The year 1866 was marked by a bizarre development , an unexplained and downright inexplicable phenomenon that surely no one has forgotten . Without getting into those rumors that upset civilians in the seaports and deranged the public mind even far inland , it must be said that professional seamen were especially alarmed . Traders , shipowners , captains of vessels , skippers , and master mariners from Europe and America , naval officers from every country , and at their heels the various national governments on these two continents , were all extremely disturbed by the business .
In essence , over a period of time several ships had encountered " an enormous thing " at sea , a long spindle - shaped object , sometimes giving off a phosphorescent glow , infinitely bigger and faster than any whale .
The relevant data on this apparition , as recorded in various logbooks , agreed pretty closely as to the structure of the object or creature in question , its unprecedented speed of movement , its startling locomotive power , and the unique vitality with which it seemed to be gifted . If it was a cetacean , it exceeded in bulk any whale previously classified by science . No naturalist , neither Cuvier nor Lacepede , neither Professor Dumeril nor Professor de Quatrefages , would have accepted the existence of such a monster sight unseen - - specifically , unseen by their own scientific eyes .
Striking an average of observations taken at different times - - rejecting those timid estimates that gave the object a length of 200 feet , and ignoring those exaggerated views that saw it as a mile wide and three long - - you could still assert that this phenomenal creature greatly exceeded the dimensions of anything then known to ichthyologists , if it existed at all .
Now then , it did exist , this was an undeniable fact ; and since the human mind dotes on objects of wonder , you can understand the worldwide excitement caused by this unearthly apparition . As for relegating it to the realm of fiction , that charge had to be dropped .
In essence , on July 20 , 1866 , the steamer Governor Higginson , from the Calcutta & Burnach Steam Navigation Co. , encountered this moving mass five miles off the eastern shores of Australia .
Captain Baker at first thought he was in the presence of an unknown reef ; he was even about to fix its exact position when two waterspouts shot out of this inexplicable object and sprang hissing into the air some 150 feet . So , unless this reef was subject to the intermittent eruptions of a geyser , the Governor Higginson had fair and honest dealings with some aquatic mammal , until then unknown , that could spurt from its blowholes waterspouts mixed with air and steam .
Similar events were likewise observed in Pacific seas , on July 23 of the same year , by the Christopher Columbus from the West India & Pacific Steam Navigation Co. Consequently , this extraordinary cetacean could transfer itself from one locality to another with startling swiftness , since within an interval of just three days , the Governor Higginson and the Christopher Columbus had observed it at two positions on the charts separated by a distance of more than 700 nautical leagues .
Fifteen days later and 2,000 leagues farther , the Helvetia from the Compagnie Nationale and the Shannon from the Royal Mail line , running on opposite tacks in that part of the Atlantic lying between the United States and Europe , respectively signaled each other that the monster had been sighted in latitude 42 degrees 15 ' north and longitude 60 degrees 35 ' west of the meridian of Greenwich . From their simultaneous observations , they were able to estimate the mammal 's minimum length at more than 350 English feet ; this was because both the Shannon and the Helvetia were of smaller dimensions , although each measured 100 meters stem to stern . Now then , the biggest whales , those rorqual whales that frequent the waterways of the Aleutian Islands , have never exceeded a length of 56 meters - - if they reach even that .
One after another , reports arrived that would profoundly affect public opinion : new observations taken by the transatlantic liner Pereire , the Inman line 's Etna running afoul of the monster , an official report drawn up by officers on the French frigate Normandy , dead - earnest reckonings obtained by the general staff of Commodore Fitz - James aboard the Lord Clyde . In lighthearted countries , people joked about this phenomenon , but such serious , practical countries as England , America , and Germany were deeply concerned .
In every big city the monster was the latest rage ; they sang about it in the coffee houses , they ridiculed it in the newspapers , they dramatized it in the theaters . The tabloids found it a fine opportunity for hatching all sorts of hoaxes . In those newspapers short of copy , you saw the reappearance of every gigantic imaginary creature , from " Moby Dick , " that dreadful white whale from the High Arctic regions , to the stupendous kraken whose tentacles could entwine a 500 - ton craft and drag it into the ocean depths . They even reprinted reports from ancient times : the views of Aristotle and Pliny accepting the existence of such monsters , then the Norwegian stories of Bishop Pontoppidan , the narratives of Paul Egede , and finally the reports of Captain Harrington - - whose good faith is above suspicion - - in which he claims he saw , while aboard the Castilian in 1857 , one of those enormous serpents that , until then , had frequented only the seas of France 's old extremist newspaper , The Constitutionalist .
An interminable debate then broke out between believers and skeptics in the scholarly societies and scientific journals . The " monster question " inflamed all minds . During this memorable campaign , journalists making a profession of science battled with those making a profession of wit , spilling waves of ink and some of them even two or three drops of blood , since they went from sea serpents to the most offensive personal remarks .
For six months the war seesawed . With inexhaustible zest , the popular press took potshots at feature articles from the Geographic Institute of Brazil , the Royal Academy of Science in Berlin , the British Association , the Smithsonian Institution in Washington , D.C. , at discussions in The Indian Archipelago , in Cosmos published by Father Moigno , in Petermann 's Mittheilungen , and at scientific chronicles in the great French and foreign newspapers . When the monster 's detractors cited a saying by the botanist Linnaeus that " nature doesn't make leaps , " witty writers in the popular periodicals parodied it , maintaining in essence that " nature does not make lunatics , " and ordering their contemporaries never to give the lie to nature by believing in krakens , sea serpents , " Moby Dicks , " and other all - out efforts from drunken seamen . Finally , in a much - feared satirical journal , an article by its most popular columnist finished off the monster for good , spurning it in the style of Hippolytus repulsing the amorous advances of his stepmother Phaedra , and giving the creature its quietus amid a universal burst of laughter . Wit had defeated science .
During the first months of the year 1867 , the question seemed to be buried , and it did not seem due for resurrection , when new facts were brought to the public 's attention . But now it was no longer an issue of a scientific problem to be solved , but a quite real and serious danger to be avoided . The question took an entirely new turn . The monster again became an islet , rock , or reef , but a runaway reef , unfixed and elusive .
On March 5 , 1867 , the Moravian from the Montreal Ocean Co. , lying during the night in latitude 27 degrees 30 ' and longitude 72 degrees 15 ' , ran its starboard quarter afoul of a rock marked on no charts of these waterways . Under the combined efforts of wind and 400 - horsepower steam , it was traveling at a speed of thirteen knots . Without the high quality of its hull , the Moravian would surely have split open from this collision and gone down together with those 237 passengers it was bringing back from Canada .
This accident happened around five o'clock in the morning , just as day was beginning to break . The officers on watch rushed to the craft 's stern . They examined the ocean with the most scrupulous care . They saw nothing except a strong eddy breaking three cable lengths out , as if those sheets of water had been violently churned . The site 's exact bearings were taken , and the Moravian continued on course apparently undamaged . Had it run afoul of an underwater rock or the wreckage of some enormous derelict ship ? They were unable to say . But when they examined its undersides in the service yard , they discovered that part of its keel had been smashed .
This occurrence , extremely serious in itself , might perhaps have been forgotten like so many others , if three weeks later it had not been reenacted under identical conditions . Only , thanks to the nationality of the ship victimized by this new ramming , and thanks to the reputation of the company to which this ship belonged , the event caused an immense uproar .
No one is unaware of the name of that famous English shipowner , Cunard . In 1840 this shrewd industrialist founded a postal service between Liverpool and Halifax , featuring three wooden ships with 400 - horsepower paddle wheels and a burden of 1,162 metric tons . Eight years later , the company 's assets were increased by four 650 - horsepower ships at 1,820 metric tons , and in two more years , by two other vessels of still greater power and tonnage . In 1853 the Cunard Co. , whose mail - carrying charter had just been renewed , successively added to its assets the Arabia , the Persia , the China , the Scotia , the Java , and the Russia , all ships of top speed and , after the Great Eastern , the biggest ever to plow the seas . So in 1867 this company owned twelve ships , eight with paddle wheels and four with propellers .
If I give these highly condensed details , it is so everyone can fully understand the importance of this maritime transportation company , known the world over for its shrewd management . No transoceanic navigational undertaking has been conducted with more ability , no business dealings have been crowned with greater success . In twenty - six years Cunard ships have made 2,000 Atlantic crossings without so much as a voyage canceled , a delay recorded , a man , a craft , or even a letter lost . Accordingly , despite strong competition from France , passengers still choose the Cunard line in preference to all others , as can be seen in a recent survey of official documents . Given this , no one will be astonished at the uproar provoked by this accident involving one of its finest steamers .
On April 13 , 1867 , with a smooth sea and a moderate breeze , the Scotia lay in longitude 15 degrees 12 ' and latitude 45 degrees 37 ' . It was traveling at a speed of 13.43 knots under the thrust of its 1,000 - horsepower engines . Its paddle wheels were churning the sea with perfect steadiness . It was then drawing 6.7 meters of water and displacing 6,624 cubic meters .
At 4:17 in the afternoon , during a high tea for passengers gathered in the main lounge , a collision occurred , scarcely noticeable on the whole , affecting the Scotia 's hull in that quarter a little astern of its port paddle wheel .
The Scotia had not run afoul of something , it had been fouled , and by a cutting or perforating instrument rather than a blunt one . This encounter seemed so minor that nobody on board would have been disturbed by it , had it not been for the shouts of crewmen in the hold , who climbed on deck yelling : " We are sinking ! We are sinking ! "
At first the passengers were quite frightened , but Captain Anderson hastened to reassure them . In fact , there could be no immediate danger . Divided into seven compartments by watertight bulkheads , the Scotia could brave any leak with impunity .
Captain Anderson immediately made his way into the hold . He discovered that the fifth compartment had been invaded by the sea , and the speed of this invasion proved that the leak was considerable . Fortunately this compartment did not contain the boilers , because their furnaces would have been abruptly extinguished .
Captain Anderson called an immediate halt , and one of his sailors dived down to assess the damage . Within moments they had located a hole two meters in width on the steamer 's underside . Such a leak could not be patched , and with its paddle wheels half swamped , the Scotia had no choice but to continue its voyage . By then it lay 300 miles from Cape Clear , and after three days of delay that filled Liverpool with acute anxiety , it entered the company docks .
The engineers then proceeded to inspect the Scotia , which had been put in dry dock . They could not believe their eyes . Two and a half meters below its waterline , there gaped a symmetrical gash in the shape of an isosceles triangle . This breach in the sheet iron was so perfectly formed , no punch could have done a cleaner job of it . Consequently , it must have been produced by a perforating tool of uncommon toughness - - plus , after being launched with prodigious power and then piercing four centimeters of sheet iron , this tool had needed to withdraw itself by a backward motion truly inexplicable .
This was the last straw , and it resulted in arousing public passions all over again . Indeed , from this moment on , any maritime casualty without an established cause was charged to the monster 's account . This outrageous animal had to shoulder responsibility for all derelict vessels , whose numbers are unfortunately considerable , since out of those 3,000 ships whose losses are recorded annually at the marine insurance bureau , the figure for steam or sailing ships supposedly lost with all hands , in the absence of any news , amounts to at least 200 !
Now then , justly or unjustly , it was the " monster " who stood accused of their disappearance ; and since , thanks to it , travel between the various continents had become more and more dangerous , the public spoke up and demanded straight out that , at all cost , the seas be purged of this fearsome cetacean .
During the period in which these developments were occurring , I had returned from a scientific undertaking organized to explore the Nebraska badlands in the United States . In my capacity as Assistant Professor at the Paris Museum of Natural History , I had been attached to this expedition by the French government . After spending six months in Nebraska , I arrived in New York laden with valuable collections near the end of March . My departure for France was set for early May . In the meantime , then , I was busy classifying my mineralogical , botanical , and zoological treasures when that incident took place with the Scotia .
I was perfectly abreast of this question , which was the big news of the day , and how could I not have been ? I had read and reread every American and European newspaper without being any farther along . This mystery puzzled me . Finding it impossible to form any views , I drifted from one extreme to the other . Something was out there , that much was certain , and any doubting Thomas was invited to place his finger on the Scotia 's wound .
When I arrived in New York , the question was at the boiling point . The hypothesis of a drifting islet or an elusive reef , put forward by people not quite in their right minds , was completely eliminated . And indeed , unless this reef had an engine in its belly , how could it move about with such prodigious speed ?
Also discredited was the idea of a floating hull or some other enormous wreckage , and again because of this speed of movement .
So only two possible solutions to the question were left , creating two very distinct groups of supporters : on one side , those favoring a monster of colossal strength ; on the other , those favoring an " underwater boat " of tremendous motor power .
Now then , although the latter hypothesis was completely admissible , it could not stand up to inquiries conducted in both the New World and the Old . That a private individual had such a mechanism at his disposal was less than probable . Where and when had he built it , and how could he have built it in secret ?
Only some government could own such an engine of destruction , and in these disaster - filled times , when men tax their ingenuity to build increasingly powerful aggressive weapons , it was possible that , unknown to the rest of the world , some nation could have been testing such a fearsome machine . The Chassepot rifle led to the torpedo , and the torpedo has led to this underwater battering ram , which in turn will lead to the world putting its foot down . At least I hope it will .
But this hypothesis of a war machine collapsed in the face of formal denials from the various governments . Since the public interest was at stake and transoceanic travel was suffering , the sincerity of these governments could not be doubted . Besides , how could the assembly of this underwater boat have escaped public notice ? Keeping a secret under such circumstances would be difficult enough for an individual , and certainly impossible for a nation whose every move is under constant surveillance by rival powers .
So , after inquiries conducted in England , France , Russia , Prussia , Spain , Italy , America , and even Turkey , the hypothesis of an underwater Monitor was ultimately rejected .
And so the monster surfaced again , despite the endless witticisms heaped on it by the popular press , and the human imagination soon got caught up in the most ridiculous ichthyological fantasies .
After I arrived in New York , several people did me the honor of consulting me on the phenomenon in question . In France I had published a two - volume work , in quarto , entitled The Mysteries of the Great Ocean Depths . Well received in scholarly circles , this book had established me as a specialist in this pretty obscure field of natural history . My views were in demand . As long as I could deny the reality of the business , I confined myself to a flat " no comment . " But soon , pinned to the wall , I had to explain myself straight out . And in this vein , " the honorable Pierre Aronnax , Professor at the Paris Museum , " was summoned by The New York Herald to formulate his views no matter what .
I complied . Since I could no longer hold my tongue , I let it wag . I discussed the question in its every aspect , both political and scientific , and this is an excerpt from the well - padded article I published in the issue of April 30 .
" Therefore , " I wrote , " after examining these different hypotheses one by one , we are forced , every other supposition having been refuted , to accept the existence of an extremely powerful marine animal . "
" The deepest parts of the ocean are totally unknown to us . No soundings have been able to reach them . What goes on in those distant depths ? What creatures inhabit , or could inhabit , those regions twelve or fifteen miles beneath the surface of the water ? What is the constitution of these animals ? It 's almost beyond conjecture . "
" However , the solution to this problem submitted to me can take the form of a choice between two alternatives . "
" Either we know every variety of creature populating our planet , or we do not . "
" If we do not know every one of them , if nature still keeps ichthyological secrets from us , nothing is more admissible than to accept the existence of fish or cetaceans of new species or even new genera , animals with a basically ' cast - iron ' constitution that inhabit strata beyond the reach of our soundings , and which some development or other , an urge or a whim if you prefer , can bring to the upper level of the ocean for long intervals . "
" If , on the other hand , we do know every living species , we must look for the animal in question among those marine creatures already cataloged , and in this event I would be inclined to accept the existence of a giant narwhale . "
" The common narwhale , or sea unicorn , often reaches a length of sixty feet . Increase its dimensions fivefold or even tenfold , then give this cetacean a strength in proportion to its size while enlarging its offensive weapons , and you have the animal we are looking for . It would have the proportions determined by the officers of the Shannon , the instrument needed to perforate the Scotia , and the power to pierce a steamer 's hull . "
" In essence , the narwhale is armed with a sort of ivory sword , or lance , as certain naturalists have expressed it . It 's a king - sized tooth as hard as steel . Some of these teeth have been found buried in the bodies of baleen whales , which the narwhale attacks with invariable success . Others have been wrenched , not without difficulty , from the undersides of vessels that narwhales have pierced clean through , as a gimlet pierces a wine barrel . The museum at the Faculty of Medicine in Paris owns one of these tusks with a length of 2.25 meters and a width at its base of forty - eight centimeters ! "
" All right then ! Imagine this weapon to be ten times stronger and the animal ten times more powerful , launch it at a speed of twenty miles per hour , multiply its mass times its velocity , and you get just the collision we need to cause the specified catastrophe . "
" So , until information becomes more abundant , I plump for a sea unicorn of colossal dimensions , no longer armed with a mere lance but with an actual spur , like ironclad frigates or those warships called ' rams , ' whose mass and motor power it would possess simultaneously . "
" This inexplicable phenomenon is thus explained away - - unless it 's something else entirely , which , despite everything that has been sighted , studied , explored and experienced , is still possible ! "
These last words were cowardly of me ; but as far as I could , I wanted to protect my professorial dignity and not lay myself open to laughter from the Americans , who when they do laugh , laugh raucously . I had left myself a loophole . Yet deep down , I had accepted the existence of " the monster . "
My article was hotly debated , causing a fine old uproar . It rallied a number of supporters . Moreover , the solution it proposed allowed for free play of the imagination . The human mind enjoys impressive visions of unearthly creatures . Now then , the sea is precisely their best medium , the only setting suitable for the breeding and growing of such giants - - next to which such land animals as elephants or rhinoceroses are mere dwarves . The liquid masses support the largest known species of mammals and perhaps conceal mollusks of incomparable size or crustaceans too frightful to contemplate , such as 100 - meter lobsters or crabs weighing 200 metric tons ! Why not ? Formerly , in prehistoric days , land animals ( quadrupeds , apes , reptiles , birds ) were built on a gigantic scale . Our Creator cast them using a colossal mold that time has gradually made smaller . With its untold depths , couldn't the sea keep alive such huge specimens of life from another age , this sea that never changes while the land masses undergo almost continuous alteration ? Could not the heart of the ocean hide the last - remaining varieties of these titanic species , for whom years are centuries and centuries millennia ?
But I must not let these fantasies run away with me ! Enough of these fairy tales that time has changed for me into harsh realities . I repeat : opinion had crystallized as to the nature of this phenomenon , and the public accepted without argument the existence of a prodigious creature that had nothing in common with the fabled sea serpent .
Yet if some saw it purely as a scientific problem to be solved , more practical people , especially in America and England , were determined to purge the ocean of this daunting monster , to insure the safety of transoceanic travel . The industrial and commercial newspapers dealt with the question chiefly from this viewpoint . The Shipping & Mercantile Gazette , the Lloyd 's List , France 's Packetboat and Maritime & Colonial Review , all the rags devoted to insurance companies - - who threatened to raise their premium rates - - were unanimous on this point .
Public opinion being pronounced , the States of the Union were the first in the field . In New York preparations were under way for an expedition designed to chase this narwhale . A high - speed frigate , the Abraham Lincoln , was fitted out for putting to sea as soon as possible . The naval arsenals were unlocked for Commander Farragut , who pressed energetically forward with the arming of his frigate .
But , as it always happens , just when a decision had been made to chase the monster , the monster put in no further appearances . For two months nobody heard a word about it . Not a single ship encountered it . Apparently the unicorn had gotten wise to these plots being woven around it . People were constantly babbling about the creature , even via the Atlantic Cable ! Accordingly , the wags claimed that this slippery rascal had waylaid some passing telegram and was making the most of it .
So the frigate was equipped for a far - off voyage and armed with fearsome fishing gear , but nobody knew where to steer it . And impatience grew until , on June 2 , word came that the Tampico , a steamer on the San Francisco line sailing from California to Shanghai , had sighted the animal again , three weeks before in the northerly seas of the Pacific .
This news caused intense excitement . Not even a 24 - hour breather was granted to Commander Farragut . His provisions were loaded on board . His coal bunkers were overflowing . Not a crewman was missing from his post . To cast off , he needed only to fire and stoke his furnaces ! Half a day 's delay would have been unforgivable ! But Commander Farragut wanted nothing more than to go forth .
I received a letter three hours before the Abraham Lincoln left its Brooklyn pier ; the letter read as follows :
Pierre Aronnax , Professor at the Paris Museum , Fifth Avenue Hotel , New York .
Sir : If you would like to join the expedition on the Abraham Lincoln , the government of the Union will be pleased to regard you as France 's representative in this undertaking . Commander Farragut has a cabin at your disposal .
Very cordially yours , J.B. Hobson , Secretary of the Navy .
Three seconds before the arrival of J.B. Hobson 's letter , I no more dreamed of chasing the unicorn than of trying for the Northwest Passage . Three seconds after reading this letter from the honorable Secretary of the Navy , I understood at last that my true vocation , my sole purpose in life , was to hunt down this disturbing monster and rid the world of it .
Even so , I had just returned from an arduous journey , exhausted and badly needing a rest . I wanted nothing more than to see my country again , my friends , my modest quarters by the Botanical Gardens , my dearly beloved collections ! But now nothing could hold me back . I forgot everything else , and without another thought of exhaustion , friends , or collections , I accepted the American government 's offer .
" Besides , " I mused , " all roads lead home to Europe , and our unicorn may be gracious enough to take me toward the coast of France ! That fine animal may even let itself be captured in European seas - - as a personal favor to me - - and I will bring back to the Museum of Natural History at least half a meter of its ivory lance ! "
But in the meantime I would have to look for this narwhale in the northern Pacific Ocean ; which meant returning to France by way of the Antipodes .
" Conseil ! " I called in an impatient voice .
Conseil was my manservant . A devoted lad who went with me on all my journeys ; a gallant Flemish boy whom I genuinely liked and who returned the compliment ; a born stoic , punctilious on principle , habitually hardworking , rarely startled by life 's surprises , very skillful with his hands , efficient in his every duty , and despite his having a name that means " counsel , " never giving advice - - not even the unsolicited kind !
From rubbing shoulders with scientists in our little universe by the Botanical Gardens , the boy had come to know a thing or two . In Conseil I had a seasoned specialist in biological classification , an enthusiast who could run with acrobatic agility up and down the whole ladder of branches , groups , classes , subclasses , orders , families , genera , subgenera , species , and varieties . But there his science came to a halt . Classifying was everything to him , so he knew nothing else . Well versed in the theory of classification , he was poorly versed in its practical application , and I doubt that he could tell a sperm whale from a baleen whale ! And yet , what a fine , gallant lad !
For the past ten years , Conseil had gone with me wherever science beckoned . Not once did he comment on the length or the hardships of a journey . Never did he object to buckling up his suitcase for any country whatever , China or the Congo , no matter how far off it was . He went here , there , and everywhere in perfect contentment . Moreover , he enjoyed excellent health that defied all ailments , owned solid muscles , but had not a nerve in him , not a sign of nerves - - the mental type , I mean .
The lad was thirty years old , and his age to that of his employer was as fifteen is to twenty . Please forgive me for this underhanded way of admitting I had turned forty .
But Conseil had one flaw . He was a fanatic on formality , and he only addressed me in the third person - - to the point where it got tiresome .
" Conseil ! " I repeated , while feverishly beginning my preparations for departure .
To be sure , I had confidence in this devoted lad . Ordinarily , I never asked whether or not it suited him to go with me on my journeys ; but this time an expedition was at issue that could drag on indefinitely , a hazardous undertaking whose purpose was to hunt an animal that could sink a frigate as easily as a walnut shell ! There was good reason to stop and think , even for the world 's most emotionless man . What would Conseil say ?
" Conseil ! " I called a third time .
Conseil appeared .
" Did master summon me ? " he said , entering .
" Yes , my boy . Get my things ready , get yours ready . We are departing in two hours . "
" As master wishes , " Conseil replied serenely .
" We haven't a moment to lose . Pack as much into my trunk as you can , my traveling kit , my suits , shirts , and socks , do not bother counting , just squeeze it all in - - and hurry ! "
" What about master 's collections ? " Conseil ventured to observe .
" We will deal with them later . "
" What ! The archaeotherium , hyracotherium , oreodonts , cheiropotamus , and master 's other fossil skeletons ? "
" The hotel will keep them for us . "
" What about master 's live babirusa ? "
" They will feed it during our absence . Anyhow , we'll leave instructions to ship the whole menagerie to France . "
" Then we are not returning to Paris ? " Conseil asked .
" Yes , we are ... certainly ... , " I replied evasively , " but after we make a detour . "
" Whatever detour master wishes . "
" Oh , it 's nothing really ! A route slightly less direct , that 's all . We are leaving on the Abraham Lincoln . "
" As master thinks best , " Conseil replied placidly .
" You see , my friend , it 's an issue of the monster , the notorious narwhale . We are going to rid the seas of it ! The author of a two - volume work , in quarto , on The Mysteries of the Great Ocean Depths has no excuse for not setting sail with Commander Farragut . It 's a glorious mission but also a dangerous one ! We do not know where it will take us ! These beasts can be quite unpredictable ! But we are going just the same ! We have a commander who 's game for anything ! "
" What master does , I will do , " Conseil replied .
" But think it over , because I don't want to hide anything from you . This is one of those voyages from which people do not always come back ! "
" As master wishes . "
A quarter of an hour later , our trunks were ready . Conseil did them in a flash , and I was sure the lad had not missed a thing , because he classified shirts and suits as expertly as birds and mammals .
The hotel elevator dropped us off in the main vestibule on the mezzanine . I went down a short stair leading to the ground floor . I settled my bill at that huge counter that was always under siege by a considerable crowd . I left instructions for shipping my containers of stuffed animals and dried plants to Paris , France . I opened a line of credit sufficient to cover the babirusa and , Conseil at my heels , I jumped into a carriage .
For a fare of twenty francs , the vehicle went down Broadway to Union Square , took Fourth Ave . to its junction with Bowery St. , turned into Katrin St. and halted at Pier 34 . There the Katrin ferry transferred men , horses , and carriage to Brooklyn , that great New York annex located on the left bank of the East River , and in a few minutes we arrived at the wharf next to which the Abraham Lincoln was vomiting torrents of black smoke from its two funnels .
Our baggage was immediately carried to the deck of the frigate . I rushed aboard . I asked for Commander Farragut . One of the sailors led me to the afterdeck , where I stood in the presence of a smart - looking officer who extended his hand to me .
" Professor Pierre Aronnax ? " he said to me .
" The same , " I replied . " Commander Farragut ? "
" In person . Welcome aboard , professor . Your cabin is waiting for you . "
I bowed , and letting the commander attend to getting under way , I was taken to the cabin that had been set aside for me .
The Abraham Lincoln had been perfectly chosen and fitted out for its new assignment . It was a high - speed frigate furnished with superheating equipment that allowed the tension of its steam to build to seven atmospheres . Under this pressure the Abraham Lincoln reached an average speed of 18.3 miles per hour , a considerable speed but still not enough to cope with our gigantic cetacean .
The frigate 's interior accommodations complemented its nautical virtues . I was well satisfied with my cabin , which was located in the stern and opened into the officers ' mess .
" We will be quite comfortable here , " I told Conseil .
" With all due respect to master , " Conseil replied , " as comfortable as a hermit crab inside the shell of a whelk . "
I left Conseil to the proper stowing of our luggage and climbed on deck to watch the preparations for getting under way .
Just then Commander Farragut was giving orders to cast off the last moorings holding the Abraham Lincoln to its Brooklyn pier . And so if I ' d been delayed by a quarter of an hour or even less , the frigate would have gone without me , and I would have missed out on this unearthly , extraordinary , and inconceivable expedition , whose true story might well meet with some skepticism .
But Commander Farragut did not want to waste a single day , or even a single hour , in making for those seas where the animal had just been sighted . He summoned his engineer .
" Are we up to pressure ? " he asked the man .
" Aye , sir , " the engineer replied .
" Go ahead , then ! " Commander Farragut called .
At this order , which was relayed to the engine by means of a compressed - air device , the mechanics activated the start - up wheel . Steam rushed whistling into the gaping valves . Long horizontal pistons groaned and pushed the tie rods of the drive shaft . The blades of the propeller churned the waves with increasing speed , and the Abraham Lincoln moved out majestically amid a spectator - laden escort of some 100 ferries and tenders .
The wharves of Brooklyn , and every part of New York bordering the East River , were crowded with curiosity seekers . Departing from 500,000 throats , three cheers burst forth in succession . Thousands of handkerchiefs were waving above these tightly packed masses , hailing the Abraham Lincoln until it reached the waters of the Hudson River , at the tip of the long peninsula that forms New York City .
The frigate then went along the New Jersey coast - - the wonderful right bank of this river , all loaded down with country homes - - and passed by the forts to salutes from their biggest cannons . The Abraham Lincoln replied by three times lowering and hoisting the American flag , whose thirty - nine stars gleamed from the gaff of the mizzen sail ; then , changing speed to take the buoy - marked channel that curved into the inner bay formed by the spit of Sandy Hook , it hugged this sand - covered strip of land where thousands of spectators acclaimed us one more time .
The escort of boats and tenders still followed the frigate and only left us when we came abreast of the lightship , whose two signal lights mark the entrance of the narrows to Upper New York Bay .
Three o'clock then sounded . The harbor pilot went down into his dinghy and rejoined a little schooner waiting for him to leeward . The furnaces were stoked ; the propeller churned the waves more swiftly ; the frigate skirted the flat , yellow coast of Long Island ; and at eight o'clock in the evening , after the lights of Fire Island had vanished into the northwest , we ran at full steam onto the dark waters of the Atlantic .
Commander Farragut was a good seaman , worthy of the frigate he commanded . His ship and he were one . He was its very soul . On the cetacean question no doubts arose in his mind , and he did not allow the animal 's existence to be disputed aboard his vessel . He believed in it as certain pious women believe in the leviathan from the Book of Job - - out of faith , not reason . The monster existed , and he had vowed to rid the seas of it . The man was a sort of Knight of Rhodes , a latter - day Sir Dieudonne of Gozo , on his way to fight an encounter with the dragon devastating the island . Either Commander Farragut would slay the narwhale , or the narwhale would slay Commander Farragut . No middle of the road for these two .
The ship 's officers shared the views of their leader . They could be heard chatting , discussing , arguing , calculating the different chances of an encounter , and observing the vast expanse of the ocean . Voluntary watches from the crosstrees of the topgallant sail were self - imposed by more than one who would have cursed such toil under any other circumstances . As often as the sun swept over its daily arc , the masts were populated with sailors whose feet itched and couldn't hold still on the planking of the deck below ! And the Abraham Lincoln 's stempost had not even cut the suspected waters of the Pacific .
As for the crew , they only wanted to encounter the unicorn , harpoon it , haul it on board , and carve it up . They surveyed the sea with scrupulous care . Besides , Commander Farragut had mentioned that a certain sum of $ 2,000.00 was waiting for the man who first sighted the animal , be he cabin boy or sailor , mate or officer . I will let the reader decide whether eyes got proper exercise aboard the Abraham Lincoln .
As for me , I did not lag behind the others and I yielded to no one my share in these daily observations . Our frigate would have had fivescore good reasons for renaming itself the Argus , after that mythological beast with 100 eyes ! The lone rebel among us was Conseil , who seemed utterly uninterested in the question exciting us and was out of step with the general enthusiasm on board .
As I said , Commander Farragut had carefully equipped his ship with all the gear needed to fish for a gigantic cetacean . No whaling vessel could have been better armed . We had every known mechanism , from the hand - hurled harpoon , to the blunderbuss firing barbed arrows , to the duck gun with exploding bullets . On the forecastle was mounted the latest model breech - loading cannon , very heavy of barrel and narrow of bore , a weapon that would figure in the Universal Exhibition of 1867 . Made in America , this valuable instrument could fire a four - kilogram conical projectile an average distance of sixteen kilometers without the least bother .
So the Abraham Lincoln was not lacking in means of destruction . But it had better still . It had Ned Land , the King of Harpooners .
Gifted with uncommon manual ability , Ned Land was a Canadian who had no equal in his dangerous trade . Dexterity , coolness , bravery , and cunning were virtues he possessed to a high degree , and it took a truly crafty baleen whale or an exceptionally astute sperm whale to elude the thrusts of his harpoon .
Ned Land was about forty years old . A man of great height - - over six English feet - - he was powerfully built , serious in manner , not very sociable , sometimes headstrong , and quite ill - tempered when crossed . His looks caught the attention , and above all the strength of his gaze , which gave a unique emphasis to his facial appearance .
Commander Farragut , to my thinking , had made a wise move in hiring on this man . With his eye and his throwing arm , he was worth the whole crew all by himself . I can do no better than to compare him with a powerful telescope that could double as a cannon always ready to fire .
To say Canadian is to say French , and as unsociable as Ned Land was , I must admit he took a definite liking to me . No doubt it was my nationality that attracted him . It was an opportunity for him to speak , and for me to hear , that old Rabelaisian dialect still used in some Canadian provinces . The harpooner 's family originated in Quebec , and they were already a line of bold fishermen back in the days when this town still belonged to France .
Little by little Ned developed a taste for chatting , and I loved hearing the tales of his adventures in the polar seas . He described his fishing trips and his battles with great natural lyricism . His tales took on the form of an epic poem , and I felt I was hearing some Canadian Homer reciting his Iliad of the High Arctic regions .
I am writing of this bold companion as I currently know him . Because we've become old friends , united in that permanent comradeship born and cemented during only the most frightful crises ! Ah , my gallant Ned ! I ask only to live 100 years more , the longer to remember you !
And now , what were Ned Land 's views on this question of a marine monster ? I must admit that he flatly didn't believe in the unicorn , and alone on board , he did not share the general conviction . He avoided even dealing with the subject , for which one day I felt compelled to take him to task .
During the magnificent evening of June 25 - - in other words , three weeks after our departure - - the frigate lay abreast of Cabo Blanco , thirty miles to leeward of the coast of Patagonia . We had crossed the Tropic of Capricorn , and the Strait of Magellan opened less than 700 miles to the south . Before eight days were out , the Abraham Lincoln would plow the waves of the Pacific .
Seated on the afterdeck , Ned Land and I chatted about one thing and another , staring at that mysterious sea whose depths to this day are beyond the reach of human eyes . Quite naturally , I led our conversation around to the giant unicorn , and I weighed our expedition 's various chances for success or failure . Then , seeing that Ned just let me talk without saying much himself , I pressed him more closely .
" Ned , " I asked him , " how can you still doubt the reality of this cetacean we are after ? Do you have any particular reasons for being so skeptical ? "
The harpooner stared at me awhile before replying , slapped his broad forehead in one of his standard gestures , closed his eyes as if to collect himself , and finally said : " Just maybe , Professor Aronnax . "
" But Ned , you are a professional whaler , a man familiar with all the great marine mammals - - your mind should easily accept this hypothesis of an enormous cetacean , and you ought to be the last one to doubt it under these circumstances ! "
" That 's just where you are mistaken , professor , " Ned replied . " The common man may still believe in fabulous comets crossing outer space , or in prehistoric monsters living at the earth 's core , but astronomers and geologists do not swallow such fairy tales . It 's the same with whalers . I've chased plenty of cetaceans , I've harpooned a good number , I've killed several . But no matter how powerful and well armed they were , neither their tails or their tusks could puncture the sheet - iron plates of a steamer . "
" Even so , Ned , people mention vessels that narwhale tusks have run clean through . "
" Wooden ships maybe , " the Canadian replied . " But I've never seen the like . So till I have proof to the contrary , I will deny that baleen whales , sperm whales , or unicorns can do any such thing . "
" Listen to me , Ned - - "
" No , no , professor . I will go along with anything you want except that . Some gigantic devilfish maybe ... ? "
" Even less likely , Ned . The devilfish is merely a mollusk , and even this name hints at its semiliquid flesh , because it 's Latin meaning soft one . The devilfish does not belong to the vertebrate branch , and even if it were 500 feet long , it would still be utterly harmless to ships like the Scotia or the Abraham Lincoln . Consequently , the feats of krakens or other monsters of that ilk must be relegated to the realm of fiction . "
" So , Mr. Naturalist , " Ned Land continued in a bantering tone , " you will just keep on believing in the existence of some enormous cetacean ... ? "
" Yes , Ned , I repeat it with a conviction backed by factual logic . I believe in the existence of a mammal with a powerful constitution , belonging to the vertebrate branch like baleen whales , sperm whales , or dolphins , and armed with a tusk made of horn that has tremendous penetrating power . "
" Humph ! " the harpooner put in , shaking his head with the attitude of a man who does not want to be convinced .
" Note well , my fine Canadian , " I went on , " if such an animal exists , if it lives deep in the ocean , if it frequents the liquid strata located miles beneath the surface of the water , it needs to have a constitution so solid , it defies all comparison . "
" And why this powerful constitution ? " Ned asked .
" Because it takes incalculable strength just to live in those deep strata and withstand their pressure . "
" Oh really ? " Ned said , tipping me a wink .
" Oh really , and I can prove it to you with a few simple figures . "
" Bosh ! " Ned replied . " You can make figures do anything you want ! "
" In business , Ned , but not in mathematics . Listen to me . Let 's accept that the pressure of one atmosphere is represented by the pressure of a column of water thirty - two feet high . In reality , such a column of water would not be quite so high because here we are dealing with salt water , which is denser than fresh water . Well then , when you dive under the waves , Ned , for every thirty - two feet of water above you , your body is tolerating the pressure of one more atmosphere , in other words , one more kilogram per each square centimeter on your body 's surface . So it follows that at 320 feet down , this pressure is equal to ten atmospheres , to 100 atmospheres at 3,200 feet , and to 1,000 atmospheres at 32,000 feet , that is , at about two and a half vertical leagues down . Which is tantamount to saying that if you could reach such a depth in the ocean , each square centimeter on your body 's surface would be experiencing 1,000 kilograms of pressure . Now , my gallant Ned , do you know how many square centimeters you have on your bodily surface ? "
" I have not the foggiest notion , Professor Aronnax . "
" About 17,000 . "
" As many as that ? "
" Yes , and since the atmosphere 's pressure actually weighs slightly more than one kilogram per square centimeter , your 17,000 square centimeters are tolerating 17,568 kilograms at this very moment . "
" Without my noticing it ? "
" Without your noticing it . And if you are not crushed by so much pressure , it 's because the air penetrates the interior of your body with equal pressure . When the inside and outside pressures are in perfect balance , they neutralize each other and allow you to tolerate them without discomfort . But in the water it 's another story . "
" Yes , I see , " Ned replied , growing more interested . " Because the water surrounds me but does not penetrate me . "
" Precisely , Ned . So at thirty - two feet beneath the surface of the sea , you will undergo a pressure of 17,568 kilograms ; at 320 feet , or ten times greater pressure , it 's 175,680 kilograms ; at 3,200 feet , or 100 times greater pressure , it 's 1,756,800 kilograms ; finally , at 32,000 feet , or 1,000 times greater pressure , it 's 17,568,000 kilograms ; in other words , you ' d be squashed as flat as if you ' d just been yanked from between the plates of a hydraulic press ! "
" Fire and brimstone ! " Ned put in .
" All right then , my fine harpooner , if vertebrates several hundred meters long and proportionate in bulk live at such depths , their surface areas make up millions of square centimeters , and the pressure they undergo must be assessed in billions of kilograms . Calculate , then , how much resistance of bone structure and strength of constitution they ' d need in order to withstand such pressures ! "
" They ' d need to be manufactured , " Ned Land replied , " from sheet - iron plates eight inches thick , like ironclad frigates . "
" Right , Ned , and then picture the damage such a mass could inflict if it were launched with the speed of an express train against a ship 's hull . "
" Yes ... indeed ... maybe , " the Canadian replied , staggered by these figures but still not willing to give in .
" Well , have I convinced you ? "
" You've convinced me of one thing , Mr. Naturalist . That deep in the sea , such animals would need to be just as strong as you say - - if they exist . "
" But if they do not exist , my stubborn harpooner , how do you explain the accident that happened to the Scotia ? "
" It 's maybe ... , " Ned said , hesitating .
" Go on ! "
" Because ... it just could not be true ! " the Canadian replied , unconsciously echoing a famous catchphrase of the scientist Arago .
But this reply proved nothing , other than how bullheaded the harpooner could be . That day I pressed him no further . The Scotia 's accident was undeniable . Its hole was real enough that it had to be plugged up , and I don't think a hole 's existence can be more emphatically proven . Now then , this hole didn't make itself , and since it had not resulted from underwater rocks or underwater machines , it must have been caused by the perforating tool of some animal .
Now , for all the reasons put forward to this point , I believed that this animal was a member of the branch Vertebrata , class Mammalia , group Pisciforma , and finally , order Cetacea . As for the family in which it would be placed ( baleen whale , sperm whale , or dolphin ) , the genus to which it belonged , and the species in which it would find its proper home , these questions had to be left for later . To answer them called for dissecting this unknown monster ; to dissect it called for catching it ; to catch it called for harpooning it - - which was Ned Land 's business ; to harpoon it called for sighting it - - which was the crew 's business ; and to sight it called for encountering it - - which was a chancy business .
For some while the voyage of the Abraham Lincoln was marked by no incident . But one circumstance arose that displayed Ned Land 's marvelous skills and showed just how much confidence we could place in him .
Off the Falkland Islands on June 30 , the frigate came in contact with a fleet of American whalers , and we learned that they had not seen the narwhale . But one of them , the captain of the Monroe , knew that Ned Land had shipped aboard the Abraham Lincoln and asked his help in hunting a baleen whale that was in sight . Anxious to see Ned Land at work , Commander Farragut authorized him to make his way aboard the Monroe . And the Canadian had such good luck that with a right - and - left shot , he harpooned not one whale but two , striking the first straight to the heart and catching the other after a few minutes ' chase !
Assuredly , if the monster ever had to deal with Ned Land 's harpoon , I would not bet on the monster .
The frigate sailed along the east coast of South America with prodigious speed . By July 3 we were at the entrance to the Strait of Magellan , abreast of Cabo de las Virgenes . But Commander Farragut was unwilling to attempt this tortuous passageway and maneuvered instead to double Cape Horn .
The crew sided with him unanimously . Indeed , were we likely to encounter the narwhale in such a cramped strait ? Many of our sailors swore that the monster could not negotiate this passageway simply because " he is too big for it ! "
Near three o'clock in the afternoon on July 6 , fifteen miles south of shore , the Abraham Lincoln doubled that solitary islet at the tip of the South American continent , that stray rock Dutch seamen had named Cape Horn after their hometown of Hoorn . Our course was set for the northwest , and the next day our frigate 's propeller finally churned the waters of the Pacific .
" Open your eyes ! Open your eyes ! " repeated the sailors of the Abraham Lincoln .
And they opened amazingly wide . Eyes and spyglasses ( a bit dazzled , it is true , by the vista of $ 2,000.00 ) did not remain at rest for an instant . Day and night we observed the surface of the ocean , and those with nyctalopic eyes , whose ability to see in the dark increased their chances by fifty percent , had an excellent shot at winning the prize .
As for me , I was hardly drawn by the lure of money and yet was far from the least attentive on board . Snatching only a few minutes for meals and a few hours for sleep , come rain or come shine , I no longer left the ship 's deck . Sometimes bending over the forecastle railings , sometimes leaning against the sternrail , I eagerly scoured that cotton - colored wake that whitened the ocean as far as the eye could see ! And how many times I shared the excitement of general staff and crew when some unpredictable whale lifted its blackish back above the waves . In an instant the frigate 's deck would become densely populated . The cowls over the companionways would vomit a torrent of sailors and officers . With panting chests and anxious eyes , we each would observe the cetacean 's movements . I stared ; I stared until I nearly went blind from a worn - out retina , while Conseil , as stoic as ever , kept repeating to me in a calm tone : " If master 's eyes would kindly stop bulging , master will see farther ! "
But what a waste of energy ! The Abraham Lincoln would change course and race after the animal sighted , only to find an ordinary baleen whale or a common sperm whale that soon disappeared amid a chorus of curses !
However , the weather held good . Our voyage was proceeding under the most favorable conditions . By then it was the bad season in these southernmost regions , because July in this zone corresponds to our January in Europe ; but the sea remained smooth and easily visible over a vast perimeter .
Ned Land still kept up the most tenacious skepticism ; beyond his spells on watch , he pretended that he never even looked at the surface of the waves , at least while no whales were in sight . And yet the marvelous power of his vision could have performed yeoman service . But this stubborn Canadian spent eight hours out of every twelve reading or sleeping in his cabin . A hundred times I chided him for his unconcern .
" Bah ! " he replied . " Nothing 's out there , Professor Aronnax , and if there is some animal , what chance would we have of spotting it ? can not you see we are just wandering around at random ? People say they've sighted this slippery beast again in the Pacific high seas - - I am truly willing to believe it , but two months have already gone by since then , and judging by your narwhale 's personality , it hates growing moldy from hanging out too long in the same waterways ! It 's blessed with a terrific gift for getting around . Now , professor , you know even better than I that nature doesn't violate good sense , and she wouldn't give some naturally slow animal the ability to move swiftly if it had not a need to use that talent . So if the beast does exist , it 's already long gone ! "
I had no reply to this . Obviously we were just groping blindly . But how else could we go about it ? All the same , our chances were automatically pretty limited . Yet everyone still felt confident of success , and not a sailor on board would have bet against the narwhale appearing , and soon .
On July 20 we cut the Tropic of Capricorn at longitude 105 degrees , and by the 27 th of the same month , we had cleared the equator on the 110 th meridian . These bearings determined , the frigate took a more decisive westward heading and tackled the seas of the central Pacific . Commander Farragut felt , and with good reason , that it was best to stay in deep waters and keep his distance from continents or islands , whose neighborhoods the animal always seemed to avoid - - " No doubt , " our bosun said , " because there is not enough water for him ! " So the frigate kept well out when passing the Tuamotu , Marquesas , and Hawaiian Islands , then cut the Tropic of Cancer at longitude 132 degrees and headed for the seas of China .
We were finally in the area of the monster 's latest antics ! And in all honesty , shipboard conditions became life - threatening . Hearts were pounding hideously , gearing up for futures full of incurable aneurysms . The entire crew suffered from a nervous excitement that it 's beyond me to describe . Nobody ate , nobody slept . Twenty times a day some error in perception , or the optical illusions of some sailor perched in the crosstrees , would cause intolerable anguish , and this emotion , repeated twenty times over , kept us in a state of irritability so intense that a reaction was bound to follow .
And this reaction wasn't long in coming . For three months , during which each day seemed like a century , the Abraham Lincoln plowed all the northerly seas of the Pacific , racing after whales sighted , abruptly veering off course , swerving sharply from one tack to another , stopping suddenly , putting on steam and reversing engines in quick succession , at the risk of stripping its gears , and it did not leave a single point unexplored from the beaches of Japan to the coasts of America . And we found nothing ! Nothing except an immenseness of deserted waves ! Nothing remotely resembling a gigantic narwhale , or an underwater islet , or a derelict shipwreck , or a runaway reef , or anything the least bit unearthly !
So the reaction set in . At first , discouragement took hold of people 's minds , opening the door to disbelief . A new feeling appeared on board , made up of three - tenths shame and seven - tenths fury . The crew called themselves " out - and - out fools " for being hoodwinked by a fairy tale , then grew steadily more furious ! The mountains of arguments amassed over a year collapsed all at once , and each man now wanted only to catch up on his eating and sleeping , to make up for the time he had so stupidly sacrificed .
With typical human fickleness , they jumped from one extreme to the other . Inevitably , the most enthusiastic supporters of the undertaking became its most energetic opponents . This reaction mounted upward from the bowels of the ship , from the quarters of the bunker hands to the messroom of the general staff ; and for certain , if it had not been for Commander Farragut 's characteristic stubbornness , the frigate would ultimately have put back to that cape in the south .
But this futile search couldn't drag on much longer . The Abraham Lincoln had done everything it could to succeed and had no reason to blame itself . Never had the crew of an American naval craft shown more patience and zeal ; they were not responsible for this failure ; there was nothing to do but go home .
A request to this effect was presented to the commander . The commander stood his ground . His sailors couldn't hide their discontent , and their work suffered because of it . I am unwilling to say that there was mutiny on board , but after a reasonable period of intransigence , Commander Farragut , like Christopher Columbus before him , asked for a grace period of just three days more . After this three - day delay , if the monster had not appeared , our helmsman would give three turns of the wheel , and the Abraham Lincoln would chart a course toward European seas .
This promise was given on November 2. It had the immediate effect of reviving the crew 's failing spirits . The ocean was observed with renewed care . Each man wanted one last look with which to sum up his experience . Spyglasses functioned with feverish energy . A supreme challenge had been issued to the giant narwhale , and the latter had no acceptable excuse for ignoring this Summons to Appear !
Two days passed . The Abraham Lincoln stayed at half steam . On the offchance that the animal might be found in these waterways , a thousand methods were used to spark its interest or rouse it from its apathy . Enormous sides of bacon were trailed in our wake , to the great satisfaction , I must say , of assorted sharks . While the Abraham Lincoln heaved to , its longboats radiated in every direction around it and did not leave a single point of the sea unexplored . But the evening of November 4 arrived with this underwater mystery still unsolved .
At noon the next day , November 5 , the agreed - upon delay expired . After a position fix , true to his promise , Commander Farragut would have to set his course for the southeast and leave the northerly regions of the Pacific decisively behind .
By then the frigate lay in latitude 31 degrees 15 ' north and longitude 136 degrees 42 ' east . The shores of Japan were less than 200 miles to our leeward . Night was coming on . Eight o'clock had just struck . Huge clouds covered the moon 's disk , then in its first quarter . The sea undulated placidly beneath the frigate 's stempost .
Just then I was in the bow , leaning over the starboard rail . Conseil , stationed beside me , stared straight ahead . Roosting in the shrouds , the crew examined the horizon , which shrank and darkened little by little . Officers were probing the increasing gloom with their night glasses . Sometimes the murky ocean sparkled beneath moonbeams that darted between the fringes of two clouds . Then all traces of light vanished into the darkness .
Observing Conseil , I discovered that , just barely , the gallant lad had fallen under the general influence . At least so I thought . Perhaps his nerves were twitching with curiosity for the first time in history .
" Come on , Conseil ! " I told him . " Here 's your last chance to pocket that $ 2,000.00 ! "
" If master will permit my saying so , " Conseil replied , " I never expected to win that prize , and the Union government could have promised $ 100,000.00 and been none the poorer . "
" You are right , Conseil , it turned out to be a foolish business after all , and we jumped into it too hastily . What a waste of time , what a futile expense of emotion ! Six months ago we could have been back in France - - "
" In master 's little apartment , " Conseil answered . " In master 's museum ! And by now I would have classified master 's fossils . And master 's babirusa would be ensconced in its cage at the zoo in the Botanical Gardens , and it would have attracted every curiosity seeker in town ! "
" Quite so , Conseil , and what 's more , I imagine that people will soon be poking fun at us ! "
" To be sure , " Conseil replied serenely , " I do think they will have fun at master 's expense . And must it be said ... ? "
" It must be said , Conseil . "
" Well then , it will serve master right ! "
" How true ! "
" When one has the honor of being an expert as master is , one must not lay himself open to - - "
Conseil did not have time to complete the compliment . In the midst of the general silence , a voice became audible . It was Ned Land 's voice , and it shouted : " Ahoy ! There 's the thing in question , abreast of us to leeward ! "
At this shout the entire crew rushed toward the harpooner - - commander , officers , mates , sailors , cabin boys , down to engineers leaving their machinery and stokers neglecting their furnaces . The order was given to stop , and the frigate merely coasted .
By then the darkness was profound , and as good as the Canadian 's eyes were , I still wondered how he could see - - and what he had seen . My heart was pounding fit to burst .
But Ned Land was not mistaken , and we all spotted the object his hand was indicating .
Two cable lengths off the Abraham Lincoln 's starboard quarter , the sea seemed to be lit up from underneath . This was no mere phosphorescent phenomenon , that much was unmistakable . Submerged some fathoms below the surface of the water , the monster gave off that very intense but inexplicable glow that several captains had mentioned in their reports . This magnificent radiance had to come from some force with a great illuminating capacity . The edge of its light swept over the sea in an immense , highly elongated oval , condensing at the center into a blazing core whose unbearable glow diminished by degrees outward .
" It 's only a cluster of phosphorescent particles ! " exclaimed one of the officers .
" No , sir , " I answered with conviction . " Not even angel - wing clams or salps have ever given off such a powerful light . That glow is basically electric in nature . Besides ... look , look ! It 's shifting ! It 's moving back and forth ! It 's darting at us ! "
A universal shout went up from the frigate .
" Quiet ! " Commander Farragut said . " Helm hard to leeward ! Reverse engines ! "
Sailors rushed to the helm , engineers to their machinery . Under reverse steam immediately , the Abraham Lincoln beat to port , sweeping in a semicircle .
" Right your helm ! Engines forward ! " Commander Farragut called .
These orders were executed , and the frigate swiftly retreated from this core of light .
My mistake . It wanted to retreat , but the unearthly animal came at us with a speed double our own .
We gasped . More stunned than afraid , we stood mute and motionless . The animal caught up with us , played with us . It made a full circle around the frigate - - then doing fourteen knots - - and wrapped us in sheets of electricity that were like luminous dust . Then it retreated two or three miles , leaving a phosphorescent trail comparable to those swirls of steam that shoot behind the locomotive of an express train . Suddenly , all the way from the dark horizon where it had gone to gather momentum , the monster abruptly dashed toward the Abraham Lincoln with frightening speed , stopped sharply twenty feet from our side plates , and died out - - not by diving under the water , since its glow did not recede gradually - - but all at once , as if the source of this brilliant emanation had suddenly dried up . Then it reappeared on the other side of the ship , either by circling around us or by gliding under our hull . At any instant a collision could have occurred that would have been fatal to us .
Meanwhile I was astonished at the frigate 's maneuvers . It was fleeing , not fighting . Built to pursue , it was being pursued , and I commented on this to Commander Farragut . His face , ordinarily so emotionless , was stamped with indescribable astonishment .
" Professor Aronnax , " he answered me , " I don't know what kind of fearsome creature I am up against , and I do not want my frigate running foolish risks in all this darkness . Besides , how should we attack this unknown creature , how should we defend ourselves against it ? Let 's wait for daylight , and then we'll play a different role . "
" You've no further doubts , commander , as to the nature of this animal ? "
" No , sir , it 's apparently a gigantic narwhale , and an electric one to boot . "
" Maybe , " I added , " it 's no more approachable than an electric eel or an electric ray ! "
" Right , " the commander replied . " And if it has their power to electrocute , it 's surely the most dreadful animal ever conceived by our Creator . That 's why I will keep on my guard , sir . "
The whole crew stayed on their feet all night long . No one even thought of sleeping . Unable to compete with the monster 's speed , the Abraham Lincoln slowed down and stayed at half steam . For its part , the narwhale mimicked the frigate , simply rode with the waves , and seemed determined not to forsake the field of battle .
However , near midnight it disappeared , or to use a more appropriate expression , " it went out , " like a huge glowworm . Had it fled from us ? We were duty bound to fear so rather than hope so . But at 12:53 in the morning , a deafening hiss became audible , resembling the sound made by a waterspout expelled with tremendous intensity .
By then Commander Farragut , Ned Land , and I were on the afterdeck , peering eagerly into the profound gloom .
" Ned Land , " the commander asked , " you've often heard whales bellowing ? "
" Often , sir , but never a whale like this , whose sighting earned me $ 2,000.00 . "
" Correct , the prize is rightfully yours . But tell me , is not that the noise cetaceans make when they spurt water from their blowholes ? "
" The very noise , sir , but this one 's way louder . So there can be no mistake . There 's definitely a whale lurking in our waters . With your permission , sir , " the harpooner added , " tomorrow at daybreak we'll have words with it . "
" If it 's in a mood to listen to you , Mr. Land , " I replied in a tone far from convinced .
" Let me get within four harpoon lengths of it , " the Canadian shot back , " and it had better listen ! "
" But to get near it , " the commander went on , " I ' d have to put a whaleboat at your disposal ? "
" Certainly , sir . "
" That would be gambling with the lives of my men . "
" And with my own ! " the harpooner replied simply .
Near two o'clock in the morning , the core of light reappeared , no less intense , five miles to windward of the Abraham Lincoln . Despite the distance , despite the noise of wind and sea , we could distinctly hear the fearsome thrashings of the animal 's tail , and even its panting breath . Seemingly , the moment this enormous narwhale came up to breathe at the surface of the ocean , air was sucked into its lungs like steam into the huge cylinders of a 2,000 - horsepower engine .
" Hmm ! " I said to myself . " A cetacean as powerful as a whole cavalry regiment - - now that 's a whale of a whale ! "
We stayed on the alert until daylight , getting ready for action . Whaling gear was set up along the railings . Our chief officer loaded the blunderbusses , which can launch harpoons as far as a mile , and long duck guns with exploding bullets that can mortally wound even the most powerful animals . Ned Land was content to sharpen his harpoon , a dreadful weapon in his hands .
At six o'clock day began to break , and with the dawn 's early light , the narwhale 's electric glow disappeared . At seven o'clock the day was well along , but a very dense morning mist shrank the horizon , and our best spyglasses were unable to pierce it . The outcome : disappointment and anger .
I hoisted myself up to the crosstrees of the mizzen sail . Some officers were already perched on the mastheads .
At eight o'clock the mist rolled ponderously over the waves , and its huge curls were lifting little by little . The horizon grew wider and clearer all at once .
Suddenly , just as on the previous evening , Ned Land 's voice was audible .
" There 's the thing in question , astern to port ! " the harpooner shouted .
Every eye looked toward the point indicated .
There , a mile and a half from the frigate , a long blackish body emerged a meter above the waves . Quivering violently , its tail was creating a considerable eddy . Never had caudal equipment thrashed the sea with such power . An immense wake of glowing whiteness marked the animal 's track , sweeping in a long curve .
Our frigate drew nearer to the cetacean . I examined it with a completely open mind . Those reports from the Shannon and the Helvetia had slightly exaggerated its dimensions , and I put its length at only 250 feet . Its girth was more difficult to judge , but all in all , the animal seemed to be wonderfully proportioned in all three dimensions .
While I was observing this phenomenal creature , two jets of steam and water sprang from its blowholes and rose to an altitude of forty meters , which settled for me its mode of breathing . From this I finally concluded that it belonged to the branch Vertebrata , class Mammalia , subclass Monodelphia , group Pisciforma , order Cetacea , family ... but here I could not make up my mind . The order Cetacea consists of three families , baleen whales , sperm whales , dolphins , and it 's in this last group that narwhales are placed . Each of these families is divided into several genera , each genus into species , each species into varieties . So I was still missing variety , species , genus , and family , but no doubt I would complete my classifying with the aid of Heaven and Commander Farragut .
The crew were waiting impatiently for orders from their leader . The latter , after carefully observing the animal , called for his engineer . The engineer raced over .
" Sir , " the commander said , " are you up to pressure ? "
" Aye , sir , " the engineer replied .
" Fine . Stoke your furnaces and clap on full steam ! "
Three cheers greeted this order . The hour of battle had sounded . A few moments later , the frigate 's two funnels vomited torrents of black smoke , and its deck quaked from the trembling of its boilers .
Driven forward by its powerful propeller , the Abraham Lincoln headed straight for the animal . Unconcerned , the latter let us come within half a cable length ; then , not bothering to dive , it got up a little speed , retreated , and was content to keep its distance .
This chase dragged on for about three - quarters of an hour without the frigate gaining two fathoms on the cetacean . At this rate , it was obvious that we would never catch up with it .
Infuriated , Commander Farragut kept twisting the thick tuft of hair that flourished below his chin .
" Ned Land ! " he called .
The Canadian reported at once .
" Well , Mr. Land , " the commander asked , " do you still advise putting my longboats to sea ? "
" No , sir , " Ned Land replied , " because that beast will not be caught against its will . "
" Then what should we do ? "
" Stoke up more steam , sir , if you can . As for me , with your permission I will go perch on the bobstays under the bowsprit , and if we can get within a harpoon length , I will harpoon the brute . "
" Go to it , Ned , " Commander Farragut replied . " Engineer , " he called , " keep the pressure mounting ! "
Ned Land made his way to his post . The furnaces were urged into greater activity ; our propeller did forty - three revolutions per minute , and steam shot from the valves . Heaving the log , we verified that the Abraham Lincoln was going at the rate of 18.5 miles per hour .
But that damned animal also did a speed of 18.5 .
For the next hour our frigate kept up this pace without gaining a fathom ! This was humiliating for one of the fastest racers in the American navy . The crew were working up into a blind rage . Sailor after sailor heaved insults at the monster , which could not be bothered with answering back . Commander Farragut was no longer content simply to twist his goatee ; he chewed on it .
The engineer was summoned once again .
" You are up to maximum pressure ? " the commander asked him .
" Aye , sir , " the engineer replied .
" And your valves are charged to ... ? "
" To six and a half atmospheres . "
" Charge them to ten atmospheres . "
A typical American order if I ever heard one . It would have sounded just fine during some Mississippi paddle - wheeler race , to " outstrip the competition ! "
" Conseil , " I said to my gallant servant , now at my side , " you realize that we'll probably blow ourselves skyhigh ? "
" As master wishes ! " Conseil replied .
All right , I admit it : I did wish to run this risk !
The valves were charged . More coal was swallowed by the furnaces . Ventilators shot torrents of air over the braziers . The Abraham Lincoln 's speed increased . Its masts trembled down to their blocks , and swirls of smoke could barely squeeze through the narrow funnels .
We heaved the log a second time .
" Well , helmsman ? " Commander Farragut asked .
" 19.3 miles per hour , sir . "
" Keep stoking the furnaces . "
The engineer did so . The pressure gauge marked ten atmospheres . But no doubt the cetacean itself had " warmed up , " because without the least trouble , it also did 19.3 .
What a chase ! No , I can not describe the excitement that shook my very being . Ned Land stayed at his post , harpoon in hand . Several times the animal let us approach .
" We are overhauling it ! " the Canadian would shout .
Then , just as he was about to strike , the cetacean would steal off with a swiftness I could estimate at no less than thirty miles per hour . And even at our maximum speed , it took the liberty of thumbing its nose at the frigate by running a full circle around us ! A howl of fury burst from every throat !
By noon we were no farther along than at eight o'clock in the morning .
Commander Farragut then decided to use more direct methods .
" Bah ! " he said . " So that animal is faster than the Abraham Lincoln . All right , we'll see if it can outrun our conical shells ! Mate , man the gun in the bow ! "
Our forecastle cannon was immediately loaded and leveled . The cannoneer fired a shot , but his shell passed some feet above the cetacean , which stayed half a mile off .
" Over to somebody with better aim ! " the commander shouted . " And $ 500.00 to the man who can pierce that infernal beast ! "
Calm of eye , cool of feature , an old gray - bearded gunner - - I can see him to this day - - approached the cannon , put it in position , and took aim for a good while . There was a mighty explosion , mingled with cheers from the crew .
The shell reached its target ; it hit the animal , but not in the usual fashion - - it bounced off that rounded surface and vanished into the sea two miles out .
" Oh drat ! " said the old gunner in his anger . " That rascal must be covered with six - inch armor plate ! "
" Curse the beast ! " Commander Farragut shouted .
The hunt was on again , and Commander Farragut leaned over to me , saying : " I will chase that animal till my frigate explodes ! "
" Yes , " I replied , " and nobody would blame you ! "
We could still hope that the animal would tire out and not be as insensitive to exhaustion as our steam engines . But no such luck . Hour after hour went by without it showing the least sign of weariness .
However , to the Abraham Lincoln 's credit , it must be said that we struggled on with tireless persistence . I estimate that we covered a distance of at least 500 kilometers during this ill - fated day of November 6. But night fell and wrapped the surging ocean in its shadows .
By then I thought our expedition had come to an end , that we would never see this fantastic animal again . I was mistaken .
At 10:50 in the evening , that electric light reappeared three miles to windward of the frigate , just as clear and intense as the night before .
The narwhale seemed motionless . Was it asleep perhaps , weary from its workday , just riding with the waves ? This was our chance , and Commander Farragut was determined to take full advantage of it .
He gave his orders . The Abraham Lincoln stayed at half steam , advancing cautiously so as not to awaken its adversary . In midocean it 's not unusual to encounter whales so sound asleep they can successfully be attacked , and Ned Land had harpooned more than one in its slumber . The Canadian went to resume his post on the bobstays under the bowsprit .
The frigate approached without making a sound , stopped two cable lengths from the animal and coasted . Not a soul breathed on board . A profound silence reigned over the deck . We were not 100 feet from the blazing core of light , whose glow grew stronger and dazzled the eyes .
Just then , leaning over the forecastle railing , I saw Ned Land below me , one hand grasping the martingale , the other brandishing his dreadful harpoon . Barely twenty feet separated him from the motionless animal .
All at once his arm shot forward and the harpoon was launched . I heard the weapon collide resonantly , as if it had hit some hard substance .
The electric light suddenly went out , and two enormous waterspouts crashed onto the deck of the frigate , racing like a torrent from stem to stern , toppling crewmen , breaking spare masts and yardarms from their lashings .
A hideous collision occurred , and thrown over the rail with no time to catch hold of it , I was hurled into the sea .
Although I was startled by this unexpected descent , I at least have a very clear recollection of my sensations during it .
At first I was dragged about twenty feet under . I am a good swimmer , without claiming to equal such other authors as Byron and Edgar Allan Poe , who were master divers , and I did not lose my head on the way down . With two vigorous kicks of the heel , I came back to the surface of the sea .
My first concern was to look for the frigate . Had the crew seen me go overboard ? Was the Abraham Lincoln tacking about ? Would Commander Farragut put a longboat to sea ? Could I hope to be rescued ?
The gloom was profound . I glimpsed a black mass disappearing eastward , where its running lights were fading out in the distance . It was the frigate . I felt I was done for .
" Help ! Help ! " I shouted , swimming desperately toward the Abraham Lincoln .
My clothes were weighing me down . The water glued them to my body , they were paralyzing my movements . I was sinking ! I was suffocating ... !
" Help ! "
This was the last shout I gave . My mouth was filling with water . I struggled against being dragged into the depths ....
Suddenly my clothes were seized by energetic hands , I felt myself pulled abruptly back to the surface of the sea , and yes , I heard these words pronounced in my ear : " If master would oblige me by leaning on my shoulder , master will swim with much greater ease . "
With one hand I seized the arm of my loyal Conseil .
" You ! " I said . " You ! "
" Myself , " Conseil replied , " and at master 's command . "
" That collision threw you overboard along with me ? "
" Not at all . But being in master 's employ , I followed master . "
The fine lad thought this only natural !
" What about the frigate ? " I asked .
" The frigate ? " Conseil replied , rolling over on his back . " I think master had best not depend on it to any great extent ! "
" What are you saying ? "
" I am saying that just as I jumped overboard , I heard the men at the helm shout , ' Our propeller and rudder are smashed ! ' "
" Smashed ? "
" Yes , smashed by the monster 's tusk ! I believe it 's the sole injury the Abraham Lincoln has sustained . But most inconveniently for us , the ship can no longer steer . "
" Then we are done for ! "
" Perhaps , " Conseil replied serenely . " However , we still have a few hours before us , and in a few hours one can do a great many things ! "
Conseil 's unflappable composure cheered me up . I swam more vigorously , but hampered by clothes that were as restricting as a cloak made of lead , I was managing with only the greatest difficulty . Conseil noticed as much .
" Master will allow me to make an incision , " he said .
And he slipped an open clasp knife under my clothes , slitting them from top to bottom with one swift stroke . Then he briskly undressed me while I swam for us both .
I then did Conseil the same favor , and we continued to " navigate " side by side .
But our circumstances were no less dreadful . Perhaps they hadn't seen us go overboard ; and even if they had , the frigate - - being undone by its rudder - - could not return to leeward after us . So we could count only on its longboats .
Conseil had coolly reasoned out this hypothesis and laid his plans accordingly . An amazing character , this boy ; in midocean , this stoic lad seemed right at home !
So , having concluded that our sole chance for salvation lay in being picked up by the Abraham Lincoln 's longboats , we had to take steps to wait for them as long as possible . Consequently , I decided to divide our energies so we would not both be worn out at the same time , and this was the arrangement : while one of us lay on his back , staying motionless with arms crossed and legs outstretched , the other would swim and propel his partner forward . This towing role was to last no longer than ten minutes , and by relieving each other in this way , we could stay afloat for hours , perhaps even until daybreak .
Slim chance , but hope springs eternal in the human breast ! Besides , there were two of us . Lastly , I can vouch - - as improbable as it seems - - that even if I had wanted to destroy all my illusions , even if I had been willing to " give in to despair , " I could not have done so !
The cetacean had rammed our frigate at about eleven o'clock in the evening . I therefore calculated on eight hours of swimming until sunrise . A strenuous task , but feasible , thanks to our relieving each other . The sea was pretty smooth and barely tired us . Sometimes I tried to peer through the dense gloom , which was broken only by the phosphorescent flickers coming from our movements . I stared at the luminous ripples breaking over my hands , shimmering sheets spattered with blotches of bluish gray . It seemed as if we ' d plunged into a pool of quicksilver .
Near one o'clock in the morning , I was overcome with tremendous exhaustion . My limbs stiffened in the grip of intense cramps . Conseil had to keep me going , and attending to our self - preservation became his sole responsibility . I soon heard the poor lad gasping ; his breathing became shallow and quick . I did not think he could stand such exertions for much longer .
" Go on ! Go on ! " I told him .
" Leave master behind ? " he replied . " Never ! I will drown before he does ! "
Just then , past the fringes of a large cloud that the wind was driving eastward , the moon appeared . The surface of the sea glistened under its rays . That kindly light rekindled our strength . I held up my head again . My eyes darted to every point of the horizon . I spotted the frigate . It was five miles from us and formed no more than a dark , barely perceptible mass . But as for longboats , not a one in sight !
I tried to call out . What was the use at such a distance ! My swollen lips would not let a single sound through . Conseil could still articulate a few words , and I heard him repeat at intervals : " Help ! Help ! "
Ceasing all movement for an instant , we listened . And it may have been a ringing in my ear , from this organ filling with impeded blood , but it seemed to me that Conseil 's shout had received an answer back .
" Did you hear that ? " I muttered .
" Yes , yes ! "
And Conseil hurled another desperate plea into space .
This time there could be no mistake ! A human voice had answered us ! Was it the voice of some poor devil left behind in midocean , some other victim of that collision suffered by our ship ? Or was it one of the frigate 's longboats , hailing us out of the gloom ?
Conseil made one final effort , and bracing his hands on my shoulders , while I offered resistance with one supreme exertion , he raised himself half out of the water , then fell back exhausted .
" What did you see ? "
" I saw ... , " he muttered , " I saw ... but we must not talk ... save our strength ... ! "
What had he seen ? Then , lord knows why , the thought of the monster came into my head for the first time ... ! But even so , that voice ... ? Gone are the days when Jonahs took refuge in the bellies of whales !
Nevertheless , Conseil kept towing me . Sometimes he looked up , stared straight ahead , and shouted a request for directions , which was answered by a voice that was getting closer and closer . I could barely hear it . I was at the end of my strength ; my fingers gave out ; my hands were no help to me ; my mouth opened convulsively , filling with brine ; its coldness ran through me ; I raised my head one last time , then I collapsed ....
Just then something hard banged against me . I clung to it . Then I felt myself being pulled upward , back to the surface of the water ; my chest caved in , and I fainted ....
For certain , I came to quickly , because someone was massaging me so vigorously it left furrows in my flesh . I half opened my eyes ....
" Conseil ! " I muttered .
" Did master ring for me ? " Conseil replied .
Just then , in the last light of a moon settling on the horizon , I spotted a face that was not Conseil 's but which I recognized at once .
" Ned ! " I exclaimed .
" In person , sir , and still after his prize ! " the Canadian replied .
" You were thrown overboard after the frigate 's collision ? "
" Yes , professor , but I was luckier than you , and right away I was able to set foot on this floating islet . "
" Islet ? "
" Or in other words , on our gigantic narwhale . "
" Explain yourself , Ned . "
" It 's just that I soon realized why my harpoon got blunted and could not puncture its hide . "
" Why , Ned , why ? "
" Because , professor , this beast is made of boilerplate steel ! "
At this point in my story , I need to get a grip on myself , reconstruct exactly what I experienced , and make doubly sure of everything I write .
The Canadian 's last words caused a sudden upheaval in my brain . I swiftly hoisted myself to the summit of this half - submerged creature or object that was serving as our refuge . I tested it with my foot . Obviously it was some hard , impenetrable substance , not the soft matter that makes up the bodies of our big marine mammals .
But this hard substance could have been a bony carapace , like those that covered some prehistoric animals , and I might have left it at that and classified this monster among such amphibious reptiles as turtles or alligators .
Well , no. The blackish back supporting me was smooth and polished with no overlapping scales . On impact , it gave off a metallic sonority , and as incredible as this sounds , it seemed , I swear , to be made of riveted plates .
No doubts were possible ! This animal , this monster , this natural phenomenon that had puzzled the whole scientific world , that had muddled and misled the minds of seamen in both hemispheres , was , there could be no escaping it , an even more astonishing phenomenon - - a phenomenon made by the hand of man .
Even if I had discovered that some fabulous , mythological creature really existed , it would not have given me such a terrific mental jolt . It 's easy enough to accept that prodigious things can come from our Creator . But to find , all at once , right before your eyes , that the impossible had been mysteriously achieved by man himself : this staggers the mind !
But there was no question now . We were stretched out on the back of some kind of underwater boat that , as far as I could judge , boasted the shape of an immense steel fish . Ned Land had clear views on the issue . Conseil and I could only line up behind him .
" But then , " I said , " does this contraption contain some sort of locomotive mechanism , and a crew to run it ? "
" Apparently , " the harpooner replied . " And yet for the three hours I've lived on this floating island , it has not shown a sign of life . "
" This boat has not moved at all ? "
" No , Professor Aronnax . It just rides with the waves , but otherwise it has not stirred . "
" But we know that it 's certainly gifted with great speed . Now then , since an engine is needed to generate that speed , and a mechanic to run that engine , I conclude : we are saved . "
" Humph ! " Ned Land put in , his tone denoting reservations .
Just then , as if to take my side in the argument , a bubbling began astern of this strange submersible - - whose drive mechanism was obviously a propeller - - and the boat started to move . We barely had time to hang on to its topside , which emerged about eighty centimeters above water . Fortunately its speed was not excessive .
" So long as it navigates horizontally , " Ned Land muttered , " I've no complaints . But if it gets the urge to dive , I would not give $ 2.00 for my hide ! "
The Canadian might have quoted a much lower price . So it was imperative to make contact with whatever beings were confined inside the plating of this machine . I searched its surface for an opening or a hatch , a " manhole , " to use the official term ; but the lines of rivets had been firmly driven into the sheet - iron joins and were straight and uniform .
Moreover , the moon then disappeared and left us in profound darkness . We had to wait for daylight to find some way of getting inside this underwater boat .
So our salvation lay totally in the hands of the mysterious helmsmen steering this submersible , and if it made a dive , we were done for ! But aside from this occurring , I didn't doubt the possibility of our making contact with them . In fact , if they did not produce their own air , they inevitably had to make periodic visits to the surface of the ocean to replenish their oxygen supply . Hence the need for some opening that put the boat 's interior in contact with the atmosphere .
As for any hope of being rescued by Commander Farragut , that had to be renounced completely . We were being swept westward , and I estimate that our comparatively moderate speed reached twelve miles per hour . The propeller churned the waves with mathematical regularity , sometimes emerging above the surface and throwing phosphorescent spray to great heights .
Near four o'clock in the morning , the submersible picked up speed . We could barely cope with this dizzying rush , and the waves battered us at close range . Fortunately Ned 's hands came across a big mooring ring fastened to the topside of this sheet - iron back , and we all held on for dear life .
Finally this long night was over . My imperfect memories will not let me recall my every impression of it . A single detail comes back to me . Several times , during various lulls of wind and sea , I thought I heard indistinct sounds , a sort of elusive harmony produced by distant musical chords . What was the secret behind this underwater navigating , whose explanation the whole world had sought in vain ? What beings lived inside this strange boat ? What mechanical force allowed it to move about with such prodigious speed ?
Daylight appeared . The morning mists surrounded us , but they soon broke up . I was about to proceed with a careful examination of the hull , whose topside formed a sort of horizontal platform , when I felt it sinking little by little .
" Oh , damnation ! " Ned Land shouted , stamping his foot on the resonant sheet iron . " Open up there , you antisocial navigators ! "
But it was difficult to make yourself heard above the deafening beats of the propeller . Fortunately this submerging movement stopped .
From inside the boat , there suddenly came noises of iron fastenings pushed roughly aside . One of the steel plates flew up , a man appeared , gave a bizarre yell , and instantly disappeared .
A few moments later , eight strapping fellows appeared silently , their faces like masks , and dragged us down into their fearsome machine .
This brutally executed capture was carried out with lightning speed . My companions and I had no time to collect ourselves . I do not know how they felt about being shoved inside this aquatic prison , but as for me , I was shivering all over . With whom were we dealing ? Surely with some new breed of pirates , exploiting the sea after their own fashion .
The narrow hatch had barely closed over me when I was surrounded by profound darkness . Saturated with the outside light , my eyes could not make out a thing . I felt my naked feet clinging to the steps of an iron ladder . Forcibly seized , Ned Land and Conseil were behind me . At the foot of the ladder , a door opened and instantly closed behind us with a loud clang .
We were alone . Where ? I could not say , could barely even imagine . All was darkness , but such utter darkness that after several minutes , my eyes were still unable to catch a single one of those hazy gleams that drift through even the blackest nights .
Meanwhile , furious at these goings on , Ned Land gave free rein to his indignation .
" Damnation ! " he exclaimed . " These people are about as hospitable as the savages of New Caledonia ! All that 's lacking is for them to be cannibals ! I would not be surprised if they were , but believe you me , they will not eat me without my kicking up a protest ! "
" Calm yourself , Ned my friend , " Conseil replied serenely . " Don't flare up so quickly ! We are not in a kettle yet ! "
" In a kettle , no , " the Canadian shot back , " but in an oven for sure . It 's dark enough for one . Luckily my Bowie knife has not left me , and I can still see well enough to put it to use . The first one of these bandits who lays a hand on me - - "
" Don't be so irritable , Ned , " I then told the harpooner , " and do not ruin things for us with pointless violence . Who knows whether they might be listening to us ? Instead , let 's try to find out where we are ! "
I started moving , groping my way . After five steps I encountered an iron wall made of riveted boilerplate . Then , turning around , I bumped into a wooden table next to which several stools had been set . The floor of this prison lay hidden beneath thick , hempen matting that deadened the sound of footsteps . Its naked walls did not reveal any trace of a door or window . Going around the opposite way , Conseil met up with me , and we returned to the middle of this cabin , which had to be twenty feet long by ten wide . As for its height , not even Ned Land , with his great stature , was able to determine it .
Half an hour had already gone by without our situation changing , when our eyes were suddenly spirited from utter darkness into blinding light . Our prison lit up all at once ; in other words , it filled with luminescent matter so intense that at first I could not stand the brightness of it . From its glare and whiteness , I recognized the electric glow that had played around this underwater boat like some magnificent phosphorescent phenomenon . After involuntarily closing my eyes , I reopened them and saw that this luminous force came from a frosted half globe curving out of the cabin 's ceiling .
" Finally ! It 's light enough to see ! " Ned Land exclaimed , knife in hand , staying on the defensive .
" Yes , " I replied , then ventured the opposite view . " But as for our situation , we are still in the dark . "
" Master must learn patience , " said the emotionless Conseil .
This sudden illumination of our cabin enabled me to examine its tiniest details . It contained only a table and five stools . Its invisible door must have been hermetically sealed . Not a sound reached our ears . Everything seemed dead inside this boat . Was it in motion , or stationary on the surface of the ocean , or sinking into the depths ? I could not tell .
But this luminous globe hadn't been turned on without good reason . Consequently , I hoped that some crewmen would soon make an appearance . If you want to consign people to oblivion , you do not light up their dungeons .
I was not mistaken . Unlocking noises became audible , a door opened , and two men appeared .
One was short and stocky , powerfully muscled , broad shouldered , robust of limbs , the head squat , the hair black and luxuriant , the mustache heavy , the eyes bright and penetrating , and his whole personality stamped with that southern - blooded zest that , in France , typifies the people of Provence . The philosopher Diderot has very aptly claimed that a man 's bearing is the clue to his character , and this stocky little man was certainly a living proof of this claim . You could sense that his everyday conversation must have been packed with such vivid figures of speech as personification , symbolism , and misplaced modifiers . But I was never in a position to verify this because , around me , he used only an odd and utterly incomprehensible dialect .
The second stranger deserves a more detailed description . A disciple of such character - judging anatomists as Gratiolet or Engel could have read this man 's features like an open book . Without hesitation , I identified his dominant qualities - - self - confidence , since his head reared like a nobleman 's above the arc formed by the lines of his shoulders , and his black eyes gazed with icy assurance ; calmness , since his skin , pale rather than ruddy , indicated tranquility of blood ; energy , shown by the swiftly knitting muscles of his brow ; and finally courage , since his deep breathing denoted tremendous reserves of vitality .
I might add that this was a man of great pride , that his calm , firm gaze seemed to reflect thinking on an elevated plane , and that the harmony of his facial expressions and bodily movements resulted in an overall effect of unquestionable candor - - according to the findings of physiognomists , those analysts of facial character .
I felt " involuntarily reassured " in his presence , and this boded well for our interview .
Whether this individual was thirty - five or fifty years of age , I could not precisely state . He was tall , his forehead broad , his nose straight , his mouth clearly etched , his teeth magnificent , his hands refined , tapered , and to use a word from palmistry , highly " psychic , " in other words , worthy of serving a lofty and passionate spirit . This man was certainly the most wonderful physical specimen I had ever encountered . One unusual detail : his eyes were spaced a little far from each other and could instantly take in nearly a quarter of the horizon . This ability - - as I later verified - - was strengthened by a range of vision even greater than Ned Land ' s. When this stranger focused his gaze on an object , his eyebrow lines gathered into a frown , his heavy eyelids closed around his pupils to contract his huge field of vision , and he looked ! What a look - - as if he could magnify objects shrinking into the distance ; as if he could probe your very soul ; as if he could pierce those sheets of water so opaque to our eyes and scan the deepest seas ... !
Wearing caps made of sea - otter fur , and shod in sealskin fishing boots , these two strangers were dressed in clothing made from some unique fabric that flattered the figure and allowed great freedom of movement .
The taller of the two - - apparently the leader on board - - examined us with the greatest care but without pronouncing a word . Then , turning to his companion , he conversed with him in a language I did not recognize . It was a sonorous , harmonious , flexible dialect whose vowels seemed to undergo a highly varied accentuation .
The other replied with a shake of the head and added two or three utterly incomprehensible words . Then he seemed to question me directly with a long stare .
I replied in clear French that I wasn't familiar with his language ; but he did not seem to understand me , and the situation grew rather baffling .
" Still , master should tell our story , " Conseil said to me . " Perhaps these gentlemen will grasp a few words of it ! "
I tried again , telling the tale of our adventures , clearly articulating my every syllable , and not leaving out a single detail . I stated our names and titles ; then , in order , I introduced Professor Aronnax , his manservant Conseil , and Mr. Ned Land , harpooner .
The man with calm , gentle eyes listened to me serenely , even courteously , and paid remarkable attention . But nothing in his facial expression indicated that he understood my story . When I finished , he did not pronounce a single word .
One resource still left was to speak English . Perhaps they would be familiar with this nearly universal language . But I only knew it , as I did the German language , well enough to read it fluently , not well enough to speak it correctly . Here , however , our overriding need was to make ourselves understood .
" Come on , it 's your turn , " I told the harpooner . " Over to you , Mr. Land . Pull out of your bag of tricks the best English ever spoken by an Anglo - Saxon , and try for a more favorable result than mine . "
Ned needed no persuading and started our story all over again , most of which I could follow . Its content was the same , but the form differed . Carried away by his volatile temperament , the Canadian put great animation into it . He complained vehemently about being imprisoned in defiance of his civil rights , asked by virtue of which law he was hereby detained , invoked writs of habeas corpus , threatened to press charges against anyone holding him in illegal custody , ranted , gesticulated , shouted , and finally conveyed by an expressive gesture that we were dying of hunger .
This was perfectly true , but we had nearly forgotten the fact .
Much to his amazement , the harpooner seemed no more intelligible than I had been . Our visitors did not bat an eye . Apparently they were engineers who understood the languages of neither the French physicist Arago nor the English physicist Faraday .
Thoroughly baffled after vainly exhausting our philological resources , I no longer knew what tactic to pursue , when Conseil told me : " If master will authorize me , I will tell the whole business in German . "
" What ! You know German ? " I exclaimed .
" Like most Flemish people , with all due respect to master . "
" On the contrary , my respect is due you . Go to it , my boy . "
And Conseil , in his serene voice , described for the third time the various vicissitudes of our story . But despite our narrator 's fine accent and stylish turns of phrase , the German language met with no success .
Finally , as a last resort , I hauled out everything I could remember from my early schooldays , and I tried to narrate our adventures in Latin . Cicero would have plugged his ears and sent me to the scullery , but somehow I managed to pull through . With the same negative result .
This last attempt ultimately misfiring , the two strangers exchanged a few words in their incomprehensible language and withdrew , not even favoring us with one of those encouraging gestures that are used in every country in the world . The door closed again .
" This is outrageous ! " Ned Land shouted , exploding for the twentieth time . " I ask you ! We speak French , English , German , and Latin to these rogues , and neither of them has the decency to even answer back ! "
" Calm down , Ned , " I told the seething harpooner . " Anger will not get us anywhere . "
" But professor , " our irascible companion went on , " can not you see that we could die of hunger in this iron cage ? "
" Bah ! " Conseil put in philosophically . " We can hold out a good while yet ! "
" My friends , " I said , " we must not despair . We've gotten out of tighter spots . So please do me the favor of waiting a bit before you form your views on the commander and crew of this boat . "
" My views are fully formed , " Ned Land shot back . " They are rogues ! "
" Oh good ! And from what country ? "
" Roguedom ! "
" My gallant Ned , as yet that country isn't clearly marked on maps of the world , but I admit that the nationality of these two strangers is hard to make out ! Neither English , French , nor German , that 's all we can say . But I am tempted to think that the commander and his chief officer were born in the low latitudes . There must be southern blood in them . But as to whether they are Spaniards , Turks , Arabs , or East Indians , their physical characteristics do not give me enough to go on . And as for their speech , it 's utterly incomprehensible . "
" That 's the nuisance in not knowing every language , " Conseil replied , " or the drawback in not having one universal language ! "
" Which would all go out the window ! " Ned Land replied . " Don't you see , these people have a language all to themselves , a language they've invented just to cause despair in decent people who ask for a little dinner ! Why , in every country on earth , when you open your mouth , snap your jaws , smack your lips and teeth , isn't that the world 's most understandable message ? From Quebec to the Tuamotu Islands , from Paris to the Antipodes , does not it mean : I am hungry , give me a bite to eat ! "
" Oh , " Conseil put in , " there are some people so unintelligent by nature ... "
As he was saying these words , the door opened . A steward entered . He brought us some clothes , jackets and sailor 's pants , made out of a fabric whose nature I did not recognize . I hurried to change into them , and my companions followed suit .
Meanwhile our silent steward , perhaps a deaf - mute , set the table and laid three place settings .
" There 's something serious afoot , " Conseil said , " and it bodes well . "
" Bah ! " replied the rancorous harpooner . " What the devil do you suppose they eat around here ? Turtle livers , loin of shark , dogfish steaks ? "
" We will soon find out ! " Conseil said .
Overlaid with silver dish covers , various platters had been neatly positioned on the table cloth , and we sat down to eat . Assuredly , we were dealing with civilized people , and if it hadn't been for this electric light flooding over us , I would have thought we were in the dining room of the Hotel Adelphi in Liverpool , or the Grand Hotel in Paris . However , I feel compelled to mention that bread and wine were totally absent . The water was fresh and clear , but it was still water - - which wasn't what Ned Land had in mind . Among the foods we were served , I was able to identify various daintily dressed fish ; but I couldn't make up my mind about certain otherwise excellent dishes , and I could not even tell whether their contents belonged to the vegetable or the animal kingdom . As for the tableware , it was elegant and in perfect taste . Each utensil , spoon , fork , knife , and plate , bore on its reverse a letter encircled by a Latin motto , and here is its exact duplicate : Mobilis In Mobili N.
Moving within the moving element ! It was a highly appropriate motto for this underwater machine , so long as the preposition in is translated as within and not upon . The letter N was no doubt the initial of the name of that mystifying individual in command beneath the seas !
Ned and Conseil had no time for such musings . They were wolfing down their food , and without further ado I did the same . By now I felt reassured about our fate , and it seemed obvious that our hosts did not intend to let us die of starvation .
But all earthly things come to an end , all things must pass , even the hunger of people who have not eaten for fifteen hours . Our appetites appeased , we felt an urgent need for sleep . A natural reaction after that interminable night of fighting for our lives .
" Ye gods , I will sleep soundly , " Conseil said .
" Me , I am out like a light ! " Ned Land replied .
My two companions lay down on the cabin 's carpeting and were soon deep in slumber .
As for me , I gave in less readily to this intense need for sleep . Too many thoughts had piled up in my mind , too many insoluble questions had arisen , too many images were keeping my eyelids open ! Where were we ? What strange power was carrying us along ? I felt - - or at least I thought I did - - the submersible sinking toward the sea 's lower strata . Intense nightmares besieged me . In these mysterious marine sanctuaries , I envisioned hosts of unknown animals , and this underwater boat seemed to be a blood relation of theirs : living , breathing , just as fearsome ... ! Then my mind grew calmer , my imagination melted into hazy drowsiness , and I soon fell into an uneasy slumber .
I have no idea how long this slumber lasted ; but it must have been a good while , since we were completely over our exhaustion . I was the first one to wake up . My companions were not yet stirring and still lay in their corners like inanimate objects .
I had barely gotten up from my passably hard mattress when I felt my mind clear , my brain go on the alert . So I began a careful reexamination of our cell .
Nothing had changed in its interior arrangements . The prison was still a prison and its prisoners still prisoners . But , taking advantage of our slumber , the steward had cleared the table . Consequently , nothing indicated any forthcoming improvement in our situation , and I seriously wondered if we were doomed to spend the rest of our lives in this cage .
This prospect seemed increasingly painful to me because , even though my brain was clear of its obsessions from the night before , I was feeling an odd short - windedness in my chest . It was becoming hard for me to breathe . The heavy air was no longer sufficient for the full play of my lungs . Although our cell was large , we obviously had used up most of the oxygen it contained . In essence , over an hour 's time a single human being consumes all the oxygen found in 100 liters of air , at which point that air has become charged with a nearly equal amount of carbon dioxide and is no longer fit for breathing .
So it was now urgent to renew the air in our prison , and no doubt the air in this whole underwater boat as well .
Here a question popped into my head . How did the commander of this aquatic residence go about it ? Did he obtain air using chemical methods , releasing the oxygen contained in potassium chlorate by heating it , meanwhile absorbing the carbon dioxide with potassium hydroxide ? If so , he would have to keep up some kind of relationship with the shore , to come by the materials needed for such an operation . Did he simply limit himself to storing the air in high - pressure tanks and then dispense it according to his crew 's needs ? Perhaps . Or , proceeding in a more convenient , more economical , and consequently more probable fashion , was he satisfied with merely returning to breathe at the surface of the water like a cetacean , renewing his oxygen supply every twenty - four hours ? In any event , whatever his method was , it seemed prudent to me that he use this method without delay .
In fact , I had already resorted to speeding up my inhalations in order to extract from the cell what little oxygen it contained , when suddenly I was refreshed by a current of clean air , scented with a salty aroma . It had to be a sea breeze , life - giving and charged with iodine ! I opened my mouth wide , and my lungs glutted themselves on the fresh particles . At the same time , I felt a swaying , a rolling of moderate magnitude but definitely noticeable . This boat , this sheet - iron monster , had obviously just risen to the surface of the ocean , there to breathe in good whale fashion . So the ship 's mode of ventilation was finally established .
When I had absorbed a chestful of this clean air , I looked for the conduit - - the " air carrier , " if you prefer - - that allowed this beneficial influx to reach us , and I soon found it . Above the door opened an air vent that let in a fresh current of oxygen , renewing the thin air in our cell .
I had gotten to this point in my observations when Ned and Conseil woke up almost simultaneously , under the influence of this reviving air purification . They rubbed their eyes , stretched their arms , and sprang to their feet .
" Did master sleep well ? " Conseil asked me with his perennial good manners .
" Extremely well , my gallant lad , " I replied . " And how about you , Mr. Ned Land ? "
" Like a log , professor . But I must be imagining things , because it seems like I am breathing a sea breeze ! "
A seaman could not be wrong on this topic , and I told the Canadian what had gone on while he slept .
" Good ! " he said . " That explains perfectly all that bellowing we heard , when our so - called narwhale lay in sight of the Abraham Lincoln . "
" Perfectly , Mr. Land . It was catching its breath ! "
" Only I've no idea what time it is , Professor Aronnax , unless maybe it 's dinnertime ? "
" Dinnertime , my fine harpooner ? I ' d say at least breakfast time , because we've certainly woken up to a new day . "
" Which indicates , " Conseil replied , " that we've spent twenty - four hours in slumber . "
" That 's my assessment , " I replied .
" I will not argue with you , " Ned Land answered . " But dinner or breakfast , that steward will be plenty welcome whether he brings the one or the other . "
" The one and the other , " Conseil said .
" Well put , " the Canadian replied . " We deserve two meals , and speaking for myself , I will do justice to them both . "
" All right , Ned , let 's wait and see ! " I replied . " It 's clear that these strangers don't intend to let us die of hunger , otherwise last evening 's dinner would not make any sense . "
" Unless they are fattening us up ! " Ned shot back .
" I object , " I replied . " We have not fallen into the hands of cannibals . "
" Just because they don't make a habit of it , " the Canadian replied in all seriousness , " doesn't mean they do not indulge from time to time . Who knows ? Maybe these people have gone without fresh meat for a long while , and in that case three healthy , well - built specimens like the professor , his manservant , and me - - - "
" Get rid of those ideas , Mr. Land , " I answered the harpooner . " And above all , do not let them lead you to flare up against our hosts , which would only make our situation worse . "
" Anyhow , " the harpooner said , " I am as hungry as all Hades , and dinner or breakfast , not one puny meal has arrived ! "
" Mr. Land , " I answered , " we have to adapt to the schedule on board , and I imagine our stomachs are running ahead of the chief cook 's dinner bell . "
" Well then , we'll adjust our stomachs to the chef 's timetable ! " Conseil replied serenely .
" There you go again , Conseil my friend ! " the impatient Canadian shot back . " You never allow yourself any displays of bile or attacks of nerves ! You are everlastingly calm ! You ' d say your after - meal grace even if you did not get any food for your before - meal blessing - - and you ' d starve to death rather than complain ! "
" What good would it do ? " Conseil asked .
" Complaining doesn't have to do good , it just feels good ! And if these pirates - - I say pirates out of consideration for the professor 's feelings , since he does not want us to call them cannibals - - if these pirates think they are going to smother me in this cage without hearing what cusswords spice up my outbursts , they've got another think coming ! Look here , Professor Aronnax , speak frankly . How long do you figure they will keep us in this iron box ? "
" To tell the truth , friend Land , I know little more about it than you do . "
" But in a nutshell , what do you suppose is going on ? "
" My supposition is that sheer chance has made us privy to an important secret . Now then , if the crew of this underwater boat have a personal interest in keeping that secret , and if their personal interest is more important than the lives of three men , I believe that our very existence is in jeopardy . If such is not the case , then at the first available opportunity , this monster that has swallowed us will return us to the world inhabited by our own kind . "
" Unless they recruit us to serve on the crew , " Conseil said , " and keep us here - - "
" Till the moment , " Ned Land answered , " when some frigate that 's faster or smarter than the Abraham Lincoln captures this den of buccaneers , then hangs all of us by the neck from the tip of a mainmast yardarm ! "
" Well thought out , Mr. Land , " I replied . " But as yet , I do not believe we've been tendered any enlistment offers . Consequently , it 's pointless to argue about what tactics we should pursue in such a case . I repeat : let 's wait , let 's be guided by events , and let 's do nothing , since right now there 's nothing we can do . "
" On the contrary , professor , " the harpooner replied , not wanting to give in . " There is something we can do . "
" Oh ? And what , Mr. Land ? "
" Break out of here ! "
" Breaking out of a prison on shore is difficult enough , but with an underwater prison , it strikes me as completely unworkable . "
" Come now , Ned my friend , " Conseil asked , " how would you answer master 's objection ? I refuse to believe that an American is at the end of his tether . "
Visibly baffled , the harpooner said nothing . Under the conditions in which fate had left us , it was absolutely impossible to escape . But a Canadian 's wit is half French , and Mr. Ned Land made this clear in his reply .
" So , Professor Aronnax , " he went on after thinking for a few moments , " you have not figured out what people do when they can not escape from their prison ? "
" No , my friend . "
" Easy . They fix things so they stay there . "
" Of course ! " Conseil put in . " Since we are deep in the ocean , being inside this boat is vastly preferable to being above it or below it ! "
" But we fix things by kicking out all the jailers , guards , and wardens , " Ned Land added .
" What 's this , Ned ? " I asked . " You ' d seriously consider taking over this craft ? "
" Very seriously , " the Canadian replied .
" It 's impossible . "
" And why is that , sir ? Some promising opportunity might come up , and I don't see what could stop us from taking advantage of it . If there are only about twenty men on board this machine , I do not think they can stave off two Frenchmen and a Canadian ! "
It seemed wiser to accept the harpooner 's proposition than to debate it . Accordingly , I was content to reply : " Let such circumstances come , Mr. Land , and we'll see . But until then , I beg you to control your impatience . We need to act shrewdly , and your flare - ups will not give rise to any promising opportunities . So swear to me that you will accept our situation without throwing a tantrum over it . "
" I give you my word , professor , " Ned Land replied in an unenthusiastic tone . " No vehement phrases will leave my mouth , no vicious gestures will give my feelings away , not even when they do not feed us on time . "
" I have your word , Ned , " I answered the Canadian .
Then our conversation petered out , and each of us withdrew into his own thoughts . For my part , despite the harpooner 's confident talk , I admit that I entertained no illusions . I had no faith in those promising opportunities that Ned Land mentioned . To operate with such efficiency , this underwater boat had to have a sizeable crew , so if it came to a physical contest , we would be facing an overwhelming opponent . Besides , before we could do anything , we had to be free , and that we definitely were not . I did not see any way out of this sheet - iron , hermetically sealed cell . And if the strange commander of this boat did have a secret to keep - - which seemed rather likely - - he would never give us freedom of movement aboard his vessel . Now then , would he resort to violence in order to be rid of us , or would he drop us off one day on some remote coast ? There lay the unknown . All these hypotheses seemed extremely plausible to me , and to hope for freedom through use of force , you had to be a harpooner .
I realized , moreover , that Ned Land 's brooding was getting him madder by the minute . Little by little , I heard those aforesaid cusswords welling up in the depths of his gullet , and I saw his movements turn threatening again . He stood up , pacing in circles like a wild beast in a cage , striking the walls with his foot and fist . Meanwhile the hours passed , our hunger nagged unmercifully , and this time the steward did not appear . Which amounted to forgetting our castaway status for much too long , if they really had good intentions toward us .
Tortured by the growling of his well - built stomach , Ned Land was getting more and more riled , and despite his word of honor , I was in real dread of an explosion when he stood in the presence of one of the men on board .
For two more hours Ned Land 's rage increased . The Canadian shouted and pleaded , but to no avail . The sheet - iron walls were deaf . I didn't hear a single sound inside this dead - seeming boat . The vessel had not stirred , because I obviously would have felt its hull vibrating under the influence of the propeller . It had undoubtedly sunk into the watery deep and no longer belonged to the outside world . All this dismal silence was terrifying .
As for our neglect , our isolation in the depths of this cell , I was afraid to guess at how long it might last . Little by little , hopes I had entertained after our interview with the ship 's commander were fading away . The gentleness of the man 's gaze , the generosity expressed in his facial features , the nobility of his bearing , all vanished from my memory . I saw this mystifying individual anew for what he inevitably must be : cruel and merciless . I viewed him as outside humanity , beyond all feelings of compassion , the implacable foe of his fellow man , toward whom he must have sworn an undying hate !
But even so , was the man going to let us die of starvation , locked up in this cramped prison , exposed to those horrible temptations to which people are driven by extreme hunger ? This grim possibility took on a dreadful intensity in my mind , and fired by my imagination , I felt an unreasoning terror run through me . Conseil stayed calm . Ned Land bellowed .
Just then a noise was audible outside . Footsteps rang on the metal tiling . The locks were turned , the door opened , the steward appeared .
Before I could make a single movement to prevent him , the Canadian rushed at the poor man , threw him down , held him by the throat . The steward was choking in the grip of those powerful hands .
Conseil was already trying to loosen the harpooner 's hands from his half - suffocated victim , and I had gone to join in the rescue , when I was abruptly nailed to the spot by these words pronounced in French : " Calm down , Mr. Land ! And you , professor , kindly listen to me ! "
It was the ship 's commander who had just spoken .
At these words Ned Land stood up quickly . Nearly strangled , the steward staggered out at a signal from his superior ; but such was the commander 's authority aboard his vessel , not one gesture gave away the resentment that this man must have felt toward the Canadian . In silence we waited for the outcome of this scene ; Conseil , in spite of himself , seemed almost fascinated , I was stunned .
Arms crossed , leaning against a corner of the table , the commander studied us with great care . Was he reluctant to speak further ? Did he regret those words he had just pronounced in French ? You would have thought so .
After a few moments of silence , which none of us would have dreamed of interrupting : " Gentlemen , " he said in a calm , penetrating voice , " I speak French , English , German , and Latin with equal fluency . Hence I could have answered you as early as our initial interview , but first I wanted to make your acquaintance and then think things over . Your four versions of the same narrative , perfectly consistent by and large , established your personal identities for me . I now know that sheer chance has placed in my presence Professor Pierre Aronnax , specialist in natural history at the Paris Museum and entrusted with a scientific mission abroad , his manservant Conseil , and Ned Land , a harpooner of Canadian origin aboard the Abraham Lincoln , a frigate in the national navy of the United States of America . "
I bowed in agreement . The commander hadn't put a question to me . So no answer was called for . This man expressed himself with perfect ease and without a trace of an accent . His phrasing was clear , his words well chosen , his facility in elocution remarkable . And yet , to me , he did not have " the feel " of a fellow countryman .
He went on with the conversation as follows : " No doubt , sir , you've felt that I waited rather too long before paying you this second visit . After discovering your identities , I wanted to weigh carefully what policy to pursue toward you . I had great difficulty deciding . Some extremely inconvenient circumstances have brought you into the presence of a man who has cut himself off from humanity . Your coming has disrupted my whole existence . "
" Unintentionally , " I said .
" Unintentionally ? " the stranger replied , raising his voice a little . " Was it unintentionally that the Abraham Lincoln hunted me on every sea ? Was it unintentionally that you traveled aboard that frigate ? Was it unintentionally that your shells bounced off my ship 's hull ? Was it unintentionally that Mr. Ned Land hit me with his harpoon ? "
I detected a controlled irritation in these words . But there was a perfectly natural reply to these charges , and I made it .
" Sir , " I said , " you are surely unaware of the discussions that have taken place in Europe and America with yourself as the subject . You do not realize that various accidents , caused by collisions with your underwater machine , have aroused public passions on those two continents . I will spare you the innumerable hypotheses with which we've tried to explain this inexplicable phenomenon , whose secret is yours alone . But please understand that the Abraham Lincoln chased you over the Pacific high seas in the belief it was hunting some powerful marine monster , which had to be purged from the ocean at all cost . "
A half smile curled the commander 's lips ; then , in a calmer tone : " Professor Aronnax , " he replied , " do you dare claim that your frigate would not have chased and cannonaded an underwater boat as readily as a monster ? "
This question baffled me , since Commander Farragut would certainly have shown no such hesitation . He would have seen it as his sworn duty to destroy a contrivance of this kind just as promptly as a gigantic narwhale .
" So you understand , sir , " the stranger went on , " that I have a right to treat you as my enemy . "
I kept quiet , with good reason . What was the use of debating such a proposition , when superior force can wipe out the best arguments ?
" It took me a good while to decide , " the commander went on . " Nothing obliged me to grant you hospitality . If I were to part company with you , I ' d have no personal interest in ever seeing you again . I could put you back on the platform of this ship that has served as your refuge . I could sink under the sea , and I could forget you ever existed . Would not that be my right ? "
" Perhaps it would be the right of a savage , " I replied . " But not that of a civilized man . "
" Professor , " the commander replied swiftly , " I am not what you term a civilized man ! I've severed all ties with society , for reasons that I alone have the right to appreciate . Therefore I obey none of its regulations , and I insist that you never invoke them in front of me ! "
This was plain speaking . A flash of anger and scorn lit up the stranger 's eyes , and I glimpsed a fearsome past in this man 's life . Not only had he placed himself beyond human laws , he had rendered himself independent , out of all reach , free in the strictest sense of the word ! For who would dare chase him to the depths of the sea when he thwarted all attacks on the surface ? What ship could withstand a collision with his underwater Monitor ? What armor plate , no matter how heavy , could bear the thrusts of his spur ? No man among men could call him to account for his actions . God , if he believed in Him , his conscience if he had one - - these were the only judges to whom he was answerable .
These thoughts swiftly crossed my mind while this strange individual fell silent , like someone completely self - absorbed . I regarded him with a mixture of fear and fascination , in the same way , no doubt , that Oedipus regarded the Sphinx .
After a fairly long silence , the commander went on with our conversation .
" So I had difficulty deciding , " he said . " But I concluded that my personal interests could be reconciled with that natural compassion to which every human being has a right . Since fate has brought you here , you will stay aboard my vessel . You will be free here , and in exchange for that freedom , moreover totally related to it , I will lay on you just one condition . Your word that you will submit to it will be sufficient . "
" Go on , sir , " I replied . " I assume this condition is one an honest man can accept ? "
" Yes , sir . Just this . It 's possible that certain unforeseen events may force me to confine you to your cabins for some hours , or even for some days as the case may be . Since I prefer never to use violence , I expect from you in such a case , even more than in any other , your unquestioning obedience . By acting in this way , I shield you from complicity , I absolve you of all responsibility , since I myself make it impossible for you to see what you are not meant to see . Do you accept this condition ? "
So things happened on board that were quite odd to say the least , things never to be seen by people not placing themselves beyond society 's laws ! Among all the surprises the future had in store for me , this would not be the mildest .
" We accept , " I replied . " Only , I will ask your permission , sir , to address a question to you , just one . "
" Go ahead , sir . "
" You said we ' d be free aboard your vessel ? "
" Completely . "
" Then I would ask what you mean by this freedom . "
" Why , the freedom to come , go , see , and even closely observe everything happening here - - except under certain rare circumstances - - in short , the freedom we ourselves enjoy , my companions and I. "
It was obvious that we did not understand each other .
" Pardon me , sir , " I went on , " but that 's merely the freedom that every prisoner has , the freedom to pace his cell ! That 's not enough for us . "
" Nevertheless , it will have to do ! "
" What ! We must give up seeing our homeland , friends , and relatives ever again ? "
" Yes , sir . But giving up that intolerable earthly yoke that some men call freedom is perhaps less painful than you think ! "
" By thunder ! " Ned Land shouted . " I will never promise I will not try getting out of here ! "
" I did not ask for such a promise , Mr. Land , " the commander replied coldly .
" Sir , " I replied , flaring up in spite of myself , " you are taking unfair advantage of us ! This is sheer cruelty ! "
" No , sir , it 's an act of mercy ! You are my prisoners of war ! I've cared for you when , with a single word , I could plunge you back into the ocean depths ! You attacked me ! You've just stumbled on a secret no living man must probe , the secret of my entire existence ! Do you think I will send you back to a world that must know nothing more of me ? Never ! By keeping you on board , it is not you whom I care for , it 's me ! "
These words indicated that the commander pursued a policy impervious to arguments .
" Then , sir , " I went on , " you give us , quite simply , a choice between life and death ? "
" Quite simply . "
" My friends , " I said , " to a question couched in these terms , our answer can be taken for granted . But no solemn promises bind us to the commander of this vessel . "
" None , sir , " the stranger replied .
Then , in a gentler voice , he went on : " Now , allow me to finish what I have to tell you . I've heard of you , Professor Aronnax . You , if not your companions , will not perhaps complain too much about the stroke of fate that has brought us together . Among the books that make up my favorite reading , you will find the work you've published on the great ocean depths . I've pored over it . You've taken your studies as far as terrestrial science can go . But you don't know everything because you have not seen everything . Let me tell you , professor , you will not regret the time you spend aboard my vessel . You are going to voyage through a land of wonders . Stunned amazement will probably be your habitual state of mind . It will be a long while before you tire of the sights constantly before your eyes . I am going to make another underwater tour of the world - - perhaps my last , who knows ? - - and I will review everything I've studied in the depths of these seas that I've crossed so often , and you can be my fellow student . Starting this very day , you will enter a new element , you will see what no human being has ever seen before - - since my men and I no longer count - - and thanks to me , you are going to learn the ultimate secrets of our planet . "
I can not deny it ; the commander 's words had a tremendous effect on me . He had caught me on my weak side , and I momentarily forgot that not even this sublime experience was worth the loss of my freedom . Besides , I counted on the future to resolve this important question . So I was content to reply : " Sir , even though you've cut yourself off from humanity , I can see that you haven't disowned all human feeling . We are castaways whom you've charitably taken aboard , we'll never forget that . Speaking for myself , I do not rule out that the interests of science could override even the need for freedom , which promises me that , in exchange , our encounter will provide great rewards . "
I thought the commander would offer me his hand , to seal our agreement . He did nothing of the sort . I regretted that .
" One last question , " I said , just as this inexplicable being seemed ready to withdraw .
" Ask it , professor . "
" By what name am I to call you ? "
" Sir , " the commander replied , " to you , I am simply Captain Nemo ; to me , you and your companions are simply passengers on the Nautilus . "
Captain Nemo called out . A steward appeared . The captain gave him his orders in that strange language I could not even identify . Then , turning to the Canadian and Conseil : " A meal is waiting for you in your cabin , " he told them . " Kindly follow this man . "
" That 's an offer I can not refuse ! " the harpooner replied .
After being confined for over thirty hours , he and Conseil were finally out of this cell .
" And now , Professor Aronnax , our own breakfast is ready . Allow me to lead the way . "
" Yours to command , captain . "
I followed Captain Nemo , and as soon as I passed through the doorway , I went down a kind of electrically lit passageway that resembled a gangway on a ship . After a stretch of some ten meters , a second door opened before me .
I then entered a dining room , decorated and furnished in austere good taste . Inlaid with ebony trim , tall oaken sideboards stood at both ends of this room , and sparkling on their shelves were staggered rows of earthenware , porcelain , and glass of incalculable value . There silver - plated dinnerware gleamed under rays pouring from light fixtures in the ceiling , whose glare was softened and tempered by delicately painted designs .
In the center of this room stood a table , richly spread . Captain Nemo indicated the place I was to occupy .
" Be seated , " he told me , " and eat like the famished man you must be . "
Our breakfast consisted of several dishes whose contents were all supplied by the sea , and some foods whose nature and derivation were unknown to me . They were good , I admit , but with a peculiar flavor to which I would soon grow accustomed . These various food items seemed to be rich in phosphorous , and I thought that they , too , must have been of marine origin .
Captain Nemo stared at me . I had asked him nothing , but he read my thoughts , and on his own he answered the questions I was itching to address him .
" Most of these dishes are new to you , " he told me . " But you can consume them without fear . They are healthy and nourishing . I renounced terrestrial foods long ago , and I am none the worse for it . My crew are strong and full of energy , and they eat what I eat . "
" So , " I said , " all these foods are products of the sea ? "
" Yes , professor , the sea supplies all my needs . Sometimes I cast my nets in our wake , and I pull them up ready to burst . Sometimes I go hunting right in the midst of this element that has long seemed so far out of man 's reach , and I corner the game that dwells in my underwater forests . Like the flocks of old Proteus , King Neptune 's shepherd , my herds graze without fear on the ocean 's immense prairies . There I own vast properties that I harvest myself , and which are forever sown by the hand of the Creator of All Things . "
I stared at Captain Nemo in definite astonishment , and I answered him : " Sir , I understand perfectly how your nets can furnish excellent fish for your table ; I understand less how you can chase aquatic game in your underwater forests ; but how a piece of red meat , no matter how small , can figure in your menu , that I do not understand at all . "
" Nor I , sir , " Captain Nemo answered me . " I never touch the flesh of land animals . "
" Nevertheless , this ... , " I went on , pointing to a dish where some slices of loin were still left .
" What you believe to be red meat , professor , is nothing other than loin of sea turtle . Similarly , here are some dolphin livers you might mistake for stewed pork . My chef is a skillful food processor who excels at pickling and preserving these various exhibits from the ocean . Feel free to sample all of these foods . Here are some preserves of sea cucumber that a Malaysian would declare to be unrivaled in the entire world , here 's cream from milk furnished by the udders of cetaceans , and sugar from the huge fucus plants in the North Sea ; and finally , allow me to offer you some marmalade of sea anemone , equal to that from the tastiest fruits . "
So I sampled away , more as a curiosity seeker than an epicure , while Captain Nemo delighted me with his incredible anecdotes .
" But this sea , Professor Aronnax , " he told me , " this prodigious , inexhaustible wet nurse of a sea not only feeds me , she dresses me as well . That fabric covering you was woven from the masses of filaments that anchor certain seashells ; as the ancients were wont to do , it was dyed with purple ink from the murex snail and shaded with violet tints that I extract from a marine slug , the Mediterranean sea hare . The perfumes you will find on the washstand in your cabin were produced from the oozings of marine plants . Your mattress was made from the ocean 's softest eelgrass . Your quill pen will be whalebone , your ink a juice secreted by cuttlefish or squid . Everything comes to me from the sea , just as someday everything will return to it ! "
" You love the sea , captain . "
" Yes , I love it ! The sea is the be all and end all ! It covers seven - tenths of the planet earth . Its breath is clean and healthy . It 's an immense wilderness where a man is never lonely , because he feels life astir on every side . The sea is simply the vehicle for a prodigious , unearthly mode of existence ; it 's simply movement and love ; it 's living infinity , as one of your poets put it . And in essence , professor , nature is here made manifest by all three of her kingdoms , mineral , vegetable , and animal . The last of these is amply represented by the four zoophyte groups , three classes of articulates , five classes of mollusks , and three vertebrate classes : mammals , reptiles , and those countless legions of fish , an infinite order of animals totaling more than 13,000 species , of which only one - tenth belong to fresh water . The sea is a vast pool of nature . Our globe began with the sea , so to speak , and who can say we will not end with it ! Here lies supreme tranquility . The sea does not belong to tyrants . On its surface they can still exercise their iniquitous claims , battle each other , devour each other , haul every earthly horror . But thirty feet below sea level , their dominion ceases , their influence fades , their power vanishes ! Ah , sir , live ! Live in the heart of the seas ! Here alone lies independence ! Here I recognize no superiors ! Here I am free ! "
Captain Nemo suddenly fell silent in the midst of this enthusiastic outpouring . Had he let himself get carried away , past the bounds of his habitual reserve ? Had he said too much ? For a few moments he strolled up and down , all aquiver . Then his nerves grew calmer , his facial features recovered their usual icy composure , and turning to me : " Now , professor , " he said , " if you ' d like to inspect the Nautilus , I am yours to command . "
Captain Nemo stood up . I followed him . Contrived at the rear of the dining room , a double door opened , and I entered a room whose dimensions equaled the one I had just left .
It was a library . Tall , black - rosewood bookcases , inlaid with copperwork , held on their wide shelves a large number of uniformly bound books . These furnishings followed the contours of the room , their lower parts leading to huge couches upholstered in maroon leather and curved for maximum comfort . Light , movable reading stands , which could be pushed away or pulled near as desired , allowed books to be positioned on them for easy study . In the center stood a huge table covered with pamphlets , among which some newspapers , long out of date , were visible . Electric light flooded this whole harmonious totality , falling from four frosted half globes set in the scrollwork of the ceiling . I stared in genuine wonderment at this room so ingeniously laid out , and I could not believe my eyes .
" Captain Nemo , " I told my host , who had just stretched out on a couch , " this is a library that would do credit to more than one continental palace , and I truly marvel to think it can go with you into the deepest seas . "
" Where could one find greater silence or solitude , professor ? " Captain Nemo replied . " Did your study at the museum afford you such a perfect retreat ? "
" No , sir , and I might add that it 's quite a humble one next to yours . You own 6,000 or 7,000 volumes here ... "
" 12,000 , Professor Aronnax . They are my sole remaining ties with dry land . But I was done with the shore the day my Nautilus submerged for the first time under the waters . That day I purchased my last volumes , my last pamphlets , my last newspapers , and ever since I've chosen to believe that humanity no longer thinks or writes . In any event , professor , these books are at your disposal , and you may use them freely . "
I thanked Captain Nemo and approached the shelves of this library . Written in every language , books on science , ethics , and literature were there in abundance , but I did not see a single work on economics - - they seemed to be strictly banned on board . One odd detail : all these books were shelved indiscriminately without regard to the language in which they were written , and this jumble proved that the Nautilus 's captain could read fluently whatever volumes he chanced to pick up .
Among these books I noted masterpieces by the greats of ancient and modern times , in other words , all of humanity 's finest achievements in history , poetry , fiction , and science , from Homer to Victor Hugo , from Xenophon to Michelet , from Rabelais to Madame George Sand . But science , in particular , represented the major investment of this library : books on mechanics , ballistics , hydrography , meteorology , geography , geology , etc. , held a place there no less important than works on natural history , and I realized that they made up the captain 's chief reading . There I saw the complete works of Humboldt , the complete Arago , as well as works by Foucault , Henri Sainte - Claire Deville , Chasles , Milne - Edwards , Quatrefages , John Tyndall , Faraday , Berthelot , Father Secchi , Petermann , Commander Maury , Louis Agassiz , etc. , plus the transactions of France 's Academy of Sciences , bulletins from the various geographical societies , etc. , and in a prime location , those two volumes on the great ocean depths that had perhaps earned me this comparatively charitable welcome from Captain Nemo . Among the works of Joseph Bertrand , his book entitled The Founders of Astronomy even gave me a definite date ; and since I knew it had appeared in the course of 1865 , I concluded that the fitting out of the Nautilus hadn't taken place before then . Accordingly , three years ago at the most , Captain Nemo had begun his underwater existence . Moreover , I hoped some books even more recent would permit me to pinpoint the date precisely ; but I had plenty of time to look for them , and I did not want to put off any longer our stroll through the wonders of the Nautilus .
" Sir , " I told the captain , " thank you for placing this library at my disposal . There are scientific treasures here , and I will take advantage of them . "
" This room is not only a library , " Captain Nemo said , " it 's also a smoking room . "
" A smoking room ? " I exclaimed . " Then one may smoke on board ? "
" Surely . "
" In that case , sir , I am forced to believe that you've kept up relations with Havana . "
" None whatever , " the captain replied . " Try this cigar , Professor Aronnax , and even though it does not come from Havana , it will satisfy you if you are a connoisseur . "
I took the cigar offered me , whose shape recalled those from Cuba ; but it seemed to be made of gold leaf . I lit it at a small brazier supported by an elegant bronze stand , and I inhaled my first whiffs with the relish of a smoker who has not had a puff in days .
" It 's excellent , " I said , " but it 's not from the tobacco plant . "
" Right , " the captain replied , " this tobacco comes from neither Havana nor the Orient . It 's a kind of nicotine - rich seaweed that the ocean supplies me , albeit sparingly . Do you still miss your Cubans , sir ? "
" Captain , I scorn them from this day forward . "
" Then smoke these cigars whenever you like , without debating their origin . They bear no government seal of approval , but I imagine they are none the worse for it . "
" On the contrary . "
Just then Captain Nemo opened a door facing the one by which I had entered the library , and I passed into an immense , splendidly lit lounge .
It was a huge quadrilateral with canted corners , ten meters long , six wide , five high . A luminous ceiling , decorated with delicate arabesques , distributed a soft , clear daylight over all the wonders gathered in this museum . For a museum it truly was , in which clever hands had spared no expense to amass every natural and artistic treasure , displaying them with the helter - skelter picturesqueness that distinguishes a painter 's studio .
Some thirty pictures by the masters , uniformly framed and separated by gleaming panoplies of arms , adorned walls on which were stretched tapestries of austere design . There I saw canvases of the highest value , the likes of which I had marveled at in private European collections and art exhibitions . The various schools of the old masters were represented by a Raphael Madonna , a Virgin by Leonardo da Vinci , a nymph by Correggio , a woman by Titian , an adoration of the Magi by Veronese , an assumption of the Virgin by Murillo , a Holbein portrait , a monk by Velazquez , a martyr by Ribera , a village fair by Rubens , two Flemish landscapes by Teniers , three little genre paintings by Gerard Dow , Metsu , and Paul Potter , two canvases by Gericault and Prud'hon , plus seascapes by Backhuysen and Vernet . Among the works of modern art were pictures signed by Delacroix , Ingres , Decamps , Troyon , Meissonier , Daubigny , etc. , and some wonderful miniature statues in marble or bronze , modeled after antiquity 's finest originals , stood on their pedestals in the corners of this magnificent museum . As the Nautilus 's commander had predicted , my mind was already starting to fall into that promised state of stunned amazement .
" Professor , " this strange man then said , " you must excuse the informality with which I receive you , and the disorder reigning in this lounge . "
" Sir , " I replied , " without prying into who you are , might I venture to identify you as an artist ? "
" A collector , sir , nothing more . Formerly I loved acquiring these beautiful works created by the hand of man . I sought them greedily , ferreted them out tirelessly , and I've been able to gather some objects of great value . They are my last mementos of those shores that are now dead for me . In my eyes , your modern artists are already as old as the ancients . They've existed for 2,000 or 3,000 years , and I mix them up in my mind . The masters are ageless . "
" What about these composers ? " I said , pointing to sheet music by Weber , Rossini , Mozart , Beethoven , Haydn , Meyerbeer , Herold , Wagner , Auber , Gounod , Victor Masse , and a number of others scattered over a full size piano - organ , which occupied one of the wall panels in this lounge .
" These composers , " Captain Nemo answered me , " are the contemporaries of Orpheus , because in the annals of the dead , all chronological differences fade ; and I am dead , professor , quite as dead as those friends of yours sleeping six feet under ! "
Captain Nemo fell silent and seemed lost in reverie . I regarded him with intense excitement , silently analyzing his strange facial expression . Leaning his elbow on the corner of a valuable mosaic table , he no longer saw me , he had forgotten my very presence .
I did not disturb his meditations but continued to pass in review the curiosities that enriched this lounge .
After the works of art , natural rarities predominated . They consisted chiefly of plants , shells , and other exhibits from the ocean that must have been Captain Nemo 's own personal finds . In the middle of the lounge , a jet of water , electrically lit , fell back into a basin made from a single giant clam . The delicately festooned rim of this shell , supplied by the biggest mollusk in the class Acephala , measured about six meters in circumference ; so it was even bigger than those fine giant clams given to King Francois I by the Republic of Venice , and which the Church of Saint - Sulpice in Paris has made into two gigantic holy - water fonts .
Around this basin , inside elegant glass cases fastened with copper bands , there were classified and labeled the most valuable marine exhibits ever put before the eyes of a naturalist . My professorial glee may easily be imagined .
The zoophyte branch offered some very unusual specimens from its two groups , the polyps and the echinoderms . In the first group : organ - pipe coral , gorgonian coral arranged into fan shapes , soft sponges from Syria , isis coral from the Molucca Islands , sea - pen coral , wonderful coral of the genus Virgularia from the waters of Norway , various coral of the genus Umbellularia , alcyonarian coral , then a whole series of those madrepores that my mentor Professor Milne - Edwards has so shrewdly classified into divisions and among which I noted the wonderful genus Flabellina as well as the genus Oculina from Reunion Island , plus a " Neptune 's chariot " from the Caribbean Sea - - every superb variety of coral , and in short , every species of these unusual polyparies that congregate to form entire islands that will one day turn into continents . Among the echinoderms , notable for being covered with spines : starfish , feather stars , sea lilies , free - swimming crinoids , brittle stars , sea urchins , sea cucumbers , etc. , represented a complete collection of the individuals in this group .
An excitable conchologist would surely have fainted dead away before other , more numerous glass cases in which were classified specimens from the mollusk branch . There I saw a collection of incalculable value that I have not time to describe completely . Among these exhibits I will mention , just for the record : an elegant royal hammer shell from the Indian Ocean , whose evenly spaced white spots stood out sharply against a base of red and brown ; an imperial spiny oyster , brightly colored , bristling with thorns , a specimen rare to European museums , whose value I estimated at 20,000 francs ; a common hammer shell from the seas near Queensland , very hard to come by ; exotic cockles from Senegal , fragile white bivalve shells that a single breath could pop like a soap bubble ; several varieties of watering - pot shell from Java , a sort of limestone tube fringed with leafy folds and much fought over by collectors ; a whole series of top - shell snails - - greenish yellow ones fished up from American seas , others colored reddish brown that patronize the waters off Queensland , the former coming from the Gulf of Mexico and notable for their overlapping shells , the latter some sun - carrier shells found in the southernmost seas , finally and rarest of all , the magnificent spurred - star shell from New Zealand ; then some wonderful peppery - furrow shells ; several valuable species of cythera clams and venus clams ; the trellis wentletrap snail from Tranquebar on India 's eastern shore ; a marbled turban snail gleaming with mother - of - pearl ; green parrot shells from the seas of China ; the virtually unknown cone snail from the genus Coenodullus ; every variety of cowry used as money in India and Africa ; a " glory - of - the - seas , " the most valuable shell in the East Indies ; finally , common periwinkles , delphinula snails , turret snails , violet snails , European cowries , volute snails , olive shells , miter shells , helmet shells , murex snails , whelks , harp shells , spiky periwinkles , triton snails , horn shells , spindle shells , conch shells , spider conchs , limpets , glass snails , sea butterflies - - every kind of delicate , fragile seashell that science has baptized with its most delightful names .
Aside and in special compartments , strings of supremely beautiful pearls were spread out , the electric light flecking them with little fiery sparks : pink pearls pulled from saltwater fan shells in the Red Sea ; green pearls from the rainbow abalone ; yellow , blue , and black pearls , the unusual handiwork of various mollusks from every ocean and of certain mussels from rivers up north ; in short , several specimens of incalculable worth that had been oozed by the rarest of shellfish . Some of these pearls were bigger than a pigeon egg ; they more than equaled the one that the explorer Tavernier sold the Shah of Persia for 3,000,000 francs , and they surpassed that other pearl owned by the Imam of Muscat , which I had believed to be unrivaled in the entire world .
Consequently , to calculate the value of this collection was , I should say , impossible . Captain Nemo must have spent millions in acquiring these different specimens , and I was wondering what financial resources he tapped to satisfy his collector 's fancies , when these words interrupted me : " You are examining my shells , professor ? They are indeed able to fascinate a naturalist ; but for me they have an added charm , since I've collected every one of them with my own two hands , and not a sea on the globe has escaped my investigations . "
" I understand , captain , I understand your delight at strolling in the midst of this wealth . You are a man who gathers his treasure in person . No museum in Europe owns such a collection of exhibits from the ocean . But if I exhaust all my wonderment on them , I will have nothing left for the ship that carries them ! I have absolutely no wish to probe those secrets of yours ! But I confess that my curiosity is aroused to the limit by this Nautilus , the motor power it contains , the equipment enabling it to operate , the ultra powerful force that brings it to life . I see some instruments hanging on the walls of this lounge whose purposes are unknown to me . May I learn - - "
" Professor Aronnax , " Captain Nemo answered me , " I've said you ' d be free aboard my vessel , so no part of the Nautilus is off - limits to you . You may inspect it in detail , and I will be delighted to act as your guide . "
" I do not know how to thank you , sir , but I will not abuse your good nature . I would only ask you about the uses intended for these instruments of physical measure - - "
" Professor , these same instruments are found in my stateroom , where I will have the pleasure of explaining their functions to you . But beforehand , come inspect the cabin set aside for you . You need to learn how you will be lodged aboard the Nautilus . "
I followed Captain Nemo , who , via one of the doors cut into the lounge 's canted corners , led me back down the ship 's gangways . He took me to the bow , and there I found not just a cabin but an elegant stateroom with a bed , a washstand , and various other furnishings .
I could only thank my host .
" Your stateroom adjoins mine , " he told me , opening a door , " and mine leads into that lounge we've just left . "
I entered the captain 's stateroom . It had an austere , almost monastic appearance . An iron bedstead , a worktable , some washstand fixtures . Subdued lighting . No luxuries . Just the bare necessities .
Captain Nemo showed me to a bench .
" Kindly be seated , " he told me .
I sat , and he began speaking as follows :
" Sir , " Captain Nemo said , showing me the instruments hanging on the walls of his stateroom , " these are the devices needed to navigate the Nautilus . Here , as in the lounge , I always have them before my eyes , and they indicate my position and exact heading in the midst of the ocean . You are familiar with some of them , such as the thermometer , which gives the temperature inside the Nautilus ; the barometer , which measures the heaviness of the outside air and forecasts changes in the weather ; the humidistat , which indicates the degree of dryness in the atmosphere ; the storm glass , whose mixture decomposes to foretell the arrival of tempests ; the compass , which steers my course ; the sextant , which takes the sun 's altitude and tells me my latitude ; chronometers , which allow me to calculate my longitude ; and finally , spyglasses for both day and night , enabling me to scrutinize every point of the horizon once the Nautilus has risen to the surface of the waves . "
" These are the normal navigational instruments , " I replied , " and I am familiar with their uses . But no doubt these others answer pressing needs unique to the Nautilus . That dial I see there , with the needle moving across it - - is not it a pressure gauge ? "
" It is indeed a pressure gauge . It 's placed in contact with the water , and it indicates the outside pressure on our hull , which in turn gives me the depth at which my submersible is sitting . "
" And these are some new breed of sounding line ? "
" They are thermometric sounding lines that report water temperatures in the different strata . "
" And these other instruments , whose functions I can not even guess ? "
" Here , professor , I need to give you some background information , " Captain Nemo said . " So kindly hear me out . "
He fell silent for some moments , then he said : " There 's a powerful , obedient , swift , and effortless force that can be bent to any use and which reigns supreme aboard my vessel . It does everything . It lights me , it warms me , it 's the soul of my mechanical equipment . This force is electricity . "
" Electricity ! " I exclaimed in some surprise .
" Yes , sir . "
" But , captain , you have a tremendous speed of movement that does not square with the strength of electricity . Until now , its dynamic potential has remained quite limited , capable of producing only small amounts of power ! "
" Professor , " Captain Nemo replied , " my electricity is not the run - of - the - mill variety , and with your permission , I will leave it at that . "
" I will not insist , sir , and I will rest content with simply being flabbergasted at your results . I would ask one question , however , which you need not answer if it 's indiscreet . The electric cells you use to generate this marvelous force must be depleted very quickly . Their zinc component , for example : how do you replace it , since you no longer stay in contact with the shore ? "
" That question deserves an answer , " Captain Nemo replied . " First off , I will mention that at the bottom of the sea there exist veins of zinc , iron , silver , and gold whose mining would quite certainly be feasible . But I've tapped none of these land - based metals , and I wanted to make demands only on the sea itself for the sources of my electricity . "
" The sea itself ? "
" Yes , professor , and there was no shortage of such sources . In fact , by establishing a circuit between two wires immersed to different depths , I ' d be able to obtain electricity through the diverging temperatures they experience ; but I preferred to use a more practical procedure . "
" And that is ? "
" You are familiar with the composition of salt water . In 1,000 grams one finds 96.5 % water and about 2.66 % sodium chloride ; then small quantities of magnesium chloride , potassium chloride , magnesium bromide , sulfate of magnesia , calcium sulfate , and calcium carbonate . Hence you observe that sodium chloride is encountered there in significant proportions . Now then , it 's this sodium that I extract from salt water and with which I compose my electric cells . "
" Sodium ? "
" Yes , sir . Mixed with mercury , it forms an amalgam that takes the place of zinc in Bunsen cells . The mercury is never depleted . Only the sodium is consumed , and the sea itself gives me that . Beyond this , I will mention that sodium batteries have been found to generate the greater energy , and their electro - motor strength is twice that of zinc batteries . "
" Captain , I fully understand the excellence of sodium under the conditions in which you are placed . The sea contains it . Fine . But it still has to be produced , in short , extracted . And how do you accomplish this ? Obviously your batteries could do the extracting ; but if I am not mistaken , the consumption of sodium needed by your electric equipment would be greater than the quantity you ' d extract . It would come about , then , that in the process of producing your sodium , you ' d use up more than you ' d make ! "
" Accordingly , professor , I do not extract it with batteries ; quite simply , I utilize the heat of coal from the earth . "
" From the earth ? " I said , my voice going up on the word .
" We will say coal from the seafloor , if you prefer , " Captain Nemo replied .
" And you can mine these veins of underwater coal ? "
" You will watch me work them , Professor Aronnax . I ask only a little patience of you , since you will have ample time to be patient . Just remember one thing : I owe everything to the ocean ; it generates electricity , and electricity gives the Nautilus heat , light , motion , and , in a word , life itself . "
" But not the air you breathe ? "
" Oh , I could produce the air needed on board , but it would be pointless , since I can rise to the surface of the sea whenever I like . However , even though electricity does not supply me with breathable air , it at least operates the powerful pumps that store it under pressure in special tanks ; which , if need be , allows me to extend my stay in the lower strata for as long as I want . "
" Captain , " I replied , " I will rest content with marveling . You've obviously found what all mankind will surely find one day , the true dynamic power of electricity . "
" I am not so certain they will find it , " Captain Nemo replied icily . " But be that as it may , you are already familiar with the first use I've found for this valuable force . It lights us , and with a uniformity and continuity not even possessed by sunlight . Now , look at that clock : it 's electric , it runs with an accuracy rivaling the finest chronometers . I've had it divided into twenty - four hours like Italian clocks , since neither day nor night , sun nor moon , exist for me , but only this artificial light that I import into the depths of the seas ! See , right now it 's ten o'clock in the morning . "
" That 's perfect . "
" Another use for electricity : that dial hanging before our eyes indicates how fast the Nautilus is going . An electric wire puts it in contact with the patent log ; this needle shows me the actual speed of my submersible . And ... hold on ... just now we are proceeding at the moderate pace of fifteen miles per hour . "
" It 's marvelous , " I replied , " and I truly see , captain , how right you are to use this force ; it 's sure to take the place of wind , water , and steam . "
" But that 's not all , Professor Aronnax , " Captain Nemo said , standing up . " And if you ' d care to follow me , we'll inspect the Nautilus 's stern . "
In essence , I was already familiar with the whole forward part of this underwater boat , and here are its exact subdivisions going from amidships to its spur : the dining room , 5 meters long and separated from the library by a watertight bulkhead , in other words , it could not be penetrated by the sea ; the library , 5 meters long ; the main lounge , 10 meters long , separated from the captain 's stateroom by a second watertight bulkhead ; the aforesaid stateroom , 5 meters long ; mine , 2.5 meters long ; and finally , air tanks 7.5 meters long and extending to the stempost . Total : a length of 35 meters . Doors were cut into the watertight bulkheads and were shut hermetically by means of india - rubber seals , which insured complete safety aboard the Nautilus in the event of a leak in any one section .
I followed Captain Nemo down gangways located for easy transit , and I arrived amidships . There I found a sort of shaft heading upward between two watertight bulkheads . An iron ladder , clamped to the wall , led to the shaft 's upper end . I asked the captain what this ladder was for .
" It goes to the skiff , " he replied .
" What ! You have a skiff ? " I replied in some astonishment .
" Surely . An excellent longboat , light and unsinkable , which is used for excursions and fishing trips . "
" But when you want to set out , do not you have to return to the surface of the sea ? "
" By no means . The skiff is attached to the topside of the Nautilus 's hull and is set in a cavity expressly designed to receive it . It 's completely decked over , absolutely watertight , and held solidly in place by bolts . This ladder leads to a manhole cut into the Nautilus 's hull and corresponding to a comparable hole cut into the side of the skiff . I insert myself through this double opening into the longboat . My crew close up the hole belonging to the Nautilus ; I close up the one belonging to the skiff , simply by screwing it into place . I undo the bolts holding the skiff to the submersible , and the longboat rises with prodigious speed to the surface of the sea . I then open the deck paneling , carefully closed until that point ; I up mast and hoist sail - - or I take out my oars - - and I go for a spin . "
" But how do you return to the ship ? "
" I do not , Professor Aronnax ; the Nautilus returns to me . "
" At your command ? "
" At my command . An electric wire connects me to the ship . I fire off a telegram , and that 's that . "
" Right , " I said , tipsy from all these wonders , " nothing to it ! "
After passing the well of the companionway that led to the platform , I saw a cabin 2 meters long in which Conseil and Ned Land , enraptured with their meal , were busy devouring it to the last crumb . Then a door opened into the galley , 3 meters long and located between the vessel 's huge storage lockers .
There , even more powerful and obedient than gas , electricity did most of the cooking . Arriving under the stoves , wires transmitted to platinum griddles a heat that was distributed and sustained with perfect consistency . It also heated a distilling mechanism that , via evaporation , supplied excellent drinking water . Next to this galley was a bathroom , conveniently laid out , with faucets supplying hot or cold water at will .
After the galley came the crew 's quarters , 5 meters long . But the door was closed and I could not see its accommodations , which might have told me the number of men it took to operate the Nautilus .
At the far end stood a fourth watertight bulkhead , separating the crew 's quarters from the engine room . A door opened , and I stood in the compartment where Captain Nemo , indisputably a world - class engineer , had set up his locomotive equipment .
Brightly lit , the engine room measured at least 20 meters in length . It was divided , by function , into two parts : the first contained the cells for generating electricity , the second that mechanism transmitting movement to the propeller .
Right off , I detected an odor permeating the compartment that was sui generis . Captain Nemo noticed the negative impression it made on me .
" That , " he told me , " is a gaseous discharge caused by our use of sodium , but it 's only a mild inconvenience . In any event , every morning we sanitize the ship by ventilating it in the open air . "
Meanwhile I examined the Nautilus 's engine with a fascination easy to imagine .
" You observe , " Captain Nemo told me , " that I use Bunsen cells , not Ruhmkorff cells . The latter would be ineffectual . One uses fewer Bunsen cells , but they are big and strong , and experience has proven their superiority . The electricity generated here makes its way to the stern , where electromagnets of huge size activate a special system of levers and gears that transmit movement to the propeller 's shaft . The latter has a diameter of 6 meters , a pitch of 7.5 meters , and can do up to 120 revolutions per minute . "
" And that gives you ? "
" A speed of fifty miles per hour . "
There lay a mystery , but I didn't insist on exploring it . How could electricity work with such power ? Where did this nearly unlimited energy originate ? Was it in the extraordinary voltage obtained from some new kind of induction coil ? Could its transmission have been immeasurably increased by some unknown system of levers ? This was the point I could not grasp .
" Captain Nemo , " I said , " I will vouch for the results and not try to explain them . I've seen the Nautilus at work out in front of the Abraham Lincoln , and I know where I stand on its speed . But it is not enough just to move , we have to see where we are going ! We must be able to steer right or left , up or down ! How do you reach the lower depths , where you meet an increasing resistance that 's assessed in hundreds of atmospheres ? How do you rise back to the surface of the ocean ? Finally , how do you keep your ship at whatever level suits you ? Am I indiscreet in asking you all these things ? "
" Not at all , professor , " the captain answered me after a slight hesitation , " since you will never leave this underwater boat . Come into the lounge . It 's actually our work room , and there you will learn the full story about the Nautilus ! "
A moment later we were seated on a couch in the lounge , cigars between our lips . The captain placed before my eyes a working drawing that gave the ground plan , cross section , and side view of the Nautilus . Then he began his description as follows :
" Here , Professor Aronnax , are the different dimensions of this boat now transporting you . It 's a very long cylinder with conical ends . It noticeably takes the shape of a cigar , a shape already adopted in London for several projects of the same kind . The length of this cylinder from end to end is exactly seventy meters , and its maximum breadth of beam is eight meters . So it is not quite built on the ten - to - one ratio of your high - speed steamers ; but its lines are sufficiently long , and their tapering gradual enough , so that the displaced water easily slips past and poses no obstacle to the ship 's movements . "
" These two dimensions allow you to obtain , via a simple calculation , the surface area and volume of the Nautilus . Its surface area totals 1,011.45 square meters , its volume 1,507.2 cubic meters - - which is tantamount to saying that when it 's completely submerged , it displaces 1,500 cubic meters of water , or weighs 1,500 metric tons . "
" In drawing up plans for a ship meant to navigate underwater , I wanted it , when floating on the waves , to lie nine - tenths below the surface and to emerge only one - tenth . Consequently , under these conditions it needed to displace only nine - tenths of its volume , hence 1,356.48 cubic meters ; in other words , it was to weigh only that same number of metric tons . So I was obliged not to exceed this weight while building it to the aforesaid dimensions . "
" The Nautilus is made up of two hulls , one inside the other ; between them , joining them together , are iron T - bars that give this ship the utmost rigidity . In fact , thanks to this cellular arrangement , it has the resistance of a stone block , as if it were completely solid . Its plating can not give way ; it 's self - adhering and not dependent on the tightness of its rivets ; and due to the perfect union of its materials , the solidarity of its construction allows it to defy the most violent seas . "
" The two hulls are manufactured from boilerplate steel , whose relative density is 7.8 times that of water . The first hull has a thickness of no less than five centimeters and weighs 394.96 metric tons . My second hull , the outer cover , includes a keel fifty centimeters high by twenty - five wide , which by itself weighs 62 metric tons ; this hull , the engine , the ballast , the various accessories and accommodations , plus the bulkheads and interior braces , have a combined weight of 961.52 metric tons , which when added to 394.96 metric tons , gives us the desired total of 1,356.48 metric tons . Clear ? "
" Clear , " I replied .
" So , " the captain went on , " when the Nautilus lies on the waves under these conditions , one - tenth of it does emerge above water . Now then , if I provide some ballast tanks equal in capacity to that one - tenth , hence able to hold 150.72 metric tons , and if I fill them with water , the boat then displaces 1,507.2 metric tons - - or it weighs that much - - and it would be completely submerged . That 's what comes about , professor . These ballast tanks exist within easy access in the lower reaches of the Nautilus . I open some stopcocks , the tanks fill , the boat sinks , and it 's exactly flush with the surface of the water . "
" Fine , captain , but now we come to a genuine difficulty . You are able to lie flush with the surface of the ocean , that I understand . But lower down , while diving beneath that surface , is not your submersible going to encounter a pressure , and consequently undergo an upward thrust , that must be assessed at one atmosphere per every thirty feet of water , hence at about one kilogram per each square centimeter ? "
" Precisely , sir . "
" Then unless you fill up the whole Nautilus , I do not see how you can force it down into the heart of these liquid masses . "
" Professor , " Captain Nemo replied , " static objects must not be confused with dynamic ones , or we'll be open to serious error . Comparatively little effort is spent in reaching the ocean 's lower regions , because all objects have a tendency to become ' sinkers . ' Follow my logic here . "
" I am all ears , captain . "
" When I wanted to determine what increase in weight the Nautilus needed to be given in order to submerge , I had only to take note of the proportionate reduction in volume that salt water experiences in deeper and deeper strata . "
" That 's obvious , " I replied .
" Now then , if water is not absolutely incompressible , at least it compresses very little . In fact , according to the most recent calculations , this reduction is only .0000436 per atmosphere , or per every thirty feet of depth . For instance , to go 1,000 meters down , I must take into account the reduction in volume that occurs under a pressure equivalent to that from a 1,000 - meter column of water , in other words , under a pressure of 100 atmospheres . In this instance the reduction would be .00436 . Consequently , I ' d have to increase my weight from 1,507.2 metric tons to 1,513.77 . So the added weight would only be 6.57 metric tons . "
" That 's all ? "
" That 's all , Professor Aronnax , and the calculation is easy to check . Now then , I have supplementary ballast tanks capable of shipping 100 metric tons of water . So I can descend to considerable depths . When I want to rise again and lie flush with the surface , all I have to do is expel that water ; and if I desire that the Nautilus emerge above the waves to one - tenth of its total capacity , I empty all the ballast tanks completely . "
This logic , backed up by figures , left me without a single objection .
" I accept your calculations , captain , " I replied , " and I ' d be ill - mannered to dispute them , since your daily experience bears them out . But at this juncture , I have a hunch that we are still left with one real difficulty . "
" What 's that , sir ? "
" When you are at a depth of 1,000 meters , the Nautilus 's plating bears a pressure of 100 atmospheres . If at this point you want to empty the supplementary ballast tanks in order to lighten your boat and rise to the surface , your pumps must overcome that pressure of 100 atmospheres , which is 100 kilograms per each square centimeter . This demands a strength - - "
" That electricity alone can give me , " Captain Nemo said swiftly . " Sir , I repeat : the dynamic power of my engines is nearly infinite . The Nautilus 's pumps have prodigious strength , as you must have noticed when their waterspouts swept like a torrent over the Abraham Lincoln . Besides , I use my supplementary ballast tanks only to reach an average depth of 1,500 to 2,000 meters , and that with a view to conserving my machinery . Accordingly , when I have a mind to visit the ocean depths two or three vertical leagues beneath the surface , I use maneuvers that are more time - consuming but no less infallible . "
" What are they , captain ? " I asked .
" Here I am naturally led into telling you how the Nautilus is maneuvered . "
" I can not wait to find out . "
" In order to steer this boat to port or starboard , in short , to make turns on a horizontal plane , I use an ordinary , wide - bladed rudder that 's fastened to the rear of the sternpost and worked by a wheel and tackle . But I can also move the Nautilus upward and downward on a vertical plane by the simple method of slanting its two fins , which are attached to its sides at its center of flotation ; these fins are flexible , able to assume any position , and can be operated from inside by means of powerful levers . If these fins stay parallel with the boat , the latter moves horizontally . If they slant , the Nautilus follows the angle of that slant and , under its propeller 's thrust , either sinks on a diagonal as steep as it suits me , or rises on that diagonal . And similarly , if I want to return more swiftly to the surface , I throw the propeller in gear , and the water 's pressure makes the Nautilus rise vertically , as an air balloon inflated with hydrogen lifts swiftly into the skies . "
" Bravo , captain ! " I exclaimed . " But in the midst of the waters , how can your helmsman follow the course you've given him ? "
" My helmsman is stationed behind the windows of a pilothouse , which protrudes from the topside of the Nautilus 's hull and is fitted with biconvex glass . "
" Is glass capable of resisting such pressures ? "
" Perfectly capable . Though fragile on impact , crystal can still offer considerable resistance . In 1864 , during experiments on fishing by electric light in the middle of the North Sea , glass panes less than seven millimeters thick were seen to resist a pressure of sixteen atmospheres , all the while letting through strong , heat - generating rays whose warmth was unevenly distributed . Now then , I use glass windows measuring no less than twenty - one centimeters at their centers ; in other words , they've thirty times the thickness . "
" Fair enough , captain , but if we are going to see , we need light to drive away the dark , and in the midst of the murky waters , I wonder how your helmsman can - - "
" Set astern of the pilothouse is a powerful electric reflector whose rays light up the sea for a distance of half a mile . "
" Oh , bravo ! Bravo three times over , captain ! That explains the phosphorescent glow from this so - called narwhale that so puzzled us scientists ! Pertinent to this , I will ask you if the Nautilus 's running afoul of the Scotia , which caused such a great uproar , was the result of an accidental encounter ? "
" Entirely accidental , sir . I was navigating two meters beneath the surface of the water when the collision occurred . However , I could see that it had no dire consequences . "
" None , sir . But as for your encounter with the Abraham Lincoln ... ? "
" Professor , that troubled me , because it 's one of the best ships in the gallant American navy , but they attacked me and I had to defend myself ! All the same , I was content simply to put the frigate in a condition where it could do me no harm ; it will not have any difficulty getting repairs at the nearest port . "
" Ah , commander , " I exclaimed with conviction , " your Nautilus is truly a marvelous boat ! "
" Yes , professor , " Captain Nemo replied with genuine excitement , " and I love it as if it were my own flesh and blood ! Aboard a conventional ship , facing the ocean 's perils , danger lurks everywhere ; on the surface of the sea , your chief sensation is the constant feeling of an underlying chasm , as the Dutchman Jansen so aptly put it ; but below the waves aboard the Nautilus , your heart never fails you ! There are no structural deformities to worry about , because the double hull of this boat has the rigidity of iron ; no rigging to be worn out by rolling and pitching on the waves ; no sails for the wind to carry off ; no boilers for steam to burst open ; no fires to fear , because this submersible is made of sheet iron not wood ; no coal to run out of , since electricity is its mechanical force ; no collisions to fear , because it navigates the watery deep all by itself ; no storms to brave , because just a few meters beneath the waves , it finds absolute tranquility ! There , sir . There 's the ideal ship ! And if it 's true that the engineer has more confidence in a craft than the builder , and the builder more than the captain himself , you can understand the utter abandon with which I place my trust in this Nautilus , since I am its captain , builder , and engineer all in one ! "
Captain Nemo spoke with winning eloquence . The fire in his eyes and the passion in his gestures transfigured him . Yes , he loved his ship the same way a father loves his child !
But one question , perhaps indiscreet , naturally popped up , and I could not resist asking it .
" You are an engineer , then , Captain Nemo ? "
" Yes , professor , " he answered me . " I studied in London , Paris , and New York back in the days when I was a resident of the earth 's continents . "
" But how were you able to build this wonderful Nautilus in secret ? "
" Each part of it , Professor Aronnax , came from a different spot on the globe and reached me at a cover address . Its keel was forged by Creusot in France , its propeller shaft by Pen & Co. in London , the sheet - iron plates for its hull by Laird 's in Liverpool , its propeller by Scott 's in Glasgow . Its tanks were manufactured by Cail & Co. in Paris , its engine by Krupp in Prussia , its spur by the Motala workshops in Sweden , its precision instruments by Hart Bros . in New York , etc. ; and each of these suppliers received my specifications under a different name . "
" But , " I went on , " once these parts were manufactured , did not they have to be mounted and adjusted ? "
" Professor , I set up my workshops on a deserted islet in midocean . There our Nautilus was completed by me and my workmen , in other words , by my gallant companions whom I've molded and educated . Then , when the operation was over , we burned every trace of our stay on that islet , which if I could have , I ' d have blown up . "
" From all this , may I assume that such a boat costs a fortune ? "
" An iron ship , Professor Aronnax , runs 1,125 francs per metric ton . Now then , the Nautilus has a burden of 1,500 metric tons . Consequently , it cost 1,687,000 francs , hence 2,000,000 francs including its accommodations , and 4,000,000 or 5,000,000 with all the collections and works of art it contains . "
" One last question , Captain Nemo . "
" Ask , professor . "
" You are rich , then ? "
" Infinitely rich , sir , and without any trouble , I could pay off the ten - billion - franc French national debt ! "
I gaped at the bizarre individual who had just spoken these words . Was he playing on my credulity ? Time would tell .
The part of the planet earth that the seas occupy has been assessed at 3,832,558 square myriameters , hence more than 38,000,000,000 hectares . This liquid mass totals 2,250,000,000 cubic miles and could form a sphere with a diameter of sixty leagues , whose weight would be three quintillion metric tons . To appreciate such a number , we should remember that a quintillion is to a billion what a billion is to one , in other words , there are as many billions in a quintillion as ones in a billion ! Now then , this liquid mass nearly equals the total amount of water that has poured through all the earth 's rivers for the past 40,000 years !
During prehistoric times , an era of fire was followed by an era of water . At first there was ocean everywhere . Then , during the Silurian period , the tops of mountains gradually appeared above the waves , islands emerged , disappeared beneath temporary floods , rose again , were fused to form continents , and finally the earth 's geography settled into what we have today . Solid matter had wrested from liquid matter some 37,657,000 square miles , hence 12,916,000,000 hectares .
The outlines of the continents allow the seas to be divided into five major parts : the frozen Arctic and Antarctic oceans , the Indian Ocean , the Atlantic Ocean , and the Pacific Ocean .
The Pacific Ocean extends north to south between the two polar circles and east to west between America and Asia over an expanse of 145 degrees of longitude . It 's the most tranquil of the seas ; its currents are wide and slow - moving , its tides moderate , its rainfall abundant . And this was the ocean that I was first destined to cross under these strangest of auspices .
" If you do not mind , professor , " Captain Nemo told me , " we'll determine our exact position and fix the starting point of our voyage . It 's fifteen minutes before noon . I am going to rise to the surface of the water . "
The captain pressed an electric bell three times . The pumps began to expel water from the ballast tanks ; on the pressure gauge , a needle marked the decreasing pressures that indicated the Nautilus 's upward progress ; then the needle stopped .
" Here we are , " the captain said .
I made my way to the central companionway , which led to the platform . I climbed its metal steps , passed through the open hatches , and arrived topside on the Nautilus .
The platform emerged only eighty centimeters above the waves . The Nautilus 's bow and stern boasted that spindle - shaped outline that had caused the ship to be compared appropriately to a long cigar . I noted the slight overlap of its sheet - iron plates , which resembled the scales covering the bodies of our big land reptiles . So I had a perfectly natural explanation for why , despite the best spyglasses , this boat had always been mistaken for a marine animal .
Near the middle of the platform , the skiff was half set in the ship 's hull , making a slight bulge . Fore and aft stood two cupolas of moderate height , their sides slanting and partly inset with heavy biconvex glass , one reserved for the helmsman steering the Nautilus , the other for the brilliance of the powerful electric beacon lighting his way .
The sea was magnificent , the skies clear . This long aquatic vehicle could barely feel the broad undulations of the ocean . A mild breeze out of the east rippled the surface of the water . Free of all mist , the horizon was ideal for taking sights .
There was nothing to be seen . Not a reef , not an islet . No more Abraham Lincoln . A deserted immenseness .
Raising his sextant , Captain Nemo took the altitude of the sun , which would give him his latitude . He waited for a few minutes until the orb touched the rim of the horizon . While he was taking his sights , he didn't move a muscle , and the instrument could not have been steadier in hands made out of marble .
" Noon , " he said . " Professor , whenever you are ready .... "
I took one last look at the sea , a little yellowish near the landing places of Japan , and I went below again to the main lounge .
There the captain fixed his position and used a chronometer to calculate his longitude , which he double - checked against his previous observations of hour angles . Then he told me : " Professor Aronnax , we are in longitude 137 degrees 15 ' west - - "
" West of which meridian ? " I asked quickly , hoping the captain 's reply might give me a clue to his nationality .
" Sir , " he answered me , " I have chronometers variously set to the meridians of Paris , Greenwich , and Washington , D.C. But in your honor , I will use the one for Paris . "
This reply told me nothing . I bowed , and the commander went on : " We are in longitude 137 degrees 15 ' west of the meridian of Paris , and latitude 30 degrees 7 ' north , in other words , about 300 miles from the shores of Japan . At noon on this day of November 8 , we hereby begin our voyage of exploration under the waters . "
" May God be with us ! " I replied .
" And now , professor , " the captain added , " I will leave you to your intellectual pursuits . I've set our course east - northeast at a depth of fifty meters . Here are some large - scale charts on which you will be able to follow that course . The lounge is at your disposal , and with your permission , I will take my leave . "
Captain Nemo bowed . I was left to myself , lost in my thoughts . They all centered on the Nautilus 's commander . Would I ever learn the nationality of this eccentric man who had boasted of having none ? His sworn hate for humanity , a hate that perhaps was bent on some dreadful revenge - - what had provoked it ? Was he one of those unappreciated scholars , one of those geniuses " embittered by the world , " as Conseil expressed it , a latter - day Galileo , or maybe one of those men of science , like America 's Commander Maury , whose careers were ruined by political revolutions ? I could not say yet . As for me , whom fate had just brought aboard his vessel , whose life he had held in the balance : he had received me coolly but hospitably . Only , he never took the hand I extended to him . He never extended his own .
For an entire hour I was deep in these musings , trying to probe this mystery that fascinated me so . Then my eyes focused on a huge world map displayed on the table , and I put my finger on the very spot where our just - determined longitude and latitude intersected .
Like the continents , the sea has its rivers . These are exclusive currents that can be identified by their temperature and color , the most remarkable being the one called the Gulf Stream . Science has defined the global paths of five chief currents : one in the north Atlantic , a second in the south Atlantic , a third in the north Pacific , a fourth in the south Pacific , and a fifth in the southern Indian Ocean . Also it 's likely that a sixth current used to exist in the northern Indian Ocean , when the Caspian and Aral Seas joined up with certain large Asian lakes to form a single uniform expanse of water .
Now then , at the spot indicated on the world map , one of these seagoing rivers was rolling by , the Kuroshio of the Japanese , the Black Current : heated by perpendicular rays from the tropical sun , it leaves the Bay of Bengal , crosses the Strait of Malacca , goes up the shores of Asia , and curves into the north Pacific as far as the Aleutian Islands , carrying along trunks of camphor trees and other local items , the pure indigo of its warm waters sharply contrasting with the ocean 's waves . It was this current the Nautilus was about to cross . I watched it on the map with my eyes , I saw it lose itself in the immenseness of the Pacific , and I felt myself swept along with it , when Ned Land and Conseil appeared in the lounge doorway .
My two gallant companions stood petrified at the sight of the wonders on display .
" Where are we ? " the Canadian exclaimed . " In the Quebec Museum ? "
" Begging master 's pardon , " Conseil answered , " but this seems more like the Sommerard artifacts exhibition ! "
" My friends , " I replied , signaling them to enter , " you are in neither Canada nor France , but securely aboard the Nautilus , fifty meters below sea level . "
" If master says so , then so be it , " Conseil answered . " But in all honesty , this lounge is enough to astonish even someone Flemish like myself . "
" Indulge your astonishment , my friend , and have a look , because there 's plenty of work here for a classifier of your talents . "
Conseil needed no encouraging . Bending over the glass cases , the gallant lad was already muttering choice words from the naturalist 's vocabulary : class Gastropoda , family Buccinoidea , genus cowry , species Cypraea madagascariensis , etc.
Meanwhile Ned Land , less dedicated to conchology , questioned me about my interview with Captain Nemo . Had I discovered who he was , where he came from , where he was heading , how deep he was taking us ? In short , a thousand questions I had no time to answer .
I told him everything I knew - - or , rather , everything I did not know - - and I asked him what he had seen or heard on his part .
" Haven't seen or heard a thing ! " the Canadian replied . " I have not even spotted the crew of this boat . By any chance , could they be electric too ? "
" Electric ? "
" Oh ye gods , I am half tempted to believe it ! But back to you , Professor Aronnax , " Ned Land said , still hanging on to his ideas . " can not you tell me how many men are on board ? Ten , twenty , fifty , a hundred ? "
" I am unable to answer you , Mr. Land . And trust me on this : for the time being , get rid of these notions of taking over the Nautilus or escaping from it . This boat is a masterpiece of modern technology , and I ' d be sorry to have missed it ! Many people would welcome the circumstances that have been handed us , just to walk in the midst of these wonders . So keep calm , and let 's see what 's happening around us . "
" See ! " the harpooner exclaimed . " There 's nothing to see , nothing we'll ever see from this sheet - iron prison ! We are simply running around blindfolded - - "
Ned Land was just pronouncing these last words when we were suddenly plunged into darkness , utter darkness . The ceiling lights went out so quickly , my eyes literally ached , just as if we had experienced the opposite sensation of going from the deepest gloom to the brightest sunlight .
We stood stock - still , not knowing what surprise was waiting for us , whether pleasant or unpleasant . But a sliding sound became audible . You could tell that some panels were shifting over the Nautilus 's sides .
" It 's the beginning of the end ! " Ned Land said .
" ... order Hydromedusa , " Conseil muttered .
Suddenly , through two oblong openings , daylight appeared on both sides of the lounge . The liquid masses came into view , brightly lit by the ship 's electric outpourings . We were separated from the sea by two panes of glass . Initially I shuddered at the thought that these fragile partitions could break ; but strong copper bands secured them , giving them nearly infinite resistance .
The sea was clearly visible for a one - mile radius around the Nautilus . What a sight ! What pen could describe it ? Who could portray the effects of this light through these translucent sheets of water , the subtlety of its progressive shadings into the ocean 's upper and lower strata ?
The transparency of salt water has long been recognized . Its clarity is believed to exceed that of spring water . The mineral and organic substances it holds in suspension actually increase its translucency . In certain parts of the Caribbean Sea , you can see the sandy bottom with startling distinctness as deep as 145 meters down , and the penetrating power of the sun 's rays seems to give out only at a depth of 300 meters . But in this fluid setting traveled by the Nautilus , our electric glow was being generated in the very heart of the waves . It was no longer illuminated water , it was liquid light .
If we accept the hypotheses of the microbiologist Ehrenberg - - who believes that these underwater depths are lit up by phosphorescent organisms - - nature has certainly saved one of her most prodigious sights for residents of the sea , and I could judge for myself from the thousandfold play of the light . On both sides I had windows opening over these unexplored depths . The darkness in the lounge enhanced the brightness outside , and we stared as if this clear glass were the window of an immense aquarium .
The Nautilus seemed to be standing still . This was due to the lack of landmarks . But streaks of water , parted by the ship 's spur , sometimes threaded before our eyes with extraordinary speed .
In wonderment , we leaned on our elbows before these show windows , and our stunned silence remained unbroken until Conseil said : " You wanted to see something , Ned my friend ; well , now you have something to see ! "
" How unusual ! " the Canadian put in , setting aside his tantrums and getaway schemes while submitting to this irresistible allure . " A man would go an even greater distance just to stare at such a sight ! "
" Ah ! " I exclaimed . " I see our captain 's way of life ! He is found himself a separate world that saves its most astonishing wonders just for him ! "
" But where are the fish ? " the Canadian ventured to observe . " I do not see any fish ! "
" Why would you care , Ned my friend ? " Conseil replied . " Since you have no knowledge of them . "
" Me ? A fisherman ! " Ned Land exclaimed .
And on this subject a dispute arose between the two friends , since both were knowledgeable about fish , but from totally different standpoints .
Everyone knows that fish make up the fourth and last class in the vertebrate branch . They have been quite aptly defined as : " cold - blooded vertebrates with a double circulatory system , breathing through gills , and designed to live in water . " They consist of two distinct series : the series of bony fish , in other words , those whose spines have vertebrae made of bone ; and cartilaginous fish , in other words , those whose spines have vertebrae made of cartilage .
Possibly the Canadian was familiar with this distinction , but Conseil knew far more about it ; and since he and Ned were now fast friends , he just had to show off . So he told the harpooner : " Ned my friend , you are a slayer of fish , a highly skilled fisherman . You've caught a large number of these fascinating animals . But I will bet you do not know how they are classified . "
" Sure I do , " the harpooner replied in all seriousness . " They are classified into fish we eat and fish we do not eat ! "
" Spoken like a true glutton , " Conseil replied . " But tell me , are you familiar with the differences between bony fish and cartilaginous fish ? "
" Just maybe , Conseil . "
" And how about the subdivisions of these two large classes ? "
" I have not the foggiest notion , " the Canadian replied .
" All right , listen and learn , Ned my friend ! Bony fish are subdivided into six orders . Primo , the acanthopterygians , whose upper jaw is fully formed and free - moving , and whose gills take the shape of a comb . This order consists of fifteen families , in other words , three - quarters of all known fish . Example : the common perch . "
" Pretty fair eating , " Ned Land replied .
" Secundo , " Conseil went on , " the abdominals , whose pelvic fins hang under the abdomen to the rear of the pectorals but are not attached to the shoulder bone , an order that 's divided into five families and makes up the great majority of freshwater fish . Examples : carp , pike . "
" Ugh ! " the Canadian put in with distinct scorn . " You can keep the freshwater fish ! "
" Tertio , " Conseil said , " the subbrachians , whose pelvic fins are attached under the pectorals and hang directly from the shoulder bone . This order contains four families . Examples : flatfish such as sole , turbot , dab , plaice , brill , etc. "
" Excellent , really excellent ! " the harpooner exclaimed , interested in fish only from an edible viewpoint .
" Quarto , " Conseil went on , unabashed , " the apods , with long bodies that lack pelvic fins and are covered by a heavy , often glutinous skin , an order consisting of only one family . Examples : common eels and electric eels . "
" So - so , just so - so ! " Ned Land replied .
" Quinto , " Conseil said , " the lophobranchians , which have fully formed , free - moving jaws but whose gills consist of little tufts arranged in pairs along their gill arches . This order includes only one family . Examples : seahorses and dragonfish . "
" Bad , very bad ! " the harpooner replied .
" Sexto and last , " Conseil said , " the plectognaths , whose maxillary bone is firmly attached to the side of the intermaxillary that forms the jaw , and whose palate arch is locked to the skull by sutures that render the jaw immovable , an order lacking true pelvic fins and which consists of two families . Examples : puffers and moonfish . "
" They are an insult to a frying pan ! " the Canadian exclaimed .
" Are you grasping all this , Ned my friend ? " asked the scholarly Conseil .
" Not a lick of it , Conseil my friend , " the harpooner replied . " But keep going , because you fill me with fascination . "
" As for cartilaginous fish , " Conseil went on unflappably , " they consist of only three orders . "
" Good news , " Ned put in .
" Primo , the cyclostomes , whose jaws are fused into a flexible ring and whose gill openings are simply a large number of holes , an order consisting of only one family . Example : the lamprey . "
" An acquired taste , " Ned Land replied .
" Secundo , the selacians , with gills resembling those of the cyclostomes but whose lower jaw is free - moving . This order , which is the most important in the class , consists of two families . Examples : the ray and the shark . "
" What ! " Ned Land exclaimed . " Rays and man - eaters in the same order ? Well , Conseil my friend , on behalf of the rays , I would not advise you to put them in the same fish tank ! "
" Tertio , " Conseil replied , " The sturionians , whose gill opening is the usual single slit adorned with a gill cover , an order consisting of four genera . Example : the sturgeon . "
" Ah , Conseil my friend , you saved the best for last , in my opinion anyhow ! And that 's all of ' em ? "
" Yes , my gallant Ned , " Conseil replied . " And note well , even when one has grasped all this , one still knows next to nothing , because these families are subdivided into genera , subgenera , species , varieties - - "
" All right , Conseil my friend , " the harpooner said , leaning toward the glass panel , " here come a couple of your varieties now ! "
" Yes ! Fish ! " Conseil exclaimed . " One would think he was in front of an aquarium ! "
" No , " I replied , " because an aquarium is nothing more than a cage , and these fish are as free as birds in the air ! "
" Well , Conseil my friend , identify them ! Start naming them ! " Ned Land exclaimed .
" Me ? " Conseil replied . " I am unable to ! That 's my employer 's bailiwick ! "
And in truth , although the fine lad was a classifying maniac , he was no naturalist , and I doubt that he could tell a bonito from a tuna . In short , he was the exact opposite of the Canadian , who knew nothing about classification but could instantly put a name to any fish .
" A triggerfish , " I said .
" It 's a Chinese triggerfish , " Ned Land replied .
" Genus Balistes , family Scleroderma , order Plectognatha , " Conseil muttered .
Assuredly , Ned and Conseil in combination added up to one outstanding naturalist .
The Canadian was not mistaken . Cavorting around the Nautilus was a school of triggerfish with flat bodies , grainy skins , armed with stings on their dorsal fins , and with four prickly rows of quills quivering on both sides of their tails . Nothing could have been more wonderful than the skin covering them : white underneath , gray above , with spots of gold sparkling in the dark eddies of the waves . Around them , rays were undulating like sheets flapping in the wind , and among these I spotted , much to my glee , a Chinese ray , yellowish on its topside , a dainty pink on its belly , and armed with three stings behind its eyes ; a rare species whose very existence was still doubted in Lacepede 's day , since that pioneering classifier of fish had seen one only in a portfolio of Japanese drawings .
For two hours a whole aquatic army escorted the Nautilus . In the midst of their leaping and cavorting , while they competed with each other in beauty , radiance , and speed , I could distinguish some green wrasse , bewhiskered mullet marked with pairs of black lines , white gobies from the genus Eleotris with curved caudal fins and violet spots on the back , wonderful Japanese mackerel from the genus Scomber with blue bodies and silver heads , glittering azure goldfish whose name by itself gives their full description , several varieties of porgy or gilthead ( some banded gilthead with fins variously blue and yellow , some with horizontal heraldic bars and enhanced by a black strip around their caudal area , some with color zones and elegantly corseted in their six waistbands ) , trumpetfish with flutelike beaks that looked like genuine seafaring woodcocks and were sometimes a meter long , Japanese salamanders , serpentine moray eels from the genus Echidna that were six feet long with sharp little eyes and a huge mouth bristling with teeth ; etc.
Our wonderment stayed at an all - time fever pitch . Our exclamations were endless . Ned identified the fish , Conseil classified them , and as for me , I was in ecstasy over the verve of their movements and the beauty of their forms . Never before had I been given the chance to glimpse these animals alive and at large in their native element .
Given such a complete collection from the seas of Japan and China , I will not mention every variety that passed before our dazzled eyes . More numerous than birds in the air , these fish raced right up to us , no doubt attracted by the brilliant glow of our electric beacon .
Suddenly daylight appeared in the lounge . The sheet - iron panels slid shut . The magical vision disappeared . But for a good while I kept dreaming away , until the moment my eyes focused on the instruments hanging on the wall . The compass still showed our heading as east - northeast , the pressure gauge indicated a pressure of five atmospheres ( corresponding to a depth of fifty meters ) , and the electric log gave our speed as fifteen miles per hour .
I waited for Captain Nemo . But he did not appear . The clock marked the hour of five .
Ned Land and Conseil returned to their cabin . As for me , I repaired to my stateroom . There I found dinner ready for me . It consisted of turtle soup made from the daintiest hawksbill , a red mullet with white , slightly flaky flesh , whose liver , when separately prepared , makes delicious eating , plus loin of imperial angelfish , whose flavor struck me as even better than salmon .
I spent the evening in reading , writing , and thinking . Then drowsiness overtook me , I stretched out on my eelgrass mattress , and I fell into a deep slumber , while the Nautilus glided through the swiftly flowing Black Current .
The next day , November 9 , I woke up only after a long , twelve - hour slumber . Conseil , a creature of habit , came to ask " how master 's night went , " and to offer his services . He had left his Canadian friend sleeping like a man who had never done anything else .
I let the gallant lad babble as he pleased , without giving him much in the way of a reply . I was concerned about Captain Nemo 's absence during our session the previous afternoon , and I hoped to see him again today .
Soon I had put on my clothes , which were woven from strands of seashell tissue . More than once their composition provoked comments from Conseil . I informed him that they were made from the smooth , silken filaments with which the fan mussel , a type of seashell quite abundant along Mediterranean beaches , attaches itself to rocks . In olden times , fine fabrics , stockings , and gloves were made from such filaments , because they were both very soft and very warm . So the Nautilus 's crew could dress themselves at little cost , without needing a thing from cotton growers , sheep , or silkworms on shore .
As soon as I was dressed , I made my way to the main lounge . It was deserted .
I dove into studying the conchological treasures amassed inside the glass cases . I also investigated the huge plant albums that were filled with the rarest marine herbs , which , although they were pressed and dried , still kept their wonderful colors . Among these valuable water plants , I noted various seaweed : some Cladostephus verticillatus , peacock 's tails , fig - leafed caulerpa , grain - bearing beauty bushes , delicate rosetangle tinted scarlet , sea colander arranged into fan shapes , mermaid 's cups that looked like the caps of squat mushrooms and for years had been classified among the zoophytes ; in short , a complete series of algae .
The entire day passed without my being honored by a visit from Captain Nemo . The panels in the lounge didn't open . Perhaps they did not want us to get tired of these beautiful things .
The Nautilus kept to an east - northeasterly heading , a speed of twelve miles per hour , and a depth between fifty and sixty meters .
Next day , November 10 : the same neglect , the same solitude . I did not see a soul from the crew . Ned and Conseil spent the better part of the day with me . They were astonished at the captain 's inexplicable absence . Was this eccentric man ill ? Did he want to change his plans concerning us ?
But after all , as Conseil noted , we enjoyed complete freedom , we were daintily and abundantly fed . Our host had kept to the terms of his agreement . We could not complain , and moreover the very uniqueness of our situation had such generous rewards in store for us , we had no grounds for criticism .
That day I started my diary of these adventures , which has enabled me to narrate them with the most scrupulous accuracy ; and one odd detail : I wrote it on paper manufactured from marine eelgrass .
Early in the morning on November 11 , fresh air poured through the Nautilus 's interior , informing me that we had returned to the surface of the ocean to renew our oxygen supply . I headed for the central companionway and climbed onto the platform .
It was six o'clock . I found the weather overcast , the sea gray but calm . Hardly a billow . I hoped to encounter Captain Nemo there - - would he come ? I saw only the helmsman imprisoned in his glass - windowed pilothouse . Seated on the ledge furnished by the hull of the skiff , I inhaled the sea 's salty aroma with great pleasure .
Little by little , the mists were dispersed under the action of the sun 's rays . The radiant orb cleared the eastern horizon . Under its gaze , the sea caught on fire like a trail of gunpowder . Scattered on high , the clouds were colored in bright , wonderfully shaded hues , and numerous " ladyfingers " warned of daylong winds .
But what were mere winds to this Nautilus , which no storms could intimidate !
So I was marveling at this delightful sunrise , so life - giving and cheerful , when I heard someone climbing onto the platform .
I was prepared to greet Captain Nemo , but it was his chief officer who appeared - - whom I had already met during our first visit with the captain . He advanced over the platform , not seeming to notice my presence . A powerful spyglass to his eye , he scrutinized every point of the horizon with the utmost care . Then , his examination over , he approached the hatch and pronounced a phrase whose exact wording follows below . I remember it because , every morning , it was repeated under the same circumstances . It ran like this : " Nautron respoc lorni virch . "
What it meant I was unable to say .
These words pronounced , the chief officer went below again . I thought the Nautilus was about to resume its underwater navigating . So I went down the hatch and back through the gangways to my stateroom .
Five days passed in this way with no change in our situation . Every morning I climbed onto the platform . The same phrase was pronounced by the same individual . Captain Nemo did not appear .
I was pursuing the policy that we had seen the last of him , when on November 16 , while reentering my stateroom with Ned and Conseil , I found a note addressed to me on the table .
I opened it impatiently . It was written in a script that was clear and neat but a bit " Old English " in style , its characters reminding me of German calligraphy .
The note was worded as follows :
Professor Aronnax , Aboard the Nautilus , November 16 , 1867
Captain Nemo invites Professor Aronnax on a hunting trip that will take place tomorrow morning in his Crespo Island forests . He hopes nothing will prevent the professor from attending , and he looks forward with pleasure to the professor 's companions joining him .
Captain Nemo , Commander of the Nautilus .
" A hunting trip ! " Ned exclaimed .
" And in his forests on Crespo Island ! " Conseil added .
" But does this mean the old boy goes ashore ? " Ned Land went on .
" That seems to be the gist of it , " I said , rereading the letter .
" Well , we've got to accept ! " the Canadian answered . " Once we are on solid ground , we'll figure out a course of action . Besides , it would not pain me to eat a couple slices of fresh venison ! "
Without trying to reconcile the contradictions between Captain Nemo 's professed horror of continents or islands and his invitation to go hunting in a forest , I was content to reply : " First let 's look into this Crespo Island . "
I consulted the world map ; and in latitude 32 degrees 40 ' north and longitude 167 degrees 50 ' west , I found an islet that had been discovered in 1801 by Captain Crespo , which old Spanish charts called Rocca de la Plata , in other words , " Silver Rock . " So we were about 1,800 miles from our starting point , and by a slight change of heading , the Nautilus was bringing us back toward the southeast .
I showed my companions this small , stray rock in the middle of the north Pacific .
" If Captain Nemo does sometimes go ashore , " I told them , " at least he only picks desert islands ! "
Ned Land shook his head without replying ; then he and Conseil left me . After supper was served me by the mute and emotionless steward , I fell asleep ; but not without some anxieties .
When I woke up the next day , November 17 , I sensed that the Nautilus was completely motionless . I dressed hurriedly and entered the main lounge .
Captain Nemo was there waiting for me . He stood up , bowed , and asked if it suited me to come along .
Since he made no allusion to his absence the past eight days , I also refrained from mentioning it , and I simply answered that my companions and I were ready to go with him .
" Only , sir , " I added , " I will take the liberty of addressing a question to you . "
" Address away , Professor Aronnax , and if I am able to answer , I will . "
" Well then , captain , how is it that you've severed all ties with the shore , yet you own forests on Crespo Island ? "
" Professor , " the captain answered me , " these forests of mine don't bask in the heat and light of the sun . They aren't frequented by lions , tigers , panthers , or other quadrupeds . They are known only to me . They grow only for me . These forests are not on land , they are actual underwater forests . "
" Underwater forests ! " I exclaimed .
" Yes , professor . "
" And you are offering to take me to them ? "
" Precisely . "
" On foot ? "
" Without getting your feet wet . "
" While hunting ? "
" While hunting . "
" Rifles in hand ? "
" Rifles in hand . "
I stared at the Nautilus 's commander with an air anything but flattering to the man .
" Assuredly , " I said to myself , " he is contracted some mental illness . He is had a fit that 's lasted eight days and is not over even yet . What a shame ! I liked him better eccentric than insane ! "
These thoughts were clearly readable on my face ; but Captain Nemo remained content with inviting me to follow him , and I did so like a man resigned to the worst .
We arrived at the dining room , where we found breakfast served .
" Professor Aronnax , " the captain told me , " I beg you to share my breakfast without formality . We can chat while we eat . Because , although I promised you a stroll in my forests , I made no pledge to arrange for your encountering a restaurant there . Accordingly , eat your breakfast like a man who'll probably eat dinner only when it 's extremely late . "
I did justice to this meal . It was made up of various fish and some slices of sea cucumber , that praiseworthy zoophyte , all garnished with such highly appetizing seaweed as the Porphyra laciniata and the Laurencia primafetida . Our beverage consisted of clear water to which , following the captain 's example , I added some drops of a fermented liquor extracted by the Kamchatka process from the seaweed known by name as Rhodymenia palmata .
At first Captain Nemo ate without pronouncing a single word . Then he told me : " Professor , when I proposed that you go hunting in my Crespo forests , you thought I was contradicting myself . When I informed you that it was an issue of underwater forests , you thought I ' d gone insane . Professor , you must never make snap judgments about your fellow man . "
" But , captain , believe me - - "
" Kindly listen to me , and you will see if you have grounds for accusing me of insanity or self - contradiction . "
" I am all attention . "
" Professor , you know as well as I do that a man can live underwater so long as he carries with him his own supply of breathable air . For underwater work projects , the workman wears a waterproof suit with his head imprisoned in a metal capsule , while he receives air from above by means of force pumps and flow regulators . "
" That 's the standard equipment for a diving suit , " I said .
" Correct , but under such conditions the man has no freedom . He is attached to a pump that sends him air through an india - rubber hose ; it 's an actual chain that fetters him to the shore , and if we were to be bound in this way to the Nautilus , we could not go far either . "
" Then how do you break free ? " I asked .
" We use the Rouquayrol - Denayrouze device , invented by two of your fellow countrymen but refined by me for my own special uses , thereby enabling you to risk these new physiological conditions without suffering any organic disorders . It consists of a tank built from heavy sheet iron in which I store air under a pressure of fifty atmospheres . This tank is fastened to the back by means of straps , like a soldier 's knapsack . Its top part forms a box where the air is regulated by a bellows mechanism and can be released only at its proper tension . In the Rouquayrol device that has been in general use , two india - rubber hoses leave this box and feed to a kind of tent that imprisons the operator 's nose and mouth ; one hose is for the entrance of air to be inhaled , the other for the exit of air to be exhaled , and the tongue closes off the former or the latter depending on the breather 's needs . But in my case , since I face considerable pressures at the bottom of the sea , I needed to enclose my head in a copper sphere , like those found on standard diving suits , and the two hoses for inhalation and exhalation now feed to that sphere . "
" That 's perfect , Captain Nemo , but the air you carry must be quickly depleted ; and once it contains no more than 15 % oxygen , it becomes unfit for breathing . "
" Surely , but as I told you , Professor Aronnax , the Nautilus 's pumps enable me to store air under considerable pressure , and given this circumstance , the tank on my diving equipment can supply breathable air for nine or ten hours . "
" I've no more objections to raise , " I replied . " I will only ask you , captain : how can you light your way at the bottom of the ocean ? "
" With the Ruhmkorff device , Professor Aronnax . If the first is carried on the back , the second is fastened to the belt . It consists of a Bunsen battery that I activate not with potassium dichromate but with sodium . An induction coil gathers the electricity generated and directs it to a specially designed lantern . In this lantern one finds a glass spiral that contains only a residue of carbon dioxide gas . When the device is operating , this gas becomes luminous and gives off a continuous whitish light . Thus provided for , I breathe and I see . "
" Captain Nemo , to my every objection you give such crushing answers , I am afraid to entertain a single doubt . However , though I have no choice but to accept both the Rouquayrol and Ruhmkorff devices , I ' d like to register some reservations about the rifle with which you will equip me . "
" But it is not a rifle that uses gunpowder , " the captain replied .
" Then it 's an air gun ? "
" Surely . How can I make gunpowder on my ship when I have no saltpeter , sulfur , or charcoal ? "
" Even so , " I replied , " to fire underwater in a medium that 's 855 times denser than air , you ' d have to overcome considerable resistance . "
" That does not necessarily follow . There are certain Fulton - style guns perfected by the Englishmen Philippe - Coles and Burley , the Frenchman Furcy , and the Italian Landi ; they are equipped with a special system of airtight fastenings and can fire in underwater conditions . But I repeat : having no gunpowder , I've replaced it with air at high pressure , which is abundantly supplied me by the Nautilus 's pumps . "
" But this air must be swiftly depleted . "
" Well , in a pinch can not my Rouquayrol tank supply me with more ? All I have to do is draw it from an ad hoc spigot . Besides , Professor Aronnax , you will see for yourself that during these underwater hunting trips , we make no great expenditure of either air or bullets . "
" But it seems to me that in this semidarkness , amid this liquid that 's so dense in comparison to the atmosphere , a gunshot could not carry far and would prove fatal only with difficulty ! "
" On the contrary , sir , with this rifle every shot is fatal ; and as soon as the animal is hit , no matter how lightly , it falls as if struck by lightning . "
" Why ? "
" Because this rifle does not shoot ordinary bullets but little glass capsules invented by the Austrian chemist Leniebroek , and I have a considerable supply of them . These glass capsules are covered with a strip of steel and weighted with a lead base ; they are genuine little Leyden jars charged with high - voltage electricity . They go off at the slightest impact , and the animal , no matter how strong , drops dead . I might add that these capsules are no bigger than number 4 shot , and the chamber of any ordinary rifle could hold ten of them . "
" I will quit debating , " I replied , getting up from the table . " And all that 's left is for me to shoulder my rifle . So where you go , I will go . "
Captain Nemo led me to the Nautilus 's stern , and passing by Ned and Conseil 's cabin , I summoned my two companions , who instantly followed us .
Then we arrived at a cell located within easy access of the engine room ; in this cell we were to get dressed for our stroll .
This cell , properly speaking , was the Nautilus 's arsenal and wardrobe . Hanging from its walls , a dozen diving outfits were waiting for anybody who wanted to take a stroll .
After seeing these , Ned Land exhibited an obvious distaste for the idea of putting one on .
" But my gallant Ned , " I told him , " the forests of Crespo Island are simply underwater forests ! "
" Oh great ! " put in the disappointed harpooner , watching his dreams of fresh meat fade away . " And you , Professor Aronnax , are you going to stick yourself inside these clothes ? "
" It has to be , Mr. Ned . "
" Have it your way , sir , " the harpooner replied , shrugging his shoulders . " But speaking for myself , I will never get into those things unless they force me ! "
" No one will force you , Mr. Land , " Captain Nemo said .
" And is Conseil going to risk it ? " Ned asked .
" Where master goes , I go , " Conseil replied .
At the captain 's summons , two crewmen came to help us put on these heavy , waterproof clothes , made from seamless india rubber and expressly designed to bear considerable pressures . They were like suits of armor that were both yielding and resistant , you might say . These clothes consisted of jacket and pants . The pants ended in bulky footwear adorned with heavy lead soles . The fabric of the jacket was reinforced with copper mail that shielded the chest , protected it from the water 's pressure , and allowed the lungs to function freely ; the sleeves ended in supple gloves that did not impede hand movements .
These perfected diving suits , it was easy to see , were a far cry from such misshapen costumes as the cork breastplates , leather jumpers , seagoing tunics , barrel helmets , etc. , invented and acclaimed in the 18 th century .
Conseil and I were soon dressed in these diving suits , as were Captain Nemo and one of his companions - - a herculean type who must have been prodigiously strong . All that remained was to encase one 's head in its metal sphere . But before proceeding with this operation , I asked the captain for permission to examine the rifles set aside for us .
One of the Nautilus 's men presented me with a streamlined rifle whose butt was boilerplate steel , hollow inside , and of fairly large dimensions . This served as a tank for the compressed air , which a trigger - operated valve could release into the metal chamber . In a groove where the butt was heaviest , a cartridge clip held some twenty electric bullets that , by means of a spring , automatically took their places in the barrel of the rifle . As soon as one shot had been fired , another was ready to go off .
" Captain Nemo , " I said , " this is an ideal , easy - to - use weapon . I ask only to put it to the test . But how will we reach the bottom of the sea ? "
" Right now , professor , the Nautilus is aground in ten meters of water , and we've only to depart . "
" But how will we set out ? "
" You will see . "
Captain Nemo inserted his cranium into its spherical headgear . Conseil and I did the same , but not without hearing the Canadian toss us a sarcastic " happy hunting . " On top , the suit ended in a collar of threaded copper onto which the metal helmet was screwed . Three holes , protected by heavy glass , allowed us to see in any direction with simply a turn of the head inside the sphere . Placed on our backs , the Rouquayrol device went into operation as soon as it was in position , and for my part , I could breathe with ease .
The Ruhmkorff lamp hanging from my belt , my rifle in hand , I was ready to go forth . But in all honesty , while imprisoned in these heavy clothes and nailed to the deck by my lead soles , it was impossible for me to take a single step .
But this circumstance had been foreseen , because I felt myself propelled into a little room adjoining the wardrobe . Towed in the same way , my companions went with me . I heard a door with watertight seals close after us , and we were surrounded by profound darkness .
After some minutes a sharp hissing reached my ears . I felt a distinct sensation of cold rising from my feet to my chest . Apparently a stopcock inside the boat was letting in water from outside , which overran us and soon filled up the room . Contrived in the Nautilus 's side , a second door then opened . We were lit by a subdued light . An instant later our feet were treading the bottom of the sea .
And now , how can I convey the impressions left on me by this stroll under the waters . Words are powerless to describe such wonders ! When even the painter 's brush can not depict the effects unique to the liquid element , how can the writer 's pen hope to reproduce them ?
Captain Nemo walked in front , and his companion followed us a few steps to the rear . Conseil and I stayed next to each other , as if daydreaming that through our metal carapaces , a little polite conversation might still be possible ! Already I no longer felt the bulkiness of my clothes , footwear , and air tank , nor the weight of the heavy sphere inside which my head was rattling like an almond in its shell . Once immersed in water , all these objects lost a part of their weight equal to the weight of the liquid they displaced , and thanks to this law of physics discovered by Archimedes , I did just fine . I was no longer an inert mass , and I had , comparatively speaking , great freedom of movement .
Lighting up the seafloor even thirty feet beneath the surface of the ocean , the sun astonished me with its power . The solar rays easily crossed this aqueous mass and dispersed its dark colors . I could easily distinguish objects 100 meters away . Farther on , the bottom was tinted with fine shades of ultramarine ; then , off in the distance , it turned blue and faded in the midst of a hazy darkness . Truly , this water surrounding me was just a kind of air , denser than the atmosphere on land but almost as transparent . Above me I could see the calm surface of the ocean .
We were walking on sand that was fine - grained and smooth , not wrinkled like beach sand , which preserves the impressions left by the waves . This dazzling carpet was a real mirror , throwing back the sun 's rays with startling intensity . The outcome : an immense vista of reflections that penetrated every liquid molecule . Will anyone believe me if I assert that at this thirty - foot depth , I could see as if it was broad daylight ?
For a quarter of an hour , I trod this blazing sand , which was strewn with tiny crumbs of seashell . Looming like a long reef , the Nautilus 's hull disappeared little by little , but when night fell in the midst of the waters , the ship 's beacon would surely facilitate our return on board , since its rays carried with perfect distinctness . This effect is difficult to understand for anyone who has never seen light beams so sharply defined on shore . There the dust that saturates the air gives such rays the appearance of a luminous fog ; but above water as well as underwater , shafts of electric light are transmitted with incomparable clarity .
Meanwhile we went ever onward , and these vast plains of sand seemed endless . My hands parted liquid curtains that closed again behind me , and my footprints faded swiftly under the water 's pressure .
Soon , scarcely blurred by their distance from us , the forms of some objects took shape before my eyes . I recognized the lower slopes of some magnificent rocks carpeted by the finest zoophyte specimens , and right off , I was struck by an effect unique to this medium .
By then it was ten o'clock in the morning . The sun 's rays hit the surface of the waves at a fairly oblique angle , decomposing by refraction as though passing through a prism ; and when this light came in contact with flowers , rocks , buds , seashells , and polyps , the edges of these objects were shaded with all seven hues of the solar spectrum . This riot of rainbow tints was a wonder , a feast for the eyes : a genuine kaleidoscope of red , green , yellow , orange , violet , indigo , and blue ; in short , the whole palette of a color - happy painter ! If only I had been able to share with Conseil the intense sensations rising in my brain , competing with him in exclamations of wonderment ! If only I had known , like Captain Nemo and his companion , how to exchange thoughts by means of prearranged signals ! So , for lack of anything better , I talked to myself : I declaimed inside this copper box that topped my head , spending more air on empty words than was perhaps advisable .
Conseil , like me , had stopped before this splendid sight . Obviously , in the presence of these zoophyte and mollusk specimens , the fine lad was classifying his head off . Polyps and echinoderms abounded on the seafloor : various isis coral , cornularian coral living in isolation , tufts of virginal genus Oculina formerly known by the name " white coral , " prickly fungus coral in the shape of mushrooms , sea anemone holding on by their muscular disks , providing a literal flowerbed adorned by jellyfish from the genus Porpita wearing collars of azure tentacles , and starfish that spangled the sand , including veinlike feather stars from the genus Asterophyton that were like fine lace embroidered by the hands of water nymphs , their festoons swaying to the faint undulations caused by our walking . It filled me with real chagrin to crush underfoot the gleaming mollusk samples that littered the seafloor by the thousands : concentric comb shells , hammer shells , coquina ( seashells that actually hop around ) , top - shell snails , red helmet shells , angel - wing conchs , sea hares , and so many other exhibits from this inexhaustible ocean . But we had to keep walking , and we went forward while overhead there scudded schools of Portuguese men - of - war that let their ultramarine tentacles drift in their wakes , medusas whose milky white or dainty pink parasols were festooned with azure tassels and shaded us from the sun 's rays , plus jellyfish of the species Pelagia panopyra that , in the dark , would have strewn our path with phosphorescent glimmers !
All these wonders I glimpsed in the space of a quarter of a mile , barely pausing , following Captain Nemo whose gestures kept beckoning me onward . Soon the nature of the seafloor changed . The plains of sand were followed by a bed of that viscous slime Americans call " ooze , " which is composed exclusively of seashells rich in limestone or silica . Then we crossed a prairie of algae , open - sea plants that the waters hadn't yet torn loose , whose vegetation grew in wild profusion . Soft to the foot , these densely textured lawns would have rivaled the most luxuriant carpets woven by the hand of man . But while this greenery was sprawling under our steps , it did not neglect us overhead . The surface of the water was crisscrossed by a floating arbor of marine plants belonging to that superabundant algae family that numbers more than 2,000 known species . I saw long ribbons of fucus drifting above me , some globular , others tubular : Laurencia , Cladostephus with the slenderest foliage , Rhodymenia palmata resembling the fan shapes of cactus . I observed that green - colored plants kept closer to the surface of the sea , while reds occupied a medium depth , which left blacks and browns in charge of designing gardens and flowerbeds in the ocean 's lower strata .
These algae are a genuine prodigy of creation , one of the wonders of world flora . This family produces both the biggest and smallest vegetables in the world . Because , just as 40,000 near - invisible buds have been counted in one five - square - millimeter space , so also have fucus plants been gathered that were over 500 meters long !
We had been gone from the Nautilus for about an hour and a half . It was almost noon . I spotted this fact in the perpendicularity of the sun 's rays , which were no longer refracted . The magic of these solar colors disappeared little by little , with emerald and sapphire shades vanishing from our surroundings altogether . We walked with steady steps that rang on the seafloor with astonishing intensity . The tiniest sounds were transmitted with a speed to which the ear is unaccustomed on shore . In fact , water is a better conductor of sound than air , and under the waves noises carry four times as fast .
Just then the seafloor began to slope sharply downward . The light took on a uniform hue . We reached a depth of 100 meters , by which point we were undergoing a pressure of ten atmospheres . But my diving clothes were built along such lines that I never suffered from this pressure . I felt only a certain tightness in the joints of my fingers , and even this discomfort soon disappeared . As for the exhaustion bound to accompany a two - hour stroll in such unfamiliar trappings - - it was nil . Helped by the water , my movements were executed with startling ease .
Arriving at this 300 - foot depth , I still detected the sun 's rays , but just barely . Their intense brilliance had been followed by a reddish twilight , a midpoint between day and night . But we could see well enough to find our way , and it still was not necessary to activate the Ruhmkorff device .
Just then Captain Nemo stopped . He waited until I joined him , then he pointed a finger at some dark masses outlined in the shadows a short distance away .
" It 's the forest of Crespo Island , " I thought ; and I was not mistaken .
We had finally arrived on the outskirts of this forest , surely one of the finest in Captain Nemo 's immense domains . He regarded it as his own and had laid the same claim to it that , in the first days of the world , the first men had to their forests on land . Besides , who else could dispute his ownership of this underwater property ? What other , bolder pioneer would come , ax in hand , to clear away its dark underbrush ?
This forest was made up of big treelike plants , and when we entered beneath their huge arches , my eyes were instantly struck by the unique arrangement of their branches - - an arrangement that I had never before encountered .
None of the weeds carpeting the seafloor , none of the branches bristling from the shrubbery , crept , or leaned , or stretched on a horizontal plane . They all rose right up toward the surface of the ocean . Every filament or ribbon , no matter how thin , stood ramrod straight . Fucus plants and creepers were growing in stiff perpendicular lines , governed by the density of the element that generated them . After I parted them with my hands , these otherwise motionless plants would shoot right back to their original positions . It was the regime of verticality .
I soon grew accustomed to this bizarre arrangement , likewise to the comparative darkness surrounding us . The seafloor in this forest was strewn with sharp chunks of stone that were hard to avoid . Here the range of underwater flora seemed pretty comprehensive to me , as well as more abundant than it might have been in the arctic or tropical zones , where such exhibits are less common . But for a few minutes I kept accidentally confusing the two kingdoms , mistaking zoophytes for water plants , animals for vegetables . And who has not made the same blunder ? Flora and fauna are so closely associated in the underwater world !
I observed that all these exhibits from the vegetable kingdom were attached to the seafloor by only the most makeshift methods . They had no roots and didn't care which solid objects secured them , sand , shells , husks , or pebbles ; they didn't ask their hosts for sustenance , just a point of purchase . These plants are entirely self - propagating , and the principle of their existence lies in the water that sustains and nourishes them . In place of leaves , most of them sprouted blades of unpredictable shape , which were confined to a narrow gamut of colors consisting only of pink , crimson , green , olive , tan , and brown . There I saw again , but not yet pressed and dried like the Nautilus 's specimens , some peacock 's tails spread open like fans to stir up a cooling breeze , scarlet rosetangle , sea tangle stretching out their young and edible shoots , twisting strings of kelp from the genus Nereocystis that bloomed to a height of fifteen meters , bouquets of mermaid 's cups whose stems grew wider at the top , and a number of other open - sea plants , all without flowers . " It 's an odd anomaly in this bizarre element ! " as one witty naturalist puts it . " The animal kingdom blossoms , and the vegetable kingdom does not ! "
These various types of shrubbery were as big as trees in the temperate zones ; in the damp shade between them , there were clustered actual bushes of moving flowers , hedges of zoophytes in which there grew stony coral striped with twisting furrows , yellowish sea anemone from the genus Caryophylia with translucent tentacles , plus anemone with grassy tufts from the genus Zoantharia ; and to complete the illusion , minnows flitted from branch to branch like a swarm of hummingbirds , while there rose underfoot , like a covey of snipe , yellow fish from the genus Lepisocanthus with bristling jaws and sharp scales , flying gurnards , and pinecone fish .
Near one o'clock , Captain Nemo gave the signal to halt . Speaking for myself , I was glad to oblige , and we stretched out beneath an arbor of winged kelp , whose long thin tendrils stood up like arrows .
This short break was a delight . It lacked only the charm of conversation . But it was impossible to speak , impossible to reply . I simply nudged my big copper headpiece against Conseil 's headpiece . I saw a happy gleam in the gallant lad 's eyes , and to communicate his pleasure , he jiggled around inside his carapace in the world 's silliest way .
After four hours of strolling , I was quite astonished not to feel any intense hunger . What kept my stomach in such a good mood I am unable to say . But , in exchange , I experienced that irresistible desire for sleep that comes over every diver . Accordingly , my eyes soon closed behind their heavy glass windows and I fell into an uncontrollable doze , which until then I had been able to fight off only through the movements of our walking . Captain Nemo and his muscular companion were already stretched out in this clear crystal , setting us a fine naptime example .
How long I was sunk in this torpor I cannot estimate ; but when I awoke , it seemed as if the sun were settling toward the horizon . Captain Nemo was already up , and I had started to stretch my limbs , when an unexpected apparition brought me sharply to my feet .
A few paces away , a monstrous , meter - high sea spider was staring at me with beady eyes , poised to spring at me . Although my diving suit was heavy enough to protect me from this animal 's bites , I could not keep back a shudder of horror . Just then Conseil woke up , together with the Nautilus 's sailor . Captain Nemo alerted his companion to this hideous crustacean , which a swing of the rifle butt quickly brought down , and I watched the monster 's horrible legs writhing in dreadful convulsions .
This encounter reminded me that other , more daunting animals must be lurking in these dark reaches , and my diving suit might not be adequate protection against their attacks . Such thoughts had not previously crossed my mind , and I was determined to keep on my guard . Meanwhile I had assumed this rest period would be the turning point in our stroll , but I was mistaken ; and instead of heading back to the Nautilus , Captain Nemo continued his daring excursion .
The seafloor kept sinking , and its significantly steeper slope took us to greater depths . It must have been nearly three o'clock when we reached a narrow valley gouged between high , vertical walls and located 150 meters down . Thanks to the perfection of our equipment , we had thus gone ninety meters below the limit that nature had , until then , set on man 's underwater excursions .
I say 150 meters , although I had no instruments for estimating this distance . But I knew that the sun 's rays , even in the clearest seas , could reach no deeper . So at precisely this point the darkness became profound . Not a single object was visible past ten paces . Consequently , I had begun to grope my way when suddenly I saw the glow of an intense white light . Captain Nemo had just activated his electric device . His companion did likewise . Conseil and I followed suit . By turning a switch , I established contact between the induction coil and the glass spiral , and the sea , lit up by our four lanterns , was illuminated for a radius of twenty - five meters .
Captain Nemo continued to plummet into the dark depths of this forest , whose shrubbery grew ever more sparse . I observed that vegetable life was disappearing more quickly than animal life . The open - sea plants had already left behind the increasingly arid seafloor , where a prodigious number of animals were still swarming : zoophytes , articulates , mollusks , and fish .
While we were walking , I thought the lights of our Ruhmkorff devices would automatically attract some inhabitants of these dark strata . But if they did approach us , at least they kept at a distance regrettable from the hunter 's standpoint . Several times I saw Captain Nemo stop and take aim with his rifle ; then , after sighting down its barrel for a few seconds , he would straighten up and resume his walk .
Finally , at around four o'clock , this marvelous excursion came to an end . A wall of superb rocks stood before us , imposing in its sheer mass : a pile of gigantic stone blocks , an enormous granite cliffside pitted with dark caves but not offering a single gradient we could climb up . This was the underpinning of Crespo Island . This was land .
The captain stopped suddenly . A gesture from him brought us to a halt , and however much I wanted to clear this wall , I had to stop . Here ended the domains of Captain Nemo . He had no desire to pass beyond them . Farther on lay a part of the globe he would no longer tread underfoot .
Our return journey began . Captain Nemo resumed the lead in our little band , always heading forward without hesitation . I noted that we didn't follow the same path in returning to the Nautilus . This new route , very steep and hence very arduous , quickly took us close to the surface of the sea . But this return to the upper strata was not so sudden that decompression took place too quickly , which could have led to serious organic disorders and given us those internal injuries so fatal to divers . With great promptness , the light reappeared and grew stronger ; and the refraction of the sun , already low on the horizon , again ringed the edges of various objects with the entire color spectrum .
At a depth of ten meters , we walked amid a swarm of small fish from every species , more numerous than birds in the air , more agile too ; but no aquatic game worthy of a gunshot had yet been offered to our eyes .
Just then I saw the captain 's weapon spring to his shoulder and track a moving object through the bushes . A shot went off , I heard a faint hissing , and an animal dropped a few paces away , literally struck by lightning .
It was a magnificent sea otter from the genus Enhydra , the only exclusively marine quadruped . One and a half meters long , this otter had to be worth a good high price . Its coat , chestnut brown above and silver below , would have made one of those wonderful fur pieces so much in demand in the Russian and Chinese markets ; the fineness and luster of its pelt guaranteed that it would go for at least 2,000 francs . I was full of wonderment at this unusual mammal , with its circular head adorned by short ears , its round eyes , its white whiskers like those on a cat , its webbed and clawed feet , its bushy tail . Hunted and trapped by fishermen , this valuable carnivore has become extremely rare , and it takes refuge chiefly in the northernmost parts of the Pacific , where in all likelihood its species will soon be facing extinction .
Captain Nemo 's companion picked up the animal , loaded it on his shoulder , and we took to the trail again .
For an hour plains of sand unrolled before our steps . Often the seafloor rose to within two meters of the surface of the water . I could then see our images clearly mirrored on the underside of the waves , but reflected upside down : above us there appeared an identical band that duplicated our every movement and gesture ; in short , a perfect likeness of the quartet near which it walked , but with heads down and feet in the air .
Another unusual effect . Heavy clouds passed above us , forming and fading swiftly . But after thinking it over , I realized that these so - called clouds were caused simply by the changing densities of the long ground swells , and I even spotted the foaming " white caps " that their breaking crests were proliferating over the surface of the water . Lastly , I could not help seeing the actual shadows of large birds passing over our heads , swiftly skimming the surface of the sea .
On this occasion I witnessed one of the finest gunshots ever to thrill the marrow of a hunter . A large bird with a wide wingspan , quite clearly visible , approached and hovered over us . When it was just a few meters above the waves , Captain Nemo 's companion took aim and fired . The animal dropped , electrocuted , and its descent brought it within reach of our adroit hunter , who promptly took possession of it . It was an albatross of the finest species , a wonderful specimen of these open - sea fowl .
This incident did not interrupt our walk . For two hours we were sometimes led over plains of sand , sometimes over prairies of seaweed that were quite arduous to cross . In all honesty , I was dead tired by the time I spotted a hazy glow half a mile away , cutting through the darkness of the waters . It was the Nautilus 's beacon . Within twenty minutes we would be on board , and there I could breathe easy again - - because my tank 's current air supply seemed to be quite low in oxygen . But I was reckoning without an encounter that slightly delayed our arrival .
I was lagging behind some twenty paces when I saw Captain Nemo suddenly come back toward me . With his powerful hands he sent me buckling to the ground , while his companion did the same to Conseil . At first I did not know what to make of this sudden assault , but I was reassured to observe the captain lying motionless beside me .
I was stretched out on the seafloor directly beneath some bushes of algae , when I raised my head and spied two enormous masses hurtling by , throwing off phosphorescent glimmers .
My blood turned cold in my veins ! I saw that we were under threat from a fearsome pair of sharks . They were blue sharks , dreadful man - eaters with enormous tails , dull , glassy stares , and phosphorescent matter oozing from holes around their snouts . They were like monstrous fireflies that could thoroughly pulverize a man in their iron jaws ! I do not know if Conseil was busy with their classification , but as for me , I looked at their silver bellies , their fearsome mouths bristling with teeth , from a viewpoint less than scientific - - more as a victim than as a professor of natural history .
Luckily these voracious animals have poor eyesight . They went by without noticing us , grazing us with their brownish fins ; and miraculously , we escaped a danger greater than encountering a tiger deep in the jungle .
Half an hour later , guided by its electric trail , we reached the Nautilus . The outside door had been left open , and Captain Nemo closed it after we reentered the first cell . Then he pressed a button . I heard pumps operating within the ship , I felt the water lowering around me , and in a few moments the cell was completely empty . The inside door opened , and we passed into the wardrobe .
There our diving suits were removed , not without difficulty ; and utterly exhausted , faint from lack of food and rest , I repaired to my stateroom , full of wonder at this startling excursion on the bottom of the sea .
By the next morning , November 18 , I was fully recovered from my exhaustion of the day before , and I climbed onto the platform just as the Nautilus 's chief officer was pronouncing his daily phrase . It then occurred to me that these words either referred to the state of the sea , or that they meant : " There 's nothing in sight . "
And in truth , the ocean was deserted . Not a sail on the horizon . The tips of Crespo Island had disappeared during the night . The sea , absorbing every color of the prism except its blue rays , reflected the latter in every direction and sported a wonderful indigo tint . The undulating waves regularly took on the appearance of watered silk with wide stripes .
I was marveling at this magnificent ocean view when Captain Nemo appeared . He did not seem to notice my presence and began a series of astronomical observations . Then , his operations finished , he went and leaned his elbows on the beacon housing , his eyes straying over the surface of the ocean .
Meanwhile some twenty of the Nautilus 's sailors - - all energetic , well - built fellows - - climbed onto the platform . They had come to pull up the nets left in our wake during the night . These seamen obviously belonged to different nationalities , although indications of European physical traits could be seen in them all . If I am not mistaken , I recognized some Irishmen , some Frenchmen , a few Slavs , and a native of either Greece or Crete . Even so , these men were frugal of speech and used among themselves only that bizarre dialect whose origin I could not even guess . So I had to give up any notions of questioning them .
The nets were hauled on board . They were a breed of trawl resembling those used off the Normandy coast , huge pouches held half open by a floating pole and a chain laced through the lower meshes . Trailing in this way from these iron glove makers , the resulting receptacles scoured the ocean floor and collected every marine exhibit in their path . That day they gathered up some unusual specimens from these fish - filled waterways : anglerfish whose comical movements qualify them for the epithet " clowns , " black Commerson anglers equipped with their antennas , undulating triggerfish encircled by little red bands , bloated puffers whose venom is extremely insidious , some olive - hued lampreys , snipefish covered with silver scales , cutlass fish whose electrocuting power equals that of the electric eel and the electric ray , scaly featherbacks with brown crosswise bands , greenish codfish , several varieties of goby , etc. ; finally , some fish of larger proportions : a one - meter jack with a prominent head , several fine bonito from the genus Scomber decked out in the colors blue and silver , and three magnificent tuna whose high speeds could not save them from our trawl .
I estimate that this cast of the net brought in more than 1,000 pounds of fish . It was a fine catch but not surprising . In essence , these nets stayed in our wake for several hours , incarcerating an entire aquatic world in prisons made of thread . So we were never lacking in provisions of the highest quality , which the Nautilus 's speed and the allure of its electric light could continually replenish .
These various exhibits from the sea were immediately lowered down the hatch in the direction of the storage lockers , some to be eaten fresh , others to be preserved .
After its fishing was finished and its air supply renewed , I thought the Nautilus would resume its underwater excursion , and I was getting ready to return to my stateroom , when Captain Nemo turned to me and said without further preamble : " Look at this ocean , professor ! Doesn't it have the actual gift of life ? Does not it experience both anger and affection ? Last evening it went to sleep just as we did , and there it is , waking up after a peaceful night ! "
No hellos or good mornings for this gent ! You would have thought this eccentric individual was simply continuing a conversation we ' d already started !
" See ! " he went on . " It 's waking up under the sun 's caresses ! It 's going to relive its daily existence ! What a fascinating field of study lies in watching the play of its organism . It owns a pulse and arteries , it has spasms , and I side with the scholarly Commander Maury , who discovered that it has a circulation as real as the circulation of blood in animals . "
I am sure that Captain Nemo expected no replies from me , and it seemed pointless to pitch in with " Ah yes , " " Exactly , " or " How right you are ! " Rather , he was simply talking to himself , with long pauses between sentences . He was meditating out loud .
" Yes , " he said , " the ocean owns a genuine circulation , and to start it going , the Creator of All Things has only to increase its heat , salt , and microscopic animal life . In essence , heat creates the different densities that lead to currents and countercurrents . Evaporation , which is nil in the High Arctic regions and very active in equatorial zones , brings about a constant interchange of tropical and polar waters . What 's more , I've detected those falling and rising currents that make up the ocean 's true breathing . I've seen a molecule of salt water heat up at the surface , sink into the depths , reach maximum density at - 2 degrees centigrade , then cool off , grow lighter , and rise again . At the poles you will see the consequences of this phenomenon , and through this law of farseeing nature , you will understand why water can freeze only at the surface ! "
As the captain was finishing his sentence , I said to myself : " The pole ! Is this brazen individual claiming he will take us even to that location ? "
Meanwhile the captain fell silent and stared at the element he had studied so thoroughly and unceasingly . Then , going on : " Salts , " he said , " fill the sea in considerable quantities , professor , and if you removed all its dissolved saline content , you ' d create a mass measuring 4,500,000 cubic leagues , which if it were spread all over the globe , would form a layer more than ten meters high . And do not think that the presence of these salts is due merely to some whim of nature . No. They make ocean water less open to evaporation and prevent winds from carrying off excessive amounts of steam , which , when condensing , would submerge the temperate zones . Salts play a leading role , the role of stabilizer for the general ecology of the globe ! "
Captain Nemo stopped , straightened up , took a few steps along the platform , and returned to me : " As for those billions of tiny animals , " he went on , " those infusoria that live by the millions in one droplet of water , 800,000 of which are needed to weigh one milligram , their role is no less important . They absorb the marine salts , they assimilate the solid elements in the water , and since they create coral and madrepores , they are the true builders of limestone continents ! And so , after they've finished depriving our water drop of its mineral nutrients , the droplet gets lighter , rises to the surface , there absorbs more salts left behind through evaporation , gets heavier , sinks again , and brings those tiny animals new elements to absorb . The outcome : a double current , rising and falling , constant movement , constant life ! More intense than on land , more abundant , more infinite , such life blooms in every part of this ocean , an element fatal to man , they say , but vital to myriads of animals - - and to me ! "
When Captain Nemo spoke in this way , he was transfigured , and he filled me with extraordinary excitement .
" There , " he added , " out there lies true existence ! And I can imagine the founding of nautical towns , clusters of underwater households that , like the Nautilus , would return to the surface of the sea to breathe each morning , free towns if ever there were , independent cities ! Then again , who knows whether some tyrant ... "
Captain Nemo finished his sentence with a vehement gesture . Then , addressing me directly , as if to drive away an ugly thought : " Professor Aronnax , " he asked me , " do you know the depth of the ocean floor ? "
" At least , captain , I know what the major soundings tell us . "
" Could you quote them to me , so I can double - check them as the need arises ? "
" Here , " I replied , " are a few of them that stick in my memory . If I am not mistaken , an average depth of 8,200 meters was found in the north Atlantic , and 2,500 meters in the Mediterranean . The most remarkable soundings were taken in the south Atlantic near the 35 th parallel , and they gave 12,000 meters , 14,091 meters , and 15,149 meters . All in all , it 's estimated that if the sea bottom were made level , its average depth would be about seven kilometers . "
" Well , professor , " Captain Nemo replied , " we'll show you better than that , I hope . As for the average depth of this part of the Pacific , I will inform you that it 's a mere 4,000 meters . "
This said , Captain Nemo headed to the hatch and disappeared down the ladder . I followed him and went back to the main lounge . The propeller was instantly set in motion , and the log gave our speed as twenty miles per hour .
Over the ensuing days and weeks , Captain Nemo was very frugal with his visits . I saw him only at rare intervals . His chief officer regularly fixed the positions I found reported on the chart , and in such a way that I could exactly plot the Nautilus 's course .
Conseil and Land spent the long hours with me . Conseil had told his friend about the wonders of our undersea stroll , and the Canadian was sorry he had not gone along . But I hoped an opportunity would arise for a visit to the forests of Oceania .
Almost every day the panels in the lounge were open for some hours , and our eyes never tired of probing the mysteries of the underwater world .
The Nautilus 's general heading was southeast , and it stayed at a depth between 100 and 150 meters . However , from lord - knows - what whim , one day it did a diagonal dive by means of its slanting fins , reaching strata located 2,000 meters underwater . The thermometer indicated a temperature of 4.25 degrees centigrade , which at this depth seemed to be a temperature common to all latitudes .
On November 26 , at three o'clock in the morning , the Nautilus cleared the Tropic of Cancer at longitude 172 degrees . On the 27 th it passed in sight of the Hawaiian Islands , where the famous Captain Cook met his death on February 14 , 1779 . By then we had fared 4,860 leagues from our starting point . When I arrived on the platform that morning , I saw the Island of Hawaii two miles to leeward , the largest of the seven islands making up this group . I could clearly distinguish the tilled soil on its outskirts , the various mountain chains running parallel with its coastline , and its volcanoes , crowned by Mauna Kea , whose elevation is 5,000 meters above sea level . Among other specimens from these waterways , our nets brought up some peacock - tailed flabellarian coral , polyps flattened into stylish shapes and unique to this part of the ocean .
The Nautilus kept to its southeasterly heading . On December 1 it cut the equator at longitude 142 degrees , and on the 4 th of the same month , after a quick crossing marked by no incident , we raised the Marquesas Islands . Three miles off , in latitude 8 degrees 57 ' south and longitude 139 degrees 32 ' west , I spotted Martin Point on Nuku Hiva , chief member of this island group that belongs to France . I could make out only its wooded mountains on the horizon , because Captain Nemo hated to hug shore . There our nets brought up some fine fish samples : dolphinfish with azure fins , gold tails , and flesh that 's unrivaled in the entire world , wrasse from the genus Hologymnosus that were nearly denuded of scales but exquisite in flavor , knifejaws with bony beaks , yellowish albacore that were as tasty as bonito , all fish worth classifying in the ship 's pantry .
After leaving these delightful islands to the protection of the French flag , the Nautilus covered about 2,000 miles from December 4 to the 11th . Its navigating was marked by an encounter with an immense school of squid , unusual mollusks that are near neighbors of the cuttlefish . French fishermen give them the name " cuckoldfish , " and they belong to the class Cephalopoda , family Dibranchiata , consisting of themselves together with cuttlefish and argonauts . The naturalists of antiquity made a special study of them , and these animals furnished many ribald figures of speech for soapbox orators in the Greek marketplace , as well as excellent dishes for the tables of rich citizens , if we are to believe Athenaeus , a Greek physician predating Galen .
It was during the night of December 9 - 10 that the Nautilus encountered this army of distinctly nocturnal mollusks . They numbered in the millions . They were migrating from the temperate zones toward zones still warmer , following the itineraries of herring and sardines . We stared at them through our thick glass windows : they swam backward with tremendous speed , moving by means of their locomotive tubes , chasing fish and mollusks , eating the little ones , eaten by the big ones , and tossing in indescribable confusion the ten feet that nature has rooted in their heads like a hairpiece of pneumatic snakes . Despite its speed , the Nautilus navigated for several hours in the midst of this school of animals , and its nets brought up an incalculable number , among which I recognized all nine species that Professor Orbigny has classified as native to the Pacific Ocean .
During this crossing , the sea continually lavished us with the most marvelous sights . Its variety was infinite . It changed its setting and decor for the mere pleasure of our eyes , and we were called upon not simply to contemplate the works of our Creator in the midst of the liquid element , but also to probe the ocean 's most daunting mysteries .
During the day of December 11 , I was busy reading in the main lounge . Ned Land and Conseil were observing the luminous waters through the gaping panels . The Nautilus was motionless . Its ballast tanks full , it was sitting at a depth of 1,000 meters in a comparatively unpopulated region of the ocean where only larger fish put in occasional appearances .
Just then I was studying a delightful book by Jean Mace , The Servants of the Stomach , and savoring its ingenious teachings , when Conseil interrupted my reading .
" Would master kindly come here for an instant ? " he said to me in an odd voice .
" What is it , Conseil ? "
" It 's something that master should see . "
I stood up , went , leaned on my elbows before the window , and I saw it .
In the broad electric daylight , an enormous black mass , quite motionless , hung suspended in the midst of the waters . I observed it carefully , trying to find out the nature of this gigantic cetacean . Then a sudden thought crossed my mind .
" A ship ! " I exclaimed .
" Yes , " the Canadian replied , " a disabled craft that 's sinking straight down ! "
Ned Land was not mistaken . We were in the presence of a ship whose severed shrouds still hung from their clasps . Its hull looked in good condition , and it must have gone under only a few hours before . The stumps of three masts , chopped off two feet above the deck , indicated a flooding ship that had been forced to sacrifice its masting . But it had heeled sideways , filling completely , and it was listing to port even yet . A sorry sight , this carcass lost under the waves , but sorrier still was the sight on its deck , where , lashed with ropes to prevent their being washed overboard , some human corpses still lay ! I counted four of them - - four men , one still standing at the helm - - then a woman , halfway out of a skylight on the afterdeck , holding a child in her arms . This woman was young . Under the brilliant lighting of the Nautilus 's rays , I could make out her features , which the water had not yet decomposed . With a supreme effort , she had lifted her child above her head , and the poor little creature 's arms were still twined around its mother 's neck ! The postures of the four seamen seemed ghastly to me , twisted from convulsive movements , as if making a last effort to break loose from the ropes that bound them to their ship . And the helmsman , standing alone , calmer , his face smooth and serious , his grizzled hair plastered to his brow , his hands clutching the wheel , seemed even yet to be guiding his wrecked three - master through the ocean depths !
What a scene ! We stood dumbstruck , hearts pounding , before this shipwreck caught in the act , as if it had been photographed in its final moments , so to speak ! And already I could see enormous sharks moving in , eyes ablaze , drawn by the lure of human flesh !
Meanwhile , turning , the Nautilus made a circle around the sinking ship , and for an instant I could read the board on its stern :
The Florida , Sunderland , England .
This dreadful sight was the first of a whole series of maritime catastrophes that the Nautilus would encounter on its run . When it plied more heavily traveled seas , we often saw wrecked hulls rotting in midwater , and farther down , cannons , shells , anchors , chains , and a thousand other iron objects rusting away .
Meanwhile , continuously swept along by the Nautilus , where we lived in near isolation , we raised the Tuamotu Islands on December 11 , that old " dangerous group " associated with the French global navigator Commander Bougainville ; it stretches from Ducie Island to Lazareff Island over an area of 500 leagues from the east - southeast to the west - northwest , between latitude 13 degrees 30 ' and 23 degrees 50 ' south , and between longitude 125 degrees 30 ' and 151 degrees 30 ' west . This island group covers a surface area of 370 square leagues , and it 's made up of some sixty subgroups , among which we noted the Gambier group , which is a French protectorate . These islands are coral formations . Thanks to the work of polyps , a slow but steady upheaval will someday connect these islands to each other . Later on , this new island will be fused to its neighboring island groups , and a fifth continent will stretch from New Zealand and New Caledonia as far as the Marquesas Islands .
The day I expounded this theory to Captain Nemo , he answered me coldly : " The earth does not need new continents , but new men ! "
Sailors ' luck led the Nautilus straight to Reao Island , one of the most unusual in this group , which was discovered in 1822 by Captain Bell aboard the Minerva . So I was able to study the madreporic process that has created the islands in this ocean .
Madrepores , which one must guard against confusing with precious coral , clothe their tissue in a limestone crust , and their variations in structure have led my famous mentor Professor Milne - Edwards to classify them into five divisions . The tiny microscopic animals that secrete this polypary live by the billions in the depths of their cells . Their limestone deposits build up into rocks , reefs , islets , islands . In some places , they form atolls , a circular ring surrounding a lagoon or small inner lake that gaps place in contact with the sea . Elsewhere , they take the shape of barrier reefs , such as those that exist along the coasts of New Caledonia and several of the Tuamotu Islands . In still other localities , such as Reunion Island and the island of Mauritius , they build fringing reefs , high , straight walls next to which the ocean 's depth is considerable .
While cruising along only a few cable lengths from the underpinning of Reao Island , I marveled at the gigantic piece of work accomplished by these microscopic laborers . These walls were the express achievements of madrepores known by the names fire coral , finger coral , star coral , and stony coral . These polyps grow exclusively in the agitated strata at the surface of the sea , and so it 's in the upper reaches that they begin these substructures , which sink little by little together with the secreted rubble binding them . This , at least , is the theory of Mr. Charles Darwin , who thus explains the formation of atolls - - a theory superior , in my view , to the one that says these madreporic edifices sit on the summits of mountains or volcanoes submerged a few feet below sea level .
I could observe these strange walls quite closely : our sounding lines indicated that they dropped perpendicularly for more than 300 meters , and our electric beams made the bright limestone positively sparkle .
In reply to a question Conseil asked me about the growth rate of these colossal barriers , I thoroughly amazed him by saying that scientists put it at an eighth of an inch per biennium .
" Therefore , " he said to me , " to build these walls , it took ... ? "
" 192,000 years , my gallant Conseil , which significantly extends the biblical Days of Creation . What 's more , the formation of coal - - in other words , the petrification of forests swallowed by floods - - and the cooling of basaltic rocks likewise call for a much longer period of time . I might add that those ' days ' in the Bible must represent whole epochs and not literally the lapse of time between two sunrises , because according to the Bible itself , the sun does not date from the first day of Creation . "
When the Nautilus returned to the surface of the ocean , I could take in Reao Island over its whole flat , wooded expanse . Obviously its madreporic rocks had been made fertile by tornadoes and thunderstorms . One day , carried off by a hurricane from neighboring shores , some seed fell onto these limestone beds , mixing with decomposed particles of fish and marine plants to form vegetable humus . Propelled by the waves , a coconut arrived on this new coast . Its germ took root . Its tree grew tall , catching steam off the water . A brook was born . Little by little , vegetation spread . Tiny animals - - worms , insects - - rode ashore on tree trunks snatched from islands to windward . Turtles came to lay their eggs . Birds nested in the young trees . In this way animal life developed , and drawn by the greenery and fertile soil , man appeared . And that 's how these islands were formed , the immense achievement of microscopic animals .
Near evening Reao Island melted into the distance , and the Nautilus noticeably changed course . After touching the Tropic of Capricorn at longitude 135 degrees , it headed west - northwest , going back up the whole intertropical zone . Although the summer sun lavished its rays on us , we never suffered from the heat , because thirty or forty meters underwater , the temperature did not go over 10 degrees to 12 degrees centigrade .
By December 15 we had left the alluring Society Islands in the west , likewise elegant Tahiti , queen of the Pacific . In the morning I spotted this island 's lofty summits a few miles to leeward . Its waters supplied excellent fish for the tables on board : mackerel , bonito , albacore , and a few varieties of that sea serpent named the moray eel .
The Nautilus had cleared 8,100 miles . We logged 9,720 miles when we passed between the Tonga Islands , where crews from the Argo , Port - au - Prince , and Duke of Portland had perished , and the island group of Samoa , scene of the slaying of Captain de Langle , friend of that long - lost navigator , the Count de La Perouse . Then we raised the Fiji Islands , where savages slaughtered sailors from the Union , as well as Captain Bureau , commander of the Darling Josephine out of Nantes , France .
Extending over an expanse of 100 leagues north to south , and over 90 leagues east to west , this island group lies between latitude 2 degrees and 6 degrees south , and between longitude 174 degrees and 179 degrees west . It consists of a number of islands , islets , and reefs , among which we noted the islands of Viti Levu , Vanua Levu , and Kadavu .
It was the Dutch navigator Tasman who discovered this group in 1643 , the same year the Italian physicist Torricelli invented the barometer and King Louis XIV ascended the French throne . I will let the reader decide which of these deeds was more beneficial to humanity . Coming later , Captain Cook in 1774 , Rear Admiral d'Entrecasteaux in 1793 , and finally Captain Dumont d'Urville in 1827 , untangled the whole chaotic geography of this island group . The Nautilus drew near Wailea Bay , an unlucky place for England 's Captain Dillon , who was the first to shed light on the longstanding mystery surrounding the disappearance of ships under the Count de La Perouse .
This bay , repeatedly dredged , furnished a huge supply of excellent oysters . As the Roman playwright Seneca recommended , we opened them right at our table , then stuffed ourselves . These mollusks belonged to the species known by name as Ostrea lamellosa , whose members are quite common off Corsica . This Wailea oysterbank must have been extensive , and for certain , if they had not been controlled by numerous natural checks , these clusters of shellfish would have ended up jam - packing the bay , since as many as 2,000,000 eggs have been counted in a single individual .
And if Mr. Ned Land did not repent of his gluttony at our oyster fest , it 's because oysters are the only dish that never causes indigestion . In fact , it takes no less than sixteen dozen of these headless mollusks to supply the 315 grams that satisfy one man 's minimum daily requirement for nitrogen .
On December 25 the Nautilus navigated amid the island group of the New Hebrides , which the Portuguese seafarer Queiros discovered in 1606 , which Commander Bougainville explored in 1768 , and to which Captain Cook gave its current name in 1773 . This group is chiefly made up of nine large islands and forms a 120 - league strip from the north - northwest to the south - southeast , lying between latitude 2 degrees and 15 degrees south , and between longitude 164 degrees and 168 degrees . At the moment of our noon sights , we passed fairly close to the island of Aurou , which looked to me like a mass of green woods crowned by a peak of great height .
That day it was yuletide , and it struck me that Ned Land badly missed celebrating " Christmas , " that genuine family holiday where Protestants are such zealots .
I had not seen Captain Nemo for over a week , when , on the morning of the 27 th , he entered the main lounge , as usual acting as if he ' d been gone for just five minutes . I was busy tracing the Nautilus 's course on the world map . The captain approached , placed a finger over a position on the chart , and pronounced just one word : " Vanikoro . "
This name was magic ! It was the name of those islets where vessels under the Count de La Perouse had miscarried . I straightened suddenly .
" The Nautilus is bringing us to Vanikoro ? " I asked .
" Yes , professor , " the captain replied .
" And I will be able to visit those famous islands where the Compass and the Astrolabe came to grief ? "
" If you like , professor . "
" When will we reach Vanikoro ? "
" We already have , professor . "
Followed by Captain Nemo , I climbed onto the platform , and from there my eyes eagerly scanned the horizon .
In the northeast there emerged two volcanic islands of unequal size , surrounded by a coral reef whose circuit measured forty miles . We were facing the island of Vanikoro proper , to which Captain Dumont d'Urville had given the name " Island of the Search " ; we lay right in front of the little harbor of Vana , located in latitude 16 degrees 4 ' south and longitude 164 degrees 32 ' east . Its shores seemed covered with greenery from its beaches to its summits inland , crowned by Mt. Kapogo , which is 476 fathoms high .
After clearing the outer belt of rocks via a narrow passageway , the Nautilus lay inside the breakers where the sea had a depth of thirty to forty fathoms . Under the green shade of some tropical evergreens , I spotted a few savages who looked extremely startled at our approach . In this long , blackish object advancing flush with the water , did not they see some fearsome cetacean that they were obliged to view with distrust ?
Just then Captain Nemo asked me what I knew about the shipwreck of the Count de La Perouse .
" What everybody knows , captain , " I answered him .
" And could you kindly tell me what everybody knows ? " he asked me in a gently ironic tone .
" Very easily . "
I related to him what the final deeds of Captain Dumont d'Urville had brought to light , deeds described here in this heavily condensed summary of the whole matter .
In 1785 the Count de La Perouse and his subordinate , Captain de Langle , were sent by King Louis XVI of France on a voyage to circumnavigate the globe . They boarded two sloops of war , the Compass and the Astrolabe , which were never seen again .
In 1791 , justly concerned about the fate of these two sloops of war , the French government fitted out two large cargo boats , the Search and the Hope , which left Brest on September 28 under orders from Rear Admiral Bruni d'Entrecasteaux . Two months later , testimony from a certain Commander Bowen , aboard the Albemarle , alleged that rubble from shipwrecked vessels had been seen on the coast of New Georgia . But d'Entrecasteaux was unaware of this news - - which seemed a bit dubious anyhow - - and headed toward the Admiralty Islands , which had been named in a report by one Captain Hunter as the site of the Count de La Perouse 's shipwreck .
They looked in vain . The Hope and the Search passed right by Vanikoro without stopping there ; and overall , this voyage was plagued by misfortune , ultimately costing the lives of Rear Admiral d'Entrecasteaux , two of his subordinate officers , and several seamen from his crew .
It was an old hand at the Pacific , the English adventurer Captain Peter Dillon , who was the first to pick up the trail left by castaways from the wrecked vessels . On May 15 , 1824 , his ship , the St. Patrick , passed by Tikopia Island , one of the New Hebrides . There a native boatman pulled alongside in a dugout canoe and sold Dillon a silver sword hilt bearing the imprint of characters engraved with a cutting tool known as a burin . Furthermore , this native boatman claimed that during a stay in Vanikoro six years earlier , he had seen two Europeans belonging to ships that had run aground on the island 's reefs many years before .
Dillon guessed that the ships at issue were those under the Count de La Perouse , ships whose disappearance had shaken the entire world . He tried to reach Vanikoro , where , according to the native boatman , a good deal of rubble from the shipwreck could still be found , but winds and currents prevented his doing so .
Dillon returned to Calcutta . There he was able to interest the Asiatic Society and the East India Company in his discovery . A ship named after the Search was placed at his disposal , and he departed on January 23 , 1827 , accompanied by a French deputy .
This new Search , after putting in at several stops over the Pacific , dropped anchor before Vanikoro on July 7 , 1827 , in the same harbor of Vana where the Nautilus was currently floating .
There Dillon collected many relics of the shipwreck : iron utensils , anchors , eyelets from pulleys , swivel guns , an eighteen - pound shell , the remains of some astronomical instruments , a piece of sternrail , and a bronze bell bearing the inscription " Made by Bazin , " the foundry mark at Brest Arsenal around 1785 . There could no longer be any doubt .
Finishing his investigations , Dillon stayed at the site of the casualty until the month of October . Then he left Vanikoro , headed toward New Zealand , dropped anchor at Calcutta on April 7 , 1828 , and returned to France , where he received a very cordial welcome from King Charles X.
But just then the renowned French explorer Captain Dumont d'Urville , unaware of Dillon 's activities , had already set sail to search elsewhere for the site of the shipwreck . In essence , a whaling vessel had reported that some medals and a Cross of St. Louis had been found in the hands of savages in the Louisiade Islands and New Caledonia .
So Captain Dumont d'Urville had put to sea in command of a vessel named after the Astrolabe , and just two months after Dillon had left Vanikoro , Dumont d'Urville dropped anchor before Hobart . There he heard about Dillon 's findings , and he further learned that a certain James Hobbs , chief officer on the Union out of Calcutta , had put to shore on an island located in latitude 8 degrees 18 ' south and longitude 156 degrees 30 ' east , and had noted the natives of those waterways making use of iron bars and red fabrics .
Pretty perplexed , Dumont d'Urville did not know if he should give credence to these reports , which had been carried in some of the less reliable newspapers ; nevertheless , he decided to start on Dillon 's trail .
On February 10 , 1828 , the new Astrolabe hove before Tikopia Island , took on a guide and interpreter in the person of a deserter who had settled there , plied a course toward Vanikoro , raised it on February 12 , sailed along its reefs until the 14 th , and only on the 20 th dropped anchor inside its barrier in the harbor of Vana .
On the 23 rd , several officers circled the island and brought back some rubble of little importance . The natives , adopting a system of denial and evasion , refused to guide them to the site of the casualty . This rather shady conduct aroused the suspicion that the natives had mistreated the castaways ; and in truth , the natives seemed afraid that Dumont d'Urville had come to avenge the Count de La Perouse and his unfortunate companions .
But on the 26 th , appeased with gifts and seeing that they did not need to fear any reprisals , the natives led the chief officer , Mr. Jacquinot , to the site of the shipwreck .
At this location , in three or four fathoms of water between the Paeu and Vana reefs , there lay some anchors , cannons , and ingots of iron and lead , all caked with limestone concretions . A launch and whaleboat from the new Astrolabe were steered to this locality , and after going to exhausting lengths , their crews managed to dredge up an anchor weighing 1,800 pounds , a cast - iron eight - pounder cannon , a lead ingot , and two copper swivel guns .
Questioning the natives , Captain Dumont d'Urville also learned that after La Perouse 's two ships had miscarried on the island 's reefs , the count had built a smaller craft , only to go off and miscarry a second time . Where ? Nobody knew .
The commander of the new Astrolabe then had a monument erected under a tuft of mangrove , in memory of the famous navigator and his companions . It was a simple quadrangular pyramid , set on a coral base , with no ironwork to tempt the natives ' avarice .
Then Dumont d'Urville tried to depart ; but his crews were run down from the fevers raging on these unsanitary shores , and quite ill himself , he was unable to weigh anchor until March 17 .
Meanwhile , fearing that Dumont d'Urville wasn't abreast of Dillon 's activities , the French government sent a sloop of war to Vanikoro , the Bayonnaise under Commander Legoarant de Tromelin , who had been stationed on the American west coast . Dropping anchor before Vanikoro a few months after the new Astrolabe 's departure , the Bayonnaise didn't find any additional evidence but verified that the savages had not disturbed the memorial honoring the Count de La Perouse .
This is the substance of the account I gave Captain Nemo .
" So , " he said to me , " the castaways built a third ship on Vanikoro Island , and to this day , nobody knows where it went and perished ? "
" Nobody knows . "
Captain Nemo did not reply but signaled me to follow him to the main lounge . The Nautilus sank a few meters beneath the waves , and the panels opened .
I rushed to the window and saw crusts of coral : fungus coral , siphonula coral , alcyon coral , sea anemone from the genus Caryophylia , plus myriads of charming fish including greenfish , damselfish , sweepers , snappers , and squirrelfish ; underneath this coral covering I detected some rubble the old dredges had not been able to tear free - - iron stirrups , anchors , cannons , shells , tackle from a capstan , a stempost , all objects hailing from the wrecked ships and now carpeted in moving flowers .
And as I stared at this desolate wreckage , Captain Nemo told me in a solemn voice : " Commander La Perouse set out on December 7 , 1785 , with his ships , the Compass and the Astrolabe . He dropped anchor first at Botany Bay , visited the Tonga Islands and New Caledonia , headed toward the Santa Cruz Islands , and put in at Nomuka , one of the islands in the Ha'apai group . Then his ships arrived at the unknown reefs of Vanikoro . Traveling in the lead , the Compass ran afoul of breakers on the southerly coast . The Astrolabe went to its rescue and also ran aground . The first ship was destroyed almost immediately . The second , stranded to leeward , held up for some days . The natives gave the castaways a fair enough welcome . The latter took up residence on the island and built a smaller craft with rubble from the two large ones . A few seamen stayed voluntarily in Vanikoro . The others , weak and ailing , set sail with the Count de La Perouse . They headed to the Solomon Islands , and they perished with all hands on the westerly coast of the chief island in that group , between Cape Deception and Cape Satisfaction ! "
" And how do you know all this ? " I exclaimed .
" Here 's what I found at the very site of that final shipwreck ! "
Captain Nemo showed me a tin box , stamped with the coat of arms of France and all corroded by salt water . He opened it and I saw a bundle of papers , yellowed but still legible .
They were the actual military orders given by France 's Minister of the Navy to Commander La Perouse , with notes along the margin in the handwriting of King Louis XVI !
" Ah , what a splendid death for a seaman ! " Captain Nemo then said . " A coral grave is a tranquil grave , and may Heaven grant that my companions and I rest in no other ! "
During the night of December 27 - 28 , the Nautilus left the waterways of Vanikoro behind with extraordinary speed . Its heading was southwesterly , and in three days it had cleared the 750 leagues that separated La Perouse 's islands from the southeastern tip of Papua .
On January 1 , 1868 , bright and early , Conseil joined me on the platform .
" Will master , " the gallant lad said to me , " allow me to wish him a happy new year ? "
" Good heavens , Conseil , it 's just like old times in my office at the Botanical Gardens in Paris ! I accept your kind wishes and I thank you for them . Only , I ' d like to know what you mean by a ' happy year ' under the circumstances in which we are placed . Is it a year that will bring our imprisonment to an end , or a year that will see this strange voyage continue ? "
" Ye gods , " Conseil replied , " I hardly know what to tell master . We are certainly seeing some unusual things , and for two months we've had no time for boredom . The latest wonder is always the most astonishing , and if this progression keeps up , I can not imagine what its climax will be . In my opinion , we'll never again have such an opportunity . "
" Never , Conseil . "
" Besides , Mr. Nemo really lives up to his Latin name , since he couldn't be less in the way if he did not exist . "
" True enough , Conseil . "
" Therefore , with all due respect to master , I think a ' happy year ' would be a year that lets us see everything - - "
" Everything , Conseil ? No year could be that long . But what does Ned Land think about all this ? "
" Ned Land 's thoughts are exactly the opposite of mine , " Conseil replied . " He has a practical mind and a demanding stomach . He is tired of staring at fish and eating them day in and day out . This shortage of wine , bread , and meat is not suitable for an upstanding Anglo - Saxon , a man accustomed to beefsteak and unfazed by regular doses of brandy or gin ! "
" For my part , Conseil , that does not bother me in the least , and I've adjusted very nicely to the diet on board . "
" So have I , " Conseil replied . " Accordingly , I think as much about staying as Mr. Land about making his escape . Thus , if this new year is not a happy one for me , it will be for him , and vice versa . No matter what happens , one of us will be pleased . So , in conclusion , I wish master to have whatever his heart desires . "
" Thank you , Conseil . Only I must ask you to postpone the question of new year 's gifts , and temporarily accept a hearty handshake in their place . That 's all I have on me . "
" Master has never been more generous , " Conseil replied .
And with that , the gallant lad went away .
By January 2 we had fared 11,340 miles , hence 5,250 leagues , from our starting point in the seas of Japan . Before the Nautilus 's spur there stretched the dangerous waterways of the Coral Sea , off the northeast coast of Australia . Our boat cruised along a few miles away from that daunting shoal where Captain Cook 's ships wellnigh miscarried on June 10 , 1770 . The craft that Cook was aboard charged into some coral rock , and if his vessel did not go down , it was thanks to the circumstance that a piece of coral broke off in the collision and plugged the very hole it had made in the hull .
I would have been deeply interested in visiting this long , 360 - league reef , against which the ever - surging sea broke with the fearsome intensity of thunderclaps . But just then the Nautilus 's slanting fins took us to great depths , and I could see nothing of those high coral walls . I had to rest content with the various specimens of fish brought up by our nets . Among others I noted some long - finned albacore , a species in the genus Scomber , as big as tuna , bluish on the flanks , and streaked with crosswise stripes that disappear when the animal dies . These fish followed us in schools and supplied our table with very dainty flesh . We also caught a large number of yellow - green gilthead , half a decimeter long and tasting like dorado , plus some flying gurnards , authentic underwater swallows that , on dark nights , alternately streak air and water with their phosphorescent glimmers . Among mollusks and zoophytes , I found in our trawl 's meshes various species of alcyonarian coral , sea urchins , hammer shells , spurred - star shells , wentletrap snails , horn shells , glass snails . The local flora was represented by fine floating algae : sea tangle , and kelp from the genus Macrocystis , saturated with the mucilage their pores perspire , from which I selected a wonderful Nemastoma geliniaroidea , classifying it with the natural curiosities in the museum .
On January 4 , two days after crossing the Coral Sea , we raised the coast of Papua . On this occasion Captain Nemo told me that he intended to reach the Indian Ocean via the Torres Strait . This was the extent of his remarks . Ned saw with pleasure that this course would bring us , once again , closer to European seas .
The Torres Strait is regarded as no less dangerous for its bristling reefs than for the savage inhabitants of its coasts . It separates Queensland from the huge island of Papua , also called New Guinea .
Papua is 400 leagues long by 130 leagues wide , with a surface area of 40,000 geographic leagues . It 's located between latitude 0 degrees 19 ' and 10 degrees 2 ' south , and between longitude 128 degrees 23 ' and 146 degrees 15 ' . At noon , while the chief officer was taking the sun 's altitude , I spotted the summits of the Arfak Mountains , rising in terraces and ending in sharp peaks .
Discovered in 1511 by the Portuguese Francisco Serrano , these shores were successively visited by Don Jorge de Meneses in 1526 , by Juan de Grijalva in 1527 , by the Spanish general Alvaro de Saavedra in 1528 , by Inigo Ortiz in 1545 , by the Dutchman Schouten in 1616 , by Nicolas Sruick in 1753 , by Tasman , Dampier , Fumel , Carteret , Edwards , Bougainville , Cook , McClure , and Thomas Forrest , by Rear Admiral d'Entrecasteaux in 1792 , by Louis - Isidore Duperrey in 1823 , and by Captain Dumont d'Urville in 1827 . " It 's the heartland of the blacks who occupy all Malaysia , " Mr. de Rienzi has said ; and I had not the foggiest inkling that sailors ' luck was about to bring me face to face with these daunting Andaman aborigines .
So the Nautilus hove before the entrance to the world 's most dangerous strait , a passageway that even the boldest navigators hesitated to clear : the strait that Luis Vaez de Torres faced on returning from the South Seas in Melanesia , the strait in which sloops of war under Captain Dumont d'Urville ran aground in 1840 and nearly miscarried with all hands . And even the Nautilus , rising superior to every danger in the sea , was about to become intimate with its coral reefs .
The Torres Strait is about thirty - four leagues wide , but it 's obstructed by an incalculable number of islands , islets , breakers , and rocks that make it nearly impossible to navigate . Consequently , Captain Nemo took every desired precaution in crossing it . Floating flush with the water , the Nautilus moved ahead at a moderate pace . Like a cetacean 's tail , its propeller churned the waves slowly .
Taking advantage of this situation , my two companions and I found seats on the ever - deserted platform . In front of us stood the pilothouse , and unless I am extremely mistaken , Captain Nemo must have been inside , steering his Nautilus himself .
Under my eyes I had the excellent charts of the Torres Strait that had been surveyed and drawn up by the hydrographic engineer Vincendon Dumoulin and Sublieutenant ( now Admiral ) Coupvent - Desbois , who were part of Dumont d'Urville 's general staff during his final voyage to circumnavigate the globe . These , along with the efforts of Captain King , are the best charts for untangling the snarl of this narrow passageway , and I consulted them with scrupulous care .
Around the Nautilus the sea was boiling furiously . A stream of waves , bearing from southeast to northwest at a speed of two and a half miles per hour , broke over heads of coral emerging here and there .
" That 's one rough sea ! " Ned Land told me .
" Abominable indeed , " I replied , " and hardly suitable for a craft like the Nautilus . "
" That damned captain , " the Canadian went on , " must really be sure of his course , because if these clumps of coral so much as brush us , they will rip our hull into a thousand pieces ! "
The situation was indeed dangerous , but as if by magic , the Nautilus seemed to glide right down the middle of these rampaging reefs . It did not follow the exact course of the Zealous and the new Astrolabe , which had proved so ill - fated for Captain Dumont d'Urville . It went more to the north , hugged the Murray Islands , and returned to the southwest near Cumberland Passage . I thought it was about to charge wholeheartedly into this opening , but it went up to the northwest , through a large number of little - known islands and islets , and steered toward Tound Island and the Bad Channel .
I was already wondering if Captain Nemo , rash to the point of sheer insanity , wanted his ship to tackle the narrows where Dumont d'Urville 's two sloops of war had gone aground , when he changed direction a second time and cut straight to the west , heading toward Gueboroa Island .
By then it was three o'clock in the afternoon . The current was slacking off , it was almost full tide . The Nautilus drew near this island , which I can see to this day with its remarkable fringe of screw pines . We hugged it from less than two miles out .
A sudden jolt threw me down . The Nautilus had just struck a reef , and it remained motionless , listing slightly to port .
When I stood up , I saw Captain Nemo and his chief officer on the platform . They were examining the ship 's circumstances , exchanging a few words in their incomprehensible dialect .
Here is what those circumstances entailed . Two miles to starboard lay Gueboroa Island , its coastline curving north to west like an immense arm . To the south and east , heads of coral were already on display , left uncovered by the ebbing waters . We had run aground at full tide and in one of those seas whose tides are moderate , an inconvenient state of affairs for floating the Nautilus off . However , the ship had not suffered in any way , so solidly joined was its hull . But although it could neither sink nor split open , it was in serious danger of being permanently attached to these reefs , and that would have been the finish of Captain Nemo 's submersible .
I was mulling this over when the captain approached , cool and calm , forever in control of himself , looking neither alarmed nor annoyed .
" An accident ? " I said to him .
" No , an incident , " he answered me .
" But an incident , " I replied , " that may oblige you to become a resident again of these shores you avoid ! "
Captain Nemo gave me an odd look and gestured no. Which told me pretty clearly that nothing would ever force him to set foot on a land mass again . Then he said : " No , Professor Aronnax , the Nautilus is not consigned to perdition . It will still carry you through the midst of the ocean 's wonders . Our voyage is just beginning , and I've no desire to deprive myself so soon of the pleasure of your company . "
" Even so , Captain Nemo , " I went on , ignoring his ironic turn of phrase , " the Nautilus has run aground at a moment when the sea is full . Now then , the tides aren't strong in the Pacific , and if you can not unballast the Nautilus , which seems impossible to me , I do not see how it will float off . "
" You are right , professor , the Pacific tides aren't strong , " Captain Nemo replied . " But in the Torres Strait , one still finds a meter - and - a - half difference in level between high and low seas . Today is January 4 , and in five days the moon will be full . Now then , I will be quite astonished if that good - natured satellite does not sufficiently raise these masses of water and do me a favor for which I will be forever grateful . "
This said , Captain Nemo went below again to the Nautilus 's interior , followed by his chief officer . As for our craft , it no longer stirred , staying as motionless as if these coral polyps had already walled it in with their indestructible cement .
" Well , sir ? " Ned Land said to me , coming up after the captain 's departure .
" Well , Ned my friend , we'll serenely wait for the tide on the 9 th , because it seems the moon will have the good nature to float us away ! "
" As simple as that ? "
" As simple as that . "
" So our captain is not going to drop his anchors , put his engines on the chains , and do anything to haul us off ? "
" Since the tide will be sufficient , " Conseil replied simply .
The Canadian stared at Conseil , then he shrugged his shoulders . The seaman in him was talking now .
" Sir , " he answered , " you can trust me when I say this hunk of iron will never navigate again , on the seas or under them . It 's only fit to be sold for its weight . So I think it 's time we gave Captain Nemo the slip . "
" Ned my friend , " I replied , " unlike you , I haven't given up on our valiant Nautilus , and in four days we'll know where we stand on these Pacific tides . Besides , an escape attempt might be timely if we were in sight of the coasts of England or Provence , but in the waterways of Papua it 's another story . And we'll always have that as a last resort if the Nautilus does not right itself , which I ' d regard as a real calamity . "
" But could not we at least get the lay of the land ? " Ned went on . " Here 's an island . On this island there are trees . Under those trees land animals loaded with cutlets and roast beef , which I ' d be happy to sink my teeth into . "
" In this instance our friend Ned is right , " Conseil said , " and I side with his views . Couldn't master persuade his friend Captain Nemo to send the three of us ashore , if only so our feet do not lose the knack of treading on the solid parts of our planet ? "
" I can ask him , " I replied , " but he will refuse . "
" Let master take the risk , " Conseil said , " and we'll know where we stand on the captain 's affability . "
Much to my surprise , Captain Nemo gave me the permission I asked for , and he did so with grace and alacrity , not even exacting my promise to return on board . But fleeing across the New Guinea territories would be extremely dangerous , and I would not have advised Ned Land to try it . Better to be prisoners aboard the Nautilus than to fall into the hands of Papuan natives .
The skiff was put at our disposal for the next morning . I hardly needed to ask whether Captain Nemo would be coming along . I likewise assumed that no crewmen would be assigned to us , that Ned Land would be in sole charge of piloting the longboat . Besides , the shore lay no more than two miles off , and it would be child 's play for the Canadian to guide that nimble skiff through those rows of reefs so ill - fated for big ships .
The next day , January 5 , after its deck paneling was opened , the skiff was wrenched from its socket and launched to sea from the top of the platform . Two men were sufficient for this operation . The oars were inside the longboat and we had only to take our seats .
At eight o'clock , armed with rifles and axes , we pulled clear of the Nautilus . The sea was fairly calm . A mild breeze blew from shore . In place by the oars , Conseil and I rowed vigorously , and Ned steered us into the narrow lanes between the breakers . The skiff handled easily and sped swiftly .
Ned Land could not conceal his glee . He was a prisoner escaping from prison and never dreaming he would need to reenter it .
" Meat ! " he kept repeating . " Now we'll eat red meat ! Actual game ! A real mess call , by thunder ! I am not saying fish aren't good for you , but we must not overdo ' em , and a slice of fresh venison grilled over live coals will be a nice change from our standard fare . "
" You glutton , " Conseil replied , " you are making my mouth water ! "
" It remains to be seen , " I said , " whether these forests do contain game , and if the types of game are not of such size that they can hunt the hunter . "
" Fine , Professor Aronnax ! " replied the Canadian , whose teeth seemed to be as honed as the edge of an ax . " But if there 's no other quadruped on this island , I will eat tiger - - tiger sirloin . "
" Our friend Ned grows disturbing , " Conseil replied .
" Whatever it is , " Ned Land went on , " any animal having four feet without feathers , or two feet with feathers , will be greeted by my very own one - gun salute . "
" Oh good ! " I replied . " The reckless Mr. Land is at it again ! "
" Do not worry , Professor Aronnax , just keep rowing ! " the Canadian replied . " I only need twenty - five minutes to serve you one of my own special creations . "
By 8:30 the Nautilus 's skiff had just run gently aground on a sandy strand , after successfully clearing the ring of coral that surrounds Gueboroa Island .
Stepping ashore had an exhilarating effect on me . Ned Land tested the soil with his foot , as if he were laying claim to it . Yet it had been only two months since we had become , as Captain Nemo expressed it , " passengers on the Nautilus , " in other words , the literal prisoners of its commander .
In a few minutes we were a gunshot away from the coast . The soil was almost entirely madreporic , but certain dry stream beds were strewn with granite rubble , proving that this island was of primordial origin . The entire horizon was hidden behind a curtain of wonderful forests . Enormous trees , sometimes as high as 200 feet , were linked to each other by garlands of tropical creepers , genuine natural hammocks that swayed in a mild breeze . There were mimosas , banyan trees , beefwood , teakwood , hibiscus , screw pines , palm trees , all mingling in wild profusion ; and beneath the shade of their green canopies , at the feet of their gigantic trunks , there grew orchids , leguminous plants , and ferns .
Meanwhile , ignoring all these fine specimens of Papuan flora , the Canadian passed up the decorative in favor of the functional . He spotted a coconut palm , beat down some of its fruit , broke them open , and we drank their milk and ate their meat with a pleasure that was a protest against our standard fare on the Nautilus .
" Excellent ! " Ned Land said .
" Exquisite ! " Conseil replied .
" And I do not think , " the Canadian said , " that your Nemo would object to us stashing a cargo of coconuts aboard his vessel ? "
" I imagine not , " I replied , " but he will not want to sample them . "
" Too bad for him ! " Conseil said .
" And plenty good for us ! " Ned Land shot back . " There'll be more left over ! "
" A word of caution , Mr. Land , " I told the harpooner , who was about to ravage another coconut palm . " Coconuts are admirable things , but before we stuff the skiff with them , it would be wise to find out whether this island offers other substances just as useful . Some fresh vegetables would be well received in the Nautilus 's pantry . "
" Master is right , " Conseil replied , " and I propose that we set aside three places in our longboat : one for fruit , another for vegetables , and a third for venison , of which I still have not glimpsed the tiniest specimen . "
" Do not give up so easily , Conseil , " the Canadian replied .
" So let 's continue our excursion , " I went on , " but keep a sharp lookout . This island seems uninhabited , but it still might harbor certain individuals who are not so finicky about the sort of game they eat ! "
" Hee hee ! " Ned put in , with a meaningful movement of his jaws .
" Ned ! Oh horrors ! " Conseil exclaimed .
" Ye gods , " the Canadian shot back , " I am starting to appreciate the charms of cannibalism ! "
" Ned , Ned ! Do not say that ! " Conseil answered . " You a cannibal ? Why , I will no longer be safe next to you , I who share your cabin ! Does this mean I will wake up half devoured one fine day ? "
" I am awfully fond of you , Conseil my friend , but not enough to eat you when there 's better food around . "
" Then I dare not delay , " Conseil replied . " The hunt is on ! We absolutely must bag some game to placate this man - eater , or one of these mornings master will not find enough pieces of his manservant to serve him . "
While exchanging this chitchat , we entered beneath the dark canopies of the forest , and for two hours we explored it in every direction .
We could not have been luckier in our search for edible vegetation , and some of the most useful produce in the tropical zones supplied us with a valuable foodstuff missing on board .
I mean the breadfruit tree , which is quite abundant on Gueboroa Island , and there I chiefly noted the seedless variety that in Malaysia is called " rima . "
This tree is distinguished from other trees by a straight trunk forty feet high . To the naturalist 's eye , its gracefully rounded crown , formed of big multilobed leaves , was enough to denote the artocarpus that has been so successfully transplanted to the Mascarene Islands east of Madagascar . From its mass of greenery , huge globular fruit stood out , a decimeter wide and furnished on the outside with creases that assumed a hexangular pattern . It 's a handy plant that nature gives to regions lacking in wheat ; without needing to be cultivated , it bears fruit eight months out of the year .
Ned Land was on familiar terms with this fruit . He had already eaten it on his many voyages and knew how to cook its edible substance . So the very sight of it aroused his appetite , and he could not control himself .
" Sir , " he told me , " I will die if I do not sample a little breadfruit pasta ! "
" Sample some , Ned my friend , sample all you like . We are here to conduct experiments , let 's conduct them . "
" It will not take a minute , " the Canadian replied .
Equipped with a magnifying glass , he lit a fire of deadwood that was soon crackling merrily . Meanwhile Conseil and I selected the finest artocarpus fruit . Some still were not ripe enough , and their thick skins covered white , slightly fibrous pulps . But a great many others were yellowish and gelatinous , just begging to be picked .
This fruit contained no pits . Conseil brought a dozen of them to Ned Land , who cut them into thick slices and placed them over a fire of live coals , all the while repeating : " You will see , sir , how tasty this bread is ! "
" Especially since we've gone without baked goods for so long , " Conseil said .
" It 's more than just bread , " the Canadian added . " It 's a dainty pastry . You've never eaten any , sir ? "
" No , Ned . "
" All right , get ready for something downright delectable ! If you do not come back for seconds , I am no longer the King of Harpooners ! "
After a few minutes , the parts of the fruit exposed to the fire were completely toasted . On the inside there appeared some white pasta , a sort of soft bread center whose flavor reminded me of artichoke .
This bread was excellent , I must admit , and I ate it with great pleasure .
" Unfortunately , " I said , " this pasta will not stay fresh , so it seems pointless to make a supply for on board . "
" By thunder , sir ! " Ned Land exclaimed . " There you go , talking like a naturalist , but meantime I will be acting like a baker ! Conseil , harvest some of this fruit to take with us when we go back . "
" And how will you prepare it ? " I asked the Canadian .
" I will make a fermented batter from its pulp that'll keep indefinitely without spoiling . When I want some , I will just cook it in the galley on board - - it will have a slightly tart flavor , but you will find it excellent . "
" So , Mr. Ned , I see that this bread is all we need - - "
" Not quite , professor , " the Canadian replied . " We need some fruit to go with it , or at least some vegetables . "
" Then let 's look for fruit and vegetables . "
When our breadfruit harvesting was done , we took to the trail to complete this " dry - land dinner . "
We did not search in vain , and near noontime we had an ample supply of bananas . This delicious produce from the Torrid Zones ripens all year round , and Malaysians , who give them the name " pisang , " eat them without bothering to cook them . In addition to bananas , we gathered some enormous jackfruit with a very tangy flavor , some tasty mangoes , and some pineapples of unbelievable size . But this foraging took up a good deal of our time , which , even so , we had no cause to regret .
Conseil kept Ned under observation . The harpooner walked in the lead , and during his stroll through this forest , he gathered with sure hands some excellent fruit that should have completed his provisions .
" So , " Conseil asked , " you have everything you need , Ned my friend ? "
" Humph ! " the Canadian put in .
" What ! You are complaining ? "
" All this vegetation does not make a meal , " Ned replied . " Just side dishes , dessert . But where 's the soup course ? Where 's the roast ? "
" Right , " I said . " Ned promised us cutlets , which seems highly questionable to me . "
" Sir , " the Canadian replied , " our hunting not only isn't over , it has not even started . Patience ! We are sure to end up bumping into some animal with either feathers or fur , if not in this locality , then in another . "
" And if not today , then tomorrow , because we must not wander too far off , " Conseil added . " That 's why I propose that we return to the skiff . "
" What ! Already ! " Ned exclaimed .
" We ought to be back before nightfall , " I said .
" But what hour is it , then ? " the Canadian asked .
" Two o'clock at least , " Conseil replied .
" How time flies on solid ground ! " exclaimed Mr. Ned Land with a sigh of regret .
" Off we go ! " Conseil replied .
So we returned through the forest , and we completed our harvest by making a clean sweep of some palm cabbages that had to be picked from the crowns of their trees , some small beans that I recognized as the " abrou " of the Malaysians , and some high - quality yams .
We were overloaded when we arrived at the skiff . However , Ned Land still found these provisions inadequate . But fortune smiled on him . Just as we were boarding , he spotted several trees twenty - five to thirty feet high , belonging to the palm species . As valuable as the artocarpus , these trees are justly ranked among the most useful produce in Malaysia .
They were sago palms , vegetation that grows without being cultivated ; like mulberry trees , they reproduce by means of shoots and seeds .
Ned Land knew how to handle these trees . Taking his ax and wielding it with great vigor , he soon stretched out on the ground two or three sago palms , whose maturity was revealed by the white dust sprinkled over their palm fronds .
I watched him more as a naturalist than as a man in hunger . He began by removing from each trunk an inch - thick strip of bark that covered a network of long , hopelessly tangled fibers that were puttied with a sort of gummy flour . This flour was the starch - like sago , an edible substance chiefly consumed by the Melanesian peoples .
For the time being , Ned Land was content to chop these trunks into pieces , as if he were making firewood ; later he would extract the flour by sifting it through cloth to separate it from its fibrous ligaments , let it dry out in the sun , and leave it to harden inside molds .
Finally , at five o'clock in the afternoon , laden with all our treasures , we left the island beach and half an hour later pulled alongside the Nautilus . Nobody appeared on our arrival . The enormous sheet - iron cylinder seemed deserted . Our provisions loaded on board , I went below to my stateroom . There I found my supper ready . I ate and then fell asleep .
The next day , January 6 : nothing new on board . Not a sound inside , not a sign of life . The skiff stayed alongside in the same place we had left it . We decided to return to Gueboroa Island . Ned Land hoped for better luck in his hunting than on the day before , and he wanted to visit a different part of the forest .
By sunrise we were off . Carried by an inbound current , the longboat reached the island in a matter of moments .
We disembarked , and thinking it best to abide by the Canadian 's instincts , we followed Ned Land , whose long legs threatened to outpace us .
Ned Land went westward up the coast ; then , fording some stream beds , he reached open plains that were bordered by wonderful forests . Some kingfishers lurked along the watercourses , but they didn't let us approach . Their cautious behavior proved to me that these winged creatures knew where they stood on bipeds of our species , and I concluded that if this island was not inhabited , at least human beings paid it frequent visits .
After crossing a pretty lush prairie , we arrived on the outskirts of a small wood , enlivened by the singing and soaring of a large number of birds .
" Still , they are merely birds , " Conseil said .
" But some are edible , " the harpooner replied .
" Wrong , Ned my friend , " Conseil answered , " because I see only ordinary parrots here . "
" Conseil my friend , " Ned replied in all seriousness , " parrots are like pheasant to people with nothing else on their plates . "
" And I might add , " I said , " that when these birds are properly cooked , they are at least worth a stab of the fork . "
Indeed , under the dense foliage of this wood , a whole host of parrots fluttered from branch to branch , needing only the proper upbringing to speak human dialects . At present they were cackling in chorus with parakeets of every color , with solemn cockatoos that seemed to be pondering some philosophical problem , while bright red lories passed by like pieces of bunting borne on the breeze , in the midst of kalao parrots raucously on the wing , Papuan lories painted the subtlest shades of azure , and a whole variety of delightful winged creatures , none terribly edible .
However , one bird unique to these shores , which never passes beyond the boundaries of the Aru and Papuan Islands , was missing from this collection . But I was given a chance to marvel at it soon enough .
After crossing through a moderately dense thicket , we again found some plains obstructed by bushes . There I saw some magnificent birds soaring aloft , the arrangement of their long feathers causing them to head into the wind . Their undulating flight , the grace of their aerial curves , and the play of their colors allured and delighted the eye . I had no trouble identifying them .
" Birds of paradise ! " I exclaimed .
" Order Passeriforma , division Clystomora , " Conseil replied .
" Partridge family ? " Ned Land asked .
" I doubt it , Mr. Land . Nevertheless , I am counting on your dexterity to catch me one of these delightful representatives of tropical nature ! "
" I will give it a try , professor , though I am handier with a harpoon than a rifle . "
Malaysians , who do a booming business in these birds with the Chinese , have various methods for catching them that we could not use . Sometimes they set snares on the tops of the tall trees that the bird of paradise prefers to inhabit . At other times they capture it with a tenacious glue that paralyzes its movements . They will even go so far as to poison the springs where these fowl habitually drink . But in our case , all we could do was fire at them on the wing , which left us little chance of getting one . And in truth , we used up a good part of our ammunition in vain .
Near eleven o'clock in the morning , we cleared the lower slopes of the mountains that form the island 's center , and we still had not bagged a thing . Hunger spurred us on . The hunters had counted on consuming the proceeds of their hunting , and they had miscalculated . Luckily , and much to his surprise , Conseil pulled off a right - and - left shot and insured our breakfast . He brought down a white pigeon and a ringdove , which were briskly plucked , hung from a spit , and roasted over a blazing fire of deadwood . While these fascinating animals were cooking , Ned prepared some bread from the artocarpus . Then the pigeon and ringdove were devoured to the bones and declared excellent . Nutmeg , on which these birds habitually gorge themselves , sweetens their flesh and makes it delicious eating .
" They taste like chicken stuffed with truffles , " Conseil said .
" All right , Ned , " I asked the Canadian , " now what do you need ? "
" Game with four paws , Professor Aronnax , " Ned Land replied . " All these pigeons are only appetizers , snacks . So till I've bagged an animal with cutlets , I will not be happy ! "
" Nor I , Ned , until I've caught a bird of paradise . "
" Then let 's keep hunting , " Conseil replied , " but while heading back to the sea . We've arrived at the foothills of these mountains , and I think we'll do better if we return to the forest regions . "
It was good advice and we took it . After an hour 's walk we reached a genuine sago palm forest . A few harmless snakes fled underfoot . Birds of paradise stole off at our approach , and I was in real despair of catching one when Conseil , walking in the lead , stooped suddenly , gave a triumphant shout , and came back to me , carrying a magnificent bird of paradise .
" Oh bravo , Conseil ! " I exclaimed .
" Master is too kind , " Conseil replied .
" Not at all , my boy . That was a stroke of genius , catching one of these live birds with your bare hands ! "
" If master will examine it closely , he will see that I deserve no great praise . "
" And why not , Conseil ? "
" Because this bird is as drunk as a lord . "
" Drunk ? "
" Yes , master , drunk from the nutmegs it was devouring under that nutmeg tree where I caught it . See , Ned my friend , see the monstrous results of intemperance ! "
" Damnation ! " the Canadian shot back . " Considering the amount of gin I've had these past two months , you've got nothing to complain about ! "
Meanwhile I was examining this unusual bird . Conseil was not mistaken . Tipsy from that potent juice , our bird of paradise had been reduced to helplessness . It was unable to fly . It was barely able to walk . But this did not alarm me , and I just let it sleep off its nutmeg .
This bird belonged to the finest of the eight species credited to Papua and its neighboring islands . It was a " great emerald , " one of the rarest birds of paradise . It measured three decimeters long . Its head was comparatively small , and its eyes , placed near the opening of its beak , were also small . But it offered a wonderful mixture of hues : a yellow beak , brown feet and claws , hazel wings with purple tips , pale yellow head and scruff of the neck , emerald throat , the belly and chest maroon to brown . Two strands , made of a horn substance covered with down , rose over its tail , which was lengthened by long , very light feathers of wonderful fineness , and they completed the costume of this marvelous bird that the islanders have poetically named " the sun bird . "
How I wished I could take this superb bird of paradise back to Paris , to make a gift of it to the zoo at the Botanical Gardens , which does not own a single live specimen .
" So it must be a rarity or something ? " the Canadian asked , in the tone of a hunter who , from the viewpoint of his art , gives the game a pretty low rating .
" A great rarity , my gallant comrade , and above all very hard to capture alive . And even after they are dead , there 's still a major market for these birds . So the natives have figured out how to create fake ones , like people create fake pearls or diamonds . "
" What ! " Conseil exclaimed . " They make counterfeit birds of paradise ? "
" Yes , Conseil . "
" And is master familiar with how the islanders go about it ? "
" Perfectly familiar . During the easterly monsoon season , birds of paradise lose the magnificent feathers around their tails that naturalists call ' below - the - wing ' feathers . These feathers are gathered by the fowl forgers and skillfully fitted onto some poor previously mutilated parakeet . Then they paint over the suture , varnish the bird , and ship the fruits of their unique labors to museums and collectors in Europe . "
" Good enough ! " Ned Land put in . " If it isn't the right bird , it 's still the right feathers , and so long as the merchandise is not meant to be eaten , I see no great harm ! "
But if my desires were fulfilled by the capture of this bird of paradise , those of our Canadian huntsman remained unsatisfied . Luckily , near two o'clock Ned Land brought down a magnificent wild pig of the type the natives call " bari - outang . " This animal came in the nick of time for us to bag some real quadruped meat , and it was warmly welcomed . Ned Land proved himself quite gloriously with his gunshot . Hit by an electric bullet , the pig dropped dead on the spot .
The Canadian properly skinned and cleaned it , after removing half a dozen cutlets destined to serve as the grilled meat course of our evening meal . Then the hunt was on again , and once more would be marked by the exploits of Ned and Conseil .
In essence , beating the bushes , the two friends flushed a herd of kangaroos that fled by bounding away on their elastic paws . But these animals didn't flee so swiftly that our electric capsules could not catch up with them .
" Oh , professor ! " shouted Ned Land , whose hunting fever had gone to his brain . " What excellent game , especially in a stew ! What a supply for the Nautilus ! Two , three , five down ! And just think how we'll devour all this meat ourselves , while those numbskulls on board will not get a shred ! "
In his uncontrollable glee , I think the Canadian might have slaughtered the whole horde , if he had not been so busy talking ! But he was content with a dozen of these fascinating marsupials , which make up the first order of aplacental mammals , as Conseil just had to tell us .
These animals were small in stature . They were a species of those " rabbit kangaroos " that usually dwell in the hollows of trees and are tremendously fast ; but although of moderate dimensions , they at least furnish a meat that 's highly prized .
We were thoroughly satisfied with the results of our hunting . A gleeful Ned proposed that we return the next day to this magic island , which he planned to depopulate of its every edible quadruped . But he was reckoning without events .
By six o'clock in the evening , we were back on the beach . The skiff was aground in its usual place . The Nautilus , looking like a long reef , emerged from the waves two miles offshore .
Without further ado , Ned Land got down to the important business of dinner . He came wonderfully to terms with its entire cooking . Grilling over the coals , those cutlets from the " bari - outang " soon gave off a succulent aroma that perfumed the air .
But I catch myself following in the Canadian 's footsteps . Look at me - - in ecstasy over freshly grilled pork ! Please grant me a pardon as I've already granted one to Mr. Land , and on the same grounds !
In short , dinner was excellent . Two ringdoves rounded out this extraordinary menu . Sago pasta , bread from the artocarpus , mangoes , half a dozen pineapples , and the fermented liquor from certain coconuts heightened our glee . I suspect that my two fine companions were not quite as clearheaded as one could wish .
" What if we do not return to the Nautilus this evening ? " Conseil said .
" What if we never return to it ? " Ned Land added .
Just then a stone whizzed toward us , landed at our feet , and cut short the harpooner 's proposition .
Without standing up , we stared in the direction of the forest , my hand stopping halfway to my mouth , Ned Land 's completing its assignment .
" Stones do not fall from the sky , " Conseil said , " or else they deserve to be called meteorites . "
A second well - polished stone removed a tasty ringdove leg from Conseil 's hand , giving still greater relevance to his observation .
We all three stood up , rifles to our shoulders , ready to answer any attack .
" Apes maybe ? " Ned Land exclaimed .
" Nearly , " Conseil replied . " Savages . "
" Head for the skiff ! " I said , moving toward the sea .
Indeed , it was essential to beat a retreat because some twenty natives , armed with bows and slings , appeared barely a hundred paces off , on the outskirts of a thicket that masked the horizon to our right .
The skiff was aground ten fathoms away from us .
The savages approached without running , but they favored us with a show of the greatest hostility . It was raining stones and arrows .
Ned Land was unwilling to leave his provisions behind , and despite the impending danger , he clutched his pig on one side , his kangaroos on the other , and scampered off with respectable speed .
In two minutes we were on the strand . Loading provisions and weapons into the skiff , pushing it to sea , and positioning its two oars were 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 looked to see if their appearance might draw some of the Nautilus 's men onto the platform . But no. Lying well out , that enormous machine still seemed completely deserted .
Twenty minutes later we boarded ship . The hatches were open . After mooring the skiff , we reentered the Nautilus 's interior .
I went below to the lounge , from which some chords were wafting . Captain Nemo was there , leaning over the organ , deep in a musical trance .
" Captain ! " I said to him .
He did not hear me .
" Captain ! " I went on , touching him with my hand .
He trembled , and turning around : " Ah , it 's you , professor ! " he said to me . " Well , did you have a happy hunt ? Was your herb gathering a success ? "
" Yes , captain , " I replied , " but unfortunately we've brought back a horde of bipeds whose proximity worries me . "
" What sort of bipeds ? "
" Savages . "
" Savages ! " Captain Nemo replied in an ironic tone . " You set foot on one of the shores of this globe , professor , and you are surprised to find savages there ? Where are not there savages ? And besides , are they any worse than men elsewhere , these people you call savages ? "
" But captain - - "
" Speaking for myself , sir , I've encountered them everywhere . "
" Well then , " I replied , " if you do not want to welcome them aboard the Nautilus , you ' d better take some precautions ! "
" Easy , professor , no cause for alarm . "
" But there are a large number of these natives . "
" What 's your count ? "
" At least a hundred . "
" Professor Aronnax , " replied Captain Nemo , whose fingers took their places again on the organ keys , " if every islander in Papua were to gather on that beach , the Nautilus would still have nothing to fear from their attacks ! "
The captain 's fingers then ran over the instrument 's keyboard , and I noticed that he touched only its black keys , which gave his melodies a basically Scottish color . Soon he had forgotten my presence and was lost in a reverie that I no longer tried to dispel .
I climbed onto the platform . Night had already fallen , because in this low latitude the sun sets quickly , without any twilight . I could see Gueboroa Island only dimly . But numerous fires had been kindled on the beach , attesting that the natives had no thoughts of leaving it .
For several hours I was left to myself , sometimes musing on the islanders - - but no longer fearing them because the captain 's unflappable confidence had won me over - - and sometimes forgetting them to marvel at the splendors of this tropical night . My memories took wing toward France , in the wake of those zodiacal stars due to twinkle over it in a few hours . The moon shone in the midst of the constellations at their zenith . I then remembered that this loyal , good - natured satellite would return to this same place the day after tomorrow , to raise the tide and tear the Nautilus from its coral bed . Near midnight , seeing that all was quiet over the darkened waves as well as under the waterside trees , I repaired to my cabin and fell into a peaceful sleep .
The night passed without mishap . No doubt the Papuans had been frightened off by the mere sight of this monster aground in the bay , because our hatches stayed open , offering easy access to the Nautilus 's interior .
At six o'clock in the morning , January 8 , I climbed onto the platform . The morning shadows were lifting . The island was soon on view through the dissolving mists , first its beaches , then its summits .
The islanders were still there , in greater numbers than on the day before , perhaps 500 or 600 of them . Taking advantage of the low tide , some of them had moved forward over the heads of coral to within two cable lengths of the Nautilus . I could easily distinguish them . They obviously were true Papuans , men of fine stock , athletic in build , forehead high and broad , nose large but not flat , teeth white . Their woolly , red - tinted hair was in sharp contrast to their bodies , which were black and glistening like those of Nubians . Beneath their pierced , distended earlobes there dangled strings of beads made from bone . Generally these savages were naked . I noted some women among them , dressed from hip to knee in grass skirts held up by belts made of vegetation . Some of the chieftains adorned their necks with crescents and with necklaces made from beads of red and white glass . Armed with bows , arrows , and shields , nearly all of them carried from their shoulders a sort of net , which held those polished stones their slings hurl with such dexterity .
One of these chieftains came fairly close to the Nautilus , examining it with care . He must have been a " mado " of high rank , because he paraded in a mat of banana leaves that had ragged edges and was accented with bright colors .
I could easily have picked off this islander , he stood at such close range ; but I thought it best to wait for an actual show of hostility . Between Europeans and savages , it 's acceptable for Europeans to shoot back but not to attack first .
During this whole time of low tide , the islanders lurked near the Nautilus , but they were not boisterous . I often heard them repeat the word " assai , " and from their gestures I understood they were inviting me to go ashore , an invitation I felt obliged to decline .
So the skiff didn't leave shipside that day , much to the displeasure of Mr. Land who couldn't complete his provisions . The adroit Canadian spent his time preparing the meat and flour products he had brought from Gueboroa Island . As for the savages , they went back to shore near eleven o'clock in the morning , when the heads of coral began to disappear under the waves of the rising tide . But I saw their numbers swell considerably on the beach . It was likely that they had come from neighboring islands or from the mainland of Papua proper . However , I did not see one local dugout canoe .
Having nothing better to do , I decided to dredge these beautiful , clear waters , which exhibited a profusion of shells , zoophytes , and open - sea plants . Besides , it was the last day the Nautilus would spend in these waterways , if , tomorrow , it still floated off to the open sea as Captain Nemo had promised .
So I summoned Conseil , who brought me a small , light dragnet similar to those used in oyster fishing .
" What about these savages ? " Conseil asked me . " With all due respect to master , they do not strike me as very wicked ! "
" They are cannibals even so , my boy . "
" A person can be both a cannibal and a decent man , " Conseil replied , " just as a person can be both gluttonous and honorable . The one does not exclude the other . "
" Fine , Conseil ! And I agree that there are honorable cannibals who decently devour their prisoners . However , I am opposed to being devoured , even in all decency , so I will keep on my guard , especially since the Nautilus 's commander seems to be taking no precautions . And now let 's get to work ! "
For two hours our fishing proceeded energetically but without bringing up any rarities . Our dragnet was filled with Midas abalone , harp shells , obelisk snails , and especially the finest hammer shells I had seen to that day . We also gathered in a few sea cucumbers , some pearl oysters , and a dozen small turtles that we saved for the ship 's pantry .
But just when I least expected it , I laid my hands on a wonder , a natural deformity I ' d have to call it , something very seldom encountered . Conseil had just made a cast of the dragnet , and his gear had come back up loaded with a variety of fairly ordinary seashells , when suddenly he saw me plunge my arms swiftly into the net , pull out a shelled animal , and give a conchological yell , in other words , the most piercing yell a human throat can produce .
" Eh ? What happened to master ? " Conseil asked , very startled . " Did master get bitten ? "
" No , my boy , but I ' d gladly have sacrificed a finger for such a find ! "
" What find ? "
" This shell , " I said , displaying the subject of my triumph .
" But that 's simply an olive shell of the ' tent olive ' species , genus Oliva , order Pectinibranchia , class Gastropoda , branch Mollusca - - "
" Yes , yes , Conseil ! But instead of coiling from right to left , this olive shell rolls from left to right ! "
" It can not be ! " Conseil exclaimed .
" Yes , my boy , it 's a left - handed shell ! "
" A left - handed shell ! " Conseil repeated , his heart pounding .
" Look at its spiral ! "
" Oh , master can trust me on this , " Conseil said , taking the valuable shell in trembling hands , " but never have I felt such excitement ! "
And there was good reason to be excited ! In fact , as naturalists have ventured to observe , " dextrality " is a well - known law of nature . In their rotational and orbital movements , stars and their satellites go from right to left . Man uses his right hand more often than his left , and consequently his various instruments and equipment ( staircases , locks , watch springs , etc. ) are designed to be used in a right - to - left manner . Now then , nature has generally obeyed this law in coiling her shells . They are right - handed with only rare exceptions , and when by chance a shell 's spiral is left - handed , collectors will pay its weight in gold for it .
So Conseil and I were deep in the contemplation of our treasure , and I was solemnly promising myself to enrich the Paris Museum with it , when an ill - timed stone , hurled by one of the islanders , whizzed over and shattered the valuable object in Conseil 's hands .
I gave a yell of despair ! Conseil pounced on his rifle and aimed at a savage swinging a sling just ten meters away from him . I tried to stop him , but his shot went off and shattered a bracelet of amulets dangling from the islander 's arm .
" Conseil ! " I shouted . " Conseil ! "
" Eh ? What ? Did not master see that this man - eater initiated the attack ? "
" A shell is not worth a human life ! " I told him .
" Oh , the rascal ! " Conseil exclaimed . " I ' d rather he cracked my shoulder ! "
Conseil was in dead earnest , but I didn't subscribe to his views . However , the situation had changed in only a short time and we had not noticed . Now some twenty dugout canoes were surrounding the Nautilus . Hollowed from tree trunks , these dugouts were long , narrow , and well designed for speed , keeping their balance by means of two bamboo poles that floated on the surface of the water . They were maneuvered by skillful , half - naked paddlers , and I viewed their advance with definite alarm .
It was obvious these Papuans had already entered into relations with Europeans and knew their ships . But this long , iron cylinder lying in the bay , with no masts or funnels - - what were they to make of it ? Nothing good , because at first they kept it at a respectful distance . However , seeing that it stayed motionless , they regained confidence little by little and tried to become more familiar with it . Now then , it was precisely this familiarity that we needed to prevent . Since our weapons made no sound when they went off , they would have only a moderate effect on these islanders , who reputedly respect nothing but noisy mechanisms . Without thunderclaps , lightning bolts would be much less frightening , although the danger lies in the flash , not the noise .
Just then the dugout canoes drew nearer to the Nautilus , and a cloud of arrows burst over us .
" Fire and brimstone , it 's hailing ! " Conseil said . " And poisoned hail perhaps ! "
" We've got to alert Captain Nemo , " I said , reentering the hatch .
I went below to the lounge . I found no one there . I ventured a knock at the door opening into the captain 's stateroom .
The word " Enter ! " answered me . I did so and found Captain Nemo busy with calculations in which there was no shortage of X and other algebraic signs .
" Am I disturbing you ? " I said out of politeness .
" Correct , Professor Aronnax , " the captain answered me . " But I imagine you have pressing reasons for looking me up ? "
" Very pressing . Native dugout canoes are surrounding us , and in a few minutes we are sure to be assaulted by several hundred savages . "
" Ah ! " Captain Nemo put in serenely . " They've come in their dugouts ? "
" Yes , sir . "
" Well , sir , closing the hatches should do the trick . "
" Precisely , and that 's what I came to tell you - - "
" Nothing easier , " Captain Nemo said .
And he pressed an electric button , transmitting an order to the crew 's quarters .
" There , sir , all under control ! " he told me after a few moments . " The skiff is in place and the hatches are closed . I don't imagine you are worried that these gentlemen will stave in walls that shells from your frigate could not breach ? "
" No , captain , but one danger still remains . "
" What 's that , sir ? "
" Tomorrow at about this time , we'll need to reopen the hatches to renew the Nautilus 's air . "
" No argument , sir , since our craft breathes in the manner favored by cetaceans . "
" But if these Papuans are occupying the platform at that moment , I do not see how you can prevent them from entering . "
" Then , sir , you assume they will board the ship ? "
" I am certain of it . "
" Well , sir , let them come aboard . I see no reason to prevent them . Deep down they are just poor devils , these Papuans , and I do not want my visit to Gueboroa Island to cost the life of a single one of these unfortunate people ! "
On this note I was about to withdraw ; but Captain Nemo detained me and invited me to take a seat next to him . He questioned me with interest on our excursions ashore and on our hunting , but seemed not to understand the Canadian 's passionate craving for red meat . Then our conversation skimmed various subjects , and without being more forthcoming , Captain Nemo proved more affable .
Among other things , we came to talk of the Nautilus 's circumstances , aground in the same strait where Captain Dumont d'Urville had nearly miscarried . Then , pertinent to this : " He was one of your great seamen , " the captain told me , " one of your shrewdest navigators , that d'Urville ! He was the Frenchman 's Captain Cook . A man wise but unlucky ! Braving the ice banks of the South Pole , the coral of Oceania , the cannibals of the Pacific , only to perish wretchedly in a train wreck ! If that energetic man was able to think about his life in its last seconds , imagine what his final thoughts must have been ! "
As he spoke , Captain Nemo seemed deeply moved , an emotion I felt was to his credit .
Then , chart in hand , we returned to the deeds of the French navigator : his voyages to circumnavigate the globe , his double attempt at the South Pole , which led to his discovery of the Adelie Coast and the Louis - Philippe Peninsula , finally his hydrographic surveys of the chief islands in Oceania .
" What your d'Urville did on the surface of the sea , " Captain Nemo told me , " I've done in the ocean 's interior , but more easily , more completely than he . Constantly tossed about by hurricanes , the Zealous and the new Astrolabe could not compare with the Nautilus , a quiet work room truly at rest in the midst of the waters ! "
" Even so , captain , " I said , " there is one major similarity between Dumont d'Urville 's sloops of war and the Nautilus . "
" What 's that , sir ? "
" Like them , the Nautilus has run aground ! "
" The Nautilus is not aground , sir , " Captain Nemo replied icily . " The Nautilus was built to rest on the ocean floor , and I do not need to undertake the arduous labors , the maneuvers d'Urville had to attempt in order to float off his sloops of war . The Zealous and the new Astrolabe wellnigh perished , but my Nautilus is in no danger . Tomorrow , on the day stated and at the hour stated , the tide will peacefully lift it off , and it will resume its navigating through the seas . "
" Captain , " I said , " I do not doubt - - "
" Tomorrow , " Captain Nemo added , standing up , " tomorrow at 2:40 in the afternoon , the Nautilus will float off and exit the Torres Strait undamaged . "
Pronouncing these words in an extremely sharp tone , Captain Nemo gave me a curt bow . This was my dismissal , and I reentered my stateroom .
There I found Conseil , who wanted to know the upshot of my interview with the captain .
" My boy , " I replied , " when I expressed the belief that these Papuan natives were a threat to his Nautilus , the captain answered me with great irony . So I've just one thing to say to you : have faith in him and sleep in peace . "
" Master has no need for my services ? "
" No , my friend . What 's Ned Land up to ? "
" Begging master 's indulgence , " Conseil replied , " but our friend Ned is concocting a kangaroo pie that will be the eighth wonder ! "
I was left to myself ; I went to bed but slept pretty poorly . I kept hearing noises from the savages , who were stamping on the platform and letting out deafening yells . The night passed in this way , without the crew ever emerging from their usual inertia . They were no more disturbed by the presence of these man - eaters than soldiers in an armored fortress are troubled by ants running over the armor plate .
I got up at six o'clock in the morning . The hatches weren't open . So the air inside had not been renewed ; but the air tanks were kept full for any eventuality and would function appropriately to shoot a few cubic meters of oxygen into the Nautilus 's thin atmosphere .
I worked in my stateroom until noon without seeing Captain Nemo even for an instant . Nobody on board seemed to be making any preparations for departure .
I still waited for a while , then I made my way to the main lounge . Its timepiece marked 2:30 . In ten minutes the tide would reach its maximum elevation , and if Captain Nemo had not made a rash promise , the Nautilus would immediately break free . If not , many months might pass before it could leave its coral bed .
But some preliminary vibrations could soon be felt over the boat 's hull . I heard its plating grind against the limestone roughness of that coral base .
At 2:35 Captain Nemo appeared in the lounge .
" We are about to depart , " he said .
" Ah ! " I put in .
" I've given orders to open the hatches . "
" What about the Papuans ? "
" What about them ? " Captain Nemo replied , with a light shrug of his shoulders .
" Will not they come inside the Nautilus ? "
" How will they manage that ? "
" By jumping down the hatches you are about to open . "
" Professor Aronnax , " Captain Nemo replied serenely , " the Nautilus 's hatches are not to be entered in that fashion even when they are open . "
I gaped at the captain .
" You do not understand ? " he said to me .
" Not in the least . "
" Well , come along and you will see ! "
I headed to the central companionway . There , very puzzled , Ned Land and Conseil watched the crewmen opening the hatches , while a frightful clamor and furious shouts resounded outside .
The hatch lids fell back onto the outer plating . Twenty horrible faces appeared . But when the first islander laid hands on the companionway railing , he was flung backward by some invisible power , lord knows what ! He ran off , howling in terror and wildly prancing around .
Ten of his companions followed him . All ten met the same fate .
Conseil was in ecstasy . Carried away by his violent instincts , Ned Land leaped up the companionway . But as soon as his hands seized the railing , he was thrown backward in his turn .
" Damnation ! " he exclaimed . " I've been struck by a lightning bolt ! "
These words explained everything to me . It was not just a railing that led to the platform , it was a metal cable fully charged with the ship 's electricity . Anyone who touched it got a fearsome shock - - and such a shock would have been fatal if Captain Nemo had thrown the full current from his equipment into this conducting cable ! It could honestly be said that he had stretched between himself and his assailants a network of electricity no one could clear with impunity .
Meanwhile , crazed with terror , the unhinged Papuans beat a retreat . As for us , half laughing , we massaged and comforted poor Ned Land , who was swearing like one possessed .
But just then , lifted off by the tide 's final undulations , the Nautilus left its coral bed at exactly that fortieth minute pinpointed by the captain . Its propeller churned the waves with lazy majesty . Gathering speed little by little , the ship navigated on the surface of the ocean , and safe and sound , it left behind the dangerous narrows of the Torres Strait .
The following day , January 10 , the Nautilus resumed its travels in midwater but at a remarkable speed that I estimated to be at least thirty - five miles per hour . The propeller was going so fast I could neither follow nor count its revolutions .
I thought about how this marvelous electric force not only gave motion , heat , and light to the Nautilus but even protected it against outside attack , transforming it into a sacred ark no profane hand could touch without being blasted ; my wonderment was boundless , and it went from the submersible itself to the engineer who had created it .
We were traveling due west and on January 11 we doubled Cape Wessel , located in longitude 135 degrees and latitude 10 degrees north , the western tip of the Gulf of Carpentaria . Reefs were still numerous but more widely scattered and were fixed on the chart with the greatest accuracy . The Nautilus easily avoided the Money breakers to port and the Victoria reefs to starboard , positioned at longitude 130 degrees on the tenth parallel , which we went along rigorously .
On January 13 , arriving in the Timor Sea , Captain Nemo raised the island of that name at longitude 122 degrees . This island , whose surface area measures 1,625 square leagues , is governed by rajahs . These aristocrats deem themselves the sons of crocodiles , in other words , descendants with the most exalted origins to which a human being can lay claim . Accordingly , their scaly ancestors infest the island 's rivers and are the subjects of special veneration . They are sheltered , nurtured , flattered , pampered , and offered a ritual diet of nubile maidens ; and woe to the foreigner who lifts a finger against these sacred saurians .
But the Nautilus wanted nothing to do with these nasty animals . Timor Island was visible for barely an instant at noon while the chief officer determined his position . I also caught only a glimpse of little Roti Island , part of this same group , whose women have a well - established reputation for beauty in the Malaysian marketplace .
After our position fix , the Nautilus 's latitude bearings were modulated to the southwest . Our prow pointed to the Indian Ocean . Where would Captain Nemo 's fancies take us ? Would he head up to the shores of Asia ? Would he pull nearer to the beaches of Europe ? Unlikely choices for a man who avoided populated areas ! So would he go down south ? Would he double the Cape of Good Hope , then Cape Horn , and push on to the Antarctic pole ? Finally , would he return to the seas of the Pacific , where his Nautilus could navigate freely and easily ? Time would tell .
After cruising along the Cartier , Hibernia , Seringapatam , and Scott reefs , the solid element 's last exertions against the liquid element , we were beyond all sight of shore by January 14. The Nautilus slowed down in an odd manner , and very unpredictable in its ways , it sometimes swam in the midst of the waters , sometimes drifted on their surface .
During this phase of our voyage , Captain Nemo conducted interesting experiments on the different temperatures in various strata of the sea . Under ordinary conditions , such readings are obtained using some pretty complicated instruments whose findings are dubious to say the least , whether they are thermometric sounding lines , whose glass often shatters under the water 's pressure , or those devices based on the varying resistance of metals to electric currents . The results so obtained can not be adequately double - checked . By contrast , Captain Nemo would seek the sea 's temperature by going himself into its depths , and when he placed his thermometer in contact with the various layers of liquid , he found the sought - for degree immediately and with certainty .
And so , by loading up its ballast tanks , or by sinking obliquely with its slanting fins , the Nautilus successively reached depths of 3,000 , 4,000 , 5,000 , 7,000 , 9,000 , and 10,000 meters , and the ultimate conclusion from these experiments was that , in all latitudes , the sea had a permanent temperature of 4.5 degrees centigrade at a depth of 1,000 meters .
I watched these experiments with the most intense fascination . Captain Nemo brought a real passion to them . I often wondered why he took these observations . Were they for the benefit of his fellow man ? It was unlikely , because sooner or later his work would perish with him in some unknown sea ! Unless he intended the results of his experiments for me . But that meant this strange voyage of mine would come to an end , and no such end was in sight .
Be that as it may , Captain Nemo also introduced me to the different data he had obtained on the relative densities of the water in our globe 's chief seas . From this news I derived some personal enlightenment having nothing to do with science .
It happened the morning of January 15. The captain , with whom I was strolling on the platform , asked me if I knew how salt water differs in density from sea to sea . I said no , adding that there was a lack of rigorous scientific observations on this subject .
" I've taken such observations , " he told me , " and I can vouch for their reliability . "
" Fine , " I replied , " but the Nautilus lives in a separate world , and the secrets of its scientists do not make their way ashore . "
" You are right , professor , " he told me after a few moments of silence . " This is a separate world . It 's as alien to the earth as the planets accompanying our globe around the sun , and we'll never become familiar with the work of scientists on Saturn or Jupiter . But since fate has linked our two lives , I can reveal the results of my observations to you . "
" I am all attention , captain . "
" You are aware , professor , that salt water is denser than fresh water , but this density is not uniform . In essence , if I represent the density of fresh water by 1.000 , then I find 1.028 for the waters of the Atlantic , 1.026 for the waters of the Pacific , 1.030 for the waters of the Mediterranean - - "
Aha , I thought , so he ventures into the Mediterranean ?
" - - 1.018 for the waters of the Ionian Sea , and 1.029 for the waters of the Adriatic . "
Assuredly , the Nautilus did not avoid the heavily traveled seas of Europe , and from this insight I concluded that the ship would take us back - - perhaps very soon - - to more civilized shores . I expected Ned Land to greet this news with unfeigned satisfaction .
For several days our work hours were spent in all sorts of experiments , on the degree of salinity in waters of different depths , or on their electric properties , coloration , and transparency , and in every instance Captain Nemo displayed an ingenuity equaled only by his graciousness toward me . Then I saw no more of him for some days and again lived on board in seclusion .
On January 16 the Nautilus seemed to have fallen asleep just a few meters beneath the surface of the water . Its electric equipment had been turned off , and the motionless propeller let it ride with the waves . I assumed that the crew were busy with interior repairs , required by the engine 's strenuous mechanical action .
My companions and I then witnessed an unusual sight . The panels in the lounge were open , and since the Nautilus 's beacon was off , a hazy darkness reigned in the midst of the waters . Covered with heavy clouds , the stormy sky gave only the faintest light to the ocean 's upper strata .
I was observing the state of the sea under these conditions , and even the largest fish were nothing more than ill - defined shadows , when the Nautilus was suddenly transferred into broad daylight . At first I thought the beacon had gone back on and was casting its electric light into the liquid mass . I was mistaken , and after a hasty examination I discovered my error .
The Nautilus had drifted into the midst of some phosphorescent strata , which , in this darkness , came off as positively dazzling . This effect was caused by myriads of tiny , luminous animals whose brightness increased when they glided over the metal hull of our submersible . In the midst of these luminous sheets of water , I then glimpsed flashes of light , like those seen inside a blazing furnace from streams of molten lead or from masses of metal brought to a white heat - - flashes so intense that certain areas of the light became shadows by comparison , in a fiery setting from which every shadow should seemingly have been banished . No , this was no longer the calm emission of our usual lighting ! This light throbbed with unprecedented vigor and activity ! You sensed that it was alive !
In essence , it was a cluster of countless open - sea infusoria , of noctiluca an eighth of an inch wide , actual globules of transparent jelly equipped with a threadlike tentacle , up to 25,000 of which have been counted in thirty cubic centimeters of water . And the power of their light was increased by those glimmers unique to medusas , starfish , common jellyfish , angel - wing clams , and other phosphorescent zoophytes , which were saturated with grease from organic matter decomposed by the sea , and perhaps with mucus secreted by fish .
For several hours the Nautilus drifted in this brilliant tide , and our wonderment grew when we saw huge marine animals cavorting in it , like the fire - dwelling salamanders of myth . In the midst of these flames that did not burn , I could see swift , elegant porpoises , the tireless pranksters of the seas , and sailfish three meters long , those shrewd heralds of hurricanes , whose fearsome broadswords sometimes banged against the lounge window . Then smaller fish appeared : miscellaneous triggerfish , leather jacks , unicornfish , and a hundred others that left stripes on this luminous atmosphere in their course .
Some magic lay behind this dazzling sight ! Perhaps some atmospheric condition had intensified this phenomenon ? Perhaps a storm had been unleashed on the surface of the waves ? But only a few meters down , the Nautilus felt no tempest 's fury , and the ship rocked peacefully in the midst of the calm waters .
And so it went , some new wonder constantly delighting us . Conseil observed and classified his zoophytes , articulates , mollusks , and fish . The days passed quickly , and I no longer kept track of them . Ned , as usual , kept looking for changes of pace from our standard fare . Like actual snails , we were at home in our shell , and I can vouch that it 's easy to turn into a full - fledged snail .
So this way of living began to seem simple and natural to us , and we no longer envisioned a different lifestyle on the surface of the planet earth , when something happened to remind us of our strange circumstances .
On January 18 the Nautilus lay in longitude 105 degrees and latitude 15 degrees south . The weather was threatening , the sea rough and billowy . The wind was blowing a strong gust from the east . The barometer , which had been falling for some days , forecast an approaching struggle of the elements .
I had climbed onto the platform just as the chief officer was taking his readings of hour angles . Out of habit I waited for him to pronounce his daily phrase . But that day it was replaced by a different phrase , just as incomprehensible . Almost at once I saw Captain Nemo appear , lift his spyglass , and inspect the horizon .
For some minutes the captain stood motionless , rooted to the spot contained within the field of his lens . Then he lowered his spyglass and exchanged about ten words with his chief officer . The latter seemed to be in the grip of an excitement he tried in vain to control . More in command of himself , Captain Nemo remained cool . Furthermore , he seemed to be raising certain objections that his chief officer kept answering with flat assurances . At least that 's what I gathered from their differences in tone and gesture .
As for me , I stared industriously in the direction under observation but without spotting a thing . Sky and water merged into a perfectly clean horizon line .
Meanwhile Captain Nemo strolled from one end of the platform to the other , not glancing at me , perhaps not even seeing me . His step was firm but less regular than usual . Sometimes he would stop , cross his arms over his chest , and observe the sea . What could he be looking for over that immense expanse ? By then the Nautilus lay hundreds of miles from the nearest coast !
The chief officer kept lifting his spyglass and stubbornly examining the horizon , walking up and down , stamping his foot , in his nervous agitation a sharp contrast to his superior .
But this mystery would inevitably be cleared up , and soon , because Captain Nemo gave orders to increase speed ; at once the engine stepped up its drive power , setting the propeller in swifter rotation .
Just then the chief officer drew the captain 's attention anew . The latter interrupted his strolling and aimed his spyglass at the point indicated . He observed it a good while . As for me , deeply puzzled , I went below to the lounge and brought back an excellent long - range telescope I habitually used . Leaning my elbows on the beacon housing , which jutted from the stern of the platform , I got set to scour that whole stretch of sky and sea .
But no sooner had I peered into the eyepiece than the instrument was snatched from my hands .
I spun around . Captain Nemo was standing before me , but I almost didn't recognize him . His facial features were transfigured . Gleaming with dark fire , his eyes had shrunk beneath his frowning brow . His teeth were half bared . His rigid body , clenched fists , and head drawn between his shoulders , all attested to a fierce hate breathing from every pore . He did not move . My spyglass fell from his hand and rolled at his feet .
Had I accidentally caused these symptoms of anger ? Did this incomprehensible individual think I had detected some secret forbidden to guests on the Nautilus ?
No ! I wasn't the subject of his hate because he was not even looking at me ; his eyes stayed stubbornly focused on that inscrutable point of the horizon .
Finally Captain Nemo regained his self - control . His facial appearance , so profoundly changed , now resumed its usual calm . He addressed a few words to his chief officer in their strange language , then he turned to me : " Professor Aronnax , " he told me in a tone of some urgency , " I ask that you now honor one of the binding agreements between us . "
" Which one , captain ? "
" You and your companions must be placed in confinement until I see fit to set you free . "
" You are in command , " I answered , gaping at him . " But may I address a question to you ? "
" You may not , sir . "
After that , I stopped objecting and started obeying , since resistance was useless .
I went below to the cabin occupied by Ned Land and Conseil , and I informed them of the captain 's decision . I will let the reader decide how this news was received by the Canadian . In any case , there was no time for explanations . Four crewmen were waiting at the door , and they led us to the cell where we had spent our first night aboard the Nautilus .
Ned Land tried to lodge a complaint , but the only answer he got was a door shut in his face .
" Will master tell me what this means ? " Conseil asked me .
I told my companions what had happened . They were as astonished as I was , but no wiser .
Then I sank into deep speculation , and Captain Nemo 's strange facial seizure kept haunting me . I was incapable of connecting two ideas in logical order , and I had strayed into the most absurd hypotheses , when I was snapped out of my mental struggles by these words from Ned Land : " Well , look here ! Lunch is served ! "
Indeed , the table had been laid . Apparently Captain Nemo had given this order at the same time he commanded the Nautilus to pick up speed .
" Will master allow me to make him a recommendation ? " Conseil asked me .
" Yes , my boy , " I replied .
" Well , master needs to eat his lunch ! It 's prudent , because we have no idea what the future holds . "
" You are right , Conseil . "
" Unfortunately , " Ned Land said , " they've only given us the standard menu . "
" Ned my friend , " Conseil answered , " what would you say if they ' d given us no lunch at all ? "
This dose of sanity cut the harpooner 's complaints clean off .
We sat down at the table . Our meal proceeded pretty much in silence . I ate very little . Conseil , everlastingly prudent , " force - fed " himself ; and despite the menu , Ned Land did not waste a bite . Then , lunch over , each of us propped himself in a corner .
Just then the luminous globe lighting our cell went out , leaving us in profound darkness . Ned Land soon dozed off , and to my astonishment , Conseil also fell into a heavy slumber . I was wondering what could have caused this urgent need for sleep , when I felt a dense torpor saturate my brain . I tried to keep my eyes open , but they closed in spite of me . I was in the grip of anguished hallucinations . Obviously some sleep - inducing substance had been laced into the food we ' d just eaten ! So imprisonment was not enough to conceal Captain Nemo 's plans from us - - sleep was needed as well !
Then I heard the hatches close . The sea 's undulations , which had been creating a gentle rocking motion , now ceased . Had the Nautilus left the surface of the ocean ? Was it reentering the motionless strata deep in the sea ?
I tried to fight off this drowsiness . It was impossible . My breathing grew weaker . I felt a mortal chill freeze my dull , nearly paralyzed limbs . Like little domes of lead , my lids fell over my eyes . I could not raise them . A morbid sleep , full of hallucinations , seized my whole being . Then the visions disappeared and left me in utter oblivion .
The next day I woke up with my head unusually clear . Much to my surprise , I was in my stateroom . No doubt my companions had been put back in their cabin without noticing it any more than I had . Like me , they would have no idea what took place during the night , and to unravel this mystery I could count only on some future happenstance .
I then considered leaving my stateroom . Was I free or still a prisoner ? Perfectly free . I opened my door , headed down the gangways , and climbed the central companionway . Hatches that had been closed the day before were now open . I arrived on the platform .
Ned Land and Conseil were there waiting for me . I questioned them . They knew nothing . Lost in a heavy sleep of which they had no memory , they were quite startled to be back in their cabin .
As for the Nautilus , it seemed as tranquil and mysterious as ever . It was cruising on the surface of the waves at a moderate speed . Nothing seemed to have changed on board .
Ned Land observed the sea with his penetrating eyes . It was deserted . The Canadian sighted nothing new on the horizon , neither sail nor shore . A breeze was blowing noisily from the west , and disheveled by the wind , long billows made the submersible roll very noticeably .
After renewing its air , the Nautilus stayed at an average depth of fifteen meters , enabling it to return quickly to the surface of the waves . And , contrary to custom , it executed such a maneuver several times during that day of January 19 . The chief officer would then climb onto the platform , and his usual phrase would ring through the ship 's interior .
As for Captain Nemo , he did not appear . Of the other men on board , I saw only my emotionless steward , who served me with his usual mute efficiency .
Near two o'clock I was busy organizing my notes in the lounge , when the captain opened the door and appeared . I bowed to him . He gave me an almost imperceptible bow in return , without saying a word to me . I resumed my work , hoping he might give me some explanation of the previous afternoon 's events . He did nothing of the sort . I stared at him . His face looked exhausted ; his reddened eyes had not been refreshed by sleep ; his facial features expressed profound sadness , real chagrin . He walked up and down , sat and stood , picked up a book at random , discarded it immediately , consulted his instruments without taking his customary notes , and seemed unable to rest easy for an instant .
Finally he came over to me and said : " Are you a physician , Professor Aronnax ? "
This inquiry was so unexpected that I stared at him a good while without replying .
" Are you a physician ? " he repeated . " Several of your scientific colleagues took their degrees in medicine , such as Gratiolet , Moquin - Tandon , and others . "
" That 's right , " I said , " I am a doctor , I used to be on call at the hospitals . I was in practice for several years before joining the museum . "
" Excellent , sir . "
My reply obviously pleased Captain Nemo . But not knowing what he was driving at , I waited for further questions , ready to reply as circumstances dictated .
" Professor Aronnax , " the captain said to me , " would you consent to give your medical attentions to one of my men ? "
" Someone is sick ? "
" Yes . "
" I am ready to go with you . "
" Come . "
I admit that my heart was pounding . Lord knows why , but I saw a definite connection between this sick crewman and yesterday 's happenings , and the mystery of those events concerned me at least as much as the man 's sickness .
Captain Nemo led me to the Nautilus 's stern and invited me into a cabin located next to the sailors ' quarters .
On a bed there lay a man some forty years old , with strongly molded features , the very image of an Anglo - Saxon .
I bent over him . Not only was he sick , he was wounded . Swathed in blood - soaked linen , his head was resting on a folded pillow . I undid the linen bandages , while the wounded man gazed with great staring eyes and let me proceed without making a single complaint .
It was a horrible wound . The cranium had been smashed open by some blunt instrument , leaving the naked brains exposed , and the cerebral matter had suffered deep abrasions . Blood clots had formed in this dissolving mass , taking on the color of wine dregs . Both contusion and concussion of the brain had occurred . The sick man 's breathing was labored , and muscle spasms quivered in his face . Cerebral inflammation was complete and had brought on a paralysis of movement and sensation .
I took the wounded man 's pulse . It was intermittent . The body 's extremities were already growing cold , and I saw that death was approaching without any possibility of my holding it in check . After dressing the poor man 's wound , I redid the linen bandages around his head , and I turned to Captain Nemo .
" How did he get this wound ? " I asked him .
" That 's not important , " the captain replied evasively . " The Nautilus suffered a collision that cracked one of the engine levers , and it struck this man . My chief officer was standing beside him . This man leaped forward to intercept the blow . A brother lays down his life for his brother , a friend for his friend , what could be simpler ? That 's the law for everyone on board the Nautilus . But what 's your diagnosis of his condition ? "
I hesitated to speak my mind .
" You may talk freely , " the captain told me . " This man does not understand French . "
I took a last look at the wounded man , then I replied : " This man will be dead in two hours . "
" Nothing can save him ? "
" Nothing . "
Captain Nemo clenched his fists , and tears slid from his eyes , which I had thought incapable of weeping .
For a few moments more I observed the dying man , whose life was ebbing little by little . He grew still more pale under the electric light that bathed his deathbed . I looked at his intelligent head , furrowed with premature wrinkles that misfortune , perhaps misery , had etched long before . I was hoping to detect the secret of his life in the last words that might escape from his lips !
" You may go , Professor Aronnax , " Captain Nemo told me .
I left the captain in the dying man 's cabin and I repaired to my stateroom , very moved by this scene . All day long I was aquiver with gruesome forebodings . That night I slept poorly , and between my fitful dreams , I thought I heard a distant moaning , like a funeral dirge . Was it a prayer for the dead , murmured in that language I could not understand ?
The next morning I climbed on deck . Captain Nemo was already there . As soon as he saw me , he came over .
" Professor , " he said to me , " would it be convenient for you to make an underwater excursion today ? "
" With my companions ? " I asked .
" If they are agreeable . "
" We are yours to command , captain . "
" Then kindly put on your diving suits . "
As for the dead or dying man , he had not come into the picture . I rejoined Ned Land and Conseil . I informed them of Captain Nemo 's proposition . Conseil was eager to accept , and this time the Canadian proved perfectly amenable to going with us .
It was eight o'clock in the morning . By 8:30 we were suited up for this new stroll and equipped with our two devices for lighting and breathing . The double door opened , and accompanied by Captain Nemo with a dozen crewmen following , we set foot on the firm seafloor where the Nautilus was resting , ten meters down .
A gentle slope gravitated to an uneven bottom whose depth was about fifteen fathoms . This bottom was completely different from the one I had visited during my first excursion under the waters of the Pacific Ocean . Here I saw no fine - grained sand , no underwater prairies , not one open - sea forest . I immediately recognized the wondrous region in which Captain Nemo did the honors that day . It was the coral realm .
In the zoophyte branch , class Alcyonaria , one finds the order Gorgonaria , which contains three groups : sea fans , isidian polyps , and coral polyps . It 's in this last that precious coral belongs , an unusual substance that , at different times , has been classified in the mineral , vegetable , and animal kingdoms . Medicine to the ancients , jewelry to the moderns , it was not decisively placed in the animal kingdom until 1694 , by Peysonnel of Marseilles .
A coral is a unit of tiny animals assembled over a polypary that 's brittle and stony in nature . These polyps have a unique generating mechanism that reproduces them via the budding process , and they have an individual existence while also participating in a communal life . Hence they embody a sort of natural socialism . I was familiar with the latest research on this bizarre zoophyte - - which turns to stone while taking on a tree form , as some naturalists have very aptly observed - - and nothing could have been more fascinating to me than to visit one of these petrified forests that nature has planted on the bottom of the sea .
We turned on our Ruhmkorff devices and went along a coral shoal in the process of forming , which , given time , will someday close off this whole part of the Indian Ocean . Our path was bordered by hopelessly tangled bushes , formed from snarls of shrubs all covered with little star - shaped , white - streaked flowers . Only , contrary to plants on shore , these tree forms become attached to rocks on the seafloor by heading from top to bottom .
Our lights produced a thousand delightful effects while playing over these brightly colored boughs . I fancied I saw these cylindrical , membrane - filled tubes trembling beneath the water 's undulations . I was tempted to gather their fresh petals , which were adorned with delicate tentacles , some newly in bloom , others barely opened , while nimble fish with fluttering fins brushed past them like flocks of birds . But if my hands came near the moving flowers of these sensitive , lively creatures , an alarm would instantly sound throughout the colony . The white petals retracted into their red sheaths , the flowers vanished before my eyes , and the bush changed into a chunk of stony nipples .
Sheer chance had placed me in the presence of the most valuable specimens of this zoophyte . This coral was the equal of those fished up from the Mediterranean off the Barbary Coast or the shores of France and Italy . With its bright colors , it lived up to those poetic names of blood flower and blood foam that the industry confers on its finest exhibits . Coral sells for as much as 500 francs per kilogram , and in this locality the liquid strata hid enough to make the fortunes of a whole host of coral fishermen . This valuable substance often merges with other polyparies , forming compact , hopelessly tangled units known as " macciota , " and I noted some wonderful pink samples of this coral .
But as the bushes shrank , the tree forms magnified . Actual petrified thickets and long alcoves from some fantastic school of architecture kept opening up before our steps . Captain Nemo entered beneath a dark gallery whose gentle slope took us to a depth of 100 meters . The light from our glass coils produced magical effects at times , lingering on the wrinkled roughness of some natural arch , or some overhang suspended like a chandelier , which our lamps flecked with fiery sparks . Amid these shrubs of precious coral , I observed other polyps no less unusual : melita coral , rainbow coral with jointed outgrowths , then a few tufts of genus Corallina , some green and others red , actually a type of seaweed encrusted with limestone salts , which , after long disputes , naturalists have finally placed in the vegetable kingdom . But as one intellectual has remarked , " Here , perhaps , is the actual point where life rises humbly out of slumbering stone , but without breaking away from its crude starting point . "
Finally , after two hours of walking , we reached a depth of about 300 meters , in other words , the lowermost limit at which coral can begin to form . But here it was no longer some isolated bush or a modest grove of low timber . It was an immense forest , huge mineral vegetation , enormous petrified trees linked by garlands of elegant hydras from the genus Plumularia , those tropical creepers of the sea , all decked out in shades and gleams . We passed freely under their lofty boughs , lost up in the shadows of the waves , while at our feet organ - pipe coral , stony coral , star coral , fungus coral , and sea anemone from the genus Caryophylia formed a carpet of flowers all strewn with dazzling gems .
What an indescribable sight ! Oh , if only we could share our feelings ! Why were we imprisoned behind these masks of metal and glass ! Why were we forbidden to talk with each other ! At least let us lead the lives of the fish that populate this liquid element , or better yet , the lives of amphibians , which can spend long hours either at sea or on shore , traveling through their double domain as their whims dictate !
Meanwhile Captain Nemo had called a halt . My companions and I stopped walking , and turning around , I saw the crewmen form a semicircle around their leader . Looking with greater care , I observed that four of them were carrying on their shoulders an object that was oblong in shape .
At this locality we stood in the center of a huge clearing surrounded by the tall tree forms of this underwater forest . Our lamps cast a sort of brilliant twilight over the area , making inordinately long shadows on the seafloor . Past the boundaries of the clearing , the darkness deepened again , relieved only by little sparkles given off by the sharp crests of coral .
Ned Land and Conseil stood next to me . We stared , and it dawned on me that I was about to witness a strange scene . Observing the seafloor , I saw that it swelled at certain points from low bulges that were encrusted with limestone deposits and arranged with a symmetry that betrayed the hand of man .
In the middle of the clearing , on a pedestal of roughly piled rocks , there stood a cross of coral , extending long arms you would have thought were made of petrified blood .
At a signal from Captain Nemo , one of his men stepped forward and , a few feet from this cross , detached a mattock from his belt and began to dig a hole .
I finally understood ! This clearing was a cemetery , this hole a grave , that oblong object the body of the man who must have died during the night ! Captain Nemo and his men had come to bury their companion in this communal resting place on the inaccessible ocean floor !
No ! My mind was reeling as never before ! Never had ideas of such impact raced through my brain ! I did not want to see what my eyes saw !
Meanwhile the grave digging went slowly . Fish fled here and there as their retreat was disturbed . I heard the pick ringing on the limestone soil , its iron tip sometimes giving off sparks when it hit a stray piece of flint on the sea bottom . The hole grew longer , wider , and soon was deep enough to receive the body .
Then the pallbearers approached . Wrapped in white fabric made from filaments of the fan mussel , the body was lowered into its watery grave . Captain Nemo , arms crossed over his chest , knelt in a posture of prayer , as did all the friends of him who had loved them .... My two companions and I bowed reverently .
The grave was then covered over with the rubble dug from the seafloor , and it formed a low mound .
When this was done , Captain Nemo and his men stood up ; then they all approached the grave , sank again on bended knee , and extended their hands in a sign of final farewell ....
Then the funeral party went back up the path to the Nautilus , returning beneath the arches of the forest , through the thickets , along the coral bushes , going steadily higher .
Finally the ship 's rays appeared . Their luminous trail guided us to the Nautilus . By one o'clock we had returned .
After changing clothes , I climbed onto the platform , and in the grip of dreadfully obsessive thoughts , I sat next to the beacon .
Captain Nemo rejoined me . I stood up and said to him : " So , as I predicted , that man died during the night ? "
" Yes , Professor Aronnax , " Captain Nemo replied .
" And now he rests beside his companions in that coral cemetery ? "
" Yes , forgotten by the world but not by us ! We dig the graves , then entrust the polyps with sealing away our dead for eternity ! "
And with a sudden gesture , the captain hid his face in his clenched fists , vainly trying to hold back a sob . Then he added : " There lies our peaceful cemetery , hundreds of feet beneath the surface of the waves ! "
" At least , captain , your dead can sleep serenely there , out of the reach of sharks ! "
" Yes , sir , " Captain Nemo replied solemnly , " of sharks and men ! "
Now we begin the second part of this voyage under the seas . The first ended in that moving scene at the coral cemetery , which left a profound impression on my mind . And so Captain Nemo would live out his life entirely in the heart of this immense sea , and even his grave lay ready in its impenetrable depths . There the last sleep of the Nautilus 's occupants , friends bound together in death as in life , would be disturbed by no monster of the deep ! " No man either ! " the captain had added .
Always that same fierce , implacable defiance of human society !
As for me , I was no longer content with the hypotheses that satisfied Conseil . That fine lad persisted in seeing the Nautilus 's commander as merely one of those unappreciated scientists who repay humanity 's indifference with contempt . For Conseil , the captain was still a misunderstood genius who , tired of the world 's deceptions , had been driven to take refuge in this inaccessible environment where he was free to follow his instincts . But to my mind , this hypothesis explained only one side of Captain Nemo .
In fact , the mystery of that last afternoon when we were locked in prison and put to sleep , the captain 's violent precaution of snatching from my grasp a spyglass poised to scour the horizon , and the fatal wound given that man during some unexplained collision suffered by the Nautilus , all led me down a plain trail . No ! Captain Nemo was not content simply to avoid humanity ! His fearsome submersible served not only his quest for freedom , but also , perhaps , it was used in lord - knows - what schemes of dreadful revenge .
Right now , nothing is clear to me , I still glimpse only glimmers in the dark , and I must limit my pen , as it were , to taking dictation from events .
But nothing binds us to Captain Nemo . He believes that escaping from the Nautilus is impossible . We are not even constrained by our word of honor . No promises fetter us . We are simply captives , prisoners masquerading under the name " guests " for the sake of everyday courtesy . Even so , Ned Land has not given up all hope of recovering his freedom . He is sure to take advantage of the first chance that comes his way . No doubt I will do likewise . And yet I will feel some regret at making off with the Nautilus 's secrets , so generously unveiled for us by Captain Nemo ! Because , ultimately , should we detest or admire this man ? Is he the persecutor or the persecuted ? And in all honesty , before I leave him forever , I want to finish this underwater tour of the world , whose first stages have been so magnificent . I want to observe the full series of these wonders gathered under the seas of our globe . I want to see what no man has seen yet , even if I must pay for this insatiable curiosity with my life ! What are my discoveries to date ? Nothing , relatively speaking - - since so far we've covered only 6,000 leagues across the Pacific !
Nevertheless , I am well aware that the Nautilus is drawing near to populated shores , and if some chance for salvation becomes available to us , it would be sheer cruelty to sacrifice my companions to my passion for the unknown . I must go with them , perhaps even guide them . But will this opportunity ever arise ? The human being , robbed of his free will , craves such an opportunity ; but the scientist , forever inquisitive , dreads it .
That day , January 21 , 1868 , the chief officer went at noon to take the sun 's altitude . I climbed onto the platform , lit a cigar , and watched him at work . It seemed obvious to me that this man did not understand French , because I made several remarks in a loud voice that were bound to provoke him to some involuntary show of interest had he understood them ; but he remained mute and emotionless .
While he took his sights with his sextant , one of the Nautilus 's sailors - - that muscular man who had gone with us to Crespo Island during our first underwater excursion - - came up to clean the glass panes of the beacon . I then examined the fittings of this mechanism , whose power was increased a hundredfold by biconvex lenses that were designed like those in a lighthouse and kept its rays productively focused . This electric lamp was so constructed as to yield its maximum illuminating power . In essence , its light was generated in a vacuum , insuring both its steadiness and intensity . Such a vacuum also reduced wear on the graphite points between which the luminous arc expanded . This was an important savings for Captain Nemo , who could not easily renew them . But under these conditions , wear and tear were almost nonexistent .
When the Nautilus was ready to resume its underwater travels , I went below again to the lounge . The hatches closed once more , and our course was set due west .
We then plowed the waves of the Indian Ocean , vast liquid plains with an area of 550,000,000 hectares , whose waters are so transparent it makes you dizzy to lean over their surface . There the Nautilus generally drifted at a depth between 100 and 200 meters . It behaved in this way for some days . To anyone without my grand passion for the sea , these hours would surely have seemed long and monotonous ; but my daily strolls on the platform where I was revived by the life - giving ocean air , the sights in the rich waters beyond the lounge windows , the books to be read in the library , and the composition of my memoirs , took up all my time and left me without a moment of weariness or boredom .
All in all , we enjoyed a highly satisfactory state of health . The diet on board agreed with us perfectly , and for my part , I could easily have gone without those changes of pace that Ned Land , in a spirit of protest , kept taxing his ingenuity to supply us . What 's more , in this constant temperature we did not even have to worry about catching colds . Besides , the ship had a good stock of the madrepore Dendrophylia , known in Provence by the name sea fennel , and a poultice made from the dissolved flesh of its polyps will furnish an excellent cough medicine .
For some days we saw a large number of aquatic birds with webbed feet , known as gulls or sea mews . Some were skillfully slain , and when cooked in a certain fashion , they make a very acceptable platter of water game . Among the great wind riders - - carried over long distances from every shore and resting on the waves from their exhausting flights - - I spotted some magnificent albatross , birds belonging to the Longipennes ( long - winged ) family , whose discordant calls sound like the braying of an ass . The Totipalmes ( fully webbed ) family was represented by swift frigate birds , nimbly catching fish at the surface , and by numerous tropic birds of the genus Phaeton , among others the red - tailed tropic bird , the size of a pigeon , its white plumage shaded with pink tints that contrasted with its dark - hued wings .
The Nautilus 's nets hauled up several types of sea turtle from the hawksbill genus with arching backs whose scales are highly prized . Diving easily , these reptiles can remain a good while underwater by closing the fleshy valves located at the external openings of their nasal passages . When they were captured , some hawksbills were still asleep inside their carapaces , a refuge from other marine animals . The flesh of these turtles was nothing memorable , but their eggs made an excellent feast .
As for fish , they always filled us with wonderment when , staring through the open panels , we could unveil the secrets of their aquatic lives . I noted several species I had not previously been able to observe .
I will mention chiefly some trunkfish unique to the Red Sea , the sea of the East Indies , and that part of the ocean washing the coasts of equinoctial America . Like turtles , armadillos , sea urchins , and crustaceans , these fish are protected by armor plate that 's neither chalky nor stony but actual bone . Sometimes this armor takes the shape of a solid triangle , sometimes that of a solid quadrangle . Among the triangular type , I noticed some half a decimeter long , with brown tails , yellow fins , and wholesome , exquisitely tasty flesh ; I even recommend that they be acclimatized to fresh water , a change , incidentally , that a number of saltwater fish can make with ease . I will also mention some quadrangular trunkfish topped by four large protuberances along the back ; trunkfish sprinkled with white spots on the underside of the body , which make good house pets like certain birds ; boxfish armed with stings formed by extensions of their bony crusts , and whose odd grunting has earned them the nickname " sea pigs " ; then some trunkfish known as dromedaries , with tough , leathery flesh and big conical humps .
From the daily notes kept by Mr. Conseil , I also retrieve certain fish from the genus Tetradon unique to these seas : southern puffers with red backs and white chests distinguished by three lengthwise rows of filaments , and jugfish , seven inches long , decked out in the brightest colors . Then , as specimens of other genera , blowfish resembling a dark brown egg , furrowed with white bands , and lacking tails ; globefish , genuine porcupines of the sea , armed with stings and able to inflate themselves until they look like a pin cushion bristling with needles ; seahorses common to every ocean ; flying dragonfish with long snouts and highly distended pectoral fins shaped like wings , which enable them , if not to fly , at least to spring into the air ; spatula - shaped paddlefish whose tails are covered with many scaly rings ; snipefish with long jaws , excellent animals twenty - five centimeters long and gleaming with the most cheerful colors ; bluish gray dragonets with wrinkled heads ; myriads of leaping blennies with black stripes and long pectoral fins , gliding over the surface of the water with prodigious speed ; delicious sailfish that can hoist their fins in a favorable current like so many unfurled sails ; splendid nurseryfish on which nature has lavished yellow , azure , silver , and gold ; yellow mackerel with wings made of filaments ; bullheads forever spattered with mud , which make distinct hissing sounds ; sea robins whose livers are thought to be poisonous ; ladyfish that can flutter their eyelids ; finally , archerfish with long , tubular snouts , real oceangoing flycatchers , armed with a rifle unforeseen by either Remington or Chassepot : it slays insects by shooting them with a simple drop of water .
From the eighty - ninth fish genus in Lacepede 's system of classification , belonging to his second subclass of bony fish ( characterized by gill covers and a bronchial membrane ) , I noted some scorpionfish whose heads are adorned with stings and which have only one dorsal fin ; these animals are covered with small scales , or have none at all , depending on the subgenus to which they belong . The second subgenus gave us some Didactylus specimens three to four decimeters long , streaked with yellow , their heads having a phantasmagoric appearance . As for the first subgenus , it furnished several specimens of that bizarre fish aptly nicknamed " toadfish , " whose big head is sometimes gouged with deep cavities , sometimes swollen with protuberances ; bristling with stings and strewn with nodules , it sports hideously irregular horns ; its body and tail are adorned with callosities ; its stings can inflict dangerous injuries ; it 's repulsive and horrible .
From January 21 to the 23 rd , the Nautilus traveled at the rate of 250 leagues in twenty - four hours , hence 540 miles at twenty - two miles per hour . If , during our trip , we were able to identify these different varieties of fish , it 's because they were attracted by our electric light and tried to follow alongside ; but most of them were outdistanced by our speed and soon fell behind ; temporarily , however , a few managed to keep pace in the Nautilus 's waters .
On the morning of the 24 th , in latitude 12 degrees 5 ' south and longitude 94 degrees 33 ' , we raised Keeling Island , a madreporic upheaving planted with magnificent coconut trees , which had been visited by Mr. Darwin and Captain Fitzroy . The Nautilus cruised along a short distance off the shore of this desert island . Our dragnets brought up many specimens of polyps and echinoderms plus some unusual shells from the branch Mollusca . Captain Nemo 's treasures were enhanced by some valuable exhibits from the delphinula snail species , to which I joined some pointed star coral , a sort of parasitic polypary that often attaches itself to seashells .
Soon Keeling Island disappeared below the horizon , and our course was set to the northwest , toward the tip of the Indian peninsula .
" Civilization ! " Ned Land told me that day . " Much better than those Papuan Islands where we ran into more savages than venison ! On this Indian shore , professor , there are roads and railways , English , French , and Hindu villages . We wouldn't go five miles without bumping into a fellow countryman . Come on now , is not it time for our sudden departure from Captain Nemo ? "
" No , no , Ned , " I replied in a very firm tone . " Let 's ride it out , as you seafaring fellows say . The Nautilus is approaching populated areas . It 's going back toward Europe , let it take us there . After we arrive in home waters , we can do as we see fit . Besides , I do not imagine Captain Nemo will let us go hunting on the coasts of Malabar or Coromandel as he did in the forests of New Guinea . "
" Well , sir , can not we manage without his permission ? "
I did not answer the Canadian . I wanted no arguments . Deep down , I was determined to fully exploit the good fortune that had put me on board the Nautilus .
After leaving Keeling Island , our pace got generally slower . It also got more unpredictable , often taking us to great depths . Several times we used our slanting fins , which internal levers could set at an oblique angle to our waterline . Thus we went as deep as two or three kilometers down but without ever verifying the lowest depths of this sea near India , which soundings of 13,000 meters have been unable to reach . As for the temperature in these lower strata , the thermometer always and invariably indicated 4 degrees centigrade . I merely observed that in the upper layers , the water was always colder over shallows than in the open sea .
On January 25 , the ocean being completely deserted , the Nautilus spent the day on the surface , churning the waves with its powerful propeller and making them spurt to great heights . Under these conditions , who wouldn't have mistaken it for a gigantic cetacean ? I spent three - quarters of the day on the platform . I stared at the sea . Nothing on the horizon , except near four o'clock in the afternoon a long steamer to the west , running on our opposite tack . Its masting was visible for an instant , but it could not have seen the Nautilus because we were lying too low in the water . I imagine that steamboat belonged to the Peninsular & Oriental line , which provides service from the island of Ceylon to Sidney , also calling at King George Sound and Melbourne .
At five o'clock in the afternoon , just before that brief twilight that links day with night in tropical zones , Conseil and I marveled at an unusual sight .
It was a delightful animal whose discovery , according to the ancients , is a sign of good luck . Aristotle , Athenaeus , Pliny , and Oppian studied its habits and lavished on its behalf all the scientific poetry of Greece and Italy . They called it " nautilus " and " pompilius . " But modern science has not endorsed these designations , and this mollusk is now known by the name argonaut .
Anyone consulting Conseil would soon learn from the gallant lad that the branch Mollusca is divided into five classes ; that the first class features the Cephalopoda ( whose members are sometimes naked , sometimes covered with a shell ) , which consists of two families , the Dibranchiata and the Tetrabranchiata , which are distinguished by their number of gills ; that the family Dibranchiata includes three genera , the argonaut , the squid , and the cuttlefish , and that the family Tetrabranchiata contains only one genus , the nautilus . After this catalog , if some recalcitrant listener confuses the argonaut , which is acetabuliferous ( in other words , a bearer of suction tubes ) , with the nautilus , which is tentaculiferous ( a bearer of tentacles ) , it will be simply unforgivable .
Now , it was a school of argonauts then voyaging on the surface of the ocean . We could count several hundred of them . They belonged to that species of argonaut covered with protuberances and exclusive to the seas near India .
These graceful mollusks were swimming backward by means of their locomotive tubes , sucking water into these tubes and then expelling it . Six of their eight tentacles were long , thin , and floated on the water , while the other two were rounded into palms and spread to the wind like light sails . I could see perfectly their undulating , spiral - shaped shells , which Cuvier aptly compared to an elegant cockleboat . It 's an actual boat indeed . It transports the animal that secretes it without the animal sticking to it .
" The argonaut is free to leave its shell , " I told Conseil , " but it never does . "
" Not unlike Captain Nemo , " Conseil replied sagely . " Which is why he should have christened his ship the Argonaut . "
For about an hour the Nautilus cruised in the midst of this school of mollusks . Then , lord knows why , they were gripped with a sudden fear . As if at a signal , every sail was abruptly lowered ; arms folded , bodies contracted , shells turned over by changing their center of gravity , and the whole flotilla disappeared under the waves . It was instantaneous , and no squadron of ships ever maneuvered with greater togetherness .
Just then night fell suddenly , and the waves barely surged in the breeze , spreading placidly around the Nautilus 's side plates .
The next day , January 26 , we cut the equator on the 82 nd meridian and we reentered the northern hemisphere .
During that day a fearsome school of sharks provided us with an escort . Dreadful animals that teem in these seas and make them extremely dangerous . There were Port Jackson sharks with a brown back , a whitish belly , and eleven rows of teeth , bigeye sharks with necks marked by a large black spot encircled in white and resembling an eye , and Isabella sharks whose rounded snouts were strewn with dark speckles . Often these powerful animals rushed at the lounge window with a violence less than comforting . By this point Ned Land had lost all self - control . He wanted to rise to the surface of the waves and harpoon the monsters , especially certain smooth - hound sharks whose mouths were paved with teeth arranged like a mosaic , and some big five - meter tiger sharks that insisted on personally provoking him . But the Nautilus soon picked up speed and easily left astern the fastest of these man - eaters .
On January 27 , at the entrance to the huge Bay of Bengal , we repeatedly encountered a gruesome sight : human corpses floating on the surface of the waves ! Carried by the Ganges to the high seas , these were deceased Indian villagers who had not been fully devoured by vultures , the only morticians in these parts . But there was no shortage of sharks to assist them with their undertaking chores .
Near seven o'clock in the evening , the Nautilus lay half submerged , navigating in the midst of milky white waves . As far as the eye could see , the ocean seemed lactified . Was it an effect of the moon 's rays ? No , because the new moon was barely two days old and was still lost below the horizon in the sun 's rays . The entire sky , although lit up by stellar radiation , seemed pitch - black in comparison with the whiteness of these waters .
Conseil could not believe his eyes , and he questioned me about the causes of this odd phenomenon . Luckily I was in a position to answer him .
" That 's called a milk sea , " I told him , " a vast expanse of white waves often seen along the coasts of Amboina and in these waterways . "
" But , " Conseil asked , " could master tell me the cause of this effect , because I presume this water has not really changed into milk ! "
" No , my boy , and this whiteness that amazes you is merely due to the presence of myriads of tiny creatures called infusoria , a sort of diminutive glowworm that 's colorless and gelatinous in appearance , as thick as a strand of hair , and no longer than one - fifth of a millimeter . Some of these tiny creatures stick together over an area of several leagues . "
" Several leagues ! " Conseil exclaimed .
" Yes , my boy , and do not even try to compute the number of these infusoria . You will not pull it off , because if I am not mistaken , certain navigators have cruised through milk seas for more than forty miles . "
I am not sure that Conseil heeded my recommendation , because he seemed to be deep in thought , no doubt trying to calculate how many one - fifths of a millimeter are found in forty square miles . As for me , I continued to observe this phenomenon . For several hours the Nautilus 's spur sliced through these whitish waves , and I watched it glide noiselessly over this soapy water , as if it were cruising through those foaming eddies that a bay 's currents and countercurrents sometimes leave between each other .
Near midnight the sea suddenly resumed its usual hue , but behind us all the way to the horizon , the skies kept mirroring the whiteness of those waves and for a good while seemed imbued with the hazy glow of an aurora borealis .
On January 28 , in latitude 9 degrees 4 ' north , when the Nautilus returned at noon to the surface of the sea , it lay in sight of land some eight miles to the west . Right off , I observed a cluster of mountains about 2,000 feet high , whose shapes were very whimsically sculpted . After our position fix , I reentered the lounge , and when our bearings were reported on the chart , I saw that we were off the island of Ceylon , that pearl dangling from the lower lobe of the Indian peninsula .
I went looking in the library for a book about this island , one of the most fertile in the world . Sure enough , I found a volume entitled Ceylon and the Singhalese by H.C. Sirr , Esq . Reentering the lounge , I first noted the bearings of Ceylon , on which antiquity lavished so many different names . It was located between latitude 5 degrees 55 ' and 9 degrees 49 ' north , and between longitude 79 degrees 42 ' and 82 degrees 4 ' east of the meridian of Greenwich ; its length is 275 miles ; its maximum width , 150 miles ; its circumference , 900 miles ; its surface area , 24,448 square miles , in other words , a little smaller than that of Ireland .
Just then Captain Nemo and his chief officer appeared .
The captain glanced at the chart . Then , turning to me : " The island of Ceylon , " he said , " is famous for its pearl fisheries . Would you be interested , Professor Aronnax , in visiting one of those fisheries ? "
" Certainly , captain . "
" Fine . It 's easily done . Only , when we see the fisheries , we'll see no fishermen . The annual harvest has not yet begun . No matter . I will give orders to make for the Gulf of Mannar , and we'll arrive there late tonight . "
The captain said a few words to his chief officer who went out immediately . Soon the Nautilus reentered its liquid element , and the pressure gauge indicated that it was staying at a depth of thirty feet .
With the chart under my eyes , I looked for the Gulf of Mannar . I found it by the 9 th parallel off the northwestern shores of Ceylon . It was formed by the long curve of little Mannar Island . To reach it we had to go all the way up Ceylon 's west coast .
" Professor , " Captain Nemo then told me , " there are pearl fisheries in the Bay of Bengal , the seas of the East Indies , the seas of China and Japan , plus those seas south of the United States , the Gulf of Panama and the Gulf of California ; but it 's off Ceylon that such fishing reaps its richest rewards . No doubt we'll be arriving a little early . Fishermen gather in the Gulf of Mannar only during the month of March , and for thirty days some 300 boats concentrate on the lucrative harvest of these treasures from the sea . Each boat is manned by ten oarsmen and ten fishermen . The latter divide into two groups , dive in rotation , and descend to a depth of twelve meters with the help of a heavy stone clutched between their feet and attached by a rope to their boat . "
" You mean , " I said , " that such primitive methods are still all that they use ? "
" All , " Captain Nemo answered me , " although these fisheries belong to the most industrialized people in the world , the English , to whom the Treaty of Amiens granted them in 1802 . "
" Yet it strikes me that diving suits like yours could perform yeoman service in such work . "
" Yes , since those poor fishermen can not stay long underwater . On his voyage to Ceylon , the Englishman Percival made much of a Kaffir who stayed under five minutes without coming up to the surface , but I find that hard to believe . I know that some divers can last up to fifty - seven seconds , and highly skillful ones to eighty - seven ; but such men are rare , and when the poor fellows climb back on board , the water coming out of their noses and ears is tinted with blood . I believe the average time underwater that these fishermen can tolerate is thirty seconds , during which they hastily stuff their little nets with all the pearl oysters they can tear loose . But these fishermen generally do not live to advanced age : their vision weakens , ulcers break out on their eyes , sores form on their bodies , and some are even stricken with apoplexy on the ocean floor . "
" Yes , " I said , " it 's a sad occupation , and one that exists only to gratify the whims of fashion . But tell me , captain , how many oysters can a boat fish up in a workday ? "
" About 40,000 to 50,000 . It 's even said that in 1814 , when the English government went fishing on its own behalf , its divers worked just twenty days and brought up 76,000,000 oysters . "
" At least , " I asked , " the fishermen are well paid , are not they ? "
" Hardly , professor . In Panama they make just $ 1.00 per week . In most places they earn only a penny for each oyster that has a pearl , and they bring up so many that have none ! "
" Only one penny to those poor people who make their employers rich ! That 's atrocious ! "
" On that note , professor , " Captain Nemo told me , " you and your companions will visit the Mannar oysterbank , and if by chance some eager fisherman arrives early , well , we can watch him at work . "
" That suits me , captain . "
" By the way , Professor Aronnax , you are not afraid of sharks , are you ? "
" Sharks ? " I exclaimed .
This struck me as a pretty needless question , to say the least .
" Well ? " Captain Nemo went on .
" I admit , captain , I am not yet on very familiar terms with that genus of fish . "
" We are used to them , the rest of us , " Captain Nemo answered . " And in time you will be too . Anyhow , we'll be armed , and on our way we might hunt a man - eater or two . It 's a fascinating sport . So , professor , I will see you tomorrow , bright and early . "
This said in a carefree tone , Captain Nemo left the lounge .
If you are invited to hunt bears in the Swiss mountains , you might say : " Oh good , I get to go bear hunting tomorrow ! " If you are invited to hunt lions on the Atlas plains or tigers in the jungles of India , you might say : " Ha ! Now 's my chance to hunt lions and tigers ! " But if you are invited to hunt sharks in their native element , you might want to think it over before accepting .
As for me , I passed a hand over my brow , where beads of cold sweat were busy forming .
" Let 's think this over , " I said to myself , " and let 's take our time . Hunting otters in underwater forests , as we did in the forests of Crespo Island , is an acceptable activity . But to roam the bottom of the sea when you are almost certain to meet man - eaters in the neighborhood , that 's another story ! I know that in certain countries , particularly the Andaman Islands , Negroes don't hesitate to attack sharks , dagger in one hand and noose in the other ; but I also know that many who face those fearsome animals don't come back alive . Besides , I am not a Negro , and even if I were a Negro , in this instance I do not think a little hesitation on my part would be out of place . "
And there I was , fantasizing about sharks , envisioning huge jaws armed with multiple rows of teeth and capable of cutting a man in half . I could already feel a definite pain around my pelvic girdle . And how I resented the offhand manner in which the captain had extended his deplorable invitation ! You would have thought it was an issue of going into the woods on some harmless fox hunt !
" Thank heavens ! " I said to myself . " Conseil will never want to come along , and that'll be my excuse for not going with the captain . "
As for Ned Land , I admit I felt less confident of his wisdom . Danger , however great , held a perennial attraction for his aggressive nature .
I went back to reading Sirr 's book , but I leafed through it mechanically . Between the lines I kept seeing fearsome , wide - open jaws .
Just then Conseil and the Canadian entered with a calm , even gleeful air . Little did they know what was waiting for them .
" Ye gods , sir ! " Ned Land told me . " Your Captain Nemo - - the devil take him - - has just made us a very pleasant proposition ! "
" Oh ! " I said " You know about - - "
" With all due respect to master , " Conseil replied , " the Nautilus 's commander has invited us , together with master , for a visit tomorrow to Ceylon 's magnificent pearl fisheries . He did so in the most cordial terms and conducted himself like a true gentleman . "
" He did not tell you anything else ? "
" Nothing , sir , " the Canadian replied . " He said you ' d already discussed this little stroll . "
" Indeed , " I said . " But did not he give you any details on - - "
" Not a one , Mr. Naturalist . You will be going with us , right ? "
" Me ? Why yes , certainly , of course ! I can see that you like the idea , Mr. Land . "
" Yes ! It will be a really unusual experience ! "
" And possibly dangerous ! " I added in an insinuating tone .
" Dangerous ? " Ned Land replied . " A simple trip to an oysterbank ? "
Assuredly , Captain Nemo had not seen fit to plant the idea of sharks in the minds of my companions . For my part , I stared at them with anxious eyes , as if they were already missing a limb or two . Should I alert them ? Yes , surely , but I hardly knew how to go about it .
" Would master , " Conseil said to me , " give us some background on pearl fishing ? "
" On the fishing itself ? " I asked . " Or on the occupational hazards that - - "
" On the fishing , " the Canadian replied . " Before we tackle the terrain , it helps to be familiar with it . "
" All right , sit down , my friends , and I will teach you everything I myself have just been taught by the Englishman H.C. Sirr ! "
Ned and Conseil took seats on a couch , and right off the Canadian said to me : " Sir , just what is a pearl exactly ? "
" My gallant Ned , " I replied , " for poets a pearl is a tear from the sea ; for Orientals it 's a drop of solidified dew ; for the ladies it 's a jewel they can wear on their fingers , necks , and ears that 's oblong in shape , glassy in luster , and formed from mother - of - pearl ; for chemists it 's a mixture of calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate with a little gelatin protein ; and finally , for naturalists it 's a simple festering secretion from the organ that produces mother - of - pearl in certain bivalves . "
" Branch Mollusca , " Conseil said , " class Acephala , order Testacea . "
" Correct , my scholarly Conseil . Now then , those Testacea capable of producing pearls include rainbow abalone , turbo snails , giant clams , and saltwater scallops - - briefly , all those that secrete mother - of - pearl , in other words , that blue , azure , violet , or white substance lining the insides of their valves . "
" Are mussels included too ? " the Canadian asked .
" Yes ! The mussels of certain streams in Scotland , Wales , Ireland , Saxony , Bohemia , and France . "
" Good ! " the Canadian replied . " From now on we'll pay closer attention to ' em . "
" But , " I went on , " for secreting pearls , the ideal mollusk is the pearl oyster Meleagrina margaritifera , that valuable shellfish . Pearls result simply from mother - of - pearl solidifying into a globular shape . Either they stick to the oyster 's shell , or they become embedded in the creature 's folds . On the valves a pearl sticks fast ; on the flesh it lies loose . But its nucleus is always some small , hard object , say a sterile egg or a grain of sand , around which the mother - of - pearl is deposited in thin , concentric layers over several years in succession . "
" Can one find several pearls in the same oyster ? " Conseil asked .
" Yes , my boy . There are some shellfish that turn into real jewel coffers . They even mention one oyster , about which I remain dubious , that supposedly contained at least 150 sharks . "
" 150 sharks ! " Ned Land yelped .
" Did I say sharks ? " I exclaimed hastily . " I meant 150 pearls . Sharks would not make sense . "
" Indeed , " Conseil said . " But will master now tell us how one goes about extracting these pearls ? "
" One proceeds in several ways , and often when pearls stick to the valves , fishermen even pull them loose with pliers . But usually the shellfish are spread out on mats made from the esparto grass that covers the beaches . Thus they die in the open air , and by the end of ten days they've rotted sufficiently . Next they are immersed in huge tanks of salt water , then they are opened up and washed . At this point the sorters begin their twofold task . First they remove the layers of mother - of - pearl , which are known in the industry by the names legitimate silver , bastard white , or bastard black , and these are shipped out in cases weighing 125 to 150 kilograms . Then they remove the oyster 's meaty tissue , boil it , and finally strain it , in order to extract even the smallest pearls . "
" Do the prices of these pearls differ depending on their size ? " Conseil asked .
" Not only on their size , " I replied , " but also according to their shape , their water - - in other words , their color - - and their orient - - in other words , that dappled , shimmering glow that makes them so delightful to the eye . The finest pearls are called virgin pearls , or paragons ; they form in isolation within the mollusk 's tissue . They are white , often opaque but sometimes of opalescent transparency , and usually spherical or pear - shaped . The spherical ones are made into bracelets ; the pear - shaped ones into earrings , and since they are the most valuable , they are priced individually . The other pearls that stick to the oyster 's shell are more erratically shaped and are priced by weight . Finally , classed in the lowest order , the smallest pearls are known by the name seed pearls ; they are priced by the measuring cup and are used mainly in the creation of embroidery for church vestments . "
" But it must be a long , hard job , sorting out these pearls by size , " the Canadian said .
" No , my friend . That task is performed with eleven strainers , or sieves , that are pierced with different numbers of holes . Those pearls staying in the strainers with twenty to eighty holes are in the first order . Those not slipping through the sieves pierced with 100 to 800 holes are in the second order . Finally , those pearls for which one uses strainers pierced with 900 to 1,000 holes make up the seed pearls . "
" How ingenious , " Conseil said , " to reduce dividing and classifying pearls to a mechanical operation . And could master tell us the profits brought in by harvesting these banks of pearl oysters ? "
" According to Sirr 's book , " I replied , " these Ceylon fisheries are farmed annually for a total profit of 3,000,000 man - eaters . "
" Francs ! " Conseil rebuked .
" Yes , francs ! 3,000,000 francs ! " I went on . " But I do not think these fisheries bring in the returns they once did . Similarly , the Central American fisheries used to make an annual profit of 4,000,000 francs during the reign of King Charles V , but now they bring in only two - thirds of that amount . All in all , it 's estimated that 9,000,000 francs is the current yearly return for the whole pearl - harvesting industry . "
" But , " Conseil asked , " have not certain famous pearls been quoted at extremely high prices ? "
" Yes , my boy . They say Julius Caesar gave Servilia a pearl worth 120,000 francs in our currency . "
" I've even heard stories , " the Canadian said , " about some lady in ancient times who drank pearls in vinegar . "
" Cleopatra , " Conseil shot back .
" It must have tasted pretty bad , " Ned Land added .
" Abominable , Ned my friend , " Conseil replied . " But when a little glass of vinegar is worth 1,500,000 francs , its taste is a small price to pay . "
" I am sorry I did not marry the gal , " the Canadian said , throwing up his hands with an air of discouragement .
" Ned Land married to Cleopatra ? " Conseil exclaimed .
" But I was all set to tie the knot , Conseil , " the Canadian replied in all seriousness , " and it wasn't my fault the whole business fell through . I even bought a pearl necklace for my fiancee , Kate Tender , but she married somebody else instead . Well , that necklace cost me only $ 1.50 , but you can absolutely trust me on this , professor , its pearls were so big , they would not have gone through that strainer with twenty holes . "
" My gallant Ned , " I replied , laughing , " those were artificial pearls , ordinary glass beads whose insides were coated with Essence of Orient . "
" Wow ! " the Canadian replied . " That Essence of Orient must sell for quite a large sum . "
" As little as zero ! It comes from the scales of a European carp , it 's nothing more than a silver substance that collects in the water and is preserved in ammonia . It 's worthless . "
" Maybe that 's why Kate Tender married somebody else , " replied Mr. Land philosophically .
" But , " I said , " getting back to pearls of great value , I do not think any sovereign ever possessed one superior to the pearl owned by Captain Nemo . "
" This one ? " Conseil said , pointing to a magnificent jewel in its glass case .
" Exactly . And I am certainly not far off when I estimate its value at 2,000,000 ... uh ... "
" Francs ! " Conseil said quickly .
" Yes , " I said , " 2,000,000 francs , and no doubt all it cost our captain was the effort to pick it up . "
" Ha ! " Ned Land exclaimed . " During our stroll tomorrow , who says we will not run into one just like it ? "
" Bah ! " Conseil put in .
" And why not ? "
" What good would a pearl worth millions do us here on the Nautilus ? "
" Here , no , " Ned Land said . " But elsewhere .... "
" Oh ! Elsewhere ! " Conseil put in , shaking his head .
" In fact , " I said , " Mr. Land is right . And if we ever brought back to Europe or America a pearl worth millions , it would make the story of our adventures more authentic - - and much more rewarding . "
" That 's how I see it , " the Canadian said .
" But , " said Conseil , who perpetually returned to the didactic side of things , " is this pearl fishing ever dangerous ? "
" No , " I replied quickly , " especially if one takes certain precautions . "
" What risks would you run in a job like that ? " Ned Land said . " Swallowing a few gulps of salt water ? "
" Whatever you say , Ned . " Then , trying to imitate Captain Nemo 's carefree tone , I asked , " By the way , gallant Ned , are you afraid of sharks ? "
" Me ? " the Canadian replied . " I am a professional harpooner ! It 's my job to make a mockery of them ! "
" It is not an issue , " I said , " of fishing for them with a swivel hook , hoisting them onto the deck of a ship , chopping off the tail with a sweep of the ax , opening the belly , ripping out the heart , and tossing it into the sea . "
" So it 's an issue of ... ? "
" Yes , precisely . "
" In the water ? "
" In the water . "
" Ye gods , just give me a good harpoon ! You see , sir , these sharks are badly designed . They have to roll their bellies over to snap you up , and in the meantime ... "
Ned Land had a way of pronouncing the word " snap " that sent chills down the spine .
" Well , how about you , Conseil ? What are your feelings about these man - eaters ? "
" Me ? " Conseil said . " I am afraid I must be frank with master . "
Good for you , I thought .
" If master faces these sharks , " Conseil said , " I think his loyal manservant should face them with him ! "
Night fell . I went to bed . I slept pretty poorly . Man - eaters played a major role in my dreams . And I found it more or less appropriate that the French word for shark , requin , has its linguistic roots in the word requiem .
The next day at four o'clock in the morning , I was awakened by the steward whom Captain Nemo had placed expressly at my service . I got up quickly , dressed , and went into the lounge .
Captain Nemo was waiting for me .
" Professor Aronnax , " he said to me , " are you ready to start ? "
" I am ready . "
" Kindly follow me . "
" What about my companions , captain ? "
" They've been alerted and are waiting for us . "
" Are not we going to put on our diving suits ? " I asked .
" Not yet . I have not let the Nautilus pull too near the coast , and we are fairly well out from the Mannar oysterbank . But I have the skiff ready , and it will take us to the exact spot where we'll disembark , which will save us a pretty long trek . It 's carrying our diving equipment , and we'll suit up just before we begin our underwater exploring . "
Captain Nemo took me to the central companionway whose steps led to the platform . Ned and Conseil were there , enraptured with the " pleasure trip " getting under way . Oars in position , five of the Nautilus 's sailors were waiting for us aboard the skiff , which was moored alongside . The night was still dark . Layers of clouds cloaked the sky and left only a few stars in view . My eyes flew to the side where land lay , but I saw only a blurred line covering three - quarters of the horizon from southwest to northwest . Going up Ceylon 's west coast during the night , the Nautilus lay west of the bay , or rather that gulf formed by the mainland and Mannar Island . Under these dark waters there stretched the bank of shellfish , an inexhaustible field of pearls more than twenty miles long .
Captain Nemo , Conseil , Ned Land , and I found seats in the stern of the skiff . The longboat 's coxswain took the tiller ; his four companions leaned into their oars ; the moorings were cast off and we pulled clear .
The skiff headed southward . The oarsmen took their time . I watched their strokes vigorously catch the water , and they always waited ten seconds before rowing again , following the practice used in most navies . While the longboat coasted , drops of liquid flicked from the oars and hit the dark troughs of the waves , pitter - pattering like splashes of molten lead . Coming from well out , a mild swell made the skiff roll gently , and a few cresting billows lapped at its bow .
We were silent . What was Captain Nemo thinking ? Perhaps that this approaching shore was too close for comfort , contrary to the Canadian 's views in which it still seemed too far away . As for Conseil , he had come along out of simple curiosity .
Near 5:30 the first glimmers of light on the horizon defined the upper lines of the coast with greater distinctness . Fairly flat to the east , it swelled a little toward the south . Five miles still separated it from us , and its beach merged with the misty waters . Between us and the shore , the sea was deserted . Not a boat , not a diver . Profound solitude reigned over this gathering place of pearl fishermen . As Captain Nemo had commented , we were arriving in these waterways a month too soon .
At six o'clock the day broke suddenly , with that speed unique to tropical regions , which experience no real dawn or dusk . The sun 's rays pierced the cloud curtain gathered on the easterly horizon , and the radiant orb rose swiftly .
I could clearly see the shore , which featured a few sparse trees here and there .
The skiff advanced toward Mannar Island , which curved to the south . Captain Nemo stood up from his thwart and studied the sea .
At his signal the anchor was lowered , but its chain barely ran because the bottom lay no more than a meter down , and this locality was one of the shallowest spots near the bank of shellfish . Instantly the skiff wheeled around under the ebb tide 's outbound thrust .
" Here we are , Professor Aronnax , " Captain Nemo then said . " You observe this confined bay ? A month from now in this very place , the numerous fishing boats of the harvesters will gather , and these are the waters their divers will ransack so daringly . This bay is felicitously laid out for their type of fishing . It 's sheltered from the strongest winds , and the sea is never very turbulent here , highly favorable conditions for diving work . Now let 's put on our underwater suits , and we'll begin our stroll . "
I did not reply , and while staring at these suspicious waves , I began to put on my heavy aquatic clothes , helped by the longboat 's sailors . Captain Nemo and my two companions suited up as well . None of the Nautilus 's men were to go with us on this new excursion .
Soon we were imprisoned up to the neck in india - rubber clothing , and straps fastened the air devices onto our backs . As for the Ruhmkorff device , it did not seem to be in the picture . Before inserting my head into its copper capsule , I commented on this to the captain .
" Our lighting equipment would be useless to us , " the captain answered me . " We will not be going very deep , and the sun 's rays will be sufficient to light our way . Besides , it 's unwise to carry electric lanterns under these waves . Their brightness might unexpectedly attract certain dangerous occupants of these waterways . "
As Captain Nemo pronounced these words , I turned to Conseil and Ned Land . But my two friends had already encased their craniums in their metal headgear , and they could neither hear nor reply .
I had one question left to address to Captain Nemo .
" What about our weapons ? " I asked him . " Our rifles ? "
" Rifles ! What for ? Don't your mountaineers attack bears dagger in hand ? And is not steel surer than lead ? Here 's a sturdy blade . Slip it under your belt and let 's be off . "
I stared at my companions . They were armed in the same fashion , and Ned Land was also brandishing an enormous harpoon he had stowed in the skiff before leaving the Nautilus .
Then , following the captain 's example , I let myself be crowned with my heavy copper sphere , and our air tanks immediately went into action .
An instant later , the longboat 's sailors helped us overboard one after the other , and we set foot on level sand in a meter and a half of water . Captain Nemo gave us a hand signal . We followed him down a gentle slope and disappeared under the waves .
There the obsessive fears in my brain left me . I became surprisingly calm again . The ease with which I could move increased my confidence , and the many strange sights captivated my imagination .
The sun was already sending sufficient light under these waves . The tiniest objects remained visible . After ten minutes of walking , we were in five meters of water , and the terrain had become almost flat .
Like a covey of snipe over a marsh , there rose underfoot schools of unusual fish from the genus Monopterus , whose members have no fin but their tail . I recognized the Javanese eel , a genuine eight - decimeter serpent with a bluish gray belly , which , without the gold lines over its flanks , could easily be confused with the conger eel . From the butterfish genus , whose oval bodies are very flat , I observed several adorned in brilliant colors and sporting a dorsal fin like a sickle , edible fish that , when dried and marinated , make an excellent dish known by the name " karawade " ; then some sea poachers , fish belonging to the genus Aspidophoroides , whose bodies are covered with scaly armor divided into eight lengthwise sections .
Meanwhile , as the sun got progressively higher , it lit up the watery mass more and more . The seafloor changed little by little . Its fine - grained sand was followed by a genuine causeway of smooth crags covered by a carpet of mollusks and zoophytes . Among other specimens in these two branches , I noted some windowpane oysters with thin valves of unequal size , a type of ostracod unique to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean , then orange - hued lucina with circular shells , awl - shaped auger shells , some of those Persian murex snails that supply the Nautilus with such wonderful dye , spiky periwinkles fifteen centimeters long that rose under the waves like hands ready to grab you , turban snails with shells made of horn and bristling all over with spines , lamp shells , edible duck clams that feed the Hindu marketplace , subtly luminous jellyfish of the species Pelagia panopyra , and finally some wonderful Oculina flabelliforma , magnificent sea fans that fashion one of the most luxuriant tree forms in this ocean .
In the midst of this moving vegetation , under arbors of water plants , there raced legions of clumsy articulates , in particular some fanged frog crabs whose carapaces form a slightly rounded triangle , robber crabs exclusive to these waterways , and horrible parthenope crabs whose appearance was repulsive to the eye . One animal no less hideous , which I encountered several times , was the enormous crab that Mr. Darwin observed , to which nature has given the instinct and requisite strength to eat coconuts ; it scrambles up trees on the beach and sends the coconuts tumbling ; they fracture in their fall and are opened by its powerful pincers . Here , under these clear waves , this crab raced around with matchless agility , while green turtles from the species frequenting the Malabar coast moved sluggishly among the crumbling rocks .
Near seven o'clock we finally surveyed the bank of shellfish , where pearl oysters reproduce by the millions . These valuable mollusks stick to rocks , where they are strongly attached by a mass of brown filaments that forbids their moving about . In this respect oysters are inferior even to mussels , to whom nature has not denied all talent for locomotion .
The shellfish Meleagrina , that womb for pearls whose valves are nearly equal in size , has the shape of a round shell with thick walls and a very rough exterior . Some of these shells were furrowed with flaky , greenish bands that radiated down from the top . These were the young oysters . The others had rugged black surfaces , measured up to fifteen centimeters in width , and were ten or more years old .
Captain Nemo pointed to this prodigious heap of shellfish , and I saw that these mines were genuinely inexhaustible , since nature 's creative powers are greater than man 's destructive instincts . True to those instincts , Ned Land greedily stuffed the finest of these mollusks into a net he carried at his side .
But we could not stop . We had to follow the captain , who headed down trails seemingly known only to himself . The seafloor rose noticeably , and when I lifted my arms , sometimes they would pass above the surface of the sea . Then the level of the oysterbank would lower unpredictably . Often we went around tall , pointed rocks rising like pyramids . In their dark crevices huge crustaceans , aiming their long legs like heavy artillery , watched us with unblinking eyes , while underfoot there crept millipedes , bloodworms , aricia worms , and annelid worms , whose antennas and tubular tentacles were incredibly long .
Just then a huge cave opened up in our path , hollowed from a picturesque pile of rocks whose smooth heights were completely hung with underwater flora . At first this cave looked pitch - black to me . Inside , the sun 's rays seemed to diminish by degrees . Their hazy transparency was nothing more than drowned light .
Captain Nemo went in . We followed him . My eyes soon grew accustomed to this comparative gloom . I distinguished the unpredictably contoured springings of a vault , supported by natural pillars firmly based on a granite foundation , like the weighty columns of Tuscan architecture . Why had our incomprehensible guide taken us into the depths of this underwater crypt ? I would soon find out .
After going down a fairly steep slope , our feet trod the floor of a sort of circular pit . There Captain Nemo stopped , and his hand indicated an object that I had not yet noticed .
It was an oyster of extraordinary dimensions , a titanic giant clam , a holy - water font that could have held a whole lake , a basin more than two meters wide , hence even bigger than the one adorning the Nautilus 's lounge .
I approached this phenomenal mollusk . Its mass of filaments attached it to a table of granite , and there it grew by itself in the midst of the cave 's calm waters . I estimated the weight of this giant clam at 300 kilograms . Hence such an oyster held fifteen kilos of meat , and you ' d need the stomach of King Gargantua to eat a couple dozen .
Captain Nemo was obviously familiar with this bivalve 's existence . This was not the first time he ' d paid it a visit , and I thought his sole reason for leading us to this locality was to show us a natural curiosity . I was mistaken . Captain Nemo had an explicit personal interest in checking on the current condition of this giant clam .
The mollusk 's two valves were partly open . The captain approached and stuck his dagger vertically between the shells to discourage any ideas about closing ; then with his hands he raised the fringed , membrane - filled tunic that made up the animal 's mantle .
There , between its leaflike folds , I saw a loose pearl as big as a coconut . Its globular shape , perfect clarity , and wonderful orient made it a jewel of incalculable value . Carried away by curiosity , I stretched out my hand to take it , weigh it , fondle it ! But the captain stopped me , signaled no , removed his dagger in one swift motion , and let the two valves snap shut .
I then understood Captain Nemo 's intent . By leaving the pearl buried beneath the giant clam 's mantle , he allowed it to grow imperceptibly . With each passing year the mollusk 's secretions added new concentric layers . The captain alone was familiar with the cave where this wonderful fruit of nature was " ripening " ; he alone reared it , so to speak , in order to transfer it one day to his dearly beloved museum . Perhaps , following the examples of oyster farmers in China and India , he had even predetermined the creation of this pearl by sticking under the mollusk 's folds some piece of glass or metal that was gradually covered with mother - of - pearl . In any case , comparing this pearl to others I already knew about , and to those shimmering in the captain 's collection , I estimated that it was worth at least 10,000,000 francs . It was a superb natural curiosity rather than a luxurious piece of jewelry , because I do not know of any female ear that could handle it .
Our visit to this opulent giant clam came to an end . Captain Nemo left the cave , and we climbed back up the bank of shellfish in the midst of these clear waters not yet disturbed by divers at work .
We walked by ourselves , genuine loiterers stopping or straying as our fancies dictated . For my part , I was no longer worried about those dangers my imagination had so ridiculously exaggerated . The shallows drew noticeably closer to the surface of the sea , and soon , walking in only a meter of water , my head passed well above the level of the ocean . Conseil rejoined me , and gluing his huge copper capsule to mine , his eyes gave me a friendly greeting . But this lofty plateau measured only a few fathoms , and soon we reentered Our Element . I think I've now earned the right to dub it that .
Ten minutes later , Captain Nemo stopped suddenly . I thought he ' d called a halt so that we could turn and start back . No. With a gesture he ordered us to crouch beside him at the foot of a wide crevice . His hand motioned toward a spot within the liquid mass , and I looked carefully .
Five meters away a shadow appeared and dropped to the seafloor . The alarming idea of sharks crossed my mind . But I was mistaken , and once again we did not have to deal with monsters of the deep .
It was a man , a living man , a black Indian fisherman , a poor devil who no doubt had come to gather what he could before harvest time . I saw the bottom of his dinghy , moored a few feet above his head . He would dive and go back up in quick succession . A stone cut in the shape of a sugar loaf , which he gripped between his feet while a rope connected it to his boat , served to lower him more quickly to the ocean floor . This was the extent of his equipment . Arriving on the seafloor at a depth of about five meters , he fell to his knees and stuffed his sack with shellfish gathered at random . Then he went back up , emptied his sack , pulled up his stone , and started all over again , the whole process lasting only thirty seconds .
This diver did not see us . A shadow cast by our crag hid us from his view . And besides , how could this poor Indian ever have guessed that human beings , creatures like himself , were near him under the waters , eavesdropping on his movements , not missing a single detail of his fishing !
So he went up and down several times . He gathered only about ten shellfish per dive , because he had to tear them from the banks where each clung with its tough mass of filaments . And how many of these oysters for which he risked his life would have no pearl in them !
I observed him with great care . His movements were systematically executed , and for half an hour no danger seemed to threaten him . So I had gotten used to the sight of this fascinating fishing when all at once , just as the Indian was kneeling on the seafloor , I saw him make a frightened gesture , stand , and gather himself to spring back to the surface of the waves .
I understood his fear . A gigantic shadow appeared above the poor diver . It was a shark of huge size , moving in diagonally , eyes ablaze , jaws wide open !
I was speechless with horror , unable to make a single movement .
With one vigorous stroke of its fins , the voracious animal shot toward the Indian , who jumped aside and avoided the shark 's bite but not the thrashing of its tail , because that tail struck him across the chest and stretched him out on the seafloor .
This scene lasted barely a few seconds . The shark returned , rolled over on its back , and was getting ready to cut the Indian in half , when Captain Nemo , who was stationed beside me , suddenly stood up . Then he strode right toward the monster , dagger in hand , ready to fight it at close quarters .
Just as it was about to snap up the poor fisherman , the man - eater saw its new adversary , repositioned itself on its belly , and headed swiftly toward him .
I can see Captain Nemo 's bearing to this day . Bracing himself , he waited for the fearsome man - eater with wonderful composure , and when the latter rushed at him , the captain leaped aside with prodigious quickness , avoided a collision , and sank his dagger into its belly . But that was not the end of the story . A dreadful battle was joined .
The shark bellowed , so to speak . Blood was pouring into the waves from its wounds . The sea was dyed red , and through this opaque liquid I could see nothing else .
Nothing else until the moment when , through a rift in the clouds , I saw the daring captain clinging to one of the animal 's fins , fighting the monster at close quarters , belaboring his enemy 's belly with stabs of the dagger yet unable to deliver the deciding thrust , in other words , a direct hit to the heart . In its struggles the man - eater churned the watery mass so furiously , its eddies threatened to knock me over .
I wanted to run to the captain 's rescue . But I was transfixed with horror , unable to move .
I stared , wild - eyed . I saw the fight enter a new phase . The captain fell to the seafloor , toppled by the enormous mass weighing him down . Then the shark 's jaws opened astoundingly wide , like a pair of industrial shears , and that would have been the finish of Captain Nemo had not Ned Land , quick as thought , rushed forward with his harpoon and driven its dreadful point into the shark 's underside .
The waves were saturated with masses of blood . The waters shook with the movements of the man - eater , which thrashed about with indescribable fury . Ned Land had not missed his target . This was the monster 's death rattle . Pierced to the heart , it was struggling with dreadful spasms whose aftershocks knocked Conseil off his feet .
Meanwhile Ned Land pulled the captain clear . Uninjured , the latter stood up , went right to the Indian , quickly cut the rope binding the man to his stone , took the fellow in his arms , and with a vigorous kick of the heel , rose to the surface of the sea .
The three of us followed him , and a few moments later , miraculously safe , we reached the fisherman 's longboat .
Captain Nemo 's first concern was to revive this unfortunate man . I wasn't sure he would succeed . I hoped so , since the poor devil had not been under very long . But that stroke from the shark 's tail could have been his deathblow .
Fortunately , after vigorous massaging by Conseil and the captain , I saw the nearly drowned man regain consciousness little by little . He opened his eyes . How startled he must have felt , how frightened even , at seeing four huge , copper craniums leaning over him !
And above all , what must he have thought when Captain Nemo pulled a bag of pearls from a pocket in his diving suit and placed it in the fisherman 's hands ? This magnificent benefaction from the Man of the Waters to the poor Indian from Ceylon was accepted by the latter with trembling hands . His bewildered eyes indicated that he did not know to what superhuman creatures he owed both his life and his fortune .
At the captain 's signal we returned to the bank of shellfish , and retracing our steps , we walked for half an hour until we encountered the anchor connecting the seafloor with the Nautilus 's skiff .
Back on board , the sailors helped divest us of our heavy copper carapaces .
Captain Nemo 's first words were spoken to the Canadian .
" Thank you , Mr. Land , " he told him .
" Tit for tat , captain , " Ned Land replied . " I owed it to you . "
The ghost of a smile glided across the captain 's lips , and that was all .
" To the Nautilus , " he said .
The longboat flew over the waves . A few minutes later we encountered the shark 's corpse again , floating .
From the black markings on the tips of its fins , I recognized the dreadful Squalus melanopterus from the seas of the East Indies , a variety in the species of sharks proper . It was more than twenty - five feet long ; its enormous mouth occupied a third of its body . It was an adult , as could be seen from the six rows of teeth forming an isosceles triangle in its upper jaw .
Conseil looked at it with purely scientific fascination , and I am sure he placed it , not without good reason , in the class of cartilaginous fish , order Chondropterygia with fixed gills , family Selacia , genus Squalus .
While I was contemplating this inert mass , suddenly a dozen of these voracious melanoptera appeared around our longboat ; but , paying no attention to us , they pounced on the corpse and quarreled over every scrap of it .
By 8:30 we were back on board the Nautilus .
There I fell to thinking about the incidents that marked our excursion over the Mannar oysterbank . Two impressions inevitably stood out . One concerned Captain Nemo 's matchless bravery , the other his devotion to a human being , a representative of that race from which he had fled beneath the seas . In spite of everything , this strange man had not yet succeeded in completely stifling his heart .
When I shared these impressions with him , he answered me in a tone touched with emotion : " That Indian , professor , lives in the land of the oppressed , and I am to this day , and will be until my last breath , a native of that same land ! "
During the day of January 29 , the island of Ceylon disappeared below the horizon , and at a speed of twenty miles per hour , the Nautilus glided into the labyrinthine channels that separate the Maldive and Laccadive Islands . It likewise hugged Kiltan Island , a shore of madreporic origin discovered by Vasco da Gama in 1499 and one of nineteen chief islands in the island group of the Laccadives , located between latitude 10 degrees and 14 degrees 30 ' north , and between longitude 50 degrees 72 ' and 69 degrees east .
By then we had fared 16,220 miles , or 7,500 leagues , from our starting point in the seas of Japan .
The next day , January 30 , when the Nautilus rose to the surface of the ocean , there was no more land in sight . Setting its course to the north - northwest , the ship headed toward the Gulf of Oman , carved out between Arabia and the Indian peninsula and providing access to the Persian Gulf .
This was obviously a blind alley with no possible outlet . So where was Captain Nemo taking us ? I was unable to say . Which did not satisfy the Canadian , who that day asked me where we were going .
" We are going , Mr. Ned , where the captain 's fancy takes us . "
" His fancy , " the Canadian replied , " will not take us very far . The Persian Gulf has no outlet , and if we enter those waters , it will not be long before we return in our tracks . "
" All right , we'll return , Mr. Land , and after the Persian Gulf , if the Nautilus wants to visit the Red Sea , the Strait of Bab el Mandeb is still there to let us in ! "
" I don't have to tell you , sir , " Ned Land replied , " that the Red Sea is just as landlocked as the gulf , since the Isthmus of Suez hasn't been cut all the way through yet ; and even if it was , a boat as secretive as ours would not risk a canal intersected with locks . So the Red Sea will not be our way back to Europe either . "
" But I did not say we ' d return to Europe . "
" What do you figure , then ? "
" I figure that after visiting these unusual waterways of Arabia and Egypt , the Nautilus will go back down to the Indian Ocean , perhaps through Mozambique Channel , perhaps off the Mascarene Islands , and then make for the Cape of Good Hope . "
" And once we are at the Cape of Good Hope ? " the Canadian asked with typical persistence .
" Well then , we'll enter that Atlantic Ocean with which we are not yet familiar . What 's wrong , Ned my friend ? Are you tired of this voyage under the seas ? Are you bored with the constantly changing sight of these underwater wonders ? Speaking for myself , I will be extremely distressed to see the end of a voyage so few men will ever have a chance to make . "
" But do not you realize , Professor Aronnax , " the Canadian replied , " that soon we'll have been imprisoned for three whole months aboard this Nautilus ? "
" No , Ned , I didn't realize it , I don't want to realize it , and I do not keep track of every day and every hour . "
" But when will it be over ? "
" In its appointed time . Meanwhile there 's nothing we can do about it , and our discussions are futile . My gallant Ned , if you come and tell me , ' A chance to escape is available to us , ' then I will discuss it with you . But that isn't the case , and in all honesty , I do not think Captain Nemo ever ventures into European seas . "
This short dialogue reveals that in my mania for the Nautilus , I was turning into the spitting image of its commander .
As for Ned Land , he ended our talk in his best speechifying style : " That 's all fine and dandy . But in my humble opinion , a life in jail is a life without joy . "
For four days until February 3 , the Nautilus inspected the Gulf of Oman at various speeds and depths . It seemed to be traveling at random , as if hesitating over which course to follow , but it never crossed the Tropic of Cancer .
After leaving this gulf we raised Muscat for an instant , the most important town in the country of Oman . I marveled at its strange appearance in the midst of the black rocks surrounding it , against which the white of its houses and forts stood out sharply . I spotted the rounded domes of its mosques , the elegant tips of its minarets , and its fresh , leafy terraces . But it was only a fleeting vision , and the Nautilus soon sank beneath the dark waves of these waterways .
Then our ship went along at a distance of six miles from the Arabic coasts of Mahra and Hadhramaut , their undulating lines of mountains relieved by a few ancient ruins . On February 5 we finally put into the Gulf of Aden , a genuine funnel stuck into the neck of Bab el Mandeb and bottling these Indian waters in the Red Sea .
On February 6 the Nautilus cruised in sight of the city of Aden , perched on a promontory connected to the continent by a narrow isthmus , a sort of inaccessible Gibraltar whose fortifications the English rebuilt after capturing it in 1839 . I glimpsed the octagonal minarets of this town , which used to be one of the wealthiest , busiest commercial centers along this coast , as the Arab historian Idrisi tells it .
I was convinced that when Captain Nemo reached this point , he would back out again ; but I was mistaken , and much to my surprise , he did nothing of the sort .
The next day , February 7 , we entered the Strait of Bab el Mandeb , whose name means " Gate of Tears " in the Arabic language . Twenty miles wide , it 's only fifty - two kilometers long , and with the Nautilus launched at full speed , clearing it was the work of barely an hour . But I did not see a thing , not even Perim Island where the British government built fortifications to strengthen Aden 's position . There were many English and French steamers plowing this narrow passageway , liners going from Suez to Bombay , Calcutta , Melbourne , Reunion Island , and Mauritius ; far too much traffic for the Nautilus to make an appearance on the surface . So it wisely stayed in midwater .
Finally , at noon , we were plowing the waves of the Red Sea .
The Red Sea : that great lake so famous in biblical traditions , seldom replenished by rains , fed by no important rivers , continually drained by a high rate of evaporation , its water level dropping a meter and a half every year ! If it were fully landlocked like a lake , this odd gulf might dry up completely ; on this score it 's inferior to its neighbors , the Caspian Sea and the Dead Sea , whose levels lower only to the point where their evaporation exactly equals the amounts of water they take to their hearts .
This Red Sea is 2,600 kilometers long with an average width of 240 . In the days of the Ptolemies and the Roman emperors , it was a great commercial artery for the world , and when its isthmus has been cut through , it will completely regain that bygone importance that the Suez railways have already brought back in part .
I would not even attempt to understand the whim that induced Captain Nemo to take us into this gulf . But I wholeheartedly approved of the Nautilus 's entering it . It adopted a medium pace , sometimes staying on the surface , sometimes diving to avoid some ship , and so I could observe both the inside and topside of this highly unusual sea .
On February 8 , as early as the first hours of daylight , Mocha appeared before us : a town now in ruins , whose walls would collapse at the mere sound of a cannon , and which shelters a few leafy date trees here and there . This once - important city used to contain six public marketplaces plus twenty - six mosques , and its walls , protected by fourteen forts , fashioned a three - kilometer girdle around it .
Then the Nautilus drew near the beaches of Africa , where the sea is considerably deeper . There , through the open panels and in a midwater of crystal clarity , our ship enabled us to study wonderful bushes of shining coral and huge chunks of rock wrapped in splendid green furs of algae and fucus . What an indescribable sight , and what a variety of settings and scenery where these reefs and volcanic islands leveled off by the Libyan coast ! But soon the Nautilus hugged the eastern shore where these tree forms appeared in all their glory . This was off the coast of Tihama , and there such zoophyte displays not only flourished below sea level but they also fashioned picturesque networks that unreeled as high as ten fathoms above it ; the latter were more whimsical but less colorful than the former , which kept their bloom thanks to the moist vitality of the waters .
How many delightful hours I spent in this way at the lounge window ! How many new specimens of underwater flora and fauna I marveled at beneath the light of our electric beacon ! Mushroom - shaped fungus coral , some slate - colored sea anemone including the species Thalassianthus aster among others , organ - pipe coral arranged like flutes and just begging for a puff from the god Pan , shells unique to this sea that dwell in madreporic cavities and whose bases are twisted into squat spirals , and finally a thousand samples of a polypary I had not observed until then : the common sponge .
First division in the polyp group , the class Spongiaria has been created by scientists precisely for this unusual exhibit whose usefulness is beyond dispute . The sponge is definitely not a plant , as some naturalists still believe , but an animal of the lowest order , a polypary inferior even to coral . Its animal nature is not in doubt , and we can not accept even the views of the ancients , who regarded it as halfway between plant and animal . But I must say that naturalists are not in agreement on the structural mode of sponges . For some it 's a polypary , and for others , such as Professor Milne - Edwards , it 's a single , solitary individual .
The class Spongiaria contains about 300 species that are encountered in a large number of seas and even in certain streams , where they've been given the name freshwater sponges . But their waters of choice are the Red Sea and the Mediterranean near the Greek Islands or the coast of Syria . These waters witness the reproduction and growth of soft , delicate bath sponges whose prices run as high as 150 francs apiece : the yellow sponge from Syria , the horn sponge from Barbary , etc. But since I had no hope of studying these zoophytes in the seaports of the Levant , from which we were separated by the insuperable Isthmus of Suez , I had to be content with observing them in the waters of the Red Sea .
So I called Conseil to my side , while at an average depth of eight to nine meters , the Nautilus slowly skimmed every beautiful rock on the easterly coast .
There sponges grew in every shape , globular , stalklike , leaflike , fingerlike . With reasonable accuracy , they lived up to their nicknames of basket sponges , chalice sponges , distaff sponges , elkhorn sponges , lion 's paws , peacock 's tails , and Neptune 's gloves - - designations bestowed on them by fishermen , more poetically inclined than scientists . A gelatinous , semifluid substance coated the fibrous tissue of these sponges , and from this tissue there escaped a steady trickle of water that , after carrying sustenance to each cell , was being expelled by a contracting movement . This jellylike substance disappears when the polyp dies , emitting ammonia as it rots . Finally nothing remains but the fibers , either gelatinous or made of horn , that constitute your household sponge , which takes on a russet hue and is used for various tasks depending on its degree of elasticity , permeability , or resistance to saturation .
These polyparies were sticking to rocks , shells of mollusks , and even the stalks of water plants . They adorned the smallest crevices , some sprawling , others standing or hanging like coral outgrowths . I told Conseil that sponges are fished up in two ways , either by dragnet or by hand . The latter method calls for the services of a diver , but it 's preferable because it spares the polypary 's tissue , leaving it with a much higher market value .
Other zoophytes swarming near the sponges consisted chiefly of a very elegant species of jellyfish ; mollusks were represented by varieties of squid that , according to Professor Orbigny , are unique to the Red Sea ; and reptiles by virgata turtles belonging to the genus Chelonia , which furnished our table with a dainty but wholesome dish .
As for fish , they were numerous and often remarkable . Here are the ones that the Nautilus 's nets most frequently hauled on board : rays , including spotted rays that were oval in shape and brick red in color , their bodies strewn with erratic blue speckles and identifiable by their jagged double stings , silver - backed skates , common stingrays with stippled tails , butterfly rays that looked like huge two - meter cloaks flapping at middepth , toothless guitarfish that were a type of cartilaginous fish closer to the shark , trunkfish known as dromedaries that were one and a half feet long and had humps ending in backward - curving stings , serpentine moray eels with silver tails and bluish backs plus brown pectorals trimmed in gray piping , a species of butterfish called the fiatola decked out in thin gold stripes and the three colors of the French flag , Montague blennies four decimeters long , superb jacks handsomely embellished by seven black crosswise streaks with blue and yellow fins plus gold and silver scales , snooks , standard mullet with yellow heads , parrotfish , wrasse , triggerfish , gobies , etc. , plus a thousand other fish common to the oceans we had already crossed .
On February 9 the Nautilus cruised in the widest part of the Red Sea , measuring 190 miles straight across from Suakin on the west coast to Qunfidha on the east coast .
At noon that day after our position fix , Captain Nemo climbed onto the platform , where I happened to be . I vowed not to let him go below again without at least sounding him out on his future plans . As soon as he saw me , he came over , graciously offered me a cigar , and said to me : " Well , professor , are you pleased with this Red Sea ? Have you seen enough of its hidden wonders , its fish and zoophytes , its gardens of sponges and forests of coral ? Have you glimpsed the towns built on its shores ? "
" Yes , Captain Nemo , " I replied , " and the Nautilus is wonderfully suited to this whole survey . Ah , it 's a clever boat ! "
" Yes , sir , clever , daring , and invulnerable ! It fears neither the Red Sea 's dreadful storms nor its currents and reefs . "
" Indeed , " I said , " this sea is mentioned as one of the worst , and in the days of the ancients , if I am not mistaken , it had an abominable reputation . "
" Thoroughly abominable , Professor Aronnax . The Greek and Latin historians can find nothing to say in its favor , and the Greek geographer Strabo adds that it 's especially rough during the rainy season and the period of summer prevailing winds . The Arab Idrisi , referring to it by the name Gulf of Colzoum , relates that ships perished in large numbers on its sandbanks and that no one risked navigating it by night . This , he claims , is a sea subject to fearful hurricanes , strewn with inhospitable islands , and ' with nothing good to offer , ' either on its surface or in its depths . As a matter of fact , the same views can also be found in Arrian , Agatharchides , and Artemidorus . "
" One can easily see , " I answered , " that those historians did not navigate aboard the Nautilus . "
" Indeed , " the captain replied with a smile , " and in this respect , the moderns are not much farther along than the ancients . It took many centuries to discover the mechanical power of steam ! Who knows whether we'll see a second Nautilus within the next 100 years ! Progress is slow , Professor Aronnax . "
" It 's true , " I replied . " Your ship is a century ahead of its time , perhaps several centuries . It would be most unfortunate if such a secret were to die with its inventor ! "
Captain Nemo did not reply . After some minutes of silence : " We were discussing , " he said , " the views of ancient historians on the dangers of navigating this Red Sea ? "
" True , " I replied . " But were not their fears exaggerated ? "
" Yes and no , Professor Aronnax , " answered Captain Nemo , who seemed to know " his Red Sea " by heart . " To a modern ship , well rigged , solidly constructed , and in control of its course thanks to obedient steam , some conditions are no longer hazardous that offered all sorts of dangers to the vessels of the ancients . Picture those early navigators venturing forth in sailboats built from planks lashed together with palm - tree ropes , caulked with powdered resin , and coated with dogfish grease . They didn't even have instruments for taking their bearings , they went by guesswork in the midst of currents they barely knew . Under such conditions , shipwrecks had to be numerous . But nowadays steamers providing service between Suez and the South Seas have nothing to fear from the fury of this gulf , despite the contrary winds of its monsoons . Their captains and passengers no longer prepare for departure with sacrifices to placate the gods , and after returning , they do not traipse in wreaths and gold ribbons to say thanks at the local temple . "
" Agreed , " I said . " And steam seems to have killed off all gratitude in seamen 's hearts . But since you seem to have made a special study of this sea , captain , can you tell me how it got its name ? "
" Many explanations exist on the subject , Professor Aronnax . Would you like to hear the views of one chronicler in the 14 th century ? "
" Gladly . "
" This fanciful fellow claims the sea was given its name after the crossing of the Israelites , when the Pharaoh perished in those waves that came together again at Moses ' command :
To mark that miraculous sequel , the sea turned a red without equal .
Thus no other course would do but to name it for its hue . "
" An artistic explanation , Captain Nemo , " I replied , " but I am unable to rest content with it . So I will ask you for your own personal views . "
" Here they come . To my thinking , Professor Aronnax , this ' Red Sea ' designation must be regarded as a translation of the Hebrew word ' Edrom , ' and if the ancients gave it that name , it was because of the unique color of its waters . "
" Until now , however , I've seen only clear waves , without any unique hue . "
" Surely , but as we move ahead to the far end of this gulf , you will note its odd appearance . I recall seeing the bay of El Tur completely red , like a lake of blood . "
" And you attribute this color to the presence of microscopic algae ? "
" Yes . It 's a purplish , mucilaginous substance produced by those tiny buds known by the name trichodesmia , 40,000 of which are needed to occupy the space of one square millimeter . Perhaps you will encounter them when we reach El Tur . "
" Hence , Captain Nemo , this is not the first time you've gone through the Red Sea aboard the Nautilus ? "
" No , sir . "
" Then , since you've already mentioned the crossing of the Israelites and the catastrophe that befell the Egyptians , I would ask if you've ever discovered any traces under the waters of that great historic event ? "
" No , professor , and for an excellent reason . "
" What 's that ? "
" It 's because that same locality where Moses crossed with all his people is now so clogged with sand , camels can barely get their legs wet . You can understand that my Nautilus would not have enough water for itself . "
" And that locality is ... ? " I asked .
" That locality lies a little above Suez in a sound that used to form a deep estuary when the Red Sea stretched as far as the Bitter Lakes . Now , whether or not their crossing was literally miraculous , the Israelites did cross there in returning to the Promised Land , and the Pharaoh 's army did perish at precisely that locality . So I think that excavating those sands would bring to light a great many weapons and tools of Egyptian origin . "
" Obviously , " I replied . " And for the sake of archaeology , let 's hope that sooner or later such excavations do take place , once new towns are settled on the isthmus after the Suez Canal has been cut through - - a canal , by the way , of little use to a ship such as the Nautilus ! "
" Surely , but of great use to the world at large , " Captain Nemo said . " The ancients well understood the usefulness to commerce of connecting the Red Sea with the Mediterranean , but they never dreamed of cutting a canal between the two , and instead they picked the Nile as their link . If we can trust tradition , it was probably Egypt 's King Sesostris who started digging the canal needed to join the Nile with the Red Sea . What 's certain is that in 615 B.C. King Necho II was hard at work on a canal that was fed by Nile water and ran through the Egyptian plains opposite Arabia . This canal could be traveled in four days , and it was so wide , two triple - tiered galleys could pass through it abreast . Its construction was continued by Darius the Great , son of Hystaspes , and probably completed by King Ptolemy II. Strabo saw it used for shipping ; but the weakness of its slope between its starting point , near Bubastis , and the Red Sea left it navigable only a few months out of the year . This canal served commerce until the century of Rome 's Antonine emperors ; it was then abandoned and covered with sand , subsequently reinstated by Arabia 's Caliph Omar I , and finally filled in for good in 761 or 762 A.D. by Caliph Al - Mansur , in an effort to prevent supplies from reaching Mohammed ibn Abdullah , who had rebelled against him . During his Egyptian campaign , your General Napoleon Bonaparte discovered traces of this old canal in the Suez desert , and when the tide caught him by surprise , he wellnigh perished just a few hours before rejoining his regiment at Hadjaroth , the very place where Moses had pitched camp 3,300 years before him . "
" Well , captain , what the ancients hesitated to undertake , Mr. de Lesseps is now finishing up ; his joining of these two seas will shorten the route from Cadiz to the East Indies by 9,000 kilometers , and he will soon change Africa into an immense island . "
" Yes , Professor Aronnax , and you have every right to be proud of your fellow countryman . Such a man brings a nation more honor than the greatest commanders ! Like so many others , he began with difficulties and setbacks , but he triumphed because he has the volunteer spirit . And it 's sad to think that this deed , which should have been an international deed , which would have insured that any administration went down in history , will succeed only through the efforts of one man . So all hail to Mr. de Lesseps ! "
" Yes , all hail to that great French citizen , " I replied , quite startled by how emphatically Captain Nemo had just spoken .
" Unfortunately , " he went on , " I can not take you through that Suez Canal , but the day after tomorrow , you will be able to see the long jetties of Port Said when we are in the Mediterranean . "
" In the Mediterranean ! " I exclaimed .
" Yes , professor . Does that amaze you ? "
" What amazes me is thinking we'll be there the day after tomorrow . "
" Oh really ? "
" Yes , captain , although since I've been aboard your vessel , I should have formed the habit of not being amazed by anything ! "
" But what is it that startles you ? "
" The thought of how hideously fast the Nautilus will need to go , if it 's to double the Cape of Good Hope , circle around Africa , and lie in the open Mediterranean by the day after tomorrow . "
" And who says it will circle Africa , professor ? What 's this talk about doubling the Cape of Good Hope ? "
" But unless the Nautilus navigates on dry land and crosses over the isthmus - - "
" Or under it , Professor Aronnax . "
" Under it ? "
" Surely , " Captain Nemo replied serenely . " Under that tongue of land , nature long ago made what man today is making on its surface . "
" What ! There 's a passageway ? "
" Yes , an underground passageway that I've named the Arabian Tunnel . It starts below Suez and leads to the Bay of Pelusium . "
" But is not that isthmus only composed of quicksand ? "
" To a certain depth . But at merely fifty meters , one encounters a firm foundation of rock . "
" And it 's by luck that you discovered this passageway ? " I asked , more and more startled .
" Luck plus logic , professor , and logic even more than luck . "
" Captain , I hear you , but I can not believe my ears . "
" Oh , sir ! The old saying still holds good : Aures habent et non audient ! Not only does this passageway exist , but I've taken advantage of it on several occasions . Without it , I would not have ventured today into such a blind alley as the Red Sea . "
" Is it indiscreet to ask how you discovered this tunnel ? "
" Sir , " the captain answered me , " there can be no secrets between men who will never leave each other . "
I ignored this innuendo and waited for Captain Nemo 's explanation .
" Professor , " he told me , " the simple logic of the naturalist led me to discover this passageway , and I alone am familiar with it . I ' d noted that in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean there exist a number of absolutely identical species of fish : eels , butterfish , greenfish , bass , jewelfish , flying fish . Certain of this fact , I wondered if there were not a connection between the two seas . If there were , its underground current had to go from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean simply because of their difference in level . So I caught a large number of fish in the vicinity of Suez . I slipped copper rings around their tails and tossed them back into the sea . A few months later off the coast of Syria , I recaptured a few specimens of my fish , adorned with their telltale rings . So this proved to me that some connection existed between the two seas . I searched for it with my Nautilus , I discovered it , I ventured into it ; and soon , professor , you also will have cleared my Arabic tunnel ! "
The same day , I reported to Conseil and Ned Land that part of the foregoing conversation directly concerning them . When I told them we would be lying in Mediterranean waters within two days , Conseil clapped his hands , but the Canadian shrugged his shoulders .
" An underwater tunnel ! " he exclaimed . " A connection between two seas ! Who ever heard of such malarkey ! "
" Ned my friend , " Conseil replied , " had you ever heard of the Nautilus ? No , yet here it is ! So don't shrug your shoulders so blithely , and do not discount something with the feeble excuse that you've never heard of it . "
" We will soon see ! " Ned Land shot back , shaking his head . " After all , I ' d like nothing better than to believe in your captain 's little passageway , and may Heaven grant it really does take us to the Mediterranean . "
The same evening , at latitude 21 degrees 30 ' north , the Nautilus was afloat on the surface of the sea and drawing nearer to the Arab coast . I spotted Jidda , an important financial center for Egypt , Syria , Turkey , and the East Indies . I could distinguish with reasonable clarity the overall effect of its buildings , the ships made fast along its wharves , and those bigger vessels whose draft of water required them to drop anchor at the port 's offshore mooring . The sun , fairly low on the horizon , struck full force on the houses in this town , accenting their whiteness . Outside the city limits , some wood or reed huts indicated the quarter where the bedouins lived .
Soon Jidda faded into the shadows of evening , and the Nautilus went back beneath the mildly phosphorescent waters .
The next day , February 10 , several ships appeared , running on our opposite tack . The Nautilus resumed its underwater navigating ; but at the moment of our noon sights , the sea was deserted and the ship rose again to its waterline .
With Ned and Conseil , I went to sit on the platform . The coast to the east looked like a slightly blurred mass in a damp fog .
Leaning against the sides of the skiff , we were chatting of one thing and another , when Ned Land stretched his hand toward a point in the water , saying to me : " See anything out there , professor ? "
" No , Ned , " I replied , " but you know I do not have your eyes . "
" Take a good look , " Ned went on . " There , ahead to starboard , almost level with the beacon ! Do not you see a mass that seems to be moving around ? "
" Right , " I said after observing carefully , " I can make out something like a long , blackish object on the surface of the water . "
" A second Nautilus ? " Conseil said .
" No , " the Canadian replied , " unless I am badly mistaken , that 's some marine animal . "
" Are there whales in the Red Sea ? " Conseil asked .
" Yes , my boy , " I replied , " they are sometimes found here . "
" That 's no whale , " continued Ned Land , whose eyes never strayed from the object they had sighted . " We are old chums , whales and I , and I could not mistake their little ways . "
" Let 's wait and see , " Conseil said . " The Nautilus is heading that direction , and we'll soon know what we are in for . "
In fact , that blackish object was soon only a mile away from us . It looked like a huge reef stranded in midocean . What was it ? I still could not make up my mind .
" Oh , it 's moving off ! It 's diving ! " Ned Land exclaimed . " Damnation ! What can that animal be ? It does not have a forked tail like baleen whales or sperm whales , and its fins look like sawed - off limbs . "
" But in that case - - " I put in .
" Good lord , " the Canadian went on , " it 's rolled over on its back , and it 's raising its breasts in the air ! "
" It 's a siren ! " Conseil exclaimed . " With all due respect to master , it 's an actual mermaid ! "
That word " siren " put me back on track , and I realized that the animal belonged to the order Sirenia : marine creatures that legends have turned into mermaids , half woman , half fish .
" No , " I told Conseil , " that 's no mermaid , it 's an unusual creature of which only a few specimens are left in the Red Sea . That 's a dugong . "
" Order Sirenia , group Pisciforma , subclass Monodelphia , class Mammalia , branch Vertebrata , " Conseil replied .
And when Conseil has spoken , there 's nothing else to be said .
Meanwhile Ned Land kept staring . His eyes were gleaming with desire at the sight of that animal . His hands were ready to hurl a harpoon . You would have thought he was waiting for the right moment to jump overboard and attack the creature in its own element .
" Oh , sir , " he told me in a voice trembling with excitement , " I've never killed anything like that ! "
His whole being was concentrated in this last word .
Just then Captain Nemo appeared on the platform . He spotted the dugong . He understood the Canadian 's frame of mind and addressed him directly : " If you held a harpoon , Mr. Land , would not your hands be itching to put it to work ? "
" Positively , sir . "
" And just for one day , would it displease you to return to your fisherman 's trade and add this cetacean to the list of those you've already hunted down ? "
" It would not displease me one bit . "
" All right , you can try your luck ! "
" Thank you , sir , " Ned Land replied , his eyes ablaze .
" Only , " the captain went on , " I urge you to aim carefully at this animal , in your own personal interest . "
" Is the dugong dangerous to attack ? " I asked , despite the Canadian 's shrug of the shoulders .
" Yes , sometimes , " the captain replied . " These animals have been known to turn on their assailants and capsize their longboats . But with Mr. Land that danger isn't to be feared . His eye is sharp , his arm is sure . If I recommend that he aim carefully at this dugong , it 's because the animal is justly regarded as fine game , and I know Mr. Land does not despise a choice morsel . "
" Aha ! " the Canadian put in . " This beast offers the added luxury of being good to eat ? "
" Yes , Mr. Land . Its flesh is actual red meat , highly prized , and set aside throughout Malaysia for the tables of aristocrats . Accordingly , this excellent animal has been hunted so bloodthirstily that , like its manatee relatives , it has become more and more scarce . "
" In that case , captain , " Conseil said in all seriousness , " on the offchance that this creature might be the last of its line , would not it be advisable to spare its life , in the interests of science ? "
" Maybe , " the Canadian answered , " it would be better to hunt it down , in the interests of mealtime . "
" Then proceed , Mr. Land , " Captain Nemo replied .
Just then , as mute and emotionless as ever , seven crewmen climbed onto the platform . One carried a harpoon and line similar to those used in whale fishing . Its deck paneling opened , the skiff was wrenched from its socket and launched to sea . Six rowers sat on the thwarts , and the coxswain took the tiller . Ned , Conseil , and I found seats in the stern .
" Are not you coming , captain ? " I asked .
" No , sir , but I wish you happy hunting . "
The skiff pulled clear , and carried off by its six oars , it headed swiftly toward the dugong , which by then was floating two miles from the Nautilus .
Arriving within a few cable lengths of the cetacean , our longboat slowed down , and the sculls dipped noiselessly into the tranquil waters . Harpoon in hand , Ned Land went to take his stand in the skiff 's bow . Harpoons used for hunting whales are usually attached to a very long rope that pays out quickly when the wounded animal drags it with him . But this rope measured no more than about ten fathoms , and its end had simply been fastened to a small barrel that , while floating , would indicate the dugong 's movements beneath the waters .
I stood up and could clearly observe the Canadian 's adversary . This dugong - - which also boasts the name halicore - - closely resembled a manatee . Its oblong body ended in a very long caudal fin and its lateral fins in actual fingers . It differs from the manatee in that its upper jaw is armed with two long , pointed teeth that form diverging tusks on either side .
This dugong that Ned Land was preparing to attack was of colossal dimensions , easily exceeding seven meters in length . It did not stir and seemed to be sleeping on the surface of the waves , a circumstance that should have made it easier to capture .
The skiff approached cautiously to within three fathoms of the animal . The oars hung suspended above their rowlocks . I was crouching . His body leaning slightly back , Ned Land brandished his harpoon with expert hands .
Suddenly a hissing sound was audible , and the dugong disappeared . Although the harpoon had been forcefully hurled , it apparently had hit only water .
" Damnation ! " exclaimed the furious Canadian . " I missed it ! "
" No , " I said , " the animal 's wounded , there 's its blood ; but your weapon did not stick in its body . "
" My harpoon ! Get my harpoon ! " Ned Land exclaimed .
The sailors went back to their sculling , and the coxswain steered the longboat toward the floating barrel . We fished up the harpoon , and the skiff started off in pursuit of the animal .
The latter returned from time to time to breathe at the surface of the sea . Its wound had not weakened it because it went with tremendous speed . Driven by energetic arms , the longboat flew on its trail . Several times we got within a few fathoms of it , and the Canadian hovered in readiness to strike ; but then the dugong would steal away with a sudden dive , and it proved impossible to overtake the beast .
I will let you assess the degree of anger consuming our impatient Ned Land . He hurled at the hapless animal the most potent swearwords in the English language . For my part , I was simply distressed to see this dugong outwit our every scheme .
We chased it unflaggingly for a full hour , and I ' d begun to think it would prove too difficult to capture , when the animal got the untimely idea of taking revenge on us , a notion it would soon have cause to regret . It wheeled on the skiff , to assault us in its turn .
This maneuver did not escape the Canadian .
" Watch out ! " he said .
The coxswain pronounced a few words in his bizarre language , and no doubt he alerted his men to keep on their guard .
Arriving within twenty feet of the skiff , the dugong stopped , sharply sniffing the air with its huge nostrils , pierced not at the tip of its muzzle but on its topside . Then it gathered itself and sprang at us .
The skiff couldn't avoid the collision . Half overturned , it shipped a ton or two of water that we had to bail out . But thanks to our skillful coxswain , we were fouled on the bias rather than broadside , so we did not capsize . Clinging to the stempost , Ned Land thrust his harpoon again and again into the gigantic animal , which imbedded its teeth in our gunwale and lifted the longboat out of the water as a lion would lift a deer . We were thrown on top of each other , and I have no idea how the venture would have ended had not the Canadian , still thirsting for the beast 's blood , finally pierced it to the heart .
I heard its teeth grind on sheet iron , and the dugong disappeared , taking our harpoon along with it . But the barrel soon popped up on the surface , and a few moments later the animal 's body appeared and rolled over on its back . Our skiff rejoined it , took it in tow , and headed to the Nautilus .
It took pulleys of great strength to hoist this dugong onto the platform . The beast weighed 5,000 kilograms . It was carved up in sight of the Canadian , who remained to watch every detail of the operation . At dinner the same day , my steward served me some slices of this flesh , skillfully dressed by the ship 's cook . I found it excellent , even better than veal if not beef .
The next morning , February 11 , the Nautilus 's pantry was enriched by more dainty game . A covey of terns alighted on the Nautilus . They were a species of Sterna nilotica unique to Egypt : beak black , head gray and stippled , eyes surrounded by white dots , back , wings , and tail grayish , belly and throat white , feet red . Also caught were a couple dozen Nile duck , superior - tasting wildfowl whose neck and crown of the head are white speckled with black .
By then the Nautilus had reduced speed . It moved ahead at a saunter , so to speak . I observed that the Red Sea 's water was becoming less salty the closer we got to Suez .
Near five o'clock in the afternoon , we sighted Cape Ras Mohammed to the north . This cape forms the tip of Arabia Petraea , which lies between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba .
The Nautilus entered the Strait of Jubal , which leads to the Gulf of Suez . I could clearly make out a high mountain crowning Ras Mohammed between the two gulfs . It was Mt. Horeb , that biblical Mt. Sinai on whose summit Moses met God face to face , that summit the mind 's eye always pictures as wreathed in lightning .
At six o'clock , sometimes afloat and sometimes submerged , the Nautilus passed well out from El Tur , which sat at the far end of a bay whose waters seemed to be dyed red , as Captain Nemo had already mentioned . Then night fell in the midst of a heavy silence occasionally broken by the calls of pelicans and nocturnal birds , by the sound of surf chafing against rocks , or by the distant moan of a steamer churning the waves of the gulf with noisy blades .
From eight to nine o'clock , the Nautilus stayed a few meters beneath the waters . According to my calculations , we had to be quite close to Suez . Through the panels in the lounge , I spotted rocky bottoms brightly lit by our electric rays . It seemed to me that the strait was getting narrower and narrower .
At 9:15 when our boat returned to the surface , I climbed onto the platform . I was quite impatient to clear Captain Nemo 's tunnel , could not sit still , and wanted to breathe the fresh night air .
Soon , in the shadows , I spotted a pale signal light glimmering a mile away , half discolored by mist .
" A floating lighthouse , " said someone next to me .
I turned and discovered the captain .
" That 's the floating signal light of Suez , " he went on . " It will not be long before we reach the entrance to the tunnel . "
" It can not be very easy to enter it . "
" No , sir . Accordingly , I am in the habit of staying in the pilothouse and directing maneuvers myself . And now if you will kindly go below , Professor Aronnax , the Nautilus is about to sink beneath the waves , and it will only return to the surface after we've cleared the Arabian Tunnel . "
I followed Captain Nemo . The hatch closed , the ballast tanks filled with water , and the submersible sank some ten meters down .
Just as I was about to repair to my stateroom , the captain stopped me .
" Professor , " he said to me , " would you like to go with me to the wheelhouse ? "
" I was afraid to ask , " I replied .
" Come along , then . This way , you will learn the full story about this combination underwater and underground navigating . "
Captain Nemo led me to the central companionway . In midstair he opened a door , went along the upper gangways , and arrived at the wheelhouse , which , as you know , stands at one end of the platform .
It was a cabin measuring six feet square and closely resembling those occupied by the helmsmen of steamboats on the Mississippi or Hudson rivers . In the center stood an upright wheel geared to rudder cables running to the Nautilus 's stern . Set in the cabin 's walls were four deadlights , windows of biconvex glass that enabled the man at the helm to see in every direction .
The cabin was dark ; but my eyes soon grew accustomed to its darkness and I saw the pilot , a muscular man whose hands rested on the pegs of the wheel . Outside , the sea was brightly lit by the beacon shining behind the cabin at the other end of the platform .
" Now , " Captain Nemo said , " let 's look for our passageway . "
Electric wires linked the pilothouse with the engine room , and from this cabin the captain could simultaneously signal heading and speed to his Nautilus . He pressed a metal button and at once the propeller slowed down significantly .
I stared in silence at the high , sheer wall we were skirting just then , the firm base of the sandy mountains on the coast . For an hour we went along it in this fashion , staying only a few meters away . Captain Nemo never took his eyes off the two concentric circles of the compass hanging in the cabin . At a mere gesture from him , the helmsman would instantly change the Nautilus 's heading .
Standing by the port deadlight , I spotted magnificent coral substructures , zoophytes , algae , and crustaceans with enormous quivering claws that stretched forth from crevices in the rock .
At 10:15 Captain Nemo himself took the helm . Dark and deep , a wide gallery opened ahead of us . The Nautilus was brazenly swallowed up . Strange rumblings were audible along our sides . It was the water of the Red Sea , hurled toward the Mediterranean by the tunnel 's slope . Our engines tried to offer resistance by churning the waves with propeller in reverse , but the Nautilus went with the torrent , as swift as an arrow .
Along the narrow walls of this passageway , I saw only brilliant streaks , hard lines , fiery furrows , all scrawled by our speeding electric light . With my hand I tried to curb the pounding of my heart .
At 10:35 Captain Nemo left the steering wheel and turned to me : " The Mediterranean , " he told me .
In less than twenty minutes , swept along by the torrent , the Nautilus had just cleared the Isthmus of Suez .
At sunrise the next morning , February 12 , the Nautilus rose to the surface of the waves .
I rushed onto the platform . The hazy silhouette of Pelusium was outlined three miles to the south . A torrent had carried us from one sea to the other . But although that tunnel was easy to descend , going back up must have been impossible .
Near seven o'clock Ned and Conseil joined me . Those two inseparable companions had slept serenely , utterly unaware of the Nautilus 's feat .
" Well , Mr. Naturalist , " the Canadian asked in a gently mocking tone , " and how about that Mediterranean ? "
" We are floating on its surface , Ned my friend . "
" What ! " Conseil put in . " Last night ... ? "
" Yes , last night , in a matter of minutes , we cleared that insuperable isthmus . "
" I do not believe a word of it , " the Canadian replied .
" And you are in the wrong , Mr. Land , " I went on . " That flat coastline curving southward is the coast of Egypt . "
" Tell it to the marines , sir , " answered the stubborn Canadian .
" But if master says so , " Conseil told him , " then so be it . "
" What 's more , Ned , " I said , " Captain Nemo himself did the honors in his tunnel , and I stood beside him in the pilothouse while he steered the Nautilus through that narrow passageway . "
" You hear , Ned ? " Conseil said .
" And you , Ned , who have such good eyes , " I added , " you can spot the jetties of Port Said stretching out to sea . "
The Canadian looked carefully .
" Correct , " he said . " You are right , professor , and your captain 's a superman . We are in the Mediterranean . Fine . So now let 's have a chat about our little doings , if you please , but in such a way that nobody overhears . "
I could easily see what the Canadian was driving at . In any event , I thought it best to let him have his chat , and we all three went to sit next to the beacon , where we were less exposed to the damp spray from the billows .
" Now , Ned , we are all ears , " I said . " What have you to tell us ? "
" What I've got to tell you is very simple , " the Canadian replied . " We are in Europe , and before Captain Nemo 's whims take us deep into the polar seas or back to Oceania , I say we should leave this Nautilus . "
I confess that such discussions with the Canadian always baffled me . I didn't want to restrict my companions ' freedom in any way , and yet I had no desire to leave Captain Nemo . Thanks to him and his submersible , I was finishing my undersea research by the day , and I was rewriting my book on the great ocean depths in the midst of its very element . Would I ever again have such an opportunity to observe the ocean 's wonders ? Absolutely not ! So I could not entertain this idea of leaving the Nautilus before completing our course of inquiry .
" Ned my friend , " I said , " answer me honestly . Are you bored with this ship ? Are you sorry that fate has cast you into Captain Nemo 's hands ? "
The Canadian paused for a short while before replying . Then , crossing his arms : " Honestly , " he said , " I am not sorry about this voyage under the seas . I will be glad to have done it , but in order to have done it , it has to finish . That 's my feeling . "
" It will finish , Ned . "
" Where and when ? "
" Where ? I do not know . When ? I can not say . Or , rather , I suppose it will be over when these seas have nothing more to teach us . Everything that begins in this world must inevitably come to an end . "
" I think as master does , " Conseil replied , " and it 's extremely possible that after crossing every sea on the globe , Captain Nemo will bid the three of us a fond farewell . "
" Bid us a fond farewell ? " the Canadian exclaimed . " You mean beat us to a fare - thee - well ! "
" Let 's not exaggerate , Mr. Land , " I went on . " We have nothing to fear from the captain , but neither do I share Conseil 's views . We are privy to the Nautilus 's secrets , and I do not expect that its commander , just to set us free , will meekly stand by while we spread those secrets all over the world . "
" But in that case what do you expect ? " the Canadian asked .
" That we'll encounter advantageous conditions for escaping just as readily in six months as now . "
" Great Scott ! " Ned Land put in . " And where , if you please , will we be in six months , Mr. Naturalist ? "
" Perhaps here , perhaps in China . You know how quickly the Nautilus moves . It crosses oceans like swallows cross the air or express trains continents . It does not fear heavily traveled seas . Who can say it will not hug the coasts of France , England , or America , where an escape attempt could be carried out just as effectively as here . "
" Professor Aronnax , " the Canadian replied , " your arguments are rotten to the core . You talk way off in the future : ' We will be here , we'll be there ! ' Me , I am talking about right now : we are here , and we must take advantage of it ! "
I was hard pressed by Ned Land 's common sense , and I felt myself losing ground . I no longer knew what arguments to put forward on my behalf .
" Sir , " Ned went on , " let 's suppose that by some impossibility , Captain Nemo offered your freedom to you this very day . Would you accept ? "
" I do not know , " I replied .
" And suppose he adds that this offer he is making you today will not ever be repeated , then would you accept ? "
I did not reply .
" And what thinks our friend Conseil ? " Ned Land asked .
" Your friend Conseil , " the fine lad replied serenely , " has nothing to say for himself . He is a completely disinterested party on this question . Like his master , like his comrade Ned , he is a bachelor . Neither wife , parents , nor children are waiting for him back home . He is in master 's employ , he thinks like master , he speaks like master , and much to his regret , he can not be counted on to form a majority . Only two persons face each other here : master on one side , Ned Land on the other . That said , your friend Conseil is listening , and he is ready to keep score . "
I could not help smiling as Conseil wiped himself out of existence . Deep down , the Canadian must have been overjoyed at not having to contend with him .
" Then , sir , " Ned Land said , " since Conseil is no more , we'll have this discussion between just the two of us . I've talked , you've listened . What 's your reply ? "
It was obvious that the matter had to be settled , and evasions were distasteful to me .
" Ned my friend , " I said , " here 's my reply . You have right on your side and my arguments can not stand up to yours . It will never do to count on Captain Nemo 's benevolence . The most ordinary good sense would forbid him to set us free . On the other hand , good sense decrees that we take advantage of our first opportunity to leave the Nautilus . "
" Fine , Professor Aronnax , that 's wisely said . "
" But one proviso , " I said , " just one . The opportunity must be the real thing . Our first attempt to escape must succeed , because if it misfires , we will not get a second chance , and Captain Nemo will never forgive us . "
" That 's also well put , " the Canadian replied . " But your proviso applies to any escape attempt , whether it happens in two years or two days . So this is still the question : if a promising opportunity comes up , we have to grab it . "
" Agreed . And now , Ned , will you tell me what you mean by a promising opportunity ? "
" One that leads the Nautilus on a cloudy night within a short distance of some European coast . "
" And you will try to get away by swimming ? "
" Yes , if we are close enough to shore and the ship 's afloat on the surface . No , if we are well out and the ship 's navigating under the waters . "
" And in that event ? "
" In that event I will try to get hold of the skiff . I know how to handle it . We will stick ourselves inside , undo the bolts , and rise to the surface , without the helmsman in the bow seeing a thing . "
" Fine , Ned . Stay on the lookout for such an opportunity , but do not forget , one slipup will finish us . "
" I will not forget , sir . "
" And now , Ned , would you like to know my overall thinking on your plan ? "
" Gladly , Professor Aronnax . "
" Well then , I think - - and I do not mean ' I hope ' - - that your promising opportunity will not ever arise . "
" Why not ? "
" Because Captain Nemo recognizes that we have not given up all hope of recovering our freedom , and he will keep on his guard , above all in seas within sight of the coasts of Europe . "
" I am of master 's opinion , " Conseil said .
" We will soon see , " Ned Land replied , shaking his head with a determined expression .
" And now , Ned Land , " I added , " let 's leave it at that . Not another word on any of this . The day you are ready , alert us and we are with you . I turn it all over to you . "
That 's how we ended this conversation , which later was to have such serious consequences . At first , I must say , events seemed to confirm my forecasts , much to the Canadian 's despair . Did Captain Nemo view us with distrust in these heavily traveled seas , or did he simply want to hide from the sight of those ships of every nation that plowed the Mediterranean ? I have no idea , but usually he stayed in midwater and well out from any coast . Either the Nautilus surfaced only enough to let its pilothouse emerge , or it slipped away to the lower depths , although , between the Greek Islands and Asia Minor , we did not find bottom even at 2,000 meters down .
Accordingly , I became aware of the isle of Karpathos , one of the Sporades Islands , only when Captain Nemo placed his finger over a spot on the world map and quoted me this verse from Virgil : Est in Carpathio Neptuni gurgite vates Caeruleus Proteus ...
It was indeed that bygone abode of Proteus , the old shepherd of King Neptune 's flocks : an island located between Rhodes and Crete , which Greeks now call Karpathos , Italians Scarpanto . Through the lounge window I could see only its granite bedrock .
The next day , February 14 , I decided to spend a few hours studying the fish of this island group ; but for whatever reason , the panels remained hermetically sealed . After determining the Nautilus 's heading , I noted that it was proceeding toward the ancient island of Crete , also called Candia . At the time I had shipped aboard the Abraham Lincoln , this whole island was in rebellion against its tyrannical rulers , the Ottoman Empire of Turkey . But since then I had absolutely no idea what happened to this revolution , and Captain Nemo , deprived of all contact with the shore , was hardly the man to keep me informed .
So I didn't allude to this event when , that evening , I chanced to be alone with the captain in the lounge . Besides , he seemed silent and preoccupied . Then , contrary to custom , he ordered that both panels in the lounge be opened , and going from the one to the other , he carefully observed the watery mass . For what purpose ? I had not a guess , and for my part , I spent my time studying the fish that passed before my eyes .
Among others I noted that sand goby mentioned by Aristotle and commonly known by the name sea loach , which is encountered exclusively in the salty waters next to the Nile Delta . Near them some semiphosphorescent red porgy rolled by , a variety of gilthead that the Egyptians ranked among their sacred animals , lauding them in religious ceremonies when their arrival in the river 's waters announced the fertile flood season . I also noticed some wrasse known as the tapiro , three decimeters long , bony fish with transparent scales whose bluish gray color is mixed with red spots ; they are enthusiastic eaters of marine vegetables , which gives them an exquisite flavor ; hence these tapiro were much in demand by the epicures of ancient Rome , and their entrails were dressed with brains of peacock , tongue of flamingo , and testes of moray to make that divine platter that so enraptured the Roman emperor Vitellius .
Another resident of these seas caught my attention and revived all my memories of antiquity . This was the remora , which travels attached to the bellies of sharks ; as the ancients tell it , when these little fish cling to the undersides of a ship , they can bring it to a halt , and by so impeding Mark Antony 's vessel during the Battle of Actium , one of them facilitated the victory of Augustus Caesar . From such slender threads hang the destinies of nations ! I also observed some wonderful snappers belonging to the order Lutianida , sacred fish for the Greeks , who claimed they could drive off sea monsters from the waters they frequent ; their Greek name anthias means " flower , " and they live up to it in the play of their colors and in those fleeting reflections that turn their dorsal fins into watered silk ; their hues are confined to a gamut of reds , from the pallor of pink to the glow of ruby . I could not take my eyes off these marine wonders , when I was suddenly jolted by an unexpected apparition .
In the midst of the waters , a man appeared , a diver carrying a little leather bag at his belt . It was no corpse lost in the waves . It was a living man , swimming vigorously , sometimes disappearing to breathe at the surface , then instantly diving again .
I turned to Captain Nemo , and in an agitated voice : " A man ! A castaway ! " I exclaimed . " We must rescue him at all cost ! "
The captain did not reply but went to lean against the window .
The man drew near , and gluing his face to the panel , he stared at us .
To my deep astonishment , Captain Nemo gave him a signal . The diver answered with his hand , immediately swam up to the surface of the sea , and did not reappear .
" Do not be alarmed , " the captain told me . " That 's Nicolas from Cape Matapan , nicknamed ' Il Pesce . ' He is well known throughout the Cyclades Islands . A bold diver ! Water is his true element , and he lives in the sea more than on shore , going constantly from one island to another , even to Crete . "
" You know him , captain ? "
" Why not , Professor Aronnax ? "
This said , Captain Nemo went to a cabinet standing near the lounge 's left panel . Next to this cabinet I saw a chest bound with hoops of iron , its lid bearing a copper plaque that displayed the Nautilus 's monogram with its motto Mobilis in Mobili .
Just then , ignoring my presence , the captain opened this cabinet , a sort of safe that contained a large number of ingots .
They were gold ingots . And they represented an enormous sum of money . Where had this precious metal come from ? How had the captain amassed this gold , and what was he about to do with it ?
I did not pronounce a word . I gaped . Captain Nemo took out the ingots one by one and arranged them methodically inside the chest , filling it to the top . At which point I estimate that it held more than 1,000 kilograms of gold , in other words , close to 5,000,000 francs .
After securely fastening the chest , Captain Nemo wrote an address on its lid in characters that must have been modern Greek .
This done , the captain pressed a button whose wiring was in communication with the crew 's quarters . Four men appeared and , not without difficulty , pushed the chest out of the lounge . Then I heard them hoist it up the iron companionway by means of pulleys .
Just then Captain Nemo turned to me : " You were saying , professor ? " he asked me .
" I was not saying a thing , captain . "
" Then , sir , with your permission , I will bid you good evening . "
And with that , Captain Nemo left the lounge .
I reentered my stateroom , very puzzled , as you can imagine . I tried in vain to fall asleep . I kept searching for a relationship between the appearance of the diver and that chest filled with gold . Soon , from certain rolling and pitching movements , I sensed that the Nautilus had left the lower strata and was back on the surface of the water .
Then I heard the sound of footsteps on the platform . I realized that the skiff was being detached and launched to sea . For an instant it bumped the Nautilus 's side , then all sounds ceased .
Two hours later , the same noises , the same comings and goings , were repeated . Hoisted on board , the longboat was readjusted into its socket , and the Nautilus plunged back beneath the waves .
So those millions had been delivered to their address . At what spot on the continent ? Who was the recipient of Captain Nemo 's gold ?
The next day I related the night 's events to Conseil and the Canadian , events that had aroused my curiosity to a fever pitch . My companions were as startled as I was .
" But where does he get those millions ? " Ned Land asked .
To this no reply was possible . After breakfast I made my way to the lounge and went about my work . I wrote up my notes until five o'clock in the afternoon . Just then - - was it due to some personal indisposition ? - - I felt extremely hot and had to take off my jacket made of fan mussel fabric . A perplexing circumstance because we weren't in the low latitudes , and besides , once the Nautilus was submerged , it should not be subject to any rise in temperature . I looked at the pressure gauge . It marked a depth of sixty feet , a depth beyond the reach of atmospheric heat .
I kept on working , but the temperature rose to the point of becoming unbearable .
" Could there be a fire on board ? " I wondered .
I was about to leave the lounge when Captain Nemo entered . He approached the thermometer , consulted it , and turned to me : " 42 degrees centigrade , " he said .
" I've detected as much , captain , " I replied , " and if it gets even slightly hotter , we will not be able to stand it . "
" Oh , professor , it will not get any hotter unless we want it to ! "
" You mean you can control this heat ? "
" No , but I can back away from the fireplace producing it . "
" So it 's outside ? "
" Surely . We are cruising in a current of boiling water . "
" It can not be ! " I exclaimed .
" Look . "
The panels had opened , and I could see a completely white sea around the Nautilus . Steaming sulfurous fumes uncoiled in the midst of waves bubbling like water in a boiler . I leaned my hand against one of the windows , but the heat was so great , I had to snatch it back .
" Where are we ? " I asked .
" Near the island of Santorini , professor , " the captain answered me , " and right in the channel that separates the volcanic islets of Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni . I wanted to offer you the unusual sight of an underwater eruption . "
" I thought , " I said , " that the formation of such new islands had come to an end . "
" Nothing ever comes to an end in these volcanic waterways , " Captain Nemo replied , " and thanks to its underground fires , our globe is continuously under construction in these regions . According to the Latin historians Cassiodorus and Pliny , by the year 19 of the Christian era , a new island , the divine Thera , had already appeared in the very place these islets have more recently formed . Then Thera sank under the waves , only to rise and sink once more in the year 69 A.D. From that day to this , such plutonic construction work has been in abeyance . But on February 3 , 1866 , a new islet named George Island emerged in the midst of sulfurous steam near Nea Kameni and was fused to it on the 6 th of the same month . Seven days later , on February 13 , the islet of Aphroessa appeared , leaving a ten - meter channel between itself and Nea Kameni . I was in these seas when that phenomenon occurred and I was able to observe its every phase . The islet of Aphroessa was circular in shape , measuring 300 feet in diameter and thirty feet in height . It was made of black , glassy lava mixed with bits of feldspar . Finally , on March 10 , a smaller islet called Reka appeared next to Nea Kameni , and since then , these three islets have fused to form one single , selfsame island . "
" What about this channel we are in right now ? " I asked .
" Here it is , " Captain Nemo replied , showing me a chart of the Greek Islands . " You observe that I've entered the new islets in their place . "
" But will this channel fill up one day ? "
" Very likely , Professor Aronnax , because since 1866 eight little lava islets have surged up in front of the port of St. Nicolas on Palea Kameni . So it 's obvious that Nea and Palea will join in days to come . In the middle of the Pacific , tiny infusoria build continents , but here they are built by volcanic phenomena . Look , sir ! Look at the construction work going on under these waves . "
I returned to the window . The Nautilus was no longer moving . The heat had become unbearable . From the white it had recently been , the sea was turning red , a coloration caused by the presence of iron salts . Although the lounge was hermetically sealed , it was filling with an intolerable stink of sulfur , and I could see scarlet flames of such brightness , they overpowered our electric light .
I was swimming in perspiration , I was stifling , I was about to be cooked . Yes , I felt myself cooking in actual fact !
" We can not stay any longer in this boiling water , " I told the captain .
" No , it would not be advisable , " replied Nemo the Emotionless .
He gave an order . The Nautilus tacked about and retreated from this furnace it could not brave with impunity . A quarter of an hour later , we were breathing fresh air on the surface of the waves .
It then occurred to me that if Ned had chosen these waterways for our escape attempt , we would not have come out alive from this sea of fire .
The next day , February 16 , we left this basin , which tallies depths of 3,000 meters between Rh