CHAPTER XIX.

CHAPTER XIX.

I rose before daylight, and, leaving my family sleeping, descended, to
go to the shore to look after my vessels. I found all the animals
moving. The dogs leaped about me; the cocks were crowing; the goats
browsing on the dewy grass. The ass alone was sleeping; and, as he was
the assistant I wanted, I was compelled to rouse him, a preference which
did not appear to flatter him. Nevertheless, I harnessed him to the
sledge, and, followed by the dogs, went forward to the coast, where I
found my boat and raft safe at anchor. I took up a moderate load and
came home to breakfast; but found all still as I left them. I called my
family, and they sprung up ashamed of their sloth; my wife declared it
must have been the good mattress that had charmed her.

I gave my boys a short admonition for their sloth. We then came down to
a hasty breakfast, and returned to the coast to finish the unloading the
boats, that I might, at high water, take them round to moor at the usual
place in the Bay of Safety. I sent my wife up with the last load, while
Fritz and I embarked, and, seeing Jack watching us, I consented that he
should form one of the crew, for I had determined to make another visit
to the wreck before I moored my craft. When we reached the vessel, the
day was so far advanced that we had only time to collect hastily
anything easy to embark. My sons ran over the ship. Jack came trundling
a wheelbarrow, which he said would be excellent for fetching the
potatoes in.

But Fritz brought me good news: he had found, between decks, a beautiful
pinnace (a small vessel, of which the prow is square), taken to pieces,
with all its fittings, and even two small guns. I saw that all the
pieces were numbered, and placed in order; nothing was wanting. I felt
the importance of this acquisition; but it would take days of labour to
put it together; and then how could we launch it? At present, I felt I
must renounce the undertaking. I returned to my loading. It consisted of
all sorts of utensils: a copper boiler, some plates of iron,
tobacco-graters, two grindstones, a barrel of powder, and one of flints.
Jack did not forget his wheelbarrow; and we found two more, which we
added to our cargo, and then sailed off speedily, to avoid the
land-wind, which rises in the evening.

As we drew near, we were astonished to see a row of little creatures
standing on the shore, apparently regarding us with much curiosity. They
were dressed in black, with white waistcoats, and thick cravats; their
arms hung down carelessly; but from time to time they raised them as if
they wished to bestow on us a fraternal embrace.

"I believe," said I, laughing, "this must be the country of pigmies,
and they are coming to welcome us."

"They are the Lilliputians, father," said Jack; "I have read of them;
but I thought they had been less."

"As if Gulliver's Travels was true!" said Fritz, in a tone of derision.

"Then are there no pigmies?" asked he.

"No, my dear boy," said I; "all these stories are either the invention
or the mistakes of ancient navigators, who have taken troops of monkeys
for men, or who have wished to repeat something marvellous. But the
romance of Gulliver is an allegory, intended to convey great truths."

"And now," said Fritz, "I begin to see our pigmies have beaks and
wings."

"You are right," said I; "they are penguins, as Ernest explained to us
some time since. They are good swimmers; but, unable to fly, are very
helpless on land."

I steered gently to the shore, that I might not disturb them; but Jack
leaped into the water up to his knees, and, dashing among the penguins,
with a stick struck right and left, knocking down half a dozen of the
poor stupid birds before they were aware. Some of these we brought away
alive. The rest, not liking such a reception, took to the water, and
were soon out of sight. I scolded Jack for his useless rashness, for the
flesh of the penguin is by no means a delicacy.

We now filled our three wheelbarrows with such things as we could
carry, not forgetting the sheets of iron and the graters, and trudged
home. Our dogs announced our approach, and all rushed out to meet us. A
curious and merry examination commenced. They laughed at my graters; but
I let them laugh, for I had a project in my head. The penguins I
intended for our poultry-yard; and, for the present, I ordered the boys
to tie each of them by a leg to one of our geese or ducks, who opposed
the bondage very clamorously; but necessity made them submissive.

My wife showed me a large store of potatoes and manioc roots, which she
and her children had dug up the evening before. We then went to supper,
and talked of all we had seen in the vessel, especially of the pinnace,
which we had been obliged to leave. My wife did not feel much regret on
this account, as she dreaded maritime expeditions, though she agreed she
might have felt less uneasiness if we had had a vessel of this
description. I gave my sons a charge to rise early next morning, as we
had an important business on hand; and curiosity roused them all in very
good time. After our usual preparations for the day, I addressed them
thus: "Gentlemen, I am going to teach you all a new business,--that of a
baker. Give me the plates of iron and the graters we brought yesterday."
My wife was astonished; but I requested her to wait patiently and she
should have bread, not perhaps light buns, but eatable flat cakes. But
first she was to make me two small bags of sailcloth. She obeyed me;
but, at the same time, I observed she put the potatoes on the fire, a
proof she had not much faith in my bread-making. I then spread a cloth
over the ground, and, giving each of the boys a grater, we began to
grate the carefully-washed manioc roots, resting the end on the cloth.
In a short time we had a heap of what appeared to be moist white
sawdust; certainly not tempting to the appetite; but the little workmen
were amused with their labour, and jested no little about the cakes made
of scraped radishes.

"Laugh now, boys," said I; "we shall see, after a while. But you,
Ernest, ought to know that the manioc is one of the most precious of
alimentary roots, forming the principal sustenance of many nations of
America, and often preferred by Europeans, who inhabit those countries,
to wheaten bread."

When all the roots were grated, I filled the two bags closely with the
pollard, and my wife sewed the ends up firmly. It was now necessary to
apply strong pressure to extract the juice from the root, as this juice
is a deadly poison. I selected an oak beam, one end of which we fixed
between the roots of our tree; beneath this I placed our bags on a row
of little blocks of wood; I then took a large bough, which I had cut
from a tree, and prepared for the purpose, and laid it across them. We
all united then in drawing down the opposite end of the plank over the
bough, till we got it to a certain point, when we suspended to it the
heaviest substances we possessed; hammers, bars of iron, and masses of
lead. This acting upon the manioc, the sap burst through the cloth, and
flowed on the ground copiously. When I thought the pressure was
complete, we relieved the bags from the lever, and opening one, drew out
a handful of the pollard, still rather moist, resembling coarse
maize-flour.

"It only wants a little heat to complete our success," said I, in great
delight. I ordered a fire to be lighted, and fixing one of our iron
plates, which was round in form, and rather concave, on two stones
placed on each side of the fire, I covered it with the flour which we
took from the bag with a small wooden shovel. It soon formed a solid
cake, which we turned, that it might be equally baked.

It smelled so good, that they all wished to commence eating immediately;
and I had some difficulty in convincing them that this was only a trial,
and that our baking was still imperfect. Besides, as I told them there
were three kinds of manioc, of which one contained more poison than the
rest, I thought it prudent to try whether we had perfectly extracted it,
by giving a small quantity to our fowls. As soon, therefore, as the cake
was cold, I gave some to two chickens, which I kept apart; and also some
to Master Knips, the monkey, that he might, for the first time, do us a
little service. He ate it with so much relish, and such grimaces of
enjoyment, that my young party were quite anxious to share his feast;
but I ordered them to wait till we could judge of the effect, and,
leaving our employment, we went to our dinner of potatoes, to which my
wife had added one of the penguins, which was truly rather tough and
fishy; but as Jack would not allow this, and declared it was a dish fit
for a king, we allowed him to regale on it as much as he liked. During
dinner, I talked to them of the various preparations made from the
manioc; I told my wife we could obtain an excellent starch from the
expressed juice; but this did not interest her much, as at present she
usually wore the dress of a sailor, for convenience, and had neither
caps nor collars to starch.

The cake made from the root is called by the natives of the Antilles
_cassava_, and in no savage nation do we find any word signifying
_bread_; an article of food unknown to them.

We spoke of poisons; and I explained to my sons the different nature and
effects of them. Especially I warned them against the _manchineel_,
which ought to grow in this part of the world. I described the fruit to
them, as resembling a tempting yellow apple, with red spots, which is
one of the most deadly poisons: it is said that even to sleep under the
tree is dangerous. I forbade them to taste any unknown fruit, and they
promised to obey me.

On leaving the table, we went to visit the victims of our experiment.
Jack whistled for Knips, who came in three bounds from the summit of a
high tree, where he had doubtless been plundering some nest; and his
vivacity, and the peaceful cackling of the fowls, assured us our
preparation was harmless.

"Now, gentlemen," said I, laughing, "to the bakehouse, and let us see
what we can do." I wished them each to try to make the cakes. They
immediately kindled the fire and heated the iron plate. In the mean
time, I broke up the grated cassava, and mixed it with a little milk;
and giving each of them a cocoa-nut basin filled with the paste, I
showed them how to pour it with a spoon upon the plate, and spread it
about; when the paste began to puff up, I judged it was baked on one
side, and turned it, like a pancake, with a fork; and after a little
time, we had a quantity of nice yellow biscuits, which, with a jug of
milk, made us a delicious collation; and determined us, without delay,
to set about cultivating the manioc.

The rest of the day was employed in bringing up the remainder of our
cargo, by means of the sledge and the useful wheelbarrows.

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