THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA ENDOWED BY THE DIALECTIC AND PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETIES PQ2469 .V4 E5 1888 ""J^WENTY ^j^HOUSAND LEAGUES THE O R, THE MARVELLOUS AND EXCITING ADVEN TURES OF PIERRE ARONNAX, CONSEIl HIS SERVANT, AND NED LAND, A CANADIAN HARPOONER, By JULES VERNE. NEW YORK: F^OLLARD & MOSS, 4.2 Park Place and 37 Barclay Street 1888. CONTENTS PART 1 PAOB Chapter I.—The mysterious anri inexplicable Phenomena of 1866. —A Monster of the Sea.—Testimony to its existence. — Facts and Incidents. — Accident to the Scotia. — Public Opinion excited.— Thousands of Ships annuallv lost —Ocean TraA-^el becoming more and more dangerous.—The Sea must be rid of the formidable Ce¬ tacean...... 13 Chapter IT,—My arrival in New York.—Mysteries of the Great Submarine Grounds.—Am consulted on the Phenomena in Ques¬ tion.—Philosophical Disquisition.—A gigai: ti c N arwhal.or U nlcorn of the Sea.—Public Opinion pronounced.—The United States Frig¬ ate Abraham Lincoln to solve the Mystery.—Preparations to sail. —MyInvitation. . ... .. 19 Chapter III.—My Resolution.—Professor Aronnax accepts the of¬ fer of the American Goveruinent.—Conseil,—What’s in a Name? — "As you please Sir.”—The Archioterium, Hyracotberium, Oreo- dons, Cheropotamus, and live Babiroussa !—A glorious Life but a dangerous one.-Brooklyn Quay.—Getting off.-Oieers from live hundred thousand Thro.ats.—Down the Bay.—Eight Bells.— Fire Island Lights.—On the dark Atlantic. 24 Chapter I Y.— Commander Farragut. — An enthusiastic Crew.— Two Thousand Dollars Reward.—Ned Land, the Prince of Har- pooners.—His Opinion.—What Whales can do and what they can’t. —Science rs. Superstition.—A little figuring, and what comes of it. 28 Chapter V.—Ned Land at Work.—Doubling Cape Horn.—Hunting the “Sea-Serpent.” — Anxious Hours. — Three Months on the North Pacific.—Great nervous Excitement.—Reaction.—Shall the Search be abandoned?—Tliree decisive days.—Last Chance to pocket the Prize.—The Monster appears. 34 Chapter VI.— Beating Hearts.—An illuminated Sea.—The Nar¬ whal approaches.—We execute a retrogade Movement.—A Night of terrible Suspense.—Exciting Pursuit of a mysterious and for¬ midable Enemy.—Ned Land makes another “Strike.”—A Waste of Ammunition.—Fearful Shock.—I fall into the Sea 3 39 4 CONTENTS. ®HAPTER VII.—Not alone.—Faithful Conseil.— A night- 1 5 ng Strug¬ gle with Death.—Ned and the ‘ Monster,”—Development extra- ordinai'y.—The Mystery uuraveled.—A novel Specimen of naval Architecture.—VVe take Passage. 4 g Chapter VIII.—Our new Quarters.—Darkness and Light.— The Submarine Boat and its Commander.—Unsatisfactory Interview. —Clothed and fed.—“ Mobilis in Mobili. N.”—Stax'tling Sensa¬ tions.—Speculations regarding our Situation.—Dreadful Night¬ mares followed by a deep Sleep.... 52 Chapter IX.—I awake refreshed.—And Inspect my Surroundings. —The Prison a Prison still.—Ventilatiou.—A fearful Silence and protracted Fast.—Ned Land assaults the Steward.—‘'Paries vous Francais ?”.. 53 'v'HAFTER X.—More about the Man of the Seas.—Glimpse of a ter¬ rible Past.—Hints of the Future.—Prospective Visit to the Land of Marvels.—A Submarine Dining-room and Bill of Fare.—Fillet of Turtle and Dolphin’s Livers.—Free Life under the Sea.—Captain Nemo’s Library.—Magnificent Drawing-room and Museum of the Nautilus.—My own Apartment. 61 Chapter XI.—The Captain’s Room.—A powerful Agent.—The Sou! of the Nautilus.—All by Electricity.—Fifty Miles an Hour. 78 CHAPTER XII.—The Captain explains the Mechanism of his Craft. —Atmospheric Pressure and Compression.— Ingenious Devices. —The “Perfection of Vessels.”—Secret of its mysterious Cou- structlon.—A desert Island in the Ocean.—Fabulous Wealth of Captain Nemo.SO Chapter XIII.—Geological and Geographical.—Arrangements for our first Submarine Voyage.—Ocean Currents.—The Black River. —Nedand Conseil.—Dissolving Views.—Grand electrical Illumln • ation.—A Window opens into the unexplored Abyss. — An im¬ mense Aquarium. 86 Chapter XIV.—A Day in the Museum.— Compensations. — Inex¬ plicable Absence of the Captain.-Sunrise on the Sea.—"JVautron respoc lomi vireh ."—A Note of Invitation.-The Rouciuarol and Ruhmkorff Apparatus.—A destructive Arm. 92 Chapter XV.—A Walk on the Bottom of the Sea.—Realm of the Naiads.—A Reality Stranger than Fiction.—Forests of the Island of Crespo. 99 Chapter XVI.—Fauna and Flora.-Zoophytes and Hydrophytes.— Curious Anomaly.— The Arbor of Alari®. — We fall asleep.— Awakened by an unexpected Apparition. — A m'onstrous Sea- spider.—Seventy -five Fathoms below the level of the Sea.—Game. —Befleotions.—Hair-breadth Escape.—Return to the-Nautllus 104 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVIL—FiBhjiig extraordinary.—The Life of the Ocean. —Mysteries of the Submarine World.—Four thousand Left^ues under the Pacific. — Sandwich Islands.—Marquesas.—Wreck of the Florida,...,..o. .. . . ........Ill Chapter XVIIL—A new Continent. — Study of the Madreporal System.—How Islands are made.—TahiM the Queen of the Pacific. • —Vanikoro,—The Story of La Perouse.—“ A Coral Tomb makes a quiet Grave.”........., ........ 0 .. 0 . ..117 Chapter XIX.—A “ Happy New Year.”—A dangerous Passage through the Coral Sea,—Torres Straits.-Tbe Nautilus aground,— " Accident or Incident ?”—Once more on terra ^rmo.—Ned Land Jubilant—Grilled Vension or Loin of Tiger,—which .125 Chapter XX.—The Island of Gilboa.—A Feast of Cocoa-nuts.— Cannibals.—Bread-fruit Pie.—A Raid upon the Cabbage-palms.— Return to the Nautilus,—Second Visit to the Island.—A World of chattering Parrots and grave Cockatoos.—Birds of Paradise.-A magnificent Specimen.—” Intemperance.”—The Kangaroo.—Din¬ ner Party on Shore.—A Surprise. 131 Chapter XXL—Ned Land and his Provisions.-Comical Tableau. —“To the Boat!”—A hundred Savages in Pursuit.—A Night in the Tropics.—Excitement on Shore.—A Swarmof Natives.—Open¬ ing the Hatches.—Captain Nemo’s Thunderbolt.—Release of the Nautilus. 139 iHAPTER XXII.—In Motion.—Taking Observations.—Strange Agi¬ tation of Captain Nemo.—An imperious Command.—Imprison¬ ment.—Only Ship’s Fare.—Total Darkness.—Becoming stupefied. —Complete Insensibility.149 >HAPTER XXIIl.—Wide awake and free!—An impenetrable Mys¬ tery.—Consulted professionally.-Death comes to the Nautilus.— A submarine Excursion. — The marvelous Coral Kingdom.— Transformations and magical Effects.—Burial Scene under the Sea 156 PART II. XHAPTER I.—The Indian Ocean.—Birds and Fishes,—A Shual of Argonauts.—Crossing the Equator. — Forbidding Spectacle.—A Sea of Milk.165 t^GAPTER II.—The Island of Ceylon.—A novel Proposal from Cap¬ tain Nemo.—Visit to the Banks of Manaar.—A “ Tear of the Sea.” —Sbark-Hnnting.—Pearls.—What they are and how secured.— vomiting the Cost .•'.1T2 6 CONTENTS. PAOa CHAPTER III.—A visit to the Fisheries.—Oj'ster extraordinary.—A pearl of ten Milliotia.—The Indian Diver.—Terror-stricken.-A fearful Combat.—The Rescue.—Muuificeiit Charity from the Man of the Waters,—“Reveugp.”—Conclusions.177 * Chapter IV.—The Laccadive Archii)elago.—Domes and Minarets of the Country of Oman.—Only a Vision.—“The Gate of Tears.”— The Waters of the Red Sea.—An indescribable Spectacle.—The Home of the Sponges.—M. Lessens and the Suez Canal.—Captain Nemo’s Discovery.—The “ Aiabian Tunnel.”.... .igp Chapter V.—Terrific Encounter with a gigantic Dugong. — A Glimpse of Sinai.—The Silence of Night.—The floating Light of Suez.—Under tlie Isthmus.—Captain Nemo at the Helm. —The Torrent of the Tunnel.—In the Mediterranean.199 Chapter VI.—Ned desires a Change.—Planning for the Future. -Captain Nemo’s Correspondent.—A Chest of Gold.—The Gre¬ cian Archipelago.—Submarine Eruptions.—In a Sulphur Bath,— choking,—broiled !.2(^ Chapter VII.—The Mediterranean in forty-eightHours.—Gibral¬ tar.—Ruins of the Temple of Hercules.—Floating on the Atlantic. 213 Chapter VIII.—Arrangements for Escape from the Nautilus.— Conflicting Emotions. — A Chapter in the History of Spain.- Secrets of Vigo Bay.—An inexhaustible Fishery of Gold and Sll- ver.—Source of Captain Nemo’s Wealth.—A Heart beating for suffering Humanity.—Aid for the Cretans.219 Chapter IX.—A curious Excursion to a vanished Continent.—The Submarine Deptlis in the Darkness of Niglit. — Rain-shower under the Waves.—A Copse of petrified Trees.—Giant Lobsters and Titanic Crabs.—A Mountain of Fire.—The Atlantis of Plato.— Ruins a thousand Generations old. — Moonliglit through the Waters.228 Chapter X.— In the Heart of an extinct Volcano.—SubmarlneCoal- mines.—Captain Nemo’s Laboratory.—A Dragon-tree Beehive.— Ned Land risks his Life for Game.236 Chapter XI.— The Sargasso Sea.—A Lake in the open Atlantic.— Dreams of Liberty.—Mehnicholy Tones of the Captain’s Organ.- We are pursued by a Whaler.—Tliree Leagues under Water.—Be¬ low the Limits of submarine Existence.—An Ocean Photograph. Primitive Rocks wliicii have never looked upon the Light of Heaven.”. 944 Chapter Xll .—a Troop of vv naies.—Pursued by Cachalots.— The Nautilus enters the Field.—inhuman Massacre.—A Sea ol Blood. —Ned Land’s Indignation.249 CONTENTS. Chapter XIII.—Journeying South.—“Ice Blink.”—Crossing th® Polar Circle.—Gorgeous Scenery among the Fields of Ice.—Cap¬ tain Nemo’s audacious Project.—To the Antarctic Pole.—Fiv® hundred Leagues under the Icebergs.—la the open Polar Sea.257 Chapter XIV.—The Antarctic Continent.—Maury’s Hypothesis.— Evidences of volcanic Origin.—Life in the Air.—An introduction to the interesting Seal Family.—A City of Morses.—Scenes and Sensations.—The Vernal Equinox preceding the Polar Night.— Altitude of the Sun.— At the South Pole !—Captain Nemo un¬ furls the Black Banner and takes Possession. 265 Chapter XV.—Return to the Depths.— A Shock.—Overturning of a Mountain of Ice.—“ Things God never intended Man to see.’’— A fearful Situation.—Blocked fast. 276 Chapter XVI.—An impenetrable Wall of Ice.— Two ways of dy¬ ing.—A living Tomb.—Walls closing in.—One danger more.—Want of Air.—Working with a Will.—Dizziness.—Sulfocation.-Oppor- tune Deliverance. .281 Chapter XVII.—Thankfulness.—The Northern Sun.-Terra del Fuego.—From Cape Horn to the Equatoi*.—Conseil encounters an electric Fish.—A Herd of Sea-Cows.—Novel Expedient.—Turtle¬ fishing on the Shores of the Amazon.—Return to the high Seas..290 Chapter XVIII.—The “Devil Fish.” —Terrible Encounter.— Crushed to Death in the Arms of a Monster.—Ned Land saved by the Captain.—“ Only Revenge. ”.298 "hapter XIX. — The Gulf Stream. — Phosphoresoent Waters.— Longings for Liberty.—Nostalgia.—“ Whoever enters the Nautilus never quits it.’’—However, Ned resolves to be free.—Terrific Tem¬ pest ofl; the Long Island Shore.306 Chapter XX.—A Visit to the Atlantic Cable.—Scene of the Acci¬ dent in 1863.—Toward the British Isles. — Land’s End. — Tho “Avenger.”.314 Chapter XXI.—Mysterious Existence of Captain Nemo unveiled. —Retaliation.—Ned Land Stricken down with an Iron Hand.—The Black Flag unfurled.—Unwilling witnesses of a dreadful Drama. —The Archangel of Hatred in Tears !.319 Chapter XXII.—Rapid Flight of the Nautilus to the Northern Seas.—In Sight of Land.—Plans for Escape perfected. — Last Words of Captain Nemo.—The Maelstrom ! the Maelstrom !—Into the Midst of the Whirlpool.—I lose ail Consciousness.327 Chapter XXIII.—A Marvelous Escape, and End of the Votag* Under the Seas. 834 V t / V ' ,? -•><, .'/**• tCv ■'•• :^3 / t i: \ Jy, > _ Nw ? ,■' ■■^.•>i^^5.i 'Lr: -^^ >»4-« >r**^ *• .^- '*^ "^ntfji f’-t < ft. Twenty Thousand Leagues UNDER THE SEAS. CHAPTER 1 . A SHIFTING REEF. The year 1866 was signalized by a remarkable Incident, d mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten. Not to mention rumors which agitated the maritime population, and excited the public mind, even in the interior of continents, seafaring men were particularly ex¬ cited. Merchants, common sailors, captains of vessels, skippers, both of Europe and America, naval officers of all countries, and the governments of several states on the two continents, were deeply interested in the matter. For some time past, vessels had been met by “ an enormous thing,” a long object, spindle-shaped, occasionally phosphores¬ cent, and infinitely larger and more rapid in its movements than a whale. The facts reiatin ;• to this apparition (entered in various log¬ books) agreed in most respects as to the shape of the object or creature in question, the untiring rapidity of its movements, its surprising power of locomotion, and the peculiar life with which it seemed endowed. If it was a cetacean, it surpassed in size all those hitherto classified in science. Taking into con¬ sideration the mean of observations made at divers times,— rejecting the timid estimate of those who assigned to this object a length of two hundred feet, equally with the exaggerated opinions which set it down as a mile in width and three in length,—we might fairly conclude that this mysterious being surpassed greatly all dimensions admitted by the ichthyologists of the day, if it existed at all. And that it did exist was an un¬ deniable fact; and, with that tendency which disposes the human mind in favor of the marvellous, we can understand 2 l;j 14 TWEIf-TT THOtJSAN© LEAGUES UNEEE TSE SEAS. the exeitemeut produced in the entire world by &is supec^ natural apparition. As to okssing it in the list of fables, the idea was out of the question. On the 20th of July, 18(56, the steamer Governor Hi^inson, of the Calcutta and Burnach Steam Navigation Company, had met this moving mass five miles off the east coast of Australia. Captain Baker thought at first that he was in the presence of an unknown sand-bank ; he even prepared to determine its exact position, when two columns of water, projected by the inexplicable object, shot with a hissing noise a hundred and fifty feet up into the air. Now, unless the sand-bank had been submitted to the intermittent eruption of a geyser, the Governor Higginson had to do neither more nor less than with an aquatic mammal, unknown till then, which threw up from its blow-holes columns of water mixed with air and vapor. Similar facts were observed on the 23d of July in the same year, in the Pacific Ocean, by the Columbus, of the West India and Pacific Steam Navigation Company. But this extraordinary cetaceous creature could transport itself from one place to another with surprising velocity; as, in an interval of three days, the Governor Higginson and the Columbus had observed 4 at two different points of the chart, separated by a distance of more than seven hundred nautical leagues. Fifteen days later, two thousand miles farther off, the Helvetia, of the Compagnie-Nationale, and the Shannon, of the Royal Mail Steamship Company, sailing to windward in that portion of the Atlantic lying between the United States and Europe, respectively signalled the monster to each other in 42° 15' N. lat. and 60° 35' W. long. In these simultaneous observations, they thought themselves justified in estimating the minimum length of the mammal at more than three hundred and fifty feet, as the Shannon and Helvetia were of smaller dimensions than it, though they measured three hundred feet over all. Now the largest w^hales, those which frequent those parts of the sea around the Aleutian, Kulammak, and Umgullich Islands, have never exceeded the length of sixty yards, if they attain that 'these reports arriving one after the other, with fresh dbserva- tions made on bbard the franBaflantic ship Pereira, a coRiSioh TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 15 which occurred between the Etna of the Inman line and the monster, a proce^s verbal directed by the officers of the French frigate Normandie, a very accurate survey made by the staff of Commodore Fitz-James on board the Lord Clyde, greatly in¬ fluenced public opinion. Light-thinking people jested upon the phenomenon, but grave practical countries, such as England, America, and Glermany, treated the matter more seriously. In every place of great resort the monster was the fashion. Iliey sang of it in the cafes, ridiculed it in the papem, and rep¬ resented it on the stage. All kinds of stories were cu'culated regarding it. There appeared in the papers caricatures of every gigantic and imaginary creature, from the white whale, the tenible “ Moby Dick ” of hyperborean regions, to the hnmense kraken whose tentacles could entangle a ship of five hundred tons, and huny it into the abj^ss of the ocean. The legends of ancient times were even resuscitated, and the opinions of Aristotle and Pliny revived, who admitted the existence of these monsters, as well as the Norwegian tales of Bishop Pontop- pidan, the accounts of Paul Heggede, and, last of all, the reports of Mr. Harrington (whose good faith no one could suspect), who affirmed that, being on board the Castilian, in .857, he had seen this enormous serpent, which had never until that time frequented any other seas but those of the ancient “ ComtitutioneV' Then burst forth the interminable controversy between the credulous and the incredulous in the societies of savants and scientific journals. “ The question of the monster ” inflamed all minds. Editors of scientific journals, quarrelling with believers in the supernatural, spilled seas of ink during this memorable campaign, seme even drawing blood; for, from the sea-serpent, tliey came to direct personalities. For six months war was waged with various fortune in the leading articles of the Geographical Institution of Brazil, the Royal Academy of Science of Berlin, the British Association, the Smithsonian Institution of Washington, in the discussions of the “Indian Archipelago,” of the Cosmos of the Abbe Moigno, in the Mittheilungen of Petermann, in the scientific chronicles of the great journals of France and other countries. 2 16 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. The cheaper journals replied keenly and with inexhaustible zest. These satirical writers parodied a remark of Linnseus, quoted by the adversaries of the monster, maintaining “ that nature did not make fools,” and adjured their contemporaries not to give the lie to nature, by admitting the existence of krakens, sear serpents, “ Moby Dicks,” and other lucubrations of delirious sailors. At length an article in a well-known satirical journal by a favorite contributor, the chief of the stRtf, settled the monster, like Hippolytus, giving it the death-blow amidst a universal burst of laughter. Wit had conquered science. During the first months of the year 1S67, the question seemed buried never to revive, when new facts were brought before the public. It was then no longer a scientific problem to be solved, but a real danger seriously to be avoided. The question took quite another shape. The monster became a smaU island, a rock, a reef, but a reef of indefinite and shifting proportions. On the 6th of March, 1867, the Moravian, of the Montreal Ocean Company, finding herself diu'ing the night in 27° 30' lat. and 72° 15' long., struck on her starboard quarter a rock, marked in no chart for that part of the sea. Under the combined efforts of the wind and its four hundred horse-power, it was going at the rate of thirteen knots. Had it not been for the superior strength of the hull of the Moravian, she would have been broken by the shock, and gone down with the 237 passengers she was bringing home from Canada. The accident happened about five o’clock in the morning, as the day was breaking. The officers of the quarter-deck hurried to the after-part of the vessel. They examined the sea with the most scrupulous attention. They saw notliing but a strong eddy about three cables’ length distant, as if the surface had been violently agitated. The bearings of the place were taken exactly, and the Moravian continued its route without apparent damage. Had it struck on a submerged rock, or on an enor¬ mous wreck? they could not tell; but on examination of the ship’s bottom when undergoing repairs, it was found that part of her keel was broken. This fact, so grave in itself, might perhaps have been forgot¬ ten lilte many others, if, three weeks after, it had not been re- TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 17 lyiactind under similar circumstances. But, thanks to the nation¬ ality of the victim of the shock, thanks to the reputation of the company to which the vessel belonged, the circumstance became extensively circulated. The 13th of April, 1867, the sea being beautiful, the breeze favorable, the Scotia, of the Cunard Company’s line, found her¬ self in 15° 12' long, and 45° 37' lat. She was going at the speed of thirteen knots and a half. At seventeen minutes past four in the afternoon, whilst the passengers were assembled at lunch in the great saloon, a slight shock was felt on the hull of the Scotia, on her quarter, a little aft of the port paddle. The Scotia had not struck, but she had been struck, and seem¬ ingly by something rather sharp and penetrating than blunt. The shock had been so slight that no one had been alarmed, had it not been for the shouts of the carpenter’s watch, who rushed on to the bridge, exclaiming, “ We are sinking ! we are sink¬ ing !” At first the passengers were much frightened, but Cai)- tain Anderson hastened to reassure them. The danger could not be imminent. The Scotia, divided into seven compartments by strong partitions, could brave with impunity any leak. Cap¬ tain Anderson went down immediately into the hold. He found that the sea was pouring into the fifth compartment; and the rapidity of the influx proved that the force of the water was considerable. Fortunately this compartment did not hold the boilers, or the fires would have been immediately extinguished. Captain Anderson ordered the engines to be stopped at once, and one of the men went down to ascertain the extent of the injury. Some minutes afterwards they discovered the existence of a large hole, of two yards in diameter, in the ship’s bottom. Such a leak could not be stopped; and the Scotia, her paddles half submerged, was obliged to continue her course. She was then three hundred miles from Cape Clear; and after three days’ delay, which caused great uneasiness in Liverpool, she entered the basin of the company. The engineers visited the Scotia, which was put in dry-dock. They could scarcely believe it possible: at two yards and a half below water-mark was a regular rent, in the form of an isosceles 18 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. triangle. The broken place in the iron plates was so perfectly defined, that it could not have been more neatly done by a punch. It was clear, then, that the instrument producing the perforation was not of a common stamp; and after having been driven with prodigious strength, and piercing an iron plate 1% inches thick, had withdrawn itself by a retrograde motion truly inexplicable. Such was the last fact, which resulted in exciting once more the torrent of public opinion. From this moment, all unlucky casualties which could not be otherwise accounted for were put down to the monster. Upon this imaginary creature rested the responsibility of all these shipwrecks, which unfortunately were considerable; for of three thousand ships whose loss was annually recorded at Lloyds’, the number of sailing and steam ships supposed to be totally lost^ from the absence of all news, amounted to not less than two hundred. Now, it was the “monster” who, justly or unjustly, was ac¬ cused of their disappearance, and, thanks to it, communication between the different continents became more and more danger¬ ous. The public demanded peremptorily that the seu should at any prioe be relieved from this formidable cetacean. CHAPTER II. PRO AND CON. At the period when these events took place, I had just re¬ turned from a scientific research in the disagreeable territory of Nebraska, in the United States. In virtue of my office as Assist¬ ant Professor in the Museum of Natural History in Paris, the French government had attached me to that expedition. After six months in Nebraska, I arrived in New York towards the end of March, laden with a precious collection. My departure for France was fixed for the first days in May. Meanwhile, I was occupying myself in classifying my mineralogical, botanical, and zoological riches, when the accident happened to the Scotia. I was perfectly up in the subject which was the question of the day. How could I be otherwise ? I had read and re-read all the American and European papers without being any nearer a conclusion. This mystery puzzled me. Under the impossibility of forming an opinion, I jumped from one extreme to the other. That there really was something could not be doubted, and the incredulous were invited to put their finger on the wound of the Scotia. On my arrival at New York, the question was at its height. The hypothesis of the floating island, and the unapproachable sand-bank, supported by minds little competent to forma judg¬ ment, was abandoned. And, indeed, unless this shoal had a machine in its stomach, how could it change its position with such astonishing rapidity ? From the same cause, the idea of a floating hull of an enor¬ mous wreck was given up. There remained then only two possible solutions of the question, which created two distinct parties : on one side, J 9 30 TWENTY THOUSAiO) LEAGUES UNDEE THE SEAS. those who were for a monster of colossal strength ; on the other, those who were for a submarine vessel of enormous mo¬ tive power. But this last hjiJothesis, plausible as it was, could not stand against inquiries made in both worlds. That a private gentle¬ man should have such a machine at his command was not likely. Where, when, and how was it built ? and how could its construction have been kept secret ? Certainly a govern¬ ment might possess such a destructive machine. And in these disastrous times, when the ingenuity of man has multiplied the power of weapons of war, it was possible that, without the knowledge of others, a state might try to work such a formidable engine. After the chassepots came the torpedoes, after the torpedoes the submarine rams, then—the reaction. At least, I hope so. But the hypothesis of a war-machine fell before the declarar tion of governments. As public interest was in question, and tran»tlantic communications suffered, their veracity could not be doubted. But, how admit that the construction of this sub¬ marine boat had escaped the public eye ? For a private gentle¬ man to keep the secaret under such circumstances would be very difficult, and for a state whose every act is persistently watched by iwwerful rivals, certainly impossible. After inquiries made in England, France, Russia, Prussia, Spain, Italy, and America, even in Turkey, the hypothesis of a submarine monitor was definitely rejected. Upon my arrival in New York several persons did me the honor of consulting me on the phenomenon in question. I had published in France a work in quarto, in two volumes, entitled, “Mysteries of the Great Submarine Grounds.” This book, highly approved of in the learned world, gained for me a special repuUtlon in this rather obscure branch of Natural History. My advice was asked. As long as I could deny the reality of the fact, I confined myself to a decided negative. But soon finding myself driven into a corner, I was obliged to exidain myself categorically. And even “ the Honorable Herre Aronnax, Ptnfbssor In the Museum of Paris,” wa^ called upon by the N'eiD York Herald to express a definite opinion of some sort. TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 21 I did something. I spoke for want of power to hold my tongue. I discussed the question in all its forms, politically and scientih- cally ; and I give here an extract from a carefully studied article which I published in the number of the 30th of April. It ran as follows “After examining one by one the ditferent hypotheses, rejecting all other suggestions, it becomes necessary to admit the existence of a marine animal of enormous power. “ The great depths of the ocean are entirely unknown to us. Soundings can not reach them. What passes in those remet,e depths,—what beings live, or can live, twelve or fifteen miles beneath the surface of the waters,—what is the organization of these animals,—we can scarcely conjecture. However, the solu¬ tion of the problem submitted to me may modify the form of the dilemma. Either we do know all the varieties of beings which people our planet, or we do not. If we do riot know them all, if Nature has still secrets in ichthyology for us, nothing is more comformable to reason than to admit the existence of fishes, or cetaceans of other kinds, or even of new species, of an oi^anization formed to inhabit the strata inaccessible to sound¬ ings, and which an accident of somf sort, either fantastical or capricious, has brought at long intervals to the upper level of the ocean. “ If, on the contrary, we do know all living kinds, we must necessarily seek for the animal in question amongst those marine beings already classed; and, in that case, I should be disposed to admit the existence of a gigantic narwhal. “ The common narwhal, or unicorn of the sea, often attains a length of axty feet. Increase its size fivefold or tenfold, give it strength proportionate to its size, lengthen its destructive weap¬ ons, and you obtain the animal required. It will have the pro¬ portions determined by the officers of the Shannon, the instru¬ ment required by the perforation of the Scotia, and the power necessary to pierce the hull of the steamer. “ Indeed the narwhal is armed with a sort of ivory sword, u Jialberd, according to the expression Of certain naturalists. The t^ncipal tusk has the hardness of steel Some of these tu^iks have been found buried in the bodies of whales, which the am* 22 TWEISITY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. corn always attacks with success. Others have been drawn out not without trouble, from the bottoms of ships, which they had pierced tlurough and through, as a gimlet pierces a barrel The Museum of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris possesses one of these defensive weapons, two yards and a quarter in length, and fifteen inches in diameter at the base. “ Very well! suppose this weapon to be six times stronger, and the animal ten times more powerful; launch it at the rate of twenty miles an hour, and you obtain a shock capable of pro¬ ducing the catastrophe required. Until further information, therefore, I shall maintain it to be a sea-unicorn of colossal dimensions, armed, not with a halberd, but with a real spur, as the armored frigates, or the “rams” of war, whose massiveness and motive power it would possess at the same time. Tiaus may tills inexplicable phenomenon be explained, unless there be something over and above all that one has ever conjectured seen, perceived or experienced; which is just within the bounds of possibility.” These last words were cowardly on my part; but, up to a cer¬ tain point, I wished to shelter my dignity as Professor, and not give too much cause for laughter to the Americans, who laugh well when they do laugh. I reserved for myself a way of escape. In effect, however, I admitted the existence of the “ monster.” My article was warmly discussed, which procured it a high rep¬ utation. It rallied round it a certain number of partizans. The solution it proposed gave, at least, full liberty to the imagination. The human mind delights in grand conceptions of supernatural beings. And the sea is precisely their best vehicle, the only medium through which these giants (against which terrestrial animals, such as elephants or rhinoceroses, are as notliing) can be produced or developed. The industrial and commercial papers treated the question chiefly from this point of view. The SMp'pirig and Mercantile Gazette, the Lloyds^ List, the Packet-Boat, and the Maritime and Colonial lievieio, all papers devoted to insurance companies which threatened to raise their rates of preniium, were unani¬ mous on this point. Public opinion had been pronounced. The United States were the first in the field; and in New York they TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 58 made preparations for an expedition destined to pursue this narwhal. A frigate of great speed, the Abraham Lincoln, was put in commission as soon as possible. The arsenals were opened to Commander Farragut, who hastened the arming of his frigate; but, as it always happens, the moment it was decided to pursue the monster, the monster did not appear. For two months no one heard it spoken of. No ship met with it. It seemed as if this unicorn knew of the plots weaving around it. It had been so much talked of, even through the Atlantic cable, that jesters pretended that this slender fly had stopped a tele¬ gram on its passage, and was making the m^ost of it. So when the frigate had been armed for a long campaign, and provided with formidable fishing apparatus, no one could tell what course to pursue. Impatience grew apace, when, on the 2d of June, they learned that a steamer of the line of San Francisco, from California to Shanghai, had seen the animal three weeks before in the North Pacific Ocean. The excitement caused by this news was extreme. The ship was revictualled and well stocked with coal. Three hours before the Abraham Lincoln left Brooklyn pier, I received a letter worded as follows :— “ To M. Aronnax, Professor in tlie Museum of Paris, Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York. “ Sir, — If you will consent to join the Abraham Lincoln in this expedition, the government of the United States will with pleasure see France represented in the enterprise. Commander Farragut has a cabin at your disposal. Very cordially yours, “ J. B. Hobson, Secretary of Meurire'^ CHAPTER III I FORM MY RESOLUTION. Three seconds before the arrival of J. B. Hobson’s letter, 1 no more thought of pursuing the unicorn than of attempting the passage of the North Sea. Three seconds after reading the letter of the Honorable Secretary of Marine, I felt that my true voca¬ tion, the sole end of my life, was to chase this disturbing mon¬ ster, and purge it from the world. But I had just returned from a fatiguing journey, weary, and longing for repose. I aspired to nothing more than again see¬ ing my country, my friends, my little lodging by the Jardin des Plantes, my dear and precious collections. But nothing could keep me back ! I forgot all — fatigue, friends, and collections — and accepted without hesitation the offer of the American government. “ Besides,” thought I, “ all roads load back to Europe ; and the unicorn may be amiable enough to hurry me towards the coast of France. This worthy animal may allow itself to be caught in the seas of Europo (for my particular benefit), and I will not bring back less than half a yard of his ivory halberd to the Museum of Natural History.” But in the mean while I must seek tills narwhal in the North Pacific Ocean, which, to return to France, was taking the road to the antipodes. “ Conseil,” I called in an impatient voice. Conseil was my servant, a true, devoted Flemish boy, who had accompanied me in all my travels. I liked him, and he returned the liking .well. He was phlegmatic by nature, regular from principle, zealous from habit, evincing little disturbance at the different surprises of life, very quick with his hands, and apt at any service required of him ; and, despite his names, never giving advice,—‘even when asked for it. 24 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER TUE SEAS. 25 Cotxseil had followed me for the last ten years wherever science led. Never once did he complain of the length or fatigue of a journey, never make an objection to pack his portmanteau for whatever country it might be, or however far away, whether China or Congo. Besides all tliis, he had good health, which defied all sickness, and solid muscles, but no nerves; good morals are understood. This boy was thirty years old, and his age to that of his master as fifteen to twenty. May I be excused for saying that I was forty years old ? But Conseil had one fault, he was ceremonious to a degree, and would never speak to me but in the third person, which was sometimes provoking. “Conseil,” said I again, beginning with feverish hands to make preparations for my departure. Certainly I was sure of this devoted boy. As a rule, I never asked him if it were convenient for him or not to follow me In my travels; but this time the expedition in question might be prolonged, and the enterprise might be hazardous in pursuit of an animal capable of sinking a frigate as easily as a nutshell. Here there was matter for reflection even to the most impassive man in the world. What would Conseil say ? “ Conseil,” I called a third time. Conseil appeared. “ Did you call, sir?” said he, entering. “Yes, my boy; make preparations for me and yourself too. A^e leave in two hours,” “ As you please, sir,” replied Conseil, quietly. “ Not an instant to lose; lock in my trunk all travelling uten- tils, coats, shirts, and stockings,— without counting,— as many as you can, and make haste.” “ And your collections, sir?” observed Conseil. “ We will think of them by and by.” “ What, the archiotherium, the hyracotherium, the oreodons, the cheropotamus, and the other skins?” “ They will keep them at the hotel.” “ And your live Babiroussa, sir?” “They will feed it during our absence; besides, I will give Ardeis to forward our menagerie to France'.” 26 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. “ We are not returning to Paris, tlien?” said Conseii. “ Oh! certainly,” 1 answered evasively, “ by making a cm a.” “ Will the curve please you, sir?” “ Oh! it will be nothing; not quite so direct a road, that is all. We take our passage in the Abraham Lincoln.” “ As you think proper, sir,” coolly replied Conseii. “You see, my friend, it has to ao with the monster,— the famous narwhal. We are going to purge it from the seas. The author of a work in quarto, m two volumes, on the ‘ Mysteries of the Great Submarine Groimds,’ can not forbear embarking with Commander Farragut. A glorious mission, but a danger¬ ous one! We can not tell where we may go; these animals can be very capricious. But we will go whether or no; we have got a captain who is pretty wide awake.” I opened a credit account for Babiroussa, and, Conseii fol¬ lowing, I jumped into a cab. Om* luggage was transported to the deck of the frigate immediately. I hastened on board and asked for Commander Farragut. One of the sailors conducted me to the poop, where I found myself in the presence of a gooddooking officer, who held out liis hand to me. “ Monsieur Pierre Aroimax?” said he. “Himself,” replied I; “Commander Farragut?” “You are welcome. Professor; your cabin is ready for you.” I bowed, and desired to be conducted to the cabin destined for me. The Abraham Lincoln had been well chosen and equipped for her new destination. She was a frigate of great speed, fitted with high-pressure engines which admitted a pressure of seven atmospheres. Under this the Abraham Lincoln attained the mean speed of nearly eighteen knots and a third an hour,— a considerable speed, bui, nevertheless, insufficient to grapple with this gigantic cetacean. The interior arrangements of the frigate corresponded to its nautical qualities. I was well satisfied with my cabin, which was in the after-part, opening upon the gun-room. “We shall be well off here,” said 1 to Conseii. ‘•As well, by your honor’s leave, as a hermit-crab in the shell of a whelk,” said Conseii. TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. S? X left Conseil to stow our trunks conveniently away, and re mounted the poop in order to survey the preparations for de¬ parture. At that moment Commander Farragut was ordering the last moorings to be cast loose which held the Abraham Lincoln to the pier of Brooklyn. So in a quarter of an horn’, per¬ haps less, the frigate would have sailed without me. I should have missed this extraordinary, supernatm'al, and incredible ex¬ pedition, the recital of which may well meet with some scepticism. But Commander Farragut would not lose a day nor an hour in scouring the seas in which the animal had been sighted. He sent for the engineer. “Is the steam full on?” asked he. “Yes, sir,” replied the engineer. “ Go ahead,” cried Commander Farragut. The quay of Brooklyn, and all that part of New York border¬ ing on the East River, was crowded with spectators. Three cheers burst successively from five hundred thousand throats ; thousands of handkerchiefs were waved above the heads of the compact mass, saluting the Abraham Lincoln, until she reached the waters of the Hudson, at the point of that elongated pen¬ insula which forms the town of New York. Then the frigate, following the coast of New Jersey along the right bank of the beautiful river, covered with villas, passed between the forts, which saluted her with their heaviest guns. The Abraham Lin¬ coln answered by hoisting the American colors three times, whose thirty-nine stars shone resplendent from the mizzen- peak; then modifying its speed to take the narrow channel marked by buoys placed in the inner bay formed by Sandy Hook Point, it coasted the long sandy beach, where some thou¬ sands of spectators gave it one final cheer. The escort of boats and tenders still followed the frigate, and did not leave her un¬ til they came abreast of the light-ship, whose two lights marked the entrance of New York Channel. Six bells struck, the pilot got into his boat, and rejoined the little schooner which was waiting under our lee, the fires were made up, the screw beat the waves more rapidly, the frigate skirted the low yellow coast of Long Island ; and at eight bells, after having lost sight in the northwest of the lights of Fire Island, she ran at full steam on to the dai'k waters of the Atlantiow CHAPTER IV. NED LAND. Captain Fabeagut was a good seaman, worthy of the frigate he commanded. His vessel and he were one. He was the soul of it. On the question of the cetacean there was no doubt in his mand, and he would not allow the existence of the animal to be disputed on board. He believed in it as certain good women believed in the leviathan,—by faith, not by reason. The monster did exists and he had sworn to rid the seas of it. He was a kind of Knight of Rhodes, a second Dieudonne de Gozon, going to meet the serpent which desolated the island. Either Captain Farragut would kill the narwhal, or the narwhal would kill the captain. There was no tliird course. The of&cers on board shared the opinion of their chief. They were ever chatting, discussing, and calculating the various chances of a meeting, watching narrowly the vast surface of the ocean. More than one took up his quarters voluntarily in the cross-trees, who would have cuised such a berth under any other circumstances. As long as the sim described its daily course, the rigging was crowded with sailors, whose feet were burnt to such an extent by the heat of the deck as to render it unbearable; still the Abraham Lincohi had not yet breasted the suspected waters of the Pacific. As to the ship’s company, they desired nothing better than to meet the unicorn, to harpoon it. hoist it on board, and despatch it. They watched the sea with eager attention. Besides, Captain Farragut had spoken of a certain sum of two thoiisand dollars, set apart for whoever should first sight the xnonster, were he cabhi-boy, common seaman, or ofiQcer. I leave you to judge how eyes were used on board the Abra¬ ham Lineoln. TV/ENTY TEOtrSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 20 For my own pai't, I was not oehind the others, and lefl; to no one my share of dally observations. The frigate might have been called the Argus, for a hundred reasons. Only one amongst us, Conseil, seemed to protest by his indifference against the question which so interested us all, and seemed to be out of keeping with the general enthusiasm on board. 1 have said that Captain Farragut had carefully provided his ship with every apparatus for catching the gigantic cetacean. No whaler had ever been better armed. We possessed every known engine, from the harpoon thrown by the hand to tlie barbed arrows of the blunderbuss, and the explosive balls of the duck-gun. On the forecastle lay the perfection of a breech- loading gun, very thick at the breech, and very narrow in the bore, the model of which had been in the Exhibition of 1867. This precious weapon of American origin could throw with ease a conical projectile of nine pounds to a mean distance of ten miles. Thus the Abraham Lincoln wanted for no means of deetruo- tion ; and, what was better still, she had on board Ned Land, the prince of harpooners. Ned Land was a Canadian, with an uncommon quickness of hand, and who knew no equal in his dangerous occupation. Skill, coolness, audacity, and cunning he possessed in a 8ui)erior degree, and it must be a cunning whale or a singularly “cute” cachalot to escape the stroke of his harpoon. Ned Land was about forty years of age ; he was a tall man (more than six feet high), strongly built, grave and taciturn, occasionall}’^ violent, and very passionate when contradicted. His person attracted attention, but above all the boldness of his look, which gave a singular expression to his face. Who calls himself Canadian calls himself French; and little communicative as Ned Land was, I must admit that he took a certtiin liking for me. My nationality drew him to me, no doubt. It was an opportunity for him to talk, and for me to hear, that old language of Eabelais, which is still in use in some Canadian provinces. The harpooneFs family was origin¬ ally from Quebec, and was already a tribe of hardy fishermen when this town belonged to France. 3 30 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. Little by little, Ned Land acquired a taste for chatting, and 1 loved to hear the recital of his adventures in the polar seas. He' related his fishing, and his combats, with natural poetry of ex- pression; his recital took the form of an epic poem, and 1 seemed to be listening to a Canadian Homer singing the Iliad of the regions of the North. I am portraying tliis hardy companion as I really knew him. We are old friends now, united in that unchangeable friendship which is born and cemented amidst extreme dangers. Ah, brave Ned! I ask no more than to live a hundred years longer, t’iat I may have more time to dwell the longer on your memory. Now, what was Ned Land’s opinion upon the question of the marine monster ? I must admit that he did not believe in the unicorn, and was the only one on board who did not share that universal conviction. He even avoided the subject, which I one day thought it my duty to press upon liim. One magnificent evening, the 25th June,—that is to say, three weeks after our departure,—the frigate was abreast of Cape Blanc, thirty miles to leeward of the coast of Patagonia. We had crossed the tropic of Capricorn, and the Straits of Magellan opened less than seven hundred miles to the south. Before eight days were over, the Abraham Lmcoln would be plowing the waters of the Pacific. Seated on the poop, Ned Land and I were chatting of one thing and another as we looked at this mysterious sea, whose great depths had up to this time been inaccessible to the eye of man. I naturally led up the conversation to the giant unicorn, and examined the various chances of success or failure of the expedition. But seeing that Ned Land let me speak without saying too much himself, I pressed him more closely. “Well, Ned,” said I, “is it possible that you are not convinced of the existence of this cetacean that we are following ? Have you any particular reason for being so incredulous ? ” The harpooner looked at me fixedly for some moments be¬ fore answering, struck his broad forehead with his hand (a habit of his), as if to collect himself, and said at last, “ Perhaps I have, Mr. Aronnax.” “But, Ned, you, a whaler by profession, familiarized with all TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UUDEA- THE SEAS. «fhe great marine mammalia,—yon, whose imagination might easily accept the hypothesis of enormous cetaceans, — you ought to be the last to doubt under such circumstances ! ” “That is just what deceives you. Professor,” replied Ned. “ That the vulgar should beheve in extraordinary comets travers¬ ing space, and in the existence of antediluvian monsters in the heart of the globe, may well be; but neither astronomers nor geologists believe in such chimeras. As a whaler, I have fol¬ lowed many a cetacean, harpooned a great number, and killed several; but, however strong or well-armed they may have been, neither their tails nor their weapons would have been able even to scratch the iron plates of a steamer.” “ But, Ned, they tell of ships which the teeth of the narwhal have pierced through and through.” “ Wooden ships,—that is possible,” replied the Canadian; “but I have never seen it done; and, until further proof, I deny that whales, cetaceans, or sea-unicorns could ever produce the effect you describe.” “ Well, Ned, I repeat it with a conviction resting on the logic of facts. I believe in the existence of a mammal powerfully or¬ ganized, belonging to the branch of vertebrata, like the whales, the cachalots, or the dolphins, and furnished with a horn of de¬ fense of great penetrating power.” “ Hum! ” said the harpooner, shaking his head with the air of a man who would not be convinced. “ Notice one thing, my worthy Canadian,” I resumed. “ If such an animal is in existence, if it inhabits the depths of the ocean, if it frequents the strata lying miles below the surface of the water, it must necessarily possess an organization the strength of which would defy all comparison.” “And why this powerful organization?” demanded Ned. “ Because it requires incalculable strength to keep one’s self in these strata and resist their pressure. Listen to me. Let us admit that the pressure of the atmosphere is represented by the weight of a column of water thirty-two feet high. In reality the column of water would be shorter, as we are speaking of sea-water, the density of which is greaier than that of fresh water. Very well, when you dive, Ned, as many times thirty-two bS TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA5. feet of water as there are above you, so many times does your body bear a pressure equal to that of the atmosphere, that is to say, 15 lbs. for each square inch of its surface. It follows, then, that at 320 feet this pressure — that of 10 atmospheres, of 100 at¬ mospheres at 3,200 feet, and of 1,000 atmospheres at 32,000 feet, that is, about 6 miles; which is equivalent to saying that, if you could athiin this depth in the ocean, each square % of an inch of the surface of your body would bear a pressure of 5,600 lbs. Ah I my brave Ned, do you know how many square hiches you carry on the surface of your body?” “ I have no idea, Mr. Aronnax.” “About 6,500; and, as in reality the atmospheric pressure is about 16 lbs. to the square inch, your 6,6(X) square inches bear at this moment a pressure of 07,600 lbs.” “Without my perceiving it?” “ Without your perceiving it. And if you are not crushed by such a pressure, it is because the air penetrates the interior of your body with equal pressure. Hence perfect equilibrium be¬ tween the interior and exterior pressure, which thus neutralize each other, and which allows you to bear it without inconven¬ ience. But in the water it is another thing.” “ Yes, I understand,” replied Ned, becoming more attentive; “ because the water surrounds me, but does not penetrate.” “Precisely, Ned; so that at 32 feet beneath the surface of the sea you would undergo a pressure of 97,500 lbs.; at 820 feet, ten times that pressure; at 8,200 feet, a hundred times that pressure; lastly, at 82,000 feet, a thousand times tliat pressure would be 97,600,000 lbs., —that is to say, that you would be flattened as if you had been drawn from the plates of an hydrauhe machine! ” “ The devil I ” exclaimed Ned. “ Very well, my worthy harpooner, if some vertebrate, several hundred yards long, and large in proportion, can maintain itself in such depths,—of those whose surface is represented by mil¬ lions of square inches, that is by tens of millions of poimds, we must estimate the pressure they undergo. Consider, then, what must be the resistance of their bony structure, and the ^rength of their organization to withstand such presenr;' I TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 33 “ Why! ” exclaimed Ned Land, “ they must be made of iron plates eight inches thick, like the armored frigates.” “ As you say, Ned. And think what destruction such a mass would cause, if hurled with the speed of an express train against the hull of a vessel.” "Yes—certainly—perhaps,” replied the Canadian, shaken by these figures, but not yet willing to give in. "Well, have I convinced you?” "You have convinced me of one thing, sir, which is, that if such animals do exist at the bottom of the seas, they must nec¬ essarily be as strong as you say.” "But if they do not exist, mine obstinate harpooner, how ex¬ plain the accident to the Scotia?” 1 CHAPTER V. , AT A VENTURE. Tiw voyage of the Abraham Lincoln was for a long time marked by no special incident. But one circumstance happen' i which showed the wonderful dexterity of Ned Land, and proved what confidence we might place in him. The 30th of June, the frigate spoke some American whalers, from whom we learned that they knew nothing about the nar¬ whal. But one of them, the captain of the Monroe, knowing that Ned Land had shipped on board the Abraham Lincoln, begged for his help in chasing a whale they had in sight. Com¬ mander Farragut, desirous of seeing Ned Land at work, gave him permission to go on board the Monroe. And fate served our Canadian so well that, instead of one whale, he harpooned two with a double blow, striking one straight to the heart and catching the other after some minutes’ pursuit. Decidedly, if the monster ever had to do with Ned Land’s har¬ poon, I would not bet in its favor. The frigate skirted the southeast coast of America with great rapidity. The 3d of July we were at the opening of the Straits of Magellan, level with Cajpe Vierges. But Commander Farra¬ gut would not take a tortuoiis passage, but doubled Cape Horn. The ship’s crew agreed with him. And certainly it was possi¬ ble that they might meet the narwhal in this narrow pass. Many of the sailors affirmed that the monster could not pass there, “that he was too big for that!” The 6th of July, about three o’clock in the afternoon, the Abraham Lincoln, at fifteen miles to the south, doubled the sol¬ itary island, this last rock at the extremity of the American con¬ tinent to which some Dutch sailors gave the name of their 34 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 35 native town, Cape Horn. The course was taken towards the northwest, and the next day the screw' of ihe frigate was at last beating the waters of the Pacific. “Keep your eyes open!” called out the sailors. And they were opened widely. Both eyes and glasses, a little dazzled, it is true, by the prospect of two thousand dollars, had not an instant’s repose. Day and night they watched the surface of the ocean, and even nyctalopes, whose faculty of seeing in the darkness multiplies their chances a hundred - fold, would have had enough to do to gain ^he prize. I myself, for whom money had no charms, was not the least attentive on board. Giving but few minutes to my meals, but a few hours to sleep, indifferent to either rain or sunshine, I did not leave the poop of the vessel. Now leaning on the netting of the forecastle, now on the taffrail, I devoured with eagerness the soft foam which whitened the sea as far as the eye could reach; and how often have I shared the emotion of the majority of the crew when some capricious whale raised its black back above the waves! The poop of the vessel was crowded in a moment. The cabins poured forth a torrent of sailors and offi¬ cers, each with heaving breast and troubled eye watching the course of the cetacean. I looked, and looked, till I was nearly blind, whilst Conseil, always phlegmatic, kept repeating in a calm voice:— “If, sir, you would not squint so much, you woula see better!” But vain excitement! the Abraham Lincoln checked its speed and made for the animal signalled, a simple whale, or common cachalot, which soon disappeared amidst a storm of execration. But the weather was good. The voyage wms being accom¬ plished under the most favorable auspices. It was then the bad season in Australia, the July of that zone corresponding to our January in Europe; but the sea was beautiful and easily scanned round a vast circumference. The 20th of July, the tropic of Capricorn was cut by 105° of longitude, and the 27th of the same month we crossed the equa¬ tor on the noth meridian. This passed, the frigate took a more decided westerly direction, and scoured the central waters of the Bacific. Commander Farragut thought, and with reason. 36 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAft * that it was better to remain in deep water, and keep clem ot continents or islands, which the beast itself seemed to shun (perhaps because there was not enough water for him ! sug¬ gested the greater part of the crev/). The frigate passed at some distance from the Marquesas and the Sandwich Islands, crossed the tropic of Cancer, and made for the China Seas. We were on the theater of the last diversions t)f the monster; and to say truth, we no longer lived on board. Hearts palpitated fearfuliy, preparing themselves for future incurable aneurism. The entire ship’s crew were undergoing a nervous excitement, of which I can give no idea; they could not eat, they could not sleep; twenty times a day, a misconception or an optica!illusion of some sailor seated on the taffrail would cause dreadful per¬ spirations, and these emotions, tw-enty times repeated, kept us in a state of excitement so violent that a reaction v/as unavoidable. And truly, reaction soon showed itself. For three months, during which a day seemed an age, the Abraham Lincoln fur¬ rowed all the waters of the Northern Pacific, rimning at whales, making sharp deviations from her course, veering suddenly from one tack to another, stopping suddenly, putting on steam, and backing ever and anon at the risk of deranging her ma¬ chinery; and not one point of the Japanese or American coast was left unexplored. The warmest partisans of the enterprise now became its moa ardent detractors. Keaction mounted from the crew to the captain himself, and certainly, had it not been for resolute de¬ termination on the part of Captain Farragut, the frigate would have headed due southward. This useless search could not last much longer. The Abraham Lincoln had nothing to reproach herself with, she had done her best to succeed. Never had an American ship’s crew shown more zeal or patience; its failure could not be placed to their charge,—there remained nothing but to return. This was represented to the commander. The sailors could not hide their discontent, and the service suffered. I will not say there was a mutiny on board, but after a reasonable period of obstinacy. Captain Farragut (as Columbus did) asked for three days’ patience. If in three days the monster did not ap TWENTY TllOtrSAND LEAGUES UNDER IHE SEAS, 81 pear, the man at the helm should give three turns of the wheel, and tne Abraham Lincoln would make for the European seas. This promise was made on the 2d of November. It had th© effect of rallying the ship’s crew. The ocean was watched with renewed attention. Each one wished for a last glance in which to sum up his remembrance. (iJas.ws were used with feverish activity. It was a grand defiance given to the giant narwhal, and he could scarcely fail to answer the summons and “ ap¬ pear.” Two days passed, the steam was at half pressure; a thousand schemes were tried to attract the attention jwid stimulate the apathy of the animal in case it should be met in those parts. Large quantities of bacon were trailed in the wake of the ship, to the great satisfaction (I must say) of the sharks. Small craft radiated in all directions round the Abraham Lincoln as she lay to, and did not leave a spot of the sea unexplored. But the night of the 4th of November arrived without the unveiling of this submarine mystery. The next day, the 5th of November, at twelve, the delay would (morally speaking) expire; after that time, Commander Farra- gut, faithful to his promise, was to turn the course to the south¬ east, and abandon forever the northern regions of the Pacific. The frigate was then in 31° 15' north latitude and 136° 42' east longitude. The coast of Japan still remained less than two hundred miles to leeward. Night was approaching. They had just struck eight bells; large clouds veiled the face of the moon, then in its first quarter. The sea undulated peaceably under the stern of the vessel. At that moment I was leaning forward on the starboard net¬ ting. Conseil, standing near me, was looking straight before him. The crew, perched in the ratlines, examined the horizon, which contracted and darkened by degrees. Officers with then- night-glasses scoured the growing darkness; sometimes the ocean sparkled under the rays of the moon, which darted be¬ tween two clouds, then all trace of light was lost in the dark¬ ness. In looking at Conseil, I could see he was undergoing a httle 88 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. of the general influence. At least I thought so. Perhaps for the first time his nerves vibrated to a sentiment of curiosity. “ Come, Conseil,” said I, “ this is the last chance of pocketing the two thousand dollars.” “May I be permitted to say, sir,” replied Conseil, “that I never reckoned on getting the prize ; and, had the government of the Union offered a hundred thousand c ollars, it would have been none the poorer.” “ You are right, Conseil. It is a foolish affair after all, and one upon which we entered too lightly. What time lost, what useless emotions! We f hould have been back in France six months ago.” ‘ In your little room, sir,” replied Conseil, “ anr* in your mu¬ seum, sir ; and I should have already classed ah your fossils, sir. And the Babiroussa would have been installed in its cage in tiie Jm'din des Plantes, and have drawn all the curious people of the capital! ” “As you say, Conseil. I fancy we shall run a fair chance of being laughed at for our pains.” “ That’s tolerably certain,” replied Conseil, quietly ; “ I think they will make fun of you, sir. And, must I say it ? ” — “ Go on, my good friend.” “ Well, sir, you will only get your deserts.” “ Indeed! ” “When one has the honor of being a savant as you are, sir, one should not expose one’s self to — ” Conseil had not time to finish his compliment. In the midst of general silence a voice had just been heard. It was the Toice of Ned Land shouting: “ Look out there! the very thing we are looking for,— on our weather beam I” CHAPTER VI. AT FULL STEAM. At this cry the whole ship’s crew hurried towards the har- pooner,—commander, officers, masters, sailors, cabin-boys ; even the engineers left their engines, and the stokers their furnaces. The order to stop her had been given, and the frigate now simply went on by her own momentum. The darkness was then profound ; and however good the Canadian’s eyes were, I asked myself how he had managed to see, and what he had been able to see. My heart beat as if it would break. But Ned Land was not mistaken, and we all perceived the object he pointed to. At two cables’ lengths from the Abraham Lincoln, on the star¬ board quarter, the sea seemed to be illuminated all over. It was not a mere phosphoric phenomenon. The monster emerged some fathoms from the water, and then threw out that very intense but inexplicable light mentioned in the report of several captains. This magnificent irradiation must have been produced by an agent of great shining power. The lumi¬ nous part traced on the sea an immense oval, much elongated, the center of which condensed a burning heat, whose over¬ powering brilliancy died out by successive gradations. “It is only an agglomeration of phosphoric particles,” cried one of the officers. “ No, sir, certainly not,” I replied. “ Never did pholades or salpse produce such a powerful light. That brightness is of an essentially electrical nature. Besides, see, see! it moves ; it is moving forwards, backwards, it is darting towards us ! ” A general cry arose from the frigate. “ Silence! ” said the captain ; “ up with the helm, reverse the engines.” 40 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. The steam was shut off, and the Abraham Lincoln, beating to port, described a semicircle. “ Right the helm, go ahead,” cried the captain. Tliese orders were executed, and the frigate moved rapidlj from the burning light. I was mistaken. She tried to sheer off, but the supernatural animal approached with a velocity double her own. We gasped for breath. Stupefaction more than fear mad© us dumb and motionless. Tire animal gained on us, sporting with the wa^es. It made the round of the frigate, which was then making fourteen knots, and enveloped it with its electric rings like luminous dust. Then it moved away two or tliree miles, leaving a phosphorescent track, lilte those volumes of steam that the express trains leave behind. All at once from the dark line of the horizon whither it retired to gain its momentum, the monster rushed suddenly towards the Abraham Lincohi with alarming rapidity, stopped suddenly about twenty feet from the hull, and died out, — not diving under the water, for its bril¬ liancy did not abate, — but suddenly, and as if the source of this brilliant emanation was exhausted. Then it reappeared on the other side of the vessel, as if it liad turned and slid under the hull. Any moment a colli uon might have occurred which would have been fatal to us. However, I was astonished at the man¬ oeuvres of the frigate. She fled and did not attack. On the captain’s face, generally so impassive, was an expres¬ sion of unaccountable astonishment. “Mr. Ai'onnax,” he sc.id, “I do not know with what formid¬ able being I have to deal, and I will not imprudently risk my frigate in the midst of this darkness. Besides, how attack this unknown thing, how defend one’s self from it ? Wait for daylight, and the scene will change.” ‘ You have no fmdher doubt, Captain, of the nature of the animal ? ” “ No, sir ; it is evidently a gigantic narwhal, and an eiectric one. “Perhaps,” added I, “one can only approach it with a gym- notus or a torpedo.” “ Undoubtedly,” replied the captain, “ if it possesses such dread- TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 41 fill power, it is tRe most terrible animal that ever was created. That is why, sir, I must be on my guard. The crew were on their feet all night. No one thought of sleep. The Abraham Lincoln, not being able to struggle with such velocity, had moderated its pace, and sailed at half speed. For its part, the narwhal, imitating the frigate, let. the waves rock it at will, and seemed decided not to leave the scene of the struggle. Towards midnight, however, it disappeared, or, to us© a more appropriate term, it “ died out ” hke a large glow-worm. Had it fled ? One could only fear, not hope it. But at seven minutes to one o’clock in the morning a deafening whistling was heard, like that produced by a body of water rushing with great violence. The captain, Ned Land, and I were then on the poop, eagerly peering through the profound darkness. “Ned Land,” asked the commander, “you have often heard the roaring of whales ? ” “Often, sir ; but never such whales the sight of which brought me in two thousand dollars. If I can only approach within four harpoon lengths of it! ” “But to approach it,” said the conunander, “I ought to put a whaler at your disposal ? ” “ Certainly, sir.” “ That will be trifling with the lives of my men.” “ And mine too,” simply said the harpooner. Towards two o’clock in the morning, the burning hght reap¬ peared, not less intense, about five miles to windward of the Abraham Lincoln. Nothwithstnnding the distance, and the noise of the wind and sea, one heard distinctly the loud strokes of the animal’s tail, and even its panting breath.. It seemed that, at the moment that the enormous narwhal had come to take breath at the surface of the water, the air was ingulfed in its lungs, hke the steam in the vast cyhnders of a machine of two thousand horse-power. “ Hum! ” thought I, “ a whale with the strength of a cavalry regiment would be a pretty whale ! ” We were on the qui nve till daylight, and prepared for the combat. The fishing implements were laid along the hammock 42 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. nettings. The second lieutenant loaded the blunderhusses, ^ich could throw harpoons to the distance of a mile, and long duck-guns, with explosive bullets,! which inflicted mortal wounds even to the most terrible animals. Ned Land contented himself with sharpening his harpoon, — a terrible weapon in his hands. At six o’clock, day began to break; and with the first glimmer of light, the electric light of the narwhal disappeared. At seven o’clock the day was sufficiently advanced, but a very thick sear fog obscured our view, and the best spy-glasses could not pierce it. That caused disappointment and anger. I climbed the mlzzen-mast. Some officers were already perched on the mast-heads. At eight o’clock the fog lay heavily on the waves, and its thick scrolls rose little by little. The horizon grew wider and clearer at the same time. Suddenly, just as on tbe day before, Ned Land’s voice was heard:— “The thing itself on the port quarter 1 ” cried the harpooner. Every eye was turned towaids the point indicated. There, a nflle and a half from the frigate, a long blackish body emerged a yard above the waves. Its tail, violently agitated, produced a considerable eddy. Never did a caudal appendage beat the sea with such violence. An immense track, of a dazzling whiteness, marked the passage of the animal, and described a long curve. The frigate approached the cetacean. I examined it thor¬ oughly. The reports of the Shannon and of the Felretia had rather ex¬ aggerated its size, and I estimated its length at only two hun¬ dred and fifty feet. As to its dimensions, I could only conjecture them to be admirably proportioned. While I watched this phenomenon, two jets of steam and water were ejected from its vents, and rose to the height of 120 feet; thus I ascertained its way of breathing. I concluded definitely that it belonged to the vertebrate branch, class mammalia. The crew waited impatiently for their chiefs orders. The latter, rfter having obzorved the animal attentively, called the engineer. Thu engineer ran to him. “ Sir,” said the commander, “ you have steam up ? ” “Yes, sir,” ansv/ered the engineer. “Well, make up your fires and put on all steam.” TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 43 Three huiTahs greeted this order. The time for the struggle had arrived. Some moments after, the two funnels of the frigate vomited torrents of black smoke, and the bridge quaked under the trembling of the boilers. The Abraham Lincoln, propelled by her powerful screw, went straight at the animal. The latter allowed it to come within half a cable’s length; then, as if disdaining to dive, it took a little turn, and stopped a short distance oif. This pursuit lasted nearly three quarters of an hour, without the frigate gaining two yards on the cetacean. It w^as quite evident that at that rate we should never come up with it. “ Well, Mr. Land,” asked the captain, “ do you advise me to put the boats out to sea? ” “No, sir,” replied Ned Land; “because we shall not take that beast easily.” “What shall we do then?” “Put on more steam if you can, sir. With your leave, I mean to post myself mider the bowsprit, and if we get within harpoon¬ ing distance, I shall throw my harpoon.” “Go, Ned,” said the captain.—“Engineer, put on more press¬ ure.” Ned Land went to his post. The fires were increased, the screw revolved forty-three times a minute, and the steam poured out of the valves. We heaved the log, and calculated that the Abraham Lincoln was going at the rate of 18X miles an hour. But the accursed animal swam too at the rate of 18X niiles. I'or a whole hour, the frigate kept up this pace, without gain¬ ing six feet. It was humiliating for one of the swiftest sailers in the American navy. A stubbom anger seized the crew^; the sailors abused the monster, who, as before, disdained to answer them; the captain no longer contented himself with twisting his beard,—he gnawed it. The engineer was again called. “You have turned full steam on?” “Yes, sir,” replied the engineer.* The speed of the Abraham Ilncoln increased. Its masts trem¬ bled down to their stepping-holes, and the clouds of smoke ^ould hardly find way out of the narrow funnels. 44 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. They heaved the loj? a second time. “Well?” asked the captain of the man at the wheel. “ Nineteen miles and three tenths, sir.” “ Clap on more steam.” The engineer obeyed. The manometer showed ten degrees. But the cetacean grew warm itself, no doubt; for, without straining itself, it made miles. What a pursuit! No, I can not describe the emotion that vi¬ brated through me. Ned Land kept his post, harpoon in hand. Several times the animal let us gain upon it. “ We shall catch it! we shall catch it! ” cried the Canadian. But just as he was going to strike, the cetacean stole away with a rapidity that could not be estimated at less than thirty miles an hour, and even dming our maximum of speed it bullied the frigate, going round and round it. * A cry of fury broke from every one I At noon we were no further advanced than at eight o’clock in the morning. The captam then decided to take more direct means. “ Ah! ” said he, “ that animal goes quicker than the Abraham Lincoln. Very well! we will see whether it will escape these conical bullets. Send your men to the forecastle, sir.” The forecastle gun was immediately loaded and slewed round. But the shot passed some feet above the cetacean, which was half a mile off. “ Another more to the right,” cried the commander, “ and five dollars to whoever will hit that infernal beast.” An old gunner, with a gray beard—that I can see now—with steady eye and grave face, went up to the gun and took a long aim. A loud report was heard, with which were mingled the cheers of the crew. The bullet did its work; it hit the animal, but not fatally, and, sliding off the rounded surface, was lost in two miles’ depth of sea. The chase began again, and the captain, leaning towards me, said:—“ I will pursue that beaft till my frigate bursts up.” “Yes,’^ answered I; “and you will be quite right to do it.” I wished the beast would exliaust itself, and not be insensible TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 45 to fatigue, like a steam-engine I But it was of no use. Hours passed without its showing any signs of exhaustion. However, it must be said in praise of the Abraham Lincoln, that she struggled on indefatigably. I can not reckon the dis¬ tance she made under three hundred miles durmg this unlucky day, November the 6th. But night came on, and overshadowed the rough ocean. Now I thought our expedition was at an end, and that we should never again see tlie extraordinary animal. I was mis¬ taken. At ten minutes to eleven in the evening, the electric light reappeared three miles to Avindward of the frigate, as pure, as intense as dming tlie preceding night. The narwhal seemed motionless; perhaps, tired with its day’s work, it slept, letting itself float Avith the undulation of the waA'es. Now Avas a chance of Avhich the captain resolved to take advantage. He gave his orders, Tlie Abraham Lincoln kept up half¬ steam, and advanced cautiously, so as not to awake its adversary. It is no rare thing to meet in the middle of the ocean whales so sound asleep that they can be successfully attacked, and Ned Land had harpooned more than one during its sleep. The Can¬ adian went to take his place again under the bowsprit. The frigate approached noiselessly, stopped at two cables’ length from the animal, and followmg its track. No one breathed; a deep silence reigned on the bridge. V/e were not a hundred feet from the burning focus, the light of which in¬ creased and dazzled our eyes. At this moment, leaning on the forecastle buhvark, I saw bc- loAV me Ned Land gi'appling the martingale in one hand, bran¬ dishing his terrible harpoon in the other, scarcely twenty feet from the motionless animal. Suddenly his arm straightened, and the harpoon was throAvn ; I heard the sonorous stroke of the weapon, Avhich seemed to have struck a hard body. The electric light went out suddenly, and two enormous waterspouts broke ov^er the bridge of th frigate, rushing like a torrent fi’om stem to stern, overthroAving men, and breaking the lashing of the spars. A fearful shock followed, and, throAvn over the rail without liaAing time to stop myself, I fell into the sea. 4 1 CHAPTER VIL AN UNKNOWN SPECIES OF WHALE. This unexpected fall so stunned me that I have no cleai recol lection of my sensations at the time. I was at first drawn down to a depth of about twenty feet. I am a good swimmer (though without pretending to rival Byron or Edgar Poe, who were mas¬ ters of the art), and in that plunge I did not lose my presence of mind. Two vigorous strokes brought me to the surface of the water. My first care was to look for the frigate. Had the crew seen me disappear? Had the Abraham Lincoln veered round? Would the captain put out a boat? Might I hope to be saved? The darkness was intense. I caught a glimpse of a black mass disappearing in the east, its beacon-lights dying out in the distance. It was the frigate I I was lost. “ Help, help I ” I shouted, swimming towards the Abraham Lincoln in desperation. My clothes encumbered me; they seemed glued to my body, and paralyzed my movements. I was sinking I I was suflocatingl “IlelpI” This was my last cry. My mouth filled with water; I struggled against being drawn down the abyss. Suddenly my clothes vere seized by a strong ’ nd, and I felt myself quickly drawn jp to the surface of the sea; and I heard, yes, I heard these words pronounced in my ear:— “ If master would be so good as to lean on my shoulder, master would swdm with much greater ease.” I seized with one hand my faithful Conseil’s arm. “Is it you?’’ said L “vcu?” 46 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 47 “Myself,” answered Conseil; “and waiting master’s orders.” “That shock thr \ y u as well as me into the sea?” “No; but be' master’s service, I followed him.” The worthy thought that was but natural. “And the frigate?” asked. “The frigate?’’ replied Conseil, turning on his back; “I think ihat master had better not count too much on her.” “ You think so?” “I say that, at the time I threw myself into the sea, I heard the men at the wheel say, ‘ The screw and the rudder are broken.’ ” “Broken?” “Yes, broken by the monster’s teeth. It is the only injury the 4braham Lincoln has sustained. But it is a bad lookout for us, —she no longer answers her helm.” “Then we are lost!” “ Perhaps so,” calmly answered Conseil. “ However, we have still several hours before us, and one can do a good dealm some hours.” Conseil’s imperturbable coolness set me up again. I swam more vigorously; but, cramped by my clothes, which stuck to me hke a leaden weight, I felt great difficulty in bearing up. Conseil saw this. “ Will master let me make a slit?” said he; and slipping an open knife under my clothes, he ripped them up from top to bottom very rapidly. Then he cleverly slipped them off me^ while I swam for both of us. Then I did the same for Conseil, and we continued to swim near to each other. Nevertheless, our situation was no less terrible. Perhaps our disappearance had not been noticed; and if it had been, the frig- a" i could not tack, being without its helm. Conseil argued on this supposition, an his plans accordingly. This phlegmatic buy was perfectly self-possessed. We then decided that, as our only chance of safety was being picked up by the Abraham Lincoln’s boats, we ought to manage so as to wait for them as long as possible. I resolved then to husband our strength, so that both should not be exhausted at the same time; and this is how we managed; while one of us lay on our back, quite still, 45 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. with arms crossed, and legs stretched out, the other would swim and push the other on in front. This towing busincii uid not last more than ten minutes each; and relieving each other thus, we could swim on for some hours, perhaps till daybreak. Poor chancel but hope is so firmly rooted in the heart of man! More¬ over, there were two of us. Indeed I declare (though it may seem improbable) if I sought to destroy all hope, if I wished to despair, I could not. The collision of the frigate with the cetacean had occurred about eleven o’clock the evening before. I reckoned then we should have eight hours to swim before sunrise,—an operation quite practicable if we relieved each other. The sea, very calm, was in our favor. Sometimes I tried to pierce the intense dark¬ ness that was only dispelled by the phosphorescence caused by our movements. I watched the luminous waves that broke over my hand, whose mirror-like surface was spotted with silvery rings. One might have said that we were in a bath of quick¬ silver. Near one o’clock in the morning, I was seized with dreadful fatigue. My limbs stiffened under the strain of violent cramp. Conseil was obliged to keep me up, and our preservation de¬ volved on him alone. I heard the poor boy pant; his breathing came short and hurried. I found that he could not keep up much longer. “ Leave me! leave me!” I said to him. “Leave my master? never!” replied he. “Iwoulddroww first.” Just then the moon appeared through the > . cloud that the was driving to tut eaci ’ uc t arf&ce of the sea —..CO. *L i iiS jcmoiy light reanimated US. My g-N:) Dcttcr again. I looked at all the points of the horizon. I saw the frigate! She was five miles from us, and looked like a dark mass, hardly discernible. But no boats! I would have cried out. But what good would it have been at such a distance! My swollen lips could utter no sounds. Conseil could articulate some words, and I heard him repeat at inter¬ vals, “Help! help '''iii movements were •’usuendec ;*oi an 'nstairt' we listened. TWENTY TnOUSAND LEAGUES irNDER THE SEAS. 49 It might be only a singing in the ear, but it seemed to me as if a cry answered the cry from ConseiL “ Did you hear ? ” I murmured. “ Yes ! j"es ! ” And Conseil gave one more despairing call. This time there was no mistake ! A human voice responded to ours! Was it the voice of another unfortunate creature, abandoned in the middle of the ocean, some other victim of the shock sustained by the vessel ? Or rather was it a boat from the frigate, that w^as hailing us in the darkness ? Conseil made a last effort, and leaning on my shoulder, while I struck out in a despairing effort, he raised liimself half out of the water, then fell back exhausted. “ What did you see ? ” “I saw,” murmured he,—“I saw—but do rot talk—reserve all your strength! ” What had he seen ? Then, I know not why, the thought of the monster came into my head for the fu'st time ! But that voice ? The time is past for Jonahs to take refuge in whales* bellies! However, Conseil was towing me again. He raised his head sometimes, looked before us, and uttered a cry of rec¬ ognition, which was responded to by a voice that came nearer and nearer. I scarcely heard it. My strength was exhausted; my fingers stiffened; my hand afforded me support no longer; my mouth, convulsively opening, filled with salt water. Cold, crept over me. I raised my head for the last time, then I sank. At this moment a hard body struck me. I clung to it: then I felt that I was being drawn up, that I was brought to the sur¬ face of the water, that my chest collapsed: I fainted. It is certain that I soon came to, thanks to the vigorous rub¬ bings that I received. I half opened my eyes. “Conseil!” I murmured. “ Does master call me ? ” asked Conseil. Just then, by the waning light of the moon, which was sink¬ ing down to the horizon, I saw a face which was not Conseil’s, and which I immediately recognized. “Ned!” I cried. 50 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. “The same, sir, who is seeking his prize!” replied the Canadian. “ Were you thrown into the sea by the shock of the frigate ? ” “Yes, Professor; but more fortunate than you, I was able to find a footing ahnost directly upon a floating island.” “ An island ? ” “ Or, more correctly speaking, on our gigantic narwhal” “ Explain yourself, Ned 1 ” “ Only I soon found out why my harpoon had not entered its skin and was blunted.” “Why, Ned, why?” “ Because, Professor, that beast is made of sheet-iron.” The Canadian’s last words produced a sudden revolution in my brain. I wriggled myself quickly to the top of the being, or object, half out of the water, which served us for a refuge. I kicked it. It was evidently a hard, impenetrable body, and not the substance that forms the bodies of the great marine mam¬ malia. But this hard body might be a bony carapace, like that of the antediluvian animals; and I should be free to class this monster among amphibious reptiles, such as tortoises or alli¬ gators. Well, no I the blackish back that supported me was smooth, polished, without scales. The blow produced a metallic sound; and incredible though it may be, it seemed, I might say, as if it was made of riveted plates. There was no doubt about it! this monster, this natural phenomenon that had puzzled the learned world, and overthrown and misled the imagination of seamen of both hemispheres, was, it must be owned, a still more astonishing phenomenon, inas much as it was a simply human construction. We had no time to lose, however. We were lying upon the back of a sort of submarine boat, which appeared (as far as I could judge) like a huge fish of steel. Ned Land’s mind was made up on this point. ConseU and I could only agree with him. Just then a bubbling began at the back of this strange thing (which was evidently propelled by a screw), and it began to move. We had oifly just time to seize hold of the upper part, TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 51 which rose about seven feet out of the water, and happily its speed was not great. “As long as it sails horizontally,” muttered Ned Land, “I do not mind; but if it takes a fancy to dive, I would not give two straws for my life.” The Canadian might have said still less. It became really necessary to communicate with the beings, whatever they were, shut up inside the machine. I searched all over the outside for an aperture, a panel, or a man-hole, to use a technical expres¬ sion; but the lines of the iron rivets, solidly driven into tlie joints of the iron plates, were clear and uniform. Besides, the moon disappeared then, and left us in total darkness. At last this long night passed. My indistinct remembrance prevents my describing all the impressions it made. I can only recall one circumstance. During some lulls of the wind and sea, I fancied I heard several times vague sounds, a sort of fu¬ gitive harmony produced by distant wDrds of command. What was then the mystery of this submarine craft of wliich the whole world vainly sought an explanation? What kind of being. existed in this strange boat ? What mechanical agent caused its prodigious speed ? Daybreak appeared. The morning mists surrounded us, but thf'y soon cleared off. I was about to examine the hull, which formed on deck a kind of horizontal platform, when I felt it gradually sinking. “ 0, confound it! ” cried Ned Land, kicking the resounding plate; “ open, you inhospitable rascals ! ” Happily the sinking movement ceased. Suddenly a noise, like iron works violently pushed aside, came from the interior of the boat. One iron plate was moved, a man appeared, uttered an odd cry, and disappeared immediately. Some moments after, eight strong men with masked faces appeared noiselessly, and drew us down into their formidable machine. CHAPTER VIII. MOBILIS IN MOBm. This forcible abduction, so roughly carried out, was accoui- plished with the rapidity of lightning. I shivered all over. Whom had we to deal with ? No doubt some new sort of pirates, who explored the sea in their own way. Hardly had the narrow panel closed upon me, when I was enveloped in darlmess. My eyes, dazzled with the outer light, could distinguish nothiag. I felt my naked feet cling to the rings of an iron ladder. Ned Land and Conseil, firmly seized, followed me. At the bottom of the ladder, a door opened, and shut after us immediately with a bang. We were alone. Where, I could not say, hardly imagine. All was black, and such a dense black that, after some minutes, n)y eyes had not been able to discern even the fahitest glimmer. Meanwhile, Ned Land, furious at these proceedings, gave free vent to his indignation. “ Confound it! ” cried he, “ here are people who come up to the Scotch for hospitality. They only just miss being canni¬ bals. I should not be surprised at it, but I declare that they shall not eat me without my protesting.” “Calm yourself, friend Ned, calm yourself,” replied Conseil, quietly. “Do not cry out before you are hurt. We are not quite done for yet.” “Not quite,” sharply replied the Canadian, “but pretty near, at all events. Things look black. Happily my bowie-knife I have still, and I can always see well enough to use it. The first of these pirates who lays a hand on me—” “Do not excite yourself, Ned,” I said to the harpooner, “and do not compromise us by useless violence. Who knows that 52 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 53 they will not listen to us ? Let us rather try to find out where we are.” I groped about. In five steps I came to an iron wall, made of plates bolted together. Then turning back I struck against a wooden table, near which were ranged several stools. The boards of this prison were concealed under a thick mat of phormium, which Leadened the noise of the feet. The bare walls revealed no trace of window or door. Conseil, going round the reverse way, met me, and we went back to the mid¬ dle of the cabin, which measured about twenty feet by ten. As to its height, Ned Land, in spite of his own great height, could not measure it. Half an hour had already passed without our situation being bettered, when the dense darkness suddenly gave way to ex¬ treme light. Our prison was suddenly lighted, that is to say, it became filled with a luminous matter, so strong that I could not bear it at first. In its whiteness and intensity I recognized that electric light which played round the submarine boat like a magnificent phenomenon of phosphorescence. After shutting my eyes involuntarily, I opened them and saw that this lumi¬ nous agent came from a half-globe, unpolished, placed in the roof of the cabin. “At last one can see,” cried Ned Land, who, knife in hand, stood on the defensive. “ Yes,” said I; “ but we are still in the dark about ourselves.” “Let master have patience,” said the imperturbable Conseil. The sudden lighting of the cabin enabled us to examine it minutely. It only contained a table and five stools. The invisi¬ ble door might be hermetically sealed. No noise was heard. All seemed dead in the interior of this boat. Did it move, did it float on the surface of the ocean, or did it dive into its depths ? I could not guess. A noise of bolts was now heard, the door opened, and two men appeared. One was short, very muscular, broad-shouldered, with robust limbs, strong head, an abundance of black hair, thick mus¬ tache, a quick penetrating look, and the vivacity which charao- terizes the population of Southern France. 54 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. The second stranger merits a more detailed description. A disciple of Gratiolet or Engel would have read his face like an open book. I made out his prevailing qualities directly : self- confidence,—because Ills head was well set on Ids shoulders, and his black eyes looked around with cold assurance ; calmness, — for liis skin, rather pale, showed his coolness of blood ; energy, — evinced by the rapid contraction of his lofty brows ; and cour¬ age,—because his deep breathing denoted great power of lungs, ^\Tiether this person was tliirty-five or fifty years of age, I could not say. He was taU, had a large forehead, straight nose, a clearly cut mouth, beautiful teeth, with fine taper hands, indicative of a highly nervous temperament. This man was certainly the most admirable specimen I had ever met. One particular feat¬ ure was his eyes, rather far from each other, and wliich could take in nearly a quarter of the horizon at once. This faculty—(I verified it later)—gave him a range of vision far superior to Ned Land’s. Wlien this stranger fixed upon an object, his eyebrows met, his large eyelids closed aroimd so as to contract the range of his vision, and he looked as if he magnified the objects lessened by distance, as if he pierced those sheets cf water so opaque to our eyes, and as if he read the very depths of the seas. The two strangers, with caps made from the fur of the sea otter and shod with sea bools of seals’ skin, 'were dressed in clothes of a particular texture, which allowed free movement f the limbs. The taller of the two, evidently the chief on boa- \ examined us with great attention, without saying a v/ord: then turning to his companion, talked with him in an unknown tongue. It was a sonorous, harmonious, and flexible dialect, the vowels seeming to admit of very varied accentuation. The other replied by a shake of the head, and added two or tluree perfectly incomprehensible w'ords. Then he seemed to question me by a look. I replied in good French that I did not know his language; but he seemed not to understand me, and my situation became more embarrassing. “ If master were to tell our story,” said Conseil, “ perhaps thes» gentlemen may understand some w'ords.^’ TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 55 I began to tell our adventures, articulating each syllable clearly, and without omitting one single detail. I announced our names and rank, introducing in person Professor Aronnax, his servant Conseil, and Master Ned Land, the harpooner. The man with the soft calm eyes listened to me quietly, even politely, and with extreme attention; but nothing in his countenance indicated that he understood my story. When I finished he said not a word. There remained one resource, to speak English. Perhaps they would know this almost universal language. I knew it, as well as the German language,—well enough to read it fiuently, but not to speak it correctly. But, anyhow, we must make ourselves understood. “Go on in your turn,” I said to the harpooner; “speak your best Anglo-Saxon, and try4/0 do better than I.” Ned did not beg off, and recommenced our story. To his great disgust, the harpooner did not seem to have made himself more intelligible than I had. Our visitors did not stir. They evidently understood neither the language of Arago nor of Faraday. Very much embarrassed, after having vainly exhausted our philological resources, I knew not what part to take, when Conseil said,— “ If master will permit me, I will relate it in German.” But in spite of the elegant turns and good accent of the narrator, the German language had no success. At last, non¬ plussed, I tried to remember my first lessons, and to narrate our adventures in Latin, but with no better success. This last attempt being of no a^^ail, the two strangers exchanged some words in their unknown language, and retired. The door shut. “ It is an infamous shame,”. cried Ned Land, who broke out for the twentieth time; “we speak to those rogues in French, English, German and Latin, and not one of them has the politeness to answer! ” “ Calm yourself,” I said to the impetuous Ned, “ anger will do no good.” “ But do you see. Professor,” replied our irascible companion, “that we shall absolutely die of hunger L* this iron cage?” 58 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. “Bah,” said Conseil philosophically; “we can hold out some time yet.” “My friends,” I said, “ we must not despair. We have been worse off than this. Do me the favor to wait a little before form¬ ing an opinion upon the commander and crew of this boat.” “ My opinion is formed,” rephed Ned Land, sharply. “ They are rascals.” “Good! and from what country?” “ From the land of rogues ! ” “ My brave Ned, that country is not clearly indicated on the map of the world; but I admit that the nationality of the two strangers is hard to determine. Neither English, French, nor German, that is quite certain. However, I am inclined to think that the commander and his companion were born in low latitudes. There is southern blood in them. But I can not decide by their appearance whether they are Spaniards, Turks, Arabians or Indians. As to their language, it is quite incomprehensible.” “ There is the disadvantage of not knowing all languages,” said Conseil, “ or the disadvantage of not having one universal language.” As he said these words, the door opened. A steward entered. He brought us clothes, coats and trousers, made of a stuff I did not know. I hastened to dress myself, and my companions fol¬ lowed my example. During that time, the steward—dumb, per¬ haps deaf—had arranged the table and laid three plates. “ This is something like,” said Conseil. “ Bah,” said the rancorous harpooner, “ what .do you suppose they eat here ? Tortoise hver, filleted shark, and beafsteaks from sea-dogs.” “ We shall see,” said Conseil. The dishes, of bell-metal, were placed on the table, and we took our places. Undoubtedly we had to do with civilized people, and had it not been for the electric Ught which flooded us, i could have fancied I was in the dining-room of the Adelphi Hotel at Liverpool, or at the Grand Hotel in Paris. I must say, however, that there was neither bread nor wine. The water was fresh and clear, but it was water, and did not suit Ned Land’s taste. Amongst the dishes which were brought to us, I TVvENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 57 recognized several fish delicately dressed; but of some, although excellent, I could give no opinion, neither could I tell to what kingdom they belonged, w'hether animal or vegetable. As to the dinner service, it was elegant, and in perfect taste. Each uten¬ sil, spoon, fork, knife, plate, had a letter engraved on it, with a motto above it, of which this is an exact fac-simile: MOBILIS IN MOBILI. N. The letter N was no doubt the initial of the name of the enig¬ matical person, who commanded at the bottom of the seas. Ned and Conseii did not reflect much. They devoured the food, and I did likewise. I was, besides, reassured as to our fate; and it seemed evident that our hosts would not let us die of want. However, every thing has an end, every thing passes away, even the hunger of people who have not eaten for fifteen horns. Our appetites satisfied, we felt overcome with sleep. “ Faith! I shall sleep well,” said Conseii. “ So shall I,” replied Ned Land. My two companions stretched themselves on the cabin carpet, and were soon sound asleep. For my own part, too many ’ thoughts crowded my brain, too many insoluble questions pressed upon me, too many fancies kept my eyes half open. Where were we? What strange power carried us on? I felt—or rather fancied I felt—the machine sinking down to the lowest beds of the sea. Dreadful nightmares beset me; I saw in these myste¬ rious asylums a world of unknown animals, amongst which this submarme boat seemed to be of the came kind, living, moving, and formidable as they. Then my brain grew calmer, my imag¬ ination wandered into vague imconscioJisness. and I soon tell into a deep sleep, CHAPTER IX NED LAND’S TEMPEUS. How long we slept I do not know ; but our sleep must hare lasted long, for it rested us completely from our fatigues. I wok© first. My companions had not moved, and were still stretched in their comer. Hardly roused from my somewhat hard couch, I felt my brain freed, my mind clear. I then began an attentive examination of our cell. Nothing was changed inside. The prison was still a prison ; the prisoners, prisoners. However, the steward, dur¬ ing our sleep, had cleared the table. I breathed with difficulty. The heavy air seemed to oppress my lungs. Although the cell was large, we had evidently consumed a great part of the oxygen that it contained. Indeed, each man consumes, in one hour, the oxygen contained in more than 176 pints of air, and this air, charged (as then) with a nearly equal quantity of carbonic acid, becomes unbreathable. It became necessary to renew the atmosphere of our prison, and no doubt the whole in the submarine boat. That gave rise to a question in my mind. How would the commander of this floating dwelling-place proceed ? Would he obtain air by chemical means, in getting by heat the oxygen contained in chlorate of potass, and in absorbing carbonic acid by caustic potash ? Or, a more convenient, economical, and consequently more probable alternative, would he be satisfied to rise and take breath at the surface of the water, like a cetacean, and so renew for twenty-four hours the atmospheric provision ? In fact, I was already obliged to increase my respirations to eke out of this cell the little oxygen it contained, when sudden¬ ly I was refreshed by a current of pure air, and perfumed with ^58 Twenty thousand leagues undeE, the seas. o§ saline emanations. It was an invigorating sea breeze, charged with iodine. I opened my mouth wide, and my lungs saturated themselves with fresh particles. At the same time I felt the boat rolling. The iron-plated mon¬ ster had evidently just risen to the surface of the ocean to breathe, after the fashion of whales. I found out from that the mode of ventilating the boat. When I had inhaled this air freely, I sought the conduit-pipe, which conveyed to us the beneficial wliiff, and I was not long in finding it. Above the door was a ventilator, through which vol¬ umes of fresh air renewed the impoverished atmosphere of the ceil. 1 was making my observations, when Ned and Conseil awoke almost at the same time, under the influence of this reviving air. They rubbed their eyes, stretched themselves, and were on their feet in an instant. “ Did master sleep well ?” asked Conseil, with his usual polite¬ ness. “ Very well, my brave boy. And you, Mr. Land ?” “ Soundly, Professor. But I don’t know if I am right or not; there seems to be a sea-breeze I” A seaman could not be mistaken, and I told the Canadian aU that had passed during his sleep. “ Good I” said he ; “ that accounts for those roarings we heard when the supposed narwhal sighted the Abraham Lincoln.” “ Quite so. Master Land ; it was taking breath.” “ Only, Mr. Aronnax, I have no idea what o’clock it is, unless it is dinner-time.” “ Dinner-time ! my good fellow ? Say rather breakfast-time, for we cerh ly have begun another day.” “ So,” said Conseil, “ we have slept twenty-four hours ?” “ That is my opinion.” “ I wiU not contradict you,” replied Ned Land. “ But dinner or breakfast, the steward will be welcome, whichever he brings.” “ Master Land, we must conform to the rules on board, and I suppose our appetites are in advance of the dinner-hour.” “ That is just like you, friend Conseil,” said Ned, impatiently. 60 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. “ You are never out of temper, always calm ; you would return thanks before grace, and die of himger rather than complain !” Time was getting on, and we were fearfully hungry; and this time the steward did not appear. It was rather too long to leave us, if they really had good intentions towards us. Ned I^nd, tormented by the cravings of hunger, got still more angry ; and notwithstanding his promise, I dreaded an explosion when he found himself with one of the crew. For two hours more, Ned Land’s temper increased; he cried, he shouted, but in vain. The walls were deaf. There was no sound to be heard in the boat; all was stiU as death. It did not move, for I should have felt the trembhng motion of the hull under the influence of the screw. Plunged in the depths of the waters, it belonged no longer to earth:—this silence was dreadful. I felt terrified, Conseil was calm, Ned Land roared. Just then a noise was heard outside. Steps sounded on the metal flags. The locks were turned, the door opened, and the steward appeared. Before I could rush forward to stop him, the Canadian had tlHown him down, and held him by the throat. The steward was choking under the grip of his powerful hand. Conseil was-already trying to unclasp the harpooner’s hand from his half-suffocated victim, and I was going to fly to the rescue, when suddenly I was nailed to the spot by hearing these words in French,— “Be quiet. Master Land: and you. Profess©!, will you be so good as to listen to me V CHAPTER X THE MAN OF THE SEAS. It was the commander of the vessel who thus spoke. At these words, Ned Land rose suddenly. The steward, nearly strangled, tottered oi’t on a sign from his master; but Buch was the power of the commander on board, that not a gesture betrayed the resentment which this man must have felt towards the Canadian, '^onseil interested in spite of himself, I stupefied, awaited in silence the result of this scene. The commander, leaning against a corner of the table with his arms folded, scanned us with profound attention. Did he hesitate to speak ? Did he regret the words which he had just spoken in French? One might almost think so. After some moments of silence, which not one of us dreamed of breaking, “Gc tlemen,” said in a calm and penetrating voice, “T speak French, English, German, and Latin equally well. I could, therefore, ha e answered you rt ur first inter¬ view, but I wished to know you first, then to reflect. The story told by each one, entirely agreeing in the main points, con¬ vinced me of your identity. I know now that chance has brought before me M. Pierre Aronnax, Professor of Natural History at the Museum of Paris, intrusted with a scientific mis¬ sion abroad; Conseil, his servant; and Ned Land, of Canadian origin, harpooner on board the frigate Abraham Lincoln of the navy of the United States of America.” I bowed assent. It was not a question that the commander put to me. Therefore there was no answer to be made. This man expressed himself with perfect ease, without any accent His sentences were well tumed, his words clear, and his fluency 62 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. of speech remarkable. Yet, I did not recognize in him a fel« low-countryman. He continued the conversation in these terms:— “ You have doubtless thought, sir, that I have delayed long in paying you this second visit. The reason is that, your identity recognized, I wished to weigh maturely what part to act to¬ wards you. I have hesitated much. Most annoying circum¬ stances have brought you into the preseDr=p of a man who has broken all the ties of humanity. You have come to trouble my existence.” “ UnintentionaUy I ” said I. “ Unintentionally ? ” replied the stranger, raising his voice a little; “was it unintentionally that the Abraham Lincoln pur¬ sued me aU over the seas ? Was it unintentionally that you took passage ■" Ibis friga^ ? Was it unintentionally that your cannon-balls rebounded off t plating of my vessel? Was it unintentionally that Mr. Ned Land struck me with his har¬ poon ? ” I detected a restrained irri^'tio in these words. But to these recriminations I had a rcr. natural answer to make, and I made it. “ Sir,” said I, “ no doubt you are ignorant of the discussions which have taken place concerning you in America and Europe. You do not know 'h-1 divers accidents, caused by collisions with your submarine machiu ha excit . public fLcling in the two continents. I omit thr liypotl.'ises without immber by which it was sought to explain le inexplicable phenomenon of which you alone possess the secret. But you must understand that, in pur¬ suing you over the high seas of the Pacific, e Abraham Lin¬ coln believed itself to be chasing some powerful sea-monster, of which it was necessary to rid the ocean at any price.” A half-smile curled the lips of the commander: then, in a calmer tone:— “M. Aronnax,” he replied, “dare you afiBnu that your frigate would not as soon have pursued and cannonaded a submarine boat as a monster?” This question embarrassed me, for certainly Captain Farragut might not have hesitated. He might have thought it his duty to TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 83 d’istroy >,• contrivance of this kind, as he would a gigantic nar- V hal. “ You understand then, sir,” continued the stranger, “ that I b we thto right to treat you as enemies?” I answered nothing, purposely. For what good would it he b' discuss ir in the memory of the dead all chrono¬ logical differences are effaced; and I am "dead. Professor; as much dead as those of your friends who are sleeping six feet under the earth! ” Captain Nemo was silent, and seemed lost in a profound revery. I contc 'plated him with deep interest, analyzing in silence the strange expression f his countenance. Leaning on his elbow against an angle of a costly mosaic table, he no longer saw me,— he had forgotten my presence. I did not C^-lurb this revery, and continued my observation of the curiosities which vjnriched this drawing-room. Under elegant glass cases, fixed by copper rivets, were classed and labelled the most precious productions of the sea which had ever been presented to the eye of a naturalist. My delight as a professor may be conceived. The division containing the zoophytes presented the most curious specim ^rs of the two groups of polypi and echinodermes- In the first group, the tubipores, were gorgones arranged I \ • fan, soft sponges of S^Tia, ises of the Moluccas, pennatules, an admirable virgularia of th Norwegian seas, variegated umbellul- ainu, alcyonariae, a whole series of madrepores, vdiich my master Milne-Edwards has so c-cyjrly classified, amongst which I re- 72 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. marked some wonderful flabellinse, oculince of the island of Bourbon, the “ Neptune’s car ” of the Antilles, superb varieties of c- >ral8, in short, every species of those curious polypi of which entire islands are formed, which will one day become continents. Of the echinodermes, remarkable for their coatmg of spines, asteri, sea-stars, pantacrin®, comatuies, asterophons, echini, hol- othuri, etc., represented individually a complete collection of this group. A somewhat nervous conchyliologist would certainly have fainted before other more numerous cases, in which were clas' sified the specimens of molluscs. It was a collection of uiesti- mable value, which time fails me to describe minutely. Amongst these specimens, I will quote from memory only the elegant royal hammer-fish of the Indian Ocean, whose regular white spots stood out brightly on a red and brown ground, an imperial spondyle, bright colored, bristling with spines, a rare specimen in the European museums (I estimated its value at not less than £1,000); a common hammer-fish of the seas of New Holland, which is only procured with difficulty; exotic buccardia of Sene¬ gal; fragile white bivalve shells, v/hich a breath might shatter like a soap-biioble; several varieties of the aspirgillum of Java, a kind of calcareous tube, edged with leafy f Ids, and much debated by amateurs; a whole series of trochi, some a greenish- yellow, found the American seas, others a reddish-brown, natives of Australian waters; others from the Gulf of Mexico, re¬ markable for their imbricated shell; stellar! fo’ip. l in the South¬ ern Seas; and last, the rarest of all, the magnificent spur of New Zealand; and every description of delicate and fragile shells to which science has given appropriate names. Apart, in separate compartments, were spread out chaplets of pearls of the greatest beauty, which reflected the electric light in little sparks of fire; pink pearls, torn ' m the pinna-marina of the Red Sea; green pearls of the haliotyde iris; yellow, blue, and black pearls, the curious nroduetions of the divers molluscs of every ocean, and certain mussels of the watercourses of the North; lastly, several specimens of inestimable value which had been gathered from the rarest pintedines. Some of these pearls were larger than a pigeoii’a .‘gg, and were worth ag TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 73 much, and more than that which the traveller Tavernier sold to the Shall of Persia for three millions, and surpassed the one in the possession of the Imaum of Muscat, which I had believed to be unrivalled in the world. Therefore, to estimate the value of this collection was simply impossible. Captain Nemo must have expended millions in the acquirement of these various specimens, and I was thinking what source he could have drawn from, to have been able thus to gratify his fancy for collecting, when I was interrupted by these words:— “You are examining my shells. Professor? Unquestionably they must be interesting to a naturalist; but for me they have a far greater charm, for I have collected them all with my own band, and there is not a sea on the face of the globe which has escaped my researches.” “I can understand. Captain, the delight of wandering about in the midst of such riches. You are one of those who have collected their treasures themselves. No museum in Europe possesses such a collection of the produce of the ocean. But if I exhaust all my admiration upon it, I shall have none left for the vessel which carries it. I do not wish to pry into yom* se¬ crets; but I must confess that this Nautilus, with the motive power which is confined in it, the contrivances which enable it to be worked, the powerful agent which propels it, all excite my curiosity to the highest pitch. I see suspended on the walls of this room instruments of whose use I am ignorant.” “ You will lind tliese same instruments in my own room. Pro¬ fessor, where I shall have much pleasure in explaining their use to you. But first come and inspect the cabin which is set apart for your own use. You must see how you will be accom¬ modated on board the Nautilus.” I followed Captain Nemo, who, by one of the doors opening from each panel of the drawing-room, regained tlie waist. He conducted me towards the bow, and there I found, not a cabin, but an elegant room, with a bed, dressing-table, and several other pieces of furniture. I could only thank my host. ^ Your room adjoins mine,” said he, opening a door, “ ami Q 74 TWENTY THOU?iND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. nune opens into wie drawing-room tliat we have just quitted.” I entered the captain’s room; it had a severe, almost a monk¬ ish, aspect. A small iron bedstead, a table, some articles for the toilet; the whole lighted by a skylight. No comforts, the strict¬ est necessaries only. Captain Nemo pointed to a seat. “ Be so good as to sit down,” he said. I seated myself, and lie began thu'" * — CH/.PTER Tl. AL BY ^LECTEICITY. “ Sir,” said Captain Nemo, showing me the instruments hang¬ ing on the walls of his room, “ here are the contrivances re¬ quired for the navigation of the Nautilus. Here, as in the drawing-room, I have them always under my eyes, and they in¬ dicate my position and exact direction in the middle of the ocean. Some are known to you, such as the thermometer, which gives the internal temperature of the Nautilus; the barometer, which indicates the weight of the air and foretells the changes of the weather; the hygrometer, which marks the drjmess of the atmosphere; the storm-glass, the contents of which, by decomposing, announce the approach of tempests; the compass, which guides my course; the sextant, which shows the latitude by the altitude of the sun; chronometers, by which I calculate the longitude; and glasses for day and night, which I use to examine the points of the horizon when the Nautilus rises to the sm'face of the waves.” “ These are the usual nautical instruments,” I rephed, “ and I know the use of them. But these others, no doubt, answer to the particular requirements of the Nautilus. This dial with the movable needle is a manometer, is it not ?” “ It is actually a manometer. But by communication with the water, whose external pressure it indicates, it gives our depth at the same time.” “And these other instruments, the use of which I can not guess?” “ Here, Professor, I ought to give you some explanations. Will you be kind enough to listen to me ?” He was silent for a few moments, then he said: — 6 75 76 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. “ There is a powerful agent, obedient, rapid, easy, which con¬ forms to every use, and reigns supreme on hoard my vessel. Every thing is done by means of it. It lights it, warms it, and is the soul of my mechanical apparatus. This agent is electricity.” “ Electricity ?” I cried in surprise. “ Yes, sir.” “Nevertheless, Captain, you possess an extreme rapidity of movement, which does not agree well with the power of elec¬ tricity. Until now its dynamic force has remained under re¬ straint, and has only been able to produce a small amount of power.” “Professor,” said Captain Nemo, “my electricity is not every body’s. You Imow what sea-water is composed of. In a thorn sand grammes are found per cent, of water, and about per cent, of chloride of sodium ; then, in a smaller quantity, chlorides of magnesium and of potassium, bromide of mag¬ nesium, sulphate of magnesia, sulphate and carbonate of lime. You see, then, that chloride of sodium forms a large part of it. So it is this sodium that I extract from sea-water, and of which I compose my ingredients. I ov/e all to the ocean ; it produces electricity, and electricity gives heat, light, motion, and, in a word, life to the Nautilus.” “ But not the air you breathe ? ” “ 0, I could manufacture the air necessary for my consump¬ tion, but it is useless, because I go up to the surface of the water when I please. However, if electricity does not furnish me with air to breathe, it works at least the powerful pumps that are stored in spacious reservoirs, and which enable me to prolong at need, and as long as I will, my stay in the depths of the sea. It gives a uniform and unintermittent light, which the sun does not. Now look at this clock ; it is electrical, and goes with a regularity that defies the best chronometers. I have divided it into twenty-four hours, like the Italian clocks, because for me there is neither night nor day, sun nor moon, but only that factitious light that I take with me to the bottom of the sea. Look! just now, it is ten o’clock in the morning.” “ Exactly.” “ Another application of electricity. This dial hanging in front of us indicates the speAd of the Nautilus. An electric TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES-UNDER THE SEAS. 77 thread puts it in communication with the screw, and the needle indicates the real speed. Look ! now we are spinning along with a uniform speed of fifteen miles an hour.” “ It is marvellous ! and I see, Captain, you were right to make use of this agent that takes the place of wind, water, and steam.” “ We have not finished, M. Aronnax,” said Captain Nemo, rising; “if you will follow me, we will examine the stem of the Nautilus.” Really, I knew already the anterior part of this submarine boat, of which this is the exact division, starting from the ship’s head: the dining-room, five yards long, separated from the library by a water-tight partition ; the library, five yards long ; the large drawdng-room, ten yards long, separated from the captain’s room by a second water-tight partition ; the said room, five yards in length ; mine, two and a half yards ; and lastly, a reservoir of air, seven and a half yards, that extended to the bows. Total length thirty-five yards, or one hundred and five feet. The partitions had doors that were shut hermetically by means of india-rubber instruments, and they insured the safety of the Nautilus in case of a leak. I followed Captain Nemo through the waist, and arrived at the center of the boat. There was a sort of well that opened between two partitions. An iron ladder, fastened with an iron hook to the partition, led to the upper end. I asked the captain what the ladder was used for. “ It leads to the small boat,” he said. “ What! have you a boat ? ” I exclaimed, in surprise. “ Of course ; an excellent vessel, light and insubmersible, that serves either as a fishing or as a pleasure boat.” “But then, when you wish to embark, you are obliged to come to the surface of the water ? ” “ Not at all. This boat is attached to the upper part of the hub of the Nautilus, and occupies a cavity made for it. It is decked, quite water-tight, and held together by solid bolts. This laddei leads to a man-hole made in the hull of the Nautilus, that corrO' spends with a similar hole made in the side of the boat. By this double opening I get into the yesseh They shut the one 78 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. belonging to the Nautilus, I shut the other by means of screw pressure. I undo the bolts, and the httle boat goes up to the surface of the sea with prodigious rapidity. I then open the panel of the bridge, carefully shut till then ; I mast it, hoist my sail, take my oars, and I’m off.” “ But how do you get back on board ? ” “I do not come back, M. Aronnax ; the Nautilus comes to me.” “By your orders ?” “By my orders. An electric thread connects us. I telegraph to it, and that is enough.” “Really,” I said, astonished at these marvels, “notliing can be more simple.” After having passed by the cage of the staircase that led to the platform, I saw a cabin six feet long, in which Conseil and Ned Land, enchanted with their repast, were devouring it with avidity. Then a door opened into a kitchen nine feet long, situated be¬ tween the large storerooms. There electricity, better than gas itself, did all the cooking. The streams under the fmmaces gave out to the sponges of platina a heat which was regularly kept up and distributed. They also heated a distilling apparatus, which, by evaporation, furnished excellent drinkable water. Near this kitchen was a bath-room comfortably furnished, with hot and cold water taps. Next to the kitchen was the berth-room of the vessel, sixteen feet long. But the door was shut, and I could not see the man¬ agement of it, which might have given me an idea of the num¬ ber of men employed on board the Nautilus. At the bottom was a fourth partition, that separated this office from the engine-room. A door opened, and I found myself in the compartment where Captain Nemo —certainly an engineer of a very high order—had arranged his locomotive machinery. This engine-room, clearly lighted, did not measure less than sixty-five feet in length. It was divided into two parts ; the first contained the materials for producing electricity, and the second the machinery that connected it with the screw. I examined it with great interest, in order to understand the machinery of the Nautilus. “You see,” said the captain, “I use Bunsen’s contrivances. TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 70 not Ruhinl?:orff s. Those would not have been powerful enough. Bunsen’s are fewer in number, but strong and large, which ex¬ perience proves to be the best. The electricity produced passes forward, where it works, by electro-magnets of great size, on a system of levers and cog-wheels that transmit the movement to the axle of the screw. This one, the diameter of which is nineteen feet, and the thread twenty-three feet, performs about a hundred and twenty revolutions in a second.” “ And you get then ? ” “ A speed of fifty miles an hour.” “ I have seen the Nautilus manoeuver before the Abraham Lincoln, and I have my own ideas as to its speed. But this is not enough. We must see where we go. We must be able to direct it to the right, to the left, above, below. How do you get to the great depths, where you find an increasing resistance, which is rated by hundreds of atmospheres ? How do you return to the surface of the ocean ? And how do you maintain your¬ selves in the requisite medium ? Am I asking too much ?” “ Not at all. Professor,” rephed the captain, with some hesita¬ tion ; “ since you may never leave this submarine boat. Come into the saloon, it is our usual study, and there you will learn all you want to know about the Nautilus.” CHAPTER XII. SOME FIGUBES. A MOMENT after we were seated on a divan in the saloon smoking. The captain showed me a sketch that gave the plan, section, and elevation of the Nautilus. Then he began his description in these words:— “ Here, M. Aronnax, are the several dimensions of the boat you are in. It is an elongated cylinder with conical ends. It is very like a cigar in shape, a shape already adopted in London in several constructions of the same sort. The length of this cylinder, from stem to stern, is exactly 232 feet, and its maximum breadth is twenty-six feet. It is not built quite like yoim long- voyage steamers, but its lines are sufficiently long, and its curves prolonged enough, to allow the water to slide off easily, and oppose no obstacle to its passage. These two dimensions enable you to obtain by a simple calculation the surface and cubic con¬ tents of tlie Nautilus. Its area measures 6,032 feet; and its con¬ tents about, 1,500 cubic yards; that is to say, when completely immersed it displaces 50,000 feet of water, or weighs 1,500 tons. “ When I made the plans for this submarine vessel, I meant that nine tenths should be submerged; consequently, it ought only to displace nine tenths of its bulk, that is to say, only to weigh that number of tons. I ought not, therefore, to have ex¬ ceeded that weight, constructing it on the aforesaid dimensions. “ The Nautilus is composed of two hulls, one inside, the other outside, joined by T-shaped irons, which render it very strong. Indeed, owing to this cellular arrangement it resists like a block, as if it were solid. Its sides can not yield; it coheres spontane¬ ously, and not by the closeness of its rivets; and the homogene- 80 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 81 it/ of its construction, due to the perfect union of the materials, enables it to defy the roughest seas. “ These two hulls are composed of steel plates, whose density is from .7 to .8 that of water. The first is not less than two inches and a half thick, and weighs 394 tons. The second en¬ velope, the keel, twenty inche 5 high and ten thick, weighs alone sixty-two tons. The engine, the ballast, the several accessories and apparatus appendages, the partitions and bulkheads, weigh 961.62 tons. Do you follow all this?” “Ido.” “ Then, when the Nautilus is afloat under these circumstances, one tenth is out of the water. Now, if I have made reservoirs of a size equal to this tenth, or capable of holding 150 tons, and if I fill them with water, the boat, weighing then 1,507 tons, wih be completely immersed. That would happen. Professor. These reservoirs are in the lower parts of the Nautilus. I turn on taps and they fill, and the vessel sinks that had just been level with the surface.” “ Well, Captain, but now we come to the real difficulty. I can understand your rising to the surface; but diving below the surface, does not your submarine contrivance encounter a press¬ ure, and consequently midergo an upward thrust of one atmos¬ phere for every thirty feef of water, just about fifteen pounds per square inch?” “Just so, sir.” “ Then unless you quite fill the Nautilus, I do not see how you can draw it down to those depths.” “Professor, you must not confound statics with dynamics, or you will be exposed to grave errors. There is very little labor spent in attaining the lower regions of the ocean, for all bodies have a tendency to sink. When I wanted to find out the neces¬ sary increase of weight required to sink the Nautilus, I had only tacalculate the reduction of volume that sea-water acquires ac¬ cording to the depth.” “ That is evident.” “ Now, if water is not absolutely incompressible, it is at least capable of very slight compression. Indeed, after the most recent calculations this reduction is only .000136 of an atmos¬ phere for each thirty feet of depth. If we want to sink 3,000 82 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. feet, I should keep account of the reduction of bulk under a pressure equal to that of a column of water of a thousand feet. The calculation is easily verified. Now, I have supplementary reservoirs capable of holding a hundred tons. Therefore I can sink to a considerable depth. When I wish to rise to the level of the sea, I only let off the water, and empty all the reservoirs if I want the Nautilus to emerge from the tenth part of her total capacity.” I had nothing to object to these reasonings. “I admit your calculations. Captain,” I replied; “I should be wrong to dispute them since daily experience confirms them ; but I foresee a real difficulty in the way.” “ What, sir ? ” “When you are about 1,000 feet deep, the walls of the Nauti¬ lus bear a pressure of 100 atmospheres. If, then, just now you were to empty the supplementary reservoirs, to lighten the ves¬ sel, and to go up to the surface, the pumps must overcome the pressure of 100 atmospheres, which is 1,500 lbs. per square inch. From that a power—” “ That electricity alone can give,” said the Captain, hastily. “ I repeat, sir, that the dynamic power of my engines is almost infinite. The pumps of the Nautilus have an enormous power, as you must have observed when their jets of water burst like a torrent upon the Abraham Lincoln. Besides, I use subsidiary reservoirs only to attain a mean depth of 750 to 1,000 fathoms, and that with a view of managing my machines. Also, when I have a mind to visit the depths of the ocean five or six miles below the surface, I make use of slower but not less infallible means.” “ Wffiat are they. Captain ?” “That involves my telhng you how the Nautilus is worked.” “ I am impatient to learn.” “ To steer this boat to starboard or port, to turn, in a word, following a horizontal plan, I use an ordinary rudder fixed on the back of the stern-post, and with one wheel and some tackle to steer by. But I can also make the Nautilus rise and sink, and sink and rise, by a vertical movement by means of two in¬ clined planes fastened to its sides, opposite the center of flotar TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 83 tion, planes that move in every direction, and that are worked by powerful levers iroin the interior. If the planes are kept parallel with the boat, it moves horizontally. If slanted, the Nautilus, according to this inclination, and mider the influence of the screw, either sinks diagonally or rises diagonally as it suits me. And even if I wish to rise more quicldy to the sur¬ face, I ship the screw, and the pressure of the water causes the Nautilus to rise vertically like a balloon filled with hydrogen.” “ Bravo, Captain! But h.ow can the steersman follow the route in the middle of the waters ? ” “The steersman is placed in a glazed box, that is raised above the hull of the Nautilus, and furnished with lenses.” “Are these lenses capable of resisting such pressure ?” “ Perfectly. Glass, which breaks at a blow, is, nevertheless, capable of offering considerable resistance. During some ex¬ periments of fishing by electric light in 1864 in the Northern Seas, we saw plates less than a third of an inch thick resist a pressure of sixteen atmospheres. Now, the glass that I use is not less than thirty times thicker.” “Granted. But, after all, in order to see, the light must ex¬ ceed the darkness, and in the midst of the darkness in the water, how can you see ? ” “ Behind the steersman’s cage is placed a powerful electric reflector, the rays from which light up the sea for half a mile in front.” “Ah! bravo, bravo. Captain! Now I can account for this phosphorescence in the supposed narwhal that puzzled us so. I now ask you if the boarding of the Nautilus and of the Scotia, that has made such a noise, has been the result of a chance rencontre ? ” “Quite accidental, sir. I was sailing only one fathom below the surface of the water when the shock came. It had no bad result.” “None, sir. But now, about your rencontre with the Abra¬ ham Lincoln ? ” “Professor, I am sorry for one of the best vessels in the American navy : but they attacked me, and I was bound to de¬ fend myself. I contented myself, however, with putting the 84 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDEll THE SEAS. ttigate Iwrs de combat: she will not have any difficulty in get* ting repaired at the next port.” “Ah, Commander! your Nautilus is certainly a marvellous boat.” “ Yes, Professor; and I love it as if it were part of myself. If danger threatens one of your vessels on the ocean, the first im¬ pression is the feeling of an abyss above and below. On the Nautilus men’s hearts never fail them. No defects to be afraid of, for the double shell is as firm as iron; no rigging to attend to; no sails for the Avind to carry away; no boilers to burst; no fire to fear, for the vessel is made of u’on, not of wood; no coal to run short, for electricity is the only mechanical agent; no collision to fear, for it alone lives in deep wate»; no tempest to brave, for when it dives below the water, it reaches absolute tranquillity. There, sir I that is the perfection of vessels! And if it is true that the engineer has more confidence in the vessel than the builder, and the builder than the captain himself, you understand the trust I repose in my Nautilus; for I am at once captain, builder, and engineer.” “But how could you construct this wonderful Nautilus in secret?” “ Each separate portion, M. Aronnax, was brought from dif¬ ferent parts of the globe. The keel was forged at Creusot, the shaft of the screw at Penn & Co.’s, London; the iron plates of the hull at Laird’s, of Liverpool; the screw itself at Scott’s, at Glasgow. The reservoirs were made by Call & Co., at Paris; the engine by Krupp, in Prussia; its beak in Motala’s workshop, in Sweden; its mathematical instruments by Hart Brothers, of New York, etc.; and each of these people had my orders under different names.” “But these parts had to be put together and arranged?” “ Professor, I had set up my workshops upon a desert island in the ocean. There my workmen, that is to say, the brave men that I instructed and educated, and myself have put together our Nautilus. Then, when the work was finished, fire destroyed all trace of our proceedings on this island, that I could have jumped over if I had liked.” “ Then the cost of tliis vessel is great? ” TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES ULDEH THE SEAS, ^5 “M. Aronnax, an iron vessel costs £45 per ton. Now the S^autilus weighed 1,500. It came therefore to £67,500, and £80,000 more for fitting it up, and about £200,000 with the works of art and the collections it contains.” “ One last question. Captain Nemo.” “ Ask it. Professor.” “You are rich?” “ Immensely rich, sir; and I could, without missing it, pay the national debt of France.” I stared at the singular person who spoke thus. Was he playing unon my credulity? The future would decide that CHAPTER XIII Tlj; BLAC.1 EIVEB. The portion of the terrestrial globe which is covered by watei is estimated at upwards of eighty millions of acres. This fluid mass comprises two billions two hundred and fifty millions of cubic miles, forming a spherical body of a diameter of sixty leagues, the weight of which would be three quintillions of tons. To comprehend the meaning of these figures, it is neces¬ sary to observe that a quintillion is to a billion as a billion is to unity; in other words, there are as many billions in a quintillion as there are units in a billion. This mass of fluid is equal to about the quantity of water which would be discharged by aU the rivers of the earth in forty thousand years. During the geological epochs, the igneous period succeeded to the aqueous. The ocean originally prevailed everywhere. Then by degrees, in the Silurian period, the tops of the mount¬ ains began to appear, the islands emerged, then disappeared in partial deluges, reappeared, became settled, formed continents, till at length the earth became geographically arranged as we see in the present day. The solid had wrested from the liquid thirty-seven million six hundred and fifty-seven square miles, equal to twelve biUions nine hundred and sixty millions of acres. The shape of continents allows us to divide the waters into five great portions: the Arctic or Frozen Ocean, the Antarctic or Frozen Ocean, the Indian, the Atlantic, and the Pacific Oceans. The Pacific Ocean extends from north to south between the two polar circles, and from east to west between Asia and America, over an extent of 115 degrees of iongitude. It is the TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 87 quietest of seas; its currents are broad and slow, it has medium tides and abundant rain. Such was the ocean that my fate destined me first to travel over under these strange con¬ ditions. “ Sir,” said Captain Nemo, “ we will, if you please, take our bearings and fix the starting-point of this voyage. It is a quarter to twelve, I will go up again to the surface.” The captain pressed an electric clock three times. The pumps began to drive the water from the tanks; the needle of the ma¬ nometer marked by a different pressure the ascent of the Nau¬ tilus, then it stopped. “ We have arrived,” said the captain. I went to the central staircase which opened on to the plat¬ form, clambered up the iron steps, and found myself on the upper part of the Nautilus. The platform was only three feet out of water. The front and back of the Nautilus was of that spindle-shape which caused it justly to be compared to a cigar. I noticed that its iron plates, slightly overlaying each other, resembled the shell which clothes the bodies of our large terrestrial reptiles. It explained to me how natural it was, in spite of all glasses, that this boat should have been taken for a marine animal. Towards the middle of the platform the long-boat, half buried in the hull of the vessel, formed a slight excrescence. Fore and aft rose two cages of medium height with inclined sides, and partly closed by thick lenticular glasses; one destined for the steersman who directed the Nautilus, the other containing a brilliant lantern to give light on the road. The sea was beautiful, the sky pure. Scarcely could the long vehicle feel the broad undulations of the ocean. A light breeze from the east rippled the surface of the waters. The horizon, free from fog, made observation easy. Nothing was in sight. Not a quicksand, not an island. A vast desert. Captain Nemo, by the help of his sextant, took the altitude of the smi, which ought also to give the latitude. He waited for some moments till its disc touched the horizon. Whilst taking observations not a muscle moved, the instrument could not have been more motionless in a hand of marble. 7 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES tJNDEN THE SEAS. “ Twelve o’clock, sir,” said he. “ When you like —” I cast a last look upon the sea, slightly yellowed by the Jap¬ anese coast, and descended to the saloon. “ And now, sir, I leave you to your studies,” added the captain; “ our course is E.N.E., our depth is twenty-six fathoms. Here are maps on a large scale by which you may follow it. The sa¬ loon is at your disposal, and with your permission I will retire.” Captain Nemo bowed, and I remained alone, lost in thoughts all bearing on the commander of the Nautilus. For a whole hour was I deep in these reflections, seeking to pierce this mystery so interesting to me. Then my eyes fell upon the vast planisphere spread upon the table, and I placed my finger on the very spot where the given latitude and longitude crossed. The sea has its large rivers like the continents. They are special currents known by their temperature and their color. The most remarkable of these is known by the name of the Gulf Stream. Science has decided on the globe the direction of five principal currents: one in the North Atlantic, a second in the South, a third in the North Pacific, a fourth in the South, and a fifth in the Southern Indian Ocean. It is even probable that a slxtu current existed at one time or another in the Northern In¬ dian Ocean, when the Caspian and Aral Seas formed but one vast sheet of water. Ai this point indicated on the planisphere one of these cur- i«ntb was rolling, the Kuro-Scivo of the Japanese, the Black River, which, leaving the Gulf of Bengal where it is warmed by the perpendicular rays of a tropical sun, crosses the Straits of Malacca along the cost of Asia, turns into the North Pacific to the Aleutian Islands, carrying with it trunks of camphor-trees and uner indigenous productions, and edging the waves of the ocean with the pure indigo of its warm water. It was this cur¬ rent tliat the Nautilus was to follow. I followed it with my eye; saw it lose itself in the vastness of the Pacific, and felt myself drawn with it, when Ned Land and Conseil appeared at the door of the saloon. My two brave companions remained i^trified at the sight of the wonders spread before them. t\y2.\'TY I'lIOUSAND LEAGUES UNUER THE SEAS. 8d “ Where {iro we, where are we ? ” exclaimed the Canadian. “ In the museum at Quebec ? ” “ My friends,” I answered, making a sign for them to enter, “ you are not in Canada, but on board the Nautilus, fifty yards below the level of the sea.” “ But, M. Aronnax,” said Ned Land, “ can you tell me how many men there are on board ? Ten, twenty, fifty, a hun¬ dred ? ” “I can not answer you, Mr. Land; it is better to abandon for a time all idea of seizing the Naut-ilus or escaping from it. This ship is a masterpiece of modern industry, and I should be sorry not to have seen it. Many people would accept the situa¬ tion forced upon us, if only to move amongst such wonders. So be quiet and let us try and see what passes aromid us.” “ See I ” exclaimed the harpooner, “ but we can see nothing In this iron prison! We are walking—we are sailing—blindly.” Ned Land had scarcely pronounced these words when all was suddenly darkness. The luminous ceiling was gone, and so rapidly that my eyes received a painful impressiofi. We remained mute, not stirring, and not knowing what sur¬ prise awaited us, whether agreeable or disagreeable. A sliding noise was heard; one would have said that panels were work¬ ing at the sides of the Nautilus. “ It is the end of the end ! ” said Ned Land. Suddenly light broke at each side of the saloon, through two oblong openings. The liquid mass appeared vividly lit up by the*electric gleam. Two crystal plates separated us from the sea. At first I trembled at the thought that this fraU partition might break, but strong bands of copper bound them, giving an almost infinite power of resistance. The sea was distinctly visible for a mile aU round the Nauti¬ lus. What a spectacle! VvTiat pen can describe it ? Who could paint the effects of the light through those transparent sheets of water, and the softness of the successive gradations from the lower to the superior strata of the ocean ? We know the transparency of the sea, and that its clearness is far beyond that of rock water. The mineral and organic substances which it holds in suspension heighten its transpar- 7 Do TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. ency. In certain parts of the ocean at the Antilles, under sev¬ enty-five fathoms of water, can be seen with surprising clear¬ ness a bed of sand. The penetrating power of the solar rays does not seem to cease for a depth of ,pne hundred and fifty fathoms. But in this middle fluid travelled over by the Nautilus the electric brightness was produced even in the bosom of the waves. It was no longer luminous water, but liquid light. On each side a window opened into this unexplored abyss. The obscurity of the saloon show^ed to advantage the brightness outside, and we looked out as if this pure crystal had been the glass of an immense aquarium. “You wished to see, friend Ned; well, you see now.” “ Curious! Curious! ” muttered the Canadian, who, forget¬ ting his ill-temper, seemed to submit to some irresistible attrac¬ tion; “and one would come farther than this to admire such a sight!” “ Ah ! ” thought I to myself, “ I understand the life of this man; he has made a world apart for himself, in which he treas¬ ures all his greatest wonders.” For two whole hours an aquatic army escorted the Nautilus. During their games, their bounds, while rivalling each other in beauty, brightness, and velocity, I distinguished the green la- bre; the banded mullet, marked by a double line of black; the round-tailed goby, of a wdiite color, with violet spots on the back; the Japanese scrombrus, a beautiful mackerel of these seas, with a blue body and silvery head; the brilliant azurors, whose name alone defies description; some banded spares, with variegated fins of blue and yellow; some aclostones, the wood¬ cocks of the seas, some specimens of which attain a yard in^ length; Japanese salamanders, spider lampreys, serpents six feet long, with eyes small and lively, and a huge mouth brist¬ ling with teeth; with many other species. Our imagination was kept at its height, interjections followed quickly on each other. Ned named the fish, and Coneeil classed them. I was in ecstasies with the vivacity of their movements and the beauty of their forms. Never had it been given to me to surprise these animals, alive an^* it liberty, in their natural TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER, THE SEAS. element. I will not mention all the varieties which passed be¬ fore my dazzled eyes, all the collection of the seas of China and Japan. These fish, more numerous than the birds of the air, came, attracted, no doubt, by the brilliant focus of the electric light. Suddenly there was daylight in the saloon, the iron panels closed again, and the enchanting vision disappeared. But for a long time I dreamt on till my eyes fell on the instruments hang¬ ing on the partition. The compass still showed the course to be E.N.E., the manometer indicated a pressure of five atmospheres, equivalent to a depth of twenty-five fathoms, and the electric log gave a speed of fifteen miles an hour. I expected Captain Nemo, but he did not appear. The clock marked the hour of five. Ned Land and Conseil returned to their cabin, and I retired to my chamber. My dinner was ready. It was composed of tur¬ tle-soup made of the most delicate hawksbills, of a surmullet served with puff paste (the liver of which, prepared by itself, was most delicious), and fillets of the emperor-holocanthus, the savor of which seemed to me superior even to salmon. I passed the evening reading, writing and thinking. Then sleep overpowered me, and I stretched myself on my couch of zostera, and slept profoundly, whilst the Nautilus was gliding rapidly through the current of the Black River. V CHAPTER XIV, A NOTE OF INVITATION. The next day was the 9th of November. I awoke after a long sleep of twelve hours. Conseil came, according to custom, to know “how I had passed the night,” and to offer his services. He had left his friend the Canadian sleeping like a man who had never done anything else all his life. I let the worthy fellow chatter as he pleased, without caring to answer liim. I was pre¬ occupied by the absence of the captain during our sitting of the day before, and hoping to see him to-day. As soon as I was dressed I went into the saloon. It was de¬ serted. I plmiged into the study of the conchological treasures hidden behind the glasses. I revelled also in great herbals filled with the rarest marine plants, which, although dried up, retained their lovely colors. Amongst these precious hydrophytes I re¬ marked some vorticellse, pavonarise, delicate ceramies with scar¬ let tints, some fan-shaped agari, and some natabuli hke flat mushrooms, which at one time used to be classed as zoophjdes; in short, a perfect series of algce. The whole day passed without my being honored by a visit from Captain Nemo. The panels of the saloon did not open. Perhaps they did not wish us to tire of these beautiful things. The course of the Nautilus was E.N.E., her speed twelve knots, the depth below the surface between twenty-five and thirty fathoms. The next day, 10th of November, the same desertion, the same solitude. I did not see one of the ship’s crew: Ned and Conseil spent the greater part of the day with me. They were aston¬ ished at the inexpUcable absence of the captain. Was this sin- 92 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 93 gular man ill? had he altered his intentions with regard to us? After all, as Conseil said, we enjoyed perfect liberty, we were delicately and abundantly fed. Our host kept to his terms of tfie treaty. We could not complain, and, indeed, the singularity of our fate reserved such wonderful compensation for us, that we had no right to accuse it as yet. That day I commenced the journal of these adventures which has enabled me to relate them with more scrupulous exactitude and minute detail. I wrote it on paper made from the zostera marina. 11th November, early in the morning. The fresh air spread¬ ing over the interior of the Nautilus, told me that we had come to the surface of the ocean to renew our supply of oxygen. I directed my steps to the central staircase, and mounted the platform. It was six o’clock, the weather was cloudy, the sea gray but calm. Scarcely a biUow. Captain Nemo, whom I hoped to meet, would he be there ? I saw no one but the steersman imprisoned in his glass cage. Seated upon the projection formed by the huh of the pinnace, I inhaled the salt breeze with delight. By degrees the fog disappeared under the action of the sun’s rays, the radiant orb rose from behind the eastern horizon. The sea flamed under its glance hke a train of gunpowdw. The clouds scattered in the heights were colored with lively tints of beautiful shades, and numerous “ mare’s tails,” which betokened wind for that day. But what was wind to this Nautilus, which tempests could not frighten! I was admiring this joyous rising of the sun, so gay, and so life-giving, when I heard steps approaching the platform. I was prepared to salute Captain Nemo, but it was his second (whom I had already seen on the captain’s first visit) who ap¬ peared. He advanced on the platform, not seeming to see me. With his powerful glass to his eye he scanned every point of the horizon with great attention. This examination over, he approached the panel and pronounced a sentence in exactly these terms. I have remembered it, for every morning it was repeated under exactly the same conditions. It was thus worded: — 94 twentv thousand leagues under the seas. “Nautron respoc lomi virch.” What it mea. 11 could not say. These words pronounced, the second descended. I thought that the Nautilus was about to return to its submarine naviga¬ tion. I regained the panel and returned to my chamber. Five days sped thus, without any change in our situation. Every morning I momited the platform. The same phrase was pronounced by the same individuaL But Captam Nemo did not appear. I had made up my mind that I should never see him again, when, on the 16th November, on returning to my room with Ned and Conseil, I found upon my table a note addressed to me. I opened it impatiently. It was written in a bold, clear hand, the characters rather pointed, recalling the German type. The note was worded as follows : — “To Professor Aronnax, on 'board the Nautilm. “ 16th of November, 1867. “ Captain Nemo invites Professor Aronnax to a hunting-party, which will take place to-morrow morning in the forests of the island of Crespo. He hopes that nothing will prevent the Pro¬ fessor from being present, and he will with pleasure see him joined by his companions. “ Captain Nemo, Commander of the Nautilus.” “A hunt! ” exclaimed Ned. “And in the forests of the island of Crespo!” added ConseiL “O, then the gentleman is going on terra firma f ” replied Ned Land. “ That seems to me to be clearly indicated,” said I, reading the letter’once more. “ Well, we must accept,” said the Canadian. “ But once more on dry ground, we shall know what to do. Indeed, I shall not be sorry to eat a piece of fresh venison.” Without seeking to reconcile what was contradictory be¬ tween Captain Nemo’s manifest aversion to islands and conti¬ nents, and his invitation to hunt in a forest, I contented myself with replying,— “Let us first see where the island of Crespo is.” TWEI^TY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 95 I consulted the planisphere, and in 32° 40' north lat., and 167“ 60' West long., I found a small island, recognized in 1801 hy Captain Crespo, and marked in the ancient Spanish maps as Rocca de la Plata, the meaning of which is “ The Silver Rock.” We were then about eighteen hundred miles from our starting- point, and the course of the Nautilus, a httle changed, was bringing it back towards the southeast. I showed this httle rock lost in the midst of the North Pacific to my companions. “If Captain Nemo does sometimes go on dry ground,” said I, “he at least chooses desert islands.” Ned Land shrugged his shoulders without speaking, and Conseil and he left me. After supper, which was served by the steward, mute and impassible, I went to bed, not without some anxiety. The next morning, the 17th of November, on awakening I felt that the Nautilus was perfectly stiU. I dressed quickly and entered the saloon. Captain Nemo was there, waiting for me. He rose, bowed, and asked me if it was convenient for me to accompany him. As he made no allusion to his absence during the last eight days, I did not mention it, and simply answered that my com¬ panions and myself were ready to follow him. We entered the dining-room, where breakfast was served. “M. Aronnax,” said the captain, “pray share my breakfast without ceremony; we will chat as we eat. For though I prom¬ ised you a walk in the forest, I did not undertake to find hotels there. So breakfast as a man who will most likely not have his dinner till very late.” I did honor to the repast. It was composed of several kinds of fish, and slices of holothuridse (excellent zoophytes), and different sorts of sea -weed. Our drink consisted of pure water, to which the Captain added some drops of a fermented liquor, extracted by the Kamschatcha method from a sea-weed known under the name of RTwdomenia 'palmata. Captain Nemo ate at first without saying a word. Then he began,-- “ Sir, when I proposed to you to hunt in my submarine forest of Crespo, you e\adently thought me mad. Sir, you should never judge lightly of any man.” 96 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. “But, Captain, believe me~” “Be kind enough to listen, and you will then see whether you have any cause to accuse me of folly and contradiction.” “Ihsten.” “You know as well as I do. Professor, that man can live under water, providing he carries with him a sufficient supply of breathable air. In submarine works, the workman, clad in an impervious dress, with his head in a metal helmet, receives air from above by means of forcmg-pumps and regulators.” “ That is a diving apparatus,” said I. “Just so; but under these conditions the man is not at liberty; he is attached to the pump which sends him air through an in¬ dia-rubber tube, and if we were obUged to be thus held to the Nautilus, we could not go far.” “And the means of getting free?” I asked. “It is to use the Rouquayrol apparatus, invented by two of your own countrymen, which I have brought to perfection for my own use, and which will allow you to risk yourselC mider these new physiological conditions, without any organ what" ever suffering. It consists of a reservoir of thick iron plates, in which I store the air under a pressure of fifty atmospheres. This reservoir is fixed on the back by means of braces, like a soldier’s knapsack. Its upper part forms a box in which the air is kept by means of a bellows, and therefore can not escape unless at its normal tension. In the Rouquayrol apparatus such as we use, two india-rubber pipes leave this box and join a sort of tent which holds the nose and mouth; one is to introduce fresh air, the other to let out the foul, and the tongue closes one or the other according to the wants of the respirator. But I, in encomitering great pressures at the bottom of the sea, was obliged to shut my head, like that of a diver, in a ball of copper; and it is to this ball of copper that the two pipes, the inspirator and the expirator, open.” “Perfectly, Captain Nemo; but the air that you carry with you must soon be used; when it only contains fifteen per cent, af oxygen, it is no longer fit to breathe.” “Right! but I told you, M. Aronnax, that the pumps of the ^^autilus allow me to store the air under considerable pressure; TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 9T and on those conditions, the reservoir of the apparatus can fur¬ nish breathable air for nine or ten hours.” “I have no further objections to make,” I answered; “I will only ask you one thing, Captain,—how can you light your road at the bottom of the sea?” “With the Ruhmkorff apparatus, M. Aronnax; one Is carried on the back, the other is fastened to the waist. It is composed of a Bunsen pile, which I do not work with bichromate of pot¬ ash, but with sodium. A wire is mtroduced which collects the electricity produced, and directs it towards a particularly made lantern. In this lantern is a spiral glass which contains a small quantity of carbonic gas. When the apparatus is at work, this gas becomes luminous, giving out a white and continuous light. Thus provided, I can breathe and I can see.” “Captain Nemo, to all my objections you make such crushing answers, that I dare no longer doubt. But if I am forced to admit the Rouquayrol and Ruhmkorff apparatus, I must be allowed some reservations with regard to the gun I am to carry.” “But it is not a gun for powder,” answered the captain. “ Then it is an air-gun.” “Doubtless! How would you have me manufacture gun¬ powder on board, without either saltpetre, sulphur, or charcoal?” “ Besides,” I added, “ to fire under water in a medium eight hundred and fifty-five times denser than the air, we must con¬ quer very considerable resistance.” “ That would be no difficulty. There exist guns, according to Fulton, perfected in England by Philip Coles and Burley, in France by Furcy, and in Italy by Landi, which are furnished with a peculiar system of closing, which can fire under these conditions. But I repeat, having no powder, I use air under great pressure, wliich the pumps of tiie Nautilus furnish abun¬ dantly.” “ But this air must be rapidly used?” “ Well, have I not my Rouquayrol reservoir, which can furnish it at need? A tap is all that is required. Besides, M. Aronnax, you must see yoimseif that, during our submarine hunt, we can spend but little air and but few balls.” “ But it seems to me that in this twilight, and in the midst of 03 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. this fluid, which is very dense compared with the atmosphere!, shots could not go far, nor easily prove mortal.” “ Sh', on the contrary, with this gun every blow is mortal; and however hghtly the animal is touched, it falls as if struck by a thunderbolt.” “Why?” “ Because the balls sent by this gun are not ordinary balls, but little cases of glass (invented by Leniebroek, an Austrian chem¬ ist), of which I have a large supply. These glass cases are covered with a case of steel, and weighted with a pellet of lead; they are real Leyden bottles, into which the electricity is forced to a very high tension. With the slightest- shock they are dis¬ charged, and the animal, however strong it may be, falls dead. I must tell you that these cases are size number four, and that the charge for an ordinary gun would be ten.” “I will argue no longer,” I replied, rising from the table; “I have nothing left me but to take my gun. At all- events, I will go where you go.” Captain Nemo then led me aft; and in passing before Ned and Conseil’s cabin, I called my two companions, who followed im¬ mediately. We then came to a kind of cell near the machinery- room, in which we were to put on our walking-dress. CHAPTER XV THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. This cell was, to speak correctly, the arsenal and wardrobe of the Nautilus. A dozen diving apparatuses hung from the parti¬ tion, w'aiting our use. Ned Land, on seeing them, showed evident repugnance to dress himself in one. “ But, my worthy Ned, the forests of the Island of Crespo are nothing but submarine forests.” “Good!” said the disappointed harpooner, who saw his dreams of fresh meat fade away. “And you, M. Aronnax, are you going to dress yourself in those clothes?” “ There is no alternative. Master Ned.” “As you please, sir,” replied the harpooner, shrugging his shoulders; “but as for me, unless I am forced, I will never get into one.” “ No one will force you. Master Ned,” said Captain Nemo. “ Is Conseil going to risk it?” asked Ned. “ I follow my master wherever he goes,” replied Conseil. At the captain’s call two of the ship’s crew came to help us to dress in these heavy and impervious clothes, made of india-rub¬ ber without seam, and constructed expressly to resist consider¬ able pressure. One would have thought it a suit of armor, both supple and resisting. This suit formed trousers and waistcoat. The trousers were finished off with thick boots, weighted with heavy leaden soles. The texture of the waistcoat was held together by bands of copper, which crossed the chest, protecting it from the great pressure of the water, and leaving the lungs free to act; the sleeves ended in gloves, w'hich in no way re¬ strained the movement of the hands. There was a vast diffey- 90 100 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDEtl THE SEAS. ence noticeable between these consummate apparatuses and the old cork breastplates, jackets, and other contrivances in vogue during the eighteenth century. Captain Nemo and one of his companions (a sort of Hercules, who must have possessed great strength), Conseil and myself, were soon enveloped in the dresses. There remained nothing more to be done but to enclose our heads in the metal box. But before proceeding to this operation, I asked the Captain’s per¬ mission to examine the guns we were to carry. One of the Nautilus men gave me a simple gun, the butt end of which, made of steel hollow in the center, was rather large. It served as a reservoir for compressed air, which a valve, worked by a spring, allowed to escape into a metal tube. A box of pro¬ jectiles, in a groove in the thickness of the butt-end, contained about twenty of these electric balls, which by means of a spring were forced into the barrel of the gun. As soon as one shot was fired, another was ready. “ Captain Nemo,” said I, “ this arm is perfect, and easily hand¬ led; I only ask to be allowed to try it. But how shall we gain the bottom of the sea? ” “ At this moment. Professor, the Nautilus is stranded in five fathoms, and we have nothing to do but to start.” “ But how shall we get off? ” “ You shall see.” Captain Nemo thrust his head into the helmet, Conseil and I did the same, not without hearing an ironical “Good sport!” from the Canadian. The upper part of our dress terminated in a copper collar, upon which v/as screwed the metal helmet. Three holes, protected by thick glass, allowed us to see in all directions, by simply turning our heads in the interior of the head-dress. As soon as it was in position, the Rouquayrol ap¬ paratus on our backs began to act; and for my part, I could breathe with ease. With the Ruhmkorff lamp hanging from my belt, and the gun in my hand, I was ready to set out. But to speak the truth, im¬ prisoned in these heavy garments, and glued to the deck by my leaden soles, it was impossible for me to take a step. But this state of thino-s was provided for. I felt myself being pushed into a little room contiguous to the wardrobe-room. My TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 101 companions followed, towed along in the same way. I heard a water-tight door, furnished with stopper-plates, close upon us and we were wrapped in profound darkness. After some minutes, a loud hissing was heard. I felt the cold mount from my feet to my chest. Evidently from some part of the vessel they had by means of a tap given entrance to the water, which was invading us, and with which the room was soon filled. A second door cut in the side of the Nautilus then opened. We saw a faint light. In another instant our feet trod the bottom of the sea. And now, how can I retrace the impression left upon me by that walk under the waters? Words are impotent to relate such wonders! Captain Nemo walked in front, his companion fol¬ lowed some steps behind. Conseil and I remained near each other, as if an exchange of words had been possible through our metallic cases. I no longer felt the weight of my clothing, or of my shoes, of my reservoir of air, or my thick helmet, in the midst of which my head rattled like an almond in its shell. The light, which lit the soil thirty feet below the surface of the ocean, astonished me by its power. The solar rays shone through the watery mass easily, and dissipated all color, and I clearly distinguished objects at a distance of a hundred and fifty yards. Beyond that the tints darkened into fine gi’adations of ultra- marine, and faded into vague obscurity. Truly this water which surrounded me was but another air denser than the terrestrial atmosphere, but almost as transparent. Above me was the calm surface of the sea. We were walking on fine, even sand, not wrinkled, as on a flat shore, which retains the impression of the billows. This dazzling carpet, really a reflector, repelled the rays of the sun with wonderful intensity, which accounted for the vibration which penetrated every atom of liquid. Shall I be believed when I say that, at the depth of thirty feet, I could see as if I was in broad daylight? For a quarter of an hour I trod on this sand, sown with the impalpable dust of shells. The hull of the Nautilus, resembling a long shoal, disappeared by degrees; but its lantern, when dark¬ ness should overtake us in the waters, would help to guide us on board by its distinct rays. 103 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. Soon forms of objects outlined in the distance were discerni¬ ble. I recognized magnificent rocks, hung with a tapestry of zoophytes of the most beautiful kind, and I was at first struck by the peculiar effect of this medium. It was then ten in the morning; the rays of the sun struck the sm'face of the waves at rather an oblique angle, and at the touch of their light, decomposed by refraction as through a prism, flowers, rocks, plants, shells, and polypi were shaded at the edges by the seven solar colors. It was marvellous, a feast for the eyes, this complication of colored tints, a perfect kalei¬ doscope of green, yellow, orange, violet, indigo, and blue; in one word, the whole palette of an enthusiastic colorist I Why could I not communicate to Conseil the lively sensations which were mounting to my brain, and rival him in expressions of ad¬ miration ? For aught I knew, Captain Nemo and his compan¬ ion might bo able to exchange thoughts by means of signs pre¬ viously agreed upon. So for want of better, I talked to myself; I declaimed in the copper box which covered my head, thereby expending more air in vain words than was, perhaps, expedient. Various kinds of Ms, clusters of pure tuft-coral, prickly fungi, and anemones, formed a brilliant garden of flowers, enam¬ elled with porphitffi, decked with their collarettes of blue ten¬ tacles, sea-stars studding the sandy bottom, together with aste- rophytons like fine lace embroidered by the hands of naiads, whose festoons were waved by the gentle undulations caused by our walk. It was a real grief to me to crush under'my feet the brilliant specimens of molluscs which strewed the ground by thousands of hammerheads, donacife (veritable bounding shells), of staircases, and red helmet-shells, angel-wings, and many others produced by this inexhaustible ocean. But we were bound to walk, so we went on, whilst above our heads waved shoals of physalides, leaving their tentacles to float in their train, medusae whose umbrellas of opal or rose-pink, es- calloped with a band of blue, sheltered us from the rays of the sun and fiery pelagi?e, which, in the darkness, would have strewn our path with phosphorescent light. All these wonders I saw in the space of a quarter of a mile, scarcely stopping, and fodowing Captain Nemo, who beckoned 1'wEnty thousand leagues Under the seas. IC^ me on by signs. Soon the nature of the soil changed; to the sandy plain succeeded an extent of slimy mud, which the Americans call “ ooze,” composed of equal pafts of sili- cious and calcareous shells. We then travelled over a plain of sea-weed of wild and luxuriant vegetation. This sward was of close texture, and soft to the feet, and rivalled the softest carpet woven by the hand of man. But whilst verdure was spread at our feet, it did not abandon our heads. A light network of marine plants, of that inexhaustible family of sea-weeds of which more than two thousand kinds are known, grew on the surface of the water. I saw long ribbons of fucus floating, some globular, others tuberous; laurenciae and cladostephi of most delicate foliage, and some rhodomenise palmatse, resem¬ bling the fan of a cactus. I noticed that the green plants kept nearer the top of the sea, whilst the red were at a greater depth, leaving to the black or brown hydrophytes the care of forming gardens and parterres in the remote beds of the ocean. We had quitted the Nautilus about an hour and a half. It was near noon; I knew by the perpendicularity of the sun’s rays, which were no longer refracted. The magical colors disap¬ peared by degrees, and tiie shades of emerald and sapphire were effaced. We walked with a regular step, which rang upon the ground with astonishing intensity; the slightest noise was transmitted with a quickness to which the ear is unaccustomed on the earth; indeed, water is a better conductor of sound than air, in the ratio of four to one. At this period the earth sloped downwards; the light took a uniform tint. We were at a depth of a hundred and five yards and twenty inches, undergoing a pressure of six atmospheres. At this depth I could still see the rays of the sun, though feebly; to their intense brilliancy had succeeded a reddish twi¬ light, the lowest state between day and night; but we could still see well enough; it was not necessary to resort to the Ruhin- korff apparatus as yet. At this moment Captain Nemo stopped; he waited till I joined him, and then pointed to an obscure mass, looming in the shadow, at a short distance. “It is the forest of the Island of Crespo,” thought I;—and 1 was not mistaken. 8 CHAPTER XVI A SUBMABINE FOREST. We had at last arrived on the borders of this forest, doubtless one of the finest of Captain Nemo’s immense domains. He looked upon it as his own, and considered he had the same right over it that the first men had in the first days of the world. And, indeed, who would have disputed with him the possession of this submarine property ? What other hardier pioneer would come, hatchet in hand, to cut down the dark copses ? This forest was composed of large tree-plants; and the mo¬ ment we penetrated under its vast arcades, I was struck by the singular position of their branches,—a position I had not yet observed. Not an herb which carpeted the ground, not a branch which clothed the trees, was either broken or bent, nor did they extend horizontally; all stretched up to the surface of the ocean. Not a filament, not a ribbon, however thin they might be, but kept as straight as a rod of iron. The fuci and llianas grew in rigid perpendicular lines, due to the density of the element which had produced them. Motionless, yet, when bent to one side by the hand, they directly resumed their former position. Truly it was the region of perpendicularity ! I soon accustomed myself to this fantastic position, as weU as to the comparative darkness which surrounded us. The soil of the forest seemed covered with sharp blocks, difficult to avoid. The submarine flora struck me as being very perfect, and richer even than it would have been in the arctic or tropical zones, where these productions are not so plentiful. But for some minutes I involuntarily confounded the genera, taking zoophytes for hydrophytes, animals for plants; and who would not have 104 TV/ENTY TnOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 105 been mistaken? The fauna and the flora are too closely allied In this submarine world. These plants are self-propagated, and the piinciple of their existence is in the water, which upholds and nourishes them. The greater number, instead of leaves, shoot forth blades of eapricious shapes comprised within a scale of colors,—pink, car¬ mine, green, olive, fawn and brown. I saw there (but not dried up, as our specimens of the Nautilus are) pavonari spread like a fan as if to catch the breeze; scarlet ceramies, whose laminaries extended their edible shoots of fern-shaped nereocysti, wliich grow to a height of fifteen feet; clusters of acetabuli, whose stems increase in size upwards; and numbers of other marine plants, all devoid of flowers! “Curious anomaly! fantastic element!’* said an ingenious naturalist, “in which the animal kingdom blossoms, and the vegetable does not! ” Under these numerous shrubs (as large as trees of the tem¬ perate zone), and under their damp shadow, were massed to¬ gether real bushes of living flowers, hedges of zoophytes, on which blossomed some zebra-meandrines, with crooked grooves; some 3 ’ellow caryophyUiee; and to complete the illusion, the fish- flies flew from branch to branch like a swarm of humming-birds, whilst yellow lepisacomthi, with bristling jaws, dactylopteri, and monocentrides rose at our feet like a flight of snipes. In about an hour Captain Nemo gave tlie signal to halt. I, for my part, was not sorry, and we stretclied ourselves under an arbor of alarise, the long tlun blades of which stood up like arrows. This short rest seemed dehcious to me; there was nothing wanting but the charm of conversation; but, impossible to speak, impossible to answer, I only put my great copper head to Conseil’s. I saw the worthy fellow’s eyes glistening with de¬ light, and to show his satisfaction lie shook himself in his breastplate of air, in the most comical way in the world. After four hours of this walking I was surprised not to find myself dreadfully hungry. How to account for this state of the stomach I could not tell. But instead, I felt an insurmount¬ able desire to sleep, which happens to all divers. And ra.v eyes 106 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA*'. soon closed behind the thick glasses, and I fell into a heavy slum¬ ber, which the movement alone had prevented before. Captain Nemo and his robust companion, stretciied in the clear crystal, set us the example. I How long I remained buried in this drowsiness, I can not judge ; but, when I woke, the sun seemed sinking towards the horizon. Captain Nemo had akeady risen, and I was begin¬ ning to stretch my limbs, when an unexpected apparition brought me briskly to my feet. A few steps off, a monster sea-spider, about thirty-eight inches high, was watcliing me with squmting eyes, ready to spring upon me. Though my diver’s dress was thick enough to defend me from the bite of this animal, I could not help shuddering with horror. Conseil and the sailor of the Nautilus awoke at this moment. Captain Nemo pointed out the hideous crustacean, which a blow from the butt-end of the gun knocked over, and I saw the horrible claws of the monster writhe in terrible con¬ vulsions. This accident reminded me that other animals more to be feared might haunt these obscure depths, against whose attacks my diving-dress would not protect me. I had never thought of it before, but I now resolved to be upon my guard. Indeed, I thought that this halt would mark the termination of our walk ; but I was mistaken, for, instead of returning to the Nautilus, Captain Nemo continued his bold excursion. The ground was still on the incline, its declivity seemed to be get¬ ting greater, and to be leading us to greater depths. It must have been about tlmee o'clock when we reached a narrow val¬ ley, between high perpendicular walls, situated about seventy- five fathoms deep. Thanks to the perfection of our apparatus, we were forty-five fathoms below the limit which nature seems to have imposed on man as to his submarine excursions. I say seventy-five fathoms, though I had no instrument by which to judge the distance. But I knew that even in the clearest waters the solar rays could not penetrate further. And accordingly the darkness deepened. At ten paces not an ob¬ ject was visible. I was gi’oping my way, wlien I suddenly saw a brilliant white light. Captain Nemo had just put his electric apparatus into use ; his companion did the same, and Conseil and TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 107 I followed their example. By turning a screw I established a communication between the wire and the spiral glass, and the sea, lit by our four lanterns, was illuminated for a circle of thirty- six yards. Captain Nemo was still plunging into the dark depths of the forest, whose trees were getting scarcer at every step. I noticed that vegetable life disappeared sooner than animal life. The medusae had already abandoned the arid soil, from which a great number of animals, zoophytes, articulata, molluscs, and fishes, still obtained sustenance. As we walked, I thought the light of our Ruhmkorff appara¬ tus could not fail to draw some inhabitant from its dark couch. But if they did approach us, they at least kept at a respectful distance from the hunters. Several times I saw Captain Nemo stop, put his gun to his shoulder, and after some moments drop it and walk on. At last, after about four hours, this marvellous excursion came to an end. A wall of superb rocks, in an im¬ posing mass, rose before us, a heap of gigantic blocks, an enor¬ mous steep granite shore, forming dark grottos, but wliich pre¬ sented no practicable slope; it was the prop of the Island of Crespo. It was the earth ! Captain Nemo stopped suddenly. A gesture of his brought us all to a halt; and however desirous I might be to scale the wall, I was obliged to stop. Here ended Captain Nemo’s domains, and he would not go beyond them. Further on was a portion of the globe he might not trample upon. The return began. Captain Nemo had returned to the head of his little band, directing their course without hesitation. I thought we were not following the same road to return to the Nautilus. The new road was very steep, and consequently very painful. We approached the surface of the sea rapidly. But this return to the upper strata was not so sudden as to cause relief from the pressure too rapidly, which might have produced serious disorder in our organization, and brought on internal lesions, so fatal to divers. Very soon light reappeared and grew, and the sun being low on the horizon, the refraction edged the different objects with a spectral ring. At ten yards and a half deep, we walked amidst a shoal of httle fishes of all kinds, more 108 twenty thousand leagues under the seas. numerous than the birds of the air, and also more agile ; but no aquatic game worthy of a shot had as yet met our gaze, when at that moment I saw the captain shoulder his gun quickly, and follow a moving object into the shrubs. He fired ; — I heard a slight hissing, and a creature fell stunned at some distance from us. It was a magnificent sea-otter, an enhydrus, the only ex¬ clusively marine quadruped. This otter was five feet long, and must have been very valuable. Its skin, chestnut-brown above and silvery underneath, would have made one of those beauti¬ ful furs so sought after in the Russian and Chinese markets ; the fineness and the luster of its coat would certainly fetch £ 80. I admired this cmious mammal, with its rounded head orna¬ mented with short ears, its round eyes, and white whiskers like those of a cat, with webbed feet and nails, and tufted tail. This precious animal, hunted and tracked by fishermen, has now be- ^.•ome very rare, and taken refuge chiefly in the northern parts of the Pacific, or probably its race would soon become extinct. Captain Nemo’s companion took the beast, threw it over his shoulder, and we continued our journey. For one hour a plain of sand lay stretched before us. Sometimes it rose to within two yards and some inches of the surface of the water. I then saw our image clearly reflected, drawn inversely, and above us appeared an identical group reflecting our movements and our actions; in i word, like us in every point, except that they walked with their heads downward and their feet in the air. Another effect I noticed, which was the passage of tliick clouds which formed and vanished rapidly; but on reflection I under¬ stood that these seeming clouds were due to the varying thick¬ ness of the reeds at the bottom, and I could even see the fleecy foam which their broken tops multiplied on the water, and the shadows of large birds passing above our heads, whose rapid flight I could discern on the surface of the sea. On this occasion I was witness to one of the finest gun-shots which ever made the nerves of a hunter thrill. A large bird, of great breadth of wing, clearly visible, approached, hovering over us. Captain Nemo’s companion shouldered his gun and fired, when it was only a few yards above the waves. The creature fell stunned, and the force of its fall brought it within the reach TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. lOO of the dexterous hunter’s grasp. It was an albatross of the finest kind. Our march had not been interrupted by this incident. For two hours we followed these sandy plains, then fields of algge very disagreeable to cross. Candidly, I could do no more when I saw a glimmer of light, which for a half-mile broke the dark¬ ness of the waters. It was the lantern of the Nautilus. Before twenty minutes were over we should be on board, and I should be able to breathe with ease; for it seemed that my reservoir supplied air very deficient in oxygen. But I did not reckon cii an accidental meeting, which delayed our arrival for some time. I had remained some steps behind, when I presently saw Cap¬ tain Nemo coming hurriedly towards me. With his strong hand he bent me to the ground, his companion doing the same to Conseil. At first I knew not what to think of this sudden attaclr, but I was soon reassured by seeing the captain lie down beside me, and remain unmovable. I was stretched on the ground, just under shelter of a bush of algfe, when, raising my head, I saw some enormous mass, cast¬ ing phosphorescent gleams, pass blusteringly by. My blood froze in my veins as I recognized two formidable sharks which threatened us. It was a couple of tintoreas, ter¬ rible creatures, with enormous tails and a duU glassy stare, the phosphorescent matter ejected from holes pierced around the muzzle. Monstrous brutes! which would crush a whole man in their iron jaws. I did not know whether Conseil stopped to classify them; for my part, I noticed their silver bellies, and their huge mouths bristling with teeth, from a veiy unscientific point of view, and more as a possible victim than as a naturalist. Happily the voracious creatures do not see well. They passed without seeing us, brushing us with their brownish fins, and we escaped by a miracle from a danger certainly greater than meet¬ ing a tiger full-face in the forest. Half an hour after, guided by the electric light, we reached the Nautilus. The outside door had been left open, and Captain Nemo closed it as soon as we had entered the first cell. He then pressed a knob. I heard the pumps working in the midst of the vessel, I felt the water sulking from around me, and in a few moments the cell was 110 TWE'ifl’Y l?HOUSANB LEAflUES UNDER THE SEAS. entirely empty. The inside door then opened, and we entered the vestry. There our diving-dress was taken off, not without some trouble; and, fairly worn out from want of food and sleep, I returned to my room, in great wonder at this surprising Bion at the bottom of the sea. CHAPTER XVII UNDER THE PACIFIC. The next morning, the 18th of November, I had quite recov¬ ered from my fatigues of the day before, and I went up on to the platform, just as the second lieutenant was uttering his daily phrase. I was admiring the magnificent aspect of the ocean when Captain Nemo appeared. He did not seem to be aware of my presence, and began a series of astronomical observations. Then, when he liad finished, he went and leant on the cage of the watch-light, and gazed abstractedly on the ocean. In the mean time, a number of the sailors of the Nautilus, all strong and healthy men, had come up on to the platform. They came to draw up the nets that had been laid all night. These sailors were evidently of different nations, although the European type was visible in all of them. I recognized some unmistakable Irish¬ men, Frenchmen, some Sciaves, and a Greek or a Candiote. They were civil, and only used that odd language among them¬ selves, the origin of wliich I could not guess, neither could I question them. The nets were hauled in. They were a large kind of “ cha- luts,” like those on the Normandy coasts, great pockets that the waves and a chain fixed in the smaller meshes, kept open. These pockets, drawn by iron poles, swept through the water, and gathered in ever} thing in their way. That day they brought up curious specimens from those productive coasts,—fishing- frogs that, from their comical movements, have acquired the name of buffoons; black commersons, furnished with antennse; trigger-fish, encircled with red bands; orthragorisci, with very subtle venom; some olive-colored lampreys; macrorhynci, cov- 11 ) 113 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. ered with silvery scales; trichiuri, the electric power of which is equal to that of the gymnotus and cramp-fish; scalynotoi)- teri, with transverse brown bands; greenish cod; several varieties of gobies, etc.; also some larger fish; a caranx with a prominent head a yard long; several fine bonitos, streaked with blue and silver; and three splendid tunnies, which, spite of the swiftness of their motion, had not escaped the net. I reckoned that the haul had brought in more than nine hun¬ dred weight of fish. It was a fine haul, but not to be wondered at. Indeed, the nets are let down for several hours, and en¬ close in their meshes an infinite variety. We had no lack of ex¬ cellent food, and the rapidity of the Nautilus and the attraction of the electric light could always renew our supply. These several productions of the sea were immediately lowered through the panel to the steward’s room, some to be eaten fresh and others pickled. The fishing ended, the provision of air renewed, I thought that the Nautilus was about to continue its submarine excursion, and was preparing to return to my room, when, without fur¬ ther preamble, the captain turned to me, saying,— “ Professor, is not this ocean gifted with real life ? It has its tempers and its gentle moods. Yesterday it slept as we did, and now it has woke after a quiet night. Look ! ” he continued, “ it wakes under the caresses of the sun. It is going to renew its diurnal existence. It is an interesting study to watch the play of its organization. It has a pulse, arteries, spasms; and I agree with the learned Maury, who discovered in it a circulation as real as the circulation of blood in animals. “ Yes, the ocean has indeed circulation, and to promote it, the Creator has caused things to multiply in it,—caloric, salt, and animalculae.” When Captain Nemo spoke thus, he seem^ed altogethei changed, and aroused an extraordinary emotion in me. “Also,” he added, “true existence is there; and lean imagine the foundations of nautical towns, clusters of submarine houses, which, like the Nautilus, would ascend every morning to breathe at the surface of the water,—free towns, independent cities. Yet who knows whether some despot—” TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 113 Captain Nemo finished his sentence with a violent gesture. Then, addressing me as if to chase away some sorrowful thought,—“ M. Aronnax,” he asked, “ do you know the depth of the ocean ? ” “ I only know. Captain, what the principal soundings have taught us.” “Could you tell me them, so that I can suit them to my pur¬ pose?” “ These are some,” I replied, “ that I remember. If I am not mistaken, a depth of 8,000 yards has been found in the North At¬ lantic, and 2,500 yards in the Mediterranean. The most remark¬ able somidings have been made in the South Atlantic, near the 35th parallel, and they gave 12,000 yards, 14,000 yards, and 15,000 yards. To sum up all, it is reckoned that if the bottom of the sea were levelled, its mean depth would be about one and tluee-quar- ter leagues.” “ Well, Professor,” replied the captain, “ we shall show you better than that, I hope. As to the mean depth of this part of the Pacific, I tell you it is only 4,000 yards.” Having said this. Captain Nemo went towards the panel, and disappeared down the ladder. I followed him, and went into the large drawing-room. The screw was immediately put in motion, and the log gave twenty miles an hour. During the days and weeks that passed. Captain Nemo was very sparing of his visits. I seldom saw him. The lieutenant picked the ship’s course regularly on the chart, so I could always tell exactly the route of the Nautilus. Nearly every day, for some time, the panels of the drawing-room were opened, and we were never tired of penetrating the mys¬ teries of the submarine world. The general direction of the Nautilus was southeast, and it kept between 100 and 150 yards of depth. One day, however, I do not know why, being drawn diagonally by means of the in¬ clined planes, it touched the bod of the sea. The thermometer indicated a temperature of 4.25 (cent.); a temperature that at this depth seemed common to all latitudes. At three o’clock on the morning of the 26th of November, the Nautilus crossed the tropic of Cancer at 172* longitude. On the 114 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 27th instant it sighted the Sandwich Islands, where Cook died, February 14, 1779. We had then gone 4,860 leagues from our starting-point. In the morning, when I went on the platform, I saw two miles to windward, Hawaii, the largest of the seven islands that form the group. I saw clearly the cultivated ranges, and the several mountain-chains that run parallel with the side, and the volcanoes that overtop Mouna-Rea, which rise 5,000 yards above the level of the sea. Besides other things the nets brought up, were several flabellarioe and graceful polypi, that are peculiar to that part of the ocean. The direction of the Nautilus was still to the southeast. It crossed the equator De¬ cember 1, in 142’ longitude; and on the 4th of the same month, after crossing rapidly and without anything particular occurring, we sighted the Marquesas group. I saw, three miles off, at 8* 57' latitude south, and 139° 32' west longitude, Martin’s peak in Nouka-Hiva, the largest of the group that belongs to France. I only saw the woody mountains against the horizon, because Captain Nemo did not wish to bring the ship to the wind. There the nets brought up beautiful specimens of fish: choryphenes, with azure fins and tails like gold, the flesh of wliich is unrival¬ led; hologymnoses, nearly destitute of scales, but of exquisito flavor; ostorhyncs, with bony jaws, and yellow-tinged tha^ards, as good as bonitos; all fish that would be of use to us. After leaving these charming islands protected by the French flag, from the 4th to the llth of December the Nautilus sailed over about 2,000 miles. This navigation was remarkable for the meeting with an immense shoal of calmars, near neighbors to the cuttle. The French fishermen call them hornets; they be¬ long to the cephalopod class, and to the dibranchial family, that comprehends the cuttles and the argonauts. These animals were particularly studied by students of antiquity, and they fur¬ nished numerous metaphors to the popular orators, as well as excellent dishes for the tables of the rich citizens, if one can be¬ lieve Athenseus, a Greek doctor, who lived before Galen. It was during the night of the 9th or 10th of December that the Nauti¬ lus came across this shoal of molluscs, that are peculiarly noc¬ turnal. One could count them by millions. They emigrate from the temperate to the warmer zones, following the track of her- TWENTY THOUSAN© LEAGUES UNDER THE tsEAS. IIS rings and sardines. We watched them through the thick crystal panes, swimming down the wind with great rapidity, moving by means of their locomotive tube, pursuing fish and molluscs, eat¬ ing the little ones, eaten by the big ones, and tossing about in hidescribable confusion the ten arms that nature has placed on their heads hke a crest of pneumatic serpents. The Nautilus, in spite of its speed, sailed for several hours in the midst of these animals, and its nets brought in an enormous quantity, among which I recognized the nine species that D’Orbigny classed for the Pacific. One saw, while crossing, that the sea displays the most wonderful sights. They were in endless variety. The scene changed continually, and we were called upon not only to contemplate the works of the Creator in the midst of the liquid element, but to penetrate the awful mysteries of the ocean. During the daytime of the 11th of December, I was busy read¬ ing in the large drawing-room. Ned Land and Conseil watched the luminous water through the half-open panels. The Nautilus was immovable. \Vhile its reservoirs were filled, it kept at a depth of 1,000 yards, a region rarely visited in the ocean, and in which large fish were seldom seen. I was then reading a charming book by Jean Mace, “ The Slaves of the Stomach,” and I was learning some valuable lessons from it, when Conseil interrupted me. “Will master come here a moment?” he said, in a curious voice. “ What is the matter, Conseil?” “ I want master to look.” I rose, went and leaned on my elbows before the panes, and watched. In a full electric light, an enormous black mass, quite immov¬ able, was suspended in the midst of the waters. I watched it attentively, seeking to find out the nature of this gigantic cetar cean. But a sudden thought crossed my mind. “A vessel!” I said, half aloud. “Yes,” replied the Canadian, “a disabled rfiip that has sunk perpendicularly.” Ned Land was right; wo were close to a vessel of wliich the tattered shrouds still hung from their chains. The keel seemed to be in good order, and it had been wrecked at most some few years. Three stumps of masts, broken off about two feet above 116 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. the bridge, showed that the vessel had had to sacrifice its masts. But, lying on its side, it had filled, and it was heeling over to port. This skeleton of what it had once been was a sad speo tacleasitlay lost under the waves; but sadder still was the sight of the bridge, where some corpses, bound" ith ropes, were still lying. I counted five,—four men, one (f whom was st-.nd- ing at the helm, and a woman standing by the poop holding an infant in her arms. She was quite young. I could distinguish her features, which the water had not decomposed, by the bril¬ liant light from the Nautilus. In one despairing effort, she had raised her infant above her head, poor little thing! whose arms encircled its mother’s neck. The attitude of the four sailors was frightful, distorted as they were by convulsive movements, whilst making a last effort to free themsehc s from the cords that bound them to the vessel. The steersman alone, calm, with a grave, clear face, liis gray hair glued to his forehead, and his hand clutching the wheel of the helm, seemed even then to ba guiding the three broken masts through the depths of the ocean. What a scene ! We were dumb; our hearts beat fast before this shipwreck, taken as it were from life, and photographed in its last moments. And I saw already, coming towards it with hungry eyes, enormous sharks, attracted by the human flesh. However, the Nautilus, turning, went round the submerged vessel, and in one instant I read >n the stem,—“The Florida Sunderland’’ CHAPTER XVIIL VANUCORO. This terrible spectacle was the forerunner of the series of maritime catastrophes that the Nautilus was destined to meet with in its route. As long as it went through more frequented waters, we often saw the hulls of shipwrecked vessels that were rotting in the depths, and, deeper down, cannons, bullets, an¬ chors, chains, and a thousand other iron materials eaten up by rust. However, on the 11th of December, we sighted the Pomo- tou Islands, the old “ dangerous group ” of Bougainville, that extend over a space of 500 leagues at E.S.E. to W.N.W., from the Island Ducie to that of Lazareff. This group covers an area of 370 square leagues, and it is formed of sixty groups of islands, among which the Gam bier group is remarkable, over which France exercises sway. These are coral islands, slowly raised, but continuous, created by the daily work of poljq)i. Then this new island will be joined later on to the neighboring groups, and a fifth continent will stretch from New Zealand and New Caledonia, and from thence to the Marquesas. One day, when I was suggestuig this theory to Captain Nemo, he replied coldly,— “ The earth does not want new continents, but new men.” Chance had conducted the Nautilus towards the island of Cler' monfc-Tonnerre, one of the most curious of the group that was discovered in 1822 by Captain Bell of the Minerva. I could study now the madreporal system, to which are due the islands in this ocean. Madrepores (which must not be mistaken for corals) have a tissue lined with a calcareous crust, and the modifications of its structure have induced M. Milne-Edwards,my worthy master, to VI 118 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. class them into five sections. The animalculse that the marine polypus secretes live by millions at the bottom of their cells. Their calcareous deposits become rocks, reefs, and large and small islands. Here they form a ring, surrounding a little in¬ land lake, that communicates Vvith the sea by means of gaps. There they make barriers of reefs like those on the coasts of New Caledonia and the various Pomotou islands. In other places, like those at Reimion and at Maurice, they raise fringed- reefs, high, straight walls, near w^hich the depth of the ocean is con¬ siderable. Some cable-lengths off the shores of the island of Clermont, I admired the gigantic work accomplished by these microscopical workers. These walls are specially the work of those madre¬ pores knowTi as milleporas, porites, madrepores, and astrseas. These polypi are found particularly in the rougli beds of the sea, near the smTace; and consequently it is from the upper part that they begin their operations in which they bury them¬ selves by degrees Avith the debris of the secretions that support them. Such is, at least, Darwin’s theory, who tlius explains the formation of the atolls, a superior theory (to my mind) to that given of the foundation of the madreporical works, summits of mountains or volcanoes, that are submerged some feet below the level of the sea, I could observe closely these curious walls, for perpendicularly they were more than 800 yards deep, and our ^electric sheets lighted up this calcareous matter brilliantly. Replying to a ques¬ tion Conseil asked me as to the time these colossal barriers took to be raised, I astonished him much by telling him that learned men reckoned it about the eighth of an inch in a hundred years. Towards evening Clermont-Tonnerre was lost in the distance, and the route of the Nautilus was sensibly changed. After hav- mg crossed the tropic of Capricorn in 185° longitude, it sailed W.N.W., making again for the tropical zone. Although the summer sun was veiy strong, we did not suffer from heat, for at fifteen or fwenty fathoms below the surface, the temperatime did not rise above from ten to twelve degrees. On December 15, we left to the east the bewitching group of the Societies and the graceful Tahiti, queen of the Pacific. I saw TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 119 in the morning, some miles to the windward, the elevated sum¬ mits of the island. These waters furnished our table with excel¬ lent fish, mackerel, bonitos, and albicores, and some varieties of a sea-serpent called munirophis. On the 25th of December the Nautilus sailed into the midst of the New Hebrides, discovered by Quiros in 1606, and that Bou¬ gainville explored in 1768, and to which Cook gave its present name in 1773. This group is composed principally of nine large islands, that form a band of 120 leagues N.N.S. to S.S.W., be¬ tween 15° a id 2° south latitude, and 164° and 168° longitude. We passed tolerably near to the island of Am’ou, that at noon looked like a mass of green woods surmounted by a peak of great height. That day being Christmas Day, Ned Land seemed to regret sorely the non-celebration of “ Christmas,” the family fete of which Protestants are so fond. I had not seen Captain Nemo for a week when, on the morning of the 27th, he came into the large drawing-room, always seeming as if he had seen you five minutes before. I was busily tracing the route of the Nautilus on the planisphere. The captain came up to me, put his finger on one spot on the chart, and said this single word,— “ Vanikoro.” The effect was magical! It was the name of the islands on which La Perouse had been lost! I rose suddenly. “The Nautilus has brought us to Vanikoro?” I asked. “Yes, Pro¬ fessor,” said the Captain. “And I can visit the celebrated islands where the Boussole and the Astrolabe struck ? ” “ If you like. Professor.” “ VTien shall we be there ? ” “ We are there now.” Followed by Captain Nemo, I went up on to the platform, and greedily scanned the horizon. To the N.E. two volcanic islands emerged, of unequal size, surrounded by a coral reef that measured forty miles in cir¬ cumference. We were close to Vanikoro, really the one to which Dumont d’Urville gave tlie name of Isle de la Recherche, and exactly facing the little liarbor of Vanou, situated in 16° 4' south lati¬ tude, and 164° 32 ea^t The earth seemed covered 9 J.20 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. with verdure from tlie shore to tire summits in the interior, that were crowned by Mount KaiDogo, 476 feet high. The Nautilus, having passed the outer belt of rocks by a narrow strait, found itself among breakers \^here the sea was from thirty to forty fathoms deep. Under the verdant sliade of some mangroves I perceived some savages, who appeared greatly surprised at our approach. In the lung black body, moving between wind and water, did they not see some formidable cetacean that they re¬ garded with suspicion ? Just then Captain Nemo asked me what I knew about the wreck of La Perouse. “ Only what every one knows. Captain,” I replied. “And could yoa tell me what every one knows about it ?” he inquired ironically. “ Easily.” I related to liim all that the last works of Dumont d’Urville had made known,—works from which the following is a brief account. La Perouse, and his second, Captain de Langle, were sent by Louis XVI, in 1785, on a voyage of circumnavigation. They embarked in the corvettes the Eoussole and the Astrolabe, neither of which were again heard of. In 1791 the French government, justly uneasy as to the fate of these two sloops, manned two large merchantmen, the Reclierche and the Esper- ance, which left Brest the 28th of September, under the com¬ mand of Bruni d’Entrecasteaux. Two months after, tliey learned from Bowen, commander of the Albemarle, that the debris of shipwrecked vessels had been seen on the coasts of New Georgia. But D’Entrecasteaux, ignoring this communication,— rather uncertain, besides,— directed his course towards the Admiralty Isles, mentioned in a report of Captain Eimter’s as being the place where La Pe¬ rouse was wreck('d. They sought in vain. The Esperance and the Recherche passed before Vanikoro without stopping there, and in fact this voyage was most disastrous, as it cost D’Entrecasteaux his life, and those of two of his lieutenants, besides several of his crew. Captain Dillon, a shrewd old Pacific sailor, was the first to find unmistalcable traces of the Y/recl:s. On the 15th of May, TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 121 1824, his vessel, the St. Patrick, passed close to Tikopia, one of the New Hebrides. There a Lascar came alongside in a canoe, sold him the handle of a sword in silver, that bore the print of characters engraved on the hilt. The Lascar pretended that six years before, during a stay at Vanikoro, he had seen two Europeans that belonged to some vessels that had run aground on the reefs some years ago. Dillon guessed that he meant La Perouse, whose disappear¬ ance had troubled the whole world. He tried to get on to Vanikoro, where, according to the Lascar, he would tind nu¬ merous debris of the wreck, but winds and tide prevented him. Dillon returned to Calcutta. There he interested the Asiatic Society and the Indian Company in his discovery. A vessel, to which was given the name of Recherche, was put at his dis¬ posal, and he set out, January 23,1827, accompanied by a French agent. The Recherche, after touching at several points in the Pacific, cast anchor before Vanikoro, July 7, 1827, in this same harbor of Vanou where the Nautilus was at this time. There it collected numerous relics of the wreck,— iron uten¬ sils, anchors, pulley-strops, swivel-guns, an 18 lb. shot, frag¬ ments of astronomical instruments, a piece of crown-work, and a bronze clock, bearing this inscription,— BazinTrCafait^"* the mark of the foundry of the arsenal at Brest about 1785. There could be no further doubt. Dillon, having made all inquiries, stayed in the unlucky place till October. Then he quitted Vanikoro, and directed his course towards New Zealand; put into Calcutta, April 7, 1828, and re¬ turned to France, where he v;as warmly welcomed by Charles X. But at the same time, without knowing Dillon’s movements, Dumont d’Urville had already set out to find the scene of the WTeck. And they had learned from a whaler that some medals and a cross of St. Louis had been found in the hands of some savages of Louisiade and New Caledonia. Dumont d’Urville, commander of the Astrolabe, had then sailed, and two months after Dillon had left Vanikoro he put into Hobart Town. There he learned the results of Dillon’s inquiries, and found that a certain James Hobbs, second lieutenant of the Union of Calcutta, 122 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. after landing on an island situated 8* 18' south latitude, and 156° 30' east longitude, had seen some iron bars and red stuffs used by the natives of these parts. Dumont d’Urville, much perplexed, and not knowing how to credit the reports of low- class journals, decided to follow Dillon’s track. On the loth of February, 1828, the Astrolabe appeared off Tikopia, and took as guide and interpreter a deserter found on the island; made his way to Vanikoro, sighted it on the 12th inst., lay among the reefs until the 14th, and not until the 20th did he cast anchor within the barrier in the harbor of Vanou. On the 23d, several officers went round the island, and brought back some unimportant trifles. The natives, adopting a system of denials and evasions, refused to take them to the unlucky place. This ambiguous conduct led them to believe that tht natives had ill-treated the castaways, and indeed they seemed to fear that Dumont d’Urville had come to avenge La Perouse and his unfortunate crew. However, on the 26th, appeased by some presents, and under¬ standing that they had no reprisals to fear, they led M. Jacqui- reot to the scene of the wreck. There, in three or four fathoms of water, between the reefs of Pacou and Vanou, lay anchors, cannons, pigs of lead and iron, embedded in the limy concretions. Tlie large boat and the whaler belonging to the Astrolabe were sent to this place, and, not without some difficulty, their crews hauled up an anchor weigMng 1,800 lbs., a brass gun, some pigs of iron, and two copper swivel-guns. Dumont d’Urville, questioning the natives, learned, too, that La Perouse, after losing both his vessels on the reefs of this island, had constructed a smaller boat, only to be lost a second time. Where?—no one knew. But the French government, fearing that Dumont d’Urville was not acquainted with Dillon’s movements, had sent the sloop Bayonnaise, commanded by Legoarant de Tromelin, to Vaniko¬ ro, which had been stationed on the west coast of America. The Bayonnaise cast her anchor before Vanikoro some months after the departure of the Astrolabe, but found no new document; but stated that the savages had respected the monument to La TWENTY TUOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 123 Perouse. That is the substance of what I told to Captain Nemo. “ So,” he said, “ no one knows now where the third vessel perished that was constructed by the castawaj^s on the island of Vanikoro?” “ No one knows.” Captain Nemo said nothing, but signed to me to follow him into the large saloon. The Nautilus sank several yards below the waves, and the panels were opened. I hastened to the aperture, and under the crustations of coral, covered with fungi, syphonules, alcyons, madrepores, through mjTiads of charming fish,—gireUes, glyphisidri, pompherides, diacopes, and holocentres,—I recognized certain debris that the drags had not been able to tear up; iron stirrups, anchors, can¬ nons, ballets, capstan-fittings, the stem of a ship,—all objects clearly proving the wreck of some vessel, and now carpeted with living flowers. While I was looking on this desolate scene. Cap¬ tain Nemo said, in a sad voice,— “ Commander La Perouse set out December 7, 1785, with his vessels La Bousolle and the Astrolabe. He fii'st cast anchor at Botany Bay, visited the Friendly Isles, New Caledonia, then di¬ rected his course towards Santa Cruz, and put into Namouka, on e 0 ® the H ipai group. Then his vessels struck on the unknown reel'^ o, Vanikoro. The Bousolle, which went first, ran aground 01 ) the southerly coast. The Astrolabe went to its help, and ran agroun J too. The first vessel was destroyed almost immediately. The second, stranded under the wind, resisted some days. The natives made the castaways welcome. They installed them¬ selves in the island, and constructed a smaller boat with the debrh of the two large ones. Some sailors stayed willingly at Vanikoro, the others, weak and ill, set out with La Perouse. They directed their course towards the Solomon Isles, and there perished, with every thing, on the westerly coast of the chief island of the group, between Capes Deception and Satisfac¬ tion.” “ How do you know that ? ” **By this, that I found on the spot where was the last wreck.” Captain Nemo showed me a lin-piate box, stamped with the 124 TWENTY THOUSAND LEaGUES UNDER THE SEAS. v' French arms, and corroded by the salt water. He opened and I saw a bundle of papers, yellow, but still readable. They were the instructions of the naval minister to Com¬ mander La Perouse, annotated in the margin in Louis XVI's handwriting. “Ah! it is a fine death for a sailor!” said Captain Nemo, at last. “A coral tomb makes a quiet grave; and I trust that I apd comrades will find no other.” CHAPTER XIX. TORRES STRAITS. Durino the iiight of the 27th or 28th of December, the Nautilus left the shores of Vanikoro with great speed. Her course was southwesterly, and in tlmee days she had gone over the 750 leagues that separated it from La Perouse’s group heading a southeast point, of Papua. Early on the 1st of January, 1868, Conseil joined me on the platform. “ Master, will you permit me to wish you a happy new year ?” “ AYhat! Conseil; exactly as if I was at Paris in my study at the Jardin des Plantes 2 Well, I accept your good wishes, and thank you for them. Only, I will ask you what you mean by a ‘ Happy new year,’ under our circumstances ? Do you mean the year that will bring us to the end of our imprison¬ ment, or the year that sees us continue this strange voyage ? ” “Really, I do not know how to answer, master. We are sure to see curious things, and for the last two months we have not had time for ennui. The last marvel is always the most astonishing; and if we continue this progression, I do not know how it will end. It is my opinion that we shall never again see the like. I think, then, with no offense to master, that a happy year would be one in which we could see every thing.” On January 2, we had made 11,340 miles, or 5jJ60 French leagues, since our starting point in the Japan seas. Before the ship’s head stretched the dangerous shores of the coral sea, on the northeast coast of Australia. Our boat lay along some miles from the redoubtable bank on which Cook’s vessel was lost, June 10,1770. The boat in which Cook was struck on a rock, and if it did not sink, it was owing to a piece of tlie 125 126 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. coral that was broken by the shock, and fixed itself in the broken keel. I had wished to visit the reef, 360 leagues long, against which the sea, always rough, broke with great violence, with a noise like thunder. But just at this moment the inclined planes drew the Nautilus down to a great depth, and I could see nothing of the high coral walls. I had to content myself with the different specimens of fish brought up by the nets. I remarked, among others, some germons, a species of mackerel as large as a tunny, with bluish sides, and striped with transverse bands, that dis¬ appear with the animal’s life. These fish followed us in shoals, and furnished us with very dehcate food. We took also a large number of giltheads, about one and a half inches long, tasting liAe dorys; and flying pyrapeds like submarine swallows, which, in dark nights, light alternately the air and water with their phosphorescent light. Among the molluscs and zoophytes, I found in the meshes of the net several species of alcyona- rians, echini, hammers, spurs, dials, cerites, and hyallese. The flora was represented by beautiful floating sea-weeds, lami- narise, and macrocystes, impregnated v/ith the mucilage that transudes through their pores; and among which I gathered an admirable Nemastorna Geliniarois^ that was classed among the natural curiosities of the museum. Two days after crossing the coral sea, January 4, we sighted the Papuan coasts. On this occasion. Captain Nemo informed me tliat his intention was to get into the Indian Ocean by the Strait of Torres. His communication ended there. The Torres Straits are nearly thirty-four leagues wide; but they are obstructed by an innumerable quantity of islands, islets, breakers, and rocks, that make its navigation almost impractic¬ able; so that Captain Nemo took all needful precautions to cross them. The Nautilus, floating betwixt wind and water, went at a moderate pace. Her screw, like a cetacean’s tail, beat the waves slowly. Profiting by this, I and my two companions went up on to the deserted platform. Before us was the steersman’s cage, and I expected that Captain Nemo was there directing the course of TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 127 the Nautilus. I had before me the excellent charts of the Strait of Torres, made out by tho hydrographical engineer Vincendon Dumoulin. These and Captain King’s are the best charts that clear the intricacies of this strait, and I consulted them atten¬ tively. Round the Nautilus the sea dashed furiously. The course of the waves, that went from southeast to northwest at the rate of two and a half miles, broke on the coral that showed itself here and there. “ This is a bad sea! ” remarked Ned Land. “ Detestable indeed, and one that does not suit a boat like the Nautilus.” “ The captain must be very sure of Ms route, for I see there pieces of coral that would do for its keel if it only touched them slightly.” Indeed the situation was dangerous, but the Nautilus seemed to slide like magic off these rocks. It did not follow the routes of the Astrolabe and the Zelee exactly, for they proved fatal to Dumont d’Urville. It bore more northwards, coasted the Island of Murray, and came back to the southwest towards Cumberland Passage. I thought it was going to pass it by, when, going back to northwest, it went through a large quantity of islands and islets little known, towards the Island Sound and Canal Mauvais. I wondered if Captain Nemo, foolishly imprudent, would steer his vessel into that pass where Dumont d’Urville’s two cor¬ vettes touched; when, swerving again, and cutting straight through to the west, he steered for the Island of Gilboa. It was then three in the afternoon. The tide began to recede, being quite full. The Nautilus approached the island, that I still saw, with its remarkable border of screw-pines. He stood off it at about two miles distanU Suddenly a shock overthrew me. The Nautilus just touched a rock, and stayed immovable, laying lightly to port side. When I rose, I perceived Captain Nemo and his lieutenant oa the platform. They were examining the situation of the vessel, and exchanging words in their incomprehensible dialect. She was situated thus: two miles, on the starboard side appeared Gilboa, stretching from north to west like an im¬ mense arm; towards the south and east some coral showed 128 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. itself, left by the ebb. We had run aground, and in one of those seas where the tides are middling,—a sorry matter for the floating of the Nautilus. However, the vessel had not suffered, for her keel was solidly joined. But if she could neither glide off nor move, she ran the risk of being forever fastened to these rocks, and then Captain Nemo’s submaruie vessel would be done for. I was reflecting thus, when the captain, cool and calm always master of himself, approached me. “ An accident ? ” I asked. “No; an incident.” “ But an incident that will oblige you perhaps to become ai inhabitant of this land from which you flee ? ” Captain Nemo looked at me curiously, and made a negative gesture, as much as to say that nothing would force him to set foot on terra firma again. Then he said,— “Besides, M. Aroiinax, the Nautilus is not lost; it will carry you yet into the midst of the marvels of the ocean. Our voyage is only begun, and I do not wish to be deprived so soon of the honor of your company.” “ However, Captain Nemo,” I replied, without noticing the ironical turn of his phrase, “ the Nautilus ran aground in open sea. Now the tides are not strong in the Pacific; and if you can not lighten the Nautilus, I do not see how it will be reinflated.” “The tides are not strong in the Pacific: you are right there, Professor; but in Torres Straits, one finds still a difference of a yard and a half between the level of high and low seas. To¬ day is January 4, and in five days the moon will be full. Now, I shall be very much astonished if that complaisant satellite does not raise these masses of water sufficiently, and render me a service that I should be indebted to her for.” Having said this. Captain Nemo, followed by his lieutenant, re-descended to the interior of the Nautilus. As to the vessel, it moved not, and was immovable, as if the coralline polypi had already walled it up with their indestructible cement. “Well, sir?” said Ned Land, who came up to me after the de¬ parture of the captain. “Well, friend Ned, we will wait patiently for the tide on the TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 129 Pth instant, for it appears that the moon will have the goodness to put it otf again.” “Really?” “ Really.” “And this captain is not going to cast anchor at all, since tne tide will suihce?” said Conseil, simply. The Canadian looked at Conseil, then shrugged his shoulders. “ Sir, you may believe me when I tell you that this piece of iron will navigate neither on nor under the sea again; it is only fit to be sold for its weight. I think, therefore, that the time has come to part company with Captain Nemo.” “ Friend Ned, I do not despair of this stout Nautilus, as you do; and in four days we shall know what to hold to on the Pacific tides. Besides, flight might be possible if we were in sight of the English or Provencal coasts; but on the Papuan shores, it is another thing; and it will be time enough to come to that extremity if the Nautilus does not recover itself again, which I look upon as a grave event.” “But do they know, at least, how to act circumspectly? There is an island; on that island there are trees; under those trees, terrestrial animals, bearers of cutlets and roast-beef, to which I would willingly give a trial.” “In this, friend Ned is right,” said Conseil, “and I agree with him. Could not master obtain permission from his friend Captain Nemo to put us on land, if only so as not to lose the habit of treading on the solid parts of our planet?” “ I can ask him, but he will refuse.” “Will master risk it?” asked Conseil, “and we shall know how to rely upon the captain’s amiability.” To my great surprise Captain Nemo gave me the permission I asked for, and he gave it very agreeably, withofit even exact¬ ing from me a promise to return to the vessel; but flight across New Guinea might be very perilous, and I should not have counselled Ned Land to attempt it. Better to be a prisoner on board the Nautilus than to fall into the hands of the natives. At eight o’clock, anned with guns and hatchets, w^e got off the Nautilus. The seaw^as pretty calm; a slight breeze blew on land. Conseil and I rowing, we sped along quickly, and 130 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. Ned steered in the straight passage that the breakers left between them. The boat was well handled, and moved rapidly. Ned Land could not restrain his joy. He was like a prisoner that had escaped from prison, and knew not that it was necessary to re-enter it. “Meat! We are going to eat some meat; and what meat!” he rephed. “Real game! no, bread, indeed.” “I do not say that fish is not good; we must not abuse it; but a piece of fresh venison grilled on live coals will agreeably vary our ordinary course.” “Gourmand!” said Conseil; “he makes my mouth water.” “It remains to be seen,” I said, “if these forests are full of game, and if the game is not such as will hunt the hunter himself.” “ Well said, M. Aronnax,” replied the Canadian, whose teeth seemed sharpened like the edge of a hatchet; “but I will eat tiger,—loin of tiger,—if there is no other quadruped on this island.” “Friend Ned is uneasy about it,” said Conseil. “Whatever it may be,” continued Ned Land, “every animal with four paws without feathers, or with two paws without feathers, will be saluted by my first shot.” “ Very weU! Master Land’s imprudences are begmning.” “Never fear, M. Aronnax,” replied the Canadian; “I do not want twenty-five minutes to offer you a dish of my sort.” At half past eight the Nautilus boat ran softly aground, on a heavy sand, after having happily passed the coral reef that surrounds the Island of Gilboa, CHAPTER XX A FEW DAYS ON LAND. I WAS much impressed on touching land. Ned Land tried the soil with his feet, as if to take possession of it. However, it was only two months before that we had become, accord¬ ing to Captain Nemo, “passengers on board the Nautilus,” but, in reality, prisoners of its commander. In a few minutes we were within musket-shot of the coast. The soil was almost entirely madreporical, but certain beds of dried-up torrents strewn with debris of granite showed that this island was of the primary formation. The whole horizon was hidden behind a beautiful curtain of forests. Enormous trees, the trimks of which attained a height of 200 feet, were tied to each other by garlands of bindweed, real natural ham¬ mocks, which a light breeze rocked. They were mimosas, ficuses, casuarinse, teks, liibisci, and palm-trees, mingled to¬ gether in profusion; and under the shelter of their verdant vault grew orchids, leguminous plants, and ferns. But without noticing all these beautiful specimens of Papuan flora, the Canadian abandoned the agreeable for the useful. He discovered a cocoa-tree, beat down some of the fruit, broke them, and we drunk the milk and ate the nut with a satisfac¬ tion that protested against the ordinary food on the Nautilus. “Excellent! ” said Ned Land. “ Exquisite! ” replied Conseil. “And I do not think,” said the Canadian, “thathe would object to our introducing a cargo of cocoanuts on board.” “I do not think he would, but he would not taste them.” “ So much the worse for him,” said Conseil. 131 132 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. “And so much the better for us,” replied Ned Land. “There will be more for us.” “ One word only, Master Land,” I said to the harpooner, who was beginning to ravage another cocoanut-tree. “ Cocoanuts are good things, but before tilling the canoe with them, it would be wise to reconnoitre and see if the island does not produce some substance not less useful. Fresh vegetables would be welcome on board the Nautilus.” “ Master is right,” replied Conseil; “ and I propose to reserve three places in our vessel: one for fruits, the other for vege¬ tables, and the third for the venison, of wliich I have not yet seen the smallest specimen.” “ Conseil, we must not despair,” said the Canadian. “ Let us continue,” I returned, “ and lie in wait. Although the island seems uninhabited, it might still contain some indi¬ viduals that would be less hard than we on the nature of game.” “ Ho ! ho! ” said Ned Land, moving Ms jaws significantly. “Well, Ned !” cried Conseil. “ My word! ” returned the Canadian, “ I begin to understand the charms of anthropophagy.” “ Ned! Ned ! what are you saying ? You, a man-eater ? I should not feel safe with you, especially as I share your cabin. I might perhaps wake one day to tind myself half devoured.” “ Friend Conseil, I hke you much, but not enough to eat you unnecessarily.” “ 1 would not trust you,” replied Conseil. “But enough. We must absolutely bring down some game to satisfy this cannibal, or else, one of these fine mornings, master will find only pieces of his servant to serve him.” While we were talking thus, we were penetrating the somber arches of the forest, and for two hours we surveyed it in all directions. Chance rewarded our search for eatable vegetables, and one of the most useful products of the tropical zones furnished us with precious food that we missed on board. I would speak of the bread-fruit tree, very abundant in the Island of Gilboa; and I remarked cliiefly the variety destitute of seeds, which bears in Malaya the name of “ rima.” TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 138 Ned Land knew these fruits well. He had already eaten many during his numerous voyages, and he knew how to pre¬ pare the eatable substance. Moreover, the sight of them excited him, and he could contain liimself no longer. “ Master,” he said, “ I shall die if I do not taste a little of this bread-fruit pie.” “ Taste it, friend Ned, taste it as you want. We are here to make experiments,—make them.” “ It won’t take long,” said the Canadian. And provided with a lenth, he lighted a fire of dead wood, that crackled joyously. During this time, Conseil and I chose the best fruits of the artocarpus. Some had not then attained a sufficient degree of maturity, and then- thick skin covered a •'White but rather fibrous pulr. Others, the greater number yellow and gelatinous, waited only to be picked. These fruits enclose no kernel. Conseil brought a dozen to Ned Land, who placed them on a coal fire, after having cut them in thick slices, and while doing this repeating,— You will see, master, how good tliis bread is. More so when one has been deprived of it so long. It is not even bread,” added he, “ but a delicate pastry. You have eaten none, master ?” “No, Ned.” “ Very weU, prepare yourself for a juicy thing. If you do not come for more, I am no longer the king of harpooners.” After some minutes, the part of the fruits that was exposed to the fire was completely roasted. Tlie interior looked like a white pasty, a sort of soft crumb, the flavor of which was like that of an artichoke. It must be confessed tliis bread was excellent, and I ate of it with great relish. “ What time is it now?” asked the Canadian. “ Two o’clock at least,” replied Conseil. “ How time flies on firm ground! ” sighed Ned Land. “ Let us be off,” replied Conseil. We returned through the forest, and completed our collection by a raid upon the cabbage-palms, that we gathered from the tops of the trees, little beans that I recognized as the“abrou”of the Malays, and yams of a superior quality. 10 134 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. We were loaded when we reached the boat. But Ned Land did not find his provision sufficient. Fate, however, favored us. Just as we were pushing off, he perceived several trees, from twenty-five to thirty feet high, a species of palm-tree. These trees, as valuable as the artocarpus, justly are reckoned among the most useful products of Malaya. At last, at five o'clock in the evening, loaded with our riches, we quitted the shore, and half an hour after we hailed tlio Nautilus. No one appeared on our arrival. The enormous iron- plated cylinder seemed deserted. The provisions embarked, I descended to my chamber, and after supper slept soundly. The next day, January 6, nothing new on board. Not a sound inside, not a sign of life. The boat rested along the edge, in the same place in which we had left it. We resolved to return to the island. Ned Land hoped to be more fortunate than on the day before with regard to the hunt, and wished to visit another part of the forest. At dawn we set off. The boat, carried on by the waves that flowed to shore, reached the island in a few minutes. We landed, and thinking that it was better to give in to the Canadian, we followed Ned Land, whose long limbs threatened to distance us. He wound up the coast towards the west; then, fording some torrents, he gained the high plain that was bor¬ dered with admirable forests. Some kingfishers were rambling along the water-courses, but they would not let themselves be approached. Their circumspection proved to me that these bu’ds knew what to expect from bipeds of our species, and I concluded that, if the island was not inhabited, at least human beings occasionally frequented it. After crossing a rather large prairie, we arrived at the skirts of a little wood that was enlivened by the songs and flight of a large number of birds. “ There are only birds ! ” said Conseil. “ But they are eatable,” replied the harpooner. “I do not agree with you, friend Ned, for I see only parrots there.” “Friend Conseil,” said Ned, gravely, “the parrot is like pheas¬ ant to those who have nothing else,” TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 135 e “And,” I added, “this bird, suitably prepared, is worth knife and fork.” Indeed, under the thick foliage of this wood, a world of par¬ rots were flying from branch to branch, only needing a careful education to speak the hmnan language. For the moment, they were chattering with parrots of all colors, and grave cockatoos, who seemed to meditate upon some philosophical problem, whilst brilliant red lories passed like a piece of bunt¬ ing carried away by the breeze; papuans, with the finest azure colors, and in all a variety of winged things most charming to behold, but few eatable. However, a bird peculiar to these lands, and which has never passed the limits of the Arrow and Papuan islands, was wanting in this collection. But fortune reserved it for me before long. After passing through a moderately thick copse, we found a plain obstructed with bushes. I saw then those magnificent birds, the disposition of whose long feathers obliges them to fly against the wind. Their undulating flight, graceful aerial curves, and the shading of their colors, attracted and charmed one’s looks. I had no trouble in recognizing them. “ Birds of Paradise ! ” I exclaimed. The Malays, who carry on a great trade in these birds with the Chinese, have several means that we could not employ for taking them. Sometimes tliey put snares at the top of high trees that the birds of Paradise prefer to frequent. Some¬ times they catch them with a viscous bird-lime that paralyzes their movements. They even go so far as to poison the foun¬ tains that the birds generally drink from. But we were obliged to fire at them during flight, which gave us few chances to bring them down; and indeed, we vainly exhausted one half of our ammunition. About eleven o’clock in the morning, the first range of moun¬ tains that form the centre of the island was traversed, and we had killed nothing. Ranger drove us on. The hunters had re¬ lied on the products of the chase, and they were wrong. Hap¬ pily Conseil, to his great surprise, made a double shot and secured breakfast. He lu-ought down a wdiite pigeon and a wood-pigeon, which, cleverly plucked and suspended from a 10 136 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. t skewer, were roasted before a red fire of dead wood. Whilst these interesting birds were cooking, Ned prepared the fruit of the artocarpus. Then the wood-pigeons were devoured to the bones, and declared excellent. The nutmeg, with which they are in the habit of stuffing their crops, flavors their flesh and renders it delicious eating. “ Now, Ned, what do you miss now ? ” “ Some four-footed game, M. Aronnax. All these pigeons are only side-dishes and trifles; and until I have killed an animal with cutlets, I shall not be content.*’ “ Nor I, Ned, if I do not catch a bird of Paradise.” “Let us continue hunting,” replied Conseil. “Let us go towards the sea. We have arrived at the first dechvities of the mountains, and I think we had better regain the region of for¬ ests.” That was sensible advice, and was followed out. After walk¬ ing for one hour, we had attained a forest of sago-trees. Some inoffensive serpents glided away from us; the birds of Paradise fled at our approach, and truly I despaired of getting near one, when Conseil, who was walking in front, suddenly bent down, uttered a triumphal cry, and came back to me bringing a mag¬ nificent specimen. “ Ah! bravo, Conseil! ” “ Master is very good.” “No, my boy; you have made an excellent stroke. Take one of these lining birds, and carry it in your hand.” “ If master will examine it, he will see that I have not de¬ served great merit.” “ Why, Conseil ? ” “ Because this bird is as drunk as a quail.” “Drunk!” “Yes, sir; drunk with the nutmegs that it devoured under the nutmeg-tree, under which I found it. See, friend Ned, see the monstrous effects of intemperance ! ” “By Jove!” exclaimed the Canadian, “ because I have drunk gin for two months, you must needs reproach me ! ” However, I examined the curious bird. Conseii was right. The bird, drunk with the juice, was quite powerless. It could not fly ; it could hardly walk. This bird belonged to the most beautiful of the eight species TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 137 that are found in Papua and in the neighboring islands. It was the “ large emerald bird, the most rare kind.” It meas¬ ured three feet in length. Its head was comparatively small, its eyes placed near the opening of the beak, and also small. But the sliados of color were beautiful, having a yellow beak, brown feet and claws, nut-colored wings with purple tips, pale yellow at the back of the neck and head, and emerald color at the throat, chestnut on the breast and belly. Two horned downy nets rose from below the tail, that prolonged the long light feathers of admirable fineness, and they completed the whole of this marvellous bird, that the natives have poetically named the “ bird of the sun.” But if my wishes were satisfied by the possession of the bird of Paradise, the Canadian’s were not yet. Happily about two o’clock Ned Land brought down a magnificent hog, from the brood of those the natives call “ bari-outang.” The animal came in time for us to procure real quadruped meat, and he was well received. Ned Land was very proud of his shot. The hog, hit by the electric ball, fell stone dead. The Canadian skinned and cleaned it properly, after having taken half a dozen cut¬ lets, destined to furnish us with a grilled repast in the evening. Then the hunt was resumed, which was still more marked by Ned and Conseil’s exploits. Indeed, the two friends, beating the bushes, roused a herd of kangaroos, that fled and bounded along on their elastic paws. But these animals did not take flight so rapidly but what the electric capsule could stop their course. “Ah, Professor!” cried Ned Land, who was carried away by the delights of the chase, “ wliat excellent game! and stewed too ! What a supply for the Nautilus ! two ! three ! five down ! And to think that we shall eat that flesh, and that the idiots on board shall not have a crumb ! ” I think that, in the excess of his joy, the Canadian, if he had not talked so much, would have killed them all. But he con¬ tented himself with a single dozen of these interesting marsu- pians. These animals were small. They were a species of those “ kangaroo rabbits ” that live habitually in the hollows of trees, and whose speed is extreme; but they are moderately 188 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. V. fat, and furnish, at least, estimable food. We were very satis¬ fied with the results of the hunt. Happy Ned proposed to return to this enchanting island the next day, for he wished to depopulate it of all the eatable quadrupeds. But he reckoned without his host. At six o’clock in the evening we had regained the shore; our boat was moored to the usual place. The Nautilus, like a long rock, emerged from the waves two miles from the beach, Ned Land, without waiting, occupied himself about the impor¬ tant dinner business. He understood all about cooking well. The “ bari-outang,” grilled on the coals, soon scented the air with a delicious odor. Indeed, the dinner was excellent. Two wood-pigeons com¬ pleted this extraordinary menu. The sago pasty, the artocarpus bread, some mangoes, half a dozen pineapples, and the liquor fermented from some cocoanuts, overjoyed us. I even think that my worthy companions’ ideas had not aU the plainness desirable. “ Suppose we do not return to the Nautilus this evening ? ” said Conseil. “Suppose we never return ?” added Ned Land. Just then a stone fell at our feet, and cut short the har- pooner’s proposition. CHAPTER XXI. CAPTAIN nemo’s THUNDERBOLT. We looked at the edge of the forest without rising, my hand stopping in the action of putting it to my mouth, Ned Land’s completing its office. “Stones do not fall from the sky,” remarked Con sell, “or they would merit the name of aerolites.” A second stone, carefully aimed, that made a savory pigeon’s leg fall from Conseil’s hand, gave still more weight to his obser¬ vation. We all three arose, shouldered om* guns, and were ready to reply to any attack. “Are they apes?” cried Ned Land. “Very nearly,—they are savages.” “To the boat!” I said, hurrying to the sea. It was indeed necessary to beat a retreat, for about twenty natives, armed with bows and slings, appeared on the skirts of a copse that masked the horizon to the right, hardly a hundred steps from us. Our boat was moored about sixty feet from us. The savages approached us, not runnuig, but making hostile demonstrations. Stones and arrows fell thickly. Ned Land had not wished to leave his provisions; and, in spite of his imminent danger, liis pig on one side, and kan¬ garoos on the other, he went tolerably fast. In two minutes we were on the shore. To load the boat with pro^dsions and arms, to push it out to sea, and ship the oars, was the work of an instant. We had not gone two cable-lengths when a hundred savages, howling and gesticulating, entered the water up to their waists. I watched to see if their apparitio.. would attract m 140 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. some men from the Nautilus on to the platform. But no. The enormous machine, lying off, was absolutely deserted. Twenty minutes later v/a were on board. The panels were open. After mailing the boat fast, we entered into the interior of the Nautilus. I descended to the drawing-room, from whence I heard some chords. Captain Nemo was there, bending over liis organ, and plunged in a musical ecstasy. “Captain!” He did not hear me. “Captain!” I said again, touching his hand. He shuddered, and, turning round, said, “Ah! is it you. Pro¬ fessor? Well, have you had a good hunt? Have you botanized successfully?” “Yes, Captain; but we have unfortunately brought a troop of bipeds, whose vicinity troubles me.” “ What bipeds?” “ Savages.” “Savages!” he echoed ironically. “So you are astonished, Professor, at having set foot on a strange land and finding sav¬ ages? Savages! where are there not any? Besides, are they worse than others, these whom you call savages?” “But, Captain — ” “ How many have you counted?” “ A hundred at least.” “ M. Aronnax,” rephed Captain Nemo, placing his fingers on the organ stops, “ when all the natives of Papua are assembled on this shore, the Nautilus will have nothing to fear from their attacks.” The captain’s fingers were then running over the keys of the instrument, and I remarked that he touched only the black keys, which gave to his melodies an essentially Scotcli character. Soon he had forgotten my presence, and had plunged into a reverie that I did not disturb. I went up again on to the plat¬ form,—night had already fallen; for, in this low latitude, the sun sets rapidly and without twilight. I could only see the island indistinctly; but the numerous fires lighted on the beach showed that the natives did not think of leaving it. I was alone for several hours, sometimes thinking of the natives,—but with¬ out any dread of them, for the imperturbable confidence of the TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 141 captain was catching,— sometimes forgetting them to admiie the splendors of the nighl in the tropics. My remembrances went to France, in the train of those zodiacal stars that would sliine in some hours’ time. The moon shone in the midst of the constellations of the zenith. The night slipped away without any mischance, the islanders frightened, no doubt, at the sight of a monster aground in the bay. The panels were open, and would have offered an easy access to the interior of the Nautilus. At six o’clock in the morning of the 8th January, I went up on to the platform. The dawn w'as breaking. The island soon showed itself through the dissipating fogs,—first the shore, then the summits. The natives were there, more numerous than on the day be¬ fore,—500 or GOO perliaps,—some of them, profiting by the low water, had come on to the coral, at less than two cable - lengths from the Nautilus. I distinguished them easily; they were true Papuans, with athletic figures; men of good race, large high foreheads,— large, but not broad, and flat,— and white teeth. Their woolly hair, with a reddish tinge, showed off on their black, shining bodies like those of the Nubians. From the lobes of their ears, cut and distended, hung chaplets of bones. Most of these savages were naked. Amongst them I remarked some women dressed from the hips to the knees in quite a crinoline of herbs, that sustained a vegetable waistband. Some chiefs had ornamented their necks with a crescent and collars of glass beads, red and white; nearly all were armed with bows,arrows, and shields, and carried on their shoulders a sort of net contain¬ ing those round stones which they cast from their slings with great skill. One of these chiefs, rather near to the Nautilus, ex¬ amined it attentively. He was, perhaps, a “ inado ” of high rank, for he was draped in a mat of banana leaves notched round the edges, and set off with brilliant colors. I could easily have knocked down this native, who was ^vithin a short length ; but I thought that it ’vvas better to wait for real hostile demonstrations. Between Europeans and savages, it is proper for the Europeans to parry sharply, not to attack. During low water the natives roanied about near the Nautilus 142 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. but were not troublesome ; I heard them frequently repeat the word “Assai,” and by their gestures I miderstood that they in¬ vited me to go on land, an invitation that I declined. So that, on that day, the boat did not push off, to the great displeasure of Master Land, who could not complete his pro¬ visions. This adroit Canadian employed his time in preparing the viands and meat that he had brought off the island. As for the savages, they returned to the shore about eleven o’clock in the morning, as soon as the coral tops began to disappear mider the rising tide ; but I saw their numbers had increased consider¬ ably on the shore. Probably they came from the neighboring islands, or very likely from Papua. However, I had not seen a single native canoe. Having nothing better to do, I thought of dragging these beautiful limpid waters, under which I saw a profusion of shells, zoophytes, and marine plants. Moreover, it was the last day that the Nautilus would pass in these parts, if it float in open sea the next day, according to Captain Nemo’s promise. I therefore called Conseil, who brought me a little light drag, very like those for the oyster-fishery. Now to work! For two hours we fished unceasingly, but without bringing up any rari¬ ties. The drag was filled with midas-ears, harps, melames, and particularly the most beautiful hammers I have ever seen. Wo also brought up some holothurias, pearl-oysters, and a dozen little turtles, that were reserved for the pantry on board. But just when I expected it least, I put my hand on a wonder, I might say a natural deformity, very rarely met with. Conseil was just dragging, and his net came up filled with divers or¬ dinary shells, when, all at once, he saw me plunge my arm quickly into the net, to draw out a shell, and heard me utter a conchological cry, that is to say, the most piercing cry that human throat can utter. “ V/hat is the matter, sir ? ” he asked, in surprise ; “ has mas¬ ter been bitten ?” “ No, my boy ; but I would wUlingly have given a finger for my discovery.” “ What discovery ? ” TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 143 •‘This shell,” I said, holding up the object of my triumph. “ It is simply an olive porphyry, genus olive, order of the pec- l^ni-branchidse, class of gasteropods, sub-class of mollusca.” “ Yes, Conseil; but instead of being rolled from right to left, Inis olive turns from left to right.” “ Is it possible ? ” “ Yes, my boy ; it is a left shell.” Shells are all right-handed, with rare exceptions ; and when by chance their spiral is left, amateurs are ready to pay their weight in gold. Conseil and I were absorbed in the contemplation of our treas¬ ure, and I was promising myself to enrich the museum with it, when a stone, unfortunately thrown by a native, struck against and broke the precious object in Conseil’s hand. I uttered a cry of despair! Conseil took up Ms gun, and aimed at a savage who was poising his sling at ten yards from him. I would have stopped him, but his blow took effect, and broke the bracelet of amulets which encircled the arm of the savage. “ Conseil! ” cried I; “ Conseil! ” “ Well, sir! do you not see that the cannibal has commenced the attack?” “ A shell is not worth the life of a man,” said I. “ Ah! the scoundrel! ” cried Conseil; “ I would rather he had broken my shoulder! ” Conseil was in earnest, but I was not of his opinion. How¬ ever, the situation had changed some minutes before, and we had not perceived. A score of canoes surrounded the Nautilus. These canoes, scooped out of the trunk of a tree, long, narrow, well adapted for speed, were balanced by means of a long bam¬ boo pole, w’hich floated on the water. They were managed by skillful, half-naked paddlers, and I watched their advance with some uneasiness. It was evident that these Papuans had already had dealings with the Europeans, and knew their ships. But this long iron cylinder anchored in the bay, without masts or chimney, what could they think of it? Nothing good, for at first they kept at a respectful distance. However, seeing it motionless, by degrees they took courage, and sought to famil¬ iarize themselves with it. Now tins familiarity was precisely 144 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. wliat it was necessary to avoid. Our arms, which were noise¬ less, could only produce a moderate effect on the savages, who have little respect for aught but blustering things. The thun¬ derbolt without the reverberations of thunder would frighten man but little, though the danger hes in the lightning, not in the noise. At this moment the canoes approached the Nautilus, and a shower of arrows alighted on her. I went down to the saloon, but found no one there. I ven¬ tured to knock at the door that opened into the captain’s room. “ Come in,” was the answer. I entered, and found Captain Nemo deep in algebraical calcu lations of x and other quantities. “ I am disturbing you,” said I, for courtesy’s sake. “That is true, M. Aronnax,” replied the captain; “but I think ^'ou have serious reasons for wishing to see me?” “Very grave ones; the natives are surrounding us in their canoes, and in a few minutes we shall certainly be attacked by many hundreds of savages.” “ Ah! ” said Captain Nemo, quietly, “ they are come with their canoes ? ” “ Yes sir.” “ Well, sir, we must close the hatches.” “ Exactly, and I came to say to you — ” “Nothing can be more simple,” said Captain Nemo. And pressing an electric button, he transmitted an order to the ship’s crew. < “It is all done, sir,” said he, after some moments. “The pin¬ nace is ready, and the hatches are closed. You do not fear, I imagine, that these gentlemen could stave in walls on which the balls of your frigate have had no effect ? ” “ No, Captain ; but a danger still exists.” “ What is that, sir ? ” “ It is that to-morrow, at about this hour, we must open the hatches to renew the air of the Nautilus. Now if, at this mo¬ ment, the Papuans should occupy the platform, I do not see how you could prevent them from entering.” “ Then, sir, you suppose that they will board us ? ” “ I am certain of it.” “ Well, sir, let them come. I see no reason for hindering them. After aU, these Papuans are poor creatures, and I am unwilling TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 145 that my visit to the Island of Gueheroan should cost the life of a single one of these wretches.” Upon that I wtis going away ; but Captain Nemo detained me^ and asked me to sit down by him. He questioned me with in¬ terest about our excursions on shore, and our hunting, and seemed not to understand the craving for meat that possessed the Canadian. Then the conversation turned on various sub¬ jects, and without being more conununicative. Captain Nemo showed himself more amiable. Amongst other things, we happened to speak of the situation of the Nautilus, run aground in exactly the same spot in this strait where Dumont d’Urville was nearly lost. Apropos of this,— “ This D’Urville was one of your great sailors,” said the cap¬ tain to me ; “ one of your most intelligent navigators. He is the Captain Cook of you Frenchmen. Unfortunate man of science, after having braved the icebergs of the south pole, the coral reefs of Oceania, the cannibals of the Pacific, to perish miserably in a railway train ! If this energetic man could have reflected dur¬ ing the last moments of his life, what must have been upper¬ most in his last thoughts, do you suppose ? ” So speaking. Captain Nemo seemed moved, and his emotion gave me a better opinion of him. Then, chart in hand, we re¬ viewed the travels of the French navigator, his voyages of ciD cumnavigation, his double detention at the south pole, which led to the discovery of Adelaide and Louis Philippe, and fixing the hydrographical bearings of the principal islands of Oceania. “ That which your D’Urville has done on the surface of the seas,” said Captain Nemo, “ that have I done under them, and more easily, more completely than he. The Astrolabe and the Zeiia, incessantly tossed about by the hurricanes, could not be worth the Nautilus, quiet repository of labor that she is, truly motionless in the midst of the waters.” “ To-morrow,” added the captain, rising, “ to-morrow, at twenty minutes to three P.M., the Nautilus shall float, and leave the Strait of Torres uninjured.” Having curtly pronounced these words, Captain Nemo bowed slightly. This was to dismiss me, and I went back to my room. 146 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. There I found Conseil, who wished to know the result of my interview with the captain. “My boy,” said I, “when I feigned to believe that his Nautilus was threatened by the natives of Papua, the captain answered me very sarcastically. I have but one thing to say to you: Have confidence in liim, and go to sleep in peace.” “ Have you no need of my services, su- ? ” “ No, my friend. What is Ned Land doing ? ” “If you will excuse me, sir,” answered Conseil, “friend Ned is busy making a kangaroo-pie, which will be a marvel.” I remained alone, and went to bed, but slept indifferently. I heard the noise of the savages, who stamped on the platform, uttering deafening cries. The night passed thus, without dis¬ turbing the ordinary repose of the crew. The presence of these cannibals affected them no more than the soldiers of a masked battery care for the ants that crawl over its front. At six in the morning I rose. The hatches had not been opened. The inner air was not renewed, but the reservoirs, filled ready for any emergency, were now resorted to, and dis¬ charged several cubic feet of oxygen into the exhausted atmos¬ phere of the Nautilus. I worked in my room till noon, without having seen Captain Nemo, even for an instant. On board no preparations for de¬ parture were visible. I waited still some time, then went into the large saloon. The clock marked half past two. In ten minutes it would be high tide, and if Captain Nemo had not made a rash promise, the Nautilus would be immediately detached. If not, many months would pass ere she could leave her bed of coral. However, some warning vibrations began to be felt in the ves¬ sel. I heard the keel grating against the rough, calcareous bot¬ tom of the coral reef. At five-and-twenty minutes to three. Captain Nemo appeared in the saloon. “We are going to start,” said he. “Ab !” replied L “I have given the order to open the hatches.” “And the Papuans ?” “ The Papuans ? ” ansv/ered Captain Nemo slightly shrugging his shoulders. “Will they not come inside the Nautilus'?” TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 147 “How?” “Only by leaping over the hatches you have opened.” “M. Arronax,” quietly answered Captain Nemo, “they will not enter the hatches of the Nautilus in that way, even if they were open.” I looked at the captain. “You do not understand?” said he. “Hardly.” “Well, come and you will see.” I directed my steps toward the central staircase. There Ned Land and Conseil were slyly watching some of the ship’s crew, who were opening the hatches, while cries of rage and fearful vociferations resounded outside. The port lids were pulled down outside. Twenty horrible faces appeared. But the first native who placed his hand on the stair-rail, struck from behind by some invisible force, I know not what, fled, uttering the most fearful cries, and mak¬ ing the wildest contortions. Ten of his companions followed him. They met with th*' same fate. Conseil was in ecstasy. Ned Land, carried away by liis vi'»* lent instincts, rushed on to the staircase. But the moment h^ seized the rail with both hands, he, in his turn, was over thrown. “ I am struck by a thunderbolt,” cried he, with an oath. This explained all. It was no rail, but a metallic cah^e, charged with electricity from the deck, communicating with the platform. Whoever touched it felt a powerful shock,—and this shock would have been mortal, if Captain Nemo had dis¬ charged into the conductor the whole force of the current. It might truly be said that between his assailants and himself he had stretched a network of electricity which none could pas? with impunity. Meanwhile, the exasperated Papuans had beaten a retreat, paralyzed with terror. As for us, half laughing, we consoled and rubbed the unfortmiate Ned Land, who swore like one possessed. But, at this moment, the Nautilus, raised by the last waves of the tide, quitted her coral bed exactly at the fortieth minute 148 rWENTV THOUSAITD LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. fixed by the captain. Her screw swept the waters slowly and majestically. Her speed inc: eased gradually, and sailing on the surface of the ocean, sne quitted safe and sound the dangerous ef. the ^b:aits of Torres. CHAPTER XXII “JSGRI SOMNIA.” The following day, 10th January, the Nautilus continued her course between two seas, but with such remarkable speed that [ could not estimate it at less than thirty-five miles an hour. The rapidity of her screw was such that I could neither follow nor count its evolutions. When I reflected that this marvellous electrre agent, after having afforded motion, heat, and fight to the Nautilus, still protected her from outward attack, and trans¬ formed her into an ark of safety w’hich no profane hand might touch without being thunderstricken, my admiration was un¬ bounded, and from the structure it extended to the engineer Who had called it into existence. Our course was directed to the west, and on the 11th Janu¬ ary we doubled Cape Wessel, situated in 135° longtitude and 10* north latitude, which forms tlie east point of the Gulf of Car¬ pentaria. The reefs were numerous, but more equalized, and marked on the chart with extreme precision. The Nautilus easily avoided the breakers of Money to port, and the Victoria reefs to starboard, placed at 130' longtitude, and on the tenth parallel which we strictly followed. On the 13th January, Captain Nemo arrived in the Sea of Timor and recognized the island of that name in 122° longitude. From this point the direction of the Nautilus inclined towards the southwest. Her head was set for the Indian Ocean. Where would the fancy of Captain Nemo carry us next ? Would he return to the coast of Asia ? or would he approach again the shores of Europe ? Improbable conjectures both, for a man who fled from inhabited continents. Then, would he descend to the south ? Was he going to double the Cape of Good Hope, 149 150 TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDEE THE SEAS, then Cape Horn, and finally go as far as the antarctic pole ? Would he come back at last to the Pacific, where his Nautilus could sail free and independently ? Time would show. After having skirted the sands of Cartier, Hibernia, Seringa* patam, and Scott, last efforts of the solid against the liquid ele¬ ment, on the 14th January we lost sight of land altogether. The speed of the Nautilus was considerably abated, and with irregular course, she sometimes swam in the bosom of the waters, some¬ times floated on their surface. During this period of the voyage, Captain Nemo made some interesting experiments on the varied temperature of the sea in different beds. Under ordinary conditions, these observations are made by means of rather complicated instruments, and with somewhat doubtful results, by means of thermometrical sound¬ ing-leads, the glasses often breaking under the pressure of the water, or an apparatus grounded on the variations of the resist¬ ance of metals to the electric currents. Results so obtained could not be correctly calculated. On the contrary. Captain Nemo went himself to test the temperature in the depths of the sea, and his thermometer, placed in communication with the different sheets of water, gave him the required degree immediately and accurately. It was thus that, either by overloading her reservoirs, or by descending obliquely by means of her inclined planes, the Nau¬ tilus successively attained the depth of three, four, five, seven, nine, and ten thousand yards, and the definite result of this ex¬ perience was, that the sea preserved an average temperature of four degrees and a half, at a depth of five thousand fathoms, under all latitudes. On the lf)th January, the Nautilus seemed becalmed, only a few yards beneath the surface of the waves. Her electric appa¬ ratus remained inactive, and her motionless screw left her to drift at the mercy of the currents. I supposed that the crew was occupied with interior repairs, rendered necessary by the vio¬ lence of the mechanical movements of the rnacnme. My companions and I then witnessed a curious spectacle. The hatches of the saloon were open, and us ilie beacon-light of the Nautilus was not in action, a dim obsr uilty reigned in the midst TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEAS. 151 of the waters. I observed the state of the sea under these con¬ ditions, and the largest fish appeared to me no more than scarcely defined shadows, when the Nautilus found herself suddenly trans¬ ported into full light. I thought at first that the beacon had been lighted, and was casting its electric radiance into the liquid mass. I was mistaken, and after a rapid suiTey perceived my error. The Nautilus floated in the midst of a phosphorescent bed, which, in tliis obscurity, became quite dazzling. It was produced by myriads of luminous anunalculae, whose brilliancy was in¬ creased as they glided over the metalfic hull of the vessel. I wa