CHAPTER III. 



FIRST DAY IN THE FOREST. 



What I wore and carried — Crusoe's accoutrements — A wrestle 

 with razor grass — Under the parrot-apple tree — Creepers and 

 crawlers — The crested cassican — A bird's nest five feet long. 



I WAS not, perhaps, quite the "formidable Fel- 

 low " that our old friend Robinson Crusoe was when 

 he set out for his walks abroad ; but I was equally well 

 equipped for a fight, if need be. To tell the truth, 

 I never could understand how he managed to carry 

 that cumbersome broadsword through the tangled 

 thickets; not to mention his hatchet, pistols, and 

 heavy fowling piece. And then, again, he was so 

 heavily laden with clothing and accoutrements, in a 

 tropical climate, with the thermometer (if he had one) 

 indicating somewhere near a hundred degrees in the 

 shade. 



Now, my costume was the result of many months 

 of experience with the hot sun of tropical regions, 

 and I always dressed with an eye to comfort. In 

 the first place, on my head a helmet made of papyrus 

 pith, which was imported from the East Indies — the 

 favorite head gear of all tropical explorers, because 

 it is so light, and at the same time absolutely imper- 



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