Still a great many of the savages retained their stations about
      her, hammering with large stones, axes, and cannon balls at the
      bolts and other iron and copper work. On the beach, and in canoes
      and rafts, there were not less, altogether, in the immediate
      vicinity of the schooner, than ten thousand natives, besides the
      shoals of them who, laden with booty, were making their way
      inland and over to the neighbouring islands. We now anticipated a
      catastrophe, and were not disappointed. First of all there came a
      smart shock (which we felt as distinctly where we were as if we
      had been slightly galvanized), but unattended with any visible
      signs of an explosion. The savages were evidently startled, and
      paused for an instant from their labours and yellings. They were
      upon the point of recommencing, when suddenly a mass of smoke
      puffed up from the decks, resembling a black and heavy
      thundercloud—then, as if from its bowels, arose a tall stream of
      vivid fire to the height, apparently, of a quarter of a mile—then
      there came a sudden circular expansion of the flame—then the
      whole atmosphere was magically crowded, in a single instant, with
      a wild chaos of wood, and metal, and human limbs—and, lastly,
      came the concussion in its fullest fury, which hurled us
      impetuously from our feet, while the hills echoed and re-echoed
      the tumult, and a dense shower of the minutest fragments of the
      ruins tumbled headlong in every direction around us. The havoc among the savages far exceeded our utmost expectation,
      and they had now, indeed, reaped the full and perfect fruits of
      their treachery. Perhaps a thousand perished by the explosion,
      while at least an equal number were desperately mangled. The
      whole surface of the bay was literally strewn with the struggling
      and drowning wretches, and on shore matters were even worse. They
      seemed utterly appalled by the suddenness and completeness of
      their discomfiture, and made no efforts at assisting one another. At length we observed a total change in their demeanour. From
      absolute stupor, they appeared to be, all at once, aroused to the
      highest pitch of excitement, and rushed wildly about, going to
      and from a certain point on the beach, with the strangest
      expressions of mingled horror, rage, and intense curiosity
      depicted on their countenances, and shouting, at the top of their
      voices, “Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!”

      Presently we saw a large body go off into the hills, whence they
      returned in a short time, carrying stakes of wood. These they
      brought to the station where the crowd was the thickest, which
      now separated so as to afford us a view of the object of all this
      excitement. We perceived something white lying upon the ground,
      but could not immediately make out what it was. At length we saw
      that it was the carcass of the strange animal with the scarlet
      teeth and claws which the schooner had picked up at sea on the
      eighteenth of January. Captain Guy had had the body preserved for
      the purpose of stuffing the skin and taking it to England. I
      remember he had given some directions about it just before our
      making the island, and it had been brought into the cabin and
      stowed away in one of the lockers. It had now been thrown on
      shore by the explosion; but why it had occasioned so much concern
      among the savages was more than we could comprehend. Although
      they crowded around the carcass at a little distance, none of
      them seemed willing to approach it closely. By-and-by the men
      with the stakes drove them in a circle around it, and no sooner
      was this arrangement completed, than the whole of the vast
      assemblage rushed into the interior of the island, with loud
      screams of “Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!”




CHAPTER 23


      During the six or seven days immediately following we remained in
      our hiding-place upon the hill, going out only occasionally, and
      then with the greatest precaution, for water and filberts. We had
      made a kind of penthouse on the platform, furnishing it with a
      bed of dry leaves, and placing in it three large flat stones,
      which served us for both fireplace and table. We kindled a fire
      without difficulty by rubbing two pieces of dry wood together,
      the one soft, the other hard. The bird we had taken in such good
      season proved excellent eating, although somewhat tough. It was
      not an oceanic fowl, but a species of bittern, with jet black and
      grizzly plumage, and diminutive wings in proportion to its bulk. We afterward saw three of the same kind in the vicinity of the
      ravine, apparently seeking for the one we had captured; but, as
      they never alighted, we had no opportunity of catching them. As long as this fowl lasted we suffered nothing from our
      situation, but it was now entirely consumed, and it became
      absolutely necessary that we should look out for provision. The
      filberts would not satisfy the cravings of hunger, afflicting us,
      too, with severe gripings of the bowels, and, if freely indulged
      in, with violent headache. We had seen several large tortoises
      near the seashore to the eastward of the hill, and perceived they
      might be easily taken, if we could get at them without the
      observation of the natives. It was resolved, therefore, to make
      an attempt at descending. We commenced by going down the southern declivity, which seemed
      to offer the fewest difficulties, but had not proceeded a hundred
      yards before (as we had anticipated from appearances on the
      hilltop) our progress was entirely arrested by a branch of the
      gorge in which our companions had perished. We now passed along
      the edge of this for about a quarter of a mile, when we were
      again stopped by a precipice of immense depth, and, not being
      able to make our way along the brink of it, we were forced to
      retrace our steps by the main ravine. We now pushed over to the eastward, but with precisely similar
      fortune. After an hour’s scramble, at the risk of breaking our
      necks, we discovered that we had merely descended into a vast pit
      of black granite, with fine dust at the bottom, and whence the
      only egress was by the rugged path in which we had come down. Toiling again up this path, we now tried the northern edge of the
      hill. Here we were obliged to use the greatest possible caution
      in our maneuvers, as the least indiscretion would expose us to
      the full view of the savages in the village.