We had been much delighted with the new and lovely scenery of our road:
the prickly cactus, and aloe, with its white flowers; the Indian fig;
the white and yellow jasmine; the fragrant vanilla, throwing round its
graceful festoons. Above all, the regal pineapple grew in profusion,
and we feasted on it, for the first time, with avidity.
Among the prickly stalks of the cactus and aloes, I perceived a plant
with large pointed leaves, which I knew to be the _karata_. I pointed
out to the boys its beautiful red flowers; the leaves are an excellent
application to wounds, and thread is made from the filaments, and the
pith of the stem is used by the savage tribes for tinder.
When I showed the boys, by experiment, the use of the pith, they thought
the _tinder-tree_ would be almost as useful as the potatoes.
“At all events,” I said, “it will be more useful than the pine-apples;
your mother will be thankful for thread, when her enchanted bag is
exhausted.”
“How happy it is for us,” said she, “that you have devoted yourself to
reading and study. In our ignorance we might have passed this treasure,
without suspecting its value.”
Fritz inquired of what use in the world all the rest of these prickly
plants could be, which wounded every one that came near.
“All these have their use, Fritz,” said I; “some contain juices and
gums, which are daily made use of in medicine; others are useful in the
arts, or in manufactures. The Indian fig, for instance, is a most
interesting tree. It grows in the most arid soil. The fruit is said to
be sweet and wholesome.”
In a moment, my little active Jack was climbing the rocks to gather some
of these figs; but he had not remarked that they were covered with
thousands of slender thorns, finer than the finest needles, which
terribly wounded his fingers. He returned, weeping bitterly and dancing
with pain. Having rallied him a little for his greediness, I extracted
the thorns, and then showed him how to open the fruit, by first cutting
off the pointed end, as it lay on the ground; into this I fixed a piece
of stick, and then pared it with my knife. The novelty of the expedient
recommended it, and they were soon all engaged eating the fruit, which
they declared was very good.
In the mean time, I saw Ernest examining one of the figs very
attentively. “Oh! papa!” said he, “what a singular sight; the fig is
covered with a small red insect. I cannot shake them off. Can they be
the _Cochineal_?” I recognized at once the precious insect, of which I
explained to my sons the nature and use. “It is with this insect,” said
I, “that the beautiful and rich scarlet dye is made. It is found in
America, and the Europeans give its weight in gold for it.”
Thus discoursing on the wonders of nature, and the necessity of
increasing our knowledge by observation and study, we arrived at Tent
House, and found it in the same state as we left it.
We all began to collect necessaries. Fritz loaded himself with powder
and shot, I opened the butter-cask, and my wife and little Francis
filled the pot. Ernest and Jack went to try and secure the geese and
ducks; but they had become so wild that it would have been impossible,
if Ernest had not thought of an expedient. He tied pieces of cheese, for
bait, to threads, which he floated on the water. The voracious creatures
immediately swallowed the cheese and were drawn out by the thread. They
were then securely tied, and fastened to the game-bags, to be carried
home on our backs. As the bait could not be recovered, the boys
contented themselves with cutting off the string close to the beak,
leaving them to digest the rest.
Our bags were already loaded with potatoes, but we filled up the spaces
between them with salt; and, having relieved Turk of his armour, we
placed the heaviest on his back. I took the butter-pot; and, after
replacing everything, and closing our tent, we resumed our march, with
our ludicrous incumbrances. The geese and ducks were very noisy in their
adieu to their old marsh; the dogs barked; and we all laughed so
excessively, that we forgot our burdens till we sat down again under our
tree. My wife soon had her pot of potatoes on the fire. She then milked
the cow and goat, while I set the fowls at liberty on the banks of the
river. We then sat down to a smoking dish of potatoes, a jug of milk,
and butter and cheese. After supper we had prayers, thanking God
especially for his new benefits; and we then sought our repose among
the leaves.
* * * * *