The Swiss family Robinson
In a word, we were in a most deplorable situation, when Heaven came
to our aid. The instrument that effected our deliverance was our poor
old jackass, the companion of our wanderings, and faithful servant.
The fodder that we happened to have in the grotto had diminished
frightfully: it was necessary to nourish the cow, as she contributed
in great part to our subsistence, and some must be taken from the
other animals. In this dilemma I resolved to set them at liberty,
and let them provide for their own nourishment. As inconvenient as
this measure was, it was better than to see us all dying of hunger,
shut up in the grotto. I thought that if we could get them on the
other side of the river they would find a plentiful supply of food,
and be in safety as long as the boa remained buried in the rushes. I
was afraid to cross Family Bridge, lest I should arouse the monster,
and I decided to ford at the spot where our first crossing was made.
My plan was to attach the animals together. Fritz, mounted on his
onagra, would direct the front of the procession, while I would take
care that the marsh was effected in good order. I recommended to my
son, at the first sign of the serpent’s presence, to fly, as fast as
his beast would carry him, to Falcon’s Nest. As to our animals, I
left to Providence the care of watching over and saving them. For my
part, I proposed to post myself on a rock that overlooked the marsh,
and in case of an attack on the part of the serpent, retreat to the
grotto, where a well-directed discharge of firearms would rid us of
him.
I then loaded all our arms; my sons were placed as videttes in
the dove-cot, with orders to observe the movements of the enemy,
while Fritz and I arranged our beasts as aforesaid. But a little
misunderstanding put an end to all my plans. My wife, who had charge
of the door, did not wait for the signal, and opened it before the
animals were attached together. The ass, who had grown very lively,
considering his age, by his three days’ rest and good feed, no sooner
saw a ray of light than he shot out of the door like an arrow, and
was away in the open plain before we could stop him. It was a comical
sight to see him kicking his heels in the air; and Fritz would have
mounted his onagra, and ridden out after him, but I restrained him,
and contented myself by trying every manner of persuasion to induce
the poor animal to come back. We called him by his name; we made
use of our cow-horn; but all was useless--the unruly fellow exulted
in his liberty, and, as if urged on by some fatality, he advanced
direct to the marsh. But what horror froze our veins when, suddenly,
we saw the horrid serpent emerging from the rushes! He elevated his
head about ten feet from the ground, darted out his forked tongue,
and crawled swiftly on toward the ass. The poor fellow soon saw his
danger, and began to run, braying with all his might; but neither his
cries nor his legs could save him from his terrible enemy, and in a
moment he was seized, enveloped, and crushed in the monstrous rings
that the serpent threw around him.
My wife and sons uttered a cry of terror, and we fled in haste to the
grotto, from whence we could view the horrible combat between the boa
and the ass. My children wanted to fire, and deliver, said they, the
poor jackass; but I forbade them to do it.
“What can you do,” said I, “with firearms? The boa is too much
occupied with his prey to abandon it, and, besides, if you wound
him, perhaps we may become the victims of his fury.” The loss of our
ass was great, it was true, but I hoped that it would save us from a
greater.
The boa proceeded with horrible avidity to his repast. The ass was
dead; we had heard his last bray stifled by the pressure of the
boa, and we could now distinctly hear the cracking of his bones.
The monster, to give himself more power, had wound his tail about a
piece of rock, which gave it the force of a lever. When the monster
judged his preparation sufficient, he commenced to swallow the prey
he had secured. We observed that as he advanced the animal lost his
strength; and when all had been swallowed he remained perfectly
torpid and insensible.
I saw that the time had now arrived, and I exclaimed, “Now, my
children, now the serpent is in our power!”
I then set out from the grotto, carrying my loaded gun in my hand;
Fritz followed close by my side; Jack came next, but the more timid
Ernest lingered behind. On approaching the reptile, I found that
my suppositions were right, and that it was the giant boa of the
naturalists. The serpent raised its head, and darting on me a look of
powerless anger, again let it fall.
Fritz and I fired together, and both our shots entered the skull
of the animal; but they did not produce death, and the eyes of the
serpent sparkled with rage. We advanced nearer, and, firing our
pistols directly through the eye, we saw its rings contract, a slight
quiver ran through its body, and it lay dead upon the sand before us,
stretched out like the mast of a ship.
CHAPTER XLII
Discovery of a Crystal Grotto--Further
Exploration
We had nothing more to fear from the neighbourhood of the boa; but
I was afraid it might have either left its mate (it was a female)
behind it, or else a nest of little ones, which in time would spread
terror through the land. I resolved, in consequence, to undertake two
expeditions--the one through the marsh, the other toward Falcon’s
Nest, through the passage in the rock, where I supposed the boa had
got through.
We set out loaded with our hunting equipage. We carried, besides our
arms, some boards, and the bladders of sea-dogs, to sustain us on the
water if necessary. The boards we wanted to assist us in our march;
for, by placing one before the other, and taking them up, we made a
solid walk of wood. This was a great convenience, and enabled us to
search the marsh thoroughly. We easily recognized traces of the boa;
the rushes were bent down where it had passed through, and there were
deep spiral impressions in the wet ground where it had rested its
enormous rings. But we discovered nothing that induced us to believe
that the boa had a companion: we found neither eggs, nor little
ones--nothing but a nest of dried rushes, and I did not think that
the boa had constructed even that. Arrived at the end of the marsh,
we made an interesting discovery; it was that of a new grotto, which
opened out of the rock, and out of which flowed a little stream that
passed on among the rushes of the marsh.
The grotto was hung with stalactites, which rose in immense columns
on each side, as if to sustain the vault, and formed themselves into
singular and beautiful designs. We remained some time in admiration
of this miracle of nature, and as we walked on, I remarked that the
ground upon which we trod was composed of an extremely fine and white
sort of earth, which, after examining it, I recognized as being
“fullers’ clay.” I immediately gathered some handfuls, and carefully
placed them in my pocket-handkerchief.
“Here,” said I to my sons, who were regarding me with astonishment,
“here is a discovery that will be very welcome to your mother;
and henceforth, if we bring her dirty clothes, we will bring her
something to wash them with, for here is soap.”
“I thought,” said Ernest, “that soap was the result of human
industry, and not a production of the earth.”
“You thought right; the soap that is ordinarily used is composed of
a certain salt, the acidity of which is corrected by the addition
of grease and so forth, which weakens its power greatly. But this
fabrication is tedious and costly, and men have been so fortunate as
to find a sort of earth in which is united certain qualities of the
soap; it is this we have found, and it is called ‘fullers’ clay,’
because it is used to clean woollen goods.”
We had approached the source of the spring while conversing; and
Fritz, who was a little in advance, cried out that the rock had a
large opening on one side. We ran forward, and soon found ourselves
in a new cavern. We fired off a pistol, and we were able to judge
by the echo that the grotto extended to a great distance. We then
lighted two candles, with which our knapsacks were provided; they
burned without obstacle, and the pure light assured us of the
salubrity of the air. Having left the others behind, Fritz and I
continued to advance, when suddenly we saw our torches reflected from
every side of the rock.
“Ah, papa,” cried Fritz, in a transport of joy, “see! see! a salt
grotto! look at the enormous blocks of salt lying at our feet.”
“You are very much mistaken, indeed,” I answered; “these masses are
not salt; if they were, the water which drips from the rock would
have melted them long ago; instead of salt it is crystal: we are
really in a palace of rock-crystal.”
“Better yet--a palace of crystal! what an immense treasure for us!”
“Yes; such a treasure as the gold mine was to Robinson Crusoe.”
When we reappeared at the entrance of the grotto, we found Jack
alone. He conducted us to the border of the swamp, where we found
Ernest tranquilly employed in making a rush basket such as fishermen
use, consisting of a frame of long stalks, terminated at the end by a
funnel, through which the fish passed, but could not return.
“Quick, quick!” he cried, when he saw us approaching, “I have killed
a young boa.”
We had been talking so much of serpents, etc., that the poor boy
had mistaken a superb eel, four feet in length, for a snake; he had
walked straight up to it, hit it two or three blows on the head with
his gun, with as much courage as would have sufficed to kill a dozen
boas.
The examination that I made of the snake humbled the pride of the
victor; but the eel was a great treat for us, and we returned home to
Felsenheim.
I had as yet only half accomplished my design, and there remained
all the country about the farmhouse yet unexplored; and besides, I
wished, if it were possible, by fortifying the passages in the rock,
to keep out all such visitors as the one we had lately received.
I made sure, before we set out, against any accident that might
happen: we took plenty of provisions, arms, vessels of all sorts,
torches to scare away all intruders on our night encampments, in
short, everything that would render our excursion safer and less
disagreeable.
We advanced in good order along the avenue of Falcon’s Nest, and
discovered the marks of the boa’s progress half effaced by the wind.
We found everything in good order at the Nest; the harvest and the
fruit-trees gave promise of an abundant crop. The goats and sheep
received us joyfully, and came up of their own accord to receive some
salt we threw them in passing. We did not stop, as the Lake farmhouse
was the object of our expedition; and we wished to arrive as soon as
possible, in order to gather, before night, cotton enough to make
some pillows and mattresses that might render our slumbers more
agreeable.
The farther we advanced, the fewer traces we found of the serpent. We
could not see a single monkey in the cocoa-wood; and the crowing of
our cocks, mingled with the bleating of our herds, gave promise of
good order at the farmhouse; and we were not disappointed. As soon as
we arrived, our good housekeeper set about procuring us some dinner,
while we went to gather the cotton.
After dinner I announced that we would immediately commence our
search, and we divided into three parties, each one charged to
explore a part of the country. Ernest and his mother had, for their
division, the guard of the provisions and the collection of all the
ripe blades in the rice-field; to defend them we left our brave dog