L'île mystérieuse. English

by Jules Verne

  Chapter 8

  The first week of January was devoted to the manufacture of the linengarments required by the colony. The needles found in the box were usedby sturdy if not delicate fingers, and we may be sure that what was sewnwas sewn firmly.

  There was no lack of thread, thanks to Cyrus Harding's idea ofre-employing that which had been already used in the covering of theballoon. This with admirable patience was all unpicked by Gideon Spilettand Herbert, for Pencroft had been obliged to give this work up, as itirritated him beyond measure; but he had no equal in the sewing partof the business. Indeed, everybody knows that sailors have a remarkableaptitude for tailoring.

  The cloth of which the balloon-case was made was then cleaned by meansof soda and potash, obtained by the incineration of plants, in such away that the cotton, having got rid of the varnish, resumed its naturalsoftness and elasticity; then, exposed to the action of the atmosphere,it soon became perfectly white. Some dozen shirts and sock--the latternot knitted, of course, but made of cotton--were thus manufactured. Whata comfort it was to the settlers to clothe themselves again in cleanlinen, which was doubtless rather rough, but they were not troubledabout that! and then to go to sleep between sheets, which made thecouches at Granite House into quite comfortable beds!

  It was about this time also that they made boots of seal-leather, whichwere greatly needed to replace the shoes and boots brought from America.We may be sure that these new shoes were large enough and never pinchedthe feet of the wearers.

  With the beginning of the year 1866 the heat was very great, butthe hunting in the forests did not stand still. Agouties, peccaries,capybaras, kangaroos, game of all sorts, actually swarmed there, andSpilett and Herbert were too good marksmen ever to throw away their shotuselessly.

  Cyrus Harding still recommended them to husband the ammunition, and hetook measures to replace the powder and shot which had been found inthe box, and which he wished to reserve for the future. How did he knowwhere chance might one day cast his companions and himself in theevent of their leaving their domain? They should, then, prepare for theunknown future by husbanding their ammunition and by substituting for itsome easily renewable substance.

  To replace lead, of which Harding had found no traces in the island, heemployed granulated iron, which was easy to manufacture. These bullets,not having the weight of leaden bullets, were made larger, and eachcharge contained less, but the skill of the sportsmen made up thisdeficiency. As to powder, Cyrus Harding would have been able to makethat also, for he had at his disposal saltpeter, sulphur, and coal; butthis preparation requires extreme care, and without special tools it isdifficult to produce it of a good quality. Harding preferred, therefore,to manufacture pyroxyle, that is to say gun-cotton, a substance in whichcotton is not indispensable, as the elementary tissue of vegetables maybe used, and this is found in an almost pure state, not only in cotton,but in the textile fiber of hemp and flax, in paper, the pith of theelder, etc. Now, the elder abounded in the island towards the mouth ofRed Creek, and the colonists had already made coffee of the berries ofthese shrubs, which belong to the family of the caprifoliaceae.

  The only thing to be collected, therefore, was elder-pith, for as to theother substance necessary for the manufacture of pyroxyle, it was onlyfuming azotic acid. Now, Harding having sulphuric acid at his disposal,had already been easily able to produce azotic acid by attacking thesaltpeter with which nature supplied him. He accordingly resolved tomanufacture and employ pyroxyle, although it has some inconveniences,that is to say, a great inequality of effect, an excessiveinflammability, since it takes fire at one hundred and seventydegrees instead of two hundred and forty, and lastly, an instantaneousdeflagration which might damage the firearms. On the other hand, theadvantages of pyroxyle consist in this, that it is not injured by damp,that it does not make the gun-barrels dirty, and that its force is fourtimes that of ordinary powder.

  To make pyroxyle, the cotton must be immersed in the fuming azotic acidfor a quarter of an hour, then washed in cold water and dried. Nothingcould be more simple.

  Cyrus Harding had only at his disposal the ordinary azotic acid and notthe fuming or monohydrate azotic acid, that is to say, acid which emitswhite vapors when it comes in contact with damp air; but by substitutingfor the latter ordinary azotic acid, mixed, in the proportion of fromthree to five volumes of concentrated sulphuric acid, the engineerobtained the same result. The sportsmen of the island therefore soonhad a perfectly prepared substance, which, employed discreetly, producedadmirable results.

  About this time the settlers cleared three acres of the plateau, andthe rest was preserved in a wild state, for the benefit of the onagers.Several excursions were made into the Jacamar Wood and the forests ofthe Far West, and they brought back from thence a large collection ofwild vegetables, spinach, cress, radishes, and turnips, which carefulculture would soon improve, and which would temper the regimen on whichthe settlers had till then subsisted. Supplies of wood and coal werealso carted. Each excursion was at the same time a means of improvingthe roads, which gradually became smoother under the wheels of the cart.

  The rabbit-warren still continued to supply the larder of Granite House.As fortunately it was situated on the other side of Creek Glycerine,its inhabitants could not reach the plateau nor ravage the newly-madeplantation. The oyster-bed among the rocks was frequently renewed andfurnished excellent molluscs. Besides that, the fishing, either inthe lake or the Mercy, was very profitable, for Pencroft had made somelines, armed with iron hooks, with which they frequently caught finetrout, and a species of fish whose silvery sides were speckled withyellow, and which were also extremely savory. Master Neb, who wasskilled in the culinary art, knew how to vary agreeably the bill offare. Bread alone was wanting at the table of the settlers, and as hasbeen said, they felt this privation greatly.

  The settlers hunted too the turtles which frequented the shores ofCape Mandible. At this place the beach was covered with little mounds,concealing perfectly spherical turtles' eggs, with white hard shells,the albumen of which does not coagulate as that of birds' eggs. Theywere hatched by the sun, and their number was naturally considerable, aseach turtle can lay annually two hundred and fifty.

  "A regular egg-field," observed Gideon Spilett, "and we have nothing todo but to pick them up."

  But not being contented with simply the produce, they made chase afterthe producers, the result of which was that they were able to bring backto Granite House a dozen of these chelonians, which were really valuablefrom an alimentary point of view. The turtle soup, flavored witharomatic herbs, often gained well-merited praises for its preparer, Neb.

  We must here mention another fortunate circumstance by which new storesfor the winter were laid in. Shoals of salmon entered the Mercy, andascended the country for several miles. It was the time at which thefemales, going to find suitable places in which to spawn, precede themales and make a great noise through the fresh water. A thousand ofthese fish, which measured about two feet and a half in length, came upthe river, and a large quantity were retained by fixing dams acrossthe stream. More than a hundred were thus taken, which were salted andstored for the time when winter, freezing up the streams, would renderfishing impracticable. By this time the intelligent Jup was raisedto the duty of valet. He had been dressed in a jacket, white linenbreeches, and an apron, the pockets of which were his delight. Theclever orang had been marvelously trained by Neb, and any one would havesaid that the Negro and the ape understood each other when they talkedtogether. Jup had besides a real affection for Neb, and Neb returnedit. When his services were not required, either for carrying wood or forclimbing to the top of some tree, Jup passed the greatest part of histime in the kitchen, where he endeavored to imitate Neb in all that hesaw him do. The black showed the greatest patience and even extremezeal in instructing his pupil, and the pupil exhibited remarkableintelligence in profiting by the lessons he received from his master.

  Judge then of the pleasure Master Jup gave to the inhabitants
of GraniteHouse when, without their having had any idea of it, he appeared oneday, napkin on his arm, ready to wait at table. Quick, attentive, heacquitted himself perfectly, changing the plates, bringing dishes,pouring out water, all with a gravity which gave intense amusement tothe settlers, and which enraptured Pencroft.

  "Jup, some soup!"

  "Jup, a little agouti!"

  "Jup, a plate!"

  "Jup! Good Jup! Honest Jup!"

  Nothing was heard but that, and Jup without ever being disconcerted,replied to every one, watched for everything, and he shook his head in aknowing way when Pencroft, referring to his joke of the first day, saidto him,--

  "Decidedly, Jup, your wages must be doubled."

  It is useless to say that the orang was now thoroughly domesticated atGranite House, and that he often accompanied his masters to the forestwithout showing any wish to leave them. It was most amusing to see himwalking with a stick which Pencroft had given him, and which he carriedon his shoulder like a gun. If they wished to gather some fruit fromthe summit of a tree, how quickly he climbed for it. If the wheel of thecart stuck in the mud, with what energy did Jup with a single heave ofhis shoulder put it right again.

  "What a jolly fellow he is!" cried Pencroft often. "If he was asmischievous as he is good, there would be no doing anything with him!"

  It was towards the end of January the colonists began their labors inthe center of the island. It had been decided that a corral should beestablished near the sources of the Red Creek, at the foot of MountFranklin, destined to contain the ruminants, whose presence would havebeen troublesome at Granite House, and especially for the musmons, whowere to supply the wool for the settlers' winter garments.

  Each morning, the colony, sometimes entire, but more often representedonly by Harding, Herbert, and Pencroft, proceeded to the sources of theCreek, a distance of not more than five miles, by the newly beaten roadto which the name of Corral Road had been given.

  There a site was chosen, at the back of the southern ridge of themountain. It was a meadow land, dotted here and there with clumps oftrees, and watered by a little stream, which sprung from the slopeswhich closed it in on one side. The grass was fresh, and it was nottoo much shaded by the trees which grew about it. This meadow was tobe surrounded by a palisade, high enough to prevent even the most agileanimals from leaping over. This enclosure would be large enough tocontain a hundred musmons and wild goats, with all the young ones theymight produce.

  The perimeter of the corral was then traced by the engineer, andthey would then have proceeded to fell the trees necessary for theconstruction of the palisade, but as the opening up of the road hadalready necessitated the sacrifice of a considerable number, those werebrought and supplied a hundred stakes, which were firmly fixed in theground.

  The construction of this corral did not take less than three weeks,for besides the palisade, Cyrus Harding built large sheds, in which theanimals could take shelter. These buildings had also to be made verystrong, for musmons are powerful animals, and their first fury was to befeared. The stakes, sharpened at their upper end and hardened by fire,had been fixed by means of cross-bars, and at regular distances propsassured the solidity of the whole.

  The corral finished, a raid had to be made on the pastures frequentedby the ruminants. This was done on the 7th of February, on a beautifulsummer's day, and every one took part in it. The onagers, already welltrained, were ridden by Spilett and Herbert, and were of great use.

  The maneuver consisted simply in surrounding the musmons and goats, andgradually narrowing the circle around them. Cyrus Harding, Pencroft,Neb, and Jup, posted themselves in different parts of the wood, whilethe two cavaliers and Top galloped in a radius of half a mile round thecorral.

  The musmons were very numerous in this part of the island. These fineanimals were as large as deer; their horns were stronger than those ofthe ram, and their gray-colored fleece was mixed with long hair.

  This hunting day was very fatiguing. Such going and coming, and runningand riding and shouting! Of a hundred musmons which had been surrounded,more than two-thirds escaped, but at last, thirty of these animals andten wild goats were gradually driven back towards the corral, the opendoor of which appearing to offer a means of escape, they rushed in andwere prisoners.

  In short, the result was satisfactory, and the settlers had no reason tocomplain. There was no doubt that the flock would prosper, and that atno distant time not only wool but hides would be abundant.

  That evening the hunters returned to Granite House quite exhausted.However, notwithstanding their fatigue, they returned the next dayto visit the corral. The prisoners had been trying to overthrow thepalisade, but of course had not succeeded, and were not long in becomingmore tranquil.

  During the month of February, no event of any importance occurred. Thedaily labors were pursued methodically, and, as well as improving theroads to the corral and to Port Balloon, a third was commenced, which,starting from the enclosure, proceeded towards the western coast. Theyet unknown portion of Lincoln Island was that of the wood-coveredSerpentine Peninsula, which sheltered the wild beasts, from which GideonSpilett was so anxious to clear their domain.

  Before the cold season should appear the most assiduous care was givento the cultivation of the wild plants which had been transplanted fromthe forest to Prospect Heights. Herbert never returned from an excursionwithout bringing home some useful vegetable. One day, it was somespecimens of the chicory tribe, the seeds of which by pressure yield anexcellent oil; another, it was some common sorrel, whose antiscorbuticqualities were not to be despised; then, some of those precious tubers,which have at all times been cultivated in South America, potatoes, ofwhich more than two hundred species are now known. The kitchen garden,now well stocked and carefully defended from the birds, was dividedinto small beds, where grew lettuces, kidney potatoes, sorrel, turnips,radishes, and other coneiferae. The soil on the plateau was particularlyfertile, and it was hoped that the harvests would be abundant.

  They had also a variety of different beverages, and so long as they didnot demand wine, the most hard to please would have had no reason tocomplain. To the Oswego tea, and the fermented liquor extracted from theroots of the dragonnier, Harding had added a regular beer, made fromthe young shoots of the spruce-fir, which, after having been boiledand fermented, made that agreeable drink called by the Anglo-Americansspring-beer.

  Towards the end of the summer, the poultry-yard was possessed ofa couple of fine bustards, which belonged to the houbara species,characterized by a sort of feathery mantle; a dozen shovelers, whoseupper mandible was prolonged on each side by a membraneous appendage;and also some magnificent cocks, similar to the Mozambique cocks,the comb, caruncle, and epidermis being black. So far, everything hadsucceeded, thanks to the activity of these courageous and intelligentmen. Nature did much for them, doubtless; but faithful to the greatprecept, they made a right use of what a bountiful Providence gave them.

  After the heat of these warm summer days, in the evening when their workwas finished and the sea-breeze began to blow, they liked to sit on theedge of Prospect Heights, in a sort of veranda, covered with creepers,which Neb had made with his own hands. There they talked, theyinstructed each other, they made plans, and the rough good-humor ofthe sailor always amused this little world, in which the most perfectharmony had never ceased to reign.

  They often spoke of their country, of their dear and great America. Whatwas the result of the War of Secession? It could not have been greatlyprolonged. Richmond had doubtless soon fallen into the hands of GeneralGrant. The taking of the capital of the Confederates must have been thelast action of this terrible struggle. Now the North had triumphed inthe good cause, how welcome would have been a newspaper to the exiles inLincoln Island! For eleven months all communication between them and therest of their fellow-creatures had been interrupted, and in a short timethe 24th of March would arrive, the anniversary of the day on whichthe balloon had thrown them on this unknown coast. They w
ere then merecastaways, not even knowing how they should preserve their miserablelives from the fury of the elements! And now, thanks to the knowledge oftheir captain, and their own intelligence, they were regular colonists,furnished with arms, tools, and instruments; they had been able to turnto their profit the animals, plants, and minerals of the island, that isto say, the three kingdoms of Nature.

  Yes; they often talked of all these things and formed still more plans.

  As to Cyrus Harding he was for the most part silent, and listened tohis companions more often than he spoke to them. Sometimes he smiledat Herbert's ideas or Pencroft's nonsense, but always and everywhere hepondered over those inexplicable facts, that strange enigma, of whichthe secret still escaped him!