The Swiss family Robinson
care was to select fit materials to construct a raft. Our boat of
staves had neither room nor solidity enough to carry a considerable
burden; we therefore looked about, and found a sufficient number of
water-casks, which appeared to me proper for my new enterprise.
We emptied them, replaced the bungs carefully, and threw the casks
overboard, after securing them with ropes and cramps, so as to keep
them together at the vessel’s side: this completed, we placed a
sufficient number of planks upon them to form a firm and commodious
platform, or deck, to which we added a gun-wale of a foot in depth
all round, to secure the lading. Thus we contrived a handsome raft,
in which we could stow thrice as much as in our boat. This laborious
task had taken up the whole day; we scarcely allowed ourselves a
minute to eat some cold meat we had provided, that we might not
lose any time in looking for the provisions on board the vessel.
In the evening, Fritz and I were so weary, that it would have been
impossible for us to row back to land; so having taken all due
precaution in case of a storm, we lay down in the captain’s cabin, on
a good elastic mattress, which induced such sound repose, that our
prudent design to watch in turn, for fear of accident, was forgotten,
and we both slept heavily, side by side, till broad daylight opened
our eyes. We rose, and actively set to work to load our raft.
We began with stripping the cabin of its doors and windows, with
their appendages; next we secured the carpenter’s and gunner’s
chests, containing all their tools and implements: those we could
remove with levers and rollers were put entire upon the raft, and
we took out of the others what rendered them too heavy. One of the
captain’s chests was filled with costly articles, which, no doubt, he
meant to dispose of to the opulent planters of Port Jackson, or among
the savages. In the collection were several gold and silver watches,
snuff-boxes of all descriptions, buckles, shirt-buttons, necklaces,
rings; in short, an abundance of all the trifles of European luxury.
But the discovery that delighted me most was a chest containing some
dozens of young plants of every species of European fruits, which
had been carefully packed in moss for transportation. I perceived
pear, plum, almond, peach, apple, apricot, chestnut trees, and vine
shoots. We discovered a number of bars of iron, and large pigs of
lead, grinding-stones, cart-wheels ready for mounting, a complete
set of farrier’s instruments, tongs, shovels, ploughshares, rolls
of iron and copper wire, sacks full of maize, pease, oats, vetches,
and even a little handmill. The vessel had been freighted with
everything likely to be useful in an infant colony so distant. We
found a saw-mill in a separated state, but each piece numbered, and
so accurately fitted that nothing was easier than to put it together
for use.
We with difficulty and hard labour finished our loading, having added
a large fishing-net, quite new, and the vessel’s great compass. With
the net, Fritz found two harpoons and a rope-windlass, such as they
use in the whale-fishery. He asked me to let him place the harpoons,
tied to the end of the rope, over the bow of our tub-boat, and thus
be in readiness in case of seeing any large fish; and I indulged him
in his fancy.
Having completely executed our undertaking, we stepped into
the tub-boat, and pushed out for the current, drawing our raft
triumphantly after us with a stout rope, which we had been careful to
fasten securely at its head.
CHAPTER XVIII
The Tortoise Harnessed
The wind was favourable, and briskly swelled our sail. The sea was
calm, and we advanced at a considerable rate. Fritz had for some time
fixed his eyes on something of a large size which was floating on
the water, and he now desired me to take the glass, and see what it
could be. I soon perceived that it was a tortoise, which had fallen
asleep in the sun on the surface of the water. No sooner had Fritz
learned this, than he entreated me to steer softly within view of so
extraordinary a creature. I readily consented; but as his back was
towards me, and the sail between us, I did not observe his motions,
till a violent jerk of the boat, a sudden turning of the windlass,
and then a second jerk, accompanied by a rapid motion of the boat,
gave me the necessary explanation. “For Heaven’s sake, what are you
about, Fritz?” exclaimed I, somewhat alarmed.
“I have caught him!--I touched him!” cried Fritz, without hearing one
word I had been saying.--“The tortoise is ours; it cannot escape,
father! Is not this, then, a valuable prize, for it will furnish
dinners for us all for many weeks?”
I soon perceived that the harpoon had caught the animal, which,
feeling itself wounded, thus agitated the vessel in its endeavours
to get away. I quickly pulled down the sail, and seizing a hatchet,
sprang to the boat’s head to cut the rope, and let the harpoon and
the tortoise go; but Fritz caught hold of my arm, conjuring me to
wait a moment, and not so hastily bring upon him the mortification of
losing, at one stroke, the harpoon, the rope, and the tortoise: he
proposed watching himself, with the hatchet in his hand, to cut the
rope suddenly should any sign of danger appear; and I yielded to his
entreaties.
Thus, then, drawn along by the tortoise, we proceeded with a
hazardous rapidity. I soon observed that the creature was making
for the sea; I therefore again hoisted the sail; and as the wind
was to the land, and very brisk, the tortoise found resistance of
no avail; he accordingly fell into the track of the current, and
drew us straight towards our usual place of landing, and, by good
fortune, without striking upon any of the rocks. We, however, did not
disembark without one difficult adventure. The state of the tide was
such as to throw us upon a sand-bank; we were at this time within
a gun-shot of the shore; the boat, though driven with violence,
remained upright in the sand. I stepped into the water, which did
not reach far above my knees, for the purpose of conferring upon our
conductor his just reward for the alarm he had caused us, when he
suddenly gave a plunge, and then disappeared. Following the rope, I
presently saw the tortoise stretched at length at the bottom of the
water, where it was so shallow that I soon found means to put an end
to his pain, by cutting off his head with the hatchet. Being now near
Tent House, Fritz gave a halloo, and fired a gun, to apprise our
relatives that we were not only arrived, but arrived in triumph. This
soon produced the desired effect: the mother and her three young ones
soon appeared, running towards us; upon which Fritz jumped out of the
boat, placed the head of our sea-prize on the muzzle of his gun, and
walked to shore, which I reached at the same moment.
I requested my wife to go with two of the younger boys to Falcon’s
Stream, and fetch the sledge and the beasts of burden, that we might
see at least a part of our booty from the ship put safely under
shelter the same evening. A tempest, or even the tide, might sweep
away the whole during the night. We took every precaution in our
power against the latter danger, by fixing the boat and the raft,
now, at the time of its reflux, as securely as we could without an
anchor.
While we were employed on this scheme, the sledge arrived, and we
placed the tortoise upon it, and also some articles of light weight,
such as mattresses, pieces of linen, etc. Our first concern, on
reaching our abode, was the tortoise, which we immediately turned on
his back, that we might strip off the shell, and make use of some
of the flesh while it was fresh. Taking my hatchet, I separated
the upper and under shell all round, which were joined together by
cartilages. The upper shell of the tortoise is extremely convex; the
under, on the contrary, is nearly flat. I cut away as much of the
flesh of the animal as was sufficient for a meal, and laid the rest
carefully on the under shell, which served as a dish, recommending
to my wife to cook what I had cut off, on the other shell, with no
other seasoning than a little salt, and pledged myself that she would
produce a luxurious dish.
_Fritz._--I thought, father, of cleaning the shell thoroughly, and
fixing it by the side of our river, and keeping it always full of
pure water for my mother’s use, when she has to wash the linen, or
cook our victuals.
_Father._--Excellent, excellent, my boy! all honour to the founder of
the _pure water-tub_! This is what I call _thinking for the general
good_. And we will take care to execute the idea as soon as we can
prepare some clay, as a solid foundation for its bottom.
_Ernest._--When the water-tub is complete, I will put some roots I
have found to soak a little in it, for they are now extremely dry.
I do not exactly know what they are: they look something like the
radish, or horse-radish; but the plant from which I took them was
almost the size of a bush.
_Father._--If my suspicion is right, you have made a beneficial
discovery, which, with the assistance of our own wild roots, may
furnish us the means of existence as long as we may remain in this
island! I think your roots are _manioc_, of which the natives of the
West Indies make a sort of bread or cake which they call _cassava_.
But we must first carry the production through a certain preparation,
without which it possesses pernicious properties. Try to find the
same place, and bring a sufficient quantity for our first experiment.
We had finished unloading the sledge, and I bade the three eldest
boys accompany me to fetch another load before it should be dark.
Having reached the raft, we took from it as many effects as the
sledge could hold, or the animals draw along. One object of my
attention was to secure two chests which contained the clothes of
my family. I reckoned also on finding in one of the chests some
books on interesting subjects, and principally a large handsomely
printed Bible. I added to these, four cart-wheels and a hand-mill for
grinding; which, now that we had discovered the manioc, I considered
of signal importance. These and a few other articles completed our
present load.
On our return to Falcon’s Nest, we found my wife looking anxiously
for our arrival, and ready with the welcome she had promised of an
ample and agreeable repast. Before she had well examined our new
stores, she drew me, with one of her sweetest smiles, by the arm.
“Step this way,” said she, and leading to the shade of a tree,--“this
is the work I performed in your absence,” pointing to a large cask
half sunk in the ground, and the rest covered over with branches of
trees. She then applied a small corkscrew to the side, and filling
the shell of a cocoa-nut with the contents, presented it to me. I
found the liquor equal to the best canary I had ever tasted. “How
then,” said I, “have you performed this new miracle? I cannot believe
the enchanted bag produced it.” “Not exactly,” replied she; “for this
time it was an obliging white wave which threw it on shore. I took a
little ramble in your absence yesterday, to see what I could find,
and well my trouble was rewarded! The boys ran for the sledge, and
had but little difficulty in getting the cask to Falcon’s Stream,
where we dug this place in the earth to keep it cool.”
My wife now proposed that all should be regaled with some of the
delicious beverage. My own share so invigorated me, that I found
myself able to complete my day’s work, by drawing up the mattresses
we had brought from the ship, to our chamber in the tree, by means