Adventures of a Young Naturalist
been resounding 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 attached to my person, at last made his
appearance, clad in a leathern jacket and breeches, which had given him
his name of "_Encuerado_."[B] 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 cradle. 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
jumped out of bed, and were dancing all round us: the latter seemed
somewhat sad and uneasy, but the former was dissatisfied, 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 bedroom costume.
"No, no," said my wife; "I will not be the means of depriving 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 younger brother give up
the stick and hat he had taken possession of. When restitution was
effected, the two children 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 commencing the first stage of our
journey in pursuit of scientific discoveries.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] The jaguar (_Leopardus onca_, Linn.) is frequently called a tiger in
America. The tiger (_Tigris regalis_) is not found on that
continent.--ED.
[B] _Encuerado_, in Spanish, means both _naked_ and _clad in leather_.
CHAPTER I.
WHO WE ARE.--GRINGALET.--SUNRISE.--THE SUGAR-CANE.--A HALT.
It 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 necessary to favorably impress 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 often 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" become 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 earnest and reflective, and very eager for
knowledge. Sumichrast took pleasure in the boy's intelligence, and often
amused himself by arguing with him. From the flashes 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 l'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 always
praising wild life, even the inconveniences of the solitudes in which he
had been born.
"What a pity that it is so dark," said Lucien, whom Sumichrast was
leading by the hand.
"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, l'Encuerado 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
supplication, that I could not find it in my heart to carry out my
intention. Sumichrast and l'Encuerado both interceded for the animal,
which, crouching and wagging his tail, came and lay down humbly at my
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 extravagant leaps, clearly
indicative of his emotions of pleasure. In spite of all his efforts to
keep them back, tears escaped 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 bitterest 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 unwilling to complain; I stepped on
quickly in order that he might get warm. Perhaps, just at this moment,
he regretted 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, although, like
AEsop'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, offered us a retreat sheltered from the wind. At this
moment 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 Europe, 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 seemed all on fire.
"Do you understand that phenomenon?" asked Sumichrast.
"Yes; for I know the earth is round, and these mountains, 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 eagles, 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 comprised 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 lovely 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 without 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 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