CHAPTER ELEVEN

The Sargasso Sea

The next day, we left to sail closer to North America. We were soon in the calm Sargasso Sea, whose waters are always quiet. The surface of this mysterious water was covered with thick sea plants, which had caused problems for many ships traveling through the area. The Nautilus, however, traveled under the sea plants. The name "Sargasso" comes from the Spanish word, "sargazzo," describing a type of sea plant. These plants, coming from many different parts of the ocean, collect together in the calmest part of the sea, the Sargasso, which moves in a circle, continually collecting various sea plants. I was able to examine this carefully, where most ships are unable to pass through.

All the day of the 22nd of February, we passed through the Sargasso Sea. By the next day, we had crossed the mysterious Sargasso Sea. For the next nineteen days, from the 23rd of February to the 12th of March, the Nautilus traveled through the Atlantic Ocean, sailing towards South America. I believed the captain planned to sail around the southern tip of South America, a frightening place for ships, with great winds, common storms, and icy temperatures. The Nautilus, however, would not have such worries on that dangerous path. Ned Land was in fear that we would not soon near land. In these large seas, we would be unable to survive leaving the Nautilus.

During those nineteen days, I rarely saw the captain, but often noticed his books left open in the library, books particularly about natural history. I saw that he had read through my book, writing notes as he read, often disagreeing with my opinions. During this time, we attempted to find the bottom of the ocean, but were unable to at many points along our way. We traveled nearly four thousand leagues under the water, and still could not find the bottom At nearly three thousand leagues under the surface, we saw the last of the living animals and plants, below that level, we saw nothing but water. As we reached four thousand leagues, the iron coverings of the Nautilus began to shake, and we were no longer able to go further into the ocean depths.

"What a situation!" I exclaimed. "We are going deep into the earth's ocean depths, where other men have never been! Captain, look at these incredible rocks and caves where life is no longer possible! What unknown sights are here! How can we remember such amazing views?"

"You are able to remember these sights with a photograph. We are able to take pictures of these sights," the captain explained.

I could not say anything, as I was shocked to hear the captain's idea. A few moments later, a large object was carried into the sitting room. A short time later, we had a fantastic picture of the ocean bottom.

"Now we must return to the surface, as the Nautilus is under a great deal of pressure at this moment. Hold on to something," he advised, but in just a moment, the submarine shot upward. In four minutes, we had gone four leagues and were again on the surface of the water.

(end of section)