As I am writing a veritable history, and no fable, it behooves me to tell the truth, and it was with feelings of both mortification and mirth that I surveyed my partially finished work. It was the mental contemplation of a series of air-cocks, weights, pumps, etc., to be hereinafter described, that had led me astray as to the buoyancy of the boat as it now stood, and it was what I was going to use the tanks for, rather than what they now were, that had led me to this error. But then there was no great harm done. I had not to change the plan of the boat in the minutest particular, and the cradle might after all be advantageous in launching it, and preserve it from any casualty. Therefore, with the exception of my loss of time, I was nothing the worse; still I was rather crestfallen to think what a mistake I had made. But after mourning for a short time I set to work with renewed ardor to complete my task.
After having strapped the four tanks together and covered them with the iron roof, as described, I went on to complete the remainder of the boat, in this manner. In the interior, which I could easily reach by getting up from underneath the ways through two of the slats of the cradle, I arranged the following: The space in which I had to work was about fourteen feet in length, six feet wide, and eight feet high from the bottom of the tanks to the flat roof, which contained the manhole, which, for the present I left open, to give me both light and air. In the first place I connected all these four tanks together by means of a half-circular arm of piping some three inches in diameter, which I placed in each of the four corners of the parallelogram formed by the interior of the boat, leading from one tank to the other, where the latter met at an angle, so that the air that each contained was put in direct communication with the others. These connecting pipes were fitted in with a flange and riveted, and were placed a few inches from the bottom of the tanks, thus making really one tank of the whole. As the roof was fastened to the outside of these tanks, I had a seat or margin running round all the sides of the interior two feet wide, from the outer or further side of which arose the roofing. I could, therefore, easily lay any kind of a movable deck over this open space of fourteen feet by six feet, resting the ends of all my planks upon the top of the tanks in any direction.
Having connected all the tanks so as virtually to form one, so far as concerned being one air-chamber, I thenwent to work and pierced the perpendicular side of one of the tanks quite near the bottom and inserted a similar pipe to the horizontal ones that connected the tanks at the angles. This pipe, however, was in the form of a right angle, or rather its two ends were at a right angle, the bend being of a circular form. It pierced the tank near the bottom, as I have said, extended in a horizontal line some eight inches, and then gradually turned in a circular manner till the other end, about one foot in length, pointed downward, in an exact right-angle from the end entering the tank. This was put on with a flange, and made water-tight, and in the top of it, about three inches from the tank, was fixed a stopcock, with a long rod, which arose inside the boat, parallel with the side of the tank, till it ended in a handle, situated some ten inches higher than the top of the tanks. Near this, also, I erected another piece of pipe, which entered the top of the tank and pierced the roof of the boat, which was also fitted with a stopcock. Still another pipe pierced the roof, which was fitted with a stopcock outside as well as inside, and depended down into the boat some four feet from the roof. These four pipes, with their stopcocks, were so arranged as to be all near to each other, so that I could control them all without moving in my position, and were made at about the middle of what I called the starboard side of my boat, though it would be hard to say which side starboard was, as both ends of the boat were exactly alike up to the present time. But as I was eventually tohave a propeller and rudder, which would define the stern, I had already concluded that the part of the boat nearest the water should be the bows, and hence I knew which to call the starboard side and which the port side. Added to the pipes and stopcocks already enumerated was one which was simply about a foot in height, which pierced the tank on the top, some few inches from the inner edge, and near the others. It was also fitted with a stopcock, and, that my readers may fully understand the uses to which I put all these appliances at a later day, it will be well, perhaps, to name them, so that when used it will be possible to understand to which of the numerous ones I refer; and to prevent confusion, and to make myself understood, I will say that the pipes at the angles of the tanks I took no note of, they not being fitted with any cocks, and only made to connect all the tanks together, so that any action I might make with any of the stopcocks would be communicated to the whole system of tanks, of which the foundations and main part of the boat was formed.
The pipes with stopcocks I named as follows: The one leading down into what would be the water when the boat was launched, and below the bottom of the tank some inches, fitted with a long rod and handle, I called the water-pipe and stopcock; the one that connected the tank with the roof, the tank air-pipe and stopcock; the one that pierced the roof and depended into the interior, the atmospheric pipe and outer and inner stopcocks; theone that stood erect, ten inches in height, the pump-pipe and stopcock. So that I had four pipes and five stopcocks to my boat, all of which had their uses, as shall be related.
Besides all these four pipes I also made near to them an opening into the tanks, which was fitted with a screw thread, upon which I could, when occasion demanded, erect a quite large and powerful pump, that I had made for the express purpose.
One more thing remained to be done, and that was to make all around the boat inside a sort of movable step, that would ship and unship. I was well aware that, unless the centre of gravity was kept well down, my boat would capsize and spill out all the air when in use, and to prevent this I made these movable steps, which it is difficult to describe. They were made of an upright piece of wood that was over four feet in length, and on the top of which another piece of wood was nailed horizontally, some twelve inches in width, like one arm of the letter T, whilst at the other end of the upright of four feet in length was nailed another horizontal piece, some twelve inches in width, on exactly the opposite side, like the letter L; so that when the whole was done the upper horizontal board rested one foot on the top of the tanks, whilst at the other end of the upright, two feet below the bottom of the tanks, was the other horizontal board, facing in towards the centre of the boat in all directions, and forming a kind of step or shelf, upon which weightscould be placed so as to prevent all chance of the capsizing of the boat, the vomiting out of its air, and perhaps the destruction of its constructor and inventor. I had this so arranged that I could speedily ship and unship it in sections, for it was of course greatly in the way, and of no use except when the boat was launched.
I then completed my deck, which I made of light planks, marked and arranged so that I could readily board over all the space in the interior or leave part of it open. Upon further thoughts, some of this deck I made permanent, leaving only a space of about six feet by four open in the forward end, which I could cover or uncover.
I then entered upon another part of the programme, namely, the motive power by which I was to move this submarine monster, but that I had long ago solved in my own mind. For some months I had been practising two fine young goats upon a treadmill fitted to their size and strength, all the time having in view the end of using them to create the motive power of my boat; and for this purpose I had left the manhole two feet square so as to be able to take them down with me into it. I now went to work and transported the treadmill to the boat, and, having fixed it in place, I each day conveyed the goats on board and set them to work, so that they might get used to it. They were already used to the motion of the mill, and I noticed that with the precision of step of their race they worked the rounds of the mill much better than horses usually do, and they soon became accustomed tothe boat and worked rapidly and well, obeying the least word of command. In fact they were to me almost companions, and it would be amazing to relate, if I had time, all I have taught these really sagacious and gentle creatures since I have been on the island; not these very ones of which I am now speaking in particular, but several of their race. Perhaps before I am through with my narrative I may give an idea of the many interesting things which I taught them.
For a long time I allowed the mill to be turned daily, without making up my mind just how I would connect it with the wheel or screw that I foresaw that I should have to make to propel the boat. I at last fixed upon a propeller, to work in the open space of water in the interior of the boat, and which I readily set up with good strong gearing, that I could as readily take down by hand when needful. By means of bevelled gearing I obtained several revolutions of my propeller to one of the balance-wheel of the treadmill, and I saw, as a mechanic, that my boat would move forward, perhaps not very fast, but still at the rate of three or four knots an hour, which would answer all purposes.
I had one more necessary thing to make, and that was a rudder, which I connected to the outside of the rear tank of the boat, bringing the tiller or steering rods into the interior of the boat under the bottom of the tank. I took care to fasten the heel of the rudder, which was quite wide, above the line of the bottom of the tank, sothat if the boat grounded it would not be injured or destroyed.
And now I came to the most important part of my boat, and, in fact, upon the success of which, and practical application, rested the actual consummation of all my efforts. It was to obtain a supply of air whilst under the surface of the water without connection with the atmosphere, from which I was of course debarred. This problem solved, I had, I felt, the whole matter under control,—and let it not be believed that I had proceeded thus far in my self-imposed task without seeing a way out of this difficulty. The following every-day facts were easily ascertained from my Book of Useful Arts and Sciences, and upon the following conclusions I had based my invention. It is well known that oxygen is the portion of atmospheric air which supports life, and that it composes nearly twenty-two per cent of the same, whilst nitrogen, the remaining portion, is incapable of sustaining life. It is also well known that water also contains oxygen, in the proportion of two parts to one of hydrogen, of which two gases water is composed; or, in other words whilst atmospheric air holds only twenty-two per cent of the life-giving principle, water contains about sixty-six per cent, or, by weight, eight-ninths of oxygen to one-ninth of hydrogen. I also ascertained that the specific gravity of nitrogen is 0.94, whilst that of hydrogen is only 0.0692. Now if I could release the oxygen in the water I could make new air and at the same time precipitate the nitrogenand carbonic acid in the boat, that might be in the atmosphere, that had accumulated by my repeated breathings. Now the only problem to solve was evidently how to release this oxygen with which the water was so freely impregnated, charged, or made up of, and by the breathing of which fishes sustained life. And this is how I set about to do it. I made a very light paddle-wheel, full six feet in diameter, with many, but light arms, and only six inches across the face of each paddle; this was arranged so as to ship inside the boat, upon sockets arranged so that the lower paddles would just touch the water, and was adjustable by set screws, so that the journals could be lowered or elevated as the pressure of the water in the boat might show itself, higher or lower, according to the depth the boat might be at. By this arrangement I could have the paddles, which were more like a set of large-teethed combs than paddles, dip just such distance into the water as I desired. This wheel was connected by series of light wheels to the drum of the treadmill, so that I could obtain many revolutions of the water-wheel to one of the latter. My idea was this. By violent motion of the extreme ends of my comb-paddles through the water I intended to throw up into the interior of the boat a mass of minute spray, that in that form would itself release the oxygen that it contained, or at least a large part of it, and grant to my exhausted air the vitality it needed by new oxygen, or the life-sustaining principle, and at the same time precipitate the carbonicacid that the used-up atmosphere might contain. By this simple contrivance I intended to renew my air, and thus remain just as long below the surface as I might desire. The test that I should have that my air was becoming impure would be the dimness with which the candles would burn, with which I was to furnish the boat; and if after the use of the spray-wheel they again flashed up brilliantly, I should know that my theory was correct.
I had only one more thing to make to complete the whole affair, and that was a compass, which, having finished, I took within the boat to see and note its variations from the true north on account of the attraction of the iron, and to regulate it so that I might be aware always of my true course, for upon the exactitude of this instrument rested the responsibility of my ever again reaching land should I dare to go out into the ocean, supposing that the boat should work according to my desires and theory.
For light I had nothing but the light contained in the water and my candles. I could only pass from spot to spot by compass alone, and in case of utmost disaster plunge into the water within my own boat and try to reach the surface by coming up outside. It was not my intention to propel the boat near the bottom but only when near the surface. When near the bottom a turn or two of the propeller would send me in any needed direction.
A few blocks of iron to place upon my hanging shelves, and four anchors with strong rawhide hawsers, completed the appurtenances of the boat, and it was finished. By examination of my diary I found that I had been just nine months and eleven days in completing it from the day I had started to work upon the ways.
Launch the submarine boat. Experiment with it in Stillwater Cove.
Havingcompletely finished and arranged my boat, my next task was to launch it and arrange for a series of experiments to ascertain its practical value. So one fine morning I went forth, with a beating heart, from the Hermitage, and waited patiently till nearly high water, and having greased my launching ways, and confined the cradle with a long and strong rope of rawhide, so that its momentum, when launched, should not carry it across Stillwater Cove without being checked before it reached the other side, I, with anxiety and almost fear, withdrew the iron bolts in front of it on the ways, and, going to the upper end, applied a crowbar to the still stationary mass, and after a few motions of the bar it began to move, and with one grand rush, not very fast, and yet majestic and striking, the cradle, with its precious freight, dashed into the water, and, being brought up by the long rope of rawhide fast to it, in a moment or two rested quietly upon its bosom.
I took the canoe "Fairy" and paddled all about it and saw that it sat well balanced, and secure, and that it floated beautifully. I then made fast to it with a shortpiece of rawhide rope, and commenced towing it to the mouth of Stillwater Cove, where the water was deep but smooth, to still further carry on my experiments. It was a good hard day's work to tow the heavy cradle to the place that I had fixed upon, which was at the mouth of Stillwater Cove, just within the breakwater, and about one mile beyond the landing-place and two or three miles from the Hermitage. This place was admirably fitted for my purposes, the shore being of a smooth sand and the water gradually deepening towards the centre of the cove. Nothing but clear, pure sea-sand on the bottom, and no rock to injure the boat or interfere with any experiment I might choose to make. Having arrived, I was glad to anchor the whole concern safely, and to make my way home in the canoe.
The next day, fitted out with all I thought I should need, including my two goats for the treadmill and provisions for a day or two, I made my way back again in the canoe to the floating cradle. I found everything all right, as I had left it, and proceeded to prove the practical efficiency of my invention. In the first place I took the goats on shore and tethered them, so that they could feed, but not escape. I then went to work and anchored the cradle in about twelve feet of water, it then being nearly low tide, or slack water. After having secured both it and the boat also, I went to work sawing off the slats of the cradle upon which the latter rested, and in less than two hours the last one was off, and I had the satisfactionof seeing my boat floating in the water, drawing only a few inches, certainly not over six, with the manhole open, sustained wholly by the confined air in the tanks, which held up the superstructure bravely. After the slats were cut away I drove out the pins from the mortised framework of the cradle and left my iron boat floating calmly on the bosom of the smooth waters of Stillwater Cove. Floating the timbers to one side that had formed the cradle, I allowed them to drift up stream with the now incoming tide, the boat being securely anchored by two anchors, one in advance and one at the stern, which were made fast to two ringbolts on the roof, placed at each extremity.
And now for my final test. I had made up my mind, if the thing was not a success, that I did not intend to be personally implicated in any disaster. Two things only could happen; one, that the boat might capsize, and if so I was prepared to go on board with little clothing, so that if it vomited me up I could easily reach the surface and then swim ashore, which was distant only a few rods; the other, that I should be unable to improve my air, once vitiated or used up. In the latter event I had only to dive out from under the boat and again make my way to the shore, losing, however, the lives of my poor goats.
I commenced my work by going on board of the boat by means of a short ladder, which reached from the manhole to the deck beneath. In the first place I shipped or hung the wooden shelves on each of the tanks, and loadedthem with several iron weights, and also large smooth stones and the two anchors that belonged to the boat. This made it very firm, and sunk the tanks at least two inches more. I then went on shore and brought off my goats in the canoe and passed them on board through the manhole, which I had made large for this very purpose. I then went to work in the interior and fixed my compass, steering-gear, treadmill, and propeller, taking great care to see that my spray-wheel was all in order, and at hand ready to be hung.
I also conveyed on board some candles, flint and steel, matches, and provisions, and as the last thing took in the stern anchor, so that the boat lay with the tide, tailing up stream. The other hawser I conveyed also—by means of the canoe and with a boathook—under the forward tank, so that I held the end within the interior, and could cast it off at anytime. It was by the sun about eleven o'clock when I gave one glance around me, and, standing on the last round of the ladder, I drew the manhole cover over my head and commenced screwing it down on the inside, which having done I lighted several candles, although I had a fair light reflected from the water and the bottom of the cove, formed of white sea-sand, directly beneath me, and distant, I should judge by the state of the tide, some twenty to twenty-five feet. My goats had become so accustomed to the boat that they showed little surprise at the rather dim light, and stood ready to perform their part whenever I should put them to their customarytask.
My heart beat rapidly, not with fear, but with excitement and expectation. Here I was, already shut out from the outer air, and in a little world of my own. I hesitated to complete my experiment, and before going further I turned to my provisions and took a good long drink of claret wine to strengthen my courage and steady my nerves. If I was in a scrape I could get out of it, but my poor goats! they, I was afraid, would have to pay for any error in judgment on my part. Having regained perfect composure, I made up my mind to make the first test of the practical value of my boat, and that was to see if I could descend to the bottom of the ocean, that lay beneath me. By moving around I felt convinced that my calculations about the centre of gravity had been correct, and I felt that the boat would not capsize. It was remarkably stiff and steady, and would, I felt confident, remain so when submerged. This bugbear was already off my mind, and gave me confidence to proceed. So, moving to the place on the starboard side where all my pipes and stopcocks were congregated, I commenced by opening the stopcock of the water-pipe, which, as I had foreseen, brought no perceptible change. Some little water rushed into the tanks, but only what was sufficient to compress the air to the extent of the weight of the superstructure of the boat. This experiment did not sink it one particle; its buoyancy remained exactly the same, for the same air remained in the tanks, although compressed,and was not able to escape on account of the position of the outlet of the pipe that had opened communication between it and the water, pointing, as it did, directly to the centre of the earth. After waiting a little, and seeing that this all worked well, I placed my hand upon the stopcock of a more important pipe, namely the tank air-pipe, which led from the tanks to the outer surface of the superstructure.
Now, or never! Upon turning this cock I should descend or my theory would be incorrect. The moment my hand opened this valve the air would be expelled by the pressure of the boat upon the water, conveyed to the air in the tanks by the water-pipe, which was already open; and, as it was expelled, so the buoyancy of the boat would be decreased, and I should descend. The fatal moment had come, and with a firm hand I opened the tank air-pipe, and plainly heard the escaping air, the incoming water, and felt the boat descending, and saw the sandy bottom apparently approaching me. I cut off the discharge of the tank air-pipe, and with a slight rebound the boat arose again a few inches towards the surface, simply regaining its true position in equilibrio, that it had for a moment passed, by the momentum of its descent. By little turns of this stopcock I discovered, as I expected, that I could move the boat in a descending direction even an inch at a time. The movement was a perfect fascination, but each delivery of air was bringing me nearer the bottom, and as yet I had tried no means of rising again to thesurface.
When I had gotten to within about six feet of the former I thought it time to see if I could again rise towards the surface. I was well aware that, having used up this air, it was so much loss to me, but I was in hopes to be able to replace it; and even if I could not replace it to make the boat rise to near the surface without it. I could do this in one way, by casting overboard the anchors and weights lying upon the wooden shelves; but this, if done to any great extent, might cause the capsizing of the whole affair. No; I had a better way than this, and at it I went. In the first place I closed the water-pipe, and then, having opened the screw-valve in the connected tanks, I screwed upon it the pump and commenced discharging the water from them—that had run in to take the place of the discharged air—into the water of the ocean, which formed, in one sense, the interior flooring of my boat.
To make this pump work I of course opened, and left open, the pump-pipe, so that the air from the interior rushed in and filled the tank as fast as the pump discharged the water, and at each stroke of the pump, after the first few, the boat, as I had hoped, began to rise; the water, having been just so much ballast to carry it down, being discharged by the pump, was just so much thrown overboard in weight to allow it to rise. By persistent pumping I made my boat rise quite near the surface, but not to the buoyant position it at first maintained, for I had in my descent used up considerable of the air in the tanks, whichI had as yet not replaced, or rather what I had used from them had been replaced from the air of the interior when I pumped out the water, which I could only do by allowing the connection between the tanks and the interior to be open, so as to make the pump work. In short I had lost just so much buoyancy as was equal to the escaped air; but still I had been able to make the boat descend and ascend.
These experiments took me over two hours, and I commenced to feel the need of new air, and to notice that my candles began to burn a little dimly. I was thus warned that my air was being used up and charged with carbonic gas, and that it was time for me to renew it. So I unscrewed the pump and closed the valve, opened the water-pipe, and placed my hand upon the tank air-pipe and prepared to descend. One effect I should have noticed of my loss of air, and that was that the water in the interior of the boat rose considerably, and a large portion of the tanks was now submerged. A few turns of the stopcock of the tank air-pipe carried me near to the bottom, where I desired to be, to try my last and most important experiment.
Arriving to within a few feet of the bottom I rigged my spray-wheel, and connected it with the drum of the treadmill and set the goats at work. And it was time, for my breathing had become oppressive, and the animals themselves seemed dull and frightened. I had waited almost too long. My candles also commenced to burnmore dimly, and I prepared to take my plunge into the water and come up outside of the boat should my experiment now fail. But wonder of wonders! my spray-wheel made but a few revolutions, dashing large quantities of minute spray into the interior by its rapid motion, before my lungs were relieved, the candles renewed their brilliancy, and the goats recovered from the lassitude under which they had a moment before seemed to be laboring.
The problem was solved. I had made my own air. I could remain below the surface as long as I desired. Everything about me was rather damp and moist from the dashing of spray about the interior, and several of the candles, that I had not protected, were put out; but two, in the extremity of the boat, were preserved, and now that my problem was solved I did not again light the former, the two remaining ones being all-sufficient. And in fact I did not need them; my own lungs, I found, were sufficient as a guide to tell me in future when to renew the air. Still it was fascinating to see these two candles burning brilliantly that had but a moment before been so dim. The reflected light from the pure sandy bottom just below me was amply sufficient for all purposes.
I imagined, by the slight shadow that the boat cast on the bottom beneath, from the brilliant sun that I knew was shining overhead, and from counting up in my mind all I had done since leaving the surface, that the air had lasted me, as nearly as I could judge, two hours; and that seemed to be the extreme limit to which I could go andnot renew it. I also knew by the quantity of tallow consumed in the candles that it must be nearly that amount of time. I also noticed that the spray-wheel had not only purified my air, but that whilst it was in operation the boat had slightly ascended, proving that I had gained a lighter gas for the nitrogen and carbonic acid precipitated.
One more thing remained to be tested, and I should feel that my labors were complete. In the first place I made the boat ascend as far as possible, by means of the pump and stopcocks, as before described, and then I went to work and rigged my propeller and set the goats at work. I got the boat as near the surface as possible before communicating motion to it, so as not to run against any obstacle if possible. But then the body of water in which I was submerged was so pure, and free from anything of that nature, that there was little danger after all. With a feeling of confidence that I had not had in all the other experiments, I cast off the hawser affixed to the anchor that held the boat, and started the goats. Mechanics did not trouble me, and it was with no surprise, but only gratification, that I saw by the bottom that the boat was moving forward, and that it readily obeyed the helm. I turned it completely around by the tiller, and made an excursion of fully half a mile, I should think, up Stillwater Cove, once in a while getting out of the channel, when by stopping the goats and reversing the propeller I was able to back into the channel again, and finally to turn around by a series of forward and backward motions tillI again arrived at the place from which I had started, which I knew by the anchor lying in mid-channel. By observation of the bottom I should say that the boat was propelled at least three miles an hour, which was sufficient for all my purposes.
After arriving back to my first position I pointed the boat towards the sandy beach, and when the hanging shelves touched the bottom I carefully removed them and their weights to the top of the tanks, in the interior, and, with a short pole, pushed the boat still nearer the shore, till the tanks rested on the sand; and this I did with care and quickly, for I was a little afraid of a capsize when the hanging shelves were removed, which was only for a moment or two, however, before the boat was at rest on its own foundations, on the sand. I then forced down under the water from the interior quite a large block of wood under the tank that had the water pipe protruding, so that the latter should not be hurt by being driven into the sand when the whole boat was stranded at low water.
The tide being now at ebb, I knew that I had not long to wait before the whole boat would be high and dry upon the sand. But having gotten my piece of timber under the tank to protect the water pipe, I opened the atmospheric pipe and let the whole boat sink solidly to the bottom, in all its parts, as well as the forward part that was resting on the sand. I then cautiously opened the manhole, ready to close it immediately should it yet be below the surface; but, as I supposed, it was out of the water atleast six inches, and, throwing it open, I once again emerged into the open air of day.
I released the goats and carried them on shore, and as the tide receded all the water left my tanks through the water pipe, which I then closed, and there was my boat as buoyant again as when it was first launched, with all the tanks full of air, and ready to be towed to an anchorage as soon as the next incoming tide should float it.
I lay down upon the sea-side and contemplated my work, and wondered if it would not make me a rich man if I could transport it to some civilized portion of the earth. Was it possible for me to make a boat of this kind on a large scale, with a team of goats, fifteen or twenty in number, and traverse the depths of the ocean till I arrived at some Christian land? One thing at least was in its favor: I need fear no storms or any dangers of the ocean from waves or wind, and one other great obstacle would be overcome. I could leave the helm at any time and go to sleep, feeling sure that my boat would not be driven about by waves and winds, but repose peacefully in eqilibrio till I again awoke, and forced it forward upon its passage.
There was matter for great thought in all this. But on the other hand, should my air fail me, or my tanks leak, or steering apparatus get out of order, I should either be stifled to death, drowned, or left beneath the ocean to wear out a miserable existence till death relieved me. The risk was too great. Besides I had no means but acompass of ascertaining where I was going, no glass lens to give me any light; but perhaps I might possibly make the latter. It was all well enough for me to venture out from my island where at the worst I could escape and swim ashore; and, if the truth must be spoken, I found myself too much in love with my island, and all its comforts, to hazard too much to escape from it. I cannot say that I did not long and long to escape, and that I did not mourn for companionship; but I must also confess that I had begun to love my island home also, in one sense, and I could see far enough ahead now into the future to acknowledge to myself that, should I escape, it would be only to return with companions to here end my days.
These were different feelings than what I had when first cast on the island, as will readily be perceived by perusal of this manuscript, if ever, by the mercy of God, it comes to anybody's hands to read. But what could I—an old sailor, but not an old man, who had banged around the world—ask for more than I could obtain on my island except companionship? Nothing.
Having secured the boat, and put the goats and spare traps into the canoe, I at the close of the day paddled myself back to the Hermitage, determined on the morrow to make an excursion out of Stillwater Cove into the ocean, and see what I could discover. To be doubly secure I made up my mind to tow the canoe with a long rope of rawhide on the surface of the water, astern of the submarine boat below it, so that if I did meet withdisaster or shipwreck I could get into the former and make my way to the shore in safety,—in fact this arrangement would take away all danger from the enterprise, as I felt confident that I could always escape from the boat, and it would be well worth while to have the canoe at hand to jump into, if I had to do so.
Explore the bottom of the ocean in the vicinity of the island with my submarine boat. Discover pearl-oysters, and invent a great improvement to my boat.
I aroseearly the next day, and started in my canoe, accompanied by my two goats, to the mouth of Stillwater Cove. It was a beautiful day, and one just suited for my purpose. I had made up my mind to make my way out of the cove into the open ocean, and along the coast line of the breakwater, taking care, if possible, not to get too near in, so as to be troubled with the undertow. To enable me to do this I was first obliged to land on the breakwater, and with my compass to lay out some of the bearings and directions of the land and shore line—so as to be able to make a kind of chart—upon a piece of birch bark that I had brought for that purpose, to enable me to find my way back into the cove, or, missing that, at least to bring up somewhere on the shores of Perseverance Bay. Having gotten everything arranged, I went on board of my boat, which I found floating and in perfect order, having first recovered my anchor in the stream and taken that also on board. Once in the interior I shipped the hanging shelves and distributed the weights in their usual places. My goats evidently took everything as a matter of course,and quietly remained where I had fastened them, near the treadmill. I put my movable deck in good order, saw that my fresh water, provisions, and candles were all right, with a bundle of hay for the goats also. I then carefully examined all the stopcocks, the steering apparatus, and spray-wheel, and finding everything in order, and a fine, sunshiny day overhead, I made fast the "Fairy" to a ringbolt on the outside of the boat, and paid out a long scope of rawhide rope, so that I could sink at least forty fathoms without drawing her after me. Then, giving one more look at everything, and lighting a candle in case I should need one in any emergency, I shipped my propeller, attached the band to the treadmill, cast off my moorings, started the goats, and got under way, standing out in a westerly direction into the ocean.
As soon as I was clear of Point Deliverance, and when about a hundred fathoms seaward to the eastward, I changed my course to the northward, all this time moving along with the manhole wide open, out of which I often looked to see how I was proceeding, and in what direction to steer. But I had scarcely got the head of the boat to the eastward before a heavy sea broke all over me, and came dashing down the manhole, but did me no harm, falling back, as it did, in the interior, into its own element. The inside deck was rather spattered, to be sure, and the goats evidently began to be surprised, if not frightened, at the motion of the boat, and I saw that the time had come to submerge it; but I kept on, for I was determined to keepabove the surface, if possible, till I found myself opposite the place on the breakwater at which I had first been cast on shore, and which I well knew; for it was there that I determined to make my first descent, and see if I could not find some remains of the articles that were in the whaleboat when I was cast away. So to keep out the water I closed the manhole cover, but once in a while ran up the ladder, opened it and looked about me, till I at last found myself opposite the spot, and not more than a quarter of a mile distant.
I then, by a word, stopped the goats, and shut down the cover of the manhole, and screwed up the set-screws, opened the water-pipe, and placed my hand upon the air-tank stopcock and allowed some of the air to escape. In one instant the boat that had before been buffeting about upon the billows was as quiet and steady as a rock. I did not descend far before I shut off the escape of air, and sat down to think. In the first place I saw that by a series of experiments I could easily, in the future, tell just how far I was descending by the rise of the water inside of the boat upon the sides of the tanks; for, as I descended, the pressure upon the air was of course increased, and therefore compressed, so that the water rose higher within, and nearer to the movable deck.
Having examined my compass I started the goats again, and made for the outside of the breakwater, hoping to strike the very place where the whaleboat had formerly been destroyed. As I advanced towards the shore I foundthat I was not deep enough down to see the bottom, so I again descended till I could plainly see it below me, not ten feet distant. I spoke to my goats and had them relax their speed, and moved slowly forward. The bottom laid out to my view was composed of sand, rocks, and an infinite variety of sea plants. How can I expect to convey to anyone the beauties of this submarine view. The water—by its transparency and the light that I obtained by reflection—could not have been more than six fathoms deep, and in fact I knew that it was in that neighborhood, for I had often, in my canoe, been outside of the breakwater before, fishing and for other purposes, and I knew very nearly what water I ought to have.
Although anxious to explore I could not resist the temptation to stop and gaze upon the beauties that lay before me, in all their marvellous freshness, unseen before by the eyes of mortal man since their creation by the Almighty. Many of the plants before me, that seemed like sparkling gems, I knew well would look so only as they now stood, in their native garden, surrounded by water, and that, taken from the element or cast on shore, would fade ten times quicker than any land plant. Fishes of various sizes darted in every direction, and simply to please my own conceit I deliberately dropped a line amongst them and captured several, which I again allowed to escape. But even in my own solitude I could not help smiling at the idea of a mortal man sailing along at the bottom of the ocean and capturing its denizens at his leisure,—the thingwas too comical.
Although I had stopped the goats, my boat still had a motion, or rather I should say that I could see that the tide was drifting it sideways to the northwest, but very slowly, not more than a knot an hour. I think that I could have sat hours and looked upon this scene. It was like a new world opening up before me. Everything was plain, for no ripple blurred the surface of the water in the interior of my boat, and no wind of heaven rushed over it to destroy, for a moment even, its transparency. It was as still and motionless as death, and as quite large rocks and new objects seemed to pass by below me, I was sometimes startled at their beauty and grandeur. It was a panorama. I seemed to be stationary, fixed, as immovable as the foundations of the earth; and these objects passed in review before me exactly as if moving along in space. It was difficult to disabuse my mind of the fact that I was not stationary, but that the objects upon which I was gazing were. This feeling was increased in a marked degree by the absolute stillness and want of motion, in itself, of my submarine boat.
I hated to break in upon this deathlike silence by the motion of my propeller, but I was being swept by the tide slowly away from my destination, and it would not do to proceed too far, so as to lose the true course by compass. Reluctantly then I spoke to my goats and put the boat in motion, and proceeded upon my way. I had not advanced, far when I perceived that I was entering a perfect forestof submarine plants and kelp, the long tendrils of which, sustained by the water, reached upwards towards the surface. I saw that I was upon dangerous ground, and therefore stopped the treadmill and reversed my propeller, and backed out from my position. I then rigged my pump and made the boat ascend so as to pass over their heads, and again forced the boat towards the breakwater, but this time I found that I was getting into the undertow, and the forest beneath me warned me not to descend; so I had nothing to do but to back out seaward and give up all idea of exploring the place of my shipwreck.
When I had pushed back so as to be clear of the tangled plants that seemed to surround the margin of the island on this side, I commenced again to descend, and allowed the boat to rest within a few feet of the bottom, and, rigging my spray-wheel, went to work to renew and purify my air, which I had no difficulty in doing. I then moved about in different directions, taking care all the time to keep a reckoning by my compass of the courses sailed and the distances passed over, by dead reckoning. During one of my stationary moments I had a complete view of as large a shark as I have ever seen. He passed directly beneath me, and took no more notice of the boat than if it had been a stationary rock. He was at least sixteen feet in length, and would have made but a mouthful of poor me.
THE SUBMARINE BOAT.--PAGE 243.
THE SUBMARINE BOAT.—Page 243.
I wish that I could describe the sights that I saw. It seemed as if I was in another world, and had passed from this existence to one more advanced, in which I floated in space. The extreme silence of all about me, and the rigidness of all objects seen, was very striking. At each moment some beautiful fish or plant struck my view, of which I had never before had any knowledge. I moved about in all directions, trying to find, if possible, some bank of pearl-oysters, and I had a good idea of how they ought to look, for I had once, in my younger days, descended with the divers in the East Indies to the pearl-oyster beds, and knew the whole practical science of the business. At last, at a point by compass and dead-reckoning about northeast from Point Deliverance, and distant two miles, I came upon what I wanted,—or rather what I hoped was what I wanted,—namely, a perfect bank of oysters, in thousands, clustered together. My first act was, after stopping the boat, to throw over a light anchor, to hold it in position; the next to cast into the water a small grapnel, to which was attached a long piece of rawhide rope, fully forty fathoms in length, ending in a wooden buoy, shaped like a tenpin in a bowling-alley, and of about the same size. This, after dropping the grapnel, by means of a short boat-hook I thrust under the tank of the boat, and saw it rapidly take up the spare line as it ascended towards the surface. And as it was so ascending it flashed upon me that here was also a practical way of determining at all times the depth of water; for this buoy only took out about seven or eight fathoms of the line before it becamestationary, evidently having reached the surface. I used this buoy to anchor the reef, so as to be able to find it in future trips, when I had only to stand out towards it, on pleasant days, on the surface of the water, and, when I found it, descend and find myself on the reef.
And for measurement of my depth below the surface I had only, in future, to fasten a light, buoyant piece of wood to a small cord, marked off into fathoms, which I could at any time thrust under the tanks and allow to ascend to the surface, and note how many of the fathoms of line were taken up, which would denote my depth below the surface, and then draw my sounding-buoy back again into the boat for further use, simply reversing the method that is used on shipboard. That is to say, instead of throwing a lead with a marked line to the bottom of the ocean, I threw a buoy to the surface. Nature seemed to be capsized, and everything upside down, as used to appear in using the inverted telescope in my first attempts to take the altitude of the sun with a sextant. If I had not lived so solitary a life I could have laughed at many of the things that befel me in this submarine boat.
Having gotten the boat securely anchored, and the buoy thrown out as I have related, I went to work gathering the oysters. I had taken care to bring with me a light pickaxe, a crowbar, and a sort of hand-rake, similar to ones used by East Indian divers, which I proceeded to employ upon the mass of oysters below me. I had no difficulty in detaching all I wanted of them, and fillingmy decks, and particularly the hanging shelves, which I relieved of their stones and weights, replacing them by masses of the oysters. I made a long job of this, and, having gotten all I desired, I drew up my anchor and got again under way, ascending as near as possible to the surface before advancing towards the land. During all this time, whenever necessary, I had renewed my air by use of the spray-wheel.
Being near the surface, which I was made aware of in several ways, such as the increased light, the disappearance of the bottom from view, and a slight noise of the waves above me, and a little motion of the boat, caused by their agitation, I put the goats at full speed, feeling sure that for at least two miles nothing was in my way. After I had, as I calculated, gone this distance, I slowed down, and proceeded more cautiously; but after an hour's work I made no land, nor found any great shallowing of the water. Here was a pretty scrape. By my chart I was past Stillwater Cove, and even in the interior of the island, and not a sign of the land or shallow water could I find. I began to be seriously troubled, and I foresaw that unless I soon made some shallow water I should be obliged to dive under my tanks, and look about me and see where I was. But before I did this I descended and anchored, and found out for the first time that I was at last in a strong current, setting towards the westward. This frightened me still more, and I ascended at once, stripped off the little clothing that I had on, and plungedinto the water and came up buoyant as a cork on the surface, and pulled the canoe towards me and got into it without much effort. One glance showed me what the trouble was. I had gradually, during the whole day, drifted to the westward, and had passed West Signal Point, and was, in the direction I was pursuing, leaving the island on the port hand, behind me. One glance in the open air cleared my brain, and gave me a true idea of where I was, for I confess that the many courses that I had sailed beneath the surface had rather confused me.
Taking one more good look about me, I plunged into the sea under my tanks, and was again inside my boat, which I speedily started in the right direction, and in less than two hours made shallow water, when I once more had to dive out of the boat and look about me, when I found that I had made a pretty good landfall, as I was in Perseverance Bay, not more than a quarter of a mile from the mouth of Stillwater Cove, having overrun it; and as I was so near home I dove back again, started the goats, and soon had the pleasure of finding myself in the cove, some part of the bottom of which I already recognized; and I foresaw that if I should make many trips I should be able to recognize the bottom just as easily as one recognizes familiar objects on land.
I stranded my boat in the usual manner, and waited for the tide, which was now at an ebb, to leave the top exposed, for the buoyancy of the boat was not very great from my frequent use of the air-tank stopcock. During this timeI busied myself in casting the oysters to the bottom, and then moving the boat, which was thus lightened, a little to one side, so that, when the tide returned, the former would be exposed clear of the boat. I then unshipped the movable shelves and put everything in order in the interior, and sat down and ate a hearty meal, after which I tried the manhole, which, by the pressure of the tanks upon the sand, I felt confident was above the surface, which proved to be the fact. I soon had the goats ashore, who seemed to be glad to escape from the confinement of the boat, and gambolled about me. I waited patiently for the tide to go down far enough for me to get at my oysters, which I conveyed to the land, above high-water mark, and, sitting down, commenced with my knife to open one or two of them. I think it was the third that I was opening when my knife-blade struck against something that made my heart beat. I laid open the oyster, and there within it, nestled near to the upper shell, was as beautiful and perfect a pearl as anyone could desire to see. It was not very large,—perhaps the size of a common pea,—but of a pure cream color, and of perfect oval form. I knew at once that it was a jewel of value and price, and I carefully hid it away in my clothing. This prize sufficed me. It proved to me the importance of my discovery, and I was determined that the sun should do the remainder of the work for me, and therefore left the oysters where they lay, to be made putrid by exposure, when the pearls that they might contain could be very easilywashed out.
I was not wholly satisfied with my boat. I did not like the idea of having to dive overboard to find out where I was, as I had had to to-day, and I commenced racking my brains to overcome it; and at last I accomplished it in theory, and it may be as well to state here that it served me perfectly when put in practice on many future occasions, and in fact almost took the place of the spray-wheel. It was this. I arranged, in the first place, a sort of air-boat, in the shape of the half shell of an English walnut, but shallower, nearly four feet in length. This boat was made of very thin sheet-iron, but perfectly airtight, and upon it was lashed, in a horizontal position, a cylinder of sheet-iron, closed at one end and open at the other, a foot in diameter, and in length the same as the shallow, airtight, walnut-shaped boat that sustained it. At the end of this boat, just below the mouth of the cylinder, was affixed a solid iron ring, and to this was spliced a strong rawhide rope of great length. To utilize this machine I made two long bars of iron, which I could arrange in the interior of the boat, across its greatest diameter, in the form of the letter V, pointing downwards towards the bottom of the ocean, and at the point of contact was arranged a block through which the rope attached to the air-boat could be rove. This inverted derrick, in the form of a letter V, was still further braced by another bar, leading to one of the short diameters of the boat, in the interior, forming a tripod. To use the air-boat I had only(at any time when beneath the surface and in need of air, either to purify that surrounding me or obtain enough to force the boat out of water on the surface, after having used up the air in the tanks) to reeve the rawhide rope through the derrick, as above, and erect the same in an inverted form, pointing towards the bottom, and then put the air-boat in the water in the interior of the submarine boat, force it bodily down in a horizontal manner till the cylinder was filled with water, and then start the goats so that the rope attached to the nose of the air-boat, leading down to the inverted apex of the tripod, through the block, and thence to the drum of the treadmill, would be tautened, and cause it to erect itself in a perpendicular manner, and be forced down under the water towards the apex of the tripod. When submerged enough to clear the bottom of the tank I slackened the rope gradually, pressing it at the same time out and clear from the tank, and yet keeping enough strain upon it to prevent its touching the latter; when, as soon as it was clear, I slacked the rope wholly, to allow it to arise to the surface outside, which it rapidly did on account of the confined air in the air-tight shell. Of course immediately upon its arrival at the surface it righted itself, and presented the appearance, on a small scale, of a barrel with one head out, placed in a horizontal position upon a small sled or vessel. In this position all the water that had been in the cylinder was at once discharged, and, to get a measure of fresh air exactly equal to the dimensions of this cylinder, I had only to setthe goats to work, to take the rope to the drum of the treadmill, the first effect of which was to depress the nose and open mouth of the cylinder on the air-boat, at the surface, and the next to drag it down under the water in a perpendicular position, with the cylinder charged with air, which could not escape. As soon as it appeared clear of the outside of the tank, against which it rubbed in its descent, and was brought down near to the inverted apex of the tripod, I commenced slacking the same rope till it arrived at the surface of the water within the submarine boat, when I cast off the rope and it righted itself violently, discharging at the same time the contents of the cylinder in the shape of new air, and I had only to repeat this process of conveying fresh air from the surface to obtain all I needed, taking care only, in sending the apparatus to the surface, to see that, when the air-boat was first pointed under water ready to ascend, it took back with it none of its precious freight, which was easily obviated when it was held in a semi-perpendicular state, and half submerged ready to ascend, by pushing upon the part out of water till it was forced into a horizontal position, the air from the cylinder discharged, and replaced by water, when, after descending towards the connecting points of the tripod and pushed clear of the side tank, it was allowed to ascend to the surface, discharge the water, and descend again filled with air.
With this apparatus I found that I could even compress the air in the interior, and in many future expeditions Ihad no trouble in making my submarine boat, at any time, self-sustaining on the surface of the water, and I could by a little labor come to the surface, open my manhole, and look about me and see where I was.