University of Virginia Library

8. CHAPTER VIII.

A twelvemonth passed, after the return of the expedition
against Betto's group, without the occurrence of any
one very marked event. Within that time, Bridget made
Mark the father of a fine boy, and Anne bore her fourth
child to Heaton. The propagation of the human species,
indeed, flourished marvellously, no less than seventy-eight
children having been born in the course of that single
year. There were a few deaths, only one among the adults,
the result of an accident, the health of the colony having
been excellent. An enumeration, made near the close of
the year, showed a total of three hundred and seventy-nine
souls, including those absent in the Rancocus, and excluding
the Kannakas.

As for these Kannakas, the results of their employment
quite equalled the governor's expectations. They would
not labour like civilized men, it is true, nor was it easy to
make them use tools; but at lifts, and drags, and heavy
work, they could be, and were, made to do a vast deal.
The first great object of the governor had been to get his
people all comfortably housed, beneath good roofs, and out
of the way of the rains. Fortunately there were no decayed

vegetable substances in the group, to produce fevers; and
so long as the person could be kept dry, there was little
danger to the health.

Four sorts, or classes, of houses were erected, each man
being left to choose for himself, with the understanding
that he was to receive a certain amount, in value, from the
commonwealth, by contribution in labour, or in materials.
All beyond that amount was to be paid for. To equalize
advantages, a tariff was established, as to the value of
labour and materials. These materials consisted of lumber,
including shingles, stone, lime and bricks; bricks
burned, as well as those which were unburned, or adobe.
Nails were also delivered from the public store, free of
charge.

Of course, no one at first thought of building very largely.
Small kitchens were all that were got up, at the commencement,
and they varied in size, according to the means of
their owners, as much as they differed in materials. Some
built of wood; some of stones; some of regular bricks;
and some of adobe. All did very well, but the stone was
found to be much the preferable material, especially where
the plastering within was furred off from the walls. These
stones came from Rancocus Island, where they were found
in inexhaustible quantities, partaking of the character of
tufa. The largest of them were landed at the Reef, the
loading and unloading being principally done by the Kannakas,
while the smallest were delivered at different points
along the channel, according to the wishes of the owners
of the land. More than a hundred dwellings were erected
in the course of the few months immediately succeeding
the arrival of the immigrants. About half were on the
Peak, and the remainder were in the group. It is true,
no one of all these dwellings was large; but each was comfortable,
and fully answered the purpose of protection
against the rain. A roof of cedar shingles was tight, as a
matter of course, and what was more, it was lasting. Some
of the buildings were sided with these shingles; though
clap-boards were commonly used for that purpose. The
adobe answered very well when securely roofed, though it
was thought the unburnt brick absorbed more moisture
than the brick which had been burned.

The largest of all the private dwellings thus erected,
was thirty feet square, and the smallest was fifteen. The
last had its cooking apartment under a shed, however, detached
from the house. Most of the ovens were thus
placed; and in many instances the chimneys stood entirely
without the buildings, even when they were attached to
them. There was but one house of two stories, and that
was John Pennock's, who had sufficient means to construct
such a building. As for the governor, he did not commence
building at all, until nearly every one else was
through, when he laid the corner-stones of two habitations;
one on the Peak, which was his private property, standing
on his estate; and the other on the Reef, which was strictly
intended to be a Government, or Colony House. The
first was of brick, and the last of stone, and of great solidity,
being intended as a sort of fortress. The private
dwelling was only a story and a half high, but large on the
ground for that region, measuring sixty feet square. The
government building was much larger, measuring two
hundred feet in length, by sixty feet in depth. This spacious
edifice, however, was not altogether intended for a
dwelling for the governor, but was so arranged as to contain
great quantities of public property in its basement,
and to accommodate the courts, and all the public offices
on the first floor. It had an upper story, but that was left
unfinished and untenanted for years, though fitted with
arrangements for defence. Fortunately, cellars were little
wanted in that climate, for it was not easy to have one in
the group. It is true, that Pennock caused one to be
blown out with gun-powder, under his dwelling, though
every one prophesied that it would soon be full of water.
It proved to be dry, notwithstanding; and a very good
cellar it was, being exceedingly useful against the heats,
though of cold there was none to guard against.

The Colony House stood directly opposite to the drawbridge,
being placed there for the purposes of defence, as
well as to have access to the spring. A want of water was
rather an evil on the Reef; not that the sands did not furnish
an ample supply, and that of the most delicious quality,
but it had to be carried to inconvenient distances. In
general, water was found in sufficient quantities and in

suitable places, among the group; but, at the Reef, there
was certainly this difficulty to contend with. As the governor
caused his brother, the surveyor-general, to lay out
a town on the Reef, it was early deemed necessary to make
some provision against this evil. A suitable place was
selected, and a cistern was blown out of the rock, into
which all the water that fell on the roof of Colony House
was led. This reservoir, when full, contained many thousand
gallons; and when once full, it was found that the
rains were sufficient to prevent its being very easily
emptied.

But the greatest improvement that was made on the
Reef, after all, was in the way of soil. As for the crater,
that, by this time, was a mass of verdure, among which a
thousand trees were not only growing, but flourishing.
This was as true of its plain, as of its mounds; and of its
mounds, as of its plain. But the crater was composed of
materials very different from the base of the Reef. The
former was of tufa, so far as it was rock at all; while the
latter was, in the main, pure Iava. Nevertheless, something
like a soil began to form even on the Reef, purely
by the accessions caused though its use by man. Great
attention was paid to collecting everything that could contribute
to the formation of earth, in piles; and these piles
were regularly removed to such cavities, or inequalities in
the surface of the rock, as would be most likely to retain
their materials when spread. In this way many green
patches had been formed, and, in a good many instances,
trees had been set out, in spots where it was believed they
could find sufficient nourishment. But, no sooner had the
governor decided to build on the Reef, and to make his
capital there, than he set about embellishing the place systematically.
Whenever a suitable place could be found,
in what was intended for Colony House grounds, a space
of some ten acres in the rear of the building, he put in the
drill, and blew out rock. The fragments of stone were
used about the building; and the place soon presented a
ragged, broken surface, of which one might well despair
of making anything. By perseverance, however, and still
more by skill and judgment, the whole area was lowered
more than a foot, and in many places, where nature assisted

the work, it was lowered several feet. It was a disputed
question, indeed, whether stone for the building could not
be obtained here, by blasting, cheaper and easier, than by
transporting it from Rancocus Island. Enough was procured
in this way not only to construct the building, but
to enclose the grounds with a sufficient wall. When all
was got off that was wanted, boat-loads of mud and sand
were brought by Kannakas, and deposited in the cavity.
This was a great work for such a community, though it
proceeded faster than, at first, one might have supposed.
The materials were very accessible, and the distances
short, which greatly facilitated the labour, though unloading
was a task of some gravity. The walls of the house
were got up in about six months after the work was commenced,
and the building was roofed; but, though the
gardeners were set to work as soon as the stones were out
of the cavities, they had not filled more than two acres at
the end of the period mentioned.

Determined to make an end of this great work at once,
the Abraham was sent over to young Ooroony to ask for
assistance. Glad enough was that chief to grant what was
demanded of him, and he came himself, at the head of five
hundred men, to aid his friend in finishing this task. Even
this strong body of labourers was busy two months longer,
before the governor pronounced the great end accomplished.
Then he dismissed his neighbours with such gifts and pay
as sent away everybody contented. Many persons thought
the experiment of bringing so many savages to the Reef
somewhat hazardous; but no harm ever came of it. On
the contrary, the intercourse had a good effect, by making
the two people better acquainted with each other. The
governor had a great faculty in the management of those
wild beings. He not only kept them in good-humour, but
what was far more difficult, he made them work. They
were converted into a sort of Irish for his colony. It is
true, one civilized man could do more than three of the
Kannakas, but the number of the last was so large that they
accomplished a great deal during their stay.

Nor would the governor have ventured to let such danverous
neighbours into the group, had there not been still
more imposing mysteries connected with the Peak, into

which they were not initiated. Even young Ooroony was
kept in ignorance of what was to be found on that dreaded
island. He saw vessels going and coming, knew that the
governor often went there, saw strange faces appearing occasionally
on the Reef, that were understood to belong to
the unknown land, and probably to a people who were
much more powerful than those who were in direct communication
with the natives.

The governor induced his Kannakas to work by interesting
them in the explosions of the blasts, merely to enjoy
the pleasure of seeing a cart-load of rock torn from its bed.
One of these men would work at a drill all day, and then
carry off the fragments to be placed in the walls, after he
had had his sport in this operation of blasting. They
seemed never to tire of the fun, and it was greatly questioned
if half as much labour could have been got out of
them at any other work, as at this.

A good deal of attention was paid to rendering the soil
of the colony garden fertile, as well as deep. In its shallowest
places it exceeded a foot in depth, and in the deepest,
spots where natural fissures had aided the drill, it required
four or five feet of materials to form the level. These deep
places were all marked, and were reserved for the support
of trees. Not only was sand freely mixed with the mud,
or muck, but sea-weed in large quantities was laid near the
surface, and finally covered with the soil. In this manner
was a foundation made that could not fail to sustain a garden
luxuriant in its products, aided by the genial heat and
plentiful rains of the climate. Shrubs, flowers, grass, and
ornamental trees, however, were all the governor aimed at
in these public grounds; the plain of the crater furnishing
fruit and vegetables in an abundance, as yet far exceeding
the wants of the whole colony. The great danger, indeed,
that the governor most apprehended, was that the beneficent
products of the region would render his people indolent;
an idle nation becoming, almost infallibly, vicious as
well as ignorant. It was with a view to keep the colony
on the advance, and to maintain a spirit of improvement
that so much attention was so early bestowed on what
might otherwise be regarded as purely intellectual pursuits

which, by creating new wants, might induce their subjects
to devise the means of supplying them.

The governor judged right; for tastes are commonly acquired
by imitation, and when thus acquired, they take the
strongest hold of those who cultivate them. The effect
produced by the Colony Garden, or public grounds, was
such as twenty-fold to return the cost and labour bestowed
on it. The sight of such an improvement set both men
and women to work throughout the group, and not a dwelling
was erected in the town, that the drill did not open the
rock, and mud and sand form a garden. Nor did the governor
himself confine his horticultural improvements to
the gardens mentioned. Before he sent away his legion of
five hundred, several hundred blasts were made in isolated
spots on the Reef; places where the natural formation favoured
such a project; and holes were formed that would
receive a boat-load of soil each. In these places trees were
set out, principally cocoa-nuts, and such other plants as
were natural to the situation, due care being taken to see
that each had sufficient nourishment.

The result of all this industry was to produce a great
change in the state of things at the Reef. In addition to
the buildings erected, and to the gardens made and planted,
within the town itself, the whole surface of the island was
more or less altered. Verdure soon made its appearance
in places where, hitherto, nothing but naked rock had been
seen, and trees began to cast their shades over the young
and delicious grasses. As for the town itself, it was certainly
no great matter; containing about twenty dwellings,
and otherwise being of very modest pretensions. Those
who dwelt there were principally such mechanics as found
it convenient to be at the centre of the settlement, some
half a dozen persons employed about the warehouses of
the merchants, a few officials of the government, and the
families of those who depended mainly on the sea for their
support. Each and all of these heads of families had
drawn their lots, both in the group and on the Peak,
though some had sold their rights the better to get a good
start in their particular occupations. The merchants,
however, established themselves on the Reef, as a matter
of necessity, each causing a warehouse to be constructed

near the water, with tackles and all the usual conveniences
for taking in and delivering goods. Each also had his
dwelling near at hand. As these persons had come well
provided for the Indian trade in particular, having large
stocks of such cheap and coarse articles as took with the
natives, they were already driving a profitable business, receiving
considerable quantities of sandal-wood in exchange
for their goods.

It is worthy of being mentioned, that the governor and
council early passed a sort of navigation act, the effect of
which was to secure the carrying trade to the colony. The
motive, however, was more to keep the natives within safe
limits, than to monopolize the profits of the seas. By the
provisions of this law, no canoe could pass from Betto's
group to either of the islands of the colony, without express
permission from the governor. In order to carry on
the trade, the parties met on specified days at Ooroony's
village, and there made their exchanges; vessels being
sent from the Reef to bring away the sandal-wood. With
a view to the final transportation of the last to a market,
Saunders had been instructed to purchase a suitable vessel,
which was to return with the Rancocus, freighted with
such heavy and cheap implements as were most wanted in
the colony, including cows and mares in particular. Physical
force, in the shape of domestic animals, was greatly
wanted; and it was perhaps the most costly of all the supplies
introduced into the settlements. Of horned cattle
there were already about five-and-twenty head in the colony
— enough to make sure of the breed; but they were
either cows, steers too young to be yet of much use, and
calves. Nothing was killed, of course; but so much time
must pass before the increase would give the succour
wanted, that the governor went to unusual expense and
trouble to make additions to the herd from abroad.

As for the horses, but three had been brought over, two
of which were mares. The last had foaled twice; and
there were four colts, all doing well, but wanting age to
be useful. All the stock of this character was kept on the
Peak, in order to secure it from invaders; and the old
animals, even to the cows, were lightly worked there, doing
a vast deal that would otherwise remain undone. It was

obviously advantageous to increase the amount of this
sort of force, that Saunders had strict orders to purchase
the vessel mentioned, and to bring over as many beasts as
he could conveniently and safely stow. With this object
in view, he was directed to call in, on the western side of
Cape Horn, and to make his purchases in South America.
The horned cattle might not be so good, coming from such
a quarter, but the dangers of doubling the Cape would be
avoided.

While making these general and desultory statements
touching the progress of the colony, it may be well to say
a word of Rancocus Island. The establishments necessary
there, to carry on the mills, lime and brick kilns, and
the stone-quarry, induced the governor to erect a small
work, in which the persons employed in that out-colony
might take refuge, in the event of an invasion. This was
done accordingly; and two pieces of artillery were regularly
mounted on it. Nor was the duty of fortifying neglected
elsewhere. As for the Peak, it was not deemed
necessary to do more than improve a little upon nature;
the colony being now too numerous to suppose that it
could not defend the cove against any enemy likely to land
there, should the entrance of that secret haven be detected.
On the Reef, however, it was a very different matter. That
place was as accessible as the other was secure. The construction
of so many stout stone edifices contributed largely
to the defence of the town; but the governor saw the necessity
of providing the means of commanding the approaches
by water. Four distinct passages, each corresponding
to a cardinal point of the compass, led from the
crater out to sea. As the south passage terminated at the
bridge, it was sufficiently commanded by the Colony House.
But all the others were wider, more easy of approach, and
less under the control of the adjacent islands. But the
Summit had points whence each might be raked by guns
properly planted, and batteries were accordingly constructed
on these points; the twelve-pounder being used
for their armaments. Each battery had two guns; and
when all was completed, it was the opinion of the governor
that the post was sufficiently well fortified. In order, however,
to give additional security, the crater was tabooed to

all the Kannakas; not one of whom was permitted ever to
enter it, or even to go near it.

But defence, and building, and making soil, did not altogether
occupy the attention of the colonists during these
important twelve months. Both the brothers of the governor
got married; the oldest, or the attorney-general, to
the oldest sister of John Pennock, and the youngest to a sister
of the Rev. Mr. Hornblower. It was in this simple colony,
as if ever has been, and ever will be in civilized society,
that, in forming matrimonial connections, like looks for
like. There was no person, or family at the Reef which
could be said to belong to the highest social class of America,
if, indeed, any one could rank as high as a class
immediately next to the highest; yet, distinctions existed
which were maintained usefully, and without a thought of
doing them away. The notion that money alone makes
those divisions into castes which are everywhere to be
found, and which will probably continue to be found as
long as society itself exists, is a very vulgar and fallacious
notion. It comes from the difficulty of appreciating those
tastes and qualities which, not possessing ourselves, are so
many unknown and mysterious influences. In marrying
Sarah Pennock, John Woolston was slightly conscious of
making a little sacrifice in these particulars, but she was a
very pretty, modest girl, of a suitable age, and the circle to
choose from, it will be remembered, was very limited. In
America that connection might not have taken place; but,
at the crater, it was all well enough, and it turned out to
be a very happy union. Had the sacrifice of habits and
tastes been greater, this might not have been the fact, for
it is certain that our happiness depends more on the subordinate
qualities and our cherished usages, than on principles
themselves. It is difficult to suppose that any refined
woman, for instance, can ever thoroughly overcome her disgust
for a man who habitually blows his nose with his fingers,
or that one bred a gentleman can absolutely overlook, even
in a wife, the want of the thousand and one little lady-like
habits, which render the sex perhaps more attractive than
do their personal charms.

Several other marriages took place, the scarcity of subjects
making it somewhat hazardous to delay: when Hobson's

choice is placed before one, deliberation, is of no
great use. It was generally understood that the Rancocus
was to bring out very few immigrants, though permission
had been granted to Capt. Saunders to take letters to certain
friends of some already settled in the colony, with the
understanding that those friends were to be received,
should they determine to come. That point, however, was
soon to be decided, for just a year and one week after the
Rancocus had sailed from Betto's group, the news reached
the Reef that the good ship was coming into the northern
roads, and preparing to anchor. The governor immediately
went on board the Anne, taking Betts with him,
and made sail for the point in question, with a view to
bring the vessel through the passage to the Reef. The governor
and Betts were the only two who, as it was believed,
could carry so large a vessel through; though later soundings
showed it was only necessary to keep clear of the
points and the shores, in order to bring in a craft of any
draught of water.

When the Anne ran out into the roads, there she found
the Rancocus at anchor, sure enough. On nearing her,
Capt. Saunders appeared on her poop, and in answer to a
hail, gave the welcome answer of “all well.” Those comprehensive
words removed a great deal of anxiety from the
mind of the governor; absence being, in one sense, the
parent of uncertainty, and uncertainty of uneasiness.
Everything about the ship, however, looked well, and to
the surprise of those in the Anne, many heads belonging
to others beside the crew were to be seen above the rail.
A sail was in sight, moreover, standing in, and this vessel
Capt. Saunders stated was the brig Henlopen, purchased
on government account, and loaded with stock, and other
property for the colony.

On going on board the Rancocus it was ascertained
that, in all, one hundred and eleven new immigrants had
been brought out! The circle of the affections had been
set at work, and one friend had induced another to enter
into the adventure, until it was found that less than the
number mentioned could not be gotten rid of. That which
could not be cured was to be endured, and the governor's
dissatisfaction was a good deal appeased when he learned

that the new-comers were of excellent materials; being,
without exception, young, healthful, moral, and all possessed
of more or less substance, in the way of worldly
goods. This accession to the colony brought its population
up to rather more than five hundred souls, of which
number, however, near a hundred and fifty were children,
or, under the age of fourteen years.

Glad enough were the new-comers to land at a little settlement
which had been made on the island which lay
abreast of the roads, and where, indeed, there was a very
convenient harbour, did vessels choose to use it. The
roads, however, had excellent anchorage, and were perfectly
protected against the prevailing winds of that region.
Only once, indeed, since the place was inhabited, had the
wind been known to blow on shore at that point; and then
only during a brief squall. In general, the place was
every way favourable for the arrival and departure of shipping,
the trades making a leading breeze both in going
and coming—as, indeed, they did all the way to and from
the Reef. A long-headed emigrant, of the name of
Dunks, had foreseen the probable, future, importance of
this outer harbour, and had made such an arrangement
with the council, as to obtain leave for himself and three
or four of his connections to exchange the land they had
drawn, against an equal quantity in this part of the group.
The arrangement was made, and this little, out-lying colony
had now been established an entire season. As the
spot was a good deal exposed to an invasion, a stone dwelling
had been erected, that was capable of accommodating
the whole party, and pickets were placed around it in
such a way as to prove an ample defence against any attempt
to carry the work by assault. The governor had
lent them a field-piece, and it was thought the whole disposition
was favourable to the security of the colony,
since no less than eleven combatants could be mustered
here to repel invasion.

The immigrants, as usual, found everything charming,
when their feet touched terra firma. The crops did look well,
and the island being covered with mud, the sand had done
wonders for the vegetation. It is true that trees were
wanting, though the pickets, or palisades, being of willow,

had all sprouted, and promised soon to enclose the dwelling
in a grove. Some fifty acres had been tilled, more or
less thoroughly, and timothy was already growing that was
breast-high. Clover looked well, too, as did everything
else; the guano having lost none of its virtue since the
late arrivals.

The governor sent back the Anne, with instructions to
prepare room for the immigrants in the government dwelling,
which, luckily, was large enough to receive them all.
He waited with the Rancocus, however, for the Henlopen
to come in and anchor. He then went on board this brig,
and took a look at the stock. Saunders, a discreet, sensible
man, so well understood the importance of adding to
the physical force of the colony, in the way of brutes, that
he had even strained the point to bring as many mares and
cows as he could stow. He had put on board twenty-five
of the last, and twenty of the first; all purchased at Valparaiso.
The weather had been so mild, that no injury had
happened to the beasts, but the length of the passage had
so far exhausted the supplies that not a mouthful of food
had the poor animals tasted for the twenty-four hours before
they got in. The water, too, was scarce, and anything but
sweet. For a month everything had been on short allowance,
and the suffering creatures must have been enchanted
to smell the land. Smell it they certainly did; for such a
lowing, and neighing, and fretting did they keep up, when
the governor got alongside of the brig, that he could not
endure the sight of their misery, but determined at once to
relieve it.

The brig was anchored within two hundred yards of a
fine sandy beach, on which there were several runs of delicious
water, and which communicated directly with a
meadow of grass, as high as a man's breast. A bargain
was soon made with Dunks; and the two crews, that of the
Rancocus, as well as that of the brig, were set to work
without delay to hoist out every creature having a hoof,
that was on board the Henlopen. As slings were all ready,
little delay was necessary, but a mare soon rose through
the hatchway, was swung over the vessel's side, and was
lowered into the water. A very simple contrivance released
the creature from the slings, and off it swam, making
the best of its way towards the land. In three minutes the

poor thing was on the beach, though actually staggering
from weakness, and from long use to the motion of the
vessel. The water was its first aim. Dunks was there,
however, to prevent it from drinking too much, when it
made its way up to the grass, which it began to eat ravenously.
All the rest went through the same process, and
in a couple of hours the poor things were relieved from
their misery, and the brig, which smelled like a stable, was
well quit of them. Brooms and water were set to work
immediately, but it was a month before the Henlopen lost
the peculiar odour of the cattle.

Nor were the human beings much less rejoiced to get
ashore than the brutes. Dunks gave them all a hearty
welcome, and though he had little fruit to offer, he had
plenty of vegetables, for which they were quite as thankful.
Melons, however, he could and did give them, and the
human part of the cargo had an ample feast on a sort of
food to which they had now so long been strangers. The
horses and cows were left on Dunks's Island, where they
stayed until word was sent to the governor that they had
eaten down all his grass, and would soon be on allowance
again, unless taken away. Means, however, were soon
found to relieve him of the stock, though his meadows, or
pastures rather, having been seldom cut in that climate,
were much improved by the visit paid them. As for the
animals, they were parcelled out among the different farms,
thus giving a little milk, and a little additional force to
each neighbourhood. Fowls and pigs had been distributed
some time previously, so that not a man in the group was
without his breeding sow, and his brood of young chickens.
These were species of stock that increased so rapidly, that
a little care alone was wanting to make eggs and pork
plenty. Corn, or maize, grew just for the planting; though
it was all the better, certainly, for a little care.

After sufficient time had been allowed to make the necessary
preparations, the vessels sailed with the immigrants
for the Reef. There was many a glad meeting between
friends and relatives. Those who had just arrived had a
great deal to tell those who had preceded then by eighteen
months, and those who now considered themselves old settlers,
entertained the new ones with the wonders of their
novel situations.