Azores and the Cape Verdes, at one or both of which places ships were
wont to renew their supplies of wood, water, and provisions, and from
the last of which mariners shaped a due west course before the trade-
winds. But, as already hinted, George Saint Leger was a young man of
somewhat original ideas, and geography was one of his favourite studies.
He knew that the direct course from the chops of the channel, was, as
nearly as might be, south-west; therefore he determined to steer a
south-westerly course whenever the wind would permit, instead of
following the usual long route via the Azores and the Cape Verde
islands; but with the assistance of a roughly made globe he had also
puzzled out the fact, not then generally recognised, that in the
latitude of sixty degrees a degree of longitude was only about half the
length of the same degree at the equator, therefore he also determined
to make as much westing as possible at the very outset of his voyage.
And this he was able to do with very satisfactory results, for the light
southerly air which had sprung up and met him when he towed his ship out
of Plymouth Sound not only freshened up into a brisk breeze of such
strength that he could only show "topgallants"--as they were then
called--to it by rather bold "carrying-on," but it lasted a full week,
during which the reckoning showed that the ship--which proved to be
amazingly fast--had sailed a distance of fully twelve hundred miles, or
more than half the distance between England and Newfoundland. Then a
westerly gale sprang up, which lasted nine days, during which the
_Nonsuch_, under close-reefed canvas, drove southward to the latitude of
Madeira, where the ship encountered calms and light variable winds for
five days before falling in with the trade-winds; after which the
troubles of the voyagers were over. For thereupon ensued not only a
constant fair wind, but also fine weather, so that the ship sailed on
day after day over a sparkling, gently heaving sea of deepest blue
tipped with tiny creaming foam-caps out of which leaped those marine
marvels the flying-fish in countless shoals as the bows clove the
roaring surges, while overhead the sky daily assumed a deeper, richer
tint of sapphire, out of which the sun, scarcely veiled by the solemn
drifting trade-clouds, shot his beams with ever-increasing ardour.
And then, at dawn of the thirty-first day after their departure from
Plymouth, there was sighted, on the extreme verge of the western
horizon, a small wedge-like shape of filmy grey which Dyer, the pilot,
pronounced to be the island of Barbados, and the crew, weary by this
time of a whole month's gazing upon nothing but sea and sky, swarmed up
on deck at the welcome cry of "Land ho!" and leaned over the bows,
gazing rapturously at the little spot of solid earth as it grew in size
and strengthened in tint. And lo! as they gazed a cloud formed over the
island, darkening it into shadow. The underside of the cloud was black
and threatening, and presently its bosom shot forth vivid lightnings,
green, blue, rosy red, and sun-bright flashes of dazzling brilliancy,
the low, deep booming of thunder was heard, and soon the island vanished
behind a violet veil of tropical rain, only to reappear, a quarter of an
hour later, fresh, green, and sparkling in the ardent rays of the tropic
sun.
But as the ship sped on it was seen, to the bitter disappointment of
all, and especially of those who were beginning to suffer from that
terrible scourge of sailors, scurvy, that it was not the intention of
the young captain to call there, and deep murmurings of discontent arose
as the _Nonsuch_ went rolling past the southern extremity of the island,
at a distance of not more than a mile, and it was seen to be covered
with tropical trees glorious in every conceivable shade of green and
gorgeous with many-tinted flowers, for it seemed a very fairy land to
those men, whose eyes were weary of the unending sameness of sea and
sky, day after day, for thirty-one days. Besides, many of those trees
doubtless bore luscious fruits, and oh! how grateful would those fruits
be to the palates of men dry and burnt with a solid month of feeding
upon salt beef and pork! George heard the murmurings and saw the black
looks, and called Dyer to him. Then the two went forward. Mounting the
topgallant-forecastle, where he could be seen and heard by everybody,
George waved his hand for silence, and presently began to speak.
"Men of Devon," he said, "I perceive that you are disappointed because I
do not intend to touch at yonder island. And I can well understand your
disappointment, for truly never have I seen a fairer sight than it
presents. I can tell, by my own feelings, how greatly you would enjoy a
run ashore there. But, lads, there is a good reason for our avoidance
of that island, and it is this. God has been very good to us, so far,
in granting us such a splendid passage across the vast Atlantic ocean;
but splendid as that passage is, it has still been long enough to
develop scurvy among us; and at the suggestion of Doctor Chichester, I
have decided, in council, that before making our attempt against the
Spaniards I will put in and give you all a fortnight ashore, both to
regain your health and also to careen the ship and remove the weed which
you have only to look overside to see. Judging from sight alone, no
better harbourage could we find than that which we have just passed.
But, men, our pilot tells me that the place--which is named Barbados--is
much frequented by the Spaniards, if indeed they have not already taken
possession of it; and we should find ourselves in sorry plight if, while
the ship is hove down, two or three Spanish sail were to appear and
attack us. Doubtless we should beat them off; but we've not come all
this way to fight just for fighting's sake. I fight when and where I
choose, and to please myself, not the enemy. Therefore, instead of
touching at Barbados, where we are liable to attack, we are going two
days' sail farther on, to an island twenty times as big as Barbados,
twenty times as beautiful, and quite safe, because, beautiful as the
island is, the Spaniards have not yet found time to settle upon it. Mr
Dyer, here, knows the place, and he'll tell you all about it." And he
stood aside, giving place to the pilot.
"Shipmates," said Dyer, turning to the crowd of eager-eyed men clustered
thickly about the deck below him, "you do all look most terrible
disapp'inted because we'm leavin' thicky island astern, instead of goin'
in and anchorin' before mun. But though he do look so good and enticin'
he baint quite so good as he do look. For all about here--and this here
island o' Barbados in partic'lar--I've heard tell be subject to the most
dreadful hurricanes that it's possible for mortal man to imagine, and we
don't want to go in there and have our ship hove half a mile up into the
woods by a storm-wave so that she won't be no more use to us. Besides
that, as our cap'n have said, the place is used, off and on, by the
Spaniards, and we don't want 'em to come lookin' for us until we be
ready to meet 'em. So we'm going on a matter o' two days' sail to the
most beautiful island in these here parts, called Trinidad, after the
impious fashion o' the Spaniards, where I knows of a fine, snug little
cove where the ship'll be so safe as ever she was to Millbay, and where
we needn't fear either hurricanes or Spaniards. There we can take our
ease and enj'y the lovely fruits that the Almighty have provided for the
refreshment of poor sea-worn mariners."
"Then, baint there no Spaniards to Trinidad, Mr Dyer?" demanded one of
the men.
"Not yet there baint," answered Dyer. "Doubtless in time they'll find
their way there; but at present they'm so eager after gold that they
only settles where gold is to be found. And there's no gold in
Trinidad, nothin' but harmless Indians, and fruit in plenty--and snakes.
You'll have to be wary and keep a good look out for snakes, when you
gets ashore to Trinidad; but that du hold good of all the Indies."
So the men settled down again to wait in patience for the appearance of
the earthly paradise promised them by Dyer, and, sure enough, the dawn
of the second day after passing Barbados revealed high land on the
larboard bow, serrated in outline, and tree-crowned to its very summit.
As the ship stood on, driven smoothly forward by the good trade-wind,
bringing the saw-like ridges back toward the beam, it was seen that the
land consisted of two islands instead of one, the nearer and lesser of
which is to-day known as Tobago. But Dyer knew nothing of Tobago,
whereas he had been inside the Gulf of Paria once before; therefore the
_Nonsuch_ held steadily on until Tobago drew out clear upon the larboard
quarter, when a break in the continuity of the land ahead was descried,
and presently this break revealed itself as an opening full ten miles
wide, in the eastern half of which stood three islands--or four, rather,
for upon a still nearer approach it was seen that the middle island was
divided into two by a channel so narrow that at a little distance it
looked as though a man might leap across it. And upon either side of
the opening, up sprang the land sheer out of the sea to a height of
eighteen hundred feet, steep, and shaggy, with tropical foliage of the
most varied and glorious tints.
Straight for the centre of the passage between the middle and the most
easterly island steered Dyer, and when presently the ship entered the
passage and her sails were almost becalmed by the intervention of the
high land to windward, the amazed seamen found themselves entering a
magnificent land-locked gulf so deep and so wide that they could not
determine the limits of it. It was not until some time afterward that
they found it to measure some fifty miles deep by ninety miles wide!
And thus they got their first glimpse of the wonderful Gulf of Paria.
Once clear of the passage--now known as the Boca de Huevos--Dyer trimmed
his yards flat and brought the ship as close to the wind as she would
lay, keenly watching the various points and indentations as they opened
out, one after the other, until at length a group of five small tree-
crowned islets opened out clear of an intervening island, when he rubbed
his hands and chuckled delightedly.
"Ah, ah!" he exclaimed, "there a be, there a be! I was a'most beginnin'
to fear as I'd forgot, or that an earthquake had happened, or somethin'.
But 'tis all right. You see they five little bits of islands away over
yonder, Cap'n? Well, they be my landmarks, and as soon as we've stood
far enough on to fetch 'em we'll go about."
As the ship opened out from under the lee of the weather shore it was
found that the trade-wind was piping up briskly athwart the gulf, but
notwithstanding this it was nearly an hour before the _Nonsuch_ had
reached far enough to the southward to enable her to make the islets on
the next tack, and when at length she was hove about it was another full
hour before she glided close past a low point and rounding-to, let go
her anchor in three fathoms, in a snug little cove that looked as though
it had been specially formed for the careening of ships.
The cove was situated within a bay, and was formed by a hook-like
projection of land high enough not only to hide the ship from the view
of any chance voyager who might happen to enter the gulf for
reconnoitring purposes, but also effectually to protect her in the
unlikely event of the trade-wind dying down and giving place to a gale
from the westward. Moreover, the high land to the eastward so
effectually protected the place from the trade-wind that a perpetual
calm existed in the cove, even when the trade-wind was piping up with
the strength of half a gale a few hundred yards away. The shore was a
narrow strip of sandy beach, completely submerged at high water, beyond
which lay a space of low, flat ground about half a mile in width,
gradually rising as it receded from the shore, and running up in a sort
of tongue for a distance of about two miles between two lofty, steep-
sided hills, densely covered with trees of various kinds, while the
entire shore, for miles in either direction, was thickly fringed with
coconut trees. Strangely enough, for some unknown reason, the ground
between the narrow fringe of coconut trees bounding the shore-line and
the base of the hills, was bare of trees, the soil being covered with a
dense growth of guinea-grass, with a few bushes and flowering shrubs
sparsely dotted about here and there--it therefore offered ideal
facilities for camping.
After George and the surgeon, accompanied by Dyer, had gone ashore and
very carefully inspected the place, it was decided at once to unbend the
ship's sails, carry them ashore, and temporarily convert them into tents
for the accommodation of all hands, which would afford the sick an
opportunity to recover their health and strength while the operation of
careening and scraping the ship was proceeding. This was accordingly
done, and by nightfall the camp was ready for occupation, and the entire
crew, with the exception of an anchor watch, slept ashore that night.
The following day was devoted to the task of transferring to the shore
the whole of the ordnance, weapons, ammunition, and a considerable
portion of the ship's stores, one party attending to this business while
a second party, under George's personal supervision, proceeded to
entrench the camp and otherwise put it into a state of defence, a third
party of half-a-dozen men, under Chichester, the surgeon, exploring the
woods in the immediate neighbourhood in search of fruit, of which they
brought in large quantities, consisting of bananas, mangoes, prickly
pears, _ananas_, custard-apples, soursops, guavas, and a sackful of
coconuts which Dyer showed the men how to open so that they could get at
and quaff the refreshing "milk." And oh, how delighted everybody was to
find himself in this tropical island paradise, where strange fruits of
the most exquisite flavour were to be had for the mere trouble of
plucking, where the air was fragrant with a thousand mingled perfumes,
where there was a perfect riot of flowers of strange shapes and most
gorgeous colouring to delight the eye, and where humming-birds flashed
hither and thither like living gems in the dazzling, blistering rays of
the sun. True, there were one or two drawbacks--the heat, for instance,
was terrific in that hemmed-in valley where only a transient breathing
of the trade-wind penetrated at rare intervals; and the men soon found
that paradise still harboured the serpent, for several snakes were seen
and one was killed--a diabolically handsome but most wicked-looking
creature clothed in a skin of greyish black ornamented with a diamond
pattern consisting of lattice-like lines of yellow, and having the flat
heart-shaped head which betrayed its venomous character. Also there
were innumerable insects and creeping things, notably centipedes up to a
foot in length, whose bite would certainly result in several hours of
excruciating agony which might even terminate in death, and small black
ants which insinuated themselves between a man's clothing and his skin
and tormented him to the verge of madness. But these things troubled
the men very little, for under Dyer's tuition they soon learned how to
protect themselves against the plagues; and meanwhile the salubrious
air, the luscious fruits, the perfume from the flower-laden woods, and
the many beautiful sights which surrounded them were real things in the
enjoyment of which they forgot all drawbacks. Thus far, no natives, or
human beings of any sort other than themselves, had been seen the
inference therefore was that the island, at all events that part of it
in which the Englishmen had established themselves, was uninhabited, and
they therefore went about their work without fear of disturbance or
interruption of any kind.
By the end of the week the ship was empty and all ready for heaving
down; and when the men knocked off work on the Saturday night George let
it be known that nothing would be done on the following day, and that
after divine service in the morning all hands would be free for the rest
of the day, and at liberty to amuse themselves as they pleased.
Nevertheless he warned them all not to stray far from the camp, and even
then to keep together in little companies of half a dozen or so, and
also to go fully armed. For although they had seen no natives thus far,
it was quite possible that the woods might be full of them, watching and
only waiting for an opportunity--when the English were off their guard--
to rush the camp and destroy every one of its occupants. Accordingly,
on the Sunday, after prayers and an early dinner, those who were bent
upon exploration armed themselves and wandered off up the valley in
small parties in accordance with George's directions. But the heat was
so intense that few of the men were disposed to ramble very far. They
had been working hard ever since the arrival of the ship and were more
disposed to spend the day in camp, resting quietly or practising archery
at the butts which they set up.
Seeing this, George, the parson, and the surgeon decided to rig the
quarter boat and proceed on a voyage of exploration eastward in her; and
this they did, arriving, after a beat to windward of some five and a
half miles, off the mouth of a river which seemed to be discharging down
a long and very tempting-looking valley. There were no natives to be
seen, or any signs of them; therefore, tempted by the possibilities
which the exploration of the river held out to them, they entered and
sailed up it until it shoaled so much and its bed became so obstructed
with rocks that the boat could proceed no farther. Then it became a
question whether they should adopt the dictates of prudence and return
to the ship, or whether they should risk something by landing and pursue
the further exploration of the river on foot. Eventually they decided
that as the afternoon was still young, and nothing had been seen that
was in the slightest degree alarming or suggestive of possible danger,
they would take such small amount of risk as was involved in landing and
investigate the course of the river a little farther, the beauties of
the place very strongly appealing to them. Accordingly they landed,
concealing the boat beneath the foliage of a remarkable tree that
conveniently overhung the stream.
Having cunningly hid the boat and looked carefully to the priming of
their firearms, the adventurous trio stepped ashore, George, with drawn
sword, leading, while Chichester, the surgeon, brought up the rear.
They were compelled to closely follow the course of the stream, since
the woods on either hand were so dense and impenetrable that it would
have been impossible to pass through them, save by hewing their way, and
this was of course not to be thought of. Besides, it was the river that
they desired to explore, since only by following its banks could
anything be seen of the many strange and beautiful things that
surrounded them; therefore they pressed forward, now on the solid ground
close by the river margin, and now scrambling, ankle and sometimes knee
deep, along the boulder-strewn bed of the stream itself, pausing at
frequent intervals to admire some forest giant dressed in vivid scarlet
blossoms instead of leaves, or another thickly festooned with trailing
creepers gorgeous with blooms of marvellous form and most extravagant
hue, or a graceful clump of bamboo, soaring like gigantic plumes of
feathers a hundred feet into the heat-palpitating air. Frequently, too,
they halted to watch the motions of some tiny humming-bird hovering like
a living gem over the cup of a flower, or the flight of a gaudily
painted kingfisher or parrot. A great silence pervaded the woods, for
the trees were for the most part so lofty that the sough of the wind in
their topmost branches was inaudible, and it was the hour when the
insect world indulged in its daily siesta. Animals there were none to
be seen, but an occasional sudden quick rustle of the grass told them
that snakes were to be watched for and guarded against.
In this fashion the trio proceeded slowly up the river, talking but
little save when one of them in a low voice directed the attention of
the others to some object worthy of notice, until gradually their ears
caught a sound which told them that they were approaching a waterfall;
and five minutes later they sighted it close at hand--and involuntarily
halted, struck dumb and motionless for the moment by the extraordinary
beauty of the picture which lay before them. The waterfall, the sound
of which had reached them a few minutes earlier, was some sixty feet in
height and about twelve feet wide, the river tumbling vertically down
the perpendicular face of the cliff into a wide basin, the lofty sides
of which were draped with the graceful fronds of giant ferns, the broad
leaves of the wild plantain, crimson-leaved acacias, enormous bunches of
maidenhair, and several varieties of plant and bush, the names of which
were unknown to the trio of gazers, and which were brilliant with
blossoms of the most lovely hues. The fall leaped out of a kind of
tunnel formed by the intertwined branches of overhanging trees, the
sombre foliage of which was brightened by numerous festoons of flowering
creepers. But it was not so much the extraordinary fairy-like beauty of
the scene as a whole--the charm of which was further enhanced by the
loveliness of the humming-birds and great butterflies that flitted
hither and thither in the cool, spray-laden atmosphere of the place--nor
the marvellous profusion of new and wonderful flowers of every
conceivable tint that everywhere met the eye, which so powerfully
fascinated the beholder; it was the wonderful, exquisite blue colour of
the water in the basin itself, which, although of crystalline
transparency, receives its marvellous colouring through some freak of
sky reflection penetrating through the branches of the overhanging
trees. The effect of this wonderful colouring must be seen to be
appreciated. And it is seen and admired every day by enthusiastic
sightseers, some of whom have journeyed thousands of miles to feast
their eyes upon the beauties of the famous Blue Basin of Trinidad, which
is not very greatly altered now from what it was when those three
adventurous Devonians stood and gazed enraptured upon it, probably the
first white men who ever beheld its magic loveliness.
For a space the trio stood spellbound, silent and motionless; then the
spell relaxed its grip upon them sufficiently to permit of renewed
movement and speech, and they burst into rapturous ejaculations as they
moved forward to gaze again at closer quarters.
"Beautiful! beautiful beyond the power of human mind to imagine, or
human tongue to tell," exclaimed "Sir" Thomas Cole, the ship's chaplain.
"Well might the Psalmist say: `O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! In
wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy riches.' And
I'll warrant that David never looked upon such a scene as this, for 'tis
not recorded that he was ever to the tropics. And if God hath seen fit
to make this earth so beautiful, think, my masters, what must Heaven,
His own abode, be like?"
"Ay, well may you say that, Sir Thomas," answered Chichester "and yet,
if there seems a chance of any of us going there, we're willing to do
almost anything to delay our departure."
"Well, and 'tis not to be wondered at when this old earth of ours can
show such loveliness as this," commented literal, plain-spoken George.
"For my part, I'm willing enough to be here, just now, to enjoy the
beauty that the Lord has made to delight His people's eyes. And what a
glorious spot it is for a bathe! Come on, gentles; who's for a dip?
There's time enough for a swim across and back again if we don't delay
too long. 'Twill be delightfully cooling and refreshing after our long
walk from the boat."