The Young Marooners on the Florida Coast

By Friday, however, their whole bodies began to feel the effects of fatigue; and Harold proposed, that for that day their arms should be entirely relieved from labour, and that they should search the woods for timber suitable for masts, yards, and oars. They, therefore, took their guns and hatchets, and went first to the orange landing, where they saw their old raft lying as they had left it exactly a month before. Passing thence to the place which they had dubbed "Duck Point," they proceeded along the beach towards their old encampment, and thence home. This was their route; but it was marked by such a variety of useful expedients, that we must stop to describe them.

While Robert was engaged for a few minutes in searching a little grove, Harold saw a fish eagle plunge into the water, and bring out a trout so large that it could scarcely fly with it to the shore. Harold was hungry; his appetite at breakfast had not allowed him to eat at all. Now it began to crave, and the sight of that rich looking fish whetted it, keenly. He ran towards the eagle, crying out,

"I'll divide with you, old gentleman, if you please; that is too much for one."

The eagle, however, appeared to dissent from the proposal, and tried hard to carry its prey into a tree, but apprehensive of being itself caught before it could rise beyond reach, it dropped the fish, and flying to a neighbouring tree, watched patiently to see what share its human robber was disposed to leave.

A fish is easily enough cooked, if a person has fire; but in this case there was none, and what was worse, no apparent means of producing it, for their matches were left behind, and the wadding of their guns was not of a kind to receive and hold fire from the powder.

"Lend me your watch a minute," said Robert, on learning what was wanted. "It is possible that I may obtain from it what you wish."

Had Robert spoken of some chemical combination for producing fire, by mixing sand and sea-water, Harold could scarcely have been more surprised than by the proposal to obtain fire from his watch. He handed it to his cousin with the simple remark, "Please don't hurt it," and looked on with curiosity. Robert examined the convex surface of the crystal, which being old fashioned, was almost the section of a sphere, and said,

"I think it will do."

Then obtaining some dry, rotten wood from a decayed tree, he filled the hollow part of the crystal with water, and setting it upon a support, for the purpose of keeping the water perfectly steady, showed Harold that the rays of the sun passing through this temporary lens, were concentrated as by a sun-glass. The tinder smoked, and seemed almost ready to ignite, but did not quite-the sun's rays were too much aslant at that hour of the day, and the sky was moreover covered with a thin film of mist.

"It is a failure," said he, "but still there is another plan which I have seen adopted-a spark of fire squeezed from the air by suddenly compressing it in a syringe. If we had a dry reed, the size of this gun barrel, I would try it by using a tight plug of gun wadding as a piston."

But Robert had no opportunity for trying his philosophical experiment, and being mortified by a second disappointment, as he probably would have been, from the rudeness of the contrivance; for Harold's voice was soon heard from the bank above, "I have it now!" and when Robert approached he saw in his hand a white flint arrowhead. With this old Indian relic he showered a plentiful supply of sparks upon the dry touch-wood, until a rising smoke proclaimed that the fire had taken.

During the time occupied by these experiments, and the subsequent cookery, the thin mist in the sky had given place to several dark rolling clouds, which promised ere long to give them a shower. The promise was kept; for the boys had not proceeded half a mile before the rain poured down in torrents. As there was no lightning, they sought the shelter of a mossy tree, and for a season were so well protected that they could not but admire their good fortune. But their admiration did not last long; the rain soaked through the dense masses over head, and fell in heavy drops upon their caps and shoulders.

"This will never do," cried Harold. "Come with me, Robert, and I will provide a shelter that we can trust."

Putting upon their heads a thick covering of moss, which hung like a cape as far down as their elbows, they ran to a fallen pine, and loosened several pieces of its bark, as long and broad as they could detach, then placing them upon their heads above the moss, marched back to the tree, and had the pleasure of seeing the rain drip from their bark shelters as from the eaves of a house. Robert was much pleased with the expedient, and remarked,

"I suppose this is another of old Torgah's notions."

"O, no," replied Harold. "I have frequently seen it used by negroes in the field, and by hunters in the woods. But there is another device of a similar kind, which I will leave you to guess. I was riding once with a rough backwoodsman across one of our Alabama prairies, when we were overtaken by a severe hail-storm, that gave us an unmerciful pelting. Now, how do you suppose he protected himself against the hailstones?"

"Got under his horse," conjectured Robert. "I once saw a person sheltering himself under his wagon."

"He took the saddle from his horse, and placed it upon his head. For my own part, I preferred the pelting of the stones to the smell of the saddle."

The rain ceasing shortly after, they continued their walk to the old encampment, which they visited for the purpose of ascertaining whether there were any other signs of visitors. Everything was just as they had left it, except that it had assumed a desolate and weather-beaten aspect. Their flag was flying, and the paper, though wet, adhering to the staff. At sea the weather looked foul, and the surf was rolling angrily upon the shore. Resting themselves upon the root of the noble old oak, and visiting the spring for a drink of cool water, they once more turned their faces to the prairie.

Whoever will travel extensively through our pine barrens, will see tracts, varying in extent from a quarter of an acre to many hundreds of acres, destroyed by the attacks of a worm. The path from the old encampment led through a "deadening," as it is called, of this sort; in which the trees, having been attacked some years before, were many of them prostrate, and others standing only by sufferance of the winds. By the time our travellers reached the middle of this dangerous tract, a sudden squall came up from sea, and roared through the forest at a terrible rate. They heard it from afar, and saw the distant limbs bending, breaking, and interlocking, while all around them was a wilderness of slender, brittle trunks, from which they had not time to escape. Their situation was appalling. Death seemed almost inevitable. But just as the crash commenced among the pines, a brilliant idea occurred to the mind of Robert.

"Here, Harold!" said he. "Run! run! run!"

Suiting the action to the word, he threw himself flat beside a large sound log that lay across the course of the wind, and crouched closely beside its curvature; almost too closely, as he afterwards discovered. Hardly had Harold time to follow his example, before an enormous tree cracked, crashed, and came with a horrible roar, directly over the place where they lay. The log by the side of which they had taken refuge, was buried several inches in the ground; and when Robert tried to move, he found that his coat had been caught by a projecting knot, and partly buried. The tree which fell was broken into four parts; two of them resting with their fractured ends butting each other on the log, while their other ends rested at ten or twelve feet distance upon the earth. For five minutes the winds roared, and the trees crashed around them; and then the squall subsided as quickly as it had arisen.

"That was awful," said Robert, rising and looking at the enormous tree, from whose crushing fall they had been so happily protected.

"It was, indeed," Harold responded; "and we owe our lives, under God, to that happy thought of yours. Where did you obtain it?"

Robert pointed to the other end of the log, and said, "There." A small tree had fallen across it, and was broken, as the larger one had been. "I saw that," said he, "just as the wind began to crash among these pines, and thought that if we laid ourselves where we did, we should be safe from everything, except straggling limbs, or flying splinters."

"Really," said Harold, "at this rate you are likely to beat me in my own province. I wonder I never thought of this plan before."

"I had an adventure somewhat like this last year, only not a quarter so bad," said Robert. "I was fishing with Frank, on a small stream, when a whirlwind came roaring along, with such force as to break off limbs from several of the trees. Afraid that we, and particularly Frank, who was light, might be taken up and carried away, or else dashed against a tree and seriously hurt, I made him grasp a sapling, by putting around it both arms and legs, while I threw my own arms around him and it together, to hold all tight. I was badly frightened at the noise and near approach of the whirlwind, but for the life of me could not help laughing at an act of Frank's. We had taken only a few small catfish (which he called from their size, kitten-fish), and two of these being the first he had ever caught, he of course thought much of them. When the wind came nearest, and I called to him, 'Hold fast, Frank!' I saw him lean his head to one side, looking first at the flying branches, then at the string of fish, which the wind had slightly moved, and deliberately letting go his hold of the tree, he grasped his prize, and held to that with an air and manner, which said as plainly as an act could say, 'If you get them, you must take me too.'"

CHAPTER XXXVII

LAUNCHING THE BOATS-MORE WORK, AND YET MORE-ECLIPSE OF FEB. 12TH, 1831-HEALING BY "FIRST INTENTION" – FRANK'S BIRTHDAY-PREPARING FOR A VOYAGE-RAIN, RAIN

The boats came on swimmingly. By the end of the second week of their systematic labours they had not only been sufficiently excavated, but the young shipwrights had trimmed down much of the exterior. They were two and a half feet wide, by twenty inches deep, and eighteen feet long. At this stage Robert supposed the work to be nearly done, but Sam shook his head, and said, "Not half." The most laborious part of the work was over, but so much more remained, in the way of paring, smoothing, trimming, and bringing into proper shape, that it was full a fortnight before they were considered fit for the water.

They were ready for launching on the same day; and though Robert made his announcement of the fact some hours in the advance of Harold, it was agreed, that as Sam had been with him half a day more, the race should be considered as even. The launching occupied four days. They were distant from the water respectively an hundred and an hundred and fifty paces. A thick forest was to be traversed. It was necessary to clear a road, build bridges, and cut down the river bank. Robert's was launched on February 1st, and Harold's on February 3d. On each occasion there was a general rejoicing, and every person, not excepting Mary and Frank, fired a salute.

But on being launched the boats did not float to please them. One was too heavy at the bows, the other leaned too much to one side. Several days were spent in correcting these irregularities, and thus closed the fifth week of their labour.

Another week was spent in making the rudders and a pair of oars, and fitting in the seats and masts. This caused them to make another voyage to the wreck, for the purpose of obtaining planks, screws, and other materials. They went, of course, in their boats, and had the pleasure of seeing them behave admirably. They were steady, sat well on the water, and obeyed the oars and helm almost as well as though they had been built in a shipyard.

There were two incidents worthy of note occurring about this time. One was the discovery, made first by Frank, of an interesting astronomical phenomenon. About a quarter before twelve o'clock he had gone to the water bucket beside the door for a drink of water, when all at once Mary heard him call out,

"Run here, sister, run! The sun has turned into a moon!"

He had looked into the water, and seeing the reflected image of the sun like a half moon, sharply horned, had strained his eyes by looking up until he ascertained that the sun itself was of the same shape. Mary, who had witnessed an event of the kind before, perceived at a glance that it was an eclipse. She therefore took a basin, and hurried with Frank to the landing, to inform the others of the fact.

"Look in the water, brother," said Frank, whose eyes were yet watery from the severe trial he had given them. "You can't look at the sun without crying."

For a time, of course, no work was done; all were engaged in watching the phenomenon. It was the great annular eclipse of February 12th, 1831, in which the sun appeared at many places like a narrow ring of light around the dark body of the moon. To our young people there was no ring. They were too far south. The sun appeared like the moon when two days old, and the sky and earth were very gloomy.

The other incident was in itself trivial, and would not be introduced here but that the fact it illustrates is sometimes of real importance. It was simply the healing of a wound by what is called "first intention." Mary was engaged in some of her culinary duties, when, by an unfortunate slip of her hand, the knife which she was using missed its place, and sliced her finger. The piece was not cut off, but there was a large gash, and it bled profusely. Her first act was to wash the wound well in tepid water until the blood ceased to flow; then seeing that all the clots were removed, she brought the lips of the wound together, and kept them so by a bandage and a little case, like the finger of a glove made fast to the wrist by a piece of tape. The wound soon underwent a process similar to that of trees in grafting, only far more rapid. By the next morning the lips began to adhere, and in the course of three days the wound was healed-so rapidly will the flesh of a healthy person recover from a cut if the conditions necessary to "first intention" are observed, viz., that the parts be brought quickly together, and kept without disturbance.

The next week was spent in fitting up the sails and rigging, and preparing the boats, so that in case of rough weather they could be firmly lashed together.

Their work was now done. They had been labouring steadily for a month and a half, and were ready by Friday evening to pack up and start for home. But they resolved to wait and sanctify the Sabbath. They needed rest: they were jaded in every limb and muscle. Moreover, the next day was Frank's birthday. Taking everything into consideration, they preferred to spend that day in rest and rejoicing, partly in honour of Frank, but more especially as a sort of thanksgiving for their successful work. And as the voyage home promised to be long, and perhaps perilous, they also determined that they would devote Monday to trying their boats at sea, by an outward voyage round the island.

After Frank had retired, the rest agreed upon the plans by which to make the following day pleasant and profitable to him.

"I," said Mary, "will make him a birth-day cake."

"And I," said Robert, "will teach him how to shoot a bird."

"And I," said Harold, "will teach him how to swim."

"And I," said Sam, "will sing him a corn song."

They went to bed and slept soundly. It is astonishing how habit can reconcile us to our necessities! Had these young people been set down by any accident, a few months before, in the midst of a lonely prairie, surrounded by a wild forest, full of bears and panthers, afar from their friends, and without any other protection than that which they had long enjoyed, they would have been miserable. But they went to sleep that night, not only free from painful apprehension, but happy-yes, actually happy-when they knew that their nearest neighbours were treacherous savages, and that they were surrounded nightly by fierce beasts, from whose devouring jaws they had already escaped more than once, only by the blessing of God upon brave hearts and steady hands. How came this change? It was by cheerful habit. The labours, dangers, and exposure of men, had given them the hearts of men. God bless the children! They slept in the midst of that leafy forest as sweetly as though they were at home, and the bright stars that rose by turns to measure out the night, looked down like so many angel eyes, to watch the place of their habitation.

Mary and Frank were the first to awake in the morning. The others, wearied by their long labours, and free from pressing responsibility, abandoned themselves to a repose as sweet as it was needful. Frank moved first, and his moving awaked Mary, who, on calling to mind the nature of the day, and the resolutions of the night before, put her arms affectionately round his neck, and said, "Good morning, Mr. Eight-years-old; I wish you many pleasant birthdays."

Frank put his arms round her neck, also, and kissed her; then both began to dress. Wishing not to disturb the sleepers, they slipped softly from the tent. Mary went first to the poultry-pen, which she opened. The ducks quacked with pleasure at her approach, and she watched them as they dodged through the narrow hole opened for their passage, and ran in a long line with shaking tails and patting feet after the leading drake. Then she raised the portcullis-like gate for the goats and deer; Nanny bleated, no doubt intending to say "good morning," but the unmannerly kid and fawn pranced away, mindful of nothing but their expected feast of grass and leaves.

While Mary was engaged with these, Frank went to look after his own particular pets. She heard him at the back of Nanny's pen, where the cubs were kept, calling out, "Come along, sir!" then he laughed heartily, but a moment after his voice sounded impatiently, "Quit it, you Pollux! quit it, sir!" then in a distressed tone, "Sister, sister, come help me!" Mary ran to his assistance, yet she could scarce restrain her risibles at the sight which greeted her eyes. Frank had loosed the cord which confined the cubs, and was leading them out for the purpose of a romp, when Pollux, who was a saucy fellow, and knew as well as his young master what was intended, rose, with a playful growl, upon his hind legs, and walking behind him, pinioned his arms close, and began trying to throw him down. Frank was much pleased with what he regarded as a cunning trick in his young scholar; but he soon found that it was by no means pleasant to be hugged in that way by a bear. He tried in vain to break loose, and when Mary came to his assistance, the bear had thrown him down, with his face and nose in the dirt. Frank rose, looking very much mortified, and more than half angry.

"You ugly beast," he said to the bear, that seemed amazingly to enjoy the joke, and was rising for another frolic. "Get out, sir. I have a great mind to give you a beating."

"O, no, Frank," said Mary, "don't be angry with your playmate. Remember who taught him to wrestle, and remember besides that this is your birthday."

Frank's wrath instantly subsided, and jerking down Pollux by the cord, he led both cubs back to the pen, where he secured them, and then washed from his face the traces of his defeat.

Sam had by this time come from his shed-room and made the fire for breakfast, and Robert and Harold, awaked by Frank's call for help, dressed themselves and made their appearance. They all wished Frank a pleasant birthday, and hoped he might have as many as would be for his good.

"Now, Master Frank," said Harold, while they were sitting together, "what would you have us do for you today? We are all your humble servants, and ready to do whatever we can for your pleasure."

"Then," said Frank, "the first thing I want you to do, is to carry me right home to father and mother."

"I wish we could, Buddy," said Robert; "but as we cannot do all that today, you must try to think of something else."

Frank could think of nothing. Robert suggested that he might spend part of his birthday in learning to shoot.

"But I can shoot now," he replied. "Sister and I have shot many times already since we came to the island."

"I mean," said Robert, "that you should learn to use a gun, so as to kill whatever you wish."

"O, yes," said Frank, "I should like that very much. For who knows but some old bear or panther may come after sister or me yet, before we get away."

"O, as for bears," Robert maliciously remarked, "I think you will never need a gun. I think you will always find a tree."

Frank's face reddened as he returned, "I don't care if I did, sir. Cousin Harold knows that I did exactly right. Didn't I, cousin?"

"Pardon me, Frank," Robert implored, "I did not suppose that you felt so sore about that climbing. I only said it to teaze you. I am sure I should have done exactly as you did. But I can't help laughing to think how your feet twinkled, as you climbed that tree."

Robert well knew that this half apology would be satisfactory. Frank prided himself on his nimbleness, being so lithe and active that his playmates used to call him "squirrel." The allusion to his "twinkling" feet restored him to good humour.

"Now, Frank," said Robert, beginning his lecture with the gun in hand, "the first lesson I wish to teach you is this, never let the muzzle of your gun point to yourself, or to any person, and never allow any person to point one towards you. A gun can never kill where it does not point. Even when you are loading, or walking, be careful to hold it so, that if it should go off it could hurt nothing."

He then related several stories, illustrating the fact that almost all accidents from guns are from careless handling. Frank was a prudent child. He listened attentively, and then replied,

"Brother Robert, I think I had better let the gun alone till I am older. May be, if I begin so early, I shall shoot myself or somebody else."

Robert was pleased with this mark of caution in his little brother, and said, "Hold on to that, Frank, it is a remark worthy of your birthday, and I trust that every return of this day will find you as wise in proportion to your age."

The further instructions intended for Frank that day, being of an out-door character, were interrupted by a rain that commenced about nine o'clock, and held on steadily all day. They employed themselves leisurely in packing and preparing, first for the short voyage contemplated on Monday, and also for the longer voyage home. During the whole day the tent was strewed and confused with the various bags, boxes, trunks, and kegs, intended to receive the articles to be carried. They looked and felt like travellers on the eve of departure. About sunset the rain ceased. The preparations being now complete, they came together in the tent, and rested on the sofa. Sam was missing. He had not been seen for half an hour, and now it was getting dark. Presently they heard a voice ringing musically through the woods, in the direction of the boat landing, "Join, oh, join, oh! Come, boys, we're all here! Join, oh! join, oh!" Frank sprang to his feet, exclaiming, "That is a corn song!"

The music was very simple, and of the kind that may be termed persuasive. It was the song usually sung by the negroes of one plantation, when inviting those of the neighbourhood to join them in their "corn-shuckings." This practice is much more common in the up country of Georgia, where the corn crop is large, than on the seaboard, where the principal attention is given to cotton. A corn-shucking frolic among these light hearted people, is a scene worth witnessing; it is always held at night, and concluded about midnight with a feast, and is to the negro what a quilting party is to country people.

When Frank heard the first stave of Sam's song, he recalled vividly the merry scenes of the corn-shucking, and running towards the landing, met him, and returned, holding him by the hand, and joining in the chorus.

It was late ere they retired to rest. They began to realize a tender nearness to the loved ones at home, such as they had not felt since parting from them. They talked long and gratefully over past deliverances and future hopes; then closed the evening as those should who wish to find the Sabbath a day of blessing.