I turned and read the passage again, which he had marked for my careful perusal. I had never heard of this "Theory of Concentric Spheres." Could this earth be a hollow shell with an outer and inner surface? At first thought I felt like rejecting the idea as utterly absurd, but in view of the strange and inexplicable phenomena which we had encountered, and my confidence in the judgment of Captain Ganoe, I only requested him to tell me just what he thought about this "Hollow Globe Theory."
"I believe," he said, "that this theory offers the only logical solution of the phenomena which have upset all of our calculations. We found the open polar sea, just as we expected, but when we tried to sail across it, we found ourselves sailing away from it. We also found that constellations which ought, according to the popular astronomy, to have been seen above the horizon were entirely obscured. You will remember that you remarked the cramped appearance, as you expressed it, of the celestial vault, when we were imprisoned in the ice.
"This 'Theory of Concentric Spheres' offers a ready and complete explanation of all these phenomena by which we have been so much puzzled. It now begins to look as if this theory had been rejected by scientists with the same unreasoning haste that every other new idea has encountered. Many things that explorers have met with in the polar regions, seem inexplicable, unless we admit the truth of this theory."
The last remark aroused the interest of Captain Battell, who was ordinarily more inclined to listen, than to join in conversation. Taking up the subject where Captain Ganoe seemed disposed to drop it, he continued:
"In my long experience as a whaler and explorer, I have often found tropical vegetation, and evidences of man's handiwork, on the northern shores of Iceland, Spitzbergen and the borders of Siberia; trees, vines and flowers. The position where these were found, on the northern shores, precludes the idea of their having been brought by ocean currents, from our own temperate and tropical countries. Besides this, we find that after we pass 80° north latitude, the cold never increases. We further observe flocks of birds coming from, and returning to, the north. When we kill them for food, we often find their crops filled with grain and seeds which must be the product of a mild climate. All these things have come under my personal observation, and this 'Theory of Concentric Spheres' offers the most complete explanation that I have met with."