THE ESCAPE--ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS--FIGHT BETWEEN A JAGUAR AND AN
ALLIGATOR--MARTIN ENCOUNTERS STRANGE AND TERRIBLE CREATURES.
Freedom can be fully appreciated only by those who have been for a long
period deprived of liberty. It is impossible to comprehend the feelings
of joy that welled up in Martin's bosom as he clambered up the rugged
cliffs among which he had found shelter, and looked round upon the
beautiful valley, now lying in the shadow of the mountain range behind
which the sun had just set. He sat down on a rock, regardless of the
wet condition of his clothes, and pondered long and earnestly over his
position, which was still one of some danger; but a sensation of
light-hearted recklessness made the prospect before him seem very
bright. He soon made up his mind what to do. The weather was extremely
warm, so that, after wringing the water out of his linen clothes, he
experienced little discomfort; but he felt that there would not only be
discomfort but no little danger in travelling in such a country without
arms, covering, or provisions. He therefore determined on the bold
expedient of revisiting the Indian village during the darkness of the
night in order to procure what he required. He ran great risk of being
retaken, but his necessity was urgent and he was aware that several
families were absent on a hunting expedition at that time, whose huts
were pretty certain to be unoccupied.
Accordingly, when two or three hours of the night had passed, he
clambered with much difficulty down the precipitous rocks, and reached
the level plain, over which he quickly ran, and soon reached the
outskirts of the village. The Indians were all asleep, and no sound
disturbed the solemn stillness of the night. Going stealthily towards a
hut he peeped in at the open window, but could see and hear nothing.
Just as he was about to enter, however, a long-drawn breath proved that
it was occupied. He shrank hastily back into the deep shade of the
bushes. In a few minutes he recovered from the agitation into which he
had been thrown and advanced cautiously towards another hut. This one
seemed to be untenanted, so he opened the palm-leaf door gently and
entered. No time was to be lost now. He found an empty sack or bag,
into which he hastily threw as much farina as he could carry without
inconvenience. Besides this, he appropriated a long knife; a small
hatchet; a flint and steel, to enable him to make a fire; and a stout
bow with a quiver full of arrows. It was so dark that it was with
difficulty he found these things. But as he was on the point of leaving
he observed a white object in a corner. This turned out to be a light
hammock, which he seized eagerly, and, rolling it up into a small
bundle, placed it in the sack. He also sought for, and fortunately
found, an old straw-hat which he put on.
Martin had now obtained all that he required, and was about to quit the
hut when he became suddenly rooted to the spot with horror on observing
the dark countenance of an Indian gazing at him with distended eyeballs
over the edge of a hammock. His eyes, unaccustomed to the darkness of
the room, had not at first observed that an Indian was sleeping there.
He now felt that he was lost. The savage evidently knew him. Dreadful
thoughts flashed through his brain. He thought of the knife in his
belt, and how easily he could despatch the Indian in a moment as he lay;
but then the idea of imbruing his hands in human blood seemed so awful
that he could not bring himself to do it.
As he looked steadily at the savage he observed that his gaze was one of
intense horror, and it suddenly occurred to him that the Indian supposed
he was a ghost! Acting upon this supposition, Martin advanced his face
slowly towards that of the Indian, put on a dark frown, and stood for a
few seconds without uttering a word. The savage shrank back and
shuddered from head to foot. Then, with a noiseless step, Martin
retreated slowly backward towards the door and passed out like a
spectre--never for a moment taking his eyes off those of the savage
until he was lost in darkness. On gaining the forest he fled with a
beating heart to his former retreat; but his fears were groundless, for
the Indian firmly believed that Martin's spirit had visited his hut and
carried away provisions for his journey to the land of spirits.
Without waiting to rest Martin no sooner reached the scene of his
adventurous leap than he fastened his bag firmly on his shoulders and
struck across the valley in the direction of the blue mountains that
hemmed it in. Four or five hours hard walking brought him to their
base, and long before the rising sun shone down upon his recent home he
was over the hills and far away, trudging onward with a weary foot, but
with a light heart, in what he believed to be the direction of the east
coast of Brazil. He did not dare to rest until the rugged peaks of the
mountain range were between him and the savages; but, when he had left
these far behind him, he halted about mid-day to breakfast and repose by
the margin of a delightfully cool mountain stream.
"I'm safe now!" said Martin aloud, as he threw down his bundle beneath a
spreading tree and commenced to prepare breakfast.
"O! my friend Barney, I wish that you were here to keep me company."
The solitary youth looked round as if he half expected to see the rough
visage and hear the gladsome voice of his friend; but no voice replied
to his, and the only living creature he saw was a large monkey, which
peered inquisitively down at him from among the branches of a
neighbouring bush. This reminded him that he had left his pet Marmoset
in the Indian village, and a feeling of deep self-reproach filled his
heart. In the baste and anxiety of his flight he had totally forgotten
his little friend. But regret was now unavailing. Marmoset was lost to
him for ever.
Having kindled a small fire, Martin kneaded a large quantity of farina
in the hollow of a smooth stone, and baked a number of flat cakes, which
were soon fired and spread out upon the ground. While thus engaged, a
snake of about six feet long and as thick as a man's arm glided past
him. Martin started convulsively, for he had never seen one of the kind
before, and he knew that the bite of some of the snakes is deadly.
Fortunately his axe was at hand. Grasping it quickly, he killed the
reptile with a single blow. Two or three mandioca-cakes, a few wild
fruits, and a draught of water from the stream, formed the wanderer's
simple breakfast. After it was finished, he slung his hammock between
two trees, and jumping in, fell into a deep, untroubled slumber, in
which he continued all that day and until day-break the following
morning.
After partaking of a hearty breakfast, Martin took up his bundle and
resumed his travels. That day he descended into the level and wooded
country that succeeded the mountain range; and that night he was obliged
to encamp in a swampy place, near a stagnant lake, in which several
alligators were swimming, and where the mosquitoes were so numerous that
he found it absolutely impossible to sleep. At last, in despair, he
sprang into the branches of the tree to which his hammock was slung and
ascended to the top. Here, to his satisfaction, he found that there
were scarcely any mosquitoes, while a cool breeze fanned his fevered
brow; so he determined to spend the night in the tree.
By binding several branches together he formed a rude sort of couch, on
which he lay down comfortably, placing his knife and bow beside him, and
using the hammock rolled up as a pillow. As the sun was setting, and
while he leaned on his elbow looking down through the leaves with much
interest at the alligators that gambolled in the reedy lake, his
attention was attracted to a slight rustling in the bushes near the foot
of the tree. Looking down, he perceived a large jaguar gliding through
the under-wood with cat-like stealth. Martin now observed that a huge
alligator had crawled out of the lake, and was lying on the bank asleep
a few yards from the margin. When the jaguar reached the edge of the
bushes it paused, and then, with one tremendous spring, seized the
alligator by the soft part beneath its tail. The huge monster struggled
for a few seconds, endeavouring to reach the water, and then lay still,
while the jaguar worried and tore at its tough hide with savage fury.
Martin was much surprised at the passive conduct of the alligator. That
it could not turn its stiff body, so as to catch the jaguar in its jaws,
did not, indeed, surprise him; but he wondered very much to see the
great reptile suffer pain so quietly. It seemed to be quite paralysed.
In a few minutes the jaguar retired a short distance. Then the
alligator made a rush for the water; but the jaguar darted back and
caught it again; and Martin now saw that the jaguar was actually playing
with the alligator as a cat plays with a mouse before she kills it!
During one of the cessations of the combat, if we may call it by that
name, the alligator almost gained the water, and in the short struggle
that ensued both animals rolled down the bank and fell into the lake.
The tables were now turned. The jaguar made for the shore; but before
it could reach it the alligator wheeled round, opened its tremendous
jaws and caught its enemy by the middle. There was one loud splash in
the water, as the alligator's powerful tail dashed it into foam; and one
awful roar of agony, which was cut suddenly short and stifled as the
monster dived to the bottom with its prey; then all was silent as the
grave, and a few ripples on the surface were all that remained to tell
of the battle that had been fought there.
Martin remained motionless on the tree top, brooding over the fight
which he had just witnessed, until the deepening shadows warned him that
it was time to seek repose. Turning on his side he laid his head on his
pillow, while a soft breeze swayed the tree gently to and fro and rocked
him sound asleep.
Thus, day after day, and week after week, did Martin Rattler wander
alone through the great forests, sometimes pleasantly, and at other
times with more or less discomfort; subsisting on game which he shot
with his arrows, and on wild fruits. He met with many strange
adventures by the way, which would fill numerous volumes were they to be
written every one; but we must pass over many of these in silence, that
we may recount those that were most interesting.
One evening, as he was walking through a very beautiful country, in
which were numerous small lakes and streams, he was suddenly arrested by
a crashing sound in the under-wood, as if some large animal were coming
towards him; and he had barely time to fit an arrow to his bow when the
bushes in front of him were thrust aside, and the most hideous monster
that he had ever seen appeared before his eyes. It was a tapir; but
Martin had never heard of or seen such creatures before, although there
are a good many in some parts of Brazil.
The tapir is a very large animal,--about five or six feet long and three
or four feet high. It is in appearance something between an elephant
and a hog. Its nose is very long, and extends into a short proboscis;
but there is no finger at the end of it like that of the elephant. Its
colour is a deep brownish black, its tough hide is covered with a thin
sprinkling of strong hairs, and its mane is thick and bristly. So thick
is its hide that a bullet can scarcely penetrate it; and it can crush
its way through thickets and bushes, however dense, without receiving a
scratch. Although a very terrific animal to look at, it is fortunately
of a very peaceable and timid disposition, so that it flees from danger,
and is very quick in discovering the presence of an enemy. Sometimes it
is attacked by the jaguar, which springs suddenly upon it and fastens
its claws in its back; but the tapir's tough hide is not easily torn,
and he gets rid of his enemy by bouncing into the tangled bushes and
bursting through them, so that the jaguar is very soon _scraped_ off his
back! The tapir lives as much in the water as on the land, and
_delights_ to wallow like a pig in muddy pools. It is, in fact, very
similar in many of its habits to the great hippopotamus of Africa, but
is not quite so large. It feeds entirely on vegetables, buds, fruits,
and the tender shoots of trees, and always at night. During the day
time it sleeps. The Indians of Brazil are fond of its flesh, and they
hunt it with spears and poisoned arrows.
But Martin knew nothing of all this, and fully expected that the
dreadful creature before him would attack and kill him; for, when he
observed its coarse, tough-looking hide, and thought of the slender
arrows with which he was armed, he felt that he had no chance, and there
did not happen to be a tree near him at the time up which he could
climb.
With the energy of despair he let fly an arrow with all his force; but
the weak shaft glanced from the tapir's side without doing it the
slightest damage. Then Martin turned to fly, but at the same moment the
tapir did the same, to his great delight and surprise. It wheeled round
with a snort, and went off crashing through the stout under-wood as if
it had been grass, leaving a broad track behind it.
On another occasion he met with a formidable-looking but comparatively
harmless animal, called the great ant-eater. This remarkable creature
is about six feet in length, with very short legs and very long strong
claws; a short curly tail, and a sharp snout, out of which it thrusts a
long narrow tongue. It can roll itself up like a hedgehog, and when in
this position might be easily mistaken for a bundle of coarse hay. It
lives chiefly, if not entirely, upon ants.
When Martin discovered the great ant-eater, it was about to begin its
supper; so he watched it. The plain was covered with ant-hills,
somewhat pillar-like in shape. At the foot of one of these the animal
made an attack, tearing up earth and sticks with its enormously strong
claws, until it made a large hole in the hard materials, of which the
hill was composed. Into this hole it thrust its long tongue, and
immediately the ants swarmed upon it. The creature let its tongue rest
till it was completely covered over with thousands of ants, then it drew
it into its mouth and engulfed them all!
As Martin had no reason in the world for attempting to shoot the great
ant-eater, and as he was, moreover, by no means sure that he could kill
it if he were to try, he passed on quietly and left this curious animal
to finish its supper in peace.