Weaving Machine--Basket making--The Alarm--A
Dangerous Visitor--The Ass Falls
a Victim
We had had so much trouble in harvesting our crops the last season
that we had resolved, instead of trusting them to the ground without
any order or regularity, to prepare a field which could receive them
all at the same time, and where they could ripen together. But as our
animals were not yet sufficiently accustomed to the yoke to warrant
our undertaking the task, I was obliged to defer it till some future
period.
In the meantime, I employed myself in constructing a weaving-machine
for my wife: our garments had become so tattered and torn that the
machine was of incalculable benefit to us. It was neither perfect nor
handsome, and nothing more could be expected. As we had none of the
wheat flour that the weavers use to make paste, which they employ
in hardening the warp, and preventing the threads from tangling, I
substituted the glue of fish; and I may confess, without self-praise,
that my composition was better than that of the weavers, for the
fish-glue preserves a humidity that the ordinary glue does not,
and by employing it one can weave in a dry situation, instead of
descending into cellars, where the weavers from time immemorial have
been obliged to confine themselves. From this fish-glue I also made
window-panes, not well calculated, it is true, for windows exposed to
the rain; but they answered for ours, which, on account of their deep
embrasures, were protected from storm.
These two successes encouraged me, and I resolved to try my hand
at another thing, or, to speak poetically, “add another flower to
my wreath.” My little cavaliers had long tormented me to make them
saddles and bridles, and our beasts had need of yokes and other
harness. I commenced my work and established myself as saddler;
kangaroos and sea-dogs furnished me with the necessary leather, and I
used for wadding the moss that the Molucca pigeons had discovered to
us. But as this moss would have matted together, and grown hard under
the rider, I employed my sons in twisting it into cords, in which
state it was left some time, and then untwisted; by that means we
obtained frizzed hair, as elastic as that of horses. In a short time
we had saddles and stirrups, bits and bridles, yokes and collars,
each adapted to the strength of the animal for which it was intended.
But this sedentary course of life did not suit the restless minds of
my young people, and they earnestly begged me to take them hunting
in the country. I put the matter off, and took in hand another sort
of work, the want of which we felt sensibly. I speak of the making
of baskets, a number of which articles we needed to carry our rice,
roots, grain, etc. Our first attempts were clumsy enough, and we
reserved them for our potato baskets. We gradually improved, and when
I thought we were skilful enough, I ventured to use those Spanish
rushes that had cost Jack so dear, and we made a number of fine
baskets; they were not as finished workmanship as more skilful hands
would have effected, but they were light and strong, and that was all
we cared for.
My sons had made a large basket to put manioc roots in, and, in a fit
of mischief, Jack and Ernest had passed a bamboo cane through the
handles, and, putting little Francis in the basket, set off on a full
run, while the poor fellow endeavoured in vain to stop them.
Fritz, who had been looking at them, turned to me, saying, “An idea
has struck me, papa; why cannot we make a litter of rushes for mamma,
and then she will be able to accompany us in our distant excursions?”
“Really,” I replied, “a litter would be much more convenient than the
back of the ass, and much easier than the cart: we will try what can
be done.”
My children were delighted at the plan; but my wife laughingly
observed, “that she would make but a poor figure seated in a wicker
basket.”
“Never fear,” said I, “we will make you a fine palanquin such as are
used in Persia and Hindostan.”
We immediately put the design into execution: the buffalo and the
bull were brought out; two poles, which supported a large basket,
were suspended by cords on each side, and Ernest jumped in to make
the first trial. Jack mounted Storm, who was placed at the head, and
Francis Broumm, who supported the hinder part, and they set off. The
first steps answered admirably; the basket, balanced between the
poles, resembled a luxurious carriage on its springs of steel. But it
was not exactly a pleasant carriage-drive that Ernest enjoyed; for,
at a given signal agreed on by his coachmen, they whipped up their
beasts, and set off at full gallop, subjecting Ernest to a punishment
as novel as it was ridiculous, which consisted in forcing him to
perform a sort of _basket-dance_ at each jump of his conductors. The
fun was violent, but it was harmless, and we could not help laughing
to see the phlegmatic Ernest so tossed about.
We then all returned to our basket-making; but we had scarcely
recommenced, when Fritz, whose eagle eye was always making
discoveries, suddenly started up as if frightened at a cloud of dust
which had arisen on the other side of the river, in the direction of
Falcon’s Nest.
“There is some large animal there,” said he, “to judge from the dust
it has raised; besides, it is plainly coming in this direction.”
“I cannot imagine what it is,” I answered; “our large animals are in
the stable, resting themselves after the experiment of the palanquin.”
“Probably two or three sheep, or, perhaps, our sow, frolicking in the
sand,” observed my wife.
“No, no,” replied Fritz, quickly; “it is some singular animal:
I can perceive its movements: it rolls and unrolls itself
alternately; I can see the rings of which it is formed. See, it
is raising itself up, and looks like a huge mast in the dust; it
advances--stops--marches on; but I cannot distinguish either feet or
legs.”
I ran for the spy-glass we had saved from the wreck, and directed it
toward the dust.
“I can see it plainly,” said Fritz; “it has a greenish-coloured body.
What do you think of it, papa?”
“That we must fly as fast as possible, and entrench ourselves in the
grotto.”
“What do you think it is?”
“A serpent--a huge serpent, advancing directly for us.”
“Shall I run for the guns, to be ready to receive him?”
“Not here. The serpent is too powerful to permit of our attacking
him, unless we are ourselves in a place of safety.”
We hastened to gain the interior of the grotto, and prepared to
receive our enemy. It was a boa-constrictor, and he advanced so
quickly that it was too late to take up the boards on Family Bridge.
We watched all his movements, and saw him stretching out his enormous
length along the bank of the river. From time to time the reptile
would raise up the forepart of his body twenty feet from the ground,
and turn his head gently from right to left, as if seeking for his
prey, while he darted a triple-barbed tongued from his half-open
jaws. He crossed the bridge, and directed his course straight for
the grotto: we had barricaded the door and the windows as well as we
were able, and ascended into the dove-cot, to which we had made an
interior entrance; we passed our muskets through the holes in the
door, and waited silently for the enemy--it was the silence of terror.
But the boa, in advancing, had perceived the traces of man’s
handiwork, and he came on hesitatingly, until at last he stopped,
about thirty paces directly in front of our position. He had scarcely
advanced thus far when Ernest, more through fear than through any
war-like ardour, discharged his gun, and thus gave a false signal.
Jack and Francis followed his example; and my wife, whom the danger
had rendered bold, also discharged her gun.
The monster raised his head; but either because none of the shots
had touched him, or because the scales of his skin were impenetrable
to balls, he appeared to have received no wound. Fritz and I then
fired, but without any effect, and the serpent glided away with
inconceivable rapidity toward the marsh which our ducks and geese
inhabited, and disappeared in the rushes.
The neighbourhood of the boa threw me into the most unenviable state
of mind; for I could think of no way to rid ourselves of him, and our
united forces were as nothing against such an enemy. I expressly
commanded my whole family to remain in the grotto, and forbade them
opening the door without my permission.
The fear of our terrible neighbour kept us shut up three days in our
retreat--three long days of anguish and alarm--during which time I
suffered no one to break the rule I had established; the interior
service of the grotto was the only consideration that could induce
me to break it, and even then I allowed no one to go beyond the
reservoir of the fountain.
The monster had given us no signs of his presence, and we would have
supposed him departed, either by traversing the marsh, or by some
unknown passage in the rock, if the agitation which reigned among our
aquatic animals had not assured us of his presence. Every evening the
whole colony of ducks and geese would direct their course to the bay,
making a terrible noise, and sail away for Whale Island, where they
found a safe asylum.
My embarrassment daily increased; and the immovability of the enemy
rendered our position very painful. I was afraid that a direct attack
might cost us the lives of one or more of our little family. Our dogs
could do nothing against such a foe; and to have exposed any one of
our beasts of burden would have been certain destruction to it. On
the other hand, our provisions daily diminished, as the season was
not yet far enough advanced for us to have laid in any winter stores.
In a word, we were in a most deplorable situation, when Heaven came
to our aid. The instrument that effected our deliverance was our poor
old jackass, the companion of our wanderings, and faithful servant.
The fodder that we happened to have in the grotto had diminished
frightfully: it was necessary to nourish the cow, as she contributed
in great part to our subsistence, and some must be taken from the
other animals. In this dilemma I resolved to set them at liberty,
and let them provide for their own nourishment. As inconvenient as
this measure was, it was better than to see us all dying of hunger,
shut up in the grotto. I thought that if we could get them on the
other side of the river they would find a plentiful supply of food,
and be in safety as long as the boa remained buried in the rushes. I
was afraid to cross Family Bridge, lest I should arouse the monster,
and I decided to ford at the spot where our first crossing was made.
My plan was to attach the animals together. Fritz, mounted on his
onagra, would direct the front of the procession, while I would take
care that the marsh was effected in good order. I recommended to my
son, at the first sign of the serpent’s presence, to fly, as fast as
his beast would carry him, to Falcon’s Nest. As to our animals, I
left to Providence the care of watching over and saving them. For my
part, I proposed to post myself on a rock that overlooked the marsh,
and in case of an attack on the part of the serpent, retreat to the
grotto, where a well-directed discharge of firearms would rid us of
him.
I then loaded all our arms; my sons were placed as videttes in
the dove-cot, with orders to observe the movements of the enemy,
while Fritz and I arranged our beasts as aforesaid. But a little
misunderstanding put an end to all my plans. My wife, who had charge
of the door, did not wait for the signal, and opened it before the
animals were attached together. The ass, who had grown very lively,
considering his age, by his three days’ rest and good feed, no sooner
saw a ray of light than he shot out of the door like an arrow, and
was away in the open plain before we could stop him. It was a comical
sight to see him kicking his heels in the air; and Fritz would have
mounted his onagra, and ridden out after him, but I restrained him,
and contented myself by trying every manner of persuasion to induce
the poor animal to come back. We called him by his name; we made
use of our cow-horn; but all was useless--the unruly fellow exulted
in his liberty, and, as if urged on by some fatality, he advanced
direct to the marsh. But what horror froze our veins when, suddenly,
we saw the horrid serpent emerging from the rushes! He elevated his
head about ten feet from the ground, darted out his forked tongue,
and crawled swiftly on toward the ass. The poor fellow soon saw his
danger, and began to run, braying with all his might; but neither his
cries nor his legs could save him from his terrible enemy, and in a
moment he was seized, enveloped, and crushed in the monstrous rings
that the serpent threw around him.
My wife and sons uttered a cry of terror, and we fled in haste to the
grotto, from whence we could view the horrible combat between the boa
and the ass. My children wanted to fire, and deliver, said they, the
poor jackass; but I forbade them to do it.
“What can you do,” said I, “with firearms? The boa is too much
occupied with his prey to abandon it, and, besides, if you wound
him, perhaps we may become the victims of his fury.” The loss of our
ass was great, it was true, but I hoped that it would save us from a
greater.
The boa proceeded with horrible avidity to his repast. The ass was
dead; we had heard his last bray stifled by the pressure of the
boa, and we could now distinctly hear the cracking of his bones.
The monster, to give himself more power, had wound his tail about a
piece of rock, which gave it the force of a lever. When the monster
judged his preparation sufficient, he commenced to swallow the prey
he had secured. We observed that as he advanced the animal lost his
strength; and when all had been swallowed he remained perfectly
torpid and insensible.
I saw that the time had now arrived, and I exclaimed, “Now, my
children, now the serpent is in our power!”
I then set out from the grotto, carrying my loaded gun in my hand;
Fritz followed close by my side; Jack came next, but the more timid
Ernest lingered behind. On approaching the reptile, I found that
my suppositions were right, and that it was the giant boa of the
naturalists. The serpent raised its head, and darting on me a look of
powerless anger, again let it fall.
Fritz and I fired together, and both our shots entered the skull
of the animal; but they did not produce death, and the eyes of the
serpent sparkled with rage. We advanced nearer, and, firing our
pistols directly through the eye, we saw its rings contract, a slight
quiver ran through its body, and it lay dead upon the sand before us,
stretched out like the mast of a ship.