Reading 20 000 leagues under the sea - Chapter 1

Transcript

This is Anna from annawinters.com. I hope you enjoy Ensam. Hey Ensam, so I've been thinking about reading with you for a while and I was looking for a book that I can actually read that's in the public domain because of copyrights and then I realized that I have this book.

I've been having this book in my e-reader for a while and I can actually use it because it's such an old classic that it's part of the public domain and so I thought that we could read 20,000 links under the sea together. I've never read it before and yeah so I thought it would be fun to do it together. yeah so here we go so 20,000 leagues under the sea part one chapter one a shifting reef the year 1866 was signalized by a remarkable incident a mysterious and puzzling phenomenon which doubtless no one has yet forgotten not to mention rumors which agitated the maritime population and excited the public mind even in the interior of continents.

seafaring men wait I have to look it up. I'm not sure how to pronounce that word though and on an e-reader if you don't know you can select a word and it tells you the pronunciation but it's you know the funny letters that they use in a dictionary so it's I think it's seafaring but I'll look it up online okay hold on because that word is gonna come back many times I guess seafaring something like that okay so not to mention rumors which agitated the maritime population and excited the public mind even in the interior of continents seafaring men were particularly excited merchants common sailors captains of vessels skippers both of Europe and America naval officers of all countries and the governments of several states on two continents were deeply interested in the matter I'm sorry like I was completely blocking the view with my e-reader. I'm sorry.

for some time past vessels had been met by an enormous thing a long object spindle shaped occasionally phosphorescent and infinitely larger than more rapid in its movements than a whale. the fact relating to this apparition entered in various logbooks agreed in most respects as to the shape of the object of creature in question the untiring rapidity of its movements its surprising power of locomotion and the peculiar life with which it seemed endowed. if it was a whale it surpassed in size all those hit or toe classified in science.

what the hell is that? hit or toe? taking into consideration the mean of observations made at diverse times rejecting the timid estimate of those who assigned it to this object a length of 200 feet equally with the exaggerated opinions which set it down as a mile in width and three in length we might fairly conclude that this mysterious being surpassed greatly all dimensions admitted by the learned ones of the day if it existed at all and that it did exist was a non-deniable fact and with the tendency which disposes the human mind in favor of the marvelous we can understand the excitement produced in the entire world by this supernatural apparition.

as to classing it in the list of fables the idea was out of the question. on the 20th of July 1866 the steamer governor Egesen of the Calcutta and Burn Arch steam navigation company had met this moving mass five miles off the east coast of Australia. Captain Baker thought at first that it was in the presence of an unknown sandbank.

he even prepared to determine its exact position when two columns of water projected by the mysterious object shot with a hissing noise a hundred and fifty feet up into the air. now unless the sandbank had been submitted to the intermittent eruption of a. ..

yeah I think it's gonna happen a geyser? wow okay yeah that's gonna happen a lot. I'm gonna have to look up some words cuz I mean yeah and it's an old classic so and there's some words that I never use in my life.

like I never say geyser obviously. yeah so now unless the sandbank had been submitted to the intermittent eruption of a geyser the governor Egesen had to do neither more nor less than with an aquatic mammal unknown till then which threw up from its blowholes columns of water mixed with air and vapor. similar facts were observed on the 23rd of July in the same year in the Pacific Ocean by the Columbus of the West India and Pacific steam navigation company.

but this extraordinary creature could transport itself from one place to another with surprising velocity as in an interval of three days the governor Egesen in the Columbus had observed it at two different points of the chart separated by a distance of more than 700 nautical leagues. 15 days later 2,000 miles farther off the elevation of the company national in the Shannon of the Royal Mail steamship company sailing to Windward in that portion of the Atlantic lying between the United States and Europe respectively signaled the monster to each other in 42 degree 15 north latitude and 60 degree 25 west longitude. in these simultaneous observations they thought themselves justified in estimating the minimum length of the mammal at more than 350 feet as the Shannon and elevation were of smaller dimensions than that though they measured 300 feet overall.

now the largest ways those which frequent those parts of the sea around the Aleutian Kulamak and Unglulich islands sounds like German I've never exceeded the length of 60 yards if they attained that. in every place of great resort the monster was the fashion. they sang of it in the cafes ridiculed it in the papers and represented it on the stage.

all kinds of stories were circulated regarding it. there appeared in the papers caricatures of every gigantic and imaginary creature from the white whale the terrible Moby Dick of subarctic regions to the immense Kraken whose tentacles could entangle a ship of 500 tons and hurl it into the abyss of the ocean. the legend of ancient times were even revived.

then burst forth the unending argument between the believers and the unbelievers in the societies of the wise and the scientific journals questioned of the monster and fallen down mines. editors of scientific journals quarreling with believers and the supernatural spilled seas of ink during this memorable campaign some even drawing blood. for from the sea serpent they came to direct personalities.

during the first months of the year 1867 the question seemed to be buried never to revive when new facts were brought before the public. it was then no longer a scientific problem to be solved but a real danger seriously to be avoided. the question took quite another shape.

the monster became a small island a rock a reef but a reef of indefinite and shifting proportions. on the 5th of March 1867 the Moravian of the Montreal Ocean Company finding herself during the night in 27 degrees 30 latitude and 72 degrees 15 longitude struck on her starboard quarter of a rock marked and no charge for that part of the sea. under the combined efforts of the wind and its 400 horsepower it was going at the rate of 13 knots.

had it not been for the superior strength of the hull of the Moravian she would have been broken by the shock and gone down with the 237 passengers she was bringing home from Canada. the accident happened about five o'clock in the morning as the day was breaking. the officers of the quarter deck hurried to the after part of the vessel.

they examined the sea with the most careful attention. they saw nothing but a strong eddy about three cables length distant as if the surface had been violently agitated. the bearings of the place were taken exactly and the Moravian continues its route without apparent damage.

had it struck on a submerged rock or an enormous wreck. they could not tell but on examination of the ship's bottom when undergoing repairs it was found that part of the keel was broken. this fact so grave in itself might perhaps have been forgotten like many others if three weeks later it had not been reenacted under similar circumstances.

but thanks to the nationality of the victim of the shock thanks to the reputation of the company to which the vessel belonged the circumstance became extensively circulated. the 13th of April 1867 the sea being beautiful the breeze favorable the Scotia of the Colonel company's line found herself in 15 degrees 12 long jetted and 45 degrees 37 latitude. she was going at the speed of 13 knots and a half.

at 17 minutes past 4 in the afternoon whilst the passengers were assembled at lunch at lunch in the great saloon a slight shock was felt on the hull of the Scotia on the quarter a little aft of the port paddle. the Scotia had not struck but she had been struck and seemingly by something rather sharp and penetrating than blunt. the shock had been so slight that no one had been alarmed.

it had not been for the shouts of the carpenter of the carpenters watch who rushed on to the bridge exclaiming we are sinking we are sinking. at first the passengers were much frightened but captain Anderson asked him to reassure them. the danger could not be imminent.

the Scotia divided into seven compartments by strong partitions could breathe with impunity in the leak. famous last words huh? captain Anderson went down immediately into the hold.

he found that the sea was pouring into the fifth compartment and the rapidity of the influx proved that the force of the waters was considerable. unfortunately this compartment did not hold the boilers or the fires would have been immediately extinguished. captain Anderson ordered the engines to be stopped at once and one of the men went down to assert the extent of the injury.

some minutes afterwards they discovered the existence of a large hole two yards in diameter in the ship's bottom. such a leak could not be stopped and the Scotia paddles out half submerged was obliged to continue her course. she was then 300 miles from Cape Pleasant.