The Swiss family Robinson
“Yes, somersets,” replied Fritz. “Every monkey, after having buried
his teeth as far as possible in the root, turns himself violently
over, backward, and repeats the exercise until his reiterated efforts
have drawn the precious root from the ground.”
The monkey root, or ginseng, made its appearance at supper, and was
pronounced excellent; but as its aromatic nature made it more of a
medicine than an article of food, I forbade its frequent use, while I
enjoined my wife to plant a few roots in our garden.
The next morning I took a certain quantity of the liquid
india-rubber, which I mixed with the turpentine, and placed the
mixture over the fire; and, while the glue was thickening, I sent
the boys into the copse to gather a quantity of little twigs which
I needed. They soon brought me a large quantity, which I made them
dip in the glue and fasten to the branches of the fig-trees, the
fruit of which I observed was very much liked by the ortolans,[4]
thrushes, and beccafigoes,[5] who frequented the place. I discovered
that we had but seen the last of the season the preceding year, as
at present the birds were so numerous that a blind man firing into
the tree could not have failed to bring down a large number of them.
The abundance of game suggested another idea to my mind; I thought
that if the ortolans were so numerous during the day they would
not be less so at night, and I resolved to try, an imitation of
the Americans in Virginia, the experiment of a hunt with torches,
persuaded that it would be more expeditious and successful than
taking the birds by snares.
But my boys, while employed at making the snares, had been taken
in their own trap. Hands, faces and clothes were all covered with
glue, and one could not touch them without getting besmeared. They
were all in great consternation, and their good mother also, for she
had but very little clean linen to spare them. I calmed their fears
by assuring them that some ashes and water would remedy all the
disorder, and wash out all the stains.
I rallied them a little on their awkwardness. “I knew very well,”
said I, “that my glue would trap the birds; but I had no idea it
would catch little boys.”
I then taught them how to avoid the inconveniences of gluing their
fingers, by plunging a packet of five or six twigs, by the aid of a
pair of pincers, into the glue, instead of dipping them in singly.
They adopted the plan, which succeeded perfectly. When I had made
a sufficient quantity, Jack and Fritz climbed into the tree, and
placed the branches of fig-trees, covered with the snares, among the
limbs of the tree; and it was not long before we saw the unfortunate
ortolans falling to the ground in numbers, their legs and wings stuck
fast in the glue. But, although the fowling was so abundant, the
labour was very fatiguing, for the branches to which Fritz and Jack
had to climb were as much as sixty or seventy feet from the ground.
I placed a great deal of confidence in my torches, and I arranged
the materials for making them, in which turpentine was a powerful
auxiliary.
While I was thus occupied, Jack brought me a beautiful bird, much
larger than an ortolan, which had been taken in the snare.
“I am very certain,” said Ernest, who had approached, and who, with
his observing eye, had already recognized the bird, “I am very sure
that it is one of our European pigeons, one of the young ones from
those who built their nests last year in the branches of the tree.”
I took the bird from Jack’s hands, and recognized with pleasure that
Ernest’s conjecture was true. I rubbed the ends of his wings and his
feet with ashes to clean them from the glue, and I put him in a cage
with the intention of adding a dove-cot to our domestic property. We
captured others, and at night we had in our possession two fine pairs
of wood-pigeons.
But, notwithstanding our hard labour during the day, we were not able
to fill more than one barrel. I enjoined my sons to take notice of
the trees on which the ortolans roosted during the night. The bark of
two or three of the fig-trees which were covered with the excrements
of the birds decided the matter; and, after supper, and a few minutes
of rest, I commenced my preparations. These were few in number, and
consisted of two or three long bamboo canes, two bags, torches of
resin, and some sugar-canes. Fritz, my grand huntsman, regarded me
with a look of incredulity. He could not understand how, with these
strange instruments, I could realize the prodigies I prophesied.
We set out; and the night--which succeeds immediately to the day in
these climates--soon overshadowed the earth. Arrived at the foot of
the trees that we had chosen, I lighted up my torches, and scarcely
had the flame begun to burn, than a cloud of ortolans fell down
around us, and began to fly wildly around the flickering flames.
“Well, gentlemen,” said I to my sons, “you see that my stratagem has
proved not to be a bad idea. Now is your time; I have placed the game
within your reach; you have but to extend your hand, and you are
masters.”
I then armed each one with a bamboo cane, and set them an example
by striking right and left among the mass of ortolans. They fell
as thick and fast as rain, and we soon filled two large bags. Our
flambeaux, however, would only last long enough to light us back to
Falcon’s Nest; and as the sacks were too heavy for me alone to carry,
we placed them crosswise on the bamboo poles, and thus carried them
very easily.
We arrived safely at Falcon’s Nest, and, before we retired to rest,
looked over our game, and terminated the sufferings of those poor
birds that had not been killed by the blows. The next day, every one
put his hand to the work of cleaning and preparing our game--a very
disagreeable, although necessary, task. We filled two barrels with
ortolans, half roasted, and packed down in butter.
FOOTNOTES:
[4] _Ortolan_, not unlike the yellow-hammer.
[5] _Beccafigo_, or _Fig-eater_, about the size of a
linnet; both these birds feed on fruits and berries,
and are much prized for the delicacy of their flesh;
a very large trade is carried on from the island of
Cyprus with the former.
CHAPTER XXXV
The Dove-Cot and its Management
My wife took care of my pigeons, and approved of the plan of a
dove-cot; consequently the waggon was immediately loaded with
provisions, and all that was necessary for an excursion of some days,
and we set out for the grotto. As soon as we arrived, I chose that
part of the rock next our grotto as the situation of our dove-cot;
and as the rock, after the outside layer was pierced, became softer,
we soon made an excavation ten feet high, and large enough to
contain twenty pairs of pigeons; two perches ran through the whole
length, and, projecting out in front, with a board nailed across,
formed a platform, which we protected by a slight roof; a door with
a hole to admit light closed the front; and a rope ladder suspended
from one of the perches enabled us to mount up, and look after the
inhabitants. It cost us several weeks of constant labour to finish
the construction, fix the boards strongly in their places, cover the
inside with a coat of plaster, to prevent humidity, and arrange the
perches, the nests, etc.
“There is the edifice,” said I to Fritz; “but where are the
inhabitants? We must call into action all our knowledge to find a way
to force our wild stranger pigeons to dwell in the new habitation
we have provided for them; and, besides, they must not only remain
themselves, but must bring their companions with them.”
“It appears to me, father, that nothing short of sorcery will do it.”
“Sorcery or not, difficult as it appears, I am going to try it;
and I have strong hopes of succeeding, with the assistance you can
afford me. It is to a pigeon merchant that I owe the secret which I
am about to put into practice. I will not warrant its success, for
I have never tried it; but it consists in perfuming a new dove-cot
with anise. The pigeons, it is said, are so fond of the odour of this
plant that they will return themselves every night to respire its
perfume; and it is in this manner that they insensibly change their
country life for that of the pigeon-house.”
“Nothing can be easier,” replied Fritz. “The plant of anise that Jack
brought will do the business. We can break the seeds on a stone; and
if the oil is not as pure as that of the chemists, it will not be
less useful or less aromatic.”
“I think as you do,” I answered; “and I am very glad that I permitted
Jack to plant a root that appeared to me to be so valueless.”
We then proceeded to make the oil of anise. I rubbed the door of
the dove-cot, the perches, and every place where the pigeons could
touch either feet or wings with it. I then mixed a sort of dough
with anise, salt, and clay, and, after having placed it in the
middle of the dove-cot, we put in the pigeons, which we had kept in
willow-baskets while their habitation was building. We shut them up,
with provision for two days, and then left them to enjoy at their
leisure the odour of the anise.
When our boys had returned from our kitchen-garden at the end of
that time, we formally announced to them that the pigeons had taken
possession of their new abode. In a moment they flew to the ladder,
in eager haste to get a sight of the new inhabitants. The two
windows of isinglass which I had placed in the door were raised
by the curious, and I saw with pleasure that, instead of being
frightened at the new objects that surrounded them, our prisoners
appeared to have become quite tame; and when I entered, they took no
more notice of me than a domestic pigeon would have done.
Two days more passed away, and I became curious myself to know the
result of my _sorcery_.
On the morning of the third day I awoke Fritz very early, and
commanded him to rub anew with anise the door, which was made to
rise up and down by means of a pulley. He did it, and we then went,
without saying anything about our preparations, to awake the still
sleeping family. I then announced that the day of liberty for our
prisoners had arrived, and now they were to be free.
All now took their stations. I gave the cord of the door into Jack’s
hands; and, scarcely able to keep my countenance, I described a
magic circle with a wand, and, after having murmured a pretended
conjuration, I ordered Jack to pull up the cord.
The pigeons poked their heads cautiously out of the hole, then
advanced on the platform, and suddenly soared up to such a height
that they were lost to our sight. But in a few moments they again
flew down, and settled, tranquilly, upon the platform they had just
quitted.
This incident, which I did not expect, gave new proofs of my dealings
in magic, and I cried out, in the most serious manner, “I knew very
well, when they flew up in the clouds, that they were not lost.”
“How could you possibly know that?” said Ernest.
“Because my charms have attached them to the dove-cot,” was my answer.
“Charms!” cried Jack; “are you, then, a sorcerer, papa?”
“Simpleton!” replied Ernest; “who ever _heard_ of sorcerers?”
At that moment the pigeons, who had been quietly picking on the
ground, attracted our attention. The two Molucca pigeons suddenly
quitted their European brothers, and flew off in the direction of
Falcon’s Nest, with such rapidity that soon they were lost to our
view.
“Adieu, gentlemen,” cried Jack, as they darted away, taking his hat
off and making a thousand faces; “adieu, a pleasant trip to you.”
My wife and Francis commenced to deplore the loss of our two handsome
pigeons, while I, preserving as serious a look as possible, stretched