AN ENCHANTING LAND--AN UNCOMFORTABLE BED AND A QUEER BREAKFAST--MANY
SURPRISES AND A FEW FRIGHTS, TOGETHER WITH A NOTABLE DISCOVERY
"I've woked in paradise!"
Such was the exclamation that aroused Martin Rattler on the morning after
his landing on the coast of South America. It was uttered by Barney
O'Flannagan, who lay at full length on his back, his head propped up by a
root of the tree under which they had slept, and his eyes staring right
before him with an expression of concentrated amazement. When Martin
opened his eyes, he too was struck dumb with surprise. And well might
they gaze with astonishment; for the last ray of departing daylight on
the night before had flickered over the open sea, and now the first gleam
of returning sunshine revealed to them the magnificent forests of Brazil.
Yes, well might they gaze and gaze again in boundless admiration; for
the tropical sun shone down on a scene of dazzling and luxuriant
vegetation, so resplendent that it seemed to them the realization of a
fairy tale. Plants and shrubs and flowers were there, of the most
curious and brilliant description, and of which they neither knew the
uses nor the names. Majestic trees were there, with foliage of every
shape and size and hue; some with stems twenty feet in circumference;
others more slender in form, straight and tall; and some twisted in a
bunch together and rising upwards like fluted pillars: a few had
buttresses, or natural planks, several feet broad, ranged all round
their trunks, as if to support them; while many bent gracefully beneath
the load of their clustering fruit and heavy foliage. Orange-trees with
their ripe fruit shone in the sunbeams like gold. Stately palms rose
above the surrounding trees and waved their feathery plumes in the air,
and bananas with broad enormous leaves rustled in the breeze and cast a
cool shadow on the ground.
Well might they gaze in great surprise; for all these curious and
beautiful trees were surrounded by and entwined in the embrace of
luxuriant and remarkable climbing plants. The parasitic vanilla with its
star-like blossoms crept up their trunks and along their branches, where
it hung in graceful festoons, or drooped back again almost to the ground.
So rich and numerous were these creepers, that in many cases they killed
the strong giants whom they embraced so lovingly. Some of them hung from
the tree-tops like stays from the masts of a ship, and many of them
mingled their brilliant flowers so closely with the leaves, that the
climbing-plants and their supporters could not be distinguished from each
other, and it seemed as though the trees themselves had become gigantic
flowering shrubs.
Birds, too, were there in myriads,--and such birds! Their feathers were
green and gold and scarlet and yellow and blue--fresh and bright and
brilliant as the sky beneath which they were nurtured. The great toucan,
with a beak nearly as big as his body, flew clumsily from stem to stem.
The tiny, delicate humming-birds, scarce larger than bees, fluttered from
flower to flower and spray to spray, like points of brilliant green. But
they were irritable, passionate little creatures, these lovely things,
and quarrelled with each other and fought like very wasps! Enormous
butterflies, with wings of deep metallic blue, shot past or hovered in
the air like gleams of light; and green paroquets swooped from tree to
tree and chattered joyfully over their morning meal.
Well might they gaze with wonder, and smile too with extreme merriment,
for monkeys stared at them from between the leaves with expressions of
undisguised amazement, and bounded away shrieking and chattering in
consternation, swinging from branch to branch with incredible speed, and
not scrupling to use each other's tails to swing by when occasion
offered. Some were big and red and ugly,--as ugly as you can possibly
imagine, with blue faces and fiercely grinning teeth; others were
delicately formed and sad of countenance, as if they were for ever
bewailing the loss of near and dear relations, and could by no means come
at consolation; and some were small and pretty, with faces no bigger than
a halfpenny. As a general rule, it seemed to Barney, the smaller the
monkey the longer the tail.
Yes, well might they gaze and gaze again in surprise and in excessive
admiration; and well might Barney O'Flannagan--under the circumstances,
with such sights and sounds around him, and the delightful odours of
myrtle trees arid orange blossoms and the Cape jessamine stealing up his
nostrils--deem himself the tenant of another world, and evince his
conviction of the fact in that memorable expression--"I've woked in
paradise!"
But Barney began to find "paradise" not quite so comfortable as it ought
to be; for when he tried to get up he found his bones pained and stiff
from sleeping in damp clothes; and moreover, his face was very much
swelled, owing to the myriads of mosquitoes which had supped of it during
the night.
"Arrah, then, _won't_ ye be done!" he cried, angrily, giving his face a
slap that killed at least two or three hundred of his tormentors. But
thousands more attacked him instantly, and he soon found out,--what every
one finds out sooner or later in hot climates,--that _patience_ is one of
the best remedies for mosquito bites. He also discovered shortly
afterwards that smoke is not a bad remedy, in connection with patience.
"What are we to have for breakfast, Barney?" inquired Martin as he rose
and yawned and stretched his limbs.
"Help yersilf to what ye plase," said Barney, with a polite bow, waving
his hand round him, as if the forest were his private property and Martin
Rattler his honoured guest.
"Well, I vote for oranges," said Martin, going towards a tree which was
laden with ripe fruit.
"An' I'll try plums, by way of variety," added his companion.
In a few minutes several kinds of fruit and nuts were gathered and
spread at the foot of the tree under which they had reposed. Then
Barney proceeded to kindle a fire,--not that he had anything to cook,
but he said it looked sociable-like, and the smoke would keep off the
flies. The operation, however, was by no means easy. Everything had
been soaked by the rain of the previous night, and a bit of dry grass
could scarcely be found. At length he procured a little; and by rubbing
it in the damp gunpowder which he had extracted from his pistol, and
drying it in the sun, he formed a sort of tinder that caught fire after
much persevering effort.
Some of the fruits they found to be good,--others bad. The good they
ate,--the bad they threw away. After their frugal fare they felt much
refreshed, and then began to talk of what they should do.
"We can't live here with parrots and monkeys, you know," said Martin; "we
must try to find a village or town of some sort; or get to the coast, and
then we shall perhaps meet with a ship."
"True, lad," replied Barney, knitting his brows and looking extremely
sagacious; "the fact is, since neither of us knows nothing about
anything, or the way to any place, my advice is to walk straight for'ard
till we come to something."
"So think I," replied Martin; "therefore the sooner we set off the
better."
Having no luggage to pack and no arrangements of any kind to make, the
two friends rose from their primitive breakfast-table, and walked away
straight before them into the forest.
All that day they travelled patiently forward, conversing pleasantly
about the various and wonderful trees, and flowers, and animals they met
with by the way; but no signs were discovered that indicated the presence
of man. Towards evening, however, they fell upon a track or
foot-path,--which discovery rejoiced them much; and here, before
proceeding further, they sat down to eat a little more fruit,--which,
indeed, they had done several times during the day. They walked nearly
thirty miles that day without seeing a human being; but they met with
many strange and beautiful birds and beasts,--some of which were of so
fierce an aspect that they would have been very glad to have had guns to
defend themselves with. Fortunately, however, all the animals seemed to
be much more afraid of them than they were of the animals; so they
travelled in safety. Several times during the course of the day they saw
snakes and serpents, which glided away into the jungle on their approach,
and could not be overtaken, although Barney made repeated darts at them,
intending to attack them with his cutlass; which assaults always proved
fruitless.
Once they were charged by a herd of peccaries,--a species of pig or wild
hog,--from which they escaped by jumping actively to one side; but the
peccaries turned and rushed at them again, and it was only by springing
up the branches of a neighbouring tree that they escaped their fury.
These peccaries are the fiercest and most dauntless animals in the
forests of Brazil. They do not know what fear is,--they will rush in the
face of anything; and, unlike all other animals, are quite indifferent to
the report of fire-arms. Their bodies are covered with long bristles,
resembling very much the quills of the porcupine.
As the evening drew on, the birds and beasts and the innumerable insects,
that had kept up a perpetual noise during the day, retired to rest; and
then the nocturnal animals began to creep out of their holes and go
about. Huge vampire-bats, one of which had given Barney such a fright the
night before, flew silently past them; and the wild howlings commenced
again. They now discovered that one of the most dismal of the howls
proceeded from a species of monkey: at which discovery Martin laughed
very much, and rallied his companion on being so easily frightened; but
Barney gladly joined in the laugh against himself, for, to say truth, he
felt quite relieved and light-hearted at discovering that his ghosts were
converted into bats and monkeys!
There was one roar, however, which, when they heard it ever and anon,
gave them considerable uneasiness.
"D'ye think there's lions in them parts?" inquired Barney, glancing with
an expression of regret at his empty pistol, and laying his hand on the
hilt of his cutlass.
"I think not," replied Martin, in a low tone of voice. "I have read in
my school geography that there are tigers of some sort,--jaguars, or
ounces, I think they are called,--but there are no--"
Martin's speech was cut short by a terrific roar, which rang through the
woods, and the next instant a magnificent jaguar, or South American
tiger, bounded on to the track a few yards in advance, and, wheeling
round, glared fiercely at the travellers. It seemed, in the uncertain
light, as if his eyes were two balls of living fire. Though not so large
as the royal Bengal tiger of India, this animal was nevertheless of
immense size, and had a very ferocious aspect. His roar was so sudden and
awful, and his appearance so unexpected, that the blood was sent
thrilling back into the hearts of the travellers, who stood rooted to the
spot, absolutely unable to move. This was the first large animal of the
cat kind that either of them had seen in all the terrible majesty of its
wild condition; and, for the first time, Martin and his friend felt that
awful sensation of dread that will assail even the bravest heart when a
new species of imminent danger is suddenly presented. It is said that no
animal can withstand the steady gaze of a human eye; and many travellers
in wild countries have proved this to be a fact. On the present occasion
our adventurers stared long and steadily at the wild creature before
them, from a mingled feeling of surprise and horror. In a few seconds the
jaguar showed signs of being disconcerted. It turned its head from side
to side slightly, and dropped its eyes, as if to avoid their gaze. Then
turning slowly and stealthily round, it sprang with a magnificent bound
into the jungle, and disappeared.
Both Martin and Barney heaved a deep sigh of relief.
"What a mercy it did not attack us!" said the former, wiping the cold
perspiration from his forehead. "We should have had no chance against
such a terrible beast with a cutlass, I fear."
"True, boy, true," replied his friend, gravely; "it would have been
little better than a penknife in the ribs o' sich a cratur. I niver
thought that it was in the power o' man or baste to put me in sich a
fright; but the longer we live we learn, boy."
Barney's disposition to make light of everything was thoroughly subdued
by this incident, and he felt none of his usual inclination to regard all
that he saw in the Brazilian forests with a comical eye. The danger they
had escaped was too real and terrible, and their almost unarmed condition
too serious, to be lightly esteemed. For the next hour or two he
continued to walk by Martin's side either in total silence, or in
earnest, grave conversation; but by degrees these feelings wore off, and
his buoyant spirits gradually returned.
The country over which they had passed during the day was of a mingled
character. At one time they traversed a portion of dark forest, heavy and
choked up with the dense and gigantic foliage peculiar to those countries
that lie near to the equator; then they emerged from this upon what to
their eyes seemed most beautiful scenery,--mingled plain and
woodland,--where the excessive brilliancy and beauty of the tropical
vegetation was brought to perfection by exposure to the light of the blue
sky and the warm rays of the sun. In such lovely spots they travelled
more slowly and rested more frequently, enjoying to the full the sight of
the gaily-coloured birds and insects that fluttered busily around them,
and the delicious perfume of the flowers that decked the ground and
clambered up the trees. At other times they came to plains, or _campos_,
as they are termed, where there were no trees at all, and few shrubs, and
where the grass was burned brown and dry by the sun. Over such they
hurried as quickly as they could; and fortunately, where they chanced to
travel, such places were neither numerous nor extensive, although in some
districts of Brazil there are campos hundreds of miles in extent.
A small stream meandered through the forest, and enabled them to refresh
themselves frequently; which was very fortunate, for the heat, especially
towards noon, became extremely intense, and they could not have existed
without water. So great, indeed, was the heat about mid-day, that, by
mutual consent, they resolved to seek the cool shade of a spreading tree,
and try to sleep if possible. At this time they learned, to their
surprise, that all animated nature did likewise, and sought repose at
noon. God had implanted in the breast of every bird and insect in that
mighty forest an instinct which taught it to rest and find refreshment
during the excessive heat of mid-day; so that, during the space of two or
three hours, not a thing with life was seen, and not a sound was heard.
Even the troublesome mosquitoes, so active at all other times, day and
night, were silent now. The change was very great and striking, and
difficult for those who have not observed it to comprehend. All the
forenoon, screams, and cries, and croaks, and grunts, and whistles, ring
out through the woods incessantly; while, if you listen attentively, you
hear the low, deep, and never-ending buzz and hum of millions upon
millions of insects, that dance in the air and creep on every leaf and
blade upon the ground. About noon all this is hushed. The hot rays of the
sun beat perpendicularly down upon what seems a vast untenanted solitude,
and not a single chirp breaks the death-like stillness of the great
forest, with the solitary exception of the metallic note of the uruponga,
or bell-bird, which seems to mount guard when all the rest of the world
has gone to sleep. As the afternoon approaches they all wake up,
refreshed by their siesta, active and lively as fairies, and ready for
another spell of work and another deep-toned noisy chorus.
The country through which our adventurers travelled, as evening
approached, became gradually more hilly, and their march consequently
more toilsome. They were just about to give up all thought of proceeding
further that night, when, on reaching the summit of a little hill, they
beheld a bright red light shining at a considerable distance in the
valley beyond. With light steps and hearts full of hope they descended
the hill and hastened towards it.