An American Robinson Crusoe | Page 9

long as his foot
and as wide as long. He tied the four corners together. He made a
woven handle for it and put it on his shoulder like a sack, saying
gleefully, "This shall be my hunting bag."
[Illustration: ROBINSON'S LOOM]

XIII
ROBINSON EXPLORES THE ISLAND
After Robinson made his hunting bag he was anxious to set off on his
journey of exploring the island. So he arose very early next morning.
"Before it is hot," thought he, "I will be quite a distance on my
journey." He ate a couple of bananas, scooped up a few handfuls of
water from the spring, stuck a few ears of corn in his hunting bag, took
his stick in his hand and went forth. As he left his cave the thought
struck him: "What if I could not find my cave again? How can I
manage so that I can come back to it? I will go away in one direction
and return the same way; but suppose I were to lose the way?"
Then he noticed his shadow pointing like a great finger from the sea
toward the land. He could direct himself by that. He kept his shadow in
front of him. He had noticed, too, that the wind always blew north of
the point where the sun rose. This helped him. But sometimes the wind

died down.
[Illustration: COCOANUT PALM TREE]
He had to climb over many rocks and pierce many thickets. At each
step he saw a rich growth of plants, stems, leaves, flowers, but nothing
to eat, no fruits, or nuts. At length he came to a tree as high as a small
church steeple. Then he thought of what his father had once said about
the trees in strange countries. "Many are as tall as a church steeple and
the nuts are as big as one's head." He looked again. Yes, there they
hung among the leaves, concealed high above in the crown! But so
high, it was well that Robinson had learned to climb while on board the
ship. He quickly laid down his hunting bag and clambered up the
smooth stem of the high tree, a palm. He picked off a nut and threw it
down and then several more, and climbed down again.
But the nuts were very hard. How should he open them? He had
brought along his sharp stone with which he had stripped off the inner
bark. With this he forced off the thick outer shell. But now came the
hard nut within, and how hard it was! Striking it was of no use.
Then he threw a great stone on the nut. The shell was crushed and a
snow-white kernel lay before him. It tasted like almond. With
astonishment Robinson saw in the middle of the nut a large empty
space which must have been filled with fluid as the inside was wet. He
wished that he had the juice to drink, for he was very thirsty. With this
in view, he examined another and riper nut, and the outside came off
more easily. But how could he break it and at the same time save the
juice? He studied the hull of the cocoanut on all sides. At the ends were
three little hollows. He attempted first to bore in with his fingers, but he
could not. "Hold!" he cried. "Maybe I can cut them there with the point
of my stone knife." This was done without trouble and out of the hole
flowed the sweet, white juice.
Robinson put a couple of nuts in his hunting bag, and also the shells
from the broken nuts. "Now," he thought, "I shall no longer have to
drink from my hand." With this thought he went on his way.

As Robinson came to a rock in his path, out jumped what Robinson
took to be a rabbit. He ran after him to catch him, but the rabbit was
much the swifter. So Robinson hastened home, but before he reached it
the stars were shining with their lustrous light. Tired Robinson
stretched his limbs on his bed of grass and leaves and slept soundly.

XIV
ROBINSON AS A HUNTER
All the time Robinson was confined to the cave he kept thinking about
the rabbit he had seen and how he might catch one. Finally, he
determined to make a spear. He broke down a thin, young sapling,
stripped off its branches and in one end fastened a sharp stone. He then
went to bed, for he wanted to be up early for his first hunting trip on the
morrow.
With his hunting sack and spear, Robinson began to creep very, very
cautiously through the underbrush. But he did not go far before he saw
a lot of rabbits feeding peacefully