The South Pole
: PART TWOI rushed on to the platform. Yes! the open sea, with but a few
scattered pieces of ice and moving icebergs--a long stretch of sea; a
world of birds in the air, and myriads of fishes under those waters,
which varied from intense blue to olive green, according to the bottom.
The thermometer marked 3 deg. C. above zero. It was comparatively
spring, shut up as we were behind this iceberg, whose lengthened mass
was dimly
"Are we at the pole?" I asked the Captain, with a beating heart.
"I do not know," he replied. "At noon I will take our bearings."
"But will the sun show himself through this fog?" said I, looking at
the leaden sky.
"However little it shows, it will be enough," replied the Captain.
About ten miles south a solitary island rose to a height of one hundred
and four yards. We made for it, but carefully, for the sea might be
strewn with banks. One hour afterwards we had reached it, two hours
later we had made the round of it. It measured four or five miles in
circumference. A narrow canal separated it from a considerable stretch
of land, perhaps a continent, for we could not see its limits. The
existence of this land seemed to give some colour to Maury's theory.
The ingenious American has remarked that, between the South Pole and
the sixtieth parallel, the sea is covered with floating ice of enormous
size, which is never met with in the North Atlantic. From this fact he
has drawn the conclusion that the Antarctic Circle encloses
considerable continents, as icebergs cannot form in open sea, but only
on the coasts. According to these calculations, the mass of ice
surrounding the southern pole forms a vast cap, the circumference of
which must be, at least, 2,500 miles. But the Nautilus, for fear of
running aground, had stopped about three cable-lengths from a strand
over which reared a superb heap of rocks. The boat was launched; the
Captain, two of his men, bearing instruments, Conseil, and myself were
in it. It was ten in the morning. I had not seen Ned Land. Doubtless
the Canadian did not wish to admit the presence of the South Pole. A
few strokes of the oar brought us to the sand, where we ran ashore.
Conseil was going to jump on to the land, when I held him back.
"Sir," said I to Captain Nemo, "to you belongs the honour of first
setting foot on this land."
"Yes, sir," said the Captain, "and if I do not hesitate to tread this
South Pole, it is because, up to this time, no human being has left a
trace there."
Saying this, he jumped lightly on to the sand. His heart beat with
emotion. He climbed a rock, sloping to a little promontory, and there,
with his arms crossed, mute and motionless, and with an eager look, he
seemed to take possession of these southern regions. After five
minutes passed in this ecstasy, he turned to us.
"When you like, sir."
I landed, followed by Conseil, leaving the two men in the boat. For a
long way the soil was composed of a reddish sandy stone, something like
crushed brick, scoriae, streams of lava, and pumice-stones. One could
not mistake its volcanic origin. In some parts, slight curls of smoke
emitted a sulphurous smell, proving that the internal fires had lost
nothing of their expansive powers, though, having climbed a high
acclivity, I could see no volcano for a radius of several miles. We
know that in those Antarctic countries, James Ross found two craters,
the Erebus and Terror, in full activity, on the 167th meridian,
latitude 77 deg. 32'. The vegetation of this desolate continent seemed
to me much restricted. Some lichens lay upon the black rocks; some
microscopic plants, rudimentary diatomas, a kind of cells placed
between two quartz shells; long purple and scarlet weed, supported on
little swimming bladders, which the breaking of the waves brought to
the shore. These constituted the meagre flora of this region. The
shore was strewn with molluscs, little mussels, and limpets. I also
saw myriads of northern clios, one-and-a-quarter inches long, of which
a whale would swallow a whole world at a mouthful; and some perfect
sea-butterflies, animating the waters on the skirts of the shore.
There appeared on the high bottoms some coral shrubs, of the kind
which, according to James Ross, live in the Antarctic seas to the depth
of more than 1,000 yards. Then there were little kingfishers and
starfish studding the soil. But where life abounded most was in the
air. There thousands of birds fluttered and flew of all kinds,
deafening us with their cries; others crowded the rock, looking at us
as we passed by without fear, and pressing familiarly close by our
feet. There were penguins, so agile in the water, heavy and awkward as
they are on the ground; they were uttering harsh cries, a large
assembly, sober in gesture, but extravagant in clamour. Albatrosses
passed in the air, the expanse of their wings being at least four yards
and a half, and justly called the vultures of the ocean; some gigantic
petrels, and some damiers, a kind of small duck, the underpart of whose
body is black and white; then there were a whole series of petrels,
some whitish, with brown-bordered wings, others blue, peculiar to the
Antarctic seas, and so oily, as I told Conseil, that the inhabitants of
the Ferroe Islands had nothing to do before lighting them but to put a
wick in.
"A little more," said Conseil, "and they would be perfect lamps! After
that, we cannot expect Nature to have previously furnished them with
wicks!"
About half a mile farther on the soil was riddled with ruffs' nests, a
sort of laying-ground, out of which many birds were issuing. Captain
Nemo had some hundreds hunted. They uttered a cry like the braying of
an ass, were about the size of a goose, slate-colour on the body, white
beneath, with a yellow line round their throats; they allowed
themselves to be killed with a stone, never trying to escape. But the
fog did not lift, and at eleven the sun had not yet shown itself. Its
absence made me uneasy. Without it no observations were possible.
How, then, could we decide whether we had reached the pole? When I
rejoined Captain Nemo, I found him leaning on a piece of rock, silently
watching the sky. He seemed impatient and vexed. But what was to be
done? This rash and powerful man could not command the sun as he did
the sea. Noon arrived without the orb of day showing itself for an
instant. We could not even tell its position behind the curtain of
fog; and soon the fog turned to snow.
"Till to-morrow," said the Captain, quietly, and we returned to the
Nautilus amid these atmospheric disturbances.
The tempest of snow continued till the next day. It was impossible to
remain on the platform. From the saloon, where I was taking notes of
incidents happening during this excursion to the polar continent, I
could hear the cries of petrels and albatrosses sporting in the midst
of this violent storm. The Nautilus did not remain motionless, but
skirted the coast, advancing ten miles more to the south in the
half-light left by the sun as it skirted the edge of the horizon. The
next day, the 20th of March, the snow had ceased. The cold was a
little greater, the thermometer showing 2 deg. below zero. The fog
was rising, and I hoped that that day our observations might be taken.
Captain Nemo not having yet appeared, the boat took Conseil and myself
to land. The soil was still of the same volcanic nature; everywhere
were traces of lava, scoriae, and basalt; but the crater which had
vomited them I could not see. Here, as lower down, this continent was
alive with myriads of birds. But their rule was now divided with large
troops of sea-mammals, looking at us with their soft eyes. There were
several kinds of seals, some stretched on the earth, some on flakes of
ice, many going in and out of the sea. They did not flee at our
approach, never having had anything to do with man; and I reckoned that
there were provisions there for hundreds of vessels.
"Sir," said Conseil, "will you tell me the names of these creatures?"
"They are seals and morses."
It was now eight in the morning. Four hours remained to us before the
sun could be observed with advantage. I directed our steps towards a
vast bay cut in the steep granite shore. There, I can aver that earth
and ice were lost to sight by the numbers of sea-mammals covering them,
and I involuntarily sought for old Proteus, the mythological shepherd
who watched these immense flocks of Neptune. There were more seals
than anything else, forming distinct groups, male and female, the
father watching over his family, the mother suckling her little ones,
some already strong enough to go a few steps. When they wished to
change their place, they took little jumps, made by the contraction of
their bodies, and helped awkwardly enough by their imperfect fin,
which, as with the lamantin, their cousins, forms a perfect forearm. I
should say that, in the water, which is their element--the spine of
these creatures is flexible; with smooth and close skin and webbed
feet--they swim admirably. In resting on the earth they take the most
graceful attitudes. Thus the ancients, observing their soft and
expressive looks, which cannot be surpassed by the most beautiful look
a woman can give, their clear voluptuous eyes, their charming
positions, and the poetry of their manners, metamorphosed them, the
male into a triton and the female into a mermaid. I made Conseil
notice the considerable development of the lobes of the brain in these
interesting cetaceans. No mammal, except man, has such a quantity of
brain matter; they are also capable of receiving a certain amount of
education, are easily domesticated, and I think, with other
naturalists, that if properly taught they would be of great service as
fishing-dogs. The greater part of them slept on the rocks or on the
sand. Amongst these seals, properly so called, which have no external
ears (in which they differ from the otter, whose ears are prominent), I
noticed several varieties of seals about three yards long, with a white
coat, bulldog heads, armed with teeth in both jaws, four incisors at
the top and four at the bottom, and two large canine teeth in the shape
of a fleur-de-lis. Amongst them glided sea-elephants, a kind of seal,
with short, flexible trunks. The giants of this species measured
twenty feet round and ten yards and a half in length; but they did not
move as we approached.
"These creatures are not dangerous?" asked Conseil.
"No; not unless you attack them. When they have to defend their young
their rage is terrible, and it is not uncommon for them to break the
fishing-boats to pieces."
"They are quite right," said Conseil.
"I do not say they are not."
Two miles farther on we were stopped by the promontory which shelters
the bay from the southerly winds. Beyond it we heard loud bellowings
such as a troop of ruminants would produce.
"Good!" said Conseil; "a concert of bulls!"
"No; a concert of morses."
"They are fighting!"
"They are either fighting or playing."
We now began to climb the blackish rocks, amid unforeseen stumbles, and
over stones which the ice made slippery. More than once I rolled over
at the expense of my loins. Conseil, more prudent or more steady, did
not stumble, and helped me up, saying:
"If, sir, you would have the kindness to take wider steps, you would
preserve your equilibrium better."
Arrived at the upper ridge of the promontory, I saw a vast white plain
covered with morses. They were playing amongst themselves, and what we
heard were bellowings of pleasure, not of anger.
As I passed these curious animals I could examine them leisurely, for
they did not move. Their skins were thick and rugged, of a yellowish
tint, approaching to red; their hair was short and scant. Some of them
were four yards and a quarter long. Quieter and less timid than their
cousins of the north, they did not, like them, place sentinels round
the outskirts of their encampment. After examining this city of
morses, I began to think of returning. It was eleven o'clock, and, if
Captain Nemo found the conditions favourable for observations, I wished
to be present at the operation. We followed a narrow pathway running
along the summit of the steep shore. At half-past eleven we had
reached the place where we landed. The boat had run aground, bringing
the Captain. I saw him standing on a block of basalt, his instruments
near him, his eyes fixed on the northern horizon, near which the sun
was then describing a lengthened curve. I took my place beside him,
and waited without speaking. Noon arrived, and, as before, the sun did
not appear. It was a fatality. Observations were still wanting. If
not accomplished to-morrow, we must give up all idea of taking any. We
were indeed exactly at the 20th of March. To-morrow, the 21st, would
be the equinox; the sun would disappear behind the horizon for six
months, and with its disappearance the long polar night would begin.
Since the September equinox it had emerged from the northern horizon,
rising by lengthened spirals up to the 21st of December. At this
period, the summer solstice of the northern regions, it had begun to
descend; and to-morrow was to shed its last rays upon them. I
communicated my fears and observations to Captain Nemo.
"You are right, M. Aronnax," said he; "if to-morrow I cannot take the
altitude of the sun, I shall not be able to do it for six months. But
precisely because chance has led me into these seas on the 21st of
March, my bearings will be easy to take, if at twelve we can see the
sun."
"Why, Captain?"
"Because then the orb of day described such lengthened curves that it
is difficult to measure exactly its height above the horizon, and grave
errors may be made with instruments."
"What will you do then?"
"I shall only use my chronometer," replied Captain Nemo. "If
to-morrow, the 21st of March, the disc of the sun, allowing for
refraction, is exactly cut by the northern horizon, it will show that I
am at the South Pole."
"Just so," said I. "But this statement is not mathematically correct,
because the equinox does not necessarily begin at noon."
"Very likely, sir; but the error will not be a hundred yards and we do
not want more. Till to-morrow, then!"
Captain Nemo returned on board. Conseil and I remained to survey the
shore, observing and studying until five o'clock. Then I went to bed,
not, however, without invoking, like the Indian, the favour of the
radiant orb. The next day, the 21st of March, at five in the morning,
I mounted the platform. I found Captain Nemo there.
"The weather is lightening a little," said he. "I have some hope.
After breakfast we will go on shore and choose a post for observation."
That point settled, I sought Ned Land. I wanted to take him with me.
But the obstinate Canadian refused, and I saw that his taciturnity and
his bad humour grew day by day. After all, I was not sorry for his
obstinacy under the circumstances. Indeed, there were too many seals
on shore, and we ought not to lay such temptation in this unreflecting
fisherman's way. Breakfast over, we went on shore. The Nautilus had
gone some miles further up in the night. It was a whole league from
the coast, above which reared a sharp peak about five hundred yards
high. The boat took with me Captain Nemo, two men of the crew, and the
instruments, which consisted of a chronometer, a telescope, and a
barometer. While crossing, I saw numerous whales belonging to the
three kinds peculiar to the southern seas; the whale, or the English
"right whale," which has no dorsal fin; the "humpback," with reeved
chest and large, whitish fins, which, in spite of its name, do not form
wings; and the fin-back, of a yellowish brown, the liveliest of all the
cetacea. This powerful creature is heard a long way off when he throws
to a great height columns of air and vapour, which look like whirlwinds
of smoke. These different mammals were disporting themselves in troops
in the quiet waters; and I could see that this basin of the Antarctic
Pole serves as a place of refuge to the cetacea too closely tracked by
the hunters. I also noticed large medusae floating between the reeds.
At nine we landed; the sky was brightening, the clouds were flying to
the south, and the fog seemed to be leaving the cold surface of the
waters. Captain Nemo went towards the peak, which he doubtless meant
to be his observatory. It was a painful ascent over the sharp lava and
the pumice-stones, in an atmosphere often impregnated with a sulphurous
smell from the smoking cracks. For a man unaccustomed to walk on land,
the Captain climbed the steep slopes with an agility I never saw
equalled and which a hunter would have envied. We were two hours
getting to the summit of this peak, which was half porphyry and half
basalt. From thence we looked upon a vast sea which, towards the
north, distinctly traced its boundary line upon the sky. At our feet
lay fields of dazzling whiteness. Over our heads a pale azure, free
from fog. To the north the disc of the sun seemed like a ball of fire,
already horned by the cutting of the horizon. From the bosom of the
water rose sheaves of liquid jets by hundreds. In the distance lay the
Nautilus like a cetacean asleep on the water. Behind us, to the south
and east, an immense country and a chaotic heap of rocks and ice, the
limits of which were not visible. On arriving at the summit Captain
Nemo carefully took the mean height of the barometer, for he would have
to consider that in taking his observations. At a quarter to twelve
the sun, then seen only by refraction, looked like a golden disc
shedding its last rays upon this deserted continent and seas which
never man had yet ploughed. Captain Nemo, furnished with a lenticular
glass which, by means of a mirror, corrected the refraction, watched
the orb sinking below the horizon by degrees, following a lengthened
diagonal. I held the chronometer. My heart beat fast. If the
disappearance of the half-disc of the sun coincided with twelve o'clock
on the chronometer, we were at the pole itself.
"Twelve!" I exclaimed.
"The South Pole!" replied Captain Nemo, in a grave voice, handing me
the glass, which showed the orb cut in exactly equal parts by the
horizon.
I looked at the last rays crowning the peak, and the shadows mounting
by degrees up its slopes. At that moment Captain Nemo, resting with
his hand on my shoulder, said:
"I, Captain Nemo, on this 21st day of March, 1868, have reached the
South Pole on the ninetieth degree; and I take possession of this part
of the globe, equal to one-sixth of the known continents."
"In whose name, Captain?"
"In my own, sir!"
Saying which, Captain Nemo unfurled a black banner, bearing an "N" in
gold quartered on its bunting. Then, turning towards the orb of day,
whose last rays lapped the horizon of the sea, he exclaimed:
"Adieu, sun! Disappear, thou radiant orb! rest beneath this open sea,
and let a night of six months spread its shadows over my new domains!"
More
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On the little stern seat of the boat Mercer and Anina sat side by side, the girl steering by a small tiller that lay between them. They were well out in the middle of the river now, speeding silently along with its swift current. They made extraor... The Straits
The passage contracted there to little over half a mile, but these narrows did not continue far; the shores, having approached thus near each other, quickly receded, till presently they were at least two miles apart. The merchant vessel had passed... The Strange Bravery Of Miss Blank
Telescope, rifles, and shields were tumbled into the projectile pell-mell, and without stopping to close the port-hole, we steered towards the city as we mounted rapidly. When the soldiers, weary of running, saw us start, they were stricken with a... The Strange Face
WE left the cabin and found a man at the companion obstructing our way. He was standing on the ladder with his back to us, peering over the combing of the hatchway. He was, I could see, a misshapen man, short, broad, and clumsy, with a crooked b... The Strange Man's Arrival
The stranger came early in February, one wintry day, through a biting wind and a driving snow, the last snowfall of the year, over the down, walking from Bramblehurst railway station, and carrying a little black portmanteau in his thickly gloved h... The Strategy
General Sebastian MacMaine, sometime Colonel of Earth's Space Force, and presently a General of the Kerothi Fleet, looked at the array of stars that appeared to drift by the main viewplate of his flagship, the blaster-boat Shudos. Behind him, G... The Strife Of Giants
As it happened, it was a fine, cold wintry day that dawned as the two great fleets drew towards each other. As Denis Castellan said, "It was a perfect jewel of a day for a holy fight," and so it was. The French fleet was advancing at twelve knots.... The Stutterer
A man can be killed by a toy gun--he can die of fright, for heart attacks can kill. What, then, is the deadly thing that must be sealed away, forever locked in buried concrete--a thing or an idea? Out of the twenty only one managed to... The Submarine Coal-mines
The next day, the 20th of February, I awoke very late: the fatigues of the previous night had prolonged my sleep until eleven o'clock. I dressed quickly, and hastened to find the course the Nautilus was taking. The instruments showed it to be stil... The Subterranean Pit
Another week came and went, during which I spent a great deal of my time about the Pit mouth. I had come to the conclusion a few days earlier, that the arched hole, in the angle of the great rift, was the place through which the Swine-things had mad... The Success Machine
Mechanical brains are all the rage these days, so General Products just had to have one. But the blamed thing almost put them out of business. Why? It had no tact. It insisted upon telling the truth! The Personnelovac winked, chit... The Super-ship Is Launched
After weeks of ceaseless work, during which was lavished upon her every resource of mind and material afforded by three planets, the Boise was ready for her maiden flight. As nearly ready, that is, as the thought and labor of man could make her. R... The Swine-things
It was evening, a week later. My sister sat in the garden, knitting. I was walking up and down, reading. My gun leant up against the wall of the house; for, since the advent of that strange thing in the gardens, I had deemed it wise to take precauti... The Sword And The Atopen
The conversion of light into electricity by spectrum is an interesting possibility. The idea of using foreign proteins on the human system to repel enemies, is also interesting. Do you get it? We didn't either until we read the story. ... The Telegram
Mrs. Forbes entered Jewel's room after speaking with the doctor. The little girl looked at her eagerly. A plan had formed in her mind which depended for its success largely on the housekeeper's complaisance, and she wished to propitiate her. "I w... The Telescope Of The Rocky Mountains
On the 20th of October in the preceding year, after the close of the subscription, the president of the Gun Club had credited the Observatory of Cambridge with the necessary sums for the construction of a gigantic optical instrument. This instrum... The Temple Of The Sun
There was nothing for it now other than to fight; nor did I have any advantage as I sprang, sword in hand, into the corridor before the two therns, for my untimely sneeze had warned them of my presence and they were ready for me. There were no ... The Tempting Of Larry
We paused before thick curtains, through which came the faint murmur of many voices. They parted; out came two--ushers, I suppose, they were--in cuirasses and kilts that reminded me somewhat of chain-mail--the first armour of any kind here that I ha... The Termite Queen
The slope of the upward-leading tunnels had become less noticeable, from which fact the two men reasoned hopefully that they were near ground level. And now they began to see termite workers bearing a new sort of burden: termite eggs, sickly looki... The Terrible Fear
On coming down to breakfast, I found Sarakoff already seated at the table devouring the morning papers. I picked up a discarded one and stood by the fire, glancing over its contents. There was only one subject of news, and that was the spread of t... The Terror Birds
"They must have thought the projectile was another chunk fallen from Phobos!" I exclaimed; "and now they can't make out why it should fly back to the satellite again." "The more we mystify them, the more they will fear us," said the doctor. "I ... The Terrorists
It was not until Ernest and I were back in New York, and after weeks had elapsed, that we were able to comprehend thoroughly the full sweep of the disaster that had befallen the Cause. The situation was bitter and bloody. In many places, scattered... The Terrors Of Light
I was weary from the trials of the day on Earth, and fell asleep easily. It was the red sunlight streaming in at the port-hole that awakened me. I thought I had slept but a very short time, but the night was evidently over. As soon as the doctor h... The Theft Of The Light-ray
The touch of soft, cool hands on his face brought Mercer back to sudden consciousness. He opened his eyes; Anina was sitting beside him, regarding him gravely. "Wake up, my friend Ollie. Time now to wake up." He sat up, rubbing his eyes. The ...