Being made easy then on that point, and indeed on that only, I fell to considering our unhappy deserted lot, which did little improve for being thought upon. For though, tis true, no one of us was cast ashore alone and solitary, some others have been, yet the benefit of mutual society by no means outweighed the destitute state we were in, unprovided with anything but our fire-arms only. “How”, I reflected, “ shall we build, or plant here? how even burrow out dwellings for ourselves in the earth or the rocks, like some savage tribes? How shall we so much as cut down a tree, or smooth a plank, or snare the birds and animals of the island, to tame them? By what means can we supply ourselves with clothes, or defend our lives against the violent monsoons and rainy seasons of the tropics? And when our small stock of ammunition is once spent in coming at our daily necessary food, with what contrivances are we to purvey to ourselves any living from that time onward?”
To these questions I found no comfortable answer in my thoughts; and, as if I had turned Job’s comforter against myself, I went on further to consider thus: “You are”, said I, addressing myself inwardly, “surrounded indeed by companions in misfortune, who have all one common interest with your own; to wit, mutual assistance and kindliness in bettering their sad condition. But who shall warrant that they will view it thus? For men, in the very blindness of a selfish desire to have their way, are prone to run counter every day to their true interest and that of others with them. Or, if things begin well, yet with such rude materials as you have about you, how long .will they continue so? And what authority can you establish among them, for the benefit of each and all?”
In short, after tormenting my thoughts, as many another has done, with the prospect of future ills, and inventing a multitude of possible and imaginary ones, as, attacks from cannibal savages and wild beasts, poison from venomous reptiles or unknown, noxious herbs, and I know not what other forebodings of harm, I gave way to exhaustion like the rest, and fell asleep till morning. One thing I did not forget; and that was, to wind up my watch, as I well knew mine to be the only time-piece in our whole colony. “Yet what matters time to us”, I asked myself, with much sadness, now that we are commencing the life of savages here? It will be enough for us to see the sun rise and set, to know another day is added to our misery. And for the seasons, we shall feel when it is warm and cold, wet and dry, until we feel nothing further”. Thinking in this way, I did indeed know nothing more, till I was awoke by the sun through the trees, and the screaming of the parrots over my head.
It was a wonder I had not awoke before this; for two guns had been fired, and with some success, to procure us our first breakfast on the island. One of these was Harvey’s piece, and the other Gill’s. When I shook off my sleep, and came to where they were seated round the fire, I found they had brought in some game: for Tom had shot (at least wounded, and then secured by some hard running) a peccary, such as we had seen the day before; and Harry Gill had brought down a bird like a bustard, that he had sprung in a piece of marshy ground, about a quarter of a mile from our encampment.
Though I considered it imprudent in a high degree to let off fire-arms when, as yet, we knew so little of the island, still, the thing being now done, and so much remaining to be settled when breakfast was over, I said nothing, but bade them good morning as cheerfully as I could, and set to work to help in the cooking of our meat. Here was indeed a difficulty for us; for though several of our number (like most practised seamen) were tolerable cooks, as far as a plain boil or stew on board ship went, yet what will the best cook do, when he has nothing but his meat and his fire to work with? Here were we, with no sign of a kettle, or pan, not so much as a dripping ladle to prevent our meat burning at the fire; plenty of material, but no way of making it useful to us. And though the proverb says, too many cooks spoil the broth, I believe there have been seldom collected so many cooks together, with so little chance of having any broth at all among them.
There was abundant proof of the difference in men’s characters as we all stood around the fire, and looked at the game we could find no means to dress. Some grumbled and swore, some laughed at their own perplexity, some set about devising first one thing, then another. Prodgers was chief among the surly ones, as Tom Harvey among the jokers. As to Hilton, being (as I said) one of those who take their cue too much from others, he now swore with Prodgers, and then laughed with honest Tom. However, for want of anything better, we cut us some sharp straight reeds from a thicket, of a kind of bamboo, to serve for spits; we skinned the animal and plucked our bustard, then spitted them, and prepared to roast.
But who should come to our help, and show us a better way? The last person, except a wild Indian, we could ever guess at. Don Manuel had been, up to this, walking slowly at a little distance from us, reading his book, as usual. He now closed it, and drew near; and in his cheerful, courteous way: “A fair morning to you”, says he, “Senores and brothers in misfortune: let me try and contribute my small efforts for our common good”. And then he explained, that he had heard of some natives of such islands as abound in hogs and goats, who had an ingenious way of cooking, or baking their meat. They make, says he, a hole in the earth, line it with stones red-hot from the fire, to serve as a kind of rude oven; then put in the meat, covering it carefully with several layers of broad leaves, and overlay the whole with earth and stones. “So now, if you will”, continued he, “we will take a hint from the savages, until we find out some better method for ourselves”.
We thanked him heartily, and with some surprise, at discovering that he knew anything about such matters. But he said, with a smile, a priest who left his own country upon foreign missions was obliged to be
Soldier or sailor,
Joiner or tailor,
Gentleman, apothecary,
Whitesmith, and all!
good breakfast quickened our motions. So, having understood his plan, we bustled about merrily to follow it. Some went in search of stones of the proper size and shape to heat in the fire; and these were put into the hottest of the flame. Others got a heap of dry brushwood to freshen the fire itself, which soon blazed out more fiercely than we could well stand to. One went in search of leaves to lay upon the meat when the hot stones were ready to put round it ; and a fourth cut a sharp stake or two from the thicket, to make shift for spades. With these we turned up enough of earth to bank over our oven. All being now ready, we waited a short time till Don Manuel (from whom we took evety direction without questioning) told us the fire had heated the earth and stones to the right pitch, and that we might clear away the embers to build our oven on the rock.
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