The Underwater Hunting Trip

Captain Nemo's invitation to a hunting trip in his "Crespo Island forests" initially baffles Professor Aronnax, who cannot reconcile the captain's professed hatred of dry land with the prospect of a terrestrial hunt. The mystery is resolved when Nemo reveals that the forests are not on land but underwater, a realm he has claimed as his own. This excursion, which takes place on November 17, 1867, serves as the first practical demonstration of the Nautilus's self-contained ecosystem and the advanced technology that allows its crew to thrive beneath the waves.

Preparation and Equipment

Before the hunt, Captain Nemo equips his guests with the Rouquayrol-Denayrouze device, a refined diving apparatus that stores air under high pressure in a tank worn on the back, allowing for nine to ten hours of submersion. To withstand the pressures at depth, Nemo has modified the standard design by enclosing the head in a copper sphere, similar to a traditional diving suit. For illumination, the party uses the Ruhmkorff device, a sodium-activated Bunsen battery that powers a lantern producing a continuous whitish light. The hunting weapon is an air gun that fires small glass capsules charged with high-voltage electricity, which kill instantly upon impact. This technology, entirely derived from the sea's resources, underscores the Nautilus's complete independence from the terrestrial world.

The Stroll Through the Underwater Forest

Descending to a depth of ten meters, the party walks across a dazzling carpet of fine sand, illuminated by the sun's rays which, even at that depth, allow them to see objects 100 meters away. The seafloor is a riot of color, with the sun's light decomposing by refraction to shade every object with the seven hues of the solar spectrum. The forest itself is composed of treelike plants that grow in a strict vertical orientation, governed by the density of the water. Aronnax observes that the flora has no roots, drawing sustenance directly from the water, and that the vegetable kingdom here produces no flowers, while the animal kingdom blossoms. The group rests beneath an arbor of winged kelp, and Aronnax falls into a doze, only to be awakened by a monstrous, meter-high sea spider, which is quickly dispatched by a crewman's rifle butt.

The Hunt and the Encounter with Sharks

The hunting party continues deeper, reaching a depth of 150 meters, where the darkness becomes profound and they activate their Ruhmkorff lamps. Captain Nemo demonstrates the electric rifle's power by shooting a magnificent sea otter, a rare and valuable mammal, and later, his companion shoots an albatross as it hovers above the waves. The most dramatic moment occurs on the return journey when the party is forced to lie motionless beneath some algae as two enormous blue sharks, dreadful man-eaters, pass directly over them. The sharks' poor eyesight saves the group, but the encounter underscores the constant, unseen dangers of the underwater world. The excursion concludes with the party returning to the Nautilus, exhausted but filled with wonder at the startling excursion on the bottom of the sea.