The Swiss Family Robinson Part 16

"This is a miniature la.s.so," 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 la.s.so 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 surpa.s.sed 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; and I was a.s.sailed by pet.i.tions from the boys, each anxious to possess a la.s.so of his own without a moment's delay.

As the manufacture was simple, their wishes were speedily gratified, and la.s.so 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 amus.e.m.e.nts. The good mother had much to show me demanding my approval, advice, or a.s.sistance, as the case might be.

A good supply of wild pigeons and ortolans had been snared, partly cooked, and preserved in lard. Of these she showed me her small cask well filled.

Then the nests of various pairs of tame pigeons were exhibited, 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.

Every one was inclined for 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 fall in with.

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.

Here Fritz and Jack turned aside into the bush, where presently loud barking was followed by the quick report of a gun, and a large bird, which had risen from thicket, fell heavily to the ground before us. Far from resigning itself, however, to death or captivity, it sprung to its feet, and, unable to fly, rushed away with extraordinary speed, hotly pursued by the excited dog, while Fritz ran, panting, in the same direction, and Juno, eager to join the chase, sprang aside so suddenly that her rider was flung unceremoniously on the sand, as she darted to intercept the retreat of the active bird. This she cleverly accomplished, but its defense was maintained so fiercely, as it struck out with its powerful legs and sharp claws, that neither Fritz nor the dogs could master it.

I hastened to their a.s.sistance, and found Juno holding on n.o.bly by the wing she had seized, while the bird, which proved to be a magnificent bustard, struggled and fought fiercely. Watching my opportunity, I threw a large handkerchief over it, and with difficulty succeeded in binding its legs and wings. It was borne in triumph to the rest of our party, who meantime had been reclining on the sand.

"What have you got?" "What has Fritz shot?" cried the boys, starting up at our approach. "A bustard! oh, that is splendid!"

"To be sure, it is the one we missed that day, don't you remember, mother? Ah, ha! old fellow, you are done for this time!" said Jack.

"I think this is a hen bustard; it is the mother bird," said Ernest.

"Ah, yes, poor thing!" exclaimed my wife, in a tone of concern; "it is most likely the same, and I know she had a brood of young birds, and now they will be left unprotected and miserable. Had we not better let her go?"

"Why, my dear, kind-hearted wife, that was weeks and weeks ago! Those little birds are all strong and big by this time, and I dare say Mrs.

Bustard here has forgotten all about them. Besides, she is badly wounded, and we must try to cure the hurt. If we succeed, she will be a valuable addition to our poultry yard; if we cannot, you shall roast her for dinner."

Resuming our march, we next arrived at the Monkey Grove, which was the scene of the tragi-comic 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 cocoanut palm, gazing in fixed admiration at the grand height of the stem, and its beautiful, graceful crown of leaves. The cl.u.s.ter 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 b.u.t.t-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 amus.e.m.e.nt, 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 perfectly 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 cocoanut 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 pa.s.sing 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 G.o.d'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 a.s.sured 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 amus.e.m.e.nt, for we were speedily established among the trees, where, as I chose and cut down the gourds most likely to be useful, every one engaged merrily in the work of cutting, carving, sawing, and scooping some manner of dish, bowl, cup, jar, or platter, according to his several taste or ability.

We were to dine here, and after a time Fritz and Jack began to prepare a fireplace, their great ambition being to heat the stones red hot, and cook the crab in a hollow gourd. Their mother, therefore, left them to their own devices, and attended to the hungry animals, unharnessing the a.s.s to graze, and giving cocoanut milk to the poor little monkey, who had been obliged to travel in a covered basket for some time, lest he should be lost in the woods. The wounded bustard had been completely forgotten, and from heat and thirst was suffering greatly until her friendly care revived it, and it was tied to a tree and allowed to move about, its fierce spirit greatly tamed by adversity.

The cooking operations came to a stand soon after the fire was lighted, for it appeared that we had no more water in the jars we had brought, so the boys proposed to go in search of a spring. I agreed to accompany them; Ernest also wished to join us, and as our intention was to examine merely the surrounding wood, I saw no objection to leaving their mother and Franz for a short time.

Very soon after our exploration began, Ernest, who was in front, turned with a face of terror, shouting, "A wild boar! an immense wild boar, father! Do come, quick!" And sure enough, I heard a loud snorting and puffing as some large animal pa.s.sed hastily through the thick underwood beyond us. "After him lads, after him!" cried I, hurrying forward. "Call the dogs! stand ready to fire!" And we pressed through the bushes to the spot where Ernest had seen the creature. The ground was grubbed up, and some potatoes lay about, showing that we had disturbed him at his midday meal. Ernest and Jack were more disposed to gather the roots than to follow up the chase. Fritz and I alone went after the dogs, who eagerly pushed on, and by the sounds we heard had evidently attacked the boar at no great distance. Terrific barking, snarling, and grunting guided us to the scene of action, and we beheld our mastiffs one on each side of a large respectable-looking pig, holding on by the great ears, while the animal, on seeing us, appeared rather to beseech our interference than to propose to offer a desperate resistance.