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

Chapter 41 Captain Grant's Children (41)
"Didn't I tell you now! As you can see, this mining area belongs to the government; the government leases or sells these lands. People without money can't afford to buy or rent them, let alone pickaxes. Gold mining. However, there is an unwritten rule here: as long as a piece of land is unmanned for 24 hours, it becomes a "public land" that anyone can mine, except for major festivals. After becoming a "public land" 'Finally, whoever occupies it first can dig a hole with a pickaxe. If you are lucky, you will become a rich man at once. Therefore, my boy, little Robert, now hurry up and find a mine that no one has dug, and if you find it It's yours!"

"My dear Monsieur Paganel! You are teaching my brother badly!" said Miss Mary Grant hastily.

"Dear miss, don't worry, I'm joking. Little Robert knows it, I'm kidding him, he's never going to be a gold digger. Only those who have nowhere to go do that kind of thing! Like a groundhog, digging and digging in the ground is really not a job that humans can do!"

After visiting the mining area, Jazz and his group continued to walk in the direction of the bank.There is a national flag on the roof of the bank.The director of the bank warmly entertained Sir Glenarvan and his party and invited them to visit.

The bank stores gold dug by companies in the local mines and provides receipts to miners.In this way, the phenomenon that gold prospectors were often exploited and cheated by colonial merchants in the past will not happen again.

The director of the bank showed these visitors many strange raw gold samples, and told many interesting stories about gold miners.

The director of the bank also introduced that, generally speaking, raw gold can be divided into two types: roll gold and split gold.They all exist in the form of ore blocks, that is to say, the raw gold is mixed with mud or silica.Therefore, when the soil quality is different, the method of raw gold mining is also different.

The areas where the gold rolls are distributed are mostly in the valleys of the rapids or deep in the dry ditch, and they are distributed in layers according to their volume.Generally speaking, the upper geological layer is gold grains, the lower layer is gold flakes, and the bottom layer is gold nuggets.

The decomposed gold is covered with stone skin.When the stone skin meets the air, the condensed gold will gather together to form a large gold cluster.So at some point, a gold group is a huge fortune for gold diggers.

In the mountains of Alexandria, gold is generally stored in clay layers, or in the gaps between bluestone schist layers, so this group of gold nests was formed.In such places, if the gold diggers are lucky, they can often mine a large layer of gold nuggets.

After visiting the raw gold specimens, the Jazz and his party continued to visit the mineral showroom of the bank.In this showroom, various minerals of Australian geological formation are displayed in categories.In the window, there are also gems of various colors.These gemstones include white topaz, precious garnet, pink ruby, sapphire, etc., which are really dazzling to look at.

After reading it, Sir Glenarvan prepared to leave.After expressing his gratitude to the director of the bank for his hospitality, he left the bank and went to visit the mine deposit again.

Paganel always had the demeanor of a scholar who treats money like dung, but now he took every step without taking his eyes off the ground, always looking around on the ground.These involuntary actions aroused the laughter of his companions, but he didn't care about it at all, and he still did it with relish.From time to time, this lovely scholar bent his slender body, picked up a stone on the ground, observed it for a while, and then threw it away with a look of contempt.After visiting along the way, he always behaved like this.

"Hey, my dear Paganel, what treasure have you thrown away!" the major asked deliberately.

"That's right! This is a treasure land rich in gold. Who doesn't want to leave with some treasures? So, I hope to find a few pieces of gold here. It's so beautiful, I can't ask for more!"

"What will you do with the gold, my friend, if you do find it?" asked Sir Glenarvan.

"Ah! If I really find this gold, I will dedicate it to my country and send it directly to the Bank of France..."

"Will the banks in your country accept it?"

"Of course I'm very happy to accept it. In the name of buying railway construction bonds, isn't it enough?"

Everyone appreciated Paganel's idea of ​​"dedicating the gold nugget to the motherland".Mrs. Helen blessed him to find the world's largest gold nugget here, so as to realize his wish.

In this way, they talked and laughed while wandering around, and it didn't take long before they finished visiting most of the mining areas.The miners they saw were all working like machines, and they could see from their expressions that they didn't have much energy to work.

Two hours later, Paganel saw that there was a small hotel nearby, which was well decorated, so he suggested that everyone go in and rest together, and slowly kill the time to meet the ox cart.Mrs. Helen also agreed with this proposition.So Paganel ordered the boss to serve local drinks.

The waiter of the hotel served every guest a glass of "Nuo Bai Qin", which is an English-style water wine.But this kind of wine is characterized by more wine and less water. It is made by mixing a glass of water with a large glass of alcohol, and then adding some white sugar.Jazz and his party were not used to drinking this kind of water wine, so they added a lot of water before drinking it.

Everyone drank and chatted about the gold diggers.Paganel said that he was very satisfied with this visit, and incidentally mentioned the scene when the gold diggers came here to mine gold:
"The people who came here back then were densely packed like 'ants' digging holes. The scene was really spectacular! People were digging like crazy, and the ground was dug full of holes, with big and small holes all over the place. At that time, gold was easy to come by and spent quickly, and the money was used either for drinking or for gambling. This small hotel was called "Hell" back then, and everyone gambled and gambled, and when they got excited, they used knives. This This kind of chaos can't even be managed by the police. In the end, the governor called the army several times to adjust, and finally suppressed these people. The governor ordered every gold digger to pay the gold mining tax, and sent people to forcibly collect the tax, which restored a little order."

"Can anyone do gold mining?" Mrs. Helen asked.

"Yes, in fact anyone can do the gold mining industry. The gold miners don't need much culture, as long as they have the strength of their arms. Those gold miners back then were poor and penniless adventurers. They Forced to be helpless, he could only leave his hometown and come here to dream of getting rich. At that time, there were tents, grass sheds, and huts built by planks, branches, leaves and mud. Gold dealers, gold collectors, and gold dealers all gather here, operating speculative business. But in fact, they are the ones who get rich, and the real gold miners are very hard. The gold miners here The environment is very harsh, the hired workers are soaked in muddy water all day long, there are dead animals everywhere, and the environment is full of stinky smells! Besides, these miserable gold miners are always shrouded in the shadow of death Fortunately, Australia's climate conditions are conducive to people's health, otherwise the gold diggers would definitely die here! To be honest, among the gold diggers, not many are really lucky to get rich! If a gold digger gets rich , thousands of gold diggers would lose their lives in poverty and despair."

"Paganel, can you tell us how to mine gold!" Sir Glenarvan asked.

"Actually, the gold mining method is very simple. The early gold miners used the gold panning method to mine gold. However, the companies here no longer continue to use this method. They go directly to detect the gold source, the gold vein, and then extract the gold from it. Gold nuggets and gold flakes are excavated. The method of panning for gold is generally to dig out the gold-bearing soil layer first, and then wash the soil layer with water to separate the gold from the sand. This gold panning method requires a professional tool—— 'Cradle', which is actually a shaker, looks like a five or six-foot box, divided into two halves. The first half is filled with a layer of coarse iron sand, and the top is filled with several layers of fine iron sand; the lower part of the second half It is relatively narrow; when the gold miners are panning for gold, they shake the shaker while watering; in this way, the stones are left on the coarse iron sand, and the remaining broken gold and fine sand vary according to the volume and weight. , each remained on top of the fine iron sand. The soil also flowed away with the water. This is the 'gold pan' commonly used by gold miners."

"Although these things are simple, without them, it is really impossible to pan for gold." Captain John Mengel said.

"This kind of gold panning machine is usually bought by gold diggers who have made a fortune or went bankrupt; it doesn't matter if there is no such machine," Paganel said.

"No way, how do you pan for gold?" Miss Grant asked suspiciously.

"At this time, a large iron pan can be used instead, just like a dustpan winnowing grains of wheat, the iron pan is used to slowly dust the soil, and the soil is slowly dusted off in this way, and the rest is gold grains! At that time, many people This is how it works, and some people even made a lot of money by this method. At that time, gold was everywhere here, and there was gold just on the surface of the soil layer! There was a stream flowing in the gold mine, and it was easy to fish You can get gold. At that time, the ground on the streets of Melbourne was paved with gold powder. Therefore, from January 1852 to February 1, 26, the government only transported gold from Mount Alexander to Melbourne. The total value reached 2 francs; the average value of gold produced here reached 24 francs every day!"

"It seems that it is almost equivalent to the annual salary of the Russian Tsar!" Sir Glenarvan exclaimed.

"How unfortunate is the Tsar!" the major added.

"At that time, was there anyone who made a fortune all at once?" Madam Helen asked.

"Ma'am, there are actually a few of them!"

"Go ahead and tell me!" Sir Glenarvan continued to ask.

"In Bharara, in 1852, someone found a piece of gold with a value of about 570 three taels; in Gippsland, someone found a piece of gold with a value of about 780 three taels; Forty ounces of gold; besides, in the same place of Balara, a lucky gold miner dug down with a pick and unearthed a large piece of gold weighing 1861 kilograms. According to standard calculations, the value of this piece of gold can reach 830 francs, which is really a miracle in the world!"

"After these gold mines were discovered, how much did all the gold production in the world increase?" Captain John Mengel asked.

"My dear John, that is a lot. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the annual production of gold in the world was worth forty-seven million francs; now, the value of all the gold mines in Asia, Europe, and America Calculated together, the annual gold production value can reach more than 700 million, almost one billion francs!"

"Mr. Paganel, after what you said, there may be countless gold here, that is, the ground we stepped on!"

"Isn't it! My children, there are millions of them! They are all under our feet now. However, we may just look down on it, so we have stepped on it under our feet."

"It seems that Australia is really a treasure land of geomantic omen!"

"That's not what you say, little Robert," said Paganel. "You know, a place that produces gold is not necessarily a good place. There is plenty of gold here, and there are idlers who hang around here, and it does not produce some industrious and brave men." Look at Mexico, Brazil, California, Australia, they are all in the [-]th century, but this place is still so backward. So, my child, I want to tell you, in fact, the best place is not Where gold is rich, it is where iron is produced!"

wanted criminal
On January 1, the sun had just risen in the east, and the Jazz and his party walked out of the goldfield.Within a few hours, Jazz and his party crossed the Gorban River and the Compass River between 2°144' and 35' East Longitude.At this time, the journey in the Australian outback has been halfway through.If this goes on smoothly, in about fifteen days, Jazz and his party will be able to reach the coastal area of ​​Dufoe Bay.

Here, travelers feel very healthy.Paganel's view is indeed correct, the climate here is indeed beneficial to people's health.The air is not humid, so to speak, there is no moisture; although the weather is hot, it is not stuffy, and both humans and animals can adapt to it.

After Camden Bridge, however, the order of the line of travelers changed somewhat.When Ayrton learned of the carjacking accident on Camden Bridge, he formulated measures to strengthen prevention.He stipulated that hunting companions should not be too far away from the ox cart, or go to a corner where the ox cart cannot be seen.Also, when camping at night, everyone must take turns guarding, and the guns they carry must be loaded with ammunition at all times.Such vigilance is to prevent robbers who are roaming in this area; obviously this kind of precautionary approach is necessary.

Lady Helene and Miss Grant were ignorant of the precautions taken.Because Sir Glenarvan was afraid of causing unnecessary confusion to the two ladies, he naturally did not tell them.

On the other hand, after the Camden Bridge tragedy, all the people in this place have stepped up their precautions.When it was getting dark, the residents of the town, as well as the people on the animal husbandry station, immediately closed the windows of their homes.When the herdsmen are grazing, they also hold guns all the time.

Local authorities have also stepped up security precautions, especially in transportation, post and telecommunications.In the past, mail cars could run freely on the road without guards to protect them.However, on this day, when Sir Glenarvan and his party were walking on the road from Mokyr to Hitgoth, they saw a mail van speeding past, followed by some guards on horseback, guarding behind them.

After one mile of the Mokyr road, the ox cart stepped into the dense forest.This was the first time Jazz and his party stepped into such a large forest when they were walking in the Australian inland.

The forest, the knight and his party saw, was a tall eucalyptus forest; the trunks of the trees reached a height of two hundred feet, which is very impressive.The trees, moreover, were tall and thick, enveloping the tree, with a trunk estimated to be about twenty feet in circumference; the bark about five inches thick;Otherwise, the trunks are very straight, and below about 150 feet from the ground, absolutely free of any branches; bare, not even a slight protruding knob.

These big trees stand like pillars, and there are hundreds of them in a row, all of the same thickness.Only at the height of the top of the tree, there are branches that are open to all directions.These branches and leaves grow symmetrically, with alternate leaves on the branches, and large flowers hanging from the leaves.

Between the trees, the gaps are large and the air can flow freely.The wind kept blowing into the woods and dried all the moisture on the ground.The oxen and horses driven by Jazz and his party can travel unimpeded.At a glance, they didn't see messy bushes, let alone thorns that disturbed the road; it was not like a virgin forest with fallen trees and entangled vines.The traveler does not need to use a knife and ax to overcome thorns and thorns, so he can walk smoothly.

Jazz and his party also noticed that this eucalyptus forest is very characteristic.Above the straight trunk is a verdant canopy as the top of the tree, and the ground is covered with grass.The eucalyptus trees stand upright sparsely, and you can't see the edge as far as you can see.Rays of sunlight penetrated into the forest, like pieces of veil in a long dream; the sunlight that penetrated was like sunlight through blinds, bright without dark shadows.This phenomenon is caused by, on the one hand, the lack of dense shade in the forest; on the other hand, the strange leaves: these leaves grow sideways towards the sun; as long as you look at it, you can see the sides of the layers of leaves.

When Sir Glenarvan went into the forest, he was very surprised at all this, and most surprised by the side growth of these leaves.In this regard, the university scholar Paganel did not hesitate to give advice, explaining:
"Friends, let me tell you that this phenomenon is caused by physical reasons. You know, the air here is relatively dry, the rainfall is very little, and the soil is easy to dry; so the growth of trees does not need wind and wind. Sunshine. Because there is less moisture in the air, the sap contained in the tree is also less; the narrow area of ​​the leaves is to prevent exposure to the sun and cause moisture to evaporate. The side grows facing the sun, which can prevent the sun from shining on the leaves front side. So, it’s smart to be able to see those leaves.”

"However, these leaves are very selfish. They only think of themselves, and don't think of the passers-by. They always make people suffer from the sun." The major interrupted.

This view of the major was very much in agreement with everyone.Indeed, it took a long time for Jazz and his party to walk through the eucalyptus forest.The scorching sun overhead made travelers suffer a lot.But Paganel, although sweating profusely, was still excited.He thought it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to walk in this strange eucalyptus forest, although it was not covered by thick shade.

Jazz and his party walked in this large eucalyptus forest for a whole day.In the forest, they didn't meet a wild animal, let alone a native.I still saw a few parrots on the branches, but because the distance was too high, I couldn't see the figures of these birds, and I could hardly hear their cries.

(End of this chapter)