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

Chapter 38 Captain Grant's Children (38)
"These four people continued to walk, and came across one beach after another, which proved that they were very close to the mouth of the big river and the sea. At this critical moment, a camel died of illness. Seeing this, what happened to the other camels?" They refused to continue walking. Ginger and Gray could only stay where they were and take care of the camels that were unwilling to walk; while Burke and Wells continued to move forward bravely. The two of them overcame many obstacles and achieved their goals in 1861. On February 2, 11, they successfully reached a beach that was submerged by the tide, but the explorers have not seen the sea yet. And this is the place where the farthest in this expedition is.”

"So, those two fearless explorers couldn't move on?" Mrs. Glenarvan asked curiously.

"My dear lady, yes, yes!" said Paganel. "You know, that kind of beach, once a person steps on it, he will sink down and lose his life. Burke and the two also I had no choice but to give up on the journey, turn back, and reunite with my companions in Wellsburg. As the saying goes, "It's easy to go up the mountain, but it's hard to go down the mountain." The journey back was also very difficult. On the way, both of them were exhausted , could only move to his companion step by step. After that, the team of four went south along the original route and returned to the Cobb River. In April, they arrived at the Cobb River. At this time , there were only three people left in this team. The team member Gray died suddenly on the road because of exhaustion. Four of the six camels they brought died. Although the situation was grim, they believed that as long as Back in Wellsburg, where companions such as Braher are waiting, they will have enough food and hope of rescue. So they regained their spirits and walked forward with difficulty and step by step. , lasted for several days; finally on April 4, they saw the fence outside Wellsburg, and wept with joy. But, unexpectedly, fate made fun of people like this, and the place was empty. The people waiting here Brahe and his party left that morning after waiting for the end of five months."

"Ah! Go!" exclaimed little Robert.

"Yes, gone! Coincidentally, on the same day, isn't it damn? There they also found a note written by Braher seven hours ago; the three Burkes, I wanted to chase, but I was too exhausted to start. I had no choice but to eat some discarded food there, and I regained some energy. The three distressed people also saw that there was still 150 miles away from the Darling River. I don't have any means of transportation, so I really don't know what to do!
"After much deliberation, Burke decided to go to the settlement of Australian residents about sixty miles away. In this way, the three of them started again. Their only two camels, one of them was in the muddy tributary of the Cobb River The other camel was dead, and the other camel could not go, so the three distressed people had to kill it and eat it. Soon after, all the food they carried on their bodies was also eaten up, and the three people could only eat a kind of aquatic animal called spores. plants to fill their stomachs; since there is no water source in front of the road, and even if there is, there is no tool for holding water, so the three of them dare not stray from the Cobb River. There was a fire, and all the clothes and other things he brought were turned into ashes.

"At this time, the explorer Burke was lying on the ground, so he could only call his companion Ginger to his side, and said something like this: 'I know, I can only live for a few hours at most. My pen and diary Ben is here, you take it and keep it. After I die, please hold a pistol in my right hand. When I die, you don't need to bury my body. You can arrange it however you like. So at eight o'clock the next morning, the intrepid explorer died.

"Ginger was frightened and stupid at this time. He didn't know what to do, so he could only ask the local aborigines for help. When he returned, another companion, Wells, also died. The only living Ginger was killed by the local aborigines. The people stayed; when in September, the government commissioned Horwitt, Makinley and Landsboro to search for Burke and his party, the Horwitt expedition finally found Ginger among the aborigines. So, this time across Australia Of the four inland explorers, only Ginger survived!"

Paganel's wonderful narration caused everyone to sigh.From this, everyone suddenly thought that Burke and his party's expeditions, these outstanding figures in the field of science, lost their lives after overcoming many difficulties; and Captain Grant, who was looking for this time, was in the harsh and dangerous Australian inland. Maybe it's more ominous than good!Can all the sailors on board the "Britannia" still live in the world safe and sound at this time?Miss Mary Grant's tears streamed down her face as she thought of these things.

"Father! My poor father!" Miss Grant couldn't help calling out, unable to restrain her emotions.

"Miss Mary! Miss Grant!" Captain John Mengel comforted quickly, "Don't worry! Those explorers will only be in danger if they venture into the inland. I believe that Captain Grant is the same as Ginger, even if If it falls into the hands of the local aborigines, it can return safely like Ginger! Moreover, Captain Grant will not encounter such a bad natural environment as Burke and his party."

"Yes, that's right! I believe that Captain Grant will not encounter these harsh natural environments." Paganel added, "It is well known that the aborigines in Australia are kind and hospitable peoples."

"May God bless my father!"

"By the way, what about Stuart? What was his expedition like?" Sir Glenarvan asked Paganel to continue talking.

"As for Stuart, he is so lucky! He has a great reputation in Australian history! Coincidentally, he and you are from the same town! Since 1840, this Captain Stuart has been in the north of Adelaide. In 1860, he took only two entourages to explore deep into the inland of Australia, but failed. He was not discouraged, and in 1861, he took eleven more people to continue He explored until he was sixty leagues from the Gulf of Carpentania, and at last ran out of food, and had to retrace his steps and return to Adelaide. This time he was not discouraged, and He persistently carried out the third expedition, and finally realized his long-cherished wish.

"In the planning of his third expedition, he received strong support from the South Australian Parliament and funded him with 1862 pounds. In the third expedition, he learned from the experience and lessons of the previous two, and made a contribution to the expedition. He made detailed and careful preparations. During this trip, he invited his old friends—the naturalists Thurse, Sling, Kequik, and his old partners Odd, Woodford, and Odd to be together. A total of ten people joined the expedition. For the expedition, they prepared twenty large American leather barrels, each with a capacity of seven gallons. On April 4, 5, the expedition was in the southern latitude The new Fortress Lake at 18° is assembled, and the plan is to continue north along the direction of east longitude 131°.

"Then, around where they started, was a dense jungle. They walked north and northeast, but in the end they all failed and returned to the same way; after some choice, they went west, When they reached the banks of the Victoria River, they could not go any further. So Stuart changed direction and walked eastward until he reached Daly Creek in the middle of the prairie. He continued to walk along the direction of the stream for about three At ten miles, the Strandway River and the Robb River are in front of you. These two rivers pass through tropical jungles, where many local aborigines live. These aborigines welcome travelers very much and entertain them warmly. .

"From this tropical jungle, they continued to turn northwest again, and rediscovered the source of the Adelaide River; this river finally flowed to Vendimen Bay, and they continued south along the river bank, passing through the Anhang area. In Anhang Heng area, surrounded by broccoli, pine, bamboo, willow, etc. This group of travelers went all the way south and saw that the Adelaide River became wider and wider, and there were some swamps on both sides of the river. You can see The sea is not far from here. On Tuesday, July 7, numerous streams along the way blocked the way of these travelers. Stuart then appointed three people to explore the way forward; on the next day, The group successfully set foot on the forested highlands.

"On the 7th of July, the group of travelers left Adelaide after a nine-month journey. At 24:[-] in the morning, they continued north; It is tall and covered with volcanic rocks; the trees here grow short, which is obviously a feature of the landform near the sea.

"They continued to walk through a low valley; dense bushes grew on the side of the valley, and the faint sound of the sea lapping on the shore was faintly heard. After passing a small forest, the expedition team set foot on At this time, Silin, excited like crazy, shouted: "God, the sea! The sea!" Other companions also shouted excitedly, and bowed to the Indian Ocean.

"This fourth expedition across the Australian continent has successfully succeeded! Stuart couldn't restrain his excitement. In order to celebrate the fulfillment of his oath to the Governor of South Australia, he jumped into the sea and washed his hands. , wash his face, wash his feet; after these celebrations were over, he returned to the woods on the edge of the trough, and carved his initials on a tree: JMDS.

The next day, Sling continued to explore forward, trying to find a route that could return to the mouth of the Adelaide River from the southwest.After that, Silin came back to report to his companions that there was a dense swamp in front of him, and the horse could not move forward, so he had to give up.

"After that, Stuart walked in the woods, picked a big tree, cut off some branches, and planted an Australian flag on the top of the tree; after he was done, he continued to carve on the trunk. This line reads: From here, continue digging one foot to the south."

"Now when people pass by there, when they see the trunk with the Australian flag on it, they continue to dig one foot south according to the engraved words, and they can see that there is a tin box inside, and there is a letter in it. I remember clearly:

A great adventure across the Australian continent from south to north

On July 1862, 7, an expedition led by John Stuart arrived here.This team directly crossed the Australian continent, from the direction of the South China Sea to the shore of the Indian Ocean, passing through the center of the Australian continent along the way.The expedition started from Adelaide on October 25, 1861, arrived at the last colony on January 10, 26, and then continued north.Here, in order to commemorate the success of this expedition, an Australian national flag was planted on this big tree, and the name of the captain of the expedition was engraved at the same time.May God bless Her Majesty the Queen of the British Empire!

"Below the letter, there are the signatures of Stuart and all the companions in the team. This is the great feat of these adventurers that shocked the world.

"Have these brave and fearless adventurers returned to the south where they started?" Madam Helen asked with great concern.

"Dear madam, yes," Paganel continued, "these explorers managed to return to the place of departure after going through hardships. Unfortunately, Stuart suffered from sepsis on the way back. , seriously affected the health of the body. He was once unable to walk due to illness, and could only lie in the clothes basket and walk back with two horses. At the end of October, Stuart almost lost his life because of coughing and bleeding. But on October 10, he was able to recover miraculously.

"On December 12, when Stuart and his party returned to the city of Adelaide, the residents of the city were so excited that they almost ran out to celebrate them grandly. However, his body Failed to achieve full recovery. After receiving the gold medal awarded by the Australian Geographical Society, he boarded the ship 'India' and arrived in the hometown of his dreams - Scotland. So, we will meet him in Scotland !
"This explorer has extraordinary perseverance, which is the basis for him to complete this great cause." After hearing this, Sir Glenarvan admired sincerely, "It is really the Scottish people's credit that Scotland has such outstanding people." pride."

"Since Stuart, have any explorers ever explored the Australian inland?" Mrs. Helen asked.

"Well, there are! There are not many. The Reshad I mentioned before, in 1844, he launched an important expedition in the North Australian area. In 1848, he went northeast again. But it has been 17 years, and there has been no news so far. Just last year, Dr. Muller, a botanist in Melbourne, Australia, first conducted a fundraising event, and then used the funds raised as an organization to find Lei Sha Funding for the Expedition. On June 1864, 6, an expedition organized by the experienced explorer Intel set out from the pastures of the Baru River District and may now have penetrated deep into the interior. God bless They managed to find Reshad. Wish them success, and wish us success in finding our dear friends!"

After Paganel had finished telling these wonderful stories, it was indeed getting late, and the night was already deep.So, after thanking the lovely geographer, everyone went to bed and fell asleep peacefully.

The Mewsang Line refers to the railway between Melbourne and Sanduster.Tragedy on

In fact, when Major McNabbs saw Ayrton leaving the Vimela River alone to find a blacksmith at Black Point Station; Observed the surrounding environment.Seeing that there are silent wilderness all around here, there is no sign of danger.After a few hours of darkness, the sun rose again in the east.

Sir Glenarvan was only worried that Ayrton, who had gone alone, would not be able to return with the blacksmith.Without the tinkering of blacksmiths, these ox carts would be difficult to repair and could not continue on the road, and the journey would be seriously affected.So he was anxious and anxious, like ants on a hot pan.

Fortunately, Ayrton's trip did not disappoint, nor did he waste too much time.When the light broke the next day, he returned successfully with one person.The man said he was a blacksmith who specialized in horseshoeing at Blackpoint Station.Everyone looked at him, although he was tall and burly, but his face was hideous, which was really uncomfortable to watch.However, everyone thinks that a person should not be judged by his appearance, as long as he can do all the work well.

"Can this man really work?" asked Captain John Mungle of Ayrton.

"Mr. Captain, in fact, like you, I don't know anything about him, let him do the talking!" Ayrton replied.

Although the blacksmith didn't talk much, he worked in an orderly manner. He repaired the car very skillfully, and his movements were very quick.The careful major saw that the blacksmith's skin was reddish purple, and the skin on both wrists had been peeled off; it looked like he was wearing a pair of bracelets.Clearly, the chipped flesh was a recent scar.The major asked him with concern if the wound hurt?Does it hurt badly?The blacksmith just kept his head buried in his work and didn't make a sound.

After two hours, the blacksmith repaired the ox cart.

When mending a horseshoe, the blacksmith took out the horseshoe he had brought and was about to nail the hooves of Sir Glenarvan's horse. The major's eyes were sharper, and he saw at a glance that the horseshoe was in the shape of three leaves and carved with leaves. The profile of the horseshoe is clearly different from other horseshoes.The major then held out the horseshoe and showed it to Ayrton.

"This is the sign of Blackpoint Station," Ayrton replied, looking at it. "This mark is for the horse to not be confused with other horses if it accidentally gets lost, so we can identify it and find it back."

It didn't take long for the horseshoe marked by the black spot station to be installed.After the blacksmith took his wages, he quickly left without saying a word here.

After half an hour, Jazz and his party started their journey again.After crossing a plain area where the woody mimosa grows, it enters a beach area with many rivers and lakes; the traveler hears the murmur of the rivers and streams among the tall reeds.Stepping on this lake beach, no one felt any difficulty.

Good Mrs. Helen asked the riders to take turns riding in her ox cart, so that everyone could have a chance to rest.Miss Mary was also at the side, helping Mrs. Helen call her companions to rest.

In this way, Jazz and his party walked through the sparsely populated and dusty postal route from Crowland to Hawthorne.Then they trod over some hills, and in the evening they traveled the three miles to Maryborough, where they pitched for the night.

On the 12th of December, the next day, the group of travelers entered the mountainous region.Because the mountain road is more difficult to walk, the speed has to be slowed down.After walking for a long time, everyone gradually got used to it.

At about eleven o'clock, the group arrived in Karlsbrook.It was Ayrton's opinion, that he should walk round the city without wasting time; Sir approved of it, but Paganel's scholarly curiosity was very eager to see the sights and features of this important town.So, the traveling companions let him visit alone, while the ox cart drove forward slowly.

(End of this chapter)