To come down off this featherbed of civilisation Salt Cay Farewells and Welcomes - and a Donkey named Modestine

It’s all change of late, not a word we use often on the Charmed Isle. Our long-serving District Commissioner (DC), Mrs Almaida Wilson took her retirement, following in the footsteps of the former Deputy DC, Mr Noyal Hamilton, who retired earlier this year. I would like to wish them both all the best and a happy retirement. At the same time, and with not too much fanfare, the RTCIPF have posted a police officer back on the Cay. The fact that it “only” took six years to make this a reality could be a story in itself. It is my hope that the good constable Stanley Been will be the most underworked police officer of this blessed archipelago. I suspect he will be.

Moving on, let’s explore another captivating work of literature. This piece came to my attention through a reader in France. As emails continue to come in about - you’ve guessed it – donkeys and my recent column about the history of these four-legged companions of residents in the Turks Islands and South Caicos. A reader from North America commented, “Nice article, but give me a break, a national treasure?”. Despite this, I stand firm in considering them

BY TITUS DE BOER

as such, akin to the revered panda in China, albeit less cuddly. The reader in France I mentioned asked me, “Have you heard of the Robert Louis Stevenson Trail, based on his book, ‘Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes’?” I must admit I was unaware of this trail, spanning 171 miles and attracting hikers from around the world, even boasting its own website www.cheminstevenson.org.

I had read Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” and “Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” when I was young but had never acquainted myself with any of his travel literature, that is until now. Written in 1879, “Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes” recounts Stevenson's 12-day solo hiking journey through the sparsely populated and impoverished areas of the Cevennes mountains in south-central France. The other main character in this tale is a stubborn and manipulative donkey named Modestine, who’s interaction with her human “master” is not only wildly entertaining but also deliciously amusing.

From the first page the book sets the tone and gives the reader a hint of what they’re in for, “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly; to come down off this featherbed of civilisation and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints”.

In my view, the central story is the relationship the writer develops with his travel companion, a donkey. Without wishing to give away too much of the story, this literary gem illustrates just how intense their fellowship becomes, “They told me when I started, and I was ready to believe it, that before a few days I should come to love Modestine like a dog. Three days had passed, we had shared some misadventures, and my heart was still as cold as a potato towards my beast of burden. She was pretty enough to look at; but then she had given proof of dead stupidity, redeemed indeed by patience, but aggravated by flashes of sorry and ill-judged light-heartedness….

What the devil was the good of a she-ass if she could not carry a sleeping bag and a few necessaries?

I saw the end of the fable rapidly approaching when I should have to carry Modestine”.

As the story draws to a close and the writer bids farewell to his faithful donkey, you can’t help but be touched by the genuine bond Stevenson had developed for his loyal companion. “I had lost Modestine. Up to that moment, I had thought I hated her; but now she was gone, ‘And oh! The difference to me!’ For twelve days we had been fast companions; we had travelled upwards of a hundred and twenty miles, crossed several respectable ridges, and jogged along with our six legs by many a rocky and many a boggy by-road. After the first day, although sometimes I was hurt and distant in manner, I kept my patience; and as for her, poor soul! she had come to regard me as a god. She loved to eat out of my hand. She was patient, elegant in form, the colour of an ideal mouse, and inimitably small. Her faults were those of her race and sex; her virtues were her own. Farewell, and if for ever…. "

“Travels with a Donkey in Cevennes” is a tremendously enjoyable read. It is captivating, entertaining, witty and the good news is that there is a free version on https://www.gutenberg.org - just search for it by the name of the author or title. Happy reading!