Adventures of a Young Naturalist
L'Encuerado 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 herons perched
upon it, and it soon glided out of sight laden with its winged
passengers.
We were all ready to start; the "Tapir River," as Lucien 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, l'Encuerado 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
scarcely 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 looked almost like ripe wheat.
Sumichrast, who had halted, summoned me by an imitation 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 gunshot. I stood watching by my friend, following with anxiety
all the movements of the graceful animal, for twice it threw up its head
and showed some vague uneasiness. Sumichrast, 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 responded to by a loud roar,
then, dragging its prey a distance 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 previous occasions.
We watched the sun go down from the top of the hill, and descried on the
horizon the bluish line of the Cordillera, 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 Orizava."
"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 regained its
azure tint, while the moon dimly lighted up the landscape. 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 retired to rest.
In the morning we held a council to deliberate about the route, and,
after some debate, we agreed to l'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. We filled our gourds up to the necks with water and
corked them tightly, then lay down in the shade to gain strength for our
next stage.
About four o'clock l'Encuerado called us to dinner, and by sunset we
started, home-bound, each with his allotted burden over his shoulder.
Sumichrast, with Lucien following, 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 walking."
"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, secondly, 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; animals 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 l'Encuerado awoke
us, when, after taking our bearings, he undertook to be our guide. As
the first sunbeam appeared, we halted to form our camp and erect our
tent. We cleared a large space, and a hole in the ground served as a
fire-place. Our crayfish remained perfectly fresh, and while l'Encuerado
was broiling them, I and Sumichrast watched the direction of the flames,
as it was highly important for our safety that the savannah should not
be set on fire. The meal dispatched, 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, l'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 examined 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 reaching the
woods cheered every one.
"One night more," said l'Encuerado and Sumichrast, "and then we shall
have rest and abundance."
The fourth day's march was much more wearisome, especially to poor
Lucien, who, still uncomplaining, yet commenced 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 way," I said to l'Encuerado.
"God grant we have not been walking at random for these three days."
The Indian stood up on his basket, and carefully examined the outline of
the mountains.
"We are in the right path," said he, positively; "the savannah is very
wide, that is all."
L'Encuerado's assurances only half convinced me. Lucien's feet were so
covered with blisters that he could scarcely put them to the ground.
Unexpectedly I discovered that he was weeping silently; so I took him up
in my arms, when he soon fell asleep.
In this emergency, l'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 rapidly-failing strength. In another day all
our maize-cakes would 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 dismayed to find
that l'Encuerado had deserted us, accompanied 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 journey
without having the courage 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, Lucien being borne between us, we
pursued our course.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THIRST.--L'ENCUERADO'S RETURN.--THE DESCRIPTION OF
HIS JOURNEY.--JANET, VERDET, AND
ROUGETTE.--HUNTING WILD HORSES.--OUR LAST
ADVENTURE.--THE RETURN.
The undertaking was beyond our strength. Panting and suffocated with
heat, and tormented by thirst, we were compelled to desist.
Lucien's feet pained him dreadfully, but the brave little fellow kept
constantly saying, "I should be all right if I could only have 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. 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
Sumichrast I poured a few drops of brandy between his teeth. He
gradually regained his senses, and looked at us in surprise. 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 become 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, l'Encuerado 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.