Afloat in the Forest; Or, A Voyage among the Tree-Tops

by Mayne Reid

  It was fortunate for both that other eyes than their own were turnedupon that stretch of open water. Had it not been so, the silentswimmer, far swifter than they, coming rapidly up in their rear, mighthave overtaken them long before reaching the tree. The shout sent forthfrom the sapucaya, in which every voice bore a part, warned them of somedread danger threatening near. But for late experience, they might nothave known on which side to look for it; but, guided by this, theyinstinctively looked back. The jacare, close behind, was coming on asfast as his powerful tail, rapidly oscillating from side to side, couldpropel him. It was fortunate for the two swimmers they had heard thatwarning cry in time. A score of seconds made all the difference intheir favour, all the difference between life and death. It was theirdestiny to live, and not die then in the jaws of the jacare. Before theugly reptile, making all the speed in its power, could come up witheither of them, both, assisted by willing hands, had climbed beyond itsreach, and could look upon it without fear from among the branches ofthe sapucaya.

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.

  IMPROVISED SWIMMING-BELTS.

  The huge saurian swam on to the tree,--to the very spot where Richardand the Mundurucu had climbed up, at the forking of the stem. Onperceiving that its prey had for a second time got clear, its furyseemed to break all bounds. It lashed the water with its tail, closedits jaws, with a loud clattering, and gave utterance to a series ofsounds, that could only be compared to a cross between the bellowing ofa bull and the grunting of a hog.

  Out in the open light of the sun, and swimming conspicuously upon thesurface of the water, a good view of the reptile could now be obtained;but this did not improve the opinion of it already formed by Richard.It looked, if possible, uglier than when seen in shadow; for in thelight the fixed leer of its lurid eye, and the ghastly blood-colouredinside of the jaws, at intervals opened, and showing a triple row ofterrible teeth, were more conspicuous and disgusting. Its immense bulkmade it still more formidable to look upon. Its body was full eightyards in length, and of proportionate thickness,--measuring around themiddle not less than a fathom and a half; while the lozenge-likeprotuberances along its spine rose in pointed pyramids to the height ofseveral inches.

  No wonder that little Rosa uttered a shriek of terror on first beholdingit; no wonder that brave young Ralph trembled at the sight. EvenTrevannion himself, with the negro and Tipperary Tom, regarded thereptile with fear. It was some time before they felt sure that it couldnot crawl up to them. It seemed for a time as if it meant to do so,rubbing its bony snout against the bark, and endeavouring to clasp thetrunk with its short human-like arms. After several efforts to ascend,it apparently became satisfied that this feat was not to be performed,and reluctantly gave up the attempt; then, retreating a short distance,began swimming in irregular circles around the tree, all the whilekeeping its eye fixed upon the branches.

  After a time, the castaways only bent their gaze upon the monster atintervals, when some new manoeuvre attracted their notice. There was noimmediate danger to be dreaded from it; and although its proximity wasanything but pleasant, there were other thoughts equally disagreeable,and more important, to occupy their time and attention. They could notremain all their lives in the sapucaya; and although they knew not whatfortune awaited them in the forest, beyond, they were all anxious to getthere.

  Whether it was altogether a flooded forest, or whether there might notbe some dry land in it, no one could tell. In the Mundurucu's opinionit was the former: and in the face of this belief, there was not muchhope of their finding a foot of dry land. In any case, the forest mustbe reached, and all were anxious to quit their quarters on the sapucaya,under the belief that they would find others more comfortable. At allevents, a change could not well be for the worse.

  Munday had promised them the means of transport, but how this was to beprovided none of them as yet knew. The time, however, had arrived forhim to declare his intentions, and this he proceeded to do; not inwords, but by deeds that soon made manifest his design.

  It will be remembered that, after killing the macaws, he had tapped theseringa, and "drawn" two cups full of the sap,--that he had bottled itup in the pots, carefully closing the lids against leakage. It willalso be remembered, that he had provided himself with a quantity ofcreepers, which he had folded into a portable bundle. These were of apeculiar sort,--the true sipos of the South American forest, which servefor all purposes of cordage, ropes ready made by the hand of Nature. Onparting from the seringa, he had brought these articles along with him,his companion carrying a share of the load. Though chased by thejacare, and close run too, neither had abandoned his bundle,--tied bysipos around the neck,--and both the bottled caoutchouc and the cordagewere now in the sapucaya. What they were intended for no one couldguess, until it pleased the Indian to reveal his secret; and this he atlength did, by collecting a large number of nuts from the sapucaya,--Ralph and Richard acting as his aides,--emptying them of theirthree-cornered kernels, restoring the lids, and then making them"water-proof" by a coating of the caoutchouc.

  Soon all became acquainted with his plans, when they saw him bind thehollow shells into bunches, three or four in each, held together bysipos, and then with a stronger piece of the same parasite attach thebunches two and two together, leaving about three feet of the twistedsipos between.

  "Swimming-belts!" cried Ralph, now for the first time comprehending thescheme. Ralph was right. That was just what the Mundurucu hadmanufactured,--a set of _swimming-belts_.

  CHAPTER THIRTY.

  ALLIGATOR LORE.

  For an hour the castaways remained in the tree, chafing with impatienceand chagrin that their awful enemy still kept his savage watch for themin the Gapo below, gliding lazily to and fro, but ever watching themwith eager, evil eye. But there was no help for it; and by way ofpossessing their souls in more patience, and making time pass quicker,they fell to conversing on a subject appropriate to the occasion, for itwas the jacare itself, or rather alligators in general. Most of thequestions were put by Trevannion, while the answers were given by theMundurucu, whose memory, age, and experience made him a comprehensivecyclopaedia of alligator lore.

  The Indian, according to his own account, was acquainted with live orsix different kinds of jacare. They were not all found in one place,though he knew parts of the country where two or three kinds might befound dwelling in the same waters; as, for instance, the jacare-uassu(great alligator), the same as was then besieging them, and which issometimes called the black jacare, might often be seen in the same poolwith the jacare-tinga, or little alligator. Little jacare was not anappropriate name for this last species. It was four feet long when fullgrown, and he knew of others, as the jacare-curua, that never grew abovetwo. These kinds frequented small creeks, and were less known than theothers, as it was only in certain places they were found. The jacareswere most abundant in the dry season. He did not suppose they werereally more numerous, only that they were then collected together in thepermanent lakes and pools. Besides, the rivers were then lower, and asthere was less surface for them to spread over, they were more likely tobe seen. As soon as the _echente_ commenced, they forsook the channelsof the rivers, as also the standing lakes, and wandered all over theGapo. As there was then a thousand times the quantity of water, ofcourse the creatures were more scattered, and less likely to beencountered. In the _vasante_ he had seen half-dried lakes swarmingwith jacares, as many as there would be tadpoles in a frog-pond. Atsuch times he had seen them crowded together, and had heard their scalesrattling, as they jostled one another, at the distance of half a mile ormore. In the countries on the lower part of the Solimoes, where many ofthe inland lakes become dry during the _vasante_, many jacares at thatseason buried themselves in the mud, and went to sleep. They remainedasleep, encased in dry, solid earth, till the flood once more softenedthe mud around them, when they came out again as ugly as ever. Hedidn't think that they followed this fashion everywhere; only where thelakes in which they chan
ced to be became dry, and they found theirretreat to the river cut off. They made their nests on dry land,covering the eggs over with a great conical pile of rotten leaves andmud.

  The eggs of the jacare-uassu were as large as cocoa-nuts, and of an ovalshape. They had a thick, rough shell, which made a loud noise whenrubbed against any hard substance. If the female were near the nest,and you wished to find her, you had only to rub two of the eggstogether, and she would come waddling towards you the moment she heardthe noise. They fed mostly on fish, but that was because fish wasplentiest, and most readily obtained. They would eat flesh or fowl,--anything that chanced in their way. Fling them a bone, and they wouldswallow it at a gulp, seizing it in their great jaws before it couldreach the water, just as a dog would do. If a morsel got into theirmouth that wouldn't readily go down, they would pitch it out, and catchit while in the air, so as to get it between their jaws in a moreconvenient manner.

  Sometimes they had terrific combats with the jaguars; but these animalswere wary about attacking the larger ones, and only preyed upon theyoung of these, or the jacare-tingas. They themselves made war on everycreature they could catch, and above all on the young turtles, thousandsof which were every year devoured by them. They even devoured their ownchildren,--that is, the old males did, whenever the _mai_ (mother) wasnot in the way to protect them. They had an especial preference fordogs,--that is, as food,--and if they should hear a dog barking in theforest, they would go a long way over land to get hold of him. They liein wait for fish, sometimes hiding themselves in the weeds and grasstill the latter come near. They seized them, if convenient, betweentheir jaws, or killed them with a stroke of the tail, making a greatcommotion in the water. The fish got confused with fright, and didn'tknow which way to swim out of the reptile's reach. Along with theirother food they ate stones, for he had often found stones in theirstomach. The Indian said it was done that the weight might enable themto go under the water more easily.

  The _Capilearas_ were large animals that furnished many a meal to thejacares; although the quadrupeds could swim very fast, they were nomatch for the alligator, who can make head with rapidity against thestrongest current. If they could only turn short, they would be farmore dangerous than they are; but their neck was stiff, and it took thema long while to get round, which was to their enemies' advantage.Sometimes they made journeys upon land. Generally they travelled veryslowly, but they could go much faster when attacked, or pursuing theirprey. Their tail was to be especially dreaded. With a blow of thatthey could knock the breath out of a man's body, or break his leg bone.They liked to bask in the sun, lying along the sand-banks by the edge ofthe river, several of them together, with their tails laid one on theother. They would remain motionless for hours, as if asleep, but allthe while with their mouths wide open. Some said that they did this toentrap the flies and insects that alighted upon their tongue and teeth,but he (the Mundurucu) didn't believe it, because no quantity of flieswould fill the stomach of the great jacare. While lying thus, or evenat rest upon the water, birds often perched upon their backs andheads,--cranes, ibises, and other kinds. They even walked about overtheir bodies without seeming to disturb them. In that way the jacarescould not get at them, if they wished it ever so much.

  There were some jacares more to be dreaded than others. These were theman-eaters, such as had once tasted human flesh. There were many ofthem,--too many,--since not a year passed without several people fallingvictims to the voracity of these reptiles. People were used to seeingthem every day, and grew careless. The jacares lay in wait in thebathing-places close to villages and houses, and stole upon the bathersthat had ventured into deep water. Women, going to fetch water, andchildren, were especially subject to their attack. He had known men,who had gone into the water in a state of intoxication, killed anddevoured by the jacare, with scores of people looking helplessly on fromthe bank, not twenty yards away. When an event of this kind happened,the people armed themselves _en masse_, got into their _montarias_(canoes), gave chase, and usually killed the reptile. At other times itwas left unmolested for months, and allowed to lie in wait for a victim.

  The brute was _muy ladim_ (very cunning). That was evident enough tohis listeners. They had only to look down into the water, and watch themovements of the monster there. Notwithstanding its ferocity, it was atbottom a great coward, but it knew well when it was master of thesituation. The one under the sapucaya believed itself to be in thatposition. It might be mistaken. If it did not very soon take itsdeparture, he, the Mundurucu, should make trial of its courage, and thenwould be seen who was master. Big as it was, it would not be sodifficult to subdue for one who knew how. The jacare was not easilykilled, for it would not die outright till it was cut to pieces. But itcould be rendered harmless. Neither bullet nor arrow would penetrateits body, but there were places where its life could be reached,--thethroat, the eyes, and the hollow places just behind the eyes, in frontof the shoulders. If stabbed in any of these tender places, it must gounder. He knew a plan better than that; and if the brute did not soonraise the siege, he would put it in practice. He was getting to be anold man. Twenty summers ago he would not have put up with suchinsolence from an alligator. He was not decrepit yet. If the jacareconsulted its own safety, it would do well to look out.

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.

  A HIDE UPON A REPTILE.

  After thus concluding his long lecture upon alligators, the Indian grewrestless, and fidgeted from side to side. It was plain to all, that thepresence of the jacare was provoking him to fast-culminating excitement.As another hour passed, and the monster showed no signs of retiring,his excitement grew to auger so intense, as to be no longer withheldfrom seeking relief in action. So the Mundurucu hastily uprose,flinging aside the swimming-belts hitherto held in his hands.Everything was put by except his knife, and this, drawn from his_tanga_, was now held tightly in his grasp.

  "What mean you, Munday?" inquired Trevannion, observing with someanxiety the actions of the Indian. "Surely you are not going to attackthe monster? With such a poor weapon you would have no chance, evensupposing you could get within striking distance before being swallowedup. Don't think of such a thing!"

  "Not with this weapon, patron," replied the Indian, holding up theknife; "though even with it the Mundurucu would not fear to fight thejacare, and kill him, too. Then the brute would go to the bottom of theGapo, taking me along. I don't want a ducking like that, to say nothingof the chances of being drowned. I must settle the account on thesurface."

  "My brave fellow, don't be imprudent! It is too great a risk. Let usstay here till morning. Night will bring a change, and the reptile willgo off."

  "Patron! the Mundurucu thinks differently. That jacare is a man-eater,strayed from some of the villages, perhaps Coary, that we have latelyleft. It has tasted man's blood,--even ours, that of your son, yourown. It sees men in the tree. It will not retire till it has gratifiedits ravenous desires. We may stay in this tree till we starve, and fromfeebleness drop, one by one, from the branches."

  "Let us try it for one night?"

  "No, patron," responded the Indian, his eyes kindling with a revengefulfire, "not for one hour. The Mundurucu was willing to obey you in whatrelated to the duty for which you hired him. He is no longer a_tapuyo_. The galatea is lost, the contract is at an end, and now he isfree to do what he may please with his life. Patron!" continued the oldman, with an energy that resembled returning youth, "my tribe wouldspurn me from the _malocca_ if I bore it any longer. Either I or thejacare must die!"

  Silenced by the singularity of the Indian's sentiment and speech,Trevannion forbore further opposition. No one knew exactly what hispurpose was, though his attitude and actions led all to believe that hemeant to attack the jacare. With his knife? No. He had negatived thisquestion himself. How then? There appeared to be no other weaponwithin reach. But there was, and his companions soon saw there was, asthey sat silently watching his movements. The kni
fe was only used asthe means of procuring that weapon, which soon made its appearance inthe form of a _macana_, or club, cut from one of the llianas,--a_bauhinia_ of heaviest wood, shaped something after the fashion of a"life-preserver," with a heavy knob of the creeper forming its head, anda shank about two feet long, tapering towards the handle. Armed withthis weapon, and restoring the knife to his _tango_, the Indian camedown and glided out along the horizontal limb already known to ourstory. To attract the reptile thither was not difficult. His presencewould have been a sufficient lure, but some broken twigs cast upon thewater served to hasten its approach to the spot. In confidence thejacare came on, believing that by some imprudence, or misadventure, atleast one of those it had marked for its victims was about to drop intoits hungry maw. One did drop,--not into its maw, or its jaws, but uponits back, close up to the swell of its shoulders. Looking down from thetree, his companions saw the Mundurucu astride upon the alligator, withone hand, the left, apparently inserted into the hollow socket of thereptile's eye, the other raised aloft, grasping the _macana_, thatthreatened to descend upon the skull of the jacare. It _did_ descend,--crack!--crash!--crackle! After that there was not much to record. TheMundurucu was compelled to slide off his seat. The huge saurian, withits fractured skull, yielded to a simple physical law, turned over,showing its belly of yellowish white,--an aspect not a whit more lovelythan that presented in its dark dorsal posterior. If not dead, therecould be no doubt that the jacare was no longer dangerous; and as itsconqueror returned to the tree, he was received with a storm of"_Vivas_" to which Tipperary Tom added his enthusiastic Irish"Hoor-raa!"