The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle [70]
the cold air of the coming night, the villagers, who had all been shivering within their houses, threw open their doors and came out in hundreds. I had no idea that the little village could hold so many. They thronged about us, smiling and nodding and waving their hands; and as the details of what we had done were recited by Long Arrow they kept shouting strange singing noises, which we supposed were words of gratitude or praise.
We were next escorted to a brand-new grass house, clean and sweet-smelling within, and informed that it was ours. Six strong Indian boys were told off to be our servants.
On our way through the village we noticed a house, larger than the rest, standing at the end of the main street. Long Arrow pointed to it and told us it was the Chief's house, but that it was now empty--no new chief having yet been elected to take the place of the old one who had died.
Inside our new home a feast of fish and fruit had been prepared. Most of the more important men of the tribe were already seating themselves at the long dining-table when we got there. Long Arrow invited us to sit down and eat.
This we were glad enough to do, as we were all hungry. But we were both surprised and disappointed when we found that the fish had not been cooked. The Indians did not seem to think this extraordinary in the least, but went ahead gobbling the fish with much relish the way it was, raw.
With many apologies, the Doctor explained to Long Arrow that if they had no objection we would prefer our fish cooked.
Imagine our astonishment when we found that the great Long Arrow, so learned in the natural sciences, did not know what the word COOKED meant!
Polynesia who was sitting on the bench between John Dolittle and myself pulled the Doctor by the sleeve.
"I'll tell you what's wrong, Doctor," she whispered as he leant down to listen to her: "THESE PEOPLE HAVE NO FIRES! They don't know how to make a fire. Look outside: It's almost dark, and there isn't a light showing ii the whole village. This is a fireless people."
THE THIRD CHAPTER
FIRE
THEN the Doctor asked Long Arrow if he knew what fire was, explaining it to him by pictures drawn on the buckskin table-cloth. Long Arrow said he had seen such a thing--coming out of the tops of volcanoes; but that neither he nor any of the Popsipetels knew how it was made.
"Poor perishing heathens!" muttered Bumpo. "No wonder the old chief died of cold!"
At that moment we heard a crying sound at the door. And turning round, we saw a weeping Indian mother with a baby in her arms. She said something to the Indians which we could not understand; and Long Arrow told us the baby was sick and she wanted the white doctor to try and cure it.
"Oh Lord!" groaned Polynesia in my ear--"Just like Puddleby: patients arriving in the middle of dinner. Well, one thing: the food's raw, so nothing can get cold anyway."
The Doctor examined the baby and found at once that it was thoroughly chilled.
"Fire--FIRE! That's what it needs," he said turning to Long Arrow--"That's what you all need. This child will have pneumonia if it isn't kept warm."
"Aye, truly. But how to make a fire," said Long Arrow--"where to get it: that is the difficulty. All the volcanoes in this land are dead."
Then we fell to hunting through our pockets to see if any matches had survived the shipwreck. The best we could muster were two whole ones and a half-- all with the heads soaked off them by salt water.
"Hark, Long Arrow," said the Doctor: "divers ways there be of making fire without the aid of matches. One: with a strong glass and the rays of the sun. That however, since the sun has set, we cannot now employ. Another is by grinding a hard stick into a soft log--Is the daylight gone without?--Alas yes. Then I fear we must await the morrow; for besides the different woods, we need an old squirrel's nest for fuel-- And that without lamps you could not find in your forests at this hour."
"Great are your cunning and your skill, oh White Man," Long Arrow replied. "But
We were next escorted to a brand-new grass house, clean and sweet-smelling within, and informed that it was ours. Six strong Indian boys were told off to be our servants.
On our way through the village we noticed a house, larger than the rest, standing at the end of the main street. Long Arrow pointed to it and told us it was the Chief's house, but that it was now empty--no new chief having yet been elected to take the place of the old one who had died.
Inside our new home a feast of fish and fruit had been prepared. Most of the more important men of the tribe were already seating themselves at the long dining-table when we got there. Long Arrow invited us to sit down and eat.
This we were glad enough to do, as we were all hungry. But we were both surprised and disappointed when we found that the fish had not been cooked. The Indians did not seem to think this extraordinary in the least, but went ahead gobbling the fish with much relish the way it was, raw.
With many apologies, the Doctor explained to Long Arrow that if they had no objection we would prefer our fish cooked.
Imagine our astonishment when we found that the great Long Arrow, so learned in the natural sciences, did not know what the word COOKED meant!
Polynesia who was sitting on the bench between John Dolittle and myself pulled the Doctor by the sleeve.
"I'll tell you what's wrong, Doctor," she whispered as he leant down to listen to her: "THESE PEOPLE HAVE NO FIRES! They don't know how to make a fire. Look outside: It's almost dark, and there isn't a light showing ii the whole village. This is a fireless people."
THE THIRD CHAPTER
FIRE
THEN the Doctor asked Long Arrow if he knew what fire was, explaining it to him by pictures drawn on the buckskin table-cloth. Long Arrow said he had seen such a thing--coming out of the tops of volcanoes; but that neither he nor any of the Popsipetels knew how it was made.
"Poor perishing heathens!" muttered Bumpo. "No wonder the old chief died of cold!"
At that moment we heard a crying sound at the door. And turning round, we saw a weeping Indian mother with a baby in her arms. She said something to the Indians which we could not understand; and Long Arrow told us the baby was sick and she wanted the white doctor to try and cure it.
"Oh Lord!" groaned Polynesia in my ear--"Just like Puddleby: patients arriving in the middle of dinner. Well, one thing: the food's raw, so nothing can get cold anyway."
The Doctor examined the baby and found at once that it was thoroughly chilled.
"Fire--FIRE! That's what it needs," he said turning to Long Arrow--"That's what you all need. This child will have pneumonia if it isn't kept warm."
"Aye, truly. But how to make a fire," said Long Arrow--"where to get it: that is the difficulty. All the volcanoes in this land are dead."
Then we fell to hunting through our pockets to see if any matches had survived the shipwreck. The best we could muster were two whole ones and a half-- all with the heads soaked off them by salt water.
"Hark, Long Arrow," said the Doctor: "divers ways there be of making fire without the aid of matches. One: with a strong glass and the rays of the sun. That however, since the sun has set, we cannot now employ. Another is by grinding a hard stick into a soft log--Is the daylight gone without?--Alas yes. Then I fear we must await the morrow; for besides the different woods, we need an old squirrel's nest for fuel-- And that without lamps you could not find in your forests at this hour."
"Great are your cunning and your skill, oh White Man," Long Arrow replied. "But