Best Fantasy Stories

Chapter 6 THE NEW WORLD

Chapter 6

THE NEW WORLDHow long I slept I do not know. My sleep was profound, yet

disturbed by troubled dreams, in which I lived over again all the

eventful scenes of the past; and these were all intermingled in the

wildest confusion. The cannibals beckoned to us from the peak, and

we landed between the two volcanoes. There the body of the dead

sailor received us, and afterward chased us to the boat. Then came

snow and volcanic eruptions, and we drifted amid icebergs and

molten lava until we entered an iron portal and plunged into

darkness. Here there were vast swimming monsters and burning orbs

of fire and thunderous cataracts falling from inconceivable

heights, and the sweep of immeasurable tides and the circling of

infinite whirlpools; while in my ears there rang the never-ending

roar of remorseless waters that came after us, with all their waves

and billows rolling upon us. It was a dream in which all the

material terrors of the past were renewed; but these were all as

nothing when compared with a certain deep underlying feeling that

possessed my soul—a sense of loss irretrievable, an expectation of

impending doom, a drear and immitigable despair.

In the midst of this I awoke. It was with a sudden start, and I

looked all around in speechless bewilderment. The first thing of

which I was conscious was a great blaze of light—light so lately

lost, and supposed to be lost forever, but now filling all the

universe—bright, brilliant, glowing bringing hope and joy and

gladness, with all the splendor of deep blue skies and the

multitudinous laughter of ocean waves that danced and sparkled in

the sun. I flung up my arms and laughed aloud. Then I burst into

tears, and falling on my knees, I thanked the Almighty Ruler of the

skies for this marvellous deliverance.

Rising from my knees I looked around, and once more amazement

overwhelmed me. I saw a long line of mountains towering up to

immeasurable heights, their summits covered with eternal ice and

snow. There the sun blazed low in the sky, elevated but a few

degrees above the mountain crests, which gleamed in gold and purple

under its fiery rays. The sun seemed enlarged to unusual

dimensions, and the mountains ran away on every side like the

segment of some infinite circle. At the base of the mountains lay a

land all green with vegetation, where cultivated fields were

visible, and vineyards and orchards and groves, together with

forests of palm and all manner of trees of every variety of hue,

which ran up the sides of the mountains till they reached the

limits of vegetation and the regions of snow and ice.

Here in all directions there were unmistakable signs of human

life—the outlines of populous cities and busy towns and hamlets;

roads winding far away along the plain or up the mountain-sides,

and mighty works of industry in the shape of massive structures,

terraced slopes, long rows of arches, ponderous pyramids, and

battlemented walls.

From the land I turned to the sea. I saw before me an expanse of

water intensely blue—an extent so vast that never before in all my

ocean voyages had anything appeared at all comparable with it. Out

at sea, wherever I had been, the water had always limited the view;

the horizon had never seemed far away; ships soon sank below it,

and the visible surface of the earth was thus always contracted;

but here, to my bewilderment, the horizon appeared to be removed to

an immeasurable distance and raised high in the air, while the

waters were prolonged endlessly. Starting from where I was, they

went away to inconceivable distances, and the view before me seemed

like a watery declivity reaching for a thousand miles, till it

approached the horizon far up in the sky. Nor was it any delusion

of the senses that caused this unparalleled spectacle. I was

familiar with the phenomena of the mirage, and knew well that there

was nothing of that kind here; for the mirage always shows great

surfaces of stillness, or a regular vibration—glassy tides and

indistinct distances; but here everything was sharply defined in

the clear atmosphere: the sky overhung a deep blue vault; the waves

danced and sparkled in the sun; the waters rolled and foamed on

every side; and the fresh breeze, as it blew over the ocean,

brought with it such exhilarating influences that it acted upon me

like some reviving cordial.

From the works of nature I turned to those of man. These were

visible everywhere: on the land, in cities and cultivated fields

and mighty constructions; on the sea, in floating craft, which

appeared wherever I turned my eyes—boats like those of fishermen,

ships long and low, some like galleys, propelled by a hundred oars,

others provided with one huge square-sail, which enabled them to

run before the wind. They were unlike any ships which I had ever

seen; for neither in the Mediterranean nor in Chinese waters were

there any craft like these, and they reminded me rather of those

ancient galleys which I had seen in pictures.

I was lost in wonder as to where I was, and what land this could

be to which I had been brought. I had not plunged into the interior

of the earth, but I had been carried under the mountains, and had

emerged again into the glad light of the sun. Could it be possible,

I thought, that Agnew's hope had been realized, and that I had been

carried into the warm regions of the South Pacific Ocean? Yet in

the South Pacific there could be no place like this—no immeasurable

expanse of waters, no horizon raised mountain high. It seemed like

a vast basin-shaped world, for all around me the surface appeared

to rise, and I was in what looked like a depression; yet I knew

that the basin and the depression were an illusion, and that this

appearance was due to the immense extent of level surface with the

environment of lofty mountains. I had crossed the antarctic circle;

I had been borne onward for an immense distance. Over all the known

surface of the earth no one had ever seen anything like this; there

were but two places where such an immeasurable plain was possible,

and those were at the flattened poles. Where I was I now knew well.

I had reached the antarctic pole. Here the earth was flat—an

immense level with no roundness to lessen the reach of the horizon

but an almost even surface that gave an unimpeded view for hundreds

of miles.

The subterranean channel had rushed through the mountains and

had carried me here. Here came all the waters of the Northern ocean

pouring into this vast polar sea, perhaps to issue forth from it by

some similar passage. Here, then, was the South Pole—a world by

itself: and how different from that terrible, that iron land on the

other side of the mountains!—not a world of ice and frost, but one

of beauty and light, with a climate that was almost tropical in its

warmth, and lands that were covered with the rank luxuriance of a

teeming vegetable life. I had passed from that outer world to this

inner one, and the passage was from death unto life, from agony and

despair to sunlight and splendor and joy. Above all, in all around

me that which most impressed me now was the rich and superabundant

life, and a warmth of air which made me think of India. It was an

amazing and an unaccountable thing, and I could only attribute it

to the flattening of the poles, which brought the surface nearer to

the supposed central fires of the earth, and therefore created a

heat as great as that of the equatorial regions. Here I found a

tropical climate—a land warmed not by the sun, but from the earth

itself. Or another cause might be found in the warm ocean currents.

Whatever the true one might be, I was utterly unable to form a

conjecture.

But I had no time for such speculations as these. After the

first emotions of wonder and admiration had somewhat subsided, I

began to experience other sensations. I began to remember that I

had eaten nothing for a length of time that I had no means of

calculating, and to look around to see if there was any way of

satisfying my hunger. The question arose now, What was to be done?

After my recent terrible experience I naturally shrank from again

committing myself to the tender mercies of strange tribes; yet

further thought and examination showed me that the people of this

strange land must be very different from those frightful savages on

the other side of the mountains. Everywhere I beheld the manifest

signs of cultivation and civilization. Still, I knew that even

civilized people would not necessarily be any kinder than savages,

and that I might be seized and flung into hopeless imprisonment or

slavery.

So I hesitated, yet what could I do? My hunger was beginning to

be insupportable. I had reached a place where I had to choose

between starvation on the one hand, or a venture among these people

on the other. To go back was impossible. Who could breast those

waters in the tremendous subterranean channel, or force his way

back through such appalling dangers? Or, if that were possible, who

could ever hope to breast those mighty currents beyond, or work his

way amid everlasting ice and immeasurable seas? No; return was

impossible. I had been flung into this world of wonders, and here

would be my home for the remainder of my days; though I could not

now imagine whether those days would be passed in peace or in

bitter s*****y and sorrow. Yet the decision must be made and the

risk must be run. It must be so. I must land here, venture among

these people, and trust in that Providence which had hitherto

sustained me.

Having thus resolved at all hazards to try my fate, I rowed in

toward the shore. Thus far I had seen galleys passing and small

boats, but they had taken no notice of me, for the reason that they

were too far away to perceive anything about me that differed from

any other boat; but now, as I rowed, I noticed a galley coming down

toward me. She seemed to be going in toward the shore at the very

point at which I was aiming, and her course and mine must soon meet

if I continued to row. After some hesitation I concluded to make

signals to her, so as to attract attention; for, now that I had

resolved to venture among the people here, I was anxious to end my

suspense as soon as possible. So I continued rowing, and gradually

drew nearer. The galley was propelled by oars, of which there were

fifty on either side. The stem was raised, and covered in like a

cabin. At length I ceased rowing, and sat watching her. I soon saw

that I was noticed, but this did not occur till the galley was

close by me—so close, indeed, that I thought they would pass

without perceiving me. I raised my hands, waved them, and gave a

cry. The galley at once stopped, a boat was lowered, and some men

descended and rowed toward me.

They were men of strange appearance—very small in stature and

slender in frame. Their hair was black and straight, their features

were quite regular, and their general expression was one of great

gentleness. I was surprised to notice that they kept their eyes

almost closed, as though they were weak and troubled by the glare

of the sun. With their half-closed eyes they blinked at me, and

then one who appeared to be their chief spoke to me. I understood

not a word; and then I answered him in English, which, of course,

was equally unintelligible to him. I then made signs, pointing to

the mountains and endeavoring to make known to him that I had come

from beyond them—that I had suffered shipwreck, that I had drifted

here, and that I needed assistance. Of all this it was quite

evident that they understood nothing except the fact that I needed

help. The moment that they comprehended this they took me in tow

and rowed back to the galley.

I found the galley to be about one hundred and fifty feet in

length. For about two thirds of this length forward it was open and

filled with seats, where there were about a hundred rowers, who all

looked like those that I had first seen, all being of small

stature, slender frames, and, moreover, all being apparently

distressed by the sunlight. There was in all of them the same mild

and gentle expression. In complexion and general outline of

features they were not unlike Arabs, but they were entirely

destitute of that hardness and austerity which the latter have.

They all had beards, which were dressed in a peculiar way in

plaits. Their costume varied. The rowers wore a coarse tunic, with

a girdle of rope. The officers wore tunics of fine cloth and very

elegant mantles, richly embroidered, and with borders of down. They

all wore broad-brimmed hats, and the one who seemed to be chief had

on his some golden ornaments.

Here once more I tried to explain to them who I was. They looked

at me, examining me all over, inspecting my g*n, pistol, coat,

trousers, boots, and hat, and talking all the time among

themselves. They did not touch me, but merely showed the natural

curiosity which is felt at the sight of a foreigner who has

appeared unexpectedly. There was a scrupulous delicacy and a

careful and even ceremonious politeness in their attitude toward me

which was at once amazing and delightful. All fear and anxiety had

now left me; in the gentle manners and amiable faces of these

people I saw enough to assure me of kind treatment; and in my deep

joy and gratitude for this even my hunger was for a time

forgotten.

At length the chief motioned to me to follow him. He led the way

to the cabin, where, opening the door, he entered, and I followed,

after which the others came in also and then the door was shut. At

first I could see nothing. There were no windows whatever, and only

one or two slight crevices through which the light came. After a

time my eyes grew more accustomed to the darkness, and I could see

that the cabin was a spacious compartment, adorned with rich

hangings of some unknown material. There was a large table and

seats. Taking me by the hand, the chief led me to this, where I

seated myself, while the others remained standing. Then some of

them went away, and soon returned with food and drink. The food was

of different kinds—some tasting like goose, others like turkey,

others like partridge. It was all the flesh of fowls, though,

judging from the slices before me, they must have been of great

size. I wondered much at the behavior of the officers of the ship,

who all, and the chief himself more than all, stood and waited upon

me; but it was a new world, and I supposed that this must be the

fashion; so I made no objections, but accepted the situation and

ate with a thankful heart.

As the first keenness of my appetite was satisfied I had more

leisure to make observations. I noticed that the eyes of my new

friends no longer blinked; they were wide open; and, so far as I

could make them out, their faces were much improved. Weakness of

eyes seemed common among these people, and therefore the officers

had their cabin darkened, while the unfortunate rowers had to labor

in the blazing sun. Such was my conclusion, and the fact reminded

me of the miserable fellahin of Egypt, who have ophthalmia from the

blazing sun and burning sand.

After the repast they brought me water in a basin, and all stood

around me. One held the basin, another a towel, another a flask,

another took a sponge and proceeded to wash my face and hands. This

was all strange to me, yet there was nothing left for me but

submission. Then the chief, who had stood looking on with a smile

on his face took off his rich furred mantle and handed it to me. I

was half inclined to refuse it, but was afraid of giving offence,

so I accepted it, and he himself fastened it around my shoulders.

The others seemed actually to envy the chief, as though he had

gained some uncommon good-fortune. Then they offered me various

drinks, of which I tasted several kinds. Some were sweet waters of

different flavors, others tasted like mild wine, one was a

fermented drink, light, sweet, and very agreeable to the palate. I

now wished to show my generous entertainers that I was grateful; so

I raised my cup, bowed to all of them, particularly the chief, and

drank their health. They all watched this ceremony with very sober

faces, and I could not quite make out whether they took my meaning

or not. They certainly did not look pleased, and it seemed to me as

though they felt hurt at any expression of gratitude, so I

concluded for the future to abstain from all such

demonstrations.

Yet with every moment the manners of these people grew more

bewildering. It was strange, indeed, for me to find myself so

suddenly the centre of interest and of generous intentions. For a

moment the thought occurred to me that they regarded me as some

wonderful being with superior powers, and were trying to propitiate

me by these services; yet I soon saw that these services were not

at all acts of propitiation; they looked rather like those loving

and profuse attentions which a family showers down upon some dear

one long absent and at last returned, and with this my wonder grew

greater than ever.

The galley had long since resumed her progress. I heard the

steady beat of the oars as they all moved in time, and at length

the motion ceased. The chief then signed to me and went out. I

followed, and the rest came after. And now as I emerged from the

gloom of the cabin, I found myself once more in the glorious light

of day, and saw that we had reached the land. The galley was hauled

up alongside a stone quay, and on the shore there were buildings

and walls and trees and people. The chief went ashore at once and I

accompanied him. We walked for some distance along a road with

stone walls on either side, from behind which there arose trees

that from a distance had looked like palms. I now found them to be

giant ferns, arching overhead with their broad fanlike leaves and

branches in dense masses, making the roadway quite dark in the

shadow. Astonished as I was at the sight of these trees, I soon

forgot them in a still more astonishing sight, for after going

onward about a hundred paces I stopped, and found myself in a wide

space where four cross-roads met. Here there were three birds of

gigantic stature. They had vast bodies, short legs, short necks,

and seemed as large as an ordinary-sized ox. Their wings were

short, and evidently could not be used for flight; their beaks were

like that of a sea-gull; each one had a man on his back, and was

harnessed to a car. The chief motioned to me to enter one of these

cars. I did so. He followed, and thereupon the driver started the

bird, which set forth with long, rapid strides, at a pace fast as

that of a trotting horse. So astonished was I that for some time I

did not notice anything else; but at length, when my first feeling

had subsided, I began to regard other objects. All the way the

dense fern foliage arched overhead, throwing down deep shadows.

They grew on either side in dense rows, but between their stalks I

could see the country beyond, which lay all bright in the

sunlight.

Here were broad fields, all green with verdure; farther away

arose clumps of tree-ferns; at every step of the way new vistas

opened; amid the verdure and the foliage were the roofs of

structures that looked like pavilions, and more massive edifices

with pyramidal roofs. Our road constantly ascended, and at length

we came to a crossing. This was a wide terrace at the slope of the

mountain; on the lower side was a row of massive stone edifices

with pyramidal roofs, while on the upper there were portals which

seemed to open into excavated caverns. Here, too, on either side

arose the giant ferns, overarching and darkening the terrace with

their deep shadow. From this point I looked back, and through the

trunks of the tree-ferns I could see fields and pavilions and the

pyramidal roofs of massive edifices, and broad, verdant slopes,

while in the distance there were peeps of the boundless sea. We

continued on our way without stopping, and passed several

successive terraces like the first, with the same caverns on the

upper side and massive edifices on the lower, until at last the

ascent ended at the fifth terrace, and here we turned to the left.

Now the view became more varied. The tree-ferns arose on either

side, arching overhead; on my right were the portals that opened

into caverns, on my left solid and massive houses, built of great

blocks of stone, with pyramidal roofs. As far as I could judge, I

was in a city built on the slope of a mountain, with its streets

formed thus of successive terraces and their connecting cross-ways,

one half its habitations consisting of caverns, while the other

half were pavilions and massive stone structures. Few people,

however, were to be seen. Occasionally I saw one or two groping

along with their eyes half shut, seeking the darkest shadows; and

it seemed to me that this extraordinary race of men had some

natural and universal peculiarity of eyesight which made them shun

the sunlight, and seek the darkness of caves and of dense,

overshadowing foliage.

At length we came to a place where the terrace ran back till it

formed a semicircle against the mountain slope, when several vast

portals appeared. Here there was a large space, where the

tree-ferns grew in long lines crossing each other, and making a

denser shade than usual. On the lower side were several stone

edifices of immense size; and in the middle of the place there

arose a singular structure, shaped like a half pyramid, with three

sides sloping, and the fourth perpendicular, flat on the top, which

was approached by a flight of steps. We now went on until we

reached the central portal of the range of caverns, and here we

stopped. The chief got out and beckoned to me. I followed. He then

led the way into the cavern, while I, full of wonder, walked behind

him.