I will not bore those whom
this narrative may reach by an
account of our luxurious voyage
upon the Booth liner, nor will
I tell of
our week's stay at Para (save that I should wish to acknowledge
the great kindness of the Pereira da Pinta Company in helping us
to get together our equipment). I will also allude very briefly
to our river journey, up a wide, slow-moving, clay-tinted stream,
in a steamer which was little smaller than that which had carried
us across the Atlantic. Eventually we found ourselves through
the narrows of Obidos and reached the town of Manaos. Here we
were rescued from the limited attractions of the local inn by
Mr. Shortman, the representative of the British and Brazilian
Trading Company. In his hospital Fazenda we spent our time until
the day when we were empowered to open the letter of instructions
given to us by Professor Challenger. Before I reach the surprising
events of that date I would desire to give a clearer sketch of my
comrades in this enterprise, and of the associates whom we had
already gathered together in South America. I speak freely, and
I leave the use of my material to your own discretion, Mr.
McArdle, since it is through your hands that this report must
pass before it reaches the world.
The scientific attainments
of Professor Summerlee are too
well known for me to trouble
to recapitulate them. He is better
equipped for a rough expedition
of this sort than one would imagine
at first sight. His tall, gaunt,
stringy figure is insensible
to fatigue, and his dry, half-sarcastic,
and often wholly unsympathetic
manner is uninfluenced by any
change in his surroundings. Though
in his sixty-sixth year, I have
never heard him express any dissatisfaction
at the occasional hardships which
we have had to encounter. I had
regarded his presence as an encumbrance
to the expedition, but, as a
matter of fact, I am now well
convinced that his power of endurance
is as great as my own. In temper
he is naturally acid and sceptical.
From the beginning he has never
concealed his belief that Professor
Challenger is an absolute fraud,
that we are all embarked upon
an absurd wild-goose chase and
that we are likely to reap nothing
but disappointment and danger
in South America, and corresponding
ridicule in England. Such are
the views which, with much passionate
distortion of his thin features
and wagging of his thin, goat-like
beard, he poured into our ears
all the way from Southampton
to Manaos. Since landing from
the boat he has obtained some
consolation from the beauty and
variety of the insect and bird
life around him, for he is absolutely
whole-hearted in his devotion
to science. He spends his days
flitting through the woods with
his shot-gun and his butterfly-net,
and his evenings in mounting
the many specimens he has acquired.
Among his minor peculiarities
are that he is careless as to
his attire, unclean in his person,
exceedingly absent-minded in
his habits, and addicted to smoking
a short briar pipe, which is
seldom out of his mouth. He has
been upon several scientific
expeditions in his youth (he
was with Robertson in Papua),
and the life of the camp and
the canoe is nothing fresh to
him.
Lord John Roxton has some points
in common with Professor Summerlee,
and others in which they are
the very antithesis to each other.
He is twenty years younger, but
has something of the same spare,
scraggy physique. As to his appearance,
I have, as I recollect, described
it in that portion of my narrative
which I have left behind me in
London. He is exceedingly neat
and prim in his ways, dresses
always with great care in white
drill suits and high brown mosquito-boots,
and shaves at least once a day.
Like most men of action, he is
laconic in speech, and sinks
readily into his own thoughts,
but he is always quick to answer
a question or join in a conversation,
talking in a queer, jerky, half-humorous
fashion. His knowledge of the
world, and very especially of
South America, is surprising,
and he has a whole-hearted belief
in the possibilities of our journey
which is not to be dashed by
the sneers of Professor Summerlee.
He has a gentle voice and a quiet
manner, but behind his twinkling
blue eyes there lurks a capacity
for furious wrath and implacable
resolution, the more dangerous
because they are held in leash.
He spoke little of his own exploits
in Brazil and Peru, but it was
a revelation to me to find the
excitement which was caused by
his presence among the riverine
natives, who looked upon him
as their champion and protector.
The exploits of the Red Chief,
as they called him, had become
legends among them, but the real
facts, as far as I could learn
them, were amazing enough.
These were that Lord John had
found himself some years before
in that no-man's-land which is
formed by the half-defined frontiers
between Peru, Brazil, and Columbia.
In this great district the wild
rubber tree flourishes, and has
become, as in the Congo, a curse
to the natives which can only
be compared to their forced labor
under the Spaniards upon the
old silver mines of Darien. A
handful of villainous half-breeds
dominated the country, armed
such Indians as would support
them, and turned the rest into
slaves, terrorizing them with
the most inhuman tortures in
order to force them to gather
the india-rubber, which was then
floated down the river to Para.
Lord John Roxton expostulated
on behalf of the wretched victims,
and received nothing but threats
and insults for his pains. He
then formally declared war against
Pedro Lopez, the leader of the
slave-drivers, enrolled a band
of runaway slaves in his service,
armed them, and conducted a campaign,
which ended by his killing with
his own hands the notorious half-breed
and breaking down the system
which he represented.
No wonder that the ginger-headed
man with the silky voice and
the free and easy manners was
now looked upon with deep interest
upon the banks of the great South
American river, though the feelings
he inspired were naturally mixed,
since the gratitude of the natives
was equaled by the resentment
of those who desired to exploit
them. One useful result of his
former experiences was that he
could talk fluently in the Lingoa
Geral, which is the peculiar
talk, one-third Portuguese and
two-thirds Indian, which is current
all over Brazil.
I have said before that Lord
John Roxton was a South Americomaniac.
He could not speak of that great
country without ardor, and this
ardor was infectious, for, ignorant
as I was, he fixed my attention
and stimulated my curiosity.
How I wish I could reproduce
the glamour of his discourses,
the peculiar mixture of accurate
knowledge and of racy imagination
which gave them their fascination,
until even the Professor's cynical
and sceptical smile would gradually
vanish from his thin face as
he listened. He would tell the
history of the mighty river so
rapidly explored (for some of
the first conquerors of Peru
actually crossed the entire continent
upon its waters), and yet so
unknown in regard to all that
lay behind its ever-changing
banks.
"What is there?" he would cry,
pointing to the north. "Wood
and marsh and unpenetrated jungle.
Who knows what it may shelter?
And there to the south? A wilderness
of swampy forest, where no white
man has ever been. The unknown
is up against us on every side.
Outside the narrow lines of the
rivers what does anyone know?
Who will say what is possible
in such a country? Why should
old man Challenger not be right?" At
which direct defiance the stubborn
sneer would reappear upon Professor
Summerlee's face, and he would
sit, shaking his sardonic head
in unsympathetic silence, behind
the cloud of his briar-root pipe.
So much, for the moment, for
my two white companions, whose
characters and limitations will
be further exposed, as surely
as my own, as this narrative
proceeds. But already we have
enrolled certain retainers who
may play no small part in what
is to come. The first is a gigantic
negro named Zambo, who is a black
Hercules, as willing as any horse,
and about as intelligent. Him
we enlisted at Para, on the recommendation
of the steamship company, on
whose vessels he had learned
to speak a halting English.
It was at Para also that we
engaged Gomez and Manuel, two
half-breeds from up the river,
just come down with a cargo of
redwood. They were swarthy fellows,
bearded and fierce, as active
and wiry as panthers. Both of
them had spent their lives in
those upper waters of the Amazon
which we were about to explore,
and it was this recommendation
which had caused Lord John to
engage them. One of them, Gomez,
had the further advantage that
he could speak excellent English.
These men were willing to act
as our personal servants, to
cook, to row, or to make themselves
useful in any way at a payment
of fifteen dollars a month. Besides
these, we had engaged three Mojo
Indians from Bolivia, who are
the most skilful at fishing and
boat work of all the river tribes.
The chief of these we called
Mojo, after his tribe, and the
others are known as Jose and
Fernando. Three white men, then,
two half-breeds, one negro, and
three Indians made up the personnel
of the little expedition which
lay waiting for its instructions
at Manaos before starting upon
its singular quest.
At last, after a weary week,
the day had come and the hour.
I ask you to picture the shaded
sitting-room of the Fazenda St.
Ignatio, two miles inland from
the town of Manaos. Outside lay
the yellow, brassy glare of the
sunshine, with the shadows of
the palm trees as black and definite
as the trees themselves. The
air was calm, full of the eternal
hum of insects, a tropical chorus
of many octaves, from the deep
drone of the bee to the high,
keen pipe of the mosquito. Beyond
the veranda was a small cleared
garden, bounded with cactus hedges
and adorned with clumps of flowering
shrubs, round which the great
blue butterflies and the tiny
humming-birds fluttered and darted
in crescents of sparkling light.
Within we were seated round the
cane table, on which lay a sealed
envelope. Inscribed upon it,
in the jagged handwriting of
Professor Challenger, were the
words:--
"Instructions
to Lord John Roxton and party.
To be opened
at Manaos upon July 15th, at
12 o'clock precisely."
Lord John had placed his watch
upon the table beside him.
"We have seven more minutes," said
he. "The old dear is very precise."
Professor Summerlee gave an
acid smile as he picked up the
envelope in his gaunt hand.
"What can it possibly matter
whether we open it now or in
seven minutes?" said he. "It
is all part and parcel of the
same system of quackery and nonsense,
for which I regret to say that
the writer is notorious."
"Oh, come, we must play the
game accordin' to rules," said
Lord John. "It's old man Challenger's
show and we are here by his good
will, so it would be rotten bad
form if we didn't follow his
instructions to the letter."
"A pretty business it is!" cried
the Professor, bitterly. "It
struck me as preposterous in
London, but I'm bound to say
that it seems even more so upon
closer acquaintance. I don't
know what is inside this envelope,
but, unless it is something pretty
definite, I shall be much tempted
to take the next down- river
boat and catch the Bolivia at
Para. After all, I have some
more responsible work in the
world than to run about disproving
the assertions of a lunatic.
Now, Roxton, surely it is time."
"Time it is," said Lord John. "You
can blow the whistle." He took
up the envelope and cut it with
his penknife. From it he drew
a folded sheet of paper. This
he carefully opened out and flattened
on the table. It was a blank
sheet. He turned it over. Again
it was blank. We looked at each
other in a bewildered silence,
which was broken by a discordant
burst of derisive laughter from
Professor Summerlee.
"It is an open admission," he
cried. "What more do you want?
The fellow is a self-confessed
humbug. We have only to return
home and report him as the brazen
imposter that he is."
"Invisible ink!" I
suggested.
"I don't think!" said Lord
Roxton, holding the paper to
the light. "No, young fellah
my lad, there is no use deceiving
yourself. I'll go bail for it
that nothing has ever been written
upon this paper."
"May I come in?" boomed
a voice from the veranda.
The shadow of a squat figure
had stolen across the patch of
sunlight. That voice! That monstrous
breadth of shoulder! We sprang
to our feet with a gasp of astonishment
as Challenger, in a round, boyish
straw-hat with a colored ribbon--Challenger,
with his hands in his jacket-pockets
and his canvas shoes daintily
pointing as he walked-- appeared
in the open space before us.
He threw back his head, and there
he stood in the golden glow with
all his old Assyrian luxuriance
of beard, all his native insolence
of drooping eyelids and intolerant
eyes.
"I fear," said he, taking out
his watch, "that I am a few minutes
too late. When I gave you this
envelope I must confess that
I had never intended that you
should open it, for it had been
my fixed intention to be with
you before the hour. The unfortunate
delay can be apportioned between
a blundering pilot and an intrusive
sandbank. I fear that it has
given my colleague, Professor
Summerlee, occasion to blaspheme."
"I am bound to say, sir," said
Lord John, with some sternness
of voice, "that your turning
up is a considerable relief to
us, for our mission seemed to
have come to a premature end.
Even now I can't for the life
of me understand why you should
have worked it in so extraordinary
a manner."
Instead of answering, Professor
Challenger entered, shook hands
with myself and Lord John, bowed
with ponderous insolence to Professor
Summerlee, and sank back into
a basket-chair, which creaked
and swayed beneath his weight.
"Is all ready for your journey?" he
asked.
"We can start
to-morrow."
"Then so you
shall. You need no chart of
directions now, since
you will have the inestimable
advantage of my own guidance.
From the first I had determined
that I would myself preside over
your investigation. The most
elaborate charts would, as you
will readily admit, be a poor
substitute for my own intelligence
and advice. As to the small ruse
which I played upon you in the
matter of the envelope, it is
clear that, had I told you all
my intentions, I should have
been forced to resist unwelcome
pressure to travel out with you."
"Not from me, sir!" exclaimed
Professor Summerlee, heartily. "So
long as there was another ship
upon the Atlantic."
Challenger waved him away with
his great hairy hand.
"Your common
sense will, I am sure, sustain
my objection
and realize that it was better
that I should direct my own movements
and appear only at the exact
moment when my presence was needed.
That moment has now arrived.
You are in safe hands. You will
not now fail to reach your destination.
From henceforth I take command
of this expedition, and I must
ask you to complete your preparations
to-night, so that we may be able
to make an early start in the
morning. My time is of value,
and the same thing may be said,
no doubt, in a lesser degree
of your own. I propose, therefore,
that we push on as rapidly as
possible, until I have demonstrated
what you have come to see."
Lord John Roxton has chartered
a large steam launch, the Esmeralda,
which was to carry us up the
river. So far as climate goes,
it was immaterial what time we
chose for our expedition, as
the temperature ranges from seventy-five
to ninety degrees both summer
and winter, with no appreciable
difference in heat. In moisture,
however, it is otherwise; from
December to May is the period
of the rains, and during this
time the river slowly rises until
it attains a height of nearly
forty feet above its low-water
mark. It floods the banks, extends
in great lagoons over a monstrous
waste of country, and forms a
huge district, called locally
the Gapo, which is for the most
part too marshy for foot-travel
and too shallow for boating.
About June the waters begin to
fall, and are at their lowest
at October or November. Thus
our expedition was at the time
of the dry season, when the great
river and its tributaries were
more or less in a normal condition.
The current of the river is
a slight one, the drop being
not greater than eight inches
in a mile. No stream could be
more convenient for navigation,
since the prevailing wind is
south-east, and sailing boats
may make a continuous progress
to the Peruvian frontier, dropping
down again with the current.
In our own case the excellent
engines of the Esmeralda could
disregard the sluggish flow of
the stream, and we made as rapid
progress as if we were navigating
a stagnant lake. For three days
we steamed north-westwards up
a stream which even here, a thousand
miles from its mouth, was still
so enormous that from its center
the two banks were mere shadows
upon the distant skyline. On
the fourth day after leaving
Manaos we turned into a tributary
which at its mouth was little
smaller than the main stream.
It narrowed rapidly, however,
and after two more days' steaming
we reached an Indian village,
where the Professor insisted
that we should land, and that
the Esmeralda should be sent
back to Manaos. We should soon
come upon rapids, he explained,
which would make its further
use impossible. He added privately
that we were now approaching
the door of the unknown country,
and that the fewer whom we took
into our confidence the better
it would be. To this end also
he made each of us give our word
of honor that we would publish
or say nothing which would give
any exact clue as to the whereabouts
of our travels, while the servants
were all solemnly sworn to the
same effect. It is for this reason
that I am compelled to be vague
in my narrative, and I would
warn my readers that in any map
or diagram which I may give the
relation of places to each other
may be correct, but the points
of the compass are carefully
confused, so that in no way can
it be taken as an actual guide
to the country. Professor Challenger's
reasons for secrecy may be valid
or not, but we had no choice
but to adopt them, for he was
prepared to abandon the whole
expedition rather than modify
the conditions upon which he
would guide us.
It was August 2nd when we snapped
our last link with the outer
world by bidding farewell to
the Esmeralda. Since then four
days have passed, during which
we have engaged two large canoes
from the Indians, made of so
light a material (skins over
a bamboo framework) that we should
be able to carry them round any
obstacle. These we have loaded
with all our effects, and have
engaged two additional Indians
to help us in the navigation.
I understand that they are the
very two--Ataca and Ipetu by
name--who accompanied Professor
Challenger upon his previous
journey. They appeared to be
terrified at the prospect of
repeating it, but the chief has
patriarchal powers in these countries,
and if the bargain is good in
his eyes the clansman has little
choice in the matter.
So to-morrow we disappear into
the unknown. This account I am
transmitting down the river by
canoe, and it may be our last
word to those who are interested
in our fate. I have, according
to our arrangement, addressed
it to you, my dear Mr. McArdle,
and I leave it to your discretion
to delete, alter, or do what
you like with it. From the assurance
of Professor Challenger's manner--and
in spite of the continued scepticism
of Professor Summerlee--I have
no doubt that our leader will
make good his statement, and
that we are really on the eve
of some most remarkable experiences.
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