Swiss Family Robinson(fiscle part-3 of 2) - Johann David Wyss (desktop ebook reader .TXT) 📗

To A Skeleton Before We Revisited the Island.

 

The Idea Of A Rowing-Machine Kept Recurring to My Brain,  And I

Determined to Attempt To Make One. I Took An Iron Bar,  Which When Laid

Across The Middle Of The Boat Projected about A Foot Each Way. I

Provided this Bar In the Middle With Ribbed machinery,  And At Each End

With A Sort Of Nave,  In which,  As In a Cart Wheel,  Four Flat Spokes,  Or

Paddles,  Were Fixed obliquely. These Were Intended to Do The Rowers'

Part.

 

Then The Jack Was Arranged to Act Upon The Machinery In the Middle Of

The Iron Cross-Bar,  In such A Way That One Of Its Strong Cogwheels Bit

Firmly Into The Ribs,  So That When It Was Wound Up,  It Caused the Bar

To Revolve Rapidly,  Of Course Turning with It The Paddles Fixed at

Either End,  Which Consequently Struck The Water So As To Propel The

Boat.

 

Although This Contrivance Left Much To Be Desired in the Way Of

Improvement,  Still When Fritz And I Wound Up The Machinery,  And Went

Off On A Trial Trip Across The Bay,  We Splashed along At Such A Famous

Rate,  That The Shores Rang With The Cheers And Clapping of The Whole

Family,  Delighted to Behold What They Considered my Brilliant Success.

 

Everyone Wanted to Go On Board,  And Take A Cruise,  But As It Was

Getting late,  I Could Not Consent. A Trip Next Day,  However,  Was

Promised to Cape Disappointment And The Little Settlement Of Prospect

Hill.

 

This Proposal Satisfied everybody. The Evening was Spent In preparing

The Dresses,  Arms And Food Which Would Be Required,  And We Retired

Early To Rest.

 

Intending to Be Out All Day,  The House Was Left In good Order,  And We

Departed on Our Expedition,  Provided,  Among Other Things,  With Spades

And Mattocks,  For I Wished to Get Young Cocoanut Trees And Shrubs Of

Different Kinds,  That,  On Our Way Back,  We Might Land On Whale Island,

And Begin Our Plantation There.

 

We Directed our Course Towards The Opposite Side Of The Bay. The Sea

Was Smooth,  My Rowing-Machine Performed its Work Easily,  And Leaving

Part 3 Chapter 3 Pg 45

Safety Bay And Shark Island Behind Us,  We Enjoyed at Our Ease The

Panorama Of All The Coast Scenery.

 

Landing near Prospect Hill,  We Moored the Boat,  And Walked through The

Woods To Our Little Farm,  Obtaining some Fresh Cocoanuts,  As Well As

Young Plants,  On The Way.

 

Before Coming in sight Of The Cottage At The Farm,  We Heard The Cocks

Crow,  And I Experienced a Sudden Rush Of Emotion As The Sound Recalled

In A Degree Painfully Vivid,  The Recollection Of Many A Ride And Walk

At Home,  When We Would Be Greeted by Just Such Familiar Sounds As We

Approached some Kind Friend'S House. Here,  But For The Unconscious

Animals,  Utter Solitude And Silence Prevailed,  And I With My Dear

Family,  Whose Visit Would Have Been Hailed with Delight In so Many

Homes,  Advanced unnoticed to This Lonely Cottage.

 

So Long Had Been Our Absence That Our Arrival Created a Perfect Panic.

The Original Animals Had Forgotten Us,  And To Their Progeny,  Lambs,

Kids,  And Chickens,  Who Had Never Seen The Face Of Man,  We Seemed an

Army Of Fierce Foes.

 

The Boys Found It Impossible To Milk The Goats,  Until,  By The Use Of

The Lasso,  They Captured them One After The Other,  Bound Their Legs,

Then Giving them Salt To Lick,  They Soon Obtained a Supply Of Excellent

Milk Which Was Poured from The Cocoanut Shells They Used into Calabash

Flasks,  So That We Could Take With Us What Was Not Required at Dinner.

 

The Fowls Were Enticed by Handfuls Of Grain And Rice,  And My Wife

Caught As Many As She Wished for.

 

We Were By This Time Very Ready For Dinner,  And The Cold Provisions We

Had With Us Were Set Forth,  The Chief Dish Consisting of The Piece Of

Whale'S Tongue,  Which,  By The Boys' Desire,  Had Been Cooked with A

Special View To This Entertainment.

 

But Woeful Was The Disappointment When The Tongue Was Tasted! One

After Another,  With Dismal Face,  Pronounced it 'Horrid Stuff,' Begged

For Some Pickled herring to Take Away The Taste Of Train-Oil,  And

Willingly Bestowed on Fangs The Cherished dainty.

 

Fortunately There Was A Sufficient Supply Of Other Eatables,  And The

Fresh,  Delicious Cocoanuts And Goat'S Milk Put Everyone In good Humour

Again.

 

While The Mother Packed everything up,  Fritz And I Got Some Sugar-Cane

Shoots Which I Wished to Plant,  And Then Returned to The Shore And

Again Embarked.

 

Before Returning to Whale Island,  I Felt A Strong Wish To Round Cape

Disappointment And Survey The Coast Immediately Beyond,  But The

Promontory Maintained the Character Of Its Name,  And We Found That A

Long Sandbank,  As Well As Hidden Reefs And Rocks,  Ran Out A Great Way

Into The Sea.

 

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Fritz Espying breakers Ahead,  We Put About At Once,  And Aided by A

Light Breeze,  Directed our Course Towards Whale Island.

 

On Landing,  I Began At Once To Plant The Sugar-Cane Shoots We Had

Brought. The Boys Assisted me For A While,  But Wearied somewhat Of The

Occupation,  And One After Another Went Off In search Of Shells And

Coral,  Leaving their Mother And Me To Finish The Work.

 

Presently Jack Came Back,  Shouting loudly:

 

`Father! Mother! Do Come And Look. There Is An Enormous Skeleton Lying

Here; The Skeleton Of Some Fearful Great Beast--A Mammoth,  I Should

Think.'

 

`Why Jack!' Returned i Laughing,  `Have You Forgot Our Old

Acquaintance,  The Whale? What Else Could It Be?'

 

`Oh No,  Father,  It Is Not The Whale. This Thing has Not Fish Bones,  But

Real Good,  Honest,  Huge,  Beast Bones. I Don'T Know What Can Have Become

Of The Whale--Floated out To Sea Most Likely. This Mammoth Is Ever So

Much Bigger. Come And See!'

 

As I Was About To Follow The Boy,  A Voice From Another Direction

Suddenly Cried:

 

`Father! Father! A Great Enormous Turtle! Please Make Haste. It Is

Waddling back To The Sea As Hard As It Can Go,  And We Can'T Stop It.'

 

This Appeal Being more Pressing,  As Well As More Important,  Than

Jack'S,  I Snatched up An Oar And Hastened to Their Assistance.

 

Sure Enough A Large Turtle Was Scrambling quickly Towards The Water,

And Was Within A Few Paces Of It,  Although Ernest Was Valiantly Holding

On By One Of Its Hind Legs.

 

I Sprang Down The Bank,  And Making use Of The Oar As A Lever,  We

Succeeded with Some Difficulty In turning the Creature On Its Back.

 

It Was A Huge Specimen,  Fully Eight Feet Long,  And Being now Quite

Helpless,  We Left It Sprawling,  And Went To Inspect Jack'S Mammoth

Skeleton,  Which,  Of Course,  Proved to Be Neither More Nor Less Than

That Of The Whale. I Convinced him Of The Fact By Pointing out The

Marks Of Our Feet On The Ground,  And The Broken Jaws Where We Had

Hacked out The Whalebone.

 

`What Can Have Made You Take Up That Fancy About A Mammoth,  My Boy?'

 

`Ernest Put It Into My Head,  Father. He Said There Seemed to Be The

Skeleton Of An Antediluvian Monster There,  So I Ran To Look Closer,  And

I Never Thought Of The Whale,  When I Saw No Fish Bones. I Suppose

Ernest Was Joking.'

 

Part 3 Chapter 3 Pg 47

`Whales Are Generally Considered as Fishes By Those Little Acquainted

With The Animal Kingdom,  But They Belong To The Class Of Mammals,  Which

Comprises Man,  The Monkey Tribes,  The Bats,  The Dogs And Cats,  All

Hoofed animals,  Whales And Their Allies,  With Other Animals,  The Last

On The List Being the Sloth.

 

`The Name By Which They Are Distinguished is Derived from The Latin

Word "Mama," A Breast,  And Is Given To Them Because All The Species

Belonging to This Class Are Furnished with A Set Of Organs Called the

Mammary Glands,  Secreting the Liquid Known As Milk,  By Which The Young

Are Nourished.

 

`The Bones Of The Whale Differ From Those Of Animals,  Simply In being

Of A Hollow Construction,  And Filled with Air So As To Render The

Carcase More Buoyant. The Bones Of Birds Are Also Hollow,  For The Same

Reason,  And In all This We See Conspicuously The Wisdom And Goodness Of

The Great Creator.'

 

`What A Marvellous Structure It Is,  Father!' Said Fritz. `What A

Ponderous Mass Of Bones! Can We Not Make Use Of Any Of Them?'

 

`Nothing strikes Me At This Moment; We Will Leave Them To Bleach Here

Yet Awhile,  And Perhaps By Sawing them Up Afterwards,  Make A Few

Chairs,  Or A Reading-Desk For The Museum. But Now It Is Time To Return

Home. Bring the Boat Round To Where The Turtle Awaits His Fate; We Must

Settle How To Deal With Him.'

 

It Was Soon Decided that He Must Swim. I Fastened the Empty Water-Cask

To A Long Line,  One End Of Which Was Made Fast To The Bow Of The Boat,

The Other Carefully Passed round The Neck And Fore-Paws Of The

Creature,  Who Was Then Lifted,  So As To Let Him Regain His Feet; When

He Instantly Made For The Water,  Plunged in,  The Cask Floated after

Him,  And Prevented his Sinking.

 

We Were All On Board In a Moment; And The Worthy Fellow,  After Vainly

Attempting to Dive,  Set Himself Diligently To Swim Right Forwards,

Towing us Comfortably After Him. I Was Ready To Cut The Line On The

Least Appearance Of Danger,  And Kept Him On The Course For Safety Bay

By Striking the Water With A Boat-Hook Right Or Left,  According as The

Turtle Was Disposed to Turn Too Much One Way Or The Other.

 

The Boys Were Delighted with The Fun,  And Compared me To Neptune In his

Car,  Drawn By Dolphins,  And Accompanied by Amphitrite And Attendant

Tritons.

 

We Landed safely At The Usual Place,  Near Rockburg,  And The Turtle Was

Condemned and Executed soon Afterwards; The Shell,  Which Was Quite

Eight Feet Long,  And Three Broad,  Was,  When Cleaned and Prepared,  To

Form A Trough For The Water Supply At The Cave,  And The Meat Was

Carefully Salted,  And Stored up For Many A Good And Savoury Meal.

 

It Had Been My Intention To Bring a Piece Of Land Under Cultivation

Before The Next Rainy Season,  To Be Sown With Different Sorts Of Grain;

But Many Unforeseen Circumstances Had Intervened to Hinder This,  And