From the Earth to the Moon stories of Baron Munchausen and Cyrano de Bergerac. In 1889 Verne wrote a second sequel to the novel, "The Purchase of the North Pole", which has the Gun Club members (led by J. T. Maston) plan to use the "Columbiad" to alter the tilt of the earth to enable the mineral wealth of the Arctic region to be put within reach of exploitation. In March 1953, the Gilberton Company published a comic-book adaptation of "From the Earth to the Moon" as issue No. 105 in its Classics Illustrated series. An unidentified scriptwriter combined Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon"
Two Years Before the Mast two years later, aboard the "Alert" (which left California sooner than the "Pilgrim"). He kept a diary throughout the voyage, and, after returning, he wrote a recognized American classic, "Two Years Before the Mast", published in 1840. The term "before the mast" refers to the quarters of the common sailors, in the forecastle, in the front of the ship. His writing evidences his later sympathy with the lower classes. He later became a prominent anti-slavery activist and helped found the Free Soil Party. In the book, which takes place between 1834 and 1836, Dana gives a vivid account of "the