CHAPTER XXVII
L'ENCUERADO AND THE PARROTS. – GRINGALET MEETS A FRIEND. – THE COUGAR, OR AMERICAN LION. – A STREAM. – OUR "PALM-TREE VILLA." – TURTLES' EGGS. – THE TANTALUS. – HERONS AND FLAMINGOES
The parrots that we heard chattering were quite sufficient to wake us up in the morning. The sun rose red and angry; a perfect concert soon greeted its appearance. The hoccos set up their sonorous clucking, and birds of every kind came fluttering round us. Lucien, now reconciled to the virgin forests, was never tired of admiring the varieties of trees, shrubs, or bushes, and the infinite number of the winged inhabitants which enliven them. We slowly descended into the plain; even now the heat was too much for us, and long marches would soon be impossible. A flock of cardinals, with crested heads, flew around us and settled on a magnolia, which then looked as if it was covered with purple flowers. Farther on, some paroquets, no bigger than sparrows, greeted us with their varied cries. L'Encuerado, after tossing his head several times, and shrugging his shoulders, at last stopped, and could not refrain from answering them.
"Come and carry it yourselves!" he cried; "come and carry it yourselves, and prove that you are stronger than a man!"
"What are you asking the birds to do?" demanded Lucien.
"They are making fun of my load, Chanito; a set of lazy fellows, who all of them together would not be able to move it!"
Sumichrast made his way into the forest, cutting away the creepers with his machete in order to clear a passage. In less than an hour we had crossed five or six glades. Suddenly I noticed that Gringalet had disappeared. I called him, and a distant barking answered me.
"Can he have met with a stream?" said Sumichrast.
I advanced in the direction in which I had heard the voice of our four-footed companion, and suddenly came upon him baying furiously at a young cougar, which Sumichrast ran towards, but the animal fled into the wood.
"Where did you turn out this fellow, Gringalet?" asked l'Encuerado, quite seriously. "Don't trust too much to his friendship, for it might be the worse for you; lions seldom fondle any thing without hurting it."
"Was it a lion?" asked Lucien.
"Yes," I answered; "but an American lion, or cougar, known by savants as the Felis puma."
"How I should like to have seen it! Had it a mane?"
"No; the puma is without one."
We were crossing another glade, when Gringalet suddenly rushed between our legs. On looking back, I saw the puma slyly following us.
"Well, upon my word!" said Sumichrast; "does this fellow want to prove that a cougar will attack a man?"
L'Encuerado, who had put down his load, was already aiming at the animal.
"Don't shoot!" I cried, authoritatively.
The puma did not advance any farther, but glared at us with its yellow eyes, its tail lashing its sides with a measured movement, while it displayed a formidable row of tusks. Suddenly it stretched itself along the ground, as if about to play. Lucien was now able to examine leisurely the beautiful tawny color of its coat. It surveyed us with such a quiet, gentle aspect, that it seemed as if it belonged to our party, even pushing its confidence so far as to begin its toilet by first licking its paws, and then rubbing them over its muzzle.
I gave the word for continuing our journey. L'Encuerado obeyed very reluctantly. After this rencontre I placed Lucien, who congratulated himself upon having had such a near view of the beautiful animal, in the middle of the party.
"If we don't eat the lion, it will eat us," said the Indian. "If we had only wounded it, it would have gone and told all its companions that it was any thing but prudent to go too close to our fire."
"Well, if it comes near us again, I give you leave to shoot it."
"You do? it's a bargain!" cried L'Encuerado. "Stop a minute, Tata Sumichrast; cock your gun, Chanito; you shall have the first shot."
We stood together in a group, and I looked in vain for the cougar.
"The rascal has got in front of us," added the Indian. "We'll astonish him in a moment. Come this way, Chanito, but don't run or turn round. Do you see that tree that stands in front of us? Not so far that way – that one we were just going to pass under. Look at the wonderful fruit it has on it!"
"It is the puma!" exclaimed the boy.
"That's pleasant!" muttered Sumichrast. "Then there are two pumas."
"No, no, Tata Sumichrast, it is the same one. Aim between its eyes, Chanito; fire!"
There were two reports almost at the same moment, and the animal tumbled down upon the ground without uttering a cry.
"Don't be too quick, Chanito," continued the Indian; "this is not a water-dog; always reload your gun, whether the enemy be dead or not, before you trust yourself within its reach."
Gringalet ventured to bark round the beast, and I kept in readiness to shoot, while my companions cautiously advanced. The cougar had been struck in the forehead, and no longer breathed. It was about three feet in length, and its hair, which was slightly waved on some parts of its body, showed it was a young one. The Indian raised the animal's enormous head.
"Come," he said, "you deserve to die like a warrior. You are the first of your race which ever ventured so close to my gun. Was it Chanito you wanted to devour?"
"I think it much more probable that it wanted Gringalet; what a pity it is that we can't tame these beautiful cats!"
"Cats!" repeated Lucien.
"Yes, to be sure; the great African lion itself is nothing but the largest and strongest of all the cat tribe. Didn't you know that?"
"I thought the lion was a beast by itself; but, at all events, it is the king of mammals?"
"It is rightly thought to be the strongest of all the carnivora: its head, which it carries upright, and its beautiful mane, give it a majestic appearance. With regard to its reputation for generosity, I scarcely know what it is founded on; I fancy that the famous lion of Androcles had just enjoyed a plentiful meal when it spared the life of its benefactor."
It was no use to think of skinning our victim, for the flies were already swarming on the dead body, although it was still warm. L'Encuerado wished to attribute to Lucien the honor of killing the puma; but the boy, although he had always longed to achieve such a feat, said at once that he had missed his aim.
I stopped in front of a tree (hymenæa) belonging to the leguminous family, the pods of which contain a sweet pulp, and from its trunk oozes out a resin, which is much sought after by the Indians, who use it as a cure for stomach-ache. A little farther on, a mango-tree tempted l'Encuerado, who, like all his countrymen, was fond of its fruit. I disliked the nauseous smell and taste of them, which reminds me of turpentine, although in some countries, where care is taken in their cultivation, they are said to be delicious.
Sumichrast, who was our guide, had to open a passage for us through a perfect net-work of purple-flowered creepers. I helped him in his work, and when we had overcome this obstacle, we found ourselves in a small plain, in the middle of which rose a clump of palm-trees. Gringalet ran off to the right, and soon returned with his muzzle all wet. Lucien, who was in front of us, first reached what was a wide, deep, and slowly-flowing stream. At this sight, l'Encuerado turned three somersets in succession, and struck up a chant; our manifestations of delight, if less noisy than his, were, at all events, no less sincere.
A gentle breeze was blowing, while the air was cool and soft; so that, forgetful of the past, and sanguine for the future, we built our bivouac. While at work, our eyes were attracted on every side by the insects and birds, whose splendid colors literally enamelled the trees in which every shade of green blended harmoniously. It would be difficult to describe the wild grandeur of the scene around us. We might have fancied we were in one of those marvellous gardens which Arabian story-tellers delight in depicting. The roaring of some wild beast reminded us that our fire was nearly out. At last I set the example of going to rest. We intended to pass three or four days in this spot, as it was so favorable to our pursuits.
"Nobody can accuse us of being too fond of rest," said my friend; "this is the 20th of April; therefore we have now been travelling uninterruptedly forty days."
The next day at dawn I set off with Sumichrast on an exploring expedition, leaving Lucien still fast asleep. We returned, about eleven o'clock, with a dozen birds, among which we had a greenish-yellow woodpecker, with a bright red tuft on its head; also a Cuculus vetula, a species of cuckoo, which feeds on lizards and young serpents.
During our absence, l'Encuerado had cut down three palm-trees and hollowed out the lower part of the trunks, in order to collect their sweet sap. He also wove a sort of palisade of creepers round several thick stakes, in which we could sleep without fear of surprise. In a hole near the top of one of the palm-trees, Lucien spied out a parrot's nest, and had taken possession of two young birds, red, green, and yellow in color, which seemed to adapt themselves wonderfully to the attentions lavished upon them by the boy.
"What are you going to do with these poor orphans?" I asked.
"I am going to take them home to my brother and sister. L'Encuerado says that they would perch on the edge of his load."
"How shall you feed them?"
"With fruit, and sometimes with meat. M. Sumichrast said yesterday that they would eat any thing that was given to them. I have already named them 'Verdet' and 'Janet.'"
"They will be sure to get within reach of Gringalet; are you sure that he will leave them alone?"
"L'Encuerado has already given him a lecture about it."
"Still I am very much afraid that 'Verdet' and 'Janet' will come to an untimely end."
While we were resting, Lucien and his friend went off to examine a caoutchouc-tree. The boy came back much disappointed.
"Your India-rubber-tree isn't worth much," said he to Sumichrast, showing him a thick white liquid, which he had just collected.
"And pray why not?"
"Because India-rubber ought to be black and dry."
"It will acquire these qualities as it grows older. The India-rubber oozes from the tree in the form of a milky liquid, like that with which you are now smearing your fingers."
About three o'clock, when the sun was shining perpendicularly down upon us, I conducted my companions through the thickets, in order to explore the course of the river. Very soon we were obliged to cut our way with our machetes, and several reptiles made off before our approach. Gradually, as we advanced, the bank became covered with swamp ivy, bignonias, and cedar-trees, till we at last came out on a sandy shore, where five or six turtles were apparently asleep. In spite of all our exertions, the creatures reached the stream. L'Encuerado discovered two little heaps of sand, one of which was still unfinished, and contained twenty eggs about as big as chestnuts, and covered with a whitish skin. A little farther on, Lucien caught a small red turtle, the size of a crown-piece. On hearing from l'Encuerado that it would live several days without eating, he made up his mind to take it home with him, and gave it the name of "Rougette."
Gringalet began growling; a deer had just shown its graceful form among the branches. We all concealed ourselves as well as we could, and when the beautiful animal came down to the water Sumichrast shot it dead. I left l'Encuerado to help the sportsman in skinning our prize, and went on with Lucien. The stream gradually became wider, and we suddenly found ourselves fronting an immense flooded plain, above which flocks of wild ducks were circling.
I sat down on the ground in order to admire the lake and its banks, edged with royal palm-trees, the foliage of which, though dark at the base, is a beautiful green at the summit. The appearance of a water-eagle, with its grayish-white head, disturbed the aquatic fowls; as if by enchantment, some of them hid among the rushes, but the bird of prey passed over without taking any notice of such game, which it doubtless considered unworthy of itself. A tantalus settled down at about twenty paces from us, and plunged into the stream and remained motionless.
"Oh papa! what a curious bird! it looks as if it had a bald head."
"You are quite right; it is the bird that the Indians call galambao."
"It's almost as tall as I am!"
"Don't you see that it is mounted upon long legs like stilts?" replied I, laughing. "It is a relation of the stork."
"This is the first bird of that kind we have met with."
"These long-legged birds, or waders as they are called, are scarcely ever found except in marshes, or on the banks of large rivers. They can always be recognized by their legs, which are of an enormous length, and devoid of feathers below the knee – a conformation which enables them to capture their prey in shallow water."
"Is this tantalus going to fish?"
"I should imagine so, for birds of its order have no other means of obtaining food."
"One might almost fancy that it was asleep, with its great bill drooping down over its chest."
"Woe be to the fish that is of your opinion. There! did you remark its sudden movement? It plunges its head down into the water like a flash of lightning; and now you can see it holds its prey in its beak. Now it is spreading its short black-edged wings in order to take flight, and divide among its young brood the products of its labors. Do you see that beautiful large bird with a tuft on its forehead? That is the Ardea agami, a wader of the heron genus. But look, there is a flock of egretts (Egretta alba), clothed in their plumage as white as the ermine. They fly about in flocks, but separate for their fishing. These birds have rather a grave and sad air, and utter now and then a wild and plaintive cry."
We stopped to watch these waders gloomily standing in the water, until we heard l'Encuerado's "Hiou! hiou!" informing us that our companions were approaching the bivouac. I took Lucien through the forest, replying to his numerous questions about the Grallatores, when we heard the chattering and clatter produced by a band of monkeys. About twenty wild turkeys, doubtless frightened by the noise, rushed between our legs. I let the poor fugitives go, for we had already more victuals than we could consume. Lucien wondered at the number of animated beings which surrounded us, all the more surprising when compared with the gloomy solitude we had just passed through.
"In the Terre-Chaude," said I, "the water-side is always fertile, for the inhabitants both of the prairies and the forests meet there."
"Why don't the Mexicans live in such a varied and beautiful country as the Terre-Chaude?"
"Because a dragon guards the entrance to these countries where nature lavishes its choicest gifts."
"A dragon?"
"Yes; the yellow fever. A terrible malady which corrupts the blood, and selects the most robust frames for its victims. The negro only can labor under this burning sun; where even an Indian is overcome by the marsh fever."
"Are we liable to catch these fevers?"
"We should be in danger if we staid here till the rainy season."
"How that tree is loaded with fruit!" said Lucien, interrupting me.
"They are the Mexican medlars. To-morrow we will come and gather some of them. Five or six different species of their genus grow in these virgin forests. These beautiful trees produce various fruit, which is more or less in request. That which has attracted your attention – the Sapota achras– is especially well known. It is considered the most wholesome of all the tropical fruits; and from the trunk of the tree oozes out the white gum called chicle, which the inhabitants of the Terre-Chaude and the Terre-Tempérée are so fond of chewing."
The night overtook us just as we were discussing a haunch of venison roasted by l'Encuerado. A distant roaring told us that we were surrounded by wild beasts; but we had every confidence in our two fires and the screen which l'Encuerado had constructed; so we went quietly to sleep, although we were awakened several times by a renewal of their frightful uproar.
CHAPTER XXVIII
A GROVE OF LOGWOOD TREES. – ANTS AT THEIR WORK. – PARASITIC INSECTS. – THE GREAT ANT-EATER. – SPOONBILLS AND HERONS. – LOST IN THE FOREST
We were all stirring by sunrise. After throwing away the remains of yesterday's meat, one night in this climate being enough to putrefy it, l'Encuerado arranged some fishing-lines along the stream, and our little party set off, struggling against the heat, the mosquitoes, and the horse-flies.
The Indian, following the flight of a purple-feathered bird, led us close to an immense ant-hill. The little colony seemed very busy; but I hurried Lucien away, fearing he might be bitten by them.
"The ants are relations of the termites, are they not, M. Sumichrast?"
"No, Master Sunbeam; the ants are relations of the bees, and, consequently, belong to the order of Hymenoptera. There are male, female, and neuter or working ants. The males and females are born with wings; but after the females have laid their eggs, they drop off these appendages, and assist the workers engaged in constructing the habitation, taking care of the young ones, and collecting the provisions required for the colony."
"Look here! one might fancy that the very grass was walking along."
"It is the ants which have stripped a tree of its leaves, in order to hoard them up in their store-houses – a useless precaution, for these insects become torpid during the winter months."
Lucien approached the moving column, which was divided into two lines going contrary ways; one of them advancing loaded with vegetable remains, and the other going back with empty mandibles. Nothing could be more interesting than to see thousands of these little creatures walking along in perfect order, eagerly carrying or dragging a load five or six times greater than themselves. Lucien followed them. The column entered the forest, and crawled up a tree, the lower limbs of which were already stripped of their leaves, causing it to look as if it were dead. The ants climbed nearer and nearer to the top, and the summit was visibly losing its foliage.
"How long will they take to carry away all the leaves off that great tree?" asked Lucien.
"They will have finished their work by this evening," I answered.
Gringalet, who with generous confidence was lying down a few steps behind us, and had not seen his enemies creeping slyly over him, got up and began howling.
"Will you never be prudent?" cried l'Encuerado.
"Any one must be as simple as a new-born infant to squat on an anthill. This is the second time you have done it."
Here the advice-giver was suddenly interrupted; he made a face, lifted up one of his legs, and walked away with long strides; then he sat down on the ground in order to catch the ants which had secreted themselves under his leathern shirt. I could not help laughing at him.
"Look here, Gringalet's skin is all over lumps!" said Lucien, stroking the animal.
"They are caused by parasitic insects," said Sumichrast, "called ticks. In future we must clear Gringalet every evening of these inconvenient visitors."
"But they won't come off."
"Pull them suddenly; their mouth is a kind of disk armed with two hooks, which, if once buried in an animal's skin, are difficult to extract."
"How hideous they look with their little legs placed close to their heads; here is one which is quite round, like a pea."
"It is because it has begun its meal."
"Does the tick only attack dogs?"
"The dog has his own peculiar species; other kinds lodge under birds' feathers, and some birds have two or three sorts of parasites. There is one belonging to the turkey, to the peacock, to the sparrow, to the vulture, to the magpie, etc. I don't think there is a bird or animal which does not, like Gringalet, possess its own peculiar parasite."
We had started off again, and another glade led us towards a field extensively ploughed up by moles.
Sumichrast led the way, and conducted us towards the lake I had mentioned to him the day before. L'Encuerado caught hold of my arm to call my attention to an enormous animal moving about in the midst of the foliage.
The animal came down slowly, and we could only see it indistinctly. At last it reached the lower branches. It was an ant-eater (Myrmecophaga jubātā). It remained motionless for an instant, moving its enormous muzzle, and darting out its flat tongue, which, being covered with a slimy coating, enabled it to catch up the ants with facility. At length the "bear," as it is called by the Indians, slid down the trunk, hanging on to it with its enormous claws, its prehensile tail strongly clinging to the sides of the tree.
At the sight of this shapeless beast, only fifty paces from us, Lucien rushed to me in terror. Sumichrast had just cocked his gun, and the noise made the ant-eater turn tail and prepare to run off, when it found itself face to face with l'Encuerado. It stood up on its hind legs, with its snout in the air, and then stretched out its arms ready to strike any one who was imprudent enough to come within reach of them. Nothing could be more strange than the appearance of the animal in this defensive position. Suddenly a shot was fired, and the ant-eater crossed its fore legs and fell down dead. L'Encuerado had once been nearly throttled by an ant-eater, and hence it would have been of no use for me to have attempted to prevent his shooting it.
"Do not come near, Tata Sumichrast," cried the Indian; "these beasts die very hard, and I still bear the marks of their claws on my skin. Let me just tickle him up with the point of my machete."
"You need not have been afraid," said Sumichrast; "its ugliness is no proof that it is vicious. It will not attack human beings, and only makes use of its strength to defend itself. It is of the order Edentala, and akin to the armadilloes."
"Does it eat any thing but ants?" asked Lucien.
"Ants and other insects. It climbs trees, and its bushy tail distinguishes it from its brothers, the little ant-eater (M. dydactyla), which seldom visits the ground, and eats more insects than ants, and the tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla)."
"But how many ants does it take to satisfy it?"
"Thousands; and it would die of hunger if it had to take them one by one; but, thanks to the length of its tongue, it is enabled to pick up hundreds at a time."
"What a very peculiar meal!"
"Didn't you know that some Indians are ant-eaters? In the Terre-Froide, for instance, dishes are made of red ants' eggs, and there is one species which secretes a sweet liquid, of which children are very fond."
On the shore of the lake a fresh surprise awaited us. The bank to the right was covered with cranes, and that to the left with spoonbills, with delicate pink plumage, one of which Lucien shot.
"Oh, what beautiful birds!" said he.
"What a curious beak!" he further exclaimed, examining his victim, which Gringalet had just brought him.
"Yes, that is why this bird is called a spoonbill."
"Is it good to eat?"
"It is rather tough; but when any one is hungry – "
Sumichrast put his finger to his lips to enjoin silence; two smaller waders made their appearance and settled close to us.
"Now, Master Sunbeam," said Sumichrast, "fire at the bird to the left, while I aim at the one to the right. Those are egrets, and your sister will like some of their beautiful feathers to put in her hat. Now, then – one, two – fire!"
The two shots sounded almost at the same moment, and the birds fell over on to the ground. This double report put to flight all the spoonbills and cranes, and the lake was soon perfectly deserted.
We now took the road leading to the "Palm-tree Villa," and l'Encuerado went on before us to take up his fishing-lines.
The heat became perfectly overpowering, and Sumichrast fell asleep. About half-past three, I went off with Lucien towards that portion of the forest close by the stream, with the intention of collecting insects. First one object, and then another tempted us into the interior, till the oblique rays of the sun admonished us to turn back. But imagine my dismay when, by neglect not to notch the tree-trunks as I passed them, I discovered I did not know in what direction our camp lay.
"Are we lost?" asked the boy, in an anxious tone.
"We have gone too far," said I to the lad; "and perhaps we shall not be able to get back to the 'Palm-tree Villa' this evening. I am going to fire off my gun to attract l'Encuerado's attention."
The report resounded. I listened with an anxiety which increased when I perceived that I had only three cartridges left, and Lucien only retained two charges.
"You had better shoot now," said I to the lad, "so that l'Encuerado may understand that we are signalling to him."
I again listened almost breathlessly, but in vain.
"We must rest here without our supper," said I, with a gayety I was far from feeling; "if we go on walking, we might lose ourselves."
After cutting some fagots and making a fire in a semicircle round a tree I lay down, with my dear companion beside me; and, though I tried hard to conceal it, I could not but feel the gloomiest forebodings.
About midnight the breeze calmed down, and I closed my eyes that I might the better hear the slightest noise. Several times I thought I caught the faintest vibrations of a dull sound; but I ultimately attributed these noises to my over-excited imagination. Suddenly a terrible roar re-echoed through the forest and woke up Lucien.
"What is the matter? Is it Chéma?"
"No, my boy; it is a jaguar."
"Will it come near us?"
"I hope not, but go on with its nocturnal hunting; anyhow, behind the fire we have nothing to fear."
I put Lucien back against the tree and cocked my gun, when the head and bright eyes of a superb jaguar appeared about fifty paces from us.