As it was, however, although evidently much chagrined, his sense of duty would not let him show it, and he jumped into the boat with alacrity. Slacking off the spring, and hauling on the cable, the boat was once more got into deep water.
And now came the ascent. If any one can imagine a nearly precipitous cliff with no other means of preserving ourselves from falling among the rocks than an occasional ledge on which we could rest, after having, cat-like, dragged ourselves up to them by sheer muscular strength, he will be able to form some idea of the dangers we had to encounter in our zig-zag ascent.
By the time we reached the top we were all quite exhausted, and sat down to get breath. What a view lay before us! The spot where we sat was the easternmost headland, a sort of promontory jutting out into the sea, and before us was the mighty ocean — its blue interminable vista glittering in the sunbeams — roughened by a stiff tropical breeze; while the swell from the offing came tumbling in towards us in long blue undulations, which, breaking against the rocks with the greatest impetuosity, cast their spray within a few feet of us, and caused a noise as though subterraneous thunder, pent up in the bowels of the earth, was seeking to burst its bonds; but, stay, the voice of the mighty ocean thundering upon a rocky coast must be heard, seen, nay, felt, to be understood — it cannot be adequately described.
Turning from this to the naked, storm-scathed, and sun-baked island, my old feeling of despondency returned to me. I never saw anything so barren and naked, the short stunted grass only making its barrenness more noticeable. How my heart rose within me as on again turning I saw the bright array of beautiful islands which lay dotted before me: Montserrat, with its grassy slopes descending to the edge of the sea, looking like an emerald in the midst of the blue waves, the white beach fringed with magnificent palms, whose feathery plumage falling from their tall stems could just be discovered with the naked eye; Nevis rising pyramidically from the sea, its summit just piercing the white cloud that ever-lastingly rests there; St. Kitt’s rising behind it, with its Mountain of Misery towering above everything; Antigua, ramparted by its magnificent cliff, standing midway between; and far away in the distance Guadaloupe, with its broad, irregular eminences looming indistinctly like a great continent.
It was a beautiful scene, the sky above us was such a heavenly blue, while the deep green of the sea was thickly speckled with the white crests of the waves, and the tiny sails of the droggers, which skimmed along in the offing, ever and anon disappearing behind one of the islands, only to appear again on the other side, and then fade away in the distance.
What a contrast was the island itself to this!
I cannot imagine a more naked or desolate spot in the world, and the melancholy feeling I expe- rienced when I first saw it, now took firm hold of me. I seemed weighed down by some impending calamity, and though I tried, I could not shake it off.
The only thing really noticeable on the island
itself was the immense quantity of young boobies. They were crowded so thick on the ground, that in some places we could not pass without kicking or treading on them. They did not evince the slightest fear; they stuck their bills into our legs pretty freely, but move they would not. They were all covered with a beautiful soft white down, and I felt a great inclination to take back a couple with us; but the little wretches pecked us so, that I was obliged to give up the idea.
As there was nothing on the island but boobies, I may as well give a description of them. Boobies, then, are in size somewhat larger than a gull, and are of the same species as the pelican. They are to be met with in great abundance on the solitary rocks and keys in the West Indies. It would be difficult to describe their plumage, as it varies so much that a description of one individual bird would only mislead. However, I may say that they have generally a whitish body, with wing-feathers marked, in various maimers, with black and brown; the bill is black and yellow, and their legs, which are short, are also yellow.
There being nothing more to be seen on the island, I gave the word to return. As soon, however, as we got within hail of our landing-place, we were startled by a loud hallooing from the boat. Our consternation can be well imagined, when, on reaching the edge of the cliff, we saw that the boat had broken adrift, and was momentarily in danger of being dashed to pieces among the rocks. It appeared that the cable, coming in contact with the sharp points of the rocks, had chafed through, and the boat, as it swung by its fastening on the shore, was in a very perilous position. Every swell that lifted her sent her surging up among the rocks; and now, as the water receded, we could hear her bump on them; her planks rending, and her timber cracking, as she settled down. It was evidently all up with her, and all we could do now was to save our provisions, and get the boy Tom on shore.
Disencumbering ourselves of our clothes, we all as if by instinct plunged in, and swam to the wreck. The swell was sweeping it in nearer to the cliff every moment, and the poor boy on board seemed paralysed with fear, and incapable of doing anything. It was no easy thing to approach the boat, as the sunken rocks were numerous, and a blow from one of them as we sank into the trough of the sea would have put an end to our earthly troubles. However, watching our opportunity, we got within a short distance of the wreck, when a huge swell, larger than any I had yet seen, swept in, and carrying us all within a few feet of the cliff, burst over the boat and launched the poor lad into the abyss of waters.
For some seconds we could not see anything of him, and I thought he was lost — dashed violently against the rocks, and simk to rise no more. At last, with feelings of joy, we saw him struggling i manfully with the raging waters. But now a new peril assailed him — the current which ran by the island was carrying him out to sea, and his ! destruction seemed inevitable. The current ran so strong, that the stoutest swimmers could not
make head against it, and we were all petrified.