Swiss Family Robinson Part 20

Although refreshing, this fruit rather sharpened than appeased our appet.i.tes, and we were glad to eat the provisions we had brought from home, without waiting to cook anything, as we had originally intended.

It was, in fact, high time to move homewards, and we thought it best not to enc.u.mber ourselves with the sledge and the greater part of its load, but to leave it until the next day. The a.s.s was laden with the iguana and the bustard; and little Franz, tired as he was, looked in vain for a spare seat on its back.

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; and 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 a piece of broiled iguana, with potatoes and roast acorns, which tasted like excellent chestnuts.

Chapter 7

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.

Pa.s.sing through the wood of evergreen oaks, we observed our sow feasting on the acorns, evidently not a whit the worse for the fright we had given her the previous day--in fact, she appeared more friendly disposed towards us than usual, possibly considering us as her deliverers from the jaws of the savage dogs.

Many birds tenanted this grove, and were undisturbed by our movements, until Fritz fired and shot a beautiful blue jay, and a couple of parakeets, one a brilliant scarlet, the other green and gold. Fritz was in the act of reloading his gun, when an unaccountable noise struck our ears, and put us instantly on the alert, because it appeared like the dull thumping sound of a m.u.f.fled drum, and reminded us of the possible presence of savages.

With the greatest caution we drew nearer the sound, concealing ourselves among the low bushes and thick gra.s.s and creepers, until we reached an open glade; where, standing on an old prostrate log, was a beautiful bird, about the size of a c.o.c.k, of a rich chestnut brown colour, finely mottled with dark brown and grey. On the shoulders were curious tufts of velvety black feathers, glossed with green. He was ruffling his wings, erecting his tail and neck feathers, strutting and wheeling about in a most strange and stately fashion.

After manoeuvring for some time in this manner, greatly to the edification of a party of birds resembling him but without any ruff, who, a.s.sembled round the stump, were enjoying his performances, he spread out his tail like a fan, stiffened his wings, and began to strike with them in short, rapid beats, faster and faster, until a rumbling sound like very distant thunder was produced, and the whirring wings enveloped him as in a cloud.

This was the drumming noise which had alarmed us, increased, as I imagine, by the wing strokes falling at times on the decayed and hollow stump on which the curious pantomime was acted.

I was watching it with the utmost interest, when a shot from behind me was fired, and in a moment the play was at an end; my over-hasty son had changed the pretty comedy into a sad and needless tragedy. The enthusiastic drummer fell dead from his perch, and the crowd of admiring companions fled in dismay.

The cruel interruption of a scene so rare and remarkable annoyed me extremely, and I blamed Fritz for firing without my leave. I felt sure the bird was the ruffed grouse, and a very fine specimen.

We placed it on the a.s.s, which was patiently awaiting our return, and went on our way.

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, the line of cliff and rocky hills, which, at more or less distance from the seash.o.r.e, 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 his 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 bees' wax, but it would burn very fairly, and diffuse an agreeable perfume. Having the a.s.s 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.

Very soon we met with another natural curiosity, the curious appearance of which surprised us much. This was the abode, under one roof, of a whole colony of birds, about the size of yellowhammers, but of plain brown plumage. The nests were built in a ma.s.s round the stem and among the branches of a tree standing alone, and a kind of roof formed of gra.s.s, straws and fibres covered them all, and sheltered the community from rain and the heat of the sun.

There were numbers of openings into the irregular sides of the group of dwellings, the nests resembling different apartments in a house common to all; twigs and small branches emerged here and there from the walls, and served as perches for the young birds, and resting-places and posts of observation for all. The general appearance of the establishment reminded us of a huge bath-sponge.

The feathered inhabitants swarmed in and out by thousands, and we saw among them many beautiful little parrots, who seemed in many instances to contest possession of the nest with the lawful owners.

Fritz, being an expert climber and exceedingly anxious to examine the nests more closely, ascended the tree, hoping to obtain one or two young birds, if any were hatched. He put his hand into several holes, which were empty; but at last his intended theft and robbery met with repulse and chastis.e.m.e.nt he little expected; for, reaching far back into a nest, his finger was seized and sharply bitten by a very strong beak, so that with a cry he withdrew his hand, and shook it vigorously to lessen the pain.

Recovering from the surprise, he again and more resolutely seized the unkind bird, and, despite its shrieks and screams, drew it from its retreat, crammed it into his pocket, b.u.t.toned up his coat and slid quickly to the ground, pursued by numbers of the captive's relations, who darted from the other holes and flew round the robber, screeching and pecking at him in a rage.

Fritz's prize was not one of the real owners of the nests, which were those of the sociable grosbeak, but a very pretty, small, green parrot, with which he was greatly pleased, and which he at once determined to tame and teach to speak; for the present, it was carefully remanded to prison in his pocket.

This curious colony of birds afforded us matter of conversation as we went on our way; their cheerful sociable habits, and the instinct which prompted them to unite in labour for the common good, appearing most wonderful to us.

'Examples of the kind, however,' said I, 'are numerous, in various cla.s.ses of animals. Beavers, for instance, build and live together in a very remarkable way. Among insects, bees, wasps, and ants are well known as social architects; in like manner, the coral insect works wonders beneath the ocean waves, by force of perseverance and united effort.'

'I have often watched ants at work,' said Fritz; 'it is most amusing to see how they carry on the various works and duties of their commonwealth.'

'Have you ever noticed how much trouble they take with the eggs?'

inquired I, to see how far he understood the process; 'carrying them about in the warmth of the sun until they are hatched?'

'Ah! That is rather the chrysalis of the antworm, or larva, which is produced from an egg. I know they are called ants' eggs, but strictly speaking, that is incorrect.'

'You are perfectly right, my boy. Well, if you have taken so much interest in watching the little ants of your native country, how delighted and astonished you would be to see the wonders performed by the vast tribes of large ants in foreign lands.

'Some of these build heaps or nests, four or six feet high and proportionately broad, which are so strong and firm that they defy equally sunshine and rain. They are, within, divided into regular streets, galleries, vaults, and nurseries. So firmly are these mounds built, that with interior alterations, a deserted one might be used for a baking-oven.

'The ant, although respected since the days of King Solomon as a model of industry, is not in itself an attractive insect.

'It exudes a sticky moisture, its smell is unpleasant, and it destroys and devours whatever eatable comes in its way. Although in our own country it does little harm, the large ants of foreign lands are most destructive and troublesome; it being very difficult to check their depredations. Fortunately they have enemies by whose exertions their numbers are kept down; birds, other insects, and even four-footed beasts prey upon them.

'Chief among the latter is the ant-eater, or tamanoir, of South America, a large creature six or seven feet in length, covered with long coa.r.s.e hair, drooping like a heavy plume over the hind quarters.

The head is wonderfully elongated and very narrow; it is dest.i.tute of teeth, and the tongue resembles somewhat a large great red earth-worm.

It has immensely strong curved claws, with which it tears and breaks down and scratches to pieces the hard walls of the ant-heaps; then, protruding its sticky tongue, it coils and twists it about among the terrified millions disturbed by its attack; they adhere to this horrible invader, and are drawn irresistibly backward into the hungry, toothless jaws awaiting them.

'The little ant-eater is not more than about twenty-one inches in length, has a shorter and more natural looking head, and fine silky fur. It usually lives in trees.'

I was pleased to find my memory served me so well on this subject, as it interested my boy amazingly; and occupied us for a considerable time while we traveled onward.

Arriving presently at a grove of tall trees, with very strong, broad, thick leaves, we paused to examine them; they bore a round fig-like 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 sc.r.a.pe 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 very 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 quant.i.ties 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 it to form bottles by smearing earthen flasks with repeated coatings of the gum when just fresh from the trees, and 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.

'While moist, the savages were in the habit of drawing rude figures and lines on the resin by way of adornment; these marks you may have observed, for the bottles obtained from the natives by the Spaniards and Portuguese have for years been brought to Europe, and cut into portions to be sold for use in drawing. 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 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 pa.s.sing 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; and, putting one like a pat of b.u.t.ter 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 savoury addition to our dinner of baked potatoes.