“Hell’s Gates,” formed by a rocky point, which runs abruptly1 northward2, almost touches, on its eastern side, a projecting arm of land which guards the entrance to King’s River. In the middle of the gates is a natural bolt — that is to say, an island-which, lying on a sandy bar in the very jaws3 of the current, creates a double whirlpool, impossible to pass in the smoothest weather. Once through the gates, the convict, chained on the deck of the inward-bound vessel4, sees in front of him the bald cone5 of the Frenchman’s Cap, piercing the moist air at a height of five thousand feet; while, gloomed by overhanging rocks, and shadowed by gigantic forests, the black sides of the basin narrow to the mouth of the Gordon. The turbulent stream is the colour of indigo6, and, being fed by numerous rivulets7, which ooze8 through masses of decaying vegetable matter, is of so poisonous a nature that it is not only undrinkable, but absolutely kills the fish, which in stormy weather are driven in from the sea. As may be imagined, the furious tempests which beat upon this exposed coast create a strong surf-line. After a few days of north-west wind the waters of the Gordon will be found salt for twelve miles up from the bar. The head-quarters of the settlement were placed on an island not far from the mouth of this inhospitable river, called Sarah Island.
Though now the whole place is desolate9, and a few rotting posts and logs alone remain-mute witnesses of scenes of agony never to be revived — in the year 1833 the buildings were numerous and extensive. On Philip’s Island, on the north side of the harbour, was a small farm, where vegetables were grown for the use of the officers of the establishment; and, on Sarah Island, were sawpits, forges, dockyards, gaol10, guard-house, barracks, and jetty. The military force numbered about sixty men, who, with convict-warders and constables11, took charge of more than three hundred and fifty prisoners. These miserable12 wretches13, deprived of every hope, were employed in the most degrading labour. No beast of burden was allowed on the settlement; all the pulling and dragging was done by human beings. About one hundred “good-conduct” men were allowed the lighter15 toil16 of dragging timber to the wharf17, to assist in shipbuilding; the others cut down the trees that fringed the mainland, and carried them on their shoulders to the water’s edge. The denseness18 of the scrub and bush rendered it necessary for a “roadway,” perhaps a quarter of a mile in length, to be first constructed; and the trunks of trees, stripped of their branches, were rolled together in this roadway, until a “slide” was made, down which the heavier logs could be shunted towards the harbour. The timber thus obtained was made into rafts, and floated to the sheds, or arranged for transportation to Hobart Town. The convicts were lodged19 on Sarah Island, in barracks flanked by a two-storied prison, whose “cells” were the terror of the most hardened. Each morning they received their breakfast of porridge, water, and salt, and then rowed, under the protection of their guard, to the wood-cutting stations, where they worked without food, until night. The launching and hewing20 of the timber compelled thein to work up to their waists in water. Many of thein were heavily ironed. Those who died were buried on a little plot of ground, called Halliday’s Island (from the name of the first man buried there), and a plank21 stuck into the earth, and carved with the initials of the deceased, was the only monument vouchsafed22 him.
Sarah Island, situated23 at the south-east corner of the harbour, is long and low. The commandant’s house was built in the centre, having the chaplain’s house and barracks between it and the gaol. The hospital was on the west shore, and in a line with it lay the two penitentiaries24. Lines of lofty palisades ran round the settlement, giving it the appearance of a fortified25 town. These palisades were built for the purpose of warding26 off the terrific blasts of wind, which, shrieking27 through the long and narrow bay as through the keyhole of a door, had in former times tore off roofs and levelled boat-sheds. The little town was set, as it were, in defiance28 of Nature, at the very extreme of civilization, and its inhabitants maintained perpetual warfare29 with the winds and waves.
But the gaol of Sarah Island was not the only prison in this desolate region.
At a little distance from the mainland is a rock, over the rude side of which the waves dash in rou–1i weather. On the evening of the 3rd December, 1833, as the sun was sinking behind the tree-tops on the left side of the harbour, the figure of a man appeared on the top of this rock. He was clad in the coarse garb30 of a convict, and wore round his ankles two iron rings, connected by a short and heavy chain. To the middle of this chain a leathern strap31 was attached, which, splitting in the form of a T, buckled32 round his waist, and pulled the chain high enough to prevent him from stumbling over it as he walked. His head was bare, and his coarse, blue-striped shirt, open at the throat, displayed an embrowned and muscular neck. Emerging from out a sort of cell, or den14, contrived33 by nature or art in the side of the cliff, he threw on a scanty34 fire, which burned between two hollowed rocks, a small log of pine wood, and then returning to his cave, and bringing from it an iron pot, which contained water, he scooped35 with his toil-hardened hands a resting-place for it in the ashes, and placed it on the embers. It was evident that the cave was at once his storehouse and larder36, and that the two hollowed rocks formed his kitchen.
Having thus made preparations for supper, he ascended37 a pathway which led to the highest point of the rock. His fetters38 compelled him to take short steps, and, as he walked, he winced39 as though the iron bit him. A handkerchief or strip of cloth was twisted round his left ankle; on which the circlet had chafed40 a sore. Painfully and slowly, he gained his destination, and flinging himself on the ground, gazed around him. The afternoon had been stormy, and the rays of the setting sun shone redly on the turbid41 and rushing waters of the bay. On the right lay Sarah Island; on the left the bleak42 shore of the opposite and the tall peak of the Frenchman’s Cap; while the storm hung sullenly43 over the barren hills to the eastward44. Below him appeared the only sign of life. A brig was being towed up the harbour by two convict-manned boats.
The sight of this brig seemed to rouse in the mind of the solitary45 of the rock a strain of reflection, for, sinking his chin upon his hand, he fixed46 his eyes on the incoming vessel, and immersed himself in moody47 thought. More than an hour had passed, yet he did not move. The ship anchored, the boats detached themselves from her sides, the sun sank, and the bay was plunged48 in gloom. Lights began to twinkle along the shore of the settlement. The little fire died, and the water in the iron pot grew cold; yet the watcher on the rock did not stir. With his eyes staring into the gloom, and fixed steadily49 on the vessel, he lay along the barren cliff of his lonely prison as motionless as the rock on which he had stretched himself.
This solitary man was Rufus Dawes.
1 abruptly | |
adv.突然地,出其不意地 | |
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2 northward | |
adv.向北;n.北方的地区 | |
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3 jaws | |
n.口部;嘴 | |
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4 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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5 cone | |
n.圆锥体,圆锥形东西,球果 | |
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6 indigo | |
n.靛青,靛蓝 | |
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7 rivulets | |
n.小河,小溪( rivulet的名词复数 ) | |
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8 ooze | |
n.软泥,渗出物;vi.渗出,泄漏;vt.慢慢渗出,流露 | |
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9 desolate | |
adj.荒凉的,荒芜的;孤独的,凄凉的;v.使荒芜,使孤寂 | |
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10 gaol | |
n.(jail)监狱;(不加冠词)监禁;vt.使…坐牢 | |
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11 constables | |
n.警察( constable的名词复数 ) | |
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12 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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13 wretches | |
n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 );可怜的人;恶棍;坏蛋 | |
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14 den | |
n.兽穴;秘密地方;安静的小房间,私室 | |
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15 lighter | |
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级 | |
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16 toil | |
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
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17 wharf | |
n.码头,停泊处 | |
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18 denseness | |
稠密,密集,浓厚; 稠度 | |
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19 lodged | |
v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 );暂住;埋入;(权利、权威等)归属 | |
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20 hewing | |
v.(用斧、刀等)砍、劈( hew的现在分词 );砍成;劈出;开辟 | |
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21 plank | |
n.板条,木板,政策要点,政纲条目 | |
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22 vouchsafed | |
v.给予,赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 );允诺 | |
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23 situated | |
adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的 | |
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24 penitentiaries | |
n.监狱( penitentiary的名词复数 ) | |
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25 fortified | |
adj. 加强的 | |
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26 warding | |
监护,守护(ward的现在分词形式) | |
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27 shrieking | |
v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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28 defiance | |
n.挑战,挑衅,蔑视,违抗 | |
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29 warfare | |
n.战争(状态);斗争;冲突 | |
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30 garb | |
n.服装,装束 | |
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31 strap | |
n.皮带,带子;v.用带扣住,束牢;用绷带包扎 | |
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32 buckled | |
a. 有带扣的 | |
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33 contrived | |
adj.不自然的,做作的;虚构的 | |
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34 scanty | |
adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的 | |
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35 scooped | |
v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 );(敏捷地)抱起;抢先获得;用铲[勺]等挖(洞等) | |
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36 larder | |
n.食物贮藏室,食品橱 | |
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37 ascended | |
v.上升,攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38 fetters | |
n.脚镣( fetter的名词复数 );束缚v.给…上脚镣,束缚( fetter的第三人称单数 ) | |
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39 winced | |
赶紧避开,畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40 chafed | |
v.擦热(尤指皮肤)( chafe的过去式 );擦痛;发怒;惹怒 | |
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41 turbid | |
adj.混浊的,泥水的,浓的 | |
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42 bleak | |
adj.(天气)阴冷的;凄凉的;暗淡的 | |
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43 sullenly | |
不高兴地,绷着脸,忧郁地 | |
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44 eastward | |
adv.向东;adj.向东的;n.东方,东部 | |
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45 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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46 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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47 moody | |
adj.心情不稳的,易怒的,喜怒无常的 | |
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48 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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49 steadily | |
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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