The Mysterious Island (37 page)

On the 21st of November, Cyrus Harding began to plan the canal which was
to close the plateau on the west, from the south angle of Lake Grant to
the angle of the Mercy. There was there two or three feet of vegetable
earth, and below that granite. It was therefore necessary to manufacture
some more nitro-glycerine, and the nitro-glycerine did its accustomed
work. In less than a fortnight a ditch, twelve feet wide and six deep,
was dug out in the hard ground of the plateau. A new trench was made by
the same means in the rocky border of the lake, forming a small stream,
to which they gave the name of Creek Glycerine, and which was thus an
affluent of the Mercy. As the engineer had predicted, the level of the
lake was lowered, though very slightly. To complete the enclosure the
bed of the stream on the beach was considerably enlarged, and the sand
supported by means of stakes.

By the end of the first fortnight of December these works were finished,
and Prospect Heights—that is to say, a sort of irregular pentagon,
having a perimeter of nearly four miles, surrounded by a liquid
belt—was completely protected from depredators of every description.

During the month of December, the heat was very great. In spite of it,
however, the settlers continued their work, and as they were anxious to
possess a poultry-yard they forthwith commenced it.

It is useless to say that since the enclosing of the plateau had been
completed, Master Jup had been set at liberty. He did not leave his
masters, and evinced no wish to escape. He was a gentle animal, though
very powerful and wonderfully active. He was already taught to make
himself useful by drawing loads of wood and carting away the stones
which were extracted from the bed of Creek Glycerine.

The poultry-yard occupied an area of two hundred square yards, on the
southeastern bank of the lake. It was surrounded by a palisade, and
in it were constructed various shelters for the birds which were to
populate it. These were simply built of branches and divided into
compartments, made ready for the expected guests.

The first were the two tinamous, which were not long in having a number
of young ones; they had for companions half a dozen ducks, accustomed to
the borders of the lake. Some belonged to the Chinese species, of which
the wings open like a fan, and which by the brilliancy of their plumage
rival the golden pheasants. A few days afterwards, Herbert snared a
couple of gallinaceae, with spreading tails composed of long feathers,
magnificent alectors, which soon became tame. As to pelicans,
kingfishers, water-hens, they came of themselves to the shores of the
poultry-yard, and this little community, after some disputes, cooing,
screaming, clucking, ended by settling down peacefully, and increased in
encouraging proportion for the future use of the colony.

Cyrus Harding, wishing to complete his performance, established a
pigeon-house in a corner of the poultry-yard. There he lodged a dozen
of those pigeons which frequented the rocks of the plateau. These birds
soon became accustomed to returning every evening to their new dwelling,
and showed more disposition to domesticate themselves than their
congeners, the wood-pigeons.

Lastly, the time had come for turning the balloon-case to use, by
cutting it up to make shirts and other articles; for as to keeping it in
its present form, and risking themselves in a balloon filled with gas,
above a sea of the limits of which they had no idea, it was not to be
thought of.

It was necessary to bring the case to Granite House, and the colonists
employed themselves in rendering their heavy cart lighter and more
manageable. But though they had a vehicle, the moving power was yet to
be found.

But did there not exist in the island some animal which might supply the
place of the horse, ass, or ox? That was the question.

"Certainly," said Pencroft, "a beast of burden would be very useful to
us until the captain has made a steam cart, or even an engine, for some
day we shall have a railroad from Granite House to Port Balloon, with a
branch line to Mount Franklin!"

One day, the 23rd of December, Neb and Top were heard shouting and
barking, each apparently trying to see who could make the most noise.
The settlers, who were busy at the Chimneys, ran, fearing some vexatious
incident.

What did they see? Two fine animals of a large size that had imprudently
ventured on the plateau, when the bridges were open. One would have said
they were horses, or at least donkeys, male and female, of a fine shape,
dove-colored, the legs and tail white, striped with black on the head
and neck. They advanced quietly without showing any uneasiness, and
gazed at the men, in whom they could not as yet recognize their future
masters.

"These are onagers!" cried Herbert, "animals something between the zebra
and the quagga!"

"Why not donkeys?" asked Neb.

"Because they have not long ears, and their shape is more graceful!"

"Donkeys or horses," interrupted Pencroft, "they are 'moving powers,' as
the captain would say, and as such must be captured!"

The sailor, without frightening the animals, crept through the grass
to the bridge over Creek Glycerine, lowered it, and the onagers were
prisoners.

Now, should they seize them with violence and master them by force? No.
It was decided that for a few days they should be allowed to roam
freely about the plateau, where there was an abundance of grass, and the
engineer immediately began to prepare a stable near the poultry-yard,
in which the onagers might find food, with a good litter, and shelter
during the night.

This done, the movements of the two magnificent creatures were left
entirely free, and the settlers avoided even approaching them so as to
terrify them. Several times, however, the onagers appeared to wish to
leave the plateau, too confined for animals accustomed to the plains
and forests. They were then seen following the water-barrier which
everywhere presented itself before them, uttering short neighs, then
galloping through the grass, and becoming calmer, they would remain
entire hours gazing at the woods, from which they were cut off for ever!

In the meantime harness of vegetable fiber had been manufactured, and
some days after the capture of the onagers, not only the cart was ready,
but a straight road, or rather a cutting, had been made through the
forests of the Far West, from the angle of the Mercy to Port Balloon.
The cart might then be driven there, and towards the end of December
they tried the onagers for the first time.

Pencroft had already coaxed the animals to come and eat out of his hand,
and they allowed him to approach without making any difficulty, but once
harnessed they reared and could with difficulty be held in. However, it
was not long before they submitted to this new service, for the onager,
being less refractory than the zebra, is frequently put in harness
in the mountainous regions of Southern Africa, and it has even been
acclimatized in Europe, under zones of a relative coolness.

On this day all the colony, except Pencroft who walked at the animals'
heads, mounted the cart, and set out on the road to Port Balloon.

Of course they were jolted over the somewhat rough road, but the vehicle
arrived without any accident, and was soon loaded with the case and
rigging of the balloon.

At eight o'clock that evening the cart, after passing over the Mercy
bridge, descended the left bank of the river, and stopped on the beach.
The onagers being unharnessed, were thence led to their stable, and
Pencroft before going to sleep gave vent to his feelings in a deep sigh
of satisfaction that awoke all the echoes of Granite House.

The first week of January was devoted to the manufacture of the linen
garments required by the colony. The needles found in the box were used
by sturdy if not delicate fingers, and we may be sure that what was sewn
was sewn firmly.

There was no lack of thread, thanks to Cyrus Harding's idea of
re-employing that which had been already used in the covering of the
balloon. This with admirable patience was all unpicked by Gideon Spilett
and Herbert, for Pencroft had been obliged to give this work up, as it
irritated him beyond measure; but he had no equal in the sewing part
of the business. Indeed, everybody knows that sailors have a remarkable
aptitude for tailoring.

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.