We now began our work; we emptied the cask of honey into a large boiler,
except a little reserved for daily use; we added a little water, placed
the boiler on a slow fire, and reduced it to a liquid mass; this was
strained through a bag into the cask, and left standing all night to
cool. The next morning the wax had risen to the top, and formed a hard
and solid cake, which we easily removed; and beneath was the most pure
and delicious honey. The barrel was then carefully closed, and placed in
a cool place. We now proceeded to examine the interior of the tree. I
took a long pole, and tried the height from the window I had made; and
tied a stone to a string to sound the depth. To my surprise, the pole
penetrated without resistance to the very branches where our dwelling
was, and the stone went to the roots. It was entirely hollow, and I
thought I could easily fix a winding staircase in this wide tunnel. It
would seem, that this huge tree, like the willow of our country, is
nourished through the bark, for it was flourishing in luxuriant beauty.
We began by cutting a doorway, on the side facing the sea, of the size
of the door we had brought from the captain's cabin, with its
framework, thus securing ourselves from invasion on that side. We then
cleansed, and perfectly smoothed the cavity, fixing in the middle the
trunk of a tree about ten feet high, to serve for the axis of the
staircase.
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