I have before said that, tired of repeating the words of the songs which
Jackson had taught me, I had taken those of Psalms in metre, at the end
of the Prayer-book, by way of variety; and, as far as metre went, they
answered very well, although people would have been surprised to have
heard Psalms sung to such quick and varied measure. The Psalm I chose
this time was the first--"How blest is he who ne'er consents;" and I
began accordingly; but when I came to the end of the line, to my
astonishment I heard a plaintive voice, at a distance, repeat after me
"con-sents." I looked round. I thought I must have been deceived, so I
continued--"By ill advice to walk." This time I could not be
mistaken--"to walk," was repeated by the same voice as plainly as
possible. I stopped singing, lost in wonder.
"There must be somebody on the island as well as myself," thought I; for
I never had heard an echo before, except when it thundered, and such
echoes I had put down as a portion of the thunder.
"Who's there?" cried I.
"Who's there?" replied the voice.
"It's me!"
"It's me!" was the answer.
I did not know what to make of it. I cried out again and again, and
again and again I heard what I said repeated, but no answer to my
questions. I thought I was insulted by somebody, and yet, when I
listened, the voice that spoke came from the face of the rock on the
other side of the chasm, and no one could be there without my seeing
them. This made me think that I was mistaken, and that there could not
be anybody, but still I could not solve the mystery. At last I became
frightened, and as the sun was now setting, I determined to get back to
the cabin. I did so, and went down much faster than I had gone up, for
as it grew dark I became the more alarmed. The only thing that
reassured me was the softness and plaintiveness of the voice--not like
Jackson's, but as of some one who would not think of injuring me.
Although I was, generally speaking, quiet and content with my isolated
position, yet it was only when I was employed or amused with my
favourites. At times, I could not find anything to do, and was overcome
by weariness. I would then throw away my books, and remain for hours
thinking upon the probability of my ever again seeing a fellow-creature;
and a fit of melancholy would come over me, which would last many days.
I was in one of these moods, when it occurred to me, that although I had
seen the other side of the island from the summit, I had not gone down
to the beach to explore it; and I resolved that I would do so, making a
trip of three or four days. When my knives had become blunt, Jackson
had told me how to sharpen them by rubbing the blades upon a hard flat
piece of rock wetted with water. This I had found to answer very well,
and I now determined I would try and sharpen one of the old axes in the
same way, so as to make it serviceable, for I was very much afraid of
breaking my knives in cutting down the brushwood, and I knew how much
more rapidly it could be done with an axe. I picked out a large stone,
suitable for the purpose, and with a kid of water at hand, I set-to to
sharpen the axe. It was a long job, but in a day or two I had succeeded
admirably, and the axe was in good order. I then thought how I could
leave my birds for so many days, as they would require food. At last I
considered that if I caught two large fish and cut them up, they would
be sufficient for their sustenance. I did so, and, provided with a
packet of dried birds for food, tied up in a duck frock, with my Natural
History book for amusement, a pannikin to get water in, my axe on my
shoulder, and my knives by my side--I first kissed all the birds, and
told them to remain quiet and good till I came back--I set off on a
bright clear morning on my tour of examination.
In a couple of hours I had gained the summit of the island, and prepared
for my descent, by sitting down and eating my dinner. I observed that,
as before, the water on the other side of the island was quite smooth,
compared to what it was on the side where I resided. It was, in fact,
from the prevailing winds during the year, the lee side of the island.
Having rested myself sufficiently, I commenced my descent, which I
accomplished in little less time than it took me to ascend from the
other side. As I neared the rocks by the shore, I thought I perceived
something occasionally moving about on them. I was not mistaken, for as
I came closer, I found that there were several large animals lying on
the rocks, and occasionally dropping into the sea close to them.
The sight of anything living was to me of great interest. I determined
to get nearer, and ascertain what animals they were. At last, by
creeping along from rock to rock, I arrived to within forty yards of
them. I recollected some animals of the same shape in my book of
Natural History, which, fortunately, I had with me in the duck frock,
and sitting down behind the rock, I pulled it out, and turned over the
pages until I came to a print which exactly answered to their
appearance. It was the Seal. Having satisfied myself on that point, I
read the history of the animal, and found that it was easily tamed, and
very affectionate when taken young, and also might be easily killed by a
blow on the nose. These, at least, were for me the two most important
pieces of information. It occurred to me that it would be very pleasant
to have a young seal for a playmate (for the gannets, after all, were
not very intelligent), and I resolved to obtain one if I could. I put
down my duck frock with my provisions behind the rock, and taking my axe
in my hand, I cautiously advanced to where the animals lay. There were
about twenty of them all together on one rock, but they were all large,
and seemed to be about five or six feet long. I could not see a small
one anywhere, so I walked in behind the rocks further to the right,
towards another rock, where I saw another batch of them lying. As I
neared them, I saw by herself, a seal with a young one by her side, not
more than two feet long. This was what I wanted. They lay at some
distance from the water, upon a low rock. I watched them for some time,
and was much amused at the prattling which passed between the old and
the young one. I thought that to obtain the young one, I must of course
kill the old one, for I perceived that it had large teeth. I considered
it advisable to get between them and the water, that they might not
escape me, and I contrived so to do, before I made my appearance. As
soon as the old one perceived me running to them, it gave a shrill cry,
and then floundered towards the water; as we came close together, it
showed its teeth, and rose upon its flappers to defend itself and its
young one, which kept close to its side; but a blow on its nose with the
axe rendered it motionless, and apparently dead. Delighted with my
success, I seized hold of the young one and took it in my arms, and was
carrying it away, when I found myself confronted with the male seal,
which, alarmed by the cry of the female, had come to her assistance. It
was much larger than the female, with more shaggy hair about the neck
and shoulders, and apparently very fierce. I could not pass it, as it
was in-shore of me, and I had just time to drop the young seal, and leap
behind a rock on one side, with my axe all ready. The animal reared
itself on the rock to pass over to me, when I saluted it with a blow on
the head, which staggered it. I had lost my presence of mind by the
creature coming upon me so unexpectedly, and my blow was not well aimed;
but before it could recover the first blow, another on its nose tumbled
it over, to all appearance lifeless. I then hastened to gain the other
side of the rock, where I had left the young seal, and found that it had
crept to its mother's body, and was fondling it. I took it in my arms,
and retreated to where I had left my duck frock, and throwing everything
else out, I put the animal in, and tied up the end, so that it could not
escape. I then sat down to recover myself from the excitement
occasioned by this first engagement I had ever been in, quite delighted
with my newly-acquired treasure.
I then thought what I should do. It was now within an hour of dark, and
was too late to return to the other side of the island, or I would have
done so, as I was anxious to get my seal home. At last I decided that I
would go farther from the beach, and take up my quarters for the night.
I collected my provision, and with my seal under my arm, I walked away
about one hundred yards from the water's edge, and took up a position
under a large rock; here I ate my supper, and then untied the line which
closed up the frock, and had a parting look at my little friend before I
went to sleep. He had struggled a good deal at first, but was now
quiet, although he occasionally made attempts to bite me. I coaxed him
and fondled him a good deal, and then put him into his bag again, and
made him secure, which appeared to annoy him very much, as he was not
half as quiet in a bag as he was when I held him in my lap. I then took
my book to read over again the history of the seal, and I found that
their skins were valuable, and also that they gave a great deal of oil;
but I had no use for oil, though I thought that their skins might be
very comfortable in my bed-place. I shut my book and lay down to sleep,
but I could not obtain any till near daylight, I had been so excited,
and was so anxious about my treasure. The sun shining in my eyes woke
me up; I found my seal was lying very quiet, I touched him to see that
he was not dead; and the cry that he gave assured me to the contrary. I
then walked back to where I had left the bodies of the parents. I found
on examination that they were both dead, and also that their furs were
very beautiful, and I resolved that I would have their skins. But here
was a difficulty. If I took off the skins, I could not carry them with
me, and I was anxious to get the young one home, lest it should die of
hunger; so I decided that I would first take home the young one, give it
food and warm it, and then return and skin the old ones.
I therefore made my breakfast, and leaving the remainder of my provision
in a cleft in the rock, that I might not have the trouble of bringing it
again, I set off on my return, and used such diligence that I was back
at the cabin by noon. I found my birds all well, and apparently quite
satisfied with the provision that I had left them, for they were most of
them asleep, and those that were awake did not notice my arrival.
"Ah," thought I, "you only like me for what I give you; next time I go
away I will leave you hungry, and then, when you see me come back, you
will all flutter your wings with gladness."
I was puzzled where to put my seal so as to keep him safe: at last I
decided upon opening the seaman's chest and putting him in that. I did
so, and gave him a piece of fish which the birds had not eaten. The
little creature devoured it eagerly, and I took my lines and went down
to catch some fish for a further supply. In half an hour I returned
with two large fish, and I then took the seal out of the chest and fed
him again. He ate very heartily; and I was glad to perceive that he
appeared much tamer already. I threw some of the insides of the fish to
the birds, who were now become of very inferior interest to me. Having
fed my animals, I then thought of myself, and, as I took my meal, I
arranged that the next morning I would go over to the other side of the
island, skin the two seals, and spread out the skins on the rocks to
dry, and would leave them there till I had a better opportunity of
bringing them to the cabin; at present I could not be away from my new
acquaintance, which I wished to make tame and fond of me. Having fed
him again in the morning, I put down the lid of the chest, and then
started for the lee side of the island.