The Swiss Family Robinson · Chapter
Endnotes explained
This chapter provides extensive endnotes and natural history annotations that elaborate on the flora, fauna, and geological features encountered by the Swiss family during their island adventures.
What happens
This chapter provides extensive endnotes and natural history annotations that elaborate on the flora, fauna, and geological features encountered by the Swiss family during their island adventures. It includes detailed descriptions of the onagra (wild ass), phormium (flax-plant), sal-gem (rock salt), flamingo, penguin, tuiete (Brazilian parrot), caoutchouc (elastic gum), sago-palm, cabbage palm, and buffalo, among others, offering scientific and contextual background to the narrative.
Themes in this chapter
Nature and Divine Order
The detailed natural history descriptions in the endnotes reflect a view of nature as a divinely ordered system, with each species and geological feature meticulously cataloged as part of God's creation.
Resourcefulness and Industry
Annotations on the practical uses of plants like phormium for flax, sago-palm for food and construction, and caoutchouc for elastic gum emphasize the theme of utilizing natural resources through human industry.
Key passages
“The name of oeigitai , applied to the onagra or wild ass in the countries where it is most common, comes from the word dshiggetei , which in the Tartar language means “long ears” in fact its ears are very long, but more erect, and better shaped, than those of the ass.”
The term 'oeigitai' for the wild ass derives from a Tartar word meaning 'long ears,' and indeed its ears are longer and more upright than a donkey's.
Explains the etymology and physical characteristic of the onagra.
“The flamingo builds its nest on the ground, and generally in marshes; they scrape the mud into a heap with their feet, so as to make little hillocks of a conical figure, and a foot and a half in height; the hillock is a little hollowed at the top; and in this hollow the female lays two or three eggs at most, upon which she sits; her legs, which are very long, resting upon the level ground, or plunged into the water, while with the back part of her body she keeps the eggs in a proper state of warmth.”
Flamingos construct conical mud nests about a foot and a half tall in marshes, where the female lays two or three eggs and incubates them while standing with her long legs in the water.
Describes the nesting behavior of flamingos.
“The method adopted for taming the buffalo is by fixing a ring in the nostril when about three years old. The operator contrives to entangle the legs with a string, and the animal falls to the ground; several men fall upon it and confine the legs, while others make the wound and pass the ring; it is then left: it runs furiously from place to place, and endeavours to get rid of the ring; in a short time it begins to be accustomed to its fate, and by degrees to learn obedience.”
To tame a buffalo, a ring is inserted into its nostril at around three years of age after the animal is restrained; initially it struggles violently, but gradually becomes accustomed and obedient.
Details the traditional method of domesticating buffalo.