CHAPTER XXIX.

_Victory over the bees;—winding stair-case; training of various
animals; divers manufactures; fountain, &c._

Next morning almost before dawn all were up and in motion; the
bees had returned to their cells, and I stopped the passages
with clay, leaving only a sufficient aperture for the tube of
my pipe. I then smoked as much as was requisite to stupefy without
killing the little warlike creatures. Not having a cap with a
mask, such as bee-catchers usually wear, nor even gloves, this
precaution was necessary. At first a humming was heard in the
hollow of the tree, and a noise like a gathering tempest, which
died away by degrees. All was become calm, and I withdrew my
tube without the appearance of a single bee. Fritz had got up
by me: we then began with a chisel and a small axe to cut out
of the tree, under the bees’ hole of entrance, a piece three
feet square. Before it was entirely separated, I repeated the
fumigation, lest the stupefaction produced by the first smoking
should have ceased, or the noise we had been just making revived
the bees. As soon as I supposed them quite lulled again, I separated
from the trunk the piece I had cut out, producing as it were
the aspect of a window, through which the inside of the tree
was laid entirely open to view; and we were filled at once with
joy and astonishment on beholding the immense and wonderful work
of this colony of insects. There was such a stock of wax and
honey, that we feared our vessels would be insufficient to contain
it. The whole interior of the tree was lined with fine honey-combs:
I cut them off with care, and put them in the gourds the boys
constantly supplied me with. When I had somewhat cleared the
cavity, I put the upper combs, in which the bees had assembled
in clusters and swarms, into the gourd which was to serve as
a hive, and placed it on the plank I had purposely raised. I
came down, bringing with me the rest of the honey-combs, with
which I filled a small cask, previously well washed in the stream.
Some I kept out for a treat at dinner; and had the barrel carefully
covered with cloths and planks, that the bees, when attracted
by the smell, might be unable to get at it. We then sat round
the table, and regaled ourselves plentifully with the delicious
and odoriferous treat of the honey. Having finished our meal,
my wife put by the remainder; and I proposed to my sons to go
back to the tree, in order to prevent the bees from swarming
again there on being roused from their stupor, as they would
not have failed to do, but for the precaution I took of passing
a board at the aperture, and burning a few handfuls of tobacco
on it, the smell and smoke of which drove them back from their
old abode, whenever they attempted to return to it. At length
they desisted from approaching it, and became gradually reconciled
to their new residence, where their queen no doubt had settled
herself. I took this opportunity to relate to my children all
I had read in the interesting work by Mr. Huber of Geneva[17]
of the queen-bee, this beloved and respected mother of her subjects,
who are all her children, and who take care of and guard her,
work for her, nourish the rising swarms, make the cells in which
they are to lodge, prepare others of a different structure, as
well as nutriment for the young queens destined to lead forth the
fresh colonies: and I entered into all those details which celebrated
observers, and particularly the one we have just mentioned,
have described so interestingly. These accounts highly entertained
my youthful auditory, who almost regretted having molested by
their depredation the repose of a fine peaceable kingdom that
had flourished so long without interruption in the huge trunk.
As to me, it so well suited my intended stair-case, that I readily
adopted the prevailing moral amongst conquerors, who dispense
with scruples when the seizing a country is convenient to their
policy, and I resolved to take full possession next day. In the
mean time I advised all to watch during the night, over the whole
provision of honey obtained while the bees were torpid, who when
recovered would not fail to be troublesome, and come in legions
to get back to their property. That we might not be ourselves
injured by so much fatigue, we went and threw ourselves on our
beds, and in our clothes, to take a short doze before the hour
of retreat; we were lulled to sleep with their buzzing, which
had quite ceased when we awoke at the coming on of night; they
had remained quiet in the gourd or suspended in clusters from
some branches: without concerning ourselves about them, we went
promptly to business; the cask of honey was emptied into a kettle,
except a few prime combs which we kept for daily consumption;
the remainder mixed with a little water was set over a gentle
fire and reduced to a liquid consistence, strained and squeezed
through a bag, and afterwards poured back into the cask, which
was left upright and uncovered all night to cool. In the morning
the wax was entirely separated, and had risen to the surface
in a compact and solid cake that was easily removed; beneath
was the purest, most beautiful and delicate honey that could
be seen: the cask was then carefully headed again, and put into
cool ground near our wine vessels; and now we promised ourselves
an abundant supply of an agreeable article for desserts. This
task accomplished, I mounted to revisit the hive, and found every
thing in order; the bees going forth in swarms and returning
loaded with wax, from which I judged they were forming fresh
edifices in their new dwelling place. I was surprised to see
the numbers that had occupied the trunk of the tree find room
in the gourd; but on looking round me, I perceived a part of
them collected in a cluster upon a branch, and I thence concluded
a young queen was amongst them.

On perceiving this, I procured another gourd, into which I shook
them and placed it by the former: thus I had the satisfaction
of obtaining at an easy rate two fine hives of bees in activity.

We soon after these operations proceeded to examine the inside
of the tree. I sounded it with a pole from the opening I had
made towards the top; and a stone fastened to a string served
us to sound the bottom, and thus to ascertain the height and
depth of the cavity. To my great surprise the pole penetrated
without any resistance to the branches on which our dwelling
rested, and the stone descended to the roots. The trunk, it appeared,
had wholly lost its pith, and most of its wood internally; nothing
therefore was more practicable than to fix winding stairs in
this capacious hollow, that should reach from top to bottom.
It seems that this species of tree, like the willow in our climates,
receives nourishment through the bark; for it did not look decayed,
and its far-extended branches were luxuriant and beautiful in
the extreme. I determined to begin our construction that very
day. The undertaking appeared at first beyond our powers; but
intelligence, patience, time, and a firm resolution vanquished
all obstacles. We were not disposed to relax in any of these
requisites; and I was pleased to find opportunities to keep my
sons in continual action, and their minds and bodies were all
the better for exertion. They grew tall, strong, and were too
much engaged to regret, in ignoble leisure, any of their past
enjoyments in Europe.

We began to cut into the side of the tree, towards the sea, a
door-way equal in dimensions to the door of the captain’s cabin,
which we had removed with all its frame-work and windows; by
means of which we should at once be guarded against every attack
on that side. We next cleared away from the cavity all the rotten
wood, and rendered the interior even and smooth, leaving sufficient
thickness for cutting out resting-places for the winding stairs,
without injuring the bark. I then fixed in the centre, the trunk
of a tree ten or twelve feet high and a foot thick, completely
stripped of its branches, in order to carry my winding staircase
round it: on the outside of this trunk, and the inside of the
cavity of our own tree, we formed grooves, so calculated as to
correspond with the distances at which the boards were to be
placed to form the stairs. These were continued till I had got
to the height of the trunk round which they turned. The window
I had opened at the top to take out the honey gave light enough.
I made a second aperture below, and a third above it, and thus
completely lighted the whole ascent. I also effected an opening
near our room, that I might more conveniently finish the upper
part of the stair-case. A second trunk was fixed upon the first,
and firmly sustained with screws and transverse beams. It was
surrounded like the other with stairs cut slopingly; and thus
we happily effected the stupendous undertaking of conducting
it to the level of our bed-chamber. Here I made another door
directly into it; and I then found I could add nothing further
to my design. If my staircase was not in strict conformity to
the rules of architecture, it at least answered the purpose it
was built for, that of conducting us with safety and shelter
to our nocturnal residence. To render it more solid and agreeable,
I closed the spaces between the stairs with plank. I then fastened
two strong ropes, the one descending the length of the little
tree, the other along the side of the large one, to assist in
case of slipping. I fixed the sash-windows taken from the captain’s
cabin in the apertures we had made to give light to the stairs;
and when the whole was complete, it was so pretty, solid, and
convenient, that we were never tired of going up and coming down
it; and I fear I must add, for the sake of truth, with no small
admiration of our united talents. I must, however, candidly own,
that we succeeded in this arduous attempt by mere dint of efforts,
patience, industry, and time; for it occupied us for several
weeks together with no intermission. It more than once reminded
me of the wise system of education of the philosopher of Geneva,
J. J. Rousseau; and particularly where he recommends that boys
of all classes in society should learn a trade, and especially that
of a carpenter. How happy should I have been in our circumstances
to have known this trade myself, and to have taught it to my
eldest son! I cannot too earnestly exhort all fathers to put
their sons in early possession of a resource which, though it
may not become of the first necessity, has, at all events, the
advantage of making a young man stronger, and more dexterous;
of filling up many of the dangerous idle hours of ardent youth;
and of being able, in maturer age, if it be unnecessary to work
ourselves, at least to overlook the workmen we employ. I am not
an enthusiast for the system of Rousseau, though I admire his
style and genius; yet if humanity were indebted to him for no
more than this sagacious counsel, and the felicity conferred
by his maxims on early childhood, it would still suffice to make
us love and consider him as a benefactor.

But our new acquisition of a handsome staircase did not exclusively
occupy the whole of our time; as in our solitude we had nothing
to consider but our own pleasure or convenience, and our daily
wants were not subject to the occurrence of other social duties,
we saw no occasion for tormenting ourselves with a greater degree
of labour in every day than was wholesome for our bodily health.
We had no harsh surveyor, no inquisitive examiners; no troublesome
neighbours nor counsellors. If we occasionally regretted not
being members of a large society under just laws and agreements
established between societies of men, we more frequently complimented
ourselves on not being subjected to this restraint and the
inconveniences that arise from it. If we happened now and then to
feel the want of some of the high-wrought pleasures of social
existence, we were speedily solaced by reflecting that we did not
stand in need of money; that we had no uneasy care about the
acquisition of it; that we excited neither envy, pity, nor censure;
while the imperfection of our achievements, and the trouble they cost
us, were richly compensated by the freedom and cheerfulness with
which they were executed, ever without altercation, and with
united hearts and souls.

I will briefly narrate the few remarkable occurrences that took
place during the construction of our staircase.

A few days after the commencement of our stair-case, the two
she-goats gave us two kids, and our ewes five lambs; so that
we now saw ourselves in possession of a pretty flock: but lest
the domestic animals should follow the example of the ass, and
run away from us, I tied a bell to the neck of each. We had found
a sufficient number of bells in the vessel, which had been shipped
for trading with the savages; it being one of the articles they
most value. We could now immediately trace a deserter by the
sound, and bring it back to the fold.

Next to the winding stairs, my chief occupation was the management
of the young buffalo, whose wound in the nose was quite healed,
so that I could lead it at will with a cord or stick passed through
the orifice, as the Caffrarians do. I preferred the latter, which
answered the purpose of a bit; and I resolved to break-in this
spirited beast for riding as well as drawing. It was already
used to the shafts, and very tractable in them; but I had more
trouble in inuring him to the rider, and to wear a girth, having
made one out of the old buffalo’s hide. I formed a sort of saddle
with sail-cloth, and tacked it to the girth. Upon this I fixed
a burthen, which I increased progressively. I was indefatigable
in the training of the animal, and soon brought it to carry,
without fear or repugnance, large bags full of potatoes, salt,
and other articles, such as the ass had patiently borne to be
loaded with. The monkey was his first rider, who stuck so close
to the saddle, that in spite of the plunging and kicking of the
buffalo, it was not thrown. Francis was then tried, as the lightest
of the family; but throughout his excursion I led the beast with
a halter, that it might not throw the child off. Jack now showed
some impatience to mount the animal in his turn. Some restraint
was requisite:—I passed the appropriate piece of wood through
the buffalo’s nose, and tied strong packthread at each end of
the stick, bringing them together over the neck of the animal;
and I then put this new-fashioned bridle into the hands of the
young rider, directing him how to use it. For a time the lad
kept his saddle, notwithstanding the repeated jumps of the horned
steed; at length a side jolt threw him on the sand, without his
receiving much injury. Ernest, Fritz, and lastly myself, got
on successively, with more or less effect. His trotting shook
us to the very centre, the rapidity of his gallop turned us giddy,
and our lessons in horsemanship were reiterated many days before
the animal was tamed, and could be rode with either safety or
pleasure. At last, however, we succeeded without any serious
accident; and the strength and swiftness of our saddled buffalo
were prodigious. It seemed to sport with the heaviest loads.
My three eldest boys mounted it together now and then, and it ran
with them with the swiftness of lightning. By continued attentions
it at length became extremely docile: it was not in the least
apt to start; and I really felt satisfaction in being thus enabled
to make my sons expert riders, so that if they should ever have
horses, they might get on the most restive and fiery without
any fear:—none could be compared to our young buffalo; and the ass
which I had intended to employ in the same way was far surpassed by
this new member of our family. Fritz and Jack, with my instructions,
amused themselves in training the animal as horses are exercised
in a riding-house; and by means of the little stick through the
nose, they were able to do what they pleased with him.

In the midst of all this Fritz did not neglect his eagle; he
daily shot some small birds which he gave it to eat, placing
them sometimes betwixt the buffalo’s horns, sometimes on the
back of one of the hens, or of a flamingo, or on a shelf, or
at the end of a stick, in order to teach it to pounce like a
falcon upon other birds. He taught it to perch on his wrist whenever
he called or whistled to it; but some time elapsed before he
could trust it to soar without securing its return by a long
string, apprehending its bold and wild nature would prompt it
to take a distant and farewell flight from us.

Our whole company, including even the inert Ernest, was infected
with the passion of becoming instructors. Ernest tried his talents
in this way with his monkey; who, it must be confessed, seldom
failed to furnish him with work. It was no poor specimen of the
ludicrous to see the lad; he whose movements were habitually
slow and studied, now constrained to skip, and jump, and play
a thousand antics with his pupil during training hours, and all
the time deeply interested in carrying forward the lesson the
grotesque mimic was condemned to learn, of carrying small loads,
climbing the cocoa-trees, and to fetch and bring the nuts. He
and Jack made a little hamper of rushes, very light: they put
three straps to it, two of which passed under the fore, and one
between the hind legs of the animal, and were then fastened to
a belt in front, to keep the hamper steady on the back of the
mischievous urchin. This apparatus was at first intolerable to
poor Knips: he gnashed his teeth, rolled on the ground, jumping
like a mad creature, and did every thing to get rid of it; but
all in vain, for education was the standing order, and he soon
found he must submit. The hamper was left on day and night; its
sole food was what was thrown into it; and in a short time pug
was so much accustomed to the burden, that he began to spit and
growl whenever we attempted to take it off, and every thing given
to the creature to hold was instantly thrown into it. Knips became
at length a useful member of our society; but he would only obey
Ernest, whom he at once loved and feared, thus affording a proof
of at least one of the great ends of all instruction. Jack was
less successful with his little jackal, which he had named _Hunter_,
hoping that its qualities would justify the name. He made continual
attempts to induce the animal to go after game; but for the first
six months he advanced no further in the lesson than teaching
him to bring what was thrown to it: and when it was dead game,
Hunter was sure to devour it on the way, and to bring home the
skin alone: but it was nevertheless so pretty and tractable a
creature, that I intreated the boy not to relinquish a task that
would prove so beneficial to us; and he persevered with considerable
zeal.

These different occupations filled up several hours of the day;
when, after working at our stairs, we assembled in the evening
round our never-failing constant friend, the good mother, to
rest ourselves: and forming a little circle, every individual
of which was affectionate and cheerful, it was her turn to give
us some agreeable and less fatiguing occupation in the domestic
concerns of Falcon Stream: such, for example, as endeavouring
to improve our candle-manufactory, by blending the berry and
the bees-wax, and employing the reed-moulds invented by Jack:
but having found some difficulty in taking out the candles when
cold, I adopted the plan of dividing the moulds, cleaning the
inside, and rubbing it over with a little butter, to prevent
the wax from adhering to it; then to rejoin both halves with a
band that could be loosened at pleasure, to facilitate the extraction
of the tapers. The wicks gave us most trouble, as we had no cotton.
We tried with moderate success the fibrous threads of the karatta,
and those of the algava or flame-wood; but each had the inconvenience
of becoming a sort of coal or cinder. The production which gave
us the most satisfaction was the pith of a species of elder;
but it did not, however, lessen our desire to discover the only
appropriate ingredient, the cotton-tree. I likewise contrived
a method of rendering our candles even and shining, by rolling
them between two boards; they now were only distinguishable from
those of Europe by a greenish hue. On my observing to my sons
that wax was bleached like linen, by spreading it on cloths,
and exposing it to the dew and sun, they wished to try the process;
but as our green tapers burned remarkably well, bleaching the
wax would have been a useless luxury and loss of time, which
I could turn to more account in manufacturing our impenetrable
boots without seams, of the caoutchouc or elastic gum.

I began with a pair for myself; and I encouraged my children
to afford a specimen of their industry, by trying to form some
flasks and cups that could not break. They commenced by making
some clay moulds, which they covered with layers of gum, agreeably
to the instructions I had given them.

In the meanwhile I compactly filled a pair of stockings with
sand, and covered them with a layer of clay, which I first dried
in the shade, and afterwards in the sun. I then took a sole of
buffalo-leather, well beaten, and studded round with tacks, which
served me to fix it under the foot of the stocking; and after
this I poured the liquid gum into all the interstices, which
on drying produced a close adhesion between the leather and stocking
sole. I next proceeded to smear the whole with a coat of resin
of a tolerable thickness; and as soon as this layer was dried
on, I put on another, and so on till I had spread on a sufficiency
with my brush. After which I emptied the sand, drew out the stocking,
removed the hardened clay, shook off the dust, and thus obtained
a pair of seamless boots, as finished as if made by the best
English workman; being pliant, warm, soft, smooth, and completely
water-proof.

I hung them up directly, that they might dry without shrinking.
They fitted uncommonly well; and my four lads were so highly
pleased with their appearance, that they skipped about with joy
in requesting me to make each of them a pair. I refrained from
any promise, because I wished to ascertain their strength previously,
and to compare them with boots made out of mere buffalo-leather.
Of these I at once began a pair for Fritz, with a piece of the
slaughtered buffalo’s skin. They gave far more trouble than those
manufactured with the caoutchouc, which I used to cover the seams
and render them less pervious to water. The work turned out very
imperfect, and so inferior to my incomparable boots, that Fritz
wore them reluctantly; and the more so, as his brothers shouted
with laughter at the difficulty he had to run in them. My boys
had succeeded tolerably well with their new ware, though still
imperfect; but as a first essay performed by tyro artists, I
was satisfied with their productions.

We had also been engaged in the construction of our fountain,
which afforded a perpetual source of pleasure to my wife, and
indeed to all of us. In the upper part of the stream we built with
stakes and stones a kind of dam, that raised the water sufficiently
to convey it into the palm-tree troughs; and afterwards, by means
of a gentle slope, to glide on contiguous to our habitation,
where it fell into the tortoise-shell bason, which we had elevated
on stones to a certain height for our convenience; and it was
so contrived that the redundant water passed off through a cane
pipe fitted to it. I placed two sticks athwart each other for
the gourds, that served as pails, to rest on; and we thus produced,
close to our abode, an agreeable fountain, delighting with its
rill, and supplying us with a pure crystal fluid, and such as
we frequently could not get when we drew our water from the bed
of the river, which was often blended with the leaves and earth
fallen into it, or rendered turbid by our water-fowls. The only
inconvenience was, that the water flowing in this open state
through narrow channels in a slender stream, was heated, and
not refreshing when it reached us. I resolved to obviate this
inconvenience at my future leisure, by employing, instead of
the uncovered conduits, large bamboo-canes fixed deep enough
in the ground to keep the water cool. In waiting the execution
of this design, we felt pleasure in the new acquisition; and
Fritz, who had suggested the notion, received his tribute of
praise from all.