The Crater

Crater, The

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Title: The Crater
Author: James Fenimore Cooper
Release Date: March 14, 2004 [eBook #11573]
Language: English
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THE CRATER
Or, Vulcan's Peak
A Tale of the Pacific.

By J. Fenimore Cooper.
1863

"Thus arise Races of living things, glorious in strength And perish, as
the quickening breath of God Fills them, or is withdrawn."--_Bryant._
Complete In One Volume

Preface.
The reader of this book will very naturally be disposed to ask the
question, why the geographies, histories, and other works of a similar
character, have never made any mention of the regions and events that
compose its subject. The answer is obvious enough, and ought to
satisfy every mind, however "inquiring." The fact is, that the authors of
the different works to which there is any allusion, most probably never
heard there were any such places as the Reef, Rancocus Island,
Vulcan's Peak, the Crater, and the other islands of which so much is
said in our pages. In other words, they knew nothing about them.
We shall very freely admit that, under ordinary circumstances, it would
be prima facie evidence against the existence of any spot on the face of
this earth, that the geographies took no notice of it. It will be
remembered, however, that the time was, and that only three centuries
and a half since, when the geographies did not contain a syllable about
the whole of the American continent; that it is not a century since they
began to describe New Zealand, New Holland, Tahiti, Oahu, and a vast
number of other places, that are now constantly alluded to, even in the
daily journals. Very little is said in the largest geographies, of Japan,
for instance; and it may be questioned if they might not just as well be
altogether silent on the subject, as for any accurate information they do
convey. In a word, much as is now known of the globe, a great deal still
remains to be told, and we do not see why the "inquiring mind" should
not seek for information in our pages, as well as in some that are

ushered in to public notice by a flourish of literary trumpets, that are
blown by presidents, vice-presidents and secretaries of various learned
bodies.
One thing we shall ever maintain, and that in the face of all who may
be disposed to underrate the value of our labours, which is this:--there
is not a word in these volumes which we now lay before the reader, as
grave matter of fact, that is not entitled to the most implicit credit. We
scorn deception. Lest, however, some cavillers may be found, we will
present a few of those reasons which occur to our mind, on the spur of
the moment, as tending to show that everything related here might be
just as true as Cook's voyages themselves. In the first place, this earth is
large, and has sufficient surface to contain, not only all the islands
mentioned in our pages, but a great many more. Something is
established when the possibility of any hypothetical point is placed
beyond dispute. Then, not one half as much was known of the islands
of the Pacific, at the close of the last, and at the commencement of the
present century, as is known to-day. In such a dearth of precise
information, it may very well have happened that many things occurred
touching which we have not said even one word. Again, it should never
be forgotten that generations were born, lived their time, died, and have
been forgotten, among those remote groups, about which no civilized
man ever has, or ever will hear anything. If such be admitted to be the
facts, why may not all that is here related have happened, and equally
escape the knowledge of the rest of the civilized world? During the
wars of the French revolution, trifling events attracted but little of the
general attention, and we are not to think of interests of this nature, in
that day, as one would think of them now.
Whatever may be thought of the authenticity of its incidents, we hope
this book will be found not to be totally without a moral. Truth is not
absolutely necessary to the illustration of a principle, the imaginary
sometimes doing that office quite as effectually as the actual.
The