Best Fantasy Stories

Chapter 17 BELIEF AND UNBELIEF

Chapter 17

BELIEF AND UNBELIEFThe doctor was here interrupted by Featherstone, who, with a

yawn, informed him that it was eleven o'clock, and that human

endurance had its limits. Upon this the doctor rolled up the

manuscript and put it aside for the night, after which supper was

ordered.

"Well," said Featherstone, "what do you think of this last?"

"It contains some very remarkable statements," said the

doctor.

"There are certainly monsters enough in it," said Melick—

"'Gorgons, and hydras, and chimeras dire.'"

"Well, why not?" said the doctor.

"It seems to me," said Melick, "that the writer of this has

peopled his world with creatures that resemble the fossil animals

more than anything else."

"The so-called fossil animals," said the doctor, "may not be

extinct. There are fossil specimens of animals that still have

living representatives. There is no reason why many of those

supposed to be extinct may not be alive now. It is well known that

many very remarkable animals have become extinct within a

comparatively recent period. These great birds, of which More

speaks, seem to me to belong to these classes. The dodo was in

existence fifty years ago, the moa about a hundred years ago. These

great birds, together with others, such as the epiornis and

palapteryx, have disappeared, not through the ordinary course of

nature, but by the hand of man. Even in our hemisphere they may yet

be found. Who can tell but that the moa or the dodo may yet be

lurking somewhere here in the interior of Madagascar, of Borneo, or

of Papua?"

"Can you make out anything about those great birds?" asked

Featherstone. "Do they resemble anything that exists now, or has

ever existed?"

"Well, yes, I think so," said the doctor. "Unfortunately, More

is not at all close or accurate in his descriptions; he has a

decidedly unscientific mind, and so one cannot feel sure; yet from

his general statements I think I can decide pretty nearly upon the

nature and the scientific name of each one of his birds and

animals. It is quite evident to me that most of these animals

belong to races that no longer exist among us, and that this world

at the South Pole has many characteristics which are like those of

what is known as the Coal Period. I allude in particular to the

vast forests of fern, of gigantic grasses and reeds. At the same

time the general climate and the atmosphere seem like what we may

find in the tropics at present. It is evident that in More's world

various epochs are represented, and that animals of different ages

are living side by side."

"What do you think of the opkuk?" asked Featherstone, with a

yawn.

"Well, I hardly know."

"Why, it must be a dodo, of course," said Melick, "only

magnified."

"That," said the doctor, gravely, "is a thought that naturally

suggests itself; but then the opkuk is certainly far larger than

the dodo."

"Oh, More put on his magnifying-glasses just then."

"The dodo," continued the doctor, taking no notice of this, "in

other respects corresponds with More's description of the opkuk.

Clusius and Bontius give good descriptions and there is a

well-known picture of one in the British Museum. It is a massive,

clumsy bird, ungraceful in its form with heavy movements, wings too

short for flight, little or no tail, and down rather than feathers.

The body, according to Bontius, is as big as that of the African

ostrich, but the legs are very short. It has a large head, great

black eyes, long bluish-white bill, ending in a beak like that of a

vulture, yellow legs, thick and short, four toes on each foot

solid, long, and armed with sharp black claws. The flesh

particularly on the breast, is fat and esculent. Now, all this

corresponds with More's account, except as to the size of the two,

for the opkuks are as large as oxen."

"Oh, that's nothing," said Melick; "I'm determined to stand up

for the dodo." With this he burst forth singing—

"Oh, the dodo once lived, but he doesn't live now; Yet why

should a cloud overshadow our brow? The loss of that bird ne'er

should trouble our brains, For though he is gone, still our claret

remains. Sing do-do—jolly do-do! Hurrah! in his name let our cups

overflow."

"As for your definition, doctor," continued Melick, "I'll give

you one worth a dozen of yours:

"'Twas a mighty bird; those strong, short legs were never known

to fail, And he felt a glory of pride while thinking of that little

tail, And his beak was marked with vigor, curving like a wondrous

hook; Thick and ugly was his body—such a form as made one

look!"

"Melick," said Featherstone, "you're a volatile youth. You

mustn't mind him, doctor. He's a professional cynic, sceptic, and

scoffer. Oxenden and I, however, are open to conviction, and want

to know more about those birds and beasts. Can you make anything

out of the opmahera?"

The doctor swallowed a glass of wine, and replied:

"Oh yes; there are many birds, each of which may be the

opmahera. There's the fossil bird of Massachusetts, of which

nothing is left but the footprints; but some of these are eighteen

inches in length, and show a stride of two yards. The bird belonged

to the order of the Grallae, and may have been ten or twelve feet

in height. Then there is the Gastornis parisiensis, which was as

tall as an ostrich, as big as an ox, and belongs to the same order

as the other. Then there is the Palapteryx, of which remains have

been found in New Zealand, which was seven or eight feet in height.

But the one which to my mind is the real counterpart of the

opmahera is the Dinornis gigantea, whose remains are also found in

New Zealand. It is the largest bird known, with long legs, a long

neck, and short wings, useless for flight. One specimen that has

been found is upward of thirteen feet in height. There is no reason

why some should not have been much taller. More compares its height

to that of a giraffe. The Maoris call this bird the Moa, and their

legends and traditions are full of mention of it. When they first

came to the island, six or seven hundred years ago, they found

these vast birds everywhere, and hunted them for food. To my mind

the dinornis is the opmahera of More. As to riding on them, that is

likely enough; for ostriches are used for this purpose, and the

dinornis must have been far stronger and fleeter than the ostrich.

It is possible that some of these birds may still be living in the

remoter parts of our hemisphere."

"What about those monsters," asked Featherstone, "that More

speaks of in the sacred hunt?"

"I think," said the doctor, "that I understand pretty well what

they were, and can identify them all. As the galley passed the

estuary of that great river, you remember that he mentions seeing

them on the shore. One may have been the Ichthyosaurus. This, as

the name implies, is a fish-lizard. It has the head of a lizard,

the snout of a dolphin, the teeth of an alligator, enormous eyes,

whose membrane is strengthened by a bony frame, the vertebrae of

fishes, sternum and shoulder-bones like those of the lizard, and

the fins of a whale. Bayle calls it the whale of the saurians.

Another may have been the Cheirotherium. On account of the

hand-shaped marks made by its paws, Owen thinks that it was akin to

the frogs; but it was a formidable monster, with head and jaws of a

crocodile. Another may have been the Teleosaurus, which resembled

our alligators. It was thirty-five feet in length. Then there was

the Hylaeosaurus, a monster twenty-five feet in length, with a

cuirass of bony plates."

"But none of these correspond with More's description of the

monster that fought with the galley."

"No," said the doctor, "I am coming to that now. That monster

could have been no other than the Plesiosaurus, one of the most

wonderful animals that has ever existed. Imagine a thing with the

head of a lizard, the teeth of a crocodile, the neck of a swan, the

trunk and tail of a quadruped, and the fins of a whale. Imagine a

whale with its head and neck consisting of a serpent, with the

strength of the former and the malignant fury of the latter, and

then you will have the plesiosaurus. It was an aquatic animal, yet

it had to remain near or on the surface of the water, while its

long, serpent-like neck enabled it to reach its prey above or below

with swift, far-reaching darts. Yet it had no armor, and could not

have been at all a match for the ichthyosaurus. More's account

shows, however, that it was a fearful enemy for man to

encounter."

"He seems to have been less formidable than that beast which

they encountered in the swamp. Have you any idea what that

was?"

"I think it can have been no other than the Iguanodon," said the

doctor. "The remains of this animal show that it must have been the

most gigantic of all primeval saurians. Judging from existing

remains its length was not less than sixty feet, and larger ones

may have existed. It stood high on its legs; the hind ones were

larger than the fore. The feet were massive and armed with

tremendous claws. It lived on the land and fed on herbage. It had a

horny, spiky ridge all along its back. Its tail was nearly as long

as its body. Its head was short, its jaws enormous, furnished with

teeth of a very elaborate structure, and on its muzzle it carried a

curved horn. Such a beast as this might well have caused all that

destruction of life on the part of his desperate assailants of

which More speaks.

"Then there was another animal," continued the doctor, who was

evidently discoursing upon a favorite topic. "It was the one that

came suddenly upon More while he was resting with Almah after his

flight with the run-away bird. That I take to be the Megalosaurus.

This animal was a monster of tremendous size and strength. Cuvier

thought that it might have been seventy feet in length. It was

carnivorous, and therefore more ferocious than the iguanodon, and

more ready to attack. Its head was like that of a crocodile, its

body massive like that of an elephant, yet larger; its tail was

small, and it stood high on its legs, so that it could run with

great speed. It was not covered with bony armor, but had probably a

hide thick enough to serve the purpose of shell or bone. Its teeth

were constructed so as to cut with their edges, and the movement of

the jaws produced the combined effect of knife and saw, while their

inward curve rendered impossible the escape of prey that had once

been caught. It probably frequented the river banks, where it fed

upon reptiles of smaller size which inhabited the same places.

"More," continued the doctor, "is too general in his

descriptions. He has not a scientific mind, and he gives but few

data; yet I can bring before myself very easily all the scenes

which he describes, particularly that one in which the megalosaurus

approaches, and he rushes to mount the dinoris so as to escape. I

see that river, with its trees and shrubs, all unknown now except

in museums—the vegetation of the Coal Period—the lepidodendron, the

lepidostrobus, the pecopteris, the neuropteris, the lonchopteris,

the odontopteris, the sphenopteris, the cyclopteris, the sigellaria

veniformis, the sphenophyllium, the calamites—"

Melick started to his feet.

"There, there!" he cried, "hold hard, doctor. Talking of

calamities, what greater calamity can there be than such a torrent

of unknown words? Talk English, doctor, and we shall be able to

appreciate you; but to make your jokes, your conundrums, and your

brilliant witticisms in a foreign language isn't fair to us, and

does no credit either to your head or your heart."

The doctor elevated his eyebrows, and took no notice of Melick's

ill-timed levity.

"All these stories of strange animals," said Oxenden, "may be

very interesting, doctor, but I must say that I am far more struck

by the account of the people themselves. I wonder whether they are

an aboriginal race, or descendants of the same stock from which we

came?"

"I should say," remarked the doctor, confidently, "that they

are, beyond a doubt, an aboriginal and autochthonous race."

"I differ from you altogether," said Oxenden, calmly.

"Oh," said the doctor, "there can be no doubt about it. Their

complexion, small stature, and peculiar eyes—their love of

darkness, their singular characteristics, both physical and moral,

all go to show that they can have no connection with the races in

our part of the earth."

"Their peculiar eyes," said Oxenden, "are no doubt produced by

dwelling in caves for many generations."

"On the contrary," said the doctor, "it is their peculiarity of

eye that makes them dwell in caves."

"You are mistaking the cause for the effect, doctor."

"Not at all; it is you who are making that mistake."

"It's the old debate," said Melick. "As the poet has it:

"'Which was first, the egg or the hen? Tell me, I pray, ye

learned men!'"

"There are the eyeless fishes of the great cave of Kentucky,"

said Oxenden, "whose eyes have become extinct from living in the

dark."

"No," cried the doctor; "the fish that have arisen in that lake

have never needed eyes, and have never had them."

Oxenden laughed.

"Well," said he, "I'll discuss the question with you on

different grounds altogether, and I will show clearly that these

men, these bearded men, must belong to a stock that is nearly

related to our own, or, at least, that they belong to a race of men

with whom we are all very familiar."

"I should like very much to have you try it," said the

doctor.

"Very well," said Oxenden. "In the first place, I take their

language."

"Their language!"

"Yes. More has given us very many words in their language. Now

he himself says that these words had an Arabic sound. He was

slightly acquainted with that language. What will you say if I tell

you that these words are still more like Hebrew?"

"Hebrew!" exclaimed the doctor, in amazement.

"Yes, Hebrew," said Oxenden. "They are all very much like Hebrew

words, and the difference is not greater than that which exists

between the words of any two languages of the Aryan family."

"Oh, if you come to philology I'll throw up the sponge," said

the doctor. "Yet I should like to hear what you have to say on that

point."

"The languages of the Aryan family," said Oxenden, "have the

same general characteristics, and in all of them the differences

that exist in their most common words are subject to the action of

a regular law. The action of the law is best seen in the changes

which take place in the mutes. These changes are indicated in a

summary and comprehensive way by means of what is called 'Grimm's

Law.' Take Latin and English, for instance. 'Grimm's Law' tells us,

among other things, that in Latin and in that part of English which

is of Teutonic origin, a large number of words are essentially the

same, and differ merely in certain phonetic changes. Take the word

'father.' In Latin, as also in Greek, it is 'pater.' Now the Latin

'p' in English becomes 'f;' that is, the thin mute becomes the

aspirated mute. The same change may be seen in the Latin 'piscis,'

which in English is 'fish,' and the Greek '[pi upsilon rho]' which

in English is 'fire.' Again, if the Latin or Greek word begins with

an aspirate, the English word begins with a medial; thus the Latin

'f' is found responsive to the English 'b,' as in Latin 'fagus,'

English 'beech,' Latin 'fero,' English 'bear.' Again, if the Latin

or Greek has the medial, the English has the thin, as in Latin

'duo,' English 'two,' Latin 'genu,' English 'knee.' Now, I find

that in many of the words which More mentions this same 'Grimm's

Law' will apply; and I am inclined to think that if they were

spelled with perfect accuracy they would show the same relation

between the Kosekin language and the Hebrew that there is between

the Saxon English and the Latin."

The doctor gave a heavy sigh.

"You're out of my depth, Oxenden," said he. "I'm nothing of a

philologist."

"By Jove!" said Featherstone, "I like this. This is equal to

your list of the plants of the Coal Period, doctor. But I say,

Oxenden, while you are about it, why don't you give us a little

dose of Anglo-Saxon and Sanscrit? By Jove! the fellow has Bopp by

heart, and yet he expects us to argue with him."

"I have it!" cried Melick. "The Kosekin are the lost Ten Tribes.

Oxenden is feeling his way to that. He is going to make them out to

be all Hebrew; and then, of course, the only conclusion will be

that they are the Ten Tribes, who after a life of strange

vicissitudes have pulled up at the South Pole. It's a wonder More

didn't think of that—or the writer of this yarn, whoever he may be.

Well, for my part, I always took a deep interest in the lost Ten

Tribes, and thought them a fine body of men."

"Don't think they've got much of the Jew about them," said

Featherstone, languidly. "They hate riches and all that, you know.

Break a Jew's heart to hear of all that property wasted, and money

going a-begging. Not a bad idea, though, that of theirs about

money. Too much money's a howwid baw, by Jove!"

"Well," continued Oxenden, calmly resuming, and taking no notice

of these interruptions, "I can give you word after word that More

has mentioned which corresponds to a kindred Hebrew word in

accordance with 'Grimm's Law.' For instance, Kosekin 'Op,' Hebrew

'Oph;' Kosekin 'Athon,' Hebrew 'Adon;' Kosekin 'Salon,' Hebrew

'Shalom.' They are more like Hebrew than Arabic, just as

Anglo-Saxon words are more like Latin or Greek than Sanscrit."

"Hurrah!" cried Melick, "we've got him to Sanscrit at last! Now,

Oxenden, my boy, trot out the 'Hitopadesa,' the 'Megha Dhuta,' the

'Rig Veda.' Quote 'Beowulf' and Caedmon. Gives us a little Zeno,

and wind up with 'Lalla Rookh' in modern Persian."

"So I conclude," said Oxenden, calmly, ignoring Melick, "that

the Kosekin are a Semitic people. Their complexion and their beards

show them to be akin to the Caucasian race, and their language

proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that they belong to the Semitic

branch of that race. It is impossible for an autochthonous people

to have such a language."

"But how," cried the doctor—"how in the name of wonder did they

get to the South Pole?"

"Easily enough," interrupted Melick—"Shem landed there from

Noah's ark, and left some of his children to colonize the country.

That's as plain as a pikestaff. I think, on the whole, that this

idea is better than the other one about the Ten Tribes. At any rate

they are both mine, and I warn all present to keep their hands off

them, for on my return I intend to take out a copyright."

"There's another thing," continued Oxenden, "which is of immense

importance, and that is their habit of cave-dwelling. I am inclined

to think that they resorted to cave-dwelling at first from some

hereditary instinct or other, and that their eyes and their whole

morals have become affected by this mode of life. Now, as to

ornamented caverns, we have many examples—caverns adorned with a

splendor fully equal to anything among the Kosekin. There are in

India the great Behar caves, the splendid Karli temple with its

magnificent sculptures and imposing architecture, and the

cavern-temples of Elephanta; there are the subterranean works in

Egypt, the temple of Dendera in particular; in Petra we have the

case of an entire city excavated from the rocky mountains; yet,

after all, these do not bear upon the point in question, for they

are isolated cases; and even Petra, though it contained a city, did

not contain a nation. But there is a case, and one which is well

known, that bears directly upon this question, and gives us the

connecting link between the Kosekin and their Semitic brethren in

the northern hemisphere."

"What is that?" asked the doctor.

"The Troglodytes," said Oxenden, with impressive solemnity.

"Well, and what do you make out of the Troglodytes?"

"I will explain," said Oxenden. "The name Trolodytes is given to

various tribes of men, but those best known and celebrated under

this name once inhabited the shores of the Red Sea, both on the

Arabian and the Egyptian side. They belonged to the Arabian race,

and were consequently a Semitic people. Mark that, for it is a

point of the utmost importance. Now, these Troglodytes all lived in

caverns, which were formed partly by art and partly by nature,

although art must have had most to do with the construction of such

vast subterranean works. They lived in great communities in

caverns, and they had long tunnels passing from one community to

another. Here also they kept their cattle. Some of these people

have survived even to our own age; for Bruce, the Abyssinian

traveller, saw them in Nubia.

"The earliest writer who mentions the Troglodytes was

Agatharcides, of Cnidos. According to him they were chiefly

herdsmen. Their food was the flesh of cattle, and their drink a

mixture of milk and blood. They dressed in the skins of cattle;

they tattooed their bodies. They were very swift of foot, and were

able to run down wild beasts in the hunt. They were also greatly

given to robbery, and caravans passing to and fro had to guard

against them.

"One feature in their character has to my mind a strange

significance, and that is their feelings with regard to death. It

was not the Kosekin love of death, yet it was something which must

certainly be considered as approximating to it. For Agatharcides

says that in their burials they were accustomed to fasten the

corpse to a stake, and then gathering round, to pelt it with stones

amid shouts of laughter and wild merriment. They also used to

strangle the old and infirm, so as to deliver them from the evils

of life. These Troglodytes, then, were a nation of cave-dwellers,

loving the dark—not exactly loving death, yet at any rate regarding

it with merriment and pleasure; and so I cannot help seeing a

connection between them and the Kosekin."

"Yes," said the doctor, "but how did they get to the South

Pole?"

"That," said Oxenden, "is a question which I do not feel bound

to answer."

"Oh, it is easy enough to answer that," said Melick. "They, of

course, dug through the earth."

Oxenden gave a groan.

"I think I'll turn in for the night," said he, rising. Upon this

the others rose also and followed his example.

On the following morning the calm still continued. None of the

party rose until very late, and then over the breakfast-table they

discussed the manuscript once more, each from his own point of

view, Melick still asserting a contemptuous scepticism—Oxenden and

the doctor giving reasons for their faith, and Featherstone

listening without saying much on either side.

At length it was proposed to resume the reading of the

manuscript, which task would now devolve upon Oxenden. They

adjourned to the deck, where all disposed themselves in easy

attitudes to listen to the continuation of More's narrative.