Chapter 15 Chapter fifteen

The next day, April 17, the sailor's first words were to Keating.Spilett said. Sir, he asked, what are we doing today? Mr. Cyrus did what he said.replied the correspondent. In a former period the engineer's companions were either brickmakers or potters; now they are becoming metallurgists. Yesterday, after breakfast, they walked to Mandible Point, seven miles from the grotto, where the endless sand dunes came to an end.The soil there seemed to be volcanic, with no cliffs like Prospect Heights, but a strange volcanic mineral that formed the edge of a narrow bay between two capes.After the residents came here, they went back.At dusk they returned to the grotto, but they could not go to sleep thinking of the question of whether they could leave Lincoln Island or not.

The island is twelve hundred miles from the Pamotus, a considerable distance.A small boat couldn't get across, and besides, the cold season was approaching.Pencroft especially emphasizes this point.Even with the necessary tools, it was difficult to build a small boat, and the settlers did not have tools. They had to start making hammers, axes, adzes, saws, drills, planers, etc., which took a considerable time.They therefore resolved to spend the winter on Lincoln Island, and to seek shelter from the cold in a more comfortable place than the Grotto. First of all, it is necessary to find iron ore. The engineer once discovered this kind of deposit in the northwest of the island. This kind of iron ore is suitable for both steelmaking and iron making.

Under normal circumstances, when metal is buried in the ground, its texture is not pure.They are usually combined with oxygen or sulfur.Cyrus.This was the case with the two specimens Smith brought back last time, one of uncarburized magnetite and the other of pyrite, also known as iron sulfide.Therefore, they had to reduce the iron oxide with charcoal, that is, remove the oxygen, before they could get pure iron.This reduction process is carried out when the ore is burned to a very high temperature with charcoal. It can be carried out by a quick and simple local method (its advantage is that iron ore can be smelted into iron through only one process), or it can be carried out by blast furnace first. The iron ore is melted in one step, and then three to four percent of the charcoal combined with the ore is removed to turn it into iron.

Now, Cyrus.Smith needed iron, and wanted to forge it as soon as possible.The iron ore he picked up was very fine and pure, a kind of iron oxide.When it was picked up, it was an irregular dark gray mass, from which a black powder formed by regular octahedral crystals could be obtained.Natural lodestones contain this ore, and the raw material is abundantly produced in Sweden and Norway, where it is smelted into the finest pig-iron in Europe.Not far from this vein is the coal seam, and the residents have already used the coal here.The raw materials needed for ironmaking are nearby, which brings great convenience to the work.The mines of England are valuable because coal and metals can be extracted from the ground at the same time for smelting.

Then, Mr. Smith, said Pencroft, are we going to smelt iron? Yes, my friend, replied the engineer, and for this, we must first do one of your favorite jobs, go to the island and hunt seals. Hit the seals!The sailor turned to Keating.Spilett said, do iron smelting need seals? Since Cyrus said so, it can't be wrong!replied the correspondent. The engineer had already left the grotto, and since no one else could answer the question, Pencroft had to prepare to hunt the seals. Cyrus.Smith, Herbert, Keating.Spilett, Neb, and the sailors were soon assembled on the shore, and when the tide went out, this part of the strait formed a shallow ford, through which the hunters waded, in water not more than knee-deep.

It was the first time for Smith to come to the island, and it was the second time for his companions.That's where the balloon dropped them in the first place. When they landed, there were hundreds of penguins watching them, not afraid at all.The hunters, with sticks in their hands, would have easily killed them, but at this time they could not kill them without cause, for the seals were lying on the sand a few anchor chains away, and they could not be disturbed.There is also a kind of bird, very honest in appearance, whose wings have been reduced to short limbs, which are spread out like fins, and are covered with feathers and scales.The inhabitants did not violate them either.There are small holes everywhere in the ground, and seabirds make nests in the holes.They walked quietly across this area to the north.In the water near the end of the island there were many large black heads floating, as if the rocks were moving.

This is the seal they intend to hunt, but if they want to catch them, they have to wait for them to land first, because they have fine short hair and a spindle-like body, they swim very fast in the water, and it is very difficult to catch them in the sea. Very difficult, on land, because of their short webbed feet, they can only waddle and walk slowly. Pencroft knew the habits of this animal, and he taught them to wait, and the seal would come to the beach to bask in the sun, and would soon lie down and fall asleep.Then cut off their way back and beat them on the head. The hunters hid behind rocks and waited quietly.

An hour later the seals came to play on the sand.Half a dozen came up.Pencroft and Herbert rounded the promontory of the isle, cut off their rear, and attacked them from behind.At this time Cyrus.Smith, Spilett and Neb also crawled out from behind the stones and slipped towards the place that was about to become a battlefield. Suddenly the tall figure of the sailor stood up.He roared.Immediately the engineer and his two companions ran and stood between the sea and the seals.After a while, two seals died on the ground.But the others fled back to the sea safely. Mr. Smith, didn't you want a seal, now it's here!Said the sailor, and went up to the engineer.

"Very well," replied Smith, we'll make bellows out of them! Bellows!cried Pencroft, what!Good fortune for these seals! It turned out that the engineer planned to use the skin of this amphibian as an indispensable blower for smelting.The two seals were average in size, less than six feet long.Their heads resemble those of dogs. It was too laborious and useless to carry the two seals back, so Neb and Pencroft resolved to skin them here, and Cyrus.Smith and his correspondent took advantage of the time to go round the island. The sailor and the black person stripped so skilfully that, three hours later, CyrusSmith was then given two whole sealskins, which he intended to use without tanning.

When the tide receded again, the residents waded across the strait and returned to the grotto. Then they stretched the sealskin over a wooden frame, and sewed it up with fibers to make it as airtight as possible.Cyrus.Smith had no other tools than a two-piece steel knife made of Top's collar.However, he was very resourceful and used the infinite wisdom of his partners. Three days later, a blower was added to the team's tools. When the ore was heating, this tool was used to blow air into the ore. This was a victory to complete the smelting work. an indispensable condition. On the morning of April 20, as the correspondent has recorded, the metal age began.As has been said, the engineers resolved to operate in the vicinity of the coal and iron mines.According to his observation, the ore lode is in the foothills of the northeastern branch of Mount Franklin.The place was six miles from the grotto, and it was impossible to go home and back every day.Therefore, the team unanimously decided to build a shelter out of branches for the night, so that they could carry on this important work round the clock.

In the morning, having decided the matter, they set off.Neb and Pencroft found a basket, on which they dragged the bellows, and placed a great quantity of vegetables and meat in it, to add to what they had brought, and to replenish it along the way. On the way, they had to pass through the woodpecker forest. They entered the jungle from the southeast, passed through the densest trees, and went out diagonally to the northwest.They had to make a way that would in the future connect Prospect Heights directly with Mount Franklin.There are many very beautiful plants of familiar varieties.Herbert also discovered new varieties, some of which Pencroft called pseudo-leeks; for, though much larger than leeks, they belonged to the family of Liliaceae, like onions, shallots, shallots, and asparagus.These plants have woody roots that are delicious when roasted.The roots can also be made into a very tasty drink when fermented.So they collected the roots in large quantities. They walked a long way in the forest, and walked for a whole day, so they had ample time to observe the animals and plants in the forest.Top hunted for beasts, and he went in and out of the vegetation, and drove out all kinds of animals.Herbert and Keating.Spilett shot dead two kangaroos with a bow and arrow, and also shot dead an animal that resembled both a hedgehog and an anteater.It looks like a hedgehog from the way it is curled up and covered with thorns. It has sharp claws, a thin and long mouth, and the end is like a bird's beak, which is very similar to an anteater; in addition, it has a The retractable and flexible tongue has many small spines, which can be used to catch insects. When it was out of the pot, Pencroft asked, as usual, what was it like? Like the best beef.replied Herbert. Well, we can't ask too much.said the sailor. During the journey, they saw wild boars several times, but these wild boars did not rush towards the team. It seemed that they would not encounter any wild beasts. But at this time, the correspondent vaguely saw a wild beast in the dense bushes a few steps away. Crouching among the low branches of a tree.Thinking it was a bear, he began to draw it very calmly.Fortunately, this animal does not belong to the dreaded plantars. It is just a sloth, commonly known as a sloth, about the size of a larger dog, with stiff and dirty fur and powerful claws on its feet. , able to climb trees, it usually eats leaves.They recognized the animal and did not violate it.Ji Ding.Spilett erased the title of the sketch from bear and replaced it with sloth, and everyone moved on. Five o'clock in the evening, Cyrus.Smith ordered everyone to stop.They had now passed through the forest and came down to the main spur that was the base of Mount Franklin to the east.The Red River flows hundreds of feet away, and plenty of fresh water is available nearby. The camp was set up in no time.In less than an hour, among the trees on the edge of the forest, they weaved the branches with climbing vines to make a tent, and covered the outside with a layer of earth, so that they built a not bad dwelling place.Their geological prospecting work was not scheduled until the next day.Now there was a roaring bonfire in front of the camp, and the barbecue was turning on the flames.Supper was ready, and by eight o'clock all were in bed, except one who kept watch to keep the bonfires from extinguishing, lest wild beasts should sneak into the vicinity of the camp. The next day, April 21st, Cyrus.Smith asked Herbert to go with him to find the ancient soil layer. He had already found iron ore specimens on this kind of land last time.They found veins under a branch in the northeast, near the source of the Red River, and the ore was exposed on the ground.This ore is easily smelted, and has a high iron content, and is well suited to the reduction method which the engineer intends to adopt, that is, the native method of the Catalans, but simplified like the Corsicans.The so-called soil method needs to build a furnace, make several crucibles, put ore and charcoal layer by layer in the crucible, and then let it change and restore.But Cyrus.Smith did not intend to use these devices, but simply formed a cube of ore and coal, and used bellows to blow air into the center of the cube.Undoubtedly, this was the approach taken by Cain and the world's first metallurgists.If the descendants of Adam have succeeded in this method, and have had good success in countries rich in iron ore and fuel, the inhabitants of Lincoln Island must also succeed. They had no trouble picking up charcoal and iron ore on the ground.They first smashed the iron ore, wiped off a layer of impurities on the surface of the iron ore with their hands, and then piled up the charcoal and iron ore layer by layer, just like charcoal workers burn charcoal with firewood.In this way, under the action of the blower, the charcoal is turned into carbon monoxide, and then into carbon dioxide. In the process of turning into carbon dioxide, the iron oxide is reduced and carbon dioxide gas is released. That's how engineers work.He built a pipe of clay in the kiln in advance, fitted it to one end of a sealskin bellows, and then installed the bellows near the ore pile. The engineer used a wooden frame, a rope made of some plant fibers, and a scale hammer. Make a blower to blow a large amount of air into the cube. After the temperature increases, the air also promotes chemical changes, and pure iron can be smelted at a certain time. The work is difficult and requires the utmost patience and all the intelligence of the inhabitants.At last it succeeded, and a piece of pig iron similar to a sponge was smelted. This piece of pig iron had to be tempered, that is to say, it had to be hammered to remove the molten impurities.Of course, these amateur smiths did not have hammers, but they were no worse off than the first metallurgists, so they imitated their predecessors. They put a wooden handle on a piece of pig iron for a hammer, and granite rock for an anvil, and thus struck the iron.The iron they made was rough, but useful.After countless arduous attempts, finally on April 25th some iron bars were made, and they were used to make many tools, such as sledges, pliers, picks, shovels and so on.Pencroft and Neb took these implements with the excitement of a treasure. But this metal has not yet reached perfection, that is to say, it has not yet become steel.Steel is a mixture of iron and carbon.To obtain steel, it is necessary to remove excess charcoal from pig iron, or to add a certain amount of charcoal to wrought iron.The first method of decarburization can produce natural steel or cast steel, and the second method of adding carbon can produce foamed steel. Cyrus.Smith intended to refine the latter, since the iron he obtained was pure.In order to carry out this work, he made a crucible with clay in advance, put iron and charcoal together in the crucible to heat, and as a result, steel was smelted. The steel, which can be manipulated whether it is cold or hot, he worked on it with a hammer.Under his shrewd guidance, Neb and Pencroft heated the steel red, and then suddenly immersed it in water, and made many axes of great hardness. Many other tools were also manufactured, of course very crude in shape, among them: steel plates for planing knives, woodcutter axes, hatchets, steel blocks for saws and chisels; in addition, shovels, pickaxes , hammer, iron for nails, etc.On May 5th, the metal period finally came to an end.The blacksmiths are back in the grotto, and soon there will be new jobs to give them new titles.