CHAPTER XX.
AT THE MURHAPA VILLAGE.
The sun was half-way down the sky when the canoe containing theexplorers, and accompanied by the smaller craft impelled by Ziffak,rounded a bend of the upper Xingu and came in sight of the village ofthe Murhapas.
The herculean native gave an extra sweep of his paddle which sent hisboat slightly in advance of the other, and, striking the shore, hesprang out and turned about to wait for them to disembark.
The scene was an impressive one, which every member of the company wassure to remember the rest of his life.
The huts in which these strange people made their homes were similar instructure to those of the Aryks, but instead of being built around thethree sides of a rectangle, composed one row, numbering more than ahundred, and facing the river. They stood a hundred yards from thewater, and being at the top of the sloping bank were above the reach ofthe most violent freshet that ever came down from the mountain-fedsources of the mighty Xingu.
The ground in front of this novel town was cleared of all trees andundergrowth, but for most of the space was covered with bright greengrass; the whole having the appearance of a well-kept lawn that hadbeen artificially sodded or strewn with seed, which flourished with theluxuriance of every species of vegetation in that tropic country.
Not only in front, but on the sides and to the rear, for an extent ofmore than a hundred acres, the earth had been cleared with equalthoroughness and was growing abundant crops of cotton, tobacco, andedibles peculiar to the region.
The houses were separated by a space of several rods, so that the townitself extended a long way along the water. The dwellings, like thoseof the Aryks, consisted of a single story, with the door in the middleof the front, a window-like opening on each side of the same, roofedover with poles, covered with earth, leaves and grass, that wereimpervious to wind and storm.
It seemed to the astonished whites that the entire population hadgathered along the shore to receive them. Several strange sightsimpressed them. The men were large, sinewy, bushy-haired and athletic.Some sported bows and arrows, but the majority by far carried thespears which the explorers held in such dread. There was no native, sofar as they could see, who was the equal in size and strength ofZiffak, but they were so much the superiors of any natives encounteredsince leaving the Amazon, that it was easy to understand how they werethe lords and masters of all the tribes with which they came inconflict.
We have spoken of the Murhapa houses as being but a single story inheight. There was a single exception. In the middle of the town was abroader and larger structure than the others. It was two stories highand so much more marked in every respect that it was easy to decidethat it was the residence or palace of Haffgo, the king of these people.
Another singular feature was noticed by our friends as they steppedfrom their canoe. Among the natives, who were mostly as dark of skinas Africans, was a sprinkling so different that the inference was thatthey belonged to some other race, or that nature was accustomed to playsome strange freak in this almost unknown part of the world.
The king and his daughter Ariel had complexions as fair as the nativesof Georgia and Persia, and yet Ziffak, a full brother of Haffgo, was asebon-tinted as the darkest warrior of the tribe. Since the features ofall were similar in a general way the cause was one that could not beexplained.
It was a moment when the new-comers fully appreciated the value of afriend at court. They felt that had each possessed a dozen repeatingWinchesters they would have been of no avail after leaving their canoeand entering the village. They had now placed their lives in the handsof Ziffak, and, should he choose to desert them, they were doomed; itwas too late to retreat.
Many of the warriors scowled at the white men and their two helpers asthough they would have been glad to impale them with their spears, butno demonstration was made. Evidently Ziffak possessed unlimited powerand was backed by the pledge of the king.
Professor Grimcke was the first to step ashore, Ashman and Longfollowing immediately. The three whites formed abreast, while Bippoand Pedros covered [Transcriber's note: cowered?] so close that it washard for them to keep from stepping on their heels. Ziffak placedhimself at the head, as the escort, and moved up the sloping bank withthe dignity of a conqueror.
The women, showed more taste in their dress, for all wore loose-fittinggowns of native cloth, gaudily colored, though the children wereattired similarly to the men, with little more than a breech clothabout the loins. Even the boys of a most tender age were each armedwith a javelin, none of them, however, having the points of the weaponspoisoned as did their fathers and elders when on the war-path.
Another striking characteristic of these people was the abundance ofgold and diamond ornaments. Not a woman was visible from whose earswere not suspended heavy rings of the precious metal, while themajority had diamonds fastened in the gold, all of several carats'weight, and some so large and brilliant that they would have sold forimmense sums in a civilized country.
The older females had not only rings hanging from their ears, but stillmore valuable ornaments depended from their noses. It would haveenriched an army to loot the Murhapa village.
Each of the whites carried his Winchester, and Bippo and Pedros did notforget their almost harmless spears; but the rifle of Johnston was leftbehind with the valuable property.
At the moment of starting, Ziffak called to two warriors and saidsomething in a commanding voice. They instantly hastened to the edgeof the water and placed themselves in front of the large canoe. Theiraction left no doubt they were obeying an order to guard the treasuresduring the absence of the owners.
Reaching the top of the bank, the party were in what might be calledthe main or only street of the town. The grass had been worn smooth bythe feet of the villagers, among whom was not a dog, cat, horse, and,indeed, any four-footed animal.
The visitors had landed near the lower end of the village, so that itwas necessary to walk some way before reaching the house of the king,which was their destination.
As they started, the whole population began falling in behind them.The terrified Bippo and Pedros shrank still closer to those in front,trembling and affrighted, for the experience to which they weresubjected was enough to upset them morally, mentally and physically.
Ziffak turned his head with such a threatening scowl that the foremostinstantly fell back, dreading his vengeance, but when he faced theother way, they began crowding forward again.
There must have been that in the appearance and action of Bippo andPedros which excited the latent mirth of the Murhapas, for say what wemay, the trait exists in a greater or less degree in all human beings.One of them reached forward with his javelin and gave Bippo a sharpprick. With a howl, he leaped several feet in air and yelled that hewas killed.
There was an instant expansion of dark faces into grins, showing anendless array of black stained, teeth, for the spear point was notpoisoned, and the incident caused a laugh on the part of his whitefriends when they came to know the whole truth.
But the author of the practical joke had reckoned without his host.The cry had hardly escaped the victim, when Ziffak bounded to the rearlike a cyclone. The fellow who was a full grown warrior was stillgrinning with delight, when he found himself in the terrific grasp ofthe head chieftain. It was then his turn to utter a shriek ofaffright, which availed him nothing.
Ziffak first smote him to the earth by a single tremendous blow. Then,before he could rise to his feet, he grasped his ankles, one witheither hand, and swung him round his head, as a child whirls a sling,before throwing the stone.
To the awed spectators he seemed a black ring of fire, so dizzyinglyswift were the gyrations, from the midst of which came a buzzing moanof terror.
Only for a second or two was he subjected to this torture. SuddenlyZiffak ran toward the Xingu and then let go of the ankles. The black,limp object went spinning far out in the air, as if driven from someenormous catapult.
; Across the remaining space he went, falling several feet from shore anddisappearing beneath the surface. But such fellows are extinguishedwith difficulty, and the cold water quickly revived him.
By and by he came up, blew the moisture from his mouth, swam to shore,climbed timidly out, and, sneaking up the bank again, humbly took hisplace at the rear of the procession.
But Ziffak, having disposed of the joker, paid no further attention tohim, caring naught whether he swam or was drowned. The lesson was onethat he would not forget, and produced a salutary effect upon the restof the multitude. They instantly fell back so far that Bippo, findinghe had not been seriously hurt, saw that he was safe from furtherdisturbance.
It was only a few minutes later that Ziffak halted, his friendsimmediately doing the same.
The cause was apparent: they had reached the dwelling place of Haffgoking of the Murhapas.