country like Florida to dare to compare itself to Texas, who, in place
of selling herself, asserted her own independence, drove out the Mexicans
in March 2, 1836, and declared herself a federal republic after the
victory gained by Samuel Houston, on the banks of the San Jacinto, over
the troops of Santa Anna!--a country, in fine, which voluntarily annexed
itself to the United States of America!"
"Yes; because it was afraid of the Mexicans!" replied Florida.
"Afraid!" From this moment the state of things became intolerable. A
sanguinary encounter seemed daily imminent between the two parties in
the streets of Baltimore. It became necessary to keep an eye upon the
deputies.
President Barbicane knew not which way to look. Notes, documents,
letters full of menaces showered down upon his house. Which side ought
he to take? As regarded the appropriation of the soil, the facility of
communication, the rapidity of transport, the claims of both states were
evenly balanced. As for political prepossessions, they had nothing to do
with the question.
This dead block had existed for some little time, when Barbicane resolved
to get rid of it at once. He called a meeting of his colleagues, and
laid before them a proposition which, it will be seen, was profoundly
sagacious.
"On carefully considering," he said, "what is going on now between Florida
and Texas, it is clear that the same difficulties will recur with all
the towns of the favoured state. The rivalry will descend from state to
city, and so on downwards. Now Texas possesses -eleven- towns within the
prescribed conditions, which will further dispute the honour and create
us new enemies, while Florida has only -one.- I go in, therefore, for
Florida and Tampa Town."
This decision, on being made known, utterly crushed the Texan deputies.
Seized with an indescribable fury, they addressed threatening letters to
the different members of the Gun Club by name. The magistrates had but
one course to take, and they took it. They chartered a special train,
forced the Texians into it whether they would or no; and they quitted
the city with a speed of thirty miles an hour.
Quickly, however, as they were despatched, they found time to hurl one
last and bitter sarcasm at their adversaries.
Alluding to the extent of Florida, a mere peninsula confined between
two seas, they pretended that it could never sustain the shock of the
discharge, and that it would "bust up" at the very first shot.
"Very well, let it bust up!" replied the Floridans, with a brevity worthy
of the days of ancient Sparta.
CHAPTER XII.
URBI ET ORBI.
The astronomical, mechanical, and topographical difficulties resolved,
finally came the question of finance. The sum required was far too great
for any individual, or even any single state, to provide the requisite
millions.
President Barbicane undertook, despite of the matter being a purely
American affair, to render it one of universal interest, and to request
the financial co-operation of all peoples. It was, he maintained, the
right and the duty of the whole earth to interfere in the affairs of its
satellite. The subscription opened at Baltimore extended properly to the
whole world---Urbi et orbi.-
This subscription was successful beyond all expectation; notwithstanding
that it was a question not of -lending- but of -giving- the money. It
was a purely disinterested operation in the strictest sense of the term,
and offered not the slightest chance of profit.
The effect, however, of Barbicane's communication was not confined to
the frontiers of the United States; it crossed the Atlantic and Pacific,
invading simultaneously Asia and Europe, Africa and Oceania. The
observatories of the Union placed themselves in immediate communication
with those of foreign countries. Some, such as those of Paris, Petersburg,
Berlin, Stockholm, Hamburg, Malta, Lisbon, Benares, Madras, and others,
transmitted their good wishes; the rest maintained a prudent silence,
quietly awaiting the result. As for the observatory at Greenwich, seconded
as it was by the twenty-two astronomical establishments of Great Britain,
it spoke plainly enough. It boldly denied the possibility of success,
and pronounced in favour of the theories of Captain Nicholl. But this
was nothing more than mere English jealousy.
On the 8th of October President Barbicane published a manifesto full of
enthusiasm, in which he made an appeal to "all persons of good will upon
the face of the earth." This document, translated into all languages,
met with immense success.
Subscription lists were opened in all the principal cities of the Union,
with a central office at the Baltimore Bank, 9, Baltimore Street.
In addition, subscriptions were received at the following banks in the
different states of the two continents:--
At Vienna, with S. M. de Rothschild.
„ Petersburg, Stieglitz and Co.
„ Paris, The Crédit Mobilier.
„ Stockholm, Tottie and Arfuredson.
„ London, N. M. Rothschild and Son.
„ Turin, Ardouin and Co.
„ Berlin, Mendelssohn.
„ Geneva, Lombard, Odier, and Co.
„ Constantinople, The Ottoman Bank.
„ Brussels, J. Lambert.
„ Madrid, Daniel Weisweller.
„ Amsterdam, Netherlands Credit Co.
„ Rome, Torlonia and Co.
„ Lisbon, Lecesne.
„ Copenhagen, Private Bank.
„ Rio Janeiro, do.
„ Monte Video, do.
„ Valparaiso and Lima, Thomas la Chambre and Co. „ Mexico, Martin
Daran and Co.
Three days after the manifesto of President Barbicane 4,000,000 of dollars
were paid into the different towns of the Union. With such a balance
the Gun Club might begin operations at once. But some days later advices
were received to the effect that the foreign subscriptions were being
eagerly taken up. Certain countries distinguished themselves by their
liberality; others untied their purse-strings with less facility--matter
of temperament. Figures are, however, more eloquent than words, and here
is the official statement of the sums which were paid in to the credit
of the Gun Club at the close of the subscription.
Illustration: THE SUBSCRIPTION WAS OPENED.
Russia paid in as her contingent the enormous sum of 368,733 roubles.
No one need be surprised at this, who bears in mind the scientific taste
of the Russians, and the impetus which they have given to astronomical
studies--thanks to their numerous observatories.
France began by deriding the pretensions of the Americans. The moon
served as a pretext for a thousand stale puns and a score of ballads,
in which bad taste contested the palm with ignorance. But as formerly
the French paid before singing, so now they paid after having had their
laugh, and they subscribed for a sum of 1,253,930 francs. At that price
they had a right to enjoy themselves a little.
Austria showed herself generous in the midst of her financial crisis. Her
public contributions amounted to the sum of 216,000 florins--a perfect
godsend.
52,000 rix-dollars were the remittance of Sweden and Norway; the amount
is large for the country, but it would undoubtedly have been considerably
increased had the subscription been opened in Christiania simultaneously
with that at Stockholm. For some reason or other the Norwegians do not
like to send their money to Sweden.
Prussia, by a remittance of 250,000 thalers, testified her high approval
of the enterprise.
Turkey behaved generously; but she had a personal interest in the matter.
The moon, in fact, regulates the cycle of her years and her fast of
Ramadan. She could not do less than give 1,372,640 piastres; and she gave
them with an eagerness which denoted, however, some pressure on the part
of the Government.
Belgium distinguished herself among the second-rate states by a grant of
513,000 francs--about two centimes per head of her population.
Holland and her colonies interested themselves to the extent of 110,000
florins, only demanding an allowance of five per cent, discount for
paying ready money.
Denmark, a little contracted in territory, gave nevertheless 9000 ducats,
proving her love for scientific experiments.
The Germanic Confederation pledged itself to 34,285 florins. It was
impossible to ask for more; besides, they would not have given it.
Though very much crippled, Italy found 200,000 lire in the pockets of
her people. If she had had Venetia she would have done better; but she
had not.
The States of the Church thought that they could not send less than
7040 Roman crowns; and Portugal carried her devotion to science as far
as 30,000 cruzados. It was the widow's mite--eighty-six piastres; but
self-constituted empires are always rather short of money.
257 francs, this was the modest contribution of Switzerland to the
American work. One must freely admit that she did not see the practical
side of the matter. It did not seem to her that the mere despatch of a
shot to the moon could possibly establish any relation of affairs with
her; and it did not seem prudent to her to embark her capital in so
hazardous an enterprise. After all, perhaps she was right.
As to Spain, she could not scrape together more than 110 reals. She
gave as an excuse that she had her railways to finish. The truth is,
that science is not favourably regarded in that country, it is still
in a backward state; and moreover, certain Spaniards, not by any means
the least educated, did not form a correct estimate of the bulk of the
projectile compared with that of the moon. They feared that it would
disturb the established order of things. In that case it were better to
keep aloof; which they did to the tune of some reals.
Illustration: THE MANUFACTORY AT COLDSPRING, NEAR NEW YORK.
There remained but England; and we know the contemptuous antipathy with
which she received Barbicane's proposition. The English have but one
soul for the whole twenty-six millions of inhabitants which Great Britain
contains. They hinted that the enterprise of the Gun Club was contrary to
the "principle of non-intervention." And they did not subscribe a single
farthing.
At this intimation the Gun Club merely shrugged its shoulders and
returned to its great work. When South America, that is to say, Peru,
Chili, Brazil, the provinces of La Plata and Columbia, had poured forth
their quota into their hands, the sum of 300,000 dollars, it found itself
in possession of a considerable capital, of which the following is a
statement:--
United States subscriptions . . 4,000,000 dollars.
Foreign subscriptions . . . . 1,446,675 „
----------
Total,5,446,675 „
Such was the sum which the public poured into the treasury of the Gun
Club.
Let no one be surprised at the vastness of the amount. The work of
casting, boring, masonry, the transport of workmen, their establishment
in an almost uninhabited country, the construction of furnaces and
workshops, the plant, the powder, the projectile, and incidental expenses,
would, according to the estimates, absorb nearly the whole. Certain
cannon shots in the Federal war cost 1000 dollars a-piece. This one of
President Barbicane, unique in the annals of gunnery, might well cost
five thousand times more.
On the 20th of October a contract was entered into with the manufactory
at Coldspring, near New York, which during the war had furnished the
largest Parrott cast-iron guns. It was stipulated between the contracting
parties that the manufactory of Coldspring should engage to transport
to Tampa Town, in southern Florida, the necessary materials for casting
the Columbiad. The work was bound to be completed at latest by the 15th
of October following, and the cannon delivered in good condition under
penalty of a forfeit of 100 dollars a day to the moment when the moon
should again present herself under the same conditions--that is to say,
in eighteen years and eleven days.
The engagement of the workmen, their pay, and all the necessary details
of the work, devolved upon the Goldspring Company.
This contract, executed in duplicate, was signed by Barbicane, President
of the Gun Club, of the one part, and T. Murphison, director of the
Coldspring manufactory, of the other, who thus executed the deed on
behalf of their respective principals.
CHAPTER XIII.
STONES HILL.
When the decision was arrived at by the Gun Club, to the disparagement of
Texas, every one in America, where reading is an universal acquirement,
set to work to study the geography of Florida. Never before had there
been such a sale for works like -Bertram's Travels in Florida, Roman's
Natural History of East and West Florida, William's Territory of Florida,-
and -Cleland on the Cultivation of the Sugar-Cane in Florida.- It became
necessary to issue fresh editions of these works.
Barbicane had something better to do than to read. He desired to see
things with his own eyes, and to mark the exact position of the proposed
gun. So, without a moment's loss of time, he placed at the disposal of
the Cambridge Observatory the funds necessary for the construction of a
telescope, and entered into negotiations with the house of Breadwill and
Co., of Albany, for the construction of an aluminium projectile of the
required size. He then quitted Baltimore, accompanied by J. T. Maston,
Major Elphinstone, and the manager of the Coldspring Factory.
On the following day, the four fellow-travellers arrived at New Orleans.
There they immediately embarked on board the "Tampico," a despatch-boat
belonging to the Federal navy, which the Government had placed at their
disposal; and, getting up steam, the banks of the Louisiana speedily
disappeared from sight.
The passage was not long. Two days after starting, the "Tampico,"
having made four hundred and eighty miles, came in sight of the coast of
Florida. On a nearer approach Barbicane found himself in view of a low,
flat country of somewhat barren aspect. After coasting along a series of
creeks abounding in lobsters and oysters, the "Tampico" entered the bay
of Espiritu Santo, where she finally anchored in a small natural harbour,
formed by the -embouchure- of the River Hillisborough, at seven p.m., on
the 22d October.
Our four passengers disembarked at once. "Gentlemen," said Barbicane,
"we have no time to lose; tomorrow we must obtain horses, and proceed to
reconnoitre the country."
Barbicane had scarcely set his foot on shore when three thousand of the
inhabitants of Tampa Town came forth to meet him, an honour due to the
president who had signalized their country by his choice.
Declining, however, every kind of ovation, Barbicane ensconced himself
in a room of the Franklin Hotel.
On the morrow some of those small horses of the Spanish breed, full of
vigour and of fire, stood snorting under his windows; but instead of
-four- steeds, here were -fifty,- together with their riders. Barbicane
descended with his three fellow-travellers; and much astonished were they
all to find themselves in the midst of such a cavalcade. He remarked that
every horseman carried a carbine slung across his shoulders and pistols
in his holsters.
On expressing his surprise at these preparations, he was speedily
enlightened by a young Floridan, who quietly said,--
"Sir, there are Seminoles there."
"What do you mean by Seminoles?"
"Savages who scour the prairies. We thought it best, therefore, to escort
you on your road."
"Pooh!" cried J. T. Maston, mounting his steed.
"All right," said the Floridan; "but it is true enough, nevertheless."
"Gentlemen," answered Barbicane, "I thank you for your kind attention;
but it is time to be off."
Illustration: TAMPA TOWN PREVIOUS TO THE UNDERTAKING.
It was five a.m. when Barbicane and his party, quitting Tampa Town,
made their way along the coast in the direction of Alifia Creek. This
little river falls into Hillisborough Bay twelve miles above Tampa Town.
Barbicane and his escort coasted along its right bank to the eastward.
Soon the waves of the bay disappeared behind a bend of rising ground,
and the Floridan "champagne" alone offered itself to view.
Florida, discovered on Palm Sunday, in 1512, by Juan Ponce de Leon, was
originally named -Pascha Florida-. It little deserved that designation
with its dry and parched coasts. But after some few miles of tract the
nature of the soil gradually changes and the country shows itself worthy
of the name. Cultivated plains soon appear, where are united all the
productions of the northern and tropical floras, terminating in prairies
abounding with pineapples and yams, tobacco, rice, cotton-plants, and
sugar-canes, which extend beyond reach of sight, flinging their riches
broadcast with careless prodigality.
Barbicane appeared highly pleased on observing the progressive elevation
of the land; and in answer to a question of J. T. Maston, replied,--
"My worthy friend, we cannot do better than sink our Columbiad in these
high grounds."
"To get nearer to the moon, perhaps?" said the secretary of the Gun Club.
"Not exactly," replied Barbicane, smiling; "do you not see that amongst
these elevated plateaus we shall have a much easier work of it? No
struggles with the water-springs, which will save us long and expensive
tubings; and we shall be working in daylight instead of down a deep and
narrow well. Our business, then, is to open our trenches upon ground some
hundreds of yards above the level of the sea."
"You are right, sir," struck in Murchison, the engineer; "and, if I
mistake not, we shall ere long find a suitable spot for our purpose."
"I wish we were at the first stroke of the pickaxe," said the president.
"And I wish we were at the -last-," cried J. T. Maston.
About ten a.m. the little band had crossed a dozen miles. To fertile
plains succeeded a region of forests. There perfumes of the most varied
kinds mingled together in tropical profusion. These almost impenetrable
forests were composed of pomegranates, orange-trees, citrons, figs,
olives, apricots, bananas, huge vines, whose blossoms and fruits rivalled
each other in colour and perfume. Beneath the odorous shade of these
magnificent trees fluttered and warbled a little world of brilliantly
plumaged birds.
J. T. Maston and the major could not repress their admiration on finding
themselves in presence of the glorious beauties of this wealth of
nature. President Barbicane, however, less sensitive to these wonders,
was in haste to press forward; the very luxuriance of the country was
displeasing to him. They hastened onwards, therefore, and were compelled
to ford several rivers, not without danger, for they were infested with
huge alligators from fifteen to eighteen feet long. Maston courageously
menaced them with his steel hook, but he only succeeded in frightening
some pelicans and teal, while tall flamingos stared stupidly at the
party.
At length these denizens of the swamps disappeared in their turn; smaller
trees became thinly scattered among less dense thickets--a few isolated
groups detached in the midst of endless plains over which ranged herds
of startled deer.
"At last," cried Barbicane, rising in his stirrups, "here we are at the
region of pines!"
"Yes! and of savages too," replied the major.
In fact, some Seminoles had just come in sight upon the horizon; they
rode violently backwards and forwards on their fleet horses, brandishing
their spears or discharging their guns with a dull report. These hostile
demonstrations, however, had no effect upon Barbicane and his companions.
Illustration: THEY WERE COMPELLED TO FORD SEVERAL RIVERS.
They were then occupying the centre of a rocky plain, which the sun
scorched with its parching rays. This was formed by a considerable
elevation of the soil, which seemed to offer to the members of the Gun
Club all the conditions requisite for the construction of their Columbiad.
"Halt!" said Barbicane, reining up. "Has this place any local appellation?"
"It is called Stones Hill," replied one of the Floridans.
Barbicane, without saying a word, dismounted, seized his instruments,
and began to note his position with extreme exactness. The little band,
drawn up in rear, watched his proceedings in profound silence.
At this moment the sun passed the meridian. Barbicane, after a few
moments, rapidly wrote down the result of his observations, and said,--
"This spot is situated 1800 feet above the level of the sea, in 27° 7'
N. lat. and 5° 7' W. long. of the meridian of Washington. It appears
to me by its rocky and barren character to offer all the conditions
requisite for our experiment. On that plain will be raised our magazines,
workshops, furnaces, and workmen's huts; and here, from this very spot,"
said he, stamping his foot on the summit of Stones Hill, "hence shall
our projectile take its flight into the regions of the Solar
World."
CHAPTER XIV.
PICKAXE AND TROWEL.
The same evening Barbicane and his companions returned to Tampa Town;
and Murchison, the engineer, re-embarked on board the "Tampico" for New
Orleans. His object was to enlist an army of workmen, and to collect
together the greater part of the materials. The members of the Gun Club
remained at Tampa Town, for the purpose of setting on foot the preliminary
works by the aid of the people of the country.
Eight days after its departure, the "Tampico" returned into the bay
of Espiritu Santo, with a whole flotilla of steamboats. Murchison had
succeeded in assembling together fifteen hundred artisans. Attracted
by the high pay and considerable bounties offered by the Gun Club, he
had enlisted a choice legion of stokers, iron-founders, lime-burners,
miners, brickmakers, and artisans of every trade, without distinction of
colour. As many of these people brought their families with them, their
departure resembled a perfect emigration.
On the 31st October, at ten o'clock in the morning, the troop disembarked
on the quays of Tampa Town; and one may imagine the activity which
pervaded that little town, whose population was thus doubled in a single
day.
During the first few days they were busy discharging the cargo brought
by the flotilla, the machines, and the rations, as well as a large number
of huts constructed of iron plates, separately pieced and numbered. At
the same period Barbicane laid the first sleepers of a railway fifteen
miles in length intended to unite Stones Hill with Tampa Town. On the
first of November Barbicane quitted Tampa Town with a detachment of
workmen; and on the following day the whole town of huts was erected
round Stones Hill. This they enclosed with palisades; and in respect of
energy and activity, it might have shortly been mistaken for one of the
great cities of the Union. Everything was placed under a complete system
of dicipline, and the works were commenced in most perfect order.
The nature of the soil having been carefully examined, by means of
repeated borings, the work of excavation was fixed for the 4th of
November.
On that day Barbicane called together his foremen and addressed them as
follows:--"You are well aware, my friends, of the object with which I
have assembled you together in this wild part of Florida. Our business
is to construct a cannon measuring nine feet in its interior diameter,
six feet thick, and with a stone revetment of nineteen and a half feet
in thickness. We have, therefore, a well of sixty feet in diameter
to dig down to a depth of nine hundred feet. This great work must be
completed -within eight months,- so that you have 2,543,400 cubic feet
of earth to excavate in 255 days; that is to say, in round numbers, 2000
cubic feet per day. That which would present no difficulty to a thousand
navvies working in open country will be of course more troublesome in
a comparatively confined space. However, the thing must be done, and
I reckon for its accomplishment upon your courage as much as upon your
skill."
At eight o'clock in the morning the first stroke of the pickaxe was
struck upon the soil of Florida; and from that moment that prince of
tools was never inactive for one moment in the hands of the excavators.
The gangs relieved each other every three hours.
On the 4th of November fifty workmen commenced digging, in the very
centre of the enclosed space on the summit of Stones Hill, a circular
hole sixty feet in diameter. The pickaxe first struck upon a kind of
black earth, six inches in thickness, which was speedily disposed of.
To this earth succeeded two feet of fine sand, which was carefully laid
aside as being valuable for serving for the casting of the inner mould.
After the sand appeared some compact white clay, resembling the chalk
of Great Britain, which extended down to a depth of four feet. Then the
iron of the picks struck upon the hard bed of the soil; a kind of rock
formed of petrified shells, very dry, very solid, and which the picks
could with difficulty penetrate. At this point the excavation exhibited
a depth of six feet and a half and the work of the masonry was begun.
At the bottom of this excavation they constructed a wheel of oak, a kind
of circle strongly bolted together, and of immense strength. The centre
of this wooden disc was hollowed out to a diameter equal to the exterior
diameter of the Columbiad. Upon this wheel rested the first layers of
the masonry, the stones of which were bound together by hydraulic cement,
with irresistible tenacity. The workmen, after laying the stones from
the circumference to the centre, were thus enclosed within a kind of
well twenty-one feet in diameter. When this work was accomplished, the
miners resumed their picks and cut away the rock from underneath the
-wheel- itself, taking care to support it as they advanced upon blocks
of great thickness. At every two feet which the hole gained in depth they
successively withdrew the blocks. The -wheel- then sank little by little,
and with it the massive ring of masonry, on the upper bed of which the
masons laboured incessantly, always reserving some vent holes to permit
the escape of gas during the operation of casting.
This kind of work required on the part of the workmen extreme nicety and
minute attention. More than one, in digging underneath the wheel, was
dangerously injured by the splinters of stone. But their ardour never
relaxed, night or day. By day they worked under the rays of the scorching
sun; by night, under the gleam of the electric light. The sounds of
the picks against the rock, the bursting of mines, the grinding of the
machines, the wreaths of smoke scattered through the air, traced around
Stones Hill a circle of terror which the herds of buffaloes and the war
parties of the Seminoles never ventured to pass. Nevertheless, the works
advanced regularly, as the steam-cranes actively removed the rubbish.
Of unexpected obstacles there was little account; and with regard to
foreseen difficulties, they were speedily disposed of.
Illustration: THE WORK PROGRESSED REGULARLY.
At the expiration of the first month the well had attained the depth
assigned for that lapse of time, viz. 112 feet. This depth was doubled
in December, and trebled in January.
During the month of February the workmen had to contend with a sheet of
water which made its way right across the outer soil. It became necessary
to employ very powerful pumps and compressed engines to drain it off,
so as to close up the orifice from whence it issued; just as one stops
a leak on board ship. They at last succeeded in getting the upper hand
of these untoward streams; only, in consequence of the loosening of the
soil, the wheel partly gave way, and a slight partial settlement ensued.
This accident cost the life of several workmen.
No fresh occurrence thenceforward arrested the progress of the operation;
and on the 10th of June, twenty days before the expiration of the period
fixed by Barbicane, the well, lined throughout with its facing of stone,
had attained the depth of 900 feet. At the bottom the masonry rested upon
a massive block measuring thirty feet in thickness, whilst on the upper
portion it was level with the surrounding soil.
President Barbicane and the members of the Gun Club warmly congratulated
their engineer Murchison: the cyclopean work had been accomplished with
extraordinary rapidity.
During these eight months Barbicane never quitted Stones Hill for a
single instant. Keeping ever close by the work of excavation, he busied
himself incessantly with the welfare and health of his workpeople, and
was singularly fortunate in warding off the epidemics common to large
communities of men, and so disastrous in those regions of the globe which
are exposed to the influences of tropical climates.
Many workmen, it is true, paid with their lives for the rashness inherent
in these dangerous labours; but these mishaps are impossible to be
avoided, and they are classed amongst details with which the Americans
trouble themselves but little. They have in fact more regard for human
nature in general than for the individual in particular.
Nevertheless, Barbicane professed opposite principles to these, and
put them in force at every opportunity. So, thanks to his care, his
intelligence, his useful intervention in all difficulties, his prodigious
and humane sagacity, the average of accidents did not exceed that of
transatlantic countries, noted for their excessive precautions, France,
for instance, among others, where they reckon about one accident for
every two hundred thousand francs of work.
CHAPTER XV.
THE FÊTE OF THE CASTING.
During the eight months which were employed in the work of excavation
the preparatory works of the casting had been carried on simultaneously
with extreme rapidity. A stranger arriving at Stones Hill would have been
surprised at the spectacle offered to his view.
At 600 yards from the well, and circularly arranged around it as a central
point, rose 1200 reverberating ovens, each six feet in diameter, and
separated from each other by an interval of three feet. The circumference
occupied by these 1200 ovens presented a length of two miles. Being all
constructed on the same plan, each with its high quadrangular chimney,
they produced a most singular effect.
It will be remembered that on their third meeting the Committee had
decided to use cast-iron for the Columbiad, and in particular the -white-
description. This metal in fact is the most tenacious, the most ductile,
and the most malleable, and consequently suitable for all moulding
operations; and when smelted with pit coal, is of superior quality for
all engineering works requiring great resisting power, such as cannon,
steam-boilers, hydraulic presses, and the like.
Cast-iron, however, if subjected to only one single fusion, is rarely
sufficiently homogeneous; and it requires a second fusion completely to
refine it by dispossessing it of its last earthly deposits. So before
being forwarded to Tampa Town, the iron ore, molten in the great furnaces
of Coldspring, and brought into contact with coal and silicium heated to
a high temperature, was carburized and transformed into cast-iron. After
this first operation, the metal was sent on to Stones Hill. They had,
however, to deal with 136,000,000 lbs. of iron, a quantity far too costly
to send by railway. The cost of transport would have been double that of
material. It appeared preferable to freight vessels at New York, and to
load them with the iron in bars. This, however, required not less than
sixty-eight vessels of 1000 tons, a veritable fleet, which, quitting New
York on the 3rd of May, on the 10th of the same month ascended the Bay
of Espiritu Santo, and discharged their cargoes, without dues, in the
port at Tampa Town. Thence the iron was transported by rail to Stones
Hill, and about the middle of January this enormous mass of metal was
delivered at its destination.
It will be easily understood that 1200 furnaces were not too many to
melt simultaneously these 60,000 tons of iron. Each of these furnaces
contained nearly 140,000 lbs. weight of metal. They were all built after
the model of those which served for the casting of the Rodman gun, they
were trapezoidal in shape, with a high elliptical arch. These furnaces,
constructed of fireproof brick, were especially adapted for burning
pit coal, with a flat bottom upon which the iron bars were laid. This
bottom, inclined at an angle of 25°, allowed the metal to flow into the
receiving troughs; and the 1200 converging trenches carried the molten
metal down to the central well.
The day following that on which the works of the masonry and boring had
been completed, Barbicane set to work upon the central mould. His object
now was to raise within the centre of the well, and with a coincident
axis, a cylinder 900 feet high, and 9 feet in diameter, which should
exactly fill up the space reserved for the bore of the Columbiad. This
cylinder was composed of a mixture of clay and sand, with the addition of
a little hay and straw. The space left between the mould and the masonry
was intended to be filled up by the molten metal, which would thus form
the walls six feet in thickness. This cylinder, in order to maintain its
equilibrium, had to be bound by iron bands, and firmly fixed at certain
intervals by cross-clamps fastened into the stone lining; after the
castings these would be buried in the block of metal, leaving no external
projection.
Illustration: THE CASTING.
This operation was completed on the 8th of July, and the run of the metal
was fixed for the following day.
"This fête of the casting will be a grand ceremony," said J. T. Maston
to his friend Barbicane.
"Undoubtedly," said Barbicane; "but it will not be a public fête."
"What! will you not open the gates of the enclosure to all comers?"
"I must be very careful, Maston. The casting of the Columbiad is an
extremely delicate, not to say a dangerous operation, and I should prefer
its being done privately. At the discharge of the projectile, a fête if
you like--till then, no!"
The president was right. The operation involved unforeseen dangers, which
a great influx of spectators would have hindered him from averting. It was
necessary to preserve complete freedom of movement. No one was admitted
within the enclosure except a delegation of members of the Gun Club,
who had made the voyage to Tampa Town. Among these was the brisk Bilsby,
Tom Hunter, Colonel Blomsberry, Major Elphinstone, General Morgan, and
the rest of the lot to whom the casting of the Columbiad was a matter
of personal interest. J. T. Maston became their cicerone. He omitted no
point of detail; he conducted them throughout the magazines, workshops,
through the midst of the engines, and compelled them to visit the whole
1200 furnaces one after the other. At the end of the twelve-hundredth
visit they were pretty well knocked up.
The casting was to take place at 12 o'clock precisely. The previous
evening each furnace had been charged with 114,000 lbs. weight of metal
in bars disposed cross-ways to each other, so as to allow the hot air
to circulate freely between them. At daybreak the 1200 chimneys vomited
their torrents of flame into the air, and the ground was agitated with
dull tremblings. As many pounds of metal as there were to -cast-, so many
pounds of coal were there to -burn-. Thus there were 68,000 tons of coal
which projected in the face of the sun a thick curtain of smoke. The heat
soon became insupportable within the circle of furnaces, the rumbling of
which resembled the rolling of thunder. The powerful ventilators added
their continuous blasts and saturated with oxygen the glowing plates. The
operation, to be successful, required to be conducted with great rapidity.
On a signal given by a cannon-shot each furnace was to give vent to the
molten iron and completely to empty itself. These arrangements made,
foremen and workmen waited the preconcerted moment with an impatience
mingled with a certain amount of emotion. Not a soul remained within the
enclosure. Each superintendent took his post by the aperture of the run.
Barbicane and his colleagues, perched on a neighbouring eminence,
assisted at the operation. In front of them was a piece of artillery
ready to give fire on the signal from the engineer. Some minutes before
midday the first driblets of metal began to flow; the reservoirs filled
little by little; and, by the time that the whole melting was completely
accomplished, it was kept in abeyance for a few minutes in order to
facilitate the separation of foreign substances.
Twelve o'clock struck! A gunshot suddenly pealed forth and shot its
flame into the air. Twelve hundred melting-troughs were simultaneously
opened and twelve hundred fiery serpents crept towards the central
well, unrolling their incandescent curves. There, down they plunged
with a terrific noise into a depth of 900 feet. It was an exciting and
a magnificent spectacle. The ground trembled, while these molten waves,
launching into the sky their wreaths of smoke, evaporated the moisture
of the mould and hurled it upwards through the vent-holes of the stone
lining in the form of dense vapour-clouds. These artificial clouds
unrolled their thick spirals to a height of 1000 yards into the air.
A savage, wandering somewhere beyond the limits of the horizon, might
have believed that some new crater was forming in the bosom of Florida,
although there was neither any eruption, nor typhoon, nor storm, nor
struggle of the elements, nor any of those terrible phenomena which
nature is capable of producing. No, it was man alone who had produced
these reddish vapours, these gigantic flames worthy of a volcano itself,
these tremendous vibrations resembling the shock of an earthquake, these
reverberations rivalling those of hurricanes and storms; and it was his
hand which precipitated into an abyss, dug by himself, a whole Niagara
of molten metal!
CHAPTER XVI.
THE COLUMBIAD.
Had the casting succeeded? They were reduced to mere conjecture. There
was indeed every reason to expect success, since the mould had absorbed
the entire mass of the molten metal; still some considerable time must
elapse before they could arrive at any certainty upon the matter.
The patience of the members of the Gun Club was sorely tried during this
period of time. But they could do nothing. J. T. Maston escaped roasting
by a miracle. Fifteen days after the casting an immense column of smoke
was still rising in the open sky and the ground burnt the soles of the
feet within a radius of 200 feet round the summit of Stones Hill. It was
impossible to approach nearer. All they could do was to wait with what
patience they might.
"Here we are at the 10th August," exclaimed J. T. Maston one morning,
"only four months to the 1st of December! We shall never be ready in
time!" Barbicane said nothing, but his silence covered serious irritation.
However, daily observations revealed a certain change going on in the
state of the ground. About the 15th August the vapours ejected had
sensibly diminished in intensity and thickness. Some days afterwards the
earth exhaled only a slight puff of smoke, the last breath of the monster
enclosed within its circle of stone. Little by little the belt of heat
contracted, until on the 22d August Barbicane, his colleagues, and the
engineer were enabled to set foot on the iron sheet which lay level upon
the summit of Stones Hill.
"At last!" exclaimed the President of the Gun Club, with an immense sigh
of relief.
The work was resumed the same day. They proceeded at once to extract the
interior mould, for the purpose of clearing out the boring of the piece.
Pickaxes and boring irons were set to work without intermission. The
clayey and sandy soils had acquired extreme hardness under the action of
the heat; but by the aid of the machines, the rubbish on being dug out
was rapidly carted away on railway waggons; and such was the ardour of
the work, so persuasive the arguments of Barbicane's dollars, that by
the 3rd of September all traces of the mould had entirely disappeared.
Immediately the operation of boring was commenced; and by the aid of
powerful machines, a few weeks later, the inner surface of the immense
tube had been rendered perfectly cylindrical, and the bore of the piece
had acquired a thorough polish.
At length, on the 22nd of September, less than a twelvemonth after
Barbicane's original proposition, the enormous weapon, accurately bored,
and exactly vertically pointed, was ready for work. There was only the
moon now to wait for; and they were pretty sure that she would not fail
in the rendezvous.
The ecstacy of J. T. Maston knew no bounds, and he narrowly escaped a
frightful fall while staring down the tube. But for the strong hand of
Colonel Blomsberry, the worthy secretary, like a modern Erostratus, would
have found his death in the depths of the Columbiad.
The cannon was then finished; there was no possible doubt as to its
perfect completion. So, on the 6th of October, Captain Nicholl opened
an account between himself and President Barbicane, in which he debited
himself to the latter in the sum of 2000 dollars. One may believe that
the Captain's wrath was increased to its highest point, and must have
made him seriously ill. However, he had still three bets of three, four,
and five thousand dollars, respectively; and if he gained two out of
these, his position would not be very bad. But the money question did
not enter into his calculations; it was the success of his rival in
casting a cannon against which iron plates sixty feet thick would have
been ineffectual, that dealt him a terrible blow.
After the 23rd of September the enclosure of Stones Hill was thrown open
to the public; and it will be easily imagined what was the concourse of
visitors to this spot! There was an incessant flow of people to and from
Tampa Town and the place, which resembled a procession, or rather, in
fact, a pilgrimage.
It was already clear to be seen that, on the day of the experiment itself,
the aggregate of spectators would be counted by millions; for they were
already arriving from all parts of the earth upon this narrow strip of
promontory. Europe was emigrating to America.
Up to that time, however, it must be confessed, the curiosity of the
numerous comers was but scantily gratified. Most had counted upon
witnessing the spectacle of the casting, and they were treated to
nothing but smoke. This was sorry food for hungry eyes; but Barbicane
would admit no one to that operation. Then ensued grumbling, discontent,
murmurs; they blamed the President, taxed him with dictatorial conduct.
His proceedings were declared "un-American." There was very nearly a
riot round Stones Hill; but Barbicane remained inflexible. When, however,
the Columbiad was entirely finished, this state of closed doors could
no longer be maintained; besides it would have been bad taste, and even
imprudence, to affront the public feeling. Barbicane, therefore, opened
the enclosure to all comers; but, true to his practical disposition, he
determined to coin money out of the public curiosity.
It was something, indeed, to be enabled to contemplate this immense
Columbiad; but to descend into its depths, this seemed to the Americans
the -ne plus ultra- of earthly felicity. Consequently, there was not
one curious spectator who was not willing to give himself the treat of
visiting the interior of this metallic abyss. Baskets suspended from
steam-cranes permitted them to satisfy their curiosity. There was a
perfect mania. Women, children, old men, all made it a point of duty to
penetrate the mysteries of the colossal gun. The fare for the descent was
fixed at five dollars per head; and despite this high charge, during the
two months which preceded the experiment, the influx of visitors enabled
the Gun Club to pocket nearly 500,000 dollars!
Illustration: TAMPA TOWN AFTER THE UNDERTAKING.
It is needless to say that the first visitors of the Columbiad were the
members of the Gun Club. This privilege was justly reserved for that
illustrious body. The ceremony took place on the 25th September. A basket
of honour took down the President, J. T. Maston, Major Elphinstone,
General Morgan, Colonel Blomsberry, and other members of the club, to
the number of ten in all. How hot it was at the bottom of that long tube
of metal! They were half suffocated. But what delight! What ecstasy! A
table had been laid with six covers on the massive stone which formed
the bottom of the Columbiad, and lighted by a jet of electric light
resembling that of day itself. Numerous exquisite dishes, which seemed
to descend from heaven, were placed successively before the guests, and
the richest wines of France flowed in profusion during this splendid
repast, served nine hundred feet beneath the surface of the earth!
The festival was animated, not to say somewhat noisy. Toasts flew
backwards and forwards. They drank to the earth and to her satellite, to
the Gun Club, the Union, the moon, Diana, Phœbe, Selene, the "peaceful
courier of the night"! All the hurrahs, carried upwards upon the sonorous
waves of the immense acoustic tube, arrived with the sound of thunder
at its mouth; and the multitude ranged round Stones Hill heartily united
their shouts with those of the ten revellers hidden from view at the
bottom of the gigantic Columbiad.
J. T. Maston was no longer master of himself. Whether he shouted or
gesticulated, ate or drank most, would be a difficult matter to determine.
At all events, he would not have given his place up for an empire, "not
even if the cannon--loaded, primed, and fired at that very moment--were
to blow him in pieces into the planetary world."
Illustration: THE BANQUET IN THE COLUMBIAD.
CHAPTER XVII.
A TELEGRAPHIC DESPATCH.
The great works undertaken by the Gun Club had now virtually come to an
end; and two months still remained before the day for the discharge of
the shot to the moon. To the general impatience these two months appeared
as long as years! Hitherto the smallest details of the operation had been
daily chronicled by the journals, which the public devoured with eager
eyes.
Just at this moment a circumstance, the most unexpected, the most
extraordinary and incredible, occurred to rouse afresh their panting
spirits, and to throw every mind into a state of the most violent
excitement.
One day, the 30th September, at 3.47 p.m., a telegram, transmitted by
cable from Valentia (Ireland) to Newfoundland and the American mainland,
arrived at the address of President Barbicane.
The President tore open the envelope, read the despatch, and, despite
his remarkable powers of self-control, his lips turned pale and his eyes
grew dim, on reading the twenty words of this telegram.
Here is the text of the despatch, which figures now in the archives of
the Gun Club:--
"France, Paris,
"30 -September-, 4 -a.m.-
"Barbicane, Tampa Town, Florida, United States.
"Substitute for your spherical shell a cylindro-conical projectile.
I shall go inside. Shall arrive by steamer 'Atlanta.'
"Michel Ardan."
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE PASSENGER OF THE "ATLANTA."
If this astounding news, instead of flying through the electric wires,
had simply arrived by post in the ordinary sealed envelope, Barbicane
would not have hesitated a moment. He would have held his tongue about
it, both as a measure of prudence, and in order not to have to reconsider
his plans. This telegram might be a cover for some jest, especially as
it came from a Frenchman. What human being would ever have conceived the
idea of such a journey? and, if such a person really existed, he must be
an idiot, whom one would shut up in a lunatic ward, rather than within
the walls of the projectile.
The contents of the despatch, however, speedily became known; for
the telegraphic officials possessed but little discretion, and Michel
Ardan's proposition ran at once throughout the several States of the
Union. Barbicane had, therefore, no further motive for keeping silence.
Consequently, he called together such of his colleagues as were at the
moment in Tampa Town, and without any expression of his own opinions
simply read to them the laconic text itself. It was received with every
possible variety of expressions of doubt, incredulity, and derision from
every one, with the exception of J. T. Maston, who exclaimed, "It is a
grand idea, however!"
When Barbicane originally proposed to send a shot to the moon every one
looked upon the enterprise as simple and practicable enough--a mere
question of gunnery; but when a person, professing to be a reasonable
being, offered to take passage within the projectile, the whole thing
became a farce, or, in plainer language a -humbug.-
Illustration: PRESIDENT BARBICANE AT HIS WINDOW.
One question, however, remained. Did such a being exist? This telegram
flashed across the depths of the Atlantic, the designation of the vessel
on board which he was to take his passage, the date assigned for his
speedy arrival, all combined to impart a certain character of reality to
the proposal. They must get some clearer notion of the matter. Scattered
groups of inquirers at length condensed themselves into a compact crowd,
which made straight for the residence of President Barbicane. That worthy
individual was keeping quiet with the intention of watching events as they
arose. But he had forgotten to take into account the public impatience;
and it was with no pleasant countenance that he watched the population
of Tampa Town gathering under his windows. The murmurs and vociferations
below presently obliged him to appear. He came forward, therefore, and
on silence being procured, a citizen put point-blank to him the following
question:--"Is the person mentioned in the telegram, under the name of
Michel Ardan, on his way here? Yes or no."
"Gentlemen," replied Barbicane, "I know no more than you do."
"We must know," roared the impatient voices.
"Time will show," calmly replied the President.
"Time has no business to keep a whole country in suspense," replied the
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