THE SWAMP MONSTER
A few joms after, I was informed by the Kohen that there was to be
another sacred hunt. At first I felt inclined to refuse, but on
learning that Almah was going, I resolved to go also; for Almah,
though generally mistress of her actions, had nevertheless certain
duties to perform, and among these was the necessity of accompanying
hunting-parties. I did not yet understand her position here, nor had I
heard from her yet how it was that she was so different from the rest
of them. That was all to be learned at a future time. For the present
I had to be satisfied with knowing that she belonged to a different
nation, who spoke a different language, and that all her thoughts and
feelings were totally different from those of the people among whom
she was living. She loved the light, she feared death, and she had
never been able in the slightest degree to reconcile herself to the
habits of these people. This I could readily understand, for to me it
seemed as though they lived in opposition to nature itself.
We went out into the daylight, and then I saw a sight which filled me
with amazement. I saw a flock of birds larger than even the opkuks.
They were called "opmahera." They seemed as tall as giraffes, and
their long legs indicated great powers of running. Their wings were
very short, and not adapted for flight. They were very tractable, and
were harnessed for riding in a peculiar way; lines like reins were
fastened to the wings, and the driver, who sat close by the neck,
guided the bird in this way. Each bird carried two men, but for Almah
and me there was a bird apiece. An iron prod was also taken by each
driver as a spur. I did not find out until afterward how to drive. At
that time the prospect of so novel a ride was such an exciting one
that I forgot everything else. The birds seemed quiet and docile. I
took it for granted that mine was well trained, and would go with the
others of his own accord. We all mounted by means of a stone platform
which stood by the pyramid, and soon were on our way.
The speed was amazing; the fastest race-horse at home is slow compared
with this. It was as swift as an ordinary railway train, if not more
so. For some minutes the novelty of my situation took away all other
thoughts, and I held the reins in my hands without knowing how to use
them. But this mattered not, for the well-trained bird kept on after
the others, while Almah on her bird was close behind me. The pace, as
I said, was tremendous, yet no easier motion can be imagined. The bird
bounded along with immense leaps, with wings outstretched, but its
feet touched the ground so lightly that the motion seemed almost equal
to flying. We did not confine ourselves to the roads, for the birds
were capable of going over any kind of country in a straight line. On
this occasion we passed over wide fields and rocky mountain ridges
and deep swamps and sand wastes at the same speed, until at length
we reached a vast forest of dense tree-ferns, where the whole band
stopped for a short time, after which we took up a new direction,
moving on more slowly. The forest grew up out of a swamp, which
extended as far as the eye could reach from the sea to the mountains.
Along the edge of this forest we went for some time, until at length
there came a rushing, crackling sound, as of something moving there
among the trees, crushing down everything in its progress. We halted,
and did not have to wait long; for soon, not far away, there emerged
from the thick forest a figure of incredible size and most hideous
aspect.
It looked like one of those fabled dragons such as may be seen in
pictures, but without wings. It was nearly a hundred feet in length,
with a stout body and a long tail, covered all over with impenetrable
scales. It hind-legs were rather longer than its fore-legs, and it
moved its huge body with ease and rapidity. Its feet were armed with
formidable claws. But its head was most terrific. It was a vast mass
of bone, with enormous eyes that glared like fire; its jaws opened to
the width of six or eight feet, and were furnished with rows of sharp
teeth, while at the extremity of its nose there was a tusk several
feet long, like the horn of a rhinoceros, curving backward. All this
I took in at the first glance, and the next instant the whole band
of hunters, with their usual recklessness, flung themselves upon the
monster.
For a short time all was the wildest confusion--an intermingling of
birds and men, with the writhing and roaring beast. With his huge
claws and his curved horn and his wide jaws he dealt death and
destruction all around; yet still the assailants kept at their work.
Many leaped down to the ground and rushed close up to the monster,
thrusting their lances into the softer and more unprotected parts
of his body; while others, guiding their birds with marvellous
dexterity, assailed him on all sides. The birds, too, were kept well
to their work; nor did they exhibit any fear. It was not until they
were wounded that they sought to fly. Still, the contest seemed too
unequal. The sacrifice of life was horrible. I saw men and birds
literally torn to pieces before my eyes. Nevertheless, the utter
fearlessness of the assailants confounded me. In spite of the
slaughter, fresh crowds rushed on. They clambered over his back, and
strove to drive their lances under his bony cuirass. In the midst of
them I saw the Kohen. By some means he had reached the animal's back,
and was crawling along, holding by the coarse shaggy mane. At length
he stopped, and with a sudden effort thrust his lance into the
monster's eye. The vast beast gave a low and terrible howl; his
immense tail went flying all about; in his pain he rolled over and
over, crushing underneath him in his awful struggles all who were
nearest. I could no longer be inactive. I raised my rifle, and as the
beast in his writhings exposed his belly I took aim at the soft flesh
just inside his left fore-leg, and fired both barrels.
At that instant my bird gave a wild, shrill scream and a vast bound
into the air, and then away it went like the wind--away, I know not
where. That first bound had nearly jerked me off; but I managed to
avoid this and now instinctively clung with all my might to the bird's
neck, still holding my rifle. The speed of the bird was twice as great
as it had been before--as the speed of a runaway horse surpasses
that of the same horse when trotting at his ordinary rate and under
control. I could scarcely make out where I was going. Rocks, hills,
swamps, fields, trees, sand, and sea all seemed to flash past in one
confused assemblage, and the only thought in my mind was that I was
being carried to some remote wilderness, to be flung there bruised and
maimed among the rocks, to perish helplessly. Every moment I expected
to be thrown, for the progress of the bird was not only inconceivably
swift, but it also gave immense leaps into the air; and it was only
its easy mode of lighting on the ground after each leap that saved me
from being hurled off. As it was, however, I clung instinctively to
the bird's neck, until at last it came to a stop so suddenly that my
hands slipped, and I fell to the ground.
I was senseless for I know not how long. When at last I revived I
found myself propped up against a bank, and Almah bathing my head with
cold water. Fortunately, I had received no hurt. In falling I had
struck on my head, but it was against the soft turf, and though I
was stunned, yet on regaining my senses no further inconvenience was
experienced. The presence of Almah was soon explained. The report of
the rifle had startled her bird also, which had bounded away in terror
like mine; but Almah understood how to guide him, and managed to keep
him after me, so as to be of assistance in case of need. She had been
close behind all the time, and had stopped when I fell, and come to
my assistance.
The place was a slope looking out upon an arm of the sea, and
apparently remote from human abode. The scenery was exquisitely
beautiful. A little distance off we saw the edge of the forest; the
open country was dotted with clumps of trees; on the other side of the
arm of the sea was an easy declivity covered with trees of luxuriant
foliage and vast dimensions; farther away on one side rose the icy
summits of impassable mountains; on the other side there extended
the blue expanse of the boundless sea. The spot where I lay was
over-shadowed by the dense foliage of a tree which was unlike anything
that I had ever seen, and seemed like some exaggerated grass; at our
feet a brook ran murmuring to the shore; in the air and all around
were innumerable birds.
The situation in which I found myself seemed inexpressibly sweet, and
all the more so from the gentle face of Almah. Would it not be well,
I thought, to remain here? Why should Almah go back to her repulsive
duties? Why should we return to those children of blood, who loved
death and darkness? Here we might pass our days together unmolested.
The genial climate would afford us warmth; we needed no shelter except
the trees, and as for food, there were the birds of the air in
innumerable flocks.
I proposed this to her; she smiled sadly. "You forget," said she,
"this season of light will not last much longer. In a few more joms
the dark season will begin, and then we should perish in a place like
this."
"Are there no caverns here?"
"Oh no. This country has no inhabitants. It is full of fierce wild
beasts. We should be destroyed before one jom."
"But must we go back?" said I. "You have a country. Where is it? See,
here are these birds. They are swift. They can carry us anywhere.
Come, let us fly, and you can return to your own country."
Almah shook her head. "These birds," said she, "cannot go over the
sea, or through these endless forests. My country can only be reached
by sea."
"Can we not hurry back, seize a boat, and go? I know how to sail over
the water without oars."
"We certainly might leave the country; but there is another
difficulty. The dark season is coming, and we should never be able
to find our way. Besides, the sea is full of monsters, and you and
I would perish."
"At any rate, let us try. I have my sepet-ram."
"We could never find our way."
"Only tell me," said I, "where it lies, and I will go by the stars."
"The trouble is," said she, "that even if we did succeed in reaching
my land, I should be sent back again; for I was sent here as a sacred
hostage, and I have been here four seasons."
But in the midst of this conversation a sound arrested our
attention--heavy, puffing, snorting sound, as of some living thing.
Hastily I started up, rifle in hand, and looked; and as I looked I
felt my nerves thrill with horror. There, close by the shore, I saw a
vast form--a living thing--full sixty feet in length. It had a body
like that of an elephant, the head of a crocodile, and enormous
glaring eyes. Its immense body was covered with impenetrable armor,
and was supported on legs long enough to allow it to run with great
speed. It differed in many respects from the monster of the swamp--the
legs being longer, the tail shorter and thinner, and its head and jaws
larger and longer. I shrank back, thinking of seizing Almah and
hiding. But I saw that she had already taken the alarm, and with more
presence of mind than I had she had hurried to the birds, who were
standing near, and had made them lie down. As I turned, she beckoned
to me without a word. I hurried to her. She told me to mount. I did so
at once; she did the same. Scarce had we mounted than the monster
perceived us, and with a terrible bellow came rushing toward us. Almah
drove her goad deep into her bird, which at once rose and went off
like the wind, and mine started to follow. The vast monster came on.
His roar sounded close behind, and I heard the clash of his tremendous
jaws; but the swift bird with a bound snatched me from his grasp, and
bore me far away out of his reach. Away I went like the wind. Almah
was ahead, looking back from time to time, and waving her hand
joyously. So we went on, returning on our course at a speed almost as
great as that with which we had come. By this time the novelty had in
part worn away, and the easy motion gave me confidence. I noticed that
we were travelling a wild, uninhabited, and rocky district by the
sea-side. Before me the country spread far away, interspersed with
groves, terminating in forests, and bounded in the far distance by
mountains. The country here was so rough that it seemed as if nothing
could pass over it except such creatures as these--the opmaheras.
At length we arrived at the spot which we had left--the scene of the
hunt. We could see it from afar, for the opmaheras stood quietly
around, and the men were busy elsewhere. As we drew nearer I saw the
vast body of the monster. They had succeeded in killing it, yet--oh
heavens, at what a cost! One half of all the party lay dead. The rest
were unharmed, and among these was the Kohen. He greeted me with a
melancholy smile. That melancholy smile, however, was not caused by
the sad fate of his brave companions, but, as I afterward learned,
simply and solely because he himself had not gained his death. When I
saw that there were no wounded, a dark suspicion came over me that the
wounded had again been put to death. I did not care to ask. The truth
was too terrible to hear, and I felt glad that accident had drawn me
away. It was all a dark and dreadful mystery. These people were the
most gentle, the most self-sacrificing, and the most generous in the
world; yet their strange and unnatural love of death made them capable
of endless atrocities. Life and light seemed to them as actual evils,
and death and darkness the only things worthy of regard.
Almah told me that they were going to bring the monster home, and had
sent for opkuks to drag it along. The dead were also to be fetched
back. There was no further necessity for us to remain, and so we
returned at once.
On the way, Almah said, "Do not use the sepet-ram again. You can do
no good with it. You must not make it common. Keep it. The time may
come when you will need it: you are not fond of death."
I shuddered.
"Never forget," she said, "that here death is considered the chief
blessing. It is useless for you to interfere in their ways. You cannot
change them."
Some more joms passed. The bodies were embalmed, and Almah had more
victims to crown with garlands in the horrible cheder nebilin.