Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 10 The Strait of Magellan

The Duncan finally finished loading coal, weighed anchor and whistled, and left the sea where the wind and rain continued.

It followed the coast of Brazil, heading south; on September 9, a strong northwest wind sent the Duncan over the equator, and since then it has entered the southern hemisphere.

The transatlantic voyage went smoothly, and the rescue of Captain Grant seemed increasingly likely to succeed.The captain is the most confident one.His confidence comes from his desire - to make Miss Mary happy.

Menger is very concerned about Mary, but he tries hard to hide this concern.Everyone can see clearly, but only two parties are in the mystery.

After entering the southern hemisphere, Paganel was the most fulfilling and happiest person on board. In addition to studying maps, he studied Spanish.

No one on the Duncan understood the language, and Paganel had to teach himself entirely.He expects to be fluent in the language once he arrives in Conception. On September 9, the Duncan arrived at latitude 10°5' south and longitude 73°31' west.On this day, Paganel told everyone about the history of the discovery of America.When talking about Columbus, he said that the Genoese in Italy did not know that he had discovered a new continent until his death. He thought he had reached Japan and China.In fact, he went to sea four times, reaching Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and other places in Central America.

"My dear Paganel, I would like to take your word for it. Then there is one point that I still don't understand: who proved Columbus' discovery?"

Glenarvan asked. "That's some people after Columbus, first of all Oreda, Pinton, Vespucci, Mendoza, Bastilas, Gabriel, Saolis, Barber who went out with Columbus Do you know? The place where Pinton sailed across the equator line is exactly where we just passed; the Portuguese Gabriel went to the port of Sejuro; in 1502, Vespucci took another step forward for the road of exploration; In 1508 Pinton and Saulis arrived in South America; in 1514 Saulis discovered the mouth of the La Palata, but there he was eaten by the natives."

"In this way, the mission to finally reach the southern tip of the Americas fell on Magellan. Sailing south to 52° south latitude, he found the 1100 Maiden Gorge (that is, the Strait of Magellan). On November 1520, 11, he reached the Pacific Ocean." "I really do. I want to live in that era," Little Robert said with infinite fascination.

"If God allowed me to be born 300 years earlier, I would not let that chance go."

"The explorers of the two coasts were the Pisar brothers of Spain, and they were also the founders of Concepcion, which we are about to reach. The discoveries of these two brothers were connected with those of Magellan, and the complete coastline of America appeared on the map. .”

"If it were me, I would definitely not stop here. I will definitely explore what is south of the Strait of Magellan." Little Robert said.

"Very well, my little friend!" Paganel praised. "It is not us who complete this task, but the Dutch adventurers Suzen and Lemaire."

"At that time, this was the only road from the West to the East. Control of the Strait of Magellan meant a monopoly on the trade between the East and the West. So in order to break this monopoly, the merchants Lemaire and Su Zeng set off in Fireplace in 1615 Lemmel Strait was discovered between Staten Island and rounded Cape Horn on February 1616, 2!"

"We are latecomers in geography, and there is no room for us!" It is a pity and a pity that the work of discovering the New World has been discovered and explored by predecessors!
"We have nothing worse to do now, my dear Paganel," said Glenarvan.

On September 9, the Duncan entered the Strait of Magellan.The Strait of Magellan has countless advantages, such as deep and flat water, abundant fresh water resources, many fish, and even more diverse animals in the forest on the shore.

The geographer Jacques Paganel stared greedily at the shore scenery, carefully observing anything that intruded into his field of vision. "There are no Patagonians in Patagonia, so why is it called Patagonia?" he said disappointedly.Because no matter how wide his eyeballs were, he still couldn't spot the Patagonians.

"Don't worry, dear geographer, sooner or later you will meet the Patagonians." Sir Glenarvan comforted again.

"I'm extremely skeptical because they haven't been found until now," Paganel said, as if deliberately provoking controversy.

"Absurd! What do you think, Major?" said Glenarvan. "I don't know, and I'm not interested." At this time, Glenarvan was trying to smooth things over, "My friends, let's end this debate with one sentence: The Strait of Magellan is beautiful, and whether the Batanians are beautiful !"

At this time, the Duncan was sailing near the Brunswick Peninsula. The shore was picturesque, with jagged rocks and dense forests; the Chilean flag and church spire occasionally flashed on the top of the forest, and then disappeared again; The 6500-foot-high Tabun Peak is covered with snow all year round.

On the shore appeared the ruins of a huge building, a remnant of a colony, whose name contrasted sharply with the richness of forests and fields on the shore: Port Famine appeared before our eyes.

At sunrise, the Duncan sailed through the canyon.

The American continent has reached the southernmost point when it reaches Cape Frojord. After passing the southernmost point of the continent, the Strait of Magellan is much narrower.On one side is the Brunswick Peninsula, and on the other side is the island of De Solayaven. Thousands of small islands cover the sea.The Duncan weaved confidently between these islands, and 36 hours after entering the strait, what appeared in front of her was a vast ocean!
The Duncan sailed into Talcahuano, a natural harbor 12 nautical miles long and 9 nautical miles wide. At this time, it had been 42 days since it left the foggy Firth of Clyde.

As soon as the ship stopped, Sir Glenarvan and Paganel went ashore in a small boat, and went straight to customs.

No one in the local area could understand the Spanish that the geographer studied so hard, so the people at the customs made gestures and said a few English words every now and then. Finally, they realized that they meant the British Consulate. In Concepcion, a large city founded by the adventurer Vladivia, it can be reached by horseback in an hour.

The city was once very prosperous, but now it is in depression.There was no commerce, no trade; the occasional passer-by walked on the street, and their steps seemed lazy.Numerous looting experiences and the fire in 1819 left it devastated.

Now taking its place is the port of Talcahuano.Although he saw the decline of the city, Glenarvan had no time to study it, and came to the residence of the British consul Pontock without delay.

He was very polite to Sir, and promised to look for Captain Grant along the coast; but he had never heard of the sinking of the Britannia near the 37° line; he spent money and effort, traveled all over the coast, and searched for a large number of local residents, but found nothing —The Britannia left no clues here.

But this did not dampen Glenarvan's self-confidence.When he was at a loss, Paganel took out the letter again, lowered his head and studied it repeatedly, trying to find some secrets in the broken sentences.

"Did we get the location wrong? Patagonia, obviously!"

Paganel remained silent. "Your other judgments are correct, but this last one, I don't agree with it."

Paganel finally spoke.At this time, all the people present turned their attention to the geographer.

"I mean: Captain Grant was a captive of the Indians when he wrote this letter. There is no doubt about it. That blank space in the document should not be understood as 'to be captured' but as 'Captured'."

"That's impossible," said Glenarvan. "Because the drift bottle can only be thrown into the sea when the ship is about to sink!"

"Nothing is inevitable. Why couldn't they find a way to send such a distress letter after they were taken captive to the interior?" Paganel refuted Glenarvan's point of view. "Because to throw a bottle into the sea, there must be an ocean!"

"There is no sea, can't you just throw it into the river?" Yes, this idea is completely reasonable.Suddenly, everyone's eyes lit up with hope. "So, you think it should be..." Glenarvan asked.

"I think we should first determine where the 37° south latitude line cuts off the American continent, and then follow this 37° line inland until we find the Atlantic Ocean. In this way, they may be found. No matter how much hope, this is a It's something we should be serious about. If my theory is correct, and they are indeed throwing bottles into the river from the outback, then we're bound to find some clues."

As he spoke, Paganel had spread out provincial maps of Argentina and Chile. "There are many big rivers here! The Negro River, the Colorado River, and the many tributaries of these two big rivers are all crossed by the 37° line. Any river may be a place to put the drift bottle. Captain Grant and his friends They may be near these rivers, in the tribes of the natives, in the valleys of the Indians. They are waiting for us."

"Now, according to our judgment, Captain Grant is either in a large tribe or a small village. If he is in a small village, he can go directly to the rescue; if he is in a large tribe, we will scout the situation and go to the east coast to board the ship. Go to Buenos Aires to recruit troops, and the major will lead them back to deal with the Indians."

M. Paganel's view is correct, and we shall now proceed along this line.

"Mr. Paganel, do you think those crew members will be safe and sound after falling into the hands of the Indians for so long?" Madam Helen asked worriedly.

"Madame, don't worry about that. Indians are not man-eating animals, they are also men; besides, Europeans are as useful to them as useful cattle, and they will not be killed casually. Let us go at once!" "

"Let's take a look at the map and decide!" McNabbs said.

"We set out from the 37° line of the Chilean coast and entered the American continent. After passing the Arogania, we turned over the rolling slopes on the volcanic side of the Ambang Valley, waded the Neucon River and the Colorado River, and then we entered the grassland. .”

"Then we crossed the Salt Lake, the Guamini River, the Canbalcon Mountains, and the Tandil Mountains until we reached Cape Madanas on the Atlantic Ocean."

"If you follow this straight line, it can be completed in 30 days; if there is a headwind, maybe the Duncan will not reach the shore of the Atlantic Ocean after us!"

"Then who will be included in this expedition?" asked Glenarvan. "The fewer people the better, we're not going to fight. We're just going to find out about Captain Grant."

"Sir is the leader, and the major must be among them, loyal friends Jacques Paganel, Robert Jr., and three sailors." "Why, can't I?" Menger was a little disappointed ask. "Mr. Captain, our female passengers are all on board, you have to stay to protect their safety! Those are our most beloved people, your captain has a great responsibility!"

"Can't we go with you?" Lady Helen looked at Sir Glenarvan seriously and asked.

"Honey, we will be separated for at most one month this time, just a small farewell..." Glenarvan replied.

"Well then, you guys go! I wish you success along the way!" Madam Helen said.

"Hey, that's not even a trip, we'll be there soon!" Paganel said.

"What is that if not travel?" asked Lady Helene. "Walking and looking at all the scenery, passing by, neither inspecting nor visiting ancient times, just like a person's life in the world..." Intense preparations began immediately.The job of picking sailors has run into some trouble.The three sailors selected by the final draw are all strong and strong men, namely the first mate Tom Austin, sailor Wilson and Murady.

Everyone agreed that their actions should be kept strictly secret, so as not to let the Indians know and cause unnecessary trouble.

Glenarvan was actively preparing for the punctual departure on October 10; Menger took the time to add coal to the ship, because he was trying to reach the coast of Argentina before the expedition.In this way, it appears that there seems to be a competition between Glenarvan and the captain.

On October 10th, the sails on the Duncan were pulled up, the engines started, and the propellers beat the clear water, and everyone gathered in the square hall.

"It's time!" Glenarvan announced. "Go, friend!"

Madam Helen tried her best to hold the parting breath and speak calmly.

Glenarvan stepped forward and hugged his gentle and lovely wife tightly; Little Robert also ran over and gently hugged his sister's neck!
"Friends, let's hold hands again, see you on the Atlantic coast!" Paganel shouted.

Everyone sent them to the deck, and seven travelers went ashore one by one.I saw them walking slowly along the bank. From the back, everyone was carrying a long gun and a short gun.

The Duncan followed them, also moving slowly forward. "Friends, may God bless you to arrive safely and everything goes well on the road!" Mrs. Helen shouted loudly standing on the deck. "Relax, Madame, God bless!" Paganel replied from a distance.

"Start the boat!" The captain gave an order. "Let's go!" Glenarvan also shouted.The caravan rode inland, while the Duncan set sail and oars and headed out to sea.

(End of this chapter)