Once more we were free of islands, crossing the wide Celebes Sea. After
the bracing climate of Japan, we felt the heat considerably. We had
done so even when there was a breeze; it now fell calm. I scarcely
before knew what a real calm at sea was. The ocean was literally as
smooth as a sheet of glass--not the slightest swell was perceptible--not
the faintest cat's-paw played over the water. Some chips thrown
overboard floated exactly where they had fallen; and hour after hour, as
I looked over the side, there they were. Even a light vane of feathers
fastened in the mizzen-rigging hung down. The smoke from the galley
fire curled up in a thin blue wreath towards the sky, gradually growing
thinner and thinner, but still visible to a great height. Far as the
eye could reach, in the circle in the centre of which we floated, there
was the same shining, unbroken surface; except when here and there some
flying-fish leaped out of the translucent sea, or the fin of some
monster of the deep appeared as he swam near the surface.
It was hot below--hotter even than on deck, where at all events we had
the advantage of the open air. The smell of the cooking going forward
in the caboose pervaded the ship; and we could easily guess how it would
be under such circumstances when a fever breaks out on board--how
impossible it must be to get rid of the infected atmosphere, unless
perhaps by powerful and general fumigation. The seams in the deck began
to splutter and hiss, and the pitch stuck to our feet as we walked
about; while any piece of iron we touched seemed almost as hot as if it
had been put in a furnace. We had a good supply of water on board; but
it seemed, at the rate we drank it, we should soon consume our stock if
this 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 his
sooty den, the hot sun striking down on his uncovered woolly pate,
without having power to injure him. The Lascars appeared to suffer even
more than the Englishmen from the heat. Merlin, wise dog, kept in the
shade; but when he had to change his position, he went about with his
mouth open, his tongue hanging out. A tub of water was placed for him
in a shady spot, where he could go to quench his thirst as he might
fancy--a wise arrangement for him, poor dog, and he did not fail to take
advantage of it. He was not like some human beings, who turn up their
noses when their friends take trouble to arrange matters for their
convenience.
The English seamen went listlessly about the decks, clothed only in
shirt and duck trousers. Though the human beings on board were
oppressed with the beat, their caricatures and imitators, the monkeys,
seemed thoroughly to enjoy themselves. Perhaps they were aware that
nobody would take the trouble to go after them; so they had the rigging
to 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 a
seaman's hat, swinging themselves close to his head. Now two or three
of 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. Their
great pleasure, however, appeared to be to try and teaze Merlin. The
old fellow, whenever they approached, opened his eyes and watched them
with looks of astonishment, in no way offended at the tricks they tried
to play him. Now one would come down and endeavour to catch hold of his
tail; a second would jump down on his back, but would be off again
before he had time almost to turn his head. Had he chosen, I am sure he
could have caught one or two of the most daring, and would soon with his
powerful jaws have made an end of them; but he disdained to take offence
at their puny efforts to annoy him, and continued to treat them with the
greatest good humour.
The Lascars were below, or asleep in the shade under the
topgallant-forecastle. I made my way to the caboose, where Potto Jumbo
was singing merrily, though the heat was sufficient to cook the dinner,
one would suppose, without the aid of the fire. Macco had been
appointed to attend on him as cook's mate. The arrangement appeared to
please both parties, for Potto was always good-natured, and Macco
obedient, and apparently anxious to learn his duties.
"Dere, Macco, you go get bucket of water, and scrape dem 'tatoes, and
wash dem well," he said, pointing to the shady side of the ship, or
rather what was then the shady side, for as she was continually moving
round, that was as often shifting; indeed, so directly almost over our
heads was the sun, that there was very little shade at all. "I want to
tell you someting, Massa Walter," said Potto; "so I send dat black
fellow away." (Macco was many shades lighter than the cook; still he
always persisted in calling him "dat black fellow.") "I wish de captain
had put Ali and his people on shore at Singapore. Dey again plot
mischief. I hear dem talky, talky, when dey no tink I listen, just as
before. What dey intend to do I do not 'xactly know; but it is
mischief, I know dat. Dey no set de ship on fire again; but perhaps dey
try to cast her away, or to scuttle her, or some oder ting. Massa
Walter, dare are many pirate ships out in dese parts; and de last place
we touch at, I know Ali talky wid some black fellows, and me tink he
told dem to follow de ship, and dat he will help to let dem come on
board 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 captain
believe Ali when he say before dat he took boat to help ladies; and he
no 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 I
am very sure he will attend to your advice. I think the captain
believed you before more than you supposed; though, had he been
persuaded that Ali had set fire to the ship, he would decidedly have got
him and those who assisted him punished. He has been somewhat
over-lenient, however; there can be little doubt about that."
"De captain good man, no doubt about dat; too good for dis world, and
for manage such rascal as Ali Tomba and his people."
"Well, Potto," said I, "I believe you, at all events; but if you have
nothing more to say, I must try to find a cooler spot than this. I am
almost 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 Mr
Thudicumb, he be wise man, and keep his weather eye open."
As I began to move off, Potto shouted out,--"Come here, Macco, you black
rascal; be quick wid dem 'tatoes." They were the sweet potato roots of
which he spoke, by the by.
On going aft, I told Mr Thudicumb what I had heard. He thought for a
few minutes.
"I suspect, Walter," he observed, "the black is right. However, twelve
men, let them be ever so cunning, cannot do us much harm, unless they
again attempt to set the ship on fire. I never doubted that Ali had a
hand in that before, though the captain would not believe it. At all
events, if I had had my way, I should have got rid of him and his crew
at 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 his
mind that Ali was honest, and that Potto Jumbo was fanciful, and I
suspect did not like to be compelled to alter his opinion. He soon
afterwards called me up, and cross-questioned me on the subject. He had
a good deal to make him anxious. The navigation of the seas through
which we were sailing is as difficult as that of any part of the world.
Pirates also swarmed in all directions; and though they might not
venture to attack so large a ship as ours while we were under sail, they
might perhaps, should they find her at anchor, and be able to get round
us in sufficient force to give them a prospect of success. There were
also considerable difficulties in carrying on the trade in the places we
were to visit, as both the Spaniards and Dutch were sure to throw every
impediment in our way, their policy being to monopolise as far as they
could the whole of the trade of these regions. Several times the
captain went into his cabin to examine the barometer.
"Thudicumb," he said, when he came out, "the glass is falling slowly and
regularly. Depend upon it, this calm is not going to last. We will
shorten sail at once. There is no use in having all this canvas hanging
from the yards; and when the breeze does come, it will come quick and
sharp. It may be only an ordinary gale, but I rather think it will be
something considerably heavier."
Mr Thudicumb immediately issued the order to the watch on deck to
shorten sail. Some of the men looked about them with an astonished
glance; but, accustomed to obey orders, they asked no questions, and the
ship 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 than
ever. The ladies were sitting on deck, keeping as cool as they could
under their sun-shades, when Mr Hooker returned from below, and spread
a map out before them.
"Here, Walter," he said, turning to me, as I was standing near him, "it
being my watch on deck, I am going to give a lecture; you may as well
come and benefit by it. Here is a chart of the seas through which we
are sailing. See bow vast is this Malayan Archipelago! Putting out
Australia, it covers an area far larger than the whole of Europe;
indeed, from east to west it is fully 4000 miles in length, and 3200
miles from north to south. Look at Borneo: the whole of the British
Isles might be put down inside it, and yet leave a wide extent of
country on every side. New Guinea is even larger; and Sumatra is fully
equal to Great Britain. Then we have Java, Luzon, and Celebes, each as
large as Ireland. I think we could pick out eighteen or more the size
of Jamaica; and a hundred, of which none are smaller and many
considerably larger than the Isle of Wight. Now, some people hold to
the opinion that all these islands were at one time joined to the
continent of Asia. I, however, believe that though a portion of them
were, that the eastern part was united to Australia, and appeared above
the surface of the water at a later period, forming a vast Pacific
continent. We have thus three regions--Borneo, Java, and Sumatra--that
have only a shallow sea separating them from each other and from Asia.
Between Borneo and Celebes there is, however, a deep sea; as there is
between Celebes and numerous islands to the east and south of it,
including Sumbowa, Flores, Timor, Gilolo, Seram, Bouro, and many others
of smaller size. New Guinea, again, with the Aru Islands, are separated
from Australia by a very shallow sea; and it is remarkable that the
animals found in these three regions differ considerably from each
other. Many of those found in Australia and New Guinea are different
from those found in Celebes, and the other islands surrounded by deep
water. They, again, differ from the animals found in Borneo, Java, and
Sumatra, which are mostly identical with those of Asia.
"A striking contrast will also be found in the scenery of the islands of
volcanic and non-volcanic origin. A volcanic belt passes from the
north, 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 through
Flores, sweeping round to Java, where there is an immense number of
volcanoes. The island of Java contains more volcanoes, active and
quiescent, than any other known district of equal extent. There exist
forty-five at least, averaging 10,000 feet in height. Volcanoes, you
must understand, have been raised up by the accumulation of matter
ejected by themselves, consisting of mud, ashes, and lava. Frequently,
although a mountain has been thrown up by volcanic action, no opening
appears, though probably one will be found in the neighbourhood. Thus
Java is entirely volcanic. In most instances volcanoes are found near
the sea, when the materials of the mighty mound have been drawn from the
surrounding surface, and into the hollow below formed by their
abstraction the water has rushed: thus, although the sea might not have
been there previously, a strait or gulf has been produced. At the very
centre of the great curve of volcanoes I have described, is found the
large island of Borneo; and yet there no sign of recent volcanic action
has been observed, while earthquakes are entirely unknown. In New
Guinea, also, no sign of volcanic action is known to exist: except at
the east end of Celebes, the whole island is free from volcanoes. In my
opinion, this volcanic action did not commence till a comparatively late
period, so that it has not succeeded in obliterating altogether the
traces of a more ancient distribution of land and water.
"I must now give you a short description of the contrasts in the
vegetation of this interesting region. We shall find a great portion of
the islands clothed with a rich forest vegetation almost to the summit
of their highest mountains. This is the rule with regard to all the
islands on the west. When we reach Timor, however, we find the
eucalypti, and other trees characteristic of Australia. In Timor they
seldom reach any great height, being dried up by the hot wind which,
lasting for nearly two-thirds of the year, blows from the northern parts
of that vast island. In New Guinea, the trade-winds blow from the
Pacific. New Guinea, however, is freer from their influence, and is
therefore covered by a rich and damp vegetation, the forest trees
growing to a great height and size.
"By examining the zoology of these countries, we find evidence that the
islands we have been speaking about must at one time have formed a part
either of Asia or of a vast southern continent which embraced New Guinea
and Australia. In Borneo we find the elephant and tapir; and in Sumatra
both these animals, as well as the rhinoceros, and the wild cattle which
are known to inhabit some part or other of Southern Asia: showing that
at one time there must have been land communication with that continent,
as those animals could not possibly have swam over the straits which now
separate them. A large number of the smaller mammals are common to each
island as well as to the continent. Birds and insects also found on the
islands exist on the Asiatic continent. It might be supposed that birds
would easily pass over narrow arms of the sea; but this is not so. With
the exception of the aquatic tribes, what are called the perching birds
will never cross the sea; and thus it is certain that they, as well as
animals, must have existed on those islands before they were separated
from the continent. The Philippine Islands possess many of the birds
which are found in Asia; but at the same time there are other
indications which show that they must have been separated from the
continent at an earlier period than the other islands to the west.
"Now I wish you to observe that the numerous islands to the east of
Celebes and Lombok have a strong resemblance to Australia and New
Guinea, as much indeed as the western islands have to Asia. Australia
is a very remarkable country. It is, indeed, in several respects,
unlike any other part of the world. It possesses no tigers or wolves or
bears or hyenas; no elephants, squirrels, or rabbits; nor, indeed, any
mammals, except such as have been introduced almost within the memory of
man, such as horses, sheep, or oxen. It has, however, what are called
marsupials: kangaroos, opossums, wombats, and the duck-billed platypus.
Instead also of the various birds which exist in other parts of the
world, it has the mound-making brush-turkeys, the cockatoos, and the
brush-tongued lories, as well as honey-suckers, to be found in no other
part of the world. These peculiarities are discovered in the other
islands I have mentioned, forming the Austro-Malayan division of the
archipelago. Looking down to the south-east of Java, we shall find the
small island of Bali. It is divided from the east part of the island of
Lombok by a narrow strait, where the water is very deep, showing, as I
have said, that the separation must have taken place at an early period
of the world's existence. Now in Bali we find woodpeckers,
fruit-thrushes, barbets, and other Asiatic birds. Crossing this narrow
strait 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 in
Java or any region to the west. Crossing from Borneo to Celebes, there
is a very great difference in the animals. In Borneo, a vast number of
various species of monkeys exist, as well as wild cats, deer, otters,
civets, and squirrels. In Celebes, wild pigs are found, and scarcely
any other terrestrial mammal, besides the prehensile-tailed cuscus.
"Thus, when we pass from the western to the eastern islands, we feel
ourselves almost in a new region, so greatly do the four-footed and
feathered tribes we find in the one differ from those we have left in
the other. The Aru Islands and others in the neighbourhood agree in
many respects with New Guinea, from which vast island a shallow sea
alone separates them. Possessing this knowledge, a naturalist would
soon be able to learn whether he had landed on one of the islands of the
Asiatic or Australian portion of the archipelago, judging alone by the
animals he might discover."
Mr Hooker's lecture, of which I have only given a brief outline, was
suddenly interrupted by the voice of the captain shouting, "Up with the
helm!--square away the yards!" I flew to my station. Looking astern,
there appeared a long line of white foam, rushing forward over the
hitherto calm surface of the ocean at a rapid rate, while clouds came
rising 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. In
a few seconds a fierce blast struck the ship, making her heel over to
starboard in a way which seemed as if it was about to take the masts out
of her. Mrs Davenport clung to the cabin skylight, on which she was
sitting. It was with difficulty we could save Emily and Grace from
being 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 countenances
of many. The captain shouted to Mr Thudicumb, "Get the axes ready!"
and pointed significantly to the mizzen-mast. The first officer
repeated 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 to
be lost, it seemed. I could not help dreading lest another similar
blast should send the ship over, and the sea, rushing up her decks,
carry her to the bottom. The rudder had lost its power, being nearly
out of the water, so that no means but the desperate one to which we
were about to have recourse remained for getting the ship before the
wind. The risk of those on deck being injured by the falling of the
mast was very great. I made my way up to where my sister, with Mrs
Davenport and Grace, were clinging to the cabin skylight, in order to
conduct them below. The captain shouted to Mr Hooker, and signed to
him 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. The
sharp sound of the axe as it struck the mizzen-mast was heard at that
moment. The shrouds on either side were cut, and over the mast fell
into the foaming water. Still the ship lay as before. "It must be
done, Thudicumb!" the captain cried, and this time the mate himself
approached the mast, and stood with gleaming axe uplifted, ready to
strike. The hurricane howled round us. Every instant the seas
increased in height and fury, the spoon-drift from their summits driving
in showers over our deck. The sea came rushing up every instant higher
and higher over the lee bulwarks, up almost to the hatchways. The
captain 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 the
boatswain cut the weather shrouds; and as the mast fell over, several
brave fellows sprang to leeward to divide those on the lee side. Still
the ship lay helpless on the foaming water.
One more hope remained--the foremast must go; should the ship then be
unable to rise, our doom must be sealed. Anxiously we all watched the
captain. Again he looked to windward, carrying his glance round on
every side. His hand was raised to his mouth, apparently about to give
the same ominous order as before, when suddenly the ship rose up from
her dangerous position; and now, feeling the power of the helm, away she
flew before the fierce hurricane. Hour after hour we continued our
course, wherever the wind sent us--chiefly, however, towards the east.
It was impossible, with the fearful sea there was then running, to
attempt to raise jury-masts. Should land appear ahead, we knew too well
that there was every probability of our being cast on it. We might
anchor, and with the masts gone, the anchors might possibly hold, but we
could scarcely indulge in that hope--indeed, few on board had any
expectation 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 as
soon as possible, and such efforts made as good seamanship might dictate
to avoid it. The time was a very trying one. I should have been
anxious had I no one I cared for on board, but I dreaded the danger to
which my dear sister Emily might be exposed, and I felt, too, for Mrs
Davenport and Grace. Men can more easily escape from shipwreck, and if
cast on a desert island are better able to rough it, than females; but
what hope would there be of two young girls escaping with their lives,
should we be cast on shore? I had not forgotten either the remarks
Potto Jumbo had made about the Lascars. I could not help fancying that
they all had a more than usually sulky manner. When ordered to do any
duty, they generally gave a scowling glance towards the officers, and
performed it in a slovenly, indifferent manner.
Darkness came on, and still the wind blew as hard as ever, and the ship
flew on before it. I had been on deck for many hours, and it was my
watch below, and in spite of the danger we were in, I could scarcely
keep my eyes open. Even, however, when I laid my head on the pillow, I
knew that any moment I might be awakened by the fearful crashing of the
ship striking on a coral reef, with the sound of our remaining mast
going by the board. Before going to sleep, however, I went into the
cabin, and entreated the ladies to lie down. Emily and Grace said they
would, and Mrs Davenport urged them to do so, but I found that she had
no intention herself of sleeping. She would, I guessed, sit up, and
watch and pray for her young charges. I, however, was scarcely in my
berth before I was fast asleep, in spite of the loud roaring of the
seas, the wild motion of the ship, and the howling of the wind in the
fore-rigging.