CHAPTER II.
I AM LOST IN THE FOREST--MY SITUATION AND FEELINGS DESCRIBED.
"Existence may be borne, and the deep root Of life and sufferance make its firm abode In bare and desolate bosoms: mute The camel labours with the heaviest load, And the wolf dies in silence. Not bestow'd In vain should such examples be; if they-- Things of ignoble or of savage mood-- Endure and shrink not, we of nobler clay May temper it to bear; it is but for a day."
In arranging our watch for the night every precaution was taken toguard against intrusion; then most of the party composed themselves forsleep; indeed, the previous day had been one of peculiar fatigue anddisappointment--opiates much less injurious than those issued from adruggist's shop. I alone, and for the first time, became restlessafter the approach of night--usually having fallen asleep as soon as Ihad eaten my supper,--and became insensible to the busy hum of night,which in tropical countries is very noisy. I lay down with theadventure of the snake on my mind, my reflections on which kept meawake till the nocturnal insects of the wood were all in full chorus,and the reptiles began to move. Up to this hour I had no idea--sosoundly had I hitherto slept--that the night was as rife with soundsand animated nature as the day; differing not in their variety but onlyin their peculiar kinds.
[Sidenote: Fireflies]
As I have in another place, under the head of a natural day in theforest, spoken of this hour, it will be unnecessary for me to describeit in this place; suffice it to say, that my ear being once engaged inattending to the succession of sounds which addressed it, sleep, forthe night, became hopeless. About midnight I suddenly sprang to nayfeet with the surprise of being surrounded, as I thought, with flakesof fire, or rather with similar lights to those emitted by a jet of gasin the centre of glass drops. Finding myself uninjured in the midst ofmyriads of these dancing lights, I moved forward, as they moved, toexamine the phenomenon. They were fireflies, whose light would haveenabled me to see the hour by a watch. They suddenly, however, left mein darkness, and that as rapidly as if they had really been gas-lightsextinguished by the turning of the stop-cock.
Pausing for some minutes, and censuring my own conduct for having movedfrom the spot of our bivouac, my attention was again attracted bysounds of something in pain, close to my feet; it was evidently a bird,and I stooped with a view of taking it up, when the note proceeded frommy right, and then from the left, "Crek-crek-crek!" Whether I wasambitious to capture the bird, or whether I was moved by feelings ofcompassion I know not, I acted on the impulse, and continued to turnfrom side to side till I had advanced some distance in the underwood ina zig-zag direction. At length, being vexed at my disappointment, Ilost my temper, and rushed forward again with renewed determination totake the wounded bird, which was always at my feet but never in my hand.
He who does not command his temper can scarcely fail to do wrong; andnever was indiscretion perhaps more severely punished than in my case.
[Sidenote: Bewildered in the wood]
I had committed an unpardonable act of imprudence in suffering mycuriosity regarding the light emitted by the firefly to lead me oneyard from the bivouac; but afterwards to lose my presence of mind insuch a situation and at such an hour, in the mere attempt to possess awounded bird, was an act of puerility inexcusable in a boy many yearsmy junior. Need I inform the reader that I was the dupe of a watchfulparent, or perhaps there were two of them, who, with a view ofprotecting their young ones, beguiled me from the spot where they werebeing reared. The bird was a species of quail, which, like the ploverin England, will pretend to be lame, to draw stragglers from itshiding-place. When the cry of the quail ceased, without doubt I hadbeen led a sufficient distance to place her progeny out of danger; Iwas now enshrouded in all but utter darkness, and then bean to shoutout to my uncle John, who was on watch, as loudly and as frequently asthe power of my lungs enabled me; but there was no response. Theaphorism says, "Do not halloo till you are out of the wood;" and trulyI might have spared my lungs, for calling was of no avail. Errors andblunders generally run in sequences; had I remained on the spot when Ifound myself first lost, the probability is that I should, when themorning dawned, have been near enough to my friends to have beendiscovered. But no! having been guilty of one act of folly, I mustrepair it by committing a second. My impatience impelled me to make aneffort to retrace my steps; while a moment's reflection might haveshown me, that as there was but one road back, so there were many whichmight lead me farther into trouble.
The remainder of this night was spent in exhausting my strength in vainand useless efforts to retrace my steps; and ere the sun rose, I was sofatigued and hoarse as to abandon every hope of making myself heard.Exhausted nature alone brought conviction of the fruitlessness of suchefforts. I sat down on a blasted tree, and there relieved my harassedand affrighted spirits by a flood of tears, the shedding of which didindeed bring alleviation; for previously I felt as if my heart wasbursting. A heavy load of grief, however, still pressed with a leadenweight on my mind; but as the heart lightened, the reflective powersbegan to operate, and the full sense of my desolation was presented tomy view. I was horror-stricken and paralysed; but as these paroxysmspassed away, I gradually brought my mind to contemplate calmly myisolated situation.
[Sidenote: First sensation of solitude]
I first reflected on the inestimable value of parental affection, theblessings conferred on us by friends, the pleasures of social life, andthe advantages mankind derive by forming communities. At that momentthere was no sacrifice I would not have made to have been restored tomy family, and become again entitled to all these advantages. Out ofthis comparative state of calmness, I was roused by murmuring soundswhich my excited imagination converted into human voices. Oh, how myheart bounded, and with what intensity did the ear strain itself tocatch assurance that there was truth in its first impression. But theorgan had prejudged, and was not readily open to conviction. Itherefore proceeded, with what haste my weary limbs would permit, toexercise the sense of sight. Alas! it was but the murmuring of waters,a gentle confluence of which was precipitated over an elevated rock ofstone.
It was impossible to conceive a more enchanting scene than that whichnow met my anxious eye. Through several ravines the water, pouringover moss-grown stones, fell in miniature cascades, with a musicalmurmur, over rocks shaded by low trees, and grey with variegated mossesand the elegant maiden's hair. Large trunks of trees, thrown down bythe hand of time, lay covered with fungi waved with various hues. Thescene was altogether such as might for a time engage the attention andabstract the mind of one plunged into the abyss of grief. I was deeplyimpressed with its beauty, and it powerfully excited sensations ofdelight; but as I continued to contemplate it, a sense of lonelinesscrept over me; there was no one near to hear me exclaim, "Howexquisitely enchanting! how sublime! yet how soft and harmonizing is itto the feelings."
Turning from this scene I found my grief considerably modified in itsintensity; and I began now to look on my case only as that of a lostchild in society, whom the parents would be certain of finding ondiligent search.
"God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb," and in a thousand mysteriousways prepares the minds of his creatures to meet the burdens they arecalled upon to bear. Of this truth I was early convinced. Had thenight of my first day's loneliness closed on me in the fullconsciousness of my desolation and self-dependence for preservation, itis impossible to say what dreadful effects might have been wrought onthe mind of one so young, and so tenderly brought up. But it wasordered otherwise. The want of sleep the previous night, together withagonised moments of distress, and fears which returned with redoubledforce as the day progressed and no relief came, all contributed so muchto the exhaustion of my frame, that long ere the curtains of night weredrawn over the forest, I involuntarily fell into a profound sleep,unconscious at what hour, or where I had lain myself. I was thusspared those feelings of dread which, if night had overtaken my wakingmoments, might have overshadowed my
reason while I was watching thefinal departure of daylight.
When I awoke the next morning, it was broad day; and nothing, whilememory retains her seat, can obliterate or weaken the impressions Ireceived on opening my eyes. There was presented to my view the mostmagnificent scene perhaps ever beheld in this world of nature'sproductions. For a time I imagined myself dreaming of fairy-land.Before me, as I reclined on a mossy bed of green herbage, as soft aseider-down, there was an opening in the wood, shaped like anamphitheatre, with the sun's rays throwing a flood of light into it.Trees rich with foliage and blossoms waved like a galaxy ofparti-coloured flags or banners at a jubilee of nature; brilliantcolours, varied in endless hues, all beautifully harmonising, so thateach was seen without any being predominant. Here arose uprightflowers on stupendous branches, towering aloft as if aspiring to reachthe sun; there others hung pendulously, as if seeking to hidethemselves amidst the rich foliage that cradled their birth, and wereanxious in their modest delicacy, to avoid the god of day. Birds ofever-varied plumage, sizes, and habits, were congregated in immensenumbers, forming an orchestra of thousands of vocalists, as if met tocelebrate the hour of creation.
A small glassy lake in the centre of the glade, peopled withwater-fowl, served the songsters for a grace-cup, each quitting thesprays to dip its beak into it, and again resume its perch to pourforth a torrent of musical notes. I know not how long I might havelain rapt with delight, had not some husks fallen on my face, androused me. I have reason to think that I was pelted by monkeys, whosejealousy at the appearance of a stranger in their territories hadaroused their indignation.
[Sidenote: The nut-hatch in the gum tree]
Entranced as I had been by the scene, the grosser appetite admonishedme that food was necessary for the sustenance of the body; I had nottasted it for upwards of twenty-four hours, and the demands of thestomach now became imperative. Without allowing myself time toreflect, the horror of starvation presented itself to my imagination,and I was again relapsing into despondency, when I saw several smallbirds running up and down the trunk of a large tree, in a spiralcourse; their movement was so rapid, that I could not distinguishwhether their heads or tails were uppermost. Curious to obtain anearer view of them, I advanced, and observed that they frequentlytapped the bark with their beaks, and then inserted them into theinterstices; this led me to examine the tree more closely, when Idiscovered large masses of gum protruding from the bark. Thisdescription of bird is named the nuthatch. They were in search ofinsects and their eggs, not of the gum. I however filled my pocketwith it, and putting piece after piece into my mouth, as it dissolved,it allayed for the present the cravings of hunger.
Frequently when distant dreaded danger is more nearly approached, ourfears vanish, and it often happens that a supposed coming evil turnsout to be a benefit. At all times, however, the mind is soonfamiliarised to those dangers that partake of the inevitable. The veryworst had now passed away from me--the first night's sleep alone in theforest. I was safe, unhurt, refreshed, and even cheerful: perhapsbecause I was still full of the hope of being sought for and found bymy father and friends.
It was the will of Divine Providence that I should for several weekscherish this hope; nor did I abandon the flattering solace till I hadbecome fully initiated into the ways of providing for myself. Indeed,I may affirm that hope never left me--hope, if not of meeting directlywith my friends, of emancipating myself from the intricacies of theforest. Hope, Memory, and Imagination, three lovely sisters, were mycompanions, and even in the wilds of a forest,
"Hope enchanted, smiled, and waved her golden hair."
Memory, a visionary slumber, with half-closed eyes, was frequentlydispelled by the hard necessity there was to be up and stirring forimmediate self-preservation. Imagination came with lamp-like eyes, abright and bold beauty, seating me at one bound or flight in the midstof my family, enjoying all the comforts of civilized life, throwing meinto the arms of my mother, indulging in her warm embrace. Remorsewould then supervene--remorse for the pain and anguish I had occasionedmy fond and worthy parents, and for the misery my waywardness hadbrought upon myself.
[Sidenote: Efforts to escape]
My first meal, as I have stated, when left to cater for myself,consisted of gum, of which I had a store in my pocket. As soon,therefore, as I had satisfied myself with the surrounding objects ofadmiration, I thought of making another effort to regain the spot whereI had left my parents: it was a vain hope, but I pursued it throughoutthe day, during which I must have travelled many miles. In the courseof my peregrinations, I found abundance of fruit and nuts, which laystrewed in my way. Late in the day, I met with a mass of thebush-rope, and, ignorant of its abundance, I at once jumped to theconclusion that I had arrived at the identical spot which our party hadbefore passed. This barrier, as it is designated, to my view wasconsiderably extended; and then my heart, after being elevated withhope, again sunk within me. Still, however, disinclined to relinquishhope, my only solace, I soon persuaded myself that I might not, on theformer occasion, have accurately surveyed it; and I resolved, as nightwas fast approaching, to remain on the spot till the following morning,and from thence to make a fresh start, to find, if possible, the trackin which the party were travelling.
In social life, provident thoughts rarely trouble a youth of thirteenyears of age; his parents, or others, think for him, and generallyevery night provide a bed for his resting-place. Such had beenpreviously my case; the reader will, therefore, not be surprised that,up to this moment, I had not bestowed a thought on how I was to passthe ensuing night in security. I was, however, now fairly inductedinto the school of hard necessity; and as the day was fast waning, Ihad no time to lose. Acting on impulse, I commenced climbing thebush-rope, intending there to make my bed, but the dread of fallingcame over me, and checked my resolution. I then thought of a hollowtree, many of which I had seen in the course of my perambulations.Following this suggestion of the mind, I immediately began a search forone, and fortunately met with it on the spot. Night was, however,setting in so rapidly, that I had no time to be nice in my choice.
[Sidenote: The jaguar]
The tree that seemed most to invite me to enter into its interior waspartly uprooted, leaning its head towards the earth, so that I couldrest in a sloping position; but thinking the opening of the decayedpart too wide for perfect security, I stripped off the bark on thereverse side, of which to form a shutter, or loose door, which I mightpull towards the opening when fairly ensconced within the hollow.Having thus prepared my bed, I instinctively cast a look round, as anundefinable sense of danger crept over me; the first movement broughtmy eyes in contact with those of a large jaguar, the tiger of thatcountry. He was standing upright, about eight yards distant,apparently surveying me from head to foot. I was paralyzed with fear,and remained fixed to the spot; the animal gave me a second and thirdlook, then took two or three bounds, and was out of sight in aninstant. It is to this moment my fixed opinion, one confirmed bysubsequent experience, that I owe my life to the passive manner inwhich I stood, and which was occasioned by fright; the slightestmovement on my part would have occasioned alarm in the jaguar, andproved fatal.
With regard to the jaguar's prowess, he is little less formidable thanthe Bengal tiger: cows and young bulls he destroys with ease andavidity; but the horse is his favourite prey. All these large animalshe kills by leaping on their backs, placing one paw upon their head,another on the muzzle, and thus contriving, in a moment, to break theneck of his victim. The jaguar, although as ferocious as the tiger,rarely attacks man unprovoked, or unless very hungry; but in general hefinds no scarcity of food in the regions in which I was located.
I now debated with myself whether I should enter the tree, foolishlyimagining that the animal designed to take me asleep. At length thegloominess of the night enshrouded me in darkness, and left me noalternative but to spring into my cabin, and pull the pieces of barkbefore the aperture. I will not attempt to describe the fearfultrepida
tion in which I was placed: the darkness of the night renderedthe hollow of the tree like a tomb, and I viewed it as a coffin; everymovement of a twig was, to my imagination, the jaguar removing mybarricade with an intention of clawing me out for prey. The scene wasrendered more horrible by the contrast with that of the morning, towhich the mind would revert, in spite of surrounding horrors--one wasthe reality of the fabled Elysium, the other that of the Tartareanfields. Just as I had thought I had now experienced the acme ofterrors, my fright was augmented by something fluttering round my head,the noise from which seemed as if an animal was struggling todisentangle itself from a snare. Shakspere, describing the effects offright, speaks of its causing
"Each particular hair to stand on end, Like quills upon the fretful porcupine."
I will not affirm that the hairs of my head rose to that height, but Imay safely aver that no mortal had ever more cause for exhibiting allthe known symptoms of extreme fright. In a second or two after I heardthe fluttering, I received repeated blows on the head and face,indubitable proofs that I had a quarrelsome fellow lodger. Present andimmediate dangers chase all others. I kicked away my temporaryshutter; but before I could make my exit I felt, by the motion of theair, that a living thing had passed me in rapid flight.
[Sidenote: The terrors of night in the forest]
When the sharer of my tenement had flown, I began to consider that itmust have been some night-bird; and as the jaguar was still uppermostin my thoughts, I lost no time in repossessing myself of my lodging.Worn out as I now again was with the fatigues of the day and theterrors of the night, after a time I was dropping to sleep, when I wasonce more roused by the growl of the jaguar, as if he had just seizedhis prey, and half the beasts of the forest, from the noise there was,had collected to contend and fight for the carnage. A short intervalelapsed, and then the growling changed gradually into death-groanings.I was now in the midst of a scene of horror and darkness that may wellbe said to elude the power of verbal description. Only a few hourspreviously my mind had been harmonized by the soft and elegant forms ofnature's richest beauties, under a clear blue sky. How changed was nowthe scene! how deformed and disfigured was the aspect! It was atransition from Paradise to Erebus; environed by all the real andconceivable monsters in nature. I had before been alarmed--I nowabandoned myself to the one sensation of unmitigated despair, theextremity of which was so intense, that it is a miracle reason held herplace, or that I survived to write this narrative.
Indeed, nothing but the turn my thoughts took at this crisis could havepreserved me. I had already undergone all the horrors of an agonizingand protracted death, and was well nigh insensible to grief or pain,when, providentially, in the last extremity, I was inwardly admonishedto appeal to my God. And now, with suppliant accents and upraisedhands, I prayed to Heaven for a blessing, for short I still thought wasthe space between life and death. Praying with fervency of soul, Igradually became inspired with confidence; my mind became more tranquiland fitter for calm consideration. It occurred to me, notwithstandingthe horrible din of noises around, that I was still unhurt; that if thejaguar had really selected me for his prey, he would have seized mewhen within his reach, and not have restrained his appetite for themere gratification of tearing me from the hollow of a tree. Then, inreference to the sharer of my apartment, I began to look on myself asthe real aggressor. Had I not ejected some native of the forest, whosenatural home it was, both by right and possession; had I not mostunwarrantably intruded on his privacy, and frightened an inoffensivemember of the sylvan community.
Thus, through the medium of prayer, was I at once enabled and taughthow to face danger; and whilst looking it steadfastly in thecountenance, to ascertain correctly its magnitude, and banishchimerical fears. That I was surrounded with danger, I was stillconscious; but now I offered up thanks to God for preserving me in themidst of them; for having directed me to a place of security, andprovided me with a strong tower, where I might almost defy enemies.Thus recovering my self-possession, I began really to enjoy theinterior of the tree as a very comfortable resting-place and a completesnuggery. Very soon after this state of mind was brought about, I fellasleep, and awoke refreshed and tranquil. Morning was announced to myglad eyes by lines of light passing from the lofty trees, scintillatingthrough the holes of my worm-eaten shutter--lines of light which weredelicately drawn by the golden fingers of Phoebus, the most famed ofartists. A very considerable portion of the sufferings of mankind havetheir source in ignorance: nearly all that I encountered, even fromthis memorable night to the hour of my emancipation from the forest,was the result of my want of experience. Had I known that the noiseswhich had disturbed my rest were but the imitations of the red monkey,I might have slept in quietude. These animals assemble, and at timesamuse themselves throughout the night by making the most horriblenoises, more especially mimicking the growlings and roarings of themore ferocious animals. I say amuse themselves; but at the same time Imay remark that all sounds given out by quadrupeds, birds, or reptiles,are designed to effect some of nature's especial purposes. Some, fortheir own protection; others, to caution weaker animals againstapproaching danger.
[Sidenote: Monkey tricks]
The gift and propensity the red monkey has of imitating the beasts ofprey, may deter some enemy from attacking him in the dark; for it isobserved they cease their mocking habits when daylight appears. Theymay also warn the timid animals when others of a formidable nature andferocious appetite are in their vicinity.
The jaguar, as we have said, was in the immediate neighbourhood thatnight. Among the general community of the monkey tribes, morning andevening are periods they generally select to settle their publicaffairs, for the noises they make at these times are absolutelystunning, and to strangers very alarming. The forest is their citadel,where, mounted on lofty trees waving in the breeze, they confabulate,and, as naturalists have often described, arm themselves with sticksand stones, and in conscious independence defy all intruders.
The red monkey, however, is the most pugnacious of the whole species;and it was some months before I was permitted to walk the woods inpeace, for these animals frequently assailed me with a stick or astone. Policy led me to take all their insults patiently; and in theend, I imagine, they passed an act of naturalization, for I wasultimately permitted to range the forest without molestation.
I once witnessed a peculiar instance of their tenaciousness in regardto their territory. An European boat was passing down a river on theside of a wood, when, on a signal being given by one of these animals,others crowded to the spot in such numbers as literally to cover thetrees, bending with their weight the branches to the water's edge.
At first they appeared as if amused with the sight of the movement ofthe rowers; then deeming them intruders, they commenced a generalpelting, discharging showers of stones and broken sticks. The peoplein the boats fired; when the monkeys pelted more furiously than before,and though numbers fell wounded, or dead, still they continued thecontest till the boats passed beyond their domain.
I now entered on the third day of my sylvan probation, and upon thewhole, felt more self-possession than I had any right to expect, underall the circumstances of my forlorn case. This day, like all others,waned with a quick and silent foot, while I again rambled round theimmediate locality of my resting-place, fearing I might, if I strayedfar away, be constrained to face the perils of a night in the open air.
[Sidenote: The blood-sucker]
This night I took possession of my lodging in good time, and, as Ithought, carefully fenced myself with an impregnable barrier; and, as Ithought so, it was the same as if it had been a high stone-wall, for itremoved my perturbation, and occasioned me to sleep soundly. When Iawoke the following morning, I was surprised to find my stocking mattedwith coagulated blood; I hastened to a rill of water, where I had theday before previously allayed my thirst, to draw it off and cleanse thefoot. To my utter astonishment and dismay, I discovered that my shoewas in every part stain
ed with blood, and that the toes and the sole ofthe right foot were stiff with coagulum.
Divesting myself of the covering of my foot, I observed a small woundon the instep, not unlike the mark made by a leech. Imagining that Ihad been bitten by some formidable insect, such as I had seen in thecourse of our journey, when I had washed myself and recovered myfright, I hastened back to scrape out the interior of my chamber with astick. In performing this work I disturbed myriads of small insectswith which I had rested, but nothing that could account for the bite onmy foot. Pleased, however, at having discovered the necessity therewas for cleanliness in my apartment. I was resolved to give it athorough scouring; and for this purpose thrust the stick up a hollowarm of the tree above my head, when out flew an extraordinary largebat. It was some satisfaction to become acquainted with those who arelikely to become the sharers of your lodging, and I had no doubt thebat was the animal that flew against my face when endeavouring to setout the previous evening on his usual nocturnal rambles.
Still I remained in a state of ignorance as to the cause of the woundin my foot. It requires much study and considerable experience, evento ascertain the causes of only a few effects in the phenomena ofnature's workshop. Unwilling to leave the uninformed reader in doubt,not only in this particular instance, but in numerous others that willbe met with in the course of this narrative, I shall anticipate, as itwere, my own subsequent experience, and explain, when I can, the causesof certain effects that occurred to me while living alone in theforest. It was a species of bat, named by naturalists the vampire,that I had ejected, and he it was who had bled me so freely in the foot.
It is remarkable that this bloodsucker, when once he has fastened on ananimal, is allowed to satiate his appetite unmolested, as its victimsall remain quiet and unresisting during the time he makes his meal. Itis said that vampires flap their wings and produce a cooling sensationthat lulls their prey to sleep while they suck their fill.
In the instance of myself, I had not awoke the whole night, and wasperfectly unconscious of the attack, until morning; but, as I havealready said, I was in nature's great school, and soon learnt that, asin the moral world, so it is in the woods, there is more to dread frominsidious attacks, than from open and declared enemies.
When I had satisfied my appetite, on leaving my resting-place, withnuts and fruit, I sat down by the rill of water, to consider moredeterminately than I had hitherto done, what were my prospects, andwhat course of conduct I should pursue for my own protection.
[Sidenote: The battle of the snakes]
While thus engaged in thought, my attention was attracted to a snake,only a few yards' distance from where I sat; it was near a patch ofbrushwood, and was apparently trembling with fear. Almost as soon as Ihad noticed its state of alarm, another snake, with astonishingcelerity, sprung upon it, and seized it by the neck, then encircleditself about six folds round the body of its victim, like the worm of ascrew. The assailant then, leaning its head over the other, looked itsgasping foe in the face, to ascertain the effect of the coils round thebody; and seeing that its prey was still alive, it multiplied the coilsthree or four times, and evidently tightened the screw, watching allthe time to see the effect of the extra coils. The attacking party wasan animal designated the black snake, and the victim was a rattlesnake,about three and a half feet long, its enemy being about the samelength. The former, however, had perfect command over the latter; butI was surprised at the length of time the executioner took to satisfyhimself that his work of death was performed. The black snake remainedthree-quarters of an hour coiled round the other, and then very slowlyand cautiously slackened one coil at a time, narrowly watching if anysigns of life yet remained, ready to resume the screw again, ifnecessary, to complete the destruction of the victim.
Driving the live snake away, I obtained possession of the dead one: itwas four years old, which I scarce need mention was known by the numberof rattles in its tail, which make a rattling noise when these reptilesare in motion.
The rattlesnake is not among the most active of the species of snakes:it never springs a greater distance than its own length, which rarelyexceeds four feet. It is owing to this that the black snake has theadvantage, being able to spring from a greater distance on its prey,and, from its rapid motion and method of seizure to deprive it at onceof the power of injecting its venom.
I have since seen the rattlesnake destroyed by bucks in the open plain,and that without risk of suffering from the fatal effects of its bite.
[Sidenote: The buck and the rattlesnake]
A buck, when he discovers a rattlesnake, immediately prepares to attackit as a dreaded enemy, while he will pass other snakes unnoticed. Thebuck, depending on his sharp bifurcated hoofs, with which to sever thebody of his adversary, is very skilful in his manoeuvre. He approachesthe snake to within about ten feet, and then makes a bound, cutting thesnake down with his hoofs with such unerring celerity and fatality asrarely leaves any chance of escape.
The two incidents of the vampire and the snakes threw my mind into astate of reflection on the system of nature which makes the existenceof one animal depend on another for its subsistence. Then my thoughtsreverted to the number of living things I had myself to dread,separated as I was from society where men unite for mutual protection.I had seen in the case of the chegoe, that a very small insect couldinflict a severe injury on the human frame, and I had narrowly escapedbeing carried off by the jaguar. Snakes, serpents, and enormouslizards, crossed my path at almost every step, and the monkeys peltedme.
Uneasy and restless, I rose on my feet, to wander I knew not whither; Iproceeded forward as if running from danger, yet dreading it at everystep as I advanced. Presently my progress was impeded by a broad pieceof expanded network, such as, from appearance, might have beenmanufactured by the hand of man,--it was spread from tree to tree. Inthe network was a small bird struggling to free itself from the toilwhich had ensnared it. Thinking I had now crossed the path of fowlers,my heart leaped with joy, and I flattered myself that deliverance wasat hand; yet, fearing to spoil their sport, I drew back, and took up aposition behind a tree. My mind was soon disabused of the error intowhich I had fallen. Several spiders of enormous size approaching thecaptive, I sprang forward to release the bird, and then perceived thatthe netting was the work of insects. The captive proved to be ahumming bird, one of those beautiful little creatures that are fabledto feed on the nectar of plants. They however feed on insects, thosewhich are attached to the nectarium of plants: these they seize forfood with their long bills.
The spiders that weave these extraordinary webs from one tree toanother, are not, like those of Europe, of solitary habits, but live incommunities; they mutually share in the labour of forming the web, anddivide the prey they catch. It is worthy of notice that all animalswho unite their labour, possess infinitely more ingenuity in theirproceedings than those who work individually. The weak, however, aregenerally provided with some compensating, self-protecting secret, thatenables them to rear their young in as much security as the strong.Many insects that execute their buildings in trees, and there collectprovisions for their infant colony in fear of the depredations ofbirds, cover the extremity of their store with substances of nauseoustaste. Having saved the elegant little bird from the voraciousspiders, I could not resist giving it freedom.
The web which had impeded my progress brought to my recollection thebush-rope, which I had previously proposed to examine by daylight, inthe hope of falling into the original track my family had taken throughthe forest. After having spent the whole of the subsequent part of theday in surveying the barrier and its approaches, I was reluctantlyconstrained again to take up my position in the hollow of the tree,under the firm conviction that I had no clue by which I could, for thepresent, at least, emancipate myself from the mazes of the forest. Iretired to rest much depressed, and half disposed to abandon myself todespair. I, however, got some sleep at intervals, notwithstanding therenewal of the frightful noises heard t
he first night; and, upon thewhole, on the approach of morning, found myself somewhat resigned to myfate.
[Sidenote: Preparations for defence]
Possessing an excellent pocket-knife, I now thought of cutting a goodstaff, and, if occasion should render it necessary, of defending myselfwith it against any assailant. How it happened that I had not thoughtof this before surprised me; and I acquired new confidence from theconsideration that I possessed some means of defence. While trimmingmy staff, the history of Crusoe occurred to my recollection; and I thenresolved to adopt his mode of registering time by making notches on thestick; and this employment brought home to my recollection that I hadnow been lost four days, and, while so engaged, that the present daywas a Sabbath.
The last notch I cut longitudinally, that I might mark the Sundays, andthus chronicle the return of the one day to be kept holy. Havingalways been accustomed religiously to observe the Sabbath, the currentof my thoughts now took another turn. My first act was to offer upprayers, and to petition God to infuse into my breast courage to facethe trials I must necessarily undergo in the wilderness, and ask forhis guiding finger in all my wanderings.
Alter performing this duty, I sat down on a fallen tree to courtreflection, and presently heard a humming noise close to my ear.Turning round, to see from whence it proceeded, I thought I recognisedthe identical bird that I had, a short time before, liberated from thespider's web. It appeared, at first, to be stationary in the air, andI marvelled how it was supported; it then occurred to me that it was aspiritual messenger, sent in the form of the little creature I had beenkind to, as an assurance of divine protection. Full ten minutes Icontemplated the bird in this light, when it flew away, leaving me in amuch happier state of mind than I had hitherto felt myself.
[Sidenote: Utility of birds]
The fixed position of the bird I afterwards found to be its habit whenhovering over certain flowers in search of insects. There are a greatvariety of the humming-bird tribe; the one I had caught was verybeautiful, and moved its wings with such astonishing rapidity in flightas to elude the eye; and when poising itself over a flower, waiting toattack insects as they enter between the petals, the wings moved withsuch celerity as to become almost invisible, like a mist. The habitsof these birds may be denominated fly-like:--
"When morning dawns, and the blest sun again Lifts his red glories from the eastern main, Then round our woodbines, wet with glittering dews, The flower-fed humming-bird his round pursues,-- Sips with inserted tube the honied blooms, And chirps his gratitude as round he roams."
Birds, throughout my sojourn in the forest, were my chief and mostcheerful companions. They seem to be sent by Heaven as the peculiarassociates of man; they exhilarate him in his labour, and brighten hishours of leisure by their melody. They also, in an especial manner,serve man, by preventing the increase of those insects that wouldconsume the products of his industry. Whatever the uninformed farmeror gardener may say on this head, I beg to assure them that thedepredations birds commit are more than compensated by theirinsectivorous habits.
There is not a vegetable production, cultivated or of spontaneousgrowth, from the forest tree to the most tender garden-flower, that isnot liable to attacks from myriads of insects, though small in form andweapons, yet insidious in their mode of attack, and fatal to the plant.Birds are the natural enemies of insects, and were sent as a check upontheir increase. Man persecutes the bird for plundering his fruits,seeds, and grain crops, but he does not enquire whether he would haveany of these productions if the bird did not free the ground and budsfrom insects. The late Professor Bradley ascertained that a pair ofsparrows, during the time they had young ones, destroyed on an average3360 caterpillars every week, besides butterflies.
Man, when he clears and cultivates the land, destroys the winter foodof birds, cutting down the trees that nature intended should supplythem with berries during a season when their insectivorous habits aresuspended. It would be an advantage to those who are engaged incultivating the earth, if they studied the harmony of nature a littlemore than they now generally do. The farmer will say that a hard andlong frost is good for the land, because it kills the insects; solikewise do the birds die off in severe seasons of cold, thus reducingthe number of his auxiliary agriculturists to the proportion in whichthey will be required, on the return of spring, to keep the land clearfrom insects, and secure a crop to the cultivator. Birds in generalreturn tenfold to man, in the services they render him, for all theytake from his store; while they,
----"With melody untaught, Turn all the air to music, within hearing, Themselves unseen."
The humming-bird's visit, together with the peculiar associations of mymind at the time, produced in me a calmness that partook of heaven.The scene--a picture, too,--which was before me, was one of thosebeautiful instances of nature's chaste compositions that combined allaround in harmony. Lovely were the sylvan flowers, fresh withblossoms, rising amidst the soft and matted growth beneath; and howexquisite the structure of the moss and lichen within my reach; howcalm, how clear and serene was the air--how deepened were theshadows--how perfect was the quiet--how eloquent the silence!
[Sidenote: Solitary reflections]
My meditations were painfully broken in upon by the mind reverting tothe jaguar that I thought at times was lurking about to devour me; thento the snakes, and the captive humming-bird. "Has God," Iinvoluntarily exclaimed, "made all his creatures that they may devoureach other? Yes, yes! he has." I continued, as I rose with disturbedfeelings; "I see the scheme of destruction at every step, and behold itat every turn; both day and night, every hour, yea, every moment,millions are struggling in the death-grasp of their foes."
These reflections almost melted my heart, when, casting up my eyes toheaven, as if to ask for some light to shine on my mind and explain thesubject, I saw a falcon, in the act of flying, seize a bird of thepigeon kind, and fly off with it into the woods. Tears came to myrelief. Goldsmith says, "The mere uninformed spectator passes on ingloomy silence; while the naturalist, in every plant, in every insect,and in every pebble, finds something to entertain his curiosity andexcite his speculation. In the animal kingdom alone there existsnearly one hundred thousand of known different subjects, and half thatnumber of different plants. The discovery of almost every vegetablebrings with it the knowledge of a new insect. In the mineral kingdomthe compositions and forms are almost endless." And Dr. Priestleysays, of scientific pursuits "The investigation of nature cannot failto be valuable. It engages all our intellectual faculties to thegreatest extent, and in its pursuit the general stock of usefulknowledge is increased. The field for inquiry is rational, extensive,and profitable, beyond conception."
"But what right have I, a poor, short-sighted mortal," I thenexclaimed, "to seek for the motives that actuate an all-wise Deity? Itis not only vain but wicked in man to scrutinize the ways ofProvidence."