the qualities of our dwelling, we started, under Max's guidance, to make
an excursion to that part of the island, to the south-east of
Castle-hill, of which he had given so glowing an account. After half an
hour's toilsome march over uneven ground, we entered a grove, which, to
Johnny's great exultation, was composed almost entirely of bread-fruit
trees. They grew with much regularity, at almost equal distances, so as
to form broad straight avenues, overarched by a canopy of spreading
branches and dark glossy leaves. Vistas of shapely diamond-chequered
trunks stretched away in every direction, in long and shady perspective.
Among the dense masses of foliage, hung a profusion of large globes, of
a light-delicate green, or a golden yellow, the splendid fruit of this
noblest and most stately tree of the tropics. The ripe and the unripe
fruit hung side by side from the same branches, and Johnny could hardly
be persuaded to postpone gathering a supply of it until our return. Our
course had been upon the whole rather an ascending one, so that this
grove must have occupied an elevated situation. The ground over which
it extended was nearly level, with slight wave-like undulations. As we
approached its eastern limit, Max told us to prepare ourselves for the
most charming spectacle that we had ever beheld. He walked on before
with the air of a cicerone when about to exhibit a _chef d'oeuvre_, and
stood waiting and beckoning for us at the border of the grove. On
joining him we found that he had scarcely exaggerated in his
descriptions of the spot.
We stood at the top of a smooth and gradual descent. Before us lay a
secluded valley, from which the land rose on every side, to about the
elevation of the grove behind us. In some places it ascended in gentle
slopes, in others by abrupt acclivities. In the bosom of the valley
spread a little lake of oval form, fringed in some places with
shrubbery, while in others, groups of casuarinas extended their long
drooping boughs in graceful arches over the water. After pausing a
moment we descended to the margin of the pond, which was so limpid that
we could distinguish every pebble at the bottom. At the upper or
northern end, and near the point at which we had come out of the grove,
a small stream precipitated itself some fifteen feet down a rocky
declivity, and fell into a circular basin a few yards in diameter.
Overflowing this basin, it found its way into the lake by another
descent of a few feet. Around the basin, and on both sides of the
waterfall, were several curious columns of basalt, and irregular
picturesque piles of basaltic rock. The plash of the water, falling
into the rocky basin, was the only sound that broke the Sabbath-like
silence that pervaded the valley. There was, or seemed to be, something
unreal and dream-like about the scene, that made us pause where we
stood, in silence, as though the whole were an illusion, which a word or
a motion would dispel.
"How beautiful!" exclaimed Browne, at last, and a soft clear echo, like
the voice of the tutelary spirit of the valley, answered, "Beautiful!"
"Hark!" cried Johnny, "what a charming echo. Listen again," and he
shouted "Hurrah!"
"Hurrah!" softly responded the echo, and almost in the same breath a
harsh voice, apparently close at hand, and which was evidently not an
echo, cried out, "Hillioh--oh!"
We started, and gazed around us, and at each other, in astonishment, but
we could see nothing from which this strange exclamation could proceed.
"That," said Johnny, in a trembling whisper, and seizing Browne's hand,
"that is the voice of the wild Frenchman I heard in the woods near
Castle-hill."
"Yes," answered Max, gravely, "who knows but there are cannibals here?
You had better be careful, Johnny, how you hurrah in the woods." Max's
manner made me suspect that he possessed some clue to the mystery which
the rest of us lacked.
"I don't care," answered Johnny, stoutly, while the apprehensive glances
which he cast around on every side, hardly agreed with his valiant
words, "I shall hurrah in spite of all the savages on the island."
"Hillioh!--Hillioh!" yelled the same voice, more fiercely than before.
Max burst into a fit of laughter, when following the direction of his
eye, we looked up, and espied an enormous parrot perched upon a purau
branch, directly over our heads, from which he eyed us with a disdainful
and truculent air.
"There's your wild Frenchman at last, Johnny," said Max, "I expect he'll
call us to account presently for our treatment of his hat."
"Don't give up de sheep!" screamed the parrot.
"Come," said Max, "what's the use of trying to talk English: it's quite
plain you're a Parly-vous."
"Vive l'empereur!" shrieked the parrot.
"No doubt you can give us a song, monsieur," pursued Max; "favour us
with `Polly put the kettle on,' s'il vous plait."
The bird twisted his head round, as though giving earnest attention to
what was said; then, after a moment, which from his wise look seemed to
be occupied in profoundly considering the reasonableness of the request,
he burst forth with--
"Allons enfants de la Patrie
Le jour de gloire est arrivee!"
Shrieking out the two lines as though they composed a single word.
Apparently satisfied with this display of his accomplishments, he spread
his wings, and flew heavily across the lake, alighting not far from the
shore, whence we could hear him occasionally uttering a shrill cry.
"Do you see where the parrot is now?" inquired Morton of me, a moment
afterwards.
"Yes, I see his green feathers among the foliage, but not very
distinctly."
"Unless I am much mistaken," pursued he, "there is a shed or building of
some kind among the trees, on the other side of the lake, where he has
alighted."
On shifting our ground a little, we could all perceive between the
boughs of the trees, something, that did in fact look like a low wooden
building, and after a moment's consultation, it was agreed that Morton
and Max should cross the stream, (which could easily be done where it
poured into the lake), and reconnoitre, while the rest awaited their
report.
By leaping from stone to stone, and wading occasionally for short
distances, they picked their way to the other side, and presently
disappeared among the casuarinas. After about fifteen minutes they
returned to the shore, and called for us to come over, saying that they
had discovered a building, which appeared, however, to have been long
deserted. Browne took Johnny upon his back, and we forded the rapids as
the others had done.
Following Max and Morton, we soon reached a kind of landing-place,
half-way between the lake and the top of the ascent, in the centre of
which was a low wooden building, surrounded by a rude fence of pointed
stakes. Entering through a gate, hung upon leather hinges, we found
ourselves in front of the hut. It appeared to be built of timber which
had once composed part of a ship, and was put together with considerable
skill. The yard was full of rank weeds, and damp masses of lichen and
moss hung from the eaves of the house, and covered its roof. The door,
which was furnished with a lock and brass-handle, was closed, but not
fastened; we opened it, and entered a large square-room, lighted by four
windows, two of which had evidently been taken from the stern of a
vessel; the remaining two seemed to have once constituted the upper
parts of sash-doors. These windows were well put into the sides of the
house, and from the appearance of all the work about the room, I
inferred that it had been done by persons accustomed to that kind of
labour. A pine-table, which had lost half of one leg, and two chairs
without backs, composed the entire furniture of this apartment. A rude
shelf was fastened against the wall between two of the windows, upon
which a number of earthen-ware dishes were arranged. A smaller
apartment was partitioned off with rough boards from the first, with
which it communicated by a simple opening or doorway, without any door.
In this second room were several low wooden frames, probably designed as
bedsteads, ranged side by side, and a large chest stained or painted
blue. In one corner stood a small square writing-table, of some
dark-coloured wood, with several drawers. In another corner, Max
discovered a rusty gridiron and sauce-pan, a small iron pot and a
toasting-fork, upon which he pounced with the eagerness of a miser
lighting upon hidden treasures. The chest was empty, but a small box,
or till, fixed in one end of it, contained a number of vials, a
cork-screw, a tin-canister, and a French Bible, upon the last of which
Arthur seized with as much avidity as Max had evinced in appropriating
the cooking utensils. Johnny pulled open the drawers of the little
writing-table, and found a bunch of quills, a spool of green ribbon, a
file of invoices and bills of lading, a bottle of ink, and about half a
ream of letter-paper, which he declared was just what was wanted for the
purpose of writing "our story."
The place had a gloomy and deserted air, and we unanimously agreed that
neither the dwelling nor its location was nearly as pleasant as our own
at Castle-hill.
There were several articles which we wished to carry away with us, but
we concluded to postpone this until a future visit. Max, however,
having once laid hold of the gridiron, seemed extremely loath to part
with it again, and, finally yielding to the irresistible fascination
which it evidently had for him, he threw it over his shoulder as we
started on our return, and brought it away with him. Having been
fastidiously purified by repeated scourings and ablutions, it proved
very useful in preparing our meals, of which fresh fish frequently
formed the principal part.
In the evening, as we sat at the terraced top of Castle-hill, Johnny
took seriously in hand the important business of finding appropriate
names for the discoveries of the day.
The valley beyond the grove of bread-fruit, he concluded to call "Echo
Vale." For the lake itself, quite a variety of names was suggested,
none of which, however, seemed to be entirely satisfactory. After
puzzling over the subject a long while without any result, and working
himself into quite a nervous and excited state, a happy thought seemed
all at once to suggest itself and turning to Arthur, he eagerly demanded
what was "the most beautiful lake in all the world?"
"Loch Katrine, to be sure!" said Browne; "some would say Loch Lomond,
but that is the second."
"Lake George!" cried Max, decisively.
"Lake Como, in Switzerland, is said to be, by the tourists and the
poets," answered Arthur, to whom the question had been more particularly
addressed.
The last name seemed to please Johnny exceedingly, and after repeating
it several times with approbation, he inquired of Arthur, "What it was
that Olla, in the Cannibal story, called her pet wood-pigeon?"
"Lai-evi," answered Arthur.
"And you said that meant Little Captive," pursued Johnny with great
animation, "and the `Lai' means `little,' I suppose?"
"Yes, `Lai' is the diminutive."
"Well, then, I have it at last! Our lake, though so small, is--"
"Quite a Como for its size," interrupted Max, "and _so_ it shall be
called--"
"Lake Laicomo!" cried Johnny, exultingly.
I am thus particular in mentioning these names, chiefly for the benefit
of all persons engaged in the preparation of new editions of the school
geographies and atlases; and I take this opportunity, at Johnny's
especial request, to call their attention to the matter, in order that
our island and its geographical dimensions may be accurately laid down
and described in future works of the kind referred to.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.
THE REMOVAL.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE RAINY SEASON--GOING INTO WINTER-QUARTERS--"MONSIEUR
PAUL"--THE PATRIARCH OF THE LAKE.
"Now Winter comes to rule the varied year,
Sullen and sad, with all his gloomy train
Of vapours, clouds, and storms."
We had now been several months upon the island, and notwithstanding our
constant watchfulness, we had not, during all this time, seen a single
sail. Of the vast multitudes of vessels that track the ocean in every
direction, not one had visited the solitary sea that lay within the
boundaries of our horizon; or if any had crossed the verge of the wide
circle, her coming and departure had been alike unobserved by us.
And now, by a variety of indications, it was manifest that the winter of
the tropical year was at hand. The steady easterly breezes, which, with
occasional variations of south-easterly, had hitherto prevailed, were
succeeded by violent and fickle winds, blowing sometimes from a dozen
different and opposite points of the compass in the course of
twenty-four hours. The brief and sudden showers which we had had at
intervals for some time past gradually became more heavy and frequent.
At length, one calm, sultry day, about noon, a storm, accompanied by
thunder and lightning came up, with so little previous notice, that
although Arthur and myself were at the time scarcely two hundred yards
from the house, we were thoroughly drenched before we could reach it.
And this proved to be no mere thunder shower, such as we had already
been two or three times surprised by. Scarcely had we got under
shelter, when the air grew so dark that it would really have been
difficult to see one's way through the grove. I had never before
witnessed any thing like this, and I began to fear that we were going to
be visited by one of those terrible hurricanes which sometimes devastate
tropical countries. The wind soon commenced blowing with such violence,
that the largest and sturdiest of the old trees that surrounded our
house, bent and swayed before its fury. Their tops lashed each other
overhead, and filled the air with clouds of leaves, whirled away upon
the tempest. Large boughs were twisted off like twigs, and strewed the
ground in every direction. The creaking and groaning of the trees; the
loud flapping of the palm-leaves, like that of a sail loose in the wind;
the howling and shrieking of the gale, as it burst in quick, fierce
gusts through the forest; with the almost total darkness that enveloped
us, were truly appalling.
The strength of our dwelling was now put to a severer test than its
builders had ever anticipated, and it yielded to the force of the wind,
so that at times the side-posts stood at an angle of forty-five degrees
with the floor; had they been of any material less tough and pliant than
the hibiscus, they must have snapped off in an instant. It was well,
too, that they had been deeply and firmly planted in the ground, or the
whole fabric would have been lifted bodily into the air, and swept away
like a withered leaf. As it was, though wrenched and twisted woefully,
it stood firm. The thatch, of which Arthur was so proud, and which had
hitherto been storm-proof, now opened in many places, and a dozen little
streams began to pour in upon us.
Before night, the sound of running waters without was like that of a
great spring freshet. Cataracts were leaping on every side from the
edges of the height, and a raging and turbid torrent filled the gully
that separated the forest from Castle-hill.
The tempest continued for nearly forty-eight hours. By the time it was
over, we had quite come to the conclusion, that if this was to be
regarded as a foretaste and specimen, of what we had to expect during
the rainy season, it would never do to think of remaining in our present
habitation. Considering this as a timely warning, we resolved, after a
formal consultation, to put the deserted cabin by the lake, forthwith
into tenantable condition, so as to be ready to take up our
winter-quarters there, if we should find it expedient to do so.
On the first fine day, we commenced carrying this resolution into
effect, knowing that we had now but little time to lose. The cabin had
originally been built substantially, and with a good deal of skill, and
it had suffered but little from decay. We had, in fact nothing to do in
the way of repairing it, except to rehang the door, which was loose, and
partially unhinged, and to mend the roof, which leaked in one or two
places. We then cleared the yard from the rank weeds by which it was
overgrown, aired the house thoroughly, by setting door and windows open
for a day or two, and swept out both apartments with cocoa-nut brooms.
We next, under Arthur's direction, commenced laying in a stock of
provisions. Abundance of ripe bread-fruit could now be procured. We
gathered a considerable quantity, which Arthur and Eiulo baked and
pounded, and prepared, by burying it under ground, wrapped in leaves, in
such a manner that it would keep, as they said, for several months. We
also piled up in one corner of the small room, a great heap of
cocoa-nuts, with the husks on, in which way they can be preserved fresh
a long while. A bushel of candle-nuts, and about the same quantity of
taro and patara roots, completed our winter supplies.
Johnny was much dissatisfied with the poverty of these preparations for
the rainy season. He thought we ought to have laid in a large stock of
salted or smoked fish, besides catching a score or two of turtle, and
depositing them safely upon their backs in some convenient place, ready
to be converted into soup, at any moment by the magic of Max's culinary
art.
Arthur thought that we need not anticipate a season of continuous storms
or steady rains--that though the prevailing weather for some months
would be tempestuous, there would nevertheless be some fine days in
nearly every week, during which we could venture forth.
Another storm, as violent as the last, fully decided us to make the
contemplated removal to the cabin, and that without further delay.
Johnny transported thither his entire collection of shells, corals,
etcetera, which had now grown to be quite extensive. Arthur carried
over an armful of specimens of plants and flowers, which had long been
accumulating for an "herbarium." Max, however, averred that they were a
part of the materials for a treatise on "The Botany of Polynesia," which
Arthur cherished the ambitious design of composing, and which was to be
published with coloured plate, simultaneously with the history of our
adventures. In order that he too might have some indoor occupation
during the anticipated bad weather, Max provided himself with a huge
log, hacked and sawed with great labour, from a bread-fruit tree, blown
down in the last gale, out of which he declared it to be his purpose to
build a miniature ship, destined to convey the aforesaid history,
together with Arthur's botanical treatise, to America.
The day fixed for our final migration to "Lake Laicomo," at length
arrived, and taking a farewell for "the season," of our deserted
tenement at Castle-hill, we set out for the cabin, to spend our first
night there. It was not without some feelings of regret that we left a
spot now become so familiar, to bury ourselves in the woods out of sight
of the sea. It seemed almost like going again into exile. Johnny, in
particular, felt greatly humiliated, at being obliged to abandon the
house which had cost us so much toil, to take refuge in one constructed
by others. He seemed to look upon this as a kind of tacit admission of
our own utter incapacity to provide for ourselves in that respect.
On arriving at the cabin, we were somewhat surprised to see our
democratic friend the parrot, perched over the door, as if waiting to
welcome us to our new quarters. He appeared to be in no degree
disturbed at our approach, but greeting us with one or two boisterous
"Vive Napoleons!" maintained his position until we had passed into the
house, when he flew in also, and alighting on the shelf against the
wall, seemed to feel as much at home as any one. Johnny sagely
suggested that he knew that the rainy season was coming on, and was
anxious to establish himself in comfortable quarters until it was over:
possibly this supposition did our visitor injustice, by ascribing to him
motives more selfish and interested, than those by which he was really
actuated. It is more charitable to believe, that having been once
accustomed to human companionship, and being weary of his solitary life
in the woods, where his vocal accomplishments were wasted on the desert
air, he now sought our society, as being more congenial to his tastes
and education, than that of the feathered denizens of the forest. Be
this however as it may, "Monsieur Paul," (as he called himself), from
that time took up his abode with us, and though he would sometimes
disappear for days together, he was sure to come back at last, when, if
he found the door and windows closed, (as sometimes happened), he would
scream, and hurrah for "Sheneral Shackson," until he gained admittance.
One circumstance, which I am sorry to say throws some shade of suspicion
upon the pure disinterestedness of his motives, is, that he generally
went off at the commencement of fine weather, and returned a little
before a storm. This was so uniformly the case, that Max used to
prophesy the character of the weather by his movements, and often, when
to our eyes there was not the slightest indication of a change, he would
say--"There comes Monsieur--look-out for a storm presently"--and it was
rarely that he proved mistaken in such predictions.
The second day after our removal, there was a gale, in which great trees
were blown down or torn up by the roots. Though shaken by the force of
the wind, the cabin was too firmly built to permit any apprehension of
its being overthrown; and there were no trees of large size near it, by
the fall of which it could be endangered: but we should scarcely have
felt safe in our former dwelling.
We now improved every pleasant day to the utmost, in completing our
preparations for the period of heavy rains, which Arthur declared to be
close at hand. Browne and Morton made a fish-pond by building a dam of
loose stones across the rapids below the fall, just where the stream
entered the lake. It was soon well-stocked, without any trouble on our
part, with fish resembling roach and perch, numbers of which were
carried over the fall, and prevented by the dam from escaping into the
lake. We also collected a large quantity of bread-fruit bark, and of
the fibrous netting which binds the stalk of the cocoa-nut leaf to the
trunk, to be worked up in various ways. This singular fabric, which in
texture somewhat resembles coarse cotton cloth, is often obtained from
the larger trees in strips two or three feet wide. It is strong and
durable, and is used by the natives for making bags, and for other
similar purposes. Garments too, are sometimes made from it, though for
that purpose tappa is preferred. While the leaves are young and tender,
this remarkable substance is white and transparent, quite flexible, and
altogether a delicate and beautiful fabric, but not sufficiently strong
to be put to any useful purpose: as it becomes older and tougher, it
assumes a yellow colour, and loses much of its flexibility and beauty.
A quantity of hibiscus bark was also collected, to be used in the
manufacture of cord for fishing-lines, nets, etcetera.
While the rest of us were actively engaged, under Arthur's direction, in
accumulating a stock of these materials, Max devoted all his energies to
the task of capturing an enormous eel which frequented the upper end of
the lake. But he exhausted all his ingenuity in this endeavour without
success. The monster had a secure retreat among the submerged roots of
an old buttress tree, beneath an overhanging bank, from which Max daily
lured him forth by throwing crumbs into the water; but, after devouring
the food that was thrown to him, he would immediately return to his
stronghold under the bank. Max was at great pains to manufacture a
fish-hook out of a part of a cork-screw found in the till of the blue
chest, by means of which he confidently expected to bring matters to a
speedy and satisfactory issue between himself and his wary antagonist.
But the latter would not touch the bait that concealed the hook. Driven
to desperation by this unexpected discomfiture, Max next made sundry
attempts to spear and "harpoon" him, all of which signally failed, so
that at the end of the brief interval of fine weather, this patriarch of
the lake, whose wisdom seemed to be proportioned to his venerable age
and gigantic size, remained proof against all the arts and machinations
of his chagrined and exasperated enemy.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.
WINTER EVENINGS AT HOME.
AMUSEMENTS AND OCCUPATIONS--STORY-TELLING--THE SOUTH-SEA LYCEUM.
"When the winter nights grow long,
And the winds without blow cold,
We sit in a ring round the warm wood fire,
And listen to stories old."
Having now brought my story down to the period of our getting into
winter-quarters at Lake Laicomo, (where, during the last few weeks, the
foregoing portion of this narrative has been written), I shall change my
tenses, for the present chapter at least, while I sketch the occupations
and amusements by which we endeavour to fill up the time of our
imprisonment.