THE ADVENTURES OF THE SHORE-PARTY.
The doctor and his companions had plenty to tell. They had dug a great
deal and had cleared away the landslip, till they had arrived at what
appeared to be the original rocky bottom of the ravine. They had found
no signs of the treasure, and they had evidently come to the
conclusion that there was but little chance of finding it; but they
had not lost heart, and were of opinion that it would be advisable to
dig for a few weeks more, in the likely parts of the ravine, before
abandoning the search for good.
The doctor told me that the surf had been exceedingly heavy recently,
and that a storm had completely changed the character of the beach, a
sandbank having been formed at some distance from the shore, deep
water intervening. He explained to me that this bank was only just
awash at low water, and that the sea always broke upon it, ploughing
it up, so that sand and water were rolled up together, forming a
boiling surf dangerous for the boat to cross.
The adventures of the shore-party during our absence, the visit of the
man-of-war, and the marvellous escape from drowning of several of our
men, were very interesting to hear. Mr. Pursell, as being one of those
on shore, can tell the story better than I can, and he has kindly
written for me the following account of all that occurred whilst the
yacht was away. His narrative commences with our separation on
December 30.
* * * * *
After parting with our comrades on the 'Alerte,' we made haste to get
ashore again, as the weather looked threatening, and there was every
prospect of a rough landing. As soon as we had turned the corner of
Treasure Bay we found that the wind was blowing hard right on shore,
and that the sea had begun to break heavily on the beach, throwing
dense masses of spray into the air, which glistened like silver in the
sunshine--a magnificent sight, but one which portended a good ducking
for us. However, there was no help for it; we had to make the best of
it and get ashore somehow.
We waited for a comparative calm. We allowed three big waves to pass
and spend their fury on the beach; the word was given, and we dashed
on towards the land with all the force we could put into our oars. On
we flew, crossing one sandbank on the summit of a curling wave that
broke with a sound of thunder on the next bank. On we pulled with set
teeth and straining muscles. 'Hurrah!' cried the doctor, 'one more
stroke and we have done it!'--when, suddenly, we were in the
back-wash--the water seemed to shrink from under us into the wave that
followed--the stem of the boat ploughed into a sandbank, while a huge
wall of water rose up behind us, lifting the stern high in the air
till the boat stood end on, and the next moment oars, tins, boat, and
men were rolled over and over each other in the boiling foam.
Our first thought, on struggling to our feet, was naturally for the
boat. We found her turned right over and thrown almost on dry land. We
hastened to right her, bale her out, and drag her up out of harm's
way; then, having collected the oars, stretchers, rudder, etc., which
were floating about, we set to work to rescue our provisions. For two
hours we dived about in the surf, picking up tins of meat, Swiss milk,
and oatmeal, a bag of biscuit utterly spoiled, another of flour
reduced to paste, a couple of rifles, and one or two boxes of
cartridges. Our two happy-dispositioned coloured men had great fun
with the ruined flour, pelting each other with it until their shining
black bodies were almost covered with the white paste, and roaring
with laughter at each successful hit.
Though we did not abandon the search until nothing else could be
found, an inspection showed us that we had lost a good half of the
stores we had brought off in the boat. Having rescued all we could,
the doctor ordered all hands up to the camp for a tot of rum, which, I
need hardly say, we were very glad to get. The most important loss, of
course, was that of the biscuit and flour: for it was quite possible
that the yacht might be away for several weeks, on her voyage to and
from Bahia, and we had only a small supply of these articles on shore;
so we had to go on short rations, so far as they were concerned.
Cloete-Smith, Powell, and myself had now been on shore for about five
weeks, working steadily all the time, and we were beginning to feel
the effects of it--in trainers' language, we were getting horribly
stale. The doctor, therefore, decided that we should take holidays on
the following two days--Saturday and Sunday--and recommence work on
the Monday.
Now that the yacht had sailed we were quite cut off from the outer
world, and began to feel very much like shipwrecked sailors, with the
exception that we had many more comforts than usually fall to their
lot, I suppose it is only in novels that those convenient hulks drift
ashore containing just the very things the belated mariners are in
want of, for, though we kept a careful look-out, nothing of the kind
came our way. Powell, I believe, though naturally a most kind-hearted
fellow, would have cheerfully sacrificed a vessel for a few hundred
Turkish cigarettes, and we should all have been glad of a change of
literature. The library we had brought with us was well thumbed and
well read, even to the advertisements. We had a motley assortment. We
all became Shakespearean scholars; Bret Harte's poems and the 'Bab
Ballads' we almost knew by heart; and we came to look upon, as very
old friends, characters of all sorts and conditions; among others,
Othmar, Quilp, Adam Bede, Lord Fauntleroy, the Modern Circe, and Mrs.
Gamp.
On Monday we resumed our digging, with renewed vigour after our two
days' rest, and worked steadily at the landslip. After we had
thoroughly excavated under the big rock which had been discovered when
the skipper was on shore, without result, Powell and myself were sent
to examine two or three likely-looking places higher up the ravine, so
as not to leave any chance untried; while the others still worked away
at the old trench.
On the Wednesday morning our work was stopped for a time by the
heaviest storm of rain I have ever witnessed. After the first few
minutes the tents were no protection from the water, which quickly
swamped them, so we armed ourselves with soap, and, going out into the
open, enjoyed a glorious fresh water bath. At the same time we had a
view of a splendid waterfall. The rain beating on to the windward side
of the Sugarloaf gathered in a deep gully on its summit, and, rushing
down, struck a projecting rock, and leaped headlong into the sea,
seven hundred feet below. The effect was very fine, and, later on,
when the clouds lightened a little and the morning sun shone through
the rain, the whole island appeared to be covered with a transparent
veil of prismatic colour.
On the following Sunday the doctor and I set off for an expedition
into the mountains. On a previous occasion we had noticed a steep
landslip of red earth, mixed with cinders that looked very much as if
they had been thrown up from a volcano; so we made up our minds to go
to the top and see if we could find a crater. Slowly and carefully we
crawled on hands and knees up the steep slide, clinging like cats to
the side of the mountain, whose loose, charred soil crumbled away
beneath us. We reached the summit of the red landslip, and found
ourselves on a projecting spur of the mountain where the rocks had
fallen away, leaving a great obelisk, seventy feet in height, standing
on a narrow ridge, its base crumbling away with every storm, so that
it looked as though a push would send the whole mass crashing down on
to our camp far below. We could see no signs of a crater. Leaving this
ridge, we ascended the mountain behind, and when we reached the top we
sat down to rest and get cool under the shadow of a big rock.
From here the view was a grand one. To our right, nearly a thousand
feet above us, rose the highest peak on the island. At our feet was
Treasure Bay, our camp looking like a tiny white speck, even the great
obelisk of rock we had just left appeared insignificant from this
elevation, while the sea seemed smooth and innocent as the Serpentine,
and the roar of the breakers sounded like a gentle murmur.
Away at sea two vessels were in sight--one a full-rigged ship, not far
from the island; the other a barque, just breaking the horizon, with
her white sails gleaming in the sunshine. Suddenly, as I watched the
nearer vessel, I saw her royals taken in, and, looking to windward,
perceived a large black cloud hurrying towards her, the water being
churned up under it as it came along. The next moment the vessel was
hidden from our sight by the squall of wind and rain, though all the
while the sun was shining brightly on our island and not a drop of
rain fell near us. The cloud passed by, the brave ship seemed to shake
herself after the struggle, the sun shone once more on her dripping
canvas, and by the time she had set her royals again and resumed her
course, the squall had passed away below the horizon.
About this time we caught plenty of turtle, which formed a very
welcome addition to our larder, and they also enabled us to husband
our other stores, which were beginning to get low. Biscuit was
entirely exhausted, and of flour we had but little, and, though Joe
managed to make a very eatable cake out of preserved potatoes, the
absence of bread-food was a serious inconvenience. The wild beans that
grow on the island were now of great use.
For another fortnight we dug steadily on, gradually getting worn out
with the hard work, and seeing our hopes of fortune diminish as, one
by one, the likely places up the ravine were tried and found wanting,
and the big trench grew deeper and wider without giving any promise of
yielding up the golden hoard. The life was dreadfully monotonous, not
an incident occurring worth the mention to vary the daily drudgery
with pick and shovel. We no longer set out on Sundays and
half-holidays for those glorious but exhausting climbs over the
mountains, as we had to cherish all our strength for our work; and,
after each spell of digging, were glad to rest in our tents, sheltered
from the burning sun. However, we kept up our spirits, were cheery
enough, and always got on splendidly together.
The yacht had now been away three weeks, and we began to look forward
to her return. We kept a good look-out, expecting to see her at any
moment turn the corner of Treasure Bay. Just at this time we found
considerable difficulty in obtaining fish. The weather had been bad
for many days, the wind strong and squally from the north-east, and a
heavy surf running on the shore. The effect of this on our sandy beach
was to completely change its shape and appearance, and the little
pool, in which we used to catch small fish with our wire-netting,
entirely disappeared. Moreover, although Powell was energetic, and
indeed very often rash, in venturing out on to the rocks with his
bamboo rod, the seas now constantly broke right over them, so that
another of our food-supplies was cut off.
On Sunday, January 19, we had an unexpected and most welcome visit. As
we turned out of our banqueting hall after breakfast, we saw, to our
amazement, a large man-of-war standing right into the bay from the
south-east. Our camp was instantly a scene of excitement. We got out
our glasses and strained our eyes to make out her nationality.
Was it possible that the Brazilian Government had heard of our
expedition and had sent a gunboat to wrest our treasure from us and
bear us away in chains? As a relief to the monotony of this long
expedition we were always chaffing and talking nonsense--a very good
plan, too; so we began to discuss the approaching vessel in our usual
mock-grave fashion. If she should prove to be an enemy, we said that
we would defend our island to the last gasp. Cloete-Smith began to
reckon up what forces he had at his disposal. There were the two
Englishmen, more or less white: these he called his Light Brigade. He
called the two coloured men the Black Watch. There was the monkey too,
who could serve as an irregular force to harass the enemy generally--a
sort of 'gorilla warfare' as I put it--a remark which called forth a
severe reprimand from the commander-in-chief. In the armoury
department we had three repeating-rifles, two revolvers, and a case of
surgical instruments. Fortunately we were not called upon to fight,
for, when the vessel had approached close to Noah's Ark, we were able
to make out the glorious old white ensign of England floating over her
stern.
We greeted it with a wild cheer.
Presently we saw that two boats were lowered and manned. Then the
doctor gave the order: 'All hands shave and prepare for visitors.' We
turned to with a will to make ourselves comparatively respectable, all
the while eagerly watching the proceedings in the bay. We saw the two
boats pull close into the shore, and then retire, evidently not liking
the look of the tremendous surf. They were then taken in tow by the
vessel, which steamed slowly across the bay and disappeared round the
west corner, evidently to see if they could effect a landing in the
other bay.
In about twenty minutes, just as we had completed our toilet, she came
back again, the boats were hoisted on board, and, to our dismay, she
steamed away and vanished from our sight round South Point. We were
deeply disappointed and returned to our tents in no amiable frame of
mind.
But we had not been deserted, after all; for, three hours later, just
as we had finished our midday meal, we perceived four white-helmeted
figures making their way down the green slopes at the back of our
ravine. We hastened to meet them, greeted them like long-lost
brothers, and brought them in triumph to the camp, for glad we were to
see fresh friendly faces. As soon as they had refreshed themselves
after their long walk, we sat down to hear all the news. Our visitors
proved to be the captain, the surgeon, and two of the wardroom
officers of H.M.S. 'Bramble,' which vessel was on her way from
Ascension Island to her station at Montevideo. They had sighted
Trinidad at daybreak, and, standing in close to examine it, had
discovered our tents on the shore. Having found the surf too heavy
both in South-west Bay and at the pier, they had steamed round to the
other side of the island. Here, after having attempted a landing at
various places, they had at last succeeded in getting on shore, and
after an hour's walk over the mountains had reached our camp.
Then we, in our turn, explained to them who we were and what we were
doing here; and took them up to see our diggings, in which they seemed
highly interested, though somewhat amused at our method of searching
for fortune.
The officers asked us to go off and mess with them on the
'Bramble'--an invitation we gladly accepted. We accordingly set out
with them across the mountains, leaving our two black men in charge of
the island during our absence. We found that their jollyboat was in
South-west Bay, with five men in her. They had dropped their anchor
near a coral reef running out at right angles to the shore, and now
they allowed the boat to back near enough to it for one of us to
scramble on board at a time, seizing, of course, the most favourable
opportunity when the sea was comparatively steady, and hauling the
boat off after each attempt, for had she touched the rock, not much of
her would have been left in a couple of minutes.
We pulled off to the vessel, which was lying at about half a mile from
the shore. As soon as we were on board the captain gave the order to
get under weigh, and we steamed at half speed into Treasure Bay, and
the vessel was anchored for the night near the Noah's Ark mountain, in
twenty fathoms of water. Then some one suggested cocktails--a most
unwonted luxury for us--and we adjourned below for a chat. We found
the officers of the 'Bramble' most pleasant fellows, and they treated
us with the greatest hospitality. They ransacked their private stores
for our delectation, and promised to give us a supply of biscuit, some
flour, books, and tobacco to take ashore with us on the following
morning. They even said, jokingly, that they were sure the 'Alerte'
had gone to the bottom, and that, if we were tired of digging on the
island, they would give us a passage to Montevideo as distressed
British subjects. They appeared greatly interested in the story we
told of the origin of the treasure and the account of our voyage and
subsequent adventures. In return, they gave us all the latest news. We
learnt that there had been a revolution in Brazil, which had broken
out on the day after we had sailed from Bahia, and we speculated as to
whether it would cause any delay to our shipmates who had gone to
Brazil marketing. We also heard that Lord Salisbury had despatched a
fleet to demonstrate on the west coast of Africa. We were told that
the 'Bramble' was to form part of the expedition sent to observe the
eclipse of the sun. They had, in short, plenty of news to impart, and
it was so long since we had had any opportunity of hearing what was
going on in the world that we talked like a vestry meeting till dinner
time.
All our shore-going clothes were on board the yacht, and we were clad
in our rough working clothes, with only one coat between us; so I
fancy our appearance at mess was a source of great amusement to the
wardroom servants. Indeed, all the time we were on board we were
evidently objects of considerable interest to the crew; the men seemed
hardly to know what to make of us, and to wonder what manner of people
we could be who chose for a residence this desolate spot.
After dinner we went on deck, and Captain Langdon produced some
excellent cigars, which we thoroughly enjoyed, while listening to a
selection of music performed for our benefit by the ship's volunteer
fife-and-drum band--a capital one.
We slept on board the vessel, and the next morning our first thought
was about landing; we went on deck to have a look at the shore. We saw
that the surf was breaking very heavily, and that it would be
impossible to beach a boat without running considerable risk of
smashing her up. However, get on shore we must, as the 'Bramble' could
not delay any longer, and had to be off.
So, after breakfast, the books, flour, and other things were handed up
in a cask and lowered into a boat, together with a tin of biscuit,
and, having bidden good-bye to our generous hosts, we started off
under the command of Captain Langdon. As soon as we were near the
breakers it was seen that to beach the boat was impossible, so, after
a little consultation Powell determined to try and swim ashore with
the end of a rope. We pulled in as close as we could with safety, and
then he jumped overboard, with the end of a grass line fastened to his
arm, and made for the shore. He got on all right at first, though the
strong current had a tendency to set him on the dangerous rocks on the
left of the open channel. As soon as he got into the breaking rollers
it was evident that he could not take the rope on shore. He struggled
bravely on, being dashed on the beach by each wave, and then sucked
back into the next wave by the irresistible back-wash.
By this time the two black men on shore had seen him, and they rushed
into the water to render assistance. Then Powell, almost exhausted,
handed them the rope and just managed to struggle ashore, and he lay
down on the sand for a while, dead beat. But we were by no means out
of the wood yet. The two men to whom Powell had given the rope were
themselves carried off their feet by the big breakers and were washed
out to sea. They both let go the rope and tried in vain to get on
shore again, for they were much impeded by their clothes. At last
Theodosius managed to cling to a rock and hold on to it till a
recoiling wave had passed him; then he made a rush for it and
succeeded in reaching the land. But Joe could make no way and was
carried further out. He was for some time in great danger of drowning,
and his cries for help were piteous. But we could not with safety take
the boat any nearer to him than we were, for she would have been stove
in by the sunken rocks; and, as we could not make him understand that
his proper course was, instead of attempting to land through the
breakers in his exhausted condition, to turn and swim out to us, the
doctor and myself went out to him, and towed him to the boat on a
barrel.
We were now no better off than when we had started, for we still had
three of our party in the boat and two on shore. It was clear that it
was more than a man could do to swim to land with a rope; so we
decided to go to the western end of the bay, where a large rock, on
which Powell sometimes fished, stood out some way into the sea, and
endeavour to throw a line on to it. So we pulled off there, the two
men on the shore following us over the rocks. Powell and the coloured
man clambered on to this natural pier, and, after several attempts, I
managed to throw to them the end of a light line to which a bolt had
been attached; we then bent the end of the grass rope on to this and
they hauled it on shore.
But now we found that the sea was breaking with such great violence
that it would be extremely perilous for a man to attempt to get on
shore by hauling himself along the rope: he would most probably be
beaten to death on the coral rocks. We therefore attempted to work the
line to the eastward for a distance of about half a mile, to where the
sandy beach afforded a safer landing-place. Powell and Theodosius
carried their end of the rope along the shore, while we pulled in a
direction parallel to theirs with our end. We progressed but
gradually, having to stop frequently to jerk the bight of the rope
over the rocks in which it caught.
After about three-quarters of an hour of this work we had nearly got
to our journey's end and were beginning to think that our troubles
were over, when the rope got foul of a sharp piece of coral and parted
in the middle like a bit of pack-thread. Captain Langdon used no bad
language when this happened, but he looked all sorts of imprecations
at this inaccessible home of ours. It was now one o'clock, and we had
been trying in vain to land for four hours, and, moreover, had lost a
kedge anchor and the greater portion of the grass rope; so Captain
Langdon decided to return to the 'Bramble' to change the boat's crew
and get a fresh supply of rope.
We had some lunch and then set off again with two boats, another kedge
and grass rope, a light cod-line and a large rocket. We pulled in till
we were near the breakers, then one boat let go her anchor, and, the
other boat having her painter fast to her, the first was backed in
towards the shore until she was right on the top of the rollers, just
before they broke. Then the cod-line was fixed on to the rocket, and,
as there was no proper rocket apparatus on board, the rocket was held
in the hand, while the gunner, who had come with us, applied a match
to it. In consequence of some accident the rocket, instead of flying
on shore and taking the cod-line with it, fizzed away in the boat,
burning off the gunner's moustache and beard before he had time to
move his head aside, and then dropped overboard and expended its force
in the water. So we had failed again.
The wind, however, had changed by this time, and for a couple of hours
had been blowing off shore, instead of on shore, from the south, so
that the violence of the sea had abated considerably, and Cloete-Smith
decided to have one more try at swimming on shore. He very nearly
succeeded in doing so; but the current caught him, and swept him down
on the rocks, so he had to return. Then I made another attempt, but
with no better success, and we were at our wits' end and were getting
worn out with our efforts, when we saw Powell preparing to swim off to
us with the end of that portion of the broken grass rope which had
remained on shore.
He waited for his opportunity, then dashed into the surf, dived
through the breakers, and managed to get out into the deep water
safely. We swam off to meet him with the end of another rope, bent
them together and swam back to the boat. The rest was easy. We had now
got a connection with the shore; for the farther end of the rope was
safely secured to a rock. One by one we made our way along the rope to
dry land, then hauled the stores off with another light line, and,
making the shore end of the grass rope fast to a turtle we had caught
two days before, we sent it off as a present to the 'Bramble.'
It was a relief to find ourselves all safe on shore at last. We went
up to the tents in a fairly exhausted condition for a much needed tot
of rum. The boats pulled back to the ship and were hoisted up. 'Wish
you good luck' was run up to the peak; we gave her a parting volley
from our rifles, and then the gallant vessel steamed away--as it
turned out, to take part in another revolution in Buenos Ayres--and we
were alone once more.
On the following day we settled down to work again, cheered and
refreshed. We had now got a supply of biscuit and flour which we hoped
would last us until the return of the yacht, so we were much more
comfortable in our minds than before the arrival of the 'Bramble.' We
resumed our life of monotonous digging, and the only event of
importance about this time was an accident which nearly proved fatal
to Powell. He was fishing one afternoon on the big rock mentioned
above, when one of the large waves which sometimes roll in
unexpectedly here washed him off his perch into the sea. He was dashed
violently on the rocks, and it was only by a piece of wonderful luck
that he managed to clamber up again before he was stunned. He was much
bruised, and lost his rod, his pipe, and hat--everything, in fact,
except his life.
Day by day the work went on, and, as each morning broke, we hoped it
would bring our missing vessel; but when another week went by and
still she had not appeared, things began to look serious. She had now
been away nearly five weeks, and we feared that some mischance had
befallen her. Our stores were getting exhausted, and the weather
seemed to have broken up, for there was now always so much surf that
the turtle could not come up the sands, and fishing was generally
impossible.
Our stores would not last much longer, so the doctor had two days'
provisions and a breaker of water put aside, and decided that, if the
yacht did not return within a few days, we would put to sea in the
whale-boat and stand out into the track of passing vessels, in the
hope of being picked up. Friday and Saturday passed and no yacht
arrived. We spent Sunday in getting the boat ready for sea. Monday
morning broke with half a gale of wind blowing and a terrific surf on
the beach, so that it would have been impossible to launch the
whale-boat, and about midday, just as we had given up all hope of
seeing her again, the good old 'Alerte' came round the corner, rolling
and pitching in the heavy sea under a close-reefed mainsail, small
jib, and reefed foresail.
Next morning we ran the boat down to the water's edge and tried to
launch her. Two of us got into her and made ready to pull, while the
others shoved her off. Then the others jumped in and we pulled five or
six strokes, when a huge breaker caught her, lifted her up and turned
her right over, rolling us all in a heap on to the beach. We tried
again, with the same result, and then gave the attempt up, and went
back to our morning's dig, hoping for better luck in the afternoon.
Day after day we tried and always failed. It seemed as if the sea
would never go down. Our stores were now all but exhausted, and we
lived chiefly on the wild sea-birds. Every morning we would climb to a
ravine where the birds are in great quantities, and pluck the young,
unfledged ones from their nests, their mothers circling round us,
striking at us with beaks and wings, uttering hoarse cries, and even
spitting morsels of fish at us in their fury. We then took our victims
down to the camp, cooked and ate them. The old birds are inedible, and
even the flesh of the young ones is, without exception, the most
horrible kind of food I have ever tasted.
At last, on February 5, after a week of this sort of thing, we could
stand it no longer, and determined to get off somehow. Three times we
tried, and each time were swamped and driven back; the fourth time we
waited for a lull, ran the boat out, jumped in, and pulled away with
all our strength. A huge breaker rolled up. The boat stood up on end,
hesitated for an instant; one mighty tug at the oars, she righted, and
before another wave could catch us we were out of danger, soon reached
the 'Alerte,' and our imprisonment was at an end.
I cannot close this account of our life on the island without saying a
word in praise of the two coloured seamen who were left with us.
Always willing to work hard, and always cheerful and obliging, they
tried to make our life as comfortable for us as possible. When the
provisions ran short, they would have lived, had we allowed them, on
nothing but a few handfuls of rice or cassava, saying:--'You gentlemen
eat the meat; me and George, we used to anything, even starving--you
gentlemen not. We don't want meat--you do.' In saying this, I do not
wish it to be thought that I am making any invidious comparison
between these two men and the two white sailors whom Knight had with
him on board at this time. They also were good men and capable
sailors, and had they been ashore with us would, I know, have done
their duty well and willingly. They deserved thoroughly the good
discharge which Knight gave them on parting.