Produced by Tor Martin Kristiansen, Kara Shallenberg, Asad
Razzaki and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
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Transcriber's Note.
The title page of this edition is a bit confusing. The author of the
original work 'Der Schweizerische Robinson' was Johann David Wyss, and
it was edited by his son Johann Rudolf Wyss. This edition was translated
by William Henry Giles Kingston.
[Illustration: IT WAS TAKING WONDERFUL, FLYING LEAPS.]
_The Swiss Family Robinson._ _Frontispiece_--(_Page 88_)
THE SWISS FAMILY
ROBINSON
A Translation from the Original German
BY
JOHANN RUDOLF WYSS
EDITED BY
WILLIAM H. G. KINGSTON
ILLUSTRATED BY
WALTER S. ROGERS
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Storm-tossed--Wrecked--Deserted--Supper--We make swimming-belts for
the children--An anxious night--The gale moderates--We examine
our cargo--Jack introduces two new acquaintances--How shall we
get on shore?--Jack's plan--We adopt it--The use of a lever--Our
tub-boat completed--Another night on the wreck--We collect the
cargo--And embark--Jack's friends will not be left behind--Steer
for the shore--Once more on land--We erect a tent--Glue
soup--Jack makes the acquaintance of a lobster--Ernest shirks the
water--Oysters and salt--How shall we eat our soup?--Ernest
solves the difficulty--Fritz returns--The sucking pig--How to
open an oyster and how to eat it--The dogs devour the
agouti--Fritz's anger--Our first night in the new country, 1
CHAPTER II.
A morning consultation--Breakfast--Away on an expedition--Over the
stream and through the grass--An unexpected reinforcement--Search
in vain for our comrades--Rest by a stream--Fritz finds a "round
bird's nest"--Natural history of a cocoanut--Calabash trees--The
use of gourds--How to make a bottle--A lovely but lonely
scene--Sugar-canes--Monkeys of use--Cocoanut milk turned to
champagne--Turk kills an unfortunate mother monkey--Carry the
orphan home--Display our treasures--A sumptuous supper--Ernest's
penguin--Champagne turned to vinegar--A fight with jackals--A
curious sentinel--A visit to the wreck--We rig our craft--Stow a
cargo--Sleep on board--Floats for our herd--We embark--Encounter
a shark--Land--Relate our adventures, 19
CHAPTER III.
The mother relates her adventures--Proposes that we should build a
nest--How Jack treated the jackal skin--How the boys were
surprised by a bustard--How they found the mangrove tree--How
the dogs caught the crabs--We discuss the possibility of making a
house in the tree--To bed once more--We start for the wreck--The
shark again--Return to land--Franz's crawfish--Bridge
building--We pack up--A family removing in patriarchal style--A
prickly enemy--Jack shoots it--We reach our new home--Fritz rids
our poultry of an enemy--Little Franz finds the figs--Dinner--We
prepare materials for our nest--Flamingoes--Roast and tame--The
use of trigonometry--A cord carried over the bough--The rope
ladder made--We mount our tree--Sleep under the roots--The
building of the nest--Retire to roost for the first time, 44
CHAPTER IV.
A day of rest--A parable for the young people--Quiet
recreation--Geographical nomenclature--The margay and porcupine
skins made of use--An expedition to Tentholm--Potatoes,
potatoes--Tropical vegetation--The use of the karatas--Jack's
greediness and its punishment--Ernest discovers cochineal--Arrive
at Tentholm--The poultry rebellious--Return to
Falconhurst--Ernest roused out early--We collect wood for a
sledge--Master Knips turns thief--Franz's plan for the saving of
ammunition--Ernest and I take the sledge to Tentholm--Ernest's
laziness exemplified--He catches a salmon--We start for
home--Kill a kangaroo--And cook it, 73
CHAPTER V.
Jack and Ernest disappear--Fritz and I start for the wreck--The
boys' ambuscade--We form a raft--Ransack the vessel--Again
embark--A turtle in sight--Fritz harpoons it--The turtle acts as
"Steam Tug"--Safe ashore--Return home--Jack's clay field--A fresh
discovery--The mother's cellar--A trip to the wreck--The
pinnace--Jack's raid on the Lilliputians--A secret revealed--A
new method of grinding flour--Wholesome or
poisonous?--Bread-making in earnest, 92
CHAPTER VI
Now for the pinnace--Repeated visits to the wreck--The pinnace
built--How shall we cut her out--The difficulty solved--We fit
her out--Fire a salute--The mother's surprise--We visit
Falconhurst--Attend to our fruit trees--Athletics--The lasso--An
excursion--A bustard captured--Ernest discovers a magician--Jack
fights him--The Liane Rouge--We turn carvers--Ernest's alarm--The
old sow again--We discover a sleeping beauty--Return with it to
the camp--Knips pronounces our apples "good"--Return to
Falconhurst, 108
CHAPTER VII.
Fritz and I return to the Calabash Wood--Fritz shoots a ruffed
grouse--We come across waxberry bushes--Sociable grosbeaks--Fritz
captures a parrot--A lecture on ants--Caoutchouc trees--The
sago-palm and the edible worms--Return with sugar-canes to
Falconhurst--Candle-making--How to make butter without a
churn--Plant trees and adorn Tentholm--Last visit to the
wreck--The first ducklings on the island--Falconhurst again--An
excursion--We pitch our tent--Fritz and Jack ascend the cocoanut
trees--Ernest brings us a delicacy--Loss of Grizzle--Jack and I
go in pursuit--Giant bamboos--Encounter with buffaloes--The
buffalo calf--Find a jackal's lair--Reach our camp--What happened
in our absence--Fritz's pet--Sago manufacture--Meet with our sow
and her family again--How Ernest tamed the eagle, 127
CHAPTER VIII.
Prop our young trees--A lecture on grafting--A new idea
broached--Why should we not build stairs within the trunk of our
tree?--Jack finds one objection--I make a beehive, and we drive
the bees from the tree--Stair-making--Additions to our family of
domestic animals--The education of the "pets"--Shoemaking--We
lead water from the stream to Falconhurst--A strange animal
approaches--Our old ass and his companion--The onager
captured--Provisioning our winter quarters--Capture of ruffed
grouse--We discover flax--The rainy season, 151
CHAPTER IX.
Spring again--We begin to hew a cave--Jack makes a discovery--We
drive the foul air from the cavern--The mother and her boys join
us--We explore the cave--Fit it up as our winter quarters--The
herring-bank--We catch seals--Fishing on a grand scale--Isinglass
and caviare--We visit our plantations--An expedition to
establish a colony--The building of "Woodlands"--Jack and Fritz
return to Falconhurst for provisions--Ernest and I explore--A
"beast with a bill"--We build a canoe--Franz undertakes the
education of Grumble--We continue our work at the cave--Carpet
making--Thanksgiving-day--A startling salute--Athletics and
shooting--Prize giving--Manufacture of birdlime--Fritz and Jack
ride off for caoutchouc--Shoot a crane and badger--Find
"Woodlands" turned upside down by monkeys--Discover ginseng, 168
CHAPTER X.
Birdlime--A midnight raid--The massacre at Woodlands--Capture of
Molucca pigeons--A pigeon-house--Fritz and I prepare a conjuring
trick--Great success of our experiment--Lichen and nutmegs
discovered--Jack's adventure--The loom manufactured--Winter
stores prepared--The rainy season sets in--Interior of our house
arranged--We study languages--The return of spring--A stranded
whale--An account of coral--We go to work on the whale's
carcass--Remarks on the habits of the whale, 199
CHAPTER XI.
The blubber of the whale boiled and stored--A unique
machine--Expedition to Prospect Hill--Whale's tongue is voted no
delicacy--We land on Whale Island--Jack discovers a strange
skeleton--Turtle turning--Towed ashore--The loom
completed--Return of the herring shoals--Basket making--We
manufacture a sedan chair--Ernest's wild ride therein--A boa
constrictor appears--He retreats to the marsh--Suspense--Poor
Grizzle's fate--An awful scene--Death of the monster--An account
of snakes--Remedies for poisoned bites--Ernest writes Grizzle's
epitaph--The serpent stuffed and placed in the museum, 222
CHAPTER XII.
We examine the marsh--A cave discovered--We find the floor covered
with fuller's earth--Discharge our pistols--Jack's fright--Ernest
captures an eel--An expedition toward the Gap--Visit Falconhurst
and Woodlands and examine the country round--Franz shoots a
capybara--Ernest and Knips fight the rats--A lecture on
musk--Cinnamon apples--A peccary hunt--We prepare the peccary
meat--Disasters at Prospect Hill--An exploring expedition through
the Gap--We find our barrier broken down--Across the
desert--Strange objects in the distance--An account of
ostriches--An ostrich slain--We discover the nest--A mud
tortoise--We encounter bears--A desperate fight--Back again to
camp--We skin the bears and smoke their flesh--Pepper
found--Three of the boys start on an expedition--I discover talc, 242
CHAPTER XIII.
The boys return and give an account of their adventures--How they
captured the antelopes--How Fritz caught the rabbits and Jack
rode down the gazelles--How they followed the honey bird and Jack
tried to rob the bees' byke--We sup on the bears' paws--Across
the desert again--Sight three ostriches--The male bird
captured--We secure him between Storm and Grumble--The mother's
astonishment at our new pet--Return to Woodlands--Home again--We
establish colonies on Shark and Whale Islands--Turn our attention
to agriculture--The difficulties of ostrich training--My patent
saddle and bridle--I exercise my ingenuity in various trades, 268
CHAPTER XIV.
The rainy season again--The building of the cajack--The mother
invents a swimming dress--A visit to our colonies--Mysterious
seaweed--The mother's surprise--A visit to Whale
Island--Mischievous pigs--The three boys return from a day's
hunting--They display their treasures--A new skinning
apparatus--We make a crushing machine--An early harvest--We
prepare a threshing floor--Reaping in Italian fashion--Threshing
also in Italian fashion--Return of the herring shoals, 284
CHAPTER XV.
Trial of the cajack--Fritz kills a walrus--We carry home its
head--The storm--Where is Fritz?--Safe at last--The fishing
season--An expedition proposed--Three of the boys start for
Woodlands--Pigeon post--Encounter with a hyena--Wood Lake
explored--A tapir--Prospect Hill pillaged--A tragedy--The boys in
danger--We join them--We build a summer house--Discover the cacao
plant--Fritz ascends the stream--He sees elephants and
hippopotami--Jack's "moist secret"--We return to Rockburg--Grace
and Beauty--Shark Island is fortified, 297
CHAPTER XVI.
Ten years afterward--Our farms and farmyards--Fritz makes a voyage
of discovery--Cape Minster and the swallows' nest--Pearl
oysters--A magnificent bay--The strange message--An excursion to
Pearl Bay--Fritz proposes to search for the stranger, and
prepares his canoe for her reception--The pearl fishery--An
encounter with a wild boar--Jack's accident--Truffles--A midnight
alarm--The lion and his mate--Our enemies overcome--Juno's
death--We set sail for Rockburg--Fritz leaves us, 317
CHAPTER XVII.
Juno's epitaph--Fritz does not appear--We start in search of him--A
cachalot whale--The unexpected appearance of a savage--Fritz in a
dusky disguise--He leads us to Fair Isle, and shows us the
wonders therein--The stranger--Fritz narrates his adventures--How
he saw toucans--Encountered a tiger--Lost Pounce--Found the
Smoking Rock, and Jenny Montrose--The history of the
stranger--Wolves dispute our right to the whale--Coco joins his
brethren--Jack and Jenny search for the truant--We leave Pearl
Bay--A hearty reception--A visit to Falconhurst--Jack displays
our stud--The rainy season again, 338
CHAPTER XVIII.
Spring and its accompanying work--The mysterious guns--Who fired
them--A storm--Fritz and I reconnoiter--The English brig--We
visit her in the yacht--Captain Littlestone--We are cordially
welcomed--Mr. Wolston and his family--An earnest
consultation--Our visitors at Rockburg--The supper--Who is for
Europe and who for New Switzerland?--The decision--Farewell, 358
THE
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON
CHAPTER I.
Storm-tossed--Wrecked--Deserted--Supper--We make swimming-belts for
the children--An anxious night--The gale moderates--We examine our
cargo--Jack introduces two new acquaintances--How shall we get on
shore?--Jack's plan--We adopt it--The use of a lever--Our tug-boat
completed--Another night on the wreck--We collect the cargo--And
embark--Jack's friends will not be left behind--Steer for the
shore--Once more on land--We erect a tent--Glue soup--Jack makes
the acquaintance of a lobster--Ernest shirks the water--Oysters
and salt--How shall we eat our soup?--Ernest solves the
difficulty--Fritz returns--The sucking pig--How to open an oyster
and how to eat it--The dogs devour the agouti--Fritz's anger--Our
first night in the new country.
For many days we had been tempest-tossed. Six times had the darkness
closed over a wild and terrific scene, and returning light as often
brought but renewed distress, for the raging storm increased in fury
until on the seventh day all hope was lost.
We were driven completely out of our course; no conjecture could be
formed as to our whereabouts. The crew had lost heart, and were utterly
exhausted by incessant labor.
The riven masts had gone by the board, leaks had been sprung in every
direction, and the water, which rushed in, gained upon us rapidly.
Instead of reckless oaths, the seamen now uttered frantic cries to God
for mercy, mingled with strange and often ludicrous vows, to be
performed should deliverance be granted.
Every man on board alternately commended his soul to his Creator, and
strove to bethink himself of some means of saving his life.
My heart sank as I looked round upon my family in the midst of these
horrors. Our four young sons were overpowered by terror. "Dear
children," said I, "if the Lord will, he can save us even from this
fearful peril; if not, let us calmly yield our lives into his hand, and
think of the joy and blessedness of finding ourselves forever and ever
united in that happy home above."
At these words my weeping wife looked bravely up, and, as the boys
clustered round her, she began to cheer and encourage them with calm and
loving words. I rejoiced to see her fortitude, though my heart was ready
to break as I gazed on my dear ones.
We knelt down together, one after another praying with deep earnestness
and emotion. Fritz, in particular, besought help and deliverance for his
dear parents and brothers, as though quite forgetting himself.
Our hearts were soothed by the never-failing comfort of child-like,
confiding prayer, and the horror of our situation seemed less
overwhelming. "Ah," thought I, "the Lord will hear our prayer! He will
help us."
Amid the roar of the thundering waves I suddenly heard the cry of "Land,
land!" while at the same instant the ship struck with a frightful shock,
which threw every one to the deck, and seemed to threaten her immediate
destruction.
Dreadful sounds betokened the breaking up of the ship, and the roaring
waters poured in on all sides:
Then the voice of the captain was heard above the tumult shouting,
"Lower away the boats! We are lost!"
"Lost!" I exclaimed, and the word went like a dagger to my heart; but
seeing my children's terror renewed, I composed myself, calling out
cheerfully, "Take courage, my boys! we are all above water yet. There is
the land not far off; let us do our best to reach it. You know God
helps those that help themselves!" With that, I left them and went on
deck. What was my horror when through the foam and spray I beheld the
only remaining boat leave the ship, the last of the seamen spring into
her and push off, regardless of my cries and entreaties that we might be
allowed to share their slender chance of preserving their lives. My
voice was drowned in the howling of the blast; and even had the crew
wished it, the return of the boat was impossible.
Casting my eyes despairingly around, I became gradually aware that our
position was by no means hopeless, inasmuch as the stern of the ship
containing our cabin was jammed between two high rocks, and was partly
raised from among the breakers which dashed the forepart to pieces. As
the clouds of mist and rain drove past, I could make out, through rents
in the vaporous curtain, a line of rocky coast, and rugged as it was, my
heart bounded toward it as a sign of help in the hour of need. Yet the
sense of our lonely and forsaken condition weighed heavily upon me as I
returned to my family, constraining myself to say with a smile,
"Courage, dear ones! Although our good ship will never sail more, she is
so placed that our cabin will remain above water, and to-morrow, if the
wind and waves abate, I see no reason why we should not be able to get
ashore."
These few words had an immediate effect on the spirits of my children,
who at once regarded our problematical chance of escaping as a happy
certainty, and began to enjoy the relief from the violent pitching and
rolling of the vessel.
My wife, however, perceived my distress and anxiety, in spite of my
forced composure, and I made her comprehend our real situation, greatly
fearing the effect of the intelligence on her nerves. Not for a moment
did her courage and trust in Providence forsake her, and on seeing this,
my fortitude revived.
"We must find some food, and take a good supper," said she, "it will
never do to grow faint by fasting too long. We shall require our utmost
strength to-morrow."
Night drew on apace, the storm was as fierce as ever, and at intervals
we were startled by crashes announcing further damage to our unfortunate
ship.
"God will help us soon now, won't he, father?" said my youngest child.
"You silly little thing," said Fritz, my eldest son, sharply, "don't you
know that we must not settle what God is to do for us? We must have
patience and wait his time."
"Very well said, had it been said kindly, Fritz, my boy. You too often
speak harshly to your brothers, although you may not mean to do so."
A good meal being now ready, my youngsters ate heartily, and retiring to
rest were speedily fast asleep. Fritz, who was of an age to be aware of
the real danger we were in, kept watch with us. After a long silence,
"Father," said he, "don't you think we might contrive swimming belts for
mother and the boys? with those we might all escape to land, for you and
I can swim."
"Your idea is so good," answered I, "that I shall arrange something at
once, in case of an accident during the night."
We immediately searched about for what would answer the purpose, and
fortunately got hold of a number of empty flasks and tin canisters,
which we connected two and two together so as to form floats
sufficiently buoyant to support a person in the water, and my wife and
young sons each willingly put one on. I then provided myself with
matches, knives, cord, and other portable articles, trusting that,
should the vessel go to pieces before daylight, we might gain the shore
not wholly destitute.
Fritz, as well as his brothers, now slept soundly. Throughout the night
my wife and I maintained our prayerful watch, dreading at every fresh
sound some fatal change in the position of the wreck.
At length the faint dawn of day appeared, the long, weary night was
over, and with thankful hearts we perceived that the gale had began to
moderate; blue sky was seen above us, and the lovely hues of sunrise
adorned the eastern horizon.
I aroused the boys, and we assembled on the remaining portion of the
deck, when they, to their surprise, discovered that no one else was on
board.
"Hallo, papa! what has become of everybody? Are the sailors gone? Have
they taken away the boats? Oh, papa! why did they leave us behind? What
can we do by ourselves?"
"My good children," I replied, "we must not despair, although we seem
deserted. See how those on whose skill and good faith we depended have
left us cruelly to our fate in the hour of danger. God will never do so.
He has not forsaken us, and we will trust him still. Only let us bestir
ourselves, and each cheerily do his best. Who has anything to propose?"
"The sea will soon be calm enough for swimming," said Fritz.
"And that would be all very fine for you," exclaimed Ernest, "but think
of mother and the rest of us! Why not build a raft and all get on shore
together?"
"We should find it difficult, I think, to make a raft that would carry
us safe to shore. However, we must contrive something, and first let
each try to procure what will be of most use to us."
Away we all went to see what was to be found, I myself proceeding to
examine, as of great consequence, the supplies of provisions and fresh
water within our reach.
My wife took her youngest son, Franz, to help her to feed the
unfortunate animals on board, who were in a pitiful plight, having been
neglected for several days.
Fritz hastened to the arm chest, Ernest to look for tools: and Jack went
toward the captain's cabin, the door of which he no sooner opened than
out sprang two splendid large dogs, who testified their extreme delight
and gratitude by such tremendous bounds that they knocked their little
deliverer completely head over heels, frightening him nearly out of his
wits. Jack did not long yield either to fear or anger; he presently
recovered himself; the dogs seemed to ask pardon by vehemently licking
his face and hands, and so, seizing the larger by the ears, he jumped on
his back, and, to my great amusement, coolly rode to meet me as I came
up the hatchway.
When we reassembled in the cabin, we all displayed our treasures.
Fritz brought a couple of guns, shot belt, powder flasks, and plenty of
bullets.
Ernest produced a cap full of nails, an ax, and a hammer, while pincers,
chisels, and augers stuck out of all his pockets.
Little Franz carried a box, and eagerly began to show us the "nice sharp
little hooks" it contained. "Well done, Franz!" cried I; "these fish
hooks, which you, the youngest, have found, may contribute more than
anything else in the ship to save our lives by procuring food for us.
Fritz and Ernest, you have chosen well."
"Will you praise me too?" said my dear wife. "I have nothing to show,
but I can give you good news. Some useful animals are still alive; a
cow, a donkey, two goats, six sheep, a ram, and a fine sow. I was but
just in time to save their lives by taking food to them."
"All these things are excellent indeed," said I; "but my friend Jack
here has presented me with a couple of huge, hungry, useless dogs, who
will eat more than any of us."
"Oh, papa! they will be of use! Why, they will help us to hunt when we
get on shore!"
"No doubt they will, if ever we do get on shore, Jack; but I must say I
don't know how it is to be done."
"Can't we each get into a big tub, and float there?" returned he. "I
have often sailed splendidly like that, round the pond at home."
"My child, you have hit on a capital idea," cried I. "Now, Ernest, let
me have your tools, hammers, nails, saws, augers, and ax; and then make
haste to collect any tubs you can find!"
We very soon found four large casks, made of sound wood, and strongly
bound with iron hoops; they were floating with many other things in the
water in the hold, but we managed to fish them out, and drag them to a
suitable place for launching them. They were exactly what I wanted, and
I succeeded in sawing them across the middle. Hard work it was, and we
were glad enough to stop and refresh ourselves with wine and biscuits.
My eight tubs now stood ranged in a row near the water's edge, and I
looked at them with great satisfaction; to my surprise, my wife did not
seem to share my pleasure!
"I shall never," said she, "muster courage to get into one of these!"
"Do not be too sure of that, dear wife; when you see my contrivance
completed, you will perhaps prefer it to this immovable wreck."
I next procured a long, thin plank, on which my tubs could be fixed, and
the two ends of this I bent upward so as to form a keel. Other two
planks were nailed along the sides of the tubs; they also being
flexible, were brought to a point at each end, and all firmly secured
and nailed together. I felt satisfied that in smooth water this craft
would be perfectly trustworthy. But when we thought all was ready for
the launch, we found, to our dismay, that the grand contrivance was so
heavy and clumsy, that even our united efforts could not move it an
inch.
"I must have a lever," cried I. "Run and fetch the capstan bar!"
Fritz quickly brought one, and, having formed rollers by cutting up a
long spar, I raised the fore part of my boat with the bar, and my sons
placed a roller under it.
"How is it, father," inquired Ernest, "that with that thing you alone
can do more than all of us together?"
I explained, as well as I could in a hurry, the principle of the lever;
and promised to have a long talk on the subject of Mechanics, should we
have a future opportunity.
I now made fast a long rope to the stern of our boat, attaching the
other end to a beam; then placing a second and third roller under it, we
once more began to push, this time with success, and soon our gallant
craft was safely launched: so swiftly indeed did she glide into the
water that, but for the rope, she would have passed beyond our reach.
The boys wished to jump in directly; but, alas, she leaned so much on
one side that they could not venture to do so.
Some heavy things being thrown in, however, the boat righted itself by
degrees, and the boys were so delighted that they struggled which should
first leap in to have the fun of sitting down in the tubs. But it was
plain to me at once that something more was required to make her
perfectly safe, so I contrived out-riggers to preserve the balance, by
nailing long poles across at the stem and stern, and fixing at the end
of each empty brandy casks. Then the boat appearing steady, I got in;
and turning it toward the most open side of the wreck, I cut and cleared
away obstructions, so as to leave a free passage for our departure, and
the boys brought oars to be ready for the voyage. This important
undertaking we were forced to postpone until the next day, as it was by
this time far too late to attempt it. It was not pleasant to have to
spend another night in so precarious a situation; but yielding to
necessity, we sat down to enjoy a comfortable supper, for during our
exciting and incessant work all day we had taken nothing but an
occasional biscuit and a little wine.
We prepared for rest in a much happier frame of mind than on the
preceding day, but I did not forget the possibility of a renewed storm,
and therefore made every one put on the belts as before.
I persuaded my wife (not without considerable difficulty), to put on a
sailor's dress, assuring her she would find it much more comfortable and
convenient for all she would have to go through. She at last consented
to do this, and left us for a short time, reappearing with much
embarrassment and many blushes, in a most becoming suit, which she had
found in a midshipman's chest. We all admired her costume, and any
awkwardness she felt soon began to pass off; then retiring to our
berths, peaceful sleep prepared us all for the exertions of the coming
day.
We rose up betimes, for sleep weighs lightly on the hopeful, as well as
on the anxious. After kneeling together in prayer, "Now, my beloved
ones," said I, "with God's help we are about to effect our escape. Let
the poor animals we must leave behind be well fed, and put plenty of
fodder within their reach: in a few days we may be able to return, and
save them likewise. After that, collect everything you can think of
which may be of use to us."
The boys joyfully obeyed me, and I selected from the large quantity of
stores they got together, canvas to make a tent, a chest of carpenter's
tools, guns, pistols, powder, shot, and bullets, rods and fishing
tackle, an iron pot, a case of portable soup, and another of biscuit.
These useful articles, of course, took the place of the ballast I had
hastily thrown in the day before.
With a hearty prayer for God's blessing, we now began to take our seats,
each in his tub. Just then we heard the cocks begin to crow, as though
to reproach us for deserting them. "Why should not the fowls go with
us!" exclaimed I. "If we find no food for _them_, they can be food for
_us_!" Ten hens and a couple of cocks were accordingly placed in one of
the tubs, and secured with some wire-netting over them.
The ducks and geese were set at liberty, and took to the water at once,
while the pigeons, rejoicing to find themselves on the wing, swiftly
made for the shore. My wife, who managed all this for me, kept us
waiting for her some little time, and came at last with a bag as big as
a pillow in her arms. "This is _my_ contribution," said she, throwing
the bag to little Franz, to be, as I thought, a cushion for him to sit
upon.
All being ready, we cast off, and moved away from the wreck. My good,
brave wife sat in the first compartment of the boat; next her was Franz,
a pretty little boy, nearly eight years old. Then came Fritz, a
handsome, spirited young fellow of fifteen; the two center tubs
contained the valuable cargo; then came our bold, thoughtless Jack; next
him Ernest, my second son, intelligent, well-formed, and rather
indolent. I myself, the anxious, loving father, stood in the stern,
endeavoring to guide the raft with its precious burden to a safe
landing-place.
The elder boys took the oars; every one wore a float belt, and had
something useful close to him in case of being thrown into the water.
The tide was flowing, which was a great help to the young oarsmen. We
emerged from the wreck and glided into the open sea. All eyes were
strained to get a full view of the land, and the boys pulled with a
will; but for some time we made no progress, as the boat kept turning
round and round, until I hit upon the right way to steer it, after which
we merrily made for the shore.
We had left two dogs, Turk and Juno, on the wreck, as being both large
mastiffs we did not care to have their additional weight on board our
craft; but when they saw us apparently deserting them, they set up a
piteous howl, and sprang into the sea. I was sorry to see this, for the
distance to the land was so great that I scarcely expected them to be
able to accomplish it. They followed us, however, and occasionally
resting their fore-paws on the out-riggers, kept up with us well. Jack
was inclined to deny them this, their only chance of safety. "Stop,"
said I, "that would be unkind as well as foolish; remember, the merciful
man regardeth the life of his beast."
Our passage, though tedious, was safe; but the nearer we approached the
shore the less inviting it appeared; the barren rocks seemed to threaten
us with misery and want.
Many casks, boxes, and bales of goods floated on the water around us.
Fritz and I managed to secure a couple of hogsheads, so as to tow them
alongside. With the prospect of famine before us, it was desirable to
lay hold of anything likely to contain provisions.
By and by we began to perceive that, between and beyond the cliffs,
green grass and trees were discernible. Fritz could distinguish many
tall palms, and Ernest hoped they would prove to be cocoanut trees, and
enjoyed the thoughts of drinking the refreshing milk.
"I am very sorry I never thought of bringing away the captain's
telescope," said I.
"Oh, look here, father!" cried Jack, drawing a little spyglass joyfully
out of his pocket.
By means of this glass, I made out that at some distance to the left the
coast was much more inviting; a strong current however, carried us
directly toward the frowning rocks, but I presently observed an opening,
where a stream flowed into the sea, and saw that our geese and ducks
were swimming toward this place. I steered after them into the creek,
and we found ourselves in a small bay or inlet where the water was
perfectly smooth and of moderate depth. The ground sloped gently upward
from the low banks to the cliffs, which here retired inland, leaving a
small plain, on which it was easy for us to land. Every one sprang
gladly out of the boat but little Franz, who, lying packed in his tub
like a potted shrimp, had to be lifted out by his mother.
The dogs had scrambled on shore before us; they received us with loud
barking and the wildest demonstrations of delight. The geese and ducks
kept up an incessant din, added to which was the screaming and croaking
of flamingoes and penguins, whose dominion we were invading. The noise
was deafening, but far from unwelcome to me, as I thought of the good
dinners the birds might furnish.
As soon as we could gather our children around us on dry land, we knelt
to offer thanks and praise for our merciful escape, and with full
hearts we commended ourselves to God's good keeping for the time to
come.
All hands then briskly fell to the work of unloading, and oh, how rich
we felt ourselves as we did so! The poultry we left at liberty to forage
for themselves, and set about finding a suitable place to erect a tent
in which to pass the night. This we speedily did; thrusting a long spar
into a hole in the rock, and supporting the other end by a pole firmly
planted in the ground, we formed a framework over which we stretched the
sailcloth we had brought; besides fastening this down with pegs, we
placed our heavy chest and boxes on the border of the canvas, and
arranged hooks so as to be able to close up the entrance during the
night.
When this was accomplished, the boys ran to collect moss and grass, to
spread in the tent for our beds, while I arranged a fireplace with some
large flat stones, near the brook which flowed close by. Dry twigs and
seaweed were soon in a blaze on the hearth; I filled the iron pot with
water, and giving my wife several cakes of the portable soup, she
established herself as our cook, with little Franz to help her.
He, thinking his mother was melting some glue for carpentering, was
eager to know "what papa was going to make next?"
"This is to be soup for your dinner, my child. Do you think these cakes
look like glue?"
"Yes, indeed I do!" replied Franz, "and I should not much like to taste
glue soup! don't you want some beef or mutton, mamma?"
"Where can I get it, dear!" said she, "we are a long way from a
butcher's shop! but these cakes are made of the juice of good meat,
boiled till it becomes a strong, stiff jelly--people take them when they
go to sea, because on a long voyage they can only have salt meat, which
will not make nice soup."
Fritz, meanwhile, leaving a loaded gun with me, took another himself,
and went along the rough coast to see what lay beyond the stream; this
fatiguing sort of walk not suiting Ernest's fancy, he sauntered down to
the beach, and Jack scrambled among the rocks, searching for shell-fish.
I was anxious to land the two casks which were floating alongside our
boat, but on attempting to do so, I found that I could not get them up
the bank on which we had landed, and was therefore obliged to look for a
more convenient spot. As I did so, I was startled by hearing Jack
shouting for help, as though in great danger. He was at some distance,
and I hurried toward him with a hatchet in my hand. The little fellow
stood screaming in a deep pool, and as I approached, I saw that a huge
lobster had caught his leg in its powerful claw. Poor Jack was in a
terrible fright; kick as he would, his enemy still clung on. I waded
into the water, and seizing the lobster firmly by the back, managed to
make it loosen its hold, and we brought it safe to land. Jack, having
speedily recovered his spirits, and anxious to take such a prize to his
mother, caught the lobster in both hands, but instantly received such a
severe blow from its tail that he flung it down, and passionately hit
the creature with a large stone. This display of temper vexed me. "You
are acting in a very childish way, my son," said I; "never strike an
enemy in a revengeful spirit." Once more lifting the lobster, Jack ran
triumphantly toward the tent.
"Mother, mother! a lobster, Ernest! look here, Franz! mind, he'll bite
you! Where's Fritz?" All came crowding round Jack and his prize,
wondering at its unusual size, and Ernest wanted his mother to make
lobster soup directly, by adding it to what she was now boiling.
She, however, begged to decline making any such experiment, and said she
preferred cooking one dish at a time. Having remarked that the scene of
Jack's adventure afforded a convenient place for getting my casks on
shore, I returned thither and succeeded in drawing them up on the beach,
where I set them on end, and for the present left them.
On my return I resumed the subject of Jack's lobster, and told him he
should have the offending claw all to himself, when it was ready to be
eaten, congratulating him on being the first to discover anything
useful.
"As to that," said Ernest, "I found something very good to eat, as well
as Jack, only I could not get at them without wetting my feet."
"Pooh!" cried Jack, "I know what he saw--nothing but some nasty mussels;
I saw them too. Who wants to eat trash like that! Lobster for me!"
"I believe them to be oysters, not mussels," returned Ernest calmly.
"Be good enough, my philosophical young friend, to fetch a few specimens
of these oysters in time for our next meal," said I; "we must all exert
ourselves, Ernest, for the common good, and pray never let me hear you
object to wetting your feet. See how quickly the sun has dried Jack and
me."
"I can bring some salt at the same time," said Ernest, "I remarked a
good deal lying in the crevices of the rocks; it tasted very pure and
good, and I concluded it was produced by the evaporation of sea water in
the sun."
"Extremely probable, learned sir," cried I; "but if you had brought a
bagful of this good salt instead of merely speculating so profoundly on
the subject, it would have been more to the purpose. Run and fetch some
directly."
It proved to be salt sure enough, although so impure that it seemed
useless, till my wife dissolved and strained it, when it became fit to
put in the soup.
"Why not use the sea water itself?" asked Jack.
"Because," said Ernest, "it is not only salt, but bitter too. Just try
it."
"Now," said my wife, tasting the soup with the stick with which she had
been stirring it, "dinner is ready, but where can Fritz be?" she
continued, a little anxiously.
"How are we to eat our soup when he does come?" I asked; "we have
neither plates nor spoons, and we can scarcely lift the boiling pot to
our mouths. We are in as uncomfortable a position as was the fox to
whom the stork served up a dinner in a jug with a long neck."
"Oh, for a few cocoanut shells!" sighed Ernest.
"Oh, for half a dozen plates and as many silver spoons!" rejoined I,
smiling.
"Really though, oyster-shells would do," said he, after a moment's
thought.
"True, that is an idea worth having! Off with you, my boys; get the
oysters and clean out a few shells. What though our spoons have no
handles, and we do burn our fingers a little in baling the soup out."
Jack was away and up to his knees in the water, in a moment, detaching
the oysters. Ernest followed more leisurely, and still unwilling to wet
his feet, stood by the margin of the pool and gathered in his
handkerchief the oysters his brother threw him; as he thus stood he
picked up and pocketed a large mussel shell for his own use. As they
returned with a good supply we heard a shout from Fritz in the distance;
we returned it joyfully, and he presently appeared before us, his hands
behind his back, and a look of disappointment upon his countenance.
"Unsuccessful!" said he.
"Really!" I replied; "never mind, my boy, better luck next time."
"Oh, Fritz!" exclaimed his brothers, who had looked behind him, "a
sucking-pig, a little sucking-pig. Where did you get it? How did you
shoot it? Do let us see it!"
Fritz then with sparkling eyes exhibited his prize.
"I am glad to see the results of your prowess, my boy," said I; "but I
cannot approve of deceit, even as a joke; stick to the truth in jest and
earnest."
Fritz then told us how he had been to the other side of the stream. "So
different from this," he said; "it is really a beautiful country, and
the shore, which runs down to the sea in a gentle slope, is covered with
all sorts of useful things from the wreck. Do let us go and collect
them. And, father, why should we not return to the wreck and bring off
some of the animals? Just think of what value the cow would be to us,
and what a pity it would be to lose her! Let us get her on shore, and we
will move over the stream, where she will have good pasturage, and we
shall be in the shade instead of on this desert, and father, I do
wish----"
"Stop, stop, my boy!" cried I. "All will be done in good time. To-morrow
and the day after will bring work of their own. And tell me, did you see
no traces of our shipmates?"
"Not a sign of them, either on land or sea, living or dead," he replied.
"But the sucking-pig," said Jack, "where did you get it?"
"It was one of several," said Fritz, "which I found on the shore; most
curious animals they are; they hopped rather than walked, and every now
and then would squat down on their legs and rub their snouts with their
fore-paws. Had not I been afraid of losing them all, I would have tried
to catch one alive, they seemed so tame."
Meanwhile Ernest had been carefully examining the animal in question.
"This is no pig," he said; "and except for its bristly skin, does not
look like one. See, its teeth are not like those of a pig, but rather
those of a squirrel. In fact," he continued, looking at Fritz, "your
sucking-pig is an agouti."
"Dear me," said Fritz; "listen to the great professor lecturing! He is
going to prove that a pig is not a pig!"
"You need not be so quick to laugh at your brother," said I, in my turn;
"he is quite right. I, too, know the agouti by descriptions and
pictures, and there is little doubt that this is a specimen. The little
animal is a native of North America, where it makes its nest under the
roots of trees, and lives upon fruit. But, Ernest, the agouti not only
looks something like a pig, but most decidedly grunts like a porker."
While we were thus talking, Jack had been vainly endeavoring to open an
oyster with his large knife. "Here is a simpler way," said I, placing
an oyster on the fire; it immediately opened. "Now," I continued, "who
will try this delicacy?" All at first hesitated to partake of them, so
unattractive did they appear. Jack, however, tightly closing his eyes
and making a face as though about to take medicine, gulped one down. We
followed his example, one after the other, each doing so rather to
provide himself with a spoon than with any hope of cultivating a taste
for oysters.
Our spoons were now ready, and gathering round the pot we dipped them
in, not, however, without sundry scalded fingers. Ernest then drew from
his pocket the large shell he had procured for his own use, and scooping
up a good quantity of soup he put it down to cool, smiling at his own
foresight.
"Prudence should be exercised for others," I remarked; "your cool soup
will do capitally for the dogs, my boy; take it to them, and then come
and eat like the rest of us."
Ernest winced at this, but silently taking up his shell he placed it on
the ground before the hungry dogs, who lapped up its contents in a
moment; he then returned, and we all went merrily on with our dinner.
While we were thus busily employed, we suddenly discovered that our
dogs, not satisfied with their mouthful of soup, had espied the agouti,
and were rapidly devouring it. Fritz, seizing his gun, flew to rescue it
from their hungry jaws, and before I could prevent him, struck one of
them with such force that his gun was bent. The poor beasts ran off
howling, followed by a shower of stones from Fritz, who shouted and
yelled at them so fiercely that his mother was actually terrified. I
followed him, and as soon as he would listen to me, represented to him
how despicable, as well as wicked, was such an outbreak, of temper:
"for," said I, "you have hurt, if not actually wounded, the dogs; you
have distressed and terrified your mother, and spoiled your gun."
Though Fritz's passion was easily aroused, it never lasted long, and
speedily recovering himself, immediately he entreated his mother's
pardon, and expressed his sorrow for his fault.
By this time the sun was sinking beneath the horizon, and the poultry,
which had been straying to some little distance, gathered round us, and
began to pick up the crumbs of biscuit which had fallen during our
repast. My wife hereupon drew from her mysterious bag some handfuls of
oats, peas, and other grain, and with them began to feed the poultry.
She at the same time showed me several other seeds of various
vegetables. "That was indeed thoughtful," said I; "but pray be careful
of what will be of such value to us; we can bring plenty of damaged
biscuits from the wreck, which, though of no use as food for us, will
suit the fowls very well indeed."
The pigeons now flew up to crevices in the rocks, the fowls perched
themselves on our tent pole, and the ducks and geese waddled off,
cackling and quacking, to the marshy margin of the river. We, too, were
ready for repose, and having loaded our guns, and offered up our prayers
to God, thanking Him for His many mercies to us, we commended ourselves
to His protecting care, and as the last ray of light departed, closed
our tent and lay down to rest.
The children remarked the suddenness of nightfall, for indeed there had
been little or no twilight. This convinced me that we must be not far
from the equator, for twilight results from the refraction of the sun's
rays: the more obliquely these rays fall, the farther does the partial
light extend; while the more perpendicularly they strike the earth, the
longer do they continue their undiminished force, until, when the sun
sinks, they totally disappear, thus producing sudden darkness.