On the following day, neither my wife nor the boys left me a moment’s tranquillity till I had put my manufactory of candles in some forwardness: I therefore set myself to recollect all I had read on the subject. I soon perceived that I should be at a loss for a little suet or mutton fat to mix with the wax I had procured from the berries, for making the light burn clearer; but as I had neither of these articles, I was compelled to proceed without them. I put as many berries into a vessel as it would contain, and set it on a moderate fire; my wife in the meantime employed herself in making some wicks with the threads of sailcloth. When we saw an oily matter of a pleasing smell and light green colour, rise to the top of the liquid the berries had yielded, we carefully skimmed it off and put it into a separate vessel, taking care to keep it warm. We continued this process till the berries were exhausted and had produced a considerable quantity of wax; we next dipped the wicks one by one into it, while it remained liquid, and then hung them on the bushes to harden: in a short time, we dipped them again, and continued repeating the operation, till the candles were increased to the proper size, and they were then put in a place and kept, till sufficiently hardened for use. We, however, were all eager to judge of our success that very evening, by burning one of the candles, with which we were all well satisfied. In consequence of this new treasure, we should now be able to sit up later, and consequently spend less of our time in sleep; but independently of this advantage, the mere sight of a candle, which for so long a time we had been deprived of, caused ecstasies of joy to all.

Our success in this last enterprise, encouraged us to think of another, the idea of which had long been cherished by our kind steward of provisions: it was, to make fresh butter of the cream we every day skimmed from the milk, and which was frequently, to her great vexation, spoiled, and given to the animals for want of such a process. The utensil we stood in need of, was a churn, to turn the cream in. Having earnestly applied my thoughts, as to the most effectual manner of conquering the difficulty, I suddenly recollected what I had read in a book of travels, of the method used by the Hottentots for making butter; but in adopting it, I determined to introduce one feature of proceeding, for which, apparently, they have not a partiality; and this was, the utmost attention to cleanliness. Instead of a sheepskin sewed together at its extremities, I emptied a large gourd of its natural contents, and filled it again with cream, and stopped it quite close with the piece I had cut from the top. I placed my vase of cream on a piece of coarse linen cloth with four corners, which last I tied to four stakes; I placed one boy midway between each stake, and directed them to shake the linen briskly, but with a steady measure, for a certain time. This exercise, which seemed like children’s play, pleased them mightily, and they called it rocking the cradle. They performed their office singing and laughing all the time, and in an hour, on taking off the cover, we had the satisfaction of seeing some excellent butter. We heartily congratulated each other, and praised the workmen, who by their constancy of labour, had thus produced one of the first conveniences in the list of articles for food.

The employments we had thus been engaged in, were little different from play; but now a question occurred of one that would require our most serious attention:⁠—it was the constructing a cart, in all its forms, for the better conveyance of our effects from place to place, instead of the sledge which caused us so much fatigue to load and draw. Many reasons induced me to confine my attempt in the first instance to a two-wheel cart, and to observe the result before I ventured on one with four wheels.

I will not fatigue the reader with the detail of my undertaking: I tried earnestly and long to accomplish my machine; but it did not entirely succeed to my wishes, and I wasted in the attempt both time and timber. I however produced what from courtesy we called a cart; but I would not advise my readers to take it for a model, though, to say the truth, to us it answered the purpose for which it was designed.

While I was thus laboriously engaged, the boys and their mother were no less busy in matters of use or convenience; and I now and then left my cart to assist them with my advice, though, to do them justice, I must say, they seldom stood in need of it. They undertook to transplant the greatest part of the European fruit-trees, to place them where they would be in a better situation for growth, according to the properties of each. They planted vine shoots round the roots of the magnificent tree we inhabited, and round the trunks of some other kinds of trees which grew near; and we watched them in the fond anticipation that they would in time ascend to a height capable of being formed into a sort of trellis, and help to cool us by their shade. In the climate we inhabited, the vine requires the protection of the larger trees against the scorching rays of the sun. Lastly, we planted two parallel lines of saplings, consisting of chestnut, cherry, and the common nut-trees, to form an avenue from Family Bridge to Falcon’s Stream, which would hereafter afford us a cool shade in our walks to Tent-House. This last undertaking was not to be effected without a degree of labour and fatigue the most discouraging:⁠—the ground was to be cleared of everything it had produced, and a certain breadth covered with sand, left higher in the middle than on the sides, for the sake of being always dry. The boys fetched the sand from the seaside in their wheelbarrows, and I also nailed together a few pieces of wood, in the form of a tub, which could be harnessed to the ass to ease in some measure their fatigue.

Our next concern was to introduce, if possible, some shade and other improvements on the barren site of Tent-House, and to render our occasional abode or visits there more secure. We began by planting in a quincunx all those sorts of trees that thrive best in the sun, such as lemon, pistachio, almond, mulberry, and lime-trees; lastly, some of a kind of orange-tree which attains to a prodigious size, and bears a fruit as large as the head of a child,14 and weighs not less than twelve or fourteen pounds. The commoner sorts of nut-trees we placed along the shore in the most favourable situations. The better to conceal and fortify our tent, which enclosed all our stores, we formed on the accessible side, a hedge of wild orange and lemon-trees, which produce an abundant prickly foliage; and to add to the agreeableness of their appearance, we introduced here and there the pomegranate; nor did I omit to make a little arbour of the guava shrub, which is easily raised from slips, and bears a small fruit rather pleasant to the taste. We also took care to introduce at proper places a certain number of the largest sorts of trees, which in time would serve the double purpose of shading annual plants, and, with benches placed under them, of a kind of private cabinet. Should any accident or alarm compel us to retire to the fortress of Tent-House, a thing of the first importance would be to find there sufficient food for our cattle. For the greater security, I formed a plantation of the thorny fig-tree, of sufficient breadth to occupy the space between our fortress and the river, thus rendering it difficult for an enemy to approach.

The curving form of the river having left some partial elevations of the soil within the enclosure, I found means to work them into slopes and angles so as to serve as bastions to our two cannon from the pinnace and our other firearms, should we ever be attacked by savages. When this was all complete, we perceived that one thing more was wanting, which was to make such alterations in Family Bridge as would enable us to use it as a drawbridge or to take it away entirely, this being the only point at which the passage of the river could be easily effected. But as we could not do all at once, we contented ourselves, for present safety, with taking away the first planks of the bridge at each end every time we passed it. My concluding labour was to plant some cedars along the usual landing-places, to which we might fasten our vessels.

We employed six whole weeks in effecting what for the present it was possible to effect, of these laborious arrangements; but the continual exercise of mind and body they imposed, visibly contributed to the physical and moral health of the boys, and to the support of cheerfulness and serenity in ourselves. The more we embellished our abode by the work of our own hands, the more it became dear to our hearts. The constant and strict observance of the sabbath-day afforded such an interval of rest, as could not fail to restore our strength; and inspire us with the desire of new exertions. The sentiment of gratitude which filled our minds towards the Supreme Being, who had saved us from destruction and supplied us with all things needful, demanded utterance, and on Sundays we might allow ourselves the indulgence of pouring out our hearts in thankfulness. Thus our religious exercises, succeeded by gymnastic recreations, and these again by pleasing rambles near Falcon’s Stream, during which I did not fail to inculcate some moral truth, served to increase at once, our usefulness and our happiness. It was deserving of remark, that though the boys had been employed in severe labour through the week, yet they were ever ready to encounter the climbing of trees, running races, swimming, shooting with the bow and arrow, when Sunday came; a proof that it is not so much inaction which renews the strength, as a change of occupations.

But the repetition of these exercises wore out our clothes so fast, that another trip to the vessel was absolutely necessary. We had nearly exhausted the stock we had already brought away; we were now absolutely in rags, and we feared we saw the time when we should be compelled to renounce the European modes of dress. I had also another reason; the cart I had just completed, and with which at first I was quite enchanted on further acquaintance disclosed a defect which it was scarcely possible to endure; it was a violent creaking of the wheels at every turn, and in addition the wheels moved so imperfectly round the axletree, that the united strength of the ass and the cow could scarcely drag the machine along. It was in vain that, in spite of my wife’s reproofs, I applied a little butter now and then; in an hour or two the butter was dried, and the wheels remained the same.

These two circumstances compelled us then once more to have recourse to the vessel, which heaven and the waves had still preserved. We knew there remained on board five or six chests containing apparel, and we suspected there were also some tubs of pitch and grease for wheels in her hold, which we should thus obtain. To these motives were added, that of an earnest desire to take another look at her, and, if practicable, to bring away a few pieces of cannon which might be fixed on the new bastions at Tent-House, and thus we should be prepared for the worst.

The first fine day I assembled my three eldest sons, and put my design into execution. We reached the wreck without any striking adventure, and found her still fixed between the rocks, but somewhat more shattered than when we had last seen her. We did not lose a moment in searching for the tubs of pitch, which, with the help of the pulley, we soon conveyed into the pinnace; we next secured the chests of clothes, and whatever remained of ammunition stores; powder, shot, and even such pieces of cannon as we could remove, while those that were too heavy, we stripped of their wheels, which might be extremely useful.

But to effect our purpose, it was necessary to spend several days in visits to the vessel, returning constantly in the evening, enriched with everything of a portable nature which the wreck contained; doors, windows, locks, bolts, nothing escaped our grasp: so that the ship was now entirely emptied, with the exception of the heavy cannon and three or four immense copper cauldrons, which were too heavy to be got into the boat. We by degrees contrived to tie these heavy articles to two or three empty casks well pitched, which would effectually sustain themselves and the cannon above water. When these measures were taken, I came to the resolution of blowing up the wreck by a process similar to that with which I had so well succeeded with the pinnace. I directed my views to that part of the vessel which had been entirely stripped of everything; I supposed that the wind and tide would convey the beams and timbers ashore, and thus with little pains we should be possessed of a sufficient quantity of materials for erecting a building at some future time.

We accordingly prepared a cask of gunpowder, which we left on board for the purpose: we rolled it to the place most favourable for our views: we made a small opening in its side, and at the moment of quitting the vessel, we inserted a piece of matchwood which we lighted at the last moment, as before. We then sailed with all possible expedition for Safety Bay, where we arrived in a short time. We could not, however, withdraw our thoughts from the wreck and from the expected explosion for a single moment. I had cut the match a sufficient length for us to hope that she would not go to pieces before dark. I proposed to my wife to have our supper carried to a little point of land from whence we had a view of her, and here we waited for the moment of her destruction with lively impatience.

About the time of nightfall, a majestic rolling sound like thunder, accompanied by a column of fire and smoke, announced that the ship, so awfully concerned with our peculiar destiny, which had brought us to our present abode in a desert, and furnished us there with such vast supplies for general comfort, was that instant annihilated, and withdrawn forever from the face of man!⁠—At this moment, love for the country that gave us birth, that most powerful sentiment of the human heart, sunk with a new force into ours. The ship had disappeared forever! Could we then form a hope ever to behold that country more! We had made a sort of jubilee of witnessing the spectacle; the boys had clapped their hands and skipped about in joyful expectation; but the noise was heard;⁠—the smoke and sparks were seen while the sudden change which took place in our minds could be compared only to the rapidity of these effects of our concerted scheme against the vessel. We all observed a mournful silence, and all rose, as it were, by an impulse of mutual condemnation, and with our heads sinking on our bosoms, and our eyes cast upon the ground, we took the road to Tent-House.

My wife was the only person who was sensible of motives for consolation in the distressing scene which had been passing; she was now relieved from all the cruel fears for our safety in our visits to a shattered wreck, that was liable to fall to pieces during the time we were on board. From this moment she conceived a stronger partiality for our island, and the modes of life we had adopted. A night’s repose had in some measure relieved the melancholy of the preceding evening, and I went rather early in the morning with the boys, to make further observations as to the effects of this remarkable event. We perceived in the water, and along the shore, abundant vestiges of the departed wreck, and among the rest, at a certain distance, the empty casks, cauldrons, and cannon, all tied together, and floating in a large mass upon the water. We jumped instantly into the pinnace, with the tub-boat fastened to it, and made a way towards them through the numberless pieces of timber, etc., that intervened, and in a little time reached the object of our search, which from its great weight moved slowly upon the waves. Fritz with his accustomed readiness flung some rope round two four-pounders, and contrived to fasten them to our barge, after which he secured also an enormous quantity of poles, laths, and other useful articles. With this rich booty we returned to land.

We performed three more trips for the purpose of bringing away more cannon, cauldrons, fragments of masts, etc., all of which we deposited for present convenience in Safety Bay: and now began our most fatiguing operations, the removing such numerous and heavy stores from the boats to Tent-House. We separated the cannon and the cauldrons from the tub-raft, and from each other, and left them in a place which was accessible for the sledge and the beasts of burden. With the help of the crow we succeeded in getting the cauldrons upon the sledge, and in replacing the four wheels we had before taken from the cannon; and now found it easy to make the cow and the ass draw them. We in the same manner conveyed away all the pieces of wood we wished to preserve dry, and what stores remained, we tied with cords to stakes along the shore, to protect them from the tide.

The largest of the boilers or copper cauldrons, which had been intended as principal utensils for a proposed manufactory of sugar, we now found of the most essential use. We brought out all our barrels of gunpowder, and placed them on their ends in three separate groups, at a short distance from our tent; we dug a little ditch round the whole, to draw off the moisture from the ground, and then put one of the cauldrons turned upside down upon each, which completely answered the purpose of an outhouse. The cannon were covered with sailcloth, and upon this we laid heavy branches of trees; the larger casks of gunpowder we prudently removed under a projecting piece of rock, where, should they even blow up, no mischief could arise to the inhabitants of Tent-House: these we covered with planks, till we should have leisure for executing the plan of an ammunition storehouse, about which we had all become extremely earnest.

My wife, in taking a survey of these our labours, made the agreeable discovery that two of our ducks and one of the geese had been brooding under a large bush, and at the time were conducting their little families to the water. The news produced general rejoicings; Fritz and Ernest looked forward to some luxurious Sunday-dinners, and Jack and Francis wondered what the young birds could think, when they first saw any human creatures! We in a short time found means to tame them, by throwing them occasionally some crumbs of manioc. This last employment, together with the gambols of the little creatures, so forcibly carried our thoughts to Falcon’s Stream, that we all conceived the ardent desire of returning to the society of the numerous old friends we had left there. One sighed for his monkey, another for his flamingo; Francis for his parrot, and his mother for her poultry-yard, her various housewifery accommodations, and her comfortable bed. We therefore fixed the next day for our departure, and set about the necessary preparations.