Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss (microsoft ebook reader TXT) ๐
- Author: Johann David Wyss
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Book online ยซSwiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss (microsoft ebook reader TXT) ๐ยป. Author Johann David Wyss
I now almost turned back in despair, but Jack urged me to continue the
search. `For,โ said he, `if we once get upon a hill we shall see such a
large herd as this must be at almost any distance. Do let us go on,
father.โ
I consented, and we again pushed forwards, through bushes, and over
torrents, sometimes cutting our way with an axe, and sometimes plunging
knee-deep through a swamp. We at length reached the border of a wide
plain, and on it, in the distance, I could see a herd of animals,
browsing on the rich grass. It struck me that it might be the very herd
to which our good donkey had joined himself; and, wishing to ascertain
whether this was so, I resolved to make a detour through a bamboo
marsh, and get as near as possible to the animals without disturbing
them.
The bamboos were huge, many of them over thirty feet in height; and, as
we made our way through them, I remembered an account of the giant cane
of South America, which is greatly prized by the Indians on account of
its extreme usefulness; the reeds themselves make masts for their
canoes, while each joint will form a cask or box.
I was delighted, for I had little doubt that the bamboos we were among
were of the same species. I explained this to Jack, and as we discussed
the possibility of cutting one down and carrying a portion of it home,
we reached the border of the marsh, and emerged upon the plain.
There we suddenly found ourselves face to face with the herd which we
soughtโa herd of buffaloes. They looked up, and stared at us
inquisitively, but without moving. Jack would have fired, but I checked
him. `Back to the thicket,โ I said, `and keep back the dogs!โ
We began to retreat, but before we were again under cover, the dogs
joined us; and, in spite of our shouts and efforts to restrain them,
they dashed forwards, and seized a buffalo calf.
This was a signal to the whole herd to attack us. They bellowed
loudly, pawed the ground, and tore it up with their horns, and then
dashed madly towards us. We had not time to step behind a rock before
the leader was upon us. So close was he that my gun was useless. I drew
a pistol and fired. He fell dead at my feet.
His fall checked the advance of the rest. They halted, snuffed the air,
turned tail and galloped off across the plain. They were gone, but the
dogs still held gallantly to the calf. They dragged and tussled with
him, but with their utmost efforts could not bring him to the ground.
How to assist them without shooting the poor beast, I knew not; and
this I was unwilling to do, for I hoped that, if we could but capture
him alive, we might in time manage to tame him, and use him as a beast
of burden. Jackโs clever little head, however, suddenly devised a plan
for their aid, and with his usual promptitude he at once put it into
execution.
He unwound the lasso, which was coiled round his body, and, as the
young bull flung up his heels, he cast it and caught him by his hind
legs. The noose drew tight, and in a twinkling the beast was upon the
ground. We fastened the other end of the cord round a stout bamboo,
called off the dogs, and the animal was at our mercy.
`Now we have got him,โ said Jack, as he looked at the poor beast,
lying panting on the ground, `what are we to do with him?โ
`I will show you,โ said I; `help me to fasten his forelegs together,
and you shall see the next operation.โ
The bull, thus secured, could not move; and while Jack held his head I
drew my knife and pierced the cartilage of his nose, and when the blood
flowed less freely, passed a stout cord through the hole. I felt some
repugnance at thus paining the animal, but it was a case of necessity,
and I could not hesitate. We united the ends of the cord, freed the
animal, set him upon his legs, and subdued and overawed, he followed us
without resistance.
I now turned my attention to the dead buffalo, but as I could not then
skin it, I contented myself with cutting off the most delicate parts,
its tongue, and a couple of steaks, and, packing them in salt in my
wallet, abandoned the rest to the dogs. They fell upon it greedily, and
we retired under the shade to enjoy a meal after our hard work.
The dogs, however, were not to have undisputed possession of the
carcase; vultures, crows and other birds of prey, with that marvellous
instinct which always leads them to a dead body, quickly filled the
air, and, with discordant cries, swooped down upon the buffalo. An
amusing contest ensued; the dogs again and again drove off the
intruders, and they, as often, returned reinforced by others who
swarmed to the spot. Jack, with his usual impetuosity, wished to send a
shot in amongst the robber band, but I prevented him, for I knew that
the bird or two he might kill would be of no use to us, while his shot
would not drive away the rest, even had we wished it.
Both we and the dogs were at length satisfied, and as it was getting
late, I determined to give up for the present the search for the ass,
and to return to our camp.
We again made our way through the bamboos, but before we left the
thicket, I cut down one of the smallest of the reeds, the largest of
whose joints would form capital little barrels, while those near the
tapering top would serve as moulds for our next batch of candles.
The buffalo, with a dog on either side and the rope through his nose,
was following us passively, and we presently induced him to submit to a
package of our goods laid upon his back. We pushed rapidly forward,
Jack eager to display our latest acquisition.
As we repassed the rocky bed of a stream we had crossed in the
morning, Juno dashed ahead, and was about to rush into a cleft between
the rocks, when the appearance of a large jackal suddenly checked her
further progress. Both dogs instantly flew at the animal, and though
she fought desperately, quickly overpowered and throttled her. From the
way the beast had shown fight, I concluded that her young must be close
by, probably within the very cleft Juno was about to enter.
Directly Jack heard this, he wished to creep in and bring out the
young jackals. I hesitated to allow him to do so, for I thought it
possible that the male jackal might be still lying in wait within the
cave. We peered into the darkness, and after a while, Jack declared he
could discern the little yellow jackals, and that he was quite sure the
old one was not there.
He then crept in, followed closely by the dogs, and presently emerged
bearing in his arms a handsome cub of a beautiful golden yellow and
about the size of a small cat. He was the only one of the brood he had
managed to save, for Turk and Juno, without pity for their youth or
beauty, had worried all the rest. I did not much regret this, however,
for I firmly believe that, had he saved them, Jack would have insisted
upon bringing up the whole litter. As it was I considered that one
jackal was, with our young bull, quite sufficient an addition to our
livestock.
During the halt we had made, I had fastened the buffalo to a small
tree, and as I now was again about to move on, I recognized it as the
dwarf-palm, whose long sharp leaves form an excellent barrier if it is
planted as a hedge. I determined to return and get some young plants to
strengthen our hedge at Tentholm. It was late before we reached our
camp, where we found our family anxiously awaiting our return.
The sight of the new animals delighted the children immensely, and in
their opinion amply compensated for the loss of our poor donkey. Jack
had to answer a host of questions concerning their capture, and to give
a minute account of the affray with the buffaloes. This he did, with
graphic power certainly, but with so much boasting and
self-glorification, that I was obliged to check him, and give a plain
and unvarnished account of the affair.
Supper-time arrived, and as we sat at that meal, for which Jack and I
were heartily thankful, my wife and her party proceeded to give an
account of their dayโs work.
Ernest had discovered a sago-palm, and had, after much labour,
contrived to fell it. Franz and his mother had collected dry wood, of
which a huge heap now stood before the tent sufficient to keep up a
fire all the rest of the time we should stay on the spot.
Fritz had gone off shooting and had secured a good bag. While they had
been thus variously employed, a troop of apes had visited the tent, and
when they returned, they found the place ransacked and turned upside
down. The provisions were eaten and gnawed, the potatoes thrown about,
the milk drunk and spilt, every box had been peeped into, every pot and
pan had been divested of its lid, the palisade round the hut had been
partly destroyed, nothing had been left untouched.
Industriously had the boys worked to repair the damage, and when we
returned not a sign was to be seen of the disorder. No one would have
guessed what had occurred from the delicious supper we were eating.
After matters had been again arranged, Fritz had gone down to the
shore and, amongst the rocks at Cape Disappointment, had discovered a
young eaglet which Ernest declared to be a Malabar or Indian eagle; he
was much pleased with his discovery, and I recommended him to bring the
bird up and try to train it to hunt as a falcon.
`Look here though, boys,โ said I, `you are now collecting a good many
pets, and I am not going to have your mother troubled with the care of
them all; each must look after his own, and if I find one neglected,
whether beast or bird, I set it at liberty. Mark that and remember it!โ
My wife looked greatly relieved at this announcement, and the boys
promised to obey my directions. Before we retired for the night I
prepared the buffalo-meat I had brought; I lit a large fire of green
wood, and in the smoke of this thoroughly dried both the tongue and
steaks. We then properly secured all the animals, Jack took his little
pet in his arms, and we lay down and were soon fast asleep.
At daybreak we were on foot, and began to prepare for a return to
Falconhurst.
`You are not going to despise my sago, I hope,โ said Ernest, `you have
no idea what a trouble it was to cut it down, and I have been thinking
too that if we could but split the tree, we might make a couple of long
useful troughs which might, I think, be made to carry water from Jackal
River to Tentholm. Is my plan worth consideration?โ
`Indeed it is,โ I replied, `and at all events we must not abandon such
a valuable prize as a sago-palm. I would
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