The Swiss family Robinson
flood-tide carried us rapidly forward toward the other extremity of
the cavern, and we could not help admiring the magnificence of the
passage: the roof was covered with stalactites wrought by the hand
of nature into a thousand fantastic forms. At length we issued into
a beautiful bay; we were struck with surprise, and remained resting
on our oars in silent admiration. The water was so calm and pure that
we could see the fish far below us. I recognized the white fish, the
shining scales of which are used as false pearls. I showed them to
my sons; but they could not understand how a little stone would be
worth so much more than the fish-scales, when the latter were full as
brilliant as the former.
“It is not the object itself,” said I; “it is the difficulty in
procuring it which costs so much. If every river in Europe abounded
in pearls, they would be worth nothing.”
The day was too far advanced to commence our pearl-fishing, and we
appeased our hungry stomachs with some slices of ham, fried potatoes,
and some cassava cakes; and, after having lighted up fires along the
coast, to keep off wild beasts, we left the dogs on shore and went
on board the canoe, Knips being installed on the mast as vidette.
We drew the sail over our heads, and, wrapping ourselves in our
bear-skins, soon sank to rest.
We rose at daylight, and, after a frugal breakfast, commenced our
labours in the pearl-fishery, and, with the aid of the rakes, hooks,
nets, and poles, soon brought in a large quantity of the precious
oysters: we heaped them all up in a pile on the shore, so that the
heat of the sun would cause them to open.
Toward evening the coast appeared so beautiful, and the vegetation
so rich and glowing, that it was impossible for us to resist the
temptation of making an excursion to a little wood, where we had
heard turkeys gobbling all day. Each took with him one of our
faithful servants, and we separated. Ernest entered first into the
wood, accompanied by Folb; Jack soon followed him, while Fritz and I
remained a moment to fix our guns. A few moments after, we heard a
report, then a scream from Jack, followed by another report. Fritz
unhooded his eagle, I snatched up my gun, and we ran in the direction
of Jack, who was screaming, “Papa! papa! quick! I am killed! quick!
come!”
The poor boy had exaggerated matters a little, for he was not even
wounded; but there he lay face to face with an enormous boar, with
formidable tusks, who had knocked him down so rudely that he thought
himself lost.
His brothers ran quickly up, and two shots well fired freed him from
his terrible enemy. Ernest recounted to me the manner in which this
affair happened. “I had entered into the little wood,” said he, “with
Folb, when suddenly the brave dog quitted me, and set off in pursuit
of a wild boar, who had come out of the forest, and was sharpening
his tusks against the tree with a terrible noise. At that moment Jack
came up; his jackal, perceiving the boar, sprang furiously upon him,
while Folb attacked him on the other side. I approached cautiously,
by passing from one tree to another, until I was near enough to fire;
the jackal, however, had received such a terrible blow from the
boar’s foot that he lay senseless on the grass. Jack then fired, but
missed; and the boar, turning round, set off in pursuit of his new
assailant, who fled like a Hottentot before him. Without doubt, he
would have soon escaped if a projecting root had not tripped him up.
Down he fell; I fired, but missed, and the boar began to butt poor
Jack with his head. He, however, had not time to do him much harm,
as Braun and Flora rushed in, and, seizing the animal by his ears,
held him so firmly that he could not stir. Fritz’s eagle now joined
the fray, and, flying on the head of the boar, who fairly frothed
with rage, began picking at his eyes. Fritz now fired, and hit the
animal directly in the throat; it fell right across Jack’s body, who
could not disengage himself. I then ran up and helped him; he groaned
dreadfully, and at first I thought he was seriously wounded; but I
found that I was mistaken. He took Fritz’s arm and walked away, while
I remained by the boar. It was not without some surprise that I saw
master Knips with some large black tubercles, with which the ground
was covered; I gathered two or three which I put in my game-bag. Look
at them.”
So saying, the young naturalist presented me with six tubercles
resembling potatoes, the odour of which was very penetrating. I
opened one, and, having tasted it, I discovered that they were
excellent truffles, of a perfumed, delicate flesh, marbled with white.
“It appears,” said I to my son, congratulating him on his discovery,
“that the boar, who is very fond of these things, was eating them
when he was disturbed.”
While talking in this way, night came on, and it was necessary to
seek repose. We lighted our watch-fires, swallowed a morsel of meat,
and then retired to our canoe: the dogs were again left on shore.
We were soon asleep, and dreaming of the absent ones at our beloved
Felsenheim.
CHAPTER LVII
Cotton Nuts--Terrific Encounter with Lion and
Lioness--A Savage--Parley, and Recognition
of a Friend
Our first care, on rising the next morning, was to set about the
preparation of the boar. Jack had recovered from his fear, and,
accompanied by the dogs, we set out to look for the dead boar. He
was enormous--between a boar and a buffalo in size, and his head was
indeed frightfully large.
“I fear,” said I, “that the flesh of this old African is not better
than a European boar. My advice is, that instead of dragging the
immense carcass away, we cut off what we want, and let the rest
alone.”
My sons agreed with me, and we began to cut off the hams and head of
the wild boar. Some branches of trees furnished us with sleds to put
the pieces on, and we made the dogs draw them to the shore.
While we were occupied in disposing of our hams, chance made known
to us an important discovery. Ernest remarked on the branches we had
cut to make our sleds a sort of nut; he opened one, but, instead of
a kernel, it contained a beautiful fine cotton, of a deep yellow,
which I recognized as being the real Nankin cotton. This cotton owes
its name to a province of China, where it grows abundantly, and is
cultivated with much care. We made a large provision of these nuts,
and dug up two young trees to carry to Felsenheim.
Jack shrank with fright from the head of his terrible enemy,
and appeared quite overjoyed that it was going to figure in our
museum; but, on the observation of Ernest that it would be very
difficult to prepare, and having heard that boar’s head was very
fine eating, we resolved to cook it with truffles, in the Otaheitan
manner; consequently Fritz and Ernest set to work, and dug a deep
ditch, while I cleaned the head and heated some stones. When these
preparations were finished, we placed the head, stuffed with
truffles, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, in a ditch, and
covered it with red-hot stones and a thick layer of earth. While our
supper was cooking, we suspended the hams over the smoke of the fire,
and tranquilly sat down to talk over the events of the day, when
suddenly a deep, prolonged cry rang through the forest. It was the
first time we had ever heard such unearthly tones: the rocks echoed
it, and we felt seized with sudden terror; the dogs and the jackal
also commenced howling horribly.
“What a diabolical concert!” said Fritz, jumping up and seizing his
gun; “some danger must be near. Build up the fire,” continued he,
“and while I try to discover the danger in my cajack, you retire to
the canoe.”
This plan appeared the best we could pursue, and I adopted it. We
threw on the fire all the wood we could find ready cut, and, without
losing time, we regained the canoe. Fritz jumped into the cajack, and
was soon lost in the obscurity.
During all this time the roarings continued, and they appeared to
approach nearer to us. Our dogs gathered around the fire, uttering
plaintive moans. Our poor little monkey seemed to suffer painfully
from fear. I imagined that it was a leopard or a panther, which had
been attracted by the remains of the wild boar in the wood. My doubts
did not last long, for we soon discovered by the pale light of our
fires a terrible lion, considerably larger and stronger than those I
had seen in the royal menageries of Europe. In two or three leaps he
bounded over the space which separated the wood from the shore; he
stood immovable for a moment, and then commenced lashing his flanks
with his tail, and roaring furiously, every moment crouching down
as if to spring on us. This frightful pantomime did not last long:
every moment he would run to the stream, lap up some water, and then
return. I remarked with mortal anguish that the animal came nearer
and nearer to the shore; and at length he lay crouched down, his
flaming eyes fixed directly on us. Half in fear, half in despair, I
raised my gun, and was about to fire, when suddenly I heard a report;
the animal bounded up, gave a tremendous yell, and fell lifeless on
the earth.
“’Tis Fritz,” murmured my poor Ernest, pale with terror. “O God!
protect my brother.”
“Yes, it is he,” I cried, “our brave Fritz: he has saved us from a
terrible death; let us go to him.” In two strokes of the oars we were
on shore; but our dogs, with an admirable instinct, began to bark
terribly. I did not neglect this indication; we threw more wood on
the fire, and again jumped into the boat. It was time; for scarcely
were we secure, when a second enemy rushed from the forest: it was
not so large as the first, but its roar was frightful. This time it
was a lioness, probably the companion of the superb animal which
we had just killed. How grateful I felt that both had not appeared
together; what could we have done? The lioness ran straight up to
the corpse of her late partner, smelled it, and licked up the blood,
which had flowed from the wound; and when she was convinced that
he no longer lived, she set up a howl of rage that pen could not
describe; she lashed her sides and opened her enormous mouth, as if
she would devour us all.
Again Fritz fired, and the shot, less fortunate than the first, only
broke the shoulder of the animal. The wounded lioness commenced
rolling on the sand, foaming with rage; but all three of our dogs
rushed upon her. Braun and Folb seized the animal in the flanks, and
Flora caught hold of the throat. Another shot would have put an end
to the combat, but I was afraid of wounding the dogs; so I jumped
from the boat, and, running up to the animal, who was held fast by
the dogs, I plunged my hunting-knife direct to her heart: the blood
spouted out, and the lioness fell; but the victory had cost us dear,
for there lay our poor Flora, dead under the terrible wounds she had
received from the fangs of the monster.
Fritz now ran up and threw himself into my arms, as did Ernest and
poor Jack, who trembled with mortal agony. We lighted our torches,
and directed our course toward the field of battle; we found poor
Flora, with her teeth yet clutching the throat of her enemy, while
the royal couple lay majestically extended on the sand, and we could
hardly suppress a sentiment of fear which struck us as we gazed on
the terrific beasts.
“What a terrible range of teeth!” said Ernest, as he raised up the
head of the lion.
“Yes, and what frightful claws!” said Jack; “wouldn’t they make nice
holes in your skin?”
“Yes, my friends,” observed I, “let us thank God that He has saved us
from the danger; thank Him for the wisdom with which He has endowed