The Swiss family Robinson
hoping that the European sorts would sprout quicker and more easily
on account of the moisture of the atmosphere.
My wife made us sacks of canvas which we filled, and by the aid of
our patient beasts carried to the magazines, where they were emptied
into large hogsheads prepared for them. But these labours were not
accomplished without much trouble; for as we had planted our corn
and wheat at different times, we were obliged to choose out the ripe
stalks from a whole field--a work of no small difficulty. I resolved
to devise some plan for a more regular cultivation the next year.
We had a pair of buffaloes for all the labour that would have to be
done; and all that was required, in addition to our present stock
of harness, was a double yoke, which I intended to make during our
winter seclusion.
But the rains had already commenced; several times we had been
visited by heavy showers, which hastened our remaining occupations.
By degrees the horizon became covered with thick clouds, the winds
swept fearfully along the coast, the billows rose, and for the space
of fifteen days we were witnesses of a scene of whose majesty and
terrific grandeur man cannot form an idea. Nature seemed overturned,
the trees bent to the terrible blasts, the lightning and the
thunder were mingled with the wind and the storm; in one word, it
was a concert of Nature’s many voices, where the deep tones of the
thunder served for the bass, and harmoniously blended with the sharp
whistlings of the storm. It seemed to us that the storm of last year
had been nothing in comparison to it. Nevertheless, the winds began
to calm, and the rain, instead of beating down upon us in torrents,
began to fall with that despair-inspiring uniformity, which we felt
would last for twelve long weeks. The first moments of our seclusion
were sad enough, but necessity reconciled us to our situation, and
we began as cheerfully as possible to arrange the interior of our
subterranean habitation.
We devoted our attention first to a crowd of minor wants which we
only discovered by occupation, but yet were of primary necessity. I
have said that our apartments were all on one floor; but the ground
had not been carefully levelled, and we set to work to fill up the
cavities and cut away the projections, so as to prevent any of us
from breaking our necks. The fountain I had made did not answer the
purpose, and the one great necessity of a good supply of water was
as yet unprovided for. We also made tables and chairs, prepared for
all the exigencies of our position, and endeavoured to render our
long confinement as supportable as possible. But there was yet an
inconvenience. We had not imagined we wanted light. There were but
three openings in the grotto, besides the door: one in the kitchen,
one in the work-room, and a third in my sleeping-chamber. The boys’
room, and all the rest of our habitation, was plunged in the most
complete darkness. The light never penetrated into the recesses
of the grotto. I discovered that three or four more windows were
necessary; but they could not be made before the return of fine
weather, and I devised the following remedy for the defect.
Among the bamboos that I had procured as leaders for the water, was
one of great size, which I had preserved. This bamboo I found by
chance was just the height of our grotto. I trimmed it, and planted
it in the ground about a foot deep, surrounding it with props to
make it steady. I then gave Jack a hammer, a pulley, and a rope,
and, appealing to his agility, I asked him to climb the pole. In a
moment he was at the top, and, after having driven the pulley into
the roof of the grotto, and thrown the cord over it, he descended
safely to the ground. I then suspended to one end of the cord a
large lantern which we found in the ship. Francis and my wife were
officially charged with its supervision, and, thanks to the thousand
reflectors which lined the sides of the rock, our grotto was as light
as if it had been broad day. The light was an immense benefit to us,
and enabled us to carry on our different occupations with zeal and
comfort.
Ernest and Francis charged themselves with the task of arranging
our library, and disposing, in its different shelves, the works we
had saved from the wreck. Jack aided his mother in the kitchen; and
Fritz, being stronger than his brothers, assisted me in the work-room.
We arranged there, by the window, a superb English turning-lathe,
with all its equipments. I had often amused myself by turning in my
younger days, and I now could put my knowledge of the art to some
use. We also constructed a forge; anvils were fixed in large blocks
of wood, and all the tools of the wheelwright and the cooper were
laid out in long array on the racks I had put up next the wall. Our
shop began to assume a business-like appearance, of which I was
proud; and often did I congratulate myself that I had sufficiently
acquainted myself, in youth, with mechanics to prevent their being
entirely new to me.
The grotto every day grew more agreeable, and we were enabled to
wait without ennui for the welcome light of the sun. We had our
work-room, our dining-room, and our library, where we could refresh
our minds after the fatigues of the body; for the cases we had saved
from the ship contained a quantity of books which had belonged to
the captain and officers. Besides Bibles and books of devotion, we
found works on history, botany, philosophy, voyages, and travels,
some enriched with engravings, which were a real treasure to us. We
had also maps, several mathematical and astronomical instruments, a
portable globe--an English invention, which blew up like a balloon;
but the sort of works which prevailed were grammars and dictionaries
of different nations: they generally form the chief stock of ship
libraries.
We all knew a little of French, for this is as much in use as
German throughout Switzerland. Fritz and Ernest had commenced to
learn English at Zurich, and I had myself paid some attention to
the language, in order to superintend their education. I now urged
them to continue their studies, as English was the language of the
sea, and there were very few ships that did not contain some one
who understood it. Jack, who knew nothing at all, began to pay some
attention to Spanish and Italian, the pomp and melody of these two
languages according with his character. As for myself, I laboured
hard to master the Malay tongue; for the inspection of charts and
maps convinced me that we were in the neighbourhood of these people.
Our grotto grew every day so comfortable that the children could
not think of any name suitable to call it by: some wanted it called
The Fairy Palace, others The Resplendent Grotto; but after a long
discussion, we came to the conclusion that it should be called simply
“Felsenheim,” or the dwelling in the rock. Time rolled away so
rapidly in all these occupations, that two months of the rainy season
had elapsed, and I had not yet found time to make my double yokes, or
a new pair of carding-combs, that my wife had teased me for a long
time.
CHAPTER XXXVIII
Close of the Rainy Season--A Whale--Coral
The end of the month of August was marked by a renewal of the bad
weather. The rain, the winds, the thunder redoubled with new fury.
How happy we were in the habitation we had made. What would have
become of us in our aërial palace at Falcon’s Nest? and our tent, how
could that have withstood the storm? But at last the weather became
more settled; the clouds dissipated; the rain ceased; and we were
able to venture out from our grotto, to see whether the world yet
remained firm.
We promenaded upon the belt of rocks that extended all along the
coast; and, as we had need of liberty and exercise, we took pleasure
in scaling the highest peaks, and looking over the plain which was
spread out beneath us. Fritz, always daring, and whose eye almost
rivalled that of his eagle, was standing upon the peak of rocks, when
he perceived, upon the little island in Flamingo Bay, a black spot,
the nature and form of which he could not determine; but he thought
it was a shipwrecked vessel. Ernest, who mounted after him, took
it for a sea-lion, such as Admiral Anson speaks of in his voyages.
I determined to go and inspect it myself. We walked down to the
sea-shore, emptied the rain-water from the canoe, and all set off.
The nearer we approached, the more rapidly one conjecture followed
another. At last, when we were near enough to distinguish it, what
was our surprise to see an enormous whale, lying on his side upon the
strand.
Being ignorant whether he was dead or sleeping, I did not think it
prudent to approach without precaution; consequently we turned around
and steered for the other side of the island, which consisted of
nothing more than a sand-bank elevated above the waves; but a rank
growth of herbs and plants covered it, and it was the resort of
numbers of sea-birds, whose nests and eggs we found in abundance.
There were two roads to choose, by which to reach the whale: one
by climbing over the rocks, which rendered it laborious; the other
longer, but far the less fatiguing. I took the first path, and
commanded the boys to take the other, as I wished to examine fully
this little island, which wanted but trees to render it charming.
From this elevation I could see the whole coast, from Tent House to
Falcon’s Nest, which spectacle made me almost forget the whale; and
when I reached the side where my children were, they came running
toward me, screaming with joy, and carrying their hats full of shells
and coral, which they had picked up on the beach. “Look, papa,” said
they, “what beautiful shells we have found; what can have brought
them here?”
“It is the sea, my children,” I answered; “the sea has thrown them up
from its abyss, and it appears to be little cause for astonishment
that she should bring such frail, light things as these shells, when
she has thrown upon our shores a monster whose bulk is so immense.”
On the return journey I related to my sons the phenomena of
the existence of coral; and, while talking, we arrived at our
destination, where my wife and son were ready to receive us. She
admired the beauty of our coral, but observed that it was of no use
in the household affairs; and when I had told her my resolution to
return to the whale that afternoon, she cheerfully declared that
she would accompany me. I was enchanted at this resolution, and we
hastened to prepare the necessary provisions and articles for a stay
of two days; for, perhaps, we might be detained on the island, and I
thought it best to make preparations accordingly.
CHAPTER XXXIX
The Whale, its dissection--Uses of the different
parts of the Whale
After dinner, which we partook of an hour earlier than usual, I made
a search for some barrels in which to put the blubber of the whale,
I did not want to take the empty barrels we had at Falcon’s Nest
and Felsenheim, as I knew that it would be impossible to remove the
disagreeable smell of oil. My wife reminded me that we yet had four
tubs in our boat, which would answer my purpose very well. I fastened
them to the stern of the canoe; and, after having armed my sons with
knives, and hatchets, and saws, and all the cutting-instruments I
could find, we weighed anchor, and directed our course toward the
island where the whale lay.
Our whale looked like those of Greenland: the back was greenish
black, the stomach yellowish, the fins and tail black. I immediately
measured it, and I found that it was between sixty and seventy feet
long, and about forty in diameter, which is about the ordinary size