The next morning, as we took our way to the sago wood, our ears were
saluted by the loud cries of some of the birds of paradise; and looking
up, we saw a vast number of them collected on the tops of some lofty
trees in the forest, having immense heads of wide-spreading branches
with scanty foliage, though with large leaves. Suddenly the birds began
to move about in the most extraordinary manner, stretching out their
necks, raising their beautifully-tinted plumes, and elevating their
wings, which they kept in a continual state of vibration. Now they flew
from branch to branch backwards and forwards, so that the trees appeared
filled with waving plumes, and every variety of form and colour. "Why,
they are dancing in the air!" exclaimed Oliver; and truly it seemed as
if they were expressly performing a dance for our entertainment. The
wings appeared to be raised directly over the back. The head was
stretched out, bending downwards; and the long hinder feathers were
elevated and expanded, forming two superb golden fans, striped with deep
red at the base, and fading away into the pale brown tint of the body.
Their heads were yellow, their throat emerald-green--though even the
bright tints were scarcely perceptible amid the rich golden glory which
waved above them. They appeared to be of the size of crows, the bodies
being of a rich coffee brown. Their long gold and orange feathers,
which form their most conspicuous ornament, spring from the sides
beneath each wing; and I found afterwards, when I examined one of the
birds, that when in repose they are partly concealed by them.
We could scarcely move from the spot, so delighted were we with the
beautiful appearance of these magnificent birds. Now and then, also,
superb butterflies of gorgeous colours flew by us; while here and there,
as the sunlight penetrated amongst the branches of the trees, we saw,
creeping along the ground or up the stems, numbers of glittering
beetles, of equally beautiful tints.
At length, however, we repaired to our sago-tree. Macco used his
newly-formed axe with as much judgment as at first; we as before working
away at intervals with our knives. At length he exclaimed, "Me t'ink
tree fall now. You go to end of rope and haul, haul. Take care far
enough off; and I cut, cut."
Macco again shouted; and Oliver and I hauling with all our might, we saw
the lofty tree bending forward. We ran back even further than was
necessary, and down it came with a crash upon the ground, which echoed
through the forest, and startled several creatures, which went flying or
leaping, it seemed to us, among the branches or over the ground. One,
however, in a little time came back again, and we saw a curious black
face looking down upon us. "A monkey or baboon!" I cried out. A
chattering cry was the answer, and the black face disappeared among the
branches.
We could do little more towards preparing the sago that evening. On
passing through a more open part of the forest, our eyes were gladdened
by seeing some large fruit hanging from the top of some palm-trees.
"Cocoa-nut!--cocoa-nut!" cried Macco. Yes; there was the long-coveted
cocoa-nut; and apparently mature. Macco, as may be supposed, was very
quickly at the top of the tree, and engaged in throwing down the nuts.
"Stay!" I cried out; "don't pick more than are necessary, and we may
have them fresh."
We had soon torn off the fibrous covering, and knocked a hole in one of
the eyes. How deliciously cool and sweet did the juice inside them
taste!
"That is refreshing!" exclaimed Oliver. "I am glad we have begun on the
sago-tree, or we might have been lazy, and not have taken the trouble to
cut it down."
"Yes, indeed," I answered; "and remember the cocoa-nuts will only last
for a time, whereas the sago will keep as long as we require it." Here
was another addition to our store of provisions, for which we had truly
cause to be thankful.
Next morning we set to work to cut off the leaves and leaf-stalks, and
we then took off a strip of bark from the upper part of the trunk. We
now had the pithy matter exposed, which in the upper part is of snowy
whiteness, and of the consistency of a hardish pear, with woody fibres
running through it, a quarter of an inch from each other. We had seen,
the pith removed by means of a club, with which it is pounded while
still in the trunk. Our next work, accordingly, was to form a couple of
clubs for the purpose. It was a difficult matter, however, to cut a
piece of hard wood suitable for our object. After hunting about for
some time, we could find nothing to suit us. At last it occurred to me
that we might load the end of a stout piece of bamboo, which might, at
all events, do better than nothing. We accordingly cut some pieces, and
going to the shore, fixed in the bottom of each a lump of coral rock,
which Macco managed to secure in a neat and at the same time thorough
manner. With these we commenced operations, and though the process was
slower than it might otherwise have been, we found that we could manage
to beat out a considerable quantity of sago pith.
While Oliver and I were proceeding with this work, Macco who was far
more ingenious than we were, commenced the operation of the washing
machine. This he formed of the large sheathing bases of the leaves, in
the shape of a trough. The object is to strain the sago pith. With the
fibrous covering from the leaf-stalks of the cocoa-nuts he soon twisted
a net-like strainer. The trough, I should say, is deep in the centre
and very shallow at the end; thus the starch which is dissolved sinks
down to the bottom of the trough, while the water runs away from the
upper part. Macco made also some baskets out of the sheathing bases of
the leaves, in which we might carry the sago.
We now set out with our materials to our spring. There was not as much
water as we should have desired, but still it seemed to come bubbling up
in sufficient quantity for our purpose, without fear of exhausting the
supply. Macco, having formed a number of trestles of pieces of bamboo
sticks, rested the trough between the forks, the straining place being
placed on higher trestles than the strainer in the centre, so that the
water might run down into the trough below. The strainer was now
stretched across the upper part of the trough, and putting in our sago,
Macco began to pour the water from the shell which he had brought for
the purpose. We eagerly watched the process. In a short time a good
deal of thick matter seemed to run off, leaving only refuse in the net.
This refuse we threw aside, and supplied its place with fresh sago.
This we continued doing till our trough was nearly full, and the water
being allowed to run off, we found a fine mass of sago starch with a
slightly red tinge. We now made this up into thick cylindrical masses,
as we had seen done before, and covered them up with the sago leaves.
Truly thankful for our success, we carried off the sago we had thus
manufactured to our encampment. We agreed, however, before commencing
any other operation, to turn all the pith we had obtained into sago, as
we might not otherwise have time to manufacture a further supply. Our
difficulty was to cook it. We had seen it eaten boiled with water. It
then forms a thick glutinous mass, and salt is mixed with it to give it
flavour, as it is of a somewhat astringent taste. We tried boiling some
in one of our shells; but before the sago was sufficiently boiled the
shell caught fire. We, however, managed to eat it, and mixing it with
salt, found it palatable. We then determined to try and make some bread
of it. To do this, however, we had to build an oven. This, without
difficulty, we formed in the earth. We then filled it with hot embers.
Having pounded our sago in a shell, we mixed it with water, and made it
into small cakes. These we placed on stones in the oven. In our first
experiment we burned up our cakes, as we kept them too long in. We then
agreed that we would try and make a baking-pan, such as we had seen
formed. This is a square box made of clay, with several divisions, into
each of which a cake is placed sideways. The difficulty, however, was
to form this oven; and we agreed that we would try and find some clay
and manufacture one. At the next attempt we kept the cakes in a much
shorter time, and found them sufficiently palatable. We were occupied
for more than a week in manufacturing our sago. It was probably very
inferior to what is made by more experienced persons. At the same time
it was wholesome, and would be a great addition to the animal food we
were likely to procure.
One evening, as we approached our hut, after our day's work was over, we
heard a noise inside. We approached noiselessly, with our bamboo spears
ready for use, thinking, probably, that wine animal had got inside.
Just as we were within ten yards of the entrance, out popped a large
black creature, which turned round chattering and grinning at us, and
then bolted off as fast as it could, with a lump of sago in its paws.
"Monkey! monkey!" cried Macco, giving chase with his spear. The
creature was, however, I saw, a baboon, from having no tail, or an
imperceptible tail if he had one, the part he turned towards us being
bare of hair, and of a ruddy hue. He was far too nimble, however, even
for Macco to overtake him, and up he sprang into a tree, going
chattering among the branches, dropping the sago, however, in his
flight. I recognised, as he turned round, the face I had seen watching
us when we were making the sago.
We agreed that we must secure our provisions, or he, having discovered
our store, would perhaps return with many companions to pilfer it. I
heard afterwards that only one species of baboon is found thus far east,
probably introduced by Malay seamen, who constantly carry baboons and
monkeys on board their vessels. We agreed, indeed, that it was now time
to begin a hut, in which we could sit more comfortably during the
evening, and which would shelter us from the rains, which I knew were
likely to occur before long. The rich vegetation which covered the
island would not, I knew, exist, unless frequently watered by heavy
showers.
We agreed to call our house Bamboo Villa. We first stuck into the
ground a number of stout bamboos, and then secured, at about six feet
from the ground, to the uprights, horizontally, some bamboos almost of
the same thickness. These formed the beams on which we rested our
floor. The floor was composed of the mid-ribs of the sago-palm, split
in two, and supported beneath by poles. The sides were of the same
material. Our work, the framework of which was of bamboo, was thatched
with the smaller mid-ribs, and with the leaves of the sago-palm foliage,
tied in bundles, side by side. These, however, being very thick, formed
a covering which kept out the heat of the sun as well as the rain, a
very important consideration in that climate. A ladder of bamboo
enabled us to reach the door of our house.
In this abode we hoped better to preserve our provisions, and to be free
also from insects or any reptiles which might exist on the island. We
had frequently caught sight in the distance of creatures moving about
among the thickly-growing trees, but had been unable to tell what they
were. We had also seen movements amongst the dense mass of leaves which
covered the ground, and had supposed them to be lizards and snakes, or
other crawling things.
As soon as our house was finished we manufactured a sago oven, which we
baked in the sun. It was, however, of a very fragile nature, and we
feared would not answer very well for our cakes--to use it, indeed, we
were obliged to increase its size. When all was ready, we prepared some
cakes. This we did by drying the sago thoroughly in the sun, then
pounding it in a shell into a fine powder. Keeping some of the powder
to sprinkle the oven with, we made the rest into cakes. Having got the
oven heated, we put in our baking-pan, with a piece of palm-leaf over
it, and then closed up the hole with stones and earth. In a short time
we again opened the mouth of the oven, when lo, and behold, our pan had
burst asunder, and though the cakes were pretty well done, pieces of
clay were sticking to them on every side. It took us some time to pick
them out before the cakes were at all fit to eat; indeed, an epicure
would certainly not have considered them palatable. What would we not
have given for a good pot in which to boil our water, and a well-made
pan for baking our cakes!
"There is no use wishing for them," exclaimed Oliver; "we must make the
best use of the materials at hand."
We determined not to be defeated, and our next pan was made of clay, and
strengthened with pieces of bamboo in the inside. We began baking it in
the sun, and then carried it to our oven, which was only slightly
heated. We then added more fuel, and closed it up. On opening it we
only let in a little air at a time, and this allowed it to cool slowly.
On taking it out, not a crack was perceptible. On examining it, when it
was thoroughly cool, we had hopes that it would answer better than its
predecessor. The next time we made some cakes we pounded some cocoa-nut
with them. We then heated our oven, and put in our pan full of cakes.
In about five or six minutes we again opened it, and drawing out the
pan, we saw the cakes well cooked, and the pan unbroken.
We had been too busy to go hunting; but we determined, as soon as our
house was completed in every respect, to do so systematically. We hoped
to have no difficulty in procuring a cuscus occasionally, and as there
were evidently many birds on the island, to trap them or kill them in
some other way. We talked of forming cross-bows, and we hoped to find
some elastic wood for the purpose. Still, we had a longing for
vegetables. We found a delicate-looking plant, which had nothing
suspicious about it, for I knew the appearance of several of the noxious
plants. On digging down we discovered a root to it. Macco said he
thought that it was wholesome, and volunteered to try it. We agreed
that it would be better for one person to do so, and to take only a
little at a time, that, should it have any bad qualities, we might
discover them before serious injury was done to any of us. We
accordingly boiled some in a shell with some hot stones, and Macco,
taking a little, declared it very good. Next day he ate rather more of
it, and in a short time took a considerable quantity mixed with some
shell-fish, which we had just before procured. Its wholesome nature was
now satisfactorily ascertained, and we had thus another article of food
on which we could depend.
Among the many beautiful objects in our way were the groups of bamboos.
Botanically, the bamboo is looked upon as grass, but, practically, it is
a tree, as it sometimes attains the height of seventy or eighty feet.
In many of the places we had visited we found the native huts built of
it. For this purpose the people split it open, and press it out flat.
To strengthen the walls, other perpendicular and horizontal pieces are
fixed to it. The masts of small vessels are made of it, as well as
spars, and drinking-cups and vessels of all sorts. The more savage
tribes still make their weapons of bamboo, as, when slightly burned, a
sharp edge like a knife can be given to it; indeed, the pointed end of a
bamboo makes a formidable spear, which an unarmed man would not wish to
encounter.
I cannot give a full account of our residence on the island. We were
never without an ample supply of provisions, both vegetable and animal.
A fortnight had passed since we had buried the eggs in the mound, and
had almost forgotten all about them, when, as Oliver and I were seated
in our hut, we heard Macco shouting out, "Come!--see! see!" We hurried
out, and remarked a curious commotion on the top of the mound we had
thrown up. Presently, one head popped out from the earth, and then
another, and another, and a curious half-fledged bird emerged, and
pointing its head inland, began to run away towards the wood. Macco
made chase, and brought it back. We, in the meantime, seized the
remainder of the little creatures as they emerged from their curious
hatching-ground, and carried them off to the hut. They seemed very
unwilling to stay there, till we placed some sago flour and other food
before them. They instantly began pecking it up, as if they had been
long accustomed to feeding. Nothing seemed to satisfy them, and we were
surprised at the quantity of food they managed to swallow. I never saw
such independent little creatures. It was satisfactory to know that we
were not depriving an affectionate hen of her offspring. As we were
anxious to preserve them, we made a pen of bamboo sticks closely stuck
in the ground, in a circle of about a couple of yards in diameter. It
took us some time to do this. As soon as the pen was finished we put
the brush-turkeys--for such we supposed they were--inside it, throwing
in at the same time a supply of food. The little creatures ran round
and round, but finding they could not get out, began to peck away at the
food. Supposing that, as they took to the woods, they would require
some shelter, we threw in a quantity of leaves, and small branches, and
twigs. Under these, when they could eat no more, they went to roost,
apparently very well contented with their quarters.
Well satisfied with our success, we searched for some time, but without
finding another mound; indeed, the birds which made them did not appear
to be very common in the island. However, we could not make much way
into the interior on account of the thick jungle, though here and there
were a few open glades through which we could pass along with tolerable
ease. We had reached one of these glades when we saw directly before us
a brown animal jumping along over the ground. "A kangaroo! a kangaroo!"
exclaimed Oliver. "It is so like the pictures of one." We, of course,
made chase, but the kangaroo--for a species of that animal it was--soon
caught sight of us. Greatly to our surprise, however, when it came to
the end of the glade, instead of forcing its way through the thicket, or
turning round to stand at bay, it began to climb up the nearest tree.
It did not climb very fast, however, and had we been somewhat nearer we
might have struck it with our spears. By the time we got up it had
climbed above our reach. I then remembered reading of a tree kangaroo
which is supplied with powerful claws on the fore-feet. Once up in the
tree, it did not appear to be much frightened at us, and we had time
more particularly to observe it. It had a hairy tail, much finer than
the ordinary kangaroo, and we observed as it went over the ground that
it had not used it as a support, as the Australian kangaroo does.
Macco proposed climbing the tree to attack it, but we thought it would
be dangerous for him to make the attempt, as the creature might seize
him in its claws, and tear his skin. He laughed at the notion, and
remarked, "If he do dat, he tumble down. No, no; you let me alone. You
go away, I kill kangaroo!"
Saying this, he made a circuit through the thick forest, so as to get
the tree between himself and the branch on which the kangaroo was
sitting. We, meantime, retired down the glade. As soon as the animal
saw that we were at a distance, he began tearing away the leaves from a
branch and eating them voraciously. Macco, hanging the spear about his
neck, climbed up a neighbouring tree, which was united to the one on
which the kangaroo was sitting by a strong band of ratan. Along this,
finding it secure, he cautiously climbed, till he gained a branch
directly above the kangaroo. We watched him anxiously, afraid to move
lest we should disturb the animal. He seemed to be considering whether
his spear was long enough to reach it. Then we saw him cautiously stoop
down over the branch. The moment the kangaroo stopped eating, he drew
back and remained still as death. When the animal again commenced
tearing off the twigs, he cautiously approached. At length he seemed
satisfied that he was in a good position, and raising his spear, he
darted it down directly on the animal's neck. It must have pierced the
spine, for the creature instantly dropped off the branch and lay without
moving on the ground. We ran up as fast as our legs could carry us, but
Macco was on the spot before us, and examining the creature. He seemed
satisfied that it was perfectly dead. It had a graceful, mild-looking
head, and, except in the points I have mentioned, was in all respects
like an ordinary kangaroo, though not so large as the animals I had read
of in Australia. It was indeed a prize to us, for we had not killed a
cuscus for some time, and had been living on shell-fish, sago, and
cocoa-nuts, with now and then a few turtle's eggs. Fastening the legs
of our prize round a piece of the universally useful bamboo, we bore it
off in triumph to our mansion, and very soon had some delicious steaks
cooking before our fire.