Four Young Explorers or, Sight-Seeing in the Tropics

Oliver Optic

Description

pubOne.info thank you for your continued support and wish to present you this new edition. FOUR YOUNG EXPLORERS is the third volume of the third series of the All-Over-the-World Library. When the young millionaire and his three companions of about his own age, with a chosen list of near and dear friends, had made the voyage Half Round the World, the volume with this title left them all at Sarawak in the island of Borneo. The four young explorers, as they became, were permitted to spend three weeks there hunting, fishing, and ascending some of the rivers, while the rest of the party proceeded in the Guardian-Mother to Siam. The younger members of the ship's company believed they had seen enough of temples, palaces, and fine gardens in the great cities of the East, and desired to live a wilder life for a brief period.

Informations

• Publié par: Pub One Info
• Date de parution: 23 octobre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9782819913382
• Langue: English

Extrait

PREFACE
"FOUR YOUNG EXPLORERS" is the third volume of thethird series of the "All-Over-the-World Library." When the youngmillionaire and his three companions of about his own age, with achosen list of near and dear friends, had made the voyage "HalfRound the World," the volume with this title left them all atSarawak in the island of Borneo. The four young explorers, as theybecame, were permitted to spend three weeks there hunting, fishing,and ascending some of the rivers, while the rest of the partyproceeded in the Guardian-Mother to Siam. The younger members ofthe ship's company believed they had seen enough of temples,palaces, and fine gardens in the great cities of the East, anddesired to live a wilder life for a brief period.
They were provided with a steam-launch, prepared forlong trips; and they ascended the Sarawak, the Sadong, and theSimujan Rivers, and had all the hunting, fishing, and exploringthey desired. They visited the villages of the Sea and Hill Dyaks,and learned what they could of their manners and customs,penetrating the island from the sea to the mountains. They studiedthe flora and the fauna of the forests, and were exceedinglyinterested in their occupation for about a week, when they came tothe conclusion that "too much of a good thing" became wearisome;and, more from the love of adventure than for any other reason,they decided to proceed to Bangkok, and to make the voyage of ninehundred miles in the Blanchita, as they had named the steam-launch,which voyage was accomplished without accident.
After the young explorers had looked over thecapital of Siam, the Guardian-Mother and her consort made thevoyage to Saigon, the capital of French Cochin-China, where thevisit of the tourists was a general frolic, with "lots of fun," asthe young people expressed it; and then, crossing the China Sea,made the port of Manila, the capital of the Philippine Islands,where they explored the city, and made a trip up the Pasig to theLake of the Bay. From this city they made the voyage to Hong-Kong,listening to a very long lecture on the way in explanation of thehistory, manners, and customs, and the peculiarities of the peopleof China. They were still within the tropics, and devotedthemselves to the business of sight-seeing with the same vigor andinterest as before. But most of them had read so much about China,as nearly every American has, that many of the sights soon began toseem like an old story to them.
Passing out of the Torrid Zone, the two steamersproceeded to the north, obtaining a long view of Formosa, andhearing a lecture about it. Their next port of call was Shang-hai,reached by ascending the Woo-Sung. From this port they made anexcursion up the Yang-tsze-Chiang, which was an exceedinglyinteresting trip to them. The ships then made the voyage toTien-tsin, from which they ascended by river in the steam-launch toa point thirteen miles from Pekin, going from there to the capitalby the various modes of conveyance in use in China. They visitedthe sights of the great city under the guidance of a mandarin,educated at Yale College. Some of the party made the trip to theloop-wall, near Pekin. Returning to Tien-tsin, with the diplomaticmandarin, who had accepted an invitation to go to Japan in theGuardian-Mother, they sailed for that interesting country, wherethe next volume of the series will take them.
It may be necessary to say that the Guardian-Mother,now eighteen months from New York, and half round the world,reached Tien-tsin May 25, 1893; and therefore nothing relating tothe late war between China and Japan is to be found in this volume.Possibly the four young explorers would have found more sights tosee, and more adventures to enjoy, if they had struck either of thebelligerent nations during the war; but the ship sailed for theUnited States before hostilities were begun.
Of course the writer has been compelled to consultmany volumes in writing this book; and he takes great pleasure inmentioning among them the very interesting and valuable work of Mr.W. T. Hornaday, the accomplished traveller and scientist, "TwoYears in the Jungle." This book contains all that one need knowabout Borneo, to say nothing of the writer's trip in India amongthe elephants. His researches in regard to the orang-outang appearto have exhausted the subject; though I do not believe he has foundthe "missing link," if he is looking for it. Professor Leggecontributed several articles to "Chambers's Encyclopædia," whichcontain the most interesting and valuable matter about China to bederived from any work; for he lived for years in that country,travelled extensively, and learned the language. I am under greatobligations to these authors.
The author is under renewed obligations to hisreaders, young and old, who have been his constant friends duringmore than forty years, for the favor with which they have receiveda whole library of his books, and for the kind words they havespoken to him, both verbally and by letter. WILLIAM T. ADAMS.DORCHESTER, MASS.
CHAPTER I
THE BORNEO HUNTERS AND EXPLORERS
The Guardian-Mother, attended by the Blanche, hadconveyed the tourists, in their voyage all over the world, toSarawak, the capital of a rajahship on the north-western coast ofthe island of Borneo. The town is situated on both sides of a riverof the same name, about eighteen miles from its mouths.
The steamer on which was the pleasant home of themillionaire at eighteen, who was accompanied by his mother and aconsiderable party, all of whom have been duly presented to thereader in the former volumes of the series, lay in the middle ofthe river. The black smoke was pouring out of her smokestack, andthe hissing steam indicated that the vessel was all ready to godown the river to the China Sea. Her anchor had been hove up, andthe pilot was in the pilot-house waiting for the commander tostrike the gong in the engine-room to start the screw.
Just astern of the Guardian-Mother was a very trimand beautiful steam-launch, fifty feet in length. The mostprominent persons on board of her were the quartette of Americanboys, known on board of the steamer in which they had sailed halfround the world as the "Big Four." Of this number Louis Belgrave,the young millionaire, was the most important individual in theestimation of his companions, though happily not in his own.
Like a great many other young men of eighteen, whichwas the age of three of them, while the fourth was hardly sixteen,they were fond of adventure, – of hunting, fishing, and sporting ingeneral. They had gone over a large portion of Europe, visited thecountries on the shores of the Mediterranean, crossed India, andcalled at some of the ports of Burma, the Malay peninsula, Sumatra,Java, Celebes, and had reached Sarawak in their explorations.
They had visited many of the great cities of theworld, and seen the temples, monuments, palaces, and notablestructures of all kinds they contain; but they had become tired ofthis description of sight-seeing. When the island of Borneo wasmarked on the map as one of the localities to be visited, the "BigFour" had a meeting in the boudoir, as one of the apartments of theGuardian-Mother was called, and voted that they had had enough oftemples, monuments, and great cities for the present.
They agreed that exploring a part of Borneo, withthe incidental hunting, fishing, and study of natural history,would suit them better. Louis Belgrave was appointed a committee ofone to petition the commander to allow them three weeks in theisland for this purpose. Captain Ringgold suggested to Louis thatit was rather selfish to leave the rest of the party on thesteamer, stuck in the mud of the Sarawak, while they were on therivers and in the woods enjoying themselves.
But the representative of the "Big Four" protestedthat they did not mean anything of the sort. They did not care astraw for the temples and other sights of Siam, Cambodia, andFrench Cochin-China; and while they were exploring Borneo andshooting orang-outangs, the Guardian-Mother should proceed toBangkok and Saigon, and the rest of the tourists could enjoythemselves to the full in seeing the wonders of Farther India.
It required a great deal of discussion to induce thecommander, and then the mothers of two of the explorers, to assentto this plan; but the objections were finally overcome by the logicand the eloquence of Louis. The Blanche, the consort of theGuardian-Mother, having on board the owner, known as General Noury,his wife and his father-in-law, had nothing to do with thisdifficult question; but the general had a steam-launch, which hewas kind enough to grant for the use of the explorers.
The third engineer of the ship was to go with thequartette, in charge of the engine; five of the youngest of theseamen were selected to make the venture safer than it mightotherwise have been. Achang Bakir, a native Bornean, who had beenpicked up off the Nicobar Islands, after the wreck of the dhow ofwhich he had been in command, was to be the guide andinterpreter.
The youngsters and their assistants had taken theirplaces on board of the "Blanchita," as Louis had christened thecraft, and she was to accompany the two large steamers down theriver. But the farewells had all been spoken, the hugging andkissing disposed of, and the tears had even been wiped away. Themothers had become in some degree reconciled to the separation ofthree weeks.
The Guardian-Mother started her screw, and began tomove very slowly down the river, amid the cheers and salutations ofthe officers, soldiers, and citizens of the town. The Blanchefollowed her, and both steamers fired salutes in honor of thespectators to their departure. The Blanchita secured a position onthe starboard of the Guardian-Mother, and for three hours kept up acommunication with their friends by signals and shouts.
Off the mouth of the Moritabas, one of the outletsof the stream, the steamers stopped their screws, and the "BigFour" went alongsid