Adventures of a Young Naturalist

"You don't intend to take it away with you, I hope?"

"No; it is an ill-tempered creature, and is always anxious to use its teeth. I shall just show it to Master Job, and then let it go."

Neither Job nor his companions seemed flattered by this introduction, and the boy was disappointed when he deposited it at the water's edge; for, instead of plunging in, as he expected, it made a semicircle, and ran off towards the forest.

"Don't young alligators know how to swim?" he asked.

"Yes, Chanito; but they do not go into the water till they are old enough to defend themselves against the big males, which would devour them."

The sun had scarcely risen, when I saw on the shore, at about ten paces from us, three monsters luxuriously stretched out. One of them, from sixteen to twenty feet long, with a brown and rough body, opened its enormous jaws and showed us its frightful teeth. I took Lucien by the hand to lead him nearer to the reptiles, the better to inspect them.

"I like tigers better than these creatures," said he; "certainly their roaring is frightful to listen to, but they are by no means so hideous."

"Look along there, M. Sumichrast!" cried Lucien, when we had again taken to our raft; "there are eyes floating on the water!"

"You are not mistaken; they are crocodile's eyes."

The child nestled up to me, and I encouraged him; but these dark eyes appearing in every direction, and following every movement of the raft, troubled him beyond expression.

The banks of the river were covered with alligators, with their mouths wide agape. Some of them glided down into the water and came near us, but the majority remained motionless, not caring to exert themselves. Lucien's fear began to calm down. He had so wished to see plenty of alligators; now he complained that there were too many.

"Look at that one," said Sumichrast, "climbing up that spit of land. He turns round with difficulty, and looks as if he scarcely had the use of his limbs. The fact is, that his body has no proper joints, and only moves in one piece. The best way, therefore, to escape from an alligator is to run up and down, making the turns short and rapid."

The stream had hitherto flowed almost on a level with its banks, now the latter became gradually higher, and we floated along under an arch of foliage. L'Encuerado happened to raise himself to point out to Lucien a tree covered with parrots, between whom and the Indian there immediately commenced a lively chatter. Diverted by this amusing conversation, none of us perceived an enormous branch, which just grazed our heads but upset our entertainer. When he emerged from the water, instead of swimming towards us, l'Encuerado made his way to the bank, and began, with cutlass in hand, to hew and hack at the tree which had been the cause of his accident.

"If you're going to cut down that colossus," cried my friend, "we had better encamp here, for it's eight days work at least."

"Only wait ten minutes more, at most, Tatita Sumichrast. It shall never be said that this great booby broke my head and then laughed at me, to the heart's delight of the parrots, who no doubt were the instigators of such conduct."

L'Encuerado, by the notches he had cut in the tree, could easily climb up to the lowest branch; but in his haste he slipped and fell a second time into the water.

In a twinkling the Indian was up astride again on his branch, jabbering like an ape, and slashing his knife into it, when of a sudden it gave a loud crack, and he and it descended with a splash into the river. At this noise the parrots sent up a wild scream and flew off, while the branch floated past us to the ocean. Our companion climbed up again on the raft, and laughed so heartily at his defeat of the tree and the fright he had caused to the parrots, that Lucien soon joined in his gayety. He was, however, thoroughly exhausted, so lay down, when he slept the peaceful sleep of a child which has tired itself out with a fit of passion.

For two hours I managed the raft, and then l'Encuerado, awaking, resumed his post in silence. Suddenly there was a heavy tramping on the ground, the boughs moved, and the head of a wild bull appeared among the creepers. The animal surveyed us for a moment with its fierce eyes, and then made off, bellowing hoarsely.

The sight of this new denizen of the forest confirmed the omens as we had already read them, and soon, accordingly, there burst upon our view an immense savannah. We were just about to pass the last shrub on the bank of the river, when l'Encuerado suddenly brought the boat to a stand-still. I stood up and saw a herd of wild cattle moving rapidly down to that portion of the stream which we were about to pass.

"Look out!" cried Sumichrast; "this is better worth seeing than the crocodiles."

L'Encuerado landed, and, crossing the prairie, called us. I found him close to an enormous willow-tree. Without loss of time, Lucien, Sumichrast, and I climbed up among the branches, taking Gringalet with us; but the Indian preferred posting himself in a more isolated position.

"We shall have roast fillet of beef to-night," cried he, executing among the branches such a series of gambols that I feared he would finish by falling.

The cattle approached. The ground trembled under their feet, and we were deafened by their bellowing. One of them, a magnificent bull, with a black coat sprinkled with white spots, took the lead. The drove, which first trotted on, and then stopped to browse, followed its imperious-looking chief; the caymans, as if awakened by the uproar, assembled at the opening of the savannah, and numerous watchful eyes were to be seen on the surface of the water.

The wild drove halted at about fifty paces from the stream; the black and white bull advanced alone and, first leisurely taking a drink, plunged into the water; he reached the opposite bank, where he halted and turned right about. Then the entire drove, above which was hovering a cloud of horse-flies, dashed at full gallop into the stream to join their guide. Although the drove must have consisted of hundreds, in less than a quarter of an hour there were not left more than five or six on our side, and these seemed afraid to cross. Suddenly a gun was fired, and one of the animals came rushing past our tree with a jet of blood flowing from his chest. Suddenly he stopped, groaned, and sank down upon the ground. I cast a glance at l'Encuerado, who descended to the lowest branch, continuing his gymnastic exercises. The young bulls on our side, frightened by the report of the gun, at last made up their minds to cross; one of them, however, stopping to drink, was seized by a crocodile, and gradually drawn under the water. A second disappeared in the middle of the stream; and a third, after a fearful struggle, reached the bank. The whole drove, goaded on by the horse-flies, then resumed their furious course, and were soon lost in the distance.

These cattle range the prairies in droves of sometimes forty thousand, and were originally imported by the Spaniards.

CHAPTER XXXII

THE KING OF THE VULTURES. – THE TICKS. – L'ENCUERADO FRIGHTENED BY A DEMON. – THE TAPIRS. – GOOD-BYE TO THE STREAM. – THE PUMA'S PREY. – A MISERABLE NIGHT. – OUR DEPARTURE. – THE SAVANNAH. – LUCIEN CARRIED IN A LITTER. – HUNGER AND THIRST. – WE ABANDON OUR BAGGAGE AND PETS IN DESPAIR

The next morning l'Encuerado started alone on the raft; for we had resolved to cross the savannah on foot, and thus escape, for an hour or two, the insects which took advantage of our forced immobility in order to bleed us at their leisure.

Flocks of black vultures hovered high up in the sky, bending their course towards a spot not very far from the river bed. Our curiosity led us in that direction, and in a large hole, with perpendicular sides, about twelve yards wide, we saw several hundreds of these bare-necked gentry fighting over the carcass of a buffalo. We were retiring in disgust, when the vultures, who had not seemed the least alarmed at our presence, suddenly manifested fear, and, abandoning their prey, stood around in evident concern. A new guest had made its appearance in the sky, and soared round and round above us. It settled down heavily, and folded its black and white wings; the new-comer was the Sarcoramphus papa of the savants– a bird akin to the condor.

This king of the vultures, as the Indians call it, had a black tail, and white plumage on its back. Its neck was adorned with a ruff of pearl-gray feathers, and the top of its head was streaked in symmetrical lines with a dark down; on its yellow beak there was a fleshy protuberance, the utility of which ornithologists seek in vain to explain. The magnificent bird darted round it a domineering look, and, advancing towards the prey, began to feed. New guests were incessantly arriving, but they all kept their distance.

At last the sarcoramphus flew away, and immediately the vultures rushed en masse on the carcass, which soon disappeared under the crowd of beaks.

We now made for the raft, but the distance was greater than we had calculated; and, before going on board, it was highly necessary to free ourselves of the hundreds of ticks which we had collected in the savannah. These insects are black, and as small as fleas, and gather in masses at the extremities of plants, ready to attach themselves to any animal that brushes against them. They then bury their claws in the flesh, and greedily suck the blood. It is a tedious job to pick off one by one these troublesome parasites, which cause an almost unbearable itching.

About five o'clock in the evening, the raft came to shore in a bay shaded by palm-trees. L'Encuerado hastened to stretch out his tigers' skins, and, as night was at hand, we contented ourselves with the remains of a tortoise. The Indian, who had walked but little, cocked his gun and strolled along the edge of the river. In about a quarter of an hour he returned, looking pale and excited.

"Have you been bitten by a serpent?" I cried.

"No, Tatita," he replied, quite out of breath; "something worse than that! I have seen it!"

"What?" I exclaimed.

"A ghost!" said the Indian in a low tone, crossing himself.

"Pluck up your spirits," said I to the Indian; "if you have, we'll kill it to-morrow."

"You can't kill it, Tatita."

"With ordinary bullets, no; but those which Sumichrast knows how to prepare will soon settle him."

My curiosity was raised; for this ghost was an animal called a tapir, which the Indians believe possessed of supernatural powers; and, as I had never met with one, I was anxious that we should come across it.

"And didn't you aim at it?" cried my friend.

"No; I ran away," replied the fearless tiger-hunter.

Thus l'Encuerado, whom the evening before we had seen braving tigers, crocodiles, and wild cattle, now trembled at the mere idea of facing an inoffensive animal, which was only a relation of the peccaries, with a snout terminated by a non-prehensile proboscis, yet to which his imagination attributed certain demoniac qualities. He that night utterly refused to go to rest; at the least rustling of the leaves he expected to see the ghost appear. Instead of directly opposing his error – which I knew would be of no use – I endeavored to convince him that my power far surpassed that of the object of his dread.

"If it wasn't for that," I urged on him, "do you think I would permit Lucien to sleep in so dangerous a neighborhood?"

Sumichrast gave the Indian two bullets, and solemnly told him that with these projectiles he would surely kill the object of his dread if he aimed straight. L'Encuerado gradually recovered his self-possession; the idea of slaying in one of its most formidable shapes the cause of his superstition excited his self-esteem, and he went to sleep, and no doubt dreamt of his next day's exploit.

At day-break we walked down to the confluence of the two rivers; in front of us stretched a broad prairie covered with thick grass. If the tapir had not quenched its thirst in the night, it would be sure to reappear; therefore Lucien and Sumichrast turned to the left close by the stream, while I and my servant crouched down behind the trunk of a tree at the entrance of the forest.

We remained in this position for more than an hour, when suddenly the reeds were pushed, aside, and two of the looked-for pachyderms came out together on the green-sward.

L'Encuerado kept on crossing himself without intermission.

"Fire," said I, in a low voice, "and aim straight at the forehead."

The gun went off, and the tapirs decamped; but one of them fell on the ground before it could enter the water; it was dead ere we reached it.

"You have killed the object of your dread," said Lucien, who ran up to examine the curious animal.

"Yes, Chanito, thanks to the enchanted bullets."

L'Encuerado having positively refused to touch the tapir, Sumichrast undertook to cut it up, as we much wished to taste its flesh. All our efforts to induce the Indian to do likewise were fruitless, and his ingenious mind found a retort to all our arguments. The flesh of the animal reminded us a little of that of the peccary, although it was less highly flavored.

About midday the tigers' skins were taken up, and the raft was soon floating over the combined streams. We had at first thought of proceeding in this way as far as the Gulf of Mexico; but the season was now too far advanced to admit of such an excursion. We at length made up our minds that the next day we should abandon our raft, and return by the shortest route to our starting-point.

At dawn of day our bivouac was enlivened by hundreds of birds. L'Encuerado cut the mooring line of the raft, and let it float down the stream, thanking it at the same time for the services it had rendered us, and wishing it prosperity in its lonely voyage to the ocean.

As I stood watching the frail bark gliding away, two herons perched upon it, and it soon glided out of sight laden with its winged passengers.

We were all ready to start; the "Tapir River," as Lucien had named it, we bid adieu to with three hurrahs, and our little party set off, following Sumichrast, who carried Master Job perched on his shoulder.

Our way lay in part through a prairie, where the heat was overpowering, and in part through palm-tree woods, infested with mosquitoes. At last, overcome by fatigue, we felt compelled to halt and bivouac for the night.

As we were arranging our bivouac next night, l'Encuerado saw a crayfish, and set off with Lucien to try and catch some of them. I and Sumichrast started on the trail of some deer we had seen bounding past. We had scarcely gone more than five hundred yards before we climbed a hill beyond which a savannah was spread out before us as far as the eye could reach, the high grass of which looked almost like ripe wheat.

Sumichrast, who had halted, summoned me by an imitation of the cry of an owl. I hastily and noiselessly joined him, when he pointed out to me, among the trees, a deer quietly browsing, which would no doubt pass within gunshot. I stood watching by my friend, following with anxiety all the movements of the graceful animal, for twice it threw up its head and showed some vague uneasiness. Sumichrast, fearing that it was about to make off, was getting ready to fire, when the deer gave a bound and sank down under the weight of a puma, which had sprung upon it. I fired at the carnivore, which the ferocious brute responded to by a loud roar, then, dragging its prey a distance of about fifty yards, it suddenly made off. The venison of the deer, and more than thirty small crayfish caught by Lucien and his friend, were a godsend to our larder, and amply made up for the short commons of previous occasions.

We watched the sun go down from the top of the hill, and descried on the horizon the bluish line of the Cordillera, with the volcano of Orizava towering up towards the west. Henceforth this mountain was to be our guide while crossing the immense savannah, an undertaking which filled me with dread.

"Shall we cross that great plain?" asked Lucien.

"Yes, Master Sunbeam, it is the shortest way to Orizava."

"How many hours shall we be in doing it?"

"Hours? We shall be three or four days at least."

At this moment a storm, which we saw impending, burst over us, and we hurried pell-mell to our hut. For four hours the heavens continued to pour down, amidst thunder and lightning, a perfect deluge, and we were all, in spite of our shelter, soaked to the skin. The clouds broke up, and a few stars shone out; about midnight the clear sky regained its azure tint, while the moon dimly lighted up the landscape. L'Encuerado, who slept through it, now woke up to help us to rekindle the fire and get ready a cup of coffee; after enjoying which, and changing our clothes, we all retired to rest.

In the morning we held a council to deliberate about the route, and, after some debate, we agreed to l'Encuerado's proposal, and decisively resolved to cross the savannah direct.

It would have been madness to travel, so heavily laden as we were, under the rays of a vertical sun; so I proposed not to start till the evening, and that henceforth we should travel by night, a plan which quite rejoiced Lucien.

After the baggage had been equally divided, and every thing that was useless thrown away, I counted the maize-cakes, our only food, and found we had enough victuals for several days, besides crayfish, and the flesh of an armadillo. We filled our gourds up to the necks with water and corked them tightly, then lay down in the shade to gain strength for our next stage.

About four o'clock l'Encuerado called us to dinner, and by sunset we started, home-bound, each with his allotted burden over his shoulder. Sumichrast, with Lucien following, led the way.

"Well, Master Sunbeam, you are nearly as much lost in the stalks here as you were in the forest. Are your boots well greased? We shall have many days of hard walking."

"Where are all the wild cattle and horses?"

"Not far off, I hope! first, because they would guide us to the ponds and the streams where they drink; and, secondly, we may need them to furnish us with food."

"Then shall we find nothing to shoot here?"

"Nothing at all where the grass is so high as this; animals seldom venture into the midst of these solitudes."

"And the birds?"

"They are never to be seen unless the grass grows close to the ground, excepting birds of prey; and they, perhaps, are hovering over us now, hoping we may become food for them."

For more than five hours we kept on without stopping. I then proposed a halt. By lying down on the grass we at once found a soft bed, and Lucien and the rest of us soon went to sleep. Before daylight l'Encuerado awoke us, when, after taking our bearings, he undertook to be our guide. As the first sunbeam appeared, we halted to form our camp and erect our tent. We cleared a large space, and a hole in the ground served as a fire-place. Our crayfish remained perfectly fresh, and while l'Encuerado was broiling them, I and Sumichrast watched the direction of the flames, as it was highly important for our safety that the savannah should not be set on fire. The meal dispatched, and the fire extinguished, we squatted down under the shadow of the grass, and resigned ourselves to sleep.

I woke about midday, nearly roasted by the sun, which had now replaced the shade. Calling my companions, so that they might change their position, a new arrangement of our covering gave us more shelter, and soon once more all were asleep; but in the short intervening time Lucien began to repeat to the parrots the names of Hortense and Emile.

At midnight, l'Encuerado shouldered his load and took the lead. The second night passed like the first, and we travelled at least eight leagues.

Our third night was interrupted by five or six halts, but we plodded on till dawn. At the first gleam of light, I examined the horizon; there was nothing but bluish-looking mountains to the right, and in every other direction only the gloomy and deserted plain. On this day we had to be satisfied with maize-cakes; but the hope of at length reaching the woods cheered every one.

"One night more," said l'Encuerado and Sumichrast, "and then we shall have rest and abundance."

The fourth day's march was much more wearisome, especially to poor Lucien, who, still uncomplaining, yet commenced to limp dreadfully.

The day broke, and I again examined the horizon, but could see nothing except the sky and grass.

"I am afraid we are not going the right way," I said to l'Encuerado. "God grant we have not been walking at random for these three days."

The Indian stood up on his basket, and carefully examined the outline of the mountains.

"We are in the right path," said he, positively; "the savannah is very wide, that is all."

L'Encuerado's assurances only half convinced me. Lucien's feet were so covered with blisters that he could scarcely put them to the ground. Unexpectedly I discovered that he was weeping silently; so I took him up in my arms, when he soon fell asleep.

In this emergency, l'Encuerado, with the straps and poles of our tent, managed to make a kind of litter, upon which we placed the boy. Sumichrast helped me to carry him, and though we had to stop hundreds of times to rest our arms, still we accomplished several leagues. The day had scarcely begun to dawn, when I again examined the horizon; alas! nothing was changed, and the only things I saw were flocks of black vultures, which are not generally regarded as a happy omen.

Owing to an accident by which our reserve gourd was burst and the contents spilt, we were tormented by thirst, and the only food we had to eat only half restored our rapidly-failing strength. In another day all our maize-cakes would be exhausted, and the rice was of no use without water. Fatigue gradually dispelled these gloomy thoughts, and we fell asleep.

I awoke about four o'clock in the afternoon, and was dismayed to find that l'Encuerado had deserted us, accompanied by Gringalet.

Having passed a whole night in useless waiting, hoping for his reappearing, we resolved to pursue our journey. So we put all the baggage into one heap, and set Janet and Verdet at liberty, leaving them the sack of rice, which we could not carry. Then, loaded with our guns and gourds – alas! almost empty – we prepared to start on our journey without having the courage to undeceive Lucien, who thought we were going to meet his friend.

At last, having examined the horizon carefully, I placed Master Job on my shoulder, and, led by Sumichrast, Lucien being borne between us, we pursued our course.

CHAPTER XXXIII

THIRST. – L'ENCUERADO'S RETURN. – THE DESCRIPTION OF HIS JOURNEY. – JANET, VERDET, AND ROUGETTE. – HUNTING WILD HORSES. – OUR LAST ADVENTURE. – THE RETURN

The undertaking was beyond our strength. Panting and suffocated with heat, and tormented by thirst, we were compelled to desist.

Lucien's feet pained him dreadfully, but the brave little fellow kept constantly saying, "I should be all right if I could only have a good drink."

My friend several times gave him his gourd to wet his tongue from, but it was only temporary relief. Night came on, and we began to prepare for our almost hopeless march. A mouthful of brandy gave us a little artificial strength. So even before sunset, I mounted Lucien on my shoulder, and we recommenced our journey.

Twenty times I was forced to take breath, and twenty times I struggled on again; but happily the grass became shorter, which was a good omen, and hope revived.

Sumichrast now lifted up Lucien, and walked on with a determined step. I took up Master Job, and followed closely in his rear. We heard a dull noise, and stopped to listen. It was the report of a gun, and by-and-by we heard a horse galloping, and then a well-known bark.

"That's Gringalet," said Lucien.

"Hiou! hiou! hiou! Chanito!"

Our emotion scarcely allowed us to answer; the Indian sprang from his horse, and, running towards the child, pressed him to his heart, and then, stretching out his arms, fell senseless to the ground. I rushed towards him and opened his gourd – it was full! With the help of Sumichrast I poured a few drops of brandy between his teeth. He gradually regained his senses, and looked at us in surprise. He was exhausted from hunger and fatigue.