Swiss Family Robinson

ght and watching your progress and signals. I rose very early this morning, and with the utmost joy perceiving your signal that all was

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. W

in health and spirits. Among those delightful woods and groves where Fritz and his father saw so many charming things, I fee

ut two long narrow strips of the animal's skin, which he cleaned and scraped very carefully, and then taking a handful of great nails out of his pocket, he stuck them through the skin po

at I would kindly stitch the canvas and (moist) skin together for him. I gave him needl

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

osed a sensible-enough plan, which Jack forthwith put in execution. He n

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

am, 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 s

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

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

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

capital sportsman if only your game would al

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 be

n a comical face, pulled off his cap, and with a low bow, called after the

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 colour of

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

in admiration of the trees of 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

foliage is thick and abundant, throwing delicious shade on the ground beneath, which is carpeted with soft green herbage, and entirely free from thorns, briars, or bushes of any kind. It is the most cha

ea-shore, and I was surprised to see them lie down and go comfortabl

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

the spike-collars for the dogs, for you must know that the child had actually been carrying the boa

e belt with great pride, placing his pistols in it, and marching about in a

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,

ards the ford, we noticed that Juno was scraping in the sand, a

e, and reported in his calm way th

ered a couple of dozen of the eggs, stowing them in our provision bags. While thus employed, we caught sight of a sail which appeared to be merrily approaching the shore beyond the cli

sing it by the stepping-stones, came in sight

ty, and that tomorrow you will do me the favour of packing every

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

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

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

as marmots, until break of day; when, my wife and I aw

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

eat among the rocks tries me. It is almost intolerable to us who remain here all day while you and Fritz are

would much rather give up all the remainder, and be spared the painful anxi

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

be made,' cried my wife impatiently. `Why not just take our things on our backs and

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

y. When the children heard of the proposed move their joy was boundless; they began at once to talk of it as our `journey to th

goats were milked, and, having enjoyed a comfortable meal of biscuit boiled in milk,

e 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

us to find out what could be the great attraction for all this swarm of feathered fowl; and, availi

hile Fritz bent his keen eyes eagerly towards the sand

hey have got a huge monster of a fish there, and a proper fe

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

venously feeding; and it was extraordinary to watch the ferocity, the envy, the gl

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 de

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

anks I wanted, I lost no time in collecting them; and, forming a raft to tow after us, we

ne, Fritz, by my direction, nailed part of the shark's skin fl

?' inquired he, `it will be quite

o find it useful in that form as well as flat. It would be be

ther used l

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

owering the sail, we soon had our craft wit

hile was answered in shrill tones, and my wife with her two boys came running from behind the high 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 a splendid crawfish? Oh, there were thousands of them, and I a

discoverer of these fin

was busy, just to look for a good place for the bridge. Franz was picking up pebbles and alabasters, so

" You know we threw it away there, and to be sure it was swarming with these

ay be thankful that food for our

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

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

ned. And my wife, as we sat resting, displayed to me her needlework. With hard labour had she made two large canvas bags for the ass to carry. Ha

ur engineering work. A scheme had occurred to me for conveying on

t loosely to the tree beside us; then, fastening a long rope to the other end, I crossed with it by means of broken rocks and stones, an

away from the bank. To my great satisfaction, and the surprise and delight of the boys, the end of the plank which had been laid alongside the stream began gently

o at least thought Fritz and Jack, who in a moment were lightly running a

secured at each end to the ground and to the trees, we very quickly laid short boards side by side across the beams, t

o on the wonderful structure, singing, shouting and cutting the wildest ca

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

llected provisions, others packed kitchen utensils, tools, rop

hat she could not possibly leave the poultry, even for a night, nor exist an hour without

until my wife recalled her panting sons, and, scattering some handfuls of grain within the open tent, soon decoyed the fowls and

e now object even to this noisy addition to her load. I placed a couple of half-hoops over all; and, spreading sailcloth on them, put the f

s curly head rested on the precious magic bag, which surmounted all the rest. Having filled the tent with the things we left behind, clos

anz (the young cavalier), and the so

Knips the monkey was seated on his foster-mother, whose pat

of this patriarchal band, while the two 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, reinforced 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

as at hand, I hastened to the spot, remarking as I wen

ed disconcerted, and drew back, but got ready to fire, while Jack hurri

with them, I heard Ja

ckly! A huge porcupine! A

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

of it by a couple of hearty 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 not by any means easy t

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

ous-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

attack. Those are the shortest quills, and seem very slightly fixed i

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

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

ing them, as well as the sheep and goats,

and we sat down to rest among the soft he

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

at our limited reason cannot grasp, let us be content to acknowledge as the workings of Almighty power and wisdom, and t

ul and warm furs are procured by hunters just in those countries where no other covering would defend the inhabitants

or sea dog, is also v

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

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

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

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 look

lan!' cried Jack. `Do tell me

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

. `I have seen pictures of boar-hunts, in which the dogs were p

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

order to form a fire-place, while Franz gathered st

nquired Ernest, seeing me examining that under which 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 hi

you find th

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

be the fig-bearing mangrove of the Antilles. But remember, Franz, you must ne

tantly taking the hint, coaxed Franz to give them the figs he still had in his pocket, and ran to offer them to Knips, who was closely w

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

following day in drawing the beams up to our tree, I walked down with Fritz and Ernest to the beach to look fo

quantity of bamboos half buried in the sand. These were exactly what I wanted, and stripping them of their leaves I cut them into lengths o

s she did so a flock of flamingos, which had been quietly feeding, rose in the air. Fritz instantly firing brought a couple of the birds to the ground, the rest of the squadron

oss the swampy ground. I attempted to follow, but soon found that progress was impossible on the marsh; Juno, however, ch

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; if

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

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

it 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

m the ground. They had fastened together the long reeds I had brought with them, and were trying to measure the

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

ed 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 o

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

ad was the first thing to enter the bag,' and diving h

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

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 you

monkey, sprang up the ladde

he nest!' he exclai

lly nest! What a grand house we wi

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

le I proceeded to fasten the pulley to a stout branch above me, that we might be able to haul up the beams we should require the next day. I then made other preparation

hey had not been seen. A moment afterwards, however, all anxiety was dispelled, fo

of the moonlight scene, high above me. They now joined us, and my wife showed me the results of her labour. Sh

butter, and biscuits, forming a most tempting repast. Having done this ample justice, we collected our cattle, and the pigeons and fowls having retired t

thoughts presented themselves, and as quickly as I dispelled them others rose in their place. The night wore on, and I was still awake;

wife milked the goats and cow, while we gave the animals their food, after wh

tree, and finished the preparations I had begun the night before; all useless boughs we lopped off, leaving a few about six f

undation 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

emaining, we cleared the floor from leaves and chips, and then descended to fashion a table and a few benches from the remainder of the w

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

round us to pick up the crumbs, and the tame flamingo joined them, while Master Knips

presented with all the milk that remained from the day's

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

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

eck?' said my wife shuddering. `You have no i

id,' I replied, `but n

ate. We and the chick

ogs on guard below, ascended the ladder. F

st herself at such a terrific height from the ground. When she was safely landed in the house, taking little Franz on my bac

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