Calico Classics Illustrated: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
1 A Shifting Reef The year 1866 was marked by strange events at sea Several ships met with a long glowing object of enormous size The thing moved incredibly fast and had no set migration or patch of ocean in which to dwell It might have been allowed to exist in peace had it not done the one unforgivable thing it endangered ships And specifi cally it damaged a ship owned by the famous English shipowner Cunard In April 1867 the Scotia was struck by something that pierced its hull with a neat hole in the shape of a perfect triangle The ship limped home safely but the damage was enough to bring about the public outcry to rid the seas of this mysterious creature 4
At this time I was in the United States The French government had asked me to join an expedition to the Badlands of Nebraska This was because I was an assistant professor at the Museum of Natural History in Paris By the end of March I was in New York packing for my return to Paris I was familiar with the stories of the mysterious sea creature They fi lled every newspaper Some said the creature was really fl oating debris from a wreck or a fl oating reef But that hardly explained the high speeds some witnessed Some said it was some kind of underwater boat but how could any country create such an amazing craft in complete secrecy And to what purpose Each country was questioned of course But every government seemed equally concerned about this dangerous situation During my stay in New York several people consulted me on the subject Finally I did 5
share my opinion with the New York Herald I considered each theory and responded to it Finally I admitted that I believed the creature was a giant narwhal The narwhal can grow to sixty feet and has a long tusk that has been known to pierce the sides of wooden ships I believed we were seeing a species ten times the normal size My theory was hotly debated but I heard no better ideas presented I admit my theory added fuel to the monster hunters They insisted the creature be tracked down and eliminated The United States planned a mission to hunt the narwhal The fast frigate the Abraham Lincoln was called to fulfi ll the mission with Commander Farragut in charge Three hours before the Abraham Lincoln was due to leave its pier in Brooklyn I received the following letter 6
