In course of time I made myself crude articles of furniture, including a table, some chairs, a bed, &c.My bedding at first consisted of sails, but afterwards I was able to have a mattress filled with straw from my corn patch.The kettle I had saved from the wreck was for a long time my only cooking utensil, so when Ihad anything to prepare I generally made an oven in the sand, after the manner of the natives I had met on the New Guinea main.Icould always catch plenty of fish--principally mullet; and as for sea-fowls, all that I had to do was walk over to that part of the island where they were feeding and breeding, and knock them over with a stick.I made dough-cakes from the flour whilst it lasted;and I had deputies to fish for me--I mean the hundreds of pelicans.
The birds who had little ones to feed went out in the morning, and returned in the afternoon, with from three to ten pounds of delicious fresh fish in their curious pouches.
On alighting on the island they emptied their pouches on the sand--too often, I must confess, solely for my benefit.Selfish bachelor birds on returning with full pouches jerked their catch into the air, and so swallowed it.It used to amuse me, however, to watch a robber gull, perched on their back, cleverly and neatly intercepting the fish as it ascended.These fish, with broiled turtle meat and tinned fruits, made quite a sumptuous repast.
After breakfast I would have a swim when the tide was low and there was no likelihood of sharks being about.A run along the beach in the sun until I was dry followed, and then I returned to my awning and read aloud to myself in English, from my medical books and my English-French Testament, simply for the pleasure of hearing my own voice.I was a very good linguist in those days, and spoke English particularly well long before I left Switzerland.After breakfast, my dog and I would go out to catch a peculiar sort of fish called the "sting-rae." These curious creatures have a sharp bony spike about two inches in length near the tail and this I found admirably adapted for arrow-heads.The body of the fish resembled a huge flounder, but the tail was long and tapering.They would come close in-shore, and I would spear them from the rocks with a Papuan fishing-spear.The smallest I ever caught weighed fifteen pounds, and I could never carry home more than a couple of average weight.
They have the power of stinging, I believe, electrically, hence their name.At all events, I was once stung by one of these fish, and it was an experience I shall never forget.It fortunately happened at a time when some friendly blacks were at hand, otherwise I question very much whether I should be alive to-day.
I was wading slowly along the beach in rather deep water, when Isuddenly felt a most excruciating pain in my left ankle.It seemed as though I had just received a paralysing shock from a powerful battery, and down I fell in a state of absolute collapse, unable to stir a finger to save myself, although I knew I was rapidly drowning.Fortunately the blacks who were with me came and pulled me ashore, where I slowly recovered.There was only a slight scratch on my ankle, but for a long time my whole body was racked with pain, and when the natives got to know of the symptoms they told me that I had been attacked by a "sting-rae." The spike or sting measures from two to six inches in length according to the size of the fish.
But to return to my solitary life on the island.The flesh of the sting-rae was not pleasant to eat, being rather tough and tasteless, so I used it as a bait for sharks.Turtles visited the island in great numbers, and deposited their eggs in holes made in the sand above high-water mark.They only came on land during the night, at high tide; and whenever I wanted a special delicacy, Iturned one over on its back till morning, when I despatched it leisurely with my tomahawk.The creatures' shells I always devoted to the extension of my garden, which became very large, and eventually covered fully two-thirds of the island.The maize and cob-corn flourished remarkably well, and I generally managed to get three crops in the course of a year.The straw came in useful for bedding purposes, but as I found the sand-flies and other insects becoming more and more troublesome whilst I lay on the ground, Idecided to try a hammock.I made one out of shark's hide, and slung it in my hut, when I found that it answered my purpose splendidly.
The great thing was to ward off the dull agony, the killing depression, and manias generally.Fortunately I was of a very active disposition, and as a pastime I took to gymnastics, even as I had at Montreux.I became a most proficient tumbler and acrobat, and could turn two or three somersaults on dashing down from the sloping roof of my pearl-shell hut; besides, I became a splendid high jumper, with and without the pole.Another thing I interested myself in was the construction of a sun-dial.
Indeed, I spent many hours devising some means whereby I could fashion a reliable "clock," and at last I worked out the principle of the sun-dial on the sand.I fixed a long stick perfectly upright in the ground, and then marked off certain spaces round it by means of pegs and pearl shells.I calculated the hours according to the length of the shadows cast by the sun.
But, in spite of all that I could do to interest or amuse myself, Iwas frequently overwhelmed with fits of depression and despair, and more than once I feared I should lose my mental balance and become a maniac.A religious craze took possession of me, and, strive as I might, I could not keep my mind from dwelling upon certain apparent discrepancies in the various apostles' versions of the Gospel!
