Perseverance Island; Or, The Robinson Crusoe of the Nineteenth Century

by Douglas Frazar

  CHAPTER XIII.

  Make a hatchet of my iron hammer. Make matches and utensils for house. Team of goats, chairs, table, etc. Birch-bark canoe. Arrangements for winter.

  I have said that when the Hermitage was finished the summer hadpassed away. Let me describe what the weather had been, and somethingconcerning the climate and fruits and plants that had been coming tomaturity, whilst I was hard at work on my house.

  I found the summer days often hot, but never very unpleasantly so. Iexperienced the usual amount of rainy weather that it would be naturalto find in a similar latitude in the northern hemisphere. There weredays, of course, in which it was very hot, and there were other daysin which large quantities of rain fell, but upon the whole the climatewas delightful, more like that of the inland sea in southern Japan thananything else to which I can compare it. The island was singularlyfree from fogs and mists, but then I might reasonably look for theselater in the season. When the day was very sultry, I had always thebeautiful sandy basin of Stillwater Cove to bathe in. So far I hadnothing to complain of on this score, and felt confident that thewinter would be mild and short. It was about this time that I felt theneed of more tools, and especially a hatchet, which I finally concludedto make out of my hammer, which, be it remembered, I had constructedout of the boat's anchor. I took this hammer, and by repeated heatingsand beating with a piece of the remaining shank, I forged it into theshape of a hatchet, still leaving the eye as it was when used for ahammer. I then went to the place where I had been cast on shore, andprocured some clay like that from which I had made my lamp tower, andformed some rough crucibles by burning them in hot wood fires. Into oneof these I put my hatchet-head and filled round about it with smallpieces of charcoal and slips of the skin of my goats and small piecesof unburned, soft wood, and carefully sealed up the orifice with aquantity of the moist clay, and cast the crucible into a hot fire; nothot enough to fuse the iron, however, and kept it there, watching itcarefully from time to time, nearly three days, when I dragged it outof the flames, broke open the crucible, and took out my hatchet-head,converted into excellent steel of superior hardness and temper. I soonprocured a soft species of stone as a whetstone, and by the labor of afew hours brought the edge to a fine degree of sharpness, and, havingfitted a handle by means of my knife, I had a splendid instrument toaid me. No mortal ever looked upon the works of his own hands with moreadmiration than did I upon my steel hatchet. Many things which I hadnot before deemed possible I could now attempt. After I had made myhatchet I commenced many improvements round about me. I made severaltrips to my vegetable garden, and saw with the utmost satisfactionthat all my seeds had sprouted, and I supplied myself with all kindsof vegetables during the whole season. I took great care to preservecarefully a great plenty of the seeds of each species, and thought moreof that than enjoying them, but they were so plenty that I had ampleof nearly all for food. My wheat, however, I saved every kernel of forsowing next year.

  I had by this time several very tame goats tied up about the hermitage,and I made up my mind to break a span or two of them to harness, andfor this purpose, as I could not construct wheels, I made a sled bybending two small limbs in the shape I desired, and fastening themby cross pieces, all of which I held together by straps of manillalashings and by holes burned with a hot nail from one part into theother, into which I drove small pegs of hard, seasoned wood, andfinally turned out quite a respectable sled, about twice as large as acommon boy's sled, and the runners much wider, so as not to sink intothe soil. To this I attached my four goats, making the harness out ofthe hides of those that I had killed, which I sewed together in goodshape with strong manilla twine by means of my bradawl, making realgood, strong work. The traces I made by laying up small strands ofthe manilla rope, and ended by turning out four sets of breast-plateharnesses; strong and durable, and easily adjusted.

  I found very little difficulty in breaking my team into drawing thissled, and by means of it I brought home many useful acquisitions formy winter's use, but chiefly coal from my coal mine, which was abouttwo miles distant. I used to carry my sled across Rapid River, belowthe falls, and then drive over my team upon a sort of rocky causewaythat I had built so that they did not have to tread very deep in thewater, and then, harnessing them up, I used to start for the mine,and by means of the anchor-fluke, I dug out easily enough coal in ashort time to load my sled, and dragged it home to the river, whence Itransported it across in a basket of willow twigs that I had made in myleisure moments. In this way, before winter, I had at least two tons ofcoal near the door-way of the hermitage, all handy for winter use. Withthis same sled and team, I gathered also a large amount of wood, whichI could now cut into proper lengths with my hatchet. I constructed ofsmall stones and mortar in one side of my large fire-place, a sort ofgrate, with a chimney made of sections of pottery pipe manufacturedof clay from the landing place, that led up into the main chimney, inwhich I could burn my coal if I wished to, or make a wood fire besideit. I found very little difficulty in making several clumsy but usefulvessels of clay, which I baked successfully and glazed with salt; mybook of useful arts and sciences giving me an idea how to do it. Mynext task was to make matches, and the information necessary for thisI also procured from my book. The wood I easily obtained by splittingup small, thin sections of well-seasoned pine with my hatchet, andthese again I sub-divided into matches with my knife. I then caught aquantity of fish with my harpoon, which I had no difficulty in doingat any time, especially the small dog-shark species, and chopped upthe bones of the head with my hatchet, placing them at a distance frommy habitation. These I allowed to putrify till they were luminous withphosphorus, which I gathered carefully in the night-time by separatingit from the putrid mass and carefully pressing it. I then procured someturpentine from the resinous trees near to me, and made a mixture ofsulphur, phosphorus, and turpentine, which I heated, and into whichI dipped each match singly, and laid it aside to dry. I afterwardsdipped each into a melted solution of pure spruce gum, very thin, topreserve them from the weather. I made several attempts before I wassuccessful, but at last I obtained the right proportions and made mea stock of matches that worked well if they were used with care, andif the weather was not too damp, when I was often driven to the use ofmy flint and steel. For winter provisions I visited, with my sled andteam, the sweet-potato fields, and laid in a large stock, also pickinga quantity of the tobacco plant and curing it for my own use, and thiswas my greatest solace in my loneliness.

  I found upon the island a species of gourd, and I soon had in my homea set of these useful utensils, which, by dividing, I also made intobowls and saucers. I also, from Breakwater ledge, procured any numberof the large deep mussel-shells, nearly a foot in length, which wereuseful as receptacles for all sorts of things.

  I found no difficulty, by a treatment which I found in my book, inpreserving, by means of tannin procured from the inner bark of aspecies of scrub oak with which the island abounded, all the skinsof my goats, and I soon gathered together a stock of both tanned anduntanned ones, some with the hair on and some with it removed. I hatedto attack my friends the seals, and yet it was about this time that Imade a trip across the island and killed ten of them for the purpose ofprocuring their skins, which I added to my stock.

  I found no difficulty, by means of my knife, in cutting out quite arespectable pair of trousers, and a sort of hunting jacket from thegoat-skins; but the sewing of them together was a harder task. Still,before winter set in, I was clothed in quite a nice buckskin suit,and had, with my seal-skins and goat-skins with the hair left on, thewithal to make at any time a winter suit that would protect me fromthe cold, so that I had that trouble off my mind. As for shoes, Ieasily made me a pair of moccasins of the goat-skin, with the hair sidewithin, which were very comfortable and useful. I also from my skinsmade me a much more useful and ornamental cap to replace the one ofrushes that I had worn throughout the summer.

  I also made me a nice tobacco pouch, and several other useful articlesof skin,
including a sort of game bag, which I carried over my shoulderby a broad skin band; this latter was especially useful to me. I alsomade from my clay several useful but rather clumsy pipe-heads, and witha reed stem I was fitted on this score and had no more fears aboutbreaking my old clay one. For meat for the winter I laid in largestocks of my dried or jerked goat's flesh, and I had little fears onthis score, as I could always procure fresh meat now, when I desiredit, for my goats had begun to propagate already. From them I alreadyobtained milk, in larger quantities than I had any use for, but had toomany things to think of, of more importance than to try at this timeto make cheese. I caught in the river large quantities of a speciesof herring, and also a few fine salmon, which visited the river, butonly for a short time, being unable to ascend the falls. All of these Icured by smoking, by building a hut round about them and keeping themfor a long time in the densest smoke by burning green wood underneaththem. I cured also in this way some few hams of my goats.

  After having gotten these things about me, I tackled others of lessimportance, perhaps, but necessary for my comfort. In one of myexcursions to the coal-mine I discovered what I felt convinced waslimestone, and upon bringing a piece home, and testing it by fire, Ifound I was correct, so here I had all the lime I should ever needfor any purpose, easily procured by burning the stone and gathering upthe residue. I now commenced upon the interior of my house, and in thefirst place made myself a nice hammock of four goat-skins, with thehair inside, which I stretched from the central post of my room to oneof the window jambs. I then went to work upon a bed, and cut first withmy hatchet four uprights with forked ends, like the letter Y, from asmany limbs, about four inches in diameter and three feet high; intothese forks I placed two long poles, some two inches in diameter, andfastened them there securely by means of manilla strands. I then bracedthe ends and sides by lashing, both lengthwise and endwise, poles aboutone foot from the ground, which kept the whole in shape, and althoughit was not so strong as if dovetailed together by a cabinet-maker, itanswered all purposes, and when pushed up against the wall, in thecorner, was further supported upon two sides. Across this I stretchedcords of manilla, and over them I laid long, soft, pliable rushes, andover them again seal-skins, with the hair side upward; and I had atlast a capital bed. My chairs did not give me so much trouble, for Ifound two old roots of trees, that, with a little hacking off here andthere with my hatchet and a goat skin for a seat, made as easy chairsas any body ever sat in; of course they were too heavy to be movedabout, but for all practical purposes they were perfect, and I couldrest in them with the greatest comfort and ease.

  With my clay I easily baked some shallow dishes with a handle, intowhich I poured my sharks' liver oil and fitted with pith wick and hadno want of light. One of these lamps I suspended from the ridgepole innearly the centre of the room, just clear of the upright, and two orthree feet above my head, fitted with three wicks, which, when lit atnight gave me a pleasant and abundant light. I made favorites of oneor two of my young goats, and used to allow them to occupy the housewith me, and became much attached to them, and in the evening when nottoo busy, amused myself by teaching them to walk on their hind legs,and other playful tricks which seemed for a moment to make me forgetmy loneliness. I was not satisfied with what I had yet done for theinterior of my house, and I therefore went to work, and made myself atable on the same plan as the bed, except that it was higher and muchlighter, and across this I stretched a large section of birch barkwhich I stripped from a tree; this table pleased me so much that I wentto work and made a lighter one still for my ink, pens, and books, etc.,retaining the other for eating purposes. In fact, before the winter wasended I had four of these tables in the house, which were very handy,and yet after all were not difficult to make. For a door, I cut severalcanes and lashed them together with manilla rope strands, and hung itby the same material, but it would not open or shut very well, and Iwas forced to lift it carefully, but then I only closed and opened itonce a day, morning and night. The floor of my house troubled me morethan anything else, but finally I covered it with a coating of claythat I brought on the sled by repeated trips to the clay field; this Imixed with a quantity of lime and sand and put it down whilst moist,and it formed a sort of cement, and soon became hard and firm, but itwas always dusty to a degree and not as clean as I could have wished,but it did very well,--at least, I could think of nothing to improve it.

  It was at this time, when I seemed to have gotten everything wellabout me for the winter, which was sensibly approaching, for it wasnow the month of May, and some of the days had been quite chilly andunpleasant, that I was taken with the insane idea of building a boat. Ido not know for what earthly purpose I desired one, except, possibly,I might coast along in Stillwater Cove or the margin of PerseveranceBay and if I found anything that I needed I could transport it betterin the boat than any other way. I was well aware that I had no toolsto make a boat with, but for that very reason I was determined tomake one. I had made up my mind, if I must play the part of RobinsonCrusoe, that I would at least prove to myself, if to no one else,that thousands of things can be accomplished by a little ingenuityand contrivance that seem difficult upon first view. For instance, Ithought at once of several ways in which I could make a boat: one, byhollowing out a log with my hatchet and by means of fire; another bymaking a light frame of twigs and stretching skins over it; or stillanother and very much the best method, by taking the bark from a birchtree and making an Indian birch-bark canoe. This latter was the easiestand simplest, and a plan that I knew something about, so I went aboutin the woods till I found a splendid great birch that pleased my eye,some two feet or more in diameter, with a bark seemingly without aflaw. It took me nearly a day to build up a kind of platform of woodand stones, so as to reach high enough up the trunk of the tree tomake a circular incision with my knife at about fifteen feet from theground, and then one perpendicular till within about two feet of theground, where I made another round about the tree, leaving me a stripof bark some thirteen feet in length. This I forced off, using greatcare not to tear or split it, by means of a series of wedges which Iforced in under the bark with my hatchet. At last the piece lay beforeme upon the ground, and the worst part of my task was done, for I soonbrought the ends together, filling them first with melted pitch, andlashed them with thin withes of a kind of willow which I split for thepurpose, the same as the Indians do; and having sewed and lashed upboth ends, after cutting the bark with my knife in the right shape,I split up with my hatchet long, limber, thin pieces of a species ofash, in the green state, something like hoops to a flour barrel, butsomewhat wider and stronger, and with these cut in different lengths,and inserted within the bark, I gave the canoe its shape, the longest,widest, and strongest ones being in the centre, from which theyshortened towards each end. Inside of the gunwale the whole length oneach side I stretched a pliable cane pole, rolling the bark round aboutit and sewing the whole down with manilla strands and green withes ofwillow.

  It was amazing to see what a beautiful, light, and graceful boat I hadproduced with only about a week's labor; one that I could put upon myhead and carry towards the water with ease. I soon, by means of myhatchet and knife, fashioned out a paddle, and my canoe was complete. Ilaunched her in Stillwater Cove, and she floated like a duck, and wasbesides of a beautiful model, and, as I well knew, would stand terrificweather if properly handled, being one of the best sea-boats in theworld, not excepting the famous Nantucket whale-boats. I was delightedwith my success.

  I did not gather all these things about me without many bitter hoursof loneliness and despair; but their constructions and the readingof my book, which I consulted almost nightly, kept me often frommiserable repinings. I felt that I was gaining, and that I had not yetdone making nature, ingenuity, and industry improve my condition andincrease my comforts.