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E. R. SUFFLING
E. R. SUFFLING
Author of "History and Legends of the Broad District," "How to Organize a Cruise on the Broads," "Afloat in a Gipsy Van," etc. Publisher's logo LONDON JARROLD & SONS, 10 & 11, WARWICK LANE, E.C. [ All Rights Reserved ] 1898 Frontispiece the Island of Jethou The Island of Jethou...
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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
As the writer does not pretend to possess what is termed literary style, he would ask the indulgence of the reader in any little slip of the pen which may occur in these pages, as it is not every Crusoe who can command the facile quill, the pure style, or the lively imagination of a Daniel Defoe, to narrate his adventures. It must be borne in mind that the island of Juan Fernandez possessed many natural features, and a far greater area than Jethou can boast of, and therefore more scope for the d
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CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
MY BIRTH AND HOME—MY PRETTY COUSIN—ACCIDENT TO THE "KITTYWICH"—JOURNEY TO GUERNSEY—PLEADING TO BECOME A CRUSOE—MY WISH GRANTED—OUTFIT SECURED—SAIL TO JETHOU. That Crusoe of Crusoes, Alexander Selkirk, as I am aware, commences his entertaining history with his birth and parentage, and as I am also a Crusoe, although a very minor adventurer, I may as well follow the precedent and declare my nativity. I was born at the little village of Barton in Norfolk, at the time the guns at Balaclava were mowi
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CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER II.
I TAKE POSSESSION OF THE ISLAND—LANDING STORES—A GRAND CAROUSAL—FAREWELL—ALONE. The 2nd March, 187—, was a bright mild day, with but little wind and a quiet sea: just the day for landing my stores. The goods I had selected, and those added by my father and M. Oudin, were of a very miscellaneous kind, and included provisions, farm and garden seeds (and a few implements), a canoe, a gun, clothing, fishing gear, oil and coal, cooking apparatus, and a score other things. As I knew the island was dev
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CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER III.
FIRST THOUGHTS AND IMPRESSIONS—A TOUR OF THE ISLAND AND DESCRIPTION. As I walked up the rocky path leading to the house, I must confess I felt anything but sprightly. I felt that Crusoe life, after all, was not all caviare . I was very depressed, and must admit a few tears, as the whole force of what I had undertaken presented itself vividly to my mind. What if I met with an accident? What if I were taken ill? Suppose someone put in at night and cut my throat for the sake of plunder? Who would h
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CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
FARMING OPERATIONS—I MAKE A PLOUGH AND A CART—A DONKEY HUNT—DUMB HELPERS—MY LIVE STOCK. My first few days were spent pleasantly enough, but as soon as the sun had set my spirits would droop, and I felt anything but jolly, but like Mark Tapley, I firmly made up my mind to be happy under all circumstances. I had a deal of unpacking to do, and determined, as my stay was to be a lengthy one, "to find a place for everything, and keep everything in its place." My initial motto was a good one, and I wo
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CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
CANOEING—FISH OF THE PLACE—THE ORMER AND LIMPET—A CURIOUS FISHING ADVENTURE—QUEER CAPTURES FROM THE SEA—ROCK FISH—CONSTRUCT A FISH-POND AND WATER-MILL. When the warm days and calm seas of May came I turned my thoughts to the sea, of which I am passionately fond, and of which one never seemed to tire, as one does of tame river water. Unfortunately my only vessel was a canoe about fourteen feet long by three feet beam, and for sea work, such as one gets round the shores of these islands, quite unf
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
"FLAP" THE GULL—SURGICAL OPERATION—THE GULL WHO REFUSED TO DIE—TAXIDERMY EXTRAORDINARY—FEATHERED FRIENDS—SNAKES. Every part of the island swarmed with rabbits, in fact, it was a perfect warren, and must have contained thousands of them. I had therefore to devise some means of keeping them down, or they would so have multiplied as to eat up everything that to a rodent was toothsome, and that is nearly everything green, even to the furze bushes. I had only four tooth-traps with me, and these were
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CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
I BUILD A CURIOUS "BOX" BOAT—AN UNPLEASANT NIGHT AT SEA—MY SUNDAY SERVICE—THE POEM, "ALEXANDER SELKIRK"—ITS APPLICABILITY TO MY LOT. During the summer my roving propensities began to assert themselves, and I longed to go farther afield over the sea. I bethought me how I might contrive myself a boat in which to venture into the offing with, as my canoe was too frail to go far from shore. I looked around to see what I could utilize, and found I had a few inch boards and plenty of rivets, nails, an
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CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
A TRIP TO ST. SAMPSON'S HARBOUR—A HORRID PORCINE MURDER—A VOYAGE ROUND SARK—NEARLY CAPSIZED—TRIP ROUND GUERNSEY—THE PEPPER-BOX—CURIOSITY OF TOURISTS. From time to time I made many improvements in the "Yellow Boy," and learnt her capabilities, so that in time I took quite long cruises as far as Guernsey, and even to Sark. It will be remembered that two of the conditions my father imposed upon me, were that I should not land on any other island nor speak to anyone under any pretence whatever, and
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CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER IX.
HARVEST OPERATIONS—EXPLORE LA CREUX DERRIBLE, AND NEARLY LOSE MY LIFE—CRUSOE ON CRUTCHES—AN EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY—KILL A GRAMPUS—OIL ON TROUBLED WATERS—MAKE AN OVERFLOW PUMP. After my boating adventures I began to think it was high time I should spend a week or two ashore, looking after my crops and the estate generally. It was now September, and my apples and pears were ripe, and so were the lovely mulberries. The giant tree was a sight to behold, with its bushels of red, purple, and blackish
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CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
A STORM AND A WRECK—THE CASTAWAY—DEAD—A NIGHT OF HORROR—THE BOATHOUSE DESTROYED—A BURIAL AT SEA. Winter was now rapidly approaching, but before its advent something of a very grave nature happened. It had been a very blustering day, with occasional showers of sleet, when about four p.m. I found myself standing by the watch-house, holding my hat on; the sun fast setting in a very angry-looking sky. Evidently a storm was brewing, so I hauled my saucy little "Yellow Boy" high above high-water line,
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CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
CLIMATE IN WINTER—VISION OF MY FATHER—A WARNING VOICE—SUPERNATURAL MANIFESTATIONS—THE FALLING ROCK—MY LIFE SAVED BY MY DOG. Winter was now come, but a very different atmosphere prevailed to what I had been used to in my Norfolk home. There I was accustomed to see the broads and rivers frozen over, and the means of communication by boat between the various rivers completely stopped. There we dreaded the marrow-piercing north-east wind which, coming straight across the cold North Sea from icebound
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CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XII.
A FAIRY POOL—WONDERS OF THE DEEP—PORTRAIT OF A POET—THE CAVE OF FAUCONNAIRE—A LETTER FROM HOME AND MY ANSWER TO IT. As the weather towards the end of winter was very uncertain, I did but little boat-fishing, except on very fine days, when the sea was fairly calm, and I had a longing for a certain kind of fish. At such times I would embark for an hour or two, and rarely came home empty-handed. Crabs and lobsters I soon got tired of, and I think most people who could eat their fill of them for the
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CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIII.
ANOTHER TERRIBLE STORM—LOSS OF THE "YELLOW BOY"—A KETCH WRECKED—I RESCUE A MAN FROM THE SEA, BADLY INJURED—HE RECOVERS. February went out angrily, a heavy sea and a high wind being constant companions, but if February was wild the opening days of March were worse; it blew great guns and was cold also, and was decidedly unpleasant. Beside the weather being unpleasant it was also a source of anxiety to me, for I had drawn the "Yellow Boy" upon a ledge of the Fauconnaire, above high water-mark; but
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CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XIV.
WORK AND SONG—SUNDAY SERVICE—BUILD A LARGER BOAT, THE "ANGLO-FRANC"—COLLECTING WRECKAGE—COMMENCE A JETTY—OUR COOKERY—BLASTING OPERATIONS—THE OPENING BANQUET. During the remainder of March we worked away merrily in the garden and in the fields on the top of the island. I was really astonished at the work we could get through in a day, Alec, myself, and the donkey. Alec laughed at my plough and the cart, and together we made some improvements in them. We also improved the lower path right round th
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CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XV.
TRAWLING FOR FISH AND DREDGING FOR CURIOS—SOME REMARKABLE FINDS—A GHASTLY RESURRECTION—THE MYSTERIOUS PAPER—THE HIEROGLYPHIC—A DANGEROUS FALL—HORS DE COMBAT—ATTEMPTS TO UNRAVEL THE PAPER. As there were now two of us we occasionally had a turn at trawling, and usually caught some fine flat fish, turbot, soles, and plaice. Our net was a very primitive one of our own manufacture, and had to be handled very gingerly, as the netting was old and the ironwork very fragile, but knowing this we did not p
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CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVI.
YARNS: THE CABBAGES WHICH HUNG THEIR HEADS—THE RAFT OF SPRUCE—VOYAGE OF THE "DEWDROP"—A LUCKY FAMILY—A DEEP, DEEP DRAUGHT—THE MAIRE'S CAT. Alec behaved splendidly while I was unable to help myself. He fished, and by hook or by crook—or rather, by hook and by net—procured whatever I cared for, beside which he killed the surviving pig, which had now grown into an immense fellow, so that we had a good supply of meat, although somewhat fat; but of this I ate little, preferring a more vegetable diet,
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CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE WILL AGAIN—SEARCHING FOR A CLUE TO THE PAPER—BARBE ROUGE'S WILL—A PROBABLE CLUE—HOPES AND DOUBTS—PERPLEXED—A MEMORABLE TRAWL BY MOONLIGHT—A REAL CLUE AT LAST—THE PLACE OF THE SKULL FOUND. As soon as I was able I went out walking each day, and so rapid was my convalescence that in ten days I was quite myself again. Alec had during my enforced idleness been extra busy, and had made both house and garden look very trim. He had not been able to go far away, for fear I might want him, and thus ha
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CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
DIGGING FOR THE TREASURE—A NOONDAY REST—THE GHASTLY TENANT OF THE TREASURE HOUSE—WE FIND THE TREASURE—AN ACCOUNT OF WHAT WE DISCOVERED. By noon we had a well-like hole about seven feet deep, and found as we dug that the soil became drier the lower we went, which was unusual, as generally it gets more moist, so that digging at length becomes very arduous. Although not more than seven feet deep, the earth we had piled all round made the hole look at least ten feet to the bottom, and it had now bec
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CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XIX.
PREPARING TO LEAVE—A LETTER HOME—WE LENGTHEN AND ENLARGE THE "ANGLO-FRANC"—RE-CHRISTEN HER, "HAPPY RETURN"—LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT—VICTUALLING AND STOWING CARGO—PRETTY JEANETTE—THE LONG VOYAGE—INCIDENTS EN ROUTE—VEGETARIANS, AND THEIR DIET—YARMOUTH REACHED—FRESHWATER NAVIGATION—MY NATIVE HEATH. After our discovery my sole thought seemed to be of home. In fact, I was now as ready to leave the island, as I was, eighteen months before to land upon it, and the last fortnight, although it could not have
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CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XX.
I SURPRISE THE OLD FOLKS AT HOME—ALL WELL—IS PRISCILLA FALSE—WE MEET—THE MISSING LETTERS—A SNAKE IN THE GRASS—DREAMS OF VENGEANCE. As I stepped upon the lawn no one was in sight, so treading lightly I walked up to the house, and looked quietly in at the window, peeping cautiously so as not to be seen. To my intense relief the picture I saw within quite assured me that all was well. There sat my jolly old dad and my dear mother, cosily taking their tea, quite unsuspecting who would shortly join t
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CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE "HAPPY RETURN" INSPECTED—MORE OF MY FATHER'S GHOST—UNPACKING THE TREASURE—SEEK AN INTERVIEW WITH WALTER JOHNSON—TWO LETTERS. At eight I arose refreshed and looked out of the window, and saw Alec and my father walking down to the "Happy Return," so I slipped on my clothes and ran down to them. Father was amazed to think we had made the voyage in such a craft, and said, "All's well that ends well, my lad; but if you had been caught in a squall in the Channel, with a deeply laden boat like this
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CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXII.
M. OUDIN ARRIVES—THE WEDDING DAY—DIVISION OF THE SPOIL—ALEC RETURNS TO JETHOU—WEDDING GIFTS—THE END. Delays being dangerous, it was quickly decided that our wedding should take place on October 15th, my father's birthday. Among the invitations sent out was one to M. Oudin, of Paris, asking him to come and spend a fortnight with us, so that he could kill two birds with one stone, viz., be present at the wedding, and take with him the treasure we had found on his island. On Michaelmas Day we recei
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APPENDIX.
APPENDIX.
A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE CHANNEL ISLES. To say that the Channel Islands are not known to the general public would be to say what is in these modern days of advertising untrue; but it may be doubted if they are so well known as they really deserve. They might very well be called the "Multum in Parvo Islands," for they contain a very great deal of beauty in a small space; in fact, it would be very difficult, if not quite impossible, to find another place of the same collective area with such a divers
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