Part 3 - Beyond the North Wind
I tried to forget my thirst by busying myself with bringing up some food
and an empty vessel from the hold. Reaching over the side-rail, I filled
the vessel with water for the purpose of laving my hands and face. To my
astonishment, when the water came in contact with my lips, I could taste
no salt. I was startled by the discovery. "Father!" I fairly gasped, "the
water, the water; it is fresh!" "What, Olaf?" exclaimed my father,
glancing hastily around. "Surely you are mistaken. There is no land. You
are going mad." "But taste it!" I cried. And thus we made the discovery
that the water was indeed fresh, absolutely so, without the least briny
taste or even the suspicion of a salty flavor. We forthwith filled our two
remaining water-casks, and my father declared it was a heavenly
dispensation of mercy from the gods Odin and Thor. We were almost beside
ourselves with joy, but hunger bade us end our enforced fast. Now that we
had found fresh water in the open sea, what might we not expect in this
strange latitude where ship had never before sailed and the splash of an
oar had never been heard? In vol.I, page 196, Nansen writes: "It is a
peculiar phenomenon, - this dead water. We had at present a better
opportunity of studying it than we desired. It occures where a surface
layer of fresh water rests upon the salt water of the sea, and this fresh
water is carried along with the ship gliding on the heavier sea beneath it
as if on a fixed foundation. The difference between two strata was in this
case so great that while we had drinking water on the surface, the water
we got from the bottom cock of the engine-room was far too salt to be used
for the boiler." We had scarcely appeased our hunger when a breeze began
filling the idle sails, and, glancing at the compass, we found the
northern point pressing hard against the glass. In response to my
surprise, my father said: "I have heard of this before; it is what they
call the dipping of the needle." We loosened the compass and turned it at
right angles with the surface of the sea before its point would free
itself from the glass and point according to unmolested attraction. It
shifted uneasily, and seemed as unsteady as a drunken man, but finally
pointed a course. Before this we thought the wind was carrying us north by
northwest, but, with the needle free, we discovered, if it could be relied
upon, that we were sailing slightly north by northeast. Our course,
however, was ever tending northward. In volume II, pages 18 and 19, Nansen
writes about the inclination of the needle. Speaking of Johnson, his aide:
"One day - it was November 24th - he came in to supper a little after six
o'clock, quite alarmed, and said: 'There has just been a singular
inclination of the needle in twenty four degrees. And remarkably enough,
its northern extremity pointed to the east.'" We again find in Peary's
first voyage - page 67, - the following: "It had been observed that from
the moment they had entered Lancaster Sound, the motion of the compass
needle was very sluggish, and both this and its deviation increased as
they progressed to the westward, and continued to do so in descending this
inlet. Having reached latitude 73 degrees, they witnessed for the first
time the curious phenomenon of the directive power of the needle becoming
so weak as to be completely overcome by the attraction of the ship, so
that the needle might now be said to point to the north pole of the ship."
The sea was serenely smooth, with hardly a choppy wave, and the wind brisk
and exhilarating. The sun's rays, while striking us aslant, furnished
tranquil warmth. And thus time wore on day after day, and we found from
the record in our log-book, we had been sailing eleven days since the
storm in the open sea. By strictest economy, our food was holding out
fairly well, but beginning to run low. In the meantime, one of our casks
of water had been exhausted, and my father said: "We will fill it again."
But, to our dismay, we found the water was now as salt as in the region of
the Lofoden Islands off the coast of Norway. This necessitated our being
extremely careful of the remaining cask. I found myself wanting to sleep
much of the time; whehter it was the effect of the exciting experience of
sailing in unknown waters, or the relaxation from the awful excitement
incident to our adventure in a storm at sea, or due to want of food, I
could not say. I frequently lay down on the bunker of our little sloop,
and looked far up into blue dome of the sky; and, notwithstanding the sun
was shining far away in the east, I always saw a single star overhead. For
several days, when I looked for this star, it was always there directly
above us. It was now, according to our reckoning, aboout the first of
August. The sun was high in the heavens, and was so bright that I could no
longer see the one lone star that attracted my attention a few days
earlier. One day about this time, my father startled me by calling my
attention to a novel sight far in front of us, almost at the horison. "It
is a mock sun," exclaimed my father. "I have read of them; it is called a
reflection or mirage. It will soon pass away." But this dull-red, false
sun, as we supposed it to be, did not pass away for several hours; and
while we were unconscious of its emitting any rays of light, still there
was no time thereafter when we could not sweet the horizon and locate the
illumination of the so-called false sun, during a period of at least
twelve hours out of every twenty-four. Clouds and mists would at times
almost, but never entirely, hide its location. Gradually it seemed to
climb higher in the horizon of the uncertain purply sky as we advanced. It
could hardly be said to resemble the sun, except in its circular shape,
and when not obscured by clouds or the ocean mists, it had a hazy-red,
bronzed appearance, which would change to a white like a luminous cloud,
as if reflecting some greater light beyond. We finally agreed in our
discussion of this smoky furnace-colored sun, that, whatever the cause of
the phenomenon, it was not a reflection of our sun, but a planet of some
sort - a reality. Nansen, on page 394, says: "Today another noteworthy
thing happened, which was that about midday we saw the sun, or to be more
correct, an image of the sun, for it was only a mirage. A peculiar
impression was produced by the sight of that glowing fire lit just above
the outermost edge of the ice. According to the enthusiastic descriptions
given by many Arctic travelers of the first appearance of this god of life
after the long winter night, the impression ought to be one of jubilant
excitement; but it was not so in my case. We had not expected to see it
for some days yet, so that my feeling was rather one of pain, of
disappointment, that we must have drifted farther south than we thought.
So it was with pleasure I soon discovered that it could not be the sun
itself. The mirage was at first a flattened-out, glowing red streak of
fire on the horizon; later there were two streaks, the one above the
other, with a dark space between; and from the maintop I could see four,
or even five, such horizontal lines directly over one another, all of
equal length, as if one could only imagine a square, dull-red sun, with
horizontal dark streaks across it."
One day soon after this, I felt exceedingly drowsy, and fell into a sound
sleep. But it seemed that I was almost immediately aroused by my father's
vigorous shaking of me by the shoulder and saying: "Olaf, awaken; there is
land in sight!" I sprang to my feet, and oh! joy unspeakable! There, far
in the distance, yet directly in our path, were lands jutting boldly into
the sea. The shore-line stretched far away to the right of us, as far as
the eye could see, and all along the sandy beach were waves breaking into
choppy foam, receding, then going forward again, ever chanting in
monotonous thunder tones the song of the deep. The banks were covered with
trees and vegetation. I cannot express my feeling of exultation at this
discovery. My father stood motionless, with his hand on the tiller,
looking straight ahead, pouring out his heart in thankful prayer and
thanksgiving to the gods Odin and Thor. In the meantime, a net which we
found in the stowage had been cast, and we caught a few fish that
materially added to our dwindling ctock of provisions. The compass, which
we had fastened back in its place, in fear of another storm, was still
pointing due north, and moving on its pivot, just as it had in Stockholm.
The dipping of the needle had ceased. What could this mean? Then, too, our
many days of sailing had certainly carried us far past the North Pole. And
yet the needle continued to point north. We were sorely perplexed, for
surely our direction was now south. Peary's first voyage, pages 69 and 70,
says: "On reaching Sir Byam Martin's Island, the nearest to Melville
Island, the latitude of the place of observation was 75 degrees-09'-23'',
and the longitude 103 degrees-44'-37''; the dip of the magnetic needle of
88 degrees-25'-58'' west in the longitude of 91 degrees-48', where the
last observations on the shore had been made, to 165 degrees-50'-09'',
cast, at their present station, so that we had," says Peary, "in sailing
over the space included between this two meridians, crossed immediately
northward of the magnetic pole, and had undoubtedly passed over one of
those spots upon the globe where the needle would have been found to vary
180 degrees, or in other words, where the North Pole would have pointed to
south." We sailed for three days along the shoreline, then came to the
mouth of fjord or river of immence size. It seemed more like a great bay,
and into this we turned our fishing-craft, the direction being slightly
northeast of south. By the assistance of a fretful wind that came to our
aid about twelve hours out of every twenty-four, we continued to make our
way inland, into what afterward proved to be a mighty river, and which we
learned was called by the inhabitants Hiddekel. We continued our journey
for ten days thereafter, and found we had fortunately attained a distance
inland where ocean tides no longer affected the water, which had become
fresh. The discovery came none to soon, for our remaining cask of water
was well-nigh exhausted. We lost no time in replenishing our casks, and
continued to sail farther up the river when the wind was favourable. Along
the banks great forests miles in extent could be seen stretching away on
the shore-line. The trees were of enormous size. We landed after anchoring
near a sandy beach, and waded ashore, and were rewarded by finding a
quantity of nuts that were very palatable and satisfying to hunger, and a
welcome change from the monotony of our stock of provisions. It was about
the first Sepetember, over five months, we calculated, since our
leave-taking from Stockholm. Suddenly we were frightened almost out of our
wits by hearing in the far distance the singing of people. Very soon
thereafter we discovered a huge ship gliding down the river directly
toward us. Those aboard were singing in one mighty chorus that, echoing
from bank to bank, sounded like a thousand voices, filling the whole
universe with quivering melody. The accompaniment was played on stringed
instruments not unlike our harps. It was a larger ship than any we had
ever seen, and was differently constructed. Asiatic Mythology, - page 240,
"Paradise Found" - from translation by Sayce, in a book called "Records of
the Past", we were told of a "dwelling" which "the gods created for" the
first human beings, - a dwelling in which they "become great" and
"increased in numbers", and the location of which is described in words
exactly corresponding to those of Iranian, Indian, Chinese, Eddaic and
Aztecan literature; namely, "in the center of the earth". - Warren. At
this particular time our sloop was becalmed, and not far from the shore.
The bank of the river, covered with mammoth trees, rose up several hundred
feet in beautiful fashion. We seemed to be on the edge of some primeval
forest that doubtless stretched far inland. The immence craft paused, and
almost immediately a boat was lowered and six men of gigantic stature
rowed to our little fishing-sloop. They spoke to us in a strange language.
We knew from their manner, however, that they were not unfriendly. They
talked a great deal among themselves, and one of them laughed
immoderately, as though in finding us a queer discovery had been made. One
of them spied our compass, and it seemed to interest them more than any
other part of our sloop. Finally, the leader motioned as if to ask whether
we were willing to leave our craft to go on board their ship. "What say
you, my son?" asked my father. "They cannot do any more than kill us."
"They seem to be kindly disposed," I replied, "although what terrible
giants! They must be the select six of the kingdom's crack regiment. Just
look at their great size." "We may as well go willingly as be taken by
force," said my father, smiling, "for they are certainly able to capture
us." Thereupon he made known, by signs, that we were ready to accompany
them. Within a few minutes we were on board the ship, and half an hour
later our little fishing-craft had been lifted bodily out of the water by
a strange sort of hook and tackle, and set on board as a curiousity. There
were several hundred people on board this, to us, mammoth ship, which we
discovered was called "The Naz," meaning, as we afterward learned,
"Pleasure," or to give a more proper interpretation, "Pleasure Excursion"
ship. If my father and I were curiously observed by the ship's occupants,
this strange race of giants offered us an equal amount of wonderment.
There was not a single man aboard who would not have measured fully twelve
feet in height. They all wore full beards, not particularly long, but
seemingly short-cropped. They had mild and beautiful faces, exceedingly
fair, with ruddy complexions. The hair and beard of some were black,
others sandy, and still others yellow. The captain, as we designated the
dignitary in command of the great vessel, was fully a head taller than any
of his companions. The women averaged from ten to eleven feet in height.
Their features were especially regular and refined, while their complexion
was of a most delicate tint heightened by a healthful glow. "According to
all procurable data, that spot at the era of man's appearance upon the
stage was in the now lost 'Miocene continent,' which then surrounded the
Arctic Pole. That in that true, original Eden some of the early
generations of men attained to a stature and longevity unequaled in any
countries known to postdiluvian history is by no means scientifically
incredible." - Wm.F.Warren, "Paradise Found," p.284. Both men and women
seemed to possess that particular case of manner which we deem a sign of
good breeding, and, notwithstanding their huge statures, there was nothing
about them suggesting awkwardness. As I was a lad in only my nineteenth
year, I was doubtless looked upon as a true Tom Thumb. My father's six
feet three did not lift the top of his head above the waist line of these
people. Each one seemed to vie with the others in extending courtesies and
showing kindness to us, but all laughed heartly, I remember, when they had
to improvise chairs for my father and myself to sit at table. They were
richly attired in a costume peculiar to themselves, and very attractive.
The men were clothed in handsomely embroidered tunics of silk and satin
and belted at the waist. They wore knee-breeches and stockings of a fine
texture, while their feet were encased in sandals adorned with gold
buckles. We early discovered that gold was one of the most common metals
known, and that it was used extensively in decoration. Strange as it may
seem, neither my father nor myself felt the least bit of solicitude for
our safety. "We have come into our own," my father said to me. "This is
the fulfillment of the tradition told me by my father and my father's
father, and still back for many generations of our race. This is, assurely,
the land beyond the North Wind." We seemed to make such an impression on
the party that we were given specially into the charge of one of the men,
Jules Galdea, and his wife, for the purpose of being educated in their
language; and we, on our part, were just as eager to learn as they were to
instruct. At the captain's command, the vessel was swung cleverly about,
and began retracing its course up the river. The machinery, while
noiseless, was very powerful. The banks and trees on either side seemed to
rush by. The ship's speed, at tomes, surpassed that of any railroad train
on which I have ever ridden, even here in America. It was wonderful. In
the meantime we had lost sight of the sun's rays, but we found a radiance
"within" emanating from the dull-red sun which had already attracted our
attention, now giving out a white light seemingly from a cloud-bank far
away in front of us. It dispensed a greater light, I should say, than two
full moons on the learest night. In twelve hours this cloud of whiteness
would pass out of sight as if eclipsed, and the twelve hours following
corresponded with our night. We early learned that these strange people
were worshipers of this great cloud of night. It was "The Smoky God" of
the "Inner World." The ship was equipped with a mode of illumination which
I now presume was electricity, but neither my father nor myself were
sufficiently skilled in mechanics to understand whence came the power to
operate the ship, or to maintain the soft beautiful lights that answered
the same purpose of our present methods of lighting the streets of our
cities, our houses and places of business. It must be remembered, the time
of which write was the autumn of 1829, and we of the "outside" surface of
the earth knew nothing then, so to speak, of electricity. The electrically
surcharged condition of the air was a constant vitalizer. I never felt
better in my life than during the two years my father and I sojourned on
the inside of the earth. To resume my narrative of events: The ship on
which we were sailing came to a stop two days after we had been taken on
board. My father said as nearly as he could judge, we were directly under
Stockholm or London. The city we had reached was called "Jehu," signifying
a seaport town. The houses were large and beautifully constructed, and
quite uniform in appearance, yet without sameness. The principal
occupation of the people appeared to be agriculture; the hillsides were
covered with vineyards, while the valleys were devoted to the growing of
grain. I never saw such a display of gold. It was everywhere. The
door-casings were inlaid and the tables were veneered with sheetings of
gold. Domes of the public buildings were of gold. It was used most
generously in the finishings of the great temples of music. Vegetation
grew in lavish exuberance, and fruit of all kinds possessed the most
delicate flavour. Clusters of grapes four and five feet in length, each
grape as large as an orange, and apples larger than a man's head typified
the wonderful growth of all things on the "inside" of the earth. The great
redwood trees of California would be considered mere underbrush compared
with the giant forest trees extending for miles and miles in all
directions. In many directions along the foothills of the mountains vast
herds of cattle were seen during the last day of our travel on the river.
We heard much of a city called "Eden," but were kept at "Jehu" for an
entire year. By the end of that time we had learned to speak fairly well
the language of this strange race of people. Our instructors, Jules Galdea
and his wife, exhibited that was truly commendable. One day an envoy from
the Ruler at "Eden" came to see us, and for two whole days my father and
myself were put through a series of surprising questions. They wished to
know from whence we came, what sort of people dwelt "without," what God we
worshiped, our religious beliefs, the mode of living in our strange land,
and a thousand other things. The compass which we had brought with us
attracted especial attention. My father and I commented between ourselves
on the fact that the compass still pointed north, although we now knew
that we had sailed over the curve or edge of the earth's aperture, and
were far along southward on the "inside" surface of the earth's crust,
which, according to my father's estimate and my own, is about three
hundred miles in thickness from the "inside" to the "outside" surface.
Relatively speaking, it is no thicker than an egg-shell, so that there is
almost as much surface on the "inside" as on the "outside" of the earth.
The great luminous cloud or ball of dull-red fiery - fire-red in the
mornings and evenings, and during the day giving off a beautiful white
light, "The Smoky God," - is seemingly suspended in the center of the
great vacuum "within" the earth, and held to its place by the immutable
law of gravitation, or a repellant atmospheric force, as the case may be.
I refer to the known power that draws or repels with equal force in all
directions. The base of this electrical cloud or central luminary, the
seat of the gods, is dark and non-transparent, save for innumerable small
openings, seemingly in the bottom of the great support or altar of the
Deity, upon which "The Smoky God" rests; and, the lights shining through
these many openings twinkle at night in all their splendor, and seem to be
stars, as natural as the stars we saw shining when in our home at
Stockholm, excepting that they appear larger. "The Smoky God," therefore,
with each daily revolution of the earth, appears to come up in the east
and go down in the west the same as does our sun on the external surface.
In reality, the people "within" believe that "The Smoky God" is the throne
of their Jehovah, and is stationary. The effect of night and day is,
therefore, produced by earth's daily rotation. I have since discovered
that the language of the people of the Inner World is much like the
Sanskrit. After we had given an account of ourselves to the emissaries
from the central seat of government of the inner continent, and my father
had, in his crude way, drawn maps, at their request, of the "outside"
surface of the earth, showing the divisions of land and water, and giving
the name of each of the continents, large islands and the oceans, we were
taken overland to the city of "Eden," in a conveyance different from
anything we have in Europe or America. This vehicle was doubtless some
electrical contrivance. It was noiseless, and ran on a single iron rail in
perfect balance. The trip was made at a very high rate of speed. We were
carried up hills and down dales, across valleys and again along the sides
of steep mountains, without any apparent attempt having been made to level
the earth as we do for railroad tracks. The car seats were huge yet
comfortable affairs, and very high above the floor of the car. On the top
of each car were high geared fly wheels lying on their sides, which were
so automatically adjusted that, as the speed of the car increased, the
high speed of these fly wheels geometrically increased. Jules Galdea
explained to us that these revolving fan-like wheels on top of the cars
destroyed atmospheric pressure, or what is generally understood by the
term gravitation, and with this force thus destroyed or rendered nugatory
the car is as safe from falling to one side or to other from the single
ray track as if it were in a vacuum; the fly wheels in their rapid
revolutions destrying effectually the so-called power of gravitation, or
the force of atmospheric pressure or whatever potent influence it may be
that causes all unsupported things to fall downward to the earth's surface
or to the nearest point of resistance. The surprise of my father and
myself was indescribable when, amid the regal magnificence of a spacious
hall, we were finally brought before the Great High Priest, ruler over all
the land. He was richly robed, and much taller than those about him, and
could not have been less than fourteen or fifteen feet in height. The
immence room in which we were received seemed finished in solid slabs of
gold thickly studded with jewels of amazing brilliancy. The city of "Eden"
is located in what seems to be a beautiful valley, yet, in fact, it is on
the loftiest mountain plateau of the Inner Continent, several thousand
feet higher than any portion of the surrounding country. It is the most
beautiful place I have ever beheld in all my travels. In this elevated
garden all manner of fruits, vines, shrubs, trees, and flowers grow in
riotous profusion. In this garden four rivers have their source in a
mighty artesian fountain. They divide and flow in four directions. This
place is called by inhabitants the "navel of the earth," or the beginning,
"the cradle of the human race." The names of the rivers are the Euphrates,
the Pison, the Gihon, and the Hiddekel. "And the Lord God planted a
garden, and out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is
pleasant to the sight and good for food." - The Book of Genesis. The
unexpected awaited us in this palace of beauty, in the finding of our
little fishing-craft. It had been brought before the High Priest in
perfect shape, just as it had been taken from the waters that day when it
was loaded on board the ship by the people who discovered us on the river
more than a year before. We were given an audience of over two hours with
this great dignitary, who seemed kindly disposed and considerate. He
showed himself eagerly interested, asking us numerous questions, and
invariably regarding things about which his emissares had failed to
inquire. At the conclusion of the interview he inquired our pleasure,
askng us whether we wished to remain in his country or if we preferred to
return to the "outer" world, providing it were possible to make a
successful return trip, across the frozen belt barriers that encircle both
the northern and southern openings of the earth. My father replied: "It
would please me and my son to visit your country and see your people, your
colleges and palaces of music and art, your great fields, your wonderful
forests of timber; and after we have had this pleasurable privilege, we
should like to try to return to our home on the 'outside' surface of the
earth. This son is my only child, and my good wife will be weary awaiting
our return." "I fear you can never return," replied the Chief High Priest,
"because the way is a most hazardous one. However, you shall visit the
different countries with Jules Galdea as your escort, and be accorded
every courtesy and kindness. Whenever you are ready to attempt a return
voyage, I assure you that your boat which is here on exhibition shall be
put in the waters of the river Heddekel at its mouth, and we will bid you
Jehovah-speed." Thus terminated our only interview with the High Priest or
Ruler of the continent.