h surrounded this might prevent the approach of savages, unless they
had discovered the little _Bay of Safety_ where we had landed. Fritz
said he anxiously desired to circumnavigate the island, in order to
ascertain the size of it, and if there were similar chains of rocks on
the opposite side. I promised him, as soon as the stormy weather was
past, and his mother well enough to remove to Tent House, we would take
our pinnace, and set out on our little voyage.

We now approached the marsh, and he begged me to let him go and cut some
canes, as he projected making a sort of carriage for his mother. As we
were collecting them, he explained his scheme to me. He wished to weave
of these reeds, which were very strong, a large and long sort of
pannier, in which his mother might sit or recline, and which might be
suspended between two strong bamboo-canes by handles of rope. He then
purposed to yoke two of our most gentle animals, the cow and the ass,
the one before and the other behind, between these shafts, the leader to
be mounted by one of the children as director; the other would follow
naturally, and the good mother would thus be carried, as if in a litter,
without any danger of jolting. I was pleased with this idea, and we all
set to work to load ourselves each with a huge burden of reeds. They
requested me not to tell my wife, that they might give her an agreeable
surprise. It needed such affection as ours to induce us to the
undertaking in such unpropitious weather. It rained in torrents, and the
marsh was so soft and wet, that we were in danger of sinking at every
step. However, I could not be less courageous than my sons, whom nothing
daunted, and we soon made up our bundles, and, placing them on our
heads, they formed a sort of umbrella, which was not without its
benefits. We soon arrived at Falcon's Nest. Before we reached the tree,
I saw a fire shine to such a distance, that I was alarmed; but soon
found it was only meant for our benefit by our kind friends at home.
When my wife saw the rain falling, she had instructed her little
assistant to make a fire in our usual cooking-place, at a little
distance from the tree, and protected by a canopy of waterproof cloth
from the rain. The young cook had not only kept up a good fire to dry us
on our return, but had taken the opportunity of roasting two dozen of
those excellent little birds which his mother had preserved in butter,
and which, all ranged on the old sword which