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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

Katheryn  N.  Kewfield 
Stephen  M*  Kewmark 


V 


0 


ADVENTURES 


OP 

A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 

BY 

LUCIEN    BIART. 

EDITED  AND  ADAPTED  BY 

PARKER    GILL  MORE, 

AUTHOR  OF  "ALL  BOUND  THE  WOULD,"  "GTTN,  BOD,  AND  SADDLE,"  "ACCESSIBLE 
FIKLD  8POKT8,"  ETO. 

WITH  ONE  HUNDRED   AND  SEVENTEEN  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NEW    YORK: 

HARPER    &     BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 
1871. 


PREFACE. 


THERE  is  no  country  on  the  face  of  the  earth  that  pos- 
sesses greater  interest  in  the  eyes  of  the  scientific  or 
travelled  than  Mexico,  the  scene  where  the  adventures  so 
graphically  and  clearly  narrated  in  this  volume  transpired : 
nor  is  this  partiality  to  be  wondered  at  when  we  recall  to 
memory  what  a  lavish  hand  Nature  has  subtended  to  her. 

Although  several  of  our  most  celebrated  naturalists  have 
climbed  its  lofty  volcanic  mountains,  explored  its  lagoons 
and  giant  rivers,  and  traversed  its  immense  forests,  still, 
from  the  vast  extent  of  that  country  and  variety  of  climate 
— caused  by  difference  of  elevation — much  yet  remains  to 
be  done  ere  the  public  become  thoroughly  conversant  with 
its  arboreal  and  zoological  productions. 

The  elephant,  hippopotamus,  lion,  and  tiger,  the  largest 
and  most  formidable  of  the  terrestrial  mammals  of  the  Old 
World,  are  not  here  to  be  found ;  but  their  places  are  well 
supplied  by  the  swamp-loving  tapir,  the  voracious  alligator, 
the  stealthy  puma,  and  the  blood-thirsty  jaguar,  all  well 
worthy  of  the  sportsman's  rifle,  or  of  the  snake-visioned 
native  warrior's  weapons — for  the  power  of  destruction  in 
these  animals  during  life  is  great,  while  after  death  they 
either  furnish  valuable  skins  or  wholesome  food.  More- 
over, here  the  wolf  awakes  the  reverberating  echoes  of  the 
forest  with  its  dismal  howl ;  the  raccoon,  opossum,  and  squir- 
rel pass  their  lives  in  sportive  gambols;  the  wild  and  the 
ocellated  turkeys  strut  about,  pompous  in  manner,  as  if  con- 

473513 


6  PREFACE. 

scious  of  their  handsome  plumage,  while  the  timid  deer  and 
shaggy-coated,  bison  roam  over  prairies  or  through  wood- 
land glades,  as  yet  unacquainted  with  the  report  of  the 
white  man's  destructive  fire-arms. 

Can  it,  therefore,  be  surprising  that  our  little  hero  should 
have  craved  to  be  permitted  to  have  a  sight  of  this  new 
land,  so  rich  in  the  prospect  of  adventure.  How  he  behaved 
himself  throughout  the  numerous  ordeals  to  which  he  was 
submitted,  sufiice  it  for  me  to  say  that  his  conduct  was 
worthy  of  the  representative  of  any  nationality,  and  such  as 
was  calculated  to  make  all  parents  proud  off  their  offspring ; 
for  whether  suffering  from  thirst  or  hunger,  being  persecu- 
ted by  noxious  insects,  straying  in  the  woods,  even  when 
within  reach  of  the  fiercest  carnivora  or  in  the  presence  of 
the  deadliest  reptiles,  he  never  for  a  moment  hesitated  in 
performing  his  seniors'  instructions,  lost  his  courage,  or, 
better  still,  an  opportunity  of  improving  his  mind. 

That  the  young  English  reader  may  benefit  as  much  by 
the  perusal  of  this  work  as  Master  Lucien,  otherwise  "  Sun- 
beam," did  by  his  journey  through  the  Cordilleras  of  Mex- 
ico, and  that  they  may  enjoy  the  information  herein  im- 
parted upon  the  wonderful  works  of  the  Creator,  is  the 
sincere  wish  of 

THE  EDITOR. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION Page  13 

CHAPTER  I. 

Who  we  are. — Gringalet. — Sunrise. — The  Sugar-cane. — A  Halt 20 

CHAPTER  II. 

Sugar. — Gringalet  in  the  Molasses  Tank. — L'Encuerado's  obstinate  Idea. 
—An  Indian  Supper 34 

CHAPTER  III. 

Waking  up  in  the  Morning. — The  pigmy  World  of  Lilliput. — L'Encue- 
rado  and  the  Bottles. — Massacre  of  Thistles. — The  Charcoal-burning 
Indians 46 

CHAPTER  IV. 

A  difficult  Ascent.— The  Goat.— The  Indian  Girls.— The  Tobacco-plant. 
—The  Bull-fight.— Game.— Lucien's  Gun.— Our  Entry  into  the  Wil- 
derness ; 61 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  great  Forest.— Crows.— The  first  Bivouac.— The  Squirrel-hunt.— Our 
young  Guide.— The  Chant  in  the  Desert 76 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Coffee.— Turpentine.— Couroucous.— Pine-needles.— Three  Volcanoes  in 
sight  at  once. — The  Carabus  Family. — Scorpions. — Salamanders.— A 
midnight  Disturbance 89 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Cats'-eyes  Pomade.— Armadillo.— Lucien  and  the  cruel  Fern.— The 
fallen  Mountain. — The  Woodpecker. — The  Basilisk. — L'Encuerado's 
fresh  Idea 104 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

A  Vulture's  Feast.— Dragon's  Blood.— A  Coral  Serpent.— The  Owl.— 
Mexican  Moles. — Toucans. — The  Scolopacida3. — L'Encuerado  turned 
Tailor.— Sunset...  ..  119 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  South  Wind.  —  The  Hurricane. — A  fearful  Night. — The  uprooted 
Giant. — The  Sarsaparilla-plaut. — Gringalet  discovers  a  Spring.— Our 
Bivouac Page  1S> 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Rabbit.— Wild  Potatoes.— A  difficult  Path.— An  extinct  Crater.— 
Hoar-frost. — The  Torrent. — The  Fawn. — The  Tettigones. — Dragon- 
flies  148 

CHAPTER  XI. 

A  blue  Lizard.— The  Guava-tree.— A  Cataract.— Nest  of  yellow  Serpents. 
— A  vegetable  Helmet. — The  Kingfisher. — Hunting  Water-fleas. — The 
Tadpole.— A  Collection  of  Water-bugs 164 

CHAPTER  XII. 

A  Relation  of  Gringalet. — Our  four-footed  Guide. — A  Review  of  our  Par- 
ty.— The  Alligator-tortoise. — The  Pheasants. — The  Magnolia. — The 
Nutmeg-tree.— The  Blue-plant.— The  Caterpillar ...  182 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Sensitive-plant. — Gringalet  and  tile  Porcupine. — The  Mexican  Cha- 
meleon.—  The  Kite  and  the  Falcon. — An  amphisbsena  Snake. — A 
Council  of  Turkeys 196 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  Meteor. — God  Almighty's  Lanterns. — The  Skunk. — The  Jalap  plant. 
— An  aerial  Journey.  —  The  Orchids.  —  Bivouac  in  the  Mouth  of  a 
Cave.— Gringalet  and  the  Beetles.— A  White  Ants'  Nest .211 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Our  Substitutes  for  Lamps.— First  Glance  into  the  Cave.— The  Elatcrides. 
—The  Gothic  Hall.— Stalagmites  and  Stalactites.— A  Chichiquimec 
Cemetery.— The  "Tree  of  St.  Ignatius."— The  Opossum  and  its  little 
ones 235 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  Earth-nuts. — A  Wild-cat's  Feast. — Another  exploring  Expedition  to 
the  Cave. — The  Bats.— Excavations  in  a  Tomb 255 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

A  forced  March. — Wild -ducks. — Vegetable  Soap. — An  unwelcome 
Guest 269 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Wild  Dahlias.— A  painful  Misadventure.— The  Euphorbia  Plants.— The 
Washer  Raccoon. — Surprised  by  a  Torrent. — L'Encuerado  turned 
Hat-maker.— New  Method  for  driving  out  Evil  Spirits.— The  An- 
hinga 282 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  Black  Iguana. — Another  Country. — Reminiscences  of  Childhood. — 
The  Mirage.— A  Fire  in  the  Plain Page  299 

CHAPTER  XX. 

The  Morning  and  Night  Dew. — The  Terre-Froide. — Water-spouts  and 
Whirlwinds. — The  Barbary  Fig-trees. — The  Cactus-plants. — The  Viz- 
naga. — Our  Hopes  disappointed. — Don  Benito  Coyotepec 310 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Black  Skins  and  white  Skins. — We  have  to  turn  Carpenters. — L'Encue- 
rado  chanting  and  preaching. — The  Palm-leaves. — Vegetable  Butter 
Tree 326 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Mexican  Oak-apples.— A  Stream  lost  in  an  Abyss.— The  Wild  Nasturtium. 
— Sportsmen  deceived  by  Children. — The  Grave-digging  Beetles.— 
The  Cochineal  Insect. — Mexican  Wine. — Good-bye  to  our  Indian 
Hosts 339 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Again  on  the  Road.— The  Bird-catching  Spider.— The  Marten  and  the 
Skunk. — The  Flying  Squirrel. — The  Otter  -  hunt.  —  L'Encuerado 
wounded 353 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

A  laborious  Task. — Wild  Lime-trees. — Pigeons. — The  West  India  Cher- 
ry.— The  Earwig.— Snakes  and  Serpents. — First  Glance  at  the  Terre- 
Chaude 367 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

A  Ground-squirrel. — A  Mouse's  Nest. — Humming-birds  and  their  young 
ones.— The  Locust-tree.— Mexican  Wolves  and  their  Retreat. ...  375 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  Path  through  the  Forest.— A  forced  March.— The  Bromelaceae.— Mos- 
quitoes.— The  Water-plant. — The  Promised  Land. — A  Band  of  Mon- 
keys  , ,  ...  387 

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 400 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

A  Grove  of  Logwood-trees. — Ants  at  their  Work. — Parasitic  Insects. — 
The  Great  Ant-eater. — Spoonbills  and  Herons. — Lost  in  the  For- 
est   415 


10  T  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

A  nocturnal  Visitor.— The  Fall  of  a  Tree.— A  fearful  Night.— The  Mon- 
keys.—Master  Job.— All  right  at  last Page  428 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

We  build  a  Raft. — The  Horned  Serpent. — Good-bye  to  "Palm-tree  Villa." 
— Mosquitoes'and  Horse-flies. — The  Rattlesnake. — An  Ocelot 438 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

The  Hunters  hunted.— Escape  from  Peccaries. — A  Jaguar-hunt. — An  Ibis. 
—The  Caymans.— The  Wild  Bulls 446 

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 464 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Thirst. — L'Encuerado' s  Return. — The  Description  of  his  Journey.  —Janet, 
Verdet,  and  Rougette. — Hunting  wild  Horses. — Our  last  Adventure. 
— The  Return . .  483 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FRONTISPIECE. 

We  were  just  then  passing  through  a  plantation PAGE    28 

At  last,  lagging  a  little,  our  party  reached  the  foo.t  of  the  mountains    44 

The  basket  and  its  bearer  chased  one  another  down  the  hill 50 

Almost  immediately  the  foliage  was  pushed  aside 56 

On  hearing  the  uproar  two  Indian  women  came  running  towards  us    65 
Behind  us  opened  a  dark,  narrow  ravine,  with  perpendicular  sides ...     74 

We  now  entered  one  of  those  glades 82 

It  was  really  a  capital  dinner 101 

The  dog  began  to  howl  desperately 114 

A  flock  of  vultures  attracted  our  attention 121 

Lucien  loudly  called  out  to  me 126 

Sumichrast  halted  near  three  gigantic  stones 146 

A  labyrinth  of  rocks  brought  us  out  in  front  of  a  stony  rampart  more 

than  a  hundred  feet  in  height 152 

Sunset  surprised  us  ere  we  had  finished  our  labor 156 

A  shrub  kept  him  from  falling  into  the  gulf 169 

The  cataract 174 

Fall  of  Ingenio  (from  a  drawing  by  the  Marquis  of  Kadepoint) 177 

A  tiger-cat  bounded  forward  and  seized  the  pheasant , 191 

The  kite  avoided  the  shock,  and  continued  to  rise  in  the  air. 202 

It  looked  like  an  immense  pedestal,  surmounted  by  two  bronze  statues  210 

Above  us,  the  trees  crossed  their  branches ».  218 

Then  Sumichrast  slid  down  the  cord  to  the  tree .  223 

I  then  ordered  the  Indian  to  light  the  fire 227 

The  wildest  dreams  could  not  picture  a  stranger  style  of  archi- 
tecture?   241 

Five  or  six  skulls  seemed  to  glare  at  me  through  their  empty  orbits    245 

Crater  of  Popocatepetl 249 

Our  two  scouts  climbed  some  enormous  heaps  of  rocks 362 

The  animal  contimied  to  retreat  before  him,  and  led  him  to  the  mouth 

of  a  cave 266 

They  were  at  once  saluted  by  a  platoon  fire 273 

I  at  once  recognized  the  black  sugar-cane  snake 279 

Following  in  Indian  file,  we  ascended  the  course  of  the  stream 287 

The  rocks  came  rolling  down ;  dashing  together  under  the  impulse 

of  a  liquid  avalanche 291 

L'Encuerado  set  to  work  to  plait  us  hats 295 

I  used  to  go  iguana  hunting  with  my  brothers 301 

The  moon  rose,  and  rendered  the  illusion  more  striking 307 


1 2  LIST  OF  ILL  USTRA  TIONS. 

The  sand  rose  rapidly,  whirling  round  and  round , PAGE  314 

Everywhere  the  cactus  might  be  seen  assuming  twenty  different 

shapes 318 

The  water  disappeared  under  a  low  arch 341 

Four  children  appeared ." 346 

An  animal  came  tumbling  down  about  ten  paces  from  us 858 

The  sun  was  just  setting 362 

L'Encuerado  was  pressing  his  arm  and  uttering  cries  of  pain 365 

The  Terre-Chaude  was  stretched  out  at  my  feet 373 

And  the  Indian  went  away,  saluting 379 

I  threw  a  stone  at  the  beast 383 

There  was  a  whole  tribe  of  monkeys  frolicking  about 397 

I  looked  in  vain  for  the  cougar. 403 

L'Encuerado  turned  three  somersets 407 

It  stood  up  on  its  hind  legs 417 

The  bank  to  the  right  was  covered  with  cranes,  and  that  to  the  left 

with  spoonbills 422 

The  head  and  bright  eyes  of  a  superb  jaguar  appeared  about  titty 

paces  from  us 426 

We  now  came  upon  some  creeping  plants 430 

The  monkey  slid  down,  and  fell  dead  at  our  feet 435 

In  front  of  us  opened  a  glade,  bordered  by  tall  palm-trees 443 

A  band  of  peccaries  were  pursuing  us , 447 

The  banks  of  the  river  were  covered  with  alligators 454 

The  Indian  and  his  branch  descended  with  a  splash  into  the  river 458 

The  entire  drove  dashed  at  full  gallop  into  the  stream 461 

The  reeds  were  pushed  aside 468 

The  deer  sank  down  under  the  weight  of  a  puma 472 

While  the  moon  dimly  lighted  up  the  landscape 475 

Lucien  began  to  repeat  to  the  parrots  the  names  of  Hortense  and 

Emile 479 

We  had  to  cross  some  muddy  marshes 486 


Also  numerous  Woodcuts  embodied  in,  and  illustrative  of,  the  text. 


INTRODUCTION. 


npPIE  evening  before  leaving  for  one  of  my  periodical  ex- 
-*-  cursions,  I  was  putting  in  order  ray  guns,  my  insect- 
cases,  and  all  my  travelling  necessaries,  when  my  eldest  son, 
a  lad  nine  years  old,  came  running  to  me  in  that  wheedling 
manner  —  using  that  irresistible  diplomacy  of  childhood 
which  imposes  on  fathers  and  mothers  so  many  trouble- 
some treaties,  and  which  children  so  well  know  how  to  as- 
sume when  they  desire  to  obtain  a  favor. 

"  Are  you  going  to  make  as  long  a  journey  as  you  did 
last  month  ?"  he  asked. 

"  Longer,  I  think ;  for,  as  we  are  so  soon  leaving  for  Eu- 
rope, I  want  to  complete  my  collection  as  rapidly  as  possi- 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

ble.  I  know  you  will  be  a  good  boy  during  my  absence, 
and  obedient  to  your  mother.  You  will  think  of  me  some- 
times, will  you  not?" 

"  I  should  much  prefer  not  to  think  of  you,"  he  respond- 
ed. 

"  You  would  rather,  then,  that  I  staid  at  Orizava  ?" 

"  Oh  no ;  I  should  like  you  to  go,  and — to  go  with  you." 

"  What  can  you  be  thinking  of  ?  Before  we  were  a  mile 
on  the  road  you  would  be  knocked  up,  complaining  of  heat, 
thirst,  fatigue — " 

"  That's  quite  a  mistake,  dear  father.  I  know  I  should 
be  very  useful  to  you,  if  you  would  only  take  me.  I  could 
pick  up  wood,  light  the  fire,  and  look"  after  the  cooking,  be- 
sides catching  butterflies  and  insects,  both  for  your  collec- 
tion and  mine." 

"  That's  all  very  well ;  but  the  first  time  you  were  scratch- 
ed by  a  thorn  you  would  cry." 

"  Oh  father !  I  promise  you  I  will  never  cry,  except 
when — I  can't  help  it." 

I  could  not  resist  smiling  at  this  answer. 

"  Then  it  is  a  settled  thing,  and  I  am  to  go  with  you,"  ex- 
claimed Lucien. 

"  We  must  consult  your  mother,  and  if  she  sees  no  objec- 
tion, I — " 

The  child  ran  off  without  allowing  me  to  finish  my  sen- 
tence. 

While  I  went  on  cleaning  my  guns,  I  found  that  I  was 
pleading  with  myself  in  favor  of  the  little  would-be  trav- 
eller. I  also  remembered  that  when  I  was  only  seven  years 
old  I  had  travelled  long  distances  on  foot  in  company  with 
my  father,  and  to  this  early  habit  owed  much  of  the  power 
of  accomplishing  dangerous  and  fatiguing  journeys,  which 
would  have  frightened  stronger  men.  I  even  persuaded 
myself  that  it  would  be  useful,  before  leaving  Mexico,  to 


INTRODUCTION. 


15 


impress  the  memory  of  my  son  with  a  sight  of  some  of  the 
grand  scenes  of  tropical  nature,  so  that  he  should  retain 
correct  ideas  of  the  wonderful  country  in  which  his  infan- 
cy had  been  spent.  I  moreover  knew  that  1'Encuerado,  the 
gallant  Indian  who  had  been  my  servant  for  so  many 
years,  perfectly  adored  his  young  master,  and  would  watch 
over  him  just  as  I  should,  and  thus  ward  off  any  possible 
mishaps.  On  the  other  hand,  I  risked  inspiring  my  son 
with  that  love  of  travel  and  adventure  which  had  contrib- 
uted materially  to  my  scientific  collection,  but  very  little 
to  my  fortune.  Nevertheless,  what  a  wholesome  influence 
is  exercised  over  the  mind  by  an  almost  unceasing  struggle 
with  the  difficulties  that  beset  one's  course  through  an  un- 
known country.  Both  the  mind  and  body  of  my  son  must 
surely  benefit  by  such  an  excursion,  which  might  be  curtail- 
ed if  desirable.  Soon  after  the  boy  returned,  accompanied 
by  his  mother. 

"  What  is  all  this  about  a  journey,  for  which  my  consent 
is  the  only  requisite  ?"  asked  my  wife. 

"  Mine  is  needed  too,"  I  answered. 

"  Why  not  take  him,  dear  ?  L'Encuerado  has  promised 
me  that  he  will  not  lose  sight  of  him  for  an  instant." 

"  What !  do  you  take  his  part?" 

"  He  does  long  so  much  to  go  with  you,"  she  said. 

"  Be  it  so,"  I  replied.  "  Get  your  clothes  ready,  for  we 
must  be  off  the  day  after  to-morrow  at  daybreak." 

Lucien  was  almost  beside  himself  with  joy.  He  rushed 
about  the  house  from  one  end  to  the  other ;  gave  the  serv- 
ants much  unnecessary  trouble ;  leggings,  boots,  and  a  game- 
bag,  he  wanted ;  also  a  sword,  a  knife,  insect-cases — in  fact, 
a  whole  multitude  of  requirements.  L'Encuerado,  who  was 
almost  as  rejoiced  as  the  lad,  cut  him  a  travelling-staff,  as 
strong  and  light  as  was  requisite,  and  made  him  other  aux- 
iliaries necessary  on  such  excursions.  From  this  moment 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

forwai-d,  Lucien  was  constantly  running  and  climbing  about 
all  the  rooms  and  the  yards  round  the  house,  to  accustom 
himself,  as  he  said,  to  the  fatigue  of  a  long  journey.  At 
dinner-time  he  would  take  nothing  but  bread  and  water,  in 
order  to  prepare  his  system  for  the  meagre  fare  of  the  biv- 
ouac. In  fact,  I  had  to  quiet  him  down  by  recommending 
more  coolness  to  his  excited  little  brain. 

The  eve  of  our  departure  arrived,  and  several  friends 
came  to  bid  me  farewell.  My  son  told  them  of  all  the 
great  things  he  had  determined  to  achieve— how  he  would 
crush  the  heads  of  scorpions,  and  with  his  sword  cut  down 
trees  or  kill  serpents. 

"  If  I  tumble  over  the  rocks,"  said  he, "  I  shall  only  laugh 
at  my  bruises  ;  and  if  we  meet  with  any  tigers — "* 

An  extremely  warlike  attitude  terminated  this  sentence. 

Ceasing  at  length  from  want  of  further  words,  he  would 
very  willingly  have  reduced  to  silence,  with  his  sword, 
those  who  disapproved  of  my  project  of  taking  into  the 
forests  and  savannahs  my  child  of  nine  years  old,  and  ex- 
posing him  to  all  the  unknown  dangers  of  savage  life — to 
fatigue,  rain,  and  all  kinds  of  maladies  !  Why,  it  appeared 
like  tempting  Providence,  and  risking,  for  mere  amusement, 
the  life,  or  at  least  the  health,  of  my  child.  The  unanimity 
of  these  reflections  began  to  shake  my  resolution,  and  I  ex- 
pressed myself  to  that  effect. 

"  Oh  father  !"  cried  Lucien, "  are  you  going  to  break  your 
word  to  me  ?" 

"  No,"  I  replied ;  "  neither  now  nor  ever.  I  want  you  to 
become  a  man,  so  you  shall  go.  But  be  off  to  bed,  for  you 
must  be  ready  to  start  by  four  o'clock  in  the  morning." 

I  had  given  notice  of  my  intended  tour  to  my  friend 


*  The  jaguar  (Leopardits  onca,  Linn.)  is  frequently  called   a  tiger  in 
America.     The  tiger  (Tigris  regaUs)  is  not  found  on  that  continent. — ED. 


ISTRODUCTIOX.  \  7 

Fran9ois  Sumichrast,  a  Swiss  savant,  well  known  for  his  dis- 
coveries in  natural  history,  in  whose  company  I  had  under- 
taken several  journeys.  About  ten  o'clock  at  night,  I  be- 
gan to  fancy  iny  letter  of  information  had  miscarried,  when 
a  knock  at  the  door  startled  me,  and  I  soon  recognized  the 
happy  voice  of  my  friend.  He  had  come  expressly  from 
Cordova,  in  order  to  make  one  in  our  little  expedition.  I 
told  him  all  my  doubts  and  fears  about  my  boy,  but  he 
quite  took  the  part  of  the  young  traveller ;  almost  what  I 
might  have  expected  from  a  companion  of  Topffer. 

"  Come  here,"  he  cried  to  Lucien,  who,  half-undressed, 
had  just  peeped  in  at  the  door. 

The  boy  ran  to  him,  and  my  friend,  whose  stature  much 
exceeded  the  average,  lifted  him  up  and  embraced  him  as 
an  ally. 

"  At  your  age,"  said  Sumichrast, "  I  had  made  the  tour  of 
Switzerland,  my  bag  on  my  back,  and  had  tried  my  teeth  on 
bears'-steaks.  I  predict  that  you  will  behave  like  a  man. 
Shall  I  be  wrong?" 

"  Oh  no,  M.  Sumichrast." 

"  Can  you  live  without  eating  and  drinking  ?" 

"  I  will  do  all  you  do." 

"That's  well;  now  go  to  bed.  If  you  keep  your  word, 
when  we  return  in  a  month's  time  you'll  be  a  prodigy." 

Xext  morning  Lucien  -was  up  and  ready  long  before  day- 
break, and  complained  of  our  tardiness.  He  was  dressed 
in  a  jacket  and  breeches  of  blue  cloth,  with  his  Mexican 
cloak  over  them ;  he  carried  in  his  belt  a  sword  ready  sharp- 
ened, to  cut  his  way  through  the  creeping  plants  ;  while 
over  his  shoulder  was  passed  the  strap  of  a  game-pouch, 
containing  a  knife,  a  cup,  and  a  change  of  under-clothing. 
The  broad-brimmed  hat,  or  sombrero,  on  his  head,  gave  him 
a  most  determined  air.  I  had  almost  forgotten  the  famous 
travelling-staff  which  for  the  last  two  days  had  been  re- 


1 8  INTJROD  UCTION. 

sounding  against  all  the  floors  in  the  house.  L'Encuerado, 
a  Mistec  Indian,  and  an  old  tiger-hunter,  who,  through  a 
thousand  dangers  faced  in  common,  had  become  much  at- 
tached to  my  person,  at  last  made  his  appearance,  clad  in  a 
leathern  jacket  and  breeches,  which  had  given  him  his  name 
of  " JSncuerado"*  The  brave  and  adventurous  Indian  was 
almost  beside  himself  with  joy  at  the  idea  of  conducting 
into  the  forest  the  child  whom  he  had  known  from  his  cra- 
dle. On  his  back  he  fastened  a  basket  containing  our  main 
stock  of  provisions — such  as  coffee,  salt,  pepper,  dried  maize, 
cakes,  etc.  Lucien's  younger  brother  and  sister  had  jump- 
ed out  of  bed,  and  were  dancing  all  round  us :  the  latter 
seemed  somewhat  sad  and  uneasy,  but  the  former  was  dis- 
satisfied, manfully  asserting  that  he,  too,  was  quite  big 
enough  to  go  with  us. 

At  the  last  moment  my  poor  wife  lost  all  her  courage, 
and  regretted  she  had  ever  given  her  consent;  but  when 
Lucien  saw  the  tears  which  his  departure  had  called  forth, 
he  became  heroic  in  his  self-denial,  throwing  aside  his  hat 
and  stick. 

"  Mother,"  he  cried,  embracing  her  in  his  arms,  "  I  will 
not  go  away  if  it  makes  you  cry." 

"  All  right,  then ;  I  will  go  instead,"  said  his  brother 
Emile,  who  ran  and  picked  up  the  stick  and  hat,  and  then 
walked  towards  the  outer  door,  utterly  disregarding  his  bed- 
room costume. 

"  No,  no,"  said  my  wife  ;  "  I  will  not  be  the  means  of  de- 
priving you  of  so  much  pleasure." 

The  kind  mother  again  kissed  her  child,  and  commended 
him  anew  to  our  joint  care. 

I  led  off  my  little  companion  ;  but  when  we  got  into  the 
court-yard,  I  had  to  exercise  all  my  authority  to  make  his 

*  Encuerado,  in  Spanish,  means  both  naked  and  clad  in  leather. 


INTRODUCTION. 


19 


younger  brother  give  up  the  stick  and  hat  he  had  taken 
possession  of.  When  restitution  was  effected,  the  two  chil- 
dren kissed  each  other,  and  parted  friends. 

At  last  the  outer  gate  was  passed,  and  our  footsteps  rang 
through  the  quiet  streets  of  Orizava.  We  were  commenc- 
ing the  first  stage  of  our  journey  in  pursuit  of  scientific 
discoveries. 


CHAPTER  I. 

WHO    WE    AEE. GRINGALET. SUNRISE. THE    SUGAR-CANE. 

A  HALT. 

TT  was  the  20th  April,  1864.  The  clock  of  the  church  of 
-^-  the  convent  of  Saint  Joseph  de  Grace  chimed  4  A.M.  just 
as  we  turned  into  the  main  street  that  leads  out  of  the  town. 
Sumichrast  took  the  lead.  Tall  in  stature,  noble  in  mien, 
and  broad-shouldered,  he  was,  in  spite  of  his  blue  eyes  and 
fair  hair,  the  perfect  representative  of  moral  and  bodily 
strength.  I  was  always  in  the  habit  of  permitting  him  to 
lead  the  way,  when,  in  any  of  our  excursions,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  favorably  impi-ess  the  imagination  of  the  Indians. 
He  was  distinguished  as  an  ornithologist,  and  was  never  so 
much  at  home  as  in  the  midst  of  the  forests ;  in  fact,  he  oft- 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A   YOUNG  NATURALIST. 


•21 


en  regretted  that  he  had  not  been  born  an  Indian.  His 
gravity  entirely  devoid  of  sadness,  his  skill  in  shooting,  and 
his  silent  laugh,  often  led  me  to  compare  him  to  Cooper's 
"  Leather-Stocking ;"  but  it  was  "  Leather-Stocking "  be- 
come a  man  of  the  world  and  of  science. 


Next  let  me  describe  my  son.  Like  all  children,  he  was 
imitative,  so  had  commenced  very  early  to  make  a  collection 
of  insects,  and  this  was  sufficient  to  give  him  a  precocious 
taste  for  natural  history  ;  but  in  his  character  he  was  ear- 
nest and  reflective,  and  very  eager  for  knowledge.  Snmi- 
chrast  took  pleasure  in  the  boy's  intelligence,  and  often 
amused  himself  by  arguing  with  him.  From  the  flashes  of 


22 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF 


childish  humor  which  he  would  display  on  such  occasions, 
my  friend  sometimes  gave  him  the  nickname  of  "  Sun- 
beam." 

Next  to  the  child  came  1'Encuerado,  an  Indian  of  the 
Mistec  race — a  strange  mixture  of  delicacy,  simplicity, 
kindness,  candor,  and  obstinacy.  In  the  interval  that  had 
elapsed  since  I  first  met  him,  twelve  years  before,  in  the 
Terre-Chaude,  he  had  become  my  friend  as  much  as  my 


servant.  But  he  was  never  happy  in  a  town,  and  was  al- 
ways praising  wild  life,  even  the  inconveniences  of  the  soli- 
tudes in  which  he  had  been  born. 

"  What  a  pity  that  it  is  so  dark,"  said  Lucien,  whom 
Sumichrast  was  leading  by  the  hand. 


A  TOUNG  NATURALIST.  23 

(i  For  what  reason  do  you  wish  for  daylight  ?"  I  asked. 

"  Why  ?  Because  every  one  is  asleep  now,  and  none  of 
my  friends  will  see  me  pass  with  my  sword,  my  gourd,  and 
my  game-pouch." 

"  So  you  think  that  your  travelling-costume  would  make 
your  companions  envious  ? — that's  not  a  kind  feeling.*' 

"  No,  father ;  I  should  like  them  to  see  me,  certainly ;  but 
I  don't  want  to  give  pain  to  any  one." 

We  passed  along  the  foot  of  Borrego,  the  mountain 
which  has  become  so  famous,  owing  to  the  conflict  which 
took  place  there  between  sixty  French  soldiers  and  two 
thousand  Mexicans,  and  had  just  reached  the  gateway  of 
Angostura  when  a  dog  ran  past,  but  soon  returned,  barking 
and  fawning  upon  us  in  every  way.  It  was  Gringalet,  an 
elegantly  although  strongly  made  greyhound,  which  had 
been  a  companion  of  my  boy's  from  infancy,  PEncuerado 
having  brought  him  up  "  by  hand  "  for  his  young  master. 
Gringalet  was  an  orphan  from  the  time  of  his  birth,  and  had 
found  in  the  Indian  a  most  attentive  foster-parent.  Three 
times  a  day  he  gave  his  adopted  child  milk  through  a  piece 
of  rag  tied  over  the  neck  of  a  bottle.  The  dog  had  grown 
up  by  the  side  of  his  young  master ;  many  a  time,  doubtless, 
he  had  snatched  from  his  hands  the  half -eaten  cake,  but  such 
casualties  were  only  a  temporary  check  upon  their  mutual 
attachment.  He  manifested,  therefore,  a  decided  preference 
for  three  objects — Lucien,  his  nurse,  and  bottles  in  general. 
I  was  at  first  rather  vexed  that  the  poor  beast  should  have 
taken  upon  himself  the  liberty  of  joining  our  expedition, 
so  I  tried  to  drive  him  back.  Gringalet  ran  to  take  refuge 
by  the  side  of  Lucien,  with  ears  laid  back,  and  one  paw 
raised ;  and  looked  at  me  with  such  mild  eyes,  so  full  of  sup- 
plication, that  I  could  not  find  it  in  my  heart  to  carry  out 
my  intention.  Sumichrast  and  1'Encuerado  both  interceded 
for  the  animal,  which,  crouching  and  wagging  his  tail,  came 


24  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

and  lay  down  humbly  at  ray  feet.  Lucien,  who  was  afraid 
I  should  behave  harshly  to  his  favorite,  hid  his  face  in  his 
hands.  I  was  vanquished. 

"  Come  along,  then,  and  let  us  take  Gringalet !"  I  said. 

So  I  caressed  the  dog,  which,  clearly  seeing  that  he  had 
gained  his  cause,  bounded  along  the  road  in  the  most  ex- 
travagant leaps,  clearly  indicative  of  his  emotions  of  pleas- 
ure. In  spite  of  all  his  efforts  to  keep  them  back,  tears  es- 
caped from  Lucien's  eyes,  and  I  had  to  turn  my  head  away 
to  avoid  having  to  recall  the  promise  he  made  to  refrain 
from  crying.  But,  nevertheless,  although  I  wished  him  to 
learn  how  to  bear  stoically  any  physical  suffering,  I  had  no 
desire  to  quench  in  him  the  evidences  of  a  feeling  heart — 
that  potent  source  of  our  sweetest  pleasure  and  our  bitter- 
est sorrow. 

The  gates  of  the  town  were  still  closed.  On  arriving  in 
front  of  the  guard-house,  I  rapped  at  the  window  to  awake 
the  old  man,  the  guardian  of  the  keys  of  the  town. 

"  Won't  he  open  the  gate  for  us  ?  Shall  we  be  obliged 
to  go  home  again  ?  Can't  we  start  to-day,  M.  Sumichrast  ?" 
eagerly  asked  Lucien. 

"  Keep  quiet,"  replied  Sumichrast ;  "  the  porter  is  an  old 
man,  and  we  are  disturbing  him  earlier  than  we  ought,  which 
always  puts  him  a  little  out  of  temper.  However  active  we 
may  be,  it  is  a  good  thing  to  know  '  how  to  wait.'" 

At  last  the  door-keeper  made  his  appearance,  the  chains 
dropped  one  by  one,  the  heavy  gate  turned  on  its  hinges, 
and  Lucien  was  the  first  to  spring  out  into  the  open  road. 
The  sky  was  starless,  the  morning  dew  chilled  our  blood, 
and  we  felt  that  uncomfortable  feeling  which,  in  the  tropics, 
affects  the  traveller  just  at  the  period  when  night  gives 
place  to  day.  I  led  Lucien  by  the  hand,  lest,  in  the  dim 
light,  he  might  fall.  He  shivered  with  cold,  but  was  unwill- 
ing to  complain  ;  I  stepped  on  quickly  in  order  that  he 


A  TO  UNO  NATURALIST.  25 

might  get  warm.  Perhaps,  just  at  this  moment,  he  regret- 
ted his  little  bed,  and  thought  of  the  cup  of  warm  chocolate 
which  his  mother  often  used  to  bring  him  as  soon  as  he 
awoke;  but,  unmurmuring,  he  retained  his  place  by  my 
side. 

Beyond  the  village  of  Ingenio,  a  brisk  south  wind  blew 
the  dust  in  our  faces  and  retarded  our  speed.  All  round 
the  trees  bent  before  the  squall,  and  the  large  plantain 
leaves  flew  about,  torn  into  ribbons.  We  now  turned  to 
the  right,  and  crossed  a  prairie.  L'Encuerado  required 
breath,  for  his  load  weighed  at  least  eighty  pounds,  al- 
though, like  ^Esop's  burden,  it  would  surely  get  lighter  at 
every  meal.  An  enormous  rock,  which  had  tumbled  down 
from  one  of  the  surrounding  mountains  centuries  past,  of- 
fered us  a  retreat  sheltered  from  the  wind.  At  this  mo- 
ment a  line  of  purple  edging  the  eastern  horizon  announced 
the  dawn  of  day. 

"  Come  here,"  I  called  to  Lucien. 

And  taking  the  lad  between  my  knees,  I  said, 

"  You  see  that  bright  band  of  light  which  looks  almost 
as  if  the  horizon  was  on  fire  ?  Well,  from  the  middle  of  it 
the  sun  is  just  going  to  rise.  At  this  very  moment,  in  Eu- 
rope, it  is  almost  noonday ;  but,  as  recompense,  they  will 
have  dark  night  when  it  is  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
here,  and  we  shall  be  pushing  along,  overwhelmed  with  the 
heat  of  an  almost  vertical  sun.  The  red  line  is  now  getting 
wider  and  paler ;  it  is  more  like  a  golden  mist.  But  turn 
round  and  look  at  the  mountain  tops." 

The  child  uttered  a  half-surprised  cry ;  although  we  were 
in  comparative  obscurity,  the  ridges  of  the  Cordilleras  seem- 
ed all  on  fire. 

"  Do  you  understand  that  phenomenon  ?"  asked  Sumi- 
chrast. 

"  Yes ;  for  I  know  the  earth  is  round,  and  these  mountains, 
2 


26  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

which  are  higher  than  we  are,  of  course  first  catch  the  rays 
of  the  sun." 

The  day  broke,  and  a  burning  glow  suffused  the  horizon ; 
in  a  few  minutes  the  sun  rose  and  inundated  us  with  light. 
The  birds  began  to  chant  their  morning  song,  and  the  ea- 
gles, careering  from  every  mountain  top,  soared  above  our 
heads.  The  sunbeams  twinkled  through  the  dew-drops, 
and  the  grass  of  the  prairie  seemed  decked  with  diamonds. 
Black  vultures,  which  soared  even  higher  than  the  eagles 
and  the  kites,  traced  out  in  the  blue  sky  the  immense  curves 
of  their  majestic  flight.  On  every  bush  insects  spread  their 
gauzy  wings ;  perhaps  they  felt  that  not  a  minute  should 
be  lost  by  beings  whose  birth,  life,  and  death  are  all  com- 
prised in  one  single  day. 

"  Oh  !"  cried  Lucien,  "  as  soon  as  we  get  home  I  shall 
tell  mamma  how  beautiful  is  sunrise  !  Is  it  not  a  shame 
that  so  many  of  us  sleep  through  the  hour  when  this  love- 
ly prospect  can  only  be  enjoyed  ?" 

I  was  obliged  to  cut  short  the  little  fellow's  admiration — 
an  admiration  I  also  shared.  Each  resumed  his  load ;  and 
now,  in  spite  of  the  wind,  we  all  felt  eager  to  advance. 
Gringalet,  as  glad  as  we  were  at  the  return  of  day,  frisked 
round  Lucien,  barking,  jumping  over  ditches,  and  rolling 
in  the  dust  in  his  wild  gambols.  Our  young  companion 
began  imitating  his  frolics ;  but  I  soon  called  him  to  order, 
for  our  day's  journey  was"  to  be  as  much  as  six  to  seven 
leagues,  and  it  was  necessary  to  prevent  Lucien  fatiguing 
himself  unnecessarily. 

"  You  always  go  either  too  quickly  or  too  slowly,"  said 
Sumichrast  to  the  boy ;  "  travellers,  like  soldiers,  must  walk 
at  a  regular  pace,  so  as  to  reach  their  halting-place  with- 
out more  than  necessary  fatigue.  Come — form  in  line ! 
That's  well ;  now,  on  we  go  !" 

Lucien  measured  his  steps  by  those  of  his  instructor.     It 


We  were  just  then  passing  through  a  plantati 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 


29 


was  most  amusing  to  see  him  trying  to  keep  a  pace  quite  at 
variance  with  the  length  of  his  short  legs. 

"  Halt !"  cried  Sumichrast ;  "  you  can  hardly  imagine 
your  legs  are  as  long  as  mine.  Perhaps  in  about  ten  years' 
tilne  you  may  enjoy  that  privilege;  but, in  the  mean  time, 
walk  naturally — without  either  effort  or  hurry.  One,  two, 
three ! — now  you  are  perfect.  Keep  on  without  noticing 
me ;  you  can't  walk  at  my  pace,  so  I  must  take  to  yours." 

As  our  journey  was  to  extend  to  the  distance  of  three 
hundred  leagues,  it  was  quite  requisite  that  the  boy  should 
accustom  himself  to  a  regular  step.  After  several  attempts 
this  was  accomplished,  and  all  progressed  together. 

We  now  directed  our  course  towards  the  heights.  Our 
intention  was  to  make  our  way  into  the  Cordillera,  and, 
passing  round  the  volcano*bf  Orizava,  to  descend  into  the 
savannahs  beyond,  slanting  off  to  the  left  so  as  ultimately 
to  reach  the  sea.  Then  we  thought  of  traversing  the  prai- 
ries and  forests  of  the  Terre-Chaude,  so  as  again  to  come  to 
our  starting-point  through  the  mountains  of  Songolica. 
This  circuit  would  represent  a  journey  of  a  hundred  and 
fifty  leagues  as  the  crow  flies,  or  at  least  three  hundred 
leagues,  reckoning  all  the  circuits  and  bends  we  should  be 
obliged  to  make.  During  this  long  expedition,  we  had 
made  up  our  minds  to  seek,  when  opportunity  offered,  the 
hospitality  of  any  Indian  villages  that  'might  come  in  our 
road,  and  only  when  absolutely  necessary  to  camp  in  the 
open  air. 

About  eleven,  the  heat  became  overpowering,  and  Lucien 
began  to  inquire  about  breakfast.  "We  were  just  then  pass- 
ing through  a  plantation,  I  might  almost  say  a  forest  of 
sugar-canes.  The  stems  of  the  plants  were  either  of  a  yel- 
lowish hue  or  veined  with  blue,  and  were  more  than  six 
feet  high.  The  latter  kind  will  ultimately  supersede  its 
rival ;  for  the  cultivators  assert  that,  although  not  so  large, 


30  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

it  affords  a  much  more  certain  crop.  L'Encuerado,  seizing 
his  machete  (a  straight  and  a  short  cutlass,  indispensable  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Terre-Chaude),  cut  down  a  magnifi- 
cent stem,  and,  peeling  it,  offered  each  of  us  a  piece.  The 
sugar-cane  is  extremely  hard,  and  it  is  necessary  to  cut  it 
up  in  order  to  break  the  cellules  in  which  the  sweet  juice 
is  contained.  My  companions  set  to  work  to  chew  the  pith 
of  the  valuable  plant ;  and  even  Gringalet  seemed  to  be  just 
as  fond  of  it  as  they  were. 

Not  far  from  the  cane-field,  some  Indians  were  working 
on  a  new  plantation.  The  ground  was  covered  with  ashes. 
The  foreman  explained  to  us  that  when  the  canes  are  cut 
down,  the  first  thing  is  to  pull  off  the  long  leaves,  which  are 
left  on  the  ground.  In  eight  days  this  rubbish  is  dried 
by  the  tropical  sun ;  they  then-  set  them  on  fire,  and  the 
ashes  which  result  serve  as  manure.  Five  or  six  Aztecs 
were  cultivating  this  apparently  sterile  ground  by  means  of 
a  primitive  kind  of  plough,  made  of  a  mere  stake  attached 
to  circular  discs  of  wood  forming  spokeless  wheels ;  it  was 
drawn  by  two  oxen  yoked  together. 

Sumichrast  took  Lucien  by  the  hand. 

"  In  future,"  said  he, "  when  you  crunch  a  lump  of  sugar, 
you  shall  know  something  of  the  manufacture  of  what  you 
are  eating.  The  sugar-cane  is  called,  in  Latin,  Saccharum 
officinale,  that  is, '  druggist's  sugar,'  because  the  product  of 
this  plant  was  so  rare  that  it  was  sold  only  at  the  druggists' 
shops.  The  plant  itself  is  said  to  be  a  native  of  India,  and 
is,  as  you  see,  a  tuft  of  vegetation,  from  which  spring  six  to 
twenty  tall  stalks,  with  joints  varying,  both  in  number  and 
in  distance,  from  each  other.  The  most  esteemed  variety, 
the  Tahiti  cane,  is  striped  with  violet.  The  specimen  you 
are  looking  at  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  as  regards  size, 
for  it  must  be  nearly  thirteen  feet  high." 

"  It  is  like  a  stalk  of  maize,"  said  the  boy. 


A  TOUNO  NATURALIST.  31 

"  That's  true,  except  that  maize  has  only  one  stem. 
Look,  there's  an  Indian  about  to  cut  down  the  very  plant  I 
was  showing  you;  he  has  severed  it  through  obliquely 
at  a  single  blow,  as  near  the  ground  as  possible.  Now  he 
is  stripping  off  the  leaves,  and  with  another  blow  of  his 
weapon  lops  away  the  green  top,  which  is  used  for  fod- 
der. Next,  he  cuts  it  in  lengths,  taking  care  to  sever  it 
between  the  knots,  as  they  are  required  for  planting  new 
ground." 

"  Planting !"  repeated  Lucien ;  "  the  knots  are  not  seed  ?" 

"No,  Master  *  Sunbeam;'  the  seed  of  the  sugar-cane 
comes  to  maturity  too  slowly.  It  takes  four  years  to  pro- 
duce a  plant  from  it  which  is  profitable.  Now,  as  young 
fellows  of  your  kind  are  rather  numerous,  and  consume  a 
good  many  preserves  and  sugar-plums,  it  is  highly  necessary 
to  devise  some  rapid  method  of  supplying  the  sugar  you 
devour.  This  method  has  been  found  out.  Each  of  these 
pieces  of  cane  will  be  stuck  into  the  earth,  and  the  knot, 
from  which  in  the  open  air  the  leaves  spring,  will  send 
down  roots  into  the  soil.  Small  as  it  is,  it  will  grow  vigor- 
ously ;  and  in  a  year,  or  eighteen  months  at  most,  it  will 
have  produced  a  dozen  stalks  quite  as  fine  as  the  one  you 
have  been  looking  at." 

During  this  long  explanation  1'Encuerado,  who,  on  ac- 
count of  his  load,  disliked  standing  still,  had  kept  moving, 
so  we  had  to  increase  our  pace  to  catch  him  up.  As  we 
were  passing  on,  Lucien  saw  the  Indian  planting  the  very 
pieces  of  cane  he  had  just  observed  cut  up.  Ere  long  we 
came  upon  a  fresh  plantation,  in  which  the  tender  shoots, 
almost  like  grass,  appeared  over  the  ground.  Sumichrast 
dug  a  little  hole  round  one  of  the  plants,  and  showed  to  his 
wondering  pnpil  that  the  fragment  of  the  stem  was  already 
provided  with  small  rootlets. 

Suddenly,  at  4he  turn  of  a  path,  I  was  saluted  by  a  man 


32  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

on  horseback.  It  was  the  steward  of  the  estate  that  we 
were  crossing. 

"  Hallo  !  Don  Luciano,  where  are  you  off.  to  with  all  that 
train  ?"  cried  the  new-comer. 

"To  visit  the  forest  of  the  Cordillera,"' I  replied. 

"  May  you  travel  safely  !  but  is  the  young  gentleman  go- 
ing with  you  ?" 

"Yes,  to  be  sure.  Good-bye,  Antonio,  till  we  meet 
again  !" 

"  Till  we  meet  again  ?  By  my  word,  you  shall  not  say 
that  just  yet.  The  good  wife  has  some  eggs  and  fried  beans 
ready  for  breakfast;  and  I  ought  to  have  some  bottles  of 
Spanish  wine,  in  which  we'll  drink  to  your  pleasant  jour- 
ney, unless  you're  too  proud  to  accept  the  hospitality  of  a 
poor  man." 

Being  very  hungry,  with  pleasure  we  accepted  this  cordial 
invitation.  The  steward  further  insisted  upon  taking  our 
little  traveller  up  in  front  of  him.  The  child  was  only  too 
pleased. 

"  Oh  dear  !"  said  Sumichrast ;  "  why,  it's  spoiling  the  boy 
at  the  outset," 

"  It  will  be  half  a  league  the  less  for  his  poor  legs,"  said 
Antonio  ;  and,  spurring  his  horse,  he  galloped  off  with  Lu- 
cien  to  get  our  breakfast  ready. 

Gringalet  was  in  consternation  at  his  young  master's  de- 
parture. Raising  his  intelligent  face,  he  seemed  as  if  he 
wished  to  question  us,  and  pricked  up  his  ears  as  if  to  list- 
en to  the  sound  of  the  horse's  feet  dying  away  in  the  dis- 
tance. At  last  he  raised  a  plaintive  howl,  and  started  off 
in  pursuit. 

Surprised  at  not  seeing  1'Encuerado,  I  turned  back,  fancy- 
ing he  had  remained  behind.  I  was  expecting  to  see  him 
appear,  when  Sumichrast  burst  out  laughing.  At  a  turn  of 
the  road  he  had  caught  a  sight  of  the  horseman,  with  the 


A  YOUNG  XATUEALIST. 


39 


dog  on  one  side  and  the  Indian  on  the  other,  who,  in  spite 
of  his  load,  kept  up  without  difficulty. 

This  feat  on  the  part  of  my  servant  did  not  much  surpi-ise 
me,  for  I  do  not  think  that  in  the  whole  world  there  are  any 
more  indefatigable  runners  than  the  Mistec  Indians. 

At  twelve  o'clock,  just  as  the  bell  was  calling  home  the 
laborers,  I  entered  the  coui*t-yard  of  the  sugar-mill,  where  I 
caught  sight  of  my  youngster  sitting  on  the  ground,  with 
his  dog  at  his  feet,  looking  with  rapture  at  some  ducks  that 
were  enjoying  themselves  in  a  muddy  pool. 


CHAPTER  II. 

SUGAB. GRINGALET   IN  THE  MOLASSES  TANK. 1,'ENCUERA- 

DO'S    OBSTINATE    IDEA. AN   INDIAN   SUPPEK. 

npHE  breakfast  was  a  cheerful  one,  thanks  to  the  Spanish 
-*-  wine  spoken  of  by  our  host.  The  Indian  laborers,  with 
their  wives  and  children,  assembled  in  inquisitive  groups 
round  the  windows  of  the  dwelling.  Lucien  certainly  car- 
ried the  day,  for  he  it  was  that  they  chiefly  sought  to  see. 
As  for  Gringalet,  he  was  much  less  cordially  received  by 
his  brother-dogs  belonging  to  the  place ;  consequently,  he 
scarcely  left  his  young  master's  side,  and  showed  his  teeth 
incessantly. 

Sumiohrast  wishing,  before  we  set  out  again,  to  explain 
to  his  pupil  how  sugar  was  made,  took  him  to  the  mill,  sit- 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  TOUSQ  NATURALIST.         35 

uated  in  a  wide  rotunda.  Here  two  upright  wooden  cylin- 
ders, fitting  close  to  one  another,  revolved  on  a  pivot,  set 
in  action  by  means  of  two  oxen  yoked  together,  crushing 
the  canes  which  an  Aztec*  was  introducing  between  them. 
The  machine  groaned,  and  seemed  almost  ready  to  fall  to 
pieces  under  the  impetus  of  the  powerful  animals,  which 
were  urged  on  both  by  voice  and  gesture.  Lucien  remark- 
ed that  the  canes  were  cut  in  lengths  of  about  a  yard,  and 
bevelled  off  at  the  ends,  so  as  to  be  more  readily  caught 
between  the  two  cylinders.  After  having  been  subjected 
to  this  heavy  pressure,  they  came  out  squeezed  almost  dry, 
and  the  sweet  juice,  or  sirup,  flowed  down  into  a  large 
trough  hollowed  out  of  the  trunk  of  a  tree. 

As  soon  as  this  receptacle  was  full  of  juice,  an,  enormous 
valve  was  opened,  and  the  turbid,  muddy-looking  liquid 
flowed  along  a  trench,  and  emptied  into  a  brick  reservoir. 
On  its  way  it  passed  through  the  meshes  of  a  coarse  bag, 
and  was  thus  roughly  filtered ;  it  was  then  conveyed  into 
immense  coppers  placed  over  a  hot  furnace.  The  frag- 
ments of  crjished  cane,  having  been  rapidly  dried  in  the 
sun,  were  used  to  feed  the  fire  which  boiled  the  jpice  so 
lately  squeezed  out  of  them. 

Near  the  aloe-fibre  filtering-bag,  in  front  of  which  the 
morsels  of  cane  and  rubbish  constantly  accumulated,  stood 
a  little  boy  about  twelve  years  old,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
keep  the  passage  clear.  Lucien  pulled  my  coat,  to  call  my 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  lad  had  only  one  arm. 

*  Two  grotesque  little  phenomena  were  once  shown  in  London  and 
Paris  as  specimens  of  the  Aztec  race.  When  I  speak  of  Aztecs,  my 
young  readers  may  perhaps  think  I  allude  to  these  dwarfs.  I  wffl  there- 
fore state,  once  for  aD,  that  this  name  is  intended  to  apply  only  to  the  In- 
dians, the  descendants  of  the  fine  race  over  whom  Montezuma  was  empe- 
ror when  Cortez  conquered  them.  By  Mexicans,  or  Creoles,  we  mean  the 
descendants  of  the  Spanish  race. 


3G  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

"  How  did  you  lose  your  left  arm,  pobricito  ?"  I  asked. 

"  Between  the  crushers,  senor." 

"  Was  it  your  own  fault?" 

"  Alas  !  yes.  My  father  looked  after  the  machine,  and 
I  helped  him  to  drive  the  oxen ;  and  he  had  forbidden  my 
going  near  the  cylinders.  One  day  he  went  away  for  a 
few  minutes,  and  I  tried  to  put  a  piece  of  cane  between 
the  rollers ;  but  my  finger  caught,  and  my  arm  was  drawn 
in  and  crushed." 

"  It  was  a  terrible  punishment  for  your  disobedience,"  I 
said. 

"  More  terrible  than  you  think,  senor.  My  father  died  six 
months  ago,  and  I  have  several  little  brothers.  If  I  had  botli 
my  arms,  I  could  earn  a  quarter  of  a  piastre  a  day,  and  also 
help  my  mother." 

"  How  much  do  they  give  you  for  watching  this  filtering- 
bag  from  morning  till  night?" 

"  Only  a  medio,"  *  he  answered. 

I  looked  hard  at  Lucien,  who  threw  himself  into  my 
arms. 

"  Oh  !  I  will  always  obey  you,"  he  cried,  with  emotion ; 
"  but  do  allow  me  to  give  all  the  money  in  my  purse  to  this 
little  boy." 

"  Give  him  a  piastre,  my  boy ;  we  shall  meet  with  others 
in  want,  and  you  must  reserve  something  for  them." 

"Oh!*  young  gentleman,"  said  the  poor  mutilated  lad, 
looking  with  wonder  at  the  coin  which  represented  sixteen 
days'  work, "  we  will  all  pray  for  you  !" 

And  he  hurried  to  clear  out  the  bag,  which  was  already 
too  full. 

The  process  adopted  in  the  sugar-mill  we  speak  of  was  of 
most  primitive  simplicity.  The  European  manufacturers 

*  About  threepence. 


A  YOVNG  NATURALIST.  37 

employ  iron  cylinders  turned  by  steam  or  water  power ;  also 
lift  and  force  pumps,  which  quickly  convey  the  sap  into  the 
basitis  in  which  it  is  to  be  clarified  by  fermentation. 

But  for  comprehending  easily  all  the  operations  required 
in  the  extraction  of  sugar,  Antonio's  hadenda,\n  which  every 
thing  was  done  before  our  eyes,  was  much  preferable  to  any 
of  the  modern  mills  provided  with  all  kinds  of  improved  ap- 
paratus. 

When  our  young  traveller  saw  the  thick,  muddy,  and  tur- 
bid liquid,  which  was  being  stirred  up  by  a  gigantic  "  agita- 
tor," he  could  hardly  believe  that  it  could  ever  produce  the 
beautiful  white  crystal  with  which  he  was  so  well  acquainted. 

"But  where's  the  sugar?"  he  eagerly  asked. 

"  There,  in  front  of  you,"  replied  Sumichrast.  "  The  su- 
gar-cane, like  all  other  vegetables,  contains  a  certain  quanti- 
ty of  liquid,  in  which  the  sugar  is  held  in  a  state  of  solution ; 
if  this  is  removed,  prismatic  crystals  immediately  form. 
Look  now !  the  contents  of  the  copper  are  just  beginning  to 
boil,  and  are  covered  with  a  blackish  scum,  which  is  careful- 
ly skimmed  off ;  for  in  three  or  four  days,  when  it  has  fer- 
mented, it  will  produce,  by  means  of  distillation,  the  ardent 
spirit  which  PEncuerado  is  so  fond  of.  The  cloud  of  steam 
which  is  I'ising  above  the  copper  shows  that  the  juice  is  evap- 
orating ;  in  a  few  minutes  more  it  will  be  converted  into  sir- 
up, and  will  ultimately  form  crystals.  Come  and  see  the  re- 
sult of  the  last  operation." 

We  entered  a  large  gallery,  in  which  a  number  of  moulds 
— made  of  baked  earth  and  shaped  like  reversed  sugar-loaves 
— were  ranged  in  lines  under  the  beams,  like  bottles  in  a 
bottle-rack.  Into  these,  which  had  been  previously  moist- 
ened, some  laborers  were  pouring  the  boiling  sirup.  A  lit- 
tle farther  on  we  were  shown  what  had  been  boiled  the  day 
before,  and  was  crystallizing,  assisted  in  the  process  by  an 
Indian,  who  stirred  it  slowly.  From  a  trough,  open  at  the 


38  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

lower  end,  a  thick  liquid  was  flowing,  called  "  molasses,"  or 
treacle,  which  is  used  for  making  rum,  gingerbread,  and  for 
other  purposes.  The  lowest  part  of  the  sugar-loaf  seemed, 
also,  to  be  yellow  and  sticky. 

Passing  through  a  dark  passage,  Lucien  noticed  two  half- 
naked  laborers,  who  were  moistening  clay  and  converting  it 
into  a  kind  of  dough. 

"  What  a  nasty  mess  !"  he  cried,  with  a  self-satisfied  tone. 
"What  would  mamma  say,  if  she  was  here?  It  was  only 
the  other  day  she  gave  my  brother  and  sister  a  good  scold- 
ing." 

"  What  was  it  for  ?"  I  asked. 

"  For  mixing  up  mud  to  build  a  town  and  reservoir  in 
the  long  passage  in  our  house." 

"  What  part  did  you  take  in  it  ?" 

"  Oh,  I  was  architect ;  but  I  was  scolded  as  much  as  the 
others." 

"That  I  can  readily  believe/1  replied  Sumichrast,  who 
could  hardly  keep -his  gravity;  "but  come,  let  us  follow 
these  laborers,  and  you  will  soon  see  that  they  are  not  mix- 
ing up  this  mud  for  mere  pleasure." 

To  his  great  surprise,  our  little  traveller  saw  them  filling 
up,  with  a  dark-colored  liquid,  the  empty  part  of  the  moulds, 
from  which  the  molasses  had  drained  away. 

"  They  are  spoiling  the  sugar-loaves  !"  he  cried. 

"Quite  the  contrary;  they  are  going  to  whiten  it.  The 
water  that  is  contained  in  the  clay  will  filter  gradually 
through  the  sugar,  and  will  drive  before  it  the  molasses 
that  is  left  round  the  crystals ;  and  this  operation,  several 
times  repeated,  will  produce  that  spongy  kind  of  sugar 
which  is  well  known  to  retain  a  flavor  of  the  cane,  rather 
disliked  by  Europeans  accustomed  to  the  finer  products  of 
their  refineries." 

The  only  department  we  now  had  to  visit  was  the  "  dry. 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  39 

ing-room,"  where  the  sugar-loaves  are  piled  up  to  dry,  and 
wait  for  a  purchaser. 

In  our  way  thither  we  nearly  fell  into  an  immense  reser- 
voir, level  with  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  full  of  molas- 
ses ;  the  scum  floating  on  the  top  so  exactly  resembled  the 
rough  and  sticky  floor  of  the  sugar-mill  that  it  was  easy  to 
make  a  mistake.  Gringalet  was  unfortunate  enough  to  be 
the  cause  of  our  avoiding  this  accident.  Restless,  like  all 
his  kind,  he  ran  smelling  about  in  every  direction,  just  as  if 
he  was  trying  to  find  some  lost  object :  forcing  his  way  be- 
tween our  legs,  to  get  in  front  of  us,  he  suddenly  disappear- 
ed in  the  thick  liquid.  I  pulled  him  out  directly;  but  as 
soon  as  he  was  on  his  feet,  he  rolled  over  and  over  on  the 
ground,  so  that  when  he  stood  up  his  coat  was  bristling 
with  pieces  of  straw  and  wood ;  in  fact,  he  scarcely  looked 
like  a  dog  at  alL  I  called  him  towards  the  pond  outside, 
but  the  poor  brute  was  quite  blind  and  confused,  and  did 
not  seem  to  hear.  As  a  matter  of  course,  all  the  laborers 
raised  shouts  of  laughter;  but  poor  Lucien,  fancying  that 
his  dog  was  going  to  die,  followed  him  in  despair.  Grin- 
galet, no  doubt  wishing  to  comfort  his  young  master,  leaped 
upon  him  and  covered  him  with  caresses,  and  of  course  with 
saccharine  matter,  in  which  he  so  lately  had  a  bath.  As  it 
was  too  late  for  any  other  course,  I  made  up  my  mind  to 
laugh,  like  every  one  else.  While  1'Encuerado  was  wash- 
ing the  dog,  our  hostess  cleaned  the  boy's  clothes,  soon  af- 
ter which  we  resumed  our  journey. 

Don  Antonio,  like  a  real  Mexican,  pitied  us  for  having  to 
travel  on  foot  like  Indians ;  he  especially  commiserated  our 
young  companion,  and  thought,  indeed,  that  we  were  very 
crueL 

"  He  must  learn  to  use  his  legs ;  that's  the  reason  why 
God  gave  them  to  him,"  said  Sumichrast,  who  delighted  in 
an  argument  with  the  steward. 


40  THE  AD  VENTURES  OF 

"  What  good  are  horses,  then  ?" 

"  To  break  your  neck.  Besides,  there  are  plenty  of  in- 
firmities in  life  without  making  one  out  of  the  horse." 

"  The  horse  an  infirmity  !"  cried  the  Mexican. 

"Yes,  certainly — among  your  caste  at  least;  for  you 
could  no  more  do  without  a  horse  than  a  cripple  without 
his  crutch." 

Don  Antonio  whistled  without  making  any  reply,  and, 
untying  his  horse,  took  Lucien  up  in  front,  and  accompa- 
nied us  for  more  than  a  league.  At  last,  as  his  duties  call- 
ed him  home,  he  shook  us  by  the  hand  and  turned  back. 
Even  after  we  had  lost  sight  of  him,  we  could  still  hear 
him  wishing  us  a  pleasant  journey. 

We  had  to  cross  a  wide  prairie ;  the  heat  was  suffocating, 
and  we  marched  on  side  by  side  in  dead  silence.  Lucien's 
walking  was  much  hindered  by  his  game-pouch  and  gourd, 
which,  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts,  would  work  round  in  front 
of  him.  I  soon  noticed  that  he  had  got  rid  of  the  trouble- 
some gear. 

"  Hallo !"  I  cried,  "  what  have  you  done  with  your  pro- 
visions ?" 

"  L'Encuerado  wished  to  carry  them  for  me." 

"  L'Encuerado's  load  is  quite  heavy  enough  now,  and  you 
must  get  accustomed  to  your  own.  In  a  few  days  you  won't 
feel  it.  Habit  makes  many  things  easy  which  at  first  seem 
impossible." 

"  Senor,"  said  1'Encuerado,  "  Chanito  (this  was  the  name 
he  gave  to  Lucien)  is  tired,  and  this  is  his  first  journey ; 
I'll  give  him  back  all  his  things  to-morrow." 

"  It  will  be  much  better  for  him  to  get  accustomed  to 
them  now.  Give  him  back  his  baggage,  it  is  not  too  heavy 
for  him ;  if  you  don't,  you  will  be  the  one  to  be  scolded." 

The  Indian  grumbled  before  he  obeyed;  then,  taking 
the  boy  by  the  hand,  dropped  behind,  muttering  to  him : 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  41 

"  When  you  don't  want  to  walk  any  more,  Ghanito,  yon 
must  tell  me,  and  yon  shall  ride  on  the  top  of  my  pack." 

«No,"  said  L  tnrning  round;  "if  you  do  any  thing  of 
the  kind,  I  will  send  both  of  you  home." 

44  My  shoulders  are  my  own,"  replied  the  Indian,  earnest- 
ly;  "surely  I  have  a  right  to  employ  them  as  I  choose." 

Sumichrast  burst  out  frnghing  at  this  logic,  and  I  was 
obliged  to  go  on  in  front,  or  I\hould  have  done  the  same. 
^Nevertheless,  I  feared  lest  Lucien  should  learn,  on  the  very 
first  day  of  his  journey,  to  depend  too  much  on  FEncuera- 
do's  kindness.  I  was,  therefore,  pleased  to  hear  him  refuse 
several  times  the  Indian's  offer  of  putting  him  up  on  his 
pack,  an  idea  which  the  faithful  fellow  persisted  in  with 
an  obstinacy  which  I  had  long  known  him  to  possess.  A 
little  time  after— thinking,  doubtless,  that  his  dignity  com- 
pelled him  to  prove  that  he  was  easily  able  to  increase  the 
weight  of  his  load — he  seized  Gringalet,  who  was  walking 
close  behind  lolhng  out  his  tongue,  and  throwing  the  dog 
up  on  his  back,  and  commencing  an  Indian  trot,  ran  by  us 
with  a  triumphant  look.  Gringalet  was  at  first  taken  by 
surprise,  and,  raising  a  cry  of  distress,  wanted  to  jump 
down;  but  he  soon  sat  quiet  enough,  without  displaying 
any  uneasiness,  to  the  great  joy  of  my  son,  who  was  much 
amused  at  the  incident. 

The  plain  which  we  were  crossing  seemed  absolutely  in- 
terminable. 

"It's  no  use  our  walking,"  said  Lucien;  "we  don't  ap- 
pear to  make  any  advance." 

"Fortunately,  you  are  mistaken,"  replied  Snmichrast, 
"Look  in  front  of  you,  and  yon  will  see  that  the  trees  on 
ahead,  which  a  short  time  ago  looked  like  one  uninterrupt- 
ed mass  of  foliage,  can  now  be  discerned  separately." 

"You  mean  the  forest  which  we  can  see  from  here?" 

"  What  you  take  for  a  forest  is  nothing  but  a  few  trees 
scattered  about  the  plain." 


42  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

"  Isn't  M.  Sumichrast  wrong  in  that,  father  ?" 

"  No,  my  boy ;  but  those  who  have  more  experience  than 
you  might  well  be  mistaken,  for  when  objects  are  seen  at  a 
distance  they  always  seem  to  blend  together  in  a  group. 
This  morning,  for  instance,  when  we  were  walking  along 
the  main  road,  you  were  always  exclaiming  that  it  ended  in 
a  point;  but  you  were  convinced  that  your  eyes  deceived 
you.  It  is  just  the  same  now :  these  trees  appear  to  be 
farther  apart  in  proportion  as^we  approach  them;  and  you 
will  be  quite  surprised  presently  when  you  see  how  distant 
they  are  from  each  other.  The  same  illusion  is  produced 
by  the  stars,  which  are  millions  of  miles  apart,  and  yet  ap- 
pear so  thick  in  the  sky,  that  your  brother  Emile  was  re- 
gretting, the  other  night,  that  he  was  not  tall  enough  to 
grasp  a  handful  of  them." 

"  And  don't  forget,"  added  Sumichrast,  "  that  light  and 
imagination  often  combine  to  deceive  us." 

"  Just  as  in  the  fable  of  the  '  Camels  and  the  floating 
sticks.' " 

"  Bravo  !  my  young  scholar ;  you've  heard  that  fable  ?" 

"  Yes.  One  evening  I  was  going  into  a  dimly-lighted 
room,  and  I  fancied  I  saw  a  great  gray  man  seated  in  a  chair ; 
I  cried  out,  and  ran  away,  afraid.  Then  papa  took  me  by 
the  hand  and  led  me  into  the  dark  room  again,  and  I  found 
that  the  giant  which  had  frightened  me  so  much  was  noth- 
ing but  a  pair  of  trowsers,  thrown  over  the  back  of  an  arm- 
chair. The  next  day  mamma  made  me  learn  the  fable  of 
the  <  Camels.' " 

On  our  road  I  called  Lucien's  attention  to  a  small  thorny 
shrub,  a  kind  of  mimosa,  called  huizachi  by  the  Indians,  who 
use  its  pods  for  dyeing  black  cloth,  and  for  making  a  toler- 
ably useful  ink.  The  plain  assumed  by  degrees  a  less  mo- 
notonous aspect.  Butterflies  began  to  hover  round  us,  and 
our  young  naturalist  wanted  to  commence  insect-hunting. 


At  last,  lagging  a  little,  our  party  reached  the  foot  of  the  mouiitair 


A  YOUXG  NATURALIST.  45 

I  restrained  his  ardor,  as  I  wished  to  keep  our  boxes  and 
needles  free  for  the  rarer  species  which  we  might  expect  to 
find  as  soon  as  we  hafl  reached  more  uninhabited  districts. 
At  last,  lagging  a  little,  our  party  reached  the  foot  of  the 
mountains. 

It  was  now  five  o'clock ;  night  was  coming  on,  ,<?o  it  was 
highly  necessary  to  look  out  for  shelter.  We  came  in  view 
of  a  bamboo-hut  in  the  nick  of  time.  An  old  Indian  was 
reclining  in  front  of  it,  warming  his  meagre  limbs  in  the  rays 
of  the  setting  sun,  clad  in  nothing  but  a  pair  of  drawers  and 
a  hat  with  a  torn  brim.  He  rose  as  we  came  near,  and  prof- 
fered us  hospitality.  His  wife,  whose  costume  consisted  of 
a  cotton  shirt  edged  with  red  thread,  came  running  in  answer 
to  his  call,  and  was  quite  in  raptures  at  the  prettiness  of  the 
"  little  white  traveller,"  who  completely  ingratiated  himself 
by  saluting  her  in  her  own  language.  We  had  accomplish- 
ed a  journey  of  seven  leagues,  although  Lucien,  thanks  to 
Don  Antonio's  horse,  had  not  walked  quite  so  far. 

The  aborigines  set  before  us  rice  and  beans.  After  this 
frugal  repast,  washed  down  with  cold  water,  I  wanted  Lucien 
to  lie  down  on  a  large  mat ;  but  the  restless  little  being  took 
advantage  of  his  elders  being  comfortably  stretched  out  to 
sleep,  and  ran  off  to  see  our  hostess's  fowls  roosting  for  the 
night  on  a  dead  tree,  and  then  to  prowl  up  and  down  in  com- 
pany with  1'Encuerado.  The  latter  had  ferreted  out  a  three- 
corded  guitar  which  was  in  the  hut,  and  strummed  away  at 
the  same  tune  for  hours  together — no  doubt  to  the  great 
pleasure  of  the  boy,  although  to  us  it  was  quite  the  reverse. 

At  last  our  bedding  was  unrolled,  and  I  enjoined  repose 
on  all.  Gringalet  couched  down  in  the  hut,  at  the  feet  of 
his  young  master.  L'Encuerado,  however,  preferred  sleep- 
ing in  the  open  air,  only  too  happy,  as  he  said,  to  see  the 
sky  above,  and  to  feel  the  wind  blow  straight  into  his  face 
without  having  to  be  filtered  through  walls  and  windows. 


CHAPTER  III. 

WAKING  UP  IX  THE  MORNING. THE  PIGMY  WORLD   OF 

LILLIPUT. — L'ENCUERADO  AND  THE  BOTTLES. — MASSACRE 
OF  THISTLES. THE  CHARCOAL-BURNING  INDIANS. 

I"  ROSE  long  before  day  and  woke  my  companion.  Lu- 
-^-  cien  rubbed  his  eyes  two  or  three  times,  trying  in  vain 
to  make  out  where  he  was.  After  some  moments,  drawing 
the  coverlet  over  him,  he  turned  round  to  go  to  sleep  again. 

"  Now,  then,  young  Lazybones  !"  I  cried,  "  don't  you  hear 
the  cock  crowing,  telling  us  we  ought  to  be  on  our  road  ? 
Jump  up  and  look  round,  and  you  will  see  the  birds  and  the 
insects  are  already  busy." 

The  child  got  up,  appearing  half  stupefied,  and  stretched 
himself  with  a  long  yawn. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.         47 

"  Oh,  papa !"  he  said, "  I  ache  all  over;  Tm  sure  I  shall 
never  be  able  to  walk." 

u  You  are  quite  mistaken,"  I  replied,  half  supporting  him. 
"  You  only  feel  a  little  tired  and  stiff ;  your  limbs  will  very 
soon  work  as  freely  as  ever.  Go  and  warm  yourself  by  the 
fire,  where  our  kind  hostess  is  preparing  coffee." 

The  little  fellow* did  as  he  was  told;  but  he  limped  sadly. 

«  Do  your  legs  feel  like  mine  ?"  he  asked  of  1'Encuerado. 

"  No,  Chanito ;  we  did  not  walk  far  enough  yesterday  for 
that." 

"You  can't  mean  that  we  haven't  walked  far?  Papa 
says  that  we  are  now  seven  leagues  from  Orizava." 

**  Yes ;  that  may  seem  a  great  deal  to  you,  and  perhaps 
too  much ;  that  is  why  I  wanted  to  put  you  up  on  the  top 
of  my  pack.  Now,  come,  let  me  see  where  you  suffer." 

"  All  over  my  limbs,  but  particularly  inside  my  knees." 

"  Wait  a  minute,  and  Fll  soon  cure  you." 

L'Encuerado  then  laid  Lucien  down  in  front  of  the  fire, 
and  began  to  rub  him  after  the  Indian  method,  vigorously 
shampooing  the  whole  of  his  body.  Next  he  made  him 
walk  and  run  with  the  longest  strides  he  could  take ;  and, 
after  repeating  this  process,  brought  him  a  cup  of  boiling 
coffee.  Having  been  revived  and  strengthened  in  this  way, 
the  lad  quite  recovered  his  sprightliness,  and  soon  asked 
when  we  were  going  to  start. 

I  gave  a  small  present  to  the  old  couple  who  had  so  kind- 
ly accommodated  us,  and  our  little  party  began  its  second 
day's  work ;  Gringalet  sniffing  the  breeze,  and  evidently  en- 
joying the  excursion  as  much  as  any  of  the  party. 

When  the  sun  rose,  the  sky  was  covered  with  grayish 
clouds,  driven  along  quickly  by  a  north  wind ;  but  the 
weather  was  cool,  and  well  adapted  to  walking.  A  lime- 
stone mountain  rose  right  in  front  of  us,  the  slope  of  which 
we  had  to  climb ;  but  ere  we  reached  the  top,  we  halted  at 


48 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF 


least  twenty  times  to  take  breath.  Our  little  companion, 
with  his  head  bent  down  towards  the  ground,  struggled  to 
retain  his  place  by  our  side.  At  last  we  reached  the  sum- 
mit, and  felt  at  liberty  to  rest. 

Casting  a  glance  on  the.  plain  beneath  us,  the  boy  survey- 
ed a  vast  prairie,  dotted  over  with  clumps  of  bushes.  He 
silently  contemplated  the  panorama  which  was  spread  out 
beneath,  although  he  failed  to  completely  comprehend  all 
that  he  saw. 

"  Look  at  those  black  spots  moving  about  over  the  plain," 
said  he. 

"  They  are  oxen,"  I  replied. 

"  Oxen  !     Why  they  are  scarcely  as  big  as  Gringalet." 

"  Don't  you  know  that  you  must  not  trust  to  appear- 
ances? Recollect  the  trees  you  saw  yesterday,  which  you 
thought  were  a  forest." 

"  But  if,  from  this  height,  the  oxen  appear  no  larger  than 
sheep,  the  sheep  ought  not  to  look  greater  than  flies." 

"You  can  easily  judge;  there  is  a  flock  of  goats  down 
below." 

"  A  flock  of  goats  !     It  is  like  a  swarm  of  ants." 

"  Exactly  ;  but  look  at  them  through  the  telescope." 

Availing  himself  of  the  glass,  which  he  used  rather  un- 
skillfully,  Lucien  raised  a  sudden  cry. 

"  I  see  them  !  I  see  them  !"  he  exclaimed.  "  How  pretty 
they  are  !  They  are  running  about  and  crowding  together, 
in  front  of  a  little  boy  who  is  driving  them." 

"  It  is  most  likely  a  man,  who  is  diminished  by  the  dis- 
tance." 

"  The  idea  of  men  of  that  size  !" 

"  Well,  look  at  the  foot  of  that  wooded  hill ;  the  thin  line 
which  you  might  easily  take  for  a  mere  pathway  is  the 
main  road.  Perhaps  you  may  see  an  Indian  family  travel- 
ling along  it.'11 


'  The  basket  and  its  bearer  chased  one  another  down  the  hill." 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  51 

Lucien  kept  shifting  his  telescope  about  for  some  minutes 
without  descrying  any  thing  ;  but  at  last  he  broke  out  in  a 
fresh  exclamation. 

"  Have  you  discovered  any  men  ?"  I  asked. 

"  Oh  yes ! — men,  horses,  and  mules ;  but  they  are  regular 
Lilliputians." 

"  You  are  quite  right,"  said  Sumichrast ;  "  how  do  we 
know  that  Dr.  Swift  did  not  first  form  his  idea  of  *  Gulli- 
ver's Travels '  from  looking  at  the  world  from  the  top  of  a 
high  mountain  ?" 

After  a  time,  I  was  obliged  to  take  the  young  observer 
away  from  this  point  for  contemplation  to  proceed  on  our 
journey.  The  ridge  of  the  mountain  was  soon  crossed,  and 
we  began  to  descend  the  other  side.  I  took  Lucien  by  the 
hand,  for  the  slope  was  so  steep  that  it  needed  the  utmost 
care  to  avoid  rolling  down  over  the  naked  rocks.  Several 
times  I  slipped,  and  scratched  my  legs  among  the  bushes. 
Sumichrast,  who  had  taken  his  turn  in  looking  after  the 
boy,  was  no  better  off  than  myself.  The  descent  was  so 
steep  that  we  were  often  forced  to  run,  and  sometimes  the 
only  thing  possible  to  retard  our  impetus  was  to  fall  down, 
and  run  the  risk  of  being  hurt.  Therefore,  in  spite  of  Lu- 
cien's  promise  to  walk  prudently  and  with  measured  step, 
I  declined  to  allow  him  to  go  alone.  We  at  last,  to  our 
great  satisfaction,  got  over  about  two-thirds  without  any 
accident,  when  1'Encuerado,  losing  his  equilibrium,  fell, 
turning  head  over  heels  several  times ;  the  basket  and  its 
bearer  chasing  one  another  down  the  hill,  finally  disappear- 
ing into  a  thicket. 

"  Look  after  Lucien,"  I  said  to  my  companion,  who  was 
a  few  paces  in  front.  And  I  dashed  forward  anxiously  to 
assist  1'Encuerado. 

I  feared  that  I  should  find  the  unfortunate  Indian  with 
some  of  his  bones  broken,  even  if  not  killed  ;  so  I  called  to 


52  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

him,  when  he  replied  almost  immediately;  but  his  voice 
sounded  not  from  below,  but  from  a  spot  a  little  to  my 
left.  I  could  not  stay  my  rapid  course  except  by  grasping 
a  tuft  of  brush-wood,  to  which  I  hung.  Then,  turning  to- 
wards the  left,  I  soon  enpountered  the  Mistec,  who  had  al- 
ready begun  to  collect  his  burden. 

"  Nothing  broken  ?"  I  asked. 

"  No,  Tatita ;  all  the  bottles  are  safe." 

"  It's  your  limbs  that  I  mean,  my  poor  fellow  !" 

"  Oh  !  my  nose  and  arms  are  a  little  scratched,  and  my 
body  is  rather  knocked  about ;  but  there's  not  a  single  rent 
either  in  my  jacket  or  breeches,"  added  he,  looking  with 
complacency  at  the  leathern  garments  which  had  given  him 
the  name  of  PEncuerado. 

"  Well,  you  have  had  a  narrow  escape." 

"  Oh !  senor,  God  is  good !  In  spite  of  the  basket-work 
case,  the  bottles  might  have  been  broken,  and  they  are  not 
the  least  hurt." 

1  For  my  part,  I  was  more  inclined  to  recognize  God's 
goodness  in  PEncuerado's  almost  miraculous  preservation. 
As  to  the  basket,  the  Indian  had  tied  it  up  so  strongly,  that 
I  was  not  at  all  surprised  to  find  that  our  provisions  were 
uninjured. 

1  "  Give  a  call-cry,''  said  I  to  the  Indian ;  "  Sumichrast  can 
not  see  us,  and  may  think  that  you  are  killed." 

"  Chanito,  hiou,  hiou,  hiou,  Chanito  !" 

"  Ohe  !  ohe  !"  replied  Lucien. 

And  the  boy,  looking  pale  and  alarmed,  almost  immedi- 
ately made  his  appearance.  He  rushed  up  to  his  friend, 
threw  his  arms  round  his  neck,  and  embraced  him.  The 
brave  Mistec,  who  had  been  but  little  injured  by  his  terri- 
ble descent,  could  not  help  weeping  at  this  proof  of  Lucien's 
attachment. 

"  It  was  nothing  but  a  joke,"  he  said.  "  You'll  see  me 
perform  many  a  feat  like  that." 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  53 

"  Your  face  is  all  over  with  blood  !" 
"  That's  a  mere  joke,  too.     Would  you  like  me  to  do  it 
again  ?" 

"  No,  no  !"  cried  the  child,  catching  the  Indian  by  the 
jacket. 

I  dressed  PEncuerado's  hurts,  and  we  were  about  to  con- 
tinue our  journey. 

"  I  say,"  said  Lucien,  archly,  just  as  the  Indian  was  hoist- 
ing his  basket  on  to  his  back ;  "  how  would  it  have  been  if 
I  had  been  perched  on  it  ?" 

"Then  I  should  not  have  fallen,"  replied  1'Encuerado, 
with  the  utmost  gravity. 

In  a  minute  or  two  more  we  were  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  when  Lucien,  overjoyed  that  the  descent  was  ac- 
complished, gave  a  leap  which  showed  me  that  the  back  of 
his  trowsers  had  suffered  in  the  late  struggle. 

"  There's  a  pretty  beginning  !"  I  cried ;  "  how  did  you 
manage  to  get  your  trowsers  in  that  state  ?" 

"  It  is  my  fault,"  said  Sumichrast,  with  consternation ; 
"  wishing  to  descend  more  rapidly,  and  fearing  another 
tumble,  I  advised  him  to  sit  down  and  slide  carefully.     I  did 
not  foresee  the  very  natural  results  of  such  a  plan." 
"  Well,  papa  !  it  does  not  matter  in  the  country." 
"  If  my  advice  had  been  taken,"  broke  in  1'Encuerado, 
"  he  would  have  had  a  pair  of  leathern  pantaloons,  which 
wouldn't  suffer  from    such   contingencies.      Never    mind, 
Chanito,  we'll  mend  them  with  the  skin  of  the  first  squirrel 
which  comes  within  reach  of  my  gun." 

We  were  now  passing  through  a  dark  gorge  full  of  thick 
brush-wood.  In  front  of  us  rose  a  wooded  mountain,  which 
we  had  to  climb.  The  shrubs  were  succeeded  by  gigantic 
thistles,  which  compelled  us  to  advance  with  extreme  care. 
These  troublesome  plants  grew  so  thickly  that  we  were 
obliged  to  use  our  knives  to  clear  a  passage.  L'Encuerado, 


54  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

putting  down  his  load,  taught  Lucien  how  to  handle  his ; 
showing  him  that  a  downward  cut,  if  the  weapon  slipped  or 
met  with  but  little  resistance,  might  be  dangerous.  En- 
chanted with  his  lesson,  and  cutting  down  several  stalks  at 
a  blow,  our  young  pioneer  soon  opened  for  us  an  avenue 
rather  than  a  path.  The  thistles  gradually  became  fewer. 
Sumichrast  walked  in  front,  destroying  the  last  obstacles 
that  severed  us  from  the  under-wood. 

It  was  now  breakfast-time,  and  as  we  continued  our 
course  we  looked  out  for  a  favorable  spot  to  halt  at,  when 
the  measured  strokes  of  an  axe  fell  upon  our  ears.  This 
noise  told  of  the  presence  of  wood-cutters,  who  were  certain 
to  be  provided  with  maize-cakes  and  beans ;  so  we  resolved 
to  make  our  way  up  to  them,  and  thus  economize  our  own 
resources.  After  an  hour's  difficult  ascent,  just  as  we  were 
despairing  of  reaching  the  Indian,  whose  axe  had  ceased  to 
sound,  Lucien  cried  but : 

"  Look,  papa,  there's  a  fire  !" 

At  the  same  moment  Gringalet  began  bai-king  furiously, 
and  a  few  paces  more  brought  us  to  a  burning  charcoal- 
oven.  The  charcoal-burner,  who  was  surprised  at  our  visit, 
seized  his  long-handled  axe.  But  the  presence  of  the  child 
appeared  to  reassure  him. 

"  Good-morning,  Don  Jose,"  said  I,  using  the  common 
name  which  is  applied  in  Mexico  to  all  the  Indians. 

"  God  preserve  you,"  replied  he,  speaking  in  broken 
Spanish. 

"  Are  you  all  alone  ?" 

"  No.     I  have  six  companions." 

"  Well,  will  one  of  you  sell  us  some  maize-cakes,  and  give 
us  some  water  ?" 

"  We  have  neither  water  nor  cakes." 

"  I'm  quite  sure  you  will  be  able  to  find  some,"  I  replied, 
placing  a  half -piastre  in  his  hand. 


;  Almost  immediately  the  foliage  was  pushed  aside." 


A  YOUXG  XATU&AL1ST.  57 

The  Indian  took  off  big  straw  hat,  scratched  his  forehead, 
and  then,  placing  two  fingers  in  his  mouth,  whistled  a  pro- 
longed note.  Almost  immediately  the  foliage  was  pushed 
aside,  and  a  boy  about  fifteen  years  old,  wearing  nothing  but 
a  pair  of  drawers,  made  his  appearance,  and  halted,  as  if 
terrified  at  the  sight  of  us. 

"  Run  to  the  hut,  and  ask  for  cakes  and  some  capsicums, 
and  bring  them  here,"  said  the  wood-cutter,  in  the  Aztec 
language. 

"  It's  quite  needless,"  I  replied,  in  the  same  idiom ;  "  we 
can  breakfast  much  more  comfortably  in  the  hut." 

The  wood-cutter  looked  at  me  in  artless  admiration,  then 
taking  ray  hand,  placed  it  on  his  breast.  I  spoke  his  lan- 
guage, and  I  was  therefore  his  friend.  This  is  a  feeling 
common  to  all  men,  whatever  may  be  their  nationality  or 
social  position. 

Following  the  young  Indian,  in  five  minutes  we  reached 
a- very  primitive  dwelling;  being  but  four  stakes  supporting 
a  roof  made  of  branches  with  their  leaves  on.  The  wood- 
men in  Mexico  construct  such  temporary  places  of  shelter, 
for  at  the  commencement  of  the  rainy  season  they  cease  to 
dwell  in  the  forests. 

An  Indian  girl  wanned  us  a  dozen  of  those  maize-flour 
fritters,  which  are  called  tortillas,  and  are  eaten  by  the 
natives  instead  of  bread.  She  also  brought  us  a  calabash 
full  of  cooked  beans,  which  hunger  rendered  delicious. 

"  Why  don't  they  serve  the  meat  first  ?"  asked  Lucien. 

"  Because  they  have  none,"  replied  Sumichrast. 

"  Haven't  these  Indians  any  meat  ?  Poor  fellows !  How 
will  they  dine,  then  ?" 

"  Don't  you  know  that  the  Indians  never  eat  meat  more 

than  three  or  four  times  a  year ;  and  that  their  usual  food  is 

composed  of  nothing  but  black  beans,  rice,  capsicums,  and 

maize  flour  ?     Have  you  forgotten  our  dinner  yesterday  ?" 

3* 


58  THE  AU  VENTURES  OF 

"  I  fancied  that  we  had  arrived  too  late  for  the  first 
course,  and  that  all  the  meat  had  been  used.  But  shall  we 
live  on  beans  the  whole  of  our  journey?" 

"  No ;  our  meals  will  not  be  quite  so  regular  as  you 
seem  to  think.  Yet  we  shall  have  plenty  of  meat  when  we 
have  been  lucky  in  shooting,  a  little  rice  when  we  have 
.been  unfortunate,  and  fried  beans  whenever  chance  throws 
in  our  way  any  inhabited  hut." 

"And  we  shall  have  to  go  without  dessert?"  said  the 
child,  making  up  his  face  into  a  comical  pout. 

"  Oh  no,  Chanito,  there  will  be  dessert  to-day,"  replied 
1'Encuerado.  "  Perhaps  as  good  as  the  cook  would  provide 
at  home ;  but,  at  any  rate,  it  is  sweet  enough.  Look  at  it !" 

The  Indian  girl  brought  a  calabash  full  of  water,  and  a 
cone  of  black  sugar,  weighing  about  half  a  pound. 

"What  is  that?"  cried  Lucien. 

" Panela"  answered  the  Indian  girl. 

"Poor  man's  sugar,"  interposed  Sumichrast.  "The 
manufacture  of  white  sugar,  which  you  saw  yesterday, 
costs  a  good  deal,  for  the  laborers  employed  to  make  it 
have  to  work  night  and  day,  and  thus  it  becomes  expen- 
sive. Now,  some  sugar-makers  avoid  all  this  outlay,  and 
they  merely  boil  the  juice,  so  that  it  will  harden  in  cooling. 
This  dark-colored  sugar  costs  about  one-half  as  much  in 
making  as  the  other." 

"  I  can  well  believe  it,"  said  the  child ;  "  but  it  contains 
all  that  nasty  scum  which  we  saw." 

"  That  makes  it  the  nicer,"  said  1'Encuerado ;  "  it  has  a 
richer  flavor." 

And  taking  a  morsel  of  the  panela,  he  soaked  it  in  the 
water  in  the  calabash  and  sucked  it. 

When  Lucien  saw  that  we,  too,  imitated  the  Indian,  he 
soon  made  up  his  mind  to  do  likewise,  the  sweet  taste 
overcoming  his  repugnance. 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  59 

When  we  had  finished,  our  young  companion  was  anx- 
ious to  know  how  charcoal  was  made.  Sumiehrast  led 
him  close  to  a  recently-felled  oak,  the  small  branches  of 
which  an  Indian  was  catting  into  pieces  two  or  three  inches 
long,  by  means  of  an  instrument  something  like  an  enor- 
mous pruning-knife.  A  little  farther,  on  the  open  ground, 
two  men  were  collecting  these  pieces  of  wood  in  circular 
rows.  This  pile  was  already  seven  feet  in  circumference, 
and  about  the  same  in  height,  although  it  was  not  half  fin- 
ished. Lucien  could  easily  see  this  when  he  approached  the 
Indian  who  was  looking  after  the  lighted  furnace,  in  which 
the  wood,  completely  covered  with  earth,  formed  a  kind  of 
dome,  from  the  summit  of  which  a  blue  flame  was  hover- 
ing, proving  that  the  mass  inside  was  in  a  red-hot  state. 
The  Indian  kept  walking  round  and  round  the  furnace, 
plastering  damp  earth  on  any  holes  through  which  the 
flame  started.  For,  as  Sumiehrast  properly  observed,  a 
charcoal  of  good  quality  must  be  smothered  while  it  is  be- 
ing burned. 

"  Suppose  the  fire  went  out?*  said  Lucien. 

"  Then  all  the  work  must  be  begun  over  again." 

"But  the  fire  might  burn,  only  one  side." 

"They  would  then  have  badly-burned  charcoal,  nearly 
half  wood,  which  would  cause  a  bad  smell  when  it  was 
used.  The  wood  in  the  oven  we  are  looking  at  will  be  en- 
tirely charred  to-night ;  for  the  fire,  which  was  lighted  at 
the  centre,  is  trying  to  break  through  all  round  the  outside. 
Before  long  the  Indians  win  cover  up  the  opening  at  the 
top,  over  which  the  blue  flame  is  hovering.  The  fire  will 
then  be  quite  deprived  of  air,  and  soon  afterwards  go  out. 
In  about  eight  days  your  mamma  may  perhaps  buy  this 
very  charcoal  which  you  have  seen  burned.** 

u  Suppose  the  charcoal  went  on  burning  ?** 

"  Then  the  Indian,  to  his  great  vexation,  would  find  noth- 


60          THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 

ing  left  but  ashes.  But  he  will  take  good  care  not  to  lose 
the  fruit  of  his  labor.  He  will  use  as  many  precautions  to 
prevent  the  fire  burning  up  again  as  he  does  now  to  hinder 
it  going  out." 

A  little  farther  on  a  man  was  filling  up  his  rush  bags 
with  charcoal  which  had  cooled.  As  it  would  take  him 
more  than  one  day  to  reach  the  town,  he  was  lining  his 
sacks  with  a  kind  of  balm,  the  penetrating  odor  of  which 
always  announces,  in  Mexico,  the  approach  of  a  charcoal- 
carrier.  This  plan  is  adopted  to  preserve  the  charcoal 
from  damp. 

"  When  I  used  to  see  the  Indians  carrying  on  their  backs 
their"  four  little  sacks  of  charcoal,"  said  Lucien,  "  I  had  no 
idea  that  they  were  obliged  to  live  in  the  woods,  and  cut 
down  great  trees  to  procm-e  it;  and  that  they  had  to  pass 
several  nights  in  watching  the  oven." 

"  No  more  idea,  perhaps,"  I  replied,  "  than  the  little  boys 
in  Europe  have  of  the  sugar-cane  plantations ;  and  that 
without  the  plant  all  those  beautiful  bon-bons,  which  de- 
light the  sight  as  much  as  the  taste,  could  not  be  made." 

"  But,  papa,  haven't  I  heard  you  tell  the  Mexicans  that 
in  France  they  make  sugar  with  beet-root  ?" 

"  Yes,  certainly  you  have ;  and,  in  case  of  need,  it  might 
be  extracted  from  many  other  roots,  plants,  or  fruit;  but 
beet-root  alone  yields  enough  sugar  to  repay  the  trouble  of 
extraction." 

It  was  quite  time  for  us  to  be  off;  so  I  put  an  end  to 
the  ceaseless  questions  of  the  young  traveller. 

Our  host  told  me  that  if  we  went  on  along  the  same  path 
which  had  led  us  to  their  place,  we  should  come,  in  less 
than  two  hours,  to  a  hut  situated  on  the  plateau  of  the 
mountain.  The  Indians  certainly  seemed  to  forget  that 
Lucien's  short  legs  might  delay  our  progress. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A  DIFFICULT  ASCENT. THE  GOAT. THE  INDIAN  GIRLS. 

THE  TOBACCO-PLANT. THE  BULL-FIGHT. GAME. LU- 

CLEN'S  GUN. — OUR  ENTRY  INTO  THE  WILDERNESS. 

OUR  way  led  through  nothing  but  scrub  oaks,  for  all  the 
larger  trees  had  gradually  disappeared  from  the  mount- 
ain-side, which  had  for  some  time  been  cultivated  by  the 
Indians.  The  path  was  steep,  rugged,  and  stony ;  and 
seemed,  at  first,  to  defy  any  attempt  to  scale  it.  Notwith- 
standing the  measured  pace  at  which  we  were  walking,  we 
were  obliged  to  stop  every  minute  to  recover  our  breath. 
Lucien  followed  us  so  eagerly  that  I  was  obliged  to  check 
him  several  times.  He  was  surprised  at  not  seeing  any  liv- 
ing creature,  not  even  those  beautiful  golden  flies  which,  in 


62  THE  ADVENTVME8   OF 

Mexico,  flutter  round  every  bush.  But  the  north  wind  was 
blowing,  and  the  sun  was  hidden  behind  the  clouds,  so  that 
both  the  insects  and  birds  kept  in  the  deepest  recesses  of 
their  hiding-places.  As  we  advanced,  our  road  became 
much  steeper,  and  we  were  obliged  to  cling  to  the  shrubs 
for  support.  L'Encuerado,  who  was  impeded  by  the  weight 
of  his  load,  pulled  himself  up  with  his  hands,  so  had  hard 
work  to  keep  his  balance.  Soon  it  became  impossible  for 
him  to  go  farther ;  but,  fortunately,  we  had  foreseen  ascents 
of  this  kind.  So  I  gave  the  child  into  Sumichrast's  charge, 
for  if  he  had  been  left  to  climb  by  himself,  he  would  most 
likely  have  rolled  over  and  hurt  himself  against  the  stumps 
or  sharp  rocks. 

I  made  my  way  into  a  copse,  and  with  my  machete  I  cut 
down  a  moderately-sized  branch,  the  end  of  which  I  sharp- 
ened to  a  point.  Then,  going  forward  and  unrolling  a 
leathern  thong,  thirty  feet  in  length,  and  commonly  called 
by  us  a  lasso,  I  fastened  it  to  the  stake,  which  I  drove  firm- 
ly into  the  ground.  By  means  of  this  support,  which  served 
as  a  sort  of  hand-rail,  PEncuerado  could  clamber  up  to  me, 
thanks  to  the  strength  of  his  wrists.  Ten  times  this  awk- 
Avard  job  had  to  be  repeated,  and  the  path,  instead  of  get- 
ting better,  became  worse.  We  then  shifted  our  work,  and 
I  took  charge  of  the  load,  while  the  tired  Indian  fixed  the 
lasso.  I  was  just  making  my  third  ascent,  when  Sumi- 
chrast,  who  had  gone  on  before  us  to  reconnoitre  the  ground, 
made  his  appearance  above.  When  he  saw  me  stumbling 
and  twisting  about,  falling  now  on  my  side,  and  now  on  my 
knees,  toiling  to  advance  a  single  step,  my  companion  burst 
into  a  fit  of  laughter.  I  had  then  neither  time  nor  will  to 
do  as  he  did,  and  his  ill-timed  mirth  vexed  me.  At  last  I 
caught  hold  of  the  stake,  bruised  and  exhausted,  and  ready 
to  wish  there  was  no  such  thing  as  travelling.  Sumichrast 
told  us  that  we  had  scarcely  three  hundred  feet  more  to  as- 


A  TOUNQ  NATURALIST.  63 

cend,  and  shouldered  the  basket  himself.  Now  that  I  was 
a  mere  spectator,  I  could  readily  forgive  him  his  fit  of  mer- 
riment. Nothing,  in  fact,  could  be  more  grotesque  than  the 
contortions  he  went  through  trying  to  keep  his  balance. 
L'Encuerado  was  the  only  one  who  retained  his  counte- 
nance. As  for  Lucien,  he  seemed  to  feel  the  efforts  of  Su- 
michrast  as  much  as  if  they  were  his  own. 

"  You  see,"  I  said  to  my  son,  "  that  in  countries  where 
there  are  no  beaten  roads  a  walk  is  not  always  an  easy  mat- 
ter." 

At  last,  we  got  out  of  this  difficult  locality.  While  afl 
this  was  going  on,  Gringalet,  gravely  squatting  down  upon 
his  haunches,  seemed  perfectly  amazed  at  our  efforts. 
Pricking  up  his  ears  and  winking  his  eyes,  he  quietly  sur- 
veyed us;  no  doubt  secretly  congratulating  himself  upon 
being  able  to  run  and  gambol  easily  in  places  where  we, 
less-suitably-constructed  bipeds,  found  it  difficult  even  to 
walk. 

Here  there  were  no  trees  to  be  seen.  As  on  the  evening 
before,  we  traversed  a  granite  surface  soil  which  formed  the 
ridge  of  the  mountain ;  but  a  sudden  turn  in  the  path  led 
us  to  a  plateau,  on  which  stood  a  rudely-built  hut. 

Three  children  ran  away  as  we  came  near,  and  two  lean 
dogs  began  to  prowl  round  Gringalet  with  any  thing  but 
friendly  intentions.  A  goat,  which  was  quietly  cropping 
the  scanty  grass,  suddenly  raised  its  head,  and,  cutting  sev- 
eral capers,  ran  with  its  head  bent  down,  as  if  to  butt  our 
little  companion.  I  could  not  reach  the  spot  in  time  to  pre- 
vent this  unforeseen  attack,  nevertheless  I  shouted,  in  hopes 
of  intimidating  the  animal ;  but  Gringalet,  who  was  far 
more  nimble  than  I,  boldly  faced  the  enemy,  and  soon  forced 
him  to  retreat. 

"  Weren't  you  afraid  of  him  ?"  asked  Snmichrast. 

«  Rather,"  answered  Lucien,  hanging  down  his  head. 


64  THE  AD  VENTURES  OF 

"  Well,  it  did  not  prevent  you  facing  the  foe." 

"  If  I  had  run  away,  the  goat,  who  runs  a  great  deal  fast- 
er than  I  can,  would  soon  have  overtaken  me.  I  waited  for 
him,  so  as  to  frighten  him  with  my  stick,  and,  if  possible, 
avoid  his  horns." 

"  You  could  not  have  acted  more  sensibly.  At  all  events 
you've  plenty  of  coolness,  and  that  is  about  the  best  quality 
a  traveller  can  show." 

"  All  right  now,  but  in  future  I  shall  keep  clear  of  goats. 
But  I  thought  they  were  afraid  of  men." 

"  Xot  always,  as  you  were  very  near  finding  out  to  your 
cost.  Perhaps,  however,"  continued  Sumichrast,  smiling, 
"  your  enemy  did  not  look  upon  you  quite  as  a  man;  and, 
after  all,  I  fancy  he  thought  more  of  playing  with  you  than 
of  hurting  you,  for  he  must  be  thoroughly  accustomed  to 
the  sight  of  children." 

At  this  moment  Gringalet  came  running  up  with  his  tail 
between  his  legs,  and  with  a  most  doleful  look;  he  was 
closely  pursued  by  all  the  dogs  of  the  plateau,  who,  instead 
of  barking,  were  making  a  kind  of  howling  noise,  common 
to  those  that  are  but  half  domesticated. 

On  hearing  all  this  uproar,  two  Indian  women  came 
running  towards  us,  but  stopped,  abashed  at  our  appear- 
ance. 

The  youngest  of  them,  rather  a  pretty  girl,  wore  nothing 
but  a  short  linen  chemise,  and  a  piece  of  blue  woollen  stuff 
fastened  round  her  hips  by  a  wide  band,  ornamented  with 
red  threads.  Her  hair,  which  was  plaited  and  brought  over 
her  forehead,  formed  a  sort  of  coronet.  Her  companion,  who 
was  dressed  in  a  similar  way,  wore,  in  addition,  a  long  scarf, 
which  was  fixed  to  her  head,  and  fell  round  her  like  a  nun's 
cloak. 

"  God  bless  you,  Maria  !"  I  said  to  the  eldest.  "  Can  you 
take  us  in  for  one  night  ?" 


'  On  hearing  the  uproar,  two  Indi 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  67 

"  I  have  nothing  to  offer  you  to  eat,  I  am  afraid." 
"  Perhaps  you  can  sell  us  a  fowl  and  some  eggs." 
"  Well,  I  must  see  if  my  husband  objects  to  guests." 
"  Surely  your  husband  will  not  refuse  the  shelter  of  his 
roof  to  weary  travellers  ?" 

She  reflected  for  a  moment,  and  then  answered, 
"  No,  he  is  a  Christian !  Come  in  and  rest  yourselves." 
The  Indian  woman  called  to  her  children,  who  one  after 
the  other  showed  their  wild-looking  heads  peeping  out  from 
some  hiding-place,  and  ordered  them  to  drive  away  the  dogs. 
It  was  not  without  some  degree  of  pleasure  we  got  rid  of 
our  travelling  gear,  as  we  felt  no  ordinary  amount  of  wea- 
riness, which  was  easily  accounted  for  by  the  exertion  of  our 
recent  ascent.  L'Encuerado,  always  brisk,  began  to  assist 
the  housewife ;  he  stirred  up  the  fire,  arranged  the  plates, 
and  looked  to  their  being  clean.  The  Indian  woman  then 
asked  him  to  go  and  draw  some  water  from  a  spring  about 
a  hundred  yards  from  the  hut ;  and  off  he  went,  led  by 
the  children  of  our  hostess.  His  young  guides,  completely 
naked,  and  their  heads  shaved,  rode  on  bamboo -canes  as 
make-believe  horses,  and  pranced  along  in  front  of  him. 

Except  on  the  side  we  had  just  ascended,  the  plateau  was 
entirely  surrounded  by  high  mountains.  The  hut,  which 
was  built  of  planks  and  covered  with  thatch,  appeared  very 
cleanly  kept.  Behind  it  extended  a  small  kitchen  garden, 
in  which  fennel,  the  indispensable  condiment  in  Aztec  cook- 
ery, grew  in  great  abundance ;  in  front,  there  was  a  large 
tobacco  plantation,  and  an  inclosure  where  both  goats  and 
pigs  lived  on  good  terms  with  each  other.  The  situation 
appeared  somewhat  dull  to  us;  but  in  the  tropics  the  ab- 
sence of  sunshine  is  sufficient  to  give  a  sombre  look  to  the 
most  beautiful  landscape. 

Lucien  wanted  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  tobacco-field.  The 
stems  of  this  plant  are  more  than  three  feet  high,  covered 


68  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

with  wide  leaves  of  a  dark-green  color.  The  flowers,  some 
of  which  were  pink  and  others  a  yellowish  hue,  indicated  two 
different  species ;  their  acrid  smell  was  any  thing  but  pleas- 
ant. Lucien  was  not  a  little  surprised  to  learn  that  this 
beautiful  vegetable  belonged  to  the  same  botanical  family 
as  the  potato,  the  tomato,  the  egg-plant,  and  the  pimento. 

"  Among  the  ancient  Aztecs,"  said  Sumichrast,  "  tobacco 
was  called  pyciett;  it  was  the  emblem  of  the  goddess  Cihua- 
cohuatl,  or  woman-serpent.*  In  Mexican  mythology,  this 
divinity  was  supposed  to  be  the  first  mother  of  children; 
and,  in  the  legend  about  her,  the  European  missionaries  fan- 
cied that  they  recognized  some  features  resembling  the  sa- 
cred history  of  Eve.  Up  to  the  present  time,  the  Indians, 
who  have  renounced  the  errors  of  paganism  and  profess  the 
Christian  religion,  continue  to  make  use  of  the  plant  conse- 
crated to  their  ancient  goddess,  as  a  remedy  for  the  sting  of 
venomous  reptiles." 

"  Then  that  is  why  they  cultivate  tobacco,"  said  Lucien, 
"  for  I  know  that  they  seldom  smoke." 

"  No,  but  they  sell  their  crops  of  it  to  the  Creoles,  among 
whom  smoking  is  a  universal  habit.  It  is  said  that  the  word 
tobacco  comes  from  the  name  of  the  island  of  Tabago,  where 
the  Spaniards  first  discovered  it.  About  the  year  1560,  it 
was  introduced  into  France  by  Jean  Nicot,  who  gave  it  his 
own  name ;  for  savants  call  this  plant  nicotian.  It  is  a  cer- 
tain fact  that  the  modern  Mexican  Indians  smoke  hardly 
any  thing  but  cigars  or  cigarettes.  As  for  pipes,  they  have 
not  long  known  of  the  existence  of  such  things ;  and  the 
works  of  certain  romancers,  who  so  often  describe  the  Az- 
tecs as  having  the  pipe  of  peace,  war,  or  council  constantly 
in  their  mouths,  are  simply  ridiculous.  You  may  recollect 

*  In  the  Aztec  language,  cihuatl  signifies  "woman, "and  cohuatl  signi- 
fies "  iterpent." 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  69 

how  astonished  the  French  were,  on  their  arrival  here,  to 
find  they  could  not  procure  any  cut  tobacco ;  while  on  the 
other  hand  the  Indians  crowded  to  see  the  foreigners  in- 
hale the  smoke  of  the  plant  from  instruments  made  of  clay, 
wood,  or  porcelain."* 

"I  remember," cried  Lucien,  "that  one  day  PEncuerado 
took  a  pipe  belonging  to  an  officer  who  was  staying  with 
papa  and  began  to  smoke  it.  You  should  have  seen  what 
horrible  faces  he  made." 

"  Well,  what  happened  to  him?"  asked  Sumichrast 

"  The  pipe  made  him  sick,  and  then  papa,  wrho  knew  noth- 
ing about  his  smoking,  gave  him  some  medicine  ;  but  1'En- 
cuerado  told  me  that  the  medicine  was  not  nearly  so  nasty 
as  the  pipe." 

The  culprit,  who  had  just  joined  us,  cast  down  his  eyes 
at  this  tale  about  him,  and  murmured  in  a  sententious  tone 
of  voice,  "  Pipes  are  an  invention  of  the  devil. "f 

Followed  by  my  companions,  I  again  drew  near  to  the  hut, 
and  the  master  came  out  to  bid  us  welcome.  Our  hostess 
placed  upon  a  mat  an  earthen  dish  containing  a  fowl  cooked 
with  rice,  and  the  Indian,  his  wife,  and  his  sister-in-law,  of- 
fered to  wait  on  us.  Lucien  invited  the  children  to  partake 
of  our  repast ;  but  they  refused  to  sit  down  beside  us.  To- 
wards the  conclusion  of  our  dinner,  one  of  them  brought  us 
half  a  dozen  bananas,  which  were  most  welcome  ;  while  we 
were  drinking  our  coffee,  the  little  troop  made  up  a  game 
of  hide-and-seek.  To  my  great  satisfaction,  I  saw  that,  in 
spite  of  the  long  day's  journey,  Lucien  joined  in,  and 

*  The  Indians  that  inhabit  the  vast  pkins  to  the  north  of  Mexico  all 
smoke ;  from  this,  doubtless,  arises  the  usual  supposition  that  all  American 
Indians  smoke. — ED. 

t  In  giving  utterance  to  this  anathema,  1'Encuerado  was  unknowingly 
agreeing  with  James  I. ,  king  of  England,  who  published  a  work  against 
smokers. 


70  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

ran  and  jumped  about  with  as  much  energy  as  his  play- 
mates. 

At  last  the  children  got  tired  of  this  game,  and,  bringing 
a  kid,  had  a  mock  bull-fight.  The  animal,  wonderfully  well 
trained  to  the  sport,  ran  after  the  youngsters,  and  more  than 
once  succeeded  in  knocking  them  down.  When  Lucien  met 
this  fate,  Gringalet  became  furious  and  sprang  upon  the 
pretty  little  creature ;  but  the  dog's  young  master  got  up 
in  a  moment  and  soon  quieted  his  protector's  energy.  We 
had  noticed,  ever  since  we  set  out,  that  Gringalet  always 
preferred  to  follow  close  to  the  boy,  and  seemed  to  have 
taken  upon  himself  the  task  of  watching  over  his  safety. 

Our  host  told  us  that  he  was  born  and  also  married  in 
the  village  of  Tenejapa;  but  being  enlisted  for  a  soldier  by 
force,  he  deserted  and  took  up  his  abode  on  this  plateau. 
We  were  the  first  white  men  who  had  paid  him  a  visit  for 
six  years.  His  fields  produced  maize,  beans,  and  tobacco, 
which  his  wife  and  sister-in-law  took  twice  a  year  to  Oriza- 
va  to  exchange  for  necessaries  for  housekeeping.  He  was 
as  happy  as  possible,  and  was  never  tired  of  praising  the 
charms  of  forest  and  plain.  But  his  raptures  were  not  re- 
quired to  convert  us  to  his  opinions. 

Nightfall  was  accompanied  by  cold,  to  which  we  were 
but  little  accustomed.  The  Indians  lent  us  some  mats ; 
then  we  all  wrapped  ourselves  up,  and  were  soon  asleep, 
notwithstanding  the  primitiveness  of  our  couch. 

About  two  in  the  morning  I  woke  up  numbed  from  the 
lowness  of  the  temperature  ;  Lucien  also  was  nearly  frozen. 
I  hastened  to  cover  him  up  with  my  sarap'e,  for  on  these 
heights  we  were  exposed  to  the  north  wind  blowing  from 
the  volcano  of  Citlatepetl,  and  the  atmosphere  would  not 
get  warm  again  until  sunrise.  Sumichrast  soon  joined  me  ; 
he  had  also  given  up  his  covering  to  the  child.  I  then  set 
to  work  to  look  for  some  small  branches  to  light  the  fire ; 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  7j 

bat  oar  movements  ultimately  roused  up  oar  host,  and, 
thanks  to  him,  we  were  soon  able  to  sit  down  in  front  of  a 
powerful  blaze.  Still  PEncuerado,  from  force  of  habit,  who 
was  hardly  sheltered  at  all,  was  sleeping  like  a  top.  At  last, 
aided  by  the  heat,  sleep  resumed  its  influence,  and  I  drop- 
ped off  again  in  slumber. 

When  I  awoke,  the  sun  was  shining  in  a  cloudless  sky, 
and  every  body  was  up.  Sumichrast  was  inspecting  the 
arms  and  ammunition,  for  from  this  day  forward  we  should 
have  to  provide  our  own  subsistence.  I  was  quite  surprised 
at  the  time  I  had  been  asleep ;  but  a  slight  touch  of  lumba- 
go reminded  me  of  yesterday's  difficult  ascent,  which  fully 
accounted  for  my  drowsiness.  I  must  confess  I  felt  much 
more  inclined  to  go  to  bed  again  than  to  continue  our  jour- 
ney ;  but,  as  I  was  obliged  to  set  a  good  example,!  began 
to  help  my  companions  in  their  preparations  for  departure. 
I  have  already  described  the  dress  of  Lucien  and  PEncuera- 
do ;  Snmichrast's  costume  and  mine  also  consisted  of  strong 
cloth  trowsers,  and  a  blouse  made  of  the  same  stuff.  The 
weapons  of  each  were  a  revolver,  a  machete,  a  double-bar- 
relled gun,  and  a  game-bag  filled  with  necessaries.  We 
duly  examined  the  contents  of  the  basket,  which  PEncuera- 
do carried  on  his  back  by  a  strap  fixed  across  his  breast 
or  forehead.  Sumichrast  then  took  out  a  long  parcel  he 
had  put  into  the  basket  when  we  started,  and  unrolled  the 
cloth  which  formed  its  first  covering.  His  smile  and  mys- 
terious look  quite  puzzled  us;  at  last  be  drew  from  the 
paper  a  light  fowling-piece,  which  he  placed  in  Lucien's 
hands. 

The  boy  blushed  and  trembled  with  joy,  and  became 
quite  pale  with  anxiety.  He  hardly  dared  to  believe  that 
his  fondest  dream  was  thus  realized.  He  could  not  speak 
for  pleasure,  but  threw  himself  into  my  friend's  arms.  I 
was  as  much  surprised  as  he  was.  I  had  often  thought  of 


72  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

giving  Lucien  a  gun ;  but  I  was  so  afraid  of  an  accident 
that  I  had  decided  not  to  do  so. 

"  Oh,  Chanito  !  I  pity  the  poor  tigers ;  what  a  number 
of  them  you  will  kill !"  exclaimed  the  old  hunter.  "  What 
beautiful  skins  you  will  be  able  to  take  home  to  mamma  ! 
Come,  let  me  handle  your  gun ;  it  looks  as  if  it  was  made 
on  purpose  for  you.  Oh  !  how  I  pity  the  poor  tigers  !" 

And  he  began  to  dance  about  with  the  energy  of  de- 
light. 


It  was  decided  that  the  gun  should  always  be  loaded  by 
us,  and  that  Lucien  should  only  shoot  under  our  directions. 
I  also  added  that,  at  the  least  infringement  of  these  rules, 
the  gun  would  be  taken  away,  and  the  little  fellow  well 
knew  I  would  keep  my  word.  In  vain  I  advised  him  to 
put  back  his  gun  into  the  basket ;  but  this  was  almost  too 
much  to  expect,  so  I  allowed  him  to  carry  it,  which  he  did 
with  great  pride. 

After  a  good   breakfast,  we   regulated   our   compasses. 


npeued  a 


ndfcnlar  sides." 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  75 

Lncien  said  good-bye  to  his  little  companions,  and  I  xhank- 
cd  the  Indian  women  for  all  their  attention  to  us.  Our 
host,  however,  accompanied  us  to  the  summit  of  the  mount- 
ain. 

There  we  found  ourselves  in  a  vast  amphitheatre,  com- 
manded on  all  sides  by  wooded  ridges;  at  our  feet  stretch- 
ed the  plateau  we  had  just  crossed,  and  far  beneath  us  we 
canght  indistinct  glimpses  of  the  plain  below.  Behind  us 
opened  a  dark,  narrow  ravine,  with  perpendicular  sides,  al- 
most like  an  immense  walL  Above  us  was  the  pale  blue 
sky,  dotted  over  with  vultures. 

On  the  verge  of  the  forest  our  guide  parted  from  us  with 
regret,  and  wished  us  a  successful  journey.  Sumichrast 
loaded  Lucien's  gun,  and  told  him  to  fire  it  off  as  a  salute 
on  our  entering  the  wilderness.  The  shot  was  fired,  the 
echoes  reverberating  in  succession,  each  louder  than  the 
last ;  then  all  was  once  more  silent.  After  casting  a  last 
look  over  the  valley,  I  was  the  first  to  make  my  way  into 
the  forest.  From  this  moment  we  had  only  God's  provi- 
dence and  our  own  exertions  to  trust  to ;  for  every  sfep  we 
advanced  only  took  ns  farther  from  the  haunts  of  men. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    GREAT    FOREST. CROWS. THE    FIRST    BIVOUAC. THE 

SQUIRREL-HUNT. OUR    YOUNG    GUIDE. THE     CHANT    IN 

THE   DESERT. 

WE  were  now  more  than  5000  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  and  the  coldness  of  the  breeze  quite  sur- 
prised my  son,  who,  being  accustomed  to  the  climate  of  the 
Terre-Temperee,  had  never  before  felt  any  thing  like  the 
atmosphere  we  were  now  in.  As  if  by  instinct,  he  held  his 
fingers  in  his  mouth,  to  prevent  their  getting  numbed.  But 
when  the  sun  had  reached  a  certain  height,  there  was  no 
longer  any  need  to  complain  of  the  cold. 

As  we  advanced,  the  trees  grew  closer  and  closer  togeth- 
er. Lucien,  who  now  for  the  first  time  saw  these  enormous 
trees,  to  whom  centuries  were  no  more  than  years  are  to  us, 


THE  AD\'EXTURES   OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.          77 

seemed  strongly  impressed  at  the  sight  of  their  gigantic 
proportions.  He  almost  doubted  the  reality  of  the  scene 
which  met  his  eyes.  Having  previously  seen  the  pigmy 
world  of  Lilliput  from  the  top  of  a  mountain,  he  was  now 
ready  to  inquire  if  this  was  not  another  illusion,  exhibiting 
to  him  the  empire  of  one  of  those  giants  whose  marvellous 
histories  his  mamma  had  related  to  him.  An  oak-tree 
which  had  fallen  across  our  path  gave  him  a  good  oppor- 
tunity of  measuring  its  size,  the  limbs  of  which  seemed  to 
touch  the  sky.  The  ancient  trunk  was  black,  wrinkled,  and 
partly  buried  in  the  earth  by  the  weight  of  its  fall ;  even  as 
it  lay  prostrate,  it  was  several  feet  higher  than  ourselves, 
while  the  large  branches,  scattered  and  broken,  were  equal 
in  diameter  to  the  biggest  chestnut-trees.  A  flapping  of 
wings  suddenly  attracted  our  attention,  and  we  saw  two 
couples  of  enormous  crows  take  flight,  saluting  us  as  they 
went  with  a  prolonged  croaking. 

'*'  Be  off  with  you,  children  of  the  evil  one !"  cried  1'En- 
cuerado ;  "  you've  no  chance  of  frightening  us,  we  are  too 
good  Christians  for  that !" 

"  "Whom  are  you  calling  to  ?"  asked  Lucien,  who  looked 
round  him  with  surprise. 

"  To  the  crows,  of  course." 

"  Do  you  believe  that  they  can  understand  you  ?" 

"  Xot  the  least  doubt  about  it,  Chanito.  These  scoun- 
drels are  harder  in  their  flesh  than  they  are  in  their  hearing  ; 
and  just  because  they  are  dressed  up  in  a  beautiful  black 
coat,  like  that  your  papa  wears  on  festival  days,  they  think 
to  have  every  thing  their  own  way.  But  if  one  of  them 
dares  to  come  to-night  and  prowl  round  our  fire,  I'll  kill 
and  roast  him,  as  sure  as  my  name  is  1'Encuerado !" 

The  boy  opened  his  eyes  very  wide  at  this,  for  he  was  al- 
ways astonished  at  the  whims  of  the  Indian,  who  never 
failed  to  interpret  the  cries  and  gestures  of  animals  accord- 


78  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

ing  to  his  own  fancy,  and  to  give  a  sharp  rejoinder  to  the 
imaginary  provocations  which,  as  he  considered,  were  offer- 
ed to  him.  Sometimes,  even,  he  laid  the  blame  on  inani- 
mate things,  and  then  his  conversations  with  them  were 
most  amusing.  The  old  hunter  had  no  doubt  contracted 
this  habit  at  a  time  when,  living  alone  in  the  woods  and 
feeling  the  need  of  talking,  he  conversed  with  himself,  hav- 
ing no  one  else  to  address.  However  this  might  be,  he 
kept  up  conversation  with  either  a  leaf  or  a  bird  in  perfect- 
ly artless  sincerity. 

For  four  hours  we  proceeded  through  the  forest,  feeling 
almost  overcome  with  the  heat.  Pines  and  oaks  appeared, 
one  after  another,  in  almost  monotonous  regularity.  Grad- 
ually the  ground  began  to  slope,  and  the  altered  pace  we 
had  to  adopt  both  rested  us  and  also  increased  the  speed 
of  our  march.  At  length  we  emerged  into  a  valley.  The 
vegetation  was  now  of  an  altered  character,  the  ceibas,  lig- 
mim-vitas  trees,  and  creepers  were  here  and  there  to  be 
seen. 

"  Halt !"  I  cried  out. 

I  soon  got  rid  of  my  travelling  gear,  an  example  my 
companions  were  not  slow  in  following.  L'Encuerado  and 
Lucien  immediately- set  to  work  to  find  some  dry  branches, 
while  Sumichrast  and  I  began  to  cut  down  the  grass  over  a 
space  of  several  square  yards. 

"  Have  we  finished  our  day's  journey,  then  ?"  asked  Lu- 
cien. 

"  Yes,"  I  replied  ;  "  don't  you  feel  tired  ?" 

"  Not  very ;  I  could  easily  go  farther.  Have  we  walked 
very  far  ?" 

"  About  four  leagues." 

"  And  are  we  really  going  to  rest  after  a  trifle  like  that  ? 
I  always  thought  travellers  went  on  walking  until  night." 

"  Nonsense  !"  said  I,  taking  hold  of  his  ear.     "  "What  an 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  79 

undaunted  young  pedestrian  !  Four  leagues  a  day  are  no 
such  trifle  when  you  have  to  begin  again  next  morning. 
'  Slow  and  steady  wins  the  race,'  says  an  old  proverb, 
which  I  intend  to  carry  out  to  the  letter;  for  forced 
marches  would  soon  injure  our  health,  and  then  good-bye 
to  the  success  of  our  expedition.  As  to  walking  until 
night,  it  is  perfectly  impossible,  except  when  one  is  certain 
to  meet  with  an  inn.  Under  these  large  trees,  no  one  will 
ever  think  of  getting  ready  a  meal  for  us ;  and,  I  suppose, 
you  haven't  much  wish  to  die  of  hunger.  We  may  very 
likely  have  to  tramp  one  or  two  leagues  more  before  we 
are  able  to  kill  the  game  which  will  form  the  mainstay  of 
our  dinner." 

"  I  never  thought  of  all  that,"  said  Lucien,  shaking  his 
head,  and  looking  convinced ;  "  but  what  shall  we  have  to 
eat  this  evening  ?" 

"  At  present,  I  haven't  the  least  idea ;  perhaps  a  hare  or 
a  bird,  or  even  a  rat." 

"  A  rat !     I  certainly  will  never  touch  one." 

"Ah!  my  boy,  wait  till  you  are  really  hungry — you 
don't  know  as  yet  what  it  is  to  be  so — and  then  you'll  see 
how  greedily  you  will  make  a  dinner  off  whatever  Provi- 
dence provides." 

"Do  you  think  we  shall  often  have  to  go  a  whole  day 
without  eating  ?" 

"I  hope  not,"  I  answered,  smiling  at  Lucien's  anxious 
and  somewhat  pensive  tone. 

During  this  conversation,  1'Encuerado,  as  active  as  a 
monkey,  had  clambered  up  a  pine,  and  his  machete  was 
strewing  the  ground  with  slender  boughs.  We  also  set 
to  work  at  shaping  the  stakes,  which  I  drove  into  the 
ground  by  means  of  a  stone,  which  served  as  a  hammer. 
Some  branches,  interwoven  and  tied  together  by  creepers, 
formed  a  kind  of  hurdle,  which,  fixed  on  the  top  of  the 


go  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

posts,  did  for  a  roof.  The  Indian,  assisted  by  his  little 
companion,  who  was  much  interested  in  all  the  prepara- 
tions, filled  the  hut  with  leaves,  and  covered  the  branches 
with  a  layer  of  dry  grass.  Under  this  shelter,  we  could 
set  the  rain  at  defiance,  if  not  the  cold. 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  Lucien's  enchantment.  This 
house  (for  this  was  the  name  he  chose  to  give  to  the  shape- 
less hut,  in  which  ouv  party  could  scarcely  stand  upright) 
appeared  to  him  a  perfect  masterpiece  of  architecture,  and 
he  was  astonished  at  the  rapidity  with  which  it  had  been 
built.  He  helped  1'Eucuerado  to  make  up  the  fire,  so  that 
all  that  was  requisite  on  our  return  was  to  set  a  light  to  it. 
Then,  armed  with  our  guns,  we  set  off  to  seek  for  our  din- 
ners. 

Seeing  that  we  left  behind  us  all  our  baggage,  Lucien  ex- 
claimed, 

"  Suppose  any  one  came  and  stole  our  provisions  ?" 

"  Upon  my  word,"  cried  Sumichrast, "  you're  the  boy  to 
think  of  every  thing.  But  there's  no  need  to  fear  this  mis- 
fortune ;  most  likely,  we  are  the  only  persons  in  the  forest ; 
or  if  any  one  else  should  be  here,  it  would  be  an  almost  mi- 
raculous chance  if  they  discovered  our  bivouac." 

"  Then  we  are  not  on  any  road  ?" 

"  You  may  call  it  a  road  if  you  like,  but  we  are  the  only 
people  who  have  trod  it ;  no  one  could  discover  our  en- 
campment unless  they  had  followed  us  step  by  step." 

The  child  shook  his  head  with  a  rather  doubtful  air ;  the 
idea  of  the  desert  is  not  readily  nor  suddenly  comprehend- 
ed. I  well  recollect  that,  during  my  first  excursions  in  the 
wilderness,  I  was  constantly  expecting  to  catch  sight  of 
some  human  face,  either  just  when  I  was  emerging  from  a 
wood  or  in  following  the  paths  made  in  the  savannah  by 
wild  cattle.  At  night,  especially  when  I  was  troubled  by 
sleeplessness,  I  was  always  fancying  that  I  recognized,  in  the 


"We  now  entered  one  of  those  glndes." 


A  YOUNG  XATCEALJ&T.  83 

distant  sounds,  either  the  crow  of  a  cock,  the  barking  of  a 
dog,  or  the  burden  of  some  familiar  song. 

"  But  if  no  one  can  discover  our  bivouac,"  remarked  Lu- 
cien, casting  a  glance  behind  him, "  how  shall  we  manage  to 
find  it  again?" 

"  In  a  way  that  is  simple,  but  rather  laborious ;  we  shall 
walk  one  after  the  other,  and  the  last  man's  duty  will  be  to 
notch  the  trees  and  shrubs." 

«  Shall  I  walk  first  ?"  asked  Lucien. 

u  Xo ;  that  place  belongs  by  right  to  the  best  shot ;  for 
if  we  put  up  any  game,  we  mustn't  let  it  escape.  In  the 
mean  time,  until  you  know  how  to  use  your  gun,  you  shall 
form  the  rear-guard." 

This  duty  did  not  seem  to  displease  Lucien,  who  immedi- 
ately seized  his  sword  and  followed  us,  at  a  tittle  distance, 
inflicting  on  the  trunks  of  the  trees  the  gashes  which  were 
to  guide  us  on  our  return.  He  performed  his  work  with 
so  much  ardor  that  his  strength  was  soon  exhausted. 
L'Eiicuerado  afterwards  taught  him  how  to  handle  his 
weapon  in  a  more  skillful  manner,  and  to  notch  the  trees 
without  stopping  in  his  walk.  A  path  marked  in  this  man- 
"ner  is  called,  in  Canada  and  the  United  States,  a  blaze  road. 

We  now  entered  one  of  those  glades  which  are  so  often 
met  with  in  the  midst  of  a  virgin  forest,  although  it  is  im- 
possible to  explain  the  cause  why  the  trees  do  not  grow- 
just  in  these  spots.  As  there  was  no  living  creature  to  be 
seen,  I  agreed  with  Snmichrast  to  leave  Lucien  and  FEn- 
cuerado  on  the  watch,  and  that  we  should  walk  round,  each 
on  our  own  side,  so  as  to  meet  again  at  the  other  extremity 
of  the  open  space.  Gringalet,  seeing  us  separate,  could  not 
at  first  make  up  his  mind  which  party  he  should  go  with"; 
but  bounded  from  one  to  the  other,  and  caressed  each  of  us. 
raising  plaintive  whines.  At  last  he  seemed  determined  to 
follow  me,  but  scarcely  had  I  progressed  a  hundred  yard> 


34  THE  AD  VENTURES   OF 

before  he  stopped,  as  if  to  reflect.  He  probably  thought  he 
had  left  something  behind,  for  he  quickly  disappeared. 

I  walked  for  half  an  hour  through  the  brake,  with  eye  and 
ear  both  on  the  watch,  and  my  finger  on  the  trigger,  without 
discovering  the  least  evidence  of  game.  My  companion  did 
not  appear  more  fortunate  than  I  was,  when  suddenly  a  gun 
went  off.  At  the  same  time,  I  saw  Sumichrast  pointing  to 
a  number  of  squirrels  crossing  the  glade. 

"  Have  you  killed  one  ?"  I  asked. 

"  Yes ;  but  it  is  sticking  fast  between  two  branches,  sixty 
feet  above  the  ground  ;  it  is  a  shot  thrown  away." 

We  watched  anxiously  the  rapid  bounds  of  the  graceful 
little  animals  which  we  had  just  disturbed,  as  they  were 
fast  making  their  way  into  the  wood. 

"  Is  1'Encuerado  asleep  ?"  I  cined,  with  vexation. 

My  question  was  answered  by  two  shot-reports  in  suc- 
cession, and  almost  immediately  Gringalet,  1'Encuerado,  and 
Lucien  emerged  from  the  forest.  After  searching  about 
for  a  few  minutes,  the  boy  raised  up  his  arm  and  showed 
us  two  squirrels  he  was  holding.  We  now  hastened  our 
steps ;  the  Indian  had  taken  possession  of  the  game,  and 
was  moving  on  towards  our  bivouac,  while  Lucien  ran  to* 
meet  us. 

"Papa,  papa !"  he  cried,  all  out  of  breath,  "  my  gun  killed 
one  of  the  squirrels.  Oh  !  M.  Sumichrast,  you  shall  see  it; 
it  is  gray,  with  a  tail  like  a  plume." 

"  But  was  it  really  you  that  shot  ?"  I  asked. 

"  Oh  yes  !  I  shot,  but  1'Encuerado  held  my  gun  ;  we  aim- 
ed into  the  middle  of  them,  for  there  were  a  great  many. 
If  you  could  only  have  seen  how  they  jumped !  The  one  I 
lut  climbed  up  on  the  tree  close  by ;  but  it  soon  fell  as  dead 
as  a  stone.  L'Encuerado  says  that  it  hadn't  time  to  suffer 
much  pain." 

The  poor  child  was  making  his  debut  as  a  sportsman,  and 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  85 

his  heart  seemed  rather  full,  although  he  was  very  proud 
of  this  first  proof  of  his  skill.  Sumichrast  was  the  first  to 
congratulate  him.  As  for  me,  although  I  was  well  aware 
of  the  Indian's  prudence,  I  made  up  my  mind,  if  only  for  the 
sake  of  economizing  our  powder,  both  to  blame  him  and  also 
to  caution  him  against  his  desire  of  letting  the  boy  shoot. 

"  Come,"  said  I  to  Lucien,  who  was  hugging  his  gun 
against  his  chest,  "  you  must  be  our  leader  in  finding  our 
way  back  to  our  encampment.  You  marked  out  the  road, 
so  mind  you  don't  mislead  us." 

Our  young  guide  led  us  back  to  our  starting-point  with 
far  more  self-possession  than  I  expected. 

"A  child's  attention  is  always  being  drawn  away,"  ob- 
served Sumichrast  to  me.  "  How  do  you  explain  Lucien's 
having  followed  the  trail  so  readily  ?" 

"  Perhaps  because  it  was  partly  his  own  work,"  I  replied. 

"  It  is,  too,  because  I  am  so  short,"  replied  the  child,  with 
an  arch  smile ;  "  I  am  much  closer  to  the  ground  than  you 
are,  almost  as  close  as  Gringalet,  who  is  so  very  clever  in 
finding  a  trail.  You  see,  papa,  that  it's  some  benefit 'in  be- 
ing little,  and  that  I  have  some  chance  of  being  useful." 

I  need  hardly  say  how  much  we  were  diverted  at  this 
novel  argument  against  a  lofty  stature. 

"  At  this  rate,"  I  replied, "  I  ought  to  have  brought  your 
brother  Emile ;  for  he  is  so  short  that  he  would  have  fol- 
lowed a  trail  even  better  than  you." 

"  Of  course  you  ought.  Don't  you  recollect  that  when 
we  were  walking  over  the  mountain  of  Borrego,  he  often 
spied  out  insects  that  you  had  missed  seeing." 

I  was  evidently  regularly  beaten. 

We  sat  down  in  front  of  the  fire,  before  which  the  two 
sqiiirrels  were  roasting.  L'Encuerado  caught  in  a  dish  the 
fat  which  trickled  down  from  the  animals,  and  every  now 
and  then  basted  the  meat  with  it. 


80  THE  AD  VENTURES  OF 

The  flesh  of  the  squirrel,  both  in  flavor  and  color,  much 
resembles  that  of  the  hare ;  so  our  little  mess-mate  ate  it 
with  evident  enjoyment.  Dried  maize-cakes,  called  toto- 
po,  took  the  place  of  bread,  and  each  one  had  his  allowance 
of  it. 

We  couldn't  help  feeling  uneasy  about  Gringalet:  we 
had  given  him  about  half  a  squirrel,  but  instead  of  eating 
it,  he  thought  fit  to  roll  himself  upon  it  frantically.  The 
poor  beast  had  consequently  only  some  scraps  of  totopo. 
It  was,  however,  highly  necessary  to  accustom  him  to  feed 
on  game,  as  our  maize-cakes  were  far  too  valuable  to  be 
doled  out  thus.  Each  of  us  poured  a  little  water  from  his 
gourd  into  a  calabash,  which  served  for  a  drinking-vessel. 
The  poor  dog,  thus  allowanced,  must  have  been  sorry  that 
he  ever  joined  us. 

The  sun  was  perceptibly  sinking. 

"  Well,  Lucien,"  asked  Sumichrast,  "  what  do  you  think 
now  of  rat's  flesh  ?" 

"  I'll  tell  you  when  I  have  eaten  some  of  it." 

"What!  don't  you  know  that  the  squirrel  and  the  rat 
are  very  near  relations,  and  that  they  both  belong  to  the 
Rodent  family  ?" 

"  They  certainly  are  a  little  alike,"  said  the  child,  making 
a  comical  face. 

"Especially  the  species  which  we  had  for  our  dinner; 
which,  by-the-by,  is  not  yet  classed  by  naturalists.  Look ! 
its  coat  is  black  on  the  back,  gray  on  the  flanks,  and  white 
under  the  belly.  The  ears,  too,  are  bare,  instead  of  having 
those  long  points  of  hair  which  give  such  a  knowing  look 
to  the  European  squirrels." 

"  Do  squirrels  feed  on  flesh  ?" 

"  No ;  acorns,  buds,  nuts,  grain,  and  sometimes  grasses, 
constitute  their  principal  food." 

"  Then,"  replied  Lucien,  triumphantly,  "  the  flesh  of  the 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  87 

squirrel  can  not  resemble  that  of  the  rat,  for  I  know  that 
the  rat  will  eat  flesh." 

The  assured  and  self-satisfied  tone  of  the  little  savant 
made  us  smile;  but  I  almost  immediately  desired  him  to 
be  silent,  for  a  noise  of  branches  rustling,  which  had  ex- 
cited our  attention,  became  every  moment  more  distinct. 
Gringalet  was  about  to  bark,  but  FEncuerado  caught  him 
by  the  muzzle,  and  covered  him  with  his  sarape.  A  whole 
troop  of  squirrels,  no  doubt  those  we  had  hunted  two  hours 
before,  made  their  appearance,  uttering  sharp  cries.  They 
sprang  from  branch  to  branch  with  the  most  extraordinary 
disregard  to  distance.  We  noticed  them  running  after  one 
another,  sometimes  along  the  top,  and  sometimes  along  the 
bottom  of  the  most  flexible  boughs.  They  moved  forward 
as  if  in  jerks,  sometimes  stopping  suddenly  and  climbing  a 
tree,  only  to  descend  it  again.  When  on  the  ground,  they 
sat  up  on  their  hind  legs,  using  their  front  paws  like  hands, 
and  rubbed  their  noses  with  such  a  comical  air  that  Lucien 
could  not  help  speaking  loud  to  express  his  admiration  of 
them. 

Hearing  so  strange  a  sound  as  the  human  voice,  the 
graceful  animals  took  flight,  but  not  quick  enough  to  pre- 
vent Sumichrast's  gun  from  wounding  one  of  them.  The 
squirrel  remained  at  first  clinging  to  the  tree  on  which  it 
was  when  the  shot  struck  it ;  but,  after  a  pause,  it  relaxed 
its  hold  and  rolled  over  and  fell  to  the  ground.  Neverthe- 
less, it  had  strength  enough  left  to  turn  round  and  bite  the 
sportsman,  who  carelessly  laid  hold  of  him.  L'Encuerado 
skinned  it  immediately,  keeping  the  meat  for  our  breakfast 
next  morning. 

The  sun  went  down;  the  cries  of  the  birds  resounded, 
and  night  at  hist  shut  us  in,  bringing  with  it  the  solemn 
silence  of  the  wilderness.  L'Encuerado  struck  up  a  pro- 
longed chant,  and  Lncien's  fresh  young  voice  blended  with 


88          THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 

that  of  the  hunter.  The  tune  was  simple  and  monotonous 
in  its  character;  but  there  was  something  touching  in  hear- 
ing the  Indian  and  the  child,  both  equally  artless  in  mind, 
uniting  together  to  sing  the  praises  of  God.  The  chant 
was  dnded  by  a  prayer,  which  Sumichrast  and  I  listened 
to,  standing  up,  with  our  heads  bared ;  and  it  was  with 
earnestness  that  my  friend  repeated  1'Encuerado's  solemn 
"Amen,"  expressed  in  the  words,  "  God  is  great." 


Having  fed  the  fire  with  sufficient  to  keep  it  up  all  night, 
we  lay  down,  side  by  side,  under  the  hut.  The  wind 
moaned  softly  through  the  foliage,  and,  under  the  influence 
of  the  gentle  breeze,  the  pine-trees  produced  that  melan- 
choly sound  which  so  exactly  calls  to  mind  the  noise  of  the 
surf  breaking  on  the  shore.  By  means  of  thinking  of  it,  I 
felt  it  even  in  my  sleep,  for  I  dreamt  that  I  was  at  sea,  and 
that  the  vessel  that  bore  me  was  sailing  over  silvery  waters. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

COFFEE. TURPENTINE. COUROUCOUS. PINE-NEEDLES. 

THREE    VOLCANOES     IN    SIGHT    AT    ONCE. THE    CAEABUS 

FAMILY. SCORPIONS. SALAMANDERS. A   MIDNIGHT  DIS- 
TURBANCE.. 

fT^HE  first  thing  I  saw  on  opening  my  eyes  was  1'Encue- 
-*•  rado,  who  was  getting  ready  our  coffee,  and  Lucien 
crouching  close  to  the  fire,  piling  up  a  quantity  of  dry 
branches  round  the  kettle,  at  some  risk,  however,  of  upset- 
ting it. 

"  "Why,  Lucien,"  I  cried, "  it  is  not  light  yet,  and  you  are 
up  already  !  Didn't  you  sleep  well  ?" 

"  Oh  yes,  papa,"  he  answered,  kissing  me ;  "  but  1'Encuera- 
do  disturbed  Gringalet,  so  he  thought  proper  to  come  and 
lie  down  on  me,  and  that  woke  me,  for  Gringalet  is  very. 


90  2!H".&7  ADVENTURES   OP 

heavy.  So,  as  I  couldn't  go  to  sleep  again,  I  got  up  to  look 
after  the  fire." 

"  And  you  are  doing  your  work  capitally.  The  kettle  is 
singing  loudly,  and  PEncuerado  will  find  it  difficult  to  take 
it  off  without  burning  his  fingers." 

But  the  Indian  had  provided  himself  with  two  green 
branches,  which  he  used  to  lift  off  the  make-shift  coffee-pot, 
into  which  he  emptied  both  the  sugar  and  the  coffee. 

"  Where  is  the  filter  ?"  asked  Lucien. 

"  Do  you  think  you  are  still  in  the  town  ?"  I  replied. 
"  Why  don't  you  ask  for  a  cup  and  saucer  as  well  ?" 

"  But  we  can  never  drink  this  black  muddy  stuff !"  cried 
Lucien. 

"  Never  mind,  Chauito,"  said  the  Indian  ;  "  I'll  soon  make 
it  all  right." 

Then,  taking  his  gourd,  he  poured  from  it  some  cold  wa- 
ter into  the  mixture,  and  it  immediately  became  cleared. 

I  told  Lucien  to  go  and  wake  up  Sumichrast. 

The  child  approached  our  companion,  who  was  scarcely 
visible  under  the  leaves,  which  served  him  both  for  coverlet 
and  pillow. 

"  Hallo  !  hallo  !  M.  Sumichrast ;  the  soup  is  on  the 
table." 

"  Soup  !"  repeated  Sumichrast,  rubbing  his  eyes.  "  Ah  ! 
you  little  monkey,  you  have  disturbed  me  in  such  a  pleasant 
dream.  I  fancied  that  I  was  no  older  than  you,  and  that  I 
was  once  more  wandering  over  the  mountains  of  my  native 
land." 

It  is  considered  wholesome  to  take  a  cup  of  Mocha  after 
a  hearty  meal ;  but,  with  all  due  deference  to  Grimod  de  la 
Reyniere  and  Brillat  Savarin,  coffee  seems  still  sweeter  to 
the  taste  when  taken  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  after 
passing  the  night  in  the  open  air. 

The  day  broke;   it  was  a  magnificent  sight  to  see  the 


A  TO  UNO  NATURALIST.  91 

forest  gradually  lighted  up,  and  the  trunks  of  the  trees 
gilded  by  slanting  sunbeams.  Before  starting  again,  one  of 
our  party  carefully  examined  the  ground  on  which  we  had 
camped,  so  as  not  to  foi-get  any  of  our  effects,  which,  if  lost, 
would  have  been  irreparable.  I  also  noticed  that  1'Encue- 
rado's  basket  was  decked  with  the  three  squirrels'  skins, 
which  would  thus  gradually  dry. 

"We  had  walked  on  for  nearly  an  hour,  the  only  incident 
being  our  meeting  with  various  kinds  of  birds,  when  the 
melancholy  cry  of  the  couroucou  struck  on  our  ears.  The 
call  of  this  bird  is  very  much  like  that  uttered  by  the  Mex- 
ican ox-drivers  when  they  herd  together  the  animals  under 
their  care ;  hence  its  Spanish  name  of  vaquero.  We  gave 
chase  to  them,  and  in  less  than  half  an  hour  we  had  obtain- 
ed a  male  and  female.  Lucien  was  never  tired  of  admiring 
these  beautiful  creatui'es,  with  their  yellow  beaks,  hooked 
like  those  of  birds  of  prey.  The  male  bird,  in  particular, 
was  magnificent ;  the  feathers  on  the  head  and  back  seemed 
to  be  "  shot "  with  a  golden  green,  while  the  edges  of  the 
wings  and  the  belly  were  tinted  with  the  purest  crimson, 
shaded  off  into  two  black  lines,  which  extended  as  far  as 
the  tail. 

"  Shall  we  find  many  of  these  birds  in  the  forest,  M. 
Sumichrast  ?"  asked  Lucien. 

"  No,  Master  '  Sunbeam ;'  they  are  rather  rare ;  so  we 
must  take  great  care  of  the  skins  of  these  we  have  shot." 

"  Is  their  flesh  good  to  eat?"  he  asked. 

"  Excellent ;  and  many  a  goxirmand  would  be  glad  to  make 
a  meal  of  it.  However,  at  dinner-time,  you  shall  try  for 
yourself ;  and  you  will  meet  with  very  few  people  who,  like 
you,  have  partaken  of  the  trogon  massena" 

"  At  all  events,  it  isn't  another  relation  of  the  rat — is  it  ?" 
asked  the  boy,  archly. 

"  Xo ;  it  belongs  to  the  family  of  climbers — that  is  to 


92  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

say,  to  that  order  of  birds  which  have  two  toes  iu  front  of 
their  claws  and  two  behind,  like  your  great  friends  the 
pan-ots." 

After  we  had  dressed  the  skins  of  the  couroucous,  and 
carefully  wrapped  up  the  game,  we  again  moved  on.  The 
ground  became  stony,  and  the  descent  steeper.  At  one 
time  I  had  hoped  to  find  a  spring  at  the  bottom  of  the  ra- 
vine ;  but  we  very  soon  discovered,  to  our  great  disappoint- 
ment, that  we  should  have  to  begin  climbing  again,  leaving 
behind  us  the  oaks  and  the  ceibas,  and  meeting  with  noth- 
ing but  gigantic  pine-trees.  The  pine-needles*  which  liter- 
ally carpeted  the  ground,  made  it  so  slippery,  that  for  every 
step  forward  we  frequently  took  two  backward.  We  fell 
time  after  time,  but  our  falls  were  not  in  the  least  degree 
dangerous.  Sometimes,  as  if  at  a  signal,  we  all  four  rolled 
down  together,  and  each  laughed  at  his  neighbor's  misfor- 
tune, thus  cheering  one  another.  Lucien  had  an  idea  of 
hanging  on  to  Gringalet's  tail,  who  was  the  only  one  that 
could  avoid  these  mishaps.  This  plan  answered  very  well 
at  first ;  but  the  dog  soon  after  broke  away  by  a  sudden 
jerk,  and  the  boy  rolled  backward  like  a  ball,  losing  all  tho 
ground  he  had  gained,  but  he  at  once  got  up  again,  quite  in 
a  pet  with  the  dog,  for  whom  he  predicted  a  fall  as  a  punish« 
ment  for  his  treacherous  behavior. 

The  troublesome  pine-needles  obliged  us  again  to  resort 
to  the  stake  and  lasso  plan ;  1'Encuerado,  with  his  load, 
strove  in  vain  to  keep  up  with  us. 

"Can  any  one  understand  the  use  of  these  horrible 
trees  ?"  grumbled  the  Indian.  "  Why  can't  they  keep 
their  leaves  to  themselves  ?  Why  don't  they  grow  in  the 
plains,  instead  of  making  honest  folks  wear  the  flesh  off 
their  bones  in  a  place  which  is  quite  difficult  enough  to 
traverse  as  it  is  ?n 

*  The  small  tapering  leaves  of  the  pine  are  thus  called. 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  93 

"  God  makes  them  grow  here,"  said  the  child. 

"  Not  at  all,  Chanito ;  God  created  them,  but  the  devil 
has  sown  them  on  these  mountains.  I  have  travelled  on 
the  large  plateau,  where  there  are  whole  forests  of  pines, 
which  proves  that  it  was  only  for  spite  that  they  grow  on 
this  ascent." 

Fortunately  Lucien  only  half  believed  what  the  Indian 
said,  and  very  soon  asked  me  all  about  it. 

"  The  pines,"  I  replied,  "  are  trees  of  the  North,  which 
never  grow  well  except  in  cold  climates  and  dry  soils.  If 
PEncuerado  had  been  acquainted  with  the  history  of  his 
ancestors,  he  would  have  been  able  to  give  you  some  better 
information  about  them  ;  he  would  have  known  that,  in  the 
Aztec  mythology,  they  were  sacred  to  the  mother  of  the 
gods,  the  goddess  Matlacueye,  who,  curiously  enough,  fills 
the  part  of  Cybele  among  the  Greek  goddesses,  whose  fa- 
vorite tree  was  also  the  pine." 

Just  at  this  moment  we  were  passing  close  to  a  giant 
of  the  forest,  which  had  been  broken  by  a  squall  of  wind; 
from  three  or  four  cracks  in  its  trunk  a  transparent  resin 
ran  trickling  out.  Lucien,  thinking  these  globules  were 
solid,  wished  to  take  hold  of  one  of  them ;  but  his  fingers 
stuck  to  it. 

"  I  fancied,"  said  he, "  that  turpentine  was  obtained  by 
crushing  the  branches  of  the  pine-tree,  just  as  they  crush 
the  stems  of  the  sugar-cane." 

"  You  were  wrong,  then,"  I  answered.  "  The  Indians, 
in  the  forests  where  they  manufacture  it,  content  them- 
selves with  cutting  down  the  tree  within  a  foot  of  the 
ground  ;  the  resin  at  once  begins  to  ooze  out,  and  gradual- 
ly fills  the  leathern  bottles  placed  to  receive  it.  As  soon 
as  the  resin  ceases  to  flow,  they  cut  the  tree  up  into  fagots 
for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns,  or  the  Indians 
living  on  plains,  whose  poor  dwellings  often  possess  no 


94  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

other  light  than  the  smoky  glimmer  from  a  branch  oi 
fir." 

I  was  obliged  to  cut  short  my  explanations,  in  order  to 
help  Sumichrast  and  1'Encuerado,  who,  in  spite  of  the  lasso, 
seemed  as  if  they  were  trying  who  could  slip  fastest.  The 
only  way  we  could  get  on  at  all  was  by  describing  zigzags, 
and  thus  we  were  two  hours  in  climbing  a  quarter  of  a 
league.  At  last  we  arrived  on  the  verge  of  the  forest. 
The  rocky  ground  seemed  quite  pleasant  to  walk  upon  :  we 
could  now  advance  in  a  straight  line,  and  were  able,  with 
very  little  trouble,  to  reach  another  summit. 

From  the  crest  a  marvellous  panoramic  view  was  in  sight, 
for  we  overlooked  all  the  surrounding  country.  On  our  left 
rose  the  gigantic  and  majestic  peak  of  Orizava  or  Citla- 
tepetl — that  is,  the  "mountain  of  the  star" — which  rises 
to  17,372  feet  above  the  sea-level.  Lucien  thought  that 
this  could  not  really  be  the  same  mountain  the  summit  of 
which  he  was  in  the  habit  of  seeing  every  morning. 

"  It  is  quite  a  different  shape,"  he  said. 

"  It  is  not  the  mountain,  but  the  point  from  which  you 
look  at  it,  that  has  changed  its  appearance,"  replied  Sumi- 
chrast. 

"  But  it  looks  much  higher,"  said  Lucien. 

"  That  is  because  we  are  nearer  to  it.  From  here  we  can 
discern  the  beautiful  forest  which  surrounds  its  base  as  you 
ascend,  the  pines  growing  farther  and  fai'ther  apart,  and 
gradually  disappearing  altogether.  Higher  still  may  be 
seen  the  glaciers  glittering  in -the  sun;  and,  last  of  all,  the 
perpetual  snow  surrounding  the  crater,  which  was  visited 
for  the  first  time  in  1847,  by  M.  Doignon,  a  Frenchman." 

"  Popocatepetl,  Istaccihuatl,"  said  PEncuerado  gravely, 
pointing  out  the  mountains. 

The  two  mountains  mentioned  by  the  Indian  were  tower- 
ing up  behind  us — a  sight  that  alone  repaid  for  our  difficult 


A  TO  UNO  NATURALIST.  95 

ascent;  we  could  admire  in  turn  the  three  loftiest  volca- 
noes in  Mexico. 

"  Where  is  Popocatepetl  ?"  asked  Luciefl. 

"  There  ;  that  enormous  cone  which  rises  to  our  right,"  I 
answered,  pointing  in  that  direction. 

"  Is  it  the  smallest  of  the  three  ?" 

"  No ;  on  the  contrary,  it  does  not  measure  less  than 
18,000  feet  in  height.  Bias  Ordas,  one  of  the  captains  of 
Fernando  Cortez,  made  its  first  ascent.  Its  name  signifies 
'  smoking  mountain.' " 

"Yes;  and  I  know  that  Istaccihuatl  means  '  white  wom- 
an ;'  but  I  do  not  know  the  height  of  it." 

"  It  is  15,700  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea." 

"  How  can  mountains  like  these  be  measured  ?"  asked 
Lucien.  *y-  -  ^" 

"  In  the  first  place,  by  geometrical  calculations,  and  then, 
by  the  aid  of  a  barometer,  when  an  ascent  has  been  made. 
The  column  of  mercury  in  the  instrument  falls  in  pro- 
portion as  the  barometer  is  carried  up  the  mountain,  be- 
cause the  air  which  presses  upon  the  mercury  reservoir  be- 
comes less  and  less  dense." 

I  quite  forgot  the  lapse  of  time  while  contemplating  the 
glorious  panorama  spread  beneath.  Just  around  us  the 
ground  was  rocky  and  volcanic,  and  covered  with  mosses 
of  various  colors ;  rather  lower  down  the  ground  was  hid- 
den by  the  fallen  leaves  of  giant  trees ;  beyond  was  a  suc- 
cession of  smaller  crests,  frequently  quite  barren,  sometimes 
covered  with  sun-scorched  verdure.  On  the  horizon,  which 
was  hidden  by  a  transparent  mist,  the  two  volcanoes  of  the 
plateau  stood  out  in  bold  relief  against  the  blue  sky,  facing 
the  other  colossus,  which  seemed  to  protect  us  with  its 
shadow.  The  peaks  of  these  mountains,  clad  with  their 
perpetual  snow,  can  be  seen  by  sailors  forty  leagues  at  sea. 

I  was  really  sorry  to  give  the  signal  for  departure.     We 


go  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

again  met  with  the  pine-needles,  and  though  our  ascent  was 
difficult  and  slow,  our  descent  was  proportionally  rapid. 
Thus  we  fell  forward  instead  of  falling  backward.  Gringa- 
let,  who  seemed  amused  at  our  ridiculous  postures,  and  was 
too  confident  in  his  own  powers,  shared  our  mishaps,  much 
to  the  amusement  of  his  young  master,  who  had  predicted 
that  such  would  happen.  L'Encuerado,  utterly  tired  out, 
bethought  himself  of  dragging  his  basket  along  the  ground, 
which  was  so  thickly  covered  with  leaves  that  he  managed 
it  without  damaging  his  load  or  breaking  the  bottles. 

At  last  we  came  upon  oak  vegetation ;  and,  still  farther 
down,  tropical  plants.  Various  birds  enlivened  our  journey 
by  their  song,  while  numbers  of  brilliant-colored  insects 
hummed  cheerfully  round  us.  In  less  than  an  hour  we  had 
passed  from  autumn  to  spring,  after  having  had  a  glimpse 
of  winter.  The  creepers  very  soon  obliged  us  to  cut  a  pas- 
sage with  our  machetes;  but  what  was  our  joy  upon  per- 
ceiving, at  the  bottom  of  the  ravine,  a  stream  bordered  with 
angelica  and  water-cress ! 

Thanks  to  the  abundance  of  materials,  our  hut  was  quick- 
ly constructed.  While  1'Encuerado  was  getting  dinner 
ready,  I  went  to  examine  the  half-rotten  trunk  of  a  tree 
which  was  lying  on  the  ground.  A  multitude  of  insects, 
of  an  elegant  shape  and  of  a  metallic-blue  color,  fled  at  my 
approach ;  they  belonged  to  the  numerous  Carabus  family, 
the  flesh-eating  Coleopteroe,  which  are  found  both  in  Europe 
and  in  America. 

"  Why  don't  they  fly  away,  instead  of  running  or  tum- 
bling over  on  the  ground  ?"  asked  Lucien. 

"  Because  they  are  but  little  used  to  flying,  and  are  very 
quick  at  walking,"  I  answered. 

"  Oh  papa !  the  one  I  have  caught  has  wetted  my  fingers, 
and  it  feels  as  if  it  had  burned  me." 

"  You  are  right ;  but  you  needn't  be  afraid ;  it  will  not 


A  TOUyG  NATURALIST.  97 

hurt  you.  Many  of  the  Carabus  family,  when  they  are 
caught,  try  to  defend  themselves  by  throwing  out  a  corro- 
sive liquid ;  others  make  a  report,  accompanied  by  smoke, 
which  has  given  them  their  name  of  bombardier? 

"  What  do  they  find  to  eat  under  the  bark,  in  which  they 
must  lead  a  very  gloomy  life?" 

"  Larvae  and  caterpillars ;  they  are,  therefore,  more  useful 
than  injurious." 

"To  what  order  of  insects  do  they  belong?" 

"To  the  Coleoptera  order,  because  they  have  four  wings, 
the  largest  of  which,  called  elytra,  are  more  or  less  hard, 
and  justify  their  name*  by  encasing  the  two  other  wings, 
which  are  membranous  and  folded  crosswise.  The  cock- 
chafer, you  know,  is  one  of  this  order." 

A  fresh  piece  of  bark  revealed  to  us  two  scorpions  with 
enormous  bellies,  and  heads  so  small  as  to  be  almost  imper- 
ceptible ;  all  they  did  was  to  stiffen  out  their  tails,  which 
are  composed  of  six  divisions,  the  last  terminating  in  an  ex- 
tremely slender  barb. 

"  Oh,  what  horrid  creatures !"  cried  Lucien,  starting  back ; 
"  if  it  wasn't  for  their  light  color,  you  might  take  them  for 
prawns  with  their  heads  cut  off." 

"  Yes,  if  you  didn't  examine  them  too  closely.  I  suppose 
you  will  be  very  surprised  when  I  tell  you  that  they  are  al- 
lied to  the  spider  tribe." 

"  I  should  never  have  suspected  it.  Are  they  dead,  then, 
for  they  do  not  move  ?'" 

"  Insects  belonging  to  this  order  are  very  slow  and  lazy 
in  their  movements.  They  are  found  under  most  kinds  of 
bark ;  therefore  I  advise  you  to  take  care  when  searching 
through  it." 

"  Should  I  die  if  I  w,ere  stung?" 

*  Elytra  is  derired  from  a  Greek  word,  i/.i-rpov,  a  sheath. 
5 


98  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

"  No ;  but  it  would  cause  a  veiy  painful  swelling,  which  it 
would  be  best  to  avoid." 

"  I  shall  be  afraid  to  meddle  with  the  bark  of  trees,  now." 

"  Then  good-bye  to  your  making  a  collection  of  insects. 
Prudence  is  a  very  good  quality,  but  you  must  not  make  it 
an  excuse  for  cowardice." 

Upon  examining  the  insects  more  closely,  I  saw  that  one 
of  the  scorpions,  a  female,  was  carrying  three  or  four  young 
ones  on  her  back.  This  sight  much  amused  Lucien,  espe- 
cially when  he  saw  the  animal  begin  to  move  slowly  off 
with  them. 

"  Do  you  know,  Chanito,"  said  1'Encuerado,  who  had  now 
joined  us,  which  showed  that  the  cooking  did  not  requii-e 
his  undivided  attention,"  that  when  the  mother  of  the  young 
scorpions  does  not  supply  them  with  food,  they  set  to  and 
devour  hei\" 

"Is  that'true?"  asked  Lucien,  with  surprise. 

"  If  the  little  ones  do  not  actually  kill  their  mother,  at  all 
events  they  feed  on  her  dead  body,"  I  answered.  "  You 
will  have  plenty  of  opportunities  to  verify  this  fact,  for 
these  insects  are  very  plentiful  in  the  Terr  e- Temper  ee" 

"  Ah  !"  cried  Lucien, "  I  was  quite  right,  then,  when  I  call- 
ed them  horrid  creatures." 

L'Encuerado,  stripping  off  another  piece  of  bark,  exposed 
to  view  a  salamander,  which  awkwardly  tried  to  hide  itself. 

"  You  may  catch  it  if  you  like ;  there  is  nothing  to  be 
afraid  of,"  said  I  to  Lucien,  who  had  drawn  back  in  fright. 

"  But  it  is  a  scorpion  !"  he  exclaimed. 

"  You  are  too  frightened  to  see  clearly ;  it  is  a  salaman- 
der, an  amphibious  reptile  of  the  frog  family.  The  scor- 
pion has  eight  feet,  while  the  salamander,  which  is  much 
more  like  a  lizard,  has  only  four." 

"  Are  they  venomous  ?"  asked  Lucien  of  the  Indian. 

"  No,  Chanito ;  Indians"  (it  was  well  worth  while  hear- 


A  TOCYG  SATC&AHST.  99 

ing  the  contempt  with  which  FEncuerado  pronounced  this 
name)  "  are  afraid  of  it;  once  I  was  afraid  of  it  myself,  bat 
your  papa  has  taught  me  to  handle  it  without  the  least 
fear." 

And  the  hunter  placed  the  salamander  in  the  boy's  hand, 
who  cried  out — 

B  It  is  as  cold  as  ice,  and  all  sticky." 

"  It  must  be  so,  as  a  matter  of  course ;  the  salamander, 
like  a  fish,  is  a  cold-blooded  animal.  The  viscous  humor 
which  is  secreted  by  the  skin  of  the  salamander  is  able  to 
protect  them  for  a  short  time  from  injury  by  fire,  by  means 
of  the  same  phenomenon  by  which  a  hand,  previously  wet- 
ted, can  be  plunged  into  melting  iron  without  burning  it.* 
Thus  an  idea  has  arisen  that  these  batrachians  can  exist  in 
the  midst  of  flames.  Although  these  poor  animals  are  deaf, 
nearly  blind,  and.  remarkable  for  their  timidity,  poets,  much 
to  the  amusement  of  naturalists,  hare  chosen  the  salamander 
as  an  emblem  of  valor." 

Assisted  by  Snmichrast,  I  continued  the  examination  of 
the  immense  tree,  which,  being  half  rotted  by  the  dampness 
of  the  soil,  supplied  us  with  some  very  beautiful  specimens 
of  various  insects. 

Suddenly  we  heard  Lncien  speaking  in  supplicating 
tones ;  I  ran  towards  him,  and  found  him  trying  to  prevent 
PEncnerado,  who  had  got  possession  of  the  salamander, 
from  making  a  trial  of  its  powers  of  resisting  fire. 

"  All  rightj  Chanito ;  I  will  not  leave  it  long  on  the 
coals ;  your  papa  said  that  these  animals  do  not  mind  it  a 
bit." 

Lucien  would  not  consent  to  this  cruel  experiment,  but 
carried  the  animal  back  to  the  tree  on  which  we  had  found 
it. 

*  Thanks  to  the  spheroidal  condition  of  water,  discovered  by  M.  Bon- 
tigny  (of  ETieux). 


100 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF 


The  day  was  drawing  to  a  close  when  we  returned  to  the 
fire ;  from  the  stew-pan  an  appetizing  odor  was  escaping, 
in  which  one  of  the  couroucous,  with  a  handful  of  rice,  was 
boiling,  while  the  other  bird  was  roasting  in  front.  It  was 
really  a  capital  dinner ;  first  we  had  some  excellent  soup,  of 
which  Lucien  had  two  platefuls ;  then  came  what  was  left 
of  our  squirrel,  and  last  of  all  the  roasted  couroucou,  which 
rEncuerado  served  up  on  a  bed  of  water-cresses.  We  had 
an  unlimited  supply  of  water ;  and,  although  my  readers  may 
smile  at  what  I  say,  I  really  believe  we  drank  too  much.  A 


cup  of  coffee  crowned  our  feast,  and  then  the  remains  were 
left  to  Gringalet,  who  licked  every  thing  clean,  even  to  the 
very  saucepan.  Lucien,  having  finished  his  meal,  lay  down 
by  my  side,  and  was  not  long  before  he  was  fast  asleep. 

A  dismal  howling  from  our  four-footed  companion  woke 
us  up  with  a  start.  We  seized  our  arms.  The  dog,  with 
his  ears  laid  back,  his  tail  between  his  legs,  turned  his  nose 
to  the  wind  with  an  anxious  glance,  and  set  up  a  fresh 


'It  was  really  a  capital  dinner.*' 


A  YOUNG  NATUMAL1ST.  103 

howl,  which  was  answered  by  the  shrill  prolonged  cries  of 
the  coyotas,  or  jackal  of  Mexico. 

"  So  these  miserable  brutes  think  they  are  going  to 
frighten  us  ?"  cried  1'Encuerado. 

And  while  we  were  making  up  the  fire,  the  Indian  rush- 
ed off  into  the  darkness. 

"  Are  they  wolves,  M.  Sumichrast  ?"  asked  Lucien,  anx- 
iously. 

"  Yes,  my  boy,  but  only  prairie  wolves,"  he  answered. 

"  Do  you  think  that  they  will  first  devour  1'Encuerado, 
and  then  attack  us  ?" 

"  You  needn't  be  frightened ;  courage  is  not  one  of  their 
virtues.  Unless  they  were  starving,  they  wouldn't  venture 
near  us." 

All  at  once  we  heard  a  shot.  The  whole  forest  seemed 
in  movement ;  the  cries  of  the  birds  resounded  through  the 
trees,  and  the  echoes  repeated  the  noise  of  the  report. 
Gringalet  barked  loudly,  and  was  again  answered  by  the 
harsh  cry  of  the  coyotas.  At  length  the  silence,  which  for 
a  short  time  had  been  disturbed,  was  once  more  restored, 
and  the  forest  resumed  its  solemn  stillness. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  CATS'-EYES  POMADE.  -  AEMADILLO.  -  LUCIEN  AND  THE 
CRUEL  FERN.  -  THE  FALLEN  MOUNTAIN.  -  THE  AVOOD- 
PECKEK.  -  THE  BASILISK.  -  L'ENCUEEADO's  FKESH  IDEA. 


RIXGALET,  who  had  been  the  first  to  give  the  alarm, 
was  also  the  first  to  go  to  sleep  again.  I  could  not 
help  waiting  with  some  degree  of  anxiety  for  1'Encuerado's 
return.  In  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  as  the  Indian  did  not  ar- 
rive, I  began  to  think  that,  confused  by  the  darkness,  he 
had  missed  finding  our  bivouac.  After  having  called  him 
two  or  three  times,  without  receiving  any  answer,  I  was 
just  going  to  fire  off  my  gun,  so  that  the  noise  of  the  re- 
port might  serve  as  a  guide  to  him,  when  I  heard  the  sound 
of  his  guttural  cry. 


THE  AD  VESTURES  OF  A  TOUXG  NATURALIST.        JQ5 

u  What  on  earth  has  possessed  you  to  chase  useless  game 
at  this  hour  of  the  night  ?"  I  cried,  as  he  caine  into  sight. 

"I  felt  bound  to  give  these  screeching  animals  a  lesson, 
senor ;  if  I  hadn't  done  so,  they  would  have  come  back  to 
disturb  us  every  night,"  answered  the  Indian,  gravely. 

"  Have  you  killed  any  of  them  ?" 

"  I  only  managed  to  wound  one.     I  followed  it — n 

"  At  the  risk  of  falling  into  some  pit.  You  can't  see  at 
night — at  least,  as  far  as  I  know." 

"Not  very  well;  but  that  is  all  your  faiu%"  replied  1'En- 
cuerado,  in  a  reproachful  tone. 

"What!  my  fault?" 

"The  brujos  (sorcerers)  have  many  a  time  offered  me  an 
ointment  made  of  cats'  eyes  and  fat ;  but  they  wanted  too 
much  for  it.  You  knew  much  more  about  it  than  the  sor- 
cerers ;  and  if  you  would  only  have  told  me  the  way  to 
make  the  ointment,  and  how  to  use  it,  I  should  have  been 
able  to  see  at  night,  long  enough  ago,  which  would  be  quite 
as  useful  to  you  as  to  me." 

This  was  an  old  story,  and  all  that  I  could  have  said  to 
the  Indian  would  not  have  convinced  him  that  I  could  not 
make  him  see  in  the  dark. 

It  was  broad  daylight  when  Sunftchrast  awoke  us.  The 
brook,  which  we  could  cross  at  a  leap,  sometimes  rippled 
over  pebbles,  and  sometimes  glided  silently  over  a  sandy 
bottom.  The  plants  which  grew  on  its  two  banks  frater- 
nally intertwined  their  green  branches,  and  their  flowers 
seemed  to  exchange  their  perfumes.  From  the  boughs  of 
the  large  trees  hung  gray  mosses,  which  made  them  looK. 
like  gigantic  old  men ;  the  snn  gilded  their  black  trunks 
with  its  rising  beams,  and  from  the  tops  of  the  trees  the 
sweet  chant  of  birds  rose  up  towards  heaven.  Our  eyes. 
which  had  become  accustomed  to  fhe  comparatively  barren 
places  we  had  traversed  the  day  before,  dwelt  with  delight 
5* 


106  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

upon  this  lovely  and  glorious  scene  ;  our  hearts  rejoiced  in 
the  midst  of  this  calm  and  luxuriant  aspect  of  nature.  It 
was  with  feelings  of  regret  we  got  ready  to  move  on  again. 

"  Suppose  we  weren't  to  go  till  the  afternoon,"  said  Su- 
michrast. 

"  Suppose  we  don't  go  till  to-morrow,"  I  answered. 

These  ideas  seemed  so  thoroughly  to  respond  to  the  wish 
of  all,  that,  in  a  moment,  our  travelling  gear  was  scattered 
again  on  the  ground.  The  first  thing  we  did  was  to  take  a 
bath ;  then  the  thought  struck  us  that  we  had  better  wash 
our  clothes.  Lucieu,  helped  by  1'Encuerado,  who  had  noth- 
ing to  wash  for  himself,  as  he  wore  his  leather  garment 
next  to  his  skin,  laughed  heartily  at  seeing  us  turned  into 
washerwomen  ;  still  he  did  not  do  his  part  of  the  work  at 
all  badly.  He  then  undertook  to  wash  Gringalet,  whose 
white  coat,  spotted  with  black,  was  sadly  in  want  of  cleans- 
ing. Unfortunately,  the  dog  was  hardly  out  of  the  water 
when  he  began  rolling  himself  in  the  dust,  and,  as  dirty  as 
ever,  came  frisking  around  his  disappointed  little  master. 

We  were  roaming  about  in  every  direction,  in  the  hope 
of  collecting  some  insects,  when  Gringalet  pricked  up  his 
ears  and  showed  his  teeth.  The  rustling  of  dry  leaves  at- 
tracted our  attention  to»a  slope  opposite  to  us,  on  which  an 
armadillo  was  seen. 

Generally  speaking,  these  animals  only  go  out  for  food  in 
the  night.  This  one,  which  we  saw  in  broad  daylight,  was 
about  the  size  of  a  large  rabbit.  Pricking  up  its  ears,  it 
raised  its  tapering  muzzle  so  as  to  snuff  closer  to  the  branch- 
es. Its  head,  which  was  very  small,  gave  it  a  very  grotesque 
appearance.  Suddenly  it  began  scratching  up  the  earth 
with  its  front  paws,  furnished  with  formidable  claws,  and 
now  and  then  poked  its  pointed  nose  into  the  hole  it  had  dug. 
I  had  crossed  the  stream,  and  was  advancing  cautiously  to- 
wards the  animal,  when  I  saw  it  leave  off  its  work,  and,  bend- 


A  YOUNG  XATURALDST.  107 

ing  down  its  head  uneasily,  as  quick  as  lightning  it  rolled 
itself  up  into  a  ball  and  glided  down  the  slope.  Just  at  my 
feet  it  stopped,  and  I  only  had  to  stoop  down  in  order  to 
pick  it  up.  Gringalet,  who  then  appeared  at  the  top  of  the 
slope,  was  evidently  the  cause  of  its  sudden  flight. 

I  rejoined  my  companions,  carrying  my  prisoner,  who  tried 
neither  to  defend  itself  nor  to  escape.  Lucien  examined 
with  curiosity  the  scales  which  crossed  the  back  of  the  ar- 
madillo, and  its  pink  transparent  skin.  I  told  him  that  this 
inoffensive  animal,  which  feeds  on  insects  and  roots,  belong- 
ed to  the  order  Edentata — mammals  in  which  the  system  of 
teeth  is  incomplete. 

"  But,"  said  he, "  I  have  seen  pictures  in  which  armadillos 
are  represented  with  armor  formed  of  small  squares." 

"That  is  another  species, which  also  lives  in  Mexico," re- 
plied Sumichrast. 

When  we  talked  about  killing  the  animal,  Lucien  opposed 
the  idea  with  great  vehemence.  He  wanted  either  to  carry 
it  away  alive  or  to  let  it  go — both  being  plans  which  could 
not  be  allowed.  Gringalet,  however,  cut  short  the  discus- 
sion by  strangling  it,  1'Encuerado's  carelessness  having  left 
it  in  his  way.  The  boy,  both  angry  and  distressed,  was  as- 
tonished at  the  cruelty  of  his  dog,  and  was  going  to  beat 
him. 

"He  has  only  yielded  to  instinct,"  said  Sumichrast. 

"  A  fine  instinct,  truly,"  replied  Lucien,  in  tears, «  to  kffl 
a  poor  beast  that  never  did  him  any  harm !" 

«  He  has  saved  us  the  trouble  of  killing  it.  Men,  and  all 
carnivorous  animals,  can  not  live  except  on  the  condition  of 
sacrificing  other  creatures.  Didn't  yon  shoot  a  squirrel 
yesterday?  And  you  did  not  refuse  your  share  of  those 
beautiful  birds,  the  plumage  of  which  so  delighted  you." 

"Yes, but  I  did  not  strangle  the  squirrel  with  my  teeth. 
It's  a  very  different  thing." 


108  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

"  For  you,  very  probably ;  but  it  was  much  the  same  to 
the  squirrel.  However,  if  there's  another  chance,  you  shall 
lend  your  gun  to  Gringalet." 

Lucien  smiled  through  his  tears,  and  his  indignation 
gradually  calmed  down.  Certainly  the  result  is  the  same, 
whether  you  wring  a  fowl's  neck  or  shoot  it;  yet  I  could 
never  make  up  my  mind  to  the  former  operation.  Lucien, 
who  was  endowed  with  almost  feminine  sensibility,  was  oft- 
en angry  with  1'Encuerado,  who  could  scarcely  resist  the 
temptation  of  firing  at  any  thing  alive,  useful  or  not,  which 
came  within  reach  of  his  gun.  We  had  spoken  often 
enough  to  the  Indian  on  the  subject,  but  he  always  assert- 
ed that  if  God  had  allowed  man  to  kill  for  the  purpose  of 
food,  He  had  also  ordered  him  to  destroy  hurtful  animals, 
as  they  were  the  allies  of  the  demon.  Unfortunately, 
horses  and  dogs  excepted,  all  animals  were  hurtful  in  FEn- 
cuerado's  eyes. 

Gun  on  shoulder,  \ve  made  our  way  up  the  bed  of  the 
stream,  often  being  obliged  to  cut  our  path  through  a 
thicket  of  plants.  I  noticed  a  fine  tree-fern,  the  leaves  of 
which,  not  yet  developed,  assumed  the  shape  of  a  bishop's 
crosier.  Lucien  remarked  this. 

"  You  are  right,"  said  I,  "  it  is  very  cui-ious.  Do  you 
know  Jussieu  divided  all  vegetables  into  three  great  orders 
— Acotyledons,  Monocotyledons,  and  Dicotyledons.  Ferns 
belong  to  the  first;*  they  have  no  visible  flowers,  and  are 
allied  to  the  sea-weed  and  mushroom  tribe.  It  is  only  un- 
der the  tropics  that  ferns  attain  the  dimensions  of  the  one 
you  are  looking  at;  in  colder  regions  their  height  seldom 
exceeds  a  few  feet.  Ferns  formed  almost  the  sole  vegeta- 
tion of  the  primitive  world,  and  we  frequently  find  evidence 
of  some  gigantic  species  which  are  now  extinct." 

*  That  is,  a  plant  devoid  of  lobes. 


•     A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  109 

Lncien,  being  desirous  to  examine  the  crosier-shaped 
stalks,  allowed  us  to  get  in  front  of  him,  then  crept  under 
the  fern.  '  ^  „ 

As  the  leaves  of  this  shrub  are  furnished  underneath 
with  long  prickles,  when  he  wanted  to  rejoin  us  he  found 
himself  caught.  The  more  he  struggled  the  worse  he  be- 
came entangled.  He  cried  out  to  me  in  a  most  distressed 
voice,  and  not  knowing  what  had  happened,  I  lost  no  time 
in  going  back  to  him.  I  found  him  fighting  hard  ajrainst 
the  thorns  which  were  scratching  his  face  and  hands. 
L'Encuerado  and  Sumichrast  also  came  to  his  assistance. 

I  disentangled  the  boy  as  quickly  as  I  could ;  but  already 
he  had  several  scratches  over  his  face  and  hands. 

"  How  came  you  not  to  think,"  I  said,  "  that  by  strug- 
gling in  this  way  you  would  only  the  more  entangle  your- 
self?" 

"  I  saw  you  all  leaving  me ;  I  scarcely  knew  what  held 
me  back,  and  I  got  quite  frightened ;  but  I'm  not  crying, 
papa,  and  yet  the  fern-prickles  scratch  terribly." 

L'Encuerado  turned  up  his  sleeves,  and,  seizing  his  ma- 
chete, rushed  at  the  fern. 

"Are  not  you  ashamed  to  attack  a  child?"  he  cried. 
"  It's  all  very  fine  to  display  your  bishop's  crosier  and  then 
behave  in  this  wav !  Try  and  tear  my  coat !  I  know  you 
wouldn't  dare  to  do  it !  Never  mind,  though  !  I'll  punish 
you  for  your  malice." 

The  poor  plant,  alas  !  was  soon  cut  down ;  thus  the  growth 
of  years  was  destroyed  in  a  few  minutes. 

After  an  hour's  walking,  the  head  of  our  little  column 
suddenly  came  in  front  of  a  whole  mountain-side  which 
had  slid  from  its  original  position.  The  sight  was  a  mag- 
nificent one ;  the  accumulation  of  rocks,  piled  one  on  the 
other,  had  crushed  down  in  their  fall  the  trees  that  im- 
peded their  course.  We  saw  before  us  an  inextricable  pile 


HO  THE  ADVENTURES   <JF 

of  trunks,  monstrous  roots,  and  masses  of  rock,  suspended 
and  apparently  ready  to  fall.  The  catastrophe  must  have 
recently  occurred ;  for  here  and  there  a  branch  was  still 
covered  with  foliage,  and  the  grass  had  not  as  yet  carpeted 
the  immense  gap.  Lucien  was  so  astonished  at  the  wild 
grandeur  of  the  scene  that  it  actually  put  an  end  to  his 
chatter.  Without  speaking,  we  joined  Sumichrast,  who 
was  in  advance.  That  a  lagoon  must  have  been  filled  up 
by  the  avalanche  of  rocks,  we  saw  certain  indications.  We 
could  hear  the  rumbling  noise  of  water  flowing  beneath  us. 
On  our  left,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  extended  a  wide 
basin,  which,  from  its  regular  outline,  might  well  have  been 
made  by  the  hand  of  man. 

Every  thing  seemed  silent  and  deserted  around  us,  al- 
though the  bushes  that  margined  the  edge  of  the  lagoon 
must  once  have  sheltered  many  a  guest;  now  the  impos- 
ing grandeur  of  the  scene  had  awed  them,  or  driven  them 
off. 

"  How  could  such  a  great  mass  as  this  fall  down  ?"  asked 
Lucien. 

"  We  can  only  conjecture,"  replied  Sumichrast ;  "  perhaps 
the  stream  flowing  beneath  the  base  of  the  rocks  had  exca- 
vated fissures,  and  thus  undermined  it." 

"  The  noise  must  have  been  terrific,"  said  Lucien. 

"Doubtless  it  was,"  replied  Sumichrast;  "and  the  shock 
possibly  felt  for  many  leagues  round." 

"Have  you  ever  seen  a  mountain  fall  in  two  like  that, 
M.  Sumichrast?" 

"  Yes ;  I  did  five  years  ago,  when  I  was  in  company  with 
your  father.  A  whole  forest  disappeared  before  our  eyes 
in  a  land-slip,  which  also  overwhelmed  four  or  five  Indian 
huts.  In  a  year  from  the  present  time,  the  wilderness  of 
bare  rocks  that  we  see  before  us  will  be  again  covered  with 
thick  vegetation ;  mosses  will  grow  over  these  gray-colored 


A  YOUNO  NATURALIST.  m 

rocks,  and  the  stream  will  have  renewed  its  course.  If 
chance  should  ever  lead  us  again  to  this  spot,  the  rich  foli- 
age and  flowers  would  almost  prevent  our  recognizing  the 
desolation  which  now  impresses  us  so  much." 

I  crossed  the  stream,  in  order  to  reach  our  bivouac  by 
the  opposite  bank  to  that  which  we  had  hitherto  followed. 
Suddenly  a  noise,  like  a  mallet  striking  the  trunk  of  a  tree, 
attracted  our  attention. 

"  You  told  me  just  now  there  was  no  one  but  ourselves 
in  the  forest,"  cried  Lucien. 

"  Chut !"  replied  1'Encuerado ;  "  it  is  nothing  but  a  large 
woodpecker." 

And  each  of  us  glided  under  the  bushes  and  tried  to  get 
near  the  winged  workman,  who  so  loudly  betrayed  his  pres- 
ence. Ten  minutes  elapsed,  but  all  was  silent,  and  the  ob- 
ject of  our  search  appeared  to  have  moved  off.  In  fact,  we 
were  about  to  give  up  the  pursuit,  when  thi-ee  blows,  struck 
at  regular  intervals,  resounded  near  us. 

The  Carpintero  (carpenter),  for  such  it  is  called  in  Mexi- 
co, has  veiy  brilliant  yellow  eyes,  red  feathers  upon  the 
head,  while  the  body  is  dark-colored  streaked  with  white. 
It  climbs  easily  up  the  trunks  of  trees,  resting  upon  its  tail- 
feathers.  At  length  we  observed  it,  and  as  we  looked,  ad- 
miring its  plumage,  it  again  struck  three  resounding  blows, 
and  ran  round  the  tree  as  if  to  inspect  the  other  side. 

"  The  fool !"  muttered  1'Encuerado ;  "  he  thinks  he  can 
pierce  a  tree  as  thick  as  my  body  with  three  pecks  of  his 
beak !  He'll  soon  be  eateii." 

And  he  fired  at  the  bird  and  hit  it. 

"  I  say,  papa,  did  the  woodpecker  really  want  to  pierce 
this  big  tree  ?" 

"  Xo,  my  boy;  that  is  a  popular  but  unfounded  idea. 
The  woodpecker  strikes  the  trees  in  order  to  frighten  the 
insects  that  are  concealed  under  the  bark;  and  the  action 


112  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

which  1'Eucuerado  has  interpreted  in  his  own  way  is  per- 
formed with  a  view  of  getting  hold  of  the  fugitives." 

Sumichrast  showed  Lucien  that  the  woodpecker,  aided 
by  its  wedge-shaped  beak,  could,  in  case  of  need,  rip  up  the 
bark  under  which  its  prey  was  to  be  found ;  that  his  tongue, 
covered  with  spines  bending  backward,  is  well  adapted  to 
seize  the  larvae ;  and,  lastly,  that  the  stiff  and  elastic  feath- 
ers of  its  tail  afford  it  a  very  useful  support  in  the  exercise 
of  its  laborious  vocation. 

"  You  often  get  the  better  of  me  in  argument,"  said  FEn- 
cuerado ;  "  but  it's  no  use  your  saying  that  woodpeckers  do 
not  bore  into  trees,  for  I  have  seen  them  doing  it." 

"  You  are  right,  up  to  a  certain  point,"  replied  Sumi- 
chrast ;  "  some  species  make  their  nests  in  dead  trees,  which 
their  beaks  can  with  ease  penetrate.  As  for  piercing  sound 
trees,  that's  quite  another  question." 

While  1'Encuerado  was  preparing  the  armadillo  and  the 
woodpecker,  which  we  were  to  have  for  dinner,  we  walked 
down  the  course  of  the  stream,  the  agreeable  freshness  of 
which  was  very  pleasant  to  us.  All  at  once  Lucien  pointed 
out  to  me  a  basilisk  sitting  on  a  stone,  the  rays  of  the  sun 
setting  off  its  bright  shades — yellow,  green,  and  red.  This 
member  of  the  Iguana  family,  which  bears  no  resemblance 
to  the  fabulous  basilisk  of  the  Greeks,  got  up  at  our  ap- 
proach, puffed  out  its  throat,  and  shook  the  membranous 
crest  on  the  top  of  its  head.  Its  bright  eye  seemed  to  scan 
the  horizon ;  no  doubt  it  caught  sight  of  us,  for  its  flaccid 
body  stiffened  out,  and  with  a  rapid  bound  it  sprang  into 
the  stream.  The  reptile  raised  its  chest  in  swimming,  beat- 
ing the  water  with  its  fore  paws  as  if  with  oars.  We  soon 
lost  sight  of  it,  to  Lucien's  great  sorrow,  for  he  wanted  to 
obtain  a  further  inspection  of  it. 

Gathering  round  the  fire,  we  arranged  our  baggage,  ready 
to  start  the  next  morning.  As  there  was  still, another  hour's 


•The  dog  began  to  howl  desperately." 


A  YOUXG  XATUXALIST.  115 

daylight,  Lucien  remained  with  PEncuerado,  and  I  went 
with  Sumichrast  to  reconnoitre  the  route  we  intended  to 
take. 

The  sun  was  setting,  and  we  were  slowly  approaching 
our  bivouac,  when  Gringalet's  whine  met  our  ears.  I  has- 
tened forward,  for  the  dog  began  to  howl  desperately.  I 
reached  the  hut  quite  out-of  breath.  Every  thing  seemed 
right,  but  Lucien  and  1'Encuerado  had  disappeared.  I  look- 
ed anxiously  into  my  companion's  face. 

"  Xo  doubt,"  said  Sumichrast, "  1'Encuerado  has  gone  to 
take  a  stroll,  and  left  the  dog  asleep." 

I  raised  a  call-cry.  What  was  my  surprise  at  hearing  it 
answered  from  up  above  i^  My  son  and  the  Indian  were 
sitting  thirty  feet  from  th^round,  hidden  in  the  foliage  of 
a  gigantic  tree.  My  first  impulse  was  to  address  1'Encue- 
rado rather  angrily. 

"Don't  flurry  him,"  said  Sumichrast;  "he'll  need  all  his 
presence  of  mind  to  get  the  boy  down  safely." 

With  an  anxiety  which  may  be  easily  understood,  I 
watched  all  the  movements  of  the  lad,  who  was  every  now 
and  then  concealed  by  the  leaves. 

"  Gently,"  cried  1'Encuerado ;  "  put  your  foot  there. 
Well  done  !  Xow  lay  hold  of  this  branch  and  slide  down. 
Don't  be  afraid;  I'll  not  let  you  go.  How  pleased  and 
proud  your  papa  will  be  when  he  knows  how  high  yon 
have  climbed  !" 

The  Indian  was  wrong ;  I  was  neither  pleased  nor  proud. 
The  trunk  of  the  tree  was  five  or  six  feet  in  circumference ; 
the  first  branches  sprang  at  a  point  no  less  than  seven  to 
ten  feet  from  the  ground,  and  I  could  not  make  out  how 
the  boy  managed  to  reach  them.  As  for  1'Encuerado,  or 
rather  the  ape  that  went  by  that  name,  I  knew  that  no 
obstacle  could  stop  him. 

I  must,  however,  confess  that  I  felt  all  my  anger  melting 


H6  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

away  when  I  saw  the  skill  and  coolness  of  the  young  acro- 
bat. Certainly,  Sumichrast  appealed  to  my  own  reminis- 
cences, and  offered  to  lay  me  a  wager  that  I  had  climbed 
many  a  poplar  without  the  advantage  of  such  superintend- 
ence as  1'Encuerado's.  At  last  the  two  gymnasts  reached 
the  lowest  branches,  and  I  breathed  more  freely. 

"  Papa,"  cried  the  child, "  we  climbed  right  to  the  top,  and 
there  found  a  nest  and  a  squirrel's  hiding-place." 

"  Have  you  suddenly  gone  mad  ?"  said  I,  interrupting  him 
and  addressing  the  Indian. 

"  Mad  !"  repeated  he,  with  the  most  sublime  simplicity. 
"Why?" 

"  Couldn't  you  have  chosen  a^ree  that  was  not  so  tall  ?" 

"  Don't  you  wish  Chanito  to  learn  to  climb  ?  At  all 
events,  the  seiiora  intrusted  him  to  me." 

"  And  so  you  risk  his  breaking  his  bones  ?" 

"  I'm  not  a  child,"  replied  the  Indian,  proudly,  standing 
upright  on  a  branch. 

"  Enough  of  these  gymnastics  !  Come  down  at  once  ;  al- 
though God  knows  how  you  are  going  to  manage  it." 

The  words  were  hardly  out  of  my  mouth  when  Lucien 
reached  the  ground,  suspended  by  a  lasso  which  1'Encuerado 
had  tied  under  his  arms.  The  Indian  had  pulled  him  up  to 
the  lowest  branches  in  the  same  way. 

"  You  have  not  acted  sensibly,"  said  I  to  the  Indian ;  "  we 
do  not  begin  to  learn  to  ride  by  mounting  a  wild  horse. 
Lucien  doesn't  know  yet  how  to  climb  high  trees." 

"  Lucien  can  climb  as  well  as  I  can,"  retorted  the  culprit ; 
"  he  has  never  eaten  an  orange  out  of  your  garden  without 
clambering  up  to  gather  it  himself." 

"  That's  something  new  to  me,"  said  I,  looking  hard  at 
my  son,  who  blushed.  "  At  any  rate,  orange-trees  are  very 
different  in  size  from  cotton-woods,  so  you  risked  killing 
him." 


A  YOUXG  NATURALIST.  H7 

"  Xo ;  I  kept  tight  hold  of  him.  You  very  well  know 
that  if  Chanito  were  likely  to  come  to  his  death  by  my 
fault,  I  should  die  first." 

"  That  wouldn't  bring  the  boy  to  life  again.  There  will 
be  plenty  of  dangers  in  our  excursion  without  seeking  them 
out  for  mere  pleasure.  I  want  to  bring  you  all  back  safe 
and  sound  to  Orizava ;  therefore,  don't  let  us  have  any  more 
of  these  ascents." 

Having  uttered  this  remonstrance, I. turned  on  my  Jieel, 
for  it  was  no  use  trying  to  have  the  last  word  with  1'En- 
cuerado.  I  was,  however,  quite  sure  that  he  would  not  re- 
new the  exploit  which  had  displeased  me,  and  that  was  all 
I  wished. 

At  supper-time,  Gringalet  did  not  show  any  repugnance 
to  the  flesh  of  the  armadillo,  the  taste  of  which  reminded 
Lucien  of  sucking-pig. 

"  Are  armadillos  very  scarce  P'Mie  asked ;  "  they  are  nev- 
er sold  in  the  market." 

"  Just  the  contrary,"  replied  Sumichrast ;  "  they  are 
very  common,  and  the  Indians  never  fail  to  feast  on  them 
svhen  they  can  procure  them." 

"  What  does  the  name  armadillo  mean  ?" 

"It  is  a  Paraguayan  word,  the  meaning  of  which  is, 
'  encased  in  armor.'  The  Aztecs  call  the  animal  ayoto- 
chitl,  that  is,  *  gourd-rabbit ' — <  rabbit '  on  account  of  its 
ears,  and  'gourd'  because, when  it  rolls  itself  up  in  a  ball, 
it  reminds  one  of  that  vegetable." 

L'Encuerado  had  gone  to  sleep.  Lucien  soon  went  into 
the  hut,  and  I  noticed  that  Sumichrast  carefully  arranged 
the  leaves  which  were  to  form  our  bed,  although  he  himself 
lay  down  anywhere.  I  was  much  less  inclined  for  sleep 
than  my  companions, and  contemplated  them  all  reposing; 
reflecting  on  the  strange  chance  which  united,  under  the 
same  shelter,  in  the  midst  of  the  wilderness,  persons  born 


118        THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 

of  such  distinct  races  and  in  such  different  climates.  We 
•  could  all  surely  depend  on  one  another,  for  in  previous 
expeditions  our  mutual  friendship  had  been  put  to  the 
proof.  Seeing  how  well  Lucien  bore  the  fatigue,  I  rejoiced 
that  I  had  brought  him  under  the  protection  of  such  good 
guardians.  When  I  entered  the  hut  to  seek  repose,  I  dis- 
turbed Gringalet,  who,  before  lying  down  again  by  his 
young  master,  licked  his  hand :  here  was  another  devoted 
friend — "  the  dog,  which  combines  all  man's  better  quali- 
ties," as  Charlet  observes. 


CHAPTER  VUL 

TTTLTUKE'S  FEAST. — DEAGOSTS  BLOOD. — A  CORAL  SKR- 

FEST. THE  OWL, MEXICAN  MOLES. TOUCAX5. THE 

SCOLOPACTD-E. L?EXCTFEEAI>O  TTRXED  TAILOE. D  X- 


left  our  bivouac  at  daybreak,  first  ascending  and 
then  descending,  sometimes  mating  our  war  through 
thickets  and  other  times  through  glades;  suddenly  a  flock 
of  vultures  attracted  oar  attention.  A  hideous  spectacle 
was  now  presented  to  our  eyes.  A  coyote — doubtless  that 
which  PEncuerado  had  wounded  the  day  before— lay  half 
devoured  on  the  ground,  and  more  than  fifty  guests  were 
coming  in  torn  for  their  share,  and  to  tear,  in  turn,  a  strip 
of  flesh  from  the  carcass. 


120  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

"  What  frightful  creatures  !"  cried  Lucien.  "  I  can't 
think  why  the  nasty  smell  does  not  drive  them  away." 

"  It  is  just  the  reverse ;  it  is  the  smell  which  attracts 
them,"  I  replied.  "Even  when  they  are  soaring  high  up 
in  the  sky,  and  scan  the  horizon  with  their  yellow  eyes, 
their  subtle  sense  of  smell  enables  them  to  catch  the  effluvia 
of  the  putrefied  matter  on  which  they  feed." 

In  some  of  the  towns  of  Mexico  the  black  vultures  are  so 
numerous — living  there,  as  they  do,  almost  tame  in  the 
streets — that  our  young  companion  was  well  acquainted 
with  these  birds ;  but  he  had  never  been  present  at  one  of 
their  joint  meals.  The  sight  of  one  of  their  bare,  black, 
and  wrinkled  necks,  plunged  into  the  body  of  the  animal, 
made  him  almost  ill. 

"  Poh  ! — what  disgusting  birds  !"  he  cried. 

"  You  are  wrong,"  I  said ;  "  the  birds  are  only  obeying 
the  instinct  implanted  in  them.  Henceforward  you  will 
understand  better  the  name  of  the  '  rapacious  order '  or 
4  birds  of  prey,'  which  is  given  by  naturalists  to  vultures, 
eagles,  falcons,  and  owls.  You  are  aware  that  the  science 
which  describes  the  habits  of  birds  is  called  ornithology. 
Cuvier,  the  great  classifier,  divides  the  feathered  tribe  into 
six  orders — birds  of  prey,  passerines,  climbers,  gallinaceans, 
wading,  and  web-footed  birds.  In  order  to  prevent  confu- 
sion, the  orders  have  been  subdivided  into  families,  the  fami- 
.lies  into  groups,  the  groups  into  genera,  and  the  genera  into 
species. 

"  How  are  they  all  to  be  recognized  ?" 

"  By  the  study  of  certain  special  characteristics,  which 
serve  as  distinguishing  marks.  Birds  of  prey,  for  instance, 
have  curved  beaks  and  claws,  legs  feathered  either  to  the 
knee  or  down  to  the  foot,  three  toes  in  front,  and  one  be- 
hind ;  also,  the  back  and  inside  toe  are  stronger  than  the 
others.  The  vultures  which  you  are  looking  at,  the  only 


••A  ~    k  -••  ndtam  s 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  123 

birds  of  the  order  which  live  in  flocks,  belong  to  the  Ca- 
t/tartus  genus."* 

"  Look !  there  are  some  which  keep  at  a  distance.  They 
look  as  if  they  were  afraid." 

"  Xo ;  they  have  gorged  themselves,  and  are  now  digest-  • 
ing  their  meal ;  unless  danger  compel  them  to  take  flight, 
they  will  remain  motionless  until  sunset." 

"  Will  they  attack  live  creatures  ?" 

"  Very  rarely ;  for  they  are  dreadful  cowards,  and,  be- 
sides, do  not  care  much  for  fresh  meat." 

We  had  now  left  far  behind  us  the  miserable  crew  of 
carrion-eaters,  when  Lucien  suddenly  cried  out — 

"  Oh,  papa !  look,  there's  a  bleeding  tree  !" 

"It  is  a  pterocarpus;  that  is,  a  vegetable  with  mem- 
branes resembling  the  wing  of  a  bird.  The  red  sap  which 
is  trickling  down  from  its  bark  is  called  dragon's  blood, 
thus  named  by  the  Greeks,  who  ascribed  to  it  a  fabulous 
origin.  The  blood-tree,  for  so  the  Indians  designate  it,  is 
allied  to  the  asparagus  and  lily  genera,  and  the  gum  which 
exudes  from  it  is  a  good  remedy  for  dysentery." 

L'Encuerado  picked  off  a  few  dry  flakes  of  this  invalua- 
ble production ;  and  then,  dipping  his  finger  into  some  of 
the  drops  which  were  still  liquid,  he  rubbed  it  all  over  Grin- 
galet's  legs  and  paws,  who  was  thus  provided  with  red  top- 
boots.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  operation  must  have  had  a 
good  effect  upon  the  animal ;  for  this  gum,  being  very  rich 
in  tannin,  was  certain  to  brace  the  tissues  and  muscles ;  but 
the  first  sensation  of  it  seemed  to  distress  the  poor  beast, 
who  ran  along  lifting  up  his  legs  in  a  very  comical  fashion. 

"  Gringalet  walks  very  much  in  the  same  way  that  1'En- 


*  From  the  Greek  KaBapr^,  "  that  r.-hich  purifies."  In  fact,  this  bird 
a~~ist>  in  cleansing  the  streets  in  towns  where  there  is  no  organization  for 
the  purpose. 


124  THE  ADVEXTUKES  OF 

cuerado  did  the  time  he  put  on  his  beautiful  blue  slippers," 
remarked  Lucien,  in  great  glee. 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say,"  said  Sumichrast, "  that  1'En- 
cuerado  ever  wore  blue  slippers  ?" 

"  Yes ;  the  other  day  there  was  a  dinner-party,  and  mam- 
ma told  him  to  dress  himself  as  well  as  he  could.  He  at 
once  ran  off  to  buy  a  pair  of  pumps  he  had  seen  in  a  shop, 
and,  just  at  the  moment  they  were  all  sitting  down  to  din- 
ner, he  made  his  appearance  in  his  new  foot-coverings,  and 
— a  cravat !" 

"  A  cravat !"  repeated  Sumichrast,  more  surprised  than 
ever. 

"  Yes,  a  real  cravat ;  but  as  he  had  never  before  worn 
any  thing  on  his  feet  but  sandals,  he  lifted  them  up  when 
he  walked  just  as  Gringalet  does  now.  Mamma  advised 
him  to  put  on  his  sandals  again;  but  he  would  not  obey 
her,  so  he  was  well  punished,  for  he  tripped  up  and  broke 
a  whole  pile  of  plates.  It  was  not  until  after  this  mis- 
fortune that  he  could  be  persuaded  to  take  off  his  blue 
pumps;  and  even  then  he  could  not  bear  to  part  with  them 
altogether,  so  he  hung  them  round  his  neck,  and  kept  on 
waiting  at  table,  as  proud  as  possible  with  his  grand  deco- 
ration." 

This  adventure  Avas  only  too  true,  and  Sumichrast  listen- 
ed to  it  with  shouts  of  laughter. 

"  Why  did  you  hang  the  shoes  round  your  neck  instead 
of  putting  them  away  in  a  corner?"  asked  Sumichrast  of 
the  Indian. 

"  I  did  it  to  let  all  the  world  know  that  I  had  bought 
them,  and  that  they  belonged  to  me,"  replied  1'Encuerado. 

Our  encampment  was  established  at  the  entrance  of  a 
fresh  glade.  L'Encuerado  had  killed  five  or  six  small 
birds ;  we  were,  therefore,  certain  of  something  for  dinner. 
We  had  scarcely  finished  our  building  operations,  when 


"  Lucien  loudly  called  out  to  me." 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  12J 

Lueien,  who  had  been  prowling  about,  lifting  up  stones  and 
looking  under  stubs  in  order  to  find  insects,  loudly  called 
out  to  me.  When  I  got  up  to  him,  I  saw  at  the  bottom  of 
a  hole  a  coral-serpent,  measuring  about  a  yard  in  length. 
The  reptile  was  coiled  up,  and  remained  motionless  while 
we  admired  its  beautiful  red  skin,  divided  at  intervals  with 
rings  of  shining  black.  L'Encuerado  promptly  cut  a  fork- 
ed stick  and  pinned  the  animal  down  to  the  ground.  The 
prisoner  immediately  tried  to  stand  up  on  end ;  its  jaws 
distended,  and  its  head  assumed  a  menacing  aspect.  Grin- 
galet  barked  at  it  furiously,  without,  however,  daring  to  go 
near.  The  Indian  unsheathed  his  cutlass — the  prospect  of 
an  unlooked-for  addition  to  dinner  quite  delighted  him. 

The  flesh  of  the  serpent  is  a  well-known  Indian  dish. 
Previous  to  the  conquest  of  Mexico  by  the  Spaniards,  the 
rattlesnake  itself  found  its  place  at  their  highest  festivals. 
Dioscorides*  prescribed  the  flesh  of  the  viper  as  a  tonic, 
and  it  formed  one  of  the  component  parts  of  theriaca,  the 
great  panacea  of  our  ancestors,  which  was  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal branches  of  Venetian  commerce.  In  spite  of  all  these 
precedents,  the  dish  proposed  by  FEncnerado  was  unani- 
mously rejected. 

Having  cut  off  the  serpent's  head,  we  all  went  off  to  rec- 
onnoitre. Going  in  pursuit  of  a  troop  of  _  squirrels,  we 
were  led  to  the  edge  of  the  glade  without  having  been  able 
to  reach  them.  A  little  way  in  the  forest,  Somichrast  espied 
a  small  russet-colored  owl,  which  suddenly  disappeared  in  a 
hollow  at  the  foot  of  an  old  tree.  We  all  kept  quiet  for  ten 
minutes,  in  order  to  observe  the  bird's  way  of  hunting.  At 
last  it  suddenly  reappeared,  and,  standing  motionless  and 
upright  upon  its  legs  at  the  entrance  of  its  place  of  refuge, 
it  looked  very  like  a  sentinel  on  duty  in  his  watch-box. 

*  A  cdehrated  Greek  physician  in  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era. 


128  THJi  ADVENTURES  OF 

Suddenly  it  started,  and  slightly  bending  its  body,  winked 
its  great  yellow  eyes  several  times ;  then,  skimming  over 
the  ground  with  the  swiftness  of  an  arrow,  it  darted  into 
the  high  grass.  It  soon  made  its  appearance  again,  with 
its  feathers  erect  and  flapping  its  wings.  It  held  in  its 
mouth  a  poor  little  mouse,  which  it  carried  oft  into  its  sub- 
terraneous retreat.  It  was  the  species  of  owl  called  Athene 
hypogcva,  which  is  often  met  with  in  the  savannahs,  anil 
hunts  in  the  day-time  as  well  as  in  the  night. 

"What  a  comical-looking  bird!"  said  Lucien;  "and  yet 
I'm  half  afraid  of  its  brilliant  eyes  and  hooked  nose." 

"  Every  one  is  frightened  at  him,  Chanito,"  replied  1'En- 
cuerado ;  "  and  when  he  settles  near  a  hut  at  night,  and 
raises  his  dismal  cry,  he  predicts  the  early  death  of  some 
one  of  those  who  hear  him." 

"  That  can't  be,"  replied  Lucien,  "  for  there  was  an  owl 
in  a  hole  in  our  garden  wall,  and  papa  would  never  have  it 
disturbed  ;  yet  the  owl  made  its  cry  every  night." 

"Your  father  knows  how  to  avert  the  spell.  Besides, 
the  bird  that  lived  in  the  wall  was  a  common  owl." 
•  "  Both  in  Europe  and  America,"  interposed  Sumichrast, 
"  screech  owls,  and  their  kinsmen,  the  common  owls,  barn 
owls,  buzzards,  and  all  nocturnal  birds  of  prey,  are  looked 
upon  by  the  ignorant  as  birds  of  ill  omen.  Their  strange 
appearance  and  their  mysterious  habits  give  rise  to  a  re- 
pugnance which  often  changes  into  fear.  It  is  quite  wrong 
to  have  any  dread  of  them  ;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  bird 
you  have  just  seen  is,  like  all  its  species,  more  useful  than 
injurious  to  man,  for  it  destroys  a  vast  number  of  small 
mammals — jerboas,  shrew-mice,  dormice,  and  field-mice, 
which  ravage  the  farmer's  crops.  You  will  recollect  that 
the  owl,  among  the  ancient  Greeks,  was  the  bird  of  Miner- 
va ;  with  the  Aztecs  it  represents  the  goddess  of  evil." 

A  little  way  from  the  spot  where  we  lost  sight  of  the 


A  YOUXG  XATCRALIST.  log 

mouse-eater,  there  were  some  enormous  holes  dug  out  bv 
the  tuzas*  the  Mexican  moles,  so  dreaded  by  agriculturists. 
This  animal  is  about  the  size  of  a  kitten ;  it  lives  in  com- 
panies, and  works  underneath  the  surface  of  the  soil  in  a 
way  very  dangerous  to  travellers,  who  suddenly  find  the 
ground  sink  under  their  feet.  L'Eucuerado,  Avho  was  very 
fond  of  the  flesh  of  the  tuza,  which  used  to  be  sold  in  the 
Indian  markets,  placed  himself  in  ambush  in  the  hopes  of 
killing  one.  Five  minutes  had  scarcely  elapsed  when  we 
heard  a  gunshot,  and  the  hunter  made  his  appearance  with 
a  rather  ugly  little  animal,  having  a  dark-brown  coat,  short 
feet,  ears  and  eyes  almost  imperceptible,  a  mouth  furnished 
with  formidable  incisors,  and  on  each  side  of  its  jaws  a  vast 
pouch  filled  with  earth.  Lucien  declared  that  he  would 
never  consent  to  eat  of  this  creature,  and  promised  his  share 
to  1'Encuerado. 

Our  attention  was  again  attracted  towards  the  forest  by 
the  cries  of  five  or  six  toucans,  and  again  we  set  off  in 
chase.  These  birds  are  extremely  suspicious,  and  their  ca- 
pricious flight  almost  baffles  pursuit.  I  succeeded,  how- 
ever, in  killing  one;  the  others  flew  off,  raising  cries  of 
anger. 

"How  can  they  bear  the  weight  of  such  an  enormous 
beak?"  asked  Lucien,  who  had  run  to  pick  up  the  bird,  and 
was  struck  with  admiration  at  its  beautiful  green  and  yel- 
low plumage. 

"Xature  has  made  provision  for  that:  the  enormous 
beak,  which  seems  so  heavy,  is  composed  of  a  very  light 
porous  substance." 

"  Then  it  can  not  eat  any  thing  hard  ?" 

"  Xo ;  its  flexible  beak  could  not  crush  any  unyielding 
substance,  and  it  feeds  on  nothing  but  soft  fruits ;  and  even 


130  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

these  it  breaks  up  awkwardly.  If  we  could  have  got  near 
them,  you  would  have  seen  them  plucking  berries  and  toss- 
ing them  in  the  air,  so  as  to  catch  them  hi  their  immense 
jaws." 

"  What  good  is  its  great  mouth  ?" 

"  I  can't  say ;  for  the  naturalists,  who  have  been  as  much 
puzzled  as  you  are  by  this  peculiarity,  have  been  unable  to 
explain  it." 

"Then  I  am  more  learned  than  they  are,"  said  FEncue- 
rado,  with  a  magisterial  air. 

"  Do  you  know,  then,  why  toucans  have  such  exaggerated 
beaks  ?" 

"  Because  they  have  been  made  by  a  wise  Creator,"  re- 
plied the  Indian. 

"  No  doubt  about  that,"  remarked  Sumichrast,  smiling ; 
"  but  the  point  is,  why  they  were  made  so." 

"  Because  their  beak,  calcined  and  reduced  to  powder,  is 
the  only  efficacious  remedy  for  epilepsy.  Toucans  are  very 
scarce  birds,  and  if  their  beaks  were  no  larger  than  those  of 
other  birds  of  their  size,  this  medicine  could  never  be  ob- 
tained in  sufficient  quantities." 

L'Encuerado's  explanation  was  perhaps  as  good  as  our 
uncertainty.  I  remember  that  the  Indians  do,  in  fact,  make 
a  great  mystery  of  a  powder  against  epilepsy,  and  that  a 
toucan's  head  may  often  be  noticed  hanging  up  to  the  wall 
of  a  hut,  as  a  preservative  against  St.  Vitus'  dance. 

Instead  of  resting,  Lucien  pi-owled  about  in  every  direc- 
tion, breaking  away  bark,  and  lifting  stones  with  all  the 
ardor  of  a  neophyte  in  entomology.  Since  meeting  with 
the  coral-serpent,  he  took  precautions  which  gave  me  confi- 
dence ;  for  it  is  quite  uncertain  how  a  reptile  or  any  other 
creature  may  behave  when  it  is  disturbed.  The  child  sud- 
denly cdlled  out  to  me ;  he  had  just  discovered  a  nest  ot 
scolopendrcp,  commonly  called  centipedes,  and  he  was  afraid 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  131 

to  touch  them.  The  centipedes,  surprised  at  being  disturb- 
ed, rolled  themselves  np;  their  pale  blue  color  somewhat 
diminishing  the  repugnance  which  their  appearance  general- 
ly excites.  It  was  not  without  some  hesitation  that  Lucien, 
encouraged  by  Sumichrast,  ventured  to  place  one  on  the 
palm  of  his  hand  ;  the  insect  gradually  unrolled  its  articula- 
tions, each  of  which  was  provided  with  two  pairs  of  feet 
ending  in  hooks,  but  its  walk  was  so  slow  as  rather  to  dis- 
appoint the  young  observer. 

f'  "What  is  the  use  of  having  forty-four  feet,"  he  cried, "  if 
the  centipede  can  not  get  on  faster  than  a  carabits,  which 
only  has  six  ?w 

L'Encuerado  could  alone  explain  this  mystery ;  but  still 
he  kept  silence. 

"  Are  these  creatures  poisonous,  M.  Sumichrast  ?" 

"  It  is  said  so ;  but  some  species — that,  for  instance,  which 
you  are  examining — may  be  handled  without  danger." 

"  Here  is  a  little  centipede  with  only  twelve  legs." 
,  "  It  has  only  just  come  out  of  the  egg ;  their  rings  in- 
crease in  number  as  they  grow  older,  and  this  is  one  of 
their  peculiarities." 

"  How  hard  the  rings  are !  they  are  almost  like  armor." 

a  It  is  armor,  in  fact ;  the  scolopendrce  form  a  line  of  de- 
markation,  so  to  speak,  separating  insects  from  crustaceans ; 
centipedes  are  not  very  distant  relations  of  lobsters." 

"Look,  papa!  I  have  just  found  a  chocolate-colored 
worm,  which  looks  like  a  centipede." 

"  That's  not  a  worm ;  it  is  an  iulus,  first  cousin  to  the 
centipede.  Don't  take  it  up  in  your  hand,  for  it  will  im- 
pregnate your  fingers  with  a  sickening  odor." 

We  resumed  our  progress  towards  our  encampment, 
Lucien  and  FEncuerado  preceding  us.  The  weather  was 
warm  without  being  suffocating ;  the  slanting  rays  of  the 
sun  were  moderated  by  the  foliage,  the  birds  were  singinsr. 


l;>2  THE  ADVENTURES  OJ? 

and  to-day,  like  yesterday,  seemed  as  if  it  would  be  one  of 
the  least  fatiguing  in  our  journey.  We  were  now  in  the 
midst  of  the  Terre-  Temperee,  and  were  surrounded  by 
white  and  black  oaks.  Ceibas,  elm,  cedars,  and  lignum-vitce 
trees  only  grew  here  and  there ;  and  the  mosquitoes,  so 
plentiful  in  the  Terre-  Chaude,  did  not  trouble  us  here. 
The  timber,  growing  widely  apart,  allowed  us  to  pass  easi- 
ly ;  we  were  in  a  virgin-forest,  but  were  still  too  high  up 
above  the  plains  to  have  to  struggle  against  the  inextrica- 
ble net-work  of  tropical  creepers. 

The  tuza  made  its  appearance  at  our  dinner,  dressed  with 
rice.  Although  the  appearance  of  this  animal  is  repulsive, 
its  flesh  has  an  exquisite  flavor.  I  offered  a  piece  of  the 
thigh  to  Lucien  ;  he  found  it  so  nice,  that  he  soon  held  out 
his  plate — or  rather  his  calabash — for  more.  Sumichrast 
told  him  he  was  eating  some  of  the  mole,  though  not  aware 
of  it :  he  appeared  confused  at  first,  but  soon  boldly  began 
on  his  second  helping.  After  the  meal,  PEncuerado  took 
from  an  aloe-fibre  bag  a  needle  and  bodkin,  and  set  to 
work  to  mend  Lucien's  breeches,  torn  a  day  or  two  be- 
fore. Two  squirrels'  skins  were  scarcely  sufficient  for  the 
would-be  tailor,  who  lined  the  knees  also  with  this  impro- 
vised cloth.  Lucien  was  delighted  at  this  patching,  and 
wanted  to  try  on  his  mended  garment  at  once.  He  wad- 
dled about,  ran,  and  stooped  in  every  posture,  quite  fasci- 
nated with  the  rustling  noise  produced  by  the  dry  skins. 
Gringalet,  who  had  been  asleep,  suddenly  came  up  to  his 
young  master  with  visible  surprise.  With  his  neck  stretch- 
ed out,  his  eyes  glittering,  and  his  ears  drooping,  ready  to 
retreat  in  case  of  need,  the  dog  ventured  to  take  a  sniff  at 
1'Encuerado's  work,  then  shook  his  head  energetically  and 
sneezed.  After  repeating  this  operation  two  or  three  times 
he  seemed  to  be  lost  in  thought. 

"  He  knows  all  about  it,  and  can  see  at  once  that  it  is 


.1  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  130 

not  badly  sewn,"  said  1'Encuerado,  with  evident  satisfac- 
tion. 

But  all  of  a  sudden,  after  a  final  and  more  conscientious 
examination,  the  animal  began  barking  furiously,  and  seiz- 
ing hold  of  the  patches  that  had  been  so  industriously  sewn 
in,  he  tried  to  tear  them  away. 

"  The  simpleton  fancies  the  squirrel  is  still  alive !"  cried 
the  Indian. 

Although  driven  away  at  least  twenty  times,  Gringalet 
kept  on  returning  to  the  attack,  and  he  assailed  the  trow- 
sers  with  so  much  ardor  that  a  fresh  rent  was  made.  Then 
1'Encuerado  became  angry,  and  the  dog  having  been  punish- 
ed, went  and  crouched  down  by  the  fire;  but  he  still  con- 
tinued to  show  his  teeth  at  the  strange  lining  which  seemed 
so  offensive  to  him.  . 

The  sun  was  setting ;  its  golden  rays,  quivering  among 
the  branches,  appeared  one  by  one  to  get  higher  and  higher 
until  gloom  began  gradually  to  pervade  the  forest.  We 
were  assembled  around  our  bivouac,  when  a  rosy  tint  sud- 
denly illumined  the  tops  of  the  trees  and  penetrated  through 
the  foliage.  As  this  marvellous  effect  of  light  appeared  to 
last  a  considerable  time,  we  again  went  into  the  open  glade, 
so  as  to  be  better  able  to  observe  it.  The  sky  appeared  as 
if  it  was  all  in  a  blaze ;  vast  glittering  jets  of  light  seemed 
a»if  darting  from  the  setting  sun ;  a  few  clouds,  tinted  with 
bright  red  color,  flitted  across  the  heavens.  The  bright 
gleam  became  more  and  more  vivid,  but  without  at  all  daz- 
zling our  eyes.  A  few  birds  might  be  heard  uttering  shrill 
cries ;  and  the  falcons,  who  were  making  their  way  to  their 
aeries,  stopped  for  a  moment  their  rapid  flight,  and  whirled 
round  and  round  in  space  with  an  undecided  air. 

"The  wind  will  blow  tremendously  to-morrow,"  said 
1'Encuerado;  "only  once  before  did  I  ever  see  the  sky 
lighted  up  as  it  is  to-night,  and  then  two  days  after  there 


134        THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 

was  a  frightful  hurricane,  which  demolished  most  of  the 
huts  in  our  village." 

"  I  think  we  shall  get  off  with  nothing  but  a  south  wind 
like  that  which  worried  us  the  day  we  set  off,"  said  Surni- 
chrast. 

Wrongly  or  rightly,  I  attributed  this  phenomenon  of 
light  to  the  position  of  the  clouds.  The  intensity  of  the 
light  decreased  till  it  was  nothing  but  a  glimmer.  Night 
resumed  its  empire,  and  there  was  naught  to  guide  us  back 
to  our  bivouac  but  the  flame  of  our  fire. 


- 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   H1TEEIC  JL5TE. A   FEJU2FTI,  XIGHT. 

GULST. THE    SAKSJUPABLLLA-FIJLXT. 

A  SPKOTG. OUX  JBHTO1TAC. 


GETSGJLLET   DISCOVERS 

T  'EXCTERADO'S  prediction  seemed  as  if  it  was  Kkerj 
-*-'  to  be  realized.  About  three  o'clock  in  the  morning 
we  were  awakened  by  a  hoarse  roaring;  the  trees  seemed 
to  shiver;  sometimes  the  uproar  appeared  to  grow  less  and 
almost  to  cease,  and  then  broke  out  again  loader  than  ever. 
I  hastened  to  warm  some  coffee;  bat  two  or  three  times 
the  intermittent  squalls  scattered  the  burning  fagots  of  oar 
fire,  and  the  hot  ashes  nearly  Winded  us.  This  mishap  was 
owing  to  the  open  glade  being:  so  near  to  us,  across  which 
the  wind  rnsbed  furious  and  unrestrained.  'Almost  before 


KjG  THE  ADVENTURED  OF 

daylight  appeared,  I  led  my  companions  farther  under  the 
trees,  the  state  of  the  atmosphere  making  me  feel  very  un- 
comfortable. The  lofty  tree-tops,  roughly  shaken  by  the 
wind,  showered  down  upon  us  a  perfect  hail  of  twigs  and 
dead  leaves.  We  were  almost  deafened  by  the  noise  of  the 
clashing  boughs ;  sad  and  silent  we  proceeded  on  our  way, 
perceiving  no  signs  of  any  living  creature,  and  in  much 
trouble  how  we  should  obtain  our  dinners. 

Towards  mid-day,  the  wind  fell ;  puffs  of  heat,  which 
seemed  to  spring  from  the  ground  beneath,  almost  suffo- 
cated us.  Lucien  did  not  say  a  word,  but,  in  spite  of  my 
advice,  he  was  constantly  lifting  his  gourd  to  his  lips,  a  pro- 
ceeding which  could  only  excite  his  thirst.  Gringalet,  in- 
stead of  frolicking  about,  as  was  his  custom,  followed  us 
closely,  drooping  his  ears  and  tail.  We  were,  I  believe,  the 
only  living  beings  moving  under  the  shade,  which  now 
seemed  converted  into  a  hot  furnace. 

Meeting  with  some  rocks,  we  made  up  our  minds  to  hur- 
ry on,  thinking  to  come  upon  a  stream ;  a  A7ain  hope ! — the 
rocks  soon  came  to  an  end,  and  were  succeeded  by  a  perfect 
labyrinth  of  trees.  If  there  had  only  been  a  little  grass,  we 
should  have  set  to  work  to  construct  our  hut ;  for  the  dry 
heat,  blown  up  by  the  south  wind,  rendered  exertion  almost 
unbearable. 

A  second  time  we  found  ourselves  among  rocks ;  but 
they  were  so  enormous,  and  so  close  together,  that  it  was 
evident  we  were  in  the  vicinity  of  a  mountain. 

"  Hiou !  hiou !  Chanito,"  cried  the  Indian,  joyously; 
"  forward  !  forward  !  we  are  very  nearly  at  the  end  of  our 
troubles." 

The  boy  smiled  and  adopted  the  swift  pace  of  his  guide, 
while  Sumichrast  lengthened  his  strides  so  as  to  get  in  front 
of  me.  Following  my  companions,  we  soon  came  upon  a 
dry,  barren  spot  in  front  of  a  steep  ascent.  After  we  had 


A  rOt'-VCr   NATURALIST.  137 

all  taken  breath,  I  gave  it  as  ray  opinion  that  \ve  should 
overcome  our  fatigue  and  scale  the  side  of  the  mountain; 
but  no  one  showed  any  inclination  to  move. 

My  poor  Lucien  lay  panting  on  the  hard  stones,  with  his 
mouth  dry,  his  lips  bleeding,  and  his  face  purple  with  the 
heat;  he  had  thought  the  day's  work  was  over.  Neverthe- 
less, as  soon  as  he  saw  us  starting  again,  up  he  got  and  fol- 
lowed us  without  a  word  of  complaint.  I  wished  to  lighten 
Ms  burden ;  but  he  heroically  refused,  and  proportioned  his 
pace  to  that  of  FEncuerado.  Gringalet  was  continually  sit- 
ting down,  and  hanging  out  his  tongue  to  a  most  enormous 
length  ;  it  was,  doubtless,  his  way  of  testifying  that  he 
moved  an  amendment  against  the  length  of  the  journey. 

"  We  were  quite  wrong  in  finding  fault  with  the  shade," 
said  Sumichrast ;  "  for  in  this  unsheltered  spot  the  heat  is 
more  insupportable  than  under  the  trees.  The  sun  seems 
to  dart  into  us  as  if  its  rays  were  needles'  points." 

"  Don't  drink,  Chanito !  don't  drink  !"  cried  1'Encuerado 
to  Lucien. 

The  poor  little  fellow  replaced  the  gourd  at  his  side,  and 
bent  on  me  such  a  heart-rending  look  that  I  caught  him  up 
in  my  arms. 

"  Let  us  make  a  halt,"  said  my  friend,  who  was  sheltering 
himself  under  a  gigantic  rock ;  "  I  confess  that  I  am  dead- 
beat." 

It  was  a  great  relief  when  we  were  seated  down  and  de- 
prived of  our  burdens  ;  but,  instead  of  setting  to  work,  ac- 
cording to  our  usual  custom,  to  collect  wood  for  our  fire 
and  to  construct  our  hut,  we  remained  idle,  looking  at  the 
horizon,  without  exchanging  a  single  word.  At  our  feet 
extended,  as  far  as  we  could  see,  the  tree-tops  of  an  immense 
forest.  We  had  turned  our  backs  upon  the  volcano  of 
Orizava ;  on  our  right  the  black  summits  of  the  Cordillera 
stood  out  against  the  red  sky ;  the  urubu  vultures  were 


138  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

whirling  round  and  round  high  up  above  us — the  only 
living  creatures  we  had  set  eyes  on  since  the  evening  be- 
fore. 

It  was  now  four  o'clock ;  a  kind  of  hot  blast  beat  into 
our  faces,  producing  the  same  sensation  as  that  experienced 
in  front  of  a  furnace  when  the  door  is  suddenly  opened. 
The  south  wind  sprung  up  again,  and  squall  succeeded 
squall — the  forest  undulating  like  a  liquid  surface. 

I  in  vain  endeavored  to  overcome  the  state  of  nervous 
prostration  which  had  come  over  me ;  the  terrible  wind 
which  parched  and  burned  us  took  away  all  power  of  will. 
Our  eyes  were  inflamed,  our  lips  cracked,  and  our  heads 
heavy,  and  no  one  cared  about  eating ;  all  we  longed  for 
was  water,  and  we  were  obliged  to  watch  Lucien,  to  pre- 
vent him  emptying  his  gourd.  He  was  nibbling  a  morsel 
of  totopo,  which  he,  like  us,  could  hardly  swallow.  Shelter- 
ed behind  the  rock,  we  contemplated  with  dread  the  colos- 
sal trees  round  us,  which  swayed  and  bent,  sprinkling  the 
ground  with  their  scattered  boughs. 

The  sun  set,  pale  and  rayless,  as  if  drowned  in  the  ill- 
omened  yellow  clouds.  The  wind  kept  puffing  and  blowing 
at  intervals.  A  few  minutes'  lull  enabled  us  to  collect  a 
little  grass,  and  then,  seated  side  by  side,  we  watched  the 
approach  of  night,  dark,  desolate,  and  starless ;  but  the 
comparative  coolness  of  the  atmosphere  gave  some  little 
relief  to  our  exhausted  lungs.  Lucien  went  off  to  sleep ; 
Snmichrast  and  1'Encuerado  tried  to  follow  his  example; 
Gringalet  seemed  afraid  to  go  far  away,  and  crouched  down 
at  our  feet.  Ere  long,  I  was  the  only  one  of  the  party  who 
was  awake. 

What  an  awful  night !  About  nine  o'clock  the  squalls 
ran  riot  with  unexampled  violence ;  if  it  had  not  been  for 
our  shelter  behind  the  rock,  we  should  surely  have  been 
swent  awav.  From  the  forest  beneath  came  a  roar  like 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  13g 

that  of  waves  beating  against  a  cliff ;  branches  broke  off 
with  an  uproar  sounding  like  a  series  of  gun-shots,  and  the 
leaves,  driven  by  the  wind,  covered  us  with  their  debris. 
Every  now  and  then  an  inexplicable  and  increasing  hoarse 
rumbling  filled  my  mind  with  anxietv.  I  listened,  holding 
my  breath  with  fear;  the  rumbling  seemed  to  approach, 
as  if  bringing  with  it  new  and  unknown  perils.  Then  sud- 
denly, prevailing  over  the  tumult,  a  formidable  crash  made 
itself  heard,  followed  by  a  shock  prolonged  by  the  echoes ; 
it  wras  the  fall  of  some  forest  giant,  vanquished  by  the  hurri- 
cane. Sometimes  one  might  have  fancied  that  a  multitude 
of  men  were  fighting  together  in  the  darkness  that  no  eye 
could  pierce ;  there  were  plainly  to  be  recognized  the  wild 
cries  of  the  conflict  and  the  plaintive  moans  of  the  wound- 
ed ;  and  then,  again,  a  fresh  shock  shook  the  earth,  and 
deadened  the  outburst  of  the  mighty  lament. 

I  must  confess  that  at  this  moment  I  bitterly  regretted 
having  brought  Lucien ;  I  remembered  that  my  friends 
had  predicted  to  me  all  the  perils  which  now  threatened  us. 
While  listening  to  the  uproar  of  the  tempest,  I  felt  my  reso- 
lution give  way,  and  I  had  serious  thoughts  of  returning  to 
Orizava  the  next  day. 

Towards  midnight  the  storm  abated  a  little,  and,  giving 
way  to  fatigue,  I  fell  asleep. 

I  had  only  just  closed  my  eyes  when  I  suddenly  jumped 
up  again,  deafened  as  if  by  a  hundred  claps  of  thunder  join- 
ed in  one.  The  darkness  was  as  thick  as  ever,  and  the  wind 
was  still  more  boisterous  ;  the  echo  of  the  fallen  tree  had 
scarcely  died  away  before  another  colossus  groaned  and 
fell.  My  companions  were  now  all  awake. 

"  What's  the  matter,  M.  Sumichrast  ?"  asked  Lucien,  in  a 
low  tone. 

"  It  is  a  hurricane,  my  boy." 

"  One  might  fancy  that  a  giant  was  passing  through  the 


140  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

wood,  shouting  and  whistling,  and  breaking  down  all  the 
trees  as  he  went  along." 

"  I  wish  that  was  all,"  replied  Sumichrast ;  "  but  it's 
something  much  worse ;  it  is  the  south  wind,  the  sirocco  of 
the  Mexican  coast." 

"  Will  it  sweep  us  away,  M.  Sumichrast  ?" 
"  I  hope  not ;  thanks  to  the  rock  which  shields  us." 
A  tree  now  fell  close  to  us,  and  covered  us  with  dust. 
Clingling  lightly  to  one  another,  every  moment  brought 
with  it  a  fresh  anxiety.  We  dared  not  speak  of  our  feel- 
ings, for  fear  of  frightening  our  young  companion,  who 
pressed  close  up  to  me.  Amidst  the  universal  destruction 
going  on,  it  only  needed  a  branch  driven  by  the  squall  to 
dislodge  our  shelter,  for  us  to  be  swept  away  like  chaff  be- 
fore the  wind.  I  had  witnessed  many  a  hurricane,  but  this 
fearful  night  exceeded  all. 

At  last  daylight  appeared;  the  sun  rose  gloomily,  and 
exposed  the  disasters  of  the  terrible  night.  On  every  side 
trees,  broken  and  uprooted,  lay  prostrate  on  the  ground,  or, 
half  suspended  by  the  creepers  entangled  in  their  branches, 
were  balanced  like  the  formidable  battering-rams  of  the  an- 
cients. Lucien  was  speechless  at  the  sight  before  his  eyes. 
A  sudden  cracking  noise  was  heard,  and  another  forest  gi- 
ant slowly  bent  over,  and,  describing  a  rapid  curve,  crush- 
ed its  branches  against  the  ground  ;  ten  seconds  destroyed 
the  work  of  centuries. 

L'Encuerado  attempted  to  go  two  or  three  yards  beyond 
our  rock;  but,  surprised  by  a  sudden  gust,  he  had  but  just 
time  to  throw  himself  prostrate  on  the  ground  to  prevent 
being  swept  away.  Something,  however,  had  to  be  done  ; 
it  was  no  use  trying  to  light  a  fire,  and  yet,  after  yesterday's 
fast  and  a  sleepless  night,  we  felt  great  need  of  some  com- 
forting beverage.  The  squalls  gradually  abated,  but  were 
still  every  now  and  then  violent.  Intervals  of  profound  si- 


A  TOUXG  NATURALIST.  141 

lence  succeeded  to  the  uproar  of  the  storm,  when  the  leaves 
were  motionless ;  then  we  might  have  fancied  the  tempest 
was  over.  Bnt  suddenly  the  frightful  roar  again  com- 
menced, and  the  gale  covered  the  ground  with  fresh  frag- 
ments. 

"We  were  beginning  to  take  courage  a  little,  when  a  formi- 
dable crash  resounded  above  us ;  an  enormous  pine,  growing 
on  the  mountain  a  hundred  feet  over  our  heads,  tottered 
and  then  fell,  tumbling  down  the  slope  with  a  horrible  up- 
roar. Quick  as  lightning,  FEncuerado  seized  Lucien,  and 
lay  down  with  him  along  the  foot  of  the  rock;  I  and  my 
friend  immediately  followed  his  example.  The  fallen  giant 
came  crashing  down  in  rapid  bounds,  smashing  every  thing 
in  its  path,  and  accompanied  in  its  descent  by  masses  of 
broken  rock.  It  struck  against  the  block  that  sheltered 
us,  which  gave  forth  a  dufl  sound,  but  fortunately  resisted 
the  shock;  and  then  the  tree, clearing  the  obstacle  with  a 
prodigious  bound,  continued  its  impetuous  course  down  to 
the  foot  of  the  mountain.  We  were  nearly  crushed  by  a 
perfect  avalanche  of  stones  which  followed  in  its  wake. 

I  raised  myself,  not  without  emotion.  The  danger  had 
been  serious ;  indeed,  the  enormous  rock  to  which  we  owed 
our  safety  had  slightly  swerved.  If  this  accident  had  occur- 
red in  the  middle  of  the  night>  the  fright  would  have  driven 
us  out  of  our  place  of  shelter,  and  we  should  certainly  have 
been  destroyed.  I  first  returned  thanks  to  God,  and  then  to 
rEncuerado,  who,  being  close  to  Lucien,  had  shielded  the 
boy  with  his  own  body.  The  child,  who  fully  comprehend- 
ed the  danger,  hung  round  the  Indian's  neck. 

"  I  shall  tefl  mamma  that  you  saved  my  life !"  cried  he, 
kissing  FEncnerado. 

The  latter  would  have  replied,  but,  affected  by  the  ca- 
resses of  his  young  favorite,  he  could  only  press  him  in  his 
arms,  while  two  tears  trickled  down  his  dark  cheeks. 


142  THE  ADYE2fTUBES  OF 

"His  lordship,  the  wind,  is  very  good  to  take  so  much 
trouble  to  show  us  his  power,"  exclaimed  the  Indian,  ad- 
dressing the  wind,  in  order  to  hide  his  emotion ;  "  a  grand 
miracle,  indeed !  to  uproot  a  pine  that  was  going  to  die  of 
old  age,  and  to  roll  it  down  a  mountain-side  !  Why,  I 
could  do  the  same  if  I  chose,  with  the  help  of  my  machete. 
Oh  yes!  blow  away!  and  knock  down  another  tree  on  us, 
and  then  you'll  thoroughly  convince  us  that  the  devil  is  your 
patron !" 

In  spite  of  the  serious  nature  of  the  occurrence,  Grin- 
galet  was  the  only  one  among  us  who  could  hear  this 
speech  without  a  smile ;  and  even  the  dog  rubbed  up 
against  the  orator's  leg^,  as  if  to  show  his  approval  of  all 
he  had  said. 

The  hurricane  now  subsided ;  but  it  was  likely  enough  to 
redouble  its  intensity  at  night,  and  reason  dictated  that  we 
should  take  advantage  of  the  calm  for  moving  onward. 
L'Encuerado  resumed  his  load,  and  with  a  watchful  eye  led 
the  way  up  the  mountain.  I  took  Lucien  by  the  hand ;  for 
there  was  a  danger  that  some  tree  which  had  been  shaken 
by  the  storm  might  suddenly  fall  across  our  path. 

The  heat,  which  continued  to  inconvenience  us,  rendered 
walking  a  very  laborious  effort.  The  lips  of  our  young 
companion  were  all  cracked,  and  he  spoke  with  difficulty. 
We  suffered  dreadfully  from  thirst;  but  it  was  necessary 
to  bear  it  patiently,  and  to  be  very  saving  with  the  small 
stock  of  water  which  still  remained  in  our  gourds.  Soon 
we  came  upon  the  spot  Avhere,  an  hour  before,  the  tree  had 
stood,  the  fall  of  which  had  so  nearly  crushed  us.  A  wide- 
ly gaping  hole  exposed  to  our  view  the  broken  roots  of  the 
colossus,  and  the  earth  round  them  was  already  dry.  We 
pushed  on  with  much  difficulty,  exhausted,  out  of  breath, 
and  half  famished ;  for,  since  the  night  before,  we  had  eat- 
en nothing  but  some  morsels  of  maize-cake.  Moreover,  onr 


A  roeare  NATURALIST.  143 

eves  were  so  red  and  swollen  that  we  were  perfectly  disfig- 
ured. 

"Oh, father, I  am  so  tired !"  said  Lucien  to  me. 

**  So  we  all  are,  m  j  poor  boy ;  but  we  must  pluck  up  our 
spirits  again,  and  keep  on  walking,  for  our  fives  depend 
on  it." 

"Father,  I  am  so  thirsty!  and  the  water  left  in  my 
gourd  is  quite  warm." 

«It_wffl  be  better  for  you  not  to  drink;  for  a  "few 
draughts  of  water  taken  when  walking  increase  perspira- 
tion, and  make  the  thirst  worse,  instead  of  quenching  it." 

The  poor  little  feDow  heaved  a  sigh,  and  crept  closer  to 
my  friend,  who  advised  him  to  place  in  his  mouth  a  small 
pebble,  which  alleviates  thirst  by  exciting  salivation. 

In  spite  of  all  our  exertions,  we  made  little  or  no  ad- 
vance, and  a  profuse  perspiration  added  to  our  exhaustion. 
Fortunately,  every  thing  seemed  to  indicate  that  the  tem- 
pest was  over.  L'Encuerado  led  the  way;  his  manner  ap- 
peared as  if  searching  for  something.  At  length  I  saw 
him  throw  down  his  load  and  plunge  into  the  thicket. 
Soon  he  reappeared,  with  his  hands  full  of  a  kind  of  mul- 
berry, the  fruit  of  the  sarsapariHa,  the  acid  flavor  of  which 
much  revived  Lncien.  We  now  understood  rEncnerado's 
peculiar  way  of  walking.  He  fancied  he  had  noticed  a 
young  shoot  of  this  plant,  and  at  first  concealed  the  discov- 
ery from  us,  fearing  some  deception.  I  can  hardly  describe 
the  pleasure  that  was  afforded  us  by  obtaining  these  ber- 
ries in  such  a  welcome  time.  This  shrub,  with  its  vine-like 
and  thorny  stalk,  abounded  on  the  steep  slope. 

We  resumed  our  march  in  much  better  spirits,  thanb*  to 
this  God-send.  L'Encuerado  filled  his  cap  with  them,  and 
walked  on  bravely,  with  his  head  bare.  Another  half-hour's 
climbing  brought  us  to  the  verge  of  the  forest.  Suddenly 
I  lost  sight  of  Gringalet.  I  called  him  several  times,  and 


144 


THE  ADVESTUJtES  OF 


at  last  ho  emerged  from  a  clump  of  shrubs,  with  his  tail 
and  muzzle  wet.  Sumichi'ast  rushed  in  search  of  the  wa- 
ter, and  soon  cried  out  to  us  in  a  joyous  voice — 

"  A  spring !  a  spring !" 

We  all  tried  who  could  get  to  it  first.  Under  the  foliage 
of  sarsaparilla  our  companion  was  kneeling  down  and  catch- 
ing in  his  hands  a  little  streamlet  of  limpid  water,  which 
was  trickling  from  between  two  rocks.  With  keen  enjoy- 
ment, he  Avas  sprinkling  it  over  his  face  and  arms,  an  exam- 


ple each  of  us  soon  imitated.  At  last  I  hurried  our  party 
away,  for  the  horrible  roaring  of  the  hurricane  still  seemed 
to  din  in  my  ears,  and  as  yet  we  had  no  shelter  within  our 
reach.  After  having  filled  our  gourds,  we  recommenced 
our  climbing,  enlivened  by  1'Encuerado,  who  kept  on  con- 
gratulating Gringalet  upon  his  discovery,  and  promising 
him,  as  his  reward,  a  whole  series  of  good  dinners. 

The  hour  was  now  approaching  at  which  we  feared  *.hat 


'  Sumi<\hrast  halted  near  three  gigantic  stones." 


A  YOUXG  XATUSALIST.  147 

the  hurricane  would  recommence  with  redoubled  violence ; 
so  it  became  highly  necessary  to  select  a  spot  for  our 
bivouac.  Moss  and  lichens  here  covered  the  rocks  with  a 
variegated  carpet,  and,  in  proportion  as  we  ascended  the 
mountain,  the  cooler  air  relieved  our  lungs.  At  length  our 
ascent  came  to  an  end,  and  we  found  ourselves  on  a  plateau 
dotted  over  with  stunted  shrubs,  distorted  and  twisted  with 
the  winds  and  storms.  Fresh  summits  rose  in  front  of  us, 
but  they  were  too  far  off  to  cause  us  any  fear.  Sumichrast 
halted  near  three  gigantic  stones,  placed  so  as  to  leave  a 
space  between  them,  in  which  we  could  encamp,  as  if  in  a 
fortress. 

This  spot  we  selected  for  our  bivouac.  The  wind  still 
blew  in  squalls,  but  the  increased  clearing  of  the  atmosphere 
gave  us  reason  to  hope  that  we  should  have  nothing  more 
to  fear  from  the  hurricane.  We  all  went  in  search  of  fire- 
wood, and  ere  long  after  were  enlivened  by  the  gleam  of  an 
immense  fire. 

At  sunset,  the  glittering  beams  of  the  sun's  very  last  rays 
reached  our  camp.  The  sky  was  blue,  and  the  air  was 
fresh,  so  I  abandoned  the  idea  of  returning  home.  Xight 
came  on,  a  fine  rain  purified  the  air,  and  the  damp  earth 
breathed  forth  a  wholesome  fragrance.  Overcome  by  fa- 
tigue, we  wrapped  ourselves  up  in  our  8arapesy  and  soon 
fell  into  a  sound  sleep. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE     RABBIT. WILD     POTATOES. A    DIFFICULT    PATH. — AN 

EXTINCT     CRATER. HOAR  -  FROST. THE     TORRENT. THE 

FAWN. THE   TETTIGOKES. THE    DRAGON-FLIES.      ' 

riXHE  next  day,  when  I  opened  my  eyes,  the  sun  was 
-•-  shining  brightly  in  a  blue  sky.  I  made  up  the  fire, 
and  walked  off,  with  my  gun  on  my  shoulder,  to  try  and  ob- 
tain some  kind  of  game,  so  as  to  surprise  my  companions 
when  they  got  up.  For  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  I 
traversed  tracts  of  heath  which  reminded  me  of  my  native 
country,  when  a  too  confiding  rabbit  came  frisking  along 
within  gunshot,  which  I  knocked  over  and  placed  in  my 
game-bag. 

On  my  return  all  wei-e  up,  standing  round  the  fire,  and 


THE  ADTESTCJOSS  OP  A  FOOTS  SATUMAUST.     149 

they  hailed  me  as  a  conqueror.  The  terrible  trials  of  the 
day  before  seemed  to  be  entirety  forgotten;  even  Laden 
had  recoTered  aU  bis  lirefine^  L"Encuerado  took  die  rab- 
bit, and  in  an  incredible  short  space  of  time  had  it  skinned, 
and  placed  to  brofl  on  die  burning  coals. 

«  Wefl !  what  do  you  think  of  hurricanes  V  asked  Sumi- 
chrast  of  Lueien,  who  was  watching  him  cleaning  his  gun. 

"They  are  most  awful!  I  should  never  hare  thought 
dial  the  wind,  which  is  invisible,  could  have  blown  down 
and  broken  up  trees  as  big  as  that  one  which  almost  f  tfl 
upon  us." 

"  Were  yon  much  frightened?" 

"Rather;  and  so  were  you,  for  you  were  quite  pale.** 

"  The  danger  was  much  greater  than  you  imagined.  If 
the  uprooted  tree  had  pitched  on  our  rock,  it  would  have 
upset  h,  and  crushed  us  beneath.'* 

"Then  the  wind  must  be  much  stronger  in  forests  than 
in  towns?" 

"No;  for  die  hurricane  of  yesterday  probably  destroyed 
entire  villages.  It  was  one  of  those  tropical  storms  which 
happfly  only  break  out  at  long  intervals.  Many  an  Indian 
is  at  this  moment  rebuilding  his  destroyed  hut" 

Lueien  looked  very  thoughtful,  and  went  and  sat  down  at 
die  foot  of  a  tree.  When  I  passed  near  him,  I  saw  he  had 
tears  in  his  eyes. 

«  What's  the  matter?"  I  asked. 

« I  was  thinking  of  mamma  «nd  my  brothers.  ILSumi- 
chrast  told  me  that  die  tempest  must  have  demolished 
whole  villages;  00  perhaps  our  home  has  met  with  some 


"Don't  be  frightened,  my  dear  boy!  Thank  God !  stone 
walls  can  generally  stand  against  wind.  Besides,  diis  hur- 
ricane can  hardly  have  been  felt  at  Orbava.  At  afl  events, 
your  mamma  has  more  reason  to  be  anxious  about  u*,for 


15Q  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

she  knows  that  we  are  far  from  shelter — exposed  to  all  its 
violence." 

I  kissed  poor  Lucien,  and  comforted  him  as  well  as  I 
could,  assisted  by  1'Encuerado,  who  soon  afterwards  took 
him  off  to  look  after  our  roast  rabbit. 

The  tochtli,  or  Mexican  rabbit,  is  different  from  the 
European  species,  although  it  has  the  same  colored  coat  and 
instincts.  In  fact  it  is  a  hare. 

"  Do  you  know  the  family  of  the  animal  we  are  going  to 
have  for  breakfast  ?"  asked  Sumichrast. 

"  Yes ;  it  is  a  Rodent." 

"  Well  done ;  but  how  did  you  recognize  it  to  be  so  ?" 

"  By  the  absence  of  canine  teeth  in  its  jaws,  its  large  in- 
cisors, and  its  hind  legs  being  longer  than  its  fore  legs." 

"  Come,  your  memory  is  good.  You  should  also  know 
that,  in  Europe,  the  rabbit,  which  is  nearly  allied  to  the  hare, 
is  thought  to  be  a  native  of  Africa.  Formerly,  the  Aztecs 
used  to  sacrifice  hundreds  of  these  animals  to  the  goddess 
Centeutl,  who  is  the  Ceres  of  Mexican  mythology  ;  and  the 
nobles  used  to  wear  cloaks  made  of  the  hair  of  the  hare, 
mixed  with  cotton.  With  regard  to  the  larger  hare,  known 
farther  north  as  the  Jackass  rabbit,  the  Indians  generally 
refuse  to  eat  its  flesh,  under  the  pretense  that  it  feeds  on 
dead  bodies,  a  mistake  which  as  yet  they  have  not  been  per- 
suaded to  abandon." 

We  did  justice  to  our  game  like  guests  who  have  to 
make  up  for  a  forced  fast.  The  meal  finished,  without  fur- 
ther delay  our  little  coterie  moved  on  again.  Instead  of  the 
abundant  and  bushy  thickets  of  sarsaparilla,  we  met  with 
nothing  but  stunted  shrubs.  However,  as  we  approached 
the  mountain  the  vegetation  assumed  a  richer  aspect,  and 
the  bare  rocks  no  longer  protruded  through  the  soil.  Here 
and  there,  tanagers,  with  black  backs,  yellow  breasts,  and 
violet-blue  throats,  fluttered  around  us ;  also  other  variega- 


"A  labyrinth  of  rocks  brought  us  out  in  front  of  a  stony  rampart,  mort 
than  a  hundred  feet  in  height." 


A  YOUXG  XATURAL1ST.  153 

ted  birds  of  the  Passerine  family.  We  were  just  about  to 
begin  climbing  the  slope,  when  1'Encuerado,  whose  piercing 
eyes  seemed  to  see  every  thing,  exclaimed : 

"  There  are  some  potatoes  !" 

Lucien  ran  towards  the  Indian,  who,  with  his  machete, 
had  already  cleared  away  the  earth  round  a  small  plant  with 
oval -shaped  leaves,  covered  with  soft  greenish  berries. 
Some  wrinkled  tubercles  were  ere  long  discovered,  which 
we  could  easily  crush  between  our  fingers.  This  is  the  or- 
igin of  the  valuable  plant  for  which  Europe  is  indebted  to 
America, 

After  climbing  some  time,  we  came  upon  a  mass  of  rocks 
all  heaped  up  in  a  perfect  chaos.  Some  obstacle  or  other 
incessantly  obliged  us  either  to  jump  over  or  make  a  circuit 
so  as  to  get  forward.  The  temperature,  however,  was  re- 
freshing, and  rendered  our  exertions  less  fatiguing. 

The  chances  of  our  journey  brought  us  out  once  more 
upon  the  plateau.  All  the  mountain  crests  we  could  see 
were  barren,  and  a  profound  silence  reigned  on  every  side. 
We  stopped  to  take  breath,  and  the  sight  that  met  our  eyes 
impressed  us  with  its  stern  grandeur.  It  reminded  Sn- 
michrast  of  the  Swiss  mountains  which  he  had  so  often  trav- 
ersed ;  and  some  flowers  he  gathered  further  recalled  his 
home.  While  thus  occupied,  two  butterflies  fluttered  over 
our  heads. 

"  It  is  an  Alpine  species  !"  eagerly  cried  my  friend. 

The  locality  prevented  him  from  following  these  capri- 
cious insects  for  any  distance :  for  one  moment  he  leaned 
over  the  abyss,  bristling  up  with  rocks,  and  followed,  with  a 
longing  eye,  the  two  winged  flowers  which  had  recalled  to 
him  a  fleeting  image  of  his  fatherland. 

A  labyrinth  of  rocks  brought  us  out  in  front  of  a  stonv 
rampart  more  than  a  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  almost 
perpendicular.  This  unexpected  obstacle  brought  us  to  a 


154  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

halt.  Jiow  should  we  make  our  way  over  it?  Upon  ex- 
amining the  spot,  we  decided  to  incline  towards  the  left, 
which  seemed  to  us  the  most  accessible  road.  In  parts  the 
wall  diminished  in  height,  but  we  tried  in  vain  to  climb  it. 
A  more  successful  attempt,  however,  brought  us  nearly  to 
the  top,  but  not  without  great  fatigue,  for  sometimes  the 
rock  appeared  to  hang  over  us.  At  length,  by  climbing  on 
to  Sumichrast's  shoulders,  I  managed  to  reach  the  flat  sur- 
face above.  I  hoisted  up  Lucien  here  with  the  lasso ;  next  I 
drew  up  Gringalet,  who  was  only  too  pleased  to  submit  to 
the  operation,  and  lastly  Sumichrast  and  1'Encuerado.  The 
terrible  obstacle  was  at  last  overcome ;  beyond  it  the 
ground  was,  comparatively  speaking,  level,  but  covered  with 
stones  of  a  volcanic  nature. 

We  still  kept  on  our  way,  although  it  was  four  o'clock,  in 
the  hope  of  finding  some  tree  at  the  foot  of  which  we  could 
make  our  bivouac.  L'Encuerado  put  down  his  load  to 
climb  up  a  needle-shaped  rock,  the  extraordinary  position  of 
which  reminded  us  of  the  celebrated  leaning  tower  of  Pisa. 
When  he  had  reached  its  top,  the  Indian  called  out  to  us 
that  he  could  see  a  clump  of  trees.  The  cold  began  to  in- 
convenience us  and  we  wanted  wood  to  make  our  fire,  so, 
plucking  up  fresh  courage,  we  continued  our  journey.  The 
distance  now  traversed  was  inconsiderable;  but  the  ups 
and  downs  and  circuits  had  quite  wearied  us.  Gradually 
the  rocks  decreased  in  size,  and  were  more  widely  spread ; 
a  plain  slightly  depressed  in  the  centre,  dotted  here  and 
there  with  thinly  growing  thickets,  was  reached.  In  the 
background  there  was  a  clump  of  firs  and  a  glittering  lake, 
quite  a  liquid  oasis  hidden  in  a  desert. 

It  now  became  highly  necessary  for  us  to  seek  shelter, 
•  for  our  teeth  were  chattering  with  the  cold.    L'Encuerado, 
having  climbed  a  tree,  cut  down  the  wood  that  was  neces- 
sary for  the  construction  of  a  hut ;  while  Lucien  broke  all 


"Sunset  surprised  us  ere  we  hud  finished  our  labor." 


A  FOOTS  XATCSALIST. 

the  dry  brandies  off,  a  task  in  which  I  helped  him.  Sunset 
surprised  us  ere  we  had  finished  our  labor.  The  waters  of 
the  lake  assumed  a  dark  hoe,  and  the  mountain  peaks  to- 
wards the  setting  sun  furrowed  the  sky  with  their  strange- 
ly irregular  outlines,  and  the  breeze  resounding  through  the 
pine-trees  produced  a  solemn  and  grave  chant,  a  peculiarity 
which  has  doubtless  given  to  this  species  of  tree  the  name 
of  fimu  rdiffionu.  As  the  rays  of  the  sum  died  away 
and  the  dark  shadows  covered  the  sky,  the  silence  became 

~«ni    «  — ..  f ..—  —  .1  g»      J  J  „   ,1,  i     •!          1,     -  :f    ^n          -m 

soil  more  proiouna.  ouooeniy  tne  last  rays  ox  toe  lumi- 
nary vanished;  the  gathering  darkness  imbued  us  with  an 
which  those  only  can  understand  who,  like  us,  had 
face  to  face  with  some  of  the  grandest 
from  the  Creator's  hands, 

Lucien,  too,  was  subject  to  the  influence  of  the  twofold 
majesty  of  darkness  and  solitude;  he  was  speechless,  and 
looked  by  turns  both  at  the  earth  and  the  sky.  The  stare 
appeared  glittering  in  the  blue  heaven,  and  were  reflected 
on  the  motionless  surface  of  the  neighboring  water.  Sud- 
denly a  luminous  ray  seemed  to  dance  over  the  lake,  and 
then  to  divide  into  a  shower  of  sparks.  It  was  the.  reflec- 
tion of  our  fire,  to  which  FEncuerado  had  just  set  a  fight. 

The  piercing  cold  was  excessively  trying:  our  tarapct 
did  not  seem  sufficient  to  protect  us  from  its  influence. 
Fortunately  we  had  obtained  fuel  enough  to  keep  up  the 
bivouac  fire  all  night.  Our  meal,  although  without  meat, 
was  a  cheerful  one.  Each  in  turn  retired  to  his  pine-leaf 
couch  ;  and  soon  I  alone  remained  up,  not  feeling  an  incli- 
nation for  slumber. 

What  a  contrast  it  was!  The  night  before,  at  this  time, 
we  were  deafened  by  the  uproarious  wind,  and  the  forests 
echoed  with  hs  fearful  effects;  while  we,  perfectly  helpless, 
sheltered  behind  a  trembling  stone,  could  scarcely  breathe 
the  burning  air.  Twenty-four  hours  had  hardly  elapsed, 


158 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF 


and  a  few  miles  had  brought  us  on  to  a  granite  soil  where 
we  felt  even  unpleasantly  cold ;  it  was  no  longer  the  up- 
roar, but  the  silence,  which  awoke  in  my  mind  the  rever- 
ies of  loneliness. 

We  rose  before  dawn,  perfectly  benumbed  and  hardly  able 
to  move  our  lips.  L'Encuerado  stirred  up  the  fire  so  as  to 
get  the  coffee  ready.  The  first  ray  of  light  showed  the 
ground  covered  with  a  white  shroud  of  bright  hoar-frost. 
Lucien  had  never  seen  this  phenomenon  before,  and  was 
never  tired  of  admiring  it.  Sumichrast  explained  to  him 
that  the  drops  of  dew,  which  every  morning  may  be  seen 
glittering  on  the  grass  in  hot  countries,  freeze  in  situations 
of  great  altitude,  and  produce  those  beautiful  transparent 
globules  which,  owing  to  the  refraction  of  light,  assume  so 
beauteous  an  appearance. 

The  rays  of  the  sun  warmed  us  but  little,  so  I  hastened 
our  preparations  for  departure.  After  skirting  the  edge  of 
the  lake,  we  once  more  found  ourselves  among  rocks.  The 
summit  which  we  had  traversed  was  doubtless  the  crater 
of  some  extinct  volcano.  I  took  a  farewell  look  at  the  gi- 
gantic semicircle,  edged  with  mountain  crests,  ere  com- 
mencing a  journey  quite  as  difficult  as  that  of  the  day  be- 
fore, through  the  immense  stones  which  had  been  vomited 
forth  by  the  burning  mountain.  More  than  once  we  got 
into  a  cul-de-sac,  and  we  sat  down  utterly  discouraged. 

For  the  last  time  I  examined  the  horizon.  "We  were  now 
standing  on  the  highest  summit  of  the  Cordillera;  opposite 
us,  as  far  as  we  could  see,  rose  verdure-clad  peaks,  which 
gradually  diminished  in  height.  We  were  again  about  to 
meet  with  tropical  vegetation,  and  should  ere  long  reach 
the  plains  and  forests  of  the  Terre-Chaude.  The  way 
seemed  direct  and  easy ;  but  how  many  obstacles  must  be 
overcome,  how  many  valleys  must  be  crossed,  ere  we  could 
reach  our  destination ! 


A  YOU2FG  XATUSAL1ST.  159 

We  descended  the  slope  by  a  giant  staircase,  each  step  of 
which  must  have  been  at  least  seven  or  eight  feet  in  height. 
More  than  once  the  lasso  was  called  into  use;  but  all  ob- 
stacles were  at  last  safely  overcome.  I  can  not  describe  the 
joy  I  felt  upon  once  more  seeing  pine-trees.  We  sought  in 
vain  for  any  traces  of  the  hurricane ;  this  side  of  the  mount- 
ain had  evidently  not  been  visited  by  it. 

The  slope  was  now  more  gradual ;  our  pace  became  fast- 
er, and  a  few  oaks  were  in  sight*  A  rumbling  noise  made 
us  stop  and  listen  attentively,  but  1'Encuerado,  who  was 
more  expert  than  we  were  in  making  out  distant  sounds, 
told  us  that  it  was  a  torrent.  Squirrels  gambolled  on  the 
branches  as  we  passed  by,  and  toucans  seemed  to  tempt  us 
to  stop ;  but  we  were  all  anxious  to  reach  the  waterfall. 
Ere  long,  oaks  and  birches,  and  afterwards  guava-trees,  sur- 
rounded us  on  every  side.  The  ground  was  now  level,  and  in 
less  than  half  an  hour  PEncuerado  conducted  us  to  the  edge 
of  an  immense  ravine,  at  the  bottom  of  which  there  was  a 
roaring  torrent. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  steep  bank  became  less  abrupt, 
and  we  established  our  bivouac.  While  we  were  cutting 
down  some  branches,  Sumichrast  put  his  finger  to  his  lips 
and  seized  his  gun.  A  slight  noise  was  heard  in  the  thick- 
ets, and  our  companion  disappeared.  We  were  listening, 
holding  our  breath,  when  we  heard  the  screech  as  of  an  owl ; 
we  knew  it  was  a  call,  so  FEncuerado  also  glided  away 
through  the  bushes. 

"  Why  did  3L  Sumichrast  call  FEncuerado  ?"  asked  Lu- 
cien,  in  a  low  voice. 

"  Probably  because  he  has  discovered  the  trail  of  some 
animal/* 

I  had  scarcely  finished  speaking,  when  a  movement  in  the 
leaves  attracted  my  attention.  A  fine  fox,  with  an  eager 
look,  and  its  tail  lowered,  rushed  past  me.  I  fired,  but 


160  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

without  effect,  for  it  bolted  off  among  the  trees,  followed  by 
Gringalet.  Almost  at  the  same  moment,  a  report  told  me 
that  1'Encuerado  had  also  seen  game. 

Lucien  was  very  sorry  that  I  had  missed  the  fox ;  I  only 
regi-etted  having  lost  a  charge  of  powder,  and  also  having 
awkwardly  put  to  flight  the  quarry  which  was  pi'obably 
being  pursued  by  my  companions.  I  then  continued  my 
work  of  cutting  off  the  branches,  and  told  Lucien  to  strike 
the  flint  and  light  the  fire.  Thanks  to  1'Encuerado's  les- 
sons, he  managed  his  work  much  better  than  I  had  ex- 
pected. 

We  heard  Sumichrast  give  a  call,  to  which  Lucien  an- 
swered, and  the  disappointed  hunter  joined  us. 

"  What  did  you  fire  at  ?"  he  inquired  of  me. 

"  At  a  fox,  which  I  missed  ;  were  you  chasing  it  ?" 

"  No ;  I  caught  sight  of  a  doe  and  its  fawn,  but  I  could 
not  get  near  them." 

"  And  where  is  1'Encuerado  ?" 

"  He  wanted  to  shoot  some  bird,  so  as  not  to  come  back 
quite  empty-handed." 

"  Chanito  !  Hiou  !  Hiou  !  Chanito  !"  we  heard  shouted 
in  the  distance. 

"  Hallo  !  hallo  !"  answered  the  boy. 

And,  soon  after,  1'Encuerado  returned,  carrying  a  fawn  on 
his  shoulders. 

"  Oh  !  what  a  pretty  little  creature  !"  cried  Lucien ; 
"  why  didn't  you  take  it  alive  ?" 

"  Bullets  are  the  only  things  that  can  run  as  fast  as  these 
animals,  Chanito." 

"  What  became  of  the  mother  ?"  asked  Sumichrast. 

"  I  was  not  able  to  get  near  her ;  but  at  all  events,  we 
have  more  than  enough  meat  now,  both  for  to-day  and  to- 
morrow." 

Lucien  took  possession  of  the  fawn.    He  had  always  long- 


A  TOU\G  XATTRAUST.  161 

ed  to  possess  one  of  these  animals  alive.  He  duly  ex- 
amined the  slender  legs  and  tapering  muzzle  of  the  poor 
creature,  whose  fawn-colored  back,  dotted  over  with  sym- 
metrically arranged  spots,  would  change  in  color  as  it  got 
older. 

"  Well,  Master  '  Sunbeam,'  in  what  class  will  you  place 
this  mammal  ?"  asked  Sumichrast,  addressing  Lucien. 

u  It  is  not  like  any  of  those  I  know." 

"Well,  then,  you  never  can  have  seen  goats,  cows,  or 
sheep.  It  is  a  ruminant,  or  an  animal  which  has  three  or 
four  stomachs.  Its  lower  jaw  is  provided  with  eight  inci- 
sors, while  the  upper  jaw  has  nothing  but  a  cushion  or 
gum." 

"  That's  right  enough,"  said  Lucien,  opening  the  fawn's 
mouth. 

"  In  all  ruminants,  the  food,  when  swallowed,  passes  into 
the  first  stomach ;  it  is  then  brought  up  to  be  chewed 
again ;  this  is  called  *  chewing  the  cud.'  You  must  often 
have  seen  a  cow  or  a  sheep  sitting  quiet  in  the  sun  and 
constantly  chewing." 

«  Yes,"  replied  Lucien,  «  and  1'Encuerado  always  told  me 
that  they  had  eaten  some  bitter  herb." 

"  His  explanation  is  about  as  correct  as  that  given  by  the 
Mexicans,  who  say  that  an  animal  which  chews  the  cud  is 
reading1  the  newspaper.  Another  characteristic  of  these 
animals  is,  that  their  feet  are  cloven." 

**  And  they  have  horns !"  cried  Lucien. 

"  Not  all  of  them ;  for  instance,  the  camel,  llama,  and 
musk-deer,  are  exceptions." 

It  remained  for  us  to  decide  how  our  fawn  should  be 
cooked.  After  a  discussion  on  the  subject,  we  left  the 
point  entirely  to  1'Encuerado,  and  I  made  my  way  down 
to  the  bottom  of  the  ravine.  Upon  lifting  up  some  stones 
and  pieces  of  bark,  I  discovered  several  species  of  the  Ca- 


162  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

Tabus  family.  Lucien  caught  on  a  shrub  some  insects  of  a 
very  peculiar  shape ;  at  the  first  glance,  Sumichrast  recog- 
nized them  as  tettigones. 

"  These  insects  belong  to  the  Hemeptera  family,"  said  he, 
"  therefore  they  are  allied  to  the  bug  and  the  grasshopper ; 
these  insects  have  neither  mandibles*  nor  jaws ;  their 
mouth  is  a  sort  of  beak,  formed  of  a  jointed  tube  extend- 
ing along  the  breast,  which  you  can  see  very  plainly.  This 
order  is  a  very  numerous  one,  and  the  two  species  you  have 
just  found  are  peculiar  to  Mexico." 

"  Here  is  one  like  a  fowl,  and  another  like  a  canoe." 

"You  are  quite  right,  and  you  will  meet  with  others 
which  are  still  more  singular  looking." 

The  appearance  of  these  little  creatures  pleased  Lucien 
very  much,  and,  as  he  was  letting  them  run  about  on  his 
hand,  he  saw  them  jump  off  and  disappear.  He  was  just 
going  to  return  to  the  shrub  on  which  he  had  caught  them, 
when  his  attention  was  attracted  by  an  immense  dragon-fly, 
commonly  called  in  Mexico  the  deviPs  horse,  and  in  France 
demoiselle.  The  beautiful  insect,  after  flying  round  and 
round,  settled  on  a  plant,  and  was  immediately  caught  in 
the  young  hunter's  net.  The  prisoner  had  greenish  eyes,  a 
yellow  body,  and  its  wings  were  dotted  over  with  black  and 
scarlet.  It  doubled  back  its  tapering  body,  as  if  to  try  and 
sting  the  hand  which  held  it,  and  shook  its  gauzy  wings 
with  a  kind  of  metallic  sound.  A  half-eaten  mosquito  hung 
out  of  its  mouth,  and,  although  the  dragon-fly  was  sadly 
bruised,  it  continued  its  meal,  much  to  the  amusement  of 
Lucien,  who  hardly  expected  to  find  such  tiger-like  habits 
in  an  insect  so  elegant  in  form  and  so  harmless  in  appear- 
ance. 

"  It  is  of  the  order  Neuroptera"  I  said  to  him ;  "  thus 

*  A  very  hard  substance  placed  immediately  under  the  upper  lip,  which 
insects  use  for  cutting  and  tearing  their  food. 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  J63 

called  because  of  the  veins  on  its  four  wings.  This  insect 
first  lives  in  the  water  in  the  form  of  a  larva,  in  which  state 
it  remains  a  year — it  is  very  much  like  the  insect  you  are 
holding,  only,  all  that  can  be  seen  of  its  wings  are  small 
swellings,  which  grow  longer  each  time  the  animal  changes 
its  skin.  This  swelling  is  a  sort  of  sheath  to  the  beautiful 
gauzy  wings  which  distinguish  all  the  Neuroptera,  and  the 
dragon-fly  in  particular." 

"  What !  does  the  dragon-fly  begin  its  life  by  living  in 
water  like  a  fish?" 

"  Yes,  and  they  are  quite  as  voracious  in  that  state  as 
when  they  are  perfect  insects.  The  larva  changes  to  a 
grub,  and  greedily  devours  water-lizards  and  young  fish; 
after  a  certain  time,  which  varies  according  to  the  species, 
it  rises  to  the  top  of  the  water  by  crawling  up  a  reed,  and 
remains  perfectly  motionless,  exposed  to  the  rays  of  the 
sun  ;  suddenly,  the  skin  covering  the  head  bursts  open,  and 
the  dragon-fly,  spotted  with  black,  blue,  and  green,  takes 
flight,  and  loses  no  time  in  darting  upon  the  first  insect 
which  comes  within  its  reach." 

My  lecture  was  interrupted  by  the  cry  of  "  Hallo ! 
hallo !"  from  PEncuerado.  It  was  his  substitute  for  a 
dinner-bell. 


CHAPTER  XL 

A    BLUE    LIZARD. THE    GUAVA-TREE. A    CATARACT. NEST 

OF     YELLOW    SERPENTS. A    VEGETABLE     HELMET. THE 

KINGFISHER. HUNTING    WATER-FLEAS. THE    TADPOLE. 

A    COLLECTION    OF   WATER-BUGS. 

THE  rice-soup,  our  every-day  fare,  was,  on  this  occasion, 
followed  by  fawn  cutlets  broiled  on  the  embers,  ac- 
companied by  potatoes.  This  precious  tubercle,  in  its  sav- 
age state,  only  reminded  us  very  slightly  of  its  cultivated 
progeny.  The  pulp,  instead  of  being  floury,  is  soft,  trans- 
parent, and  almost  tasteless.  That,  however,  did  not  pre- 
vent us  from  eating  them,  and  doing  justice  to  our  veni- 
son. 

While  we  were  smoking  a  cigar,  which  was  called  by  Su- 


THE  AD\~EXTrRES  OF  A  7OUXG  NATURALIST.        ]C5 

michrast,  according  to  circumstances,  the  calumet  of  re- 
pose, of  council,  or  of  digestion,  Lucien  returned  to  the 
shrub  on  which  he  had  previously  found  the  insects.  He 
collected  a  great  number  of  these,  and  also  discovered  a 
third  species,  which  was  shaped  like  a  triangle,  with  two 
horns  at  its  base.  He  ran  to  show  us  these  miniature  bulls. 
Afterwards,  armed  with  a  long  branch  by  way  of  a  lever, 
he  tried  to  raise  up  a  decayed  root  covered  with  moss.  He 
succeeded  to  do  it,  after  some  trouble,  and  saw,  cowering 
do\vn  among  the  roots,  a  beautiful  lizard ;  it  had  a  green- 
ish back,  and  its  mouth  and  the  sides  of  its  body  were 
bright  blue ;  it  was  a  variety  which  we  had  never  before 
observed.  The  little  animal,  doubtless  dazzled  by  the  light, 
allowed  itself  to  be  caught,  and  then  suddenly  bending  doym 
its  head,  bit  the  boy's  finger,  who  at  once  dropped  it.  L'En- 
cuerado  soon  caught  the  runaway. 

"  Didn't  you  know  that  lizards  were  harmless  ?"  asked 
Sumichrast  of  Lucien. 

"  That  is  why  they  bite,  I  suppose,"  replied  the  boy, 
shaking  his  head. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  naturalist, "  but  you  needn't  b°  afraid ; 

its  bite  is  not  venomous. 

* 

"  '  This  brute  is  surely  not  disposed  to  strife, 
But  you  attack  it,  it'll  defend  its  life.' " 

Night  came  on.  A  multitude  of  insects  whirled  round 
and  round  our  fire,  burning  their  wings  as  if  they  enjoyed 
it.  Lucien  wanted  to  know  what  attracted  so  many  of 
these  poor  creatures  to  the  flame.  As  he  inquired,  two 
or  three  great  beetles  suddenly  appeared  with  loud  buzz- 
ing, and  at  once  precipitated  themselves  into  the  burning 
coals. 

"  See  what  comes  of  giddiness,"  said  Sumichrast.  "  If 
since  we  set  out  we  had  walked  blindly  on  without  looking 


166  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

where  we  went,  long  ere  this  we  should  have  found  our- 
selves at  the  bottom  of  some  ravine." 

"  But  these  butterflies  and  beetles  throw  themselves  into 
the  fire  on  purpose,"  said  1'Eucuerado,  with  the  inflexible 
logic  of  facts. 

"  They  are  not  aware  that  the  flame  will  burn,"  I  re- 
plied. 

"  That's  true,"  murmured  the  Indian,  in  a  tone  of  com- 
passion. 

Fatigue  compelled  us  to  give  up  our  relaxation,  and  we 
soon  went  to  sleep  in  a  warm  atmosphere,  which  seemed  all 
the  more  pleasant  when  we  remembered  our  sufferings  of 
the  night  before. 

Our  slumbers  were  interrupted  toward  morning  by  the 
frequent  cries  of  a  flight  of  passerines,  called  "  alarum- 
birds"  (despertadores)  by  the  Mexicans.  It  was  hardly 
light,  and,  in  spite  of  1'Encuerado's  predictions,  it  had  not 
rained.  The  light  of  our  fire,  when  we  stirred  it,  soon 
drove  away  our  winged  friends ;  but,  thanks  to  their  wak- 
ing us,  the  first  rays  of  the  sun  found  us  all  ready  to  set 
out.  Just  as  we  were  going  to  start,  an  unforeseen  difficulty 
arose — how  to  cross  the  ravine  and  ford  the  river  ?  L'En- 
cuerado  said  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  up-stream ;  I, 
also,  agreed  with  him.  Sumichrast,  on  the  contrary,  was  of 
opinion  that  there  was  much  more  chance  of  the  banks  be- 
coming less  steep  if  we  went  in  the  opposite  direction ;  he 
carried  the  day,  and  led  the  way,  cutting  a  passage  through 
the  shrubs  with  his  machete. 

As  we  were  determined  to  skirt  the  edge  of  the  water, 
we  could  not  get  along  without  great  difficulty.  The  noise 
of  the  torrent,  which  seemed  to  grow  louder,  attracted  us 
towards  the  forest,  where  the  absence  of  grass  and  under- 
wood enabled  us  to  get  on  faster.  The  trees  grew  farther 
and  farther  apart,  and  we  again  came  upon  brush-wood,  ere 


A  YOUNG  A-ATUSAUST.  167 

long  coining  oat  on  to  a  plain,  dotted  here  and  there  with 
guava-trees.  These  trees  furnished  us  with  a  quantity  of 
green  fruit,  of  which  we  were  all  very  fond.  L'Encuerado 
availed  himself  of  this  unexpected  harvest  by  filling  up  all 
the  gaps  hi  his  basket  with  them.  The  wild  gnava,  a  sort 
of  myrtle,  which  grows  naturally  in  the  Terre- Temper ee, 
reaches  to  a  height  of  several  feet.  Its  fruit,  which  seldom 
gets  ripe  before  it  is  eaten  by  the  birds  or  larva?,  is  luscious, 
highly  scented,  and  full  of  pips;  they  have  the  reputation  of 
being  antifebrile  and  astringent.  When  the  shrub  is  culti- 
vated, its  appearance  changes  considerably;  its  branches 
grow  longer,  and  are  covered  with  leaves  which  are  silvery 
on  the  back,  and  the  fruit  they  yield  are  as  large  as  lemons, 
which  they  resemble  hi  shape  and  color. 

We  afl  put  on  our  travelling  gear  again  ;  but  when  FEn- 
cuerado  wanted  to  place  the  basket  on  his  back,  he  found 
he  could  not  possibly  lift  it  up.  I  helped  him,  trying  all 
the  time  to  persuade  him  to  throw  away  half  his  stock ; 
but  he  resolutely  refused  to  follow  my  advice.  When  he 
began  to  walk,  he  staggered  like  a  drunken  man,  and  at  last 
fell  down  beneath  his  burden,  and  all  the  guavas  rolled  out 
on  to  the  ground. 

Our  laughter  rather  hurt  the  brave  Indian's  feelings. 

u  By  Jose-Maria  I"  he  cried,  holding  up  his  hands  towards 
heaven, "  I  am  getting  old.  Oh,  what  a  disgrace,  not  to  be 
able  to  carry  a  handful  of  guavas !  In  my  youth  it  would 
have  taken  three  such  loads  as  those  to  have  made  me  fall 
down  on  my  knees  like  a  broken-down  horse.  Poor  old  fel- 
low!" 

L'Encuerado  was  certainly  exaggerating  his  former 
strength ;  but,  at  any  rate,  it  cut  him  to  the  heart  to  have  to 
throw  away  so  much  of  the  fruit  he  had  gathered,  and  our 
insisting  upon  his  doing  so  quite  crowned  his  vexation. 
With  a  view  of  consoling  him,  I  reminded  him  that  the 


168  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

guavas  would  spoil  in  twenty-four  hours,  und  that  his  basket 
held  more  than  we  could  possibly,  consume. 

Sumichrast  was  walking  about  twenty  steps  in  front  of 
us,  when  suddenly  he  stopped  and  drew  back.  When  I  got 
abreast  of  him,  my  eyes  met  an  immense  ravine,  at  the  bot- 
tom of  which  the  torrent  was  rushing  with  a  loud  noise. 
The  water  was  first  calm  and  sluggish,  accumulating  in  a 
large  basin,  then  it  suddenly  burst  forth  against  an  immense 
rock  and  disappeared,  roaring  and  foaming  in  two  columns, 
which,  after  uniting,  broke  into  a  thousand  little  cascades. 
We  all  wished  to  visit  the  bottom  of  this  ravine,  in  order  to 
enjoy  this  wondrous  sight  in  all  its  grandeur. 

Before  making  our  way  into  the  brush- wood  we  put 
down  our  insect-cases  and  game-bags,  for  the  enterprise  re- 
quired our  unimpeded  agility.  As  long  as  we  could  cling 
on  to  the  plants  and  shrubs,  the  descent  was  mere  child's 
play ;  but  we  soon  found  ourselves  treading  on  a  reddish 
ferruginous  soil,  which  some  great  laud-slip  had  exposed. 
Sumichrast  was  the  first  to  venture  on  this  dangerous 
ground,  which  gave  way  under  him  at  his  third  stride. 
Our  companion  rolled  over  the  declivity,  instinctively 
grasping  the  first  branches  he  could  reach ;  but  he  let  go 
directly,  uttering  a  piercing  cry.  Fortunately  a  shrub  kept 
him  from  falling  into  the  gulf.  I  planted  my  feet  as  deep- 
ly as  I  could  in  the  crumbling  soil,  so  as  to  be  able  to  help 
my  friend,  who,  with  his  face  contracted  with  pain,  raised 
towards  me  his  right  hand,  which  was  already  red,  swollen, 
and  covered  with  blisters.  The  branch  he  had  caught  hold 
of  in  his  fall  belonged  to  a  gigantic  nettle,  called  by  the 
Indians  Mala-mitjer,  or  "  bad-woman."  This  plant  only 
grows  on  damp  banks — "  a  piece  of  malice,"  said  1'Encuera- 
do,  "  adopted  in  order  to  play  shameful  tricks  'on  unsus- 
pecting travellers ;  towards  whom  it  treacherously  stretches 
out  its  green  stalks  and  velvety  leaves  as  if  offering  them 
.•tssistance." 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  171 

We  felt  quite  grieved  at  Sumichrast's  suffering ;  for  we 
well  knew  by  experience  the  intolerable  pain  which  is  pro- 
dnced  by  the  sting  of  this  herb.  L'Encuerado  took  Lucien 
in  charge,  while  I  gave  my  assistance  to  the  injured  man. 
For  some  distance  we  moved  along  without  much  difficul- 
ty, but  very  soon  a  whole  forest  of  nettles  stood  up  in 
front  of  us.  Lucien  and  Sumichrast  sat  down,  while  the 
Indian  and  I,  by  means  of  our  machetes,  opened  out  a  nar- 
row path ;  at  last  we  reached  again  the  timber  land,  so  we 
had  now  almost  got  out  of  our  difficulties. 

The  stalks  of  the  nettles,  cut  off  a  few  inches  above 
the  ground,  served  to  give  firmness  to  our  footing.  But 
FEncuerado,  always  too  confident,  tripped  up,  and  his  right 
cheek  was  brushed  by  some  of  their  leaves ;  it  only  needed 
this  to  render  him  perfectly  unrecognizable-  Although  I 
pitied  him,  I  could  not  help  smiling  at  the  grimaces  pro- 
duced on  his  sun-burnt  visage  by  the  painful  stings.  Even 
Sumichrast,  when  looking  at  him,  forgot  his  own  suffer- 
ings. 

Under  a  cypress,  we  observed  five  or  six  snakes,  each 
about  a  yard  and  a  half  long.  One,  more  courageous  than 
the  others,  remained  under  the  trees  and  steadily  surveyed 
our  party.  Gringalet,  furious  in  the  extreme,  barked  and 
jumped  all  round  the  reptile,  which,  raising  its  head  from 
the  centre  of  the  coil  formed  by  its  body,  shot  out  its 
tongue.  Its  skin  was  of  a  golden  yellow,  dotted  with  green 
spots,  and  streaked  by  two  almost  imperceptible  black 
lines.  L'Encuerado  called  in  the  dog ;  the  snake  then  coil- 
ed itself  up,  slowly  turning  its  head  in  every  direction,  as  if 
to  select  the  best  direction  for  retreat.  Suddenly  it  unroll- 
ed its  whole  length,  exposing  to  our  view  an  unfortunate 
sparrow,  which  was  still  breathing.  Leaving  it  unmolest- 
ed, after  a  few  minutes'  delay  it  seized  its  victim  by  the 
head,  by  degrees  the  little  feathered  innocent  disappeared. 


172  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

and  the  snake  remained  motionless  as  though  exhausted  by 
the  exertion. 

"  Is  it  a  rattle-snake  ?"  asked  Lucien  astonished. 

"  No ;  it  is  a  common  snake — that  is,  a  reptile  which  is 
not  venomous.  This  one  is  called  by  the  Indians  the  Yel- 
low-snake, and,  from  ignorance,  they  are  in  very  great 
dread  of  them.  It  is  in  the  habit  of  climbing  trees  with 
great  activity,  and  hunts  birds.  The  statues  of  the  Aztec 
god  of  war,  the  terrible  Huitzilipochtli,  to  whom  thousands 
of  men  were  offered  as  living  sacrifices,  had  their  foreheads 
bound  with  a  golden  snake,  and  we  have  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  reptile  which  we  have  just  seen  is  that  which 
the  Indians  thus  honored." 

A  little  farther  on,  Lucien  fancied  that  he  saw,  stretched 
out  upon  the  grass,  a  long  white  snake.  Gringalet,  much 
bolder  than  usual,  seized  the  reptile  in  his  mouth  and 
brought  it  to  us.  But  it  was  nothing  but  a  serpent's  skin : 
I  then  told  the  child  that  all  reptiles  of  this  kind  change 
their  skin  twice  a  year,  and  they  get  out  of  it  as  if  from  a 
sheath. 

We  continued  our  descent,  and  1'Encuerado,  who  had 
taken  the  lead,  suddenly  turned  back  to  us  with  his  head 
covered  with  an  immense  vegetable  helmet.  I  at  once  re- 
cognized it  to  be  the  flower  of  a  plant  I  had  met  with  in 
the  neighboring  mountains.  Nothing  could  be  more  splen- 
did than  this  blossom,  which,  before  it  is  full-blown,  looks 
like  a  duck  sitting  on  the  water.  In  a  single  morning  the 
enormous  corolla  opens  out  and  changes  into  a  form  resem- 
bling a  helmet  surmounted  by  a  crest ;  the  interior  of  it, 
lined  with  yellow  velvet,  almost  dazzles  the  eyes.  The  seed 
of  this  creeper,  the  Indian  name  of  which  I  forget,  is  flat, 
and  of  a  heart-like  shape,  having  depicted  on  one  of  its 
faces  a  Maltese  cross. 

Even  Sumichrast  for  a  moment  forgot  his  injuries  while 


The  Cataract. 


A  TOCSQ  XATTRALMT.  1^5 

examining  this  wonderful  flower,  and  Lucien,  finding  a  sec- 
ond, very  soon  covered  his  head  with  it;  but  the  poisonous 
and  penetrating  odor  exhaled  from  the  corolla  made  him 
feel  sick,  so  he  soon  relinquished  this  novel  head-dress. 

A  few  more  steps  brought  us  to  the  bottom  of  the  ra- 
vine, and  Snmichrast  and  PEncnerado  set  to  work  to  bathe 
their  stings  in  the  cool  water;  while  I  and  Lucien  sat 
down  together  on  a  rock,  washed  on  one  side  by  the  stream, 
and  leisurely  contemplated  the  beautiful  scene  before  us. 

In  front  of  us  was  situated  an  immense  mountain,  deft 
open  as  if  by  the  hand  of  some  giant,  the  sides  of  which 
were  clad  with  a  carpet  of  verdure  of  a  .thousand  different 
shades.  At  die  bottom,  as  if  for  the  purpose  of  stopping 
up  the  immense  fissure,  there  was  an  enormous  accumula- 
tion of  gray  and  dark-tinted  rocks,  between  which  appear- 
ed, every  here  and  there,  the  foliage  of  some  tree,  enamelled 
with  flowers.  From  the  midst  of  the  mountain,  as  if  from 
some  invisible  cavern,  sprung  out  a  large  sheet  of  transpa- 
rent water,  which,  although  calm  and  almost  motionless  in 
ce,  descended  in  one  fall  to  a  rock  which  projected 


in  the  cataract,  fike  the  prow  of  a  ship.  As  if  rendered  fu- 
rious by  the  shock,  and  seeming  to  revel  in  the  uproar,  the 
water,  converted  into  foam,  bounded  over  the  obstacle,  and 
fell  in  two  columns,  separated  by  the  black  point  of  crag; 
then,  springing  with  impetuous  speed,  from  step  to  step, 
down  a  gigantic  staircase,  it  entered  a  receptacle  hollowed 
out  fike  a  sheD,  which  received  the  foaming  water,  from 
whence  it  flowed  gently  into  a  basin  edged  with  verdure. 
The  torrent,  quieted  for  a  time,  resumed  its  course,  and 
striking  against  impediments,  rolled  on  from  fall  to  fall,  and 
from  valley  to  valley,  until  it  reached  the  plains,  more  than 
three  thousand  feet  beneath. 

This  cascade  recalled  to  my  memory  one  I  had  seen 
about  a  year  before,  when  exploring  die  environs  of  Tuxtla, 


176  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

ill  the  Terre-Chaude — viz.,  the  Fall  of  Ingenio — one  which 
would  be  reckoned  among  the  most  celebrated  in  the 
world,  if  access  to  it  was  not  rendered  almost  impossible 
by  the  wilderness. 

The  sufferings  of  our  two  companions  were  so  much  al- 
leviated by  the  application  of  water  that  they  soon  came 
and  sat  beside  us.  I  can  not  describe  the  proud  enjoyment 
we  ah1  felt  in  this  wild  spot.  We  were  face  to  face  with 
this  unknown  cascade,  which  we  were,  perhaps,  the  first 
Europeans  to  contemplate.  Behind  us  the  mountain  sides 
seemed  to  unite  and  hem  in  the  bed  of  the  torrent.  The 
sun  bathed  with  its  rays  that  portion  which  was  bordered 
with  large  trees,  among  which  kingfishers  were  skimming 
about.  One  of  these  birds  came  and  perched  close  to  us — 
its  breast  was  white,  its  wings  black  on  the  upper  side,  and 
its  head-feathers  dark  green ;  its  stout,  thick-set  shape,  and 
its  short  tail,  made  Lucien  remark  that  it  looked  like  a  mal- 
formed creature.  Always  restless,  it  almost  immediately 
resumed  its  abrupt  flight  over  the  surface  of  the  water,  and 
disappeared  among  the  windings  of  the  ravine. 

Lucien  pointed  out  to  me  an  immense  willow,  the 
branches  of  which,  drooping  over  the  water,  seemed  to 
have  at  their  ends  enormous  gourd-shaped  fruits.  I  recog- 
nized in  them  the  nests  of  those  beautiful  yellow  birds, 
spotted  with  black,  which  the  Mexicans  call  calandres.  To 
convince  Lucien  of  his  mistake,  PEncuerado  threw  a  large 
stone  into  the  tree ;  the  missile  fell  from  branch  to  branch, 
and  more  than  a  hundred  frightened  birds  flew  out  from 
their  curious  retreats.  At  first  they  appeared  much  alarm- 
ed ;  but  when  this  had  subsided,  they  skimmed  over  the 
water,  or  entered  their  impregnable  habitations. 

"We  made  our  way  down  the  ravine  in  hopes  of  finding  a 
resting-place  less  rugged,  and  after  a  long,  winding,  tedious 
course,  came  upon  a  sheet  of  calm  water,  flowing  over  a 


Fali  of  Ingenio  \from  a  drawing  by  the  MarqaU  of  Kadepoini 
8* 


A  TOOTS  J>ATC£ALJ£T.  179 

bed  of  sand.  The  son  was  shining  fufl  upon  its  transparent 
surface,  and,  dose  to  the  edge,  hundreds  of  flies  were  whirl- 
ing about. 

«  Those  are  cokopteraV  said  Sumichrast  to  Laden. 
-   a  Whj  do  they  turn  round  and  round  like  that?9*  inquired 
he. 

"  To  find  their  food,  for  they  are  carnivorous,  and  require 
a  great  deal  of  nourishment.  In  France  they  are  common- 
ly called  tourniquets,  or  water-fleas." 

Lucien  wanted  to  catch  one,  but  could  not  succeed ;  FEn- 
cnerado  and  Sumichrast  joined  in  the  pursuit.  At  first  I 
[  myself  with  watching  die  useless  efforts  of  ray  com- 
i;  but  at  last,  thinking  myself  dererer  than  they,  I 
squatted  down  also.  There  we  all  four  were,  with  our 
hands  in  the  water,  perfectly  motionless,  and  holding  our 
breath,  the  better  to  remain  motionless.  The  insects  were 
all  in  a  dose  mass,  and  whirling  round  like  a  Jiving  mosaic, 
moving  in  every  direction  without  separating ;  but  however 
quickly  we  raised  our  hands,  we  all  failed  in  our  efforts. 

An  hour  was  spent  in  this  way,  and  even  then  we  should 
not  have  given  up  the  chase  if  the  SUB  had  not  ceased  to 
shine  on  the  bank,  and  the  insects  had  therefore  moved  be- 
yond our  reach,  so  as  to  be  within  its  influence.  Lucien, 
vexed  at  their  going  away,  and  rEncuerado,  furious  at  hav- 
ing been  conquered  by  the  agile  creatures,  commenced 
throwing  stones  at  them  with  the  hope  of  wounding  one. 
Even  in  this  they  did  not  succeed,  so  rEncuerado  satisfied 
himself  by  calling  them  fools,  a  name  which,  in  his  opinion, 
constituted  a  gross  insult. 

About  twenty  tadpoles,  swimming  in  a  puddle  of  water, 
were  taken  by  Lucien  for  fish. 

"They  are  frogs,"  I  said  to  him. 

"  Where  are  their  feet>  then?" 

-  Under  the  brown  skin,  which  makes  them  look  like  fish : 


180  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

when  the  time  of  their  metamorphosis  arrives,  this  skin  will 
split  all  down  their  back,  and  a  little  frog  will  come  out  of 
it.  Look  at  this  tadpole  I  have  just  caught;  you  can  see 
the  feet  through  its  transparent  skin.  To-day  it  is  a  fish, 
that  is  to  say,  it  bi'eathes  through  gills — those  little  tufts 
you  see  on  each  side  of  its  head — and  perhaps  to-morrow  it 
will  undergo  that  metamorphosis  which  will  cause  it  to 
breathe  through  its  mouth.  The  Toltecs,  the  great  nation 
which  preceded  the  Aztecs  in  Mexico,  counted  the  frog 
among  their  gods." 

When  putting  the  tadpole  back  into  the  pool,  I  noticed 
some  whitish  insects,  which  were  incessantly  rising  in  jerks 
to  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  diving  down  again  direct- 
ly. Lucien,  astonished  at  their  movements,  cried  out — 

"  But,  papa,  they  are  walking  on  their  backs  !" 

"  You  are  quite  right ;  they  are  hydrocorises,  allied  to 
the  tettigones,  and  consequently  hemipterce." 

The  young  naturalist  was  more  successful  than  in  his 
gyrin-hunting,  and  succeeded  in  catching  two  or  three  of 
these  water-bugs. 

"  What  is  the  use  of  their  wings  ?"  he  inquired. 

"  Why,  to  fly  with,  and  to  move  from  place  to  place." 

"  Then  water-bugs  are  really  able  to  fly,  swim,  and  walk  ?" 

"  Yes ;  and  I'm  sure  they  can  see  in  the  dark,  too,"  said 
1'Encuerado,  who,  it  may  be  remembered,  envied  animals 
this  privilege. 

"We  are  certainly  justified  in  thinking  so,"  I  answer- 
ed, smiling,  "  for  they  nearly  always  choose  the  night  for 
travelling.  Take  care  they  don't  bite  you,  for  the  water- 
bug  bites  as  hard  as  its  kinsmen  of  the  woods  and  houses." 

A  little  farther  on,  Lucien  stopped  in  front  of  an  herba- 
ceous plant,  covered  from  top  to  bottom  with  round,  flat 
black  insects,  speckled  with  red,  and  almost  resembling  mo- 
saic-work. He  was  very  proud  of  his  beautiful  discovery, 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  181 

and  took  hold  of  two  or  three  of  the  insects ;  bat  feeling 
their  soft  bodies  give  way  in  his  fingers,  he  threw  them 
down  with  disgust. 

u  Oh  !  what  are  these  horrid  creatures  ?" 

"  They  are  wood-bugs,"  replied  Sumichrast;  "  only  they 
are  in  the  state  of  farece,  and  have  no  wings." 

"  What  has  caused  this  nasty  smell  on  my  fingers  ?" 

**  When  any  one  touches  these  insects,  a  very  strong-smell- 
ing yellowish  liquid  always  exudes  from  them." 

Lucien  ran  off  to  wash  his  hands.  He  rubbed  them  over 
and  over  again,  but  could  not  quite  get  rid  of  the  smell, 
which  seemed  to  annoy  him  very  much.  I  concluded  from 
this  that  in  future  he  would  not  have  many  wood-bugs  in 
his  collection. 

After  a  long  ramble  at  the  bottom  of  the  ravine,  we  had 
to  return  to  our  starting-point,  which  was  the  only  side  by 
which  we  could  obtain  an  exit.  We  found  the  cataract  per- 
fectly bathed  in  light.  The  large  upper  sheet  of  water 
looked  like  a  block  of  azure-stone,  while  the  spray  beneath 
glittered  as  if  covered  with  diamonds.  Above  our  heads  a 
rainbow  spanned  the  stream  from  bank  to  bank. 

I  at  last  succeeded  in  tearing  my  companions  away  from 
this  wondrous  scene.  We  had  met  with  no  game,  but  a 
great  part  of  our  fawn  was  yet  remaining  in  the  basket. 
Sumichrast  was  still  in  pain,  and  FEncuerado's  face  contin- 
ued much  inflamed.  We  now  had  to  ascend,  and  we  each 
adopted  the  greatest  precaution  while  passing  the  spot 
where  we  had  seen  the  serpents.  I  don't  know  how  we 
should  ever  have  got  up  if  FEncuerado  had  not  thought  of 
cutting  some  branches  of  dwarf  elder  for  walking-sticks. 
Above  every  thing,  I  wished  to  keep  Lucien  from  the  suf- 
fering caused  by  coining  in  contact  with  the  Jtfala-mitjer, 
as  the  Mexicans  call  it,  and  it  was  with  a  sigh  of  relief  that 
I  saw  him  safe  and  sound  out  of  this  cul-de-sac. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A    RELATION    OF    GRINGALET. OUR   FOUR-FOOTED  GUIDE. 

A    REVIEW  OF  OUR  PARTY. THE  ALLIGATOR-TORTOISE. 

THE     PHEASANTS. THE    MAGNOLIA. THE    NUTMEG-TREE. 

THE    BLUE-PLANT. THE    CATERPILLAR. 

A  S  the  sun  was  setting,  our  wisest  course  was  to  go  back 
•£*•  to  our  bivouac  of  the  evening  before,  and  to  postpone 
until  the  next  day  the  discovery  of  the  passage  we  had 
sought  in  vain.  Upon  the  whole,  the  sight  of  the  cataract 
had  amply  repaid  us  for  our  useless  walk. 

Our  little  party,  therefore,  once  more  plunged  into  the 
forest,  rather  at  random,  though  taking  care  not  to  go  too 
far  from  the  stream.  Two  or  three  times  we  seemed  to 
have  reached  the  spot  where  we  left  the  bank  ;  but  Ave  soon 


THE  ADTESTU&SS  OF  A  TOUSG  yATURALIST.        133 

got  into  the  most  inextricable  thickets.  As  the  time  wore 
on,  I  began  to  think  we  had  passed  the  place  ;  and,  as  is 
often  the  ease  in  similar  circumstances,  opinions  were  di- 
vided. Afox,whieh 

I  fired, and  the: 

id  exactly  Eke 
Bya 
crow  just  above 

"There:  the  crow  is  thanking  us  for  having  rid 
his  enemy,  die  fox,"  said  Sumkhrast  to  Laden. 

The  boy  laughed  heartily  at  this  joke.    In  spite  of  our 
advice,  rEncnerado  would  insist  upon  skinning  the 
whose  pelt  he  wished  to  preserve.    Fortnnatdy,  he 
very  quick  at  such  an  operation,  and  the  beautiful  fur 
soon  hanging  over  his  arm,  ready  to.be  stretched 
Mi  basket  to  *ry. 

"I  hope,"  said  Somkhrast  to  Laden, a  that  yon  have  al- 
ready recognized  the  fox's  relationship." 

u  Oh  yes!  in  hs  color  and  shape  it  is  Eke  the  cayotteJ1 

«  You  are  quite  right,  but  die  coyotte  and  the  fox  are 
oothGringalet's  cousins." 

« I  can  scarcely  befieve  that,  for  Gringalet 
is  spotted  with  black  and  white,  has 

"Those  are  only 


Gringalet  belongs  to  the  carnivorous  type, 


"Yes,  certainly;  that  is  to  say,  he  walks  on  his  toes,  and 
not  on  the  sole  of  his  feet,  exactly  fike  the  fox,  whose  teeth, 
ako,  are  perfectly  similar  to  those  of  Gringalet.  The  prin- 
cipal difference  between  diem  is,  that  the  fox  has  eyes 
which  are  formed  so  as  to  enable  h  to  see  in  the  dark,  a 
quafity  which  Gringalet  does  not  posses*  in  the  same  de- 
gree." 


184  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

"  Are  there  such  things  as  wild  dogs  ?" 

"  Yes,  although  the  point  has  been  much  disputed.  But 
the  dog,  the  faithful  companion  of  man,  has  been  so  long 
domesticated,  that  little  similarity  of  appearance  exists  be- 
tween them.  However,  the  cayotte,  the  fox,  and  the  wolf 
may  be  called  wild  dogs." 

We  had  once  more  got  into  the  midst  of  a  thicket  with- 
out discovering  the  least  trace  of  our  resting-place.  It  be- 
came important  that  we  should  soon  find  our  starting-point. 
I  noticed  that  Gringalet,  instead  of  gambolling  round  us  as 
he  generally  did,  remained  behind,  pricking  up  his  ears,  and 
appearing  excessively  knowing. 

"  What  do  you  think,  shall  we  take  Gringalet  for  our 
guide  ?"  said  I. 

As  soon  as  the  animal  heard  his  name  mentioned,  he 
rushed  towards  me,  and  I  patted  him. 

"  Come,  tell  your  dog  to  lead  us  to  the  bivouac,"  I  said 
to  Lucien. 

"  To  the  bivouac !  to  the  bivouac  !"  cried  the  boy,  pat- 
ting the  animal. 

Gringalet  really  seemed  to  understand,  for  he  sniffed  up 
the  air,  and  at  once  went  to  the  front.  I  soon  discovered 
that  he  was  taking  us  back  by  a  very  circuitous  path. 

"  To  the  bivouac  !  to  the  bivouac  !" 

Gradually  the  noise  of  the  torrent  became  more  distinct, 
and  our  guide  plunged  into  the  brush-wood.  While  we 
were  cutting  down  the  branches  that  stopped  up  our  path, 
Gringalet  waited  with  his  ears  pricked  up  and  one  foot  up- 
lifted. At  last  we  caught  sight  of  the  hut,  which  was 
greeted  with  such  pleasure  and  relief  as  only  known  by  fa- 
tigued travellers. 

It  was  not  without  emotion  that  I  again  beheld  this  spot, 
to  which  I  had,  as  I  thought,  said  good-bye  forever.  The 
scarcely  extinguished  embers,  and  the  shelter  which  we  had 


A  YOUXG  XATU&ALIST.  185 

raised,  had  quite  a  home-like  appearance.  Sumichrast  said 
he  felt  the  same  impression,  and  Lncien  declared  that  his 
first  idea  had  been  that  we  should  find  an  Indian  in  the  hat. 

Bat  what  about  Gringalet?  Had  he  then  really  under- 
stood us?  Those  who  have  made  a  trial  of  canine  intelli- 
gence win  not  doubt  the  fact  for  a  moment.  The  word 
bivouac ,  having  been  so  often  pronounced  since  we  set  out, 
must  have  struck  both  the  mind  and  the  ears  of  the  animal, 
so  as  to  have  become  almost  synonymous  in  his  ideas  with 
dinner  and  rest. 

The  next  day  at  sunrise  we  set  out,  gently  ascending  the 
course  of  the  stream.  Sumichrast's  hand  was  still  in  pain, 
and  quite  prevented  him  using  his  gun.  L'Encuerado, 
though  disfigured,  had,  at  least,  the  free  use  of  his  limbs. 
The  inexperienced  traveller  is  incessantly  exposed  to  misfor- 
tunes of  this  kind.  Turned  out  into  the  midst  of  various 
unknown  natural  objects,  he  carelessly  plucks  a  leaf,  breaks 
down  a  branch,  or  gathers  a  flower ;  and  in  many  cases  his 
punishment  is  prompt  and  terrible,  and  the  innocent  diver- 
sion of  a  second  has  to  be  expiated  by  hours  of  anguish. 
In  the  wild  life  of  the  wilderness,  dangers  become  so  multi- 
plied, that  more  courage  than  is  generally  supposed  is  re- 
quired to  face  them.  Every  explorer  of  unknown  scenes 
must  make  up  his  mind  to  endure  hardships.  More  than 
one  whom  I  have  seen  start  full  of  confidence,  at  the  end  of 
three  days  have  returned,  wearied,  bruised,  fll,  discouraged, 
and,  in  fact,  conquered.  By  degrees,  of  course,  experience 
comes  to  the  help  of  those  whose  moral  courage  is  strong 
enough  to  induce  them  to  persevere.  They  soon  learn  to 
recognize  at  a  glance  the  tree  that  it  is  best  to  avoid,  the 
grass  that  must  not  be  trodden  on,  the  creeper  the  touch  of 
which  is  to  be  shunned,  and  the  fruit  which  should  not  be 
tasted.  At  last  the  requirements  of  the  body  are  to  some 
extent  mastered,  and  it  follows  the  dictation  of  the  soul 


]  86  THE.  AD  VENTURES   OF 

without  complaint.  The  long  -  experienced  traveller  can 
scarcely  fail  to  be  astonished  at  the  delicate  susceptibility 
of  his  casing  of  flesh,  which  is  bruised  by  blows,  torn  by 
thorns,  devoured  by  insects,  and  yet,  day  after  day,  the  per- 
severing man  continues  to  face  death  under  its  most  horri- 
ble aspects — poison  from  venom  of  serpents,  giddiness  from 
sun-stroke,  blindness  from  the  power  of  the  moon,  want  of 
sleep,  hunger,  and  thirst. 

I  had  just  taken  a  review  of  our  situation  when  .these 
reflections  were  suggested  to  me.  Halting,  I  permitted  my 
comrades  to  pass  me ;  their  appearance,  after  so  many  days' 
travel,  I  give.  First,  there  was  Sumichrast,  tall  and  broad- 
shouldered,  his  features  displaying  both  mildness  and 
energy ;  one  arm  in  a  sling,  his  clothes  torn  to  shreds,  and 
his  face  furrowed  by  five  or  six  deep  scratches ;  leaning  on 
a  stick  carried  in  his  left  hand,  he  seemed  a  little  bent ;  but 
his  vigorous  form  still  told  of  abundant  endurance  and  de- 
termination. Behind  him,  his  gun  slung  to  his  cross-belt, 
came  Lucien,  slightly  stooping,  although  his  step  was  firm 
and  determined ;  his  face  was  seamed  with  scratches,  his 
hands  bruised  and  brown  from  exposure.  As  he  passed  in 
front  of  me,  he  smiled  and  gave  a  joyous  hurrah,  and  lifted 
his  cap,  beneath  which  his  hair  flowed  down  in  golden  curls. 
Gringalet,  now  reconciled  to  the  squirrels'  skins,  walked 
close  by  his  master ;  truly  he  looked  like  standing  more 
work.  Lastly,  PEncuerado,  his  arms  and  legs  bare,  and 
laden  with  guavas,  brought  up  the  rear.  The  brave  Indian 
tried  to  raise  his  straw-hat  as  he  passed  by  me,  his  bony 
visage  expanded,  and  his  smile  showed  a  row  of  white  teeth 
which  were  worthy  of  competing  with  Gringalet's.  Well 
satisfied  with  my  inspection,  I  shouldered  my  gun,  and  re- 
sumed the  head  of  the  column. 

The  cliffs  of  the  ravine  became  gradually  more  wooded, 
and  the  descent  was  effected  without  accident.  I  kept 


A  YOUSG  yATL'£ALJST. 


187 


along  the  bank  looking  out  for  a  ford.  At  last  a  bend  of 
the  stream,  where  the  water  flowed  calmly  and  silently,  en- 
abled us  to  do  so  without  difficulty.  I  then  proposed  a  halt 
Close  by  us  rose  some  enormous  rocks  covered  with  moss, 
which,  in  flood-time,  must  have  been  reached  by  the  water ; 
in  front  of  us  was  a  gentle  slope  covered  with  turf. 

We  were  descending  the  slope  when  an  object,  indistinct 
at  first,  emerged  from  the  edge  of  the  wood,  and,  appearing 
to  roll  more  than  run  over  the  grass,  advanced  toward  us. 
It  was  an  enormous  tortoise ;  but  a  tortoise  which  might 
successfully  have  raced  with  the  hare.  L'Encuerado  tried 
to  stop  it,  but  fell  in  his  effort.  Sumichrast,  quite  forgetting 
his  bad  hand,  dealt  the  animal  a  blow  with  the  butt-end  of 
his  gun,  the  effect  of  which  was  slightly  to  slacken  the  pace 
of  the  enemy.  The  Indian,  furious  at  his  failure,  threw 
down  his  load,  and  came  running  up.  Our  united  efforts 
succeeded,  about  twenty  feet  from  the  stream,  in  throwing 
the  animal  on  its  back. 

Lucien,  rather  startled  at  this  scene,  and  at  the  size  of  the 
tortoise,  then  came  nearer  to  examine  it.  I  kept  him  at 
some  distance  from  the  reptile,  who  was  viciously  agitating 
its  enormous  feet,  armed  with  formidable  claws ;  while  its 
mouth,  which  was  like  a  horny  beak,  opened  and  shut  men- 
acingly. 

"  It  is  a  galapago?  said  PEncuerado ;"  it  is  of  no  use 
for  food." 

This  creature,  which  is  called  by  the  savants  the  alliga- 
tor-tortoise, measured  more  than  a  yard  from  its  head  to 
its  tail.  The  latter  appendage  was  almost  as  long  as  the 
body,  and  was  covered  with  a  triple  row  of  scaly  crests 
fitting  into  each  other.  The  gray,  wrinkled,  and  almost 
scaly  skin  of  the  reptile  formed  rolls  round  its  neck  of  a 
disgusting  appearance — one  might  almost  fancy  them  un- 
healthy excrescences.  The  horrible  beast  turned  towards 


188  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

us  its  gaping  mouth  with  a  vicious  manner.  The  turtle- 
fishers  much  dread  the  galapagos,  which,  being  more  agile 
than  the  ordinary  tortoise,  give  them  sometimes  frightful 
wounds,  either  with  their  sharp,  claws  or  their  horny  jaws. 
Their  flesh  is  declared  to  be  unwholesome. 

Just  as  we  were  leaving,  1'Encuerado  wanted  to  cut  off 
the  reptile's  head.  Sumichrast  opposed  this  useless  slaugh- 
ter, and  was  inclined  to  replace  the  tortoise  on  its  feet. .  But 
the  Indian  refused  to  assist  in  this  good  work,  for  he  assert- 
ed that  it  was  equivalent  to  leaving  a  rattlesnake  alive. 
Two  or  three  times  the  animal  was  very  nearly  repaying 
our  kindness  by  a  bite;  for,  as  soon  as  we  came  near,  it 
managed  to  twist  round  on  its  upper  shell.  We  were 
about  to  abandon  it  to  its  fate,  when  suddenly,  the  slope  of 
the  ground  helping  us,  we  managed  to  set  it  on  its  feet;  as 
soon  as  it  was  turned  over,  it  rushed  at  Lucien.  The  enor- 
mous rolls  round  its  neck,  being  all  distended,  made  it'  carry 
its  head  very  forward,  so,  with  a  single  blow  of  his  cutlass, 
1'Encuerado  decapitated  the  assailant.  We  were  then  wit- 
nesses to  a  strange  sight,  for  while  Gringalet  was  furiously 
attacking  the  motionless  head,  the  feet,  continuing  to  move, 
bore  along  the  body,  which  in  a  moment  disappeared  in  the 
lake.  Although  we  had  often  before  seen  tortoises  survive 
for  a  considerable  time  wounds  which  were  certainly  mor- 
tal, the  strength  of  the  nervous  system  which  was  exhibit- 
ed in  this  reptile  almost  staggered  us. 

"  Now,  my  brave  friend,  try  and  swim  without  your  head, 
and  take  care  not  to  break  your  skull  against  the  rocks !" 
cried  the  exasperated  Indian.  "  The  father  saves  your  life, 
and  then  you  want  to  hurt  his  child  !  You  hardly  saw  me, 
or  you'd  have  known  that  I  am  pretty  well  able  to  bite. 
Good-bye  !  and  take  good  care  of  yourself  !" 

We  may  readily  see  that  the  Indian  was  any  thing  but  a 
generous  enemy ;  but  the  fact  was,  the  galapagos  were  old 


NATURALIST.  18g 

enemies,  for  one  had  nearly  bitten  off  his  hand  while  he  was 
bathing.  The  turf-carpeted  bank  soon  led  us  into  the  thick 
forest  again.  We  had  been  walking  for  more  than  an  hour 
through  a  perfect  labyrinth  of  gigantic  trees,  and  over  a 
bare  and  yet  rich  soil — for  it  is  only  in  the  glades  that  the 
ground  is  covered  with  grass — when  FEncuerado  heard  the 
call  of  a  small  species  of  pheasant  peculiar  to  this  country. 

"  Bend  towards  the  left  to  get  near  the  game,"  said  Su- 
michrast, in  a  low  voice  ;  "  and,  whatever  you  do,  don't  shake 
the  foliage." 

"We're  all  right  now,''  muttered  FEncuerado;  "listen ! 
m  predict  that  we  shall  have  a  good  dinner  to-day." 

The  Indian  hud  down  his  load,  which  Sumichrast  and 
Lncien  took  charge  of.  while  I  followed  the  former  behind 
the  trees.  My  companion  soon  went  a  little  in  front,  and 
imitated  the  cry  of  the  bird  we  were  pursuing,  so  as  to 
make  them  answer,  and  thus  show  us  where  they  were  hid- 
den. The  imitation  was  really  so  perfect  that  I  moved  to- 
wards it,  thinking  to  find  the  bird,  and  of  course  came  upon 
the  Indian  lying  m  ambush.  This  same  mistake  had  happen- 
ed to  me  before  with  Sumichrast,  who  imitated  die  voice  of 
birds  almost  as  well  as  the  Indian.  At  last  his  cry  pro- 
duced an  answer,  and  at  about  a  hundred  yards  from  us,  on 
the  top  of  a  not  very  tall  oak,  were  perched  three  enormous 
pheasants. 

Bent  down  and  crawling  behind  the  trees,!  joined  FEn- 
cnerado,  keeping  my  eye  fixed  on  the  game,  which  stretched 
out  their  necks  with  an  anxious  look,  and  seemed  to  be  list- 
ening. Two  gun-shots  went  off  at  once ;  one  of  the  birds 
fell  dead  at  our  feet,  and  the  two  others  flew  away.  One 
of  these  fugitives  flew  high  above  the  tree-tops,  but  the 
other,  being  wounded,  was  unable  to  follow  its  companion ; 
I  darted  off  in  pursuit,  making  sure  of  bagging  it.  The 
poor  bird  reached  the  ground  and  tried  hard  to  run ;  I  was 


190  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

not  more  than  fifty  paces  from  it,  when  a  tiger-cat,  with  a 
black  coat,  bounded  forward,  and,  seizing  it,  disappeared  be- 
fore I  had  time  to  recover  from  my  surprise.  The  maraud- 
er was  abused  as  a  thief  and  a  rogue  by  1'Encuerado,  who 
had  been  a  witness  of  this  misfortune.  Lucien  examined 
the  pheasant,  which  was  almost  as  big  as  a  turkey ;  but  its 
sombre  plumage  did  not  at  all  answer  to  the  magnificent 
idea  which  the  boy  had  formed  of  this  bird.  He  thought 
that  the  head  was  much  too  small  for  the  body,  and  its 
naked  and  warty  cheeks  led  him  to  observe  that  the  pheas- 
ant had  the  appearance  of  having  put  on  two  plasters  of 
tortoise-skin,  a  remark  which  was  certainly  well  founded. 
With  regard  to  the  beautiful  and  many-colored  pheasant- 
species  peculiar  to  Asia  and  Africa,  Mexico  possesses  none 
of  them,  so  far,  at  least,  as  I  know. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  Lucien  remarked 
that  the  trees  grew  farther  apart,  which  was  a  sign  that 
we  were  approaching  an  open  glade  or  the  foot  of  a  mount- 
ain. Sumichrast  made  the  boy  walk  in  front  as  leader — a 
reward  for  the  sharpness  of  his  eyes.  Proud  of  this  duty, 
our  little  guide  led  us  to  an  opening  edged  with  a  rampart 
of  wood  at  a  short  distance  off. 

"Halt!"  cried  I. 

The  butts  of  the  guns  were  dropped  upon  the  ground  at 
this  order ;  our  hut  was  soon  constructed,  and  1'Encuerado 
immediately  afterwards  busied  himself  preparing  our  meal. 

Sumichrast,  who,  from  the  state  of  his  hand,  was  con- 
demned to  idleness,  remained  with  the  Indian,  while  I  pro- 
ceeded, in  company  with  Gringalet  and  Lucien,  to  recon- 
noitre the  vicinity  of  our  bivouac.  Almost  immediately,  a 
yoloxochitl,  a  species  of  magnolia,  met  our  eyes.  I  called 
1'Encuerado,  who  climbed  the  tree  in  order  to  throw  us 
down  some  of  its  beautiful  sweet-smelling  flowers;  they 
are  externally  of  a  pinkish-white  color,  yellow  on  the  inside, 


-cat  bounded  forward  and  seized  the  pheasant." 


A  YOUXG  NATURALIST.  193 

and  the  petals,  before  they  are  full-blown,  assume  the  form 
of  a  cross,  and  afterwards  that  of  a  splendid  star.  The  In- 
dian did  not  fail  to  remind  us  that  an  infusion  of  the  glit- 
tering leaves  of  the  yoloxochitt  is  a  remedy  against  diar- 
rhoea, and  that  its  flowers,  as  their  shape  indicates,  cure  pal- 
pitation of  the  heart.  A  little  farther  on  we  recognized  a 
nutmeg-tree,  a  shrub  about  ten  feet  in  height,  and  covered 
with  half -formed  fruit.  The  nutmeg  is  not  cultivated  in 
Mexico,  and  the  tree  that  produces  it  is  rather. rare.  The 
Indians,  however,  use  an  enormous  -quantity  of  the  Moluc- 
ca nutmegs,  either  as  a  remedy  or  as  a  condiment — nut- 
megs, camphor,  and  asafoetida  being  the  principal  Tnrlian 
remedies.  I  next  pointed  out  to  my  young  companion  a 
plant  named  the  blue  herb,  the  leaves  of  which  stain  the 
water  in  which  they  are  soaked  with  a  lovely  azure  tinge. 
In  Mexico  a  variety  of  this  vegetable  is  cultivated,  in  order 
to  extract  from  it  the  coloring  matter  commonly  known  un- 
der the  name  of  indigo. 

"  But  how  do  they  manage,"  asked  Lucien, "  to  obtain 
from  a  plant  those  dark-blue  stones  that  I  have  seen  sold 
in  the  mark 

"  About  the  month  of  March,"  I  answered, "  are  gather- 
ed the  fresh  leaves  of  the  indigo-plant,  which  is  one  of  the 
leguminous  family,  and  pound  them  in  mortars  made  out 
of  the  trunks  of  trees.  The  sap  which  results  from  these 
leaves,  when  subjected  to  a  heavy  pressure,  is  of  a  greenish 
tinge,  and  sometimes  even  colorless;  it  does  not  become 
blue  until  after  fermentation  in  the  open  air.  The  Indians 
then  boil  it  in  an  immense  copper,  and,  the  water  evapora- 
ting, the  indigo  is  left  in  the  form  of  a  soft  and  gelatinous 
paste,  which  is  subsequently  dried  in  the  sun." 

On  approaching  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  I  found  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  us  to  climb  it  the  next  day,  the 
slope  being  too  steep.  I  sat  down  on  the  trunk  of  a  fallen 


194  THE  ADTJBATVJSS8  OF 

tree,  when  I  detected  a  very  decided  smell  of  roses.  Un- 
der the  bark  of  a  log  esquina  Lucieu  had  discovered  five  or 
six  beautiful  insects  of  an  azure-blue  color,  with  red  feet ; 
these  insects  are  very  common  in  the  sandy  soils  of  Tehua- 
can,  and  are  used  by  the  ladies  of  that  district  to  perfume 
their  linen.  Delighted  at  this  discovery,  Lucien  continued 
his  search,  hoping  to  find  some  more  specimens  which"  he 
intended  to  take  to  his  mother.  He  was  kneeling  down 
and  working  energetically,  when  he  pointed  out  to  me  an 
enormous  caterpillar.  . 

It  was  of  an  emerald-green  color,  and  had  on  its  back  a 
row  of  little  projections  like  small  trees,  symmetrically  ar- 
ranged. These  were  of  a  brilliant  red,  terminating  in 
shoots  the  same  color  as  the  animal's  body. 

"  What  a  curious  creature  !"  cried  Lucien  ;  "  it  looks  as 
if  it  carried  a  garden  on  its  back ;  what  use  are  all  these 
bushes  ?" 

"  It  is  not  known,  and  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  but- 
terfly which  springs  from  the  caterpillar  shows  no  trace 
of  all  this  strangely-arranged  hair." 

"  Will  a  butterfly  come  from  this  caterpillar  ?" 

"  Yes,  certainly  ;  all  butterflies  lay  eggs,  from  which  pro- 
ceed caterpillars,  which  generally  destroy  the  plants  on 
which  they  are  hatched.  When  arrived  at  maturity,  the 
caterpillar  spins  a  cocoon  of  silk,  more  or  less  fine,  in  the 
centre  of  which  it  incloses  itself.  It  is  then  called  a  chrys- 
alis. In  this  cocoon  the  butterfly  is  formed,  either  white 
or  black,  yellow  or  green,  and  there  it  remains  inactive  and 
imprisoned,  like  a  baby  in  swadding-clothes.  In  spring  it 
perforates  its  silken  prison,  and  soon  makes  its  escape  a 
splendid  butterfly,  subsisting  upon  the  juices  of  the  flowers 
obtained  through  its  proboscis.  Surely  you  were  not  igno- 
rant of  all  these  transformations  ?" 

"  I  thought  that  they  only  took  place  in  silk-worms." 


YOUXG  NATURALIST. 


195 


"  Well,  now  you  are  undeceived ;  all  caterpillars  and  all 
butterflies  are  subject  to  them ;  but  there  are  few  caterpil- 
lars which  spin  so  valuable  a  cocoon  as  the  silk -worm. 
Moreover,  some  bury  themselves  in  the  earth  ;  while  others 
hide  in  the  middle  of  a  leaf,  the  edges  of  which  they  curl 
round  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  bag,  in  which  they  are  pro- 
tected from  the  beaks  of  birds ;  again,  some  hollow  out  a 
shelter  in  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  and  line  their  abode  with  silk 
more  or  less  fine.  Thus,  in  every  case,  the  chrysalis  waits 
patiently  for  the  time  when  it  will  change  from  a  worm 
into  a  butterfly,  painted  with  the  richest  colors." 

The  subject  was  really  an  inexhaustible  one,  so  I  deferred 
the  rest  of  my  explanations  to  another  day.  Besides, 
PEncuerado  was  loudly  calling  for  us. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THK  SENSITIVE-PLANT. — GRINGALET  AND  THE  PORCUPINE. 

THE  MEXICAN  CHAMELEON. THE  KITE  AND  THE  FALCON. 

AN  AMPHISB^ENA  SNAKE. A  COUNCIL  OF  TURKEYS. 

T  UCIEN,  seated  on  the  grass,  amused  himself  with 
-•— ^  touching  all  the  plants  within  reach  of  his  travelling 
staff ;  suddenly  he  noticed  that  the  branches  and  leaves  of 
a  small  shrub  shut  up  when  he  brushed  them  with  his 
stick,  just  like  the  ribs  of  a  parasol,  moved  by  some  invisi- 
ble spring — it  was  a  sensitive-plant. 

He  called  to  us  to  ask  for  an  explanation  of  this  phenom- 
enon, so  we  assembled  round  the  shrub,  which  was  about 
three  feet  high ;  its  leaves  finely  cut  and  of  a  delicate  green 
color,  with  pink  flowers  in  tufts  half  hidden  among  them. 
The  leaves,  touched  by  the  stick,  shrank  up  close  to  the  pa- 


TOE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  TOKYO  NATURALIST.        197 

rent  stem,  and  die  oval,  slender,  and  delicate  ones,  rising  on 
their  stalks,  pressed  against  one  another.  In  about  five 
minutes  the  leaves  which  had  been  rubbed  again  spread 
out,  as  if  they  had  recovered  from  their  fright. 

It  was,  however,  only  for  a  short  time;  for  Lucien 
amused  himself  by  rubbing  his  fingers  over  the  leaves, 
which  immediately  doubled  up,  as  if  offended  by  the  slight 
touch.  The  Indians  call  it  the  «  Bashful  Plant."  A  blow 
struck  on  the  principal  stem  is  sufficient  to  make  all  the 
branches  close,  as  if  animated  by  a  kind  of  modest  feeling. 
When  the  sun  sets,  the  sensitive  plant  spontaneously  shuts 
up  its  delicate  foliage,  which  does  not  open  again  freely  un- 
til die  return  of  day. 

Lucien's  first  idea,  at  waking,  was  to  run  towards  the 
shrubs  which  interested  him  the  day  before.  They  were 
covered  with  dew,  and  looked  as  if  they  were  asleep,  until 
the  first  rays  of  the  sun  fell  upon  them.  Before  we  start- 
ed, the  young  naturalist  again  tested  the  delicate  sensibility 
of  the  plant,  which  Snmichrast  told  him  was  allied  to  the 
tree  which  produces  gum-arabic. 

LTEncuerado's  cheek  was  less  swollen,  and  Sumichrast 
could  use  his  hand,  although  it  still  pained  him.  The 
mountain  in  front  of  us,  which  was  too  steep  to  climb, 
caused  us  some  perplexity. 

"Let  us  slant  off  to  the  left,  over  this  moist  ground, 
carpeted  with  turf,"  said  Snmichrast,  plunging  into  the 
thicket. 

About  midday,  just  as  FEncuerado  was  declaring,  in  a 
grumbling  tone,  that  we  ought  to  have  inclined  towards  the 
right,  our  little  troop  entered  the  wood.  An  undulating 
slope  led  us  to  a  summit  not  more  than  twenty  yards 
across,  and  in  less  than  half  an  hour  the  opposite  descent 
brought  us  into  a  delicious  glen. 

"  Hallo !   Master  <  Sunbeam,1 "  cried  Sumichrast,  while 


igg  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

helping  me  to  construct  our  hut,  "  don't  you  recollect  you 
are  the  one  to  provide  the  fire  ?" 

"  All  right,"  replied  Lucien,  who  seemed  to  be  lost  in  the 
contemplation  of  a  dead  branch ;  "  I  want  to  get  hold  of  an 
insect  which  appears  to  be  making,  like  us,  natural-history 
collections,  for  I  have  just  found  in  its  nest  a  quantity  of 
spiders,  flies,  and  small  worms." 

"It  is  one  of  the  Hymenoptera"  said  Sumichrast;  "it 
collects  all  round  its  eggs  the  food  the  young  will  eat 
when  they  are  hatched ;  the  insect  is  therefore  full  of  fore- 
thought— a  good  example  for  us  to  imitate." 

When  the  fire  was  ready,  we  started  off  in  light  march- 
ing order  to  explore  the  vicinity  of  our  bivouac.  Our  po- 
sition was  commanded  by  mountains  on  all  sides,  and  the 
glen  was  scarcely  a  quarter  of  a  league  in  length.  The 
pleasant  coolness,  and  the  presence  of  numerous  birds,  led 
us  to  hope  that  we  should  meet  with  a  spring,  which  was 
all  that  was  needed  to  convert  this  remote  corner  of  the 
world  into  a  perfect  paradise.  But  our  exploring  only  led 
to  the  discovery  of  a  greenish  pool,  sheltered  by  an  enor- 
mous rock,  and  which  the  dry  season  would  soon  evapo- 
rate. 

Gringalet's  barking  attracted  our  attention  towards  the 
forest,  and  I  perceived  a  porcupine  on  a  tree.  The  animal, 
sitting  up  on  its  hind  feet,  was  looking  at  us  with  astonish- 
ment. Leaving  it  undisturbed,  it  appeared  to  forget  us, 
and  tearing  off  with  its  claws  a  piece  of  bark,  it  licked  the 
inner  side,  which  was  doubtless  covered  with  insects.  Hav- 
ing repeated  this  operation  several  times,  the  animal  ad- 
vanced to  the  end  of  a  branch,  and  seizing  it  with  its  pre- 
hensile tail,  let  itself  down  to  the  ground.  Its  large  black 
eyes,  of  unusual  mildness,  were  widely  opened,  and  its  nose 
slit  like  hares  and  rabbits.  It  was  just  about  to  stretch 
itself,  when,  to  our  great  regret,  I'Encuerado  shot  it;  the 


XATTRALIST  199 

poor  beast  fell  over  on  the  ground,  and  placing  its  hand- 
shaped  paws  on  the  wound,  rolled  itself  op  into  a  ball  at 
the  foot  of  a  tree,  Gringalet  darted  forward  to  seize  it, 
and  then  immediately  retreated,  howling  with  pain;  he 
came  back  to  us  with  his  muzzle  bristling  with  the  porcu- 
pine's quills,  which  were  about  two  inches  long  and  finely 
pointed.  The  unfortunate  dog  rubbed  his  nose  against  the 
ground  in  order  to  get  relief,  but,  of  course,  this  only  in- 
creased  his  pain.  Lucien  ran  to  help  him,  and  at  last  suc- 
ceeded in  extracting  them. 

"Have  yon  lost  your  senses?"  asked  FEncuerado  of  the 
dog,  while  washing  the  poor  beast's  nose  and  month.  "The 
idea  of  trying  to  bite  a  huitzttaeuatztn  I  Upon  my  word,  I 
thought  you  knew  better  than  that.  Xo  doubt  h's  a  good 
thing  to  be  brave,  but  yon  must  manage  to  be  less  stupid 
when  yon  are  in  the  forests  of  the  Terre-Chaude,  unless 
you  want  to  be  devoured  by  a  tiger,  or  scratched  to  pieces 
by  an  ant-eater.*1 

After  listening  to  l"Encnerado"s  speech,  Lacien  scolded 
him  for  firing  at  the  poor  animal,  and  then  joined  us,  close 
to  the  porcupine,  which  was  dying.  It  was  about  the  size 
of  a  fox,  and  its  fore  paws  were  furnished  with  four  toes 
armed  with  daws.  This  ammal^  which  is  slow  of  pace  and 
entirely  inoffensive,  spreads  round  it  a  sickening  musky 
odor.  It  lives  on  fruit,  roots,  and  insects,  and,  aided  by 
its  prehensile  tail,  climbs  trees  with  great  skffl.  It  but 
rarely  tries  to  make  its  escape  at  the  approach  of  the  hunt- 
er, who,  moreover,  utterly  despises  such  worthless  game. 

L'Encuerado  reminded  us  that  we  had  now  been  travel- 
ling twelve  days,  and  that  it  was  the  first  Sunday  in  May. 
We  should  have  devoted  it  to  rest  if  our  morning's  hunting 
had  been  successful;  but>  unless  we  contented  ourselves 
"with  a  dinner  composed  only  of  rice,  we  were  obliged  to 
shoot  some  eatable  bird  or  animal  to  fifl  our  stew-pot 


200  THE  AD  VUXTUXES  OF 

We  heard  some  doves  cooing,  and  1'Encuerado  went  off 
alone  in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  for  these  birds  are  dif- 
ficult of  approach.  Gringalet,  notwithstanding  our  calls, 
ran  after  the  Indian. 

Lucien  climbed  the  rock  which  hung  over  the  pool,  and 
made  signs  for  me  to  come  to  him,  saying,  in  a  low  voice, 

"  Papa,  come  and  look  at  this  strange  animal." 

I  also  climbed  up,  and  found  lying  on  the  top  a  Mexican 
chameleon,  a  kind  of  round-shaped  lizard,  with  a  brown 
skin  dotted  over  with  yellow  spots,  which  seemed  to  change 
color  in  the  light.  Lucien  tried  to  catch  the  graceful  rep- 
tile, which,  however,  glided  between  his  fingers  and  disap- 
peared behind  the  rock. 

The  Mexican  chameleon  lives  only  in  the  woods  and 
among  the  rocks.  It  chiefly  delights  in  the  oak  forests, 
where  the  dark  color  of  its  body  blends  with  the  hue  of  the 
dry  leaves,  and  enables  it  to  lie  successfully  in  ambush  for 
the  insects  on  which  it  feeds.  Sumichrast,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded in  taming  a  chameleon,  told  us  that  the  reptile's 
throat,  which  was  white  during  the  daytime,  assumed  dur- 
ing the  night  a  dark  hue ;  also,  that  it  liked  to  be  caressed, 
and  became  familiar  enough  to  take  from  his  hand  the  flies 
which  were  offered  it.  The  Indians,  who  hold  the  animal 
in  great  dread  when  alive,  are  in  the  habit  of  wearing  its 
dried  body  as  an  amulet  against  the  "  evil  eye." 

From  our  lofty  observatory  we  were  looking  at  the 
beautiful  birds  which  occasionally  flew  across  the  plain, 
when  Sumichrast  suddenly  fired.  He  had  caught  sight  of 
a  fine  magpie,  of  an  ashy-blue  color,  with  its  head  crowned 
by  a  tuft ;  its  throat  appeared  as  if  it  were  bound  round 
with  black  velvet,  a  peculiarity  which  has  obtained  for  it 
from  the  Indians  the  name  of  the  "  commander  bird."  Lu- 
cien came  down  from  the  rock  to  go  and  pick  up  the  game, 
when  an  enormous  kite  darted  on  the  magpie,  seized  it  in 


'The  kite 


.1  TOUXG  XATUHALIST.  203 

its  sharp  claws,  and  immediately  took  flight.  Snrnichrast 
seized  his  gun  to  punish  the  impudent  poacher,  but  a  fal- 
con, about  the  size  of  a  man's  fist,  made  its  appearance,  and 
describing  two  or  three  rapid  circles,  swooped  down  on  the 
kite.  The  latter  avoided  the  shock  and  continued  to  rise 
in  the  air,  while  its  antagonist  came  almost  to  the  ground, 
uttering  a  shriek  of  rage.  Again  ascending,  with  extreme 
rapidity,  by  an  oblique  flight,  it  a  second  time  overtopped 
its  antagonist,  and  darted  upon  it  like  a  flash  of  lightning. 
Their  wings  beat  together,  and  a  few  feathers  came  flutter- 
ing to  the  ground.  The  prey  fell  from  the  bird's  grasp, 
followed  in  its  fall  by  the  falcon.  The  kite,  conquered  by 
an  enemy  about  one-fifth  of  its  own  size,  flew  round  and 
round  in  the  air  and  then  disappeared.  The  conqueror 
standing  about  thirty  yards  from  us,  eyes  glittering  and 
foot  firmly  planted  on  its  prey,  magnificent  in  anger  and 
daring,  Sumichrast  abandoned  the  game  to  it  as  a  recom- 
pense for  its  courage.  The  bird,  not  at  all  satisfied  at  be- 
ing so  close  to  us,  buried  in  the  body  of  its  victim  its  claws 
— so  enormous  in  comparison  to  its  own  size — shook  its 
wings  and  rose,  at  first  with  difficulty,  when,  its  flight  be- 
coming more  easv  as  it  ascended  higher,  it  carried  off  its 
quarry  behind  the  trees. 

Lucien,  who  from  the  ground  beneath  had  followed  all 
the  changes  and  chances  of  this  combat,  soon  joined  us. 

"  How  was  it  that  that  great  bird  allowed  itself  to  be 
conquered  by  such  a  small  adversary  ?"  he  asked  of  Sumi- 
chrast. 

"  Because  it  was  a  coward." 

"  But  both  have  the  same  plumage,  and  almost  the  same- 
shape;  I  took  the  small  bird  to  be  the  young  of  the  other." 

"  The  last  is  a  falcon,  and  the  other  is  a  kite.  They  be- 
long, in  fact,  to  the  same  family ;  bnt  the  falcon  is  noble 
and  courageous,  while  the  kite  is  perhaps  the  most  coward 


204:  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

ly  of  all  birds  of  prey.  Falcons  were  once  used  for  hunt- 
ing ;  for,  as  you  have  just  seen,  they  have  no  fear  of  attack- 
ing adversaries  much  larger  than  themselves.  Added  to 
this,  they  are  easily  tamed." 

"  But  eagles  are  much  stronger  than  falcons  ?" 

"  Eagles  are  birds  of  prey  which  do  not  at  all  merit  the 
reputation  which  poets  have  endeavored  to  make  for  them ; 
although  they  may  be  stronger,  they  exhibit  much  less 
bravery  than  falcons,  and  only  attack  animals  of  small 
size." 

"  Yet,  surely  the  eagle  is  the  king  of  birds  ;  is  it  not  able 
to  look  straight  at  the  sun  ?" 

"  Yes,  thanks  to  a  membrane  that  shuts  down  over  the 
pupil  of  its  eye.  Among  all  nations  the  eagle  is  the  sym- 
bol of  strength  and  courage :  but  still  the  falcon  possesses 
the  latter  of  these  qualities  in  a  much  higher  degree ;  it 
is  the  falcon  which  is  the  real  king  of  birds  among  orni- 
thologists. The  Mexicans,  as  you  know,  depict  upon  their 
banners  an  eagle  sitting  upon  a  cactus  and  tearing  a  ser- 
pent." 

"  Is  this  intended  as  an  emblem  of  strength  and  cour- 
age?" 

"No,  it  has  another  origin.  When  the  Aztecs,  who 
were  thought  to  be  natives  of  Northern  America,  arrived 
in  Mexico  (which  then  bore  the  name  of  Anahuac),  they 
wandered  about  a  long  time  before  they  settled.  One  day, 
near  a  lake,  they  found  a  cactus  growing  on  a  stone,  and 
on  the  cactus  an  eagle  was  sitting.  Guided  by  an  oracle, 
a  city  was  built,  which  was  called  Tenochtitlan,  and  sub- 
sequently Mexico." 

My  historical  lecture  was  interrupted  by  a  distant  shot. 
We  had  heard  nothing  of  the  doves  for  a  long  time,  and 
we  were  expecting  to  see  our  companion  reappear ;  but  he 
must  have  made  an  enormous  curve  in  pursuing  them,  to 


4  FOr.Vtr  fATURAUST.  205 

judge  from  the  direction  from  which  the  report  of  his  gun 
proceeded.  Fortunately,  from  the  position  of  the  spot, 
there  was  not  much  likelihood  of  his  missing  his  way :  al- 
though we  had  full  confidence  in  his  instinct,  we  feared  to 
what  extent  his  ardor  might  carry  him. 

We  now  kept  on  the  look-out,  hoping  that  chance  would 
throw  us  in  contact  with  some  game.  All  at  once  there 
was  a  movement  to  our  right  in  the  high  grass,  and  its 
waving  about  pointed  out  the  presence  of  some  reptile.  In 
a  minute  or  two  we  saw  a  serpent  making  its  way  towards 
the  pool ;  it  was  the  species  which  is  called  by  the  Indians, 
as  formerly  by  the  Greeks,  the  double-headed  serpent.  The 
amphisbsena  was  about  a  foot  and  a  half  long,  and  its  tail 
was  swollen  at  the  end,  which  gave  it  a  very  curious  ap- 
pearance. Its  skin,  covered  with  large  scales,  had  a  bluish 
metallic  glitter.  It  crawled  slowly,  and  stopped  every  in- 
stant as  if  to  bore  into  the  ground,  but  in  reality  to  pick  up 
insects  or  ants.  This  singular  snake  quite  enchanted 
Lncien,  and  Sumichrast  told  him  to  fire  his  gun  at  it,  so  as 
to  be  able  to  study  it  more  closely.  He  had  no  need  to  re- 
peat his  instructions  ;  the  young  sportsman,  who  had  begun 
to  handle  his  weapon  very  skillfully,  at  once  placed  it  to 
his  shoulder ;  the  shot  was  fired,  and  the  amphisbsena,  tum- 
bling over,  disappeared  in  the  grass.  The  reptile  had  been 
hit,  and  we  all  of  us  clambered  down  the  rock  as  fast  as  we 
could,  in  the  hopes  of  finding  it  dead.  We  sought  for  it  in 
vain  ;  the  snake  had  made  its  escape  into  some  hole,  from 
which  it  would  be  in  vain  to  try  to  dislodge  it. 

Gringalet  now  showed  himself,  soon  followed  by  1'Encne- 
rado.  When  he  caught  sight  of  us,  the  Indian  raised  a 
loud  "  Hiou  !  hiou  !"  Waving  his  hat  in  the  air,  he  threw 
upon  the  ground  some  dark  object,  which  fell  heavily  on 
the  tarf,  and  then  he  began  dancing.  We  roared  with 
laughter  at  his  grotesque  steps,  and  Lucien  ran  towards  the 


206  THE  ADVENTUXE&  OF 

Mistec,  who,  after  his  dance,  was  acting  the  acrobat  on  the 
turf. 

"  A  turkey !"  he  cried ;  and  an  enormous  bird,  with 
bronzed  plumage,  was  passed  from  hand  to  hand. 

"  A.h !  Ohanito,"  cried  the  Indian,  "  if  you  had  gone 
with  me,  you  would  have  seen  a  whole  flock  of  them  ! 
I  had  chased  those  miserable  doves  till  I  was  tired,  with- 
out even  catching  a  glimpse  of  them,  and  was  resting  at 
the  foot  of  a  tree,  when  Gringalet  pricked  up  his  ears,  and 
running  up  the  opposite  slope  of  the  mountain,  barked  as 
loudly  as  if  he  saw  another  porcupine.  I  also  made  my 
way  there,  and  heard  '  gobbles '  resounding  in  every  direc- 
tion ;  Master  Gringalet  had  fallen  in  with  a  council  of  tur- 
keys." 

"  A  council  of  turkeys  ?"  repeated  Lucien. 

"  Yes,  Chanito,  turkeys  hold  councils.  *  They  generally 
travel  in  flocks  and  on  foot,  although  they  know  perfectly 
well  how  to  fly  when  they  want  to  cross  a  stream  or  to 
make  their  escape;  and  when  one  of  them  wants  to  com- 
municate his  opinion  to  another,  he  raises  a  cry,  and  his 
companions  form  a  circle  round  him." 

"  And  what  takes  place  then  ?" 

"  The  preacher,"  continued  1'Encuerado,  without  the  least 
idea  of  irreverence, "  lowers  his  neck  and  then  lifts  it  up 
again,  raises  up  the  hair-like  feathers  on  his  crop,  and 
spreads  out  his  tail  like  a  fan.  He  then  addresses  the  as- 
sembled birds,  who  strut  about  with  their  wings  half  open- 
ed, and  answer  him  with  approving  gobbles." 

'  The  Indian,  carried  away  by  his  narrative,  added  gestures 
to  words,  strutted  about,  rounded  his  arms  and  lowered  his 
chin  upon  his  breast,  in  order  to  imitate  the  ways  of  the 
birds  which  he  was  describing. 

"  But  what  do  they  say  ?"  asked  Lucien,  archly. 

"That  depends  on  circumstances," he  replied,  scratching 


.i  roran?  XATUSALIST.  207 

bis  forehead.  "The  flock  jost  now  surprised  most  have 
cried  out:  *  What  is  this  animal  ?*— <A  dog,'  would  be  the 
answer  of  the  most  knowing  among  them.  'Fly,  my 
friends, fly  f  he  would  cry ;  'dogs  are  always  accompanied 
by  men,  and  men  have  guns.'  'A  gun  !  whafs  that  ?— 'A 
machine  that  goes  bman  and  kffls  turkeys.'  Then  I  make 
my  appearance;  they  bustle  about,  fly  away,and  spread  in 
every  direction ;  but  my  gun  had  time  to  go  bourn  and  to 
kfll  this  beautiful  bird." 

I  need  scarcely  say  what  mirth  was  eicited  by  this  ac- 
count While  returning  to  our  bivouac,  Sumkhrast  told 
Lucien  that  the  turkey  is  a  natire  of  America,  and  that  it 
was  introduced  by  the  Jesuits  into  Europe,  where  it 
flourished  wefl.  In  a  domestic  state,  the  color  of  its  plum- 
age altered  to  a  reddish,  a  white,  and  %  gray  and  black 
color.  But  it  never  lost  the  habit  of  walking  about  in 
flocks,  and  of  laying  its  eggs  in  thickets,  in  a  shapeless  nest, 
which  the  young  chicks  leave  the  second  day  after  they  are 
hatched.  Lastly,  the  Aztec  name  of  the  turkey— Wofc-is 
applied  by  the  Indians  to  simpletons  and  cowards. 

Lucien  then  told  Ir£ncuerado  about  the  magpie  and  the 
amphisbaena. 

"You  killed  a  maquiz  coaO—*  two-headed  serpent !" 
cried  the  Indian. 

" I  only  wounded  it, for  it  got  away;  bat  it  had  only  one 

•Cftd." 

-Then  yon  didn't  examine  it  thoroughly;  for  it  would 
not  turn  round  when  it  crawled  away." 

"I  did  not  notice.  I  saw  h  leap  up  in  the  air, and  that 
was  alL" 

«  Hare  yon  searched  well  under  the  stones?  Let  us  go 
back;  the  skin  of  the  maquiz  coaO, enables  the  bond  to  see. 
Why  did  yon  let  it  escape?" 

"Oh!  we  shall  be  sure  to  find  another.'* 


208        THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 

"  You  can't  find  them  whenever  you  like ;  they  are  very 
rare,"  replied  the  Indian,  shaking  his  head. 

While  the  turkey  was  i-oasting  under  our  superintend- 
ence, 1'Encuerado  and  Lucien  went  off  to  try  and  find  the 
amphisbaena's  hole. 


"It  looked  like  an  immense  pedestal,  surmounted  by  two  bronze  statues." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    METEOR. GOB    ALMIGHTY*S    LAXTERXS. THE    SKCXK. 

THE     JALAP-FLAXT. AX     AintlAf.    JOUEXET- THE    OR- 
CHIDS.  BIVOUAC   IX    THE    MOUTH    OF   A   CAVE. GKIXGA- 

LET   AX»   THE   BEETLES. A  WHITE   AXTS'  XEST. 

eaa.  left  us  soon  afterwards,  and  we  sat  talking 
by  die  fire.  At  last  F  Encuerado  took  away  Laden 
towards  the  rocks,  and  set  up  one  of  those  interminable 
chants  with  which  his  memory  was  stored.  Onrfire  light- 
ed up  with  its  red  gleam  the  stone  on  which  they  were  sit- 
ting, making  it  look  tike  an  immense  pedestal,  surmounted 
by  two  bronze  statues.  Any  traveller  suddenly  entering 
the  valley  would  have  recoiled  in  terror  before  this  fantas- 
tic apparition ;  and  if  any  wild  beast  had  been  prowling 
near  us,  our  gigantic  shadows  would  certainly  have  made  it 
keep  its  distance.  - 


212  THE- ADVENTURES  OF 

We  were  just  thinking  of  calling  Lucien  to  come  and  lie 
down  under  the  hut,  when  PEncuerado  shouted  out  to  us. 
Towards  the  east,  a  large  luminous  disk  was  shining  bril- 
liantly above  the  mountain  peaks.  This  luminous  globe, 
lengthening  out  into  4he  shape  of  an  ellipse,  appeared  to 
move  along. 

In  fact,  it  was  descending  slowly  over  the  wooded  crests. 
Lucien  and  PEncuerado  kept  plying  us  with  questions  in 
reference  to  it,  which  we  were  unable  to  answer. 


"  What  is  it  ?"  cried  Sumichrast. 

"  A  meteor !"  I  exclaimed,  struck  with  a  sudden  idea. 

"  If  I  had  my  gun  ready,  I  would  fire  at  it,  at  all  events." 

"  You  had  better  not,"  said  I ;  "  the  globe  may  contain 
electric  fluid,  and  we  might  draw  it  down  upon  us." 

Soon  afterwards  the  meteor  passed  by  us.  We  threw 
ourselves  down  flat  on  the  earth,  dreading  this  unknown 
visitor.  When  I  ventured  to  rise,  it  was  some  distance 


A  TOUXG   XATURALLST.  213 

away,  and  yet  appeared  to  be  motionless.  Rays  incessantly 
quivering  sprang  from  the  centre  of  it;  in  the  middle  the 
light  was  white,  bnt  at  the  edges  it  assumed  first  a  yellow- 
ish, then  a  red,  and  lastly  a  bluish  hue.  We  were  suddenly 
almost  blinded  by  a  flash  of  intense  brilliancy ;  a  formida- 
ble explosion,  repeated  by  the  echoes,  burst  upon  our  ears, 
and  all  became  silence  and  obscurity. 

While  we  were  returning  to  our  bivouac,  Lucien  and 
1'Encuerado  pressed  us  with  questions. 

"  What  are  meteors  ?"  asked  Lucien,  eagerly. 

"  Some  scientific  men,"  replied  Sumichrast,  "  look  upon 
them  as  fragments-  of  planets  wandering  in  space.  Getting 
entangled  in  our  planetary  system,  they  yield  to  the  attrac- 
tion of  our  globe,  and  fall  on  to  its  surface  in  obedience  to 
the  law  of  gravitation." 

" But  what  are  they  composed  of?" 

"Generally  speaking,  of  sulphur,  chromium,  and  earth. 
The  phenomenon  of  '  shooting  stars '  is  connected  with  that 
of  meteors,  and  any  substance  falling  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth  receives  the  name  of  aerolite.'''' 

"Do  you  wish  to  persuade  me  that  stones  rain  down 
from  the  sky  ?"  cried  I'Encuerado. 

"  Yes,  certainly ;  and  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  it  was  in  your 
country  that  the  largest  known  aerolite  was  found,  for  it 
weighed  no  less  than  fifty  hundred-weights.  To-morrow 
morning  we  will  search  for  the  one  we  have  seen,  which 
must  have  dropped  at  the  end  of  the  valley." 

"  Are  these  stones  luminous  ?"  rejoined  the  Indian. 

"  No ;  but  they  take  fire,  owing  to  their  rapid  flight." 

"  And  whence  did  the  meteor  come  which  passed  so  close 
to  us  ?" 

"  Either  from  the  moon  or  the  stars,  or  perhaps  from  the 
sun." 

L'Encuerado  half-closed  his  eyes,  and  burst  out  laughing 


214  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

at  what  he  considered  a  joke.  He  laughed,  indeed,  so 
heartily,  that  we  could  not  help  joining  him. 

"Now  what  do  you  imagine  the  sun  and  moon  really 
are?"  asked  Lucien. 

"  God's  lanterns,"  replied  the  Indian,  gravely. 

Our  young  companion  was  well  accustomed  to  the  artless 
ignorance  of  his  friend,  but  still  he  always  endeavored  to 
contend  against  it ;  so  he  set  to  work  to  teach  him  some- 
thing about  our  planetary  system.  The  dimensions  which 
he  attributed  to  the  heavenly  bodies  seemed  to  afford  great 
amusement  to  the  Indian.  At  last,  just  when  the  young 
orator  fancied  he  had  convinced  his  disciple,  the  latter  em- 
braced him,  exclaiming : 

"  What  an  amusing  tale  !  Oh  !  how  pleased  I  should  be 
to  be  able  to  read  such  pretty  stories  as  that  in  a  book !" 

"  Tales,  indeed  !"  cried  Lucien,  quite  indignant. 

"  Well,  the  very  idea  of  saying  that  the  earth  is  a  ball, 
which  moves  round  and  round,  and  that  there  are  stars 
which  are  bigger  !  Many  a  night  have  I  spent  looking  at 
the  stars,  and  I  know  they  are  nothing  but  lanterns,  and 
that's  enough  !" 

"But  if  you  have  observed  them  so  carefully,"  interposed 
Sumichrast,  "  you  must  have  observed  that  they  are  con- 
stantly shifting  their  places." 

"  Yes,  but  that  is  because  the  angels  don't  always  light 
up  the  same  stars,  and  God  has  plenty  of  them  in  every  di- 
rection— " 

I  now  interrupted  the  conversation. 

"  Come,  let  us  all  go  to  rest !"  I  cried,  cutting  short  a  dis- 
cussion which  I  knew,  by  experience,  must  end  in  Lucien 
and  Sumichrast  getting  the  worst  of  it. 

The  next  morning  there  was  nothing  better  to  do  than  to 
go  with  my  companions  to  look  after  the  aerolite.  The  ball 
of  fire  appeared  to  have  passed 'just  over  us,  and  I  fancied 


A  TOl\\G  XATURAL1ST.  215 

that  we  should  be  certain  to  recover  some  part  of  it.  Af- 
ter an  hour  of  useless  wandering,  we  were  compelled  to 
admit  that  our  eyes  must  have  been  much  mistaken  as  to 
distances.  L'Encuerado  could  not  help  smiling  incredu- 
lously on  hearing  the  conjectures  which  I  and  Sumichrast 
made ;  but  he  was  generous  enough  not  to  take  advantage 
of  the  superior  astronomical  knowledge  which  he  assumed 
he  possessed. 

On  setting  out  I  again  crossed  the  valley,  and  then  climb- 
ing the  mountain,  I  led  my  companions  up  to  a  plateau. 

As  far  as  was  possible  I  followed  the  route  I  thought  the 
meteor  had  taken.  I/Encnerado  was  just  making  his  way 
into  the  forest  when  Sumichrast  noticed  a  broken  tree,  a  little 
to  the  right.  I  leaped  up  on  the  slope,  and  soon  remarked 
that  the  ground,  for  a  space  of  at  least  twenty  yards,  was 
strewn  with  black  or  green  stones,  which  had  been  in  a 
fused  state,  and  evidently  bore  the  appearance  of  iron  scoriae. 
There  could  be  no  doubt  about  it ;  the  tree  which  had  been 
struck  had  caused  the  explosion  of  the  meteor,  and  had 
broken  under  the  shock. 

"  These,  therefore,  are  the  remains  of  some  of  yonr  sky- 
lanterns,"  said  Lucien  to  FEncuerado,  who  had  just  picked 
up  some  large  stones,  shining  like  metaL 

The  Indian  shook  his  head  without  answering.  The  fall- 
en tree,  the  burned  and  blackened  trunk,  the  withered  and 
even  scorched  grass,  these  strange-looking  stones — every 
thing  visibly  combined  to  upset  his  theory.  Each  of  us 
added  to  his  load  one  of  the  aerolites ;  then,  again  returning 
to  the  plateau,  we  plunged  into  the  forest. 

One  shot  that  Sumichrast  made  rendered  him  happy  for 
the  whole  day.  He  had  knocked  down  a  green-colored 
crossbill,  of  a  species  still  unknown  in  Europe. 

\Vhat  a  queer  bird  !"  cried  Lucien.     "  How  did  it  man- 
age to  eat  with  its  mouth  all  aw: 


216  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

"  Its  mouth,"  replied  Suniichrast,  smiling, "  is  well  adapt- 
ed to  its  food.  This  bird — which  we  have  here  met  with 
quite  by  chance,  as  it  usually  frequents  mountain-tops — 
feeds  on  roots,  buds,  and  pine-cones.  Owing  to  its  two 
mandibles  being  so  strongly  made  and  so  curiously  ar- 
ranged it  can  cut  through,  as  if  with  a  pair  of  scissors, 
branches  which  a  bird  with  a  pointed  beak  could  never 
penetrate." 

"  God  is  mindful  of  all  His  creatures,"  muttered  PEncue- 
rado,  who  was  helping  to  skin  the  bird.  "  I  had  always 
fancied  that  these  poor  creatures  were  deformed." 

Towards  midday  the  chances  of  our  path  brought  us  to 
the  bottom  of  a  narrow  valley  in  the  midst  of  a  clump  of 
shrubs;  this  seemed  a  fit  spot  for  our  bivouac.  In  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye,  the  ground  was  cleared  of  brush-wood 
and  our  hut  constructed.  We  had  scarcely  sat  down  to 
take  breath  when  a  slight  rustling  in  the  foliage  attracted 
our  attention,  and  an  animal  with  a  bushy  tail  sprang  down 
from  a  tree.  Gringalet  darted  at  it,  but  an  abominable 
smell,  which  almost  suffocated  us,  at  once  made  him  retreat. 
A  skunk,  which  in  shape  and  color  somewhat  resembles  a 
squirrel,  had  thus  perfectly  poisoned  our  bivouac. 

Nothing  was  left  for  us  but  to  decamp  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible, for  the  stench  rendered  the  place  uninhabitable  for 
several  days.  L'Encuerado  could  not  find  enough  bad 
names  for  abusing  the  animal,  which,  however,  had  only 
availed  itself  of  the  means  of  defense  with  which  nature 
has  endowed  it.  Each  of  us  now  resumed  his  burden,  sad- 
ly enough,  I  must  confess,  and  not  without  throwing  a  dis- 
appointed glance  at  our  hut.  Sumichrast  led  the  way,  and 
did  not  stop  till  we  found  ourselves  perfectly  exhausted  at 
the  entrance  to  a  deep  and  narrow  gorge.  We  still  felt 
sickened  by  the  horrible  stench  produced  by  the  skunk,  and, 
as  we  did  not  wish  to  expose  ourselves  again  to  a  similar 


"Above  us,  the  trees  crossed  their  branches." 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  219 

raisfortnne,  we  took  care,  before  constructing  a  fresh  hut,  to 
search  round  the  shrubs  and  bushes.  A  few  birds  shot  on 
the  road  rendered  it  unnecessary  for  us  to  hunt  any  more, 
as  we  had  an  abundance  of  food,  so  we  all  set  to  work  to 
repair  our  wardrobes.  Our  shoes  first  required  our  at- 
tention, and  Suraichrast  constituted  himself  head-cobbler. 
L'Encuerado's  sandals  gave  him  a  great  advantage  over 
us ;  for  all  he  required  was  a  sole  and  a  leathern  strap,  and 
then  he  was  well  shod.  But,  unfortunately,  the  delicacy  of 
our  skin  several  times  afforded  Sumichrast  cause  for  regret 
that  he  had  not  been  born  an  Indian. 

L'Encuerado,  full  of  ingenuity,  managed  to  fix  some 
pieces  of  fox-skin  on  some  old  soles,  and  made  for  Lucien 
a  pair  of  buskins  as  strong  as  they  were  inelegant.  He 
promised  to  make  us  some  like  them,  and  Sumichrast,  who 
succeeded  only  tolerably  well  in  his  cobbling,  nominated  the 
Indian  "  sandal-maker  in  ordinary  and  extraordinary  to-our 
majesties." 

The  next  morning  at  daybreak  we  entered  a  narrow 
gorge  in  which  it  was  impossible  for  us  to  walk  abreast. 
The  whole  morning  was  spent  in  travelling  along  between 
t\vo  stone  ramparts,  hung  with  mosses,  ferns,  and  orchids. 
The  moist  soil  rendered  the  temperature  round  us  sufficient- 
ly cool  and  agreeable ;  but  the  pass  was  so  filled  up  with 
the  trunks  of  fallen  trees  as  to  render  our  progress  very 
laborious. 

The  gorge  extended  to  such  a  length  that  I  began  to  be 
anxious  about  it,  and  to  fear  lest  we  had  entered  into  a  cul- 
de-sac.  The  perpendicular  walls  rendered  any  deviation  in 
our  path  impossible ;  above  us,  the  trees  crossed  their 
branches  and  almost  hid  the  sky.  Xo  bird  enlivened  the 
solitude  with  its  song,  and  ferns  were  so  abundant  that  it 
seemed  as  if  we  had  lighted  upon  some  corner  of  the  primi- 
tive world  ;  as  if  to  render  the  resemblance  more  complete. 


220  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

the  reptiles  scarcely  fled  at  our  approach,  and  obliged  us  to 
use  the  greatest  care. 

Cutlass  in  hand,  Lucien  climbed  nimbly  over  the  fallen 
trees  which  barred  our  progress.  Ere  long  our  feet  sank 
into  a  quantity  of  liquid  mud,  and  I  discovered  a  slender 
streamlet  of  limpid  water  oozing  out  between  two  rocks. 
The  pass  between  the  rocks  became  narrower  and  narrower, 
and  if  a  wild  beast  had  then  met  us  we  should  have  had  to 
dispute  the  path  with  it.  As  a  rencontre  of  this  kind  was 
by  no  means  impossible,  Lucien,  to  his  -displeasure,  was 
ordered  to  follow  in  rear. 

The  way  now  widened  a  little,  and  became  more  clear  of 
impediments,  and  our  little  column  advanced  with  rather 
more  rapidity.  We  walked  along  silently  between  these 
stern  and  imposing  granite  walls,  with  the  constant  hope  of 
seeing  them  separate  and  open  out  into  a  valley.  Every 
few  yards  some  fresh  turn  frustrated  our  expectations ; 
and  if  ever  any  pass  deserved  the  name  of  the  "  Devil's 
Gorge,"  it  was  the  interminable  fissure  through  which 
we  had  been  compelled  to  walk  for  so  long  a  distance. 
At  various  heights  there  were  half-suspended  rocks  which 
threatened  to  fall  upon  us ;  for  several  previously  had  fall- 
en and  now  blocked  up  the  path.  At  last  a  sudden 
turn  revealed  a  wide  opening ;  but  our  joy  was  of  short 
duration ;  nothing  but  a  perpendicular  precipice  lay  in 
front  of  us. 

We  looked  at  one  another  in  consternation;  we  were 
prisoners  !  On  our  right  and  left  were  perpendicular  walls 
more  than  a  hundred  feet  high,  and  impossible  to  climb ; 
before  us  there  was  a  gulf  with  a  vertical  precipice.  What 
was  to  be  done  ?  Sumichrast  lighted  the  pipe  of  council, 
while  1'Encuerado  clung  on  to  the  rocks  and  tried  to  meas- 
ure the  abyss  with  his  eye. 

We  were  seated  near  a  plant  with  slender  branches  and 


A  TOUXO  NATURALIST.  221 

heart-shaped  leaves  tinged  with  red,  concealing  here  and 
there  a  flower  of  a  violet  blue.  I  recognized  in  it  the  shrub 
which  produces  jalap,  and  is  called  by  the  Indians  tolonpatf. 
I  called  Lucien's  attention  to  it,  who  soon  dug  up  four  or 
five  tap-roots  of  a  pear-like  shape.  Jalap,  which  has  taken 
its  name  from  the  town  of  Jalapa,  whence  it  was  once  for- 
warded to  Vera  Cruz,  grows  naturally  on  all  the  mountains 
of  the  Terre-Temperee.  Unfortunately,  the  Indians  de- 
stroy the  plant  by  taking  away  all  its  turbercles,  and  the 
time  is  not  far  distant  when  this  drag,  so  much  used  in  Eu- 
rope, will,  like  quinine,  become  very  scarce. 

I  drew  close  to  the  precipice,  and  perceived  PEncuerado 
more  than  twenty  feet  below  me  crawling,  with  all  the  skill 
of  a  monkey,  over  an  almost  smooth  surface.  I  ordered 
him  to  come  up  to  us  again ;  but  he  did  not  seem  able  to 
get  back,  and  remained  motionless  in  his  dangerous  posi- 
tion. Sumichrast  hastened  to  bring  me  a  lasso,  which  I  let 
down  to  our  daring  companion.  But  instead  of  ascending, 
he  slid  down  four  or  five  feet,  and  placing  himself  astride 
on  the  projecting  trunk  of  a  tree,  called  out  to  us  to  let  go 
the  lasso ;  this  he  tied  round  a  stout  branch,  and  disappear- 
ed down  the  abyss. 

It  was  not  long  before  we  saw  him  again  install  himself 
on  the  tree  round  which  he  had  rolled  the  leather  strap, 
when  he  called  out  to  us  that  we  might  descend  without  any 
great  danger. 

"  How  shall  we  fasten  it?"  asked  Lucien ;  "  there  are  no 
thick  branches  just  at  the  edge." 

"  The  strap  is  a  long  one,  and  there  is  a  bush  not  far  off 
with  pretty  strong  branches." 

"  But  then  we  shall  lose  the  lasso,  for  none  will  be  left  to 
loosen  it." 

"Upon  my  word !"  cried  Sumichrast, "  Master  Sunbeam 
is  right." 


222  THE  ADVENTURES  0V 

Then  each  of  us  tried  to  solve  the  problem,  proposing  ex- 
pedients more  or  less  impracticable. 

"  I've  found  it  out,"  cried  I  at  last,  with  quite  as  much 
satisfaction  as  Archimedes  when  he  leaped  out  of  his 
bath. 

Seizing  my  machete,  I  cut  two  stakes  of  a  good  thickness, 
which  I  drove  into  the  ground  close  to  one  another,  about 
three  yards  from  the  precipice.  While  Sumichrast  with  a 
club  was  consolidating  my  work,  I  cut  a  stick  about  a  foot 
long,  to  the  middle  of  which  I  firmly  tied  the  lasso.  I  then 
placed  it  crosswise  behind  the  stakes.  I  considered  that 
when  we  had  let  ourselves  down  to  the  spot  occupied  by 
1'Encuerado,  a  sharp  undulatory  shake  given  to  the  lasso 
would  be  sufficient  to  disengage  the  stick.  When  our  prep- 
arations were  finished,  we  let  down  the  basket  to  the  man 
who  carried  it.  Then  Sumichrast,  who  was  the  heaviest 
among  us,  slid  down  the  cord  to  the  tree  which  grew  in  so 
convenient  a  position.  The  stakes  scarcely  yielded  at  all  to 
his  weight.  Continuing  his  descent,  my  friend  soon  joined 
the  Indian. 

Lucien's  impatience  was  extreme ;  he  was  enchanted  with 
this  aerial  route. 

"  Now  it's  your  turn,"  said  I,  as  soon  as  I  had  drawn  up 
the  lasso. 

"  Are  you  going  to  tie  me  ?"  he  asked  in  a  disappointed 
tone. 

"  How  did  you  suppose  you  would  descend  ?" 

"  By  holding  on  to  the  lasso,  like  1'Encuerado  and  M. 
Sumichrast,"  answered  the  boy. 

"  The  grasp  of  your  hands  is  not  firm  enough  ;  you  must 
not  think  of  it ;  I  have  no  wish  to  risk  your  neck." 

"  Oh  !  dear  father  !  do  let  me  try." 

"  Certainly  not ;  for  if  your  trial  failed,  you  would  not 
be  in  a  position  to  try  again." 


'A  YOLXG 

Not  without  some  slight  vexation  Lucien  was  tied  to  the 
lasso,  while  Gringalet,  astonished,  barked  round  us. 

"  Patience !  patience !"  I  exclaimed  to  the  dog ;  "  it  will 
be  your  turn  next,  and  then,  perhaps,  you  will  not  seem  so 
pleased." 

I  let  the  lasso  slowly  down,  and  the  boy  was  soon  safely 
lodged  among  the  branches  of  the  tree.  With  care  equal 
to  mine,  and  with  still  firmer  knots,  PEncuerado  tied  the 
cord  afresh.  Then,  leaning  over  the  precipice,  I  heard  Su- 
michrast's  voice  ordering  the  Indian  to  let  the  improvised 
cable  slowly  down.  Seeing  that  the  port  was  safely  reach- 
ed, and  relieved  of  a  great  care,  I  began  tying  Gringalet, 
who.  hadn't  left  off  howling  since  his  young  master  disap- 
peared. In  spite  of  his  terror,  I  launched  the  dog  into  the 
air ;  he  struggled,  howled,  and  nearly  evaded  PEncuerado's 
friendly  grasp ;  the  latter,  as  he  again  let  him  down,  tried 
to  explain  the  inutility  of  his  struggles,  and  the  danger  of 
breaking  loose.  At  length,  having  for  the  last  time  exam- 
ined the  stakes  and  the  cross-piece,  I  also  descended.  I 
then  shook  the  lasso,  and  at  once  succeeded  in  disenga- 
ging it 

I  saw  below  me  Snmichrast  and  Lucien,  seated  on  a  nar- 
row projection,  which  led  by  a  rocky  declivity  down  to  the 
foot  of  the  mountain.  Soon  I  joined  them,  followed  by  the 
Indian.  We  had  fixed  the  cross-bar  between  two  stout 
branches,  and  for  a  long  time,  without  loosening  the  stick, 
I  shook  the  cord.  At  last,  tired  out,  and  about  to  leave  it, 
the  piece  of  wood  suddenly  gave  way,  and  nearly  fell  on 
me. 

Walking  now  became  very  laborious,  and  it  was  occa- 
sionally difficult  to  preserve  our  balance  in  passing  over 
rocks,  sometimes  smooth,  at  others  very  uneven.  Our  path 
lay  between  perfect  hedges  of  orchids,  of  which  beautiful 
race  Mexico  possesses  hundreds  of  species ;  we.  stopped  at 
10* 


226  ?HE  ADVENTURES   OF 

nearly  every  step  to  admire  some  of  these  curiously  shaped, 
brilliantly  colored,  but  often  scentless  flowers.  L'Encuera- 
do  pointed  out  many  plants  of  the  lynx  flower,  called  by  the 
Indians  the  serpent-flower ',  the  fine  petals  of  which  are  dot- 
ted with  yellow  spots,  and  marbled  with  pink,  violet,  and 
white.  Farther  on,  another  flower,  the  tiger-lily,  reminded 
us,  by  its  color,  of  the  animal  from  which  it  takes  its  name. 
Plucking  as  he  went  along,  Lucien  became  possessor  of 
such  a  bouquet  as  the  richest  gardens  could  not  furnish. 
Of  course  he  wanted  to  know  the  names  of  all,  but  he  was 
obliged  to  be  content  with  learning  that,  with  the  exception 
of  the  vanilla-plant,  the  brilliant  legion  of  orchids  furnishes 
nothing  utilized  in  the  arts  or  industrial  skill. 

We  had  just  reached  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  when  an 
immense  mass  of  stones  obliged  us  to  turn  aside.  I  took 
the  lead,  and  an  involuntary  slip  brought  me  unexpectedly 
to  a  cave.  My  companions  came  running  up  in  answer  to 
my  call ;  I  took  three  or  four  steps  into  the  entrance,  and 
immediately  made  up  my  mind,  from  its  thorough  adapta- 
bility, to  shelter  there  for  the  night.  While  I,  helped  by 
Lucien,  was  collecting  some  wood,  1'Encuerado  cleared  the 
ground,  and  Sumichrast  cut  down  two  or  three  shrubs 
which  impeded  the  view.  I  then  ordered  the  Indian  to 
light  the  fire,  which  would  assist  us  to  reconnoitre  the  en- 
trance to  the  cavern ;  which  being  done,  it  was  necessary 
for  us  to  go  in  search  of  game  for  our  dinner. 

Looking  from  the  plain,  I  could  well  judge  of  the  feat 
we  had  accomplished  in  our  descent.  Up  to  the  level  of 
the  cave  there  were  shrubs  and  brush-wo<3d.  Higher  up, 
orchids,  with  their  bright  flowers  and  opal-green  leaves ; 
higher  still  rose  a  perpendicular  and  almost  smooth  ram- 
part, utterly  impassable  except  through  the  fissure  which 
had  afforded  us  egress.  Sumichrast  guided  us  through 
the  thicket,  where  the  frangipanni-plants,  covered  with 


A  YOUSO  XATUKAL1ST. 


229 


their  sweet-scented  flowers,  predominated,  announcing  our 
approach  into  the  Terre-  Chaude,  and  of  a  completely  alter- 
ed nature  of  vegetation.  Soon  an  immense  mahogany-tree 
(Swietenia  inahogoni)^  with  its  thick  boughs  and  dark- 
green  foliage,  rose  before  us ;  a  little  farther  on  a  fallen 
ceiba  had  crushed  four  or  five  shrubs.  The  ceiba  (JErioden- 
dron  anfractuosum)  called  Pochotl  by  the  Indians,  is  one 
of  the  largest  trees  known ;  its  fruit,  of  a  pod-like  shape, 
contains  a  silky  down,  which  possesses  a  singular  property 
of  swelling  in  the  sun.  I  was  pointing  out  this  peculiarity 
to  Lncien,  when  a  formidable  buzzing  noise  met  our  ears ; 
a  whole  flock  of  Hercules  beetles  had  flown  out  of  a  bush 
and  struck  heavily  against  the  branches  of  a  tree.  Lucien 
caught  one  and  wanted  to  hold  it  down  on  the  ground,  but 
the  insect  got  away  from  him  and  continued  its  flight. 

"  Oh !"  cried  the  boy,  "  this  beetle  is  stronger  than  I 
am!" 

"  It  is  not  for  nothing  that  it  bears  the  name  of  Hercu- 
les" replied  Sumichrast,  smiling ;  "  as  you  have  just  found 
out,  it  is  as  remarkable  for  its  strength  as  for  its  size.  It 
is  a  native  of  Brazil,  and  is  only  occasionally  found  in  Mex- 
ico." 

"  Do  they  always  travel  in  flocks  like  this  ?" 

"  Xo ;  the  occurrence  is  so  rare  that  I  shall  make  a  note 
of  it." 

"  I  smell  something  like  snuff,"  said  Lucien,  sneezing. 

"  It  proceeds  from  the  beetles,"  said  Sumichrast. 

And  so  powerful  was  this  odor,  that  it  caused  Lucien 
several  times  to  sneeze.  This  was  another  fact  to  note 
down. 

"  Papa,  do  look  at  them  hanging  one  on  to  another,  and 
forming  something  like  an  immense  bunch  of  grapes.  Do 
they  bite  with  those  powerful  jaws  ?" 

"  They  are  horns  which  you  mistake  for  jaws  ;  but  their 


230  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

arrangement  quite  excuses  your  error.  Look;  the  upper 
part  of  their  body  is  black  and  polished,  and  their  wing- 
sheaths  are  a  greenish  gray,  irregularly  dotted  with  dark 
spots." 

"  Here  is  one  which  has  no  horns." 

"  It  is  a  female." 

We  were  examining  with  some  curiosity  all  the  ways  of 
the  insect  colony,  which  was  scarcely  disturbed  by  our 
presence,  when  Gringalet,  who  had  also  taken  to  sneezing, 
suddenly  set  up  the  most  plaintive  howl.  L'Encuerado  had 
placed  on  the  dog's  back  three  or  four  beetles,  which  had 
buried  their  claws  in  his  skin.  The  Indian,  surprised  at  the 
result  of  his  experiment,  hurried  to  relieve  the  poor  animal, 
which  was  rolling  on  the  ground;  at  last  he  succeeded  in 
getting  hold  of  him,  but  he  had  much  difficulty  in  freeing 
him  from  his  vindictive  assailants.  One  beetle,  indeed, 
seized  hold  of  the  hand  of  the  mischievous  wag,  whose  gri- 
maces much  amused  us;  as  fast  as  he  disengaged  one  of 
the  insect's  claws,  the  creature — which  possessed  six — soon 
found  a  chance  to  cling  on  with  others.  Annoyed  at  hav- 
ing to  strive  with  such  a  paltry  enemy,  PEncuerado  at  last 
tore  the  beetle  roughly  away,  but  the  blood  flo\vedfrom  his 
bronze-colored  skin.  Always  too  ready  for  revenge,  he 
threatened  to  exterminate  the  whole  colony -of  beetles  ;  but, 
smiling  at  his  ill-humor,  I  forbade  his  perpetrating  such  a 
useless  massacre. 

"  They  are  nice  gentlemen !"  he  cried ;  "  because  they 
had  just  heard  themselves  called  Hercules,  they  think  they 
are  strong  enough  to  bite  the  hands  of  every  person  they 
meet !  Stupid  fools,  with  noses  longer  than  their  bodies, 
who  fly  away  when  Gringalet  barks  at  them  !  Bite  them  ! 
Bite  them  !"  cried  he,  setting  the  dog  at  them. 

But  the  latter,  with  his  ears  drooped  and  his  tail  between 
his  legs,  refused  to  obey,  and,  from  this  day  forward  I  re- 


A  TOUSG  NATURALIST.  231 


marked  that  the  least  buzzing  from  any  insect  was 
to  render  him  uneasy. 

Sumichrast,  who  had  caught  one  of  these  large  beetles, 
placed  a  stone  upon  it  which  any  one  would  have  thought 
sufficient  to  have  crushed  it ;  but,  to  Lucien's  great  admira- 
tion, the  srs4egged  Hercules  walked  off  with  its  burden,  al- 
most without  an  effort.  Ere  long  the  beetles  one  by  one 
resumed  their  flight,  and  came  buzzing  around  us,  so  it  be- 
came really  necessary  to  beat  a  retreat,  lest  we  should  hare 
our  eyes  put  out  by  their  immense  horns ;  Gringalet  follow- 
ed our  example.  Lucien  sat  down  so  as  to  laugh  at  his 
ease,  for  FEncuerado,  instead  of  running  away,  drew  his 
bill-hook,  assuming  a  threatening  attitude  to  his  enemies, 
and,  like  one  of  Homer's  heroes,  defied  them  to  come  near 
him.  At  last  the  whole  band  of  beetles  united  and  sus- 
pended themselves  to  the  branch  of  a  ceiba,  a  tree  for  which 
the  Hercules  beetle  shows  a  marked  preference. 

But  we  had  in  the  mean  time  quite  forgotten  our  dinners, 
so  we  set  off  hunting  in  various  directions.  I  skirted  the 
edge  of  the  forests,  accompanied  by  Sumichrast  and  Lucien. 
We  had  walked  for  an  hour  without  finding  any  thing, 
when  four  partridges,  with  ash-colored  breasts,  tawny  wings, 
and  tufted  heads,  rose  about  fifty  paces  from  us,  and  settled 
down  a  little  farther  on.  Having  arrived  within  easy  gun- 
shot, I  told  my  son  to  fire  when  I  did,  and  two  of  them 
(which  savants  call  the  Sonini  partridge)  fefl  dead  on  the 
ground.  These  pretty  birds  are  rarely  met  with  in  Mexico, 
at  least  in  the  part  where  we  were. 

I  now  returned  towards  the  bivouac,  taking  a  path 
through  the  forest. 

"  Oh  papa,  here's  a  great  sponge  I"  cried  Lucien,  sud- 
denly. 

On  'our  right  there  was  a  shapeless,  porous,  yellowish 
mass,  rising  three  or  four  feet  above  the  ground.  I  saw  at 


232  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

once  that  it  was  the  nest  of  a  termite,  or  ant,  which  the 
Mexicans  call  comejen. 

"  It  is  a  nest  of  white  ants,"  I  said  to  my  son  ;  "  they  are 
insects  of  the  neuropteral  order, and  allied  to  the  libellula" 

"  But  where  are  they  ?" 

"  You  will  soon  see,"  I  answered. 

So,  kicking  the  spongy  mass,  immediately  out  came  a 
multitude  of  insects,  which  swarmed  about  in  every  direc- 
tion, as  if  to  ascei-tain  the  cause  of  the  disturbance.  Lucien 
wanted  to  examine  them  closer. 

"  Take  care,"  I  called  out  to  him ;  "  the  termites  you  see 
are  nothing  but  the  inoffensive  workers ;  the  soldier  ants 
will  soon  make  their  appearance,  and  if  they  bite  you  they 
will  certainly  draw  blood." 

Lucien  looked  at  me,  thinking  I  was  joking. 

"  I  am  speaking  quite  seriously,"  I  hastened  to  add ; 
"  termites,  like  bees  and  ants,  the  latter  of  which  they  much 
resemble  at  first  sight,  live  in  communities,  and  build  nests 
which  are  often  larger  than  the  one  you  are  looking  at. 
This  nest,  skillfully  divided  into  cells,  contains  a  king,  a 
queen,  workmen,  and  soldiers.  The  workmen  are  the  clever 
architects,  whose  duty  it  is  to  build,  maintain,  and,  in  case 
of  need,  increase  the  curious  edifice  which  you  took  for  a 
sponge.  The  only  duty  of  the  soldiers  is  fighting  against 
enemies  that  attempt  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  colony." 

"  But  I  see  thousands  of  holes ;  does  each  termite  have  a 
separate  chamber  ?" 

"  Not  exactly ;  there  is  first  a  chamber  for  the  queen, 
which  is  the  largest;  then  comes  the  nursery,  afterwards  a 
large  compartment,  in  which  the  working  ants  place  the  eggs 
which  the  queen  lays  night  and  day." 

"  How  I  should  like  to  see  all  this  !" 

Being  convinced  that  practical  illustration  is  better  than 
the  clearest  explanation,  I  again  struck  the  nest.  The 


A  TOfSTG  yATCXALlST.  233 

workmen,  who  were  beginning  to  disappear,  soon  came  oat 
again  to  examine  the  spot  threatened,  and  In  a  moment  after 
the  surface  of  the  nest  appeared  to  be  swarming.  I  then 
kept  making  a  noise  at  one  point  of  the  nest  only,  when  the 
soldier  ants  soon  rushed  out,  easily  recognizable  by  their 
enormous  heads  ;  finally,  I  removed  a  small  portion  of  the 
outside  of  die  construction,  and  brought  to  light  a  multi- 
tude of  white  specks.  These  were  the  eggs,  which  the 
workmen  hurried  to  carry  farther  into  the  nest.  After 
having  caused  all  this  disturbance,  I  led  Locien  away,  for 
the  ground  was  covered  with  soldier  ants,  and  I  was  too 
weU  aware  of  the  violence  of  their  stings  to  willingly  ex- 
pose him  to  them. 

"But  I  haven't  seen  the  queen,*1  cried  my  young  com- 
panion. 

"She  keeps  quite  in  the  centre  of  the  building,  immured 
in  a  cell  which  she  seldom  or  never  leaves,  for  her  bulk  is 
equal  to  that  of  twenty  or  thirty  working  ants.  Snmiehrast, 
who  has  been  a  great  observer  of  these  insects,  asserts  that 
the  queen  lays  about  eighty  thousand  eggs  a  day.  As  soon 
as  they  are  hatched,  the  young  termites  are  carried  off  into 
large  compartments,  where  they  are  fed  until  they  are  old 
enough  to  take  a  part  in  the  labor.  During  the  rainy  season, 
a  certain  number  of  white  ants  are  born  with  four  wings, 
which  enables  them  to  proceed  to  a  distance  and  found  other 
colonies;  but  these  wings  are  only  temporary,  and  I  have 
often  been  puzzled  by  finding  immense  quantities  of  them." 

"How  do  the  termites  '  manage  to  build  their  dweD- 


K  The  one  we  have  just  examined  appears  to  be  formed 
of  earth,  kneaded  up  with  a  kind  of  gum  which  the  insect 
secretes.  In  the  subterranean  passages  of  a  termite's  nest 
there  are  arches  which  seem  to  be  composed  of  morsels  of 
wood  stuck  together  by  some  sticky  matter.  These  insects 


234        THE  ADVWTUMES  OF  A  TO  UNO  NATURALIST. 

are  omnivorous,  and,  like  ants,  take  care  to  lay  up  abun- 
dant stores  of  provisions." 

We  were  now  commencing  to  climb  the  mountain,  and, 
raising  my  eyes  aloft,  I  was  glad  to  see  our  two  companions 
already  seated  bv  the  fire. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

OUB  SUBSTITUTES  FOR  LAMPS. FIRST  GLANCE  LVTO  THE 

CAVE. THE  ELATERIDES. THE  GOTHIC  HALL. STALAG- 
MITES AND  STALACTITES. A  CHICHIQUIMEC  CEMETERY. 

THE  "TREE  OF  ST.  IGNATIUS." — THE  OPOSSUM   AND  ITS 
LITTLE  OXES. 

T  UCIEX  had  ran  on  in  front  with  the  two  partridges; 
•*^  when  I  arrived  at  the  bivouac,  I  found  an  enormous 
mole  roasting  on  the  fire,  and  Sunaichrast  catching  with  the 
utmost  care  the  fat  which  ran  from  it. 

"  How  did  you  kill  this  animal  ?"  I  asked,  addressing 
my  companions  ;  "  I  did  not  hear  you  fire." 

"  L'Encuerado  knocked  it  down  with  the  butt-end  of  his 
gun,  and  just  at  the  same  moment  your  two  shots  brought 
us  back  to  the  cave." 

"  Why  are  you  collecting  this  fat  ?  Is  it  a  prophet  of 
some  new  dish  in  preparation  ?" 

"  Xo ;  but  I  intend  inspecting  the  cave,  and  with  this 
grease  we  shall  be  able  to  make  a  lamp,  which  will  be  more 
than  useful." 

I  approved  of  Sumichrast's  idea,  and,  as  he  had  discover- 
ed a  colony  of  moles,  proposed  to  go  after  dinner  and  catch 
some  of  them,  so  as  to  increase  our  supply  of  light.  Be- 
sides, I  hoped  that  in  this  walk  we  should  meet  witli  some 
kind  of  resinous  tree,  the  branches  of  which  might  serve  as 
torches.  Lucien  could  hardly  restrain  his  joy,  and  wished 


936  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

to  penetrate  into  the  cave  without  further  delay.  He 
scarcely  gave  himself  time  enough  to  eat,  and  scolded  1'En- 
cuerado  for  being  so  slow,  which  was  an  indirect  mode  of 
asking  us  to  hurry. 

'Having  again  reached  the  forest,  we  searched  for  a  pine 
or  a  fir,  the  branches  of  which,  being  full  of  resin,  would 
have  enabled  us  to  show  more  mercy  to  the  moles.  Hear- 
ing us  mention  these  two  trees,  Lucien  wanted  to  know  the 
difference  between  them. 

"They  both  belong  to  the  Coniferous  family,"  replied 
Sumichrast ;  "  but  firs  generally  grow  upon  lofty  mountains 
far  inland,  while  pines  abound  ou  sea-coasts,  the  shifting, 
sandy  soil  of  which  is,  after  a  time,  consolidated  and  fertil- 
ized by  them." 

Sumichrast' s  explanation  still  left  much  wanting ;  I  saw 
this  from  Lucien's  numerous  questions  ;  but  without  seeing 
a  specimen  of  each  tree  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  bet- 
ter describe  their  peculiar  characteristics. 

After  a  long  and  unsuccessful  walk,  we  halted  in  front  of 
a  guaiac-tree  with  dark-green  foliage,  a  higher  tree  than  any 
we  had  before  met  with.  This  fine  member  of  the  Ruta- 
cean  family  was  covered  with  pale-blue  flowers.  It  pro- 
duces a  gum  used  especially  by  the  English  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  tooth-powder  ;  but  the  hardness  of  its  wood,  which 
would  have  blunted  our  weapons,  induced  me  to  pass  it  by. 
A  little  farther  on,  PEncuerado  spied  out  a  liquid-amber 
tree,  valuable  on  account  of  the  balsam  that  oozes  from  its 
branches  when  cut,  which  is  burned  by  the  Indians  as  in- 
cense. He  climbed  the  knotty  trunk  of  this  colossus,  and 
cut  off  some  branches,  which  Sumichrast  split  into  small 
pieces,  after  I  had  cleared  off  their  leaves.  Our  work  was 
interrupted  by  the  approach  of  night,  and  we  made  our 
way  to  our  bivouac,  each  loaded  with  a  heavy  fagot. 

As  soon  as  we  arrived,  Lucien  had  the  satisfaction  of  try- 


A  TOUXG  XATUBALIST.  237 

ing  one  of  our  flambeaux.  The  branch  crackled  when 
lighted,  and,  as  we  entered  the  cavern,  five  or  six  bats  flew 
out.  I  led  Lucien  by  the  hand,  and  very  soon  he  was  the 
only  one  who  could  stand  upright.  Afterwards  we  entered 
a  vast  chamber  with  a  dome-shaped  roof,  which  became 
lower  the  farther  we  penetrated ;  this  was  rather  a  disap- 
pointment, as  we  had  fancied  there  was  something  more  to 
be  seen  than  a  mere  cave.  A  heap  of  reddish  earth  in  one 
corner  attracted  Sumichrast's  attention,  who  examined  it  to 
see  if  he  could  discover  some  fossil  bones.  Standing  all  to- 
gether, we  must  have  formed,  by  the  smoky  light  of  our 
odoriferous  torches,  rather  a  fantastic- looking  group.  More 
than  half  an  hour  elapsed  without  discovering  any  results 
frorii  our  digging.  L'Encuerado,  who  had  tried  to  crawl  in 
between  the  roof  and  the  ground,  suddenly  raised  an  excla- 
mation ;  he  had,  in  fact,  all  but  fallen  into  a  deep  pit.  In  au 
instant  I  was  laid  down  flat  on  my  stomach  and  crawling  to- 
wards the  Indian ;  Lucien,  owing  to  his  size,  was  able  to 
creep  on  his  hands  and  feet,  and  consequently  soon  got  in 
front  of  me.  We  could  soon  see  down  into  the  bottom  of 
the  hole;  the  burning  fragments  of  our  torches  fell  npon 
a  heap  of  stones  at  a  depth  of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet.  L'En- 
cuerado threw  one  of  the  torches  into  the  chasm,  and  the 
vague  glimmer  showed  us  a  yawning  opening  on  the  left. 
Delighted  with  this  discovery,  we  now  beat  a  retreat,  defer- 
ring a  more  thorough  exploration  until  the  next  day. 

The  night  was  dark,  and  during  our  absence  the  fire  had 
almost  gone  out.  Just  below  us,  a  tree,  the  outline  of 
which  we  could  scarcely  distinguish,  seemed  covered  with 
animated  sparks.  Lucien  opened  his  eyes  very  widely  in- 
deed, not  being  in  the  least  able  to  understand  this  phenom- 
'enon,  which  was  produced  by  thousands  of  elaterides,  in- 
sects which  have  on  each  side  of  the  thorax  a  yellowish 
spot  which  becomes  luminous  in  the  dark. 


238  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

Nothing  could  be  more  curious  than  to  see  innumerable 
glittering  spots  rising,  falling,  and  crossing  one  another 
with  extraordinary  rapidity ;  one  might  have  fancied  it  a 
tree  bearing  flowers  of  fire  waving  about  in  the  breeze. 
L'Encuerado  came  up  with  a  specimen,  which  lighted  up 
his  hand  with  a  greenish  glimmer.  Lucien  took  possession 
of  it,  and  the  two  luminous  spots  looked  to  him  like  two 
enormous  eyes.  Suddenly  the  insect  gave  a  kind  of  shock 
to  the  boy's  fingers,  who  looked  at  us  full  of  surprise. 

"  The  name  of  the  insect,"  said  Sumichrast,  "  is  derived 
from  a  Greek  word  vh:ch  signifies  elastic;  and  it  has  just 
shown  you  that  it  well  deserves  the  family  name  which  has 
been  given  to  it.  Examine  for  an  instant  how  it  is  shaped ; 
the  angles  of  its  corslet  form  sharp  points ;  added  to  this, 
its  sternum  also  terminates  in  a  point  which  the  insect  can 
insert  at  will  into  the  cavity  which  exists  under  its  second 
pair  of  legs.  The  women  in  the  Terre-  Chaude,  by  passing 
a  pin  through  this  natural  ring,  can  fix  this  brilliant  insect 
as  an  ornament  in  their  hair,  without  injuring  it  in  the 
least.  Now,  then,  place  it  on  its  back." 

"  It's  pretending  to  be  dead  !"  cried  Lucien. 

"  Yes ;  it  does  that,  like  many  other  kinds  of  insects,  in 
order  to  deceive  an  enemy  about  to  seize  it." 

"Oh, how  it  jumps  !"  exclaimed  Lucien. 

"That  is  its  only  means  of  getting  on  its  feet  again, 
when  it  has  had  the  misfortune  of  falling  on  its  back. 
Look ;  it  pushes  the  point  which  terminates  its  chest  against 
the  edge  of  the  hole  situated  lower  down ;  then  it  raises  its 
head,  piff !  paff !  you  might  fancy  it  was  a  spring  going 
off.  It  didn't  succeed  the  first  time,  but  now  it  is  up  on 
its  legs,  and  now  you've  lost  it,  for  it  has  flown  off!" 

Lucien's  first  impulse  was  to  dart  off  in  pursuit  of  it,  as 
the  route  it  had  taken  was  shown  by  its  luminous  appei.- 
dages.  But  it  was  long  past  our  usual  hour  for  repose,  so 


A  YOVXG  NATURALIST.  239 

we  all  sheltered  ourselves  as  well  as  we  could,  and  dreamt 
of  our  next  day's  adventures. 

Day-break  found  us  all  up,  and  already  comforted  with  a 
cup  of  coffee.  We  had  been  troubled  during  the  night  by 
mosquitoes;  but  they  were  only  the  harbingers  of  the  le- 
gions which  are  before  us.  Lucien,  full  of  impatience, 
could  not  take  his  eyes  off  the  entrance  of  the  cave,  and  fol- 
lowed all  our  movements  with  anxiety.  A  hollow  stone 
which  1'Encuerado  had  found  was  filled  with  fat,  a  morsel 
of  linen  served  as  a  wick,  and  our  make-shift  lamp  soon 
burned  and  gave  forth  light. 

As  the  branches  which  were  to  serve  as  torches  were  be- 
incr  distributed,  I  noticed  that  a  yellow  and  transparent  drop 
had  formed  at  the  end  of  each.  This  gum,  by  its  odor  and 
color,  has  given  to  the  tree  which  produces  it  the  name  of 
liquid  amber.  At  last,  followed  by  my  companions,  I  en- 
tered the  cave ;  PEncuerado  placed  the  lamp  on  the  edge 
of  the  pit,  and  the  bats  which  had  been  disturbed  the  even- 
lag  before  again  commenced  their  whirling  flight. 

Preceded  by  Sumichrast,  I  ventured  down  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  pit.  A  narrow  passage  led  from  it  into  a  vast 
chamber,  the  more  distant  parts  of  which  we  could  not  dis- 
cern on  account  of  the  darkness.  While  my  friend  was  ex- 
ploring, I  returned  for  Lucien.  The  lamp,  thanks  to  the 
Indian's  skill,  was  safely  let  down  without  extinguishing 
the  light ;  lastly  TEncuerado  himself  made  his  appearance. 
Passing  along  the  narrow  passage,  I  soon  perceived  Sumi- 
chrast, who  looked  like  some  fantastic  apparition  as  he 
shook  his  torch  over  his  head,  endeavoring  to  see  through 
the  darkness  which  enveloped  us. 

The  lamp  being  set  down  at  the  entrance  of  the  passage, 
each  of  us  took  a  lighted  torch,  and  advanced  at  a  slow 
pace.  Sumichrast  and  the  Indian  skirted  the  wall  to  the 
it  ft.  while  I  walked  along  the  wall  to  the  right.  Our  smoky 


240  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

torches  gave  but  an  imperfect  light,  and  we  could  scarcely 
see  beyond  three  yards  in  front  of  us.  A  little  farther  on, 
the  ground  was  strewn  with  fallen  stones ;  before  ventur- 
ing on  this  dangerous  ground,  I  cast  a  glance  towards  my 
companions ;  they  were  not  in  sight.  I  gave  them  a  call — 
a  formidable  clamor  resounded  through  the  chamber,  and 
Lucien  crept  close  to  me. 

"It  is  the  echo  returning  to  our  ears  Sumichrast's  an- 
swer," I  hastened  to  tell  him.  "  They  are  in  another  cham- 
ber ;  you  call  them  now  !" 

The  boy,  agitated,  raised  his  voice.  Immediately  the 
dark  vaults  seemed  to  repeat  his  words;  and  the  sound  in- 
creased, as  it  moved  "away,  as  if  a  thousand  persons,  placed 
at  intervals,  were  repeating  some  watch-word.  A  sonorous 
"  Hiou !  hiou !"  prevailed  over  the  uproar,  and  the  face  of 
1'Encuerado  appeared  on  our  right  before  the  echo  of  the 
call  had  died  away. 

"  Come  and  see  a  beautiful  church !"  cried  the  Indian. 
"  A  church  made  of  diamonds,  Chanito  !" 

We  moved  towards  the  entrance  by  an  inclined  passage, 
down  the  slope  of  which  we  followed  l'E*ncuerado.  The 
distance  between  the  walls  gradually  increased,  and  soon  we 
found  ourselves  in  a  vast  hall  studded  with  stalactites ;  in 
it  Sumichrast  arranged  the  lighted  torches. 

The  Indian  was  not  far  wrrong ;  we  might  easily  have 
fancied  ourselves  in  a  Gothic  cathedral.  The  wildest  dreams 
could  not  picture  a  stranger,  more  original,  or  more  fantas- 
tic style  of  architecture.  Never  did  any  painter  of  fairy 
scenes  imagine  any  effects  more  splendid.  Hundreds  of 
columns  hung  down  from  the  roof  and  reached  the  ground 
below.  It  was  a  really  wonderful  assemblage  of  pointed 
arches,  lace-work,  branchery,  and  gigantic  flowers.  Here 
and  there  were  statues  drawn  by  nature's  hand.  Lucien 
particularly  remarked  a  woman  covered  with  a  long  veil, 


"  The  wildest  dreams  could  not  picture  a  stranger 
11 


. .  style  of  architecture. 


A  roearc  XATCBALKT.  243 

and  stretching  oat  over  oar  beads  an  arm  which  a  sculptor's 
chisel  could  scarcely  have  rendered  more  life-like.  There 
were  also  shapeless  mouths,  monstrous  heads,  and  animus, 
appearing  as  if  they  had  been  petrified,  in  menacing  atti- 
tudes. The  illusion  was  rendered  more  or  less  complete 
according  to  the  play  of  the  light ;  and  many  a  strange 
shape  was  but  caught  sight  of  for  a  moment,  to  as  rapidly 


While  we  were  moving  about  the  care,  some  long  nee- 
dles, hanging  from  the  roof,  touched  our  heads. 

"They  are  stalactites,"  said  I  to  the  astonished  Lucien. 
"  The  rain-water,  filtering  through  the  mountain  above,  dis- 
solves the  calcareous  matter  it  meets  with,  and  produces, 
when  it  evaporates,  the  beautiful  concretions  you  are  now 
looking  at." 

**  Here  is  a  needle  coming  up  from  the  ground." 

"That  is  a  stalagmite;  it  increases  upward,  and  not 
downward  like  the  stalactites,  through  which,  besides,  a  tube 
passes.  Look  up  at  that  beautiful  needle,  with  a  drop  of 
water  glittering  at  the  end  of  it.  That  liquid  pearl,  which 
has  already  deposited  on  the  stalactite  a  thin  layer  of  lime, 
wfll  fall  down  on  the  stalagmite,  the  top  of  which  is  round- 
ed. After  a  time  the  two  needles  win  join,  adding  another 
column  to  the  grotto,  which,  in  the  course  of  time,  win  be- 
come fiHed  up  with  them." 

"Then  do  stones  proceed  from  water?"  asked  Lucien, 
with  a  thoughtful  air. 

"  To  a  certain  extent,"  I  replied ;  «  water  holds  in  solu- 
tion calcareous  matter,  and,  as  soon  as  the  liquid  evaporates, 
stone  is  formed." 

"  According  to  this,"  interposed  FEncuerado, « the  peb- 
bles ought  to  melt  in  the  rivers." 

"  So  they  do ;  but  they  do  not  melt  so  easily  as  some 
things — sugar,  for  instance.  Don't  you  recollect  that  in  the 


244  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

Rio  Blanco  the  water  is  almost  like  milk,  and  tha<,  it  leaves 
a  whitish  coating  on  the  branches,  and  even  on  the  leaves 
with  which  it  conies  in  contact." 

"  That's  true  enough,"  replied  the  Indian,  who  had  often 
wondered  at  the  petrifactions  with  which  the  banks  of  the 
White  River  abound. 

"  But  the  water  that  falls  down  hei-e  is  quite  clear,"  urged 
Lucien,  holding  his  torch  close  to  a  natural  basin. 

"  But,  nevertheless,  it  contains  salts  of  lime  in  solution, 
the  same,  in  fact,  as  all  water,  particularly  that  from  wells. 
And  it  is  for  this  reason  that  housekeepers  will  not  use  it ; 
for  it  will  not  dissolve  soap,  and  hardens  the  vegetables  that 
are  cooked  in  it." 

"  Now  do  you  understand  this  ?"  asked  FEncucrado,  ad- 
dressing Lucien ;  "I  don't." 

"Yes,  I  do,  a  little." 

"  Well,  you  are  very  fortunate !  The  other  day  stones 
were  said  to  come  from  the  sun  or  moon,  and  fly  about  all 
covered  with  fire ;  now,  they  are  formed  by  water.  Per- 
haps M.  Sumichrast  will  tell  us  to-morrow  that  they  come 
from  the  wind." 

The  Indian  then  wralked  away,  quite  indignant ;  we  fol- 
lowed him,  smiling  at  his  anger,  becoming  more  and  more 
enchanted  by  the  spectacle  which  met  our  eyes.  Unfortu- 
nately, our  torches  gave  a  very  insufficient  light,  and  the 
thick  smoke  rapidly  blackened  the  arches  above  us.  A 
great  polished  stone  now  impeded  our  passage,  and  com- 
pelled us  to  crawl.  I  took  the  lead,  and,  passing  through  a 
kind  of  narrow  corridor,  made  my  way  into  a  small  cham- 
ber. I  raised  a  sudden  exclamation  ;  for  five  or  six  skulls, 
symmetrically  arranged,  seemed  to  glare  M  me  through  their 
empty  orbits. 

"  Oh  father  !"  cried  Lucien,  "  are  we  in  a  cemetery  ?" 

"  Yes,  my  boy  ;  I  think  this  must  be  a  Chichimec  burial- 


A  YOUJiG  XATUJtALIST.  2i7 

place.  This  nation,  which  preceded  the  Toltecs  and  Aztecs 
in  Mexico,  were  in  the  habit  of  depositing  their  dead  in 
caverns." 

Sumichrast  examined  a  skull  which  he  had  picked  up ;  its 
white  and  perfect  teeth  showed  that  it  must  have  belonged 
to  a  man  who  died  young.  A  few  paces  farther  on  five  or 
six  more  skulls  lay  on  the  surface  of  the  ground;  they  were 
inclosed  in  by  fine  stalactites,  and  appeared  as  if  they  were 
grinning  at  us  through  the  bars  of  a  dungeon. 

For  more  than  a  thousand  years,  perhaps,  these  skulls  had 
reposed  in  the  niches  which  had  evidently  been  hollowed 
out  on  purpose  for  them.  The  soil  of  the  grotto  had  ap- 
parently risen  at  a  subsequent  period.  What  revelations  as 
to  the  ancient  history  of  Mexico  might  be  contained  in  this 
cave !  "Without  much  difficulty,  PEncuerado  broke  through 
the  upper  calcareous  layer,  and  brought  to  light  some  loamy 
.earth,  out  of  which  he  procured  a  small  cup  of  baked  clay. 
I  then  began  digging ;  my  fingers  soon  touched  some  hard 
object ;  it  was  a  small  stone  statuette.  I  had  scarcely  loosen- 
ed my  discovery  from  the  earth, before  Lucien  also  plunged 
his  arm  into  the  hole  and  brought  out  a  little  fancifully- 
shaped  tortoise,  the  tail  of  which  had  been  used  as  a  whistle. 
Enticed  on  by  these  .successes,  we  knelt  down  so  as  to  break 
through  a  wider  extent  of  the  calcareous  stratum ;  but  our 
torches  began  to  burn  palely,  and  the  close  chamber,  now 
filled  with  a  thick  smoke,  was  no  longer  bearable.  Sumi- 
chrast complained  of  humming  in  his  ears,  and  I  also  felt 
uncomfortable ;  so,  much  against  our  inclination,  I  gave  the 
signal  of  departure.  The  lamp  was  dying  out,  and  was  fill- 
ing the  outer  chamber  with  a  nasty  smell,  which  gave  the 
finishing-stroke  to  our  unpleasant  feelings.  L'Encueraclo 
and  Lucien  were  the  first  to  leave  the  cave ;  from  it  I  after- 
wards emerged  with  Snmichrast,  both  being  quite  blinded, 
when  we  reached  the  open  air,  by  the  overpowering  rays  of 
the  sun. 


248  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

Shouts  of  laughter  resounded  on  all  sides;  we  had  the 
appearance  of  negroes,  or  rather  of  chimney-sweeps.  It 
was  no  use  thinking  about  washing  ourselves ;  the  contents 
of  our  gourds  were  too  precious  ;  and  besides,  there  would 
not  have  been  water  sufficient.  As  there  was  water  in  the 
cave,  1'Encuerado  offered  to  go  in  and  fetch  some ;  but  the 
smoke  which  escaped  from  the  hole  made  me  feel  anxious, 
so,  for  the  time,  I  opposed  the  Indian's  re-descending  into  it. 

We  were  surprised  at  the  time  our  exploration  had  last- 
ed ;  it  had  taken  no  less  than  four  hours.  Although  we 
had  made  up  our  minds  to  continue  our  journey  on  coming 
out  of  the  cavern,  the  fatigue  we  felt,  added  to  a  desire  to 
have  another  look  at  the  subterranean  wonders,  decided  us 
to  put  off  our  departure  until  the  next  day. 

After  resting  an  hour,  we  all  set  off  to  seek  our  dinner. 
I  examined  with  much  curiosity  the  neighborhood  of  our 
encampment.  The  presence  of  skulls  in  the  cave  proved 
that  some  Indian  tribe  had  once  inhabited  this  locality  ;  but 
as  the  Chichimec  (or  Chichiquimec,  in  the  chapter-heading) 
Indians  constructed  nothing  but  huts,  time  had,  doubtless, 
obliterated  all  trace  of  their  former  presence. 

I  can  hardly  describe  the  pleasure  I  felt  in  again  viewing 
the  woods,  the  verdure,  the  insects,  the  flowers,  and  enjoy- 
ing the  light  of  the  sun.  The  interior  of  a  cave,  certainly, 
has  the  effect  of  producing  melancholy,  attributable,  no 
doubt,  to  the  silence  and  darkness ;  for  the  beautiful  hall, 
radiant  with  stalactites,  was  but  little  likely  to  cause  sad- 
ness. The  effect  on  Lucien's  mind  was  of  a  serious  charac- 
ter, and  he  seemed  never  to  be  weary  of  asking  questions. 

"  These  natural  hollows,"  said  Sumichrast,  "  often  occur 
in  gypsum  mountains,  but  still  more  frequently  in  volcanic 
or  calcareous  masses.  Some,  which  are  as  old  as  the  world 
itself,  date  from  the  earliest  upheavals  of  the  surface  of  the 
globe,  when  the  fused  matter  which  composes  the  centre  of 


Crater  of  Popocatepetl. 
11* 


A  YOUXG  SATI'JIALIST.  25i 

the  earth  broke  through  the  scarcely  solidified  crust,  and, 
rushing  upward,  formed  the  mountain  chains  we  now  see." 

a  Then  the  centre  of  the  earth  has  been  once  in  a  liquid 
state?" 

"  It  is  so  still,  as  is  shown  by  volcanoes ;  but  the  period 
of  great  catastrophes  is  past.  The  molten  matter  solidified 
on  the  surface,  as  it  became  cool,  and  then  water  made  its 
appearance,  and  transformed  and  rendered  habitable  the  thin 
crust  on  which  we  lire,  the  thickness  of  which  is  so  incon- 
siderable when  compared  with  the  bulk  of  the  globe." 

"  What  is  this  molten  matter  composed  of  which  is  burn- 
ing under  our  feet?" 

a  The  same  substances  which  we  see  around  us — granite, 
porphyry,  and  basalts,  which  are  called  igneous  or  Vtilca- 
nian  rocks,  as  contrasted  with  the  Nephmean  rocks,  such 
as  gypsum  or  lime,  clay  and  sandstone,  the  agglomeration 
of  which  is  attributed  to  water.  The  science  which  deals 
with  these  subjects  is  called  geology,  a  study  with  which, 
some  day,  you  will  be  delighted." 

u  Then  afl  Vulcanian  rocks  can  be  melted  ?" 

u  Yes,  if  they  were  subject  to  as  great  a  heat  as  that  ex- 
isting in  the  centre  of  the  earth,  which  reaches  an  intensity 
at  which  the  imagination  recoils.  But  to  return  to  the  sub- 
ject of  caves.  Some  have  been  produced  by  the  dissolving 
action  of  water.  Thus,  at  some  future  date,  the  spring 
which  we  saw  gushing  out  from  the  fallen  mountain  might 
dry  up  or  alter  its  direction,  and  leave  for  the  curiosity 'of 
future  travellers  the  sight  of  chambers  full  of  stalactites 
such  as  we  have  inspected." 

Our  geological  chat  was  interrupted  by  an  exclamation 
from  FEncuerado,  who  had  just  discovered  a  tree  which 
the  Mexicans  call  "  the  Tree  of  St.  Ignatius."  Its  fruit  is 
of  a  brown  color,  with  a  woody  husk,  something  like  small 
melons,  which,  as  they  hang  on  the  tree,  strike  against  one 
11* 


252  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

another  Avith  a  sharp  sound.  L'Eucuerado  informed:  Lu- 
cien  that  this  fruit  is  in  the  habit  of  bursting  suddenly 
with  a  loud  explosion,  and  that  the  flat  beans  which  they 
contain  are  much  used  as  medicine. 

Sumichrast  led  the  way  through  the  forest,  where  we 
were  sheltered  under  the  tall  trees.  After  a  somewhat  long 
ramble,  during  which  we  met  with  nothing  but  magpies,  I 
requested  1'Eucuerado  to  guide  us  back  to  our  bivouac. 
All  of  a  sudden  my  friend  enjoined  silence ;  an  opossum, 


followed  by  five  young  ones,  was  coming  near  us  on  our 
left.  The  animal  indolently  approached  a  tree  of  middling 
size,  which  it  climbed,  aided  by  its  prehensile  tail.  Its 
progeny  crowded  busily  round  the  foot  of  the  tree,  uttering 
plaintive  cric-s.  The  opossum  then  came  down  again,  and 
scarcely  had  it  put  foot  to  the  ground  before  its  disconso- 
late family  rushed  pell-mell  into  the  maternal  pouch.  Thus 
loaded,  the  animal  climbed  the  tree  more  slowly,  and  sat 


A  YOUNQ  NATURALIST.  053 

herself  quietly  on  one  of  the  lowest  branches.  We  could 
see  nothing  but  the  pointed  muzzles  and  black  eyes  of  the 
little  ones,  which  seemed  as  if  they  were  looking  down 
from  the  top  of  a  balcony.  One  of  them  at  last  ventured 
to  emerge,  and  crawled  along  the  branches ;  soon  the  whole 
litter  followed  this  example.  Sumichrast  advised  Lucien 
to  clap  his  hands,  and  I  ordered  1'Encuerado  not  to  fire 
at  the  poor  animal  Frightened  at  the  noise,  the  little  ones 
hastened  to  their  mother,  who  set  up  her  thin  ears  and 
showed  us  a  double  row  of  white  teeth.  One  of  the  stupid 
little  things,  in  its  haste  to  reach  its  asylum,  fell  down 
from  the  tree.  In  a  moment  the  opossum  had  jumped 
down  close  to  it,  and  turned  towards  us  her  threatening 
jaws ;  then,  finding  all  her  treasure  complete,  she  disap- 
peared among  the  brush-wood. 

"  Why  didn't  you  let  me  shoot  at  the  tiacuache  ?"  asked 
1'Encuerado. 

"  What  is  the  good  of  killing  a  poor  creature  which 
would  be  of  no  use  to  us  ?" 

"  You  know  well  enough,"  reph'ed  the  Indian,  "  that  this 
'  poor  beast '  finds  its  way  into  granaries ;  that  it  devours 
the  corn  and  also  fowls,  without  reckoning  the  damage 
made  by  them  in  other  ways." 

"  Yes,  that's  true  enough  ;  but  this  animal,  at  least,  is  in- 
nocent of  all  these  misdeeds,  for  it  lives  too  far  from  any 
town." 

This  scene  had  quite  delighted  Lucien.  I  acquainted 
him  with  the  fact  that  opossums,  kangaroos,  and  several 
other  animals  of  the  kind,  the  females  of  which  are  provid- 
ed with  a  pouch  to  shelter  the  young  ones,  are,  for  this  rea- 
son, called  marsupials. 

The  opossum  is  very  common  in  Mexico.  Its  long,  point- 
ed, and  deeply-divided  muzzle  is  armed  with  fifty-two  for- 
midable teeth,  although  the  animal  feeds  principally  on 


254       THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 

eggs,  insects,  and  birds.  The  young  of  those  species  which 
are  unprovided  with  the  pouch,  as  soon  as  they  are  able  to 
walk,  climb  up  on  their  mother's  back  and  intertwine  their 
tails  with  hers,  which  she  carries  over  her  back  for  this 
purpose.  This  instinct  is  perhaps  more  curious  than  that 
which  leads  them  to  dart  into  their  mother's  protecting 
pouch. 

Time  was  getting  on ;  it  now  became  important  for  us 
to  reach  the  spot  where  the  moles  were ;  and  1'Encuerado 
predicted  good  sport  there  without  firing  off  his  gun. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

TITE  EARTH-N17TS. A  WILD-CAT'S  FEAST. ANOTHER  EX- 
PLORING EXPEDITION  TO  THE  CAVE. THE  BATS. EXCA- 
VATIONS IN  A  TOMB. 

WHILE  making  our  way  through  the  brush-wood,  in 
the  hopes  of  putting  up  some  game  of  a  more  ap- 
petizing nature  than  the  opossum,  our  feet  became  entan- 
gled in  the  fibrous  and  creeping  branches  of  the  earth-nut, 
called  by  the  Indians  Hale acalm oil.  Although  the  stems 
were  still  covered  with  white  flowers,  PEncuerado  dug  up 
the  soil  in  which  the  fruit  had  buried  itself  in  order  to 
complete  its  ripening,  and  there  found  a  quantity.  The 
tlalcacahuatl,  which  is  classed  by  botanists  in  the  legumi- 
nous order,  produces  yellowish,  wrinkled  pods,  each  contain- 
ing three  or  .four  kernels,  which  are  eaten  after  being  roast- 
ed in  their  shells ;  their  taste  is  something  like  that  of  a 
chestnut.  It  is  now  cultivated  to  some  extent  in  Europe, 
and  the  nut  produces  an  oil  which  does  not  readily  turn 
rancid,  and  is  used  in  Spain  in  the  manufacture  of  soap. 

Lucien  and  1'Encuerado  were  the  most  pleased  at  the 
discovery,  for  they  were  very  fond  of  these  earth-nuts, 
which,  on  the  days  of  religious  festivals,  are  sold  by  heaps 
in  front  of  the  Mexican  churches. 

"  It  is  the  day  but  one  after  Ascension-day,"  cried  the 
Indian ;  "  we  certainly  can  not  hear  Mass,  but,  at  all  events, 
we  can  try  to  please  God  by  eating  pea-nuts  in  His  honor." 


256  ™E  ADVENTURES  OF 

The  sun  was  beginning  to  sink,  and  hunger  dictated  to 
us  that  we  should  hasten  our  steps.  I  therefore  led  my 
companions  towards  the  bivouac.  We  had  but  just  start- 
ed again,  when  five  or  six  hares  came  giddily  running  al- 
most between  our  legs.  Lucien  was  skillful  enough  to 
shoot  one,  and  Sumichrast  knocked  down  another.  L'En- 
cuerado  loaded  with  the  game,  we  proceeded  to  our  hut. 

Being  now  reassured  as  to  our  bill-of-fare  for  dinner  by 
this  unexpected  windfall,  I  kept  on  walking  towards  the  en- 
trance of  a  glade,  the  soil  of  which,  being  quite  burrowed, 
betrayed  the  presence  of  the  moles.  Each  of  us  lay  down 
under  the  shade  of  a  tree.  Chance  led  me  under  a  robinia 
or  iron-wood  tree,  the  trunk  of  which  will  defy  the  best- 
tempered  axe.  In  front  of  me  stood  a  tepehuage,  a  kind 
of  mahogany-tree,  with  dark-colored  foliage,  which  will  be- 
come, some  day,  the  object  of  considerable  ti'ade  between 
Europe  and  Mexico ;  the  beauty  of  this  red  wood,  veined 
with  black,  renders  it  highly  fitted  for  the  manufacture  of 
furniture. 

Gringalet  had  followed  the  Indian.  I  advised  Lucien  to 
keep  silence,  so  as  to  observe  the  operations  of  the  moles, 
who  would  be  certain  to  come  out  of  their  burrows  as  soon 
as  the  sun  set.  In  fact,  first  one,  then  two,  and  at  last 
twenty  made  their  appearance;  and  in  less  than  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  I  counted  more  than  a  hundred  engaged  in 
throwing  up  the  ground,  playing  about,  and  fighting,  all  the 
time  uttering  shrill  cries.  Lucien  was  much  amused  as  he 
watched  them  squatting  down  on  their  hinder  parts,  mak- 
ing grimaces,  and  gnawing  the  roots  and  bark. 

A  single  gunshot  would  have  enabled  us  to  double  our 
store  of  grease,  but  it  would  have  been  a  waste  of  our  pow- 
der and  shot.  In  fear  of  yielding  to  the  temptation,  I  was 
thinking  of  giving  the  signal  for  departure,  when  it  be- 
came evident  that  the  animals  whose  games  were  enlivening 


A  YOUNG  XATUKALIST.  257 

us  were  actuated  by  a  sudden  panic..  All  the  moles,  which 
were  solemnly  seated,  nodded  to  and  fro  their  enormous 
heads,  showing  their  long  yellow,  incisors,  and  seemed  to 
sniff  the  air.  Suddenly  they  all  rushed  towards  their  bur- 
rows. A  jaquarete  had  scattered  them  by  springing  in 
among  them.  The  new-comer,  a  species  of  wild-cat,  with  a 
coat  of  the  darkest  black,  left  two  or  three  victims  dead 
upon  the  ground,  and  then  set  up  a  plaintive  mewing. 

This  call  soon  attracted  two  young  ones,  which  darted  at 
once  on  the  first  mole  they  came  to.  Each  of  them  seized 
hold  of  one  side  of  their  prey,  spitting  just  like  cats,  and 
trying  to  tear  it  with  their  formidable  claws.  The  mother 
was  obliged  to  put  a  stop  to  the  quarrel  by  an  energetic 
display  of  authority,  allotting  a  separate  victim  to  each  of 
her  ferocious  offspring ;  then  she  lay  down  and  yawned  sev- 
eral times,  while  the  young  ones  were  tearing  to  pieces  the 
bodies  of  their  prey.  When  they  had  eaten  all  they  re- 
quired, the  mother  gluttonously  devoured  all  that  was  left, 
without  ceasing  to  watch  a  third  mole,  round  which  the  two 
young  carnivora  were  prowling.  Whenever  they  came  near 
her  prey,  she  gave  a  growl ;  and  they  seemed  to-  know  the 
meaning  of  this  maternal  injunction,  for  they  crouched 
down  to  the  ground,  and  drew  back,  lowering  their  heads, 
as  if  from  fear.  As  soon  as  her  repast  was  finished,  the 
jaquarete  caught  up  in  her  mouth  the  untouched  mole,  and 
made  off  without  noticing  us. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  these  little  ogres  ?"  asked  Sumi- 
chrast,  addressing  Lucien. 

"  How  very  pretty  they  are,  with  their  black  shiny  coats ! 
They  are  just  like  big  cats." 

"  That's  very  likely,  for  cats  are  their  first  cousins." 

"  Do  jaquaretes  ever  attack  men  ?" 

"  Xo  ;  but,  still,  if  we  had  tried  to  touch  her  young  ones, 
the  mother  would  perhaps  have  flown  at  us." 


258  THIS  AD  VENTURES  OF 

"  To  eat  us  ?"  asked  Lucien,  opening  his  eyes  very  widely. 

"  She  would,  bite  and  tear  us  with  her  claws,  or  otherwise 
injure  us.  But  seriously,  as  a  general  rule,  wild  beasts,  or 
carnivora,  as  the  savants  call  them,  are  always  formidable, 
and,  whatever  may  be  their  size,  it  is  unsafe  to  provoke 
them.  If  one  of  us,  unarmed,  had  to  fight  hand  to  hand 
with  a  wild-cat,  it  is  probable  that  he  would  receive  more 
injury  from  the  contest  than  the  animal." 

Night  was  now  falling  fast ;  but,  fortunately,  our  fire 
guided  us  to  our  resting-place.  When  we  were  yet  some 
distance  off,  we  were  amused  at  seeing  the  Indian  prowling 
round,  or  gravely  sitting  down  face  to  face  with  the  dog, 
with  whom,  no  doubt,  he  was  chatting.  Suddenly  the  dog 
jumped  up,  pricking  up  his  ears,  and  ran  out  to  meet  us, 
while  1'Encuerado  raised  over  his  head  a  burning  branch  to 
throw  a  light  upon  our  path. 

At  day-break  we  were  awakened  by  the  voice  of  the  In- 
dian. The  gloomy  appearance  of  the  weather  threatened 
us  with  one  of  those  fine  rains  which  appear  to  last  forever. 
Sumichrast  went  off  to  cut  some  long  switches  covered 
with  leaves,  one  of  which  light  boughs  he  handed  to  each 
of  us  before  he  would  allow  us  to  enter  the  cave. 

"  What  are  these  switches  for  ?"  asked  Lucien,  in  sur- 
prise. 

"  M.  Sumichrast  wants  to  catch  some  bats,  Chanito." 

"  Does  he  intend  to  eat  them  ?" 

"  Oh  no ;  though  I  have  no  doubt  they  would  be  very 
good." 

"  Their  flesh  is  delicious,"  interposed  Sumichrast ;  "  the 
wing  especially  is  a  tidbit  which  I  can  highly  recommend." 

But  my  friend  could  not  keep  a  serious  face  when  he  saw 
Lucien's  frightened  look ;  so  his  joke  partly  failed  in  its 
effect. 

L'Encuerado  entered  the  cave  on  tiptoe.     The  rest  of  us, 


A  TOr.V'r  NATUJtALIST.  259 

taking  up  a  position  at  the  entrance,  made  every  preparation 
to  enrich  our  collections.  Two  bats  soon  fell,  beaten 
down  by  our  switches.  Lucien  examined  them  without 
much  repugnance,  but  the  shape  of  their  muzzles  surprised 
him  even  more  than  their  wings.  One  of  those  which  he 
examined  had  lips  cloven  in  the  middle  and  doubled  back ; 
the  other  had  a  flat  nose  and  still  more  hideous  visage, 
and  possessed,  instead  of  ears,  two  enormous  holes,  at  the 
bottom  of  which  were  situate  its  black  and  brilliant  eyes. 
Added  to  this,  the  membrane  of  its  wings  was  so  thin  and 
transparent  that  it  seemed  as  if  it  must  tear  with  the  slight- 
est exertion.  The  poor  little  animal  gradually  recovered  it- 
self, and  showed  its  delicate  and  sharp  teeth.  Sumichrast 
took  it  up,  and  hung  it  by  the  claw  at  the  end  of  its  fore- 
arm, in  order  to  show  Lucien  the  way  in  which  these  crea- 
tures cling  to  the  rough  places  which  form  their  usual  rest- 
ing-place ;  but  it  suddenly  let  go  its  hold,  and  disappeared 
in  the  dark  cave  open  in  front  of  us. 

The  bat,  apparently  an  imperfectly-formed  creature,  was 
for  a  long  time  a  puzzle  to  naturalists.  Fontaine  makes  it 
say: 

"I  am  a  bird;  look  at  my  wings! 
I  am  a  moose;  the  mice  forever!'' 

Savants,  also,  used  to  describe  it  as  a  bird  provided  with 
hair  instead  of  feathers,  and  with  teeth  instead  of  a  bill. 
Geoffrey  Saint-Hilaire  was  the  first  to  teach  that  the  wings 
of  the  bat  are  nothing  but  the  fingers  of  the  animal  joined 
together  by  a  thin  membrane.  I  had  thus  another  oppor- 
tunity of  proving  to  Lucien  the  wisdom  of  our  Creator,  and 
the  simplicity  of  the  means  He  employs  in  producing  the 
infinite  variety  of  beings  which  people  the  universe. 

"  This  is  the  first  time,"  cried  PEncuerado,  indignantly, 
"  that  I  have  heard  the  devil  made  use  of  as  a  means  of  be- 
stowing praise  upon  Almighty  God." 


260  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

"Bats  have  no  connection  with  your  devil,"  said  Sumi- 
chrast ;  "  they  are  nothing  but  animals,  rather  more  curi- 
ously constructed  than  others." 

"  Oh  !  M.  Sumichrastj-then  you  can  never  have  examined 
their  wings  ?  The  Satan  that  St.  Michael  is  treading  under 
his  feet  in  the  beautiful  picture  in  the  convent  at  Orizava 
has  wings  just  like  the  bats.  And  as  to  these  caverns,  ev- 
ery one  knows  that  they  are  the  residences  of  bad  spirits." 

"  Let  us  make  our  way  at  once  into  it,  then,"  said  Lucien, 
who  in  no  way  shared  his  friend's  superstition. 

As  on  the  day  before,  we  descended  to  its  bottom,  and, 
skirting  the  left-hand  wall,  entered  a  wide  chamber,  in  which 
water  fell  in  a  continual  shower.  We  were  inconvenienced 
by  the  icy  drops  which  ran  down  our  clothes,  and  I  there- 
fore advised  Sumichrast  to  turn  back ;  but  instead  of  doing 
so,  he  pushed  on  into  a  winding  passage.  Before  long  the 
roof  became  so  low  that  Lucien  alone  could  stand  upright. 
I  brought  up  the  rear,  watching  my  guides,  who  kept  on  as- 
cending or  descending,  according  to  the  inequalities  of  the 
ground.  Sometimes  it  was  necessary  to  halt,  to  climb  over 
a  rock,  or  cross  a  pool  of  water.  At  last  I  saw  my  compan- 
ions again  resume  their  upright  position ;  we  were  now  in 
a  hall,  so  vast  that  our  torches  were  quite  powerless  to 
throw  a  light  up  to  the  roof. 

Surrounded  by  hundreds  of  bats,  flitting  round  the 
torches  like  immense  moths,  and  yet  always  avoiding  them, 
we  had  ample  opportunity  for  observing  the  precision  of 
their  flight.  At  length,  stunned  by  their  shrill  cries,  I  again 
proposed  to  beat  a  retreat,  but  Sumichrast  insisted  upon 
continuing  our  search.  He  urged  that  the  bats,  who  went 
out  every  night  into  the  open  air  to  seek  their  food,  would 
not  be  likely  to  follow  the  narrow  winding  path  we  had  fol- 
lowed ;  there  must  therefore  be  some  other  outlet.  My 
friend  and  PEncuerado  set  off  in  search  of  it ;  but  I  did  not 


'Our  two  scouts  climbed  some  enormous  heaps  of  rocks." 


JL  YOUSG  NATURALIST.  263 

dare  to  venture  farther  with  my  boy  over  the  damp  and 
sticky  ground.  Oar'  two  scouts,  however,  climbed  some 
enormous  heaps  of  rock  many  feet  above  us ;  and  we  sud- 
denly lost  sight  them. 

The  bats  still  swarmed  round  us,  pushing  their  familiar- 
ity so  far  as  to  brush  us  with  their  wings.  My  prudence 
rather  vexed  Ludenjbo  had  become  very  intrepid.  After 
about  five  minutes,  Runichrast's  voice  summoned  us,  and 
we  bent  our  steps  towards  the  heap  of  rocks  which  had 
been  scaled  by  o"r  companions. 

The  ascent  was  difficult,  and,  in  spite  of  remonstrances,  I 
would  not  let  go  Lucien's  hand.  Fortunately  I  did  not  do 
so,  for  suddenly  he  slipped,  and,  while  trying  to  save  him,  I 
dropped  my  torch ;  and  there  we  were,  perched  up  on  this 
pile  of  debris,  in  utter  darkness. 

"Don't  move!"  I  cried;  "you  know  that  we  are  sur- 
rounded by  precipices." 

<*  How  dark  it  is !  One  might  fancy  that  the  darkness 
was  solid,  and  weighed  down  upon  our  eyes." 

*  The  fact  is,  that  we  are  in  a  darkness  in  which  the  light 
does  not  penetrate,  even  by  reflection,  and,  like  yon,  I  could 
readily  fancy  that  I  was  blindfolded.  Call  FEncuerado." 

The  vaulted  roof  above  us  re-echoed  the  name  of  the  In- 
dian, who  immediately  replied. 

The  bats  now  ceased  their  flight ;  but  when  the  light  re- 
appeared the  uproar  began  afresh.  Lncien  related  our  ac- 
cident to  his  friend,  who,  in  his  hurry  to  come  to  our  rescue, 
fell  several  times  over  the  rocks.  At  last  he  reached  us, 
and,  lighting  our  torches,  he  guided  us  over  the  dangerous 
ground.  When  we  cleared  the  fallen  rocks,  we  entered  a 
chamber  studded  with  stalactites,  on  which  Sumichrast's 
torches  threw  a  light,  and  the  walls  of  the  cave  glittered  as- 
if  they  had  been  covered  with  crystal  stars.  From  the 
ground,  from  the  roof,  and  from  the  walls,  clusters  of  varie- 


264  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

gated  rays  were  reflected  in  every  direction,  as  if  emanating 
from  ten  thousand  diamonds.  The  beauty  of  this  scene  was 
quite  sufficient  to  dazzle  far  less  enthusiastic  spectators  than 
we  were.  But  it  was  not  long  before  a  repulsive,  oppress- 
ive, thick  smoke  compelled  us  to  move  on,  and  a  few  paces 
through  a  passage  brought  us  into  the  centre  of  an  immense 
hall,  lighted  by  an  aperture  into  the  open  air. 

I  joyfully  hailed  the  blue  sky,  and  then  closely  examining 
the  ground  we  were  treading  on,  noticed  that  it  was  cover- 
ed with  fragments  of  baked  clay.  Removing  this,  it  was 
not  long  before  we  came  to  a  layer  of  damp  charcoal. 
L'Encuerado  went  outside  and  cut  some  branches,  which, 
when  pointed  at  the  end,  helped  us  in  our  digging.  After 
two  hours  of  hard  work,  we  succeeded  in  laying  bare  more 
than  a  square  yard  of  black  and  greasy  mould. 

Thoroughly  exhausted,  in  spite  of  my  curiosity  being  ex- 
cited, I  was  compelled  to  follow  Sumichrast  out  of  the  cave 
in  order  to  breathe  the  fresh  air.  A  fine  rain  was  falling, 
and  I  was  so  devoted  to  the  idea  of  my  excavation  in  the 
cave,  that  I  was  very  glad  to  use  the  state-  of  the  weather 
as  a  pretext  for  putting  off  our  departure  to  the  next  day. 

My  companions  had  hardly  recovered  their  breath  before 
I  summoned  them  back  to  work.  L'Encuerado,  as  the  hole 
became  larger,  was  quite  excited,  and  soon  fancied  that  he 
could  perceive  gold.  The  fact  is,  that  every  Indian  believes 
that  all  caves  and  grottoes  contain  unheard-of  treasures,  ei- 
ther the  work  of  nature  or  buried  by  man,  and  that  these 
treasures  are  guarded  by  some  malicious  genius,  who  allows 
the  searchers  just  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  hidden  riches, 
but  never  permits  their  being  carried  away. 

"  Don't  laugh,  Tatita,"  said  the  Indian  to  me,  with  a  mys- 
terious air  ;  "  especially  just  at  this  moment." 

He  then  went  on  to  tell  us  that  a  friend  of  his,  who  was 
lending  his  flocks  on  the  mountain, ran  into  the  thickets  in 


•The  animal  coiumued  to  retreat  before  him,  and  led  him  to  the  mouth 
of  a  cave." 


A  TOCXG  XATTBALIST.  267 

pursuit  of  one  of  his  goats.  The  animal  continued  to  re- 
treat before  him,  and  led  him  to  the  mouth  of  a  cave.  The 
Indian,  hesitating  at  first,  at  length  took  off  all  his  clothes, 
so  as  to  be  sure 'that  he  carried  no  iron  about  him,  and  en- 
tered the  cavern.  But  he  soon  drew  back,  startled  by  the 
sight  of  fifty  broken  boxes  overflowing  with  coined  money. 
Instead  of  profiting  by  this  windfall,  and  taking  possession 
of  the  fortune  by  appropriating  some  of  it  which  had  fallen 
out  on  itie  ground,  the  stupid  fellow  returned  to  his  village 
as  quick  as  he  could,  and  communicated  his  discovery  to  his 
friends.  That  very  evening  five  of  them  set  out,  provided 
with  sacks,  intending  to  convey  the  treasure  to  a  safe  place. 
They  camped  in  the  vicinity  of  the  cave,  and  the  night  wore 
away  in  drinking  to  the  health  of  the  good  genius.  As 
soon  as  day  appeared,  they  followed  their  guide.  First 
they  ascended,  and  then  they  descended ;  but  they  never 
succeeded  in  finding  the  spot  where  all  this  enormous 
wealth  lay. 

«  He  was  not  able  to  find  his  way  back  to  the  spot?0 
said  Lucien,  much  interested  by  the  story. 

"No,  Chanito ;  the  cave  had  become  invisible." 

"Invisible!  but  why?" 

"Because  they  had  some  iron  about  them  !" 

"But  yon  have  just  told  us  that  he  stripped  off  all  his 
clothes  y  interposed  Sumichrast. 

"Ah!  but,  unfortunately,  he  kept  his  flint  and  steel  in 
his  hand." 

The  afflicted  tone  in  which  FEncuerado  pronounced  this 
last  phrase  drew  a  smile  even  from  Lucien. 

Again  we  entered  the  cavern,  and  picking  over  with  care 
the  layer  of  charcoal  which  had  already  been  laid  bare,  I 
discovered  a  small  vase  of  burnt  day,  full  of  ashes.  On 
one  of  the  faces  of  the  urn  was  depicted  a  grinning  visage, 
and  in  the  interior  was  found  one  of  the  so-called  pilgrim's 


268        THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 

scallop-shells  with  the  skull  of  a  bird.  Accustomed  as  I 
was,  by  long  apprenticeship,  to  such  discoveries,  I  had  no 
doubt  whatever  but  that  a  skeleton  would  soon  present  it- 
self, and  a  skull  was  soon  discovered ;  then  the  vertebra? 
and  tibiae  of  a  human  being.  Next  we  found  some  obsidian 
arrow-heads ;  and,  last  of  all,  some  small  broken  clay  fig- 
ures. Unfortunately,  it  was  no  use  thinking  about  carrying 
away  all  these  relics ;  so  I  made  up  my  mind  to  give  up 
further  labor.  Directly  after  dinner  we  busied  ourselves  in 
putting  our  baggage  in  order,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  start  the 
next  morning  at  day-break. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

A    FORCED    MARCH. — WILD-DUCKS. — VEGETABLE    SOAP. — AN 
LTNAVELCOME    GUEST. 

TT  rained  all  night,  and  I  awoke  about  seven  o'clock  in 
-•-  the  morning  shivering  with  cold.  It  was  Ascension- 
day,  and  1'Encuerado,  before  making  up  the  fire,  chanted  a 
canticle,  and,  after  the  manner  of  Roman  Catholics,  piously 
crossed  himself.  "We  were  soon  comforted  with  some  cof- 
fee, and  then,  each  of  us  resuming  his  burden,  started  off 
to  reach  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  Before  plunging  into 
the  forest,  I  could  not  help  looking  back  with  regret  at  the 
cave  we  had  scarcely  explored,  and  in  which  so  many  archae- 
ological curiosities  remained  .buried.  The  sun  only  show- 
ed itself  at  intervals  through  grayish-looking  clouds  driven 


270  THE  Alt  VENTURES  OF 

violently  along  by  the  east  wind.  The  state  of  the  earth, 
moistened  by  rain  which  had  lasted  twenty-four  hours, 
rendered  our  progression  very  difficult,  for  we  were  travers- 
ing a  ferruginous  soil.  Such  wretched  walking  put  the  fin- 
ishing-stroke to  our  ill-humor  by  smearing  and  soiling  our 
clothes ;  for  my  part,  I  inwardly  anathematized  travelling 
in  general,  more  especially  in  rainy  weather. 

Just  as  we  were  emerging  from  this  miserable  ravine, 
Gringalet,  who  had  no  doubt  scented  something,  suddenly 
rolled  himself  upon  the  ground,  frantically.  We  had  pro- 
ceeded some  distance  before  he  rejoined  us,  covered  with  a 
coating  of  red  clay,  which  gave  him  as  singular  an  aspect 
as  can  well  be  imagined.  The  dog  ran  up  and  down, 
bounded  about  and  barked,  as  if  he  was  making  it  a  busi- 
ness to  amuse  us.  Nor  were  his  efforts  without  success. 
We  now  reached  a  small  plain,  in  which  the  sun  flooded  us 
with  its  warm  rays.  This  had  the  effect  of  putting  us  into 
better  humor;  for  our  clothes  dried,  and  with  the  warmth 
the  feelings  of  discomfort  to  which  we  had  been  a  prey  de- 
parted. 

We  were  again  entering  among  trees,  when  PEncuerado 
suddenly  stopped. 

"  What  is  that  moving  down  below  there  ?"  he  said. 

"  Some  deer,"  I  replied,  after  looking  at  them  through 
my  glass. 

Each  of  us  hurried  to  hide  behind  a  bush,  in  hopes  that 
the  beautiful  animals  would  come  within  gunshot.  Several 
times  PEncuerado  expressed  a  wish  to  move  round  to  the 
other  side  of  the  plain ;  but  I  opposed  his  idea,  as  the  dis- 
tance was  too  great.  We  spent  more  than  an  hour  in 
watching  the  flock  browsing,  playing  about,  and  licking 
themselves ;  but  not  one  of  them  ventured  in  our  direction. 
Tired  with  this  inaction,  Sumichrast  emerged  from  his  hid- 
ing-place, and  the  deer  scampered  off.  Upon  the  whole, 


A  YOUXG  NATURALIST.  271 

however,  this  delay  had  not  been  altogether  useless ;  for, 
thanks  to  the  heat  of  the  sun,  the  ground  had  become  more 
traversable,  and  my  friend  actually  hummed  a  tune  as  he 
took  the  lead. 

The  time  when  we  ought  to  have  settled  our  bivouac  had 
long  passed,  yet  we  were  still  on  the  road.  The  path  we 
were  treading  was  flat  and  unpromising,  and  the  water 
from  the  cave,  with  which  we  had  filled  our  gourds,  was  so 
unpleasant  in  taste  that  we  longed  to  find  a  spring.  Being 
unable  to  get  a  clear  view  of  the  horizon,  I  directed  1'En- 
cuerado  to  climb  to  the  summit  of  a  lofty  tree.  The  In- 
dian ascended  to  its  topmost  branch,  and,  having  surveyed 
the  prospect  in  every  direction,  came  down  far  from  pleased 
at  having  failed  to  discern  what  he  desired.  Fatigue,  how- 
ever, now  compelled  us  to  halt. 

Our  hut  was  soon  constructed,  the  fire  lighted,  and  the 
stew-pot  filled  with  water  and  rice.  Not  one  of  us  felt  in- 
spired with  sufficient  courage  to  induce  him  to  go  reconnoi- 
tring. An  hour  after  sunset  we  were  all  sleeping  side  by 
side ;  1'Encuerado  had  quite  forgotten  his  earth-nuts,  and 
even  dropped  off  to  sleep  without  having  been  able  to  fin- 
ish the  chant  which  he  commenced. 

I  was  wakened  up  by  the  cries  of  the  tauagers — a  beau- 
tiful species  of  bird  which  lives  hi  flocks.  Lucien,  like  all 
the  rest  of  us,  complained  of  feeling  rather  stiff  in  the  joints, 
resulting,  no  doubt,  from  our  long  journey  the  day  before. 
On  the  morrow  our  little  party  started  with  rather  a  hob- 
bling gait ;  the  presence  of  the  birds  seemed  to  tell  us  that 
we  were  near  some  stream.  Our  limbs  began  gradually  to 
lose  their  numbness ;  we  were  now  descending  an  almost 
imperceptible  slope,  and  the  vegetation  assumed  a  more 
tropical  aspect.  As  we  passed  along,  I  noticed  several 
pepper-plants;  and  next  \ve  came  to  bushes,  round  which 
myriads  of  cardinal  birds  were  flying.  Guided  by  these 


272  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

beautiful  red-plumaged  creatures,  we  suddenly  found  our- 
selves on  the  banks  of  a  stream,  running  noiselessly  over  a 
bed  of  white  sand. 

"With  as  little  delay  as  possible,  a  fire  gave  forth  its  ex- 
hilarating flame.  Butterflies,  dragon-flies,  and  birds  flut- 
tered round  the  flowering  shrubs.  There  was  a  perfect 
concert  of  buzzing  and  twittering,  and  a  gentle  breeze  ag- 
itated the  foliage  and  cooled  the  air.  Nothing  seemed 
wanting  for  our  comfort  but  game  for  our  dinner.  For- 
tunately, Providence  rarely  does  things  by  halves.  We 
had  scarcely  sat  down  to  take  breath,  when  a  flock  of  wild- 
ducks  settled  near  us.  They  were  at  once  saluted  by  a  pla- 
toon fire,  and  four  victims  strewed  the  ground  and  water 
with  their  white,  brown,  and  blue  feathers. 

"These  are  the  first  aquatic  birds  we  have  met  with," 
said  Sumichrast ;  "  it  will  not  be  long  now  before  we  are 
among  the  marshes." 

"  What  birds  are  wild-ducks  related  to?"  asked  Lucien. 

"  To  swans  and  geese,  Master  Sunbeam,"  replied  my 
friend.  "  All  the  individuals  of  this  order,  as  their  name 
— palmipedes,  or  web-footed  birds — indicates,  have  their 
toes  united  by  a  wide  membrane.  Ducks,  many  species 
of  which  are  found  in  Mexico,  have  a  flat  bill ;  and  their 
short  legs,  placed  so  far  behind,  compel  them  to  waddle  in 
walking,  although  they  can  swim  with  great  facility." 

"  How  do  they  manage  to  perch  on  a  tree  with  feet  of 
that  kind  ?" 

"  With  the  exception  of  the  wood-duck,  this  family  never 
perch ;  they  pass  the  day  in  dabbling  in  the  water,  and  sleep 
upon  its  surface,  or  among  the  reeds." 

"  Then  they  must  always  be  wet." 

"  Not  so ;  nature  has  covered  the  feathers  of  web-footed 
birds  with  an  oily  substance,  which  renders  their  plumage 
quite  water-proof.  Ducks  are  gregarious,  and  migrate 


•  They  were  at  once  sainted  by  a  platoon  fire,"' 
12* 


A  TOUA'G  XATUBALIST.  275 

•*» 
from  one  locality  to  another,  according  to  the  seasons. 

They  are  so  common  on  the  lagoons  which  surround  the 
city  of  Mexico,  that  sportsmen  scarcely  will  be  troubled 
shooting  them." 

While  FEncnerado  was  preparing  dinner,!  and  my  com- 
panions walked  along  the  edge  of  the  stream.  Before  long 
I  discovered  some  water-cress — a  lucky  discovery  for  trav- 
ellers who  are  confined  constantly  to  animal  food.  Lncien 
examined  the  small  white  flowers,  which  have  obtained  for 
all  its  family  the  name  of  Crueiferce  ;  these  vegetables  con- 
tain an  acrid  and  volatile  oil,  which  gives  them  strong  anti- 
scorbutic qualities.  The  cabbage  (Brassica  ofaracea),  tar- 
nip  (B.  naptu),  radish  (Raphanus  satirus),  and  mustard 
(Sinapi*  alba),  are  of  the  crucifera  order.  To  this  list  we 
•art  also  add  the  horse-radish,  the  colza,  the  seed  of  which 
produces  an  oil  well  adapted  for  lighting  purposes;  the 
crygimum,  or  hedge-mustard,  a  popular  remedy  in  France 
for  coughs ;  the  shephenTs  purse,  which  the  Mexicans  use 
as  a  decoction  for  washing  wounds;  and  the  Lepidivm 
pifcidium,  employed  by  the  natives  of  Oceanica  for  intoxi- 
cating fish,  so  as  to  catch  them  more  easily. 

"  You  quite  forget  the  coddearia,  or  scurvy-grass,  so  use- 
ful to  sailors  as  a  remedy  for  scurvy  ?w  said  Sumichrast. 

"  You  are  right ;  but  I  think  Tve  said  enough  about  the 
Cruciferce  for  Master  Sunbeam  to  remember." 

A  few  paces  farther  on,  while  we  were  looking  for  insects 
under  the  leaves  of  a  shrub,  Lucien  drew  back  in  surprise 
at  seeing  it  covered  with  the  pretty  little  creatures  called 
tree-frogs  (JSyla  viridis).  Instead  of  flying  towards  the 
water,  these  reptiles  made  for  the  woods.  Sumichrast  ex- 
plained to  the  young  naturalist  that  tree-frogs  have  sticky 
disks  on  their  feet,  and  by  the  aid  of  this  mechanism  they 
could  move  about  on  leaves  and  even  on  smooth  surfaces. 

"In  Europe,"  he  added, "the  peasants  shut  them  up  in 


276  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

bottles  half  full  of  water,  and  assert  that  the  animal  predicts 
good  or  bad  weather  by  either  coming  up  to  the  top  or 
keeping  under  the  water.  The  tree-frog,  like  all  its  fellows, 
buries  itself  in  the  mud  daring  winter,  and  remains  torpid. 
This  lethargy, "which  in  glacial  climates  has  the  effect  of 
preserving  it  from  hunger,  must  in  Mexico  have  some  other 
cause,  for  in  the  latter  country  it  can  find  food  all  the  year 
round.  The  skin  of  the  tree-frog  secretes  a  poisonous 
matter." 

"  Come  here  and  look  at  an  apple-tree !"  cried  Lucien, 
suddenly. 

I  hastened  to  the  spot,  and  found  a  shrub  about  thirteen 
or  fourteen  feet  high,  covered  with  berries  of  a  yellowish 
color,  spotted  with  red.  I  recognized  what  is  called  in  the 
Antilles  the  soap-tree.  This  discoveiy  came  just  in  the 
nick  of  time,  and  Sumichrast  helped  us  in  gathering  some 
of  the  useful  fruit  which  would  assist  us  to  give  our  clothes 
a  thorough  wash.  Lucien  tasted  the  little  apples,  which 
were  as  transparent  as  ai'tificial  fruit  made  of  pure  wax; 
but  he  did  not  like  their  astringent  flavor,  and  threw  them 
away  with  every  expression  of  disgust. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later,  we  were  all  kneeling  on  the 
banks  of  the  stream  and  trying  who  could  perform  the 
greatest  amount  of  washing,  the  fruit  of  the  soap-tree  af- 
fording us  a  plentiful  supply  of  lather.  In  the  Terre-Tem- 
peree,  a  root  called  amoli  is  a  substitute  for  soap ;  in  the 
Terre- Chaude  a  bulb  named  amolito  is  used  for  the  same 
purpose;  lastly,  in  the  Mistec  province  of  Oajaca, the  poor 
find  a  natural  soap  in  the  bark  of  the  Quillaja  saponaria,  a 
tree  belonging  to  the  rose  tribe.  Even  in  Europe,  a  vege- 
table soap  is  also  found — the  soap-wort — a  little  plant  allied 
to  the  pinks,  and  which  adorns  with  its  unpretending  flow- 
ers the  edges  of  ditches,  and  is  employed  by  housewives  for 
cleaning  silk  stuffs  and  reviving  their  faded  colors. 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 

Quite  refreshed  with  our  w.ash,  we  stretched  ourselves 
dose  to  the  camp  fire,  looking  forward  to  our  meal  of  roast 
ducks  dressed  with  cresses,  rice,  and  seasoned  with  allspice. 
On  taking  the  first  mouthful,  I  made  a  grimace  which  was 
imitated  by  Sumiehrast*  The  rice  had  an  unbearable  aro- 
matic taste.  L'Encuerado  regarded  us  with  a  triumphant 
look. 

"  What  on  earth  have  you  put  in  the  saucepan?"  I  cried, 
angrily. 

«  Don't  you  think  it  is  nice,  Tatita  ?" 

«  fcfo  perfectly  filthy ;  you've  poisoned  us  !w  But  I  soon 
recognized  the  smell  of  a  kind  of  coriander  with  which  the 
Indians  occasionally  saturate  their  food.  Sumichrast,  like 
me,  had  not  got  beyond  the  first  mouthful ;  but  Lucien,  who 
shared  to  some  extent  FEncuerado's  weakness  for  the  cu- 
lantro,  was  having  quite  a  feast.  Our  bill  of  fare  was  thus 
reduced  to  a  single  dish,  and  I  left  the  broiled  duck  to  my 
two  companions  and  confined  myself  to  the  roast.  With 
an  artlessness  that  approached  the  sublime,  the  Indian, 
thinking  that  we  should  prefer  the  fresh  plant  to  the  cooked, 
the  odor  of  which  had  been  somewhat  softened  down  by 
the  operation,  presented  us  with  several  stalks.  On  the 
whole,  however,  he  was  not  altogether  to  blame,  for  we  oft- 
en ate  with  pleasure  his  national  style  of  cookery,  and  he 
had  full  right  to  be  surprised  at  our  repugnance  to  their 
favorite  bon  bouche. 

Gringalet  just  tasted  the  rice,  then  retired  to  roll  on  the 
twigs  of  coriander  which  were  lying  on  the  ground,  a  pro- 
ceeding which  did  not  much  improve  his  toilet. 

The  sun  was  setting,  and  hundreds  of  birds  were  assem- 
bling around  us.  Yellow,  brae,  green,  or  red  wings  were 
cleaving  the  air  in  all  directions. 

There  were  finches  of  a  violet-black,  with  orange-colored 
breasts  and  heads,  some  blue  or  golden-throated  grossbeaks, 


278  THJs!  ADVENTURES  OF 

and  birds  adorned  with  a  variety  of  coloring,  which  the 
Mexicans  call  "primroses,"  while  a  number  of  mocking- 
birds were  warbling  airs  worthy  of  the  nightingale.  The 
sun,  lost  amidst  the  golden  clouds,  bathed  the  trees  and 
bushes  with  a  soft  light.  Gradually  all  became  silent  and 
nothing  was  heard  but  the  murmur  of  the  stream,  while 
birds  of  prey  soared  over  our  heads  on  their  way  to  the 
mountains.  The  eastern  sky  was  now  wrapped  in  shade 
and  the  stars  twinkled  in  the  dark  heavens,  while  on  every 
bush  animated  sparks  appeared  to  flit  about. 

I  had  been  asleep  more  than  two  hours,  when  I  was  sud- 
denly awakened  by  Gringalet  barking.  I  jumped  up  simul- 
taneously with  my  companions,  who  were  also  alarmed  by 
a  rustling  among  the  dry  leaves.  Silence  was  soon  re- 
stored, and  I  fancied,  although  the  dog  continued  to  growl, 
that  it  was  a  false  alarm  ;  so  I  was  about  to  lie  down  again, 
when  Sumichrast's  hand  touched  me  on  the  shoulder.  An 
enormous  serpent  was  gliding  over  the  ground  beside  us. 

tat  once  1'ecognized  the  black  sugar-cane  snake,  which  is 
only  formidable  on  account  of  its  size;  the  planters  are  in 
the  habit  of  attracting  it  to  their  fields,  to  keep  them  clear 
of  mischievous  rodents.  L'Encuerado  noiselessly  left  the 
hut.  The  snake  raised  its  head,  and  slowly  contracting  its 
rings,  and  throwing  round  a  bright  glance,  turned  towards 
us.  Sumichrast  was  just  taking  aim,  when  we  heard  the 
report  of  a  gun,  and  our  hut  was  almost  in  a  moment  after- 
wards crushed  in  by  the  repeated  and  furious  struggles 
of  the  wounded  reptile. 

There  was  one  moment  of  utter  confusion ;  I  disengaged 
myself  as  soon  as  I  could,  at  the  same  time  protecting  the 
stupefied  Lucien,  and  drawing  him  away.  When  I  turned 
round,  Sumichrast  was  approaching  1'Encuerado,  who,  cut- 
lass in  hand/was  hacking  at  the  serpent,  to  render  it  further 
incapable  of  mischief. 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  281 

At  last  the  fragments  of  the  black  snake,  blindly  tumbling 
about,  became  lost  in  the  thicket,  and  all  was  again  quiet. 

"  Well,"  said  Sumichrast, "  if,  instead  of  being  frighten- 
ed, we  had  only  kept  quiet,  the  snake  would  not  have 
troubled  us,  and  we  should  still  have  had  our  house  to  shel- 
ter us." 

"All's  well  that  ends  well,"  I  replied,  smiling.  L'En- 
cuerado  again  made  up  the  fire ;  Lucien  complimented  the 
dog  on  his  watchfulness,  who  thereupon  licked  his  face. 
This  undue  familiarity  drew  upon  him  a  lecture  on  polite- 
ness, the  end  of  which  I  was  too  sleepy  to  hear. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

WILD  DAHLIAS. A  PAINFUL  MISADVENTURE. THE  EUPHOR- 
BIA PLANTS. THE  WASHER  RACCOON. SURPRISED  BY  A 

TORRENT.  —  L'ENCUERADO   TURNED   HAT-MAKER.  —  NEW 

METHOD  FOR  DRIVING  OUT  EVIL  SPIRITS. THE  ANHINGA. 

THE  next  day,  which  was  the  nineteenth  since  our  de- 
parture from  Orizava,  we  examined  and  compared  our 
compasses,  and  the  course  of  our  journey  was  changed. 
Hitherto  we  had  proceeded  in  a  north-easterly  direction, 
skirting  the  provinces  of  Puebla  and  Vera  Cruz,  but  still 
without  leaving  the  Cordilleras,  the  numerous  valleys  and 
forests  of  which  are  still  unexplored.  According  to  my 
calculations,  and  also  those  of  Sumichrast,  we  were  then 
abreast  with  the  province  of  Mexico,  and  we  agreed  to  move 
westward,  as  if  going  towards  its  capital. 


TRE  ADVENTURES  OF  A.  YOUNG  NATURALIST.        283 

"  Why  are  we  not  to  continue  to  keep  straight  on  ?"  ask- 
ed Lucien. 

"  Because  our  journey  must  have  some  limit,"  I  replied. 
"  Up  to  the  present  time  we  have  only  traversed  what  is 
called  the  Terr  e- Temp  er  ee  ;  we  shall  now  soon  reach  the 
2'erre-Froide,  and  in  three  or  four  days  we  shall  again  en- 
counter habitations." 

"  Shall  we  see  any  people  there  ?" 

"  I  hope  so ;  don't  you  like  the  idea  of  it  ?" 

ft.  I  don't  object  to  it ;  but  it  will  seem  so  very  strange  to 
look  again  at  houses  and  men." 

"  Oh  dear  !"  cried  Sumichrast ;  "  you  have  become  a  per- 
fect little  savage." 

"  Travelling  about  on  foot  is  so  amusing,  that  I  should 
be  glad  if  the  journey  lasted  a  very  long  time — that  is,  if  I 
had  a  chance  now  and  then  of  kissing  mamma." 

"  Poor  Sunbeam  !"  said  Sumichrast ;  "  I  can't  help  think- 
ing of  next  year  when  you  are  at  school.  You  will  then 
often  think  of  your  present  life." 

"  Oh  papa,  if  you  go  out  for  another  excursion  during  the 
holidays,  I  hope  you  will  take  me  with  you,  for  you  see  I 
know  how  to  walk." 

"  Before  we  think  about  another  journey,  let  us  first  fin- 
ish the  present.  You  seem  to  forget  that  the  roughest  part 
of  our  work  is  yet  before  us." 

"  Do  you  mean  crossing  the  Terre-Froide .?" 

"  No ;  we  shall  only  take  a  glimpse  at  that ;  but  in  the 
Terre-  Chaude  we  may  meet  with  many  trials." 

"  Bah  !"  said  Lucien,  kissing  me ;  "  the  Terre-Chaude  is 
almost  like  home ;  I  shall  behave  so  well,  that  you  will  be 
able  to  tell  mamma  that  I  am  quite  a  man." 

The  sun  was  up  when  I  gave  the  order  for  starting. 
Sumichrast  went  so  far  as  to  suggest  that,  after  such  a  dis- 
turbed  night,  it  would  be  better  to  spend  another  day  in  our 
charming  retreat 


284  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

"  That's  the  way,"  I  answered, "  in  which  effeminacy  gets 
the  better  of  energy,  and  cowardice  of  courage !  Let  us 
behave  with  more  boldness,  and  not  be  seduced  into  delay- 
ing our  journey." 

My  companion  accepted  the  reproof,  and  without  further 
delay  our  party  were  en  route. 

The  stream  pointed  out  to  us  the  road  we  were  to  fol- 
low ;  along  the  edge  of  it,  sheltered  by  the  bushes  and  en- 
livened by  the  birds  which  were  fluttering  about  the  banks, 
we  shaped  our  course.  Sumichrast  showed  us  some  dahlias 
— the  flower  which  would  be  so  perfect  if  it  only  possessed 
a  perfume.  It  is  a  perennial  in  Mexico,  whence  it  has  been 
imported  into  Europe,  and  there  grows  to  a  height  of  about 
three  feet,  producing  only  single  flowers  of  a  pale  yellow 
color.  By  means  of  cultivation,  varieties  have  been  obtain- 
ed with  double  flowers  of  a  hundred  different  tints,  which 
are  such  ornaments  in  our  gardens.  Many  a  Mexican,  who 
imports  dahlias  at  a  great  expense,  has  not  the  least  idea 
that  the  plant  is  indigenous  to  his  own  soil. 

The  roots  of  the  dahlia,  salted  and  boiled,  are  eaten  by 
the  Indians ;  it  is  a  farinaceous  food  of  a  somewhat  insipid 
taste.  Certainly,  the  wild  potato  is  not  much  better ;  and 
who  can  tell  whether  cultivation,  after  having  enriched  our 
gardens  with  its  beautiful  flowers,  may  not  also  furnish  our 
tables  with  the  bulbs  of  this  plant  rendered  more  succulent 
by  horticiilture. 

The  course  of  the  stream  described  numerous  windings, 
and  the  desire  of  keeping  on  its  margin  frequently  diverted 
us  from  our  direct  path ;  at  last  it  doubled  round  short  to 
the  left,  and  I  bade  farewell  to  it  as  if  to  a  friend,  but, 
nevertheless,  preserved  a  hope  that  its  capricious  course 
would  again  bring  it  back  in  our  path. 

Our  road  now  commenced  to  ascend,  sometimes  cross- 
ing glades  or  groves.  Suddenly  a  wide  prairie  opened  out 


A  TOUXG  NATURALIST.  285 

before  us,  and  Sumichrast  led  the  way  through  its  tall 
reeds.  After  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  walking,  our  guide  be- 
gan to  sneeze ;  Lucien  followed  his  example,  then  came 
TEncuerado's  turn,  and  at  last  mine,  and  ultimately  Gringa- 
let's.  These  repeated  salvos  were  received  with  shouts  of 
laughter  and  "  God  bless  you,"  often  repeated ;  but  a  sharp 
tingling  in  the  throat  and  eyes  was  soon  added  to  the 


"I  say,"  cried  my  friend,  "  what  does  this  joke  mean  ?" 

I  looked  round  me  more  carefully,  and  discovered  that 
we  were  surrounded  with  euphorbia  plants. 

But  this  mishap  soon  became  a  most  serious  affair,  as 
the  sneezing  seemed  as  if  it  never  would  end,  and  our  skin, 
eyes,  and  mouth  commenced  to  burn  as  if  in  a  fever.  On 
this  occasion  we  did  not  care  even  to  construct  a  hut  or 
light  a  fire,  but  were  only  too  glad  to  lie  down  on  the  bare 
cold  ground,  and  seek  in  sleep  some  respite  from  our  suffer- 
ings. 

Lucien,  although  very  exhausted,  endured  his  sufferings 
with  such  courage  as  made  me  proud  of  him.  Uncomplain- 
ing, he  soon  went  off  to  sleep ;  but  to  myself  and  compan- 
ion such  a  luxury  was  refused. 

At  length,  almost  desperate,  I  woke  up  the  Indian.  Our 
faces  had  continued  to  swell,  but  the  Mistec,  regarding  me 
with  a  stupefied  look,  simply  grunted,  and  turned  round  to 
sleep  again.  However,  it  became  important  that  we  should 
have  a  fire  lit  to  enable  us  to  prepare  our  coffee :  as  for 
eating,  I  looked  upon  it  as  an  impossible  matter.  With  a 
slowness  and  awkwardness  which  I  could  not  overcome,  I 
succeeded  in  lighting  some  dry  branches,  and  at  length  in 
making  the  water  boil.  I  then  called  iny  companions ;  they 
drank  the  refreshing  beverage,  without  showing  any  sign 
that  they  were  conscious  of  the  service  I  was  rendering 
them,  for  immediately  afterwards  they  again  went  to  sleep. 


286  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

It  was  at  least  ten  o'clock  by  the  sun  when  Lucien  set  us 
the  example  of  rising.  Suffering  as  we  wrere,  it  was  no  use 
to  think  of  resuming  our  journey;  so  we  made  a  virtue  of 
necessity,  and  remained  stationary  until  we  felt  more  fit  to 
endure  fatigue. 

In  the  afternoon,  Sumichrast  and  Lucien  complained  that 
they  were  famished,  which  w^as  an  excellent  symptom ;  so 
we  took  our  guns,  and,  following  in  Indian  file,  ascended 
the  course  of  the  stream. 

We  met  with  several  pools  of  water,  and  then  rocks 
strangely  piled  on  one  another,  which  had  slipped  down 
from  the  mountains  above.  I  climbed  the  bunk,  feeling 
disposed  to  be  content  with  the  first  game  which  presented 
itself.  However,  I  could  see  nothing  but  some  toucans, 
far  too  wary  to  get  within  gunshot  of.  At  last  a  squirrel 
presented  itself — a  poor  pittance  for  five  hungry  stomachs. 

Sumichrast,  who  had  gone  on  in  front,  suddenly  stopped, 
and  signed  to  us  to  be  quiet.  I  glanced  down  the  stream, 
and,  near  a  hole  full  of  water,  I  discovered  an  agouara,  or 
washer  raccoon,  squatted  down,  dipping  its  paws  into  the 
water,  and  rubbing  them  together  energetically.  L'En- 
cuerado  fired ;  it  gave  a  bound  and  fell  over.  A  lizard  it 
was  which  the  animal  was  wrashing  before  devouring — a 
peculiar  and  inexplicable  habit  to  which  it  owes  its  name. 
It  had  a  gray  coat,  and  a  tapering  muzzle  like  that  of  an 
opossum. 

The  agouara  (Procyon  cancrivorus)  is  frequently  met 
with  in  Mexico.  It  is  closely  allied  to  the  Bear  family,  but 
is  much  smaller  and  more  active,  and  is  both  carnivorous 
and  insectivorous.  It  climbs  trees  with  ease,  and,  whenever 
it  takes  up  its  abode  near  any  habitation,  makes  incessant 
raids  upon  poultry.  It  is  tamed  without  difficulty,  and  will 
run  to  meet  its  master,  and  seems  to  value  his  caresses  ;  yet, 
like  the  squirrel,  which  it  resembles  in  its  vivacity,  it  will 


'Following  in  Indian  file,  we  ascended  the  course  of  the  stream." 


-    .4  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  289 

suddenly  bite  the  hand  of  any  one  who  feeds  it.  The  flesh 
of  this  animal  is  white,  tender,  and  savory. 

L'Eiicuerado  had  dag  up  some  dahlia  roots,  which  he 
baked  under  the  ashes ;  bat  either  this  food  was  not  exact- 
ly to  oar  taste,  or  oar  still  irritated  palates  could  not  ap- 
preciate its  delicacy. 

Night  came  on,  and  the  sky  was  full  of  gray  clouds  vio- 
lently driven  by  the  wind,  although  just  round  us  the  trees 
remained  quite  motionless.  It  was  now  too  late  to  con- 
struct a  hut,  and  we  all  stretched  ourselves,  without  other 
covering  than  the  canopy  of  heaven,  on  beds  of  dry  moss. 

I  woke  up  perished  with  cold ;  not  a  star  appeared  in  the 
sky.  Of  the  uneasiness  produced  by  the  euphorbia  plants, 
nothing  now  remained  but  a  sense  of  weight  in  the  head 
and  a  slight  inflammation  in  the  throat.  I  tried  to  go  to 
sleep  again,  and  fell  at  length  into  a  kind  of  painful  torpor. 
I  fancied  I  heard  birds  of  prey  crying,  and  a  roaring  noise 
in  the  recesses  of  the  forest  I  got  up  with  a  view  of  driv- 
ing away  this  nightmare ;  but  it  was  not  a  dream ;  the  day 
was  just  breaking,  and  the  birds  were  welcoming  its  advent 
with  many  a  clamorous  note.  A  dull  roar,  like  that  of  a 
gale  of  wind  rattling  through  a  forest,  resounded  louder 
and  louder.  I  called  Sumichrast  and  FEncuerado ;  the  lat- 
ter at  once  shouted  out  in  horror — 

"The  torrent!" 

Seizing  Lucien,  I  carried  him  in  my  arms,  while  the  In- 
dian hastily  gathered  together  all  our  travelling  gear  that  lay 
scattered  around.  With  powerful  efforts  I  soon  reached 
the  top  of  the  steep  bank,  followed  by  my  companions  and 
Gringalet.  Lucien,  suddenly  disturbed  in  his  sleep,  scarcely 
had  time  to  know  what  had  happened.  A  furious  uproar 
perfectly  deafened  us,  and  a  flood  of  yellowish  water  came 
rushing  by ;  I  saw  one  of  our  coverings  float  off  on  its  sur- 
face, and  almost  immediately,,  as  if  impelled  by  some  super- 
13 


290  THE  ADVENTURES  OF    • 

human  force,  the  rocks  came  rolling  down,  dashing  together 
under  the  force  of  the  liquid  avalanche. 

One  minute  more  and  it  would  have  been  all  over  with 
us,  or,  at  the  very  least,  we  should  have  lost  all  our  baggage 
and  weapons,  without  which  our  position  must  have  been 
truly  critical.  As  it  was,  our  hats  only  had  sailed  off  in 
company  with  our  covering ;  this  loss  much  vexed  us,  for 
none  of  us  except  PEncuerado  could  walk  with  a  bare  head 
under  the  rays  of  a  tropical  sun.  We  should  have  been 
somewhat  consoled  by  meeting  with  a  palm-tree ;  but  in  the 
mean  time,  the  Mistec,  like  all  his  countrymen,  knew  well 
how  to  meet  such  an  emergency.  So  we  covered  our  heads 
with  the  leaves  of  the  water-lily,  often  used  by  the  Indian 
women  for  a  parasol. 

We  knew  by  experience  the  rapidity  with  which  these 
mountain  torrents  will  overflow.  If  it  had  been  a  month 
later  during  the  rainy  period,  of  course  we  should  not  have 
exposed  ourselves  to  the  peril  of  camping  in  the  bed  of  a 
stream ;  for  we  had  remarked  the  evening  before  that  the 
sky  was  obscured  by  gray  clouds,  and  this  ought  to  have 
put  us  on  our  guard. 

The  furious  waves  continued  to  bear  down  with  them, 
without  any  effort,  immense  masses  of  rock ;  but  the  body 
of  the  water,  which  did  not  increase,  showed  us  that  it 
would  ebb  as  rapidly  as  it  had  swollen.  L'Encuerado  was 
obliged  to  content  himself  with  some  muddy  water  for 
making  our  coffee ;  but  if  we  had  pretended  to  preserve  all 
the  prejudices  of  civilized  life,  adieu  to  all  our  idea  of 
traversing  Mexico.  Besides  this,  we  had  a  fresh  disaster  to 
grieve  over;  the  remainder  of  the  raccoon,  which  we  had 
kept  for  our  breakfast,  had  been  lost  in  company  with  our 
bag  of  rice. 

We  started  again,  not  much  enlivened  by  this  series  of 
misfortunes,  satisfied  with  nibbling  for  breakfast  some  mor- 


"  The  rocks  came  rolling  down,  dashing  together  under  the  force  of  ih 
liquid  avalanche." 


A  YOUSG  XATUJSALLST.  293 

sels  of  tofopo.  All  our*  indisposition  had  now  fortunately 
vanished,  but  we  could  not  help  feeling  some  degree  of  ill- 
will  against  both  the  euphorbias  and  the  torrent.  A  long 
march,  during  which  we  several  times  left  and  rejoined  the 
course  of  the  stream,  brought  us  dose  to  a  hill  at  the  foot 
of  which  was  a  vast  swamp.  I  gave  the  signal  for  halting. 
L'Eneuerado  in  our  inarch  had  gathered  some  reeds,  and  set 
to  work  to  plait  us  hats.  Leaving  him  with  Lncien,  Sumi- 
chrast  and  I  went  off  in  quest  of  game.  On  our  return 
from  an  unproductive  ramble,  I  saw  that  my  son  was  al- 
ready wearing  a  funnel-shaped  head  covering.  L'Encuera- 
do  offered  me  a  similar  one,  which,  as  my  friend  remarked, 
gave  me  the  look  of  a  Chinese.  After  having  rested  a  short 
time,  I  thought  about  again  looking  for  game ;  but  the  up- 
roar of  the  torrent  seemed  to  have  frightened  away  all  ani- 
mal life. 

This  second  ramble  quite  exhausted  us,  without  produc- 
ing any  prey  but  a  tanager,  far  too  small  to  afford  food  for 
so  many.  L'Encuerado  and  Lucien,  both  out  in  the  midst 
of  the  swamp,  perceived  us  approaching.  The  young  gen- 
tleman came  running  towards  us,  holding  his  newly-made 
hat  in  his  hand ;  but,  in  his  haste,  he  forgot  that  the  bed  of 
a  marsh  is  almost  always  slippery,  and  he  fell  flat  on  his 
face  among  some  aquatic  plants.  In  one  leap  the  Indian 
was  close  to  him,  and  soon  picked  him  up ;  but,  instead  of 
complaining  of  his  fall,  Lucien  looked  up  at  the  Indian  with 
a  troubled  face.  The  fact  was,  his  hat  held  some  fish  he 
had  caught  with  his  insect-net,  and  at  least  a  third  of  them 
had  disappeared  from  his  disaster. 

" Oh  dear!  oh  dear!"  cried  Sumichrast,  who  could  not 
help  smiling  at  the  piteous  face  of  the  young  fisherman ; 
"  most  decidedly,  we  are  all  unfortunate." 

This  joke  was  taken  in  a  serious  light  by  1'Encuerado, 
who  smote  his  forehead  as  if  suddenly  struck  by  some  idea. 


294  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

"  It  is  the  genius  of  the  cave  !*'  he  cried.  "  Ah  !  the 
scoundrel,  after  all  he  owes  me,  and  the  precautions  I  took  !" 

"  What  precautions  ?"  asked  Lucien,  surprised. 

"  I  picked  up  seven  white  pebbles,  and  drew  out  a  beau- 
tiful cross." 

"  What  did  the  cross  matter  to  him  ?" 

"  Matter  to  him !  why,  Chanito,  he  knows  well  that  we 
are  Christians,  and  yet  he  bewitches  us.  Wait  a  bit,  I'll 
match  him." 

And  rearing  himself  up  against  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  stand- 
ing on  his  head,  with  his  legs  in  the  air,  1'Encuerado  kicked 
about  with  all  the  frenzy  of  one  possessed.  He  fell  some- 
times to  the  right,  and  sometimes  to  the  left,  but  raised 
himself  after  every  fall,  and  resumed  his  clown-like  attitude. 
Not  one  of  us  could  keep  a  serious  countenance  while  look- 
ing at  his  contortions.  Lucien  laughed  till  he  cried,  espe- 
cially because  the  Indian,  as  if  on  purpose  to  render  the 
scene  more  comical,  accompanied  his  gestures  with  invec- 
tives against  the  genius  of  the  cave  and  invocations  to  St. 
Joseph. 

At  last  I  told  him  to  resume  his  natural  position,  and  to 
keep  quiet. 

"  Do  you  really  think  that  I  have  done  it  enough  ?"  he 
asked,  addressing  me  with  imperturbable  gravity. 

"  Yes,"  I  replied ;  "  from  the  way  in  which  you  have 
shaken  him,  I  should  say  he  must  have  come  out  either 
through  your  mouth  or  ears." 

"  Then  it's  your  turn  now,  Chanito  !" 

Lucien,  delighted  at  having  to  execute  this  feat  of  skill, 
tried  several  times  to  keep  his  balance  while  standing  on  his 
head ;  but  overcome  by  laughter,  he  was  not  able,  so  he  fell, 
to  rear  himself  up  again.  The  more  FEncuerado  cried  out 
to  him,  urging  him  to  persevere,  the  louder  the  boy  laughed. 
The  brave  Indian,  who  was  under  the  full  belief  that  an 


'  L'Encaerado eel  to  work  to  plait  us  hais." 


A  YOUXG  NATURALIST.  297 

evil  spirit  must  necessarily  abandon  a  body  placed  upside 
down,  seized  thf  legs  of  bis  young  master  and  shook  him 
violently  as  if  he  was  emptying  a  sack.  Sumichrast  at  last 
put  an  end  to  this  scene  by  declaring  that  he  was  sure  the 
spirit  must  have  taken  flight.  L'Encuerado  then  came  up 
to  my  friend  and  proposed  to  assist  him  into  the  same  po- 
sition as  he  had  helped  Lucien. 

"  That's  enough  of  it,"  I  cried  as  soon  as  laughing  allow- 
ed me  to  speak;  "M.  Sumichrast  and  I  have  other  means 
of  expelling  evil  spirits." 

L'Encuerado  looked  at  me  with  wonder,  more  convinced 
than  ever  that  my  power  far  exceeded  that  of  the  sorcerers 
of  his  own  country. 

We  were  now  close  to  our  fire.  Lucien  was  gravely  re- 
peating the  words  which  1'Encuerado  had  addressed  to  the 
demon,  when  Gringalet  commenced  howling.  L'Encuerado 
had  seized  the  poor  animal  by  his  hind  legs,  and  was  vio- 
lently shaking  him,  head  downward. 

"  It's  all  for  your  good,"  said  the  Indian  to  the  dog. 
"  Can't  you  understand  that  the  evil  spirit  which  you  have 
in  your  body  will  be  certain  to  make  you  commit  some 
folly?" 

Lucien  rushed  to  the  assistance  of  his  faithful  friend,  and 
at  last  induced  the  Mistec  to  let  him  go.  Not  the  least 
convinced  of  FEncuerado's  kind  intentions  towards  him, 
Gringalet  seemed  to  bear  malice  towards  the  Indian,  and 
for  three  days  was  very  shy  of  coming  near  him. 

After  this  scene  the  preparations  for  dinner  occupied  our 
attention.  If  our  guns  had  been  more  successful,  we  should 
have  had  fat  to  fry  our  fish  in.  "While  we  were  deploring 
our  ill-luck,  I  noticed  a  flock  of  birds  like  ducks  flying  high 
tip  in  the  air ;  they  made  a  wide  circle  and  settled  down  on 
the  top  of  a  tree.  L'Encuerado  fired  at  them,  and  one  fell 
It  was  an  anhinga,  one  of  the  most  singular  specimens  of 
13* 


298        THE  ADVENTURES   OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 

web-footed  birds  that  can  be  found  anywhere.  Repre- 
sent to  yourself  an  enormous  duck  with  a  neck  like  a  swan, 
a  bill  straight,  tapering,  and  longer  than  the  head,  webbed 
feet,  and  widely  spreading  and  well-feathered  wings,  and 
then  know  the  anhinga.  It  dives  and  flies  with  equal  fa- 
cility, can  swim  under  the  water  and  perch  upon  trees,  the 
highest  of  which  it  chooses  for  building  its  nest  upon. 

The  flesh  of  the  anhinga  is  not  valuable,  as  it  is  hard  and 
tough.  Perhaps  a  good  appetite  rendered  me  indulgent, 
but  I  found  the  flavor  very  much  like  that  of  duck.  The 
fat  of  this  bird,  carefully  saved,  was  used  for  frying  our  fish. 
The  latter,  I  must  confess,  did  not  seem  to  us  so  nice  as  the 
dark-colored  meat  of  the  anhinga.  If  it  tasted  rather  fishy, 
the  fish  themselves  tasted  muddy ;  on  the  whole,  however, 
our  bill-of-fare  was  a  tolerable  one. 

When  night-fall  came  on,  the  trees  stood  out  in  bold  re- 
lief against  the  transparent  sky,  and  1'Encuerado,  delighted 
at  thinking  that  he  was  now  unbewitched,  gratified  us  with 
one  of  his  unpublished  canticles,  which  materially  helped  to 
send  us  to  sleep. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  BLACK  IGUANA. ANOTHER  COUNTRY. REMINISCENCES 

OF   CHILDHOOD. THE    MIRAGE. A   FIRE   IN   THE   PLAIN". 

BY  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  had  crossed  some  ris- 
ing ground,  and  were  passing  through  a  narrow  gorge 
carpeted  with  ferns.  Lncien  headed  the  party,  closely  fol- 
lowed by  PEncuerado ;  and  led  us  on  to  a  kind  of  rocky 
staircase,  down  which,  in  the  rainy  season,  water  doubtless 
ly  flowed.  This  steep  path  compelled  us  to  halt  several 
times  to  recover  our  *breath.  The  branches  of  the  bushes 
formed  an  archway  over  our  heads,  and  their  blossoms  sur- 
rounded us  with  their  rich  perfume. 

At  length  a  rise  in  the  ground  impeded  our  path,  and  the 
heat  commenced  to  inconvenience  us.  The  refraction  of 
light,  especially,  affected  our  eyes,  and  our  feet  raised  per- 
fect clouds  of  dust  Lucien,  who  had  become  quite  an  en- 
during walker,  throughout  kept  in  front,  and  often  gained 
ground  while  we  were  stopping  to  take  breath.  Just  as 
we  reached  the  ridge  of  the  hill,  I  saw  the  boy,  who  was  a 
few  yards  in  advance,  suddenly  cock  his  gun  and  fire.  I  ran 
to  him,  but  he  disappeared  down  the  slope,  crying  out  to 
me  that  he  had  shot  a  dragon  ! 

I  soon  came  up,  and  found  the  young  sportsman  stand- 
ing in  front  of  a  magnificent  black  isruana — Cyclwa  acan- 
thura — which  does,  in  fact,  somewhat  resemble  the  sup- 
posed appearance  of  the  fabulous  animal  described  by  the 


300  THE  AD  VENTURES  OF 

ancients.  Its  skin  shone  with  a  silvery -gray  metallic  glitter, 
more  particularly  on  the  dorsal  ridge.  L'Encuerado  joined 
us  when  it  was  dying,  when,  rubbing  his  hands,  he  cried : 

"  It  is  a  guachi-cheve ;  what  a  splendid  supper  we  shall 
have !" 

"  You  have  seen  them  before,  then  ?" 

"It  is  an  animal  which  belongs  to'my  country,  Chanito; 
it  abounds  in  the  plains  which  slope  down  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  They  are  beasts  which  can  live  without  eating; 
they  are  sometimes  kept  for  two  months  with  their  feet 
tied  and  their  mouth  sewn  up." 

"  The  mouth  sewn  up  ?" 

"  Yes,  Chanito,  so  as  to  prevent  them  getting  lean. 
When  I  was  your  age,  during  the  time  of  Lent,  I  used  to 
go  iguana  hunting  with  my  brothers.  We  sought  them  in 
the  shallow  marshes  which  are  inundated  by  water  during 
flood-time.  There,  in  hollow  trunks  of  trees,  or  in  holes 
made  in  the  mud,  we  found  the  black  iguanas,  and  pulled 
them  out  by  their  tails." 

"  Then  they  don't  bite  ?" 

"  Oh  yes,  they  do,  and  scratch  also ;  so  we  took  care  to 
catch  hold  of  them  by  the  neck,  and  tie  both  their  feet  and 
their  jaws.  Sometimes  we  used  to  ^pursue  them  up  the 
trees ;  but  then,  for  they  don't  mind  falling  twenty  or 
"thirty  feet,  they  frequently  escaped." 

Sumichrast  completed  this  information  by  telling  the 
young  naturalist  that  the  iguana,  which  is  allied  to  the  liz- 
ards, is  generally  a  yard  in  length ;  and  that  the  female  lays 
thirty  to  forty  eggs,  which  are  much  esteemed  by  the  na- 
tive epicures ;  also  that  the  green  species — Iguana  rhinolo- 
pha — has  a  flat,  thin  tail,  and  swims  much  better  than  the 
black  variety,  the  tail  of  which,  being  covered  with  spines, 
is  not  well  adapted  for  progression  through  water.  Thus, 
meeting  with  a  green  iguana  almost  always  indicates  the 


A  TOmfG  NATURALIST.  303 

vicinity  of  a  stream;  but  the  black  species  is  frequently 
found  away  from  rivers. 

Lucien  wanted  at  first  to  carry  bis  game,  but  he  was 
overtaxed  by  its  weight  and  gave  it  up  to  PEncuerado. 
Another  hill  was  now  before  us,  and  the  ground  became  at 
every  step  more  and  more  barren,  and  on  which  there  was 
little  or  nothing  growing  but  a  few  shrubs  with  a  bluish 
flower.  When  we  had  reached  the  summit  of  this  second 
ridge,  a  boundless  plain  lay  spread  out  before  our  gaze ;  we 
were  now  on  the  central  plateau  of  Mexico,  in  the  Terre- 
Froide,  eight  thousand  seven  hundred  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea. 

"What  a  change  there  was  !  The  white  soil  was  so  light 
and  dry  that  it  was  carried  away  by  the  breeze,  and  pro- 
duced nothing  but  a  few  leafless  trees.  There  were  also 
some  thorny  bushes  smothered  in  sand,  and,  a  little  farther 
on,  some  gigantic  cacti  astonished  us  with  their  strange 
shapes.  The  sun,  reflected  by  the  red  glaring  surface, 
much  interfered  with  our  sight,  so  we  directed  our  steps  to 
the  right,  where  there  appeared  to  be  a  greater  amount  of 
shade. 

"  Oh,  what  a  wretched  country !"  cried  Lucien.  "  Can 
we  be  still  in  Mexico  ?" 

"  Yes,"  replied  I ;  "  but  we  are  now  on  the  great  plateau, 
almost  on  a  level  with  the  city  of  Mexico  and  Puebla." 

"Are  we  going  to  cross  that  great  plain?  I  can  see 
neither  birds  nor  beasts  OH  it ;  in  fact,  one  might  almost 
fancy  the  very  trees  were  thirsty." 

"  You  are  right,  for  it  does  not  often  rain  here.  Never- 
theless, this  ground,  which  at  first  sight  appears  so  barren, 
"is  very  fruitful  when  cultivated.  It  produces  wheat,  bar- 
ley, potatoes,  apples,  pears,  cherries,  grapes,  peaches,  and, 
in  short,  all  the  European  fruits,  which  can  only  grow  in  a 
temperate  zone.  On  this  plateau,  too,  grows  the  Maguey 


304  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

agave,  Mexicana,  a  wonderful  plant,  which  is  as  useful  to 
the  Mexicans  as  the  cocoa-nut  tree  is  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  lands  to  which  it  is  indigenous." 

L'Encuerado  had  stooped  down  under  a  pepper-tree,  and 
his  glance  wandered  over  the  scene.  The  fact  was,  that  we 
were  now  about  the  same  height  as  that  at  which  his  own 
country  is  situated,  and  he  might  easily  fancy  himself  near 
his  native  village. 

"  What  are  you  thinking  of?"  said  I,  tapping  him  on  the 
shoulder. 

"  Oh  Tatita !  why  did  you  disturb  me  ?  Here  I  feel  my- 
self almost  as  learned  as  you,  and  I  could  tell  you  all  the 
names  of  those  flowers  which  turn  their  bright  faces  to- 
wards me  as  if  they  knew  me  !  It  seems  as  if  I  had  often 
walked  on  that  plain,  and  as  if  I  had  often  seen  these  trees, 
bushes,  and  plants —  You  are  laughing  at  me,  Chanito ; 
it's  all  very  well,  but  you'll  see  !  Tatita  will  set  me  right 
if  I  tell  you  any  thing  that  is  not  true.  Look  here,  for  in- 
stance," continued  the  Indian,  rising  up  and  plucking  a 
plant  with  slender  and  whitish  stems  ;  "  this  is  the  alfileril- 
lo}  which  mothers  give  their  children  to  cure  them  of  sore 
throats.  Such  shrubs  are  lost  here ;  for  their  fruit  would 
be  useful  in  my  country.  Here  too,  Chanito,  is  a  mizquitl, 
a  thorny  tree  on  which  we  shall  be  certain  to  find  some 
gum.  Indeed,  here  are  three  morsels  of  it.  You  may  safe- 
ly suck  it ;  it  will  not  seem  very  nice  at  first,  but  you  will 
soon  like  it.  Oh  Tatita  !  you  have  really  brought  me  back 
into  my  own  country." 

"  We  are  certainly  on  the  same  line,  and  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  you  find  here  the  same  kind  of  vegetation 
as  in  that  in  which  you  spent  your  childhood." 

The  Indian  was  silent,  and  seemed  musing.  Sumichrast 
and  I  observed  him  with  some  curiosity,  and  Lucien,  sur- 
prised at  his  emotion,  looked  at  him  anxiously. 


A  YOUNG  NATCSALKT.  305 

"Here  is  the  « angel-plant,* "  resumed  PEncuerado,  sud- 
denly. "  How  pleased  my  mother  used  to  be  when  I  found 
one  of  them." 

"  What  are  its  good  properties  ?"  I  asked. 

"  Oh !  it  produces  beautiful  dreams,  which  seem  to  lift 
you  to  heaven." 

The  Indian  again  became  pensive,  sometimes  casting  a 
glance  over  the  vast  prospect,  and  sometimes  pulling  up 
pieces  of  the  turf  which  grew  at  his  feet. 

"It  only  needs  a  palm-tree  to  make  the  landscape  quite 
complete,"  said  he,  thoughtfully. 

In  a  minute  or  so  he  advanced  towards  the  bushes,  and, 
kneeling  down,  plucked  a  tuft  of  yellow  marigold,  which  are 
called  in  this  country  "the  dead  man's  flower."  After- 
wards I  heard  him  sobbing. 

"  Oh  Cheina !  what  is,  the  matter  ?"  cried  Lucien,  running 
up  to  his  friend. 

The  Indian  raised  himself  and  took  the  boy  in  his  arms. 

"  Once  I  had  a  mother,  brothers,  and  a  country,"  he  said, 
sadly ;  "  and  this  flower  reminds  me  that  all  those  are  now 
sleeping  in  the  grave." 

"  Then  you  don't  love  me  ?"  replied  Lucien,  embracing 
him. 

The  only  answer  FEncuerado  made  was  pressing  the  boy 
so  tightly  against  his  breast  as  to  draw  from  him  a  slight 
cry. 

This  scene  quite  affected  us,  and  I  and  my  friend,  side  by 
side,  walked  back  to  the  hut  deeply  sunk  in  thought. 

Hunger  soon  brought  with  it  more  commonplace  ideas. 
The  white  and  juicy  flesh  of  the  iguana  was  quite  a  feast 
for  us  all.  Our  meal  we  sat  over  a  longer  time  than  usual ; 
for  in  conversation  we  entered  upon  the  subject  of  our  na- 
tive countries,  and  the  theme  appeared  inexhaustible.  I  re- 
minded my  friend  that,  only  a  few  days  before,  he  had 


306  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

shown  as  much  emotion  as  the  Indian  on  seeing  two  butter- 
flies which  he  fancied  belonged  to  a  Swiss  species;  and  I 
brought  forward  these  feelings  to  oppose  the  intention  he  so 
often  expressed  of  taking  up  his  abode  in  the  midst  of  the 
wilderness,  so  as  to  live  and  die  in  solitude. 

On  the  great  plateau  the  sun  shines  rather  later  than  in 
the  lower  regions.  As  the  luminary  approached  the  earth, 
the  sky  was  lighted  up  with  a  purple  color,  and  I  saw  stand- 
ing out  on  our  left  in  bold  belief  the  jagged  outline  of  the 
Cordilleras  of  1'Encuerado's  country.  The  whitish  ground 
gradually  assumed  a  transparent  appearance ;  our  eyes  de- 
ceived us  to  such  an  extent  that  we  fancied  AVC  saw  an  im- 
mense tract  of  water,  above  which  the  trees,  appearing  as  if 
they  were  submerged,  raised  their  green  heads. 

The  moon  rose,  and,  far  from  destroying  the  mirage,  it 
rendered  the  illusion  still  more  striking.  I  resolved  to  de- 
scend from  the  hill  in  order  to  convince  Lucien  how  much 
our  vision  was  deceived. 

"  There  is  no  mistake  about  the  plain  being  dry,"  said  he, 
as  we  returned  to  the  bivouac,  "  and  yet  one  might  fancy 
that,  as  we  were  mounting  the  hill,  the  water  was  rising  be- 
hind us." 

"  The  layers  of  the  air,"  I  replied,  "  are  unequally  warm- 
ed, and  their  refraction,  which  causes  the  rays  of  light  to 
deviate  in  their  course,  reverses  the  objects  which  cover  the 
plain,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  causes  them  to  appear  more 
elevated  than  they  really  are." 

"So  we  see  water  in  a  place  where  in  reality  there  is 
none." 

"  You  don't  take  the  sky  into  account,  which  is  reflected 
on  the  ground  beneath  us  as  in  a  mirror.  But  the  air  is 
becoming  cooler,  and  you  will  soon  see  the  phenomenon 
slowly  disappear,  as  if*some  invisible  hand  was  pushing  the 
mist  back  towards  the  horizon." 


'The  moon  nee, and  rendered  the  fflnsion  more  striking." 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 


309 


"While  we  were  looking  down  over  the  plateau,  and 
watching  the  mirage  gradually  fade  away,  a  distant  light 
suddenly  shone  out.  Loud  exclamations  hailed  the  sight 
of  this  unknown  bivouac ;  and,  fixing  our  eyes  on  it,  we  all 
formed  endless  conjectures.  We  had  not  expected  to  meet 
with  any  habitation  before  the  next  day ;  and  the  cry  of 
"  land !"  on  board  ship  after  a  long  voyage  could  not  have 
made  a  stronger  impression  than  the  sight  of  this  fire.  The 
air  was  cool ;  still  PEiicuerado  was  not  allowed  to  kindle  a 
light,  which  would  perhaps  have  betrayed  us  to  foes.  It 
was  now  twenty  days  since  we  had  met  with  a  human  be- 
ing, and  our  first  feeling,  after  the  instinctive  joy  at  the  idea 
of  seeing  our  fellow-creatures,  was,  alas  !  one  of  distrust. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  MORNING  AND  NIGHT  DEW. THE  TERRE-FROIDE. WA- 
TER-SPOUTS AND  WHIRLWINDS. THE  BARBARY  TIG- 
TREES.  THE  CACTUS  -  PLANTS. THE  VIZNAGA. OUR 

HOPES  DISAPPOINTED. DON  BENITO  COYOTEPEC. 

r  |  ^HE  sun  had  not  risen  when  we  were  up  and  ready  to 
-*-  start.  We  shivered  with  cold,  for  on  the  great  plateau 
which  we  had  now  reached,  to  which  the  inhabitants  of  the 
lower  regions  give  the  name  of  Terre-Froide.,  the  mornings 
are  frosty.  The  profound  darkness  was  succeeded  by  a 
dim  twilight,  afterwards  by  a  fog,  which  penetrated  our 
clothing  as  much  as  rain. 

"  There  has  been  no  shower,"  cried  Lucien,  "  and  yet  we 
are  all  wet." 


TOE  ADYESTCKES  OF  A  TOCSTG  XATCBALJST.       z\l 

"It  is  the  dew,  Chanito;  it  is  almost  as  abundant  as  the 
night  dews  in  the  Terre-Cheiudf? 

"Are  not  morning  and  night  dews  the  same  thing?' 
«  Xot  exactly,**  I  replied ;  «the  morning  dew  is  general- 
ly of  a  beneficial  nature;  but  the  Mexicans  dread  the  other, 
which  faUs  after  sunset,  and  is  said  to  be  productive  of 
fever.** 

"But  from  whence  does  all  this  moisture  come f 
"  From  the  air,  which  always  contains  a  certain  quantity, 
some  of  which  it  deposits  on  the  ground,  on  stones  and 
plants,  as  they  become  cool  by  radiation.7' 

Just  at  this  moment  our  attention  was  attracted  by  the 
first  raj  of  the  sun,  which,  piercing  through  a  light  cloud, 
shot  across  the  plain  like  a  bright  arrow.  The  horizon, 
whkL  had  been  risible,  was  now  obscured  by  a  mist,  which 
gradually  rolled  towards  us.  By  degrees,  however,  it  drew 
off,  and  the  trees  a  short  distance  away  showed  their  round- 
ed tops ;  while  wide  breaks  opened  here  and  there  in  the 
Yefl,and  vanished  as  quickly  as  they  had 


The  telescope  was  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  and  each 
tried  to  discover  if  there  was  a  hut  where  the  glimmering 
fire  had  been  descried  the  night  before.  The  search  was  in 
vain ;  the  reflection  of  the  sun's  rays  quite  dazzled  us,  and 
restricted  the  prospect ;  but,  once  in  the  right  course,  we 
might  advance  without  fear  of  missing  our  point,  and,  ac- 
cording to  our  calculations,  we  would  meet  with  habitations 
the  next  day  or  the  following. 

Gringsletfs  tongue  hung  out  of  his  mouth ;  he  found  the 
journey  over  the  nitrous  sofl  very  irksome,  and  the  scanty 
leaves  of  the  mimosa  failed  to  screen  him  from  the  ran. 
What  a  contrast  it  was  to  the  pleasant  regions  we  had 
hitherto  travelled  through ! 

"  Your  country,  after  au,  is  not  so  nice  an  one  as  mine,"* 
said  Lncien,  addressing  FEncuerado. 


312  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

"  My  real  native  country  is  much  more  beautiful  than 
that  we  are  now  in,  Chanito ;  in  the  first  place,  it  has 
mountains  and  woods,  and  there  it  sometimes  rains." 

"  Shall  we  see  any  snow  fall,  now  that  we  are  in  the 
Terre-Froide  ?n 

"  No,"  replied  Sumichrast,  smiling ;  "  you  will  not  see 
any  snow  before  next  year,  when  you  will  be  in  France. 
The  winters  of  the  Mexican  Terre-Froide  are  like  our 
European  springs.  It  is,  however,  never  warm  enough  to 
allow  tropical  fruit  to  ripen;  but  the  Terre-Froide  only 
deserves  its  name  when  it  is  compared  with  the  Terre- 
Chaude  and  the  Terr  e- Temper  ee^ 

"  It  seems  to  me  to  have  been  very  badly  named,  for  it  is 
as  hot  now  as  the  day  when  the  south  wind  blew  so  strong- 
ly. Gringalet  looks  as  if  he  was  of  my  opinion,  for  he  lolls 
his  tongue  out  much  more  than  usual." 

"  Upon  my  word !"  cried  Sumichrast, "  Master  Sunbeam's 
remark  shows  that  he  is  a  first-class  observer.  You  are 
as  right  as  you  can  be,"  continued  he,  placing  his  hand  on 
the  boy's  shoulder.  "  In  the  plains  of  the  Terre-Froide  the 
heat  is  much  more  uncomfortable  than  in  the  Terre-Chaude 
itself,  where  an  insensible  perspiration  always  mitigates  the 
oppressive  rays  of  the  sun.  A  few  days'"  walking  in  this 
atmosphere  will  do  more  in  bronzing  our  skins  than  all  the 
rest  of  the  journey." 

My  companion  suddenly  stopped  short,  and  pointed  to 
the  horizon  with  his  finger. 

"  That's  smoke,"  cried  Lucien. 

"  No, Chanito,"  replied  1'Encuerado,  "  it  is  a  tornado" 

Seeing  a  slender  column  of  dust  rising  up  to  the  clouds, 
I  had,  at  first  sight,  formed  the  same  idea  as  my  son.  It 
was,  in  fact,  nothing  but  a  whirlwind  of  dust,  which  disap- 
peared soon  afterwards. 

"  There  is  no  wind,"  observed  Lucien ;  "  how  is  it  that 
the  dust  rises  so  hiarh?" 


"  The  sand  rose  rapidly,  whirling  round  and  round." 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 


315 


"  There  is  every  cause  for  wonder,"  I  replied, "  for  no  so- 
vant  has  yet  explained  the  real  cause  of  this  phenomenon." 

"  If  we  happened  to  be  caught  in  one  of  these  whirlwinds 
would  it  carry  us  away  ?" 

"  Xo,  Chanito,"  replied  the  Indian,  "it  would  be  content 
with  throwing  us  down." 

"  Then  you've  had  some  experience  of  them"?" 

"  Yes ;  when  I  used  to  play  writh  the  children  in  our  vil- 
lage, and  a  tornado  came  within  reach,  we  were  always  de- 
lighted to  run  through  it." 

About  a  hundred  paces  from  us,  although  there  was  not 
the  slightest  breeze  in  the  air,  the  sand  rose  rapidly,  whirl- 
ing round  and  round.  The  rotation  did  not  extend  over 
a  space  of  more  than  a  few  feet.  There  wras  no  apparent 
cause  for  it,  and  the  phenomenon  ceased  as  unaccountably 
as  it  commenced. 

Lucien  was  of  course  dying  with  anxiety  to  run. through 
one  of  these  tornadoes  •  but  all  that  we  saw  were  quite  be- 
yond reach. 

"  I  think,"  said  Sumichrast,  addressing  me,  "  when  it  is 
thoroughly  studied  on  the  great  plains  of  Mexico,  we  shall 
be  able  to  explain  the  cause  of  this  phenomenon.  In  a  gen- 
eral point  of  view,  these  whirlwinds  are  nothing  but  water- 
spouts in  miniature." 

"  A  water-spout !"  asked  Lucien  ;  "what  is  that?" 

"  It  is  a  natural  phenomenon  very  like  what  you  have  just 
witnessed  ;  but  it  is  of  a  far  more  formidable  character,  for 
it  destroys  every  thing  it  comes  in  contact  with  ?" 

"  Did  you  ever  see  one,  papa  ?'r 

"Only  once,  at  sea.  The  English  steamer  on  which  I 
had  embarked  had  just  left  the  port  of  St. Thomas,  in 
AVest  Indies,  and  we  were  still  coasting  the  island  ;  there 
was  but  a  slight  breeze  blowing,  the  sky  was  clear,  and  the 
\vater  rippled  with  miniature  waves,  when,  all  of  a  sudden. 


316  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

a  large  tract  of  the  sea  ahead  of  us  was  violently  agitated. 
An  enormous  column  of  water  rapidly  rose,  and  formed 
something  like  a  dark  and  terrible-looking  column.  After 
about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  the  fearful  phenomenon,  which 
fortunately  had  kept  on  moving  before  us,  remained  station- 
ary. The  volume,  incessantly  swelling,  assumed  a  dark-blue 
shade,  while  the  column  of  water,  which  appeared  to  feed  a 
cloud,  was  of  a  gray  color.  A  dull  roaring  noise  like  that 
of  distant  thunder  suddenly  occurred.  The  column  broke 
in  the  middle,  and  the  greater  portion  of  the  liquid  fell  into 
the  sea  with  a  tremendous  shock ;  but  the  upper  portion 
sprinkled  us  with  a  heavy  shower.  Half  an  hour  after- 
wards we  were  sailing  under  a  cloudless  sky  and  over  an 
unruffled  ocean. 

*'  And  what  would  have  happened  if  the  water-spout  had 
reached  the'  ship  ?" 

"  We  should  most  likely  have  been  swamped." 

"How  dreadfully  frightened  you  must  have  been,  Ta- 
tita !" 

"  Yes,  of  course ;  and  I  was  not  the  only  one  who  was  in 
terror ;  for  the  officers  and  sailors'  watched  the  course  of  the 
water-spout  with  evident  anxiety." 

Chatting  in  this  way,  we  were  now  penetrating  among 
Indian  fig-trees —  Cactus  opuntia — commonly  called  prickly- 
pear  trees.  These  plants,  covered  with  yellow  flowers, 
would,  a  month  later,  have  been  hailed  with  shouts  of  joy, 
for  each  of  their  upper  stems  would  then  bear  one  of  those 
juicy  fruits  of  which  the  Creoles  are  so  fond.  Lucien  stop- 
ped in  front  of  two  or  three  of  these  plants,  the  dimensions 
of  which  were  well  calculated  to  surprise  him.  Sumichrast 

ailed  himself  of  this  inspection  to  tell  him  that  the  cactus, 

word  derived  from  the  Greek,  and  meaning  thorny,  is  a 
native  of  America,  and  that  it  grows  spontaneously  in  dry 
and  sandy  soil. 


pe 

.-, 


"Everywhere  the  cactus  might  be  seen  assuming  twenty  different  shape 


A  YOUSG  XATUMALIST.  319 

"  You  have  forgotten  to  tell  him,"  added  TEncuerado, 
"  that  the  tender  shoots  of  the  tunero,  baked  under  the  ash- 
es, will  furnish  us  this  evening  with  a  most  delicious  dish." 

A  little  farther  on,  the  prickly  pears  were  succeeded  by 
another  species  called  the  Cierge  (the  Cactus  cereus  of  sa- 
vants). Several  of  these  plants  were  growing  with  a  sin- 
gle stem,  and  measured  from  ten  to  twelve  feet  in  height, 
looking  like  telegraph  poles  ;  others  had  two  or  three  shoots 
springing  from  them,  which  made  them  look  still  more 
singular.  A  third  species,  creeping  over  the  ground,  added 
much  to  the  difficulty  of  our  walking,  and  obliged  us  very 
often  to  take  long  strides  to  avoid  them.  In  spite  of  all  the 
care  we  could  take,  we  scratched  our  limbs  several  times 
against  their  sharp  spines. 

I  again  took  the  lead — for  there  was  not  room  between 
the  cicrges  to  walk  abreast — and,  climbing  up  a  small  hillock, 
surveyed  a  wide  prospect.  Such  a  complete  change  could 
not  possibly  have  taken  place  in  so  short  a  time  in  any  oth- 
er country.  More  trees,  more  shrubs,  more  bushes  !  Ev- 
erywhere the  cactus  might  be  seen  assuming  twenty  differ- 
ent shapes — round,  straight,  conical,  or  flattened,  and  really 
seeming  as  if  it  delighted  in  assuming  appearances  so  fan- 
tastic as  almost  to  defy  description.  Here  and  there  the 
cierges,  standing  side  by  side,  seemed  to  vie  with  each  oth- 
er in  height,  sometimes  attaining  to  as  much  as  twenty  to 
thirty  feet,  while  the  young  shoots  resembled  a  palisade,  or 
one  of  those  impenetrable  hedges  with  which  the  Indians 
who  live  on  the  plateau  surround  their  dwellings.  Farther 
on,  there  were  vast  vegetable  masses  of  a  spherical  shape, 
covered  with  rose-colored,  horny,  and  transparent  thorns, 
which  displayed  across  our  path  all  their  huge  rotundity, 
really  exhibiting  nothing  vegetable  to  the  eye  but  their 
color.  Here  and  there,  too,  some  creeping  species,  with 
their  branches  full  of  thorns,  formed  a  perfect  thicket ;  one 


320  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

might  almost  have  fancied  that  they  were  a  hundred-head- 
ed hydra. 

"  We  might  almost  imagine  we  were  in  a  hot-house  full 
of  rich-growing  plants  and  golden- colored  flowers,"  said 
Sumichrast  to  me. 

"  Yes,"  I  replied ;  "  but  we  must  also  imagine  that  we  are 
looking  at  them  through  the  lens  of  a  microscope.  "What 
would  a  Parisian  say  if  he  saw  this  viznaga  ?" 

The  plant  I  was  pointing  to  was  at  least  six  feet  in  height 
and  three  times  that  in  circumference. 

"  When  I  was  a  shepherd,"  said  1'Encuerado,  "  I  led  my 
goats  into  one  of  the  plains  where  the  viznagas  grow. 
With  my  machete  I  made  a  cut  into  one  side  of  the  plant, 
and  my  goats  immediately  began  to  eat  the  pith  with  which 
it  was  filled.  Gradually  they  hollowed  out  a  hole  large 
enough  for  two  or  three  of  them  to  enter  at  once,  and  this 
make-shift  hut  afforded  me  a  first-rate  shelter  against  the 
rays  of  the  sun  and  the  night  breezes." 

"  Oh !"  cried  Lucien,  with  enthusiasm,  "  if  we  have  to 
camp  in  these  fields,  we  must  have  such  a  house." 

I  again  examined  the  landscape  round  us.  There  was 
nothing  whatever  which  betrayed  the  vicinity  of  man.  Ev- 
erywhere the  cacti  spread  out  their  variously-shaped  flow- 
ers, which  were  nearly  all  yellowish  or  pink.  Above  us  was 
a  fiery  sky,  in  which  nothing  seemed  to  move  but  a  few 
vultures;  on  the  ground  there  were  hundreds  of  lizards  in 
constant  motion. 

The  Indian  led  the  way,  followed  by  Lucien. 

"  A  footpath  !"  the  boy  suddenly  cried  out. 

"  A  mimosa !"  exclaimed  Sumichrast,  whose  great  height 
towered  over  us  all. 

"  A  hut !"  murmured  1'Encuerado,  stopping  and  holding 
his  finger  to  his  lips. 

We  looked  at  each  other;  then,  bending  our  steps  to- 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  321 

wards  the  spot  pointed  out  by  our  companion,  we  each  in- 
spected the  thatched  roof,  of  which  only  the  top  was  vis- 
ible. 

With  a  rapid  glance  at  my  weapons  I  advanced  carefully, 
followed  by  Sumichrast.  Lucien,  1'Encuerado,  and  Gringa- 
let  brought  up  the  rear. 

We  really  felt  some  degree  of  emotion ;  the  idea  of  see- 
ing any  human  beings  but  ourselves  quite  made  our  hearts 
beat ;  for  were  we  going  to  meet  enemies  or  friends  ?  This 
was  the  important  question  to  be  decided. 

The  path  soon  became  wider ;  we  were  now  scarcely  two 
hundred  paces  from  the  hut,  and  we  were  astonished  not 
to  hear  the  barking  of  dogs,  which  generally  prowl  round 
an  Indian's  dwelling.  Sumichrast,  who  was  now  in  front, 
came  back. 

"  This  silence  seems  to  me  a  bad  omen,"  he  said ;  "  take 
care  we  don't  fall  into  some  ambuscade ;  I  don't  at  all  wish 
to  be  robbed,  or,  worse  still,  murdered." 

Leaving  the  path  to  our  left,  we  made  our  way  among 
the  cacti, 

"  Are  we  in  a  savage  country  ?"  asked  Lucien. 

"  Possibly,  and  that  is  why  we  have  to  be  so  careful,"  I 
answered. 

"  Do  you  think  any  one  will  hurt  us  ?" 

"  The  mere  sight  of  our  weapons  might  inspire  the  In- 
dians with  a  desire  of  obtaining  them ;  in  a  spot  where  ev- 
ery one  can  do  as  he  likes,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  them 
stripping  us  and  sending  us  away  naked." 

"  They  are  not  Christians,  then?" 

"  Ah,  Chanito,  they  ought  to  be,"  muttered  the  Indian. 

And,  taking  off  his  load,  we  soon  lost  sight  of  him  among 
the  under-brush. 

Under  any  other  circumstances,  Lucien's  frightened  look, 
when  he  saw  us  take  so  many  precautions  in  approaching  a 
14* 


322  TRE  ADVENTURES   OF 

human  dwelling,  would  have  amused ;  but,  so  far  from  do- 
ing so  now,  we  listened  anxiously  for  the  least  sound. 

At  last  we  heard  1'Encuerado's  loud  and  welcome  "  Hiou  ! 
hiou  !"  The  hut  was  perfectly  empty. 

After  an  hour's  rest,  passed  by  the  boy  in  rambling 
round  it,  I  gave  the  word  for  starting  again.  The  Indian 
took  the  lead,  following  the  still  visible  traces  of  a  footpath. 
The  hut,  hardly  large  enough  to  hold  three  persons,  seem- 
ed more  like  a  temporary  shelter  than  a  settled  dwelling ; 
1'Encuerado,  who  was  a  great  authority  in  such  matters, 
was  of  opinion  that  it  was  only  an  offshoot  to  a  larger  set- 
tlement. After  a  tolerably  long  walk,  another  footpath  cross- 
ed the  one  we  were  following;  on  its  surface  we  noticed 
prints  of  naked  feet — even  those  of  women  and  children. 
But  although  we  carefully  examined  the  horizon,  nothing 
but  the  immense  white  uninterrupted  plain  bathed  in  sun- 
shine greeted  our  vision.  ^ 

This  prospect  somewhat  damped  our  ardor.  Ever  since 
the  morning,  we  had  been  walking  on  in  the  hopes  of  meet- 
ing with  a  human  dwelling.  We  had  scarcely  eaten  any 
thing,  and  hunger  and  thirst  were  added  to  the  disappoint- 
ment we  had  met  with.  Lucien  proposed  to  hollow  out  a 
viznaga  to  sleep  in — a  project  in  which  he  was  encouraged 
by  1'Encuerado's  telling  him  that  we  might  have  the  luxury 
of  a  window,  and  could  keep  off  wild  beasts  by  filling  up 
the  entrance  with  thorny  cierges.  It  may  readily  be  under- 
stood how  much  the  idea  of  bivouacking  inside  a  plant 
pleased  the  fancy  of  our  young  companion;  and  perhaps 
we  should  have  assisted  in  realizing  his  wish,  if  the  bark- 
ing of  a  dog  had  not  attracted  our  attention ;  so  we  recom- 
menced our  march  in  better  spirits.  A  rapid  descent 
brought  us  near  a  number  of  tree-ferns,  a  change  of  vege- 
tation which  we  looked  upon  as  a  good  omen.  L'Encuera- 
do  continued  to  follow  the  footpath,  until  he  suddenly  stop- 


A  YVI'XG  NATURALIST.  323 

ped  on  a  gentle  eminence,  which  overlooked  a  small  green 
valley  with  a  brook  running  through  it.  To  my  great  joy 
I  counted  as  many  as  six  palm-leaf  huts. 

The  sight  refreshed  us  so  marvellously,  that  we  all  de- 
scended with  rapid,  long  strides.  Every  now  -and  then  ei- 
ther a  cock  crowing,  a  turkey  gobbling,  or  a  dog  barking, 
came  as  music  to  our  ears,  and  I  can  hardly  describe  what 
pleasant  feelings  these  familiar  noises  produced.  As  we 
went  on,  the  bushes  on  each  side  of  the  path  screened  our 
view  of  the  huts.  The  neigh  of  a  horse  attracted  our  at- 
tention, and  a  man,  mounted  bare-backed,  made  his  appear- 
ance about  a  hundred  paces  from  us. 

"  Halt !"  I  cried  to  my  companions. 

With  my  gun  hung  to  my  cross-belt,  and  my  hat  in 
hand,  I  advanced  alone  towards  the  rider,  who  had  sudden- 
ly reined  in  his  steed. 

"  Ave  Maria  !"  said  I,  going  up  to  him. 

"  Her  holy  name  be  blessed !"  answered  the  horseman, 
raising  his  cap,  from  which  several  locks  of  white  hair  es- 
caped. 

"  Do  you  speak  Spanish,  venerable  father  ?" 

"Yes," a  little." 

"  Are  you  the  chief  of  the  village  ?" 

"  What  do  you  want  ?" 

"'  We  require  water  and  a  roof  to  shelter  us." 

"  You  are  not  alone,  I  see ;  from  whom  do  you  come  ?" 

"  We  are  nothing  but  travellers  wandering  through  the 
forests  to  seek  for  plants  and  animals  with  healing  proper- 
ties." 

"  But  you  are  armed  ?" 

"  Well,  we  have  a  child  to  protect,  and  the  brutes  of  the 
forest  are  fierce." 

"  Are  you  speaking  the  truth  ?" 

I  then  called  Lucien,  who  doffed  his  hat  to  the  old  man 
and  sainted  him. 


324  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

"  Child,  may  God  bless  you !" 

"  Are  we  to  consider  ourselves  your  guests  ?" 

"  Yes,  you  are  the  guests  of  Coyotepec ;  come  along 
with  me." 

Sumichrast  and  1'Encuerado  also  approached  the  horse- 
man, who  dismounted  and  then  led  the  way.  The  latter 
conversed  with  the  Indian  in  the  Mistec  tongue,  an  idiom 
which  Lucien  alone  could  understand,  he  having  been 
taught  it  by  1'Encuerado.  From  the  way  in  which  the  old 
man  scanned  us,  I  imagined  that  1'Encuerado  had  repre- 
sented us  to  him  as  white  sorcerers  of  no  ordinary  skill. 

Coyotepec — or  "  Stone  Wolf  " — might  have  been  about 
seventy  years  of  age.  He  was  born  in  this  ravine,  to 
which  he  had  given  the  name  of  the  " Mountain's  Mouth" 
though  I  am  ignorant  of  the  reason  for  the  designation. 
He  had  been  taken,  when  very  young,  by  one  of  his  uncles 
to  Puebla,  but  he  had  soon  left  the  city  with  the  intention 
of  rebuilding  the  paternal  hut,  and  of  knowing  nothing  of 
the  world  beyond  his  own  domain.  His  six  children  were 
all  married  and  lived  near  him,  and  the  little  colony  num- 
bered as  many  as  thirty  individuals.  He  was  an  Indian 
of  the  Tlascalan  race,  as  robust  and  nimble  as  a  man  of 
forty,  of  middle  height,  with  a  brown  skin.  He  wore  a 
hat  made  of  palm-tree  straw,  and  was  dressed  in  a  white 
woollen  jacket,  fastened  in  round  the  waist  like  a  blouse ; 
cotton  drawers,  scarcely  covering  his  knees,  completed  his 
costume. 

"What  is  the  nearest  town  to  this?"  asked  Sunuchrast. 

"  Puebla,"  was  the  answer. 

"  How  far  off  is  it  ?" 

"  About  eight  days'  journey." 

As  the  usual  day's  journey  of  the  Indian  is  ten  leagues  a 
day,  the  distance  must  have  been  about  eighty  leagues. 

The  old  man  could  not  furnish  us  with  any  other  geo- 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  325 

graphical  information ;  he  had  heard  the  names  of  Orizava 
and  Tehuacan,  but  never  having  visited  these  towns,  he 
knew  nothing  of  the  distance  we  were  from  them.  For 
forty  years,  with  the  exception  of  the  relations  of  his  sons 
and  daughters-in-law,  who  paid  him  a  visit  annually,  we 
were  the  first  persons  who  had  disturbed  his  solitude. 
We  availed  ourselves  of  the  trunk  of  a  tree  to  cross  the 
brook,  when  our  guide  soon  stopped  in  front  of  a  hut. 
Four  naked  children,  the  eldest  of  whom  might  have  been 
ten  years  old,  inspected  us  with  comical  curiosity.  They 
had  never  before  seen  a  white  man,  and  although  we  were 
dreadfully  bronzed,  their  surprise  was  very  great.  A  young 
woman,  whose  clothing  consisted  of  a  piece  of  cloth  folded 
round  her  hips,  saluted  us  in  broken  Spanish,  and  bid  us 
welcome.  The  old  man  introduced  us  to  his  eldest  son, 
named  Torribio,  a  man  about  forty  years  of  age.  His 
clothing  was  not  quite  so  primitive  as  that  of  his  father, 
but  consisted  of  slashed  trowsers  ornamented  with  silver 
buttons,  a  cotton  shirt,  and  a  felt  hat  covered  with  varnish- 
ed leather.  The  little  colony  employed  themselves  in  col- 
lecting cochineal,  which  Torribio  carried  to  Puebla  for  sale, 
and  this  fact  accounted  for  his  more  civilized  costume.  At 
length  the  old  man  asked  us  to  come  into  his  hut,  round 
which  a  large  part  of  his  family  were  assembling.  He  call- 
ed his  wife,  who  was  a  little  old  woman,  dressed  in  a  long 
cotton  gown ;  then  he  addressed  us,  pointing  to  his  chil- 
dren and  grandchildren,  and  said : 

"  You  are  my  guests ;  my  house  is  at  your  disposal,  and 
all  my  relatives  are  your  servants." 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

BLACK  SKINS  AND  WHITE  SKINS. WE  HAVE  TO  TUEN  CAE- 

PENTEES. —  L'ENCUERADO  CHANTING  AND  PEEACHING. — 
THE  PALM-LEAVES. VEGETABLE  BUTTEE  TEEE. 

THE  dwelling  so  generously  put  at  our  disposal  was  a 
large  shed,  divided  into  three  rooms  by  bamboo  par- 
titions ;  mats,  spread  out  on  the  ground,  formed  our  beds, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  furniture  consisted  of  nothing  but 
two  benches.  L'Encuerado  swept  out  one  of  the  rooms, 
and,  collecting  some  dry  palm-leaves,  made  us  a  softer  rest- 
ing-place than  we  had  slept  on  for  the  last  twenty  days.  A 
troop  of  children — of  both  sexes,  and  perfectly  naked — 
formed  a  circle  round  us,  and  watched  our  movements  with 
surprise.  I  omitted  to  mention  about  half  a  dozen  dogs, 
who  were  at  first  perfectly  furious  at  Gringalet's  appear- 
ance, but  afterwards  contented  themselves  with  growling 
whenever  the  intruder  came  near. 

When  our  baggage  had  been  deposited  in  the  shed,  I 
went  and  sat  down  a  few  paces  from  the  hut,  on  a  mound 
overlooking  the  brook.  Sumichrast  soon  joined  me. 
Gradually  the  sun  went  down,  while  the  children,  previous- 
ly playing  about,  went  to  dip  themselves  in  the  beautifully 
transparent  water.  I  told  Lucien,  who  was  dying  to  im- 
itate them,  to  follow  their  example.  He  had  hardly  taken 
off  his  shirt,  when  the  young  Indians,  who  had  watched 
.him  undress  with  evident  curiosity,  burst  out  laughing,  and 
chattered  together  like  so  many  young  paroquets. 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.       327 

"  Why  do  they  laugh  so  when  they  look  at  me  ?"  asked 
Lncien  of  1'Encuerado. 

u  Of  course,  because  of  your  white  skin ;  what  else 
should  it  be  ?  They  have  never  seen  a  human  being  of  that 
color  before." 

"They  think  it  so  very  ridiculous?"  interposed  Sumi- 
chrast. 

"  Yes,  rather,"  replied  the  Indian ;  "  but  you  must  not 
mind  it,  Chanito ;  for,  after  all,  it  is  not  your  fault," 

We  and  the  young  Indians  now  laughed  in  concert ;  and 
this  incident  led  on  to  a  long  conversation  between  Sumi- 
chrast  and  me.  L'Encuerado,  who,  we  had  imagined,  en- 
vied us  our  white  skins,  pitied  us,  in  fact ;  as  no  doubt  he 
would  himself  have  been  pitied  by  Xnbians,  because  he  was 
only  copper-colored. 

"Why,"  said  Lucien,who  came  up  to  us  just  as  the  dis- 
cussion began, "  are  not  all  men  the  same  color  ?  What  is 
the  reason  of  it,  M.  Sumichrast  ?" 

"  It  is  owing  to  the  influence  of  the  sun,  which  more  or 
less  colors  the  pigment  of  the  skin." 

"  The  pigment  ?" 

"  Yes ;  a  brown  matter  which  exists  under  the  skin,  and 
gives  to  it  a  shade  more  or  less  dark." 

"  Then  Europeans  have  no  pigment  ?" 

"  Yes,  they  have,  just  like  all  other  races  of  men ;  only 
this  matter  does  not  affect  the  whole  of  their  bodies.  The 
brown  spots  which  cover  the  face  and  hands  of  some  people 
are  produced  by  the  pigment  making  its  way  through  the 
epidermis." 

"  Then,"  replied  Lucien, "  negroes  would  become  white  if 
they  lived  in  Europe." 

"  Xo,"  I  answered,  smiling ;  "  the  sun  shines  in  Europe  as 
well  as  in  America,  and  however  weak  its  action  may  be,  it 
is  sufficient  to  blacken  the  pigment." 


328  TEE  ADVENTURES  OF 

"  But  if  they  always  lived  in  the  shade  ?"  cried  1'En- 
cuerado. 

"  It  would  have  to  be  perfect  darkness,  a  thing  which  it 
is  quite  impossible  to  procure." 

At  this  moment  our  host  called  us.  On  a  rickety  table, 
covered  with  a  small  cotton  cloth,  a  bowl  of  thin  soup,  with 
tortilla  and  tomatoes,  was  smoking,  and  we  all  did  full  jus- 
tice to  our  fare.  This  dish  was  followed  by  a  fowl  season- 
ed with  pimento  sauce  and  black  beans  fried  in  fat ;  then 
some  camotes  (Convolvulus  batatas]  displayed  the  bright 
colors  of  their  mealy  interior,  in  the  midst  of  a  sirup  with 
which  1'Encuerado  and  Lucien  regaled  themselves.  A 
large  bowl  of  coffee  put  the  finishing  stroke  to  our  satisfac- 
tiop.  Instead  of  bread,  we  ate  some  freshly  made  maize- 
cakes.  Never  had  any  dinner  appeared  so  delicious  to  us 
as  this,  for  we  had  begun  to  get  rather  tired  of  game, 
which  had  formed  our  principal  food  since  we  left  home. 

When  the  meal  was  over,  Lucien  ran  back  to  join  the 
children,  who,  seated  on  the  bank  of  the  stream,  were  plait- 
ing palm-leaves  together.  One  of  them  was  very  successful 
in  making  a  grasshopper,  and  the  boys,  delighted  with  the 
praises  of  their  guest,  vied  with  one  another  in  their  inven- 
tions. They  presented  him  with  a  bull,  a  fowl,  a  basket, 
and  other  articles,  which  were  very  curious,  considering  the 
material  used  and  the  skill  of  workmanship  exhibited. 

Lucien,  perfectly  enchanted  with  these  presents,  and  find- 
ing that  our  admiration  hardly  equalled  his  own,  turned  to 
1'Encuerado,  who  criticised  the  articles  submitted  to  him 
with  an  artistic  eye  : 

"  Then  you,  too,  know  how  to  weave  palm-leaves  ?" 

"  Yes,  Chanito,  I  can  make  grasshoppers,  horses,  and  even 
birds."  ^ 

"  Only  fancy !  and  yet  you  have  never  made  any  for 
me !" 


A  TO  UNO  NATURALIST.  329 

"  You  are  mistaken  in  that ;  when  you  were  quite  a  little 
child  I  filled  your  cradle  with  them.  But  as  they  seem  to 
amuse  you,  I  will  teach  you  to  weave  them  for  yourself." 

At  dark  the  children  disappeared,  and  our  host  came  to 
wish  us  good-night.  I  told  him  of  the  light  we  had  caught 
a  glimpse  of  the  evening  before. 

"  It  was  Juan,"  he  said. 

"  And  who  is  Juan  ?" 

"  The  eldest  of  my  grandchildren.  He  is  watching  a 
flock  of  goats  in  the  plain  which  belong  to  us." 

The  voice  of  the  old  man  woke  me  next  morning,  and  I 
got  up  at  the  same  time  as  Sumichrast,  who  was  still  in  a 
semi-torpid  state  from  having  slept  so  well.  Lucien  and 
PEncuerado,  who  had  risen  earlier,  had  already  explored  the 
ravine,  led  by  the  youngest  of  the  children ;  for  the  elder 
ones  worked,  according  to  their  several  abilities,  at  collect- 
ing wood  or  cultivating  the  fields. 

Our  first  care  was  to  unpack  the  insects  and  bird-skins 
we  had  collected,  and  the  whole  colony  now  surrounded  us 
and  asked  us  innumerable  questions.  To  our  great  disap- 
pointment, we  found  we  could  only  retain  the  most  remark- 
able of  our  "  treasures."  Hitherto,  the  bird-skins  had  taken 
the  place  in  the  basket  of  the  provisions  we  had  eaten ;  but, 
after  making  an  inventory,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that, 
when  our  provisions  were  renewed,  it  would  be  perfectly 
impossible  for  TEncuerado  to  travel  with  such  an  increased 
load.  So  we  were  compelled  to  reject  many  of  the  speci- 
mens, though  not  without  regret.  Suddenly  the  idea  struck 
me  of  questioning  Coyotepec  about  his  son's  annual  jour- 
ney to  Puebla. 

"  He  will  start  in  fifteen  days,"  answered  the  old  man. 

"Will  he  go  alone?" 

"  No ;  he  takes  with  him  three  of  our  biggest  lads  and 
six  donkeys." 


330  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

"  And  are  the  donkeys  laden  ?" 

"  Yes ;  but  the  boys  start  without  any  burden." 

In  an  hour's  time  (an  Indian  never  decides  any  thing 
without  much  consideration)  I  arranged  with  my  host  that 
he  should  transport  to  Puebla  two  cases  in  which  I  could 
pack  my  valuables. 

Such  a  piece  of  good  luck  made  us  feel  quite  jolly ;  for 
by  this  means  we  were  enabled  to  preserve  the  whole  of 
our  collections,  instead  of  throwing  many  of  them  away,  as 
had  often  before  happened. 

We  were  now  in  want  of  cases,  and  Coyotepec  had  nei- 
ther saw,  hammer,  nor  nails  ;  but  he  gave  me  some  rough 
boards,  on  which  we  all  set  to  work. 

L'Encuerado  and  Sumichrast  smoothed  the  planks  with 
the  help  of  two  woodman's  hatchets,  while  I  cut  pegs,  all 
laboring  without  intermission  until  the  next  evening.  A 
little  before  sunset  we  had  succeeded  in  making  two  large 
and  tolerably  light  boxes,  a  task  which,  without  proper 
tools,  was  more  difficult  than  any  one  could  suppose  who 
had  not  undertaken  it. 

Sunday,  which  was  "Whitsunday,  found  us  quite  amazed 
at  our  performance.  L'Encuerado  had  succeeded  in  weav- 
ing some  mats  to  cover  the  cases,  and  preserve  their  con- 
tents from  the  damp.  About  eleven  o'clock  our  host's  fam- 
ily assembled  in  front  of  the  hut;  the  women  and  young 
girls  were  dressed  in  red  or  blue  petticoats,  with  their 
shoulders  covered  with  embroidered  cotton  chemisettes: 
and  the  younger  boys  were  clothed  in  a  sort  of  blouse 
without  sleeves.  The  grandmother  was  the  last  to  make 
her  appearance,  and  she  had  a  necklace  of  very  valuable 
pearls  round  her  neck.  The  women  wore  ornaments  made 
of  bits  of  rough  coral,  and  their  fingers  were  loaded  with 
silver  rings.  * 

"  We  always  assemble  together  on  Sunday  at  the  hour 


A  YOl'XG  XATUXALIST.  331 

for  mass,  to  say  our  prayers  together,"  said  Coyotepec  to 
me,  ".and  to  thank  God  who  covers  the  trees  with  fruit, 
and  preserves  us  in  good  health." 

"  We  are  Christians  the  same  as  you,"  I  answered  gravely. 

Then  every  one  knelt  down,  and  the  old  man  recited  the 
Litanies  and  a  succession  of  Ave  Marias.  After  this  one 
of  the  young  girls  chanted  a  canticle,  assisted  by  the  others, 
who  joined  in.  The  singer  had  scarcely  finished  her  hymn, 
when  1'Encuerado,  perfectly  electrified,  entreated  the  audi- 
ence not  to  move,  and  at  once  struck  up  one  of  his  favorite 
chants.  He  kept  us  at  least  half  an  hour  in  the  burning  sun, 
till,- being  tired  of  kneeling,  I  made  signs  to  him  to  leave  off. 
But  it  was  lost  labor,  for  my  servant  pretended  not  to  per- 
ceive me,  and  only  multiplied  his  gestures  and  cries,  repeat- 
ing the  same  verse  three  times  running. 

"Amen !"  at  last  I  cried, in  a  loud  voice,  getting  up. 

Every  one  followed  my  example ;  so,  being  at  last  set  at 
liberty,  I  went  away,  while  the  Indians  surrounded  FEncue- 
rado  to  congratulate  him. 

I  had  not  yet  paid  a  visit  to  the  ravine,  which,  situated 
as  it  was  in  the  midst  of  the  Terre-Froide,  yielded  the  same 
kind  of  productions  as  the  Terre-Chaude.  I  called  Sumi- 
chrast  and  Lucien,  and,  under  the  guidance  of  Torribio,  the 
Indian  who  every  year  drove  the  donkeys  to  Puebla,  we  as- 
cended the  course  of  the  stream. 

Our  guide  first  led  us  to  his  hut,  surrounded  by  Bourbon 
palms.  This  beautiful  tree,  belonging  to  the  palm  family, 
has  a  strange  and  yet  an  agreeable  appearance.  From  its 
very  summit  long  stalks  shoot  out,  at  the  end  of  which 
hangs  a  wide  leaf,  which  is  first  folded,  and  afterwards 
spreads  out  like  a  fan  ornamented  with  points.  The  In- 
dians cut  up  these  leaves  to  weave  the  mats,  called  petates, 
which  form  an  article  of  such  extensive  commerce  in  Mexi- 
co. They  are  also  used  for  making  baskets,  brooms,  bel- 
lows, and  many  other  household  utensils. 


332  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

Torribio's  cabin  consisted  of  but  one  room,  and  the  fire- 
hearth  was  placed  outside  under  a  small  shed.  This  prim- 
itive abode  contained  neither  chairs,  tables,  nor  benches. 
Sumichrast  was  full  of  admiration  at  this  simplicity,  which 
I  considered  rather  overdone ;  but  my  friend  compared  the 
life  of  civilization,  in  which  luxury  has  created  so  many 
wants,  with  the  lot  of  these  men  who  can  dispense  with  al- 
most every  thing,  and  decidedly  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  latter  are  much  the  happier. 

On  leaving  the  hut,  I  noticed  to  our  left  a  magnificent 
avocado  pear-tree — Persea  gratissima — the  fruit  of  which 
yields  a  pulp  called  "  vegetable  butter."  The  avocado  pear, 
called  by  the  Indians  aMiacate,  is  the  same  shape  as  a  large 
pear,  with  interior  of  a  light-green  color  and  of  a  buttery 
nature ;  its  sweet  flavor  is  delicious  to  every  palate.  It  is 
either  eaten  plain,  or  seasoned  with  salt,  oil,  and  vinegar. 

"  The  avocado  pear-tree,  I  should  think,  has  no  relations 
among  trees  !"  said  Lucien,  smiling. 

^  "  Yes,  certainly  it  has.  It  belongs  to  the  Laurel  family, 
and  is  the  only  member  of  it  which  produces  eatable  fruit. 
Its  connections,  though,  occupy  an  important  position  in  do- 
mestic economy.  First,  there  is  the  bay-tree — Laurus  no- 
bilis — the  leaves  of  which  are  indispensable  in  French  cook- 
ery; while  the  berries  furnish  an  oil  used  in  medicine. 
Next  comes  the  Laurus  camphora,  from  the  leaves  of  which 
camphor  is  extracted,  the  crystallized  essence  which  evapo- 
rates so  easily ;  then  the  Laurus  cinnamomum,  the  bark 
of  which  is  called  cinnamon ;  and,  lastly,  sassafras,  the  aro- 
matic wood  which  is  said  to  be  a  powerful  sudorific." 

Our  guide  conducted  us  across  a  field  of  Indian  corn  or 
maize.  Europe  is  indebted  to  America  for  this  valuable 
gramineous  plant.  The  common  bread  or  tortilla  of  this 
country,  which  is  a  kind  of  pancake,  is  made  from  it.  Be- 
fore the  maize  is  quite  ripe,  it  is  eaten  boiled  or  parched ; 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  333 

in  fact,  generally  throughout  America,  it  is  used  instead  of 
barley  or  oats  for  feeding  horses  and  cattle. 

As  soon  as  Tonibio  entered  his  own  plantation,  he  bent 
down  a  few  twigs  of  the  masorcas  without  dividing  them 
from  the  stem. 

"  Why  do  you  bend  those  poor  plants  like  that  ?  Won't 
they  die  ?"  cried  Lucien. 

"  Yes ;  in  the  first  place,  because  they  are  annuals,  and 
our  guide  only  hastened  their  death  a  few  days ;  besides, 
the  ears  he  cut  are  ripe,  and  will  dry  hanging  to  the  stems 
which  have  nourished  them.  This  method  is  as  simple  as 
it  is  expeditious,  but  could  only  be  put  into  practice  in  coun- 
tries where  winter  is  nothing  but  a  spring." 

Behind  the  maize-field  there  was  a  hedge  covered  with 
long  filaments  of  a  golden-yellow  color.  These  filaments, 
which  were  entirely  devoid  of  leaves,  grew  all  over  the 
shrubs  almost  like  a  thick  cloak. 

"What  is  the  name  of  this  wonderful  plant?"  asked 
Lucien. 

" It  is  the  sacattascale"  answered  Torribio. 

"  It  is  a  sort  of  dodder,"  added  Sumichrast, "  a  plant  of 
the  Convolvulus  family.  The  European  species  is  destroy- 
ed, because  it  twines  round  certain  vegetables  and  chokes 
them.  Here,  however,  the  sacatlascale  is  allowed  to  grow, 
because  some  use  has  been  found  for  it." 

"  What  could  be  made  of  these  stalks,  which  are  so  deli- 
cate that  they  break  if  I  merely  touch  them?" 

"  They  are  first  bruised,  and  then  dried  in  the  sun,"  re- 
plied Torribio.  "  When  they  want  to  dye  a  black  or  yellow 
hue,  all  they  have  to  do  is  to  boil  the  paste  in  iron,  or  mix 
it  with  alum." 

While  we  were  climbing  the  banks  of  the  ravine,  Lucien 
availed  himself  of  such  a  good  opportunity  by  smearing  his 
hands  all  over  with  this  bright  yellow  substance.  When 


334  THE  ADVSXTVnES   OF 

we  reached  a  certain  height,  we  lay  down  on  the  grass. 
With  one  glance  we  could  take  in  the  whole  of  this  small 
oasis.  The  stream  meandered  along,  shaded  with  green 
trees  ;  here  and  there,  among  clumps  of  Bourbon  palms,  we 
could  discern  huts  irregularly  dotted  about.  I  turned  my 
eyes  towards  our  host's  threshold,  and,  through  my  glass, 
perceived  FEncuerado,  who  was  still  preaching.  He  had 
evidently  left  off  chanting,  for  his  hearers  were  seated  round 
him  on  the  ground. 

Lucien  took  possession  of  the  telescope,  and  I  noticed  that 
Terribio  also  seemed  very  anxious  to  try  the  instrument. 
I  told  the  boy  to  lend  it  to  him.  Our  guide,  seeing  trees 
brought  so  close  to  him,  could  not  at  first  account  for  this 
optical  effect.  I  then  directed  the  glass  so  that  he  could 
see  the  group  of  Indians,  and  I  never  saw  any  human  face 
manifest  such  complete  surprise.  The  Indian,  who  appear- 
ed perfectly  charmed,  could  not  long  maintain  his  gravity. 
Every  time  he  succeeded  in  discovering  a  hut,  he  hardly 
gave  himself  time  to  look  at  it,  but  rolled  on  the  ground 
bursting  with  laughter.  Two  or  three  times  I  put  out  my 
hand  to  take  back  the  telescope,  but  Torribio  hugged  it  to 
his  breast,  just  like  a  child  when  any  one,  attempts  to  take 
a  plaything  away.  At  last  he  consented  to  give  it  to  me, 
and  I  felt  really  sorry  that  I  had  not  another  glass  to  offer 
him. 

Sumichrast  led  the  way  round  the  end  of  the  ravine. 
Suddenly  the  birds,  which  were  warbling  on  the  banks  of 
the  stream,  all  flew  away ;  a  goshawk  was  hovering  above 
us  in  the  sky.  As  it  was  flying  swiftly  through  the  air,  it 
passed  us  within  gunshot ;  a  shot  struck  it,  and,  tumbling 
over  and  over,  it  fell  to  the  ground  about  twenty  paces  from 
us.  Lucien  immediately  ran  to  pick  it  up. 

"  It  is  a  falcon  !"  he  cried. 

"You  are  right,"  replied  Sumichrast;  "it  is  the  Cay- 


Jl  TOUXG  XATCRALKT.  335 

enne  goshawk,  which  is  characterized  by  having  a  head  cov- 
ered with  ash-colored  feathers,  by  a  brown  body,  and  black 
feathers  in  its  tail" 

"Wifl  you  skin  it  ':'' 

**  Yes,  certainly,  Master  Sunbeam ;  firstly,  because  this  is 
any  thing  bnt  a  common  bird;  and,  secondly,  during  the 
few  days  we  shall  stay  here,  we  must  endeavor  to  fill  the 
boxes  which  we  have  had  so  much  difficulty  in  making." 

At  this  moment  a  finch,  with  red,  brown,  and  white  feath- 
ers, settled  near  us. 

"  It  is  the  Pyrrhula  tdcuco?  said  my  friend, "  a  species 
discovered  by  Lesson,  the  celebrated  ornithologist,  in  his 
journey  to  Lima.  Ah !  if  I  wasn't  so  economical  with  the 
powder — " 

"1  have  some  powder,"  muttered  Torribio. 

"You  have  some  powder  I"  I  cried;  "will  you  sell  us 
someP 

"  Xo,"  answered  the  Indian,  dryly. 

"  Why  not  ?"  was  my  rejoinder.  "  Are  yon  also  a  sports- 
man ?  Besides,  if 'you  are,  you  win  soon  be  going  to  Pue- 
bla,  where  you  could  get  a  fresh  supply ." 

"  I  never  sell  my  powder,"  was  the  terse  response, 

K  Very  well,  then,  let  us  say  no  more  about  it." 

We  crossed  over  the  stream  by  means  of  a  tree  which 
stretched  from  one  bank  to  the  other.  Ere  the  sun  ceased 
to  gild  the  ravine  with  its  rays  we  found  ourselves  opposite 
to  the  dwelling  of  the  Indian  patriarch,  which  overlooked  a 
hut  similar  to  that  of  our  guide.  The  sky  was  a  pale  blue, 
and  we  had  a  glimpse  of  the  monotonous  plain  dotted  over 
with  the  sombre  cactus-plant;  while  just  below  us  figured 
the  fresh  oasis,  tendered  all  the  more  charming  by  the  con- 
trast. The  birds  warbled  in  the  shrubs,  and  one  by  one 
flew  away  in  order  to  return  to  the  trees,  among  the  branch- 
es of  which  they  had  perhaps  first  crept  out  of  the  paternal 


336  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

nest.  A  warm  breeze  was  blowing  when  we  got  up  to  re- 
turn to  the  village. 

"  I  have  some  powder  !"  exclaimed  the  Indian,  abruptly. 

"  Yes,  very  likely,  but  I  also  know  that  you  don't  wish  to 
sell  any." 

"  No,  I  don't." 

The  powder  is  surely  mine,  I  thought  to  myself;  and,  af- 
ter walking  about  twenty  paces,  I  again  took  up  the  sub- 
ject. 

"  Even  if  your  powder  was  very  good,  I  wouldn't  buy  it 
of  you ;  I  know  men  like  you  mean  what  they  say ;  never- 
theless, if  you  like,  I  will  make  an  exchange." 

"  What  could  you  give  'me  ?"  replied  Torribio,  with  af- 
fected indifference ;  "  I  don't  want  any  of  your  birds,  and 
my  gun  is  quite  as  good  as  yours,  if  not  better." 

"  That's  true  enough,  therefore  say  no  more  about  it." 

And  I  continued  to  follow  my  guide,  who  walked  slowly 
on.  He  soon  turned  round  again. 

"  The  magic  glass,"  said  he,  with  a  great  effort. 

"  Come  !  now  we've  got  to  the  point,"  murmured  Sumi- 
chrast. 

"  It  is  a  bargain,  if  your  powder  is  good,"  said  I. 

"  Will  you  really  give  the  glass  to  me  ?"  cried  the  Indian, 
his  eyes  lighting  up  with  joy. 

"  I  am  always  a  man  of  my  word,"  I  replied. 

Torribio  hurried  on  so  fast  that  Lucien  was  obliged  to 
run  in  order  to  keep  up  with  us.  After  crossing  the  stream, 
our  guide  conducted  us  to  his  hut,  and  showed  us  four  cases 
of  American  powder  which  was  quite  sound,  and  more  than 
five  or  six  pounds  of  assorted  shot. 

I  was  overjoyed  at  this  discovery ;  but  I  maintained  an 
indifference  quite  equal  to  that  of  our  guide,  who  was  squat- 
ting down  on  the  ground  with  his  chin  resting  between  his 
knees. 


XATTKAUST.  337 

"  Here  is  the  telescope,"  I  said. 

His  features  renamed  perfectly  motionless,  bat  his  eyes 
sparkled  and  his  hand  trembled  slightly  as  he  seized  the 
object  of  his  longing.  I  showed  him  how  to  use  and  dean 
the  instrument ;  then,  loaded  with  the  boxes,  which  were  so 
precious  to  me,  and  followed  by  my  companions,  I  returned 
to  Coyotepees  dwelling. 

u  Why  didn't  Torribio  say  at  once  that  he  was  willing  to 
exchange  his  powder  for«the  telescope  'f  asked  Lucien. 

"  The  reason  is,  because  an  Indian  always  tries  to  conceal 
his  wishes  and  passions." 

"  But  why  didnTt  you  offer  him  the  instrument  directly  ?" 

tt  If  I  had  shown  too  much  eagerness,  very  probably  he 
would  hare  refused  to  make  an  exchange,  and  the  Indian 
seldom  retracts  what  he  has  once  said." 

Of  course,  FEncuerado.  always  the  most  extravagant  in 
its  use,  was  perfectly  delighted  to  see  our  stock  of  ammu- 
nition trebled. 

We  had  scarcely,  finished  our  dinner,  when  we  heard  the 
sound  of  a  guitar :  the  Mistec,  after  having  preached,  had 
succeeded  in  convincing  his  congregation  that  a  dance  was 
the  proper  method  of  winding  up  the  day.  The  space  in 
front  of  the  patriarch's  dwelling  having  been  swept,  and 
two  crackling  fires  lighted,  ere  long  the  women  made  their 
appearance,  in  what  they  considered  full  dress,  and  their 
hair  loaded  with  flowers.  The  national  air  of  the  JFmrabe 
was  played,  and  the  dancers  trod  the  measure  with  energy. 
Lucien,  who  had  joined  the  crowd,  wanted  to  teach  the  pol- 
ka and  waltz  to  the  Indian  children.  Sumichrast  stood  by, 
laughing  most  heartily;  but  his  merriment  increased  on 
seeing  FEncuerado's  gambols,  for  never  before  had  such 
wonderful  capers  been  cut.  He  sang,  strummed  on  his 
guitar,  and  danced — often  doing  all  three  at  the  same  time. 
About  ten  o'clock,  Lncien  retired  to  rest.  The  fatigues  of 
15 


338        THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 

the  clay,  in  spite  of  the  noise  of  the  guitar  and  the  songs, 
soon  sent  him  to  sleep. 

At  a  proper  hour  I  desired  every  one  to  go  home.  They 
kissed  my  hands,  some  even  embraced  me,  and  obeyed;  so 
silence  once  more  reigned  in  the  little  valley.  Before  my 
going  to  sleep,  PEncuerado  was  already  snoring,  with  his 
head  on  Gringalet's  back. 


CHAPTER 

MEXICAN    OAK-APPLES. A    STREAM    LOST    IN    AN   ABYSS. 

THE  WILD  NASTURTIUM. SPORTSMEN  DECEIVED  BY  CHIL- 
DREN.  THE    GRAVE-DIGGING   BEETLES. THE   COCHINEAL 

INSECT. MEXICAN    WINE. GOOD-BYE    TO     OUB    INDLAN 

HOSTS. 

AS  soon  as  it  was  light,  I  awoke  Sumichrast  and  Lucien. 
L'Encuerado  was  sleeping  so  soundly,  after  his  ex- 
ploits of  the  night  before,  that  we  hesitated  to  disturb  him. 
I  intended  to  hunt  for  insects  all  day,  so  as  to  fill  up  the 
vacant  spaces  in  the  specimen-boxes  that  Torribio  was  to 
take  to  Puebla;  so  we  bent  our  steps  towards  the  bottom 
of  the  valley.  As  the  inhabitants  were  still  asleep  in  their 
huts,  Gringalet  passed  safely  all  his  sleeping  brother-dogs 
with  his  tail  boldly  cocked. 


340  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

The  winding  path  brought  us  out  into  an  extensive  hol- 
low covered  with  verdure.  In  a  hundred  paces  more,  we 
reached  some  pyramid-shaped  rocks,  which  were  bound  to- 
gether by  the  gigantic  roots  of  a  tree  with  scanty  foliage. 
The  water  glided  noiselessly  through  the  stones,  and  disap- 
peared under  a  low  arch  shaded  by  gladiolas,  covered  with 
blossoms. 

Lucien,  who  was  leaning  over  the  opening,  wanted  to 
know  what  became  of  the  water. 

"  Perhaps  it  is  absorbed  by  sand  underneath ;  perhaps  it 
will  reappear  in  the  valleys,  where  the  surface  sinks  to  its 
level,"  I  answered. 

"  Do  streams  often  go  under  the  ground  like  this  ?" 

"  Yes  ;  particularly  in  Mexico,  where  these  subterranean 
passages  are  numerous.  Near  Chiquihuita,  about  five 
leagues  from  the  road  which  leads  to  Vera  Cruz  and  Cor- 
dova, a  large  river  vanishes  into  a  cave,  which  is  more  than 
three  miles  in  length." 

"  Oh,  how  I  should  like  to  see  such  a  large  grotto !" 

"  Your  wish  shall  be  gratified,  provided  we  do  not  lose 
our  way  in  the  Terre- Chancle" 

Sumichrast  had  only  a  few  minutes  left  us,  when  we 
heard  a  report,  and  he  reappeared  carrying  a  magnificent 
bird,  whose  red  plumage  had  a  purple  metallic  lustre. 

"  We  have  never  met  with  this  fine  fellow  before,"  said 
Lucien. 

"  It  is  the  most  brilliant  of  all  the  American  passerines," 
I  replied — "  the  Ampelis  pompadora;  but  its  splendid  at- 
tire lasts  only  for  a  very  short  time.  In  a  few  days  its 
bright-colored  feathers  fall  off,  and  are  replaced  by  a  som- 
bre, dull-looking  coat.  This  moulting,  which  is  common  to 
many  birds,  has  more  than  once  led  ornithologists  into  er- 
ror, .who  have  described,  as  a  new  species,  a  bird  which  a 
new  dress  has  prevented  them  from  recognizing." 


"  The  water  —  disappeared  under  a  low  arch." 


A  YOCXG  NATURALIST.  343 

The  neighborhood  of  the  swnidero  furnished  us  with  a 
dozen  birds  of  different  species;  among  others,  several 
tanagers  peculiar  to  America,  and  a  pair  of  pretty  light- 
brown  cuckoos,  with  fan-shaped  tails,  which  are  merely 
birds  of  passage  in  this  locality. 

"  When  you  are  speaking  of  a  bird,  why  do  you  often 
say  it  belongs  to  Brazil,  Guiana,  or  Peru,  when  you  actually 
find  it  in  Mexico  ?"  asked  Lucien. 

"  Because,  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  many  kinds  of 
birds  migrate,"  answered  my  friend ;  "  and  they  are  often 
found  at  an  immense  distance  from  the  country  where  they 
breed.  This  beautiful  blackbird,  for  instance,  is  never  seen 
in  Mexico  except  in  the  spring,  which  has  caused  it  to  be 
called  here  the/wiiwoccra." 

a  Look,  papa,  at  these  beautiful  yellow  flowers ;  they 
cover  the  trunk  of  this  tree  so  completely  that  it  appears 
as  if  they  grew  on  it" 

"  They  are  the  flowers  of  the  tropceolum,  or  wild  nastur- 
tium. This  plant  has  been  cultivated  in  Europe,  where  its 
seed  is  eaten  preserved  in  vinegar,  and  its  flowers  are  used 
to  season  salads." 

"  Then  the  Mexicans  do  not  know  its  value,  for  I  have 
never  seen  it  on  their  tables." 

"  You  are  right ;  but  still  I  should  have  thought  that  the 
piquant  taste  of  the  flowers  of  the  tropaeolum  would  have 
just  suited  them.  Perhaps  they  find  it  too  insipid  after 
having  been  accustomed  to  chewing  capsicums." 

"  You  have  the  seasoning,  and  I  have  the  salad !"  sud- 
denly cried  my  friend. 

And  he  showed  us  a  handful  of  an  herb  called  purslane. 

This  plant,  which  grows  in  abundance  in  damp  ground, 
has  red  flowers,  which  close  every  evening  and  open  again 
in  the  morning.  I  gathered  the  fleshy  leaves,  while  Su- 
michrast,  who  had  found  a  plant  covered  with  seeds,  show- 


344  THE  AD  VENTURES  OF 

ed  Lucien  the  circular  hole  on  the  seed  which  has  given  to 
the  plant  its  family  name  (Portulacce). 

Some  maize-cakes  and  a  salad  formed  our  frugal  break- 
fast, which  was  discussed  on  the  edge  of  the  stream.  Lu- 
cien especially  seemed  to  enjoy  it,  for  I  was  indeed  obliged 
to  check  him,  the  appetizing  flavor  of  the  salad  had  so 
sharpened  his  appetite. 

When  we  had  finished  our  meal,  Sumichrast  tried  to 
climb  the  steep  bank ;  but  the  ground  gave  way  under  his 
feet,  and  two  or  three  times  he  fell.  I  left  Lucien  to  man- 
age for  himself,  for  his  falls  were  not  likely  to  be  danger- 
ous. As  he  was  much  less  heavy  than  we  were,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  the  level  of  the  plain  first,  and  with 
very  little  trouble,  when  he  amused  himself  by  laughing 
disrespectfully  at  our  efforts. 

"You  had  better  take  care  of  your  ears,"  cried  my  friend, 
addressing  Lucien ;  "  if  I  could  reach  you  I  would  use  them 
to  hang  on  by." 

In  vain  we  tried  to  find  a  more  accessible  path.  At  last, 
getting  rid  of  my  gun  and  game-bag,  I  accomplished  the 
ascent. 

"  That's  all  very  well !"  exclaimed  Sumichrast,  fatigued 
and  cramped  with  his  exertions ;  "but  how  am  I  to  reach 
you,  now  that  I  have  two  guns  and  two  bags  to  carry  ?" 

"  "Wait  a  bit !"  cried  Lucien ;  and,  running  down  the 
slope,  he  soon  disappeared. 

I  heard  him  cutting  at  something  with  his  machete; 
soon  after  he  came  up  again,  carrying  a  long  stem  of  cane. 

"  Now  we'll  try  and  fish  up  M.  Sumichrast,"  said  he. 

Sitting  down  on  the  bank,  I  held  out  the  rod  to  my  com- 
panion, who  at  once  seized  it,  and,  thus  supported,  gradual- 
ly managed  to  bring  up  all  our  hunting-gear,  and  ultimately 
himself,  when,  instead  of  pulling  "  Master  Sunbeam's  "  ears, 
he  gave  him  a  kiss  as  a  reward  for  his  ingenious  idea. 


"  Four  children  appeared." 


A  YOCXG  XATtttALlST.  347 

About  two  hundred  paces  farther  on  the  verdant  ravine 
came  to  an  end,  and  we  were  surrounded  by  cactus-plants. 
Lucien  employed  himself  hunting  lizards,  and  Gringalet 
seemed  to  think  he  was  proving  his  intelligence  by  running 
in  front  of  the  boy,  so  as  to  frighten  away  all  the  game. 
The  young  hunter  succeeded,  however,  in  catching  a  green 
saurian — an  anolis — which,  being  more  courageous  than 
lizards  generally  are,  tried  to  bite  the  hand  that  held  it 
prisoner,  and  angrily  puffed  up  its  crest,  which  is  variegated 
like  a  butterfly's  wing. 

Suddenly  Gringalet  bai'ked  uneasily ;  then  we  heard  a 
shrill  whistle,  and  immediately  afterwards  the  cry  of  a  ca- 
yote.  I  called  in  the  dog,  and,  with  my  finger  on  the  trig- 
ger of  iny  gun,  cautiously  advanced,  telling  Lucien  to  keep 
at  my  side.  We  walked  so  noiselessly  that  we  surprised 
two  or  three  adders  which  were  coiled  up  in  the  sun.  The 
screech  of  an  owl  now  struck  on  our  ears.  I  exchanged  a 
look  of  surprise  with  my  companion  ;  this  was  neither  the 
time  nor  place  for  a  bird  of  this  kind.  A  fresh  yelping  and 
barking  then  resounded ;  but  this  time  it  was  so  near  to  us 
that  we  halted.  Gringalet  dashed  on  before  us,  and  four 
children  appeared,  repulsing  the  dog  with  cactus-leaves  in 
their  hands,  which  they  used  as  shields. 

"  Well !"  cried  Sumichrast,  "  here  we  have  the  cayote, 
the  owl,  and  the  dog,  which  have  so  puzzled  us." 

My  companion  was  not  wrong :  the  young  Indians  were 
carrying  provisions  to  their  elder  brother,  who  was  taking 
care  of  a  flock  of  goats.  In  order  to  enliven  their  journey, 
they  amused  themselves  by  imitating  the  cries  of  different 
animals,  and  they  did  it  with  so  much  accuracy  that  we  had 
b'een  completely  duped. 

About  three  o'clock,  my  friend,  who  was  anxious  to  pre- 
pare the  birds  he  had  shot,  left  us  to  return  to  Coyotepec's 
dwelling.  I  continued  walking,  accompanied  by  Lucien, 


348  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

but  soon  stopped  to  look  at  the  dead  body  of  a  mouse  which 
grave-digging  beetles  were  burying. 

These  insects,  five  in  number,  were  excavating  the  ground 
under  the  small  rodent,  in  order  to  bury  it.  These  indus- 
trious insects  had  undertaken  a  work  which  would  employ 
them  more  than  twenty-four  hours ;  two  of  the  beetles 
were  lifting  up  one  side  of  the  carcass,  while  the  others 
scratched  away  the  sand  underneath. 

"  Why  are  they  trying  to  bury  that  mouse  ?"  asked  Lu- 
cien. 

"  They  are  providing  for  their  young.  They  will  deposit 
their  eggs  beneath  the  dead  animal,  and  the  larvae,  after 
they  are  hatched,  will  feed  on  it." 

I  disturbed  the  active  creatures,  which,  unfortunately  for 
them,  belonged  to  a  rare  species.  Their  antennas,  which  are 
club-shaped,  terminated  abruptly  in  a  kind  of  button,  and 
their  elytra,  which  are  a  brilliant  black,  are  crossed  by  a 
belt  of  yellow  color.  In  vain  I  turned  over  the  ground 
and  the  prey,  but  I  could  only  find  four  of  them. 

On  a  path  leading  to  a  glen,  we  noticed  some  cicindelas. 
Lucien  began  chasing  them,  but  the  agility  of  his  enemies 
soon  baffled  him. 

"  How  malicious  these  flies  are !"  he  cried ;  "  I  can't  suc- 
ceed in  catching  one  of  them." 

"  They  are  not  flies,  but  coleoptera,  allied  to  the  Carabus 
family.  Give  me  your  net." 

Lucien  was  anxious  to  obtain  one  of  them,  and  at  length 
was  successful.  He  was  delighted  with  the  beautiful  me- 
tallic color  of  their  brown  elytra,  dotted  over  with  yellow 
spots ;  but  the  insect,  after  having  bitten  him,  escaped. 

"  What  jaws  they  have  !"  he  said,  shaking  his  fingers  j 
"  it's  a  good  thing  those  creatures  are  very  small.  Do  ci- 
cindelas live  in  woods  ?" 

"  They  prefer  dry,  sandy  places,  and  can  run  and  fly  very 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  349 

swiftly.  This  insect  has  an  uncommonly  voracious  appe- 
tite ;  look  at  this  one,  which  has  just  seized  an  immense  fly, 
and  is  trying  to  tear  it  in  pieces." 

The  capricious  flight  of  a  stag-beetle  led  us  to  the  edge 
of  the  ravine ;  and,  continuing  to  follow  a  zigzag  path  shaded 
with  shrubs,  we  came  out  in  front  of  a  hut.  On  the  thresh- 
old there  was  a  young  woman  spinning  a  piece  of  cotton 
cloth,  whom  I  recognized  as  one  of  the  dancers  of  the  night 
before.  The  loom  which  held  the  weft  was  fastened  at 
one  end  to  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  the  other  being  wound  round 
the  waist  of  the  weaver.  Lucien  examined  it  with  great 
curiosity ;  and  when  he  saw  the  weaver  change  the  color  of 
her  threads,  he  understood  how  the  Indian  women  covered 
the  bottoms  of  their  petticoats  with  those  extraordinary  pat- 
terns which  their  fancy  produces. 

Within  a  short  distance  of  the  hut  there  were  some  nopal 
cactus-plants. 

"Look  at  these  plants,"  said  I, addressing  Lucien;  "the 
sight  of  them  would  probably  affect  1'Encuerado  to  tears, 
for  they  are  principally  cultivated  in  his  native  land.  The 
numerous  brown  spots  which  you  can  see  on  their  stalks 
are  hemipterous  insects,  commonly  called  cochineal.  They 
have  no  wings,  and  feed  entirely  on  this  cactus,  sucking  out 
its  sap  with  their  proboscis.  The  male  only  is  capable  of 
movement ;  the  female  is  doomed  to  die  where  she  is  born. 
At  a  certain  time  these  little  insects  lay  thousands  of  eggs, 
and  their  bodies  become  covered  with  a  cottony  moss, 
which  is  intended  as  a  shelter  for  their  young.  The  coch- 
ineal is  gathered  when,  to  use  the  Indian  expression,  it  is 
ripe,  by  scraping  the  plant  with  a  long  flexible  knife,  and  all 
the  creatures,  still  alive,  are  plunged  into  boiling  water. 
They  are  taken  out  as  soon  as  they  are  dead,  and  dried  in 
the  sun.  Afterwards,  packed  up  in  goat-skin  bags,  they  are 
sent  to  Europe,  where  they  are  used  for  dyeing  and  for 


350  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

making  the  carmine  which  gives  to  some  kinds  of  sweet- 
meats their  bright  pink  color." 

A  little  farther  on,  I  found  myself  facing  a  maguey — 
Agave  Mexicana — a  sort  of  aloe,  from  which  pulque  is  ex- 
tracted. The  maguey  only  blooms  once  every  twenty-five 
or  thirty  years,  and  the  stalk,  which  is  to  suppoi't  the  clus- 
ters of  flowers,  grows,  in  the  space  of  two  months,  to  a 
height  of  about  sixteen  to  twenty  feet.  The  stalk  bears  at 
its  summit  no  less  than  four  or  five  thousand  blossoms, 
and  the  plant  expends  all  its  strength  in  producing  them, 
for  it  dies  soon  after. 

In  the  plantations  on  the  plains  of  Apam,  where  the 
maguey  is  largely  cultivated,  they  prevent  its  flowering. 
As  soon  as  the  conical  bud  appears  from  which  the  stalk  is 
about  to  spring,  it  is  cut  off,  and  a  cylindrical  cavity  is  hol- 
lowed out  with  a  large  spoon  to  the  depth  of  from  five  to 
eight  inches.  The  sap  collects  in  this  hole,  and  it  is  taken 
out  two  or  three  times  a  day  with  a  long  bent  gourd,  which 
the  Indians  use  as  a  siphon.  It  has  been  calculated  that  in 
twenty-four  hours  a  strong  plant  should  supply  about  three 
quarts  of  a  sweet  liquor  called  Agua  miel,  which  is  without 
odor,  and  has  an  acidulated  sweet  taste. 

The  Agua  miel  is  collected  in  ox-skins,  placed  like  troughs 
on  four  stakes,  where  the  liquor  ferments ;  in  about  seven- 
ty-two hours  it  is  ready  for  delivery  to  those  that  use  it, 
among  whom  must  be  placed  many  Europeans.  A  maguey 
plant  is  serviceable  in  producing  sap  for  two  or  three 
months. 

Pulque  is  an  intoxicating  beverage,  the  flavor  of  which 
varies  according  to  the  degree  of  fermentation  ;  it  might  be 
compared  to  good  cider  or  perry,  and  is  said  to  fatten  those 
who  habitually  drink  it. 

I  reached  Coyotepec's  dwelling  just  as  the  sun  had  set. 
Sumichrast  was  finishing  his  work,  and  1'Encuerado,  coming 


A  TOUXG  NATURALIST. 


351 


from  a  heap  of  dry  palm-leaves,  presented  to  me  a  splendid 
broad-brimmed  hat,  which  he  had  just  made. 

The  next  day  and  the  day  after  were  spent  in  hunting 
after  specimens,  and  our  boxes  were  soon  filled  np  and  pack- 
ed. I  explained  to  Torribio,  who  was  to  start  at  day-break, 
how  to  handle  the  cases,  and  then  intrusted  to  him  letters 
which  were  to  announce  our  early  return.  Lncien  had  writ- 
ten to  his  dear  mother  and  his  sister  Hortense,  and  he  had 
to  open  his  letter  at  least  twenty  times  to  add  postscripts, 
often  dictated  by  FEncuerado. 


In  the  evening  we  bade  adieu  to  our  kind  hosts,  for  we 
were  to  start  early.  Thanks  to  them,  we  had  renewed  our 
stock  of  salt,  rice,  coffee,  sugar,  and  maize-cake.  In  default 
of  black  pepper,  we  took  with  us  some  red  capsicums ;  but 
the  most  precious  of  our  acquisitions  was  the  powder  and 
shot  I  had  received  in  exchange  for  the  telescope. 

On  the  next  morning  I  learned  that  Torribio  was  already 
on  his  way  towards  Pnebla.  He  had  started  about  mid- 


352       THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 

night,  so  as  to  avoid  crossing  the  plain  during  the  heat  of 
the  day.  I  now  hastened  our  own  departure.  We  were 
in  possession  of  good  hats,  but  our  garments,  which  had 
been  mended  with  some  soft  leather,  gave  us  the  appearance 
of  mendicants ;  this,  however,  did  not  trouble  us  much. 
My  shoes,  and  also  Sumichrast's,  had  been  strongly,  if  not 
elegantly,  repaired,  and  were  quite  as  good  as  new ;  Lu- 
cien,  too,  now  possessed  a  pair  of  spare  sandals. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  little  colony  ranged  along  our  path, 
and,  overwhelming  us  with  good  wishes,  bid  us  another 
adieu.  I  pressed  all  the  hands  that  were  held  out.  to  me, 
and  then,  guided  by  the  band  of  children,  who  still  sur- 
rounded the  young  traveller,  we  commenced  to  ascend  the 
path  which  had  led  us  down  into  this  hospitable  little  oasis. 
When  I  reached  the  summit  of  the  hill,  I  waved  my  hat  as 
a  last  salutation  to  Coyotepec ;  1'Encuerado  fired  off  his  gun 
as  a  farewell,  and  we  plunged  into  the  labyrinth  of  cactuses, 
taking  a  straight  course  towards  the  east. 


CHAPTER  XXin. 

AGAIN    OX    THE    EOAD. THE   BIRD-CATCHING    SPIDER. THE 

MARTEN     AND    THE     SKUNK. THE     FLYING     SQUIRREL. 

THE    OTTER-HUNT. L'ENCUERADO    WOUNDED. 

npHREE  days  of  difficult  travelling  brought  us  into  the 
-•-  midst  of  the  Terre-Temperee.  Thus  we  had  traversed 
the  whole  breadth  of  the  Cordillera,  at  one  time  shivering 
on  their  summits,  at  another  perspiring,  as  we  penetrated 
narrow  and  deep-sunk  valleys,  just  as  the  chances  of  our 
journey  led  us.  Every  now  and  then  we  caught  a  sight  of 
the  pointed  cone  of  the  volcano  of  Orizava,  which  assisted 
us  in  taking  our  bearings.  At  last,  four  days  after  taking 
leave  of  Coyotepec,  we  established  our  bivouac  at  the  foot 
of  a  mountain,  close  to  a  clear  and  icy  stream. 


354  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

While  1'Eucuerado  was  making  the  fire,  Lucien  discover- 
ed under  a  stone  an  enormous  black  and  hairy  spider,  with 
feet  armed  with  double-hooked  claws. 

"  Isn't  this  a  tarantula,  M.  Sumichrast  ?" 

"  No,  my  boy,  it  is  a  bird-catching  spider — so  called  be- 
cause it  is  said  to  attack  the  humming-birds'  nests  and  de- 
ptroy  the  young  ones." 

"  May  I  catch  it  ?" 

"  Not  with  your  fingers ;  its  bite  is  dangerous." 

"  One  might  easily  fancy  it  was  watching  us,  from  the 
expression  of  those  two  big  eyes  near  its  mouth." 

•"  There  is  no  doubt  that  it  is  looking  at  us;  just  menace 
it  with  this  little  stick,  and  you'll  soon  see  it  assume  the 
defensive." 

The  enormous  spider  raised  its  front  feet,  and  two  black 
and  polished  horns  issued  from  its  mouth.  After  a  mo- 
ment's hesitation,  it  suddenly  darted  at  the  end  of  the  stick, 
which  Lucien  let  go  in  fright. 

Ten  or  twelve  paces  farther  on,  the  young  naturalist  dis- 
covered another  spider,  and  plied  me  with  numerous  ques- 
tions about  it.  I  could  only  give  him  a  few  general  facts  as 
to  this  curious  class  of  animals. 

"  But,  I  say,  papa,  there  must  be  a  great  many  different 
species  of  spiders,  for  I  see  some  at  every  step — green,  black, 
and  yellow." 

"  There  are  so  many  species  that  all  of  them  are  not  yet 
known ;  indeed,  I  believe  that  the  Mexican  spiders  have  not 
hitherto  been  described.  It  is  necessary  to  study  them  on 
the  spot,  for  their  soft  bodies  change  their  shape  in  drying, 
and  the  proper  means  of  preserving  them  are  not  within  the 
reach  of  an  ordinary  traveller." 

In  passing  along,!  broke  through  some  threads  of  a  light 
web  stretching  between  two  bushes.  The  proprietor  of  the 
web — a  gray  spider — immediately  made  its  appearance,  and 


A  YOUSG  XATURALIST.  355 

set  hurriedly  to  work  to  repair  the  involuntary  damage  I 
had  committed. 

"  Where  does  the  thread  come  from  ?"  asked  Lucien ; 
"  it  is  so  thin  that  I  can  scarcely  see  it." 

"  From  four  reservoirs  situated  at  the  lower  part  of  the 
spider's  abdomen,  and  filled  with  a  gummy  matter  which 
becomes  solid  as  soon  as  it  is  exposed  to  the  air.-  These 
reservoirs  are  pierced  with  about  a  thousand  holes,  from 
each  of  which  proceeds  a  thread  invisible  to  the  naked  eye, 
for  it  takes  a  thousand  of  them  to  form  the  thread  the  spi- 
der is  now  spinning." 

"  How  sorry  I  am  now  that  I  hadn't  collected  more  of 
these  curious  insects !  Some  we  have  met  with  were  very 
curious." 

"  In  the  first  place,"  I  replied, "  spiders  are  not  insects ; 
they  have  both  heart  and  lungs,  but  insects  breathe  through 
air-pipes.*  Added  to  this,  insects  have  antenna?,  and  un- 
dergo metamorphoses,  which  is  not  the  case  with  the  spi- 
der. You  must  recollect,  too,  that  the  spider  is  akin  to 
the  scorpion." 

"  Yes ;  but  scorpions  don't  know  how  to  spin." 

"  Well,  all  spiders  do  not  possess  this  art.  One  of  the 
species  you  were  looking  at  just  now  lives  on  plants,  and 
would  be  much  embarrassed  if  it  happened  to  fall  into  the 
web  of  its  spinning  sister ;  added  to  which,  it  would  run  no 
small  risk  of  being  devoured." 

"  Will  spiders  eat  one  another  ?" 

"  Without  the  least  scruple,  and  scorpions  do  the  same. 
It  is,  in  fact,  a  family  vice." 

"  I  am  not  at  all  astonished,  then,  that  the  whole  family 
are  so  -ugly." 

*  The  air-pipes  are  two  vessels,  one  on  each  side,  extending  the  whole 
length  of  the  body,  provided  with  branches  and  ramifications.  They  serve 
for  the  reception  and  distribution  of  the  air. 


356  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

"  If  they  were  ever  so  beautiful,  it  would  make  no  differ- 
ence in  their  evil  disposition.  They  have,  however,  some 
good  qualities ;  such,  for  instance,  as  patience  and  resolution. 
The  poor  spider,  now,  that  we  are  looking  at,  is  working 
desperately  to  catch  a  prey  which  is  constantly  escaping. 
Sometimes  it  is  the  wind  which  destroys  the  web  so  indus- 
triously woven ;  sometimes  a  great  beetle  plunges  heavily 
through  the  net.  Nevertheless,  the  spider  is  not  the  least 
discouraged ;  he  again  sets  his 'snare,  and,  while  he  is  quiet- 
ly watching  for  the  game  necessary  for  his  subsistence,  it 
too  often  happens  that  he  is  himself  carried  off  in  the  beak 
of  some  bird." 

Lucien  and  I  now  went  among  the  trees  in  quest  of  some- 
thing substantial  for  our  dinner.  The  first  thing  we  met 
with  was  a  kind  of  marten,  which  looked  viciously  at  us, 
and  greeted  us  with  a  shrill  cry.  Gringalet  darted  off  in 
pursuit  of  the  animal,  and  followed  it  until  it  reached  its 
hole.  This  animal,  like  the  European  marten,  from  which 
it  differs  only  in  size,  often  establishes  itself  in  barns  and 
granaries,  where  at  night  it  amuses  itself  with  the  noisiest 
gambols.  In  the  environs  of  the  Mexican  towns,  many  a 
house,  invaded  by  these  martens,  is  abandoned  by  its  owner, 
because  it  is  thought  to  be  haunted  by  ghosts. 

"  Look  out  for  yourselves  !"  cried  1'Encuerado,  suddenly. 

A  mephitic  weasel  or  skunk,  an  animal  which  somewhat 
resembles  a  polecat,  came  running  by.  Gringalet,  tired  of 
waiting  for  the  marten,  crossed  the  trail  of  the  beast,  and 
set  off  after  it,  in  spite  of  our  calls.  The  skunk  suddenly 
stopped  and  scratched  up  the  earth  with  its  sharp  claws ; 
then  it  voided  a  liquid  of  such  a  fetid  odor  that  the  dog 
was  compelled  to  beat  a  retreat. 

L'Encuerado,  with  his  finger  on  the  trigger  of  his  gun, 
started  again,  and  led  us  along  noiselessly.  He*  suddenly 
stooped  down  to  listen. 


"An  animal  came  tumbling  down  about  ten  paces  from  us." 


A  YOUNG  XATUBAHST.  359 

"  It  is  a  qtrimicApaaan^  said  he  to  me,  in  a  low  voice. 

-A  firing  squirrel,"  I  repeated  to  Sumichrast. 

Lucien  was  about  to  speak;  bat  I  pointed  to  the  Indian, 
who,  half-hidden  behind  a  dead  trunk,  was  carefully  «*ramro- 
ing  the  top  of  an  ebony-tree.  At  this  moment  FEncuerado 
placed  his  gun  to  his  shoulder  and  fired.  He  had  taken 
good  aim — an  animal  came  tumbling  down  about  ten  paces 
from  us,  spreading  out,  in  its  convulsive  movements,  the 
membrane  which  joined  its  legs  together  and  covered  it  al- 
most like  a  cloak- 

Lucien  took  possession  of  the  K  flying  squirrel,''  and,  as 
they  always  go  in  pairs,  my  two  companions  went  in  pursuit 
of  the  other,  which  they  soon  succeeded  in  killing. 

"Are  we  going  to  eat  these  animals 7"  asked  Lucien. 

"Why  shouldn't  we  ri  rejoined.  «  They  are  squirrels ; 
and,  even  supposing  that  they  were  rats,  as  the  Indians  as- 
sert, their  flesh  should  be  none  the  less  savory." 

"  Can  these  animals  fly  for  any  length  of  time?"  asked 
Lucien. 

"As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  do  not  fly  at  all;  but  the 
membrane  which  unites  their  limbs  acts  like  a  parachute  in 
keeping  them  up  in  the  air,  and  materially  assists  them  in 
some  of  their  prodigious  leaps." 

"  Can  they  run  as  fast  as  squirrels?1" 

"  Nothing  fike  it ;  they  do  not,  indeed,  often  come  down 
to  the  ground;  but  their  activity  on  trees  renders  them  not 
unworthy  of  their  family." 

« I  thought,"  observed  Lucien,  "that  bats  were  the  only 
mammals  that  could  fly." 

"There  is  also  the  flying  pholongef?  observed  my 
friend ;  "  an  animal  of  the  marsupial  order,  which  is  a  na- 
tive of  Australia,  and  somewhat  resembles  the  opossum. 
It  is  said  that,  when  it  catches  sight  of  a  man,  it  hangs  it- 
self up  by  the  tail,  and  does  not  dare  to  move;  but  I  think 


360  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

this  story  will  do  to  go  along  with  FEncuerado's  about  the 
glass-spider." 

The  Indian  started  off  straight  to  the  bivouac,  and  I  led 
my  companions  by  the  side  of  the  stream,  admiring  as  we 
passed  some  magnificent  trees.  One  of  these  was  covered 
with  brown  fruit,  with  whitish  insides,  which  had  a  rather 
nice  acidulated  taste.  I  hastened  to  pick  half  a  dozen  of 
them,  knowing  what  a  treat  they  would  be  to  my  servant. 

As  we  went  on,  the  banks  of  the  stream  gradually  be- 
came low^er,  and  ere  long  a  lake,  deliciously  shaded  by  cy- 
presses, poplars,  oaks,  and  ebony-trees,  opened  to  our  view. 

I  sat  down  upon  a  rock,  with  Sumichrast  and  Lucien  by 
my  side,  and  from  whence  my  eye  could  wander  all  over 
the  blue  and  transparent  water.  We  kept  silent,  being 
charmed  Avith  the  smiling  grandeur  of  this  retired  corner 
of  the  world.  Birds  came  flying  by,  and,  settling  down 
close  to  us,  warbled  for  an  instant — then  again  took  flight, 
after  having  given  us  time  to  admire  the  rich  colors  of 
their  plumage.  The  motionless  water  was  covered  by 
long-legged  insects  with  transparent  wings,  which  seemed 
to  skim  over  the  polished  surface  as  if  impelled  by  some 
invisible  agency.  Sometimes  an  azure  and  purple  attired 
dragon-fly  flitted  by,  and  all  the  insects  fled  at  its  ap- 
proach, like  sparrows  before  a  hawk.  A  brilliantly-color- 
ed butterfly  dashed  against  the  voracious  insect,  and  a  furi- 
ous combat  took  place  between  them ;  but  the  dragon-fly, 
which  was  eventually  the  conqueror,  was  in  turn  vanquish- 
ed by  a  bird. 

We  were  just  moving  off,  when  the  deep  water  seemed 
to  be  agitated,  and,  although  on  the  surface  the  flies  and 
gnats  continued  their  evolutions,  the  fish  in  hasty  flight  dis- 
appeared, and  communicated  their  terror  even  to  the  water- 
snakes.  A  tortoise,  however,  seemed  to  deem  it  unnecessa- 
ry to  retreat,  only  drawing  its  head  and  feet  under  its  shell. 


'The  sun  was  just  setting." 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  363 

Almost  immediately  an  animal  swam  vigorously  up  to  the 
reptile,  and,  having  stopped  to  smell  at  it,  continued  its 
course. 

"Are  there  such  things  as  opossum-fishes?"  asked  Lu- 
cien,  surprised. 

"  It  is  an  otter,"  -said  I,  in  a  low  voice. 

And  quickly  descending  the  rock,  I  followed  Sumichrast 
to  the  water's  edge,  at  a  spot  where  the  animal  appeared 
inclined  to  land.  We  waited  for  an  hour  without  any  re- 
sult. 

My  friend  proposed  to  go  and  take  a  hurried  dinner,  and 
then  return  to  our  post  near  the  rock.  In  a  few  minutes 
we  had  joined  1'Encuerado,  for,  unknown  to  us,  our  bivouac 
was  established  about  four  gunshots  from  the  lake.  The 
Indian  jumped  with  joy  on  hearing  of  the  appearance  of 
what  he  called  a  "  water-dog." 

"  Yon  may  set  me  down  as  a  fool,"  said  he  to  Gringalet, 
caressing  him,  "  if  by  to-morrow  morning  I  don't  give  you 
one  of  your  brother's  legs  for  breakfast." 

"  Are  otters  really  relations  of  Gringalet  ?"  asked  Lucien 
of  me. 

"  Yes  ;  according  to  Cuvier,  they  are  digitigrades.  Add- 
ed to  this,  the  otter  may  be  tamed  and  trained  to  bring 
fish  out  of  the  water,  which  it  is  very  skillful  in  catching, 
for  it  eats  scarcely  any  thing  else." 

The  sun  was  just  setting,  and  behind  us  the  dark  outlines 
of  the  trees  stood  out  against  the  orange-colored  sky,  while 
hundreds  of  birds  were  warbling  and  twittering  around. 
A  dark  shade  spread  over  the  horizon,  and  all  was  solemn 
silence.  Ere  long  the  sky  was  glittering  with  stars,  and 
the  moon  rose  slowly  above  the  trees.  Its  pale  light  pene- 
trated the  foliage,  giving  to  the  masses  of  leaves  those  fan- 
tastic shapes  which  make  one  dream  of  a  supernatural 
world.  As  the  moon  advanced  higher,  it  diffused  more 


364        THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 

and  more  light  over  the  scenery,  and  few  spectacles  could 
be  more  splendid  than  such  a  tropical  night  as  this. 

The  report  of  a  gun  suddenly  cut  short  my  reverie,  and 
1'Encuerado's  shout  of  "  Hiou !  hiou !"  summoned  us  to 
him.  While  I  hurried  Lucien  along  as  fast  as  I  could,  I 
heard  some  loud  shouting,  which  almost  smothered  the  fu- 
rious barking  of  the  dog,  and  then  saw  my  friend  Sumi- 
chrast  grasping  the  throat  of  an  animal  which  Gringalet 
was  worrying.  Alongside,  1'Encuerado  was  lying  on  the 
ground,  pressing  his  right  arm,  and  uttering  cries  of  pain. 
He  had  been  bitten  by  the  wounded  otter  which  he  had  at- 
tempted to  catch  hold  of. 

This  was  not  the  time  to  blame  him,  so  I  led  1'Encuerado 
to  the  bivouac,  where  I  was  reassured  by  an  examination 
of  the  bite,  which  I  had  at  first  feared  was  serious.  After 
dressing  the  injured  part,  the  Indian  seemed  much  relieved. 

My  friend — after  Lucien  had  examined  its  broad  muzzle 
and  wide  nostrils,  its  smooth,  black  coat,  and  its  feet,  web- 
bed like  ducks — skinned  the  game,  and  put  it  at  once  upon 
the  spit.  When  the  meat  was  cooked  to  a  nicety,  I  covered 
it  over  to  protect  it  from  insects,  and  then  proposed  retir- 
ing, for  I  foresaw  that  the  Indian  would  be  unable  to  carry 
his  load  the  next  day,  and  that  either  Sumichrast's  patience 
or  mine  would  be  taxed  in  taking  his  place ;  for  we  did  not 
intend  to  prolong  our  stay  by  the  stream.  Sleep  surprised 
us  ere  this  weighty  question  was  solved. 


"L'EiKwndowwptcceiBg  his  «v,  and  ntoing  cries  of  pun.- 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

A     LABORIOUS     TASK. WILD     LIME-TREES. PIGEONS. THE 

WEST     COHAN     CHERRY. THE    EARWIG. SNAKES    AND 

SERPENTS. FIRST    GLANCE    AT   THE    TERRE-CHAUDE. 

"  TTOW  is  your  arm  now,  FEncuerado?"  I  asked,  find- 

J— 1-  ing  the  Indian  up  when  I  awoke. 

"Pretty  well,  Tatita;  but  I  find  I  mustn't  move  it  much. 
If  I  do,  it  feels  as  if  the  blackguard  water-dog  was  still 
holding  me." 

I  again  dressed  the  wound,  the  Indian  continuing  to  hurl 
fresh  abuse  at  the  otter.  I  made  him  keep  quiet,  and  pre- 
pared the  coffee.  Snmichrast  and  Lucien  then  rose,  and  we 
decided  to  start — the  rainy  season,  which  was  approaching, 
rendering  haste  necessary. 


368  THE  ^  VENTURES  OF 

L'Encuerado,  iu  spite  of  our  remonstrances,  insisted  on 
shouldering  the  load ;  but,  on  raising  the  burden,  he  found 
he  was  unable,  so  I  shouldered  the  load. 

At  last,  after  no  end  of  exertion  on  my  part  and  Sumi- 
chrast's — for  we  alternately  bore  it — three  leagues  were 
traversed.  We  then  halted  at  the  foot  of  a  hill,  among  eb- 
ony, mahogany,  and  oak  trees. 

L'Encuerado  took  charge  of  the  camp,  while  I,  with  my 
friend  and  Lucien,  climbed  a  neighboring  hill.  The  trees 
which  crowned  its  summit  were  limes — Tilia  sylvestris — 
here  the  type  of  what  bear  the  same  name,  and  which  are 
so  plentiful  in  Europe,  where  they  have  been  so  changed  by 
cultivation  that  they  scarcely  appear  to  belong  to  the  same 
species  as  their  brethren  in  the  virgin  forests.  The  wood 
of  the  lime  is  valued  by  the  Indians  for  making  various 
odds  and  ends,  which  are  sold  by  thousands  in  Mexico.  In 
Europe,  the  bark  of  this  tree  is  used  for  well-ropes,  and  the 
charcoal  made  from  its  wood  is  preferred  to  any  other  for 
the  manufacture  of  gunpowder.  Few  trees  are  more  use- 
ful, and  its  beautiful  green  foliage  makes  it  highly  orna- 
mental in  a  garden. 

Our  attention  was  attracted  to  a  familiar  noise — the  coo- 
ing of  doves.  I  moved  gently  under  the  trees,  and  soon 
put  to  flight  several  fine  specimens,  of  a  dark,  ashy-blue  col- 
or, with  a  black  band  across  the  tail-feathers,  which  were  of 
a  pearl-gray.  I  killed  a  couple  of  them  ;  and  Sumichrast, 
who  was  better  placed,  knocked  down  three  others.  They 
were  quite  sufficient  for  our  dinners.  They  were  the  first 
of  this  family  that  we  had  killed,  and  Lucien  in  vain  tried 
to  make  out  what  he  called  their  relationship. 

"  They  are  neither  passerines,"  said  he,  "  nor  palmipedes. 
Climbers,  too,  have  differently-made  feet." 

"  Your  doubts  are  very  natural,"  interposed  my  friend ; 
"  even  ornithologists  are  very  undecided  on  this  point. 


J.  rot-re  SATUILUJST.  359 

Nevertheless  they  class  pigeons  among  the  gallinaceae,  look- 
ing upon  them  as  a  link  between  this  order  and  the  passer' 
•pi" 

«*  Why  don't  they  make  an  order  for  them  by  them- 
selves?" 

*•'  Bravo,  Master  Sunbeam  !  your  idea  is  an  excellent  one, 
bat  it  has  been  already  proposed ;  several  naturalists  reck- 
on an  order  of  columfridaf.  But  you  ought  to  know  that 
pigeons-  inhabit  the  whole  surface  of  the  globe,  and  that 
they  are  white,  blue,  red,  green,  and  brown ;  and  sometimes 
all  these  shades  blend  together,  and  add  their  brilliancy  to 
the  pleasing  shape  of  the  bird.  The  pigeon  or  dove,  which 
is  adopted  as  the  emblem  of  mildness  and  innocence,  is 
readily  tamed ;  its  flight  is  rather  heavy, but  lasting;  and, 
in  Belgium  chiefly,  it  is  used  as  a  bearer  of  letters,  by  con- 
veying the  bird  to  a  long  distance  from  its  home,  to  which 
its  instinct  always  leads  it  to  return.7* 

Lucien  seemed  very  thoughtful 

" I  wish  I  had  known  that  bjfore,"  he  said ;  "we  might 
have  brought  a  pigeon  or  two  with  us,  and  then  poor  mam- 
ma would  have  had  news  of  us  before  now." 

Snmichrast,  who  had  taken  upon  himself  the  office  of 
head-cook,  vacant  owing  to  FEncuerado's  wound,  returned 
to  the  bivouac  laden  with  our  game.  I  skirted  the  wood  in 
company  with  Lucien,  who  was  the  first  to  discover  a  West 
Indian  cherry-tree — Jfalpighia  glabra.  The  red  fleshy 
and  acid  fruit  was  much  to  our  taste ;  so  the  boy  combed 
the  tree  in  order  to  get  plenty,  rejoicing  in  the  idea  of  giv- 
ing his  friends  an  agreeable  surprise.  When  he  had  fin- 
ished, we  went  to  examine  a  dead  tree.  A  piece  of  bark, 
quickly  pulled  off,  discovered  a  quantity  of  those  insects 
commonly  called  earwigs. 

"  Do  you  notice,  papa,  those  white  specks  one  of  the  ear- 
wigs is  covering  with  its  body  ?** 
16* 


370  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

"  It  is  a  female  sitting  on  her  eggs  ;  but  look  at  this  !" 

"  Eight,  ten,  twelve  little  ones !  How  pretty  they  are  ! 
One  might  well  fancy  that  they  were  being  led  by  the  big 
earwig,  which  keeps  turning  round  to  them.  There !  now 
she  has  stopped,  and  the  little  ones  are  crawling  all  round 
her." 

I  could  hardly  get  Lucien  away  from  his  interesting 
study  ;  but  the  hissing  of  a  snake  which  I  turned  out  from 
under  a  stone  soon  brought  the  boy  to  me.  1  caught  hold 
of  the  reptile,  which  rolled  itself  with  some  force  round  my 
arm.  The  boy,  quite  speechless  with  surprise,  looked  anx- 
iously at  me. 

"  Oh  father !"  exclaimed  he  in  terror,  running  towards  me. 

"  Don't  be  alarmed ;  this  reptile  has  no  fangs,  and  it  is 
so  small  I  can  handle  it  quite  safely." 

"  But  it  will  hurt  you  with  its  sting." 

"  It  has  no  sting ;  there  is  no  danger  to  be  feared  from 
its  tongue.  Here,  you  take  hold  of  it." 

The  boy  hesitated  at  first,  but  gradually  growing  bolder, 
allowed  the  snake  to  wind  round  his  arm.  When  close  by 
the  fire,  he  held  it  out  to  PEncuerado,  who  shrank  back ; 
for  he  fully  believed  all  reptiles  to  be  venomous.  Lucien 
in  vain  urged  him  to  handle  it. 

"I  shan't  mind  touching  it,"  he  said,  "when  you  have 
told  me  the  words  you  say  to  make  yourself  invulnerable." 

"  I  am  no  more  invulnerable  than  you  are,"  replied  Lu- 
cien, smiling.  "  This  snake  is  quite  harmless,  and  I  should 
never  touch  one  without  taking  papa's  advice,  even  if  it  ex- 
actly resembled  this." 

"  And  you  didn't  repeat  any  words  ?" 

"No;  papa  had  it  in  his  hands,  and  it  coiled  round  his 
arm." 

"I  understand,  then,"  murmured  the  Indian;  "it  is  the 
serpent  that  is  charmed." 


A  rOO'G  yjLTCRALLST.  371 

Gringafet,  quite  as  mistrustful  as  FEncaerado,  ran  off  di- 
rectly he  saw  the  reptile  move.  I  told  Lncien  to  let  the 
snake  go,  and  the  Indian  unsheathed  his  cutlass;  bat  I 
would  not  allow  him  to  injure  the  poor  creature. 

Our  new  cook  was  perfect  master  of  his  art.  He  sup- 
plied  us  with  some  excellent  maize  broth,  roasted  pigeons, 
and  then  a  rice-cake— certainly  rather  shapeless,  but  of  a 
delicious  flavor.  The  cherries  completed  this  regal  bin  of 
fare,  and  the  -calumet  of  peace"  was  associated  with  a 
cup  of  coffee,  At  nightf all,  Somichrast,.  voiding  Locien's 
questions,  went  slyly  to  rest,  an  example  I  was  not  slow  in 
following— the  weight  of  the  basket  having  fatigued  me 
more  than  my  pride  allowed  me  to  confess. 

The  next  day  the  rising  sun  found  us  already  on  the  road. 
I/Eocnerado's  wound  was  leas  painful,  and  did  not  prevent 
bis  using  bis  gun.  Had  it  not  been  for  my  express  pro- 
hibition, he  would  have  resumed  his  burden.  When  we 
reached  the  summit  of  the  bin,  be  fed  us  among  the  trees, 
and,  commencing  a  descent,  our  little  party  did  not  stop 
tin  we  had  reached  the  bottom  of  a  dark  and  damp  glen, 
dose  to  a  greenish  pooL  After  utilizing  oar  halt  by  fitting 
our  gourds  and  killing  an  armadillo,  we  harried  to  get 
away  from  a  spot  where  the  air  seemed  poisoned  with  pes- 
tilential mi«an^  Having  again  ascended  die  slope,  I  ad- 
vanced through  a  grove  of  firs,  encouraging  my  friend  with 
the  load,  who  was  archly  challenged  to  a  race  by  Lucien. 

"That's  not  at  all  generous,"  said  I  to  him ;  «if  Sorni- 
chrast  did  not  carry  the  basket  sometimes,  what  would  be- 
come of  usr 

"Tin  only  sorry  that  I  am  not  strong  enough  to  help 
you,"  replied  the  boy.  "I  only  tease  M.  Sumicbrast  be- 
cause I  know  it  amuses  him,  and  makes  him  forget  his 
burden,  when  he  wafts  more  easily." 

"  Too  never  were  more  correct P*  responded  my  friend. 


372        THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  SATUBALlsT. 

"  I  certainly  fancied  you  were  indulging  your  own  humor 
without  thinking  about  me." 

A  fresh  ascent  quite  exhausted  us,  and  Sumichrast  vow- 
ed that  he  must  relinquish  the  basket  until  the  next  day. 
I  then  took  it ;  but  in  a  very  little  time  I  was  compelled  to 
take  the  same  resolution  as  my  friend,  so  we  settled  down 
to  bivouac. 

While  my  companions  were  engaged  in  the  cooking,  I 
walked  a  little  way  on  the  plateau.  I  had  not  gone  above 
two  or  three  hundred  yards  before  I  called  to  the  others  to 
join  me ;  for  the  Terre-  Chaude  was  stretched  out  at  my  feet. 

Departing  day  at  last  cast  its  mysterious  veil  over  the 
tracts  we  were  about  to  traverse.  Just  before  it  became 
quite  dark,  a  snow-clad  corner  of  the  volcano  of  Orizava 
was  seen  in  the  distance.  I  lifted  up  Lucien,  and,  kissing 
him,  pointed  it  out,  thinking  on  the  dear  ones  who  were 
behind  the  mountain,  counting  the  days  till  we  returned. 
Gringalet  barked,  as  if  claiming  a  caress  for  himself,  and, 
guided  by  the  dog,  we  reached  our  bivouac  to  enjoy  a  well- 
deserved  repose. 


'  The  Terre-Chaude  was  stretched  out  at  my  feet.' 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

A    GROrXD-SQCTKREL, — A    MOUSE*S    XEST. HnODXG-BIBDS 

AXD    THEIR   TOUXG  ONES. THE  LOCUST-TREE, 5CRXICAX 

WOLVES    AXD   THEIB    RETREAT. 

I  WAS  suddenly  awakened  by  the  report  of  a  gun  just 
as  the  day  was  breaking.  L'Encuerado  showed  me  an 
enormous  squirrel,  with  a  gray  back  and  white  befly — a  spe- 
cies which  never  climbs,  and  is,  for  this  reason,  called  by 
Indians  arnotii  (ground-squirrel).  This  animal,  which  lives 
in  a  burrow,  has  all  the  grace  and  vivacity  of  its  kind,  but 
it  can  never  be  domesticated.  It  generally  goes  about  in 
numerous  bands,  and,  when  near  cultivation,  win  commit  in 
a  single  night  great  destruction ;  the  farmers,  consequently, 
wage  against  it  a  war  of  extermination. 
Just  as  we  were  setting  out,  I'Encuerado,  whose  arm  was 


376  TUU  ADVENTURES   OF 

visibly  healing  up,  again  took  charge  of  the  basket.  I  al- 
lowed him  to  carry  it,  on  the  condition  he  should  tell  me  as 
soon  as  he  felt  tired.  I  went  in  front,  leading  Lucien  by 
the  hand,  and  the  rocky  slope  was  descended  without  acci- 
dent. The  oaks  were  small  and  scattered,  and  left  us  an 
easy  passage  over  ground  covered  with  dry  leaves,  which 
rustled  under  our  feet. 

"  We  might  almost  fancy  we  were  in  Europe,"  said  Su- 
michrast,  suddenly  halting. 

"  Yes,"  I  replied ;  "  it  seems  as  if  the  yellow  leaves  had 
already  felt  the  autumnal  winds." 

"  There's  a  dead  tree,"  said  my  friend ;  "  I  feel  sure,  if 
we  examine  its  bark,  we  shall  find  some  insects  of  our  own 
country." 

My  friend's  hopes  were  not  realized,  and  the  only  result 
of  his  search  was  to  disturb  the  rest  of  two  mice  with  slen- 
der muzzles.  One  of  them  escaped,  while  the  other  tried 
its  best  to  protect  a  litter  of  five  little  ones,  buried  in  some 
fine  vegetable  debris.  Lucien  examined  the  young  ones 
with  interest,  and  after  replacing' the  bark,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, in  its  original  position,  rejoined  us  outside  the  wood. 
A  descent  so  rapid  that  we  could  scarcely  keep  our  balance 
brought  us  among  a  quantity  of  bushes  covered  with  dou- 
ble thorns,  which  Lucien  very  justly  compared  to  bulls' 
horns  in  miniature.  At  last  the  ground  became  more  level, 
and,  directing  our  course  to  the  right,  we  turned  into  a 
plain,  surrounded  by  woods. 

"  Both  trees  and  plants  seem  larger  here  than  on  the 
mountains,"  said  Lucien. 

"  You  are  quite  right,"  answered  Sumichrast ;  "  the  veg- 
etation in  the  Terre-Chaude  is  more  vigorous  than  that  of 
the  Terre-Tempbree.  As  you  advance  farther  into  it,  you 
will  be  able  to  judge." 

"  Did  you  see  that  great  insect  that  flow  buzzing  past  us  ?" 


A  YOUNG   NATURALIST.  377 

"  Yes,  Master  Sunbeam ;  but  it  was  a  humming-bird,  not 
an  insect." 

"  A  humming-bird  !"  cried  the  boy,  at  once  unfolding  his 
butterfly-net. 

And  off  he  went  in  pursuit  of  the  fugitive.  The  agile 
bird  made  a  thousand  turns,  and  always  kept  out  of  reach 
of  the  young  sportsman,  who  at  last  stopped  suddenly  in 
front  of  a  shrub.  When  I  joined  him,  he  was  contempla- 
ting three  little  nests,  fixed  in  forked  branches,  and  covered 
outside  with  green  and  yellow  lichens. 

"  There's  the  bird  !"  said  Lucien,  in  a  low  voice. 

I  lifted  up  the  little  naturalist;  two  hen-birds  flew  off, 
and  at. the  bottom  of  each  nest  he  could  see  a  couple  of  eggs 
of  a  greenish  color,  and  about  the  size  of  a  pea. 

"  If  you  hold  me  a  little  closer,  papa,  I  can  take  the  eggs." 

"  "What  would  be  the  good,  my  boy  ?  Look  at  them  as 
long  as  you  like,  but  don't  deprive  the  little  birds  of  what 
is  most  dear  to  them." 

"  There's  one  bird  which  has  not  moved,"  observed  Lu- 
cien. 

"  Then,  no  doubt,  its  little  ones  are  hatched." 

"  The  whole  of  its  body  seems  to  glitter ;  it  looks  as  if  it 
was  blue,  green,  and  gold  color.  It  sees  me,  and  is  moving. 
Now  it  is  perched  upon  the  tree  !  Only  look,  papa !  there 
are  two  young  ones  in  the  bottom  of  the  nest." 

I  put  Lucien  down  on  the  ground,  so  that  he  might  go  to 
TEncuerado,  who  was  calling  him.  The  Indian  had  found 
a  humming-bird's  nest  fixed  on  a  branch,  which  he  had  cut 
off  and  was  bringing  us.  The  elegant  little  structure  was 
a  perfect  marvel  of  architectural  skill,  lined  inside  with  the 
silky  down  of  some  plant.  Two  young  birds,  still  unfledged, 
and  scarcely  as  big  as  nnts,  opened  their  beaks  as  if  to  ask 
for  food.  I  directed  1'Encuerado  to  replace  the  branch  on 
the  tree  from  whence  he  had  cut  it,  and  to  fasten  it  so  that 


378  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

it  could  not  fall  down.  I  followed  him,  to  make  sure  he 
did  it  rightly.  As  soon  as  we  came  near  the  shrub,  the 
mother  fluttered  all  round  the  Indian,  and  at  last  settled 
down,  panting,  on  her  young  brood. 

"  You're  a  brave  bird  !"  cried  the  Indian, "  and  I  ask 
your  pardon  for  having  carried  away  your  house.  Don't 
be  afraid,  my  name  is  1'Encuerado,  and  you  may  safely  trust 
in  me.  Don't  tremble !  I  would  sooner  be  hurt  myself 
than  cause  you  the  least  harm.  There,  now  you  are  all 
firmly  fixed  again,  and  you  may  live  in  peace.  Your  little 
ones  can  tell  you  that  I  have  not  teased  them  ;  I  only  want- 
ed to  show  them  to  Chanito.  Good-bye,  Senor  Huitzitzi- 
lin  !  you  are  a  brave  bird,  and  it's  1, 1'Encuerado,  who  tells 
you  so !" 

And  the  Indian  went  away,  saluting  the  valiant  mother 
with  so  many  waves  of  his  hat  that  the  poor  bird  must 
have  thought  her  last  hour  had  come. 

"  What  do  these  beautiful  little  birds  feed  upon,  M.  Su-  • 
michrast  ?" 

"On  the  juices  of  flowers  and  small  insects.  Look! 
there  is  one  hovering,  and  its  wings  are  moving  too  fast 
for  us  to  see  them.  Don't  stir  !  I  see  a  branch  so  covered 
with  blue  flowers  that  it  can  hardly  fail  to  attract  the  bird. 
Now  it  is  settled  above  one  of  the  corollas,  and  plunges  its 
head  into  it  without  ceasing  to  beat  with  its  wings.  Its 
cloven  tongue  soon  sucks  out  the  honey  concealed  in  the 
flower,  and  its  little  ones  will  greet  it  when  it  gets  back 
with  open  beaks  to  receive  their  share  of  the  spoil." 

"  They  are  funny  birds,  those,"  said  1'Encuerado  to  Lu- 
cien.  "  In  three  months — that  is,  in  October — they  will  go 
to  sleep,  and  will  not  wake  up  till  April." 

"  Is  that  true,  father  ?" 

"  I  rather  fancy  that  they  migrate." 

"  Now  don't  teach  Chanito  wrongly,"  said  1'Encuerado, 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  381 

repeating  a  common  phrase  of  mine ;  "  the  huitzitzilins  do 
not  migrate ;  they  go  to  sleep." 

"  This  fact  has  been  so  often  related  to  me  by  Indians 
living  in  the  woods,"  said  my  friend,  "  that  I  feel  almost 
disposed  to  believe  it." 

"  Don't  they  say  the  same  of  the  bats  and  swallows  ?  and 
yet  we  know  they  change  their  habitat." 

"Yes;  but  with  regard  to  humming-birds,  they  assert 
that  they  have  seen  them  asleep.  At  all  events,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  they  disappear  in  the  winter." 

The  clucking  of  a  bird  of  the  gallinaceous  order,  called 
the  hocco — Crax  alector — interrupted  our  discussion,  and 
my  two  companions  carefully  proceeded  towards  a  dark- 
foliaged  tree,  a  little  outside  the  edge  of  the  forest.  The 
clucking  suddenly  ceased ;  we  heard  the  report  of  a  gun, 
and  I  saw  three  of  them  fly  away  into  the  forest.  L'En- 
cuerado  was  climbing  a  tree  when  I  came  up,  for  the  bird 
he  had  shot  had  lodged  among  the  branches. 

"  Do  you  see  the  long  pods  which  hang  on  that  tree  ?" 
cried  Lucien. 

"  It  is  a  locust-tree  covered  with  fruit,"  said  my  friend  ; 
"  it  is  a  relation  of  the  bean  and  the  pea." 

"  Are  the  pods  eatable  ?"  asked  the  child,  as  one  fell  at 
his  feet. 

"  You  may  taste  the  dark  pulp  which  surrounds  the 
seeds — it  is  slightly  sweet ;  but  don't  eat  too  much,  for  it 
is  used  in  Europe  as  a  medicine." 

L'Encuerado  dropped  at  our  feet  the  great  bird  which 
Sumichrast  had  killed.  It  was  larger  in  size  than  a  fowl, 
with  a  crest  upon  its  head.  Its  cry — a  sort  of  clucking  of 
which  its  Spanish  name  gives  an  idea — tells  the  traveller 
its  whereabout,  although  it  is  ready  enough  in  making  its 
escape. 

L'Kncuerado  returned    to    the    bivouac,  and  Sumichrnst 


382  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

led  us  along  the  edge  of  a  ravine,  obstructed  by  bushes  and 
shaded  by  large  trees. 

We  had  been  quietly  on  the  watch  for  a  minute  or  two, 
when  three  young  wolves,  of  the  species  called  by  the  In- 
dians coyotes,  came  running  by,  one  after  the  other.  They 
were  soon  followed  by  a  fourth,  and  then  the  mother  her- 
self appeared.  She  glared  at  us  with  her  fiery  eyes,  and 
then  raised  a  dull,  yelping  noise,  which  brought  her  young 
ones  to  her. 

"  Upon  my  word  !"  exclaimed  Sumichrast,  "  does  this 
wretch  intend  to  give  us  a  pi'esent  to  her  children  ?" 

I  stuck  my  machete  into  the  ground,  so  as  to  have  it  at 
hand ;  and  the  brute  lay  down  on  the  ground,  as  if  ready 
to  spring. 

"Now  then,  my  fine  lady,  come  and  meddle  with  us  if 
you  dare !"  muttered  my  friend,  imitating  PEncuerado's 
tone. 

The  coyote  uttered  a  shrill  cry,  and  almost  immediately 
a  sixth  came  and  stood  by  her. 

"  Don't  fire  till  I  tell  you,"  said  I  to  Lucien,  who  seemed 
as  bold  as  possible. 

"  You  take  the  dog-wolf,"  cried  Sumichrast  to  me  ;  "  but 
we  won't  provoke  the  contest." 

Seeing  us  evince  no  fear,  the  brutes  suddenly  made  off. 
Sumichrast  descended  to  the  bottom  of  the  ravine,  and 
then  called  me.  I  noticed  among  the  high  grass  the  en- 
trance of  a  burrow  strewed  with  whitened  bones.  Two 
yards  farther  on  I  saw  the  head  of  one  of  the  animals,  with 
eyes  glittering  like  a  cat's,  glaring  out  of  the  entrance  of 
another  burrow.  I  threw  a  stone  at  the  beast,  which,  far 
from  showing  any  fear,  curled  up  its  lips  and  showed  us  a 
very  perfect  set  of  teeth. 

As  it  was  by  no  means  our  intention  to  make  war  upon 
wolves,  I  returned  to  the  plain  with  Lucien,  who  had  shown 


hrew  a  stone  at  the  beast." 


A  ror.VC  SATURALLST.  3S5 

DO  ordinary  coolness.  I  was  glad  of  it,  for  my  great  wish 
was  to  inure  him  to  danger,  and  I  feared  the  Indian's  mis- 
adventure with  the  otter  might  have  had  a  bad  influence, 

"  Didn't  those  wolves  frighten  you  ?w  asked  my  friend  of 
the  boy. 

**  A  little — especially  their  eyes, which  seemed  to  dart  fire." 

**  And  what  should  you  have  done  if  they  had  sprung  at 
m  :" 

"  I  should  have  aimed  at  them  as  straight  as  I  could ; 
but  wolves  are  much  braver  than  I  thought." 

"They  were  anxious  to  protect  their  young  ones,  and 
their  den  being  so  near  made  them  all  the  bolder.71 

When  TEncuerado  heard  that  we  had  coyotes  near  us,  he 
made  up  a  second  fire  for  the  night.  The  eastern  sky  was 
beginning  to  grow  pale,  and  as  we  were  supping  we  saw 
the  paroquets  in  couples  flying  over  our  heads  towards  the 
forest.  Humming-birds  were  flitting  in  every  direction, 
and  flocks  of  other  passerines  flew  from  one  bush  to  anoth- 
er. When  they  offered  to  perch  near*  our  bivouac,  FEncue- 
rado  requested  them  in  polite  terms  to  settle  a  little  farther 
away,  and,  on  their  refusal,  urged  his  request  by  throwing 
a  stone  at  them,  which  but  rarely  failed  in  its  purpose. 
The  sun  set,  and  the  mountains  stood  out  in  black  relief 
against  the  pink  sky. 

The  moon  now  rose,  and  I  can  hardly  describe  the  mar- 
vellous effects  of  light  produced  by  its  rays  on  the  sierras. 
L'Encnerado  had  made  a  second  fire,  and  had  taken  Grin- 
galet  aside  to  insist  upon  his  not  roaming  beyond  the 
ground  illuminated  by  its  flame,  telling  him  that  the  coyotes, 
which  would  doubtless  pass  the  night  in  prowling  round 
our  bivouac,  were  very  fond  of  dogs'  flesh.  As  if  to  add 
weight  to  this  prudent  advice,  a  prolonged  howling  was 
now  heard,  which  the  dog  feh  obliged  to  respond  to  in  his 
most  doleful  notes. 

17 


386        THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 

"  Oh  !"  cried  Sumichrast,  "  are  those  beasts  going  to  join 
in  the  concert  made  by  the  grasshoppers  and  mosquitoes  ?" 

Lucien,  who  had  gone  to  sleep,  started  up. 

"  Where's  my  parrot  ?"  he  cried. 

"  Sleep  quietly,  Chanito  !"  replied  the  Indian.  "  It  is 
roasted,  and  we  shall  eat  it  to-morrow  morning  at  break- 
fast." 

This  reply  and  Lucien's  disappointed  face  much  amused 
us.  L'Encuerado's  fault  was  too  much  zeal :  not  knowing 
that  Sumichrast  was  going  to  skin  the  bird,  he  had  sacri- 
ficed it.  In  order  to  repair  his  error,  he  promised  Lucien 
hundreds  of  parrots  of  every  color;  so  he  went  to  sleep' 
and  dreamed  of  forests  full  of  birds  of  the  most  brillinnt 
plumage. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  PATH  THROUGH  THE  FOREST. A  FORCED   MARCH. THE 

BROMELACE.-E. MOSQUITOES. THE   WATER- PLANT. TLIE 

PRO3USED    LAXD. A    BAND    OF    MONKEYS. 

f^  RIXGALETS  barking,  the  yelping  of  the  coyotes,  the 
^-*  heat,  the  song  of  the  grasshoppers,  and  the  sting  of 
the  mosquitoes,  all  combined  to  disturb  our  rest.  About 
five  o'clock  the  sun  rose  radiant,  and  was  greeted  by  the 
cardinals,  trogons,  and  parrots.  Lncien  was  aroused  by  all 
these  fresh  sounds,  and  his  eyes  rested  for  some  time  on  the 
wall -of  verdure  which  seemed  to  bar  the  entrance  of  the 
forest.  A  cloud  of  variegated  butterflies  drew  his  attention 
for  an  instant;  but  he  was  soon  absorbed  in  contemplating 
the  humming-birds  with  their  emerald,  purple,  and  azure 
plumage. 


388  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

L'Eucuerado,  whose  arm  was  now  completely  healed,  had 
again  taken  possession  of  the  load,  and  Sumichrast  com- 
menced cutting  the  creepers  in  order  to  open  a  path.     I  re- 
lieved him  every  now  and  then  in  this  hard  work,  and  Lu- 
cien  availed  himself  of  the  moments  when  we  stopped  for 
breath  to  have  a  cut  at  the  great  vegetable  screen  which 
nature  places  at  the  entrance  of  virgin  forests,  as  if  to 
show  that  there  is  within  it  an  unknowrn  world  to  conquer. 
Unfortunately,  the   small  height  of  the  boy  rendered  his 
work  useless ;  but  he  at  least  evinced  a  desire  to  take  his 
part  of  the  labor.     At  last  the  thick   wall  of  vegetable 
growth  was  passed,  and  we  found  ourselves  in  a  semi-ob- 
scurity, caused  by  the  shade  of  gigantic  trees. 
"  Are  we  now  in  a  virgin  forest  ?"  asked  Lucien. 
"  No,  for  we  are  only  just  entering  it,"  I  replied. 
"  But  the  ground  is  so  bare ;  there  are  no  more  creepers, 
and  the  trees  look  as  if  they  were  arranged  in  lines." 
"  What  did  you  expect  to  meet  with  ?" 
"  Plants    all    entangled    together,   birds,    monkeys,  and 
tigers." 

"  Your  ideal  menagerie  will,  perhaps,  make  its  appearance 
subsequently.  As  for  the  entangled  plants,  if  the  whole  for- 
est was  full  of  them,  it  would  be  absolutely  impenetrable. 
The  soil  is  bare  because  the  trees  are  so  bushy  that  no  rays 
of  the  sun  can  penetrate,  and  many  plants  wither  and  die  in 
the  shade ;  but  whenever  we  come  upon  a  glade,  you  will 
find  the  earth  covered  with  grass  and  shrubs." 

"  Then  the  forests  of  the  Terre-  Temperee  are  more  beau- 
tiful than  those  of  the  Terre-  Chaude  fn 

"  You  judge  too  hastily,"  replied  Sumichrast ;  "  wait  till 
our  path  leads  along  the  edge  of  some  stream." 

"  All  right,"  muttered  the  boy,  shaking  his  head  and 
turning  towards  his  friend;  "the  woods  we  have  gone 
through  are  much  more  pleasant.  It  is  so  silent,  and  the 


A  FOOTS  XATCSALLST.  ..  . 

boughs  are  so  high  that  we  might  fancy  we  were  in  a 
church." 

The  boy's  remark  was  far  from  incorrect.  The  dark 
arches  of  the  intersecting  branches,  the  black  soil  formed 
by  the  accumulated  vegetable  dfbrte  of  perhaps  fire  or  six 
thousand  years,  the  dim  obscurity  scarcely  penetrated  by 
the  sunlight  making  its  way  through  the  dark  foliage — all 
combined  to  imbue  the  mind  with  a  kind  of  vague  melan- 
choly. The  limited  prospect  and  the  profound  silence  (for 
birds  rarely  v«mture  into  this  forest-ocean)  also  tend  to  fill 
the  soul  with  gloomy  thoughts,  and  prove  that  health  of 
mind  as  well  as  of  body  depends  upon  light. 

A  furnace-like  neat  compelled  us  to  keep  silence,  and  tree 
succeeded  tree  with  sad  monotony.  The  moist  pofl  gave 
way  under  our  feet,  and  retained  the  traces  of  our  footsteps. 
At  a  giddy  height  above  our  heads  the  dark  foliage  of  the 
spreading  branches  entirely  obscured  the  sky.  Every  now 
and  then  I  gave  a  few  words  of  encouragement  to  Lucien, 
who  was  walking  behind  me  quite  overcome  with  the  heat; 
especially,  I  recommended  him  not  to  drink,  in  the  first 
place,  because  the  water  must  be  economized,  and  next  be- 
cause it  would  only  stimulate  his  thirst. 

"Then  we  shall  never  drink  any  more,"  said  the  boy. 

u  Oh  yes !  Chanito,"  rejoined  the  Indian, "  when  we  form 
our  bivouac,  I  shall  make  plenty  of  coffee,  and  if  yon  sip  it, 
in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  your  thirst  will  be  quenched." 

a  Then  I  hope  we  shall  soon  reach  our  bivouac,"  said  Lu- 
cien, mournfully. 

If  I  had  consulted  my  own  feelings,  I  should  now  have 
given  the  word  to  halt ;  but  reason  and  experience  enabled 
me  to  resist  the  desire.  It  would  really  be  better  for  Lu- 
cien to  suffer  for  a  short  time  than  for  us  to  lose  several 
hours,  especially  if  we  failed  to  find  the  stream  we  were 
seeking.  It  was  necessary  to  cross  without  delay  the  in- 


390  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

hospitable  forest  which  we  had  entered,  instead  of  waiting 
until  hunger  and  thirst  imperiously  cried — Onward  !  when 
perhaps  we  might  be  too  exhausted  to  move. 

The  ground  became  undulating,  and  I  hastened  forward, 
thinking  to  meet  with  what  we  wished  for,  when  a  glade, 
which  enabled  us  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  sun,  enlivened 
us  a  little.  Here  there  was  some  grass,  and  r  few  shrubs 
and  creepers.  I  called  Lucien  to  show  him  waat  to  us  was 
a  new  plant,  the  Bromelia  pinguin  of  botanists. 

Its  ripe  pink  fruit  was  symmetrically  placed  in  a  circle 
of  green  leaves.  Lucien,  kneeling  down,  cried  to  pluck 
them. 

'•  "  Pull  one  from  the  middle,  Chanito,"  cried  1'Encuerado ; 
"  that's  the  only  way  to  get  them." 

The  boy  seized  the  centre  berry,  which  came  out,  and,  like 
the  stones  of  an  arch  when  the  key-stone  is  taken  out,  all  the 
cones  fell.  Under  their  thick  husk  there  was  a  white,  acid, 
melting  pulp,  well  adapted  to  quench  the  thirst ;  but  I  rec- 
ommended Lucien  not  to  eat  more  than  two  or  three  of 
them.  A  second  clump,  a  little  farther  on,  enabled  us  to 
gather  a  good  stock  of  them.  Providence  could  not  have 
placed  in  our  path  a  more  valuable  plant,  for  the  hundreds 
of  cones  which  we  'had  gathered  would  enable  us  to  brave 
the  necessities  of  thirst  for  two  or  three  days.  We  now 
walked  on  at  a  quicker  pace,  and  Lucien,  a  little  refreshed, 
kept  his  place  courageously  by  my  side. 

"  Well !"  said  I, "  you  must  confess  now  that  virgin  for- 
ests may  have  something  good  in  them.  How  do  you  like 
the  timbirichis  ?" 

"  They  are  excellent;  what  family  do  they  belong  to?" 

"  They  are  akin  to  the  pine-apples,  and  therefore  1  elong 
to  the  bromelacece." 

"  But  the  pine-apple  is  a  large  fruit,  which  grows  simply 
on  its  stalk." 


J.  YOUNG  NATURALIST.  391 

"Yes,  so  it  appears ;  but  in  reality  it  is  formed  by  an 
assemblage  of  berries  all  joined  together.  The  strawberry, 
which  belongs  to  the  rose  family,  is  similarly  formed,  and 
few  people  would  believe,  when  they  swallow  a  single 
strawberry,  that  they  have  eaten  thirty  or  forty  fruits." 

For  an  hour  we  scarcely  exchanged  a  word,  but  walked 
silently  on,  soaked  with  perspiration,  and  scarcely  able  to 
breathe  the  heated  air. 

"I  think  there  is  a  glade,"  murmured  Lucien,  pointing  to 
the  left. 

**  So  there  is ;  forward  !  forward  P* 

Five  minutes  after  we  reached  an  open  spot  bathed  in 
sunshine  amidst  a  thicket  of  tree-ferns  and  high  grass.  The 
trees,  placed  more  widely  apart,  were  covered  with  gigantic 
creepers-  drooping  to  the  ground.  Here  we  again  heard  the 
note  of  the  hooco. 

While  I  was  clearing  the  ground,  Sumichrast  and  FEn- 
cuerado  took  up  a  position  amidst  the  bushes.  I  gave  some 
water  to  Gringalet,  whose  tongue  hung  out,  for  he  had  pos- 
sibly suffered  most,  as  he  would  not  eat  the  fruit  which 
afforded  us  relief. 

Two  shots  were  fired  shortly  afterwards ;  but  the  sports- 
men soon  returned  with  such  a  disappointed  air  that  I  felt 
sure  they  had  been  unsuccessful. 

I  made  a  joke  of  the  matter,  and  pretended  that  the  dry 
maize-cakes  were  better  than  the  fattest  turkey.  I  spoke 
with  such  apparent  seriousness  that  my  companions  began 
to  get  animated,  and  a  sharp  controversy  gave  a  zest  to  our 
frugal  meal.  I  asserted,  too,  that  the  tepid  water  in  our 
gourds  surpassed  in  flavor  the  product  of  the  coolest  spring, 
and  that  the  acid  timbirichi  was  the  best  of  fruits.  Grad- 
ually, however,  I  gave  way,  and  at  bed-time  pretended  to  be 
quite  converted.  I  had  amused  our  party,  and  that  was  all 
I  wanted. 


392  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

The  night  passed  without  any  incident  save  the  continued 
attacks  of  mosquitoes,  and  the  unfortunate  Gringalet  press- 
ing close  to  us  to  avoid  the  cruel  stings  of  the  blood-thirsty 
insects  which  much  annoyed  him. 

At  sunrise  I  gave  the  w'ord  to  start,  and  all  day  long  we 
met  with  no  glade  to  give  variety  to  our  path.  I  could  not 
help  admiring  Lucien,  who,  although  suffering  from  heat, 
fatigue,  and  thirst,  uttered  not  one  complaint,  but  only  look- 
ed at  me  with  a  sad  face.  Two  or  three  times  I  tried  to 
enliven  him ;  the  poor  little  fellow  then  shook  his  trouble- 
some burden  and  smiled  back  so  painfully  that  I  was  quite 
affected.  L'Encuerado,  overwhelmed  by  his  basket,  puffed 
noisily,  and  declared  every  now  and  then  that  he  could  sniff 
the  river  and  the  smell  of  the  crocodiles.  This  nonsense  en- 
livened our  march  a  little ;  but  soon,  dull  and  silen*,  we  re- 
sumed our  sluggish  pace.  At  last  fatigue  compelled  us  to 
halt,  when  Lucien  and  1'Encuerado  went  off  to  sleep,  quite 
forgetting  their  suppers.  I  proposed  to  Sumichrast  to  re- 
gain as  soon  as  we  could  the  mountain  path. 

"  Let  us  keep  on  one  day  more,"  said  my  friend  ;  "  we 
have  still  four  bottles  of  water  left,  and  even  if  we  give  Lu- 
cien and  Gringalet  the  largest  share,  it  will  serve  us  for  an- 
other twenty-four  hours." 

The  next  day,  just  as  we  were  starting,  1'Encuerado  kill- 
ed a  hocco.  The  fire  was  soon  lighted,  and  the  game  wash- 
ed down  with  a  mouthful  of  brandy,  which  somewhat  re- 
stored our  energy.  About  midday,  when  the  heat  was 
most  intense,  the  aspect  of  the  ground  altered,  the  trees  be- 
came wider  apart,  and  our  strength  seemed  to  redouble. 

"  Now,  Master  Sunbeam!"  cried  Sumichrast, "  lengthen 
your  strides  a  little,  if  you  please  ;  don't  you  hear  the  mur- 
mur of  a  stream  ?" 

"  Three  days  you've  been  telling  me  this  story,  so  that 
now  both  Gringalet  and  I  are  skeptical." 


A  YOUXG  NATURALIST.  393 

"  How  will  you  behave  when  you  cross  the  savannahs  ?"' 

"  Just  as  at  present.  I  would  walk  without  drinking,  so 
as  not  to  excite  my  thirst,"  replied  the  child  archly,  who 
had  failed  to  be  convinced  by  our  reasoning. 

"  Oh,  come  !  I  thought  you  were  too  ill  for  irony.  Nev- 
er mind,  I  can  bear  witness  that  you  have  behaved  like  a 
man.  What  do  your  legs  say  ?" 

"  That  they  would  be  very  willing  to  rest." 

"  You  would  like  to  find  yourself  at  Orizava  ?" 

"  I  should  rather  see  a  stream,  an  alligator,  and  a  puma." 

"You  are  most  unreasonable.  I  should  be  contented 
with  the  stream." 

<;  Don't  you  find  that  the  mosquitoes  in  the  Terre-  Chaude 
bite  much  sharper  than  those  in  the  Terre-Temperee?" 
asked  the  boy,  addressing  1'Encuerado. 

"  No,  Chanito ;  they  are  all  alike,  for  they  belong  to  the 
same  family,  as  your  papa  says." 

"  Then  they  must  be  more  numerous  here,  for  every  in- 
stant one  receives  a  fresh  pinch." 

"  You  must  not  complain  yet,  Chanito ;  you'll  see  what  it 
will  be  when  we  reach  the  stream." 

"  How  will  it  be  then  ?" 

"  We  shall  not  be  able  to  open  our  mouths  without  swal- 
lowing some  of  these  blood-suckers.  But,  Chanito,  do  you 
know  what  these  mosquitoes  are  ?" 

"  Yes,  papa  told"  me  yesterday  that  they  were  diptera, 
and  relations  of  the  gadflys.  Their  proboscis  is  a  kind 
of  sheath  inclosing  six  lancets,  by  the  help  of  which  they 
pierce  our  skin  and  suck  our  blood." 

"  But  where  do  these  hungry  wretches  come  from  ?" 

"  From  the  water,  where  the  insect  lays  its  eggs.  You 
know  those  little  worms  which  are  constantly  moving  up 
and  down  in  pools  ;  they  are  the  larvae  of  the  mosquito." 

"The  mosquito,  that  terrible  scourge  of  the  Terre- Tern- 
17* 


394  THE  AD  VESTURES  OF 

p'er'ee  and  the  Terre- Chaude,  renders  these  regions  inaccess- 
ible to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Terre-Froide.  They  can  not 
get  accustomed  to  their  bites,  which  cover  their  bodies  with 
large  red  pustules,  causing  fever  and  want  of  sleep,  and  giv- 
ing the  victims  the  appearance  of  having  just  recovered 
from  small-pox." 

Again  we  walked  on  without  talking,  for  the  heat  dried 
up  our  throats.  Suddenly  some  singular  cries  reached  our 
ears. 

"  The  clucking  of  an  oscillated  turkey  !"  cried  Sumichrast. 

L'Encuerado  laid  down  his  burden,  and  my  two  compan- 
ions started  off  in  search  of  the  birds.  They  joined  us 
again  in  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  each  carrying  a  fowl 
with  metallic-colored  plumage  dotted  over  with  spots,  al- 
most as  large  as  a  common  turkey.  It  belongs  to  the  gal' 
linaceous  order,  and  is  only  found  amidst  the  forests  of  the 
New  World,  particularly  in  Honduras. 

"  Well !"  cried  Sumichrast,  "  we  have  plenty  to  eat  now; 
but  this  is  a  bird  which  is  found  at  a  long  distance  from 
streams,  and  warns  us  to  economize  the  contents  of  our 
gourds." 

Five  hundred  paces  farther  on  we  saw  some  stones  cov- 
ered with  moss,  and  an  enormous  upright  rock  like  a  tower. 
We  saluted  the  colossus  without  stopping  to  examine  it, 
and  lengthened  our  strides,  although  the  ups  and  downs  in 
our  path  gradually  became  more  numerous.  Gringalet  ev- 
ery instant  raised  his  nose  to  sniff  the  air,  and  the  hope  of 
at  last  emerging  from  the  forest  drew  us  forward  with  in- 
creased ardor,  impelled,  as  we  were,  by  the  desire  of  at  last 
finding  the  longed-for  stream.  Lucien  actually  mustered 
up  a  run,  while  his  cheeks  flushed  and  his  eyes  glistened 
with  anticipation. 

"Here  are  grass  and  flowers!  Forward!  forward!" 
cried  Sumichrast. 


A  YOUNG  XATl'HALIST.  395 

•'  Forward !"  Lucien  re-echoed. 

The  great  trees,  which  were  now  farther  apart,  allowed 
the  rays  of  the  sun  to  penetrate  the  foliage,  and  the  creepers 
drooped  down  hi  flowery  festoons.  The  convolvuluses,  the 
ferns,  and  the  parasites,  all  entangled  together,  compelled  us 
to  use  our  knives.  A  somewhat  steep  ascent,  anxiously 
scaled,  led  us  up  to  a  plateau.  In  front  of  us  stretched 
a  prairie  dotted  over  with  thickets,  and  bordered  with  for- 
ests of  palm-trees,  laurels,  magnolias,  and  mahogany-trees, 
from  which  sounded  the  songs  of  various  birds,  mingled 
with  the  harsh  ciy  of  parrots. 

Panting,  weary,  and  perfectly  soaked  with  perspiration,  I 
proposed  to  bivouac  on  the  plateau.  Indeed,  the  sun  was 
setting,  and  we  had  only  just  time  to  collect  the  wood  we 
required  for  the  fire.  This  task  finished,  I  went  and  sat 
down  with  Lucien  on  the  highest  point  we  could  find.  The 
mountains  of  the  Terr  e- Temper  ee  showed  against  the  hori- 
zon, although  we  were  already  at  least  fifteen  leagues  from 
them.  We  long  looked  down  on  the  tree-tops  of  the  forest 
we  had  just  crossed,  and  the  uniformity  of  the  dark-green 
foliage  had  a  most  gloomy  aspect ;  and,  while  close  round 
us  there  were  a  number  of  birds  fluttering  about  the  trees, 
none  of  the  feathered  tribe  ventured  into  the  solitudes  we 
had  so  lately  traversed. 

"  I  can  not  catch  a  sight  of  either  rivulet  or  stream,"  said 
Lucien. 

"  Courage !"  replied  Sumichrast,  who  had  seated  himself 
by  us.  "  The  birds  which  are  flying  round  us  can  not  live 
without  drinking,  and  their  large  number  shows  that  there 
is  plenty  of  water  near." 

"Hiou!  hiou!  Chanito." 

"  Ohe  !  ohe  !"  replied  Lucien,  darting  to  the  place  whence 
he  heard  the  familiar  cry. 

The  two  friends  went  down  the  hill  together,  TEncuerado 
carrying  his  enormous  gourd. 


396  •  TRE  ADVENTURES  OF 

"  Can  he  have  discovered  water  ?"  said  I  to  my  compan- 
ion, and  I  approached  the  fire  where  the  game  was  roasting 
under  the  inspection  of  Gringalet.  Sumichrast  remained 
to  look  after  the  cooking  of  the  birds,  and  I  overtook  Lu- 
cien  and  the  Indian  just  at  the  moment  when  they  were 
bending  over  a  plant  with  scarlet-red  leaves,  which  grew  en- 
circling the  stem  of  a  magnolia.  About  a  glassful  of  lim- 
pid fluid  flowed  from  it  into  the  calabash. 

"  Can  we  get  water  from  this  shrub  by  merely  pressing 
it  ?"  asked  Lucien,  with  surprise. 

"  All  that  is  needed  is  to  bend  it,"  I  replied.  "  It  treas- 
ures up  the  precious  dew  between  its  leaves,  and  PEncuera- 
do  and  I  should  have  died  of  thirst  in  one  of  our  expedi- 
tions if  it  had  not  been  for  this  plant." 

"  Why  doesn't  it  grow  in  every  forest  ?"  asked  Lucien. 

"Certainly,  if  it  grew  everywhere,  one  of  the  greatest 
obstacles  to  travelling  in  the  wilderness  would  be  re- 
moved." 

"  And  what's  the  name  of  this  plant  ?" 

"  The  Creoles  call  it  the  '  Easter  flower ;'  it  is  one  of  the 
bromelacece" 

"  Does  it  produce  any  fruit  good  to  eat  ?" 
*^No,  but  in   case   of  extreme   necessity  its   large   red 
leaves  would  appease  hunger." 

We  reascended  the  hill,  when  an  uproar  proceeding  from 
the  edge  of  the  forest  reached  our  ears.  L'Encuerado 
smiled,  showing  us  the  double  range  of  his  white  teeth. 

"  See  down  there,"  he  said  to  Lucien,  pointing  to  a  cor- 
ner of  the  wood,  away  from  which  all  the  birds  seemed  to 
be  flying. 

There  was  a  whole  tribe  of  monkeys  frolicking  about 
among  the  creepers. 

"  Let  us  go  and  look  at  them  more  closely,"  said  Lucien. 

"It  is  too  late  now,  Chanito  ;  they  have  just  been  drink- 


A  YOUSG  NATURALIST.  399. 

ing,  and  will  soon  go  to  sleep ;  but  we  shall  eat  some  of 
them  to-morrow — and  now  our  supper  is  waiting  for  us." 

We  finished  our  meal,  and  when  the  sun  was  setting  we 
saw  the  paroquets  fly  by  in  couples,  and  humming-birds 
flitting  about  among  the  bushes ;  suddenly  a  formidable 
roaring  made  us  all  tremble. 

"  Oh !  what  is  that  dreadful  noise  ?"  cried  Lucien. 

"  A  tiger !"  said  PEiicuerado,  whose  eyes  glittered  with 
excitement. 

"  Not  a  tiger,  but  a  jaguar  (Leopardus^  onca)"  said  I ; 
"  the  former  animal  is  found  only  in  the  Old  World." 

The  king  of  the  American  forests  again  saluted  the  set- 
ting sun.  Gringalet,  with  his  tail  between  his  legs,  came 
crouching  down  close  to  us ;  a  second  fire  was  lighted,  and 
we  lay  down  to  sleep  with  the  indifference  which  familiari- 
ty gives  even  in  regard  to  the  very  greatest  dangers. 


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  TAN- 
TALUS.  HERONS  AND  FLAMINGOES. 

rilHE  parrots  that  we  heard  chattering  were  quite  suffi- 
-•-  cient  to  wake  us  up  in  the  morning.  The  sun  rose 
red  and  angry;  a  perfect  concert  soon  greeted  its  appear- 
ance. The  hoccos  set  up  their  sonorous  clucking,  and  birds 
of  every  kind  came  fluttering  round  us.  Lucien,  now  recon- 
ciled 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 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.        401 

flock  of  cardinals,  with  crested  heads,  flew  around  us  and 
settled  on  a  magnolia,  which  then  looked  as  if  it  was  cover- 
ed 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  re- 
frain 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  Lu- 
cien. 

"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  call- 
ed him,  and  a  distant  barking  answered  me. 

"  Can  he  have  met  with  a  stream?"  said  Sumichrast. 

1  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  Su- 
michrast ran  towards,  but  the  animal  fled  into  the  wood. 

"  Where  did  you  turn  out  this  fellow,  Gringalet  5"*  asked 
FEncuerado,  quite  seriously.     "  Don't  trust  too  much  to 
his  friendship,  for  it  might  be  the  worse  for  you ;  lions  sel- 
dom fondle  any  thing  without  hurting  it." 
is  it  a  lion  r  asked  Lucien. 

"Yes,"  I  answered;  "but  an  American  lion, or  cougar, 
known  by  savante  as  the  Felispuma" 

"  How  I  should  like  to  have  seen  it !     Had  it  a  mane  ?" 

"No;  the  puma  is  without  one." 


402  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

We  were  crossing  another  glade,  when  Gringalet  sudden- 
ly 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  meas- 
ured 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'Encue- 
rado 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. 


A  YOUNG  yATUEALLST.  405 

"  The  rascal  has  got  in  front  of  us,"  added  the  Indian. 
"  We'll  astonish  him  in  a  moment  Come  this  way,  Chani- 
to,  bat  don't  run  or  turn  round.  Do  you  see  that  tree  that 
stands  in  front  of  us  ?  Xot  so  far  that  way — that  one  we 
were  just  going  to  pass  under.  Look  at  the  wonderful 
fruit  it  has  on  it  1" 

"  It  is  the  puma  V  exclaimed  the  boy. 

"  That's  pleasant !"  muttered  Sumichrast.  "  Then  there 
are  two  pumas." 

"  Xo,  no,  Tata  Sumichrast,  it  is  the  same  one.  Aim  be- 
tween its  eyes,  Chanito ;  fire  !n 

There  were  two  reports  almost  at  the  same  moment,  and 
the  animal  tumbled  down  upon  the  ground  without  utter- 
ing a  cry. 

"  Don't  be  too  quick,  Chanito,"  continued  the  Indian ; 
"ihis  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  ad- 
vanced. 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  Gringa- 
let ;  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 
yon  know  that  ?"" 


406  THE  AD  VENTURES  OF 

"  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  car- 
nivora  :  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  found- 
ed 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  Lu- 
cien  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  (hymenceci)  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  1'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.  Lu- 
cien,  who  was  in  front  of  us,  first  reached  what  was  a  wide, 
deep,  and  slowly-flowing  stream.  At  this  sight,  1'Encuera- 
do turned  three  somersets  in  succession,  and  struck  up  a 
<;hant ;  our  manifestations  of  delight,  if  less  noisy  than  his, 
were,  at  all  events,  no  less  sincere. 


A  TOUNO  SATCRAUST.  409 

A  gentle  breeze  was  blowing,  while  the  air  was  cool  and 
soft ;  so  that,  forgetful  of  the  past,  and  sanguine  for  the  fu- 
ture, 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 
•light  have  fancied  we  were  in  one  of  those  marvellous  gar- 
dens 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.7* 

The  next  day  at  dawn  I  set  off  with  Snmichrast  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  eetula,  a  species  of 
cuckoo,  which  feeds  on  lizards  and  young  serpents. 

During  our  absence,  FEncuerado  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  them- 
selves wonderfully  to  the  attentions  lavished  upon  them  by 
the  boy. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  these  poor  orphans?" 
I  asked. 

18 


410  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

"  I  am  going  to  take  them  home  to  my  brother  and  sis- 
ter. 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  Grijigalet ;  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  dis- 
appointed. 

"  Tour  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  fin- 
gers. 

About  three  o'clock,  when  the  sun  was  shining  perpendic- 
ularly 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  ma- 
chetes, 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  appar- 
ently asleep.  In  spite  of  all  our  exertions,  the  creatures 


A  TOUSG  XATURALIST.  41 1 

reached  the  stream.  L'Encuerado  discovered  two  little 
heaps  of  sand,  one  of  which  was  still  unfinished,  and  con- 
tained 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 
TEncuerado  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  our- 
selves as  well  as  we  could,  and  when  the  beautiful  animal 
came  down  to  the  water  Sumichrast  shot  it  dead.  I  left 
FEncuerado  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  im- 
mense 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." 


412  THE  ADVENTURES   OF 

"  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  feath- 
ers 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  fore- 
head ?  That  is  the  Ardea  agaml,  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  heai'd  1'Encuerado's  "  Hiou !  hiou  !"  in- 
forming us  that  our  companions  were  approaching  the  biv- 
ouac. 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  .con- 


A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 


wondered 


413 


sume.  Lucien  wondered  at  the  number  of  animated  be- 
ings 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  al- 
ways 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  cor- 
rupts 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  ?" 


414       THE  ADVEXTUEES   OF  A  YOUNG  SATUJtALIST. 

"  We  should  be  in  danger  if  we  staid  here  till  the  rainy 
season." 

"  How  that  tree  is  loaded  with  fruit !'  said  Lucien,  inter- 
lupting  ine. 

"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- 
Temperee  are  so  fond  of  chewing." 

The  night  overtook  lis  just  as  we  were  discussing  a 
haunch  of  venison  roasted  by  1'Encuerado.  A  distant  roar- 
ing told  us  that  we  were  surrounded  by  wild  beasts ;  but  we 
had  every  confidence  in  our  two  fires  and  the  screen  which 
1'Encuerado  had  constructed  ;  so  we  went  quietly  to  sleep, 
although  we  were  awakened  several  times  by  a  renewal  of 
their  frightful  uproar. 


CHAPTER  XXVIH. 

A   GROVE   OF    LOGWOOD   TEEES. ANTS    AT    THEIB   WORK. 

PARASITIC    INSECTS. THE     GREAT    ANT-EATER, SPOON- 
BILLS   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,  PEncuerado  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  ?" 


416  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

"  No,  Master  Sunbeam ;  the  ants  are  relations  of  the 
bees,  and,  consequently,  belong  to  the  order  of  Hymenop- 
tera.  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  append- 
ages, 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  win- 
ter months." 

Lucien  approached  the  moving  column,  which  was  divid- 
ed into  two  lines  going  contrary  ways;  one  of  them  ad- 
vancing loaded  with  vegetable  remains,  and  the  other  go- 
ing 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  drag- 
ging a  load  five  or  six  times  greater  than  themselves.  Lu- 
cien 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  creep- 
ing slyly  over  him,  got  up  and  began  howling. 

"  Will    you    never    be    prudent  ?"     cried    1'Encuerado. 


A  YOUNG  SATCSALIST.  419 

••  Any  one  most  be  as  simple  as  a  new-born  infant  to  squat 
on  an  ant-hilL  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  or- 
der 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  I"  said 
Lncien,  stroking  the  animal. 

"  They  are  caused  by  parasitic  insects,"  said  Sumichrast, 
a  called  ticks.  In  future  we  must  clear  Gringalet  every 
evening  of  these  inconvenient  visitors." 

"But  they  won't  come  ofL" 

"  PuU  them  suddenly ;  their  mouth  is  a  kind  of  disk  arm- 
ed 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 
dnoo  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  f* 

"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  to- 
wards 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'Encnerado 
caught  hold  of  my  arm  to  call  my  attention  to  an  enormous 
animal  moving  about  in  the  midst  of  the  foliage. 


420  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

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  jubata).  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  1'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.  Sud- 
denly 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  arma- 
dilloes." 

"  Does  it  eat  any  thing  but  ants  ?"  asked  Lucien. 

"  Ants  and  other  insects.     It  climbs  trees,  and  its  bushy 


;  The  bank  to  the  right  was  covered  with  crane?,  and  that  to  the  left 
with  spoonbills." 


A  YOL'XG  SA.TL-RAUST.  423 

tail  distinguishes  it  from  its  brothers,  the  little  ant-eater 
( Jf.  dydactyla),  which  seldom  visits  the  ground,  and  eats 
more  insects  than  ants,  and  the  toman Jua  ( Tamandua  te- 
tradaftyla)." 

"  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-Froidt^  for  instance,  dishes  are  made  of  red  ants' 
eggs,  and  there  is  one  species  which  secretes  a  sweet  liq- 
uid, 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,  examin- 
ing his  victim,  which  Gringalet  had  just  brought  him. 
Y,s.  that  is  why  this  bird  is  called  a  spoonbill" 

"Is  it  good  to  eat?" 

•  It  is  rather  tough ;  but  when  any  one  is  hungry — " 
Sninichrast  put  his  finger  to  his  lips  to  enjoin  silence; 

two  smaller  waders  made  their  appearance  and  settled  close 
to  us. 

u  Now,  Master  Sunbeam,"  said  Sumichrast,  u  fire  at  the 
bird  to  the  left,  while  I  aim  at  the  one  to  the  right.  Those 
are  egret*,  and  your  sister  will  like  some  of  their  beautiful 
feathers  to  put  in  her  hat.  Xow,  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 
sodn  perfectly  deserted. 


424  •  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

We  now  took  the  road  leading  to  the  "  Palm-tree  Villa," 
and  1'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  direc- 
tion our  camp  lay. 

"  Are  we  lost  ?"  asked  the  boy,  in  an  anxious  tone. 

"  We  have  gone  too  far,"  said  I  to  the  lad ;  "  and  per- 
haps we  shall  not  be  able  to  get  back  to  the  '  Palm-tree  Vil- 
la' this  evening.  I  am  going  to  fire  off  my  gun  to  attract 
PEncuerado'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 
1'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  semi- 
circle round  a  tree  I  lay  down,  with  my  dear  companion  be- 
side 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 


"  The  bead  and  bright  eyes  of  n  superb  jaguar  appeared  about  fifty 
paces  from  us." 


A  YGU5G  SATUBALIST.  437 

my  over-excited  imagination.     Suddenly  a  terrible  roar  re- 
echoed through  the  forest  and  woke  up  Lncien. 

"  What  is  the  matter?    Is  it  Cnema?" 
X  o,  my  boy ;  it  is  a  jaguar." 

**  Wifl  it  come  near  us?" 

"  I  hope  not, but  go  on  with  its  nocturnal  hunting;  any- 
how, 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. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

A   NOCTURNAL   VISITOR. THE    FALL    OF    A   TKEE. A    FEAB- 

FUL   NIGHT. THE    MONKEYS. MASTER   JOB.  — ALL    BIGHT 

AT    LAST. 

A  FTER  looking  at  us  for  a  moment,  the  animal  crept 
-^*-  cunningly  round  us,  alternately  appearing  and  disap- 
pearing behind  the  trees.  I  hastened  to  make  up  the  fire, 
and  then  sat"  down  near  Lucien,  who,  gun  in  hand,  was 
bravely  watching  the  enemy. 

"  Whatever  you  do,  don't  fire,"  I  said. 

"  If  I  did,  would  the  animal  spring  upon  us  ?" 

"  He  would  far  more  likely  retreat ;  but  we  shall  want 
our  ammunition  to-morrow." 

For  an  hour  the  animal  kept  prowling  round,  every  now 
and  then  bounding  off.  At  last  it  came  and  sat  down 
about  twenty  paces  from  the  fire,  then  stretched  itself  on 
the  ground  and  rolled  about  as  if  in  play ;  but  if  we  made 
the  slightest  movement  it  immediately  got  up,  and,  laying 
back  its  ears,  showed  its  formidable  teeth.  Suddenly  a 
noise  as  if  of  breaking  branches  was  heard,  followed  by  re- 
ports like  those  of  guns ;  then  came  a  horrible  roar.  Lu- 
cien, frightened,  rushed  into  my  arms. 

"  What !"  said  I  to  him ;  "  don't  you  remember  the  noise 
made  by  the  fall  of  a  tree  ?" 

"  Oh  papa !  I  have  heard  nothing  like  it  since  the  day  of 
the  hurricane." 


THE  ADYEXTUBES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.       431 

"  That  is  quite  true ;  but  it  is  an  incident  to  which  you 
will  soon  be  accustomed,  for  the  first  storm  will  probably 
overthrow  many  of  these  formidable  giants.  The  tiger  is 
frightened  too,  for  he  has  made  off,  you  see.  Try  and  go 
to  sleep,  my  dear  boy,  for  to-morrow  we  may  perhaps  have 
to  walk  a  long  way." 

I  leaned  my  head  against  that  of  the  child,  who  soon 
dropped  asleep.  The  forest  had  resumed  its  majestic  si- 
lence, which  was  only  disturbed  by  the  distant  fall  of  an- 
other and  another  colossus. 

My  anxiety  was  extreme,  and  though  I  knew  our  friends 
would  range  every  way  in  quest  of  us,  we  might  so  readily 
wander  in  opposite  directions,  as  we  had  no  ammunition  to 
signal  with  should  they  come  near. 

Towards  morning,  exhausted  with  fatigue,  I  fell  asleep, 
and  dreamt,  in  my  feverishness,  that  we  were  nearly  at  the 
end  of  our  journey,  and  close  to  Orizava,  in  sight  of  home. 
A  slender  thread  of  light  announcing  the  dawn  of  day 
awoke  us,  and  we  arose. 

The  clearness  of  day  now  broke  upon  us.  For  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  I  kept  my  ear  to  the  earth,  listening  in  the  hopes 
of  hearing  some  signal. 

Again  and  again  I  cocked  my  gun  with  the  intention  of 
firing,  and  as  regularly  I  laid  it  down,  when  I  reflected  I 
might  only  be  throwing  away  my  ammunition. 

At  length  I  took  observations  of  the  bearings  of  the 
ground,  and  followed,  as  far  as  possible,  our  trail  of  the  day 
before. 

In  this  operation  we  fortunately  came  upon  a  pool  of 
water,  at  which  we  quenched  our  thirst ;  but  though  our 
hunger  was  excessive,  and  game  plentiful^  we  dared  not  dis- 
charge at  it  a  single  shot. 

We  hastened  forward,  and  came  upon  some  creeping 
plants,  indications  that  we  were  approaching  a  glade. 


432  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

Some  birds  were  singing  in  the  branches  as  we  hurried  on, 
but  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  shoot  the  first  one  large 
enough  to  make  a  meal  for  my  brave  little  companion  and 
self. 

In  spite  of  my  efforts,  I  could  not  succeed  in  hiding  my 
grave  presentiments ;  but  my  son's  prattle,  which  was  even 
gayer  than  usual,  quite  justified  the  name  of  "  Sunbeam  " 
given  him  by  Sumichrast. 

"  Don't  be  so  serious,"  said  he  to  me,  suddenly ;  "  you 
need  not  be  distressed  about  me.  I  have  already  guessed 
that  we  are  lost ;  but  I  am  with  you,  and  I  am  not  a  bit 
afraid  but  that  we  shall  soon  find  our  way  again." 

The  poor  child  had  not  the  least  suspicion  of  the  danger. 
Every  moment,  too,  tears  came  into  my  eyes,  and  I  felt  my 
courage  getting  weaker ;  I  made  a  strong  effort  to  dispel 
my  thoughts,  and  vowed  that  I  would  strive  on  with  faith 
and  energy  to  the  last  hour. 

"  L'Encuerado  will  be  sure  to  find  us,"  said  Lucien,  with 
such  an  air  of  conviction  that  I  could  not  help  sharing  his 
confidence. 

"  Yes,"  I  answered ;  "  Sumichrast  and  1'Encuerado  will 
find  us  or  die  in  the  attempt.  It  can  not  be  possible — " 
I  had  not  courage  to  finish  my  sentence. 

We  commenced  our  march  again  with  increased  energy. 

"  Look  out !"  cried  Lucien,  suddenly ;  "  it  seems  to  me 
as  if  some  one  were  moving  the  branches  close  by." 

"  It  is  a  monkey,"  said  I ;  and  off  I  went  in  pursuit  of 
the  animal,  which,  leaping  from  branch  to  branch,  seemed 
to  set  us  at  defiance.  Suddenly  it  uttered  a  guttural  cry, 
and  was  answered  by  twenty  more.  I  hid  behind  a  tree, 
and  told  Lucien  to  keep  silent.  Two  or  three  times  the 
active  creatures  moved  farther  away,  but  at  last  they  came 
so  close  that  I  could  fire  safely.  I  never,  I  think,  took  more 
pains  with  my  aim ;  the  gun  went  off,  and  the  band  scat- 


"Tlie  monkey  ....  elii  down,  and  fell  dead  at  our  feel." 


NATURALIST.  435 

tered  in  every  direction  in  a  most  precipitous  flight-  The 
monkey  I  had  aimed  at  seemed  only  wounded,  when,  as  I 
was  going  to  fire  a  second  time,  it  slid  down  and  fell  dead 
at  our  feet ;  its  young  one,  which  we  had  not  at  first 
perceived,  was  sitting  upon  a  limb  about  ten  feet  from 
the  ground,  uttering  low,  and  almost  inaudible,  plaintive 


In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  animal  was  skinned  and  hung 
in  front  of  a  large  fire.  While  I  was  superintending  the 
cookery,  the  young  one  moaned  incessantly,  and  my  com- 
panion tried  every  persuasion  to  coax  it  down.  Urged  by 
Lucien,  I  ascended  the  tree,  and  tried  to  catch  hold  of  the 
motherless  little  creature.  Ko  doubt  it  was  paralyzed  by 
fear,  for  it  only  showed  its  teeth,  and  allowed  me  to  place 
h  on  my  shoulder.  It  clung  to  my  hair  and  wound  its  tail 
round  my  neck,  as  I  descended,  and  I  was  in  fear  every 
moment  of  feeling  one  of  my  ear?  bitten.  Nothing  of  the 
sort  happened,  for  the  poor  brute's  teeth  chattered  with 
fear ;  I  placed  it  dose  to  the  fire,  where  it  immediately  re- 
sumed its  lamentations.  Then,  by  means  of  a  flexible  creep- 
er,! secured  it  round  the  middle  of  the  body  and  tied  it  to 
a  bush. 

When  we  had  satisfied  our  appetite  on  the  dark  and 
tough  monkey's  flesh,!  proposed  to  Lucien  a  fresh  start 

"  Shall  we  take  our  little  captive  with  us?"  he  asked. 

"  Yes,  certainly.  It  win  be  a  resource  for  our  supper,  in 
case  we  do  not  faH  in  with  our  friends." 

«Oh  no,"  cried  the  boy;  "let  us  at  least  put  off  killing 
it  till  to-morrow." 

I  hastened  my  pace,  carrying  on  my  shoulder  our  new 
companion,  whom  we  at  once  dubbed  "  Master  Job." 

I  examined  more  carefully  than  ever  the  ground  and  the 
bark  of  the  trees,  seeking  for  any  thing  which  might  direct 
our  course.  With  a  sickly  feeling  at  my  heart,  I  saw  the 


436  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

sun  approach  the  horizon.  The  boy,  quite  broken  down 
with  fatigue,  looked  at  me,  with  his  eyes  full  of  tears.  At 
last  I  halted,  and  the  dear  little  fellow  stretched  himself  be- 
side me  and  fell  asleep. 

While  listening  with  ear  and  eye  alike  on  the  watch,  I 
fancied  I  heard  thp  distant  report  of  a  gun.  I  jumped  up 
— was  it  the  fall  of  a  tree  ?  or  was  it  a  signal  from  one  of 
our  companions  ?  I  seized  my  gun,  but  I  hesitated  before 
expending  my  last  cartridge  but  one.  At  length  I  pressed 
the  trigger,  and  I  listened  anxiously  as  the  sound  of  my 
shot  died  away,  alas  !  without  echo.  Lucien  did  not  move. 

"  Jump  up !  jump  up !"  I  cried ;  for  a  dull  barking  moved 
the  air.  Suddenly  I  fired  my  last  barrel ;  then,  with  eyes 
shut,  mouth  open,  and  nostrils  dilated,  I  listened  intently, 
almost  forgetting  to  breathe.  Minutes — they  seemed  ages 
— elapsed  without  any  thing  more  interrupting  the  silence. 
Lucien  looked  at  me  with  a  scared  face ;  I  pressed  my 
weapon  to  me  in  despair  at  having  expended  my  last 
charge,  when  a  gunshot  was  heard  ringing  out  clear  and 
close. 

"  It  is  1'Encuerado  !"  cried  Lucien. 

"  Yes,  my  boy,"  I  said,  almost  frantic. 

"  Reply  to  your  friend !"  I  exclaimed  ;  "  one  of  the  bar- 
rels of  your  gun  is  still  loaded." 

Lucien  fired,  and  was  answered  almost  immediately. 

"  Call  out,  so  as  to  guide  them,"  said  I  to  the  boy ;  "  for 
we  have  no  more  powder  left." 

"  Ohe,  ohe,  ohe  !"  called  Lucien. 

"  Hiou,  hiou,  hiou  !"  replied  a  still  distant  voice. 

At  the  same  moment  Gringalet  rushed  to  us  as  swiftly 
as  an  arrow,  and  jumped  upon  his  young  master.  After 
having  overwhelmed  us  with  caresses,  the  dog  made  off 
again,  and  ten  minutes  later  the  Indian  made  his  appear- 
ance, and,  running  to  the  boy,  clasped  him  in  his  arms,  and 


A  rorare  XATURAUST.  437 

rolled  with  him  on  the  ground  in  the  excess  of  his  wild 
emotion.  I,  too,  heartily  greeted  Sumichrast,  bat  was  al- 
most too  affected  to  apeak. 

All  my  companion's  efforts  to  discover  our  trail  had  been 
ineffectual;  and  Grhigalet  himself,  when  put  to  the  task, 
had  hunted  in  rain  round  the  thickets.  The  fact  was,  they 
looked  for  us  on  the  right,  while  we  had  gone  to  the  left; 
for  Sumichrast  could  not  bring  his  mind  to  the  idea  that  we 
had  turned  our  backs  to  the  stream. 

L'Encuerado,  after  cooking,  spread  out  on  the  spot  his 
stock  of  provisions,  to  which  every  one  did  justice.  Master 
Job  was  lodged  safely  under  the. shelter  of  a  large  branch, 
and  deep  sleep  took  possession  of  the  whole  party. 


.CHAPTER  XXX. 

WE  BUILD  A  RAFT. THE  HORNED  SERPENT. GOOD-BYE  TO 

"PALM-TREE  VILLA." — MOSQUITOES  AND  HORSE-FLIES. — 
THE  RATTLESNAKE. AN  OCELOT. 

THE  next  day  found  us  at  work  building  our  raft,  and 
1'Encuerado  went  off  with  Lucien  in  quest  of  some 
flexible  creepers,  to  be  used  for  binding  together  the  various 
portions  of  it.  When  our  companions  joined  us,  Surni- 
chrast  was  squaring  out  the  last  trunks.  Lucien,  laden 
with  creepers  wound  all  round  his  body,  carried  besides,  at 
the  end  of  his  stick,  the  carcass  of  a  horned  snake — Atropos 
Mexicanus — which  has  scales  standing  erect  behind  its 
eyebrows,  like  little  horns,  which  have  obtained  for  it  its 
Indian  name  of  mazacoail.  The  reptile  was  nearly  two  feet 
long,  and  of  a  grayish  color,  and  gaped  with  formidable 


THE  ADVESTURES  OP  A  YOUXG  NATURALIST.       439 

jaws,  more  than  usually  dilated  by  the  blows,  I  suppose, 
which  TEncuerado  had  given  it. 

Suniichrast,  with  infinite  precaution,  showed  to  his  pupil 
the  tubular  fangs,  by  means  of  which  serpents  inoculate  the 
terrible  venom  with  which  some  of  them  have  been  endow- 
ed by  nature. 

"  When  the  reptile  bites,"  said  my  friend, "  its  two  fangs 
press  on  a  small  bladder  at  their  base,  and  the  poison  is 
thus  injected  into  the  wound." 

Our  naturalist  rendered  his  explanation  still  clearer  by 
pressing  on  one  of  the  fangs,  from  the  end  of  which  oozed 
out  an  almost  imperceptible  drop  of  liquid. 

"  How  is  it  that  the  serpent  does  not  poison  itself?"  ask- 
ed Lueien. 

"  In  the  first  place,  it  does  not  chow  its  prey ;  and,  sec- 
ondly, its  venom  is  only  dangerous  when  it  penetrates  di- 
rect into  the  blood  ;  and  a  man,  if  there  is  no  scratch  in  his 
month  or  in  the  digestive  tube,  caij  swallow  the  poison  with 
impunity,  although  a  very  small  quantity  introduced  into 
his  veins  would  cause  immediate  death." 

After  our  meal,  which  consisted  of  turtle  and  some  palm 
cabbage,  which  in  flavor  resembles  an  artichoke,  I  set  the 
example  of  commencing  work.  In  less  than  two  hours  the 
materials  for  the  raft  had  been  carried  to  the  edge  of  the 
stream,  and  the  frail  bark  which  was  to  carry  us  down  to 
the  plains  was  constructed  and  afloat,  A  little  before  sun- 
set, 1'Encuerado,  provided  with  a  long  pole  for  a  boat-hook, 
pushed  it  out  on  the  water  to  ascertain  its  powers  of  buoy- 
ancy ;  and  the  trial  having  been  judged  satisfactory,  the 
raft  was  moored,  and  we  all  lay  down  in  front  of  our 
"Villa"  to  enjoy  a  siesta. 

At  last,  when  every  thing  was  arranged  for  the  voyage, 
FEncuerado,  naked  down  to  his  waist,  went  behind  as  pilot. 
We  gave  a  farewell  salute  to  the  "  Villa,"  by  a  loud  hurrah, 


440  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

which  seemed  to  frighten  our  menagerie,  and  with  a  last 
look  at  the  forest  in  which  I  had  spent  so  many  miserable 
hou^s  the  mooring  was  cut,  and  the  raft  floated  slowly  and 
silently  down  the  current. 

The  raft  soon  drifted  into  a  lagoon,  covered  with  waders 
and  web-footed  birds,  which  scarcely  moved  as  we  passed 
•them,  and  some  time  was  lost  before  we  could  regain  the 
course  of  the  stream.  At  length,  guided  by  the  palm-trees, 
our  skiff  glided  between  two  banks  bordered  by  trees,  the 
high  tops  of  which  sheltered  us  with  their  shade. 

Every  thing  was  calm  around  us,  and  we  remained  silent, 
awed  by  the  majesty  of  nature.  The  stream  flowed  on  in 
one  single  sheet ;  creepers  hanging  from  the  tree-tops  droop- 
ed down  into  the  water;  while  kingfishers  skimmed  from 
one  shore  to  the  other,  and  humming-birds,  with  their  va- 
ried and  shining  plumage,  fluttered  about  the  flowers. 
Every  now  and  then  a  low-hanging  tree  impeded  our  pas- 
sage, and  we  had  to  bend  down  on  the  raft  to  avoid  being 
struck  by  such  obstacles.  A  mass  of  under-wood  often  hid 
the  interior  of  the  woods  from  our  view;  but  here  and 
there  a  break  in  the  foliage  allowed  us  a  glimpse  into  its 
depths.  Ebony-trees,  cotton-wood,  pepper-trees,  and  palms, 
were  intermixed  with  tree-ferns,  magnolias,  white  oaks,  and 
willows.  Here  and  there,  too,  a  sunbeam  marked  out  a  vast 
circle  of  light  upon  the  dark  water,  and  myriads  of  aquatic 
insects,  gnats,  dragon-flies,  and  butterflies  sported  in  the  air 
or  swam  over  the  glittering  surface. 

After  a  time,  the  state  of  inaction  to  which  we  were 
doomed,  aggravated  by  the  stings  of  mosquitoes  and  large 
green-eyed  flies,  became  a  perfect  torture. 

"  Those  are  horse-flies,"  said  Sumichrast  to  Lucien ;  "  they 
are  very  fond  of  blood,  and  are  a  misery  to  all  kinds  of 
mammals  from  one  end  of  America  to  the  other." 

"  Their  bite  is  more  painful  than  that  of  the  mosquitoes," 


"  In  front  of  us  opened  a  glade,  bordered  by  tall  palm-trees." 


YOCXG  STATUMAUST. 


44;J 


answered  the  boy,  from  whose  hand  a  drop  of  blood  was 
trickling. 

"That  is  because  their  proboscis  is  armed  with  lancets 
which  are  sharp  enough  to  pierce  the  hides  of  bulls  and 


During  this  voyage,  Lncien  amused  himself  by  teaching 
the  two  parrots  to  repeat  the  names  of  his  brother  and  sis- 
ter ;  but  the  birds,  with  one  foot  held  up  and  their  heads 
bent  down,  although  they  paid  great  attention  to  the  words 
repeated  by  the  boy,  as  yet  did  not  profit  much  by  the 
ham 

In  the  course  of  our  voyage  we  were  constantly  losing 
trace  of  the  current  in  some  vast  lagoon,  and  had  often  a 
long  search  till  we  found  it.  In  one  of  these  searches,! 
caught  sight  of  such  a  picturesque  bay  that  I  proposed  a 
halt.  In  front  of  us  opened  a  tolerably  deep  glade,  border- 
ed by  tall  palm-trees-  L'Encuerado  pushed  the  raft  to  land 
over  the  aquatic  plants,  and  I  jumped  ashore  to  moor  our 
craft. 

A  fallen  tree  tempted  us  into  the  forest,  and  on  the 
damp  ground  Lucien  caught  sight  of  a  magnificent  rattle- 
snake, seemingly  torpid.  Sumichrast  discharged  his  gun 
at  the  reptile,  which  reared  itself  up,  and  then  fell  down 
dead.  A  noise  immediately  resounded  in  several  direc- 
tions, and  two  or  three  snakes  of  the  same  family  appear- 
ed, one  of  them  followed  by  three  young  ones.  The  snake 
killed  by  my  friend  measured  more  than  a  yard  in  length. 
Its  skin  was  speckled  with  black,  brown,  and  gray  spots, 
and  its  flat,  triangular  head  had  a  very  repulsive  look.  Lu- 
cien, with  a  blow  from  his  machete,  cut  off  the  rattles 
which  give  to  the  reptile  its  name.  These  horny  append- 
ages, of  which  there  were  seven,  were  given  to  TEncuerado, 
who,  like  all  his  fellow-countrymen,  believed  them  to  be 
endued  with  miraculous  virtues  —  among  others,  that  of 


444 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF 


tuning  guitars  and  preventing  the  strings  from  break- 
ing. 

A  shot  fired  by  the  Indian  led  us  back  to  the  bivouac ; 
our  companion  had  just  killed  an  ocelot,  called  by  the  In- 
dians ocotchotli. 

"  You  see  this  animal,  Chanito  ?"  cried  1'Encuerado,  who 
was  stroking  its  black  and  brown  spotted  fur;  "well,  its 
tongue  is  poisonous.  When  it  kills  a  stag  or  peccary,  it 
buries  its  prey  under  some  leaves,  then  climbs  the  nearest 
tre^e,  and  howls  until  it  attracts  all  the  carnivorous  animals 
near.  When  they  have  feasted,  it  comes  down  and  devours 
what  is  left." 


"  But  why  does  it  call  the  animals  ?"  I  asked. 

"Didn't  I  tell  you  its  tongue  is  poisonous?  If  it  ate 
first,  the  venom  would  be  communicated  to  the  food,  and 
the  animals  that  feasted  on  the  remains  would  die." 

This  fable  narrated  by  Hernandez,  and  still  told  by  the 
Indians,  must  have  originated  in  some  as  yet  unobserved 
habit  of  the  ocotchotli. 


A  YOUN&  NATURALIST.  445 

After  dinner,  when  Lucien  was  going  towards  his  pets 
to  give  them  some  fruit,  he  saw  an  unfortunate  tortoise 
between  Master  Job's  paws.  The  monkey  was  turning  it 
over,  smelling  at  it,  and  then  depositing  it  on  the  ground, 
persistently  poking  his  fingers  into  its  shell,  a  proceeding 
which  by  no  means  tended  to  enliven  the  melancholy  ani- 
maL  According  to  1'Encuerado's  advice,  Lucien  stuck  up 
some  branches  near  the  water,  and  put  the  tortoise  into 
this  miniature  inclosure. 

Night  came  on,  and  Lucien  was  still  teaching  the  birds 
to  say  "Hortense"  and  "Emile."  To  our  great  astonish- 
ment, Gringalet  went  and  stretched  himself  close  to  Master 
Job,  who,  without  hesitation,  commenced  freeing  him  from 
tiie  vermin  which  were  lodged  among  his  hair;  then  the 
two  friends  went  to  sleep  side  by  side.  About  nine  o'clock, 
when  I  was  making  up  the  fire  before  going  to  rest  myself, 
Janet  opened  one  of  her  eyes  and  chattered  a  short  sen- 
tence ;  but  1'Encnerado  was  much  too  fast  asleep  to  answer 
her. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE     HUNTERS      HUNTED. ESCAPE     FROM     PECCARIES. A 

JAGUAK-HUNT. AN    IBIS. THE     CAYMANS. THE    WILD 

BULLS. 

A  FTER  we  had  finished  our  breakfast  next  morning, 
-r^  we  embai'ked  our  baggage  and  menagerie,  and  pre- 
pared to  depart.  I  was  just  going  on  boai-d  the  raft  when 
a  noise  attracted  our  attention  to  the  forest,  and  two  pec- 
caries rushed  past  us,  pursuing  one  another.  L'Encuerado, 
taken  by  surprise,  shot  at  one  of  the  animals  without  kill- 
ing it,  and  we  all  gave  chase.  Hardly  had  we  gone  a  hun- 
dred paces,  when  the  Indian,  who  was  in  front  of  us,  turn- 
ed right  about,  shouting  out,  "To  the  raft !  to  the  raft!" 
A  noise  like  the  gallop  of  a  troop  of  horses  seemed  to 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST.       449 

shake  the  ground.  A  band  of  peccaries  was  pursuing  us; 
and  as  my  two  companions  halted  to  fire,  I  succeeded  in 
gaining  the  raft,  on  which  I  placed  Lucien.  The  peccaries, 
about  a  hundred  in  number,  rushed  on  in  a  furious  crowd. 
Sumichrast,  who  was  closely  pressed  by  them,  leaped  upon 
the  frail  bark,  almost  capsizing  it,  while  1'Encuerado  ran 
along  the  shore. 

"  Cut  the  mooring  and  push  off !"  he  cried  out  to  me  as 
he  disappeared  in  the  jungle. 

Some  of  the  peccaries  rushed  after  the  Indian;  the 
others,  chasing  and  hustling  one  another,  deafened  us  with 
their  gruntings.  I  cut  the  mooring-line ;  and,  seizing  hold 
of  the  boat-hook,  directed  the  raft  towards  the  right  bank, 
whence  the  uproar  seemed  to  proceed. 

"Hiou!  hiou!  Chanito!" 

"  Ohe  !  ohe"  !"  I  answered. 

I  was  just  going  to  spring  off,  when  the  Indian  came  in 
sight,  followed  by  Gringalet,  and  plunged  into  the  water, 
holding  his  gun  above  his  head. 

L'Encuerado,  instead  of  coming  to  us  on  the  raft,  turned 
towards  a  peccary  which  in  its  eagerness  had  fallen  into 
the  water  and  was  endeavoring  to  reach  the  bank.  He 
seized  it  by  an  ear  and  dragged  it  towards  the  raft,  assist* 
ed  by  Gringalet,  who  swam,  barking,  behind,  and  biting  it 
when  opportunity  offered. 

"  Fire  your  gun  at  this  poor  wretch's  head,"  called  1'En- 
cuerado  to  Sumichrast. 

This  was  no  sooner  said  than  done,  and  1'Encuerado  leap- 
ed on  board,  dragging  his  victim  after  him. 

The  peccaries  collected  on  the  shore  continued  to  utter 
loud  grunts  of  rage ;  but  we  were  beyond  their  reach,  for 
the  raft  was  soon  carried  past  them  by  the  current, 

"  Are  peccaries  carnivorous  ?"  asked  Lucien. 

"  Yes,  indeed,  Chanito.     If  one  of  us  had  been  knocked 


450  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

down  by  the  band,  there  wouldn't  be  much  left  now  but 
bones." 

"  Isn't  the  peccary  a  wild  boar,  M.  Sumichrast  ?" 

"  It  is  a  pachyderm — consequently,  a  relation  of  the  pig," 
answered  my  friend.  "  The  wild  boar  is  solitary,  while  the 
peccaries  always  go  in  flocks ;  this  makes  them  formidable 
enemies  in  spite  of  their  small  size. 

"  What,  small !  this  one  is  larger  than  Gringalet !" 

"  The  wild  boar  is  twice  as  big.  A  characteristic  of  the 
peccary  is,  that  its  tail  is  rudimentary,  and  the  bristles 
spotted  with  black  and  white ;  moreover,  only  its  legs  are 
eatable." 

L'Encuerado  went  round  the  edge  of  the  lake  in  order  to 
trace  the  course  of  the  stream.  We  lost  more  than  an 
hour  in  false  channels,  and  the  raft  ran  aground  in  a  shal- 
low. 

When  the  sun  had  set,  and  all  the  birds  were  flying  over 
us  to  their  retreats,  we  landed  to  bivouac  for  the  night. 

A  deep-toned  roaring  sound  awoke  me  up  with  a  start ; 
the  first  thing  I  saw  was  Lucien,  with  his  gun  in  his  hand, 
crouching  down  close  to  Sumichrast.  On  the  shore,  about 
sixty  yards  from  us,  I  saw  a  long  tawny  form,  and  two 
shining  eyes.  A  second  roar  told  me  the  name  of  our  noc- 
turnal visitor,  whose  voice  I  fancied  I  had  heard  in  a 
dream. 

"  And  where  is  1'Encuerado  ?"  I  asked  my  companion. 

"  He  is  crawling  away  to  the  other  side." 

A  shot  cut  these  words  short ;  the  animal  gave  another 
roar,  and  rushed  into  the  jungle.  We  heard  a  noise  like  a 
scuffle,  and  then  the  jaguar  again  came  in  sight;  it  ran 
round  and  round,  roaring  with  rage.  A  final  bound 
brought  it  to  within  twenty  paces  of  our  camp  fire,  when 
it  fell  never  to  rise  again. 

"Hiou!  hiou!  Chanito." 


A  rocare  XATUBALJST.  45! 

This  sound  took  a  weight  off  my  mind,  for  I  could  not 
but  feel  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  FEncaerado. 

«  Ohe!  ohe!"  was  responded. 

Gringalet,  who  was  let  loose,  ran  towards  the  enormous 
creature,  and  barked  at  it  from  a  safe  distance.  The  Indian 
came  up,  with  his  gun  upon  his  shoulder. 

"The  beast  is  jusfly  mine,  isn't  it,  Tatita,  and  I  am  still 
the  tiger-hunter  F* 

«Y«,"  I  replied;  «  but  let  the  tigers  alone,  if  they  wffl 
allow  you,  and  let  us  go  to  rest.7* 

We  were  all  going  to  lie  down,  when  the  roar  of  a  tiger 
again  shook  the  air. 

"  HaDo  !"  cried  my  friend;  "is  your  beast  come  to  life 


"  Xo,  Tatita  Sumichrast  ;  but  my  tiger  is  a  tigress,  and 
her  mate  is  come  to  see  after  her." 

I  told  the  Indian  not  to  more. 

"Let  him  do  as  he  tikes,"  said  my  companion  ;  "he  wffl 
only  disobey  you." 

Half  an  hour  elapsed  ;  all  was  profound  silence,  and  we 
could  hear  the  slightest  rustling  of  the  leaves.  Suddenly 
there  was  the  report  of  a  gun,  and,  fire  minutes  afterwards, 
we  greeted  with  «  bravos"  the  triumphant  "  ffiou  !  hion  !" 
of  the  Indian,  who,  streaming  with  water,  came  to  dry  him- 
self at  the  fire. 

"I  was  obliged  to  ford  the  stream,"  he  said;  "but  his 
lordship  has  got  the  ball  between  his  two  eyes  this  time." 

"Yon  are  a  brave  fellow,"  responded  Sumichrast,  shak- 
ing hands  with  him. 

"  Xow  I  shall  sleep  quietly,"  the  Indian  whispered  to 
Lucien. 

Master  Job,  Gringalet,  Janet,  and  Yerdet,  afl  had  their 
eyes  wide  open  when  I  awoke  at  day-break.  Lucien  rose 
just  as  I  was  starting  for  the  water's  edge  and  accompa- 
nied me. 


452  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

An  elegant  bird  with  a  long  curved  bill  came  and  settled 
down  on  the  bank ;  the  boy  remarked  the  beautiful  bronze- 
colored  plumage  of  the  wader.  I  informed  him  it  was  an 
ibis. 

"  The  Egyptian  bird  which  devours  serpents  ?" 

"  One  of  its  kinsfolk,"  I  replied ;  "  the  ibis  feeds,  gener- 
ally speaking,  on  worms,  mollusks,  and  even  on  sea-weed  or 
aquatic  plants.  It  may,  perhaps,  sometimes  eat  water- 
snakes  ;  but  as  to  feeding  exclusively  on  reptiles,  or  de- 
stroying them  systematically,  that's  quite  another  story." 

We  now  reached  the  bivouac,  and  found  my  companions 
up,  and  1'Encuerado  in  a  state  of  high  excitement  over  his 
exploit. 

Having  drunk  our  coffee,  we  all  turned  up  our  sleeves, 
and  set  to  work  to  skin  our  magnificent  prizes.  This  diffi- 
cult operation  employed  us  all  the  morning,  and  was  scarce- 
ly finished  when  I  carried  our  baggage  on  board  the  raft, 
which  was  soon  pushed  off  from  the  bank. 

Our  way  lay  through  walls  of  the  densest  foliage,  which 
often  met  overhead,  while  such  was  the  awful  stillness  of 
the  solitude,  that  we  felt  oppressed,  and  only  spoke  in  a  low 
voice. 

The  hour  for  rest  had  long  passed,  and  yet  no  one  pro- 
posed to  land.  The  fact  was,  we  wished  some  more  ani- 
mated resting-place ;  and  though  1'Encuerado,  with  his  pole, 
shoved  us  onward  with  energy,  the  numerous  bends  hinder- 
ed our  progress,  and  it  seemed  as  if  night  would  surprise 
us  still  afloat.  At  last  the  palm-trees  became  more  crowd- 
ed, and  the  stream  emerged  from  the  forest,  to  cross  a 
prairie ;  here  the  raft  was  moored  under  a  canopy  of  creep- 
ers. 

Our  first  cai-e  was  to  stretch  the  tigers'  skins  on  the  heat- 
ed ground,  and,  while  I  was  helping  1'Encuerado,  Sumichrast 
and  Lucien  went  off  in  quest  of  our  dinners.  The  fire  had 


'The  banks  of  the  river  were  covered  with  alligators." 


A  YOUHG  XATCSALLST.  455 

been  for  some  time  burning,  when  we  heard  a  distant  gun- 
shot. 

Sumichrast  returned  laden  with  a  green  iguana,  and  Lu- 
cien  was  dragging  by  a  string  a  little  alligator  about  thirty 
inches  long. 

"Look,  M.  I/Eneuerador  cried  the  boy;  «  here  is  an  alli- 
gator or  cayman,  a  relation  of  the  lizards,  and  an  enemy  of 
man.  This  ugly  young  beast  has  only  baby-teeth,  so  can 
not  bite  much.  It  feeds  on  fish,  otters,  calves,  and  many 
other  animals.  It  is  an  amphibious  being,  M.  L'Encuerado, 
a  creature  that  lays  eggs  like  fowls,  but  buries  them  in  the 
sand,  where  the  sun  has  to  hatch  them ;  it  is  a  brute,  too, 
which  is  so  fond  of  man  that  it  eats  him  whenever  it  has  a 
chance. 

"Take  care  it  does  not  bite  you,"  said  I  to  the  boy; 
"  how  did  you  manage  to  catch  it?*1 

"  I  pursued  it,  thinking  it  was  a  big  lizard ;  M.  Sumi- 
chrast  called  out  to  me  not  to  handle  it,  and  then  tied  this 
creeper  round  its  neck." 

u  You  don't  intend  to  take  it  away  with  you,  I  hope  V 

"  No ;  it  is  an  ill-tempered  creature,  and  is  always  anx- 
ious 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  depos- 
ited 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  tiH 
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  stretch- 


456  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

ed  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  expres- 
sion. 

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  hap- 
pened to  raise  himself  to  point  out  to  Lucien  a  tree  coyer- 
ed  with  parrots,  between  whom  and  the  Indian  there  im- 
mediately commenced  a  lively  chatter.  Diverted  by  this 


with  a  splash  into  the  ri 


A  FOOTG  NATURALIST.  459 

amusing  conversation,  none  of  us  perceived  an  enormous 
branch,  which  just  grazed  our  heads  but  upset  our  enter- 
tainer. When  he  emerged  from  the  water,  instead  'of 
swimming  towards  us,  FEncuerado  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. 

46  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  Sumi- 
chrast.  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  con- 
duct." 

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  de- 
scended 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 
Lncien  soon  joined  in  his  gayety.  He  was,  however,  thor- 
oughly 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  FEncuerado, 
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. 


460  THE  AD  VESTURES  OF 

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  1'Encuerado  suddenly  brought  the  boat  to  a 
stand-still.  I  stood  up  and  saw  a  herd  of  wild  cattle  mov- 
ing 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  pre- 
ferred posting  himself  in  a  more  isolated  position. 

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

The  cattle  approached.  The  ground  trembled  tinder 
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  imperi- 
ous-looking chief;  the  caymans,  as  if  awakened  by  the  up- 
roar, assembled  at  the  opening  of  the  savannah,  and  numer- 
ous 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 


A  YOUXG  SATTKALKT. 


463 


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  FEncne- 
rado,  who  descended  to  the  lowest  branch,  continuing  his 
gymnastic  exercises.  The  young  bulls  on  our  side,  fright- 
ened by  the  report  of  die  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  wa- 
ter. 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  re- 
sumed their  furious  course,  and  were  soon  lost  in  the  dis- 
tance. 

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


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE  KING    OF   THE  VULTURES. THE   TICKS. L5ENCUERADO 

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. 

r  I  ^HE  next  morning  1'Encueraclo  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 


THE  AbVESTl'RES   OF  A  YOUSG   XATl'liALIST.        405 

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  soar- 
ed round  and  round  above  us.  It  settled  down  heavily, 
and  folded  its  black  and  white  wings ;  the  new-comer  was 
the  Sarcvramphus  '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.  Xew 
guests  were  incessantly  arriving,  but  they  all  kept  their  dis- 
tance. 

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 
hisrhly  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  ex- 
tremities of  plants,  ready  to  attach  themselves  to  any  ani- 
'mal  that  brushes  against  them.  They  then  bury  their 
claws  in  the  flesh,  and  greedily  suck  the  blood.  It  is  a  te- 
dious job  to  pick  off  one  by  one  these  troublesome  para- 
sites, which  cause  an  almost  unbearable  itching. 
•20* 


466  T&E  ADVENTUMES  OF 

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 ;  "  some- 
thing worse  than  that !  I  have  seen  it  7" 

"What?"  I  exclaimed. 

"  A  ghost !"  said  the  Indian  in  a  low  tone,  crossing  him- 
self. 

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

"  You  can't  kill  ft,  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  super- 
natural 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  PEncuerado,  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  at- 
tributed 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  op- 
posing his  error — which  I  knew  would  be  of  no  use — I  en- 
deavored to  convince  him  that  my  power  far  surpassed  that 
of  the  object  of  his  dread. 


'  The  reeds  were  pushed  aside. 


A  TOCSG  JT-ITOLLL/ST.  4^9 

44 If  it  wasn't  for  that,"  I  urged  on  him,"  do  yon  think  I 
would  permit  Looen  to  sleep  in  so  dangerous  a  neighbor- 
hood ?n 

Somichrast  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.  I/Encuerado 
gradually  recovered  his  sett-possession ;  the  idea  of  slaying 
in  one  of  its  most  formidable  shapes  the  cause  of  his  super- 
stition 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  Laden 
and  Somkhrast  turned  to  die  left  dose  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-f or  pachyderms  came  out  together  on  the  green- 


UEncuerado  kept  on  crossing  himself  without  intermis- 

tt  Fire,"  said  I,  in  a  low  voice,  «  and  aim  straight  at  the 
forehead.1* 

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  kilk-1  the  object  of  your  dread,"  said  Laden, 
who  ran  up  to  examine  the  curious  animal 

"Yes,  Chanito, thanks  to  the  enchanted  bullets/* 

LTEncuerado  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 


470  THE  ADVEXTUMEIS  OF 

likewise  were  fruitless,  and  his  ingenious  mind  found  a  re- 
tort to  all  our  arguments.  The  flesh  of  the  animal  remind- 
ed 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 
nt  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'lTncuerado  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 


"The  deer  sank  down  nader  the  weight  of  a  puma." 


A  YUUSG  XATU&AL1ST.  473 

herons  perched  upon  it,  and  it  soon  glided  out  of  sight  la- 
den with  its  winged  passengers. 

We  were  all  ready  to  start;  the  "Tapir  River,"  as  Lu- 
cien  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,  rEncue- 
rado  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  scarce- 
ly 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  look- 
ed almost  like  ripe  wheat. 

Samichrast,  who  had  halted,  summoned  me  by  an  imita- 
tion 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  gun- 
shot. I  stood  watching  by  my  friend,  following  with  anx- 
iety all  the  movements  of  the  graceful  animalj  for  twice  it 
threw  up  its  head  and  showed  some  vague  uneasiness.  Sa- 
michrast. 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  re- 
sponded to  by  a  loud  roar,  then,  dragging  its  prey  a  dis- 
tance 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  pre- 
vious occasions. 


474  THE 

We  watched  the  sun  go  down  from  the  top  of  the  hill, 
and  descried  on  the  horizon  the  bluish  line  of  the  Cor- 
dillera, 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  Ori- 
zava." 

"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  regain- 
ed its  azure  tint,  while  the  moon  dimly  lighted  up  the  land- 
scape. 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  re- 
tired to  rest. 

In  the  morning  we  held  a  council  to  deliberate  about  the 
route,  and,  after  some  debate,  we  agreed  to  1'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. 


A  YOUNG  yATCSALLST.  477 

We  filled  onr  gourds  up  to  the  necks  with  water  and  cork- 
ed them  tightly,  then  lay  down  in  the  shade  to  gain  strength 
for  our  next  stage. 

About  four  o'clock  1'Encnerado  called  us  to  dinner,  and 
by  sunset  we  started,  home-bound,  each  with  his  allotted 
burden  over  his  shoulder.  Sumichrast,  with  Lucien  follow- 
ing, 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  walk- 
ing/' 

"  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,  sec- 
ondly, 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 ;  ani- 
mals 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  1'Encuerado  awoke  us, 
when,  after  taking  our  bearings,  he  undertook  to  be  our 
guide.  As  the  first  sunbeam  appeared,  we  halted  to  form 
onr  camp  and  erect  our  tent.  We  cleared  a  large  space, 
and  a  hole  in  the  ground  served  as  a  fire-place.  Our  cray- 
fish remained  perfectly  fresh,  and  while  FEncnerado  was 
broiling  them,  I  and  Snmichrast  watched  the  direction 
of  the  flames,  as  it  was  highly  important  for  our  safety 


478  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

that  the  savannah  should  not  be  set  on  fire.  The  meal  dis- 
patched, 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,  1'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  ex- 
amined 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  reach- 
ing the  woods  cheered  every  one. 

"  One  night  more,"  said  1'Eucuerado  and  Sumichrast, 
"  and  then  we  shall  have  rest  and  abundance." 

The  fourth  day's  march  was  much  more  wearisome,  es- 
pecially to  poor  Lucien,  who,  still  uncomplaining,  yet  com- 
menced 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  Avay,"  I  said  to 
1'Encuerado.  "  God  grant  we  have  not  been  walking  at 
random  for  these  three  days." 

The  Indian  stood  up  on  his  basket,  and  carefully  exam- 
ined the  outline  of  the  mountains. 

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


i 


•  Lacien  began  to  repeat  to  the  parrots  the  names  of  Hortense  and  Kmile," 


A  YOUNO  NATURALIST.  481 

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

In  this  emergency,  1'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  rap- 
idly-failing strength.     In  another  day  all  our  maize-cakes 
21 


482       THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  YOUNG  NATURALIST. 

wcmld  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  dis- 
mayed to  find  that  I'l^ncuerado  had  deserted  us,  accompa- 
nied 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  jour- 
ney without  having  the  coin-age  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,  Lu- 
cien being  borne  between  us,  we  pursued  our  course. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


DESCBIPnOX  OF 
HIS  JOUBXET.  -  JJLXET,  VEBPETj  AXD  BOrGETTB,  -  HUXT- 
IXO  WILD  HOBSES.  -  OUB  LJtST  ADTEXTUBE:  -  THE  BE- 
TTBX. 

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

Lncien's  feet  pained  him  dreadfully,  but  the  brave  little 
fellow  kept  constantly  saying,  "I  should  be  all  right  if  I 
could  only  hare  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. 


484 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF 


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  Sumi- 
chrast I  poured  a  few  drops  of  brandy  between  his  teeth. 
He  gradually  regained  his  senses,  and  looked  at  us  in  sur- 
prise. He  was  exhausted  from  hunger  and  fatigue. 

"  If  I  had  eaten  or  drunk,"  he  said,  simply,  "  I  should 
have  wanted  to  go  to  sleep,  and  then  what  would  have  be- 
come of  you  ?  But  my  hunger  and  thirst  spurred  me  on, 
so  that  I  have  not  lost  a  moment." 

"  My  good  fellow !"  I  answered,  "  you  ought  to  have 
taken  something  to  restore  your  strength ;  for  if  it  had 
failed,  what  would  have  become  of  us  ?" 

L'Encuerado  did  not  hear  me ;  he  had  just  fallen  into  a 
deep  sleep,  and  we  soon  followed  his  example.  When  we 
awoke,  PEncuerado  mounted  the  steed  he  had  brought,  and, 
taking  Lucien  up  in  front,  led  us  back  to  the  baggage. 

"  Why  did  you  start  without  letting  us  know  ?"  asked 
Sumichrast. 

"  Because  you  would  have  prevented  me  from  following 


"  We  bad  to  cross  some  muddy  man-he 


Jl  FOOTS  SATdULLJST. 

out  my  plan.  I  was  convinced  there  were  woods  and  flocks 
not  far  ahead  of  us,  and  as  I  feared  not  die  sun  for  myself, 
I  started  as  soon  as  you  were  aU  fast  asleep,  having  forti- 
fied myself  for  the  journey  widi  a  drop  of  the  cognac.  I 
often  longed,  as  I  proceeded,  to  fie  down  and  rest,  but  then 
I  thought  of  Caanito,  and  ran  on  faster  than  ever.  With- 
out knowing  why,I  stumbled, and  I  think  I  must  have  fall- 
en asleep.  When  I  opened  my  eyes  the  sun  was  set,  and 
Gringak* was  licking  me  with  his  tongue.  Igotup,stn- 
pefied  as  I  was,  and  ran  forward,  without  halting,  to  di- 
verge of  a  wood.  I  dashed  in  among  die  trees,  and  in  less 
than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  I  came  upon  a  great  bike,  and 
Corses  and  buffaloes  running  wild.  My  strength,  however, 
began  to  fail,  and  it  took  me  more  dian  four  hours  to  catch 
this  mustang^  continued  die  Indian,  looking  down  on  his 
steed, « but  I  soon  made  him  know  his  master  was  on  his 
bank." 

Having  returned  to  our  bivouac  to  recover  our  treasures. 
we  resolved  to  start  immediately,  as  die  sky  was  obscured 
by  clouds, 

Xeit  day  FEncuerado  set  to  work  to  provide  us  afl  widt 
horses.  HaTing  prepared  a  lasso,  the  agfle  Indian  darted 
off  at  fnD  gallop  towards  a  drove  which  were  grazing  some 
distance  off ;  and  by  night  had  captured  five  of  dieir  num- 
ber. Two  days,  however,  were  spent  in  breaking  our 
mounts  and  rendering  diem  docile;  but  as  our  stores  were 
visibly  diminishing,  and  we  were  considerably  freshened 
up,  it  became  highly  necessary  for  us  to  start. 

X  eit  morning  our  Ettfe  cavalcade  crossed  die  plains  and 
woods  almost  at  a  gallop.  The  brae  mountains  in  front 
looked  higher  and  higher,  and  die  oudines  of  die  volcano 
grew  more  defined. 

The  second  day  of  our  march  we  had  to  cross  some  mud- 
dy marshes,  in  which  our  horses  mired  up  to  dieir  beffies. 


488  THE  AD  VENTURES  OF 

On  reaching  firm  ground  again,  we  hoped  to  perceive  a  hu- 
man dwelling,  but  the  trees  restricted  our  view. 

At  last,  in  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day,  just  as  we  were 
endeavoring  to  go  round  two  wild  bulls  engaged  in'a  com- 
bat, a  horseman  came  out  in  front  of  us,  halted  for  a  mo- 
ment as  if  in  indecision,  and  then  turned  short  round  and 
rode  off,  after  having  fired  his  gun  at  us. 

"We  hurried  on  our  horses,  making  sure  of  soon  coming 
upon  a  hacienda)  when  we  heard  another  gunshot,  and  a 


bullet  whistled  by  our  ears.  The  Indian  rode  swiftly  to- 
wards the  would-be  murderer,  but  he  went  off  at  full  gal- 
lop. In  spite  of  my  cries,  the  Indian  fired  at  him,  and  horse 
and  man  rolled  upon  the  ground. 

The  fool  had  mistaken  us  for  horse-stealers ;  and  the 
Indian,  after  soundly  thrashing  him,  at  my  entreaty  let 
him  off. 

When  night  came,  we  were  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains ; 
so  all  we  had  to  do  was  to  join  the  main  road  from  Vera 


A  YOpXG  XATERALIST.  4  -  j 

Cruz  to  Mexico.  Our  horses  were  now  set  at  liberty,  af- 
ter baring  been  overwhelmed  with  compliments  and  polite 
speeches  by  FEncuerado.  The  brave  animals  at  first  ap- 
peared undecided  which  way  to  go,  and  remained  without 
moving,  keeping  their  noses  to  the  wind.  At  last  one  of 
them  neighed  and  darted  off,  when  the  rest  followed  at  the 
top  of  their  speed. 

We  were  now  scarcely  twelve  leagues  from  Orizava,  and 
almost  painfully  impatient  to  reach  it  Woods,  mountain?, 
valleys  were  crossed  with  a  kind  of  feverish  haste,  and  the 
approach  of  night  alone  forced  us  to  bivouac. 

At  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Loeien  began  to 
reproach  us  for  our  IMMU^M, 

Wood-cotters  now  passed,  who  saluted  me  by  name,  and 
one  guided  us  for  more  than  a  league,  astonished  at  FEn- 
cuerado's  tales.  He  left  us  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain,  the 
last  we  had  to  cross,  the  steep  accfivity  of  which  somewhat 
damped  our  ardor. 

LQC  icn  was  the  first  to  arrive  on  the  plateau.  A  few 
steps  farther,  and  the  town  of  Orizava  lay  stretched  in 
peaceful  repose  at  our  feet. 

As  the  young  traveller  contemplated  the  town  in  which 
was  his  home,  involuntary  tears  moistened  his  cheeks ;  he 
stretched  out  his  arms  towards  it  and  sobbed. 

All  of  us,  however,  shared  his  emotion  to  some  extent. 
Now  that  we  were  safe,  we  rejoiced  that  I  had  undertaken 
this  expedition.  I  thanked  God  for  His  manifest  protec- 
tion, and,  for  the  last  time,  gave  the  word  to  start. 

As  we  descended  the  mountain,  the  town  became  more 
distinctly  visible.  I/Encuerado  could  name  the  churches 
and  streets;  at  last  Lncien  discovered  his  home,  which  was 
easily  recognizable  by  the  magnificent  orange-tree.  In 
order  to  satisfy  the  boy  s  impatience,  we  made  our  way 


490  THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

through  a  steep  ravine.  Our  little  party  reached  the  val- 
ley just  as  the  bells  were  ringing  for  vesper  prayers. 

The  sun  was  setting,  and  we  were  wrapped  in  obscurity ; 
Indians  kept  crossing  our  path  at  every  step,  and  the  lamps 
were  here  and  there  shining  out  through  the  dark.  The 
Rio  Bianco  barred  our  passage ;  but  large  stones,  placed 
at  intervals  in  the  river,  enabled  us  to  cross  it  almost  dry- 
shod.  Then  Gringalet  suddenly  barked,  and  darted  off 
like  an  arrow. 

Twenty  minutes  after,  we  entered  Orizava  by  some  of 
the  side  streets,  to  prevent  a  crowd  following  at  our  heels. 
When  we  were  about  fifty  paces  from  our  house,  Lucien 
a"nd  1'Encuerado  darted  off  at  a  racing  pace ;  they  found 
ah1  the  inmates  of  our  home  assembled  on  the  threshold. 
Gringalet  had  announced  our  arrival. 

When  I  entered  the  court-yard,  Lucien  and  his  mother 
were  sobbing  in  one  another's  arms ;  Euiile,  Hortense,  and 
Amelie  were  grouped  round  the  basket,  on  which  Janet 
and  Verdet  were  sitting.  I  noticed,  standing  in  a  corner, 
the  cases  which  had  been  intrusted  to  Torribio. 

L'Encuerado  came  and  leaned  against  the  door  of  the 
room,  twisting  the  broad  brim  of  his  hat  quite  out  of 
shape. 

"If  it  had  not  been  for  him,"  I  said  to  my  wife,  "we 
should  have  died  !" 

The  brave  Indian  stooped  and  kissed  the  hands  of  his 
mistress. 

My  children,  who  had  gone  out  for  a  few  minutes,  now 
burst  into  the  room ;  they  had  ransacked  the  ^basket,  and 
were  disputing  for  poor  Rougette,  who  was  placed  in  the 
fountain  in  the  garden.  Janet  and  Verdet,  perched  on  the 
back  of  a  chair,  stammered  the  names  of  Hoi-tense  and 
Emile,  as  well  as  could  be  hoped.  The  two  children  be- 
came pale  with  pleasure  and  surprise. 


A  TOUXG  NATURALIST  491 

Just  at  this  moment,  Master  Job,  introduced  by  Gringa- 
let,  came  and  sat  down  on  the  carpet,  and  allowed  the  chil- 
dren to  caress  him. 

It  was  delightful  to  sit  down  to  table  surrounded  by  all 
the  beings  dearest  to  my  heart.  L'Encuerado  kept  prais- 
ing Lucien,  who  continued  exciting  his  mother's  emotion 
by  relating  to  her  the  principal  incidents  of  our  journey. 

"  I  am  sure,  mamma,  that  you  will  let  me  go  with  papa 
another  time,"  said  Lucien.  "  Our  collection  is  not  finish- 
ed yet,  and  it  must  be  completed  sooner  or  later." 

The  young  naturalist  might  be  recognized  in  this  ques- 
tion, for  the  collector  is  ever  insatiable. 

His  poor  mother  shook  her  head,  and  embraced  her  boy 
without  replying.  But  her  silence  seemed  to  show  that 
she  would  not  willingly  expose  her  son  to  the  perils  of  a 
fresh  journey. 


2929 


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