In which the members of the Gun Club embark upon a careful reconnaissance of Florida's varied landscape, seeking the ideal elevated plateau for the monumental undertaking they have conceived; amidst forests rich with exotic flora and the wary presence of native Seminoles, President Barbicane selects the rocky expanse of Stones Hill as the site from which their great projectile shall commence its celestial voyage. This excursion reveals both the natural splendours and the practical challenges of the region, setting the scene for the extraordinary enterprise to follow.