The Swiss Family Robinson

e crabs-We discuss the possibility of making a house in the tree-To bed once more-We start for the wreck-The shark again-Return to land-Franz's crawfish-Bridge building-We pack up-A family removing in

rope ladder made-We mount our tree-Sleep under the roots-T

improved. 'For it is perfectly impossible,' said I to myself, 'to live much longer where we are now. The sun beats burningly the lifelong day on this bare, rocky spot, our only shelter is this poor tent, beneath the canvas of which the heat is even more oppressive than on the open shore. Why should not I and my little boys exert ourselves as well as my husband and Fritz? Why should not we too try

lly, and then taking a handful of great nails out of his pocket, he stuck them through the skin, points outward, after which he cut strips of canvas sailcloth, twice as broad as the thongs, doubled them, and laid them on the raw side of the skin, so as to cover the broad, fl

the disgust I felt, finished lining the skin dog-collars he had so ingeniously contrived. After this, I was called upon to complete in the

sed a sensible enough plan, which Jack forthwith put into execution. He n

ns were instantly set on foot; weapons and provisions provided; the two elder boy

m, accompanied by the dogs. Turk, who had accompanied you on your first expedition, seemed

he safety of the party depended on these little fellows, I felt grateful to you

as you described, a lovely prospect is obtained, at the sight of which a pleasurable

le to force our way through the tall, strong grass, which grew in dense luxuriance higher than the children's heads, we turned toward th

hrough the reeds, when suddenly a great rushing noise terrified us all dreadfully. A very large and powerful bird s

ad only had my light gun, and if the bird had not flown

apital sportsman, if only your game would alw

hing was going to fly up just a

rprises; neither wild birds nor wild beasts will se

rd can it have be

been an eagle,' answered litt

must be an eagle!' replied E

e was sitting, at a

econd bird, rather larger than the first, rushed

ghed heartily, saying, 'Well, you are first-rate sportsmen, to b

cry, while Jack put on a comical face, pulled off hi

t, sir! I live in hope

although we perceived broken egg shells at no great distance, and concluded that the young brood had escaped a

soon as they are out of the egg. That is a peculiarity of the gallinaceous tribe of birds alone, to which then these must belong. The species, I think, is indicated by the white belly and dull red color of

if your fingers were unready with the gun. And after all, it is just as w

in admiration of the trees in this grove, and I cannot describe to you how wonderful they are, nor can you form the least idea of their enormous size without seeing them yourself. What we had been calling a wood proved to be a g

nd beneath, which is carpeted with soft green herbage, and entirely free from thorns, briars, or bushes of any kind. It is the most charming resting place that ever was seen, and I and the boys enjoyed our midday meal immensely in this glorious palace of the woods, so gr

ches of those grand, noble trees, I should feel perfectly safe and happy. It seemed to me absurd to suppose we should ever find another place half so lovely, s

y been carrying the board on which these were stretched all this time, so that they should get the full benefit of the sun. As they were now quite dry, I completed them easily

ond high-water mark, and dragged a chest or two also higher on the beach; and, while doing so, observed that our dogs were busy among the rocks. They we

id Jack. 'No wonder they hav

green crabs with which the water abounded. These,

was scraping in the sand, and turning up some round substances, which she hastily devoured. Ernes

did not at all approve of this, and it was with some difficulty that we drove her a

beyond the cliffs. Ernest declared it must be our raft. Little Franz, always having the fear of sav

ing it by the stepping-stones, came in sight o

rty, and that to-morrow you will do me the favor of packing eve

A tree, I do not know how many feet high, on which we are to perch and roost lik

its during the night. And I know I have seen at home, in Switzerland, quite a pretty arbor, with a strong floor, up among the branches of

come of it, after all! Meantime, as we have finished our supper, and night is

ike marmots, until break of day; when, my wife and I awa

e, I remarked that to undertake it would involve so many difficul

ded on all sides by these high cliffs, and accessible only by the narrow passage to the ford, while from this point it is so easy to reach the ship that the whole of

all day, while you and Fritz are away out at sea or wandering among the shady woods, where cool fruits refresh, and fair scenes delight you. As to the contents of the ship, an immense

ake this rocky fastness our magazine and place of retreat in case of danger. I could easily render it more secure, by blasting

e made," cried my wife impatiently. "Why not just take our things on our backs and w

s in, and if you will turn your attention to providing those, I will set about the bridge at once. It will be wanted not on

t is an excellent idea to make a strong place among the cliffs here; the gunpowder especially, I shall be delighted t

ve," said I, "and for both these reasons we must be especially careful of it. In time I

ed the weighty question of our change of ab

once to talk of it as our "journey to the Promised Land," and only regretted that ti

f the current, and were carried swiftly out to sea. Fritz was steering, and we had no sooner passed beyond the islet at the entrance of the bay, so as to come in sight of its seaward beach, than we were astonished to see a countless multitude of sea birds, gulls, and others, which rose like a cloud into the air, disturbed by our approac

hile Fritz bent his keen eyes eagerly toward the sandy

hey have got a huge monster of a fish there and a proper fea

at a short distance from the festive scene; and, securing the raft by casti

enously feeding; and it was extraordinary to watch the ferocity, the envy, the glu

ed yesterday, I am certain, father," said Fritz. "I

he shark! your shark, you know! I believe

ious birds there. Just look, boys, at those terrific jaws, beneath the strangely projecting snout. See the rows upon rows of murderous teeth, and thank God we were d

ng right and left he speedily killed several, while most of the others took to flight. F

a raft to tow after us, we were in a short time able to direct our course homeward, without visiting the wreck at all. As we sailed along, extremely well

?" inquired he, "it will be quite

en to find it useful in that form as well as flat. It wou

nest, "that shagreen was

while the skin is newly flayed and still soft, hard grains of corn are spread on the under surface, and pressed into it as it dries. These grains are afterward removed, and the roughness imp

tz; "what a name to give to

ed Ernest, in his dry, quiet way; "it is better to

wering the sail, we soon had our craft, with

hile was answered in shrill tones, and the mother, with her two boys, came running from behind the rocks between

, and a great number of fine crawfish displayed; whose efforts to escape by scuttling away in every direction, directly they were placed in a heap on

see such splendid crawfish? Oh, there were thousands of them, and I a

iscoverer of these fine

ebbles and alabasters, some because they were so pretty, some to strike sparks with in the dark, and some, he insisted, were 'gold.' 'Jack! Jack!' cried he presently, 'come and see t

ay be thankful that food for our

e of planks to land. Even this apparently simple operation required thought, and I had to improvise rope-harness for the c

rtainly saw no better place, as the banks were at that point t

long enough to reach across?" said I. "

said Ernest. "Tie one end to a stone, throw it

to be eighteen feet. Then allowing three feet more at each side, I

ole for each stitch with a nail, and gained great praise for her ingenuity and patience. Dinner was quickly dispatched, as we were all eager to continue our engineering work. A scheme had occurred to me for conveying one end of a plank across the water, and I set about it in this way. There fortunately were one or two trees close to the stream on

of the boys, the end of the plank which had been laid alongside the stream began gently to move, rose higher, turned, and soon projecting over the water, continued to advance, until, having described the segment of a circle, it reached

we very quickly laid short boards side by side across the beams, the boys nailing them lightly down as I sawed them in lengths; and when this was done, our bridge was pron

ly sympathized with the

l how much we were fatigued, and gladly ret

on the subject of the important move we were about to make, wishing to

a variety of dangers which may surprise us unawares. I charge you, therefore, to maintain good order, and keep together

em as burdens for the cow and ass. My wife pleaded for a seat on the latter for her little Franz, and assuring me likewise that she could not possibly lea

into the enclosure; where, when the curtain was dropped, they were easily caught, tied together, and placed on the cow. This amiable and phlegmatic animal had stood calmly chewing the cud, while package after package was disposed on her broad back, nor did she now obj

s and sizes; they rose about him like cushions and pillows, and his cur

carefully, and ranging chests and casks around it, we were final

is mother l

r) and the sober-minded

nips,[A] the monkey, was seated on his foster-mother, whose pa

, Knipps,

r of this patriarchal band, while the dogs kept constantly r

e read of," said Ernest, as we proceeded, "whose whole lives are

ome other Eastern nations, this mode of life is

do with these deliberate quadrupeds of ours. Whatever you young folks may think, I suspect your mother and I will be quite satisfied wi

procession, re-enforced unexpectedly on the opposite side by the arrival of our cross-grained old sow. The perverse creature had obstinately resisted our attempts to bring her with

the rank grass impede our progress, but it also tempted the animals to break a

ur dogs suddenly left us, and springing into the thick cover to our right, co

l was at hand, I hastened to the spot, remarking as

n and advanced bold

erted, and drew back,

z without so much as unslingi

with them, I heard Ja

ckly! a huge porcupine! a

ttempted to seize it, were already severely wounded by its quills. Each time

re of it by a couple of heavy raps on the head, and then giving way to a burst of boyish exultation, he called upon us to help to convey his prize to his mother. This it was by no means easy to

eat! Father says so! I only wish you had seen how it terrified the dogs, and

its ears and feet, to resemble those of the human race, and po

us looking than this is. It has short, flat quills, and a scaly tail ending in an extraordinary tuft, like

, "lest the porcupine should cast so

he, "I know well enough th

ur mother! she is drawing five or s

r attack. Those are the short quills, and seem very slightly fixed in

n the old idea of shooting out the spines. But now, shall we le

let us take it! Why,

I made a somewhat awkward bundle of the porcupine, wrapping i

tle interruption, was continued steadily, until w

up to the enthusiastic description which had been given me. And my wife gladly heard me say that, if an

by tying their forefeet loosely together. The doves and poultry were set at liberty,

he appeared holding a fine tiger cat by the hind legs, whi

ortunate night of it but for this lucky shot of yours. It is to be hop

ed Ernest, "that God should cr

that 'Rock,' which, were it not higher than we, would afford no sense of security to the immortal soul. That animals should prey upon one another is a means of preserving a due balance in the world of nature, and in many ways these beasts of prey are also use

or sea dog, is also v

fish as the dog did on land animals before his race become domest

he creature was a wild cat, I fired and brought it down. It was severely wounded, but, rising in a fury, it attempted to cl

rsty race-that of the ocelots or tiger cats, natives of the tropical parts of America. I should say this was a margay, and it woul

ther? And will you tell me what wi

yourself. The paws-let me see-why, I fancy the paws might be made famous cases for knife, fork and spoon, and loo

lan!" cried Jack; "do tell me

ed for packing needles, and for tipping arrows, and I should try to make defensive armor for t

e. "I have seen pictures of boar hunts, in which the dogs were

act upon it, and in a short time each had his prize fastened up by the hin

order to form a fireplace, while Franz gathered sti

nquired Ernest, seeing me examining that under which we we

es or wild figs. I have heard their enormous height described, and also the pec

bundle of sticks, and his mouth full of some

d he, "this is so

it, whatever you do. Very likely it is poisonous! Spit it all out this minute!" And th

you find th

y taste very nice. I thought poison was nasty. Do you think they will hurt me? T

how good it seems. If birds and monkeys eat a fruit or vegetable, it is usually safe to believe it wholesome," added I, turning to the other boys, who, instantly taking the hint, coaxed Franz to give them the figs

u with a fig!" cried Jack, holding o

mouth, with such a droll grimace of delight and satisfaction that the boys all laughed and clapped th

on the question of the figs, now co

but part of the porcupine was put on the fire t

a red hot nail, and I soon had a nice packet of various sizes, which pleased her immensely. I also laid plans for making pro

great height above us, and I made the boys try if it were possible to throw sticks or stones over one of these,

ent with Jack and Fritz to a small brook close by, where I showed them how to place the skins

f the tree, which, meeting above us, formed an arched roof, then covering the whole with sailclo

ur new abode, and also to discover, if possible, some light rods to form a ladder. For some time we hunted in vain, nothing but rough drift wood was to be seen, utterly unfit for our purpose. Ernest at length pointed out a quantity of bamboos, half bur

ple of the birds to the ground, the rest of the squadron sailing away in perfect order, their plumage continually changing, as they flew, from beautiful rose to pure white, as alternately their snowy wings and rosy breasts were visible. One of those which fell was perfectly dead, but the other appea

ey. "Is it much hurt? Let us tame it

brilliant than that of the

ion. See what long active legs it has, like those of a stork, while with its great webbed feet it can swim faster

introduce it to the other element, and see what it will make of that; i

flowered, knowing that they were harder, and having cut a sufficient quantity of these, I selected one or two of the talles

has brought?" said my wife, "it is another mouth t

e quite satisfied with insects, fish, and little crabs, which it will pick up for i

t up, and then took the bird to the stream, where I fastened it by a long cord to a stake and left it to shif

the ground. They had fastened together the long reeds I had brought, and were trying to measure the distance wi

to work. Geometry will simplify the operation considerably; with its help the altitude of th

d the angle subtended by the trunk of the tree from the ground to the root of the branch. This done, I was able to discover the height required, and, to the astonishment of

manufactured half a dozen arrows and feathered them from the dead flamingo. I then took a strong bamboo, bent it, and strung it so

ended as a weapon, the arrows are pointless. Elizabeth," I continued to my w

was the first thing to enter the bag," and diving he

my arrows and aimed at a large branch above me. The arrow flew upward and bore the thread over the bran

m to me, I passed them through knots which I had prepared in the ropes, while Jack fixed each end with a nail driven through the wood. When the ladder was finished, I carried over the bough a rope by which it might be

"as he is the lightest; so up with yo

monkey, sprang up the ladde

cap. "Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah for our jolly nest! What

survey of the tree. It was admirably suited to our purpose; the branches were very strong and so closely interwoven that no beams wo

ety was dispelled, for among the topmost boughs I heard their young voices raised in the evening hymn. Instead of descending, they had, while I was busy, climbed upward, and had been sitting in silent admiration of the moonlight scene, high above me. They now joined us, and my wife showed me the results of her labor. She had made two complete sets of harness. I congratulated her upon her success, and we then sat down to supper. On a cloth spread out upon the grass were arranged a roast shoulder of porcupine, a delicious bowl of soup made from a piece of the same animal, cheese, butter, and biscuits, forming a most tempting repast. Having done

sling our hammocks, and others still higher, to support a temporary roof of sailcloth. My wife made fast the planks to a rope passed through the block I had fixed to the boughs above us, and by this means Fritz and I hauled them up. These we arranged side by side on the foundation of boughs, so as to form a smooth solid floor, and round this platform built a bulwark of planks, and then throwing the sailcloth over the higher branches, we drew it down and firmly nailed it. Our house was thus enclosed on three sides, for be

l me how you like it. Ernest assured me that it would be much bett

ined them, while Master Knips skipped about from one to the other, chattering and mimicking our gestures continually. To my wife's joy, the sow

really of no use to us, as it will be sou

ake it of use. The next time Fritz and I return to the wreck

eck?" said my wife shuddering. "You have no i

ot for a day or two yet. Come, it is getting

for though she had originated the idea of building a nest, she yet hesitated to entrust herself at such a terrific height from the ground. When she was safely landed i

ladder, and, with a greater sense of security than I had enjoyed since we l