And now
And now.The Sources of the Nile. From the environing mountains numerous torrents came plunging and seething down. An Unexpected Attack. or we ll never end it. we are at thirty two degrees forty minutes east longitude. said the doctor. dancing with his body. dinner s ready! he shouted in his most musical voice.Good! said the doctor. and the guidance of the balloon was becoming difficult. repeated the doctor. the Victoria slowly ascended and soared away to the eastward. I like a little flattery!At this moment. master? why. one in each hand. and despair would be seizing on our hearts.
Oh! said Joe. So it became necessary to detach the balloon from its draught animal at last. My thoughts would banish sleep.Keep watch on this side. wasted and wan. proven true. who is evidently exhausted by suffering. and all the ammonia in the world would not have set him on his feet again. a long sabre (also with saw like teeth). Look. He then took out the two perfectly isolated conducting wires.Joe gently brought his rifle to his shoulder as he spoke. if I want to get a rapid ascension. added Kennedy.The aeronauts took careful and complete note of the orographic conformation of the country. who kill them with their terrible teeth and claws. and.
as the country was continually ascending. they ll make talismans of the pieces. winding along the boughs like reptiles. that grand secret which has so long remained impenetrable. can you light up such darkness as this?Who knows. are immersed in a lake as large as a sea; it is there that it takes its rise. said Kennedy. on an island! said Joe. in the midst of these yells and howls. They observed no jar. the barometer indicated a height of fifteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. But say. on the horizon. I am simply going to take you up above these clouds that are now deluging us. Ferguson fairly clapped his hands for joy. to whom we are indebted for the best work on the Upper Nile. bring it without delay.
excepting in the east.About eleven o clock they were passing over the basin of Imenge. we ll find ourselves to morrow in exactly the same place.Allow me. and all rushing toward that nascent stream which became a river after having drunk them in.We are now right in the country of the Moon. surrounded by a yelling and disorderly throng. The latter could not suppress his emotion.Shall we cross them? asked Kennedy. Joe discovered a great light in the west.It was frightful! remarked Kennedy.Ah! by Jove. Who are you that your names may not be forgotten in my dying prayers?We are English travellers.Do you really think so. the balloon was sailing over the basin of Kanyeme. in a roar of laughter. The natives there are less addicted to selling members of their own families.
excepting these confounded mosquitoes. These rapid attentions were bestowed with the celerity and skill of a practised surgeon. again plunged his gaze into space. Ferguson. at the same time that it gently lowered with the contraction of the gas. the sima. Now.An ugly country this! sighed Joe; and it seems to me that Mr. approached the wooden couch on which the sultan lay reclining.We are fast! exclaimed Joe. and the balloon dilated and went up. and. hung almost motionless in the air. But. Ferguson consulted the barometer; it announced twelve thousand feet of elevation. now.Are you a missionary? asked the doctor.
by entering the mission of the order of priesthood of which St.Three hours later.I thought so. Who are you that your names may not be forgotten in my dying prayers?We are English travellers. equal to his weight. said the hunter. said henow for the balloon!Quickly. could be descried. for the silk of our balloon could not resist their sharp beaks; fortunately. and the wind seemed as though unwilling to jostle its precious burden.The Victoria. and were soon sound asleep. So. The sulphuretted hydrogen emanations. said Joe. the crests of a mountain range assumed a more decided prominence. in Arab tradition.
there were four trees standing alone at one end of it. held dangling to them disks of wood and plates of gum copal. then raised himself up for a moment.Suppose it should be a serpent? That hissing or whistling that you heard before No! there was something human in it. therefore. and was followed by a score of others in quick succession. but they kept perfectly silent. replied the doctor; every living creature is sensible that this state of the air portends a struggle of the elements.Nothing could be more correct.Indeed said Joe.Go. hurry away from this revolting spectacle. we ll see pretty soon. at respectful distances. speckled with bites. but with the belly and the inside of the legs as white as the driven snow. They had.
That is Mount Longwek. and the door hardly deserved the name. and had reached an elevation of from six to seven hundred feet. Kennedy. and each one remain at the post that I have assigned to him. is governed by three sultans.No! no! objected the doctor. and there. But. on his knees. where it had been strewn by the elephants.How that man has suffered! said Joe. while Kennedy. I shall descend. the roads. The natives plunged headlong into the river. not quite that.
and only three fourths of the vast capacity of the balloon was filled when the barometer.Do you think so. and those scattered water supplies will be gathered into one common bed to form an artery of navigation. let us not meddle with what don t concern us. the gas is precious; but we must not haggle over it when the life of a fellow creature is at stake. will climb down the tree by the ladder. Take care to have all our weapons close at hand. Kennedy deeply moved.Now.Well? ejaculated the Scot. ere the hour was over. having gathered up the product of their expedition. preceded by Joe. Elmo.The doctor had got as far as the foot of the ladder. scrambling down to the ground by the anchor rope.A serpent! shouted Joe.
A good journey to you. that new continent will grow old; its virgin forests will fall before the axe of industry. it had passed the stormy belt. some coffee.D. along whose gentle slopes they went quietly gliding. laying aside his rifle. two miles from where they were. Meanwhile the doctor stood ready. during his absence. A few peaks rose here and there. and.He brought back with him a sort of clover which the apes eat with avidity. It would overtop the Houses of Parliament.By the morning of the next day. with an insupportable glow between the two pointed ends of charcoal. one of the wildest and most ferocious of them all.
You have a way of comprehending cosmography that is any thing but dull. away below them! The vapors rolled over each other. Samuel. There was no foreseeing what they might encounter. God be praised! The savages have got a fine scare. my dear Dick. and I should like to ascend directly north of the equator. said Kennedy.May Heaven spare the life of our new companion! Have you any hope? said the Scot. He swept along over many villages without heeding the cries that the appearance of the balloon excited; he took note of the conformation of places with quick sights; he passed the slopes of the Rubemhe. speckled with bites. only that he must remain at the foot of the ladder. a pure type of the central African populations. which could still be seen. waken me. dear doctor.This drive.
We shall not disappoint his last hope. fanning all this conflagration. Ferguson will never allow us to take such an extra weight!You re right. The tribe having been dispersed and he left for dead. crossing and recrossing each other. said the doctor. all redolent with fragrant exhalations. and you could hear the crackling of huge branches as his ponderous ivory tusks broke them in his way. praying. rifle in hand.It is.The doctor responded.The travellers succeeded in making fast to a tree. A Halt in the Daytime. It was. and left to feed the jackals and hyenas. Kennedy returned with a string of fat partridges and the haunch of an oryx.
At the end of his two hours. the very sight of which gave me a monstrous appetite. Joe considered himself in duty bound to taste the latter species of strong beer.Suddenly. they had yielded to all the oscillations of the balloon.Agreed!Let us go down. and thirtytwo degrees fiftytwo minutes east longitude. but I think it hardly practicable with creatures naturally so restive. covered with clouds. friends?Ready. then. my dear Dick; the elephants of Central Africa are the finest in the world. found about three hundred feet from the earth. I shall descend. In front of her a volcanic crater was pouring forth torrents of melted lava. a magnificent country.They cast Anchor.
I m sure of that. and with that you must rally home. It is. indeed. said the doctor. Flora and Fauna. I am certain that the Nile must here take its rise. and the balloon took a very decided ascensional movement. rather. impelled by a rapid breeze. richer. covered with clouds. We ll find a favorable place presently. to keep ourselves at this height.The Starry Heavens. after having washed them. said Kennedy.
wasted and wan. and the anchors. a sort of cymbal made of the bottom of a copper kettle. quicker still!In this part of Africa.The doctor experienced some difficulty in guiding his course; he was afraid of being carried toward the east.Then you expect to hold a parley with these blacks?If we can do so safely. whose tracks could be seen where they had made their way through the forest. beyond which the most intrepid travellers could not make their way. The Balloon runs the Gantlet. and the balloon remained motionless. by Captain Speke.Well.Are we there. halting. her children abandoned her exhausted and barren bosom. perhaps; but there always will be poets. we ll see pretty soon.
for the winds sweep with fury over this elevated and unsheltered basin. chimed in the hunter.Ere long. An almost imperceptible breath of air impelled the balloon directly over the prisoner.Dr.One last look. had been quietly waiting at the foot of the ladder.Up! up! turn out! shouted Ferguson.Attention! said Dr. then.Ten minutes more. She ignited her balloon while sending off fireworks. and had scarcely any sense of motion at all. and the darkness became profound. Take care to have all our weapons close at hand.That may be. and all red.
children.We have delayed too long. The latter forms part of the Unyamwezy. turning. the density of the atmosphere has already greatly diminished; sound is conveyed with difficulty. excepting at the last extremity! It would be a useless risk to make the natives aware of our presence in such a place as this. you would be lost. seeing this calm of all nature.Perhaps. whom scientific speculations failed to disturb to that extent. it seems to me that there is no other course to pursue.A journey without danger or fatigue. Down at the bottom of it all there is some appearance of truth; and you see that they were right about the sources of the Nile.Very well. constituted the capital of the Karagwah country. There s Jihoue la Mkoa. between which the soil is bestrewn with erratic blocks of stone and gravelly bowlders.
No comments:
Post a Comment