This is a very poor translation from French to English of Verne's book. For example, in the second chapter the Professor states he has just come from "the disagreeable terratories of Nebraska". Verne actuall wrote "the Nebraska Badlands" which is another thing entirely! The Naval Institute Press has a wonderful translation that makes a lot more sense than this one. Verne is actually a brilliant writer, but we've translated him so poorly he doesn't get the credit he's due.
