Island of the Lost - A Harrowing True Story of Shipwreck Death and Survival on a Godforsaken Island at the Edge of the World by Joan Druett

Author:Joan Druett [Druett, Joan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781741753684
Amazon: 1741753686
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2007-08-14T14:00:00+00:00

TWENTY MILES TO THE NORTH, Robert Holding was braving the bitter cold to trek across a peninsula to the northwest tip of Port Ross. He was aware that the Invercauld survivors he had left behind at the ruined settlement of Hardwicke were gathered around the fire he had left in the hearth of the one remaining wreck of a house. They might be a great deal warmer than he was, but he was convinced they were signing their death warrant.

As he ruminated, it was impossible to tell what horrid scene he might find when he eventually returned. They might be dead, or they might be still clinging to life by eating the few Stilbocarpa roots that grew in the area, plus whatever stray shellfish those who still had the strength to forage could find on the beach. Right now, though, his main preoccupation was to find a more promising place to camp. Then — but only then — he would go back to fetch whoever might still be alive.

Because the rocks on the beach were so slippery and dangerous, he was forced to go inland and negotiate the thick, scrubby, contorted forest, which was so tangled that much of the time he had to crawl on hands and knees. Once he was startled by the bark of a seal; then the animal lunged up at him from the gloom of the forest floor. Being taken by surprise, all he could do was hastily get out of the way, but it gave him great hopes for the future. Meantime, just as he did every night of the trek, Holding lit a fire, cooked what shellfish and roots he had gathered that day, and then lay down to sleep in the wet moss and rotted leaves.

Finally he broke out onto a bluff overlooking the bay and the sea, and stood with his club in his hand, staring about intently at the same scene that Musgrave had glimpsed in the far distance, from the top of the mountain above Epigwaitt. Directly in front of him was an islet, two-thirds covered with grass and scrub, where he could glimpse seals on the distant rocks. It was out of reach, being on the far side of a passage five hundred yards wide, but closer to hand were rocks covered with limpets and mussels. After lighting a fire and building a brush wigwam, Holding camped here for several days.

Eventually, however, the urge took him to return to Hardwicke, a journey that took a much shorter time than the trek out — just half a day. Getting there, he walked into a grim and depressing scene. Not only had the party done nothing to improve their circumstances but the steward and the two boys, Liddle and Lansfield, had died. According to a story Captain Dalgarno later told a reporter from the Aberdeen Herald, after he had been out looking for food one day, he came back to find the men in a tight group around the fire, leaving no room for him.

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