The Crater; Or, Vulcan's Peak: A Tale of the Pacific

by James Fenimore Cooper

Nor was this all. Heaton, under the influence of his habits, had studied the natures of the different trees he had met with on the other islands. The cocoa-nut, in particular, abounded in both groups, and finding it was a tree that much affected low land and salt water, he had taken care to set out various samples of his roots and fruits, on certain detached islets near this channel, where the soil and situation induced him to believe they would flourish. Sea sand he was of opinion was the most favourable for the growth of this tree, and he had chosen the sites of his plantations with a view to those advantages. On the Peak cocoa-nuts were to be found, but they were neither very fine, nor in very large quantities. So long as Mark had that island to himself, the present, supply-would more than equal the demand, but with the increase of the colony a greater number of the trees would become very desirable. Five or six years would be needed to produce the fruit-bearing tree, and the governor was pleased to find that the growth of one of those years had been already secured, in the case of those he had himself planted, in and on the crater, near three years had contributed to their growth, and neither the Guano nor Loam Island having been forgotten, many of them were now thirty feet high. As he approached the crater, on that occasion, he looked at those promising fruits of his early and provident care for the future with great satisfaction, for seldom was the labour of man better rewarded. Mark well knew the value of this tree, which was of use in a variety of ways, in addition to the delicious and healthful fruit it bears; delicious and healthful when eaten shortly after it is separated from the tree. The wood of the kernel could be polished, and converted into bowls, that were ornamental as well as useful. The husks made a capital cordage, and a very respectable sail-cloth, being a good substitute for hemp, though hemp, itself, was a plant that might be grown on the prairies to an almost illimitable extent. The leaves were excellent for thatching, as well as for making brooms, mats, hammocks, baskets and a variety of such articles, while the trunks could be converted into canoes, gutters, and timber generally. There was also one other expensive use of this tree, which the governor had learned from Heaton. While Bridget was still confined to the ship, after the birth of her daughter. Mark had brought her a dish of greens, which she pronounced the most delicious of any thing in its way she had ever tasted. It was composed of the young and delicate leaves of the new growth, or of the summit of the cocoa-nut tree, somewhat resembling the artichoke in their formation, though still more exquisite in taste. But the tree from which this treat was obtained died,—a penalty that must ever be paid to partake of that dish. As soon as Bridget learned this, she forbade the cutting of any more for her use, at least. All the boats got into port in good season, and the Reef once more became a scene of life and activity. The schooner was soon completed, and it only remained to put her into the water. This work was already commenced by Bigelow, and the governor directed everybody to lend a hand in effecting so desirable an object. Bigelow had all his materials ready, and so perseveringly did our colonists work, that the schooner was all ready to be put into the water on the evening of the second day. The launch was deferred only to have the benefit of daylight. That afternoon Mark, accompanied by his wife, had gone in the Bridget, his favourite boat, to look for the signal tree. He went some distance into the strait, ere he was near enough to get a sight of it even with the glass; when he did procure a view, there it was precisely as he had last seen it. Putting the helm of the boat up, the instant he was assured of his fact, the governor wore short round, making the best, of his way back to the crater, again. The distances, it will be remembered, were considerable, and it required time to make the passage. The sun was setting as Mark was running along the channel to the Reef, the young man pointing out to his charming wife the growth of the trees, the tints of the evening sky, the drove of hogs, the extent of his new meadows, and such other objects as would be likely to interest both, in the midst of such a scene. The boat rounded a point where a portion of the hogs had been sleeping, and as it came sweeping up, the animals rose in a body, snuffed the air, and began scampering off in the way conformable to their habits, Mark laughing and pointing with his fingers to draw Bridget's attention to their antics.

"There are more of the creatures" said Bridget; "yonder, on the further side of the prairie—I dare say the two parties will join each other, and have a famous scamper, in company."

"More!" echoed Mark; "that can hardly be, as we passed some thirty of them several miles to the southward.—What is it you see, dearest, that you mistake for hogs?"

"Why, yonder—more than a mile from us; on the opposite side of the prairie and near the water, in the other channel."

"The other is not a channel at all; it is a mere bay that leads to nothing; so none of our boats or people can be there. The savages, as I am your husband, Bridget!"

Sure enough, the objects which Bridget had mistaken for mere hogs, were in truth the heads and shoulders of some twenty Indians who were observing the movements of the boat from positions taken on the other side of the plain, so as to conceal all but the upper halves of their bodies. They had two canoes; war canoes, moreover; but these were the whole party, at that point at least.

This was a most grave discovery. The governor had hoped the Reef, so accessible on every side by means of canoes, would, for years at least, continue to be a terra incognita to the savages. On this ignorance of the natives would much of its security depend, for the united forces of the colonists could scarcely suffice to maintain the place against the power of Waally. The matter as it was, called for all his energies, and for the most prompt measures.

The first step was to apprise the people at the Reef of the proximity of these dangerous neighbours. As the boat was doubtless seen, its sails rising above the land, there was no motive in changing its course, or for attempting to conceal it. The crater, ship and schooner on the stocks, were all in sight of the savages at that moment, though not less than two leagues distant, where they doubtless appeared indistinct and confused. The ship might produce an influence in one or two ways. It might inflame the cupidity of Waally, under the hope of possessing so much treasure, and tempt him on to hasten his assault; or it might intimidate him by its imagined force, vessels rarely visiting the islands of the Pacific without being prepared to defend themselves. The savages would not be likely to comprehend the true condition of the vessel, but would naturally suppose that she had a full crew, and possessed the usual means of annoying her enemies. All this occurred to the governor in the first five minutes after his discovery, while his boat was gliding onwards towards her haven.

Bridget behaved admirably. She trembled a little at first, and pressed her child to her bosom with more than the usual warmth, but her self-command was soon regained, and from that instant, Mark found in her a quick, ingenious, and useful assistant and counsellor. Her faculties and courage seemed to increase with the danger, and so far from proving an encumbrance, as might naturally enough have been expected, she was not only out of the way, as respects impediments, but she soon became of real use, and directed the movements of the females with almost as much skill and decision as Mark directed those of their husbands.

The boat did not reach the Reef until dusk, or for an hour after the savages had been seen. The colonists had just left their work, and the evening being cool and refreshing after a warm summer's day, they were taking their suppers under a tent or awning, at no great distance from the ship-yard, when the governor joined them. This tent, or awning, had been erected for such purposes, and had several advantages to recommend it. It stood quite near the beach of the spring, and cool fresh water was always at hand. It had a carpet of velvet-like grass, too, a rare thins for the Reef, on the outside of the crater. But, there were cavities on its surface, in which foreign substances had collected, and this was one of them. Sea-weed, loam, dead fish, and rain-water had made a thin soil on about an acre of rocks at this spot, and the rain constantly assisting vegetation, the grass-seed had taken root there, and this being its second season, Betts had found the sward already sufficient for his purposes, and caused an awning to be spread, converting the grass into a carpet. There might now have been a dozen similar places on the reef, so many oases in its desert, where soil had formed and grass was growing. No one doubted that, in time and with care, those, then living might see most of those naked rocks clothed with verdure, for the progress of vegetation in such a climate, favoured by those accidental causes which seemed to prevent that particular region from ever suffering by droughts, is almost magical, and might convert a wilderness into a garden in the course of a very few years.