WE EXPLORE THE RAVINE.
AS we stood on the Col, the steep wall of the Sugarloaf rising to the
left of us, the view over South-west Bay was exceedingly fine. The bay
is of semicircular form, with a distance of about a mile and a half
from point to point. Broad sands, with green downs behind them, border
the central portion; but it is bounded by steep bare mountains on
either side: on the east side by Noah's Ark, the Sugarloaf and the
peaks beyond; and on the west side by the rugged promontories and
islands which divide it from South Bay. In contrast to the savage
cliffs that shut them in, the sands and downs in the middle of the bay
present a very pleasing and fertile appearance, especially when seen
from the sea, conveying the idea that this is a far more agreeable
spot to live on than proves to be the case after a closer examination.
From the Col we could look right down on the bay, and, as the water
was very clear, we were able to distinguish all the dangers below the
surface, as well as those above. It was, no doubt, from here that the
pirate captain made his survey.
We saw that an islet, unmarked on any chart, rose in the middle of the
bay, while a reef of rocks, apparently coral, extended right round the
bay, parallel to the beach, and at a short distance from it. Some of
these rocks were above the surface of the water, some just below, and
others--the most dangerous--further down, so that it was only
occasionally that the sea broke upon them. The pirate in his
confession had spoken of a channel he had discovered through this
reef, situated under the Sugarloaf, at the eastern extremity of the
bay. We now saw that it existed there exactly as he had described
it--a broad opening in the line of rocks, through which a boat could
be pulled, and beached on the sands.
But still, it was an awkward place, and it would be impossible to land
there on such a day as this was, for immense rollers were sweeping up
the shore which would have almost certainly dashed any boat to pieces
that ventured among them. We were, however, very satisfied with the
success of our expedition so far. We had discovered and taken bearings
of the channel, and we knew how to pilot a boat through it, when the
weather should be favourable. Our next duty was to descend into the
bay and identify the place where the treasure was supposed to be
hidden.
It was not long before we had discovered what we considered to be the
right spot.
The pirate had described a small gully in the middle of this bay, at
the foot of which he and his men had erected three cairns, which
should serve as landmarks to those who had the clue, and point the way
to the treasure.
Mr. P----, and, after him, Mr. A----, had found this gully and the
three cairns, just as they had been described. Mr. A----, either for
the purpose of putting others off the scent, or in order to discover
if anything had been concealed beneath them, blew up these cairns with
gun-powder and dug into them, so that now we could only see traces of
one of them. He had, however, communicated to me what he understood to
be their signification, and how he had been led by them to the first
bend in the ravine, at which spot the plunder had been buried under a
hollow rock.
We walked up the ravine till we came to a bend, and here, as we had
expected, we saw what appeared to be a landslip of red earth, filling
up the corner of it, blocking up the mouth of any cave that might
exist there, even as Mr. P---- and Mr. A---- had described. And here
before us lay a small trench, with a broken earthenware water jar and
the remains of a wheel-barrow lying in it--all that remained to show
where Mr. A---- had carried on his not very extensive works.
This, therefore, was the spot we had crossed the Atlantic to find. We
stood and looked at it in silence for a while. 'What do you think of
it?' asked the doctor at last.
It was not an easy question to reply to, for I did not quite know
myself what to think of it. I had pictured to myself a very different
place. I saw that our work would in one respect be more difficult than
I had anticipated, in another respect far more easy. For this landslip
was not nearly so extensive as I had understood it to be, and the
slopes of the ravine were not of such a character as to render our
operations dangerous, or to necessitate any timbering of our shafts or
trenches. But, on the other hand, there was a want of definiteness
that was disappointing. There were no really sharp bends in the
ravine, and there were several landslips. It was impossible to be
quite certain of what was meant by 'the first bend;' for there were
bends of so insignificant a character that they might easily be
overlooked; and we had no knowledge of the number of paces from the
cairns to the cavern. Therefore, should we fail to find the treasure
at the spot where Mr. A---- commenced to dig, it would be necessary
for us to clear the landslip off the face of the cliff for some
considerable distance.
Having inspected the scene of Mr. A----'s operations, we set out to
explore the ravine carefully, and, bearing in mind what we knew of the
pirate's original instructions, we endeavoured to reason out whether
this or some other neighbouring bend was the most likely spot. The
treasure was lying, or had been lying, very close to us somewhere; of
that I felt confident at the time, and I have had no reason for
altering my opinion since.
First, we went down the ravine again, and when we reached the bottom
of it, where it opens out upon the back of the beach, we observed,
what had escaped our notice at first, an extensive excavation in the
hard soil--which is not so encumbered with boulders here as it is
higher up--a cutting so regular in form and with such perpendicular
sides that it was difficult to imagine that it had not been the work
of men's hands. This was certainly not one of Mr. A----'s trenches;
for to have removed such a quantity of earth and stones would have
occupied such a party as he had with him for six months at least.
Was it possible that the American, or some other adventurer, had been
here before us and carried away the treasure? We could find no marks
of tools or other traces of man in or near this trench, so it was
impossible to decide whether it was artificial or natural. Some of us
afterwards came to the conclusion that it was most probably the
latter, for we came across other cuttings, somewhat similar to this,
in other portions of the ravine, which had evidently been produced by
the action of water.
Next we went up the gully beyond Mr. A----'s trench, in the hopes of
finding water, of which we were beginning to feel the want. There was
no running stream here, though it was evident from its formation that
the ravine was swept by a mighty torrent after heavy rains. The water
that drained into it from the over-hanging mountain was soaked up by
the loose red soil that lay between the boulders.
But at last we came to a little hollow at the foot of a rocky step,
where was a tiny pool of tepid and muddy water. However, this was all
we required, for we could now afford time to survey the scene of our
operations more thoroughly, instead of hurrying back, driven by
thirst, to our distant water-course.
Between the hills and the beach, close to the mouth of the ravine,
there is a sort of plateau of sand and stones, and it was evidently on
this that Mr. A---- had pitched his camp, for here we came across his
tent poles, the remains of wheelbarrows, and some empty meat-tins.
We walked down to the eastern beach, where the landing was, opposite
the channel between the coral rocks. The sands here sloped steeply
into deepish water; it was, apparently, an excellent place for
beaching a boat when the state of the weather should allow. Though it
was a windless day the ocean swell was high, and it was a grand sight
to see the great green rollers sweep majestically up till they were
close to the beach, and then curl over and break in showers of
sparkling spray. While we stood there admiring the scene, we saw a
curious sight. A roller was travelling towards us, rearing its arched
neck high up, so that the light of the sun shining through it made it
transparent, and in the middle of the clear green mass we saw a long
dark body suspended, borne along helplessly. It was a large shark
that, venturing too near the beach, had been carried up by the
breaker; he floated there a moment, erect on his tail, his fins
beating impotently, when the roller broke and he was dashed with a
loud thud on the beach; then the recoil of the surf swept him seawards
and we saw no more of him.
Having carried out the object of our journey, we filled our bottle
with water and set forth on our return march. We recrossed Sugarloaf
Col and tramped along the sands. There was no wind and the day was
terribly hot. The sands reflected the burning sun into our faces, and
we felt as if we were literally roasting. Now and then we lay down,
clothes and all, in the salt-water pools, to cool ourselves, and we
rolled handkerchiefs round our heads, which we kept constantly wet. As
my hat had disappeared over a precipice on the previous day, this was
a very necessary precaution against sunstroke, so far as I was
concerned.
When we were not far from our previous night's camp, we saw what
appeared to be an easier way up the mountains than the one by which we
had come down. The precipitous step at the top of the landslip had
been difficult enough to descend, and on account of the rottenness of
its substance we felt that the ascent might be impossible.
Whether this new way of ours would have led us to the plateau of
tree-ferns high above us, I cannot tell; but I doubt it. At any rate,
we abandoned it before we had satisfied ourselves as to whether it was
a practicable route or not, for a most excellent reason on
Trinidad--the want of water. We had exhausted our bottle, and were
clambering up difficult declivities on hands and knees, with the
fierce sun blazing down upon our backs. As there was no wind, the air
that lay on the roasting rocks was so oppressive that we had to rest
frequently, and lie on our backs panting for breath.
I was in the worse condition of the two, in consequence of the loss of
my hat, for, when the thin handkerchief I had wrapped round my head
was dry, it was altogether insufficient for protection, and I ran some
risk of being struck down by sunstroke or heat-apoplexy.
Accordingly, as we saw no signs of water above us, and as it was more
than likely that this way would lead us to inaccessible precipices
which would drive us back again, we thought it prudent to retrace our
steps before we were quite exhausted, and make our way to the stream
we knew of. We could rest by it until the sun had dipped below the
mountain-tops, and then resume our climb in the shade.
We descended to the beach, and walked along the sands until we came to
the rock under which we had camped on the previous night, and then,
being opposite to our ravine, we struck out inland towards it across
the down of beans. We must have turned rather to the right of the
track we had followed on the previous day, for we suddenly came to a
terrace of stones which we had not seen before, and which had
evidently formed part of the Portuguese settlement. We clambered up
this, and then perceived, still further to the right, the ruins of
several huts and walls, built of unhewn stones and overgrown with the
creeping beans. Most of the huts were built at the edge of a deep
steep gully. As soon as we saw this, the same idea struck both of us:
the Portuguese would most certainly have chosen the vicinity of a
stream for their settlement, and in all probability there was running
water at the bottom of that gully.
As it would not take us much out of our way to satisfy our curiosity,
we climbed over the bean-covered rocks until we came to the edge of
the gully, and, looking over, saw, to our delight and astonishment,
not a tiny issue trickling drop by drop, like most of the streams of
these ravines, but a regular little river of sparkling water, rushing
down with a merry noise over the stones.
We drank our fill, and found the water cool and delicious, but
slightly fishy in flavour, for the large white gannets thronged the
hills above. This is the most considerable stream on the island, and
the only one that reaches the weather shore, all the others, as I have
explained, being sucked up high above by the slopes of _debris_.
This drains an extensive area, and several ravines meet at the head of
the gully, each contributing its share of water. Among others was one
of the ravines we had attempted to descend on the previous day, and
which had led us to the brink of the precipice. From below we could
now see the whole face of that precipice--a fearful wall of black
rock, with a thin thread of water falling over it.
We walked down the gully, and found that the stream, not only crossed
the down, but flowed right across the sands into the sea, the volume
of water being too great to allow of its being all swallowed up by the
thirsty soil on the way. We should have been more comfortable in our
camp on the night before had we known there was a stream so near to
us, and would have drunk our fill, instead of doling out to each other
thimblefuls of water with a grudging hand. It was strange, too, that I
had not discovered this river when I was here before. I had then, on
descending from the mountains, turned to the right, even as we had
done on the previous day, and suffered much from want of water;
whereas, had I turned to the left, I should have come upon this
generous supply after a few minutes' walk.
This was, indeed, a most valuable discovery for us, for now, should
the supply of water fail in South-west Bay, our working-party would
merely have to cross the Sugarloaf Col, and follow the sands to this
river--no very arduous journey.
The heat had been so intense this day that our recent vain climb upon
the mountain-side had somewhat exhausted us, and we did not feel
prepared to accomplish the whole of the long journey to the pier
before dark; moreover, the position of the sun showed us that it was
long past noon, and we should have had to hurry along without pause,
in order to save our daylight.
So we decided to take it easily, and select a camp for the night close
to water, on the weather slopes of the mountains. We should have liked
to remain where we were, by the river, in the midst of the old
Portuguese settlement, but, knowing the difficulties of the homeward
journey, we felt that it would be advisable to proceed some way
further on our road before camping, and so leave a shorter distance to
travel on the morrow.
We accordingly left the river-side and struck across the downs to the
foot of the ravine by which we had descended on the previous day. On
our way we gathered a quantity of beans for our supper.
We soon found the ravine, and began to ascend it. The foul white birds
again attacked us as we climbed from rock to rock, and the ugly crabs
waved their pincers at us with menacing gestures. Then we came to the
lowest point on the hill-side where water is found. This was at a much
greater distance from the beach than it had seemed to be while we were
descending on the day before; for the stream disappears in the soil at
a spot at least 600 feet above the level of the sea, and to attain it
from below involves a pretty stiff climb.
We went still higher up the ravine, until we were close to the place
where the stream issues from the ground, a short distance below the
foot of the great landslip of black rocks. Here we found an admirable
site for our camp. This gully, as I have explained, falls towards the
shore at a very steep angle, the rocks, as it were, forming a gigantic
flight of steps. We were now on one of these steps, a flat surface,
about ten feet across, covered with red sand. The stream fell on to
this from the step above, forming a little cascade some twelve feet in
height, and, after crossing one side of the flat, fell over another
wall of rock on to the step below.
The scene around us was strangely picturesque. Our step was simply a
small ledge in this wilderness of broken black rocks; above us and
below us were precipices and landslips. It was an excellent situation
for an eagle's nest, but not an over-secure spot for a camp of men.
Our narrow bed would not do for a restless sleeper: to slip off the
edge of it would insure a broken neck. A coarse grass grew here and
there between the rocks by the water-side, but there was no other
vegetation on the bleak crags, though of course the mysterious dead
trees, as everywhere else on this island, were lying thickly all
around. The foul birds and the land-crabs were the sole inhabitants of
this solitude.
We now proceeded to make ourselves at home for the night. I collected
the branches and trunks of the dead trees and built up a goodly pile
of firewood, while the doctor prepared our supper. We had no saucepan
with us, so the pannikin had to do duty for one. In this the doctor
concocted a stew, the ingredients of which were _charki_, biscuit,
figs, and Trinidad beans. It turned out to be a far more tasty dish
than one would have supposed.
After dinner the saucepan was cleaned out and grog was served out in
it--the last of our supply of rum. We had just lit our pipes and were
settling ourselves down to a comfortable half-hour's smoke and chat
before turning in (to whom is a pipe so sweet as to one camping out
under the stars after the day's work?) when suddenly the doctor cried
out, 'Hullo, look at our beds!' I looked, and lo! to my dismay, those
luxurious couches were under water.
I must explain that we had pulled up a quantity of grass and strewed
it over the sand, so as to make a snug soft sleeping-place for the
night. While we were enjoying our dinner, the river, unobserved by us,
had risen considerably, and was now flowing over that portion of the
step whereon we had made up our beds. There had been no rain to
account for this, so I suppose that the sun, blazing down on the
rocks, causes a great evaporation of water during the day, and that,
consequently, the volume of the stream is greater after sunset.
So we had now to put aside our pipes and grog for a few moments and
undertake some necessary engineering operations: we cleared away a
channel through the natural dam of grass, stones, and sand at the
lower edge of the step, and so gave a free passage to the swollen
stream. The flood subsided at once, and our beds were above water
again. The doctor, then, acting in his medical capacity, suggested
that damp mattresses were unhealthy; so we threw a few handfuls of
grass on the top of the sodden mass, and our beds were what we were
pleased to call dry again.
We lit a fire of the dead wood and kept it alight all night, so that
we could occasionally warm ourselves by it; for a wind had sprung up
at sunset, which swept up the ravine from the sea, making us feel
uncomfortably chilly, thinly clad as we were and having no blankets to
cover us.
We soon found that it would be impossible for us both to sleep at the
same time, for the land-crabs had smelt us out and swarmed down upon
us from all sides. We kept watch and watch; while one slept the other
tended the fire and killed the land-crabs, as they approached, with
sticks and stones. The other crabs, as usual, fed on the dead. I have,
in the 'Cruise of the "Falcon,"' described the peculiarly uncanny way
in which a land-crab eats his food. I saw this night, as I kept watch,
at least twenty of them at a time devouring the carcasses of their
slain friends. Each stood quite still, looking me straight in the face
with his fixed outstarting eyes, and with an expression absolutely
diabolical. He pulled the food to pieces with his two front claws, and
then, with deliberate motion, brought the fragments of flesh to his
mouth with one claw, and chewed them up with a slow automatic action,
but still those horrible eyes never moved, but stared steadily into
mine.
As we had no means of judging the time, it was difficult to divide the
night into watches of even length, so we had to portion it out between
us the best way we could.