WE EXPLORE THE REEF
OCTOBER 31 to November 5.--Our first proceeding on the morning of the
31st was to make the proposed tour of the reef, which is about a
quarter of a mile long. With the aid of our sounding-lines we found
that the water was deep, right up to the very rocks, and that no
shelving shores prevented us coasting along them. There was not a
shadow of doubt as to the rock being of purely volcanic origin,
up-heaved by some mighty subterranean convulsion. It is formed of
blocks of basalt, arranged in perfect order, of which the regular
prisms give the whole mass the effect of being one gigantic crystal;
and the remarkable transparency of the sea enabled us plainly to
observe the curious shafts of the prismatic columns that support the
marvelous substructure.
"This is indeed a singular island," said M. Letourneur; "evidently it
is of quite recent origin."
"Yes, father," said Andre, "and I should think it has been caused by a
phenomenon similar to those which produced the Julia Island, off the
coast of Sicily, or the group of the Santorini, in the Grecian
Archipelago. One could almost fancy that it had been created expressly
for the Chancellor to strand upon."
"It is very certain," I observed, "that some upheaving has lately taken
place. This is by no means an unfrequented part of the Atlantic, so
that it is not at all likely that it could have escaped the notice of
sailors if it had been always in existence; yet it is not marked even
in the most modern charts. We must try and explore it thoroughly and
give future navigators the benefit of our observations."
"But, perhaps, it will disappear as it came," said Andre. "You are no
doubt aware, Mr. Kazallon, that these volcanic islands sometimes have a
very transitory existence. Not impossibly, by the time it gets marked
upon the maps it may no longer be here."
"Never mind, my boy," answered his father, "it is better to give
warning of a danger that does not exist than overlook one that does. I
dare say the sailors will not grumble much, if they don't find a reef
where we have marked one."
"No, I dare say not, father," said Andre, "and after all this island is
very likely as firm as a continent. However, if it is to disappear, I
expect Captain Curtis would be glad to see it take its departure as
soon as possible after he has finished his repairs; it would save him a
world of trouble in getting his ship afloat."
"Why, what a fellow you are, Andre!" I said, laughing; "I believe you
would like to rule Nature with a magic wand, first of all, you would
call up a reef from the depth of the ocean to give the Chancellor time
to extinguish her flames, and then you would make it disappear just
that the ship might be free again."
Andre smiled; then, in a more serious tone, he expressed his gratitude
for the timely help that had been vouchsafed us in our hour of need.
The more we examined the rocks that formed the base of the little
island, the more we became convinced that its formation was quite
recent. Not a mollusk, not a tuft of seaweed was found clinging to the
sides of the rocks; not a germ had the wind carried to its surface, not
a bird had taken refuge amid the crags upon its summits. To a lover of
natural history, the spot did not yield a single point of interest; the
geologist alone would find subject of study in the basaltic mass.
When we reached the southern point of the island I proposed that we
should disembark. My companions readily assented, young Letourneur
jocosely observing that if the little island was destined to vanish, it
was quite right that it should first be visited by human beings. The
boat was accordingly brought alongside, and we set foot upon the reef,
and began to ascend the gradual slope that leads to its highest
elevation.
The walking was not very rough, and as Andre could get along tolerably
well without the assistance of an arm, he led the way, his father and I
following close behind. A quarter of an hour sufficed to bring us to
the loftiest point in the islet, when we seated ourselves on the
basaltic prism that crowned its summit.
Andre took a sketch-book from his pocket, and proceeded to make a
drawing of the reef. Scarcely had he completed the outline when his
father exclaimed:
"Why, Andre, you have drawn a ham!"
"Something uncommonly like it, I confess," replied Andre. "I think we
had better ask Captain Curtis to let us call our island Ham Rock."
"Good," said I; "though sailors will need to keep it at a respectful
distance, for they will scarcely find that their teeth are strong
enough to tackle it."
M. Letourneur was quite correct; the outline of the reef as it stood
clearly defined against the deep green water resembled nothing so much
as a fine York ham, of which the little creek, where the Chancellor had
been stranded, corresponded to the hollow place above the knuckle. The
tide at this time was low, and the ship now lay heeled over very much
to the starboard side, the few points of rock that emerged in the
extreme south of the reef plainly marking the narrow passage through
which she had been forced before she finally ran aground.
As soon as Andre had finished his sketch we descended by a slope as
gradual as that by which we had come up, and made our way toward the
west. We had not gone very far when a beautiful grotto, perfect as an
architectural structure, arrested our attention. M. Letourneur and
Andre, who have visited the Hebrides, pronounced it to be a Fingal's
cave in miniature; a Gothic chapel that might form a fit vestibule for
the cathedral cave of Staffa. The basaltic rocks had cooled down into
the same regular concentric prisms; there was the same dark canopied
roof with its interstices filled up with its yellow lutings; the same
precision of outline in the prismatic angles, sharp as though chiseled
by a sculptor's hand; the same sonorous vibration of the air across the
basaltic rocks, of which the Gaelic poets have feigned that the harps
of the Fingal minstrelsy were made. But whereas at Staffa the floor of
the cave is always covered with a sheet of water, here the grotto was
beyond the reach of all but the highest waves, while the prismatic
shafts themselves formed quite a solid pavement.
After remaining nearly an hour in our newly-discovered grotto we
returned to the Chancellor, and communicated the result of our
explorations to Curtis, who entered the island upon his chart, by the
name Andre Letourneur had proposed.
Since its discovery we have not permitted a day to pass without
spending some time in our Ham Rock grotto. Curtis has taken an
opportunity of visiting it, but he is too preoccupied with other
matters to have much interest to spare for the wonders of nature.
Falsten, too, came once and examined the character of the rocks,
knocking and chipping them about with all the mercilessness of a
geologist. Mr. Kear would not trouble himself to leave the ship; and
although I asked his wife to join us in one of our excursions she
declined, upon the plea that the fatigue, as well as the inconvenience
of embarking in the boat, would be more than she could bear.
Miss Herbey, only to thankful to escape even for an hour from her
capricious mistress, eagerly accepted M. Letourneur's invitation to pay
a visit to the reef, but to her great disappointment Mrs. Kear at first
refused point-blank to allow her to leave the ship. I felt intensely
annoyed, and resolved to intercede in Miss Herbey's favor; and as I had
already rendered that self-indulgent lady sundry services which she
though she might probably be glad again to accept, I gained my point,
and Miss Herbey has several times been permitted to accompany us across
the rocks, where the young girl's delight at her freedom has been a
pleasure to behold.
Sometimes we fish along the shore, and then enjoy a luncheon in the
grotto, while the basalt columns vibrate like harps to the breeze. This
arid reef, little as it is, compared with the cramped limits of the
Chancellor's deck is like some vast domain; soon there will be scarcely
a stone with which we are not familiar, scarcely a portion of its
surface which we have not trodden, and I am sure that when the hour of
departure arrives we shall leave it with regret.
In the course of conversation, Andre Letourneur one day happened to say
that he believed the island of Staffa belonged to the Macdonald family,
who let it for the small sum of L.12 a year.
"I suppose then," said Miss Herbey, "that we should hardly get more
than half-a-crown a year for our pet little island."
"I don't think you would get a penny for it. Miss Herbey; but are you
thinking of taking a lease?" I said laughing.
"Not at present," she said; then added, with a half-suppressed sigh,
"and yet it is a place where I have seemed to know what it is to be
really happy."
Andre murmured some expression of assent, and we all felt that there
was something touching in the words of the orphaned, friendless girl
who had found her long-lost sense of happiness on a lonely rock in the
Atlantic.