American Family Robinson

  Chapter Eleventh.

  The storm subsides. Search for winter quarters. Strange Discoveries.Works of the Lost People. Their search among the Ruins. Walls, roads,and buildings found. Their state of Preservation. The Wanderers decideupon selecting a place to spend the winter in. They prepare to locatethemselves. Hunting deer and other Game. They find abundance of fruit.A salt spring. Their joy at their discoveries.

  The next morning the storm had passed over, and the sun arose brightand clear upon our wanderers, who felt relieved as they found Sidneymuch improved, though yet quite ill, but in a fair way to be able, in afew days, to be on his feet again. Making everything as secure aspossible for those they left behind, the chief and Howe set out tovisit the spot where the chief earnestly desired their cabin should belocated. When arrived at the spot, Howe was not surprised at theenthusiasm of the chief; and was astonished at the loveliness, as wellas the strangeness of the whole landscape that lay before him.Penetrating the alluring wood before them half a mile further, thescene still retaining its strange beauty, they came to a stream with anartificial embankment, built of stone, cemented, five feet high fromthe river's bed, and running up and down the stream as far as theycould see in the distance.

  "The work of the lost people!" said the chief, endeavouring to displacesome stones from their artificial bed, but which resisted all hisefforts.

  "This does look as though civilized people had lived here," said thetrapper. "This wall has been built to confine the water to its channel,in times of heavy rains, so that it shall not inundate the plain.Probably, these strange fruit trees are the seed of some brought herefrom other regions by those builders which have planted themselves,flourished, grown, and outlived all the changes that time has wrought."

  "My forefathers have a tradition that it was a strong people that builtthese things, more cunning and powerful than the white man, until theGreat Spirit became angry with them, and then they dried up like thegrass on the prairie when there is no rain; for, who is there that darebrave him without being consumed with his anger?"

  "We will go down to that copse yonder," said the trapper. "If I am notmistaken, there is more than trees there."

  "An herd of deer, perhaps," said the chief, preparing his bow foraction.

  "I think not, unless deer are grey, and of inordinate proportions. Fromhere, it looks like piles of stone. Perhaps more of the work of thosewho curbed these waters," said Howe.

  As they drew near, large blocks of stone, squared and smoothly hewn,lay in their path, and covered the ground around them. Crossing overthese, they came to a range of grey stone, that had the appearance ofonce having been a high building, but which was now thrown down, andtumbled into a shapeless mass. To the right of these stones they saw asmall square enclosure, strongly built of grey hewn stone, and thejoints fitted with a precision that would do credit to a stone-cutterin our day. Every layer was strongly cemented with a composition thatseemed to have amalgamated with the stone, for on striking it with thetomahawk, it did not even chip off, but gave back a ringing sound, likethe hardest granite. One thing they noticed was very singular, both inthe wall of this enclosure and in that by the river. The cement inwhich it was laid was much darker than the stone, being almost black,while the fallen building which they first came to was laid in a whitecement, quite like, in appearance, our own.

  Going around this enclosure they were astonished to find that they werein a city in ruins. Before them lay whole squares of shapeless masses,overgrown with trees and shrubs, but the perfect regularity of the formand finish of the blocks of stone, of which they had been composed,with the mortar in which they had been laid still clinging to them,were sufficient to convince them that they had once been buildings ofmore than ordinary proportions and finish.

  They attempted to force their way over this irregular pile of rubbish;but found it a dangerous undertaking, as the blocks on which theyplaced their feet yielded to their weight, and slipping from theirbeds, threw them on the sharp edges of the stones--a proceeding theydid not at all relish. After receiving three or four such falls apiece,and preferring the longer route as the safest, they started to goaround it, in order to investigate the forest beyond as they caught aglimpse of some buildings still standing, through the leaves, that hidthe main structure from sight.

  Taking their way around the western side of the obstruction, they cameto a long wide avenue, on which nothing but moss and small dwarf shrubsgrew, and which was perfectly smooth and level.

  "This is singular," said the trapper. "I wonder why it is not overgrownlike the rest?"

  "Perhaps it is a road," said the chief. "Sometimes they covered theirhighways with stones, and laid them so close together, that a treecould not take root in them."

  "Did you ever meet with one?" asked the trapper.

  "No: but tradition speaks of them, as once having been quite common. Wecan soon see whether this is one by scraping away the leaves and dirtthat have accumulated over it." So saying, he commenced digging awaythe accumulated earth, which was no easy task, as the rain the nightbefore had saturated the surface, making it adhere tenaciously towhatever it came in contact with. Scraping away about four inches indepth of forest mould, they came to a layer of stone blocks, the onlyone which they laid bare being twelve feet long, and eight wide, thethickness of which they could not ascertain, as it was so closelyfitted to the adjoining one, that the blade of a knife could not beinserted between them.

  Following this avenue, it led them around a graceful curve for half amile, and there terminated at a flight of stone steps, which ascending,they found themselves on a high elevation of earth, that contained asnear as they could calculate, about five acres of ground, in the centreof which, on another elevation of about half an acre, which was alsomounted by stone steps, stood a large imposing structure, stillmagnificent in its ruins. This building they found likewise laid withthe dark cement, as indeed all the buildings were which they foundstanding. The ingenuity of man had cheated time of its prey.

  Entering this pile, they were struck with awe at the evident symmetryand beauty that had once reigned within, for though time hadaccumulated mould and moss over its walls, and covered its floors to adepth of several inches with earth made up of dust and leaves that hadpenetrated its open doors and windows; yet the walls themselves werethere, heavy blocks of granite in an iron-like cement that bound themin place, perchance for a thousand years that have gone, and bid fairto withstand the ravages of time for ages to come.

  "Here," said the chief, "is a big house already built, which we canwinter in. It will save us the trouble of building, and be more securethan anything we could make."

  "Well," said the trapper, "I guess, by the trouble they took to put itup here, that it was a palace or a temple. In either case, they had itbuilt a little tasty, and we will acknowledge the merit due them bypreferring it to any other."

  "There is the forest full of fruits and nuts," said the chief, wavinghis hand towards it, "and if we winter here, we must gather them inbefore the rains come. The leaves are thickening on the ground, andwhen another moon is spent, the rains will fall and the winds come downfrom the north."

  "You are right, chief. It is our place to make due preparation againsthunger and cold, for all the year roots, berries, and game cannot bethen as easily obtained as now. The sun is at the meridian, and theywill be alarmed at the cabin, if we do not return soon. But, we will behere in the morning again, and clear out some of this rubbish, so thatwe can take up our abode here as soon as Sidney can be moved, and thenwe will devote our time in preparing for every contingency in ourpower."

  Following the avenue out until it was obstructed by rubbish, theyturned in the direction they knew their cabin lay. After proceedingtwenty rods through the lovely grove, with fruit trees blending withthe growth of the forest, they came to a small stone structure not morethan twenty feet square, nor eight high, in perfect preservation. Ithad no floor, but in the centre bubbled up a jet of transparent water,while all around its edg
es, and even on the side of the wall, as wellas over head it was encrusted with a white substance as though sprayhad congealed over it.

  "What a new wonder!" cried the trapper, "really I don't think they willever cease, for this excels them all. I would like to know if that isreally water."

  "Perhaps it is the burning water," said the chief, "dip your hand inand taste it."

  "Salt! a salt spring!" cried the delighted trapper, on placing a dropof the water on his tongue. No wonder it caused a sudden excitement andgreat joy; for it was months that they had been without it, and it wasa privation under which they had suffered greatly, as its loss mademany a dish unpalatable that otherwise would have had a fine relish.

  "The Great Spirit has led us here, and will finally deliver us from ourwanderings," said the chief, who was equally as well pleased, but itwas not his nature to make any extravagant exhibition of passion.

  "Well, chief, the Great Spirit has our thanks, for this last blessing.It is a gift of great value in our isolated position," said thetrapper.

  On arriving at the cabin, they found them all safe, but suffering fromgreat anxiety at their prolonged absence, which fled on their return insafety, their arms laden with the fruits they had gathered, the qualityof which they desired to test. The children listened with wonder atwhat they heard in regard to the discoveries, it sounded so like afairy tale, and when assured that it was all really there as described,and that they should see it themselves within a few days, they seemedto forget their forlorn condition in the pleasure it afforded them.

  The crusted salt they had gathered, gave them more real pleasure attheir dinner that day than is often experienced in many a life time--apleasure, satisfaction and joy that they could never have enjoyed, hadthey not been deprived of it so entirely as they had been.

  Here we might moralize if we had the room, but moralizing is out of thequestion. We have a history, a complication of incidents to relate thatcaused certain effects to develope themselves, and it is our only aimto cause others to moralize--to lead inquiring minds into certaindirections by revealing something of the heretofore unwritten past.

  The next morning Howe and the chief returned to the temple, as theycalled the building on the elevation, and scraping the accumulated massof rubbish from the floor swept it with a broom made by tying the twigsof hemlock on a long stick. A rude broom enough, but one often used asfar east as the new settlements in Pennsylvania to this day. When thiswas done, they found the floor covered by a slippery black mould thatcould not be swept off, and which they would have to remove byscrubbing. Here was a new dilemma. They had no bucket in which to bringwater from the river, and their gourds would not hold over a quarteach, which would make the task of bringing it from such a distancealmost an endless job.

  "We must do it," said the trapper. "This is a little too much filth forcivilized people. We can bring each four gourds full at a time whichwill do something towards it. If we could turn the river into it wecould clear out the shell of its filth in a very short time."

  "Perhaps," said the chief, "we can find something to bring water in ifwe hunt over the big house."

  "Not worth while now, chief: wait until the children are with us andthen we will go over it; at present our business is to make one roomhabitable."

  So saying they set out towards the river for a supply of water; but ondescending the first elevation at the side on which the building stood,the chief, when partly down, placed his foot into a trough-like duct,running parallel with the elevation which was filled with leaves so asto obscure the sight of the water until it penetrated his moccasin.

  "Water plenty!" cried the chief, drawing his foot from the unexpectedbath, and then commenced clearing the place from the leaves and earthwith which it was partially filled. They soon found it was anartificial duct about one foot deep and two feet wide, built of thesame kind of grey stone as the rest of the ruins around, and stillsupplied with water. They went on clearing it of rubbish in order tosee how far it extended; but after removing it a few rods they becameweary, and filling their gourds, hastened to finish their renovatingtask.

  That night they found Sidney up and cheerful, insisting he was quitewell enough to be removed. Howe would not venture it, but insisted onwaiting a few days more, during which he and the chief spent the timemaking couches in the temple for their accommodation, and hunting, inwhich sport he was very successful, having killed a number of deer,turkeys, and mountain sheep. In searching for game they rarelyattempted to take any other than those whose skin would be valuable tothem as well as the meat, owing to their anxiety to secure as manyskins as possible while game was plenty, as skins and furs were allthey had to rely on as covering for their beds and for clothing.