The novel
byand Johann Rudolph Wyss is an exciting tale of a family consisting of a
father, mother, and four sons who experience a shipwreck off the shores of a deserted island.
Narrated by the father, the novel explains how the family manages to survive when confronted by
various adversities.
When the family members discover
that the ship's crew has abandoned them and they are alone on the ship, they construct a raft
out of wooden tubs and planks. On the initial voyage in their makeshift raft, along with the
entire family they bring to land three muskets, three fowling-pieces, two pairs of pocket
pistols, one pair of larger pistols, a barrel of powder, ball, shot, lead, and a bullet-mold.
They also bring a game-bag, squares of portable soup, biscuits, a fishing rod, an iron pot,
carpenter's tools, a chest of nails, sailcloth to make a tent, two cocks, and 10 hens. They set
the geese and ducks free to follow. The two large ship's dogs leap into the sea and swim to
shore.
The father and his son Fritz subsequently return
to the ship on the raft so that they can carry away more supplies and livestock. This time they
put a sail on the raft and load it with guns, sabers, swords, hunting knives, powder, shot,
nails, tools, and pieces of cloth. They also carry away knives, forks, spoons, kitchen utensils,
plates, a chest full of bottles of wine, hams, sausages, more portable soup, potatoes, maize,
wheat, and seeds. Additionally, they bring hammocks, blankets, sailcloth, cord, string, and
sulfur for making matches. They construct floating devices so that they can return with the cow,
ass, sow, sheep, and goats.
On later visits to the ship,
the family carries away anything else that they feel might be useful, including doors, windows,
mattresses, the gunner's chest, the carpenter's chest, young fruit and nut trees, grindstones,
cartwheels, shovels, tongs, plow-shares, copper and iron wire, a fishing net, a compass,
harpoons, and even pieces of a sawmill.
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