in 1827. “It is the worst passage of all in the Malayan Archipelago,” as M. de Runzi has said, and I had little doubt that this hazardous bit of navigation would bring us to the celebrated Andaman Islands.
The Nautilus was then at the entrance of the most dangerous strait in the globe, and one which the hardiest sailors scarcely dare to traverse, and which Louis Paz de Torres braved in returning from the south into the Malaynesia, and in which the ships of Dumont D'Urville were nearly lost. The Nautilus itself superior to all the perils of the sea, was nevertheless obliged to exercise great caution amongst those coral reefs.
Torres Strait is about thirty-four leagues wide, but it is obstructed by innumerable islands, and islets, shoals, rocks, &c., which render navigation almost impracticable. Consequently Captain Nemo took all necessary precautions. The Nautilus, floating at the surface, proceeded at a moderate pace. The screw beat the water slowly, like the tail of a cetacean.
Profiting by these circumstances, my two companions and I took up our position on the platform. Before us rose the steersman’s cage, and I believe Captain Nemo was also there directing the Nautilus himself.
I had the excellent maps of Torres Straits designed and drawn up by the hydrographical engineers, Vincendon Dumoulin and Lieutenant Coupvent Desbois, who is now an admiral, who formed part of the staff of Dumont d'Urville during his last voyage of circumnavigation. These are, with those of Captain King, the best maps,and which unravel the intricacies of this narrow passage; therefore I studied them attentively.
The sea broke furiously around the Nautilus. The
