"Very slightly," I answered.
"Well, here are learned men having to learn," said the Captain. "Come,
sit down, and I will tell you a curious episode in this history. Sir,
listen well," said he; "this history will interest you on one side, for
it will answer a question which doubtless you have not been able to
solve."
"I listen, Captain," said I, not knowing what my interlocutor was
driving at, and asking myself if this incident was bearing on our
projected flight.
"Sir, if you have no objection, we will go back to 1702. You cannot be
ignorant that your king, Louis XIV, thinking that the gesture of a
potentate was sufficient to bring the Pyrenees under his yoke, had
imposed the Duke of Anjou, his grandson, on the Spaniards. This prince
reigned more or less badly under the name of Philip V, and had a strong
party against him abroad. Indeed, the preceding year, the royal houses
of Holland, Austria, and England had concluded a treaty of alliance at
the Hague, with the intention of plucking the crown of Spain from the
head of Philip V, and placing it on that of an archduke to whom they
prematurely gave the title of Charles III.
"Spain must resist this coalition; but she was almost entirely
unprovided with either soldiers or sailors. However, money would not
fail them, provided that their galleons, laden with gold and silver
from America, once entered their ports. And about the end of 1702 they
expected a rich convoy which France was escorting with a fleet of
twenty-three vessels, commanded by Admiral Chateau-Renaud, for the
ships of the coalition were already beating the Atlantic. This convoy
was to go to Cadiz, but the Admiral, hearing that an English fleet was
cruising in those waters, resolved to make for a French port.
"The Spanish commanders of the convoy objected to this decision. They
wanted to be taken to a Spanish port, and, if not to Cadiz, into Vigo
Bay, situated on the northwest coast of Spain, and which was not
blocked.
"Admiral Chateau-Renaud had the rashness to obey this injunction, and
the galleons entered Vigo Bay.
"Unfortunately, it formed an open road which could not be defended in
any way. They must therefore hasten to unload the galleons before the
arrival of the combined fleet; and time would not have failed them had
not a miserable question of rivalry suddenly arisen.
"You are following the chain of events?" asked Captain Nemo.
"Perfectly," said I, not knowing the end proposed by this historical
lesson.
"I will continue. This is what passed. The merchants of Cadiz had a
privilege by which they had the right of receiving all merchandise
coming from the West Indies. Now, to disembark these ingots at the
port of Vigo was depriving them of their rights. They complained at
Madrid, and obtained the consent of the weak-minded Philip that the
convoy, without discharging its cargo, should remain sequestered in the
roads of Vigo until the enemy had disappeared.
"But whilst coming to this decision, on the 22nd of October, 1702, the
English vessels arrived in Vigo Bay, when Admiral Chateau-Renaud, in
spite of inferior forces, fought bravely. But, seeing that the
treasure must fall into the enemy's hands, he burnt and scuttled every
galleon, which went to the bottom with their immense riches."
Captain Nemo stopped. I admit I could not see yet why this history
should interest me.
"Well?" I asked.
"Well, M. Aronnax," replied Captain Nemo, "we are in that Vigo Bay; and
it rests with yourself whether you will penetrate its mysteries."
The Captain rose, telling me to follow him. I had had time to recover.
I obeyed. The saloon was dark, but through the transparent glass the
waves were sparkling. I looked.
For half a mile around the Nautilus, the waters seemed bathed in
electric light. The sandy bottom was clean and bright. Some of the
ship's crew in their diving-dresses were clearing away half-rotten
barrels and empty cases from the midst of the blackened wrecks. From
these cases and from these barrels escaped ingots of gold and silver,
cascades of piastres and jewels. The sand was heaped up with them.
Laden with their precious booty, the men returned to the Nautilus,
disposed of their burden, and went back to this inexhaustible fishery
of gold and silver.
I understood now. This was the scene of the battle of the 22nd of
October, 1702. Here on this very spot the galleons laden for the
Spanish Government had sunk. Here Captain Nemo came, according to his
wants, to pack up those millions with which he burdened the Nautilus.
It was for him and him alone America had given up her precious metals.
He was heir direct, without anyone to share, in those treasures torn
from the Incas and from the conquered of Ferdinand Cortez.
"Did you know, sir," he asked, smiling, "that the sea contained such
riches?"
"I knew," I answered, "that they value money held in suspension in
these waters at two millions."
"Doubtless; but to extract this money the expense would be greater than
the profit. Here, on the contrary, I have but to pick up what man has
lost--and not only in Vigo Bay, but in a thousand other ports where
shipwrecks have happened, and which are marked on my submarine map.
Can you understand now the source of the millions I am worth?"
"I understand, Captain. But allow me to tell you that in exploring
Vigo Bay you have only been beforehand with a rival society."
"And which?"
"A society which has received from the Spanish Government the privilege
of seeking those buried galleons. The shareholders are led on by the
allurement of an enormous bounty, for they value these rich shipwrecks
at five hundred millions."
"Five hundred millions they were," answered Captain Nemo, "but they are
so no longer."
"Just so," said I; "and a warning to those shareholders would be an act
of charity. But who knows if it would be well received? What gamblers
usually regret above all is less the loss of their money than of their
foolish hopes. After all, I pity them less than the thousands of
unfortunates to whom so much riches well-distributed would have been
profitable, whilst for them they will be for ever barren."
I had no sooner expressed this regret than I felt that it must have
wounded Captain Nemo.
"Barren!" he exclaimed, with animation. "Do you think then, sir, that
these riches are lost because I gather them? Is it for myself alone,
according to your idea, that I take the trouble to collect these
treasures? Who told you that I did not make a good use of it? Do you
think I am ignorant that there are suffering beings and oppressed races
on this earth, miserable creatures to console, victims to avenge? Do
you not understand?"
Captain Nemo stopped at these last words, regretting perhaps that he
had spoken so much. But I had guessed that, whatever the motive which
had forced him to seek independence under the sea, it had left him
still a man, that his heart still beat for the sufferings of humanity,
and that his immense charity was for oppressed races as well as
individuals. And I then understood for whom those millions were
destined which were forwarded by Captain Nemo when the Nautilus was
cruising in the waters of Crete.
CHAPTER IX
A VANISHED CONTINENT
The next morning, the 19th of February, I saw the Canadian enter my
room. I expected this visit. He looked very disappointed.
"Well, sir?" said he.
"Well, Ned, fortune was against us yesterday."
"Yes; that Captain must needs stop exactly at the hour we intended
leaving his vessel."
"Yes, Ned, he had business at his bankers."
"His bankers!"
"Or rather his banking-house; by that I mean the ocean, where his
riches are safer than in the chests of the State."
I then related to the Canadian the incidents of the preceding night,
hoping to bring him back to the idea of not abandoning the Captain; but
my recital had no other result than an energetically expressed regret
from Ned that he had not been able to take a walk on the battlefield of
Vigo on his own account.
"However," said he, "all is not ended. It is only a blow of the
harpoon lost. Another time we must succeed; and to-night, if
necessary----"
"In what direction is the Nautilus going?" I asked.
"I do not know," replied Ned.
"Well, at noon we shall see the point."
The Canadian returned to Conseil. As soon as I was dressed, I went
into the saloon. The compass was not reassuring. The course of the
Nautilus was S.S.W. We were turning our backs on Europe.
I waited with some impatience till the ship's place was pricked on the
chart. At about half-past eleven the reservoirs were emptied, and our
vessel rose to the surface of the ocean. I rushed towards the
platform. Ned Land had preceded me. No more land in sight. Nothing
but an immense sea. Some sails on the horizon, doubtless those going
to San Roque in search of favourable winds for doubling the Cape of
Good Hope. The weather was cloudy. A gale of wind was preparing. Ned
raved, and tried to pierce the cloudy horizon. He still hoped that
behind all that fog stretched the land he so longed for.
At noon the sun showed itself for an instant. The second profited by
this brightness to take its height. Then, the sea becoming more
billowy, we descended, and the panel closed.
An hour after, upon consulting the chart, I saw the position of the
Nautilus was marked at 16° 17' long., and 33° 22' lat., at 150
leagues from the nearest coast. There was no means of flight, and I
leave you to imagine the rage of the Canadian when I informed him of
our situation.
For myself, I was not particularly sorry. I felt lightened of the load
which had oppressed me, and was able to return with some degree of
calmness to my accustomed work.
That night, about eleven o'clock, I received a most unexpected visit
from Captain Nemo. He asked me very graciously if I felt fatigued from
my watch of the preceding night. I answered in the negative.
"Then, M. Aronnax, I propose a curious excursion."
"Propose, Captain?"
"You have hitherto only visited the submarine depths by daylight, under
the brightness of the sun. Would it suit you to see them in the
darkness of the night?"
"Most willingly."
"I warn you, the way will be tiring. We shall have far to walk, and
must climb a mountain. The roads are not well kept."
"What you say, Captain, only heightens my curiosity; I am ready to
follow you."
"Come then, sir, we will put on our diving-dresses."
Arrived at the robing-room, I saw that neither of my companions nor any
of the ship's crew were to follow us on this excursion. Captain Nemo
had not even proposed my taking with me either Ned or Conseil.
In a few moments we had put on our diving-dresses; they placed on our
backs the reservoirs, abundantly filled with air, but no electric lamps
were prepared. I called the Captain's attention to the fact.
"They will be useless," he replied.
I thought I had not heard aright, but I could not repeat my
observation, for the Captain's head had already disappeared in its
metal case. I finished harnessing myself. I felt them put an
iron-pointed stick into my hand, and some minutes later, after going
through the usual form, we set foot on the bottom of the Atlantic at a
depth of 150 fathoms. Midnight was near. The waters were profoundly
dark, but Captain Nemo pointed out in the distance a reddish spot, a
sort of large light shining brilliantly about two miles from the
Nautilus. What this fire might be, what could feed it, why and how it
lit up the liquid mass, I could not say. In any case, it did light our
way, vaguely, it is true, but I soon accustomed myself to the peculiar
darkness, and I understood, under such circumstances, the uselessness
of the Ruhmkorff apparatus.
As we advanced, I heard a kind of pattering above my head. The noise
redoubling, sometimes producing a continual shower, I soon understood
the cause. It was rain falling violently, and crisping the surface of
the waves. Instinctively the thought flashed across my mind that I
should be wet through! By the water! in the midst of the water! I
could not help laughing at the odd idea. But, indeed, in the thick
diving-dress, the liquid element is no longer felt, and one only seems
to be in an atmosphere somewhat denser than the terrestrial atmosphere.
Nothing more.
After half an hour's walk the soil became stony. Medusae, microscopic
crustacea, and pennatules lit it slightly with their phosphorescent
gleam. I caught a glimpse of pieces of stone covered with millions of
zoophytes and masses of sea weed. My feet often slipped upon this
sticky carpet of sea weed, and without my iron-tipped stick I should
have fallen more than once. In turning round, I could still see the
whitish lantern of the Nautilus beginning to pale in the distance.
But the rosy light which guided us increased and lit up the horizon.
The presence of this fire under water puzzled me in the highest degree.
Was I going towards a natural phenomenon as yet unknown to the -savants-
of the earth? Or even (for this thought crossed my brain) had the hand
of man aught to do with this conflagration? Had he fanned this flame?
Was I to meet in these depths companions and friends of Captain Nemo
whom he was going to visit, and who, like him, led this strange
existence? Should I find down there a whole colony of exiles who,
weary of the miseries of this earth, had sought and found independence
in the deep ocean? All these foolish and unreasonable ideas pursued
me. And in this condition of mind, over-excited by the succession of
wonders continually passing before my eyes, I should not have been
surprised to meet at the bottom of the sea one of those submarine towns
of which Captain Nemo dreamed.
Our road grew lighter and lighter. The white glimmer came in rays from
the summit of a mountain about 800 feet high. But what I saw was
simply a reflection, developed by the clearness of the waters. The
source of this inexplicable light was a fire on the opposite side of
the mountain.
In the midst of this stony maze furrowing the bottom of the Atlantic,
Captain Nemo advanced without hesitation. He knew this dreary road.
Doubtless he had often travelled over it, and could not lose himself.
I followed him with unshaken confidence. He seemed to me like a genie
of the sea; and, as he walked before me, I could not help admiring his
stature, which was outlined in black on the luminous horizon.
It was one in the morning when we arrived at the first slopes of the
mountain; but to gain access to them we must venture through the
difficult paths of a vast copse.
Yes; a copse of dead trees, without leaves, without sap, trees
petrified by the action of the water and here and there overtopped by
gigantic pines. It was like a coal-pit still standing, holding by the
roots to the broken soil, and whose branches, like fine black paper
cuttings, showed distinctly on the watery ceiling. Picture to yourself
a forest in the Hartz hanging on to the sides of the mountain, but a
forest swallowed up. The paths were encumbered with seaweed and fucus,
between which grovelled a whole world of crustacea. I went along,
climbing the rocks, striding over extended trunks, breaking the sea
bind-weed which hung from one tree to the other; and frightening the
fishes, which flew from branch to branch. Pressing onward, I felt no
fatigue. I followed my guide, who was never tired. What a spectacle!
How can I express it? how paint the aspect of those woods and rocks in
this medium--their under parts dark and wild, the upper coloured with
red tints, by that light which the reflecting powers of the waters
doubled? We climbed rocks which fell directly after with gigantic
bounds and the low growling of an avalanche. To right and left ran
long, dark galleries, where sight was lost. Here opened vast glades
which the hand of man seemed to have worked; and I sometimes asked
myself if some inhabitant of these submarine regions would not suddenly
appear to me.
But Captain Nemo was still mounting. I could not stay behind. I
followed boldly. My stick gave me good help. A false step would have
been dangerous on the narrow passes sloping down to the sides of the
gulfs; but I walked with firm step, without feeling any giddiness. Now
I jumped a crevice, the depth of which would have made me hesitate had
it been among the glaciers on the land; now I ventured on the unsteady
trunk of a tree thrown across from one abyss to the other, without
looking under my feet, having only eyes to admire the wild sites of
this region.
There, monumental rocks, leaning on their regularly-cut bases, seemed
to defy all laws of equilibrium. From between their stony knees trees
sprang, like a jet under heavy pressure, and upheld others which upheld
them. Natural towers, large scarps, cut perpendicularly, like a
"curtain," inclined at an angle which the laws of gravitation could
never have tolerated in terrestrial regions.
Two hours after quitting the Nautilus we had crossed the line of trees,
and a hundred feet above our heads rose the top of the mountain, which
cast a shadow on the brilliant irradiation of the opposite slope. Some
petrified shrubs ran fantastically here and there. Fishes got up under
our feet like birds in the long grass. The massive rocks were rent
with impenetrable fractures, deep grottos, and unfathomable holes, at
the bottom of which formidable creatures might be heard moving. My
blood curdled when I saw enormous antennae blocking my road, or some
frightful claw closing with a noise in the shadow of some cavity.
Millions of luminous spots shone brightly in the midst of the darkness.
They were the eyes of giant crustacea crouched in their holes; giant
lobsters setting themselves up like halberdiers, and moving their claws
with the clicking sound of pincers; titanic crabs, pointed like a gun
on its carriage; and frightful-looking poulps, interweaving their
tentacles like a living nest of serpents.
We had now arrived on the first platform, where other surprises awaited
me. Before us lay some picturesque ruins, which betrayed the hand of
man and not that of the Creator. There were vast heaps of stone,
amongst which might be traced the vague and shadowy forms of castles
and temples, clothed with a world of blossoming zoophytes, and over
which, instead of ivy, sea-weed and fucus threw a thick vegetable
mantle. But what was this portion of the globe which had been
swallowed by cataclysms? Who had placed those rocks and stones like
cromlechs of prehistoric times? Where was I? Whither had Captain
Nemo's fancy hurried me?
I would fain have asked him; not being able to, I stopped him--I seized
his arm. But, shaking his head, and pointing to the highest point of
the mountain, he seemed to say:
"Come, come along; come higher!"
I followed, and in a few minutes I had climbed to the top, which for a
circle of ten yards commanded the whole mass of rock.
I looked down the side we had just climbed. The mountain did not rise
more than seven or eight hundred feet above the level of the plain; but
on the opposite side it commanded from twice that height the depths of
this part of the Atlantic. My eyes ranged far over a large space lit
by a violent fulguration. In fact, the mountain was a volcano.
At fifty feet above the peak, in the midst of a rain of stones and
scoriae, a large crater was vomiting forth torrents of lava which fell
in a cascade of fire into the bosom of the liquid mass. Thus situated,
this volcano lit the lower plain like an immense torch, even to the
extreme limits of the horizon. I said that the submarine crater threw
up lava, but no flames. Flames require the oxygen of the air to feed
upon and cannot be developed under water; but streams of lava, having
in themselves the principles of their incandescence, can attain a white
heat, fight vigorously against the liquid element, and turn it to
vapour by contact.
Rapid currents bearing all these gases in diffusion and torrents of
lava slid to the bottom of the mountain like an eruption of Vesuvius on
another Terra del Greco.
There indeed under my eyes, ruined, destroyed, lay a town--its roofs
open to the sky, its temples fallen, its arches dislocated, its columns
lying on the ground, from which one would still recognise the massive
character of Tuscan architecture. Further on, some remains of a
gigantic aqueduct; here the high base of an Acropolis, with the
floating outline of a Parthenon; there traces of a quay, as if an
ancient port had formerly abutted on the borders of the ocean, and
disappeared with its merchant vessels and its war-galleys. Farther on
again, long lines of sunken walls and broad, deserted streets--a
perfect Pompeii escaped beneath the waters. Such was the sight that
Captain Nemo brought before my eyes!
Where was I? Where was I? I must know at any cost. I tried to speak,
but Captain Nemo stopped me by a gesture, and, picking up a piece of
chalk-stone, advanced to a rock of black basalt, and traced the one
word:
ATLANTIS
What a light shot through my mind! Atlantis! the Atlantis of Plato,
that continent denied by Origen and Humbolt, who placed its
disappearance amongst the legendary tales. I had it there now before
my eyes, bearing upon it the unexceptionable testimony of its
catastrophe. The region thus engulfed was beyond Europe, Asia, and
Lybia, beyond the columns of Hercules, where those powerful people, the
Atlantides, lived, against whom the first wars of ancient Greeks were
waged.
Thus, led by the strangest destiny, I was treading under foot the
mountains of this continent, touching with my hand those ruins a
thousand generations old and contemporary with the geological epochs.
I was walking on the very spot where the contemporaries of the first
man had walked.
Whilst I was trying to fix in my mind every detail of this grand
landscape, Captain Nemo remained motionless, as if petrified in mute
ecstasy, leaning on a mossy stone. Was he dreaming of those
generations long since disappeared? Was he asking them the secret of
human destiny? Was it here this strange man came to steep himself in
historical recollections, and live again this ancient life--he who
wanted no modern one? What would I not have given to know his
thoughts, to share them, to understand them! We remained for an hour
at this place, contemplating the vast plains under the brightness of
the lava, which was some times wonderfully intense. Rapid tremblings
ran along the mountain caused by internal bubblings, deep noise,
distinctly transmitted through the liquid medium were echoed with
majestic grandeur. At this moment the moon appeared through the mass
of waters and threw her pale rays on the buried continent. It was but
a gleam, but what an indescribable effect! The Captain rose, cast one
last look on the immense plain, and then bade me follow him.
We descended the mountain rapidly, and, the mineral forest once passed,
I saw the lantern of the Nautilus shining like a star. The Captain
walked straight to it, and we got on board as the first rays of light
whitened the surface of the ocean.
CHAPTER X
THE SUBMARINE COAL-MINES
The next day, the 20th of February, I awoke very late: the fatigues of
the previous night had prolonged my sleep until eleven o'clock. I
dressed quickly, and hastened to find the course the Nautilus was
taking. The instruments showed it to be still toward the south, with a
speed of twenty miles an hour and a depth of fifty fathoms.
The species of fishes here did not differ much from those already
noticed. There were rays of giant size, five yards long, and endowed
with great muscular strength, which enabled them to shoot above the
waves; sharks of many kinds; amongst others, one fifteen feet long,
with triangular sharp teeth, and whose transparency rendered it almost
invisible in the water.
Amongst bony fish Conseil noticed some about three yards long, armed at
the upper jaw with a piercing sword; other bright-coloured creatures,
known in the time of Aristotle by the name of the sea-dragon, which are
dangerous to capture on account of the spikes on their back.
About four o'clock, the soil, generally composed of a thick mud mixed
with petrified wood, changed by degrees, and it became more stony, and
seemed strewn with conglomerate and pieces of basalt, with a sprinkling
of lava. I thought that a mountainous region was succeeding the long
plains; and accordingly, after a few evolutions of the Nautilus, I saw
the southerly horizon blocked by a high wall which seemed to close all
exit. Its summit evidently passed the level of the ocean. It must be
a continent, or at least an island--one of the Canaries, or of the Cape
Verde Islands. The bearings not being yet taken, perhaps designedly, I
was ignorant of our exact position. In any case, such a wall seemed to
me to mark the limits of that Atlantis, of which we had in reality
passed over only the smallest part.
Much longer should I have remained at the window admiring the beauties
of sea and sky, but the panels closed. At this moment the Nautilus
arrived at the side of this high, perpendicular wall. What it would
do, I could not guess. I returned to my room; it no longer moved. I
laid myself down with the full intention of waking after a few hours'
sleep; but it was eight o'clock the next day when I entered the saloon.
I looked at the manometer. It told me that the Nautilus was floating
on the surface of the ocean. Besides, I heard steps on the platform.
I went to the panel. It was open; but, instead of broad daylight, as I
expected, I was surrounded by profound darkness. Where were we? Was I
mistaken? Was it still night? No; not a star was shining and night
has not that utter darkness.
I knew not what to think, when a voice near me said:
"Is that you, Professor?"
"Ah! Captain," I answered, "where are we?"
"Underground, sir."
"Underground!" I exclaimed. "And the Nautilus floating still?"
"It always floats."
"But I do not understand."
"Wait a few minutes, our lantern will be lit, and, if you like light
places, you will be satisfied."
I stood on the platform and waited. The darkness was so complete that
I could not even see Captain Nemo; but, looking to the zenith, exactly
above my head, I seemed to catch an undecided gleam, a kind of twilight
filling a circular hole. At this instant the lantern was lit, and its
vividness dispelled the faint light. I closed my dazzled eyes for an
instant, and then looked again. The Nautilus was stationary, floating
near a mountain which formed a sort of quay. The lake, then,
supporting it was a lake imprisoned by a circle of walls, measuring two
miles in diameter and six in circumference. Its level (the manometer
showed) could only be the same as the outside level, for there must
necessarily be a communication between the lake and the sea. The high
partitions, leaning forward on their base, grew into a vaulted roof
bearing the shape of an immense funnel turned upside down, the height
being about five or six hundred yards. At the summit was a circular
orifice, by which I had caught the slight gleam of light, evidently
daylight.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"In the very heart of an extinct volcano, the interior of which has
been invaded by the sea, after some great convulsion of the earth.
Whilst you were sleeping, Professor, the Nautilus penetrated to this
lagoon by a natural canal, which opens about ten yards beneath the
surface of the ocean. This is its harbour of refuge, a sure,
commodious, and mysterious one, sheltered from all gales. Show me, if
you can, on the coasts of any of your continents or islands, a road
which can give such perfect refuge from all storms."
"Certainly," I replied, "you are in safety here, Captain Nemo. Who
could reach you in the heart of a volcano? But did I not see an
opening at its summit?"
"Yes; its crater, formerly filled with lava, vapour, and flames, and
which now gives entrance to the life-giving air we breathe."
"But what is this volcanic mountain?"
"It belongs to one of the numerous islands with which this sea is
strewn--to vessels a simple sandbank--to us an immense cavern. Chance
led me to discover it, and chance served me well."
"But of what use is this refuge, Captain? The Nautilus wants no port."
"No, sir; but it wants electricity to make it move, and the wherewithal
to make the electricity--sodium to feed the elements, coal from which
to get the sodium, and a coal-mine to supply the coal. And exactly on
this spot the sea covers entire forests embedded during the geological
periods, now mineralised and transformed into coal; for me they are an
inexhaustible mine."
"Your men follow the trade of miners here, then, Captain?"
"Exactly so. These mines extend under the waves like the mines of
Newcastle. Here, in their diving-dresses, pick axe and shovel in hand,
my men extract the coal, which I do not even ask from the mines of the
earth. When I burn this combustible for the manufacture of sodium, the
smoke, escaping from the crater of the mountain, gives it the
appearance of a still-active volcano."
"And we shall see your companions at work?"
"No; not this time at least; for I am in a hurry to continue our
submarine tour of the earth. So I shall content myself with drawing
from the reserve of sodium I already possess. The time for loading is
one day only, and we continue our voyage. So, if you wish to go over
the cavern and make the round of the lagoon, you must take advantage of
to-day, M. Aronnax."
I thanked the Captain and went to look for my companions, who had not
yet left their cabin. I invited them to follow me without saying where
we were. They mounted the platform. Conseil, who was astonished at
nothing, seemed to look upon it as quite natural that he should wake
under a mountain, after having fallen asleep under the waves. But Ned
Land thought of nothing but finding whether the cavern had any exit.
After breakfast, about ten o'clock, we went down on to the mountain.
"Here we are, once more on land," said Conseil.
"I do not call this land," said the Canadian. "And besides, we are not
on it, but beneath it."
Between the walls of the mountains and the waters of the lake lay a
sandy shore which, at its greatest breadth, measured five hundred feet.
On this soil one might easily make the tour of the lake. But the base
of the high partitions was stony ground, with volcanic locks and
enormous pumice-stones lying in picturesque heaps. All these detached
masses, covered with enamel, polished by the action of the
subterraneous fires, shone resplendent by the light of our electric
lantern. The mica dust from the shore, rising under our feet, flew
like a cloud of sparks. The bottom now rose sensibly, and we soon
arrived at long circuitous slopes, or inclined planes, which took us
higher by degrees; but we were obliged to walk carefully among these
conglomerates, bound by no cement, the feet slipping on the glassy
crystal, felspar, and quartz.
The volcanic nature of this enormous excavation was confirmed on all
sides, and I pointed it out to my companions.
"Picture to yourselves," said I, "what this crater must have been when
filled with boiling lava, and when the level of the incandescent liquid
rose to the orifice of the mountain, as though melted on the top of a
hot plate."
"I can picture it perfectly," said Conseil. "But, sir, will you tell
me why the Great Architect has suspended operations, and how it is that
the furnace is replaced by the quiet waters of the lake?"
"Most probably, Conseil, because some convulsion beneath the ocean
produced that very opening which has served as a passage for the
Nautilus. Then the waters of the Atlantic rushed into the interior of
the mountain. There must have been a terrible struggle between the two
elements, a struggle which ended in the victory of Neptune. But many
ages have run out since then, and the submerged volcano is now a
peaceable grotto."
"Very well," replied Ned Land; "I accept the explanation, sir; but, in
our own interests, I regret that the opening of which you speak was not
made above the level of the sea."
"But, friend Ned," said Conseil, "if the passage had not been under the
sea, the Nautilus could not have gone through it."
We continued ascending. The steps became more and more perpendicular
and narrow. Deep excavations, which we were obliged to cross, cut them
here and there; sloping masses had to be turned. We slid upon our
knees and crawled along. But Conseil's dexterity and the Canadian's
strength surmounted all obstacles. At a height of about 31 feet the
nature of the ground changed without becoming more practicable. To the
conglomerate and trachyte succeeded black basalt, the first dispread in
layers full of bubbles, the latter forming regular prisms, placed like
a colonnade supporting the spring of the immense vault, an admirable
specimen of natural architecture. Between the blocks of basalt wound
long streams of lava, long since grown cold, encrusted with bituminous
rays; and in some places there were spread large carpets of sulphur. A
more powerful light shone through the upper crater, shedding a vague
glimmer over these volcanic depressions for ever buried in the bosom of
this extinguished mountain. But our upward march was soon stopped at a
height of about two hundred and fifty feet by impassable obstacles.
There was a complete vaulted arch overhanging us, and our ascent was
changed to a circular walk. At the last change vegetable life began to
struggle with the mineral. Some shrubs, and even some trees, grew from
the fractures of the walls. I recognised some euphorbias, with the
caustic sugar coming from them; heliotropes, quite incapable of
justifying their name, sadly drooped their clusters of flowers, both
their colour and perfume half gone. Here and there some chrysanthemums
grew timidly at the foot of an aloe with long, sickly-looking leaves.
But between the streams of lava, I saw some little violets still
slightly perfumed, and I admit that I smelt them with delight. Perfume
is the soul of the flower, and sea-flowers have no soul.
We had arrived at the foot of some sturdy dragon-trees, which had
pushed aside the rocks with their strong roots, when Ned Land exclaimed:
"Ah! sir, a hive! a hive!"
"A hive!" I replied, with a gesture of incredulity.
"Yes, a hive," repeated the Canadian, "and bees humming round it."
I approached, and was bound to believe my own eyes. There at a hole
bored in one of the dragon-trees were some thousands of these ingenious
insects, so common in all the Canaries, and whose produce is so much
esteemed. Naturally enough, the Canadian wished to gather the honey,
and I could not well oppose his wish. A quantity of dry leaves, mixed
with sulphur, he lit with a spark from his flint, and he began to smoke
out the bees. The humming ceased by degrees, and the hive eventually
yielded several pounds of the sweetest honey, with which Ned Land
filled his haversack.
"When I have mixed this honey with the paste of the bread-fruit," said
he, "I shall be able to offer you a succulent cake."
[Transcriber's Note: 'bread-fruit' has been substituted for
'artocarpus' in this ed.]
"'Pon my word," said Conseil, "it will be gingerbread."
"Never mind the gingerbread," said I; "let us continue our interesting
walk."
At every turn of the path we were following, the lake appeared in all
its length and breadth. The lantern lit up the whole of its peaceable
surface, which knew neither ripple nor wave. The Nautilus remained
perfectly immovable. On the platform, and on the mountain, the ship's
crew were working like black shadows clearly carved against the
luminous atmosphere. We were now going round the highest crest of the
first layers of rock which upheld the roof. I then saw that bees were
not the only representatives of the animal kingdom in the interior of
this volcano. Birds of prey hovered here and there in the shadows, or
fled from their nests on the top of the rocks. There were sparrow
hawks, with white breasts, and kestrels, and down the slopes scampered,
with their long legs, several fine fat bustards. I leave anyone to
imagine the covetousness of the Canadian at the sight of this savoury
game, and whether he did not regret having no gun. But he did his best
to replace the lead by stones, and, after several fruitless attempts,
he succeeded in wounding a magnificent bird. To say that he risked his
life twenty times before reaching it is but the truth; but he managed
so well that the creature joined the honey-cakes in his bag. We were
now obliged to descend toward the shore, the crest becoming
impracticable. Above us the crater seemed to gape like the mouth of a
well. From this place the sky could be clearly seen, and clouds,
dissipated by the west wind, leaving behind them, even on the summit of
the mountain, their misty remnants--certain proof that they were only
moderately high, for the volcano did not rise more than eight hundred
feet above the level of the ocean. Half an hour after the Canadian's
last exploit we had regained the inner shore. Here the flora was
represented by large carpets of marine crystal, a little umbelliferous
plant very good to pickle, which also bears the name of pierce-stone
and sea-fennel. Conseil gathered some bundles of it. As to the fauna,
it might be counted by thousands of crustacea of all sorts, lobsters,
crabs, spider-crabs, chameleon shrimps, and a large number of shells,
rockfish, and limpets. Three-quarters of an hour later we had finished
our circuitous walk and were on board. The crew had just finished
loading the sodium, and the Nautilus could have left that instant. But
Captain Nemo gave no order. Did he wish to wait until night, and leave
the submarine passage secretly? Perhaps so. Whatever it might be, the
next day, the Nautilus, having left its port, steered clear of all land
at a few yards beneath the waves of the Atlantic.
CHAPTER XI
THE SARGASSO SEA
That day the Nautilus crossed a singular part of the Atlantic Ocean.
No one can be ignorant of the existence of a current of warm water
known by the name of the Gulf Stream. After leaving the Gulf of
Florida, we went in the direction of Spitzbergen. But before entering
the Gulf of Mexico, about 45° of N. lat., this current divides into
two arms, the principal one going towards the coast of Ireland and
Norway, whilst the second bends to the south about the height of the
Azores; then, touching the African shore, and describing a lengthened
oval, returns to the Antilles. This second arm--it is rather a collar
than an arm--surrounds with its circles of warm water that portion of
the cold, quiet, immovable ocean called the Sargasso Sea, a perfect
lake in the open Atlantic: it takes no less than three years for the
great current to pass round it. Such was the region the Nautilus was
now visiting, a perfect meadow, a close carpet of seaweed, fucus, and
tropical berries, so thick and so compact that the stem of a vessel
could hardly tear its way through it. And Captain Nemo, not wishing to
entangle his screw in this herbaceous mass, kept some yards beneath the
surface of the waves. The name Sargasso comes from the Spanish word
"sargazzo" which signifies kelp. This kelp, or berry-plant, is the
principal formation of this immense bank. And this is the reason why
these plants unite in the peaceful basin of the Atlantic. The only
explanation which can be given, he says, seems to me to result from the
experience known to all the world. Place in a vase some fragments of
cork or other floating body, and give to the water in the vase a
circular movement, the scattered fragments will unite in a group in the
centre of the liquid surface, that is to say, in the part least
agitated. In the phenomenon we are considering, the Atlantic is the
vase, the Gulf Stream the circular current, and the Sargasso Sea the
central point at which the floating bodies unite.
I share Maury's opinion, and I was able to study the phenomenon in the
very midst, where vessels rarely penetrate. Above us floated products
of all kinds, heaped up among these brownish plants; trunks of trees
torn from the Andes or the Rocky Mountains, and floated by the Amazon
or the Mississippi; numerous wrecks, remains of keels, or ships'
bottoms, side-planks stove in, and so weighted with shells and
barnacles that they could not again rise to the surface. And time will
one day justify Maury's other opinion, that these substances thus
accumulated for ages will become petrified by the action of the water
and will then form inexhaustible coal-mines--a precious reserve
prepared by far-seeing Nature for the moment when men shall have
exhausted the mines of continents.
In the midst of this inextricable mass of plants and sea weed, I
noticed some charming pink halcyons and actiniae, with their long
tentacles trailing after them, and medusae, green, red, and blue.
All the day of the 22nd of February we passed in the Sargasso Sea,
where such fish as are partial to marine plants find abundant
nourishment. The next, the ocean had returned to its accustomed
aspect. From this time for nineteen days, from the 23rd of February to
the 12th of March, the Nautilus kept in the middle of the Atlantic,
carrying us at a constant speed of a hundred leagues in twenty-four
hours. Captain Nemo evidently intended accomplishing his submarine
programme, and I imagined that he intended, after doubling Cape Horn,
to return to the Australian seas of the Pacific. Ned Land had cause
for fear. In these large seas, void of islands, we could not attempt
to leave the boat. Nor had we any means of opposing Captain Nemo's
will. Our only course was to submit; but what we could neither gain by
force nor cunning, I liked to think might be obtained by persuasion.
This voyage ended, would he not consent to restore our liberty, under
an oath never to reveal his existence?--an oath of honour which we
should have religiously kept. But we must consider that delicate
question with the Captain. But was I free to claim this liberty? Had
he not himself said from the beginning, in the firmest manner, that the
secret of his life exacted from him our lasting imprisonment on board
the Nautilus? And would not my four months' silence appear to him a
tacit acceptance of our situation? And would not a return to the
subject result in raising suspicions which might be hurtful to our
projects, if at some future time a favourable opportunity offered to
return to them?
During the nineteen days mentioned above, no incident of any kind
happened to signalise our voyage. I saw little of the Captain; he was
at work. In the library I often found his books left open, especially
those on natural history. My work on submarine depths, conned over by
him, was covered with marginal notes, often contradicting my theories
and systems; but the Captain contented himself with thus purging my
work; it was very rare for him to discuss it with me. Sometimes I
heard the melancholy tones of his organ; but only at night, in the
midst of the deepest obscurity, when the Nautilus slept upon the
deserted ocean. During this part of our voyage we sailed whole days on
the surface of the waves. The sea seemed abandoned. A few
sailing-vessels, on the road to India, were making for the Cape of Good
Hope. One day we were followed by the boats of a whaler, who, no
doubt, took us for some enormous whale of great price; but Captain Nemo
did not wish the worthy fellows to lose their time and trouble, so
ended the chase by plunging under the water. Our navigation continued
until the 13th of March; that day the Nautilus was employed in taking
soundings, which greatly interested me. We had then made about 13,000
leagues since our departure from the high seas of the Pacific. The
bearings gave us 45° 37' S. lat., and 37° 53' W. long. It was
the same water in which Captain Denham of the Herald sounded 7,000
fathoms without finding the bottom. There, too, Lieutenant Parker, of
the American frigate Congress, could not touch the bottom with 15,140
fathoms. Captain Nemo intended seeking the bottom of the ocean by a
diagonal sufficiently lengthened by means of lateral planes placed at
an angle of 45° with the water-line of the Nautilus. Then the
screw set to work at its maximum speed, its four blades beating the
waves with in describable force. Under this powerful pressure, the
hull of the Nautilus quivered like a sonorous chord and sank regularly
under the water.
At 7,000 fathoms I saw some blackish tops rising from the midst of the
waters; but these summits might belong to high mountains like the
Himalayas or Mont Blanc, even higher; and the depth of the abyss
remained incalculable. The Nautilus descended still lower, in spite of
the great pressure. I felt the steel plates tremble at the fastenings
of the bolts; its bars bent, its partitions groaned; the windows of the
saloon seemed to curve under the pressure of the waters. And this firm
structure would doubtless have yielded, if, as its Captain had said, it
had not been capable of resistance like a solid block. We had attained
a depth of 16,000 yards (four leagues), and the sides of the Nautilus
then bore a pressure of 1,600 atmospheres, that is to say, 3,200 lb.
to each square two-fifths of an inch of its surface.
"What a situation to be in!" I exclaimed. "To overrun these deep
regions where man has never trod! Look, Captain, look at these
magnificent rocks, these uninhabited grottoes, these lowest receptacles
of the globe, where life is no longer possible! What unknown sights
are here! Why should we be unable to preserve a remembrance of them?"
"Would you like to carry away more than the remembrance?" said Captain
Nemo.
"What do you mean by those words?"
"I mean to say that nothing is easier than to make a photographic view
of this submarine region."
I had not time to express my surprise at this new proposition, when, at
Captain Nemo's call, an objective was brought into the saloon. Through
the widely-opened panel, the liquid mass was bright with electricity,
which was distributed with such uniformity that not a shadow, not a
gradation, was to be seen in our manufactured light. The Nautilus
remained motionless, the force of its screw subdued by the inclination
of its planes: the instrument was propped on the bottom of the oceanic
site, and in a few seconds we had obtained a perfect negative.
But, the operation being over, Captain Nemo said, "Let us go up; we
must not abuse our position, nor expose the Nautilus too long to such
great pressure."
"Go up again!" I exclaimed.
"Hold well on."
I had not time to understand why the Captain cautioned me thus, when I
was thrown forward on to the carpet. At a signal from the Captain, its
screw was shipped, and its blades raised vertically; the Nautilus shot
into the air like a balloon, rising with stunning rapidity, and cutting
the mass of waters with a sonorous agitation. Nothing was visible; and
in four minutes it had shot through the four leagues which separated it
from the ocean, and, after emerging like a flying-fish, fell, making
the waves rebound to an enormous height.
CHAPTER XII
CACHALOTS AND WHALES
During the nights of the 13th and 14th of March, the Nautilus returned
to its southerly course. I fancied that, when on a level with Cape
Horn, he would turn the helm westward, in order to beat the Pacific
seas, and so complete the tour of the world. He did nothing of the
kind, but continued on his way to the southern regions. Where was he
going to? To the pole? It was madness! I began to think that the
Captain's temerity justified Ned Land's fears. For some time past the
Canadian had not spoken to me of his projects of flight; he was less
communicative, almost silent. I could see that this lengthened
imprisonment was weighing upon him, and I felt that rage was burning
within him. When he met the Captain, his eyes lit up with suppressed
anger; and I feared that his natural violence would lead him into some
extreme. That day, the 14th of March, Conseil and he came to me in my
room. I inquired the cause of their visit.
"A simple question to ask you, sir," replied the Canadian.
"Speak, Ned."
"How many men are there on board the Nautilus, do you think?"
"I cannot tell, my friend."
"I should say that its working does not require a large crew."
"Certainly, under existing conditions, ten men, at the most, ought to
be enough."
"Well, why should there be any more?"
"Why?" I replied, looking fixedly at Ned Land, whose meaning was easy
to guess. "Because," I added, "if my surmises are correct, and if I
have well understood the Captain's existence, the Nautilus is not only
a vessel: it is also a place of refuge for those who, like its
commander, have broken every tie upon earth."
"Perhaps so," said Conseil; "but, in any case, the Nautilus can only
contain a certain number of men. Could not you, sir, estimate their
maximum?"
"How, Conseil?"
"By calculation; given the size of the vessel, which you know, sir, and
consequently the quantity of air it contains, knowing also how much
each man expends at a breath, and comparing these results with the fact
that the Nautilus is obliged to go to the surface every twenty-four
hours."
Conseil had not finished the sentence before I saw what he was driving
at.
"I understand," said I; "but that calculation, though simple enough,
can give but a very uncertain result."
"Never mind," said Ned Land urgently.
"Here it is, then," said I. "In one hour each man consumes the oxygen
contained in twenty gallons of air; and in twenty-four, that contained
in 480 gallons. We must, therefore find how many times 480 gallons of
air the Nautilus contains."
"Just so," said Conseil.
"Or," I continued, "the size of the Nautilus being 1,500 tons; and one
ton holding 200 gallons, it contains 300,000 gallons of air, which,
divided by 480, gives a quotient of 625. Which means to say, strictly
speaking, that the air contained in the Nautilus would suffice for 625
men for twenty-four hours."
"Six hundred and twenty-five!" repeated Ned.
"But remember that all of us, passengers, sailors, and officers
included, would not form a tenth part of that number."
"Still too many for three men," murmured Conseil.
The Canadian shook his head, passed his hand across his forehead, and
left the room without answering.
"Will you allow me to make one observation, sir?" said Conseil. "Poor
Ned is longing for everything that he can not have. His past life is
always present to him; everything that we are forbidden he regrets.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000