IN THE CARPATHIANS
"I feel as free as a bird!" Jonitza could not help exclaiming when they
had actually started with their flocks for the Carpathian mountains.
Like his friend, he was dressed in typical shepherd costume, consisting
of a coarse white linen shirt and trousers, a long mantle of very heavy
wool, and a straight round sheepskin cap. His very shoes were the same,
for the boys had fashioned both pair together. They were made of pieces
of goatskin that had been soaked in water until soft, gathered into
pleats by means of thongs over the ankles, while other bits of thong
held them securely in place.
They had a big flock of sheep under their charge, for besides those
belonging to Nicolaia's father they were to herd those belonging to the
richest man in that neighborhood. Besides the sheep, two intelligent
wolf dogs belonging to the neighbor went with them, as well as a
donkey, to be used later to carry the packs of cheese and milk.
It was high time for the boys to start, for the other shepherds had
gone, and the hot Roumanian summer was beginning to be felt.
Although Nicolaia had already spent two summers on the mountains this
was the first time that he was in charge of so large a flock. In
consequence he shared some of Jonitza's excitement. There was another
reason why this summer might prove a notable one for him. It was
probably his last experience of the kind, for his parents had decided
to have him apprenticed that autumn to his uncle, a cabinet maker in
the city of Bukurest, and apprenticeships in Roumania are for six years.
It was a hard climb for the boys. At first as they made their way
upward they occasionally passed one-room shanties, each shared by an
entire family and all the domestic animals. At the last one of these
they stopped to ask for a drink of water. The door was open and inside
they could see the scanty furniture--a rude table, a bench, a stove,
and a cot covered with the skins of wild beasts. A fierce looking man
answered their call and handed them the water with so surly an air that
Nicolaia, who was accustomed to the great hospitality of the section
where he lived, felt a mingling of amazement and indignation. There
was no garden of any kind around this house, but there was a wealth of
wild flowers. Yellow foxgloves, gladiolas, and wild honeysuckle seemed
determined to make the place a thing of beauty.
Just at noon, near one of the little streams that constantly crossed
their path, they came upon a small band of the gypsies that are as
numerous in Roumania as in Hungary. By a small fire over which a kettle
hung, sat two women. A short distance from them lay a dark-skinned lad,
with matted hair, while leaning against a giant beech on the other
side, was a young man playing a weird air that made one think of a
mountain storm, on a crude violin.
From this wayside camp, the path wound around and around until at last
it suddenly branched into two parts. Nicolaia stopped at this point
perplexed. "I do not remember this," he said, as he chose the broader
looking of the two roads. Soon, however, he saw the mistake he made in
doing so. What he had taken for a path was the channel of a mountain
torrent. It ended in a steep abyss, down which some of the sheep had
already scrambled.
The boys spent fully half an hour of the hardest kind of work before
they got these sheep back. When, shortly after, they came to a grassy
valley, both, panting hard, threw themselves under a tree.
"This is where we'll camp for the night," said Nicolaia, "now that we
have all the sheep together." As he spoke, he unpacked the supper of
cold meat, onions, and _mamaliga_ that they had brought with them. They
also helped themselves to a drink of sheep's milk, which is richer and
thicker than cow's and of quite a different flavor.
The sun was already low, and when it sank from sight, darkness followed
very soon. Quickly wrapping themselves in their mantles, the boys lay
down beside their sheep. So strenuous had the day been, that hardly had
they exchanged a few sentences than both were fast asleep.
The next day, after an early breakfast, they were again on their way.
The scenery around was grandly wild. Enormous birch and oak-trees
towered on both sides of the narrow path, while lime-trees gave forth
the honeyed sweetness of their blossoms. Here and there a precipice
would yawn on one side of the pathway. No homes of any kind were to be
seen.
The afternoon was far advanced when they reached another valley which
was to form their headquarters for the summer. Several of the shepherds
who shared this section noted their arrival and sent a welcome to them
on their _boutchoums_, long pipes of cherry wood which can be heard for
a great distance. In the Middle Ages, Roumanians used the _boutchoums_
to proclaim war to the troops.
Nicolaia at once led Jonitza to a sort of cave formed of large, loose
stones. "This," he said, "is the store-house of six or eight of us who
herd in this vicinity."
The next morning the work began in earnest. Some of it was splendid
training. Each day Nicolaia and Jonitza had to creep along the crags
with the flocks. Sometimes the footing was very insecure, so it
was no wonder that at the end of the first day Jonitza was covered
with bruises from his many falls. "I'm as stiff as a board, too,"
he confided to Nicolaia, as they lay down near each other to sleep.
But, by the end of the week, the stiffness was entirely gone, and
Jonitza could manage to keep his footing on the rocks even better than
Nicolaia. By that time, too, he had learned the call that would make
the sheep clinging to the steep mountainsides stop eating, look up, and
then come scrambling to him.
The donkey had been let loose as soon as the valley was reached and got
into all kinds of scrapes from his dislike to being alone. Sometimes
when he found that he couldn't follow the sheep, he would stand on a
bowlder and bray loudly as if proclaiming to an unsympathetic world his
loneliness.
Sometimes the report would spread that wild animals had been seen
prowling near. This meant extra watchfulness on the part of the
shepherds. But whether there was reason for any especial alarm or not,
every night each shepherd wrapped himself in his sheepskin or woolen
mantle and lay down by his flock ready to spring up at the least sign
of danger.