This characteristic principle of obtaining desired material in the quickest and most positive way manifested itself in the search that Edison instituted for the best kind of bamboo for lamp filaments1, immediately after the discovery related in a preceding chapter. It is doubtful whether, in the annals of scientific research and experiment, there is anything quite analogous4 to the story of this search and the various expeditions that went out from the Edison laboratory in 1880 and subsequent years, to scour5 the earth for a material so apparently6 simple as a homogeneous strip of bamboo, or other similar fibre. Prolonged and exhaustive experiment, microscopic7 examination, and an intimate knowledge of the nature of wood and plant fibres, however, had led Edison to the conclusion that bamboo or similar fibrous filaments were more suitable than anything else then known for commercial incandescent8 lamps, and he wanted the most perfect for that purpose. Hence, the quickest way was to search the tropics until the proper material was found.
The first emissary chosen for this purpose was the late William H. Moore, of Rahway, New Jersey9, who left New York in the summer of 1880, bound for China and Japan, these being the countries preeminently noted11 for the production of abundant species of bamboo. On arrival in the East he quickly left the cities behind and proceeded into the interior, extending his search far into the more remote country districts, collecting specimens12 on his way, and devoting much time to the study of the bamboo, and in roughly testing the relative value of its fibre in canes14 of one, two, three, four, and five year growths. Great bales of samples were sent to Edison, and after careful tests a certain variety and growth of Japanese bamboo was determined15 to be the most satisfactory material for filaments that had been found. Mr. Moore, who was continuing his searches in that country, was instructed to arrange for the cultivation16 and shipment of regular supplies of this particular species. Arrangements to this end were accordingly made with a Japanese farmer, who began to make immediate3 shipments, and who subsequently displayed so much ingenuity18 in fertilizing19 and cross-fertilizing that the homogeneity of the product was constantly improved. The use of this bamboo for Edison lamp filaments was continued for many years.
Although Mr. Moore did not meet with the exciting adventures of some subsequent explorers, he encountered numerous difficulties and novel experiences in his many months of travel through the hinterland of Japan and China. The attitude toward foreigners thirty years ago was not as friendly as it has since become, but Edison, as usual, had made a happy choice of messengers, as Mr. Moore's good nature and diplomacy20 attested21. These qualities, together with his persistence22 and perseverance23 and faculty24 of intelligent discrimination in the matter of fibres, helped to make his mission successful, and gave to him the honor of being the one who found the bamboo which was adopted for use as filaments in commercial Edison lamps.
Although Edison had satisfied himself that bamboo furnished the most desirable material thus far discovered for incandescent-lamp filaments, he felt that in some part of the world there might be found a natural product of the same general character that would furnish a still more perfect and homogeneous material. In his study of this subject, and during the prosecution25 of vigorous and searching inquiries26 in various directions, he learned that Mr. John C. Brauner, then residing in Brooklyn, New York, had an expert knowledge of indigenous28 plants of the particular kind desired. During the course of a geological survey which he had made for the Brazilian Government, Mr. Brauner had examined closely the various species of palms which grow plentifully29 in that country, and of them there was one whose fibres he thought would be just what Edison wanted.
Accordingly, Mr. Brauner was sent for and dispatched to Brazil in December, 1880, to search for and send samples of this and such other palms, fibres, grasses, and canes as, in his judgment30, would be suitable for the experiments then being carried on at Menlo Park. Landing at Para, he crossed over into the Amazonian province, and thence proceeded through the heart of the country, making his way by canoe on the rivers and their tributaries31, and by foot into the forests and marshes32 of a vast and almost untrodden wilderness33. In this manner Mr. Brauner traversed about two thousand miles of the comparatively unknown interior of Southern Brazil, and procured34 a large variety of fibrous specimens, which he shipped to Edison a few months later. When these fibres arrived in the United States they were carefully tested and a few of them found suitable but not superior to the Japanese bamboo, which was then being exclusively used in the manufacture of commercial Edison lamps.
Later on Edison sent out an expedition to explore the wilds of Cuba and Jamaica. A two months' investigation35 of the latter island revealed a variety of bamboo growths, of which a great number of specimens were obtained and shipped to Menlo Park; but on careful test they were found inferior to the Japanese bamboo, and hence rejected. The exploration of the glades36 and swamps of Florida by three men extended over a period of five months in a minute search for fibrous woods of the palmetto species. A great variety was found, and over five hundred boxes of specimens were shipped to the laboratory from time to time, but none of them tested out with entirely37 satisfactory results.
The use of Japanese bamboo for carbon filaments was therefore continued in the manufacture of lamps, although an incessant38 search was maintained for a still more perfect material. The spirit of progress, so pervasive39 in Edison's character, led him, however, to renew his investigations40 further afield by sending out two other men to examine the bamboo and similar growths of those parts of South America not covered by Mr. Brauner. These two men were Frank McGowan and C. F. Hanington, both of whom had been for nearly seven years in the employ of the Edison Electric Light Company in New York. The former was a stocky, rugged41 Irishman, possessing the native shrewdness and buoyancy of his race, coupled with undaunted courage and determination; and the latter was a veteran of the Civil War, with some knowledge of forest and field, acquired as a sportsman. They left New York in September, 1887, arriving in due time at Para, proceeding42 thence twenty-three hundred miles up the Amazon River to Iquitos. Nothing of an eventful nature occurred during this trip, but on arrival at Iquitos the two men separated; Mr. McGowan to explore on foot and by canoe in Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia, while Mr. Hanington returned by the Amazon River to Para. Thence Hanington went by steamer to Montevideo, and by similar conveyance43 up the River de la Plata and through Uruguay, Argentine, and Paraguay to the southernmost part of Brazil, collecting a large number of specimens of palms and grasses.
The adventures of Mr. McGowan, after leaving Iquitos, would fill a book if related in detail. The object of the present narrative44 and the space at the authors' disposal, however, do not permit of more than a brief mention of his experiences. His first objective point was Quito, about five hundred miles away, which he proposed to reach on foot and by means of canoeing on the Napo River through a wild and comparatively unknown country teeming45 with tribes of hostile natives. The dangers of the expedition were pictured to him in glowing colors, but spurning46 prophecies of dire27 disaster, he engaged some native Indians and a canoe and started on his explorations, reaching Quito in eighty-seven days, after a thorough search of the country on both sides of the Napo River. From Quito he went to Guayaquil, from there by steamer to Buenaventura, and thence by rail, twelve miles, to Cordova. From this point he set out on foot to explore the Cauca Valley and the Cordilleras.
Mr. McGowan found in these regions a great variety of bamboo, small and large, some species growing seventy-five to one hundred feet in height, and from six to nine inches in diameter. He collected a large number of specimens, which were subsequently sent to Orange for Edison's examination. After about fifteen months of exploration attended by much hardship and privation, deserted47 sometimes by treacherous48 guides, twice laid low by fevers, occasionally in peril49 from Indian attacks, wild animals and poisonous serpents, tormented50 by insect pests, endangered by floods, one hundred and nineteen days without meat, ninety-eight days without taking off his clothes, Mr. McGowan returned to America, broken in health but having faithfully fulfilled the commission intrusted to him. The Evening Sun, New York, obtained an interview with him at that time, and in its issue of May 2, 1889, gave more than a page to a brief story of his interesting adventures, and then commented editorially upon them, as follows:
"A ROMANCE OF SCIENCE"
"The narrative given elsewhere in the Evening Sun of the wanderings of Edison's missionary51 of science, Mr. Frank McGowan, furnishes a new proof that the romances of real life surpass any that the imagination can frame.
"In pursuit of a substance that should meet the requirements of the Edison incandescent lamp, Mr. McGowan penetrated52 the wilderness of the Amazon, and for a year defied its fevers, beasts, reptiles53, and deadly insects in his quest of a material so precious that jealous Nature has hidden it in her most secret fastnesses.
"No hero of mythology54 or fable55 ever dared such dragons to rescue some captive goddess as did this dauntless champion of civilization. Theseus, or Siegfried, or any knight56 of the fairy books might envy the victories of Edison's irresistible57 lieutenant58.
"As a sample story of adventure, Mr. McGowan's narrative is a marvel59 fit to be classed with the historic journeyings of the greatest travellers. But it gains immensely in interest when we consider that it succeeded in its scientific purpose. The mysterious bamboo was discovered, and large quantities of it were procured and brought to the Wizard's laboratory, there to suffer another wondrous60 change and then to light up our pleasure-haunts and our homes with a gentle radiance."
A further, though rather sad, interest attaches to the McGowan story, for only a short time had elapsed after his return to America when he disappeared suddenly and mysteriously, and in spite of long-continued and strenuous61 efforts to obtain some light on the subject, no clew or trace of him was ever found. He was a favorite among the Edison "oldtimers," and his memory is still cherished, for when some of the "boys" happen to get together, as they occasionally do, some one is almost sure to "wonder what became of poor 'Mac.'" He was last seen at Mouquin's famous old French restaurant on Fulton Street, New York, where he lunched with one of the authors of this book and the late Luther Stieringer. He sat with them for two or three hours discussing his wonderful trip, and telling some fascinating stories of adventure. Then the party separated at the Ann Street door of the restaurant, after making plans to secure the narrative in more detailed62 form for subsequent use—and McGowan has not been seen from that hour to this. The trail of the explorer was more instantly lost in New York than in the vast recesses63 of the Amazon swamps.
The next and last explorer whom Edison sent out in search of natural fibres was Mr. James Ricalton, of Maplewood, New Jersey, a school-principal, a well-known traveller, and an ardent64 student of natural science. Mr. Ricalton's own story of his memorable65 expedition is so interesting as to be worthy66 of repetition here:
"A village schoolmaster is not unaccustomed to door-rappings; for the steps of belligerent67 mothers are often thitherward bent68 seeking redress69 for conjured70 wrongs to their darling boobies.
"It was a bewildering moment, therefore, to the Maplewood teacher when, in answering a rap at the door one afternoon, he found, instead of an irate71 mother, a messenger from the laboratory of the world's greatest inventor bearing a letter requesting an audience a few hours later.
"Being the teacher to whom reference is made, I am now quite willing to confess that for the remainder of that afternoon, less than a problem in Euclid would have been sufficient to disqualify me for the remaining scholastic72 duties of the hour. I felt it, of course, to be no small honor for a humble73 teacher to be called to the sanctum of Thomas A. Edison. The letter, however, gave no intimation of the nature of the object for which I had been invited to appear before Mr. Edison....
"When I was presented to Mr. Edison his way of setting forth74 the mission he had designated for me was characteristic of how a great mind conceives vast undertakings75 and commands great things in few words. At this time Mr. Edison had discovered that the fibre of a certain bamboo afforded a very desirable carbon for the electric lamp, and the variety of bamboo used was a product of Japan. It was his belief that in other parts of the world other and superior varieties might be found, and to that end he had dispatched explorers to bamboo regions in the valleys of the great South American rivers, where specimens were found of extraordinary quality; but the locality in which these specimens were found was lost in the limitless reaches of those great river-bottoms. The great necessity for more durable76 carbons became a desideratum so urgent that the tireless inventor decided77 to commission another explorer to search the tropical jungles of the Orient.
"This brings me then to the first meeting of Edison, when he set forth substantially as follows, as I remember it twenty years ago, the purpose for which he had called me from my scholastic duties. With a quizzical gleam in his eye, he said: 'I want a man to ransack78 all the tropical jungles of the East to find a better fibre for my lamp; I expect it to be found in the palm or bamboo family. How would you like that job?' Suiting my reply to his love of brevity and dispatch, I said, 'That would suit me.' 'Can you go to-morrow?' was his next question. 'Well, Mr. Edison, I must first of all get a leave of absence from my Board of Education, and assist the board to secure a substitute for the time of my absence. How long will it take, Mr. Edison?' 'How can I tell? Maybe six months, and maybe five years; no matter how long, find it.' He continued: 'I sent a man to South America to find what I want; he found it; but lost the place where he found it, so he might as well never have found it at all.' Hereat I was enjoined79 to proceed forthwith to court the Board of Education for a leave of absence, which I did successfully, the board considering that a call so important and honorary was entitled to their unqualified favor, which they generously granted.
"I reported to Mr. Edison on the following day, when he instructed me to come to the laboratory at once to learn all the details of drawing and carbonizing fibres, which it would be necessary to do in the Oriental jungles. This I did, and, in the mean time, a set of suitable tools for this purpose had been ordered to be made in the laboratory. As soon as I learned my new trade, which I accomplished80 in a few days, Mr. Edison directed me to the library of the laboratory to occupy a few days in studying the geography of the Orient and, particularly, in drawing maps of the tributaries of the Ganges, the Irrawaddy, and the Brahmaputra rivers, and other regions which I expected to explore.
"It was while thus engaged that Mr. Edison came to me one day and said: 'If you will go up to the house' (his palatial81 home not far away) 'and look behind the sofa in the library you will find a joint82 of bamboo, a specimen13 of that found in South America; bring it down and make a study of it; if you find something equal to that I will be satisfied.' At the home I was guided to the library by an Irish servant-woman, to whom I communicated my knowledge of the definite locality of the sample joint. She plunged83 her arm, bare and herculean, behind the aforementioned sofa, and holding aloft a section of wood, called out in a mood of discovery: 'Is that it?' Replying in the affirmative, she added, under an impulse of innocent divination84 that whatever her wizard master laid hands upon could result in nothing short of an invention, 'Sure, sor, and what's he going to invint out o' that?'
"My kit85 of tools made, my maps drawn86, my Oriental geography reviewed, I come to the point when matters of immediate departure are discussed; and when I took occasion to mention to my chief that, on the subject of life insurance, underwriters refuse to take any risks on an enterprise so hazardous87, Mr. Edison said that, if I did not place too high a valuation on my person, he would take the risk himself. I replied that I was born and bred in New York State, but now that I had become a Jersey man I did not value myself at above fifteen hundred dollars. Edison laughed and said that he would assume the risk, and another point was settled. The next matter was the financing of the trip, about which Mr. Edison asked in a tentative way about the rates to the East. I told him the expense of such a trip could not be determined beforehand in detail, but that I had established somewhat of a reputation for economic travel, and that I did not believe any traveller could surpass me in that respect. He desired no further assurance in that direction, and thereupon ordered a letter of credit made out with authorization88 to order a second when the first was exhausted89. Herein then are set forth in briefest space the preliminaries of a circuit of the globe in quest of fibre.
"It so happened that the day on which I set out fell on Washington's Birthday, and I suggested to my boys and girls at school that they make a line across the station platform near the school at Maplewood, and from this line I would start eastward90 around the world, and if good-fortune should bring me back I would meet them from the westward91 at the same line. As I had often made them 'toe the scratch,' for once they were only too well pleased to have me toe the line for them.
"This was done, and I sailed via England and the Suez Canal to Ceylon, that fair isle92 to which Sindbad the Sailor made his sixth voyage, picturesquely93 referred to in history as the 'brightest gem17 in the British Colonial Crown.' I knew Ceylon to be eminently10 tropical; I knew it to be rich in many varieties of the bamboo family, which has been called the king of the grasses; and in this family had I most hope of finding the desired fibre. Weeks were spent in this paradisiacal isle. Every part was visited. Native wood craftsmen94 were offered a premium95 on every new species brought in, and in this way nearly a hundred species were tested, a greater number than was found in any other country. One of the best specimens tested during the entire trip around the world was found first in Ceylon, although later in Burmah, it being indigenous to the latter country. It is a gigantic tree-grass or reed growing in clumps96 of from one to two hundred, often twelve inches in diameter, and one hundred and fifty feet high, and known as the giant bamboo (Bambusa gigantia). This giant grass stood the highest test as a carbon, and on account of its extraordinary size and qualities I extend it this special mention. With others who have given much attention to this remarkable97 reed, I believe that in its manifold uses the bamboo is the world's greatest dendral benefactor98.
"From Ceylon I proceeded to India, touching99 the great peninsula first at Cape100 Comorin, and continuing northward101 by way of Pondicherry, Madura, and Madras; and thence to the tableland of Bangalore and the Western Ghauts, testing many kinds of wood at every point, but particularly the palm and bamboo families. From the range of the Western Ghauts I went to Bombay and then north by the way of Delhi to Simla, the summer capital of the Himalayas; thence again northward to the headwaters of the Sutlej River, testing everywhere on my way everything likely to afford the desired carbon.
"On returning from the mountains I followed the valleys of the Jumna and the Ganges to Calcutta, whence I again ascended102 the Sub-Himalayas to Darjeeling, where the numerous river-bottoms were sprinkled plentifully with many varieties of bamboo, from the larger sizes to dwarfed103 species covering the mountain slopes, and not longer than the grass of meadows. Again descending104 to the plains I passed eastward to the Brahmaputra River, which I ascended to the foot-hills in Assam; but finding nothing of superior quality in all this northern region I returned to Calcutta and sailed thence to Rangoon, in Burmah; and there, finding no samples giving more excellent tests in the lower reaches of the Irrawaddy, I ascended that river to Mandalay, where, through Burmese bamboo wiseacres, I gathered in from round about and tested all that the unusually rich Burmese flora105 could furnish. In Burmah the giant bamboo, as already mentioned, is found indigenous; but beside it no superior varieties were found. Samples tested at several points on the Malay Peninsula showed no new species, except at a point north of Singapore, where I found a species large and heavy which gave a test nearly equal to that of the giant bamboo in Ceylon.
"After completing the Malay Peninsula I had planned to visit Java and Borneo; but having found in the Malay Peninsula and in Ceylon a bamboo fibre which averaged a test from one to two hundred per cent. better than that in use at the lamp factory, I decided it was unnecessary to visit these countries or New Guinea, as my 'Eureka' had already been established, and that I would therefore set forth over the return hemisphere, searching China and Japan on the way. The rivers in Southern China brought down to Canton bamboos of many species, where this wondrously106 utilitarian107 reed enters very largely into the industrial life of that people, and not merely into the industrial life, but even into the culinary arts, for bamboo sprouts108 are a universal vegetable in China; but among all the bamboos of China I found none of superexcellence in carbonizing qualities. Japan came next in the succession of countries to be explored, but there the work was much simplified, from the fact that the Tokio Museum contains a complete classified collection of all the different species in the empire, and there samples could be obtained and tested.
"Now the last of the important bamboo-producing countries in the globe circuit had been done, and the 'home-lap' was in order; the broad Pacific was spanned in fourteen days; my natal109 continent in six; and on the 22d of February, on the same day, at the same hour, at the same minute, one year to a second, 'little Maude,' a sweet maid of the school, led me across the line which completed the circuit of the globe, and where I was greeted by the cheers of my boys and girls. I at once reported to Mr. Edison, whose manner of greeting my return was as characteristic of the man as his summary and matter-of-fact manner of my dispatch. His little catechism of curious inquiry110 was embraced in four small and intensely Anglo-Saxon words—with his usual pleasant smile he extended his hand and said: 'Did you get it?' This was surely a summing of a year's exploration not less laconic111 than Caesar's review of his Gallic campaign. When I replied that I had, but that he must be the final judge of what I had found, he said that during my absence he had succeeded in making an artificial carbon which was meeting the requirements satisfactorily; so well, indeed, that I believe no practical use was ever made of the bamboo fibres thereafter.
"I have herein given a very brief resume of my search for fibre through the Orient; and during my connection with that mission I was at all times not less astonished at Mr. Edison's quick perception of conditions and his instant decision and his bigness of conceptions, than I had always been with his prodigious112 industry and his inventive genius.
"Thinking persons know that blatant113 men never accomplish much, and Edison's marvellous brevity of speech along with his miraculous114 achievements should do much to put bores and garrulity115 out of fashion."
Although Edison had instituted such a costly116 and exhaustive search throughout the world for the most perfect of natural fibres, he did not necessarily feel committed for all time to the exclusive use of that material for his lamp filaments. While these explorations were in progress, as indeed long before, he had given much thought to the production of some artificial compound that would embrace not only the required homogeneity, but also many other qualifications necessary for the manufacture of an improved type of lamp which had become desirable by reason of the rapid adoption117 of his lighting118 system.
At the very time Mr. McGowan was making his explorations deep in South America, and Mr. Ricalton his swift trip around the world, Edison, after much investigation and experiment, had produced a compound which promised better results than bamboo fibres. After some changes dictated119 by experience, this artificial filament2 was adopted in the manufacture of lamps. No radical120 change was immediately made, however, but the product of the lamp factory was gradually changed over, during the course of a few years, from the use of bamboo to the "squirted" filament, as the new material was called. An artificial compound of one kind or another has indeed been universally adopted for the purpose by all manufacturers; hence the incandescing conductors in all carbon-filament lamps of the present day are made in that way. The fact remains121, however, that for nearly nine years all Edison lamps (many millions in the aggregate) were made with bamboo filaments, and many of them for several years after that, until bamboo was finally abandoned in the early nineties, except for use in a few special types which were so made until about the end of 1908. The last few years have witnessed a remarkable advance in the manufacture of incandescent lamps in the substitution of metallic122 filaments for those of carbon. It will be remembered that many of the earlier experiments were based on the use of strips of platinum123; while other rare metals were the subject of casual trial. No real success was attained124 in that direction, and for many years the carbon-filament lamp reigned125 supreme126. During the last four or five years lamps with filaments made from tantalum and tungsten have been produced and placed on the market with great success, and are now largely used. Their price is still very high, however, as compared with that of the carbon lamp, which has been vastly improved in methods of construction, and whose average price of fifteen cents is only one-tenth of what it was when Edison first brought it out.
With the close of Mr. McGowan's and Mr. Ricalton's expeditions, there ended the historic world-hunt for natural fibres. From start to finish the investigations and searches made by Edison himself, and carried on by others under his direction, are remarkable not only from the fact that they entailed127 a total expenditure128 of about $100,000, (disbursed under his supervision129 by Mr. Upton), but also because of their unique inception130 and thoroughness they illustrate131 one of the strongest traits of his character—an invincible132 determination to leave no stone unturned to acquire that which he believes to be in existence, and which, when found, will answer the purpose that he has in mind.
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1
filaments
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| n.（电灯泡的）灯丝( filament的名词复数 )；丝极；细丝；丝状物 | |
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filament
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| n.细丝；长丝；灯丝 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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analogous
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| adj.相似的；类似的 | |
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scour
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| v.搜索；擦，洗，腹泻，冲刷 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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microscopic
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| adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的 | |
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incandescent
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| adj.遇热发光的， 白炽的，感情强烈的 | |
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jersey
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| n.运动衫 | |
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eminently
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| adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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canes
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| n.（某些植物，如竹或甘蔗的）茎( cane的名词复数 )；（用于制作家具等的）竹竿；竹杖 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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gem
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| n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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fertilizing
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| v.施肥( fertilize的现在分词 ) | |
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diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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attested
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| adj.经检验证明无病的，经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓 | |
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persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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indigenous
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| adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的 | |
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plentifully
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| adv. 许多地，丰饶地 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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tributaries
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| n. 支流 | |
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marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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34
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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35
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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36
glades
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| n.林中空地( glade的名词复数 ) | |
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37
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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pervasive
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| adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的 | |
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40
investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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41
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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42
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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43
conveyance
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| n.(不动产等的)转让，让与；转让证书；传送；运送；表达；（正）运输工具 | |
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44
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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teeming
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| adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注 | |
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46
spurning
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| v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的现在分词 ) | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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49
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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50
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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51
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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52
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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53
reptiles
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| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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54
mythology
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| n.神话，神话学，神话集 | |
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55
fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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56
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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57
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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64
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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belligerent
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| adj.好战的，挑起战争的；n.交战国，交战者 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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redress
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| n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除 | |
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conjured
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| 用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现 | |
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71
irate
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| adj.发怒的，生气 | |
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72
scholastic
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| adj.学校的，学院的，学术上的 | |
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73
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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undertakings
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| 企业( undertaking的名词复数 )； 保证； 殡仪业； 任务 | |
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durable
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| adj.持久的，耐久的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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78
ransack
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| v.彻底搜索，洗劫 | |
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enjoined
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| v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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81
palatial
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| adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的 | |
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82
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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83
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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84
divination
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| n.占卜，预测 | |
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85
kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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86
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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87
hazardous
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| adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的 | |
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88
authorization
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| n.授权，委任状 | |
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89
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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90
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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91
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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93
picturesquely
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94
craftsmen
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| n. 技工 | |
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95
premium
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| n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的 | |
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clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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97
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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98
benefactor
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| n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人 | |
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99
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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100
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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101
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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102
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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103
dwarfed
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| vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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104
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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105
flora
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| n.(某一地区的)植物群 | |
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106
wondrously
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| adv.惊奇地，非常，极其 | |
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107
utilitarian
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| adj.实用的，功利的 | |
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108
sprouts
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| n.新芽，嫩枝( sprout的名词复数 )v.发芽( sprout的第三人称单数 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出 | |
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109
natal
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| adj.出生的，先天的 | |
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110
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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111
laconic
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| adj.简洁的；精练的 | |
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112
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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113
blatant
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| adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的 | |
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114
miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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115
garrulity
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| n.饶舌，多嘴 | |
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116
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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117
adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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118
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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119
dictated
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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120
radical
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| n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的 | |
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121
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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122
metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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123
platinum
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| n.白金 | |
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124
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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125
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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126
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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127
entailed
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| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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128
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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129
supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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130
inception
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| n.开端，开始，取得学位 | |
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131
illustrate
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| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
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132
invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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