The Coral Bones by E. J. Swift

Author:E. J. Swift [E. J. Swift]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: na
Publisher: Unsung Stories
Published: 2022-11-14T23:00:00+00:00

Judith

Captain Cook’s Lizards – Encounter with Natives – On the Power of Steam – Dissection of Acropora – Revelry on the Reef – A Spectacular Moon –

Enigma of the Pink Algae

October 10, 1839

We are come to a trio of islands, the largest of which was named by Captain Cook for its population of monitor lizards, an animal I am keen to observe. Relations have thawed somewhat between Father and myself, but I remain exceedingly vexed by the dreadful affair with the manta ray, and cannot accept the blame that Father places upon me. The island, then, was a welcome sight. I knew Father’s spirits would be buoyed by the knowledge that we sailed in the wake of his heroes, and this being a larger island, there would be opportunities to go ashore.

I remained aboard whilst the first party went on a reconnaissance to search for signs of natives. Father’s instructions are to establish friendly relations with the local tribes where possible, but in all the weeks of our voyage, whilst we have found evidence of habitation, we have not managed to meet a single one. It seems they have no interest in us, and our only sightings – once a distant canoe, moving fast across a bay, once two men on the outskirts of a forest – have ended with the natives vanishing, and all attempts to follow are thwarted.

The reconnaissance party reported they had found piles of shells around the island. Some of these, they say, are as high as houses. Mr Pooke claims the shells are evidence that natives pass through these parts, even if they do not live here, for they have clearly consumed the shellfish flesh within. Mr Rush brought back a particularly fine clamshell which he showed Father and loaned to me for sketching. Father was pleased by the reports. He says that clams and oysters could provide a good livelihood for future colonists. Furthermore, he wished to climb the summit where Captain Cook famously stood, seeking an exit from the maze of reefs, and so for the first time he and I were to go ashore together. I took this as further evidence of Father’s relenting, and vowed to conduct myself with decorum.

We climbed the hill accompanied by two of Father’s men and Mr Rush, who wished to paint the view. I was eager to see it myself, but our climb was in many ways a torture, for every step was marked by the calls of seabirds circling overhead, and rustlings from the long grasses, and Father had no time to stop and wait for me to investigate every sound. I set my ears against the island’s song, and focussed on placing my feet. When we reached the summit, my efforts proved worthwhile. Our view was unimpeded. The granite flanks of the island sloped away to meet the turquoise swirl of a lagoon, bordered by two smaller islands to the south. Beyond them, the ocean rippled away, a deep indigo broken only by a

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