CHAPTER XXXIV.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

_New fishery;—New experiments and chase;—New discoveries and

house._

The arrangement of our grotto went on, sometimes as a principal,

sometimes as an intermediate occupation, according to the greater

or less importance of other concerns: but though we advanced

thus with moderate rapidity, the progress was notwithstanding

such as to afford the hope of our being securely established

within it by the time of the rainy season.

From the moment I discovered gypsum to be the basis of the crystal

salt[22] in our grotto, I foresaw the great advantages I should

derive from it for our undertaking; but being unwilling to enlarge

the dimensions of our dwelling by digging further, I tried to

find a place in the continuation of the rock, which I might be

able to blow up: I had soon the good fortune to meet with a narrow

slip between the projections of the rocks which I could easily,

by the means I proposed, convert into a passage that should terminate

in our work-room. I found also on the ground a quantity of fragments

of gypsum, and removed a great number of them to the kitchen,

where we did not fail to bake a few of the pieces at a time when

we made a fire for cooking, which, thus calcined, rubbed into

a powder when cold: we obtained a considerable quantity of it,

which I put carefully into casks for use when the time should

come for finishing the interior of our dwelling. My notion was,

to form the walls for separating the apartments of the squares

of stone I had already provided, and to unite them together with

a cement of this new ingredient, which would be the means both

of sparing the timber, and increasing the beauty and solidity

of the work.

It is almost incredible the immense quantity of plaster we had

in a short time amassed; the boys were in a constant state of

wonder as they looked at the heap, and protested they believed

that I staid up at night to work. I seized the opportunity of

imprinting on their minds the value of a firm and steady perseverance

in an object once engaged in, the reward of which they now so

agreeably experienced: When we first cast our eyes, continued

I, on this rock, how little did we conceive it possible to transform

it into a comfortable dwelling-place; yet we have not only in

our own persons sufficed for carpenters and masons, but even

plasterers too, and so effectually, that if we had it much at

heart, we might adorn our walls with stucco as is the mode in

Europe; we possess both the materials and intelligence, and with

the addition of patience and industry, there is scarcely any

thing, even what at first should seem impossible, too difficult

for our performance.

The first use I made of the plaster was to complete some covers

I had begun with other materials for my herring tubs, four of

which I stopped down to render them impenetrable to the air;

the rest of the herrings we intended to dry and smoke. For this

purpose we erected a little sort of hut of reeds and branches,

as is practised in Holland and America by the fishermen; we placed

rows of sticks reaching from side to side across the hut, and

laid the herrings upon them, and then lighted a heap composed

of moss and fresh cut branches of trees, to produce a stronger

and more effective vapour for the purpose: we made the door tight,

and had soon the pleasure of adding a large stock of exquisitely

flavoured dried herrings to our former store for the ensuing

winter.

About a month after the singular visit of the herrings, which

had now entirely left our shores, we received another and not

a less profitable one from a fish of a different species: we

observed Safety Bay to be filled with large fishes which seemed

eager to push to the shore for the purpose of depositing their

eggs among the stones in fresh water. Jack was the first to discover

this circumstance: he told me he had seen a great number of whales

swimming about in Jackal’s River, and supposed they were come

in pursuit of the herrings, and that he was glad the greedy creatures

would be disappointed. I replied that there must be some delusion

in what he had seen, as I could not conceive of a regiment of

whales arriving in our diminutive rivulet. Pray come with me,

father, answered he, and look at them; some of them are as large

as you, and if they are not whales, I will lay a wager that neither

are they herrings. Hah, hah, master Jack, you are on the retreat

then, I see; but between the whale and the herring there are

many kinds and sizes, so I will e’en take side with you and wager

that they are not herrings.

It however appeared to me worth while to go and convince myself

on the spot, respecting these new-comers. Jack and I walked to

the mouth of Jackal’s River, and immediately perceived immense

quantities of a large fish moving slowly towards the banks, and

some of them from four to eight feet in length. By the pointed

snout I supposed the largest to be sturgeons, while the smallest

I pronounced to be salmon. Jack now strutted and exulted as if

he had gained the command of a regiment of soldiers:—What say

you, now, father? said he, this is nothing like your little paltry

herrings! A single fish of this troop would fill a tub!—No doubt,

answered I: and with great gravity I added,—Pr’ythee, Jack, step

into the river, and fling them to me one by one, that I may take

them home to salt and dry.

He looked at me for a moment with a sort of vacant doubt if I

could possibly be in earnest; then seizing suddenly a new idea—Wait

a moment, father, cried he, and I will do so: and he sprung off

like lightning towards the cavern, from whence he soon returned

loaded with a bow and arrows, the bladders of the sea-dogs, and

a ball of string to catch, as he assured me, every one of the

fishes. I looked on with interest and curiosity to mark what was next

to happen, while the animation of his countenance, the promptitude

and gracefulness of his motions, and the firm determination

of his manner, afforded me the highest amusement. He tied the

bladders round at certain distances with a long piece of string,

to the end of which he fastened an arrow and a small iron hook;

he placed the large ball of string in a hole in the ground, at

a sufficient distance from the water’s edge, and then he shot

off his arrow, which the next instant stuck in one of the largest

fishes. My young sportsman uttered a shout of joy. At the same

moment Fritz joined us, and witnessed this unexpected feat without

the least symptom of jealousy. Well done, brother Jack, cried

he, but let me too have my turn.—Saying this he ran back and

fetched the harpoon and the windlass, and returned to us accompanied

by Ernest, who also desired to show his prowess in a contest

with our newly discovered mariners. We were well pleased with

their opportune arrival, for the salmon Jack had pierced struggled

so fiercely, that all our endeavours to hold the string were

insufficient, and we dreaded at every throw to see it break and

the animal make good its escape. By degrees, however, its strength

was exhausted, and aided by Fritz and Ernest, we succeeded in

drawing it to a bank, where I put an end to its existence.

This fortunate beginning of a plan for a fishery inspired us

all with hope and emulation. Fritz eagerly seized his harpoon

and windlass; I, for my part, like Neptune, wielded a trident;

Ernest prepared the large fishing rod, and Jack his arrow with

the same apparatus as before, not forgetting the bladders which

were so effectual in preventing the fish from sinking when struck.

We were now more than ever sensible of our loss in the destruction

of the tub-boat, with which we could have pursued the creature

in the water, and have been spared much pains and difficulty;

but on the other hand, such numbers of fishes presented themselves

at the mouth of the river, that we had only to choose among them;

and accordingly we were soon loaded with them to our heart’s

content. Jack’s arrow after missing twice, struck the third time

a large sturgeon, which was so untractable that we had great

difficulty in securing him. I too had caught two of the same

fish, and had been obliged to go up to the middle in the water

to manage my booty. Ernest, with his rod and line and a hook,

had also taken two smaller ones. Fritz with his harpoon had struck

a sturgeon at least eight feet in length, and the skill and strength

of our whole company were found necessary to conduct him safe

to shore, where we harnessed the buffalo to him with strong cords

to draw him to Tent House.

Our first concern was to clean our fish thoroughly inside to

preserve them fresh the longer. I separated the eggs I found

in them, and which could not be less than thirty pounds, and

put them aside to make a dish called caviar, greatly relished

by the Russians and the Dutch. I took care also of the bladders,

thinking it might be possible to make a glue from them which

would be useful for so many purposes. I advised my wife to boil

some individuals of the salmon in oil, similar to the manner

of preparing tunny-fish in the Mediterranean: and while she was

engaged in this process, I was at work upon the caviar and the

glue. For the first, I washed the berries in several waters,

and then pressed them closely in gourd-rinds in which a certain

number of holes had been bored. When the water had run off, the

berries were taken out in a substance like cheese, which was

then conveyed to the hut to be dried and smoked. For the second,

we cut the bladders into strips, which we fastened firmly by

one end to a stake, and taking hold of the other with a pair

of pincers, we turned them round and round till the strip was

reduced to a kind of knot, and these were then placed in the

sun to harden; this being the simple and only preparation necessary

for obtaining glue from the ingredient. When thoroughly dry,

a small quantity is put on a slow fire to melt. We succeeded

so well, and our glue was of so transparent a quality, that I

could not help feeling the desire to manufacture some pieces

large enough, for panes to a window frame.

When these various concerns were complete, we began to meditate

a plan for constructing a small boat as a substitute for the

tub raft, to come close into shore. I had a great desire to make

it, as the savages do, of the rind of a tree; but the difficulty

was to fix on one of sufficient bulk for my purpose; for though

many were to be found in our vicinity, yet each was on some account

or other of too much value to be spared. We therefore resolved

to make a little excursion in pursuit of a tree of capacious

dimensions, and in a situation where it was not likely to yield

us fruit, to refresh us with its shade, or to adorn the landscape

round our dwelling.

In this expedition we as usual aimed at more than one object:

eager as we were for new discoveries, we yet allowed ourselves

the time to visit our different plantations and stores at Falcon’s

Stream. We were also desirous to secure a new supply of the wax berry,

of gourds, and of elastic gum. Our kitchen garden at Tent-House

was in a flourishing condition; nothing could exceed the luxuriance

of the vegetation, and almost without the trouble of cultivation

we had excellent roots and plants in abundance, which came in

succession, and promised a rich supply of peas, beans of all

sorts, lettuces, &c.; our principal labour was to give them water

freely, that they might be fresh and succulent for use. We had

besides, melons and cucumbers in great plenty, which during the

hottest weather we valued more than all the rest. We reaped a

considerable quantity of Turkey wheat from the seed we had sown,

and some of the ears were a foot in length. Our sugar-canes were

also in the most prosperous condition, and one plantation of

pine-apples on the high ground was also in progress to reward

our labour with abundance of that delicious fruit.

This state of general prosperity at Tent House gave us the most

flattering expectations from our nurseries at Falcon’s Stream.

Full of these hopes, we one day set out all together for our

now somewhat neglected former abode.

We arrived at Falcon’s Stream, where we intended to pass the

night. We visited the ground my wife had so plentifully sowed

with grain, which had sprung up with an almost incredible rapidity

and luxuriance, and was now nearly ready for reaping. We cut

down what was fairly ripe, bound it together in bundles, and

conveyed it to a place where it would be secure from the attacks

of more expert grain consumers than ourselves, of which thousands

hovered round the booty. We reaped barley, wheat, rye, oats,

peas, millet, lentils,—only a small quantity of each, it is true,

but sufficient to enable us to sow again plentifully at the proper

season. The plant that had yielded the most was maize, a proof

that it best loved the soil. It had already shown itself in abundance

in our garden at Tent House; but here there was a surface of

land, the size of an ordinary field, entirely covered with its

splendid golden ears, which still more than the other plants

attracted the voracity of the feathered race. The moment we drew

near, a dozen at least of large bustards sprang up with a loud

rustling noise which awakened the attention of the dogs; they

plunged into the thickest parts, and routed numerous flocks of

birds of all kinds and sizes, who all took hastily to flight;

among the fugitives were some quails who escaped by running,

and lastly some kangaroos, whose prodigious leaps enabled them

to elude the pursuit of the dogs.

We were so overcome by the surprise such an assemblage of living

creatures occasioned, as to forget the resource we had in our

guns; we stood as it were stupid with amazement during the first

moments, and before we came to ourselves the prey was beyond

our reach, and for the most part out of sight. Fritz was the

first to perceive and to feel with indignation the silly part

we had been playing, and to consider in what way we could repair

the mischief. Without further loss of time, he took the bandage

from his eagle’s eyes, (for the bird always accompanied him perched

upon his-game bag,) and showed him with his hand the bustards

still flying, and at no great distance. The eagle took a rapid

flight. Fritz jumped like lightning on the back of his onagra

and galloped over every thing that intervened in the direction

the bird had taken, and we soon lost sight of him.

We now beheld a spectacle which in the highest degree excited

our curiosity and interest: the eagle had soon his prey in view;

he mounted above the bustard in a direct line, without losing

sight of it for an instant, and then darted suddenly down; the

bustards flew about in utter confusion, now seeking shelter in

the bushes, then crossing each other in every direction, in the

attempt to evade the common enemy; but the eagle remained steady

in the pursuit of the bird he had fixed upon for his prey, and

disregarded all the rest: he alighted on the unlucky bustard,

fixed his claws and his beak in its back, till Fritz arriving

full gallop, got down from the onagra, replaced the bandage on

the eagle’s eyes, seated him once more upon the game-bag, and

having relieved the poor bustard from his persecutor, he shouted

to us to come and witness his triumph! We ran speedily to the

place. Jack alone remained in the maize plantation, meditating

also the giving us a specimen of the happy effects of the education

he had bestowed on the young jackal, who had slipped slily away

after the birds we supposed were quails, and who on their parts

were using every effort to escape; the jackal however soon overtook

them, seized one of them by the wing and brought it to his master;

in the same manner he had carried him at least a dozen more by

the time we reached the spot: and now nothing was heard but the

exclamations of Fritz and Jack, who had not words to express

their self-congratulations for the good effects of their mode

of training their respective animals, who, to say the truth,

deserved the wonder and the praise of all. A large fat quail

was immediately given to each as a token of approbation.

At the conclusion of this adventure we hastened forward to arrive

the soonest possible at Falcon’s Stream, and pay the earliest

attention to the wounds the bustard had received from the eagle.

We perceived with pleasure that it was a male, and foresaw the

advantage of giving him for a companion to our solitary female

of the same species, who was completely tamed. I threw a few

more bundles of maize into the cart, and without further delay

we arrived at our tree, one and all sinking with faintness from

hunger, thirst, and fatigue. It was on such occasions that my

exemplary partner evinced the superior fortitude and generosity

of her temper: though more a sufferer than either of us, her

first thought was what she could administer to relieve us in

the shortest time, for we had consumed our little store of wine,

and could not soon and easily procure milk from the cow: she

contrived to bruise some of the maize between two large stones,

and then put it in a linen cloth, and with all her strength squeezed

out the sap; she then added some juice from the sugar-canes,

and in a few minutes presented us with a draught of a cool refreshing

liquid, beautifully white in appearance and agreeable to the

taste, and which we received at her hands with feelings of grateful

emotion.

I applied myself without loss of time to the cure of the bustard’s

wounds, which I washed carefully with a lotion composed of water,

wine, and butter, which was our constant remedy; I then tied

him by the leg close to the female in the yard. Jack had been

able to preserve alive only two of the quails, which he now brought

me, and I treated them in the same manner: all the others that

the jackal had killed were plucked and put on the spit for supper.

The rest of the day was employed in picking the grains of the

different sorts of corn from the stalks: we put what we wished

to keep for sowing into some gourd-shells, and the Turkey wheat

was laid carefully aside in sheaves till we should have time

to beat and separate it. Fritz observed that we should also want

to grind it, and I reminded him of the hand-mill we had secured

from our departed ally, the wrecked vessel.

_Fritz._—But, father, the hand-mill is so small, and so subject

to be put out of order:—Why should we not contrive a water-mill,

as they do in Europe? We have surely rapid streams of water in

abundance.

_Father._—This is true, but such a mechanism is more difficult than

you imagine; the wheel alone, I conceive, would be an undertaking

far beyond our strength or our capacity. I am, however, well

pleased with the activity and zeal which prompted your idea;

and though I dare not bid you trust in a successful result, yet

we may consider whether it may be worth while to bestow upon

it further attention; we have abundance of time before us, for

we shall not want a water-mill till our harvests are such as

to produce plentiful crops of corn. In the mean time let us be

thinking, boy, of our proposed excursion for to-morrow, for we

should set out, at latest, by sun-rise.

We began our preparations accordingly: my wife chose some hens

and two fine cocks, with the intention of taking them with us

and leaving them at large to produce a colony of their species

at a considerable distance from our dwelling-places: I with the

same view visited our stable, and selected four young pigs, four

sheep, two kids, and one male of each species, our numbers having so

much increased that we could well afford to spare these individuals

for the experiment: if we succeeded in thus accustoming them

to the natural temperature and productions of our island, we

should have eased ourselves of the burden of their support, and

should always be able to find them at pleasure.

The next morning, after loading the cart with all things necessary,

not forgetting the rope ladder and the portable tent, we quitted

Falcon’s Stream. The animals with their legs tied, were all stationed

in the vehicle. We left abundance of food for those that remained

behind; the cow, the ass, and the buffalo were harnessed to the

cart; and Fritz mounted on his favourite, the onagra, pranced

along before us to ascertain the best and smoothest path for

the cavalcade.

We took this time a new direction, which was straight forward

between the rocks and the shore, that we might make ourselves

acquainted with every thing contained in the island we seemed

destined for ever to inhabit.

In effect, the line proceeding from Falcon’s Stream to the Great

Bay, might be said to be the extent of our dominions; for though

Fritz and I had discovered the adjacent exquisite country of

the buffalos, yet the passage to it by the end of the rocks was

so dangerous, and at so great a distance, that we could not hope

to domiciliate ourselves upon its soil, as we had done on our

side of the rocks. We found, as usual, much difficulty in pushing

through the tall tough grass and alternately through the thick

prickly bushes which every where obtruded themselves. We were

often obliged to turn aside while I cut a passage with my hatchet;

but these accidents seldom failed to reward my toil by the discovery

of different small additions to our general comfort among others,

some roots of trees curved by nature to serve both for saddles

and yokes for our beasts of burden. I took care to secure several,

and put them in the cart.

When we had spent about an hour in getting forward, we found

ourselves at the extremity of the wood, and a most singular

phenomenon presented itself to our view: a small plain, or rather a

grove of low bushes, to appearance almost covered with flakes of

snow, lay extended before us. Little Francis was the first to call

our attention to it, he being seated in the cart:—Look, father,

cried he, here is a place quite full of snow; let me get down

and make some snow-balls: Oh, how glad I am that we shall now

have snow instead of the ugly rain which made us all so uncomfortable!

I could not resist a hearty laugh; and though sure what we saw

could not in the midst of such scorching heat be snow, yet I

was completely at a loss to explain the nature of what in colour

and appearance bore so near a resemblance to it. Suddenly, however,

a suspicion crossed my mind, and was soon confirmed by Fritz,

who had darted forward on his onagra, and now returned with one

hand filled with tufts of a most excellent species of cotton,

so that the whole surface of low bushes was in reality a plantation

of that valuable article. This most useful of almost the whole

range of vegetable productions bestowed by Providence on man,

which with the cost of only a little labour supplies him with

apparel and commodious beds for the repose of his limbs, is found

in such abundance in islands, that I had been surprised at not

meeting with any before. The pods had burst from ripeness, and

the winds had scattered around their flaky contents; the ground

was strewed with them, they had gathered in tufts on the bushes,

and they floated gently in the air.

The joy of this discovery was almost too great for utterance,

and was shared by all but Francis, who was sorry to lose his

pretty snow-balls; and his mother, to soothe his regret, made

the cotton into balls for him to play with, and promised him

some new shirts and dresses: then turning to me, she poured out

her kind heart in descriptions of all the comfortable things

she should make for us, could I construct a spinning-wheel, and

then a loom for weaving.

We collected as much cotton as our bags would hold, and my wife

filled her pockets with the seed to raise it in our garden at

Tent-House.

It was now time to proceed; and we took a direction towards a

point of land which skirted the wood of gourds, and being high

commanded a view of the adjacent country. I conceived a wish

to remove our establishment to the vicinity of the cotton plantation

and the gourd wood, which furnished so many of the utensils for

daily use throughout the family. I pleased myself in idea with

the view of the different colonies of animals I had imagined,

both winged and quadruped, and in this elevation of my fancy

I even thought it might be practicable to erect a sort of farm-house

on the soil, which we might visit occasionally, and be welcomed

by the agreeable sounds of the cackling of our feathered subjects,

which would so forcibly remind us of the customs of our forsaken

but ever cherished country.

We accordingly soon reached the high ground, which I found in

all respects favourable to my design; behind, a thick forest

gradually rose above us, which sheltered us from the north wind,

and insensibly declined towards the south, ending in a plain

clothed luxuriantly with grass, shrubs, and plants, and watered

by a refreshing rivulet, which was an incalculable advantage

for our animals of every kind as well as for ourselves.

My plan for a building was approved by all, and we lost no time

in pitching our tent and forming temporary accommodations for

cooking our victuals. When we had refreshed ourselves with a

meal, we each took up some useful occupation; my wife and the

boys went to work with the cotton, which they thoroughly cleaned

and cleared from bits of the pods or other foreign substance,

and which was then put into the bags and served commodiously

at night for bolsters and mattresses. I for my part resolved

to look about in all directions, that I might completely understand

what we should have to depend upon in this place in point of

safety, salubrity, and general accommodation. I had also to find

a tree that would suit for the proposed construction of a boat;

and lastly, to meet if possible with a group of trees at such

fit distances from each other as would assist me in my plan of

erecting my farm. I was fortunate enough in no long time to find

in this last respect exactly what I wanted, and quite near to

the spot we on many accounts had felt to be so enviable: but

I was not equally successful for my boat, the trees in the vicinity

being of too small a bulk to supply the depth necessary for keeping

on the surface of the water. I returned to my companions, whom

I found busily employed in preparing excellent beds of the cotton,

upon which at an earlier hour than usual we all retired to rest.