CHAPTER VII.
Improve my lamp-tower. Make a bow and arrow, and fish-hooks and lines. Capture a large turtle. Improve my steel and flint, and build a hut. Procure some salt, and make arrangements to explore the island on the morrow.
I arose at sunrise and found another lovely day commencing. God hadblessed me with pleasant weather each day so far. I went first to mycalendar, and with the point of my knife inscribed the day and date,as usual; thence to my lamp-tower, and found all the lamps burningsplendidly, but with not oil enough to have lasted more than two orthree hours more. I foresaw that I must get a much larger and moreshallow dish to have any certainty of keeping them alight for anylength of time without replenishing them each morning and night. Theprinciple upon which they were built was exactly that which I had oftenobserved in the northern part of China, where the Chinese burn peanutoil in exactly the same way in shallow dishes, with a pith wick hangingover the side. The principle involved necessitated a shallow dish, andthat the wick should be in nearly a horizontal position, to suck up theoil to its end which projected over the side of the clam-shell. If thereservoir for the oil was deep instead of shallow, the receding of theoil as it was consumed by the wick would soon let the lamp go out. Isaw that I should have to improve upon my lamp business, and concludedto work out the problem whilst taking my morning bath and breakfast.As I started towards the beach, I saw at a little distance to my lefta huge turtle, the first I had seen, making for the sea. I ran with myutmost speed, and contrived to upset him upon his back before he hadreached it, and soon dragged him to my fireplace, and, although stillupon his back, for fear of any accident or escape, at once beheaded himthen and there. I then quietly took off my clothes and had my usualbath, taking care, however, not to go out of my depth, as I saw severaldog-fish sharks, and possibly larger ones of their species might be inthe bay, but, from its shallowness, I did not much think it. Whilstbathing, I solved my problem about the lamps, and returned in goodspirits to my fire and clothes, and soon had a nice turtle soup boilingand a steak of the same broiling upon the embers.
This turtle was a godsend, and was just what I needed to change mydiet. I made a hearty meal, and with reluctance cut into the smallpiece of tobacco left me and filled my pipe, and had a short smoke,and then to work. I took two of my largest conch-shells, that wouldhold nearly a quart a-piece, and filled the lips up with my mortarthat I had used the day before in the construction of the lamp-tower,leaving an orifice at the larger end, of sufficient size to pourliquid into easily, and one at the smaller end very small indeed. Ithen thrust both of the shells into the hot embers, and hardened themortar or cement so that it was soon dry and compact. I then went tomy grass-field and chose some minute grass-straws of about a foot inlength, and inserted two in the small orifice of each shell, and fixedthem in with moist cement. I then went to my lamp-tower, took the roofcarefully off, and with a base of stones, and by means of twine withwhich I fastened them to the central stake, soon had my shells lashedand secured in an upright position, with the four straws pointing intothe four clam-shell lamps. I then went with my bailer to the largesea-oyster shell and dipped up the oil that had distilled under therays of the sun from the dog-sharks' livers, and in several tripsfilled my shell-reservoirs with oil, and had the satisfaction of seeingeach straw dropping oil into the clam-shell lamp beneath. The droppingbeing rather fast, I easily regulated it by thrusting seaweed stoppersinto the upper orifice of the shells till the feeding was very slow,but very perfect and exact. I felt now that I could leave my tower,days without care, and be sure of finding the lamps burning upon myreturn. I carefully replaced the roof, lighted the lamps again, andmade all snug and secure. I did all this work about the lamps to makemyself doubly sure of always having fire. I was well aware that withmy hardened knife I could strike fire much better than I at first didwith my shoe-nail, but I wanted to be sure and take every precaution,and to that end I went to work upon the nails in the boat-planking,and, finding one to my mind, I flattened it out at my anvil into anarrow ribbon of iron, which I hardened and steeled in the fire andwater; and, after carefully testing it with my flint, which, by theway, I broke into several fragments, I put it and a piece of the flintinto my pocket, and returned the remaining fragments with anothernail, hardened and heated in the same manner, to the custody of thelamp-tower. I took thence a small quantity of the burned tinder I hadmade of my clothing, some of the nigger-ball powder, and cotton of themilkweed, and taking one of the numerous pods of last year's growththat I had gathered of these, and also stored there out of the rain,I split it lengthwise with my knife, and removed most of the core andcotton, and in its place inserted the tinder and powder that I havejust mentioned, and secured the whole together by winding round aboutit some manilla twine; and, not satisfied with that, I cut a smallpiece from my flannel shirt and wrapped that also about it, and securedit with twine. Thus I carried on my person the means of starting afire at any time; and, feeling secure, I allowed myself to throw thisterrible fear off my mind.
CAPTURING A TURTLE.--PAGE 66.]
All my energies were pointing to one direction,--to be able to armand equip myself, so as to make the tour of my island as speedily aspossible; but I foresaw that, with my utmost speed and care, I shouldnot be able to be ready to start until the morrow, if then. I went intomy grass-field and passed beyond it into the natural undergrowth oftrees, and soon had picked out exactly what I wanted, a sort of ash orwalnut tree, evidently dead some time since from some cause, the limbsof which I tested and found of the right elasticity. I cut off withmy knife several portions that suited my purpose, and returning to myfire, I soon had a handsome bow of fine elasticity, some six feet inlength, finished to my hand. From a lighter kind of wood, a sort ofalder, I manufactured without much difficulty some half-dozen arrows,and sharpened and hardened as many nails to form heads for them, whichI securely lashed on with fine manilla twine. I then proceeded to mygulls' nests retreat, and picked up such feathers as I thought mightsuit me, and also brought back a load of fresh eggs in my bag.
I then took off my clothes again and waded into the sea with myharpoon, and soon had on shore one of my dog-shark friends, and hisbladder and fins in a short time in my bailer over a slow fire, for Iwanted some glue badly. I took occasion, whilst this was preparing, tothoroughly oil my bow and arrows and to wipe them off nice and cleanagain with leaves and seaweed.
I soon had plenty of glue, and of a good quality also, which I pouredout into a large clam-shell, and filled my bailer again with waterto boil and cleanse it out. I then proceeded with great care to layup three strands of fine manilla, about ten feet long each, and madeeach of them fast to a tree near each other; and, stretched as, theywere in this manner, I saturated them with the liquid glue, and thenbrought them together and laid them up right-handed, so as to make avery fine-looking and strong bowstring, with which I was delighted. Bymeans of the glue I easily fitted each arrow with three nice feathers,and I also dipped the seizing round the heads, that held on the ironbarbs, into the same, which gave them a fine finish and smoothed downall the standing fibres of the manilla twine, making all "ship-shapeand Bristol fashion," as sailors say.
Whilst my hand was in I made also a fishing-line of great strength andof considerable length, and managed to forge out two quite respectablefish-hooks from the wrought nails of the boat's planking. I took myusual meal at noon, but it was of delicious turtle soup, instead offish, clams, or eggs, none of which did I, however, by any meansdespise. After dinner I sat down and sharpened and perfected the pointsof my arrow-heads and fish-hooks. I was not able to make any barbs tothe latter, but had to run the risk, when I hooked a fish, never to lethim have any slack line till he was landed.
Having finished these various labors and looked after my condenser,I commenced another round tower similar to the one already built,and near to it. I wanted a place of safety for books, and with thestones at hand and some new mixed mortar, or cement, I in a few hourscompleted my task, and had the pleasure of se
eing them in safety fromrain or damp. I was afraid to put them in the lamp-tower for fear oftheir catching fire in some unforeseen manner, and I would not risk thechance, however remote it might be.
This being finished, I went to the wood and cut down with my knifeseveral small trees, about six feet in height, leaving a crotch likethe letter Y at the top of each. I brought these near my cedar-tree,and with my hammer drove them into the ground, so that they stood atan equal height of about four feet in the front row and one foot inthe rear row. I stopped this work for a season to fill the bailer,which I had cleansed of the glue, with salt water, and let it, duringthe afternoon, gradually boil down several times, till I had collectedquite a quantity of salt. After attending to this, I returned to myhut-building, and soon had the uprights crossed with light sticks andbranches, and upon these I placed large masses of sedge as thatch,which I kept in place by numerous flat stones that I placed upon theroof. I wove into both the long sides, and one end, some manillastrands and pliable small branches, working them in and out in ahorizontal position and at right angles to the uprights. To this roughbasket work, or trellis, I bound, by means of more manilla strands,large bundles of sedge, till I had a nice hut of about eight feet inlength and six wide, with one end left open some two feet wide, and theroof four feet high on one side fronting the sea and two feet high onthe land side. Into this hut I carried all my few earthly treasures,and made me a nice bed of seaweed and sedge on one side, and with alarge clam-shell and the flukes of the anchor cut out a nice trenchround about it, under the overhanging eaves, and piled the spareearth up against the sides of the hut. I was proud of my work. Aftereverything was all finished to my satisfaction, I sat down to a heartymeal, and, being too tired even to smoke, I pulled a small cedar-treethat I had cut down for the purpose, against the opening in the end ofmy hut, from the inside, and threw myself upon my seaweed bed, and fellinstantly to sleep.