Three Years in Tristan da Cunha Part 19

The two-year-old infant I punished the other day says "he shan't come to school any more because he's mad with 'old mumma.'" This same infant prodigy generally carries about with him an old pipe. One day when on a visit to his uncle he asked for some tobacco. The uncle said he had none.

On returning home he told his mother what his uncle had said, and added, "I knew it was a lie."

CHAPTER XXIX

_Monday, June_ 1.--We are to have a Christmas tree. It will be the first that has been seen on the island. Various friends have sent us toys, pinafores, pens, pencils and coloured candles, so we shall not lack things to dress it with; and Mr. Keytel is kindly providing sweets, for which we are already busy making muslin bags out of patterns. He and Repetto are going up the mountain to choose a straight bushy tree.

_Sat.u.r.day, June_ 6.--Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were devoted to preparations for the Christmas tree. Monday to making fifty sweet-bags and filling them; Tuesday to wiring about a hundred candles and apportioning the toys; and Wednesday to going over all the toys again to check any mistake. Every child will have three or four, and sweets in addition. All the morning of Thursday Mr. Keytel, Repetto, Ellen and I were decorating the tree. In the afternoon the rain came down in torrents, and towards five o'clock, the time fixed for the Christmas tree, it came on again.

Mr. Keytel came in to see what was going to be done. We were in two minds whether to have it, but as a little later it cleared somewhat we decided to go on, and were glad we did, for we found every one was dressed and ready. The children sat at the west end and the elders on forms round the room. We lighted the candles after every one was seated, and the tree looked quite brilliant. The distribution took a long time, but I think this increased the people's enjoyment. There was a bran-pie for the elders to dip into, which was carried round several times; the little packets of tobacco in it were much sought after by the men.

Most of the people being present, Graham thought it was a favourable opportunity for saying a few words about what was in every one's mind, namely, the thefts that had taken place on board the schooner. He said he was quite sure those present had had nothing to do with them. He could not say they were always honest in their dealings with one another, but he was quite sure they would not take anything of ours; and he remembered that when Willie Swain and Charlie Green came in the schooner the year before, nothing of the kind had happened. The people seemed pleased that Graham had spoken.

_Wednesday, June_ 10.--Yesterday began again the Women's Meeting, which had been discontinued some months. I read to them from a Malvern paper an account of the Tristan exhibits at Poolbrook and what the judges said about their knitting, which much gratified them.

_Monday, June_ 15.--Graham and I have begun playing chess in the evening.

The people are delighted to have some one at hand with whom they can trade. Mr. Keytel is visited at all hours of the day. He has just been giving sweets round to the children. Repetto is constantly with him, and has been a great help in making the doors, window-frames, and other woodwork for his house. But Mr. Keytel has carefully to supervise everything. He was thought very particular, as he would have everything exact and in the right line. The tendency here is for house-carpentering to be somewhat slapdash. At the same time Repetto, whose nickname is "Chips," and Tom Rogers can do some very neat work. A table, a sofa, a chest and a stool made by one or other of them will bear comparison with anything of the kind we have seen elsewhere.

Mr. Keytel's dog "Scotty" visits us constantly, putting his nose over the front door and getting in when he can. He and Rob are good friends and have great games together.

_Wednesday, June_ l7.--Spent nearly three hours in the loft stock-taking.

We had often to creep about with bent backs because of the beams, and to tread with care, as the boards in places are not very strong. The result of our work is very satisfactory; we have stores enough to last us till next spring. Tea is the only thing we may run short of.

_Thursday, June_ l8.--After tea we went down to the sea-sh.o.r.e, where we found Mr. Keytel fishing. He gave Graham a lesson, who actually succeeded in catching some fish. When we went down there was a most glorious sunset, but by the time we returned it was almost dark. Mr. Keytel hopes to start a good trade in dried fish. It will keep the women busy, for they will have to clean and salt them. One obstacle, however, is the green-fly, which answers to our blue-bottle, and which will have to be dealt with.

_Sat.u.r.day, June_ 20.--I ordered some cod-liver oil from the Cape, and am now finding it useful. Rose Swain, who has had a long-standing cough, comes every day after dinner for a dose. It has cured her, and now I have another patient, a dear little curly-headed boy of two, Lizzie Rogers'

brother and one of our scholars. He, too, has been ailing some time with a cough. To-day, as it was damp underfoot, his brother Arthur brought him on his back, a fairly heavy load for him, as he is only seven.

_Tuesday, June_ 23.--Last week the men went by boat to Seal Bay to shoot cattle. They had to walk home on Sat.u.r.day and back again on Monday.

Yesterday evening they tried to come up by boat, but had to return. The women went out to-day to meet them at the Bluff, but saw nothing of them.

_Wednesday, June_ 24.--They went out again to-day to the Bluff, which is quite five miles from here, to meet the men with something warm to drink.

The wind was high and heavy storms were pa.s.sing over the island, but this time their journey was not in vain, for some of the men returned, carrying as much of the meat as they could. They had killed four oxen.

_Sat.u.r.day, June_ 27.--To-day as we were going for a walk on Big Beach Mr.

Keytel asked us to call on our way back. This we did and found tea awaiting us. He has made his house look so well. Facing the door there is a book-shelf on the wall with a good supply of books. There are also shelves and tables for his photographic apparatus. And, last of all, he has made little red blinds for his windows, which give the house a very cheerful appearance. So far we have not gone in for curtains, with the exception of one in our bedroom to screen off the draught from the kitchen, a draught which is sometimes so great as to be almost unbearable.

_Thursday, July_ 2.--The thermometer outside the window registered just over thirty-nine degrees.

About a fortnight ago Mr. Keytel had a meeting of "All Hands," at which he said that there was one person who had greatly disappointed him, meaning Bob Gla.s.s. I think it was the day after that Bob Gla.s.s went to pay Mr.

Keytel a visit and told him that shortly there would be a big fight on the island, and also that he had a revolver at his house which could be used on a certain person and then on himself.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MR. KEYTEL'S HOUSE]

Mr. Keytel finds the sheep have scab, and is much vexed he was not told this before shipping them for Cape Town. He hopes to stamp it out, but nothing can be done until next year.

_Tuesday, July_ 7.--Last Sat.u.r.day we weighed the loaf I had just baked. It weighed eight and a half pounds, and was forty-one inches round. We bake one of this size twice a week.

_Friday, July_ l0.--On Wednesday night we had a magic-lantern entertainment, given by Mr. Keytel, and nearly every one came to it. It was quite a new thing to them and was a great success. There were many miscellaneous pictures followed by the story of Robinson Crusoe, which was much enjoyed. Mr. Keytel worked the lantern, Graham gave the explanation.

_Sat.u.r.day, July_ ll.--A ship seen pa.s.sing between the islands.

_Tuesday, July_ l4.--We have had a holiday to-day, as the men were thatching the school roof. A cry of "Sail, ho!" brought them down post-haste from the work. A steamer was thought to be in sight, but it proved to be a barque, and did not come this way.

On Sunday evening Mrs. Repetto came in alone. Her husband was at Mr.

Keytel's; but she said _she_ was not going to forsake old friends. She generally talks very amusingly. This time she informed us "Mr. Keytel was a cunning rat," which she intended as a compliment to his discernment. She loves to talk about her children, and told an amusing story of one of her little boys. On going to the pig-sty she found a dead little pig. She felt sure that the children had had something to do with it. So, marshalling them in front of her, she picked out the guiltiest-looking face and charged its owner with the deed. With difficulty she drew out the confession that he had gone to look at the little pigs, and as he was shutting the door one of them got caught in and was killed. He did not know what to do, so he picked it up and laid it down by the old mother as if it were asleep.

_Thursday, July_ l6.--We have just returned from another lantern entertainment, at which were shown some interesting slides from photographs Mr. Keytel had taken when in Europe. He is giving these entertainments weekly.

_Friday, July_ l7.--Mr. Keytel has lent me a most excellent recipe-book, one of the best I have seen. I think the following recipe is delightful--

"A Black Man's Recipe to dress Rice.

"Wash him well, much wash in cold water, the rice flour make him stick.

Water boil all ready very fast. Throw him in, rice can't burn, water shake him too much. Boil 1 1/4 hours or little more, rub one rice in thumb and finger; if all rub away him quite done. Put rice in colander, hot water run away. Pour cup of cold water on him, put back rice in saucepan, keep him covered near the fire, then rice all ready. Eat him up!"

The dogs have again begun to kill the geese. They killed two a night or two ago, and seven last night, five of them belonging to Martha Green. We wonder the people do not shut up their dogs at night, and especially now during the lambing season. We are glad to notice they are driving the sheep more quietly this year, and keeping the dogs more at heel.

Yesterday Mrs. Henry Green came to tea; she still rarely leaves the house.

We carried her off to see the lantern views; on the whole she seems in better spirits.

_Sat.u.r.day, July_ l8.--Last night we had Charlotte, Lily, and Ruth Swain into supper. Charlotte resembles a Swede in appearance. Lily, the second, is a good-looking girl with rather a long, pensive face. Ruth is very dark but has a fine face. She is backward in learning and very diffident. All three are very capable girls; they cut out and make their own clothes, and can turn their hand to most things in the house or on the land.

_Thursday, July_ 23.--We had quite a gale this morning. As it was raging two of the men, Sam Swain and Bob Green, were pa.s.sing our house and noticed some tussock had been blown off the roof. They at once stopped and mended the place. Such damage, if not immediately made good, may easily end in half the roof being blown off. They came in afterwards to a breakfast of coffee and fish fried in batter. When we met them later in the day they greeted us with smiling faces, evidently mindful of the kind deed they had done. This afternoon Mrs. Sam Swain brought us some craw-fish, and told Ellen her husband said she must cook the fish the way he had it at breakfast. The high gale has continued all day, but the people say the winds are nothing to what they used to be.

_Monday, July_ 27.--We have had a holiday to-day, as Mr. Keytel asked Graham to go with him and Repetto up the mountain in search of eaglets, which he wants for specimens. Following the practice of the island women, I thought I would take them out some tea in our new Thermos bottle. So Ellen and I started off in spite of a drizzling rain. The wind was blowing in our faces all the way. As we approached Bugsby Hole we could hear shouting and the barking of dogs, but could see no one. We took shelter under a high rock, and after waiting some time, as there seemed no hope of its clearing, went home again.

It is a great boon having plenty of books as we now have; not that we have ever been very short of them, but now we have greater choice.

_Wednesday, July_ 29.--We have been for a walk along the sh.o.r.e this afternoon looking for "sea-beans." These are the seed of a South American tree, the _Caesalpinia Bonduc_, and are often washed up on the sh.o.r.e. Mr.

Keytel picked up one of a different species, the _Pusaetha scaredens_, the other day, in size about two inches across, the largest that has been found here. The same seeds have been picked up on the east coast of Africa. This is interesting as showing the direction of the current.

_Friday, July_ 3l.--On Wednesday we had lantern views of the Victoria Falls, which particularly interested us, as we had just been reading Livingstone's account of them.

_Wednesday, August_ 5.--Yesterday and to-day some of the men were rat-hunting at the potato patches. This hunting means considerable labour, as the nests are often in the walls, parts of which have to be pulled down and built up again. The mode of working is this. A dog is sent along the wall. If it scents a rat the hunters gather round and remove the stones from around the spot, then block up with turf all holes in the broken wall. This done, they uncover the nest, when the rats rush out and are caught by the dogs, one rarely escapes. Sometimes in winter seven or eight full-grown rats are found in the same nest.

The new-comers, I am glad to say, have sown wheat, mealies and Kaffir corn. I fear they are feeling the restricted food, as they must now be living chiefly on fish and potatoes. Henry Green has also sown some wheat, and we are hoping others will do the same next year. Repetto has been taking out manure to his potato patches. He used three carts and three yoke of oxen. His two boys, of eight and six, each drove a cart, running by the oxen whip in hand. The elder one, Arthur, can guide them well; Willie was only learning, but enjoyed himself immensely.

_Monday, August_ 10.--Graham went straight from school to the potato patches where the men were rat-hunting, and did not get home till dark. I believe one hundred and fifty rats were caught. He and Mr. Keytel were invited into Henry Green's hut, where his daughter and Mrs. Sam Swain did the honours.

Just after supper Mrs. Lavarello brought in Mrs. Joe Gla.s.s, one of the new-comers. The Joe Gla.s.ses are giving a party this evening in honour of the first birthday of their boy, and the mother, who is very young, still in her "teens," came to ask if we would go to it. She looked most elegant in a blue blouse and with a blue bow in her hair which was done in the latest style. She was once a pupil-teacher and is now teaching her sisters' children, who, we hear, are getting on well.

_Tuesday, August_ 11.--We went to the party last night. The host and hostess did their part well. After about an hour we moved to go, but were specially asked to stay for supper. A table was then placed in the middle of the room with a nice white cover on it, and tea and plates of cake were brought in. Three chairs were drawn up and I and Ellen were asked to take them. Every one else was ranged round the room. It was a little formidable.

_Wednesday, August_ 19.--We went down this afternoon to try our hand at fishing. It was too rough to catch anything, but I practised throwing out the line. The way to do it is to make fast one end, then holding the other, on which is the bait and stone, about a yard up, to rapidly whirl in round and round and then let go with a jerk. A good throw will carry the rest of the line, which is lying in a coil, forty or fifty yards.