landscape.

### Kalumah

Devoted herself to serving the others during the imprisonment, carrying food through the water.

### Thomas Black

Was trapped in the house; his instruments and maps are recovered from the ruins, uninjured.

### Sergeant Long

Participates in discussions with Hobson, Mrs. Barnett, and the head carpenter about the island's fate.

## Key lines

> The island, driven by the ice-wall, had then drifted at a great speed into Bering Sea, after crossing the strait without running aground on its shores!

Propelled by the ice-wall, the island moved rapidly into the Bering Sea, passing through the strait without hitting land.

_Describes the island's swift and unobstructed entry into the Bering Sea._

> We must give up all hope of making the land of the continent then!

We have to abandon any hope of reaching the mainland.

_Mrs. Barnett expresses the grim realization that the continent is unreachable._

> The ground was more prolific than it could have been in any former spring, transferred as it was to milder latitudes.

The soil was more fertile than ever before, because the island had drifted into warmer regions.

_Highlights the dramatic change in vegetation due to the island's southward drift._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_fur_country_se/chapters/part-ii-xix-bering-sea
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_fur_country_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_fur_country_se/chapters