Three Years in Tristan da Cunha by K. M. Barrow

K >> K. M. Barrow >> Three Years in Tristan da Cunha

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18

The cooking is done mostly in large pots and frying-pans, as there are no
ovens, though a temporary one is made on special occasions such as a great
feast. The chief meat dish is stuffed mutton, the stuffing consisting of
potatoes and parsley seasoned with pepper and salt. The greatest delicacy
is the stuffed sucking-pig which takes the place of our turkey.

The animals on the island are cattle, sheep, donkeys, pigs, geese, fowls,
dogs, cats and rats. There were about seven hundred head of cattle in
1905, far more than there was pasture for. Between the months of May and
November of that year nearly four hundred died from starvation. From the
same cause a loss of cattle occurs every few years, but never before had
there been so great a one. The number of sheep was about eight hundred; of
donkeys there were about thirty, and perhaps there were as many, or more,
pigs, which usually have to find their own living, as also do the geese
and fowls. A great number of dogs are kept, some families keeping as many
as four. Most of these too have to find their own living, which
occasionally they do by hunting the sheep and by night raids on the geese.

The rats came from the _Henry B. Paul_ which was wrecked on Tristan in
1882. Only about half-a-dozen got ashore, which Mr. Dodgson urged the men
to kill, pointing out what trouble they would cause if not destroyed, but
the men thought a few rats wouldn't hurt, and did nothing.

CHAPTER IV

The last chapter has related some things that obviously came later to our
knowledge. I now return to the order of my diary and letters.

_Monday, April_ 9, 1906.--Betty Cotton came in early this morning to look
after our wants. She was going to get us an early cup of tea, but at my
suggestion made it breakfast. Later on Graham and I wandered on to the
common. It was such a beautiful morning, and the sea like a mill-pond. We
found many of the women washing clothes, and had a talk with several of
them. The men had gone off early in three boats to fetch some of the
luggage from where it had been landed about eight miles away. They were
not back much before noon. Most of the women went down to meet them, and
as each boat came in assisted in dragging it up. It was a most picturesque
sight to see some half-dozen carts, each drawn by a pair of bullocks,
wending their way down to the beach to fetch up the luggage which was
lying on the shore. The small carts were slowly filled, and then the oxen
were piloted up a most rough and rocky road by boys who guided them with
their whips. Betty, Ellen and I watched it all from the cliff. A good deal
of the luggage was piled in Betty's sitting-room, and the rest taken to
John Glass's house.

_Tuesday, April_ l0.--Today has been so wet and rough that it was
impossible for the men to go for any more luggage. Happily, it is covered
over with a tarpaulin from the _Surrey_, so we hope it will not get much
damaged. That which was brought yesterday got rather wet, and we have had
to unpack and dry pillows and other things. At present we are unpacking
only what is absolutely necessary, which is but little.

It has been arranged for us to live in this house. Betty is kindly giving
it up to us and is going to live in a room attached to the house opposite.
One and another family is providing for our needs. One will come with a
few eggs which are scarce now, another with apples, and a third with
butter. Then at dinner-time is brought a plate of hot meat and potatoes. A
plentiful supply of milk is provided, and we drink it at dinner. Although
there is hardly any flour on the island they are using what little there
is to make us bread.

The men have already set to to prepare the house which is to be used as
church and school. A widow, Lucy Green, has generously offered it for this
purpose, as she had done before in Mr. Dodgson's time.

_Wednesday, April_ 11.--We went up this morning to the school-house and
found men busy washing the painted ceiling. When we went again in the
afternoon all their work was done and women were washing the floor. The
Communion Table had been brought down from the loft--it needed only a
little repairing. The Communion Cloth from St. Andrews
[Footnote: Malvern Common, Great Malvern.]
fits it almost exactly and looks so well. There is a small prayer-desk and
a nice oak lectern, and we have brought from Mr. Dodgson the stone font he
used. The church will be quite ready for Good Friday services.

The next work to be undertaken will be our house. The people love to come
and see us, and we are not left much to ourselves. Repetto, who was
shipwrecked here about fifteen years ago, was a sergeant in the Italian
navy; he is an intelligent-looking man, short, with dark hair, pale face,
and a slight squint. He married a Green, one of Betty's nieces, and has
six children. Some of the men and women are fine-looking people. The
weather has prevented any more luggage being fetched.

_Thursday, April_ l2.--It has been the same today. The men have started on
the house. To make our bedroom a little larger the partition has been
moved back so as to take in a piece of the kitchen. Our cases are being
used to re-floor the bedroom and passage, which had a large hole in it. A
partition will be taken down in Ellen's room, which will then open out on
to the front door, and a curtain is to be hung across the opening. The
walls of the bedrooms are covered with illustrated papers, which here take
the place of wallpaper. Two girls have been helping to tear these off, and
the walls will be whitewashed. We brought lime and brushes from the Cape.
The doors have the most primitive and varied fastenings, and one a bit of
rope in the place of a handle. Many panes in the windows are cracked, and
one or two have departed altogether. There is a front and a back entrance.
Along the front of the house runs a path, on the other side of which, with
a wall between, is the garden. This is fairly large and is bounded by
stone walls and a hedge of flax. From its appearance it has had no
cultivation for some years. As far as I can see the only sign of any crop
besides weeds is an entangled strawberry patch. There is a good view of
the sea from the house and garden. I spent most of the morning, which was
a fine one, in a sheltered corner by the brook, where Ellen was washing a
few clothes. I had previously done a little washing too. We already feel
at home, and I am sure we shall settle down happily. We find Tristan far
more beautiful than we expected; the mountains seem very near and are most
imposing, and the light on them at times is very beautiful. Little
rivulets are to be seen coursing down close to the houses. They have been
diverted from the main stream--known as the "Big Watering." We have one
just outside the back door, and not many yards away the Big Watering
itself.

_Good Friday, April_ 13.--We got up at 6.30. Ellen and I are sleeping in
our deck-chairs in the sitting-room. Graham goes out first thing to fetch
water for our baths, as we have not enough utensils to lay in a store the
night before. Life is delightfully primitive here.

A man named John Glass is to be the church clerk, and he appeared about
eight o'clock to carry the harmonium up to the church; service was at
10.30. No one went into church until we arrived; groups of men and women
were waiting on the common in their Sunday clothes, the women looking so
picturesque in bright garments. The church room was packed. We learnt
afterwards that every man, woman and child was present except old Caroline
Swain, who is an invalid; we were seventy-four in all. We had a very
simple and short service, Graham explaining as he went along what we were
to do. Every one was most reverent and all knelt. There were four hymns,
and how they enjoyed the singing of them! It was surprising how well they
got on. The women all said, "Good-morning, marm," as they entered the
church. At first it was difficult to understand what they said, but now I
am more able to do so. On our way home we met Betty Cotton, who said,
"It's the best 'Sunday' I have had since Mr. Dodgson left." She is a dear
old body, and is making it her mission to look after us.

[Illustration: THE WATERFALL]

People have been in and out most of the day. Graham proposed to some men
who came to see him that they should take a walk up the mountain, so they
went up the Goat Ridge, which is quite near, and climbed about nine
hundred feet. Ellen and I went down to the seashore where there is a
strong smell of seaweed. The sand is black, which is owing to the volcanic
origin of Tristan. The cliffs at this spot are lovely with overhanging
green, and with a very pretty waterfall, caused by the Big Watering
finding its way over the cliff into the sea. This waterfall marks the
settlement landing-place. Rebekah Swain, aged twenty-eight, came up and
asked if it would be "insulting" if she came and sat by us. I had my
hymn-book with tunes, and so we chose the hymns for Easter Sunday. She
held the pages down as I turned them over, for the wind was blowing, and
told me what hymns the people knew. She is the daughter of Mrs. Susan
Swain, who has been teaching the children. She took us for a walk along
the shore and by a new way up the cliff. Seeing Ellen was tired, she said,
"If you will take my arm, I will take you along." She also said, "The
missus can go quick," as she saw me clambering up the cliff. She invited
us up to her mother's house, who insisted upon our having a cup of tea,
which was drunk in the presence of many spectators, for the room soon
began to fill. Mrs. Swain showed me letters which she had received from
ladies in England. She herself cannot write. When I got home I found
Graham entertaining Mr. and Mrs. Lavarello. They had come with milk and a
loaf of bread. They bake the loaf in an iron pot with a lid, on which they
light the fire. Lavarello is one of the shipwrecked Italians. Ruth Swain,
a girl of seventeen, next came in, then two little boys, and finally Mrs.
Repetto. The people have so intermarried, and there are so many of the
same name, that it is difficult to distinguish one person from another,
but we are learning to do so gradually. There is an intense eagerness
among the elders that their children shall get some "larning." The
remaining luggage has not yet come.

_Saturday, April_ l4.--It has been a wet day. The men have been very busy
in the sitting-room, so we spent most of our time in the bedroom, which is
more than half-full of cases and baggage. Repetto has just had supper with
us, and has been telling all about Captain Kerry's visit in the _Pandora_.

CHAPTER V

On Easter Sunday we had eight o'clock Communion; twelve were present. As
there are no Communion rails we knelt in front of two forms. Almost every
family has provided a form which just gives the necessary seating
accommodation. The next service was at 10:30. I am so glad we brought
prayer-books and hymn-books, as not many seem to possess them. We were
again struck with the heartiness of the singing. Graham spoke a few simple
words on the Resurrection. All the babies were brought to church, and
there was a little crying. There was one very fat child of thirteen months
that has something wrong with it, for it cannot sit up. I noticed also a
man with no forearms, but with terribly deformed fingers where the elbow
would be.

This afternoon we had baptisms; there were four children to be baptized,
and a fifth to be received into the congregation. One of the mothers, a
Mrs. Hagan, came in before the service to ask if Ellen "would come along
with her to church." Graham could not make out what she meant; it was,
would Ellen be god-mother to her baby boy. It was a large assembly that
stood round the small font. The children were young enough for Graham to
take in his arms. As the people stayed on while he wrote the particulars
in the register, I played hymns to them. When we got back at about 4:20 we
had visitors till 6:30. They are so pleased to have some one to talk to;
the men come in as much as, if not more than, the women.

I must not forget to record that we had rather a disturbed night on
Saturday. First, there was heavy rain and it came through the ceiling
close to where Ellen was sleeping; then the cat caught a rat under the
table, and Rob went for her wishing to share the spoil. This is the first
rat I have seen here, though I have heard them in the house. They are in
shoals all over the mountains, and eat the fruit in the orchards. There
have been no peaches for years, and there used to be bushels of them. The
people say it is owing to the rats. Graham has spoken seriously to the
men, and told them they should have one day a week for an onslaught. They
did try it one year, and say it made a perceptible difference in the
number.

It was decidedly cold when we first got here, making us glad to have warm
things, and in the evening we appreciated our large open hearth and wood
fire. To-day it is much warmer.

_Wednesday, April_ l8.--On Monday, though not a very good day, the men
went in two boats to fetch more luggage. Unfortunately it came on to rain
hard. In landing on the shore where it is stored they nearly lost their
boats, the surf was so heavy. We spent the morning in pasting strips of
calico along the cracks of the ceiling in our sitting-room; it was rather
a business, but Rebekah came in and helped. At present there is no getting
a rest in the middle of the day, for there is no quiet spot for it.

On Monday night we again heard the rats scampering about overhead, and
this morning early Graham was much pleased to find five in the wire trap
on the kitchen window-ledge; one eventually escaped. Through the night we
had heard the cat crunching rats close by.

Yesterday upon opening a case we found three pillows and a mattress had
got wet. If the wetting is from salt water they will have to be soaked in
fresh. The other pillows that got wet have not felt dry since, but still I
have had to lie upon them; the deck-chairs are in the same state.

We are living in such a muddle, our things being heaped up against the
wall. Presently they will have to be removed to another room while this
one is whitewashed and then back again. To find things is almost an
impossibility. By the end of the week we hope to be much straighter. All
the men have worked with a will. This morning they fetched the remaining
luggage from the shore, and this afternoon have been working hard at the
house. I went down with my camera and took photographs of the boats
unloading and of the ox-wagons which had gone to bring up the luggage. The
women came down with hot coffee and tea for the men.

Graham picked up the other day an old porthole window with the glass
unbroken, and it has been used for the house. Many of the people's
possessions are from shipwrecks. I noticed what nice white jugs they bring
our milk in; it seems a case of these was found on a wrecked ship. They
have also a good deal of glass and china from the same source.

_Friday, April_ 20.--It was such a hot day yesterday, just like summer.
The fatigue of such a day is felt all the more because there is hardly a
resting-place for the sole of one's foot. To-day has been wet. The men
have been finishing the house, and have fixed the stove in the kitchen.
Repetto and Swain have managed the piping splendidly, and out of tins have
made plates to place over the woodwork which the pipe passes through. An
old bucket has been placed round the piping near the roof as an extra
safeguard against fire. Our bedrooms have been whitewashed, and to-morrow
we hope to move our things into them. I really find a deck-chair most
comfortable; lined with pillows it does splendidly as a bed.

We like the people; they are generous and kind. Repetto is most helpful.
This afternoon he has been fixing the washing-stands. Every one is so
interested in seeing anything new; the stove especially is an object of
great interest.

_Saturday, April_ 2l.--It has been very wet. The men have now finished the
house, and we have devoted ourselves to getting things a little more
shipshape.

I gave Repetto the material A---- had sent, telling him to divide it
amongst all the families; he was very grateful. They do need clothing so
badly; some of their clothes are much patched. They all wear white
stockings. The women are very good knitters, and are nearly always to be
seen with knitting in their hands, even in their walks to and from the
potato patches. I wish they could throw as much energy into cleaning their
houses, only one or two of which are kept clean. Their shoes (moccasins)
are made of cow's hide and are most quaint. They are made of one piece,
with a seam up the front and at the heel. Little slits are cut round the
edge of the shoe and a string run in to tie on with. As there is no
leather sole their feet must always be in a wet condition in rainy
weather. It rains so much that the thickest boots are needed to keep the
feet dry. The need of these has just been brought home to us by a flood at
our back door caused by the stream overflowing. Graham has now got Bob
Green to divert it, which is a great improvement. The pathway, too, in
front of the house at one end becomes a pool after rain. The other night I
splashed right into it, and it took me days to get my house shoes dry. Tom
Rogers, however, is draining it.

[Illustration: MOCCASINS]

The house being very damp on the south side, we have to keep almost
everything in the sitting-room on the other side. Our bedrooms which are
in the middle of the house and cut off by a passage from the south side
are the two driest rooms. Graham and Repetto have been busy hauling up
cases into the loft and opening others which looked damp; happily most of
the stores are in tins. They have also been putting up the beds, which
required some fixing. Ash poles at the sides and ends are fitted into six
wooden legs, over which canvas is laced. We find them quite comfortable.
Our red blankets look very well against the whitewashed walls. We are by
no means straight yet, but well on the way to being so.

CHAPTER VI

_Sunday, April_ 22.--Wet all day. It has been difficult to keep dry-shod
going backwards and forwards to church over the wet common and across
little rivulets. We had three services: the Holy Communion at eight
o'clock, to which four came; morning prayer at 10.30, when the church was
about half full; and a children's service at three. Graham is acting on a
suggestion of the Bishop and catechizing the children instead of having
Sunday school. As the elders come too, instruction by this means is given
to both. With a view to keeping better order an elder was asked to sit on
each bench with the children. These sat with folded hands, and their
behaviour was very good; by a little encouragement answers were got out of
two or three of them. We had no harmonium, as it was too wet to bring it
up from the house.

Living as these people do in such an out-of-the-world spot, I am surprised
at the level they have reached. There is a quiet dignity about them, and
their manners are excellent. No doubt Mr. Dodgson has done much for them,
and they have a very warm remembrance of him. I never had so many "Marms"
in my life; and the other evening one little boy, on leaving the room,
wanting to say something polite, said to me, "Good-night, Mary."

_Sunday, April_ 29.--Yesterday and to-day it was blowing gales. To get to
eight o'clock Communion was not easy. A heavy shower came on as we
started. Ellen threw a cape over her head, I a Shetland shawl over my hat.
In a short space of time we were fairly wet and reached church breathless
and panting, for it was up-hill and the wind against us. John Glass, the
clerk, came to meet us to offer his help. There were seven or eight
present. Returning it was worse; the wind was at our backs, and at
different times Ellen and I were blown down like ninepins. I have since
been told by the people, "When you hear a puff coming, stand or duck till
it is over and then go on." On these windy days the dust and litter that
come from the thatch are difficult to cope with.

This afternoon we had a practice after service. There are one or two hymns
in which the islanders go quite astray; for example, "There is a green
hill" and "Christ who once amongst us." They have gone wrong, I fear, so
many years that the task of getting them to go right is almost an
impossible one. We tried a chant, but they seemed to think, as it was not
the one taught by Mr. Dodgson, it could not be right. They say he was very
musical and could sing any part. The men are anxious to sing in parts
themselves. After the service we took Rob for a run, then three of the men
turned up and did not depart till after six o'clock. We usually have three
meals a day: breakfast, dinner and supper, but on Sundays generally allow
ourselves afternoon tea.

_Monday, April_ 30.--We were so busy all the past week, and many evenings
worked till quite late trying to get straight. It has taken a longer time
because there is so little space. Our sitting-room looks quite cosy. We
have half partitioned off a portion of it with a green stoep blind which
we bought at the Cape, and in the private part thus left have laid down a
white matting, and really at night with a lamp and a fire it looks very
bright and cheerful.

During the turmoil of the week we have had the usual stream of visitors.
Early one afternoon Mrs. Hagan and another mother appeared with their
babies and stayed two hours or more. I finally went on with my work of
unpacking the storage box. At the same time they are always ready to help;
for instance, the other day, when I was doing some washing, Mrs. Lavarello
coming in, at once began upon it, and then went to help Rebekah with more
at the watering.

Our first attempt at making bread has not been a success. The loaf was as
heavy as lead, and uneatable. Rob had most of it. Not dismayed we set to
to prepare a sponge-cake for the next day. The result was good. The
following day I tried self-raising flour, and the result was even better.
The fourth trial, yesterday, was as complete a failure as the first, due
to the high wind which prevented the oven getting hot. Flour is so
precious we are eating the loaf ourselves this time, and, wonderful to
say, have not had indigestion.

It has been arranged for each family in turn to bring us weekly supplies.
Graham felt the people ought to provide a certain amount, and that
anything beyond that we could pay for. So we made out the following list.
As there are seventeen families, with one exception the same family will
only have to serve us three times in the year. They will not hear of our
paying anything.

WEEKLY SUPPLY

Meat, 12 lbs.
Fish (three times a week).
Milk, 14 quarts.
Butter, 1 1/2 lbs. (in the summer 2 lbs., fresh).
Eggs, 2 dozen (when in season).
Potatoes, 7 lbs.
Firewood.

Graham busied himself most of yesterday in making a meat-safe. He found
some old tin which he perforated and fixed on to a wooden crate.

_Tuesday, May_ 1.--Graham began school today at 9:30. There were
thirty-five scholars--eighteen boys and seventeen girls--their ages
ranging from twenty-one to three years. I went up at eleven o'clock to
teach the infants. It is difficult to get off earlier, as I have a good
deal to do in the house. We rise at 6:30 and breakfast at eight. Rob
scrambled into school, although told not to come in, and sat under the
children's form, which a little discomposed them, and made some of them
anxious about their legs. At twelve o'clock the school dispersed.

When we were leaving we heard a gun go off and saw groups of people
standing about on high positions. I was told they were shooting a wild
bullock. There did not seem much wildness about the poor black creature. I
was glad to turn my back on it all.

We have had a little peace lately as regards the rats. At one time I
feared there would not be a night without an episode. One night we were
just going off to sleep when I heard noises above. Graham was up in a
minute, thrust on his clothes, and hastened, lantern in hand, up the
ladder into the loft where he found a poor rat caught in a trap. We will
leave the rest. This sort of thing is just a little disconcerting as you
are getting off to sleep. Another night he was catching the wood-lice
creeping over our bedroom walls, and must have caught fifty. I am rather
thankful when he is too tired for these raids. The houses are also
infested with fleas.

Ellen and I have both had presents of white stockings which we are
wearing, and find most warm and comfortable. They look so old-fashioned,
but I intend to wear them.

The bread to-day which I had made was burnt almost to a cinder. We still
have long visitations from the people, who generally come from five to
6.30; supper in consequence has often to wait. It is wonderful how much
there is to do in a small house like this.

[Illustration: THE CEMETERY]

This afternoon we visited the little cemetery. It is surrounded by
rough-hewn blocks of stone. These once formed the walls of a church which
Mr. Dodgson induced the men to start building, but they took such a long
time over it, he felt it would never be finished, and so told them they
could use the stones as a wall for the cemetery. Here and there are little
wooden crosses, and such quaintly written inscriptions, the letters being
picked out in tin nailed to the cross or stone. The tombstone of William
Glass is the most imposing. It is of marble, and was sent by his sons in
America.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18