table. He had his cave in case of danger. He had his cellar in which to
keep his meat. He would sit in the shade near the door of his bower and
think of the many things he should be thankful for. But there was one
hardship that Robinson could not get used to and that was the eating of
raw food. "How fine it would be if only I could parch a few grains of
corn in the fire! I could like live a prince," thought he, "if I had
fire. I would grind some of my corn into flour and make some corn bread
or cakes and cook rice." He did so long for roasted meat and determined
again to make the attempt to get fire.
Robinson was fast losing his idle, thoughtless ways of doing things. He
had become a thoughtful and diligent man in the short time that he had
been on the island. Trouble and hardship had made a man of him. "I must
carefully think over the whole matter of getting fire," he said. He had
failed twice and was now resolved to succeed. "If the lightning would
only strike a tree," he thought, "and set it on fire."
But he could not wait for such a thing to happen, and how could he keep
it when once thus obtained? It was clear he must have some way of
producing fire when he wanted it, just as they did at home. He thought
over the ways he had tried and the one most likely to be successful. He
resolved to make a further trial of the method by twirling a stick in
his hands. He selected new wood that was hard and dry. He carefully
sharpened a stick about eighteen inches long and, standing it upright in
a hollow in the block of wood, began to roll it between his hands. By
the time Robinson's hands were well hardened, it seemed that he was
going to succeed at last. But he lacked the skill to be obtained only by
long practice.
"If I could only make it go faster," he said. "There must be some way of
doing this. I believe I can do it. I used to make my top spin round with
a cord; I wonder if I can use the cord here." The only cord he had was
attached to his bow. He was going to take it off when a thought struck
him. He loosened the string a bit and twisted it once about his
spindle. Then he drew the bow back and forth. The spindle was turned at
a great rate. He saw he must hold one end with his left hand while the
other rested in the hollow in the block. With his right, he drew the bow
back and forth. How eagerly he worked! He had twirled but a few minutes
when the dust in the hollow burst into fire from the heat produced by
the rapidly twirling spindle.
[Illustration: ROBINSON'S TOOLS FOR MAKING FIRE]
Robinson was too overjoyed to make any use of it. He danced and capered
about like one gone mad until the fire had gone out. But that was of no
matter now, since he could get fire when he wanted it.
He hastened to make him a rude fireplace and oven of stones. He hollowed
out a place in the ground and lined and covered it with large flat
stones. On one side he built up a chimney to draw up the smoke and make
the fire burn brightly. He brought wood and some dry fungus or
mushroom. This he powdered and soon had fire caught in it. He kindled in
this way the wood in his stove and soon had a hot fire.
The first thing he did in the way of cooking was to roast some rabbit
meat on a spit or forked stick held in his hand over the fire. Nothing
Robinson had ever eaten was to be compared to this.
"I can do many things now," thought Robinson. "My work will not be
nearly so hard. My fire will be my servant and help me make my tools as
well as cook my food. I can now cook my corn and rice."
XXVIII
ROBINSON MAKES BASKETS
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.
XXIX
ROBINSON BECOMES A FARMER
Robinson had now been on the island long enough to know how the seasons
changed. He found that there were two kinds of weather there, wet
weather and dry weather. There were two wet seasons in each year and two
dry ones. During the wet seasons, which lasted nearly three months,
Robinson had to remain pretty closely at home, and could not gather
grain, for the plants were then starting from the seeds. It ripened in
the dry seasons. Robinson soon found that he must have a store of corn
and wild rice for food during the rainy seasons. He, however, knew
nothing about planting and harvesting, nor preparing the ground for
seed.
He had it all to learn with no teacher or books to instruct him. He
found a little space near his dwelling free from trees and thought he
would plant some corn seed here. He did not know the proper time for
planting. He thought because it was warm, seed would grow at any time.
It happened his first seed was put in at the beginning of the dry
season. He watched and waited to rejoice his eyes with the bright green
of sprouting corn, but the seed did not grow. There was no rain and the
sun's heat parched the land till it was dry and hard on the upland where
his corn was planted.
"Very well," thought Robinson, "I will plant it at the beginning of the
wet season, either in March or September." He did so; the seed quickly
sprouted up. But the weeds, shrubs, and vines sprouted as quickly, and
before Robinson was aware, his corn was overgrown and choked out by a
rank growth of weeds and vines.
"I see," said Robinson, "that I must thoroughly prepare the soil before
planting my seed." But he had no spade and no other tool that would
stand the strain of digging among tough matted roots. But he must
succeed. He put a new handle in the stone hoe or pick he had already
made. His mussel shell spade was worn out. He must set himself to
fashion out another. He decided to make one from the tough heavy wood of
a tree that grew plentifully in the forest.
He was lucky enough to find a tree of this kind whose bole had been
split lengthwise by the falling of an old rotten tree near it. With his
stone tools and the help of fire he managed after several days' work to
make a wide sharpened tool out of one of the large pieces split off. It
was a little over three feet long. He had trimmed one end small and cut
notches in the sides about one foot from the flat end. He could place
his foot in the notch and thrust his wooden spade into the earth. With
his rude tool he dug up and turned the soil of a small space of ground
several times to kill the vines and weeds. His corn quickly sprouted
after this attempt and outstripped the weeds and vines which Robinson
constantly had to hold in check by pulling and hoeing. He was rejoiced
at his growing crop and went each morning to feast his eyes on the
rapidly expanding leaves and ears.
One morning as he came in sight of the little clearing he thought he saw
something disappearing in the low brush on the other side as he
approached. Alas, his labor had been in vain! A herd of wild goats had
found out the place and had utterly destroyed his crop. Robinson sat
down nearby and surveyed the ruin of his little field. "It is plain,"
thought he, "I will have to fence in the field or I will never be able
to harvest my crop. I cannot watch it all the time."
He had already learned from his experience in making the fence around
the goat pasture that the branches of many kinds of shrubs and trees,
when broken off and thrust into the ground, will send out roots and
leaves and at length if planted close together in a line, will form a
thick hedge which no kind of beast can get through or over. He found out
some willow trees whose branches broke easily, and soon had enough to
thrust into the ground about six inches apart around the entire edge of
his little field, which contained about one eighth of an acre.
After this hedge had grown so as to be a fair protection to his crop he
tried planting again at the proper season. He spaded up the ground and
pulled out the matted roots as best he could and with great pains and
care planted his corn in straight even rows. To make them straight and
each hill of corn the same distance from its neighbors, he first marked
off the ground in squares whose sides were about three and one half feet
long.
"Now," thought he, "I will reap the reward of my labor." The corn grew
rapidly, and toward the end of the first dry season was filling out and
ripening its ears. But to Robinson's dismay a new danger threatened his
crop against which he could not fence. He was in despair. The birds were
fast eating and destroying his partially ripened corn. He could not
husk it yet. It was not ripe enough. He thought how easy it would be to
protect his field if he had a gun. But he had learned that it is useless
to give time to idle dreaming. He must do something and that quick.
"If I could catch some of these rascals," he thought, "I would hang them
up on poles, dead, as a warning to the rest." It seemed almost a
hopeless task, but he went about it. It was in vain he tried to kill
some of them by throwing rocks and sticks. He could not get near enough
to them. At length he laid snares and succeeded in snaring three birds.
He had learned to weave a pliable, strong thong out of cocoa and other
fibre that he was now acquainted with. The birds thus caught he fastened
on broken branches of trees which he stuck into the earth in different
parts of his field. The birds heeded the warning and visited his corn
field no more that season.
At the end of the season he gathered or husked his corn and after it was
thoroughly dry he shelled it from the cob with his hands. He used his
baskets in which to carry his husked ears from the field to his cave and
in which to store it when shelled. He found that the ears were larger
and better filled and plumper than when the plants grew wild. He
selected the largest and best filled ears for his seed the next time. In
this way his new crop of corn was always better in kind and yielded more
than the old one.
At first he grew two crops a year, but by experimenting he found out
about how much he needed for his own use and planted once a year enough
to give him a liberal supply.
He observed that the wild rice grew in swampy lands, so that he did not
make the mistake of trying to raise it upon the upland where the corn
grew best. He saw at once that the planting of rice on low, marshy or
wet land was beyond his present strength and tools. "Some time in the
future," he thought, "I may try it."
Robinson also found wild grapes in abundance. These he dried by hanging
them on the branches of trees. He thus had a store of raisins for each
rainy season.
XXX
ROBINSON AS POTTER
Robinson was now anxious to cook his food, to boil his rice and
vegetables and bake bread, but he could do nothing without cooking
vessels. He had tried to use cocoanut shells, but these were too small
and there was no way to keep them from falling over and spilling the
contents. He determined to try to make some clay vessels. He knew where
he could get a kind of clay that had the appearance of making good ware.
It was fine grained and without lumps or pebbles. He was much perplexed
to mould the clay into right shapes. He tried taking a lump and shaping
it into a vessel with his hands. He tried many times, but each time the
clay broke and he was forced to try some other way. He recalled how he
had made his basket out of strands of twisted grass and wondered whether
he could not make his pots in the same way.
He spun the clay out into a long rope and began to coil it around a
small basket forming the layers together with his hands. This was easy,
but he did not see clearly how he was going to get the basket out from
the inside of the pot. He found he could copy in this way any form he
wished, but he finally hit upon the plan of making a form of wicker work
and coiling the clay rope inside it, for he saw that whether he
succeeded or not in getting the clay free from the basket he could use
the pot, and besides if the pot would stand the fire the basket would
burn off. To dry the pots Robinson stood them in the sun a few days.
When they were dry he tried to cook some soup in one of them. He filled
it with water and put it on his stove or oven, but how sadly had he
deceived himself. In a short time the water soaked into the clay and
soon the pot had fallen to pieces.
"How foolish I am!" said Robinson to himself; "the pots have to be fired
before they can be used." He set about this at once. He found two stones
of equal size, placed them near each other and laid a third across
these. He then placed three large pots upon them and made a hot fire
under them. No sooner had the flame shot up than one of the pots cracked
in two. "I probably made the fire too hot at first," thought Robinson.
He drew out some of the coals and wood, but afterwards gradually
increased the fire again. He could not, however, get the pots hot enough
to turn red. He brought the dryest and hardest wood, but could not
succeed in getting them hot enough to turn red. At length he was tired
out and was compelled to give it up. When the pots were cool he tried to
boil water in one. It was no better than the sun dried one.
He saw that he must provide some way to get the pots much hotter than he
could in the open air. He resolved to make an oven of stones large
enough to take in the wood as well as the pots. It must be above ground
so that there might be plenty of draught for the fire. With great labor,
he pried up and carried together flat stones enough to make an oven
about four feet high with a chimney at one side. He had put in the
center a stone table on which he could place three quite large pots. He
left an opening in one side that could be partially closed by a large,
flat stone.
He worked eagerly and at the end of the second day he was ready to fire
his oven. He first carried together a good quantity of dry wood, then he
put in his pots and laid the wood around them. In a short time he had a
very hot fire. He kept this up all day and until late at night.
[Illustration: SOME OF ROBINSON'S DISHES]
The next morning he went to his oven and found his pots were a beautiful
red. He drew out the fire and allowed them to cool slowly. Then he
filled one with water and set it over the fire to heat it. Before many
minutes the water was boiling and Robinson had another reason to be
thankful. He wept for joy. His patient labors had brought their rewards.
No prince could feel as happy as Robinson now. He had overcome all
difficulties. Starting with nothing but his hands, he was now able to
supply all his wants. "If I only had a companion now," he thought, "I
would have nothing further to wish as long as I stay on the island."
XXXI
ROBINSON AS BAKER
Now that Robinson had fire, he determined to try to make bread. He had
seen the servants at home make bread many times, but he had not observed
closely and knew next to nothing about the way bread is made. He knew he
must in some way grind the corn into flour, but how could he do this? He
had no mill nor any tools with which to crush the corn.
He first tried to find a stone large and hard enough out of which he
might hollow a vessel or kind of mortar. He thought he could put the
corn into this mortar and grind it by means of another stone or pestle.
It was with great difficulty that he could get a stone of suitable size
and form. After several days' trial he at last got one cut out from some
layers of rock near the shore. He made a hollow place in it. Then he
took a smaller oblong shaped rock for his pestle.
He took great pride in these new tools. "I shall soon be a
stone-cutter," he said to himself, "as well as a farmer and potter." But
his stone mortar was a failure. The rock was too soft. Every time he
thrust the pestle down, it loosened small pieces of the stone vessel.
These mixed with the ground corn or flour and made it unfit to eat.
There was no way to separate the sand from the crushed grain.
He resolved then to try to make a mortar and pestle of hard wood. Now
that he had fire, he could do this, though it cost him many a hard day's
work. He found not far away a log of very hard wood. By building a fire
at the right distance from one end he was able to separate a piece of
the log. He rolled this to his cave and made a good-sized hollow in it
by burning. This pestle was not so difficult to make. He took a limb or
branch of an ironwood tree, burned it in two at the place to make it the
right length. By burning also he rounded one end and then he was ready
for the grinding. After cleaning his mortar and pestle carefully he
placed some corn in the hollow and soon had some fine yellow meal or
flour without any grit or sand in it.
His next care was to separate the coarse outer husk or covering of the
kernel from the finer parts that make the meal. He had no sieve. His
net was too coarse. It let both bran and meal go through. "I must make a
net or cloth fine enough to sift or bolt my flour," said he. Such was
now his skill in spinning and weaving that this was not hard to do. He
had soon woven in his loom a piece of fine netting which allowed the
meal to shake through, but held back the coarse bran or outer husk of
the kernel. Out of the dry corn that he had stored up he now made quite
a quantity of flour. This he kept tightly covered in a large earthen pot
or jar that he had made for this purpose. "I must keep all my food clean
and protect it from the ants and other insects as well as dust and
damp," he thought.
His preparations were now nearly made. He had already his stove of flat
stones. On this he could set his pots to boil water, cook rice, and
meat, but it would not do for baking a loaf of bread of any thickness.
He must have an oven or enclosed place into which he could put the loaf
to bake it. By the use of flat stones he soon rebuilt his stove so as to
have an oven that did fine service. Now it was mixing the dough that
claimed his attention. He had of course no yeast to make raised or light
bread. He poured goats' milk on the flour and kneaded it into a thick
dough. He did not forget to add salt. He placed his loaf in a shallow
earthen pan he had made for this purpose. After the fire had heated the
stones of his oven through, he put in his loaf and soon was enjoying a
meal of corn bread and meat stew.
Robinson soon tried to make cocoa from the beans of the cocoa palm that
grew in the island. This with good rich goats' milk in it he thought the
best drink in the world. He often thought of making sugar from the sugar
cane plant he had discovered in the island. But the labor of squeezing
out the juice was too great. He could think of no way to do this without
the help of horses or oxen.
XXXII
ROBINSON AS FISHERMAN
Robinson was now eager to use his fire and cooking vessels. He had
noticed with hungry eyes fine large fish in the creek near his cave. But
he had never taken the trouble to catch any. "What is the use?" he
thought. "I cannot eat them raw." It was different now and he began to
devise ways of making a catch. How he longed for a fish-hook, such as he
had so often used when loitering along the Hudson River! "But a
fish-hook is not to be thought of," he said to himself, "unless I can
make one of bone." He went down to the brook and searched long for a
fish-bone that he might make use of for this purpose. He found nothing.
"I must try something else," he thought. He remembered the nets he used
to see along the Hudson and wondered if he could not make a small one to
pull through the water and thus catch the fish.
He had now a better source of fibre for weaving and for spinning into
lines and ropes. He had discovered this when he was trying to find a
good strong thread or yarn with which to bind the coils of his
grass-made baskets together. He obtained fibre in great abundance from
the century-like plant. He found if he broke off the long leaves of this
plant and allowed them to decay there remained a long, tough fibrous
substance out of which strong cords could be twisted or yarn made for
weaving a coarse cloth or netting.
Out of this he spun yarn thread to make a net about three or four feet
by two feet. He fastened cords to four corners of this, tied them to a
long pole, and was now prepared to test his plan for catching fish.
The brook he found was too shallow for him to catch fish in this way. At
the sight of him and his net, they scurried away to deep water. Neither
could he succeed in the shallow water along the shore. "I must wade out
as far as I can," he said to himself, "and draw the net through the
water."