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DRAWN BY A TURTLE |
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myself all over; on looking, I saw that the ground was of clay, and almost liquid, so I made some of it into balls, and brought them home.'
Ernest was not to be out-done, and declared he too had made a discovery ; he had found some roots rather like a horse-radish, which the sow had eaten with relish
From his account, and further particulars I judged them to be manioc, or tapioca, of which the natives of the West Indies make a sort of bread or cake which they call cassava; and I told him if this were so his discovery was of considerable value. We had now finished unloading the sledge, and I bade the three eldest boys accompany me to fetch another load before it should be dark. We left Francis and his mother busy preparing supper.
Having reached the raft, we took from it as much as the sledge could hold, or the animals draw along. One object of my attention was to secure two chests which contained our own clothes, as I well knew this would please my wife. I reckoned also on finding in one of the chests some books on interesting subjects, and principally a large handsomely-printed Bible. I added to these, four cartwheels and a hand-mill for grinding; which, now that we had discovered the manioc, I considered of |
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