On the Banks of the Amazon

by William Henry Giles Kingston

  CHAPTER TWELVE.

  THE RECLUSE--MORE ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST.

  Three days passed away, and Arthur had almost recovered. We none of ushad liked to ask the recluse any questions about himself, and he hadgiven us no information as to who he was, where he had come from, or howlong he had lived in that secluded spot. He had merely told us that hewas English, and he certainly seemed from his conversation to be a manof education. He made no inquiries about us, though he listened frompoliteness, apparently, rather than from any interest he took in thematter, to the account we gave him of our adventures. One thing wasvery evident, that, though he bore with our society, he would rather beleft alone to his usual solitude.

  I awoke early the following morning, and found John already on foot. Heproposed going down to the igarape to bathe, and asked me to accompanyhim. Our host, we found, had already left the hut. Arthur was asleep,so we would not disturb him. Domingos also had gone out, and weconcluded had accompanied the recluse to obtain provisions, as he hadtaken with him a couple of baskets which usually hung on the wall at theentrance of the hut. At all events, they were not there when we lookedfor them. Taking our guns, we proceeded as we proposed. The rays ofthe rising sun came through the few openings among the tall trees, theirlight flashing on the wings of the gorgeous butterflies and still morebrilliant plumage of several humming-birds, which flitted here and thereamid the opening in the forest.

  There was a sandy spot where we thought that we could venture into thewater, without the risk of being seized by an alligator or anaconda. Wewere making our way towards it, when we caught sight of a small canoe,in which a man, whom we at once recognised as the recluse, was seated.He was paddling slowly up the igarape. We watched him for some time,till he was lost to sight among the thick foliage which lined the banks.We naturally concluded that he was merely taking a morning excursion,perhaps to fish or bathe, and expected to see him again at breakfast.

  While John took a bath, I stood by and beat the water with a long pole,to frighten away any alligator which might be near, and he performed thesame office for me--a very necessary precaution, from the number of thehuge reptiles which swarm in all the rivers.

  Much refreshed, we returned to the hut. We waited for the recluse sometime before beginning breakfast, which Maria had prepared; but he didnot appear, nor did Domingos. We all agreed that we ought no longer toimpose our society on our strange friend. The first thing to be donewas to build a canoe, but we had not found a tree in the neighbourhoodof the hut exactly suited to our purpose.

  "We may perhaps discover one near the place at which we landed the otherday, and we may get our Indian friends to help us to build a canoe," Iobserved. "Or it is possible that they may have recovered some oftheirs, and be ready to sell one of them to us."

  "Then the sooner we find them out the better," observed John.

  "I wonder Duppo and his sister, or some of the other Indians, have notcome here to look for us," said Arthur. "I thought Duppo, at allevents, would have shown more regard for us."

  "Perhaps the recluse has taught them not to visit his hut without hisleave," I remarked. "They seem to hold him in great respect."

  While I was speaking Domingos appeared at the door, with his basketsloaded with fruit, vegetables, and birds--chiefly parrots and toucans ofgay plumage. He gave a note to John, which he had received, he said,from the strange senor early in the morning.

  "I will not conceal from you that I have departed greatly from myaccustomed habits in affording you an asylum," it ran. "If you wish ityou can remain, but I desire to be once more alone, and can find a homeelsewhere till you take your departure. I have communicated with yourIndian friends, and they will assist you in building a lodge moresuitable for you than this, in the situation you first selected. Aparty of them will appear shortly to convey your goods; and they willalso construct a montaria of a size sufficient for you to continue yourvoyage. I will, in the meantime, institute inquiries about your missingfriends, and, should I hear tidings of them, will send you word. I begthat you will return me no thanks, nor expect to see me. The life ofsolitude upon which your appearance has broken I desire to resume, andit will therefore cause me annoyance should you attempt to seek me.Accept such good wishes as a wretched outcast can venture to end."

  This strange note caused us much regret. "He is so kind and gentle, inspite of the strange way he sometimes expresses himself, that I shouldgrieve not to see him again, and thank him," said Arthur. "Do you notthink we could leave a note, asking him to let us come and visit himbefore we go away altogether? Surely he would not refuse that."

  "I am afraid, from the tenor of his note, it would be of no use," saidJohn; "but if you wish it you can do so; and it will show him, at allevents, that we are not ungrateful for his kindness."

  We waited all day in expectation of the arrival of the Indians, but noone appeared. John went out, and shot some birds and a couple ofmonkeys. In our rambles, which were further than we had yet been, wecame upon a cleared space containing a plantation of bananas, maize, andseveral edible roots; and, from the neat and scientific way in which theground was cultivated, we had little doubt it belonged to the stranger;indeed, from the supplies he had brought us, notwithstanding his firstremark, we had suspected that he was not without the means of supportinghimself with vegetable food. Although he had allowed us to cook theanimals we killed, we had remarked that he did not touch any of the meathimself.

  Early next morning, as I was standing on the verandah, True poked hisnose forward and began to bark. I thought he had seen some animal inthe woods, and got my gun ready to fire at it, when I caught sight of afigure emerging from the narrow path of which I have spoken, and,greatly to my satisfaction, I recognised Duppo. As soon as he saw us heran forward. I went down to meet him. He took my hand, and, by hisaction, and the gleam of satisfaction which passed over his impassivecountenance, showed the satisfaction he felt at again being with us. Hethen made signs that others were coming, and soon afterwards a party ofeight Indians, with his father at their head, made their appearance.Maono gravely saluted John and I, and signified that his men had come toconvey our property to another place. Duppo asked whether any of uswould like to return in the canoe. We agreed that it would be a goodplan for Arthur and Ellen to do so.

  "Oh, let me go through the woods," exclaimed Ellen; "I should like tosee the country."

  "But then, who is to look after Arthur? He is not fit to walk so faryet," said John.

  "Oh, then I will go and take care of him," answered Ellen.

  It was finally arranged that Maono and Duppo should paddle the canoe,and look after Ellen and Arthur. They formed a sufficiently largefreight for the little craft. The Indians now shouldered our goods,each man taking a load twice as heavy as any one of us could havecarried, although much less than our Napo peons had conveyed down to theriver. Before starting, Arthur wrote the note he had proposed to therecluse, and left it on the table. We could not help feeling sorry atleaving that shady little retreat. At the same time, there was nochance while remaining there of obtaining tidings of our family. Havinghanded Ellen and Arthur into the canoe, with Nimble, and Ellen's otherpets, we watched her for some minutes as Maono paddled her along theshore, which presented as far as we could see one wall of tall trees ofvaried forms rising almost from the water. "We shall meet again soon,"exclaimed Ellen as she waved an adieu. "Who knows what adventures weshall have to recount to each other!" We could not tear ourselves fromthe spot while the canoe remained in sight. As soon as she disappearedwe hurried after the Indians. Domingos and Maria had gone on with them.We walked on rapidly, fully expecting, as they had loads, that weshould quickly overtake them. John was a little ahead of me, whensuddenly I saw him take a tremendous leap along the path. I waswondering what sudden impulse had seized him, when I heard him exclaim,"Look out, Harry I see that creature;" and there I observed stretchedacross the path, a big ugly-looking serpent. I sprang back, holdingTrue, who
would have unhesitatingly dashed at the dangerous reptile. Itwas nearly six feet in length, almost as thick as a man's leg, of a deepbrown above, pale yellow streaks forming a continued series oflozenge-shaped marks down the back, growing less and less distinct asthey descended the sides, while it had a thin neck, and a huge flathead, covered with small scales.

  As we had our guns ready, we did not fear it. It seemed disinclined tomove, and, had it not lifted up its tail, we might have supposed itdead. We soon recognised, by the shape of the point, the fearfulrattlesnake;--fearful it would be from its venomous bite, had not therattle been fixed to it to give notice of its approach. We threw sticksat it, but still it did not seem inclined to move. Again it lifted upits horny tail, and shook its rattle. "Take care," cried John; "keepaway." The serpent had begun to glide over the ground, now looking atone of us, now at the other, as if undecided at which it should dart. Itook John's advice, and quickly retreated. He fired, and shattered thereptile's head. As it still moved slowly, I finished it with a blow ofmy stick.

  As it would have been inconvenient to drag after us, we cut off thetail, that we might examine it at leisure. We found that the rattle wasplaced with the broad part perpendicular to the body. The last jointwas fastened to the last vertebra of the tail by means of a thickmuscle, as well as by the membranes which united it to the skin. Theremaining joints were so many extraneous bodies, as it were, unconnectedwith the tail, except by the curious way in which they were fitted intoeach other. It is said that these bony rings or rattles increase innumber with the age of the animal, and on each casting of the skin itacquires an additional one. The tip of every uppermost bone runs withintwo of the bones below it. By this means they not only move together,but also multiply the sound, as each bone hit against two others at thesame time.

  They are said only to bite when provoked or when they kill their prey.For this purpose they are provided with two kinds of teeth,--thesmaller, which are placed in each jaw, and serve to catch and retaintheir food: and the fangs, or poisonous teeth, which are placed withoutthe upper jaw. They live chiefly upon birds and small animals. It issaid that when the piercing eye of the rattlesnake is fixed on an animalor bird they are so terrified and astonished that they are unable toescape. Birds, as if entranced, unwillingly keeping their eyes fixed onthose of the reptile, have been seen to drop into its mouth. Smalleranimals fall from the trees and actually run into the jaws open toreceive them. Fatal as is the bite of the rattlesnake to mostcreatures, the peccary attacks and eats the reptile without theslightest hesitation; as, indeed, do ordinary hogs,--and even whenbitten they do not suffer in the slightest degree.

  This encounter with the rattlesnake having delayed us for a little time,we hurried on as rapidly as we could to overtake our companions. We hadgone some distance, and still had not come up with them. I began to beafraid that we had turned aside from the right path. In some placeseven our eyes had distinguished the marks of those who had gone beforeus. We had now lost sight of them altogether, and as the wood wastolerably open, and the axes had not been used, we could only judge bythe direction of the sun how to proceed.

  We went on for some time, still believing ourselves in the rightdirection; but at last, when we expected to find the marks of the axeswhich we had before made, we could discover none. We searched about--now on one side, now on the other. The forest, though dense, was yetsufficiently open to enable us to make our way in a tolerably directline. Now and then we had to turn aside to avoid the thick mass ofcreepers or the fallen trunk of some huge tree. We shouted frequently,hoping that Domingos and the Indians might hear us. Then John suggestedthat they, finding it an easy matter to follow the right track, did notsuppose we could lose it. At last we grew tired of shouting, and agreedthat we should probably fall in with the proper track by incliningsomewhat to the right; and I had so much faith also in True's sagacitythat I had hopes he would find it. However, I gave him more credit thanhe deserved. He was always happy in the woods, like a knight-errant insearch of adventures, plenty of which he was indeed likely to meet with.

  Still in the belief that we were not far wrong in our course, we walkedbriskly forward. We had gone some distance, when True made towards thedecayed trunk of a huge tree, and began barking violently. While wewere still at a considerable distance, a large hairy creature rose upbefore us. True stood his ground bravely, rushing now on one side, nowon the other, of the animal. It had an enormous bushy tail, curled upsomething like that of a squirrel, but with a great deal more hair, andlooked fully eight feet in length. As we drew nearer we saw that it hadalso an extraordinary long snout. It seemed in no degree afraid ofTrue, and he evidently considered it a formidable antagonist. Presentlyit lifted itself up on its hind legs, when True sprang back just in timeto avoid a gripe of its claws. Still the creature, undaunted by ourappearance, made at him, when, seeing that he was really in danger, Johnand I rushed forward. We then discovered the creature to be a hugeant-eater, which, though it had no teeth, was armed with formidableclaws, with which it would inevitably have killed my brave dog had itcaught him. A shot in the head from John's rifle laid it dead.

  It was covered with long hair, the prevailing colour being that of darkgrey, with a broad band of black running from the neck downwards on eachside of the body. It lives entirely on ants; and on opening its mouthwe found that it could not provide itself with other food, as it wasentirely destitute of teeth. Its claws, which were long, sharp,pointed, and trenchant, were its only implements of defence. Its hinderclaws were short and weak; but the front ones were powerful, and soformed that anything at which it seizes can never hope to escape. Theobject of its powerful crooked claws is to enable it to open theant-hills, on the inhabitants of which it feeds. It then draws itslong, flexible tongue, covered with a glutinous saliva, over the swarmsof insects who hurry forth to defend their dwelling.

  The scientific name of this great ant-eater is _Myrmecophaga jubata_.There are, however, several smaller ant-eaters, which are arborial--thatis, have their habitations in trees. Some are only ten inches long.One species is clothed with a greyish-yellow silky hair; another is of adingy brown colour. They are somewhat similar in their habits to thesloth; and as they are seen clinging with their claws to the trees, ormoving sluggishly along, they are easily mistaken for that animal, towhich, indeed, they are allied. Some are nocturnal, others are seenmoving about in the daytime.

  True seemed to be aware of the narrow escape he had had from theformidable talons of the ant-eater, for after this encounter he keptclose behind my heels. I hoped that he had received a useful lesson,and would attack no animal unless at my command, or he might do so someday when no friend was at hand to come to his rescue.

  We had been walking on after this occurrence for some time in silence,when True pricked up his ears and began to steal forward. I could,however, see nothing. The undergrowth and masses of sipos were here ofconsiderable denseness. Still, as he advanced, we followed him.Presently the forest became a little more open, when we caught sight ofa creature with a long tail and a tawny hide with dark marks. "It is ajaguar," I whispered to John. "It is watching some animal. In a momentwe shall see it make its spring." It was so intent on some objectbefore it, that it did not discover our approach. On it went with thestealthy pace of a cat about to pounce on an unwary bird or mouse. Itdid not make the slightest noise, carefully avoiding every branch in itsway. True, after his late adventure with the ant-eater, was lessdisposed than usual to seek an encounter, and I was therefore able tokeep him from dashing forward as he otherwise would have done.

  "The creature is about to pounce on some deer he sees feeding in thethicket," whispered John; "or perhaps he espies a tapir, and hopes tobring it to the ground."

  Unconscious of our approach, the savage animal crept on and on, nowputting one foot slowly forward, now the other. Now it stopped, thenadvanced more quickly. At length it stopped for a moment, and then madeone rapid bound forward. A cry reached ou
r ears. "That is a humanvoice!" exclaimed John; "some unfortunate native caught sleeping." Hefired as he spoke, for we could still see the back of the animal throughthe thick underwood. The jaguar bounded up as it received the wound,and the next moment the tall figure of the recluse appeared, bleeding atthe shoulder, but otherwise apparently uninjured.

  "What, my young friends," he exclaimed, "brought you here? You havesaved my life, at all events."

  "We chanced to lose our way, and are thankful we came up in time to saveyou from that savage brute."

  "Chance!" exclaimed the recluse. "It is the very point I wasconsidering at the moment;" and he showed us a book in his hand. "Yourarrival proves to me that there is no such thing as chance. I wasreading at the moment, lost in thought, or I should not have been soeasily surprised."

  John then told him how we had waited to see Ellen and our young friendoff; and then, in attempting to follow our companions, had lost our way.

  "We should have got thus far sooner had we not been delayed by an attackwhich a great ant-eater made on our dog."

  "If you have lost your way, you will wish to find it," said the recluse."I will put you right, and as we go along, we can speak on the point Imentioned. You have some distance to go, for you should know that youhave come almost at right angles to the route you intended to take. Nomatter; I know this forest, and can lead you by a direct course to thepoint you wish to gain. But I must ask you before we move forward tobind up my shoulder. Here, take this handkerchief. You need not beafraid of hurting me."

  Saying this, he resumed his seat on the log, and John, under hisdirections, secured the handkerchief over the lacerated limb. He borethe process with perfect composure, deep as were the wounds formed bythe jaguar's claws.

  "What has occurred has convinced me that chance does not exist," hesaid, resuming his remarks as we walked along. "You delayed some time,you tell me, in watching your friends embark; then, losing your way, youwere detained by the ant-eater, and thus arrived at the very moment tosave my life. There was no chance in that. Had you been sooner youwould have passed me by, for I sat so occupied in reading, and ensconcedamong the roots of the trees, that I should not have heard you. Had youdelayed longer, the fierce jaguar would have seized me, and my lifewould have been sacrificed. No, I say again, there is no such thing aschance. He who rules the world ordered each event which has occurred,and directed your steps hither. It is a happy and comforting creed toknow that One more powerful than ourselves takes care of us. Till themoment the jaguar's sharp claw touched my shoulder, I had doubted this.The author whose book I hold doubts it also, and I was arguing the pointwith him. Your arrival decided the question."

  While he was speaking I missed True, and now heard him bark violently.I ran back, and found the jaguar we thought had been killed rising toits feet. It was snarling fiercely at the brave dog, and in anothermoment would have sprung upon him. True stood prepared for theencounter, watching the creature's glaring eyes. I saw the danger of myfaithful friend and fired at the head of the savage animal. My shot wasmore effectual than John's. It fell back dead. John and the reclusecame hurrying up.

  "We should never leave a treacherous foe behind us," observed thelatter. "However, he is harmless now. Come on. You have a long walkbefore you; though, for myself, I can find a lodging in the forest,suited to my taste, whenever I please."

  The recluse, as in our former walk, led the way. For a considerabledistance he went on without again speaking. There was much that wasstrange about him, yet his mind seemed perfectly clear, and I could nothelp hoping that we might be the means of persuading him to return tocivilised society. He walked forward so rapidly that we sometimes haddifficulty in keeping up with him; and I remarked, more than I had donebefore, his strange appearance, as he flourished his sharp axe, nowstriking on one side, now on the other, at the sipos and vines whichinterfered with his progress. He was dressed merely in a coarse cottonshirt and light trousers secured round the waist by a sash, while abroad-brimmed straw hat sheltered his head. His complexion was burnedalmost red; his features were thin, and his eyes sunken; but no tinge ofgrey could be perceived in his hair, which hung wild and streaming overhis shoulders.

  True, after going on for some time patiently, began to hunt about oneither side according to his custom. Presently he gave forth one of hisloud cheery barks, and off he bounded after a creature which had comeout of the hollow of a tree. Calling to John, I made chase, getting mygun ready to fire. The ground just there was bare, and I caught sightof an animal the size of a small pig, but its whole back and head werecovered with scales. In spite of its awkward appearance, it made goodplay over the ground, and even True, with all his activity, couldscarcely keep up with it. It turned its head here and there, lookingapparently for a hole in which to seek shelter. He, however, madedesperate efforts to overtake it. The base of a large tree impeded itsprogress, when, just as he was about to spring on it, it suddenly coileditself up into a round ball. True kept springing round and round it,wishing to get hold of the creature, but evidently finding no vulnerablepart. I ran forward and seized it, when, just as I got hold of theball, I received so severe a dig in my legs from a pair of powerfulclaws which it suddenly projected, that I was glad to throw it downagain.

  "You have got hold of an armadillo," said the recluse, who with John atthat moment arrived. "If you want a dinner, or wish to make anacceptable present to your Indian friends, you may kill and carry itwith you; but if not, let the creature go. For my part, I delight toallow the beasts of the forest to roam at large, and enjoy the existencewhich their Maker has given them. The productions of the ground affordme sufficient food to support life, and more I do not require. Yet Iacknowledge that unless animals were allowed to prey on each other, thespecies would soon become so numerous that the teeming earth itselfcould no longer support them: therefore man, as he has the power, so, Iown, he has the right to supply himself with food which suits his taste.I speak, therefore, only as regards my own feelings."

  While he was speaking he seemed to forget that he had just before beenin a hurry to proceed on our way, and stood with his arms folded, gazingat the armadillo. The creature, finding itself unmolested, for evenTrue stood at a respectful distance, uncoiled itself, and I then had anopportunity of observing its curious construction. Its whole back wascovered with a coat of scaly armour of a bony-looking substance, inseveral parts. On the head was an oval plate, beneath which could beseen a pair of small eyes, winking, as if annoyed by the sunlight. Overthe shoulders was a large buckler, and a similar one covered thehaunches; while between these solid portions could be seen a series ofshelly zones, arranged in such a manner as to accommodate this coat ofmail to the back and body. The entire tail was shielded by a series ofcalcareous rings, which made it perfectly flexible. The interiorsurface, as well as the lower part of the body, was covered with coarsescattered hairs, of which some were seen to issue forth between thejoints of the armour. It had a pointed snout, long ears, short, thicklimbs, and stout claws.

  "There are several species of the armadillo," observed our friend. "Thecreature before us is the _Dasypus sexcinctus_. It is a burrowinganimal, and so rapidly can it dig a hole, that when chased it has oftenits way made under ground before the hunter can reach it. Its foodconsists of roots, fruits, and every variety of soft vegetablesubstances; but it also devours carrion and flesh of all sorts, as wellas worms, lizards, ants, and birds which build their nests on theground. In some parts of the continent the natives cook it in itsshell, and esteem it a great delicacy."

  Whilst our friend was giving us this account, the armadillo, suddenlystarting forward, ran off at a great rate into the forest, True madechase, but I called him back, and he came willingly, apparentlyconvinced that he should be unable to overtake the creature, oroverpower it if he did.

  We were once more proceeding on our way. The day was drawing to aclose, and yet we had not overtaken our companions. "You are scarcelyaware of the dis
tance you were from the right road," observed therecluse. "When once a person gets from the direct path, he knows notwhither he may wander. It may be a lesson to you. I have learned itfrom bitter experience." He sighed deeply as he spoke. At length wesaw the bright glare of a fire between the trees. "You will find yourfriends there," said the recluse, "and, directed by that, can now goon."

  "But surely you are going with us to the camp?" said John.

  "No; I shall seek a resting-place in the forest," he answered. "I amtoo much accustomed to solitude to object to be alone, even though Ihave no sheltering roof over my head. Farewell! I know not whether weshall meet again, but I would once more give you the assurance that I donot forget that you were the means of saving my life; and yet I know notwhy I should set value upon it."

  In vain John and I entreated him to come on. Not another step furtherwould he advance; and he cut us short by turning hastily round andstalking off into the depths of the forest, while we hurried on towardsthe camp.

  "Oh, there they are! there they are!" exclaimed Ellen, running forwardto meet us as we appeared. "I have been so anxious about you, and sohas Arthur! Domingos told us he was sure you would come up soon, but Icould not help dreading that some accident had happened."

  We had to confess that we had lost our way, and that, had it not beenfor the stranger, we should still be wandering in the forest.

  "And why would he not come to the camp?" she asked. "Arthur is longingto see him again. Duppo has been telling him of the way in which herescued him from the anaconda. I was at last obliged to tell him whatoccurred."

  Arthur now came up. "I must thank him!" he exclaimed. "I will run andovertake him."

  We had great difficulty in persuading Arthur of the hopelessness offinding him, and that he would be more likely to lose his own way in theforest.

  The Indians had been busily employed in putting up huts for ouraccommodation. Ellen and Maria, with their pets, had already possessionof theirs. We hung up our hammocks in the more open shed which had beenprepared for us.