The Lost World (Professor Challenger 1)

I should wish to place upon record here our gratitude to all ourfriends upon the Amazon for the very great kindness and hospitalitywhich was shown to us upon our return journey. Very particularly wouldI thank Senhor Penalosa and other officials of the Brazilian Governmentfor the special arrangements by which we were helped upon our way, andSenhor Pereira of Para, to whose forethought we owe the complete outfitfor a decent appearance in the civilized world which we found ready forus at that town. It seemed a poor return for all the courtesy which weencountered that we should deceive our hosts and benefactors, but underthe circumstances we had really no alternative, and I hereby tell themthat they will only waste their time and their money if they attempt tofollow upon our traces. Even the names have been altered in ouraccounts, and I am very sure that no one, from the most careful studyof them, could come within a thousand miles of our unknown land.

The excitement which had been caused through those parts of SouthAmerica which we had to traverse was imagined by us to be purely local,and I can assure our friends in England that we had no notion of theuproar which the mere rumor of our experiences had caused throughEurope. It was not until the Ivernia was within five hundred miles ofSouthampton that the wireless messages from paper after paper andagency after agency, offering huge prices for a short return message asto our actual results, showed us how strained was the attention notonly of the scientific world but of the general public. It was agreedamong us, however, that no definite statement should be given to thePress until we had met the members of the Zoological Institute, sinceas delegates it was our clear duty to give our first report to the bodyfrom which we had received our commission of investigation. Thus,although we found Southampton full of Pressmen, we absolutely refusedto give any information, which had the natural effect of focussingpublic attention upon the meeting which was advertised for the eveningof November 7th. For this gathering, the Zoological Hall which hadbeen the scene of the inception of our task was found to be far toosmall, and it was only in the Queen's Hall in Regent Street thataccommodation could be found. It is now common knowledge the promotersmight have ventured upon the Albert Hall and still found their spacetoo scanty.

It was for the second evening after our arrival that the great meetinghad been fixed. For the first, we had each, no doubt, our own pressingpersonal affairs to absorb us. Of mine I cannot yet speak. It may bethat as it stands further from me I may think of it, and even speak ofit, with less emotion. I have shown the reader in the beginning ofthis narrative where lay the springs of my action. It is but right,perhaps, that I should carry on the tale and show also the results.And yet the day may come when I would not have it otherwise. At leastI have been driven forth to take part in a wondrous adventure, and Icannot but be thankful to the force that drove me.

And now I turn to the last supreme eventful moment of our adventure.As I was racking my brain as to how I should best describe it, my eyesfell upon the issue of my own Journal for the morning of the 8th ofNovember with the full and excellent account of my friend andfellow-reporter Macdona. What can I do better than transcribe hisnarrative--head-lines and all? I admit that the paper was exuberant inthe matter, out of compliment to its own enterprise in sending acorrespondent, but the other great dailies were hardly less full intheir account. Thus, then, friend Mac in his report:

THE NEW WORLD GREAT MEETING AT THE QUEEN'S HALL SCENES OF UPROAR EXTRAORDINARY INCIDENT WHAT WAS IT? NOCTURNAL RIOT IN REGENT STREET (Special)

"The much-discussed meeting of the Zoological Institute, convened tohear the report of the Committee of Investigation sent out last year toSouth America to test the assertions made by Professor Challenger as tothe continued existence of prehistoric life upon that Continent, washeld last night in the greater Queen's Hall, and it is safe to say thatit is likely to be a red letter date in the history of Science, for theproceedings were of so remarkable and sensational a character that noone present is ever likely to forget them." (Oh, brother scribeMacdona, what a monstrous opening sentence!) "The tickets weretheoretically confined to members and their friends, but the latter isan elastic term, and long before eight o'clock, the hour fixed for thecommencement of the proceedings, all parts of the Great Hall weretightly packed. The general public, however, which most unreasonablyentertained a grievance at having been excluded, stormed the doors at aquarter to eight, after a prolonged melee in which several people wereinjured, including Inspector Scoble of H. Division, whose leg wasunfortunately broken. After this unwarrantable invasion, which notonly filled every passage, but even intruded upon the space set apartfor the Press, it is estimated that nearly five thousand people awaitedthe arrival of the travelers. When they eventually appeared, they tooktheir places in the front of a platform which already contained all theleading scientific men, not only of this country, but of France and ofGermany. Sweden was also represented, in the person of ProfessorSergius, the famous Zoologist of the University of Upsala. Theentrance of the four heroes of the occasion was the signal for aremarkable demonstration of welcome, the whole audience rising andcheering for some minutes. An acute observer might, however, havedetected some signs of dissent amid the applause, and gathered that theproceedings were likely to become more lively than harmonious. It maysafely be prophesied, however, that no one could have foreseen theextraordinary turn which they were actually to take.

"Of the appearance of the four wanderers little need be said, sincetheir photographs have for some time been appearing in all the papers.They bear few traces of the hardships which they are said to haveundergone. Professor Challenger's beard may be more shaggy, ProfessorSummerlee's features more ascetic, Lord John Roxton's figure moregaunt, and all three may be burned to a darker tint than when they leftour shores, but each appeared to be in most excellent health. As toour own representative, the well-known athlete and international Rugbyfootball player, E. D. Malone, he looks trained to a hair, and as hesurveyed the crowd a smile of good-humored contentment pervaded hishonest but homely face." (All right, Mac, wait till I get you alone!)

"When quiet had been restored and the audience resumed their seatsafter the ovation which they had given to the travelers, the chairman,the Duke of Durham, addressed the meeting. 'He would not,' he said,'stand for more than a moment between that vast assembly and the treatwhich lay before them. It was not for him to anticipate what ProfessorSummerlee, who was the spokesman of the committee, had to say to them,but it was common rumor that their expedition had been crowned byextraordinary success.' (Applause.) 'Apparently the age of romancewas not dead, and there was common ground upon which the wildestimaginings of the novelist could meet the actual scientificinvestigations of the searcher for truth. He would only add, before hesat down, that he rejoiced--and all of them would rejoice--that thesegentlemen had returned safe and sound from their difficult anddangerous task, for it cannot be denied that any disaster to such anexpedition would have inflicted a well-nigh irreparable loss to thecause of Zoological science.' (Great applause, in which ProfessorChallenger was observed to join.)

"Professor Summerlee's rising was the signal for another extraordinaryoutbreak of enthusiasm, which broke out again at intervals throughouthis address. That address will not be given in extenso in thesecolumns, for the reason that a full account of the whole adventures ofthe expedition is being published as a supplement from the pen of ourown special correspondent. Some general indications will thereforesuffice. Having described the genesis of their journey, and paid ahandsome tribute to his friend Professor Challenger, coupled with anapology for the incredulity with which his assertions, now fullyvindicated, had been received, he gave the actual course of theirjourney, carefully withholding such information as would aid the publicin any attempt to locate this

remarkable plateau. Having described, ingeneral terms, their course from the main river up to the time thatthey actually reached the base of the cliffs, he enthralled his hearersby his account of the difficulties encountered by the expedition intheir repeated attempts to mount them, and finally described how theysucceeded in their desperate endeavors, which cost the lives of theirtwo devoted half-breed servants." (This amazing reading of the affairwas the result of Summerlee's endeavors to avoid raising anyquestionable matter at the meeting.)

"Having conducted his audience in fancy to the summit, and maroonedthem there by reason of the fall of their bridge, the Professorproceeded to describe both the horrors and the attractions of thatremarkable land. Of personal adventures he said little, but laidstress upon the rich harvest reaped by Science in the observations ofthe wonderful beast, bird, insect, and plant life of the plateau.Peculiarly rich in the coleoptera and in the lepidoptera, forty-six newspecies of the one and ninety-four of the other had been secured in thecourse of a few weeks. It was, however, in the larger animals, andespecially in the larger animals supposed to have been long extinct,that the interest of the public was naturally centered. Of these hewas able to give a goodly list, but had little doubt that it would belargely extended when the place had been more thoroughly investigated.He and his companions had seen at least a dozen creatures, most of themat a distance, which corresponded with nothing at present known toScience. These would in time be duly classified and examined. Heinstanced a snake, the cast skin of which, deep purple in color, wasfifty-one feet in length, and mentioned a white creature, supposed tobe mammalian, which gave forth well-marked phosphorescence in thedarkness; also a large black moth, the bite of which was supposed bythe Indians to be highly poisonous. Setting aside these entirely newforms of life, the plateau was very rich in known prehistoric forms,dating back in some cases to early Jurassic times. Among these hementioned the gigantic and grotesque stegosaurus, seen once by Mr.Malone at a drinking-place by the lake, and drawn in the sketch-book ofthat adventurous American who had first penetrated this unknown world.He described also the iguanodon and the pterodactyl--two of the firstof the wonders which they had encountered. He then thrilled theassembly by some account of the terrible carnivorous dinosaurs, whichhad on more than one occasion pursued members of the party, and whichwere the most formidable of all the creatures which they hadencountered. Thence he passed to the huge and ferocious bird, thephororachus, and to the great elk which still roams upon this upland.It was not, however, until he sketched the mysteries of the centrallake that the full interest and enthusiasm of the audience werearoused. One had to pinch oneself to be sure that one was awake as oneheard this sane and practical Professor in cold measured tonesdescribing the monstrous three-eyed fish-lizards and the hugewater-snakes which inhabit this enchanted sheet of water. Next hetouched upon the Indians, and upon the extraordinary colony ofanthropoid apes, which might be looked upon as an advance upon thepithecanthropus of Java, and as coming therefore nearer than any knownform to that hypothetical creation, the missing link. Finally hedescribed, amongst some merriment, the ingenious but highly dangerousaeronautic invention of Professor Challenger, and wound up a mostmemorable address by an account of the methods by which the committeedid at last find their way back to civilization.

"It had been hoped that the proceedings would end there, and that avote of thanks and congratulation, moved by Professor Sergius, ofUpsala University, would be duly seconded and carried; but it was soonevident that the course of events was not destined to flow so smoothly.Symptoms of opposition had been evident from time to time during theevening, and now Dr. James Illingworth, of Edinburgh, rose in thecenter of the hall. Dr. Illingworth asked whether an amendment shouldnot be taken before a resolution.

"THE CHAIRMAN: 'Yes, sir, if there must be an amendment.'

"DR. ILLINGWORTH: 'Your Grace, there must be an amendment.'

"THE CHAIRMAN: 'Then let us take it at once.'

"PROFESSOR SUMMERLEE (springing to his feet): 'Might I explain, yourGrace, that this man is my personal enemy ever since our controversy inthe Quarterly Journal of Science as to the true nature of Bathybius?'

"THE CHAIRMAN: 'I fear I cannot go into personal matters. Proceed.'

"Dr. Illingworth was imperfectly heard in part of his remarks onaccount of the strenuous opposition of the friends of the explorers.Some attempts were also made to pull him down. Being a man of enormousphysique, however, and possessed of a very powerful voice, he dominatedthe tumult and succeeded in finishing his speech. It was clear, fromthe moment of his rising, that he had a number of friends andsympathizers in the hall, though they formed a minority in theaudience. The attitude of the greater part of the public might bedescribed as one of attentive neutrality.

"Dr. Illingworth began his remarks by expressing his high appreciationof the scientific work both of Professor Challenger and of ProfessorSummerlee. He much regretted that any personal bias should have beenread into his remarks, which were entirely dictated by his desire forscientific truth. His position, in fact, was substantially the same asthat taken up by Professor Summerlee at the last meeting. At that lastmeeting Professor Challenger had made certain assertions which had beenqueried by his colleague. Now this colleague came forward himself withthe same assertions and expected them to remain unquestioned. Was thisreasonable? ('Yes,' 'No,' and prolonged interruption, during whichProfessor Challenger was heard from the Press box to ask leave from thechairman to put Dr. Illingworth into the street.) A year ago one mansaid certain things. Now four men said other and more startling ones.Was this to constitute a final proof where the matters in question wereof the most revolutionary and incredible character? There had beenrecent examples of travelers arriving from the unknown with certaintales which had been too readily accepted. Was the London ZoologicalInstitute to place itself in this position? He admitted that themembers of the committee were men of character. But human nature wasvery complex. Even Professors might be misled by the desire fornotoriety. Like moths, we all love best to flutter in the light.Heavy-game shots liked to be in a position to cap the tales of theirrivals, and journalists were not averse from sensational coups, evenwhen imagination had to aid fact in the process. Each member of thecommittee had his own motive for making the most of his results.('Shame! shame!') He had no desire to be offensive. ('You are!' andinterruption.) The corroboration of these wondrous tales was really ofthe most slender description. What did it amount to? Somephotographs. {Was it possible that in this age of ingeniousmanipulation photographs could be accepted as evidence?} What more?We have a story of a flight and a descent by ropes which precluded theproduction of larger specimens. It was ingenious, but not convincing.It was understood that Lord John Roxton claimed to have the skull of aphororachus. He could only say that he would like to see that skull.

"LORD JOHN ROXTON: 'Is this fellow calling me a liar?' (Uproar.)

"THE CHAIRMAN: 'Order! order! Dr. Illingworth, I must direct you tobring your remarks to a conclusion and to move your amendment.'

"DR. ILLINGWORTH: 'Your Grace, I have more to say, but I bow to yourruling. I move, then, that, while Professor Summerlee be thanked forhis interesting address, the whole matter shall be regarded as'non-proven,' and shall be referred back to a larger, and possibly morereliable Committee of Investigation.'

"It is difficult to describe the confusion caused by this amendment. Alarge section of the audience expressed their indignation at such aslur upon the travelers by noisy shouts of dissent and cries of, 'Don'tput it!' 'Withdraw!' 'Turn him out!' On the other hand, themalcontents--and it cannot be denied that they were fairlynumerous--cheered for the amendment, with cries of 'Order!' 'Chair!'and 'Fair play!' A scuffle broke out in the back benches, and blowswere freely exchanged among the medical students who crowded that partof the hall. It was only the moderating influence of the presence oflarge numbers of ladies which prevented an absolute riot. Suddenly,however, there was a pause, a hush, and t

hen complete silence.Professor Challenger was on his feet. His appearance and manner arepeculiarly arresting, and as he raised his hand for order the wholeaudience settled down expectantly to give him a hearing.

"'It will be within the recollection of many present,' said ProfessorChallenger, 'that similar foolish and unmannerly scenes marked the lastmeeting at which I have been able to address them. On that occasionProfessor Summerlee was the chief offender, and though he is nowchastened and contrite, the matter could not be entirely forgotten. Ihave heard to-night similar, but even more offensive, sentiments fromthe person who has just sat down, and though it is a conscious effortof self-effacement to come down to that person's mental level, I willendeavor to do so, in order to allay any reasonable doubt which couldpossibly exist in the minds of anyone.' (Laughter and interruption.)'I need not remind this audience that, though Professor Summerlee, asthe head of the Committee of Investigation, has been put up to speakto-night, still it is I who am the real prime mover in this business,and that it is mainly to me that any successful result must beascribed. I have safely conducted these three gentlemen to the spotmentioned, and I have, as you have heard, convinced them of theaccuracy of my previous account. We had hoped that we should find uponour return that no one was so dense as to dispute our jointconclusions. Warned, however, by my previous experience, I have notcome without such proofs as may convince a reasonable man. Asexplained by Professor Summerlee, our cameras have been tampered withby the ape-men when they ransacked our camp, and most of our negativesruined.' (Jeers, laughter, and 'Tell us another!' from the back.) 'Ihave mentioned the ape-men, and I cannot forbear from saying that someof the sounds which now meet my ears bring back most vividly to myrecollection my experiences with those interesting creatures.'(Laughter.) 'In spite of the destruction of so many invaluablenegatives, there still remains in our collection a certain number ofcorroborative photographs showing the conditions of life upon theplateau. Did they accuse them of having forged these photographs?' (Avoice, 'Yes,' and considerable interruption which ended in several menbeing put out of the hall.) 'The negatives were open to the inspectionof experts. But what other evidence had they? Under the conditions oftheir escape it was naturally impossible to bring a large amount ofbaggage, but they had rescued Professor Summerlee's collections ofbutterflies and beetles, containing many new species. Was this notevidence?' (Several voices, 'No.') 'Who said no?'

"DR. ILLINGWORTH (rising): 'Our point is that such a collection mighthave been made in other places than a prehistoric plateau.' (Applause.)

"PROFESSOR CHALLENGER: 'No doubt, sir, we have to bow to yourscientific authority, although I must admit that the name isunfamiliar. Passing, then, both the photographs and the entomologicalcollection, I come to the varied and accurate information which webring with us upon points which have never before been elucidated. Forexample, upon the domestic habits of the pterodactyl--'(A voice:'Bosh,' and uproar)--'I say, that upon the domestic habits of thepterodactyl we can throw a flood of light. I can exhibit to you frommy portfolio a picture of that creature taken from life which wouldconvince you----'

"DR. ILLINGWORTH: 'No picture could convince us of anything.'

"PROFESSOR CHALLENGER: 'You would require to see the thing itself?'

"DR. ILLINGWORTH: 'Undoubtedly.'