The family Robinson Crusoe

by Johann David Wyss

We had so many and such heavy articles to remove, that I did not hesitate to dismiss, for that day, all thoughts of looking further for the ass, that we might return the sooner to our companions to relieve any uneasiness they might have felt at our long stay, and also to be myself satisfied respecting their safety during our absence. I began now to think of untying the young buffalo; and on approaching him, perceived with pleasure that he was asleep, which afforded me a proof that his wound was not extremely painful. When I awaked him he gave a start as I began to pull him gently with the string; but he afterwards seemed to forget his pain, and followed me without resistance. I fastened another string to his horns, and led him on by drawing both together; and he performed the journey with little inconvenience, and with so unexpected a docility, that to ease ourselves of a part of the heavy burdens we had to carry, we even ventured on the measure of fastening the bundles of reeds upon his back, and upon these we laid the salted pieces of the buffalo. The creature did not seem aware that he was carrying a load; he followed in our path, as before, and thus on the first day of our acquaintance he rendered us an essential service.

In a short time we found ourselves once more at the narrow passage between the torrent and the precipice of the rocks, which I have already mentioned. Near this spot, we met with a large jackal, who on perceiving us, slunk away, but was stoutly pursued by our brave dogs, who overtook him at the entrance of a cavern, and forced him to give them battle. The fight, however, was unequal; the dogs were two to one, besides being protected by their pointed collars, which enabled them to resist the most skilful attacks of the enemy. When we got up to them, the jackal was already killed. On examining our prey, we found it was a female, which from appearances had lately brought forth young, and we therefore concluded that she was going to suckle them in the cavern, where no doubt they lay concealed. Jack would instantly have entered to search for them; but I prevented him, from the apprehension that the male might also be there for the purpose of guarding them. I accordingly used the precaution of shooting off my piece into the dark profundity which presented itself, when finding all quiet, I gave him leave to enter, being myself both proud and gratified by every proof he gave of personal courage.

For some moments after entering the cavern, the complete darkness which prevailed prevented him from seeing any thing around him; but when his eyes had become accustomed to it, he discerned in a corner a litter of young jackals: the dogs who accompanied had before discovered them by the smell; they flew upon the creatures without mercy, and with the exception of one, which Jack found means to preserve, put an end to their existence. He came out of the cavern with the young jackal in his arms, asking if he might have leave to rear it as Fritz had done his monkey; and to this I made no objection, being unwilling to refuse to one of my children what I had granted to another; besides that it appeared to me that nothing could be so cruel as to kill the innocent little being in cold blood, or to leave it there to perish. I also felt the inclination to make an experiment on the effects and power of education, and to observe if it should be possible to succeed in taming him in such a degree as to obtain in consequence a race of good running dogs; at all events it seemed worth while to convince ourselves by the experiment. Jack therefore obtained leave to keep him, and could scarcely express the joy he felt: he pressed the animal to his bosom and devoured it with kisses, and promised to bestow upon him so faultless an education, that he should become the gentlest and most engaging little creature in the world.

We now left the cavern. I had fastened the young buffalo to a tree near the cascade without remarking of what species it might be; when I went to release him, I saw that it was a kind of small palm-tree, and on looking about me I observed also some other kinds of the palm which I had not before met with^[15]. One of the kinds I now remarked was from ten to twelve feet in height; its leaves were armed with thorns, and it bore a fruit resembling a small cucumber in form, but which at this time was immature, so that we could not taste it. The second, which was smaller, was also thorny; it was now in blossom, and had no fruit. I suspected that the first of these was the little royal palm, sometimes called awiva, or Adam’s needle; and the other, the dwarf palm. I resolved to avail myself of both for further fortifying my enclosure at Tent-House, and also to protect the outer side of the narrow pass immediately over the torrent of the cascade. I determined to return and plant a line of them there, as close to each other as the consideration of their growth would allow; for my intention, of course, was to effect this by means of the young shoots which presented themselves in great abundance; we also hoped by that time to find their fruit ripe, and to ascertain their kind.

We repassed the river in safety, and accompanied by the agreeable noise of its foaming cascades, we regained the hazardous and narrow pass at the turn of the rocks. We however proceeded with caution, and finding ourselves safe on the other side, we thought of quickening our pace to arrive the sooner at the hut: we accordingly had the happiness to rejoin our friends before the close of the evening; and though we were somewhat fatigued, yet in other respects we were well and satisfied with the success of our various undertakings. We were received with the liveliest demonstrations of joy, and, as usual, a thousand questions asked at once. Where, how and where did we procure such interesting creatures as the buffalo and the golden fox? Shall we see the precipice and the cascade at the end of the wall of rocks?—Questions were so rapidly proposed to us, that we were obliged to demand on our parts the necessary time for answering them. This being granted, the story of our different adventures served for the amusement of the evening: conversing happily together concerning them, we enjoyed the sober meal which had been prepared for us; and having warmed ourselves by the fire, we retired in thankfulness to rest.

CHAPTER XXVII.
The Malabar eagle, and sago manufactory.

My wife the next morning began the conversation. She told me the children had been good and diligent, that all of them had ascended Cape Disappointment together, that they had gathered wood and made some torches for the night; and, what I could scarcely think possible, they had ventured to fell an immense palm-tree, to the top of which Ernest had again climbed for amusement; and afterwards they undertook the laborious and perilous work of bringing it down, which they also happily executed. This monarch of the forests lay prostrate on the ground, and covered a space of at least seventy feet in length. To effect their purpose, Ernest had got up the tree a second time, with a long rope which he fastened tight to the top of it. As soon as he had come down again, he and Fritz worked with the axe and saw, to cut it through. When it was nearly divided, they cautiously managed its fall with the rope, and in this manner they succeeded. But during their excursion and labours, a somewhat unfortunate visit took place. A numerous group of monkeys had found their way to the hut: every drop of the palm-wine we had preserved in our gourd-shells, these intrusive gentry contrived to swallow; they had upset and thrown about all the potatoes, stolen the cocoa-nuts, and disturbed, nay even almost wholly demolished, the order of the branches and other contrivances we had recourse to for our hut; so that my children on their return were employed a full hour in repairing the damage effected by those mischievous creatures. Fritz was in high spirits with the luck he had met with and secured; he brought me on his wrist a young bird of prey, of the most beauteous plumage; he had taken it from a nest in one of the rocks near the hill at Cape Disappointment. Very young as the bird was, it had already all its feathers, though they had not yet received their full colouring; but it was evidently not an European eagle, and I supposed it to be the beautiful eagle of Malabar^[16]. I viewed it with the admiration it was entitled to:—meeting with one of these birds is thought a lucky omen; and as this species of eagle is neither large nor expensive in its food, I was desirous to train it like a falcon to pursue smaller birds. Fritz had already covered its eyes and fastened the foot with packthread; I advised him to hold it often, and for a length of time, on his hand, and to tame it with hunger as falconers do.

When we had all finished our narratives, my wife began her usual lamentations upon the subject of so many living and devouring animals being brought to her, and which she said must in no long time, from the food they required, become burthensome to us. I consoled her with some difficulty, by observing that the buffalo would be a good substitute for the ass; and I established as an invariable law, that he who wished to have a useful animal in his service, should also have the care of keeping it. It is a cruelty, said I, to deprive a feeling creature of its liberty, for a transient pleasure or amusement to ourselves, and to make it suffer; we ought, on the contrary, to recompense it for the privation it would have to endure, by kind treatment and feeding it well. I declare then, that he who neglects the animals committed to his charge shall no longer be thought worthy of having so important a care intrusted to him. This warning intimidated my hearers; for man is a creature so formed for society, and so dependent upon it for his comforts and content, that, when by accidents deprived of intercourse with his own species, he attaches himself to the brute creation with even warm affection. This satisfied the kind temper of my wife; and as she was herself very partial to animals, she promised her sons to take the charge of one and all of the animals upon herself whenever their absence from home should render this necessary. We communicated to each other our hopes that such attentions would form them to more active, regular, and constant habits of affection and mildness towards us. I have said, I frequently noticed that treating animals with kindness tends to produce the benign effects I have been speaking of.

I next ordered a fire to be lighted and a quantity of green wood to be put on it, for the purpose of raising a thick smoke, over which I meant to hang the buffalo meat I had salted, to dry and preserve it for our future use; and this was done accordingly. We fixed pieces of it on long forked poles. I cut away what appeared not quite fresh, and saw our little eagle feast upon it voraciously. The young buffalo was beginning to browse, but the cow’s milk was still given it; and Jack succeeded in making his little jackal drink some occasionally, likewise. We added to the buffalo’s meal, whose appetite we found to be enormous, a heap of sliced potatoes, the whole of which he greedily devoured; and this led us to conclude that the pain from the wound in his nose was subsided, and that he would soon become tame.

Supper-time was now arrived, and we did not fail to acquit ourselves at it, as well, to say the least, as our cattle, seasoning our repast with lively anecdotes and affectionate conversation. The combat with the buffalos excited much raillery; but we saw that it was no less intended for compliment also, nor was our design to make boots and shoes of their hoofs passed over in silence; the candle-moulds too came in for a share in these their playful attacks upon what they called the wonderful feats we had performed. Jack persisted in defending himself, and this he did so cleverly as to point the laughter at the adversary. The arrangements for this night were much the same as for the preceding. We left our meat suspended over the smoke of our fires during our sleep; we tied the young buffalo by the side of the cow, and were pleased to see them agree and bid fair to live in peace together. The dogs were set upon the watch. Fritz resolved to go to bed with his eaglet fastened on his wrist, and its eyes still bound: it remained in this state throughout the night without disturbing its master. The time of repose elapsed so calmly that none of us awoke to keep in the torchlights, which now for the first time the industry of the boys had supplied us with, and we did not get up till after sun-rise. Directly after a moderate breakfast I chaunted the accustomed summons for our setting out; but my young ones had some projects in their heads, and neither they nor their mother were just then in the humour to obey me.