Full text of two Wan Li under the sea

People must remember a strange, mysterious and unexplained thing that happened at sea in 1866. Not to mention all kinds of gossip that aroused coastal residents and world public opinion at that time, I only say that ordinary sailors are particularly excited here. Import and export merchants, captains, shipowners in Europe and America, naval officers and governments in these two continents are very concerned about this matter.

Generally speaking, not long ago, many big ships met a "monster" at sea, a very long object that looked like a spindle and sometimes gave off phosphorescence. It is much bigger than a whale and moves much faster than a whale. About the appearance of this thing, there are many facts recorded in the log book (such as the shape of this thing or this creature, the immeasurable speed of its movement, the amazing power it transmits, its special ability as alive, and so on). ) roughly the same. If this thing is a cetacean, then its size: it is much larger than the whale classified by biologists. Ju Weiye.

Rashid (1), Dumeli (2) and Katfa (3), none of these biologists have seen them, that is, unless these scientists have seen them with their own eyes-they don't admit that such a monster exists.

Let's compromise the results of many observations-on the one hand, let go of those low estimates, that is, this thing is only 200 feet long, and at the same time, we don't accept exaggerated remarks, that is, a mile. It is three miles wide and three miles long-we can be sure that this strange creature he said, if it really exists, is much larger than the ichthyologists admit. Since this thing exists and the fact itself is undeniable, it is not difficult for us to understand what kind of commotion this monster will cause around the world because of human curiosity. As for this nonsense, no one will agree.

Because,1on July 20th, 866, Governor Higginson of Kolkata-Bunach Steamship Company, five miles east of the Australian coast, met this huge swimming object. At first, Captain Barker thought it was an unknown reef. He was about to locate it when suddenly this unexplained object spewed out two water columns and slammed into the air 150 feet high. So, unless there is a geyser on this reef, in front of Governor Xi Sun Jin is a kind of unknown marine mammal, which still spews bubbles of water from its nostrils.

On July 23rd of the same year, the Chris Tobar Golan of the West India-Pacific steamship company encountered such a thing in the Pacific Ocean. Three days after Governor Xi Sun Jin saw this monster, Chris Toba Grant also saw it 700 miles away. So this strange cetacean can move from one place to another at the speed of robbing people.

15 days later, two thousand miles away from the above location, the Helvi dia of the state-owned steamship company and the Shan Nong of the Royal Mail Company met in the Atlantic Ocean between the United States and Europe, and saw the monster at the same time at 42 degrees north latitude 15 minutes and 60 degrees 35 minutes west longitude. According to the results observed by two ships at the same time, it is estimated that the length of this mammal is at least over 350 feet (about 106 m), because Shan Nong and Helvetia are shorter than it, while the two ships are only 100 m long from beginning to end. However, the longest whale, like those whales that often go out to sea in the waters near Kulanmark Island and Onglick Island in the Aleutian Islands, is only 56 meters, and the longest one has never been seen before.

News came one after another, the observation made by the Vergel crossing the Atlantic, the collision between the Inman steamship company and this behemoth, the records written by the officers of the French second-class battleship Norman I, and the very accurate calculation made by the senior naval staff officer Fuze James on the Sir Clyde, all of which were really stirred up at that time. In countries where people are impetuous, everyone takes this as a joke, but in serious and down-to-earth countries, such as Britain, the United States and Germany, it is different. They are very concerned about this matter.

In big cities, this monster has become a household name. Sing it in the cafe, laugh at it in the newspaper and play it on the stage. The rumormonger just had a chance to fabricate all kinds of anecdotes from this monster. In some newspapers with a small circulation, there have been reports of all kinds of strange giant animals, from Mobidick in the Arctic Ocean to craken. This is a strange fish whose tentacles can entangle a ship with a load of 500 tons and drag it to the bottom of the sea. Some people even quoted classics, or moved out of ancient legends such as Aristotle (3) and Pliny (4) (they admitted the existence of such monsters), or moved out of the Norwegian fairy tale of Bishop Pontubidan (5), the account of Paul Egyud and Harrington's report; There is no doubt about this report. He said that at 1857, he saw a big snake on the Justilan, which was only seen on the sea before the Constitution.

As a result, there are believers and skeptics in academic groups and scientific newspapers, and these two factions are arguing endlessly. The "monster problem" is exciting.

Journalists who think they know science, and scholars who always think they are versatile, are angry. They spent a lot of pen and ink in this memorable pen battle! Even a few people shed two or three drops of blood because someone moved the pen against sea snakes to some arrogant guys.

The argument lasted for six months. Both of them have a point, and each has his own words. The popular tabloids at that time published controversial articles with great interest. They either attack the authoritative papers published by the Brazilian Institute of Geography, the Royal Academy of Sciences in Berlin, the British Academic Association or the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, or refute the discussions in Indian newspapers, Father Moyano's Cosmos magazine, Pidermann's Izvestia and French and other countries' Science News. These versatile writers deliberately misinterpreted a sentence that Linnaeus often quoted by the opposition: "Nature does not make stupid things"; I implore you not to believe in the existence of monsters such as big strange fish, sea snakes and "Mobidick" invented by crazy sailors in the North Sea, and not to deny nature because of this. Finally, the most popular editor of a famous satirical newspaper hastily published an article to deal with the monster; Like Henrietta (2), in the laughter of all, he gave this wonderful thing the last blow and finished it. So wisdom triumphs over science.

In the first few months of 1867, this problem seems to have been forgotten and will not be cleaned up again. But at this time, people heard that some new events had happened. The problem now is not an urgent scientific problem, but a danger that must be carefully avoided. This problem presents a completely different face. This monster has become an island, a rock and a reef, but it is an unpredictable reef and can run very fast.

1August 5, 867, the Moravia of Montelio Navigation Company sailed at night to the place of 27 degrees 30 minutes north latitude and 72 degrees west longitude 15 minutes, and the ship hit the rocks on the starboard side. However, there is no record of this rock on the sea in this area on any map. With the help of wind and 400 horsepower, the speed of the ship reached 13 nautical miles per hour. There is no doubt that if the hull is not excellent and particularly strong, Moravia must take its 236 passengers from Canada to the bottom of the sea after being hit.

The accident happened at about five o'clock in the morning, just before dawn. The sailor on duty immediately ran to the back of the ship; They observed the sea very carefully.

They only saw a whirlpool more than 600 meters wide-as if the water had been violently impacted-and only wrote down the exact location of the accident. Moravia continued to sail, seemingly unscathed. Did it hit a reef or sink?

There was no way to know at the time. Later, I went to the dock to check the bottom of the ship, only to find that some of the existing keels were broken.

This fact is very serious in itself, but if it hadn't happened in the same situation for three weeks, it would probably be forgotten like many other events. The subsequent collision incident, just because of the nationality of the injured ship and the reputation of its company, was enough to cause very wide repercussions.

No one doesn't know the name of the famous British shipowner Guna. As early as 1840, savvy entrepreneurs started a mail ship company and opened a route from Liverpool to Halifax. At that time, there were only three paddle boats with 400 horsepower and a weight of 1,162 tons. Eight years later, the company expanded its scale, with four ships with 650 horsepower and load 1820 tons. Within two years, two more ships with greater horsepower and load capacity were added. 1853, gunnar Company continued to get the privilege of delivering government mail, and successively added Arabian, Persian, China, Spanish, Java and Russian, all of which were first-class clippers and the most spacious. No ship sailing on the sea can compare with them except Orient. By 1867, the company has 12 ships ~ 8 bright wheels and 4 hidden wheels. So I want to briefly introduce the above situation, in order to let everyone know the importance of this shipping company. It is famous for its good management. No shipping company is smarter and more successful than this one. In the past 26 years, Gunnar's ship has sailed 2000 times in the Atlantic Ocean, never reaching its destination, never being delayed, never losing a letter, never losing a person or a ship. Therefore, despite the French efforts to grab business, passengers are willing to take the ship of gunnar Company, which can be seen from the official statistical documents in recent years. Knowing this situation, no one is surprised that an accident of a steamboat in this company will cause such a huge response.

1867 April 13, the sea was calm and downwind. Spytoya was sailing at 0/5 degrees west longitude and 0/2 minutes north latitude. It is driven by an engine with 1000 horsepower and its speed is 13.5 nautical miles per hour.

Its wheels turn in the sea, completely normal. At that time, its draft was 6 meters 70 centimeters and its displacement was 6685 square meters.

At 4: 00 p.m 16 p.m, while the passengers were having snacks in the lobby, there seemed to be a slight collision behind the stern and port wheel of the Scotch.

"Scotland" was not hit by anything, but was hit by something. It is not a percussion instrument, but a drilling tool. The collision was very slight, unless the cabin manager ran to the deck and shouted, "The ship is sinking: the ship is sinking!" " "Maybe no one on board will care.

The passengers were very scared at first, but Captain Anderson soon calmed them down. The danger will not happen immediately. The Scotia was divided into seven compartments by waterproof boards, and it didn't care about any loopholes.

Captain Anderson immediately ran under the cabin. He found that the fifth room was immersed in seawater, and the seawater soaked quickly, which proved that the leakage was quite large. Fortunately, there is no steam stove in this room, otherwise the fire would have gone out.

Captain Anderson ordered the ship to stop immediately and ordered a diver to go into the water to check the hull damage. After a while, he knew that there was a big hole two meters long at the bottom of the boat. Such a crack can't be stopped. Although Scotia's wheel is half submerged in water, it must keep running. At that time, the ship was still 300 nautical miles from the cliff gap. When the ship pulled into the company dock, it was already three days late. During these three days, people in Liverpool were very worried.

The "Scotland" was erected and engineers began to inspect it. They can't believe what they saw. Two and a half meters below the waterline, an equilateral triangle gap is exposed. The scar on the iron sheet is so neat that even the drill can't cut it so accurately. The sharp weapon to make this crack must not be ordinary steel, because this guy slammed forward with amazing power, and after cutting through the four-centimeter-thick iron sheet, he could escape himself with a backward movement that was difficult to do.

This is the general situation of this recent incident. As a result, this once again aroused public opinion. From then on, all the unexplained maritime accidents in the past are now accounted for in this behemoth. This strange animal is responsible for the sinking of all ships. Unfortunately, the number of sunken ships is quite large. According to the statistical yearbook, about 3000 ships are missing every year, including sailboats and steamboats. As for those who are judged missing because of their whereabouts, yes, the number is not less than 200 every year!

Whether the monster is wronged or not, people blame it for the disappearance of the ship. Because of its existence, the maritime traffic between five continents is becoming more and more dangerous, and everyone insists on getting rid of this terrible whale monster at sea at any cost.

When these events happened, I was returning from a scientific investigation in a barren area of Nebraska, USA. As I am an associate professor at the Paris Museum of Natural Science, the French government sent me to take part in this expedition. I spent six months in Nebraska. At the end of March, I returned to new york with precious specimens, and the date for my departure back to France was set at the beginning of May. So, I used my stay time to sort out the mineral specimens and animal and plant specimens collected this time, and it was at this time that Scotia's accident happened.

Naturally, I was familiar with the problem being discussed at that time. How could I not know it? I have read and read all kinds of newspapers and periodicals in America and Europe, but I haven't got any further understanding. Because of this monster, I made all kinds of guesses. Because we can't make up our minds, we always waver between extremely different opinions.

This is true, there is no doubt; Those who doubt this, please let them touch the cracks in Scotland.

When I arrived in new york, the problem was in full swing. Some ignorant people once said that it was a floating island and an elusive reef. However, this assumption has now been completely overturned. The reason is: unless there is a machine in the belly of this reef, how can it get here and there so quickly? Similarly, the assumption that it is a floating hull or a huge sunken ship cannot be established, because it is still moving so fast. In the final analysis, there are only two possible explanations for this problem, so people are divided into two factions with different opinions: one faction says that this is a monster with infinite power, and the other faction says that this is a very powerful "submarine".

Although the latter hypothesis is very tenable, it is untenable after investigation in Europe and America. It really can't be said that private people can have such machines. When and where. He built this thing? How can he keep a secret without revealing it?

Only one government can own this destructive machine. In the unfortunate times when people are racking their brains to enhance the power of weapons, it is possible for a country to manufacture such weapons without telling other countries. After the machine gun is a mine, after the mine is a diving impact machine, and then there are all kinds of weapons that contain each other, at least in my own mind.

However, this assumption of "submarine" is untenable because of the statements of European governments, because it is a matter of public interest. Since maritime traffic has been damaged, the sincerity of governments can certainly not be doubted. Moreover, how can it be said that the construction of this "submarine" can escape the public's eyes and ears? In this case, even for individuals, it is very difficult to keep secrets. For a government, its actions are often noticed by hostile countries, which is of course even more impossible. Therefore, according to the survey conducted in Britain, France, Russia, Prussia, Spain, Italy, the United States and even Turkey, the hypothesis of "submarine" had to be abandoned in the end.

Although some newspapers laughed at the monster at that time, it appeared on the waves again, so people's imagination fabricated all kinds of the most absurd legends from the fish.

When I was in new york, someone asked me what I thought of this strange thing. I have published an eight-episode book in French before, the title of which is The Mystery of Underwater. This book is especially appreciated by academic circles, which makes me an expert in this rather mysterious department of natural science. That's why people ask my opinion. But as long as I can deny the truth of this matter, I always give a negative answer. But soon I was forced to express my views clearly.

In addition, the Tribune of The New York Herald has made an appointment to give lectures at the Paris Museum of Natural Science. Grant, dear Mr. pierre aronnax ",ask him to comment on this issue.

I expressed my opinion. Because I can't be silent, I have to say something unpleasant. I discuss all aspects of this problem politically and academically.

Now I will summarize the conclusion of a very rich article published in Tribune on April 30, and extract the following paragraphs: "I have studied all kinds of hypotheses and all impossible conjectures one by one, and I have to admit that there is really a marine animal with amazing power." We know nothing about the unfathomable seabed. The detector can't reach it. What is the lowest abyss? What creatures are there at 22 thousand nautical miles or 15 thousand nautical miles under the sea, and what creatures may there be? What are the body structures of these animals? It's really hard for us to speculate. "However, the immediate problem can be solved by the formula of' two knives'." All kinds of creatures living on the earth, either we know or we don't know. """If we don't know all the living things, and nature continues to hide some secrets of ichthyology from us, then we have to admit that there are new fish and cetacean species in the waters that the detector can't reach. They have an organ that doesn't float. Because I stayed at the bottom of the sea for a long time, under accidental circumstances, because I was happy or willful for a while, I suddenly surfaced. This statement is still more popular today. On the other hand, if we really know all the creatures on the earth, then we must find out the animals we are talking about from the classified marine life; In this case, I have to admit that there is a huge narwhal. The common narwhal, or sea unicorn, is usually 60 feet long. Now, if you increase this length by five or even ten times, at the same time, let this whale, fish and animal have the power proportional to its body, and then strengthen its attack weapon. This is an animal at sea now. That is to say, it is as long as the length measured by the officers of the Shan Nong, its horn can pierce Scotia, and its power can penetrate the hull of the steamboat. It is true that this narwhal, as some biologists say, has a bone sword or bone shaft, so it must be like steel: hard tusks. Narwhal teeth have been found in whales. Narwhals always successfully attack whales with their teeth. Someone once pulled out narwhal teeth from the bottom of a boat-it's very easy to find them. It went through the bottom of the boat, like a cone through a barrel. "There is a tooth in the exhibition hall of Paris Medical College, which is two meters long, 25 centimeters wide and 48 centimeters at the bottom!" All right! Now suppose weapons are ten times more powerful and animals are ten times more powerful. If its forward speed is 20 miles per hour, then take its weight and multiply it by the square of its speed to find out the impact force of the broken Scotch. "Therefore, before getting more materials, I think this is a sea unicorn. This sea unicorn is very huge. Its armed body is not a halberd, but a real attack angle. Like something installed on a real ship or warship, it also has the weight and power of a warship. " This explains this mysterious phenomenon. -or on the contrary, no matter what people see or feel, they are actually nothing; That's also possible. "

The last few words can only show that I have no opinion and I am at a loss to see things; This is the first time. To a certain extent, I will keep my professorship, and at the same time, I don't want Americans to laugh, because Americans laugh a lot. So I took part in this retreat. In fact, I admit the existence of this "monster". My article caused a heated discussion and had a great response. A large number of people support it. Moreover, the conclusion put forward by Zhang Zhong can be imagined at will, without any restrictions. People are always interested in those absurd fantasies. The ocean is the best source of these fantasies, because only the ocean is the environment where giant animals can breed and grow, such as land animals, elephants or rhinoceroses. Compared with them, it is very small. In a piece of Wang Yang in Wang Yang: Since there are the largest mammals we know, there may be huge mollusks and crustaceans that look scary, such as 100-meter-long prawns or 200-ton crabs! Why not? "Once upon a time, land animals, quadrupeds, quadrupeds, reptiles and birds contemporary with geological chronology were all created according to huge models. The creator threw away the tall model to make it. After a long time, the model gradually shrank. Under the unfathomable ocean (because the ocean will never change; And the earth's crust is almost constantly changing), why can't we preserve the varieties of giant creatures from another era? Why can't there be the last variants of those giant creatures in the ocean, those giant variants that take a century as a year and a thousand years as a century? Immerse yourself in all kinds of fantasies again. Now I want to stop these fantasies, because, in my opinion, time has turned these fantasies into terrible reality. I repeat, at that time, there was a view on the nature of this strange thing, that is, everyone agreed that there was a magical thing, which had nothing in common with the grotesque sea snake. However, although some people regard this as a purely scientific problem that needs to be solved, others pay more attention to practical interests, especially in the United States and Britain. They advocate removing this terrible monster from the ocean and ensuring the safety of maritime traffic. Especially the industrial and commercial newspapers and periodicals, study this issue from this angle. Aviation business magazine,

Three seconds before I received the letter from Minister Hobson, I was as reluctant to chase the sea unicorn as I was to travel to the Arctic Ocean. After reading the letter from the Secretary of the Navy, it took me three seconds to understand my real wish. The only purpose of my life is to catch such a troublesome monster and make it disappear from this world.

But I just got back from a long trip. I'm very tired and need a rest very much. I just want to go back, to my motherland, to see my friends, to see my little house in the botanical garden and my precious specimens. But nothing can stop me now. I forgot everything, fatigue, friends, treasures. I accepted the invitation of the American government without hesitation.

Moreover, I have an idea that all roads can go back to Europe anyway, and the sea unicorn may politely lead me to the French coast! This famous animal may attract me-if I want to catch it in the European Sea, then I should at least take the tooth halberd more than half a meter long to the Natural Science Museum.

However, at present, I'm going to look for this sea unicorn in the northern Pacific Ocean, which is contrary to my return to France.

"Conseil!" I shouted impatiently.

Conseil is my servant. He has been traveling with me. This honest young man is from Flanders. I like him very much, and he is very kind to me. He is a cold-blooded, well-behaved and always enthusiastic person. He is not surprised by the sudden events in his life. His hands are so dexterous that he can do anything. Although his name is Conseil (meaning "advice"), he never gives an opinion when people don't ask him.

Conseil gradually learned something because of his frequent contact with scholars in the botanical garden. I can say that he is an expert. He is very familiar with the classification of biology. He can skillfully climb from door, class, class, subclass, order, family, genus, subgenus, species and varieties to the last class like an acrobat. But his knowledge is limited to taxonomy. Classification is his life, and he knows nothing else. He has a lot of research on classification theory, but he lacks practice. I think he may not even know a whale from a fin whale! In a word, he is a loyal and upright man: Conseil has followed me wherever I went for science for ten years. He never thinks about traveling long distances or tiring himself. No matter how far it is, no matter where he goes, China or Congo, he always picks up his suitcase and sets off at once. It makes no difference where he goes, without even asking. He is healthy and muscular, doesn't care about illness, and is not neurotic at all, as if he can't use his brain, let alone think.

This man is twenty years old, and the ratio of his age to his master's age is fifteen to twenty. Please forgive me for saying that I am forty years old now, but Conseil has the shortcoming of 1, which is very kind. He always talks to me in the third person, sometimes even boring. "Conseil!" I let out another cry. I am busy preparing my luggage for departure. Of course, I trust such a loyal servant. Usually I never ask him if he would like to travel with me, but this trip is a little different. It is an expedition that can be extended indefinitely, an ordinary adventure, and an animal that can sink a second-class warship like a broken walnut shell: this problem should be considered even by the most heartless people! What would Conseil say?

"Conseil!" I called him the third time.

Conseil came out. "

"Call me, sir?" He said when he came in.

"I called you. Get ready for me, and get ready for yourself. We will leave in two hours. "

"Suitable for your husband." Conseil answered calmly.

"Don't let go of time. You don't need to count all the travel equipment, clothes, shirts and socks. " Take as much as you can and put it in my big box. Come on, come on! "

"Where is the specimen of Sir?" Conseil said.

"I'll sort it out later."

"What about those strange animals, plants, Mr. Malaysia, serpents and other bones?" I left it at the hotel for the time being. ""Mr Live wild boar? , "when we are away, client to feed it. In addition, we have to entrust people to transport our animals back to France. " Aren't we going back to Paris? "Conseil asked.

to be continued .......