BARBICANE MAKES A SPEECH.
On the 22nd of December a general meeting was called of the shareholders
of the North Polar Practical Association, to take place at the rooms of
the Gun Club in Union Square. And the square itself was hardly large
enough to hold the crowd.
Usually the large hall of the club was decorated with weapons of all
sorts appropriate to the noble profession of its members. It was quite
an artillery museum. Even the furniture itself, the chairs and tables,
and couches, was of the pattern of the murderous engines which had sent
to a better world so many worthy people whose secret desire had been to
die of old age.
On this occasion the furniture had been removed. This was not a warlike
assembly; it was an industrial and pacific assembly over which Barbicane
was to preside. The hall was full to suffocation, and the crowd of those
who could not get in stretched half across Union Square.
The members of the Gun Club who had held the first shares in the company
had secured places round the platform. Amongst them, even more
triumphant than usual, were Colonel Bloomsberry, Tom Hunter with the
wooden legs, and the brisk Bilsby. A comfortable armchair had been
reserved for Mrs. Scorbitt, as was only right, considering that she was
the chief proprietor of the Polar freehold; and there were a number of
other lady shareholders belonging to all classes of the city, whose
bright bonnets, and hats, and feathers, and ribbons, were a welcome
relief to the black coats of the noisy men that crowded under the glazed
cupola of the hall.
The immense majority of shareholders were not so much supporters as
personal friends of the directors. But among the crowd were the
representatives of the rival companies who had bid against Forster at
the auction sale, and who now had taken shares in order to be qualified
to vote and make mischief at the meetings. It can be easily imagined
with what intense curiosity they awaited Barbicane’s address, which
would probably throw some light on the way in which the North Pole was
to be reached. Perhaps there was a difficulty there even greater than
working the mines? If any objections could be made we may be sure that
Baldenak, Karkof, Jansen, and Harald were quite equal to making them.
And the Major and his invaluable Todrin would lose no chance of driving
Barbicane behind his last entrenchments.
It was eight o’clock. The hall, the side rooms, and the corridors of the
Gun Club glowed with Edison lamps. Ever since the doors had been opened
to the public there had been an incessant uproar, but as soon as the
directors appeared all was silent.
At a table covered with a black cloth, on the platform, Barbicane,
Nicholl, and J. T. Maston took up their positions in the fullest glare
of the light. As they did so three cheers, punctuated by the needful
“hips,” broke forth, and were echoed in the adjacent streets. Solemnly
J. T. Maston and Captain Nicholl sat down in all the plenitude of their
celebrity. Then Barbicane, who had remained standing, put his right hand
in his trouser pocket, his left thumb in his waistcoat pocket, and began
to speak as follows:—
“Fellow-shareholders,—The directorate of the North Polar Practical
Association have called this meeting in the rooms of the Gun Club, as
they have something of importance to communicate to you.
“You have learnt from the newspapers that the object of our company is
the opening up of the coal-fields of the North Pole, the concession of
which we have obtained. The estate acquired in public auction is the
property of the company, and the capital, which was all subscribed by
the 11th of December last, enables us to enter at once on an enterprise
which will produce a rate of interest unknown up to now in any
commercial or industrial operation whatever.”
Here the first murmur of approval for a moment interrupted the orator.
“You are aware of how we came to discover that there were rich beds of
coal, and also possibly of fossil ivory, in the circumpolar regions. The
statements in the public press leave no doubt as to the existence of
these coal strata.
“Now coal has become the source of all modern industry. To say nothing
of the fuel used for heating purposes, or of its employment for the
production of steam and electricity, I may direct your attention to its
derivatives, the aniline colours, the perfumes, the picrates, salicylic
acid, naphtol, phenol, antipyrin, benzin, naphthalin, pyrogallic acid,
tannin, saccharin, tar, asphalt, pitch, lubricating oils, varnish,
yellow prussiate of potass, cyanide, bitters, &c., &c.”
And after this enumeration, which had been given with great rapidity,
the orator paused like an exhausted runner to take a long breath. Then
he continued,—
“It is indubitable that coal will in time be exhausted. Before five
hundred years the mines in operation to-day—”
“Three hundred!” shouted one of the crowd.
“Two hundred!” roared another.
“Let us say a delay more or less restricted,” said Barbicane, “and put
ourselves in a position to see what new coal-fields then remain,
supposing that the present fields are exhausted at the close of this
century.”
Here he paused to enable his audience to concentrate their attention.
Then he continued,—
“Now, fellow-shareholders, follow me, and let us start for the North
Pole.”
And the audience rose as if to pack their baggage ready for shipboard.
An observation from Major Donellan put a sudden stop to this movement of
enthusiasm.
“Before you start,” said he, “will you kindly inform the meeting how you
intend going? Are you going by sea?”
“Neither by sea, nor by land, nor by air!” said Barbicane sweetly.
And the assembly sat down, a prey to very pardonable curiosity.
“You are not without some knowledge,” continued the orator, “of the
attempts that have been made to reach that inaccessible point of the
terrestrial spheroid. It is better, however, that I should remind you of
a few of them. It will be to render due honour to the bold pioneers who
have survived and those who have succumbed in these expeditions.”
Unanimous approval from the entire audience irrespective of nationality.
“In 1845,” resumed Barbicane, “Sir John Franklin with the _Erebus_ and
_Terror_ set out to find the North-West Passage, and nothing more was
heard of him.
“In 1854 the American, Kane, and his lieutenant, Morton, went in search
of Franklin. They returned, but their ship, the _Advance_ did not
return.
“In 1859 Sir Leopold MacClintock discovered a document from which it
appeared that no survivor remained of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_
expedition.
“In 1860 Hayes left Boston in the schooner _United States_, crossed the
eighty-first parallel, and returned in 1862 without being able to
advance farther, notwithstanding the heroic efforts of his companions.
“In 1869 Captains Koldewey and Hegeman, both Germans, left Bremerhaven
in the _Hansa_ and _Germania_. The _Hansa_ was crushed in the ice a
little below the seventy-first parallel, and the crew had to take to
their boats to reach the coast of Greenland. The _Germania_ was more
fortunate, and returned to Bremerhaven, but she had not been able to get
higher than the seventy-seventh parallel.
“In 1871 Captain Hall left New York in the steamer _Polaris_. Four
months afterwards, during the terrible winter, he died. A year later the
_Polaris_, caught in the floes after reaching the eighty-second
parallel, was crushed by the ice. Eighteen of her men, under Lieutenant
Tyson, took refuge on an ice-floe and reached the continent after long
drifting about in the Arctic Ocean.
“In 1875 Sir George Nares left Portsmouth with the _Alert_ and
_Discovery_. It was in his memorable Arctic campaign that winter
quarters were established between the eighty-second and eighty-third
parallels, and that Captain Markham, in a dash to the northward, stopped
within four hundred miles of the Pole, no one up to then having been so
near.
“In 1879 our great citizen, Gordon Bennett—”
Here there were three cheers given for the proprietor of the _New York
Herald_.
—“Fitted out the _Jeannette_, which he confided to Captain De Long. The
_Jeannette_ left San Francisco with thirty-three men, passed through
Behring Straits, was caught by the ice at Herald Island, and sank at
Bennett Island, near the seventy-seventh parallel. The men had only one
resource; to make southwards with the boats or journey over the
ice-fields. Misery decimated them. De Long died in October. Many others
succumbed, and twelve only returned from the expedition.
“In 1881 Lieutenant Greely left St. John’s, Newfoundland, in the steamer
_Proteus_, to establish a station on Lady Franklin Bay, a little below
the eighty-second degree. There he founded Fort Conger, whence he sent
out expeditions west and north, one of which, under Lieutenant Lockwood
and his companion, Brainard, in May, 1882, claims to have reached 83°
35′, being fifteen miles nearer than Markham’s furthest. That is the
nearest yet obtained. It is the Ultima Thule of circumpolar
cartography.”
Here there were loud cheers in honour of the American discoverers.
“But,” said Barbicane, “the expedition ended in disaster. The _Proteus_
sank. Eighty-four men were left in frightful misery. Doctor Pavy died.
Greely was discovered by the _Thetis_ in 1883 with only six companions,
and one of these was Lieutenant Lockwood, who soon succumbed, adding
another name to the sorrowful martyrology of Arctic exploration.”
There was a respectful silence while Barbicane paused.
Then in a thrilling voice he resumed,—
“And so, in spite of devotion and courage unparalleled, the
eighty-fourth degree has never been passed. And we may even assert that
it never will be by means of ships or sledges. It is not given to man to
face such dangers and support such extremes of temperature. It is by
other means we must advance to the conquest of the Pole!”
From the subdued murmur of the audience it was evident that therein lay
the interest of the communication. What was this secret?
“And how are you going to capture it?” asked the Canadian.
“Before ten minutes are up you will know, sir,” replied Barbicane, “and
in addressing the shareholders generally I say, Have confidence in us,
for the promoters of the affair are the same men who embarked in the
cylindro-conical—”
“The cylindro-conical,” interrupted Todrin—
“Dared to venture to the moon.”
“And have come back as we see!” added Todrin, not without signs of
disapproval.
“Yes,” continued Barbicane, “within the next ten minutes you will know
what we propose.”
A murmur of “Oh!” and “Eh!” and “Ah!” rose in answer to the reply.
It seemed as though the orator had said, “Within the ten minutes we
shall be at the Pole!”
He continued,—
“And now, is it a continent at the Pole? Is it not a sea such as Sir
George Nares called the Palæocrystic Sea, the sea of ancient ice? To
that I say, We do not think so.”
“That is not good enough,” said Baldenak. “It is not a question of not
thinking so but of being certain.”
“Well! I reply to our exuberant interrupter that we are certain. It is
solid ground, not a liquid basin, that the North Polar Practical
Association has purchased. It is a plateau like the desert of Gobi in
Central Asia, two or three miles above sea-level, as can be easily and
logically proved from the observations made in the regions of which the
polar domain is really a prolongation. Nordenskiold and other observers
have all stated that Greenland increases in height as it goes northward.
A hundred miles from Disko its altitude is nearly 7000 feet. And if we
consider the different products, animal or vegetable, found in the
secular ice, such as the carcases of mastodons, the trunks of conifers,
you can see that the continent was once a fertile one, inhabited
certainly by animals, and probably by men. There lie buried the thick
forests of pre-historic times, which have formed the coal-fields we
propose to develop. Yes! It is a continent round the Pole, a virgin
continent untrodden by human foot.”
Great applause.
When the echoes of the applause had rolled away, the strident voice of
the Canadian was heard,—
“Seven minutes out of the ten have gone, and we have not yet reached the
Pole!”
“We will be there in three minutes,” placidly remarked Barbicane.
He continued,—
“But if it is a continent, and the continent is elevated as we have
reason to believe, it is obstructed by eternal ice, covered with
icebergs and ice-fields, and under such circumstances its development
would be difficult—”
“Impossible!” said Harald.
“Impossible, I am aware,” said Barbicane. “And it is to conquer this
impossibility that our efforts are directed. We have no need of ships or
sledges to reach the Pole, but thanks to our arrangements the fusion of
the ice, ancient or modern, will take place like enchantment!”
He paused. There was absolute silence.
“Gentlemen,” he continued, “Archimedes demanded but a fulcrum to lift
the world! Well, we have found a fulcrum! A lever was what the great
Syracusan geometer required, and a lever we possess! We are in a
position to displace the Pole—”
“Displace the Pole!” exclaimed Baldenak.
“Bring it to Baltimore!” said Professor Harald.
Evidently Barbicane did not wish to be more precise, for he continued,—
“As to this fulcrum—”
“Don’t tell! Don’t tell!” shouted one of the audience excitedly.
“As to this lever—”
“Keep it secret! Keep it secret!” shouted the spectators.
“We will keep it secret!” said Barbicane.
Baldenak and Co. protested in vain. The orator continued,—
“As to the results of this mechanical operation—an operation
unprecedented in industrial annals—which we have undertaken and will
bring to a successful issue thanks to your capital, I will say a few
words.”
“Listen! listen!” shouted the crowd.
“The first idea of our enterprise occurred to one of the most learned,
devoted, and illustrious of our colleagues. To him also belongs the
glory of having made the calculations which rendered the theory
practicable, for if the development of the Polar mines is child’s play,
the displacement of the Pole is a problem which higher mechanics can
alone deal with. That is why we addressed ourselves to our worthy
secretary, J. T. Maston!”
“Hurrah! Hip ! hip ! hip! hurrah! for J. T. Maston!” shouted the whole
assembly, electrified by the presence among them of that extraordinary
man.
Ah! How much was Mrs. Scorbitt moved at the acclamations which resounded
round the celebrated calculator!
He, with great modesty, bowed his head to the right; then to the left,
and then saluted in front with his metal hook.
“Already,” said Barbicane, “when the great meeting which celebrated the
arrival in America of the Frenchman Michel Ardan, a few months before
our departure for the Moon—”
The American spoke as coolly of the voyage to the Moon as of a railway
journey to New York.
“—J. T. Maston had exclaimed, “Let us invent machines, let us find a
fulcrum, and we will shift the axis of the Earth!” Many of you heard
him, and will remember it. Well, the machines are invented, the fulcrum
is found, and it is to the righting of the Earth’s axis that our efforts
will be directed.”
“What!” exclaimed Donellan. “You will put the Earth’s axis upright?”
“Yes, sir,” said Barbicane; “or rather we can make a new axis on which
the diurnal rotation formerly—”
“Modify the diurnal rotation!” exclaimed Karkof.
“Absolutely! and without touching its duration. The operation will bring
the Pole to about the sixty-seventh parallel, and under such
circumstances the Earth will behave like Jupiter, whose axis is nearly
perpendicular to the plane of his orbit. This displacement of 23° 28′
will suffice to obtain for our Polar property sufficient warmth to melt
the ice accumulated for thousands of years.”
The audience looked at him in a state of breathlessness. No one dared to
interrupt or even to applaud him. All were overwhelmed with the idea,
which was so ingenious and so simple; to change the axis on which the
globe turns!
The representatives of the rival syndicates were astounded, annihilated,
and remained without a word to say for themselves.
But the applause broke out when Barbicane concluded with sublime
simplicity,—
“Thus it is the Sun himself who will melt the icebergs and ice-floes,
and render it easy to obtain access to the Pole!”
“And so,” said Donellan, “if man cannot get to the Pole, the Pole must
come to man?”
“Just so!” said Barbicane.