A Boy Crusoe; or, The Golden Treasure of the Virgin Islands

by Harriet L. Smith

  *CHAPTER IV.*

  _*Cast up by the Sea on a Tropical Island*_*.*

  When I regained consciousness I was lying upon a sandy beach. I wasuninjured, but rather stiff, while my body seemed to be bruised inplaces. I was, of course, wet to the skin, and I crawled up and layupon the sand where my clothing was quickly dried by the hot sun, nowwell up.

  Meanwhile I looked about me. I had been driven ashore between twopoints of land, upon a narrow beach. The vegetation, very thick andluxuriant, grew close to the line of sand, and all around me, beautifultrees were waving in the balmy breeze, their shining leaves glisteningin the sunlight.

  I stood up and looked behind me, but I saw nothing save lofty mountainsheavily wooded.

  I had no doubt but that I was on an island, indeed I could be nowhereelse, and I judged that it must be one of the most northern of theLeeward group.

  Looking toward the sea, I saw only the broad expanse of deep blue waterstretching away to the horizon. There was no other land in sight.

  The sea had become calmer, but the influence of the storm was stillevidenced by the heavy surf which broke upon the narrow beach. Therewas no wreckage of any kind, no sign of anything or anybody belonging tothe bark.

  At first the utter lonesomeness and hopelessness of my situationdepressed me; but it would not do to give way to gloomy thoughts. I wasentirely alone, and, so far as I knew, upon an uninhabited island. Myfuture was a sealed book. After a while I began to take a more hopefulview of the situation, and the novelty of my surroundings, and thestrange things about me, aroused my curiosity. So I determined toexplore along the shore.

  The vegetation was very dense, and appeared to be interwoven with vinesof monstrous size. One kind of tree, very tall and with a heavy longnarrow leaf seemed to be the most abundant; and from the descriptionswhich I had read, and by the clusters of oblong fruit at the bases ofthe leaf-heads, I knew them to be cocoanut palms.

  "If I am really alone upon an uninhabited island," I thought, "at leastI shall not starve so long as I am able to obtain plenty of cocoanuts."

  Slowly I walked along the shore, my face being toward the east as I knewfrom the direction of the sun. First I decided to go to the top of theloftiest headland to see if I could obtain any trace of the bark,although I felt sure that she had gone down, and that all but myself hadperished; still, the loneliness of my situation caused me to cling towhat I felt was but a vain hope, that some one beside myself hadsurvived.

  With thoughts confused, and laboring under varying emotions, I walkedslowly along, keeping on the sand except when I was obliged to turnaside to avoid a kind of dagger-like plant whose leaves were armed withcruel points.

  Reaching the headland I was obliged to go through a thicket where myscanty clothing, as well as my hands, was torn by great thorns. However,I reached the point of land, and climbing to the top of a high mound Ilooked around. Before me, and to my right and left, there was nothingbut the blue, heaving ocean; and behind me, I saw nothing but a denseforest, with lofty mountains in the distance. There was no sign of lifesave brilliant plumaged birds flitting about, and bright coloredbutterflies glancing in the sunshine.

  Surely I was alone; but whether on an uninhabited island or not, thefuture alone would reveal. For the present it did not matter, and Imust certainly depend upon my own resources.

  I returned to the spot where I had been cast ashore, meanwhile revolvingin my mind my present condition. What gave me great anxiety just thenwas my lack of clothing. I had on only my trousers, and shirt, shoesand stockings; and these were all I possessed in the world, but I wasoverjoyed to find that my knife was still in one of the pockets of mytrousers. It was a good one, large and having two blades. The largeblade was long and strong, and the possession of it might mean much tome in the future.

  Reaching the place where I regained consciousness after being thrownashore by the waves. I began to think of finding a good place to build atemporary shelter. This seemed to be as good a location as any, Ithought, as I looked around. It was in a sheltered cove, a clear,grassy plat surrounded by trees.

  "Why not make my camp right here," I asked myself; and as I reflected itseemed to be the only place where I should locate for the present, forhere I should be in a position to watch closely in the hope that somevestige of the bark would yet be washed ashore; for I thought that, ifthe vessel had foundered, something belonging to her would very likelycome ashore, and I felt sure that some parts of the boats, and perhapsthe bodies of some of my unfortunate companions would be almost sure todrift in.

  It was, I judged, now near mid-day, and the heat of the sun upon my headgave me some concern. I must devise some covering for my head. Lookingabout with this object in view, I saw hanging from a small palm treewhat looked like coarse canvas. On examining it more closely, I foundthat it was really a sort of natural cloth, about the color of hemp, andcomposed of fibres that appeared to be very strong, crossing one anotherlike warp and filling, but not interwoven. Instead, the fibres wereclosely stuck together so that a strong, pliant fabric was formed.

  With my knife I cut off a large piece which I twisted about in such amanner as to form a conical cap. The edges I fastened together withlong, sharp thorns that I cut from some bushes near by. This, thoughrude, would protect my head for the time being.

  Before proceeding to begin the construction of my place of abode, I feltinclined to look about for some means of satisfying the hunger which Inow felt keenly, for I had eaten nothing since supper the night beforeon board the ill-fated bark.

  The cocoanut trees suggested the most available source of supply for thefirst meal in the strange surroundings in which I found myself; so goingto a cluster of the trees near by, meanwhile wondering how I wouldmanage to obtain the nuts fifty feet or more above my head, I wasgreatly relieved to find plenty of them lying upon the ground. But thenuts that I saw were not like those common in the markets at home.Instead, they were oblong and many times larger. I soon discovered thatto get at the meat I must first cut away the outer husk or covering withwhich it was enveloped; so I opened my knife and set to work. It was noeasy task, for the husk was thick and tough; but after much labor Isucceeded in removing it until I bared the round, hard shell of the nut,when, with a large stone I was not long in cracking it, and laying barethe white meat. With the nut in my hands I walked about among the treesas I ate. So interested was I in the beautiful, brilliant-coloredflowers, some of which were of enormous size, and in numbers of littlegreen lizards that hopped about over the leaves of the smaller shrubs,that I did not at once notice, as I came into a grassy, circular plat,that the ground beneath a compact, shapely tree was plentifullybesprinkled with golden globes, and I was in a high state of elationwhen I discovered that they were oranges. The tree itself was loadedwith green and yellow fruit. I peeled one of the largest, and foundthat it was delicious and juicy, but of a rather different flavor fromthose to which I had been accustomed. But here was at least bothrefreshment and sustenance, so I was in no danger of starving, and Imade a hearty meal.

  Crossing the grassy plat where the orange tree grew, I descended agentle slope among the palm trees and soon came to a beautiful littlestream of clear water. Having still one of the halves of the cocoanutshell in my hand, I used it as a cup and took a long draught of thewater, which, though rather warm, appeared to be pure and wholesome.

  The stream at this point was quite broad and very shallow, and thoughbut a few rods from the mouth it flowed quite swiftly. Along the banksI noticed that a certain tall, reed-like plant grew in great profusion,and, on closer examination I discovered it to be a kind of wild cane,with large, feathery, chocolate-colored plumes.

  I followed the bank of the stream to the shore, and then returned to mylanding place, walking along the narrow beach.

  Hunger satisfied for the time-being, I set about making preparations forconstructing my dwelling. Although in no need of protection from coldin this trop
ical climate, I remembered having read that it was notadvisable to be without shelter at night, so I decided that my firsttask should be to construct a house, or a hut.

  I first chose a clear place a little in among the palms, perhaps a dozenrods from the beach, and, as accurately as I could by pacing, I measuredoff an area ten feet square. Each corner I marked by driving down ashort stick, and then went in search of four corner posts. After alittle searching I found some straight trees about three inches indiameter, having smooth bark and with but few limbs, each tree forkedabout seven feet from the ground. After an hour's hard work, Isucceeded in cutting down four of them with my knife; and after trimmingoff the branches and cutting off the tops, leaving ample forks, Idragged them to the site of lay dwelling. I next felled another polewhich was cut in halves, leaving the butt end about four feet long.This I sharpened at the thickest end, and with it made holes abouteighteen inches deep at each corner of the square to be occupied by myhouse.

  Into each of these holes I set one of the forked corner posts, wedgingit firmly with stones from the beach, driven solidly down all around it,filling in each with earth which I trod down firmly. Four long poleswere now needed to rest one end in each of the upright forks, so as toform a frame, and I started away again, this time toward the brook,which I followed up stream. I had gone but a short distance when I cameto a place where the stream widened into a broad pool. The water herewas dark and apparently deep, and all around it, gracefully bending overthe still depths, I found growing tall plants having small, narrow greenleaves. The plants grew in clusters, and some of them were very tall, Ijudged from twenty-five to forty feet. I hurried forward with a view toascertaining whether they would suit my purpose, when I immediately madea discovery which at once solved the question of obtaining an amplesupply of material for building operations, both now and in the future;for the tall, graceful plants proved to be bamboos. I knew them from thedescriptions I had read, and from the regular joints, just like those Ihad seen on the bamboo fishing rods at home.

  I selected several of the bamboos, each being about two inches indiameter, and although I found them to be very hard, I managed to cutthem down, and to trim off the branches and the tops. By making threetrips I dragged the bamboos to my building site. Laying them along oneside of the area to be occupied by the house, I found that they werenearly twenty feet long. Four of them I cut off to the required length.I then raised one on either side, one end of each pole resting in one ofthe forks of the uprights. A pole was then laid across each of theother sides, resting upon the poles supported by the forks, so that asort of scaffold was formed, which needed only to be covered over to becomplete.

  I had worked so busily and had become so much interested that I scarcelynoticed that the sun was already sinking behind the palm trees, andcasting long shadows across the beach; so, as I was aware that darknessvery quickly follows sunset in the tropics, I must make haste andprovide a temporary shelter for the night before suspending work. Itherefore cut the rest of the poles in halves and laid them across thetwo longer poles resting in the forks, thus forming a gridiron-likestructure. With my knife I cut a large quantity of leafy branches fromthe shrubs that grew near at hand, and then went to the brook for anarmful of wild canes. With this material I covered a portion of thescaffold, making quite a good shelter between myself and the sky.

  As the sun sank lower and the shadows deepened, I felt a sense ofloneliness steal over me, for the idea of spending the night alone, Iknew not where, perhaps on an island, with the boundless ocean on oneside, and a deep, unknown forest on the other which might conceal fiercewild animals, was not at all pleasing. But I must train myself to knowno fear, and the sooner I began to school myself to this end, thebetter.

  Although I felt sure I should not sleep with nothing to protect me andwith no means of making a fire, I instinctively began to think ofproviding some sort of couch; and again I took my knife and cut aquantity of bushes which I piled in the form of a bed beneath thescaffold. I next cut several armfuls of the tall grass which grew allaround and with it covered the couch of bushes. I now had an acceptablebed, so constructed that one end which was to serve as the head, wasabout a foot higher than the other.

  By the time I had finished it was quite dark; but I still stood leaningagainst one of the corner uprights with my face turned toward theforest, hesitating what to do next, and instinctively listening for somenew sound. There was no breeze stirring, and the sea lightly washed thesand with a low murmur which tended to increase my feeling ofloneliness. Since sunset the air had become beautifully cool. For along time I stood motionless.

  The sounds of the night were about me; and once I started violently whenI thought I heard a twig crack. Then I heard, apparently only a littledistance away, a noise like a stone, thrown by some one, striking theground; but, after the startled feeling had partly left me I reasonedthat the noise was made by a ripened cocoanut falling from the tree.The indistinct notes of many insects, new and strange, filled the air,and one particularly noisy insect gave forth a sharp clipping sound likethat made by shears in the hands of a barber. Sometimes a note likethat of a bird varied the myriads of sounds. Feeling reassured, after atime, I cautiously lay down upon my couch, but still listening. Howlong I remained conscious I cannot say; but I must have been very wearyfrom the excitement of the ship-wreck, the hardship of being cast ashoreand the busy day's work.