Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-19
vi.
The Island.

came on deck one morning at about four
bells to find the entire ships company afoot.
Even the doctor was there. Everybody was
gazing eagerly at a narrow. mountainous
island lying slate-coored across the early
morning.
We were as yet some twenty miles dis
tant from 1t. and could make out nothing
but its general outline. The latter was
sharply defined. rising and falling to n
highest point one side of the middle. Over
the island, and raggedly clasping its sides,
hung a cloud, the only one visible in the
sky.
/ joined the afterguard.
You see?' the doctor was exclaiming.
1T ISIS l hat said. The island ISIS there.
Everything ISIS as it should be-" He was
quite excited.
Percy barrow, toe, was shaken out of his
ordinary calm.
THE volcano is active was his only
comment but it explained the ragged cloud.
You say there's harbor?" inquired
Capt. Selover.
1T should be on the west end" said DR..
Schermerhorn.
Capt. Selover drew me one side. He, too,
was little aroused.
Now wouldn't that get you?" he squeak
ed. Doctor runs up against a Norwegian
bum who tells him about volcanic island
and gives its bearings. The island amt on
the map at all. Doctor believes 1t. and
makes me lay my course for those bearings.
And here's the island, So the buns story
was true! I'd like to know what the rest of
1t was!' His eyes were shining.
do we anchor or stand off and on?' l
asked.
Capt Selover turned to grip me by the
shoulder.
II have orders from barrow to get to a
good berth. to land. to build shore quarters,
and to snug down for a stay Of year at
least!'
We stared at each other.
Joyous prospect" / muttered Hope
there's something to do there"
The morning wore. and we rapidly ap-
preached the island. 1t proved to be ut
terly precipitous. The high rounded hills
sloped easily to within a hundred feet or
so OF the water and then fell away alb
ruptly. Where the earth ended was a fam
tastic filgree border. like the fancy paper
with which our mothers used to line the
pantry shelves. Below, the white surges
flung themselves against the cliffs with
wild abandon. Thousands of sea birds
wheeled in the eddies Of the wind, thou
sands of ravens perohed on the slopes.
With our glasses We could make out the
heads Of seals fishing outside the surf, and
q ragged belt of kelp.
When within mile we ut the helm up,
and ran for the west end A bold point we
avoided far out. lest there should be out
lying lodges. Then we came in sight Of
broad beach and pounding surf.
/ was ordered to take surf boat and in
vestigate for a landing and an anchorage.
THE swell was running high. We rowed
back and forth, puzzled to how to get
ashore with all the freight it would be nee
essary to land The ship would lie well
enough. for the only open exposure was
broken by long reef over which We could
make out the seas tumbling. But inshore
the great waves rolled smoothly. swiftly
then suddenly fell forward as over a ledge.
and spread with roar across the yellow
sands The fresh winds blew the spume
back to us. We conversed in shouts.
1--WE can surf the boat" yelled Thrackes,
"but we can't land a load"
That was my opinion. We rowed slowly
along. parallel to the short, and just out
side the line of breakers.
1 don't know exactly how to tell you the
manner in which we became aware of the
cove. 1t was as nearly the instantaneous
as can be imagined One minute l looked
ahead on cliff as unbroken as the side
of cabin: the very next / peered down
the length of a cove fifty fathoms long by
about ten wide, at the end OF which was
gravel bea oh. l cried out sharply to the
men. They were quite much astonished
as /. We backed water, watching closely.
At a given point the cove and all trace of
its entrance disappeared. We could only
just make out the line where the headlands
dissolved into the background of the cliffs,
and that merely because we knew of its
existence. The blending was perfect.
We rowed in.~ The water was still. A
faint ebb and flow whispered against the
tiny gravel beach at the end. I noted a
practicable way from it to the top of the
cliff, and from the cliff down again to the
sand beach. Everything was perfect. The
water was beautiful light green, like semi
opaque glass, and from the ndistinctness of
its depths waved and beckoned rose and
disappeared with indeScribable grace and
deliberation long feathery sea growths In
a moment the bottom abruptly Swallowed.
The motion of the boat toward the beach
permitted us to catch a hasty glimpse of
little fish dartng, of big fish turning, of
yellow sand and some vivid color. Then
came the CRATE of gravel and the scraping
of the boats bottom on the beach.
We jumped ashore eagerly. l left the
men, very reluctant, and assembled a nat
ural trail to a high sloping down over
which blew the great Trades. Grass sprung
nee-high. A low hill rose at the back
From below the fall of the cliff came the
pounding of surf.
I walked to the edge. Various lodges
sloping toward me- ran down to the sea-
Against one of them was a wreck, not so
very old, head on, her afterworks gone. /
recognized the name Golden Horn, and was
vastly astonished to find her here against
this unknown island. Far up the coast I
could see-with the surges dashing up like
the explosion of shells. and the cliffs, and
the rampant of hills grown with grass and
cactus. A bold promontory terminated the
coast view to the north. and behind it
could glimpse a more fertile and wooded
country. The sky was partly overcast by
the volcanic murk. 1t fled before the
Trades, and the red sun alternately DlaZeO
and clouded through 1t.
AS there was nothing more to be seen
here l turned above the hollow of our cove,
skirted the base of the HILL and SO down to
the beach.
It occupied a wide semi-circle where the
hills drew back. The fiat was dry and
grown with thick. coarse grass. stream
emerged from a sort of canyon on its land
ward side. I tasted 1t. found it suphurous
and triae worse than lukewarm. A little
nearer the cliff. however, was a clear, cold
spring from the rock. and of this l had a
satisfying drink When l arose from my
knees. l made out animal on the hill
crest looking al me. but before l could dis
tinguish its characteristics 1t had disap-
peared.
returned along the tide sands. The surf
dashed and roared, lifting seaweeds of a
blood red. SO that in places the water looked
pink. Seals innumerable watched me from
just outside the breakers. AS the waves
lifted to a semi-transparence. ! could make
out others playing darling back and forth
up and down like disturbed tadpoes. cling
ing to the wave until the very instant of its
fall, .then disappearing as though blotted
out The salt smell of seaweed was in my
nostrils; l found the place pleasant
With these few and scattered Impressions
we returned the shin. If had been