Adventures of a Young Naturalist
was in front of us, first reached what was a wide, deep, and
slowly-flowing stream. At this sight, l'Encuerado turned three somersets
in succession, and struck up a chant; our manifestations of delight, if
less noisy than his, were, at all events, no less sincere.
A gentle breeze was blowing, while the air was cool and soft; so that,
forgetful of the past, and sanguine for the future, we built our
bivouac. While at work, our eyes were attracted on every side by the
insects and birds, whose splendid colors literally enamelled the trees
in which every shade of green blended harmoniously. It would be
difficult to describe the wild grandeur of the scene around us. We might
have fancied we were in one of those marvellous gardens which Arabian
story-tellers delight in depicting. The roaring of some wild beast
reminded us that our fire was nearly out. At last I set the example of
going to rest. We intended to pass three or four days in this spot, as
it was so favorable to our pursuits.
"Nobody can accuse us of being too fond of rest," said my friend; "this
is the 20th of April; therefore we have now been travelling
uninterruptedly forty days."
The next day at dawn I set off with Sumichrast on an exploring
expedition, leaving Lucien still fast asleep. We returned, about eleven
o'clock, with a dozen birds, among which we had a greenish-yellow
woodpecker, with a bright red tuft on its head; also a _Cuculus vetula_,
a species of cuckoo, which feeds on lizards and young serpents.
During our absence, l'Encuerado had cut down three palm-trees and
hollowed out the lower part of the trunks, in order to collect their
sweet sap. He also wove a sort of palisade of creepers round several
thick stakes, in which we could sleep without fear of surprise. In a
hole near the top of one of the palm-trees, Lucien spied out a parrot's
nest, and had taken possession of two young birds, red, green, and
yellow in color, which seemed to adapt themselves wonderfully to the
attentions lavished upon them by the boy.
"What are you going to do with these poor orphans?" I asked.
"I am going to take them home to my brother and sister. L'Encuerado says
that they would perch on the edge of his load."
"How shall you feed them?"
"With fruit, and sometimes with meat. M. Sumichrast said yesterday that
they would eat any thing that was given to them. I have already named
them 'Verdet' and 'Janet.'"
"They will be sure to get within reach of Gringalet; are you sure that
he will leave them alone?"
"L'Encuerado has already given him a lecture about it."
"Still I am very much afraid that 'Verdet' and 'Janet' will come to an
untimely end."
While we were resting, Lucien and his friend went off to examine a
caoutchouc-tree. The boy came back much disappointed.
"Your India-rubber-tree isn't worth much," said he to Sumichrast,
showing him a thick white liquid, which he had just collected.
"And pray why not?"
"Because India-rubber ought to be black and dry."
"It will acquire these qualities as it grows older. The India-rubber
oozes from the tree in the form of a milky liquid, like that with which
you are now smearing your fingers."
About three o'clock, when the sun was shining perpendicularly down upon
us, I conducted my companions through the thickets, in order to explore
the course of the river. Very soon we were obliged to cut our way with
our _machetes_, and several reptiles made off before our approach.
Gradually, as we advanced, the bank became covered with swamp ivy,
bignonias, and cedar-trees, till we at last came out on a sandy shore,
where five or six turtles were apparently asleep. In spite of all our
exertions, the creatures reached the stream. L'Encuerado discovered two
little heaps of sand, one of which was still unfinished, and contained
twenty eggs about as big as chestnuts, and covered with a whitish skin.
A little farther on, Lucien caught a small red turtle, the size of a
crown-piece. On hearing from l'Encuerado that it would live several days
without eating, he made up his mind to take it home with him, and gave
it the name of "Rougette."
Gringalet began growling; a deer had just shown its graceful form among
the branches. We all concealed ourselves as well as we could, and when
the beautiful animal came down to the water Sumichrast shot it dead. I
left l'Encuerado to help the sportsman in skinning our prize, and went
on with Lucien. The stream gradually became wider, and we suddenly found
ourselves fronting an immense flooded plain, above which flocks of wild
ducks were circling.
I sat down on the ground in order to admire the lake and its banks,
edged with royal palm-trees, the foliage of which, though dark at the
base, is a beautiful green at the summit. The appearance of a
water-eagle, with its grayish-white head, disturbed the aquatic fowls;
as if by enchantment, some of them hid among the rushes, but the bird of
prey passed over without taking any notice of such game, which it
doubtless considered unworthy of itself. A tantalus settled down at
about twenty paces from us, and plunged into the stream and remained
motionless.
"Oh papa! what a curious bird! it looks as if it had a bald head."
"You are quite right; it is the bird that the Indians call _galambao_."
"It's almost as tall as I am!"
"Don't you see that it is mounted upon long legs like stilts?" replied
I, laughing. "It is a relation of the stork."
"This is the first bird of that kind we have met with."
"These long-legged birds, or waders as they are called, are scarcely
ever found except in marshes, or on the banks of large rivers. They can
always be recognized by their legs, which are of an enormous length, and
devoid of feathers below the knee--a conformation which enables them to
capture their prey in shallow water."
"Is this tantalus going to fish?"
"I should imagine so, for birds of its order have no other means of
obtaining food."
"One might almost fancy that it was asleep, with its great bill drooping
down over its chest."
"Woe be to the fish that is of your opinion. There! did you remark its
sudden movement? It plunges its head down into the water like a flash of
lightning; and now you can see it holds its prey in its beak. Now it is
spreading its short black-edged wings in order to take flight, and
divide among its young brood the products of its labors. Do you see that
beautiful large bird with a tuft on its forehead? That is the _Ardea
agami_, a wader of the heron genus. But look, there is a flock of
egretts (_Egretta alba_), clothed in their plumage as white as the
ermine. They fly about in flocks, but separate for their fishing. These
birds have rather a grave and sad air, and utter now and then a wild and
plaintive cry."
We stopped to watch these waders gloomily standing in the water, until
we heard l'Encuerado's "Hiou! hiou!" informing us that our companions
were approaching the bivouac. I took Lucien through the forest, replying
to his numerous questions about the Grallatores, when we heard the
chattering and clatter produced by a band of monkeys. About twenty wild
turkeys, doubtless frightened by the noise, rushed between our legs. I
let the poor fugitives go, for we had already more victuals than we
could consume. Lucien wondered at the number of animated beings which
surrounded us, all the more surprising when compared with the gloomy
solitude we had just passed through.
"In the _Terre-Chaude_," said I, "the water-side is always fertile, for
the inhabitants both of the prairies and the forests meet there."
"Why don't the Mexicans live in such a varied and beautiful country as
the _Terre-Chaude_?"
"Because a dragon guards the entrance to these countries where nature
lavishes its choicest gifts."
"A dragon?"
"Yes; the yellow fever. A terrible malady which corrupts the blood, and
selects the most robust frames for its victims. The negro only can labor
under this burning sun; where even an Indian is overcome by the marsh
fever."
"Are we liable to catch these fevers?"
"We should be in danger if we staid here till the rainy season."
"How that tree is loaded with fruit!" said Lucien, interrupting me.
"They are the Mexican medlars. To-morrow we will come and gather some of
them. Five or six different species of their genus grow in these virgin
forests. These beautiful trees produce various fruit, which is more or
less in request. That which has attracted your attention--the _Sapota
achras_--is especially well known. It is considered the most wholesome
of all the tropical fruits; and from the trunk of the tree oozes out the
white gum called _chicle_, which the inhabitants of the _Terre-Chaude_
and the _Terre-Temperee_ are so fond of chewing."
The night overtook us just as we were discussing a haunch of venison
roasted by l'Encuerado. A distant roaring told us that we were
surrounded by wild beasts; but we had every confidence in our two fires
and the screen which l'Encuerado had constructed; so we went quietly to
sleep, although we were awakened several times by a renewal of their
frightful uproar.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
A GROVE OF LOGWOOD TREES.--ANTS AT THEIR WORK.--PARASITIC INSECTS.--THE
GREAT ANT-EATER.--SPOONBILLS AND HERONS.--LOST IN THE FOREST.
We were all stirring by sunrise. After throwing away the remains of
yesterday's meat, one night in this climate being enough to putrefy it,
l'Encuerado arranged some fishing-lines along the stream, and our little
party set off, struggling against the heat, the mosquitoes, and the
horse-flies.
The Indian, following the flight of a purple-feathered bird, led us
close to an immense ant-hill. The little colony seemed very busy; but I
hurried Lucien away, fearing he might be bitten by them.
"The ants are relations of the termites, are they not, M. Sumichrast?"
"No, Master Sunbeam; the ants are relations of the bees, and,
consequently, belong to the order of _Hymenoptera_. There are male,
female, and neuter or working ants. The males and females are born with
wings; but after the females have laid their eggs, they drop off these
appendages, and assist the workers engaged in constructing the
habitation, taking care of the young ones, and collecting the provisions
required for the colony."
"Look here! one might fancy that the very grass was walking along."
"It is the ants which have stripped a tree of its leaves, in order to
hoard them up in their store-houses--a useless precaution, for these
insects become torpid during the winter months."
Lucien approached the moving column, which was divided into two lines
going contrary ways; one of them advancing loaded with vegetable
remains, and the other going back with empty mandibles. Nothing could be
more interesting than to see thousands of these little creatures walking
along in perfect order, eagerly carrying or dragging a load five or six
times greater than themselves. Lucien followed them. The column entered
the forest, and crawled up a tree, the lower limbs of which were already
stripped of their leaves, causing it to look as if it were dead. The
ants climbed nearer and nearer to the top, and the summit was visibly
losing its foliage.
"How long will they take to carry away all the leaves off that great
tree?" asked Lucien.
"They will have finished their work by this evening," I answered.
Gringalet, who with generous confidence was lying down a few steps
behind us, and had not seen his enemies creeping slyly over him, got up
and began howling.
"Will you never be prudent?" cried l'Encuerado.
"Any one must be as simple as a new-born infant to squat on an anthill.