Twenty thousand leagues under the sea
THE year 1866 was signalized by a remarkable incident, a
mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet
forgotten. Not to mention rumors which agitated the maritime
population, and excited the public mind, even in the interior of
continents, seafaring men were particularly excited. Merchants, common
sailors, captains of vessels, skippers, both of Europe and America,
naval officers of all countries, and the Governments of several states
on the two continents, were deeply interested in the matter.
For some time past, vessels had been met by “an enormous thing,” a
long object, spindle-shaped, occasionally phosphorescent, and
infinitely larger and more rapid in its movements than a whale.
The facts relating to this apparition (entered in various log
books) agreed in most respects as to the shape of the object or
creature in question, the untiring rapidity of its movements, its
surprising power of locomotion, and the peculiar life with which it
seemed endowed. If it was a cetacean, it surpassed in size all those
hitherto classified in science. Taking into consideration the mean
