CHAPTER LV

Excursion of Fritz—Startling Communication—Discovery of Pearls—Intelligence of a Fellow Creature—Fritz’s Return, and Account of his Wonderful Discoveries

One can easily imagine that my young family was not so easy to govern now as it was during the first few years of our stay.

My children would often absent themselves whole days, hunting in the forest, or clambering over the rocks; but when they returned at evening, fatigued and wearied, if I had intended to reproach them for their wandering life, they would have so much to tell me concerning the rare and curious things that they had seen, that I never had resolution enough to scold them.

Fritz one day went off in this manner, and caused us the greatest disquietude. He had taken with him some provisions, and—as if the land was not large enough for him—also his cajack, and gone out to sea. He had set out before daylight, and night was approaching, but nothing could be seen of him. My wife was in a state of the greatest suspense; and, to alleviate her distress, I launched the canoe, and we set out for Shark Island. There, from the top of the flag-staff, we displayed our flag and fired an alarm-cannon. A few moments after, we saw a black spot in the far distance, and, by the aid of a spy-glass, we discovered our beloved Fritz. He advanced slowly toward us, beating the sea with his oars, as if his canoe were charged with a double load.

“Fire!” cried Ernest, in his capacity as commander of the fort, “fire!” and Jack touched off the cannon. We descended to the shore, and were soon in the arms of our adventurer Fritz. His boat was loaded with different things; and something heavy and dark, which looked like the head of a large animal, was towing behind.

“It appears,” said I, “my dear Fritz, that your day has not been an unprofitable one; and blessed be God that He has returned you safe and sound.”

“Yes,” replied Fritz, “blessed be God; for, besides the booty which you see, I think I have made a discovery which is worth more to us than all the treasures of the earth.”

These words, half-whispered in my ear, excited my curiosity, but I thought I would say nothing until the voyager had taken breath. When we had brought on shore his sack, filled with large oysters, as it appeared to me, and the marine monster which served as a counterpoise, we drew the little cajack, with its master seated in triumph in it, up to the grotto. The boys then returned to obtain the remainder of the cargo, while we sat down quietly in the gallery to listen to Fritz’s narrative. He commenced the recital of his adventures by begging us to pardon him for running away, as he had resolved to visit the eastern part of our country, of which we as yet knew nothing.

“I had long ago intended to make this expedition,” said he. “This morning, before you awoke, I softly arose and ran, as is my custom, to the borders of the sea. The weather was so beautiful, the waves so tranquil, that I could not resist the temptation. I called my eagle, and seizing a hatchet, jumped into the cajack, and falling into the current of Jackal’s River, was hurried out toward the shoals where our vessel was wrecked. I directed my course toward the eastern coast, among shoals and rocks covered with the nests of sea-birds, who flew around me uttering piercing cries. Whenever the rocks offered any surface, you would see great marine monsters extended in the sun, while others were playing and bellowing frightfully in the neighbouring waters. There were sea-lions, and elephants, and walruses of all sorts, who, holding on to the rocks by their long teeth, let their hinder parts rest in the water. It seemed that this was the general rendezvous of these monsters; for I saw, in coasting along the shore, several places strewed with their bones and ivory teeth.

“I must confess,” said Fritz, “that when I saw myself encompassed by these monsters, I did not feel very safe; and I endeavoured, as far as I was able, to pass through the shoals unperceived, which I effected after a hard row of an hour and a half. I stopped my course before a magnificent portico of rocks, which nature seemed to have fashioned into the most imposing forms: it was like the arch of an immense bridge, under which the sea flowed in like a canal, while the rock on each side of the entrance advanced out into the sea, like an immense promontory. I did not hesitate to enter this sombre vault, from the other extremity of which issued a feeble light. A delicious coolness filled the cavern. On all sides numbers of the little coast-swallows were flying about; and on my entrance into the cavern, a swarm of these birds surrounded me, uttering piercing cries, as if they wished to prohibit my farther approach. I tied my skiff to an angular stone in the cavern, and began to examine the inhabitants. I found I was mistaken in considering these birds swallows: they were about the size of wrens, their breast of a pure white colour, their wings of a light grey, the back of a lustrous black. Their nests appeared like those of other birds, made of feathers and dry leaves; but they were placed on a singular sort of a support, resembling a long spoon, made of greyish, polished wax. Some of these nests were empty; and having examined them with more attention, I discovered that they were made of a substance resembling fish-glue. I disengaged a few of them to bring home to you, and I now beg you will examine them, and see whether they are good for anything.”

“Certainly they are, my son. If we carried on commerce with China or India, we could sell these nests for their weight in gold; for they eat them by millions, and esteem them one of the greatest delicacies.”

A general cry of disgust burst forth from my wife and children, at the idea of eating birds’ nests. I explained to them that the feathers and moss lining the inside were not eaten, but only the covering, which is carefully cleaned and cooked with spices, making a transparent, savoury jelly.

“I advanced boldly through the passage,” said Fritz, “and came out into a magnificent bay, whose low and fertile shores stretched out into a savanna of vast extent; trees and shrubs everywhere varied the beauty of the scene: on the right, a vast mass of rocks rose up, being a prolongation of those that I had passed through; on the left rolled a calm and limpid river; and beyond this was a thick swamp, which terminated in a dense forest of cedars. While I was coasting along the shores of the bay, I perceived at the bottom of the transparent waters beds of shells resembling large oysters. ‘Here,’ said I to myself, ‘is something that is much better than our little oysters at Felsenheim; if they taste good, I will take some home with me.’ I detached some with my hook and threw them on the sand, without getting out of my canoe, and set to work to obtain more. When I returned with a new load, I found that the oysters I had first deposited on the sand were opened, and the sun had already begun to corrupt them. I took up one or two; but instead of finding the nice fat oyster I expected, I found nothing but a hard, gritty meat. In trying to detach this from the shell, I felt some little round, hard stones, like peas, under my knife; I took them out, and found them so brilliant that I filled a little box with them which I happened to have with me. Do you not think, my father,” added Fritz, “that they are really pearls?”

I took the box in my hand. “They are really pearls,” cried I, “oriental pearls of the greatest beauty. You have, in truth, discovered a treasure, my son, which one day will be, I hope, of immense value to us. We will pay a visit to this rich bay as soon as possible; but continue your story.”

“I pursued my course,” resumed Fritz, “along the coast, indented with creeks, and covered with verdure and flowers. I came up to the mouth of the river, the calm waters of which floated on tranquilly toward the sea; its surface, overgrown with aquatic plants, resembled a verdant prairie covered with different sorts of birds. I gave to this river the name of St. John, as it put me in mind of the description I had read of a river of that name in Florida. Having renewed my provision of fresh water, I then directed my course towards the other promontory, opposite the arch by which I had entered. I endeavoured to leave the bay; but the tide had risen so high that it filled the vault, and I was obliged to await its ebb. I stepped on shore, as I saw on all sides, popping up out of the water, the heads of marine animals, which appeared about the size of a calf, and they plunged and frisked about in such a manner that I was afraid they would overset my cajack; so I secured it to a point in the rock, and, taking my eagle in my hand, I stood ready to attack the first game that came near me; for I wished to procure one of the animals, which resembled a stuffed valise, as I thought its thick skin might be of use to me. A company of them soon came, plunging and diving, close to the shore. I cast off my eagle, who seized on the largest and best, and soon blinded him; I jumped on a projecting rock, and, catching hold of the animal with my boat-hook, drew it to the shore. All the others fled as if by enchantment. I had to remove the entrails of the animal, as the weight was too heavy for my little skiff; but, while I was thus occupied, a prodigious number of sea-birds clustered around me: gulls, sea-swallows, frigates, and half a dozen other kinds. They came up so close that I whirled my staff around to keep them off, and in doing so knocked down a very large bird, an albatross, I think. After this operation was finished, I fastened my sea-otter to the stern of my boat; and, taking a sack full of oysters, made preparations for my return. I soon passed through the arch, and sailed quietly along, until I saw your flag and heard the report of the cannon.”

After this narrative, and while my wife and the younger boys had gone to the cajack, my son drew me aside and confided to my ear an important secret.

“A very singular circumstance,” said he, “happened on my voyage. In examining the albatross which I had knocked down, judge my surprise when I saw a piece of linen around one of its feet. I untied it, and read the following words written upon it in good English: ‘Save the poor shipwrecked sailor on the smoking rock.’ I cannot express to you, my father, what I felt on seeing this linen. I read and re-read the line to assure myself that it was not an optical illusion. I cried aloud to the Almighty that it might but be true. From this moment my only thought shall be to search the coast in quest of the smoking rock, to save the sufferer—my brother—my friend. Oh! once more perhaps I may see a human being. An idea occurred to me to attach the linen again to the foot of the albatross, and to write upon a second piece, which I fastened to the other foot, the following sentence in English: ‘Have confidence in God: succour is near.’ If the bird returns to the place from whence it came, thought I, the person can read the answer: at all events there will be no harm in trying this experiment. The albatross had been stunned, and I poured some hydromel down its throat to reanimate it. I attached my note to its foot, and let it go, earnestly praying that its mission might be successful. The bird flew up, hesitated for a moment, and then darted rapidly away in an easterly direction, which decided me to take that route in my search. And now, my father,” continued Fritz with emotion, “what do you think of this event? If we could find a new friend, a new brother—for certainly we will go in search of the stranger, oh yes, we will go—what joy! what happiness! But, alas! what despair if we should not succeed! The reason I did not communicate this to my brothers and my mother was to spare them the agonies of a hope which, after all, might never be realized.”

My son pronounced these last words with sadness.

“You have acted very prudently,” said I, “and I am glad that you have sufficient strength of mind to resist the temptation of immediately flying to the assistance of the sufferer. As for the result of any expedition of discovery, I cannot say much; the albatross is a traveller-bird, and it flies extremely swiftly: the linen might have been put on its foot thousands of miles from here; and even if near, perhaps years ago, and now succour may be too late. But continue to keep the secret, and I will try to imagine whether some way cannot be devised to save the poor unfortunate, if in our vicinity.”

The pearls were too important an object to be forgotten, and my sons importuned me to start immediately for the newly-discovered fishery.

“Softly,” said I; “before riding, you must saddle your horse; and if you wish that your enterprise should succeed, you must take with you the necessary implements. Let each one of you try to invent something useful for our purpose, and then we will start.”

This proposition was received with joyous acclamations, and each member of the party set his ingenuity to work. I forged for myself two large iron rakes and two small hooks of the same metal; I fixed wooden handles to the first-named, with iron rings attached, so that I could fasten them to the boat and drag them over the banks of oysters; with the hooks I intended to loosen the oysters, which the rakes were insufficient to detach. Ernest made a sort of butterfly-net with scissors attached, intended to receive the birds’ nests. Jack constructed a kind of ladder, made by piercing a long bamboo at regular distances, and fixing in sticks crosswise; the machine looked like the stick in a parrot’s cage. To the top the young man fixed a hook of iron, and a spike at the bottom, so that it should rest firmly in the rocks. Francis, very adroit in making nets, made several very strong ones to hold our oysters.

During this time, Fritz worked in silence at his cajack, endeavouring to construct a second seat in it. I alone knew his intention; but I dared not encourage him by evincing my knowledge of his object.

We next prepared our provisions for the voyage: two hams were cooked, cassava cakes, barley-bread, rice, nuts, almonds, and other dry fruits; and for drink we took a barrel of water, and one of hydromel. These stores, with our tools and finishing implements, loaded down the boat.