HARVEST OPERATIONS--EXPLORE LA CREUX DERRIBLE, AND NEARLY LOSE MY
LIFE--CRUSOE ON CRUTCHES--AN EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY--KILL A
GRAMPUS--OIL ON TROUBLED WATERS--MAKE AN OVERFLOW PUMP.
After my boating adventures I began to think it was high time I should
spend a week or two ashore, looking after my crops and the estate
generally.
It was now September, and my apples and pears were ripe, and so were the
lovely mulberries. The giant tree was a sight to behold, with its
bushels of red, purple, and blackish-ruby fruit. I might have gathered
enough fruit and vegetables to have supplied a small community
throughout the season, so prolific is the soil, and encouraging to
vegetation the air.
My potatoes turned out remarkably well--free from blemish, and of good
flavour. I must have had two or three tons, and went through the labour
of digging them and picking up all the tiny ones, as if I expected or
feared a famine. The pig's winter food was assured, at all events.
[Illustration: THE MAIN PATH OF THE ISLAND.]
Long previous to this I had cut and gathered my hay crop, which was to
form the chief sustenance for "Eddy," and the goat, "Corny," for the
next five or six months. This I made into a neat stack close to the
house, and thatched thickly with brakes, beside which I covered it with
tarpaulin, and girded it about with old chain-cable to prevent its being
blown away: also I guarded the base with a surrounding of wire-netting
to preserve it from the rabbits.
The crop I took most pleasure in was the barley, which I looked upon as
my legitimate harvest; the other crops seeming to be more like gardening
than real harvest work. I cut every handful with a reaping hook, which
took a long time; but as I had not a scythe this was my only way of
cutting it down. True, the Channel Islands mode of harvesting the barley
is to pull it up by the roots, a handful at a time, knocking the soil
off the roots upon the toe of the boot; but this seemed to me such an
un-English method that I would have nothing to do with it.
After it had lain to dry for three or four days I called "Eddy" and my
solid-wheeled cart into requisition, and took it, load by load, down the
rocky path to the store-house, where I placed it all safely away in the
upper chamber. The pathway was so narrow in places that the deviation of
a few inches would have caused donkey, load, and cart, to be
precipitated scores of feet down the abrupt slope into the sea beneath.
To avoid this catastrophe I had to take a pick-axe and shovel, and
devote a whole day to widening it in parts, making this, the main path
to the top of the island, nowhere less than four feet wide.
I rode home atop of the last load, and at my own door drank my own
health, with three cheers for everything and everybody, to which "Flap,"
the gull gave a kind of croak, by way of approval to my sentiments.
While my harvest was in progress I met with an adventure which might
have terminated the harvesting and my existence at the same time.
It was a boisterous day. I was tired of digging potatoes, for my back
ached, and I wanted a rest. The Cotills being near the awful crater-like
mouth of La Creux Derrible, I thought I would go and explore it, and
find out in my own way, all about it; so, dropping my occupation, I
wandered slowly down the zig-zag, bracken-hemmed path, lit my pipe, and
prepared myself for laziness for an hour.
When I am lazy I like to be _thorough_. I cannot bear to be half at work
and half at play; it is neither one thing nor another. So on this
occasion I strolled quietly down the pathway, which zig-zags seven or
eight times before it ends abruptly on the brow of a little cliff facing
La Fauconnaire. I scrambled down the cliff, across the beach, and over
the rocks which form a barrier to the entrance of the cavern leading to
the Creux. I noticed that the tide allowed an entrance to be effected,
so I climbed in over the gigantic boulders with which the floor of the
black cavern is covered, and soon found myself standing on the pebbly
floor of the chasm, looking up at its perpendicular sides, and admiring
the various ferns, weeds, and flowers which grew in beauty from its many
clefts and fissures. Then I saw something move in a hole near my feet,
and found it to be a wounded rabbit, which had apparently fallen down
the shaft from one of the little ledges a hundred and fifty feet above.
The timid little fellow did not attempt to run away, so, picking him up,
I examined him and discovered that both his fore legs were broken, and
it quite hurt me to see the pitiful look he gave with his bright,
prominent, gazelle-like eyes. I fondled the wounded animal, and looking
upward intently, presently saw other little rodents hopping round little
ledges near the top, which did not appear, from where I stood, to be so
wide as their bodies; but there they were, and although I waited
expectantly for a long time for a prospective dinner, no others fell
upon me. I should have been afraid to shoot at them had I had my gun,
for fear of detaching pieces of rock, which, falling from such a height,
might have crushed my skull in.
Seeing it was hopeless to think of saving the poor little bunny's life,
I gave him the "regulation stretch," and quieted him for ever. It seemed
strange that I should have cared for this one's life, and would have
saved it if I could, when I was daily trapping and shooting them in all
directions.
I think it was his plaintive look that did it, or the consciousness that
I was a superior being, and had his little life (to a certain extent) at
my command, just as our Father above has mine; but anyway, in his
wounded state I knew that death was his best friend. Looking round I at
once realized what death meant--death in a terrible form--not to a
rabbit, but _death to myself_--and for a moment I felt paralyzed; for
there was the sea creeping in upon me, not ten yards away. The roof of
the cavern through which I had to pass, did not appear far above the
water at the outer mouth. As I gazed along the tunnel-like aperture the
waves continually broke, sending spray to the roof, shutting out much of
the daylight seaward, though from the opening above me the sunlit sky
shed its light upon me.
Could I find a means of climbing up the perpendicular sides of my
prison, if only a few feet? No, I could not see a spot where even a
squirrel could ascend. What was to be done? The outlet was now filled to
the roof with the incoming tide, which here has a rise of from
twenty-five to thirty feet from low to high tide.
The sea reached my feet, and to my excited imagination felt like the
fingers of death trying to clutch me. But I am not one to give up
without a big struggle, and I made up my mind to attempt to swim round
and round the opening, _like a rat in a pail_, if it came to the worst;
but although I am a good swimmer, I doubted my ability to keep afloat
for three or four hours, with a heavy sea pouring into the circular
cavity, which would presently be filled with a whirlpool of seething,
foaming water. I should be knocked and buffeted from side to side
against the adamantine rocks till I was dead, then tossed and played
with till the tide ran out and carried my body into the vast ocean
beyond, as food for fishes. My friends would never hear of me again, and
my animals on the island would starve till--yes, why not try?
My soliloquy was cut short by noticing a crag project beyond the others
about ten or twelve feet from the ground. Why could I not throw my
doubled silk sash over it, and haul myself up? I would try.
The sea was now up to my knees, and was beginning to exert a rotary
motion, which, as the tide rose, would increase in velocity. So off came
my waist-sash, and after a few attempts it lodged over the boss of rock;
then to strengthen it I twisted it like a double rope, and carefully
hauled myself up it, hand over hand, till I grasped the protruding rock;
but as it only jutted out a few inches there was no possibility of
sitting upon it, so I gradually worked my way up by clutching at any
inequalities in the surrounding rock till I got one knee upon it, and
there I hung, with my fingers bent over a fissure like fish-hooks. How I
envied the rabbits overhead, who occasionally dislodged the _detritus_
of rock, which fell upon me. What would I not have given to be back on
the ledges of the Cotills, digging potatoes! But there I was, like a rat
in a trap, with no means of egress.
In a short time my fingers became cramped, and the sharp rock cut my
knee to such an extent that the perspiration broke out clammily on my
forehead, as I realised that in a few minutes I must loose my hold and
drop into the whirling water beneath, unless I could find some other
means of supporting myself. I looked about, and presently found a small
hole for my right hand--one deep enough to get a fairly good hold
upon--and putting my fingers into this, I gently let my left hand glide
down the rock and bring up the sash on that side. This I placed in my
mouth, gently changed hands and hauled up the right end of the sash,
then, after many attempts, with my mouth and right hand I managed to tie
a knot in it so as to form the sash into a short endless band. This I
dropped down, and putting my foot in the loop, had a somewhat secure
support.
[Illustration: LA CREUX DERRIBLE.]
There I hung for about three hours, till the tide only left about two
feet of water on the upper part of the floor of the cavern. When I
attempted to descend I found I could not straighten my right leg because
of the constant pressure for such a long time upon the knee-joint, so I
waited till the cave floor was almost bare, and then let myself _fall_
down as gently as possible. I was not hurt by the fall, but could not
stand, as my knee would not allow itself to be straightened. I sat down
for an hour till the tide allowed me to hop out in great pain. Oh, how
glad I was to be out of that dreadful place; and even in my crippled
state I rejoiced at my liberty! Upon getting to the foot of the Cotills
cliff, I whistled for my faithful "Begum," but no "Begum" came, so I sat
down and rested, and whistled, and whistled again, till presently away
he came tumbling down the breech in the cliffs, to my great delight.
After a bit I despatched him to fetch "Eddy," and while that worthy was
on his way to my help, managed, with great exertion and risk, to scale
the cliff. "Eddy" bore me up the zig-zag, and home by the lower path,
and thankful indeed was I to get there.
I bathed my knee, and did all I could for it, but it was many days
before I fully recovered the use of the limb; in fact, for three days I
used a crutch, which helped me along famously. Fancy a Crusoe on
crutches! After this adventure I made up my mind that I was not born to
be drowned.
Now, a week after my Creux adventure another incident occurred which
greatly influenced my career both as regards my stay on the island and
my after life. This was a curious discovery I made quite by accident.
It happened to be a very wet morning when I rose, and looked as if it
would continue all day, so I thought I would stay indoors and tidy up my
dwelling. I soon prepared my breakfast, and sat down to enjoy it, and as
I and my dog were discussing it, I could not help noticing the
dilapidated state of the stained and ragged wall-paper. It had probably
been on many years, and I recollected that somewhere among my stores I
had about a dozen rolls of new paper, so I said to myself, "Why not
strip the walls and re-paper the room?"
Good! I soon cleared the room, and with a pail of water and a brush
began to soak the old paper and strip it off, when I found, to my
surprise, that it was several layers thick--five at least--while
underneath all was a kind of netting of some sort of linen-looking
fabric. I surmised that this was to give a better adhesive power to the
paste, as probably the walls might be damp, although they did not appear
to be so. So I tore the various papers off the wall, till I clumsily
dragged off a piece of the netting also. The netting came quite off in
my hand; a circular piece, about eighteen inches across. I examined it
to see what it really was, and to my amazement discovered it was a
beautiful lace collar. What a curious way of putting a collar on I
thought, and returned to the wall to see if it wore any other finery,
and quickly discovered that the four walls were covered all over with
lace of beautiful design. There were pieces of all shapes and sizes, and
most of it of exquisite workmanship; so, packing it into a trunk with
plenty of tobacco among it to keep away insects, I sealed it up, and
stood it in a dry place for future consideration.
Even this curious find was not all I discovered, nor the most important,
although at the time I made my second discovery I did not attach any
value to it. It was this. When I came to the third side of the room,
opposite the door, I came upon a sort of niche or cupboard, close up to
the ceiling, which had no door, but simply a piece of lace tacked over
the aperture, and then thickly papered over some seven or eight times.
The opening was about ten inches high, eight inches wide, by six inches
deep, and in it stood two leathern drinking cups, capable of containing
about a pint each. In the first I took down was a tiny vial and three
gem rings, and in the second a small roll of paper, which upon unrolling
I found to be about two feet long by four inches wide. Upon it, in very
faded ink, was a long list of something in French. It looked like a very
heavy washing bill, and I was about to throw it away when I reflected
that it might tell something about the lace and the rings, so I rolled
it up in a linen bandage, and put it and the other articles in my
clothes box, so that some day I might get it deciphered.
All this made me very excited, and I am afraid my thoughts were more on
my discoveries than upon my work, for the new paper was very badly put
on the walls; it was not hung perpendicularly, and had several gaping
joints, which annoyed me all the time I was on the island. But I had not
paper enough to recover the walls, as I used the rest for my
bed-chamber; therefore it remained, a lasting memorial of my
slovenliness and bad workmanship.
About this time I shot a curious specimen--too large for stuffing--a
grampus. I was in my boat one day fishing for whiting, when I heard a
peculiar noise behind me, and looking round, saw a huge monster rise
from the sea about a hundred yards off, and make straight for me. Before
getting to the boat he dived again and again, when I saw that it was
apparently a young whale. Instinctively I clutched my gun, and as the
monster dived within a dozen yards of my boat I watched its rising; up
he came, not twenty feet away, whereupon I let him have both barrels at
the back of his head, and to my surprise he immediately turned over,
belly upward, gave a shudder, and was dead. I took my prize in tow, and
found on landing that it was upwards of ten feet long, and must have
weighed several hundredweight, for out of the water it was perfectly
unmanageable. I had to yoke "Eddy" and myself together, and drag the
monster above high water-mark, till I decided what to do with it.
In the morning I took off the skin, which would have made excellent
leather, but I had no means of tanning it, so was jettisoned. Beneath
the skin was a thick layer of blubber, and this I flayed off, making
myself in a pretty pickle, and soon had a large pile of this reeking
adipose deposit. Then I brought my copper on the beach, as it was a
portable one, and lighting a fire I "tryed," or boiled my blubber down
and had several gallons to bottle by the end of the day.
The flesh, I believe, is eatable, but it looked so dark and rich that I
was afraid to cook a piece and try it. Grampus is, no doubt, all very
well for shipwrecked mariners, but as I had plenty of other food the
carcase followed the skin into the sea. As it glided into the rough
water the oil exuded, and made a large patch of calm water as smooth as
a mill-pond.
This gave me a splendid idea for using the oil. For the future I would
always take some with me on my boating expeditions! I did, and put it in
a bottle which I kept near the bows, and whenever I got into
difficulties near rocks or in a rough sea I could command a calm. This
power I used on many occasions, and with invariable success. For
instance, if my lines got foul in a choppy sea, I could make the sea
calm, and get my gear out of tangle capitally, which, with the pitching
of my craft and the "send" of the following waves, would have otherwise
been a nearly hopeless task. Another use I put the oil to was to pour
some on my fish pond and bring the surface to a perfect calm; then I
could study my fish as well as if they were simply under a sheet of
glass, while by lying flat down on the margin of the pool, with my face
near the water, I could see even the most minute object on the bottom.
Looking into this pool was to me like looking into another world. Once
when very intent upon the doings of some spider-crabs, the rock upon
which I leaned my chest and hands gave way beneath my weight, and I was
immediately transformed into a fish, or at any rate, for some moments I
was an occupant of the same element and abode as the fish; but I soon
scrambled out without even a crab or lobster taking the opportunity of
tweaking my nose.
To keep up my supply of oil I was continually on the look out for
grampuses or porpoises; but I did not see another of the former,
although plenty of the latter were to be seen at times--generally out of
range. Two I shot, but I believe when hit they sink. Anyway I did not
see either of them again, although the water was coloured with blood,
shewing that my aim had been true. I doubly wished to get a porpoise,
for the sake of its oil, and also to cut a steak and try its flavour, as
I have heard that in some of the ports on the eastern seaboard of the
United States, boats are fitted out to capture young porpoises for the
hotels, as porpoise calf is considered a delicacy. If cod liver oil is
good for consumptives, why not porpoise cutlets?
How I would have liked to place a porpoise in my fish pond! What a
rumpus he would have caused? I might have seen him then in his habit as
he lived.
My bucket pump frequently took it into its head to go on strike; that
is, it would work when it pleased, and be idle if it wished; so I had to
supplement it with another kind of apparatus. This contrivance was by
using a nine-foot length of four-inch iron piping, which I found in the
boat-store, and which had probably belonged to some vessel as the barrel
of a pump, or something of the kind. To this I fitted a long wooden
piston, having a wooden disk on the end, through which I cut a circular
hole, and fitted over it a leathern valve. When I pushed this piston
down into the water the valve would open and the water would enter the
barrel, and when I drew the piston up the valve would close and draw the
water to the mouth of the pipe, where it poured out of a hole a few
inches from the top into a wooden trough, which conveyed it into the
pool. This meant hard manual labour; but as I only had to use it about
once a week it was exercise for me, and I enjoyed it. So did the fish,
for they would come to the new water in numbers, either because of the
food contained in the water, or because of its coolness in the hot
weather, or some other reason that I am not scientist enough to fathom.
My pond was my place of meditation, and often I would dream a couple of
hours away, thinking of home and those dear to me. I was like Adam, and
sometimes sadly sighed for my Eve; but Eve, otherwise Priscilla, was
hundreds of miles away; so I sighed and yawned, and made myself very
content with my dog and gun, and other belongings.
[Illustration: Decorative chapter heading]