University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER VII.

My curiosity had been not a little raised with regard to the
description of country we should meet on the other side of the
mountains; and I had supposed, with Toby, that immediately on
gaining the heights we should be enabled to view the large bays
of Happar and Typee reposing at our feet on one side, in the
same way that Nukuheva lay spread out below on the other.
But here we were disappointed. Instead of finding the mountain
we had ascended sweeping down in the opposite direction into
broad and capacious valleys, the land appeared to retain its
general elevation, only broken into a series of ridges and intervales,
which as far as the eye could reach stretched away from
us, with their precipitous sides covered with the brightest verdure,
and waving here and there with the foliage of clumps of
woodland; among which, however, we perceived none of those
trees upon whose fruit we had relied with such certainty.

This was a most unlooked-for discovery, and one that promised
to defeat our plans altogether, for we could not think of descending
the mountain on the Nukuheva side in quest of food. Should
we for this purpose be induced to retrace our steps, we should
run no small chance of encountering the natives, who in that
case, if they did nothing worse to us, would be certain to convey
us back to the ship for the sake of the reward in calico and
trinkets, which we had no doubt our skipper would hold out to
them as an inducement to our capture.

What was to be done? The Dolly would not sail perhaps
for ten days, and how were we to sustain life during this period?
I bitterly repented our improvidence in not providing ourselves,
as we easily might have done, with a supply of biscuit. With a

rueful visage I now bethought me of the scanty handful of bread
I had stuffed into the bosom of my frock, and felt somewhat
desirous to ascertain what part of it had weathered the rather
rough usage it had experienced in ascending the mountain. I
accordingly proposed to Toby that we should enter into a joint
examination of the various articles we had brought from the ship.
With this intent we seated ourselves upon the grass; and a little
curious to see with what kind of judgment my companion had
filled his frock—which I remarked seemed about as well lined as
my own—I requested him to commence operations by spreading
out its contents.

Thrusting his hand, then, into the bosom of this capacious
receptacle, he first brought to light about a pound of tobacco,
whose component parts still adhered together, the whole outside
being covered with soft particles of sea-bread. Wet and dripping,
it had the appearance of having been just recovered from the
bottom of the sea. But I paid slight attention to a substance of
so little value to us in our present situation, as soon as I perceived
the indications it gave of Toby's foresight in laying in a supply
of food for the expedition.

I eagerly inquired what quantity he had brought with him,
when, rummaging once more beneath his garment, he produced
a small handful of something so soft, pulpy, and discoloured, that
for a few moments he was as much puzzled as myself to tell by
what possible instrumentality such a villainous compound had
become engendered in his bosom. I can only describe it as a
hash of soaked bread and bits of tobacco, brought to a doughy
consistency by the united agency of perspiration and rain. But
repulsive as it might otherwise have been, I now regarded it as
an invaluable treasure, and proceeded with great care to transfer
this paste-like mass to a large leaf which I had plucked from a
bush beside me. Toby informed me that in the morning he had
placed two whole biscuits in his bosom, with a view of munching
them, should he feel so inclined, during our flight. These were
now reduced to the equivocal substance which I had just placed
on the leaf.

Another dive into the frock brought to view some four or five
yards of calico print, whose tasteful pattern was rather disfigured
by the yellow stains of the tobacco with which it had been

brought in contact. In drawing this calico slowly from his
bosom inch by inch, Toby reminded me of a juggler performing
the feat of the endless ribbon. The next cast was a small one,
being a sailor's little "ditty-bag," containing needles, thread, and
other sewing utensils; then came a razor-case, followed by two
or three separate plugs of negro-head, which were fished up from
the bottom of the now empty receptacle. These various matters
being inspected, I produced the few things that I had myself
brought.

As might have been anticipated from the state of my companion's
edible supplies, I found my own in a deplorable condition,
and diminished to a quantity that would not have formed half a
dozen mouthfuls for a hungry man who was partial enough to
tobacco not to mind swallowing it. A few morsels of bread,
with a fathom or two of white cotton cloth, and several pounds
of choice pigtail, composed the extent of my possessions.

Our joint stock of miscellaneous articles was now made up
into a compact bundle, which it was agreed we should carry
alternately. But the sorry remains of the biscuit were not to be
disposed of so summarily: the precarious circumstances in which
we were placed made us regard them as something on which very
probably depended the fate of our adventure. After a brief discussion,
in which we both of us expressed our resolution of not
descending into the bay until the ship's departure, I suggested to
my companion that little of it as there was, we should divide the
bread into six equal portions, each of which should be a day's
allowance for both of us. This proposition he assented to; so I
took the silk kerchief from my neck, and cutting it with my
knife into half a dozen equal pieces, proceeded to make an exact
division.

At first, Toby, with a degree of fastidiousness that seemed to
me ill-timed, was for picking out the minute particles of tobacco
with which the spongy mass was mixed; but against this proceeding
I protested, as by such an operation we must have greatly
diminished its quantity.

When the division was accomplished, we found that a day's
allowance for the two was not a great deal more than what a
table-spoon might hold. Each separate portion we immediately
rolled up in the bit of silk prepared for it, and joining them

altogether into a small package, I committed them, with solemn
injunctions of fidelity, to the custody of Toby. For the remainder
of that day we resolved to fast, as we had been fortified by a
breakfast in the morning; and now starting again to our feet,
we looked about us for a shelter during the night, which, from
the appearance of the heavens, promised to be a dark and tempestuous
one.

There was no place near us which would in any way answer
our purpose; so turning our backs upon Nukuheva, we commenced
exploring the unknown regions which lay upon the
other side of the mountain.

In this direction, as far as our vision extended, not a sign of
life, nor anything that denoted even the transient residence of
man, could be seen. The whole landscape seemed one unbroken
solitude, the interior of the island having apparently been untenanted
since the morning of the creation; and as we advanced
through this wilderness, our voices sounded strangely in our
ears, as though human accents had never before disturbed the
fearful silence of the place, interrupted only by the low murmurings
of distant waterfalls.

Our disappointment, however, in not finding the various
fruits with which we had intended to regale ourselves during
our stay in these wilds, was a good deal lessened by the consideration
that from this very circumstance we should be much
less exposed to a casual meeting with the savage tribes about us,
who we knew always dwelt beneath the shadows of those trees
which supplied them with food.

We wandered along, casting eager glances into every bush we
passed, until just as we had succeeded in mounting one of the
many ridges that intersected the ground, I saw in the grass
before me something like an indistinctly traced footpath, which
appeared to lead along the top of the ridge, and to descend with
it into a deep ravine about half a mile in advance of us.

Robinson Crusoe could not have been more startled at the
footprint in the sand than we were at this unwelcome discovery.
My first impulse was to make as rapid a retreat as possible, and
bend our steps in some other direction; but our curiosity to see
whither this path might lead, prompted us to pursue it. So on
we went, the track becoming more and more visible the farther

we proceeded, until it conducted us to the verge of the ravine,
where it abruptly terminated.

"And so," said Toby, peering down into the chasm, "every
one that travels this path takes a jump here, eh?"

"Not so," said I, "for I think they might manage to descend
without it; what say you,—shall we attempt the feat?"

"And what, in the name of caves and coal-holes, do you expect
to find at the bottom of that gulf but a broken neck—why it
looks blacker than our ship's hold, and the roar of those waterfalls
down there would batter one's brains to pieces."

"Oh, no, Toby," I exclaimed, laughing; "but there's something
to be seen here, that's plain, or there would have been no
path, and I am resolved to find out what it is."

"I will tell you what, my pleasant fellow," rejoined Toby
quickly, "if you are going to pry into everything you meet
with here that excites your curiosity, you will marvellously soon
get knocked on the head; to a dead certainty you will come
bang upon a party of these savages in the midst of your discoverymakings,
and I doubt whether such an event would particularly
delight you. Just take my advice for once, and let us 'bout
ship and steer in some other direction; besides, it's getting late,
and we ought to be mooring ourselves for the night."

"That is just the thing I have been driving at," replied I;
"and I am thinking that this ravine will exactly answer our
purpose, for it is roomy, secluded, well watered, and may shelter
us from the weather."

"Aye, and from sleep too, and by the same token will give us
sore throats and rheumatisms into the bargain," cried Toby,
with evident dislike at the idea.

"Oh, very well then, my lad," said I, "since you will not
accompany me, here I go alone. You will see me in the morning;"
and advancing to the edge of the cliff upon which we had
been standing, I proceeded to lower myself down by the tangled
roots which clustered about all the crevices of the rock. As I
had anticipated, Toby, in spite of his previous remonstrances,
followed my example, and dropping himself with the activity of
a squirrel from point to point, he quickly outstripped me, and
effected a landing at the bottom before I had accomplished two-thirds
of the descent.

The sight that now greeted us was one that will ever be
vividly impressed upon my mind. Five foaming streams, rushing
through as many gorges, and swelled and turbid by the recent
rains, united together in one mad plunge of nearly eighty feet,
and fell with wild uproar into a deep black pool scooped out of
the gloomy-looking rocks that lay piled around, and thence in
one collected body dashed down a narrow sloping channel which
seemed to penetrate into the very bowels of the earth. Overhead,
vast roots of trees hung down from the sides of the ravine dripping
with moisture, and trembling with the concussions produced
by the fall. It was now sunset, and the feeble uncertain light
that found its way into these caverns and woody depths heightened
their strange appearance, and reminded us that in a short time
we should find ourselves in utter darkness.

As soon as I had satisfied my curiosity by gazing at this scene,
I fell to wondering how it was that what we had taken for a
path should have conducted us to so singular a place, and began
to suspect that after all I might have been deceived in supposing
it to have been a track formed by the islanders. This was
rather an agreeable reflection than otherwise, for it dimiuished
our dread of accidentally meeting with any of them, and I came
to the conclusion that perhaps we could not have selected a more
secure hiding-place than this very spot we had so accidentally
hit upon. Toby agreed with me in this view of the matter, and
we immediately began gathering together the limbs of trees
which lay scattered about, with the view of constructing a temporary
hut for the night. This we were obliged to build close
to the foot of the cataract, for the current of water extended
very nearly to the sides of the gorge. The few moments of light
that remained we employed in covering our hut with a species of
broad-bladed grass that grew in every fissure of the ravine. Our
hut, if it deserved to be called one, consisted of six or eight of the
straightest branches we could find laid obliquely against the steep
wall of rock, with their lower ends within a foot of the stream.
Into the space thus covered over we managed to crawl, and dispose
our wearied bodies as best we could.

Shall I ever forget that horrid night? As for poor Toby, I
could scarcely get a word out of him. It would have been some
consolation to have heard his voice, but he lay shivering the

live-long night like a man afflicted with the palsy, with his knees
drawn up to his head, while his back was supported against the
dripping side of the rock. During this wretched night there
seemed nothing wanting to complete the perfect misery of our
condition. The rain descended in such torrents that our poor
shelter proved a mere mockery. In vain did I try to elude the
incessant streams that poured upon me; by protecting one part
I only exposed another, and the water was continually finding
some new opening through which to drench us.

I have had many a ducking in the course of my life, and in
general care little about; but the accumulated horrors of that
night, the deathlike coldness of the place, the appalling darkness
and the dismal sense of our forlorn condition, almost unmanned
me.

It will not be doubted that the next morning we were early
risers, and as soon as I could catch the faintest glimpse of anything
like daylight I shook my companion by the arm, and told
him it was sunrise. Poor Toby lifted up his head, and after
a moment's pause said, in a husky voice, "Then, shipmate, my
toplights have gone out, for it appears darker now with my
eyes open than it did when they were shut."

"Nonsense!" exclaimed I; "you are not awake yet."

"Awake!" roared Toby in a rage, "awake! You mean to
insinuate I've been asleep, do you? It is an insult to a man
to suppose he could sleep in such an infernal place as this."

By the time I had apologized to my friend for having misconstrued
his silence, it had become somewhat more light, and
we crawled out of our lair. The rain had ceased, but everything
around us was dripping with moisture. We stripped off our
saturated garments, and wrung them as dry as we could. We
contrived to make the blood circulate in our benumbed limbs by
rubbing them vigorously with our hands; and after performing
our ablutions in the stream, and putting on our still wet clothes,
we began to think it advisable to break our long fast, it being
now twenty-four hours since we had tasted food.

Accordingly our day's ration was brought out, and seating
ourselves on a detached fragment of rock, we proceeded to discuss
it. First we divided it into two equal portions, and carefully
rolling one of them up for our evening's repast, divided

the remainder again as equally as possible, and then drew lots
for the first choice. I could have placed the morsel that fell to
my share upon the tip of my finger; but notwithstanding this I
took care that it should be full ten minutes before I had swallowed
the last crumb. What a true saying it is that "appetite
furnishes the best sauce." There was a flavour and a relish to
this small particle of food that under other circumstances it
would have been impossible for the most delicate viands to have
imparted. A copious draught of the pure water which flowed
at our feet served to complete the meal, and after it we rose sensibly
refreshed, and prepared for whatever might befall us.

We now carefully examined the chasm in which we had
passed the night. We crossed the stream, and gaining the
farther side of the pool I have mentioned, discovered proofs
that the spot must have been visited by some one but a short
time previous to our arrival. Further observation convinced us
that it had been regularly frequented, and, as we afterwards conjectured
from particular indications, for the purpose of obtaining
a certain root, from which the natives obtain a kind of ointment.

These discoveries immediately determined us to abandon a
place which had presented no inducement for us to remain,
except the promise of security; and as we looked about us for
the means of ascending again into the upper regions, we at last
found a practicable part of the rock, and half an hour's toil carried
us to the summit of the same cliff from which the preceding
evening we had descended.

I now proposed to Toby that instead of rambling about the
island, exposing ourselves to discovery at every turn, we should
select some place as our fixed abode for as long a period as our
food should hold out, build ourselves a comfortable hut, and
be as prudent and circumspect as possible. To all this my
companion assented, and we at once set about carrying the plan
into execution.

With this view, after exploring without success a little glen
near us, we crossed several of the ridges of which I have before
spoken; and about noon found ourselves ascending a long and
gradually rising slope, but still without having discovered any
place adapted to our purpose. Low and heavy clouds betokened

an approaching storm, and we hurried on to gain a covert in a
clump of thick bushes which appeared to terminate the long
ascent. We threw ourselves under the lee of these bushes, and
pulling up the long grass that grew around, covered ourselves
completely with it, and awaited the shower.

But it did not come as soon as we had expected, and before
many minutes my companion was fast asleep, and I was rapidly
falling into the same state of happy forgetfulness. Just at this
juncture, however, down came the rain with a violence that put
all thoughts of slumber to flight. Although in some measure
sheltered, our clothes soon became as wet as ever: this, after all
the trouble we had taken to dry them, was provoking enough:
but there was no help for it; and I recommend all adventurous
youths who abandon vessels in romantic islands during the rainy
season to provide themselves with umbrellas.

After an hour or so the shower passed away. My companion
slept through it all, or at least appeared so to do; and now that
it was over I had not the heart to awaken him. As I lay on
my back completely shrouded with verdure, the leafy branches
drooping over me, and my limbs buried in grass, I could not
avoid comparing our situation with that of the interesting babes
in the wood. Poor little sufferers!—no wonder their constitutions
broke down under the hardships to which they were exposed.

During the hour or two spent under the shelter of these
bushes, I began to feel symptoms which I at once attributed to
the exposure of the preceding night. Cold shiverings and a
burning fever succeeded one another at intervals, while one of
my legs was swelled to such a degree, and pained me so acutely,
that I half suspected I had been bitten by some venomous
reptile, the congenial inhabitant of the chasm from which we
had lately emerged. I may here remark by the way—what I
subsequently learned—that all the islands of Polynesia enjoy the
reputation, in common with the Hibernian isle, of being free
from the presence of any vipers; though whether Saint Patrick
ever visited them, is a question I shall not attempt to decide.

As the feverish sensation increased upon me, I tossed about,
still unwilling to disturb my slumbering companion, from whose
side I removed two or three yards. I chanced to push aside a
branch, and by so doing suddenly disclosed to my view a scene

which even now I can recall with all the vividness of the first
impression. Had a glimpse of the gardens of Paradise been
revealed to me I could scarcely have been more ravished with
the sight.

From the spot where I lay transfixed with surprise and delight,
I looked straight down into the bosom of a valley, which swept
away in long wavy undulations to the blue waters in the distance.
Midway towards the sea, and peering here and there amidst the
foliage, might be seen the palmetto-thatched houses of its inhabitants
glistening in the sun that had bleached them to a dazzling
whiteness. The vale was more than three leagues in length, and
about a mile across at its greatest width.

On either side it appeared hemmed in by steep and green acclivities,
which, uniting near the spot where I lay, formed an
abrupt and semicircular termination of grassy cliffs and precipices
hundreds of feet in height, over which flowed numberless
small cascades. But the crowning beauty of the prospect was its
universal verdure; and in this indeed consists, I believe, the peculiar
charm of every Polynesian landscape. Everywhere below me,
from the base of the precipice upon whose very verge I had been
unconsciously reposing, the surface of the vale presented a mass
of foliage, spread with such rich profusion that it was impossible
to determine of what description of trees it consisted.

But perhaps there was nothing about the scenery I beheld
more impressive than those silent cascades, whose slender threads
of water, after leaping down the steep cliffs, were lost amidst the
rich herbage of the valley.

Over all the landscape there reigned the most hushed repose,
which I almost feared to break lest, like the enchanted gardens
in the fairy tale, a single syllable might dissolve the spell. For
a long time, forgetful alike of my own situation, and the vicinity
of my still slumbering companion, I remained gazing around
me, hardly able to comprehend by what means I had thus suddenly
been made a spectator of such a scene.