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

Chapter 51 Captain Grant's Children (51)
Amid the yelling and cursing of Captain Halle, the five sailors on the ship were in a hurry, but finally all the sails were pulled up.On the port side, all the rigging is drawn, and the low sail, foresail, topsail, schooner, touch sail, small sail, and jib sail are all pulled up in the wind;However, after making these efforts, the "McGalli" is still sailing slowly and slowly, and it really can't get up fast.The reason is very simple, because the bow of this ship is too heavy, the bottom of the ship is very wide, and the stern is very heavy, so it can only sail slowly on the sea like an old duck.

This boat can't be fast, and everyone can only be patient.And everyone knows that no matter how slow the ship is, it only takes five days, six days at most, and the ship can reach Auckland smoothly.

At seven o'clock in the evening, the lighthouse of the Australian coast and the port of Eden could not be seen from the boat.However, the sea was choppy, and the ship could only move more slowly; the ship bumped violently on the sea, and the people stuffed in the toilet felt very uncomfortable; but at this time it was raining on the sea, and they could not go to the deck, so Everyone can only dwell in the cabin, thinking about their own concerns, and almost no one speaks.Even the two ladies, Lady Helene and Miss Grant, seldom talked to each other.Sir Glenarvan was restless, pacing up and down; the major was lying on his bunk, motionless; out of the captain's instinct, Mengel would run to the deck from time to time to observe the wind and waves on the sea. situation.Robert Jr. was behind Meng Geer every time, following him to observe; Paganel stayed alone in his corner, muttering to himself, and everyone didn't understand what he was saying. something.

What the hell is our lovely geographer thinking?What was in his mind was that it must be God's will to arrange for him to go to New Zealand.He was silently reviewing all the history of New Zealand's arrival of dragons, and various facts about New Zealand came to his mind again.

What was going on in his mind was, does New Zealand count as a continent?You know, New Zealand only has two islands, can it really be called a mainland?After all, the island and the mainland are not the same thing!As a geographer, how can the crew and sailors be the same, with no distinction between concepts?The word "contin" is inspiring his imagination; it makes him think like a powerful and unconstrained style, thinking of Patagonia, Australia, and New Zealand; No idea, his confusion lies in:
"Contin, contin, the word means 'mainland', not an island! But can a large island be called a 'mainland'?"

He had been agonizing over the word; and the history of the great navigator's discovery of the two great islands of New Zealand in the South China Sea came back to his mind.

The earliest discovery of New Zealand was on December 1642, 12. After the Dutchman Tasman discovered the Van Dimen land during his voyage, he continued to sail towards the uninhabited coast of New Zealand.The Tasman sailed along the coast for several days, and on the 13th entered a large bay which ended in a strait bordered by two islands.

The island in the north is called "Yikana Mawei" in the local dialect, which means "fish of Mawei".The dialect of the southern island is called "Mahaipu Namu", which means "the whale that produces green jade".

After that, Tasman sent some small boats and called some sailors to land survey; when these sailors came back, they also brought back two canoes, carrying some aborigines.The skin of these aborigines ranges from brown to yellow, dry and thin, of medium stature, with black hair coiled on top of their heads; like the Japanese, a long, wide and wide white feather is inserted into the coiled hair, and their mouths It kept chattering, and the people on board didn't know what they were talking about.

When the Europeans on the ship and these natives met for the first time, they seemed to be able to get along well and become good friends.However, on the second day, when Captain Tasman sent some sailors into small boats to investigate whether there were suitable anchorages on some coasts in this area, they were violently attacked by the natives in seven canoes.The bosun was shot in the neck and jumped into the water to save his life.But all the other sailors were killed; only two sailors and the bosun swam desperately to the ship, and finally saved their lives.

Captain Tasman knew that something was wrong, ordered the ship to sail immediately, and fired a few shots at random to the shore, but did not hit the aborigines.Since then, the bay has been named "Killer Bay".Tasman quickly drove the boat out of "Killer Bay" and sailed all the way north, not daring to stay in this area easily.She did not anchor near North Cape until 1 January.Then the sea here is rough, and the hostility of the indigenous people on land makes it impossible to go ashore to supply fresh water.Captain Tasman could only leave here, and named this place "Statenland", which means "third-level zone", in order to commemorate the "three-level meeting" held at that time, which was presided over by the king at that time, priests, nobles, etc. A meeting in which representatives from the three levels of government and civilians participate, so it is called a "three-level meeting."

In fact, Tasman named the island this name because he thought he had discovered a "new continent".He also believed that the "new continent" discovered was connected with Staten Island in South America.

"However," thought Paganel to himself, "in the seventeenth century it would not have been surprising for a sea captain to have mistook New Zealand for the 'continent'. But a nineteenth-century sea captain would not have made such an intellectual mistake Wrong. So Captain Grant can't be so ignorant. I really don't understand, what is going on here?"

Afterwards, Captain Tasman sailed through New Zealand.In the next 100 years, the land of New Zealand seemed to disappear, and no one paid attention to it.Until a French navigator named Sylvay discovered New Zealand again when he sailed to 35°37′ south latitude.At that time, the aborigines got along friendly with Sylvie and his party at the beginning.Moreover, when a small boat carrying sick sailors belonging to Captain Sylway was blown to this coast during a sea storm, a local chief named Ji Nui was still enthusiastic about these Europeans who traveled across the ocean. hospitality.However, as the days went by, Sylway was very angry when he realized that his boat was always being stolen by these natives, so he demanded it from the natives, but the other party refused to return it.In his extreme anger, Sulway burned down all the villages of the aborigines.This time's excessive behavior is an inhuman and brutal act of revenge, which has caused bloody tragedies time and time again.

On October 1769, 10, the famous navigator Captain Cook sailed on this coast.He sailed to Taveroa Bay, moored his Endeavor there, and landed.After discovering the natives, his plan was to use small favors to win the favor of the natives.So, he first arrested two or three indigenous people, then forcefully gave them some good things, and then let them go.The few aborigines who got the gifts went back and publicized it everywhere, and the reputation of Captain Cook's benevolence spread like wildfire, and spread among the aboriginals at once.A few days later, Captain Cook's "Endeavour" received several aborigines, and their purpose of coming here was to do business with the Europeans.Next, when Captain Cook drove the Endeavor to Hawke's Bay on the east coast of the North Island, they unexpectedly encountered a group of aggressive and savage aborigines.Captain Cook had no choice but to fire a shot into the sky in order to scare them, and he immediately sailed away from this place.

On October 10, Captain Cook reached Tocomaro Bay.He saw that there were more than 12 mild-mannered indigenous people living here.When the botanists on board were conducting surveys, these aborigines also enthusiastically helped; every time the botanists inspected and collected specimens, these aborigines used canoes to pick them up and down.After Captain Cook parked the Endeavor here, he also landed and visited two local villages.Seeing the village here, the outside is fenced with wooden fences, and there are bunkers and double ditches inside, much like a fortification.Captain Cook stayed here for five months, collecting a large number of local specialties, as well as some ethnographic materials.On March 200, he named the strait that separates the two islands "Cook Strait" after himself, and then reluctantly left.In his later voyages, he came to New Zealand again.

Exactly in 1773, when the great Captain Cook sailed to Hawke's Bay, he experienced cannibalism himself.

During Captain Cook's third voyage, he came to this area; because he liked it, he wanted to measure the waterways in this area for future navigation.Captain Cook left here on February 1777, 2; and never came back again in his life.

In 1791, Fan Kefo arrived at Dark Bay. Within twenty days of berthing and landing, he had almost nothing to gain, and returned to the voyage without success.In 1793, Dantel Gasto surveyed Ikanamawe Island, and then the crew of the Merchant Navy, Huo Sen, Dalrymp, and later Patton, Richardson, Moody, etc. , have personally come here to investigate.The last one to come here was Dr. Safaqi, who stayed here for five weeks, surveyed and collected the customs and habits of the New Zealanders, some of which were very vivid and interesting.

In 1805, Patton came to New Zealand.At that time, the ship he commanded was called the "Argo", and when he was in New Zealand, he moored the ship in the Bay of Islands.There, he met Duatara, nephew of tribal chief Ranjihu; Duatala warmly entertained Patton and his party; Captain Patton invited Duatalada to board the "Argo" in return.

If there is a great poet like the ancient Greek Homer among the Maori people in New Zealand, then Duatala's action this time can have the same theme as Homer's epic.On the "Argo", this bright and hard-working Maori young man suffered humiliation, discrimination, beatings and inhuman imprisonment.After a lot of torture and hardships, Duatara finally came to London, England, where he became a low-level handyman on the ship and became a venting ball for the sailors.Fortunately, he met Priest Marsden, otherwise he would have died of exhaustion on the ship.Afterwards, Priest Marsden found that this young man was straightforward, friendly, kind, gentle and intelligent, and always cared for him very much.The benevolent priest Marsden gave Duatara several sacks of wheat seeds and some farm implements, and told him to return to his hometown to farm.But unfortunately, he didn't expect that these seeds were stolen, and the poor Maori boy could only continue to live a life like a slave.In 1814, Duatara finally managed to return to his hometown.Just when he wanted to start a career, he fell seriously ill and died.He was only 28 years old; his death was a great loss to the development of New Zealand.

Until 1816, this place in New Zealand was basically unvisited except for a man named Sampland who sailed here for a few days.Later, in 1817, Nicola came here; in 1819, Marsden came here; in 1820, a captain named Cruise in the 84th Infantry Regiment conducted a comprehensive survey on the life and customs of the aborigines here. Careful investigation and valuable research have been done for ten months.

In 1824, Captain Jupas of the Shell, moored in this area for half a month, and has always been friendly with the local aborigines.

In 1827, the British "Mercury" whaling ship came here, but unexpectedly encountered robbery, and had to fight hard.This year, Captain Dillon came here twice and was warmly received by the local aborigines.

In March, 1827, the captain of the "Artes Lorab", Jumont Juville, went unarmed to visit the villages of the natives; there he stayed with the natives for several nights and learned a lot. Aboriginal songs.In the local area, he successfully completed the survey and survey work, and provided many valuable materials and topographical information to the naval database.

In the second year, that is, in 1828, the British brig "Howth" led by James had bad luck when he went to New Zealand.When sailing eastward after arriving in the Bay of Islands, I met a chief named Enalaro.The chief was cunning and treacherous, and caused great damage to the captain's property, and several sailors were killed there.

From these we can see that the behavior of the aborigines in New Zealand is good and bad; in fact, their closeness to outsiders is based on the attitude of the other party.The cruel and barbaric actions taken by these natives were all vengeful.

After that, the British explorer Il came to the two big islands of New Zealand; he personally surveyed the areas that the previous explorers had not stepped into. Although he was not abused by the aborigines, he witnessed the horror of the local aborigines cannibalism Phenomenon.

In 1831, Laplace also saw the cannibalism of the aborigines in the Bay of Islands.

Since then, the aborigines in New Zealand have mastered the use of firearms, the fighting power of the tribe has increased, the fighting has become more and more intense, and incidents of bloody fights have occurred in an endless stream.Therefore, the area around Yikanamawe Island, which was once very prosperous, has now become a deserted area, and some primitive tribes were even destroyed in the war.

On the whole, the aborigines of New Zealand are bolder than the aborigines of Australia.When they encountered an enemy attack, they bravely resisted and fought back.These aborigines have always hated foreign invaders, and for this reason, these aborigines have been fighting tirelessly with the British settlers.

In this way, Paganel silently recalled the past history of New Zealand, and the more he thought about it, the more anxious he became.He thought over and over again, racking his brains, but still couldn't think of New Zealand as a "continent"; he couldn't get a good explanation for the English word "cotin" on the rescue letter.

Maori who love to eat human flesh
On January 1, the fourth day of sailing, the "McGalley" had traveled less than two-thirds of its journey.Captain Will Halle didn't pay attention to this, let alone stepped out of the cabin to urge the sailors to work.What was he, the captain, spending his time on?He drank all day long, either schnapps or brandy, and got very drunk.The sailors on the ship were all the same as him, everyone's mouth was full of alcohol.Affected by this, the "McGalli" also drifted on the sea like a drunken drunk.

John Mengel was very angry when he saw this scene.It's like sailing a boat, but he can't direct it himself.On several occasions, the boat swayed suddenly and nearly capsized in the sea; but Muradi and Wilson reacted quickly and grabbed the tiller to hold the boat firmly.That damned Will Halle popped up and yelled at the two helpful people.Muradi and Wilson were not easy to bully, so they scolded him and said that for the safety of the ship, the drunkard should be tied up and thrown into the bottom cabin.John Mengel immediately reconciled on one side, and finally calmed down the turmoil.

However, John Mengel was always worried about this ship, and his heart was always hanging, fearing that if something happened to the ship, everything would be bad!He told the major and Paganel about his worries, but he didn't tell Sir Glenarvan all of it, because he didn't want him to worry about it.

"John! I think you might as well command this ship yourself!" The major suggested, "It looks like that guy is a drunkard, drunk, and there may be some danger! If you really don't want to know If you resist him, take on the heavy responsibility of 'captain' secretly!"

"Major McNabbs, you are right," Menger said, "I believe that with my ability and the help of good assistants like Muradi and Wilson, there will be no trouble sailing in the sea." What's the problem. But I'm worried that it's near the coast, and I'm not familiar with the underwater situation there, so it's hard to grasp. Damn it, the drunk is unconscious. If you can help me out, then..."

"Are you unfamiliar with the harbors around New Zealand?" Paganel asked hastily.

"It's very strange! This captain doesn't even have a map for sailing, it's really outrageous!" Meng Ge said.

"really?"

"That's true! This ship is sailing in the waters between Aiden and Oakland. The drunkard captain must be familiar with this area, so naturally he doesn't care about the charts and routes!"

"No, that drunk man is confused and confused. He must think that the ship can identify its own route and can tell the direction without a human command!" Paganel sneered.

"Don't talk too much! No matter what! For everyone's safety, when the ship is about to land, we must wake up that guy!" Meng Ge said.

"I hope this guy will wake up automatically when the ship is about to reach land!" Paganel said while praying.

"It doesn't matter! John, you should be more careful, and you will definitely be able to sail the ship to Oakland." Major McNabbs encouraged Captain Mengle.

"But it's really difficult without a chart here! You know, the terrain around Auckland is very complicated, with cliffs and cliffs twisting irregularly; there are many rocks on the bottom of the sea. Something happens to a strong ship!"

"In case the ship is destroyed, everyone can only splash in the water and swim to the shore! Other than that, there is really no other way!" said the major.

"Major McNabbs! In fact, as long as you escape in time, everything will be in time, and there is hope that you can swim on the shore and be rescued!"

(End of this chapter)