In the Eastern Seas

by William Henry Giles Kingston

  CHAPTER EIGHT.

  CROSS THE SEA OF CELEBES.

  Once more we were free of islands, crossing the wide Celebes Sea. Afterthe bracing climate of Japan, we felt the heat considerably. We haddone so even when there was a breeze; it now fell calm. I scarcelybefore knew what a real calm at sea was. The ocean was literally assmooth as a sheet of glass--not the slightest swell was perceptible--notthe faintest cat's-paw played over the water. Some chips thrownoverboard floated exactly where they had fallen; and hour after hour, asI looked over the side, there they were. Even a light vane of feathersfastened in the mizzen-rigging hung down. The smoke from the galleyfire curled up in a thin blue wreath towards the sky, gradually growingthinner and thinner, but still visible to a great height. Far as theeye could reach, in the circle in the centre of which we floated, therewas the same shining, unbroken surface; except when here and there someflying-fish leaped out of the translucent sea, or the fin of somemonster of the deep appeared as he swam near the surface.

  It was hot below--hotter even than on deck, where at all events we hadthe advantage of the open air. The smell of the cooking going forwardin the caboose pervaded the ship; and we could easily guess how it wouldbe under such circumstances when a fever breaks out on board--howimpossible it must be to get rid of the infected atmosphere, unlessperhaps by powerful and general fumigation. The seams in the deck beganto splutter and hiss, and the pitch stuck to our feet as we walkedabout; while any piece of iron we touched seemed almost as hot as if ithad been put in a furnace. We had a good supply of water on board; butit seemed, at the rate we drank it, we should soon consume our stock ifthis sort of weather continued.

  The only person who seemed to enjoy himself thoroughly was Potto Jumbo.He smiled complacently as he looked about him when he came out of hissooty den, the hot sun striking down on his uncovered woolly pate,without having power to injure him. The Lascars appeared to suffer evenmore than the Englishmen from the heat. Merlin, wise dog, kept in theshade; but when he had to change his position, he went about with hismouth open, his tongue hanging out. A tub of water was placed for himin a shady spot, where he could go to quench his thirst as he mightfancy--a wise arrangement for him, poor dog, and he did not fail to takeadvantage of it. He was not like some human beings, who turn up theirnoses when their friends take trouble to arrange matters for theirconvenience.

  The English seamen went listlessly about the decks, clothed only inshirt and duck trousers. Though the human beings on board wereoppressed with the beat, their caricatures and imitators, the monkeys,seemed thoroughly to enjoy themselves. Perhaps they were aware thatnobody would take the trouble to go after them; so they had the riggingto themselves, and were now climbing and leaping about every part of it,now and then descending to the end of a rope to try to carry off aseaman's hat, swinging themselves close to his head. Now two or threeof them would make their way aft, and come and look down at Mr Hooker,whom most of them seemed to recognise as their master and owner. Theirgreat pleasure, however, appeared to be to try and teaze Merlin. Theold fellow, whenever they approached, opened his eyes and watched themwith looks of astonishment, in no way offended at the tricks they triedto play him. Now one would come down and endeavour to catch hold of histail; a second would jump down on his back, but would be off againbefore he had time almost to turn his head. Had he chosen, I am sure hecould have caught one or two of the most daring, and would soon with hispowerful jaws have made an end of them; but he disdained to take offenceat their puny efforts to annoy him, and continued to treat them with thegreatest good humour.

  The Lascars were below, or asleep in the shade under thetopgallant-forecastle. I made my way to the caboose, where Potto Jumbowas singing merrily, though the heat was sufficient to cook the dinner,one would suppose, without the aid of the fire. Macco had beenappointed to attend on him as cook's mate. The arrangement appeared toplease both parties, for Potto was always good-natured, and Maccoobedient, and apparently anxious to learn his duties.

  "Dere, Macco, you go get bucket of water, and scrape dem 'tatoes, andwash dem well," he said, pointing to the shady side of the ship, orrather what was then the shady side, for as she was continually movinground, that was as often shifting; indeed, so directly almost over ourheads was the sun, that there was very little shade at all. "I want totell you someting, Massa Walter," said Potto; "so I send dat blackfellow away." (Macco was many shades lighter than the cook; still healways persisted in calling him "dat black fellow.") "I wish de captainhad put Ali and his people on shore at Singapore. Dey again plotmischief. I hear dem talky, talky, when dey no tink I listen, just asbefore. What dey intend to do I do not 'xactly know; but it ismischief, I know dat. Dey no set de ship on fire again; but perhaps deytry to cast her away, or to scuttle her, or some oder ting. MassaWalter, dare are many pirate ships out in dese parts; and de last placewe touch at, I know Ali talky wid some black fellows, and me tink hetold dem to follow de ship, and dat he will help to let dem come onboard and take her."

  "But why did you not tell Mr Thudicumb or the captain this?" I said.

  "Dey tink I fond of finding mares' nests," he answered. "De captainbelieve Ali when he say before dat he took boat to help ladies; and heno believe dat he set de ship on fire," was the black's answer.

  "Well, Potto, I will tell Mr Thudicumb what you say, as before, and Iam very sure he will attend to your advice. I think the captainbelieved you before more than you supposed; though, had he beenpersuaded that Ali had set fire to the ship, he would decidedly have gothim and those who assisted him punished. He has been somewhatover-lenient, however; there can be little doubt about that."

  "De captain good man, no doubt about dat; too good for dis world, andfor manage such rascal as Ali Tomba and his people."

  "Well, Potto," said I, "I believe you, at all events; but if you havenothing more to say, I must try to find a cooler spot than this. I amalmost roasted, and feel that I could not stand it many minutes longer."

  "No; I have told all I know," said Potto. "But you just say to MrThudicumb, he be wise man, and keep his weather eye open."

  As I began to move off, Potto shouted out,--"Come here, Macco, you blackrascal; be quick wid dem 'tatoes." They were the sweet potato roots ofwhich he spoke, by the by.

  On going aft, I told Mr Thudicumb what I had heard. He thought for afew minutes.

  "I suspect, Walter," he observed, "the black is right. However, twelvemen, let them be ever so cunning, cannot do us much harm, unless theyagain attempt to set the ship on fire. I never doubted that Ali had ahand in that before, though the captain would not believe it. At allevents, if I had had my way, I should have got rid of him and his crewat the first opportunity."

  Soon after this the mate was engaged in conversation with the captain.I saw that my kind friend looked somewhat annoyed. He had made up hismind that Ali was honest, and that Potto Jumbo was fanciful, and Isuspect did not like to be compelled to alter his opinion. He soonafterwards called me up, and cross-questioned me on the subject. He hada good deal to make him anxious. The navigation of the seas throughwhich we were sailing is as difficult as that of any part of the world.Pirates also swarmed in all directions; and though they might notventure to attack so large a ship as ours while we were under sail, theymight perhaps, should they find her at anchor, and be able to get roundus in sufficient force to give them a prospect of success. There werealso considerable difficulties in carrying on the trade in the places wewere to visit, as both the Spaniards and Dutch were sure to throw everyimpediment in our way, their policy being to monopolise as far as theycould the whole of the trade of these regions. Several times thecaptain went into his cabin to examine the barometer.

  "Thudicumb," he said, when he came out, "the glass is falling slowly andregularly. Depend upon it, this calm is not going to last. We willshorten sail at once. There is no use in having all this canvas hangingfrom the yards; and when the breeze does come, it will come quick andsharp. It may be only an ord
inary gale, but I rather think it will besomething considerably heavier."

  Mr Thudicumb immediately issued the order to the watch on deck toshorten sail. Some of the men looked about them with an astonishedglance; but, accustomed to obey orders, they asked no questions, and theship was soon under her three topsails, closely reefed, and jib.

  "Whatever comes now, we shall be ready for it," observed the captain.

  Still the calm continued, and the heat, if anything, was greater thanever. The ladies were sitting on deck, keeping as cool as they couldunder their sun-shades, when Mr Hooker returned from below, and spreada map out before them.

  "Here, Walter," he said, turning to me, as I was standing near him, "itbeing my watch on deck, I am going to give a lecture; you may as wellcome and benefit by it. Here is a chart of the seas through which weare sailing. See bow vast is this Malayan Archipelago! Putting outAustralia, it covers an area far larger than the whole of Europe;indeed, from east to west it is fully 4000 miles in length, and 3200miles from north to south. Look at Borneo: the whole of the BritishIsles might be put down inside it, and yet leave a wide extent ofcountry on every side. New Guinea is even larger; and Sumatra is fullyequal to Great Britain. Then we have Java, Luzon, and Celebes, each aslarge as Ireland. I think we could pick out eighteen or more the sizeof Jamaica; and a hundred, of which none are smaller and manyconsiderably larger than the Isle of Wight. Now, some people hold tothe opinion that all these islands were at one time joined to thecontinent of Asia. I, however, believe that though a portion of themwere, that the eastern part was united to Australia, and appeared abovethe surface of the water at a later period, forming a vast Pacificcontinent. We have thus three regions--Borneo, Java, and Sumatra--thathave only a shallow sea separating them from each other and from Asia.Between Borneo and Celebes there is, however, a deep sea; as there isbetween Celebes and numerous islands to the east and south of it,including Sumbowa, Flores, Timor, Gilolo, Seram, Bouro, and many othersof smaller size. New Guinea, again, with the Aru Islands, are separatedfrom Australia by a very shallow sea; and it is remarkable that theanimals found in these three regions differ considerably from eachother. Many of those found in Australia and New Guinea are differentfrom those found in Celebes, and the other islands surrounded by deepwater. They, again, differ from the animals found in Borneo, Java, andSumatra, which are mostly identical with those of Asia.

  "A striking contrast will also be found in the scenery of the islands ofvolcanic and non-volcanic origin. A volcanic belt passes from thenorth, through the Philippine Islands, down to the north end of Celebes.There is then a break; and again it commences in the island of Gilolo,passing through Borneo, Seram, and Banda, down to Timor; then throughFlores, sweeping round to Java, where there is an immense number ofvolcanoes. The island of Java contains more volcanoes, active andquiescent, than any other known district of equal extent. There existforty-five at least, averaging 10,000 feet in height. Volcanoes, youmust understand, have been raised up by the accumulation of matterejected by themselves, consisting of mud, ashes, and lava. Frequently,although a mountain has been thrown up by volcanic action, no openingappears, though probably one will be found in the neighbourhood. ThusJava is entirely volcanic. In most instances volcanoes are found nearthe sea, when the materials of the mighty mound have been drawn from thesurrounding surface, and into the hollow below formed by theirabstraction the water has rushed: thus, although the sea might not havebeen there previously, a strait or gulf has been produced. At the verycentre of the great curve of volcanoes I have described, is found thelarge island of Borneo; and yet there no sign of recent volcanic actionhas been observed, while earthquakes are entirely unknown. In NewGuinea, also, no sign of volcanic action is known to exist: except atthe east end of Celebes, the whole island is free from volcanoes. In myopinion, this volcanic action did not commence till a comparatively lateperiod, so that it has not succeeded in obliterating altogether thetraces of a more ancient distribution of land and water.

  "I must now give you a short description of the contrasts in thevegetation of this interesting region. We shall find a great portion ofthe islands clothed with a rich forest vegetation almost to the summitof their highest mountains. This is the rule with regard to all theislands on the west. When we reach Timor, however, we find theeucalypti, and other trees characteristic of Australia. In Timor theyseldom reach any great height, being dried up by the hot wind which,lasting for nearly two-thirds of the year, blows from the northern partsof that vast island. In New Guinea, the trade-winds blow from thePacific. New Guinea, however, is freer from their influence, and istherefore covered by a rich and damp vegetation, the forest treesgrowing to a great height and size.

  "By examining the zoology of these countries, we find evidence that theislands we have been speaking about must at one time have formed a parteither of Asia or of a vast southern continent which embraced New Guineaand Australia. In Borneo we find the elephant and tapir; and in Sumatraboth these animals, as well as the rhinoceros, and the wild cattle whichare known to inhabit some part or other of Southern Asia: showing thatat one time there must have been land communication with that continent,as those animals could not possibly have swam over the straits which nowseparate them. A large number of the smaller mammals are common to eachisland as well as to the continent. Birds and insects also found on theislands exist on the Asiatic continent. It might be supposed that birdswould easily pass over narrow arms of the sea; but this is not so. Withthe exception of the aquatic tribes, what are called the perching birdswill never cross the sea; and thus it is certain that they, as well asanimals, must have existed on those islands before they were separatedfrom the continent. The Philippine Islands possess many of the birdswhich are found in Asia; but at the same time there are otherindications which show that they must have been separated from thecontinent at an earlier period than the other islands to the west.

  "Now I wish you to observe that the numerous islands to the east ofCelebes and Lombok have a strong resemblance to Australia and NewGuinea, as much indeed as the western islands have to Asia. Australiais a very remarkable country. It is, indeed, in several respects,unlike any other part of the world. It possesses no tigers or wolves orbears or hyenas; no elephants, squirrels, or rabbits; nor, indeed, anymammals, except such as have been introduced almost within the memory ofman, such as horses, sheep, or oxen. It has, however, what are calledmarsupials: kangaroos, opossums, wombats, and the duck-billed platypus.Instead also of the various birds which exist in other parts of theworld, it has the mound-making brush-turkeys, the cockatoos, and thebrush-tongued lories, as well as honey-suckers, to be found in no otherpart of the world. These peculiarities are discovered in the otherislands I have mentioned, forming the Austro-Malayan division of thearchipelago. Looking down to the south-east of Java, we shall find thesmall island of Bali. It is divided from the east part of the island ofLombok by a narrow strait, where the water is very deep, showing, as Ihave said, that the separation must have taken place at an early periodof the world's existence. Now in Bali we find woodpeckers,fruit-thrushes, barbets, and other Asiatic birds. Crossing this narrowstrait to Lombok, the birds I have mentioned are no longer to be found;but instead of them there are brush-turkeys, cockatoos, honey-suckers,and other Australian birds. These birds again are not to be found inJava or any region to the west. Crossing from Borneo to Celebes, thereis a very great difference in the animals. In Borneo, a vast number ofvarious species of monkeys exist, as well as wild cats, deer, otters,civets, and squirrels. In Celebes, wild pigs are found, and scarcelyany other terrestrial mammal, besides the prehensile-tailed cuscus.

  "Thus, when we pass from the western to the eastern islands, we feelourselves almost in a new region, so greatly do the four-footed andfeathered tribes we find in the one differ from those we have left inthe other. The Aru Islands and others in the neighbourhood agree inmany respects with New Guinea, from which vast island a shallow seaalone separates them. Possessing th
is knowledge, a naturalist wouldsoon be able to learn whether he had landed on one of the islands of theAsiatic or Australian portion of the archipelago, judging alone by theanimals he might discover."

  Mr Hooker's lecture, of which I have only given a brief outline, wassuddenly interrupted by the voice of the captain shouting, "Up with thehelm!--square away the yards!" I flew to my station. Looking astern,there appeared a long line of white foam, rushing forward over thehitherto calm surface of the ocean at a rapid rate, while clouds camerising out of the horizon, and chasing each other across the blue sky,over which a thick veil of mist seemed suddenly to have been drawn. Ina few seconds a fierce blast struck the ship, making her heel over tostarboard in a way which seemed as if it was about to take the masts outof her. Mrs Davenport clung to the cabin skylight, on which she wassitting. It was with difficulty we could save Emily and Grace frombeing carried away to leeward; indeed, they both cried out with terror,so suddenly had the gale broken on us.

  Down, down the tall ship lay. It seemed as if she would never rise.The watch below rushed up on deck, looks of dismay on the countenancesof many. The captain shouted to Mr Thudicumb, "Get the axes ready!"and pointed significantly to the mizzen-mast. The first officerrepeated the order; and Mr Tarbox was seen coming along, axe in hand,followed by the carpenter and several of his crew. There was no time tobe lost, it seemed. I could not help dreading lest another similarblast should send the ship over, and the sea, rushing up her decks,carry her to the bottom. The rudder had lost its power, being nearlyout of the water, so that no means but the desperate one to which wewere about to have recourse remained for getting the ship before thewind. The risk of those on deck being injured by the falling of themast was very great. I made my way up to where my sister, with MrsDavenport and Grace, were clinging to the cabin skylight, in order toconduct them below. The captain shouted to Mr Hooker, and signed tohim to assist me. Unless, however, I had been aided by the second mate,I could scarcely have done so.

  As soon as I had seen them into the cabin, I sprang again on deck. Thesharp sound of the axe as it struck the mizzen-mast was heard at thatmoment. The shrouds on either side were cut, and over the mast fellinto the foaming water. Still the ship lay as before. "It must bedone, Thudicumb!" the captain cried, and this time the mate himselfapproached the mast, and stood with gleaming axe uplifted, ready tostrike. The hurricane howled round us. Every instant the seasincreased in height and fury, the spoon-drift from their summits drivingin showers over our deck. The sea came rushing up every instant higherand higher over the lee bulwarks, up almost to the hatchways. Thecaptain gave another glance to windward. Still the rudder did not act."Cut!" he shouted, his voice sounding high above the roar of the blast.Mr Thudicumb's glancing axe descended, while at the same moment theboatswain cut the weather shrouds; and as the mast fell over, severalbrave fellows sprang to leeward to divide those on the lee side. Stillthe ship lay helpless on the foaming water.

  One more hope remained--the foremast must go; should the ship then beunable to rise, our doom must be sealed. Anxiously we all watched thecaptain. Again he looked to windward, carrying his glance round onevery side. His hand was raised to his mouth, apparently about to givethe same ominous order as before, when suddenly the ship rose up fromher dangerous position; and now, feeling the power of the helm, away sheflew before the fierce hurricane. Hour after hour we continued ourcourse, wherever the wind sent us--chiefly, however, towards the east.It was impossible, with the fearful sea there was then running, toattempt to raise jury-masts. Should land appear ahead, we knew too wellthat there was every probability of our being cast on it. We mightanchor, and with the masts gone, the anchors might possibly hold, but wecould scarcely indulge in that hope--indeed, few on board had anyexpectation of escaping shipwreck.

  Again and again the captain examined his chart. It could not, however,be entirely depended on. A bright look-out was, of course, kept ahead,that whatever danger there might be in our course might be discovered assoon as possible, and such efforts made as good seamanship might dictateto avoid it. The time was a very trying one. I should have beenanxious had I no one I cared for on board, but I dreaded the danger towhich my dear sister Emily might be exposed, and I felt, too, for MrsDavenport and Grace. Men can more easily escape from shipwreck, and ifcast on a desert island are better able to rough it, than females; butwhat hope would there be of two young girls escaping with their lives,should we be cast on shore? I had not forgotten either the remarksPotto Jumbo had made about the Lascars. I could not help fancying thatthey all had a more than usually sulky manner. When ordered to do anyduty, they generally gave a scowling glance towards the officers, andperformed it in a slovenly, indifferent manner.

  Darkness came on, and still the wind blew as hard as ever, and the shipflew on before it. I had been on deck for many hours, and it was mywatch below, and in spite of the danger we were in, I could scarcelykeep my eyes open. Even, however, when I laid my head on the pillow, Iknew that any moment I might be awakened by the fearful crashing of theship striking on a coral reef, with the sound of our remaining mastgoing by the board. Before going to sleep, however, I went into thecabin, and entreated the ladies to lie down. Emily and Grace said theywould, and Mrs Davenport urged them to do so, but I found that she hadno intention herself of sleeping. She would, I guessed, sit up, andwatch and pray for her young charges. I, however, was scarcely in myberth before I was fast asleep, in spite of the loud roaring of theseas, the wild motion of the ship, and the howling of the wind in thefore-rigging.