and yet he was so clever, and his companions aided him with so much
intelligence, that three days afterwards the little colony’s stock of
tools was augmented by a blowing-machine, destined to inject the air
into the midst of the ore when it should be subjected to heat--an
indispensable condition to the success of the operation.
On the morning of the 20th of April began the “metallic period,” as the
reporter called it in his notes. The engineer had decided, as has been
said, to operate near the veins both of coal and ore. Now, according to
his observations, these veins were situated at the foot of the northeast
spurs of Mount Franklin, that is to say, a distance of six miles from
their home. It was impossible, therefore, to return every day to the
Chimneys, and it was agreed that the little colony should camp under a
hut of branches, so that the important operation could be followed night
and day.
This settled, they set out in the morning. Neb and Pencroft dragged the
bellows on a hurdle; also a quantity of vegetables and animals, which
they besides could renew on the way.
The road led through Jacamar Wood, which they traversed obliquely from
southeast to northwest, and in the thickest part. It was necessary to
beat a path, which would in the future form the most direct road to
Prospect Heights and Mount Franklin. The trees, belonging to the species
already discovered, were magnificent. Herbert found some new ones, among
others some which Pencroft called “sham leeks”; for, in spite of their
size, they were of the same liliaceous family as the onion, chive,
shallot, or asparagus. These trees produce ligneous roots which, when
cooked, are excellent; from them, by fermentation, a very agreeable
liquor is made. They therefore made a good store of the roots.
The journey through the wood was long; it lasted the whole day, and so
allowed plenty of time for examining the flora and fauna. Top, who
took special charge of the fauna, ran through the grass and brushwood,
putting up all sorts of game. Herbert and Gideon Spilett killed two
kangaroos with bows and arrows, and also an animal which strongly
resembled both a hedgehog and an ant-eater. It was like the first
because it rolled itself into a ball, and bristled with spines, and the
second because it had sharp claws, a long slender snout which terminated
in a bird’s beak, and an extendible tongue, covered with little thorns
which served to hold the insects.
“And when it is in the pot,” asked Pencroft naturally, “what will it be
like?”
“An excellent piece of beef,” replied Herbert.
“We will not ask more from it,” replied the sailor.
During this excursion they saw several wild boars, which however, did
not offer to attack the little band, and it appeared as if they would
not meet with any dangerous beasts; when, in a thick part of the wood,
the reporter thought he saw, some paces from him, among the lower
branches of a tree, an animal which he took for a bear, and which he
very tranquilly began to draw. Happily for Gideon Spilett, the animal in
question did not belong to the redoubtable family of the plantigrades.
It was only a koala, better known under the name of the sloth, being
about the size of a large dog, and having stiff hair of a dirty color,
the paws armed with strong claws, which enabled it to climb trees and
feed on the leaves. Having identified the animal, which they did not
disturb, Gideon Spilett erased “bear” from the title of his sketch,
putting koala in its place, and the journey was resumed.
At five o’clock in the evening, Cyrus Harding gave the signal to halt.
They were now outside the forest, at the beginning of the powerful spurs
which supported Mount Franklin towards the west. At a distance of some
hundred feet flowed the Red Creek, and consequently plenty of fresh
water was within their reach.
The camp was soon organized. In less than an hour, on the edge of the
forest, among the trees, a hut of branches interlaced with creepers,
and pasted over with clay, offered a tolerable shelter. Their geological
researches were put off till the next day. Supper was prepared, a good
fire blazed before the hut, the roast turned, and at eight o’clock,
while one of the settlers watched to keep up the fire, in case any wild
beasts should prowl in the neighborhood, the others slept soundly.
The next day, the 21st of April, Cyrus Harding accompanied by Herbert,
went to look for the soil of ancient formation, on which he had already
discovered a specimen of ore. They found the vein above ground, near the
source of the creek, at the foot of one of the northeastern spurs. This
ore, very rich in iron, enclosed in its fusible veinstone, was perfectly
suited to the mode of reduction which the engineer intended to employ;
that is, the Catalan method, but simplified, as it is used in
Corsica. In fact, the Catalan method, properly so called, requires the
construction of kilns and crucibles, in which the ore and the coal,
placed in alternate layers, are transformed and reduced, But Cyrus
Harding intended to economize these constructions, and wished simply to
form, with the ore and the coal, a cubic mass, to the center of which he
would direct the wind from his bellows. Doubtless, it was the proceeding
employed by Tubalcain, and the first metallurgists of the inhabited
world. Now that which had succeeded with the grandson of Adam, and which
still yielded good results in countries rich in ore and fuel, could not
but succeed with the settlers in Lincoln Island.
The coal, as well as the ore, was collected without trouble on the
surface of the ground. They first broke the ore into little pieces,
and cleansed them with the hand from the impurities which soiled their
surface. Then coal and ore were arranged in heaps and in successive
layers, as the charcoal-burner does with the wood which he wishes to
carbonize. In this way, under the influence of the air projected by the
blowing-machine, the coal would be transformed into carbonic acid, then
into oxide of carbon, its use being to reduce the oxide of iron, that is
to say, to rid it of the oxygen.
Thus the engineer proceeded. The bellows of sealskin, furnished at its
extremity with a nozzle of clay, which had been previously fabricated
in the pottery kiln, was established near the heap of ore. Using the
mechanism which consisted of a frame, cords of fiber and counterpoise,
he threw into the mass an abundance of air, which by raising the
temperature also concurred with the chemical transformation to produce
in time pure iron.
The operation was difficult. All the patience, all the ingenuity of the
settlers was needed; but at last it succeeded, and the result was a lump
of iron, reduced to a spongy state, which it was necessary to shingle
and fagot, that is to say, to forge so as to expel from it the liquefied
veinstone. These amateur smiths had, of course, no hammer; but they were
in no worse a situation than the first metallurgist, and therefore did
what, no doubt, he had to do.
A handle was fixed to the first lump, and was used as a hammer to forge
the second on a granite anvil, and thus they obtained a coarse but
useful metal. At length, after many trials and much fatigue, on the 25th
of April several bars of iron were forged, and transformed into tools,
crowbars, pincers, pickaxes, spades, etc., which Pencroft and Neb
declared to be real jewels. But the metal was not yet in its most
serviceable state, that is, of steel. Now steel is a combination of iron
and coal, which is extracted, either from the liquid ore, by taking from
it the excess of coal, or from the iron by adding to it the coal which
was wanting. The first, obtained by the decarburation of the metal,
gives natural or puddled steel; the second, produced by the carburation
of the iron, gives steel of cementation.
It was the last which Cyrus Harding intended to forge, as he possessed
iron in a pure state. He succeeded by heating the metal with powdered
coal in a crucible which had previously been manufactured from clay
suitable for the purpose.
He then worked this steel, which is malleable both when hot or cold,
with the hammer. Neb and Pencroft, cleverly directed, made hatchets,
which, heated red-hot, and plunged suddenly into cold water, acquired an
excellent temper.
Other instruments, of course roughly fashioned, were also manufactured;
blades for planes, axes, hatchets, pieces of steel to be transformed
into saws, chisels; then iron for spades, pickaxes, hammers, nails,
etc. At last, on the 5th of May, the metallic period ended, the smiths
returned to the Chimneys, and new work would soon authorize them to take
a fresh title.
Chapter 16
It was the 6th of May, a day which corresponds to the 6th of November in
the countries of the Northern Hemisphere. The sky had been obscured for
some days, and it was of importance to make preparations for the winter.
However, the temperature was not as yet much lower, and a centigrade
thermometer, transported to Lincoln Island, would still have marked an
average of ten to twelve degrees above zero. This was not surprising,
since Lincoln Island, probably situated between the thirty-fifth and
fortieth parallel, would be subject, in the Southern Hemisphere, to
the same climate as Sicily or Greece in the Northern Hemisphere. But as
Greece and Sicily have severe cold, producing snow and ice, so doubtless
would Lincoln Island in the severest part of the winter and it was
advisable to provide against it.
In any case if cold did not yet threaten them, the rainy season would
begin, and on this lonely island, exposed to all the fury of the
elements, in mid-ocean, bad weather would be frequent, and probably
terrible. The question of a more comfortable dwelling than the Chimneys
must therefore be seriously considered and promptly resolved on.
Pencroft, naturally, had some predilection for the retreat which he
had discovered, but he well understood that another must be found. The
Chimneys had been already visited by the sea, under circumstances
which are known, and it would not do to be exposed again to a similar
accident.
“Besides,” added Cyrus Harding, who this day was talking of these things
with his companions, “we have some precautions to take.”
“Why? The island is not inhabited,” said the reporter.
“That is probable,” replied the engineer, “although we have not yet
explored the interior; but if no human beings are found, I fear that
dangerous animals may abound. It is necessary to guard against a
possible attack, so that we shall not be obliged to watch every night,
or to keep up a fire. And then, my friends, we must foresee everything.
We are here in a part of the Pacific often frequented by Malay
pirates--”
“What!” said Herbert, “at such a distance from land?”
“Yes, my boy,” replied the engineer. “These pirates are bold sailors as
well as formidable enemies, and we must take measures accordingly.”
“Well,” replied Pencroft, “we will fortify ourselves against savages
with two legs as well as against savages with four. But, captain, will
it not be best to explore every part of the island before undertaking
anything else?”
“That would be best,” added Gideon Spilett.
“Who knows if we might not find on the opposite side one of the caverns
which we have searched for in vain here?”
“That is true,” replied the engineer, “but you forget, my friends, that
it will be necessary to establish ourselves in the neighborhood of a
watercourse, and that, from the summit of Mount Franklin, we could not
see towards the west, either stream or river. Here, on the contrary, we
are placed between the Mercy and Lake Grant, an advantage which must not
be neglected. And, besides, this side, looking towards the east, is not
exposed as the other is to the trade-winds, which in this hemisphere
blow from the northwest.”
“Then, captain,” replied the sailor, “let us build a house on the edge
of the lake. Neither bricks nor tools are wanting now. After having been
brickmakers, potters, smelters, and smiths, we shall surely know how to
be masons!”
“Yes, my friend; but before coming to any decision we must consider
the matter thoroughly. A natural dwelling would spare us much work,
and would be a surer retreat, for it would be as well defended against
enemies from the interior as those from outside.”
“That is true, Cyrus,” replied the reporter, “but we have already
examined all that mass of granite, and there is not a hole, not a
cranny!”
“No, not one!” added Pencroft. “Ah, if we were able to dig out a
dwelling in that cliff, at a good height, so as to be out of the reach
of harm, that would be capital! I can see that on the front which looks
seaward, five or six rooms--”
“With windows to light them!” said Herbert, laughing.
“And a staircase to climb up to them!” added Neb.
“You are laughing,” cried the sailor, “and why? What is there impossible
in what I propose? Haven’t we got pickaxes and spades? Won’t Captain
Harding be able to make powder to blow up the mine? Isn’t it true,
captain, that you will make powder the very day we want it?”
Cyrus Harding listened to the enthusiastic Pencroft developing his
fanciful projects. To attack this mass of granite, even by a mine, was
Herculean work, and it was really vexing that nature could not help them
at their need. But the engineer did not reply to the sailor except by
proposing to examine the cliff more attentively, from the mouth of the
river to the angle which terminated it on the north.
They went out, therefore, and the exploration was made with extreme
care, over an extent of nearly two miles. But in no place in the bare,
straight cliff, could any cavity be found. The nests of the rock pigeons
which fluttered at its summit were only, in reality, holes bored at the
very top, and on the irregular edge of the granite.
It was a provoking circumstance, and as to attacking this cliff, either
with pickaxe or with powder, so as to effect a sufficient excavation, it
was not to be thought of. It so happened that, on all this part of the
shore, Pencroft had discovered the only habitable shelter, that is to
say, the Chimneys, which now had to be abandoned.
The exploration ended, the colonists found themselves at the north angle
of the cliff, where it terminated in long slopes which died away on the
shore. From this place, to its extreme limit in the west, it only formed
a sort of declivity, a thick mass of stones, earth, and sand, bound
together by plants, bushes, and grass inclined at an angle of only
forty-five degrees. Clumps of trees grew on these slopes, which were
also carpeted with thick grass. But the vegetation did not extend
far, and a long, sandy plain, which began at the foot of these slopes,
reached to the beach.
Cyrus Harding thought, not without reason, that the overplus of the lake
must overflow on this side. The excess of water furnished by the Red
Creek must also escape by some channel or other. Now the engineer had
not yet found this channel on any part of the shore already explored,
that is to say, from the mouth of the stream on the west of Prospect
Heights.
The engineer now proposed to his companions to climb the slope, and to
return to the Chimneys by the heights, while exploring the northern
and eastern shores of the lake. The proposal was accepted, and in a few
minutes Herbert and Neb were on the upper plateau. Cyrus Harding, Gideon
Spilett, and Pencroft followed with more sedate steps.
The beautiful sheet of water glittered through the trees under the rays
of the sun. In this direction the country was charming. The eye feasted
on the groups of trees. Some old trunks, bent with age, showed black
against the verdant grass which covered the ground. Crowds of brilliant
cockatoos screamed among the branches, moving prisms, hopping from one
bough to another.
The settlers instead of going directly to the north bank of the lake,
made a circuit round the edge of the plateau, so as to join the mouth
of the creek on its left bank. It was a detour of more than a mile and a
half. Walking was easy, for the trees widely spread, left a considerable
space between them. The fertile zone evidently stopped at this point,
and vegetation would be less vigorous in the part between the course of
the Creek and the Mercy.
Cyrus Harding and his companions walked over this new ground with great
care. Bows, arrows, and sticks with sharp iron points were their only
weapons. However, no wild beast showed itself, and it was probable that
these animals frequented rather the thick forests in the south; but the
settlers had the disagreeable surprise of seeing Top stop before a snake
of great size, measuring from fourteen to fifteen feet in length. Neb
killed it by a blow from his stick. Cyrus Harding examined the reptile,
and declared it not venomous, for it belonged to that species of diamond
serpents which the natives of New South Wales rear. But it was possible
that others existed whose bite was mortal such as the deaf vipers with
forked tails, which rise up under the feet, or those winged snakes,
furnished with two ears, which enable them to proceed with great
rapidity. Top, the first moment of surprise over, began a reptile chase
with such eagerness, that they feared for his safety. His master called
him back directly.
The mouth of the Red Creek, at the place where it entered into the lake,
was soon reached. The explorers recognized on the opposite shore the
point which they had visited on their descent from Mount Franklin. Cyrus
Harding ascertained that the flow of water into it from the creek was
considerable. Nature must therefore have provided some place for the
escape of the overplus. This doubtless formed a fall, which, if it could
be discovered, would be of great use.
The colonists, walking apart, but not straying far from each other,
began to skirt the edge of the lake, which was very steep. The water
appeared to be full of fish, and Pencroft resolved to make some
fishing-rods, so as to try and catch some.
The northeast point was first to be doubled. It might have been supposed
that the discharge of water was at this place, for the extremity of the
lake was almost on a level with the edge of the plateau. But no signs of
this were discovered, and the colonists continued to explore the bank,
which, after a slight bend, descended parallel to the shore.
On this side the banks were less woody, but clumps of trees, here and
there, added to the picturesqueness of the country. Lake Grant was
viewed from thence in all its extent, and no breath disturbed the
surface of its waters. Top, in beating the bushes, put up flocks of
birds of different kinds, which Gideon Spilett and Herbert saluted with
arrows. One was hit by the lad, and fell into some marshy grass. Top
rushed forward, and brought a beautiful swimming bird, of a slate color,
short beak, very developed frontal plate, and wings edged with white. It
was a “coot,” the size of a large partridge, belonging to the group of
macrodactyls which form the transition between the order of wading birds
and that of palmipeds. Sorry game, in truth, and its flavor is far from
pleasant. But Top was not so particular in these things as his masters,
and it was agreed that the coot should be for his supper.
The settlers were now following the eastern bank of the lake, and they
would not be long in reaching the part which they already knew.
The engineer was much surprised at not seeing any indication of the
discharge of water. The reporter and the sailor talked with him, and he
could not conceal his astonishment.
At this moment Top, who had been very quiet till then, gave signs of
agitation. The intelligent animal went backwards and forwards on the
shore, stopped suddenly, and looked at the water, one paw raised, as if
he was pointing at some invisible game; then he barked furiously, and
was suddenly silent.
Neither Cyrus Harding nor his companions had at first paid any attention
to Top’s behavior; but the dog’s barking soon became so frequent that
the engineer noticed it.
“What is there, Top?” he asked.
The dog bounded towards his master, seeming to be very uneasy, and then
rushed again towards the bank. Then, all at once, he plunged into the
lake.
“Here, Top!” cried Cyrus Harding, who did not like his dog to venture
into the treacherous water.
“What’s happening down there?” asked Pencroft, examining the surface of
the lake.
“Top smells some amphibious creature,” replied Herbert.
“An alligator, perhaps,” said the reporter.
“I do not think so,” replied Harding. “Alligators are only met with in
regions less elevated in latitude.”
Meanwhile Top had returned at his master’s call, and had regained the
shore: but he could not stay quiet; he plunged in among the tall grass,
and guided by instinct, he appeared to follow some invisible being which
was slipping along under the surface of the water. However the water
was calm; not a ripple disturbed its surface. Several times the settlers
stopped on the bank, and observed it attentively. Nothing appeared.
There was some mystery there.
The engineer was puzzled.
“Let us pursue this exploration to the end,” said he.
Half an hour after they had all arrived at the southeast angle of the
lake, on Prospect Heights. At this point the examination of the banks of
the lake was considered finished, and yet the engineer had not been able
to discover how and where the waters were discharged. “There is no doubt
this overflow exists,” he repeated, “and since it is not visible it must
go through the granite cliff at the west!”
“But what importance do you attach to knowing that, my dear Cyrus?”
asked Gideon Spilett.
“Considerable importance,” replied the engineer; “for if it flows
through the cliff there is probably some cavity, which it would be easy
to render habitable after turning away the water.”
“But is it not possible, captain, that the water flows away at the
bottom of the lake,” said Herbert, “and that it reaches the sea by some
subterranean passage?”
“That might be,” replied the engineer, “and should it be so we shall be
obliged to build our house ourselves, since nature has not done it for
us.”
The colonists were about to begin to traverse the plateau to return to
the Chimneys, when Top gave new signs of agitation. He barked with fury,
and before his master could restrain him, he had plunged a second time
into the lake.
All ran towards the bank. The dog was already more than twenty feet off,
and Cyrus was calling him back, when an enormous head emerged from the
water, which did not appear to be deep in that place.
Herbert recognized directly the species of amphibian to which the
tapering head, with large eyes, and adorned with long silky mustaches,
belonged.
“A lamantin!” he cried.
It was not a lamantin, but one of that species of the order of
cetaceans, which bear the name of the “dugong,” for its nostrils were
open at the upper part of its snout. The enormous animal rushed on the
dog, who tried to escape by returning towards the shore. His master
could do nothing to save him, and before Gideon Spilett or Herbert
thought of bending their bows, Top, seized by the dugong, had
disappeared beneath the water.
Neb, his iron-tipped spear in his hand, wished to go to Top’s help, and
attack the dangerous animal in its own element.
“No, Neb,” said the engineer, restraining his courageous servant.
Meanwhile, a struggle was going on beneath the water, an inexplicable
struggle, for in his situation Top could not possibly resist; and
judging by the bubbling of the surface it must be also a terrible
struggle, and could not but terminate in the death of the dog! But
suddenly, in the middle of a foaming circle, Top reappeared. Thrown in
the air by some unknown power, he rose ten feet above the surface of the
lake, fell again into the midst of the agitated waters, and then soon
gained the shore, without any severe wounds, miraculously saved.
Cyrus Harding and his companions could not understand it. What was not
less inexplicable was that the struggle still appeared to be going on.
Doubtless, the dugong, attacked by some powerful animal, after having
released the dog, was fighting on its own account. But it did not last
long. The water became red with blood, and the body of the dugong,
emerging from the sheet of scarlet which spread around, soon stranded on
a little beach at the south angle of the lake. The colonists ran towards
it. The dugong was dead. It was an enormous animal, fifteen or sixteen
feet long, and must have weighed from three to four thousand pounds. At
its neck was a wound, which appeared to have been produced by a sharp
blade.
What could the amphibious creature have been, who, by this terrible
blow had destroyed the formidable dugong? No one could tell, and much
interested in this incident, Harding and his companions returned to the
Chimneys.
Chapter 17
The next day, the 7th of May, Harding and Gideon Spilett, leaving Neb to
prepare breakfast, climbed Prospect Heights, while Herbert and Pencroft
ascended by the river, to renew their store of wood.
The engineer and the reporter soon reached the little beach on which the
dugong had been stranded. Already flocks of birds had attacked the mass
of flesh, and had to be driven away with stones, for Cyrus wished to
keep the fat for the use of the colony. As to the animal’s flesh
it would furnish excellent food, for in the islands of the Malay
Archipelago and elsewhere, it is especially reserved for the table of
the native princes. But that was Neb’s affair.
At this moment Cyrus Harding had other thoughts. He was much interested
in the incident of the day before. He wished to penetrate the mystery
of that submarine combat, and to ascertain what monster could have given
the dugong so strange a wound. He remained at the edge of the lake,
looking, observing; but nothing appeared under the tranquil waters,
which sparkled in the first rays of the rising sun.
At the beach, on which lay the body of the dugong, the water was
tolerably shallow, but from this point the bottom of the lake sloped
gradually, and it was probable that the depth was considerable in the
center. The lake might be considered as a large center basin, which was
filled by the water from the Red Creek.
“Well, Cyrus,” said the reporter, “there seems to be nothing suspicious
in this water.”
“No, my dear Spilett,” replied the engineer, “and I really do not know
how to account for the incident of yesterday.”
“I acknowledge,” returned Spilett, “that the wound given this creature
is, at least, very strange, and I cannot explain either how Top was
so vigorously cast up out of the water. One could have thought that a
powerful arm hurled him up, and that the same arm with a dagger killed
the dugong!”
“Yes,” replied the engineer, who had become thoughtful; “there is
something there that I cannot understand. But do you better understand
either, my dear Spilett, in what way I was saved myself--how I was drawn
from the waves, and carried to the downs? No! Is it not true? Now, I
feel sure that there is some mystery there, which, doubtless, we shall
discover some day. Let us observe, but do not dwell on these singular
incidents before our companions. Let us keep our remarks to ourselves,
and continue our work.”
It will be remembered that the engineer had not as yet been able to
discover the place where the surplus water escaped, but he knew it must
exist somewhere. He was much surprised to see a strong current at this
place. By throwing in some bits of wood he found that it set towards the
southern angle. He followed the current, and arrived at the south point
of the lake.
There was there a sort of depression in the water, as if it was suddenly
lost in some fissure in the ground.
Harding listened; placing his ear to the level of the lake, he very
distinctly heard the noise of a subterranean fall.
“There,” said he, rising, “is the discharge of the water; there,
doubtless, by a passage in the granite cliff, it joins the sea, through
cavities which we can use to our profit. Well, I can find it!”
The engineer cut a long branch, stripped it of its leaves, and plunging
it into the angle between the two banks, he found that there was a large
hole one foot only beneath the surface of the water. This hole was the
opening so long looked for in vain, and the force of the current was
such that the branch was torn from the engineer’s hands and disappeared.
“There is no doubt about it now,” repeated Harding. “There is the
outlet, and I will lay it open to view!”
“How?” asked Gideon Spilett.
“By lowering the level of the water of the lake three feet.”
“And how will you lower the level?”
“By opening another outlet larger than this.”
“At what place, Cyrus?”
“At the part of the bank nearest the coast.”
“But it is a mass of granite!” observed Spilett.
“Well,” replied Cyrus Harding, “I will blow up the granite, and the
water escaping, will subside, so as to lay bare this opening--”
“And make a waterfall, by falling on to the beach,” added the reporter.
“A fall that we shall make use of!” replied Cyrus. “Come, come!”
The engineer hurried away his companion, whose confidence in Harding was
such that he did not doubt the enterprise would succeed. And yet, how
was this granite wall to be opened without powder, and with imperfect
instruments? Was not this work upon which the engineer was so bent above
their strength?
When Harding and the reporter entered the Chimneys, they found Herbert
and Pencroft unloading their raft of wood.
“The woodmen have just finished, captain.” said the sailor, laughing,
“and when you want masons--”
“Masons,--no, but chemists,” replied the engineer.
“Yes,” added the reporter, “we are going to blow up the island--”
“Blow up the island?” cried Pencroft.
“Part of it, at least,” replied Spilett.
“Listen to me, my friends,” said the engineer. And he made known to them
the result of his observations.
According to him, a cavity, more or less considerable, must exist in
the mass of granite which supported Prospect Heights, and he intended
to penetrate into it. To do this, the opening through which the water
rushed must first be cleared, and the level lowered by making a larger
outlet. Therefore an explosive substance must be manufactured, which
would make a deep trench in some other part of the shore. This was what
Harding was going to attempt with the minerals which nature placed at
his disposal.
It is useless to say with what enthusiasm all, especially Pencroft,
received this project. To employ great means, open the granite, create a
cascade, that suited the sailor. And he would just as soon be a chemist
as a mason or bootmaker, since the engineer wanted chemicals. He would
be all that they liked, “even a professor of dancing and deportment,”
said he to Neb, if that was ever necessary.
Neb and Pencroft were first of all told to extract the grease from the
dugong, and to keep the flesh, which was destined for food. Such perfect
confidence had they in the engineer, that they set out directly,
without even asking a question. A few minutes after them, Cyrus Harding,
Herbert, and Gideon Spilett, dragging the hurdle, went towards the vein
of coals, where those shistose pyrites abound which are met with in the
most recent transition soil, and of which Harding had already found a
specimen. All the day being employed in carrying a quantity of these
stones to the Chimneys, by evening they had several tons.
The next day, the 8th of May, the engineer began his manipulations.
These shistose pyrites being composed principally of coal, flint,
alumina, and sulphuret of iron--the latter in excess--it was necessary
to separate the sulphuret of iron, and transform it into sulphate as
rapidly as possible. The sulphate obtained, the sulphuric acid could
then be extracted.
This was the object to be attained. Sulphuric acid is one of the agents
the most frequently employed, and the manufacturing importance of a
nation can be measured by the consumption which is made of it. This acid
would later be of great use to the settlers, in the manufacturing of
candles, tanning skins, etc., but this time the engineer reserved it for
another use.
Cyrus Harding chose, behind the Chimneys, a site where the ground
was perfectly level. On this ground he placed a layer of branches and
chopped wood, on which were piled some pieces of shistose pyrites,
buttressed one against the other, the whole being covered with a thin
layer of pyrites, previously reduced to the size of a nut.
This done, they set fire to the wood, the heat was communicated to the
shist, which soon kindled, since it contains coal and sulphur. Then new
layers of bruised pyrites were arranged so as to form an immense
heap, the exterior of which was covered with earth and grass, several
air-holes being left, as if it was a stack of wood which was to be
carbonized to make charcoal.
They then left the transformation to complete itself, and it would
not take less than ten or twelve days for the sulphuret of iron to be
changed to sulphate of iron and the alumina into sulphate of alumina,
two equally soluble substances, the others, flint, burnt coal, and
cinders, not being so.
While this chemical work was going on, Cyrus Harding proceeded with
other operations, which were pursued with more than zeal,--it was
eagerness.
Neb and Pencroft had taken away the fat from the dugong, and placed it
in large earthen pots. It was then necessary to separate the glycerine
from the fat by saponifying it. Now, to obtain this result, it had to
be treated either with soda or lime. In fact, one or other of these
substances, after having attacked the fat, would form a soap by
separating the glycerine, and it was just this glycerine which the
engineer wished to obtain. There was no want of lime, only treatment by
lime would give calcareous soap, insoluble, and consequently useless,
while treatment by soda would furnish, on the contrary, a soluble soap,
which could be put to domestic use. Now, a practical man, like Cyrus
Harding, would rather try to obtain soda. Was this difficult? No; for
marine plants abounded on the shore, glass-wort, ficoides, and all
those fucaceae which form wrack. A large quantity of these plants
was collected, first dried, then burnt in holes in the open air. The
combustion of these plants was kept up for several days, and the result
was a compact gray mass, which has been long known under the name of
“natural soda.”
This obtained, the engineer treated the fat with soda, which gave both a
soluble soap and that neutral substance, glycerine.
But this was not all. Cyrus Harding still needed, in view of his future
preparation, another substance, nitrate of potash, which is better known
under the name of salt niter, or of saltpeter.
Cyrus Harding could have manufactured this substance by treating the
carbonate of potash, which would be easily extracted from the cinders of
the vegetables, by azotic acid. But this acid was wanting, and he would
have been in some difficulty, if nature had not happily furnished the
saltpeter, without giving them any other trouble than that of picking it
up. Herbert found a vein of it at the foot of Mount Franklin, and they
had nothing to do but purify this salt.
These different works lasted a week. They were finished before
the transformation of the sulphuret into sulphate of iron had been
accomplished. During the following days the settlers had time to
construct a furnace of bricks of a particular arrangement, to serve for
the distillation of the sulphate or iron when it had been obtained. All
this was finished about the 18th of May, nearly at the time when the
chemical transformation terminated. Gideon Spilett, Herbert, Neb, and
Pencroft, skillfully directed by the engineer, had become most clever
workmen. Before all masters, necessity is the one most listened to, and
who teaches the best.
When the heap of pyrites had been entirely reduced by fire, the result
of the operation, consisting of sulphate of iron, sulphate of alumina,
flint, remains of coal, and cinders was placed in a basinful of water.
They stirred this mixture, let it settle, then decanted it, and obtained
a clear liquid containing in solution sulphate of iron and sulphate of
alumina, the other matters remaining solid, since they are insoluble.
Lastly, this liquid being partly evaporated, crystals of sulphate of
iron were deposited, and the not evaporated liquid, which contained the
sulphate of alumina, was thrown away.
Cyrus Harding had now at his disposal a large quantity of these sulphate
of iron crystals, from which the sulphuric acid had to be extracted. The
making of sulphuric acid is a very expensive manufacture. Considerable
works are necessary--a special set of tools, an apparatus of
platina, leaden chambers, unassailable by the acid, and in which the
transformation is performed, etc. The engineer had none of these at his
disposal, but he knew that, in Bohemia especially, sulphuric acid is
manufactured by very simple means, which have also the advantage of
producing it to a superior degree of concentration. It is thus that the
acid known under the name of Nordhausen acid is made.
To obtain sulphuric acid, Cyrus Harding had only one operation to make,
to calcine the sulphate of iron crystals in a closed vase, so that the
sulphuric acid should distil in vapor, which vapor, by condensation,
would produce the acid.
The crystals were placed in pots, and the heat from the furnace would
distil the sulphuric acid. The operation was successfully completed, and
on the 20th of May, twelve days after commencing it, the engineer
was the possessor of the agent which later he hoped to use in so many
different ways.
Now, why did he wish for this agent? Simply to produce azotic acid;
and that was easy, since saltpeter, attacked by sulphuric acid, gives
azotic, or nitric, acid by distillation.
But, after all, how was he going to employ this azotic acid? His
companions were still ignorant of this, for he had not informed them of
the result at which he aimed.
However, the engineer had nearly accomplished his purpose, and by a
last operation he would procure the substance which had given so much
trouble.
Taking some azotic acid, he mixed it with glycerine, which had been
previously concentrated by evaporation, subjected to the water-bath, and
he obtained, without even employing a refrigerant mixture, several pints
of an oily yellow mixture.
This last operation Cyrus Harding had made alone, in a retired place, at
a distance from the Chimneys, for he feared the danger of an explosion,
and when he showed a bottle of this liquid to his friends, he contented
himself with saying,--
“Here is nitro-glycerine!”
It was really this terrible production, of which the explosive power is
perhaps tenfold that of ordinary powder, and which has already caused so
many accidents. However, since a way has been found to transform it into
dynamite, that is to say, to mix with it some solid substance, clay or
sugar, porous enough to hold it, the dangerous liquid has been used
with some security. But dynamite was not yet known at the time when the
settlers worked on Lincoln Island.
“And is it that liquid that is going to blow up our rocks?” said
Pencroft incredulously.
“Yes, my friend,” replied the engineer, “and this nitro-glycerine will
produce so much the more effect, as the granite is extremely hard, and
will oppose a greater resistance to the explosion.”
“And when shall we see this, captain?”
“To-morrow, as soon as we have dug a hole for the mine, replied the
engineer.”
The next day, the 21st of May, at daybreak, the miners went to the point
which formed the eastern shore of Lake Grant, and was only five hundred
feet from the coast. At this place, the plateau inclined downwards from
the waters, which were only restrained by their granite case. Therefore,
if this case was broken, the water would escape by the opening and form
a stream, which, flowing over the inclined surface of the plateau,
would rush on to the beach. Consequently, the level of the lake would
be greatly lowered, and the opening where the water escaped would be
exposed, which was their final aim.
Under the engineer’s directions, Pencroft, armed with a pickaxe, which
he handled skillfully and vigorously, attacked the granite. The hole was
made on the point of the shore, slanting, so that it should meet a
much lower level than that of the water of the lake. In this way the
explosive force, by scattering the rock, would open a large place for
the water to rush out.
The work took some time, for the engineer, wishing to produce a great
effect, intended to devote not less than seven quarts of nitro-glycerine
to the operation. But Pencroft, relieved by Neb, did so well, that
towards four o’clock in the evening, the mine was finished.
Now the question of setting fire to the explosive substance was raised.
Generally, nitro-glycerine is ignited by caps of fulminate, which in
bursting cause the explosion. A shock is therefore needed to produce
the explosion, for, simply lighted, this substance would burn without
exploding.
Cyrus Harding could certainly have fabricated a percussion cap. In
default of fulminate, he could easily obtain a substance similar to
guncotton, since he had azotic acid at his disposal. This substance,
pressed in a cartridge, and introduced among the nitro-glycerine, would
burst by means of a fuse, and cause the explosion.
But Cyrus Harding knew that nitro-glycerine would explode by a shock.
He resolved to employ this means, and try another way, if this did not
succeed.
In fact, the blow of a hammer on a few drops of nitro-glycerine, spread
out on a hard surface, was enough to create an explosion. But the
operator could not be there to give the blow, without becoming a victim
to the operation. Harding, therefore, thought of suspending a mass of
iron, weighing several pounds, by means of a fiber, to an upright just
above the mine. Another long fiber, previously impregnated with sulphur,
was attached to the middle of the first, by one end, while the other lay
on the ground several feet distant from the mine. The second fiber being
set on fire, it would burn till it reached the first. This catching
fire in its turn, would break, and the mass of iron would fall on the
nitro-glycerine. This apparatus being then arranged, the engineer, after
having sent his companions to a distance, filled the hole, so that the
nitro-glycerine was on a level with the opening; then he threw a few
drops of it on the surface of the rock, above which the mass of iron was
already suspended.
This done, Harding lit the end of the sulphured fiber, and leaving the
place, he returned with his companions to the Chimneys.
The fiber was intended to burn five and twenty minutes, and, in fact,
five and twenty minutes afterwards a most tremendous explosion was
heard. The island appeared to tremble to its very foundation. Stones
were projected in the air as if by the eruption of a volcano. The shock
produced by the displacing of the air was such, that the rocks of the
Chimneys shook. The settlers, although they were more than two miles
from the mine, were thrown on the ground.
They rose, climbed the plateau, and ran towards the place where the bank
of the lake must have been shattered by the explosion.
A cheer escaped them! A large rent was seen in the granite! A rapid
stream of water rushed foaming across the plateau and dashed down a
height of three hundred feet on to the beach!
Chapter 18
Cyrus Harding’s project had succeeded, but, according to his usual
habit he showed no satisfaction; with closed lips and a fixed look, he
remained motionless. Herbert was in ecstasies, Neb bounded with joy,
Pencroft nodded his great head, murmuring these words,--
“Come, our engineer gets on capitally!”
The nitro-glycerine had indeed acted powerfully. The opening which it
had made was so large that the volume of water which escaped through
this new outlet was at least treble that which before passed through the
old one. The result was, that a short time after the operation the level
of the lake would be lowered two feet, or more.
The settlers went to the Chimneys to take some pickaxes, iron-tipped
spears, string made of fibers, flint and steel; they then returned to
the plateau, Top accompanying them.
On the way the sailor could not help saying to the engineer,--
“Don’t you think, captain, that by means of that charming liquid you
have made, one could blow up the whole of our island?”
“Without any doubt, the island, continents, and the world itself,”
replied the engineer. “It is only a question of quantity.”
“Then could you not use this nitro-glycerine for loading firearms?”
asked the sailor.
“No, Pencroft; for it is too explosive a substance. But it would be easy
to make some guncotton, or even ordinary powder, as we have azotic acid,
saltpeter, sulphur, and coal. Unhappily, it is the guns which we have
not got.
“Oh, captain,” replied the sailor, “with a little determination--”
Pencroft had erased the word “impossible” from the dictionary of Lincoln
Island.
The settlers, having arrived at Prospect Heights, went immediately
towards that point of the lake near which was the old opening now
uncovered. This outlet had now become practicable, since the water no
longer rushed through it, and it would doubtless be easy to explore the
interior.
In a few minutes the settlers had reached the lower point of the lake,
and a glance showed them that the object had been attained.
In fact, in the side of the lake, and now above the surface of the
water, appeared the long-looked-for opening. A narrow ridge, left bare
by the retreat of the water, allowed them to approach it. This orifice
was nearly twenty feet in width, but scarcely two in height. It was like
the mouth of a drain at the edge of the pavement, and therefore did
not offer an easy passage to the settlers; but Neb and Pencroft, taking
their pickaxes, soon made it of a suitable height.
The engineer then approached, and found that the sides of the opening,
in its upper part at least, had not a slope of more than from thirty to
thirty-five degrees. It was therefore practicable, and, provided that
the declivity did not increase, it would be easy to descend even to the
level of the sea. If then, as was probable, some vast cavity existed in
the interior of the granite, it might, perhaps, be of great use.
“Well, captain, what are we stopping for?” asked the sailor, impatient
to enter the narrow passage. “You see Top has got before us!”
“Very well,” replied the engineer. “But we must see our way. Neb, go and
cut some resinous branches.”
Neb and Herbert ran to the edge of the lake, shaded with pines and other
green trees, and soon returned with some branches, which they made
into torches. The torches were lighted with flint and steel, and Cyrus
Harding leading, the settlers ventured into the dark passage, which the
overplus of the lake had formerly filled.
Contrary to what might have been supposed, the diameter of the passage
increased as the explorers proceeded, so that they very soon were able
to stand upright. The granite, worn by the water for an infinite time,
was very slippery, and falls were to be dreaded. But the settlers were
all attached to each other by a cord, as is frequently done in ascending
mountains. Happily some projections of the granite, forming regular
steps, made the descent less perilous. Drops, still hanging from the
rocks, shone here and there under the light of the torches, and
the explorers guessed that the sides were clothed with innumerable
stalactites. The engineer examined this black granite. There was not a
stratum, not a break in it. The mass was compact, and of an extremely
close grain. The passage dated, then, from the very origin of the
island. It was not the water which little by little had hollowed it.
Pluto and not Neptune had bored it with his own hand, and on the wall
traces of an eruptive work could be distinguished, which all the washing
of the water had not been able totally to efface.
The settlers descended very slowly. They could not but feel a certain
awe, in this venturing into these unknown depths, for the first time
visited by human beings. They did not speak, but they thought; and
the thought came to more than one, that some polypus or other
gigantic cephalopod might inhabit the interior cavities, which were in
communication with the sea. However, Top kept at the head of the little
band, and they could rely on the sagacity of the dog, who would not fail
to give the alarm if there was any need for it.
After having descended about a hundred feet, following a winding road,
Harding who was walking on before, stopped, and his companions came up
with him. The place where they had halted was wider, so as to form a
cavern of moderate dimensions. Drops of water fell from the vault, but
that did not prove that they oozed through the rock. They were simply
the last traces left by the torrent which had so long thundered through
this cavity, and the air there was pure though slightly damp, but
producing no mephitic exhalation.
“Well, my dear Cyrus,” said Gideon Spilett, “here is a very secure
retreat, well hid in the depths of the rock, but it is, however,
uninhabitable.”
“Why uninhabitable?” asked the sailor.
“Because it is too small and too dark.”
“Couldn’t we enlarge it, hollow it out, make openings to let in light
and air?” replied Pencroft, who now thought nothing impossible.
“Let us go on with our exploration,” said Cyrus Harding. “Perhaps lower
down, nature will have spared us this labor.”
“We have only gone a third of the way,” observed Herbert.
“Nearly a third,” replied Harding, “for we have descended a hundred feet
from the opening, and it is not impossible that a hundred feet farther
down--”
“Where is Top?” asked Neb, interrupting his master.
They searched the cavern, but the dog was not there.
“Most likely he has gone on,” said Pencroft.
“Let us join him,” replied Harding.
The descent was continued. The engineer carefully observed all the
deviations of the passage, and notwithstanding so many detours, he
could easily have given an account of its general direction, which went
towards the sea.
The settlers had gone some fifty feet farther, when their attention was
attracted by distant sounds which came up from the depths. They stopped
and listened. These sounds, carried through the passage as through an
acoustic tube, came clearly to the ear.
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