The Swiss family Robinson
worn-out beavers; but they were an excellent protection against the
rays of the sun.
“What a pity,” said Fritz, as we examined the gigantic proportions
of the bird, “what a pity to have put such a magnificent bird to
death!--how beautiful it would have looked stalking among our
domestic animals!”
While we were talking, Jack and Ernest, who had followed the jackal,
made some great discovery, and we soon saw them waving their plumed
hats in the air, and shouting to us to hurry on,
“A nest!” they cried, “an ostrich’s nest!--Quick--quick!”
We hurried on, and found the two boys standing over a large
ostrich-nest--if we can dignify a hole dug in the ground by the name
of nest--in which were symmetrically arranged from twenty-five to
thirty eggs, each as large as a child’s head.
My sons wanted to carry away the ostrich-eggs; they would hatch them,
they said, by exposing them in the daytime to the rays of the sun,
and wrapping them up as warm as possible at night.
I observed to Fritz, who made the proposal, that each of these
eggs weighed about three pounds, and the whole number about one
hundred pounds, and that, having neither equipage nor beast, it
would be impossible to transport them across a desert, through which
we could hardly drag our arms and knapsacks; besides, I doubted
whether artificial heat could replace the natural influence. But
the children had got the idea into their heads, and they agreed
that each one should take one egg, which he should carry in his
pocket-handkerchief. The little boys soon repented of their
agreement, and they changed their burden from hand to hand, with
all the signs of ennui and fatigue. I came to their assistance, and
advised them to cut some branches from a low sort of pine that grew
about the rocks, and make a basket to carry their eggs, as the Dutch
milk-women carry their milk-pots. My plan succeeded admirably, and my
boys began their march without the slightest complaint.
We then arrived at the borders of a swamp that seemed to be formed
by the confluence of several springs that flowed from the rocks;
we could trace the marks of the dogs and the monkey, and recognized
this as the place where they had wet themselves. We could perceive,
in the distance, troops of buffaloes, monkeys, and antelopes, but so
far from us that we took no further notice of them; nothing, however,
indicated to us the presence of a boa, or that such animals resided
here. We halted at this marsh, and refreshed ourselves with some
provisions; and then, filling our empty gourds with water, prepared
to depart, when we perceived the jackal had made a discovery. It
was a round object which he had dug out of the sand with his paws;
it resembled a mass of moist earth, and I threw it into the water
to clean it, when, what was my astonishment to see it move! I took
it out, and, on examining it, discovered it to be a turtle of the
smallest kind, scarcely as large as an apple.
“How is this?” said Fritz. “I thought that turtles inhabited the sea
only.”
“Who knows?” said Ernest; “perhaps there has been a shower of turtles
here, as the Romans formerly had a shower of frogs.”
“Stop there,” said I to the philosopher; “your irony does not show
your learning. Perhaps you do not know that there are land as well as
sea-turtles. They are not only found in swamps, but even in gardens,
where they subsist on snails, caterpillars, and all sorts of insects.”
“Well, then,” replied Ernest, “let us carry some home to mamma. She
would like them to put in her garden; we will also put one in our
cabinet of natural history.”
CHAPTER XLV
Bears! Bears!--Narrow Escape--The Combat--Discovery
of Porcelain Earth
We quitted the borders of the swamp; but, instead of directing our
steps through the desert, we followed a little stream of water that
led us to the rock where we had reposed on our first excursion into
the savanna. It was a delicious route in comparison with our painful
journey of the morning. We found trees, grass--in short, it was a
little oasis in the desert, and we named it “Green Valley.”
We were yet distant about half an hour’s journey from the jackal’s
grotto; Jack and Fritz had stopped a moment to adjust their burdens,
and I also stopped with them, while Ernest marched forward, followed
by Folb.
“The philosopher is in a hurry to get home,” said Jack, laughing; “he
runs that he may be rested first.”
But scarcely had the fellow finished his sentence, when we heard a
cry of distress; it was the voice of Ernest, followed by two terrible
howls, mingled with the barking of the dog. A moment after, Ernest
reappeared; he was running at full speed, his face deadly pale, and
he cried out in a voice stifled with fear--
“Bears! bears! they are following me”; and the poor boy fell into my
arms more dead than alive. I had not time to reassure him, and I felt
myself seized with a sudden shiver, as an enormous bear appeared,
immediately followed by a second.
“Courage, children,” was all I could say. I seized my gun, and
prepared to receive the enemy. Fritz did the same; and, with a
courage and coolness far above his years, he took his place by my
side. Jack also took his gun, but remained in the rear; while Ernest,
who had no arms--for in his fright he had let his gun fall--took to
his heels and ran away.
But our dogs were already at the attack, and they had commenced
to measure themselves with their terrible adversaries. We fired
together; and, although our shots did not bring down the enemy, they
nevertheless told well: one of the bears had a jaw broken, the other
a shoulder fractured. But the combat was not yet finished: they were
only partially disabled. Our faithful servants did prodigies of
valour; they fought most desperately, rolling in the dust with their
enemies, while their blood poured in streams on the sand. We would
have fired again, but we were afraid that we should kill the dogs, it
being impossible, during the changing contest, to take any aim. We
resolved to advance nearer, and, at about four paces from the bears,
we discharged our pistols direct at their heads. The huge animals
gave a groan that caused us to shudder, and then fell back motionless
on the sand.
It was too late to meddle with the animals, and we took the
precaution, before leaving, to draw the two carcasses into the
jackal’s cave, and cover them with thorn-bushes, to keep off all
carnivorous beasts and birds of prey; we also buried our ostrich-eggs
in the sand, as their weight retarded our march greatly, and we could
leave them here until the morrow.
The sun was set when we rejoined my dear companion and our little
Francis. A good fire and a well-cooked supper refreshed our weary
bodies, and my little heroes commenced a long narration of the
exploits of the day, Master Jack making up for the small share he had
had in our victory by boasting and swaggering enough for all.
My wife and Francis had not been idle during our absence; they had
discovered on the banks of a stream a sort of greasy, white earth,
which appeared to me to be fine pipeclay. They had also collected
water enough for the use of our domestic animals, and, by the
force of industry and perseverance, had amassed, at the entrance
of the defile, a quantity of materials necessary for my projected
fortification.
I thanked my good wife for the pains she had taken. We then lighted a
large fire to guard us through the night, and our dogs, whose wounds
my wife had washed and dressed with fresh butter, lay down beside it.
I wished, before retiring for the night, to make a trial of the earth
my wife had found, for I suspected that it was porcelain. I made two
roughly-shaped bowls from it, and threw them into a furnace of hot
cinders, and we then all retired to the tent, where sweet sleep soon
sealed our eyelids. The next morning it required a strong effort to
tear us from our beds, so wearied out had we been the preceding day.
I found my two bowls hardened by the heat; they were, as I supposed,
porcelain, rather coarse-grained, but well enough for our purposes.
We breakfasted in haste; the beasts were harnessed to the cart, and,
after a pleasant little ride, we arrived safe and sound at the cavern
of the bears.
CHAPTER XLVI
Preparation of the Bears’ Flesh--Cups out of
Ostrich Eggs--Angora Rabbits and
Antelopes
We devoted a whole day to the preparation of the bears’ flesh. After
having skinned them with the utmost care and precaution, I cut off
the hams, and then divided the rest of the meat into long strips,
about an inch in thickness, and we exposed the whole to a good
current of smoke, as the ancient buccaneers used to do. The grease
was collected in bamboo canes, and carefully preserved; for, besides
its use in the kitchen, my wife said it was excellent on bread in
lieu of butter. We had about a hundred pounds of fat, together with
that which the peccaries had afforded us a few days before; we
abandoned the carcasses to our dogs, and they, aided by the birds of
prey, soon picked the bones so clean, that there remained nothing
but two perfectly white, dry skeletons, which we carried home with
us for our museum. As for the skins, they were carefully washed with
salt water, and rubbed with sand and ashes; and although our talents
in the art of currying were poor enough, we rendered the skins
sufficiently soft for all purposes.
Our labours had been too peaceful for the restless, turbulent
character of my boys. I could see that they were tired and fretful,
and I thought that the best plan would be to diversify our work with
some amusement. I proposed to them to make an excursion alone in the
desert; my proposition, as one may suppose, was joyfully received,
and the perspective of an unchecked course rallied the flagging
spirits of my little companions. Ernest refused to accompany them,
preferring to remain at home with us. On the other hand, Francis was
so eager to accompany his brothers, that I at last permitted him to
go.
My wife and I resumed our domestic labours, and Ernest, tranquilly
seated on the sand, occupied himself in making cups from ostrich
eggs; for we had discovered, by putting our eggs into hot water,
that the principle of life was exhausted. Ernest had read of a plan
somewhere to separate the eggs by surrounding them with a string
steeped in strong vinegar. The action of the acid on the lime
contained in the shell forms a circular line, which gradually eats
through; but the lining membrane of the egg was so hard, that it
was necessary to cut it with a knife; it had all the elasticity of
parchment.
We soon quitted this occupation to undertake another. While examining
a small cavern which we had discovered near the tent, I found
several minerals, among others, a piece of amianth, known as being
incombustible; and also a superb block of talc, as transparent as
glass, and which I resolved to fashion into window panes. Ernest
aided me as much as he was able, and we soon detached a splendid
piece, about two feet in length, and the same in thickness. My
wife, who received everything that could recall Europe to her mind
with pleasure, was overjoyed at our new discovery, especially when
I informed her that this mineral could be divided into leaves no
thicker than paper.
We had been thus occupied the best part of the day, and, as evening
approached, we gathered around our hearth, where our good housewife
was cooking two bear’s paws, which had been well soaked in brine,
and the smell of which, as it escaped from the pot, promised us
a delicious supper; and we sat down to while away the time in