CHAPTER XVII.

_More stores from the wreck._

I rose with the first crowing of the cock, before the rest of

the family was awake, descended the ladder, and employed myself

in carefully skinning the kangaroo, so as not to deface its beautiful

mouse-coloured coat; and it was really high time to think about

it. Our dogs were so well satisfied the preceding evening with

their meal on the entrails of the animal, that they became partial

to it, and had just sprung up in the design of making a complete

breakfast of the whole carcase. Before I was at the bottom of

the ladder, they had torn off the head of the kangaroo, which

I had suspended at some height by the hind feet, and, half friends

half foes, they were going to divide it amongst them, when my

presence opportunely prevented the partition. It occurred to

me, that as I had neither cellar nor safe to keep my provisions

in, it behoved me to give them a slight correction: growling and

barking, they took refuge under the roots, and the half-suppressed

kind of howling they continued to make, awoke my wife, who, on

missing me, came down alarmed to know what was the matter. For

the love of God, exclaimed she, what has happened? Are the dogs

run mad, or have you lost your senses?—Nothing of the kind, I

answered; I was only giving our dogs a short sermon on temperance

and the necessity of self-control.—Then better it would be to

enforce your precepts by example, to begin by subduing anger,

and not by exercising your vengeance on poor faithful animals,

who are innocent, and unconscious of the mischief they are doing.

Kind-hearted creature, said I: it is well known to me how glad

you would be if there were no sticks in the world! But I assure

you I did not beat Turk and Ponto through anger or revenge, but

from prudence and precaution; and be persuaded I have not hurt

them much: they modestly intended only to eat up our kangaroo,

which you promised yourself such pleasure in cooking; and unable

as I was to acquaint them in the canine tongue, that it was not

placed there for their use, it was proper to let them know this

in such a way as to deter them in future; otherwise, as they

are strongest, they would end by devouring all our stock.

My wife owned I was in the right: but I observed her from a corner of

my eye hovering about the roots, and patting the dogs to console them.

As to myself, I set about stripping my kangaroo, and endeavoured

to remove the skin entirely without injuring it; but this gave

me so much trouble, and I advanced so slowly in the business,

that all my little family were assembled about me and their mother,

and calling out, Famine, before I had finished my work. Having

completed it, I went to the stream to wash myself thoroughly,

and then to the sailor’s chest to change my coat, that I might

make a decent appearance at breakfast, and give my sons an example

of that cleanliness which their mother was at all times eager

to inculcate. Breakfast over, I ordered Fritz to prepare everything

to go to Tent-House, and prepare our boat, that we might proceed

to the vessel. At the moment of departure, wishing to take leave

of all my family, I found that Ernest and Jack were wanting:

their mother knew no more than myself what was become of them,

but she thought they were gone to get some potatoes, which we

wanted. I charged her to reprove them a little for this, to prevent

their accustoming themselves to stray from home alone and without

leave, in an unknown country; but they had taken Turk along with

them this time, and I was therefore the less uneasy.

We began our journey after having taken an affectionate leave

of my wife and of my little Francis. I left Ponto with her, and

I entreated her not to be uneasy, and to commit herself to the

care of the kind Providence who had till then so graciously watched

over us, and who would again bring us back to her safe and sound,

enriched with many things conducive to our welfare. But to bring

her to reason on the subject of these trips to the vessel, was

impracticable: I left her bathed in tears, and praying God that

this might be the last.

We separated with mutual emotion, hastening our steps to make

our stay the shorter, and we soon reached and crossed the bridge:

at this moment, to our astonishment, we heard the shrill sounds

of human voices, and almost at the same time we saw Ernest and

master Jack come forth from a bush, delighted to have half alarmed

us.—Ah! did not you think we were savages? said Jack;—or some

of the vessel’s company? continued Ernest.

——Or rather, said I, two little thoughtless rogues whom I soon

knew, and am much inclined to chide as they deserve, not for

their little artifice, but for having left their home without

permission.

_Ernest._—Oh! father, we have such a desire to go with you to

the vessel, and we were afraid you would refuse us if we asked

you; but we thought that when you saw us so near to the place,

you would consent to our accompanying you.

Very badly argued, my young gentleman, replied I. At Falcon’s

Stream I might perhaps have consented, although I have so many

things to take, that it would be wrong to let you occupy a place

in the boat; but as it is, I would on no account leave your poor

mother in anxiety the whole day as to what is become of you,

and you cannot yourselves desire it: besides, I have a commission

to give you for her that I have much at heart. I then requested

them to tell her that it was probable we should be forced to

pass the night on board the vessel, and not return to her till the

evening of the following day. I knew that was what she most feared,

and I had wanted resolution to apprise her of this possibility:

I was to blame for this weakness, for not to see us return at

the expected time was still more painful; yet it was of essential

consequence to get out of the vessel, if it yet remained afloat, all

that could be saved, as every moment might complete its destruction,

and all our future hopes be swallowed up with it. With this view

I told my sons what they should say to their mother; I exhorted

them to obey and to assist her; and that their excursion might

not be useless, I made them collect some salt, and I enjoined

them to be at Falcon’s Stream before noon. I suffered in knowing

the double anguish of my poor wife, resulting from our departure

and the prolonged absence of two of her sons. To be sure of the

fulfilment of this order, I requested Fritz to lend Ernest his

silver watch, and told him he would find a gold one in the vessel,

in which case he would allow his brother to keep the one he lent

him, and that we might perhaps get another for Jack. This hope

filled them with joy, and consoled them for not going on with

us.

After having bid adieu to our dear boys, we got into the boat,

and we left the shore to gain the current of the stream: thus

we quickly cleared Safety Bay, and reached the vessel, whose

open side offered us an ample space to get up it. As soon as

we had got on board and our boat was securely fastened, our first

care was to look out for fit materials to construct a raft. I

wished to begin by executing an excellent idea suggested by my

son Ernest. Our boat being built of staves had neither room nor

solidity enough to carry a considerable burthen; we therefore

looked about, and soon found a sufficient number of water-casks

which appeared to me very proper for my intended new enterprise.

We immediately emptied them, then replaced the bungs carefully,

and threw the casks overboard, after securing them by means of

ropes and cramps, so as to keep them together at the vessel’s

side: this completed, we placed a sufficient number of planks

upon them to form a firm and commodious platform or deck, to

which we added a gunwale of a foot in depth all round, to secure

the lading. Thus we contrived to possess a very handsome raft,

in which we could stow thrice as much as in our boat. This laborious

task had taken up the whole day; we scarcely allowed ourselves

a minute to eat a mouthful of cold meat we had provided for the

expedition, that we might not lose any time in looking for the

provisions on board the vessel. In the evening, Fritz and I were

so weary, that it would have been impossible for us to row back

to land, even if our business had not detained us; we therefore

came to the necessary resolution of passing the night on board;

and having taken all due precautions in case of a storm, we reposed

ourselves in the captain’s cabin, on a good elastic mattress

essentially different from our hammocks: in fact, it so lulled

us to rest, and induced such sound repose, that our prudent design

to watch in turn for fear of accident, quite escaped us, and

we both slept heavily, side by side, till broad day-light opened

our eyes, when we awoke with lively gratitude to that Providence

to whom we were indebted for the quiet and comfortable night

we had passed. We rose, and actively set to work to load our

raft.

In the first place we completely stripped the cabin which had

been occupied by my family on board the vessel, removing every

thing it contained which belonged to us previous to the fatal

event of the wreck: from it we proceeded to the one in which

we had slept so well, and carried off the very doors and windows,

with their appendages; some valuable chests of the officers were

there: but this discovery and the rich lace clothes which seemed

to court our grasp, were less acceptable to us than the carpenter’s

and gunner’s chests, containing all their tools and implements:

those we could remove with levers and rollers, were put entire

upon the raft; and we took out of the others what rendered them

too heavy. One of the captain’s chests was filled with a number

of costly articles, which no doubt he meant to dispose of to

the opulent planters of Port Jackson, or among the savages. In

the collection were several gold and silver watches, snuff-boxes

of all descriptions, buckles, shirt-buttons, necklaces, rings,

in short an abundance of all the trifles of European luxury;

there was also a strong box full of louis d’or and dollars, which

attracted our notice less than another containing a very pretty

table-service of fine steel, which we had substituted for the

captain’s that were silver, and for which my wife had shown no

small regard: but the discovery that delighted me most, and for

which I would readily have given the box with the louis, &c.

was a chest containing some dozens of young plants of every species

of European fruits, which had been carefully packed in moss for

transportation. I perceived pear, plum, almond, peach, apple,

apricot, chesnut trees, and vine shoots. I beheld with a feeling

I cannot describe, those productions of my dear country, which

once so agreeably embellished my rural dwelling, and which, if

God vouchsafed to bless them, would thrive in a foreign soil.

We discovered a number of bars of iron and large pigs of lead,

grinding-stones, cart-wheels ready for mounting, a complete set

of farrier’s instruments, tongs, shovels, ploughshares, rolls

of iron and copper wire, sacks full of maize, pease, oats, vetches,

and even a little hand-mill. The vessel had been freighted with

every thing likely to be useful in an infant colony so distant;

nothing had been forgotten. We found a saw-mill, in a separated

state, but each piece numbered, and so accurately fitted, that

nothing was easier than to put it together for use.

I had now to consider what of all these treasures I should take

or leave. It was impossible to carry with us in one trip such

a quantity of goods; and to leave them in the vessel, ready to

fall to pieces and threatened every moment with complete destruction,

was exposing ourselves to be wholly deprived of them, while every

article so lost would be a subject of regret to us.

Ah! said Fritz, let us leave, in the first place, this useless

money and the chest of trinkets; except the watches we promised

my brothers: all the rest can be of no service to us.

It gives me pleasure, my boy, to hear you speak thus of gold,

that idol so universally adored: we will do, then, as you wish,

and determine upon taking with us what is really useful, such

as the powder, lead, iron, the corn and the fruit-trees, implements

for gardening and agriculture; let us take as many as possible

of these: if we should have any room left, we can then select

a few of the objects of luxury: however, begin by taking from

the chest the two watches I have promised, and keep the best

of them for yourself.

We then loaded our raft, not without difficulty and hard labour;

we moreover stowed away for use in a chest, a large and handsome

fishing-net, quite new, and the vessel’s great compass. With

the net, Fritz found luckily two harpoons and a rope windlass,

such as they use in the whale fishery. Fritz asked me to let

him place the windlass, with the harpoons attached to the end

of the rope, over the bow of our tub-boat, and thus hold all

in readiness in case of seeing any large fish; and as I thought

it was unusual to meet with these so near the shore, I indulged

him in his innocent fancy.

It was afternoon before we had finished our lading; for not only

our raft was as full as it could hold, but our boat likewise.

Having well and completely executed our undertaking, both as

to construction and lading, we stepped into the tub-boat, and

with some small difficulty, which a little reflection and a few

experiments soon enabled us to overcome, we pushed out for the

current, drawing our raft triumphantly after us with a stout

rope, which we had been careful to fasten securely at its head.