Uncharted Island

Chapter 9: March10-Adding On

      Additions were made to their life-styles. As their new discoveries brought them to new advances in their survival, they received long needed necessities.

                                                                                                                                                        ~Constance

     The new equipment helped their lives immensely; with the new needs and comfortless homes, it was beginning to get stressful. They built actual houses around a few tree trunks making a home for one person. The tree trunk rooms were beginning to get squishy; they figured this out when Mary woke up walking like a hunchback. Even though it took some time for her to walk straight, they figured it was time to start building houses; and with the new tools, things were easier. In no time, the four homes were built with lots of space. Their old room-tree trunks were used for personal storage and clothes. It was a much better use. A roof was built over the houses and moss filled in between the cracks of all the boards. This proved great insulation and less chance of rain leaking in. The friends used the sail masts from the ship for doors and curtains.

     Because of the extensive rainfall in the winter, the dirt grew soggy and even with the drainage system working, Peter fell ankle-deep in mud and water; so they decided to build a roof over the area of the tree they used. It all was a large task that had been accomplished, but not without some shocking incidences.

      Riley, while working on the tree roof, fell off and almost fell down the fifty foot drop; but thankfully, Peter was close enough that he caught Riley's wrist just in time. Riley's wrist, on the other hand, was sprained from hanging there before Peter was able to pull him back up. He had to rest it for some time and spent his time carving and making shelves.

      With the muskets lizards, birds, boars, and bears were easier to hunt. When one was killed they would bring the animal back home and separate the meat and skin. The skin would be washed and set to dry in the sun. The meat was used for food; the intestines were fed to the friend's pet hawk Talons. They rescued the defenseless hawk from almost being mauled by a pack of wolves one day after breaking his wing, and he became so attached to the group of friends. He was a great friend, especially to Peter, who trained him to be his companion and helper.

      However, some of the intestines were used to make catgut. They would take the intestines of a boar, clean it, free it from all the fat, and steep it in water. The external membrane was than scraped off with the non-sharp edge of a knife. The intestines were than steeped again for a time in their own homemade lye and then made into thin strings. The tough strings would be used for fishing lines attached to a sturdy pole. The bones were sometimes given to the hawk, but were mostly used for tools or hangers. None of the parts were wasted.

      Making their lives more comfortable was not such a difficult job. Supplying the right amount of wood and nails and making chairs and tables were simple enough. They even would take wood, make a spike out of it, and use that as a nail. Shelves were placed in the tree trunks that were in every friend's room. In the chests, they had found books that a passenger had brought along, and they split them equally to keep in their homes. The animal's skins were laid down on the floor for comfort or for blankets.

      New animals were discovered on the island also: alpacas, goats, capuchins, and many tropical birds and fish. Food was plentiful and had many varieties. Riley had his own large garden and with seeds that he found in Farmer Ed's chest from the shipwreck, he was able to grow such things as corn, rice, cotton, wheat, and other things. Riley also found a notebook of almost every animal and plant found in the world, and with it, he was able to determine some of the unusual animals on the island.    With the spices that they now obtained, food never tasted bland. Water was always drained and boiled under a fire to rid of the bacteria and cooled for drinking. Because of the chests, they now had metal, forks, knives, spoons, plates, bowls, glasses, and other cooking properties. They were kept in a special cupboard that Peter and Riley made. Clothes were cleaned daily in the large wood tub that they made and scrubbed with soap.

      Heidi and Mary soon finished the sheep's wool clothing. They had made two pairs of pants and skirts, and a shirt for everyone. The wool clothing was used for nightwear because of its warmth, and later they had wool blankets. Peter and Riley had recently made a spinning wheel, and the girls were able to make clothing from it with the sheep's wool.

      Mary and Heidi sat peacefully in the willow tree on the other side of Serpents Lake where they normally did their laundry. They had just finished that day's laundry and were taking a rest. The breeze was brisk and cool as it brushed the willow tree's leaves and branches in a mournful but peaceful manner. Butterflies fluttered around them and frogs croaked their mating songs. Tropical birds sang squawking music as the sun had already risen.

      "Isn't this island wonderful?" Heidi said as she gazed out towards the lake as fish leaped up and almost taunted the birds that could not swim.

      Heidi's health had fully returned. Riley suspected that the warm climate and fresh air had helped. With the way they were living, Heidi's immunity would increase, and she now would not get sick as easily. When Riley was searching for a cure with the plants of the island, he had discovered many other cures for ailments that could be useful for other occasions. He had discovered this plant that healed burns from the sun. It came in handy when Mary spent too much time out in the sun. She had her shirt tied high up and was wearing some shorts that Heidi had made. Since the weather on the island could get really hot, she had made these instead of wearing thick, hot skirts. They were very free like and comfortable. Mary had been working on her hands and knees in their garden on the east side of the island, and when she returned home her calves and back were burned. Riley applied the cream he had made onto Mary's back and calves, and for the next few days reapplied it every few hours. Soon the burns had disappeared, and Mary had only dry skin. Riley also made a cure for that too.

      "I know. This island will never run out of surprises for us," Mary said as she stood up and picked her basket of laundry. Heidi followed.

      "Yeah, I remember the time that Peter got his hand stuck in between that tree trunk and you had to hack away around his hand with the ax," Heidi laughed, "I remember his pitiful cry, begging you not to chop off his arm and the threats he made while you pretended to do the amputation." Mary and Heidi laughed all the way home sharing many other stories of their adventures on the island.

      There was the time Mary had climbed a tree and had by accident stepped on a Capuchin monkey's tail. He got so mad from being stepped on that he started attacking Mary. She was so frightened that she slipped and fell on her backside on the ground. She wasn't hurt except for a badly bruised tail bone that caused her pain to walk, but her dignity was when Peter carried her home and was asked about what happened by Riley and Heidi. It was hard to admit being defeated by a monkey—but it was a fierce animal that Mary despised to that day.

      Another adventure was when Riley was out hunting for dinner when he met up with a very angry boar. The male boar was in heat and when Riley stepped too close to his mate, the boar chased him half way across Talltree Forest before Riley ran up a tree. The boar soon lost interest and left after figuring out that Riley wan't coming down. Peter had followed behind the boar and discovered Riley in the tree. Riley suffered humiliation from Peter's jokes and almost laughed after a time at his own silliness. He had been armed with a loaded musket the whole time, but fear took over and he completely forgot. Heidi was the one who took pity on him when Peter teased him about the hunter being hunted by the prey. Mary was able to stop Peter from further embarrassing Riley after she herself stopped laughing over the incident.

      Life was well for the friends. God was on their side and nothing could shake them. This was the place that God had prepared for them to live and they were going to make the best out of it.