ere making their
way inland and over to the neighbouring islands. We now anticipated a
catastrophe, and were not disappointed. First of all there came a smart
shock (which we felt as distinctly where we were as if we had been
slightly galvanized), but unattended with any visible signs of an
explosion. The savages were evidently startled, and paused for an
instant from their labours and yellings. They were upon the point of
recommencing, when suddenly a mass of smoke puffed up from the decks,
resembling a black and heavy thundercloud--then, as if from its bowels,
arose a tall stream of vivid fire to the height, apparently, of a
quarter of a mile--then there came a sudden circular expansion of the
flame--then the whole atmosphere was magically crowded, in a single
instant, with a wild chaos of wood, and metal, and human limbs-and,
lastly, came the concussion in its fullest fury, which hurled us
impetuously from our feet, while the hills echoed and re-echoed the
tumult, and a dense shower of the minutest fragments of the ruins
tumbled headlong in every direction around us.

The havoc among the savages far exceeded our utmost expectation, and
they had now, indeed, reaped the full and perfect fruits of their
treachery. Perhaps a thousand perished by the explosion, while at least
an equal number were desperately mangled. The whole surface of the bay
was literally strewn with the struggling and drowning wretches, and
on shore matters were even worse. They seemed utterly appalled by the
suddenness and completeness of their discomfiture, and made no efforts
at assisting one another. At length we observed a total change in their
demeanour. From absolute stupor, they appeared to be, all at once,
aroused to the highest pitch of excitement, and rushed wildly about,
going to and from a certain point on the beach, with the strangest
expressions of mingled horror, rage, and intense curiosity depicted
on their countenances, and shouting, at the top of their voices,
"Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!"

Presently we saw a large body go off into the hills, whence they
returned in a short time, carrying stakes of wood. These they brought to
the station where the crowd was the thickest, which now separated so as
to afford us a view of the object of all this excitement. We perceived
something white lying upon the ground, but could not immediately make
out what it was. At length we saw that it was the carcass of the strange
animal with the scarlet teeth