Next morning, my wife said, “If you can exist on shore long enough to visit Falconhurst, dear husband, I should like you to attend to the little fruit trees. I fear they have been too much neglected. I have watered them occasionally, and spread earth over the roots as they lay, but I could not manage to plant them.”
“You have done far more than I could have expected, my wife,” I replied, “and provided you do not ask me to give up the sea altogether, I most willingly agree to your request, and will go to Falconhurst as soon as the raft is unloaded, and everything safely arranged here.”
Life on shore was an agreeable change for us all, and the boys actively went to work, so that the stores were quickly brought up to the tent, piled in order, and carefully covered with sailcloth, fastened down by pegs all round. The pinnace, being provided with an anchor, was properly moored, and her elegant appearance quite altered the looks of our harbor, hitherto occupied only by the grotesque tub boat and the flat, uninteresting raft.
Taking an ample supply of everything we should require at Falconhurst, we were soon comfortably re-established in that charming abode, its peaceful shade Seeming more delightful than ever, after the heat and hard work we had lately undergone.
Several Sundays had passed during our stay at Tentholm, and the welcome Day of Rest now returned again, to be observed with heartfelt devotion and grateful praise.
In the evening I desired the boys to let me see their dexterity in athletic exercises, such as running, leaping, wrestling, and climbing; telling them they must keep up the practice of these things, so as to grow strong, active men, powerful to repel and cope with danger, as well as agile and swift-footed to escape from it. No man can be really courageous and self-reliant without an inward consciousness of physical power and capability.
“I want to see my sons strong, both morally and physically,” said I. “That means, little Franz,” as the large blue eyes looked inquiringly up at me, “brave to do what is good and right, and to hate evil, and strong to work, hunt, and provide for themselves and others, and to fight if necessary.”
On the following day, the boys seeming disposed to carry out my wishes by muscular exercise of all sorts, I encouraged them by saying I meant to prepare a curious new weapon for them, only they must promise not to neglect the practice of archery. As to their guns, I had no reason to fear they would be laid aside.
Taking a long cord, I attached a leaden bullet to each end and had instantly to answer a storm of questions as to what this could possibly be for.
“This is a miniature lasso,” said I. “The Mexicans, Patagonians, and various tribes of South America make use of this weapon in hunting, with marvelous dexterity, only, having no bullets, they fasten stones to their ropes, which are immensely longer than this. One end is swung round and round the mounted hunter’s head, and then cast with skill and precision toward the animal he wishes to strike. Immediately drawing it back, he can repeat the blow and either kill or wound his prey.
“Frequently, however, the intention is to take the animal, wild horse, or buffalo, or whatever it may be, alive. And in that case, the lasso is thrown, while riding in hot pursuit, in such a way as to make the stone twist many times round the neck, body, or legs of the fugitive, arresting him even in full career.”
“Oh, father, what a splendid contrivance! Will you try it now? There is the donkey, father, do catch the donkey!”
Not at all certain of my powers, I declined to practice upon a live subject, but consented to make a trial of skill by aiming at the stump of a tree at no great distance.
My success surpassed my own expectations. The stump was entwined by the cord in such a way as to leave no doubt whatever as to the feasibility of the wonderful performances I described. I was assailed by petitions from the boys, each anxious to possess a lasso of his own without a moment’s delay.
As the manufacture was simple, their wishes were speedily gratified, and lasso practice became the order of the day.
Fritz, who was the most active and adroit, besides having, of course, the greatest muscular strength, soon became skilled in the art.
That night a change came over the weather, and early next morning I perceived that a gale of wind was getting up. From the height of our trees I could see that the surface of the sea was in violent agitation.
It was with no small satisfaction that I thought of our hard-won pinnace, safely moored in the harbor, and recollected that there was nothing to call us to the wreck for the next few days.
My attention was by no means monopolized by my sons and their amusements. The good mother had much to show me demanding my approval, advice, or assistance, as the case might be. But her chief care was the unpromising condition of her dear little fruit trees, for, having been forgotten, they were so dry and withered that, unless planted without further delay, she feared we should lose them.
This needful work we set about, therefore, at once, proposing afterward an excursion to the Calabash Wood, in order to manufacture a large supply of vessels and utensils of all sorts and sizes.
Everyone looked forward to this expedition; consequently the planting of the orchard was carried on with surprising vigor, but was not completed until toward evening. And then all sorts of arrangements were made for an early start next day. The mother and Franz were to be of the party, and their equipment took some time, for we meant to make a grand family excursion, attended by our domestic pets and servants!
By sunrise we were all astir, and everything quickly made ready for a start.
The sledge, loaded with ammunition and baskets of provisions, and drawn by the donkey, was to be used for carrying home our gourd manufactures, as well as any other prize we might obtain.
Turk, as usual, headed the procession, clad in his coat of mail.
Then came the boys with their guns and game bags. Their mother and I followed, and behind trotted Juno, not in very good spirits, poor dog, because Master Knips, who had no idea of being left alone, must needs ride on her back.
On this occasion I took two guns with me, one loaded with shot for game, another with ball for our defense against beasts of prey.
Flamingo Marsh was quickly crossed, and the magnificent country beyond lay extended in all its beauty and fertility before our eyes. It was new to my wife and two of the boys, and the lovely prospect enchanted them.
We soon arrived at the Monkey Grove, which was the scene of the tragicomic adventure by which Fritz became the guardian of the orphan ape.
While he amused us all by a lively and graphic description of the scene, Ernest was standing apart under a splendid coconut palm, gazing in fixed admiration at the grand height of the stem, and its beautiful, graceful crown of leaves. The cluster of nuts beneath these evidently added interest to the spectacle, for, drawing quietly near him, I heard a long-drawn sigh, and the words:
“It’s awfully high! I wish one would fall down!”
Scarcely had he uttered these words than, as if by magic, down plumped a huge nut at his feet.
The boy was quite startled, and sprang aside, looking timidly upward, when, to my surprise, down came another.
“Why, this is just like the fairy tale of the wishing cap!” cried Ernest. “My wish is granted as soon as formed!”
“I suspect the fairy in this instance is more anxious to pelt us and drive us away than to bestow dainty gifts upon us,” said I. “I think there is most likely a cross-eyed old ape sitting up among those shadowy leaves and branches.”
We examined the nuts, thinking they were perhaps old ones, and had fallen, in consequence, naturally, but they were not even quite ripe.
Anxious to discover what was in the tree, we all surrounded it, gaping and gazing upward with curious eyes.
“Hullo! I see him!” shouted Fritz presently. “Oh, a hideous creature! What can it be? Flat, round, as big as a plate, and with a pair of horrid claws! Here he comes! He is going to creep down the tree!”
At this, little Franz slipped behind his mother, Ernest took a glance round to mark a place of retreat, Jack raised the butt end of his gun, and every eye was fixed on the trunk of the tree, down which a large land crab commenced a leisurely descent. As it approached within reach, Jack hit at it boldly, when it suddenly dropped the remaining distance, and opening its great claws, sidled after him with considerable rapidity, upon which he fairly turned tail and ran.
We all burst into a roar of laughter, which soon made him face about, and then, to our infinite amusement, the little fellow prepared for a fresh onset. Laying down all he was carrying, pulling off his jacket and spreading it wide out in both hands, he returned to the charge, suddenly threw his garment over the creature, wrapped it well round it, and then pummeled it with all the strength of his fists.
For a few minutes I could do nothing but laugh, but then running to him with my hatchet, I struck several sharp blows on his bundle, which we opened carefully, and found within the land crab quite dead.
“Well, this is an ugly rascal!” cried Jack. “If he hadn’t been so hideous, I should not have dealt so severely with him. I wasn’t a bit afraid. What is the creature’s name?”
“This is a crab, a land crab,” said I, “of which there are many varieties, and this, I think, is called a coconut crab, or at least it deserves the name, for it is evidently very fond of eating these nuts, since it takes the trouble to climb the trees for them; the difficulty of getting at the kernel, too, is considerable. You showed no little presence of mind, Jack, when you thought of catching it in your jacket; in fact, it might have been more than a match for you otherwise, for some are most determined fighters, and are very swift too. Now let us take it, as well as the nuts, to the sledge, and go on our way.”
Progress became difficult, for we were constantly stopped in passing through the wood by having to cut away the hanging boughs and creeping plants which interlaced them. Ernest was behind, and by and by called me back to see what proved to be an important discovery. From the several stalks of one of these creepers flowed clear cold water, and I recognized the “liane rouge,” which is known in America, and is so precious to the thirsty hunter or traveler. This is truly one of God’s good gifts to man!
The boys were much delighted with this curious plant. “Only fancy, mother,” said Ernest, as he showed it to her, “how cheering and refreshing to find this if one were lost and alone in a vast forest, wandering for days and days without being near a natural spring of water.”
“But are you certain it is safe to drink this?” asked she.
I assured her it was so, and advised the boys to cut enough to quench the thirst of the whole party, including our animals. This they did, only finding it necessary, as with the sugar canes, to cut air holes above the joints.
After struggling onward for a short time, we emerged from the thickets into open ground and saw the calabash trees in the distance. As we drew near, their curious appearance and singular fruit caused much surprise and also amusement. We were speedily established among the trees, where, as I chose and cut down the gourds most likely to be useful, everyone engaged merrily in the work of cutting, carving, sawing, and scooping some manner of dish, bowl, cup, jar, or platter, according to his taste or ability.
When it came time to move homeward, we thought it best not to encumber ourselves with the sledge and the greater part of its load, but to leave it until the next day.
Our road home lay through a majestic forest of oak trees, beneath which lay numberless acorns, some of which we gathered as we went along. At length, before night closed in, we all reached Falconhurst in safety.
When supper was ready, we were thankful to recruit our exhausted strength by eating heartily of potatoes and roast acorns, which tasted like excellent chestnuts.
The first thing to be done on the following day was to return to the Calabash Wood to fetch the sledge with the dishes, bowls, and baskets we had made.
Fritz alone accompanied me. I desired the other boys to remain with their mother, intending to explore beyond the chain of rocky hills, and thinking a large party undesirable on the occasion.
The sledge was quite safe where we had left it. It was early in the day, and I resolved to explore, as I had intended, a line of cliffs and rocky hills, which, at more or less distance from the seashore, extended the whole length of coast known or visible to us.
I desired to discover an opening, if any existed, by which to penetrate the interior of the country, or to ascertain positively that we were walled in and isolated on this portion of the coast.
Leaving Calabash Wood behind us, we advanced over ground covered with manioc, potatoes, and many plants unknown to us. Pleasant streamlets watered the fruitful soil, and the view on all sides was open and agreeable.
Some bushes attracted my notice, loaded with small white berries, of peculiar appearance like wax, and very sticky when plucked. I recognized in this a plant called by botanists Myrica cerifera, and with much pleasure explained to Fritz that, by melting and straining these berries, we might easily succeed in making candles, and afford very great satisfaction to the mother, who did not at all approve of having to lay her work aside and retire to rest the moment the sun set.
The greenish wax to be obtained would be more brittle than beeswax, but it would burn very fairly, and diffuse an agreeable perfume. Having the donkey with us, we lost no time in gathering berries enough to fill one of the large canvas bags he carried, and we then continued our route.
Arriving presently at a grove of tall trees, with very strong, broad thick leaves, we paused to examine them. They bore a round, figlike fruit, full of little seeds and of a sour, harsh taste.
Fritz saw some gummy resin exuding from cracks in the bark, and it reminded him of the boyish delight afforded by collecting gum from cherry trees at home, so that he must needs stop to scrape off as much as he could. He rejoined me presently, attempting to soften what he had collected in his hands; but finding it would not work like gum, he was about to fling it away when he suddenly found that he could stretch it and that it sprang back to its original size.
“Oh, father, only look! This gum is quite elastic! Can it possibly be India rubber?”
“What!” cried I. “Let me see it! A valuable discovery that would be, indeed. And I do believe you are perfectly right!”
“Why would it be so valuable, father?” inquired Fritz. “I have only seen it used for rubbing out pencil marks.”
“India rubber,” I replied, “or, more properly, caoutchouc, is a milky, resinous juice which flows from certain trees in considerable quantities when the stem is purposely tapped. These trees are indigenous to the South American countries of Brazil, Guiana, and Cayenne. The natives, who first obtained it, used to form bottles by smearing earthen flasks with repeated coatings of the gum when just fresh from the trees.
“When hardened and sufficiently thick, they broke the mold, shook out the fragments, and hung the bottles in the smoke, when they became firmer and of a dark color. Caoutchouc can be put to many uses, and I am delighted to have it here, as we shall, I hope, be able to make it into different forms. First and foremost, I shall try to manufacture boots and shoes.”
Soon after making this discovery, we reached the coconut 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 sago 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 sago, 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. Putting one like a pat of butter on 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 again 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.
We arrived in the evening at Falconhurst, where our welcome was as warm as usual.
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.
