CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
THE PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY.
A VOICE IN THE WOODS--VIVE NAPOLEON!--CALCULATING THE LONGITUDE--THE"WILD FRENCHMAN'S" HAT.
_Stephano_. Hark! what sound is that? _Caliban_. Art thou afeard, master? _Stephano_. No, monster, not I. _Caliban_. Be not afeard: the isle is full of noises.
Our failure to discover fresh water, or any indications of it, duringyesterday's expedition, increased the anxiety which we felt on thesubject and we determined to devote the day to a continuation of thesearch.
The base of Castle-Hill was skirted on the left and divided from theneighbouring forest by a deep gully, that had much the appearance of adried-up water-course, and was probably a channel by which, in the rainyseason, the water from the higher ground was conveyed to the sea. Fromthe hill we could trace the course of the ravine, until it struck thebeach, near the point where the small grove, before spoken of, seemed tospring up out of the lagoon. Our last evening's ramble along the shorehad extended nearly to this spot and to avoid going over the same grounda second time, we struck into the ravine, and followed its course as itdescended towards the beach.
Johnny every now and then, without any apparent object, unless to evincehis entire superiority to any feeling of timidity, separated himselffrom the rest and disappeared for a time in the forest, generallyreturning with a specimen of some new plant or flower, or an account ofsome strange bird, or curious tree, which he had seen. From one ofthese adventurous excursions, he came rushing back; closely followed byEiulo, both looking a good deal frightened, and, as soon as he hadrecovered breath sufficiently to be able to speak, he earnestly affirmedthat he had heard a man call out to him in the wood. His statement wasstrange enough; he had found a twining plant, with a flower like amorning glory, and called loudly for Eiulo, who was a little way off, tocome and see if it was the patara vine. The root of this plant is avaluable and nutritious esculent, and Arthur had described the leaf andflower to us, in order that we might recognise it if met with.Immediately a harsh voice issued from a neighbouring thicket, utteringsome words which he did not distinctly understand, but they were inFrench, and were something about Napoleon.
"In French!--and about Napoleon!" cried Arthur, in amazement. "Are youquite sure, Johnny, that you heard any words at all;--any thing morethan a strange noise of some kind?"
But Johnny was positive;--he had heard the "Napoleon," as plainly as heever heard any thing. There were only a few words--not more than two orthree, but they were spoken very distinctly, and quite loud, as if theperson were cheering; he could not be mistaken.
"Only two or three words," pursued Arthur, "would you know them again ifyou should hear them repeated?"
"Yes, I think I should."
"Was it `Vive Napoleon!' that you heard?"
"Those are the very words!" cried Johnny; "they were spoken as plainlyas you speak them, but in a rougher voice."
"Did you see any thing--did you look towards the thicket!"
"I saw something stir, but could not tell what it was. The voice washarsh and angry, and I was frightened, and ran away as fast as I could.I thought perhaps it was a wild man--some one who had been shipwreckedhere many years ago, and lived alone in the woods until he had grownwild or mad."
Johnny was so positive in this singular story, that for a moment wehardly knew what to think of it. Eiulo too had heard the voice--thesame harsh voice that Johnny described as issuing from the thicket. Butthe notion of any person amusing himself by shouting "Vive Napoleon!" inthe forests of a solitary island in the Pacific, seemed so preposterous,that we could not help coming to the conclusion, that some sudden noisein the wood had seemed to Johnny's excited imagination like a humanvoice--though why he should fancy that it uttered those particularwords--the words of a strange language, was a puzzle which we could notsolve. We, however, turned into the forest, and Johnny pointed out thespot where he was standing when he heard the voice. There were thevines, with flowers like morning-glories; and there was the thicketwhence, as he alleged, the sound had proceeded. We shouted aloudseveral times, but there was no response, except from a large bird thatrose heavily into the air, uttering a discordant scream; and we weresatisfied that it was this, or some similar sound, that had startledJohnny; in which conviction we dismissed the matter from our minds.
The flowering vine proved to be the patara, which Arthur had been soanxious to discover, and on digging it up, two roots, resembling largepotatoes, were found attached to the stalk. Quite a number of theseplants were scattered about the neighbourhood; enough, as Arthur said,to make a tolerable potato patch.
All this time Max was missing, having been some little distance inadvance of the rest, when Johnny had raised his strange alarm. When wegot back into the ravine, he was not in sight, but we had hardly resumedour progress towards the shore, when we heard him calling out that hehad found water. At this announcement, our orderly march broke at onceinto a hasty scramble. Browne alone maintained his dignity, and came onat his usual elephantine pace, probably suspecting that the pretendeddiscovery was a hoax. Morton and I raced along the hollow, "neck andneck," till we suddenly reached a point where there was an abruptdescent to the level of the shore. We were under too much headway to beable to stop, and jumping together down the steep bank, we narrowlymissed alighting upon Max, as he lay extended on the ground, scooping upwater with his hand, from the basin of a small pool. I came down closebeside him, while Morton, sprang fairly over his head, and alighted witha great splash in the centre of the pool. I had barely time to roll outof the way, when the others, with the exception of Browne, came tumblingin their turn over the bank, which took them as much by surprise as ithad us. Morton's lamentable figure, as he stood motionless in the midstof the pool, drenched with water, and with a great patch of black mudplastered over one eye, together with Max's look of consternation at hisown narrow escape, were irresistibly ludicrous, and provoked a laugh, inwhich, after a moment, they both heartily joined.
"Very obliging of you, Morton," said Max, recovering hisself-possession, "I wanted to see how deep it was, and you are a goodenough measuring-stick; just stand still a minute, if you please."
"You have reason to feel obliged to me," answered Morton, extricatinghimself from the mud, "it was on your account solely that I got intothis pickle. I had to choose between breaking your neck, as you layright in my way, or jumping into this hole, and not having much time todeliberate, it isn't surprising if I came to a foolish conclusion."
"It would be less unfeeling," replied Max, "as well as more strictlyaccording to the facts of the case, to say a hasty conclusion, whichmight be understood literally, and would then be literally correct."
The water, which we found to be good, though slightly brackish, wascontained in a narrow pit situated in the centre of a circular hollow,or basin. It was not more than half full, but its sides showed a freshand distinct water-mark, more than a foot above the present level. Atthe edge of the basin, a solitary palm shot upward its straight shaft,to the height of nearly a hundred feet; the long, fringed leavesdrooping from the top, like a bunch of gigantic ostrich plumes, andovershadowing the well. It seemed difficult to account for this supplyof fresh water in so unpromising a spot, and so near the sea-shore. Iwas at first inclined to think it nothing more than a reservoir ofstanding water, left by the last rains, which had filled not only thepit, but also the surrounding basin. The former being deep and narrow,evaporation would be very gradual, which might, I supposed, account forthe small quantity still remaining.
"That can hardly be," said Arthur, when I suggested this explanation,"the spot is wholly unsheltered from the sun, except at noon, by thisscreen of palm-leaves, and if the entire hollow were filled with waterthis morning, there would not be a drop of moisture left in three days,unless the supply were renewed. Besides, the water is too fresh andsweet to have stood since the last rains."
"I should judge," said Morton, "that this spot is but little above theleve
l of the lagoon, and if the bottom of the well here, is below thatlevel at ebb tide, this supply of fresh water can be easily accountedfor."
"The rise and fall of the tide here, does not seem to be more thaneighteen inches, or two feet," said Max, "and as to the depth of the pitor well, as you call it, you ought to be able to speak with confidence,having so recently been to the bottom of it."
"There are wells on the low islands of the West Indies," said Morton,"which communicate with the sea, and rise and fall with the tide, thesea-water penetrating through the sand, and being distilled in itspassage: and I think this is one of the same kind. Here is a recentwater-mark, more than a foot above the present level. If I am right, weshall find that the tide is now low."
Arthur thrust a stick into the side of the well to mark the height ofthe water, while Johnny rushed furiously down to the beach, and in amoment came posting back with the announcement that the tide _was_ low.
"Very well, so far," said Arthur, "it only remains to be seen, whether,when the tide has risen, there will be any corresponding rise here."
"And, meantime," suggested Browne, "let us refresh ourselves with abath, before the sun gets higher; and we can also take the opportunityto give our under garments the benefit of an ablution, as Max hasproposed."
No one can fully appreciate the luxury of sea-bathing who has notenjoyed it within the tropics.
The calm, transparent water, with the firm white beach and bottom,looked so deliciously cool and inviting, that the suggestion was adoptedas soon as made; and the expedition with which the preliminaries weregot through with, reminded me of those eager races to "the pond," on theletting out of the village school at home, of a hot summer afternoon, inwhich several of our present company had often been competitors for thehonour of being "the first one in." Arthur warned us to beware ofsharks, and to keep a vigilant look-out for "back fins," and our dreadof those prowling and rapacious monsters, was a great drawback to theenjoyment of our bath. In all the feats and dexterities of theswimmer's art, Eiulo far outdid the rest of us, moving through the waterwith the ease, rapidity, and gracefulness of a fish. After one or twotrials with him, in swimming under water, and diving for shells, evenMax yielded the palm, declaring that he was ready to match himselfagainst any land animal, but should for the future decline entering intoa contest of that kind with amphibious creatures.
Eiulo thought that this swimming in smooth water was but indifferentsport and began to talk to Arthur with great animation, in his nativetongue, about the pleasures of "faahee," or surf-bathing, and theexquisite fun of dodging the "manos," or sharks, among the rollers.Presently he struck out into the lagoon, and before we could guess hisintention, he swam over to the reef, and, picking his way across it,plunged fearlessly among the breakers on the outside. He stayed,however, but a short time, and came back saying, that the "manos" werealtogether too thick out there, and that a huge blue one, had come nearseizing him in the surf, before he could catch a roller so as to landsafely upon the reef. When blamed by Arthur for his rashness, helaughed, and promised that he would not incur the risk again. From hisfrightened looks when he got back, I guessed that he had not found"dodging the mano" such exquisite fun as he had anticipated.
Max presently desisted from swimming, in order, as he said, to "do hiswashing," consoling himself for the hardship of being obliged to dolaundress' work, with the reflection that the necessity for such a taskwould soon cease, as our clothes being in constant use, without thebenefit of a change, could not last long. Browne and I followed thisexample, and having spread our garments in the sun to dry, resumed ouraquatic sports in the meantime. Arthur dressed himself and accompaniedby Eiulo, left us, saying that he would rejoin us in an hour at thehill. The two proceeded a short distance along the shore to the right,and then turned into the forest to search, as we supposed, for plants,or roots, capable of being turned to useful account.
By the time our clothes were sufficiently dry to be put on, the tide hadrisen considerably, and on repairing to the well, we found the waterseveral inches above Arthur's mark, thus confirming Morton's theory inregard to it. Though we should have been better pleased to havediscovered a spring, yet there was no reason to doubt that here was anample and permanent supply of fresh water.
As it was now getting towards noon, and the day was excessively hot, wereturned to Castle-Hill, to enjoy the grateful shade of its cool, darkgroves, and the breeze which was sure to play about its summit, if airwas stirring any where. Max sought out a leafy bower of ferns andcreepers, near the foot of the great candle-nut tree, where he stretchedhimself out and went to sleep. Johnny got his bow and arrows, and beganto practise archery, by shooting at the large and gaudy insects hoveringaround the blossoms of the vines, and when, probably by accident, hecarried away the wing of one of them at the distance of some six orseven yards, he boasted loudly of the exploit, and intimated that incase of a brush with any cannibals, his bow might be relied on to dosome execution. Getting tired at length of his crusade against thebutterflies, he expressed a wish to try his skill upon some larger game,but as nothing in the shape of a jackall or tiger-cat was obligingenough to make its appearance, he put aside his weapons with a sigh, andlying down near Max, was soon asleep. There was a drowsy influence inthe profound quiet, and subdued light of the spot, to which I shouldsoon have yielded but for Browne, who began to talk of Scottish scenesand legends, with sufficient interest to keep Morton and myself awake.It seemed strange enough, to lie there in that tropical forest,listening to an enthusiastic description of the rugged sublimity of theTrossachs, the romantic beauty of Loch Vennacher, Loch Katrine, and LochAchray, or the lovely vale of Kelso, bosomed in green woods, with itsplacid streams, smooth lawns, and hazel-fringed dells.
About noon, Arthur and Eiulo made their appearance, emerging from thegrove to the south-east of the hill, laden with roots, plants, strips ofbark, etcetera. They had been looking for the auti, or paper-mulberry,but without success. Arthur had discovered a large and beautifulspecies of sweet-scented fern, with a tuberous root shaped like asweet-potato, which he said was baked and eaten by the SocietyIslanders: he brought with him several entire specimens, root and all.The leaves were fragrant and elegantly shaped, and the roots were of amottled brown and yellow. Eiulo carried in his hand an unripebread-fruit--a splendid pea-green globe, nearly as big as his head.They had discovered a noble grove of this most valuable tree, at nogreat distance from the hill, but the fruit was not yet perfectly ripe.Johnny, who had awaked at the return of the absentees, was greatlydelighted at these discoveries, and began to lament that he had notaccompanied Arthur. He inquired very particularly as to the directionof the bread-fruit grove, as if cherishing the design of setting out atonce to visit it; but Browne letting some thing drop about the voice inthe woods, Johnny changed the subject, and saying that it must be nearlydinner-time, proposed to make a fire, and bake the fern roots, so as totest their quality. Upon hearing this, Max, whose slumbers had alsobeen disturbed, raised his head for a moment and exclaimed so vehementlyagainst the very mention of a fire, when we were already dissolving withheat, that nothing further was said about it.
"And now," said Arthur, after having given a full account of hisdiscoveries, and answered all Johnny's questions, "I believe it is justnoon, and while I think of it, I will try to ascertain our longitude."
"Ascertain our longitude!" exclaimed Browne, "pray, how do you proposeto do that without instruments?"
"I know the longitude of the Kingsmill islands," answered Arthur, "andif I can find our distance east or west of them, of course, I have thelongitude of this island."
"But there's the difficulty; how can you ascertain even whether we areto the east, or to the west of them?"
"In the first place, then, I have Kingsmill island time; my watch waslast set, one day while we were there, just after Mr Frazer had takenan observation."
"Do you mean to say," inquired I with some interest, "that you haveregularly wound up your watch every day sin
ce then, without onceforgetting or neglecting it during all that has since occurred?"
"I did regularly, every night before sleeping; and during all the timethat we were at sea in the boat, hardly a day passed that I did not notedown some memoranda in my pocket-book."
"That now, is positively diabolical!" exclaimed Max, from his covertamong the creepers, where he was completely invisible, except his heels,which were kicking in the air; "I wouldn't have believed, Arthur, thatyou were such a methodical, cold-blooded creature! I suppose now, thatif I had tumbled overboard during that hideous time, and been gulpeddown by a shark, or if Shakespeare had starved to death, you would havemade a regular memorandum of the event, in business-like style, andwound up your watch as usual. I think I see the entry in yourpocket-book, thus: `1839, June 3rd--Mem. Max Adeler fell overboard thisday, and was devoured by a shark--an amiable and interesting youth,though too much given to levity, and not prepared, I fear, for sounexpected a summons. June 5th--Mem. My worthy and estimable friend,John Browne, late of Glasgow, Scotland, died this day, from lack ofnecessary food. Threw him overboard. What startling monitions of theuncertainty of life!'"
"Peace, Kaiser Maximilien, peace!" cried Browne, "and let the Professorproceed to fix our longitude."
"The first thing," resumed Arthur, "is to plant a straight stick uprightin the ground; when it casts no shadow east or west it is twelve o'clock_here_. My watch will then show what time it is at the Kingsmills: ifit shows an earlier hour there, we must be east of them; if a laterhour, then we are west of them."
"I think I understand that," said Johnny; "the next thing is to tell howfar east or west we are."
"That is quite easy. There are, you know, three hundred and sixtydegrees of longitude: the sun passes through them all--that is, roundthe globe in twenty-four hours. Then, of course, in one hour, it passesthrough fifteen degrees, and through one degree in four minutes; so thatfor every four minutes' difference of time, there will be a differenceof longitude of one degree--that is, near the equator, about seventymiles."
"It must be very near noon now," said Johnny, running out into a patchof sunshine, where a small opening in the grove let in the light, "see!I have hardly any shadow at all."
Arthur planted a stick in the ground, and as soon as the shadow markedthe hour of noon, looked at his watch, by which it was eighteen minutesafter twelve.
"It would seem from this," said he, "that we are four degrees and ahalf, or over three hundred miles, west of the Kingsmills: it alsoappears that we are very near the line, but a little south of it, forthe shadow inclines a little southward."
"It is all nonsense," cried Max, sitting up in the grass, "to pretend toascertain where we are, in any such way as this. If your watch, (whichyou know is a miserable time-keeper), has lost or gained but twentyminutes since we left the Kingsmills, which is now nearly two months,then what becomes of your learned calculations about the difference oftime, and of the longitude, and all that?"
Arthur laughed, and admitted that this grave impeachment of thecharacter of his chronometer, was not entirely without foundation, andthat in consequence, the strict accuracy of the results arrived at,could not be relied on.
"The only thing that we can be at all certain about in regard to ourposition," said Max, "is, that we are south of the line."
"How can that be?" inquired Browne, "the Pole-star is visible from here,or, at any rate, we saw it on the second or third night we were at seain the boat."
"A part of the Great Bear can be seen," answered Arthur, "but not thenorth star, I think. I looked for it last night, and though I could seeall the stars of the Dipper, the pointers were near the horizon, and thePole-star below it. But even if visible, it would be no evidence thatwe are north of the equator, for I believe it can be seen from thefourth or fifth degree of south latitude."
"See now," said Browne, "what a pretty neighbourhood you are getting usinto, with your wise calculations! If we are south of the line, and farwest of the Kingsmills, we must be somewhere near the Bidera Sea, andthe Mendana Archipelago, about which the young sailor Roby, who wasalways boasting of having sailed with the famous Captain Morell, used totell us such wonderful stories."
"It is good ground," replied Arthur, "for one who wants to exercise atraveller's privilege, and recount marvels and prodigies, without fearof contradiction. Those seas are full of large islands, with countlessnumbers of smaller ones, and remain to this day almost unexplored. Infact, little more is now ascertained in regard to them, than was knowntwo hundred and fifty years ago, soon after their discovery by theSpanish navigator Mendana; so that a man who pretends, as Roby does, tohave gone over the ground himself, may tell pretty much what stories hepleases, without danger of any one being able to convict him ofinaccuracy."
"What!" exclaimed Johnny, opening his eyes to their utmost extent, "doyou suppose we are near those islands Jack Roby tells about, where thenatives chew betel and lime out of a carbo-gourd, and sacrifice men totheir idols, and tear out and devour the hearts of their enemies?"
"And where King Rogerogee lived," added Max, "(you remember him Johnny),the giant seven feet and a half high, who wore a paradise plume on hishead, and a girdle of the claws and beaks of birds around his waist?Why, this may be the very island of Podee over which he reigned, and weought not to be greatly surprised to see him look in upon us at anymoment, with his paradise plume waving among the tops of the trees, andhis spear, eighteen feet long, in his hand."
"Don't let Rogerogee disturb your dreams, Johnny," said Arthur, "ifthere is any such place as the island of Podee, which I very much doubt,it is, according to Roby's own account, but a few leagues to the east ofPapua, and some twelve or thirteen hundred miles at least, west of us."
Max now got up, and after stretching himself, and giving three or fourgreat yawns, came towards the spot where the rest of us were sitting;but after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped, uttering anexclamation of surprise, and looking down at something in the grass athis feet. He then kicked a dark object out of a tall bunch of fern,towards us. It was an old beaver hat crushed flat, and covered withmildew and dirt. Robinson Crusoe was not more startled by the footprintin the sand, than were we at the sight of this unequivocal trace ofcivilised man. Arthur picked it up, and restoring it partially to itsproper shape, examined the inside. On the lining of the crown appearedin gilt letters--
PIERRE BAUDIN,
CHAPELIER,
RUE RICHELIEU, NUMERO 20.
A PARIS.
"Here, then," said Max, "is an end of the notion that we are the firstinhabitants of this island; it is clear that others have been, if theyare not now upon it. Perhaps, Johnny, this is the hat of the man youheard talking French in the woods this morning."
"At any rate," said, Arthur, after a moment of thoughtful silence, "thismust be the place where the Frenchman who perished in the water-spoutand his companions, were cast away, and from which they afterwardsreached Eiulo's island in a small boat. The well yonder is probablytheir work, and we may perhaps find other evidences of their stay here,when we come to explore the island more thoroughly."
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