"It looked like an immense pedestal, surmounted by two bronze statues.""It looked like an immense pedestal, surmounted by two bronze statues."
CHAPTER XIV.
THE METEOR.—GOD ALMIGHTY'S LANTERNS.—THE SKUNK.—THE JALAP-PLANT.—AN AERIAL JOURNEY.—THE ORCHIDS.—BIVOUAC IN THE MOUTH OF A CAVE.—GRINGALET AND THE BEETLES.—A WHITE ANTS' NEST.
The sun left us soon afterwards, and we sat talking by the fire. At last l'Encuerado took away Lucien towards the rocks, and set up one of those interminable chants with which his memory was stored. Our fire lighted up with its red gleam the stone on which they were sitting, making it look like an immense pedestal, surmounted by two bronze statues. Any traveller suddenly entering the valley would have recoiled in terror before this fantastic apparition; and if any wild beast had been prowling near us, our gigantic shadows would certainly have made it keep its distance.
We were just thinking of calling Lucien to come and lie down under the hut, when l'Encuerado shouted out to us. Towards the east, a large luminous disk was shining brilliantly above the mountain peaks. This luminous globe, lengthening out into the shape of an ellipse, appeared to move along.
In fact, it was descending slowly over the wooded crests. Lucien and l'Encuerado kept plying us with questions in reference to it, which we were unable to answer.
Meteor
"What is it?" cried Sumichrast.
"A meteor!" I exclaimed, struck with a sudden idea.
"If I had my gun ready, I would fire at it, at all events."
"You had better not," said I; "the globe may contain electric fluid, and we might draw it down upon us."
Soon afterwards the meteor passed by us. We threw ourselves down flat on the earth, dreading this unknown visitor. When I ventured to rise, it was some distanceaway, and yet appeared to be motionless. Rays incessantly quivering sprang from the centre of it; in the middle the light was white, but at the edges it assumed first a yellowish, then a red, and lastly a bluish hue. We were suddenly almost blinded by a flash of intense brilliancy; a formidable explosion, repeated by the echoes, burst upon our ears, and all became silence and obscurity.
While we were returning to our bivouac, Lucien and l'Encuerado pressed us with questions.
"What are meteors?" asked Lucien, eagerly.
"Some scientific men," replied Sumichrast, "look upon them as fragments of planets wandering in space. Getting entangled in our planetary system, they yield to the attraction of our globe, and fall on to its surface in obedience to the law of gravitation."
"But what are they composed of?"
"Generally speaking, of sulphur, chromium, and earth. The phenomenon of 'shooting stars' is connected with that of meteors, and any substance falling on the surface of the earth receives the name ofaerolite."
"Do you wish to persuade me that stones rain down from the sky?" cried l'Encuerado.
"Yes, certainly; and if I am not mistaken, it was in your country that the largest known aerolite was found, for it weighed no less than fifty hundred-weights. To-morrow morning we will search for the one we have seen, which must have dropped at the end of the valley."
"Are these stones luminous?" rejoined the Indian.
"No; but they take fire, owing to their rapid flight."
"And whence did the meteor come which passed so close to us?"
"Either from the moon or the stars, or perhaps from the sun."
L'Encuerado half-closed his eyes, and burst out laughingat what he considered a joke. He laughed, indeed, so heartily, that we could not help joining him.
"Now what do you imagine the sun and moon really are?" asked Lucien.
"God's lanterns," replied the Indian, gravely.
Our young companion was well accustomed to the artless ignorance of his friend, but still he always endeavored to contend against it; so he set to work to teach him something about our planetary system. The dimensions which he attributed to the heavenly bodies seemed to afford great amusement to the Indian. At last, just when the young orator fancied he had convinced his disciple, the latter embraced him, exclaiming:
"What an amusing tale! Oh! how pleased I should be to be able to read such pretty stories as that in a book!"
"Tales, indeed!" cried Lucien, quite indignant.
"Well, the very idea of saying that the earth is a ball, which moves round and round, and that there are stars which are bigger! Many a night have I spent looking at the stars, and I know they are nothing but lanterns, and that's enough!"
"But if you have observed them so carefully," interposed Sumichrast, "you must have observed that they are constantly shifting their places."
"Yes, but that is because the angels don't always light up the same stars, and God has plenty of them in every direction—"
I now interrupted the conversation.
"Come, let us all go to rest!" I cried, cutting short a discussion which I knew, by experience, must end in Lucien and Sumichrast getting the worst of it.
The next morning there was nothing better to do than to go with my companions to look after the aerolite. The ball of fire appeared to have passed just over us, and I fanciedthat we should be certain to recover some part of it. After an hour of useless wandering, we were compelled to admit that our eyes must have been much mistaken as to distances. L'Encuerado could not help smiling incredulously on hearing the conjectures which I and Sumichrast made; but he was generous enough not to take advantage of the superior astronomical knowledge which he assumed he possessed.
On setting out I again crossed the valley, and then climbing the mountain, I led my companions up to a plateau.
As far as was possible I followed the route I thought the meteor had taken. L'Encuerado was just making his way into the forest when Sumichrast noticed a broken tree, a little to the right. I leaped up on the slope, and soon remarked that the ground, for a space of at least twenty yards, was strewn with black or green stones, which had been in a fused state, and evidently bore the appearance of ironscoriæ. There could be no doubt about it; the tree which had been struck had caused the explosion of the meteor, and had broken under the shock.
"These, therefore, are the remains of some of your sky-lanterns," said Lucien to l'Encuerado, who had just picked up some large stones, shining like metal.
The Indian shook his head without answering. The fallen tree, the burned and blackened trunk, the withered and even scorched grass, these strange-looking stones—every thing visibly combined to upset his theory. Each of us added to his load one of the aerolites; then, again returning to the plateau, we plunged into the forest.
One shot that Sumichrast made rendered him happy for the whole day. He had knocked down a green-colored crossbill, of a species still unknown in Europe.
"What a queer bird!" cried Lucien. "How did it manage to eat with its mouth all awry?"
"Its mouth," replied Sumichrast, smiling, "is well adapted to its food. This bird—which we have here met with quite by chance, as it usually frequents mountain-tops—feeds on roots, buds, and pine-cones. Owing to its two mandibles being so strongly made and so curiously arranged it can cut through, as if with a pair of scissors, branches which a bird with a pointed beak could never penetrate."
"God is mindful of all His creatures," muttered l'Encuerado, who was helping to skin the bird. "I had always fancied that these poor creatures were deformed."
Towards midday the chances of our path brought us to the bottom of a narrow valley in the midst of a clump of shrubs; this seemed a fit spot for our bivouac. In the twinkling of an eye, the ground was cleared of brush-wood and our hut constructed. We had scarcely sat down to take breath when a slight rustling in the foliage attracted our attention, and an animal with a bushy tail sprang down from a tree. Gringalet darted at it, but an abominable smell, which almost suffocated us, at once made him retreat. A skunk, which in shape and color somewhat resembles a squirrel, had thus perfectly poisoned our bivouac.
"Above us, the trees crossed their branches.""Above us, the trees crossed their branches."
Nothing was left for us but to decamp as quickly as possible, for the stench rendered the place uninhabitable for several days. L'Encuerado could not find enough bad names for abusing the animal, which, however, had only availed itself of the means of defense with which nature has endowed it. Each of us now resumed his burden, sadly enough, I must confess, and not without throwing a disappointed glance at our hut. Sumichrast led the way, and did not stop till we found ourselves perfectly exhausted at the entrance to a deep and narrow gorge. We still felt sickened by the horrible stench produced by the skunk, and, as we did not wish to expose ourselves again to a similarmisfortune, we took care, before constructing a fresh hut, to search round the shrubs and bushes. A few birds shot on the road rendered it unnecessary for us to hunt any more, as we had an abundance of food, so we all set to work to repair our wardrobes. Our shoes first required our attention, and Sumichrast constituted himself head-cobbler. L'Encuerado's sandals gave him a great advantage over us; for all he required was a sole and a leathern strap, and then he was well shod. But, unfortunately, the delicacy of our skin several times afforded Sumichrast cause for regret that he had not been born an Indian.
L'Encuerado, full of ingenuity, managed to fix some pieces of fox-skin on some old soles, and made for Lucien a pair of buskins as strong as they were inelegant. He promised to make us some like them, and Sumichrast, who succeeded only tolerably well in his cobbling, nominated the Indian "sandal-maker in ordinary and extraordinary to our majesties."
The next morning at daybreak we entered a narrow gorge in which it was impossible for us to walk abreast. The whole morning was spent in travelling along between two stone ramparts, hung with mosses, ferns, and orchids. The moist soil rendered the temperature round us sufficiently cool and agreeable; but the pass was so filled up with the trunks of fallen trees as to render our progress very laborious.
The gorge extended to such a length that I began to be anxious about it, and to fear lest we had entered into acul-de-sac. The perpendicular walls rendered any deviation in our path impossible; above us, the trees crossed their branches and almost hid the sky. No bird enlivened the solitude with its song, and ferns were so abundant that it seemed as if we had lighted upon some corner of the primitive world; as if to render the resemblance more complete,the reptiles scarcely fled at our approach, and obliged us to use the greatest care.
Cutlass in hand, Lucien climbed nimbly over the fallen trees which barred our progress. Ere long our feet sank into a quantity of liquid mud, and I discovered a slender streamlet of limpid water oozing out between two rocks. The pass between the rocks became narrower and narrower, and if a wild beast had then met us we should have had to dispute the path with it. As a rencontre of this kind was by no means impossible, Lucien, to his displeasure, was ordered to follow in rear.
The way now widened a little, and became more clear of impediments, and our little column advanced with rather more rapidity. We walked along silently between these stern and imposing granite walls, with the constant hope of seeing them separate and open out into a valley. Every few yards some fresh turn frustrated our expectations; and if ever any pass deserved the name of the "Devil's Gorge," it was the interminable fissure through which we had been compelled to walk for so long a distance. At various heights there were half-suspended rocks which threatened to fall upon us; for several previously had fallen and now blocked up the path. At last a sudden turn revealed a wide opening; but our joy was of short duration; nothing but a perpendicular precipice lay in front of us.
We looked at one another in consternation; we were prisoners! On our right and left were perpendicular walls more than a hundred feet high, and impossible to climb; before us there was a gulf with a vertical precipice. What was to be done? Sumichrast lighted the pipe of council, while l'Encuerado clung on to the rocks and tried to measure the abyss with his eye.
We were seated near a plant with slender branches andheart-shaped leaves tinged with red, concealing here and there a flower of a violet blue. I recognized in it the shrub which produces jalap, and is called by the Indianstolonpatl. I called Lucien's attention to it, who soon dug up four or five tap-roots of a pear-like shape. Jalap, which has taken its name from the town of Jalapa, whence it was once forwarded to Vera Cruz, grows naturally on all the mountains of theTerre-Tempérée. Unfortunately, the Indians destroy the plant by taking away all its turbercles, and the time is not far distant when this drug, so much used in Europe, will, like quinine, become very scarce.
I drew close to the precipice, and perceived l'Encuerado more than twenty feet below me crawling, with all the skill of a monkey, over an almost smooth surface. I ordered him to come up to us again; but he did not seem able to get back, and remained motionless in his dangerous position. Sumichrast hastened to bring me a lasso, which I let down to our daring companion. But instead of ascending, he slid down four or five feet, and placing himself astride on the projecting trunk of a tree, called out to us to let go the lasso; this he tied round a stout branch, and disappeared down the abyss.
It was not long before we saw him again install himself on the tree round which he had rolled the leather strap, when he called out to us that we might descend without any great danger.
"How shall we fasten it?" asked Lucien; "there are no thick branches just at the edge."
"The strap is a long one, and there is a bush not far off with pretty strong branches."
"But then we shall lose the lasso, for none will be left to loosen it."
"Upon my word!" cried Sumichrast, "Master Sunbeam is right."
Then each of us tried to solve the problem, proposing expedients more or less impracticable.
"I've found it out," cried I at last, with quite as much satisfaction as Archimedes when he leaped out of his bath.
Seizing mymachete, I cut two stakes of a good thickness, which I drove into the ground close to one another, about three yards from the precipice. While Sumichrast with a club was consolidating my work, I cut a stick about a foot long, to the middle of which I firmly tied the lasso. I then placed it crosswise behind the stakes. I considered that when we had let ourselves down to the spot occupied by l'Encuerado, a sharp undulatory shake given to the lasso would be sufficient to disengage the stick. When our preparations were finished, we let down the basket to the man who carried it. Then Sumichrast, who was the heaviest among us, slid down the cord to the tree which grew in so convenient a position. The stakes scarcely yielded at all to his weight. Continuing his descent, my friend soon joined the Indian.
Lucien's impatience was extreme; he was enchanted with this aerial route.
"Now it's your turn," said I, as soon as I had drawn up the lasso.
"Are you going to tie me?" he asked in a disappointed tone.
"How did you suppose you would descend?"
"By holding on to the lasso, like l'Encuerado and M. Sumichrast," answered the boy.
"The grasp of your hands is not firm enough; you must not think of it; I have no wish to risk your neck."
"Oh! dear father! do let me try."
"Certainly not; for if your trial failed, you would not be in a position to try again."
"Then Sumichrast . . . slid down the cord to the tree.""Then Sumichrast . . . slid down the cord to the tree."
Not without some slight vexation Lucien was tied to the lasso, while Gringalet, astonished, barked round us.
"Patience! patience!" I exclaimed to the dog; "it will be your turn next, and then, perhaps, you will not seem so pleased."
I let the lasso slowly down, and the boy was soon safely lodged among the branches of the tree. With care equal to mine, and with still firmer knots, l'Encuerado tied the cord afresh. Then, leaning over the precipice, I heard Sumichrast's voice ordering the Indian to let the improvised cable slowly down. Seeing that the port was safely reached, and relieved of a great care, I began tying Gringalet, who hadn't left off howling since his young master disappeared. In spite of his terror, I launched the dog into the air; he struggled, howled, and nearly evaded l'Encuerado's friendly grasp; the latter, as he again let him down, tried to explain the inutility of his struggles, and the danger of breaking loose. At length, having for the last time examined the stakes and the cross-piece, I also descended. I then shook the lasso, and at once succeeded in disengaging it.
I saw below me Sumichrast and Lucien, seated on a narrow projection, which led by a rocky declivity down to the foot of the mountain. Soon I joined them, followed by the Indian. We had fixed the cross-bar between two stout branches, and for a long time, without loosening the stick, I shook the cord. At last, tired out, and about to leave it, the piece of wood suddenly gave way, and nearly fell on me.
Walking now became very laborious, and it was occasionally difficult to preserve our balance in passing over rocks, sometimes smooth, at others very uneven. Our path lay between perfect hedges of orchids, of which beautiful race Mexico possesses hundreds of species; we stopped atnearly every step to admire some of these curiously shaped, brilliantly colored, but often scentless flowers. L'Encuerado pointed out many plants of the lynx flower, called by the Indians theserpent-flower, the fine petals of which are dotted with yellow spots, and marbled with pink, violet, and white. Farther on, another flower, the tiger-lily, reminded us, by its color, of the animal from which it takes its name. Plucking as he went along, Lucien became possessor of such a bouquet as the richest gardens could not furnish. Of course he wanted to know the names of all, but he was obliged to be content with learning that, with the exception of the vanilla-plant, the brilliant legion of orchids furnishes nothing utilized in the arts or industrial skill.
We had just reached the foot of the mountain, when an immense mass of stones obliged us to turn aside. I took the lead, and an involuntary slip brought me unexpectedly to a cave. My companions came running up in answer to my call; I took three or four steps into the entrance, and immediately made up my mind, from its thorough adaptability, to shelter there for the night. While I, helped by Lucien, was collecting some wood, l'Encuerado cleared the ground, and Sumichrast cut down two or three shrubs which impeded the view. I then ordered the Indian to light the fire, which would assist us to reconnoitre the entrance to the cavern; which being done, it was necessary for us to go in search of game for our dinner.
"I then ordered the Indian to light the fire.""I then ordered the Indian to light the fire."
Looking from the plain, I could well judge of the feat we had accomplished in our descent. Up to the level of the cave there were shrubs and brush-wood. Higher up, orchids, with their bright flowers and opal-green leaves; higher still rose a perpendicular and almost smooth rampart, utterly impassable except through the fissure which had afforded us egress. Sumichrast guided us through the thicket, where the frangipanni-plants, covered withtheir sweet-scented flowers, predominated, announcing our approach into theTerre-Chaude, and of a completely altered nature of vegetation. Soon an immense mahogany-tree (Swietenia mahogoni), with its thick boughs and dark-green foliage, rose before us; a little farther on a fallen ceiba had crushed four or five shrubs. The ceiba (Eriodendron anfractuosum) calledPochotlby the Indians, is one of the largest trees known; its fruit, of a pod-like shape, contains a silky down, which possesses a singular property of swelling in the sun. I was pointing out this peculiarity to Lucien, when a formidable buzzing noise met our ears; a whole flock of Hercules beetles had flown out of a bush and struck heavily against the branches of a tree. Lucien caught one and wanted to hold it down on the ground, but the insect got away from him and continued its flight.
"Oh!" cried the boy, "this beetle is stronger than I am!"
"It is not for nothing that it bears the name ofHercules," replied Sumichrast, smiling; "as you have just found out, it is as remarkable for its strength as for its size. It is a native of Brazil, and is only occasionally found in Mexico."
"Do they always travel in flocks like this?"
"No; the occurrence is so rare that I shall make a note of it."
"I smell something like snuff," said Lucien, sneezing.
"It proceeds from the beetles," said Sumichrast.
And so powerful was this odor, that it caused Lucien several times to sneeze. This was another fact to note down.
"Papa, do look at them hanging one on to another, and forming something like an immense bunch of grapes. Do they bite with those powerful jaws?"
"They are horns which you mistake for jaws; but theirarrangement quite excuses your error. Look; the upper part of their body is black and polished, and their wing-sheaths are a greenish gray, irregularly dotted with dark spots."
"Here is one which has no horns."
"It is a female."
We were examining with some curiosity all the ways of the insect colony, which was scarcely disturbed by our presence, when Gringalet, who had also taken to sneezing, suddenly set up the most plaintive howl. L'Encuerado had placed on the dog's back three or four beetles, which had buried their claws in his skin. The Indian, surprised at the result of his experiment, hurried to relieve the poor animal, which was rolling on the ground; at last he succeeded in getting hold of him, but he had much difficulty in freeing him from his vindictive assailants. One beetle, indeed, seized hold of the hand of the mischievous wag, whose grimaces much amused us; as fast as he disengaged one of the insect's claws, the creature—which possessed six—soon found a chance to cling on with others. Annoyed at having to strive with such a paltry enemy, l'Encuerado at last tore the beetle roughly away, but the blood flowed from his bronze-colored skin. Always too ready for revenge, he threatened to exterminate the whole colony of beetles; but, smiling at his ill-humor, I forbade his perpetrating such a useless massacre.
"They are nice gentlemen!" he cried; "because they had just heard themselves calledHercules, they think they are strong enough to bite the hands of every person they meet! Stupid fools, with noses longer than their bodies, who fly away when Gringalet barks at them! Bite them! Bite them!" cried he, setting the dog at them.
But the latter, with his ears drooped and his tail between his legs, refused to obey, and, from this day forward I remarkedthat the least buzzing from any insect was sufficient to render him uneasy.
Sumichrast, who had caught one of these large beetles, placed a stone upon it which any one would have thought sufficient to have crushed it; but, to Lucien's great admiration, the six-legged Hercules walked off with its burden, almost without an effort. Ere long the beetles one by one resumed their flight, and came buzzing around us, so it became really necessary to beat a retreat, lest we should have our eyes put out by their immense horns; Gringalet followed our example. Lucien sat down so as to laugh at his ease, for l'Encuerado, instead of running away, drew his bill-hook, assuming a threatening attitude to his enemies, and, like one of Homer's heroes, defied them to come near him. At last the whole band of beetles united and suspended themselves to the branch of a ceiba, a tree for which the Hercules beetle shows a marked preference.
But we had in the mean time quite forgotten our dinners, so we set off hunting in various directions. I skirted the edge of the forests, accompanied by Sumichrast and Lucien. We had walked for an hour without finding any thing, when four partridges, with ash-colored breasts, tawny wings, and tufted heads, rose about fifty paces from us, and settled down a little farther on. Having arrived within easy gunshot, I told my son to fire when I did, and two of them (whichsavantscall the Sonini partridge) fell dead on the ground. These pretty birds are rarely met with in Mexico, at least in the part where we were.
I now returned towards the bivouac, taking a path through the forest.
"Oh papa, here's a great sponge!" cried Lucien, suddenly.
On our right there was a shapeless, porous, yellowish mass, rising three or four feet above the ground. I saw atonce that it was the nest of a termite, or ant, which the Mexicans callcomejen.
"It is a nest of white ants," I said to my son; "they are insects of the neuropteral order, and allied to thelibellula."
"But where are they?"
"You will soon see," I answered.
So, kicking the spongy mass, immediately out came a multitude of insects, which swarmed about in every direction, as if to ascertain the cause of the disturbance. Lucien wanted to examine them closer.
"Take care," I called out to him; "the termites you see are nothing but the inoffensive workers; the soldier ants will soon make their appearance, and if they bite you they will certainly draw blood."
Lucien looked at me, thinking I was joking.
"I am speaking quite seriously," I hastened to add; "termites, like bees and ants, the latter of which they much resemble at first sight, live in communities, and build nests which are often larger than the one you are looking at. This nest, skillfully divided into cells, contains a king, a queen, workmen, and soldiers. The workmen are the clever architects, whose duty it is to build, maintain, and, in case of need, increase the curious edifice which you took for a sponge. The only duty of the soldiers is fighting against enemies that attempt to disturb the peace of the colony."
"But I see thousands of holes; does each termite have a separate chamber?"
"Not exactly; there is first a chamber for the queen, which is the largest; then comes the nursery, afterwards a large compartment, in which the working ants place the eggs which the queen lays night and day."
"How I should like to see all this!"
Being convinced that practical illustration is better than the clearest explanation, I again struck the nest. Theworkmen, who were beginning to disappear, soon came out again to examine the spot threatened, and in a moment after the surface of the nest appeared to be swarming. I then kept making a noise at one point of the nest only, when the soldier ants soon rushed out, easily recognizable by their enormous heads; finally, I removed a small portion of the outside of the construction, and brought to light a multitude of white specks. These were the eggs, which the workmen hurried to carry farther into the nest. After having caused all this disturbance, I led Lucien away, for the ground was covered with soldier ants, and I was too well aware of the violence of their stings to willingly expose him to them.
"But I haven't seen the queen," cried my young companion.
"She keeps quite in the centre of the building, immured in a cell which she seldom or never leaves, for her bulk is equal to that of twenty or thirty working ants. Sumichrast, who has been a great observer of these insects, asserts that the queen lays about eighty thousand eggs a day. As soon as they are hatched, the young termites are carried off into large compartments, where they are fed until they are old enough to take a part in the labor. During the rainy season, a certain number of white ants are born with four wings, which enables them to proceed to a distance and found other colonies; but these wings are only temporary, and I have often been puzzled by finding immense quantities of them."
"How do the termites manage to build their dwellings?"
"The one we have just examined appears to be formed of earth, kneaded up with a kind of gum which the insect secretes. In the subterranean passages of a termite's nest there are arches which seem to be composed of morsels of wood stuck together by some sticky matter. These insectsare omnivorous, and, like ants, take care to lay up abundant stores of provisions."
We were now commencing to climb the mountain, and, raising my eyes aloft, I was glad to see our two companions already seated by the fire.
Skunk
OUR SUBSTITUTES FOR LAMPS.—FIRST GLANCE INTO THE CAVE.—THE ELATERIDES.—THE GOTHIC HALL.—STALAGMITES AND STALACTITES.—A CHICHIQUIMEC CEMETERY.—THE "TREE OF ST. IGNATIUS."—THE OPOSSUM AND ITS LITTLE ONES.
Lucien had run on in front with the two partridges; when I arrived at the bivouac, I found an enormous mole roasting on the fire, and Sumichrast catching with the utmost care the fat which ran from it.
"How did you kill this animal?" I asked, addressing my companions; "I did not hear you fire."
"L'Encuerado knocked it down with the butt-end of his gun, and just at the same moment your two shots brought us back to the cave."
"Why are you collecting this fat? Is it a prophet of some new dish in preparation?"
"No; but I intend inspecting the cave, and with this grease we shall be able to make a lamp, which will be more than useful."
I approved of Sumichrast's idea, and, as he had discovered a colony of moles, proposed to go after dinner and catch some of them, so as to increase our supply of light. Besides, I hoped that in this walk we should meet with some kind of resinous tree, the branches of which might serve as torches. Lucien could hardly restrain his joy, and wishedto penetrate into the cave without further delay. He scarcely gave himself time enough to eat, and scolded l'Encuerado for being so slow, which was an indirect mode of asking us to hurry.
Having again reached the forest, we searched for a pine or a fir, the branches of which, being full of resin, would have enabled us to show more mercy to the moles. Hearing us mention these two trees, Lucien wanted to know the difference between them.
"They both belong to the Coniferous family," replied Sumichrast; "but firs generally grow upon lofty mountains far inland, while pines abound on sea-coasts, the shifting, sandy soil of which is, after a time, consolidated and fertilized by them."
Sumichrast's explanation still left much wanting; I saw this from Lucien's numerous questions; but without seeing a specimen of each tree it would have been difficult to better describe their peculiar characteristics.
After a long and unsuccessful walk, we halted in front of a guaiac-tree with dark-green foliage, a higher tree than any we had before met with. This fine member of the Rutacean family was covered with pale-blue flowers. It produces a gum used especially by the English in the preparation of tooth-powder; but the hardness of its wood, which would have blunted our weapons, induced me to pass it by. A little farther on, l'Encuerado spied out aliquid-ambertree, valuable on account of the balsam that oozes from its branches when cut, which is burned by the Indians as incense. He climbed the knotty trunk of this colossus, and cut off some branches, which Sumichrast split into small pieces, after I had cleared off their leaves. Our work was interrupted by the approach of night, and we made our way to our bivouac, each loaded with a heavy fagot.
As soon as we arrived, Lucien had the satisfaction of tryingone of our flambeaux. The branch crackled when lighted, and, as we entered the cavern, five or six bats flew out. I led Lucien by the hand, and very soon he was the only one who could stand upright. Afterwards we entered a vast chamber with a dome-shaped roof, which became lower the farther we penetrated; this was rather a disappointment, as we had fancied there was something more to be seen than a mere cave. A heap of reddish earth in one corner attracted Sumichrast's attention, who examined it to see if he could discover some fossil bones. Standing all together, we must have formed, by the smoky light of our odoriferous torches, rather a fantastic-looking group. More than half an hour elapsed without discovering any results from our digging. L'Encuerado, who had tried to crawl in between the roof and the ground, suddenly raised an exclamation; he had, in fact, all but fallen into a deep pit. In an instant I was laid down flat on my stomach and crawling towards the Indian; Lucien, owing to his size, was able to creep on his hands and feet, and consequently soon got in front of me. We could soon see down into the bottom of the hole; the burning fragments of our torches fell upon a heap of stones at a depth of twelve or fifteen feet. L'Encuerado threw one of the torches into the chasm, and the vague glimmer showed us a yawning opening on the left. Delighted with this discovery, we now beat a retreat, deferring a more thorough exploration until the next day.
The night was dark, and during our absence the fire had almost gone out. Just below us, a tree, the outline of which we could scarcely distinguish, seemed covered with animated sparks. Lucien opened his eyes very widely indeed, not being in the least able to understand this phenomenon, which was produced by thousands ofelaterides, insects which have on each side of the thorax a yellowish spot which becomes luminous in the dark.
Nothing could be more curious than to see innumerable glittering spots rising, falling, and crossing one another with extraordinary rapidity; one might have fancied it a tree bearing flowers of fire waving about in the breeze. L'Encuerado came up with a specimen, which lighted up his hand with a greenish glimmer. Lucien took possession of it, and the two luminous spots looked to him like two enormous eyes. Suddenly the insect gave a kind of shock to the boy's fingers, who looked at us full of surprise.
"The name of the insect," said Sumichrast, "is derived from a Greek word which signifies elastic; and it has just shown you that it well deserves the family name which has been given to it. Examine for an instant how it is shaped; the angles of its corslet form sharp points; added to this, its sternum also terminates in a point which the insect can insert at will into the cavity which exists under its second pair of legs. The women in theTerre-Chaude, by passing a pin through this natural ring, can fix this brilliant insect as an ornament in their hair, without injuring it in the least. Now, then, place it on its back."
"It's pretending to be dead!" cried Lucien.
"Yes; it does that, like many other kinds of insects, in order to deceive an enemy about to seize it."
"Oh, how it jumps!" exclaimed Lucien.
"That is its only means of getting on its feet again, when it has had the misfortune of falling on its back. Look; it pushes the point which terminates its chest against the edge of the hole situated lower down; then it raises its head, piff! paff! you might fancy it was a spring going off. It didn't succeed the first time, but now it is up on its legs, and now you've lost it, for it has flown off!"
Lucien's first impulse was to dart off in pursuit of it, as the route it had taken was shown by its luminous appendages. But it was long past our usual hour for repose, sowe all sheltered ourselves as well as we could, and dreamt of our next day's adventures.
Day-break found us all up, and already comforted with a cup of coffee. We had been troubled during the night by mosquitoes; but they were only the harbingers of the legions which are before us. Lucien, full of impatience, could not take his eyes off the entrance of the cave, and followed all our movements with anxiety. A hollow stone which l'Encuerado had found was filled with fat, a morsel of linen served as a wick, and our make-shift lamp soon burned and gave forth light.
As the branches which were to serve as torches were being distributed, I noticed that a yellow and transparent drop had formed at the end of each. This gum, by its odor and color, has given to the tree which produces it the name ofliquid amber. At last, followed by my companions, I entered the cave; l'Encuerado placed the lamp on the edge of the pit, and the bats which had been disturbed the evening before again commenced their whirling flight.
Preceded by Sumichrast, I ventured down to the bottom of the pit. A narrow passage led from it into a vast chamber, the more distant parts of which we could not discern on account of the darkness. While my friend was exploring, I returned for Lucien. The lamp, thanks to the Indian's skill, was safely let down without extinguishing the light; lastly l'Encuerado himself made his appearance. Passing along the narrow passage, I soon perceived Sumichrast, who looked like some fantastic apparition as he shook his torch over his head, endeavoring to see through the darkness which enveloped us.
The lamp being set down at the entrance of the passage, each of us took a lighted torch, and advanced at a slow pace. Sumichrast and the Indian skirted the wall to the left, while I walked along the wall to the right. Our smokytorches gave but an imperfect light, and we could scarcely see beyond three yards in front of us. A little farther on, the ground was strewn with fallen stones; before venturing on this dangerous ground, I cast a glance towards my companions; they were not in sight. I gave them a call—a formidable clamor resounded through the chamber, and Lucien crept close to me.
"It is the echo returning to our ears Sumichrast's answer," I hastened to tell him. "They are in another chamber; you call them now!"
The boy, agitated, raised his voice. Immediately the dark vaults seemed to repeat his words; and the sound increased, as it moved away, as if a thousand persons, placed at intervals, were repeating some watch-word. A sonorous "Hiou! hiou!" prevailed over the uproar, and the face of l'Encuerado appeared on our right before the echo of the call had died away.
"Come and see a beautiful church!" cried the Indian. "A church made of diamonds, Chanito!"
We moved towards the entrance by an inclined passage, down the slope of which we followed l'Encuerado. The distance between the walls gradually increased, and soon we found ourselves in a vast hall studded with stalactites; in it Sumichrast arranged the lighted torches.
"The wildest dreams could not picture a stranger . . . style of architecture.""The wildest dreams could not picture a stranger . . . style of architecture."
The Indian was not far wrong; we might easily have fancied ourselves in a Gothic cathedral. The wildest dreams could not picture a stranger, more original, or more fantastic style of architecture. Never did any painter of fairy scenes imagine any effects more splendid. Hundreds of columns hung down from the roof and reached the ground below. It was a really wonderful assemblage of pointed arches, lace-work, branchery, and gigantic flowers. Here and there were statues drawn by nature's hand. Lucien particularly remarked a woman covered with a long veil,and stretching out over our heads an arm which a sculptor's chisel could scarcely have rendered more life-like. There were also shapeless mouths, monstrous heads, and animals, appearing as if they had been petrified, in menacing attitudes. The illusion was rendered more or less complete according to the play of the light; and many a strange shape was but caught sight of for a moment, to as rapidly vanish.
While we were moving about the cave, some long needles, hanging from the roof, touched our heads.
"They are stalactites," said I to the astonished Lucien. "The rain-water, filtering through the mountain above, dissolves the calcareous matter it meets with, and produces, when it evaporates, the beautiful concretions you are now looking at."
"Here is a needle coming up from the ground."
"That is a stalagmite; it increases upward, and not downward like the stalactites, through which, besides, a tube passes. Look up at that beautiful needle, with a drop of water glittering at the end of it. That liquid pearl, which has already deposited on the stalactite a thin layer of lime, will fall down on the stalagmite, the top of which is rounded. After a time the two needles will join, adding another column to the grotto, which, in the course of time, will become filled up with them."
"Then do stones proceed from water?" asked Lucien, with a thoughtful air.
"To a certain extent," I replied; "water holds in solution calcareous matter, and, as soon as the liquid evaporates, stone is formed."
"According to this," interposed l'Encuerado, "the pebbles ought to melt in the rivers."
"So they do; but they do not melt so easily as some things—sugar, for instance. Don't you recollect that in theRio Blanco the water is almost like milk, and that it leaves a whitish coating on the branches, and even on the leaves with which it comes in contact."
"That's true enough," replied the Indian, who had often wondered at the petrifactions with which the banks of the White River abound.
"But the water that falls down here is quite clear," urged Lucien, holding his torch close to a natural basin.
"But, nevertheless, it contains salts of lime in solution, the same, in fact, as all water, particularly that from wells. And it is for this reason that housekeepers will not use it; for it will not dissolve soap, and hardens the vegetables that are cooked in it."
"Now doyouunderstand this?" asked l'Encuerado, addressing Lucien; "I don't."
"Yes, I do, a little."
"Well, you are very fortunate! The other day stones were said to come from the sun or moon, and fly about all covered with fire; now, they are formed by water. Perhaps M. Sumichrast will tell us to-morrow that they come from the wind."
The Indian then walked away, quite indignant; we followed him, smiling at his anger, becoming more and more enchanted by the spectacle which met our eyes. Unfortunately, our torches gave a very insufficient light, and the thick smoke rapidly blackened the arches above us. A great polished stone now impeded our passage, and compelled us to crawl. I took the lead, and, passing through a kind of narrow corridor, made my way into a small chamber. I raised a sudden exclamation; for five or six skulls, symmetrically arranged, seemed to glare at me through their empty orbits.
"Oh father!" cried Lucien, "are we in a cemetery?"