Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Zhalal Island

The night was uneventful.Not a single boat left the island, not a single native appeared on the shore.The only conclusion that can be drawn from this is that the inhabitants presumably live in the interior.Indeed, according to the original book, we know that it takes three or four hours to walk to the main village of Zalar Island. It appears that the arrival of the "Halle Brenale" did not occur without anyone noticing.This is of course better. Yesterday we dropped anchor three miles from shore in ten fathoms. Just at six o'clock this morning, the anchor was lifted, and the brig, with the help of morning wind, came to another anchorage.This is half a nautical mile from the Coral Belt.Coral belts are very similar to coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean.From this distance, it is easy to see the whole island.

The appearance of Zhalal Island is: nine to ten nautical miles in radius - Arthur Pym did not mention this - the coast is extremely steep and difficult to approach; Among the low hills.I repeat, the coast is deserted.Not a single ship was to be seen on the sea or in the cove.There was no wisp of cooking smoke rising from the top of the rock, as if there were no inhabitants here. What happened in eleven years? ...Maybe the leader of the indigenous people, the "too smart", is no longer alive? ... Even so, what about the island's rather large population? ...Where's William Guy? ... and the survivors of the British brig?

The "Jenny" appeared in this sea area, and it was the first time that the Zalar people saw a large ship.As soon as they entered the ship, they thought it was a huge beast, and thought the masts were limbs, and the sails were clothes.Now they should know what's going on here.So, what is the reason for their unusually cautious behavior of not taking the initiative to visit us? ... "Launch, longboat!" Captain Lan Guy commanded in an eager voice. The command is executed immediately.Captain Lan Guy said to the first mate: "Jem, disembark eight men, with Martin Hurt at the helm. You stay at the anchorage and watch the land and sea..."

"Relax, Captain." "We'll go ashore and try to get to the village of Crocker-Crocker. If there's any trouble at sea, let us know by three shots of the stone cannon..." "It's a deal, and there will be a one-minute interval between each of the three rings," replied the mate. "If we don't come back before dark, send out a second fully armed boat with ten men led by the bosun, and tell them to stop a short distance from the shore to meet us." "It must be done." "Don't leave the ship under any circumstances, Jem..."

"Never leave." "If you try your best and fail to find us, you will be in charge of commanding the brig and sailing back to the Falkland Islands..." "It's a deal." The longboat was quickly equipped.Eight crew members aboard, including Martin Huot and Hunter.Each carried a long gun, a pistol, a full ammunition belt, and a short knife at his side. Then I stepped forward and said: "Captain, will you not allow me to accompany you ashore?..." "If that suits you, Mr. Geolyn..." I went back to my cabin, and took my musket—a double-action shotgun—powder pot, bags of lead sand, and some bullets.I caught up with Captain Lan Guy, who made room for me aft.

The longboat was launched, and the oars were vigorously advanced towards the reef, to discover the channel which Arthur Pym and Dirk Peters had crossed in the dinghy of the "Jenny" on January 19, 1828. Just then the wildlings in the long canoe appeared... Captain William Guy waved them a white handkerchief in friendship....They responded with cries of "Anamo-mo" and "Rama-rama"...the captain allowed them and their leader "too clever" to come aboard. The book claims that at this time a friendly relationship was established between the Wildlings and the crew of the Jenny.It was decided to load a ship of sea cucumbers on the brig's return journey.At Arthur Pym's instigation, the brig was to push southward.It is well known that a few days later, on the 1st of February, Captain William Guy and thirty-one of his men fell entirely to the Crocker-Crocker Valley ambush.When the six people left to guard the "Jenny" were destroyed by the explosion, none of them managed to escape.

Our longboat sailed along the reef for twenty minutes.As soon as Hunter found the channel, he followed it and at last came to a narrow cleft in the rock. Leaving two sailors on the boat, they drove the boat through the 200-duise-wide bay, returned to the entrance of the channel, and hooked the iron hook on the head of the cable to the rock. Our team scrambled up the rugged gorge that led to the ridge on the shore.Hunter walked ahead, and we walked towards the center of the island. Captain Lan Guy and I exchanged views on the local scenery while walking.According to Arthur Pym, this place was "extremely different from any land hitherto visited by civilized man".

That's exactly what you see.I can only say that the general tone of the plain is black, as if its humus had been formed by volcanic ash.Looking around, there is nothing "white". After another hundred paces, Hunter ran toward a large rock.As soon as it was near, it climbed up, as lightly as a Pyrenees chamois.He stood upright on the top of the rock and looked around for several nautical miles. Hunter's expression seemed to be completely "turned" by himself! "What's the matter with him? . . . " Captain Lan Guy asked me, looking at him carefully. "What's the matter with him," I retorted, "I don't know, Captain. But you can see that there is nothing wrong with this man, and his behavior is completely inexplicable. In some ways, he deserves to be included. Arthur Pym thinks that among the new people he meets on this island! . . . even as if . . . "

"It seems..." repeated Captain Lan Guy. Before I finished my first sentence, I exclaimed aloud: "Captain, when you measured the sun's height yesterday, were you sure it was accurate?..." "certainly." "Our orientation is..." "Latitude 83 degrees 20 minutes, longitude 43 degrees 5 minutes..." "Is it accurate?..." "precise." "Then there is no doubt, this island is Zhalal Island?..." "Mr. Geolin, if Zalal Island is indeed located where Arthur Pym pointed out, there is no need to doubt it."

Indeed, there can be no doubt about it.If Arthur Pym is not mistaken about the position of the island expressed in degrees and minutes, then our team has passed through this area under the leadership of Hunter, and the authenticity of Arthur Pym's account of this area, How should I feel?He talked about many strange things that were completely foreign to him... He said that there is no tree here that is similar to the trees in the tropical, temperate, and arctic zones, and even the trees in the low latitudes of the southern hemisphere. Not resembling - these are his words... He talks about the rocks here, both in size and in bedding, which make up something new... He talks about the magical stream, the bed of which flows opaque The indescribable liquid, like melted rubber arabic, is divided into clear stripes, showing various lights like shining satin. After the stripes are cut with a knife edge, the strength of the bond cannot make them close...

However, none of this exists, or rather, all of this no longer exists!Not a big tree, not a shrub, not a small shrub in the field... The wooded hills winding through the village of Crocker-Crocker are gone... The crew of the "Jenny" dare not drink water Thirsty brooks, I didn't see a single one - not even a drop, common or unusual... Horrible, depressing, utterly naked barrenness everywhere! Hunter still walked forward quickly, without showing the slightest hesitation.It seems that natural instinct is guiding him, just as swallows and homing pigeons can take the shortest way back to their nests—"bird flight", we Americans say "bee flight".Some premonition drove us to follow him as if he were the best guide, like "Leather Socks" and "Sly Fox"! ... After all, maybe he is from the same country as these heroes of Fenimore Cooper! ... I cannot fail to repeat that what unfolds before our eyes is by no means the mythical world depicted by Arthur Pym.The soil beneath our feet is battered, devastated, convulsed soil.The soil is black...yes...black and scorched, as if spewed from the viscera of the earth by the force of a soaring fire.It seemed that there had been a terrible and irresistible catastrophe that shook the entire surface of the earth. The animals mentioned in the autobiography, whether it is a Varinaria duck, a Galapagos tortoise, a black bird as big as a harrier, a black pig with a tufted tail and legs like antelope, a black sheep, or a black Feathered giant albatrosses, etc., we didn't see a single one.Even the penguins, abundant in Antarctic waters, seem to have escaped from a land that has become uninhabitable... This is the most dreadful wasteland, a desolate sight! No humans...not a single person...neither in the island nor on the shore! In this desolation, is it possible to find William Guy and the survivors of the "Jenny"? ... I looked at Captain Lan Guy.He was pale and frowning.It couldn't be more clear that his heart has begun to turn cold... We ended up in the valley.Once upon a time, folds of the valley embraced the village of Crocker-Crocker.Here, as elsewhere, it was a scene of utter abandonment.There is no house—the season when there was a house, it was also extremely simple.Whether it is a "yampus" made of large sheets of black hide spread on a sawn trunk four feet above the ground, a hut made of cut branches, or a hut clinging to the hills Caves dug out of black rock that resembled fuller's earth... all gone.And where is the gurgling brook running down the valley floor now?Where did the magical river flowing on the bed of the black sand river escape to? ... Residents of Zhalal Island, the men are almost naked, and some wear a black animal skin, holding spears and maces; and decency not to be found in any civilized society”—these are the words of Arthur Pym—and the hordes of children who follow them. . . yes!Where has the world of the black-skinned, black-haired, black-toothed natives gone? ... The shabby room of "Too Smart" is composed of four large animal skins, which are connected into one piece with wooden nails, and the four sides are fixed with wooden stakes nailed to the ground.We've been looking everywhere for this shack...I haven't even made out where it used to be! ... It was here that William Gaye, Arthur Pym, Dirk Peters, and their companions were received with some respect in former times, and there was a large crowd of islanders outside ... It was here There was a feast for them, and a dish was served, which was the offal of an animal they had never seen, and it was still twitching when it was served. "Too Smart" and his men gobbled it up with disgusting greed... At this time, a light flashed in my mind, like a divine revelation.I realized what had happened to the island, why it was so desolate, where the great upheavals that still left traces on the land came from... "An earthquake!..." I yelled.Yes, in these areas, seawater seeps into the ground, and earthquakes are commonplace, as long as two or three violent shocks are enough! ...One day, the steam accumulated underground will break through a channel, and everything on the surface will be destroyed... "An earthquake made Zalar Island like this?..." Captain Lan Gaye murmured. "Yes, Captain, and the earthquake destroyed the unique vegetation of the island... streams with strange liquids... strange natural sights. Now it's all buried deep in the soil, and we can't find any traces of it!  … What Arthur Pym saw before, never again! . . . " Hunter had come over and listened for a while.His big head rose and lowered in agreement. "Isn't the Antarctic sea a volcanic area?" I continued, "If the 'Halbrena' takes us to Victoria Land, won't we see the erupting volcano Erebus and the volcano 'Terror'? ?..." "But," Mardin Hott reminded, "if the volcano erupts, you should see lava..." "I don't say there was a volcanic eruption," I replied to the sailmaker, "but an earthquake turned the earth upside down!" After careful consideration, I think this explanation can be established. At this time, another thing came to my mind: According to Arthur Pym's self-report, Zalal Island belongs to an archipelago that winds and stretches to the west.If the inhabitants of Zhalal Island had not been devastated by the earthquake, they might have fled to a nearby island.So it would be best to explore the archipelago.After the natural disaster, it is impossible to survive on Zalar Island. The survivors of the "Jennie" may have left Zalar Island and found refuge somewhere in the archipelago... I mentioned this idea to Captain Lan Guy. "Yes," he cried, tears welling up in his eyes. "Yes!... Very likely!... But, how can my brother and his fellow sufferers escape? Wouldn't it be more likely that they were all killed in the earthquake?..." Hunter made a gesture that meant: Come with me!We went with him. He went deep into the ravine, walked two shots' range, and stopped. What a miserable spectacle is unfolded before our eyes! Here, there are mountains of bones, piles of sternum, tibia, femur, vertebrae, all kinds of fragments that make up human bones and skeletons, without a single muscle.Piles of skeletons, some with strands of hair—in short, piled up into mountains, all white! ... Facing this extraordinary pile of bones, we were dumbfounded and shuddered!Is it estimated that there are thousands of island residents, and this is the rest? …if they all died in the earthquake, how does that explain the fact that the debris was scattered on the surface of the land rather than buried in the ground? ...Moreover, these aborigines, men, women, children, were completely caught off guard when the earthquake came, and they were all unprepared, and they had no time to escape to other islands in the archipelago. Is this assumption tenable? ... We stood there numbly, frustrated, hopeless, unable to utter a word! "Brother... my poor brother!" Captain Lan Gay knelt down and muttered.Thinking about it again, there are some things that my mind just can't accept.For example, how can the disaster be interpreted to match the notes in Patterson's blotter?It is clearly stated in the notes that seven months ago, the first mate of the "Jenny" left his partner on Zalar Island.So they couldn't have died in the earthquake, because judging from the state of the bones, the earthquake happened years ago; and after Arthur Pym and Dirk Peters left the island, because there is no Speaking of earthquakes... Actually, it doesn't make sense.If the earthquake was recent, then the presence of the wreckage, which had been whitish from the weather, could not be explained by the earthquake.Anyway, the survivors of the Jenny were not among them...but...where were they? ... The Crocker-Crocker Valley no longer extends further, and we have to retrace our steps back to the coast. We had just walked half a nautical mile along the hillside when Hunter stopped again.He stood in front of several bone fragments that were almost powdered.The bone fragments are not like human bones. Was this the remains of some monster drawn by Arthur Pym?Until now we haven't seen a stuffed monster... A cry came from Hunter's mouth—or rather, a beastly roar. His large hand was reaching out to us, holding a metal collar... right! ...a copper collar...has been half-corroded by oxidation, and a few letters engraved on it are still legible.Holding a metal collar in his hand... These letters form three words, which are: tiger. — Arthur Pym — "Tiger!" That's the name of the Newfoundland dog that saved his master's life while he was hiding in the hold of the Orca! ... This is a "tiger" who has already shown symptoms of hydrophobia! ... It was the "tiger" that threw itself on Sailor Jones' neck during the mutiny on board!And then Dirk Peters took Jones down! ... In this way, this infinitely loyal puppy did not die when the "Orca" was wrecked... It was also rescued on the "Jenny" together with Arthur Pym and the half-breed... However, in the novel This was not mentioned.Dogs have long been out of the question even before encountering the brig... Thousands of contradictory thoughts are running through my head...I don't know how to explain these facts satisfactorily...However, "Tiger" was rescued in the same danger as Arthur Pym, following Arthur Pym until Zara Isle of Zalal, Crocker-Crocker Hill collapsed and it survived the disaster that destroyed some of the inhabitants of Zalal Isle, it should be certain... This proved once again that William Guy and his five sailors could not be among the bones of Guy.Because they were alive when Patterson left seven months ago, years after this disaster! ... Nothing else was found.Three hours later we were back on board the Halle Brena. Captain Lan Guy retired to his cabin, shut himself up, and did not appear at supper. I thought it was more appropriate to respect his pain and not try to see him. The next day I was tempted to go to the island again and search again from shore to shore.I asked the mate to send me there. Jem West, with the permission of Captain Gay, granted my request.Captain Lan Guy did not come with us. Hunter, the boatswain, Martin Hoult, four sailors, and myself, went into the boat.Since there was nothing to be afraid of, he carried no weapons. Disembark at the place where you disembarked the previous day.Hunter again guided us up Crocker-Crocker Hill. Immediately after arriving, we climbed up a narrow ravine.At the beginning, Arthur Pym, Dirk Peters and Allen, separated from William Gay and his twenty-nine companions, penetrated into this ravine through the crack.Fissures are washed out of the slippery substance, as if a rather brittle block of steatite. Here, the remnants of the cliffs are gone, presumably also in the earthquake; the cracks where a few hazel trees hid the fortifications; Here it was suffocated; and the level rise where Arthur Pym and the half-breed had seen the native boats attack the brig, and heard the explosions that killed thousands, was gone. The hill that was flattened in the artificial collapse disappeared without a trace.At the beginning, the captain, first mate Patterson and five sailors of the "Jenny" escaped with their lives... There is no trace of the maze either.The circles in the maze intersect each other to form letters, letters form words, and words form a sentence.Arthur Pym paraphrased the phrase in his book, the first line meaning "was white" and the second meaning "Southland"! In this way the hills, the village of Crocker-Crocker, and everything that had given Zalal its mystique vanished.By now, there is no doubt that the mysteries of these incredible discoveries will never be revealed to anyone! ... We had to go back to the brig along the east coast. Hunter wants us to go through the location of the warehouse.The warehouse was originally set up to process sea cucumbers.We only see a few remnants. Needless to say, there was no cry of "dai kelly-lee" echoed in our ears--the cry of the inhabitants of the birds and the great black birds passing by in the air... Desolation and silence everywhere! ... Our last stop was where Arthur Pym and Dirk Peters took the boat.Then the boat took them to higher latitudes...until the dark, misty sky cracked and loomed great human faces...snow-white giants... Hunter, with his arms folded on his chest, stared fixedly at the endless sea. "Hello, Hunter? . . . " I said to him. Hunter didn't seem to hear me, he didn't even turn his head towards me. "What are we doing here?..." I asked, touching his shoulder. I put my hand on it and he jumped up.He gave me a look that pierced my heart. "Hey, Hunter," cried Heligly, "what? Are you going to put down roots on this rock? . . . Don't you see the Halle Brena waiting for us at the anchorage?  … ...Go back! ... We'll open the way tomorrow! ... There's nothing to do here!" I seemed to see Hunter's trembling lips repeated the word "it's okay" several times.His whole expression showed that he was extremely dissatisfied with the bosun's words... The dinghy took us back to the ship. Captain Lan Guy never left his cabin. Jem West, who had not been ordered to prepare for sail, paced aft and waited. I sat down at the foot of the mainmast, and looked at the sea, which lay free and wide before us. At this moment, Captain Lan Guy came out of the cabin, his face pale and his muscles spasming. "Mr. Georin," he said to me, "I realize that I have done my best! . . . What hope can I have of my brother William and his mates? . . . No! . . . Already... in winter not yet..." Captain Lan Guy straightened himself up and took a last look at Zalar Island. "Tomorrow, Jem," he said, "we're going to start early in the morning..." At this moment, someone could only hear these words uttered in a rough voice: "And Pym... poor Pym? . . . " This voice... I recognized it... That's exactly what I heard in my dreams!