Adventures of a Young Naturalist
plucking berries and tossing them in the air, so as to catch them in
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 l'Encuerado, with a
magisterial air.
"Do you know, then, why toucans have such exaggerated beaks?"
"Because they have been made by a wise Creator," replied 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 obtained 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 prowled about in every direction, 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 confidence; for it is quite uncertain how a reptile or any
other creature may behave when it is disturbed. The child suddenly
called out to me; he had just discovered a nest of _scolopendrae_,
commonly called centipedes, and he was afraid to touch them. The
centipedes, surprised at being disturbed, rolled themselves up; their
pale blue color somewhat diminishing the repugnance which their
appearance generally 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 articulations, each of which
was provided with two pairs of feet ending in hooks, but its walk was so
slow as rather to disappoint the young observer.
"What is the use of having forty-four feet," he cried, "if the centipede
can not get on faster than a _carabus_, which only has six?"
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 increase in number as
they grow older, and this is one of their peculiarities."
"How hard the rings, are! they are almost like armor."
"It is armor, in fact; the _scolopendrae_ form a line of demarkation, 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 impregnate your fingers with
a sickening odor."
We resumed our progress towards our encampment, Lucien and l'Encuerado
preceding us. The weather was warm without being suffocating; the
slanting rays of the sun were moderated by the foliage, the birds were
singing, 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-vitae_ 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 easily; we were in
a virgin-forest, but were still too high up above the plains to have to
struggle against the inextricable 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, l'Encuerado took from an aloe-fibre bag
a needle and bodkin, and set to work to mend Lucien's breeches, torn a
day or two before. Two squirrels' skins were scarcely sufficient for the
would-be tailor, who lined the knees also with this improvised cloth.
Lucien was delighted at this patching, and wanted to try on his mended
garment at once. He waddled about, ran, and stooped in every posture,
quite fascinated 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 stretched out, his eyes glittering,
and his ears drooping, ready to retreat in case of need, the dog
ventured to take a sniff at l'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 not badly sewn,"
said l'Encuerado, with evident satisfaction.
But all of a sudden, after a final and more conscientious examination,
the animal began barking furiously, and seizing 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 trowsers with so much ardor that a
fresh rent was made. Then l'Encuerado became angry, and the dog having
been punished, went and crouched down by the fire; but he still
continued 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 suddenly 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 as 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 dazzling
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 l'Encuerado; "only
once before did I ever see the sky lighted up as it is to-night, and
then two days after there 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 Sumichrast.
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.
FOOTNOTES:
[L] From the Greek [Greek: kathartes], "that which purifies." In fact,
this bird assists in cleansing the streets in towns where there is no
organization for the purpose.
[M] A celebrated Greek physician in the first century of the Christian
era.
[N] _Saccophorus Mexicanus._
CHAPTER IX.
THE SOUTH WIND.--THE HURRICANE.--A FEARFUL NIGHT.--THE UPROOTED
GIANT.--THE SARSAPARILLA-PLANT.--GRINGALET DISCOVERS A SPRING.--OUR
BIVOUAC.
L'Encuerado's prediction seemed as if it was likely 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 louder than ever. I
hastened to warm some coffee; but two or three times the intermittent
squalls scattered the burning fagots of our fire, and the hot ashes
nearly blinded us. This mishap was owing to the open glade being so near
to us, across which the wind rushed furious and unrestrained. Almost
before daylight appeared, I led my companions farther under the trees,
the state of the atmosphere making me feel very uncomfortable. 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 suffocated us. Lucien did not say a
word, but, in spite of my advice, he was constantly lifting his gourd to
his lips, a proceeding which could only excite his thirst. Gringalet,
instead 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 hurry on, thinking to
come upon a stream; a vain 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 all taken breath, I gave it as my opinion that we
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. Nevertheless, as soon as he saw us starting again,
up he got and followed us without a word of complaint. I wished to
lighten his burden; but he heroically refused, and proportioned his pace
to that of l'Encuerado. Gringalet was continually sitting 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 l'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 deprived of our
burdens; but, instead of setting to work, according to our usual custom,