CHAPTER XXIX

Spring—Spinning—Salt Mine

I can hardly describe our joy, when, after many tedious and gloomy weeks of rain, the sky began to brighten, the sun to dart its benign rays on the humid earth, the winds to be lulled, and the state of the air became mild and serene. We issued from our dreary hovels with joyful shouts, and walked round our habitation breathing the enlivening balmy ether, while our eyes were regaled with the beauteous verdure beginning to shoot forth on every side.

Our summer occupations commenced by arranging and thoroughly cleaning Falcon’s Nest, the order and neatness of which the rain and dead leaves blown by the wind had disturbed; in other respects, however, it was not injured, and in a few days we rendered it fit for our reception; the stairs were cleared, the rooms between the roots reoccupied, and we were left with leisure to proceed to other employments. My wife lost not a moment in resuming the process of her flax. Our sons hastened to lead the cattle to the fresh pastures; whilst it was my task to carry the bundles of flax into the open air, where, by heaping stones together, I contrived an oven sufficiently commodious to dry it well. The same evening, we all set to work to peel, and afterwards to beat it and strip off the bark; and lastly to comb it with my carding machine, which fully answered the purpose. I took this laborious task on myself, and drew out such distaffs full of long soft flax ready for spinning, that my enraptured wife ran to embrace me, to express her thankfulness, requesting me to make her a wheel without delay, that she might enter upon her favourite work.

At an early period of my life I had practised turnery for my amusement; now, however, I was unfortunately destitute of the requisite utensils; but as I had not forgotten the arrangement and component parts of a spinning-wheel and reel, I by repeated endeavours found means to accomplish those two machines to her satisfaction; and she fell so eagerly to spinning, as to allow herself no leisure even for a walk, and scarcely time to dress our dinners.

Our first visit was to Tent House, and here we found the ravages of winter more considerable than even at Falcon’s Stream; the tempest and rain had beaten down the tent, carried away a part of the sail-cloth, and made such havoc among our provisions, that by far the largest portion was spotted with mildew, and the remainder could be only saved by drying it instantly. Luckily our handsome pinnace had been for the most part spared; it was still at anchor, ready to serve us in case of need; but our tub-boat was in too shattered a state to be of any further service.

In looking over the stores, we were grieved to find the gunpowder, of which I had left three barrels in the tent, the most damaged. The contents of two were rendered wholly useless. I thought myself fortunate in finding the remaining one in tolerable condition, and derived from this great and irreparable loss a cogent motive to fix upon winter quarters where our stores, our only wealth, would not be exposed to such cruel dilapidations.

Fritz and Jack were constant in their endeavours to make me undertake the excavation of the rock, but I had no hopes of success. Robinson Crusoe found a spacious cavern that merely required arrangement: no such cavity was apparent in our rock, which bore the aspect of extreme solidity and impenetrableness; so that with our limited powers, three or four summers would scarcely suffice to execute the design. Still, the earnest desire of a more substantial habitation, to defend us from the elements, perplexed me incessantly, and I resolved to make at least the attempt of cutting out a recess that should protect the gunpowder, the most valuable of all our treasures. I accordingly set off one day, accompanied by my two boys, leaving their mother at her spinning with Ernest and Francis. We took with us pickaxes, chisels, hammers, and iron levers, to try what impression we could make on the rock. I chose a part nearly perpendicular, and much better situated than our tent: the view from it was enchanting, for it embraced the whole range of Safety Bay, the banks of Jackal’s River, and Family Bridge, and many of the picturesque projections of the rocks. I marked out with charcoal the opening we wished to make, and we began the heavy toil of piercing the quarry. We made so little progress the first day, that, in spite of our courage, we were tempted to relinquish the undertaking; we persevered, however, and my hope was somewhat revived as I perceived the stone was of a softer texture as we penetrated deeper. I concluded from this, that the ardent rays of the sun striking upon the rock had hardened the external layer, and that the stone within would increase in softness as we advanced. When I had cut about a foot in depth, we could loosen it with a spade like dried mud; this determined me to proceed with double ardour, and my boys assisted me with a spirit and zeal beyond their years.

After a few days of assiduous labour, we measured the opening, and found we had already advanced seven feet into the rock. Fritz removed the fragments in a barrow, and discharged them in a line before the place, to form a sort of terrace; I applied my own labour to the upper part, to enlarge the aperture; Jack, the smallest of the three, was able to get in and cut away below. He had with him a long iron bar sharpened at the end, which he drove in with a hammer to loosen a piece at a time. Suddenly he bawled out, “It is pierced through, father! Fritz, I have pierced it through!”

“Hah, hah, Master Jack at his jokes again!—But let us hear, what have you pierced? Is it the mountain? Not peradventure your hand or foot, Jack?” cried I.

Jack.—No, no, it is the mountain (the rocks resounding with his usual shout of joy); huzza, huzza! I have pierced the mountain!

Fritz now ran to him. “Come, let us see then: it is no doubt the globe at least you have pierced,” said he, in a bantering tone: “you should have pushed on your tool boldly, till you reached Europe, which they say is under our feet; I should have been glad to peep into that hole.”

Jack.—Well, then, peep you may, but I hardly know what you will see; come and look how far the iron is gone in, and tell me if it is all my boasting.

“Come hither, father,” said Fritz, “this is really extraordinary: his iron bar seems to have got to a hollow place; see, it can be moved in every direction.” I approached, thinking the incident worth attention: I took hold of the bar, which was still in the rock, and working it about, I made a sufficient aperture for one of my sons to pass, and I observed that in reality the rubbish fell within the cavity, which I judged, from the falling of the stones, was not much deeper than the part we stood on. My two lads offered to go in together and examine it: this, however, I forbade. I even made them remove from the opening, as I smelled the foul air that issued abundantly from it, and began myself to feel giddiness in consequence of having gone too near; so that I was compelled to withdraw quickly, and inhale a purer air.

Under my direction the boys now hastened to gather some dry moss, which they made into bundles; they then struck a light and set fire to them, and threw the moss blazing into the opening; but, as I had foreseen, the fire was extinguished at the very entrance, thus proving that the air within was highly mephitic. I now saw that it was to be rarefied by another and more effectual method. I recollected that we had brought from the vessel a chest that was full of grenades, rockets, and other fireworks, which had been shipped for the purpose of making signals, as well as for amusement. I sought it hastily, and took some of these, together with an iron mortar for throwing; out of it I laid a train of gunpowder and set fire to the end, which reached to where we stood. A general explosion took place, and an awful report reverberated through the dark recess: the lighted grenades flew about on all sides like brilliant meteors, rebounding and bursting with a terrific sound. We then sent in the rockets, which had also a full effect. They hissed in the cavity like flying dragons, disclosing to our astonished view its vast extent. We beheld too, as we thought, numerous dazzling bodies that sparkled suddenly, as if by magic, and disappeared with the rapidity of lightning, leaving the place in total darkness.

After having played off our fireworks, I tried lighted straw; to our great satisfaction, the bundles thrown in were entirely consumed; we could then reasonably hope nothing was to be feared from the air; but there still remained the danger of plunging into some abyss, or of meeting with a body of water. From these considerations, I deemed it more prudent to defer our entrance into this unknown recess till we had lights to guide us through it. I dispatched Jack on the buffalo to Falcon’s Stream to tell his mother and brothers of our discovery, directing him to return with them, and bring all the tapers that were left: my intention was to tie them together to the end of a stick, and proceed with it lighted to examine the cavity.

In three or four hours we saw them coming up in our car of state. I immediately lighted some of the tapers; but not together, as I had intended: I preferred each taking one in his right hand, an implement in his left, another taper in his pocket, flint and steel; and thus we entered the rock in solemn procession. The most beautiful and magnificent spectacle presented itself. The sides of the cavern sparkled like diamonds, the light from our tapers was reflected from all parts, and had the effect of a grand illumination. Innumerable crystals of every length and shape hung from the top of the vault, which, uniting with those of the sides, formed pillars, altars, entablatures, and a variety of other figures, composing the most splendid masses. We might have fancied ourselves in the palace of a fairy, or an illuminated temple.

The floor was level, covered with a white and very fine sand, as if purposely strewed, and so dry that I could not see the least mark of humidity anywhere. All this led me to hope the spot would be healthy, convenient, and eligible for our proposed residence. I now formed a particular conjecture as to the nature of the crystallizations shooting out on all sides, and especially from the arch-roof. They could scarcely be of that species of rock-crystals produced by the slow filtering of water falling in drops, and coagulating in succession, and seldom found in excavations exhibiting so dry a nature, nor even with so many of the crystals perpendicular and perfectly smooth. I was impatient to evince the truth or falsehood of this idea by an experiment, and discovered with great joy, on breaking a portion of one of them, that I was in a grotto of sal-gem, that is, fossil, or rock salt, found in the earth in solid crystallized masses, generally above a bed of spar or gypsum, and surrounded by layers of fossils or rock. The discovery of this fact, which no longer admitted a doubt, pleased us all exceedingly. The shape of the crystals, their little solidity, and finally their saline taste, were decisive evidences.

Many schemes were formed for converting this magnificent grotto into a convenient and agreeable mansion for our abode. We had possession of the most eligible premises: the sole business was to turn them to the best account; and how to effect this was our unceasing theme. Some voted for our immediate establishment there, but they were opposed by more sagacious counsel, and it was resolved that Falcon’s Stream should still be our headquarters till the end of the year.