IN THE FOREST.
THE party started out early the next morning. They carried very little
food with them; it would only be in their way when hunting, and they
trusted Mother Nature would supply what they needed as they went along.
Two of the men had guns; the others carried bows and arrows. Every one
was also supplied with a sharp spear and knife.
The first day was very quiet. Nothing was shot but a few birds and
bats. When night came they found themselves far from any stream; all
were thirsty and there was no water. What should they do? Ah! in plain
sight was a _liana_. It is called the "travellers' drink" because any
one, on breaking off a stalk, can obtain a cool draught. How refreshing
it was!
A fire was quickly made and the birds cooked for supper. They all lay
down to sleep. But, alas! that was not an easy thing to get. They had
no sooner stretched themselves by the fire than they were attacked. By
wild animals, you think at once. By no means. It was a small enemy,
fierce for their blood, which darted out from the grass and fastened
upon their bodies.
Multitudes of leeches have their home in the mountain forests of the
Philippines, and every native who travels there is armed with a small
rattan knife to cut them off as they seize upon him.
Alila's party knew that sleep was out of the question for this night.
As fast as our little brown brother was able to cut off one of the
bloodthirsty creatures, another took its place, till at last the
daylight came and the hunters could go on their way.
But what a wretched sight they were! Blood streamed from their arms and
legs, and they looked like the wounded survivors of a terrible battle.
When they came to a spring of water, they were glad enough to have a
chance to bathe.
Alila can tell you that was the worst night he ever passed in his life,
yet he hardly spoke a word of complaint through the long hours, and
in the morning laughed gaily with his friends when they gazed at each
other's sorry-looking faces.
Small creatures can make themselves as troublesome as big ones. Perhaps
you have already found this out when mosquitoes have found their way to
your bedside and waked you in the middle of the night.
After a hasty breakfast, the hunters were ready for a tramp, and they
soon found the tracks of wild boars. It was not long till they had
killed three of them with little trouble. They were about to make a
fire and roast some of the flesh for dinner, when a pitiful cry was
heard.
How it rang out through the forest! It sounded almost human. What could
it be? Alila's father jumped up and crept through the woods in the
direction of the sound. His boy followed close at his heels. They had
gone but a short distance when a strange sight met their eyes. High up
on the branch of a tree lay a huge boa-constrictor. He must have been a
hundred years old, he was so large.
His eyes were fastened upon a poor little deer in the coil of his tail,
which he had stretched down to trap his prey as it walked along. Ah!
the deer's eyes close and the piteous cry stops as he is clasped more
and more tightly in the clutch of the boa. And now the serpent raises
him from the ground, and swings him against the trunk of the tree; he
is thrown with such force he is instantly killed.
But what were Alila and his father doing all this time? They were too
late to save the deer, but the boa did not escape. As he was about
to descend the tree to feed upon his victim, his wicked eyes saw the
hunters for the first time. Out darted his forked tongue in anger, just
as two arrows entered his body and ended his life. The rest of the
party came up at this moment and helped cut away the skin of the boa.
It would be useful for making dagger sheaths.
Now indeed they would have a grand feast, for they could add the flesh
of the deer and boa to what they had already obtained.