Part 1 - Dropped from the Clouds: Chapter 22

by Jules Verne

　　This intense cold lasted till the 15th of August, without, however, passingthe degree of Fahrenheit already mentioned. When the atmosphere was calm,the low temperature was easily borne, but when the wind blew, the poorsettlers, insufficiently clothed, felt it severely. Pencroft regretted thatLincoln Island was not the home of a few families of bears rather than ofso many foxes and seals.

　　"Bears," said he, "are generally very well dressed, and I ask no morethan to borrow for the winter the warm cloaks which they have on theirbacks."

　　"But," replied Neb, laughing, "perhaps the bears would not consent togive you their cloaks, Pencroft. These beasts are not St. Martins."

　　"We would make them do it, Neb, we would make them," replied Pencroft, inquite an authoritative tone.

　　But these formidable carnivora did not exist in the island, or at anyrate they had not yet shown themselves.

　　In the meanwhile, Herbert, Pencroft, and the reporter occupied themselveswith making traps on Prospect Heights and at the border of the forest.

　　According to the sailor, any animal, whatever it was, would be a lawfulprize, and the rodents or carnivora which might get into the new snareswould be well received at Granite House.

　　The traps were besides extremely simple; being pits dug in the ground, aplatform of branches and grass above, which concealed the opening, and atthe bottom some bait, the scent of which would attract animals. It must bementioned also, that they had not been dug at random, but at certain placeswhere numerous footprints showed that quadrupeds frequented the ground.They were visited every day, and at three different times, during the firstdays, specimens of those Antarctic foxes which they had already seen on theright bank of the Mercy were found in them.

　　"Why, there are nothing but foxes in this country!" cried Pencroft, whenfor the third time he drew one of the animals out of the pit. Looking at itin great disgust, he added, "beasts which are good for nothing!"

　　"Yes," said Gideon Spilett, "they are good for something!"

　　"And what is that?"

　　"To make bait to attract other creatures!"

　　The reporter was right, and the traps were henceforward baited with thefoxes carcasses.

　　The sailor had also made snares from the long tough fibers of a certainplant, and they were even more successful than the traps. Rarely a daypassed without some rabbits from the warren being caught. It was alwaysrabbit, but Neb knew how to vary his sauces and the settlers did not thinkof complaining.

　　However, once or twice in the second week of August, the traps suppliedthe hunters with other animals more useful than foxes, namely, several ofthose small wild boars which had already been seen to the north of thelake. Pencroft had no need to ask if these beasts were eatable. He couldsee that by their resemblance to the pig of America and Europe.

　　"But these are not pigs," said Herbert to him, "I warn you of that,Pencroft."

　　"My boy," replied the sailor, bending over the trap and drawing out oneof these representatives of the family of sus by the little appendage whichserved it as a tail. "Let me believe that these are pigs."

　　"Why?"

　　"Because that pleases me!"

　　"Are you very fond of pig then, Pencroft?"

　　"I am very fond of pig," replied the sailor, "particularly of its feet,and if it had eight instead of four, I should like it twice as much!"

　　As to the animals in question, they were peccaries belonging to one ofthe four species which are included in the family, and they were also ofthe species of Tajacu, recognizable by their deep color and the absence ofthose long teeth with which the mouths of their congeners are armed. Thesepeccaries generally live in herds, and it was probable that they aboundedin the woody parts of the island.

　　At any rate, they were eatable from head to foot, and Pencroft did notask more from them.

　　Towards the 15th of August, the state of the atmosphere was suddenlymoderated by the wind shifting to the northwest. The temperature rose somedegrees, and the accumulated vapor in the air was not long in resolvinginto snow. All the island was covered with a sheet of white, and showeditself to its inhabitants under a new aspect. The snow fell abundantly forseveral days, and it soon reached a thickness of two feet.

　　The wind also blew with great violence, and at the height of GraniteHouse the sea could be heard thundering against the reefs. In some places,the wind, eddying round the corners, formed the snow into tall whirlingcolumns, resembling those waterspouts which turn round on their base, andwhich vessels attack with a shot from a gun. However, the storm, comingfrom the northwest, blew across the island, and the position of GraniteHouse preserved it from a direct attack.

　　But in the midst of this snow-storm, as terrible as if it had beenproduced in some polar country, neither Cyrus Harding nor his companionscould, notwithstanding their wish for it, venture forth, and they remainedshut up for five days, from the 20th to the 25th of August. They could hearthe tempest raging in Jacamar Wood, which would surely suffer from it. Manyof the trees would no doubt be torn up by the roots, but Pencroft consoledhimself by thinking that he would not have the trouble of cutting themdown.

　　"The wind is turning woodman, let it alone," he repeated.

　　Besides, there was no way of stopping it, if they had wished to do so.

　　How grateful the inhabitants of Granite House then were to Heaven forhaving prepared for them this solid and immovable retreat! Cyrus Hardinghad also his legitimate share of thanks, but after all, it was Nature whohad hollowed out this vast cavern, and he had only discovered it. There allwere in safety, and the tempest could not reach them. If they hadconstructed a house of bricks and wood on Prospect Heights, it certainlywould not have resisted the fury of this storm. As to the Chimneys, it musthave been absolutely uninhabitable, for the sea, passing over the islet,would beat furiously against it. But here, in Granite House, in the middleof a solid mass, over which neither the sea nor air had any influence,there was nothing to fear.

　　During these days of seclusion the settlers did not remain inactive.

　　There was no want of wood, cut up into planks, in the storeroom, andlittle by little they completed their furnishing; constructing the mostsolid of tables and chairs, for material was not spared. Neb and Pencroftwere very proud of this rather heavy furniture, which they would not havechanged on any account.

　　Then the carpenters became basket-makers, and they did not succeed badlyin this new manufacture. At the point of the lake which projected to thenorth, they had discovered an osier-bed in which grew a large number ofpurple osiers. Before the rainy season, Pencroft and Herbert had cut downthese useful shrubs, and their branches, well prepared, could now beeffectively employed. The first attempts were somewhat crude, but inconsequence of the cleverness and intelligence of the workmen, byconsulting, and recalling the models which they had seen, and by emulatingeach other, the possessions of the colony were soon increased by severalbaskets of different sizes. The storeroom was provided with them, and inspecial baskets Neb placed his collection of rhizomes, stone-pine almonds,etc.

　　During the last week of the month of August the weather moderated again.The temperature fell a little, and the tempest abated. The colonistssallied out directly. There was certainly two feet of snow on the shore,but they were able to walk without much difficulty on the hardened surface.Cyrus Harding and his companions climbed Prospect Heights.

　　What a change! The woods, which they had left green, especially in thepart at which the firs predominated, had disappeared under a uniform color.All was white, from the summit of Mount Franklin to the shore, the forests,the plains, the lake, the river. The waters of the Mercy flowed under aroof of ice, which, at each rising and ebbing of the tide, broke up withloud crashes. Numerous birds fluttered over the frozen surface of the lake.Ducks and snipe, teal and guillemots were assembled in thousands. The rocksamong which the cascade flowed were bristling with icicles. One might havesaid that the water escaped by a monstrous gargoyle, shaped with all theimagination of an artist of the Renaissance. As to the damage caused by thestorm in the forest, that could not as yet be ascertained; they would haveto wait till the snowy covering was dissipated.

　　Gideon Spilett, Pencroft, and Herbert did not miss this opportunity ofgoing to visit their traps. They did not find them easily, under the snowwith which they were covered. They had also to be careful not to fall intoone or other of them, which would have been both dangerous and humiliating;to be taken in their own snares! But happily they avoided thisunpleasantness, and found their traps perfectly intact. No animal hadfallen into them, and yet the footprints in the neighborhood were verynumerous, among others, certain very clear marks of claws. Herbert did nothesitate to affirm that some animal of the feline species had passed there,which justified the engineer's opinion that dangerous beasts existed inLincoln Island. These animals doubtless generally lived in the forests ofthe Far West, but pressed by hunger, they had ventured as far as ProspectHeights. Perhaps they had smelled out the inhabitants of Granite House."Now, what are these feline creatures?" asked Pencroft. "They are tigers,"replied Herbert. "I thought those beasts were only found in hot countries?"

　　"On the new continent," replied the lad, "they are found from Mexico tothe Pampas of Buenos Aires. Now, as Lincoln Island is nearly under the samelatitude as the provinces of La Plata, it is not surprising that tigers areto be met with in it."

　　"Well, we must look out for them," replied Pencroft.

　　However, the snow soon disappeared, quickly dissolving under theinfluence of the rising temperature. Rain fell, and the sheet of white soonvanished. Notwithstanding the bad weather, the settlers renewed theirstores of different things, stone-pine almonds, rhizomes, syrup from themaple-tree, for the vegetable part; rabbits from the warren, agouties, andkangaroos for the animal part. This necessitated several excursions intothe forest, and they found that a great number of trees had been blown downby the last hurricane. Pencroft and Neb also pushed with the cart as far asthe vein of coal, and brought back several tons of fuel. They saw inpassing that the pottery kiln had been severely damaged by the wind, atleast six feet of it having been blown off.

　　At the same time as the coal, the store of wood was renewed at GraniteHouse, and they profited by the current of the Mercy having again becomefree, to float down several rafts. They could see that the cold period wasnot ended.

　　A visit was also paid to the Chimneys, and the settlers could not butcongratulate themselves on not having been living there during thehurricane. The sea had left unquestionable traces of its ravages. Sweepingover the islet, it had furiously assailed the passages, half filling themwith sand, while thick beds of seaweed covered the rocks. While Neb,Herbert, and Pencroft hunted or collected wood, Cyrus Harding and GideonSpilett busied themselves in putting the Chimneys to rights, and they foundthe forge and the bellows almost unhurt, protected as they had been fromthe first by the heaps of sand.

　　The store of fuel had not been made uselessly. The settlers had not donewith the rigorous cold. It is known that, in the Northern Hemisphere, themonth of February is principally distinguished by rapid fallings of thetemperature. It is the same in the Southern Hemisphere, and the end of themonth of August, which is the February of North America, does not escapethis climatic law.

　　About the 25th, after another change from snow to rain, the wind shiftedto the southeast, and the cold became, suddenly, very severe. According tothe engineer's calculation, the mercurial column of a Fahrenheitthermometer would not have marked less than eight degrees below zero, andthis intense cold, rendered still more painful by a sharp gale, lasted forseveral days. The colonists were again shut up in Granite House, and as itwas necessary to hermetically seal all the openings of the facade, onlyleaving a narrow passage for renewing the air, the consumption of candleswas considerable. To economize them, the cavern was often only lighted bythe blazing hearths, on which fuel was not spared. Several times, one orother of the settlers descended to the beach in the midst of ice which thewaves heaped up at each tide, but they soon climbed up again to GraniteHouse, and it was not without pain and difficulty that their hands couldhold to the rounds of the ladder. In consequence of the intense cold,their fingers felt as if burned when they touched the rounds. To occupy theleisure hours, which the tenants of Granite House now had at theirdisposal, Cyrus Harding undertook an operation which could be performedindoors.

　　We know that the settlers had no other sugar at their disposal than theliquid substance which they drew from the maple, by making deep incisionsin the tree. They contented themselves with collecting this liquor in jarsand employing it in this state for different culinary purposes, and themore so, as on growing old, this liquid began to become white and to be ofa syrupy consistence.

　　But there was something better to be made of it, and one day CyrusHarding announced that they were going to turn into refiners.

　　"Refiners!" replied Pencroft. "That is rather a warm trade, I think."

　　"Very warm," answered the engineer.

　　"Then it will be seasonable!" said the sailor.

　　This word refining need not awake in the mind thoughts of an elaboratemanufactory with apparatus and numerous workmen. No! to crystallize thisliquor, only an extremely easy operation is required. Placed on the fire inlarge earthen pots, it was simply subjected to evaporation, and soon a scumarose to its surface. As soon as this began to thicken, Neb carefullyremoved it with a wooden spatula; this accelerated the evaporation, and atthe same time prevented it from contracting an empyreumatic flavor.

　　After boiling for several hours on a hot fire, which did as much good tothe operators as the substance operated upon, the latter was transformedinto a thick syrup. This syrup was poured into clay molds, previouslyfabricated in the kitchen stove, and to which they had given variousshapes. The next day this syrup had become cold, and formed cakes andtablets. This was sugar of rather a reddish color, but nearly transparentand of a delicious taste.

　　The cold continued to the middle of September, and the prisoners inGranite House began to find their captivity rather tedious. Nearly everyday they attempted sorties which they could not prolong. They constantlyworked at the improvement of their dwelling. They talked while working.Harding instructed his companions in many things, principally explaining tothem the practical applications of science. The colonists had no library attheir disposal; but the engineer was a book which was always at hand,always open at the page which one wanted, a book which answered all theirquestions, and which they often consulted. The time thus passed awaypleasantly, these brave men not appearing to have any fears for the future.

　　However, all were anxious to see, if not the fine season, at least thecessation of the insupportable cold. If only they had been clothed in a wayto meet it, how many excursions they would have attempted, either to thedowns or to Tadorn's Fens! Game would have been easily approached, and thechase would certainly have been most productive. But Cyrus Hardingconsidered it of importance that no one should injure his health, for hehad need of all his hands, and his advice was followed.

　　But it must be said, that the one who was most impatient of thisimprisonment, after Pencroft perhaps, was Top. The faithful dog foundGranite House very narrow. He ran backwards and forwards from one room toanother, showing in his way how weary he was of being shut up. Hardingoften remarked that when he approached the dark well which communicatedwith the sea, and of which the orifice opened at the back of the storeroom,Top uttered singular growlings. He ran round and round this hole, which hadbeen covered with a wooden lid. Sometimes even he tried to put his pawsunder the lid, as if he wished to raise it. He then yelped in a peculiarway, which showed at once anger and uneasiness.

　　The engineer observed this maneuver several times.

　　What could there be in this abyss to make such an impression on theintelligent animal? The well led to the sea, that was certain. Could narrowpassages spread from it through the foundations of the island? Did somemarine monster come from time to time, to breathe at the bottom of thiswell? The engineer did not know what to think, and could not refrain fromdreaming of many strange improbabilities. Accustomed to go far into theregions of scientific reality, he would not allow himself to be drawn intothe regions of the strange and almost of the supernatural; but yet how toexplain why Top, one of those sensible dogs who never waste their time inbarking at the moon, should persist in trying with scent and hearing tofathom this abyss, if there was nothing there to cause his uneasiness?Top's conduct puzzled Cyrus Harding even more than he cared to acknowledgeto himself.

　　At all events, the engineer only communicated his impressions to GideonSpilett, for he thought it useless to explain to his companions thesuspicions which arose from what perhaps was only Top's fancy.

　　At last the cold ceased. There had been rain, squalls mingled with snow,hailstorms, gusts of wind, but these inclemencies did not last. The icemelted, the snow disappeared; the shore, the plateau, the banks of theMercy, the forest, again became practicable. This return of springdelighted the tenants of Granite House, and they soon only passed it in thehours necessary for eating and sleeping.

　　They hunted much in the second part of September, which led Pencroft toagain entreat for the firearms, which he asserted had been promised byCyrus Harding. The latter, knowing well that without special tools it wouldbe nearly impossible for him to manufacture a gun which would be of anyuse, still drew back and put off the operation to some future time,observing in his usual dry way, that Herbert and Spilett had become veryskilful archers, so that many sorts of excellent animals, agouties,kangaroos, capybaras, pigeons, bustards, wild ducks, snipes, in short, gameboth with fur and feathers, fell victims to their arrows, and that,consequently, they could wait. But the obstinate sailor would listen tonothing of this, and he would give the engineer no peace till he promisedto satisfy his desire. Gideon Spilett, however, supported Pencroft.

　　"If, which may be doubted," said he, "the island is inhabited by wildbeasts, we must think how to fight with and exterminate them. A time maycome when this will be our first duty."

　　But at this period, it was not the question of firearms which occupiedHarding, but that of clothes. Those which the settlers wore had passed thiswinter, but they would not last until next winter. Skins of carnivora orthe wool of ruminants must be procured at any price, and since there wereplenty of musmons, it was agreed to consult on the means of forming a flockwhich might be brought up for the use of the colony. An enclosure for thedomestic animals, a poultry-yard for the birds, in a word to establish asort of farm in the island, such were the two important projects for thefine season.

　　In consequence and in view of these future establishments, it became ofmuch importance that they should penetrate into all the yet unknown partsof Lincoln Island, that is to say, through that thick forest which extendedon the right bank of the Mercy, from its mouth to the extremity of theSerpentine Peninsula, as well as on the whole of its western side. But thisneeded settled weather, and a month must pass before this exploration couldbe profitably undertaken.

　　They therefore waited with some impatience, when an incident occurredwhich increased the desire the settlers had to visit the whole of theirdomain.

　　It was the 24th of October. On this day, Pencroft had gone to visit histraps, which he always kept properly baited. In one of them he found threeanimals which would be very welcome for the larder. They were a femalepeccary and her two young ones.

　　Pencroft then returned to Granite House, enchanted with his capture, and,as usual, he made a great show of his game.

　　"Come, we shall have a grand feast, captain!" he exclaimed. "And you too,Mr. Spilett, you will eat some!"

　　"I shall be very happy," replied the reporter; "but what is it that I amgoing to eat?"

　　"Suckling-pig."

　　"Oh, indeed, suckling-pig, Pencroft? To hear you, I thought that you werebringing back a young partridge stuffed with truffles!"

　　"What?" cried Pencroft. "Do you mean to say that you turn up your nose atsuckling-pig?'

　　"No," replied Gideon Spilett, without showing any enthusiasm; "providedone doesn't eat too much"

　　"That's right, that's right," returned the sailor, who was not pleasedwhenever he heard his chase made light of. "You like to make objections.Seven months ago, when we landed on the island, you would have been onlytoo glad to have met with such game!"

　　"Well, well," replied the reporter, "man is never perfect, norcontented."

　　"Now," said Pencroft, "I hope that Neb will distinguish himself. Lookhere! These two little peccaries are not more than three months old! Theywill be as tender as quails! Come along, Neb, come! I will look after thecooking myself."

　　And the sailor, followed by Neb, entered the kitchen, where they weresoon absorbed in their culinary labors.

　　They were allowed to do it in their own way. Neb, therefore, prepared amagnificent repast--the two little peccaries, kangaroo soup, a smoked ham,stone-pine almonds, Oswego tea; in fact, all the best that they had, butamong all the dishes figured in the first rank the savory peccaries.

　　At five o'clock dinner was served in the dining-room of Granite House.The kangaroo soup was smoking on the table. They found it excellent.

　　To the soup succeeded the peccaries, which Pencroft insisted on carvinghimself, and of which he served out monstrous portions to each of theguests.

　　These suckling-pigs were really delicious, and Pencroft was devouring hisshare with great gusto, when all at once a cry and an oath escaped him.

　　"What's the matter?" asked Cyrus Harding.

　　"The matter? the matter is that I have just broken a tooth!" replied thesailor.

　　"What, are there pebbles in your peccaries?" said Gideon Spilett.

　　"I suppose so," replied Pencroft, drawing from his lips the object whichhad cost him a grinder!--

　　It was not a pebble--it was a leaden bullet.