Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss (microsoft ebook reader TXT) 📖
- Author: Johann David Wyss
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`Excuse me, my dear wife,’ said I. `First of all, the boa is not
poisonous; and then, besides that, the flesh even of poisonous snakes
can be eaten without danger; as, for instance, the rattlesnake, from
which can be made a strong and nourishing soup, tasting very like good
chicken broth—of course, the cook must be told to throw away the head,
containing the deadly fangs.
`It is remarkable that pigs do not fear poisonous snakes, but can kill
and eat them without injury. An instance of this occurs to my memory. A
vessel on Lake Superior, in North America, was wrecked on a small
island abounding in rattlesnakes, and for that reason uninhabited.
`The vessel had a cargo of live pigs. The crew escaped to the mainland
in a boat, but the pigs had to be left for some time, till the owner
could return to fetch them, but with the small hope of finding many
left alive.
`To his surprise, the animals were not only alive, but remarkably fat
and flourishing, while not a single rattlesnake remained on the island.
The pigs had clearly eaten the serpents.’
`But might not some other cause have been assigned for their
disappearance?’ asked Ernest. `Suppose, for example, that a great
flight of secretary birds had arrived, they might have cleared the
island of rattlesnakes.’
`Oh, what is a secretary bird?’ interrupted Franz. `I thought a
secretary meant a man who wrote letters?’
`So it does, Franz, and the bird Ernest spoke of has curious long
feathers projecting from either side of its head, something like pens
stuck behind a man’s ear; hence its name.
`It is perfectly true that it lives on snakes, lizards, toads, and
frogs, but, Ernest, I cannot give up my pigs; for, in the first place,
the secretary bird is an inhabitant of Southern Africa, and is never
seen in North America, neither does it ever fly in a flock; still, so
ravenous is its appetite, that, no doubt, even one or two, had they by
some miracle found themselves on Lake Superior, would have been able to
give a very good account of the deadly reptiles, and at least shared in
the glory of their extermination.’
My wife having gone to prepare dinner, we continued talking as we
rested in the shade of some rocks, near the serpent, for a
considerable time. The open air was welcome to us after our long
imprisonment; and we were, besides, desirous to drive off any birds of
prey who might be attracted to the carcase, which we wished to preserve
entire.
My boys questioned me closely on the subject of serpents in general;
and I described to them the action of the poison fangs; how they folded
back on the sides of the upper jaw, and how the poison-secreting
glands, and reservoir are found at the back and sides of the head,
giving to the venomous serpents that peculiar width of head which is so
unfailing a characteristic.
`The fangs are hollow,’ said I, `and when the creature bites, the
pressure forces down a tiny drop of the liquid venom, which enters the
wound and, through the veins, quickly spreads over the entire system.
Sometimes, if taken in time, cures are effected, but in most cases the
bite of a serpent is followed by speedy death.’
The children were much interested in my account of the snake-charmers
of India, how they fearlessly handle the most deadly of the serpent
tribe, the Cobra di Capello-or hooded cobra-, cause them to move in
time to musical sounds from a small pipe, twine the reptile about their
arms and bare necks, and then, to prove that the poison fangs have not
been removed, make them bite a fowl, which soon dies from the effects.’
`How is it possible to extract the fangs, father?’ asked Ernest.
`No instrument is required,’ replied I; `I have read the account
written by a gentleman in India, who saw a snake-charmer catch a large
cobra in the jungle, and for the purpose of removing the fangs, held up
a cloth at which the irritated snake flew, and the fangs being caught
in it, the man seized the reptile by the throat, extracted them, and
then squeezed out the poison, a clear oily substance, upon a leaf.’
`What does the rattle of the rattlesnake look like? And how does it
sound?’
`At the tip of the tail are a number of curious, loose, horny
structures formed of the same substance as the scales. A very good idea
of the structure of the rattle may be formed by slipping a number of
thimbles loosely into each other.
`The rattlesnake lies coiled with its head flat, and the tip of its
tail elevated; when alarmed or irritated it gives a quivering movement
to the tail which causes the joints of the rattle to shake against each
other with a peculiar sound, not easily described; all animals, even
horses newly brought from Europe, tremble at this noise, and try to
escape.’
`What is the best thing to be done for the bite of a serpent?’
inquired Fritz.
`Remedies are very various, very uncertain, and differ with the
species inflicting the bite.
`Suction, ammonia, oil, the use of the knife, application of fresh
mold, lunar caustic, leaves of certain plants, all these and more are
mentioned. There is a creeping plant, called Aristolodochia indica, the
leaves of which have in repeated instances done wonders for fearful
bites. It is found in many parts of the world but most plentifully in
the hotter regions .
`A mode of cure adopted by the natives of India, Ceylon, and parts of
Africa, is by the application of a remarkable object called
snake-stone. These are described as flattish, something like half an
almond with squared ends, rather light, bearing a very high polish, and
of an intense jetty black.
`On being bitten by a cobra, the sufferer applies one of these stones
to each puncture, where they adhere strongly for a time, five or six
minutes being about the average. They seem to absorb the blood as it
flows from the wound, and, at the last fall off, when the danger is
considered to be over.
`But now we must leave this fertile subject of discussion, and I can
only say I sincerely trust we may never have cause to resume it from
the appearance of another serpent here of any sort, size, or
description.
`But come, Ernest, can you not give us an epitaph for our unfortunate
friend the donkey? We must afford him more honourable sepulture than he
enjoys at present, when we proceed, as we speedily must, to disembowel
his murderer.’
Ernest took the matter quite seriously, and planting his elbows on his
knees, he bent his thoughtful brow in his hands, and remained wrapt in
poetic meditation for about two minutes.
`I have it!’ cried he. `But perhaps you will all laugh at me?’
`No, no, don’t be shy, old fellow; spit it out!’ and thus encouraged by
his brother, Ernest, with the blush of a modest author, began:
`Beneath this stone poor Grizzle’s bones are laid,
`A faithful ass he was, and loved by all.
`At length, his master’s voice he disobeyed,
`And thereby came his melancholy fall.
`A monstrous serpent, springing from the grass,
`Seized, crushed, and swallowed him before our eyes.
`But we, though yet we mourn our honest ass,
`Are grateful; for he thereby saved the lives
`Of all the human beings on this shore—
`A father, mother, and their children four.’
`Hurrah for the epitaph! Well done, Ernest!’ resounded on all sides,
and taking out a large red pencil I used for marking wood, the lines
were forthwith inscribed on a great flat stone, being, as I told the
boy, the very best poetry that had ever been written on our coast.
We then had dinner, and afterwards went to work with the serpent. The
first operation was to recover the mangled remains of the ass, which
being effected, he was buried in the soft marshy ground close by, and
the hole filled up with fragments of rock.
Then we yoked Storm and Grumble to the serpent, and dragged it to a
convenient distance from Rockburg, where the process of skinning,
stuffing, and sewing up again afforded occupation of the deepest
interest to the boys for several days.
We took great pains to coil it round a pole in the museum, arranging
the head with the jaws wide open, so as to look as alarming as
possible, and contriving to make eyes and tongue which were quite
sufficient to represent nature; in fact, our dogs never passed the
monster without growling, and must have wondered at our taste in
keeping such a pet.
Over the entrance leading to the museum and library were inscribed
these words:
NO ADMITTANCE FOR ASSES
The double meaning of this sentence pleased us all immensely.
The greatest danger to which we had yet been exposed was now over, but
there remained much anxiety in my mind lest another serpent might,
unseen by us, have entered the swamp, or might appear, as this had
done, from the country beyond Falconhurst.
I projected then two excursions, the first to make a thorough
examination of the thicket and morass; the next right away to the Gap,
through which alone the archenemy could have entered our territory.
On summoning my sons to accompany me to the marsh, I found neither
Ernest nor Jack very eager to do so, the latter vowing he had the cold
shivers each time he thought how his ribs might have been smashed by
the last flap of the snake’s tail; but I did not yield to their
reluctance, and we finally set about crossing the marsh by placing
planks and wicker hurdles on the ground, and changing their places as
we advanced.
Nothing was discovered beyond tracks in the reeds and the creature’s
lair; where the rushes, grass, and bog-plants were beaten down.
Emerging beyond the thicket we found ourselves on firm ground, near the
precipitous wall of rock, and perceived a clear sparkling brook flowing
from an opening, which proved to be a cave or grotto of considerable
size.
The vaulted roof was covered with stalactites, while many formed
stately pillars, which seemed as though supporting the roof. The floor
was strewn with fine snow-white earth, with a smooth soapy feeling,
which I felt convinced was fuller’s earth.
`Well, this is a pleasant discovery!’ said I. `This is as good as soap
for washing, and will save me the trouble of turning soap-boiler.’
Perceiving that the streamlet flowed from an opening of some width in
the inner rock, Fritz passed through, in order to trace it to its
source, presently shouting to me that the opening widened very much,
and begging me to follow him.
I did so, leaving the other boys in the outer cave, and fired a
pistol-shot—the reverberating echoes of which testified to the great
extent of the place; and lighting the bit of candle I always carried
with me, we advanced, the light burning clear and steadily, though
shedding a very feeble light in so vast a space.
Suddenly Fritz exclaimed: `I verily believe this is a second cave of
salt! See how the walls glance! And how the light is reflected from the
roof!’
`These cannot be salt crystals,’ said I, `the water which flows over
them leaves no track, and tastes quite sweet. I am rather inclined to
believe that we have penetrated into a cave of rock crystal!’
`Oh, how splendid! Then we have discovered a great
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