Journeys Through Bookland V3

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

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Encouraged by our shouts of approbation, he now boldly ventured into
the strong current of Jackal River, and was rapidly carried out to
sea.

This being more than I had bargained for, I lost no time in giving
chase in the boat, with Ernest and Jack; my wife urging us to greater
speed, and declaring that some accident could not fail to happen to
"that horrid soap bubble."

We soon arrived outside the bay, at the rocks where formerly lay the
wreck, and gazed in all directions for signs of the runaway.

After a time we saw, at a considerable distance, a faint puff of
smoke, which was followed by the crack of a pistol. Upon this we fired
a signal shot, which was presently answered by another, and, steering
in the direction of the sound, we soon heard the boy's cheery halloo;
the cajack darted from behind a point of land, and we quickly joined
company.

"Come to this rocky beach," cried Fritz; "I have something to show
you."

With blank amazement we beheld a fine, well-grown young walrus,
harpooned and quite dead.

"Did you kill this creature, my dear Fritz?" I exclaimed, looking
round in some anxiety, and half expecting to see a naked savage come
to claim the prize.

"To be sure, father! don't you see my harpoon?"

I wished Fritz to keep close to us, that we might all arrive together;
but I yielded to his earnest wish to return alone as he came; he
longed to act as our avant-courrier, and announce our approach to his
mother; so he was soon skimming away over the surface of the water,
while we followed at a slower rate.

[Illustration: THE WALRUS]

Black clouds meanwhile gathered thick and fast around us, and a
tremendous storm came on. Fritz was out of sight, and beyond our
reach.

We buckled on the swimming belts, and firmly lashed ourselves to the
boat, so that we might not be washed overboard by the towering seas
which broke over it.

The horizon was shrouded in darkness, fearful gusts of wind lashed the
ocean into foam, rain descended in torrents, while livid lightning
glared athwart the gloom. Both my boys faced the danger nobly; and my
feelings of alarm were mingled with hope on finding how well the boat
behaved.

The tempest swept on its way, and the sky began to clear as suddenly
as it had been overcast; yet the stormy waves continued for a long
time to threaten our frail bark with destruction, in spite of its
buoyancy and steadiness.

Yet I never lost hope for ourselves--all my fears were for Fritz; in
fact, I gave him up for lost, and my whole agonized heart arose in
prayer for strength to say, "Thy will be done!"

At last we rounded the point, and once more entering Safety Bay,
quickly drew near the little harbor.

What was our surprise--our overwhelming delight--when there we saw the
mother with Fritz as well as her little boy, on their knees in prayer
so earnest for our deliverance, that our approach was unperceived,
until with cries of joy we attracted their notice. Then indeed ensued
a happy meeting, and we gave thanks together for the mercy which had
spared our lives.

Returning joyfully to Rockburg, we changed our drenched garments for
warm, dry clothes; and, seated at a comfortable meal, considered and
described at our ease the perils of the storm.

Afterward, the head of the walrus was conveyed to our workshop, where
it underwent such a skilful and thorough process of cleaning,
embalming, and drying, that ere long it was actually fixed on the prow
of the cajack, and a most imposing appearance it presented.

The strips of hide, when well tanned and prepared, made valuable
leather.

Much damage had been done by the late storm. The heavy rain had
flooded all the streams, and injured crops which should have been
housed before the regular rainy season. The bridge over Jackal River
was partly broken down, and the water tanks and pipes all needed
repair. So our time was much occupied in restoring things to order.

The return of the fishing season again gave us busy days. Large takes
of salmon, sturgeon and herring rewarded our exertions, and our
storeroom again assumed a well-stocked appearance.

X

THE BOYS ON THE SECOND EXCURSION

Many quiet, uneventful days passed by, and I perceived that the boys,
wearied by the routine of farm work at Rockburg, were longing for a
cruise in the yacht or an expedition into the woods, which would
refresh both mind and body.

"Father," said Fritz at length, "we want a quantity of hurdles, and
have scarcely any more bamboos of which to make them. Had we not
better get a supply from Woodlands? And you said, too, the other day,
that you wished you had some more of the fine clay; we might visit the
Gap at the same time."

I had really no objection to propose; and it was shortly afterward
settled that Fritz, Jack and Franz should start together; and that
Ernest, who had no great desire to accompany his brothers, should
remain with his mother and me, and assist in the construction of a
sugar mill, the erection of which I had long contemplated.

They were ready to start, when I observed Jack quietly slip a basket
containing several pigeons, under the packages in the cart.

[Illustration: LATEST NEWS BY PIGEON POST]

The weather was exquisite; and, with exhortations to prudence and
caution from both me and their mother, the three lads started in the
very highest spirits. Storm and Grumble, as usual, drew the cart, and
were ridden by Fritz and Franz; while Hurry carried Jack swiftly
across the bridge in advance of them, followed by Floss and Bruno,
barking at his heels.

The sugar mill occupied us for several days, and was made so much like
our other mills that I need not now describe it.

On the evening of the first day, as we sat resting in the porch at
Rockburg, we naturally talked of the absentees, wondering and guessing
what they might be about.

Ernest looked rather mysterious, and hinted that he might have news of
them next morning.

Just then a bird alighted on the dovecot, and entered. I could not
see, in the failing light, whether it was one of our own pigeons or an
intruder. Ernest started up, and said he would see that all was right.

In a few minutes he returned with a scrap of paper in his hand.

"News, father! The very latest news by pigeon post, mother!"

"Well done, boys! what a capital idea!" said I, and taking the note I
read:

"DEAREST PARENTS AND ERNEST:

"A brute of a hyena has killed a ram and two lambs. The dogs seized
it. Franz shot it. It is dead and skinned. We are all right. Love to
all. "FRITZ.

"WOODLANDS, 15th instant."

"A true hunter's letter!" laughed I; "but what exciting news. When
does the next post come in, Ernest?"

"To-night, I hope," said he, while his mother sighed, and doubted the
value of such glimpses into the scenes of danger through which her
sons were passing, declaring she would much rather wait and hear all
about it when she had them safe home again.

Thus the winged letter-carriers kept us informed from day to day of
the outline of adventures which were afterward more fully described.
On approaching the farm at Woodlands, the boys were startled by
hearing, as they thought, human laughter, repeated again and again;
while, to their astonishment, the oxen testified the greatest
uneasiness, the dogs growled and drew close to their masters, and the
ostrich fairly bolted with Jack into the rice swamp. The laughter
continued, and the beasts became unmanageable.

"Something is very far wrong!" cried Fritz. "I cannot leave the
animals; but while I unharness them, do you, Franz, take the dogs, and
advance cautiously to see what is the matter."

Without a moment's hesitation, Franz made his way among the bushes
with his gun, closely followed by the dogs; until, through an opening
in the thicket, he could see, at a distance of about forty paces, an
enormous hyena, in the most wonderful state of excitement; dancing
round a lamb just killed, and uttering, from time to time, the ghastly
hysterical laughter which had pealed through the forest.

The beast kept running backward and forward, rising on its hind legs,
and then rapidly whirling round and round, nodding its head, and going
through most frantic and ludicrous antics.

Franz kept his presence of mind very well; for he watched till,
calming down, the hyena began with horrid growls to tear its prey; and
then, firing steadily both barrels, he broke its fore leg, and wounded
it in the breast.

Meanwhile Fritz, having unyoked the oxen and secured them to trees,
hurried to his brother's assistance. The dogs and the dying hyena were
by this time engaged in mortal strife; but the latter, although it
severely wounded both Floss and Bruno, speedily succumbed, and was
dead when Fritz reached the spot. They raised a shout of triumph,
which guided Jack to the scene of action; and their first care was for
the dogs, whose wounds they dressed before minutely examining the
hyena. It was as large as a wild boar; long, stiff bristles formed a
mane on its neck, its color was gray marked with black, the teeth and
jaws were of extraordinary strength, the thighs muscular and sinewy,
the claws remarkably strong and sharp altogether. But for his wounds
he would certainly have been more than a match for the dogs.

After unloading the cart at the farm, the boys returned for the
carcass of the tiger-wolf, as it is sometimes called, and occupied
themselves in skinning it during the remainder of the day, when, after
dispatching the carrier-pigeon to Rockburg, they retired to rest on
their bearskin rugs, to dream of adventures past and future.

The following day they devised no less a scheme than to survey the
shores of Wood Lake, and place marks wherever the surrounding marsh
was practicable, and might be crossed either to reach the water or
leave it.

Fritz in the cajack, and the boys on shore, carefully examined the
ground together; and when they found firm footing to the water's edge,
the spot was indicated by planting a tall bamboo, bearing on high a
bundle of reeds and branches.

They succeeded in capturing three young black swans, after
considerable resistance from the old ones. They were afterward brought
to Rockburg, and retained as ornaments to Safety Bay. The young
hunters seemed to have lived very comfortably on peccary ham, cassava
bread and fruit, and plenty of baked potatoes and milk.

After collecting a supply of rice and cotton, they took their way to
Prospect Hill; "and," said Fritz, as he afterward vividly described
the dreadful scene there enacted, "when we entered the pine wood, we
found it in possession of troops of monkeys, who resolved to make our
passage through it as disagreeable as possible, for they howled and
chattered at us like demons, pelting us as hard as they could with
pine cones.

"They became so unbearable, that at last we fired a few shots right
and left among them; several bit the dust, the rest fled, and we
continued our way in peace to Prospect Hill, but only to discover the
havoc the wretches had made there.

"Would you believe it, father? The pleasant cottage had been overrun
and ruined by apes just as Woodland was last summer! The most dreadful
dirt and disorder met our eyes wherever we turned, and we had hard
work to make the place fit for human habitation; and even then we
preferred the tent. I felt quite at a loss how to guard the farm for
the future; but seeing a bottle of the poisonous gum of the euphorbia
in the tool chest, I devised a plan for the destruction of the apes
which succeeded beyond my expectations.

"I mixed poison with milk, bruised millet, and anything I thought the
monkeys would eat, and put it in cocoanut shells, which I hung about
in the trees, high enough to be out of reach of our own animals. The
evening was calm and lovely; the sea murmured in the distance, and the
rising moon shed a beauty over the landscape which we seemed never
before to have so admired and enjoyed. The summer night closed around
us in all its solemn stillness, and our deepest feelings were touched;
when suddenly the spell was broken by an outburst of the most hideous
and discordant noises. As by one consent, every beast of the forest
seemed to arise from its den, and utter its wild nocturnal cry.
Snorting, snarling, and shrieking filled the wood beneath us.

"From the hills echoed the mournful howl of jackals, answered by Fangs
in the yard, who was backed up by the barking and yelping of his
friends Floss and Bruno. Far away beyond the rocky fastnesses of the
Gap, sounded unearthly, hollow snortings and neighings, reminding one
of the strange cry of the hippopotamus; above these, occasional deep
majestic roaring made our hearts quail with the conviction that we
heard the voices of lions and elephants.

"Overawed and silent, we retired to rest, hoping to forget in sleep
the terrors of the midnight forest, but ere long the most fearful
cries in the adjoining woods gave notice that the apes were beginning
to suffer from the poisoned repast prepared for them.

"As our dogs could not remain silent amid the uproar and din, we had
not a wink of sleep until the morning. It was late, therefore, when we
rose, and looked on the awful spectacle presented by the multitude of
dead monkeys and baboons thickly strewn under the trees round the
farm. I shall not tell you how many there were. I can only say, I
wished I had not found the poison, and we made all haste to clear away
the dead bodies and the dangerous food, burying some deep in the
earth, and carrying the rest to the shore, where we pitched them over
the rocks into the sea. That day we traveled on to the Gap."

The same evening that the boys reached the rocky pass, a messenger
pigeon arrived at Rockburg, bearing a note which concluded as follows:

"The barricade at the Gap is broken down. Everything laid waste as far
as the sugar-brake, where the hut is knocked to pieces, and the fields
trampled over by huge footmarks. Come to us, father--we are safe, but
feel we are no match for this unknown danger."

I lost not an instant, but saddled Swift, late as it was, in order to
ride to the assistance of our boys, desiring Ernest to prepare the
small cart, and follow me with his mother at daybreak, bringing
everything we should require for camping out for some days.

The bright moonlight favored my journey, and my arrival at the Gap
surprised and delighted the boys, who did not expect me till the next
day. Early on the following morning I inspected the footprints and
ravages of the great unknown. The canebrake had, without doubt, been
visited by an elephant. That great animal alone could have left such
traces and committed such fearful ravages. Thick posts in the
barricade were snapped across like reeds; the trees in the vicinity,
where we planned to build a cool summerhouse, were stripped of leaves
and branches to a great height, but the worst mischief was done among
the young sugar-cane plants, which were all either devoured or
trampled down and destroyed.

It seemed to me that not one elephant, but a troop must have invaded
our grounds. The tracks were very numerous, and the footprints of
various sizes; but, to my satisfaction, I saw that they could be
traced not only from the Gap, but back to it in evidently equal
numbers.

We did not, therefore, suppose that the mighty animals remained hidden
in the woods of our territory; but concluded that, after this
freebooting incursion, they had withdrawn to their native wilds,
where, by greatly increasing the strength of our ramparts, we hoped
henceforth to oblige them to remain. The mother and Ernest arrived
next day, and she rejoiced to find all well, making light of trodden
fields and trampled sugar canes, since her sons were sound in life and
limb.

A systematic scheme of defense was now elaborated, and the erection of
the barricade occupied us for at least a month, as it was to be a firm
and durable building, proof against all invasion. As our little tent
was unsuited to a long residence of this sort, I adopted Fritz's idea
of a Kamschatchan dwelling, and, to his great delight, forthwith
carried it out.

Instead of planting four posts, on which to place a platform, we chose
four trees of equal size, which, in a very suitable place, grew
exactly in a square, twelve or fourteen feet apart. Between these, at
about twenty feet from the ground we laid a flooring of beams and
bamboo, smoothly and strongly planked. From this rose, on all four
sides, walls of cane; the frame of the roof was covered so effectually
by large pieces of bark that no rain could penetrate. The staircase to
this tree-cottage was simply a broad plank with bars nailed across it
for steps. The flooring projected like a balcony in front of the
entrance door, and underneath, on the ground, we fitted up sheds for
cattle and fowls. Various ornaments in Chinese or Japanese style were
added to the roof and eaves, and a most convenient, cool, and
picturesque cottage, overhung and adorned by the graceful foliage of
the trees, was the result of our ingenuity.

I was pleased to find that the various birds taken by the boys during
this excursion seemed likely to thrive; they were the first inmates of
the new sheds, and even the black swans soon became tame and sociable.

The day before our return to Rockburg, Fritz went again to the inland
region beyond the river to obtain a large supply of young banana
plants, and the cacao fruit. He took the cajack and a bundle of reeds
to float behind him as a raft to carry the fruit, plants, and anything
else he might wish to bring back.

In the evening he made his appearance, coming swiftly down stream. His
brothers rushed to meet him, each eager to see and help to land his
cargo.

Securing the cajack, Fritz sprang toward us, his handsome face radiant
with pleasure, as he exhibited a beautiful waterfowl.

Its plumage was rich purple, changing on the back to dark green; the
legs, feet, and a mark above the bill, bright red. This lovely bird I
concluded to be the sultan cock described by Buffon, and as it was
gentle, we gladly received it among our domestic pets. Fritz gave a
stirring account of his exploring trip, having made his way far up the
river, between fertile plains and majestic forests of lofty trees,
where the cries of vast numbers of birds, parrots, peacocks, guinea
fowls, and hundreds unknown to him, quite bewildered, and made him
feel giddy.

[Illustration: HIPPOPOTAMUS]

"It was in the Buffalo Swamp," continued he, "that I saw the splendid
birds you call sultan cocks, and I set my heart on catching one alive,
which, as they seemed to have little fear of my approach, I managed by
means of a wire snare. Farther on I saw a grove of mimosa trees, among
which from fifteen to twenty elephants were feeding peacefully on the
leafy boughs, tearing down branches with their trunks and shoving them
into their mouths with one jerk, or bathing in the deep waters of the
marsh for refreshment in the great heat. You cannot imagine the wild
grandeur of the scene! The river being very broad, I felt safe from
wild animals, and more than once saw splendid jaguars crouched on the
banks, their glossy skin glancing in the sunlight.

"While considering if it would be simply fool-hardy to try a shot at
one of these creatures, I was suddenly convinced that discretion is
the better part of valor, and urging my canoe into the center current,
made a rapid retreat down the river. For just before me, in the calm
deep water of a sheltered bay where I was quietly floating, there
arose a violent boiling, bubbling commotion, and for an instant I
thought a hot spring was going to burst forth. Instead of that, up
rose the hideous head and gaping jaws of a hippopotamus, who, with a
hoarse, terrific snort, seemed about to attack me. I can tell you I
did not wait to see the rest of him! a glimpse of his enormous mouth
and its array of white gleaming tusks was quite enough. 'Right about
face!' said I to myself, and shot down stream like an arrow, never
pausing till a bend in the river brought me within sight of the Gap,
where I once more felt safe, and joyfully made my way back to you
all."

This narrative was of thrilling interest to us, proving the existence
of tribes of the most formidable animals beyond the rocky barrier
which defended, in so providential a manner, the small and fertile
territory on which our lot was cast.

During the absence of the adventurer we had been busily engaged in
making preparations for our departure--and everything was packed up
and ready by the morning after his return.

After some hesitation I yielded to his great wish, which was to return
by sea in his cajack round Cape Disappointment, and so meet us at
Rockburg. He was much interested in examining the outlines of the
coast and the rugged precipices of the Cape. These were tenanted by
vast flocks of sea fowl and birds of prey; while many varieties of
shrubs and plants, hitherto unknown to us, grew in the clefts and
crevices of the rocks, some of them diffusing a strong aromatic odor.
Among the specimens he brought I recognized the caper plant, and, with
still greater pleasure, a shrub which was, I felt sure, the tea plant
of China--it bore very pretty white flowers, and the leaves resembled
myrtle.

Our land journey was effected without accident or adventure of any
kind.

XI

AFTER TEN YEARS

"We spend our years as a tale that is told," said King David.

These words recurred to me again and again as I reviewed ten years, of
which the story lay chronicled in the pages of my journal.

Year followed year; chapter succeeded chapter; steadily,
imperceptibly, time was passing away.

The shade of sadness cast on my mind by retrospect of this kind was
dispelled by thoughts full of gratitude to God, for the welfare and
happiness of my beloved family during so long a period. I had cause
especially to rejoice in seeing our sons advance to manhood,
strengthened by early training for lives of usefulness and activity
wherever their lot might fall.

And my great wish is, that young people who read this record of our
lives and adventures should learn from it how admirably suited is the
peaceful, industrious, and pious life of a cheerful united family, to
the formation of strong, pure, and manly character.

None take a better place in the great national family, none are
happier or more beloved than those who go forth from such homes to
fulfill new duties, and to gather fresh interests around them.

Having given a detailed account of several years' residence in New
Switzerland, as we liked to call our dominion, it is needless for me
to continue what would exhaust the patience of the most long-
suffering, by repeating monotonous narratives of exploring parties and
hunting expeditions, wearisome descriptions of awkward inventions and
clumsy machines, with an endless record of discoveries, more fit for
the pages of an encyclopedia than a book of family history.

Yet before winding up with the concluding events, I may mention some
interesting facts illustrative of our exact position at the time these
took place.

Rockburg and Falconhurst continued to be our winter and summer
headquarters, and improvements were added which made them more and
more convenient, as well as attractive in appearance.

The fountains, trellised verandas, and plantations round Rockburg
completely changed the character of the residence, which, on account
of the heat and want of vegetation, had in former days been so
distasteful to my wife. Flowering creepers overhung the balconies and
pillars; while shrubs and trees, both native and European, grew
luxuriantly in groves of our planting.

In the distance, Shark Island, now clothed with graceful palms,
guarded the entrance to Safety Bay, the battery and flagstaff
prominently visible on its crested rock.

The swamp, cleared and drained, was now a considerable lake, with just
marsh and reeds enough beyond it to form good cover for the waterfowl
whose favorite retreat it was.

On its blue waters sailed stately black swans, snow-white geese, and
richly colored ducks; while out and in among the water plants and
rushes would appear at intervals glimpses of the brilliant sultan,
marsh-fowl, crimson flamingoes, soft, blue-gray, demoiselle cranes,
and crested heron, all associating in harmony, and with no fear of us,
their masters.

Beneath the spreading trees, and through the aromatic shrubberies, old
Hurry, the ostrich, was usually to be seen marching about, with grave
and dignified pace, as though monarch of all he surveyed. Every
variety of beautiful pigeon nested in the rocks and dovecots, their
soft cooing and glossy plumage making them favorite household pets.

By the bridge alone could Rockburg be approached; for higher up the
river, where, near the cascade, it was fordable, a dense and
impenetrable thicket of orange and lemon trees, Indian figs, prickly
pears, and all manner of thorn-bearing shrubs, planted by us, now
formed a complete barrier.

The rabbit warren on Shark Island kept us well supplied with food, as
well as soft and useful fur; and, as the antelopes did not thrive on
Whale Isle, they also were placed among the shady groves with the
rabbits, and their own island was devoted to such work as candle
making, tanning, wool cleaning, and any other needful but offensive
operations.

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