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

Chapter 40 Captain Grant's Children (40)
Everyone also felt that it was a very happy thing to chat with this eight-year-old little aborigine.Everyone sat down around him and listened to his life story.At this time, the sun had set in the west, and everyone didn't want to continue on the road, so they camped here.Ayrton unhooked the cattle, and the two sailors, Wilson and Moradi, immediately put the tripwires on the six cattle, and let them graze in the meadow.Tents were also pitched on the grass, and Obinet had his supper ready.Everyone invited Trina to share dinner.In fact, the child was already starving, but he was still polite and humble.During the meal, the two children are side by side.Robert Jr. tried his best to pick up the food for the little boy, and the little boy expressed his thanks while continuing the food; the expression was both shy and elegant, and everyone was very happy to see it.

When everyone was eating, they all wanted to know the story of the child, so they asked here and there, and the topic fell apart.In fact, the child's life experience is very simple.He said that his parents are Aboriginal people, and their family lives in the Lackland area of ​​​​the Murray River Valley; when he was very young, he was sent to a charity organized by the British colonists nearby.In doing so, his parents only hoped that he would get an English education.He lived in a charity school in Melbourne for five years and never had a chance to see his parents, so he missed them all the time.For this reason, he made a plan, even if there are many difficulties, he must work hard to return to his tribe and visit his parents who raised him.

"My child, after you have visited your parents, will you return to Melbourne?" said Mrs. Helen.

"Ma'am, I'll be back." Trina said, looking at Madam Helen with a very sincere expression.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"I should educate the compatriots in my hometown and save them from the state of primitive ignorance and poverty!"

An eight-year-old child actually uttered such ambitious words. Although some people thought it was ridiculous, after hearing this, the Scots admired the child's great ambition and naturally respected him more.Paganel was also very moved, but he had a heart of sympathy for the native child.

Paganel looked at the kid Trina and didn't really like his European clothes.When he came to Australia, he had hoped to see the naked aborigines with patterns all over their bodies. The aborigines in modern clothes and in line with modern etiquette disappointed him quite a bit.However, after hearing Trina's grand ambitions, he also changed his original view, had the following conversation with the child, and later became a pair of close friends.

When Mrs. Helen asked where the aboriginal child was studying, the child replied that it was at Melbourne Teachers College, and the principal of that school was Pastor Buckton.

"What classes did you take at school?" Mrs. Helen asked again.

"There's math, geography, and the Bible..."

"Ah! There is also a geography class!" Paganel became energetic when he heard the word "geography".

"Yes, dear sir," Trina said, "My geography grades are very good, and I even won the first prize in the final exam before the winter vacation!"

"Dear boy, have you won an award?"

"Yes, sir, look, here's my prize!" Trinor said, pulling a book out of his pocket.

This book is a 32-carat "Bible" with exquisite binding.On the reverse of the first page of the book are these words: To Winner of First Prize in Geography, Trinna of Claran, Teachers College, Melbourne.

Paganel was very surprised that an Australian Aboriginal child was so gifted in geography, so excited he hugged the little boy high and kissed his little cheek.But Trina felt baffled and looked at everyone in confusion.Mrs. Helen immediately explained, saying that Mr. Paganel is a very famous geographer, if he is a teacher in the school, he must be an outstanding professor.

"Ah! Sir, you are a geographer!" cried Trina. "Please ask me a question!"

"Yes, boy! I was just about to ask you a question, how is geography taught at Melbourne Normal School?"

"Paganel, this kid Trina will increase your knowledge!" McNabbs replied.

"Can the secretary of the French Geographical Society increase his knowledge?" Paganel murmured dissatisfied, straightened his slender body, put his glasses on the bridge of his nose, and asked in a serious tone as a professor:

"Student Trina, please answer the question."

Trina, who was originally standing, straightened his back even more at this time, with a respectful appearance, intently waiting for the geographer's question.

"Student Trina, tell me, what are the five continents in this world?"

"There are Europe, Asia, America, Africa, and Oceania!" Trina said simply.

"Very correct! Now that we are in Oceania, let's ask Oceania! How many parts is Oceania divided into?"

"Melenesia, Polynesia, Micronesia. The main islands are: Australia belonging to the United Kingdom; New Zealand belonging to the United Kingdom; Tasmania belonging to the United Kingdom; Chatham, Auckland, Maga belonging to the United Kingdom Leigh, Carmadeke, Malachi, Makin, etc.”

"Good! Exactly! But what about New Caledonia, Snells, Mendana, Paumatu?"

"These islands are under the protection of the British Empire."

"Ah! what, under the protection of the British Empire?" said Paganel displeased. "In fact, on the contrary, in France..."

"What French?" said the boy in great surprise.

"Hmph! My God! Is that what the teacher's school in Melbourne taught you?"

"Yes, sir. What's the matter, aren't our teachers doing well?"

"Forget it, good! That's great! It's really great! Then let's do it, even if this Oceania belongs to Britain now, I will continue to ask you."

Paganel's expression was both surprised and very dissatisfied, and the major beside him was secretly amused.

The teacher-student question and answer continued, "Let's talk about Asia now!" Paganel said.

"Asia is the largest continent in the world, and its capital is Calcutta. The main cities in Asia are: Mumbai, Madras, Calicut, Aden, Malacca, Singapore, Bangkok, Colombo; in addition, there are some islands , such as the Maldivian Islands, the Laccadive Islands, the Chagos Islands, etc., all belong to the British Empire!"

"Okay, okay, even if it's all British. By the way, what about Africa?"

"There are mainly two colonies in Africa; the colony in the south is the Cape of Good Hope, and the capital is Cape Town; the colony in the west is some British settlements, and the main city is in Salallovo."

"Son, your answer is excellent!" said Paganel sarcastically. He now finally understood that the school was teaching geography like the British madness. "Your teachers are really good at teaching! As for some Algeria, Egypt, Morocco... seem to have been crossed off the British map by your teachers. Okay, now let's move on to the Americas!"

"The entire American continent is divided into South America and North America. North America belongs to the British Empire. In North America, there are Canada, New Brunswick, and New Scotland; by the way, there is also the United States of America under the jurisdiction of Governor Johnson. "

"My God! Governor Johnson! He is the heir to President Lincoln of the United States!" Paganel exclaimed in amazement, "When the great President Lincoln was assassinated by a madman who sold slaves, how could he make Britain go crazy? Jurisdiction? Your answer is really great, wonderful! By the way, it seems that Guyana, the Falkland Islands in South America, the Sedland Islands, Jamaica, and Trinity are all Everything in the UK. By the way, I also want to ask, what is your teacher's view on Europe, please tell me!"

"Ah! Europe?" Trina didn't understand why Paganel spoke so excitedly at this time.

"Yes, Europe, tell me, which country does Europe belong to?"

"Of course Europe belongs to England!" replied the boy proudly.

"I know you're going to say that. Well, I'd like to hear it. Go on!"

"In Europe, there are Great Britain, Ireland, Malta, Jersey, Quincy, the Ionian Islands, the Hebrides, Sedland, Orkney, etc., which belong to the British."

"Okay! Okay! Trina, my child, it seems that I haven't mentioned some countries yet, have you forgotten?"

"Sir, what country is there?" The boy seemed not to know what country he had left out, so he replied.

"And those countries, such as Spain, Russia, Prussia, Austria, France!"

"These are British provinces, not countries?"

"What words!" said Paganel, taking off his spectacles in a fit of anger.

"Sir, my answer is correct! The capital city of Spain is Gibraltar!"

"Okay, as you said, it's wonderful! What about France? I belong to the French Republic. I want to know whose jurisdiction it belongs to?"

"Ah! France, that's just a province of the United Kingdom. The provincial capital is Calais-Calais, a coastal city on the west coast of France, across the English Channel. During the Hundred Years' War between Britain and France, it has been occupied by Britain." Tring Na replied seriously.

"Ah! Calais, in this way, you think Calais is still British?" Paganel exclaimed again in great surprise.

"It's a matter of course!"

"Calais is really the capital city of France?"

"Yes, sir. And the governor, Monsieur Napoleon, who was stationed there with his troops."

Having said that, Paganel couldn't bear it anymore, and laughed wildly, and kept laughing.Trina on the opposite side was baffled, wondering what was going on?

"Look, how about my university student? I'm right! This Trina student will increase your knowledge."

"Major, you are right! Look at how this Melbourne teaches geography! These teachers in the Teachers College are really wonderful! I really admire, admire, and admire! Europe, Asia, America, Oceania, The whole earth belongs to the British Empire! By the way, Mr. Trinna, will the moon also belong to the British Empire?"

"In the future, the moon will belong to Britain!" Trina said solemnly.

Paganel thought it was too funny, couldn't bear it anymore, hurriedly ran to a place 400 meters away, and then laughed heartily.At this time, Sir Glenarvan found a copy of Richardson's "A Brief Introduction to Geography" from among the books he carried with him and handed it to Trinor.You must know that this book is very influential in the UK, and the knowledge described in it is much more detailed and scientific than those teachers in Melbourne.

"Dear child, take it!" Sir said to Trinor, "As a souvenir, I give you this book; reading it will enable you to gain scientific knowledge of geography and correct your misunderstanding."

After Trina took the book, he carefully flipped through the book without making a sound.Looking at the expression, he didn't seem to believe the book, so he shook his head and didn't put the book in his pocket.

By this time it was quite dark, about ten o'clock.We have to get up early tomorrow morning to hurry, and everyone is ready to rest.Robert Jr. offered to sleep with the Trinor kid, and the kid was more than happy to oblige.

Not long after, Mrs. Helen and Miss Mary Grant returned to the carriage of the ox cart.The men rested in the tent.Only M. Paganel was still laughing in the distance, and his laughter mingled with the cry of the magpie.

The next morning, at about six o'clock, the morning sun fell, and Jazz and his party woke up.They didn't see the kid Trina, where did he go?Maybe he wanted to go back to Lachlan sooner, or did Paganel's maniacal laughter annoy him?No one knows why.

After a while, Mrs. Helene woke up and found a bunch of mimosa unifolia on her chest, but Paganel found Richardson's "A Brief Introduction to Geography" in his pocket.

Gold mine
In 1814, Mr. Murchison, who is currently the president of the Royal Society of London, conducted a careful study of the Ural Mountains and the north-south mountains near the southern coast of Australia.After research, it became clear that the two mountains had many things in common.

We all know that the gold deposits in the Ural Mountains are the richest.According to Mr. Murchison's speculation, this mountain range in Australia may be as rich in gold deposits as the Ural Mountains.Many facts later proved that Mr. Murchison's conjecture was completely correct.

Two years later, someone sent Mr. Murchison two samples of gold mines produced in New South Wales. After seeing them, Mr. Murchison decided to send a group of workers to the gold mining area in Australia.

The news of gold in South Australia spread like wildfire and spread all over the world.As a result, gold diggers from all directions flocked to this land.Among these prospectors were British, French, Italians, Germans, and Chinese.However, it was not until April 1851 that Mr. Hargrave discovered a large number of gold seedlings here.He reported this discovery to Mr. Fitz Roy, the governor of the Sydney colony; Mr. Hargrave, after receiving a reward of five hundred pounds, told the exact location of the mine seedlings.

Mr. Hargrave's proposal to open the gold mines was rejected, but word of the existence of the seedlings spread like wildfire.Some people looking for ore seedlings came thousands of miles away, and rushed to Leinitang area and Xiashan area one after another.It didn't take long for a new city, the city of Ofer, the city of Ofer, which turned out to be the place where the gold in the Bible was produced.That's how it was built.

In fact, it was not until now that people thought that the province of Victoria contained more gold deposits than other places.

Since then, and months later, gold has actually been mined in the Victorian province.Moreover, the gold diggers found that the gold deposits were most abundant in the four places of Barrara, Owen River, Bendigo and Mount Alexandria; so people started digging from these four places.Later, people also discovered that the distribution of ore veins in the Balala area is uneven, and it is difficult to find the exact location of excavation; in the Bendigo area, the conditions for mining gold mines are very difficult, and the Owen River area is full of streams. All have brought difficulties to mining gold mines.In contrast, the mining conditions in the Alexandria area are relatively good, and the mineral resources are abundant, and the gold is of excellent quality. Each catty here refers to the French ancient catty, and one catty is equivalent to about half a kilogram.The price can reach 440 francs, which is the highest gold price in the world; these superior conditions have attracted people to mine one after another.

This time, Sir Glenarvan and his party followed the 37° line to explore the whereabouts of Captain Grant, and they happened to pass by this place.This is the place where countless people achieve their golden dreams. Some people get rich and become rich, and some go bankrupt and become beggars.Many of these gold diggers came here, including many locals and some sailors, who stopped running the boat and joined the team of gold diggers.In the four months after 1852, just in the Melbourne area, 13 immigrants flocked here.With so many people, one can imagine how messy the city was at that time.Fortunately, the British used their previous calm and calm style to control the mess in an orderly manner, and the situation gradually improved as a result.Now, [-] years have passed, and the mining of gold mines in this place has been orderly and slowly getting on the right track.Here, Sir Glenarvan and his party will naturally not encounter the lawless and chaotic situation back then.

At about eleven o'clock, Jazz and his party came to the center of the mining area.Here is like a city, with urban factories, banks, villas, churches, newspaper offices, barracks, playgrounds, hotels, and farms.There is also a theater built here, with a ticket price of ten shillings, and many audiences come to buy tickets; at this time, the theater is showing a play that reflects the local living conditions-"The Lucky Gold Digger", the story is probably that the protagonist In the despair of life, unexpectedly, a large piece of gold was dug out.

When he came here, Sir Glenarvan became very curious and wanted to visit the world-famous mining area of ​​Mount Alexander.So he ordered Ayrton and Muradi to drive the ox cart first, followed by himself and others.Paganel was very supportive of Jazz's proposal and was very happy, and he volunteered that he would be the guide and commentator.

So, everyone followed Paganel in the direction of the bank.I saw that the road here is spacious and paved with crushed stones. There are big signs such as "Gold Digger Office", "Gold Co., Ltd." and "Nugget Consortium" hanging on both sides of the road, which are very eye-catching.The sound of gold washing and grinding on the side of the road echoed in my ears.

The traveler saw that there was a large mining area next to the residential area, and many hired miners were doing excavation work there.The mines on the ground are dotted all over, too many to count.The miners waved the ore vigorously, and the golden sand shone like lightning.Among these miners, there are people from all over the world, but they don't quarrel with each other, but just work hard.

"I know that many of these miners come here poor and dreaming of gold mining. They have no money, can't afford to buy land, let alone rent land to dig; but they have their own clever tricks to make a fortune .” Paganel began to explain like a guide.

"What's the trick?"

"This trick is called 'jumping the pit'!"

"What is 'jumping pit'?" the major asked.

"'Jumping into the pit' is actually a custom in this place, which will cause fights. But the local supervisor has no way to cancel it."

"Paganel, keep talking, don't keep making people lose your appetite!" the major hurriedly urged.

(End of this chapter)