Journeys Through Bookland V3

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

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"My dear boy," said I, "according to your statement, Fritz must have
been seven miles and a half off."

"Oh, well, father, perhaps we did not ride for quite a quarter of an
hour, and, of course, I can't say exactly how fast we were going; and
then, you see, the fawns did not run in a straight line; at any rate
Fritz heard us, and he and Franz and I leashed the legs of the pretty
creatures, and then we mounted again, and presently saw a wretch of a
cuckoo, who led us ever so far out of our course by cuckooing and
making faces at us, and then hopping away. Franz declared it must be
an enchanted princess, and so I thought I would rid it of its spell;
but Fritz stopped me shooting it, and said it was a 'Honey Indicator,'
and that it was leading us probably to a bees' byke, so we spared its
life, and presently, sure enough, it stopped close by a bees' nest in
a hollow tree. This was capital, we thought, and, as we were in a
great hurry to taste the honey, I threw in a lot of lighted lucifer
matches, but somehow it did not kill the bees at all, but only made
them awfully angry, and they flew out in a body and stung me all over.
I rushed to Storm and sprang on his back, but, though I galloped away
for bare life, it was an age before I got rid of the little wretches,
and now my face is in a perfect fever. I think I will get mother to
bathe it for me;" and off rushed the noisy boy, leaving Fritz and me
to see to the fawns and examine the rabbits. With these latter I
determined to do as Fritz proposed, namely, to colonize Whale Island.
I was all the more willing to do this because I had been considering
the advisability of establishing on that island a fortress to which we
might retreat in any extreme danger, and where we should be very
thankful, in case of such a retreat, to possess means of obtaining a
constant supply of animal food.

I ministered to the wants of the antelopes, and just then the mother
summoned us to dinner.

The principal dish in this meal consisted of bears' paws--most savory
smelling delicacies, so tempting that their close resemblance to human
hands, and even the roguish "Fee-fo-fum" from Jack, did not prevent a
single member of the family from enjoying them most heartily.

Supper over, we lit our watch fire, retired to our tent, and slept
soundly.

We had been working very diligently; the bears' meat was smoked, the
fat melted down and stored, and a large supply of bamboos collected.
But I wished to make yet another excursion, and at early dawn I
aroused the boys.

Fritz mounted the mule, I rode Lightfoot, Jack and Franz took their
usual steeds, and, with the two dogs, we galloped off--first to visit
the euphorbia to collect the gum, and then to discover whether an
ostrich which we had found previously had deserted her eggs in the
sand. Ernest watched us depart without the slightest look or sigh of
regret, and returned to the tent to assist his mother and study his
books.

Our steeds carried us down the Green Valley at a rapid rate, and we
followed the direction we had pursued on our former expedition. We
soon reached Turtle Marsh, and then filling our water flasks, we
arrived at the rising ground.

As Jack and Franz wanted to gallop, I allowed them to press forward,
while Fritz and I visited the euphorbia trees. A quantity of the red
gum had exuded from the incisions I had made, and as this had
coagulated in the sun, I rolled it into little balls and stored it in
a bamboo jar I had brought with me for the purpose.

As we rode after the boys, who were some way ahead, Fritz remarked:

"Did you not tell me that the juice of that tree was poisonous,
father; why have you collected such a quantity?"

"I did indeed say so," I replied; "it is a most deadly poison. The
inhabitants of the Cape of Good Hope use it to poison the springs
where wild animals assemble to quench their thirst; and they thus
slaughter an immense number of the creatures for the sake of their
hides. I intend, however, to use it to destroy the apes should they
again commit depredations, and also in preparing the skins of animals
to protect them from the attacks of insects."

The two boys were still at some distance from us, when suddenly four
magnificent ostriches rose from the sand where they had been sitting.

Jack and Franz perceived them, and, with a great shout, drove them
toward us. In front ran a splendid male bird, his feathers of shining
black, and his great tail plume waving. Three females of an ashen gray
color followed him. They approached us with incredible swiftness, and
were within gunshot before they perceived us. Fritz had had the
forethought to bind up the beak of his eagle so that, should he bring
down an ostrich, he might be unable to injure it.

He now threw up the falcon, which, towering upward, swooped down upon
the head of the foremost bird, and so confused and alarmed him, that
he could not defend himself nor continue his flight. So greatly was
his speed checked that Jack overtook him, and hurling his lasso,
enfolded his wings and legs in its deadly coils and brought him to the
ground. The other ostriches were almost out of sight, so leaving them
to their own devices, we leaped from our steeds and attempted to
approach the captured bird. He struggled fearfully, and kicked with
such violence, right and left, that I almost despaired of getting him
home alive.

It occurred to me, however, that if we could cover his eyes, his fury
might be subdued. I instantly acted upon this idea, and flung over his
head my coat and hunting bag, which effectually shut out the light.

No sooner had I done this than his struggles ceased, and we were able
to approach. We first secured round his body a broad strip of
sealskin, on each side of which I fastened a stout piece of cord, that
I might be able to lead him easily. Then fastening another cord in a
loop round his legs that he might he prevented from breaking into a
gallop, we released him from the coils of the lasso.

"Do you know," said I to the boys, "how the natives of India secure a
newly captured elephant?"

"Oh, yes!" said Fritz; "they fasten him between two tame elephants.
We'll do that to this fine fellow, and tame him double quick."

"The only difficulty will be," remarked Jack, "that we have no tame
ostriches. However, I daresay Storm and Grumble will have no objection
to perform their part, and it will puzzle even this great monster to
run away with them."

So we at once began operations. Storm and Grumble were led up on
either side of the recumbent ostrich, and the cords secured to their
girths. Jack and Franz, each armed with a stout whip, mounted their
respective steeds, the wrappers were removed from the bird's eyes, and
we stood by to watch what would next occur.

For some moments after the return of his sight he lay perfectly still,
then he rose with a bound, and, not aware of the cords which hampered
him, attempted to dash forward. The thongs were stout, and he was
brought to his knees. A fruitless struggle ensued, and at length,
seeming to accommodate himself to circumstances, he set off at a sharp
trot, his guards making the air reecho with their merry shouts. These
cries stimulated the ostrich to yet further exertions, but he was at
length brought to a stand by the determined refusal of his four-footed
companions to continue such a race across loose sand.

The boys having enjoyed the long run, I told them to walk with the
prisoner slowly home, while Fritz and I returned to examine the
ostrich's nest. The eggs were quite warm, and I was certain that the
mother had quite recently left the nest; leaving about half, I packed
the rest of the eggs in a large bag I had brought for the purpose, and
slung it carefully on the saddle before me. We soon caught up our
advance guard, and without other notable incident reached our tent.

Astonishment and dismay were depicted on the face of the mother as we
approached.

"My dear husband," she exclaimed, "do you think our provisions so
abundant that you must scour the deserts to find some great beast to
assist us to devour them? You must discover an iron mine next, for
iron is what ostriches chiefly live on, is it not? Oh! I do wish you
would be content with the menagerie you have already collected,
instead of bringing in a specimen of every beast you come across. And
this is such a useless monster!"

"Useless! mother," exclaimed Jack; "you would not say so had you seen
him run; why, he will be the fleetest courser in our stables. I am
going to make a saddle and bridle for him, and in future he shall be
my only steed. Then as for his appetite, father declares it is most
delicate; he only wants a little fruit and grass, and a few stones and
tenpenny nails to help his digestion."

The way in which Jack assumed the proprietorship of our new prize
seemed to strike his brothers as rather cool, and there was instantly
a cry raised on the subject.

"Very well," said Jack, "let us each take possession of the part of
the ostrich we captured. Your bird, Fritz, seized the head, so you may
keep that; father shall have the body, I'll have the legs, and Franz a
couple of feathers from the tail."

"Come, come," said I, "I think that Jack has a very good right to the
ostrich, seeing that he brought it to the ground; and if he succeeds
in taming it and converting it into a saddle horse it shall be his.
From this time, therefore, he is responsible for its training."

The day was now too far advanced to allow us to think of setting out
for Rockburg, so we fastened up the ostrich between two trees, and
devoted the remainder of the evening to making preparations for our
departure.

At early dawn our picturesque caravan was moving homeward. The ostrich
continued so refractory that we were obliged to make him again march
between Storm and Grumble, and as these gallant steeds were thus
employed, the cow was harnessed to the cart, laden with our treasures.
Room was left in the cart for the mother, Jack and Franz mounted Storm
and Grumble, I rode Lightfoot, and Fritz brought up the rear on Swift.

At the mouth of the Gap we called a halt, and replaced the cord the
boys had strung with ostrich feathers by a stout palisade of bamboos.
I also took the opportunity of collecting a store of pipe clay, as I
intended during the winter months, which were close at hand, to try my
hand at china making.

When we reached the sugar-cane grove, we again stopped to collect the
peccary hams we had left to be smoked; and my wife begged me to gather
some seeds of an aromatic plant which grew in the neighborhood, and
which had the scent of vanilla. I obtained a good supply, and we moved
forward toward Woodlands, where we intended to rest for the night,
after our long and fatiguing march.

Our tent was pitched, and on our beds of cotton we slept soundly.

Next morning early we examined our farmyard, which appeared in a most
prosperous and flourishing condition. The sight of all these domestic
animals made us long even more than ever for our home at Rockburg, and
we determined to hasten thither with all possible speed.

The number of our pigs, goats, and poultry had greatly increased since
we had last visited our colony; and some of these, two fine broods of
chickens especially, my wife wished to take back with her.

We found that the herd of antelopes, which Fritz and Jack had driven
through the Gap, had taken up their abode in the neighborhood, and
several times we saw the beautiful animals browsing among the trees.
While at the farm, we repaired both the animals' stall and our
dwelling room, that the former might be more secure against the
attacks of wild beasts, and the latter fitted for our accommodation
when we should visit the spot.

Everything at length being satisfactorily arranged, we again retired
to rest, and early next morning completed our journey to Rockburg.

By midday we were once more settled at home. Windows and doors were
thrown open to admit fresh air; the animals established in their
stalls; and the cart's miscellaneous cargo discharged and arranged.
As much time as I could spare, I devoted to the ostrich, whom we
fastened, for the present, between two bamboo posts in front of our
dwelling.

I then turned my attention to the eggs we had brought, which I
determined to hatch, if possible, by artificial heat. For this purpose
I arranged a stove, which I maintained at a uniform temperature, and
on it I placed the eggs, carefully wrapped in cotton wool.

Next morning Fritz and I went off in the boat, first to Whale Island,
there to establish our colonists, the Angora rabbits, and then to
Shark Island, where we placed the dainty little antelopes. Having made
them happy with their liberty and abundance of food, we returned as
quickly as possible to cure the bearskins, and add the provisions we
had brought to the stores lying in our cellar.

As we returned, we caught up Jack, making his way in great glee toward
Rockburg. He was carrying, in a basket, an immense eel, which he and
Ernest had secured.

Ernest had set, on the previous night, a couple of lines; one had been
dragged away, but on the other they found this splendid fellow.

It proved delicious. Half was prepared for dinner, and the other half
salted and stowed away.

We now, for a short time, again turned our attention to our duties
about the house.

Thinking that the veranda would be greatly improved by some creepers,
I sowed, round the foot of each bamboo pillar, vanilla and pepper
seed, as well as that of other creeping plants, which would not only
give the house a pleasanter aspect, but also afford us shade during
the summer months. Despite all our efforts, the ostrich appeared as
untameable as ever. I determined, therefore, to adopt a plan which had
subdued the refractory eagle.

The effect of the tobacco fumes almost alarmed me. The ostrich sank to
the ground and lay motionless. Slowly, at length, he arose, and paced
up and down between the bamboo posts.

He was subdued, but to my dismay resolutely refused all food. I feared
he would die; for three days he pined, growing weaker and weaker each
day.

"Food he must have!" said I to my wife; "food he must have!"

The mother determined to attempt an experiment. She prepared balls of
maize flour, mixed with butter. One of these she placed within the
bird's beak. He swallowed it, and stretched out his long neck, looking
inquiringly for a second mouthful. A second, third, and fourth ball
followed the first. His appetite returned, and his strength came
again.

All the wild nature of the bird had gone, and I saw with delight that
we might begin his education as soon as we chose. Rice, guavas, maize,
and corn he ate readily--washing it down, as Jack expressed it, with
small pebbles, to the great surprise of Franz, to whom I explained
that the ostrich was merely following the instinct common to all
birds; that he required these pebbles to digest his food, just as
smaller birds require gravel.

After a month of careful training, our captive would trot, gallop,
obey the sound of our voice, feed from our hand; and, in fact, showed
himself perfectly docile. Now our ingenuity was taxed to the utmost.
How were we to saddle and bridle a bird? First, for a bit for his
beak. Vague ideas passed through my mind, but every one I was obliged
to reject.

[Illustration JACK AND THE OSTRICH]

A plan at length occurred to me. I recollected the effect of light and
its absence upon the ostrich, how his movements were checked by sudden
darkness, and how, with the light, power returned to his limbs.

I immediately constructed a leathern hood, to reach from the neck to
the beak, cutting holes in it for the eyes and ears.

Over the eyeholes I contrived square flaps or blinkers, which were so
arranged with whalebone springs that they closed tightly of
themselves. The reins were connected with these blinkers, so that the
flaps might be raised or allowed to close at the rider's pleasure.

When both blinkers were open, the ostrich would gallop straight ahead;
close his right eye and he turned to the left, close his left and he
turned to the right, shut both and he stood stock-still. [Footnote:
Ostriches actually may be managed in this way.]

I was justly proud of my contrivance, but before I could really test
its utility, I was obliged to make a saddle.

After several failures, I succeeded in manufacturing one to my liking,
and in properly securing it; it was something like an old-fashioned
trooper's saddle, peaked before and behind--for my great fear was lest
the boys should fall. This curious-looking contrivance I placed upon
the shoulders as near the neck as possible, and secured it with strong
girths round the wings and across the breast, to avoid all possibility
of the saddle slipping down the bird's sloping back.

I soon saw that my plan would succeed, though skill and considerable
practice were necessary in the use of my patent bridle. It was
difficult to remember that to check the courser's speed it was
necessary to slacken rein, and that the tighter the reins were drawn,
the faster he would fly. We at length, however, all learned to manage
Master Hurricane, and the distance between Rockburg and Falconhurst
was traversed in an almost incredibly short space of time.

IX

THE CAJACK

The rainy season having set in, we were compelled to give up our daily
excursions.

Even in the spacious house which we now occupied, and with our varied
and interesting employments, we yet found the time dragging heavily.
The spirits of all were depressed, and even occasional rapid rides,
during a partial cessation of the rain, failed permanently to arouse
them. Fritz, as well as I, had perceived this, and he said to me:

"Why, father, should we not make a canoe, something swifter and more
manageable than those vessels we as yet possess? I often long for a
light skiff, in which I might skim over the surface of the water."

The idea delighted all hands; but the mother, who was never happy when
we were on the sea, declared that our chances of drowning were, with
the pinnace, already sufficiently great, and that there was not the
slightest necessity for our adding to these chances by constructing
another craft which would tempt us out upon the perfidious element. My
wife's fears were, however, speedily allayed, for I assured her that
the boat I intended to construct should be no flimsy cockleshell, but
as safe and stout a craft as ever floated upon the sea. The
Greenlander's cajack I intended to be my model, and I resolved not
only to occupy the children, but also to produce a strong and
serviceable canoe--a masterpiece of art. The boys were interested, and
the boat building was soon in operation. We constructed the skeleton
of whalebone, using split bamboo canes to strengthen the sides and
also to form the deck, which extended the whole length of the boat,
leaving merely a square hole in which the occupant of the canoe might
sit.

The work engrossed our attention most entirely, and by the time it was
complete the rain had passed away and the glorious sun again shone
brightly forth.

Our front door was just wide enough to admit of the egress of our
boat, and we completed her construction in the open air. We quickly
cased the sides and deck with sealskin, making all the seams
thoroughly water-tight with caoutchouc.

The cajack was indeed a curious-looking craft, yet so light that she
might be lifted easily with one hand, and when at length we launched
her she bounded upon the water like an india-rubber ball. Fritz was
unanimously voted her rightful owner, but before his mother would hear
of his entering the frail-looking skiff she declared she must contrive
a swimming dress, that "should his boat receive a puncture from a
sharp rock or the dorsal fin of a fish and collapse, he might yet have
a chance of saving his life."

Though I did not consider the cajack quite the soap bubble the mother
imagined it, I yet willingly agreed to assist her in the construction
of the dress.

The garment we produced was most curious in appearance, and I must own
that I doubted its efficiency. It was like a double waistcoat, made of
linen prepared with a solution of india rubber, the seams being
likewise coated with caoutchouc, and the whole rendered perfectly air-
tight. We so arranged it that one little hole was left, by means of
which air could be forced into the space between the outer covering
and the lining, and the dress inflated.

Meanwhile I perceived with pleasure the rapid vegetation the climate
was producing. The seeds we had scattered had germinated, and were now
promising magnificent crops. The veranda, too, was looking pleasant
with its gay and sweet-scented creepers, which were already aspiring
to the summit of the pillars. The air was full of birds, the earth
seemed teeming with life.

The dress was at length completed, and Fritz one fine afternoon
offered publicly to prove it. We all assembled on the beach, the boy
gravely donned and inflated the garment, and, amid roars of laughter
from his brothers, entered the water. Quickly and easily he paddled
himself across the bay toward Shark Island, whither we followed in one
of our boats.

The experiment was most successful, and Ernest, Jack, and Franz, in
spite of their laughter at their brother's garment, begged their
mother to make for each of them a similar dress.

While on the island we paid a visit to the colonists whom we had
established there the previous autumn. All were well; we could
perceive by the footprints that the antelopes had discovered and made
use of the shelter we had erected for them, and feeling that we could
do nothing more we scattered handfuls of maize and salt, and strolled
across to the other side of the island. The shore was covered with
lovely shells, many of which, with beautiful pieces of delicate coral,
the boys collected for their museum; strewn by the edge of the water,
too, lay a great quantity of seaweed of various colors, and as the
mother declared that much of it was of use, the boys assisted her to
collect it and store it in the boat. As we pulled back to the land I
was surprised to see that my wife chose from among the seaweed a
number of curious leaves with edges notched like a saw. When we
reached home she carefully washed these and dried them in the oven.
There was evidently something mysterious about this preparation, and
my curiosity at length prompted me to make an attempt to discover the
secret.

"Are these leaves to form a substitute for tobacco?" said I; "do you
so long for its refreshing smell?"

My wife smiled, for her dislike to tobacco was well known, and she
answered in the same jocular tone: "Do you not think that a mattress
stuffed with these leaves would be very cool in summer?"

The twinkle in her eyes showed me that my curiosity must still remain
unsatisfied, but it nevertheless became greater than ever.

The boys and I had one day made a long and fatiguing expedition, and,
tired out, we flung ourselves down in the veranda. As we lay there
resting, we heard the mother's voice.

"Could any of you enjoy a little jelly?"

She presently appeared, bearing a porcelain dish laden with most
lovely transparent jelly. Cut with a spoon and laid before us it
quivered and glittered in the light. "Ambrosia!" exclaimed Fritz,
tasting it. It was indeed delicious, and, still marveling from whence
the mother could have obtained a dish so rare, we disposed of all that
she had set before us.

"Aha," laughed the mother, "is not this an excellent substitute for
tobacco, far more refreshing than the nasty weed itself? Behold the
product of my mysterious seaweed."

"My dear wife," exclaimed I, "this dish is indeed a masterpiece of
culinary art, but where had you met with it? What put it into your
head?"

"While staying with my Dutch friends at the Cape," replied she, "I
often saw it, and at once recognized the leaves on Shark Island. Once
knowing the secret, the preparation of the dish is extremely simple;
the leaves are soaked in water, fresh every day, for a week, and then
boiled for a few hours with orange juice, citron, and sugar."

At last came the day when Fritz was to make his trial trip with the
cajack. Completely equipped in swimming costume--trousers, jacket and
cap--it was most ludicrous to see him cower down in the canoe and puff
and blow till he began to swell like the frog in the fable.

All trace of his original figure was speedily lost, and shouts of
laughter greeted his comical appearance. Even his mother could not
resist a smile, although the dress was her invention.

I got the other boat out, that my wife might see we were ready to go
to his assistance the moment it became necessary.

The cajack was launched from a convenient shelving point, and floated
lightly on the sea-green ocean mirror. Fritz with his paddles then
began to practice all manner of evolutions; darting along with arrowy
swiftness, wheeling to the right, then to the left; and at last,
flinging himself quite on his side, while his mother uttered a shriek
of terror, he showed that the tiny craft would neither capsize nor
sink. Then, recovering his balance, he sped securely on his further
way.

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