fear, went on with her work as before. She first, however, carried out
a large measure of the _murumuru_ nuts, and gave them to the mule,
patting the creature upon the nose, and thanking her for the important
service she had rendered.
When Don Pablo and the rest returned, the adventure was, of course,
related; but from the description given of the animal, neither Don Pablo
nor Guapo believed it could have been the jaguar. It was too small for
that. Besides, a jaguar would not have been cowed and driven off by a
mule. He would more likely have killed the mule, and dragged its body
off with him across the river, or perhaps have broken into the house,
and done worse.
The animal was, no doubt, the "ocelot," which is also spotted, or rather
marked with the eye-like rosettes which distinguish the skin of the
jaguar. Indeed, there are quite a number of animals of the cat genus in
the forests of the Montana; some spotted like the leopard, others
striped as the tiger, and still others of uniform colour all over the
body. They are, of course, all preying animals, but none of them will
attack man, except the jaguar and the puma. Some of the others, when
brought to bay, will fight desperately, as would the common wild cat
under like circumstances; but the largest of them will leave man alone,
if unmolested themselves. Not so with the jaguar, who will attack
either man or beast, and put them to death, unless he be himself
overpowered.
The jaguar, or, as he is sometimes called, "ounce" (_Felis onca_), and
by most Spanish-Americans "tiger," is the largest and most ferocious of
all the American _Felidae_. He stands third in rank as to these
qualities--the lion and tiger of the Eastern continent taking precedence
of him. Specimens of the jaguar have been seen equal in size to the
Asiatic tiger; but the average size of the American animal is much less.
He is strong enough, however, to drag a dead horse or ox to his den--
often to a distance of a quarter of a mile--and this feat has been
repeatedly observed.
The jaguar is found throughout all the tropical countries of Spanish
America, and is oftener called tiger (_tigre_) than jaguar. This is a
misapplied name; for although he bears a considerable likeness to the
tiger, both in shape and habits, yet the markings of his skin are quite
different. The tiger is striated or striped, while the black on the
jaguar is in beautiful eye-like rosettes. The leopard is more like the
jaguar than any other creature; and the panther and cheetah of the
Eastern continent also resemble him. The markings of the jaguar, when
closely examined, differ from all of these. The spots on the animals of
the old world are simple spots or black rings, while those of the
American species are rings with a single spot in the middle, forming
_ocellae_, or eyes. Each, in fact, resembles a rosette.
Jaguars are not always of the same colour. Some have skins of an orange
yellow, and these are the most beautiful. Others are lighter-coloured;
and individuals have been killed that were nearly white. But there is a
"black jaguar," which is thought to be of a different species. It is
larger and fiercer than the other, and is found in the very hottest
parts of the Great Montana. Its skin is not quite jet-black, but of a
deep maroon brown; and upon close inspection, the spots upon it can be
seen of a pure black. This species is more dreaded by the inhabitants
of those countries than the other; and it is said always to attack man
wherever it may encounter him.
In the forests of South America, the jaguar reigns with undisputed sway.
All the other beasts fear, and fly from him. His roar produces terror
and confusion among the animated creation, and causes them to fly in
every direction. It is never heard by the Indian without some feeling
of fear,--and no wonder; for a year does not pass without a number of
these people falling victims to the savage ferocity of this animal.
There are those, however, among them who can deal single-handed with the
jaguar,--regular "jaguar-hunters" by profession,--who do not fear to
attack the fierce brute in his own haunts. They do not trust to
fire-arms, but to a sharp spear. Upon this they receive his attack,
transfixing the animal with unerring aim as he advances. Should they
fail in their first thrust, their situation is one of peril; yet all
hope is not lost. On their left arm they carry a sort of sheepskin
shield. This is held forward, and usually seized by the jaguar; and
while he is busy with it, the hunter gains time for a second effort,
which rarely fails to accomplish his purpose.
The jaguars are killed for many reasons. Their beautiful skins sell for
several dollars; besides, in many places a price is set upon their
heads, on account of their destructive habits. Thousands are destroyed
every year. For all this, they do not seem to diminish in numbers. The
introduction of the large mammalia into America has provided them with
increased resources; and in many places, where there are herds of
half-wild cattle, the number of the jaguars is said to be greater than
formerly. It is difficult for one, living in a country where such
fierce animals are unknown, to believe that they may have an influence
over man to such an extent as to prevent his settling in a particular
place; yet such is the fact. In many parts of South America, not only
plantations, but whole villages, have been abandoned solely from fear of
the jaguars!
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.
A FAMILY OF JAGUARS.
As yet none of the exiles had seen any tracks or indications of the
terrible jaguar, and Don Pablo began to believe that there were none in
that district of country. He was not allowed to remain much longer in
this belief, for an incident occurred shortly after proving that at
least one pair of these fierce animals was not far off.
It was near the end of the summer, and the cinchona-trees on the side of
the river on which stood the house had been all cut down and "barked."
It became necessary, therefore, to cross the stream in search of others.
Indeed, numerous "manchas" had been seen on the other side, and to
these the "cascarilleros" now turned their attention. They, of course,
reached them by crossing the tree-bridge, and then keeping up the stream
on the farther side.
For several days they had been at work in this new direction, and were
getting bark in by the hundredweight.
One day Guapo and Leon had gone by themselves--Guapo to fell the trees
as usual, and Leon, who was now an expert bark-peeler, to use the
scalping-knife. Don Pablo had remained at home, busy with work in the
great magazine, for there was much to do there in the packing and
storing.
An hour or two after, Guapo was seen to return alone. He had broken the
handle of his axe, and, having several spare ones at the house, he had
returned to get one. Leon had remained in the woods.
Now Leon had finished his operations on such trees as Guapo had already
cut down, and not finding a good seat near, had walked towards the
precipice which was farther up the hill, and sat down upon one of the
loose rocks at its base. Here he amused himself by watching the parrots
and toucans that were fluttering through the trees over his head.
He noticed that just by his side there was a large hole or cave in the
cliff. He could see to the farther end of it from where he sat, but
curiosity prompted him to step up to its mouth, and give it a closer
examination. On doing so, he heard a noise, not unlike the mew of a
cat. It evidently came from the cave, and only increased his curiosity
to look inside. He put his head to the entrance, and there, in a sort
of nest, upon the bottom of the cave, he perceived two creatures,
exactly like two spotted kittens, only larger. They were about half as
big as full-grown cats.
"_Two_ beauties!" said Leon to himself; "they are the kittens of some
wild cat--that's plain. Now we want a cat very much at home. If these
were brought up in the house, why shouldn't they do? I'll warrant
they'd be tame enough. I know mamma wants a cat. I've heard her say
so. I'll give her an agreeable surprise by taking this pair home.--The
beauties!"
Without another word Leon climbed up, and taking hold of the two spotted
animals, returned with them out of the cave. They were evidently very
young creatures, yet for all that they growled, and spat, and attempted
to scratch his hands; but Leon was not a boy to be frightened at
trifles, and after getting one under each arm, he set off in triumph,
intending to carry them direct to the house.
Guapo was in front of the house busy in new-hafting his axe. Don Pablo
was at his work in the store-room. Dona Isidora and the little Leona
were occupied with some affair in the porch. All were engaged one way
or other. Just then a voice sounded upon their ears, causing them all
to stop their work, and look abroad. It even brought Don Pablo out of
the store-house. It was the voice of Leon, who shouted from the other
side of the lake, where they all saw him standing, with a strange object
under each arm.
"Hola!" cried he. "Look, mamma! See what I've got! I've brought you a
couple of cats--beauties, ain't they?" And as he said this, he held the
two yellow bodies out before him.
Don Pablo turned pale, and even the coppery cheek of Guapo blanched at
the sight. Though at some distance, both knew at a glance what they
were. Cats, indeed! _They were the cubs of the jaguar_!
"My God!" cried Don Pablo, hoarse with affright. "My God! the boy will
be lost!" and as he spoke he swept the upper edge of the lake with an
anxious glance.
"Run, little master!" shouted Guapo. "Run for your life; make for the
bridge--for the bridge!"
Leon seemed astonished. He knew by the words of Guapo, and the earnest
gestures of the rest, that there was some danger:--but of what? Why was
he to run? He could not comprehend it. He hesitated, and might have
stayed longer on the spot, had not his father, seeing his indecision,
shouted out to him in a loud voice--
"Run, boy! run! The jaguars are after you!"
This speech enabled Leon to comprehend his situation for the first time,
and he immediately started off towards the bridge, running as fast as he
was able.
Don Pablo had not seen the jaguars when he spoke, but his words were
prophetic, and that prophecy was speedily verified. They had hardly
been uttered when two yellow bodies, dashing out of the brushwood,
appeared near the upper end of the lake. There was no mistaking what
they were. Their orange flanks and ocellated sides were sufficiently
characteristic. _They were jaguars_!
A few springs brought them to the edge of the water, and they were seen
to take the track over which Leon had just passed. They were following
by the scent--sometimes pausing--sometimes one passing the other--and
their waving tails and quick energetic movements showed that they were
furious and excited to the highest degree. Now they disappeared behind
the palm-trunks, and the next moment their shining bodies shot out again
like flashes of light.
Dona Isidora and the little Leona screamed with affright. Don Pablo
shouted words of encouragement in a hoarse voice. Guapo seized his
axe--which fortunately he had finished hafting--and ran towards the
bridge, along the water's edge. Don Pablo followed with his pistols,
which he had hastily got his hands upon.
For a short moment there was silence on both sides of the river. Guapo
was opposite Leon, both running. The stream narrowed as it approached
the ravine, and Leon and Guapo could see each other, and hear every word
distinctly. Guapo now cried out--
"Drop one! young master--_only one_!"
Leon heard, and, being a sharp boy, understood what was meant. Up to
this moment he had not thought of parting with his "cats"--in fact, it
was because he had _not_ thought of it. Now, however, at the voice of
Guapo, he flung one of them to the ground, without stopping to see where
it fell, he ran on, and in a few seconds again heard Guapo cry
out--"_Now the other_!"
Leon let the second slip from his grasp, and kept on for the bridge.
It was well he had dropped the cubs, else he would never have reached
that bridge. When the first one fell the jaguars were not twenty paces
behind him. They were almost in sight, but by good fortune the weeds
and underwood hid the pursued from the pursuers.
On reaching their young, the first that had been dropped, both stopped,
and appeared to lick and caress it. They remained by it but a moment.
One parted sooner than the other--the female it was, no doubt, in search
of her second offspring. Shortly after the other started also, and both
were again seen springing along the trail in pursuit. A few stretches
brought them to where the second cub lay, and here they again halted,
caressing this one as they had done the other.
Don Pablo and Dona Isidora, who saw all this from the other side, were
in hopes that having recovered their young, the jaguars might give over
the chase, and carry them off. But they were mistaken in this. The
American tiger is of a very different nature. Once enraged, he will
seek revenge with relentless pertinacity. It so proved. After delaying
a moment with the second cub, both left it, and sprang forward upon the
trail, which they knew had been taken by whoever had robbed them.
By this time Leon had gained the bridge--had crossed it--and was lifted
from its nearer end by Guapo. The latter scarce spoke a word--only
telling Leon to hurry toward the house. For himself he had other work
to do than run. The bridge he knew would be no protection. The jaguars
would cross over it like squirrels, and then--
Guapo reflected no further, but bending over the thick branch, attacked
it with his axe. His design was apparent at once. He was going to cut
it from the cliff!
He plied the axe with all his might. Every muscle in his body was at
play. Blow succeeded blow. The branch was already creaking, when, to
his horror, the foremost of the jaguars appeared in sight on the
opposite side! He was not discouraged. Again fell the axe--again and
again; the jaguar is upon the bank; it has sprung upon the root of the
tree! It pauses a moment--another blow of the axe--the jaguar bounds
upon the trunk--its claws rattle along the bark--it is midway over the
chasm! Another blow--the branch crackles--there is a crash--it parts
from the cliff--it is gone! Both tree and jaguar gone--down--down to
the sharp rocks of the foaming torrent!
A loud yell from the Indian announced his triumph. But it was not yet
complete. It was the female jaguar--the smaller one that had fallen.
The male still remained--where was he? Already upon the opposite brink
of the chasm!
He had dashed forward, just in time to see his mate disappearing into
the gulf below. He saw and seemed to comprehend, all that had passed.
His eyes glared with redoubled fury. There was vengeance in his look,
and determination in his attitude.
For a moment he surveyed the wide gulf that separated him from his
enemies. He seemed to measure the distance at a glance. His heart was
bold with rage and despair. He had lost his companion--his faithful
partner--his wife. Life was nothing now--he resolved upon revenge or
death!
He was seen to run a few paces back from the edge of the chasm, and then
turning suddenly, set his body for the spring.
It would have been beautiful to have beheld the play of his glistening
flanks at that moment had one been out of danger; but Guapo was not, and
he had no pleasure in the sight. Guapo stood upon the opposite brink,
axe in hand, ready to receive him.
The Indian had not long to wait. With one desperate bound the jaguar
launched his body into the air, and, like lightning, passed to the
opposite bank. His fore-feet only reached it, and his claws firmly
grasped the rock. The rest of his body hung over, clutching the cliff!
In a moment he would have sprung up, and then woe to his antagonist! but
he was not allowed that moment, for he had scarcely touched the rock
when the Indian leaped forward and struck at his head with the axe. The
blow was not well aimed, and although it stunned the jaguar, he still
clung to the cliff. In setting himself for a second blow, Guapo came
too near, and the next moment the great claws of the tiger were buried
in his foot!
It is difficult to tell what might have been the result. It would, no
doubt, have been different. Guapo would have been dragged over, and
that was certain death; but at this moment a hand was protruded between
Guapo's legs--the muzzle of a pistol was seen close to the head of the
jaguar--a loud crack rang through the ravine, and when the smoke cleared
away the jaguar was seen no more!
Guapo, with his foot badly lacerated, was drawn back from the cliff into
the arms of Don Pablo.
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.
THE RAFT.
This was the most exciting day that had been passed since their arrival
in the Montana; and considering the result it was well that the
occurrence had taken place. It had rid them of a pair of bad
neighbours--there would soon have been four--that some time or other
would have endangered the lives of some of the party. It was the
opinion of Guapo that they need not, at least for a while, have any fear
of jaguars. It was not likely there was another pair in that district;
although, from the roaming disposition of this animal, fresh ones might
soon make their appearance; and it was deemed best always to act as
though some were already in the neighbourhood.
The cubs were disposed of. It was not deemed advisable to bring them up
as "cats." After what had occurred that was voted, even by Leon, a
dangerous experiment--too dangerous to be attempted. They were still on
the other side of the river, and the bridge was now gone. If left to
themselves, no doubt they would have perished, as they were very young
things. Perhaps some carnivorous creature--wolf, coati, eagle, or
vulture--would have devoured them, or they might have been eaten up by
the ants. But this was not to be their fate. Guapo swam across, and
strangled them. Then tying them together, he suspended the pair over
his shoulders, and brought them with him to be exhibited as a curiosity.
Moreover Guapo had a design upon their skins.
It was not long after that a pleasanter pet than either of them was
found, and this was a beautiful little saimiri monkey, about the size of
a squirrel, which Guapo and Leon captured one day in the woods. They
heard a noise as they were passing along, and going up to the spot, saw
on the branch of a low tree nearly a dozen little monkeys all rolled up
together in a heap, with their tails warped round each other as if to
keep themselves warm! Nearly another dozen were running about, whining
and apparently trying to get in among the rest. Guapo and Leon made a
sudden rush upon them, and were able to capture three or four before the
creatures could free themselves; but only one lived, and that became a
great pet and favourite. It was a beautiful little creature--a true
saimiri, or squirrel monkey, called the "titi." Its silky fur was of a
rich olive-green colour; and its fine large eyes expressed fear or joy--
now filling with tears, and now brightening again--just like those of a
child.
During the summer our bark-gatherers continued their labour without
interruption, and on account of the great plenty of the cinchona-trees,
and their proximity to the house, they were enabled to accumulate a very
large store. They worked like bees.
Although this forest life was not without its pleasures and excitements,
yet it began to _grow_ very irksome both to Don Pablo and Dona Isidora.
Life in the wilderness, with its rude cares and rude enjoyments, may be
very pleasant for a while to those who seek it as amateurs, or to that
class who as colonists intend to make it a permanent thing. But neither
Don Pablo nor his wife had ever thought of colonisation. With them
their present industry was the result of accident and necessity. Their
tastes and longings were very different. They longed to return to
civilised life; and though the very misfortune which had driven them
forth into the wilderness had also guided them to an opportunity of
making a fortune, it is probable they would have passed it by, had they
not known that, penniless as they were, they would have fared still
worse in any city to which they might have gone. But before the first
year was out, they yearned very much to return to civilisation, and this
desire was very natural. But there were other reasons that influenced
them besides the mere _ennui_ of the wilderness. The lives of
themselves and their children were constantly in danger from jaguars,
pumas, and poisonous reptiles. Even man himself might at any moment
appear as their destroyer. As yet no Indian--not even a trace of one--
had been seen. But this was not strange. In the tangled and
impenetrable forests of the Great Montana two tribes of Indians may
reside for years within less than a league's distance of each other,
without either being aware of the other's existence! Scarcely any
intercourse is carried on, or excursions made, except by the rivers--for
they are the only roads--and where two of these run parallel, although
they may be only at a short distance from each other, people residing on
one may never think of crossing to the other.
Notwithstanding that no Indians had yet appeared to disturb them, there
was no certainty that these might not arrive any day, and treat them as
enemies. On this account, Don Pablo and Dona Isidora were never without
a feeling of uneasiness.
After mutual deliberation, therefore, they resolved not to prolong their
stay beyond the early part of spring, when they would carry out their
original design of building a _balza_ raft, and commit themselves to the
great river, which, according to all appearance, and to Guapo's
confident belief, flowed directly to the Amazon. Guapo had never either
descended or ascended it himself, and on their first arrival was not so
sure about its course; but after having gone down to its banks, and
examined its waters, his recollections revived, and he remembered many
accounts which he had heard of it from Indians of his own tribe. He had
no doubt but it was the same which, under the name of the "Purus," falls
into the Amazon between the mouths of the Madeira and the Coary.
Upon this stream, therefore, in a few months they would embark. But
these intervening months were not spent in idleness. Although the
season for bark-gathering was past, another source of industry presented
itself. The bottom lands of the great river were found to be covered
with a network of underwood, and among this underwood the principal
plant was a well-known briar, _Smilax officinalis_. This is the
creeping plant that yields the celebrated "sarsaparilla;" and Don Pablo,
having made an analysis of some roots, discovered it to be the most
valuable species--for it is to be remembered, that, like the cinchona, a
whole genus, or rather several genera, furnish the article of commerce.
The briar which produces the sarsaparilla is a tall creeping plant,
which throws out a large number of long wrinkled roots of a uniform
thickness, and about the size of a goose-quill. Nothing is required
further than digging and dragging these roots out of the ground, drying
them a while, and then binding them in bundles with a small "sipo," or
tough forest creeper. These bundles are made up, so as to render the
roots convenient for packing and transport.
During several months this branch of industry occupied Don Pablo, Guapo,
and Leon; so that when the time drew nigh for their departure, what with
the cinchona-bark, the sarsaparilla, and the vanilla-beans, there was
not an empty inch in the large store-house.
Guapo had not been all the time with them. For several days Guapo was
not to be seen at the house, nor anywhere around it. Where had Guapo
been all this time? I will tell you; Guapo _had been to the mountains_!
Yes, Don Pablo had sent him on an important mission, which he had
performed with secrecy and despatch. Don Pablo, before braving the
dangers of the vast journey he had projected, had still a lingering hope
that something might have happened--some change in the government of
Peru--perhaps a new Viceroy--that might enable him to return with safety
to his native land. To ascertain if such had taken place, Guapo had
made his journey to the mountains.