I then went to the sail-chamber, and cut off from an ample piece of sail-cloth enough to make a triangular sail: in the edges I made holes, and passed cords through them. I then sought for a pulley, that I might fasten it to the top of the mast, and thus be enabled to raise and lower my sail at pleasure. Thus prepared, I hastened to join Fritz, who was earnestly working at the mast. As soon as he had done, we placed the plank that he had perforated, upon the fourth of our tubs, and made it fast. The pulley was suspended from a ring at the top of the mast, and the cord, attached to the sharpest angle of the sail, was passed through it. The sail formed a right-angle triangle, one side of which touched the mast, and was fastened to it. The shortest side was also fastened with cords to a pole, stretching from the mast beyond the circumference of our bark, and of which one end was fastened to the mast, and the other, by means of a cord, to the helm, in such a manner that I could, from my position, either weather the sail, or let it go altogether. In the foremost and hindmost bench of our little bark, we made holes with a piercer, and passed cords through them, by means of which we could pass the sail from the right to the left side of us, and back again, without being obliged to turn the boat entirely round.
While I was thus occupied, Fritz had been taking observations through a telescope of what was passing on land, and which we had already done several times. He imparted the agreeable tidings that all was still well with our dear family. He had distinguished his mother walking tranquilly along the shore. He soon after brought me a small streamer, which he had cut from a piece of linen, and which he entreated me to tie to the extremity of the mast, and he appeared as much delighted with the streamer as with the sail itself. He gave to our machine the name of The Deliverance; and in speaking of it, instead of calling it a boat, it was now always denominated the little vessel. I could not withhold a smile at vanity like this, in such a situation as ours; it gave me too an opportunity of observing the operation of this prominent feature of human nature, in a lad of fourteen years of age. I myself took great pleasure in seeing the little streamer floating in the air, and in the respectable appearance of our machine altogether.
But now, father, said Fritz, looking kindly on me as he spoke, as you have eased me of the labour of rowing, it is my turn to take care of you. I am thinking about making you a better-contrived rudder; one that would enable you to steer the boat both with greater ease and greater safety. Your thought would be a very good one, said I, but that I am unwilling to lose the advantage of being able to proceed this way and that, without being obliged to veer. I shall therefore fix our oars in such a manner as to enable me to steer the raft from either end. Accordingly, I fixed bits of wood to the stem and stern of the vessel, in the nature of grooves, which were calculated to spare us a great deal of trouble.
During these exertions the day became far advanced, and I perceived that we should be obliged to pass the night in our tubs, not having as yet entered upon our task of emptying the vessel. We had promised our family to hoist a flag as a signal of our intention to pass the night from home, and we decided that our streamer was precisely the thing we wanted for this purpose.
We employed the rest of the day in emptying the tubs of the useless ballast of stone, and putting in their place what would be of service, such as nails, pieces of cloth, and different kinds of utensils, &c. &c. The Vandals themselves could not have made a more complete pillage than we had done. The prospect we seemed to have of an entire solitude, made us devote our principal attention to the securing as much powder and shot as might fall in our way, that we might thus secure the means of catching animals for food, and of defending ourselves against wild beasts to the latest moment possible. Utensils also for every kind of workmanship, of which there was a large provision in the ship, were also objects of incalculable value to us. The vessel, which was now a wreck, had been sent out as a preparation for the establishment of a colony in the South Seas, and for that reason had been provided with a variety of stores not commonly included in the loading of a ship. Among the rest, care had been taken to have on board considerable numbers of European cattle; but so long a voyage had proved unfavourable to the oxen and the horses, the greatest part of which had died, and the others were in so bad a condition that it had been found necessary to destroy them. The quantity of useful things which presented themselves in the store-chambers, made it difficult for me to select among them, and I much regretted that circumstances compelled me to leave some of them behind. Fritz, however, already meditated a second visit; but we took good care not to lose the present occasion for securing knives and forks and spoons, and a complete assortment of kitchen utensils. In the captain’s cabin we found some services of silver, dishes and plates of high-wrought metal, and a little chest filled with bottles of all sorts of excellent wine. Each of these articles we put into our boat. We next descended to the kitchen, which we stripped of gridirons, kettles, pots of all kinds, a small roasting-jack, &c. Our last prize was a chest of choice eatables, intended for the table of the officers, containing Westphalia hams, Bologna sausages, and other savoury food. I took good care not to forget some little sacks of maize, of wheat, and other grain, and some potatoes. We next added such implements for husbandry as we could find;—shovels, hoes, spades, rakes, harrows, &c. &c. Fritz reminded me that we had found sleeping on the ground both cold and hard, and prevailed upon me to increase our cargo by some hammocks, and a certain number of blankets: and as guns had hitherto been the source of his pleasures, he added such as he could find of a particular costliness or structure, together with some sabres and clasp knives. The last articles we took, were a barrel of sulphur, a quantity of ropes, some small string, and a large roll of sail-cloth. The vessel appeared to us to be in so wretched a condition, that the coming on of the least tempest must make her go to pieces.
It was then quite uncertain whether we should be able to approach her any more.
Our cargo was so considerable, that the tubs were filled to the very brim, and no inch of the boat’s room was lost. The first and last of the tubs were reserved for Fritz and me to seat ourselves in and row the boat, which sunk so low in the water, that, if the sea had been otherwise than quite calm, we should have been obliged to ease her of some of the loading: we, however, used the precaution of putting on our swimming-jackets, for fear of any misfortune.
It will easily be imagined that every moment of the day had been laboriously employed. Night suddenly surprised us, and it was no longer possible to form a hope of returning to our family the same evening. A large blazing fire on the shore soon after greeted our sight,—the signal we had agreed upon for assuring us that all was well, and to bid us close our eyes in peace. We returned the compliment by tying four lanterns with lights in them to our mast-head. This was answered on their part, according to agreement, by the firing of two guns; so that both parties had reason to be satisfied and easy.
After offering up our earnest prayers for the safety and happiness of all, yet not without some apprehension for the night, we resigned ourselves to sleep in our tubs, which, it must be confessed, did not afford us a very enviable place of rest: they were, however, safer than the vessel, and more convenient for guarding our heavily loaded machine. At the least cracking of the vessel, we might cut the rope in an instant, and get out to sea. Our night, thank God, passed tranquilly enough: my boy Fritz slept as soundly as if he had been in a bed; while I, notwithstanding my fatigue, could neither close my eyes, nor keep them from the direction of the shore, perpetually haunted by the recollection of the nocturnal visit of the jackalls, some of whose race I feared might come and enter the tent. I had, however, great reliance that my valiant dogs would do their duty, and was thankful to Heaven for having enabled us to preserve so good a protection.