. Crusoe's Island; a bird-hunter's story . nk ofa stream, I drove the poles into the sand, and soonhad the four sides of my hut in place. Over thisskeleton I tacked strips of canvas, covering them withthe palm leaves. Above them I placed a layer of thegreat spathes of the mountain palm, some of whichwere from six to eight feet long and two feet broad;they were curved like Spanish tiles, and formed ex-cellent roofing material. I connected the poles bycrosspieces, and covered them with leaves; and in a 10 ENEMIES ASHORE AND AFLOAT. 11 few hours I had a shelter sufficient for protectionfrom the n
. Crusoe's Island; a bird-hunter's story . nk ofa stream, I drove the poles into the sand, and soonhad the four sides of my hut in place. Over thisskeleton I tacked strips of canvas, covering them withthe palm leaves. Above them I placed a layer of thegreat spathes of the mountain palm, some of whichwere from six to eight feet long and two feet broad;they were curved like Spanish tiles, and formed ex-cellent roofing material. I connected the poles bycrosspieces, and covered them with leaves; and in a 10 ENEMIES ASHORE AND AFLOAT. 11 few hours I had a shelter sufficient for protectionfrom the night air and from the sun by day. Out of some rough boards which I found on thebeach I made a floor. Into one corner of my hut Ithen rolled a barrel of beef, into another one of pork,while the cracker and ammunition boxes formed goodsubstitutes for chairs and tables. Bracing the cornerposts of two ends of the hut with stakes, I swung myhammock from the eaves; and there I was, prepared for any fortune thatmight come. Cru-soe himself had no. • -#cv n 0fM[ My hut on the beach. better couch, for he says in his journal, Kow I layno more for a while in a Bed, but in a Hamak. I awoke next morning at daybreak. At first Igazed bewildered at the brown thatch above me;then, as a slender green-and-golden lizard rustled thedry palm leaves close to my face, I recalled the queerevents of the day before, and realized that I was noloDger passenger on a slow-sailing schooner, but alonely dweller in a hut of poles and palm leaves. I 12 CRUSOES ISLAND. leaped from the hammock, drew aside the blanketthat served as a door, and stepped out into open little bay was all alight with the glories of ap-proaching morn. The wall of woods behind me hidthe rising sun; in truth, its rays did not reach thisspot till late, so that the beach still lay in cool, sweetshadow. Nearly a week I lived here quietly, gathering mystrength and measuring the difficulties before mewhen 1 should invade the forest. Th
Size: 1733px × 1442px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookidcrusoesi, booksubjectbirds
