The Wonder Island Boys: Exploring the Island Part 11

The ore was readily found, and a sufficient amount uncovered to complete their load, and late that evening they reached home very tired, but happy.

"Let us do some preliminary work with the furnaces to-day," was the Professor's first observation. "The ore we found yesterday is too good a thing to lie idle. You will remember I told you some time ago that we want some of these metals to be working for us?"

"Just like the germs do?"

"Not just in that way, but nevertheless they must serve us."

"If people get to know so much and have the different things do all the work there will not be much left for us to do?"

"Do you think so?"

"If one thing after the other is discovered, and it is found that one or two elements can be made to do our work, the time may come when everybody will know so much that man will do nothing but----"

"But direct?"

"Yes."

"Isn't that something? Working with the hands or thinking are not the only things which man can do, in order to go forward and to advance."

"What I mean is this: We are told that idleness is wrong, and that people are happier when they are busy at some useful occupation."

"If that is a good definition of happiness, then we should make everything we use as crude and primitive as the people used to make them a thousand years ago. There would be no object in learning, because learning makes people discontented."

"I heard a story once about some wise man who offered his fortune to the man who could prove he was contented. The first applicant wanted the fortune, because he said he was contented. The wise man answered by saying, that if he was contented he would not want the fortune."

"Quite true; the contented man does not exist, because it is not human nature to be so. That is one of the qualities which distinguishes man from the rest of the animal creation."

"But is it true that the invention of labor-saving tools has caused a lot of misery to working people?"

"Do you know of any tools that are not labor-saving? The mason's trowel is a labor-saving tool, invented to prevent him from using his hands to put on the mortar; the bolo or the knife is just as much a labor-saving tool as the planing machine; the sickle saves labor and so does the reaper. The difficulty is that some people do not stop to think that the saving of labor applies just as forcibly to a simple tool as to a complicated one."

"What shall we try in our furnace to start with?"

"The ore you found yesterday. The first thing to do is to crush it up as fine as possible. When that is done we can put it in the round furnace."

"You mean in the firebrick furnace?"

"Yes; although we do not need such a high heat. Almost any furnace would do, as the roasting of the ore does not require a high heat."

"What is the best way to roast it?"

"It will be necessary to put it on one of the iron plates, and great care must be taken to keep it a uniform heat, but not too intense."

The process of roasting is a very particular one and requires quite a time to get the best results. When this was done the next step was to take the roasted ore, and mix it with half its weight of powdered c.o.ke.

They had a good quant.i.ty of the c.o.ke on hand, which was also crushed.

"You remember, George, we had a crucible made with a hole at the bottom.

Get that and also some fire clay dust, and moisten the dust so we can make a stiff mortar from it. We must make a tubular connection with the hole in the bottom of the crucible."

When this was done the crucible was put into the furnace, after it had been charged with the c.o.ke dust and crushed zinc ore.

"Why is it necessary first to crush the ore and roast it, and then afterwards put it in the crucible with the crushed c.o.ke?"

"Zinc is not found in a native state. This ore is in the form of an oxide, as it is called. In roasting, certain of the impurities are driven off in gases, and mixing it with charcoal or c.o.ke and then applying heat to the confined ma.s.s, causes the zinc to melt and finally go off into a gas, as we shall presently see."

After the heat had been applied for some time a white smoke began to appear at the mouth of the clay tube, and a little later a blue vapor appeared.

"Now bring that pan here, so we can catch it."

Soon the dripping commenced, and as it ran out and came into contact with the air, it turned into a solid, greyish color.

"This is what is called spelter, or the pig of zinc, and this is what is sold to refiners, who take out all the dross or impurities so it can be rolled or used for galvanizing iron, or for other purposes."

"I do not see how we can use this metal, now that we have it."

"You said the other night that you wished we had a better light."

"That was the reason I was so anxious to see whether we couldn't get some kerosene at the 'hole.'"

"As we didn't succeed in finding petroleum we shall have to depend on our zinc, I suppose."

"What, light out of zinc?"

"No; but by the zinc route."

That was another new development to the boys.

"Harry made a sage remark some months ago. It was to the effect that in order to start to make anything we had to make something that made something to make something with. In order to make electricity by means of a battery, we had to go through all this process of turning out the zinc, which we have just completed; then, if you have not forgotten it, we had quite a time in converting our copper ore into a copper which we could use. We were compelled to make charcoal, and then c.o.ke, with the aid of the charcoal; and now that we have c.o.ke, we must again grind it up and make a mortar, so we can form it into little plates or slabs.

From the copper we got a liquid, which I asked you to save, and that is vitriol, or sulphate of copper. You see, all these things are necessary before we could possibly attempt to set up a primary battery, and start the first lighting plant."

Not an hour was lost at the Cataract home and factory. All took the keenest delight in forwarding any new enterprise and in looking out for new things to do which would contribute to their pleasure and comfort.

The boys now learned what they had never dreamed of before; that life is a most complex problem; that to secure pleasures toil is necessary, and that the greatest happiness comes from knowing you have succeeded.

Pursuit, not possession, is man's greatest joy. To the brute the reverse is true.

"Where is the Professor? I have been bitten by a cat."

"A cat, Harry? Where did you find the cat?"

"Across the river, where I was cutting the oak log."

The Professor was soon at hand. "What is this? A cat, you say?"

"It looked just like a big cat, about two feet long?"

"Did it have a pointed nose?"

"Then it must have been a Zibet, a specie not unlike the American civet.

It is a cat, but not what is known as the 'wildcat,' and can be tamed."