Shipwrecked Six Pack (Illustrated)

Chapter VII-3

We reached the wax trees, and there I called a halt, for I wished to gather a sack or two of the berries that we might renew our stock of candles. The berries were soon plucked; and I stored them away among the bushes, marking the spot that we might find them on our return.

"Now for the caoutchouc tree," said I; "now for the waterproof boots and leggings to keep your feet dry, Ernest." To the caoutchouc tree we directed our steps, and were soon busily engaged in stabbing the bark and placing vessels beneath to catch the sap. We again moved forward; and, crossing the palm wood, entered upon a delightful plain bounded on one side by an extensive field of waving sugar-cane, on the other by a thicket of bamboos and lovely palms, while in front stretched the shining sea, calm and noiseless.

"How beautiful!" exclaimed Jack, "let us pitch our tent here and stay here always instead of living at Falconhurst. It would be jolly."

"Very likely," replied I, "and so would be the attacks of wild beasts; imagine a great tiger lying in wait in the thicket yonder, and pouncing out on us at night. No, no, thank you, I much prefer our nest in the tree, or our impregnable position at Tentholm. We must make this our headquarters for the present, however; for, though perhaps dangerous, it is the most convenient spot we shall find. Call a halt and pitch the tent."

Our beasts were quickly unyoked, the tent arranged, a large fire lit, supper started, and we dispersed in various directions, some to cut bamboos, and some to collect sugar-cane. We then returned; and, as supper was still not ready and the boys were hungry, they decided to obtain some cocoanuts. This time, however, no assistance was to be had from either monkeys or land-crabs, and they gazed up with longing eyes at the fruit above them.

"We can climb," said Fritz, "up with you, boys."

Jack and he each rushed at one of the smooth, slippery trunks; right vigorously they struggled upward, but to no purpose; before they had accomplished one-quarter of the distance they found themselves slipping rapidly to the ground.

"Here, you young athletes," cried I, "I foresaw this difficulty, and have provided for it." So saying I held up buskins of shark's skin which I had previously prepared, and which I now bound on to their legs. Thus equipped they again attempted the ascent, and with a loop of rope passed round their body and the trunk of the tree, quickly reached the summit. My wife joined me, and together we watched the boys as they ascended tree after tree, throwing down the best fruit from each.

They then returned and jestingly begged Ernest to produce the result of his labor. The professor had been lying on the grass grazing at the palms; but, on this sarcastic remark, he sprang to his feet. "Willingly," he exclaimed, and seizing a pair of buskins, he quickly donned them. "Give me a cocoanut shell," said he. I gave him one, and he put it in his pocket. He ran to a tree, and, with an agility which surprised us all, quickly reached the top. No sooner had he done so than Fritz and Jack burst into a roar of laughter. He had swarmed a tree which bore no nuts. Ernest apparently heard them; for, as it seemed in a fit of anger, he drew his knife and severed the leafy crest, which fell to the ground. I glanced up at him, surprised at such a display of temper. But a bright smile greeted me, and in a merry tone he shouted:

"Jack, pick that palm-cabbage up and take it to your father; that is only half my contribution, and it is worth all your nuts put together."

He spoke truly; the cabbage palm is rare, and the tuft of leaves at its summit is greatly prized by the South Americans for its great delicacy and highly nutritive qualities.

"Bravo!" I cried, "you have retrieved your character; come down and receive the thanks of the company. What are you waiting up there for?"

"I am coming presently," he replied, "with the second half of my contribution; I hope it will be as fully appreciated as the first."

In a short time he slipped down the tree, and, advancing to his mother, presented her with the nutshell he had taken up with him.

"Here," he said, "is a wine which the greatest connoisseur would prize. Taste it, mother."

The shell was filled with a clear, rosy liquor, bright and sparkling. My wife tasted it. "Excellent, excellent," she exclaimed. "Your very good health, my dear boy!"

We drank the rosy wine in turn, and Ernest received hearty thanks from all.

It was getting late, and while we were enjoying our supper before our tent, our donkey, who had been quietly browsing near us, suddenly set up a loud bray, and, without the least apparent cause, pricked up his ears, threw up his heels, and galloped off into the thicket of bamboos. We followed for a short distance, and I sent the dogs in chase, but they returned without our friend, and, as it was late, we were obliged to abandon the chase.

I was annoyed by this incident, and even alarmed; for not only had we lost the ass, but I knew not what had occasioned his sudden flight. I knew not whether he was aware, by instinct, of the approach of some fierce wild beast. I said nothing of this to my family, but, making up an unusually large fire, I bade them sleep with their arms by their sides, and we all lay down.

A bright morning awoke us early, and I rose and looked out, thinking that perhaps our poor donkey might have been attracted by the light of the fires, and had returned. Alas! not a sign of him was to be seen. As we could not afford to lose so valuable a beast, I determined to leave no attempt untried to regain him. We hurriedly breakfasted, and, as I required the dogs to assist me in the search, I left my elder sons to protect their mother, and bade Jack get ready for a day's march. This arrangement delighted him, and we quickly set out.

For an hour or more we trudged onward, directed by the print of the ass's hoofs. Sometimes we lost the track for a while, and then again discovered it as we reached softer soil. Finally this guide failed us altogether, for the donkey seemed to have joined in with a herd of some larger animals, with whose hoof-prints his had mingled. I now almost turned back in despair, but Jack urged me to continue the search; "For," said he, "if we once get upon a hill we shall see such a large herd, as this must be, at almost any distance. Do let us go on, father."

I consented, and we again pushed forward, through bushes, and over torrents, sometimes cutting our way with an ax, and sometimes plunging knee-deep through a swamp. We at length reached the border of a wide plain, and on it, in the distance, I could see a herd of animals browsing on the rich grass. It struck me that it might be the very herd to which our good donkey had joined himself; and, wishing to ascertain whether this was so, I resolved to make a detour through a bamboo marsh, and get as near as possible to the animals without disturbing them. The bamboos were huge, many of them over thirty feet in height; and, as we made our way through them, I remembered an account of the giant cane of South America, which is greatly prized by the Indians on account of its extreme usefulness; the reeds themselves make masts for their canoes, while each joint will form a cask or box. I was delighted, for I had little doubt that the bamboos we were among were of the same species. I explained this to Jack, and as we discussed the possibility of cutting one down and carrying a portion of it home, we reached the border of the marsh, and emerged upon the plain. There we suddenly found ourselves face to face with the herd which we sought—a herd of buffaloes. They looked up and stared at us inquisitively, but without moving. Jack would have fired, but I checked him. "Back to the thicket," I said, "and keep back the dogs!"

We began to retreat, but before we were again under cover the dogs joined us; and, in spite of our shouts and efforts to restrain them, they dashed forward and seized a buffalo calf. This was a signal to the whole herd to attack us. They bellowed loudly, pawed the ground, and tore it up with their horns, and then dashed madly toward us. We had not time to step behind a rock before the leader was upon us. So close was he that my gun was useless. I drew a pistol and fired. He fell dead at my feet. His fall checked the advance of the rest. They halted, snuffed the air, turned tail, and galloped off across the plain. They were gone, but the dogs still held gallantly to the calf. They dragged and tussled with him, but with their utmost efforts they could not bring him to the ground. How to assist them without shooting the poor beast I knew not; and this I was unwilling to do, for I hoped that, if we could but capture him alive, we might in time manage to tame him, and use him as a beast of burden. Jack's clever little head, however, suddenly devised a plan for their aid, and with his usual promptitude, he at once put it into execution. He unwound the lasso, which was coiled round his body, and, as the young bull flung up his heels, he cast, it and caught him by his hind legs. The noose drew tight, and in a twinkling the beast was upon the ground. We fastened the other end of the cord round a stout bamboo, called off the dogs, and the animal was at our mercy.

"Now we have got him," said Jack, as he looked at the poor beast, lying panting on the ground, "what are we to do with him?"

"I will show you," said I; "help me to fasten his forelegs together, and you shall see the next operation."

The bull, thus secured, could not move; and while Jack held his head I drew my knife and pierced the cartilage of his nose, and when the blood flowed less freely, passed a stout cord through the hole. I felt some repugnance at thus paining the animal, but it was a case of necessity, and I could not hesitate. We united the ends of the cord, freed the animal, set him upon his legs, and, subdued and overawed, he followed us without resistance. I now turned my attention to the dead buffalo, but as I could not then skin it, I contented myself with cutting off the most delicate parts, its tongue, and a couple of steaks, and, packing them in salt in my wallet, abandoned the rest to the dogs. They fell upon it greedily, and we retired under the shade to enjoy a meal after our hard work. The dogs, however, were not to have undisputed possession of the carcass; vultures, crows, and other birds of prey, with that marvelous instinct which always leads them to a dead body, quickly filled the air, and, with discordant cries, swooped down upon the buffalo. An amusing contest ensued; the dogs again and again drove off the intruders, and they, as often, returned re-enforced by others who swarmed to the spot. Jack, with his usual impetuosity, wished to send a shot in among the robber band, but I prevented him, for I knew that the bird or two he might kill would be of no use to us, while his shot would not drive away the rest, even had we wished it. Both he and the dogs were at length satisfied, and as it was getting late, I determined to give up for the present the search for the ass, and to return to our camp. We again made our way through the bamboos, but before we left the thicket I cut down one of the smallest of the reeds, the largest of whose joints would form capital little barrels, while those near the tapering top would serve as molds for our next batch of candles.