CHAPTER SEVEN.
WE MAKE A PLATFORM--A SAIL!--THE MISSING ONES ARRIVE--MY FATHERDESCRIBES THEIR ADVENTURES--DUTCH DETERMINATION--VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY--ACALM--I CATCH A LARGE FISH--THE RAFT ON FIRE--ABOUT SHIP.
Two days passed by, spent much as those I have before described. Thecalm continued; not a breath of air stirred the mud-tinted expanse ofwater stretching out to the northward. Up to this time the flood hadnot in the slightest degree decreased; indeed, the mark Uncle Paul hadmade on the first day showed that it had rather increased an inch ortwo. At all events, there was no present prospect, as far as we couldsee, of our getting away from our present abode. Arthur proposed thatwe should form a raft. This would not have been difficult, as we hadseveral large knives among us, and with some labour we might have cutoff branches from the trees and bound them together with sepos. Butthen the question arose, In what direction should we go, even supposingthat we could form a raft to hold the whole party? We might have topaddle, for aught we knew to the contrary, for days and days togetherbefore we could reach dry land; and when there, were we likely to bebetter off than where we were at present? Taking all things intoconsideration, Uncle Paul decided, when his advice was asked, that itwould be better to let well alone, and to remain in the grove. Vesselswent occasionally up and down the river, and when the water subsided wemight be seen by one of them, and be taken off. We should thus,however, run the risk of again falling into the hands of the Spaniards,and Uncle Paul especially was very unwilling to trust to their tendermercies.
"My opinion is that we should remain here till we are compelled to move,and then make our way up one of the many streams to the south, whichrise in the Dutch territories, where we are sure to meet with a friendlyreception," he observed. Arthur agreed with him, and the rest of theparty were willing to be guided by their decision.
It was proposed, as there was a probability of our spending some weeksin our present abode, that we should endeavour to render it morehabitable than at present. Kallolo described to us how a tribe ofnatives in the neighbourhood make platforms, resting on the trunks ofthe palm-trees, where they and their families live in comparativecomfort during the whole period of the inundation. The idea, beingstarted, was highly approved of, and we all immediately set to work toget long poles for the purpose. A spot was selected, higher up thetree, where a number of branches ran out horizontally, almost level witheach other. As soon as a pole was cut it was secured with sepos, UnclePaul and Sambo exercising their nautical knowledge for the purpose. Itrequired no small number of poles, but the little forest afforded anabundant supply. Before the end of the day the platform was completed.We then built a hut on it, devoted to Marian's use. The only thingwanting was a quantity of clay to form a hearth; but clay, while thewaters covered the earth, it was impossible to obtain. We had thereforeto light our fire, as before, on the thick branch, on which it had asyet made no impression, beyond burning off the bark and blackening it.As soon as our platform was finished we moved on to it, though Kalloloand Sambo preferred sleeping among the boughs. I was very glad to getso comparatively comfortable a place for poor Marian; whose health,however, notwithstanding the hardships she had endured, remainedunimpaired.
Our first work being finished, we erected a lookout place at the end ofa long bough, clearing away the branches which intercepted our view upand down the stream. Here one of us took post during daylight, that wemight watch for any craft navigating the river. Should a Spanish vesselappear, we agreed that we would let her pass without making a signal;but should a Dutch or English one come in sight, though it was notlikely that any of our own countrymen would visit the river, wedetermined to do our best to attract the attention of those on board.
All this time there had been scarcely a breath of wind, and though ourlookout place had been occupied, we knew that no vessel could pass up,and it was very unlikely that any would venture down the stream at themercy of the current. Two days after the lookout post had beenestablished, as I took my watch at daybreak, the bright sun rising abovethe distant horizon, I felt the breeze fan my cheeks. Every instant itincreased, rippling the hitherto calm surface of the broad river intomimic waves. As I watched, now turning my eyes up, now down the stream,I saw, emerging from behind a projecting point of the forest, a whitesail. From the progress it made towards me, it appeared to be that of alarge boat, and was certainly not such as was likely to be used byIndians. At first I had hoped that it might be the sloop, but I soonsaw, from the cut of the sail, and its size, that it was not such as shewould carry. If the people on board were Spaniards, I was not to make asignal to them. How tantalising it would be to see her pass by, and yetI had no doubt that Uncle Paul was right in not wishing again to fallinto their hands. I would not call to my friends till I had some morecertain information to communicate, so I sat eagerly watching the sail.At length I saw that it was positively coming nearer. From its heightout of the water, I again began to hope that it might after all be thatof the sloop, which might have rigged a jury-mast. Nearer and nearer itcame, and at length I saw that it was certainly not the sloop, but theoddest build of vessel I had ever set eyes on. As I gazed, I at lastdiscovered that it was not a vessel at all, but part of the trunk of ahuge tree, with a mast, to which a sail was spread, stepped on it. Nowonder that it approached slowly!
I now began to hope that my father and the skipper had escaped, and thatit might be bringing them to us, so I could no longer resist shoutingout to Uncle Paul, who quickly joined me. After examining it narrowly,he exclaimed: "I have no doubt about it; I am nearly certain that I canmake out your father and Captain van Dunk, as well as the mate and thenative. Most thankful am I that they have all been preserved, for Iconfess I did not expect to see them again."
The breeze increasing, the log approached somewhat faster than at first,and all our doubts were soon set at rest. Uncle Paul and I, standingup, waved our handkerchiefs and shouted, to draw their attention. Wewere at length seen, and the course of the log, which was impelled bypaddles as well as a sail, was directed towards us. Having communicatedthe joyful intelligence to the rest of the party, we all descended tothe lowest branch, the only accessible part of the tree from the water.I need scarcely picture our delight when at length the log glided up,and we were able to welcome my poor father. He looked thin andcareworn, as if he had gone through great hardships; and even the honestskipper was considerably pulled down. Having secured the log, which wasof a peculiarly light and buoyant character, we invited my father andhis companions up to our platform, where breakfast had just beenprepared. They were greatly surprised to find that we had cooked food;and they were ready to do ample justice to it, as they had been livingall the time on raw provisions. As soon as my father and the rest of ushad satisfied our hunger, he described what had occurred to them.
After we had escaped from the sloop, she had been driven down the streamfor some miles along the forest; but at length, striking against aprojecting point of a log, she had gone down in shallow water, my fatherand the skipper being providentially able to make their way to a largetree, a branch of which projected from the stem only a few feet abovethe surface. Here they rested till daylight. The skipper then managedto reach the vessel, which had sunk close below them, and got hold ofsome spars and one of the sails; which they hoisted up to theirresting-place. The second trip he made he managed to get hold of asmall cask of biscuits and a bottle of schiedam. This nourishmentgreatly revived them, and they began to consider how they could come toour assistance; for of course, not being aware that we should be able toobtain an abundant supply of provisions, they feared that we shouldperish from hunger. In vain, however, the skipper endeavoured torecover a sufficient number of spars to form a raft. On the third triphe made to the vessel he was nearly washed away, so my father entreatedhim not again to venture. He did so, however, and getting hold of acoil of rope, fastened one end of it to the branch and the other roundhis waist. He made several more trips, and recovered a cask ofherrings,
another of biscuits, and three more bottles of schiedam. Thecurrent, however, driving against the vessel, already fearfully damagedby the blows she had received, began to break her up; and although thebrave skipper made several attempts to recover more articles, they weremostly unsuccessful. He had, however, got hold of Marian's small box ofclothing, which had been saved when so many things were washed out ofthe boat. He had also saved a saucepan, some hooks and lines, an axe, asaw, a small auger, a few nails, and some other articles, which had beenthrown into an empty cask. They had now no longer any dread ofimmediate starvation for themselves, but their anxiety about us was byno means lessened; and having sufficient provisions to last them forseveral days, they felt more eager than ever to reach us.
They had seen several logs floating down the stream at a distance. Atlength it struck them that if they could obtain one of these, theymight, with the aid of the sail and the spars they had saved, accomplishtheir object. It would have been madness to get upon one of them unlessthey could manage to secure it to their branch. At length an enormouslog came floating by, evidently of very light wood, as it rose high outof the water, with a branch projecting from one end. Their anxiety wasintense lest an eddy might turn it off and drift it from them. Thegallant skipper stood, rope in hand, anxiously watching it. At lengthit came directly under them; so he leapt upon it, and with a sailor'sdexterity immediately fastened the end of the rope round the branch. Itwas brought up, and they thus obtained what they so much desired.
The wind, however, was contrary, and still blowing so strong that itmight have been dangerous even had it been favourable for them tocommence their voyage. The time, however, was spent by the skipper,aided by my father, in cutting a step in the log for the mast, which wasat length fixed securely with wedges driven down on either side, andstayed up with a portion of the rope which could be spared. They hadnow a vessel of sufficient size not only to carry them, but to conveythe whole of the party, should they find us. Still they had severaldays to wait before they could commence their voyage. They also formeda rudder with one of the spars; and out of a piece of plank which hadbeen secured, along with two other spars, they constructed two oars toassist in impelling their unwieldy craft. At last a light breeze sprangup. There was no little difficulty in getting clear of the branch; butafter all their stores had been placed on it, the skipper, by his goodmanagement, at last succeeded. The sail was hoisted, and to their greatsatisfaction the log went ahead. They had, of course, to keep close inby the forest, to avoid the strength of the current; but although a backeddy helped them now and then, their progress was very slow. Still theydid go ahead. They had almost abandoned all hopes of finding the mateand the Indian, as the skipper fancied they had both been drowned.
They had been coasting along for some hours, sometimes scarcely goingahead, at others not making more than half a knot or so an hour, when avoice, which seemed to come out of the forest, reached them; and,looking in the direction from which the sound came, they saw two mensitting on a projecting branch of a high tree, whom the skipperrecognised as his mate Peter, and Maco the Indian. They being aliveproved that they must have obtained food, and this raised their hopesthat we also had not died of starvation. How the two men could get downand reach the log was now the question. Captain van Dunk and my fatherstood in as close as they could venture. Their fear was that the mastmight be caught by some of the overhanging branches, or that somesubmerged bough might strike the log and upset it. Both dangers had tobe guarded against. The log was moving very slowly. The skippertherefore hailed the men, telling them to come down and that he wouldpick them up. The Indian, Maco, was the first to follow his advice.Descending to the lowest branch, which was nearly thirty feet above thesurface, he plunged headlong in; and though he disappeared for nearly aminute, he rose again, and soon reached the log. The skipper then toldhim to take the remaining piece of the rope, and, if possible, carry itup to the branch, so that Peter might have the means of descending. Hewillingly undertook the task, but expressed his fear that he would notsucceed. Suddenly his eye fell on the axe.
"I will do it now," he said, "without fear." Taking the implement inhis hand, and the rope, which he fastened round his waist, he swam backto the tree. He was soon seen cutting notches in the trunk, one abovethe other, and clinging to them with his toes and one hand. He quicklyascended, dragging the rope up with him. Peter had, meantime, descendedto the lowest branch, and by stooping down helped him up the last fewfeet. The rope was secured; then the Indian, giving the axe to Peter,told him to swim off with it to the log. Peter quickly descended,having only a few feet to drop into the water; and as he was a fairswimmer, though not a diver, he soon reached the log, and my father andthe skipper hauled him up. The gallant Indian then casting off the ropeplunged with it into the stream, towing it off to the log. He was not aminute behind Peter, and was hauled up somewhat exhausted by hisexertions.
The two men told my father and the skipper that, on being left behind,they had swum to a branch at some distance from where they had beenleft, and having climbed the tree to which it belonged, had wandered, bymeans of the sepos interlacing the boughs, some way through the forest,till they reached the tree on which my father and the skipper saw them.They had obtained an abundance of food; but having no means of lightinga fire, they had been compelled to eat it raw. Their animal foodconsisted chiefly of young birds, lizards, tree-frogs, and grubs; andtheir vegetable food, of some plums and other fruits, and the insideleaves of the assai palm, and various nuts.
The sail, which had been lowered, was again hoisted, and the voyage wascontinued. Darkness came on, but the crew of the log was nowsufficiently strong to be divided into two watches, and the skipper andmy father were able to lie down and rest, while Peter took the helm, andMaco, the Indian, kept a lookout ahead, and stood ready to lower thesail if necessary. Thus all night long they continued gliding on, butvery slowly. This, however, enabled them to keep a bright lookout inthe forest. Great was their satisfaction when, the next morning, theycaught sight of me,--their anxiety about us was relieved.
So great was our joy on finding our poor father, that all the dangers inprospect were overlooked; and had we not still been mourning the loss ofour dear mother, we should have been, I believe, perfectly happy.
Our father was astonished at the comfortable abode we had erected, andat the ample supply of provisions we had obtained. The skipper andPeter were, however, anxious to continue the voyage; and Uncle Paul alsowished to go with them, in the hope that the mouth of some stream mightbe found near at hand, up which they might proceed till they could geton dry land. The grand idea of the skipper was to reach firm ground,and then to build a vessel in which to return to Guiana. He feltconfident that it could be accomplished.
"Where there is a will there is a way. It can be done, and it shall bedone, if health and strength be allowed us!" he exclaimed, with Dutchdetermination, which an enemy would have called obstinacy. My father,however, was unwilling to allow Marian to undertake the fatigue to whichshe would have been subjected. It was necessary, therefore, even thoughthe log could have carried us all, that some should remain with her. Henaturally resolved to do so. Tim, having found his master, was notwilling to leave him; and Arthur decided also to stop and help my fatherin taking care of Marian. The skipper consented to leave Sambo toassist in hunting for food. I was eager for the adventure, and myfather, after some little hesitation, allowed me to go.
Kallolo had consented to leave the monkey for the amusement of Marian;but no sooner did Quacko see his master on the log, than he sprang offand took up his post on the further end, showing very clearly that hehad no intention of being left behind. "Pray let him go," said Marian."I would on no account detain him, for he probably would be very unhappyif separated from Kallolo." Quacko, therefore, became one of our crew,or rather a passenger, for it was not to be expected that he would domuch towards the navigation of the log.
The day was spent in making some prep
arations for the voyage and inexchanging provisions, the skipper generously offering to leave the caskof biscuits, some herrings, and a couple of bottles of his belovedschiedam with my father. "If we find the mouth of a river, and believethat we can easily sail up it, we will return for you, as it might takeus some weeks to complete our craft, and you would not wish to live upthe tree all that time," he said.
At daybreak the next morning we commenced our voyage. A strong breezefilled our sail, and we glided on with greater speed than the log hadbefore moved through the water. Among other articles which had been puton board were a number of large nuts from the cuja-tree, with whichUncle Paul proposed forming floats or lifebuoys for each of the party."We might," he observed, "have to swim on shore, or they might help onsome other occasion to save our lives." Kallolo had manufactured aquantity of line from the fibres of a tree of the palm species in ourgrove, so that we had an abundance of cordage. After we were afloat andon our voyage, I could not help thinking that we might have built acanoe, which would certainly have been more manageable than the unwieldylog; but Mynheer van Dunk preferred the more stable conveyance.
As the wind continued fresh and favourable, we made pretty fair way, andwere in good spirits. As we went along we kept a watchful eye for anyindications of an opening on our larboard side; but mile after mile wasaccomplished, and only a long line of forest met our sight. We sailedon by night as well as by day, to take advantage of the favourablebreeze; and by keeping close in, sometimes even between islands oftrees, if I may so describe them, we escaped the strength of thecurrent.
The natives, I should have said, had brought a number of thin straightbranches, with which to manufacture bows, and arrows, and lances, thatwe might have the means of killing game when our provisions should beexpended. Kallolo, indeed, understood how to make the celebratedzabatana, or blowpipe, though he had not been able to obtain the wood herequired. How could he, indeed, he observed, find the materials forconcocting the woorali poison into which to dip the point of his darts?He hoped, however, when we reached the shore, to obtain the necessaryingredients, and to form a blowpipe, with which he promised to kill asmuch game as we should require.
We had sailed on four days, when we reached a point, on rounding whichwe saw a wide expanse of water before us, with another point in the fardistance. We knew therefore that we were at the mouth of a considerableriver. It was what we were looking for, and the wind, which had changedto the northward, would enable us to sail up it. The current, however,was setting down the river, and just as we had eased off the sheet,intending to run up it, the wind failed and we were speedily drifted outagain. We could not reach a tree to which to make fast, and there welay, floating helplessly on the calm surface. After drifting for half amile along the edge of the forest, we found ourselves in slack water, inwhich we lay, neither advancing nor receding. Our food was runningsomewhat short, but, fortunately, we had our hooks and lines, and takingsome dried herrings as bait, we set to work to fish. We had not long towait before we caught several somewhat curiously shaped creatures, whichwe should from their appearance have hesitated to eat; had not Kallolo,who knew most of them, told us which were wholesome and which poisonous.Some he immediately knocked on the head and threw overboard. As wewere unwilling to light a fire on the raft, we cut them up and driedthem in the sun. Though not very palatable, they enabled us toeconomise the rest of our provisions; and the natives, and even Peter,had no objection to eat them raw.
For three days we lay totally becalmed. Fortunately we most of us hadsome occupation. Uncle Paul, the skipper, and I were engaged in makingfloats from the large nuts I spoke of. Having bored a hole, we scrapedout the kernel, and then stopped up the orifice again with some resinoussubstance which Uncle Paul had brought for the purpose. The natives,assisted by the mate, were manufacturing spears and bows and arrows.When not thus occupied, we were engaged in fishing. Most of our hookswere small, and we could only venture to haul up moderately-sized fishwith them. We had, however, one big hook with a strong line, and wehoped with it to catch a proportionately large fish. We were notdisappointed. I had the line in my hand. Before long I felt a strongpull. I gave a jerk, and when I fancied that the unwary creature wasfirmly hooked, I began to haul away. I had, however, to call to myfriends for assistance; for I thought it far more likely that the fishwould pull me in, than that I should succeed in pulling him out. UnclePaul and the skipper then took hold of the line. Our fear was that thefish would break away, for there was not line enough to play him, andour only way of securing him was by main force. At length we got hishead out of the water, when the Indians exclaimed, "Periecu! periecu!"and stooping down, and putting their fingers in the fish's gills, theyhauled it up. He was upwards of three feet in length, and covered withbeautiful scales--indeed, I have never seen a finer fish. Some blows onthe head finally secured him. The Indians said that his flesh might bepreserved by drying, but thought some days would be required for theoperation. We preferred eating some of it fresh, but not raw; so webegan to think of lighting a fire.
For some time we had been drifting much closer in with the forest, andwe agreed that by a little exertion in rowing we might get up to some ofthe trees, from which we could obtain a supply of fuel. This weaccomplished, and lowering our sail, and unstepping our mast, we gotclose in under the trees. With our axe and knives we soon got a supplyof dry branches. As no place presented itself on any of the lowerbranches where we could light a fire, we resolved to do so on the log.Having piled up our fuel, we paddled out again into the open water.Uncle Paul had his tinder-box, and a few cherished matches--not that wewere entirely dependent on them, as the natives could always, by alittle exertion, kindle a flame. We did not step our mast, which, withthe sail and yard, lay alongside. Our fire was soon lighted, and aportion of our periecu was spitted and placed over it to roast. Thefish appeared to be cooking famously, as we sat on the log, some at oneend and some at the other. Suddenly a light wind got up, and in aninstant what was our dismay to see the whole centre part of the log onfire! Up it blazed, spreading so rapidly that we had scarcely time,some seizing one article and some another, to spring overboard with ourfloats round our waists. Quacko in a great fright clung to Kallolo'sback, where he sat chattering away, loudly expressing his annoyance atwhat had occurred. Maco made a dash on the half-roasted periecu, whichwould otherwise have run a great risk of being overdone, and leapedafter us. Happily nothing of value was left behind, while our mast andsail, being in the water, were also safe. There we were, floating aboutround the log, which, from the fierce way the flames blazed up, would,we feared, be soon burned to the water's edge. "This must not be!"cried the skipper and Uncle Paul almost at the same time. "Pipe allhands to extinguish the fire!" Suiting the action to the word, theysetting the example, we all, as we floated about on our lifebuoys, beganto throw water on the flames with our hands.
"Heave away, my lads! heave away, and put out the flames!" cried UnclePaul. Fortunately the fire had not got any real hold on the log, havingfed chiefly on the dry mass of parasitic plants which thickly coveredit, so that, by throwing water over it merely with the palms of ourhands, we managed in a short time to put it out. Maco, who was thefirst to climb on to the deck, uttering a loud cry jumped off againstill more rapidly, it being as yet far too hot to make a comfortableresting-place. We therefore continued for some time longer to throw upthe water to cool it.
At length we again ventured on board. It looked something like thebottom of a coal barge in a rainy day; it was covered with saturatedcinders, which it took us a considerable time before we could sweep offinto the water. Quacko looked with much suspicion at the burned embers,as if he thought they would blaze up again, and declined leavingKallolo's shoulders, where alone he considered himself secure. Havingput our craft right, we sat down to feast on the portion of the periecuwe had been cooking, and very satisfactory food it proved. We thenstepped our mast, and set up the rigging, so as to be ready to proceedon our v
oyage as soon as the wind should again spring up. It camesooner than we expected, but instead of blowing up the stream, it camedirectly down, and both the skipper and Uncle Paul agreed that it waslikely to continue in the same quarter for several days.
We had now run somewhat short of provisions, and had made butinconsiderable progress on our voyage of discovery. Uncle Paultherefore proposed that we should go back to our friends, and wait tillthe wind should again shift to its old quarter. Unless, indeed, wecould secure the log to a tree, we should be drifted back several miles.We might obtain food by climbing the trees, but we were not likely tocatch any fish while we remained close to them, and we should probably,after all, have to put back in want of provisions. These argumentsprevailed with the skipper. The head of the log was got round, sail wasmade, and we glided back at a much faster rate than we had come upagainst the current.
The Wanderers; Or, Adventures in the Wilds of Trinidad and Orinoco Page 7