Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Rapids

Colonel Everett and Strux have been like two strangers in Bushmen's "Klarer."The latitude observations were made without their assistance.The two would never see each other if they hadn't had to meet for "scientific reasons". The day before departure, Colonel Everett simply sent Strux a "P.P.C." card and received a card of the same format from the Russian scientist. On May 19, the expedition team withdrew the entire camp and started back on the road towards the north.The eighth triangle was to the left of the meridian, and the apex was properly chosen on a hilltop six miles away, and the adjacent angles to the base of this triangle were also measured.Now it's just a matter of reaching this new observation point in order to restart the geodetic experiments.

From May 19th to 29th, where they are is connected to the meridian by two new triangles.They took every precaution to get an exact value.The operation proceeded as desired, and up to this point no great difficulties arose.The weather was favorable for daytime observations, and there were no insurmountable obstacles on the ground.Even the ground is too flat to be completely suitable for angle measurement.It was a green "desert" where streams flowed between the rows of "Kareo". The kaleja is a willow-like tree from which the Bushmans make bows and arrows.The ground is scattered with weathered and decomposed rock fragments, mixed with silt and iron-bearing soil, showing signs of drought in some places: traces of humans have disappeared in these places, and the vegetation is mainly composed of some of the most drought-tolerant mucus plants. composition.However, no high ground can be found as a natural point of view within the entire range of several miles, so it is necessary to erect indicator posts or pillars 10-12 meters high as benchmarks.This will waste some time and slow down the progress of the triangulation.But all in all, this operation is not difficult. The crew of the Queen and Tsar were assigned to the job, and they carried out their tasks with ease.These men are well educated and quick to operate, and their ingenuity would be celebrated only if some question of national pride had not often caused discord among them.

Indeed, the unforgivable jealousy which divided the two leaders, Colonel Everett and Strux, sometimes stirred up hostility among the crew.Zorn and Amory used all their wisdom and prudence to check this unpleasant tendency, but they could not always succeed.Quarrels between semi-savages can turn into regrettable offenses, and the intervention of Colonel Everett and Strux only aggravates the matter, always on the side of their fellow-men, even if they Even if it is the wrong side, we must also take sides.The quarrel escalated from the subordinates to the leadership and "developed in the masses," Zorn said.In the month since leaving La Taku, only between the two young men remained the rapport so necessary for the success of their careers.Your Excellency Marui and Barlander originally only cared about their own affairs, one was immersed in calculations, and the other was obsessed with hunting, and they also began to participate in these internal debates.

One day, when the argument was so heated, Strux said to Colonel Everett: "Sir, let's be humble to these astronomers from Brokova Observatory. It is their astronomical telescope that confirms that the face of Uranus is perfectly round." Everett replied that those astronomers who were fortunate enough to come from the Cambridge Observatory had the right to be a little prouder, because it was their astronomical telescope that identified Andromeda as an irregular nebula. Strux escalated the personal attack further, saying that the 14-inch objective lens of the telescope of the Brecois Observatory can make people see thirteenth-magnitude stars.Colonel Everett vehemently retorted that the objective lens of the Cambridge Observatory telescope was also 14 inches. On the night of January 31, 1862, it discovered the mysterious satellite that perturbed Sirius.

When scientists have uttered such personal words, people know that their relationship can never be closer. Fortunately, the debate, at least up to now, has concerned only topics or facts that have nothing to do with geodetic experiments.Sometimes there is a bit of controversy when taking a survey with a theodolite or re-theodolite, but far from messing up the job.Instead, such arguments make accuracy more stringent.As for the choice of observation point, there has been no disagreement so far. On May 30, the clear weather suitable for observation suddenly changed.One can accurately predict that a storm with torrential rain is about to descend across the region.The sky was covered with terrible black clouds, and several lightning bolts without thunderclap appeared in the air mass.However, the condensation of water vapor did not occur in the upper air, and the dry land did not receive a drop of water.Only for a few days, the sky was covered with drizzle.This untimely fog will only hamper experiments.The top of the pole is invisible from a mile away.

However, not wanting to waste time, the committee decided to keep working with the lights on at night.It's just that under Morcum's suggestion, they have to be careful for the safety of the observers.Because at night, the beasts are attracted by the electric lights and lined up around the observation point.Observers listened to the sharp howling of jackals and the hoarse sneer of hyenas, not only thinking of the weird laughter of drunk black people. When they first started working at night, surrounded by an enclosure of horribly howling animals—sometimes accompanied by a majestic roar announcing the approach of a lion—astronomers could not fully concentrate on their work.The speed of measurement slowed down, and it was not even accurate enough.Those eyes watching the scientists, burning through the darkness of night, disturbed them.To measure the distance between the vertices of the lamps and their angle of view in this case required great poise and unshakable self-restraint.The members of the committee are not lacking in these qualities.After a few days they were tactful again, operating as cleanly surrounded by wild beasts as they were in the quiet halls of the observatory.In addition, at each observation point, they arranged several hunters.Several bold hyenas fell under the bullets of the Europeans.Not to mention how "cute" Lord Marui thinks this triangulation is!While keeping his eyes on the eyepiece of the astronomical telescope, he still held a Gord weapon in his hand, and he fired more than once while making zenith observations.

The geodetic experiment was not interrupted by bad weather, nor was its accuracy affected in the slightest.The measurement of the meridian advances periodically to the north. From May 30 to June 17, no event worthy of narrative occurred while the geodetic work was in progress.Some new triangles are established with the help of artificial observation points.Colonel Everett and Strux expected that they would have completed the measurement of another arc of meridian by the end of June, if no natural obstacles prevented the progress of the experimenters. On June 17, a wider tributary of the Orange River blocked the way.The members of the committee will have no trouble crossing the river, and each of them has a rubber boat, which is used to cross the not-so-wide river and lake.But four-wheel vehicles and expedition supplies cannot be transported in this way, and a place to ford must be found upstream or downstream of the river.

In the end, against Strux's advice, it was decided that the Europeans in the party would take their instruments and cross the river in small boats, while the others, led by Morcombe, went a few miles downstream to a wading man he knew. And pass the place. This tributary of the Orange River is here half a mile wide, and in its swift current, rocks and tree-trunk heads lodged in the silt looming, present a certain danger to a flimsy boat.Strux made suggestions on this point, but he would not appear to shrink from the dangers his companions were all taking, and agreed with them. Only Ballendre had to go downstream with the rest of the Deep Adventure team, not because the respected calculator harbored a sense of fear—he was too absorbed in his own world to sense any danger at all, but because His presence was not essential to the conduct of the experiment, and he could be away from his companions for a day or two without harm.In addition, the size of the small boat can only accommodate a limited number of people. It is best to transport people, equipment and some food to the other side at one time.An experienced crew was required to pilot the dinghy, and Barendre gave up his place to an Englishman in the crew who was more useful in the present situation than the esteemed astronomer from Helsinki.

After deciding to meet on the north bank of the river, the expedition team went down the river under the leadership of Morcum. Soon, the last few four-wheeled vehicles disappeared into the distance.Colonel Everett, Strux, Amory, Zorn, Lord Murray, two sailors, and a Bushman who was well versed in river navigation remained by the river. The Aborigines call this river the Nuosubo River, and the small tributaries formed during the rainy season make it swell a lot. "A beautiful river," Zon said to Amory.The sailors are preparing the dinghy. "Beautiful, but not easy to pass," said Amory. "These rapids are short-lived rivers that live their lives. When the dry season comes in a few weeks, there may be only a little left on the riverbed for the water." The caravan's thirst-quenched water. It rushes on, but soon dries up. Such is the law of nature, material and spiritual. But we must not waste time asking philosophical questions. The boat is ready, I'll be excited to see how it goes on this rapid."

The dinghy was deployed, secured to internal supports, and within minutes it was thrown into the river.Boats waited for travelers to embark just below the bank, the gentle slope the river cuts through a plateau of rose-coloured granite.Here the tip of the bank protruding into the river creates an eddy of the current, after which the water is quiet and silently washes the reeds that overgrow them.Everyone boarded the boat easily.The instruments are placed on the grassed bottom of the boat, where they will not be bumped. The "passengers" sat out of the way of the sailors rowing, with the Bushman at the helm aft.

This aborigine is the expedition's "Forobel", that is, the "pathfinder".Morcum recommended him to the expedition as a man with extensive experience sailing the African rapids.The native, who knew a few words of English, asked his "passengers" to keep quiet as they crossed the Nosubo River. The cable was undone, and the oars quickly pushed the boat out of the quiet eddy area, whereupon the boat began to feel the action of the current, which had returned to rapids a hundred yards away.The orders that Forobel gave to both sailors were accurately carried out.Sometimes they need to lift their oars to avoid half-submerged wooden posts, and sometimes they need to push hard against the eddies formed by the countercurrent.When the force of the current is too strong, they control the boat while letting it drift.The aborigines held the tiller in their hands, focused their eyes, and kept their heads still, thus avoiding all dangers when crossing the river.The Europeans watched the situation with a sort of dazed concern.They felt themselves being carried away by the irresistible, turbulent and powerful current.Colonel Everett and Strux looked at each other in silence.His Excellency John Murray, with his inseparable rifle between his legs, watched the flocks of birds as they skimmed the waters of the Nosubo River.The two young astronomers admired the rapidly receding scenery across the Taiwan Strait without any worries or reservations. Soon, the boat reached the real rapids, which had to be detoured to reach the calmer opposite bank.Under the command of the Bushmen, the two sailors pressed the oars more strongly, but no matter how hard they tried, the boat was driven back to the direction parallel to the river bank by the powerless impulse, and drifted downstream. .The rudder no longer had any effect on it, and not even the oars could make it change course.The situation became critical, because if it collided with a rock or a tree trunk, the boat would surely capsize. The passengers sensed danger, but none of them spoke. Forobel half squatted and half stood, observing the direction of the boat.He can't stop the speed of the boat on the water because its speed is the same as the speed of the water, which makes the rudder no longer have any effect.Two hundred yards ahead, a dangerous islet of stone and trees jutted out from the river bed above the water.It is impossible to escape it.In a short while the boat would touch it and be torn to shreds. The impact happened quickly, but not as violently as one might think.The boat tipped and several pints of river water came in.Yet the passengers remained in their positions, looking ahead.The black rock the boat struck shifted and swayed in the churning current. The rock that was hit was a gigantic hippopotamus that had been swept behind the island by the current, but did not dare to venture across the rapids to reach the other side of the river or this one.Feeling hit by a boat, it raised its head and swung on the water, looking around with its small glassy eyes.The huge pachyderm was 6 feet long, hard, brown, and hairless, with a mouth that opened wide to reveal extremely well-developed upper incisors and fangs.Immediately after being hit, it jumped on the boat and took a frenzied bite, but its teeth were almost torn apart. But His Excellency John Murray was here, and his calm mind did not abandon him.He quietly put his rifle to his shoulder and fired right into the hippo's ear.But the hippo still didn't let go, shaking the boat like a dog against a rabbit.The rifle was immediately reloaded and hit the hippo in the head again.The shot was fatal, and the fleshy man immediately drifted away with the water after making a dying struggle.The boat was pushed to the side of the island again. Before the passengers could react, the boat was slanted, spinning like a top, and crookedly returned to the same direction as the current.The river turned abruptly hundreds of yards downstream, interrupting the current and the boat lingered for 20 seconds.A violent impact brought the boat to a halt, and the passengers were thrown unharmed to the opposite bank.They had been dragged out of the two-mile range before this.