Chapter 998 The Voyage Diary of a Knowledgeable Man, Fog and Storm, Difficult Exploration of the Aleutian Islands
"Lord God bless! At the end of August, we left more than 50 warrior sailors and a long ship to build the Godland Port at the beginning of the westward island chain. More than 70 of the surrounding Unanga tribes also joined us. We selected about 10 Unanga Dingzhuang to replace the last batch of Prepecha sailors. The sailors of the entire fleet are almost all from the tribes of the Northland..."
"The leader in charge of Shendadi Port is the Tekos warrior Luo Heishi. Like many brave Tekos warriors, he was given the surname 'Luo' by His Majesty. And his physique is indeed strong enough to adapt well to the harsh climate in the north. He is worthy of being a barbarian in the mountains! …"
October is the beginning of autumn in the Aleutian Islands. The summer with the most fog has passed, and it is a more suitable season for sailing. The sun in the north hangs close to the sky, obviously a circle larger than that in the south, and I don't know why.
The knowledgeable Mickey raised his head, looking at the clear sky, it was like seeing an upside-down sea. Today the sun is bright and the temperature is low. The snow on the hills covered the rocks, showing no signs of melting. Beside him, Baixiong Gaowa was sitting on a snow-covered stone, looking at him with a naive smile, as if he wasn't afraid of the cold at all.
"Gao Wa."
"Won?"
"are not you cold?"
"cold?"
Bai Xiong Gaowa blinked suspiciously. It is only the beginning of October, and the temperature on the Aleutian Islands is already swinging back and forth around zero degrees. But for Bai Xiong Gaowa, who is used to the cold of minus 20 degrees in winter, she feels very comfortable today, and she doesn't even need to wear a thick leather robe.
In fact, for the Unanga in the Northland, they are used to being "warm" in summer and autumn. In this way, when the baby is born, it will happen to be spring and summer when the climate is warm and food is plentiful. Young and strong women who give birth to children can also immediately participate in hunting and gathering activities, which is more conducive to the continuation of the tribe.
In the long dark winter, they will reduce any unnecessary consumption, including such things as "warm". So, at that time, sleeping with a warm hug was really just sleeping with a warm hug...
The harsh natural environment has had such a profound impact on these extreme northern tribes that it has even affected every aspect of life. Of course, Baixiong Gaowa didn't know the reason for all these traditions, but was just used to follow. So, she blinked her eyes, looked at the knowledgeable Mickey, and asked expectantly.
"Weng? Do you want...to have sex with me? Here? On a rock?..."
"Well!…"
Hearing this, the knowledgeable Mickey shuddered. He is not as strong as Gao Wa, who can keep warm in the snow. He quickly shook his head, avoiding Gao Wa's fiery eyes, took out the latest one from the navigation record he had just put in, and pretended to read it seriously.
"Blessed by the Lord God! At the beginning of September, we took three longships, 120 warriors and sailors, and left the Shendadi Port near the hot springs... We rowed along the extended big island and a series of small islands to the west... And those towering icebergs that appeared in the western sea were the direction that the Lord God guided the fleet!..."
"Starting from the ancestral island chain to the west, the exploration fleet has used the warm ocean current for several months, and then gradually disappeared. Zuvaro is very sorry, because this warm ocean current flowing westward day and night has really helped us too much! ... We were able to reach the island chain so quickly because of this mysterious warm ocean current! It is not far from the shore.
The knowledgeable Mickey scratched his head, but he still didn't understand how this warm westward current appeared and how it suddenly disappeared.
Starting from Whale Harbor, which departs from the south, and ends at Shendadi Port, which goes west to the island chain, the gift of the Alaskan warm current, like the unpredictable wind of fate, appears and disappears inadvertently. And what still accompany them is the thick fog that rises in summer and the turbulent waves. They are on the verge of death time and time again, testing the fleet of "Shenqi Exploration"!
"On the island chain in September, most of the time, the wind is north and northeast. But sometimes, it will suddenly turn into south wind and southeast wind. The wind is very strong, and it is completely unreliable. Therefore, we dare not fully raise the sails. At most, when the line of sight is clear, we will raise the sails to a small half side, with the help of a little wind, to speed up the westward journey of the fleet..."
"Witness of the Lord God! We must follow the island chain, we must go west carefully, and we must never let the guiding holy mountain out of our sight!!"
"Praise the Lord God! Under the guidance of the mountain of God, we arrived at the second island of ancestors, Akutan Island (Akutan) in September. This island is not big, and there is only one iceberg on it, so I call it 'Lonely Mountain'... And not far from this island is the third island of ancestors, Ualaska. There is a natural harbor sheltered from the wind on this island, which is very deep. Zuvaro wants to set up a port there, but we don’t have enough ships..."
"It is worth mentioning that there is only one iceberg on Shenshiwan Island, but sometimes it will flash a strange, somewhat lavender light... like a strange omen from the gods! The Unanga tribe on the island said that it is because the iceberg is alive, and it is an ancestor giant who has not died. It will shout from time to time, and even spit out flames and black smoke in legends!..."
"Blessed by the Lord God! So I know that this is an active volcano, which hides the active divinity underground! Therefore, I call it 'Makushin Volcano' (that is, Makushin Volcano). And the ancestors of the three islands are called 'God Volcano Island'!..."
Thinking of the colorful and shining God Volcano, the wise man Mickey's eyes showed pious yearning. Such a magical place is indeed worthy of the kingdom's fleet to build a port alone! What's more, since there are active volcanoes, there will be warm spring water and places where potatoes can be grown. It's a pity... we can only talk about it later.
"Continuing to the west from Shenhuoshan Island, it is almost connected with Nikolski Island. According to the legend of the Unanga tribe on the island, there is a huge depression on the east side of the island that extends for more than ten miles, and the reason for this depression..."
"The cloud god in the sky once threw a burning sky stone and killed the giant of the ancestor! The giant sank into the sea, and the injured head floated on the sea surface. The sunken wound was the place where the sky stone fell!..."
The knowledgeable Mickey's eyes flickered, and he stroked the line of inheritance songs he had recorded, and his thoughts turned in his heart. He really wanted to go to the depression on Shentianshi Island, search for it, and see if he could find the legendary "Skystone", or even a little remnant of the gods...
"From Shentianshi Island to the west, there are a series of sporadic small islands. The distance between these small islands is too far, and there are no snow-capped mountains high enough on the island to guide the exploration fleet... From the ancestor's fourth island, Shentianshi Island, to the ancestor's fifth island, Shengaoshan Island, the more than 300 miles between them is the most dangerous voyage!..."
"Lord God! The thick fog rising and filling the sky, and the rolling waves hang high above our heads! The raging currents are turbulent, and the violent sea wind can blow off the sails! ... We have traveled for two full weeks for the voyage of more than 300 miles. There is heavy fog in the morning and evening. We can only row desperately in the half-day when the fog clears at noon to find the next small island where we can dock. Into destruction!"
"And the really terrible doomsday is the storm from the north... We encountered three storms, only one came from the sea in the north, and it was very, very big! And in that storm, there was not only blizzard, but also terrible hailstones that could kill people!..."
"If it weren't for us being on Shentianshi Island, we recruited a few Unanga sailors who are familiar with the sea conditions, and discovered the storm in the north in advance...If it wasn't for the northern tribes on board, who could paddle on the violently bumpy boat...If it wasn't for us being only two or three quarters of an hour away from the nearest small island...The Lord God bless us! The Lord God bless us! The Lord God bless us!!"
Seeing this, the knowledgeable Mickey trembled all over, thinking back to that one, the great northern storm that recurred in the nightmare!
The wind, snow and hail that covered the sky, and the cascading waves that rose more than ten meters! The difficult struggle of sailing on the sea of death is like running frantically on the edge of a cliff! It was only a quarter of an hour, but it was unforgettable for him forever!
"Witness of the Lord God! Navigation on the island chain is so difficult, but Gao Wa doesn't take it seriously at all. She was always groping on the long boat curiously, even though the long boat was swaying violently in the wind and waves, she was still able to stand firmly on the deck...Later, she gestured and told me that the Unanga people were driving kayaks like canoes to fish in the windy sea. Compared with their kayaks, our big boat is like an island floating on the sea!..."
"I didn't quite believe it, so I asked her: 'How bumpy and swaying is your kayak?'...She seems to have misunderstood, and maybe she understood too much...Or maybe, after going through that death storm, we all need to vent, like wild animals..."
"She pushed me down in the bottom cabin, which gave me a real experience... Then, I couldn't get up for a few days, until I arrived at Shengaoshan Island, and saw the juxtaposed peaks and white light..."
Seeing this last paragraph, Mickey, the knowledgeable man, trembled in his heart. He inexplicably felt weak in his waist and legs, and felt pain all over his body. He turned his head guiltily and glanced at his wife, who had eyes as strong as a white bear, but was instantly and keenly noticed by the other party.
"Weng? What's the matter with you? ... Your face is so pale? Are you shaking all the time?"
"Uh! Gaowa. I... I remembered that... the great storm of death. If you and the Anu fish hadn't held me back, I would have fallen into the waves long ago... But the Anu fish was in the big storm a few days ago, in order to catch the long boat that was swept away!..."
Speaking of this, the knowledgeable Mickey sighed, with genuine sadness in his eyes. And Bai Xiong Gaowa also knew the reason of his sadness, so she lowered her head, put her forehead against her forehead, and gave her husband a hug. She has a big figure, when she hugged Mickey, it was like a big bear hugging a baby seal, but her movements were extremely gentle.
"Weng. Die here, every year, a lot! For boats, fishing boats, it is necessary, desperately!...We, the Unanga, are like this. They, the Sugopia, are the same!..."
"Hmm... the Lord God's testimony! I understand!"
The knowledgeable Mickey was sad for a moment, then nodded. He knew that death was the most common thing in this difficult and difficult extreme north. He thought of the Anu fish who had rescued him but fell into a storm, and also of meeting these Sugpiaq tribes. In the extreme north at 60 degrees north latitude, at the mouth of the mighty river and the blue delta at the mouth of the river...
Thinking of this, the knowledgeable Mickey lowered his head, moved his fingers a little in the bronze box, and picked up another roll of sailing diary next to him. And the slight movement of this finger, from the west to the beginning of the island chain, went east for more than two thousand miles, and returned to the midsummer of July...
Note: The easter egg chapter is an exploration map of the Aleutian Islands.