SAVED BY A MUSK-DEER.--STORIES OF WONDERFUL MOUNTAINS.
Relief came, but so imperceptibly that it stole over them. A perfume so
strong filled the air that the animals coughed, the great snake writhed,
and approached nearer to them; they were lost; no, the perfume had
entered the nostrils of the reptile; its movement was languid, another
second, and their deliverer appeared. It was a musk-deer, or roe-buck,
who had pursued the serpent till it had lost it in the fissure for a few
minutes only, when, recovering its trail, the deer had pursued it to the
platform, where, with one grip at its neck, it killed it, when, startled
at the cavalcade, it retraced its steps, not at all to the regret of
Nicholas, for, valuable as the musk animal was, his gratitude was too
great to have killed it. Having crossed the platform, Nicholas saw the
predicament of Chow, who was still employed in keeping the wolves at
bay. He had fired many arrows, yet had killed but three, while others
sat crouching, as if neither liking to recede or advance, waiting, in
fact, for the boy's back to be turned, before they made an attack; so
keeping poor Chow in one terrible position, not daring to turn his back
or to fire his last remaining arrow, for fear that it should miss. The
tables, however, were turned, when Nicholas, followed by the guide, both
with fixed bows, came to his rescue; one flight more from the three
bows, and the now terrified beasts scampered off, when Chow returned to
the other side of the platform with Nicholas, and the whole party
offered up thanks to Heaven for their miraculous preservation.
It is in the mountains of Pe-tche-Lee that the musk-deer is generally
found by hunters, who find a good market, not only for the musk, but the
body, which is in great esteem; and that I may account to you in a
reasonable manner for the providential escape of the travelers, I must
tell you that the flesh of serpents is the favorite and most common food
of this roe-buck, who kills them with ease, however large or numerous;
for no sooner does he come near than the serpent becomes overpowered
with the scent of the musk; and so well is this fact known to the
mountaineers, that when they go to cut wood or make charcoal in the
mountains, they carry about their persons a few grains of this musk, and
rest and sleep without fear from the venomous snakes, which might
otherwise destroy them.
The travelers resumed their journey, and continued till it became dark,
when they pitched their tents upon an open plain, lighted a circle of
fire around their encampment, and remained for the night; so, for at
least three months, they continued this tedious journey, keeping within
a few miles of the sea-coast, through mountains, plains and forests,
till they reached a small village, at the base of the mountain chain of
Lao-yang, where they were once more enabled to rest beneath the roof of
a house, without fear of traitors, for Lao-yang was the head-quarters of
the governor and general of the province, Woo-san-Kwei.
As they were passing the ridges of these mountains, the guide kept his
eyes fixed upon their green sides, as if in deep thought. "Surely my
brother can see nothing wonderful in these tree-growing hills," said
Chow.
"Thy mean servant was dreaming of his native province, of which these
mountains reminded him, although compared with those of my native
Chen-si they are dirt heaps."
"The mountains of my brother's province of Chen-si are doubtless great,
but they are mole-hills to those of Fokien, where thy unworthy brother
was born," said Chow.
"Why, what words are these? Does not the whole world know that Chen-si
has a mountain of the shape of a cock, and which sometimes crows so loud
that it may be heard for ten miles?"
"Fokien has a mountain which is so high that its summit can not be seen,
and foretells storms by moving its great body to and fro like a tree
with the wind."
"It is a dirt-hill compared to another in Chen-si, that at the sound of
a drum breathes forth fire and flame."
"Rat's flesh! thy mountain is nothing to the good hill of Fokien, which
makes thieves so giddy when they gaze upon it, that they drop down their
plunder and run for their lives," said Chow.
"That may be useful, my brother, but how can its qualities be compared
to another of my mountains, which has the power of conferring
immortality upon all who live thereon?" replied the guide.
"It is even of doubtful merit compared to the mountain of Fokien, which
has grown into the exact shape of the god Fo, and is so large that its
eyes are three miles round, and its nose ten miles long." The guide
having no other on his list, turned sulkily aside, and so ended this
conversation, which, I may tell you, did not spring from the
imaginations of either, for the assertions on both sides are accredited
by the people of China.
Delighted at the probability of their being near the end of their
journey, and as much so at the prospect of a few days' rest, you may
imagine the dismay of the party at being awakened early the next morning
by a great tumult. What could it mean? They were not long in doubt, for
the master of the inn came to them with tears in his eyes. "Arise, O
worthy strangers, this is an unfortunate day for us all; the thieves,
the rats of the ocean have landed," said he.
"What words are these, O worthy friend?" said Nicholas, jumping to his
feet.
"The Emperor Li is marching a great army to beseige Lao-yang, where the
great Woo-san-Kwei is encamped; but far worse, the sea wasps have
landed within a day's journey, and are scouring the country, joined by
the rogues and thieves of the province, and the people are flying with
what goods they can collect to the places of refuge; if the noble
stranger is wise he will follow," said the man, leaving the room to make
preparation for the departure of himself and family.
Of the places of refuge, of which the man spoke, there were many in the
province of Leao-tong. Some were in the open plains, encompassed by
strong walls, and entrenched ditches of great depth; others were erected
upon the summits of mountain crags, and approachable only by great
ladders, or secret steps in the rock.
Fearing for the safety of the princess, Nicholas lost no time in
securing the aid of the innkeeper, who, for a handsome present, and in
compassion for the ladies, offered to secure them a safe asylum. So when
the greater portion of the terrified inhabitants of the little hamlet
had fled to their different places of refuge, taking with them the bulk
of their property, the innkeeper, placing his wife and daughter in a
cart, led the way through a defile of the mountain, and many times was
he stopped by his flying neighbors, who implored of him to seek a safer
place than the open mountains, where the rogues could so easily follow.
Keeping steadily along the ridge, while they were in sight, the last had
no sooner disappeared than he turned through a great cleft, just large
enough for the cart and camel to pass, when, pointing to a crag which
hung over the summit, at a great height, he said, "The rogues will not
reach us there."
"Are we birds, that we can fly?" said Chow, with astonishment.
When they had proceeded some distance through the opening, they came to
another and narrower cleft, cut out of its sides, to pass through which
they were compelled to unharness the mules and camel, when they entered
a wide, open space, like a courtyard.
"Even now we want wings, my brother," said Chow, shuddering, as he gazed
upward at the great height.
"Our wings are here," said the man, turning aside what appeared to be a
huge block of rock, but was only an ingenious imitation, when before
them there was a flight of steps, steep, and so narrow, that they looked
as if the ascent would squeeze a fat man a foot taller.
However, pleased at the discovery of such a place of refuge, they did
not stop to examine it, but passed onward; the princess first, and the
other women followed by the men, who carried articles of food, fuel, or
raiment with them. Having reached the uppermost step, they crept through
a hole large enough only for one person, and found themselves in one
large room, the roof of which was indeed the summit of the rock. In the
walls were small loopholes, from which could be seen many miles of
country; there was also a large space in one side for a fire, which was
immediately made use of by Chow, who had carried the fuel. Then the
guide was sent to fetch other matters, after which they all sat down
upon their mats, and partook of hot tea and rice cakes.
"Truly this is a wonderful place," said Nicholas, who, although he knew
that places of refuge were common in all the frontier provinces, had no
notion of their real strength and security.
"See," said the man, pointing to some huge stones near the entrance, and
some heavy bars of iron hanging upon the walls, "should the dogs
discover our retreat, they may be crushed as small as tea-dust."
"Truly they could but starve us out."
"Not so, noble youth," said the man pointing to a massive slab of rock;
and adding, "This is a door and leads to another part of the mountain."
"Truly our ancestors were wise."
"Necessity made them so, O youth; for two thousand years this border
province has been invaded at intervals by the Tartar barbarians."
When night came on, the men of the party descended to the cavern
beneath, the women kept to the turret, and were rocked to sleep by the
roaring wind, which brought to them the flame, smoke, and sparks, from
below. They, however, were secure, although the enraged rogues had made
a bonfire of their village--and they slept.