CHAPTER XXIX.

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.