Books: Lost in the Fog
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James De Mille >> Lost in the Fog
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First of all, then, there was his box of biscuit, which he had
brought with him.
To this must be added his first discovery on the island, namely,
the clams. Nothing could be of greater importance than this, since
it afforded not merely a relish, but also actual food.
The next thing that he sought after was lobsters, and he went off
in search of these as soon as he could on the following day.
He waited till the tide was low, which was at about twelve o'clock,
and then went down along the beach. At high tide, the water came
close up to the foot of the lofty cliff; but at ebb, it descended
for some distance, so that there was some sort of a beach even in
places that did not promise any.
The beach nearest to where Tom had taken up his abode was an
expanse of mud and sand; but passing along beyond this, on the
north side, it became gravelly. About a hundred yards to the west,
on this side of the island, he came to the place where he had tied
his boat, on that eventful time when he had drifted here. Below
this, the beach extended down for a long distance, and at the
lowest point there were rocks, and sharp stones, and pebbles of
every size. Here Tom began his search, and before he had looked
five minutes, he found several lobsters of good size. A little
farther search showed him that there was a large supply of these,
so that, in fact, sufficient support might have been obtained for a
whole ship's company. By the time that he had found a half dozen
of these, and had brought them back to his hearth-stone, it had
grown too dark to search for any more. Tom's search, however, had
been so successful, that he felt quite satisfied; and though the
day had passed without any change in the weather or any lifting of
the fog, though he had listened in vain for any sound over the
waters which might tell of passers by, though his signal had not
been seen, and his bright burning fire had not been noticed, yet
the occupation of thought and of action which he had found for
himself, had been sufficient to make the time pass not unpleasantly.
His evening repast was now a decided improvement on that of the
preceding day. First of all, he spread some clams in the hot ashes
to roast; and then, taking the dipper which had been used for
baling, he filled it with water, and placing this on the fire, it
soon began to boil. Into this he thrust the smallest lobster, and
watched it as the water bubbled around it, and its scaly covering
turned slowly from its original dark hue to a bright red color.
His success thus far stimulated him to make some attempts at actual
cookery. Removing some of the lobster from its shell, he poured
out most of the water from the pan, and into what remained he again
put the lobster, cutting it up as fine as he could with his knife.
Into this he crumbled some biscuit, and stirred it up all together.
He then placed it over the fire till it was well baked. On
removing it and tasting it, he found it most palatable. It was
already sufficiently salt, and only needed a little pepper to make
it quite equal to any scolloped lobster that he had ever tasted.
His repast consisted of this, followed by the roast clams, which
formed an agreeable variety.
Tom now felt like a giant refreshed; and while sitting in front of
the evening fire, he occupied his mind with plans for the morrow,
which were all directed towards enlarging his supply of provisions.
He awaked late on the next morning, and found the weather
unchanged. He tried to quell his impatience and disappointment,
and feeling that idleness would never do, he determined to go to
work at once, and carry out the plans of the preceding day. It was
now Thursday, the middle of the second week, and the fog had clung
pertinaciously around him almost all that time. It was indeed
disheartening, and idleness under such circumstances would have
ended in misery and despair; but Tom's perseverance, and obstinate
courage, and buoyant spirits enabled him still to rise above
circumstances, and struggle with the gloom around him.
"O, go on, go on," he muttered, looking around upon the fog.
"Let's see who can stand it longest. And now for my foraging
expedition."
Making a hearty repast out of the remnants of the supper of the
preceding evening, he went first to the shore, so as to complete
his search there while the tide should be low. It was going down
now, and the beach was all before him. He wandered on till he came
to where there was an immense ledge of sharp rocks, that went from
the foot of the precipice down into the bay. Over these he
clambered, looking carefully around, until at last he reached the
very lowest point. Here he soon found some articles of diet, which
were quite as valuable in their way as the clams and lobsters.
First of all, he found an immense quantity of large mussels. These
were entangled among the thick masses of sea-weed. He knew that
the flavor of mussels was much more delicate than that of clams or
lobsters, and that by many connoisseurs these, when good and fresh,
were ranked next to oysters. This discovery, therefore, gave him
great joy, and he filled his pan, which he had carried down, and
took them back to the shore. He also took an armful of sea-weed,
and, reaching his camping-place, he threw the mussels in a hollow
place in the sand, placing the sea-weed around them. In this way
he knew that they would keep fresh and sweet for any reasonable
length of time.
Returning to the ledges of rock, he walked about among them, and
found a number of pools, some of which were of considerable size.
These had been left by the retreating water; and in these hollows
he soon saw a number of small objects moving about. Some of them
he caught without much difficulty, and saw that they were shrimps.
He had hoped to find some of these, but the discovery came to him
like some unexpected pleasure, and seemed more than he had any
right to count on. Beside the shrimps his other discoveries seemed
inferior. There was a large number, and they could be caught
without much trouble. He soon filled his pan, and brought these
also to his camping-place. These he deposited in a little pool,
which was on the surface of some rocks that lay not far from the
shore. Over these he also laid some sea-weed.
The tide was now coming up, but Tom made a further journey to the
beach, so as to secure something which he had noticed during his
previous expedition. This was a marine plant called dulse, which,
in these waters, grows very plentifully, and is gathered and dried
by the people in large quantities. It was a substance of which Tom
was very fond, and he determined to gather some, and dry it in the
sun. Collecting an armful of this, he took it to the shore, and
spread it out over the grass, though, in that damp and foggy
atmosphere, there was not much prospect of its drying.
It was now about three o'clock in the afternoon, and Tom's
researches along the shore were successfully terminated. He had
found all the different articles that he had thought of and his new
acquisitions were now lying about him.
These were,--
Clams,
Lobsters,
Mussels,
Shrimps,
Dulse.
As he murmured to himself the list of things, he smiled triumphantly.
But still there was work to be done. Tom intended to keep
fashionable hours, and dine late, with only a lunch in the middle
of the day. His explorations of the afternoon were to be
important, and he hoped that they would be crowned with a portion
of that success which had attended the work of the morning. He
took, therefore, a hasty lunch of biscuit and cold lobster, washed
down with water, and then set forth.
This time he turned away from the shore, and went to the top of the
island. He carried in his hand a bit of rope, about a dozen feet
in length, and went along the edge of the cliff as far as he could,
turning aside at times to avoid any clumps of trees or bushes that
grew too thickly. In front of him the line of cliff extended for
some distance, and he walked along, until, at last, he came to a
place where the gulls flew about in larger flocks than usual,
almost on a line with the top of the rock. He had not noticed them
particularly on his former walk along here; but now he watched them
very attentively, and finally stood still, so as to see their
actions to better advantage.
Tom, in fact, had made up his mind to procure some gulls' eggs,
thinking that these would make an addition to his repast of great
importance; and he now watched the motions of these birds, so as to
detect the most accessible of their nests. He did not have to
watch long. A little observation showed him a place, just under
the cliff, not far away from him. Hastening forward, he bent over,
and, looking down, he saw a large number of nests. They had been
constructed on a shelf of rock immediately below the edge of the
cliff, and the eggs were within easy reach. The gulls flew about
wildly, as the intruder reached down his hands towards their nests,
and screamed and shrieked, while some of them rushed towards him,
within a few feet of his head, as though they would assail him and
beat him off. But Tom's determination did not falter. He cared no
more for the gulls than if they were so many pigeons, but secured
as many eggs as he could carry. These he took with him back to his
camp.
But he was not yet satisfied. He was anxious to have some
vegetables; and over the open ground, among the grass, he had seen
plants which were very familiar to him. There were dandelions; and
Tom saw in them something that seemed worth more than any of his
other acquisitions. Going forth in search of these, he managed to
get his pan full of them. These he washed, and after cutting off
the roots, he put them in the pan with water, and then set them
over the fire to boil.
While they were boiling Tom went off once more, and found some wild
strawberries. They were quite plentiful about here, and this was
the season for them. He stripped a piece of bark from a birch
tree, as the country people do, and formed from this a dish which
would hold about a quart. This he filled after a moderate search.
He took the strawberries to his camp, and then, going back to the
woods, he procured some more birch bark, out of which he made a
half dozen dishes. It was now about five o'clock, and Tom thought
it was time for him to begin to cook his dinner.
The dandelions were not quite cooked as yet; so Tom had to wait;
but while doing so, he heated some stones in the fire. By the time
they were heated, the dandelions were cooked; and Tom, removing the
pan, put some shrimps and mussels in it, to boil over the fire. He
then removed the stones, and placed one of the lobsters among them
in such a way, that it was surrounded on every side in a hot oven.
He then buried a few clams among the hot ashes, and did the same
with three or four of the gulls' eggs.
One of the hot stones was reserved for another purpose. It was the
largest of them, and was red hot when he drew it from the fire, but
soon cooled down enough to resume its natural color, although it
retained an intense heat.
Over this he spread some of the wet dulse, which soon crackled and
shrivelled up, sending forth a rich and fragrant steam. In
roasting this dulse, a large piece would shrink to very small
proportions, so that half of Tom's armful, when thus roasted, was
reduced to but a small handful.
After finishing this, he drew the gulls' eggs from the fire, and
taking off the shells, he cut them in slices, and put them with the
dandelions. Then he took the shrimps and mussels from the fire,
and removing them from the pan, he separated them, and put them
into different bark dishes. The clams were next drawn forth, and
though rather overdone, they were, nevertheless, of tempting
appearance and appetizing odor. Finally, the lobster was removed,
and Tom contented himself with one of the claws, which he placed on
a dish, reserving the remainder for another time.
And now the articles were all cooked, and Tom's repast was ready.
He looked with a smile of gratification upon the various dishes
which his ingenuity and industry had drawn forth from the rocks,
and cliffs, and mud, and sand of a desert island, and wondered
whether other islands, in tropical climates, could yield a more
varied or more nutritious supply. He thought of other plants which
might be found here, and determined to try some that seemed to be
nutritious.
Here is the repast which Tom, on that occasion, spread before
himself:--
1. Roast clams,
2. Baked lobster,
3. Boiled mussels,
4. Boiled shrimps,
5. Roast eggs,
6. Dandelions,
7. Dandelions with eggs,
8. Roast dulse,
9. Strawberries,
10. Pilot-bread.
In one thing only did Tom fall short of his wishes, and that was in
the way of drinks. But before that dinner was finished, even this
was remedied; for necessity, the great mother of invention,
instigated Tom to squeeze about half of his strawberries into a
little water. Out of this he formed a drink with a flavor that
seemed to him to be quite delicious. And that made what Tom
called,--
11. Strawberry cordial.
XX.
New Discoveries.--The Boat.--A great Swell.--Meditations and
Plans.--A new, and wonderful, and before unheard-of Application of
Spruce Gum.--I'm afloat! I'm afloat!
Tom sat there over his banquet until late. He then went down to
the beach, and brought up a vast collection of driftwood, and
throwing a plenteous supply upon the fire, he lay down beside it,
and looked out over the water, trying, as usual, to see something
through the thick mist. The flames shot up with a crackle and a
great blaze, and the bright light shone brilliantly upon the water.
The tide was now up, and the boat was full before him. Tom fixed
his eyes upon this boat, and was mournfully recalling his
unsuccessful experiment at making her sea-worthy, and was waiting
to see her sink down to her gunwales as she filled, when the
thought occurred to him that she was not filling so rapidly as she
might, but was floating much better than usual. A steady
observation served to show him that this was no fancy, but an
actual fact; and the confirmation of this first impression at once
drove away all other thoughts, and brought back all the ideas of
escape which he once had cherished.
The boat was admitting the water, certainly, yet she certainly did
not leak quite so badly as before, but was floating far better than
she had done on the night of his trial. What was the meaning of
this?
Now, the fact is, he had not noticed the boat particularly during
the last few days. He had given it up so completely, that it
ceased to have any interest in his eyes. Raising his signal,
building his house, and exploring the island had taken up all his
thoughts. Latterly he had thought of nothing but his dinner. But
now the change in the boat was unmistakable, and it seemed to him
that the change might have been going on gradually all this time
without his noticing it until it had become so marked.
What was the cause of this change? That was the question which he
now sought to answer. After some thought he found a satisfactory
explanation.
For a number of days the boat had been admitting the water till she
was full. This water had remained in for an hour or more, and this
process of filling and emptying had been repeated every tide. The
atmosphere also had been wet, and the wood, thus saturated with
water so frequently, had no chance of getting dry. Tom thought,
therefore, that the wooden framework, which he had constructed so
as to tighten the leak, had been gradually swelling from the action
of the water; and the planks of the boat had been tightening their
cracks from the same cause, so that now the opening was not nearly
so bad as it had been. Thus the boat, which once had been able to
float him for a quarter of an hour or more, ought now to be able to
float him for at least double that time.
Tom watched the boat very attentively while the tide was up; and,
when at length it began to retreat, and leave it once more aground,
he noticed that it was not more than half full of water. If any
confirmation had been needed to the conclusions which he had drawn
from seeing the improved buoyancy of the boat, it would have been
afforded by this. Tom accepted this with delight, as an additional
circumstance in his favor; and now, having become convinced of this
much, he set his wits to work to see if some plan could not be hit
upon by means of which the boat could once more be made sea-worthy.
Tom's indefatigable perseverance must have been noticed by this
time. To make the best of circumstances; to stand face to face
with misfortune, and shrink not; to meet the worst with equanimity,
and grasp eagerly at the slightest favorable change,--such was the
character that Tom had shown during his experience of the past.
Now, once more, he grasped at this slight circumstance that
appeared to favor his hopes, and sought to find some way by which
that half-floating boat could be made to float wholly, and bear him
away to those shores that were so near by. Too long had he been
submitting to this imprisonment; too long had he been waiting for
schooners to pass and to bring him help; too long had he been shut
in by a fog that seemed destined never to lift so long as he was
here. If he could only form some kind of a boat that would float
long enough to land him on the nearest coast, all that he wished
would be gratified.
As he thought over this subject, he saw plainly what he had felt
very strongly before--that the boat could not be sea-worthy unless
he had some tar with which to plaster over the broken bow, and fill
in the gaping seams; but there was no tar. Still, did it follow
that there was nothing else? Might not something be found upon the
island which would serve the purpose of tar? There must be some
such substance and perhaps it might be found here.
Tom now thought over all the substances that he could bring before
his mind. Would clay do? No; clay would not. Would putty? No,
and besides, he could not get any. What, then, would serve this
important purpose?
Tar was produced from trees. Were there no trees here that
produced some sticky and glutinous substance like tar? There was
the resin of pine trees, but there were no pines on the island.
What then? These fir trees had a sort of sticky, balsamic juice
that exuded plentifully from them wherever they were cut. Might he
not make some use of that? Suddenly, in the midst of reflections
like these, he thought of the gum that is found on spruce trees--
spruce gum! It was an idea that deserved to be followed up and
carried out. Thus far he had never thought of spruce gum, except
as something which he, like most boys, was fond of chewing; but now
it appeared before his mind as affording a possible solution of his
difficulty. The more he thought of it, the more did it seem that
this would be adapted to his purpose. The only question was,
whether he could obtain enough of it. He thought that he might
easily obtain enough if he only took the proper time and care.
With this new plan in his mind, Tom retired for the night, and
awaked the next morning by the dawn of day. It was still foggy;
but he was now so resigned, and was so full of his new plan, that
it did not trouble him in the slightest degree. In fact, he was so
anxious to try this, that the sight of a boat landing on the beach,
all ready to take him off, would not have afforded him an unmixed
satisfaction.
He took his tin dipper, and went up at once into the woods. Here
he looked around very carefully, and soon found what he wanted. He
knew perfectly well, of course, how to distinguish spruce trees
from fir, by the sharp, prickly spires of the former, and so he was
never at a loss which trees to search. No sooner had he begun,
than he was surprised at the quantities that he found. To an
ordinary observer the trunk of the spruce tree seems like any other
tree trunk--no rougher, and perhaps somewhat smoother than many;
but Tom now found that on every tree almost there were little round
excrescences, which, on being picked at with the knife, came off
readily, and proved to be gum. Vast quantities of a substance
which goes by the name of spruce gum are manufactured and sold; but
the pure gum is a very different article, having a rich, balsamic
odor, and a delicate yet delicious flavor; and Tom, as he filled
his pan, and inhaled the fragrance that was emitted by its
contents, lamented that his necessities compelled him to use it for
such a purpose as that to which this was destined. After four or
five hours' work, he found that he had gathered enough. He had
filled his pan no less than six times, and had secured a supply
which was amply sufficient to give a coating of thick gum over all
the fractured place. The tide, which had already risen, was now
falling, and, as soon as the boat was aground, and the water out of
her, Tom proceeded to raise her bows, in precisely the same manner
as he had raised the boat on a former occasion.
The next thing was to bring the gum into a fit condition for use.
This he did by kindling the fire, and melting it in his tin pan.
This would rather interfere with the use of that article as a
cooking utensil, but now that Tom's mind was full of this new
purpose, cooking and things of that sort had lost all attractions
for him. As for food, there was no fear about that. He had his
biscuit, and the lobster and shell-fish which he had cooked on the
preceding day were but partially consumed. Enough remained to
supply many more meals.
The gum soon melted, and then a brush was needed to apply it to the
boat. This was procured by cutting off a little strip of canvas,
about a yard long and six inches wide. By picking out some of the
threads, and rolling it up, a very serviceable brush was formed.
Taking the gum now in its melted state, Tom dipped his brush into
it, and applied it all over the broken surface of the bow, pressing
the hot liquid in close, and allowing it to harden in the cracks.
His first coating of gum was very satisfactorily applied, and it
seemed as though a few more coatings ought to secure the boat from
the entrance of the water. The gum was tenacious, and its only bad
quality was its brittleness; but, as it would not be exposed to the
blows of any hard substances, it seemed quite able to serve Tom's
wants.
Tom now went down to the drift-wood and brought up a fresh supply
of fuel, after which he melted a second panful of gum, and applied
this to the boat. He endeavored to secure an entrance for it into
all the cracks that did not seem to be sufficiently filled at the
first application, and now had the satisfaction of seeing all of
those deep marks filled up and effaced by the gum.
One place still remained which had not yet been made secure against
the entrance of the water, and that was where the planks gaped open
from the blow that had crushed in the bows. Here the canvas that
was inside protruded slightly. Torn ripped up some of the canvas
that was on the tent, and taking the threads, stuffed them in the
opening, mixing them with gum as he did so, until it was filled;
and then over this he put a coating of the gum. After this another
pan, and yet another, were melted, and the hot gum each time was
applied. This gave the whole surface a smooth appearance, that
promised to be impenetrable to the water.
The gum which he had collected was enough to fill two more pans.
This he melted as before, and applied to the bows. Each new
application clung to the one that had preceded it, in a thick and
quickly hardening layer, until at last, when the work was done,
there appeared a coating of this gum formed from six successive
layers, that was smooth, and hard, and without any crack whatever.
It seemed absolutely water-tight; and Tom, as he looked at it now,
could not imagine where the water could penetrate. Yet, in order
to make assurance doubly sure, he collected two more panfuls, and
melting this he applied it as before. After this was over, he made
a torch of birch bark, and lighting this, he held the flame against
the gum till the whole outer surface began to melt and run
together. This served to secure any crevices that his brush might
have passed by without properly filling.
The work was now complete as far as Tom could do it; and on
examining it, he regretted that he had not thought of this before.
He felt an exultation that he had never known in his life. If he,
by his own efforts, could thus rescue himself, what a cause it
would be always after to struggle against misfortune, and rise
superior to circumstances!
As to the voyage, Tom's plan was the same that it had been on a
former occasion. He would float the boat at high tide, and then
push off, keeping her near the shore, yet afloat until ebb tide.
Then, when the tide should turn, and the current run up the bay, he
would put off, and float along with the stream until he reached
land.
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