OPENING THE WATER GATE.--PAGE 164.
OPENING THE WATER GATE.—Page 164.
I let on a very little head of water first, and rushed to my fan-wheel. There it was, moving with great rapidity, and the connecting goatskin bag was evidently distended with air. Thence I rushed to the other side of the blast-furnace, where the feeding-place for fuel was, and by casting in small, light objects saw them sucked up the chimney at once. I was successful. I had at least ten times the power that I needed for my purpose. I rushed back to the dam and cut off the water, perfectly content with the experiment without bringing any shock upon my machinery by putting on a full head of water, which I saw I did not need, as my fan-wheel, as I supposed, was turned with the utmost ease, having no resistance except the air. I could do nothing more this day but admire my handiwork, and arrange little matters here and there to perfect the whole affair and get ready for my first smelting of the ore.
Smelt my iron and make Bessemer steel and all kinds of tools. Erect an anvil and forge. Build a saw mill, and plant a farm and kitchen garden.
Havinggotten everything all ready for my purpose, I placed, as nearly as I could judge, about a ton of the broken ore in my kiln to be roasted or calcined, and after this was accomplished, I transferred it to my blast furnace and added to the calcined ore about a ton and a half of half-burned coal, and one-third of a ton of limestone; these being the proper proportions, as I was well aware. Under this, and around it, I placed a large amount of coal fuel, and having ignited it by means of a large quantity of wood placed under the whole mass, I went, when it was well started, to my gateway on Rapid River, and set my machinery agoing, which started the fan-wheel, which immediately created a terrific blast, and the whole furnace was soon in a glow. I kept this up by feeding new fuel, till by certain signs I felt confident that the mass of ore was smelted, when I shut down my gateway so as to regulate the blast to its minimum and keep the fan-wheel just revolving. I then dug away the clay at the orifice of the blast-furnace that opened into the smelting-room, and had the supreme satisfaction of seeing the molten ore flow out like water into the furrows of sand that I had formed and excavated to receive it. I had made this furrowfor a purpose also, and had something in mind when I formed the sand mould, something like a foot in depth and eighteen inches in length, exactly under the nozzle of the delivery orifice of the furnace. The molten ore ran into this rapidly and soon filled it, forming a rough block of iron a foot thick, a foot wide, and eighteen inches long. When the fiery fluid had completely filled this, I shut off the discharge by thrusting some moist clay into the orifice. This block that I had just made was to be my anvil, and as it was large and would take time to cool, I directed the orifice of the furnace to one side by means of a clay channel, so that the next discharge should not interfere with it; and as my desire was now to get steel in smaller quantities so that I could use it, I drew narrow and shallow channels through my sand at quite long distances from the blast furnace, but all coming together in one deep channel under the orifice, but spreading to different parts of the smelting house, as the ribs of a fan do from the point at which they are collected. Into these channels I allowed the remainder of the molten ore to flow, and it extended itself through all these minor channels, and when it was cool I had several long bars of cast steel that, on my anvil, I could work up into any form.
After a few days, when my anvil was perfectly cool, I mounted it upon a block of wood and commenced to build a forge near by it, of brick and stone, into the fire-place of which I led a branch flexible tube of goat's skinfrom the fan-wheel, which I could easily detach and connect, and which gave me a blast instead of the usual bellows. At this forge I worked for a week steadily, turning out the simplest and most necessary tools, such as chisels, hammers, hatchets, axes, nails, bolts, plane irons, gouges, etc., which I tempered and hardened when needful. I also made myself tongs and shovels, pickaxe, and crowbars, and as fast as one tool was made at my forge, such as a pair of tongs and a hammer, I had means to make others better and rapidly. In this week I saw treasures gather up about me fast, and, having finished my iron work, I set to, to arrange them into tools. In the first place, by means of cold chisels, I cut out from a large mass of soft stone, that seemed as if it would suit my purpose, a grindstone some two feet in diameter; this I set up on two standards and connected with my water wheels. By means of this I could sharpen and bring into shape all the rough pieces of iron tools that I had forged out, and I had no difficulty in sharpening all my axes, planes, hatchets, chisels, etc., and, when necessary, giving them a finer edge on a whetstone, which I had found to suit my purpose. After getting these all in shape, my next task was to affix handles to them. This was not difficult to do, and it is hardly credible how soon I had my shop hung round about with useful tools. I soon had my planes in order, and my work then commenced to have a finish that it had before lacked. I did not stop here, however, for I was now in my element. I was ambitious of producingmuch better tools than I had yet finished by the very means that I already had, made to my hands, for creating them. I hope it is understood that the result of my smelting was not common iron, but what is known as Bessemer steel. By the numerous air passages through the ore and my fan-wheel, I had been enabled to turn out the result in steel in bulk by what is called the Bessemer process, leaving the metal all ready to my hand for tools, etc. This steel was not hard enough for some purposes for which I needed it, and having forged some pieces into the proper shape, I treated them to the crucible and blast, having beforehand stamped them with a cold chisel, and finally turned out some splendid files, which was what I most needed to advance in my iron work. As a boy, I used to be expert in this case-hardening of files and steel, and my knowledge now stood me in excellent need.
As soon as I got my files made, I felt as if I could make anything, and my next smelting procured for me—for it only took about twelve or fourteen hours to smelt—some thin sheets of steel, which I set to work upon to smooth by means of my grindstone, so as to make hand-saws; and, of a larger and thicker piece, two fine up-and-down sawmill saws, destined for my sawmill yet to be built. All of these I sharpened and hardened to the necessary temper, and by this time I discovered that my iron was of an excellent quality and as tough as possible. I had never seen finer, even in imported Swedish iron so much sought for at home. I think that the pleasantest noises I had yetheard since arriving on the island was my axe cutting into the side of a tree; my saw splitting the same into small boards when needed; and my planes smoothing these easily to a fine level surface. I did not attempt to saw out one board more than I needed, for I intended that my sawmill should do all that for me, and the planing too without much trouble on my part. So I set to work at this matter in earnest and cast me an axle for my water wheel, which I concluded to erect on my own side of the river. This wheel that I made was not much like the other, but was of wood and iron, strong and well built, and fastened with iron bolts, and set in iron sockets.
I dug away quite a space of the natural fall of Rapid River, and erected a strong flume and gateway, so as to control my wheel perfectly. I took little pains with the covering of my mill, making it hastily and with little care; but the foundations I laid out well and strong, and built it parallel with the side of the river, and had running down into the latter, from the mill, smooth timbers at an angle of about forty-five degrees, on which I intended, by means of my goats or the machinery of the mill itself, to "parbuckle" the logs up into the mill in front of the saw. For a mechanic the arranging of my mill was an easy task, not easy in its details, being laborious and hard, but easy I mean in its mechanical construction, which did not give me a moment's thought. About six weeks saw it all finished and everything in place; revolving knives for my planing-machine and a splendid up-and-down saw for mylog-splitting. Of course all my machinery was of a different style, now that I had means to work with, than the rude wheels on the other side of the river. I had before me a good, substantial sawmill—rather rough, to be sure, in some details, but I did not care for that. Nobody, I am sorry to say, would ever look upon it and find fault with its want of finish.
Having this all done, I launched the "Fairy" above the falls and paddled up the river for about half a mile, marking on either bank with my axe the trees I wished to cut down—some of pine and cedar, and others of a hard, dark wood, like walnut, that I knew not the name of. A week's hard work with the axe saw some twenty of these in the water and floated to the dam, whence I rolled them out of the water as I needed them, and cut them into the requisite lengths for my sawmill, when I pushed them by handspikes again into the stream, and floated them in front of my inclined planes, up which they soon mounted by rolling themselves over and over in the two bights of a rope at each end, being slowly wound by the machinery of the mill on a drum inside, or, in other words, as sailors would say, "parbuckled" into the mill, where a few movements of the handspike put them in position on the cradle in front of the saw. Let it suffice for me to say that in a week or two I had all the planed boards that I should need for years, and also plank and joist nicely piled outside the mill, and covered with a light roof of rushes and cane from the rain and sun. It was a great thing for one manto be able to do so much, but then I had now got a start where nothing could stop me. Nature was under my thumb; I was the master.
All these works in iron, steel, and mill-building brought me to spring-like weather, in the month of October, and I began to see signs of returning summer. I hastened, therefore, to drop all these matters, and put myself and goats seriously to work to provide for my coming wants in the vegetable line, and for this purpose went to the landing-place and cleared a space of I should think an acre with a light subsoil plough and two yokes of goats, and planted the whole with different kinds of the seeds that I still had on hand, and which I had preserved. About this open space, or natural glade, were the usual trees and shrubs of the island, and with my axe I made them serve at distances for posts, filling in the intervals with limbs and shrubs, and, where absolutely necessary, using some of my precious boards, till I had made a very coarse, rough, but serviceable fence about my garden that goats or other animals could not get through and destroy the young vegetation when it should sprout up. It was here that I sowed some of my precious wheat, retaining a little in case of accident. In this garden I planted seeds that would mature late in the season, and would in a measure take care of themselves. Near the Hermitage I laid out a similar garden, with the same kind of fence, but not more than one hundred feet square. In this I planted all the little things that I needed at hand formy table, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, radishes, celery, blackberries, strawberries, lettuce.
I found that my apple and pear seeds had taken root, for I visited them before winter had set in, and I took this opportunity, in ploughing, to manure with chopped fish the circular places that I had planted before the winter, and care to avoid turning up with the ploughshare any of the soil where these precious seeds were buried, and where the small, slight stems, leafless, now protruded. Spring came rapidly forward, and I found myself in almost warm weather and pleasant days before I had finished all my gardening, which was near the end of September.
These tasks nearly finished the year for me, within a month and a few days, and what had I accomplished? On Thursday, November 9, 1865, I was, by the providence of God, saved when all my shipmates were lost. I had been preserved for some good purpose evidently, or else the hand of the Almighty would have swept me out of existence with my messmates.
On that terrible day in November I was cast on shore, with scarcely any food, no hat, no coat, and without water. With no aid but that given me by God, and by the use of my own hands and brain, I was to-day sitting in front of my home, erected by myself alone. In this short space of time, one year, I had wrested from Nature many things, showing the supremacy of mind over matter, and knowledge, over ignorance and sloth. I had in this year made fire without the aid of matches, distilled salt water to procurefresh, made myself implements of defence, and erected towers of perpetual lamps, made myself flint, steel, and tinder, bows and arrows, fish-hooks and lines; discovered coal, sulphur, saltpetre, and iron, and captured goats, fish, seals, birds, etc., and at the end of the year found myself sitting at my house door surrounded with my flock of goats, my garden and farm planted, my mill and smelting-house in running order, my canoe at my feet in the quiet water of the cove, and everything about me that could please or charm the eye. From absolutely nothing I had created everything; that is to say, the ground was now so laid out that in the future I saw no end to the daring attempts that I should make, and could make with every chance of success. I felt, now that the year was ending, that my hardest work was done; that I had so much now to do with, that all that I should now undertake would be comparatively easy; but then, on the other hand, my ambition was so great that I could see things in the dim future that would tax the strength and brain of any man to consummate, but which from my temperament and loneliness I knew I should be forced to attempt. Many problems were already turning themselves over in my head, and from them I picked out this one, What is the position of your island in latitude and longitude?
I gave myself this as a special task, and whilst I was at work at little matters around about the Hermitage my mind kept asking me (for it had no one else to talk to),What is the position of your island in latitude and longitude? and it was repeated so often and so persistently that I tried to answer it, which I did in the following manner, as you shall hear.
Make an astrolabe, and obtain the latitude of the island, and, by an eclipse of the moon, the longitude also. By means of the Epitome make a chart on Mercator's projection, and find out the distance from any known land.
I foundin my book a description of an instrument used by the ancients to ascertain altitudes and to measure angles, called an Astrolabe, which, upon careful study and examination of the cut, I felt confident would serve my purpose admirably. So to work I went, and in this manner. I made first a strong four-legged stool or bench, about three feet in height and four feet long, and two feet wide upon the top. I then took some nice planed pieces of my dark hardwood and made a smooth surface about an inch thick and five feet square. On this, afterwards to be erected on the stool at right angles like an inverted letter T, I drew a circle with a pair of immense dividers that I made for this purpose, taking in all the area possible, which made my circle about fifty-nine inches in diameter, leaving a margin of one inch,—supposing my inches to have been of the right length; and this I determined by the length of the knuckle of my thumb, which I formerly used for quick measurement, and from which standard I constructed the only rule I ever have used on the island.How nearly correct it is I have no means of knowing. This groove I impressed into the wood by repeatedly turning the dividers around the circumference. I then went to work and subdivided this circle into degrees and minutes, which I did by marking the circle once across at any angle passing through the centre mark, and then by another mark crossing this one at exactly right angles, which I determined by means of my dividers—as laid down in Bowditch's Epitome—by the use of them at equal distances from the centre on the line already marked, sweeping them till the two lines crossed beyond the circumference, making a small mark there so as to erect a perpendicular on the base already drawn. This cut my circle at once into quadrants of 90° each, and these were subdivided again in like manner. I made the circle large on purpose, so as to be able to mark it plainly to sections of one minute each, and by its size to avoid any error in any angle, the chances of which were greatly decreased by every inch of diameter. As I constructed it, I had nearly one-half an inch of circumference to mark sixty minutes upon, and as I only subdivided one of the quadrants it did not take me very long, each degree being represented by a space slightly smaller than a half inch, which was a good large scale to work upon. Having finished the marking of my board I nailed it firmly to the stool in an upright position, with the quadrant, that I had carefully subdivided on the marked circumference, pointing with one of its angles to zenith, and the other ona line with the top of the stool. I then procured a nice straight piece of cane some six feet in length and about an inch in diameter, and with a heated rod of iron burned out all the pith between each joint till I had made a nice tube of that length. Just within the aperture at one end I fastened with a little fish glue a large strong hair from the beard of one of my goats. I then fastened, by means of a hole through the centre of my upright disc, this tube or telescope to it on the side that was subdivided into degrees, and about an inch from the face. I fastened this so that it was held firmly in place, and yet could be moved upon its centre by the pressure of my hand on either arm. This tube I then furnished with a small delicate pin on the outside, in an exact line with the stretched hair inside the tube, and pointing to the degrees and minutes on the marked circumference on the disc, which it almost touched. In other words, if I moved one arm of the tube, the needle on the outside would follow the grooved circumference on the disc, and upon being released would mark some given degree or minute. Having gotten this machine all in order and complete, I placed it one day so as to examine the sun near noon, and here is how I obtained my latitude. What I was doing now was not so very difficult. I well knew that there were several ways to determine latitude. I was aware that the difference of a minute or two even in my altitude, as apparently observed, would not disturb my computation more than a mile or so. In fact each minutemarked upon the disc practically stood for one mile of latitude, and the mean of several observations would correct even any errors from this cause.
I waited till I knew that it was nearly noon by the appearance of the sun, and then commenced operations. In the first place I aimed my tube at the sun, and to be able to do so without injuring my eye, I would say that I had fitted the orifice of the tube nearest to me with a piece of smoke-colored membrane or backbone of the squid, which is as transparent as glass, and very thin and delicate. Having, by moving the tube with my hand, brought the sun so that it seemed to stand upon the hair in the outer end of the tube, or like a great capital O upon a base lineO, I left it carefully in that position for a moment or two, and then applied my eye again, and found, as I supposed, that the sun no longer seemingly rested upon the hair in my tube, but had risen, which forced me to again lower the arm nearest me and elevate the other extremity, and proved to me that it was not yet noon, and that the sun had not yet reached the meridian. This I did many times, till at last the sun seemed for a minute or so to stand still, as sailors say, and I knew that it was at meridian. I took good care not to touch the instrument, but waited quietly till, by glancing through it, I saw in a few moments the disc of the sun, or lower limb as it is termed, begin to drop below the hair in my tube, and I was then positive that it had passed the meridian. Being assured of this, I went carefully to the marked circumference onthe upright disc and noted carefully the degree and minute to which the needle in the side of the tube pointed, which in this case was 54° 51′. Having carefully marked this down with ink upon birch bark, I went again to the other end of the tube, and, elevating it, brought the outer end down toward the sea till the hair and the horizon seemed to be one. I then again carefully observed the degree and minute at which the needle pointed, which in this case was 7° 16′, and my task was done; for, by subtracting 7° 16′ from 54° 51′ I obtained 47° 35′, which was exactly the apparent altitude of the sun at noon on September 22, 1866, civil account; and, having that, it was easy to determine the latitude in the following manner:—
Thus I demonstrated the latitude of my island; but now for the longitude. To obtain that I knew that I must first ascertain the time at the island: I could do nothing without that; for longitude was, as I well knew, simplytime changed into degrees. I thought of fifty different ways to obtain correct time, but believed none of them sufficiently accurate for my purpose. I could make a sundial for one thing, find out the length of the day by the Epitome and Nautical Almanac, make candles to burn such a length of time, sand to run down an inclined plane at such a rate, but none of these would do.
The difference of a minute, or one-sixtieth of a degree, in an observed altitude would only affect, as I have said, my latitude just one mile, whilst an error of time of one minute from true time would, as I was well aware, throw my longitude out just fifteen miles; hence it behoved me to have exact time if I desired to get exact longitude, and therefore I saw nothing for it but that I must construct a clock, and at it I went. It was not such an enormous undertaking after all. Of course I should make it of wood, and in my boyhood I knew many wooden clocks that kept excellent time; besides, if I could only construct something that would keep time for an hour or two without much error, it would answer my purpose. If I had a clock that I could set at noon by my observation, nearly correct, I could correct it perfectly by an afternoon observation, and have for an hour or so true time, even if it did gain or lose a few minutes in twenty-four hours. So to work I set, and soon turned out the few small wheels necessary, and the weight and pendulum for the same. I spent little time upon the non-essentials, but put it together inside my house on the wall, open so that I could get at it, and furnishedit with wooden hands and a thin wooden face.
After I had arranged it and found that it would tick, and by observations at noon for a few days been able to regulate the pendulum, I went diving into the Epitome and the Nautical Almanac as to how I should utilize it so as to get my longitude, after all; when one evening, in turning over the Nautical Almanac, which was calculated for 1866, 1867, 1868, and 1869, my eye fell upon the following, and I felt that my task was done:—
Total eclipse of the moon, September 30,1866, invisible at Greenwich, visible in South America, South Pacific Ocean, and parts of Africa, Asia, and Indian Ocean.
This was all I needed to verify my longitude past peradventure, and I went to work at once, calculating when the eclipse ought to take place, nearly, with me.
At a rough calculation I knew that my island was situated somewhere between the 110° and 120° of longitude west of Greenwich, that is to say, in the neighborhood of seven hours' difference of time later than Greenwich time. Therefore I knew that if the moon entered the penumbra at Greenwich (although invisible) on the 30d. 5h. 44 min.A.M.that I ought to look for it to occur visibly to my eyessomewhere from one to two o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, or seven hours later. Theexactdifference in the time between Greenwich and that to be observed on my island, changed into degrees and minutes, would, of course be the true longitude west of Greenwich.
It was with the utmost anxiety that I awaited the coming of the 30th of September, for it all depended upon pleasant weather whether or not I should be able to make my observation. I placed my astrolabe so as to be able to move it quickly in any needed direction, as I intended to use the tube to look at the sun through so as not to blind my eyes. I also prepared my birch bark in the house, and commenced practising myself in counting seconds, for I should have to leave my instrument and go to the house, counting all the time to note the time marked by my clock. I found upon practice that I could not make this work very successfully, and that according to the state of my feelings or excitement I counted long and short minutes. This would not do; I must invent something better; and I finally bethought myself of counting the beatings of my pulse with the finger of one hand upon the wrist of the other, and applying the proportion to the interval between the observed time by my clock.
The morning at last came that I so much desired, and nothing could be more beautiful than the balmy, spring-like day that surrounded me. The sky was cloudless and the sun shone down in splendor through a clear and pure atmosphere. The morning passed slowly away, and itseemed as if the moon and sun would never approach each other; but finally, in the afternoon, the heavens showed me that the eclipse would soon take place, and I made my arrangements to take four observations, as follows: Time when moon entered shadow; time when total phase began; time when total phase ended; time when moon left shadow.
Nothing could have been better than the afternoon I experienced to make these observations, and in less than six hours the whole affair was over, with the following result, I having carefully regulated my clock as near as possible by an observation at noon:—
Which, reduced to time, gives the longitude of the island 119° 11′ 15″ west of Greenwich.
There, my problem was done and I was for the moment happy. Perhaps some will wonder why I cared to obtain the latitude and longitude of my island at all. Let me explain. My Bowditch's Epitome gave the latitude and longitude of all prominent capes, harbors, headlands, light-houses, etc., in the whole Pacific Ocean. In other words, knowing now the latitude and longitude of my own island, I had only to project a chart on Mercator's projection, pricking off the relative positions of the land on all sides of me, as well as the position of my island, to have a practical and useful chart. Of course I should not be able to draw the coast line or the circumference of any island, but my chart would show just what latitude and longitude Easter Island was in, for instance, and just how far and in exactly what direction my island lay from it. Also, how far I was from the American coast, and the exact distance and course from any of the principal ports such as Lima, Valparaiso, Pisco, etc. How far from New Zealand and the Society Islands, and in what direction from them.
Having marked the exact latitude and longitude of each of these places, which were fully given in the Epitome, on my chart, I could call upon my memory often to fill in the coast lines, and even if I should in the case of the islands, make them even imaginary, there would be no harm done, for the little black star on each would show me where the latitude and longitude met exactly, and I should be furnished with a practical chart as far as sea navigation was concerned, but not one that would be ofmuch account in entering any harbors.
I cannot say that at this time I had any fixed plan of escaping from the island, but I very well knew that nothing in the world would aid me so much in the attempt as to know the position in latitude and longitude that the island occupied, and a chart of the surrounding seas, with its numerous islands and headlands on the main land. It can well be conceived that my first task after determining the position of my island was to turn to the Epitome to ascertain the nearest land to me there marked down, and after diligent search this is what I found:—
"Easter Island Peak," 27° 8′ south latitude and 109° 17′ west longitude.
"Island," 28° 6′ south latitude and 95° 12′ west longitude.
"Group of Islands," 31° 3′ south latitude and 129° 24′ west longitude.
"Massafuera," 33° 45′ south latitude and 80° 47′ west longitude, which I speedily worked out, by the principles of Mercator's sailing, to be in course and distance from my island, as follows:—
Of these four places only two ever had a name, and I did not know whether Easter Island was inhabited or not, and about Massafuera I was totally ignorant.
Easter Island, I knew, of course, was one of the so-called Society Islands, and was the nearest practical land to which I could escape. But how was I safely to pass over a thousand miles of water? This investigation only proved to me what I had so long feared, namely, that my island was out of the track of all trade, and that it would be a miracle should I be preserved by the arrival of any vessel. I knew now that I must really give up all hope in that direction, and set to work seriously to help myself.
I therefore applied myself with great vigor to my chart which I outlined upon nice goatskin parchment, which I glued together till I had a surface nearly four feet square, upon which I could lay out all the Pacific Ocean on a nice, large scale, by Mercator's projection. I went on with my daily work, and made this matter one for evening amusement, and as I pricked off the latitude and longitude of some well-known place, that I in former years had visited, my heart swelled within me with grief and mortification, and I had often to stop and wipe the tears from my eyes before I could proceed.
Release from my prison seemed farther from me than ever, as I advanced in my task, and although I had a sort of morbid pleasure in my work, and a fascination to linger over it, yet I saw plainly that I was indeed cast away; for what could I do alone in a boat, even supposing that I could build one strong enough to resist one thousand miles of water? Who was to steer when I was asleep? and then supposing I should be able to arrive at Easter Island, what guarantee had I that I should not be murderedat once by the natives?
No, here I was fixed beyond fate upon my own island, where, with the exception of companionship, I had everything that human heart could wish for. But on the other hand, without companionship I lacked everything that is worth living for in this world. I felt that the problem of all problems hereafter to me would be how can I escape to some civilized country in safety? And from what I now knew, it seemed as if it would remain a problem till my bones were left whitening in the Hermitage.
My discovery of the latitude and longitude of the island had brought me no comfort, and I felt much more uneasy now than I did before finishing my task. But as the summer weather came on, I regained to a degree my good spirits, keeping, however, the problem of escape continually working in my mind, for I knew that there must be some way to solve it, especially with the resources that I had gathered around about me.
A resumé of three years on the island. Daily routine of life. Inventions, discoveries, etc. Fortification of the Hermitage. Manufacture of cannon and guns. Perfection and improvement of the machine shop. Implicit faith of ultimately overcoming all obstacles and escaping from the island. Desire to accumulate some kind of portable wealth to carry with me, and decide to explore the island for its hidden wealth and the surrounding ocean for pearl oysters.
I shallnot become tedious by inflicting upon my readers the routine of each day, or even of each month or year that I have passed on this island, but shall pick out the most startling events of my life here, both as to the inventions that I have made and the accidents and adventures of which I have been the victim and hero.
Of course my discovery of iron gave me wonderful power to advance and preserve myself. After my first set of tools were made, as I have enumerated in detail, all other work, even if slow, was comparatively easy.
My next task, after making the common tools that I needed and various castings that were useful to me, was to erect a turning lathe,—one for wood, which was quite simple, and one for iron, which was a work of some magnitude,—and a whole year elapsed before I had it perfected to my taste. The castings were rough, butsolid and useful, and the other parts were, with care and attention, at last made mathematically true, and this, with a drilling machine and some iron rollers to roll out my metal when coming from the furnace, completed my iron foundry, as I was now pleased to call it.
Having all these things about me it was a small matter to cast several small cannon, of some four or six pound calibre, and bore them out on my turning-lathe and table. These I mounted on wooden trucks, and placed one on East Signal Point, one on Eastern Cape, one on South Cape, which I transported there by water in the canoe Fairy, one on Penguin Point, and one on West Signal Point. It was fun for me to make these things, and therefore, to protect myself still more, I made a number, of smaller calibre even, which I placed pointing out through embrasures in a wall with which I had encircled the Hermitage, and surrounded with a strong picket fence, made of cast-iron, which I found no difficulty in casting in sections of nearly ten feet in length. At all the stations at the extremities of the island I hid a little amount of ammunition, near the cannon erected, and also a flint and steel and a limestock or slow-match, so that at any time, if needful, I could load one of these cannon at once and discharge it. The touchholes I covered nicely with a piece of goatskin, so as to protect the guns from the weather, and fitted all the muzzles with a wooden plug, so that the interior would be kept clear and dry.
PLACING THE CANNON.--PAGE 190.
PLACING THE CANNON.—Page 190.
In the wall that now surrounded my Hermitage I built a strong iron gate, that I could see through and yet too strong to be broken down by any savage hands. The iron fence or comb which ran round the summit of this wall, and of which I have spoken, crossed also above the gateway, and made my house impregnable to anything except artillery. My doorway facing this, in the Hermitage itself, had long been replaced by a nice hard-wood one, with iron hinges, with several loopholes left, through which I could poke a gun-barrel or discharge an arrow.
I had six cannon mounted on my wall, two in front, two on each side, and one in rear, which was, however, naturally protected by a thick and almost impenetrable grove of trees and undergrowth. These guns were mounted in a peculiar manner upon carriages that allowed the muzzles to be depressed at least thirty degrees, and I kept in store, to load them with, quantities of iron ball castings, from the size of an English walnut to a common musket bullet, which at close quarters would do fearful execution. I approached these guns, from the interior, by means of step ladders, made of wood, leading up to each from the enclosure, and an oval hole, like an inverted letter U, was left in the iron fencing to allow the muzzle to protrude over the wall. This opening, however, was small, and not large enough to admit even the head of a man, much less his body. The erection of the whole wall, which was some nine feet high, cost me infinite labor and patience.
The fencing on top of it was, as I have said, rapidly turned out from the casting mould, and gave me, comparatively speaking, little trouble. To further protect this my fortress from any assaults, I brought the water underground from Rapid River into the Hermitage, through a series of pipes made of pottery thoroughly baked, glazed, and made so as to fit one into the other, and controlled the flow by means of a stopcock fixed into a piece of cane. The signs of this underground connection with Rapid River I took care to thoroughly efface. And, furthermore, I made it a duty to always keep at least six months' salted provisions in store, ahead of all demands,—such as salted and smoked herring, salmon, and other fish, with corned and dried goat's flesh, and some few preserved vegetables such as I might have on hand.
In rear of my house, between the end of the house and the wall, I dug a subterranean passage, leading under my wall, and coming again to the surface in the midst of a seemingly impenetrable thicket of undergrowth, some thirty yards away from the wall. This outlet was carefully closed by a trapdoor, and soil even strewed on top and grass allowed to grow over it. I did not know but what there might come a time when I should have to use this passage, as the last recourse, to save my life; and although now in security I built it carefully, to be prepared for what might happen in the future.
After all these tasks for my defence were finished I commenced upon a set of guns and pistols, or rather rifles,—for I had not the slightest use for a shotgun, being able,in a hundred ways, by means of steel-traps and similar devices, to capture all the birds and animals I needed,—which I desired to protect myself against any human enemies, should such ever appear. To this end I easily bored myself out some four nice rifle barrels, and some half dozen of a smaller size for pistols; these I had to stock, and mount with the old-fashioned flint and steel, for I had no means of making any percussion-powder. I worked at these for a long time, but at last I had them all in good order, and used to amuse myself by practising with ball at the pigeons on the trees, and the ducks on the river. I did not make the best shooting in the world, for, not being able to procure lead, I was forced to make my bullets of steel, and to revolve them in a cylinder for a long time with sand, to make them globular and regular. The barrels of my guns and pistols also had to be smooth bored to use these projectiles; as a rifled barrel, if I could have made one, would have been ruined by cast-steel bullets; still at a hundred yards, with a nice greased patch, I was able to make good execution, and the pistols shot with strength at a distance of at least twenty yards. Both weapons suited me practically, and with my guns I had no difficulty in shooting several of the wild goats, and also seals, whenever I needed their meat or skins.
My flock of tame goats all this while had grown and increased, and I added to my home comforts cheese and butter; but I made the wheel on the further side of the river do all the churning by a simple application of themachinery to a revolving clapper in an upright churn.
The parchment windows in the Hermitage had long since been reinforced by iron shutters on the outside, that, if needed, could be bolted securely on the inside, and the roof had been refitted and made of timber and boards, and the whole covered with tiles, so as to be fireproof. Up through this roof I had also built a tower, of brick, not very large but quite high, some feet above the ridge-pole, which I mounted to by a flight of stairs from the attic; for the upper part of the house was floored off and completed when I erected the new roof, having no want now of either boards or timber.
Up to this tower I trotted every morning before unbarring the door of the Hermitage or the gate of the enclosure. From this lookout I could see quite well in several directions, and notice if anything had been touched or changed from the evening before. I missed, I think, at this time, books more than anything, but then, again, from the very want of them, I was forced to study with my Epitome and Book of Useful Arts and Sciences, which possibly I might have thrown to one side for less useful but more entertaining ones if I had had them. Wanting them, I was becoming versed in many things which when I came upon the island I knew nothing about, and I was pleased to think that, although alone, I was improving, and the usefulness of a really good book was brought forcibly before me each day, for I could not open either of mine without finding food for reflection and study. Ihad always had my head full of vagaries of different kinds that I should like some time to try and experiment upon, and here seemed my opportunity; and it will be observed, in its proper place, further on, that I attempted many things.
It was, I think, in my third year that I felt that my daily routine was fixed for life, as far as concerned comforts and food; for by that time I had wheat for my bread, and all kinds of vegetables and fruits that I have before enumerated, in profusion. My apple and pear trees would soon begin to bear, and in a year or two more I should have them to add to my comforts. I had already commenced to preserve blackberries, strawberries, etc., and found that my maple trees, in the spring, were just as prolific as those in my Vermont home, and that I had no difficulty in obtaining all the sugar I needed. Roasted wheat had, however, to stand me instead of Java coffee, but this made me quite a pleasant drink.
All these comforts were enhanced by a climate so uniform in temperature that it was a pleasure to even exist, the winters bringing scarcely an inch of snow or ice with them, and the summers even and mild; warm, to be sure, but still far from being hot or oppressive. As I have said so often in this narrative before, what in the world could one want in excess of all this but companionship? Ah! it is little known how many bitter hours of solitude I passed in gathering all these comforts about me, and how, with a tenderness almost womanly, I made friends withevery kid, duck, young bird, seal, and living animal that I gathered around me, and made pets of them all. My hardest duties were to destroy these animals for my own consumption, and I latterly destroyed what I could with the gun rather than touch one of those that were domesticated. Some of these I could not bear to lay my hand upon, especially my young kids and team of goats; but thank God there was no need of it. I could easily destroy one of their species, when I needed the flesh, with my rifle, for I veritably believe that I should have gone without animal food rather than touch one of these pets. Two of the kids, especially, followed me about all the time, and even into my canoe when I took short trips abroad.
I had by this time, by means of snares, captured seven species of birds which resembled our blackbirds and bobolinks of the north, and I took great delight in feeding them in the cages I had made for them, and listening to their music in the morning and evening hours. Long search had taught me to feel sure that the island had no venomous insects or reptiles, and it was also wholly free from that nuisance the horse-fly, which is said to follow civilization, and that other pest, the mosquito, was wholly unknown. In their stead there were a few sand-fleas, a sort of wood-tick, which troubled the goats somewhat, and a small black wood-fly, that was not troublesome except in some seasons, in the woods, and on the coast. In December and January, green-headed flies wereapt to take hold of me once in a while, but not so as to incommode me.
The air was so pure that meat would keep a long while without putrefaction, even in the warm weather, and having nothing better to do to take up my mind, I had, during the past winter, collected quite an amount of thin ice from Rapid River, which, in a small subterranean ice-house, roofed over with planks, and covered with sawdust, I had stored for summer use, and on very warm days luxuriated in.
This life of solitude had made me tender to even inanimate things, and it was wonderful to myself how the passion, self-importance, and arbitrary manner of one accustomed to command at sea was dying out in me. I began to almost have a reverence for flowers and all beautiful inanimate things, and many hours of my life were passed in my garden and on my farm, but especially the former, in examining and cultivating some beautiful wild flower or trailing vine that I had transported hence from the forest. I felt even that the bearing of my body was changed from what it used to be when in days gone by I trod the quarter-deck in all the pride and majesty of power.
I cannot say that I was at this time contented, but I can say that I was much more patient, and the impetuosity of my temperament was greatly subdued, and many things, both animate and inanimate, were becoming, in spite of myself, very dear to my eyes. I even at times began to feel homesick when I was absent over a day, inmy canoe, from the Hermitage, and came back to its comforts with an exclamation of gratification and a swelling of the heart with joy when it came in view, and showed itself intact during my temporary absence; and the welcome given me by my goats, tame pigeons, ducks, and birds was very touching, and, as I have said, endeared them to me greatly. Still for no moment did the problem of escape leave my mind. Although without relatives or children, I often dreamed of escaping from the island and returning with friends to enjoy it with me and end my days here in peace. I often thought how happy I could be here, far from the cares of the world and all its vain excitements, could I see around about me smiling faces of my fellow-men, who would look up to me as their benefactor and ruler, for I had yet left some of the seaman's instinct of desire to rule.
Up to this time I had done little exploring of the island; my first trip around about it had been my last, and my excursions into the interior had been short, and without making any material discovery of moment. This was caused by the great tasks that I had given myself near home, and the consummation of which had taken all my time. I had worked very hard to accomplish all that was laid out before my eyes, and had had little time for wandering about or being idle.
No sign of any vessel, or canoes of savages, had ever disturbed me. I had often, during the last year, visited the points of my island nearest to me,i.e.East and WestSignal Points and the breakwater, but no welcome sail had ever met my eye. The sight of the ocean also from these points always gave me the blues, and sent me home troubled and discontented, for the intellect given me by the Creator on such occasions rebelled against my fate, and the ocean seemed my enemy, whom I must overcome, and whom I could overcome if I could only think of the means, for I would never acknowledge myself beaten, but only unable for the present to cope with my adversary; and I used to talk to it, and say: "Some day, thou mighty sea, with God's help, I will overcome and conquer thee, and compel thee to carry me wherever I desire to be borne. Power has been given man over the beasts of the field and over all nature, and I have only to use my mind, with which God has endowed me, to some day make thee, now my master, my slave. Roll on, therefore, for a day shall come, God willing, in which thy billows shall carry me, and the winds of heaven waft me to civilized lands, where the Creator of both thee and me is adored and worshipped. You shall not always separate me from the place whence I came. With my strong hold that I have obtained I will yet overcome thee, and make thee my steed of deliverance, instead of, as now, the boundary line of my imprisonment."
My daily life at about this time was something like this. I arose in the morning, and, if the season would admit of it, took a plunge in Stillwater Cove, first, however, visiting my tower to see if everything was allright in all directions. I usually, with a sailor's habits, arose early, and with the sun. After my bath I proceeded to feed my numerous flock of goats, kids, pigeons, etc., and then to the cares of my dairy, milking my goats and conveying the result of my labors to my ice-house, near by, to be kept there, and at proper season to be made into butter and cheese. Then to my breakfast, which I could change in many various ways, as my appetite dictated, always commencing the same, in these days, by thanking God for his preservation of me, and expressing gratitude for the food before me, and hopefulness of ultimate delivery from my island prison. After breakfast I went about any work that might be on hand, such as fishing, gunning, or arranging my household things, working in my iron ore, conveying coal or iron from the mines, or running my sawmill, or else digging in my garden or attending to my farm near the landing-place, and the thousand and one daily things that had to be done with one pair of hands, to keep my establishment in order.
When I thought it noon by the sun (for I soon gave over the attempt to keep my clumsy clock agoing after I had obtained my latitude and longitude) I repaired to the Hermitage, and if the weather was warm and pleasant made my meal in the outer air, under the shade of a fine large tree of the maple species, surrounded by my domestic birds; if in winter, by my fireside, inside the house. After dinner I again commenced my daily toil, first taking a good longsmoke of my favorite pipe, which, all things considered, was my greatest solace, and after this taking up the work that I had laid down at the dinner hour. I kept myself employed till sunset, or nearly so,—for I did not now overwork myself as I used to in the beginning, in my impetuosity, but took everything mildly, quietly, and comfortably,—when I again called my flock together and attended to my milking. I knew that cheeses would keep a long while, and, looking always forward to an escape, I was gradually laying up a stock of this nutritious article for use in the future should I ever need it, knowing well how palatable and refreshing it always is at sea. After the milking was finished, which was not till I had gathered the flock from their feeding pastures, I entered my house for the night, taking with me one or two of my favorite kids, and barring the iron gate in the enclosure wall carefully behind me, and doing the same with the door of the Hermitage.
Once within, I lighted my lamps and gave myself plenty of light, and took my supper, followed by the inevitable pipe, and often a glass of my claret wine, as I called it, made from the pure juice of the grape. Then I got out a sheet of parchment and commenced a history of the day's proceedings, which I wrote down in detail, and from which this narrative is condensed. This was a very important task, for upon the daily performance of it rested the accuracy of my calendar. This often carried me well into the evening, and if it did not, and I was not verytired, I got out my Bowditch's Epitome and solved a problem or two, and then turned to my Book of Useful Arts and Sciences and stored my mind with some new fact, or tried to decipher some of the things that were daily becoming more clear to me, and which I had commenced by understanding scarcely a word about. When I found myself nodding over this work I quietly betook myself to bed, preferring, as a rule, my upright bedstead to the swinging hammock. I never put out the lights and only removed my outer clothing when I slept, but then the latter was a very natural act to a person who had for years turned in "all a standing," as sailors say, and ready for a call at any time of the night or day. My arms and ammunition were placed within easy access of my hands, and, commending my soul to God, I used to sleep.
In winter I kept of course more within doors, and busied myself upon my clothing and such things as needed sewing and lashing together, fixing little nicknacks of shell and wood around about the room, to hold flowers and ferns, or any little thing that had attracted my eye, or would please me in my solitude. On rainy days I almost always went to work in my smelting house at the forge, and if there was nothing else to do I would busy myself in the making of nails for future use, I having to beat out each one on the anvil; but when finished each of my nails was a wrought one, and worth a dozen cast by machinery. I always found plenty to do here, but Iworked leisurely, always looking toward the future. I got together a large quantity of rolled iron, of about a quarter of an inch in thickness, and in sheets nearly two feet wide and some eight or nine in length. This workshop I kept improving till I had, besides my forge and all its tools, turning-lathes both for wood and iron, many other useful things, which I had constructed at odd times, such as a small but very strong derrick, which I fitted with iron blocks and chains and with a winch and band, so that I was able to handle large masses of iron with ease. My rollers, also, for rolling out the iron when at a white heat, were in this room, and I had long since improved and strengthened my water-wheel, so that I had all the power at any time that I needed or desired, to move any or all of my machinery.
Besides gathering together these sheets of iron I put them under my drilling machine and punched the edges with holes of an uniform size, so that they could at some time be riveted together, for I had an idea in my head what I should use them for. The making of a large number of rivets to fit these holes also took plenty of my time, as did the making of different sizes of spikes, and once in a while some new tool that I felt the need of. My files, also, once in a while had to be re-marked and again hardened, and thus I found myself always with plenty to do whenever I entered the smelting-house; and it was there that I enjoyed myself the most, for I was a born mechanic, and I liked the work, and nothing pleasedme so much as to see something turning out under my hand from a crude mass of iron into some useful tool, or article of which I had need. Therefore when the stormy and rainy days came it was with absolute pleasure that I walked into my smelting-house and set to work. It was here that I saw my deliverance must be worked out, and never a day passed but what my machinery was improved or increased in some way, and made more perfect and reliable. A great deal of it, to be sure, was crude, but it was also practical; and when a piece of machinery would not perform well I went to work, and kept at it until it would, and in the end had not the slightest trouble in rolling, casting, drilling, planing, and turning iron or cast-steel, in all reasonable shapes. To be sure my machinery was not painted, or even well finished, except in the working parts, but to those sections I gave a mechanic's care. I not only worked here, however, on stormy days alone, but also nearly every spare moment that I had from other duties that were also pressing.
As my riches began to accumulate I began to think seriously of exploring the island for its hidden wealth, and see if I could not during these years that I was waiting for escape—which I had made up my mind was sure to come—lay up enough wealth, in some shape, to take with me when I should depart, that would make me rich for the remainder of my days. Knowing that such wealth, to be conveyed away by me, must necessarily be in a small compass, I was working out a problem atthis very time to explore the bottom of the ocean around my island, and see if I could not hit upon some pearl-oyster beds, whence I could draw riches to carry away with me when I should leave this island, and the theory that I had gotten into my head, and which I was trying to put into actual practice, was the following:—
Construct a submarine boat, to be propelled by goat power and to make its own air, to examine the bottom of the ocean near the island for pearl-oysters.
Yes, as I have hinted in the preceding chapter, I had fully made up my mind to explore thebottomof the ocean that surrounded my island, and I did not intend to commence in the stupid way in which the former Crusoe went to work, and build me a boat and then be unable to launch it. Far from it. My very first care was to erect ways running down into Stillwater Cove, made out of large square timbers, placed at a considerable decline, so that I felt confident that what I should erect upon them could be launched by me into the water without difficulty or trouble. These ways I bolted strongly together, and made firm and enduring, and upon them erected a kind of raft, which I kept in place by means of upright iron bolts through the timbers of the ways, which prevented it, for the time being, from slipping into the water if it should be so inclined, but which, when the bolts were removed, and the three timbers upon which it rested well greased, I felt sure would, at the proper moment desired, slip into Stillwater Cove.
Upon this raft I commenced to construct my submarine boat. These launching-ways were erected near the smelting house, and not far below the falls, just where the water became deep enough for my purpose, and yet as near as possible of access to my forge and shop. The raft that I built and erected upon the ways was only as a cradle to support my submarine boat so that I could float the whole affair to the mouth of Stillwater Cove before allowing the latter to be submerged; for where I now was there was not water enough for my experiment, and I well knew that if my boat, which was to be of iron, was once launched, and should, by its displacement or specific gravity, go to the bottom, that I should be unable to raise it again, and that in the water directly in front of the ways it would touch the bottom even before it would be submerged. On the other hand, if I should erect my ways running into deep water at some place near the mouth of Stillwater Cove, and opposite Point Deliverance, I should have no means at hand to complete it, all my forges, iron-work, tools, and shop being too far distant for such an undertaking. I saw, therefore, that I must construct it near to my foundry, and hence I chose this method of a cradle, or raft, to carry out my plan. This raft, or cradle as I shall call it in future, was of itself quite an undertaking, for I had to make it of mortised pieces of wood, so that at the proper time I could take it to pieces, and allow its load, the submarine boat, to drop into the ocean, at some place yet to be determined, to which I should tow it, where the water would be smooth, andprotected from the billows of the ocean, and not too deep for my experiment.
I had also another care in forming this cradle, and that was, that it should be buoyant enough to sustain the submarine boat, and not, when launched, go to the bottom of Stillwater Cove with its precious freight, on account of the weight of the latter. This cradle, therefore, took both time and care to make, and long hours were passed by me in figuring out the weight of the iron boat I was about to build, and how large and extensive my cradle ought to be to sustain it. By studying my book, and by experimenting in different ways with small vessels of pottery and bladders blown up with air, that I submerged, I got at what I thought would be about the weight of my submarine boat and its relation to the cradle, and I saw plainly that the latter would have to be improved in some way to sustain the necessary weight. So this is how I went to work to overcome this obstacle.
On the two long sides of the cradle running parallel to the timber ways, beyond which they extended several feet (although the ways themselves were some six feet wide from the outside of one timber to the outside of the other, by my island rule), I lashed firmly with iron bands and bolts two water-tight iron tanks, which I constructed of my rolled iron, riveted together, fully six feet long, three feet wide, and three feet deep. The dimensions of the cradle itself were about these: Ten feet wide and eighteen feet in length, resting firmly upon the threedeclined timbers or ways, which were six feet wide from side to side and some forty feet in length from where they commenced on the shore to their terminus under the water in Stillwater Cove, at a depth of about eight or nine feet at high water. They were kept in place by their own weight, being of as large a size as I could handle with my team of goats, and of hard-wood, the inclination they received from the shore ends forcing the outer ends to the bottom of the water. Of course these ways were not made of one piece of timber but of several, which were as large as I dared cut them with any hope of being able to handle them, and were fished together to make the required length, being first sawed out at the mill, planed upon the upper side by hand, and then let down again over the inclined planes of the mill into Rapid River, and thence thrust over the falls into the shallow water and conveyed to their place, where I pulled them on shore by means of rollers and my team of goats, till I had each in place and mounted upon short uprights of other timber, that I had placed at equal distances from each other, and higher one than the other as they were erected landward from the water.
The underpinning of my cradle was exactly like the wooden underpinning of a house, and consisted of a parallelogram, eighteen feet by ten feet, with timbers of about eight inches square. Across these timbers were placed smaller ones in sockets, exactly as slats are placed across a bed, and this was to form the foundations uponwhich I was to erect my boat.
When I desired to submerge it I had only to saw away each of these slats, on either side, and it would drop into the ocean, leaving the outer framework—or bedstead, if you please—floating; for my boat was to be built, of course, less than eighteen feet long and ten wide, so as to rest wholly upon these slats and not upon the framework of the cradle that supported the slats. This took me a long time to finish; but what was time to me whilst revolving the problem of my escape, which was not yet solved. Till I knewhowI was to escape I should never again be in a hurry.
To build my boat I commenced by making two watertight tanks, each sixteen feet long and two feet square, and two smaller ones, each six feet long and of the same dimensions otherwise as the long ones; these, placed upon the slats of my cradle, gave me a parallelogram composed of four water-tight tanks, all made out of my rolled iron and riveted together firmly. I had to erect a derrick to hoist them into place, but once in the cradle I had only to bind the two ends of each extremity of the long tanks to the short ones placed at right angles to them and I had the foundations of my boat laid. I bound the small tanks in place, as also the large ones, by bands of iron, several in number, which I brought together on one side by means of what is called a turn buckle, such as is often seen on iron bridges, both ends of the bands being formed with a screw-thread, and fitting into this turn-buckle nut on bothsides, which could be then tightened by means of a lever, so as to bring an immense binding force upon each band.
Upon the outer edge of this parallelogram of tanks I had left a sort of comb of iron, some three inches in height, already pierced, or rather punched, ready to receive the roof of the boat, also air-tight, to be bolted to it, so that when all was done my platform of tanks would be nearly two feet wide within the boat, and allow me plenty of margin to rest any kind of a movable platform upon, or deck over the space that was left open, some fourteen feet long by six feet wide.
The nearest description that I can give of this roof is, that it rose in all directions at an angle of about forty-five degrees till it was bolted to a large flat surface made up of several sheets of rolled iron, which formed the top, which was ten feet long and four feet wide. This flat roof was fitted with a manhole, somewhat large in proportion to the rest of the boat, at least two feet square, and fitted over a raised rib of iron, which was packed with greased milkweed floss, and closed on the inside by set-screws, that were worked with a short iron lever, so as to make the opening perfectly air-tight.
I commenced this chapter by saying that I did not intend to make such a fool of myself as the old Robinson Crusoe did, and that I was not going to make any errors either of judgment or figures; and yet I had not my boat completed as far as I have described before I discovered that I had been a silly ass, fully as silly as it was possiblefor a mechanic to be, and one day it flashed upon me that my whole cradle, with its air-tight chests, was an egregious folly; that I had not the least need in the world for it, and that I had wasted time, labor, and patience in perfecting it. Carried away, as I was, with the means I intended to employ to sink and raise my boat I had totally overlooked the fact that as now being built, and as it would be launched, that it would float itself, the size of the four air-tight tanks being sufficient to float five times the upper structure built on top of them.