But to effect our purpose, it was necessary to spend several days in visits to the vessel, returning constantly in the evening, enriched with every thing of a portable nature which the wreck contained; doors, windows, locks, bolts, nothing escaped our grasp: so that the ship was now entirely emptied, with the exception of the heavy cannon and three or four immense copper caldrons, which were too heavy to be got into the boat. We by degrees contrived to tie these heavy articles to two or three empty casks well pitched, which would effectually sustain themselves and the cannon above water. When these measures were taken, I came to the resolution of blowing up the wreck by a process similar to that with which I had so well succeeded with the pinnace. I directed my views to that part of the vessel which had been entirely stripped of every thing; I supposed that the wind and tide would convey the beams and timbers ashore, and thus with little pains we should be possessed of a sufficient quantity of materials for erecting a building at some future time.
We accordingly prepared a cask of gunpowder, which we left on board for the purpose: we rolled it to the place most favourable for our views: we made a small opening in its side, and at the moment of quitting the vessel, we inserted a piece of match-wood which we lighted at the last moment, as before. We then sailed with all possible expedition for Safety Bay, where we arrived in a short time. We could not, however, withdraw our thoughts from the wreck and from the expected explosion for a single moment. I had cut the match a sufficient length for us to hope that she would not go to pieces before dark. I proposed to my wife to have our supper carried to a little point of land from whence we had a view of her, and here we waited for the moment of her destruction with lively impatience.
About the time of night-fall, a majestic rolling sound like thunder, accompanied by a column of fire and smoke, announced that the ship, so awfully concerned with our peculiar destiny, which had brought us to our present abode in a desert, and furnished us there with such vast supplies for general comfort, was that instant annihilated, and withdrawn for ever from the face of man!—At this moment, love for the country that gave us birth, that most powerful sentiment of the human heart, sunk with a new force into ours. The ship had disappeared for ever! Could we then form a hope ever to behold that country more! We had made a sort of jubilee of witnessing the spectacle; the boys had clapped their hands and skipped about in joyful expectation; but the noise was heard;—the smoke and sparks were seen while the sudden change which took place in our minds could be compared only to the rapidity of these effects of our concerted scheme against the vessel. We all observed a mournful silence, and all rose, as it were, by an impulse of mutual condemnation, and with our heads sinking on our bosoms, and our eyes cast upon the ground, we took the road to Tent House.
My wife was the only person who was sensible of motives for consolation in the distressing scene which had been passing; she was now relieved from all the cruel fears for our safety in our visits to a shattered wreck, that was liable to fall to pieces during the time we were on board. From this moment she conceived a stronger partiality for our island, and the modes of life we had adopted. A night’s repose had in some measure relieved the melancholy of the preceding evening, and I went rather early in the morning with the boys, to make further observations as to the effects of this remarkable event. We perceived in the water, and along the shore, abundant vestiges of the departed wreck, and among the rest, at a certain distance, the empty casks, caldrons, and cannon, all tied together, and floating in a large mass upon the water. We jumped instantly into the pinnace, with the tub-boat fastened to it, and made a way towards them through the numberless pieces of timber, &c., that intervened, and in a little time reached the object of our search, which from its great weight moved slowly upon the waves. Fritz with his accustomed readiness flung some rope round two four-pounders, and contrived to fasten them to our barge, after which he secured also an enormous quantity of poles, laths, and other useful articles. With this rich booty we returned to land.
We performed three more trips for the purpose of bringing away more cannon, caldrons, fragments of masts, &c., all of which we deposited for present convenience in Safety Bay: and now began our most fatiguing operations, the removing such numerous and heavy stores from the boats to Tent House. We separated the cannon and the caldrons from the tub-raft, and from each other, and left them in a place which was accessible for the sledge and the beasts of burden. With the help of the crow we succeeded in getting the caldrons upon the sledge, and in replacing the four wheels we had before taken from the cannon; and now found it easy to make the cow and the ass draw them. We in the same manner conveyed away all the pieces of wood we wished to preserve dry, and what stores remained, we tied with cords to stakes along the shore, to protect them from the tide.
The largest of the boilers or copper caldrons, which had been intended as principal utensils for a proposed manufactory of sugar, we now found of the most essential use. We brought out all our barrels of gunpowder, and placed them on their ends in three separate groups, at a short distance from our tent; we dug a little ditch round the whole, to draw off the moisture from the ground, and then put one of the caldrons turned upside down upon each, which completely answered the purpose of an out-house. The cannon were covered with sail-cloth, and upon this we laid heavy branches of trees; the larger casks of gunpowder we prudently removed under a projecting piece of rock, where, should they even blow up, no mischief could arise to the inhabitants of Tent House: these we covered with planks, till we should have leisure for executing the plan of an ammunition storehouse, about which we had all become extremely earnest.
My wife, in taking a survey of these our labours, made the agreeable discovery that two of our ducks and one of the geese had been brooding under a large bush, and at the time were conducting their little families to the water. The news produced general rejoicings; Fritz and Ernest looked forward to some luxurious Sunday-dinners, and Jack and Francis wondered what the young birds could think, when they first saw any human creatures! We in a short time found means to tame them, by throwing them occasionally some crumbs of manioc. This last employment, together with the gambols of the little creatures, so forcibly carried our thoughts to Falcon’s Stream, that we all conceived the ardent desire of returning to the society of the numerous old friends we had left there. One sighed for his monkey, another for his flamingo; Francis for his parrot, and his mother for her poultry-yard, her various housewifery accommodations, and her comfortable bed. We therefore fixed the next day for our departure, and set about the necessary preparations.
CHAPTER XXV.
A new excursion.—Palm-tree wine.
On entering our new plantation of fruit-trees forming the avenue to Falcon’s Stream, we observed that they had not a vigorous appearance, and that they inclined to curve a little in the stalk: we therefore immediately resolved to support them with sticks, and I proposed a walk to the vicinity of Cape Disappointment, for the purpose of cutting some bamboos. I had no sooner pronounced the words, than the three eldest boys and their mother exclaimed at once that they would accompany me. Their curiosity had been excited by the accounts Fritz and I had given of the variety of amusing objects we had met with in our visit to the spot: each found a sound and special reason why he must not fail to be of the party:—one of the hens was observed to be brooding, and some of the eggs of the heath-fowl were to be fetched and laid under her;—our provision of candles was nearly exhausted, and a new stock of berries must therefore be procured, for my wife now repaired our clothes by candle-light, while I employed myself in composing a journal of the events of every day:—Then, the sow had again deserted us, and nothing could be so probable as that we should find her in the acorn wood:—Jack would fain gather some guavas for himself, and Francis must needs see the sugar-canes he sucked with so keen a relish. In short, all would visit this land of Canaan.
We accordingly fixed the following morning, and set out in full procession. For myself, I had a great desire to explore with more attention this part of our island, and to reap some more substantial advantages from its produce. I therefore made some preparations for sleeping, should we find the day too short for all we might have to accomplish: I took the cart instead of the sledge, having fixed some planks across it for Francis and his mother to sit upon when they should be tired; I was careful to be provided with the different implements we might want, some rope machinery I had contrived for rendering the climbing of trees more easy, since we could not always expect to meet with a crab who should obligingly give us his assistance; and lastly, some provisions, consisting of a piece of the salted tortoise, some water in a gourd-flask, and one bottle of wine from the captain’s store. When all was placed in the cart, I for this time harnessed to it both the ass and the cow, as I expected the load would be increased on our return; and we set out, taking the road of the potatoe and manioc plantations. Our first halt was at the tree of the colony of birds; close upon the same spot were also the trees whose berries produced the wax for candles, and intermixed with these some of the guava kind. On this second occasion of seeing the birds, I recollected to what species they belonged, which by naturalists is named Loxia gregaria (Sociable Grossbeak).