The Swiss family Robinson
“It is almost a telegraphic despatch,” said I, laughing; “it could
not be more concise. Our huntsmen would rather fire a gun than write
a sentence; nevertheless, their letter tranquillizes me; but I really
hope that the hyena which they killed is the only one in the country.”
We received other letters at intervals; but they were so concise that
I will continue here the narration the boys made on their return.
Delivered from the terrible neighbourhood of the hyena, they had
undertaken to explore the marsh around the Lake of Swans. Fritz
embarked in the cajack, and his brothers followed, as near as
possible to him, along the shore. The black swans afforded a fine
chase to our young huntsmen. A loop of wire fastened to a long bamboo
was the means they employed; but they captured only three young
swans, the old ones being too strong, and defending themselves with
their powerful wings.
After the swans came a bird of a new kind, which, by his majestic
walk and noble appearance, seemed the king of birds. The boys threw
the wire loop over his head, and, drawing him to the shore, fastened
his feet and wings, and laid him alongside the swans.
While they were occupied in examining their magnificent prey, which
Ernest afterward pronounced to be the “heron royal,” an extraordinary
animal rushed out from the weeds, and passing close to their sides,
struck them with terror. It was an animal about the size of a young
foal, of a form like that of the rhinoceros, only it had not the horn
on the nose which that animal has; the upper lip was very prominent,
and the whole body of a very dark brown colour. My three huntsmen
were not very distinguished naturalists, and the best name they could
find for the beast was the Tapir or Anta of South America,
Fritz began to pursue it in his cajack; but the tapir swam away so
rapidly that he was soon obliged to desist. During this time Jack and
Francis had set out for the hut, carrying with them the black swans
and the beautiful heron royal. In their way thither they encountered
a flock of cranes, which hovered around their heads, uttering
piercing cries. A great number were soon brought down, not by
firearms, but by the bows which the boys carried. These were provided
with long, triangular-pointed arrows.
Fritz, on rejoining his brothers, felt a little piqued when he
perceived, from their trophies, the fine chase that they had made;
and, on the other hand, his unsuccessful pursuit of the tapir made
him a little ashamed. He wished to retrieve his honour and repair
the damage which his reputation as a good hunter had sustained; so,
calling the dogs to him, and accompanied by his eagle, he directed
his course toward the wood of guavas. He had not been there more
than a quarter of an hour before his dogs started a flock of the
most beautiful birds Fritz had ever seen. He cast off his eagle, and
while it was pursuing one, a second fell down from fright into his
hands. He also captured a third, which had become entangled in a
shrub. This last was a magnificent one. Its tail was more than two
feet in length, and two of the feathers were longer than the others,
and glowed with the most beautiful shades of gold, green, and brown,
terminated at the end by a spot of black, exactly like velvet. Ernest
recognized it afterward as being the Bird of Paradise, the _manu
cordiata_, which is the most elegant in form and plumage of all the
birds of New Holland.
Our huntsmen, after all their exertions, had acquired a most
ferocious appetite; and although their repast was frugal, yet they
did it ample justice. The cold meat of the peccary, guavas, cinnamon
apples, and potatoes cooked in the ashes, were all devoured with
thankfulness. The pemmican alone was disdained, and declared unworthy
of its reputation.
And now another despatch arrived, which filled me with anxiety. It
contained the following words--
“The palisade of the defile which leads to the savanna is
destroyed; the sugar-canes have been all trampled down,
and we have discovered large footprints, like those of
the elephant, in the sand. There are also the prints of
the hoofs of wild horses. Come quickly to our aid, dear
parents; there is much to do for the safety of the colony.
Lose not an instant, we beg of you.”
I leave it to the reader to imagine the inquietude into which this
letter threw me. I saddled the onagra without losing a moment, and,
leaving Ernest and his mother to follow me on the next day, I set off
for the defile. There was a distance of six leagues between my sons
and me; but I accomplished it in three hours.
My children were surprised to see me arrive so promptly, and they
received me with transports of joy. The idea I had entertained of
the devastation was but faint in comparison with the reality. The
sugar-canes were irretrievably lost: they had been trampled down, and
the leaves torn off, by some animal that I was sure must have been an
elephant. All our trouble in erecting the palisade had been wasted;
the stakes had been all torn up, the trees near by deprived of their
bark, the bamboos had been treated no better than the sugar-canes,
and every young shrub I had planted had been torn up. I examined
attentively the footprints in the sand, and was convinced that the
larger ones were those of the elephant, and the smaller ones those
of a hippopotamus; but I could discover no traces of the hyena.
I surrounded our tent with dry branches, and amassed an abundant
provision of combustibles, so that we might keep off any beasts by
fires at night.
Ernest and his mother arrived after dinner, bringing with them
the waggon, the cow, the ass, and all necessary utensils for our
encampment, which was likely to last a good while.
We immediately began the construction of a solid fortification across
the defile, one that would effectually keep out all intruders. I will
spare my readers the details of this tiresome work, which occupied
us constantly for more than a month. My good Elizabeth shared in our
toils, and inspired her sons with ardour and perseverance. Sometimes
we would relax from our labours; Fritz would make excursions in his
cajack, and the other boys would wander off, and always bring us home
something useful.
CHAPTER LIII
The Redoubt--Valuable Discoveries--The
Cacao Tree--The Banana--Crocodiles and
Alligators--Tea Plant--Artillery and
Fortification of Shark Island
Our next labour was to construct some sort of a fort to shelter us
whenever we might visit the defile. We had not strength enough to
build a regular fort; and besides, our knowledge of fortification was
very limited. At last Fritz thought of a plan of a Kamschatdale fort,
which he had read of somewhere, and which I thought, with a little
improvement, would answer admirably.
The Kamschatdale fort simply consists of four high stones, upon which
are laid planks and boards, forming a platform upon which a hut of
bark or branches is constructed--not a very formidable fortress
certainly; but yet capable of defending us in case of an attack from
wild beasts.
Instead of four stones for the foundation, we chose out four trees
to answer the same purpose. We did not cut the branches off close,
but left them as rests for the beams of our platform. We surrounded
our platform with a high and strong network of rushes and branches,
leaving an opening for entrance; and we covered the roof with the
waterproof leaves of the Talipot palm. These leaves grow so large
that ten men can be covered by one of them. Our fort bore a strong
resemblance to Falcon’s Nest; and, surrounded as it was by green
trees and flourishing verdure, it did not look much like a military
construction.
To ascend to the platform, we employed one of the simplest means I
could imagine: it was by a beam which descended perpendicularly to
the ground, and notched deeply into steps. We also arranged this so
that it could be raised and lowered at pleasure.
Fritz and Jack promised themselves wonders from our new fort, which
overlooked the savanna for a great distance, and we could see the
river running like a silver thread through the immense plain; and by
means of spy-glasses we could discern troops of buffaloes and other
animals feeding around the brink.
Our labours at the fort were diversified by some important
discoveries. One day Fritz made an excursion to the river of the
savanna, and found among the rich vegetation there some unknown
shrubs, of which he brought me specimens to examine. One kind bore,
in large clusters, a beautiful green fruit, tipped at the end with
violet, and shaped like a large gherkin; the others were covered with
quantities of small flowers, interspersed with large fruits like
cucumbers. On examination, I recognized them as being two of the
most precious productions of the tropics: the largest of the fruits
was the cacao-bean, of which chocolate is made; the other was the
banana, that forms an article of food for the inhabitants of several
countries in America.
We tasted these far-famed fruits, but did not find them very
excellent. The beans of the cacao are filled with a sort of viscous
matter, like thick cream, but of an insipid taste and an odour like
that of an over-ripe pear.
My wife, who had opened several bananas, sought in vain for some
seeds which she might take home to plant in her kitchen-garden.
I told her that the banana contained no seeds, and was always
propagated from cuttings, which will easily grow if planted in rich,
wet earth. My wife also wished to plant some of the cacao-beans in
her garden: but she was obliged to renounce her project, as Ernest
told her that unless the seeds were put in when the fruit was
gathered they would be useless. It was resolved, in consequence, that
Fritz should set out the next day in his cajack, and go in search of
the elements necessary for the reproduction of these two precious
plants. My wife never forgot her kitchen-garden; and whenever she
came across a useful addition, she immediately planted a specimen
there.
The next day Fritz embarked; and fearing that his cajack would not be
large enough to hold the cargo he intended to bring home, he fastened
a raft of rushes behind it. He was ashamed, he said, to go for some
banana cuttings only, and he intended to bring home something else.
We occupied ourselves during the day in preparing to set out for
Felsenheim; and Fritz did not return till late in the evening, when
we saw him coming toward us, the cajack and the raft loaded down to
the water’s edge.
“Bravo! bravo!” cried his brothers, as they saw Fritz advancing,
laden with green branches. The cargo was soon unloaded, and dragged
up to the hut with as much contentment as if it had been the galleons
of silver that Admiral Anson captured.
Fritz now came up, holding in his hand a superb bird, the feet and
wings of which he had fastened, and which he presented to us as the
principal booty of the day.
It was the Sultan Cock of Buffon, the king of water-fowls, so called
from its beauty of form, and the brilliancy of its plumage. I easily
recognized its long red legs, and its beautiful green and violet
plumage, with a red spot in the forehead. My wife wished to add it
to the inhabitants of the farmyard; and as it was very gentle, it
soon became as tame as the rest of our domestic fowls, who appeared
jealous of the new-comer.
Fritz now recounted to us the details of the day. He informed us that
he had ascended the river for a great distance, and that he had been
astonished at the majestic forests which bordered it, and threw a
sombre shade over its waters. He had encountered several families of