The Fur Country · Chapter
The Avalanche explained
As Victoria Island drifts southward through Bering Strait, the colonists grow hopeful of reaching the American continent.
What happens
As Victoria Island drifts southward through Bering Strait, the colonists grow hopeful of reaching the American continent. Lieutenant Hobson and Sergeant Long explore the ice field for a passage, but a catastrophic avalanche of icebergs buries the fort, crushing the boat and trapping Mrs. Barnett, Madge, Kalumah, and Thomas Black beneath the debris.
Themes in this chapter
Survival Against Nature
The colonists face the constant threat of the fragile ice island breaking up and the sudden avalanche that destroys their last hope of escape.
Human Resilience and Camaraderie
Despite the danger, the colonists maintain hope, celebrate crossing the Arctic Circle, and support each other in the face of disaster.
The Sublime and Uncanny Nature
The chaotic ice field and the terrifying avalanche of icebergs evoke the sublime power and unpredictability of the Arctic environment.
Characters to notice
- Lieutenant Jaspar Hobson
Leads the exploration of the ice field and returns to find the fort destroyed by an avalanche.
- Mrs. Paulina Barnett
Buried beneath the avalanche after being persuaded to rest instead of accompanying Hobson.
- Sergeant Long
Accompanies Hobson on the ice field exploration and witnesses the avalanche's devastation.
- Kalumah
Buried in the principal house along with Mrs. Barnett and Madge.
- Thomas Black
Buried beneath the avalanche after transporting his instruments to the boat.
- Madge
Buried in the principal house during the avalanche.
- Mac-Nab
Escapes the avalanche with his little boy and reports the destruction to Hobson.
Key passages
“I think our bad fortune is at last at an end,” observed Sergeant Long to Mrs. Barnett, “and that our misfortunes are really over; I don’t suppose there are any more dangers to be feared now.”
Sergeant Long tells Mrs. Barnett that he believes their streak of bad luck has finally ended and no further dangers await them.
Reflects the colonists' renewed optimism just before the avalanche strikes.
“Mrs. Barnett was certainly justified in speaking as she did, for what fearful fatigues and sufferings they would all have had to undergo in crossing five hundred miles of ice in the darkness of the Polar night!”
The narrator notes that Mrs. Barnett's relief was well-founded, considering the immense hardship they would have faced traveling across the ice during the polar night.
Highlights the narrow escape from a worse fate earlier in the journey.