Adventures of a Young Naturalist Part 43

"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; c.o.c.k your gun, Chanito; you shall have the first shot."

We stood together in a group, and I looked in vain for the cougar.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "I looked in vain for the cougar."]

"The rascal has got in front of us," added the Indian. "We'll astonish him in a moment. Come this way, Chanito, but don't run or turn round. Do you see that tree that stands in front of us? Not so far that way--that one we were just going to pa.s.s under. Look at the wonderful fruit it has on it!"

"It is the puma!" exclaimed the boy.

"That's pleasant!" muttered Sumichrast. "Then there are two pumas."

"No, no, Tata Sumichrast, it is the same one. Aim between its eyes, Chanito; fire!"

There were two reports almost at the same moment, and the animal tumbled down upon the ground without uttering a cry.

"Don't be too quick, Chanito," continued the Indian; "this 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 advanced. 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 Gringalet; 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 you know that?"

"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 carnivora: 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 founded 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 Lucien 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 (_hymenaea_) 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 l'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 pa.s.sage 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. Lucien, who 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "L'Encuerado turned three somersets."]

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 pa.s.s three or four days in this spot, as it was so favorable to our pursuits.

"n.o.body 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 woodp.e.c.k.e.r, 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 s.h.i.+ning 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 sh.o.r.e, 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 pa.s.sed 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."