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[page 168, continued:]
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CHAPTER XXI.
AS soon as I
could collect
my
scattered senses, I found myself nearly suffocated, and grovelling in
utter
darkness among a quantity of loose earth, which was also falling upon
me
heavily in every direction, threatening to bury me entirely. Horribly
alarmed
at this idea, I struggled to gain my feet, and at last succeeded. I
then
remained motionless for some moments, endeavouring to conceive what had
happened to me, and where I was. Presently I heard a deep groan just at
my ear, and afterward the smothered voice of Peters calling to me for
aid
in the name of God. I scrambled one or two paces forward, when I fell
directly
over the head and shoulders of my companion, who, I soon discovered,
was
buried in a loose mass of earth as far as his middle, and struggling
desperately
to free himself from the pressure. I tore the dirt from around him with
all the energy I could command, and at length succeeded in getting him
out.
As soon as we sufficiently recovered
from our
fright
and surprise to be capable of conversing rationally, we both came to
the
conclusion that the walls of the fissure in which we had ventured had,
by some convulsion of nature, or probably from their own weight, caved
in overhead, and that we were consequently lost for ever, being thus
entombed
alive. For a long time we gave up supinely to the most intense agony
and
despair, such as cannot be adequately imagined by those who have never
been in a similar situation. I firmly believe that no incident ever
occurring
in the course of human events is [page 169:] more
adapted
to inspire the supremeness of mental and bodily distress than a case
like
our own, of living inhumation. The blackness of darkness which envelops
the victim, the terrific oppression of lungs, the stifling fumes from
the
damp earth, unite with the ghastly considerations that we are beyond
the
remotest confines of hope, and that such is the allotted portion of the
dead, to carry into the human heart a degree of appalling awe and
horror
not to be tolerated — never to be conceived.
At length Peters proposed that we
should
endeavour
to ascertain precisely the extent of our calamity, and grope about our
prison; it being barely possible, he observed, that some opening might
yet be left us for escape. I caught eagerly at this hope, and, arousing
myself to exertion, attempted to force my way through the loose earth.
Hardly had I advanced a single step before a glimmer of light became
perceptible,
enough to convince me that, at all events, we should not immediately
perish
for want of air. We now took some degree of heart, and encouraged each
other to hope for the best. Having scrambled over a bank of rubbish
which
impeded our farther progress in the direction of the light, we found
less
difficulty in advancing, and also experienced some relief from the
excessive
oppression of lungs which had tormented us. Presently we were enabled
to
obtain a glimpse of the objects around, and discovered that we were
near
the extremity of the straight portion of the fissure, where it made a
turn
to the left. A few struggles more, and we reached the bend, when, to
our
inexpressible joy, there appeared a long seam or crack extending upward
a vast distance, generally at an angle of about forty-five degrees,
although
sometimes much more precipitous. We could not see through the whole
extent
of this opening; but, as a good deal of light came down it, we had
little
doubt of finding at the top of it (if we could by any means reach the
top)
a clear passage into the open air.
I now called to mind that three of us
had entered
the fissure from the main gorge, and that our companion, Allen, was
still
missing; we determined at once to retrace our steps and look for him.
After
a long search, [page 170:] and much danger from
the
farther caving in of the earth above us, Peters at length cried out to
me that he had hold of our companion's foot, and that his whole body
was
deeply buried beneath the rubbish, beyond a possibility of extricating
him. I soon found that what he said was too true, and that, of course,
life had been long extinct. With sorrowful hearts, therefore, we left
the
corpse to its fate, and again made our way to the bend.
The breadth of the seam was barely
sufficient to
admit us, and, after one or two ineffectual efforts at getting up, we
began
once more to despair. I have before said that the chain of hills
through
which ran the main gorge was composed of a species of soft rock
resembling
soapstone. The sides of the cleft we were now attempting to ascend were
of the same material, and so excessively slippery, being wet, that we
could
get but little foothold upon them even in their least precipitous
parts;
in some places, where the ascent was nearly perpendicular, the
difficulty
was, of course, much aggravated; and, indeed, for some time we thought
insurmountable. We took courage, however, from despair; and what, by
dint
of cutting steps in the soft stone with our Bowie knives, and swinging,
at the risk of our lives, to small projecting points of a harder
species
of slaty rock which now and then protruded from the general mass, we at
length reached a natural platform, from which was perceptible a patch
of
blue sky, at the extremity of a thickly-wooded ravine. Looking back
now,
with somewhat more leisure, at the passage through which we had thus
far
proceeded, we clearly saw, from the appearance of its sides, that it
was
of late formation, and we concluded that the concussion, whatever it
was,
which had so unexpectedly overwhelmed us, had also, at the same moment,
laid open this path for escape. Being quite exhausted with exertion,
and,
indeed, so weak that we were scarcely able to stand or articulate,
Peters
now proposed that we should endeavour to bring our companions to the
rescue
by firing the pistols which still remained in our girdles — the muskets
as well as cutlasses had been lost among the loose earth at the bottom
of the chasm. Subsequent [page 171:] events proved
that, had we fired, we should have sorely repented it; but luckily, a
half
suspicion of foul play had by this time arisen in my mind, and we
forbore
to let the savages know of our whereabouts.
After having reposed for about an
hour, we pushed
on slowly up the ravine, and had gone no great way before we heard a
succession
of tremendous yells. At length we reached what might be called the
surface
of the ground; for our path hitherto, since leaving the platform, had
lain
beneath an archway of high rock and foliage, at a vast distance
overhead.
With great caution we stole to a narrow opening, through which we had a
clear sight of the surrounding country, when the whole dreadful secret
of the concussion broke upon us in one moment and at one view.
The spot from which we looked was not
far from
the
summit of the highest peak in the range of the soapstone hills. The
gorge
in which our party of thirty-two had entered ran within fifty feet to
the
left of us. But, for at least one hundred yards, the channel or bed of
this gorge was entirely filled up with the chaotic ruins of more than a
million tons of earth and stone that had been artificially tumbled
within
it. The means by which the vast mass had been precipitated were not
more
simple than evident, for sure traces of the murderous work were yet
remaining.
In several spots along the top of the eastern side of the gorge (we
were
now on the western) might be seen stakes of wood driven into the earth.
In these spots the earth had not given way, but throughout the whole
extent
of the face of the precipice from which the mass had fallen, it
was clear, from marks left in the soil resembling those made by the
drill
of the rock-blaster, that stakes similar to those we saw standing had
been
inserted, at not more than a yard apart, for the length of perhaps
three
hundred feet, and ranging at about ten feet back from the edge of the
gulf.
Strong cords of grape vine were attached to the stakes still remaining
on the hill, and it was evident that such cords had also been attached
to each of the other stakes. I have already spoken of the singular
stratification
of these soapstone [page 172:] hills; and the
description
just given of the narrow and deep fissure through which we effected our
escape from inhumation will afford a further conception of its nature.
This was such that almost every natural convulsion would be sure to
split
the soil into perpendicular layers or ridges running parallel with one
another; and a very moderate exertion of art would be sufficient for
effecting
the same purpose. Of this stratification the savages had availed
themselves
to accomplish their treacherous ends. There can be no doubt that, by
the
continuous line of stakes, a partial rupture of the soil had been
brought
about probably to the depth of one or two feet, when, by means of a
savage
pulling at the end of each of the cords (these cords being attached to
the tops of the stakes, and extending back from the edge of the cliff),
a vast leverage power was obtained, capable of hurling the whole face
of
the hill, upon a given signal, into the bosom of the abyss below. The
fate
of our poor companions was no longer a matter of uncertainty. We alone
had escaped from the tempest of that overwhelming destruction. We were
the only living white men upon the island. |
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