DVEJITUi^ES Gil George Davidson 1B25-1911 r/s/ Stit' Digitized by the Internet Arciiive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/adventuresofrobiOOIondrich THE ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON PLAYFELLOW, A YOUNG FRENCH MARINE. /y^y.^'Zy . c/^ .^ ^UA^a^^f^X^ mrL 1/ ^ liHTi u .J]^ J^Tiyic-^p-ty ■H4<^ [yiry^'^l^ ^o " Down went my gun, and, forgettin,:; all the shortcomings of my prodig\l, I helped him to get up on the raft." Page 201. / THE ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON PLAYFELLOW A YOUNG FRENCH MARINE WITH ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON AND NEW YORK GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS 1876 LONDON : BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGh" SOME ACCOUNT OF ROBIN's BOYHOOD, AND HOW HE CAME TO ENLIST IN THE MARINES I CHAPTER 11. VENGEANCE ON THE SHARK I4 CHAPTER III. HOW ROBIN FELL INTO THE SEA, AND WHAT BECAME OF HIM 30 CHAPTER IV. ALMOST DROWNED AGAIN— AN AIRY HAMMOCK — HUNTING A MURUCUTUTU . . . . . . . . . 48 CHAPTER V. ROBIN MAKES A RAFT — AN ALDERMANIC DINNER — MANGROVE- TREES . . . • 63 CHAPTER VI. AN AMERICAN SAVANNA — NO PERCUSSION-CAPS AND NO WATER — HUNTING A JAGUAR 78 SA27S069 vi Contents. CHAPTER VII. PAGE HOW A jaguar's blood TASTED — PINEAPPLES — ROBIN FINDS A DINNER AT LAST . -96 CHAPTER VIII. ROBIN RESOLVES TO HAVE A PERCH IN THE BRANCHES— A NOCTURNAL VISITANT — WHAT BECAME OF THE JAGUAR'S CARCASE — NEW DISCOVERIES IO9 CHAPTER IX. ROBIN GOES IN SEARCH OF HIS BURIED EFFECTS — THE WHIRLPOOL — SAVED AS BY A MIRACLE . . . . I27 CHAPTER X. ROBIN FINDS HIS WARDROBE— TROPICAL COSTUME— TURNS JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES I42 CHAPTER XL robin's WATCH-TOWER — A SECONrD DELUGE— THE SECRET OF A WHIRLPOOL . 158 CHAPTER XII. WHAT THE SEA CAN DO— OMELETTES — A PIG's GRATITUDE 1 78 CHAPTER XIII. A VOYAGE ON A RAFT — LAND AT LAST ! — FRESH CALAMITIES FOR POOR ROBIN I96 CHAPTER XIV. ROBIN*S HOSTESS— HER PREVIOUS HISTORY — WOMAN'S TACT . 215 Contents. vii CHAPTER XV. PAGE robin's welcome to the mulatto's cabin — AN Indian's GOOD-BYE — INTERIOR OF A FISHING-HUT . . . 232 CHAPTER XVI. HUNTING IN THE FOREST — MUSICIANS— SMOKERS AND TOPERS — STORY OF NELLfi 259 CHAPTER XVII. AN Indian's revenge — capture of lecipo — a tropical SIESTA 279 CHAPTER XVIII. A NOVEL GALLOWS — AN ALLIGATOR'S MEAL — AN ALLIGATOR HUNT — BANQUET AND EVENING FESTIVITIES — A MOON- LIGHT SCENE 29s CHAPTER XIX. A SUDDEN DEPARTURE — MACAPA — RETURN OF MY MESSENGER — NELLfe's FORGET-ME-NOT — HOME AT LAST . . . 309 THE ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON PLAYFELLOW, A YOUNG FRENCH MARINE. CHAPTER I. SOME ACCOUNT OF ROBIN'S BOYHOOD, AND HOW HE CAME TO ENLIST IN THE MARINES. Y right name is Jules Robin Playfellow, and not Robinson, the name I generally go by among my friends. My instinctive love of adventure, and also the adven- turous life I had led, first made them give me this sobriquet, and it has stuck to me ever since, till at last I have ended by adopting it myself, and now I am really better known by it than by my own real name. I only resemble my illustrious English namesake, however, in my wandering life, if indeed I may venture to compare myself at all with the famous Crusoe. I was born in Paris in 1804, so that now I am more than sixty years old. I have travelled over half the globe ; I have wandered over America, 2 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. Africa, and Europe ; Asia is the only quarter I have not visited, and if my health and strength continue, I intend to go thither too some of these days. My father was a banker in good circumstances, and I was his only son. I had two sisters much older than myself, who are still living. They are both married and have large families, so that I have plenty of nephews and nieces, who are very dear to me, though I am a bachelor myself, and though they do not bear my name. It is for these boys and girls especially, that I have made up my mind to write the story of my life and adventures. Whether it will be instructive or not I cannot say, or whether it will even be interesting enough to induce them to read it to the end ; but, at any rate, I will do my best, and they may be sure of this, that all I say about the different countries I have traversed will be true. I shall only relate what my eyes have seen, for I hold strict truth to be the first duty of every man who respects himself. Of all the vices of humanity, lying has always seemed to me the most odious ; only cowards would be guilty of it. I shall therefore state nothing but facts, simple facts, both about countries and individuals. I was put to school at nine years of age, and remained there till I was eighteen, when my parents sent me to Marseilles to get an insight into the ship- ping business. My second sister was married the day I left school, and went to live at Marseilles. Her husband was rich, and through his influence I ob- Some Account of Rohin' s Boyhood. tained a situation in the banking-house of one of his relatives. My connection with the principal procured me a good position at once, both in the office and in society. I might do as I pleased, and I made the best use of my liberty, delighted at being set free from the restraints of school. I loved hunting and fishing passionately, and boats, and dogs, and horses, — in short, a regular country life. Thanks to my personal and family connections, I had no lack of invitations, and I eagerly embraced every opportunity of indulging my tastes. The whole summer long, no sailor was down about the beach more than I was, and at the end of twelve months, I had become as expert a fisherman and boatman as if I had been nothing else all my life. My natural instincts had developed themselves, and I seemed to learn these callings almost by intuition. In the winter I went shooting along the shore, or rode on horseback from morning to night. Some fresh engagement took me out of town day after day, and what with one excuse or another, I was often whole weeks without so much as putting my foot inside the office. As to learning bank- ing, I need not say I was a bad scholar. I hated figures, and if by chance I ever managed to reckon up some account on my fingers, I got so sick and tired of it that, in spite of myself, I could not help my thoughts wandering off to the open fields and the blue sea. Worse still, next day my heels were sure to follow my head, and away went the ledger. My governor would find fault every now and then in a friendly B 2 4 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, manner, but it was more for form's sake than any- thing else, and I might pretty well do as I felt disposed as far as he was concerned. He used to say that a great deal more happiness was to be found in a country life than in a town one, and that I should always have enough to live on, and that if I did badly it was only myself I was injuring, in preferring hunting and fishing to book-keeping ; and that for his own part he would never hinder me, as his creed was, that the secret of being happy was doing as one liked. Whether he was right or wrong, I cannot say ; all I know is that I grew more and more inattentive to business, and at last never went near the counting- house at all, except when my allowance from home was due. After I had been two years in Marseilles, I even went the length of renting a little cottage for myself, in the outskirts of the town, solely for shooting and fishing, and there I spent two-thirds of my time. I had been to see my family on several occasions since I had come to Marseilles, and made no secret of the life I was leading. My father gently blamed me, and advised me to think seriously about the indolence of such a mode of existence ; but he gene- rally wound up his homily by leaving me to take my own course, adding, " If it is just some whim you have got into your head, it will soon pass, but if it is some fatal instinct, why it can't be helped. Only, think about it, my boy, and examine yourself, for your whole future is involved in it." Some Account of Robins Boyhood. So I went on to my twentieth year, good or bad, in this fashion, more expert in muscular exercises than mental, knowing far better how to handle a rope than to make up an account, and finding it much easier to discover the defect in a young colt than the wrong figure in a column of a bank-book. I was a tall, strapping fellow, I remember, brown and sunburnt, with a bushy beard. I was full of decision and character, and enjoyed perfect health, strong in head and strong in body. Though cigars were not then so common as now, I smoked already as if I had never done anything else. I did not care for society, and never felt happy unless I was among horses and dogs or ships, revelling in the open air and the con- sciousness of absolute freedom. Till I had passed my twenty-first birthday, life rolled smoothly along. I went where I pleased, did as I pleased, and always had plenty of money. It was like some blissful dream, but the waking was sudden and painful : my father died of typhoid fever, after only three days' illness, and all his affairs had to be put into the hands of a stockbroker, as my mother had none of her children with her at the time ; unfortunately this was a friend in whom we had entire confidence, and we should sooner have suspected ourselves than him of doing anything wrong. But it turned out that his boundless vanity had led him into all sorts of reckless speculations, which had been utter failures, and not only swallowed up his own fortune, but other people's too. He took 6 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. advantage of the few days of absolute control over my mothers property which our absence gave him, not only to increase the deficits, but actually to make a last venture, on which he reckoned to retrieve his losses. To make a long story short, he managed in one week to beggar us almost completely, and when I arrived with my brother-in-law in Paris, the first news that greeted us was our own ruin and the in- solvency and disappearance of our trusty friend, and then his death. All this happened within a week of my father's decease. It seemed as if a thunderbolt had fallen on us, but at first filial sorrow swallowed up every other feeling, and I hardly cared about the loss of our fortune. Besides, gold has never been to me anything but a means to an end ; and then, too, I was young, and had never known what it was to struggle for a living. I had always been supplied with money by my family, and spent it without giving it a thought. When it was done I wrote for more, and more came, with a gentle reproof for ex- travagance, which made me a little careful for a few days, — and that was all. But now I should need to look at every penny before I spent it. After all the legal documents had been searched through from beginning to end, it was found that my sisters' marriage portions could not be touched, and that my mother would have a yearly income of about ;^240. For myself nothing remained : my family generously wished to make me an allowance which would have sufficed with my country tastes ; but I Some Account of RobiiUs Boyhood. would neither be a pensioner on my sisters' wealth, nor encroach on my mother's little income : so I refused to accept anything, and only consulting my own adventurous inclinations, I determined to enlist in the Marines, on the condition that I should join a regiment that was going to Cayenne the next month. I had first thought of going to India and taking service under some Rajah up the country, but my family were intimately acquainted with a colonel in the Marines, and he dissuaded me from going to Asia at all, as the cholera was raging there, and, at the same time, he held out to me the prospect of speedy promotion if I would join his regiment. It certainly was, and still is, one famous for rising in rapidly, for the simple reason that death makes so many vacancies. Then, too, we had distant relatives in Cayenne, with whom we had always kept up an intercourse, and, as they were people of good position in the colony, I might be sure of a kindly reception. Accordingly I made up my mind to enlist, and only waited till I could break my resolve gently to my mother. But this proved an easier task than I feared, for she was a good, sensible woman, and saw that I was not fitted for a quiet, domestic life : so she sacrificed her maternal love to the necessities of my nature, and almost applauded my determination. This removed the last obstacle, and, ten months after my father's death, I donned the soldier's uniform, and entered the 3rd Regiment of Marines, ist Batta- lion, 1st Company. 8 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. A few days later I set out, for my company took pas- sage the same week in the Government transport-ship the Fortune, going to Guiana, to carry out and bring back garrison troops, and, of course, I had to goon board TRANSPORT SHIP. with the rest. We weighed anchor with fair weather and favouring breezes, and the coast soon disappeared from sight. Nearly all my comrades were prostrate with sea-sickness, and the few like myself who escaped that infliction were from the south, and full of sadness at leaving their native shores, though they tried to hide it under the garb of mirth. As for me, I was young and strong, and wanted room, and all regrets at parting with family and country speedily vanished before the feeling of newly-recovered liberty, as the morning mists before the rising sun. Even that same evening all I thought about was the voyage before me, and the pleasant stay I should make in Guiana, Some Account of Robiiis Boyhood. 9 and of the epaulettes I saw in imagination decorating my shoulders ; for it was impossible that an individual with such high recommendations as I had, could go long unadorned. The day after our departure, about twenty leagues from Marseilles, a great long fish, of a blackish colour. A SHARK. which was a shark, we were told, suddenly made his appearance in the track of the ship, and then across her bows. At first, we only saw him at intervals and a good distance off, as if he were studying our build before making up his mind to follow us. He would come in sight sometimes at one side of the vessel, and sometimes the other, at unequal depths, and all his movements were rapid and capricious. But after manoeuvring in this fashion for about an hour, he finally settled himself beside us, keeping close to the starboard, a few feet only below the surface of the water. We seemed to please his fancy. The 500 men on board, soldiers and sailors, apparently made a suffi- ciently promising cargo to induce him to give us his escort. His presence there naturally enough attracted 10 The Adventures of Robinsofi Playfellow. all our attention, and, till night drew on, we did little else but watch him. We could see him almost as well as if he had been on deck, and his swimming kept pace so well with our sailing, that one would actually have thought he had been fastened to the ship by an iron bar. Notwithstanding our speed, — and when we first saw him we were going at the rate of fully three knots an hour, — he seemed to advance without effort, and almost without movement, his long, dark body, and narrow tail, lying fixed and motionless. Two little fish went before him, blackish like himself, and about as big as large smelts, which, by their very smallness, made the enormous size of the monster more striking, as they darted about round his nose, like gad-flies round a horse at a gallop. These were PILOT FISH. his pilots, as they are called, a species of interested companions of sharks, who, it is said, live on them, by picking up the fragments of their repasts out of their teeth. Some Account of Robin's Boyhood. 1 1 Next morning I was up and on deck before day- light, to see if the monster was still following. There he was, in the same place ; and in all probability he had kept all night beside us. The chief mate looked grave and uneasy at this obstinate pursuit, and pre- sently gave orders to prepare a bait and try to catch him. This bait was a lump of salt pork hung on an enormous hook, which was fastened to a long chain and suddenly pitched into the water, right under the shark's nose. The sea-tiger, as the shark used to be called in old natural histories, immediately saw the prize that had fallen from the ship, and, making a sudden movement, swam forward a few feet below. But either he caught sight of the hook too, or thought such prey beneath his notice ; for he seemed quite to disdain it, and re- sumed his old position. The sailor who had flung out the bait tried to tempt him by moving it about in the water, and lifting it up and down ; but it was all in vain. The commander next had his gun brought, and fired five or six shots in succession at the monster. Two of our officers followed his example ; and in less than an hour at least forty bullets were aimed at him. But possibly the water destroyed the effect, or the balls glided off the brute's wet skin, for not one touched him ; and he apparently cared no more for leaden bullets than a statue would care for pebbles thrown by a child. He continued his noiseless swimming, calm and impassive as before, and equally despising the 12 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. tempting bait and the shower of shot that rained down on him. The commander grew tired of wasting his powder, and was just giving up the useless attempt to kill him, when one of my comrades who had relieved the sailor in charge of the bait leaned over the bulwarks to lift the chain and move about the pork more easily. All at once the ship gave a sudden lurch, and he lost his balance and fell overboard, right in front of the shark. A cry of horror rang through the ship, for which, alas! there was too much cause. Before our poor comrade had almost touched the water, one stroke of the fin brought the shark alongside of him ; and in an instant the monster had darted below his prey, and came up above him. Meantime, the vessel was always sailing on ; and already we had gone from the bows to the stern, to see the result of the terrible drama. Nothing could be done ; we could just catch a glimpse of a human form disappearing below the waves, as if sud- denly seized by enormous pincers. His legs and arms seemed moving convulsively for a brief second in the shark's jaws, and then we saw no more : shark and man had both gone down beneath the white foam the ship left in her track. Our captain begged the commander to lower a boat, and see if at least any remains of the body could be recovered. But the commander assured him it would be a useless search ; though, in deference to his wishes, he gave orders to put about ship and go back a^ near as possible to the scene of accident. A buoy was He fell overboard, right iu front of the shark. Page 13. Some Account of Robin^s Boyhood. 13 made fast to a cable, and thrown out to make sure of the spot ; and in less than a quarter of an hour after- wards we had got up to it. Lying half out of the water was a straw hat that we recognised as poor Matthew's, and close by we saw the tricoloured rib- bons which had decorated it, floating slowly along. A few yards distant there was a sort of reddish scum on the surface, just perceptible, and already disap- pearing in some places into the depths below. This was all that remained of our poor comrade. The commander had the hat pulled up with a boat- hook, and then we turned about again, and the vessel continued her course ; and before long, not only on the oblivious element, but on board ship among our- selves, this terrible death became a thing of the past, fading away from our memories as the crimson stains were washed out by the waves. CHAPTER 11. VENGEANCE ON THE SHARK. HE death of Matthew seemed to cover the ship with a funeral pall. Our captain was furious. His grief had turned to rage, and vented itself on everybody he came across. My comrades looked half scared ; and, as for me, I felt, like the captain, in a frenzy of indignation, and at that moment I would gladly have risked my life and given all I had to revenge poor Matthew. He had come from Paris like myself, and his father had once been our gardener. I had known him when he was quite a boy ; and, after losing sight of him for a long time, we had met again in this regiment, and had become fast friends, all dis- tinctions of birth being obliterated by the soldier's uniform. The same evening, just as we were sitting down to our soup, one of our messmates rushed in, with a wild, frightened look, exclaiming, — "The shark! the shark!" Instantly every spoon was dropped, and we started to our feet like one man, and hurried to the side of the Vengeance on the Shark. 1 5 ship ; and, sure enough, there, in the self-same place, just as if nothing had happened, we saw the shark, escorted by his pilots, swimming quietly along. Our own officers and those belonging to the ship imme- diately loaded their guns and took aim at him, but with no better result than before ; they could neither kill the monster nor frighten him away. Yet he was evidently touched this time, or at least tickled, for he buried himself deeper in the water — so deep that he only looked like a black ribbon floating alongside the ship. It was quite clear he meant to follow us still, and really this fixed persistent escort began to make me feel nervous. Our officers left off firing, for the depth of water in which the shark lay — a depth of fifteen to twenty feet, at least — covered him with a liquid coat of mail which protected him from the balls, or made them so powerless that you might as well have shot at the moon. All at once my thirst for revenge inspired me with an idea, which took such possession of me that I felt impelled to go, there and then, to the captain, and ask leave to act upon it. I was almost sure he would not refuse, for I had met him several times at a friend of my mother's in Marseilles, and I had also been warmly recommended to him before my departure. "Captain," I said, "Matthew was my special * chum ; ' may I be his avenger V "Certainly," he repHed. "If you succeed, I give you my word you shall be made a corporal the first 1 6 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. vacancy, and I will fasten the stripes on your arm myself. But, my poor boy, a shark is no red mullet ; and clever as they say you are at fishing, this is a gudgeon that is far more likely to eat you than let you eat him. Ah, poor Matthew !" " I have a plan in my head, captain — may I carry it out in my own way ?" " By all means — oh, by all means. Only don't you be throwing yourself to the shark too — your mother thinks too much of you for that ; besides, one is enough. Oh ! a thousand maledictions on the mon- ster. Poor Matthew ! Look here, my boy ; if you revenge him, you shall have * honourable mention' into the bargain." " Thanks, captain," I said ; and, without further conversation, I went down to my hammock between decks. I opened my chest and took out a pair of trousers, a waistcoat, a pair of old boots, and a cap. Then I went to the calker, and asked him to give me some tow. My messmates lent a helping hand, and I soon managed to make a life-sized figure, to which we fastened a bullet to make it sink lower in the water, as a weight is tied to the bait on a fishing-line. Our one common desire was to revenge poor Matthew, and it was known that the captain was willing to let us do anything and everything for that end. Each man on board was ready to help. The chief mate, who was on watch, undertook to slacken sail for a minute ; and I felt certain of our success this time. We had to be quick over it, for we had barely Vengeance on the Shark. 1 7 an hour's daylight left, and it was at least doubtful whether the shark would continue to follow us to- morrow. My stuffed man was speedily completed. To make him smell as tempting as he looked, we smeared him all over with soup, and the cook con- trived a most artistic head out of a quarter of mutton which had turned bad, and furnished one of the most alluring baits possible to a shark. This was the finishing touch to my performance : so I went for my gun, a fine double-barrelled one, that my grandmother had given me, and that I looked upon as the apple of my eye. I had brought it with me, intending to do great things in hunting, for I could always count on it with mathematical certainty. I loaded it with religious care, and ran into each barrel a cylindro-conical ball, weighing eight to the pound, which made a sort of little-pointed bullet, and might have killed an elephant. All preparations completed, I went up again on deck to lower my stuffed man into the water, after fastening him to a hook concealed in a lump of bacon. But the captain interfered, and consigned the figure to a sailor, who managed much better than I would have done, and after several attempts, succeeded in letting it down right in front of the shark's nose. I shouldered my gun and took my stand at the bulwarks, ready to fire. The captain and the officers, and all the men in the regiment, known as good shots, did the same, and then we waited. At first the shark seemed inclined to pay no more 1 8 TJie Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. attention to my man, than to the salt pork in the morning. A quarter of an hour passed and night was rapidly coming on, and already it was so dusk that it was barely possible to see to take aim. The officers, tired of watching, had gone away to their dinner, and only three of us were left to act as sentinels over the enemy. At last the shark began to move as if he had sud- denly made a discovery. He rose to the surface with the swiftness of an arrow, coming up close under the figure. Then, as he did to poor Matthew, he went below a little, and came up again belly uppermost, almost out of the water, to seize his prey. That same instant we all simultaneously fired, and the shark fell back. We could see his whitish belly on the blue surface of the water, and, as far as we had time and light enough to judge, all our balls had taken effect. Great gushes of blood spouted up and deluged one side of the figure, and the sea was quite red. It was evident we had given him his death-wound, even if he was not already dead, for he lay half out of the water like a floating wreck, apparently without the strength to dive under. His huge black body made a dark spot on the white foam for three or four minutes ; but we soon lost sight of him as the ship speeded on her course, and could only discover the place where he was floating by the flock of birds which hovered above it. From the time we left Marseilles these birds had been constantly flying about our ship, either behind THE SHIP SPEEDED ON HER COURSE.' See page 18. 20 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. us, or high up above our rigging. Now they had all suddenly left us to go to the shark, and presently we had the satisfaction of seeing them fly down right to the surface of the water, as if reposing securely on their future prey. When the first one flew down on the shark like this the sailor who had charge of the bait was just pulling up the chain, and he quietly said, — *' Father Eat-'em-up swallowed a soldier. Another soldier has made him swallow his hook. That isn't bad for the shakos." As for my captain, he was beside himself with joy. The next morning, according to promise, I received " honourable mention " in the following form : — " One of the soldiers of the regiment, Matthew, was killed by a shark. The fasileer, Robin Playfellow, with the assistance of three other men, Macheves, Brindavoine, and Tripoli, have succeeded in killing the shark. They all receive ' honourable mention ' in this order of the day, as a reward for having thus avenged the death of Matthew." In the evening I dined with the captain at the com- mander's table, and from that day forward I was a favourite not only with my superior officers, but with my comrades. I had wiped out the insult, so to speak, that had been done by the shark to the whole regi- ment. There was a sort of feeling that a duty had been fulfilled ; and as for myself, I was perfectly satis- fied : poor Matthew was avenged. These two events formed the staple of our conversa- Vengeance on the Shark. 2 1 tion all the rest of the voyage, and nothing else of any importance happened during our passage across the Mediterranean. We saw in the distance the Balearic Isles, Majorca, Minorca, and Iviza, that triple oasis that looks so green on the blue watery waste, and then we arrived at Malaga on our way to Gibraltar. We were becalmed off Malaga for three whole days. The chief mate and two of our officers took advantage of the delay to spend one day on shore. The captain paid a visit to the Spanish city too, and made me go with him as his secretary ; for ever since the adventure with the shark he had taken quite a liking to me. We were welcomed by the inhabitants of Malaga in true Spanish fashion ; that is to say, with the utmost hospitality. Every one did his best to show us the place, and we were feted in all directions. We went over the principal churches, and especially noticed the cathedral, so justly celebrated for its wooden carvings. In the evening, we walked about on the Alameda, the chief promenade of the city, where the ladies look so enchanting under their black mantillas. Certainly after Lima and Peru, Spanish Malaga may take the palm for pretty women, for loveliest among the lovely are those charming Andalusians. In several private houses, and even in public cafds, we were offered chocolate, and fruit, and all sorts of refreshments. In fact, our reception was so kind that our hearts were full of the most grateful emotions as we left the city, and we only regretted having to say farewell so soon. But the wind seemed freshening 2 2 The A dventiLves of Robinson Playfellow. and the orders of the chief mate were imperative : so about the middle of the night we returned to the ship, beneath a magnificent sky and over a calm smooth sea, bringing with us a whole cargo of splendid fruit and even wines, that had been carried to our boat by- order of the city authorities, in the name of their fellow-countrymen. Next morning before daybreak the wind rose, and we arrived without difficulty at the entrance to Gib- raltar. More than three hundred sail, that, like our- selves, had been waiting for a favourable wind, entered the Straits at the same time, and presented one of the most curious spectacles imaginable. We were huddled together with a crowd of other ships of all builds and all nations, and managed to sail along as far as the famous British fortress. All of us were eager to get out of the Mediterranean into the Atlantic, for all had been waiting this same wind for a longer or shorter time. But " man proposes, and God disposes." Just as we got in front of Gibraltar, the wind suddenly fell, and died away so completely, that we were driven back in the reverse direction by the mighty current which rushes into the Mediterranean from the vast Atlantic, and we lost ground instead of gaining it. We cast anchor, and stayed there a whole day and almost a whole night. At last the wind rose again, and we were able to continue our course notwithstand- ing a thick fog, though very slowly, for the commander would only allow the main and mizen sails to be hoisted, fearing a collision with some of the numerous Vengeance on the Shark. 23 vessels that crowded the narrow seas. However, we might as well have waited, for in the morning we found we had drifted close against the fortress, so close that we could see the red coats of the sentinels, and next minute the strong current drove us within a boat-hook's length of one of them. The boats had to be lowered immediately, and manned by nearly all the crew, who at last succeeded by dint of hard rowing to pull us back from the shore, and right away into the open stream. There the wind that had been shut out from us completely by the Spanish coast, met us again, and we got safely out of the Straits without further hindrance. One after another nearly all our companion ships left us. Some went out into the open sea towards the south, bound for Africa, Asia, or India ; others went north, towards North America and Europe. Our course was directed to the Canary Isles, Teneriffe, and Madeira. We coasted along Teneriffe, at a distance of about twenty-five leagues, quite near enough to dis- tinguish clearly the famous Peak. It seemed to stand up out of the water against the sky like an enormous blue sugar-loaf, the top of which was lost in snowy white clouds. The next place we saw was Madeira. It appeared to us very flat, notwithstanding its hills, which looked in the distance scarcely above the level of the sea, and were hardly distinguishable from the ground on which they stood, the whole just forming one black spot on the horizon. Till we arrived there a good number of ships were 24 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, still in sight, going their different ways, sometimes sailing so near us that we could distinguish the sailors and people on board, and sometimes so far away that they looked mere white specks, like birds on the wing. Whenever any vessel came close enough, the com- mander, or some of the officers, would hail her through a speaking-trumpet, and ask her name and country, and destination. " The Doria,'' replied one, "Genoese barque, return- ing to Genoa with wood and coffee from Brazil." "The Hudson" said another, "English, returning from the coast of Africa, with palm oil, cocoa-nuts, and ebony." " MonUahn" said a third, " French, from Marseilles, going to China with arms, ammunition, &c." Then we had to give our name and country in return, and say whither we were bound. A friendly interchange of good wishes for a prosperous voyage followed, and sometimes a cordial hurrah, and waving of caps. Flags were hoisted as the final farewell was spoken, just as we shake hands with a friend, and then each vessel went on her way. These meetings helped greatly to break the monotony of the voyage, and gave us something to talk about for some hours after- wards at least. I have no doubt the mate, who gene- rally had to act as spokesman on such occasions, was not far wrong when he said these little friendly civilities not only enlivened the passengers, but kept the whole ship's company in health and spirits. After we had completely lost sight of Madeira Vengeance on the Shark. 25 however, the ships became so few, that we rarely met one or two in a day, and all at such distances, that we could not even make out their flags. Still, the sailors, and especially the naval officers, could generally tell the nation to which each belonged. "That is an American," they would say, "by her tall masts, and the quantity of canvas she carries, in AN AMERICAN SCHOONER. spite of the wind. She skims over the water like a sea-gull." Or sometimes it would be " She is French, by the cut of her jib. Finely conceived, and finely built, but content to sail quietly along, and caring more about keeping her timbers whole, than making a quick passage." From that time onwards, nothing happened worthy of remark. Two or three more sharks paid us a visit, but none followed us. Only one came near enough 26 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. to let us fire at him, and our captain immediately sent a ball flying after him, which made him turn round and dive below at once, so deep, that we lost sight of him altogether. Several times we saw in the horizon great jets of water spouted up into the air, and one day two enormous black masses, which' seemed to leap up every now and then out of the sea, and which we were told by the sailors were whales fighting or chasing each other, appeared at the left of the ship, but soon vanished in the distance. Five or six shoals of porpoises gave us their escort several 1-imes, playing in our wake, passing beneath our FLYIN'G FISH. prows, leaping among the waves, and disporting themselves with movements as sudden and capricious as writhing, wriggling serpents. Finally, we crossed a shoal of flying fish, who were being chased by the porpoises, we were told. They literally kept them- selves suspended in the air, so completely out of the 2 8 The A dventures of Robinson Playfellow. water that one might have thought it was a swarm of locusts flying round the ship. One even fell on deck, where it was captured by the officers, who had it dried and stuffed. This was all we saw, however, of the submarine world of living creatures. As to sea-gulls and other coast birds, we almost lost sight of them after we entered the ocean. Far away on the most remote horizon, we could occa- sionally catch a glimpse of one flying before the wind at full speed, as if in haste to regain some shore, and rest his weary wings. Once or twice, too, the sea- grebes rose up before us out of the sea. They were of a blackish colour, and had short wings, and flew along as straight as quails, touching the waves as they went, and every few hundred yards darting below the surface, and disappearing from sight en- tirely. The birds that were most numerous, and kept most constantly about the ship, were the halcyons, or sea- swallows, as the sailors sometimes call them. They were of a greyish colour, spotted with red and black, something like woodcocks, and about the size of large swallows, and like them they skimmed the surface of the billows as they flew. We frequently had as many as five or six behind the ship, flying on the white foam she left in her track ; and th«ir ease and swift- ness of wing was quite marvellous. Often we threw down papers to them or bits of wood. They would dart forward and hover over each, to see if it con- CI RAROLX Jj..wAuuhAnSi^^ I sometimes would sit watching them for hours. Page 29. Vengeance on the Shark. 29 cealed food, but left it immediately unless some par- ticles of meat were to be found, when we used to see them settle down over it with outspread wings. They would remain there for some minutes, and then go back to resume their monotonous and almost motion- less flight over the white foam. For the first few days after their appearance we wanted to have a shot at them, and I had asked and obtained leave from the captain. But the chief mate dissuaded me from attempting it, and said — "The sailors think it very unlucky to kill them, and fancy it will bring evil on the ship. Some of them believe these birds are the restless troubled spirits of shipwrecked sailors, which haunt the track of ships. Besides, you could not have their bodies ; and even if you could, the flesh is so tough it is per- fectly uneatable. So take my advice, and leave them alone." Of course I obeyed, and all the more willingly as, much as I should have liked to get hold of one of them, I really felt a sort of remorse at the thought of firing on such pretty, inoffensive little creatures as these faithful companions of my reveries on deck. I sometimes would sit watching them for hours, and let imagination roam at will ; and often I have fed them with crumbs from my meals, as we feed sparrows in our streets at home. CHAPTER IIL HOW ROBIN FELL INTO THE SEA, AND WHAT BECAME OF HIM. REAMING and building castles in the air were really almost the only pleasures we could indulge in during the voyage. Some of us borrowed books to read from the sailors ; others made straw hats or twine mats, or played at loto ; but the greater number remained idle — sleeping or smoking, or contemplating the waves in philosophic moods. After we left Madeira, the heat became so intense that our first care was to do nothing. I was like the rest then ; and after I had read the few books that went the round of the ship, I took to passing hours, and even days, in gazing dreamily at the ocean, and the clouds, and the sea-birds. But as I am not naturally given to dreaming, except now and then, and only for a short time, I was not long before I invented an occupation for myself, which gradually filled up all my spare moments, and ended by ab- sorbing me so completely, that I made it my sole business. How Robin fell into the Sea. 3 1 I turned carver, if I may profane the term by applying it to the rough productions of my hatchet, which I fabricated with more patience than skill. Thanks to the patronage of my captain and the commander of the ship, I managed to make myself a sort of workshop on deck, or rather outside it, where I could work as I liked without being disturbed. The day after we left Marseilles I noticed an enormous anchor on the right side of the ship, towards her bows. It was at least six feet long, and was so fastened against the vessel as to make a sort of large arm-chair with a hollowed-out back, I thought to myself then, I should be much better sitting all alone there, with the fresh air blowing about me, than upon deck, always cumbered with my comrades, or down below, where it was so frightfully hot. In my own mind I began by degrees to make sundry addi- tions to this improvised cabin. I planned a sort of rope-guard to prevent me from falling into the sea ; and a plank with a cushion made of tow, as the iron shank of an anchor is not a very comfortable seat. The longer I thought over the idea the more prac- ticable it appeared, and at length I resolved to speak to the commander about it, as I fancied I saw the way to gain my object by appealing to his self-interest. When we were promenading about Malaga, I bought several little statuettes in painted wood to send to my mother by the first opportunity. The 32 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. commander, though he would not pay the price for them when he was on land, no sooner found himself on board again than he repented his economical scruples, and wanted me to give up my purchases. I declined, however, on the plea that they were for my family, and nothing more was said. But now I remembered his eager longing to possess my trea- sures, and determined to profit by it. I went up to him and offered to make him statuettes exactly like mine if he would give me wood and paints, and allow me to take up my abode on one of the anchors, where I could work at my ease. At first he flatly refused, telling me that no one on board, not even those with grand recommenda- tions, and shark-killers, had a right to privileges. But next morning either the thought of the coveted statuettes had been working in his brain, or he had been talking it over with my captain, to whom I had also confided my project ; for he said, roughly, — " Come, young bungling would-be carver, let us have a look at your anchor, and show me how you mean to get down to it." I explained to him my idea, which was simple enough, and by no means dangerous, and then I added, — " The truth is, Commander, I am not accustomed to this heat, and I could not do anything down below. But outside there I shall feel as if I were in a regular workshop, and I will make you and my captain as many statuettes as you like to order." How Robin fell into the Sea. 33 *' Well, well, do as you please. The chief carpenter shall give you wood and paint. Go along and make your nest in the anchor, but mind you manage to keep out of my sight, or I shall have to cut off your rations for breach of discipline. Be off, then, and be sure and make me a pretty Senora in a mantilla, the facsimile of yours ; and if you can, see and give it the look of that young Spanish girl that came with her mother to escort us down to the boat." I did not need to be twice told. I set to work immediately, and soon established myself on the said anchor. It was the largest belonging to the ship, the sheet-anchor^ and was never used but on exceptional occasions : so that I should not inconvenience any- I TACKLE. body, or interfere with the drill by taking up my abode on it. The chief carpenter came and helped 34 T^i^ Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, me himself, for I had secured his friendly services by- slipping a couple of half-crowns into his hand. The calker brought me tow and rope, and that very same evening I was fairly installed, almost without attract- ing observation. It was a complete nest. There was no danger of falling out either, thanks to three strong ropes fastened together by a sort of net which formed a balcony round me. Here I had quiet, and air, and light — all I needed to make me work like a " nigger ;" and I commenced my task the very next day. I had plenty of time before me, for we had scarcely made a quarter of our passage yet. The average length of the passage from Bordeaux to Cayenne in a quick sailing- vessel is a month ; and our point of departure had been from Marseilles, in the heart of the Mediterra- nean ; and, moreover, the Fortune was the slowest old stager in all the transport service. So I might reckon pretty safely on having thirty more days to work in at least. It may seem strange, but any one who has endured the ennui of a long voyage will quite understand me when I say I felt as joyous as a man just let loose from prison. Besides, I did not mean to confine my- self entirely to making statuettes ; for, to tell the truth, the chief motive I had in choosing my new quarters was the prospect of being able to indulge to my heart's content in fishing, the favourite pastime of bygone days of prosperity. With this end in view, my first business was to make a collection of decoy That very same evening I was fairly installed, almost without attracting observation." -^«^^34- How Robin fell into the Sea. 35 fish of different shapes, which I fastened to long lines, and hung down in front of me. Within a week I had at least thirty of these fishes trailing along the sea, and about a thousand yards of twine. Each line was hooked to my balcony, so that I might feel the least jerk and know the moment the bait had taken. But, in spite of all my trouble, I caught nothing, or at least nothing worth mentioning — in six weeks only one poor little goldfish. Fishing is seldom good for much in the wide ocean, for the simple reason that there are fewer fish in the deep sea than towards the coast. Besides, I did not set to work in the right way. It was my first experience in ocean fishing, and every art requires an apprenticeship to learn it properly. I served mine this voyage by missing numbers of goki- fish and porpoises that played in the wake of our vessel, and that I should have caught if I had been more careful and shown a little more tact. Depend upon it, failure is almost always our own fault; whether in fishing or in more important things, we shall find it mainly results from want of care and want of tact. My constant ill-luck led me to alter my plans and devote myself more to my statuettes. Here I suc- ceeded far beyond my hopes. At the end of ten days I gave the mate his Sejtora in the mantilla; and it was so like mine that, except for a faint resemblance to the fair lady whose features he had begged me to reproduce if I could, you might have mistaken one for the other. Soon after, I had carved a Picador, lance 36 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. in hand, and presented it to my captain ; and ambi- tion had so increased with success that I determined to double my collection by modelling some of my comrades from life. To accomplish my purpose, I began to work, I might almost say, day and night ; for my occupation, and still more my snug retreat, had grown so dear to me that at last I had ended by staying there all night ; and when the wind permitted, I used to keep on at my task by lamplight. No one saw me, and no one would have said anything if he had, favoured as I was by my superior officers. Be- fore long, to prevent the necessity of going down be- tween decks at all, where the heat became more and more stifling as we got nearer the line, I had trans- ferred to my nest all my "bag and baggage," every- thing I possessed on board. Now, though I was only a common soldier, I had a splendid rig-out for hunting and fishing. My mother and my brothers-in-law had stocked me with every- thing I could need for ten years. I had a great chest crammed full of shot and ball, and powder, hooks, lines, &c. ; and in addition to all this, a fine double- barrelled fowling-piece, and clothes enough and to spare. I carried the whole into my new cabin, toge- ther with my musket and sabre and cartridge-box, even down to my knapsack. All my stores were thus at hand, and I never needed to appear on deck except at meal times. Thanks to my privileged situation, the days and nights passed quickly away ; and though we had been How Robin fell into the Sea. 37 tvi^o whole months on the sea, owing to calms that had delayed us, I had never felt the time hang heavy on my hands. Yet I must confess it was with unalloyed satisfaction that I heard the man on the look-out cry, " Land ahead !" Every eye was bent at once in the direction indicated ; but stretch our necks and strain our eyes as we might, we could discover nothing, not even with the glass ; for the coast of America, almost along the whole extent of the Guianas, is excessively flat, and can only be discerned by getting in some way above its level. As soon as land was announced, the commander changed the course of the ship, and gave orders to steer towards the north-west, keeping off the shore without losing sight of it, and making a long round southward first, to avoid being caught in some of the coast currents and driven out into the main — a com- mon occurrence in these latitudes. Father Hilain, as he was called by the crew, was a skilful sailor if ever there was one, and knew the coast admirably. To escape these said currents, he made a detour as far south as Cape Nord, that is, more than three degrees below Cayenne. Once there, all he had to do was to fall into the great current of the Amazon, which would carry him north, and take advantage of the wind that was generally blowing in the same direc- tion. As soon as we were fairly into the flow of the mighty river, we advanced rapidly, though the water looked muddy, and was covered here and there with trunks of trees and branches, which drifted against us 38 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. for some time till we sailed past them, thanks to our good canvas. In the evening of the same day we sighted land. I went to bed as usual, and soon fell fast asleep ; for I had been working late, and felt tired. But in my sleep I seemed to hear the stentorian tones of the commander giving orders to the crew, and the con- fused sound of men's feet hurrying towards the capstan. However, I was too drowsy to wake easily, and too comfortable to give myself much concern about what was doing on deck. All at once I felt a violent jerk, and something came in contact with my foot, and gave it a sharp A WATERY BERTH. knock. The next minute a sudden sensation of cold woke me up completely, and I found myself in the water, or rather under the water, which was worse still, for my arms and legs were entangled in the ropes and tow of my hammock. *' Suddenly something like claws seized hold of my hair, and a sharp beak made such a vigorous dig at my face, quite close to my right eye, that the pain completely roused me from my lethargy." p„g(, .,^. How Robin fell into the Sea, 39 Hardly conscious of where I was, or how I came there, I was quite sensible of my danger, and made superhuman efforts to extricate myself; but it was impossible. However, in all probability, the very attempt saved my life, for I found myself rising to the surface, and immediately I shouted for help with all my might. But the first syllable had scarcely escaped my lips when a wave rushed into my mouth and nearly choked me. An indescribable feeling of agony, such as one must experience in dying, I sup- pose, came over me, and the image of my mother floated dimly, as if through a mist, before my eyes : and then I remembered no more. I had fainted. When I recovered consciousness it was broad day- light. For a moment the bright sunshine almost blinded me, but I had an indistinct vision of white birds flying above me, flapping their wings, and screeching. Such a heavy weight, however, seemed lying on my head and chest that I was quite powerless to think or move, and I remained in a sort of stupor, gazing blankly at the sun and the birds till suddenly something like claws seized hold of my hair, and a sharp beak made such a vigorous dig at my face, quite close to my right eye, that the pain completely roused me from my lethargy. I tried to put up my hand to discover what was pulling at my hair, but I could not lift it from my side. However, I managed to sit up, and instantly got rid of the claws, a sea-gull flying off me that same moment, flapping her wings and filling the air with her shrill, discordant cries. Her 40 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. example was speedily followed by all the rest of the feathered tribe that had been hovering about me, and I was left alone. A few minutes afterwards I became violently sick as if I had taken an emetic, the salt water I had swallowed so copiously rushed from my mouth in a stream, and I felt immediate relief from the oppression on my chest. But I could not in the least understand what had happened to me, and my first impression was that I was labouring under some frightful nightmare. My eye felt as if it were bleeding, and I tried again to put up my hand ; but I could neither move the one nor the other. At last I succeeded in releasing the left from the network in which it was entangled and put it up to my face. It was just as I thought ; my eye was bleeding. I felt my clothes next, for I could not tell how I was so cold and trembling. To my surprise I found I was dripping with muddy water from head to foot, and that I was actually lying in water. It was all a mystery to me, and I resolved to get up and try and unravel it. Again I struggled to extricate my right hand, and at last succeeded. I managed to get on my feet, and almost immediately the unnatural sort of tog which had seemed to envelop all my facul- ties, cleared away, and I saw exactly where I was, and knew how it had all happened. For some reason, probably owing to a violent and unexpected undercurrent that had suddenly caught the ship, my anchor had been cast into the sea as being the largest and most powerful on the vessel. How Robin fell into the Sea. 41 The captain had doubtless chosen it on purpose, as it offered more resistance to the current than all the others put together. Its size and enormous weight must make it sink deep in the muddy bottom of the river, or at any rate make it take fast hold of any pro- jecting bit of land, and so stop the ship from drifting in the wrong direction. Amidst the confusion of these unusual doings on board, and perhaps partly through the alarm caused by the sudden danger, nobody remembered poor me. My messmates were sleeping between decks, and the sailors had something else to do. Likely enough it was the chief officer himself, the very man who had granted me permission to ensconce myself in the arms of the anchor, that had given orders to let down this same anchor without the slightest recollection of my existence. When a ship carries between four and five hundred passengers, especially if they are soldiers, one poor fellow like me is of little importance to any- body but himself. As you may suppose my workshop had fallen bodily into the water, for my rope netting that walled me in had broken through with the fall of the anchor. Strong as it was, it was frail as a spider's web com- pared to the weight of that mass of iron. My whole domicile had gone to the bottom too, and of course I had been dragged down along with it, without even waking me from my sleep. But through the merciful interposition of Providence, who doubtless guided my efforts^ I had extricated both myself and my domicile. 42 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. and we had risen together to the surface. Then, as I told you, I tried to call out, and I tried to swim ; but it was all in vain, and I felt I was drowning. By what second miracle I was saved, and how I had drifted like a floating wreck on to this flat shore, I cannot say ; all I know is, I found myself lying there with the sea-gulls hovering over me thinking me already a corpse, and counting on making a meal of my flesh. I think it is probable that the ropes and network and lines that hung about my nest had come across the floating trunk of a tree, and wound themselves, through the dashing of the waves, tightly round it ; and that the same current that had made it necessary to lower the anchor had driven me, tree and all, right on to this shelving shore. Its very violence and rapidity had saved me, for I had not had time to get drowned. But certainly my situation was not very brilliant, though I was able to stand upright, and had received no injuries, except the wounds inflicted by the sea- gull's beak, and sundry bruises. First of all, I was up to my knees in water. But for this trunk of a tree, which had supported my body and kept my head above the surface, I should most likely only have opened my eyes in another world. Then again, as far as I could see, I could discover, neither land nor ship ; there was water, nothing but water all round, as if I were in the open sea. Finally, to crown my misfortunes, I felt so unnerved by my sudden submersion, and all that had followed, that I imagined a horrible death by starvation must How Robin fell iftto the Sea. 43 inevitably be my fate. I was hungry and thirsty, and had not even a drop of fresh water to moisten my Hps. I must confess such a sense of utter desolation came over me that I fairly broke down. I thought of my mother and my early home, and my dear native land, and cursed the passion for adventure which had been my ruin. However, I was never one to lose hope for long, not even in my worst troubles, and my nature is too active to nurse my sorrows much, so I soon began to reflect that I could swim like a fish, and that, moreover, I did not need to swim, as I was in shallow water, up to my thighs nearly, it was true, but still with firm ground beneath. Here and there all round me were trunks of trees floating on the waves, many of them with great branches towering high above the water. Could I not easily climb one of these and gaze across the horizon } Surely, I should discover land somewhere, or at least a ship ; perhaps our own, — why not } As hope revived my strength returned, and I suc- ceeded in freeing myself completely from the ropes and netting of my cabin, which lay half buried in the mud below the tree that had proved my salvation. The next thing to be done was to find out the tallest of the neighbouring trees, and I soon spied out an enormous trunk which had a branch extending from it at least fifteen feet high. It was not more than thirty yards distant, so I made for it without delay, and climbed to the topmost point. I scanned the horizon on every side, but nowhere 44 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. could I descry land. Just opposite the rising sun, however, I saw a ship, resembling ours, lying motion- less, and apparently at anchor. Gradually her sails began to unfurl, and immediately the joyful thought darted through my mind that they had missed me on board, and were coming to look for me. In the hope of making myself more visible, innocent that I was, I tore off part of my shirt, and fastened it to the end of the branch. But, alas ! my hope was soon quenched. The rising sun no longer shone on the white sails ; I saw them grow less and less by degrees, till they diminished to a tiny white speck, and at last disap- peared altogether. I was left absolutely alone now, forsaken by every one. Once more despair seized hold of me. It was as if I had been shipwrecked a second time, thrown with- out resources on a barren shore, and not even a shore, for though the ground I stood on was firm, it was quite under water still. My thirst was becoming in- tolerable ; but what could I drink } To wet my parched lips with the salt water about me would simply increase the torture. Presently I bethought myself that I had a hunting flask full of rum in my box, and it was just possible that the same billow that had thrown me on this flat shallow had thrown my goods and chattels there. I went back to look for the tree on which I had first found myself, and had considerable difficulty in dis- covering it, for it was half buried in water. But my cords and baits floating about betrayed the spot, and How Robin fell into the Sea. 45 with eager, anxious steps I hastened to see what I could find. I discovered that my whole cabin was fastened to the trunk, twisted together with a heap of broken branches, leaves, and muddy vegetable matter. With a feverish hand I began to rummage, and dragged out gradually not only my mattress and plank, but my whole belongings, as if a kind Provi- dence had taken care to forward them along with me. While I was gathering up my property my thoughts were busy, and by degrees I saw clearly each phase of my shipwreck. My long fishing lines, dragging along the water, had, either at the moment of my fall, or subsequently, come in contact with this tree, and hooked themselves on it, and then the current had so twisted them round the trunk that they had got entan- gled with the ropes of my balcony and mattress. In drifting along, the whole concern had got bound together, and so had landed with me in one common port. At least, this is what I conjectured afterwards when I saw how the currents of these latitudes carry away whole trees, rolling them along as if they were mere straws. Domicile and locker were in the utmost confusion and disorder, and as wet as soaked sponge. But still, everything was there : guns, bag, chest, &c. Even the statuettes, the innocent authors of my misfortunes, were there. I took them out, one after the other, dis- coloured and muddy, and some of them minus a leg or arm, but all there except one. Poor statuettes ! I remember now, how angrily I flung them into the 46 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. water, as if to punish them for having caused my ruin. My box was locked, but I opened it with the point of my bayonet, as I could not wait to hunt for the key in the slime and mud below. There lay the flask un- touched, and, with it, some sugar and a few cakes of chocolate that my mother had put in my box just as I was leaving. The sugar was half melted and con- verted into a sort of paste, and, as for my other things, my hunting-gun and fishing tackle, you may imagme the state — wet and muddy like all the rest. I drank a few drops of the rum, and felt much the better for it. My mental powers seemed to return with reviving physical strength ; and I remembered that on the preceding evening I had put a piece of bread in my pocket after dinner, intending to eat it with some chocolate when I rose next morning. I made a hasty search at once in the waistcoat I had been wearing, and soon brought out my piece of bread. But what a mess it was ! What with the sea water and the paper, and the mud that had got mixed up with it, it was a sort of nasty pap, the colour of plum- pudding. It would have half-sickened a dog, but I devoured it greedily, for I was all anxiety to be up and off somewhere or other. While I was eating, it struck me it did not taste salt, though it was saturated with sea water. I immediately plunged my hand into the water about me and I put it to my lips. It was perfectly fresh ! Without stopping for a moment to consider how it could possibly happen that fresh v/ater How Robin fell into the Sea. 47 should be found in the middle of the sea, I knelt down and quaffed deep draughts of it, like a man who is so thirsty that he could drink the sea dry. This happy discovery and my frugal meal quite re- stored my courage. The water I had been drinking was as much liquid mud as water. I had eaten two- thirds of my bread, and all the provisions I had of any sort beside were my chocolate and wet sugar. Neither land nor ship was visible on the horizon. Yet, in spite of all, I felt myself saved ! Some religious instinct, the fruit of seed sown in my earliest years, the living germ of feelings that now govern me wholly, told me that Providence would not leave a work half done ; that since I had been rescued from drowning,, and not allowed to die of thirst, I should certainly not be left to perish miserably on this bank of wet sand. Reani- mated in soul and body by this conviction, all I thought of was the best means of reaching some coast or other. CHAPTER IV. ALMOST DROWNED AGAIN— AN AIRY HAMMOCK — HUNTING A MURUCUTUTU. Y first care was to take out, one by one, all my things, — guns, clothes, ammunition, and fishing-tackle, and carry them to the tree on which I had hoisted my flag of distress. The trunk which had saved me from drowning was scarcely more than a foot above water, and every now and then a high wave would sweep over it from end to end ; the other, on the contrary, was not only stronger, but had great roots standing up out of the water like branches, so that I had a drying ground ready to hand. When each article was hung up, I perched myself again on the topmost branch, to make another search for land ; but the result was just as before. I could see nothing all round but water, and in the distance flocks of sea-gulls flying along. As far as the eye could reach, the waves were strewed with dead trees, like the spars and splinters of a ship on the sea-shore ; SEA-GULLS. See page 48. 50 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, and their lofty branches or long knotted roots rose high above the surface. This proved to me that the sandbank I was on must extend an immense distance, perhaps even to the mainland. But on which side was land ? This was what I was trying to discover. I could discern no coast, however, look where I would ; and before long my sight grew so dim with the intense straining beneath a tropical sun, that I saw nothing but black spots dancing before me on the waves. I gave up the useless attempt, for it was mere waste of sight and brain ; and seating myself on a root a little above my drying-ground, I began to think matters calmly over as I gazed quietly at the horizon. By degrees my geographical position became clearer to me. I had fallen into the sea not long after land had been sighted. Evidently, then, I must be on some shallow along the Guianas. Besides, the fresh water and the trunks of trees lying about were proof positive that I was somewhere in the great current of the Amazon. I had read in one of the books I had borrowed on board ship that this mighty river rushed into the sea with such violence and with such a volume of water, that it spread itself over a surface of more than thirty leagues, and washed the coast a long way afterwards, without mingling its waters with the briny waves. I must be somewhere, then, in or about the mouth of the giant river, on one of those sandy shallows that are so numerous in those latitudes, that, according to my book, they may be counted by hundreds. "^^/ uMfi. CSAtiJJU " I hastily put back the rest into my chest and bag, and strung them up as high as possible." Pa^e 51 Almost Drowned again. 51 These reflections somewhat reassured me, though they gave me no clue to the whereabouts of the land. All at once, I fancied the water was beginning to rise. I looked below, and sure enough it was so, for all the things I had hung up so carefully to dry were covered with water again ; only those on the highest branches were still untouched. I hastily put back the rest into my chest and bag, and strung them up as high as pos- sible. A second deluge seemed to have commenced, for the sea came roaring in, foaming, and dashing, and carrying with it trees, branches, and leaves, and even flowers, which swept rapidly past me as if whirled along by a tempest. The poor antediluvians who hurried to the moun- tain peaks to escape the rising flood could not have been more dismayed and terrified than I was at this sight. I had never watched any tides but the gentle ebb and flow of the Mediterranean, and only knew from books about the high tides of the Atlantic. Be- sides, I remembered hearing the sailors on board ship talk about the prororoca of the Amazon, which rose, they said, to forty-five feet in certain places, and swept everything before it. I had no doubt this was XhQ prororoca, and every instant expected to see myself carried away by the roaring torrent. For a whole hour the tide kept steadily rising, and became increasingly muddy and Ipaded with all sorts of vegetable remains. I felt my tree tremble at every billow ; and sometimes, when a trunk, borne along by the current, would strike against it in passing, the E 2 52 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. shock was so violent that it almost made me fall. I clung with all my might to the roots, every now and then casting despairing glances at my goods and chattels disappearing gradually in the water. Already my musket had fallen off. The other gun was up to the butt-end in water, and my chest was en- tirely covered. I was up to the waist myself, though I was on the highest branch of the roots, with my feet resting on a lower one. In less than an hour, as it seemed to me, the tide had risen six or eight feet. If it rose but a few feet further, I felt it would be all over with me. My strength was giving way, and the next collision of any tree with mine would make me lose my hold. I had managed, till now, in spite of fatigue to retain my position, but the danger increased as the tide rose higher, and instead of my courage increasing in proportion, weariness and alarm and, above all, the icy coldness of the water, seemed to paralyze both body and mind. At the very beginning of this inundation, I had descried, in the distance, in the same direction as the current, a tree with much higher branches than the roots to which I was clinging, and I made up my mind if I found the tide gaining on me, to throw myself on to the first convenient object that passed by me, and so get carried by the onward course of the flood to this surer haven. But already my strength was too far gone even to make the attempt ; and letting my head droop on my chest, I waited death with passive resig- nation. An airy Hammock, 53 At last, almost suddenly, the rushing flow of the water ceased. The tide was at its height. I was saved a second time. For a brief period the tide remained stationary, and all my things were covered with water ; but I managed to secure each article firmly that was still hanging on the tree, and occasionally I put down my hand and felt if my chest, and pouch, and hunting gun were safe. As for myself I was up to my shoulders in water, but now that the torrent had subsided, I ventured to hoist myself every now and then on the extreme end of the root which was still a foot or more above the surface, and sat astride as if on horseback. This dried me a little and warmed me, but I found the saddle too hard to stay on it long, and had always to return to my old position after a few minutes. At length the waves began to be in commotion again, and before long the tide was flowing out as rapidly as it had come in. My feet were soon dry as I sat on my tree, and on the ground below the water was only to my knees. I went down to re- cover what I could of my property, and found every- thing — even my musket ; for whatever the sea had swept away had fallen among the roots, or on the other side of the tree, out of the course of the current. I made a great bundle of the whole with my mat- tress and ropes, and buried it in the sand under my tree, just about the middle. I put branches cross- wise above it, which formed a sort of cover, and kept it firmly under the trunk to prevent the pes- 54 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. sibility of its being disinterred by subsequent flc ods. This freed me from encumbrances, and all I had to carry about was my hunting gun and sabre, and my leather pouch to hold my powder, and shot, and flask, and a little box which contained my choco- late, and sugar, and bread. These I slung over my back and chest, after taking a mouthful of rum, and then set forward. I had settled in my own mind, while I was lying half drowned, what course I should pursue. I said to myself, " America is to the west of Europe, and as we had come from Europe, land must be some- where in the west opposite the rising sun." So I started off in that direction, keeping towards the setting sun. I was the more inclined to adopt this course as I observed that the sea-gulls and different birds which flew past all went in the same direction — an almost certain indication that terra firma lay there. I had at least four hours of low water before me, time enough to walk a good many miles, if the water was no deeper than it was then. Many and many a time in days gone by I had hunted in the marshes up to my waist in water, so that the wet was not of much importance. Besides, the water was so lukewarm now that my feet were warmer than any other part of my body. I found the ground, however, very unequal. Often there was scarcely any water at all under my shoes, and oftener still I came to hollows where I sank up to the middle, and even higher. Two or three times I An airy Hammock. 55 lost my footing altogether; but so long as I could see any trunks of trees lying about, I went boldly on, however deep the ravine might be. The ground was pretty firm, and, but for the water, walking would have been easy enough, all the more as the heat of the sun was not scorching now, though if it had been, I was too wet to feel it much. I went on for about an hour, and then determined to take off my clothes, for I had dressed myself after my shipwreck. As my fall had been in the night, morning found me in the most primitive of costumes, and, instinctively, my first act on recovering conscious- ness was to get dressed. Habit is second nature, and I seemed to myself far less shipwrecked in my trousers and shoes than when I had nothing on but my shirt. However, dripping garments are so heavy and fatigu- ing to walk in, that I resolved to take everything off except my straw hat and my shoes. To make sure of getting them when I came back, I fastened them care- fully to the tallest branches I could find. There was a double advantage in this, as my clothes were not only safe, but made landmarks to show me how to return. From time to time, to steer my course with more certainty, I climbed up on the trunk of a tree, and carefully scanned the horizon. But everywhere I found the same dreary uniform solitude. The sea rippled gently as the wind blew softly over it, spark- ling and gleaming as if it were molten gold, with that deep yellow copper colour which is peculiar to the waters of the Amazon when irradiated by the sunlight 56 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. Here and there a few birds hovered in the air, or perched themselves on the trees lying about ; but not another sign of life could I discover. At last, after four hours' hard walking, just as the sun began to dip into the sea, some dark object seemed to intercept his rays suddenly, and form a sort of black curtain. I hastened my steps to reach a pile of trees ahead of me, lying one on the top of the other, and mak- ing an enormous heap of wood with the green leaves in some parts still remaining. I scrambled through with some difficulty to the highest part, and gazed again at the horizon. But as at the equator the sun soon rises and soon sets, there is almost no twilight, I could only make out a long, black band, lying below me, which might turn out to be nothing but clouds after all. However, one thing that made me inclined to be- lieve it was land was that in front of it the sea was smooth as glass, as if sheltered from the wind. But night was coming on rapidly, and already the stars were glimmering faintly in the east. I hastened down as quickly as possible, hoping to get on far enough, before daylight was quite gone, to see what this black strip really was. Alas ! once on the ground, or water rather, I could distinguish nothing. But I would not be daunted. On I went, without taking much time for thought, carried away by my intense desire to find land somewhere. However, I had hardly gone a few steps before I repented my folly. I had walked on without noticing that not a An airy Hammock. 57 single tree-trunk was visible on the horizon, and that the water was getting deeper. It rose to my waist, and soon to my shoulders. At last I was quite out of my depth and had to take to swimming. But the moment I began to swim I fell in with a current which would have carried me out into the open sea, just in the contrary direction of my supposed land, if I had not resisted it with all my strength, and managed to get back to my pile of trees quite exhausted with fatigue, for I had so much difficulty in forcing my way through the muddy waves that I thought I should have been obliged to fling my gun and sabre into the water to lessen my weight. Meantime night had set in ; the sky was clear and bright, and studded with stars, but there was no moon. It was useless to attempt going further, for groping along in the dark among water, and close to the deep sea, is not only slow work, but difficult and dangerous, and, moreover, I should run the risk of wandering out of the right course, so I clambered up again into my tree-observatory. It was a chestnut tree, as I discovered afterwards from the nuts on it. The trunk had a double array of branches, one of roots, and one of branches proper, and measured at least sixty feet in length. Thrown across a heap of five or six other trees of the same species, but of less size, its roots rose in the air more than forty feet above the water. I was certain of finding this a safe refuge, and I resolved to make my- self as comfortable as I could, and take up my abode 58 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. there for the night, devoutly wishing I had my clothes, for I was wet and weary, and trembling all over. At last, after no end of feeling and fumbling about by the starlight, when I had succeeded in finding a place to suit me, in other words, two or three branches on which I could sit, and even lie down, I began to think of eating. I opened my pouch which I had slung round my neck, and took out my flask and the little box which contained my slender stock of provi- sions. I ate exactly half the bread, a piece the size of my fist, and, though it was still nothing but a pasty mess, it was much more palatable than before, thanks to the sugar and the chocolate. I drank a good drop of rum, and then, warmed by my repast, frugal as it was, I laid myself down for the night, and soon fell asleep. But I was disturbed almost immediately by a sort of noiseless breath, which passed back and forwards .over my face, as if some one were fanning me. Once or twice it woke me, but I was so overpowered with fatigue that I fell asleep again directly. At last some- thing soft and warm touched my nose, and this roused me so completely that I sat up and drew my sabre. Night in the tropics is so clear and luminous that I speedily discovered the cause of my disturbance was a great bird, which was darting to and fro and whirling round and round like a bat. As it flew about my head it sometimes came close enough to my face for me to distinguish its big, round, black eyes, shining like a cat's in the dark. I watched my opportunity^ " I Nvalched my opportunity, and, just as the creature passed me again to dart out, made a cut at it with my sabre." Fa§e 59. / Huntmg a Murucuhitii. 59 and, just as the creature passed me again to dart out, made a cut at it with my sabre. I saw it fall among the branches below, and for some minutes could hear a sweet, plaintive cry, which sounded like Mourottcou- toutou ! MouroucoiLtoutoic ! By degrees the cry became fainter, and suddenly ceased with a rattling noise, which was evidently the death agony. My curiosity was so strong to know what I had killed, that, in spite of my fatigue, I clambered down in search of my bird. It was quite dead — almost cut in two by my blow, and lay floating on the water with outspread wings. It measured more than a yard across, but, when I picked it up, I found it was as light as a feather. Next morning, when it was day- break, I examined my capture more leisurely, and it appeared to be a species of owl, resembling our goat- suckers, but larger, especially in the wings. The head was a perfect monstrosity, both in size and shape. It was like the head of a cat, a toad, and a bird. The beak was small and pointed, edged on each side with hairy bristles like a cat's whiskers, and opened enor- mously, like the wide, gaping mouth of a toad, dis- playing a sort of red, shiny cavity within, big enough to hold three of my fingers. Like the beak, the claws were small and harmless. The general colour of the bird was reddish brown, something between our partridge and woodcock. It was evidently a species of goat-sucker owl. I understood at once how he had touched me so 6o The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. many times. In certain parts the air was full of black flies, and they swarmed about the green leaves still remaining on some of the branches of my tree. My head lay on one of these, and, of course, the swarm of flies was above it. In the owl's various attempts to seize them, he touched me in passing, perhaps by chance, or perhaps to find out what strange apparition had intruded into his domains. When my curiosity was satisfied, I carefully fastened my capture to the broken end of a branch, intending to carry it with me when I set off again ; for what purpose I did not know — certainly not to eat it, seeing I had no fire, no dry ground even on which to make one. But it was my first game, and I wanted to ascertain more accurately what I had killed. Was it a bat or a bird } I hardly knew yet. In the night- time things assume such fantastic forms, and the long moustache of my victim invested it with the charm of marvel. It was not till broad daylight on the morrow that I convinced myself fully that I had only killed an enormous goat-sucker owl, or rather a murucututu^ as the Indians name it from its cry. I went back to my bed in a most self-satisfied mood, little imagining that I had just committed an action which, according to American superstitions, would bring upon me the vengeance of the gods all the rest of my life. Among certain tribes, the muru- cututu is a sacred bird, and from the day I had killed it I had incurred all sorts of woes and judgments. I was not then cognizant of this belief — one which, pro- Hunting a Murucututu. 6 1 bably, had its origin in the necessity of preserving these birds for the sake of their usefuhiess in kilHng insects. Once back in my dormitory, I was asleep again im- mediately, in spite of the hardness of my shaky bed, which seemed literally to cut into my back and ribs, and in spite of the dead murucututu. At my age then, and tired as I was, I do believe I could have slept anywhere, even on a bed of thorns. I was soon in dreamland, hunting in canoes and shooting jaguars and monkeys, birds and serpents, every imaginable species of animal. The rushing in of the returning tide awoke me. I could hear it roaring down below among the branches, and my bed shook with each wave. But either the tree which supported me was stronger, or the tide was less violent, or perhaps it was because I knew what I had to expect — any way, I did not now feel the slightest fear at its approach. It must have been nearly high water when I awoke, for in less than half an hour the oscillating movement of the branches ceased, and the tide began to ebb as before. It was useless to leave my bed till daylight, though I was all mpatience for it to appear. However, there was little or no dawn ; day came just as suddenly as night had fallen. As soon as I could see to walk, I turned my back to the rising sun, fastened my murucututu to the strap of my pouch, slung my gun and sabre over my shoulder, and clambered down. It was not yet low tide, for the water was up to my 62 The Adventures of Robinso7i Playfellow, arm-pits. But as I knew by experience how rapidly it would flow out, I did not wait longer, but picked up a forked branch to use as a sort of alpenstock to steady my steps, and set off. I could not as yet discover the black band I had seen the night before, my supposed terra fir ma ; but I knew I was safe enough to go in the opposite direction to the rising sun, and my heart beat high with confidence and hope as I started ; for my night's sleep and blissful dreams had so braced me up that already, in imagination, I was roaming over the glorious hunting-grounds of this land I had not even entered. I was so impatient that I hurried carelessly along, and presently down I tumbled head over heels into deep water. Such a sudden cold bath sobered me completely ; and I bethought myself that it might be best to return to my tree and look about on all sides, and settle where and how I should go before making a fresh start. CHAPTER V. ROBIN MAKES A RAFT — AN ALDERMANIC DINNER — MANGROVE-TREES. NCE back to my tree, my first endeavour was to descry land. I gazed with all my eyes, and at last it rose before me in the shape of a lofty forest, towering like a mountain above the waters, and apparently at least a league in extent. The rising sun shone full upon it, and gave me a magnifi- cent view of its glorious verdure. But almost imme- diately it began to rise into the clouds, and in a few minutes the whole forest seemed floating in the air. I did not know w^hat to think. Was I in a dream, or was it some strange phantasmagoria I was witnessing ? For a second I really believed I must be suffering from nightmare, and I pinched my arm to feel if I were really awake, and if it were really myself, Robin Playfellow. It was myself, and no mistake, and what is more, myself with only one shoe ; for I had lost the other somehow in the night. I looked again at the land, and came to the conclusion that its strange appear- ance was some optical illusion, caused by the vapours 64 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, at sunrise, and all I had to do was to consider the best means of reaching it. It was evident that the sandbank ended just where I had lost my footing. My own experience proved this ; and besides, there were no floating trees whatever between me and this forest in the clouds. I should have to try swimming ; but there would be no great difficulty in that ; cer- tainly I was quite in the dark as to the distance ; but as I could see the forest so clearly, it could not be more than a few miles off, at most. Now in the Seine, at home, I had often swum many miles — with the current, it was true, but still in fresh water, and it was much easier to swim in the salt water. However, on second thoughts, I saw the danger there would be of my being carried away by some opposite current right out into the ocean, as I had so nearly been the night before ; besides, it was quite possible that the shore was farther off than I sup- posed, and if the tide, or even mere fatigue, should overtake me halfway, what would become of me.** The insuperable obstacle, however, was my gun, to- gether with the few things I had to carry. Light as my baggage was, to swim for hours with such a weight was impossible ; yet it could not be left behind, for I had often and often heard that in South America hunting is the chief means of subsistence, and I could reckon on my trusty gun as on my very self. What was to be done then } At least twenty different plans came into my head, and had to be given up as impractica- , blcj \ihen at last a happy thought struck me, and I Robin makes a Raft. 65 clambered down immediately, to try to carry it out forthwith. All round my tree, and especially among the lower branches, palm-leaves were floating on the water, many of them with all the green part stripped away, and nothing remaining but the stipe or stem of the frond, a large stem, nearly as thick as my wrist, and as light as cork : many of them were five or six feet long. In a few minutes I had picked up about thirty. My first idea was to fasten them together wifti the strap of my gun and the cord round my powder-case ; but I had scarcely set to work before I discovered this would not do. I should only be able to fasten two or three together. Strings I must have ; but where could I get them } I remembered my fishing-lines and thought for a minute of going to fetch them ; but it had taken me three hours to come this distance, and to go back and dig up my bundle and return would consume six whole hours — a long weary age to a hungry man, who had been almost living under water for two days, and longed to set his foot on dry land and find a meal. While I was thinking and planning, I had one of the leaves in my hand, and was breaking it in pieces almost unconsciously. The act was insignificant enough, and yet through it I found what I sought. Each of these leaf-stems was hard ligneous pith, covered with a firm, fine pellicle, as strong and thin as the outside peeling of the bamboo or Indian reed. Each stem would supply me with at least ten striilgs. 06 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. I began to peel my sticks at once, devouring the land with greedy eyes all the time. By inserting the point of my sabre between the pith and the bark, I soon skinned as many as I wanted, carefully laying each stick aside as I finished it, ready for my raft. As the stem of the palm-leaf is triangular in shape, I got three strips off each, about two inches wide : these I cut again into narrow thongs, and, flexible as they were naturally, and, especially in their damp condition, they were just like good cords. As soon as all the materials were prepared, I began to make my raft ; but it was slow work, and the tide surprised me before it was completed, and forced me to mount my tree again. At last, about noon, my skiff was ready to put to sea. It was composed of thirty palm-leaves, fastened firmly together, forming a sort of hurdle, from five to six feet long, and as many broad. The tide was quite high, so I launched my raft. It was lighter than cork, and yet bore my weight wonderfully. I hastily fashioned a pair of oars out of two branches with pieces of wood laid across, and after swinging my gun and sabre over my shoulder again, in case of shipwreck, I seated myself on the back of my raft, with oars in hand and legs crossed, like a true Oriental. The sea was calm, with no perceptible current, and no floating trees to avoid ; so I began to row vigor- ously, with my eyes fixed on the west. I felt famished, for I had eaten nothing all day, wishing to reserve Robin makes a Raft. 6j my remaining morsel for the last extremity. My only satisfaction was to swallow a great gulp of water every now and then, which was so muddy that it almost made me sick. But I was too much buoyed up with hope and eagerness to relax rowing for an instant, and soon I had the joy of seeing the shore even more distinctly than when I was high up in the tree, though it still seemed far above me in the air. I pressed onwards ; but now my raft began to sink a little, and it was quite a drag to move the oars. Instead of sitting dry, I felt myself getting under water, and, on examination, I found, to my great alarm, that my planks were all soaked through. By stripping off the outer coating, I had destroyed their impermeability, and the water had so penetrated their porous tissue that, in a few minutes more, I should have nothing beneath me but a hurdle of wet sponges, which would be more likely to drag me down than keep me up. Indeed, in all probability I should have found out my mistake at the very first starting, if some few of the stems had not retained their covering. I was thunderstruck at this discovery, and looked despairingly at the land, which had thus eluded^ my grasp a second time. But not a moment was to be lost. I could not go on, for the forest was still much farther away than the tree I had left ; so there was no alternative but to go back. Unbidden tears rose to my eyes as I turned round my raft, and with list- 6S The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. less hands and heavy heart rowed towards my old refuge. This fresh disappointment dejected me in the extreme, and, to crown my misery, I was tortured with the pangs of hunger. Altogether, what with exhaustion and want of food, and exposure to a tropical sun, and the muddy water I had been drink- ing and imbibing at every pore, I felt my strength giving way entirely. My head was burning, and such attacks of giddiness came on at intervals, that I feared I should never be able to make another raft. However, I managed to get to my tree, and sorrow- fully seated myself on the branches I had left so joyfully little more than an hour before. To reconstruct my raft before sunset was not pos- sible. I must resign myself to anothe-r night on this wretched sandbank ; and, worse still, I must devour my last morsel, the precious fragment of wet bread I had so carefully husbanded. I summoned up resolu- tion, opened my box, and began to nibble the last fragment of my miserable store, taking it in pinches as if it were snuff, and eating as slowly as possible. At my third pinch the thought struck me that perhaps I might still my gnawing hunger with the murucutiitii. True, I should have to eat it raw ; but, raw and all, it might very likely be better than my wet, pappy bread ; and, besides, if I could eat that, I should still have the bread to fall back upon. I began to pick my bird, and, as soon as the white flesh was visible, took .a bite. It was horrible ! I suppose I was not starving enough to relish raw meat, Robin makes a Raft. 69 for the first mouthful was enough, and I felt so savage, that I flung the poor muruciitutu as far away as I could into the sea. However, all these attempts at eating had appeased my appetite a little, and relieved the giddiness in my head. I determined to set to work again directly, and be able to start next morning at sunrise. The rest of the day I devoted to collecting fresh palm- leaves, and they were lying about in such abundance that I had no difficulty in getting armfuls of them. I got an immense quantity this time, as I intended to pick out the very best, and make my raft as perfect as possible. It was getting late ; but the moment my store of fresh materials was ready, I began my task once more. While I was undoing my first raft to get the cords for the new one, my eye accidentally fell on an immense woody shell as large as a baby's head. It was hanging on one of the lower branches of the very tree on which I was sitting, and in the fading light of the setting sun, I could just make out about a dozen similar round balls hanging here and there like enormous nuts. I remembered noticing them the night before, but was so taken up with my bed and my raft, that I had forgotten to see what they were. But it flashed across me now, that these round woody balls might contain something to eat. One was quite near me ; so I stooped down and laid hold of it. I could hardly break it off the branch, and when at last I succeeded, the next .trouble was to crack it. It was heavy as lead. I tried to split it by inserting 70 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. the point of my sabre, but could make no impression on it. At last I went down and made a block of a hollow branch, in which I laid my nut, and struck blows at it with my sabre till it split in two, and out rolled about twenty nuts, all encased in hard shells, but in shape like a chestnut. I recognized them at once as the Brazil nuts I had so often seen selling in the streets at home. Imagine my delight. Here was a dinner for me ready to hand, and food enough for many days, if I could get nothing else, for I knew by experience the worth of my discovery. Often enough I had eaten these nuts, never thinking where they came from, and still less that they would one day furnish me with so unexpected a meal. I hastily gathered five or six more, as large as I could find, and broke them open in the same manner. Then I pulled out my box again, and made my dinner heartily. Presently a new idea came into my head. I picked up the largest pieces of the shells and filled them with water, which I left to settle, and then poured off and mixed with a few drops of rum. It was quite clear in less than an hour, and I thought it better than any beverage I had ever tasted. Years have rolled by since then, and yet I can safely say I never enjoyed a meal in my life as I did that day's dinner off nuts and wet bread, and warm water flavoured with rum. I bade fair to become a regular Sybarite, for I made myself next a little couch in my tree with Robin makes another Raft. 71 palm-leaf sticks, and covered it thick with leaves and the climbing plants which grew in profusion all about the trees. I had soon a good bed ready, perched rather high up, it is true, and rather wet, and rather shaky when the tide came in, but still a bed where I could lie comfortably, without being obliged to change my position incessantly to relieve my aching bones. I had scarcely lain down, when I was most disagreeably surprised by a torrent of rain, which completely flooded me and my bed. Rain in bed is not very pleasant, certainly, if a poor fellow has no covering but his skin, and no shelter but the heavens ; but, otherwise, it did me no harm. I fell sound asleep in the middle of it, and did not wake till nearly morning. Dark as it was still, I set to work at my raft without delay. I had arranged all my materials so that I could lay my hand on them at once, and, guided by my experience of the day before, I knew exactly how to proceed, and got on famously ; and when the morning light dawned, I was fastening my last plank. As soon as my task was done, I went and gathered all the remaining nuts I could find, altogether at least twenty. These I put on the raft with my gun and the other few things I carried, and then I started once more. The tide was coming in, and the current ran straight towards the forest. This was help that I had not reckoned upon, and I advanced so quickly, that, in a quarter of an hour, I could scarcely distinguish 72 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. the tree behind me where I had slept. The forest seemed still away up in the clouds, but it wa& gradually getting lower. A white fog apparently enveloped its base ; but I fancied I could catch a glimpse of fresh verdure through the misty veil. By degrees, as I drew nearer, the fog disappeared and revealed the forest in all its reality ; so dense a forest that neither trunks nor branches could be seen ; nothing but green leaves of one uniform tint. It appeared to be divided into three islands of unequal size, separated by little arms of the sea, and rising out of the waves like green mountains. Birds of brilliant plumage, red, and blue, and green, were flying over these isles, parrots and macaws, as I afterwards learnt, and down below on the edge of the water I saw flocks of large white herons, called aigrets. Some were going in groups, and some singly ; and they stood out so white and sharply defined against the green background, that you might have taken them for birds painted on a Chinese screen. At last I reached the land, my raft touched the trees, and the final stroke of the oars all but carried it completely into the forest, for I had shaped this second raft to a point, to make it cut through the waves more easily. Like some silly fool, I jumped on shore without taking time even to look where I was going. But I found no footing, and almost sank below the surface. I only saved myself by clutching hold of the branch of a tree. My raft touched the trees, and the final stroke of the oars all but carried it completely into the forest." Page 72. Mangrove-trees. 73 However, I was too much of a swimmer both by- nature and habit to be greatly disconcerted by a sudden plunge ; and, moreover, I had been almost living in water for three days ; so I just got on my raft again, and began to look about me. But I must tell you it was all pitch dark, or seemed so to my eyes, after the dazzling sunshine outside. I could distinguish nothing at first ; but the heat was so excessive and overpowering that I thought I must be in the neighbourhood of some immense conflagration. There was not a breath of air, and yet the atmo- sphere was full of damp, heavy moisture, not un- pleasant to me, but extremely enervating. It was, in fact, a species of hot-house. By degrees my eyes got accustomed to the darkness, and I saw the thickest forest around me that I ever traversed in my life, before or since. I tried to get farther in, but my raft could not pierce through. I fastened it to a branch, and letting myself slip down the trunk of a tree, I felt ground beneath me almost immediately. I saw how the case stood at once. I had reached the island at high water, when the tide rose ten feet above the ground, and my jump had been into the air or trees, and I must either wait till low water, or walk on trees like the monkeys. The sea was so calm, however, that I thought meantime I might remount my raft and survey my island all round. I rowed very gently and cautiously, but, like Robinson Crusoe, the farther I went, the more wonders awaited me» 74 TJie Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. My new kingdom was an island, or rather an islet. It was completely surrounded with trees, identical in foliage and tint, without the smallest opening be- tween, by which one could enter. The foreground was a sort of thicket of bushes apparently ; but in reality these were young trees, though I saw nothing but their green tops above the water. Then came a row of higher trees, and another, and another, and so on, rising gradually like the seats in an amphitheatre, and forming a complete curtain of foliage, the highest part being at least thirty feet above the level of the sea. It was the same all round the island, so much so that I could never have found the spot I had first touched, but for the neighbouring islands. I felt sure, from the de- scriptions I had read in a book of travels, this must be a forest of mangroves. In about an hour I completed the tour of this singular mountain of verdure, green as the spring fields, and yet impregnable as a fortress ; deluged with water, and yet as hot under the leaves as a furnace. I went on to the second isle, and finding all attempts to enter quite in vain, I rode along it for a little. It was exactly like the other, only larger ; so I thought I would take a peep at a tiny little island no bigger than a room, that I discovered to the right of it, rising aloft like a tall pyramid. It seemed to be the connecting link with another island larger than either of the others, and where •* BIRDS OF BRILLIANT PLUMAGE. See page 73. 'j^ The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. more birds were flying about. A few strokes of the oar soon brought me there, but it was just an inacces- sible mountain of trees like the rest. However, I determined to go round it ; but finding the tide was low enough now to show the ground between the young trees in front, I tied up my raft, and with gun and sabre in hand, prepared to pene- trate to the interior if possible. The sun had begun to go down, but the heat was still as excessive as ever. My feet sunk in the soft mud at first, where the young shoots were growing ; but as I went farther and got among the trees, the ground became harder, and soon not a trace of earth was visible. The soil was nothing but roots, black or yellow with mud, all twisted and knotted together, and forming a network of wood. The ground seemed to rise higher the farther I advanced, and the roots increased in size. Those I had first seen were about the thickness of my fingers, but as I went on they became as thick as my thigh, and some were even as thick as my body. My feet slipped at every step, as I went stumbling along, for it was so dark that I could hardly see many yards before me. The heat was still suffocating, and the air felt dank and heavy ; but I walked about quite easily, for the trees were lofty and wide-spreading. There was not a living thing to be seen, and not a sound broke the stillness, save the low chirp of the cicada and the buzz of the musquito. Somehow I felt half afraid, and drew my sabre. Mangrove-trees. 77 Then I went back to see if my raft was all safe, as I dreaded being lost in this dark wilderness. I dragged it in as far as I could, and made it fast to a tree, for it was my last hope of deliverance. This done, I re- commenced my explorations, making some mark or other on the trees as I went, to help me to find my way back again. The perspiration streamed from every pore as I walked along, but I cheered myself with the hope of soon reaching the other side of the island, as at least half an hour must have passed already since I started. I began to wonder whether I had not been going wrong, and keeping by the shore instead of penetrating to the heart of the island, when suddenly I caught a glimpse of a sunny glade far in the dis- tance, but quite distinct. I could hear the confused noise of birds too, and though the notes were shrill and discordant, I had felt so oppressed in soul and body by the awful stillness, together with the intense heat, that just at that moment I should have thought the braying of a donkey melodious. I hastened on with feverish impatience, and next minute I felt a breath of wind blow upon my face, and such a scene met my eyes as I am never likely to forget. CHAPTER VI. AN AMERICAN SAVANNA— NO PERCUSSION- CAPS AND NO WATER — HUNTING A JAGUAR. HE sun was setting, and his glowing red disc lighted up earth and sky. Literally- flooded with his golden rays, a vast plain stretched itself out before me miles in ex- tent, covered with that rich, exquisite ver- dure which is peculiar to the savannas of America. Perfect little islands of trees in full blossom strewed the plain, like miniature groves scattered over a lawn of tall grass. Every here and there the waters of a lake sparkled among the bushes, and threw back the reflection of the setting sun. As if to heighten by contrast the beauty of the land- scape, the dark, lofty forest rose again in the back- ground, looking almost black against the green. Birds of every form and colour were flying about, darting from one clump of trees to another, and fill- ing the air with a sort of wild half-discordant music it would be difficult to describe. They seemed to enamel the forest like thousands of gaily-coloured flowers. On a leafless tree, within gunshot, I saw a flight of An American Savanna. 79 macaws disporting themselves among the branches. They were large red birds with white beaks and long tails, like cock pheasants. Their plumage was so bright that it looked quite dazzling against the clear blue sky. I saw parrots, too, of different sorts, green and yellow and grey, and they were making almost as much noise as their cousins the macaws ; only they flew about in pairs, and always into the thickest part of the groves, so that their din was not so deafening. Besides these birds there were blue monakins, some- thing like our blackbirds in appearance ; japa-jubas, a sort of thrush ; woodpeckers so variegated in colour that they looked painted ; chattering, noisy paro- quets of all sorts and sizes ; the bright red Indian curlew, and the rose-coloured spatula, a bird that frequents lakes and rivers, and lives on fish. Quite close to me, on the edge of the forest I had just come through, there was a large tree, covered with white flowers, standing by itself, on which a perfect swarm of humming-birds had settled, whirling about and darting from flower to flower. Their flame-coloured breasts shone and sparkled like dia- monds whenever they caught the rays of the setting sun. Overhead and down among the lower branches butterflies were flying here and there ; red and white, and especially blue ones, with such large wings that they looked almost bigger than their neighbours, the little birds. Combined with all these sights, the air was so sweet and balmy, that it seemed to penetrate my whole 8o The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. being. Myrtles and acacias perfumed the breeze, and a half-languid, delicious feeling of enjoyment stole over me. The sudden blaze of sunshine, the sweet odours, and the fair landscape that met me so unexpectedly, had so dazzled me that I had stopped short on the edge of the forest without entering this Garden of Eden. I was so far back in the shade that I could see all without being seen myself, and I stood leaning against a tree, forgetting all but the prospect before me. The longer I looked the more wonders I discovered. On the shore of the lake, a few paces off, there was a herd of deer quietly browsing, like cattle in a meadow. On the trees nearest me, monkeys of all sorts were running up and down, some red and silky-looking, and others grey or white, or black or yellowish in colour. Occasionally a loud yell or a sharp hiss betokened some contest waging in the long-tailed republic. Now and then the leaves and smaller branches would shiver and tremble as if a storm were passing over them, and then the whole troop would disappear only to return next minute. Suddenly, however, the deer seemed to scent danger, and raised their heads ; then they all started up and sniffed the breeze with wondering, frightened looks ; but, after a few minutes, they seemed to think their alarm groundless, and began to feed again quietly. My instinctive love of hunting was roused at the sight, and I could not resist the temptation to iir\ti^^i HUMMIx\G-BIRDS. Str page 79. 82 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. have a shot at them. I drew back a little into the forest to get my gun ready, for it would need more careful loading than usual after three days' exposure to the wet ; and besides, I had no time to lose and no shot to spare. The sun was sinking rapidly, and I had not more than ten balls with me and a handful of small shot. But, alas ! though I had reached land, I had more than one mishap yet to experience before I could take up my abode on it. My gun was all right, in spite of my successive shipwrecks, and though I had been obliged to take it out of the case to lighten the weight. I examined it minutely, and after I had satisfied myself it was quite uninjured, I began to load it. I was just going to pour the powder into the second barrel, when the thought flashed across me that I had forgotten to bring wadding and percussion- caps. Wadding I could easily do without, for leaves would answer the purpose ; but what could I substi- tute for caps } I felt so furious at the disappointment that I was on the point of flinging away my gun in sheer passion ; I could hardly contain myself, and for a full quarter of an hour sat boiling over at my own stupidity in forgetting the two most indispensable things to a hunter. However, for the present, it was an evil that could not be remedied, and I must just resign myself to dine ofl" nuts again. I did think first whether it would not be advisable to take my raft and go back at once to the sand-bank where I had buried my stores, for I had more than two thousand percussion- No Percussion-caps. Z'^ caps in my box, and powder and shot in abundance. But the voyage terrified me ; now that I was safe, I trembled at the thought of again encountering those violent tides, and felt more afraid than I had even been at the time. Besides, the question of the hour was dinner. My inner man was clamouring for food, and I must go in search of it. So, slinging my gun again over my shoulder, I put off my perilous journey to another day, and went straight forward into the savanna before me. My presence seemed to astonish rather than alarm its denizens ; for the birds continued to fly about and chatter, without taking much notice of me ; and the monkeys, though they yelled, perhaps, a little louder, leaped about among the branches as unconcerned as before. The only creatures that seemed to feel the least uneasiness at my unexpected apparition were the deer. There were about twenty of them altogether, and the largest — an old stag, who appeared to be the leader and patriarch of the group — rose up, looked at me for an instant, and then, followed by the others, darted like an arrow into the forest I had just left. But no sooner had they reached its skirt than they stopped and took a second look at me, probably feeling they were close to a refuge. I was not more than a few hundred yards off, and I could see the curious blending of terror and wonderment in their looks as they stood there with upraised heads half turned round in my direction. G 2 84 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. But I gave myself no further trouble about them, seeing I could neither shoot them to kill nor to eat. I went on into the nearest grove. It was entirely com- posed of young trees, not more than ten or twelve years old at the most. Bindweeds twined and twisted themselves round every branch, and hung down in perfect festoons of leaves and flowers, resembling honeysuckle, but larger. Without stopping to feast my eyes on the paradisaic beauty on all sides, I pro- ceeded at once to search for food ; for I had heard that the forests of the New World, especially in South America, abounded in wild fruits and edible roots. The little grove where I was, could not have measured more than thirty yards in circumference. I thoroughly rummaged it in all directions, notwithstanding the underwood, which was so thick in some places that I had to cut my way through with my sabre. I exa- mined each tree, and plant, and root, I might say ; but in spite of all my researches I could find abso- lutely nothing to eat. I went into a second grove, but met the same ill-success. I picked up there, how- ever, under a high tree of uncommon appearance, five or six little nuts striped with grey and white, like a leopard's skin. I cracked one, and tasted the kernel ; but it was as bitter as a horse-chestnut, and left such a disagreeable taste in my mouth that I had no wish to try another. I learnt afterwards these were the nuts that grow on the caoutchouc-tree, that supplies us with india-rubber. No Water. 85 My hunger and thirst were increasing at every step, but I might at least drink : so I hastened towards the lake I have mentioned. I was obliged to go right into the water up to my waist, for all round the mar- gin it was thick with plants ; but at last I found a clear place. The water was quite transparent, but rather dark ; but I had tasted none since my rum- grog, and it would be a luxury to get it free from mud. I pulled off my hat and filled it to the brim, that I might have a good draught for once. But, alack-a-day ! this limpid water was more than brack- ish ; it was as salt as the sea itself ! This discovery was even more painful than my lack of percussion-caps, and for a minute or two I really began to question whether my wet sandbank was not preferable, after all, to this deceitful oasis ; for there, though the trees were dead, I still could gather nuts ; and though the water was muddy, I could manage to drink it. However, I would not form too hasty a judgment ; so I went to another part of the lake, and dipped in my hat a second time. But the result was just the same : the water was perfectly undrinkable. I made up my mind to go back to my raft, and eat my nuts and quench my thirst in the muddy fresh water. I found the path easily, and arrived at my destination in less than half an hour. I found every- thing as I left it, but walked right into the water first to drink my fill ; for the bitter nuts and the salt lake had quite parched my mouth. Again I was disap- pointed : it was mere liquid mud all round me now, S6 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. and as salt as the lake. I had no shift left but to get back to my raft, and eat my nuts for food and drink too. You may imagine my suffering. Hunger and thirst are tortures that need no description, and what I experienced that night will never be effaced from my memory. Meanwhile, the sun had almost gone down, and in the forest it was pitch-dark already. I set to work to make my bed, and began by cutting off some leafy branches. Then I chose as smooth a place as I could find under the thickest trees ; and by lopping away any obstructing foliage, I managed to drag in my raft a good distance. I lengthened the cord so as to let the tide float me instead of drowning me, and then piled up my branches and lay down to sleep. It was not long before the tide came in, as I expected, and I felt myself gradually rising higher ; but, thanks to my leafy bed, I was quite dry. But not a wink of sleep could I get. The mosqui- toes never gave me a moment's peace. They not only stung me all over, but their loud, horrid buzz put me in a perfect fever. I rose up and cut fresh branches, and almost buried myself in them ; but it was no good. I thought for a minute the little pests had gone ; but back they came the moment all was still again. Five or six times I got up and bathed myself, for my whole body felt as if covered with burns. This was the only way I could get the least ease ; and the day dawned before I had slept more than a few brief seconds, snatched at intervals. A lucky Recollection. 8/ But, bad or good, the pillow generally proves a counsellor, and often a good one too. I had spent a wretched night, but it brought back something to my memory that was more than compensation just then for all its misery. In the very thick of my battles with the mosquitoes, I suddenly recollected that there was a sort of box in the butt-end of my gun, and that one day, when I was in Marseilles, I had put a few nipples and percussion- caps in this, as a reserve stock in hunting. You can fancy how eagerly I started up and seized my gun, to open the box. But the mud and rust had so caked round the lid, that it seemed riveted down, and I had to use the point of my sabre to remove it. It was a long time before I succeeded, for I had to work in the dark. True, the stars were shining ; but, though their beauty and brightness have been so loudly extolled, a farthing rushlight would have been of far more use to me at that moment. To make matters worse, my raft was unsteady, and my impatience was so great, that I was like a pettish child in my awkwardness. Impa- tience has been always one of my great failings, and I had not then conquered it. For more than an hour all my efforts were in vain. At last it opened, and, to my joy, out rolled two balls, three nipples, and a whole lot of percussion-caps. I spread them out in my hands, and examined them as well as I could in the dim light of the morning. They appeared as good as when they were bought, quite bright and new. How shall I describe my sen- 88 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. sations ? I forgot all my sufferings in the flood of happiness that overwhelmed me. I could hardly keep from dancing for joy even on my shaky raft, and I know I should have done it on more solid ground. Never did miser so gloat over the sight of his wor- shiped gold, or find sweeter music in the chink of the coins, than I did in counting my treasure, and fingering it and shaking it together in my closed hands. I saw in it venison and fire, and protection and hunting ad infinitum; it was worth more — far more — than gold to me. However, nothing lasts long, especially happiness ; and I was speedily roused from my intoxication of bliss by the sunrise. His bright beams brought back my sufferings in full force. My throat and lips were so painful that I hardly felt the mosquito-bites, though my body was covered in many places with great blis- ters, as if I had been beaten with nettles. I was only conscious of the agony of thirst. I tried to moisten my mouth by chewing a piece of nut, which was better than nothing ; and then, taking my gun and sabre, and the rest of the things I always carried with me, I set out again for the savanna I had discovered the preceding day. The water was still up to my middle, but I had got accustomed to it ; and, besides, I knew the way now. The percussion-caps and my thirst gave me wings, and I reached the prairie in little more than five minutes. It looked precisely as it had done the night before — Hunting a Jaguar. 89 so beautiful, that one could wish to live and die there. The sun was shining in the opposite direction, of course irradiating distant objects, while the foreground lay in the shade of the forest ; but I thought this made the scene, if possible, even more enchanting. However, I had graver business in hand than the mere contem- plation of nature. I visited three or four groves in succession, in search of succulent fruits to relieve my thirst, but found nothing. I was just going on to a fourth grove, which appeared, from its elevation and extent, more promising, when I caught sight of the old stag and all his hinds on the other side. For the moment I forgot my thirst in my passion for hunting, and I squatted down, like an experienced hunter, to examine the ground. The animals were prevented from seeing me by the long grass, as well as by the grove that lay between us. They were, as near as I could guess, about 400 yards from me, and about 100 from their side of the grove. I had scarcely thirty steps to go to be com- pletely screened from their view. I took off my hat and crept along till I reached the trees, stooping down so that my head was below the level of the grass. As soon as I was fairly hidden in the grove, I carefully loaded my gun. A troop of monkeys hailed my arrival with such yells and shrieks as might have alarmed the whole island ; but I let them scream on as long as they pleased, not thinking it worth while to waste my powder on them when I could get venison. 90 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. The trees in this fourth wood were much older and larger, and I found it far easier to get over the ground, as, of course, their roots spread out more over the soil, and left less space for the underwood to grow. I was soon at the other side, right opposite the deer. I saw immediately I had been miscalculating their dis- tance, for the nearest of the herd was more than 200 yards off. This was too far to be sure of my ball, so I laid down my bag and my sabre at the foot of a tree, and began to crawl through the grass on all-fours, to get as near my victims as possible. The sun was still low in the horizon, and completely shut out from this side of the grove by the lofty trees, so that I was quite in shade ; and, moreover, the grass was so high that a child might have stood upright in it without being seen ; I was, therefore, quite under cover. For more safety, however, I left my hat behind before I had gone far, and, with my gun in hand, dragged myself along almost flat on my stomach. When I had gone about ten steps, I suppose, I raised my head to the level of the grass, to make sure I was in the proper direction ; and, as I looked across, it seemed to me that the tall tops were moving at my right, about twenty feet off. I thought of serpents immediately, and held my breath, giving a look to my percussion-caps as I watched the spot where I thought I saw the moving. I could discover nothing ; but some animal or other was evidently there, for I could not only trace his motion through the grass, but the wind was blowing my way, and I could Hunting a Jaguar, 91 hear the very crushing of the herbage beneath his tread. For a few seconds I remained motionless, stretch- ing my neck as high as I dared, and not making the sHghtest sound. The long grass still continued to move, exactly as if some other hunter were in pursuit of the same game, and crawling on all-fours in precisely my fashion. But the grass was so high that it was impossible to discover who my neighbour was ; so I resolved to get back into the grass, which stood on rising ground, and was so woody that I could see all without being seen — as great a point in hunting as in war. I was soon there, and stationed myself behind the tree where I had deposited my things. The first glance revealed a magnificent jaguar, about twenty paces off, at most, crawling along on his belly towards the deer. I took it for a tiger at first ; for a jaguar is similar in shape and size. His reddish skin was striped with black like a zebra, and shone smooth and glossy as a newly-curried horse. He was so near that I could observe every outline of his form, and its graceful symmetry so struck me that I ♦stood gazing, almost as much in admiration as alarm. He was fast nearing the herd, dragging him- self along, just as I had been doing ; but he majiaged better than I could, and got on quicker, as if he had been used to that sort of work all his life. He kept his body so close to the ground that any one might have supposed some snake was wriggling 92 The Adventujrs of Robinson Playfellow. through the grass ; and behind him his long tail, with a tuft of black hair at the end, swept gracefully to and fro like the tail of some sleek contented cat. His step was so light that he only bent down the long grass without breaking it, and the tall tops lifted their heads again when he had passed through, as if only a storm of wind had blown over them. I did not make all these observations without levelling my gun, you may be sure. Impelled by the strange love of slaughter which seems almost an instinct in the true hunter, without even thinking of the danger I might be incurring, I pulled the trigger and fired. The ball went off, and through the smoke I saw the animal leap into the air, and then fall back, with such a loud and plaintive howl, that it made me shudder. He rolled over twice, and I discovered then that my ball had only broken one of his paws. I had fired too low, and too much to the right. Without a moment's hesitation or reflection I fired the second barrel, but it did not go off. However, the report seemed to reveal to the jaguar the cause of his wound, and he rose up on his three feet and turned towards me. For a brief second, like a flash of lightning, our eyes met ; and truly I must have looked more frightened than he, for I felt myself at his mercy. However, I had my wits about me still, and stooped down to get another percussion-cap. But I had hardly unfastened the string of my bag, when I heard a terrific roar, and next minute the furious 94 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. beast made a tremendous spring into the air, and bore down on me like the rebound of a stone. I instinc- tively jumped to the other side, behind the tree. But the jaguar remained suspended in the air, a few- feet above me. In the wide sweep of his spring, just over my head, he had come across a network of bindweeds, which had twisted themselves together, and crept up from the roots to the high branches, round which they had so entwined that they had become firmly knotted, and were like thick boughs. These bindweeds, I should tell you, are so strong, that though they are of the nature of our convolvulus, they quite supply the place of cords in tropical countries. It was the broken paw of the jaguar that had become entangled, and his bound had been so swift and violent, that the boughs had caught his whole shoulder, and held him as in a vice. He tried in vain to reach me ; for his efforts, paralyzed as they were by pain and rage, only served to bend the bindweeds without breaking them. His long body hanging down, and his paws quivering convulsively with passion, shook the tree to its roots, but nothing gave way. Suddenly, however, the jaguar laid hold of one of the boughs that held him fast, and cracked it as a dog would a bone. White foam covered the bind- weed, and next minute I heard a low growl, and felt the animal's hot breath on my face. But I had managed to find a fresh percussion-cap, and before the furious beast succeeded in getting loose, I drew back a step to take sure aim, cocked my gun, and '* This time certainly it was no flash in the pan, for my ball pierced the brute's head in the very middle of his face." Fage 95. Hunting a Jaguar. 95 fired. This time certainly it was no flash in the pan, for my ball pierced the brute's head in the very middle of his face. His brilliant eyes glared fiercely at me for a second ; but gradually his head dropped back, and his body fell full length on the ground, and lay stretched out like a dead hare. For a minute or so after the danger was passed, a sudden fear seemed to overpower me, and, throwing down my gun, I lifted my sabre, dreading some fresh attack. But the jaguar lay there so motionless, with the blood gushing from his wound, that at length I summoned up courage to go up to him. I found my ball had entered at the nose, and gone right through the head. He was " dead as a door-nail ;" and I felt an indescribable sensation of relief, as if I were freed from some heavy load. Surely men, and not tigers, are the most insatiable and ferocious of all animals ; for the very next thing I did was — to look for the deer 1 CHAPTER VII. HOW A JAGUAR'S BLOOD TASTED — PINEAPPLES — ROBIN FINDS A DINNER AT LAST. HE howls of the jaguar and my double shot had produced as great a sensation in the island as a thunder-clap in a poultry-yard. The deer had completely disappeared, with- out leaving me the least clue to their whereabouts. All the birds were flying in the air, dashing to and fro in every direction, as if beside themselves with fear, and all screeching and screaming their loudest. In my whole life I never heard such an uproar among the feathered tribes. To crown all, overhead in the trees, the monkeys were yelling and grinding their teeth at me, breaking off branches and leaves, springing from bough to bough, as if trying to screw up their courage to pounce down and revenge my intrusion into their dominions. The sight of these monkeys was really too much for my gravity : I fairly laughed outright, for they looked so furious and yet so frightened, making such grimaces while they broke off the branches to throw /^^ ^^^^^ ^<1 ^ 'HE MONKEYS WERE YELLING AND GRINDING THEIR TEKTH AT ME." Seepage 96. 98 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. at me, and next minute rushing off to hide themselves in the thickest of the foliage, that I confess I stood staring at them for ever so long, like some nursemaid at the monkey-house in the Zoological Gardens. But, however droll these creatures are, one gets weary of them, and my incessant thirst soon made me forget everything else. I had now been more than two days entirely without water, and in other circumstances this would not have been any great privation, but I was almost at the equator, and the nights were as hot as the days. Besides, I had been tasking body and mind to the utmost, and living in a fever of excitement. It was no wonder, then, that all I thought of now was to get something to drink ; and I verily believe that, if I had been offered water on condition of having an arm cut off, I should have agreed to the condition without hesitation. As I stood considering my best course, I was at the same time examining my jaguar. He was, as I have said, lying full-length on the ground, and a stream of blood was flowing from his muzzle, making a red pool all round. At this sight, I do not know how such a bestial idea could enter my head, but I said to myself that perhaps this blood might relieve my burning throat ; and, on the spur of the moment, I knelt down and put my lips to the wound. However, I had scarcely felt the nauseous taste of the thick warm blood before I utterly loathed it. I wiped my lips with disgust, and for some minutes it How a Jaguars Blood Tasted. 99 seemed to me I had committed such an act of canni- balism, that I shrank back from myself in perfect abhorrence. Do what I could, I could not get the taste off my lips, and at last I chewed leaves as the only remedy. Far from alleviating my thirst, this attempt only made it worse. I left my jaguar lying there, and resumed my explorations, though it required a strong effort of will to drag my legs after me. Nature her- self seemed to mock my endeavours, for I could find nothing. Yet I knew all these birds and animals must slake their thirst somewhere, though not a drop of water, not a solitary fruit, not even an edible root, or one of those leaves with watery fibres, like sponges, which are so common in these countries, could I discover. I felt on the verge of despair, and it would not have taken much to make me sit down under the shade of some tree, and wait till a miracle, or water dropped down from heaven, should give me fresh life. I went on, however, resting at intervals on my gun, and already I had gone through nearly all the groves on the savanna with the same constant ill-success, when I suddenly caught sight of something that looked like fruit growing on the slope of a little hill, where the shrubs were quite young and the grass thin and short. Except for the size, I could have fancied I saw a field of pineapples, some bright yellow and some reddish green. At all hazards, though a little timidly, for I had often heard of the powerful poisons of South America, H 2 100 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. I gathered one and tasted it. It was a little sour, and that was no fault to me, but in every way else like a pineapple in flavour. I do not know how many I ate ; but anyone who has been walking a long way in the country on a broiling summer's day, and come across a tree loaded with juicy apples, will understand I was not soon satisfied. Whether these were really pineapples or not I cannot say. I learnt, many years afterwards, that they do grow wild on the Cordilleras, near Peru ; but whatever fruit this was, I only know it brought back to me life and hope. After this manifest intervention of Providence a third time, I felt I ought never to despair, since, in my greatest extremities, a protecting hand had always been stretched out for my deliver- ance. But, mindful at the same time of the famous maxim, " Help yourself, and God will help you," my next business was to use my recovered strength to go in search of a dinner. I looked about first for the deer, and managed to track them for a few hundred paces ; but the long grass soon concealed their footmarks, and obliged me to relinquish their pursuit. I was only just making my debut on the soil of the New World, and the Indians had not taken me in training. I could not then trace a foot on dry ground, as I learnt to do in after years ; so I was forced to seek some other game. The monkeys alone were making more noise than all the birds put together, so I naturally thought of them first. Whenever I came in their sight, they screamed Rohin finds a Dinner at last. loi as if I were skinning them alive, and displayed so much hostiHty that I preferred commencing with them, and all the more as I noticed a few good fat ones among them. I made my way towards one of the groves where the screeching was loudest, and soon found what I sought ; for right in front of me was a dead tree, with withered and bleached branches, like the bones of a skeleton, and on these about half a dozen monkeys were promenading up and down, and yelling furiously. Their coats were reddish light yellow, and glossed in the sun like silk. They were stalking composedly backwards and forwards on the same branch, like sentinels in front of a gate, or suspending themselves from it by the tail, and looking at me with horrible cries and grimaces. Each step I took nearer, their noise increased, and they opened their mouths as wide as they could, and gnashed their white teeth. When I got within twenty paces I singled out my monkey, choosing the largest of the group, one about the size of a powerful hound. I aimed at his head, and got gradually nearer, till I was not more than ten paces distant. Then I fired. He turned right over his branch, like a clown making a somersault, held on by his tail for a minute, and fell down head fore- most to the ground. My shot had riddled his chest and face, and he was dead. His companions remained silent and motionless for an instant, as if stupified, and then set up a tremendous yelling, and scampered off at full speed. 102 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. I picked up my monkey and examined it leisurely. The sailors on the Fortune had often told us about their monkey dinners, which, according to them, were the best they had ever made. The female especially, I was assured by the head cook, had such an exquisite flavour, that the most juicy tender roast beef was not to be compared to it. Well, I can only say, if this was the man's honest opinion, he had a queer taste ; for though it is perfectly eatable, yet the most dainty morsel of any of the long-tailed tribe is not equal to the poorest beefsteak. I can speak confidently on the subject ; for during the many years I spent in South America I have eaten monkey as often as we eat fowl, and my own belief is that the sailors were just "gammoning" us young fellows, and spinning a " yarn," as they call it. However, I was so hungry, that I was prepared to appreciate anything eatable, and was overjoyed to find that the monkey I had killed was one of the very sort that had been so commended to us. It was a fine female, a little dark, but very fleshy, and as fat as a pig. Already I was feasting on it in anticipation. Close by me I discovered a fallen tree lying on the edge of the grove. Here was a block already to h-ind, on which I could cut up my game, for it was too big to roast whole. I sharpened my sabre as well as I could, stretched out my monkey, and began operations. I had cut off one leg, and was just going to sever the head from the trunk, when I felt four wet paws lightly fall on my shoulders, and almost the Robin finds a Dinner at last 103 same minute my neck was seized, and I got a severe bite in my cheek by my whiskers. I dropped both sabre and monkey, and put my hands up to my neck. Immediately two paws laid hold of my left arm, and I felt another sharp bite. Stung with the pain, I caught one of the paws that had me in their grip, and threw my assailant, with a sudden jerk forward, right on the ground. It was a great big fellow, as large as the one I had killed. He tried to bite again, and set his teeth into my left hand ; but I took him by the back of the neck, and half strangled him, when he let go of it ; and then I grasped him round the middle with both hands, and dashed his head with all my might three or four times against the tree ; for the bites had so exasperated me, that I lost all self-command. I had nearly dashed his brains out before my fury cooled ; but when I saw him lying dead beside his companion, I own I felt some compunction at the deed. His brave spirit deserved a better fate. In spite of our unequal forces, he had flung himself on me courageously, determined to rescue or avenge his comrade ; and what is nobler than such a contest t However, I was too hungry to waste much time in mere sentiment, so I soon went back to my work ; and even while I was finishing my cutting-up, I found myself rejoicing in the prospect of a good dinner on the morrow, off my poor fallen antagonist. The next thing was to light a fire. In a few minutes I had collected dry wood enough to roast an 104 TJie Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. ox. I made a heap of it, and arranged my clumsy joints of monkey all round, spitting them on sticks struck into the ground. I soon managed to kindle a flame by the aid of my gun and a sprinkle of gun- powder, and presently such a blaze shot up that I was afraid of setting all the trees on fire, and had to try and deaden it a little. I cannot find words to express the intense satisfac- tion the sight of this fire gave me. It was like taking definite possession of my new existence, and seemed both a sure pledge that I should never die of hunger, and a sure defence against wild beasts ; for my adven- ture with the jaguar had opened my eyes to the pos- sibility of danger on that score. I said to myself that it was not likely he was a solitary specimen, and if his friends or brethren should come in search of him, and pay me a nocturnal visit, what means of protec- tion had 1 1 They could see in the dark, but I could not. Had a tiger leaped on me instead of a monkey, it certainly would not have been his head, but mine, lying there. While I was making these comfortable reflections, I was carefully watching my roast, and kept turning round my pieces as if it were a serious business, though the fire was scorching my face, and the sun my back ; for I had nothing on but my hat. I tasted one little bit that seemed about done, and, to my famished stomach, it seemed first-rate, though a little strong, something like goat's flesh. But it was insipid without salt, and I instantly remembered the salt-lake, which was hardly Robin finds a Dinner at last. 105 a hundred steps off: surely I should find a deposit of salt on the banks. No sooner said than done. I threw my gun over my shoulder, and ran away down to it. I walked along a little, but not finding any, I thought the next best thing would be some of the water. I twisted leaves round to form cups, and wetted earth and put about them, to keep them toge- ther. When I had filled these, and put them in my hat to carry them more conveniently, I determined to have a bath before my dinner. This was no mere luxury, I assure you ; for I was besmeared and be- spattered all over with the blood of my victims. I went in pretty deep, and, almost unconsciously, like an habitual swimmer, began to drink. The water was fresh ! For a minute I fancied I must be labouring under some mental hallucination, or some miraculous change had come over the lake since the night before ; for, here I was, precisely in the same place, drinking the same water, which was then perfectly undrinkable, and now was as good as the Seine or the Thames. All my ideas were completely upset, and it was several days before I found the clue to the mystery, which I will explain to you in a few words. As you are already aware, I was on an alluvial island on the coast of Guiana, in the flow of the great Amazonian current, which rushes towards the Antilles, washing the American shore as far down as Cape Orange, or thereabouts. Owing to its situation, my io6 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. island was exposed to two opposite currents, which alter- nately brought in salt water and fresh. In other words, the Amazon throws herself with such violence into the sea, that she creates a sort of irruption in displacing its waters by her own. But, though vanquished by the giant river, old Ocean does not yield without a struggle, and without mingling more or less his waves with hers. This occasions all sorts of currents and counter-currents, whirlpools, eddies, &c., which cross and clash and run into each other in furious confusion. Here the ocean will drive back the river, stretching over four or five leagues, and there, on the contrary, the river will triumph, rolling down her yellow waters in wild uproar, carrying in her train all sorts of veget- able debris, and leaping and foaming like a furious horse, whenever her course is impeded by some ob- stacle in the soil or some counter-current. Every- where, in fresh water as much as in salt, the currents are so violent that, though the water should only be up to one's knees, it has the force of a huge billow, and sweeps one away as helplessly as a pebble is dashed along in a rushing torrent. Now, on one side of my little isle there was an ocean current, which drove back the fresh water and filled the lake with salt, whenever the tide was a little more powerful than usual. Probably this had been the case in the morning, but during the night the river had assumed ascendancy, and filled the lake with fresh water ; for, being connected on two sides with the ocean, it was, of course, subject to the influence of I came suddenly on a spectacle at which I have often laut^^hed heartily since, but which, at the time, seemed anything but a laughing matter to me, I assure you." Page 107. Robin losrs his Dinner. 107 the tides, and this accounted for the water being some- times fresh and sometimes salt. But I did not know all this then, nor had I even the faintest suspicion of it. I drank, and drank again ; and though it was a little muddy and brackish, it seemed as clear as crystal to me. I revelled in its enjoyment, rolling and tumbling about like a por- poise. My bites were smarting considerably, and it was an immense relief to bathe them in the soft tepid Water. I had drunk my fill at last, and felt thoroughly refreshed in mind and body ; so I went back to eat my roast, quite forgetting my errand for salt. Alas! I had reckoned without my host. I went slowly along, afraid of spilling the water in my cups ; and as the long grass not only deadened the sound of my steps, but screened me from view, I came sud- denly on a spectacle at which I have often laughed heartily since, but which, at the time, seemed anything but a laughing matter to me, I assure you. I had made my fire, as I told you, on the edge of the grove ; and I left my joints of monkey safely roasting round it — about five or six pieces altogether. But when I returned, all I found was a heap of ashes raked about, and the monkey I had not cooked lying beside my sabre ; every morsel of my roast had dis- appeared. I speedily discovered the thieves ; for sitting right before me, on the lower branches of the dead tree, as gravely as Roman senators, I saw four mon- keys, each discussing a joint of his dead comrade. They looked at me with such a cool, complacent air. io8 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. that I felt inclined to wring their necks, I was so enraged. I had just levelled my gun to fire, when I perceived a fifth thief — a late comer, probably — clambering along on three paws, while, with the fourth, he dragged in tow a magnificent leg, almost as big as himself. I took aim at him, as he was nearest, but my gun was not loaded ; and, meantime, the delinquent had reached the others, and seated himself with such a good grace to commence his repast, that I could not help laughing, so I just left him in peace to devour his friend comfortably. I searched about everywhere to see if my unbidden guests had left me any scraps at all, but I could find nothing, absolutely nothing, except the head and tail, which I had not thought worth roasting. It was evi- dent the cook on board our ship was not alone in his tastes, to judge by the complete clearance these little wretches had made of my roast monkey. I was forced to turn to his brave and unfortunate companion, and resolved this time I would not leave my cooking, even if I had to go without salt. I soon lighted the fire again, and had my dinner ready at last. I made a capital meal, and felt my strength com- pletely recruited by it. My next business was to shelter myself for the night against wild beasts. Till now I had never apprehended danger on that score ; but my monkey-bites and the jaguar's attack had made me think differently; and I determined to be on my guard, and arrange my bed so that the least alarm would rouse me. CHAPTER VIII. ROBIN RESOLVES TO HAVE A PERCH IN THE BRANCHES — A NOCTURNAL VISITANT — WHAT BECAME OF THE JAGUAR'S CARCASE — NEW DIS- COVERIES. Y dinner, and especially my bath, had so revived me that I even began to find a charm about my new mode of life ; and I thought I might very well spend a few weeks in this little isle before resuming my search for some inhabited country. The true hunter is not dismayed at solitude, however complete it may be, and however many hardships may attend it. It rather gives addi- tional zest to his enjoyment, and invests it with new charms. Moreover, all the stories of romance and adventure, like Robinson Crusoe and the Swiss Family Robinson, that had so fired my boyish imagination, seemed reproducing themselves in my own personal history ; and in fancy I saw myself the hero of a thousand adventures even more impossible than theirs. I was quite sure of enough to eat and drink ; to no The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, make some abode for myself was the chief difficulty. My raft had served my purpose the first night well enough, in spite of the tide and the mosquitoes ; but I was not so easily satisfied now that I had got water and percussion-caps and food. No, I must have something better than that. Nobody is contented in this world with his lot. You will see by-and-by how my desires kept constantly enlarging, till I became at length a very Sybarite, who thought nothing too good for him, and ended by growing so weary even of enjoyment that he forsook his paradise to venture on the unknown. Taught by experience, that wisest of counsellors, I sat quietly down on the trunk of a tree to consider the ways and means of constructing my hut. Every needful material was at hand — ^wood, creepers, leaves, and moist earth in abundance. My first idea was to build a little cabin with walls made of branches, all the interstices filled up with earth and grass. But I recollected that the Indian cabins have nothing but a roof, and are open on all sides, on account of the heat ; and it was not likely I could improve on their plan. Yet, again, on the other hand, a cabin without walls would scarcely secure me from the nocturnal visits of jaguars and serpents. At that time I was not aware that there is no danger from wild beasts so long as you do not hunt them. Not one of them will venture to attack a man unprovoked while there is abundance of other and easier prey close at hand. It A Perch in the Branches. in was my first experience of jungle life, and I innocently- imagined that I should be eaten up by tigers while I was asleep. Poor simpleton that I was ! How many a night have I passed since then surrounded on all sides by jaguars, and serpents, and alligators, and slept even more quietly than at home in my native land. At last I determined to make my abode in the trees, among my long-tailed enemies true enough, but at least out of the reach of tigers and serpents. The first thing was to choose a suitable tree. I wanted one with very thick spreading branches, so as to sup- port a roof and a floor. I hunted through all the groves, and it was nightfall before I found what I sought, and then it was in the very same wood where I had killed my monkeys : I had come into it again the other side without knowing it. It was too late to set to work that night, so I con- tented myself with laying wood across the lower branches, and piling up leaves and grass on it for a bed. It was dark before I had finished, and I just managed to run down to the lake and get more water. The moon was rising, and I caught an indistinct glimpse of animals about the banks, slaking their thirst. Of course I fancied they were jaguars ; but likely enough they were deer, and far more frightened at me than I was at them. I hastened back, kindled a huge fire, and climbed up to bed, after regaling myself on cold monkey and pineapple. To say the truth, my night quarters were 112 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. not very comfortable ; but I was so tired that I soon dropped asleep, in spite of mosquitoes and insects, and bats, and five or six night birds of different sorts, that came whirling and darting about me, screeching and screaming their loudest. I suppose I had been asleep about an hour when I woke with something gently touching one of my legs. " Here comes another Murucututu!' I thought to my- self ; but I soon discovered that my visitor belonged to quite another species. It was a monkey, and one of the prettiest little creatures I ever saw. He was sitting against my leg, trying to pull out with his tiny hands a piece of the meat I had left from my supper, and hidden for safety among the leaves and grass of my bed. The moon shone so brightly through the trees, that I could see everything as if it were broad daylight, and, as my pillow was pretty high, I could watch every movement without stirring. Twice over I saw him come and bury his head among the leaves, and pull out a bit of meat, with which he skipped away to a neighbouring branch, to eat it in peace. Then he darted back to fetch more, and managed it so dexterously, that all I felt was the lightest possible touch. He was like a hare in colour, and his movements like a squirrel. It was so droll to watch him, that I left him undisturbed for a long time, till the thought struck me that I might catch him, and try to tame him, as I had read stories of monkeys that had been trained to do all sorts of things. But it was easier to wish than to do. The slightest A Nocturnal Visitant 113 movement on my part would scare the timid little animal away, and I should never see him again. He was beyond the reach of my hands, and never came nearer than the leg beside which lay the meat. How- ever, necessity is the mother of invention, and next time my visitor withdrew to eat his stolen morsel, I managed to slip my leg to the side, so as to bring the meat between my knees. Light as my movement had been, though, the creature heard it, and bounded robin's pet monkey. away to a higher branch. I was beginning to despair of his return, when I felt his soft touch again ; but I could only see him indistinctly, as the moon had changed her position. After raking about the bed a little, he went all round me, to make sure he was safe, and then jumped right over my legs, and got to the meat. I let him fairly plunge down his head among the leaves, and then immediately brought my knees 114 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. together, so as to enclose him as completely as if he were in a vice. He tried to bite my thigh, but before his little jaws could get a mouthful of me, I had seized him by the neck. He twisted himself round my arm like a young cat, squeezed me as hard as he could, and showed his tiny pearly white teeth. His eyes flashed with fury, but I held him fast till I could devise some plan of securing him. At last I put him into my hat, and tied the lining together. He tried to gnaw through his prison like a rat ; so I kept my hand over him to make sure, and waited patiently for the morning. As soon as it was daylight I tied my captive round the middle, and fastened him to the foot of the tree. Then I set to work to make my house, and kept steadily at it, only leaving off, when necessary to get food. I had all I wanted close at hand ; indeed, there was abundance in this one tree itself to make a whole village of huts if I wished. There was a perfect forest of branches, and bindweeds and creepers of all sorts in profusion. To judge by its size, and the little world of vegetation round it, one would have supposed this was the oldest tree in the island, and yet I doubt if it numbered more than fifty years. In tropical countries vegetation is so rapid that you can almost see the trees grow, and there are some arborescent plants that shoot up in one year high enough to shade a man standing upright. The tree I had chosen was a mahogany-tree of enormous size, from fifty to sixty feet high. Huge VULTUKES. Ii6 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, limbs branched out from the trunk, with wide- spreading, leafy boughs, covered with most curious parasitic plants. Bindweeds of every variety wound themselves over trunk and bough to the topmost branches, festooning the foliage with bunches of odoriferous flowers or clusters of berries. To crown all, there was a perfect wealth of cords hanging down on all sides, as round and strong and flexible as THE MAHOGAxNY TREE. any that are manufactured. They say that these cords are the roots of the parasitic plants, and they hung down in hundreds, varying in length from an inch to thirty feet, the difference depending on the height of the branches on which the parasites grew, and also on their age. Those which were not long enough to touch the ground hung loosely down, but the majority had taken root in the soil, and looked like the shrouds of some noble ship. Since then I have seen many a tree on the South Disappomtments. 1 1 7 American continent, some both larger and loftier than the one I have been describing, and even thicker in foliage, and more loaded with bind- weeds, but I have never seen one that, in all re- spects, could compare with it for luxuriance of vegetation. I had plenty of material then, but I had no tools. I had only my sabre, my poor sabre, to use for all purposes, and I had need be careful of it, for it was quite as indispensable as my gun. I got on very slowly, for I was both impatient and awkward, and this was my first attempt in the building line. Worse still, I often had to undo what I had done, and lost all my labour. I had finished at least a fourth of the cabin, when I discovered that the branch I had taken for my roof was two -thirds decayed ; so I had to pull it all down and begin again. At last, in spite of all mishaps, about the middle of the fourth day my little dwelling, or rather nest, was complete. It was composed entirely of boughs, bound together with the natural cords I have men- tioned. Nothing thicker than my arm could pass between them without breaking some of the fasten- ings, and that would wake me instantly. The trunk of the tree formed the main wall ; one branch made a support for the roof, and two others for the floor. For some days I gave myself up, as it were, to the enjoyment of my completed abode, and left it as little as possible. Ii8 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. I tried its solidity by resting all my weight against the walls, and when, by good fortune, I chanced to break something, what pleasure it was to repair it ! I planned all sorts of additions and improvements that I would make as soon as I had all my stores at hand ; benches, cupboards, a poultry-yard, sundry ornaments, and I do not know what all besides. In my furnishing fever I thought of my jaguar. I had taken out the entrails, and hung the animal up the day after I had killed him, intending to preserve him, and every time I had caught sight, since then, of his soft, velvety skin, I thought to myself what a splendid addition that would make to my couch of leaves ; so, one fine morning I sharpened my sabre, and set off to carry it away. But, alas ! " all is not gold that glitters." My skin was magnificent enough in the distance, and quite worthless when I came close to it. The first thing I saw, as I approached, was a flock of vultures flying off, — great black birds, with scarlet throats, that are called ravens in the Guianas, but in all respects are true vultures. These visitors, who did not quit their prey till I was within a few yards of them, had nearly picked the animal's bones clean, and reduced him to a perfect skeleton. The skin seemed almost untouched, however, and I thought I would strip it off, in spite of the horrible stench from the carcase. But I found that was gone too, at least three parts, and what remained was in a loathsome state of putrefaction. Thousands of ants were feeding W/iat became of the Jaguars Carcase. 119 on it. I do not know how they had managed to find their way up, but there they were. Apparently the flavour of the jaguar flesh was so exquisite that even the butterflies must claim their share of it. I counted more than thirty in a single swarm that had settled themselves on the wound in the head. This was too much for me. My jaguar had found so many admirers that I must need give him up, whether I would or not : so I left him, and went on to attend to more important business. My cabin was ready now, so I had plenty of leisure to think of gastronomic matters, and much need also ; for, though I was an undisputed proprietor, I had to find my own food day by day, or starve. I made up my mind to indulge a little in hunting, and to taste in succession every animal on the island. Up till then I had eaten nothing in the game line but one enormous duck, and four monkeys, — of different sorts, it is true, but still monkey. It was time to try and improve my cheer, for while my building was going on I had contented myself with a mere hasty snack, and for seven or eight meals had no food at all but monkey. Now, had my long-tailed friends been ortolans, I should have liked a little change occasion- ally ; and even my poor captive had grown tired of always having the same diet. He now quite disdained the very food for which he had risked his life at first, and would eat nothing but pineapples, and spiders, and grasshoppers, which he managed to catch with marvellous dexterity. 120 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. I had hardly started on my foraging expedition before I killed a magnificent parrot, which supplied me with a breakfast ; but I never tasted anything so tough in all my life. The most venerable old cock in the world could not compare with it. I got through it with my monkey's help, who ventured to perch himself on my shoulders, and eat his share. Either there was some virtue in the parrot's flesh, which completely mollified him towards me, or else he found his new quarters to his liking, for ever since that meal he lived with me on the most affectionate and familiar terms. Later that same day, and during the next few days, I made grand discoveries. I found freshwater TURTLE. tortoises or turtles, and oysters, and a small fruit that is one of the best of those that grow wild in Guiana. These turtles were a perfect treat to me, I roasted their breasts, and made soup of the other parts ; and I must say, even at the risk of offending professional cooks, that I never tasted anything so delicious as v..-I.C*UCHABO.Jj. *' Ever since that meal he lived with me on the most affectionate and famihar terms.' Pa^e 12 Food in the Tropics. I2i this soup. It seemed all the better to me, as I had been entirely deprived of such a luxury since my ship- wreck. But no good things should be abused, and my epicurean self-indulgence was soon punished. My soup had turned out so good that I wanted more ; so the third turtle was entirely made into soup, and there was enough to last me a week. But almost that same evening the whole concern turned out so bad that I had to throw it away. Now, to throw away soup, when you have plenty of other dishes, is no great hardship, but it is quite another matter when you have nothing to fall back upon. But this was always my fate whenever I attempted to keep any food for a day or so. A man must live by the day, like the birds, when he is in the tropics. Nature takes back at night what she gave in the morning. It is useless to lay by any description of game, or fish, or even meat, unless salted. Owing to the great humidity and steady heat of the climate, and the myriads of insects thus generated, decompo- sition takes place so quickly that in less than twenty- four hours it is only fit to throw to the monkeys. At the commencement of my stay in the island such a misfortune often befell me, to my great regret, but to the satisfaction of my neighbours, who, though never coming too near, liked to prowl about and steal all they could. The oysters were very good too, but a little insipid. I found them at low water among the roots of the 122 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. mangroves, in tolerably large beds, but lying in con- fused heaps, and sticking so fast together that I had the utmost difficulty in getting them apart. They afforded me many a meal, however, both raw and cooked ; and indeed these oysters and turtles were the best things I tasted while I lived on that coast. In other ways too these shell-fish were so useful that I very much doubt whether I should have stayed so long on the island but for them. In addition to the good and wholesome food they contained, their shells were invaluable, not for their pearls, for I found none, but because they served for plates, dishes, water-bottles, tumblers, spoons, and all sorts of kitchen utensils, especially saucepans. No one who has not been absolutely deprived of these common necessaries, can form an idea of the value of such substitutes as shells. In our civilized towns, where each family can get their own pots and pans so easily, oyster-shells are only flung into the dustbin, but in these distant mangrove forests a common shell is worth its weight in gold ; for my own part, I know I would not have given up my first turtle-shell for all the pearls it could hold. I devoted three whole days to the exploration of my island, and, as far as I could judge, it measured five to six leagues in circumference. It was longer than broad, and its shores were belted on three sides by the mxangrove forests which I have already de- scribed. But on the side I had taken for some con- tinent, where the water was fresh, the mangroves A Lofty Observatory. 123 were all dead or dying, and were replaced by a regular nursery of young trees of all sorts. This part of the forest, owing to the nature of the fresh water which washed the shore, was not so high as the neigh- bouring mangroves, though it was already so woody as perfectly to blend with them in the distant river. The centre of the island, which had so charmed me, was entirely prairie land, dotted here and there with clumps of trees, and intersected by the lake or half- canal which had so bewildered me. But, though I was exploring thus my new domain, and making myself more comfortable every day, I was revolving in my mind all the while the best means of leaving it. Not that I found the solitude oppressive, for I had hunting and work to enliven it, but I longed to relieve my mother's anxiety, if indeed she had not given me up for dead long ago, both from my silence and from the account she would get of my disappearance. As for returning to my regi- ment, that did not suit my notions at all. I meant to purchase a substitute as soon as I arrived at Cayenne, and then to travel about a little, if only to recount my adventures. But I intended ultimately to return to these American wilds, and devote myself 'entirely to hunting, aided by all the appliances of civilized ingenuity that I could bring with me. Every now and then I climbed the trees, in hope of discovering some habitation, or, better still, the mainland. But I was unfortunate in my choice of observatories, for nothing but trees met my gaze. At 124 '^^^^ Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. length I caught sight in the distance of a lofty palm, which looked high enough to command a view of the whole island and the horizon beyond. It was very difficult to climb up, as the branches were all at the top; indeed it would have been impossible, but for the bindweeds and sundry notches I contrived to make in the smooth trunk. Once at the top, however, I was amply repaid for all my trouble. The very first object that greeted my eyes was the mainland, a long strip of verdure stretching out to the west farther than I could see ; but it seemed a long way off, quite a day's journey. Everywhere else was nothing but sea, in the midst of which I could discern the sandbank on which I had been shipwrecked. Though it was quite covered with the waves, I could distinguish it clearly by the peculiar tint of the water above it, and still more by the trees imbedded- in its surface. It seemed lying so near that I could not understand how I had not discovered my island when I first woke up to consciousness, and scanned the horizon with such eager, despairing glances. All looked very dreary and desolate : not a cabin on the shore, not a ship on the sea, could I perceive ; nothing but that belt of verdure and the rippling sea, reflecting the sun like an immense broken mirror. The gulls were flying about my sandbank, lighting on the trees or making circles in the air, and one solitary tropic bird was poising itself aloft in the zenith, looking like a black spot on the clear blue sky. 126 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. But not a living thing besides met my gaze. I watched the tropic bird a long time, as one watches from a steep cliff some lone waif on the ocean, and twice within a quarter of an hour I saw it dart right down as straight and swift as an arrow into the sea, and fly up again almost as straight and swift to its eyrie to eat the fish it had caught, for the tropic bird's eyrie is in the very heavens. What a strange fascination there is about this bird ! How often I have gazed at it ! It is so light on the wing that it seems blown along like a feather, and yet the wing-muscles are so powerful that it can fly, they say, with one flap from America to Africa ! It is between the size of a duck and a goose, with pointed wings, measuring from tip to tip fourteen feet across. Marvellous bird, triumphing over space, and soaring above the clouds, who would not envy thy powers of flight ! CHAPTER IX. ROBIN GOES IN SEARCH OF HIS BURIED EFFECTS — THE WHIRLPOOL — SAVED AS BY A MIRACLE. Y thirst for adventure had been quenched for a time by the pleasures of proprietor- ship, but the sight of the sea brought it back in full force, and made me deter- mine to lose no time in seeing after what might remain of my buried property, that I might arrange it all as well as I could on my raft, and try to reach the mainland. I must confess the prospect of encountering those tem- pestuous waves again was not very agreeable, but it must be done. I was in absolute need of powder and shot ; for though I had husbanded my little store as carefully as possible, I had not enough left for three days, even for the small amount of hunting I allowed myself. Besides, if I was obliged to look at every bit of powder in this fashion, and could not follow the chase for pleasure, but only for food, I might as well push on to the mainland at once, and get to Cayenne as fast as I could. I went to look for my raft that very same day, and 128 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. found it just as I had left it, only a little muddy, and with some half-dozen oysters sticking fast to it. As I knew by experience the danger of the voyage I was about to attempt, I made my frail skiff as firm as pos- sible, by adding planks here and there, and several extra cords. I also made a mast to it, and a sail of plaited palm leaves, and, lastly, what cost me no end of trouble, and turned out to be no use at all, a rudder. When all was completed I set off, taking with me a cold roast monkey, some pineapples, and a hundred oysters ; and, for company's sake, my little long-tailed friend too. I started with a good wind and fair wea- ther, and found my course so greatly facilitated by my sail that I got along without difficulty, and arrived, at low water, at what I supposed was Shipwreck Bank, as I christened it in my notes afterwards. But the place was so changed that I could not recognize it. There were trunks of trees floating about in abundance, but the enormous pile of them where I had my murucututu adventure was nowhere to be seen, though that one tree where I had slept was at least twenty feet higher than any others about it when I left. Those that remained visible were no longer in the same position ; and as to the sandbank itself, I could only see it in great patches here and there like some plain that has been flooded and is still partially covered. This struck me as strange ; and, somehow, such a presentiment of danger came over me that I could Robin goes in search of his Buried Effects. 129 not venture off the raft, but stood looking all round, and then back at my islet which seemed in the dis- tance a great black spot on the horizon. Absolute silence reigned over the dreary level and the dead trees floating in all directions heightened the melan- choly effect. It looked so mournful that I felt quite oppressed, and the fact of its appearance being so totally changed seemed to me ominous in the ex- treme. However, as I was positive that I had steered in the right direction, towards the rising sun, I could not have been mistaken in the place, and at all hazards I must accomplish the purpose of my coming or I should soon starve. I screwed up my courage, fastened my raft to a tree, and disembarked without any hesitation. I never saw anything so altered as my sandbank ; but I learnt afterwards that this is a frequent occurrence in these latitudes, where the sea will sometimes make and unmake whole stretches of land in a few days. Almost everywhere the flood had brought new trees, and uncovered or buried others. In one spot the soil had risen several feet, and the grass was beginning to grow on the highest parts ; in another, on the con- trary, whole lakes had formed, of considerable extent, on the banks of which I lost footing immediately. For a full hour I did nothing but wander about like a child, and I soon lost myself altogether, for clouds had covered the sun, and my island was out of sight. Fear made me prudent, and I found my way back to my raft as speedily as possible, for I knew the tide 130 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. might come in at any moment and sweep me away. Every instant I fancied I could hear it approaching, and see it come rushing towards me in a roaring tor- rent. I hardly knew why I returned to my raft, but I dreaded losing my only chance of safety; and if any one had offered to transport me that moment back to my cabin, so nervous did I feel, that I know I should have jumped at the offer and left my errand undone. However, I had to make up my mind what course to take, and that pretty quickly, for the waters all round were already heaving, and it was evident the tide had begun to flow. I re-seated myself on the raft and resolved to go round the sandbank as far as I could, and when the current got too strong I would tie myself to a tree and wait till it ebbed. I said to myself that I must have mistaken the course, for I could not see a sign of the tree which had been my drying-ground ; and the only way of recovering the track was to try and reach the bank by the same side on which I had been thrown on it originally. For some time I managed to keep my ground against the current very well, using one of my oars as a boat-hook, though I got on but slowly, and in a zig- zag fashion. But by the time I got round, the tide was so violent that I was forced to stop or be swept away and dashed against some trunk ; so I looked out for the highest tree I could find, and fastened myself to it as well as I could. But in the very act of knotting my cords I thought Robin goes in Search of his Buried Effects, 131 I recognized, a little way off, the very same tree on which I had sat in such agonized anxiety watching the tide. Overjoyed at the discovery, I tried to reach my old acquaintance, and stationed myself there instead of on the one I had selected ; but I was torn away by the current immediately, and but for a good tough bindweed, hanging from the tree to which my raft was first anchored, which providentially floated past, near enough to let me lay hold of it, I should inevitably have been borne away to the open sea. There was no alternative ; so I had to fasten myself again to this same tree, though it was nearly covered with the waves, and seemed very unsteady. But my courage soon returned, and I made a hearty meal, and fed my monkey. Then we took a bath together between the raft and the tree, with cords round us for safety, and waited patiently till the tide should ebb and allow me to resume my search. The sea became increasingly furious, and more and more loaded with trees. My raft danced on the sur- face like a floating buoy, and tugged at the cords so violently that I thought I had better double them for safety. Alas ! I had cause to repent such shortsighted prudence, for through it I was involved in the most dangerous adventure of my life, one which I can never think of without shuddering. I had towed myself along the cord quite close to the tree, and was fixing my second cord when I fan- cied the tree was moving in my direction. Either the tide had dashed against it with more than usual im- K 2 132 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, petuosity, or the weight of my body and the dragging of the raft had dislodged it from the soil, and tree and raft, and myself, began to drift right away in company. This was doubly dangerous, for the tree did not drift like the boat, but rolled about like a cork in a swollen gutter, so that I ran the risk of being entangled among the roots and being drowned or crushed, raft and all. However, I did not cut the connecting cords at once, as I was always hoping that we should come across some shoal or other that would check our pro- gress ; but I kept a sharp look-out, and gave my dangerous neighbour as wide a berth as possible. Twice I thought we had actually stopped ; and so we had, but only for an instant ; the tree struck the soil and tore up a cloud of mud which came bubbling to the surface, and then on we went. Suddenly one of the cords became twisted round the roots, and I found myself all but touching the tree. Without delay I cut both cords through with my sabre, and took my chance of finding some tree to lay hold of in passing. But, though I counted them by hundreds, they were all dashing along like myself, I knew not whither. I grew very uneasy, and my heart beat audibly. Ere long, however, I recovered my self-possession, for I remembered how firm, and yet light and buoyant, my raft had proved itself ; and I thought that even at the worst the tide that carried me away would be certain to drive me back again. I had a quantity of The Storm. 133 strong cords with me, so meantime I resolved to strengthen any parts of the raft that did not seem so secure as the rest, and then fasten my monkey to it, and my provisions, leaving nothing loose but my sabre. Soon I fastened myself to it too, reflecting on the likelihood of being swept off from such an oscil- lating surface, and thinking it better for the waves to dash over me than to have to swim through them. These precautions, and still more the fact of things not growing worse, quite reassured me. The trees I had so dreaded at the time of my shipwreck, and which, indeed, constitute the great danger of those shores, were all travelling in the same direction with me, so there was no fear of collision. I congratulated myself on having severed my connection with the tree, and I began to listen to the seductive promises of hope, and flatter myself that as this current was rushing straight towards Cayenne it might bring me in sight of some ship, or some cabin on the shore, where I might find a deliverer. Under the influence of such delusive expectations, and carried away by the excitement produced by the speed at which we were hurrying along, for rapid motion has always had the most exhilarating effect upon me, a wild idea crossed my brain, and, true to my character then, I had acted upon it without a moment's thought. The wind was freshening, and angry storm-clouds appeared in the horizon, and began to overspread the sky and dart out lightnings every now and then. But in face of that I hoisted my sail ; 134 Th^ Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. and, slight as it was, and not even whole in several places, yet its effect in accelerating our motion was fully what I expected. At the outset I was rather afraid at seeing my frail raft battling with the billows, passing all the trees, and flying like a sea-gull before the wind ; but I soon became completely intoxicated by the charm of rapid motion, which even to this day acts on me like wine. I was deaf to all the dictates of prudence, and eagerly pursued my mad course. A TROPICAL STORM. Add to this excitement the fascination a storm possesses for me, and especially a tropical storm. When the lightnings flash and the thunders roll and all heaven's artillery is let loose, my whole being, as it were, dilates, my chest expands, and I seem to have a double life. On such occasions, whether on horseback or in a boat, I hardly know myself ; I must go forward at all hazards, and spur on my steed or spread every inch of sail. Fire seems burning in my veins, and till the rain comes down and wets me to the skin my The Storm. 135 fever is not cooled, and I am hardly conscious of any- thing around me. I hoisted my sail quite grandly, and boldly steered my course towards the open sea, like a regular sailing- vessel going to Cayenne. But the storm was hurrying over the sky like a race-horse. Already it covered half the heavens, and soon every object was wrapped in chill darkness. The wind increased in violence, and almost doubled up my sail ; at every gust my frail raft had to fight with the waves, falling and rising on the billows as if about to take wings. I saw how unequal it was to such efforts, and expected every minute that it would come to pieces, and let me down into the midst of the seething, foaming waters. Yet on I went, seeing nothing but the storm, and feeling nothing but the most intense and enthusiastic delight. A thrill of satisfaction ran through every fibre of my being, and I could not stop my course till a deluge of rain brought me to my senses once more. Just as the storm had reached its height, and the rain began to descend amid the crashing thunder and the lurid glare of the lightning, I fancied that, in spite of all my sail, my raft was moving in circles. But the rain was so blinding that I could not see distinctly, and if I could, I was perfectly powerless. My douche bath had sobered me, however, and besides the wind had fallen, so I lowered my sail, to the great joy of my monkey, who ran immediately to hide himself beneath it. The next thing I did, though it was run- ning an additional risk to attempt such a work, was to 136 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, repair all the cords that had given way, and this done, all that remained for me was to wait. The rain had calmed the sea considerably, and the current was less violent, but I still felt my raft turning round in concentric circles, and presently a flash of lightning revealed my true situation with terrible distinctness. Not more than three or four hundred yards' distance there was a whirlpool, from which clouds of white smoke issued as if from the crater of a volcano. It might be compared to an immense shaft towards which the waves were rushing with their loads of trees ; huge trunks, that seemed borne along as lightly as foam on a torrent. Round this shaft the waters were turning, slowly at first, but swifter and THE WHIRLrOOL. swifter, and bending downwards as they neared the crater, till they lost themselves in an abyss that seemed fathomless. Saved as by a Miracle. 137 I was helplessly whirling round in these fatal circles, and fast approaching the vortex. In the terror of the moment I thought of leaping into the sea, and tiying to extricate myself by swimming, and I have little doubt that I should have done so had I not been fastened to the raft. But reflection coming to my aid, I said to myself, " It would be only a swifter way to drowning," for the best swimmer in the world could not breast such a current. By degrees I began to recover my self-possession, and at all risks resolved to hoist my sail again and make a last effort to get out of the whirlpool. But the wind had so completely fallen that not a breeze was stirring. Then I took to the oars and rowed with all my might. I might as well have been rowing in the moon, for not the slightest effect could I produce ; I did not succeed in shifting my position one single yard. At length, exhausted by fruitless attempts and protracted anxiety, I sat myself down on the front of the raft, with my legs dangling in the water, as if to meet quicker the death to which I was hastening. Already the circles were narrowing, and the velocity increasing. Round and round we went, and each time swifter than the last, till I found myself on the very edge of the gulf. Side by side with me was a huge tree, still covered with green leaves, and on the trunk I fancied I could see a sort of squirrel, striped with black, huddled up among the leaves. By degrees my raft inclined to the side, and the sultry atmosphere became as cool as if we were 138 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. entering a vault. The velocity of our motion so much increased that I could hardly breathe ; my head was so giddy that I could see nothing distinctly, and soon I was almost in absolute darkness. Down below me the waves were dashing, and the foam breaking with such violence that I was quite deafened with the noise. Next minute I was completely engulfed, and felt myself whirling round and round so rapidly that I almost lost consciousness, and hardly realized my situation. How long did this torture last t Minutes or hours t I cannot tell. Two or three times I caught sight of the tree whirling beside me, and once it came so close that some of the branches touched me, and I thought I could still see the squirrel. But I was hardly conscious enough to be certain. What I remember most dis- tinctly is my poor little monkey clinging to me, and grasping my hand as if imploring for help. Alas ! poor beast, I was as helpless as himself. In the great convulsions of nature man is as impotent as the lowest animal. Suddenly, when the darkness seemed deepest, I felt a tremendous shock, and thought the end had surely come. We went rolling over two or three times, and all I could do was to cling firmly to the mast of my raft. Then it seemed to me as if we were slowly rising again to the surface, and presently the air blew on my face, and I could breathe freely. I rubbed my eyes, for I could see nothing distinctly, and I felt like a man waking up from some horrible AH I could do was to cling firmly to the mast of my raft.' Page 138. Saved as by a Miracle. 139 dream. Above my head there was a cloudless sky, with streaks of purple and gold still lingering in the west ; all round the sea was calm as a lake, and my raft floated lightly on its bosom. I was saved as from living death, and my very first act was to fall on my knees, as in my infant days, and thank the Creator aloud. Some vague instinct of self-preservation led me next to look after my raft, but the shock, mentally and physically, had been so great that I was quite stupified. I gazed at the mast without knowing what I was gazing at, or what I wanted to do. It had sunk half-way down into the raft, and all the wood about it was wet and spongy. The cords had given way in several places, and if the sea had not been calm as a mill-pool in all probability the whole raft would have gone to pieces at the first wave. I got into the water to fasten a cord, and found it shallow enough to walk in. Then for the first time I glanced . around me, and discovered I was on a sand- bank like the one on which I had been first thrown, and perhaps the very same, for here and there I saw trees resembling those I had first met with. This sight recalled me a little to reality, and without yet understanding the danger I had just escaped, or even where I was, the recollection of my buried trunks came back to my mind. But the night had set in completely, and I caught myself saying aloud, — 140 TJte Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. "I must. Let us go back to the isle. I am hungry ! " I no longer knew what I was doing, or even what I was thinking. This is how madness begins, I should suppose. The shrill cracked sound of my voice grated painfully on my ear, and then the idea came across me that I was blind, perhaps, as darkness seemed resting on all around. But next minute the moon emerged from the clouds in full brightness, and the sight of it somewhat consoled me, for again I spoke aloud, and said, — " I can't be quite blind, though, for I see the sun, only it looks like the moon !" But the thought of even a partial loss of sight so overwhelmed me that I burst into a flood of bitter tears. I wept long without restraint, hardly able even to explain to myself why, till my monkey, who was either hungry or irritated at my tears, jumped on my shoulders, and began tugging at my beard with his teeth. I took him in my arms and gazed at him vacantly a long time, while every now and then my grief would break forth afresh. At length light suddenly dawned on my mind, and I remembered all that had happened, even to the most trifling cir- cumstance. I was saved ! Mentally, I mean, for I had been on the very verge of madness. I could see now clearly all that was required to be done, and I did it without difficulty. I hastily refastened all the cords that had given way, made my mast firm again, hoisted Saved as by a Miracle. 141 my sail, and, taking advantage of a fresh breeze that had risen as night came on, I steered straight towards a pile of trees that the moonlight revealed in the horizon. My first business on arriving there was to attach the raft securely, and see how my provisions stood. Happily my little stock was quite uninjured, and both my monkey and myself ate and drank our fill, for the water about us was fresh. This fact confirmed my hope that I had found the spot I sought, and so comforted me that I fell asleep. But, fatigued though I was, I had little real rest. I had scarcely dropped off when I woke with a start, still imagining I was whirling round in the abyss, and seeing above my head the tree that had borne me company. My brain had received such a shock that for more than two months I was subject, more or less, to this nightmare. How frail we are in mind and body ! How de- pendent on Divine mercy, every day and hour of our short life 1 CHAPTER X. ROBIN FINDS HIS WARDROBE— TROPICAL COSTUME — TURNS JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES. HE tide awoke me before daybreak, and brought back all my anxieties. But the pile of trees to which I had secured my raft stood firm, and neither my monkey nor myself suffered any disasters during the night. I rose with the earliest dawn, and got to the top of a high branch to recon- noitre. At 1 he first glance, I discovered I was on the sandbank I sought. It was as I had hoped ; the same flood that carried me out brought me back again to the starting-point. This is a frequent occur- rence in these stormy seas ; whatever is not powerful enough to resist the tide is tossed about like a shuttle- cock while it lasts, and many a floating waif is dragged down the abyss, and brought back again as I had been. How I had escaped was a mystery I could not unravel, though the solution came to me quite sud- denly one day after I had returned to the isle. But Robin finds his Wardrobe, 143 you shall hear about that by-and-by ; meantime we will keep to Shipwreck Bank, as I told you I had christened it in my note-book. Immediately the sea calmed, I set to work to put my raft in thorough repair. The damage was not so great as I feared. A good deal of the wood was still quite sound, and I had my sabre with me, and cord and wood at hand in abundance. I made every part right again without even stopping to eat, and had barely finished my task when I recommenced the search for my goods and chattels. While it was still low water I made little progress, as the raft was a great hindrance, though it would have been imprudent to leave it. During my course I came accidentally across two pieces of faded stuff, which I eagerly laid hold of, and examined with no small curiosity. One of these rags was evidently part of a waistcoat, and the other the band of a pair of trousers, as the buckle still remained ; and, though it was rusty, I managed to decipher the name Fisher on it. This was the name of my tailor. I looked again at the rags ; and, sure enough, they were my own property, or rather what remained of it. The sea or the sea-gulls had made away with the rest, for all through the rags you could see the marks of birds' beaks, as if there had been a fine scrimmage over it. They had been disappointed of their feast off me, at the time of my shipwreck, and had revenged them- selves on my belongings. Under the guise of spotless boves, these ravenous sea-rovers conceal the appetite 144 ^-^^^ Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, of an ostrich. Like vultures on the land, they are neither more nor less than scavengers. The tree on which these rags were hanging was nearly buried in the muddy sand, though I left it towering above the waves almost all the height of its colossal trunk, full fifteen feet above the level of the sea. It was so embedded in the earth that I should never have discovered it but for the ends of the branches appearing above the soil. I felt quite out of my reckoning, for I remembered perfectly having left my things in the centre of the bank, and here it was now on the shore right in front of my isle. I thought at first the sea must have moved the tree from its old position ; but, on closer investigation, I discovered that the whole bank itself had shifted a considerable distance. This explained how I could not find it, and for a minute I was afraid that that particular part where I had buried my things might have walked off on its own account in some other direction, and I should have to return with empty hands. But, fortunately, old Ocean had spared me that trial, and before long I discovered a tree on which I had made a mark. This put me in the right track, and I found the way easily. Changed as my sandbank was, I could now recognise each trunk, each branch I might say, for nothing makes so indelible an impression on the memory as the places where we have suffered much. I was soon on the very spot where I had been ship- wrecked, or rather on the roots of the tree where I Robin finds his Wardrobe. 145 had watched the tide in such an agony of anxiety. The tree itself it was impossible to discover. All round there was nothing but sand and slimy mud. The sandbank had risen at least two feet ; but I was getting used to these turbulent waters, so I fastened up my raft securely, and began to drag my sabre through the mud to try and find the where- abouts of my treasures. I had made two long tracks without meeting anything, but the third time the blade struck against a half-buried tree. With my hands at first, and then with the oars for quickness, I succeeded in bringing one side to light. This dis- closed the branches I had put beneath the trunk to cover my goods, and removed all uncertainty about the exact spot. I found everything as I had left it ; trunks, cords, mattress, gun, and powder and shot, and all far less injured than I had expected. I carried the whole concern on board my raft, and, after waiting one more tide, I arrived again at last safe and sound on my isle. I spent a whole week in arranging my stores, and making myself comfortable, and altering and enlarging my cabin, in short, in doing those thousand nothings which constitute the charm of a solitary solitude, whether in the desert or in civilized life. The next fifteen months I passed in indolent enjoy- ment ; in hunting and fishing, eating and sleeping. The desire to go away was strong as ever, but still stronger was my dread of the sea, for my last adven- 146 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. ture had quite terrified me. I did not know, what I learnt subsequently, that this sandbank was one of the most dangerous spots on those coasts, and that everywhere else the sea was generally tranquil enough. My fear so completely mastered me that I made up my mind to remain on the isle till God should see fit to rescue me, even though I should be forced to stay months or years. I resolved to make the best of it, and my first business was to enlarge my cabin. I had suitable tools now to slash away among the branches and bindweeds, and my task was speedily accomplished, for it only took me one day to build the additional room I needed. Then I made a sort of safe of plaited bindweed, in which I could put any provi- sions, from morning till evening at least, and secure it from the depredations of my long-tailed neighbours. I next tried my hand at furniture, and succeeded in turning out a table and a rocking-chair. Of course they were rough and coarse productions, and only fit for a garden, as their make was very clumsy, espe- cially about the legs, and they did not stand particu- larly straight ; but I had intense pleasure in their construction, and found them of much service in many ways. My bed was well enough as it was, so I only added the mattress of tow that I used to sleep on in my anchor-nest. I dried it for two days in the sun, along with the powder and shot and all my other stores. Then I beat it out as well as I could, and added dried 'J next tried my hand at furniture, and succeeded in turning out a table and a rocking-chair." Page 146. Tropical Costu^ne, 147 grass and leaves, till really I had quite a comfortable bed; without sheets, or counterpane, or curtains, it is true, but I cared no more for luxuries like these than a born savage. There is not much covering needed almost under the equator. Even in the day-time, indeed, I seldom wore any- thing but a hat and a pair of trousers, and you will see that gradually I was reduced to still more primi- tive costume. All I had on when I first reached the isle was a hat, and shirt, and a pair of shoes, for, as you will remember, I had taken off my clothes to be less cumbered, and this was how the sea-gulls got possession of them. One shoe I lost on my raft ; the other served as a drinking-cup for a few days, and then I lost it in the lake. My shirt I never took off till it went to rags with climbing trees and such exploits, so that till I recovered my boxes I had nothing on but my hat. The day after my return I made a grand toilette ; and truly I had much need, for never in all my life shall I forget the figure I looked when I saw myself in the little hand-glass in my travelling-bag ! I resembled a wild, fantastic savage. From head to foot I was bedaubed with earth, owing to my frequent ablutions in the muddy water ; my skin was as . black as a young mole, and as for my hair, its appearance beggars description ; in fact I was more like a monkey than a human being. For about a quarter of an hour after making my toilette^ the mere sensation of being washed and L 2 148 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. dressed and brushed and combed was intensely plea- surable. But before long I began to feel stifled in my clothes. The shirt-buttons hurt my neck, and my waistcoat seemed to tighten me like stiff stays, while my shoes positively made my feet ache so that I could hardly walk. Now, as you know already, I am not naturally patient, so you will not be surprised to hear that I threw off one offending article of attire after the other till I nearly came back to my old costume. It had been a great pleasure to dress, but it was still greater to undress. European garments are very elegant, but in the tropics they certainly are by no means com- fortable. ^o, notwithstanding all my grand wardrobe, I went about half naked. Except when hunting or fishing, and such occasions, this was my costume — a flannel shirt, linen trousers, and my everlasting straw hat, which I took care to keep in a wearable con- dition by mending every hole as fast as it came. As for shoes, I gave them up completely, even at the risk of running thorns occasionally into my feet. I had plenty of leisure to pull any such thorns out, and the absence of shoes made my tread more noise- less in hunting, and at the same time more firm and free. Now that I had fairly taken up my abode, and felt myself at ease, I thought I would try and repair my watch. By a close observation of the sun I could make out the time pretty well m the day, but it Turns J ack-of -all-Trades. 149 annoyed me to wake in the night and not know the hour in the least. It was a most troublesome task, but with time and patience I accomplished it at last. Nothing was broken ; and, with the help of my pen- knife, and a little oil I pressed out of the palm tree, I managed to take it to pieces, and clean it, and put it together again as well as a watchmaker could have done. When, at length, I heard it begin to tick, I felt amply repaid for my labour, and the pleasure it afforded me I cannot describe. The most of my time was really taken up in pre- paring food, in getting it first, and then cooking it. Not that I was a gourmand, but the first few days of starvation had been quite enough for me. Thanks to my gun, and especially to the snares I constantly set, I had game enough of every descrip- tion. Morning and evening I laid these snares like a regular poacher. I had pits and traps in five different places, and I attended to them most vigilantly. I succeeded in trapping four deer, ten or twelve boars, and about thirty little animals called agoutis, resem- bling rabbits in shape and size, but in taste like the hare, and with stiff bristly skins which made capital shoes. Besides these, I caught birds of all sorts in abundance. Often, too, I went fishing, both with line and net. I had noticed that the fish on these shores were voracious in the extreme, and, like most of the animals in the American wilds, preferred flesh to anything else. The pieces of venison I had left, supplied me with baits, and I caught crabs and dif- 150 The Adventtires of Robinson Playfellow. ferent sorts of fish most peculiar in shape and colour, enormous eels, and even some grebes, or wild ducks, too, that I found struggling in the water with hooks in their necks. There is such an abundance of fish in these seas, that often I had scarcely dropped my line or put down my net, before I saw them hurrying towards it. It was evident that man, the great destroyer, had not yet depopulated these virgin countries. Fish or venison, I ate all that came in my way, sometimes roasted, sometimes boiled. I managed to make a few pots and pipkins out of clay, and, among others, one that would stand the fire, and another porous enough to act as a water cooler. Thanks to these pipkins I had an excellent stew two or three times a week ; not of fowl, certainly, but of parrot. Occasionally I indulged myself in sauce — sauce made of turtle fat, an excellent substi- tute for butter, sea-gulls' eggs, and a sort of red pepper I had found growing. In fact, what with venison and game, and turtles and oysters in abund- ance, I lived pretty well. And yet there were one or two things common in civilized life that I would have given anything to pro- cure. I could never get reconciled to going without bread and wine, or any description of fermented liquor. My bottle of rum did not last long, of course, and as to my morsel of bread, that was quite a thing of the past. At length, by exercising my ingenuity, I managed to find a substitute for these almost indis- Turns J ack-of -all-Trades. 151 pensable articles. I first succeeded in making wine out of the pineapple, a sort of fermented drink, at least, resembling cider. It was poor stuff compared to our wines, but I thought it so good that I took the trouble to fell a large tree, that had a hollow trunk, which I fancied I could convert into a cask in which to keep it. The bread was much more difficult to make ; but, after much searching, I discovered one day on the neighbouring isle a shrub with large black roots, some of which I roasted on the ashes as you would a potato, and found them so delicious, that the thought struck me that they might perhaps be made into bread. I took about a dozen and bruised them with their juice mixed with water and salt, and a little of the froth off my cask of wine by way of yeast. I kneaded the whole into dough, and made it into thick, flat cakes, which I also baked on the ashes. They were rather salt, and not much better than dog biscuits ; but I ate them as if they had been French loaves. However, I soon paid for my temerity, for I might as well have eaten poisonous mussels ! For two days I suffered from their effects ; and no wonder — my roots belonged to the Cassava tree, the juice of which is poisonous. This is the same tree from which tapioca comes ; and if I had pressed out the juice, my bread would have been quite harmless. I did not make a second experiment on it, however, for one poisoning was enough. I contented myself with eat- ing the roots as they were, simply roasted on the 152 TJie Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. ashes ; and soon I left off even eating these, as I found them almost as injurious as the bread. The only unpleasant part of my new mode of ex- istence was the being obliged to do everything for myself — to be cook and chambermaid and house- keeper. Making pots and pans, and even wine, was agreeable enough, but this everlasting cooking I detested. I often postponed preparations till hunger compelled me to bestir myself. At first I hoped to train my monkey into a sort of Man Friday, like Robinson Crusoe, but it proved im- possible ; in spite of all my efforts, I only succeeded in teaching him two or three things, which he gene- rally did just at the wrong time, or so awkwardly, that he was more plague than profit. For instance, I taught him to pile up the dry wood for lighting the fire ; but he laid it so badly, that I generally had to pull it all down, and do it again myself; and if I chanced to turn my back for a minute, he seized the opportunity to scatter the blazing embers in all directions, even at the risk of burning his hands : this was almost a daily occurrence. There was only one thing he could really do properly, and that was, pick birds. His very first attempt was so successful, that I have always sus- pected he was an old hand at that sort of work. When I began the task of training him, I thought it might make him more tractable if I gave him a companion ; so I spread my nets, and caught several of his kinsmen. Among others, one monkey, as large as a child four or five years of age. This seemed a like- ^-/ ^z^ ^^^^f^^y^^C^r^ P^^ta ^^A ^^^S ^^^^^^^M. ^^i ^^^H AC^W^ s B^^K jHSHJI^i ^ffi ^Pm^^p ^BIK^S ^ BE^B j^Bj^py^ c'gi^j^^'^v'^* ps^r^ jiiHIBejMIHiife^l^^^^Mi ^^^^^""-^^^ j| f^^d ^^M^^^^^^mRH Itf i ^H Ifii^^ ^ ^^^8 ^IHraHi WfiwM MH mHHI^^ V S^,^!^ ' ^iZ^'l)''^'^^^^^^'"^^'' They never became quite as tame as our domestic pets at home j but, still, they would all come and eat out of my hand." Page 153. Turns J ack-of -all-Trades. 153 lier subject, and I took no end of pains with him ; but it was quite in vain. All he could do was to upset the pipkins, and snatch away the dinner that was roasting at the fire, and, worse still, bite so furiously and so frequently, that, at last, I took a positive dis- like to the spiteful little brute. However, we kept on tormenting each other for about a month, and then, one fine morning, he broke loose from his fastenings and disappeared. I was more fortunate in my other pupils. Six months after my arrival in the island I had three par- rots, a macaw, seven other birds, twenty-five ducks, and a young peccary, or wild boar. They never became quite as tame as our domestic pets at home ; but, still, they would all come and eat out of my hand, and I could allow many of them perfect liberty. I made a sort of large wooden aviary at the foot of my tree to keep the birds in, and fastened up the wild boar in beside them at first ; but he so very soon got tame, that I left him quite free both night and day. He followed me about like a dog, and carried his devotion to me to such a length, that he would grunt and grumble like a petted child when he saw me climb the tree at night to go to bed. Indeed, he was so affectionate that I grew quite attached to him, and often preferred his society to that of my monkey. These companions of my solitude were a great help to me in many ways. They gave me occupation, for one thing, and I was always trying to increase the number of my pupils ; for I lost many during their training Turns J ack-of -all-Trades. 155 through allowing- them too much liberty. The ducks gave me eggs occasionally, and these were dainties I could hardly resist, even for the sake of hatching a brood of ducklings. But of all my contrivances to ameliorate my sad lot, none afforded me such satisfaction as my lamp. At the equator and thereabouts, the nights and days are equal all the year round. Consequently darkness reigns during twelve hours of the twenty-four, for even in fine nights, when the moon is most resplen- dent in brightness, her radiance is not of much prac- tical use. Like all the animals on the island, I always took my siesta in the middle of the day, and this naturally kept me from sleeping in the night, so that I often wearied for the morning. For about a week after my return from Shipwreck Bank, I had candle-ends to light during the long hours, but my store was soon exhausted, and for more than a fortnight I had been as badly off as my neigh- bours the monkeys. I tried several times to work by the light of the stars or the glare of my fire, but I did not make much of it, and my sleepless hours were generally passed in bemoaning my hapless condition, or giving way to bitter reflections. At last one day I found a little hard berry, almost like a nut growing on a tree, which I learnt subse- quently was the Palma Christie or Castor-oil tree, and in cracking it to ascertain its taste, I noticed a sort of oil exuding from it. Might not this serve my pur- pose .? I hastily gathered a whole quantity of these 156 The Adventures of Rohinso7i Playfellow. berries, for they were in abundance all over the island, and I crushed them as well as I could with a roughly made pestle of wood. A thick oil soon began to flow out, which did not inspire me with any gastronomic ideas certainly, but which gave me good hope of getting light at last. That very same evening I made a wick of untwisted cord, but afterwards used unravelled linen, which did admirably. I put one end in a pot of oil and let the other rest on the edge of the vessel, and that was my lamp. Its light was not very brilliant, it is true, but enough to see by, and to read by, if I had had any books to read. One idea begets another, and my lamp before long inspired me with longings after nobler occupation than merely caring for my physical needs. All the books I had were two Manuals, one of Hunting and one of Natural History, and a volume of Travels in South America, which I had borrowed on board the For tune ^ and had been reading at the time of my shipwreck. I had read these over and over till I almost knew them by heart. But now that I had light, I wanted to write— to create books for myself, in fact. I had plenty of writing-paper in my boxes, but my ink had all run out, and I had only one or two pens. The pens were of small consequence, as the birds I shot would furnish me with enough and to spare, and I was fortunate enough to find a little berry on the very tree where I was perched which supplied me with ink. My first work was to make an almanack dating Turns J ack-of -all-Trades. 157 from my arrival in the island, and then I wrote length- ened notes of all that had happened, detailing the most minute particulars. By the time I had exhausted my narrative I had grown so fond of writing that I began to turn in on myself for lack of a subject, and analyze my thoughts and feelings and ideas — in short, my whole moral nature. This was the commencement of my real soul-life, the dawn of better, nobler days. From this I date any beginnings of moral goodness, and also my entire resignation to the will of Providence and the inward peace I have ever since possessed. I can never forget the night when I first realized my obligations to the Creator, and the sense of shame that came over me as I was obliged to confess to myself that the pre- cepts of religion I had so often combated with my fellow-students, were all founded in our nature and conduced to the happiness of mankind. That night I never closed my eyes, and I rose next morning so changed, that my mother would hardly have known her son. Shipwreck and solitude, and above all my lamp, had made me another man. CHAPTER XL robin's watch-tower— a second deluge— the secret of a whirlpool. NGROSSED as I was with the numerous occupations I had made for myself, I yet never ceased to think of my departure : fre- quently even in the daytime, and always at night. I was distressed beyond measure at the idea of my mother's grief about me. She was continually before my eyes ; I could see her asking every captain she met about my chances of reaching some shore, and reckoning the days a letter would take in coming from Cayenne to Paris ; I could see her tears and anguish, and yet her trembhng hope that I might some day return. At last I could stand it no longer, and I resolved, come what might, I would be off. However, my dread of the ocean being very great since my last adventure, and, moreover, it being one of my idiosyncrasies never to like shifting my quar- ters till I was obliged, I delayed from day to day. Sometimes the state of the wind or waves was my My Lonely Position. 159 excuse, sometimes the state of the raft ; I was plan- ning additional sails, and getting it into thorough trim for a voyage. So days and weeks and even months slipped away, and yet I had not started. Poor mother ! But in all the important acts of my life I have felt compelled to wait patiently till Providence strikes the hour. All goes well then, but if I choose my own time all fails. An unexpected phenomenon, though one common enough in these latitudes, suddenly brought me to a decision, and made me set off the very same day it occurred. Partly for amusement, but more still with a view to my departure, I had constructed a sort of day light- house in my observatory-tree. I had made a winding stair of bindweeds right round the trunk from base to summit, and in the crown of leaves at the top I had fixed a sort of arm-chair in which I could seat myself as comfortably as in any seat on a terrace at home. At the very top I had stuck a pole, with a sheet fastened to it by way of a flag. If I had stayed on the island but a week longer, I have no doubt I should have devised some species of lamp and made a regular lighthouse. All this had cost me considerable time and trouble. Three or four times I had to make a predpitate descent in the middle of my work, as the wind shook my poor observatory too roughly to be pleasant or safe, and if I had fallen off I must have been killed, for it was at an elevation of 85 feet. But notwithstand- i6o The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. ing all such inconveniences, and perhaps even the more because of them, this watch-tower was a great delight to me. What strange beings men are ! When once we take an idea into our heads, we are just like bulls chasing something red ; we dash right on, and have no eyes for any other objects, and the more our hobby costs us the more we like it. My visits to this watch-tower grew so frequent, that at length I went every day, morning or evening. I took a spy-glass with me, which I had from one of my brothers-in-law. I pointed this in all directions, and eagerly searched the " horizon for hours at a time. But nothing rewarded my gaze ; all was a dreary blank, and often, in spite of myself, my eyes would drop with weariness, and I would lose myself in long reveries, till I fell asleep. But, dreaming or waking, I never lost sight of my fixed purpose to return to France. My idea was that vessels going to Cayenne must necessarily follow the track of the Fortune, and that some day I should dis- cover a sail in the distant offing. It would be easy then to hurry down, jump on to my raft, and push out from the shore. I would soon make signals to be taken on board, and once there, you may rely upon it, I would leave my islet to take care of itself till I came back, if come back I ever should. It was a series of impracticable projects, however, for it was not likely a ship would ever come near enough; but I thought my plan perfectly feasible, and far easier Mj/ Lonely Position, i6i than attempting a journey on terra firma, which seemed to me surrounded with tremendous perils, The fact was, I had taken this notion into my head, and go this way I would, like a bull after red, as I say. My rudder was always kept in trim, ready to sail at any moment. But, as you may suppose, neither my watching nor my signal-flag was of much service. Four or five times I caught a glimpse so far off that it was scarcely visi- ble, of a white sail steering north towards the Antilles, or south towards Brazil. Once, and only once, I dis- tinctly saw a large ship with reddish sails scudding along as swift as a swallow towards Cayenne. I waved my flag immediately with all my might, but my signal was not perceived, or at any rate met with no response. All I got for my pains was an aching back and aching arms, through my frantic efforts to attract attention. Yet, in spite of all my disappointments, I went back to my post day after day, always searching, and never discovering, till the event I am about to relate roused me completely from my contemplative apathy. One morning about six o'clock, as I was looking steadily towards the mainland, I fancied the green belt of verdure that girt the shore seemed receding, even while I gazed, and becoming every moment more indistinct. Either my eyes were at fault, or some moisture had dimmed the glass ; but, after wiping it carefully, I still found the result the same ; and, in- deed, in many places, land had disappeared altogether. 1 62 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. Before long, I noticed the sea began to heave as if boiling, and then stood up in great waves such as leap over a bar at the mouth of a river. It was the first time I had ever seen such a thing, for it was quite un- like both the tides and the whirlpool, and more re- sembled an eruption of some submarine volcano. Yet there was not a sign of storm nor a cloud in the horizon, nor a breath of wind, and everywhere, except on the spot where this strange phenomenon was occurring, the sea was like oil. Almost at the same time as this commotion arose in the sea, I heard a dull deep noise like the roll of distant thunder. Faint at first and almost inaudible, it became increasingly louder, and ended by over- powering all other sounds on the island. Years after, when I visited Niagara, the roaring of the cataract reminded me strongly of old ocean's din this day. It was the precursory tumult of some cataclysm of nature, the war-cry of unchained ocean. Mechanically, without knowing why, I glanced uneasily at my little isle. It was daybreak, but the birds were not flying about as usual : a sort of stupor had fallen on ani- mated nature, a mute expectancy of a great conflict among the elements. But otherwise all looked as usual : the trees stretched their green tops above me as every day ; the atmosphere was so calm that even the tops of the palms were not stirring ; the sun was rising in purple mist, and his slanting rays gleamed like gold on the waters. But I had hardly time to notice all this. A huge A Strange Phenomenon. 163 wave rose opposite my isle, right out of the sea, and began to march forward. It rolled over once or twice, as if difficult to keep itself erect, but came roaring along, and arrived at last bolt upright, yellowish in colour, and so gigantic that I thought we should all be submerged. But I saw it break on the mangroves in a cloud of foam, and at the same instant I felt the ground tremble, and my tree shake beneath me ; the whole island seemed to shiver with the shock, as I have felt our city houses, when heavy vehicles have been passing by. Almost at the same time too, a blast of wind blew over the island, bowing all the tops of the trees, and came with such force against my palm, that it bent like a reed. A thick mist wrapped me for an instant in chill darkness, but next minute the atmosphere was calm and clear as before. After breaking against my islet, the enormous wave re-formed on the other side towards Shipwreck Bank. There it appeared to assume more gigantic propor- tions, but I could not judge of this accurately, as I could only see the back and part of the side of it. Three or four more of such waves passed successively, equally violent, and all took the same course, and appeared to increase in the same manner as they got further from land. With the last of these the thun- dering noise grew fainter, and died away, till it was not louder than the distant sound of a stormy sea. I thought all was over now, when I perceived that M 2 164 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. after the waves a tremendous torrent had begun to flow, rushing like lightning, and more yellow and foaming than even the tides had been. It must have been running from ten to twelve knots an hour, judging from the swiftness of the objects it carried with it. As it neared my isle, it divided and swept round, as the waves had done, meeting again beyond, and turning off to the south-west towards the neighbour- ing islets, and then away out to the open sea. For some time I watched this torrent without dis- turbing myself, till I remembered it would pass directly in front of a little bay in the heart of which I had constructed a sort of shed among the branches, which served me as a boat and fishing-house, where I kept my raft and lines, and all my sea-tackle, I may say. I had secured my raft to the mangroves, it was true ; but what could stand before such a deluge as this t I hurried down without losing a minute. This bay was always my place of embarkation when I went to fish or to visit the other islands, or crossed to the other side of my own. My frequent journeys had made quite a beaten track, so I was soon on the spot. Cabin and raft were in their usual places, perfectly undisturbed, and the forest round them looked as undisturbed as themselves. Still the tide had risen more than a foot higher than usual ; and, instead of the stony calmness that generally lay on the bosom of the water in this bay, owing to the want of air, there was a sort of imperceptible tremor below, that agitated the whole surface. Something A Strange Phenomenon. 165 unusual was evidently going on either inside or outside the island. The sight of this comparative calm, however, in- spired me with a desire to see this strange phenome- non nearer than I could from my distant observatory. It was imprudent, no doubt, and could serve no end, but you will have gathered already from my narrative that curiosity is deeply rooted in my nature. I always like to see to the bottom of things, and do not mind if it costs me a little trouble. I unfastened my raft, jumped on it, and went down towards the shore. I had about 300 yards to go, under cover of the wood by a sort of winding passage I had made by lopping away the branches. I could hear nothing at first but the sound of my raft gliding among the trunks of the mangroves. But as I ad- vanced, the noise of the sea became more distinct, rolling through the woods, and roaring like the flame in a stove. Gradually my raft began to tremble, as if some subterranean fire were making the water boil. I put down my hand to feel, but the water was cold. I went further forwards, towards the entrance of the bay, and soon, though still far from the ocean, I found the tide dashing in among the trees in heavy yellow waves fringed with foam. I managed, how- ever, to reach the boundary of mangroves without difficulty, and could see all that was going on, but not so distinctly as I wished ; now I had come so far, I wanted to get to the front. 1 66 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. Just before me at one of the points of the crescent formed by the bay, I saw the flood rushing swiftly along to the open sea, leaving the shore where I was untouched. The extreme end of this crescent then would be the best and only spot for getting a good view, and I determined to try to reach it, keeping close to the mangroves, in case of any sudden irrup- tion of the torrent. There was a bad sea ; but with prudence, and under shelter of the trees, I hoped to gain my end without incurring any great danger ; so off I set. The consciousness of peril gave me double strength, and I was soon at the very edge of the bay. But here the flood was rushing by in full force, and with such impetuosity that, without the utmost precaution, my raft would have been swept away like a leaf. Seeing it would be impossible to get further, I resolved to make a stand, and choose the best position I could. I soon found a suitable place where only a thin cur- tain of trees separated me from the full sight of this second deluge. It came dashing past with undiminished rapidity, but without any noise save its own waters, smooth and thick, like an avalanche of mud. In later years, when I visited Naples, and saw the molten lava pour- ing from Vesuvius, I thought of this mud. But the sea had superiority over the volcano ; water is more terrible than fire. As far as my eye could reach, I saw nothing but the flood. A cold damp wind whistled in the air, A Second Deluge. 167 clouds overspread the heavens, and torrents of this heavy mud rolled silently and gloomily along, carrying pell-mell in their train branches, flowers, leaves, quad- rupeds, and even birds, all dead. Fish, too, lay dead among the mud, and here and there I could catch a gleam of their gold or silver scales shining through. It was a broken, confused, half-buried mass of what had once been animal and vegetable life, and must evidently have been rolling about in the ocean a long time. To me, it seemed a procession of death, — universal death, — which had covered nature with a winding-sheet of mud. A thrill of horror crept over me, and I drew back from the sight. Indeed, I felt more than half inclined to return to my cabin. But curiosity was too strong, so I remained. I took the precaution, however, to tie my raft by its two ends to the most massive trees I could find within reach, and flung my arms round the trunk of another to keep myself firm, for I had no wish to be engulfed a second time. In this position I had little to fear, unless the man- groves themselves were carried away. But they were like solid ramparts, and just as one is safe in a side street when a surging crowd is flooding the main thoroughfare, so I was quite sheltered here, and could see all without being exposed to any risk. I lopped off a branch or two that obstructed my view, and soon forgot all but the scene before me. For a long time, more than an hour, I should think, 1 68 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. but I was so absorbed I cannot say, this flood of death passed onwards, carrying nothing but debris. But gradually the scene changed ; trees arrived, and soon became so numerous, that the water itself was hardly discernible. A whole forest seemed lying on the surface ; almost all were in leaf, loaded with branches ; and by the uniformity of the tint I knew they were mangroves. FLOOD. I do not know how long this avalanche of trees con- tinued to rush by, but it was some considerable time. A peculiar whistling noise accompanied it, like the wind among fir-trees ; but save this, not a living sound broke on the solitude, not a living creature, beast or bird ; nothing but trees and trees, as wave follows wave in the ocean. Suddenly, as by the touch of some magic wand, the scene changed, and instead of the dreary desert, there was a display of nature's gayest colours. Instead A Second Deluge. 169 of the mangroves and their monotonous green, trees of all varieties arrived, as richly loaded with bindweeds and flowers and parasitic plants as my own airy domi- cile. Almost all were covered with live birds, which actually looked as if they had been placed there by human hands, so well were they arranged. No one species was mixed with another, not so much as one single specimen was out of its proper category. It was like a museum of natural history. For instance, on so many square feet of trees there were only red macaws, on so many more, only blue ones. Here, nothing but green parrots, there again, nothing but scarlet guaras ; in this way all possible varieties were parcelled out, particularly of parrots. They passed not only in thousands, but in millions, like the locusts swarming over the deserts of Africa. Almost all these hapless creatures sat with plumage puffed out, silent and motionless, as if fixed to the trees. Sometimes they would stretch their wings for an instant, as if to steady themselves, when the waves, or some sudden shock, shook their perch. Above and around each variety, birds of the same species were darting about, uttering shrill, discordant cries, that were even louder than the wind. From time to time one of the stationary feathered tribes would fly off and join his fellows, and take his place in the aerial escort. Just as they reached the part of the isle where I was standing, some of them darted right away to the trees which sheltered me, apparently quite regardless of my proximity. Fear of the elements had I/O The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. quite absorbed fear of man, that most rational instinct of all wild animals. In the midst of the trees, and especially on the trunks, I could trace indistinctly the outline of quad- rupeds crouching among the leaves. They, too, appeared of all sorts, and every trunk carried more or less. Monkeys were in abundance ; they passed by huddling together, and holding fast to the tree as their last refuge. Not one stirred ; they seemed petri- fied with astonishment. For a long time this motley caravan defiled in this manner. It was evident they had been surprised by the deluge, and carried off with the forest in which they dwelt ; but how it was they could come so close to the land, and yet make no effort to escape, was quite unaccountable. I can only suppose they were paralysed with fear, as I myself had been when engulfed by the whirlpool. Their moral and physical powers, their instincts as well as their wings had succumbed to the lethargic influence of terror. Or perhaps — who knows 1 — per- haps all these poor castaways, knowing that their nests and their loves were beneath them on the waters, resolved to go down with them. Is it not so with ourselves .'* When we lose those we love, would we not fain be buried with them on the day when the earth entombs them from our sight 1 The forest con- tained home and family and country for these birds, and since all were going to destruction, they would bear them company. . " All as btill and motionless as if lliey were stuffed, and not alive." Pag^ 171. Description of the Deluge. 17 1 As to the animals, it was not long before I was convinced by my own eyes that they were right in remaining where they were, and that their instincts were truer than my boasted intelligence. A huge trunk with a great bunch of branches and dead roots at either end, came so close alongside of me that it touched the foremost mangroves. It was a hundred feet long, I should say, and from seven to eight feet above the surface of the water, and so heavy, though quite leafless, that it sailed along like a ship, without rolling about in the least. Trunk and roots and branches were literally loaded with animals, like a second Noah's ark. There they were, side by side, united by the common danger, forgetting for a time their natural instincts. On the thickest part of the trunk, for instance, stood two kids and a brocket, while so close as almost to touch them, a dark panther was squatting like a cat, and not even casting a glance at his neighbours. On the rest of the tree, huddled all in confusion together, there were monkeys, an ant- eater with his long tail, birds, and even an immense green serpent twisted about the roots, all as still and motionless as if they were stuffed, and not alive. Just as this floating ark came in front of me, a long bindweed that was dragging behind got entangled in the mangroves at my right. The sudden check made the enormous log put about at once like a ship getting out of the way of a current, and next minute the whole mass turned end upwards about six or eight feet distant from me. Nearly all the animals at that LITTLE ANT-EATER. Seepage 173. Description of the Deluge. 173 end threw themselves into the water like so many bathers. Only the ant-eater, however, reached the shore. All the rest disappeared, carried off by the flood, or drowned in the muddy water, or dragged down by the floating branches ; but the ant-eater I saw dis- tinctly get safe to land. I watched him for a minute or so, but he was soon out of sight among the trees. As for the great trunk, it was away again already ; probably the bindweed that had detained it had snapped, for it dashed on almost immediately, and was soon hidden by the trees in full leaf which fol- lowed next in procession. Gradually the animals and birds became fewer, and the mangroves took their place, as at the commence- ment of the avalanche, not dead trunks, but trees, and all so alike in size and foliage that they seemed cast in one mould. Moving though they were, these were just as dreary and monotonous-looking as the man- groves that enclosed my island. I still stood gazing, however, till hunger at last compelled me to stir. It was long past my breakfast hour, and I really felt starving, so I returned to my cabin and got a leg of hocco, a bird about as big as a turkey. I was in a hurry to be off again, so I only stopped to drink a good draught of my pine-apple wine, and, dinner in hand, climbed up to my ob- servatory. The sea was still covered with trees, and all still rushing towards the wide ocean. From my elevated 174 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. position I could see the whole extent of the flood. It covered a surface of full five leagues long, and one broad, forming a distinct green track. It really looked like an entire continent drifting away ; the only thing I ever saw the least resembling it was an eruption of Mount Etna. I was too far off now to distinguish birds or animals, so I cannot say if any more passed. But surprised as I was to see such a forest of drowned trees, I was certainly not less surprised at discovering that the neighbouring islets had disap- peared. They were nowhere to be seen. I looked in vain on all sides, and rubbed my eyes like a man half asleep, who suddenly wakes to find half his domicile carried away. Gone they were — there was no mistake about that, and part of my island too, on the side nearest the mainland. I felt strangely disturbed at this discovery. The flood was still rushing on, and right and left I could distinctly see the trees were falling along the shore. When would this devouring tide cease } Would not my little isle be carried off next .'* The birds, and especially the poor monkeys, sinking in the mud, were incessantly before my eyes. More and more uneasily I watched the sea, and marked the shore growing less and less every instant. But suddenly a change came over the horizon, and completely engrossed both eyes and thoughts. For some time the rapidity of the current had decreased, and the ocean had become visible here and there in large yellow patches, shining like pools of water in The Secret of a Whirlpool. 175 green fields. By degrees, in three different spots, miles away from each other, I saw the green begin to move round and round like the water in the abyss that had engulfed me. It was evident that similar whirlpools were forming, which would swallow up all the sea was carrying in her bosom. One was quite close to my islet, and I could see the column of white mist it threw up into the air, and the trees whirling round and disappearing. In the region of these whirlpools the sea speedily became clear ; each abyss had seized whatever came within its orbit. Close beside the whirlpool nearest to me, however, which of course I looked at most attentively, a few dead trunks had been flung up again from the depths, and were floating quietly along. Apparently the whirlpool refused to receive dead trunks, for, not far off there was an eddy, or sort of counter-gulf, which cast them forth incessantly ; and, by the aid of the spy-glass, I could see that each trunk came out end upwards, bolt upright, like so many giants leaping from an abyss. This shed light on my own case, and I understood now how I had escaped. All the heavy waifs that did not float easily, such as trees covered with foliage, were irrecoverably swallowed up, and lay in the bottom of the sea, where so many shipwrecked mariners sleep, or were borne away by some sub- marine current to a far-distant shore. The three whirlpools I had in sight, and the one also from which I had escaped, were the mouths of one of these 176 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. currents I should suppose; of such a one as the famous Gulf Stream which carries to the North Pole the waters, the vegetation, and even the heat of tropi- cal America. Dead trees, on the contrary, and all that is light enough to float naturally, though dragged down into the gulf with the rest, remain on the surface of the water, and ascend again to the top by their own proper levity, just as the bodies of drowned jpeople are sure to float after a certain time, because of the air-bubbles they contain. Strong as the under-current is, it can- not keep them down. The excessive lightness of my raft had saved me. It had touched the bottom of the whirlpool, and at once rebounded to the top, and out of the circle of its influence. But how it happened that both my raft and myself were not dashed to pieces, I cannot tell ; all I know is, that the next morning after my narrow escape I discovered that the butt-end of my gun was cracked the whole way along, and the steel plate so /mattered, that it was quite impossible it could have been any of my doings. A far mightier force than mine must have effected such damage, and it seems probable that this gift from my good old grandmother, through being firmly bound to the raft, and projecting some inches from it, had struck the bottom first, and sustained the violence of the shock. So perchance it is to my venerable old granny I owe my life. I know not if the spirits of the dead hover round us, or if they trouble themselves at all The Secret of a Whirlpool. 177 about our welfare ; but I know that ever since my deliverance from that horrible abyss, I have treasured my gun as a precious souvenir. I have never parted with it, amid all my misfortunes, and I have it now hung up in my room, above my grandmother's watch, and often think of her when I look at it. But at that moment, however, I had little time for reflection, for my life was in peril. I could hear the trees falling along the shore, and could see their tall tops disappearing, like the wheat before the reaper's scythe. The disappearance of the neighbouring isles, the sight of the whirlpool, and the recollection of the one I had encountered, this immense dislodgment of trees, all these causes together made me dread some fresh mischance. I could not remain long where I was ; to speak the truth, I was afraid. I came down, and bent my steps towards that part of the isle which was most exposed to the flood. What I saw there, and what I experienced, will be the sub- ject of the next chapter — the last page of my history on this islet. From that time forward I have lived, not exactly like other people, for it appears as if I were fated to meet with adventures ; but, at any rate, I have always lived, more or less since, among my fellows. I am weary of talking so nmch of myself, and I am sure you are weary of hearing it, but being all alone, I had no one but myself to speak about. It was time for me to quit such isolation, and get back to human beings once more, where I could love and be loved, and find play for the affections of my nature. CHAPTER XII. WHAT THE SEA CAN DO — OMELETTES — A PIG'S GRATITUDE. HE time for contemplation was past. I got down, as I told you, from my watch-tower, and went towards the shore, to judge for myself what progress old ocean was making in his work of devastation. I wished to know how to act, whether to take my departure immediately, or go in more leisurely fa- shion when all my preparations were complete. I made all the haste I could, and soon came to the edge of the water, guided by the sound of the falling trees. But I found I could see nothing without running the risk of being carried away too, unless I went to the mangroves, which seemed still unmoved ; and looked, indeed, immovable, I had to go a considerable dis- tance, and at last lighted on a suitable place. The torrent of verdure in the morning had given place to a turbulent sea, which dashed against the island with indescribable violence. Already almost all the trees except the mangroves had been carried away. There was nothing left standing but a narrow W/iat the Sea can do. 179 border, and at the rapid rate this was falHng off, it was not difficult to foresee that the rest would speedily disappear in the same manner. It was terrible to look at ; only those who have seen the ocean in simi- lar circumstances can imagine its power when let loose. The waves were not unusually high, but they rushed against the islet like so many rams, and each time carried away a part of the forest. Though the coast was completely perpendicular, and full five feet high, the sea undermined the base, and leaped over here and there, covering it with debris. Lumps of the soil fell into the water every instant, and melted into mud. No matter how large or how small they were, they never checked the progress of the flood in the slightest degree. It always rolled back the same. The huge trunks borne along on its surface greatly accelerated the work of destruction. Old ocean hurled them in all directions, like the beams of a catapult, dragging down everything beneath their half-floating masses, and the next wave engulfing them again, with the ruins they had made. Ah ! the sea ! the sea ! when it begins to sweep over the land, truly only God can stay its progress. Every time a wave dashed against the earth on which a tree stood, it fell, earth and all. No matter how strong, or how loaded with bindweeds, no matter even how thick with foliage or with outbranching roots, it dropped down into the flood like the smallest saplings, and often even sooner. I saw it gradually N 2 i8o The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. get quite stripped of earth at one side, tremble from top to bottom like an oak before the woodman's axe, and fall forward beside the very trunks which had helped to unroot it. In half an hour I counted more than thirty large trees which met this fate, within a hundred yards. As for the shrubs, they slipped away in hundreds. I did not even hear them fall, and scarcely saw them disap- pear. Sometimes they slipped right off with all the earth still about their roots, and only fell down when they reached the flood ; sometimes, again, they re- mained partly on the shore, hanging on by bindweeds that had entwined themselves round their branches, and only floated away when the soil which contained the bindweeds had been dislodged too. Nothing in the world seemed able to arrest this devouring de- luge. I began to believe that the whole island would pass away thus, piece by piece, and I thought anxiously of my grove and my cabin while I stood watching. But gradually the sight of the mangroves where I was standing reassured me and helped me to look at things more calmly and quietly. Though the ocean had torn away the soil about them, and lashed against them in all its fury, and was even now foaming at my feet, all his efforts were in vain. Their waving tops bent forward and touched the water, but rose again immediately, like a field of wheat after the breeze has swept over it. Their roots were so twisted and so spreading that they covered the soil with a sort of W/iat the Sea can do. i8i invincible coat of mail, and made a long headland out in the sea. At both sides of this everything was rapidly falling away, but the headland itself stood firm, in spite of the dashing waves. Occasionally, some of the floating trees broke off branches here and there, but they dislodged nothing, and disappeared in the labyrinth of leaves. This passive but hitherto victorious resistance quieted my fears completely. As usual with me then, I always ran from one extreme to another, so I began to think that as far as I was concerned all danger was past, or was still so remote a possibility, that I might take things easily, for I had plenty of time to prepare for going away. Mad-brained fellow that I was ! I forgot the fate of the mangroves I had seen that very same morning, and said to myself that the fury of the ocean must be nearly spent, and that since these mangroves had held out so long they would hold out to the end, and so arrest the progress of destruction, as they surrounded two-thirds of the island. Besides, my cabin was more than a league distant from the flood, so I might sleep comfortably and make the necessary arrangements for food and safety that my dangerous voyage required. At the same time, the sight of this disorder and confusion in nature made me desire increasingly to be away from such unfortunately situated countries as these, where neither earth nor ocean could rest in peace. I quite determined to leave the next day, if wind and tide would permit, for going a journey on a 1 8 2 The A dventures of Robinson Playfellow. raft is vastly different to going on a steamboat ; one is obliged to consult the weather. As I returned to my cabin to commence preparations, my thoughts were so completely engrossed with my approaching departure, that I forgot to kill anything for dinner. It was quite dark then, my larder was empty, and I was famished. What was to be done 1 I went to the nearest snares, but they were empty too. I had no alternative, though it cost me a pang, but to " make a requisition " on my poultry yard. This had never happened before, for I could not bring myself to kill animals I had fed and reared, though I could shoot wild animals without feeling the least compassion for them. But my pupils and nurs- lings were quite different. Who ever heard of a bird- fancier making a meal off his canaries t And these agamis and monkeys, &c., were to me just like cana- ries, or King Charles's lap-dogs, almost indeed like children. They were the charm of my solitary life, and in rainy weather we used to have great talks together, on their side, perhaps, not uninfluenced by gastronomic hopes, but certainly quite disinterested on mine. Rather than kill one of my family, then, I would sooner in ordinary circumstances have fasted a whole day, and even if hunger had compelled me to such an act of cannibalism, I verily believe my stomach itself would have had twinges of remorse. Alas! who would have said then, that before long they would all perish beside me } Yes, all ! Those quack- ing ducks, which supplied me with eggs occasionally, Omelettes. 183 those hoccos with their plaintive cries, those agamis or water-fowl, with their exquisite plumage and such docile affectionate dispositions — all, even down to my monkeys, and my wild boar, that I had christened Master Portus — the good-tempered fellow that bore so patiently with all my cross moods, so long as he had his portion of pineapple and meat. He must share the common fate, in spite of his jolly look and bright eyes and corpulent dimensions, and loud grunts, which greeted me always in so flattering a manner. But I need not anticipate the death of all these poor victims ; that will come soon enough, and through me, though unintentionally on my part. I was hungry, and not inclined to be sentimental. Besides I was to go away the next day but one, and it was not at all likely that I should be able to carry my whole colony with me, and even if I could, what should I do with them when land was reached } Cer- tainly I was not going to carry them" on my back to Cayenne, so, without more ado, I laid hold of the largest duck, one weighing at least from six to eight pounds, and with one blow of my sabre cut off his head. The next business was to pick off the feathers, and while I was doing this, the thought struck me that I might as well indulge myself, after all the anxiety and alarm I had experienced that day, in a dish I never had but on grand occasions — an ome- lette ! " An omelette ! " you exclaim, and " pray what did you make it with, and what did you fry it in V 184 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. Well, I made it with pigeons' eggs, which I had found the night before in one of the little islets that had been carried off ; with turtle-fat, which is better than the finest fresh butter; with bacon, that is to say, with wild boar's flesh dried in the sun, which was not worth a rap ; and, lastly, I fried it in a pan, a real frying-pan, made of violet ebony. Here again you will interrupt me, I am sure, and say I am romancing altogether, for violet ebony is used for making inlaid chairs, and not kitchen utensils. My reply is that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, that on a desert island one is glad to make shift with anything, and as I had abundance of wood to choose from, and no iron, I used violet ebony. It answered the purpose very well too, when it did not take fire over the making of each omelette. Still, anyhow, you see it was a frying-pan after all. Besides, I might easily enough heat fat in wood, when I have even sometimes shaved myself with water heated in a paper bag. I not only made a frying-pan, but a saucepan out of this same material, which last foolishly caught fire and went to pieces the first time I used it. This led me to spread clay all over my frying-pan, inside and out ; and my experi- ment proved successful, — my pan was quite fire-proof However, I used it very seldom, knowing its frailty, and for a better reason still, neither eggs nor turtle-fat were every-day luxuries. The duck and the omelette and the pineapple wine made me a famous supper, and, to crown my felicity A Surprise. 185 I treated myself to another extra indulgence, — I smoked two pipes. I had found several sorts of pipes in my trunk, and a small stock of tobacco, — so small that I hoarded it like gol-d, and only allowed myself one pipe a week. But I had only one day longer here now, so what did it matter ? Who husbands his stores when he has passed the Rubicon ? I smoked two pipes, one after the other, enjoying each puff as if I were sipping nectar, in spite of the mouldy taste and smell of my tobacco. Then I fell asleep, con- tented in body and mind, and no more mindful of coming danger than a swallow in summer thinks of the perils of the coming autumn. As usual, I was up at earliest dawn, and soon dressed — that is to say, donned my customary habili- ments, trousers and hat. Off I set down my tree ; but I had no sooner reached the bottom than I was up to my ankles in water at once ! However, this did not so much astonish me, as it was a common occurrence after rainy nights, so I started forward towards my raft ; but each step I sank deeper, and would have been fairly up to my neck, but for the roots I came against constantly. I began to look about me at the trees, and found there was not a drop of rain on any of them, though the ground was soaking. Here and there heaps of leaves and sticks were lying, as on the banks of rivers after a high tide has gone down. The sea had been at work, it was evident, and had perhaps been dashing against my grove all night, while I had been sleeping 1 86 TJie A dventiires of Robinson Playfellow. like a log after my heavy supper. The enclosure I had made of branches for my poultry-yard, a few steps from my cabin, had sunk more than a foot deep in mud. All the birds it contained, about twenty or thirty, had flown up to their highest perches, and sat motionless and silent instead of making their usual noisy demonstrations when I entered. The pig — which I had kept fastened up for a few days back, as I had seen a jaguar prowling about, was wallowing in the mud in the highest state of delectation ; and a young tapir I had captured recently was standing with his fore-paws up against a tree, while the hind ones had stuck fast in the ground up to his haunches. I looked towards the prairie. Some of the smaller trees which skirted my grove, that were standing firm enough the night before, now lay stretched on the ground. I managed to get to them, though with some difficulty, but when I saw the whole plain nearer, what a scene of desolation met my gaze ! As far as my eye could reach, the entire prairie was covered with pools of water. The lake had changed into a wide muddy torrent full of grass and trees. Two of the little groves that, only the night before, had gemmed the plain with their bright verdure, now lay in confused heaps as if they had just been felled by the woodman's axe. Another grove was in the very act of falling ; and, in the distance, I could watch the trees slowly totter and sink down in the mud. Here and there I could see the wild animals standing motionless as if struck with sudden paralysis. New Resolutions. 187 Their legs had stuck fast into the soil, and it was impossible for the poor creatures to extricate them- selves. I remember among them there was a large stag, with enormous antlers, that kept stretching out his neck towards me, braying piteously as if implor- ing help. For several minutes I stood petrified. But I had no time to lose. The avalanche had evidently swept over my island, tearing up the soil and threatening to carry all away. My best plan was to get to my raft as quick as possible, and be off. But where } That was the question. If the sea were in the same state as the night before, how could I ever reach the land against such a current t How could my frail raft float on such waves } Indeed, how was I even to reach my raft across a plain where the wild beasts themselves could find no footing } For more than an hour I felt lost in a whirl of irreso- lution, tossed about in a crowd of conflicting projects, not knowing what to decide upon. Again there rose to mental vision that dread procession I had seen pass by the day before, and I, too, was being carried away in its train, and suffocated in the mud. I shrank back from the danger, and gave up all thoughts of departure ; but next minute the cries of the poor animals round me filled my ears, and, as I watched their pitiable plight, I felt impelled to rush away lest I too should be entombed alive. Which should I do then — go or stay } At last I sat down on a root, determined to try to 1 88 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. calm myself and think matters quietly over, knowing by experience that nothing is so disastrous as to act without reflection. In about a quarter of an hour I had made up my mind, and this is what I fixed upon. There was no doubt my islet was going as the other two had gone, and perhaps others still, both older and larger, to judge by the trees and soil I had already seen borne along by the avalanche. To stay, then, would be simply to share the fate of those poor animals about me ; and, perhaps, this very day. At all risks I must get to my raft. Again I tried to cross the plain ; but, at the tenth step, in I was, up to the waist. If it had not been for my gun, which helped me to get on to a root, and back to the grove, I verily believe all my journeyings would have been over. However, I would not allow myself to get dis- heartened or dismayed, but came back once more to my tree ; for I recollected having read in some story of travels in South America, about a party of hunters falling into the mud of the Amazon, and how they had extricated themselves by the help of boards ; and I recollected, too, having seen at home in a friend's house a pair of snow shoes, made of reindeer's skin, which had been brought from Canada, where people fasten them on their feet as the Dutch do their skates, and in that manner go over great masses of snow without sinking in it. These two facts came into my head almost at the same moment, and suggested the means of deliverance. iPONTe.Kli£.:. '* The idea was capital ; my experiment proved a complete success. Pa^e 189. New Resolutions. 189 I climbed up immediately into my cabin, and, taking the plank I had used on the anchor for my hard bed, I divided it into four pieces ; one I secured to each foot, and the others to the ends of the long poles I had employed in drilling my monkeys and training them to perform different exercises. After a preliminary trial in the grove, I started off boldly — to sink or swim. The idea was capital : my experiment proved a complete success. A good part of two miles had to be gone over in this fashion before I could reach the mangroves, and find, as I hoped, firm ground. It took me several hours, and I was so spent with fatigue that two or three times I had to sit down and rest on the trunks or roots of trees ; for the soil clung about my feet, or rather about the boards, at every step, and I had to make constant efforts to extricate myself Five or six times I fell in, in spite of all ; but at length, exhausted enough, dripping with perspiration, and covered with mud from head to foot, I arrived at the mangroves. After a little rest and a dinner off oysters, which I opened with the point of my sabre, I resumed my route. The ground was firm, as it consisted entirely of roots. Keeping along the shore under cover of the trees, I soon reached my raft, and went imme- diately to ascertain the state of the sea. It was quite as tempestuous as it had been the night before, and to risk my frail bark upon it was out of the question. The wind, moreover, was dead against me, so I came back to my fishing hut, supped on a heron, and, by 1 90 The A dventures of Robinson Playfellow, dint of sheer volition, slept a good part of the night. With the earliest morn I returned to the sea, but the weather was still unchanged. There was nothing for it but to wait ; so I bent my steps towards the prairie side of the mangroves, to look if my grove was still standing, and how much remained of the interior of the island. Alas ! it was not much, I assure you. The sea had evidently been going on with the work of demolition all the preceding night and day. The isle was com- pletely in two now; victorious ocean had made a wide channel right through the green border of mangroves. Worse still, its waves had rushed on all sides over the savannah, tearing up the soil, and continually spreading, till nearly all the groves were laid low, notwithstanding their elevation. Over a surface of many miles there was nothing left standing but the broken belt of mangroves and three fragments of groves, one of which I recognised as mine. As for my observatory, my noble palm, and the clump of trees round it, and the thirty or forty little islets of verdure that had dotted the plain itself and the forest by the shore, the sea had buried all. As for the plain itself, one vast sheet of water enveloped the whole. Here and there, there might be a little green heap, solitary vestiges of the vanished groves, and the thousands of trees that but yesterday waved their tall branches in the breeze. This was all that remained of this bright oasis, so beautiful but a few New Resolutions, iqi hours ago, so rich in verdure, so teeming with Hfe, with the warm glowing animated Hfe of a tropical region. Gloomy silence reigned everywhere, only broken by the monotonous roar of the ocean. Not a bird was visible in the air, not a fish leaped up in the earthy water; there was nothing but a sheet of mud, a curtain of trees around it, and a torrent rushing through. A feeling of indescribable sadness came over me ; some such feeling, I imagine, as the dwellers in our mountain valleys must experience after an avalanche has swept down over their little homesteads. But this was a worse calamity than theirs, for the poor peasant comes back, and perhaps finds his cot- tage still there, or, at any rate, the ground where it stood ; but for me there was no coming back. Cot- tage and ground too were disappearing ; and in a few days, or perhaps even a few hours, the mangroves themselves would be forced to yield, and lie down in their turn. Nought then would remain, not so much as a name of the island on which I had spent a whole year and more of my life ! I went back among the trees, feeling as sad as if I had just returned from the funeral of some member of my family. Never before had my isle been so dear to me. This very sadness, however, inspired me with the desire to make the most of the time while my grove and cabin still stood, by going on my raft, and taking away what remained of my goods and chattels. I 192 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. soon managed to get out my raft from under the mangroves, and began to try to float it over what had so lately been long waving grass on firm soil. Except where the lake had been, changed now into a wild torrent, there was a dead calm everywhere. As I neared the grove a strange, half-timid, awe- struck feeling crept over my heart, much as if I had been a poor wanderer returning to a beloved home after long absence, and almost afraid to cross the threshold. I was silently reproaching myself, too, for not having thought of my helpless pensioners before my departure, as they must be either dead by now, or dying of starvation. Pushing my raft as close to the trees as possible, I timidly set foot on the ground, fearing to sink in the mud. However, it was no worse than when I had left ; so I tied up my raft, and with anxious steps repaired to the tree where I had fixed my cabin. The boar, and tapir, and birds were all just as I had left them. The poor birds had eaten nothing for two days, and looked very languid and crestfallen, though they found strength and throat enough to hail my arrival with the liveliest demonstrations of wel- come. I gave them some manioc roots at once, for I had a little store close beside the enclosure. The boar and the tapir were both lying in the mud, and gave no sign of life except a slight movement of their heads in breathing. They did not rouse themselves the least at my approach ; and Master Portus did not Success crowns my Efforts. 193 even appear to recognize me, though this was not much to be wondered at, as my hands were empty. I climbed up to my cabin. Everything there, too, was just as I left it. The two monkeys, who shared my quarters by a sort of birthright, welcomed me with superhuman gambols. I gave them some nuts, and then determining to profit by the unlooked-for preser- vation of my cabin, I carried down as much as I could, and deposited it on my raft, together with my birds and monkeys. I wanted to take the boar as well,, but the moment Master Portus found himself at liberty, he began to burrow in the mud, and at last foraged out a great bone, with which he scampered off to- wards the middle of the grove, and I saw no more of him. I had other work to do than running after him, so I released the tapir too, and went back to my raft. I thought first of setting off immediately, and getting to the mangroves again with daylight, intend- ing to pass the night in my fishing-hut. But I was loath to leave my cabin, and, allowing feeling to get the better of judgment, I resolved to stay there one night longer, while waiting for the wind to shift. It was running a risk I knew, and endangering my raft, for it might be dashed to pieces in the night ; but who that has the heart of a man ever quitted his house, or his ship, at the first breath of a tempest ? Who would not turn round, again and again, in leaving a cherished spot for ever, to take a last look } o 194 'I^^i^ Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. I distributed among my family the body of a poor thing that had been drowned, and they devoured it so ravenously, that nothing was left but the wing feathers. The next business was to make my raft secure in the driest place I could find, where it would be least exposed to trees falling on it. This done, I had my supper off a second duck, and then lay down to sleep. But sleep would not come at my bidding this time, and I lay awake all night, listening to the distant moan of the sea, or lost in memories of the past, going over all my past life. Suddenly the thought struck me to leave some trace, at least, behind me of my sojourn on the island, passing away though it was, or perhaps under- going a process of reconstruction, preparatory to becoming the germ of some immense new continent. I took out my knife, and wrote slowly on the trunk of the tree against which my cabin leaned, in great letters an inch deep, the following inscription : — " I stayed on this island from November 25th, 1826, to March i6th, 1828. In leaving it, I take possession of it in the name of my country, and give it the name of Caroline. "Robinson Playfellow, " Soldier in 3rd Company of Marine." Daybreak surprised me as I finished this task. I set off at once, for the sun was rising gloriously, and the wind was favourable. The fishing-hut was re- Successc rowns my Efforts. 195 gained without difficulty, and from thence I steered towards the open sea. A promise of renewed life seemed whispering through all nature, as well as in my own heart, and I ventured to put up my sail. A gentle breeze caught it at once, and, in spite of an adverse current, I saw myself steadily advancing towards the mainland. o 2 CHAPTER XIII. A VOYAGE ON A RAFT — LAND AT LAST! — FRESH CALAMITIES FOR POOR ROBIN. rn^i OR about three hours I kept slowly sailing on, always getting nearer the coast, though I could not catch the faintest outline of it yet ; and turning round at intervals to gaze at the remains of my island, that I might judge of my progress by its increasing distance, and also bestow on it a farewell look. By degrees the mangroves began to grow indistinct, and their outlines assumed strange dis- torted shapes. Only the tops were visible; thick mist rose from the waves, and veiled their base ; and again the mirage wrought its magic, and made them look as if hovering in the air. At length all was out of sight. Fog, and sea, and distance had completely carried away my island. Once more I found myself alone on the wide ocean, with no horizon but sky and waves. In those three hours I must have gone, I suppose, a league, or perhaps two at most ; very little com- pared with the length I had to go — ten leagues fully On my Raft again. 197 in my reckoning, but a great deal against an opposite current^ and with a bark so slow as mine. Besides, I was sanguine of success, which is a wonderful help both on sea and land. I had confidence in the firm- ness of my resolve to reach land, come what might ; and I had confidence above all in Providence, which I could not but believe had saved me too many times already, to let me perish now. I had been so long preparing for this voyage that, piece by piece, I had converted my raft into a sort of ship, fit to stand the sea, even in heavy weather. My primitive raft had vanished by degrees like the dreams of boyhood ; like life altogether. Nothing remained of it but a few of the cords. For planks now, I had regular wood, trunks of balsam-trees, which I had found lying on the shore, and which I discovered later came from Peru, where they are also employed for rafts in going up and down the rivers. I had also invented a movable keel, and a rudder, a sort of capstan, three anchors, and a small mast, with two sails of fine matting, which caught the wind quite as well as the ordinary canvas. The shape of my craft you must imagine, for it was like nothing I have ever seen. It was just a collection of floating wood without any given form, and as slow as a tortoise. But I had tested its powers several times in my bay, in pretty bad weather, and found it quite steady on the water, and able to sail with the wind about as quick as I could walk. Best of all, I could stay on it several days if necessary, 198 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. for it was strong enough not only to carry me and my live stock, but as many provisions also as I chose to embark. I took everything I wanted, even to fresh water in the hollow trunk of a tree. So much for the capabilities of my raft, though I must confess it was a queer-looking affair ; something between a Chinese junk and a Dutch-built ship. At the end of three hours the wind fell entirely, and I was obliged to cast anchor to save myself from, being carried back by the tide. This was a critical moment. Would my anchors hold fast or not t All depended on this, so much so, that I had taken the precaution to bring three, and I had made each with the utmost care out of the strongest pieces of wood I could find. Into one I had even taken the pains to run a couple of pounds of lead, the greater part of all that remained for hunting. I had driven great prongs into all of them, or rather sharp-pointed teeth, to catch the firmer. But still, I knew how likely it was that all my trouble would go for nothing, and that one iron grappling-hook would be worth all my wooden inventions. You can imagine my delight then when I found the very first anchor strong enough to stop my progress at once. By the ordinary laws of tides I had several hours to wait, so I took the opportunity of seeing after some breakfast for myself and my companions. I had brought away with me a couple of agoutis I found among the mangroves, one drowned and the other drowning. The dead one I cut up for my Description of my Journey. 199 household, and the other I cooked for myself on my fishing-stove — a large tortoiseshell filled with earth, on which I used to make my fire and roast my dinner when I went out fishing. After my repast, I thought I would aid digestion by indulging in a nap, but it was only a cat's sleep, with one eye open, for I had to watch wind and tide so as not to lose a chance. A sudden swinging movement of the raft, as the tide changed, roused me completely. I raised anchon and hauled up with great difficulty, in spite of my capstan. While I was arranging it, I saw a troop of animals coming straight towards me on the sea, grunting like pigs, and pigs indeed I soon discovered they were. They were evidently from my island, and formed a sort of triangle on the water, just as geese do in flying. When I first caught sight of them, they were a long way off, but their swimming was so rapid, that in a few minutes they were almost up to me. When within forty or fifty yards, the leader seemed to hesitate, and disorder began in their ranks. They formed a semicircle round my raft, and I could hear a most significant grunting going on, as if to say they had been deceived ; evidently they had taken me for land, or tree, or some object at any rate on which they could rest. This was not at all a spectacle of unusual occur- rence. Round my isle, and especially in the bay I have mentioned, I had frequently both seen and killed animals in the sea on their way from one shore to 200 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. another ; but the South American wild boar is not a whit more amiable than ours at home, and, though small in size, they are about as formidable to en- counter as any denizens of the forest. Singly, they are not more dangerous than common English pigs ; but they nearly always go in herds, varying in number from twenty to a thousand, and even more, and spend all the time, when not eating, in sharpening their tusks on roots or trees. Should the slightest trifle irritate one of them, the whole troop will dart on the offend- ing object, without any motive but passionate revenge, and so simultaneously that the shock is perfectly ir- resistible. The enemy is thrown down at the first rush, and lacerated with their tusks, and devoured, whether it be animal or vegetable, root, man, or jaguar. One day, in the lake, I was knocked down by a herd of this sort, and, though not eaten, only saved myself by a timely dive to the bottom. I knew my gentry. For some minutes I contented myself with a close observation of my new travelling companions. Evi- dently they were debating about me and my raft ; all the while, too, displaying the most marked tokens of hostility. They seemed to entertain the idea of boarding my bark, or destroying it, and kept turning round and round, and grunting, as if to work them- selves up to the requisite pitch of excitement. "A scalded cat dreads cold water," and I thought it was time to draw my sabre, and shoulder my gun. On second thoughts, however, I fancied that perhaps some Description of my JoiLrney. 201 physical display of strength might frighten them more than the report of a gun ; so I began to strike the water with my oars, and make as much noise and splash as I could. Such decisive action on my part either terrified them from attempting any aggressive measures, or they had more important business in hand, and could not waste longer time on me, for I saw them draw up in rank again, and after a great deal of grunting, which apparently ended in the unanimous resolve to go on, they began to swim away towards the main- land, like myself, keeping so closely together that at a distance you could have fancied it was some enor- mous fish you were watching, I thought I had got quite clear of them when, just as they passed across in front of me, I noticed one fall back from the rest and make straight for the raft. Here was a supper I did not expect. Seizing my gun I took aim at his head, waiting till he should come near enough to fire. But next minute I recognized my old friend Portus by the cord round his neck, which he was dragging in tow. Down went my gun, and, forgetting all the shortcomings of my prodigal, I helped him to get up on the raft, where he coolly settled himself in a corner, as if he had lived there all his life. His companions continued swimming before me, but so much quicker than my raft that in a few minutes I had lost sight of them completely. It was evident we were all making for the same shore, and that their 202 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. instinct not only told them where land was, but how to go to it, and the best time to choose for the journey. This was one of the most curious specimens of animal migration I have ever seen, and one which, to my thinking, would be enough in itself to prove the divine intervention in the concerns of this lower world. Some will say it is all mere chance; but is it chance which, at an appointed time, according to the wants of the species, impels men towards the New World, and swallows towards the south, and peccaries towards land } Is it chance which rules all nature, from the humming insect in the grass to the sun in the heavens, which maintains all in more perfect order than any machinery could ever approach 1 Is it chance which created us, and guides us from our cradle to the grave.-* Ah! if this be chance there must surely be somewhere a divine hand controlling it. This occurrence gave me fresh courage, and, after trimming my sails, I began to row again vigorously. But I made very little progress, do as I would ; and but for the current which carried me forwards I should have been days on the journey at the rate I was going. My oars were too light, and hardly made their in- fluence felt, and there was next to no wind, scarcely enough to move the long grass that fringed my sails. Yet, apart from the slowness, I was making a pretty fair voyage. The sea was good ; there was no adverse current, and few floating trees, and my raft sailed ad- mirably. Towards evening I anchored again, and soon after, night came on ; but I had been so long Land at last. 203 preparing and planning for this voyage that I had made provision for the possible necessity of passing a night on the sea, so I was not in the least disconcerted. I watched the stars too, and had made observations, and had no difficulty in finding the right direction. Still it was so easy to make a mistake in the dark that when the tide set me in motion again, I could not help feeling some anxiety, and all the more as our speed had increased. At last day appeared, and as soon as it was light enough I climbed to the top of the mast, which was more than thirty feet high, and there, resting my feet for support on a wooden ledge I had nailed on for the very purpose, I waited for the sunrise. It came at length, though slowly, but as the light increased land appeared right in front of me, almost as if quite close. Overwhelmed with joy, I hastened down; and, fatigued though I was, and worse still, in considerable bodily suffering, I eagerly seized my oars. At the end of an hour I climbed up again, for I could see nothing on a level with the raft but something green. From this higher position, however, I could now discover trees, and could even tell they were not mangroves. The sun was shining on them, and through the glass I could see their trunks. I returned to my rowing with feverish haste, after feeding my live stock and taking a snack myself, of salt meat that had been cooked during the night. But it was useless ; the tide was contrary, and I was forced to cast anchor, whether I would or no. At last 204 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. I recommenced my voyage, and in less than an hour I found myself so near the land that I could count the trees. For a good long time I had to keep along the shore without disembarking. The tide was dashing in so violently, dislodging trees every now and then, that I should have incurred the double risk of my raft being broken to pieces by the falling of these trees or the force of the waves. In many places, too, the water was so shallow that my bark stuck fast in mud, and had to be extricated with the help of the boat-hook, so I had no alternative but to stand out again from the shore till I chanced to light on the mouth of a river, and glided into it at once. Here I got on very quickly, thanks to the tide and the wind that accom- panied it. The river was bordered on both sides with trees, growing so regularly that they seemed as if planted, but between their trunks I could catch glimpses of a far-stretching plain much resembling the island I had left. You may imagine with what pleasure I set foot on shore, for, suffering though I was even then, I little anticipated what I had to come through subsequently. I went far into the prairie before I got off the raft, hoping to discover some dwelling, or at least some traces of human beings. But I could perceive neither cabin nor plantation, nor even animal, not a sign of life anywhere. As far as my eye could reach all I saw was a vast undulating plain covered with grass and lakes, or rather marshes wherever there was a hollow, Sails up the River. 205 and clumps of trees wherever there was a hillock. I crossed to the other shore, but it was just the same. I killed a few parrots for our breakfast, and returned to the raft. The river I was ascending appeared to come down from the north-east, that is from French Guiana. By following its course I might certainly be going over unnecessary ground, but it seemed to me a route that would be most likely to bring me among human beings. I did not know then that you might travel hundreds of miles across the South American continent without meeting a living creature. I passed eighteen days myself in a journey which I once made through Lower Peru, travelling the whole day without coming across a single individual, not even a wander- ing Indian. On this coast from where I was to Mapa, more than thirty leagues' distance, I might have walked for weeks without finding either house or human being. Seeing my ignorance of the country, my best course appeared to continue going up the river rather than along the coast. As for venturing on foot over those boundless pampas, their terrible monotony and half inundated condition, had already made me think the journey to Cayenne less easy than I had imagined. Besides, if I stayed on my raft, I need not yet leave my goods and live stock, which any other course would absolutely necessitate, for in a real desert one finds neither horses nor mules, nor Indian carriers ; a man must carry all he wants on his back. This route too would best suit my bodily condition, which was far from satisfactory. The climate and bad food, and 2o6 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. the varied emotions I had experienced during these last fifteen months of dreary soHtude, had greatly affected my health : I had been unwell for nearly six weeks, not seriously as yet, but still from a malady which is very common and often fatal in new coun- tries — I had begun to suffer from" attacks of dy- sentery. I went back to my raft then, and, taking advantage of wind and tide while they lasted, continued my journey up the river. My raft was now quite a com- fortable habitation, though it was a slow sailor. On the river, sheltered from the violence of the waves, and floating quietly with the current, it was almost as cosy a place as my nest in the tree. I had constructed a regular cabin too, to protect myself from the rain and the sun, large enough to allow me to lie down full length, and high enough to sit upright in. In this I had arranged all my things, so as to have them within reach — my provisions and goods, and kitchen utensils. The trees on shore supplied me with fuel, and I had fresh water in abundance all round me. Truly there is no lack of water in South America : even in the very heart of the Cordilleras, a thousand leagues from the ocean, there are scores of rivers, each containing more water, singly, than all the rivers put together on some continents ; but I did not know this then, and I had endured so much from thirst that the fresh water was an additional inducement to stay on the river. It was monotonous work, however, for I saw nothing hour after hour but the stiff row of trees on the banks, Sails up the River. 20/ and the interminable prairie behind. I sailed with the tide as long as it lasted, not troubling myself much about the landscape ; but only gazing in search of one thing, one only in all the horizon — some trace of a human being 1 Alas ! I was like Sister Ann in " Blue- beard." I looked and looked, but there was " nobody coming." When the tide ebbed out again, I moored my raft to a tree, and tried to sleep. As night came on the mosquitoes commenced operations so vigorously that I was obliged to put up my mosquito-curtain. This was another of my contrivances, and though badly shaped and badly sewed, it answered the pur- pose capitally, effectually shielding me from the tor- menting attacks of the little plagues, and yet not depriving me of air, though it covered the whole, or very nearly, of the inside of my cabin. It w^as made of gauze, if you please, of gauze my mother had packed up in my trunk in case I should need poul- tices. Poor dear mother ! If she had only seen how her boy was suffering she would have spent day and night in prayers and tears. Four days passed in precisely the same fashion. I came across five or six beautiful lakes ; but no villas adorned their smooth banks. Whenever the tide was full their waters overflowed and inundated the whole plain, so that as far as you could see there was nothing but water. Instead of parrots, I had to kill water-fowl for food, herons and ducks, and fish especially, of which there was such an abundance that I really think I could 2o8 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. have caught them with my hand. Each day my pro- gress was less, for illness made rapid strides, and weakened body and mind. The days passed in the same unvarying round : sailing with the tide, and resting when it ebbed, employing the intervals in shooting and fishing, and cooking, and too often in suffering. I was not getting on very fast at this rate, you may suppose ; but still it was faster than I could have walked. Walked, indeed ! I could not have done that at all ; all the ground was covered with water more or less, with a few trees scattered here and there. Besides my disease was gaining ground so rapidly, as it always does when it approaches a crisis, that I had scarcely strength left to go on shore a little every day. I just managed to drag one leg after the other among the grass and water, till I had gathered enough wood for my fire or killed something for a meal, and then got back to my raft as quickly as possible. From the beginning of the second day I had quite lost the thread of the river in the inextricable network of narrow channels, and lakes, and morasses, and all sorts of streams, in which I found myself more and more entangled. It would have needed Ariadne her- self to find her way through such a labyrinth. All I could do was to keep as steadily as I could to the north-east, so as to avoid both the sea-coast and Bra- zil. I often got into parts where the water was too shallow, or the passage too narrow, and I could not Fresh Trials and Sufferings. 209 get on at all ; and oftener still I found from the sun that the channel I had entered deviated from the right course, east or west. Then I had to get out of it, and this was a difficult business. I was obliged to catch fast hold of the trees with a sort of boat-hook made of wood, which I had contrived for the purpose, and frequently found more serviceable than my oars. For eleven whole days — eleven days of languor, and fatigue, and suffering — I wandered on without meeting a soul. The river, which was always fresh and a little muddy, but quite free from obstructions, seemed from this time to run in all directions without any fixed course, like sheep without a shepherd, or soldiers without a general. I often got into a narrow channel when opposite tides would come in, of course neutralizing the current and keeping me motionless till the stronger triumphed and drove out the other and me with it. I do not think it would be possible to find elsewhere, or even to imagine, such caprice and disorder and irregularity as prevails amongst the streams of these regions. Perhaps it is that in the adolescence of nature, as well as of nations and indi- viduals, there is almost always, as if of necessity, im- petuosity and wildness, and even excess. The eleventh day I did not loose my raft from the moorings at all ; illness had so exhausted me that I had no strength to steer it. I was not only shrunk and emaciated, a perfect spectre, literally a living skeleton, but my physical strength was gone. Day by day I felt my mental powers decaying also, for 210 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. there is more truth than we think in the doctrine of a " sound mind in a sound body." Two things, however, helped to keep alive in me that energy of purpose which has saved me from so many misfortunes to which my wandering life has exposed me. I could not endure the thought of leaving my remains on this flooded soil — I must at least return to France to die. The thought, too, of closing my eyes without bidding my mother farewell was anguish. The approach of death and the paroxysms of excruciating pain I endured were nothing compared to this ; I could bear both with pious resignation. All I longed for was to see my mother once more, and to die at home in my own native land under the sky of France ; to sleep with my father in the family grave, and not lie down among this mud without even a cross over me. However, we must resign ourselves to everything in this world of trial, and live as God wills, and die where and when He wills. Never yet have I met a single human being who had succeeded in making life just what he desired, and certainly not one who was not obliged to go when his time came. Towards the afternoon of the twelfth day my last hour seemed near. I had been unable to walk since the night before, even to drag myself along by hold- ing on. I set all my animals and birds at liberty ; but, alas ! poor creatures, it was too late. They were so weak and ill from having insufficient and improper food — for I was not able to go hunting or fishing, and Fate of Pets, 211 could give them nothing but salt meat, and little enough of that — that like their selfish master they were all either dead or dying. Poor things ! It will be long before I forget the sight of them on that last day. The monkeys tried to get up into the tree to which the raft was moored, the moment I cut the ropes. One managed to succeed, and, exhausted though he was, swung him- self up to a cross-way branch ; but then his strength failed him, and he fell on the raft and dropped into the river ; the other could not climb at all. Master Portus had died through gormandising on the fifth day after we entered the river. I had captured on the hook an enormous fish, weighing at least thirty pounds ; but I was too feeble to haul it up till it was dead. At last I managed it, and after cutting off a piece to make soup for my dinner, and giving a lump to the monkeys and the birds, I left the rest to Portus. With his usual voracity he made a clean sweep of it, hook and all. This hook, which was very large and attached to a little chain, must have stuck in the poor beast's palate, I imagine, to judge from the contortions of his face and his struggles over it ; but he was too clumsy with his paws to succeed in pulling it out, and I was too weak to help him in the least. After two hours of mortal agony, I heard the death-rattle in his throat, and saw him stretch himself out and expire. The birds began to depart this life one after the other from the time they were obliged to feed on salt meat, and when I opened the cage to set the rest at 212 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. liberty, nothing remained alive except the jacami, a sort of yellow starling. Poor little thing ! The sight of me was evidently more welcome than freedom, for it began immediately to peck my empty hand, as it used to do every day when I fed it, and then tottering forward on its little feeble legs lay down on the grass beside me, outside my cabin, and died there during the night. I was so exhausted and indifferent to sur- rounding objects, that I let it remain there a prey to the flies and worms which speedily claimed possession of the body, or rather skeleton, for it might have rivalled me in lack of flesh. Poor, poor creatures ! Loved companions of my solitude ! when I think how they all perished through me, through my not having liberated them soon enough, a feeling of self-reproach, almost of remorse, comes over me. Yet it was only partially my fault, after all. I had been dying by inches for days, and still doing my best for them, though that best was but slow starvation. In a few hours more I should follow them, and fall asleep to wake in another life. On the thirteenth day I felt myself fast going. For the last two days it was as much as I could sit up at all, and now I felt my senses wander. The torpor of death had already begun to steal over me, and I was lying in a half-unconscious state, when it seemed to me as if some hand silently raised my head, and made me drink something warm out of a cup. I was helpless as an infant in a nurse's arms, and drank as passively. Then it seemed as if this "It seemed to me as if some hand silently raised my head, and made me drink something warm out of a cup." Page 212, Strange Discoveries. 213 same hand put down another cupful beside me, waved me a farewell, and disappeared, and I could almost fancy I felt the raft move as if some one had jumped on shore. I woke up as from a dream, half doubting whether I was not already in another state of existence. But suffering roused me immediately to the sad reality. Still, I was conscious of an unusual clearness that had come over sight and brain, and made me notice sur- rounding objects as I had not done for many a day. The sun was setting in the waters of a lake which reflected the trees on the shore. His golden beams threw a flood of radiance over all around, investing everything with wondrous beauty. Every tree was in full leaf, every branch was in blossom, and the sweetest odours perfumed the air. Just above my head from the topmost branches of an acacia, to which my raft was fastened, lovely bunches of pink flowers hung down like promises ; and now and then when a passing gust of wind or the light wing of a bird brushed by them, the loosened petals would drop down into the river, and on me too, as if nature would bury me in blossoms. The blue-winged kingfishers were flying backwards and forwards ; two beautiful monakins were pecking each other on one of the lower branches, and on the higher ones a flight of paroquets had lighted, shaking the leaves like a spring breeze. Humming-birds were constantly flitting to and fro, and a great butterfly, with wings more trans- parent than gauze, hovered over the grass on which I 2 1 4 The A dventures of Robinson Playfellow. was lying, stopping to rest on me at intervals. I felt strangely affected with the beauty of the scene. The glow of sunset, the balmy odours, the songs of the birds, and all the charm of this virgin nature seemed to flood my being like the sweet effluence of perfect love. I gazed sadly on this glorious world I was about to leave, and was loath to go. Again I thought of my mother and my native land, and at last buried my head among the grass on which I lay, fearing to unman my- self by vain regrets. But against my will, I felt impelled to look up once more. Could my dream be true after all ? I looked at the side where I fancied I had seen the cup set down. The cup was there 1 With trembling hands I lifted it to my lips and drank a long draught. It was still warm, and tasted sweet. There was no room for doubt now. After repeated attempts, I managed with great difficulty to sit up and look about on all sides. But I could discover nothing. There was a straw hat, however, lying beside me of extremely fine texture, and with instincts sharpened by illness, I knew by a sort of intuition that it belonged to a woman. I felt I was saved. In the course of my adventurous life, it has always been my fate, whenever I got into any great strait, to be delivered by the hands of a woman. From this moment I had a presentiment of her existence— I felt I was saved ! CHAPTER XIV. robin's hostess — HER PREVIOUS HISTORY — woman's tact. ^■^ PASSED a comparatively good night, thanks partly to the beverage I had drunk, and still more to the reaction produced on my phy- sical nature. I had several hours' sleep, and waited for daylight impatiently enough, cer- tainly, but not in any great bodily suffering. I felt sure the woman who had saved my life would come back, not only to see how her efforts had succeeded, but also to fetch her hat. My conjecture was right, for it was hardly morning before the gentle splash of a canoe fell on my ear, and next minute |I felt a light foot jump on my raft, and a woman made her appearance. She was still young, and had a soft gentle face, though peculiar and foreign-looking. A striped bandana was knotted round her head in creole fashion, and she wore a red jacket open in front, and a long strip of cotton folded round her waist and hanging down to her knees. Her first act was to pick up her hat and put it on over her handkerchief, and then she said something 2i6 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, I could not understand to a third party who was evidently in the boat. A fresh young voice re- plied, — " Me said that^ and Venfirmo^ como sta f Sta dead?'' I did not understand their language, and yet I could make out they were talking about me, and the youngster was asking if I was still alive. Meantime my visitor had come close up to me, and just as she was bending down to lift the cup at my side I held out my hand, and taking my cue from the child's words, said, — " The dead man is better, thanks to you for saving me. She let go my hand, and holding up both her arms, called out to the child, — " Venca, venca^ little motm, li French, good white, not Potugueze at all, at all. Li paU French, mai la French, como bianco di Pali paler Before she had done speaking, a child about twelve years old, very like his mother, as sons often are, leaped on board the raft, and came towards me, and next instant both mother and child overwhelmed me with a flood of eloquence of which I could not under- stand a syllable except the words " Braziliero and Potugueze," which I knew must mean " Brazilian and Portuguese," and from the frequent repetition of these names and their angry gestures I concluded that neither nation was much in favour with these new-comers. Robin's Hostess. 217 At length, with great difficulty, I managed to make my voice heard, and told them in the best nigger French I could put together that I could not make out what they were saying. They repeated my words two or three times, and then the child exclaimed, — " The pai right ! Li pa pale French. He Potii- guezer The mother looked doubtful, and, turning towards me, said as slowly as possible, but in the same out- landish gibberish, — " Diga, to French or Brazileiror I burst out laughing, and forgetting my nigger patois, said, — " French, an out-and-out Frenchman, born in Paris, and a soldier in the 3rd Regiment of Marines. Mother and child simultaneously held out their hands, and both began to chatter together again as unintelligibly as before, till at last the mother silenced the boy's voluble tongue, and asked me how I came there. I replied as briefly as possible, for I wished to know who was my interrogator, and besides I was quite exhausted already with having talked so much. Probably with that instinctive quickness of percep- tion which belongs to a woman's sensitive nature, she saw both my wish and my weakness, for she got the boy to hand her out of the canoe a large basket or double hamper called a pagara in Cayenne, and from this she took out a bottle of broth, a root she called 2i8 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. niarupahi, known in our pharmacopoeia as Simarouba, a thin white cake, and a little phial of syrup. Then she cleared up the raft and put all in order, throwing overboard the remains of my poor pets and making herself quite mistress of my domicile and myself, just like an old housekeeper come back to her place to take care of an old bachelor master. The child meantime retreated to the canoe, coolly watching all his mother's operations, but not offering to help her in the least. When she had settled everything to her liking, and lighted a fire, and put on water to boil, and soup to warm, she came back to my bed ; and, squatting down on her legs like an Indian woman, acceded to my repeated request, and gave me the following account of herself : — She belonged to Cayenne, she said ; her father was a mulatto, and her mother a Creole. She had been brought up on the shores of the river Approuague, in a family of the name of Lagrange, one belonging to quite the aristocracy of Guiana. They called her Alida, after her mother, and at fifteen she left them to marry a white man who lived in Mapa. Her husband, Jose Frangois de Ricard, came from Cayenne, but had been settled for some time at Mapa, and was employed by a Brazilian in preparing salt fish and lamentine seal oil. This same Brazilian had become insolvent, and ruined them completely. Resolving to have nothing more to do with Brazilians, they joined themselves to a tribe of Urucuyennes Indians, Alidds Previous History. 219 and went in quest of sarsaparilla and balsam of capivi, which they sold in Cayenne, or to the settlers on the banks of the river Approuague. They did very well at this trade, till one day a travelling Portuguese merchant found his way to their cabins, and induced them to exchange a certain quan- tity of the sarsaparilla and balsam for a young negro slave. From that time misfortunes began. The woman believed that the white man's God was angry at such a bargain ; anyway it brought them no good, for the exchange was no sooner completed, and the merchandise delivered up, than the trader secretly bribed the young negro to return to his tribe, the Bosh blacks, with whom he was in concert, promising him freedom, a cabin for himself, and gold-dust and rum. As may be supposed, the young man soon found means of making his escape. The next act of the wily Portuguese was to excite the Bosh against the Urucuyennes, as he was afraid to pass a certain creek where he had a caoutchouc manufactory, and near which the tribe was in great strength. He easily effected his purpose, for there was already a dispute between them about a canoe that had been carried off by the blacks. One morn- ing, when an attack was quite unexpected, the Bosh came down in such numbers that the Urucuyennes were overpowered completely. Five were killed and frightfully mutilated, and three women and five chil- dren made captives. She and her husband, and two of her children had escaped ; but all they had managed 220 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. to take with them was two boats and fishing tackle, which happened fortunately to be in the bottom of one of them at the time. As the affair had taken place on French territory, they carried their complaint before the authorities at Cayenne. But the appeal was disregarded, the offi- cials not wishing to embroil themselves with the Bosh tribe, and still less with the Brazilians, who, while professing to be friendly with Europeans, kidnap and assassinate them, according to my sick nurse, when- ever they get the chance. As all the cabins were burnt, they could not go back to their old settlement ; and indeed they were afraid to live near their formidable enemies any longer, so they returned to Mapa, and at present were fishing in the Lake Manaya. A few of the Urucuyennes had joined them, and they found the lake so productive, that they were fast getting rich again, the woman said, and hoped ere long to be able to revenge themselves. True to her sex, she waited till her story was ended before she disclosed her chief motive in telling me all this, and then she added, — "You French — ^you good white — you soldier — you help." I excused myself on the ground of illness, and my anxiety to get to Cayenne and return home. But she said the simarouba would cure me, and that, more- over, her uncle was a soothsayer and a doctor, and he would come for me, and that I should have plenty of gold-dust, a whole bottle full, and we should kill M mister i7tg Cares. 221 lots of Bosh niggers. They would be frightened, she said, at the sight of my uniform, and the Portuguese would be more frightened than any of them. Now, French though I was, and soldier too, I had no great desire to make war on poor blacks, with whom I had no quarrel, and never was likely to have. I evaded a reply, for I have yet to learn how to make a promise and not keep it, and I would scorn to break my word, even to an Indian woman. I asked a few questions quite foreign to the subject, and with true Creole versatility of mind she speedily for- got, or appeared to forget, all her proposals for my co-operation. She was quite engrossed, also, for the time, with her self-imposed duties of sick-nurse, and every five minutes or so made me swallow a mouthful of the drink she had prepared, always tasting it first herself to ascertain if it was sufficiently warm and sweet. From the moment she knew I was French — her "countryman," she said — she had yielded to all the impulses of her compassionate and loving nature. She seemed quite at home with me, and in words and actions was more like a sister nursing a sick brother than a shipwrecked stranger, an acquaintance of but a few hours. I myself, reserved though I still was at intervals, felt as if I had known her for years. The fact of her having lived in a French family of Parisian origin at once formed a bond of sympathy between us, and I caught myself sometimes fancying I was 222 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, at home being nursed by some of my own dear countrywomen. She answered all my inquiries almost before I could finish putting them. Occasionally indeed she could not supply the information I wished, or she could not understand my question. Then she would ask her son what I meant, and it was wonderful to see the boy's quickness of perception. His replies were nearly always correct. I asked among other things how many leagues it was to Cayenne. It was long before she could make out what league meant, and then she said she could not tell, but that it took a whole day to Mapa in a canoe, "paddling much," and five days more at least to Cayenne, sometimes longer, depending on the weather. I asked if I could not get a horse at Mapa, and so get on quicker. At this she burst out laughing, and repeated my question to the boy, as if to let him share in her merriment at my expense. But the child simply said, without even a smile, — " Mana ti ancho. Di water — canoa ; no cavallor He meant: "There are none there — water and boats, but no horses." I did not understand, but the mother explained, exploding again every now and then with laughter, that all along the coast, and far into the interior, there was no other mode of conveyance than the canoe, as the country was all under water, quite impassable either on foot or horseback. Cayenne might certainly be reached by the interior, but the road lay through Ministering Cares. 223 vast untrodden forests and dense woods ; and several rivers would have to be crossed over, that could not be forded through. As to horses, she only knew of them at Cayenne, and Belem, and Marajo, the great island where they were so numerous that the Brazilians sold them for their skins. "Water, water, or wood everywhere," she added. " Man on horse no go long — no road — ah ! only fancy!" And again she broke out into peals of laughter, as if she could not stop ; and really, now I think of it, it must have appeared as ludicrous to her as if I were to ask an Englishman whether he could get camels to ride on, from London to Gravesend. As you can judge from the scraps of conversation I have given you, all this was said in the strangest gibberish possible, in a queer patois, resembling those spoken on the shores of the Mediterranean. The pure Creole I could scarcely understand at all, and though the young woman professed to speak French as well as I could, her attempts in that language were almost equally unintelligible, for it was a mixture of Brazilian, and French, and Creole ; but this patois I soon learned to make out and converse in, and indeed employed no other language all the while I stayed on the South American continent. Wherever I went, among Indians, negroes, whites, and Creoles of all varieties, I could make myself understood. Before long I was quite an adept in speaking it, and amused my- self by writing my notes in it, spelling the words in 224 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, phonetic fashion. It was a comical medley of dif- ferent languages and nigger slang, but the specimens I have given will explain it sufficiently. All the while I was talking to his mother, for some hours at least, the boy was fishing, as regardless ot us as if we had no existence. He had helped himself to my lines, and knew how to use them so cleverly, that the bottom of the canoe was soon filled with all sorts of fish, almost as if the result of some miraculous draught. When he had taken as many as he had probably determined beforehand to take, he rose slowly, put back my lines, asked if he might keep one, to which I assented by a gesture, and then throwing himself back into his canoe without a look or word of thanks, said to his mother, — " Vamos, mamai.'^ The young woman stood up. She had done all she thought necessary, and I had drunk ever so many doses of simarouba and soup. She put more already sweetened within my reach, smiled kindly at me, dis- playing her fine white teeth, and said, — " Fran9ois comes home to-morrow ; I will come back with him." I did not like to ask her to take me home with her, though it was a natural enough request, and though I wished it from the bottom of my heart. But pro- bably she read the longing in my eyes, for she took hold of my hand with childlike affectionate familiarity and said, — " To-morrow we are going to take you to Mapa. Unsuspected Espionage. 225 Frangois has gone there to-day to consult his uncle about what is best to be done with you." She stopped suddenly, and coloured deeply, as if feeling she had said too much, and turned away to- wards her child, who was sitting in the end of the canoe, ready to start. It would have been more generous on my part not to have taken advantage of her half-confidence ; but I was curious to know more, and moreover I was sick to death of solitude. Not that I dislike being alone — I often prefer it to any society ; but when one is ill and barely alive, and has not seen a human face for full fifteen months, it is a very different matter. " If your husband will take me to Cayenne," I said, " I will pay him whatever he asks. I am only a common soldier, but for all that I can pay in good hard cash ; but how came he to know I was here V She blushed again ; and then as if conscious that some explanation of her husband's journey was needed, she said : — " The child won't hear me, and you will not mention it to his father, will you } He would be angry with me for telling you." I made a gesture of assent, and took her hand as if to pledge myself to secrecy, and then she went on in a half-whisper, looking occasionally towards her son, — "There was a great flood a few days ago, which carried away a part of the Maraca Island, opposite Mapa, and subsequently all the shore down to Cape 226 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. North. We had been expecting this daily, and had not gone out to sea for some weeks. At last we heard it come when we were out fishing on the Lake Maprouenne. We waited till its first violence had subsided, and the waters of the lake had become tranquil, and then the father made the little one climb to the top of a palm tree to see if all was over, and where the torrent was rushing. He reported that it was going in the direction of Puraqua-Coara, the three islands, on one of which you must have been living, judging from your description. The father said : * Those little isles are young ; the flood is strong ; they will be eaten up. Many animals must be on them which will come back towards the main- land. Let us go down to the coast, and we shall catch as many as we like.' " So away we went to the mouth of the river, but we saw nothing coming but a drove of peccaries, which arrived so exhausted that we killed them with a few strokes of the oar, without their even attempting to escape. While we were busy in preparing the flesh for market, the little one spied out your raft, and the father made us get into the canoe and hide ourselves up the river, while he stationed himself just in front of where he supposed you would land. But you kept along the shore, and at last entered the Piratuba. The father followed all your steps till you anchored, and then he joined us in the boat. " From that time a close watch was kept on your movements, one of us always being concealed among Unsuspected Espionage. 227 the grass or the trees near the river banks. We took you for a BraziHan, for you resembled them in your dark brown skin, and in your dress ; and the father would perhaps have killed you, for he is a brave, and the boy will be a brave too, but you looked ill, and in face and features you were like the white people in Cayenne. I begged him to spare your life, and Frangois was quite willing to wait a little, so we fol- lowed you that day till night. We both felt reassured, too, by seeing that you were an entire stranger to the country, and did not know how to row. Then we went back to Manaja, a short way distant from this, and Frangois went to consult his uncle at Mapa as to whether it would be best to kill you or sell you as a slave to some Portuguese trader, as we thought from your colour you must have negro blood in you, and that fetches a high price. " The father's parting injunction to the child was to go and watch you carefully that you might not get away ; so I came with him three days ago, as one of my sons was killed already by the Bosh tribe, and I could not risk him alone out of my sight. " You seemed very ill, and were feeding your birds ; you had a kind face. I went back to the cabin to get medicine for you, and yesterday evening I came here again and found you so weak you could not get up at all. I made you drink, without speaking to you ; you did not even see me. This morning I came again, and here I am. You are from Paris. Mr. Felix, my master's son, was born in Paris. I am Q2 228 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. going to take you home with me now, but keep silent, and let me manage things my own way. Then, speaking aloud, she said to the child, — " Come, little moun^ let us be off now. The pai will bring the Frenchman to the cabin to-morrow. You and I could never drag along the raft by our- selves ; your arms are too weak yet." " Weak ! I will drag it all by myself," was the boy's answer. " No ! " said the mother. " The pai would perhaps scold us both, if we were to take the stranger with us." "White man is real Cayenne white man, not a Brazilian black dog. I shall take him all alone if the mother will not help, and the father will be glad." *' Well, little maun, you shall have your own way," she said, without looking at me. The child left the canoe, and stepping on to the raft with a proud air, came straight up to my bed, and said in a shrewd, questioning manner, — ■ "You French — I take you home — steal like the Brazilian and I kill you." I smiled, and told him I accepted his conditions, and would give him a new knife for his trouble. " Esta bonOy' said he ; " we are friends." Without another word he went back to his canoe, and how he managed I cannot tell, but he fastened two cords to my raft somehow, and off we set. After sailing for some time along the lake at the entrance of which I had been lying, we came to a narrow channel through which apparently our way Journey to the Fishing-hut. 229 led. The canoe, which was just a trunk of a tree hollowed out, went in easily enough, but my raft was too broad ; it could not possibly enter. I was quite at a loss to know what was to be done, and was just going to propose to my guides that they should help me down into the canoe, and let my things be fetched in the evening, as we could not be far from our destination now ; but the child, without so much as asking his mother's advice, got up on the raft, looked attentively for a second at the great planks on each side which barred our progress, and then returned to his canoe. He seized a hatchet lying under a heap of bananas, and with a few well- aimed blows cut the cords which bound these planks to the rest of the raft. Then pushing back my knap- sack with his foot into a safe place, as the removal of the plank had brought it too near the edge, he re- sumed his seat without a word, and away we went again. We had been sailing along this passage for about an hour perhaps, when the mother, who sat in the front of the canoe, turned round to me and said, pointing to the shore nearest me, — " Look at the capim \ Do you see that siicuriju ? You haven't got any as big as that in France, have you ? " I did not know that capim meant grass, but gazing in the direction she pointed, I saw an enormous serpent, greenish yellow in colour, with round black spots. You might have taken it for a long branchless trunk 230 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. of a tree, and I had to look fixedly at it for some seconds before I could convince myself it was a living reality ; it was so motionless, and such an immense size, that I could not believe it was alive, till mother and child stopped rowing to let me view it more leisurely. The monster was lying full length on the grass, on which I could see distinctly the long track he had left behind him all along the shore. He must have measured 40 to 50 feet in length, and 3 or 4 feet across. The creature lay as if sleeping, but I could see two brilliant eyes clearly enough, staring at us with the most perfect indifference. Instinctively I stretched out my hand to reach my gun, which I liked to keep loaded beside me. I managed to sit up, and prepared to take aim, for I felt sure of sending a couple of balls through his head, as I was not more than ten feet off. But as I was about to fire, mother and child cried out simul- taneously, and the former said, " Don't kill him ! It is unlucky. He is the master of the capim, and all here, as he is the biggest of all. The father and I often give him an agouti as we pass, and he makes our fishing prosperous. Besides, he is doing you no harm. Why kill him ? Only negroes and pigs eat serpents." I laid down my gun without replying, and sank back quite exhausted with the effort I had made. We continued our way without further stoppage, and, about noon, entered a lovely lake, which seemed As I was about to fire, mother and child cried out simultaneously." Page 230. Jotirney to the Fishing-Jmt . 2^1 clear as crystal compared with the rest of the lakes I had seen, or with the turbid, muddy ocean. " Here we are," said my conductress, and next minute the canoe stopped. We had arrived. CHAPTER XV. robin's welcome to the mulatto's cabin — an indian's good-bye — interior of a fish- ING-HUT. Y young guide jumped ashore, and ran off, but speedily returned with a man that I knew at a glance must be one of the Urucuyennes Indians his mother had told me about. The nev/-comer was of aver- age height, plump and fleshy in appear- ance, with a reddish skin, scarcely any beard, and hair and eyes of a deep blue-black tint peculiar to the Indians. His sole attire was a pair of pantaloons, and his face and body bore the remains of red tattoo marks here and there. He was helping the child to bring a sort of hurdle used for smoking fish and meat, and on this improvised litter I was placed and carried to their home, the woman lending a helping hand, and telling me half apologetically that it was only a poor fishing-hut ; but, as soon as I was well, she and her husband would take me to their proper home in Cayenne, and offer me better hospitality. Robin* s Welcome to the Mulattos Cabin. 233 Certainly it was a wretched affair to live in — not even a cabin ; a mere shed, with a roof of leaves, standing on the edge of a grove and close by the shore. We were there in a minute, and I was wrapped in a blanket, the very touch of which sent a thrill through my veins, and seemed to bring me nearer home and friends. From forty to fifty hammocks were ranged round the interior — some made of netting, some of cotton ; and I was invited by my hostess to take my choice. I fixed on the nearest — a large white one spotted with blue. This was the bed of my hosts, I found after- wards, but they had too much delicacy to say so ; and when I discovered my mistake, and wished to be moved to another, they would not hear of it. At last, after fainting some half-dozen times from exhaustion, I fell asleep. When I awoke it was night, and two men were standing beside me examining me with interest if not kindness. The woman who had saved my life was aiding their investigations by hold- ing a lamp, or rather an earthen cup filled with oil in which three cotton wicks were burning, and shedding a dim, smoky light. On seeing me begin to wake, the elder of the two men said, in the ^2Si\^ patois I have described, — " White man is very ill, but he is among friends of his nation ; he will get better." " Are you," I asked, " master of this house t If so, I would ask you at once to do me a favour." " No," he replied ; "I am the doctor, the uncle of 234 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. Alida ; but the white man may speak, we will do what he wishes." " Thanks. I wish to write to France to my friends, and to have my letter carried to the nearest port. I will pay all expenses." " We have nothing to write with, but to-morrow a man shall go to Mapa. Now sleep and calm yourself; that is the best of all remedies." I passed a good night compared with the preceding, and next morning, at my request, my hostess brought me my papers, and I wrote as well as I could a few lines to my mother. The Indian, who had helped to carry my litter, undertook to convey my missive right to Cayenne, if I would give him, he said, a box full of large double hooks which he had seen in my trunk at the foot of the hammock. The box and its contents were only worth five shillings at most; and I was so surprised at the moderation of his request that I asked him how many days it would take him to go. " By the savannah," he replied, " I can go in six, but it is a long way. However, I will go for half the hooks, if you think the whole too much." I told him he should have them all, and lines as well. He nodded his head as if to say the bargain was concluded, put my letter into a bag slung down his neck, and left me. I could see from my hammock all that went on, not only by the shore, but far down the lake, and I watched every movement of my messenger with that Robin despatches his Messenger. 235 nervous anxiety peculiar to sick people who have set their heart on some particular thing being done. He went into a corner of our common cabin, and took out a sort of sabre made of hide, and a pagaye, or wooden oar, shaped like a battledoor, with a long handle, and then, without a word of farewell to any one, or even attracting any one's notice, he went out and bent his steps towards the shore. His next act was to drag out of the water a block of wood hol- lowed out in the centre, and about four feet long by two broad. He emptied this as we would a tub, and set it afloat. It had no seat, no keel, no helm, nothing in fact that we should think a boat must have ; and it looked so small and frail that I could not imagine any one would dream of going a journey in it. The Indian, however, flung in his sabre and pagaye^ and then got in himself, and sat down with outstretched legs, sending up the front of the canoe out of the water entirely, and sinking down the back so deeply that I thought he must be going to amuse himself with a game at see-saw, or that he would go right over into the water in another minute. But nothing of the sort. This was the normal condition of this species of canoe, which, strange as it looks to European eyes, is the only rapid means of conveyance in those countries. He had scarcely seated himself when he pulled up the pagaye with his feet, instead of stooping forward and using his hands. That is the Indian custom ; they use their feet as well as their hands, and quite indif- ferently, just employing which is nearest the object 236 TJie Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, they wish to get. The oar reached, he planted it firmly into the water, and, leaning on it as if it were a crutch, appeared to be waiting philosophically for somebody or something he expected. A minute or two afterwards, I saw him stoop down and look attentively at the bottom of the canoe, and then he rose up and went on shore. After going a few yards down the lake, he took up a handful of wet loam and came back to his boat, which he pulled out of the water and set bolt upright on one end. I could see there was a hole full two inches long as he held it thus against the light. He stopped it up with the earth just as a joiner would stop a hole with putty and, putting back the canoe in the water, seated him- self in it as before. Then he carefully washed his hands, and dried them TINDER BOX. on his body, pulled round the wallet, in which he had deposited the letter,, from his back to his chest, opened p^ !?— !^S9 '^ . ^m p i ■- -_rr :--^-- -— ;_ ^_-- - „- . -: —-"-=— =--^ -^■"- ■ -- -=^--=; ._.^.^_=_^^_^3-=v ^ _ __:_=^-.^.. -.--^ ^===^ ? — ^=-^=-^-=— ^- ^ - .. ^^,^..™.^ 1 V } ^ fi She emptied out the contents, consisting of cassava roots, salt fish, and an immense cluster of bananas." Pa^-e 237. All Iiidiafis Good-bye. 2'^'/ it, and took out a knife, tobacco, a pipe, a flint-stone, and a reed filled with tinder. With a single blow of the knife he got a flame, lighted his pipe, and began to smoke. A few minutes afterwards, a woman, who had left the cabin at the same time as my messenger, came down to the shore. She was Indian also, and this man's wife, I found. Red-skinned and plump like her husband, and simply dressed in a petticoat, with her long hair confined by a string, she tripped along, carrying on her head and back a long funnel-shaped basket, which she flung on the ground as soon as she got up to the canoe, and emptied out the contents, consisting of cassava roots, salt fish, and an immense cluster of bananas, at least fifty or sixty on the bunch. All this she disposed of in the canoe, laying them round her husband, and about his legs, for she could hardly find room enough. When her task was com- pleted, she said, in the Creole tongue, in a low, soft tone, " Looking-glass and needles." Her husband made no reply, and did not even look at her ; but, seizing his oar, with one vigorous stroke pushed out full ten feet from shore. Once fairly started, he contented himself with rowing slowly, without the least apparent haste, and yet so skilfully that his canoe sped along the water like an arrow from a bow, and in five minutes all I could see of it was a little black speck on the horizon, which soon disappeared altogether. There was no more fuss about his departure, and 238 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. no more leave-taking, than I have described, though the man was going a journey of more than two hun- dred leagues over a trackless desert. But this is quite in accordance with an Indian's nature. He will accomplish the most difficult things with nothing, so to speak : he never makes protestations of service or friendship. He hardly ever speaks or acts unless he has some direct, positive, and immediate interest in view ; but if once he has pledged his word, or under- takes any duty, he seldom fails to fulfil it, and with an intelligence and punctuality which is far from com- mon among white men. As for danger, most likely the very thought of it even never crossed my messenger's mind. Fatigue, wild beasts, hostile foes, choked up rivers, impene- trable forests, for all these an Indian cares as little as we care for the fatigues of a day's shooting. A child of the wilds, familiar with all its perils, and loving adventure for its own sake, and relying on his own skill to surmount every difficulty, he is truly the lord of the deserts through which he passes. Lonely forests and lakes are like the woods to our keepers. He loves them, knows every path, and all that is to be found in them, almost every living thing. Their labyrinths, so intricate to us that we lose our way at every step, he treads with the utmost ease, without fear and without weariness. Now that this letter was off my mind — for it had been a great weight on me this long time — I had nothing to do but get better as fast as possible, and A Tedious Convalescence. 239 go to Cayenne, and on to France. But all I could do for this end was to be quiet. I was too ignorant of the country to prescribe for myself ; and it was best and safest to obey my hosts, and all the more as I was so abundantly supplied with everything I could pos- sibly want, that, except for the place, I could have fancied myself in a hospital at home. The old man who had visited me the night before constituted himself my doctor, and from some cause or other attended me with a devotion I feel sure he would not have displayed towards his own people, for he was not remarkable for tenderness. He gave minute directions to his niece about my treatment ; and no sick nurse, acting under a regular doctor, could have carried them out more scrupulously than Alida did these directions of her uncle. On her part, too, I was loaded with hourly attentions, if not always so wise as her uncle's, at any rate more sweet and loving ; so I resigned myself completely into their hands, and submitted like a sick child, lying constantly full length in my hammock as they enjoined, and gulping down all sorts of liquids. Meantime, I occupied myself In carefully studying my hosts, for I began to find human beings as interest- ing a study as the natural world. My illness, serious as it was, did not affect my intellectual powers, and for want of better employment, I watched all that was passing around me. For a day or two my eyes were so dazzled with the strangeness and novelty of everything, that I hardly 240 The Adveittures of Robinson Playfellow. knew what to look at first. Besides, my European vanity made me see every object through a distorted medium. I did not even judge fairly of the outward surroundings of my hosts. The natural wealth of their country, their untroubled, careless life, grand and , philosophical as it was — a life almost without wants and without desires — all this escaped my observation. I only saw one side. I saw that these fisher people were the poorest, and consequently, in my idea, the most wretched of human beings, belonging to quite another race, one inferior to mine ; little better than monkeys, quite beneath the notice of a civilized being like myself. Poor vain ignoramus that I was ! As if the wild freedom of the desert was not as well worth studying as the servile civilization of our human ant-hills. But by degrees Christian feeling gained the mas- tery over vanity. I felt that these poor creatures were men like myself — my equals, my brothers, in God's sight, according to the teaching of Jesus Christ. I began to look at them with deep interest, and the light dawned as I looked. Every day increased this interest, and all the more as I had greater freedom from pain. My illness was very tedious, but every day I grew better, and I longed for something to do, as I was still obliged to remain in the same recumbent position constantly. I began to keep my journal, and jot down passing im- pressions and events. Our colony, for a colony it really might be called. Robin's Hosts. 241 was settled on the western shore of the Lake Manaya, a beautiful lake studded with small islands, and many square miles in extent. It was surrounded by nume- rous other lakes connected with it in various ways. We had among us men of different races, some pure, some mixed, forming altogether the most heteroge- neous, and yet most perfect, of combinations. It seemed as if the three great human families — the white, the Indian, and the negro — had agreed to blend and become fused together here. Yet, either owing to superiority in numbers, or to the climate — the sovereign master of us all — the Indian type predomi- nated. Out of the fifty to sixty individuals which formed the colony, one-third was pure Indian, or nearly so, and the remaining two-thirds were more or less absorbed in the same element, and were fast disappearing. It was so with my hosts. Different as they were in blood, they were both Indians in appearance and life and manners, in. fact in their whole nature. We had only two pure negroes, runaway slaves from Brazil, who lived in Ricard's household in a state of partial freedom. Four families of pure Indians, including my mes- senger, were among us too, yielding a general obe- dience to my hosts, on the tacit conditions of only working to please themselves, and for the supply of necessary wants, and also of perfect freedom to go and come as they chose. Five or six mulatto families, and among them Alida R 242 The Adventures of Robmso7t Playfellow. and her husband, completed the colony. These mulat- toes were all shades of colours, but more negro than white ; and, inferior as they were to the pure Indians in general intelligence, they were representatives of civilization in their wants and pretensions, and, above all, in their unbounded vanity. Truly, white people are vain enough, we must confess; but these half- bloods beat us hollow — a thorough mulatto is just about the personification of human vanity ! This odd assemblage formed a sort of irregular re- public on Lake Manaya, having no acknowledged head, no organization whatever, without laws or regu- lations, each obeying his own inclinations. But, for all that, there were two actual leaders in this republic, one avowed and one secret, to whom each yielded obedience without being aware of the fact. The ostensible chief was the man who had founded the settlement, and traded for the others, selling their merchandise, storing their fish, &c. This was Frangois de Ricard, my host, who considered himself master of the company, and had himself treated as such, scold- ing here and there when he thought necessary, and directing the general labour. He was born in Cayenne, of pure white parentage, he said, though by outward tokens he was rather In- dian than white. But the climate has so great an influence in this respect, especially in those countries, that it may be his pretensions were legitimate enough, According to him, his family came to Guiana among the very first settlers, and were so rich that his great- AlidcHs Uncle, 243 grandfather had owned a fourth part of Cayenne, and so powerful that another of his ancestors had been governor of Guiana. But by slow degrees, through successive generations, and in consequence, partly of misfortune and revolution, and partly of indolence, luxury, and vanity, the whole family, both sides of the house, had sunk, if not into misery, which is unknown there, at any rate into such difficulties, that it was a hard struggle for them to make a living. Such was the state of things when Francois de Ricard was born, though he had begun to better it, and had succeeded, at least, in getting a cabin of his own instead of living in a hired dwelling like his father. Three-fourths Indian in ideas and manners and appearance, but more far-sighted and tenacious than Indians, and more intelligent than negroes or mulat- toes, he was far superior to those with whom he worked, and whom he ruled. Active, energetic, and brave on occasion ; very supple, and very cunning without appearing so ; exclusively engrossed with his own interests, and having no scruples about infringing on the rights of others, he had wonderful talent for business, and generally managed to succeed. Doubt- less he would have made a fortune in a few years if he had only known how, or even wished, to lay by a part of his gains. But having a good spice of vanity in him, worthy of a European, and occasionally liking to indulge in display, his most generous nature and good kind heart for all about him, made him spend as fast as earned, with a Creole nobleness we do not under- 244 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. stand, but which is quite common and natural there. In all respects he was one of the most perfect speci- mens of the South American descendants of Euro- peans. The secret but real power in this community, how- ever, was in the hands of Ricard's uncle, or rather his wife's uncle, the old doctor and diviner. All the others, even his nephew, were his voluntary servants, though he never seemed conscious of it, and never abused his advantage. The last and sole representative of the Oyampis, a powerful tribe, though now so nearly extinct, he lived without country or dwelling-place, yesterday among the Urucuyennes, to-morrow among the Amicobanes, always wandering, but everywhere at home. From Cayenne to Belem, from the Amazon to the Maroni, he was intimately acquainted with the country, and familiar with all its resources and inhabitants. Pure Indian in blood and heart, still full of manly vigour, profoundly sagacious and far-seeing, he led all, without appearing to lead them. It was marvellous to see how he could work on others, sometimes by speaking of the Great Spirit, and sometimes by asserting his medical authority. He was special adviser to every one ; consulted about hunting and fishing, about busi- ness and sickness, and to each he gave some useful counsel, with the most absolute disinterestedness per- sonally, almost amounting to indifference, so great was his real or affected impassibility. In all points he was undisputed possessor of a power in the colony Religion of the Colony. 245 which, though more intangible than that of his nephew, was on that very account the stronger, Hke all occult things. With regard to religion, that indispensable top- stone of every social edifice, the colony was divided into two camps, between which, however, there were no irreconcilable differences. The one, the purely Indian division, in point of actual belief, had only a vague idea of a Great Spirit, the almighty ruler of a future life, consisting of hunting and love and rum- drinking. The other division professed to be Catho- lics, and affected a sort of contemptuous pity for their Indian brethren. However, except in spending Sunday in complete idleness, and crossing themselves at cer- tain times, and in the utterance of some few gospel maxims imperfectly remembered, and still more im- perfectly followed, they were absolutely ignorant of Christianity. I question whether between them and the Indians there was really any difference, save that of profession, for the religion of both one and the other was almost complete negation. Both alike, however, I suppose by way of compensation, aban- doned themselves to the most gross and even absurd superstitions, so numerous that I should fill a whole book were I to attempt a description of them. The great majority of the company, including your humble servant, lived almost in common in the cabin or shed, where you have heard I was installed. Here and there in the neighbourhood there were a few scattered families belonging to the same stock, and 246 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. connected with our colony by business or family ties, but ours was the only establishment of importance for thirty leagues round ; so in this passage of my life's history you have, as it were, a photograph taken on the spot of all the seaboard country of this part of Southern America. Our hut, or rather its roof, was composed of palm leaves dexterously plaited together and laid upon strong reed canes, fastened to trees, all the branches of which had been lopped off to the requisite height. Long strips of bark laid across and across, made our flooring, and kept us at least from the bare ground. Instead of nails, the parts were fastened together with strong bind-weeds, which were not only solid but picturesque in their effect. Such was our house ; we had neither walls nor rooms in it, nothing to prevent the free current of air coming in on all sides. Occa- sionally, rain or sun beat in too powerfully and did damage, and then whoever happened to be in the cabin at the time rose and hung up a mat outside to serve as a blind ; but if no property was endangered, and merely some one's comfort, whoever was incon- venienced would just change his place or turn his back. Furniture, clothing, tools, and articles of domestic use were equally simple. For beds, sofas, and chairs, we had nothing but our hammocks. In these each one slept and talked and smoked, in short, passed his ordinary life. Our only table for all purposes was the floor ; and this had one Our Menage. 247 advantage at any rate — we had few breakages, as there was small chance of our crockery tumbling about. Cooking and table utensils comprised a few kettles and saucepans, and a good number of plates brought from Cayenne. We had sundry forks also, but nobody HAMMOCK. made use of them, not even myself ; shells served for spoons, and two or three large jugs did duty as water- bottles and tumblers ; table knives were not needed, as each man used his own clasp knife. The only articles of luxury I saw among them were small cala- bashes, called coins, which were painted in the most brilliant and elaborate fashion. They held about two- thirds of a pint, and on rum days, which came very often, each one brought his own, carefully stowing it away in his hammock as soon as it was done with, just as we would put a portrait under our pillow. Articles of domestic use were still more unpretending. 248 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, Three large brooms made of beautiful feathers were all the women had to sweep the floor with every day, and two old petticoats, too ragged to be worn, were used as dish-cloths, and now and then as mops, when the hut got an extra cleaning. As for napkins, towels, bowls, and toilet sets, the lake had to serve for all — the lake every morning, and often every evening, especially after any heavy meal, and during the long hours of intoxication which followed the carousals in which the colony often indulged. Clothing was of a piece with the rest The usual costume of the men was a pair of pantaloons ; for the women, a petticoat, and sometimes a jacket; and for the children nothing at all. Only the mulattoes and my hosts wore in addition a straw hat and sometimes a shirt. But on gala days each appeared in full dress, ac- cording to his pretensions or his race, and it was enough to kill one with laughing to see the toilettes. My hosts and their mulatto friends were supposed to be in Paris fashion brought from Cayenne. Two or three great trunks that stood unlocked in a corner of the hut were opened, and presently the men appeared, decked out like village bridegrooms with black coats and trousers, satin waistcoats, neckties with embroidered ends, and shoes with red bows. The women flounced about in silk petticoats and shawls, with silk handkerchiefs on their heads, and even bonnets, and loaded themselves with trinkets of all sorts, both in copper and gold, as large and clumsy Indian and Mtdatto Toilettes. 249 as possible. Always without stockings, and often without shoes, and no corsets of any description, yet dressed so tightly that they looked as if bursting, and bedizened out with all the colours of the rainbow, the appearance of these women beggars descrip- tion. The Indians made grand toilettes also, but in a different fashion. Their women put flowers in their hair, and wore large tortoise-shell combs ; painted their cheeks red, and dyed their teeth and nails with blue. Their dress consisted of a black or blue petti- coat, and over this, on very grand days, they wore a fine white chemise and Portuguese gold bead neck- laces ; the tout ensemble making a far more graceful costume than the flaunting attire of the mulatto women. The men tattooed themselves bright red on the body and arms, in stripes and diamonds m a coarse, rough style. But their faces were adorned more carefully ; the dandies even had designs for the purpose cut in wood, with which they stamped cheeks and forehead, applying the dye afterwards. Hunting and fishing gear were rather more compli- cated than the domestic articles. They had several flint stocks, as dangerous almost for the hunter as the hunted, bows and arrows, especially used for fishing, sarbacands with poisoned arrows, immense nets, hooks of all sorts and sizes but the smallest, oars, mats, sails, I'igging, and several descriptions of boats, from the rude Indian canoe to the cobesta of Brazil, magnifi- 250 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. cently painted, and as complicated in construction as a Chinese junk. The chief occupation of the entire community was fishing, as their sole subsistence was fish, or the pro- ducts of its sale or exchange. Some, but not the majority, fished with the line, simply the line and hook, without lead or cork. The others, armed with arrows, rowed about in canoes and let fly the arrows at the fish as they darted up to the surface, displaying marvellous dexterity and sureness of aim, and almost always securing their victims. But these modes of fishing were mere occasional diversions. The ordinary fishing was by net, in front of the hut or thereabouts. They had about a dozen nets used in different ways, according to the fish to be caught or the place or the weather, or still oftener, the caprice of the moment. A dozen men and a few women would set ofT in the night, and go to a certain spot, fish all day, and come back in the evening loaded with spoils. Sometimes they brought in the fish alive, and sometimes already cured, as it might happen. The difficulty, and I might say the art of the trade, was not exactly in catching the fish, but in keeping it saleable, for frequently a single morning, or even a minute, would spoil the best part of it. As our lake was quite near the ocean, and com- municated with it by narrow channels, fresh-water fish and sea fish often appeared at the same time, and were caught together. I could not attempt to de- scribe all the varieties I saw — fish of every form A Fishing Expedition. 251 and size, and I might almost say colour. There were Gurijubas from Cayenne, I believe, valued only for the isinglass they afford ; saw-fish with a long beak, with spines or teeth on both sides of it, enormous sea fish, very common in these latitudes, and also captured for the sake of their isinglass ; Pirarucus, or red fish, a sort of colossal trout, which, dried and salted, takes the place of beef to a third part of the South American population ; fresh-water turtles, like those on my island, weighing from one pound to sixty, and supply- ing oil from their eggs, meat and butter from the flesh and fat, and altogether the best fresh food in these countries ; lamentines, or sea-cows, mermaids, and sea-sows, amphibious animals, half human in shape, and often weighing a thousand pounds, which are caught by harpooning, and whose monstrous bodies not only supply abundant oil, but good meat, so like pork that you might easily mistake the one for the other. These and many more I might name, but really the fish are so numerous, that unless you saw them for yourself, you could hardly believe such abundance possible ; indeed I do not think that in any other corner of the globe so many different specimens of the finny tribes could be found together. Sometimes, but not very often, as it was attended with danger, there was a general wholesale fishing expedition. This takes place especially when a ship is going to Cayenne or Belem, and just as she is about to sail it is discovered that part of the cargo is sooilt. 252 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. Then Ricard promises necklaces or sabres, or extra rum, as may be preferred, and it is "all hands to work." The entire day is spent in making prepa- rations, and in the evening they set out with great rejoicings. Some time after my arrival, one night, when I felt better than usual, I was taken as a spectator on one of these occasions : not as an active party, for I had not strength enough yet even to walk. I simply went with them as an invited guest, and will give you a de- scription of the doings. We started in the night in ten canoes, with five or six people in each. All the settlement was there, without exception, and the hut was left to take care of itself. The spot chosen for operations was a little lake like a pond, in the middle of a savanna, about an hour's journey distant. It was rather shallow, and had been cut off from the neighbouring lakes for some days, owing to long-continued drought, which had dried up the natural channels of communication, and enclosed the fish helplessly. It was said to be full of pacas, and especially of otters, who had taken up their abode there to regale themselves on the fish they found ready to hand, on which they fed till they were as fat as butter. Now, when pacas and otters are in question, an Indian will do anything to kill them, for the flesh of the one is exquisite eating, and the otter is to fish what the fox is to rabbits. Between otters and fishermen there is a sort of professional rivalry. A Fishing Expedition. 253 As soon as we arrived, fires were kindled at dis- tances all round the lake, to prevent the otters and pacas from escaping. Then the net was hauled out of the boat, an immense concern, above a hundred yards in circumference and two in depth. This was spread on the ground among the long grass at one end of the lake, and then the men betook themselves to smoking, and the women to getting sticks from a neighbouring wood. When they came back they passed about twenty of these rods through the net, which, stuck bolt upright, looked like the posts of a rope barrier. This done, the whole troop of men, women, and children sta- tioned themselves behind the rods, and the fishing commenced. Four or five men went first into the water, and began to beat it in all directions till they were half- way through the lake. Each man was armed with two leafy branches, and with these he struck right and left, making such a noise and disturbance, that the terrified fish naturally darted forward out of their way. Close behind this advanced guard came the rest of the company altogether, pushing the net with both hands, and marching straight on like soldiers to battle. In a few minutes they were all up to the waist in water. The children found it advisable now to get on shore again, but kept alongside, dabbling in the mud, while their seniors tramped steadily on. Occasionally one of the number would disappear below the surface, dragging down with him the stick and the part of the 254 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, net he held. This arose from some sudden hollow in the bed of the lake, which made him lose his footing ; but none of his companions showed the least concern at the occurrence, nor did the man hirnself. He kept below till the ground rose once more, coming up now and then to take breath, if necessary, but diving down immediately, so as to scrape the net along the bottom as close as possible, and only reappearing when he could walk beside the others. When all had reached the middle of the pool, the scouts in advance, as we may call them, dived below and came up behind the main body. Then the battle commenced, and a real fight it was, with danger of wounds, and even death, for besides otters, I have seen alligators and stinging-fish captured on these occasions, and also serpents. But no one except myself seemed to give a thought to the perils they were encountering, but went bravely on, stamping and yelling, and beating the water with one hand. In about half an hour the net and its fifty carriers had alL but reached the extremity of the lake. Only a narrow space remained, in which the fish were huddled together as if in a tank. Three men leaped on shore to fetch the largest of the canoes, and soon returned, dragging it over the grass till they pushed it into the water. When the net could go no further, all the men took their places behind it, while the women and children went in among the fish, and began to catch them as fast as possible, some with the hand, some in long Adventure with the Paca. 255 funnel-shaped baskets, throwing them alive into the canoe, where a woman killed them, when they were too large, with a blow of her sabre. There were so many, that it took more than an hour to pick them up. They were not very large, weighing only from three to six pounds. All the biggest, and probably the oldest, had evidently taken their departure before the lake had got locked in. As for the otters, they had outmatched us in cun- ning, for they had managed to get away before our arrival, all but one, and he, too, made his escape at last, to the great vexation of the fishing-party. They said they could distinctly trace, by marks on the banks which, by-the-by, were quite invisible to me, that six others, one of which must have weighed from sixty to eighty pounds, had passed the night in the pool, and my host, turning to me, added, ingenu- ously, — " Those thieves eat more fish themselves alone than all we catch put together!" Really man is a queer animal : he seems to imagine that the entire universe, from the fishes to the sun, was created for him — for him alone ! They caught three pacas, however, one of which all but made an unfortunate finish to our expedition. The animal had burrowed under water, and been picked up by a little girl about ten years old, in her long basket. Just as she was emptying it out the creature escaped, and darted again below. The child went on, depositing her load, but keeping her eye on s^A: i ! She stood up, and holding outjher arm with the paca still clinging to it, lifted a sabre from behind, and with one blow almost cut off its head." _ . Pasre z-^y. Adventure with the Paca. 257 the paca, and next minute was off in pursuit of it. Before she could lay hold of it again, however, just as she plunged down her basket, the animal leaped up and flew at her arm, fixing his teeth in the flesh so furiously, that the blood rushed down both sides in a stream. But no cry escaped the girl, and not a sign ot fear was visible. She stood up, and, holding out her arm with the paca still clinging to it, lifted a sabre from behind, and with one blow almost cut off its head. The animal fell dead. The child picked it up as if it were nothing, put it into her basket, and emptied it into the canoe. Not till then did she seem to think of her wound, and went off into the wood to gather leaves. She brought back about a dozen, rubbing them in her hands as she walked, till they made a sort of soft pulp. When this was ready she went in again to the water, and washed the wounds, and put on the leaves, binding her arm up with a handkerchief one of the mulatto women took off and gave her. Next minute she was busy at work with the rest, as if nothing had happened. There was not a single tear nor an expres- sion of pain ; not even a hand stretched out to help her. The father and mother of the child were both there, but they left their little one to her own resources, and only showed their interest by their looks. The canoe was soon filled to overflowing, and we began our homeward journey. I asked how much fish they had taken altogether, and, according to the esti- 258 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. mate of my host, it was three thousand some hundred pounds. The rest of the day and part of the night was spent in opening and cleaning the fish, in cutting up the large ones and salting them, after which they were dried in the sun or smoked. In the evening we had music and rum ; but it was scarcely midnight by the stars before everybody was sound asleep except two women, who had to keep up the fires under the fish. The next day but one, before sunset, it was all sent off to Macapa in charge of two Indians and their families. One of the rowers was the little wounded girl paddling away with both hands and bare arms, like a man, while her father lolled carelessly in the back of the boat, and played a farewell on the guitar. CHAPTER XVI. HUNTING IN THE FOREST — MUSICIANS— SMOKERS AND TOPERS— STORY OF NELLfi. ESIDES fishing, the colony took occasional fits of hunting and harvesting, too, after a fashion — that is to say, a party of men would set off into the forest to hunt and gather any products of the soil they might find. Among the game there was to kill, I may mention jacamis, hoccos, and large wood partridges, resembling turtle-doves ; agoutis, several varieties of deer ; tapirs ; land turtles, which are reckoned better than fresh-water turtles, though not so good to my taste ; lazy, sleepy-looking sheep, which allow themselves to be caught alive with your hand, &c. Part of the spoils was always eaten immediately, and the remainder, smoked and dried, was piled up beside the fish in a corner of the hut, ready for the market. The vegetable products sought for in the forest, were the second bark of the chestnut tree, a substance much like tow, used for caulking boats, and mending s z 26o The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. mats ; chestnuts, to sell for oil to English merchants at Belem ; resin, for torches and for tarring the boats ; very fine vanilla, but so troublesome to dry, that it nearly always got rotten : capivi balsam and caout- chouc ; different gums ; a tolerably good sort of tea- plant, called ayapana, and sarsaparilla. These were all piled up with the fish and the game in the hut or in the boats, and when enough had been stored up, the whole was sent away to Mapa, or Cayenne, or Macapa, or Belem, just where the best market chanced to be at the time. The journey took from a week to a month, depend- ing on the weather and on the carriers. Then the boat would come back, bringing in exchange a load of different things — rum, always, — gunpowder, a net, fishing-hooks, necklaces of gold beads, plates, kettles, a coat, petticoats, bandanas, a coloured likeness of Napoleon, or the Wandering Jew — in fact, all the various commissions which' had been entrusted to those in charge of the merchandise. The departure and return of these boats made quite a day's excite- ment, but next morning, life resumed its ordinary aspect. All labour, without exception, was done by fits and starts, just as the necessity required. Steady conti- nuous work was unknown amongst them, as far as the men were concerned. On great occasions, such as the general fishing I have described, and the day after, or before some festivity, or when the boats were going out, it was '' all hands to work," indeed, from Ricard's Morpheus and his Votaries. 261 uncle, though he was held in such veneration, down to an old negro slave, who was certainly the laziest son of Adam I ever met with in my life. Men, women, and children all worked then to their utmost, with the strength of negroes, the skill of Indians, and the intelligence of whites — a combination not to be found elsewhere. Work over, everybody rested, and truly a long rest they took. Indeed, except at these special times, repose is the normal condition of the men. Nobody works, unless some sudden inspiration comes over him from the goddess of hunting or fishing, but with the majority the rest is unbroken for whole weeks. I own that indolence finds many admirers in all countries,, and our own among the rest, but in this part of the Guianas it is absolutely deified. Neither compelled by law to work, nor driven by outward necessity, life in these regions is prolonged inactivity. I question whether the East itself, with its luxurious Nabobs, could furnish such specimens of voluptuous ease as I saw here. Each man is an indolent Dio- genes, without pride and without wants. He has food within reach in abundance, and cares nothing for money, or clothing, or even a roof to shelter him ; contented with his lot, and untroubled about the mor- row. One might almost call him a philosopher — the most miserable in his surroundings, and yet the hap- piest of men ! This repose of theirs, however, is not sleep, as many would conclude. I thought at first they led a purely 262 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. animal life, eating, digesting, sleeping, but I discovered it was not so ; it is, on the contrary, just the dreamy life of artists in Italy or Venice — the " dolce far niente'" they so love. They know they could hire themselves out in Cayenne or Belem and live in com- parative luxury, and occasionally they have made the experiment, but soon returned to their savannahs and lakes, glad to regain their idle liberty. Really, to see them at nightfall lying half-undressed, in a netted hammock that no one would pick off a dustheap, sleeping, smoking, and hugging their guitars, it is like a scene in the " Castle of Indolence." This is the fashion of guitar playing : they touch one of the chords and then put the instrument to their ear to listen to the vibration, and when it dies away repeat the touch. It is more like a musical breath than a sound, fainter than any ^olian harp, and yet it affords them complete hours of enjoyment. They are not great smokers, though all have pipes, and great coils of tobacco lie in the cabin for each one to help himself. But they much prefer cigarettes to pipes, and make them very cleverly with the bark of a tree called tawariy which is as thin and pliable as tissue paper. They never indulge in more than two or three whiffs, and then pipe or cigarette is carefully extinguished and put away in the wallet or stuck behind the ear like a pen, till the whim seizes them to have another puff. I have seen the same cigarette put out and relighted ten times and more. Occasionally they have a game at cards, but in a Fire-water. 263 comical fashion quite peculiar to themselves. The pack had been so long in use that the figures were quite obliterated, and had to be replaced by conventional signs. Moreover, I can vouch for it, that if this same solitary pack had been boiled, it would have made richer soup than any we can get in our first-rate restaurants ; so I leave you to guess the appearance of it. How they played it was not easy to discover, but at any rate nobody played for money except two mulattoes, and their highest stake was half-a-crown. No, the ruling passion of these Indians is certainly not gambling, nor is it even love. Their first and last thought is— rum. I do not think it would even be possible for a European to drink like them. When they can get it ad libitum^ which fortunately is not often, their capacity for imbibing is really something alarming. It takes about a pint and a half to pro- duce the least effect on them, and after carousing a whole morning, and consuming three or four pints each, it only makes them roll about in the water like jolly porpoises. This drink is the great vice of the Indian — the vice most fatal to him all over the American continent — one which impairs and destroys his national, intellec- tual, and physical life. It is not so much that he is driven out by the white races or becomes absorbed by civilization ; it is our " fire-water," as they them- selves call it, which decimates them continually, and will speedily cause their disappearance from the face of the globe. For this " fire-water " the North Ame- 264 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. rican Indian parts by degrees with all he has — his wigwam, hunting-ground, and even the very soil where his ancestors sleep, and for this same "fire-water" those in the South will even sell their labour for a time, and give all their gains by hunting and fishing. Only one thing they will never absolutely part with, their personal liberty, though too often they only use it for their own degradation, and bring themselves to a premature grave. Such is the ordinary course of existence among the men. Among the women it is altogether dissimi- lar ; indeed their life forms a complete contrast. Un- like their husbands and fathers, they hardly drink at all ; never play at cards or indulge in any musical re- creation whatever, rarely smoke, and work incessantly. No human being can be more industrious than an Indian woman. She is never a moment idle. Our colony was a living exemplification of this, and the mulatto women, who are by no means naturally inclined to exert themselves, imitated, in this respect, their red-skinned sisters. It was the women, almost exclusively the women, who boiled the fish, took out the sounds or air-blad- ders which contained the isinglass, and stretched and dried them, and who crushed the turtles' eggs to ex- tract the oil ; the women who mended the clothes and the nets, who cooked the food, cleaned the cabin, and often rowed the canoes. Only some great emergency would make either sons or husbands lend a helping hand. The women did not seem to expect it, and Hard Work for the Women, 265 probably did not even wish it, any more than our women would care for us to help them in doing em- broidery or washing up dishes. But our women have not to do all the hard work : in the Guianas, except the actual hunting and fishing, it falls entirely on the fair sex, and they count it a matter of honour as well as a duty that the men should be dependent on them, and do nothing but defend them in case of danger ; while the men for their part — like many a fortune- hunter in the matrimonial market among ourselves — are quite content to live at the expense of their wives. Probably the mental and moral inferiority of the women is owing to this state of things. Accustomed from infancy to unremitting toil, with a passionate devotion to duty, they continue the same round of arduous labour, amid the added cares of wives and mothers, and such excessive work makes them fade and wither before their time. I believe it is a fact that they generally die before the men. It seems almost as if they were so ground down by incessant drudgery that they had lost the power of thinking, and went mechanically through their tasks day after day, and just sank when they could go on no longer. Without any beauty either of feature or expression, crushed down from their very youth, and old before they are thirty, almost all the Indian women in our cabin contrasted unfavourably with the mulattoes. Somehow these mulattoes always managed to find time to amuse themselves and make an ornamental appearance, while the poor Indians seemed to grow 266 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. busier and busier every day, and to care less and less how they looked. There was only one among them, ii NELLfi. all, whose face and form would have attracted the least notice anywhere. Her name was Nelle, and her history was a poem like herself. She was the daughter of a chief belong- NelWs History. 267 ing to the Amicobane tribe, living about ten days' journey distant. There was a deadly feud between her people and the Urucuyennes, and war commenced in which the Amicobanes were victorious. One of the Urucuyenne chiefs was taken prisoner by Nelle's father, and kept alive to be eaten at a great banquet, for the Amicobanes were still cannibals. But the captive was young and handsome and a great warrior. Nelle fell in love with him ; and on the very day fixed for the feast, just as they were about to begin preparations, she laid her hand on his shoulder and declared before all her tribe that she took this man for her husband. Her father shook with rage and her mother cursed her, but such an act was quite in conformity with ancient customs, and it could not be helped. The chief was set at liberty, presented with bow and arrows and a canoe, and sent away with his bride. After many ups and downs of fortune, Nelle and her husband went to live on the banks of the Mapa, close to a convent. He found the nuns willing to purchase fish and game, and as he went with his sup- plies pretty frequently, the good women became interested in the young man and his wife, and gra- dually induced them to take up their abode in the convent, when they persuaded them to be baptized, and fondly hoped they were converts to the Christian faith. But neither Nelle nor her husband was made for civilized life. The young woman acknowledged that 268 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. the Sisters were very kind, and that it was far better to live with them than in the forest for some reasons. She looked back to their stay there with pleasant feelings, as if it had been a sort of easy captivity. But they did not like having to associate with the negro slaves, and to take part in domestic work, and both husband and wife incessantly regretted the loss of their proud liberty. Taught by long experience, and guessing the secret sentiments of their catechumens, the nuns devised a project of sending them to France to cut them off completely from all chance of returning to savage life. But the Urucuyenne discovered their intention, and carried off his wife and children the very same night. After wandering for some months in the forest, they reached the semi-Indian settlement Ricard had established on the Upper Oyapoch. There they took up their abode, and, after a few months' peaceful sojourn, Nelle's husband was killed in that sudden attack of the Bosh negroes which Alida described. This had happened more than a year previously, but the young widow still faithfully mourned her lost love. Her long hair rippled down to her waist in token of her loss, though she wore a large tortoiseshell comb by way of ornament. She was much more careful about her appearance than the rest of her companions, and always dressed in a very clean brown petticoat and white chemise, to which she sewed on a black border, actuated perhaps by a spice of feminine coquetry imported from Cayenne. ^MJZic I have seen her rock his hammock tor hours, trying to hush his waiUng cries or soothe him to sleep." Fa^e 269. An Indian Lullaby. 269 Tall and still graceful and younger-looking than other women of her age, with a much paler skin, she more resembled the natives of India than the American Indians, having all their nobleness of car- riage and bearing, their supple bodies, and finely- moulded limbs, with the prettily-shaped head and the fascinating beauty — that feline beauty peculiar to the panther and the Hindoo. Her long hair was black as a raven's wing, and her sharp, piercing black eyes were so bright that they seemed to emit sparks of fire from the soul within. In all respects Nelle was the true Asiatic, the daughter of a noble race, red- dened with Indian suns, burproud and free, — a race which I must confess I love all the better for its savage grandeur. As a chief's daughter and a widow, Nelle was treated by all the Indians in our colony with a certain degree of respect, which she received somewhat like a queen accepting homage from her subjects. She had two children, a girl who was quite an infant, and a boy between four and five years old, a puny, sickly creature. But, like a true mother, she nursed the poor little fellow day and night. I have seen her rock his hammock for hours, trying to hush his wailing cries or soothe him to sleep, and singing in a low sweet voice a soft monotonous lullaby, as she gently swung him to and fro. These were the Indian words she sang :— " Acoutipourou, ipourou nerouper^ Cimitanga, miri onquere onarama." 270 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. Their English meaning was : — " Lend me thy sleep, Acoutipourou, That my Uttle one may slumber too." (The Acoutipouru is a little animal that sleeps nearly all day.) I cannot give you any idea of the tender sadness with which she sang this cradle-song. The memory of her husband and love for her child breathed in her very tones. It was evident the sight of her suffering child brought back painful reminiscences, but she never shed a tear — an Indian woman, and especially a " high blood," would scorn to weep. I sometimes watched her for hours at a time across the ropes of my hammock without her being aware of my scrutiny, and I learned to trace all the varying emotions of her soul, in the different modulations of her voice as she sang to her boy. Sometimes I could read the yearning motherly affection, sometimes the widow's sorrow and longing looks at the happy past, and sometimes the fierce eagerness for revenge. This thirst for revenge is a radical part of the Indian nature, and all the efforts of the good nuns had been powerless to change it in Nelle. The moment anger is roused or any provocation given, the old nature is sure to assert itself, as in her case ; all the Christian teaching she had received went to the winds, she panted for vengeance on her husband's murderers. When the little sufferer had gone off to sleep, and the young woman found herself alone with me in the hut, she would bring her big work-basket, and sit An Indian Lullaby, 271 down to her sewing at the foot of my hammock without saying a word. Her other child, a plump little cherub, would play about at her mother's feet, or amuse herself with pulling the fringe of my ham- mock, occasionally venturing to hold out her fat dimpled hands to me. Then I used to open my trunk, and give her a picture or a bit of paper, which she would dart away to exhibit to her mother, who would smile silently, and look pleased. This was how we became friends, and when Alida, our hostess, was out of the way, Nelle would grow quite communicative. She told me her whole history, detailing everything minutely, even her life in the convent, which she studiously concealed from every one else ; but the moment Alida re-appeared, she would relapse again into the habitual silence of her race towards strangers. Though dwelling under the same roof, living the same life in the main, and pass- ing the greater part of the day together, yet the Indian and mulatto seemed to have a natural antipathy to each other, of which I was made the confidant by both parties. This antipathy arose from the complete dissimilarity there was between the women. At first sight a European newly landed, might have taken them for sisters, leading as they did the same savage life, and in outward appearance both half naked, and both " red skins," besides speaking the same language. I thought myself at first that they were related, for there was a certain general resemblance, as there is 272 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. between all Asiatics or all Europeans. But by- degrees, when I examined them more closely, I got to wonder how I could ever have imagined they even belonged to the same nation. Alida was a complete contrast to Nelle in many respects. Her hair was short and frizzy, almost woolly, and she always kept it carefully concealed under a bandana. Her eye was large and somewhat projecting; but, though black, the ball was a yellowish white, quite unlike Nelle's. She had a well-shaped mouth, full red lips, and splendid teeth. Her limbs were strong and well-proportioned, though rather overburdened with flesh. She was altogether a fine woman in face and form, but neither elegant nor distinguished-looking. There was, on the contrary, something a little common about her, — physical strength rather than refinement, an emotional rather than an intellectual nature. In a moral point of view, the dissimilarity was equally great. The Indian was impassive, distant, reserved, and almost disdainful, seeing everything, and yet apparently seeing nothing — self-contained, caring nothing for others, and entirely engrossed with her children — in a word, loving no one but herself and her belongings. The mulatto, on the other hand, was sociable, always solicitous for the good opinions of those about her, and invariably acting with reference to it, with an almost insatiable need of loving and being loved. In all her words and actions you could see she loved her Alida, the Mulatto, 273 neighbour, and delighted in making him happy in any way whatever. But the great necessity of her nature was to expend, in some form or other, her exuberant material force. She was always in motion, and chattered incessantly, laughing at every sentence, and displaying her white teeth ; interlarding all her talk with proverbs and scraps of French, accompanied by untranslatable nigger gestures. She was sure to take sides for or against the first comer ; she got out of temper one minute and made it up again the next, and loaded one with caresses : and then she would quarrel again, and all this without the slightest bitter- ness in her heart, and without any lasting affection, almost without cause, and always without purpose. Sympathetic and expansive in her affections, and winning by nature, liking to rule, and yet not know- ing how to use her power, she truly belonged to both races, to masters and slaves, to the highest and lowest steps of the great ladder of huanmity. This dissimilarity naturally gave birth on both sides* to hostile thoughts and feelings, of which I was often made the confidant, though the honour was wholly unsought on my part. I was, in a certain measure, looked upon as a patient by both women, and this accounted for it partly, but the chief reason was that I was the white man, the acknowledged head of both, and they could not help appealing to me as their judge, each trying to get me on her side. For instance, when Nelle replied to the mulatto in re- luctant monosyllables, Alida would shrug her shoulders T 2/4 1^^^ Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. and whisper to me, with a glance towards her silent companion, " Idol-worshipper," or " Savage," and assume all possible airs of disdainful superiority. To her Cayenne eyes, the savage Amicobane woman was far inferior to herself — to one who was almost a white woman, a civilized being, — and she took care to let her companion feel it whenever she had the oppor- tunity. To these attacks Nelle never replied, but it was evident that she did not in the least allow her supe- riority. There was too much black blood in our hostess for Nelle to bow down to her; the wild savage girl had not been tamed even by the all-subduing gentleness of the nuns at La Mapa ; it was not for her to stoop to a negro's daughter. Sometimes spite- ful fits would come over her, and she would call my attention to the woolly hair and black tinge which betrayed Alida's origin ; but her natural sweetness of temper and her maternal love would soon regain the ascendancy. As she looked at her little ones, too feeble yet to follow her into the untrodden forest, she felt it would not do to quarrel with her hostess, and applying herself to the duty of the moment with renewed diligence, she seemed to forget alike the dis- dain which was heaped on her and her own vindictive feelings. Dear Nelle ! companion of my long weary sufferings, poetry of my life in the Guianas, to think how a widow's grief changed thee into a cruel execu- tioner ! As to their children, both Alida and Nelle brought The Children of the Settlement. 2'ji up their little ones, or at least let them grow up, like the rest : much as young birds grow. As long as they needed to be fed and carried, both mothers lavished all conceivable care on their babies ; but as soon as they could run alone, which was much sooner than with us, they were left to themselves as much as possible. From that time they might sleep and bathe and run, and lose and find themselves again as they pleased. It seemed the chief aim of both mothers to allow the children perfect liberty ; no matter what was their sex, they only watched over them from a distance, like a kind Providence. Clever, hardy, daring little creatures, as agile as kittens in all their movements, the children thus brought up were pretty much like children all the world over, charming enough in their parents' eyes, but insupportable to strangers. Still I must confess our youngsters were better than the generality, for they were not treated as mere King Charles's lapdogs, nor stuffed with Latin and all sorts of " ologies." They were all so much alike in form and colour and general instincts, that it would have required a magnifying-glass to show the differences of race. The climate and the common mode of life levelled natural distinctions and made one single race, here and there of divers tints still, but fast blending into one general hue, partaking of a triple origin. Their infant life was marked by the common experiences ; inarticulate sounds at first, crying or smiling in the mother's arms, and soon rolling about T 2 2/6 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. on the ground and lisping little words. The moment a girl could walk, she helped her mother, and when her wings had grown, flew off whither Hymen carried her. As soon as a boy could hold an oar, he followed his father to the lake and went fishing with him, and when he attained the full vigour of early manhood, he chose one of the fair sex to share his earthly life, and took his departure, going wherever Providence might lead him. I never yet saw or heard of any Indian, however, who would barter his happiness, for riches. But in spite of all dissimilarities of race, or age, or sex, there was a common South American nature, a general feature of careless good temper, which is the great characteristic of all classes in these latitudes. It is said, and I quite believe it, that the hot moisture rising from the flooded soil enervates them, and robs them of energy either for bad or good, except when seized by sudden and rare inspirations, so out of their ordinary nature, that they cannot reckon on them. The balmy air of their soft savannas seems to breathe a spirit of careless indolence, just as the bracing air of mountains impels man to the pleasures of the chase. Nature has given them abundance, and why should they toil and strive ? They need only live. They are half-tamed swans, not fierce eagles, like their mountain neighbours. God has created them to swim gently over the teem- ing waters, plunging down their long necks occasion- ally below the surface to pick up their food when so disposed, and going back to the shore to sleep. He The Children of the Settlement. 277 has given them neither the lightning eye, nor the sharp talons, nor the tearing beak ; their kingdom is peace — war is for birds of prey. During all the months I spent in the cabin, I never saw the slightest dispute arise between my hosts, nor even any discussion. The most perfect unanimity, or rather the most absolute negation of dissension, pre- vailed. In these regions, where a man has no wants, or none that cannot be instantly satisfied, he has almost no motive for quarrelling with his neighbours, like us Europeans. Besides, his love of liberty, the first instinct of every human being, is not fettered by any fatality of social agglomerations ; he is not driven into collision with one of his fellows at every step, as we often are by the hurry and pressure of life. He neither submits to any law himself, nor imposes any on others ; is under no constraint whatever, either moral or physical ; he can live, and generally does live, alone. In all respects he is the thorough child of nature — the solitary, egotistic, poor ignorant man, but free and easy, strutting about in a sort of torpor, happy perhaps after a fashion ; but what is such happiness but a species of sleep } Such was the colony or tribe into the midst of which I had been providentially brought. It was a strange assemblage of human beings, somewhat re- sembling, except in their predatory habits, the gipsies of the middle ages — a peculiar heterogeneous race, without fixed abode or precise nationality. However, this colony was a faithful specimen of life and customs 278 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. in certain parts of South America, and on that account I have devoted two whole chapters to it. My long residence among them led me to make a careful study of my entertainers, and I have given you the results. It is a little separate world, which we do not see every day, humanity in a primitive state, before civilization has rubbed off the sharp corners of virtues and vices. If I am not mistaken, this is not a useless study, it will help us to under- stand ourselves ; and of all knowledge that is the most necessary to us in this lower world. CHAPTER XVII. AN INDIAN'S REVENGE— CAPTURE OF LECIPO— A TROPICAL SIESTA. ORE than three whole months I had spent thus in making observations, or rather in enduring suffering, for I only made observations because I could do nothing else. I dare say I should not have been longer than three days in the hut if I had only been able to get away. I was longing to be off, and so home-sick that if I had been offered all the treasures of the world on the sole condition of remaining in that country, I should most likely have refused them point blank. But my disease was stronger than my desires, and kept me a close prisoner in my hammock. All I could do was not to die ; in fact, it was a hand-to- hand struggle between my will and the disease, and the forces were so equally matched, that I often de- spaired of ever getting back to Cayenne. This dysentery is so tedious, and often so fatal a disease in hot countries, that one needs to have 28o The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, travelled in those parts to be fully aware of the danger. In South America it sometimes lasts six months, and even a whole year, and all that time the poor sufferer sees himself dying, melting away as it were by degrees, and nothing can be done. This single complaint kills more white men, and almost as many black, than all other complaints put together, even including yellow fever, that deadly man-slayer. It is against this that the emigrant should specially guard, and take every measure to preserve and in- vigorate his health. Those half-formed, low-lying, burning, damp countries are so unhealthy in some parts that even the wild animals cannot live in them, and a European who is seized with dysentery there, is almost always a dead man. It was a miracle how I escaped, I had it so violently ; but of one thing I am persuaded, that I owe much to my kind hosts, and but for them I should most likely have left my bones to whiten on the plains of these Guianas. Next to God, I have Alida especially to thank for my life ; not merely for her timely inter- position at first, but for her incessant cares. I shall never forget them while I live, and I trust she will accept this public mention as my grateful recognition of her untiring kindness. My own impatience at the long-continued illness no doubt helped to retard my recovery. Finding that strength returned by such imperceptible degrees, I was always forcing myself to eat, or trying new remedies, often against the wishes" of my hosts, though they did Alidds untiring Kindness. 281 not venture to refuse me anything. Incessant relapses followed, and the result was that at the end of three months I found myself hardly any better than the first day. Whenever I attempted to walk, my suffer- ings returned in full force, and if I persevered in spite of the torturing pain and went a few yards leaning on some one's shoulder, my weakness was so great that I was forced to lie down again almost imme- diately. I was literally dying day by day, and I looked so like a corpse already, that the children would say to each other when they saw me standing, "Mira, mira, the dead man has come to life again !" So I went on in a sort of circle, the only outlet of which seemed death. I had only sufficient strength left to suffer without complaining, and in all pro- bability should have gone on in this way to the end, if an event had not suddenly occurred which gave such a shock to my whole nature, and roused such a storm of emotions within me, that I took a resolution on the spot, which I have little doubt saved my life. It was my good or bad fortune to be compelled to see a case of lynch law, and even to be an eye-witness of some of those refinements of cruelty that Indians inflict on their enemies. It is a sad episode of my life in Guiana that I am about to recount, but it will be a little variety for you from my personal adventures, and that will afford me some compensation for the disagreeable task of recalling those horrors to memory. Heaven so willed it, that the Portuguese I have men- tioned, who caused the death of so many Urucuyennes, 282 The Adventures of Robinson T lay fellow. should pass in a canoe down one of the small streams of the Upper Araguari. Whither was he going ? Probably on one of his customary expeditions — to hunt runaway negroes, to kidnap or extort money from Indians, perhaps even to carry out with his own hands a proposal once made to me by a fellow of his stamp, to kill an Indian and get his head smoked, and then sell it to me for exhibition as a native curiosity. The Portuguese settlers in Brazil seem to have taken out a patent for tormenting the natives. Whatever the Brazilians themselves would not venture to do, — at any rate, with their own hands, — the Portu- guese would do without scruple. He has come to America to make his fortune ; no difficulty deters him, no shame keeps him back, nothing is wrong in his eyes that leads to success. There is, perhaps, not one amongst them who would not sell his soul for gain, if such wretches have any souls to sell. They are vultures in human form. The man in question was on his way to execute some dark deed, accompanied by two negroes and a guard of Brazilian soldiers. In passing down the river, he was recognized by one of the Urucuyennes, of the Oyapock. This Indian had been personally wronged by him, and he determined to take him prisoner alive, and carry him to our colony on Lake Manaya, where several members of his tribe were living, and amongst them his own relations, Nelle and her children. Who knows whether the Portuguese was not intended as a lover's present to her, a be- On the Track of the Portuguese. 283 trothal gift, by means of which he hoped to overcome the obstinate objections of the widow to his suit. I^ove and love-gifts are found everywhere, and work wonders among all the tribes of earth. From thought to action is a quick process with an Indian ; he often does not take a second to reflect. Away went the savage in close pursuit of his man, never losing sight of him for an instant; just as Ricard and his family watched me on my first arrival. It was running a great risk, for the Portuguese knew him, and knew his deadly hatred. If he had caught the Urucuyenne on his track, he would have killed him on the spot, for he was armed to the teeth ; he had with him guns and pistols, two negroes, and twenty soldiers. The savage had nothing but his sabre, his vade-mecum ; but when a son of the desert once takes a thing into his head, no matter whether it be love or revenge, he will do it ; he looks only at the end to be gained, and his sole concern is to reach it. If he succeeds, so much the better ; if he dies in the attempt, so much the worse. He is careless of his life beyond words; he is brave, brave and fiery as ourselves, when his passions are inflamed. Before the close of the second day's silent pursuit the Urucuyenne had taken his man. Theodoro Lecipo — that was the trader's name — had gone ashore with one of his negroes to gather fruit. The trees were loaded, and master and servant separated to secure a good supply. Now was a chance for the Indian, who was lurking about. Immediately 284 The Adventures of Rodinson Playfellow. he sprang out of his ambush on Lecipo, and grasping him by the throat to prevent any outcry, he dragged him half strangled to his canoe. Here his little boy was waiting, a child about seven years of age ; and, with his assistance, the Portuguese was gagged and tied up like a bundle. More dead than alive, he was ' placed in the bottom of the canoe under the heap of manioc and salt fish they had with them for provisions, and they rested their feet upon him, that no passer-by might guess their strange cargo. In this fashion they began their journey down the river, rowing with all their might in an opposite direction to that which Lecipo had pursued. But in the course of a few hours they encountered the Brazilian soldiers sent to aid the Portuguese in his iniquitous work. A bend of the river brought them face to face with the Brazilian brig. The Urucuyenne tried to get past unperceived ; but he could not suc- ceed, and was forced to obey the signal- of the com- mander, and go alongside the vessel. He was asked at once whether he knew anything of the Portuguese. " I met him just now," was the reply ; and without further parley as calmly and leisurely as possible the father and child resumed their journey. On they went, never stopping night nor day ; passing eleven cataracts and rapids without number ; dragging the canoe three times across the ground from one river to another, going altogether more than sixty leagues in eighteen hours. As for the Portuguese, they never released him for On the Track of the Portuguese. 285 an instant, even to let him breathe the air ; and when at last, on their arrival at Lake Manaya he was disen- tombed, he was quite purple and motionless, as if dead, and they had to sprinkle him with water for a quarter of an hour or more before he recovered consciousness. I do not know whether the news of the capture spread in some such fashion as perfumes in the atmosphere, one hardly knows how ; or whether the Urucuyennes spent the night in apprising their tribe of the fact ; but the morning brought twenty boat- loads of people to the cabin. Fresh parties kept arriving all day till evening; but the prisoner was brought out for public exhibition a few hours after sunrise, without waiting for all the spectators to assemble. The poor wretch had passed the night in a coral, an enclosure made with stakes fixed in the mud, where live tortoises were kept. He had been put in there without unbinding him even to rest his aching limbs. They gave him a little fish-soup when he arrived, lest he should die of starvation, and then fastened him up — not to prevent him from escaping, for that would have been impossible, but to protect him from wild beasts. There he had been all night long, seated on the ground, up to his middle in muddy water, and his legs jammed and bruised with the heap of tortoises piled up in that narrow space. I heard of Lecipo's capture the same night he came, or rather gathered it from a few words spoken near me, but I had not yet seen him ; and, when he 286 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. was brought out of his prison, I could hardly imagine he was a human being. From head to foot he was bedaubed with the filth and mud in which he had been lying ; his clothes must have been either torn in the struggle with the Indian, or by the tortoises in the night, for they were hanging all about him in dirty shreds. A strong bind -weed as thick as a good-sized rope was bound round his body, from the shoulders to the ankles, and held him so tight that in some parts the red swollen flesh was quite cut. As he could not stand, they propped him up against one of the posts that supported the roof, and tied him to it by the neck to save him from falling. Next minute the widowed Nell6, whose husband had been killed in the Bosh attack, came up to him, and, after loosening the cords a little, wiped his head and face with one of the petticoats used as dish-cloths. Every one could see him then distinctly. He was a man about fifty years of age, of middle height, neither stout nor thin, big nor little, and far more like a northern European than a Portuguese. He had a very fair skin for a southerner; his scant hair had evidently once been chestnut, and his beard was no decided colour at all. There was nothing peculiar about him except the eyes, which were bluish-green, dull, and lifeless. They seemed absolutely soulless, like the eyes of some amphibious animal; indeed, the resemblance was so striking that the Indians called him "Jacari," or alligator, alluding to his aspect as much as his greed. NelWs Revenge. 287 Scarcely was he recognized than a perfect storm of outcries and abuse rose on all sides from the two to three hundred individuals of both sexes that thronged the hut. The better to exhibit him, Nelle lengthened the cord round his neck for a few minutes, and let him swing to and fro like an effigy. Then she fastened him up again in his old position, and planted herself right in front of him, her eyes glaring with fiendish satisfaction. The unhappy man cowered beneath her gaze, and feebly implored mercy. But the very mention of the word seemed to fan her fury to a flame, for she almost shrieked out in Indian — " Mercy ! Who asks mercy } Is it Lecipo, — the greedy vulture that has been hovering over our tribe these many moons — the crafty "Jacari" that has been so long lurking in ambush to catch us unawares — the bloodthirsty Jaguar that was always prowling about our tents t Mercy to Lecipo ! Did he think of mercy when he killed my Coro, and made all the world dark to poor Nelle .-* Did he think of mercy when he bound Coro to a tree, and made him die a lingering death, draining away his life-blood with his cruel poisoned arrows .'* Did he think of mercy when he tried to steal my little ones out of my bosom, and made my boy, my young brave, a helpless babe for life } No, by Coro's spirit, he shall have no mercy ! I would even teach my infant's hands to tear out his eyes " — she added, snatching up her little girl, who was standing beside my hammock looking on with 2SS The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. half-frightened wondering eyes. " No ! " she repeated, " I promised Coro's spirit he should be revenged, and revenge him I will !" Nelle's passionate utterances were received with such noisy demonstrations of sympathy by the crowd, that it was evident they all considered she had the right to take the law in her own hands, and execute summary vengeance on the hapless criminal. But I was not inclined for any fresh horrors, and, sick at heart with the whole scene, I started up in a frenzy of indignation to rescue the poor wretch from her clutches. I got out of my hammock, but my watch- ful hostess held me back by main force ; and presently, on a sign from her uncle, Ricard went forward, seized the Indian woman by her arm, and pushing her with brutal violence right against the crowd, said : — "I will not have him touched. Jacari is mine !" Every one was silent. I fell back in my hammock so exhausted by the effort that my head was all in a whirl, and for some time I knew nothing that was going on. When I recovered sufficiently to look about again, the captive had turned towards me, and was speaking in feeble imploring tones. His face was so ghastly pale and terror-stricken, that I hid my head in my hands to shut out the sight. He no doubt misinter- preted the action, for he tried to get closer to me, and with a painful effort managed to put one foot before the other. But his aching limbs refused to carry him ; ^mm llliiffillLi :'■'':■;' .iii'i' VtK i^a^^^f^m>}^ \\ ^m(^^J■^■j^^^^'^"''^lH■B 1 'III' jhP >ls/=-- =^-^^M8 rM~ "The captive had turned towards me, and was speaking in feeble imploring tones." Fa^e 288. Threats and Recriminations. 289 he lost his balance and fell forward, hanging by the cord round his neck. The crowd had been quiet for a minute, watching what he would do ; but at this spectacle they burst into shouts of fiendish laughter, and mocked and jeered the poor captive cruelly. Again I rose, but Ricard's uncle anticipated me, and cut the cord round the man's neck, so as to let him drop on the ground. Almost directly afterwards, two of the mulattoes came forward and took him up and replaced him in the coral where he had passed the night. Two men were put to guard him, but all were at liberty to go and abuse him to their hearts' content, and pelt him with mud, the remains of fish, and all sorts of dirt, though they might not mutilate him. For upwards of an hour there was a mob round the coral, as if it were a pit in which some wild beast was confined. One after another came and taunted the prisoner with some evil deed or other. My hostess stood beside me all the time, interpreting what I did not understand, and making a sort of running com- ment on most of the threats and maledictions. It was a strange scene altogether, both grotesque and horrible. " You had my father killed for a barrel of roucou " (a dye), said one. " Your negroes beat the old man to death. I'll rip you up and tear your inside out, and paint a picture with your blood to pay you out for it." " You cheated me about my gold-bead necklace," 290 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. said another, a woman, " and charged me one-half too much. I'll tie your adder tongue to my necklace, and tear it out of your lying mouth and make a nutmeg- grater of it, that you may smart even after you are dead." " The Bosh negroes, those black carrion-crows," said an Indian, " boiled my brother's body with manioc and made a mess of it for their dogs. I'll boil you alive and pitch you to the alligators in the lake. You are not worth throwing to the dogs." The surrounding crowd kept perfect silence while this was going on, as if to hear and judge each one's individual wrongs. Not a sound was audible except the voice of the accuser and the lamentations and sometimes piercing cries of the prisoner. At intervals he would exclaim in Portuguese — " Oh, Holy Mother ! deliver me. I will ^\ve^ thee all I have — deliver me ! I will turn monk : I will never harm any one again ! " But his cries and promises were alike unheeded, and between each accusation there was a volley of shouts and yells and menaces, and even pelting with mud and sticks. His keepers never interfered except to prevent any one, especially the women, from thrusting their hands through the bars of the gate. This scene lasted more than an hour. In vain I implored my hostess to use her authority and put a stop to it. Her reply was, that but for me she would be among the rest and have her revenge on the man who had caused the death of her child. I saw there Threats and Recriminations. 291 was nothing to be hoped for from her, so I called her uncle and entreated him in the name of humanity to have the prisoner sent to Brazil or Cayenne for trial. But the old man said — " The ' pale-skin ' does not understand our affairs here on these lakes. In his own country do not his people kill those who kill t The Portuguese has money, both in Cayenne and Belem. His gold would save him : he shall die here." With these words he turned his back to me, and, as if to prove the justice of his sentence, went up to the coral. The women respectfully made way to let him approach the prisoner, and the old Indian bending over him said in a low voice, but distinct enough to reach my ear perfectly — " What did you do with the man you carried off last year to Lago Real t " " Pardon, pardon ! " cried the poor wretch. " I will give his widow a string of gold beads." The old man stood erect, and addressing his niece said — " Tell the ' pale-skin ' that the man I asked about, died of starvation in gaol for a paltry debt of less than two shillings." I could not reply. Again the stern old judge bent over the Portuguese and said — "Where were you going when Jacami took you .? " " Pardon ! pardon ! I was not going to the Uru- cuyennes. Besides, it was not my doing, I was sent u 2 292 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. by the governor of Macapa, and was only obeying his orders. Pardon, pardon ! I will give Jacami a new gun. You shall have my house in Belem all for yourself. Pardon, pardon ! I was on my way to the Galibis, the old enemies of the Urucuyennes." My hostess translated all he said, and I was silent. I felt that wrath had been too long and too justly heaping up against the prisoner to make my intervention of any avail at present. It was better to allow the storm to spend itself before making another attempt, or better still, perhaps, to aid his escape. The old man had gone back to his place, lifted his pipe which he had laid down at my summons, and re- lighted it. He was half lying in his hammock now, with one leg dangling over the side, rocking himself backwards and forwards as he smoked. Gradually the tumult subsided, and at last ceased entirely. Perfect stillness reigned in the hut ; and when I glanced towards the coral, I saw it was quite deserted, and the prisoner was alone. He was trying to bathe his face with the liquid mud about him. The thought came over me that the crowd had only left their victim to make preparations for his execution, and quite expecting to find some hideous gallows in process of erection on the shore, I felt I must get up and see what was going on. I was so weak and suffer- ing, that it was slow work, but at last I managed to get outside the hut. I seated myself on the prow of Balmy Sleep. 293 a canoe that had been drawn up on the beach for repairs, and looked around. The scorching rays of the sun bent fiercely down on lake and shore, but a light breeze was blowing, so soft and balmy, that it seemed to waft repose in its very breath. I felt overcome for an instant by the dazzling light and intense heat, and could not see clearly ; but gradually recovering myself, I discovered lying about in all directions, in hammocks and on the ground, and even in the canoes, the crowd that had thronged the hut so recently. There they were, sleeping peacefully, and when I turned and looked inside at the coral^ I saw the captive was now sleeping too. The heat of the day and fatigue had triumphed over pain. He was sitting up to his chest in mud, leaning against the back of his prison, his eyes closed and his head droop- ing. His two keepers lay full length on the ground, snoring their loudest, as if rejoicing in the conscious- ness of well-fulfilled duty. This strange sight was easily explained. It was nearly noon, and in those parts everything needs rest for two hours in the middle of the day ; from eleven to two o'clock not a single creature is stirring, not a human being is to be seen, not a bird in the air nor a fish on the surface of the water. Even the mosquitoes, those perpetual tormentors, are asleep. It is a uni- versal siesta for men, quadrupeds, birds, fishes, and insects. The idea struck me that I would take advantage of this siesta to release the prisoner, and save him from 294 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. the death which too Hkely awaited him. I went back to my hammock and lay down for a minute to recruit my strength and think over my plans ; but gradually and almost unconsciously, I followed the example of the rest of the world around me, and fell asleep. CHAPTER XVIII. A NOVEL GALLOWS — AN ALLIGATOR'S MEAL. — AN ALLIGATOR HUNT — BANQUET AND EVENING FES- TIVITIES — A MOONLIGHT SCENE. OME hours afterwards I was roused by the noise of a hatchet at work, as if some one were felling wood. I woke up with a start, and saw it was an Indian chopping away at a tree which was lying on the shore half in the water. He had not troubled himself to drag it right out, but stood on it just where it was, busily engaged in converting the upper half of the trunk into a large flat block. A carpenter at home would have made his block steady before commencing operations, and taken infinite pains to settle himself comfortably to work; but an Indian needs no such preHminaries ; he is a woodcutter by birth, for his country is one vast forest, and he learns to handle the hatchet from infancy. . The scenes of the morning rushed to my recollection as soon as I was fairly awake, and almost involuntarily I connected this Indian at work with the execution I 296 The Adventures of Rohinson Playfellow. feared was at hand. I looked hastily towards the coral ; a man had just opened the door of it, and was dragging the prisoner out by the leg, as unceremoni- ously as he would have pulled out one of the turtles. The body lay motionless in the mud, like a heavy corpse, and for a minute I hoped he had cheated his persecutors and died of exhaustion and pain. I was mistaken, however. Two men came up and carried him down to the shore, one holding his head and the other his feet. They flung him on the sand beside the Indian, much as railway porters fling down one's luggage, and then gave him soup to revive him a little, prior to his execution. He devoured it eagerly, with an appetite that even his guards might have envied. His last hour was evidently approaching, though the crowd had again completely disappeared. I felt I must make one more eflbrt to save the poor wretch, and determined to appeal again to Alida, for I had more power over her than over her husband or uncle, for the simple reason, I suppose, that she had saved my life. She was sitting on the floor about two ham- mocks off, sewing busily. No one else was in the hut, so I called her. She came immediately, as attentive and smiling as usual. I made her sit down over against my bed, and for more than a quarter of an hour sought, by brotherly entreaties, and even by promises, to gain my cause, or rather the captive's. I began to hope I had succeeded, for she made only monosyllabic replies, and I had just Preparations for Execution. 297 unfolded a plan I had devised for delaying the execu- tion till the next day, when she rose with a smile, picked up my blanket, which had slipped off, and, wrapping it round me as if I had been a sick child, said quietly, " My son is dead — that is all I can say." Then, as if to show me that any further interference would be ill-timed, she took herself off right to the other end of the cabin. My last hope went with her : I had not even strength left to drag myself as far as the prisoner. I lay back in my hammock, and pulled the covering over my head, to shut out the sight of the poor fellow's face. But next minute, in spite of my- self, I was forced to look up again, to see what would come next. I hardly knew what horrible tortures I dreaded, but my head was crammed with romances I had read, and all sorts of fiendish atrocities said to have been committed by Indians on their captives floated before my imagination. Meanwhile the Portuguese had eaten his fill, and now they were lifting him up on the trunk of the tree the Indian had prepared. He struggled desperately, but was no match for five or six enemies, and he was soon firmly bound to the fatal block by thick cords round the middle, his head and legs and arms being left free. A sort of oar, shaped like a club, was put into his hands, and then two men attached a long rope, measuring many hundred yards, to judge by the size of the coil, to each end of the log. Immediately afterwards they went away in opposite directions, and 298 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. jumped into canoes that lay waiting for them on the shore. Just at that moment a number of moving black spots appeared on the horizon of the lake which I soon perceived were canoes, advancing like a line of battle ships. There might have been about thirty or forty in all, and gradually they got closer together, and at last formed a long crescent, the two extremities of which touched the shore. They managed somehow to bring us right in the centre, exactly facing the line of canoes, and I speedily saw by the costumes of those in the nearest boats that this was the crowd of the morning. When the first canoes that formed the two wings of the crescent touched the shore, the men who had the log with the Portuguese on it in tow, began to row gently up towards the centre, dragging the tree with them by the long cords attached to it. The trunk was soon floating on the water, but the body of the criminal scarcely rose above the surface, and every now and then was completely submerged. This did not seem to meet the wishes of the occu- pants of the canoes, for I heard a general murmur of dissatisfaction ; and presently one of the Indians who had the log in tow, went on shore and fetched ^ hatchet. He walked right into the lake up to his neck, and I thought at first he was going to swim after the log and kill the prisoner at once, but all he did was to give a few blows to the under side of the trunk, which raised it immediately about a foot above A Novel Gallows. 299 the water. This done, he flung his hatchet on the beach and swam back to his canoe. The fatal trunk continued its course towards the middle of the lake ; the naked body of the Portuguese was now distinctly visible from every part of the shore, and from the whole line of canoes by which he was encircled. It was evident that some fearful tragedy was about to be enacted, against which my whole being revolted, but which I was powerless to prevent. All my nerves were quivering, and I even shuddered in fear of what was to come next, and yet I could not turn my eyes away : there was such a horrible fascina- tion about the drama, that I held my breath and gazed with staring eyes. When the captive had been towed out a consider- able distance, the rowing ceased, and immediately the circle began to narrow round him, getting nearer and nearer, as if each boat were bent on touching him in succession. Presently trunks of trees began to appear here and there in all directions within the enclosure formed by the canoes. They were moving about at random, sometimes coming from one side and sometimes from the other, but invariably returning from the extremities to the centre. They always steered clear of the canoes, however, though the circle kept constantly narrowing. I could not understand it : the trees seemed alive. Ricard's uncle had come back to the hut meantime, and as I not only wantea this mystery explained, but was also impatient to know what death the Portuguese ■THE SWAMPY PART OF THE LAKE." See page Tpi. The Alligators and their Prey. 301 was to die, I spoke to him and asked how they managed to make inanimate trunks of trees move about like that. " Not trunks of trees, but Jacaris " (alligators), was his brief reply. I understood all now. The canoes and their occupants had been down to the swampy part of the lake to rouse up the alligators, which slept there during the heat of the day. They had beaten the reeds with long sticks, some of which still remained in their hands. The terrified monsters had fled towards the water, and when the Indians thought they had enough for their purpose, they drove them gently before them, just as a shepherd might his sheep. The alligators feeling themselves at full liberty, and swimming far quicker than their leaders, were insensibly driven towards the shore where our cabin stood. Indeed the amphibious monsters were most of them well accustomed to this route, for every evening a little before nightfall they used to quit their swamps and come across to eat the scraps of fish or any remains of our meals they could find, and at daybreak returned to their haunts. Several times when I first arrived, both at dusk and in the early morning, my hosts had pointed them out to me swimming near the hut, and once in particular, after a great fishing expedi- tion, I remember counting more than fifty in one group. But just at that minute nothing was further from my thoughts than alligators ; eyes and head were so 302 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. completely occupied with the Portuguese that it never struck me that those long trunks of trees were any other than they seemed. By degrees the broad crescent of canoes had formed itself into a semicircle entirely enclosing the alligators. As long as they had plenty of space about them, the animals never noticed their pursuers ; but now that the canoes came closer, they evidently became uneasy, and went swimming round, seeking some outlet ; but the tactics of the Indians were so skilful, and their movements so gradual and cautious, that none of the monsters were frightened enough to grow desperate and dive under the canoes and so escape. There was no fear of their getting away on shore, for in the day- time not a single alligator would venture there, for fear of meeting a man or a jaguar, his two great enemies, and the only living creatures he dreads. As the canoes still kept advancing, however, they were driven mearer land, and before many minutes found themselves in close proximity with the log to which the unfortunate Portuguese was bound. The poor wretch had long seen his doom ; but still hoped to escape, reckoning on the perfect knowledge he had . of the natures of his different enemies. He feigned himself dead like the fox before her pursuers, and lay on the block as flat and motionless as possible, think- ing that the alligators would not notice him, before their terror at the nearer approach of the Indians had made them dart down below the canoes. His ruse was successful for some time, for not one of The Alligators and their Prey. 303 the monsters touched him, though perhaps as many as sixty were close round him. But the men who had the trunk in tow began pulling the cords and jerking it about as fishermen do their baits. The sudden shock made the Portuguese move one of his arms. This was enough ; three or four alligators caught sight of it instantly, and began swimming straight towards the tree. Immediately the two canoes that held the towing-cords made for the shore as rapidly as possible, dragging the trunk behind them, and closely pursued by the whole swarm of alligators. They formed themselves into a sort of flotilla, and one could see their heads, with the huge projecting lizard-like eyes, cutting the water like the prows of canoes. There were all sizes amongst them, from the little ones swimming beside their mothers, to enormous monsters, larger than the trunk of the tree on which the doomed man lay. As soon as the executioners thought their victim near enough to the shore, they stopped short, and allowed the closing scene in the tragedy to com- mence. In less than a minute all the large alligators were on the spot, and one of the foremost, opening wide his enormous jaws, gave a spring upwards right out of the water on to the fatal trunk. But he had miscal- culated the distance ; and without even touching the Portuguese, fell back again, with a cry almost like a child in pain. He was soon followed by another and then another, 304 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. and then I counted ten at once, all leaping up and thrusting out their horrible snouts together, snatching bits of flesh off the unhappy wretch, till at length the whole swarm jumped on the log simultaneously, so excited that they did not notice they were almost on dry land, and, in a twinkling, all that remained of the unhappy man disappeared like a morsel of bread thrown into a crowded fish-pond. While this feast was going on among the alligators, the canoes had come closer and closer, and were now only a few feet off the trunk of the tree. The mon- sters were too much engaged with their prey to notice the approach of their enemies, and now that the last morsel was eaten, a shower of arrows flew out from the canoes, and several pistol-shots were fired. The alligators were fairly caught in a trap ; there was not water enough for them to escape, and the majority did not even make the attempt. They remained motionless, without so much as trying to defend them- selves, either expecting death or trusting to their thick skins to make the arrows and even the balls powerless. But Indians know how to kill their foes ; they aimed at the eye, the only vulnerable part, and every time the arrow shot the mark, shouts of exulta- tion resounded from the canoes, and roaring like a wounded bull from the amphibious monster. A few of the shoal tried to get away by diving right down into the mud, but it was useless. The moment any alligator was discovered to be still alive, one of the canoes was down upon him, and he was Evening Revels, 305 dragged out of his hiding-place with hooks, and forced to the surface, where a score of arrows awaited him, shot with sure and steady aim. Not an animal de- fended itself, and very few escaped. Out of the fifty or sixty that comprised the shoal, only five or six large ones and a few little ones managed to slip away under the canoes out into the open lake. I counted that evening thirty-three lying dead on the beach, ranged in a row according to the size. When the chase was over, men, women, and chil- dren went down to the shore, a little distance beyond the muddy, blood-stained water, and jumped into the lake to bathe and refresh themselves after the fatigue and heat of the day. Then one after another began to return to the hut, and gradually the whole company arrived, and the festivities of the evening commenced. Frangois Ricard had done his share of the business well. Immediately after the Portuguese was brought in the night before, he had despatched a man to Macapa to get all the rockets and rum he could buy, and the boat had come back loaded with everything necessary for a grand fete — for dancing, banquet, and fireworks. No Roman emperor, not even Claudius Caesar himself, better understood how to cater for the appetites of his people than Ricard. There was smoking and drinking and letting off fire- works during the first part of the night ; but the fire- work display was soon over, as there was not a great supply, though I learnt afterwards, from Ricard him- self, that what they had burnt on that occasion cost X 3o6 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow, the best part of fifty pounds. There was rum enough, however, to last all night, and they never ceased drinking till the last drop was done. A few hours before daybreak the noise ceased, for the last of the carousers was so intoxicated that he had fallen asleep, and I was left in peace to my own thoughts, without being disturbed by uproarious laugh- ter or bacchanalian songs, each one with some impro- vised refrain insulting the dead Portuguese. I left my hammock and went outside for an instant to feel myself more alone. It was a magnificent night, neither too hot nor too cold ; every breeze loaded with perfume, and a sky overhead so thick with stars that it looked like a field of luminous snow. I seated myself on the same canoe as in the morning, and indulged in a quiet reverie. A few minutes afterwards the moon rose — the glorious tropical moon, the moon of Venice — clear and wondrously beautiful, more like a poet's dream than reality, entrancing the very soul of the gazer. Her immense round disc, red at first, became pale and contracted by degrees, and then poured a flood of light over forest and lake and wigwam. With my head in my hands, I sat watching her silvery beams on the waters, and thinking of home and my dear native land. Suddenly the calm, mirror-like surface of the lake became ruffled, and was soon in violent agitation. A solitary alligator passed by, then another, and then ten abreast ; after this they came in groups of twenty and thirty, and so quick at last that I could not count A Moonlight Scene. 307 them. Where they came from I could not tell, but they made direct for the shore, swimming silently and close to the surface, and advancing in a straight line towards the place where the dead ones lay. I was too much accustomed to such nocturnal scenes to be frightened enough to retreat. I stayed quietly where I was, to watch them devouring their dead companions, for that was evidently their intention in coming ; but all at once they stopped short, forming a circle round the shore like a pack of hounds before the keeper's whip. This was strange, and I could not make it out. It was impossible they could have seen me, for I was completely concealed in the shade of the hut ; even if they had, I was too far off to scare them away from such a tempting repast. A slight noise made me turn round, and at once the mystery was unravelled. A great black jaguar was coming along the shore. I could see him in the full light of the moon advancing steadily with a slow, stealthy tread. He went straight down to the row of alligators, seized one by the tail, threw it over his shoulder as a dog would a hare, and started off at a quick gallop. Almost immediately the whole pack, only kept back till then by the sight of the enemy, came up almost noiselessly out of the water, and next minute a for- midable concert of ravenous jaws at work announced that the feast had commenced. I left my seat to get nearer, so as to be able to see them better. They did not even stir at my approach. A fire was still burning 3o8 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. close by, and I pulled out a flaming brand and hurled it right among the guests. There was a sudden panic for an instant, and a general rush into the water ; but in less than ten minutes the horrible banquet com- menced anew. I might have repeated the experiment twenty times, but it would have been all lost labour ; I should have needed to mount guard over the dead if I meant to keep off the sharp teeth of their brothers. I did not care enough about them for that, so I went back to bed. When the day broke lake and shore lay like a deserted cemetery ; not a breath of wind was stirring, and a thick white fog hung over everything like a pall. The fatal trunk which had borne along the doomed man to death was still there, half covered by the water, and the cords that had bound him remained attached to it ; but nothing living was visible except a long procession of ants, arriving in millions from the neighbouring forest, and settling in black swarms on the gnawed bones of the allig:ators. CHAPTER XIX. A SUDDEN DEPARTURE — MACAPA — RETURN OF MY MESSENGER — NELLfi'S FORGET-ME-NOT — HOME AT LAST. ^^ T was still early when Nelle came up to my hammock ; but I was so absorbed in my own sad thoughts that I hardly noticed her ap- proach. My hostess always brought me a js cup of soup the first thing in the morning ; but she had gone to bed so late on the pre- ceding evening that she was still fast asleep. Nelle saw she was sleeping beyond her usual time, and came herself instead, to offer me a com of some medicinal beverage which she said she had concocted the night before while the others were carousing. I took the com in a careless, indifferent manner, without even looking at what was in it, or who brought it, and began to drink. Nelle came closer and leaning over me, said, with her sweetest smile — " Did you see .? Coro is at rest now in the land of spirits. Did you see how Nelle, the daughter of the Amicobanes, revenges those she loves .?" 310 The Adventures of Rohhison Playfellow. I could not taste another drop. The scene of yes- terday rose before me, together with the image of this Coro she had so faithfully loved, that she could com- mit the greatest cruelties to revenge him. What seemed, no doubt, to the young widow her greatest charm, filled me with rage and disgust. It was my illness, perhaps, or jealousy, or ignorance, or difference of nature, or perhaps all combined, that actuated me ; be that as it may, I looked at Nelle's eyes and then at her hands, and without drinking another mouthful, I flung the coiii across my hammock right out of the hut. She misunderstood my action, and said in her silvery voice so sweet that it sounded like a caress : — *• Isn't it nice, then 1 Nelle can't make it so well as the mulatto from Cayenne ; but she did her best, as if it were for her boy." " No," I exclaimed, " it is not that. The blood of the Portuguese is on your hands. He was a white man, belonging to a Christian nation like my own. I wish nothing from you." An indescribable look of astonishment stole over her face, changing gradually into one of sadness. She stood motionless for a minute, gazing at me silently, and then slowly walked down towards the shore. After examining each canoe, she chose one and pushed it into the water. I lay back in my hammock, already regretting in my heart my passionate anger, and following each movement with my eyes. As soon as the canoe was A Sudden Departure. 311 afloat she fetched a little blue box, all the property- she had in the world, unhooked her hammock, and followed by her children, the youngest still holding on by her petticoat, went back to the canoe. After she had put all in and the two little ones, she returned to the shore and picked up the coui that was lying where I had flung it outside the hut. She stowed it care- fully away, as glad to recover the treasure as we would be to find a lost ring given us by some one we loved. I had all but called her back, for I was so lonely and feeble, and she used so often to come and sit beside me ; I hardly know what foolish words of regret and entreaty were on my lips, but vexation or pride kept me from uttering them. She seated herself at the back of the canoe, took the oar, and, without even looking back, rowed away from the shore. I felt wounded to the quick, and burying my face in the pillow, gave way to a flood of tears. But before long my very sorrow made me think of departure, and rekindled such yearnings for my native land, that I dried my eyes hastily and sat up. I ran my fingers through my long tangled hair and beard, and tried to efface all traces of my unmanly emotion, and make myself look as imposing as possible, and then I called the old uncle. In spite of his make-believe humility, I had dis- covered long ago who " ruled the roast," and I deter- mined to address myself to head-quarters at once. My grief had turned to a sort of feverish indignation, 312 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. ready to break out on the slightest occasion. My blood was roused, and I forgot everything but my own imperious will ; I forgot even my position as a guest. A masterful spirit possessed me, demanding instant obedience, and prepared to enforce it if necessary. The old man was soon beside my hammock. He was still quite stupid with the rum he had taken the night before, but recovered himself almost imme- diately, and looking at me with that strange deference more or less invariably paid by Indians to the white race, said — "What does the Pale-skin want .?" " I am sick of this country of assassins," I replied. " I would not die here. Get a canoe ready for me ; charge what you please. I will pay it ; but I want to go at once." " It is the first time you have asked to go," he replied. " How should I know that this country was so deadly.?" " Is the Pale-face a child that can't walk and needs to be carried .? He stayed here — ^we said nothing. He wants to go — we will go immediately." A sudden thought seemed to strike him, and after a minute's reflection, and a hasty glance round the hut and down by the shore, he said — " And where is Nelle, then .?" " Am I to be her custodian ? I want to go this very day." " If Nelle is not here," he said, with such a piercing The Old Uncle has his Say. 313 look that it seemed to read my inmost soul, " if Nelle is not here, you have been saying something unkind to her." *' What is Nell6 to me ? I wish to go, now at once, do you understand ?" " As you please ; but listen first to an old chiefs advice. Nelle is proud, she has the blood of a chief in her veins ; but no white man's daughter can be more gentle and true to those she loves. The death of the Portuguese has upset you. Get over it, Nelle will come back." " You are all assassins, and she is the worst." " Not more so than your people. Is the Pale-skin's memory so treacherous that he has forgotten the history of his own nation t A great many moons ago, I can't say how many now, one of Alida's masters down in the big house at Approuague was reading aloud out of a book a story of his tribe. I was sitting against the door unperceived, and I heard and under- stood every word. The book told about a young girl in the city where you come from, who was forced to drink human blood to save her father's life. Is the Pale-face quite sure his people had more wrongs to revenge than Nelle had t I have spoken. We will start without delay." As he finished speaking he turned away and went up to Ricard's hammock. He said something in Indian which I did not understand, and almost imme- diately afterwards preparations for departure began. Inside and outside our cabin, under a sort of tent im- 314 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. provised for the occasion, and even on the bare ground beneath the open sky, men and women were lying in all directions, altogether numbering nearly three hun- dred individuals. Nearly all jumped into their canoes at once, and in less than an hour no one remained in the cabin but Ricard's family and the Urucuyenne Indians. All the rest, including the negroes and the mulattoes, had flown elsewhere, to resume their old easy life. A few hours afterwards a Brazilian cobesta, recently arrived from Belem, sailed out of the little bay where she was lying at anchor, and dropped down the shore in front of our cabin. It was a newly-painted, hand- some craft — or if not handsome, at least original- looking, with its immense white sail, and had spacious accommodation for both passengers and merchandise. The hammocks and wooden boxes containing the few goods belonging to the family were carried on board, and we followed. My host did not even wait to finish smoking a pile of fish in a corner of the hut ; the furore for departure seemed to have got hold of everybody, and nothing was thought of but how to get away as quickly as possible. The fish, like the cabin, were left behind, with no more regrets than if they had been leaves blown down by a storm. I was in great pain during the remainder of the day after we started and all that night. The motion of the boat brought back my old sufferings in full force ; but after the second day I was better, and from that A Disappointment. 315 time onward my recovery was so rapid that I was soon able to walk on deck. Our voyage began by crossing or sailing up a mul- titude of lakes and canals, sometimes so narrow that we had barely room to get through. Then we coasted along several islands, against which the waves were dashing with unusual violence. One of them, which we sailed past just at daybreak, was so covered with white birds that in the distance I thought it was a mountain of snow. Another was full of paroquets, that flew out as we passed in such flocks that they darkened the sky like great clouds, and made quite a shadow. On leaving these little islands we got out into what I supposed was the sea, as there was only land on one side ; yet the water was fresh, for it was drawn up constantly for the ship's use just as it was required. Occasionally we had to turn into some narrow inlet on the coast to escape wind or tide ; but we always managed to make way somehow. The Indians rowed almost without intermission, hoisting the sail as well, whenever there was the least breeze, so that our pro- gress was both rapid and constant. At length after five days' sailing, during which I hardly exchanged a word with my host, so absorbed was I in regrets and hopes, we came in sight of a tolerably fine fortress built right on the shore. Beside it there was a town so buried in thick, leafy bananas that we could only catch a glimpse here and there of red roofs peeping through the foliage. I took for 3i6 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. granted this was the capital of French Guiana, and turning to the old uncle who was lying at full length beside me on deck, managing the helm with his feet, I asked if this was the principal fortress in Cayenne. " Not Cayenne," he replied, " but Macapa." " Macapa ! How is that ? Is it near Cayenne ?" " No, a long way off." "Then we have not come yet to the end of our journey V^ "Yes, this is it." " Didn't I say I wished to go to Cayenne .'* Where is it you have brought me V* " You told me you wished to start away ; we obeyed your bidding." " Macapa ! But that is not a French settlement. Where are we.-* I wish to know, and that imme- diately." "You shall know this evening. When the last murucututu has flown past, and no sound is heard but the splash of the water against our boat, I will tell you all. Till then, collect your thoughts, and prepare your mind for what I shall have to say." "I want to go to Cayenne. Once more I ask, where am I V "With friends of your nation. Calm yourself. Anger is not a good preparation for what you have to hear." I said no more, for I felt overawed by the solemnity of the old man's words. Night came on rapidly, and before an hour had elapsed the murucututus had all •tiAJti. ,.. 6^/fA/:-/?£-r, ^, /'£/>/>/e/^ " I said. ** Is the white man's memory as forgetful then as his eyes 1 Don't you recollect the Urucuyenne that took charge of your letter ? " It was indeed the very man, but so altered that I did not recognise him. He handed me a packet care- fully wrapped in banana leaves, containing two letters and a little red and white flower, which grows in the savannas round Mapa. The flower was from Nell6. He had met her beyond Mapa, on the shore, with her two children, 322 The Adventures of Robinso?t Playfellow, just as she was preparing their evening meal. It was the gleam of her fire that discovered her. The young woman, knowing that he was sure to find me again, had gathered this "forget-me-not," of the American prairies, and told him to give it to me with these words : — " Give the white man this flower, and say to him that Nelle, the daughter of the Amicobanes, told you this : — ' The white and the red may live together in one flower, but not in one wigwam. Their colours are too dissimilar ; one or the other must fade. Nelle is going back to fade away among the sisters of La Mana ; but she sends this flower to the white chief. If he dies, let him bring it with him to the spirit land, that Nelle, who will die like him, may know him again among the white tribes.' " I took the flower without saying a word. I have it yet ; and when I die two lines will be found in my will to be strictly obeyed by my heirs on pain of for- feiting the property in favour of hospitals. The letters came from Cayenne. One was from my mother, who, though she had heard of my disappear- ance, determined to write, and let the letter take its chance of reaching me. She told me that, though she had waited long, she never despaired of my return, for she had seen me in a dream very ill, but just going on board a vessel to come home, and she felt certain I was still alive. The other was from my captain, who also wrote at all risks, charging me, if the tide had carried me to Brazil, never to forget that I was a soldier, and what was due to my country and to honour. Letters Jrom Cayenne. 323 The Indian waited patiently till I had read both letters to the end, and then he said : — "I have been a long while making the journey, because the yellow fever seized me at Cayenne on my way back ; but I took your letter safely, and have brought you these back. Give me my hooks." Alas for the poor fellow's hooks ! They had been diminishing in number day by day, just used as they were needed, and I had quite forgotten they were his stipulated reward. I gave him ten piastres instead, more than ten times their value ; but he seemed quite vexed and almost offended at my breach of promise. At last I satisfied him by giving him an old gun, all rusty, and almost in holes in several places, not worth two piastres at most ; but he had a fancy for it, and went away quite contented. Just as he had left me the old man came in. " It is your turn now to listen to me," I said. " I want you to hear these two letters." He sat down on a hammock, close beside me, and listened silently. When I had finished reading them I looked at him and said : — " My mother and my country both call me back. It is the voice of Providence — my destiny is not here." " The hour has not struck yet for you or me, that is plain," he replied. " Nelle has not gone back to the Amicobanes, her tribe. We will wait for her. I have sent in search of her elsewhere." " Take no further trouble on her account," I said. " She has gone back to the nuns at La Mana, and as 324 The AdvenUires of Robinson Playfellow. for me my mind is made up. I must return to my country ; but I promise to repeat your words to the chief of my nation." " Good. You are right — our day will come. Which way will you go .''" " The shortest." " We shall sail almost immediately for the port of Belem. We cannot go near the town because of this affair of Jacari ; but we are sure to meet some Euro- pean ship in the river that will take you on board, and if necessary Ricard will pay for a passage. You can send us guns in exchange, if you like, or nothing at all if your purse is empty." As soon as the tide permitted we weighed anchor. Our boat sped rapidly over the waters day and night, thanks to the old Indian at the helm, the most skilful and yet venturesome steersman I have ever met with in any part of the world. We passed town after town, and three days after leaving Macapa entered the mouth of the Belem river. There we anchored, and lay in the bay for twenty hours, waiting the arrival of some European vessel. On the morning of the second day we discovered a ship riding at anchor close by. I went on board at once, and found it was a French barque, bound direct for Bordeaux. I told the captain all my story, and received a hearty welcome as a ship- wrecked sailor. All my goods and chattels, except my grand- mother's gun, I left behind to my hosts. My clothes and uniform were not worth carrying home, but I Voyage Home. 325 remembered my captain's injunctions, and took them with me to restore them to my regiment. The ship was to weigh anchor with the tide, so I had to join her immediately. I was almost well now, cured simply by a week's stay on the Amazon. On these great arteries of the New World, and especially on the Queen of Waters, there are regular currents which carry off all miasmas, and make that part of the continent healthier than any other. Some day, I have no doubt, Guiana will be one of the most prosperous of the European possessions in South America. Our passage was almost uniformly good, and, after twenty-one days' sail, we arrived off the Azores. The captain, well knowing how joyful the sight of those islands would be to me, sent for me on deck in the middle of the night, and pointed out the distant lighthouse, gleaming like a star above the waves. I was so overcome with emotion, that I posi- tively hugged him round the neck, and kissed him on both cheeks. In ten days more we entered Bordeaux. I sent word to my mother immediately lest the sight of me unexpectedly, should be too great a shock, and next morning I set out for Paris. The day after I was folded in her embrace, and found myself sur- rounded by all my family. The news of my return had run like lightning from one relative to another, and each hastened to be the first to welcome home the lost brother. I need not attempt to describe the meeting. You know what coming home is 326 The Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. yourselves, even when you have been only three months away, and you can imagine my reception. I was indeed "the lost son found, the dead alive again." For three or four weeks I was quite the " lion " of my little circle, and people gazed at me as if I had been some curious animal. One of the members of the Government even sent for me to come and see him. So much attention was enough to turn my head, but I had too long chewed the bitter cud of solitude to be ever beguiled again by the emptiness of earthly things. It was well for me it was so, for " the lion of to-day is often the ass of to-morrow." Envy is "an ill weed that grows apace," and so I found it. By degrees people became jealous of my fame, and in a few weeks' time, simply because I had travelled more and seen more than they had, I began to be looked upon as only a poor, stupid fellow, after all. I was surprised at first, and a good deal annoyed, but I soon got used to it, and could say with Hamlet, " Venom, to thy work ! " Gradually I learnt to make it my one concern — to do what was right, to obey my conscience scrupulously and unhesitatingly, without troubling my head about consequences. For nearly a whole year I did nothing but bask like a lizard in the dearly-loved sunshine of my native land. But travellers are like dram-drinkers. He who has drunk must drink again, and he who has travelled must travel again. A sort of fever Home. 327 gets into one's blood, and you must go, come what may. It hardly matters where, but you must be on the wing. So it was with me two years afterwards ; and many and many a going and returning I have had since, — so many that, but for my note-book, I should almost forget the number. At present I am compelled to lie by, through indisposition ; but I am like a rusty sword in the armoury, only waiting for a little oil to burnish it afresh, for a further campaign. I am profiting by this leisure time to write this opening part of my life. Some day I may tell you about my other travels, but this first voyage will always be the most memorable in my history, for in that long, dreary solitude I first awoke to true spirit life, first found the secret of true peace. So ends my story, and now for a few last words. I have been trying to give you an idea of an almost unknown and uninhabited country. I have described all I saw and suffered there, and the pro- vidential interpositions which saved my life. I think there are two lessons to be drawn from the whole narrative, which I would fain impress upon you. One is, that we sJioidd never despair, while we live, of any- thing whatever. Rome, the ancient mistress of the world, recognised but one human virtue from which all others flowed — Perseverance. Sooner or later God will come to the help of those who struggle bravely against misfortune, while they are at the same time 328 TJlc Adventures of Robinson Playfellow. perfectly resigned to His will. Besides, if only to fulfil our mission as human beings, we should each do our utmost to succeed in our individual work. From the lowest artisan to the highest monarch each has his earthly mission, and whoever fails in it must bear the penalty. When we think of human feebleness, we may well look on ourselves as mere ants, so frail and insignifi- cant are we. But when, on the other hand, we re- member that these ants are living instruments used by the Creator, when and how He pleases, for purposes unknown to us — when we are like soldiers faithful to the orders of the captain we call conscience, and, march- ing in file, looking neither to the right nor left, go straight onwards — when, in a word, we do our best in eveiything and always, the end itself disappears in the satisfaction of accomplished duty. Providence is our leader, directing each step, as a far-seeing master guides his workman. The other lesson of my story is, that zve should be always ready for death. Whether our life is peaceful or stormy, it is only a voyage three or fourscore years at most, and it may end at any moment. The great thing is to do the duty of each day as it comes, like good servants, and be always ready to return home at the Master's call. THE END. DKADUUKV, AGNEW, & CO., I'KINTKRS, WHITIiKRIARS. 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 7^pf mfi REC'D LO NiAR 2 3 1958 LD 21-50m-8,'57 (.C8481sl0)476 General Library University of California Berkeley YC I 02088 M279069 95^ THE UNH^RSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY