noon
My way now lay again through timber and more or less dense scrub , beyond which I found a small patch of open grass land , and then more timber . But now , for some inscrutable reason , there was little or no scrub . The trees were more lofty and wider apart , and intermingled with what I may term the timber trees were a fair number bearing fruit , among which I found several specimens of the breadfruit , and an abundance of mangoes , guavas , custard and star apples , plantains , bananas , and a few other varieties ; thus there was the assurance of an ample supply of food so long as we might be compelled to remain upon the island . It was past noon when I reached the base of the peak ; and I had no sooner come to it than I perceived , from the ashes and scoriae that thickly strewed its sides , that it also was a volcano . Yet I was determined to climb to its summit , if possible , if only for the perfect panorama of the entire island that I knew I should obtain from there ; so I rested for a little while , utilising the time by making a good meal of fruit , and then addressed myself to my task . The sides of this volcano were not nearly so steep as those of the other ; the dust and ashes , however , were just as fine , rendering the task of climbing the slope extremely difficult . But I had learned wisdom by this time , and instead of attempting the ascent in a straight line from base to summit , I described a spiral round the peak , and in this way accomplished the ascent in almost as short a time as , and with far less fatigue than , if I had attempted to go up by the shortest way .