Exploration of the island: Fourth day. Finish the exploration of the
island, and build stone house at Rapid River.
I soon had my fire in a blaze and my breakfast despatched, and started
forward on my explorations. As I advanced, I saw that I was on a
smooth, hard sand-beach, with a scanty growth of cedars and pines on
my right hand inland. After walking a few miles I turned to the right
and walked inland, expecting, from the formation of the land, that
the part of the island I was upon could not be very wide; and sure
enough, after a short half mile through the stunted cedars, I came out
upon Perseverance Bay, and within plain sight of Point Deliverance and
Stillwater Cove, some three miles distant. I found that I was upon a
narrow tongue of land which formed the western boundary of Perseverance
Bay and ended in the promontory that I had seen from Point Deliverance
in looking across the bay on the first day of my explorations.
I did not consider it worth while to pass back again to the west shore,
but kept along on the beach on the margin of Perseverance Bay towards
the point to the northward. In a mile or two more I reached it, and
found that it consisted of quite a sandy elevation, covered with
stunted cedars, and evidently the extreme northern point of my island.
I named it _West Signal Point_. Here I sat down and took a review of
my situation. I had virtually made the circuit of the island; for from
where I sat I could see the margin of Perseverance Bay, which, if I
followed, would end in landing me at the mouth of Stillwater Cove, near
my hut.
I saw that my task was completed, and that I was alone on my island,
the only living human being, the latter-day Robinson Crusoe. My
feelings were those of joy and grief,--joy, that it had pleased
Providence to keep me out of the hands of savages, where I could
pass my life in peace, if it was so willed; grief, that I should be
forced to this lonely and solitary life. I sat many hours at this
spot, thinking over plans for the future, and what I should do to
make myself comfortable and protected from wind and weather, and from
future enemies, should any ever visit me. On the whole, I found my mind
much relieved at the positive proof that I had of the island being
uninhabited, and when I arose and started for home it was with a freer
step and lighter heart than I had had since my landing.
A trudge of about seven miles, as near as I could judge, brought me
to Stillwater Cove without adventure of any kind, although I passed
many objects in the way of birds, trees, and vegetables that were of
intense interest to me. From thence, a walk of about a mile brought
me to my hut at about five o'clock by the sun, hungry and tired, but
perfectly well and strong. Convinced as I was of the utter solitude of
the island, still it was with care and almost awe that I approached
my hut, almost expecting to see some strange creature, either human
or savage, within its walls. Nothing met my ear or eye. Quietness
and solitude reigned, and everything was exactly as I had left it. I
examined my lamp tower, and found that two of the lights had gone out,
I suppose on account of the wick, but the others were burning well but
dimly. I immediately gave matters here my attention, and soon had all
to rights and "ship-shape." I had even a feeling of comfort as if I
had arrived home, and I went about the matter of getting supper and
starting my fire with a cheerful feeling; and whilst doing so I caught
myself at one time quietly humming an old sea ditty.
I saw plainly that my residence at this point was at an end, and that
Rapid River was the place for me to make my home. So I took little
care to arrange matters about me on this evening, but sat down in a
matter-of-fact way and ate my supper, whilst the sun was sinking into
the west; but when night came on, with my pipe as a solace, I thought
of everything, and these are a few of the thousand and one things that
coursed through my mind. I gathered together the following facts:--
_First._ That the island was uninhabited, fruitful, and fertile,
abounding in everything that could conduce to my comfort; pure fresh
water in several localities, birds and fishes of many varieties, goats,
trees of all sizes and growth, tobacco and sweet potatoes, coal and
sulphur; an evidently mild and even climate, and many useful things, no
doubt, which I had not yet discovered in my hasty circuit of it.
_Second._ That I was the only living soul upon it, and that all these
natural treasures were mine to avail myself of by industry, ingenuity,
and perseverance.
Such being the facts of the case, what should be my future course, and
what my plans and duty? Amongst the many that flashed through my mind,
I picked out these, as forming the most important to first receive my
attention.
_First._ To erect a strong, serviceable habitation at Rapid River,
which I had already in my mind concluded to call the _Hermitage_.
_Second._ To ascertain at as early a day as possible, by the best means
at my service, and by the assistance of my "Bowditch's Navigator," the
latitude and longitude of my island, as near as I could come at it.
_Third._ To project a chart from the "Epitome," and find out how far I
was from other lands.
_Fourth._ To never desist from seeking for iron ore at every
opportunity, for with that I could do almost anything.
_Fifth._ To study out some way of building a boat, of size and
strength, without the use of iron or timbers to strengthen her.
_Sixth._ To take the greatest care of my seeds, and watch with the
utmost solicitude those which I had planted.
_Seventh._ To capture at as early a date as possible one or two of the
wild goats, so as to be able to breed up tame ones for my use.
_Eighth._ To procure at once some kind of ink, and keep up my journal
and reckoning on birch-bark leaves.
These were amongst the first tasks that my brain gave my body to
execute, and although thousands of others ran through my head, they all
more or less depended upon the consummation of these cardinal ones.
At a late hour I sought my seaweed couch in my hut, and fell asleep.
The next morning I commenced work in earnest. I had my idea about ink
(which, if my memory served me right, the old Robinson Crusoe had so
much difficulty about and was unable to make), and wending my way to
the beach of Stillwater Cove, with my harpoon in hand, I waded in, and
commenced looking carefully for squid or cuttle-fish, feeling positive
that the ground was too good for them not to be found there, having
seen them frequently lying dead in the seaweed whilst passing around
the island.
I had not long to hunt before I saw several on the pure white sand
before me at the bottom of the water, about the usual size of those at
home, say some six inches in length, but when I attempted to strike
one with the harpoon it darted out of the way, backwards, just as they
used to do in my boyhood days, ejecting at the same time the fluid
from his body which I desired to preserve. I saw that it was useless
to try and get any of these in deep water, and therefore waded ashore
and commenced looking for them in the numerous shallow pools that
the receding tide had left near the margin of the water, and I was
successful in finding five nice fellows embayed in a small, shallow
pool, not six feet in circumference, whence I had no difficulty in
kicking them out upon the sand, opening them with my knife, and pouring
the contents of their dark fluid (which is the sepia of commerce)
into a deep mussel-shell. I had the foundation for good ink, and with
the addition of a little water, and a quill made from the feathers
of my friends the gulls, I was easily fitted out with pens, ink, and
birch-bark, which was all I needed for many a long day to come.
This task ended, and a trial made of my new ink by making some notes
and entries of my doings up to this time, I commenced upon another,
and that was the building of the Hermitage at Rapid River. I selected
a beautiful spot a short distance below the fall, the noise of which
was delightful to my ears, and laid out the foundations for my future
residence. I was at least three weeks preparing all the materials for
the building of the same, passing over each day to my task and back to
the hut to sleep. I was determined that my future residence should be
strong and well built, and able to withstand the action of wind and
rain, and for this purpose I passed my time in gathering large masses
of clam and oyster shells, and reducing them to lime by the action
of fire. This was long and laborious work, but I needed lime to make
mortar, and I could only get it in this way. I also wanted some hair
to mix into my mortar, and this puzzled me for a day or two, but I
bethought me of the goat's skin that I had brought home with me from
near Mirror Lake, and I at once put it to soak in one of the large
sea-oyster shells in water impregnated with wood ashes and some of my
lime to make the hair come off, which it readily did after a few days.
I then went about, whilst burning my shells for lime, to capture some
more of the goats, and by means of numerous snares made of my manilla
rope, and placed in the localities that I found they frequented, I
had no difficulty in capturing as many as I desired, all of which I
killed and cut the flesh into narrow strips and cured it in the air for
future use. The lye in which I soaked the skins gave me the hair for my
mortar, and the skins remaining, although not tanned in a proper sense,
were useful to me in a thousand ways.
When I had gotten together a sufficient quantity of lime, hair, and
nice dry sand, and an immense pile of the largest stones that I could
move, I commenced to build my house.
I marked out a parallelogram of what I should judge by my eyes to be
about twelve feet in width by eighteen feet in length, and upon these
staked-out lines I dug a trench some three feet in depth, and into it
I pushed my heaviest stones for the foundations, taking care to place
particularly large and smooth ones at the corners.
Luckily building material was plenty and at no great distance. Rocks of
all sizes were to be found at the base of the rocky point that was just
below me on Stillwater Cove. Of course I used much larger stones than
I could lift, which I got to where I wanted them, and into place, by
means of small rollers, which were sections of quite large tree-limbs,
that I had cut off with infinite care and patience with my knife, into
the requisite length, and large, strong stakes of wood, made in the
same manner, which I used as crowbars, or as we sailors should call
them, and more properly, handspikes. After my first tier was laid round
about the whole trench, I rolled in other stones on top, putting mortar
between them before I pried them into place. When the trench was filled
I commenced to use smaller stones, but still ones that were quite large
and almost unmanageable; and as the walls got higher, I had to content
myself with stones that I could lift with my hands. But then, again,
I at this point commenced to double my wall, using two stones side by
side where I had formerly at the base used one. In this way my house,
gradually, after some three months' incessant labor, began to take
shape. On the front, sides, and rear, at proper distances and height,
I inserted large timbers so as to form windows. These timbers, which
were often as large as my thigh, I obtained by finding dead trees
that would suit my purpose in the woods, and burning them off at the
proper length, so that I could handle them. Of course a foot or two or
a burned end was of no consequence, as it was laid upon the wall in a
horizontal position, and mortared into its place with the stones that
were piled upon it. In this way I formed rough but strong uprights and
cross-pieces for my door and windows, all of them firmly built into the
wall, and forming part of the solid walls themselves.
[Illustration: BUILDING THE STONE HUT.--PAGE 120.]
At the end of some three months, after incessant and exhaustive labor,
I had the satisfaction of seeing the stone work to my house all done,
the top of the walls being at least two feet above my head, and I
should say at least twelve inches thick; this was all mortared up both
on the outside and inside, and was as strong as a fort. The last layers
of stone gave me the most trouble, but by means of a large, nearly
round stone, upon which I stood, I was enabled to finish my task,
although at great pains. The erection of the roof was comparatively
an easier matter, although that also took me a long time and was only
completed after great patience. I found growing on the shores of Rapid
River a species of cane, and I found that I could cut these down
without difficulty, and gathering a large number of them, I spliced
them together for my uprights and ridge-pole, with manilla yarns, and
then laid the remainder close together from the ridge-pole to the
eaves, projecting over the latter some two feet. These were secured
to the ridge-pole by manilla strands, and in the centre of my house a
strong forked tree as large as my leg received the ridge-pole from both
ends of the house, and sustained it. This cane roofing, which was both
light and strong, I thatched heavily with sedge, similar to that with
which I had covered my hut. I fastened up the openings that I had left
for windows with goat skins for the present, hanging them on wooden
pegs which I could remove when the weather was fine. At the rear end
of my house I had, I should have said, built me a nice open fire-place
and a tall chimney, which I had had to finish after the roof was done,
so as to stand upon the latter to carry the chimney up high enough to
make it safe to carry away the sparks from my thatch. Into this large,
dry, airy, and clean room, I brought by different trips all my worldly
goods. I had put out the lamps in the tower at the landing-place hut
long ago, having no further need of it, but I still kept it as a
receptacle for my spare flint, steel, and tinder, and knew that I could
go there to obtain them to start a fire should I by chance be without
them on my own person.
Whilst my house was in course of construction I had not been idle about
a thousand and one other things, but I had let nothing of importance
interfere with this--to me--imperative duty. After my house was all
finished I commenced setting out round about it, at about fifty paces
distant, a species of alder, which I noticed grew rapidly and thickly,
and which I foresaw would in a very few years entirely conceal my
habitation. When I had gotten things well about me, I found by my
journal that I was in the month of March,--in other words, that the
summer had passed and that I had been none too soon in preparing myself
for the winter, which was yet to visit me.