# Bad Weather and New Discoveries explained — The Mysterious Island > Chapter companion for The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. ## What happens During a week of violent storms in early March, the colonists take shelter in Granite House and use the time to improve their living conditions. Cyrus Smith builds a hydraulic elevator to replace the long ladder, and after several attempts, successfully produces glass for windows and tableware. Herbert discovers a cycad, or 'bread tree,' whose edible pith provides a new food source. The colonists also discuss the exact position of Lincoln Island, and upon consulting an atlas, they find Tabor Island marked nearby. Pencroff proposes building a boat to visit it, a plan that is agreed upon for the following October. ## Themes in this chapter ### Survival and Self-Reliance The colonists use the stormy weather to improve their home, creating glass and an elevator from natural resources, demonstrating their ability to thrive through ingenuity. ### Science and Technology Cyrus Smith applies engineering principles to build a hydraulic elevator and a glassworks, while precise astronomical observations determine the island's location. ### Community and Cooperation The colonists work together on projects like glassmaking and animal domestication, with each member contributing to the colony's well-being. ## Character check-ins ### Pencroff Protects his cornfield from hail, proposes the elevator, enjoys blowing glass into amusing shapes, and suggests building a boat to visit Tabor Island. ### Cyrus Smith Builds a hydraulic elevator, establishes a glassworks, and makes precise observations to determine the island's coordinates, discovering Tabor Island on the map. ### Herbert Brown Grows physically and morally, learns from Smith and Spilett, discovers the cycad tree, and helps blow glass under Smith's direction. ### Gideon Spilett Assists in glassmaking, questions the accuracy of earlier observations, and supports the plan to build a boat to explore Tabor Island. ### Neb Cares for the domesticated animals, including the new onager and moufflons, and oversees the piccaries pen. ### Jup Performs household chores like brushing clothes, turning the spit, and tucking Pencroff into bed; also feeds the piccaries but playfully cuts off their tails. ## Key lines > The engineer built a lathe with which they were able to turn some toilette articles and cooking utensils, and also some buttons, the need of which had been pressing. Smith constructed a lathe that allowed them to make personal items, kitchen tools, and much-needed buttons. _Highlights the colonists' resourcefulness in manufacturing everyday necessities._ > Smith 'culled' a certain quantity of this paste with his cane, and turned it back and forth on a metal plate so placed that it could be blown on; then he passed the cane to Herbert, telling him to blow in it. Smith gathered some of the molten glass mixture on his iron tube, manipulated it on a plate, and then handed it to Herbert to blow into, like making a soap bubble. _Describes the hands-on process of glassblowing that the colonists learned._ > Why, there is an island marked in this part of the Pacific! Cyrus Smith exclaimed in surprise upon finding an island charted in that region of the Pacific Ocean. _Marks the discovery of Tabor Island on the map, sparking the plan for a voyage._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mysterious_island_se/chapters/xxxi - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mysterious_island_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mysterious_island_se/chapters