Propeller Island

by Jules Verne

  Four days afterwards, on the 18th of December, Floating Island left Tetuila without any such providential accident as had been desired by the superintendent. But it was evident that the state of affairs between the two families continued to improve.

  Hardly a dozen leagues separate Tetuila from Upolu. In the morning of the next day Commodore Simcoe passed in succession, at a distance of a quarter of a mile, the three islets of Nom-tua, Samusu, Salafuta, which defend the island as if they were detached forts. He took Floating Island along with great ability, and in the afternoon reached his moorings in front of Apia.

  Upolu is the most important island of the archipelago, with its sixteen thousand inhabitants. Here Germany, America, and England have established their representatives, united in a sort of council for the protection of the interests of their nations. The sovereign of the group reigns amid his court at Malinuu, at the eastern extremity of Apia Point.

  The aspect of Upolu is similar to that of Tetuila, a mass of mountains, dominated by the peak of Mount Mission, which constitutes the backbone of the island. These ancient extinct volcanoes are covered with thick forests, which clothe them up to their craters. At the foot of these mountains are plains and fields, joining on to the alluvial strip along the shore, in which the vegetation is in all the luxuriant variety of the tropics.

  In the morning, the governor and his assistants and a few notabilities landed at the fort of Apia. Their object was to pay an official visit to the representatives of Germany, England, and the United States of America, this composite municipality in whose hands are concentrated the administrative services of the archipelago.

  While Cyrus Bikerstaff and his suite visited the residents, Sebastien Zorn, Frascolin, Yvernès, and Pinchinat, who had landed with them, occupied their leisure by visiting the town.

  And at first sight they were struck with the contrast presented by the European houses with the huts of the old Kanaka village, in which the natives obstinately persist in living. These dwellings are comfortable, healthy, charming in a word. Scattered along the banks of the Apia river, their low roofs are sheltered under an elegant sunshade of palm trees. There was no lack of animation in the harbour. This is the most frequented harbour of the group, and the headquarters of the Commercial Company of Hamburg, which owns a fleet employed in the local service between Samoa and the neighbouring islands.

  But if the influence of the English, Americans, and Germans preponderates in this archipelago, France is represented by Catholic missionaries, whose devotion and zeal keep them in good repute among the Samoans. Genuine satisfaction, profound emotion even, seized our artists when they perceived the little church of the Mission, which has not the Puritan severity of the Protestant chapels, and a little beyond, on the hill, a school-house, on which the tricolour was flying.

  They walked in this direction, and a few minutes afterwards they were being welcomed in the French quarters. The Maristes gave them a patriotic welcome. Three fathers were in residence, employed in the services of the Mission, which includes two others at Savai, and a certain number of sisters stationed in the islands.

  What a pleasure it was to converse with the Superior, already advanced in years, who had lived in Samoa for a long time. He was so happy to welcome his fellow-countrymen, and what was more—artistes of his nation. The conversation was varied with refreshing drinks of which the Mission possesses the recipe.

  “But first,” said the old man, “do not think, my dear sons, that the islands of our archipelago are in a savage state. It is not here that you will find natives who practise cannibalism.”

  “We have not met with any up to the present,” said Frascolin.

  “To our great regret,” added Pinchinat.

  “Why do you regret?”

  “Excuse me, father, that is the confession of a curious Parisian! It is for love of local colour!”

  “Oh!” said Sebastien Zorn, “we are not at the end of our campaign yet; and we may see more than we want to of these cannibals mentioned by our comrade.”

  “That is possible,” replied the Superior. “Among the approaches to the Western groups, the New Hebrides, the Solomons, navigators can only venture with extreme prudence; but in Tahiti, the Marquesas, the Society Islands, as at Samoa, civilization has made remarkable progress. I know that the massacre of the companions of La Perouse has given the Samoans the reputation of being ferocious aborigines, devoted to the practice of cannibalism; but there has been a great change since then, owing to the influence of the religion of Christ. The natives of these times are looked after by the police, rejoicing in a European Government, with two chambers in the European style—and revolutions.”

  “In European style?” observed Yvernès.

  “As you say, my dear son, the Samoans are not exempt from political dissensions.”

  “We have them on Floating Island,” replied Pinchinat. “We are even expecting to have a dynastic war between two royal families.”

  “In fact, my friends, there has been a struggle between King Tupua, who is descended from the ancient sovereigns of the archipelago, and whom we supported with our influence, and King Malietoa, the man of the English and Germans. Much blood was shed, particularly in the great battle of December, 1887. These Kings saw themselves successively proclaimed and dethroned, and finally Malietoa was declared sovereign by the three powers, in conformity with the arrangements stipulated by the court of Berlin— Berlin!”

  And the old missionary could not restrain a convulsive movement as the name escaped from his lips.

  “You see.” said he, “up to now the influence of the Germans has been the dominating one at Samoa. Nine-tenths of the cultivated lands are in their hands. In the environs of Apia, at Suluafata, they have obtained from the Government a very important concession in the proximity of the port, which could serve as a victualling station for their ships of war. Quick-firing guns have been introduced by them. But all that will end some day.”

  “To the advantage of France?” asked Frascolin.

  “No; to the advantage of the United Kingdom!”

  “Oh!” said Yvernès. “England or Germany!”

  “No, my dear child,” replied the Superior; “there is a notable difference.”

  The conversation ended, after the Superior had given divers details as to the customs of the Samoans. He added that if the majority belonged to the Wesleyan religion, Catholicism seemed to be making more progress every day. The church of the Mission was already too small for their services, and the school required early enlargement. He appeared very happy, and his guests rejoiced with him.

  The stay of Floating Island at the island of Upolu lasted three days.

  The missionaries came to return the visit they had received. The French artistes took them through Milliard City, and they were struck with wonder. And why should we not say that in the room at the casino the quartette party entertained the Father and his colleagues with a few selections from their repertory? He wept with emotion, did the good old man, for he adored classical music, and to his great regret had never had an opportunity of hearing it at the festivals of Upolu.

  The day before the departure, Sebastien Zorn, Frascolin, Pinchinat, Yvernès, accompanied this time by the professor of dancing and deportment, went to bid farewell to the missionaries The parting was most affectionate—the parting of people who had only known each other for a few days, and would never see each other again. The old man gave them his benediction and embraced them, and they retired in deep emotion.

  Next day, the 23rd of December, Commodore Simcoe got under way at dawn, and Floating Island moved off amid a procession of canoes, who were to escort it to the neighbouring island of Savai.

  This island is separated from Upolu by a strait of some seven or eight leagues. But the port of Apia being situated on the northern shore, it is necessary to coast along this shore all day before reaching the strait.

  According to the itinerary arranged by the Governor, it was not intended to make the t
our of Savai, but to manœuvre between it and Upolu, so as to run down southwest to the Tonga Archipelago. For this reason Floating Island advanced at very moderate speed, it being undesirable to venture during the night through this strait, which is flanked by the small islands of Apolinia and Manono.

  At daybreak Commodore Simcoe manœuvred between these two islands, of which one, Apolinia, contains only two hundred and fifty inhabitants, and the other, Manono, a thousand. These natives have the reputation of being the bravest and most honest Samoans in the archipelago.

  From this place Savai could be admired in all its splendour. It is protected by impregnable cliffs of granite against the attacks of the sea which the hurricanes, tornadoes and cyclones of the winter season make more formidable. Savai is covered with thick forests, dominated by an ancient volcano twelve hundred metres high, dotted with gleaming villages beneath the domes of gigantic palm trees, watered by tumultuous cascades, penetrated by deep caverns, from which escaped the violent echoes of the beating of the waves on the shore.

  And, if legend is to be believed, this island is the cradle of the Polynesian races, of which its eleven thousand inhabitants have retained the purest type. Its real name is Savaiki, the famous Eden of the Maori divinities.

  Floating Island slowly moved away, and lost sight of its last heights in the evening of the 24th of December.

  CHAPTER III.

  Since the 21st of December, the sun in its apparent movement, after stopping on the tropic of Capricorn, recommenced its course towards the north, abandoning these regions to the inclemencies of winter, and bringing spring again to the northern hemisphere.

  Floating Island was not more than a dozen degrees from the tropic. In descending to the islands of Tonga-Tabou, it reached the extreme latitude fixed by the itinerary, and continuing its course to the north, remained in the most favourable climatic conditions. It is true it could not avoid a period of extreme heat while the sun was in the zenith, but this heat would be tempered by the sea breeze, and would diminish as the distance of the sun increased.

  Between Samoa and the principal island of Tonga-Tabou there are eight degrees—about nine hundred kilometres. There was no need to increase the speed. Floating Island skimmed over this ever beautiful sea, which the atmosphere hardly troubled with storms, that were as rare as they were short-lived. It was enough to be at Tonga-Tabou in the first days of January, to remain there a week, and then to proceed to Fiji. From there Floating Island would run up to the New Hebrides, and there land the Malay crew; then heading north-east, it would regain the latitude of Madeleine Bay, and its second cruise would be at an end.

  Life at Milliard City continued amid unchanging calm. Always this existence, as in one of the large towns of America or Europe—constant communications with the new continent by steamers or telegraphic cables, the usual family visits, the manifest tendency towards reconciliation between the two rival sections, the walks and games, the concerts of the quartette always in favour among the dilettanti.

  Christmas, so dear to Protestants and Catholics, was celebrated with great pomp at the temple and at St. Mary’s church, as in the mansions, the hotels, and the houses of the commercial quarter. This solemnity meant a general holiday throughout the island during the week which ended on the 1st of January.

  In the meantime, the newspapers of Floating Island, the Starboard Chronicle and the New Herald, did not cease from offering their readers the latest news, home and foreign. An item of news, published simultaneously by both papers, caused a good deal of comment.

  In the papers for the 26th of December it was stated that the King of Malecarlie had been to the town hall, where the Governor had given him an audience. What was the object of this visit? Rumours of all sorts flew about the town, and they would doubtless have been based on the most unlikely hypotheses, if the newspapers next day had not contained positive information on this subject.

  The King of Malecarlie had asked for a place in the Observatory, and the company had acceded to his request.

  “Well,” exclaimed Pinchinat, “you must live in Milliard City to see a thing like that; a sovereign, with a glass at his eye, watching the stars on the horizon.”

  “A star of the earth interrogating his brothers in the firmament!” replied Yvernès.

  The news was authentic, and this is why His Majesty was under the necessity of asking for the appointment.

  He was a good King, this King of Malecarlie, and the princess his wife was a good Queen. They had done all the good they could in one of the minor states of Europe, being of enlightened liberal minds, without pretending that their dynasty, although it was one of the most ancient on the old continent, was of divine origin. The King was well informed in scientific matters, a great admirer of art, and passionately fond of music. A learned man and a philosopher, he was in no way blind with regard to the future of European sovereignties, and he was always prepared to leave his Kingdom as soon as his people wanted him no more. Having no direct heir, he in no way injured his family when the time came for him to abandon his throne and lay aside his crown.

  This time had come three years before. But there had been no revolution in the Kingdom of Malecarlie, or at least no blood had been shed. By mutual agreement the contract was broken between his Majesty and his subjects. The King became a man, his subjects became citizens, and he left without more fuss than if he had been a tourist who had taken his ticket at the railway station, leaving his government to be replaced by another.

  Vigorous still at sixty years of age, the King rejoiced in a constitution, better perhaps than that which his old Kingdom had given itself. But the health of the Queen was rather precarious, and required a climate free from sudden changes of temperature. This approach to uniformity of climatic conditions it was difficult to meet with elsewhere than on Floating Island, since it appeared that she was not able to submit to the fatigue of running from latitude to latitude after fine weather. It seemed as though the invention of the Floating Island Company offered these advantages, as the wealthiest men in the United States had made it the town of their adoption.

  That is why, as soon as Floating Island had been constructed, the King and Queen of Malecarlie had resolved to take up their abode in Milliard City. Permission to do so had been granted them on condition that they lived as simple citizens, without any distinction or privilege.

  There was not much chance of their Majesties wishing to live otherwise. They rented a small house in the Thirty-ninth Avenue, in the Starboard Section, surrounded by a garden which opened on to the large park. There lived the two sovereigns in retirement, mixing in no way with the rivalries and intrigues of the rival sections, and content with their humble existence. The King occupied himself in astronomical studies, for which he had always had a great taste. The Queen, a sincere Catholic, lived a semi-cloistral life, having not even the opportunity of devoting herself to charitable works, inasmuch as misery was unknown on the Pearl of the Pacific.

  Such is the story of these ancient masters of the Kingdom of Malecarlie—a story which the superintendent related to our artistes, adding that this King and this Queen were the best people it was possible to meet, although their fortune was relatively very small.

  The quartette, greatly affected at this fall from high estate, born with such philosophy and resignation, felt respectful sympathy for the dethroned sovereigns. Instead of taking refuge in France, that country of Kings in exile, their Majesties had made choice of Floating Island as wealthy people make choice of Nice or Corfu, for reasons of health. They were not, of course, exiles; they had not been driven from their Kingdom; they could live there, they could return there, if they chose to do so, as simple citizens. But they had no thought of doing so, and were content with this peaceful existence, conforming to the laws and regulations of Floating Island.

  That the King and Queen of Malecarlie were not rich was true enough, compared with the majority of the Milliardites, and relatively to the wants of life in Milliard City. What could you
do with two hundred thousand francs of income, when the rent of a small house was fifty thousand? The ex-sovereigns were not wealthy compared with the emperors and Kings of Europe, who do not make much of a figure compared with the Goulds, Vanderbilts, Rothschilds, Astors, Mackays, and other deities of finance. Although they indulged in no luxuries, confining themselves only to necessaries, they were not easy in their circumstances. But the Queen’s health was so well suited by this residence in the island, that the King had no thought of leaving it. Thus he wished to increase his income by his work, and a situation becoming vacant at the observatory—a situation of which the salary was very high—he had applied for it to the Governor. Cyrus Bickerstaff, after consulting the general administration at Madeleine Bay, had granted the appointment to the sovereign, and that is why the newspapers had announced that the King of Malecarlie had been appointed astronomer of Floating Island.

  What a subject for conversation in other countries! There they talked about it for a couple of days and thought no more of it. It appeared quite natural that a King should seek in work the possibility of continuing this tranquil existence at Milliard City. He was a scientific man; they would profit by his science. There was nothing in that but what was honourable. If he discovered some new star, planet, or comet, they would give it his name, which would figure with honour among the mythological names with which the official annuals swarm.

  As they were walking in the park, Sebastien Zorn, Pinchinat, Yvernès, and Frascolin were talking about this event. In the morning they had seen the King going to his office, and they were not yet sufficiently Americanized to accept the situation as an every-day occurrence. Then they chatted about this matter, and Frascolin observed: