CHAPTER XXII
THE ESCAPE--ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS--FIGHT BETWEEN A JAGUAR AND ANALLIGATOR--MARTIN ENCOUNTERS STRANGE AND TERRIBLE CREATURES
Freedom can be fully appreciated only by those who have been for a longperiod deprived of liberty. It is impossible to comprehend the feelingsof joy that welled up in Martin's bosom as he clambered up the ruggedcliffs among which he had found shelter, and looked round upon thebeautiful valley, now lying in the shadow of the mountain range behindwhich the sun had just set. He sat down on a rock, regardless of the wetcondition of his clothes, and pondered long and earnestly over hisposition, which was still one of some danger; but a sensation oflight-hearted recklessness made the prospect before him seem very bright.He soon made up his mind what to do. The weather was extremely warm, sothat after wringing the water out of his linen clothes he experiencedlittle discomfort; but he felt that there would not only be discomfortbut no little danger in travelling in such a country without arms,covering, or provisions. He therefore determined on the bold expedient ofrevisiting the Indian village during the darkness of the night in orderto procure what he required. He ran great risk of being retaken, but hisnecessity was urgent, and he was aware that several families were absenton a hunting expedition at that time whose huts were pretty certain to beunoccupied.
Accordingly, when two or three hours of the night had passed, heclambered with much difficulty down the precipitous rock and reached thelevel plain, over which he quickly ran, and soon reached the outskirts ofthe village. The Indians were all asleep, and no sound disturbed thesolemn stillness of the night. Going stealthily towards a hut he peepedin at the open window, but could see and hear nothing. Just as he wasabout to enter, however, a long-drawn breath proved that it was occupied.He shrank hastily back into the deep shade of the bushes. In a fewminutes he recovered from the agitation into which he had been thrown andadvanced cautiously towards another hut. This one seemed to beuntenanted, so he opened the palm-leaf door gently and entered. No timewas to be lost now. He found an empty sack or bag, into which he hastilythrew as much farina as he could carry without inconvenience. Besidesthis, he appropriated a long knife; a small hatchet; a flint and steel,to enable him to make a fire; and a stout bow with a quiver full ofarrows. It was so dark that it was with difficulty he found these things.But as he was on the point of leaving he observed a white object in acorner. This turned out to be a light hammock, which he seized eagerly,and, rolling it up into a small bundle, placed it in the sack. He alsosought for, and fortunately found, an old straw-hat, which he put on.
Martin had now obtained all that he required, and was about to quit thehut when he became suddenly rooted to the spot with horror on observingthe dark countenance of an Indian gazing at him with distended eyeballsover the edge of a hammock. His eyes, unaccustomed to the darkness of theroom, had not at first observed that an Indian was sleeping there. He nowfelt that he was lost. The savage evidently knew him. Dreadful thoughtsflashed through his brain. He thought of the knife in his belt, and howeasily he could despatch the Indian in a moment as he lay; but then theidea of imbruing his hands in human blood seemed so awful that he couldnot bring himself to do it.
As he looked steadily at the savage he observed that his gaze was one ofintense horror, and it suddenly occurred to him that the Indian supposedhe was a ghost! Acting upon this supposition, Martin advanced his faceslowly towards that of the Indian, put on a dark frown, and stood for afew seconds without uttering a word. The savage shrank back and shudderedfrom head to foot. Then, with a noiseless step, Martin retreated slowlybackward towards the door and passed out like a spectre--never for amoment taking his eyes off those of the savage until he was lost indarkness. On gaining the forest he fled with a beating heart to hisformer retreat; but his fears were groundless, for the Indian firmlybelieved that Martin's spirit had visited his hut and carried awayprovisions for his journey to the land of spirits.
Without waiting to rest, Martin no sooner reached the scene of hisadventurous leap than he fastened his bag firmly on his shoulders andstruck across the valley in the direction of the blue mountains thathemmed it in. Four or five hours' hard walking brought him to their base,and long before the rising sun shone down upon his recent home he wasover the hills and far away, trudging onward with a weary foot, but witha light heart, in what he believed to be the direction of the east coastof Brazil. He did not dare to rest until the rugged peaks of the mountainrange were between him and the savages; but, when he had left these farbehind him, he halted about mid-day to breakfast and repose by the marginof a delightfully cool mountain stream.
"I'm safe now!" said Martin aloud, as he threw down his bundle beneath aspreading tree and commenced to prepare breakfast. "O! my friend Barney,I wish that you were here to keep me company." The solitary youth lookedround as if he half expected to see the rough visage and hear thegladsome voice of his friend; but no voice replied to his, and the onlyliving creature he saw was a large monkey, which peered inquisitivelyclown at him from among the branches of a neighbouring bush. Thisreminded him that he had left his pet Marmoset in the Indian village, anda feeling of deep self-reproach filled his heart In the haste and anxietyof his flight he had totally forgotten his little friend. But regret wasnow unavailing. Marmoset was lost to him for ever.
Having kindled a small fire, Martin kneaded a large quantity of farina inthe hollow of a smooth stone, and baked a number of flat cakes, whichwere soon fired and spread out upon the ground. While thus engaged, asnake of about six feet long and as thick as a man's arm glided past him.Martin started convulsively, for he had never seen one of the kindbefore, and he knew that the bite of some of the snakes is deadly.Fortunately his axe was at hand. Grasping it quickly, he killed thereptile with a single blow. Two or three mandioca cakes, a few wildfruits, and a draught of water from the stream, formed the wanderer'ssimple breakfast. After it was finished, he slung his hammock between twotrees, and jumping in, fell into a deep, untroubled slumber, in which hecontinued all that day and until daybreak the following morning.
After partaking of a hearty breakfast, Martin took up his bundle andresumed his travels. That day he descended into the level and woodedcountry that succeeded the mountain range; and that night he was obligedto encamp in a swampy place near a stagnant lake in which severalalligators were swimming, and where the mosquitoes were so numerous thathe found it absolutely impossible to sleep. At last, in despair, hesprang into the branches of the tree to which his hammock was slung andascended to the top. Here, to his satisfaction, he found that there werescarcely any mosquitoes, while a cool breeze fanned his fevered brow; sohe determined to spend the night in the tree.
By binding several branches together he formed a rude sort of couch, onwhich he lay down comfortably, placing his knife and bow beside him, andusing the hammock rolled up as a pillow. As the sun was setting, andwhile he leaned on his elbow looking down through the leaves with muchinterest at the alligators that gambolled in the reedy lake, hisattention was attracted to a slight rustling in the bushes near the footof the tree. Looking down, he perceived a large jaguar gliding throughthe underwood with cat-like stealth. Martin now observed that a hugealligator had crawled out of the lake, and was lying on the bank asleep afew yards from the margin. When the jaguar reached the edge of the bushesit paused, and then, with one tremendous spring, seized the alligator bythe soft part beneath its tail. The huge monster struggled for a fewseconds, endeavouring to reach the water, and then lay still, while thejaguar worried and tore at its tough hide with savage fury. Martin wasmuch surprised at the passive conduct of the alligator. That it could notturn its stiff body, so as to catch the jaguar in its jaws, did not,indeed, surprise him; but he wondered very much to see the great reptilesuffer pain so quietly. It seemed to be quite paralyzed. In a few minutesthe jaguar retired a short distance. Then the alligator made a rush forthe water; but the jaguar darted back and caught it again; and Martin nowsaw that the jaguar was actually playing with the alligator as a catplays with a mou
se before she kills it! During one of the cessations ofthe combat, if we may call it by that name, the alligator almost gainedthe water, and in the short struggle that ensued both animals rolled downthe bank and fell into the lake. The tables were now turned. The jaguarmade for the shore; but before it could reach it the alligator wheeledround, opened its tremendous jaws and caught its enemy by the middle.There was one loud splash in the water, as the alligator's powerful taildashed it into foam; and one awful roar of agony, which was cut suddenlyshort and stifled as the monster dived to the bottom with its prey; thenall was silent as the grave, and a few ripples on the surface were allthat remained to tell of the battle that had been fought there.
Martin remained motionless on the tree top, brooding over the fight whichhe had just witnessed, until the deepening shadows warned him that it wastime to seek repose. Turning on his side he laid his head on his pillow,while a soft breeze swayed the tree gently to and fro and rocked himsound asleep.
Thus, day after day, and week after week, did Martin Rattler wander alonethrough the great forests, sometimes pleasantly, and at other times withmore or less discomfort; subsisting on game which he shot with hisarrows, and on wild fruits. He met with many strange adventures by theway, which would fill numerous volumes were they to be written every one;but we must pass over many of these in silence that we may recount thosethat were most interesting.
One evening as he was walking through a very beautiful country, in whichwere numerous small lakes and streams, he was suddenly arrested by acrashing sound in the underwood, as if some large animal were comingtowards him; and he had barely time to fit an arrow to his bow when thebushes in front of him were thrust aside, and the most hideous monsterthat he had ever seen appeared before his eyes. It was a tapir; butMartin had never heard of or seen such creatures before, although thereare a good many in some parts of Brazil.
The tapir is a very large animal,--about five or six feet long and threeor four feet high. It is in appearance something between an elephant anda hog. Its nose is very long, and extends into a short proboscis; butthere is no finger at the end of it like that of the elephant. Itscolour is a deep brownish black, its tough hide is covered with a thinsprinkling of strong hairs, and its mane is thick and bristly. So thickis its hide that a bullet can scarcely penetrate it; and it can crushits way through thickets and bushes, however dense, without receiving ascratch. Although a very terrific animal to look at, it is fortunatelyof a very peaceable and timid disposition, so that it flees from dangerand is very quick in discovering the presence of an enemy. Sometimes itis attacked by the jaguar, which springs suddenly upon it and fastensits claws in its back; but the tapir's tough hide is not easily torn,and he gets rid of his enemy by bouncing into the tangled bushes andbursting through them, so that the jaguar is very soon _scraped_ off hisback! The tapir lives as much in the water as on the land, and delightsto wallow like a pig in muddy pools. It is, in fact, very similar inmany of its habits to the great hippopotamus of Africa, but is not quiteso large. It feeds entirely on vegetables, buds, fruits, and the tendershoots of trees, and always at night. During the day time it sleeps. TheIndians of Brazil are fond of its flesh, and they hunt it with spearsand poisoned arrows.
But Martin knew nothing of all this, and fully expected that the dreadfulcreature before him would attack and kill him; for, when he observed itscoarse, tough-looking hide, and thought of the slender arrows with whichhe was armed, he felt that he had no chance, and there did not happen tobe a tree near him at the time up which he could climb.
With the energy of despair he let fly an arrow with all his force; butthe weak shaft glanced from the tapir's side without doing it theslightest damage. Then Martin turned to fly, but at the same moment thetapir did the same, to his great delight and surprise. It wheeled roundwith a snort, and went off crashing through the stout underwood as if ithad been grass, leaving a broad track behind it.
On another occasion he met with a formidable-looking but comparativelyharmless animal, called the great ant-eater. This remarkable creature isabout six feet in length, with very short legs and very long strongclaws; a short curly tail, and a sharp snout, out of which it thrusts along narrow tongue. It can roll itself up like a hedgehog, and when inthis position might be easily mistaken for a bundle of coarse hay. Itlives chiefly if not entirely upon ants.
When Martin discovered the great ant-eater, it was about to begin itssupper; so he watched it. The plain was covered with ant-hills, somewhatpillar-like in shape. At the foot of one of these the animal made anattack, tearing up earth and sticks with its enormously strong claws,until it made a large hole in the hard materials of which the hill wascomposed. Into this hole it thrust its long tongue, and immediately theants swarmed upon it. The creature let its tongue rest till it wascompletely covered over with thousands of ants, then it drew it into itsmouth and engulfed them all!
As Martin had no reason in the world for attempting to shoot the greatant-eater, and as he was, moreover, by no means sure that he could killit if he were to try, he passed on quietly and left this curious animalto finish its supper in peace.