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1CACHALOTS AND WHALES During the nights of the 13th and 14th of March, the Nautilus returned to its southerly course. I
2fancied that, when on a level with Cape Horn, he would turn the helm westward, in order to beat the Pacific seas, and so
3complete the tour of the world. He did nothing of the kind, but continued on his way to the southern regions. Where was
4he going to? To the pole? It was madness! I began to think that the Captain's temerity justified Ned Land's fears. For
5some time past the Canadian had not spoken to me of his projects of flight; he was less communicative, almost silent. I
6could see that this lengthened imprisonment was weighing upon him, and I felt that rage was burning within him. When he
7met the Captain, his eyes lit up with suppressed anger; and I feared that his natural violence would lead him into some
8extreme. That day, the 14th of March, Conseil and he came to me in my room. I inquired the cause of their visit. "A
9simple question to ask you, sir," replied the Canadian. "Speak, Ned." "How many men are there on board the Nautilus, do
10you think?" "I cannot tell, my friend." "I should say that its working does not require a large crew." "Certainly, under
11existing conditions, ten men, at the most, ought to be enough." "Well, why should there be any more?" "Why?" I replied,
12looking fixedly at Ned Land, whose meaning was easy to guess. "Because," I added, "if my surmises are correct, and if I
13have well understood the Captain's existence, the Nautilus is not only a vessel: it is also a place of refuge for those
14who, like its commander, have broken every tie upon earth." "Perhaps so," said Conseil; "but, in any case, the Nautilus
15can only contain a certain number of men. Could not you, sir, estimate their maximum?" "How, Conseil?" "By calculation;
16given the size of the vessel, which you know, sir, and consequently the quantity of air it contains, knowing also how
17much each man expends at a breath, and comparing these results with the fact that the Nautilus is obliged to go to the
18surface every twenty-four hours." Conseil had not finished the sentence before I saw what he was driving at. "I
19understand," said I; "but that calculation, though simple enough, can give but a very uncertain result." "Never mind,"
20said Ned Land urgently. "Here it is, then," said I. "In one hour each man consumes the oxygen contained in twenty
21gallons of air; and in twenty-four, that contained in 480 gallons. We must, therefore find how many times 480 gallons of
22air the Nautilus contains." "Just so," said Conseil. "Or," I continued, "the size of the Nautilus being 1,500 tons; and
23one ton holding 200 gallons, it contains 300,000 gallons of air, which, divided by 480, gives a quotient of 625. Which
24means to say, strictly speaking, that the air contained in the Nautilus would suffice for 625 men for twenty-four
25hours." "Six hundred and twenty-five!" repeated Ned. "But remember that all of us, passengers, sailors, and officers
26included, would not form a tenth part of that number." "Still too many for three men," murmured Conseil. The Canadian
27shook his head, passed his hand across his forehead, and left the room without answering. "Will you allow me to make one
28observation, sir?" said Conseil. "Poor Ned is longing for everything that he can not have. His past life is always
29present to him; everything that we are forbidden he regrets. His head is full of old recollections. And we must
30understand him. What has he to do here? Nothing; he is not learned like you, sir; and has not the same taste for the
31beauties of the sea that we have. He would risk everything to be able to go once more into a tavern in his own country."
32Certainly the monotony on board must seem intolerable to the Canadian, accustomed as he was to a life of liberty and
33activity. Events were rare which could rouse him to any show of spirit; but that day an event did happen which recalled
34the bright days of the harpooner. About eleven in the morning, being on the surface of the ocean, the Nautilus fell in
35with a troop of whales--an encounter which did not astonish me, knowing that these creatures, hunted to death, had taken
36refuge in high latitudes. We were seated on the platform, with a quiet sea. The month of October in those latitudes gave
37us some lovely autumnal days. It was the Canadian--he could not be mistaken--who signalled a whale on the eastern
38horizon. Looking attentively, one might see its black back rise and fall with the waves five miles from the Nautilus.
39"Ah!" exclaimed Ned Land, "if I was on board a whaler, now such a meeting would give me pleasure. It is one of large
40size. See with what strength its blow-holes throw up columns of air an steam! Confound it, why am I bound to these steel
41plates?" "What, Ned," said I, "you have not forgotten your old ideas of fishing?" "Can a whale-fisher ever forget his
42old trade, sir? Can he ever tire of the emotions caused by such a chase?" "You have never fished in these seas, Ned?"
43"Never, sir; in the northern only, and as much in Behring as in Davis Straits." "Then the southern whale is still
44unknown to you. It is the Greenland whale you have hunted up to this time, and that would not risk passing through the
45warm waters of the equator. Whales are localised, according to their kinds, in certain seas which they never leave. And
46if one of these creatures went from Behring to Davis Straits, it must be simply because there is a passage from one sea
47to the other, either on the American or the Asiatic side." "In that case, as I have never fished in these seas, I do not
48know the kind of whale frequenting them!" "I have told you, Ned." "A greater reason for making their acquaintance," said
49Conseil. "Look! look!" exclaimed the Canadian, "they approach: they aggravate me; they know that I cannot get at them!"
50Ned stamped his feet. His hand trembled, as he grasped an imaginary harpoon. "Are these cetaceans as large as those of
51the northern seas?" asked he. "Very nearly, Ned." "Because I have seen large whales, sir, whales measuring a hundred
52feet. I have even been told that those of Hullamoch and Umgallick, of the Aleutian Islands, are sometimes a hundred and
53fifty feet long." "That seems to me exaggeration. These creatures are only balaeaopterons, provided with dorsal fins;
54and, like the cachalots, are generally much smaller than the Greenland whale." "Ah!" exclaimed the Canadian, whose eyes
55had never left the ocean, "they are coming nearer; they are in the same water as the Nautilus." Then, returning to the
56conversation, he said: "You spoke of the cachalot as a small creature. I have heard of gigantic ones. They are
57intelligent cetacea. It is said of some that they cover themselves with seaweed and fucus, and then are taken for
58islands. People encamp upon them, and settle there; lights a fire----" "And build houses," said Conseil. "Yes, joker,"
59said Ned Land. "And one fine day the creature plunges, carrying with it all the inhabitants to the bottom of the sea."
60"Something like the travels of Sinbad the Sailor," I replied, laughing. "Ah!" suddenly exclaimed Ned Land, "it is not
61one whale; there are ten--there are twenty--it is a whole troop! And I not able to do anything! hands and feet tied!"
62"But, friend Ned," said Conseil, "why do you not ask Captain Nemo's permission to chase them?" Conseil had not finished
63his sentence when Ned Land had lowered himself through the panel to seek the Captain. A few minutes afterwards the two
64appeared together on the platform. Captain Nemo watched the troop of cetacea playing on the waters about a mile from the
65Nautilus. "They are southern whales," said he; "there goes the fortune of a whole fleet of whalers." "Well, sir," asked
66the Canadian, "can I not chase them, if only to remind me of my old trade of harpooner?" "And to what purpose?" replied
67Captain Nemo; "only to destroy! We have nothing to do with the whale-oil on board." "But, sir," continued the Canadian,
68"in the Red Sea you allowed us to follow the dugong." "Then it was to procure fresh meat for my crew. Here it would be
69killing for killing's sake. I know that is a privilege reserved for man, but I do not approve of such murderous pastime.
70In destroying the southern whale (like the Greenland whale, an inoffensive creature), your traders do a culpable action,
71Master Land. They have already depopulated the whole of Baffin's Bay, and are annihilating a class of useful animals.
72Leave the unfortunate cetacea alone. They have plenty of natural enemies--cachalots, swordfish, and sawfish--without you
73troubling them."
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