A DIFFICULT ASCENT.--THE GOAT.--THE INDIAN GIRLS.--THE
TOBACCO-PLANT.--THE BULL-FIGHT.--GAME.--LUCIEN'S GUN.--OUR ENTRY INTO
THE WILDERNESS.
Our way led through nothing but scrub oaks, for all the larger trees had
gradually disappeared from the mountain-side, which had for some time
been cultivated by the Indians. The path was steep, rugged, and stony;
and seemed, at first, to defy any attempt to scale it. Notwithstanding
the measured pace at which we were walking, we were obliged to stop
every minute to recover our breath. Lucien followed us so eagerly that I
was obliged to check him several times. He was surprised at not seeing
any living creature, not even those beautiful golden flies which, in
Mexico, flutter round every bush. But the north wind was blowing, and
the sun was hidden behind the clouds, so that both the insects and birds
kept in the deepest recesses of their hiding-places. As we advanced, our
road became much steeper, and we were obliged to cling to the shrubs for
support. L'Encuerado, who was impeded by the weight of his load, pulled
himself up with his hands, so had hard work to keep his balance. Soon it
became impossible for him to go farther; but, fortunately, we had
foreseen ascents of this kind. So I gave the child into Sumichrast's
charge, for if he had been left to climb by himself, he would most
likely have rolled over and hurt himself against the stumps or sharp
rocks.
I made my way into a copse, and with my _machete_ I cut down a
moderately-sized branch, the end of which I sharpened to a point. Then,
going forward and unrolling a leathern thong, thirty feet in length, and
commonly called by us a _lasso_, I fastened it to the stake, which I
drove firmly into the ground. By means of this support, which served as
a sort of hand-rail, l'Encuerado could clamber up to me, thanks to the
strength of his wrists. Ten times this awkward job had to be repeated,
and the path, instead of getting better, became worse. We then shifted
our work, and I took charge of the load, while the tired Indian fixed
the _lasso_. I was just making my third ascent, when Sumichrast, who had
gone on before us to reconnoitre the ground, made his appearance above.
When he saw me stumbling and twisting about, falling now on my side, and
now on my knees, toiling to advance a single step, my companion burst
into a fit of laughter. I had then neither time nor will to do as he
did, and his ill-timed mirth vexed me. At last I caught hold of the
stake, bruised and exhausted, and ready to wish there was no such thing
as travelling. Sumichrast told us that we had scarcely three hundred
feet more to ascend, and shouldered the basket himself. Now that I was
a mere spectator, I could readily forgive him his fit of merriment.
Nothing, in fact, could be more grotesque than the contortions he went
through trying to keep his balance. L'Encuerado was the only one who
retained his countenance. As for Lucien, he seemed to feel the efforts
of Sumichrast as much as if they were his own.
"You see," I said to my son, "that in countries where there are no
beaten roads a walk is not always an easy matter."
At last, we got out of this difficult locality. While all this was going
on, Gringalet, gravely squatting down upon his haunches, seemed
perfectly amazed at our efforts. Pricking up his ears and winking his
eyes, he quietly surveyed us; no doubt secretly congratulating himself
upon being able to run and gambol easily in places where we,
less-suitably-constructed bipeds, found it difficult even to walk.
Here there were no trees to be seen. As on the evening before, we
traversed a granite surface soil which formed the ridge of the mountain;
but a sudden turn in the path led us to a plateau, on which stood a
rudely-built hut.
Three children ran away as we came near, and two lean dogs began to
prowl round Gringalet with any thing but friendly intentions. A goat,
which was quietly cropping the scanty grass, suddenly raised its head,
and, cutting several capers, ran with its head bent down, as if to butt
our little companion. I could not reach the spot in time to prevent this
unforeseen attack, nevertheless I shouted, in hopes of intimidating the
animal; but Gringalet, who was far more nimble than I, boldly faced the
enemy, and soon forced him to retreat.
"Weren't you afraid of him?" asked Sumichrast.
"Rather," answered Lucien, hanging down his head.
"Well, it did not prevent you facing the foe."
"If I had run away, the goat, who runs a great deal faster than I can,
would soon have overtaken me. I waited for him, so as to frighten him
with my stick, and, if possible, avoid his horns."
"You could not have acted more sensibly. At all events you've plenty of
coolness, and that is about the best quality a traveller can show."
"All right now, but in future I shall keep clear of goats. But I thought
they were afraid of men."
"Not always, as you were very near finding out to your cost. Perhaps,
however," continued Sumichrast, smiling, "your enemy did not look upon
you quite as a man; and, after all, I fancy he thought more of playing
with you than of hurting you, for he must be thoroughly accustomed to
the sight of children."
At this moment Gringalet came running up with his tail between his legs,
and with a most doleful look; he was closely pursued by all the dogs of
the plateau, who, instead of barking, were making a kind of howling
noise, common to those that are but half domesticated.
On hearing all this uproar, two Indian women came running towards us,
but stopped, abashed at our appearance.
The youngest of them, rather a pretty girl, wore nothing but a short
linen chemise, and a piece of blue woollen stuff fastened round her hips
by a wide band, ornamented with red threads. Her hair, which was plaited
and brought over her forehead, formed a sort of coronet. Her companion,
who was dressed in a similar way, wore, in addition, a long scarf, which
was fixed to her head, and fell round her like a nun's cloak.
"God bless you, Maria!" I said to the eldest. "Can you take us in for
one night?"
[Illustration: "On hearing the uproar, two Indian women came running
towards us."]
"I have nothing to offer you to eat, I am afraid."
"Perhaps you can sell us a fowl and some eggs."
"Well, I must see if my husband objects to guests."
"Surely your husband will not refuse the shelter of his roof to weary
travellers?"
She reflected for a moment, and then answered,
"No, he is a Christian! Come in and rest yourselves."
The Indian woman called to her children, who one after the other showed
their wild-looking heads peeping out from some hiding-place, and ordered
them to drive away the dogs.
It was not without some degree of pleasure we got rid of our travelling
gear, as we felt no ordinary amount of weariness, which was easily
accounted for by the exertion of our recent ascent. L'Encuerado, always
brisk, began to assist the housewife; he stirred up the fire, arranged
the plates, and looked to their being clean. The Indian woman then asked
him to go and draw some water from a spring about a hundred yards from
the hut; and off he went, led by the children of our hostess. His young
guides, completely naked, and their heads shaved, rode on bamboo-canes
as make-believe horses, and pranced along in front of him.
Except on the side we had just ascended, the plateau was entirely
surrounded by high mountains. The hut, which was built of planks and
covered with thatch, appeared very cleanly kept. Behind it extended a
small kitchen garden, in which fennel, the indispensable condiment in
Aztec cookery, grew in great abundance; in front, there was a large
tobacco plantation, and an inclosure where both goats and pigs lived on
good terms with each other. The situation appeared somewhat dull to us;
but in the tropics the absence of sunshine is sufficient to give a
sombre look to the most beautiful landscape.
Lucien wanted to pay a visit to the tobacco-field. The stems of this
plant are more than three feet high, covered with wide leaves of a
dark-green color. The flowers, some of which were pink and others a
yellowish hue, indicated two different species; their acrid smell was
any thing but pleasant. Lucien was not a little surprised to learn that
this beautiful _vegetable_ belonged to the same botanical family as the
potato, the tomato, the egg-plant, and the pimento.
"Among the ancient Aztecs," said Sumichrast, "tobacco was called
_pycietl_; it was the emblem of the goddess Cihua-cohuatl, or
woman-serpent.[E] In Mexican mythology, this divinity was supposed to be
the first mother of children; and, in the legend about her, the European
missionaries fancied that they recognized some features resembling the
sacred history of Eve. Up to the present time, the Indians, who have
renounced the errors of paganism and profess the Christian religion,
continue to make use of the plant consecrated to their ancient goddess,
as a remedy for the sting of venomous reptiles."
"Then that is why they cultivate tobacco," said Lucien, "for I know that
they seldom smoke."
"No, but they sell their crops of it to the Creoles, among whom smoking
is a universal habit. It is said that the word _tobacco_ comes from the
name of the island of Tabago, where the Spaniards first discovered it.
About the year 1560, it was introduced into France by Jean Nicot, who
gave it his own name; for _savants_ call this plant _nicotian_. It is a
certain fact that the modern Mexican Indians smoke hardly any thing but
cigars or cigarettes. As for pipes, they have not long known of the
existence of such things; and the works of certain romancers, who so
often describe the Aztecs as having the pipe of peace, war, or council
constantly in their mouths, are simply ridiculous. You may recollect
how astonished the French were, on their arrival here, to find they
could not procure any cut tobacco; while on the other hand the Indians
crowded to see the foreigners inhale the smoke of the plant from
instruments made of clay, wood, or porcelain."[F]
"I remember," cried Lucien, "that one day l'Encuerado took a pipe
belonging to an officer who was staying with papa and began to smoke it.
You should have seen what horrible faces he made."
"Well, what happened to him?" asked Sumichrast.
"The pipe made him sick, and then papa, who knew nothing about his
smoking, gave him some medicine; but l'Encuerado told me that the
medicine was not nearly so nasty as the pipe."
The culprit, who had just joined us, cast down his eyes at this tale
about him, and murmured in a sententious tone of voice, "Pipes are an
invention of the devil."[G]
Followed by my companions, I again drew near to the hut, and the master
came out to bid us welcome. Our hostess placed upon a mat an earthen
dish containing a fowl cooked with rice, and the Indian, his wife, and
his sister-in-law, offered to wait on us. Lucien invited the children to
partake of our repast; but they refused to sit down beside us. Towards
the conclusion of our dinner, one of them brought us half a dozen
bananas, which were most welcome; while we were drinking our coffee, the
little troop made up a game of hide-and-seek. To my great satisfaction,
I saw that, in spite of the long day's journey, Lucien joined in, and
ran and jumped about with as much energy as his play-mates.
At last the children got tired of this game, and, bringing a kid, had a
mock bull-fight. The animal, wonderfully well trained to the sport, ran
after the youngsters, and more than once succeeded in knocking them
down. When Lucien met this fate, Gringalet became furious and sprang
upon the pretty little creature; but the dog's young master got up in a
moment and soon quieted his protector's energy. We had noticed, ever
since we set out, that Gringalet always preferred to follow close to the
boy, and seemed to have taken upon himself the task of watching over his
safety.
Our host told us that he was born and also married in the village of
Tenejapa; but being enlisted for a soldier by force, he deserted and
took up his abode on this plateau. We were the first white men who had
paid him a visit for six years. His fields produced maize, beans, and
tobacco, which his wife and sister-in-law took twice a year to Orizava
to exchange for necessaries for housekeeping. He was as happy as
possible, and was never tired of praising the charms of forest and
plain. But his raptures were not required to convert us to his opinions.
Nightfall was accompanied by cold, to which we were but little
accustomed. The Indians lent us some mats; then we all wrapped ourselves
up, and were soon asleep, notwithstanding the primitiveness of our
couch.
About two in the morning I woke up numbed from the lowness of the
temperature; Lucien also was nearly frozen. I hastened to cover him up
with my _sarape_, for on these heights we were exposed to the north wind
blowing from the volcano of Citlatepetl, and the atmosphere would not
get warm again until sunrise. Sumichrast soon joined me; he had also
given up his covering to the child. I then set to work to look for some
small branches to light the fire; but our movements ultimately roused
up our host, and, thanks to him, we were soon able to sit down in front
of a powerful blaze. Still l'Encuerado, from force of habit, who was
hardly sheltered at all, was sleeping like a top. At last, aided by the
heat, sleep resumed its influence, and I dropped off again in slumber.
When I awoke, the sun was shining in a cloudless sky, and every body was
up. Sumichrast was inspecting the arms and ammunition, for from this day
forward we should have to provide our own subsistence. I was quite
surprised at the time I had been asleep; but a slight touch of lumbago
reminded me of yesterday's difficult ascent, which fully accounted for
my drowsiness. I must confess I felt much more inclined to go to bed
again than to continue our journey; but, as I was obliged to set a good
example, I began to help my companions in their preparations for
departure. I have already described the dress of Lucien and l'Encuerado;
Sumichrast's costume and mine also consisted of strong cloth trowsers,
and a blouse made of the same stuff. The weapons of each were a
revolver, a _machete_, a double-barrelled gun, and a game-bag filled
with necessaries. We duly examined the contents of the basket, which
l'Encuerado carried on his back by a strap fixed across his breast or
forehead. Sumichrast then took out a long parcel he had put into the
basket when we started, and unrolled the cloth which formed its first
covering. His smile and mysterious look quite puzzled us; at last he
drew from the paper a light fowling-piece, which he placed in Lucien's
hands.
The boy blushed and trembled with joy, and became quite pale with
anxiety. He hardly dared to believe that his fondest dream was thus
realized. He could not speak for pleasure, but threw himself into my
friend's arms. I was as much surprised as he was. I had often thought
of giving Lucien a gun; but I was so afraid of an accident that I had
decided not to do so.
"Oh, Chanito! I pity the poor tigers; what a number of them you will
kill!" exclaimed the old hunter. "What beautiful skins you will be able
to take home to mamma! Come, let me handle your gun; it looks as if it
was made on purpose for you. Oh! how I pity the poor tigers!"
And he began to dance about with the energy of delight.
[Illustration]
It was decided that the gun should always be loaded by us, and that
Lucien should only shoot under our directions. I also added that, at the
least infringement of these rules, the gun would be taken away, and the
little fellow well knew I would keep my word. In vain I advised him to
put back his gun into the basket; but this was almost too much to
expect, so I allowed him to carry it, which he did with great pride.
[Illustration: "Behind us opened a dark, narrow ravine, with
perpendicular sides."]
After a good breakfast, we regulated our compasses. Lucien said
good-bye to his little companions, and I thanked the Indian women for
all their attention to us. Our host, however, accompanied us to the
summit of the mountain.
There we found ourselves in a vast amphitheatre, commanded on all sides
by wooded ridges; at our feet stretched the plateau we had just crossed,
and far beneath us we caught indistinct glimpses of the plain below.
Behind us opened a dark, narrow ravine, with perpendicular sides, almost
like an immense wall. Above us was the pale blue sky, dotted over with
vultures.
On the verge of the forest our guide parted from us with regret, and
wished us a successful journey. Sumichrast loaded Lucien's gun, and told
him to fire it off as a salute on our entering the wilderness. The shot
was fired, the echoes reverberating in succession, each louder than the
last; then all was once more silent. After casting a last look over the
valley, I was the first to make my way into the forest. From this moment
we had only God's providence and our own exertions to trust to; for
every step we advanced only took us farther from the haunts of men.
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTES:
[E] In the Aztec language, _cihuatl_ signifies "woman," and _cohuatl_
signifies "serpent."
[F] The Indians that inhabit the vast plains to the north of Mexico all
smoke; from this, doubtless, arises the usual supposition that all
American Indians smoke.--ED.
[G] In giving utterance to this anathema, l'Encuerado was unknowingly
agreeing with James I., king of England, who published a work against
smokers.
[Illustration]