Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty-Three

At dinner, Mr. Clifton told his wife and children about the unexpected events of the expedition, and it was agreed that the problem of the treatment of the gorillas would be resolved the next day.The next morning, when everyone got up early, the children immediately ran to the fence and looked out through the gap.Their exclamations drew Clifton and Uncle Robinson to him. The orangutans are outside all the time.For a while it leaned against a stump with its arms folded, as if observing the fence, and then went up to the fence and shook the gate with its strong hand.Unable to open the fence gate, it returned to its original observation location.

The whole family gathers behind the fence to watch the orangutans. "What a beautiful monkey!" said Jack. "Really," said Bell, "he has a pretty face! He doesn't make funny faces at all, and I'm not at all afraid to be with him." "But what are we to do with it? It can't stand guard at the door forever, can it?" said Mrs. Clifton. "What do you think if we accept it?" asked the uncle. "You really think so, my friend?" asked Mrs. Clifton. "It's true, ma'am," continued the uncle, "some monkeys are very friendly, and this one might make the best servant. If I understand correctly, he wants to join us. Difficult It's that we don't understand its true intentions."

Uncle laughed and spoke of the orangutan's intelligence without exaggeration.Indeed, these close relatives of the human race were quite intellectually developed, and their facial angles were not inferior to those of the Aboriginal Australians or the Hottentots of Southwest Africa.In addition, orangutans are neither as brutal as baboons nor as unruly as macaques, nor as dirty as marmosets, nor as impatient as old monkeys, nor as violent as big baboons, nor as bad-tempered as vervet monkeys.Harry Clifton is also well aware of the creativity of this animal, and he gives many examples of their almost human-like intellect.He told the children that orangutans can light and use fire.Many monkeys are used as family servants. They clean the table, clean the room, brush and wash clothes, fetch water, and shine leather shoes.They also eat with forks, knives, and spoons.They eat all kinds of vegetables, drink, drink and so on.His friend Buffon once had such a monkey, and it has been his loyal and enthusiastic servant.

"Very well," said the uncle, "in that case, I see no reason not to accept this chimpanzee as our waiter. He looks young enough to be easily educated. But it should be Choose someone who is good to it and manage it exclusively.” Harry Clifton considered for a moment, then turned to his uncle and said: "Have you seriously considered accepting this animal?" "Very seriously, sir. You will see that we can tame this orangutan without violence at all, and without pulling out its canines first, as is commonly done. This orangutan is strong and will be a powerful force for us. helper."

"Okay, let's try it. If it's really annoying in the future, let's figure out how to get rid of it." After an agreement was reached, Clifton sent the children back into the hole, and he and his uncle walked out over the fence. The orangutan is leaning against a tree stump as it lets its new owners approach it and looks at them, shaking its head slightly.Uncle took a few coconuts and handed them to the orangutan.The orangutan took it and ate it with relish. "Well, boy," said the uncle jokingly, "how are you?" The orangutan grunted meekly in reply.

"Would you like to join us?" asked the uncle. "We'd like to serve Mr. and Mrs. Clifton, wouldn't we?" The orangutan let out another purr of agreement. "We promise not to be picky eaters. We can eat whatever we give, okay?" Uncle said, reaching out his hand to the orangutan. ——The orangutan also stretched out its paws, shook hands with the uncle, and purred for the third time. "Its language is a bit monotonous." The engineer watching from the side said with a smile. "Well, sir," said the uncle, "the servant who talks the least is the best servant!"

At this time, the orangutan stood up and walked calmly towards the cave, and it entered the yard.The children stood at the mouth of the cave, the two youngest clinging to their mother, all staring wide-eyed at the giant beast.The chimpanzee seemed to be making an inspection. It looked into the hole, went to the poultry fence to inspect it, then turned and walked towards Mr. Clifton, as if recognizing him as the head of the family. master. "Well, my friend," asked the uncle, "are you satisfied with the house? Satisfied, well, at first you will only live in a small cage, and if you satisfy us, we will build you one new home."

In this way, the orangutan settled down in the Clifton family.In the left corner of the yard, a small shack was built for it with branches.As for its name, my uncle gave it a Christian name according to the habits of African-Americans: Jupiter, or Master Zhu Bo for short. Mr. Clifton did not regret accepting this new member one bit.This orangutan is surprisingly smart. When his uncle trains him to do various labors, he is very docile and obedient, and he has excellent academic performance.Half a month later, it has been able to take on important tasks such as collecting firewood in the woods, fetching water with bamboo buckets by the lake, and cleaning the yard.Climbing to the top of the tree and picking coconuts are its best skills, even the nimble Robert is no match for it.At night, it still stands guard and keeps watch, and its keen insight makes Fido extremely jealous.The kids also quickly got used to the orangutan's service.Especially Jack, a naughty boy, likes to play some pranks. Zhu Bo always plays with him and lets him tease him; Jack can't do without his friend Master Zhu Bo.

Time flies, in the busy work, it is mid-September in a blink of an eye.The reserves for winter are increasing day by day.Uncle Robinson went to a corner of the cliff and built a large shed for stacking firewood, which was already filled with dry firewood for the winter; a large number of agouti and water guinea pigs accumulated from daily hunting activities The meat is also stored by smoking or salting; the chickens and birds in the poultry fence can provide fresh meat at any time; many sea turtles are caught in the rocks in the south, and its delicious meat is also stored Set aside for soup.Not to mention sago rice noodles, Mrs. Clifton used her superb kneading skills to cook all kinds of bread, biscuits, and snacks, which made everyone a real treat.In short, the problem of winter storage has almost been properly resolved.

The clothing question was the one Mrs. Clifton was most devoted to.Thanks to the uncle's attention, there is never a shortage of animal skins for clothing.Mrs. Clifton had warm winter furs tailored for tall and short figures.Uncle also invented a kind of wooden-soled leather-topped boots, which can be worn when going hunting in rainy or snowy days.There are also caps, wide-brimmed hats, and peaked caps, all of which are made of otter skin.It was the children who discovered the animal in abundance in the reefs in the southwest of the island. It must be admitted, however, that my uncle's wish to make Mr. Clifton a coat of bearskin had not been fulfilled.Until now, only a large number of footprints of this animal have been found, but there has been no chance to meet them.These footprints appeared on the way to the "Hare Field" and on the south bank of the lake, probably left by them when they went to the lake to drink.In order to catch this foot-moving animal, the uncle had to secretly tell Mark his plan to ask for his help.They dug a large pit about ten feet deep and wide at the place where the bears frequented, and covered it with branches, hoping that in the dark night, the bears would accidentally fall into the pit.This method is indeed too primitive, but the uncle has no other way, and without a weapon, he cannot fight the bear face to face.So every morning, Uncle or Mark would find an excuse to go out and check the pit for game, but each time the pit was empty, to their disappointment.

In addition to various jobs, my uncle never relaxes in the training and education of his orangutans.Because the orangutan is very smart, it has adapted to do all kinds of heavy physical labor and housework, and my uncle loves it even more.A little incident bound him more closely to it, and deepened their friendship.One day, my uncle saw Master Zhu Bo smoking!Holding him in its crab-like claws--Uncle Robinson's pipe, smoking so leisurely, as if tobacco made him happy.Seeing this scene, the uncle was overjoyed, his face beamed with joy, and he hastened to tell Mr. Clifton about it.The latter was not very surprised by this, and he also cited many examples of monkeys learning to smoke.From this day on, master Zhu Bo has his own pipe, which is placed in his hut next to the tobacco specially prepared for him.Master Zhu Bo himself would fill the pipe, light it with charcoal, and smoke contentedly.Every morning, his uncle gave Zhu Bo a glass of coconut wine to drink.Mrs. Clifton worried that she would spoil Jubo.But the uncle always replied in the same way, don't worry madam, this monkey is very well-bred, and it will not become a drunken alcoholic. Throughout September, the weather has been very sunny, with no wind and no rain.Only in the morning and evening, the soft breeze brings a hint of autumnal coolness, and the leaves that have been dyed yellow by autumn slowly fall down.On the morning of September 29th, after the whole family got up, they suddenly heard Little Jack screaming outside: "Come on, Mark, come on, Robert, it's snowing, let's have a snowball fight!" Hearing Jack's shout, everyone rushed out.But there was not a single snowflake from the cave entrance to the beach. At this time, Jack pointed to the rectangular island on the opposite side for everyone to see, and saw that the island was covered in white snow. Robert took the opportunity to laugh at Little Jack's discovery. "It's a very strange phenomenon," Clifton said. Indeed, at this time of year, snow on a sunny morning is truly unthinkable. "Okay, let's go to the island to see what happened." Uncle suggested. "Yes, we should see what's going on." "Take a boat and go up the channel to have a look." In an instant, they pushed the boat into the sea, rowed hard a few times, and the boat quickly reached the shore of the island.As soon as the boat touched the shore, the so-called "white snow" immediately rose up, like a huge white cloud, covering the sky and the sun in an instant.It turned out that the clouds were tens of thousands of white seabirds, and even Mr. Clifton couldn't name them.Soon this "white cloud" flew farther and farther away, and gradually disappeared into the blue sky and sea. The rainy season is here.It was time for long nights and short days, when there were only ten hours of daylight left, and night lengthened to fourteen hours.October begins.The season for the island-hopping expedition proposed by Mr. Clifton was past.A gust of autumn wind is starting to blow, and the wind is blowing the waves violently against the shore.The light and thin boat cannot withstand the beating of the waves. It may be thrown on the rocks and smashed, or it may be swept into the sea.Therefore, the plan of going around the island had to be postponed to next year. The night was long, and the sun had already set around 5:30.At night, the whole family hides in the hole, chatting and studying.Everyone is talking about the future and making new plans. People have accepted the reality and adapted to life on the island. Facing the long winter nights, Mr. Clifton must solve the lighting measures. People can't always eat in the dark and sleep in the dark.Mr. Clifton had told his wife to preserve the fat of the animals.But without sulfuric acid, he could not refine the oil from the fat, nor could he remove the sticky substance from the fat.He had no choice but to use local materials, take out the fattest part of the fat and heat it slightly, put a rope made of coconut fiber in the middle and knead it into a candle.Although this kind of candle tears and crackles when it is lit, it still illuminates the dining table where the whole family sits.Mr Clifton promised to find a better way to replace tallow candles with oil lamps next year.But my uncle said he was going to invent gas lamps.This is a man who is not afraid of any difficulties. One night, my uncle said that although he thought the island was perfect for him, he felt that there was still something missing. "What's missing?" asked Mrs. Clifton. "I can't tell. I just feel that our island is not so real, serious, formal..." "Good!" said Mr. Clifton, "I see what you mean. Our island deserves its official status, its identity." "yes." "What it lacks is a name." "A name!" cried the children, "a name for our island!" "Yes," my father replied, "not only give our island a name, but also give names to each area of ​​the island, which will also facilitate our various activities in the future." "Yes," said the uncle, "this way we can explain clearly where we are going in the future." "Well, just call me by my first name," said the impatient Robert, "and I suggest Robert Clifton Island." "Wait a moment, my son," said the engineer, "you think only of yourself. The capes, capes, rivers, and mountains of this island are dear to us, and we ought to name them all. But, Let’s come one by one in order, first is the name of the island.” A lively discussion ensued, and many names were proposed, but none of them could be adopted unanimously. "Really," said the uncle, "I agree with it, and since in civilized countries it is the discoverer who has the right to put his name on what is discovered, I propose that the island be called Clifton Island." "Agreed!" replied Mr. Clifton enthusiastically, "but the honor should go to the true discoverer of the island, to my wife, my children, my own saviour, and our faithful friend! Henceforth, this island shall be called Frype's Island!" A cheer resounded through the cave.The children all ran to hug Uncle Robinson, and Mr and Mrs Clifton rose to shake hands with Uncle Robinson and congratulate him.The venerable seaman was very excited, and refused to accept this great honor for anything.But he alone could not fight against the whole group. He was modest, and after a long time of excuses, he had no choice but to obey the public opinion.Flip Island thus became the official name of the island, under which it will appear in the atlas. The second name discussed next is the volcanic peak, the island's highest point.The uncle proposed that it be called Clifton Hill, and the name went without much controversy.The discussion continued, and the children gave some places names according to the situation, such as: the bay where the small river flows into is called Yaowang Bay, because this bay is the first place on the island that these victims saw in the sea.And this river is called the Serpentine River according to its meandering shape. The swamp where Mr. Clifton was found is called Welcome Swamp, the cape at the northern end of the island is called Big Brother's Point, and the southern cape is called Erdi's Point.The two names are in honor of Mark and Robert.In order to express the nostalgia for the motherland, the lake was named Lake Ontario.The seaway between the rectangular island and the coast is called the Harrison Canal in honor of the unfortunate captain.And this small island is called Seal Island.Looking at the bottom of the bay, the port formed at the mouth of the Serpentine River is called Gratitude Port, which is to express the gratitude of the victims for the protection given by God. Bell and Jack felt a little sorry that they would not be named on the map in the future, and Mr. Clifton promised them that if they found new areas on the island in the future, they would be named after them first. "As for your honorable mother," continued Mr. Clifton, "we have not forgotten her, and my uncle and I intend to build a large and comfortable house, which will be named after someone whom we all love very much." , this is: Alisa Palace." Everyone applauded warmly, cheered for the final naming, and hugged and kissed this brave mother one after another, expressing heartfelt congratulations to her. Time passed quickly amidst the pleasant discussions, and it was time for bed.The mother took the children away, each lying down in his own bed of fur, sand, and seaweed, and soon fell asleep.Zhu Bo had consciously returned to his little shack long ago. Before going to bed, the uncle and the engineer inspected the surroundings as usual.When the two walked out of the cave, the uncle thanked Mr. Clifton again, because naming the island after himself made him feel extremely honored. "You see, sir, we finally have a real island. The actual existence should be recognized fairly, and we can apply for the right of discovery. Then this island can really be listed in the atlas." "My venerable friend," replied Mr. Clifton, "the important question is to ascertain whether this island has never been visited, and, to make it clear, whether we are the only ones on this island." partner." "What do you mean, sir?" cried the uncle. "Have you noticed any signs?" "I found one, and only one," said the engineer, lowering his voice. "I'm just saying to you, there's no need to create panic in our little society." "You are right, sir," said the uncle, "but what are the signs?" "You remember that chicken we caught with the horns on its head, and it's still in the poultry pen?" "Of course!" replied the uncle. "My friend, don't think that this horn is a natural appendage on the chicken's head. No, but when it was a chick, someone cut off its comb, and in the place where it grew Inoculate this artificial hooked horn. Fifteen days later, the hooked horn grows firmly on the chicken's head and becomes an integral part of the chicken, that is to say, this is an operation performed by a human hand." "How old is this chicken?" "It's almost two years old, so it's safe to say that there are people, or specifically white people, who have been on our island for two years."