WILD DAHLIAS.--A PAINFUL MISADVENTURE.--THE EUPHORBIA PLANTS.--THE
WASHER RACCOON.--SURPRISED BY A TORRENT.--L'ENCUERADO TURNED
HAT-MAKER.--NEW METHOD FOR DRIVING OUT EVIL SPIRITS.--THE ANHINGA.
The next day, which was the nineteenth since our departure from Orizava,
we examined and compared our compasses, and the course of our journey
was changed. Hitherto we had proceeded in a north-easterly direction,
skirting the provinces of Puebla and Vera Cruz, but still without
leaving the Cordilleras, the numerous valleys and forests of which are
still unexplored. According to my calculations, and also those of
Sumichrast, we were then abreast with the province of Mexico, and we
agreed to move westward, as if going towards its capital.
"Why are we not to continue to keep straight on?" asked Lucien.
"Because our journey must have some limit," I replied. "Up to the
present time we have only traversed what is called the _Terre-Temperee_;
we shall now soon reach the _Terre-Froide_, and in three or four days we
shall again encounter habitations."
"Shall we see any people there?"
"I hope so; don't you like the idea of it?"
"I don't object to it; but it will seem so very strange to look again at
houses and men."
"Oh dear!" cried Sumichrast; "you have become a perfect little savage."
"Travelling about on foot is so amusing, that I should be glad if the
journey lasted a very long time--that is, if I had a chance now and then
of kissing mamma."
"Poor Sunbeam!" said Sumichrast; "I can't help thinking of next year
when you are at school. You will then often think of your present life."
"Oh papa, if you go out for another excursion during the holidays, I
hope you will take me with you, for you see I know how to walk."
"Before we think about another journey, let us first finish the present.
You seem to forget that the roughest part of our work is yet before us."
"Do you mean crossing the _Terre-Froide_?"
"No; we shall only take a glimpse at that; but in the _Terre-Chaude_, we
may meet with many trials."
"Bah!" said Lucien, kissing me; "the _Terre-Chaude_ is almost like home;
I shall behave so well, that you will be able to tell mamma that I am
quite a man."
The sun was up when I gave the order for starting. Sumichrast went so
far as to suggest that, after such a disturbed night, it would be better
to spend another day in our charming retreat.
"That's the way," I answered, "in which effeminacy gets the better of
energy, and cowardice of courage! Let us behave with more boldness, and
not be seduced into delaying our journey."
My companion accepted the reproof, and without further delay our party
were _en route_.
The stream pointed out to us the road we were to follow; along the edge
of it, sheltered by the bushes and enlivened by the birds which were
fluttering about the banks, we shaped our course. Sumichrast showed us
some dahlias--the flower which would be so perfect if it only possessed
a perfume. It is a perennial in Mexico, whence it has been imported into
Europe, and there grows to a height of about three feet, producing only
single flowers of a pale yellow color. By means of cultivation,
varieties have been obtained with double flowers of a hundred different
tints, which are such ornaments in our gardens. Many a Mexican, who
imports dahlias at a great expense, has not the least idea that the
plant is indigenous to his own soil.
The roots of the dahlia, salted and boiled, are eaten by the Indians; it
is a farinaceous food of a somewhat insipid taste. Certainly, the wild
potato is not much better; and who can tell whether cultivation, after
having enriched our gardens with its beautiful flowers, may not also
furnish our tables with the bulbs of this plant rendered more succulent
by horticulture.
The course of the stream described numerous windings, and the desire of
keeping on its margin frequently diverted us from our direct path; at
last it doubled round short to the left, and I bade farewell to it as if
to a friend, but, nevertheless, preserved a hope that its capricious
course would again bring it back in our path.
Our road now commenced to ascend, sometimes crossing glades or groves.
Suddenly a wide prairie opened out before us, and Sumichrast led the
way through its tall reeds. After a quarter of an hour's walking, our
guide began to sneeze; Lucien followed his example, then came
l'Encuerado's turn, and at last mine, and ultimately Gringalet's. These
repeated salvos were received with shouts of laughter and "God bless
you," often repeated; but a sharp tingling in the throat and eyes was
soon added to the sneezing.
"I say," cried my friend, "what does this joke mean?"
I looked round me more carefully, and discovered that we were surrounded
with euphorbia plants.
But this mishap soon became a most serious affair, as the sneezing
seemed as if it never would end, and our skin, eyes, and mouth commenced
to burn as if in a fever. On this occasion we did not care even to
construct a hut or light a fire, but were only too glad to lie down on
the bare cold ground, and seek in sleep some respite from our
sufferings.
Lucien, although very exhausted, endured his sufferings with such
courage as made me proud of him. Uncomplaining, he soon went off to
sleep; but to myself and companions such a luxury was refused.
At length, almost desperate, I woke up the Indian. Our faces had
continued to swell, but the Mistec, regarding me with a stupefied look,
simply grunted, and turned round to sleep again. However, it became
important that we should have a fire lit to enable us to prepare our
coffee: as for eating, I looked upon it as an impossible matter. With a
slowness and awkwardness which I could not overcome, I succeeded in
lighting some dry branches, and at length in making the water boil. I
then called my companions; they drank the refreshing beverage, without
showing any sign that they were conscious of the service I was rendering
them, for immediately afterwards they again went to sleep.
It was at least ten o'clock by the sun when Lucien set us the example of
rising. Suffering as we were, it was no use to think of resuming our
journey; so we made a virtue of necessity, and remained stationary until
we felt more fit to endure fatigue.
In the afternoon, Sumichrast and Lucien complained that they were
famished, which was an excellent symptom; so we took our guns, and,
following in Indian file, ascended the course of the stream.
We met with several pools of water, and then rocks strangely piled on
one another, which had slipped down from the mountains above. I climbed
the bank, feeling disposed to be content with the first game which
presented itself. However, I could see nothing but some toucans, far too
wary to get within gunshot of. At last a squirrel presented itself--a
poor pittance for five hungry stomachs.
Sumichrast, who had gone on in front, suddenly stopped, and signed to us
to be quiet. I glanced down the stream, and, near a hole full of water,
I discovered an agouara, or washer raccoon, squatted down, dipping its
paws into the water, and rubbing them together energetically.
L'Encuerado fired; it gave a bound and fell over. A lizard it was which
the animal was washing before devouring--a peculiar and inexplicable
habit to which it owes its name. It had a gray coat, and a tapering
muzzle like that of an opossum.
The agouara (_Procyon cancrivorus_) is frequently met with in Mexico. It
is closely allied to the Bear family, but is much smaller and more
active, and is both carnivorous and insectivorous. It climbs trees with
ease, and, whenever it takes up its abode near any habitation, makes
incessant raids upon poultry. It is tamed without difficulty, and will
run to meet its master, and seems to value his caresses; yet, like the
squirrel, which it resembles in its vivacity, it will suddenly bite
the hand of any one who feeds it. The flesh of this animal is white,
tender, and savory.
[Illustration: "Following in Indian file, we ascended the course of the
stream."]
L'Encuerado had dug up some dahlia roots, which he baked under the
ashes; but either this food was not exactly to our taste, or our still
irritated palates could not appreciate its delicacy.
Night came on, and the sky was full of gray clouds violently driven by
the wind, although just round us the trees remained quite motionless. It
was now too late to construct a hut, and we all stretched ourselves,
without other covering than the canopy of heaven, on beds of dry moss.
I woke up perished with cold; not a star appeared in the sky. Of the
uneasiness produced by the euphorbia plants, nothing now remained but a
sense of weight in the head and a slight inflammation in the throat. I
tried to go to sleep again, and fell at length into a kind of painful
torpor. I fancied I heard birds of prey crying, and a roaring noise in
the recesses of the forest. I got up with a view of driving away this
nightmare; but it was not a dream; the day was just breaking, and the
birds were welcoming its advent with many a clamorous note. A dull roar,
like that of a gale of wind rattling through a forest, resounded louder
and louder. I called Sumichrast and l'Encuerado; the latter at once
shouted out in horror--
"The torrent!"
Seizing Lucien, I carried him in my arms, while the Indian hastily
gathered together all our travelling gear that lay scattered around.
With powerful efforts I soon reached the top of the steep bank, followed
by my companions and Gringalet. Lucien, suddenly disturbed in his sleep,
scarcely had time to know what had happened. A furious uproar perfectly
deafened us, and a flood of yellowish water came rushing by; I saw one
of our coverings float off on its surface, and almost immediately, as if
impelled by some superhuman force, the rocks came rolling down, dashing
together under the force of the liquid avalanche.
One minute more and it would have been all over with us, or, at the very
least, we should have lost all our baggage and weapons, without which
our position must have been truly critical. As it was, our hats only had
sailed off in company with our covering; this loss much vexed us, for
none of us except l'Encuerado could walk with a bare head under the rays
of a tropical sun. We should have been somewhat consoled by meeting with
a palm-tree; but in the mean time, the Mistec, like all his countrymen,
knew well how to meet such an emergency. So we covered our heads with
the leaves of the water-lily, often used by the Indian women for a
parasol.
We knew by experience the rapidity with which these mountain torrents
will overflow. If it had been a month later during the rainy period, of
course we should not have exposed ourselves to the peril of camping in
the bed of a stream; for we had remarked the evening before that the sky
was obscured by gray clouds, and this ought to have put us on our guard.
The furious waves continued to bear down with them, without any effort,
immense masses of rock; but the body of the water, which did not
increase, showed us that it would ebb as rapidly as it had swollen.
L'Encuerado was obliged to content himself with some muddy water for
making our coffee; but if we had pretended to preserve all the
prejudices of civilized life, adieu to all our idea of traversing
Mexico. Besides this, we had a fresh disaster to grieve over; the
remainder of the raccoon, which we had kept for our breakfast, had been
lost in company with our bag of rice.
[Illustration: "The rocks came rolling down, dashing together under the
force of the liquid avalanche."]
We started again, not much enlivened by this series of misfortunes,
satisfied with nibbling for breakfast some morsels of _totopo_. All
our indisposition had now fortunately vanished, but we could not help
feeling some degree of ill-will against both the euphorbias and the
torrent. A long march, during which we several times left and rejoined
the course of the stream, brought us close to a hill at the foot of
which was a vast swamp. I gave the signal for halting. L'Encuerado in
our march had gathered some reeds, and set to work to plait us hats.
Leaving him with Lucien, Sumichrast and I went off in quest of game. On
our return from an unproductive ramble, I saw that my son was already
wearing a funnel-shaped head covering. L'Encuerado offered me a similar
one, which, as my friend remarked, gave me the look of a Chinese. After
having rested a short time, I thought about again looking for game; but
the uproar of the torrent seemed to have frightened away all animal
life.
This second ramble quite exhausted us, without producing any prey but a
tanager, far too small to afford food for so many. L'Encuerado and
Lucien, both out in the midst of the swamp, perceived us approaching.
The young gentleman came running towards us, holding his newly-made hat
in his hand; but, in his haste, he forgot that the bed of a marsh is
almost always slippery, and he fell flat on his face among some aquatic
plants. In one leap the Indian was close to him, and soon picked him up;
but, instead of complaining of his fall, Lucien looked up at the Indian
with a troubled face. The fact was, his hat held some fish he had caught
with his insect-net, and at least a third of them had disappeared from
his disaster.
"Oh dear! oh dear!" cried Sumichrast, who could not help smiling at the
piteous face of the young fisherman; "most decidedly, we are all
unfortunate."
This joke was taken in a serious light by l'Encuerado, who smote his
forehead as if suddenly struck by some idea.
"It is the genius of the cave!" he cried. "Ah! the scoundrel, after all
he owes me, and the precautions I took!"
"What precautions?" asked Lucien, surprised.
"I picked up seven white pebbles, and drew out a beautiful cross."
"What did the cross matter to him?"
"Matter to him! why, Chanito, he knows well that we are Christians, and
yet he bewitches us. Wait a bit, I'll match him."
And rearing himself up against the trunk of a tree, standing on his
head, with his legs in the air, l'Encuerado kicked about with all the
frenzy of one possessed. He fell sometimes to the right, and sometimes
to the left, but raised himself after every fall, and resumed his
clown-like attitude. Not one of us could keep a serious countenance
while looking at his contortions. Lucien laughed till he cried,
especially because the Indian, as if on purpose to render the scene more
comical, accompanied his gestures with invectives against the genius of
the cave and invocations to St. Joseph.
At last I told him to resume his natural position, and to keep quiet.
"Do you really think that I have done it enough?" he asked, addressing
me with imperturbable gravity.
"Yes," I replied; "from the way in which you have shaken him, I should
say he must have come out either through your mouth or ears."
"Then it's your turn now, Chanito!"
Lucien, delighted at having to execute this feat of skill, tried several
times to keep his balance while standing on his head; but overcome by
laughter, he was not able, so he fell, to rear himself up again. The
more l'Encuerado cried out to him, urging him to persevere, the louder
the boy laughed. The brave Indian, who was under the full belief that
an evil spirit must necessarily abandon a body placed upside down,
seized the legs of his young master and shook him violently as if he was
emptying a sack. Sumichrast at last put an end to this scene by
declaring that he was sure the spirit must have taken flight.
L'Encuerado then came up to my friend and proposed to assist him into
the same position as he had helped Lucien.
[Illustration: "L'Encuerado . . . set to work to plait us hats."]
"That's enough of it," I cried as soon as laughing allowed me to speak;
"M. Sumichrast and I have other means of expelling evil spirits."
L'Encuerado looked at me with wonder, more convinced than ever that my
power far exceeded that of the sorcerers of his own country.
We were now close to our fire. Lucien was gravely repeating the words
which l'Encuerado had addressed to the demon, when Gringalet commenced
howling. L'Encuerado had seized the poor animal by his hind legs, and
was violently shaking him, head downward.
"It's all for your good," said the Indian to the dog. "Can't you
understand that the evil spirit which you have in your body will be
certain to make you commit some folly?"
Lucien rushed to the assistance of his faithful friend, and at last
induced the Mistec to let him go. Not the least convinced of
l'Encuerado's kind intentions towards him, Gringalet seemed to bear
malice towards the Indian, and for three days was very shy of coming
near him.
After this scene the preparations for dinner occupied our attention. If
our guns had been more successful, we should have had fat to fry our
fish in. While we were deploring our ill-luck, I noticed a flock of
birds like ducks flying high up in the air; they made a wide circle and
settled down on the top of a tree. L'Encuerado fired at them, and one
fell. It was an _anhinga_, one of the most singular specimens of
web-footed birds that can be found anywhere. Represent to yourself an
enormous duck with a neck like a swan, a bill straight, tapering, and
longer than the head, webbed feet, and widely spreading and
well-feathered wings, and then know the _anhinga_. It dives and flies
with equal facility, can swim under the water and perch upon trees, the
highest of which it chooses for building its nest upon.
The flesh of the anhinga is not valuable, as it is hard and tough.
Perhaps a good appetite rendered me indulgent, but I found the flavor
very much like that of duck. The fat of this bird, carefully saved, was
used for frying our fish. The latter, I must confess, did not seem to us
so nice as the dark-colored meat of the anhinga. If it tasted rather
fishy, the fish themselves tasted muddy; on the whole, however, our
bill-of-fare was a tolerable one.
When night-fall came on, the trees stood out in bold relief against the
transparent sky, and l'Encuerado, delighted at thinking that he was now
unbewitched, gratified us with one of his unpublished canticles, which
materially helped to send us to sleep.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]