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 rock 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
clown 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 haste 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 daybreak 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 underwood 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 paralyzed. 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 underwood, 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 underwood 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.