The Swiss family Robinson
their new residence, where their queen no doubt had settled herself.
I now advised that all should watch during the night over the whole
provision of honey obtained while the bees were torpid, who, when
recovered, would not fail to be troublesome, and come in legions
to get back to their property; and to this end we threw ourselves
on our beds, in our clothes, to take an early doze. On awakening
about nightfall, we found the bees quiet in the gourd, or settled in
clusters upon near branches, so we went expeditiously to business.
The cask of honey was emptied into a kettle, except a few prime
combs, which we kept for daily consumption; the remainder, mixed with
a little water, was set over a gentle fire, and reduced to a liquid
consistence, strained and squeezed through a bag, and afterwards
poured back into the cask, which was left upright and uncovered all
night to cool. In the morning the wax was entirely separated, and had
risen to the surface in a compact and solid cake, that was easily
removed: beneath was the purest, most beautiful and delicate honey
that could be seen; the cask was then carefully headed again, and put
into cool ground near our wine-vessels. This task accomplished, I
mounted to revisit the hive, and found everything in order; the bees
going forth in swarms, and returning loaded with wax, from which I
judged they were forming fresh edifices in their new dwelling-place.
I had been surprised that the numbers occupying the trunk of the tree
should find room in the gourd, till I perceived the clusters upon
the branches, and I thence concluded a young queen was among each of
them. In consequence, I procured another gourd, into which I shook
them, and placed it by the former; thus I had the satisfaction of
obtaining at an easy rate two fine hives of bees in activity.
Soon after these operations we proceeded to examine the inside of
the tree. I sounded it with a pole from the opening I had made; and
a stone fastened to a string served us to sound the bottom, and
thus to ascertain the height and depth of the cavity. To my great
surprise, the pole penetrated without any resistance to the branches
on which our dwelling rested, and the stone descended to the roots.
The trunk, it appeared, had wholly lost its pith, and most of its
wood internally. It seems that this species of tree, like the willow
in our climates, receives nourishment through the bark; for it did
not look decayed, and its far-extended branches were luxuriant and
beautiful in the extreme. I determined to begin our construction
in its capacious hollow that very day. The undertaking appeared at
first beyond our powers; but intelligence, patience, time, and a firm
resolution vanquished all obstacles.
We began to cut into the side of the tree, towards the sea, a doorway
equal in dimensions to the door of the captain’s cabin, which we had
removed with all its framework and windows. We next cleared away from
the cavity all the rotten wood, and rendered the interior even and
smooth, leaving sufficient thickness for cutting out resting-places
for the winding stairs, without injuring the bark. I then fixed in
the centre the trunk of a tree about twenty feet in length, and a
foot thick, completely stripped of its branches, in order to carry
my winding staircase round it. On the outside of this trunk, and
the inside of the cavity of our own tree, we formed grooves, so
calculated as to correspond with the distances at which the boards
were to be placed to form the stairs. These were continued till I had
got to the height of the trunk round which they turned. I made two
more apertures at suitable distances, and thus completely lighted the
whole ascent. I also effected an opening near our room, that I might
more conveniently finish the upper part of the staircase. A second
trunk was fixed upon the first, and firmly sustained with screws and
transverse beams. It was surrounded, like the other, with stairs cut
slopingly; and thus we happily effected the stupendous undertaking of
conducting it to the level of our bed-chamber. Here I made another
door directly into it. To render it more solid and agreeable, I
closed the spaces between the stairs with plank. I then fastened two
strong ropes, the one descending the length of the central trunk,
the other along the inside of our large tree, to assist in case of
slipping. I fixed the sash windows taken from the captain’s cabin in
the apertures we had made to give light to the stairs; and I then
found I could add nothing further to my design.
I have now to relate some occurrences that took place during the
construction of our staircase.
A few days after the commencement of our undertaking, our brave Flora
whelped us six young puppies, all healthy, and likely to live. The
number was so alarming, that I was under the necessity of drowning
all but a male and female to keep up the breed. A few days later, the
two she-goats gave us two kids, and our ewes five lambs: so that we
now saw ourselves in possession of a pretty flock.
Next to the winding stairs, my chief occupation was the management
of the young buffalo, whose wound in the nose was quite healed, so
that I could lead it at will with a cord or stick passed through
the orifice, as the Caffrarians do. I preferred the stick, which
answered the purpose of a bit, and I resolved to break in this
spirited beast for riding as well as drawing. It was already used to
the shafts, and very tractable in them; but I had more trouble in
inuring him to a rider, and to wearing a girth, having made one out
of the old buffalo’s hide. I formed a sort of saddle with sail-cloth,
and tacked it to the girth. Upon this I fixed a burden, which I
increased progressively. I was indefatigable in the training of the
animal, and soon brought it to carry, patiently, large bags of roots,
salt, and other articles in the place of the ass. The monkey was
his first rider, who stuck so close to the saddle, that in spite of
the plunging and kicking of the buffalo, it was not thrown. Francis
was then tried, as the lightest of the family; but throughout his
excursion I led the beast with a halter, that it might not throw him
off. Jack now showed some impatience to mount the animal in his
turn. I next passed the stick through the buffalo’s nose, and tied
strong packthread at each end of it, bringing them together over the
neck of the animal, and put this new-fangled bridle into the hands
of the young rider, directing him how to use it. For a time the lad
kept his saddle, notwithstanding the unruly gestures of the creature;
at length a side jolt threw him on the sand, without his receiving
much injury. Ernest, Fritz, and lastly myself, got on successively,
with more or less effect. His trotting shook us to the very centre,
the rapidity of his gallop turned us giddy, and our lessons in
horsemanship were reiterated many days before the animal was tamed,
and could be ridden with either safety or pleasure. At last, however,
we succeeded without any serious accident; and the strength and
swiftness of our saddled buffalo were prodigious. It seemed to sport
with the heaviest loads. My three eldest boys mounted it together now
and then, and it ran with them with the swiftness of lightning.
We now began to think of manufacturing our impenetrable boots without
seams, of the caoutchouc, or elastic-gum. I began with a pair for
myself; and I encouraged my children to afford a specimen of their
industry, by trying to form some flasks and cups that could not
break. They began by making some clay moulds, which they covered
with layers of gum, agreeably to the instructions I had given them.
In the meanwhile I filled a pair of stockings with sand, and covered
them with a layer of clay, which I first dried in the shade, and
afterwards in the sun. I then took a sole of buffalo leather, well
beaten, and studded round with tacks, which served me to fix it under
the foot of the stocking; after this I poured the liquid gum into all
the interstices, which, on drying, produced a close adhesion between
the leather and stocking sole. I next proceeded to smear the whole
with a coat of resin of a tolerable thickness; and as soon as this
layer was dried on, I put on another, and so on till I had applied a
sufficiency with my brush. After this I emptied the sand, drew out
the stocking, removed the hardened clay, shook off the dust, and thus
obtained a pair of seamless boots, as finished as if made by the best
English workman, being pliant, warm, soft, smooth, and completely
waterproof.
We had also been engaged in the construction of our fountain, which
afforded a perpetual source of pleasure to my wife, and indeed to
all of us. In the upper part of the stream we built with stakes and
stones a kind of dam, that raised the water sufficiently to convey
it into the palm-tree troughs; and afterwards, by means of a gentle
slope, to glide on contiguous to our habitation, where it fell
into the tortoiseshell basin, which we had elevated on stones to a
certain height for our convenience; and it was so contrived that
the redundant water passed off through a cane pipe fitted to it. I
placed two sticks athwart each other for the gourds, that served
as pales, to rest on; and we thus produced, close to our abode, an
agreeable fountain, delighting with its rill, and supplying us with
a pure crystal fluid, such as we frequently could not get when we
drew our water from the bed of the river, which was often encumbered
with the leaves and earth fallen into it, or rendered turbid by our
water-fowls.
CHAPTER XXVII
The Wild Ass--Difficulty in breaking it--The
Heath Fowl’s Nest
We were scarcely up one morning, and had just got to work in putting
the last hand to our winding staircase, when we heard at a distance
two strange kinds of voices, that resembled the howlings of wild
beasts mixed with hissings and sounds of some creature at its last
gasp; and I was not without uneasiness: our dogs too pricked up their
ears, and seemed to whet their teeth for a sanguinary combat with a
dangerous enemy.
From their looks we judged it prudent to put ourselves in a state of
defence; we loaded our guns and pistols, placed them together within
our castle in the tree, and repaired to repel vigorously any hostile
attack from that quarter. The howlings having ceased an instant, I
descended from our citadel, well armed, and put on our two faithful
guardians their spiked collars and side-guards; I assembled our
cattle about the tree to have them in sight, and I then re-ascended
to look around for the enemy’s approach.
At this instant the howlings were renewed, and almost close to us.
Fritz got as near the spot as he could, listened attentively, and
with eager looks, then threw down his gun, and burst into a loud
laughter, exclaiming, “Father, it is our ass! the deserter comes back
to us, chanting the hymn of return: listen! do you not hear his
melodious brayings in all the varieties of the gamut?” I listened,
and a fresh roar, in sounds unquestionable, raised loud peals of
laughter amongst us. Shortly after we had the satisfaction of seeing
among the trees our old friend Grizzle, moving towards us leisurely,
and stopping now and then to browse; but, to our great joy, he was
accompanied by one of his own species, of very superior beauty; and
when it was nearer, I knew it to be a fine onagra, or wild ass, which
I conceived a strong desire to possess, though at the same time aware
of the extreme difficulty there would be in taming and rendering
him subject to the use of man. Without delay I descended the ladder
with Fritz, desiring his brothers to keep still; and I consulted my
privy-counsellor on the means of surprising and taking the stranger
captive.