Jules Verne About Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (February 8, 1828–March 24, 1905) was a French author who pioneered the genre. He is best known for novels such as Journey To The Center Of The Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before air travel and practical submarines were invented, and before practical means of space travel had been devised. He is the third most translated author in the world, according to Index Transla-tionum. Some of his books have been made into ...Read More

Chapter 2 The Article in the Daily Telegraph.—War between the Scientific Journals.— Mr. Petermann backs his Friend Dr. Ferguson.—Reply the Savant Koner. —Bets made.—Sundry Propositions offered to the Doctor. On the next day, in its number of January 15th, the Daily Telegraph published an article couched in the following terms: "Africa is, at length, about to surrender the secret of her vast solitudes; a modern OEdipus is to give us the key to that en-igma which the learned men of sixty centuries have not been able to decipher. In other days, to seek the sources of the Nile—fontes Nili ...Read More

Chapter 3 The Doctor's Friend.—The Origin of their Friend-ship.—Dick Kennedy at London.—An unexpected but not very consoling Proposal.—A Proverb no means cheer-ing.—A few Names from the African Martyrology.—The Advantages of a Balloon.—Dr. Ferguson's Secret. Dr. Ferguson had a friend—not another self, indeed, an alter ego, for friendship could not exist between two beings exactly alike. But, if they possessed different qualities, aptitudes, and tem-peraments, Dick Kennedy and Samuel Ferguson lived with one and the same heart, and that gave them no great trouble. In fact, quite the reverse. Dick Kennedy was a Scotchman, in the full acceptation of the ...Read More

Chapter 4 African Explorations.—Barth, Richardson, Overweg, Werne, Brun-Rollet, Penney, Andrea, Debono, Miani, Guillaume Lejean, Bruce, Krapf and Rebmann, Maizan, Burton and Speke. The aerial line which Dr. Ferguson counted upon following had not been chosen at random; his point of departure had been carefully studied, and it was not without good cause that he had resolved to ascend at the island of Zanzibar. This is-land, lying near to the eastern coast of Africa, is in the sixth degree of south latitude, that is to say, four hundred and thirty geographical miles below the equator. From this island the latest ...Read More

Chapter 5 Kennedy's Dreams.—Articles and Pronouns in the Plur-al.—Dick's Insinuations. —A Promenade over the Map of Africa.—What is contained two Points of the Compass.—Expeditions now on foot.—Speke and Grant.—Krapf, De Decken, and De Heuglin. Dr. Ferguson energetically pushed the preparations for his departure, and in person superintended the construction of his balloon, with certain modifications; in regard to which he ob-served the most absolute silence. For a long time past he had been applying himself to the study of the Arab language and the various Mandingoe idioms, and, thanks to his talents as a polyglot, he had made rapid ...Read More

Chapter 6 A Servant—match him!—He can see the Satellites of Jupiter.—Dick and Joe hard at it.—Doubt and Faith.—The Weighing and Wellington.—He gets a Half-crown. Dr. Ferguson had a servant who answered with alacrity to the name of Joe. He was an excellent fellow, who testified the most absolute confidence in his master, and the most unlimited devotion to his interests, even anticipating his wishes and or-ders, which were always intelligently executed. In fine, he was a Caleb without the growling, and a perfect pattern of constant good-humor. Had he been made on purpose for the place, it could not ...Read More

Chapter 7 Geometrical Details.—Calculation of the Capacity of the Balloon.—The Double Receptacle.—The Covering.—The Car.—The Mysterious Apparatus. —The Provisions and Final Summing up. Dr. Ferguson had long been engaged upon the details of his expedition. It is easy to comprehend that the balloon —that marvellous vehicle which was to convey him through the air—was the constant object of his solicitude. At the outset, in order not to give the balloon too ponderous dimensions, he had decided to fill it with hydrogen gas, which is fourteen and a half times lighter than common air. The pro-duction of this gas is easy, ...Read More

Chapter 8 Joe's Importance.—The Commander of the Resol-ute.—Kennedy's Arsenal.—Mutual Amenities.—The Farewell Dinner.—Departure on the 21 st of Febru-ary.—The Doctor's Sessions.— Duveyrier.—Livingstone.—Details of the Aerial Voyage.—Kennedy silenced. About the 10th of February, the preparations were pretty well completed; and the balloons, firmly secured, one within the other, were altogether finished. They had been subjected to a powerful pneumatic pressure in all parts, and the test gave excellent evidence of their solidity and of the care applied in their construction. Joe hardly knew what he was about, with delight. He trotted incessantly to and fro between his home in Greek Street, ...Read More

Chapter 9 They double the Cape.—The Forecastle.—A Course of Cosmography by Professor Joe.—Concerning the Method of guiding Balloons.—How to out Atmospheric Currents.—Eureka. The Resolute plunged along rapidly toward the Cape of Good Hope, the weather continuing fine, although the sea ran heavier. On the 30th of March, twenty-seven days after the departure from London, the Table Mountain loomed up on the horizon. Cape City lying at the foot of an amphitheatre of hills, could be distinguished through the ship's glasses, and soon the Resolute cast anchor in the port. But the captain touched there only to replenish his coal ...Read More

Chapter 10 Former Experiments.—The Doctor's Five Recept-acles.—The Gas Cylinder.— The Calorifere.—The System of Manoeuvring.—Success certain. "The attempt has often made, gentlemen," said the doc-tor, "to rise and descend at will, without losing ballast or gas from the balloon. A French aeronaut, M. Meunier, tried to ac-complish this by compressing air in an inner receptacle. A Belgian, Dr. Van Hecke, by means of wings and paddles, obtained a vertical power that would have sufficed in most cases, but the practical results secured from these experiments have been insignificant. "I therefore resolved to go about the thing more directly; so, at ...Read More

Chapter 11 The Arrival at Zanzibar.—The English Consul.—Ill-will of the Inhabitants.—The Island of Koumbeni.—The Rain-Makers.—Inflation of the Balloon.—Departure on 18th of April.—The last Good-by. —The Victoria. An invariably favorable wind had accelerated the progress of the Resolute toward the place of her destination. The naviga-tion of the Mozambique Channel was especially calm and pleasant. The agreeable character of the trip by sea was re-garded as a good omen of the probable issue of the trip through the air. Every one looked forward to the hour of ar-rival, and sought to give the last touch to the doctor's preparations. At ...Read More

Chapter 12 Crossing the Strait.—The Mrima.—Dick's Remark and Joe's Proposition.—A Recipe for Coffee-making.—The Uzaramo.—The Unfortunate Maizan.—Mount Dathumi.—The Doctor's Cards.—Night a Nopal. The air was pure, the wind moderate, and the balloon ascen-ded almost perpendicularly to a height of fifteen hundred feet, as indicated by a depression of two inches in the barometric column. At this height a more decided current carried the balloon to-ward the southwest. What a magnificent spectacle was then outspread beneath the gaze of the travellers! The island of Zanzibar could be seen in its entire extent, marked out by its deeper color upon a vast ...Read More

Chapter 13 Change of Weather.—Kennedy has the Fever.—The Doctor's Medicine. —Travels on Land.—The Basin of Imenge.—Mount Rubeho.—Six Thousand Feet Halt in the Daytime. The night was calm. However, on Saturday morning, Kennedy, as he awoke, complained of lassitude and feverish chills. The weather was changing. The sky, covered with clouds, seemed to be laying in supplies for a fresh deluge. A gloomy region is that Zungomoro country, where it rains con-tinually, excepting, perhaps, for a couple of weeks in the month of January. A violent shower was not long in drenching our travellers. Below them, the roads, intersected by ...Read More

Chapter 14 The Forest of Gum-Trees.—The Blue Antelope.—The Rallying-Signal. —An Unexpected Attack.—The Kanyeme.—A Night in the Open Air.—The Mabunguru.—Jihoue-la-Mkoa.—A of Water.—Arrival at Kazeh. The country, dry and parched as it was, consisting of a clayey soil that cracked open with the heat, seemed, indeed, a desert: here and there were a few traces of caravans; the bones of men and animals, that had been half-gnawed away, mouldering together in the same dust. After half an hour's walking, Dick and Joe plunged into a forest of gum-trees, their eyes alert on all sides, and their fin-gers on the trigger. There ...Read More

Chapter 15 Kazeh.—The Noisy Market-place.—The Appearance of the Balloon.—The Wangaga.—The Sons of the Moon.—The Doctor's Walk.—The Population of the Royal Tembe.—The Sultan's Wives.—A Royal Drunken-Bout.— Joe an Object of Worship.—How they Dance in the Moon.—A Reaction.— Two Moons in one Sky.—The Instability of Divine Honors. Kazeh, an important point in Central Africa, is not a city; in truth, there are no cities in the interior. Kazeh is but a collec-tion of six extensive excavations. There are enclosed a few houses and slave-huts, with little courtyards and small gar-dens, carefully cultivated with onions, potatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, and mushrooms, of perfect ...Read More

Chapter 16 Symptoms of a Storm.—The Country of the Moon.—The Future of the African Continent.—The Last Machine of all.—A of the Country at Sunset.— Flora and Fauna.—The Tempest.—The Zone of Fire.—The Starry Heavens. "See," said Joe, "what comes of playing the sons of the moon without her leave! She came near serving us an ugly trick. But say, master, did you damage your credit as a physician?" "Yes, indeed," chimed in the sportsman. "What kind of a dignitary was this Sultan of Kazeh?" "An old half-dead sot," replied the doctor, "whose loss will not be very severely felt. But ...Read More

Chapter 17 The Mountains of the Moon.—An Ocean of Ver-dure.—They cast Anchor.—The Towing Elephant.—A Running Fire.—Death of the Monster.—The Meal on the Grass.—A Night on the Ground. About four in the morning, Monday, the sun reappeared in the horizon; the clouds had dispersed, and a cheery breeze re-freshed the morning dawn. The earth, all redolent with fragrant exhalations, reappeared to the gaze of our travellers. The balloon, whirled about by op-posing currents, had hardly budged from its place, and the doctor, letting the gas contract, descended so as to get a more northerly direction. For a long while his ...Read More

Chapter 18 The Karagwah.—Lake Ukereoue.—A Night on an Is-land.—The Equator.— Crossing the Lake.—The Cas-cades.—A View of the Country.—The Sources the Nile.—The Island of Benga.—The Signature of Andrea Debono.—The Flag with the Arms of England. At five o'clock in the morning, preparations for departure commenced. Joe, with the hatchet which he had fortunately re-covered, broke the elephant's tusks. The balloon, restored to liberty, sped away to the northwest with our travellers, at the rate of eighteen miles per hour. The doctor had carefully taken his position by the altitude of the stars, during the preceding night. He knew that he ...Read More

Chapter 19 The Nile.—The Trembling Mountain.—A Remembrance of the Country.—The Narratives of the Arabs.—The Nyam-Nyams.—Joe's Shrewd Cogitations.—The Balloon runs Gantlet.—Aerostatic Ascensions.—Madame Blanchard. "Which way do we head?" asked Kennedy, as he saw his friend consulting the compass. "North-northeast." "The deuce! but that's not the north?" "No, Dick; and I'm afraid that we shall have some trouble in getting to Gondokoro. I am sorry for it; but, at last, we have succeeded in connecting the explorations from the east with those from the north; and we must not complain." The balloon was now receding gradually from the Nile. "One last ...Read More

Chapter 20 The Celestial Bottle.—The Fig-Palms.—The Mammoth Trees.—The Tree of War.—The Winged Team.—Two Native Tribes in Battle.—A Massacre.—An Intervention above. The wind had become violent and irregular; the balloon was running the gantlet through the air. Tossed at one moment to-ward the north, at another toward the south, it could not find one steady current. "We are moving very swiftly without advancing much," said Kennedy, remarking the frequent oscillations of the needle of the compass. "The balloon is rushing at the rate of at least thirty miles an hour. Lean over, and see how the country is gliding away ...Read More

Chapter 21 Strange Sounds.—A Night Attack.—Kennedy and Joe in the Tree.—Two Shots.—"Help! help!"—Reply in French.—The Morning.—The Missionary. —The Plan Rescue. The night came on very dark. The doctor had not been able to reconnoitre the country. He had made fast to a very tall tree, from which he could distinguish only a confused mass through the gloom. As usual, he took the nine-o'clock watch, and at midnight Dick relieved him. "Keep a sharp lookout, Dick!" was the doctor's good-night injunction. "Is there any thing new on the carpet?" "No; but I thought that I heard vague sounds below us, ...Read More

Chapter 22 The Jet of Light.—The Missionary.—The Rescue in a Ray of Electricity.—A Lazarist Priest.—But little Hope.—The Doctor's Care.—A of Self-Denial. —Passing a Volcano. Dr. Ferguson darted his powerful electric jet toward various points of space, and caused it to rest on a spot from which shouts of terror were heard. His companions fixed their gaze eagerly on the place. The baobab, over which the balloon was hanging almost mo-tionless, stood in the centre of a clearing, where, between fields of Indian-corn and sugar-cane, were seen some fifty low, conical huts, around which swarmed a numerous tribe. A hundred ...Read More

Chapter 23 Joe in a Fit of Rage.—The Death of a Good Man.—The Night of watching by the Body.—Barrenness Drought.—The Burial.—The Quartz Rocks. —Joe's Hallu-cinations.—A Precious Ballast.—A Survey of the Gold-bearing Mountains.—The Beginning of Joe's Despair. A magnificent night overspread the earth, and the missionary lay quietly asleep in utter exhaustion. "He'll not get over it!" sighed Joe. "Poor young fel-low—scarcely thirty years of age!" "He'll die in our arms. His breathing, which was so feeble be-fore, is growing weaker still, and I can do nothing to save him," said the doctor, despairingly. "The infamous scoundrels!" exclaimed Joe, grinding ...Read More

Chapter 24 The Wind dies away.—The Vicinity of the Desert.—The Mistake in the Water-Supply.—The Nights of the Equat-or.—Dr. Ferguson's —The Situation flatly stated.—Energetic Replies of Kennedy and Joe. —One Night more. The balloon, having been made fast to a solitary tree, almost completely dried up by the aridity of the region in which it stood, passed the night in perfect quietness; and the travellers were enabled to enjoy a little of the repose which they so greatly needed. The emotions of the day had left sad impres-sions on their minds. Toward morning, the sky had resumed its brilliant purity ...Read More

Chapter 25 A Little Philosophy.—A Cloud on the Horizon.—In the Midst of a Fog.—The Strange Balloon.—An Exact View of Victoria.—The Palm-Trees.—Traces of a Cara-van.—The Well in the Midst of the Desert. On the morrow, there was the same purity of sky, the same stillness of the atmosphere. The balloon rose to an elevation of five hundred feet, but it had scarcely changed its position to the westward in any perceptible degree. "We are right in the open desert," said the doctor. "Look at that vast reach of sand! What a strange spectacle! What a sin-gular arrangement of nature! Why ...Read More

Chapter 26 One Hundred and Thirteen Degrees.—The Doctor's Re-flections.—A Desperate Search.—The Cylinder goes out.—One Hundred and Twenty-two Degrees.— Contemplation the Desert.—A Night Walk.—Solitude.—Debility.—Joe's Prospects.—He gives himself One Day more. The distance made by the balloon during the preceding day did not exceed ten miles, and, to keep it afloat, one hundred and sixty-two cubic feet of gas had been consumed. On Saturday morning the doctor again gave the signal for departure. "The cylinder can work only six hours longer; and, if in that time we shall not have found either a well or a spring of water, God alone ...Read More

Chapter 27 Terrific Heat.—Hallucinations.—The Last Drops of Water.—Nights of Despair.—An Attempt at Suicide.—The Simoom.—The Oasis.—The Lion and Lioness. The first care, on the morrow, was to consult the ba-rometer. He found that the mercury had scarcely undergone any perceptible depression. "Nothing!" he murmured, "nothing!" He got out of the car and scrutinized the weather; there was only the same heat, the same cloudless sky, the same merciless drought. "Must we, then, give up to despair?" he exclaimed, in agony. Joe did not open his lips. He was buried in his own thoughts, and planning the expedition he had proposed. ...Read More

Chapter 28 An Evening of Delight.—Joe's Culinary Performance.—A Dissertation on Raw Meat.—The Narrative of James Bruce.—Camping out.—Joe's Dreams.—The Barometer to fall.—The Barometer rises again.—Prepara-tions for Departure.—The Tempest. The evening was lovely, and our three friends enjoyed it in the cool shade of the mimosas, after a substantial repast, at which the tea and the punch were dealt out with no niggardly hand. Kennedy had traversed the little domain in all directions. He had ransacked every thicket and satisfied himself that the bal-loon party were the only living creatures in this terrestrial paradise; so they stretched themselves upon their blankets ...Read More

Chapter 29 Signs of Vegetation.—The Fantastic Notion of a French Author.—A Magnificent Country.—The Kingdom of Adamova.—The Explorations of Speke Burton con-nected with those of Dr. Barth.—The Atlantika Moun-tains.—The River Benoue.—The City of Yola.—The Bagele.—Mount Mendif. From the moment of their departure, the travellers moved with great velocity. They longed to leave behind them the desert, which had so nearly been fatal to them. About a quarter-past nine in the morning, they caught a glimpse of some signs of vegetation: herbage floating on that sea of sand, and announcing, as the weeds upon the ocean did to Christopher Columbus, the ...Read More

Chapter 30 Mosfeia.—The Sheik.—Denham, Clapperton, and Oud-ney.—Vogel.—The Capital of Loggoum.—Toole.—Becalmed above Kernak.—The Governor and his Court. —The Attack.—The Incendiary On the next day, May 11th, the Victoria resumed her adven-turous journey. Her passengers had the same confidence in her that a good seaman has in his ship. In terrific hurricanes, in tropical heats, when making danger-ous departures, and descents still more dangerous, it had, at all times and in all places, come out safely. It might almost have been said that Ferguson managed it with a wave of the hand; and hence, without knowing in advance, where the point ...Read More

Chapter 31 Departure in the Night-time.—All Three.—Kennedy's In-stincts.—Precautions.— The Course of the Shari River.—Lake Tchad.—The Water of the Lake.—The Bullet thrown away. About three o'clock in the morning, Joe, who was then on watch, at length saw the city move away from beneath his feet. The Victoria was once again in motion, and both the doctor and Kennedy awoke. The former consulted his compass, and saw, with satisfac-tion, that the wind was carrying them toward the north-northeast. "We are in luck!" said he; "every thing works in our favor: we shall discover Lake Tchad this very day." "Is it ...Read More

Chapter 32 The Capital of Bornou.—The Islands of the Biddio-mahs.—The Condors.—The Doctor's Anxieties.—His Pre-cautions.—An Attack in Mid-air.—The Balloon Covering .—The Fall .—Sublime Self-Sacrifice. —The Northern Coast of the Lake. Since its arrival at Lake Tchad, the balloon had struck a cur-rent that edged it farther to the westward. A few clouds tempered the heat of the day, and, besides, a little air could be felt over this vast expanse of water; but about one o'clock, the Victoria, having slanted across this part of the lake, again ad-vanced over the land for a space of seven or eight miles. The ...Read More

Chapter 33 Conjectures.—Reestablishment of the Victoria's Equilib-rium.—Dr. Ferguson's New Calculations.—Kennedy's Hunt.—A Complete Exploration of Lake Tchad.—Tangalia.—The Return.—Lari. On the the 13th of May, our travellers, for the first time, reconnoitred the part of the coast on which they had landed. It was a sort of island of solid ground in the midst of an immense marsh. Around this fragment of terra firma grew reeds as lofty as trees are in Europe, and stretching away out of sight. These impenetrable swamps gave security to the position of the balloon. It was necessary to watch only the borders of the lake. ...Read More

Chapter 34 The Hurricane.—A Forced Departure.—Loss of an Anchor.—Melancholy Reflections.—The Resolution adopted.—The Sand-Storm.—The Buried Caravan.—A Contrary yet Favorable Wind.—The south- ward.—Kennedy at his Post. At three o'clock in the morning the wind was raging. It beat down with such violence that the Victoria could not stay near the ground without danger. It was thrown almost flat over upon its side, and the reeds chafed the silk so roughly that it seemed as though they would tear it. "We must be off, Dick," said the doctor; "we cannot remain in this situation." "But, doctor, what of Joe?" "I am not ...Read More

Chapter 35 What happened to Joe.—The Island of the Biddio-mahs.—The Adoration shown him.—The Island that sank.—The Shores of the Tree of the Ser-pents.—The Foot-Tramp.—Terrible Suffering.—Mosqui-toes and Ants.—Hunger.—The Victoria seen.—She disap-pears.—The Swamp. —One Last Despairing Cry. What had become of Joe, while his master was thus vainly seeking for him? When he had dashed headlong into the lake, his first move-ment on coming to the surface was to raise his eyes and look upward. He saw the Victoria already risen far above the water, still rapidly ascending and growing smaller and smaller. It was soon caught in a rapid current ...Read More

Chapter 36 A Throng of People on the Horizon.—A Troop of Arabs.—The Pursuit. —It is He.—Fall from Horse-back.—The Strangled Ball from Kennedy.—Adroit Manoeuvres.—Caught up fly-ing.—Joe saved at last. From the moment when Kennedy resumed his post of obser-vation in the front of the car, he had not ceased to watch the horizon with his utmost attention. After the lapse of some time he turned toward the doctor and said: "If I am not greatly mistaken I can see, off yonder in the dis-tance, a throng of men or animals moving. It is impossible to make them out yet, but ...Read More

Chapter 37 The Western Route.—Joe wakes up.—His Obstin- acy. —End of Joe's Narrative .—Tagelei.—Kennedy' s Anxieties.—The Route to the Night near Aghades. During the night the wind lulled as though reposing after the boisterousness of the day, and the Victoria remained quietly at the top of the tall sycamore. The doctor and Kennedy kept watch by turns, and Joe availed himself of the chance to sleep most sturdily for twenty-four hours at a stretch. "That's the remedy he needs," said Dr. Ferguson. "Nature will take charge of his care." With the dawn the wind sprang up again in quite ...Read More

Chapter 38 A Rapid Passage.—Prudent Resolves.—Caravans in Sight.—Incessant Rains.—Goa.—The Niger.—Golberry, Geoffroy, and Gray.—Mungo Park.—Laing.— Rene Cail-lie.—Clapperton.—John and Richard Lander. 17th of May passed tranquilly, without any remarkable incident; the desert gained upon them once more; a moderate wind bore the Victoria toward the southwest, and she never swerved to the right or to the left, but her shadow traced a per-fectly straight line on the sand. Before starting, the doctor had prudently renewed his stock of water, having feared that he should not be able to touch ground in these regions, infested as they are by the Aouelim-Minian Touaregs. ...Read More

Chapter 39 The Country in the Elbow of the Niger.—A Fantastic View of the Hombori Mountains.—Kabra.—Timbuctoo.—The Chart of Dr. —A Decaying City.—Whither Heaven wills. During this dull Monday, Dr. Ferguson diverted his thoughts by giving his companions a thousand details concerning the country they were crossing. The surface, which was quite flat, offered no impediment to their progress. The doctor's sole anxiety arose from the obstinate northeast wind which contin-ued to blow furiously, and bore them away from the latitude of Timbuctoo. The Niger, after running northward as far as that city, sweeps around, like an immense water-jet from ...Read More

Chapter 40 Dr. Ferguson's Anxieties.—Persistent Movement south-ward.—A Cloud of Grasshoppers.—A View of Jenne.—A View of Sego.—Change of the Wind.—Joe's The flow of the river was, at that point, divided by large is-lands into narrow branches, with a very rapid current. Upon one among them stood some shepherds' huts, but it had be-come impossible to take an exact observation of them, because the speed of the balloon was constantly increasing. Unfortunately, it turned still more toward the south, and in a few moments crossed Lake Debo. Dr. Ferguson, forcing the dilation of his aerial craft to the utmost, sought for ...Read More

Chapter 41 The Approaches to Senegal.—The Balloon sinks lower and lower.—They keep throwing out, throwing out.—The Marabout Al-Hadji.—Messrs. Pascal, and Lam-bert.—A Rival of Mohammed.—The Difficult Moun-tains.—Kennedy's Weapons.—One of Joe's Man-oeuvres.—A Halt over a Forest. On the 27th of May, at nine o'clock in the morning, the coun-try presented an entirely different aspect. The slopes, extend-ing far away, changed to hills that gave evidence of mountains soon to follow. They would have to cross the chain which sep-arates the basin of the Niger from the basin of the Senegal, and determines the course of the water-shed, whether to the Gulf ...Read More

Chapter 42 A Struggle of Generosity.—The Last Sacrifice.—The Dil-ating Apparatus. —Joe's Adroitness .—Midnight.—The Doctor's Watch.—Kennedy's Watch. —The Latter falls at his Post.—The Fire.—The Howlings of the Nat-ives.—Out of Range. Doctor Ferguson's first care was to take his bearings by stel-lar observation, and he discovered that he was scarcely twenty-five miles from Senegal. "All that we can manage to do, my friends," said he, after having pointed his map, "is to cross the river; but, as there is neither bridge nor boat, we must, at all hazards, cross it with the balloon, and, in order to do that, we must ...Read More

Chapter 43 The Talabas.—The Pursuit.—A Devastated Country.—The Wind begins to fall.—The Victoria sinks.—The last of the Provisions.—The Leaps of Balloon.—A Defence with Fire-arms.—The Wind freshens.—The Senegal River.—The Cataracts of Gouina.—The Hot Air.—The Passage of the River. "Had we not taken the precaution to lighten the balloon yes-terday evening, we should have been lost beyond redemption," said the doctor, after a long silence. "See what's gained by doing things at the right time!" replied Joe. "One gets out of scrapes then, and nothing is more natural." "We are not out of danger yet," said the doctor. "What do you still ...Read More

Chapter 44 Conclusion.—The Certificate.—The French Settle-ments.—The Post of Medina.—The Basilic.—Saint Louis.—The English Frigate.—The Return to London. The expedition upon bank of the river had been sent by the governor of Senegal. It consisted of two officers, Messrs. Dufraisse, lieutenant of marines, and Rodamel, naval ensign, and with these were a sergeant and seven soldiers. For two days they had been engaged in reconnoitring the most favor-able situation for a post at Gouina, when they became witnesses of Dr. Ferguson's arrival. The warm greetings and felicitations of which our travellers were the recipients may be imagined. The Frenchmen, and they ...Read More