Robinson still continued anxious about his food supply when he could
no longer gather it fresh from the fields and forest. Corn had again
become ripe. He had found in a wet, marshy place some wild rice-plants
loaded with ripened grain. As he now had fire he only had to have some
way of storing up grains and he would not lack for food. He knew that
grain stored away must be kept dry and that he must especially provide
against dampness in his cave or in his bower.
If he only had some baskets. These would be just the thing. But how
was he to get them? Robinson had never given a thought to either
material or the method of making them. He, however, was gradually
acquiring skill and confidence in himself. So far he had managed to
meet all his wants. He had invented tools and made his own clothes
and shelter, and, "Now," said he to himself, "I will solve the new
problem. I must first study the materials that I have at hand." He
remembered the splint market baskets in which his father took
vegetables home from the store. He recalled how the thin splints were
woven.
"They went over and under," he said. "That is simple enough if I had
the splints." He set himself diligently to work to find a plant whose
bark or split branches could be used for splints. He tried to peel
off the rough outer bark of several trees in order to examine the inner
layers of soft fibrous material. He found several trees that gave
promise of furnishing abundance of long, thin strips, but the labor
of removing the bark with his rude imperfect tools was so great that
he resolved that he would have to find some other kind of material.
"Why need the strips be flat?" he thought. "I believe I could weave
them in the same way if I used the long, thin, tough willow rods I
saw growing by the brookside, when I was returning from my journey."
He found on trial that the weaving went very well, but that he must
have strong, thick rods or ribs running up and down to give strength
and form to his basket. He worked hard, but it was slow work. It was
three days before his first basket was done. He made many mistakes
and was obliged many times to undo what he had accomplished in order
to correct some error. And at last when he had woven the basket as
large as he thought was suitable for his purpose, he did not know how
to stop or finish the top so as to keep the basket from unraveling.
At last he hit upon the plan of fastening two stout rods, one outside,
the other inside, the basket. These he sewed firmly, over and over,
to the basket with a kind of fibre from a plant he had discovered that
looked almost to be what he had heard called the century plant in the
parks at home.
On attempting his next basket, he thought long how he might improve
and save time. He must hasten, or the now almost daily rains would
destroy his ripened wild corn and rice.
"If I could use coils of that long grass I saw growing in the marsh
beside the rice," he thought, "I could make twice the progress." He
gathered an armful, twisted it into cables about an inch thick and
wove it into his frame of upright rods instead of the horizontal layer
of willow canes. This answered his purpose just as well and rendered
the making of large baskets the work of a few hours. He found,
however, that the willow rods or osiers were not pliant enough to work
well in fastening his coils of grass cables together. He tried several
things and at last succeeded best when he used the long thread-like
fibre of the century-like plant. He had, however, to make a stout
framework of rods. He would first coil his grass rope into this frame
and then sew it together with twine or thread made from this fibre.
[Illustration: ROBINSON'S BASKETS]
He afterwards tried making smaller and finer baskets out of the fibre
that he had discovered, which could be easily had from the
thick-leaved plant he thought he had seen at home. He first used long,
tough, fine roots he had seen when digging up the tree at the mouth
of his cave. Afterwards he discovered some tall, tough reeds growing
near by. He laid in a supply of these. He found that when he wanted
to use them, a good soaking in water made them as pliable and tough
as when first cut.
The making of the baskets and storing up grains made it possible for
Robinson to become a farmer and thus make himself independent. This
thought was a great relief to him.