Part 1 - Dropped from the Clouds: Chapter 21

by Jules Verne

　　From this time Pencroft did not let a single day pass without going tovisit what he gravely called his "corn-field." And woe to the insects whichdared to venture there! No mercy was shown them.

　　Towards the end of the month of June, after incessant rain, the weatherbecame decidedly colder, and on the 29th a Fahrenheit thermometer wouldcertainly have announced only twenty degrees above zero, that isconsiderably below the freezing-point. The next day, the 30th of June, theday which corresponds to the 31st of December in the northern year, was aFriday. Neb remarked that the year finished on a bad day, but Pencroftreplied that naturally the next would begin on a good one, which wasbetter.

　　At any rate it commenced by very severe cold. Ice accumulated at themouth of the Mercy, and it was not long before the whole expanse of thelake was frozen.

　　The settlers had frequently been obliged to renew their store of wood.Pencroft also had wisely not waited till the river was frozen, but hadbrought enormous rafts of wood to their destination. The current was anindefatigable moving power, and it was employed in conveying the floatingwood to the moment when the frost enchained it. To the fuel which was soabundantly supplied by the forest, they added several cartloads of coal,which had to be brought from the foot of the spurs of Mount Franklin. Thepowerful heat of the coal was greatly appreciated in the low temperature,which on the 4th of July fell to eight degrees of Fahrenheit, that is,thirteen degrees below zero. A second fireplace had been established in thedining-room, where they all worked together at their different avocations.During this period of cold, Cyrus Harding had great cause to congratulatehimself on having brought to Granite House the little stream of water fromLake Grant. Taken below the frozen surface, and conducted through thepassage, it preserved its fluidity, and arrived at an interior reservoirwhich had been hollowed out at the back part of the storeroom, while theoverflow ran through the well to the sea.

　　About this time, the weather being extremely dry, the colonists, clothedas warmly as possible, resolved to devote a day to the exploration of thatpart of the island between the Mercy and Claw Cape. It was a wide extent ofmarshy land, and they would probably find good sport, for water-birds oughtto swarm there.

　　They reckoned that it would be about eight or nine miles to go there, andas much to return, so that the whole of the day would be occupied. As anunknown part of the island was about to be explored, the whole colony tookpart in the expedition. Accordingly, on the 5th of July, at six o'clock inthe morning, when day had scarcely broken, Cyrus Harding, Gideon Spilett,Herbert, Neb, and Pencroft, armed with spears, snares, bows and arrows, andprovided with provisions, left Granite House, preceded by Top, who boundedbefore them.

　　Their shortest way was to cross the Mercy on the ice, which then coveredit.

　　"But," as the engineer justly observed, "that could not take the place ofa regular bridge!" So, the construction of a regular bridge was noted inthe list of future works.

　　It was the first time that the settlers had set foot on the right bank ofthe Mercy, and ventured into the midst of those gigantic and superbconiferae now sprinkled over with snow.

　　But they had not gone half a mile when from a thicket a whole family ofquadrupeds, who had made a home there, disturbed by Top, rushed forth intothe open country.

　　"Ah! I should say those are foxes!" cried Herbert, when he saw the trooprapidly decamping.

　　They were foxes, but of a very large size, who uttered a sort of barking,at which Top seemed to be very much astonished, for he stopped short in thechase, and gave the swift animals time to disappear.

　　The dog had reason to be surprised, as he did not know Natural History.But, by their barking, these foxes, with reddish-gray hair, black tailsterminating in a white tuft, had betrayed their origin. So Herbert wasable, without hesitating, to give them their real name of "Arctic foxes."They are frequently met with in Chile, in the Falkland Islands, and in allparts of America traversed by the thirtieth and fortieth parallels. Herbertmuch regretted that Top had not been able to catch one of these carnivora.

　　"Are they good to eat?" asked Pencroft, who only regarded therepresentatives of the fauna in the island from one special point of view.

　　"No," replied Herbert; "but zoologists have not yet found out if the eyeof these foxes is diurnal or nocturnal, or whether it is correct to classthem in the genus dog, properly so called."

　　Harding could not help smiling on hearing the lad's reflection, whichshowed a thoughtful mind. As to the sailor, from the moment when he foundthat the foxes were not classed in the genus eatable, they were nothing tohim. However, when a poultry-yard was established at Granite House, heobserved that it would be best to take some precautions against a probablevisit from these four-legged plunderers, and no one disputed this.

　　After having turned the point, the settlers saw a long beach washed bythe open sea. It was then eight o'clock in the morning. The sky was veryclear, as it often is after prolonged cold; but warmed by their walk,neither Harding nor his companions felt the sharpness of the atmosphere tooseverely. Besides there was no wind, which made it much more bearable. Abrilliant sun, but without any calorific action, was just issuing from theocean. The sea was as tranquil and blue as that of a Mediterranean gulf,when the sky is clear. Claw Cape, bent in the form of a yataghan, taperedaway nearly four miles to the southeast. To the left the edge of the marshwas abruptly ended by a little point. Certainly, in this part of Union Bay,which nothing sheltered from the open sea, not even a sandbank, shipsbeaten by the east winds would have found no shelter. They perceived by thetranquillity of the sea, in which no shallows troubled the waters, by itsuniform color, which was stained by no yellow shades, by the absence ofeven a reef, that the coast was steep and that the ocean there covered adeep abyss. Behind in the west, but at a distance of four miles, rose thefirst trees of the forests of the Far West. They might have believedthemselves to be on the desolate coast of some island in the Antarcticregions which the ice had invaded. The colonists halted at this place forbreakfast. A fire of brushwood and dried seaweed was lighted, and Nebprepared the breakfast of cold meat, to which he added some cups of Oswegotea.

　　While eating they looked around them. This part of Lincoln Island wasvery sterile, and contrasted with all the western part. The reporter wasthus led to observe that if chance had thrown them at first on the shore,they would have had but a deplorable idea of their future domain.

　　"I believe that we should not have been able to reach it," replied theengineer, "for the sea is deep, and there is not a rock on which we couldhave taken refuge. Before Granite House, at least, there were sandbanks, anislet, which multiplied our chances of safety. Here, nothing but thedepths!"

　　"It is singular enough," remarked Spilett, "that this comparatively smallisland should present such varied ground. This diversity of aspect,logically only belongs to continents of a certain extent. One would reallysay, that the western part of Lincoln Island, so rich and so fertile, iswashed by the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and that its shores to thenorth and the southeast extend over a sort of Arctic sea."

　　"You are right, my dear Spilett," replied Cyrus Harding, "I have alsoobserved this. I think the form and also the nature of this island strange.It is a summary of all the aspects which a continent presents, and I shouldnot be surprised if it was a continent formerly."

　　"What! a continent in the middle of the Pacific?" cried Pencroft.

　　"Why not?" replied Cyrus Harding. "Why should not Australia, New Ireland,Australasia, united to the archipelagoes of the Pacific, have once formed asixth part of the world, as important as Europe or Asia, as Africa or thetwo Americas? To my mind, it is quite possible that all these islands,emerging from this vast ocean, are but the summits of a continent, nowsubmerged, but which was above the waters at a prehistoric period."

　　"As the Atlantis was formerly," replied Herbert.

　　"Yes, my boy... if, however, it existed."

　　"And would Lincoln Island have been a part of that continent?" askedPencroft.

　　"It is probable," replied Cyrus Harding, "and that would sufficiently,explain the variety of productions which are seen on its surface."

　　"And the great number of animals which still inhabit it," added Herbert.

　　"Yes, my boy," replied the engineer, "and you furnish me with an argumentto support my theory. It is certain, after what we have seen, that animalsare numerous in this island, and what is more strange, that the species areextremely varied. There is a reason for that, and to me it is that LincolnIsland may have formerly been a part of some vast continent which hadgradually sunk below the Pacific."

　　"Then, some fine day," said Pencroft, who did not appear to be entirelyconvinced, "the rest of this ancient continent may disappear in its turn,and there will be nothing between America and Asia."

　　"Yes," replied Harding, "there will be new continents which millions andmillions of animalculae are building at this moment."

　　"And what are these masons?" asked Pencroft.

　　"Coral insects," replied Cyrus Harding. "By constant work they made theisland of Clermont-Tonnerre, and numerous other coral islands in thePacific Ocean. Forty-seven millions of these insects are needed to weigh agrain, and yet, with the sea-salt they absorb, the solid elements of waterwhich they assimilate, these animalculae produce limestone, and thislimestone forms enormous submarine erections, of which the hardness andsolidity equal granite. Formerly, at the first periods of creation, natureemploying fire, heaved up the land, but now she entrusts to thesemicroscopic creatures the task of replacing this agent, of which thedynamic power in the interior of the globe has evidently diminished--whichis proved by the number of volcanoes on the surface of the earth, nowactually extinct. And I believe that centuries succeeding to centuries, andinsects to insects, this Pacific may one day be changed into a vastcontinent, which new generations will inhabit and civilize in their turn."

　　"That will take a long time," said Pencroft.

　　"Nature has time for it," replied the engineer.

　　"But what would be the use of new continents?" asked Herbert. "It appearsto me that the present extent of habitable countries is sufficient forhumanity. Yet nature does nothing uselessly."

　　"Nothing uselessly, certainly," replied the engineer, "but this is howthe necessity of new continents for the future, and exactly on the tropicalzone occupied by the coral islands, may be explained. At least to me thisexplanation appears plausible."

　　"We are listening, captain," said Herbert.

　　"This is my idea: philosophers generally admit that some day our globewill end, or rather that animal and vegetable life will no longer bepossible, because of the intense cold to which it will be subjected. Whatthey are not agreed upon, is the cause of this cold. Some think that itwill arise from the falling of the temperature, which the sun willexperience alter millions of years; others, from the gradual extinction ofthe fires in the interior of our globe, which have a greater influence onit than is generally supposed. I hold to this last hypothesis, grounding iton the fact that the moon is really a cold star, which is no longerhabitable, although the sun continues to throw on its surface the sameamount of heat. If, then, the moon has become cold, it is because theinterior fires to which, as do all the stars of the stellar world, it owesits origin, are completely extinct. Lastly, whatever may be the cause, ourglobe will become cold some day, but this cold will only operate gradually.What will happen, then? The temperate zones, at a more or less distantperiod, will not be more habitable than the polar regions now are. Then thepopulation of men, as well as the animals, will flow towards the latitudeswhich are more directly under the solar influence. An immense emigrationwill take place. Europe, Central Asia, North America, will gradually beabandoned, as well as Australasia and the lower parts of South America. Thevegetation will follow the human emigration. The flora will retreat towardsthe Equator at the same time as the fauna. The central parts of SouthAmerica and Africa will be the continents chiefly inhabited. The Laplandersand the Samoides will find the climate of the polar regions on the shoresof the Mediterranean. Who can say, that at this period, the equatorialregions will not be too small, to contain and nourish terrestrial humanity?Now, may not provident nature, so as to give refuge to all the vegetableand animal emigration, be at present laying the foundation of a newcontinent under the Equator, and may she not have entrusted these insectswith the construction of it? I have often thought of all these things, myfriends, and I seriously believe that the aspect of our globe will some daybe completely changed; that by the raising of new continents the sea willcover the old, and that, in future ages, a Columbus will go to discover theislands of Chimborazo, of the Himalayas, or of Mont Blanc, remains of asubmerged America, Asia, and Europe. Then these new continents will become,in their turn, uninhabitable; heat will die away, as does the heat from abody when the soul has left it; and life will disappear from the globe, ifnot for ever, at least for a period. Perhaps then, our spheroid will rest--will be left to death--to revive some day under superior conditions! But allthat, my friends, is the secret of the Author of all things; and beginningby the work of the insects, I have perhaps let myself be carried too far,in investigating the secrets of the future.

　　"My dear Cyrus," replied Spilett, "these theories are prophecies to me,and they will be accomplished some day."

　　"That is the secret of God," said the engineer.

　　"All that is well and good," then said Pencroft, who had listened withall his might, "but will you tell me, captain, if Lincoln Island has beenmade by your insects?"

　　"No," replied Harding; "it is of a purely volcanic origin."

　　"Then it will disappear some day?"

　　"That is probable.

　　"I hope we won't be here then."

　　"No, don't be uneasy, Pencroft; we shall not be here then, as we have nowish to die here, and hope to get away some time."

　　"In the meantime," replied Gideon Spilett, "let us establish ourselveshere as if forever. There is no use in doing things by halves."

　　This ended the conversation. Breakfast was finished, the exploration wascontinued, and the settlers arrived at the border of the marshy region. Itwas a marsh of which the extent, to the rounded coast which terminated theisland at the southeast, was about twenty square miles. The soil was formedof clayey flint-earth, mingled with vegetable matter, such as the remainsof rushes, reeds, grass, etc. Here and there beds of grass, thick as acarpet, covered it. In many places icy pools sparkled in the sun. Neitherrain nor any river, increased by a sudden swelling, could supply theseponds. They therefore naturally concluded that the marsh was fed by theinfiltrations of the soil and it was really so. It was also to be fearedthat during the heat miasmas would arise, which might produce fevers.

　　Above the aquatic plants, on the surface of the stagnant water, flutterednumbers of birds. Wild duck, teal, snipe lived there in flocks, and thosefearless birds allowed themselves to be easily approached.

　　One shot from a gun would certainly have brought down some dozen of thebirds, they were so close together. The explorers were, however, obliged tocontent themselves with bows and arrows. The result was less, but thesilent arrow had the advantage of not frightening the birds, while thenoise of firearms would have dispersed them to all parts of the marsh. Thehunters were satisfied, for this time, with a dozen ducks, which had whitebodies with a band of cinnamon, a green head, wings black, white, and red,and flattened beak. Herbert called them tadorns. Top helped in the captureof these birds, whose name was given to this marshy part of the island. Thesettlers had here an abundant reserve of aquatic game. At some future timethey meant to explore it more carefully, and it was probable that some ofthe birds there might be domesticated, or at least brought to the shores ofthe lake, so that they would be more within their reach.

　　About five o'clock in the evening Cyrus Harding and his companionsretraced their steps to their dwelling by traversing Tadorn's Fens, andcrossed the Mercy on the ice-bridge.

　　At eight in the evening they all entered Granite House.