Chapter 18 Chapter 18 Stafford Island

If Stafford Island is just an ordinary island, at least nature has made it the strangest island in the Hebrides.This oval boulder is one mile long and half a mile wide, and there are many basalt caves hidden in the ground.So it became a place where geologists and tourists often meet. But neither Miss Campbell nor the Melville brothers had ever visited Stafford Island, and only Oliver Sinclair knew of it.So it was only natural that he should show them the kindness of the Island Lord, and they came here to ask for a few days of hospitality. This rock is simply crystallized from a huge block of basalt.This has a long history, and it has been fixed there in the early days of the formation of the earth's crust.Helmholtz did some experiments on the cooling of basalt, and basalt can only be melted at a high temperature of 2,000 degrees. According to his observation, it takes more than 3,500 years for basalt to cool completely.Therefore, it should be at a very early time that the earth began to solidify after undergoing a transformation from a gaseous state to a liquid state.

If Aristobulus Ursyklaus had been there, he would have had material for an excellent treatise on the phenomena of geological history.But he was so far away that Miss Campbell didn't even think about him, as Brother Sam and Brother Sib said: "Let this fly be quiet on the city wall!" This quintessentially Scottish equivalent is the French equivalent of "don't wake a sleeping cat". Everyone looked around and looked at each other. "We have to occupy our new place first," said Oliver. "Don't forget what we're here for," Miss Campbell replied with a smile.

"I won't forget, I'm sure!" cried Oliver. "Come on, then, and find an observation post, and see how the level of the sea is drawn on the west side of our island." "Go," said Miss Campbell, "but it's a little cloudy today, and I don't think it'll be very good at sunset." "We'll wait, Miss Campbell, until the equinox, if need be, when the weather turns bad." "Yes, we'll wait!" said Brother Melville, "as long as Helena doesn't order us to go." "Well! Take it easy, uncles," said the young girl, who had been in a good mood since leaving Jonah. "No, there is no rush. The environment of this small island is very beautiful. The ranch is like a green carpet thrown down. A villa built in such a ranch will definitely not be uncomfortable to live in. It is not stingy to send it to America. It will be no hindrance when the incoming gale hits the reefs on Stafford Island."

Uncle Sibb murmured, "The wind can be terrible here at the edge of the sea!" "It's dreadful indeed," said Oliver Sinclair. "The winds out at sea can blow to Stafford Island, and the only place to hide is on the east coast, where we cast anchor. In this part of the Atlantic In the sea area, the bad weather season lasts for nearly nine months in December." "So we don't see a single tree here," Sam said. "What ever grows a few inches above the ground on this plateau begins to wither." "Well, isn't it worthwhile for us to spend two or three months on this island in the summer?" said Miss Campbell. "If Stafford Island is for sale, uncles, you ought to buy it."

Sam and Seb, who would not deny their niece's whims, had put their hands in their pockets as if they were going to pay the bill. "Who's Stafford?" Seab asked. "It's from the MacDonald family," Oliver Sinclair replied. "They're letting it out at twelve pounds a year, but I don't think they'll sell it at any price." "What a pity!" said Miss Campbell, a little dazed, as one might imagine, in the excitement of nature. The new guests of Stafford Island, chatting, walked across the rough surface, roughened by green waves.It happened not to be a day when the Oban Steamboat came to visit the Hebridean islands in a group, and Miss Campbell and her companions did not have to worry about disturbing tourists.

They stayed alone on this rock, a few rare horses, and a few black cows gnawed on the not-so-rich pasture on the plateau, and the eruption of lava left a thin layer of humus everywhere.Not a single shepherd.If the four-legged animals were to be tended, it would be from a great distance, perhaps from the Isle of Jonah, or from the coast of Mull, fifteen miles to the east. There is not a single dwelling on the island, only the remains of a hut.It was destroyed by terrible storms that raged from the September equinox to the March equinox.Twelve pounds was, in fact, a high rent for these acres of grass as low as worn velvet.

The survey of the island's surface was soon completed, and everyone was now busy observing the sky. Apparently, there was nothing to hope for as the sun went down that night.Due to the unique variability of the September sky, the sky was still extremely pure the day before, but now it is shrouded in thick fog.Nearly six o'clock, a few reddish clouds filled the west, indicating that the air would be turbid. Despite their reluctance, the Melville brothers could already see that the barometer in Cloria was turning in the direction of changeable weather, and it seemed to be going beyond.

And so, after the sun had disappeared beyond the wave-studded sky of the open sea, we were back on board.In this little bay formed by the headwaters of Cranshall's Grotto the night was still. The next day, September 7th, everyone decided to get to know the island more fully.After looking at the surface, it's time to look under the hood.Shouldn't it be a good use of time?For that real misfortune which has so far prevented the observation of the green light without hindrance has been attributed to Aristobulus Ursyklaus.Also, one should not feel sorry for the walks in the caves that have made this modest island of the Hebrides famous.

That day, everyone went to investigate the cave of Cranshall first, and the yacht was parked in front of it.On Oliver Sinclair's suggestion, the head chef was ready to serve lunch.There, the guests are locked away as if in the dock of a ship. The corner columns, forty to fifty inches long, formed the skeleton of the vault, much like the ribs of a building. The cavern was about thirty inches high, fifteen inches wide, and a hundred inches deep, and it was easy to walk in.The opening is generally facing east, so that it can avoid the bad wind, and when the waves raised by the hurricane hit the other caves of the island, this magical wave will never come to its door, and perhaps it is not so strange for this reason.

However, the curves of these granites are so beautifully arranged that it appears rather to be human workmanship rather than the work of nature, which is admirable. Miss Campbell was very satisfied with the tour, and Oliver took her to see the beautiful scenery of the Cranshall Cave. He would certainly not be full of scientific discussions like Aristoboulos, but with more artist insights. "I really want to remember our trip," said Miss Campbell. He sketched a few times with a pencil, and quickly traced the entire cave, from the exposed rock to the end of the big basalt embankment.The exit of the cave, like a huge marine mammal, turned into a skeleton outlined by the rock wall.The light staircase goes up to the top of the island, the water is so peaceful and pure at the entrance, and the huge basalt bottom structure drawn underwater, all of these are very artistically reproduced on the pages of the souvenir album.

The artist added a note below, which does not detract from the beauty of the painting. Oliver Sinclair to Miss Campbell Stafford On the 7th of September 1881, after lunch, Captain John Aldecoe had the larger of the two boats, the Clorida, fitted out. , the passengers boarded the boat and meandered down the island's beautiful winding coast to the "Steamship" cave, so named because the sea occupies the entire interior of the cave, and one cannot keep one's feet dry while visiting. not wet. The cave is located in the southwest of the island. As long as the swell is slightly stronger, it is not prudent to enter the cave because of the strong current.But that day, although the sky was full of signs of turning bad, the wind had not yet strengthened, and there was no danger in visiting there.Before the Cloreda yacht reached the exit of the deep cave, the steamboat carrying Oban's tourists had just dropped anchor for tourists to visit the island.Fortunately, for the two hour stay, Stafford Island belonged to the guests of the Pioneer, and this did not inconvenience Miss Campbell and her companions.The prescribed tour was limited to Fingal's Cave and the surface of Stafford Island, and it so happened that Miss Campbell and the others were in the Steamship Cave, out of sight.They would not encounter these noisy people, and they were secretly glad for this, needless to say the reason.And wouldn't Aristobulus, after discovering that his companions had suddenly disappeared, take the steamer that had just stopped at the Isle of Iona in order to return to Oban?Such encounters must also be avoided.Whether or not the repelled suitor was among the tourists on September 7th, there was not a soul left on the island when the steamer left.When Miss Campbell, the Melville brothers, and Oliver Sinclair walked out of the long tunnel, which seemed a kind of tunnel without exit, as if hewn out of a basalt mine, Stafford Island The rocks in the mountains have returned to their former tranquility, and the rocks stand alone on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean.You have listed some famous caves in many places on the earth, especially in volcanic active areas, and their causes are different, there are water and igneous ones.Some of these caverns were carved by the currents, which corroded, worn away, and even hollowed out the granite blocks little by little, making them wide caverns.For example, the Cave of Kezo in Brittany, the Cave of Bonifacio in Corsica, the Cave of Morgaudun in Norway, the Cave of St. Michael in Gibraltar, the Cave of Salachem and Cochin on the Isle of Wight. Turana Cave, a marble cliff on the coast of China. Other caves are formed for a completely different reason, due to the shedding of granite or basalt walls caused by the cooling of igneous rocks.Igneous rocks provide a characteristic of rapid variation in their formation, which is lacking in sedimentary caves, in contrast. Sedimentary caves match the properties of the source water, saving energy, and igneous rocks save time. The famous Fingal's Cave, "Fingal's Cave", according to the lack of poetry in England, belongs to the kind of cave where matter has boiled in the fire of geological evolution history. The next day will be used to investigate one of the wonders on earth.