Chapter 30

CHAPTER 8

The first week of January was devoted to the manufacture of the linen
garments required by the colony. The needles found in the box were used by
sturdy if not delicate fingers, and we may be sure that what was sewn was
sewn firmly.

There was no lack of thread, thanks to Cyrus Harding's idea of re-
employing that which had been already used in the covering of the balloon.
This with admirable patience was all unpicked by Gideon Spilett and
Herbert, for Pencroft had been obliged to give this work up, as it
irritated him beyond measure; but he had no equal in the sewing part of the
business. Indeed, everybody knows that sailors have a remarkable aptitude
for tailoring.

The cloth of which the balloon-case was made was then cleaned by means of
soda and potash, obtained by the incineration of plants, in such a way that
the cotton, having got rid of the varnish, resumed its natural softness and
elasticity; then, exposed to the action of the atmosphere, it soon became
perfectly white. Some dozen shirts and sock--the latter not knitted, of
course, but made of cotton--were thus manufactured. What a comfort it was
to the settlers to clothe themselves again in clean linen, which was
doubtless rather rough, but they were not troubled about that! and then to
go to sleep between sheets, which made the couches at Granite House into
quite comfortable beds!

It was about this time also that they made boots of seal-leather, which
were greatly needed to replace the shoes and boots brought from America. We
may be sure that these new shoes were large enough and never pinched the
feet of the wearers.

With the beginning of the year 1866 the heat was very great, but the
hunting in the forests did not stand still. Agouties, peccaries, capybaras,
kangaroos, game of all sorts, actually swarmed there, and Spilett and
Herbert were too good marksmen ever to throw away their shot uselessly.

Cyrus Harding still recommended them to husband the ammunition, and he
took measures to replace the powder and shot which had been found in the
box, and which he wished to reserve for the future. How did he know where
chance might one day cast his companions and himself in the event of their
leaving their domain? They should, then, prepare for the unknown future by
husbanding their ammunition and by substituting for it some easily
renewable substance.

To replace lead, of which Harding had found no traces in the island, he
employed granulated iron, which was easy to manufacture. These bullets, not
having the weight of leaden bullets, were made larger, and each charge
contained less, but the skill of the sportsmen made up this deficiency. As
to powder, Cyrus Harding would have been able to make that also, for