ELEPHANT ISLAND
Although it was early summer in these southern latitudes, the weather
was chilly and desolate. Great, cold, green waves came rolling from the
west, their crests breaking in hissing spray and the bark drove on under
shortened canvas beneath a sullen, leaden sky. From time to time,
driving squalls of snow and sleet screeched through the rigging, leaving
every rope, shroud and stay ice-coated, and each time the _Hector_
buried her bluff bows beneath the mountainous seas, she rose with
ice-sheeted decks. Bundled in heavy pea-jackets, hip-boots and oilskins,
with sou’westers jammed upon their heads, the crew stood about,
sheltering themselves behind masts, deck houses and try-works, and on
the poop the officers and the two boys paced back and forth, stamping
their feet and beating their arms to keep warm, while ever and anon the
captain stopped to peer anxiously into the murk ahead. For several days
it had been impossible to take an observation and the ship was plunging
southward, navigated by dead reckoning only, while lookouts were ever at
the mastheads straining their eyes for bergs or ice or even possible
land. Each day, too, the bird convoy of the bark increased in numbers.
Dozens of albatrosses of several kinds skimmed the breaking waves on
tireless wings. Giant, white fulmars or “Molly Mokes,” snowy
sheathbills, and a dozen other species of sea birds were everywhere, and
often the boys caught sight of distant icebergs or vast, floating fields
of pack-ice, shimmering like burnished steel against the gray-green sea.
Then one day, came the cry of “Land ho!” from the masthead and peering
ahead the boys caught sight of a shadowy, gray mass looming above the
low-hung clouds against the southern horizon. Presently, as they
watched, Tom uttered an exclamation and grasped Jim’s arm. Close to the
bark, a huge dark body rose suddenly from the sea, a long-snouted head
reared up and with a coughing, snarling bark and a flash of great, white
teeth, the creature disappeared beneath the sea.
“A sea elephant!” cried Jim, and intently the two scanned the surface of
the water for its reappearance. Soon they were rewarded. Again the giant
seal flung itself upward from the curving crest of a wave and then
another and another appeared until, all about the speeding ship, the sea
was dotted with the monsters, seemingly unafraid of the vessel and
playing about like enormous porpoises.
Soon, however, the boys’ attentions were diverted from the sea
elephants, for ahead they caught sight of thousands of bobbing black and
white forms floating upon the waves, now leaping several feet in the
air, anon ducking beneath the sea, at times standing upright and
apparently clapping hands or again tumbling over and over like playful
puppies.
“What in the world are they?” asked Jim as Cap’n Pem approached.
“Penguins,” replied the old whaleman. “Ye’ll see ’em by tens o’
thousan’s on shore.”
In a few moments more, the bark was in the midst of the flock of the
strange fishlike birds, and on every side, ahead and astern, the water
was alive with them and both boys were fascinated watching their droll
antics. Then they were interrupted by orders to shorten sail still
further, and as the bark rolled along over the rapidly smoothing sea,
the boys’ interests were centered on the distant island they were
approaching. Desolate, forbidding and bleak, it appeared, a vast,
uprising, towering mass of dull-colored rock, flanked by stony hills and
rimmed by pebbly beaches and outstanding cliffs against which the long
Antarctic swells broke in great sheets of thundering surf.
Nearer and nearer drew the _Hector_. Forward a man was steadily heaving
the lead; at the catheads stood the second mate with his men ready at
any instant to let go the anchor; ready at the braces stood the men
waiting for the word to back the yards, while on the poop stood the
captain and the chief mate, the one, studying the island through his
glasses, the other, scanning the ship and sails and all on the alert to
bring the bark to and anchor her in safety off the forbidding shores of
Elephant Island. Now, upon the hillsides, the boys could see patches of
dried and dead herbage among the rocks. Here and there were sheets of
ice and snow still lingering in the shadows of cliffs and ledges. Upon
the beach were scattered masses of rotten ice, and everywhere among
them, a moving, dark mass that covered the shingle from end to end, were
hundreds of mighty sea elephants whose sharp, incessant barking was
borne plainly to those on the ship. Scattered upon the hillsides and on
the rising ground back of the beach were countless flecks of white which
at first the boys had mistaken for snow, but now, as the ship drew near,
they saw that they were moving, that they were alive, and suddenly it
dawned upon them that they were birds—thousands of albatrosses—while
vast areas of gray and white which the boys had thought were ice now
resolved themselves into tens of thousands of penguins, standing upright
with white breasts towards the oncoming bark and looking like an army of
tiny men.
Suddenly, above the roar of the surf, the barking of the sea elephants
and the cries of the birds, came the sharp order “Let go!” and as the
huge yards were swung and the cable roared out and the anchor struck the
water with a mighty splash, pandemonium seemed to be let loose upon the
island. Like a vast, white cloud the albatrosses and sea birds rose with
a roar of wings like thunder, while the air was filled with their sharp
cries, and as with one accord every sea elephant raised high his head,
bared his long teeth and roared forth a barking howl of defiance at the
intruders.
Rapidly the sails were furled and the men prepared to lower the boats
and go ashore, for Captain Edwards was to continue on with the _Hector_
to the other islands after leaving a shore party here to kill sea
elephants and boil down their oil. There was much to be accomplished.
Lumber and supplies had to be sent ashore for building shacks for the
men. Thousands of barrel shooks had to be placed on the land for use in
stowing the oil. Clothing, provisions, fuel and a hundred and one other
articles had to be transported from the bark to the island. There were
tools, rope, canvas, forges, arms, ammunition, medicines, spades, irons,
lances and many other utensils which were essential to the men and time
was limited, if the captain were to get a full ship and sail north
before the short Antarctic summer was over.
The first boat lowered was to go ashore to select sites for the men’s
quarters and for the try-works while the other boats were being loaded,
and Cap’n Pem, who was in charge, called to the two boys to jump in.
“Gosh!” cried Jim as the boat neared the shore and was surrounded by
scores of swimming sea elephants, “you’re not going to land among all
those beasts are you?”
“Sure as is!” laughed old Pem. “Them critters won’t hurt a fly. Jes’
shuffle out o’ the way an’ bark a bit. Well, we’ll have fresh meat fer
dinner to-night, anyway. We’ll jes’ knock a few o’ them over the snout
an’ have biled tongue an’ roast flipper an’ fried liver. Finest eatin’
ye ever see, boys.”
Despite Cap’n Pem’s assurances that the creatures would not harm them,
the boys were very nervous as the boat grated on the beach within a few
yards of the vast herd of giant seals, and they had no desire to be the
first to leap ashore among the growling, barking horde of animals which
wrinkled their snouts and bared their huge tusks as the boat drew near.
But the men appeared not to give the sea elephants a thought, and
jumping from the boat ran it far up the shingle. As they did so, the
nearest elephants wriggled and dragged themselves to one side and the
boys, taking courage at this, fought down their fears and followed Cap’n
Pem up the beach. Here, when seen at close quarters, the sea elephants
seemed stupendous.
In fact, they were. Many were forty feet in length and their backs were
as high as the boys’ shoulders, while their savage-looking jaws seemed
big enough to crush one’s head to bits at a single bite. Much to the
boys’ surprise, the men merely shoved or kicked such of the creatures as
were in their way, and selecting the small-sized and apparently young
animals, they killed several by hitting them over their heads with
clubs. To the boys, it seemed very cruel and brutal, but, as Tom
remarked, it really was no worse than killing oxen or sheep. Even when
their comrades had been killed and lay bleeding among them, the other
elephants showed no signs of alarm and the boys decided they must,
indeed, be very stupid creatures.
Leaving some of the men to secure the titbits of the animals for their
dinner, Cap’n Pem led the boys and the other men across the beach beyond
the elephant herd. Here the boys had plenty to interest them, for
everywhere they were surrounded by the quaint penguins, hopping about on
their queer flat feet, peering curiously at the men and shuffling out of
the way in funny, jerky jumps. So fascinated were the boys with these
odd birds that they seated themselves on a rock and watched them for
some time, while the others busied themselves hunting for a likely spot
for the camp. By the time this had been selected, the other boats were
on the way to the shore and in a few minutes were being unloaded and the
goods they had brought were being stacked far above reach of the waves.
“Found any eggs?” asked Cap’n Pem, as he returned to where the boys were
watching the penguins.
“Why, no,” replied Tom. “Where are their nests?”
The old man chuckled. “Ain’t got none,” he replied. “Jes’ lay their eggs
’mongst the rocks.”
“Well, it’s funny we haven’t seen any, then,” said Jim. “We’ve been
walking about watching the birds and none of them acted as if they were
sitting.”
“Wall, that’s where they fooled ye,” laughed Cap’n Pem. “Ye may think
they’re mighty stupid-lookin’ critters, but they ain’t. Jes’ look here.”
With a quick dash, the old whaleman seized two of the penguins, and to
the boys’ astonishment, held up two big blue-green eggs.
“Well, of all things,” exclaimed Tom. “Where on earth did you get those
eggs?”
“Jes’ ketch one o’ ’em an’ I’ll show ye,” replied the old whaleman.
Following his tactics, the two boys managed to capture three of the
birds.
“Now jes’ look at their feet,” said Pem. “See how they’re a-holdin’ of
’em up against their bellies?”
Wonderingly the boys forced apart the birds’ big, flat, webbed feet, and
to their surprise, discovered that each bird was holding an egg between
its feet and the thick feathers of a loose fold of skin on the abdomen.
“That’s the funniest thing I ever saw,” declared Jim. “Why, these birds
must go hopping about holding their eggs all the time.”
“Not eggzac’ly,” replied the mate. “Onc’t in a while they sets ’em down
’mong the rocks, but jes’ as soon as they get scared or thinks the’s
danger erbout they grabs their eggs an’ carries ’em erbout like ye
seen.”
“An’ I’ll tell ye another queer thing erbout ’em,” he continued. “When
the hen’s a-luggin’ of her egg erbout the ol’ man gits mighty jealous
an’ if he can’t wheedle his mate into lettin’ him tote the egg part o’
the time, he jes’ picks out a nice round stone an’ carries that ’round
as proud as a peacock. Queer chaps, the Penguins, and no fools, even ef
we whalers does call ’em Jackasses.”
“Are the eggs good to eat?” asked Tom.
“Wall, I can’t say as they’re _good_,” replied the other, “thet is,
’longside o’ hens’ eggs. Jes’ the same they ain’t so bad an’ a heap
better’n albatrosses’ or Molly Mokes’ eggs. We’ll fetch along them we’ve
got, an’ ye can try ’em an’ see how ye like ’em, though I reckon if ye
stays here fer a spell ye’ll have more than enough of ’em.”
“Oh, are we going to stay here?” cried Tom.
“Dunno,” replied Cap’n Pem, “Reckon ye’d have more fun here than stayin’
aboard the _Hector_ an’ cruisin’ ’long over to t’other islan’s. Ain’t
nothin’ to int’rest ye over there an’ the bark’s goin’ to take a run
over to Punta Arenas like as not, an’ it ain’t no picnic beatin’ ’round
the Horn an’ nothin’ much to see over to Punta Arenas. ’Sides your dad’s
counted on me ter look after ye, an’ I dunno ’bout lettin’ ye go off
without me.”
“Then you’re going to stay here!” cried Jim. “Of course, we’ll stay,
too.”
“Wall, I reckon we’d better be gittin’ back aboard the ship and gittin’
a bit ter eat,” declared the whaleman. “The’s a heap to do an’ not too
much time to do it in, even if we _can_ work all night.”
As they walked towards the boat, the boys noticed that the herd of sea
elephants had withdrawn for some distance from the men and that many of
them had disappeared.
“Won’t all the elephants be frightened away by the men?” asked Tom.
“No,” replied the old man, “they’ll keep a mite out o’ the way and mebbe
some on ’em’ll take to water fer a spell; but they’ll all haul out again
an’ when we git ready ter kill ’em they’ll all be on hand.”
“It seems an awful shame to kill the poor, stupid things,” said Jim.
“It’s almost like murder.”
“Wall, ’tain’t sport I’ll admit,” agreed Pem, “but jes’ the same it’s a
heap better to kill ’em an’ have their ’ile doin’ some good to civ’lized
folks ’stead o’ keepin’ these critters warm down in this ’ere
God-forsaken place. ’Sides, ’tain’t no worse’n killin’ whales.”
“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” agreed Jim. “Only they appear so harmless
and helpless, it seems a pity.”
“Reckon ye’re right there, son,” conceded old Pem, “but jes’ the same we
don’t hurt ’em. Reckon they don’t suffer a mite. ’Tain’t half as cruel
as stickin’ pigs or shootin’ pa’tridges.”
The boys marveled at the vast number of goods which the boats had
brought ashore, and already, the carpenter and his assistants were busy
putting up the shacks of lumber and canvas while the cooper was setting
up casks.
When they reached the bark, dinner was ready and the boys sat down to
their first meal of sea elephants’ tongues, flippers and liver, which
they declared delicious; but they could not say as much for the
penguins’ eggs which were strong and rather fishy in flavor.
“I suppose I _could_ eat them and not mind,” said Tom, “but I’d have to
be pretty hungry to like them.”
“Good deal like the old fellow that had to eat a crow,” remarked Mr.
Kemp. “Some one asked him how he liked it and he says, ‘Well, I _kin_
eat a crow but I’ll be hanged if I hanker arter ’em.’”
In a wonderfully short time, the shelters were erected, the stores,
provisions, supplies and casks were ashore and stowed, and everything
was in readiness for the departure of the bark.
Ten men of the crew had been selected to remain upon the island, as well
as the bo’sun, Mike, old Cap’n Pem, and the two boys, and while Pem
growled and remarked that “one peg-leg is bad enough but what we’re
a-goin’ fer to do with two, I don’t know,” yet the boys were immensely
pleased to find the ex-man-o’-war’s-man was to be with them, for he was
never tired of telling deep-sea yarns and the boys loved to hear him and
old Pem argue on questions of seamanship and the navy.
Among the men, were one of the boat steerers, two of the Portuguese
taken on the _Hector_ at the Azores, and the one-eyed man, Ned, with a
negro, who had been helping the cook on the bark, to look after the
meals of the shore party.
Cap’n Pem, as commander of the party, had been allowed to select his own
men and he had done so with considerable care, choosing those whom he
knew were willing and hard workers or had shown unusual ability or
skill, for the old whaleman was a keen observer and a fine judge of
human nature. While he was apparently giving little heed to what went on
about him, nothing escaped his sharp eyes.
The boys felt sorry at leaving the bark and as they shook hands with
Captain Edwards and the second mate and said good-by, they almost
regretted that they were to remain ashore.
“Don’t know how I’ll get on without my third and fourth mates!”
exclaimed the skipper, “but you’ll have a lot more fun here than on the
bark. Nothing but knocking about in heavy seas and cold winds. Enjoy
yourselves, lads, and see that Cap’n Pem behaves himself. We’ll be back
in about six or eight weeks and expect to find you with all casks full
of oil.”
Stepping into the waiting boat, the boys were rowed towards the shore,
and as the bark’s capstan pawls clanked and they heard the chantey of
the men borne to them across the water, a lump rose in their throats,
for the old _Hector_ had been their home for many weeks. Then, clear and
distinct came the rollicking chorus of:
I think I heard our Old Man say,
“Whisky! Johnny!
I’ll treat my men in a decent way,
Oh, whisky for my Johnny!”
Slowly the great sails rose and were sheeted home, the canvas billowed
out to the offshore wind, the long yards swung, and as the crew tailed
onto the braces, to the watchers on the beach came:
The ship she’s a-sailing out over the bar.
Away Rio! Away Rio!
The ship she’s a-sailing out over the bar.
We’re bound to the Rio Grande.
Slowly the _Hector_ slipped away. Gracefully she heeled to the press of
canvas on her lofty masts. About her cutwater rose a little plume of
white, and, rapidly gathering headway, she made for the open sea. Long
the boys stood watching her and when, at last, only her royal masts
showed faint and dim above the tumbling green seas on the horizon, they
turned away, feeling that the last tie that linked them with far-away
Fair Haven was gone, that they were marooned upon a desert island
scarcely fifteen hundred miles from the South Pole.