In the Eastern Seas Part 29

Mr Thudic.u.mb, though still not well enough to begin building the vessel, a.s.sisted us in repairing the boat. I was anxious to go out and fish; for having gained a good deal of experience with poor Macco, I was in hopes of being able to supply the table with the result of my industry. We had fortunately brought some fis.h.i.+ng-lines and hooks. I proposed manufacturing some lobster-baskets such as I had seen used, in the hope of catching lobsters or crabs. We had plenty of materials in the smaller creepers, some of which were of a tough fibre; and Roger Trew, like many more sailors, understood basket-work. We were therefore not long in manufacturing a dozen pots, which we baited with pieces of pork. I should have said that my uncle had domesticated several pigs which he had caught young, and which ran about in the neighbourhood of the house, without any wish apparently to stray further. Roger Trew, Oliver, and I made the first expedition, while the rest of the party were making preparations for the vessel. It was not settled, however, where she was to be built. We agreed, however, that in the neighbourhood of the house it would be very inconvenient to launch her.

Our first expedition was very successful, and we brought home a good supply of fish. The next day we carried out our lobster-pots, to try our fortune with them. Before returning home after fis.h.i.+ng we pulled along the coast, when we saw at a distance a lofty cliff, with a number of large birds flying about it. Some went off to a great distance, and did not, as far as we could see, return. The report we gave of these, on our return, made Mr Sedgwick desirous of accompanying us on our next expedition.

"They must be, I suspect, from your account of them, Walter, cormorants, or rather that species of them known as the frigate-bird."

No one is so eager as a naturalist when in search of a specimen, and we soon saw that Mr Sedgwick would be far more pleased if we took him round to the cliff, than should we catch a boat-load of fish.

"Suppose then, sir, that we start the first thing for the cliff, and we can then return and land you if you do not wish to remain for the fis.h.i.+ng," I observed.

"A very good idea, Walter," he answered. "You and Roger Trew can go, then, to manage the boat, and I will take my rifle. It is difficult to approach those birds near enough to shoot one, and I have long wished to obtain some specimens in full feather."

It was arranged, therefore, that the next morning we should start directly after breakfast. As, however, there was time during that evening, we carried out our lobster-pots, and placed them in a long row on a rocky bed, where we had every hope that lobsters would be found, and we agreed to take them up on our return. We hurried over breakfast, as Mr Sedgwick was eager to be off, and we then pulled away along the sh.o.r.e, looking into the various indentations and bays as we pa.s.sed, in the hope of finding a spot where our proposed vessel might be launched, and which might at the same time serve as a harbour. It was very important to find a small harbour of some sort, where we might fit her out after she was afloat. We had not gone far when we came to a point with a reef running almost at right angles with it, which served as a breakwater. Inside was a sandy beach.

"Why, that is just the place we are looking for, Walter," observed Mr Sedgwick. "See! we shall find, I think, an entrance at the other end of this reef; and if so, nothing can be more perfect."

We eagerly pulled round the reef, sounding as we went with our oars, and had the satisfaction of finding that there was ample water for such a vessel as we proposed to build. We could see the forest coming close down to the water's edge, and affording an ample supply of timber. We should therefore have but a little way to carry it. We agreed to take Mr Thudic.u.mb there the following day, and if he agreed with us, to lose no further time in laying the keel for our vessel. A little further on we came in sight of the cliff on which we had seen the birds. No sooner did we point them out to Mr Sedgwick than he exclaimed--

"Yes; those, from their flight, must be frigate-birds. No ordinary _cormorant_ would fly as they do. They have come there to breed; for it is seldom, except on that occasion, that those wonderful birds ever visit the land. What extraordinary power of wing they possess! It is said that they are never seen to swim or to repose upon the waters. I certainly have never seen them except on the wing."

There was a stiffish breeze, which had created a little sea; and it seemed doubtful, although Mr Sedgwick was a good shot, whether he would be steady enough to hit one of the birds he so much desired. We pulled on, however, keeping as close as we could venture under the cliff, so as to be concealed from their sight till we got near them. Roger Trew took the two oars, while I sat at the helm to steer the boat more steadily.

My uncle stood up, rifle in hand, eagerly waiting till we got within range of the birds. However, they were so eagerly engaged in preparing the homes for their future young that they scarcely appeared to notice our approach, but kept flying about round the cliff as they had done the day before when we first saw them. At length one of the magnificent birds came within range of my uncle's rifle. Though his nerves were as well strung as those of most men, I fancied his hands trembled in his eagerness to obtain his prize. He recovered himself, however, in a moment, and, balancing his feet at the bottom of the tossing boat, fired. An instant afterwards a vast ma.s.s began to descend, at first slowly, then it pa.s.sed rapidly through the air like a huge piece of snow cast before an avalanche, and down it came with a loud thud into the water.

"Pull! pull!" he cried; and Roger Trew exerting his arms, we were soon up to the bird. It was still alive, though unable to impel itself through the water or to rise. It stretched out its beak towards us, but all power had gone; and as my uncle eagerly seized it, and drew it into the boat, it ceased to struggle. The shot had alarmed the other birds, some of whom were seen to soar high up into the air. Up, up they went, till they became mere specks in the blue sky, then disappeared altogether. Others, however, retained their position round the rock, flying about in a startled manner, apparently unable to ascertain the cause of the loud sound they had heard. Meantime Mr Sedgwick again loaded, and a second bird was brought down. He offered a great deal more resistance, but a blow from Roger Trew's oar quickly settled him.

My uncle was highly delighted with his success. The second shot had put all the birds to flight, and it did not appear likely that a third would be killed. We therefore put the boat's head round, and pulled along the sh.o.r.e homewards.

On our way back Mr Sedgwick expatiated on the powers and beauty of the frigate-bird. "See," he observed, "these feathers are not of that coa.r.s.e and downy texture peculiar to aquatic birds; indeed, its graceful form and all the internal arrangements seem especially adapted--I was almost going to say for eternal flight. See these wings, twelve feet from tip to tip. Observe this forked tail, these short legs, the thighs not more than an inch in length. Unless perched on some rocky pinnacle, it is unable to take flight. Neither, you will observe, is it adapted for living on the waves. See its feet; they are unlike those of water-fowl, being but partially webbed. Now, when I come to show you the interior of the creature, you will see with what surprising arrangements it is furnished for flight without fatigue in the loftiest regions of the air, where it can even sleep without the danger of descending. See beneath its throat this large pouch; it communicates with the lungs, and also with the hollow and wonderfully light bone-work of its skeleton. When it wishes, therefore, to rest in air, it first spreads out its mighty wings, which are almost sufficient to float its light body. It then fills its enormous pouch with air, from whence it is forced into all its bones, and even into the cavities between the flesh and the skin. Now this air enters cold, but in a short time, from the heat of the bird's circulation, which is greater than that of other animals, it becomes rarified, and will consequently swell out both the pouch and every cavity I have spoken of, thus giving the bird a wonderful buoyancy, even in the highest regions of the atmosphere. We saw how high those birds went just now, but they probably have gone far higher. In the same way, when the weather is stormy near the earth, the frigate-bird rises into the higher and calmer regions, where, with outspread wing, it remains suspended, motionless, and at rest. There it might remain for days together, unless compelled by hunger to descend.

When this is the case, it expels the rarified air from its body and pouch, and drops swiftly towards the ocean. It never, however, dives, or even swims, but as it comes within a few feet of the waves, it instantly brings itself to a stop, and skimming along, catches the flying-fish with its hawk-like bill or talons, holding its neck and feet in a horizontal direction, striking the upper column of air with its wings, and then raising and closing them against each other above its back."

On seeing this wonderful bird I could easily believe the accounts my uncle gave me. I remembered, when on board the _Bussorah Merchant_, seeing some tropic birds, which, like the frigate-bird, can ascend to a vast height. One appeared out of the blue sky, when, descending suddenly towards the s.h.i.+p like a falling star, it checked its course, and hovering for a while over our masts, darted away with its two long projecting tail-feathers streaming in the air towards a shoal of flying-fish, which had just then risen from the water. It caught one, and again ascended in the most graceful way towards the blue heavens, to enjoy its repast.

The Chinese, my uncle told me, train the common cormorant to fish for them, the birds being taught to return with their prey to the boat in which their master sits, when they receive a small fish as their reward.

As, however, the bird might help itself, and refuse to work for an employer, the cunning Chinese fastens a band round its throat sufficiently tight to prevent it from swallowing the fish, but not to impede its free action in other respects. The hungry bird, therefore, very gladly returns to the boat to have this inconvenient appendage removed, in order that it may enjoy its limited repast, considering that "half a loaf is better than no bread." My uncle showed me on our return a sketch, which will explain the mode of proceeding even better than my verbal description.

We were still talking of these wonderful birds, when we came near where we had placed our lobster-pots. They must have been on the edge of the bank, for we found that two or three had been carried away into deep water. However, we caught sight of their floats at some distance.

Having drawn up the first we put down, several of which had large lobsters, or fish and crabs, with various other creatures in them, we pulled away to recover the rest. Two were empty.

"I suppose it is scarcely worth while hauling up the other one," I observed.

"We shall lose it if we do not, though there is no great chance of it having anything within it," answered Roger Trew.

However, as we began to haul it up, we discovered by the feel that it had something in it. As we got it up to the side, Roger Trew remarked that it was after all only a squid, probably, or some nasty creature of that sort.

"Haul it in! haul it in, and let me look at it!" exclaimed Mr Sedgwick.

"Wonderfully beautiful!" he exclaimed. "What a prize!" And as if he were handling the most delicate piece of mechanism, he carefully lifted the basket into the boat.

"What is it?" I asked. "What can it be?"

"What is it!" exclaimed my uncle. "It is worth coming all the way from England to obtain, and living out here many years. Why, this is a perfect nautilus!" With the greatest care he drew out the fragile sh.e.l.l with the creature inside. "See," he said, "it belongs to the genus _Cephalapoda_. It is one of the _Polythalamous_, or many-chambered sh.e.l.ls."

"Well, I should call it a big snail of rather a curious shape," observed Roger Trew.

However, as far as the shape was concerned, it more approached a horn with the end curled up and placed in the mouth. My uncle said he was rather doubtful that, when alive, the nautilus did float on the water.

However, he confessed that many naturalists a.s.sert that it does so, as do certainly the people of the coast near which it is found. He told me that possibly this idea had arisen because the sh.e.l.l, when empty, swims on the surface. The creature, when at the bottom, crawls along like any other snail. Sometimes it dies and falls out, when the sh.e.l.l rises to the surface by means of the gases generated in its chambers; and thus they are seen floating on the waves. Others say, however, that the animal itself with the sh.e.l.l, putting out its head and all its tentacles, spreads them upon the water with the p.o.o.p of the sh.e.l.l above it. The light part of the sh.e.l.l rising above the waves is taken for the sail with which it is said to move over the surface. Numbers are seen together after a storm, by which it is supposed that they congregate also at the bottom in troops. They certainly do not sail for any length of time; but having taken in all their tentacles, they turn over their boat, and thus once more descend to the bottom.

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.

OUR HILL-FORT.

It was amusing to see the two naturalists eagerly examining the nautilus when we brought it in.

"Walter, you have rendered science an important service!" exclaimed Mr Hooker. "So difficult is this creature to be obtained, that I know of one only that has ever been brought to England, now preserved in the Royal College of Surgeons."

Immediately a jar of arrack, which my uncle had brewed for the sake of preserving his specimens--certainly not for drinking--was produced, and the nautilus was carefully embalmed within it.

"If you can obtain another, which we can dissect, you will have rendered Mr Hooker and me the greatest possible service," he exclaimed enthusiastically. "Us, did I say!--the whole scientific world at large.

You will deserve to become a member of all the societies of Europe--the most honourable distinction which a man of any age might desire to obtain."

Of course we undertook to manufacture a further number of fish-pots, and to place them out in deep water, where we might have a chance of catching another of these creatures. We measured the hole they would require for entering, and discovered that out of the number we had made, the one which had caught the nautilus was the only one with a hole sufficiently large to allow it to enter.

"But surely, uncle, the nautilus has sails by which it glides over the water," said Emily, as she was examining the creature.

"In the imagination of the poets only, my niece," he answered. "The sh.e.l.ls often float from their excessive lightness, in consequence of the air contained in certain chambers within them. It is then often swept away by wind or tide to some neighbouring sh.o.r.e. Thus large numbers of the sh.e.l.ls are found thrown up on the beach. The animal, however, when alive, floats occasionally with its sh.e.l.l on the surface; but I doubt much whether it has any power of locomotion beyond that which the wind or current gives it."

"How disappointing!" exclaimed Emily and Grace together. "We always thought that it had tiny sails, which it spread to the breeze; and pictured it to ourselves skimming on the calm surface, and delighting in its freedom and rapidity of movement."

"There is, no doubt, an abundance of wonders in Nature, young ladies,"

said Mr Hooker, "but a more intimate acquaintance with the habits of animals will often dispel some of the common ideas which have been connected with them, albeit in many instances held for centuries. For instance, till within a very late period people believed that the upas-tree, which grows in Java, possessed such noxious qualities that it destroyed all vegetable life in the neighbourhood. The sap is, undoubtedly, a poison; but I believe people may sleep under its boughs without receiving the slightest injury, though perhaps, were any of the sap to fall from the tree and to enter a wound, it would prove fatal.

Once upon a time people believed that the barnacles which are found attached to s.h.i.+ps' bottoms, or pieces of timber long floating on the ocean, turned into geese, and the barnacle-goose was so called because it was supposed to have its origin in that common mollusc, the barnacle."

Mr Thudic.u.mb had more than once to suggest to the two enthusiastic naturalists that we should lose no further time in commencing the building of our vessel, for although we had no great reason to complain of our position, yet the mate was anxious to let his friends know that he was safe, as also Captain and Mrs Davenport that their daughter and the rest of us were still alive. The sea was now so calm that we had plenty of occupation in going backwards and forwards to the wreck. Mr Thudic.u.mb, who was at length able to accompany us, suggested that a raft should be made, by which means we might bring a larger quant.i.ty of stores on sh.o.r.e at a time. All hands were thus actively employed.

Tanda had to attend to affairs on sh.o.r.e, the Frau and the two girls a.s.sisting him in household matters. The two naturalists were engaged all day long in collecting and arranging their specimens, while the three other men, under the command of the mate, with Oliver and I, were preparing for the building of the vessel.

It must be understood that all the timber and the heavy things were towed round to the bay I have before described, which we now called Hope Harbour--the _Hope_ being the name we proposed giving our vessel.

Oliver and I, with Roger Trew, generally managed the boat, while the others remained on board tearing up the planks, and collecting such articles as they could fish up from the bottom.

We had just returned on board one forenoon, when, on scrambling up on the deck, we found our friends in a state of great agitation. "See dere!" exclaimed Potto Jumbo, who was the first person we met. "What do you say to dat?" There, standing in towards the island, though still at a considerable distance, were several mat-sailed vessels, which had certainly a great resemblance to the piratical craft we had before seen.

Mr Thudic.u.mb had been examining them with his gla.s.s, and had great fears that they were pirates.

"We must get on sh.o.r.e as fast as we can," he said, "and prepare our friends. If they come here, we must try and seek for safety in the interior. I know these fellows too well. It would be madness to trust to their mercy; and I am afraid, if they once get sight of the wreck, they are sure to overhaul her. It is fortunate we have got most of the things on sh.o.r.e;--but we must lose no time."

As the boat could not carry the whole party, Mr Thudic.u.mb and Tarbox remained on board, sending Potto Jumbo with Oliver and I on sh.o.r.e, while Roger Trew was to return with the boat for them. We pulled away as fast as we could lay our backs to the oars, and as soon as we landed we hurried up to the house. We were anxious not to alarm the young ladies and the good Frau, and therefore as we came in sight of it we walked rather more steadily. Fortunately our uncle and Mr Hooker were within doors, engaged in their usual work. I hastened up to them and told them what we had seen.

"I must go down and judge with my own eyes," said my uncle. "Their fears probably have made our friends imagine that these vessels in sight have a piratical look. After all, possibly, they are only a fleet of harmless traders, bound for the south part of Borneo, or perhaps up to Sumatra, or the Malay Peninsula."

"However, in case of accidents, brother Sedgwick, we may as well get our valuables into a place of safety," observed Mr Hooker, quietly.