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Файл:The Crater; or, Vulcan’s Peak A Tale of the Pacific
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THE CRATER; OR, VULCAN’S PEAK: A TALE OF THE PACIFIC
enable the invalid to sit up in his bed. The cool breeze which
aired the cabin revived him a little, and he was able to stretch
out a hand and turn the cock of the fi lterer, which he had
himself drawn near his berth, while under the excitement of
fever, in order to obtain easy access to water. Accidentally this
fi lterer stood in a draught, and the quart or two of water that
had not yet evaporated was cool and palatable; that is, cool for
a ship and such a climate. One swallow of the water was all
Mark ventured on, but it revived him more than he could believe possible. Near the glass into which he had drawn the water, lay a small piece of pilot bread, and this he dropped into
the tumbler. Then he ventured to try his feet, when he found
a dizziness come over him, that compelled him to fall back on
his berth. Recovering from this in a minute or two, a second
attempt succeeded better, and the poor fellow, by supporting
himself against the bulkheads, and by leaning on chairs, was
enabled to reach the desk. The key was easily obtained, and
the table was next reached. Here Mark sunk into a chair, as
much exhausted as he would have been, previously to his illness, by a desperate effort to defend life.
The invalid was in his shirt, and the cool sea-breeze had
the effect of an air-bath on him. It revived him in a little while,
when he applied the key, opened the case, got out the bottle by
using both hands, though it was nearly empty, and poured
out a wine-glass of the liquor. With these little exertions he
was so much exhausted as almost to faint. Nothing saved him,
probably, but a sip of the wine which he took from the glass
as it stood on the table. It has been much the fashion, of late
years, to decry wine, and this because it is a gift of Providence
181
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
that has been greatly abused. In Mark Woolston’s instance it
proved, what it was designed to be, a blessing instead of a curse.
That single sip of wine produced an effect on him like that of
magic. It enabled him soon to obtain his tumbler of water, into
which he poured the remainder of the liquor. With the tumbler in his hand, the invalid next essayed to cross the cabin,
and to reach the berth in the other state-room. He was two
or three minutes in making this passage, sustained by a chair,
into which he sunk not less than three times, and revived by
a few more sips of the wine and water. In this state-room was
a bed with clean cool linen, that had been prepared for Bob,
but which that worthy fellow had pertinaciously refused to
use, out of respect to his offi cer. On these sheets Mark now
sank, almost exhausted. He had made a happy exchange, however, the freshness and sweetness of the new bed, of itself, acting as delicious restoratives.
After resting a few minutes, the solitary invalid formed
a new plan of proceeding. He knew the importance of not
over-exerting himself, but he also knew the importance of
cleanliness and of a renovation of his strength. By this time
the biscuit had got to be softened in the wine and water, and
he took a piece, and after masticating it well, swallowed it. This
was positively the fi rst food the sick and desolate young man
had received in a week. Fully aware of this, he abstained from
taking a second mouthful, though sorely pressed to it by hunger. So strong was the temptation, and so sweet did that morse
taste, that Mark felt he might not refrain unless he had something to occupy his mind for a few minutes. Taking a small
swallow of the wine and water, he again got on his feet, and
staggered to the drawer in which poor Captain Crutchely had
182
THE CRATER; OR, VULCAN’S PEAK: A TALE OF THE PACIFIC
kept his linen. Here he got a shirt, and tottered on as far as
the quarter-deck. Beneath the awning Mark had kept the section of a hogshead, as a bathing-tub, and for the purpose of
catching the rain-water that ran from the awning, Kitty often
visiting the ship and drinking from this reservoir.
The invalid found the tub full of fresh and sweet water,
and throwing aside the shirt in which he had lain so long, he
rather fell than seated himself in the water. After remaining
a suffi cient, time to recover his breath, Mark washed his head,
and long matted beard, and all parts of his frame, as well as
his strength would allow. He must have remained in the water
several minutes, when he managed to tear himself from it, as
fearful of excess from this indulgence as from eating. The invalid now felt like a new man! It is scarcely possible to express
the change that came over his feelings, when he found himself
purifi ed from the effects of so long a confi nement in a feverish
bed, without change, or nursing of any sort. After drying himself as well as he could with a towel, though the breeze and
the climate did that offi ce for him pretty effectually, Mark put
on the clean, fresh shirt, and tottered back to his own berth,
where he fell on the mattress, nearly exhausted. It was halfan-hour before he moved again, though all that time experiencing the benefi ts of the nourishment taken, and the purifi cation undergone. The bath, moreover, had acted as a tonic,
giving a stimulus to the whole system. At the end^of the half
hour, the young man took another mouthful of the biscuit,
half emptied the tumbler, fell back on his pillow, and was
soon in a sweet sleep.
It was near sunset when Mark lost his consciousness on
this occasion, nor did he recover it until the light of day was
183
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
once more cheering the cabin. He had slept profoundly twelve
hours, and this so much the more readily from the circumstance that he had previously refreshed himself with a bath
and clean linen. The fi rst consciousness of his situation was
accompanied with the bleat of poor Kitty. That gentle animal,
intended by nature to mix with herds, had visited the cabin
daily, and had been at the sick man’s side, when his fever
was at its height; and had now come again, as if to inquire after
his night’s rest. Mark held out his hand, and spoke to his companion, for such she was, and thought she was rejoiced to hear
his voice again, and to be allowed to lick his hand. There was
great consolation in this mute intercourse, poor Mark feeling
the want of sympathy so much as to fi nd a deep pleasure in
this proof of affection even in a brute.
Mark now arose, and found himself sensibly improved by
his night’s rest, the washing, and the nourishment received,
little as the last had been. His fi rst step was to empty the tumbler, bread and all. Then he took another bath, the last doing
quite as much good, he fancied, as his breakfast. All that day,
the young man managed his case with the same self-denial and
prudence, consuming a ship’s biscuit in the course of the next
twenty-four hours, and taking two or three glasses of the wine,
mixed with water and sweetened with sugar. In the afternoon
he endeavoured to shave, but the fi rst effort convinced him he
was getting well too fast.
It was thrice twenty-four hours after his fi rst bath, before
Mark Woolston had suffi cient strength to reach the galley
and light a fi re. In this he then succeeded, and he treated himself to a cup of good warm tea. He concocted some dishes of
arrow-root and cocoa, too, in the course of that and the next
184
THE CRATER; OR, VULCAN’S PEAK: A TALE OF THE PACIFIC
day, continuing his baths, and changing his linen repeatedly.
On the fi fth day, he got off his beard, which was a vast relief to
him, and by the end of the week he actually crawled up on
the poop, where he could get a sight of his domains.
The Summit was fast getting to be really green in considerable patches, for the whole rock was now covered with grass.
Kitty was feeding quietly enough on the hillside, the gentle
creature having learned to pass the curtain at the gate, and
go up and down the ascents at pleasure. Mark scarce dared to
look for his hogs, but there they were rooting and grunting
about the Reef, actually fat and contented. He knew that this
foreboded evil to his garden, for the creatures must have died
for want of food during his illness, had not some such relief
been found. As yet, his strength would not allow him to go
ashore, and he was obliged to content himself with this distant view of his estate. The poultry appeared to be well, and
the invalid fancied he saw chickens running at the side of
one of the hens.
It was a week later before Mark ventured to go as far as
the crater. On entering it, he found that his conjectures concerning the garden were true. Two-thirds of it had been dug
over by the snouts of his pigs, quite as effectually as he could
have done it, in his vigour, with the spade. Tops and roots
had been demolished alike, and about as much wasted as had
been consumed, Kitty was found, fl agrante delictu, nibbling at
the beans, which, by this time, were dead ripe. The peas, and
beans, and Indian corn had made good picking for the poultry; and everything possessing life had actually been living in
abundance, while the sick man had lain unconscious of even
his own, existence, in a state as near death as life.
185
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
Mark found his awning standing, and was glad to rest
an hour or two in his hammock, after looking at the garden.
While there the hogs entered the crater, and made a meal before his eyes. To his surprise, the sow was followed by ten little
creatures, that were already getting to be of the proper size for
eating. A ravenous appetite was now Mark’s greatest torment,
and the coarse food of the ship was rather too heavy for him.
He had exhausted his wit in contriving dishes of fl our, and
pined for something more grateful than salted beef, or pork.
Although he somewhat distrusted his strength, yet longing
induced him to make an experiment. A fowling-piece, loaded
with ball, was under the awning; and freshening the priming, the young man watched his opportunity when one of
the grunters was in a good position, and shot it in the head.
Then cutting its throat with a knife, he allowed it to bleed,
when he cleaned, and skinned it. This last operation was not
very artistical, but it was necessary in the situation of our invalid. With the carcase of this pig, which was quite as much
as he could even then carry back to the ship, though the animal was not yet six weeks old, Mark made certain savoury and
nourishing dishes, that contributed essentially to the restoration of his strength. In the course of the ensuing month three
more of the pigs shared the same fate, as did half-a-dozen of
the brood of chickens already mentioned, though the last
were not yet half-grown. But Mark felt, now, as if he could eat
the crater, though as yet he had not been able to clamber to
the Summit.
CHAPTER X
«Yea! long as nature’s humblest child
Hath kept her temple undefi led
By sinful sacrifi ce,
Earth’s fairest scenes are all his own,
He is a monarch, and his throne
Is built amid the skies».
Wilson.
Our youthful hermit was quite two months in regaining
his strength, though, by the end of one he was able to look
about him, and turn his hand to many little necessary jobs.
The fi rst thing he undertook was to set up a gate that would
keep the animals on the outside of the crater. The pigs had
not only consumed much the largest portion of his garden
truck, but they had taken a fancy to break up the crust of that
part of the crater where the grass was showing itself, and to
this inroad upon his meadows, Mark had no disposition to
submit. He had now ascertained that the surface of the plain,
though of a rocky appearance, was so far shelly and porous
that the seeds had taken very generally; and as soon as their
roots worked their way into the minute crevices, he felt cer-
187
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
tain they would of themselves convert the whole surface into
a soil suffi ciently rich to nourish the plants he wished to
produce there. Under such circumstances he did not desire the assistance of the hogs. As yet, however, the animals
had done good, rather than harm to the garden, by stirring
the soil up, and mixing the sea-weed and decayed fi sh with
it; but among the grass they threatened to be more destructive; than useful. In most places the crust of the plain was just
thick enough to bear the weight of a man, and Mark, no geologist, by the way, came to the conclusion that it existed at
all more through the agency of the salt deposited in ancient
fl oods, than from any other cause. According to the great general law of the earth, soil should have been formed from rock,
and not rock from soil: though there certainly are cases in
which the earths indurate, as well as become disintegrated.
As we are not professing to give a scientifi c account of these
matters, we shall simply state the facts, leaving better scholars
than ourselves to account for their existence.
Mark made his gate out of the fi fe-rail, at the foot of
the mainmast, sawing off the stanchions for that purpose.
With a little alteration it answered perfectly, being made to
swing from a post that was wedged into the arch, by cutting it to the proper length. As this was the fi rst attack upon
the Rancocus that had yet been made, by axe or saw, it made
the young man melancholy; and it was only with great reluctance that he could prevail on himself to begin what appeared like the commencement of breaking up the good craft.
It was done, however, and the gate was hung, thereby saving
the rest of the crop. It was high time; the hogs and poultry, to
188
THE CRATER; OR, VULCAN’S PEAK: A TALE OF THE PACIFIC
say nothing of Kitty, having already got their full share. The inroads of the fi rst, however, were of use in more ways than one,
since they taught our young cultivator a process by which he
could get his garden turned up at a cheap rate. They also suggested to him an idea that he subsequently turned to good
account. Having dug his roots so early, it occurred to Mark
that, in so low a climate, and with such a store of manure, he
might raise two crops in a year, those which came in the cooler
months varying a little in their properties from those which
came in the warmer. On this hint he endeavoured to improve,
commencing anew beds that, without it, would probably have
lain fallow some months longer.
In this way did our young man employ-himself until he
found his strength perfectly restored. But the severe illness he
had gone through, with the sad views it had given him of some
future day, when he might be compelled to give up life itself,
without a friendly hand to smooth his pillow, or to close his
eyes, led him to think far more seriously than he had done before, on the subject of the true character of our probationary
condition here on earth, and on the unknown and awful future to which it leads us. Mark had been carefully educated on
the subject of religion, and was well enough disposed to enter
into the inquiry in a suitable spirit of humility; but, the grave
circumstances in which he was now placed, contributed largely to the clearness of his views of the necessity of preparing for
the fi nal change. Cut off, as he was, from all communion with
his kind; cast on what was, when he fi rst knew it, literally a barren rock in the midst of the vast Pacifi c Ocean, Mark found
himself, by a very natural operation of causes, in much closer
189
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
communion with his Creator, than he might have been in
the haunts of the world. On the Reef, there was little to divert his thoughts from their true course; and the very ills that
pressed upon him, became so many guides to his gratitude by
showing, through the contrasts, the many blessings which had
been left him by the mercy of the hand that had struck him.
The nights in that climate and season were much the pleasantest portions of the four-and-twenty hours. There were no
exhalations from decayed vegetable substances or stagnant
pools, to create miasma, but the air was as pure and little to be
feared under a placid moon as under a noon-day sun. The fi rst
hours of night, therefore, were those in which our solitary man
chose to take most of his exercise, previously to his complete
restoration to strength; and then it was that he naturally fell
into an obvious and healthful communion with the stars.
So far as the human mind has as yet been able to penetrate
the mysteries of our condition here on-earth, with the double
connection between the past and the future, all its just inferences tend to the belief in an existence of a vast and benefi cent
design. We have somewhere heard, or read, that the gipsies believe that men are the fallen angels, oiling their way backward
on the fatal path along which hey formerly rushed to perdition. This may not be, probably is not true in its special detail;
but that men are placed here to prepare themselves for a future and higher condition of existence, is not only agreeable to
our consciousness, but is in harmony with revelation. Among
the many things that have been revealed to us, where so many
are hid, we are told that our information is to increase, as we
draw nearer to the millennium, until «The whole earth shall
190
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