Pitcairn's Island and the Islanders in 1850

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1851 edition. ...from which the earth had slipped every day of their lives yet they could not so far collect their ideas as to remember the original appearance of the place whose property it had been nor the locality near it. As to the cause of the disruption various opinions prevailed. Some said it was occasioned by a water-spout; others that a thunderbolt had fallen there; and a third party were anxiously inquiring if it were not probable the sea had perforated a hole from the underside 1845. and washed it away. That they had considerable occasion for alarm cannot be disputed; and what may easily be referred to natural causes and those not recondite either would to persons so inexperienced as our community appear both mysterious and awful. I will endeavour to describe in a few words what presented itself to our view at daylight. Going out of our doors at daylight we saw that a considerable portion of earth had been detached from the side of the hill but to what extent we could not then ascertain. The place in question was situated at the head of a ravine which debouched into the sea; the rain mixing with the falling earth which was of a clayish nature brought it to the consistency of thick mud but sufliciently liquidated to glide very slowly down the inclined plane of the valley. Nothing that came in contact with it could resist its force; the large trees at the head of the ravine and immense pieces of rock were borne slowly but unresistingly along and about three hundred cocoa-nut trees were torn up by the roots and carried into the sea. So tenacious was the heterogeneous stream that some being displaced from their original situation remained in an upright position for some time and when they fell it was many yards from the...