The Red Sea
: PART TWOIn the course of the day of the 29th of January, the island of Ceylon
disappeared under the horizon, and the Nautilus, at a speed of twenty
miles an hour, slid into the labyrinth of canals which separate the
Maldives from the Laccadives. It coasted even the Island of Kiltan, a
land originally coraline, discovered by Vasco da Gama in 1499, and one
of the nineteen principal islands of the Laccadive Archipelago,
situated
E. long.
We had made 16,220 miles, or 7,500 (French) leagues from our
starting-point in the Japanese Seas.
The next day (30th January), when the Nautilus went to the surface of
the ocean there was no land in sight. Its course was N.N.E., in the
direction of the Sea of Oman, between Arabia and the Indian Peninsula,
which serves as an outlet to the Persian Gulf. It was evidently a
block without any possible egress. Where was Captain Nemo taking us
to? I could not say. This, however, did not satisfy the Canadian, who
that day came to me asking where we were going.
"We are going where our Captain's fancy takes us, Master Ned."
"His fancy cannot take us far, then," said the Canadian. "The Persian
Gulf has no outlet: and, if we do go in, it will not be long before we
are out again."
"Very well, then, we will come out again, Master Land; and if, after
the Persian Gulf, the Nautilus would like to visit the Red Sea, the
Straits of Bab-el-mandeb are there to give us entrance."
"I need not tell you, sir," said Ned Land, "that the Red Sea is as much
closed as the Gulf, as the Isthmus of Suez is not yet cut; and, if it
was, a boat as mysterious as ours would not risk itself in a canal cut
with sluices. And again, the Red Sea is not the road to take us back
to Europe."
"But I never said we were going back to Europe."
"What do you suppose, then?"
"I suppose that, after visiting the curious coasts of Arabia and Egypt,
the Nautilus will go down the Indian Ocean again, perhaps cross the
Channel of Mozambique, perhaps off the Mascarenhas, so as to gain the
Cape of Good Hope."
"And once at the Cape of Good Hope?" asked the Canadian, with peculiar
emphasis.
"Well, we shall penetrate into that Atlantic which we do not yet know.
Ah! friend Ned, you are getting tired of this journey under the sea;
you are surfeited with the incessantly varying spectacle of submarine
wonders. For my part, I shall be sorry to see the end of a voyage
which it is given to so few men to make."
For four days, till the 3rd of February, the Nautilus scoured the Sea
of Oman, at various speeds and at various depths. It seemed to go at
random, as if hesitating as to which road it should follow, but we
never passed the Tropic of Cancer.
In quitting this sea we sighted Muscat for an instant, one of the most
important towns of the country of Oman. I admired its strange aspect,
surrounded by black rocks upon which its white houses and forts stood
in relief. I saw the rounded domes of its mosques, the elegant points
of its minarets, its fresh and verdant terraces. But it was only a
vision! The Nautilus soon sank under the waves of that part of the sea.
We passed along the Arabian coast of Mahrah and Hadramaut, for a
distance of six miles, its undulating line of mountains being
occasionally relieved by some ancient ruin. The 5th of February we at
last entered the Gulf of Aden, a perfect funnel introduced into the
neck of Bab-el-mandeb, through which the Indian waters entered the Red
Sea.
The 6th of February, the Nautilus floated in sight of Aden, perched
upon a promontory which a narrow isthmus joins to the mainland, a kind
of inaccessible Gibraltar, the fortifications of which were rebuilt by
the English after taking possession in 1839. I caught a glimpse of the
octagon minarets of this town, which was at one time the richest
commercial magazine on the coast.
I certainly thought that Captain Nemo, arrived at this point, would
back out again; but I was mistaken, for he did no such thing, much to
my surprise.
The next day, the 7th of February, we entered the Straits of
Bab-el-mandeb, the name of which, in the Arab tongue, means The Gate of
Tears.
To twenty miles in breadth, it is only thirty-two in length. And for
the Nautilus, starting at full speed, the crossing was scarcely the
work of an hour. But I saw nothing, not even the Island of Perim, with
which the British Government has fortified the position of Aden. There
were too many English or French steamers of the line of Suez to Bombay,
Calcutta to Melbourne, and from Bourbon to the Mauritius, furrowing
this narrow passage, for the Nautilus to venture to show itself. So it
remained prudently below. At last about noon, we were in the waters of
the Red Sea.
I would not even seek to understand the caprice which had decided
Captain Nemo upon entering the gulf. But I quite approved of the
Nautilus entering it. Its speed was lessened: sometimes it kept on
the surface, sometimes it dived to avoid a vessel, and thus I was able
to observe the upper and lower parts of this curious sea.
The 8th of February, from the first dawn of day, Mocha came in sight,
now a ruined town, whose walls would fall at a gunshot, yet which
shelters here and there some verdant date-trees; once an important
city, containing six public markets, and twenty-six mosques, and whose
walls, defended by fourteen forts, formed a girdle of two miles in
circumference.
The Nautilus then approached the African shore, where the depth of the
sea was greater. There, between two waters clear as crystal, through
the open panels we were allowed to contemplate the beautiful bushes of
brilliant coral and large blocks of rock clothed with a splendid fur of
green variety of sites and landscapes along these sandbanks and algae
and fuci. What an indescribable spectacle, and what variety of sites
and landscapes along these sandbanks and volcanic islands which bound
the Libyan coast! But where these shrubs appeared in all their beauty
was on the eastern coast, which the Nautilus soon gained. It was on
the coast of Tehama, for there not only did this display of zoophytes
flourish beneath the level of the sea, but they also formed picturesque
interlacings which unfolded themselves about sixty feet above the
surface, more capricious but less highly coloured than those whose
freshness was kept up by the vital power of the waters.
What charming hours I passed thus at the window of the saloon! What
new specimens of submarine flora and fauna did I admire under the
brightness of our electric lantern!
The 9th of February the Nautilus floated in the broadest part of the
Red Sea, which is comprised between Souakin, on the west coast, and
Komfidah, on the east coast, with a diameter of ninety miles.
That day at noon, after the bearings were taken, Captain Nemo mounted
the platform, where I happened to be, and I was determined not to let
him go down again without at least pressing him regarding his ulterior
projects. As soon as he saw me he approached and graciously offered me
a cigar.
"Well, sir, does this Red Sea please you? Have you sufficiently
observed the wonders it covers, its fishes, its zoophytes, its
parterres of sponges, and its forests of coral? Did you catch a
glimpse of the towns on its borders?"
"Yes, Captain Nemo," I replied; "and the Nautilus is wonderfully fitted
for such a study. Ah! it is an intelligent boat!"
"Yes, sir, intelligent and invulnerable. It fears neither the terrible
tempests of the Red Sea, nor its currents, nor its sandbanks."
"Certainly," said I, "this sea is quoted as one of the worst, and in
the time of the ancients, if I am not mistaken, its reputation was
detestable."
"Detestable, M. Aronnax. The Greek and Latin historians do not speak
favourably of it, and Strabo says it is very dangerous during the
Etesian winds and in the rainy season. The Arabian Edrisi portrays it
under the name of the Gulf of Colzoum, and relates that vessels
perished there in great numbers on the sandbanks and that no one would
risk sailing in the night. It is, he pretends, a sea subject to
fearful hurricanes, strewn with inhospitable islands, and `which offers
nothing good either on its surface or in its depths.'"
"One may see," I replied, "that these historians never sailed on board
the Nautilus."
"Just so," replied the Captain, smiling; "and in that respect moderns
are not more advanced than the ancients. It required many ages to find
out the mechanical power of steam. Who knows if, in another hundred
years, we may not see a second Nautilus? Progress is slow, M. Aronnax."
"It is true," I answered; "your boat is at least a century before its
time, perhaps an era. What a misfortune that the secret of such an
invention should die with its inventor!"
Captain Nemo did not reply. After some minutes' silence he continued:
"You were speaking of the opinions of ancient historians upon the
dangerous navigation of the Red Sea."
"It is true," said I; "but were not their fears exaggerated?"
"Yes and no, M. Aronnax," replied Captain Nemo, who seemed to know the
Red Sea by heart. "That which is no longer dangerous for a modern
vessel, well rigged, strongly built, and master of its own course,
thanks to obedient steam, offered all sorts of perils to the ships of
the ancients. Picture to yourself those first navigators venturing in
ships made of planks sewn with the cords of the palmtree, saturated
with the grease of the seadog, and covered with powdered resin! They
had not even instruments wherewith to take their bearings, and they
went by guess amongst currents of which they scarcely knew anything.
Under such conditions shipwrecks were, and must have been, numerous.
But in our time, steamers running between Suez and the South Seas have
nothing more to fear from the fury of this gulf, in spite of contrary
trade-winds. The captain and passengers do not prepare for their
departure by offering propitiatory sacrifices; and, on their return,
they no longer go ornamented with wreaths and gilt fillets to thank the
gods in the neighbouring temple."
"I agree with you," said I; "and steam seems to have killed all
gratitude in the hearts of sailors. But, Captain, since you seem to
have especially studied this sea, can you tell me the origin of its
name?"
"There exist several explanations on the subject, M. Aronnax. Would
you like to know the opinion of a chronicler of the fourteenth century?"
"Willingly."
"This fanciful writer pretends that its name was given to it after the
passage of the Israelites, when Pharaoh perished in the waves which
closed at the voice of Moses."
"A poet's explanation, Captain Nemo," I replied; "but I cannot content
myself with that. I ask you for your personal opinion."
"Here it is, M. Aronnax. According to my idea, we must see in this
appellation of the Red Sea a translation of the Hebrew word `Edom'; and
if the ancients gave it that name, it was on account of the particular
colour of its waters."
"But up to this time I have seen nothing but transparent waves and
without any particular colour."
"Very likely; but as we advance to the bottom of the gulf, you will see
this singular appearance. I remember seeing the Bay of Tor entirely
red, like a sea of blood."
"And you attribute this colour to the presence of a microscopic
seaweed?"
"Yes."
"So, Captain Nemo, it is not the first time you have overrun the Red
Sea on board the Nautilus?"
"No, sir."
"As you spoke a while ago of the passage of the Israelites and of the
catastrophe to the Egyptians, I will ask whether you have met with the
traces under the water of this great historical fact?"
"No, sir; and for a good reason."
"What is it?"
"It is that the spot where Moses and his people passed is now so
blocked up with sand that the camels can barely bathe their legs there.
You can well understand that there would not be water enough for my
Nautilus."
"And the spot?" I asked.
"The spot is situated a little above the Isthmus of Suez, in the arm
which formerly made a deep estuary, when the Red Sea extended to the
Salt Lakes. Now, whether this passage were miraculous or not, the
Israelites, nevertheless, crossed there to reach the Promised Land, and
Pharaoh's army perished precisely on that spot; and I think that
excavations made in the middle of the sand would bring to light a large
number of arms and instruments of Egyptian origin."
"That is evident," I replied; "and for the sake of archaeologists let
us hope that these excavations will be made sooner or later, when new
towns are established on the isthmus, after the construction of the
Suez Canal; a canal, however, very useless to a vessel like the
Nautilus."
"Very likely; but useful to the whole world," said Captain Nemo. "The
ancients well understood the utility of a communication between the Red
Sea and the Mediterranean for their commercial affairs: but they did
not think of digging a canal direct, and took the Nile as an
intermediate. Very probably the canal which united the Nile to the Red
Sea was begun by Sesostris, if we may believe tradition. One thing is
certain, that in the year 615 before Jesus Christ, Necos undertook the
works of an alimentary canal to the waters of the Nile across the plain
of Egypt, looking towards Arabia. It took four days to go up this
canal, and it was so wide that two triremes could go abreast. It was
carried on by Darius, the son of Hystaspes, and probably finished by
Ptolemy II. Strabo saw it navigated: but its decline from the point
of departure, near Bubastes, to the Red Sea was so slight that it was
only navigable for a few months in the year. This canal answered all
commercial purposes to the age of Antonius, when it was abandoned and
blocked up with sand. Restored by order of the Caliph Omar, it was
definitely destroyed in 761 or 762 by Caliph Al-Mansor, who wished to
prevent the arrival of provisions to Mohammed-ben-Abdallah, who had
revolted against him. During the expedition into Egypt, your General
Bonaparte discovered traces of the works in the Desert of Suez; and,
surprised by the tide, he nearly perished before regaining Hadjaroth,
at the very place where Moses had encamped three thousand years before
him."
"Well, Captain, what the ancients dared not undertake, this junction
between the two seas, which will shorten the road from Cadiz to India,
M. Lesseps has succeeded in doing; and before long he will have changed
Africa into an immense island."
"Yes, M. Aronnax; you have the right to be proud of your countryman.
Such a man brings more honour to a nation than great captains. He
began, like so many others, with disgust and rebuffs; but he has
triumphed, for he has the genius of will. And it is sad to think that
a work like that, which ought to have been an international work and
which would have sufficed to make a reign illustrious, should have
succeeded by the energy of one man. All honour to M. Lesseps!"
"Yes! honour to the great citizen," I replied, surprised by the manner
in which Captain Nemo had just spoken.
"Unfortunately," he continued, "I cannot take you through the Suez
Canal; but you will be able to see the long jetty of Port Said after
to-morrow, when we shall be in the Mediterranean."
"The Mediterranean!" I exclaimed.
"Yes, sir; does that astonish you?"
"What astonishes me is to think that we shall be there the day after
to-morrow."
"Indeed?"
"Yes, Captain, although by this time I ought to have accustomed myself
to be surprised at nothing since I have been on board your boat."
"But the cause of this surprise?"
"Well! it is the fearful speed you will have to put on the Nautilus, if
the day after to-morrow she is to be in the Mediterranean, having made
the round of Africa, and doubled the Cape of Good Hope!"
"Who told you that she would make the round of Africa and double the
Cape of Good Hope, sir?"
"Well, unless the Nautilus sails on dry land, and passes above the
isthmus----"
"Or beneath it, M. Aronnax."
"Beneath it?"
"Certainly," replied Captain Nemo quietly. "A long time ago Nature
made under this tongue of land what man has this day made on its
surface."
"What! such a passage exists?"
"Yes; a subterranean passage, which I have named the Arabian Tunnel.
It takes us beneath Suez and opens into the Gulf of Pelusium."
"But this isthmus is composed of nothing but quick sands?"
"To a certain depth. But at fifty-five yards only there is a solid
layer of rock."
"Did you discover this passage by chance?" I asked more and more
surprised.
"Chance and reasoning, sir; and by reasoning even more than by chance.
Not only does this passage exist, but I have profited by it several
times. Without that I should not have ventured this day into the
impassable Red Sea. I noticed that in the Red Sea and in the
Mediterranean there existed a certain number of fishes of a kind
perfectly identical. Certain of the fact, I asked myself was it
possible that there was no communication between the two seas? If
there was, the subterranean current must necessarily run from the Red
Sea to the Mediterranean, from the sole cause of difference of level.
I caught a large number of fishes in the neighbourhood of Suez. I
passed a copper ring through their tails, and threw them back into the
sea. Some months later, on the coast of Syria, I caught some of my
fish ornamented with the ring. Thus the communication between the two
was proved. I then sought for it with my Nautilus; I discovered it,
ventured into it, and before long, sir, you too will have passed
through my Arabian tunnel!"
More
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As the fans in the circular aperture of the inner room rotated and permitted glimpses of the night, dim sounds drifted in thereby. And Graham, standing underneath, wrestling darkly with the unknown powers that imprisoned him, and which he had no... The Royal Jujus
ON the fifth day after we had left our canoes the Grand Vizier of Mo had gone far forward along the line of carriers to speak with the head-man, and Omar was walking immediately before me at the rear of the procession. As I pulled him by the sl... The Ruler Of The Light Country
However pleased the newcomer was to see me, I had no difficulty in assuring him with equal truth that my feelings matched his. The first surprise of the meeting over, we took him to the living room, where Lua greeted him with dignified courtesy, a... The Runic Writing Exercises The Professor
"Undoubtedly it is Runic," said the Professor, bending his brows; "but there is a secret in it, and I mean to discover the key." A violent gesture finished the sentence. "Sit there," he added, holding out his fist towards the table. "Sit there,... The Sargasso Sea
That day the Nautilus crossed a singular part of the Atlantic Ocean. No one can be ignorant of the existence of a current of warm water known by the name of the Gulf Stream. After leaving the Gulf of Florida, we went in the direction of Spitzbergen... The Sayers Of The Law
THEN something cold touched my hand. I started violently, and saw close to me a dim pinkish thing, looking more like a flayed child than anything else in the world. The creature had exactly the mild but repulsive features of a sloth, the same lo... The Scarlet Livery
With the destruction of the Granger states, the Grangers in Congress disappeared. They were being tried for high treason, and their places were taken by the creatures of the Iron Heel. The socialists were in a pitiful minority, and they knew that ... The Scavengers Of Space
The casual observer might have been fooled. Tawney's guard was down only for an instant; then the expression of cold fury and determination on his face dropped away as though the shutter of a camera had clicked, and he was all smiles and affabilit... The Scene Shifts
Having returned the rugs to the Callisto, they applied the maximum power of the batteries to rising, closed all openings when the barometer registered thirty, and moved off into space. When Several thousand miles above the pole, they diverted part ... The Scenery Of The Moon's Southern Hemisphere
I now directed M'Allister to steer across the lunar equator into the southern hemisphere, and our attention was soon attracted by a very large walled plain on the eastward side of our course. John asked me what it was called, and I explain... The Sea Monster
Wednesday, August 19th. Fortunately the wind, which for the present blows with some violence, has allowed us to escape from the scene of the unparalleled and extraordinary struggle. Hans with his usual imperturbable calm remained at the helm. My u... The Sea Of Sleep
For a considerable period after the last incident which I have narrated in my diary, I had serious thoughts of leaving this house, and might have done so; but for the great and wonderful thing, of which I am about to write. How well I was advised... The Seance
On a march evening, at eight o'clock, Backhouse, the medium--a fast-rising star in the psychic world--was ushered into the study at Prolands, the Hampstead residence of Montague Faull. The room was illuminated only by the light of a blazing fire. Th... The Searching Of The Gardens
How slowly the time went; and never a thing to indicate that any of the brutes still infested the gardens. It was on the ninth day that, finally, I decided to run the risk, if any there were, and sally out. With this purpose in view, I loaded one ... The Second Letter
On Board the Terror July 15. To the Old and New World, The propositions emanating from the different governments of Europe, as also that which has finally been made by the United States of America, need expect no other answer than thi... The Secret Of The Carets-the Sun As Seen From Mars
The next day, accompanied by Merna and Tellurio, we started off at an early hour on an air-ship trip to the northern edge of the Sinus Titanum. This is really the bed of an ancient sea, from which all water has long since disappeared.... The Secret Of The Queen
AS we were led forward to the space in front of the divan all eyes were directed towards us. The glitter and pomp of the merciless slave-raider's court was dazzling. Before their ruler all men salaamed. His officers surrounding him, watched every ... The Secret Of The Rock
We made exhaustive inquiries everywhere, but no one had seen a yacht anchored or otherwise resting off the point the previous night. One or two vessels had been noticed passing the mouth of Loch Hourn during the evening, but they were mostly recog... The Secret Tower
I have no stomach to narrate the monotonous events of the tedious days that Woola and I spent ferreting our way across the labyrinth of glass, through the dark and devious ways beyond that led beneath the Valley Dor and Golden Cliffs to emerge at ... The Selenite's Face
I found myself sitting crouched together in a tumultuous darkness. For a long time I could not understand where I was, nor how I had come to this perplexity. I thought of the cupboard into which I had been thrust at times when I was a child, and the...