“Now, my dear Elizabeth,” said I, waking early next morning, “let us
talk a little on this grand project of changing our residence; to which
there are many objections. First, it seems wise to remain on the spot
where Providence has cast us, where we can have at once means of support
drawn from the ship, and security from all attacks, protected by the
rock, the river, and the sea on all sides.”
My wife distrusted the river, which could not protect us from the
jackals, and complained of the intolerable heat of this sandy desert, of
her distaste for such food as oysters and wild geese; and, lastly, of
her agony of mind, when we ventured to the wreck; willingly renouncing
all its treasures, and begging we might rest content with the blessings
we already had.
“There is some truth in your objections,” said I, “and perhaps we may
erect a dwelling under the roots of your favourite tree; but among these
rocks we must have a storehouse for our goods, and a retreat in case of
invasion. I hope, by blowing off some pieces of the rock with powder, to
be able to fortify the part next the river, leaving a secret passage
known only to ourselves. This would make it impregnable. But before we
proceed, we must have a bridge to convey our baggage across the river.
“A bridge,” said she, in a tone of vexation; “then when shall we get
from here? Why cannot we ford it as usual? The cow and ass could carry
our stores.”
I explained to her how necessary it was for our ammunition and provision
to be conveyed over without risk of wetting, and begged her to
manufacture some bags and baskets, and leave the bridge to me and my
boys. If we succeeded, it would always be useful; as for fear of danger
from lightning or accident, I intended to make a powder-magazine among
the rocks.
The important question was now decided. I called up my sons, and
communicated our plans to them. They were greatly delighted, though
somewhat alarmed, at the formidable project of the bridge; besides, the
delay was vexatious; they were all anxious for a removal into the _Land
of Promise_, as they chose to call it.
We read prayers, and then thought of breakfast. The monkey sucked one of
the goats, as if it had been its mother. My wife milked the cow, and
gave us boiled milk with biscuit for our breakfast; part of which she
put in a flask, for us to take on our expedition. We then prepared our
boat for a voyage to the vessel, to procure planks and timber for our
bridge. I took both Ernest and Fritz, as I foresaw our cargo would be
weighty, and require all our hands to bring it to shore.
We rowed vigorously till we got into the current, which soon carried us
beyond the bay. We had scarcely reached a little isle at the entrance,
when we saw a vast number of gulls and other sea-birds, fluttering with
discordant cries over it. I hoisted the sail, and we approached rapidly;
and, when near enough, we stepped on shore, and saw that the birds were
feasting so eagerly on the remains of a huge fish, that they did not
even notice our approach. We might have killed numbers, even with our
sticks. This fish was the shark which Fritz had so skilfully shot
through the head the night before. He found the marks of his three
balls. Ernest drew his ramrod from his gun, and struck so vigorously
right and left among the birds, that he killed some, and put the rest to
flight. We then hastily cut off some pieces of the skin of the monster,
which I thought might be useful, and placed them in our boat. But this
was not the only advantage we gained by landing. I perceived an immense
quantity of wrecked timber lying on the shore of the island, which
would spare us our voyage to the ship. We selected such planks as were
fit for our purpose; then, by the aid of our _jack-screw_ and some
levers we had brought with us, we extricated the planks from the sand,
and floated them; and, binding the spars and yards together with cords,
with the planks above them, like a raft, we tied them to the stern of
our boat, and hoisted our sail.
Fritz, as we sailed, was drying the shark’s skin, which I hoped to
convert into files. And Ernest, in his usual reflective manner, observed
to me, “What a beautiful arrangement of Providence it is, that the mouth
of the shark should be placed in such a position that he is compelled to
turn on his back to seize his prey, thus giving it a chance of escape;
else, with his excessive voracity, he might depopulate the ocean.”
At last, we reached our landing-place, and, securing our boat, and
calling out loudly, we soon saw our friends running from the river; each
carried a handkerchief filled with some new acquisition, and Francis had
over his shoulder a small fishing-net. Jack reached us first, and threw
down before us from his handkerchief some fine crawfish. They had each
as many, forming a provision for many days.
Francis claimed the merit of the discovery. Jack related, that Francis
and he took a walk to find a good place for the bridge.
“Thank you, Mr. Architect,” said I; “then you must superintend the
workmen. Have you fixed on your place?”
“Yes, yes!” cried he; “only listen. When we got to the river, Francis,
who was looking about, called out, ‘Jack! Jack! Fritz’s jackal is
covered with crabs! Come!—come!’ I ran to tell mamma, who brought a net
that came from the ship, and we caught these in a few minutes, and could
have got many more, if you had not come.”
I commanded them to put the smaller ones back into the river, reserving
only as many as we could eat. I was truly thankful to discover another
means of support.
We now landed our timber. I had looked at Jack’s site for the bridge,
and thought my little architect very happy in his selection; but it was
at a great distance from the timber. I recollected the simplicity of the
harness the Laplanders used for their reindeer. I tied cords to the
horns of the cow—as the strength of this animal is in the head—and
then fastened the other ends round the piece of timber we wanted moving.
I placed a halter round the neck of the ass, and attached the cords to
this. We were thus enabled, by degrees, to remove all our wood to the
chosen spot, where the sides of the river were steep, and appeared of
equal height.
It was necessary to know the breadth of the river, to select the proper
planks; and Ernest proposed to procure a ball of packthread from his
mother, to tie a stone to one end of the string, and throw it across the
river, and to measure it after drawing it back. This expedient succeeded
admirably. We found the breadth to be eighteen feet; but, as I proposed
to give the bridge strength by having three feet, at least, resting on
each shore, we chose some planks of twenty-four feet in length. How we
were to get these across the river was another question, which we
prepared to discuss during dinner, to which my wife now summoned us.
Our dinner consisted of a dish of crawfish, and some very good
rice-milk. But, before we began, we admired her work. She had made a
pair of bags for the ass, sewed with packthread; but having no large
needles, she had been obliged to pierce holes with a nail, a tedious and
painful process. Well satisfied with her success, we turned to our
repast, talking of our bridge, which the boys, by anticipation, named
the _Nonpareil_. We then went to work.
There happened to be an old trunk of a tree standing on the shore. To
this I tied my main beam by a strong cord, loose enough to turn round
the trunk. Another cord was attached to the opposite end of the beam,
long enough to cross the river twice. I took the end of my rope over the
stream, where we had previously fixed the block, used in our boat, to a
tree, by the hook which usually suspended it. I passed my rope, and
returned with the end to our own side. I then harnessed my cow and ass
to the end of my rope, and drove them forcibly from the shore. The beam
turned slowly round the trunk, then advanced, and was finally lodged
over the river, amidst the shouts of the boys; its own weight keeping it
firm. Fritz and Jack leaped on it immediately to run across, to my
great fear.
We succeeded in placing four strong beams in the same way; and, by the
aid of my sons, I arranged them at a convenient distance from each
other, that we might have a broad and good bridge. We then laid down
planks close together across the beams; but not fixed, as in time of
danger it might be necessary rapidly to remove the bridge. My wife and I
were as much excited as the children, and ran across with delight. Our
bridge was at least ten feet broad.
Thoroughly fatigued with our day of labour, we returned home, supped,
and offered thanks to God, and went to rest.
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