The Mysterious Island Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 18 Captain Grant's Children (18)
Similar to the climate of the Pampas prairie in South America, there are the Great Lakes region of North America and the "wilderness" of Siberia.Perhaps because the Pampas Prairie is located in the hinterland, the harsh winter and hot summer of the grassland are both more severe than the climate of Buenos Aires.Our geographer Paganel believes that on the island, the ocean can absorb the temperature in summer, and the ocean can release heat in winter.Therefore, in the island area, the temperature difference between winter and summer is not large, and the climate is relatively pleasant.In the inland area, there is no regulation of sea water, and the summer is extremely hot and the winter is extremely cold. The winter in Iceland in Europe is much milder than that in the Lombard region of Italy. ——Original note.Therefore, compared with the east coast of South America, which is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, the climate of the Pampas Prairie is relatively harsh; Move, move up and down quickly.In the autumn of April and May, there is not only a lot of rain here, but also a large amount of rain; but in the summer around October, the temperature here becomes very high, and the climate is extremely dry and rainless.

Sir Glenarvan and his company travel by day and sleep by night.Every morning, after delineating the route for a day's walking, I immediately set off.The prairie is overgrown with shrubs and wild grasses everywhere.There are no sand dunes on the ground, and the horse can let go and stride forward as much as he wants.And there are no sand dunes, and when the wind comes, there will be no sand blowing into people's eyes, and pedestrians will not squint their eyes to look at the road.Therefore, traveling on horseback in this area is naturally easy and less burdensome.Here, there is a unique grass, which is everywhere on the grassland, and the locals call it "Paja Brafa grass"; when it rains, the Indians on the journey can take shelter under this grass.After walking for a while, the travelers came across a wet depression.Now, such wet depressions are less and less.In the center of these depressions grows willows; and on the banks of the fresh water of the depressions grows a plant called Argentine pampas grass.When Jazz and his party came here, they immediately gave the horse a drink by the fresh water.This is not to relieve the horse's thirst for a while, but because there is less water ahead, it is difficult for the horse to have a chance to drink water again.Tarcaf was at the front of the team, beating the grass with a wooden stick as he walked.He did this to drive away the poisonous snakes in the grass.Because among these grasses, there is a kind of highly poisonous poisonous snake, whose scientific name is "Snake", and the local people call it "Shaolina".If a cow is bitten by this snake, it will go to Huangquan Road in less than an hour.Takaf's horse "Taojia" kept jumping in the grass. On the one hand, he did this to help his master, and on the other hand, he used his hooves to clear the weeds and open the way for the horses behind.

Generally speaking, on the Pampas prairie, the flat terrain is very beneficial for the team to walk.Here the ground is so flat that not a single stone, not even a pebble, is to be found within a hundred feet.This allows the horse to gallop smoothly and quickly.Jazz and his party travel very fast here.To their regret, the scenery here is strangely monotonous and unchanged.After a day of walking, I didn't see any beautiful scenery or strange scenery.Only our scholar, Paganel, is interested here.This dull landscape, everything seems so interesting to this geographer.Along the way, with the sharp eyes of a geographer and his profound geographical knowledge, he can explain every grass and tree here for a long time.Only Robert Jr. in the audience liked to hear him babble.

At two o'clock in the afternoon on October 10th, the travelers found that something new had happened on this monotonous journey.They found a large piece of bone, a large white patch, piled up in the grass.The jazz and his companions checked carefully and found that it should be the bones of countless cows.These white bones are piled up from top to bottom, rather than being arranged in a crooked manner.All this shows that these cattle were walking on the way and fell to the ground due to exhaustion.Even Paganel, who is the most knowledgeable, can't figure out why these bones are piled up together in such a small space?So they asked Takaf, who was most familiar with the local situation, and Takaf gave a simple answer.

After Paganel listened to Tarcaf's explanation, he repeatedly shouted "impossible"!But the Patagonian, Tarcaf, kept nodding.You can tell by the expression that this is the case.This confuses everyone even more.

So eager are these travelers to ask, "What the hell is going on here?"

"It seems that these cattle were burned to death by the fire!" Paganel repeated Tafka's words.

"Ah! What! Can lightning kill so many cows?" Austin was puzzled, and exclaimed loudly, "I just don't believe that lightning can kill all five hundred cows at once!"

"I think since Tafuka said so, there is nothing wrong! I believe everything he said. Because once there is lightning in the Pampas Prairie, the destructive power is indeed great. May God bless us, Don't encounter such a thing!"

"But here, it's really hot!" Wilson couldn't help interjecting.

"Yes, that's right!" Paganel added. "Look, the thermometer reads thirty degrees, even in the shade."

"I don't think there is anything strange, everything is expected!" Sir Glenarvan interrupted, "I just feel that the weather is too hot now, and I really can't bear it. I hope the weather won't continue to be so hot!"

"Hey, look at the situation. We don't want the weather to change any longer!" Paganel continued, "Look at the sky, there is not even a single cloud in the sky!"

"It's too bad! It's so hot that even the horses feel bad!" Sir Glenarvan went on, "How do you feel, my boy?" Then he turned to little Robert .

"Well, my dear sir, I'm all right!" replied little Robert, "I'm not afraid of the heat, and to tell you the truth, I hope it will continue to be hotter!"

"It's best to be warm in winter!" interrupted the major.After speaking, he puffed out a puff of cigar smoke into the sky.

When night fell, Jazz and his party found an abandoned "pen" and took a rest in the "pen".This "penhouse" is made of branches and willows, and some mud is applied on the walls. The roof of the "storage" is covered with some thatch.Therefore, this "pen shed" is simply a grass shed.Around this grass shed, there is also a yard surrounded by broken wooden sticks.The function of this broken yard is to allow the horses to spend the night safely without being infested by a large group of foxes.In fact, the horse is not afraid of the fox at all, but people are afraid that the cunning fox will bite off the horse's rein, and the horse will have a chance to slip away.

Around this "pens", there is an earth pit.There were some ashes in the pit, and it was obvious that someone had cooked here before.In the "pen shed", there are also a stool, a bed made of broken cowhide, an iron cleaning rod, and a pot for boiling "sesame tea".This "hemp tea" is a tea grown by Indians, and South Americans like to drink it to make a drink. The method of "Macha" drink is to brew the melted leaves with water, and then use a straw tube to drink.The method is the same as other beverages drunk by South Americans.At Paganel's repeated request, Takaf made a few cups of "sesame tea" for these travelers.Everyone drank the "sesame tea" and ate dry food. They felt that the taste was very good, and they kept praising the mellow taste of this tea.

On October 10, the next day, when the sun slowly rose again, the grassland was still hot and the scorching sun was unbearable for the travelers.Needless to say, it was another hot day, and there was indeed no shade to walk on the prairie.But the travelers of Jazz and his party were still full of enthusiasm and courage, and set off to the east without fear.On the way, they frequently encountered large herds of cattle and sheep.But under the scorching heat, the cattle and sheep just lay lazily on the ground, not bothering to eat the grass around them.Looking around, there was no shepherd to be found.Only the shepherd dog is by the side, guarding this large area of ​​cattle and sheep.These sheepdogs drink goat's milk when they are hungry and thirsty.Passengers also found that these cows are very docile, unlike European cows, which become nervous, frightened and irritable when they see red!
"I think these cows are not afraid of red. They must have eaten the grass of the French Republic. France at this time was during the Second Empire ruled by the famous Napoleon III. The rulers of the Second Empire were most afraid of revolution, so let's talk" Red "will be scared.!" Paganel saw it and said jokingly.

At noon, the scenery on the grassland changed slightly.Travelers in the jazz industry have always been tired of the monotonous scenery, so a slight change in the scenery immediately attracted everyone's attention.The travelers saw that the grasses were gradually decreasing, but that the burdock was growing more and more, and that there was also the big atractylodes, which the donkeys like to eat, and it was nine feet high.In addition, there are some Shanar trees and other small trees with more dark green thorns, which are also sparsely growing in this area.Travelers discovered that the clay soil on the grasslands may have better moisture content, and the green grass was nourished by the fertile land, lush and thick, like a green carpet spread on the grassland.But now this exquisite "green carpet" has gradually faded and turned into a dilapidated appearance.And in some places, large and bald patches were exposed, revealing the original linen cloth field-reflecting the barrenness of this area.It appears that the land is getting drier, making it harder for grass to grow.The Takaf guide is also reminding everyone that the road ahead will be very difficult.

"Actually, this kind of change is nothing. I've been looking at the grass all the time, and I'm so tired of it!" Austin replied.

"Well, that makes sense! But, optimistically speaking, the presence of grass means the presence of water!" the major interrupted.

"Water? I don't think we need to worry about water! Along the way, we will encounter small rivers and so on!" Wilson continued.

It is estimated that our scholar, Paganel, did not hear this conversation.Otherwise, he must have known, and would have told his companions, that between the Colorado and those mountains of the Argentine provinces there were few rivers.Paganel was chatting with Captain Sir Glenarvan, and explaining to him a strange phenomenon on the steppe.

It turns out that when travelers are on the grassland, they all feel a smell of smoke slowly wafting in the air; smelling the smell of smoke, no sparks can be seen anywhere in the surrounding area, let alone the emission of smoke. out.No fire, where did the smell of smoke come from?Before long, the smell of smoke became stronger and stronger.Everyone was surprised, only Paganel and Tafka took it calmly.

The knowledgeable geographer, Paganel, seemed to be sure of everything, and explained with eloquence:

"Here, we smell smoke but don't see fire! According to common sense, 'where there is no fire, there is no smoke', and it seems to be true whether in Europe in the northern hemisphere or America in the southern hemisphere. People think that, As long as there is smoke, there must be fire somewhere! But in this pampas, everything is an exception. Because the grassland is flat, the air flows smoothly and unhindered. If someone is in There's fire and grass at mile 75 and we can smell the smoke too."

"Fire at seventy-five miles?" asked the major.

"Of course, it's 75 miles away!" Paganel said with reason. , prone to fire!"

"Who would set fire on this prairie?!" Little Robert asked curiously.

"Well, lightning can start fires, and the Indians set fire to the grass when it dries!"

"They set fire to the grass, for what?"

"Well, as far as I know, the Indians like to set fire. They have a belief, although I don't know if this belief holds water. This belief is that when the grass in the pampas is burned, the grass will die It will burn more and more vigorously. If there is such a phenomenon, it means that these Indians are using grass ash as fertilizer to moisten the growth of grass. But I personally think that they set fire to get rid of some grass by burning grass. Insects. Because on this grassland, there is a parasite called 'Lu louse', which is very harmful to livestock. If you set a fire, it can burn thousands of these 'Lu louse' to death."

"However, according to what you said, when a fire breaks out, the gates of the city often catch fire, causing damage to the fish in the pond; some livestock on the grassland will also lose their lives!" the major asked.

"It's a matter of course! But it doesn't matter, because there are a lot of cattle and sheep here, and the loss of burning to death is not great!"

"You know, it's not cattle and sheep that I'm worried about!" Major McNabbs went on, "what should travelers like us across the grassland do if we encounter such a large fire!"

"Why, are you still worried about this?!" Paganel showed a look of surprise, "It's a rare opportunity to see such a situation, and it's really worth watching!"

"Our venerable scholar! It seems that once you get into learning, you are really not afraid of death!" interrupted Sir Glenarvan.

"Oh, my dear sir, don't you think me a complete fool! I have read 'Cooper Cooper (1789-1851), a famous American novelist.', leather socks leather socks, novelist The name of the protagonist in Cooper's novel. I will tell the readers that there is a very simple way. That is, when a large wildfire burns up, pull out the grass around you; The open space in Torvalds is vacated, and people can avoid the fire in the open space. But I really don't want the fire to come over, I just hope to watch a fire!"

The conflagration Paganel longed for never came.According to him, the smell of burning smoke in the air at this moment may be caused by the strong light of the sun.On such a scorching grassland, even the horses were panting non-stop, and there was not a single place that could shade the sun nearby.Only occasionally, a floating cloud drifted across the sky, which happened to cover the sun and cast a shadow on the ground.Seeing this, travelers in the jazz industry will gallop towards this cloud shadow, hoping to take a rest under the cloud.However, the speed of the horse couldn't keep up with Feiyun. Not long after, the sun appeared from one side of the cloud again, and the ground was under the hot "fire rain" again.

Before that, Wilson said that he would not worry about running out of water; but now, he did not expect that in such hot weather, thirst is more uncomfortable than hunger.Originally, he thought that he would encounter some creeks and rivers on the road, but now it seems that this wish is too naive.During this journey, not only did not a trace of river flow, even the ponds dug by the Indians became dry.Paganel, noticing the increasing dryness, asked Tarcaf where he could find water, a matter that must now be settled.

"We must go as far as the Salt Lake," replied the Indian.

"Then when can we go to the side of the salt lake?"

"About tomorrow night!"

Generally speaking, when the Argentines arrived on the grassland, they used temporary digging of wells to obtain water.Generally speaking, dig down a few Torvalds and you can see the water.However, Sir Glenarvan and his party did not carry any tools for digging wells, so they had no way to fetch water, so they could only take out a little water they brought and distribute it equally.

They walked about thirty miles at a stretch.When night fell, I stopped to rest again.At this time, everyone's wish is to have a good sleep and regain their strength.But the mosquitoes rushed over in groups, covering the sky with blackness.Mosquitoes fly over in groups, generally indicating that the wind direction will change.Sure enough, not long after, the west wind turned into a north wind, and the wind direction changed ninety degrees.Generally speaking, if there is a southerly or southwesterly wind, these swarms of mosquitoes will not fly by.

These exasperating things, the major can take it easy.But Paganel could not calm down, he became very impatient.He was very annoyed by these hateful mosquitoes, and hated that he didn't have any potion on his body to wipe away the wounds from the bites all over his body.Although the major tried to comfort him, he still couldn't cheer up, even when he woke up the next morning.

But at dawn, Paganel, together with the others, set off on the journey again.Although no one urged us on the way, everyone knew that we had to rush to Salt Lake to resolve the current situation.On the road, the horses were too tired to walk because of thirst; although people tried their best to save water for the horses to drink, in the end it was a drop in the bucket.On this day, the weather became even drier than yesterday.The north wind that blows on the pampas is as terrifying as the hot wind in the African desert.And when the wind blows, a cloud of sand and dust blows up, attacking people like a sandstorm.

On this day, while traveling, people encountered an episode that broke the boring melody.Muradi, who was riding ahead of the procession, now reined in his horse and reported to his companions that a group of Indians was approaching them.Sir Glenarvan and Tarcalf had different and opposite opinions concerning the oncoming Indians.Lord Glenarvan looked at these natives, and wanted to know some news from them about the loss of the crew of the "Britannia"; It is better to escape.Under Takaf's order, the group gathered together and took up their weapons in case of accidents.

(End of this chapter)