Books: The Mysterious Island

J >> Jules Verne >> The Mysterious Island

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The cloth of which the balloon-case was made was then cleaned by means of
soda and potash, obtained by the incineration of plants, in such a way that
the cotton, having got rid of the varnish, resumed its natural softness and
elasticity; then, exposed to the action of the atmosphere, it soon became
perfectly white. Some dozen shirts and sock--the latter not knitted, of
course, but made of cotton--were thus manufactured. What a comfort it was
to the settlers to clothe themselves again in clean linen, which was
doubtless rather rough, but they were not troubled about that! and then to
go to sleep between sheets, which made the couches at Granite House into
quite comfortable beds!

It was about this time also that they made boots of seal-leather, which
were greatly needed to replace the shoes and boots brought from America. We
may be sure that these new shoes were large enough and never pinched the
feet of the wearers.

With the beginning of the year 1866 the heat was very great, but the
hunting in the forests did not stand still. Agouties, peccaries, capybaras,
kangaroos, game of all sorts, actually swarmed there, and Spilett and
Herbert were too good marksmen ever to throw away their shot uselessly.

Cyrus Harding still recommended them to husband the ammunition, and he
took measures to replace the powder and shot which had been found in the
box, and which he wished to reserve for the future. How did he know where
chance might one day cast his companions and himself in the event of their
leaving their domain? They should, then, prepare for the unknown future by
husbanding their ammunition and by substituting for it some easily
renewable substance.

To replace lead, of which Harding had found no traces in the island, he
employed granulated iron, which was easy to manufacture. These bullets, not
having the weight of leaden bullets, were made larger, and each charge
contained less, but the skill of the sportsmen made up this deficiency. As
to powder, Cyrus Harding would have been able to make that also, for he had
at his disposal saltpeter, sulphur, and coal; but this preparation requires
extreme care, and without special tools it is difficult to produce it of a
good quality. Harding preferred, therefore, to manufacture pyroxyle, that
is to say gun-cotton, a substance in which cotton is not indispensable, as
the elementary tissue of vegetables may be used, and this is found in an
almost pure state, not only in cotton, but in the textile fiber of hemp and
flax, in paper, the pith of the elder, etc. Now, the elder abounded in the
island towards the mouth of Red Creek, and the colonists had already made
coffee of the berries of these shrubs, which belong to the family of the
caprifoliaceae.

The only thing to be collected, therefore, was elder-pith, for as to the
other substance necessary for the manufacture of pyroxyle, it was only
fuming azotic acid. Now, Harding having sulphuric acid at his disposal, had
already been easily able to produce azotic acid by attacking the saltpeter
with which nature supplied him. He accordingly resolved to manufacture and
employ pyroxyle, although it has some inconveniences, that is to say, a
great inequality of effect, an excessive inflammability, since it takes
fire at one hundred and seventy degrees instead of two hundred and forty,
and lastly, an instantaneous deflagration which might damage the firearms.
On the other hand, the advantages of pyroxyle consist in this, that it is
not injured by damp, that it does not make the gun-barrels dirty, and that
its force is four times that of ordinary powder.

To make pyroxyle, the cotton must be immersed in the fuming azotic acid
for a quarter of an hour, then washed in cold water and dried. Nothing
could be more simple.

Cyrus Harding had only at his disposal the ordinary azotic acid and not
the fuming or monohydrate azotic acid, that is to say, acid which emits
white vapors when it comes in contact with damp air; but by substituting
for the latter ordinary azotic acid, mixed, in the proportion of from three
to five volumes of concentrated sulphuric acid, the engineer obtained the
same result. The sportsmen of the island therefore soon had a perfectly
prepared substance, which, employed discreetly, produced admirable results.

About this time the settlers cleared three acres of the plateau, and the
rest was preserved in a wild state, for the benefit of the onagers. Several
excursions were made into the Jacamar Wood and the forests of the Far West,
and they brought back from thence a large collection of wild vegetables,
spinach, cress, radishes, and turnips, which careful culture would soon
improve, and which would temper the regimen on which the settlers had till
then subsisted. Supplies of wood and coal were also carted. Each excursion
was at the same time a means of improving the roads, which gradually became
smoother under the wheels of the cart.

The rabbit-warren still continued to supply the larder of Granite House.
As fortunately it was situated on the other side of Creek Glycerine, its
inhabitants could not reach the plateau nor ravage the newly-made
plantation. The oyster-bed among the rocks was frequently renewed and
furnished excellent molluscs. Besides that, the fishing, either in the lake
or the Mercy, was very profitable, for Pencroft had made some lines, armed
with iron hooks, with which they frequently caught fine trout, and a
species of fish whose silvery sides were speckled with yellow, and which
were also extremely savory. Master Neb, who was skilled in the culinary
art, knew how to vary agreeably the bill of fare. Bread alone was wanting
at the table of the settlers, and as has been said, they felt this
privation greatly.

The settlers hunted too the turtles which frequented the shores of Cape
Mandible. At this place the beach was covered with little mounds,
concealing perfectly spherical turtles' eggs, with white hard shells, the
albumen of which does not coagulate as that of birds' eggs. They were
hatched by the sun, and their number was naturally considerable, as each
turtle can lay annually two hundred and fifty.

"A regular egg-field," observed Gideon Spilett, "and we have nothing to
do but to pick them up."

But not being contented with simply the produce, they made chase after
the producers, the result of which was that they were able to bring back to
Granite House a dozen of these chelonians, which were really valuable from
an alimentary point of view. The turtle soup, flavored with aromatic herbs,
often gained well-merited praises for its preparer, Neb.

We must here mention another fortunate circumstance by which new stores
for the winter were laid in. Shoals of salmon entered the Mercy, and
ascended the country for several miles. It was the time at which the
females, going to find suitable places in which to spawn, precede the males
and make a great noise through the fresh water. A thousand of these fish,
which measured about two feet and a half in length, came up the river, and
a large quantity were retained by fixing dams across the stream. More than
a hundred were thus taken, which were salted and stored for the time when
winter, freezing up the streams, would render fishing impracticable. By
this time the intelligent Jup was raised to the duty of valet. He had been
dressed in a jacket, white linen breeches, and an apron, the pockets of
which were his delight. The clever orang had been marvelously trained by
Neb, and any one would have said that the Negro and the ape understood each
other when they talked together. Jup had besides a real affection for Neb,
and Neb returned it. When his services were not required, either for
carrying wood or for climbing to the top of some tree, Jup passed the
greatest part of his time in the kitchen, where he endeavored to imitate
Neb in all that he saw him do. The black showed the greatest patience and
even extreme zeal in instructing his pupil, and the pupil exhibited
remarkable intelligence in profiting by the lessons he received from his
master.

Judge then of the pleasure Master Jup gave to the inhabitants of Granite
House when, without their having had any idea of it, he appeared one day,
napkin on his arm, ready to wait at table. Quick, attentive, he acquitted
himself perfectly, changing the plates, bringing dishes, pouring out water,
all with a gravity which gave intense amusement to the settlers, and which
enraptured Pencroft.

"Jup, some soup!"

"Jup, a little agouti!"

"Jup, a plate!"

"Jup! Good Jup! Honest Jup!"

Nothing was heard but that, and Jup without ever being disconcerted,
replied to every one, watched for everything, and he shook his head in a
knowing way when Pencroft, referring to his joke of the first day, said to
him,--

"Decidedly, Jup, your wages must be doubled."

It is useless to say that the orang was now thoroughly domesticated at
Granite House, and that he often accompanied his masters to the forest
without showing any wish to leave them. It was most amusing to see him
walking with a stick which Pencroft had given him, and which he carried on
his shoulder like a gun. If they wished to gather some fruit from the
summit of a tree, how quickly he climbed for it. If the wheel of the cart
stuck in the mud, with what energy did Jup with a single heave of his
shoulder put it right again.

"What a jolly fellow he is!" cried Pencroft often. "If he was as
mischievous as he is good, there would be no doing anything with him!"

It was towards the end of January the colonists began their labors in the
center of the island. It had been decided that a corral should be
established near the sources of the Red Creek, at the foot of Mount
Franklin, destined to contain the ruminants, whose presence would have been
troublesome at Granite House, and especially for the musmons, who were to
supply the wool for the settlers' winter garments.

Each morning, the colony, sometimes entire, but more often represented
only by Harding, Herbert, and Pencroft, proceeded to the sources of the
Creek, a distance of not more than five miles, by the newly beaten road to
which the name of Corral Road had been given.

There a site was chosen, at the back of the southern ridge of the
mountain. It was a meadow land, dotted here and there with clumps of trees,
and watered by a little stream, which sprung from the slopes which closed
it in on one side. The grass was fresh, and it was not too much shaded by
the trees which grew about it. This meadow was to be surrounded by a
palisade, high enough to prevent even the most agile animals from leaping
over. This enclosure would be large enough to contain a hundred musmons and
wild goats, with all the young ones they might produce.

The perimeter of the corral was then traced by the engineer, and they
would then have proceeded to fell the trees necessary for the construction
of the palisade, but as the opening up of the road had already necessitated
the sacrifice of a considerable number, those were brought and supplied a
hundred stakes, which were firmly fixed in the ground.

The construction of this corral did not take less than three weeks, for
besides the palisade, Cyrus Harding built large sheds, in which the animals
could take shelter. These buildings had also to be made very strong, for
musmons are powerful animals, and their first fury was to be feared. The
stakes, sharpened at their upper end and hardened by fire, had been fixed
by means of cross-bars, and at regular distances props assured the solidity
of the whole.

The corral finished, a raid had to be made on the pastures frequented by
the ruminants. This was done on the 7th of February, on a beautiful
summer's day, and every one took part in it. The onagers, already well
trained, were ridden by Spilett and Herbert, and were of great use.

The maneuver consisted simply in surrounding the musmons and goats, and
gradually narrowing the circle around them. Cyrus Harding, Pencroft, Neb,
and Jup, posted themselves in different parts of the wood, while the two
cavaliers and Top galloped in a radius of half a mile round the corral.

The musmons were very numerous in this part of the island. These fine
animals were as large as deer; their horns were stronger than those of the
ram, and their gray-colored fleece was mixed with long hair.

This hunting day was very fatiguing. Such going and coming, and running
and riding and shouting! Of a hundred musmons which had been surrounded,
more than two-thirds escaped, but at last, thirty of these animals and ten
wild goats were gradually driven back towards the corral, the open door of
which appearing to offer a means of escape, they rushed in and were
prisoners.

In short, the result was satisfactory, and the settlers had no reason to
complain. There was no doubt that the flock would prosper, and that at no
distant time not only wool but hides would be abundant.

That evening the hunters returned to Granite House quite exhausted.
However, notwithstanding their fatigue, they returned the next day to visit
the corral. The prisoners had been trying to overthrow the palisade, but of
course had not succeeded, and were not long in becoming more tranquil.

During the month of February, no event of any importance occurred. The
daily labors were pursued methodically, and, as well as improving the roads
to the corral and to Port Balloon, a third was commenced, which, starting
from the enclosure, proceeded towards the western coast. The yet unknown
portion of Lincoln Island was that of the wood-covered Serpentine
Peninsula, which sheltered the wild beasts, from which Gideon Spilett was
so anxious to clear their domain.

Before the cold season should appear the most assiduous care was given to
the cultivation of the wild plants which had been transplanted from the
forest to Prospect Heights. Herbert never returned from an excursion
without bringing home some useful vegetable. One day, it was some specimens
of the chicory tribe, the seeds of which by pressure yield an excellent
oil; another, it was some common sorrel, whose antiscorbutic qualities were
not to be despised; then, some of those precious tubers, which have at all
times been cultivated in South America, potatoes, of which more than two
hundred species are now known. The kitchen garden, now well stocked and
carefully defended from the birds, was divided into small beds, where grew
lettuces, kidney potatoes, sorrel, turnips, radishes, and other coneiferae.
The soil on the plateau was particularly fertile, and it was hoped that the
harvests would be abundant.

They had also a variety of different beverages, and so long as they did
not demand wine, the most hard to please would have had no reason to
complain. To the Oswego tea, and the fermented liquor extracted from the
roots of the dragonnier, Harding had added a regular beer, made from the
young shoots of the spruce-fir, which, after having been boiled and
fermented, made that agreeable drink called by the Anglo-Americans spring-
beer.

Towards the end of the summer, the poultry-yard was possessed of a couple
of fine bustards, which belonged to the houbara species, characterized by a
sort of feathery mantle; a dozen shovelers, whose upper mandible was
prolonged on each side by a membraneous appendage; and also some
magnificent cocks, similar to the Mozambique cocks, the comb, caruncle, and
epidermis being black. So far, everything had succeeded, thanks to the
activity of these courageous and intelligent men. Nature did much for them,
doubtless; but faithful to the great precept, they made a right use of what
a bountiful Providence gave them.

After the heat of these warm summer days, in the evening when their work
was finished and the sea-breeze began to blow, they liked to sit on the
edge of Prospect Heights, in a sort of veranda, covered with creepers,
which Neb had made with his own hands. There they talked, they instructed
each other, they made plans, and the rough good-humor of the sailor always
amused this little world, in which the most perfect harmony had never
ceased to reign.

They often spoke of their country, of their dear and great America. What
was the result of the War of Secession? It could not have been greatly
prolonged. Richmond had doubtless soon fallen into the hands of General
Grant. The taking of the capital of the Confederates must have been the
last action of this terrible struggle. Now the North had triumphed in the
good cause, how welcome would have been a newspaper to the exiles in
Lincoln Island! For eleven months all communication between them and the
rest of their fellow-creatures had been interrupted, and in a short time
the 24th of March would arrive, the anniversary of the day on which the
balloon had thrown them on this unknown coast. They were then mere
castaways, not even knowing how they should preserve their miserable lives
from the fury of the elements! And now, thanks to the knowledge of their
captain, and their own intelligence, they were regular colonists, furnished
with arms, tools, and instruments; they had been able to turn to their
profit the animals, plants, and minerals of the island, that is to say, the
three kingdoms of Nature.

Yes; they often talked of all these things and formed still more plans.

As to Cyrus Harding he was for the most part silent, and listened to his
companions more often than he spoke to them. Sometimes he smiled at
Herbert's ideas or Pencroft's nonsense, but always and everywhere he
pondered over those inexplicable facts, that strange enigma, of which the
secret still escaped him!

Chapter 9

The weather changed during the first week of March. There had been a full
moon at the commencement of the month, and the heat was excessive. The
atmosphere was felt to be full of electricity, and a period of some length
of tempestuous weather was to be feared.

Indeed, on the 2nd, peals of thunder were heard, the wind blew from the
east, and hail rattled against the facade of Granite House like volleys of
grape-shot. The door and windows were immediately closed, or everything in
the rooms would have been drenched. On seeing these hailstones, some of
which were the size of a pigeon's egg, Pencroft's first thought was that
his cornfield was in serious danger.

He directly rushed to his field, where little green heads were already
appearing, and by means of a great cloth, he managed to protect his crop.

This bad weather lasted a week, during which time the thunder rolled
without cessation in the depths of the sky.

The colonists, not having any pressing work out of doors, profited by the
bad weather to work at the interior of Granite House, the arrangement of
which was becoming more complete from day to day. The engineer made a
turning-lathe, with which he turned several articles both for the toilet
and the kitchen, particularly buttons, the want of which was greatly felt.
A gunrack had been made for the firearms, which were kept with extreme
care, and neither tables nor cupboards were left incomplete. They sawed,
they planed, they filed, they turned; and during the whole of this bad
season, nothing was heard but the grinding of tools or the humming of the
turning-lathe which responded to the growling of the thunder.

Master Jup had not been forgotten, and he occupied a room at the back,
near the storeroom, a sort of cabin with a cot always full of good litter,
which perfectly suited his taste.

"With good old Jup there is never any quarreling," often repeated
Pencroft, "never any improper reply. What a servant, Neb, what a servant!"

Of course Jup was now well used to service. He brushed their clothes, he
turned the spit, he waited at table, he swept the rooms, he gathered wood,
and he performed another admirable piece of service which delighted
Pencroft--he never went to sleep without first coming to tuck up the worthy
sailor in his bed.

As to the health of the members of the colony, bipeds or bimana,
quadrumana or quadrupeds, it left nothing to be desired. With their life in
the open air, on this salubrious soil, under that temperate zone, working
both with head and hands, they could not suppose that illness would ever
attack them.

All were indeed wonderfully well. Herbert had already grown two inches in
the year. His figure was forming and becoming more manly, and he promised
to be an accomplished man, physically as well as morally. Besides he
improved himself during the leisure hours which manual occupations left to
him; he read the books found in the case; and after the practical lessons
which were taught by the very necessity of their position, he found in the
engineer for science, and the reporter for languages, masters who were
delighted to complete his education.

The tempest ended about the 9th of March, but the sky remained covered
with clouds during the whole of this last summer month. The atmosphere,
violently agitated by the electric commotions, could not recover its former
purity, and there was almost invariably rain and fog, except for three or
four fine days on which several excursions were made. About this time the
female onager gave birth to a young one which belonged to the same sex as
its mother, and which throve capitally. In the corral, the flock of musmons
had also increased, and several lambs already bleated in the sheds, to the
great delight of Neb and Herbert, who had each their favorite among these
newcomers. An attempt was also made for the domestication of the peccaries,
which succeeded well. A sty was constructed under the poultry-yard, and
soon contained several young ones in the way to become civilized, that is
to say, to become fat under Neb's care. Master Jup, entrusted with carrying
them their daily nourishment, leavings from the kitchen, etc., acquitted
himself conscientiously of his task. He sometimes amused himself at the
expense of his little pensioners by tweaking their tails; but this was
mischief, and not wickedness, for these little twisted tails amused him
like a plaything, and his instinct was that of a child. One day in this
month of March, Pencroft, talking to the engineer, reminded Cyrus Harding
of a promise which the latter had not as yet had time to fulfil.

"You once spoke of an apparatus which would take the place of the long
ladders at Granite House, captain," said he; "won't you make it some day?"

"Nothing will be easier; but is this a really useful thing?"

"Certainly, captain. After we have given ourselves necessaries, let us
think a little of luxury. For us it may be luxury, if you like, but for
things it is necessary. It isn't very convenient to climb up a long ladder
when one is heavily loaded."

"Well, Pencroft, we will try to please you," replied Cyrus Harding.

"But you have no machine at your disposal."

"We will make one."

"A steam machine?"

"No, a water machine."

And, indeed, to work his apparatus there was already a natural force at
the disposal of the engineer which could be used without great difficulty.
For this, it was enough to augment the flow of the little stream which
supplied the interior of Granite House with water. The opening among the
stones and grass was then increased, thus producing a strong fall at the
bottom of the passage, the overflow from which escaped by the inner well.
Below this fall the engineer fixed a cylinder with paddles, which was
joined on the exterior with a strong cable rolled on a wheel, supporting a
basket. In this way, by means of a long rope reaching to the ground, which
enabled them to regulate the motive power, they could rise in the basket to
the door of Granite House.

It was on the 17th of March that the lift acted for the first time, and
gave universal satisfaction. Henceforward all the loads, wood, coal,
provisions, and even the settlers themselves, were hoisted by this simple
system, which replaced the primitive ladder, and, as may be supposed, no
one thought of regretting the change. Top particularly was enchanted with
this improvement, for he had not, and never could have possessed Master
Jup's skill in climbing ladders, and often it was on Neb's back, or even on
that of the orang that he had been obliged to make the ascent to Granite
House. About this time, too, Cyrus Harding attempted to manufacture glass,
and he at first put the old pottery-kiln to this new use. There were some
difficulties to be encountered; but, after several fruitless attempts, he
succeeded in setting up a glass manufactory, which Gideon Spilett and
Herbert, his usual assistants, did not leave for several days. As to the
substances used in the composition of glass, they are simply sand, chalk,
and soda, either carbonate or sulphate. Now the beach supplied sand, lime
supplied chalk, sea-weeds supplied soda, pyrites supplied sulphuric acid,
and the ground supplied coal to heat the kiln to the wished-for
temperature. Cyrus Harding thus soon had everything ready for setting to
work.

The tool, the manufacture of which presented the most difficulty, was the
pipe of the glass-maker, an iron tube, five or six feet long, which
collects on one end the material in a state of fusion. But by means of a
long, thin piece of iron rolled up like the barrel of a gun, Pencroft
succeeded in making a tube soon ready for use.