The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
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a cord with a noose; this I held in my right hand, keeping the wand in my left .I approached softly, whistling . the animal awoke, apparently listening with pleasure .I drew nearer, tickling him gently with_the wand . he lifted up his head, and opened his formidable jaws .I then dexterously threw the noose round his neck, drew it, and, jumping on_his back, by_the aid of_my sons, held him down, though he succeeded in giving jack a desperate blow with_his tail . then, plunging my wand up his nostrils, a few drops of blood came, and he died apparently without pain .

we now carried off our game . i_took him on my back, holding him by_the fore-claws, while my boys carried the tail behind me; and, with shouts of laughter, the procession returned to_the sledge .

poor little Francis was in great dismay when he_saw the terrible monster we brought, and began to cry; but we rallied him out of_his cowardice, and_his mother, satisfied with_our exploits, begged to return home . as_the sledge was heavily laden, we decided to leave it till the next_day, placing on_the ass, the iguana, the crab, our gourd vessels, and a bag of_the guavas, little Francis being also mounted . the bustard we loosed, and, securing it by a string tied to one of_its legs, led it with_us .

we arrived at home in good_time . my wife prepared part of_the iguana for supper, which_was pronounced excellent . the crab was rejected as tough and tasteless . our new utensils were then tried, the egg-baskets and_the milk-bowls, and Fritz was charged to dig a hole in_the earth, to_be covered with boards, and serve as a dairy, till something better was thought of . finally, we ascended our leafy abode, and slept in peace .

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chapter XXII .

I projected an excursion with my eldest son, to explore the limits of_our country, and satisfy ourselves that_it_was an island, and not a part of_the continent . we set out, ostensibly, to bring the sledge we had left the previous evening . i_took Turk and_the ass with_us, and left Flora with my wife and children, and, with a bag of provisions, we left falcon's nest as_soon_as breakfast was over .

in crossing a wood of oaks, covered with_the sweet, eatable acorn, we again met with_the sow; our service to her in_the evening did_not seem_to_be forgotten, for she appeared tamer, and did_not run from_us .a little farther on, we saw some beautiful birds .Fritz shot some, among which I recognized the large blue Virginian jay, and some different kinds of parrots . as he_was reloading his gun, we heard at a distance a singular noise, like a muffled drum, mingled with_the sound made in sharpening a saw . it might_be savages; and we plunged into a thicket, and there discovered the cause of_the noise in a brilliant green bird, seated on_the withered trunk of a tree . it spread its wings and tail, and strutted about with strange contortions, to_the great delight of_its mates, who seemed lost in admiration of him . at_the same time, he_made the sharp cry we heard, and, striking his wing against the tree, produced the drum- like sound . I_knew this to_be the ruffed grouse_, one_of_the greatest ornaments of_the forests of America . my insatiable hunter soon put an end to_the scene; he fired at_the bird, who fell dead, and_his crowd of admirers, with piercing cries, took to flight .

I reprimanded my son for so rashly killing everything we met with without consideration, and for_the mere love of destruction . he_seemed sensible of_his error, and, as_the thing was_done, i_thought it as_well to make_the best of it, and sent him to pick up his game .

" what a creature ! " said he, as he brought it; " how it would_have figured in_our poultry- yard, if I had_not_been in_such a hurry ."

we went on to our sledge in_the gourd wood, and, as_the morning was not far advanced, we determined to leave all here, and proceed in_our projected excursion beyond the chain of rocks . but we took the ass with_us to carry our provisions, and any game or other object we_should meet with in_the new country we hoped to penetrate . amongst gigantic trees, and through grass of a prodigious height, we travelled with some labour, looking right and left to avoid danger, or to_make discoveries . Turk walked the first, smelling the air; then came the donkey, with_his grave and careless step; and we followed, with_our guns in readiness . we met with plains of potatoes and of manioc, amongst the stalks of_which were sporting tribes of agoutis; but we were_not tempted by such game .

we now met with a new kind of bush covered with small white berries about_the size of a pea . on pressing these berries, which adhered to my fingers, I discovered that_this plant was_the Myrica cerifera, or candle- berry Myrtle, from_which a wax is obtained that_may_be made into candles . with great pleasure I gathered a bag of_these berries, knowing how my wife would appreciate this acquisition; for she often lamented that we were compelled to_go to bed with_the birds, as_soon_as_the sun set .

we forgot our fatigue, as_we proceeded, in contemplation of_the wonders of nature, flowers of marvellous beauty, butterflies of more dazzling colours than_the flowers, and birds graceful in form, and brilliant in plumage .Fritz climbed a tree, and succeeded in securing a young green parrot, which he enveloped in_his handkerchief, with_the intention of bringing it up, and teaching it to_speak . and now we met with another wonder: a number of birds who lived in a community, in nests, sheltered by a common roof, in_the formation of_which they had probably laboured jointly . this roof was composed of straw and dry sticks, plastered with clay, which rendered it equally impenetrable to sun or rain . pressed as_we were for time, I_could_not help stopping to admire this feathered colony . this leading us to_speak of natural history, as it relates to animals who live in societies, we recalled in succession the ingenious labours of_the beavers and_the marmots; the not less marvellous constructions of_the bees, the wasps, and_the ants; and I mentioned particularly those immense ant-hills of America, of_which the masonry is finished with_such skill and solidity that_they_are sometimes used for ovens, to_which they bear a resemblance .

we had now reached some trees quite unknown to_us . they were from forty to sixty feet in height, and from_the bark, which_was cracked in many places, issued small balls of a thick gum .Fritz got one off with difficulty, it_was so hardened by_the sun . he_wished to soften it with_his hands, but found that heat only gave it the power of extension, and_that by pulling the two extremities, and then releasing them, it immediately resumed its first form .

Fritz ran to_me, crying out, " I_have found some India- rubber ! "

" if_that be true," said I, " you have_made a most valuable discovery ."

he thought i_was laughing at him, for we had no drawing to rub out here .

i_told him this gum might_be turned to many useful purposes; among_the rest we_might make excellent shoes of it . this interested him . how could we accomplish this ?

" the caoutchouc," said I, " is_the milky sap which_is obtained from certain trees of_the Euphorbium kind, by incisions made in_the bark . it_is collected in vessels, care being taken to agitate them, that_the liquid may not coagulate . in_this state they cover little clay bottles with successive layers of it, till it attains the required thickness . it_is then dried in smoke, which gives it the dark brown colour . before_it_is quite dry, it_is ornamented by lines and flowers drawn with_the knife . finally, they break the clay form, and extract it from_the mouth; and there remains the India- rubber bottle of commerce, soft and flexible . now, this_is my plan for shoemaking; we_will fill astocking with sand, cover it with repeated layers of_the gum till it_is of_the proper thickness; then empty out the sand, and, if I_do_not deceive myself, we_shall_have perfect boots or shoes ."

comfortable in_the hope of new boots, we advanced through an interminable forest of various trees . the monkeys on_the cocoa- nut trees furnished us with pleasant refreshment, and a small store of nuts besides . among_these trees I_saw some lower bushes, whose leaves were covered with a white dust .I opened the trunk of one_of_these, which had_been torn up by_the wind, and found in_the interior a white farinaceous substance, which, on tasting, I_knew to_be the sago imported into Europe . this, as connected with_our subsistence, was a most important affair, and my son and I, with_our hatchets, laid open the tree, and obtained from_it twenty-five pounds of_the valuable sago .

this occupied us an hour; and, weary and hungry, i_thought it prudent not to push our discoveries farther this day . we therefore returned to_the gourd wood, placed all our treasures on_the sledge, and took our way home . we arrived without more adventures, and were warmly greeted, and_our various offerings gratefully welcomed, especially the green parrot . we talked of_the caoutchouc, and new boots, with great delight during supper; and, afterwards, my wife looked with exceeding content at her bag of candle-berries, anticipating the time when we should_not have to_go to bed, as we_did now, as_soon_as_the sun set .

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chapter XXIII .

the next morning my wife and children besought me to_begin my manufacture of candles .I remembered having seen the Chandler at work, and I tried to recall all my remembrances of_the process .I put into a boiler as_many berries as it would hold, and placed it over a moderate fire: the wax melted from_the berries, and rose to_the surface, and this I carefully skimmed with a large flat spoon and put in a separate vessel placed near the fire; when_this was_done, my wife supplied me with some wicks she had made from_the threads of sailcloth; these wicks were attached, four at_a_time, to a small stick; I dipped them into_the wax, and placed them on two branches of a tree to dry; I repeated this operation as often as necessary to_make them the proper thickness, and then placed them in a cool spot to harden . but we_could_not forbear trying them that very night; and, thought somewhat rude in form, it_was sufficient that_they reminded us of_our European home, and prolonged our days by many useful hours we had lost before .

this encouraged me to attempt another enterprise . my wife had long regretted that she had_not_been able to_make butter . she had attempted to beat her cream in a vessel, but either the heat of_the climate, or her want of patience, rendered her trials unsuccessful . I_felt that I had_not skill enough to_make a churn; but I fancied that by some simple method, like that used by_the Hottentots, who put their cream in a skin and shake it till they produce butter, we_might obtain the same result .I cut a large gourd in two, filled it with three quarts of cream, then united the parts, and secured them closely .I fastened a stick to each corner of a square piece of sailcloth, placed the gourd in_the middle, and, giving a corner to each of_my sons, directed them to rock the cloth with a slow, regular motion, as_you_would a child's cradle . this_was quite an amusement for_them; and at_the end of an hour, my wife had the pleasure of placing before_us some excellent butter .I then tried to_make a cart, our sledge being unfitted for some roads; the wheels I had brought from_the wreck rendered this less difficult; and I completed a very rude vehicle, which_was, nevertheless, very useful to_us .

while i_was thus usefully employed, my wife and children were_not idle . they had transplanted the European trees, and thoughtfully placed each in_the situation best suited to_it .I assisted with my hands and counsels . the vines we planted round the roots of_our trees, and hoped in_time to_form a trellis- work . of_the chesnut, walnut, and cherry-trees, we formed an avenue from falcon's nest to family bridge, which, we hoped, would ultimately be a shady road between our two mansions . we_made a solid road between_the two rows of trees, raised in_the middle and covered with sand, which we brought from_the shore in_our wheelbarrows .I also made a sort of tumbril, to_which we harnessed the ass, to lighten this difficult labour .

we then turned our thoughts to tent house, our first abode, and which still might form our refuge in_case of danger . nature had_not favoured it; but our labour soon supplied all deficiencies . we planted round it every tree that requires ardent heat; the citron, pistachio, the almond, the mulberry, the Siamese orange, of_which the fruit is as large as_the head of a child, and_the Indian fig, with its long prickly leaves, all had a place here . these plantations succeeding admirably, we had, after some_time, the pleasure of seeing the dry and sandy desert converted into a shady grove, rich in flowers and fruit . as_this place was_the magazine for_our arms, ammunition, and provisions of all sorts; we_made a sort of fortress of it, surrounding it with a high hedge of strong, thorny trees; so_that not_only to wild beasts, but even to human enemies, it_was inaccessible . our bridge was_the only point of approach, and we always carefully removed the first planks after crossing it . we also placed our two cannon on a little elevation within_the enclosure; and, finally, we planted some cedars, near our usual landing- place, to_which we_might, at a future time, fasten our vessels . these labours occupied us three months, only interrupted

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