Journeys Through Bookland V3

C >> Charles H. Sylvester >> Journeys Through Bookland V3

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Jack was not so successful in his educational attempts. Fangs, as he
had christened his jackal, used his fangs, indeed, but only on his own
account; nothing could persuade him that the animals he caught were
not at once to be devoured, consequently poor Jack was never able to
save from his jaws anything but the tattered skin of his prey. Not
disheartened, however, he determined that Fangs could be trained, and
that he would train him.

These, and such like employments, afforded us the rest and recreation
we required.

I then turned shoemaker, for I had promised myself a pair of
waterproof boots, and now determined to make them.

Taking a pair of socks, I filled them with sand and then coated them
over with a thin layer of clay to form a convenient mold; this was
soon hardened in the sun, and was ready for use. Layer after layer of
caoutchouc I brushed over it, allowing each layer to dry before the
next was put on, until at length I considered that the shoes were of
sufficient thickness. I dried them, broke out the clay, secured with
nails a strip of buffalo hide to the soles, brushed that over with
caoutchouc, and I had a pair of comfortable, durable, respectable-
looking water-proof boots.

I was delighted; orders poured in from all sides, and soon every one
in the family was likewise provided for.

One objection to Falconhurst was the absence of any spring close by,
so that the boys were obliged to bring water daily from the stream;
and this involving no little trouble, it was proposed that we should
carry the water by pipes from the stream to our present residence. A
dam had to be thrown across the river some way up stream, that the
water might be raised to a sufficient height to run to Falconhurst.
From the reservoir thus made we led the water down by pipes into the
turtle's shell, which we placed near our dwelling, and from which the
superfluous water flowed off through the hole made in it by Fritz's
harpoon. This was an immense convenience, and we formally inaugurated
the trough by washing therein a whole sack of potatoes. Thus day after
day brought its own work, and day after day saw that work completed.
We had no time to be idle, or to lament our separation from our
fellow-creatures.

One morning, as we were completing our spiral staircase, and giving it
such finish as we were capable of, we were suddenly alarmed by hearing
a most terrific noise, the roaring or bellowing of a wild beast; so
strange a sound was it, that I could not imagine by what animal it was
uttered.

Jack thought it perhaps a lion, Fritz hazarded a gorilla, while Ernest
gave it as his opinion, and I thought it possible that he was right,
that it was a hyena.

"Whatever it is," said I, "we must prepare to receive it; up with you
all to the nest while I secure the door."

Then arming the dogs with their collars, I sent them out to protect
the animals below, closed the door, and joined my family. Every gun
was loaded, every eye was upon the watch. The sound drew nearer, and
then all was still; nothing was to be seen. I determined to descend
and reconnoiter, and Fritz and I carefully crept down; with our guns
at full cock we glided among the trees; noiselessly and quickly we
pushed on further and further; suddenly, close by, we heard the
terrific sound again. Fritz raised his gun, but almost as quickly
dropped it, and burst into a hearty fit of laughter. There was no
mistaking those dulcet tones--he-haw, he-haw, he-haw--resounded
through the forest, and our ass, braying his approach right merrily,
appeared in sight. To our surprise, however, our friend was not alone;
behind him trotted another animal, an ass no doubt, but slim and
graceful as a horse. We watched their movements anxiously.

"Fritz," I whispered, "that is an onager.[Footnote: An onager is a
wild ass] Creep back to Falconhurst and bring me a piece of cord--
quietly now!"

[Illustration: CATCHING THE WILD ASS]

While he was gone, I cut a bamboo and split it halfway down to form a
pair of pincers, which I knew would be of use to me should I get near
the animal. Fritz soon returned with the cord, and I was glad to
observe also brought some oats and salt. We made one end of the cord
fast to a tree, and at the other end made a running noose. Silently we
watched the animals as they approached, quietly browsing; Fritz then
arose, holding in one hand the noose and in the other some oats and
salt. The ass, seeing his favorite food thus held out, advanced to
take it; Fritz allowed him to do so, and he was soon munching
contentedly. The stranger, on seeing Fritz, started back; but finding
her companion show no signs of alarm, was reassured, and soon
approached sniffing, and was about to take some of the tempting food.
In a moment the noose left Fritz's adroit hand and fell round her
neck; with a single bound she sprang backward the full length of the
cord, the noose drew tight, and she fell to the earth half strangled.
I at once ran up, loosened the rope, and replaced it by a halter; and
placing the pincers upon her nose, secured her by two cords fastened
between two trees, and left her to recover herself.

Every one hastened up to examine the beautiful animal as she rose from
the ground and cast fiery glances around. She lashed out with her
heels on every side; and, giving vent to angry snorts, struggled
violently to get free. All her endeavors were vain; the cords were
stout, and after a while she quieted down and stood exhausted and
quivering. I then approached; she suffered me to lead her to the roots
of our tree, which for the present formed our stables, and there I
tied her up close to the donkey, who was likewise prevented from
playing truant.

Next morning I found the onager after her night's rest as wild as
ever, and as I looked at the handsome creature I almost despaired of
ever taming her proud spirit. Every expedient was tried, and at
length, when the animal was subdued by hunger, I thought I might
venture to mount her; and having given her the strongest curb and
shackled her feet I attempted to do so. She was as unruly as ever, and
as a last expedient I resolved to adopt a plan which, though cruel,
was, I knew, attended with wonderful success among the American
Indians, by whom it is practiced. Watching a favorable opportunity, I
sprang upon the onager's back, and seizing her long ear in my teeth,
in spite of her kicking and plunging, bit it through. The result was
marvelous; the animal ceased plunging, and, quivering violently, stood
stock-still. From that moment we were her masters; the children
mounted her one after the other, and she carried them obediently and
quietly. Proud, indeed, did I feel as I watched this animal, which
naturalists and travelers have declared to be beyond the power of man
to tame, guided hither and thither by my youngest son.

Additions to our poultry yard reminded me of the necessity of
providing some substantial shelter for our animals before the rainy
season came on; three broods of chickens had been successfully
hatched, and the little creatures, forty in all, were my wife's pride
and delight. We began by making a roof over the vaulted roots of our
tree, forming the framework of bamboo canes, which we laid close
together and bound tightly down; others we fixed below as supports.
The interstices were filled up with clay and moss; and coating the
whole over with a mixture of tar and limewater, we obtained a firm
balcony, and a capital roof impervious to the severest fall of rain. I
ran a light rail round the balcony to give it a more ornamental
appearance, and below divided the building into several compartments.
Stables, poultry yard, hay and provision lofts, dairy, kitchen,
larder, and dining-hall were united under one roof.

Our winter quarters were now completed, and we had but to store them
with food. Day after day we worked, bringing in provisions of every
description.

As we were one evening returning from gathering potatoes, it struck me
that we should take in a store of acorns; and sending the two younger
boys home with their mother and the cart, I took a large canvas bag,
and with Fritz and Ernest, the former mounted on his onager, and the
latter carrying his little favorite, Knips, made a detour toward the
Acorn Wood.

We reached the spot, tied Lightfoot to a neighboring tree, and began
rapidly to fill the sack. As we were thus engaged, Knips sprang
suddenly into a bush close by, from which, a moment afterward, issued
such strange cries that Ernest followed to see what could be the
matter.

"Come!" he shouted; "come and help me! I've got a couple of birds and
their eggs. Quick! Ruffed grouse!"

We hurried to the spot. There was Ernest with a fluttering, screaming
bird in either hand; while with his foot he was endeavoring to prevent
his greedy little monkey from seizing the eggs. We quickly tied the
legs of the birds, and removing the eggs from the nest, placed them in
Ernest's hat; while he gathered some of the long, broad grass, with
which the nest was woven, and which grew luxuriantly around, for Franz
to play at sword-drill with. We then loaded the onager with the
acorns, and moved homeward. The eggs I covered carefully with dry
moss, that they might be kept warm, and as soon as possible I handed
them over to my wife, who managed the mother so cleverly that she
induced her to return to the eggs, and in a few days, to our great
delight, we had fifteen beautiful little chicks.

Franz was greatly pleased with the "swords" his brother brought him;
but having no small companion on whom to exercise his valor, he amused
himself for a short time in hewing down imaginary foes, and then cut
the reeds in slips, and plaited them to form a whip for Lightfoot. The
leaves seemed so pliable and strong that I examined them to see to
what further use they might be put. Their tissue was composed of long
silky fibers. A sudden thought struck me--this must be New Zealand
flax. [Footnote: New Zealand flax is not real flax: it is a plant of
the lily family, the fiber of whose leaves is used for making ropes,
mats and coarse cloth.] I could not rest till I had announced this
invaluable discovery to my wife. She was no less delighted than I was.

"Bring me the leaves!" she exclaimed. "Oh, what a delightful
discovery! No one shall now be clothed in rags; just make me a
spindle, and you shall soon have shirts and stockings and trousers,
all good homespun! Quick, Fritz, and bring your mother more leaves!"

We could not help smiling at her eager zeal; but Fritz and Ernest
sprang on their steeds, and soon the onager and the buffalo were
galloping home again, each laden with a great bundle of flax. The boys
dismounted and deposited their offering at their mother's feet.

"Capital!" she exclaimed. "I shall now show you that I am not at all
behindhand in ingenuity. This must be retted, carded, spun, and woven,
and then with scissors, needle, and thread I will make you any article
of clothing you choose."

We decided that Flamingo Marsh would be the best spot for the
operation of steeping or "retting" the flax, and next morning we set
out thither with the cart drawn by the ass, and laden with the
bundles, between which sat Franz and Knips, while the rest of us
followed with spades and hatchets. I described to my boys as we went
along the process of retting, and explained to them how steeping the
flax leaves destroys the useless membrane, while the strong fibers
remain.

[Illustration: FLAMINGOS]

As we were employed in making beds for the flax and placing it in
them, we observed several nests of the flamingo. These are most
curiously and skilfully made of glutinous clay, so strong that they
can neither be overturned nor washed away. They are formed in the
shape of blunted cones, and placed point downward; at the upper and
broader end is built a little platform to contain the eggs, on which
the female bird sits, with her long legs in the water on either side,
until the little birds are hatched and can take to the water. For a
fortnight we left the flax to steep, and then taking it out and drying
it thoroughly in the sun, stored it for future use at Falconhurst.

Daily did we load our cart with provisions to be brought to our winter
quarters: manioc, potatoes, cocoanuts, sweet acorns, sugar canes, were
all collected and stored in abundance--for grumbling thunder, lowering
skies, and sharp showers warned us that we had no time to lose. Our
corn was sowed, our animals housed, our provisions stored, when down
came the rain.

To continue in our nest we found impossible, and we were obliged to
retreat to the trunk, where we carried such of our domestic furniture
as might have been injured by the damp. Our dwelling was indeed
crowded; the animals and provisions below, and our beds and household
goods around us, hemmed us in on every side; by dint of patience and
better packing, we obtained sufficient room to work and lie down in;
by degrees, too, we became accustomed to the continual noise of the
animals and the smell of the stables. The smoke from the fire, which
we were occasionally obliged to light, was not agreeable; but in time
even that seemed to become more bearable.

To make more space, we turned such animals as we had captured, and who
therefore might be imagined to know how to shift for themselves,
outside during the daytime, bringing them under the arched roots only
at night. To perform this duty Fritz and I used to sally forth every
evening, and as regularly every evening did we return soaked to the
skin. To obviate this, the mother, who feared these continual wettings
might injure our health, contrived waterproofs; she brushed on several
layers of caoutchouc over stout shirts, to which she attached hoods;
she then fixed to these duck trousers, and thus prepared for each of
us a complete water-proof suit, clad in which we might brave the
severest rain.

In spite of our endeavors to keep ourselves busy, the time dragged
heavily. Our mornings were occupied in tending the animals; the boys
amused themselves with their pets, and assisted me in the manufacture
of carding-combs and a spindle for the mother. The combs I made with
nails, which I placed head downward on a sheet of tin about an inch
wide; holding the nails in their proper positions I poured solder
round their heads to fix them to the tin, which I then folded down on
either side of them to keep them perfectly firm. In the evening, when
our room was illuminated with wax candles, I wrote a journal of all
the events which had occurred since our arrival in this foreign land;
and, while the mother was busy with her needle and Ernest making
sketches of birds, beasts and flowers with which he had met during the
past months, Fritz and Jack taught little Franz to read.

Week after week rolled by. Week after week saw us still close
prisoners. Incessant rain battered down above us; constant gloom hung
over the desolate scene.

VI

ROCK HOUSE

The winds at length were lulled, the sun shot his brilliant rays
through the riven clouds, the rain ceased to fall--spring had come. No
prisoners set at liberty could have felt more joy than we did as we
stepped forth from our winter abode, refreshed our eyes with the
pleasant verdure around us, and our ears with the merry songs of a
thousand happy birds, and drank in the pure, balmy air of spring.

Our plantations were thriving vigorously. The seed we had sown was
shooting through the moist earth. All nature was refreshed.

Our nest was our first care; filled with leaves and broken and torn by
the wind, it looked dilapidated. We worked hard, and in a few days it
was again habitable. My wife now begged that I would start her with
the flax, and as early as possible I built a drying-oven, and then
prepared the flax for her use; I also, after some trouble,
manufactured a beetle-reel and spinning wheel, and she and Franz were
soon hard at work, the little boy reeling off the thread his mother
spun.

I was anxious to visit Tentholm, for I feared that much of our
precious stores might have suffered, and Fritz and I made an early
excursion thither. The damage done to Falconhurst was as nothing
compared to the scene that awaited us. The tent was blown to the
ground, the canvas torn to rags, the provisions were soaked, and two
casks of powder utterly destroyed. We immediately spread such things
as we hoped yet to preserve in the sun to dry. The pinnace was safe,
hut our faithful tub-boat was dashed in pieces, and the irreparable
damage we had sustained made me resolve to contrive some safer and
more stable winter quarters before the arrival of the next rainy
season. Fritz proposed that we should hollow out a cave in the rock,
and though the difficulties seemed almost insurmountable, I yet
determined to make the attempt; we might not, I thought, hew out a
cavern of sufficient size to serve as a room, but we might at least
make a cellar for the more valuable and perishable of our stores.

Some days afterward we left Falconhurst with the cart laden with a
cargo of spades, hammers, chisels, pickaxes, and crowbars, and began
our undertaking. On the smooth face of the perpendicular rock I drew
out in chalk the size of the proposed entrance, and then, with minds
bent on success, we battered away. Six days of hard and incessant toil
made but little impression; I do not think that the hole would have
been a satisfactory shelter for even Master Knips; but we still did
not despair, and were presently rewarded by coming to softer and more
yielding substance; our work progressed, and our minds were relieved.

On the tenth day, as our persevering blows were falling heavily, Jack,
who was working diligently with a hammer and crowbar, shouted:

"Gone, father! Fritz, my bar has gone through the mountain!"

"Run round and get it," laughed Fritz; "perhaps it has dropped into
Europe--you must not lose a good crowbar."

"But, really, it is through; it went right through the rock; I heard
it crash down inside. Oh, do come and see!" he shouted, excitedly.

We sprang to his side, and I thrust the handle of my hammer into the
hole he spoke of; it met with no opposition; I could turn it in any
direction I chose. Fritz handed me a long pole; I tried the depth with
that. Nothing could I feel. A thin wall, then, was all that intervened
between us and a great cavern.

With a shout of joy, the boys battered vigorously at the rock; piece
by piece fell, and soon the hole was large enough for us to enter. I
stepped near the aperture, and was about to make a further
examination, when a sudden rush of poisonous air turned me giddy, and
shouting to my sons to stand off, I leaned against the rock.

When I came to myself I explained to them the danger of approaching
any cavern or other place where the air has for a long time been
stagnant. "Unless air is incessantly renewed it becomes vitiated," I
said, "and fatal to those who breathe it. The safest way of restoring
it to its original state is to subject it to the action of fire; a few
handfuls of blazing hay thrown into this hole may, if the place be
small, sufficiently purify the air within to allow us to enter without
danger." We tried the experiment. The flame was extinguished the
instant it entered. Though bundles of blazing grass were thrown in, no
difference was made.

I saw that we must apply some more efficacious remedy, and sent the
boys for a chest of signal rockets we had brought from the wreck. We
let fly some dozens of these fiery serpents, which went whizzing in,
and disappeared at apparently a vast distance from us. Some flew like
radiant meteors round, lighted up the mighty circumference and
displayed, as by a magician's wand, a sparkling, glittering roof. They
looked like avenging dragons driving a foul, malignant fiend out of a
beauteous palace.

We waited for a little while after these experiments, and I then again
threw in lighted hay. It burned clearly; the air was purified.

Fritz and I enlarged the opening, while Jack, springing on his
buffalo, thundered away to Falconhurst to bear the great and
astonishing news to his mother.

Great must have been the effect of Jack's eloquence on those at home,
for the timbers of the bridge were soon again resounding under the
swift but heavy tramp of his steed; and he was quickly followed by the
rest of our party in the cart.

All were in the highest state of excitement. Jack had stowed in the
cart all the candles he could find, and we now, lighting these,
shouldered our arms and entered.

I led the way, sounding the ground as I advanced with a long pole,
that we might not fall unexpectedly into any great hole or chasm,
Silently we marched---the mother, the boys, and even the dogs seeming
overawed with the grandeur and beauty of the scene. We were in a
grotto of diamonds--a vast cave of glittering crystal; the candles
reflected on the wall a golden light, bright as the stars of heaven,
while great crystal pillars rose from the floor like mighty trees,
mingling their branches high above us and drooping in hundreds of
stalactites, which sparkled and glittered with all the colors of the
rainbow.

[Illustration: I ADVANCED WITH A LONG POLE]

The floor of this magnificent palace was formed of hard, dry sand, so
dry that I saw at once that we might safely take up our abode therein,
without the slightest fear of danger from damp.

From the appearance of the brilliant crystals round about us I
suspected their nature.

I tasted a piece. This was a cavern of rock salt. There was no doubt
about it--here was an unlimited supply of the best and purest salt!
But one thing detracted from my entire satisfaction and delight--large
crystals lay scattered here and there, which, detached from the roof,
had fallen to the ground; this, if apt to recur, would keep us in
constant peril. I examined some of the masses and discovered that they
had been all recently separated, and therefore concluded that the
concussion of the air occasioned by the rockets had caused their fall.
To satisfy ourselves, however, that there were no more pieces
tottering above us, we discharged our guns from the entrance, and
watched the effect. Nothing more fell--our magnificent abode was safe.

We returned to Falconhurst with minds full of wonder at our new
discovery, and plans for turning it to the best possible advantage.

Nothing was now talked of but the new house, how it should be
arranged, how it should be fitted up. The safety and comfort of
Falconhurst, which had at first seemed so great, now dwindled away in
our opinion to nothing; it should be kept up, we decided, merely as a
summer residence, while our cave should be formed into a winter house
and impregnable castle. Our attention was now fully occupied with this
new house. Light and air were to be admitted, so we hewed a row of
windows in the rock, where we fitted the window cases we had brought
from the officers' cabins. We brought the door, too, from Falconhurst,
and fitted it in the aperture we had made. The opening in the trunk of
the tree I determined to conceal with bark, as less likely to attract
the notice of wild beasts or savages should they approach during our
absence. The cave itself we divided into four parts: in front, a large
compartment into which the door opened, subdivided into our sitting,
eating, and sleeping apartments; the right-hand division containing
our kitchen and workshop, and the left our stables; behind all this,
in the dark recesses of the cave, was our storehouse and powder
magazine. Having already undergone one rainy season, we knew well its
discomforts, and thought of many useful arrangements in the laying out
of our dwelling, We did not intend to be again smoke-dried; we
therefore contrived a properly built fireplace and chimney; our stable
arrangements, too, were better, and plenty of space was left in our
workshop that we should not be hampered in even the most extensive
operations.

Our frequent residence at Tentholm revealed to us several important
advantages which we had not foreseen. Numbers of splendid turtles
often came ashore to deposit their eggs in the sand, and their
delicious flesh afforded us many a sumptuous meal. When more than one
of these creatures appeared at a time, we used to cut off their
retreat to the sea, and, turning them on their backs, fasten them to a
stake driven in close by the water's edge, by a cord passed through a
hole in their shell. We thus had fresh turtle continually within our
reach; for the animals throve well thus secured, and appeared in as
good condition, after having been kept thus for several weeks, as
others when freshly caught. Lobsters, crabs, and mussels also abounded
on the shore. But this was not all; an additional surprise awaited us.

As we were one morning approaching Tentholm, we were attracted by a
most curious phenomenon. The waters out at sea appeared agitated by
some unseen movement, and as they heaved and boiled, their surface,
struck by the beams of the morning sun, seemed illuminated by flashes
of fire. Over the water where this disturbance was taking place
hovered hundreds of birds, screaming loudly, which ever and anon would
dart downward, some plunging beneath the water, some skimming the
surface. Then again they would rise and resume their harsh cries. The
shining, sparkling mass then rolled onward, and approached in a direct
line our bay, followed by the feathered flock above. We hurried down
to the shore to examine further this strange sight.

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