The Coral Island: A Tale of the Pacific Ocean

An excursion into the interior, in which we make many valuable and interesting discoveries—­We get a dreadful fright—­The bread-fruit tree—­Wonderful peculiarity of some of the fruit-trees—­Signs of former inhabitants.

Our first care, after breakfast, was to place the few articles we possessed in the crevice of a rock at the farther end of a small cave which we discovered near our encampment.  This cave, we hoped, might be useful to us afterwards as a storehouse.  Then we cut two large clubs off a species of very hard tree which grew near at hand.  One of these was given to Peterkin, the other to me, and Jack armed himself with the axe.  We took these precautions because we purposed to make an excursion to the top of the mountains of the interior, in order to obtain a better view of our island.  Of course we knew not what dangers might befall us by the way, so thought it best to be prepared.

Having completed our arrangements and carefully extinguished our fire, we sallied forth and walked a short distance along the sea-beach, till we came to the entrance of a valley, through which flowed the rivulet before mentioned.  Here we turned our backs on the sea and struck into the interior.

The prospect that burst upon our view on entering the valley was truly splendid.  On either side of us there was a gentle rise in the land, which thus formed two ridges about a mile apart on each side of the valley.  These ridges—­which, as well as the low grounds between them, were covered with trees and shrubs of the most luxuriant kind—­continued to recede inland for about two miles, when they joined the foot of a small mountain.  This hill rose rather abruptly from the head of the valley, and was likewise entirely covered even to the top with trees, except on one particular spot near the left shoulder, where was a bare and rocky place of a broken and savage character.  Beyond this hill we could not see, and we therefore directed our course up the banks of the rivulet towards the foot of it, intending to climb to the top, should that be possible, as, indeed, we had no doubt it was.

Jack being the wisest and boldest among us, took the lead, carrying the axe on his shoulder.  Peterkin, with his enormous club, came second, as he said he should like to be in a position to defend me if any danger should threaten.  I brought up the rear, but, having been more taken up with the wonderful and curious things I saw at starting than with thoughts of possible danger, I had very foolishly left my club behind me.  Although, as I have said, the trees and bushes were very luxuriant, they were not so thickly crowded together as to hinder our progress among them.  We were able to wind in and out, and to follow the banks of the stream quite easily, although, it is true, the height and thickness of the foliage prevented us from seeing far ahead.  But sometimes a jutting-out rock on the hillsides afforded us a position whence we could enjoy the romantic view and mark our progress towards the foot of the hill.  I was particularly struck, during the walk, with the richness of the undergrowth in most places, and recognised many berries and plants that resembled those of my native land, especially a tall, elegantly formed fern, which emitted an agreeable perfume.  There were several kinds of flowers, too, but I did not see so many of these as I should have expected in such a climate.  We also saw a great variety of small birds of bright plumage, and many paroquets similar to the one that awoke Peterkin so rudely in the morning.

Thus we advanced to the foot of the hill without encountering anything to alarm us, except, indeed, once, when we were passing close under a part of the hill which was hidden from our view by the broad leaves of the banana trees, which grew in great luxuriance in that part.  Jack was just preparing to force his way through this thicket, when we were startled and arrested by a strange pattering or rumbling sound which appeared to us quite different from any of the sounds we had heard during the previous part of our walk.

“Hallo!” cried Peterkin, stopping short and grasping his club with both hands, “what’s that?”

Neither of us replied; but Jack seized his axe in his right hand, while with the other he pushed aside the broad leaves and endeavoured to peer amongst them.

“I can see nothing,” he said, after a short pause.  “I think it—­”

Again the rumbling sound came, louder than before, and we all sprang back and stood on the defensive.  For myself, having forgotten my club, and not having taken the precaution to cut another, I buttoned my jacket, doubled my fists, and threw myself into a boxing attitude.  I must say, however, that I felt somewhat uneasy; and my companions afterwards confessed that their thoughts at this moment had been instantly filled with all they had ever heard or read of wild beasts and savages, torturings at the stake, roastings alive, and such like horrible things.  Suddenly the pattering noise increased with tenfold violence.  It was followed by a fearful crash among the bushes, which was rapidly repeated, as if some gigantic animal were bounding towards us.  In another moment an enormous rock came crashing through the shrubbery, followed by a cloud of dust and small stones, and flew close past the spot where we stood, carrying bushes and young trees along with it.

“Pooh! is that all?” exclaimed Peterkin, wiping the perspiration off his forehead.  “Why, I thought it was all the wild men and beasts in the South Sea Islands galloping on in one grand charge to sweep us off the face of the earth, instead of a mere stone tumbling down the mountainside.”

“Nevertheless,” remarked Jack, “if that same stone had hit any of us, it would have rendered the charge you speak of quite unnecessary, Peterkin.”

This was true, and I felt very thankful for our escape.  On examining the spot more narrowly, we found that it lay close to the foot of a very rugged precipice, from which stones of various sizes were always tumbling at intervals.  Indeed, the numerous fragments lying scattered all around might have suggested the cause of the sound, had we not been too suddenly alarmed to think of anything.

We now resumed our journey, resolving that, in our future excursions into the interior, we would be careful to avoid this dangerous precipice.  Soon afterwards we arrived at the foot of the hill and prepared to ascend it.  Here Jack made a discovery which caused us all very great joy.  This was a tree of a remarkably beautiful appearance, which Jack confidently declared to be the celebrated bread-fruit tree.

“Is it celebrated?” inquired Peterkin, with a look of great simplicity.

“It is,” replied Jack.

“That’s odd, now,” rejoined Peterkin; “I never heard of it before.”

“Then it’s not so celebrated as I thought it was,” returned Jack, quietly squeezing Peterkin’s hat over his eyes; “but listen, you ignorant booby! and hear of it now.”

Peterkin readjusted his hat, and was soon listening with as much interest as myself, while Jack told us that this tree is one of the most valuable in the islands of the south; that it bears two, sometimes three, crops of fruit in the year; that the fruit is very like wheaten bread in appearance, and that it constitutes the principal food of many of the islanders.

“So,” said Peterkin, “we seem to have everything ready prepared to our hands in this wonderful island—­lemonade ready bottled in nuts, and loaf-bread growing on the trees!”

Peterkin, as usual, was jesting; nevertheless, it is a curious fact that he spoke almost the literal truth.

“Moreover,” continued Jack, “the bread-fruit tree affords a capital gum, which serves the natives for pitching their canoes; the bark of the young branches is made by them into cloth; and of the wood, which is durable and of a good colour, they build their houses.  So you see, lads, that we have no lack of material here to make us comfortable, if we are only clever enough to use it.”

“But are you sure that that’s it?” asked Peterkin.

“Quite sure,” replied Jack; “for I was particularly interested in the account I once read of it, and I remember the description well.  I am sorry, however, that I have forgotten the descriptions of many other trees which I am sure we have seen to-day, if we could but recognise them.  So you see, Peterkin, I’m not up to everything yet.”

“Never mind, Jack,” said Peterkin, with a grave, patronising expression of countenance, patting his tall companion on the shoulder—­“never mind, Jack; you know a good deal for your age.  You’re a clever boy, sir —­a promising young man; and if you only go on as you have begun, sir, you will——­”

The end of this speech was suddenly cut short by Jack tripping up Peterkin’s heels and tumbling him into a mass of thick shrubs, where, finding himself comfortable, he lay still, basking in the sunshine, while Jack and I examined the bread-fruit tree.

We were much struck with the deep, rich green colour of its broad leaves, which were twelve or eighteen inches long, deeply indented, and of a glossy smoothness, like the laurel.  The fruit, with which it was loaded, was nearly round, and appeared to be about six inches in diameter, with a rough rind, marked with lozenge-shaped divisions.  It was of various colours, from light pea-green to brown and rich yellow.  Jack said that the yellow was the ripe fruit.  We afterwards found that most of the fruit-trees on the island were evergreens, and that we might, when we wished, pluck the blossom and the ripe fruit from the same tree.  Such a wonderful difference from the trees of our own country surprised us not a little.  The bark of the tree was rough and light-coloured; the trunk was about two feet in diameter, and it appeared to be twenty feet high, being quite destitute of branches up to that height, where it branched off into a beautiful and umbrageous head.  We noticed that the fruit hung in clusters of twos and threes on the branches; but as we were anxious to get to the top of the hill, we refrained from attempting to pluck any at that time.

Our hearts were now very much cheered by our good fortune, and it was with light and active steps that we clambered up the steep sides of the hill.  On reaching the summit, a new and, if possible, a grander prospect, met our gaze.  We found that this was not the highest part of the island, but that another hill lay beyond, with a wide valley between it and the one on which we stood.  This valley, like the first, was also full of rich trees, some dark and some light green, some heavy and thick in foliage, and others light, feathery, and graceful, while the beautiful blossoms on many of them threw a sort of rainbow tint over all, and gave to the valley the appearance of a garden of flowers.  Among these we recognised many of the bread-fruit trees, laden with yellow fruit, and also a great many cocoa-nut palms.  After gazing our fill, we pushed down the hillside, crossed the valley, and soon began to ascend the second mountain.  It was clothed with trees nearly to the top, but the summit was bare, and in some places broken.

While on our way up we came to an object which filled us with much interest.  This was the stump of a tree that had evidently been cut down with an axe!  So, then, we were not the first who had viewed this beautiful isle.  The hand of man had been at work there before us.  It now began to recur to us again that perhaps the island was inhabited, although we had not seen any traces of man until now; but a second glance at the stump convinced us that we had not more reason to think so now than formerly; for the surface of the wood was quite decayed, and partly covered with fungus and green matter, so that it must have been cut many years ago.

“Perhaps,” said Peterkin, “some ship or other has touched here long ago for wood, and only taken one tree.”

We did not think this likely, however, because, in such circumstances, the crew of a ship would cut wood of small size, and near the shore, whereas this was a large tree and stood near the top of the mountain.  In fact, it was the highest large tree on the mountain, all above it being wood of very recent growth.

“I can’t understand it,” said Jack, scratching the surface of the stump with his axe.  “I can only suppose that the savages have been here and cut it for some purpose known only to themselves.  But, hallo! what have we here?”

As he spoke, Jack began carefully to scrape away the moss and fungus from the stump, and soon laid bare three distinct traces of marks, as if some inscription or initials had been cut thereon.  But although the traces were distinct, beyond all doubt, the exact form of the letters could not be made out.  Jack thought they looked like J. S., but we could not be certain.  They had apparently been carelessly cut, and long exposure to the weather had so broken them up that we could not make out what they were.  We were exceedingly perplexed at this discovery, and stayed a long time at the place conjecturing what these marks could have been, but without avail; so, as the day was advancing, we left it and quickly reached the top of the mountain.

We found this to be the highest point of the island, and from it we saw our kingdom lying, as it were, like a map around us.  As I have always thought it impossible to get a thing properly into one’s understanding without comprehending it, I shall beg the reader’s patience for a little while I describe our island, thus, shortly:—­

It consisted of two mountains:  the one we guessed at 500 feet; the other, on which we stood, at 1000.  Between these lay a rich, beautiful valley, as already said.  This valley crossed the island from one end to the other, being high in the middle and sloping on each side towards the sea.  The large mountain sloped, on the side farthest from where we had been wrecked, gradually towards the sea; but although, when viewed at a glance, it had thus a regular sloping appearance, a more careful observation showed that it was broken up into a multitude of very small vales, or rather dells and glens, intermingled with little rugged spots and small but abrupt precipices here and there, with rivulets tumbling over their edges and wandering down the slopes in little white streams, sometimes glistening among the broad leaves of the bread-fruit and cocoa-nut trees, or hiding altogether beneath the rich underwood.  At the base of this mountain lay a narrow bright green plain or meadow, which terminated abruptly at the shore.  On the other side of the island, whence we had come, stood the smaller hill, at the foot of which diverged three valleys; one being that which we had ascended, with a smaller vale on each side of it, and separated from it by the two ridges before mentioned.  In these smaller valleys there were no streams, but they were clothed with the same luxuriant vegetation.

The diameter of the island seemed to be about ten miles, and as it was almost circular in form, its circumference must have been thirty miles —­perhaps a little more, if allowance be made for the numerous bays and indentations of the shore.  The entire island was belted by a beach of pure white sand, on which laved the gentle ripples of the lagoon.  We now also observed that the coral reef completely encircled the island; but it varied its distance from it here and there, in some places being a mile from the beach, in others a few hundred yards, but the average distance was half a mile.  The reef lay very low, and the spray of the surf broke quite over it in many places.  This surf never ceased its roar, for however calm the weather might be, there is always a gentle swaying motion in the great Pacific, which, although scarce noticeable out at sea, reaches the shore at last in a huge billow.  The water within the lagoon, as before said, was perfectly still.  There were three narrow openings in the reef:  one opposite each end of the valley which I have described as crossing the island; the other opposite our own valley, which we afterwards named the Valley of the Wreck.  At each of these openings the reef rose into two small green islets, covered with bushes and having one or two cocoa-nut palms on each.  These islets were very singular, and appeared as if planted expressly for the purpose of marking the channel into the lagoon.  Our captain was making for one of these openings the day we were wrecked, and would have reached it too, I doubt not, had not the rudder been torn away.  Within the lagoon were several pretty, low coral islands, just opposite our encampment; and immediately beyond these, out at sea, lay about a dozen other islands, at various distances, from half a mile to ten miles;—­all of them, as far as we could discern, smaller than ours and apparently uninhabited.  They seemed to be low coral islands, raised but little above the sea, yet covered with cocoa-nut trees.

All this we noted and a great deal more, while we sat on the top of the mountain.  After we had satisfied ourselves we prepared to return; but here again we discovered traces of the presence of man.  These were a pole or staff and one or two pieces of wood which had been squared with an axe.  All of these were, however, very much decayed, and they had evidently not been touched for many years.

Full of these discoveries we returned to our encampment.  On the way we fell in with the traces of some four-footed animal, but whether old or of recent date none of us were able to guess.  This also tended to raise our hopes of obtaining some animal food on the island, so we reached home in good spirits, quite prepared for supper, and highly satisfied with our excursion.

After much discussion, in which Peterkin took the lead, we came to the conclusion that the island was uninhabited, and went to bed.