Page:Adrift in the Pacific, Sampson Low, 1889.djvu/147

Rh and bring it in from Bog Woods along the bank of the river.

It was at this time that a new discovery was made, adding to the comfort of French Den. It was not made by Gordon, although he was a good botanist, but to Kate the whole credit belonged. On the edge of Bog Woods there were a certain number of trees, measuring from fifty to sixty feet high. If the axe had spared them, it was because their wood was very stringy, and promised to be but poor fuel for the fires in the hall and enclosure. The leaves were of oblong form, alternating with knots on the branches and terminated by a leathery point.

The first time Kate saw one of these trees — it was the 25th of October — she exclaimed, —

"Oh I why there's a cow-tree!"

Dole and Costar, who were with her, burst into a shout of laughter.

"What is a cow-tree?" asked one.

"Do the cows eat it?" asked the other.

"No, papooses, no," said Kate. "It is so called because it yields milk."

When she returned to French Den, Kate told Gordon of her discovery. Gordon at once called Service, and with him and Kate went to Bog Woods. After examining the tree Gordon thought it might be one of those milk trees of which there are so many in the forests of North America, and he was not mistaken.

It was a valuable discovery. All that was needful was to make an incision in the bark, and a milky sap would flow, having the taste and properties of the milk of the cow. If left to stand, it would form excellent cheese, and at the same time it would yield very pure wax, not unlike beeswax, of which capital candles could be made.

"Well," said Service, " if it is a cow-tree or a tree-cow, we may as well milk it."

And unknown to himself he used the very same expression as the Indians, for they "milk the tree."