Shipwrecked Six Pack (Illustrated)

Chapter VII-2

Soon after making this discovery, we reached the cocoanut wood, and saw the bay extending before us, and the great promontory we called Cape Disappointment, which hitherto had always bounded our excursions.

In passing through the wood, I remarked a smaller sort of palm, which, among its grand companions, I had not previously noticed. One of these had been broken by the wind, and I saw that the pith had a peculiar mealy appearance, and I felt convinced that this was the world-renowned s**o-palm.

In the pith I saw some fat worms or maggots, and suddenly recollected that I had heard of them before as feeding on the s**o, and that in the West Indies they are eaten as a delicacy.

I felt inclined to try what they tasted like; so at once kindling a fire, and placing some half-dozen, sprinkled with salt, on a little wooden spit, I set them to roast.

Very soon rich fat began to drop from them, and they smelt so temptingly good that all repugnance to the idea of eating worms vanished; and, putting one like a pat of butter on a baked potato, I boldly swallowed it and liked it so much that several others followed in the same way. Fritz also summoned courage to partake of this novel food, which was a savory addition to our dinner of baked potatoes.

Being once more ready to start, we found so dense a thicket in the direct route that we turned aside without attempting to penetrate it, and made our way toward the sugar brake near Cape Disappointment. This we could not pass without cutting a handsome bundle of sugar-canes, and the donkey carried that, in addition to the bag of wax berries.

In time we reached the sledge in Calabash Wood: the ass was unloaded, everything placed on the sledge, and our patient beast began calmly and readily to drag the burden he had hitherto borne on his back.

No further adventure befell us, and we arrived in the evening at Falconhurst, where our welcome was as warm as usual—all we had to tell listened to with the greatest interest, all we had to show most eagerly examined, the pretty green parroquet enchanting the boys most particularly.

An excellent supper was ready for us, and with thankful hearts we enjoyed it together; then, ascending to our tree-castle, and drawing up the ladder after us, we betook ourselves to the repose well-earned and greatly needed after this fatiguing day.

The idea of candle-making seemed to have taken the fancy of all the boys; and next morning they woke, one after the other, with the word candle on their lips. When they were thoroughly roused they continued to talk candles; all breakfast-time, candles were the subject of conversation; and after breakfast they would hear of nothing else but setting to work at once and making candles.

"So be it," said I; "let us become chandlers."

I spoke confidently, but to tell the truth, I had in my own mind certain misgivings as to the result of our experiment. In the first place, I knew that we lacked a very important ingredient—animal fat, which is necessary to make candles burn for any length of time with brilliancy. Besides this, I rather doubted how far my memory would recall the various operations necessary in the manufacture. Of all this, however, I said nothing; and the boys, under my direction, were soon at work. We first picked off the berries and threw them into a large shallow iron vessel placed on the fire. The green, sweet-scented wax was rapidly melted, rising to the surface of the juice yielded by the berries. This we skimmed off and placed in a separate pot by the fire, ready for use; repeating the operation several times, until we had collected sufficient liquid wax for our purpose. I then took the wicks my wife had prepared, and dipped them one after the other into the wax, handing them as I did so to Fritz, who hung them up on a bush to dry. The coating they thus obtained was not very thick; but, by repeating the operation several times, they at length assumed very fair proportions, and became real sturdy candles. Our wax being at an end, we hung these in a cool, shady place to harden; and that same night we sat up like civilized beings three whole hours after sunset, and Falconhurst was for the first time brilliantly illuminated.

We were all delighted with the success of our experiment.

"You are indeed clever," said my wife; "I only wish that with your ingenuity you would show me how to make butter. Day after day I have the annoyance of seeing a large supply of good cream go bad under my very eyes, simply because I have no use to which to put it. Invent a plan, please do."

"I think that perhaps I can help you," I replied, after a little consideration; "not that I can claim the honor of the invention of my plan; that is due to the Hottentots. I will see what I can do. Jack, bring me one of our gourd bottles."

I took the gourd, one of those I had previously prepared, with a small hole at one end and well hollowed out and cleaned; this I partially filled with cream and then corked up the hole tightly.

"Here, boys," said I, "you can continue the operation, while I turn carpenter and make a cart to take the place of our sledge."

I gave them their directions, and then set about my own work. They fixed four posts in the ground, and to them fastened a square piece of sailcloth by four cords attached to the corners. In this cradle they placed the gourd of cream, and each taking a side rolled it backward and forward continuously for half an hour.

"Now," I cried, looking up from my work, "open the gourd and take the contents to your mother, with my compliments."

They did so; and my good wife's eyes were delighted with the sight of a large lump of capital fresh butter.

With my son's assistance the cart was in time completed; a clumsy vehicle it was, but strong enough for any purpose to which we might put it, and, as it proved, of immense use to us in collecting the harvest.

We then turned our attention to our fruit-trees, which we had planted in a plot ready for transplanting. The walnut, cherry, and chestnut trees we arranged in parallel rows, so as to form a shady avenue from Falconhurst to Family-bridge; and between them we laid down a tolerable road, that we might have no difficulty in reaching Tentholm, be the weather bad as it might. We planted the vines round the arched roots of our great mangrove, and the rest of the trees in suitable spots; some near Falconhurst, and others away over Jackal River, to adorn Tentholm. Tentholm had been the subject of serious thoughts to me for some time past, and I now turned all my attention thither. It was not my ambition to make it beautiful, but to form of it a safe place of refuge in a case of emergency. My first care, therefore, was to plant a thick, prickly hedge capable of protecting us from any wild animal, and forming a tolerable obstacle to the attack of even savages, should they appear. Not satisfied with this, however, we fortified the bridge, and on a couple of hillocks mounted two guns which we brought from the wreck, and with whose angry mouths we might bark defiance at any enemy, man or beast.

Six weeks slipped away while we were thus busily occupied, six weeks of hard, yet pleasant, labor. We greeted each Sunday and its accompanying rest most gratefully, and on that day always, especially thanked God for our continued health and safety. I soon saw that this hard work was developing in the boys remarkable strength, and this I encouraged by making them practise running, leaping, climbing, and swimming; I also saw, however, that it was having a less satisfactory effect upon their clothes, which, though a short time before remarkably neat, were now, in spite of the busy mother's mending and patching, most untidy and disreputable. I determined, therefore, to pay another visit to the wreck, to replenish our wardrobe and to see how much longer the vessel was likely to hold together. Three of the boys and I went off in the pinnace. The old ship seemed in much the same condition as when we had left her; a few more planks had gone, but that was all.

"Come, boys," cried I, "not an article of the slightest value must be left on board; rummage her out to the very bottom of her hold."

They took me at my word: sailors' chests, bales of cloth and linen, a couple of small guns, ball and shot, tables, benches, window shutters, bolts and locks, barrels of pitch, all were soon in a heap on the deck. We loaded the pinnace and went on shore. We soon returned with our tub-boat in tow, and after a few more trips nothing was left on board.

"One more trip," said I to my wife, before we started again, "and there will be the end of the brave ship which carried us from Switzerland. I have left two barrels of gunpowder on board and mean to blow her up."

Before we lighted the fuse, I discovered a large copper cauldron which I thought I might save. I made fast to it a couple of empty casks, that when the ship went up it might float. The barrels were placed, the train lighted, and we returned on shore.

The supper was laid outside the tent, at a spot from whence we might obtain a good view of the wreck. Darkness came on. Suddenly a vivid pillar of fire rose from the black waters, a sullen roar boomed across the sea, and we knew that our good old ship was no more.

We had planned the destruction of the vessel; we knew that it was for the best; and yet that night we went to bed with a feeling of sadness in our hearts, as though we had lost a dear old friend.

Next morning all our sadness was dispelled, and it was with pleasure that we saw the shore lined with a rich store of planks and beams, the remnants of the wreck. I soon found, too, the copper cauldron which was successfully floated by the casks; this I got on shore, and hauling it up among the rocks, stored under it the powder casks we had landed the day before. Collecting all these valuables gave us some little trouble, and while we were thus engaged my wife brought us good news. She had discovered that two ducks and a goose had each reared a large family among the reeds by the river; and they presently appeared waddling past us, apparently vastly well-pleased with their performance. We greeted them joyfully.

"Hurrah!" cried Ernest, "we'll be able to afford duck and green peas some day soon, and imagine we're once more civilized mortals."

The sight of these birds reminded me of our family at Falconhurst, and I announced my intention of paying them a visit.

Every one was delighted and every one would come with me. As we approached Falconhurst I noticed that several young trees in our avenue were considerably bent by the wind, and this resolved me to make an expedition next day to cut bamboos for their support. As Fritz was the only one besides myself who had visited Cape Disappointment and the surrounding country, my wife and the younger boys begged hard to be allowed to accompany me. I consented; and next morning we started, bringing with us the cart, drawn by the cow and ass, and laden with everything necessary for an expedition of several days—a tent, provisions, a large supply of ammunitions, and all sorts of implements and utensils; for I intended to make a great collection of fruits and the produce of different trees. It was a lovely morning, and passing gaily through the plantations of potatoes, manioc, and cassavas, we came to the nests of the sociable grosbeak, the sight of which charmed the children immensely.