A Landing and Consequent Occupations

B Y break of day we were all awake and alert, for hope as well as grief is unfriendly to lengthened slumbers. When we had finished our morning prayer, I said, "We now, my best beloved, with the assistance of Heaven, must enter upon the work of our deliverance. The first thing to be done is to give to each poor animal on board a hearty meal. We will then put food enough before them for several days. We cannot take them with us, but we will hope it may be possible, if our voyage succeeds, to return and fetch them. Are you now all ready? Bring together whatever is absolutely necessary for our wants. It is my wish that our first cargo should consist of a barrel of gunpowder, three fowling pieces, and three carbines, with as much small shot and lead, and as many bullets as our boat will carry; two pair of pocket-pistols, and one of large ones, not forgetting a mould to cast balls in; each of the boys, and their mother also, should have a bag to carry game in; you will find plenty of these in the cabins of the officers."—We added a chest containing cakes of portable soup, another full of hard biscuits, an iron pot, a fishing rod, a chest of nails, and another of different utensils, such as hammers, saws, pincers, hatchets, augers, etc., and lastly, some sail-cloth to make a tent. Indeed, the boys brought so many things, that we were obliged to reject some of them, though I had already exchanged the worthless ballast for articles of use in the question of our subsistence.

When all was ready, we stepped bravely each into a tub. At the moment of our departure the cocks and hens began to cluck, as if conscious that we had deserted them, yet were willing to bid us a sorrowful adieu. This suggested to me the idea of taking the geese, ducks, fowls, and pigeons with us; observing to my wife, that if we could not find means to feed them, at least they would feed us.

We accordingly executed this plan. We put ten hens and an old and a young cock into one of the tubs, and covered it with planks; we set the rest of the poultry at liberty, in the hope that instinct would direct them towards the land, the geese and ducks by water, and the pigeons by the air.

We were waiting for my wife, who had the care of this last part of our embarkation, when she joined us loaded with a large bag, which she threw into the tub that already contained her youngest son. I imagined that she intended it for him to sit upon, or perhaps to confine him so as to prevent his being tossed from side to side. I therefore asked no questions concerning it. The order of our departure was as follows:

In the first tub, at the boat's head, my wife, the most tender and exemplary of her sex, placed herself.

In the second, our little Francis, a lovely boy six years old, remarkable for the sweetest and happiest temper, and for his affection to his parents.

In the third, Fritz, our eldest boy, between fourteen and fifteen years of age, a handsome curl-pated youth, full of intelligence and vivacity.

In the fourth was the barrel of gunpowder, with the cocks and hens and the sail-cloth.

In the fifth, the provisions of every kind.

In the sixth, our third son Jack, a light-hearted, enterprising, audacious, generous lad, about ten years old.

In the seventh, our second son Ernest, a boy of twelve years old, of a rational, reflecting temper, well-informed for his age, but somewhat disposed to indolence and the pleasures of the senses.

In the eighth, a father to whose paternal care the task of guiding the machine for the safety of his beloved family was entrusted. Each of us had useful implements within reach; the hand of each held an oar, and near each was a swimming apparatus in readiness for what might happen. The tide was already at half its height when we left the ship, and I had counted on this circumstance as favorable to our want of strength. We held the two paddles longways, and thus we passed without accident through the cleft of the vessel into the sea. The boys devoured with their eyes the blue land they saw at a distance. We rowed with all our strength, but long in vain, to reach it: the boat only turned round and round. At length I had the good fortune to steer in such a way that it proceeded in a straight line. The two dogs, perceiving we had abandoned them, plunged into the sea and swam to the boat; they were too large for us to think of giving them admittance, and I dreaded lest they should jump in and upset us. Turk was an English dog, and Flora a bitch of the Danish breed. I was in great uneasiness on their account, for I feared it would not be possible for them to swim so far. The dogs, however, managed the affair with perfect intelligence. When fatigued, they rested their fore-paws on one of the paddles, and thus with little effort proceeded.

Jack was disposed to refuse them this accommodation, but he soon yielded to my argument, that it was cruel and unwise to neglect creatures thrown on our protection, and who indeed might hereafter protect us in their turn, by guarding us from harm, and assisting in our pursuit of animals for food. "Besides," added I, "God has given the dog to man to be his faithful companion and friend."

Our voyage proceeded securely, though slowly; but the nearer we approached the land, the more gloomy and unpromising its aspect appeared. The coast was clothed with barren rocks, which seemed to offer nothing but hunger and distress. The sea was calm; the waves, gently agitated, washed the shore, and the sky was serene. In every direction we perceived casks, bales, chests, and other vestiges of shipwrecks, floating round us. In the hope of obtaining some good provisions, I determined on endeavoring to secure some of the casks. I bade Fritz have a rope, a hammer, and some nails ready, and to try to seize them as we passed. He succeeded in laying hold of two, and in such a way that we could draw them after us to the shore. Now that we were close on land, its rude outline was much softened; the rocks no longer appeared one undivided chain. Fritz with his hawk's eye already descried some trees, and exclaimed that they were palm trees. Ernest expressed his joy that he should now get much larger and better cocoa-nuts than those of Europe. I for my part was venting audibly my regret, that I had not thought of bringing a telescope that I knew was in the captain's cabin, when Jack drew a small one from his pocket, and with a look of triumph presented it to me.

The acquisition of the telescope was of great importance; for with its aid I was able to make the necessary observations, and was more sure of the route I ought to take. On applying it to my eye, I remarked that the shore before us had a desert and savage aspect, but that towards the left, the scene was more agreeable; but when I attempted to steer in that direction, a current carried me irresistibly towards the coast that was rocky and barren. By and by we perceived a little opening between the rocks, near the mouth of a creek, towards which all our geese and ducks betook themselves; and I, relying on their sagacity, followed in the same course. This opening formed a little bay; the water was tranquil, and neither too deep nor too shallow to receive our boat. I entered it, and cautiously put on shore on a spot where the coast was about the same height above the water as our tubs, and where, at the same time, there was a quantity sufficient to keep us afloat. The shore extended inland in something of the form of an isosceles triangle, the upper angle of which terminated among the rocks, while the margin of the sea formed the basis.

All that had life in the boat jumped eagerly on land. Even little Francis, who had been wedged in his tub like a potted herring, now got up and sprang forward; but, with all his efforts, he could not succeed without his mother's help. The dogs, who had swam on shore, received us as if appointed to do the honors of the place, jumping round us with every demonstration of joy; the geese kept up a loud cackling, to which the ducks, from their broad yellow beaks, contributed a perpetual thorough-bass: the cocks and hens, which he had already set at liberty, clucked: the boys, chattering all at once, produced altogether an overpowering confusion of sounds: to this was added the disagreeable scream of some penguins and flamingos, which we now perceived, some flying over our heads, others sitting on the points of rocks at the entrance of the bay. By and by the notes of the latter had the ascendant, from their numbers; and our annoyance was increased by a comparison we could not avoid making, between the sounds they uttered, and the harmony of the feathered musicians of our own country. I had however one advantage in perspective;—it was that, should we hereafter be short of food, these very birds might serve for our subsistence.

The first thing we did on finding ourselves safe on terra firma,  was to fall on our knees, and return our thanks to the Supreme Being who had preserved our lives, and to recommend ourselves with entire resignation to the care of his parental kindness.

We next employed our whole attention in unloading the boat. Oh! how rich we thought ourselves in the little we had been able to rescue from the merciless abyss of waters! We looked about for a convenient place to set up a tent under the shade of the rocks; and having all consulted and agreed upon a place, we set to work. We drove one of our poles firmly into a fissure of the rock; this rested upon another pole, which was driven perpendicularly into the ground, and formed the ridge of our tent. A frame for a dwelling was thus made secure. We next threw some sail-cloth over the ridge, and stretching it to a convenient distance on each side, fastened its extremities to the ground with stakes. Lastly, I fixed some tenter-hooks along the edge of one side of the sail-cloth in front, that we might be able to enclose the entrance during the night, by hooking in the opposite edge. The chest of provisions and other heavy matters we had left on the shore. The next thing was to desire my sons to look about for grass and moss, to be spread and dried in the sun, to serve us for beds. During this occupation, in which even the little Francis could take a share, I erected near the tent a kind of little kitchen. A few flat stones I found in the bed of a fresh-water river, served for a hearth. I got a quantity of dry branches; with the largest I made a small enclosure round it; and with the little twigs, added to some of our turf, I made a brisk cheering fire. We put some of the soup-cakes, with water, into our iron pot, and placed it over the flame; and my wife, with her little Francis for a scullion, took charge of preparing dinner.

In the meanwhile Fritz had been reloading the guns, with one of which he had wandered along the side of the river. He had proposed to Ernest to accompany him: but Ernest replied, that he did not like a rough, stony walk, and that he should go to the sea-shore. Jack took the road towards a chain of rocks, which jutted out at sea, with the intention of gathering some of the mussels which grew upon them.

My own occupation was now an endeavor to draw the two floating casks on shore, but in which I could not succeed; for our place of landing, though convenient enough for our machine, was too steep for the casks. While I was looking about to find a more favorable spot, I heard loud cries proceeding from a short distance, and recognized the voice of my son Jack. I snatched my hatchet, and ran anxiously to his assistance. I soon perceived him up to his knees in water in a shallow, and that a large sea lobster had fastened its claws in his leg. The poor boy screamed pitiably, and made useless efforts to disengage himself. I jumped instantly into the water; and the enemy was no sooner sensible of my approach, than he let go his hold, and would have scampered out to sea, but that I indulged the fancy of a little malice against him, for all the alarm he had caused us. I turned quickly upon him, and took him up by the body and carried him off, followed by Jack, who shouted our triumph all the way. He begged me at last to let him hold the animal in his own hand, that he might himself present so fine a booty to his mother. Accordingly, having observed how I held it to avoid the grip, he laid his own hand upon it in exactly the same manner; but scarcely had he grasped it, than he received a violent blow on the face from the lobster's tail, which made him loose his hold, and the animal fell to the ground. Jack again began to bawl out, while I could not refrain from laughing heartily. In his rage he took up a stone and killed the lobster with a single blow. I was a little vexed at this conclusion to the scene.—"This is what we call killing an enemy when he is unable to defend himself, Jack; it is wrong to revenge an injury while we are in a state of anger: the lobster, it is true, had given you a bite: but you on your part, would have eaten the lobster. So the game was at least equal. Another time, I advise you to be both more prudent and more merciful."—"But pray, father, let me carry it to my mother," said Jack, fearless now of further warfare; and accordingly he carried it to the kitchen, triumphantly exclaiming, "Mother, mother, a sea lobster!—Ernest, a sea lobster! Where is Fritz? Where is Fritz? Take care, Francis, he will bite you." In a moment all were round him to examine the wonderful creature, and all proclaimed their astonishment at his enormous size, while they observed that its form was precisely that of the common lobster so much in use in Europe.

"Yes, yes," said Jack, holding up one of the claws, "you may well wonder at his size: this was the frightful claw which seized my leg, and if I had not had on my thick sea pantaloons, he would have bit it through and through; but I have taught him what it is to attack me:  I have paid him well."

"Oh, oh! Mr. Boaster," cried I, "you give a pretty account of the matter. Now mine  would be, that if I had not been near, the lobster would have shown you another sort of game; for the slap he gave you in the face compelled you, I think, to let go your hold. And it is well it should be thus; for he fought with the arms with which nature had supplied him, but you had recourse to a great stone for your defence. Believe me, Jack, you have no great reason to boast of the adventure."

Ernest, ever prompted by his savory tooth, bawled out that the lobster had better be put into the soup, which would give it an excellent flavor: but this his mother opposed, observing, that we must be more economical of our provisions than that, for the lobster of itself would furnish a dinner for the whole family. I now left them and walked again to the scene of this adventure, and examined the shallow. I then made another attempt upon my two casks, and at length succeeded in getting them into it, and in fixing them there securely on their bottoms.

On my return I complimented Jack on his being the first to procure an animal that might serve for subsistence, and promised him for his own share, the famous claw, which had furnished us with so lively a discussion.

"Ah! but I have seen something too, that is good to eat," said Ernest; "and I should have got it if it had not been in the water, so that I must have wetted my feet—"

"Oh, that is a famous story," cried Jack: "I can tell you what he saw,—some nasty mussels: why, I would not eat one of them for the world.—Think of my lobster!"

"That is not true, Jack; for they were oysters, and not mussels, that I saw: I am sure of it, for they stuck to the rock, and I know they must be oysters."

"Fortunate enough, my dainty gentleman," interrupted I, addressing myself to Ernest; "since you are so well acquainted with the place where such food can be found, you will be so obliging as to return and procure us some. In such a situation as ours, every member of the family must be actively employed for the common good; and, above all, none must be afraid of so trifling an inconvenience as wet feet."

"I will do my best with all my heart," answered Ernest; "and at the same time I will bring home some salt, of which I have seen immense quantities in the holes of the rocks, where I have reason to suppose it is dried by the sun. I tasted some of it, and it was excellent. Pray, father, be so good as to inform me whether this salt was not left there by the sea?"

"—No doubt it was, Mr. Reasoner, for where else do you think it could come from? You would have done more wisely if you had brought us a bag of it instead of spending your time in profound reflections upon operations so simple and obvious; and if you do not wish to dine upon a soup without flavor, you had better run and fetch a little quickly."

He set off, and soon returned: what he brought had the appearance of sea-salt, but was so mixed with earth and sand that I was on the point of throwing it away; but my wife prevented me, and by dissolving, and afterwards filtering some of it through a piece of muslin, we found it admirably fit for use.

"Why could we not have used some sea-water," asked Jack, "instead of having all this trouble?"

"Sea-water," answered I, "is more bitter than salt, and has, besides, a sickly taste." While I was speaking, my wife tasted the soup with a little stick with which she had been stirring it, and pronounced that it was all the better for the salt, and now quite ready. "But," said she, "Fritz is not come in. And then how shall we manage to eat our soup without spoons or dishes? Why did we not remember to bring some from the ship?"—"Because, my dear, one cannot think of everything at once. We shall be lucky if we have not forgotten even more important things."—"But, indeed," said she, "this is a matter which cannot easily be set to rights. How will it be possible for each of us to raise this large boiling pot to his lips?"

I soon saw that my wife was right. We all cast our eyes upon the pot with a sort of stupid perplexity, and looked a little like the fox in the fable, when the stork desires him to help himself from a vessel with a long neck. Silence was at length broken, by all bursting into a hearty laugh at our want of every kind of utensil, and at the thought of our own folly in not recollecting that spoons and forks were things of absolute necessity.

Ernest observed, that if we could but get some of the nice cocoa-nuts he often thought about, we might empty them, and use the pieces of the shells for spoons.

"Yes, yes," replied I; "if we could but get, —but we have them not; and if wishing were to any purpose, I had as soon wish at once for a dozen silver spoons. But alas! of what use is wishing."

"But at least," said the boy, "we can use some oyster-shells for spoons."

"Why, this is well, Ernest," said I, "and is what I call a useful thought. Run then quickly for some of them. But, gentlemen, I give you notice, that no one of you must give himself airs because his spoon is without a handle, or though he chance to grease his fingers in the soup."

Jack ran first, and was up to his knees in the water before Ernest could reach the place. Jack tore off the fish with eagerness, and threw them to slothful Ernest, who put them into his handkerchief, having first secured in his pocket one shell he had met with of a large size. The boys came back together with their booty.

Fritz not having yet returned, his mother was beginning to be uneasy, when we heard him shouting to us from a small distance, to which we answered by similar sounds. In a few minutes he was among us, his two hands behind him, and with a sort of would-be-melancholy air, which none of us could understand.—"What have you brought?" asked his brothers; "let us see your booty, and you shall see ours."—"Ah! I have unfortunately nothing."—"What, nothing at all?" said I.—"Nothing at all," answered he. But now, on fixing my eye upon him, I perceived a smile of proud success through his assumed dissatisfaction. At the same instant Jack, having stolen behind him, exclaimed: "A sucking pig! a sucking pig!" Fritz, finding his trick discovered, now proudly displayed his prize, which I immediately perceived, from the description I had read in different books of travels, was an agouti, an animal common in that country, and not a sucking pig, as the boys had supposed. "The agouti," says M. de Courtills, in his voyage to St. Domingo, "is of the size of a hare, and runs with the same swiftness; but its form is more like a pig, and he makes the same grunting noise. He is not a voracious animal, but is nice in the choice of his food. When his appetite is satisfied, he buries what remains, and keeps it for another time. He is naturally of a gentle temper; but if provoked, his hair becomes erect, he bites, and strikes the ground with his hind feet like the rabbit, which he also resembles in digging himself a burrow under ground: but this burrow has but one entrance. He conceals himself in it during the hottest part of the day, taking care to provide himself with a store of patates and bananas. He is usually taken by coursing, and sometimes by dogs, or with nets. When it is found difficult to seize him, the sportsman has only to whistle. As soon as the agouti hears the sound, he is instantly still, remains resting on his hind feet, and suffers himself to be taken. His flesh is white, like that of the rabbit; but it is dry, has no fat, and never entirely loses a certain wild flavor, which is disagreeable to Europeans. He is held in great esteem by the natives, particularly when the animal has been feeding near the sea on plants impregnated with salt. They are therefore caught in great numbers, and for this reason the species is much diminished."—"Where did you find him? How did you get at him? Did he make you run a great way?" asked all at once the young brothers. "Tell me, tell us all——," etc. I, for my part, assumed a somewhat serious tone.—"I should have preferred," observed I, "that you had in reality brought us nothing, to your asserting a falsehood. Never allow yourself, even in jest, my dear boy, to assert what you know to be an untruth. By such trifles as these, a habit of lying, the most disgusting of vices, may be induced. Now then that I have given you this caution, let us look at the animal. Where did you find it?"

Fritz related, that he had passed over to the other side of the river. "Ah," continued he, "it is quite another thing from this place; the shore is low, and you can have no notion of the quantity of casks, chests, and planks, and different sorts of things washed there by the sea. Ought we not to go and try to obtain some of these treasures?"—"We will consider of it soon," answered I, "but first we have to make our voyage to the vessel, and fetch away the animals; at least you will agree, that of the cow we are pretty much in want."—"If our biscuit were soaked in milk, it would not be so hard," observed our dainty Ernest.—"I must tell you too," continued Fritz, "that over on the other side there is as much grass for pasturage as we can desire; and, besides, a pretty wood, in the shade of which we could repose. Why, then, should we remain on this barren desert side?"—"Patience," replied I, "there is a time for everything, friend Fritz; we shall not be without something to undertake to-morrow, and even after to-morrow. But, above all, I am eager to know if you discovered, in your excursion, any traces of our ship companions?"—"Not the smallest trace of man, dead or alive, on land or water; but I have seen some other animals, that more resemble pigs than the one I have brought you, but with feet more like those of the hare; the animal I am speaking of leaps from place to place; now sitting on his hind legs, rubbing his face with his front feet, and then seeking for roots, and gnawing them like the squirrel. If I had not been afraid of his escaping me, I should have tried to catch him with my hands, for he appeared almost tame."

We had now noticed that our soup was ready, and each hastened to dip his shell into the pot, to get out a little; but, as I had foreseen, each drew out a scalded finger, and it was who could scream the loudest. Ernest was the only one who had been too cautious to expose himself to this misfortune: he quietly took his mussel-shell, as large and deep as a small saucer, from his pocket, and carefully dipping it into the pot, drew it out filled with as much as was his fair share, and casting a look of exultation on his brothers, he set it down till it should be cold enough to eat.

"You have taken good care of yourself, I perceive," said I. "But now answer me, dear boy, is the advantage worth the pains you take to be better off than your companions? Yet this is the constant failing of your character. As your best friend, I feel it my duty to balk you of the expected prize: I therefore adjudge your dish of delicious soup to our faithful followers, Turk and Flora. For ourselves, we will all fare alike; we will simply dip our shells into the pot till hunger is appeased; but the picked dish for the dogs, Ernest; and all the rest alike!" 

This gentle reproach sunk, I perceived, into his heart; he placed the shell filled with soup upon the ground, and in an instant the dogs had licked up every drop. We on our parts were as sharp set as they, and every eye was fixed on the pot, watching for the steam to subside a little, that we might begin dipping; when, on looking round we saw Turk and Flora standing over the agouti, gnawing and tearing him fiercely with their teeth and paws. The boys all screamed together; Fritz seized his gun, and struck them with it; called them the unkindest names, threw stones at them; and was so furious, that if I had not interfered, it is probable he would have killed them. He had already bent his gun with the blows he had given them, and his voice was raised so high as to be re-echoed from the rocks.

When he had grown a little cool, I seriously remonstrated with him on his violence of temper. I represented to him what distress he had occasioned his mother and myself for the event of a rage so alarming: that his gun that might have been so useful, was now spoiled; and that the poor animals, upon whose assistance we should probably so much depend, he had no doubt greatly injured. "Anger," continued I, "is always a bad counsellor, and may even lead the way to crimes: you are not ignorant of the history of Cain, who, in a moment of violent anger, killed his brother."—"Say no more, my dearest father," interrupted Fritz in a tone of horror.—"Happy am I to recollect on this occasion," resumed I, "that it was not human creatures you treated thus. But an angry person never reasons; he scarcely knows whom he attacks. The most convincing proof of this is, that you  just now fell upon two dumb animals, incapable of judgment, and who most likely thought that your agouti was placed there, as the soup had been before, for them to eat. Confess, too, that it was vanity which excited the furious temper you exhibited. If another than yourself had killed the agouti, you would have been more patient under the accident." Fritz agreed that I was right, and, half drowned in tears, entreated my forgiveness.

Soon after we had our meal, the sun began to sink into the west. Our little flock of fowls assembled round us, pecking here and there what morsels of our biscuit had fallen on the ground. Just at this moment my wife produced the bag she had so mysteriously huddled into the tub. Its mouth was now opened: it contained the various sorts of grain for feeding poultry—barley, peas, oats, etc., and also different kinds of seeds and roots of vegetables for the table. In the fulness of her kind heart she scattered several handfuls at once upon the ground, which the fowls began eagerly to seize. I complimented her on the benefits her foresight had secured for us; but I recommended a more sparing use of so valuable an acquisition, observing, that the grain, if kept for sowing, would produce a harvest, and that we could fetch from the ship spoiled biscuit enough to feed the fowls. Our pigeons sought a roosting place among the rocks; the hens, with the two cocks at their head, ranged themselves in a line along the ridge of the tent; and the geese and ducks betook themselves in a body, cackling and quacking as they proceeded, to a marshy bit of ground near the sea, where some thick bushes afforded them shelter.

A little later, we began to follow the example of our winged companions, by beginning our preparations for repose. First, we loaded our guns and pistols, and laid them carefully in the tent: next, we assembled together and joined in offering our thanks to the Almighty for the succor afforded us, and supplicating his watchful care for our preservation. With the last ray of the sun we entered our tent, and after drawing the sailcloth over the hook to close the entrance, we laid ourselves down close to each other on the grass and moss we had collected in the morning.

The children observed, with surprise, that darkness came upon us all at once; that night succeeded to day without an intermediate twilight.—"This," replied I, "makes me suspect that we are not far from the equator, or at least between the tropics, where this is of ordinary occurrence: for the twilight is occasioned by the rays of the sun being broken in the atmosphere; the more obliquely they fall, the more their feeble light is extended and prolonged; while, on the other hand, the more perpendicular the rays, the less their declination: consequently, the change from day to night is much more sudden when the sun is under the horizon."

I looked once more out of the tent to see if all was quiet around us. The old cock, awaking at the rising of the moon, chanted our vespers, and then I lay down to sleep. In proportion as we had been during the day oppressed with heat we were now in the night inconvenienced with the cold, so that we clung to each other for warmth. A sweet sleep began to close the eyes of my beloved family; I endeavored to keep awake till I was sure my wife's solicitude had yielded to the same happy state, and then I closed my own. Thanks to the fatigue we had undergone, our first night in the desert island was very tolerably comfortable.