第16章

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 hid 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.