They all stopped fifty feet from large animals, with thick horns curved backwards and flattened at the end, and with woolly fleece. They were not the common sheep. Their name, according to Herbert, was а Moufflon[29] .
As the ascension continued, the traces of lava were more frequent, and little sulphur springs[30] intercepted their route. As they neared the first plateau, the ascent became very difficult. By 4 o’clock they passed the last belt of trees. Fortunately for the engineer and his party, it was a pleasant, mild day. The sky overhead was extremely bright and clear. A perfect calm reigned around them. The sun was hidden by the upper mountain, which cast its shadow westward to the edge of the sea.
There were only 500 feet between the explorers and the plateau where they wanted to encamp for the night. It was almost night when the party arrived at the top of the first cone.
Now they must pitch their camp, and think of supper and sleep. The sailor built up a fireplace with huge stones. Neb and Herbert soon brought a load of thistles.
The night was beautiful and still; and not very dark. They walked together in silence. Sometimes the plateau was wide and easy, sometimes very encumbered with rubbish. There were yet 1,000 feet to climb. Fortunately, the long and sinuous declivities made a staircase, and greatly helped their ascent. The volcano was not only quiet, but extinct.
It was nearly 8 o’clock when they set foot on the summit[31] of the cone. The darkness was by this time complete, and they could hardly see around them. Was the land an island or a continent? They could not yet discover. At one point of the horizon suddenly appeared a vague light. The line of the horizon was now cloudless, and as the moon touched it, the engineer seized the boy’s hand.
– An island! – said he.
Chapter XI
Then they walked back to the camp. The country is an island, and tomorrow they will consider what to do.
The next day, March 30, after breakfast, they started out for the summit of the volcano. All desired to see the isle. Maybe they will spend their lives here. It was about 7 o’clock in the morning when they left the camp.
– Bah! – said Pencroff, – we got out of Richmond without the permission of the authorities, and it will be strange if we can’t get away from this place!
It was a superb day, and the southern side of the mountain was sunny. The crater was a huge shaft gradually opening to a height of 1,000 feet above the plateau. The interior of the crater was easily scaled. They saw on the way traces of ancient lava. As to the volcano chimney, its depth was lost in obscurity. Before 8 o’clock, they were standing at the summit of the crater.
– The sea! the sea everywhere! – was their exclamation. There it lay, an immense sheet of water around them on every side. Nothing appeared to the horizon-line, a radius of more than fifty miles. Not a sail was in sight. Around the island stretched an ocean.
Silent and motionless, they surveyed every point of the horizon. Then they looked down upon their island. Spilett asked:
– How large do you think this island is?
– It seemed small enough in the midst of the infinite ocean.
– My friends, – said Smith, – I think, the coast of the island is more than 100 miles around.
If Smith was right, the island was about the size of Malta[32] ; but it was more irregular than it. The eastern coast was a curve, it was embracing a large bay. On the northeast, two other capes shut in the bay, and between them lay a narrow gulf. From northeast to northwest the coast was round and flat, like the skull of a wild beast. Then came a hump, whose centre was occupied by the volcanic mountain. From this point the coast ran directly north and south. For two-thirds of its length it was bordered by a narrow creek; then it finished in along cue, like the tail of a gigantic alligator. The narrowest part of the island, between the Chimneys and the creek, on the west, was ten miles wide, but its greatest length was not less than thirty miles.
The southern part, from the shore to the mountain, was covered with woods; the northern part was arid and sandy. Between the volcano and the eastern coast there was a lake, surrounded by evergreens.
– So, it is a fresh water lake? – asked Pencroff.
– Yes, of course, – said the engineer.
– I can see a little river there, – said Herbert. He was pointing to a narrow brook.
The volcano did not occupy the centre of the island. It rose in the northwest. On the southwest, south, and southeast, the beginnings of the spurs were lost in masses of verdure.
They remained for an hour at the summit of the mountain. The island lay stretched before them. They understood the configuration of the entire island, but there remained a great question: was the island inhabited? It was the reporter who put this question. Nowhere could they perceive the handiwork of man; no late settlement on the beach, not even a lonely cabin or a fisherman’s hut. No smoke.
The exploration of the island was finished. They drew a map of it, and calculated its size. They wanted now to descend the declivities of the mountain, and to examine into the animal, vegetable, and mineral resources of the country. But before the departure, Cyrus Smith, in a calm, grave voice, addressed his companions.
– Look, my friends, upon this little corner of the earth. Here, perhaps, we may long dwell.
– Mr. Smith, – said the sailor, – we will make a little America here. We will build cities, lay railroads, establish telegraphs. We will be not castaways, but colonists. Well, let’s start!
– One minute, my friends, – said the engineer; – let’s name the island, the capes, promontories, and water-courses.
– Yes, – said Smith, – for instance, let us call the great bay to the east Union Bay[33] , the southern indentation Washington Bay[34] , the mountain on which we are standing Mount Franklin[35] , the lake beneath our feet Lake Grant[36] . These names will recall our country and its great citizens. What will you say, my friends?
The engineer’s proposal was unanimously applauded. Spilett put down the names over the proper places, and the geographical nomenclature of the island was complete.
– Now, – said the reporter, – to that peninsula projecting from the southwest I propose to give the name of Serpentine Peninsula[37] , and to call the twisted curve at the termination of it Reptile End [38] . It is just like a snake’s tail.
– And the other extremity of the island, – said Herbert, – the gulf is like a pair of jaws, let us call it Shark Gulf[39] .
– Good enough, – said Pencroff, – and we may call the two capes North Mandible[40] and South Mandible[41] . Now we must name the southwestern extremity of the island.
– Claw Cape[42] , – suggested Neb.