# The Avalanche explained — The Fur Country

> Chapter companion for The Fur Country by Jules Verne.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_fur_country_se/chapters/part-ii-xvii-the-avalanche
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_fur_country_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_fur_country_se/chapters