I arrived early, skinned both the seals, and dragged the skins up from
the water-side, though with difficulty, especially that of the large
one, to the rock where I had taken up my quarters the night before.
Here I spread them out to dry, putting large pieces of rock upon the
edges, that they might not be blown away. It was nearly dusk when I had
finished, but I set off, and an hour after dark arrived at the cabin;
for now that I knew my way so well, I got over the ground twice as fast
as I did before. I crawled into my bed-place in the dark, and slept
soundly after my fatigue. I awoke the next morning with the plaintive
cry of my seal in the chest, and I hastened to get some fish to feed
him with. I took him out and fed him; and was astonished how tame the
little animal had become already. He remained very quietly with me
after he had been fed, nestling close to my side, as if I had been his
mother, and even making a half attempt to follow me when I left him.
My birds appeared very dull and stupid, and I observed also that they
were very dirty, and always rushed to the kid when it was full of
water, trying to get into it. This made me think that they required
bathing in salt water, and I took one down to the bathing-pool, with a
long line to its leg, and put it in. The manner in which the poor
creature floundered, and dipped and washed itself, for several minutes,
proved my supposition correct; so, after allowing it half an hour for
its recreation, I took it back, and went down with the others until
they had all indulged in the luxury of a bath; and from that time, as I
took them down almost every day, it was astonishing how much brighter
and sleeker their plumage became.
I remained a week in the cabin, taming my seal, which now was quite
fond of me; and one night, as I was going to bed, he crawled into my
bed-place, and from that time he was my bed-fellow. At the end of a
week I went over to the other side of the island, and contrived to
carry up the two skins to the summit. It was a hard day's work. The day
afterwards I conveyed them to the cabin, and, as they were quite dry, I
put them into my bed-place to lie down upon, as I did not like the
smell of the birds' feathers, although I had so long been accustomed to
them.
And now, what with my seal, my birds, and my garden, and the occupation
they gave me, the time passed quickly away, until, by my reckoning, it
was nearly the period for the birds to come again. I observed, as the
time drew near, that my birds were uneasy. They had paired, as I
mentioned before, and when their plumage was complete, it was evident
that they had paired male and female, as I had supposed. They had not
been tethered for a long while, and appeared to me now very much
inclined to fly, especially the male birds. At first I thought that I
would cut all their wings, as I was fearful that they would join the
other birds on their arrival, but observing that they were so fond of
their mates, I resolved to cut the wing of the females only, as I did
not think that the male birds would leave them. I did so, and took my
chance; for since I had the seal for a companion, I did not care so
much for the birds as before. At last the birds came, and took
possession of the guano-ground as usual, and I went for fresh eggs; at
the same time I found that my females were scratching, as if they would
make their nests, and a few days afterwards they began to lay. I then
thought that as soon as they had young ones they would wish to go away,
so I took the eggs that were laid, to prevent them, but I found that as
fast as I took away the eggs they laid more, and this they did for
nearly two months, supplying me with fresh eggs long after the wild
birds had hatched, and left the island. The male birds, at the time
that the females first laid their eggs, tried their wings in short
flights in circles, and then flew away out to sea. I thought that they
were gone, but I was deceived, for they returned in about a quarter of
an hour, each with a fish in its beak, which they laid down before
their mates. I was much pleased at this, and I resolved that in future
they should supply their own food, which they did; and not their own
food only, but enough for the seal and me also when the weather was
fine, but when it was rough, they could not obtain any, and then I was
obliged to feed them. The way I obtained from them the extra supply of
fish was, that when they first went out, I seized, on their return, the
fish which they brought, and as often as I did this they would go for
more, until the females were fed.
But I had one difficulty to contend with, which was, that at the time
the birds could not obtain fish, which was when the weather was rough,
I could not either, as they would not take the bait. After some
cogitation, I decided that I would divide a portion of the bathing-pool
farthest from the shore, by a wall of loose rock which the water could
flow through, but which the fish could not get out of, and that I would
catch fish in the fine weather to feed the seal and the birds when the
weather was rough and bad. As soon as I had finished curing my stock of
provisions and got it safely housed in the cabin, I set to work to make
this wall, which did not take me a very long while, as the water was
not more than two feet deep, and the pool about ten yards across. As
soon as it was finished, I went out every day, when it was fine, and
caught as many fish as I thought I might require, and put them into
this portion of the bathing-pool. I found the plan answer well, as the
fish lived, but I had great difficulty in getting them out when I
wanted them, for they would not take the bait.
As my birds were no longer a trouble to me, but rather, on the
contrary, a profit, I devoted my whole time to my seal. I required a
name for him, and reading in the book of Natural History that a certain
lion was called Nero, I thought it a very good name for a seal, and
bestowed it on him accordingly, although what Nero meant I had no idea
of. The animal was now so tame that he would cry if ever I left him,
and would follow me as far as he could down the rocks, but there was
one part of the path leading to the bathing-pool which was too
difficult for him, and there he would remain crying till I came back. I
had more than once taken him down to the bathing-pool to wash him, and
he was much pleased when I did. I now resolved that I would clear the
path of the rocks, that he might be able to follow me down the whole
way, for he had grown so much that I found him too heavy to carry. It
occupied me a week before I could roll away and remove the smaller
rocks, and knock off others with the axe, but I finished it at last,
and was pleased to find that the animal followed me right down and
plunged into the water. He had not been down since I had made the wall
of rock to keep the fish in, and as soon as he was in, he dived and
came out with one of the fish, which he brought to land. "So now,"
thought I, "I shall know how to get the fish when I want them--I shall
bring you down, Nero." I may as well here observe that Nero very soon
obeyed orders as faithfully as a dog. I had a little switch, and when
he did wrong, I would give him a slight tap on the nose. He would shake
his head, show his teeth, and growl, and then come fondly to me. As he
used to follow me every day down to the pool, I had to break him off
going after the fish when I did not want them taken, and this I
accomplished. No one who had not witnessed it, could imagine the
affection and docility of this animal, and the love I had for him. He
was my companion and playmate during the day, and my bedfellow at
night. We were inseparable.
It was at the latter portion of the second year of my solitude that a
circumstance occurred, that I must now relate. Nero had gone down to
the pool with me, and I was standing fishing off the rocks, when he
came out of the pool and plunged into the sea, playing all sorts of
gambols, and whistling with delight. I did not think anything about it.
He plunged and disappeared for a few minutes, and then would come up
again close to where my line was, but he disturbed the fish and I could
not catch any. To drive him farther off, I pelted him with pieces of
rock, one of which hit him very hard, and he dived down. After a time I
pulled up my line, and whistling to him to return, although I did not
see him, I went away to the cabin, fully expecting that he would soon
follow me, for now he could walk (after his fashion) from the cabin to
the pool as he pleased. This was early in the morning, and I busied
myself with my garden, which was now in great luxuriance, for I had
dressed it with guano; but observing about noon that he had not
returned, I became uneasy, and went down to the pool to look for him.
He was not there, and I looked on the sea, but could not perceive him
anywhere. I called and whistled, but it was of no use, and I grew very
much alarmed at the idea that my treasure had deserted me. "It could
not be because I threw the pieces of rock at him," thought I; "he would
not leave me for that." I remained for two or three hours, watching for
him, but it was all in vain; there was no seal--no Nero,--my heart sank
at the idea of the animal having deserted me, and for the first time in
my life, as far as I can recollect, I burst into a flood of tears. For
the first time in my life, I may say, I felt truly miserable--my whole
heart and affections were set upon this animal, the companion and
friend of my solitude, and I felt as if existence were a burden without
him. After a while, I retraced my steps to the cabin, but I was
miserable, more so than I can express. I could not rest quiet. Two
hours before sunset, I went down again to the rocks, and called till I
was hoarse. It was all in vain; night closed in, and again I returned
to the cabin, and threw myself down in my bed-place in utter despair.
"I thought he loved me," said I to myself, "loved me as I loved him; I
would not have left him in that way." And my tears burst out anew at
the idea that I never should see my poor Nero again.
The reader may think that my grief was inordinate and unwarrantable,
but let him put himself in my position--a lad of sixteen, alone on a
desolate island, with only one companion--true, he was an animal, and
could not speak, but he was affectionate; he replied to all my
caresses; he was my only companion and friend, the only object that I
loved or cared about. He was intelligent, and I thought loved me as
much as I loved him, and now he had deserted me, and I had nothing else
that I cared about or that cared for me. My tears flowed for more than
an hour, till at last I was wearied and fell asleep.