Discovery of the Hansbach

The Discovery of the Hansbach transforms a water crisis into a means of continuing the expedition: Hans patiently bores through solid rock until a forceful spring breaks into the tunnel, first dangerously hot and then drinkable. The discovery saves the travelers from the immediate threat of thirst, supplies water for their journey, and leaves a stream flowing behind them as both a practical resource and a route marker.

The Crisis and Hans's Method

The spring is found after the travelers' thirst has become acute. They fear that the tunnel's roof might collapse or that water might inundate them, but neither danger outweighs the need to find something to drink. Hans undertakes the work that Henry and Professor Hardwigg would not have attempted in their impatient state. Instead of attacking the rock violently, he works steadily, limiting the opening to roughly six inches.

After an hour, Hans has made a hole that allows his crowbar to penetrate about two feet into the rock. The wait feels far longer to Henry, who is struggling to contain Professor Hardwigg's impulse to use greater force. Just as Professor Hardwigg takes up his crowbar, a hiss announces the breakthrough: a jet of water bursts through the wall and strikes the opposite side of the tunnel. Hans's measured labor, rather than a forceful assault on the rock, has opened the source.

From Scalding Jet to Drinking Water

The first result is not immediate relief. Hans is nearly thrown off balance by the sudden eruption, and the water proves scalding hot. The tunnel fills with vapor as a small stream runs away into the interior. Professor Hardwigg expects the water to cool, and before long the travelers can drink it. They swallow in large mouthfuls, taking what the narrator describes as the return of life after the danger of thirst.

The spring's force also makes it impossible to close. The travelers fill their goatskin and gourds, then try to stop the opening. Hans uses broken pieces of granite and tow to block the fissure, but the pressure defeats the attempt and scalds his hands. The jet's strength suggests that the spring's upper surface lies at a considerable height above them. Rather than treat the failure as a reason to waste the water, they recognize that its continuing flow may be useful.

Naming the Hansbach

Professor Hardwigg calls the water highly mineralized and observes its peculiar inky flavor. He proposes naming the stream after Hans, whose work has uncovered it. Henry agrees, and the name Hansbach, meaning Hans Brook, is adopted. Hans himself shows little reaction to the honor: after taking only a small amount of water, he sits apart with his usual composure.

The naming registers the guide's indispensable contribution without changing his reserved manner. The water has been reached through his careful work, but he neither claims the discovery nor displays pride when it is named for him. The contrast between the expedition's urgent celebration and Hans's calm reinforces his role as a practical, dependable member of the party.

A Resource and a Route

The travelers consider stopping the spring because they do not know whether they will be able to refill their bottles later. Professor Hardwigg rejects the attempt: the source, he says, is inexhaustible. He proposes letting the water run along their track, where it can serve both to guide them and to refresh them. Henry welcomes the idea, now confident that the rivulet removes one obstacle to their project.

The stream thus changes more than the party's immediate condition. Before the discovery, the danger of thirst threatens to halt their progress; afterward, the water is deliberately incorporated into the route itself. It is both provision and orientation, a natural feature made useful through observation and decision. The episode also gives scientific reasoning a practical form: the travelers infer the spring's pressure from its force, but their priority remains concrete—collect drinkable water and keep moving.

Significance in the Expedition

The Hansbach is a turning point defined by a reversal in circumstances. The prospect of digging beneath an old ocean had seemed worth the danger because thirst was so severe; the spring then arrives with its own initial hazard, too hot to drink, before becoming the relief the travelers need. Hans's patience, the rock's resistance, the pressurized fissure, and the party's failed attempt to seal it all shape the outcome.

The discovery also establishes a continuing connection between the expedition and the underground environment. The travelers do not merely take water away in their containers: they let the stream follow their path, turning an unexpected source into part of their means of travel. In that way, the Hansbach marks the shift from a journey threatened by the absence of water to one provisionally supported and guided by it.