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diff --git a/27981.txt b/27981.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e2437b3 --- /dev/null +++ b/27981.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9761 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Plant Hunters, by Mayne Reid + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Plant Hunters + Adventures Among the Himalaya Mountains + +Author: Mayne Reid + +Release Date: February 3, 2009 [EBook #27981] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PLANT HUNTERS *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +The Plant Hunters, by Captain Mayne Reid. + +The Plant Hunters--by Captain Mayne Reid + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +THE PLANT-HUNTER. + +"A Plant-Hunter! what is that? + +"We have heard of fox-hunters, of deer-hunters, of bear and +buffalo-hunters, of lion-hunters, and of `boy-hunters;' of a +plant-hunter never. + +"Stay! Truffles are plants. Dogs are used in finding them; and the +collector of these is termed a truffle-hunter. Perhaps this is what the +Captain means?" + +No, my boy reader. Something very different from that. My plant-hunter +is no fungus-digger. His occupation is of a nobler kind than +contributing merely to the capricious palate of the gourmand. To his +labours the whole civilised world is indebted--yourself among the rest. +Yes, you owe him gratitude for many a bright joy. For the varied sheen +of your garden you are indebted to him. The gorgeous dahlia that nods +over the flower-bed--the brilliant peony that sparkles on the parterre-- +the lovely camelia that greets you in the greenhouse,--the kalmias, the +azaleas, the rhododendrons, the starry jessamines, the gerania, and a +thousand other floral beauties, are, one and all of them, the gifts of +the plant-hunter. By his agency England--cold cloudy England--has +become a garden of flowers, more varied in species and brighter in bloom +than those that blossomed in the famed valley of Cashmere. Many of the +noble trees that lend grace to our English landscape,--most of the +beautiful shrubs that adorn our villas, and gladden the prospect from +our cottage-windows, are the produce of his industry. But for him, many +fruits, and vegetables, and roots, and berries, that garnish your table +at dinner and dessert, you might never have tasted. But for him these +delicacies might never have reached your lips. A good word, then, for +the plant-hunter! + +And now, boy reader, in all seriousness I shall tell you what I mean by +a "plant-hunter." I mean a person who devotes all his time and labour +to the collection of rare plants and flowers--in short, one who makes +this occupation his _profession_. These are not simply "botanists"-- +though botanical knowledge they must needs possess--but, rather, what +has hitherto been termed "botanical collectors." + +Though these men may not stand high in the eyes of the scientific +world--though the closet-systematist may affect to underrate their +calling, I dare boldly affirm that the humblest of their class has done +more service to the human race than even the great Linnaeus himself. +They are, indeed, the botanists of true value, who have not only +imparted to us a knowledge of the world's vegetation, but have brought +its rarest forms before our very eyes--have placed its brightest flowers +under our very noses, as it were--flowers, that but for them had been +still "blushing unseen," and "wasting their sweetness on the desert +air." + +My young reader, do not imagine that I have any desire to underrate the +merits of the scientific botanist. No, nothing of the sort. I am only +desirous of bringing into the foreground a class of men whose services +in my opinion the world has not yet sufficiently acknowledged--I mean +the botanical collectors--the _plant-hunters_. + +It is just possible that you never dreamt of the existence of such a +profession or calling, and yet from the earliest historic times there +have been men who followed it. There were plant-collectors in the days +of Pliny, who furnished the gardens of Herculaneum and Pompeii; there +were plant-collectors employed by the wealthy mandarins of China, by the +royal sybarites of Delhi and Cashmere, at a time when our semi-barbarous +ancestors were contented with the wild flowers of their native woods. +But even in England the calling of the plant-hunter is far from being +one of recent origin. It dates as early as the discovery and +colonisation of America; and the names of the Tradescants, the Bartrams, +and the Catesbys--true plant-hunters--are among the most respected in +the botanical world. To them we are indebted for our tulip-trees, our +magnolias, our maples, our robinias, our western _platanus_, and a host +of other noble trees, that already share the forest, and contest with +our native species, the right to our soil. + +At no period of the world has the number of plant-hunters been so great +as at present. Will you believe it, hundreds of men are engaged in this +noble and useful calling? Among them may be found representatives of +all the nations of Europe--Germans in greatest number; but there are +Swedes and Russ as well, Danes and Britons, Frenchmen, Spaniards, and +Portuguese, Swiss and Italians. They may be found pursuing their +avocation in every corner of the world--through the sequestered passes +of the Rocky Mountains, upon the pathless prairies, in the deep +barrancas of the Andes, amid the tangled forests of the Amazon and the +Orinoco, on the steppes of Siberia, in the glacier valleys of the +Himalaya--everywhere--everywhere amid wild and savage scenes, where the +untrodden and the unknown invite to fresh discoveries in the world of +vegetation. Wandering on with eager eyes, scanning with scrutiny every +leaf and flower--toiling over hill and dale--climbing the steep cliff-- +wading the dank morass or the rapid river--threading his path through +thorny thicket, through "chapparal" and "jungle"--sleeping in the open +air--hungering, thirsting, risking life amidst wild beasts, and wilder +men,--such are a few of the trials that chequer the life of the +plant-hunter. + +From what motive, you will ask, do men choose to undergo such hardships +and dangers? + +The motives are various. Some are lured on by the pure love of +botanical science; others by a fondness for travel. Still others are +the _employes_ of regal or noble patrons--of high-born botanical +amateurs. Not a few are the emissaries of public gardens and +arboretums; and yet another few--perchance of humbler names and more +limited means, though not less zealous in their well-beloved calling,-- +are collectors for the "nursery." + +Yes; you will no doubt be astonished to hear that the plain "seedsman" +at the town end, who sells you your roots and bulbs and seedlings, keeps +in his pay a staff of plant-hunters--men of botanical skill, who +traverse the whole globe in search of new plants and flowers, that may +gratify the heart and gladden the eyes of the lovers of floral beauty. + +Need I say that the lives of such men are fraught with adventures and +hair-breadth perils? You shall judge for yourself when I have narrated +to you a few chapters from the experience of a young Bavarian +botanist,--Karl Linden--while engaged in a _plant-hunting_ expedition to +the Alps of India--the stupendous mountains of the Himalaya. + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +KARL LINDEN. + +Karl Linden was a native of Upper Bavaria, near the Tyrolese frontier. +Not high-born, for his father was a gardener; but, what is of more +importance in modern days, well brought up and well educated. A +gardener's son may still be a gentleman; and so may a gardener himself, +for that matter, or he may not. There are many senses to this +much-abused title. It so happens, that young Linden was a gentleman in +the _true_ sense; that is, he was possessed of a feeling heart, a nice +sense of honesty and honour, and was, notwithstanding his humble +lineage, an educated and accomplished youth. His father, the gardener, +was a man of ambitious spirit, though quite unlettered; and, having +himself often experienced the disadvantage of this condition, he +resolved that his son never should. + +In most parts of Germany, education is considered a thing of value, and +is eagerly sought after. It is provided liberally for all classes; and +the Germans, as a people, are perhaps the best educated in the world. +It is partly owing to this fact, and partly to their energetic industry, +that they exercise so great an influence in the affairs of the world; in +the arts and sciences, in music, painting, and the study of nature-- +above all, in a knowledge of botany. I cannot believe that the Germans +stand highest as an _intellectual_ race, but only as an _educated_ +people. What a pity I could not add, that they are a free people; but +in that their condition differs less from our own than we fondly +imagine. + +At nineteen years of age, young Karl Linden did not consider them as +free as they deserved to be. He was then a student in one of the +universities; and, naturally enough, had imbibed those principles of +patriotic liberty, that, in 1848, were stirring in the German heart. + +He did more than advocate his faith by empty words. Joined with his +college compatriots, he endeavoured to have it carried into practice; +and he was one of those brave students, who, in 1848, gave freedom to +Baden and Bavaria. + +But the hydra league of crowned heads was too strong to be so easily +broken; and, among other youthful patriots, our hero was forced to flee +from his native land. + +An exile in London--"a refugee," as it is termed--he scarce knew what to +do. His parent was too poor to send him money for his support. +Besides, his father was not over well pleased with him. The old man was +one of those who still clung to a belief in the divine right of kings, +and was contented with the "powers that be," no matter how tyrannical +they be. He was angry with Karl, for having made a fool of himself by +turning patriot, or "rebel," as it pleases crowned monsters to term it. +He had intended him for better things; a secretary to some great noble, +a post in the Custom-house, or, may be, a commission in the bodyguard of +some petty tyrant. Any of these would have fulfilled the ambitious +hopes of Karl's father. The latter, therefore, was displeased with the +conduct of his son. Karl had no hope from home, at least until the +anger of the old man should die out. + +What was the young refugee to do? He found English hospitality cold +enough. He was free enough; that is, to wander the streets and beg. + +Fortunately, he bethought him of a resource. At intervals, during his +life, he had aided his father in the occupation of gardening. He could +dig, plant, and sow. He could prune trees, and propagate flowers to +perfection. He understood the management of the greenhouse and +hothouse, the cold-pit and the forcing-pit; nay, more--he understood the +names and nature of most of the plants that are cultivated in European +countries; in other words, he was a botanist. His early opportunities +in the garden of a great noble, where his father was superintendent, had +given him this knowledge; and, having a taste for the thing, he had made +botany a study. + +If he could do no better, he might take a hand in a garden, or a +nursery, or some such place. That would be better than wandering idly +about the streets of the metropolis, and half-starving in the midst of +its profuse plenty. + +With such ideas in his mind, the young refugee presented himself at the +gate of one of the magnificent "nurseries," in which great London +abounds. He told his story; he was employed. + +It was not long before the intelligent and enterprising proprietor of +the establishment discovered the botanical knowledge of his German +_protege_. He wanted just such a man. He had "plant-hunters" in other +parts of the world; in North and South America, in Africa, in Australia. +He wanted a collector for India; he wanted to enrich his stock from the +flora of the Himalayas, just then coming into popular celebrity, on +account of the magnificent forms of vegetation discovered there, by the +great "plant-hunters" Boyle and Hooker. + +The splendid pine-trees, arums, and screw-pines; the varied species of +bambusa, the grand magnolias and rhododendrons, which grow so profusely +in the Himalaya valleys, had been described, and many of them introduced +into European gardens. These plants were therefore the rage; and, +consequently, the _desiderata_ of the nurseryman. + +What rendered them still more interesting and valuable was, that many of +those beautiful exotics would bear the open air of high latitudes, on +account of the elevated region of their native habitat possessing a +similarity of temperature and climate to that of northern Europe. + +More than one "botanical collector" was at this time despatched to +explore the chain of the Indian Alps, whose vast extent offered scope +enough for all. + +Among the number of these plant-hunters, then, was our hero, Karl +Linden. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +CASPAR, OSSAROO, AND FRITZ. + +An English ship carried the plant-hunter to Calcutta, and his own good +legs carried him to the foot of the Himalaya Mountains. He might have +travelled there in many other ways--for perhaps in no country in the +world are there so many modes of travelling as in India. Elephants, +camels, horses, asses, mules, ponies, buffaloes, oxen, zebus, yaks, and +men are all made use of to transport the traveller from place to place. +Even dogs, goats, and sheep, are trained as beasts of burden! + +Had Karl Linden been a Government emissary, or the _employe_ of some +regal patron, he would very likely have travelled in grand style--either +upon an elephant in a sumptuous howdah, or in a palanquin with relays of +bearers, and a host of coolies to answer to his call. + +As it was, he had no money to throw away in such a foolish manner. It +was not _public_ money he was spending, but that of private enterprise, +and his means were necessarily limited. He was not the less likely to +accomplish the object for which he had been sent out. Many a vast and +pompous expedition has gone forth regardless either of expense or +waste--ay, many a one that has returned without having accomplished the +object intended. "Too many cooks spoil the dinner," is a familiar old +adage, very applicable to exploring expeditions; and it is a question, +whether unaided individual enterprise has not effected more in the way +of scientific and geographical discovery, than has been done by the more +noisy demonstrations of governments. At all events, it is certain +enough, that the exploring expeditions to which we are most indebted for +our geognostic knowledge are those that have been fitted out with the +greatest economy. As an example, I may point to the tracing of the +northern coasts of America--which, after costing enormous sums of money, +and the lives of many brave men, has been done, after all, by the +Hudson's Bay Company with a simple boat's crew, and at an expense, that +would not have franked one of our grand Arctic exploring expeditions for +a week! + +I might point to the economic mode by which the Americans are laying +open their whole continent--a _single_ officer having lately been sent +to descend the Amazon alone, and explore its extensive valley from the +Andes to the Atlantic. This was performed, and a copious report +delivered to the American government and to the world at an expense of a +few hundred dollars; whereas an English exploration of similar +importance would have cost some thousands of pounds, with perhaps a much +scantier return, for the outlay. + +As with the American explorer, so was it with our plant-hunter. There +was no expensive equipment or crowd of idle attendants. He reached the +Himalayas on foot, and on foot he had resolved to climb their vast +slopes and traverse their rugged valleys. + +But Karl Linden was not alone. Far from it. He was in company with him +he held dearest of all others in the world--his only brother. Yes, the +stout youth by his side is his brother Caspar, who had joined him in his +exile, and now shares the labours and perils of his expedition. There +is no great difference between them in point of size, though Caspar is +two years the younger. But Caspar's strength has not been wasted by too +much study. He has never been penned up within the walls of a college +or a city; and, fresh from his native hills, his stout build and bright +ruddy cheek present a contrast to the thinner form and paler visage of +the student. + +Their costumes are in keeping with their looks. That of Karl exhibits +the sombre hue of the man of learning, while on his head he wears the +proscribed "Hecker hat." Caspar's dress is of a more lively style, and +consists of a frock of Tyrolese green, a cap of the same colour, with +long projecting peak, over-alls of blue velveteen, and Blucher boots. + +Both carry guns, with the usual accoutrements of sportsmen. Caspar's +gun is a double-barrelled fowling-piece;--while that of Karl is a rifle +of the species known as a "Swiss yager." + +A true hunter is Caspar, and although still but a boy, he has often +followed the chamois in its dizzy path among his native mountains. Of +letters he knows little, for Caspar has not been much to school; but in +matters of hunter-craft he is well skilled. A brave and cheerful youth +is Caspar--foot-free and untiring--and Karl could not have found in all +India a better assistant. + +But there is still another individual in the train of the plant-hunter-- +the guide, _Ossaroo_. It would take pages to describe Ossaroo; and he +is worthy of a full description: but we shall leave him to be known by +his deeds. Suffice it to say, that Ossaroo is a Hindoo of handsome +proportions, with his swarth complexion, large beautiful eyes, and +luxuriant black hair, which characterise his race. He is by caste a +"shikarree," or hunter, and is not only so by hereditary descent, but he +is one of the noted "mighty hunters" in the province to which he +belongs. Far and wide is his name known--for Ossaroo possesses, what is +somewhat rare among his indolent countrymen, an energy of mind, combined +with strength and activity of body, that would have given him +distinction anywhere; but among a people where such qualities are +extremely rare, Ossaroo is of course a hunter-hero--the Nimrod of his +district. + +Ossaroo's costume and equipments differ entirely from those of his +fellow-travellers. A white cotton tunic, and wide trousers, sandals, a +scarlet sash around the waist, a check shawl upon the head, a light +spear in the hand, a bamboo bow, a quiver of arrows on his back, a long +knife stuck behind the sash, a shoulder-belt sustaining a pouch, with +various trinket-like implements suspended over his breast. Such is the +_coup d'oeil_ presented by the shikarree. + +Ossaroo had never in his life climbed the mighty Himalayas. He was a +native of the hot plains--a hunter of the jungles--but for all that the +botanist had engaged him for a _guide_. It was not so much a guide to +enable them to find their route, as one who could assist them in their +daily duties, who knew the way of life peculiar to this part of the +world, who knew how to _keep house in, the open air_, Ossaroo was the +very man of all others. + +Moreover the expedition was just to his mind. He had long gazed upon +the gigantic Himalaya from the distant plains--he had looked upon its +domes and peaks glittering white in the robes of eternal snow, and had +often desired to make a hunting excursion thither. But no good +opportunity had presented itself, although through all his life he had +lived within sight of those stupendous peaks. He, therefore, joyfully +accepted the offer of the young botanist, and became "hunter and guide" +to the expedition. + +There was still another of the hunter-race in that company--one as much +addicted to the chase as either Ossaroo or Caspar. This was a quadruped +as tall as a mastiff dog, but whose black-and-tan colour and long +pendulous ears bespoke him of a different race--the race of the hound. +He was, in truth, a splendid hound, whose heavy jaws had ere now dragged +to the ground many a red stag, and many a wild Bavarian boar. A dog to +be valued was Fritz, and highly did his master esteem him. Caspar was +that master. Caspar would not have exchanged Fritz for the choicest +elephant in all India. + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +IS IT BLOOD? + +Behold the plant-hunter and his little party _en route_! + +It was the same day on which they had engaged the guide Ossaroo, and +this was their first journey together. Each carried his knapsack and +blanket strapped to his back--and as each was to be his own travelling +attendant, there was not much extra baggage. Ossaroo was some paces in +the advance, and Karl and Caspar habitually walked side by side, where +the nature of the path would permit. Fritz usually trotted along in the +rear, though he sometimes busked up to the side of the guide, as if by +instinct he recognised the born hunter. Although the acquaintance was +but a short one, already had Fritz become a favourite with the +"shikarree." + +As they trudged along, the attention of Caspar was drawn to some red +spots that appeared at intervals upon the path. It was a smooth road, +and a very small object could be discerned upon it. The spots had all +the appearance of blood-spots, as if quite freshly dropped! + +"Blood it is," remarked Karl, who was also observing the spots. + +"I wonder whether it's been a man or a beast," said Caspar, after an +interval. + +"Well, brother," rejoined Karl, "I think it must have been a beast, and +a pretty large one too; I have been noticing it for more than a mile, +and the quantity of blood I've observed would have emptied the veins of +a giant. I fancy it must have been an elephant that has been bleeding." + +"But there's no trace of an elephant," replied Caspar; "at least no +tracks that are fresh; and this blood appears to be quite newly +spilled." + +"You are right, Caspar," rejoined his brother. + +"It cannot have been an elephant, nor a camel neither. What may it have +been, I wonder?" + +At this interrogatory both the boys directed their glances along the +road, in the direction in which they were going, hoping to discover some +explanation of the matter. There was no object before them as far as +they could see except Ossaroo. The Hindoo alone was upon the road. The +blood could not be from him--surely not? Such a loss of blood would +have killed the shikarree long ago. So thought Karl and Caspar. + +They had fixed their eyes, however, upon Ossaroo, and just at that +moment they saw him lean his head to one side, as though he had spat +upon the ground. They marked the spot, and what was their astonishment +on coming up and discovering upon the road another red spot exactly like +those they had been noticing. Beyond a doubt Ossaroo was spitting +blood! + +To make sure, they watched him a little longer, and about a hundred +yards farther on they saw him repeat his red expectoration! + +They became considerably alarmed for the life of their guide. + +"Poor Ossaroo!" exclaimed they, "he cannot live much longer after the +loss of so much blood!" + +And as this remark was made, both ran forward calling upon him to stop. + +The guide wheeled round, and halted, wondering what was the matter. He +quickly unslung his bow and placed an arrow to the string, fancying that +they were attacked by some enemy. The hound, too, catching the alarm, +came scampering up, and was soon upon the ground. + +"What's the matter, Ossaroo?" demanded Karl and Caspar in a breath. + +"Matter, Sahibs! me knowee noting--matter." + +"But what ails you? are you ill?" + +"No, Sahibs! me not ill--why my lords askee?" + +"But this blood? See?" + +They pointed to the red saliva on the road. + +At this the shikarree burst out laughing, still further perplexing his +interrogators. His laughter was not intended to be disrespectful to the +young "Sahibs," only that he was unable to restrain himself on +perceiving the mistake they had made. + +"Pawnee, Sahibs," said he, drawing from his pouch a small roll like a +cartridge of tobacco-leaves, and taking a bite off the end of it, to +convince them that it was it--the "pawn"--which had imparted to his +saliva such a peculiar colour. + +The boys at once comprehended the nature of their mistake. The roll +shown them by Ossaroo was the celebrated _betel_; and Ossaroo himself +was a "betel-chewer," in common with many millions of his countrymen, +and still more millions of the natives of Assam, Burmah, Siam, China, +Cochin China, Malacca, the Philippine, and other islands of the great +Indian Archipelago. + +Of course the boys were now curious to know what the betel was, and the +shikarree proceeded to give them full information about this curious +commodity. + +The "betel," or "pawn" as it is called by the Hindoos, is a compound +substance, and its component parts are a leaf, a nut, and some +quicklime. The leaf is taken from an evergreen shrub, which is +cultivated in India for this very purpose. Ossaroo stated that it is +usually cultivated under a shed made of bamboos, and wattled all around +the sides to exclude the strong rays of the sun. The plant requires +heat and a damp atmosphere, but exposure to the sun or dry winds would +wither it, and destroy the flavour and pungency of the leaf. It +requires great care in the cultivation, and every day a man enters the +shed by a little door and carefully cleans the plants. The shed where +it grows is usually a favourite lurking-place for poisonous snakes, and +this diurnal visit of the betel-grower to his crop is rather a dangerous +business; but the article is so profitable, and the mature crop yields +such a fine price, that both the labour and the danger are disregarded. +Ossaroo chanced to have some of the leaves in his pouch still in an +entire state. He only knew them as "pawn-leaves," but the botanist at +once recognised a rare hothouse plant, belonging to the pepper tribe, +_Piperacea_. It is in fact a species of _Piper_, the _Piper-betel_, +very closely allied to the climbing shrub which produces the common +black-pepper of commerce, and having deep green oval and sharply-pointed +leaves of very similar appearance to the leaves of the latter. Another +species called _Piper siriboa_ is also cultivated for the same purpose. +So much for one of the component parts of this singular Oriental "quid." + +"Now," continued Ossaroo, facing to one side of the path and pointing +upwards, "if Sahibs lookee up, dey see de pawn-nut." + +The boys looked as directed, and beheld with interest a grove of noble +palms, each of them rising to the height of fifty feet, with a smooth +cylindrical shank, and a beautiful tuft of pinnated leaves at the top. +These leaves were full two yards in breadth, by several in length. Even +the pinnae, or leaflets, were each over a yard long. Just below where +the leaves grew out from the stem, a large bunch of nuts of a reddish +orange colour, and each as big as a hen's egg, hung downward. These +were the famous _betel-nuts_, so long recorded in the books of Oriental +travellers. Karl recognised the tree as the _Areca catechu_, or +betel-nut palm--by many considered the most beautiful palm of India. + +Of the same genus _Areca_ there are two other known species, one also a +native of India, the other an American palm, and even a still more +celebrated tree than the betel-nut, for it is no other than the great +"cabbage-palm" of the West Indies (_Areca oleracea_). This last tree +grows to the height of two hundred feet, with a trunk only seven inches +in diameter! This beautiful shaft is often cut down for the sake of the +young heart-leaves near the top, that when dressed are eaten as a +substitute for cabbage. + +Ossaroo showed his young masters how the betel was prepared for chewing. +The leaves of the betel pepper are first spread out. Upon these a +layer of lime is placed, moistened so as to keep it in its place. The +betel-nut is then cut into very thin slices, and laid on top; and the +whole is rolled up like a cheroot, and deposited with other similar +rolls in a neat case of bamboo--to be taken out whenever required for +chewing. + +The nut is not eatable alone. Its flavour is too pungent, and too +highly astringent on account of the tannin it contains; but along with +the pepper-leaf and the lime, it becomes milder and more pleasant. +Withal, it is too acrid for a European palate, and produces intoxication +in those not used to it. An old betel-eater like Ossaroo does not feel +these effects, and would smile at the idea of getting "tipsy" upon pawn. + +A singular peculiarity of the betel-nut is that of its staining the +saliva of a deep red colour, so as to resemble blood. Ossaroo, who +possessed a large share of intelligence, and who had travelled to the +great city of Calcutta and other parts of India, narrated a good +anecdote connected with this fact. The substance of his relation was as +follows:-- + +A young doctor, fresh from Europe and from the university, had arrived +in one of the Indian cities in a big ship. The morning after his +arrival he was walking out on the public road near the suburbs, when he +chanced to meet a young native girl who appeared to be spitting blood. +The doctor turned and followed the girl, who continued to spit blood at +nearly every step she took! He became alarmed, thinking the poor girl +could not live another hour, and following her home to her house, +announced to her parents who he was, and assured them that, from the +symptoms he had observed, their daughter had not many minutes to live! +Her parents in their turn grew alarmed, as also did the girl herself-- +for the skill of a great Sahib doctor was not to be doubted. The priest +was sent for, but before he could arrive the young girl _actually died_. + +Now it was from _fear_ that the poor girl had died, and it was the +doctor who had _frightened_ her to death! but neither parents, nor +priest, nor the doctor himself, knew this at the time. The doctor still +believed the girl had died of blood-spitting, and the others remained in +ignorance that it was upon this he had founded his prognosis. + +The report of such a skilful physician soon spread abroad. Patients +flocked to him, and he was in a fair way of rapidly accumulating a +fortune. But ere long he had observed other people with symptoms of the +same complaint which had caused the death of the poor girl, and had +learnt also that these symptoms proceeded from chewing the betel-nut. +Had he been discreet he would have kept his secret to himself; but, +unluckily for his good fortune he was a talker, and could not help +telling his companions the whole affair. He related it rather as a good +joke--for, sad to say, the life of a poor native is held but too lightly +by Europeans. + +In the end, however, it proved no joke to the doctor. The parents of +the girl came to understand the matter, as well as the public at large, +and vengeance was vowed against him by the friends of the deceased. His +patients deserted him as rapidly as they had come; and to get rid of the +scandal, as well as to get out of the danger that surrounded him, he was +but too glad to take passage home in the same ship that had brought him +out. + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +THE FISHING-BIRDS. + +Our travellers were following up one of the tributaries of the +Burrampooter, which, rising in the Himalayas, and running southward +joins the latter near its great bend. The plant-hunter designed to +penetrate the Bholan Himalaya, because it had not yet been visited by +any botanist, and its flora was reported to be very rich and varied. +They were still passing through a settled part of the country, where +fields of rice and sugar-cane, with groves of bananas, and various +species of palm, were cultivated; some of the latter, as the cocoa-palm +and betel, for their nuts, while others, as the large-leaved _Caryota_, +for the wine which they produce. + +The opium-poppy was also seen in cultivation, and mango-trees, and the +great broad-leaved pawpaw, and black-pepper vines, with beautiful green +leaves, trained against the stems of the palms. Jack-trees with their +gigantic fruit, and figs, and nettle-trees, and the singular +screw-pines, and euphorbias, and various species of the orange, were +observed along the way. + +The botanist saw many trees and plants, which he recognised as belonging +to the Chinese flora, and he could not help remarking many other things +that reminded him of what he had read about China. In fact, this part +of India--for he was very near the borders of Assam--bears a +considerable resemblance to China, in its natural productions, and even +the customs of the people assimilate somewhat to those of the Celestial +land. To make the resemblance more complete, the cultivation of the +tea-plant has been introduced into this part of the world, and is now +carried on with success. + +But as our travellers proceeded, they became witnesses of a scene which +brought China more vividly, before their minds than anything they had +yet observed. + +On rounding a clump of trees they came in view of a moderate-sized lake. +On the water, near the edge of this lake, they perceived a man in a +small light boat. He was standing up, and held in his hands a long +slender pole, with which he was poling the boat out towards the centre +of the lake. + +Our travellers, Ossaroo excepted, uttered exclamations of surprise, and +came at once to a halt. + +What had caused them such astonishment? Not the boat, nor the man in +it, nor yet the long bamboo pole. No. Such were common objects seen +every day on their journey. It was none of these that had brought them +to so sudden a stop, and caused them to stand wondering. It was the +fact that along both sides of the boat--on the very edge or gunwale--was +a row of large birds as big as geese. They were white-throated, +white-breasted birds, mottled over the wings and back with dark brown, +and having long crooked necks, large yellow bills, and broad tails +rounded at the tips. + +Although the man was standing up in his boat, and working his long pole +over their heads, now on one side, then on the other, the birds appeared +so tame that they did not heed his manoeuvres; and yet not one of them +seemed to be fastened, but merely perched upon the edge of the skiff! +Now and then one would stretch its long neck over the water, turn its +head a little to one side, and then draw it in again, and resume its +former attitude. Such tame birds had never been seen. No wonder the +sight astonished the Bavarian boys. Both turned to Ossaroo for an +explanation, who gave it by simply nodding towards the lake, and +uttering the words-- + +"He go fishee." + +"Ah! a fisherman!" rejoined the botanist. + +"Yes, Sahib--you watchee, you see." + +This was explanation enough. The boys now remembered having read of the +Chinese mode of fishing with cormorants; and even at the distance at +which they saw them, they could perceive that the birds on the boat were +no other than cormorants. They were the species known as _Phalacrocorax +Sinensis_; and although differing somewhat from the common cormorant, +they possessed all the characteristic marks of the tribe,--the long flat +body, the projecting breastbone, the beak curving downward at the tip, +and the broad rounded tail. + +Desirous of witnessing the birds at work, our travellers remained +stationary near the shore of the lake. It was evident the fisherman had +not yet commenced operations, and was only proceeding towards his +ground. + +After a short while he reached the centre of the lake; and then, laying +aside his long bamboo, he turned his attention to the birds. He was +heard giving them directions--just as a sportsman might do to his +pointer or spaniel--and the next moment the great birds spread their +shadowy wings, rose up from the edge of the boat, and after a short +flight, one and all of them were seen plunging into the water. + +Now our travellers beheld a singular scene. Here a bird was observed +swimming along, with its keen eye scanning the crystal below--there the +broad tail of another stood vertically upwards, the rest of its body +hidden below the surface--yonder, a third was altogether submerged, the +ripple alone showing where it had gone down--a fourth was seen +struggling with a large fish that glittered in its pincer-like beak--a +fifth had already risen with its scaly prey, and was bearing it to the +boat; and thus the twelve birds were all actively engaged in the +singular occupation to which they had been trained. The lake, that but +the moment before lay tranquil and smooth as glass, was now covered with +ripples, with circling eddies, with bubbles and foam, where the huge +birds darted and plunged, and flapped about after their finny prey. It +was in vain the fish endeavoured to escape them--for the cormorant can +glide rapidly through the water, and swim beneath with as much rapidity +as upon the surface. Its keel-like breastbone cuts the liquid element +like an arrow, and with its strong wings for paddles, and its broad tail +acting as a rudder, the bird is able to turn sharply round, or shoot +forward with incredible rapidity. + +A singular circumstance came under the observation of our travellers. +When one of the birds had succeeded in bringing up a fish, which was +larger than common, and too large for its captor to convey to the boat, +several others might be seen rushing forward, to render assistance in +carrying the fish aboard! + +You will wonder that these creatures--whose food is the very prey they +were capturing for their master--did not swallow some of the fish they +were taking. In the case of the younger birds, and those not fully +trained, such little thefts do occasionally occur. But in such cases +the fisherman adopts a preventive precaution, by fastening a collar +round the necks of the birds--taking care that it shall not descend to +the thick part of the throat, where it might choke them. With +well-trained old birds this precaution is unnecessary. No matter how +hungry the latter may be, they bring all they "take" to their master, +and are rewarded for their honesty by the smaller and more worthless +fish that may have been caught. + +Sometimes a bird becomes lazy, and sits upon the water without +attempting to do his duty. In such cases, the fisherman approaches with +his boat, stretches forward his bamboo, strikes with violence close to +where the indolent individual is seated, and scolds him for his +laziness. This treatment seldom fails in its effect; and the winged +fisher, once more roused by the well-known voice of its master, goes to +work with renewed energy. + +For several hours this fishing scene is kept up, until the birds, +becoming tired, are allowed to return and perch themselves on the boat; +where their throat-straps are removed, and they are fed and caressed by +their master. + +Our travellers did not wait for this finale, but kept on their route; +while Karl related to Caspar how that, not a great while ago, so late as +the time of King Charles the First, the common cormorant of Europe was +trained to fish in the same way in several European countries, and +especially in Holland; and that, at the present day, in some parts of +China, this mode of fishing is followed to so great an extent, that the +markets of some of the largest cities are supplied with fish caught +altogether by cormorants. + +Certainly, no people exhibit more ingenuity in the training either of +plants or animals, than do these same _oblique-eyed inhabitants_ of the +Celestial Empire. + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +THE TERAI. + +In approaching any great chain of mountains from the sea-level, you will +find a large tract of country consisting of elevated hills and deep +ravines, intersected by rapid streams and torrents. This tract is more +or less broad, in proportion to the grandeur of the mountain chain; and, +in the case of mountains of the first class, it is usually from twenty +to fifty miles in breadth. Such a tract of country lies along both +sides of the great chain of the Andes in South and North America, and +also marks the approach to the Rocky Mountains and the Alleghanies. It +is well-known in Italy, under the Alps; and "Piedmont" is the French +appellation for this sort of country, which is designated, in our +language, by an equally appropriate phrase, "foot-hills." + +The "Alps of India" are not without this geological peculiarity. Along +their whole southern flank, facing the hills of Hindustan, extends a +belt of foot-hills, often above fifty miles in breadth; and +characterised by steep ascents, deep dales and ravines, rapid foaming +torrents, difficult paths and passes, and, consequently, by wild and +picturesque scenery. + +The lower part of this belt--that is, the portion which lies contiguous +to the Lot plains, is known to Europeans as the "Terai." + +The Terai is an irregular strip, of from ten to thirty miles in width, +and extends along the whole base of the Himalayas, from the Sutledge +River, on the west, to Upper Assam. Its character is peculiar. It +differs both from the plains of India and from the Himalaya Mountains, +possessing a botany and zoology almost totally distinct from either. It +differs from both, in the malarious and unhealthy character of its +climate, which is one of the deadliest in the world. In consequence of +this, the Terai is almost uninhabited; the few scattered settlements of +half-savage Mechs, its only inhabitants, lying remote and distant from +each other. + +Most of the Terai is covered with forest and thick jungle; and, +notwithstanding its unhealthy climate, it is the favourite haunt of the +wild beasts peculiar to this part of the globe. The tiger, the Indian +lion, the panther and leopard, the cheetah, and various other large +_Jelidae_, roam through its jungly coverts; the wild elephant, the +rhinoceros, and gyal, are found in its forests; and the sambur and axis +browse on its grassy glades. Venomous snakes, hideous lizards, and +bats, with the most beautiful of birds and butterflies, all find a home +in the Terai. + +Several days' marching carried our travellers beyond the more settled +portions of the country, and within the borders of this wild, +jungle-covered district. On the day they entered the Terai, they had +made an early start of it; and, therefore, arrived at their +camping-ground some hours before sunset. But the young botanist, filled +with admiration at the many singular and novel forms of vegetation he +saw around him, resolved to remain upon the ground for several days. + +Our travellers had no tent. Such an incumbrance would have been +troublesome to them, travelling, as they were, afoot. Indeed, all three +had their full loads to carry, as much as they could well manage, +without the additional weight of a tent. Each had his blanket, and +various other _impedimenta_; but one and all of them had often slept +without roof or canvas, and they could do so again. + +At their present halting-place, they had no need for either. Nature had +provided them with a cover quite equal to a canvas-tent. They had +encamped under a canopy of thick foliage, the foliage of the _banyan_ +tree. + +Young reader, you have heard of the great banyan of India; that +wonderful tree, whose branches, after spreading out from the main trunk, +send down roots to the earth, and form fresh stems, until a space of +ground is covered with a single tree, under whose shade a whole regiment +of cavalry may bivouac, or a great public meeting be held! No doubt, +you have read of such a tree, and have seen pictures of one? I need +not, therefore, describe the banyan very particularly. Let me say, +however, that it is a fig-tree; not the one that produces the eatable +fig, of which you are so very fond, but another species of the same +genus--the genus _Ficus_. Now, of this genus there are a great many +species; as many, perhaps, as there are of any other genus of trees. +Some of them are only creeping and climbing plants; adhering to rocks +and the trunks of other trees, like vines or ivy. Others, like the +banyan, are among the largest trees of the forest. They are chiefly +confined to tropical countries, or hot regions lying on the borders of +the tropics; and they are found in both hemispheres, that is, both in +America and the Old World. Some splendid species belong also to +Australia. All of them possess, more or less, the singular habit of +throwing out roots from their branches, and forming new stems, like the +banyan; and frequently they embrace other trees in such a manner, as to +hide the trunks of the latter completely from view! + +This curious spectacle was witnessed by our travellers where they had +encamped. The banyan which they had chosen as their shelter was not one +of the largest--being only a young tree, but out of its top rose the +huge fan-shaped leaves of a palm-tree of the kind known as the palmyra +palm (_Borassus flagelliformis_). No trunk of the palm-tree was +visible; and had not Karl Linden been a botanist, and known something of +the singular habit of the banyan, he would have been puzzled to account +for this odd combination. Above spread the long radiating fronds of the +palmyra directly out of the top of the trunk of the fig, and looking so +distinct from the foliage of the latter as to form a very curious sight. +The leaves of the banyan being ovate, and somewhat cordate or +heart-shaped, of course presented quite a contrast to the large stiff +fronds of the palmyra. + +Now the puzzle was, how the palm got there. Naturally one would suppose +that a seed of the palm had been deposited on the top of the banyan, and +had there germinated and thrown out its fronds. + +But how did the palm seed get to the top of the fig? Was it planted by +the hand of man? or carried thither by a bird? It could not well have +been by the latter mode--since the fruit of the palmyra is as large as a +child's head, and each one of the three seeds it contains as big as a +goose's egg!! No bird would be likely to carry about such a bulky thing +as that. If there were only one palm-tree growing from the top of one +banyan, it might be conjectured that some one had so planted it; but +there are many such combinations of these trees met with in the forests +of India, and also in districts entirely uninhabited. How then was this +union of the two trees to be accounted for? + +Of our three travellers Caspar alone was puzzled. Not so Karl and +Ossaroo. Both were able to explain the matter, and Karl proceeded to +offer the elucidation. + +"The fact is," said the botanist, "that the palm has not grown out of +the fig, but _vice versa_. The banyan is the true parasite. A bird-- +wood-pigeon, or minobird, or tree-pheasant perhaps--has carried the +berries of the fig-tree, and deposited them in the axil of the palmyra. +This the smallest birds may easily do, since the fruit of the banyan is +not larger than a diminutive cherry. Once in its place the seed has +germinated, and sent its roots downward along the trunk of the palm +until they have reached the ground. These roots have then flattened +around the stem of the palm, until they have enveloped it completely, +with the exception of the top, as you see. Afterwards the fig has +thrown out lateral branches, until the whole has assumed the appearance +of a banyan-tree with a fan-palm growing out of its trunk!" + +This was the true explanation. Ossaroo added some remarks stating that +the Hindoo people always regard such a union of the two trees with great +veneration, and believe it to be a holy marriage instituted by +Providence. For himself, Ossaroo--not being a very strict sectarian, +nor much given to religion in any form, laughed at the superstition, and +called it "humbug." + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +TAPPING THE PALMYRA. + +Almost the first thing done by Ossaroo after he had got relieved of his +baggage was to climb the banyan. This he was able to do with ease, as +the trunk, in consequence of the peculiar mode of its growth, was full +of ridges and inequalities, and moreover Ossaroo could climb like a cat. + +But what wanted he up the tree? Was he after the fruit? It could not +be that, for the figs were not yet ripe, and even had they been quite +mellow, they are but poor eating. Maybe he was going up for the nuts of +the palmyra? No--it could not be that either, for these were not +shaped. The great flower-spathe had not yet opened, and was only +beginning to burst its green envelopes. Had the nuts been formed, and +still in their young state, they would have afforded delicate eating. +As already stated, the palmyra nuts grow to the size of a child's head. +They are three-cornered, rounded off at the corners, consisting of a +thick succulent yellowish rind, each containing three seeds as large as +goose-eggs. It is the seeds that are eaten when young and pulpy; but if +allowed to ripen, they become quite hard and blue-coloured, and are then +insipid and uneatable. But it could not be the seed either which +Ossaroo was after, since there were no seeds, nor nuts--only the flower, +and that still hidden in its great spadix. + +The boys watched Ossaroo narrowly. He had carried up with him a +bamboo-joint which he had cut from a very thick cane. It was open at +one end, and formed a vessel that would hold rather more than a quart. +Another thing they had observed him to take with him; and that was a +stone about as big as a paving-stone. Still another implement he +carried up the tree--his long knife. + +In a few seconds the shikarree had reached the top of the banyan; and +clutching the great leaf-stalks of the palm, he climbed up among its +huge fronds. Here he was observed to lay hold of the spathe of the +flower, and bending it against the trunk, he commenced hammering away +with the stone, evidently with the intention of crushing the young +inflorescence. With a few blows he succeeded in doing this effectually. +He then drew the knife from his scarf, and, with an adroit cut, +detached the upper half of the flower-spike, which fell neglected to the +ground. + +The bamboo vessel was next brought into service. This he fixed on the +spathe in such a manner that the incised end remained inside the hollow +of the cane. Both flower-spike and cane were then tied to one of the +leaf-stalks of the palm, so that the bamboo hung vertically bottom +downward; and this arrangement having been completed, the shikarree +flung down his hammering stone, replaced his knife under his belt, and +defended from the tree. + +"Now, Sahibs," said he, as soon as he had reached terra firma, "you +waitee hour--you drinkee Indoo champagne." + +In an hour or so his promise was fulfilled. The bamboo-joint was +released and brought down; and, sure enough, it was found to be full of +a cool clear liquor, of which all of them drank, esteeming it equal to +the best champagne. In fact, there is no more seducing and delicious +drink in all India than the sap of the palmyra palm; but it is also very +intoxicating, and is used too freely by the natives of the country where +this splendid tree flourishes. + +Sugar can also be manufactured from this sap, simply by boiling it down. +When sugar is to be made, the tree is tapped in a similar manner; but +it is necessary to have a little lime in the vessel while collecting the +liquid, else it would ferment, and thus spoil it for sugar-boiling. + +The reason why Ossaroo was so ready in tapping this particular _tree_, +was because the banyan which enveloped its trunk offered him an +excellent means of getting at it. Otherwise it would have been no easy +matter to have ascended the smooth slender shaft of a palmyra, rising +thirty or forty feet without knot or branch. Of course Ossaroo, as soon +as the bamboo was empty, once more climbed up and readjusted it to the +"tap," knowing that the sap would continue to run. This it does for +many days, only that each day it is necessary to cut a fresh slice from +the top of the flower-stalk, so as to keep the pores open and free. + +Though the day had been hot, as soon as twilight came on the coolness of +the air rendered it necessary for our travellers to kindle a fire. +Ossaroo was not long in striking a light out of his tinder-box, and +having set fire to some dry leaves and moss, a blaze was soon produced. +Meanwhile Karl and Caspar had broken some branches from a dead tree that +lay near the spot, and carrying them up in armfuls, piled them upon the +burning leaves. A roaring fire was created in a few minutes, and around +this the party seated themselves, and commenced cooking their supper of +rice, with some pieces of dried meat, which they had brought along from +the last village. + +Whilst engaged in this occupation, so agreeable to men who are hungry, +the botanist, whose eye was always on the alert for matters relating to +his favourite calling, remarked that the wood out of which their fire +had been made burned very much like oak. On taking up one of the +fagots, and cutting it with his knife, he was astonished to find that it +_was_ oak in reality--for there is no mistaking the grain and fibre of +this giant of the northern forests. What astonished him was the +existence of oak-trees in a country where the flora was altogether +tropical. He knew that he might expect to find representatives of the +oak family upon the sides of the Himalayas; but he was still only at +their foot, and in the region of the palms and bananas. + +Karl knew not then, nor is it yet generally known, that many species of +oaks are tropical trees--in fact, many kinds may be found in the torrid +zone, growing even as low as the level of the sea. It is no less +strange, that although there are no oaks in tropical South America and +Africa, in Ceylon, or even in the peninsula of India itself, yet there +are numerous species in East Bengal, the Moluccas, and the Indian +islands--perhaps a greater number of species than grows in any other +part of the world! + +The sight of this old acquaintance, as they termed the oak, had a +cheering effect upon the Bavarian boys; and after supper they sat +conversing upon the subject, determined as soon as it was day to look +out for some of the living trees as further confirmation of the strange +fact they had observed. + +They were about thinking of wrapping themselves up in their blankets, +and retiring to rest, when an incident occurred that kept them awake for +another hour or two. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +THE SAMBUR STAG. + +"See!" cried Caspar, who was more sharp-eyed than Karl. + +"Look! look yonder! two lights, I declare!" + +"Indeed, yes," replied Karl; "I see them--bright round lights! What can +they be?" + +"An animal!" answered Caspar; "I can affirm that much. Some wild beast, +I fancy!" + +They regarded the strange object with some uneasiness, for they knew +they were in the haunts of dangerous wild beasts. + +"Maybe a tiger?" suggested Karl. + +"Or a panther?" added his brother. + +"I hope neither one nor the other," said Karl. + +He was interrupted by Ossaroo, who had now observed the shining spots, +and who with a single word reassured the whole party. + +"Samboo," said the shikarree. + +Both knew that Ossaroo meant by "Samboo," the great deer or stag known +to Europeans as the sambur deer. It was the eyes of a deer, then, +glancing back the blaze of the oak fagots, that had alarmed them. + +Their fears were suddenly changed to feelings of joy. They had a double +motive for being pleased at the sight. To shoot and bring down the deer +would be such excellent sport; besides, a fresh venison steak was a +delicacy which both could appreciate. + +All of them, Ossaroo included, were too well accustomed to the habits of +hunters to act rashly. Any sudden movement among them might frighten +the game; and if it bounded off into the forest, or even turned its +head, it could no longer be seen in the pitchy darkness that surrounded +them. The shining eyes were all of it that were visible; and if the +creature had but chosen to _shut its eyes_ it might have stood there +till the morning light, without the least chance of being aimed at. + +The animal, however, was too full of its own curiosity to adopt this +precaution. Instead, it remained where it had been first observed--its +great round orbs uncovered to their full extent and gleaming in the +light like a pair of "bull's-eyes." + +Caspar in a whisper cautioned the others to remain silent and not to +move hand or finger. He, himself, gradually dropped his arm, until he +was able to grasp his large double-barrelled gun; and then, raising the +piece slowly to a level, took aim and fired. He very prudently did not +aim for the centre spot between the eyes. Had it been a bullet that was +in his gun he might have done so; but he knew that his piece was only +loaded with shot, and shot--even though they were "buckshot"--might not +penetrate the hard thick skull of a stag so strong as the sambur. +Instead of aiming for the eyes, therefore, he took sight at least a foot +below them, and in a direct line below. He had already conjectured, +from the even set of the eyes, that the deer was standing full front +towards the camp-fire, and his object was to send the shot into its +breast and throat. + +The instant after he had delivered the first barrel, although the +shining eyes went out like the snuffing of candles, he fired the second, +so as to take advantage of a random shot. + +He might have spared his load, for the first had done the business; and +the noise of kicking and sprawling among the dry leaves told that the +deer was knocked over, and, if not killed, at least badly wounded. + +The dog Fritz had already leaped forth; and before the hunters could +procure a torch and reach the spot, the huge hound had seized the quarry +by the throat, and finished its struggles by strangling it to death. + +They now dragged the carcass up to the light of the fire, and it was +just as much as the three of them could manage--for the sambur deer is +one of the largest animals of its kind, and the one that had fallen into +their hands was a fine old buck, with a pair of immense antlered horns, +of which no doubt in his lifetime he had been excessively proud. + +The sambur deer is one of the most distinguished of the deer tribe. +Although not equal in size to the American wapiti (_Cervus Canadensis_), +he is much superior to the stag or red-deer of Europe. He is an active, +bold, and vicious animal; and, when bayed, a dangerous antagonist either +to dogs or hunters. His coat is close, the hair harsh, of a brown +colour, and slightly grizzled. Around the neck it is long and shaggy, +but particularly upon the under line of the throat, where it forms a +mane similar to that of the American wapiti. Another mane runs along +the back of the neck, adding to the fierce bold appearance of the +animal. A blackish band encircles the muzzle, and the usual "crupper +mark" around the tail is small and of a yellowish colour. + +This is the description of the common sambur deer (_Cervus hippelaphus_) +best known to Europeans, and among Anglo-Indian sportsmen called "stag"; +but it is to be observed that in different parts of Asia there are many +different species and varieties of the sambur. Zoologists usually class +them in a group called _Rusa_; and one or other of this group may be +found in every district of India from Ceylon to the Himalayas, and from +the Indus to the islands of the Indian Archipelago. They haunt in +timber, and usually by the banks of streams or other waters. + +America has long been regarded as the favourite region of the deer +tribe, as Africa is the true home of the antelopes. This belief, +however, seems to be rather an incorrect one, and has arisen, perhaps, +from the fact that the American species are better known to Europeans. +It is true that the largest of the deer--the moose (_Cervus alces_)--is +an inhabitant of the American continent in common with Northern Europe +and Asia; but the number of species on that continent, both in its +northern and southern divisions, is very limited. When the zoology of +the East--I mean of all those countries and islands usually included +under the term East Indies--shall have been fully determined, we shall +no doubt find not only twice, but three times the number of species of +deer that belongs to America. + +When we consider the vast number of educated Englishmen--both in the +array and in the civil service--who have idled away their lives in +India, we cannot help wondering at the little that is yet known in +relation to the _fauna_ of the Oriental world. Most of the Indian +officers have looked upon the wild animals of that country with the eye +of the sportsman rather than of the naturalist. With them a deer is a +deer, and a large ox-like animal a buffalo, or it may be a gayal, or a +jungle cow, or a gour, or a gyall; but which of all these is an ox, or +whether the four last-mentioned bovine quadrupeds are one and the same +species, remains to be determined. Were it not that these gentlemen +have had spirit enough occasionally to send us home a skin or a set of +horns, we might remain altogether ignorant of the existence of the +creature from which these trophies were taken. Verily science owes not +much to the Honourable East India Company. We are not blind to such +noble exceptions as Sykes, Hodgson, and others; and, if every province +of India had a resident of their character, a fauna might soon be +catalogued that would astonish even the spectacled _savant_. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +A NIGHT MARAUDER. + +Ossaroo soon stripped the stag of its skin, cut the carcass into +quarters, and hung them on the limb of a tree. Although the party had +already supped, the excitement which had been occasioned by the incident +gave them a fresh appetite; and venison-steaks were broiled over the +oak-wood cinders, and eaten with a relish. These were washed down by +fresh draughts of the delicious palm-wine; and then the travellers, +having gathered some of the hanging moss, "_Usnea_," and strewed it near +the fire, rolled themselves in their blankets, and went to sleep. + +About midnight there was a camp alarm. The sleepers were awakened by +the dog Fritz; who, by his angry baying and fierce demonstrations, +showed that some creature must have approached the fire that had no +business to be there. On rousing themselves they thought they heard +footsteps at a little distance, and a low growl as of some wild beast; +but it was not easy to distinguish any sound in particular, as at this +season the tropical forest is full of noises--so loud that it is often +difficult for persons to hear each other in conversation. What with the +chirruping of cicadas, the croaking of swamp-frogs, the tinkling of +tree-toads, and the hooting and screeching of owls and night-hawks, the +Indian forest is filled with a deafening din throughout the whole night. + +Fritz ceased barking after a time; and they all went to sleep again, and +slept till morning. + +As soon as day broke, they were up, and set about preparing breakfast. +Fresh fagots were piled upon the fire, and preparations made for a +savoury roast of venison rib. Ossaroo climbed up to his tap, while +Caspar went for the meat. + +The quarters of the deer had been suspended upon a tree, at the distance +of about fifty paces from the camp-fire. The reason of their being hung +at such a distance was that a stream flowed there, and in order to clean +the meat, they had carried it down to the water's edge. A horizontal +branch, which was about the proper height from the ground, had tempted +Ossaroo, and he had chosen it for his "meat-rack." + +An exclamation from Caspar now summoned the others to the spot. + +"See!" cried he, as they came up, "one of the quarters gone!" + +"Ha! there have been thieves!" said Karl. "That was what caused Fritz +to bark." + +"Thieves!" ejaculated Caspar. "Not men thieves! They would have +carried off the four quarters instead of one. Some wild beast has been +the thief!" + +"Yes, Sahib, you speakee true," said the shikarree, who had now reached +the spot; "he wild beast--he very wild beast--big tiger!" + +At the mention of the name of this terrible animal, both boys started, +and looked anxiously around. Even Ossaroo himself exhibited symptoms of +fear. To think they had been sleeping on the open ground so close to a +tiger--the most savage and dreaded of all beasts--and this, too, in +India, where they were constantly hearing tales of the ravages committed +by these animals! + +"You think it was a tiger?" said the botanist, interrupting Ossaroo. + +"Sure, Sahib--lookee here!--Sahib, see him track!" + +The shikarree pointed to some tracks in the selvedge of sand that lined +the bank of the rivulet. There, sure enough, were the foot-prints of a +large animal; and, upon inspecting them closely, they could easily be +distinguished as those of a creature of the cat tribe. There were the +pads or cushions smoothly imprinted in the sand, and the slight +impression of the claws--for the tiger, although possessed of very long +and sharp claws, can retract these when walking, so as to leave very +little mark of them in the mud or sand. The tracks were too large to be +mistaken for those either of a leopard or panther, and the only other +animal to which they could appertain was the lion. There were lions in +that district. But Ossaroo well knew how to distinguish between the +tracks of the two great carnivora, and without a moment's hesitation he +pronounced the robber to have been a tiger. + +It now became a matter of serious consideration what they should do +under the circumstances. Should they abandon their camp, and _move_ +forward? Karl was very desirous of spending a day or two in the +neighbourhood. He made no doubt of being able to find several new +species of plants there. But with the knowledge of having such a +neighbour they would not sleep very soundly. The tiger would, no doubt, +return to the camp. He was not likely to stay away from a quarter where +he had found such hospitable entertainment--such a good supper. He must +have seen the rest of the venison, and would be sure to pay them another +visit on the following night. True, they might kindle large fires, and +frighten him off from their sleeping place; still, they would be under +an unpleasant apprehension; and even during the day they had no +confidence that he might not attack them--particularly if they went +botanising in the woods. The very places into which their occupation +would lead them, would be those in which they were most likely to meet +this dreaded neighbour. Perhaps, therefore, it would be best to pack +up, and proceed on their journey. + +While eating their breakfasts the thing was debated among them. Caspar, +full of hunter-spirit, was desirous of having a peep at the tiger +anyhow; but Karl was more prudent, if not a little more timid, and +thought it was better to "move on." This was the opinion of the +botanist; but he at length gave way to Caspar, and more particularly to +Ossaroo, who proposed _killing_ the tiger if they would only remain one +night longer upon the ground. + +"What! with your bow, Ossaroo?" asked Caspar; "with your poisoned +arrows?" + +"No, young Sahib," replied Ossaroo. + +"I thought you would have but little chance to kill a great tiger with +such weapons. How do you mean to do it then?" + +"If Sahib Karl consent to stay till to-morrow, Ossaroo show you--he kill +tiger--he catch 'im 'live." + +"Catch him alive!--In a trap?--In a snare?" + +"No trapee--no snaree. You see. Ossaroo do what he say--he take tiger +'live." + +Ossaroo had evidently some plan of his own, and the others became +curious to know what it was. As the shikarree promised that it was +unattended with danger, the botanist consented to remain, and let the +trial be made. + +Ossaroo now let them into the secret of his plan; and as soon as they +had finished eating their breakfasts, all hands set to work to assist +him in carrying it into execution. + +They proceeded as follows. In the first place, a large number of joints +of bamboo were obtained from a neighbouring thicket of these canes. The +bark of the banyan was then cut, and the canes inserted in such a manner +that the white milky sap ran into them. Each joint was left closed at +the bottom, and served as a vessel to collect the juice, and such stems +of the fig only were tapped as were young and full of sap. As soon as a +sufficient quantity of the fluid had been distilled into the canes, the +contents of all were poured into the cooking-pot, and hung over a slow +fire. The sap was then stirred--fresh juice being occasionally thrown +in--and in a short while the whole attained the toughness and +consistency of the best birdlime. It was, in fact, true birdlime--the +same that is used by the bird-catchers of India, and quite equal to that +manufactured from the holly. + +During the time that this was being prepared, Karl and Caspar, by the +directions of Ossaroo, had climbed into the trees, and collected an +immense quantity of leaves. These leaves were also taken from the +banyan figs, and for this purpose they had selected those that grew on +the youngest trees and shoots. Each leaf was as large as a tea-plate, +and they were covered with a woolly pubescence, peculiar only to the +leaves upon the younger trees--for as the banyan grows old its leaves +become harder and smoother on the surface. + +The fig-leaves having been gathered to his hand, and the birdlime made +ready, Ossaroo proceeded to carry out his design. + +The two remaining quarters of the venison still hung on the tree. These +were permitted to remain--as a bait to the singular trap that Ossaroo +was about to set--only that they were raised higher from the ground, in +order that the tiger might not too readily snatch them away, and thus +defeat the stratagem of the hunter. + +The venison having been hung to his liking, Ossaroo now cleared the +ground for a large space around--directing his assistants to carry off +all the brush and dead wood to a distance from the spot. This was +quickly done, and then the shikarree put the finishing stroke to his +work. This occupied him for two hours at least, and consisted in +anointing all the fig-leaves that had been gathered with a coat of +birdlime, and spreading them over the ground, until they covered a space +of many yards in circumference. In the centre of this space hung the +venison; and no creature could have approached within yards of it +without treading upon the smeared leaves. The leaves had been anointed +upon both sides, so that they adhered slightly to the grass, and a +breeze of wind could not have disarranged them to any great extent. + +When all was fixed to their satisfaction, Ossaroo and the others +returned to the camp-fire, and ate a hearty dinner. It was already late +in the day, for they had been many hours at work, and they had not +thought of dining until their arrangements were complete. Nothing more +remained to be done, but to await the result of their stratagem. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +A TALK ABOUT TIGERS. + +I need not describe a tiger. You have seen one, or the picture of one. +He is the great _striped_ cat. The large _spotted_ ones are not tigers. +They are either jaguars, or panthers, or leopards, or ounces, or +cheetahs, or servals. But there is no danger of your mistaking the +tiger for any other animal. He is the largest of the feline tribe--the +lion alone excepted--and individual tigers have been measured as large +as the biggest lion. The shaggy mane that covers the neck and shoulders +of an old male lion gives him the appearance of being of greater +dimensions than he really is. Skin him and he would not be larger than +an old male tiger also divested of his hide. + +Like the lion, the tiger varies but little in form or colour. Nature +does not sport with these powerful beasts. It is only upon the meaner +animals she plays off her eccentricities. The tiger may be seen with +the ground-colour of a lighter or deeper yellow, and the stripes or bars +more or less black; but the same general appearance is preserved, and +the species can always be recognised at a glance. + +The range or habitat of the tiger is more limited than that of the lion. +The latter exists throughout the whole of Africa, as well as the +southern half of Asia; whereas the tiger is found only in the +south-eastern countries of Asia, and some of the larger islands of the +Indian Archipelago. Westwardly his range does not extend to this side +of the Indus river, and how far north in Asia is uncertain. Some +naturalists assert that there are tigers in Asia as far north as the Obi +River. This would prove the tiger to be not altogether a tropical +animal, as he is generally regarded. It is certain that tigers once did +inhabit the countries around the Caspian Sea. There lay Hyrcania; and +several Roman writers speak of the Hyrcanian tigers. They could not +have meant any of the spotted cats,--ounce, panther, or leopard,--for +the Romans knew the difference between these and the striped or true +tiger. If, then, the tiger was an inhabitant of those trans-Himalayan +regions in the days of Augustus, it is possible it still exists there, +as we have proofs of its existence in Mongolia and northern China at the +present day. + +Were we to believe some travellers, we should have the tiger, not only +in Africa, but in America. The jaguar is the tiger (_tigre_) of the +Spanish Americans; and the panther, leopard, and cheetah, have all done +duty as "tigers" in the writings of old travellers in Africa. + +The true home of this fierce creature is the hot jungle-covered country +that exists in extended tracts in Hindostan, Siam, Malaya, and parts of +China. There the tiger roams undisputed lord of the thicket and forest; +and although the lion is also found in these countries, he is +comparatively a rare animal, and, from being but seldom met with, is +less talked about or feared. + +We who live far away from the haunts of these great carnivora, can +hardly realise the terror which is inspired by them in the countries +they infest. + +In many places human life is not safe; and men go out upon a journey, +with the same dread of meeting a tiger, that we would have for an +encounter with a mad dog. This dread is by no means founded upon mere +fancies or fabricated stories. Every village has its true tales of +tiger attacks and encounters, and every settlement has its list of +killed or maimed. You can scarce credit such a relation; but it is a +well-known fact that whole districts of fertile _country_ have from time +to time been abandoned by their inhabitants out of pure fear of the +tigers and panthers which infested them! Indeed, similar cases of +depopulation have occurred in South America, caused by a far less +formidable wild beast--the jaguar. + +In some parts of India the natives scarce attempt resistance to the +attack of the tiger. Indeed, the superstition of his victims aids the +fierce monster in their destruction. They regard him as being gifted +with supernatural power, and sent by their gods to destroy; and under +this conviction yield themselves up, without making the slightest +resistance. + +In other parts, where races exist possessed of more energy of character, +the tiger is hunted eagerly, and various modes of killing or capturing +him are practised in different districts. + +Sometimes a bow is set with poisoned arrows, and a cord attached to the +string. A bait is then placed on the ground, and arranged in such a way +that the tiger, on approaching it, presses against the cord, sets the +bow-string free, and is pierced by the arrow--the poison of which +eventually causes his death. + +A spring-gun is set off by a similar contrivance, and the tiger shoots +himself. + +The log-trap or "dead-fall"--often employed by American backwoodsmen for +capturing the black bear--is also in use in India for trapping the +tiger. This consists of a heavy log or beam so adjusted upon the top of +another one by a prop or "trigger," as to fall and crush whatever animal +may touch the trigger. A bait is also used for this species of trap. + +Hunting the tiger upon elephants is a royal sport in India, and is often +followed by the Indian rajahs, and sometimes by British sportsmen-- +officers of the East India Company. This sport is, of course, very +exciting; but there is nothing of a _ruse_ practised in it. The hunters +go armed with rifles and spears; and attended by a large number of +natives, who beat the jungle and drive the game within reach of the +sportsmen. Many lives are sacrificed in this dangerous sport; but those +who suffer are usually the poor peasants employed as beaters; and an +Indian rajah holds the lives of a score or two of his subjects as +lightly as that of a tiger itself. + +It is said the Chinese catch the tiger in a box-trap, which they bait +simply with a looking-glass. The tiger, on approaching the +looking-glass, perceives his own shadow, and mistaking it for a rival, +rushes forward to the trap, frees the trigger, and is caught. It may be +that the Chinese practised such a method. That part is likely enough; +but it is not likely that they take many tigers in this way. + +Perhaps you may be of opinion that the plan which Ossaroo was about to +follow was quite as absurd as that of the Chinese. It certainly did +sound very absurd to his companions, when he first told them that it was +his intention to _catch the tiger by birdlime_! + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +A TIGER TAKEN BY BIRDLIME. + +The plan of the shikarree was put to the test sooner than any of them +expected. They did not look for the tiger to return before sunset, and +they had resolved to pass the night among the branches of the banyan in +order to be out of the way of danger. The tiger might take it into his +head to stroll into their camp; and although, under ordinary +circumstances, these fierce brutes have a dread of fire, there are some +of them that do not regard it, and instances have occurred of tigers +making their attack upon men who were seated close to a blazing pile! +Ossaroo knew of several such cases, and had, therefore, given his +advice, that all of them should pass the night in the tree. It was true +the tiger could easily scale the banyan if the notion occurred to him; +but, unless they made some noise to attract his attention, he would not +be likely to discover their whereabouts. They had taken the precaution +to erect a platform of bamboos among the branches, so as to serve them +for a resting-place. + +After all, they were not under the necessity of resorting to this +elevated roost,--at least for the purpose of passing the night there. +But they occupied it for a while; and during that while they were +witnesses to a scene that for singularity, and comicality as well, was +equal to anything that any of them had ever beheld. + +It wanted about half-an-hour of sunset, and they were all seated around +the camp-fire, when a singular noise reached their ears. It was not +unlike the "whirr" made by a thrashing-machine--which any one must have +heard who has travelled through an agricultural district. Unlike this, +however, the sound was not prolonged, but broke out at intervals, +continued for a few seconds, and then was silent again. + +Ossaroo was the only one of the party who, on hearing this sound, +exhibited any feelings of alarm. The others were simply curious. It +was an unusual sound. They wondered what was producing it--nothing +more. They quite shared the alarm of the shikarree, when the latter +informed them that what they heard was neither more nor less than the +"purr" of a tiger! + +Ossaroo communicated this information in an ominous whisper, at the same +instant crouching forward towards the main trunk of the banyan, and +beckoning to the others to follow him. + +Without a word they obeyed the sign, and all three climbed, one after +the other, up the trunk, and silently seated themselves among the +branches. + +By looking through the outer screen of leaves, and a little downward, +they could see the quarters of venison hanging from the limb, and also +the whole surface of the ground where the glittering leaves were spread. + +Whether the haunch which the tiger had stolen on the preceding night had +not been sufficient for his supper, and he had grown hungry again before +his usual feeding-time, is uncertain. But certain it is that Ossaroo, +who understood well the habits of this striped robber, did not expect +him to return so soon. He looked for him after darkness should set in. +But the loud "purr-r-r" that at intervals came booming through the +jungle, and each time sounding more distinctly, showed that the great +cat was upon the ground. + +All at once they espied him coming out of the bushes, and on the other +side of the rivulet--his broad whitish throat and breast shining in +contrast with the dark green foliage. He was crouching just after the +manner of a house-cat when making her approach to some unwary bird--his +huge paws spread before him, and his long back hollowed down--a hideous +and fearful object to behold. His eyes appeared to flash fire, as he +bent them upon the tempting joints hanging high up upon the branch of +the tree. + +After reconnoitring a little, he gathered up his long back into a curve, +vaulted into the air, and cleared the rivulet from bank to bank. Then, +without further pause, he trotted nimbly forward, and stopped directly +under the hanging joints. + +Ossaroo had purposely raised the meat above its former elevation, and +the lowest ends of the joints were full twelve feet from the ground. +Although the tiger can bound to a very great distance in a horizontal +direction, he is not so well fitted for springing vertically upwards, +and therefore the tempting morsels were just beyond his reach. He +seemed to be somewhat nonplussed at this--for upon his last visit he had +found things rather different--but after regarding the joints for a +moment or two, and uttering a loud snuff of discontent, he flattened his +paws against the ground, and sprang high into air. + +The attempt was a failure. He came back to the earth without having +touched the meat, and expressed his dissatisfaction by an angry growl. + +In another moment, he made a second spring upwards. This time, he +struck one of the quarters with his paw, and sent it swinging backwards +and forwards, though it had been secured too well to the branch to be in +any danger of falling. + +All at once, the attention of the great brute became directed to a +circumstance, which seemed to puzzle him not a little. He noticed that +there was something adhering to his paws. He raised one of them from +the ground, and saw that two or three leaves were sticking to it. What +could be the matter with the leaves, to cling to his soles in that +manner? They appeared to be wet, but what of that? He had never known +wet leaves stick to his feet any more than dry ones. Perhaps it was +this had hindered him from springing up as high as he had intended? At +all events, he did not feel quite comfortable, and he should have the +leaves off before he attempted to leap again. He gave his paw a slight +shake, but the leaves would not go. He shook it more violently, still +the leaves adhered! He could not make it out. There was some gummy +substance upon them, such as he had never met with before in all his +travels. He had rambled over many a bed of fig-leaves in his day, but +had never set foot upon such sticky leaves as these. + +Another hard shake of the paw produced no better effect. Still stuck +fast the leaves, as if they had been pitch plasters; one covering the +whole surface of his foot, and others adhering to its edges. Several +had even fastened themselves on his ankles. What the deuce did it all +mean? + +As shaking the paw was of no use, he next attempted to get rid of them +by the only other means known to him; that was by rubbing them off +against his cheeks and snout. He raised the paw to his ears, and drew +it along the side of his head. He succeeded in getting most of them off +his foot in this way, but, to his chagrin, they now adhered to his head, +ears, and jaws, where they felt still more uncomfortable and annoying. +These he resolved to detach, by using his paw upon them; but, instead of +doing so, he only added to their number, for, on raising his foot, he +found that a fresh batch of the sticky leaves had fastened upon it. He +now tried the other foot, with no better effect. It, too, was covered +with gummy leaves, that only became detached to fasten upon his jaws, +and stick there, in spite of all his efforts to tear them off. Even +some of them had got over his eyes, and already half-blinded him! But +one way remained to get rid of the leaves, that had so fastened upon his +head. Every time he applied his paws, it only made things worse. But +there was still a way to get them off--so thought he--by rubbing his +head along the ground. + +No sooner thought of than done. He pressed his jaws down to the earth, +and, using his hind-legs to push himself along, he rubbed hard to rid +himself of the annoyance. He then turned over, and tried the same +method with the other side; but, after continuing at this for some +moments, he discovered he was only making matters worse; in fact, he +found that both his eyes were now completely "bunged up," and that he +was perfectly blind! He felt, moreover, that his whole head, as well as +his body, was now covered, even to the tip of his tail. + +By this time, he had lost all patience. He thought no longer of the +venison. He thought only of freeing himself from the detestable plight +in which he was placed. He sprang and bounded over the ground; now +rubbing his head along the surface, now scraping it with his huge paws, +and ever and anon dashing himself against the stems of the trees that +grew around. All this while, his growling, and howling, and screaming, +filled the woods with the most hideous noises. + +Up to this crisis, our travellers had watched his every movement, all of +them bursting with laughter; to which, however, they dare not give +utterance, lest they might spoil the sport. At length, Ossaroo knew +that the time was come for something more serious than laughter; and, +descending from the tree with his long spear, he beckoned the others to +follow with their guns. + +The shikarree could have approached and thrust the tiger, without much +danger; but, to make sure, the double-barrel, already loaded with ball, +was fired at him, along with Caspar's rifle; and one of the bullets +striking him between the ribs, put an end to his struggles, by laying +him out upon the grass dead as a herring. + +Upon examining him, they found that the fig-leaves go covered his eyes, +as to render him completely blind. What prevented him from scratching +them off with his huge claws was, that these were so wrapped up in the +leafy envelope as to render them perfectly useless, and no longer +dangerous, had any one engaged with him in close combat. + +When the exciting scene was over, all of the party indulged in hearty +laughter; for there was something extremely ludicrous, not only in the +idea, but in the act itself, of trapping a royal tiger by so simple a +contrivance as birdlime. + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +A RARE RAFT. + +Ossaroo did not fail to skin the tiger, and to eat for his supper a +large steak, cut off from his well-fleshed ribs. The others did not +join him in this singular viand, although the shikarree assured them +that tiger-beef was far superior to the venison of the sambur deer. +There may have been truth in Ossaroo's assertion; for it is well-known, +that the flesh of several kinds of carnivorous animals is not only +palatable, but delicate eating. Indeed, the delicacy of the meat does +not seem at all to depend upon the food of the animal; since no creature +is a more unclean feeder than the domestic pig, and what is nicer or +more tender than a bit of roast pork? On the other hand, many animals, +whose flesh is exceedingly bitter, feed only on fresh grass or sweet +succulent roots and plants. As a proof of this, I might instance the +tapir of South America, the quaggas and zebras of Africa, and even some +animals of the deer and antelope tribes, whose flesh is only eatable in +cases of emergency. + +The same fact may be observed in relation to birds. Many birds of prey +furnish a dish quite equal to choice game. For one, the flesh of the +large chicken-hawk of America (eaten and eagerly sought after by the +plantation negroes) is not much, if anything, inferior to that of the +bird upon which it preys. + +It was not for the "meat," however, that Ossaroo stripped the tiger of +his skin, but rather for the skin itself; and not so much for the +absolute value of the skin, for in India that is not great. Had it been +a panther or leopard skin, or even the less handsome hide of the +cheetah, its absolute value would have been greater. But there was an +artificial value attached to the skin of a tiger, and that well knew the +shikarree. He knew that there was a _bounty of ten rupees_ for every +tiger killed, and also that to obtain this bounty it was necessary to +show the skin. True it was the East India Company that paid the bounty, +and only for tigers killed in their territory. This one had not been +killed under the British flag, but what of that? A tiger-skin was a +tiger-skin; and Ossaroo expected some day not distant to walk the +streets of Calcutta; and, with this idea in his mind, he climbed up the +great banyan, and hid his tiger-skin among its topmost branches, to be +left there till his return from the mountains. + +The next two days were spent in the same neighbourhood, and the +plant-hunter was very successful. The seeds of many rare plants, some +of them quite new to the botanical world, were here obtained, and like +the skin of the tiger deposited in a safe place, so that the collectors +might not be burdened with them on their journey to the mountains. It +was in this way that Karl had resolved upon making his collections, +leaving the seeds and nuts he should obtain at various places upon his +route; and, when returning, he trusted to be able to employ some coolies +to assist in getting them carried to Calcutta or some other sea-port. + +On the fourth day the travellers again took the route, still facing due +northward in the direction of the mountains. They needed no guide to +point out their course, as the river which they had resolved upon +following upwards was guide enough; usually they kept along its banks, +but sometimes a thick marshy jungle forced them to abandon the +water-edge and keep away for some distance into the back country, where +the path was more safe and open. + +About midday they arrived at the banks of a stream, that was a branch of +the main river. This stream lay transversely to their route, and, of +course, had to be crossed. There was neither bridge nor ford, nor +crossing of any kind to be seen, and the current was both wide and deep. +They followed it up for more than a mile; but it neither grew shallower +nor yet more narrow. They walked up and down for a couple of hours, +endeavouring to find a crossing, but to no purpose. + +Both Caspar and Ossaroo were good swimmers, but Karl could not swim a +stroke; and it was entirely on his account that they stayed to search +for a ford. The other two would have dashed in at once, regardless of +the swift current. What was to be done with Karl? In such a rapid +running river it was as much as the best swimmer could do to carry +himself across; therefore not one of the others could assist Karl. How +then, were they to get over? + +They had seated themselves under a tree to debate this question; and no +doubt the habile Ossaroo would soon have offered a solution to it, and +got the young Sahib across, but at that moment assistance arrived from a +very unexpected quarter. + +There was a belt of open ground--a sort of meadow upon the side opposite +to where they were seated, which was backed by a jungly forest. + +Out of this forest a man was seen to emerge, and take his way across the +meadow in the direction of the river. His swarthy complexion, and bushy +black hair hanging neglected over his shoulders--his dress consisting of +a single blanket-like robe, held by a leathern belt around the waist-- +his bare legs and sandalled feet--all bore evidence that he was one of +the half-savage natives of the Terai. + +His appearance created a great sensation, and astonished all the party-- +Ossaroo, perhaps, excepted. It was not his wild look nor his odd +costume that produced this astonishment, for men who have travelled in +Hindostan are not likely to be surprised by wild looks and strange +dresses. What astonished our travellers--and it would have had a like +effect upon the most stoical people in the world--was that the +individual who approached was carrying a _buffalo upon his back_! Not +the quarter of a buffalo, nor the head of a buffalo, but a whole one, as +big, and black, and hairy, as an English bull! The back of the animal +lay against the back of the man, with the head and horns projecting over +his shoulder, the legs sticking out behind, and the tail dragging about +his heels! + +How one man could bear up under such a load was more than our travellers +could divine; but not only did this wild Mech bear up under it, but he +appeared to carry it with ease, and stepped as lightly across the meadow +as if it had been a bag of feathers he was carrying! + +Both Karl and Caspar uttered exclamations of surprise, and rapid +interrogatories were put to Ossaroo for an explanation. Ossaroo only +smiled significantly in reply, evidently able to explain this mysterious +phenomenon; but enjoying the surprise of his companions too much to +offer a solution of it as long as he could decorously withhold it. + +The surprise of the boys was not diminished, when another native stepped +out of the timber, buffalo on back, like the first; and then another and +another--until half-a-dozen men, with a like number of buffaloes on +their shoulders, were seen crossing the meadows! + +Meanwhile the foremost had reached the bank of the river; and now the +astonishment of the botanists reached its climax, when they saw this man +let down the huge animal from his shoulders, embrace it with his arms, +place it before him in the water, and then mount astride _upon its +back_! In a moment more he was out in the stream, and his buffalo +swimming under him, or rather he seemed to be pushing it along, using +his arms and legs as paddles to impel it forward! + +The others, on reaching the water, acted in a precisely similar manner, +and the whole party were soon launched, and crossing the stream +together. + +It was not until the foremost Mech had arrived at the bank close to +where our travellers awaited them, _lifted his buffalo out of the water, +and reshouldered it_, that the latter learnt to their surprise that what +they had taken for buffaloes were nothing more than the inflated skins +of these animals that were thus employed as rafts by the rude but +ingenious natives of the district! + +The same contrivance is used by the inhabitants of the Punjaub and other +parts of India, where fords are few and bridges cannot be built. The +buffaloes are skinned, with the legs, heads, and horns left on, to serve +as handles and supports in managing them. They are then rendered +airtight and inflated, heads, legs, and all; and in this way bear such a +resemblance to the animals from which they have been taken, that even +dogs are deceived, and often growl and bark at them. Of course the +quantity of air is for more than sufficient to buoy up the weight of a +man. Sometimes, when goods and other articles are to be carried across, +several skins are attached together, and thus form an excellent raft. + +This was done upon the spot, and at a moment's notice. The Mechs, +although a half-savage people, are far from uncivil in their intercourse +with strangers. A word from Ossaroo, accompanied by a few pipes of +tobacco from the botanist, procured the desired raft of buffalo-skins; +and our party, in less than half-an-hour, were safely deposited upon the +opposite bank, and allowed to continue their journey without the +slightest molestation. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +THE TALLEST GRASS IN THE WORLD. + +As our travellers proceeded up-stream, they were occasionally compelled +to pass through tracts covered with a species of jungle-grass, called +"Dab-grass," which not only reached above the heads of the tallest of +the party, but would have done so had they been giants! Goliath or the +Cyclops might have, either of them, stood on tiptoe in a field of this +grass, without being able to look over its tops. + +The botanist was curious enough to measure some stalks of this gigantic +grass, and found them full fourteen feet in height, and as thick as a +man's finger near the roots! Of course no animal, except a giraffe, +could raise its head over the tops of such grass as this; but there are +no giraffes in this part of the world--these long-necked creatures being +confined to the Continent of Africa. Wild elephants, however, are found +here; and the largest of them can hide himself in the midst of this tall +sward, as easily as a mouse would in an English meadow. + +But there are other animals that make their layer in the dab-grass. It +is a favourite haunt both of the tiger and Indian lion; and it was not +without feelings of fear that our botanical travellers threaded their +way amidst its tall cane-like culms. + +You will be ready to admit, that the dab-grass is a tall grass. But it +is far from being the tallest in the world, or in the East Indies +either. What think you of a grass nearly five times as tall? And yet +in that same country such a grass exists. Yes--there is a species of +"panic-grass," the _Panicum arborescens_, which actually grows to the +height of fifty feet, with a culm not thicker than an ordinary +goose-quill! This singular species is, however, a climbing plant, +growing up amidst the trees of the forest, supported by their branches, +and almost reaching to their tops. + +This panic-grass you will, no doubt, fancy _must be the tallest grass in +the world_. But no. Prepare yourself to hear that there is still +another kind, not only taller than this, but one that grows to the +prodigious height of a hundred feet! + +You will guess what sort I am about to name. It could be no other than +the giant _bamboo. That is the tallest grass in the world_. + +You know the bamboo as a "cane;" but for all that it is a true grass, +belonging to the natural order of _gramineae_, or grasses, the chief +difference between it, and many others of the same order, being its more +gigantic dimensions. + +My young reader, I may safely assert, that in all the vegetable kingdom +there is no species or form so valuable to the human race as the +"grasses." Among all civilised nations bread is reckoned as the food of +primary importance, so much so as to have obtained the sobriquet of "the +staff of life;" and nearly every sort of bread is the production of a +grass. Wheat, barley, oats, maize, and rice, are all grasses; and so, +too, is the sugar-cane--so valuable for its luxurious product. It would +take up many pages of our little volume to enumerate the various species +of _gramineae_, that contribute to the necessities and luxuries of +mankind; and other pages might be written about species equally +available for the purposes of life, but which have not yet been brought +into cultivation. + +Of all kinds of grasses, however, none possesses greater interest than +the bamboo. Although not the most useful as an article of food, this +noble plant serves a greater number of purposes in the economy of human +life, than perhaps any other vegetable in existence. + +What the palm-tree of many species is to the natives of South America or +tropical Africa, such is the bamboo to the inhabitants of Southern Asia +and its islands. It is doubtful whether nature has conferred upon these +people any greater boon than this noble plant, the light and graceful +culms of which are applied by them to a multitude of useful purposes. +Indeed so numerous are the uses made of the bamboo, that it would be an +elaborate work even to make out a list of them. A few of the purposes +to which it is applied will enable you to judge of the valuable nature +of this princely grass. + +The young shoots of some species are cut when tender, and eaten like +asparagus. The full-grown stems, while green, form elegant cases, +exhaling a perpetual moisture, and capable of transporting fresh flowers +for hundreds of miles. When ripe and hard, they are converted into +bows, arrows, and quivers, lance-shafts, the masts of vessels, +walking-sticks, the poles of palanquins, the floors and supporters of +bridges, and a variety of similar purposes. In a growing state the +strong kinds are formed into stockades, which are impenetrable to any +thing but regular infantry or artillery. By notching their sides the +Malays make wonderfully light scaling ladders, which can be conveyed +with facility, where heavier machines could not be transported. Bruised +and crushed in water, the leaves and stems form Chinese paper, the finer +qualities of which are only improved by a mixture of raw cotton and by +more careful pounding. The leaves of a small species are the material +used by the Chinese for the lining of their tea-chests. Cut into +lengths, and the partitions knocked out, they form durable water-pipes, +or by a little contrivance are made into cases for holding rolls of +paper. Slit into strips, they afford a most durable material for +weaving into mats, baskets, window-blinds, and even the sails of boats; +and the larger and thicker truncheons are carved by the Chinese into +beautiful ornaments. For building purposes the bamboo is still more +important. In many parts of India the framework of the houses of the +natives is chiefly composed of this material. In the flooring, whole +stems, four or live inches in diameter, are laid close to each other, +and across these, laths of split bamboo, about an inch wide, are +fastened down by filaments of rattan cane. The sides of the houses are +closed in by the bamboos opened and rendered flat by splitting or +notching the circular joints on the outside, chipping away the +corresponding divisions within, and laying it in the sun to dry, pressed +down with weights. Whole bamboos often form the upright timbers, and +the house is generally roofed in with a thatch of narrow split bamboos, +six feet long, placed in regular layers, each reaching within two feet +of the extremity of that beneath it, by which a treble covering is +formed. Another and most ingenious roof is also formed by cutting large +straight bamboos of sufficient length to reach from the ridge to the +eaves, then splitting them exactly in two, knocking out the partitions, +and arranging them in close order with the hollow or inner sides +uppermost; after which a second layer, with the outer or concave sides +up, is placed upon the other in such a manner that each of the convex +pieces falls into the two contiguous concave pieces covering their +edges, thus serving as gutters to carry off the rain that falls on the +convex layer. + +Such are a few of the uses of the bamboo, enumerated by an ingenious +writer; and these are probably not more than one tenth of the purposes +to which this valuable cane is applied by the natives of India. + +The quickness with which the bamboo can be cut and fashioned to any +purpose is not the least remarkable of its properties. One of the most +distinguished of English botanists (Hooker) relates that a complete +_furnished_ house of bamboo, containing chairs and a table, was erected +by his six attendants in the space of one hour! + +Of the bamboos there are many species--perhaps fifty in all--some of +them natives of Africa and South America, but the greater number +belonging to southern Asia, which is the true home of these gigantic +grasses. The species differ in many respects from each other--some of +them being thick and strong, while others are light and slender, and +elastic. In nothing do the different species vary more than in size. +They are found growing of all sizes, from the dwarf bamboo, as slender +as a wheat-stalk, and only two feet high, to the _Bambusa maxima_, as +thick as a man's body, and towering to the height of a hundred feet! + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +THE MAN-EATERS. + +Ossaroo had lived all his life in a bamboo country, and was well +acquainted with all its uses. Hardly a vessel or implement that he +could not manufacture of bamboo canes of some kind or another, and many +a purpose besides he knew how to apply them to. Had he been obliged to +cross a tract of country where there was no water, and required a large +vessel, or "canteen," to carry a supply, he would have made it as +follows. He would have taken two joints of bamboo, each a couple of +feet long and six or seven inches in diameter. These he would have +trimmed, so that one of the nodes between the hollow spaces would serve +as a bottom for each. In the node, or partition, at the top, he would +have pierced a small hole to admit the water, which hole could be closed +by a stopper of the pith of a palm or some soft wood, easily procured in +the tropical forests of India. In case he could not have found bamboos +with joints sufficiently long for the purpose it would have mattered +little. Two or more joints would have been taken for each jar, and the +partitions between them broken through, so as to admit the water into +the hollow spaces within. The pair of "jars" he would have then bound +together at a very acute angle--something after the form of the letter +V--and then to carry them with ease he would have strapped the bamboos +to his back, the apex of the angle downwards, and one of the ends just +peeping over each shoulder. In this way he would have provided himself +with a water-vessel that for strength and lightness--the two great +essentials--would have been superior to anything that either tinker or +cooper could construct. + +As it happened that they were travelling through a district where there +was water at the distance of every mile or two, this bamboo canteen was +not needed. A single joint holding a quart was enough to give any of +the party a drink whenever they required it. + +Now had the Mechs not arrived opportunely with their rafts of inflated +buffalo-skins, there can be no doubt that Ossaroo would have found some +mode of crossing the stream. A proof that he could have done so +occurred but a few hours after, when our travellers found themselves in +a similar dilemma. This time it was the main river, whose course they +were following, that lay in the way. A large bend had to be got over, +else, they would have been compelled to take a circuitous route of many +miles, and by a path which the guide knew to be difficult on account of +some marshes that intervened. + +Ossaroo proposed fording the river, but how was that to be done? It +would be a longer swim than the other, and there were no natives with +their skin-rafts--at least none were in sight. But there grew close by +a clump of noble bamboos, and the guide pointed to them. + +"Oh! you intend to make a raft of the canes?" inquired the botanist. + +"Yes, Sahib," replied the shikarree. + +"It will take a long time, I fear?" + +"No fearee, Sahib; half-hour do." + +Ossaroo was as good as his promise. In half-an-hour not only one raft, +but three--that is, a raft for each--was constructed and ready to be +launched. The construction of these was as simple as it was ingenious. +Each consisted of four pieces of bamboo, lashed together crossways with +strips of rattan, so as to form a square in the centre just large enough +to admit the body of a man. Of course, the bamboos, being hollow +within, and closed at both ends, had sufficient buoyancy to sustain a +man's weight above water, and nothing more was wanted. + +Each of the party having adjusted his burden upon his back, stepped +within the square space, lifted the framework in his hands, walked +boldly into the river, and was soon floating out upon its current. +Ossaroo had given them instructions how to balance themselves so as to +keep upright, and also how to paddle with both hands and feet: so that, +after a good deal of plashing and spluttering, and laughing and +shouting, all three arrived safely on the opposite bank. Of course, +Fritz swam over without a raft. + +As the river had to be re-crossed on the other arm of the bend, each +carried his raft across the neck or isthmus, where a similar fording was +made, that brought them once more on the path they were following. Thus +every day--almost every hour--our travellers were astonished by some new +feat of their hunter-guide, and some new purpose to which the noble +bamboo could be applied. + +Still another astonishment awaited them. Ossaroo had yet a feat in +store, in the performance of which the bamboo was to play a conspicuous +part; and it chanced that upon the very next day, an opportunity +occurred by which the hunter was enabled to perform this feat to the +great gratification not only of his travelling companions, but to the +delight of a whole village of natives, who derived no little benefit +from the performance. + +I have already said, that there are many parts of India where the people +live in great fear of the tigers--as well as lions, wild elephants, +panthers, and rhinoceroses. These people have no knowledge of proper +fire-arms. Some, indeed, carry the clumsy matchlock, which, of course, +is of little or no service in hunting; and their bows, even with +poisoned arrows, are but poor weapons when used in an encounter with +these strong savage beasts. + +Often a whole village is kept in a state of terror for weeks or months +by a single tiger who may have made his lair in the neighbourhood, and +whose presence is known by his repeated forays upon the cows, buffaloes, +or other domesticated animals of the villagers. It is only after this +state of things has continued for a length of time, and much loss has +been sustained, that these poor people, goaded to desperation, at length +assemble together, and risk an encounter with the tawny tyrant. In such +encounters human lives are frequently sacrificed, and generally some one +of the party receives a blow or scratch from the tiger's paw, which +maims or lames him for the rest of his days. + +But there is still a worse case than even this. Not infrequently the +tiger, instead of preying upon their cattle, carries off one of the +natives themselves; and where this occurs, the savage monster, if not +pursued and killed, is certain to repeat the offence. It is strange, +and true as strange, that a tiger having once fed upon human flesh, +appears ever after to be fonder of it than of any other food, and will +make the most daring attempts to procure it. Such tigers are not +uncommon in India, where they are known among the natives by the dreaded +name of _man-eaters_! + +It is not a little curious that the Caffres and other natives of South +Africa, apply the same term to individuals of the lion species, known to +be imbued with a similar appetite. + +It is difficult to conceive a more horrible monster than a lion or tiger +of such tastes; and in India, when the presence of such an _one_ is +discovered, the whole neighbourhood lives in dread. Often when a +British post is near, the natives make application to the officers to +assist them in destroying the terrible creature--well knowing that our +countrymen, with their superior courage, with their elephants and fine +rifles, are more than a match for the jungle tyrant. When no such help +is at hand, the shikarrees, or native hunters, usually assemble, and +either take the tiger by stratagem, or risk their lives in a bold +encounter. In many a tiger-hunt had Ossaroo distinguished himself, both +by stratagem and prowess, and there was no mode of trapping or killing a +tiger that was not known to him. + +He was now called upon to give an exhibition of his craft, which, in +point of ingenuity, was almost equal to the stratagem of the limed +fig-leaves. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +THE DEATH OF THE MAN-EATER. + +The path which our travellers were following led them into one of the +native villages of the Terai, which lay in a sequestered part of the +forest. The inhabitants of this village received them with acclamations +of joy. Their approach had been reported before they reached the place, +and a deputation of the villagers met them on the way, hailing them with +joyful exclamations and gestures of welcome. + +Karl and Caspar, ignorant of the native language, and, of course, not +comprehending what was said, were for some time at a loss to understand +the meaning of these demonstrations. Ossaroo was appealed to, to +furnish an explanation. + +"A man-eater," he said. + +"A man-eater!" + +"Yes, Sahib; a man-eater in the jungle." + +This was not sufficiently explicit. What did Ossaroo mean? A man-eater +in the jungle? What sort of creature was that? Neither Karl nor Caspar +had ever heard of such a thing before. They questioned Ossaroo. + +The latter explained to them what was a man-eater. It was a tiger so +called, as you already know, on account of its preying upon human +beings. This one had already killed and carried off a man, a woman, and +two children, beside large numbers of domestic animals. For more than +three months it had infested the village, and kept the inhabitants in a +state of constant alarm. Indeed, several families had deserted the +place solely through fear of this terrible tiger; and those that +remained were in the habit, as soon as night came on, of shutting +themselves up within their houses, without daring to stir out again till +morning. In the instance of one of the children, even this precaution +had not served, for the fierce tiger had broken through the frail wall +of bamboos, and carried the child off before the eyes of its afflicted +parents! + +Several times the timid but incensed villagers had assembled and +endeavoured to destroy this terrible enemy. They had found him each +time in his lair; but, on account of their poor weapons and slight skill +as hunters, he had always been enabled to escape from them. Indeed on +such occasions the tiger was sure to come off victorious, for it was in +one of these hunts that the man had fallen a sacrifice. Others of the +villagers had been wounded in the different conflicts with this pest of +the jungle. With such a neighbour at their doors no wonder they had +been living in a state of disquietude and terror. + +But why their joy at the approach of our travellers? + +This was proudly explained by Ossaroo, who of course had reason to be +proud of the circumstance. + +It appeared that the fame of the shikarree, as a great tiger-hunter, had +preceded him, and his name was known even in the Terai. The villagers +had heard that he was approaching, accompanied by two Feringhees, (so +Europeans are called by the natives of India,) and they hoped, by the +aid of the noted shikarree and the Feringhee Sahibs, to get rid of the +dreaded marauder. + +Ossaroo, thus appealed to, at once gave his promise to aid them. Of +course the botanist made no objection, and Caspar was delighted with the +idea. They were to remain all night at the village, since nothing could +be done before night. They might have got up a grand battue to beat the +jungle and attack the tiger in his lair, but what would have come of +that? Perhaps the loss of more lives. None of the villagers cared to +risk themselves in such a hunt, and that was not the way that Ossaroo +killed his tigers. + +Karl and Caspar expected to see their companion once more try his +stratagem of the birdlime and the leaves; and such at first was his +intention. Upon inquiry, however, he found that no birdlime was to be +had. The villagers did not know how to prepare it, and there were no +fig-trees about the neighbourhood, nor holly, nor trees of any other +kind out of which it could properly be made. + +What was Ossaroo to do under these circumstances? Must he abandon the +idea of destroying the man-eater, and leave the helpless villagers to +their fate? No. His hunter pride would not permit that. His name as a +great shikarree was at stake. Besides, his humanity was touched--for, +although but a poor Hindoo, he possessed the common feelings of our +nature. Karl and Caspar, moreover, had taken an interest in the thing, +and urged him to do his best, promising him all the assistance it was in +their power to give. + +It was resolved, therefore, that, cost what it might, the tiger should +be destroyed. + +Ossaroo had other resources besides the birdlime and the battue, and he +at once set to work to prepare his plan. He had an ample stock of +attendants, as the villagers worked eagerly and ran hither and thither +obedient to his nod. In front of the village there was a piece of open +ground. This was the scene of operations. + +Ossaroo first commanded four large posts to be brought, and set in the +ground in a quadrangle of about eight feet in length and width. These +posts when sunk firmly in their place stood full eight feet in height, +and each had a fork at the top. On these forks four strong beams were +placed horizontally, and then firmly lashed with rawhide thongs. Deep +trenches were next dug from post to post, and in these were planted rows +of strong bamboos four inches apart from each other--the bamboos +themselves being about four inches in thickness. The earth was then +filled in, and trodden firmly, so as to render the uprights immovable. +A tier of similar bamboos was next laid horizontally upon the top, the +ends of which, interlocking with those that stood upright, held the +latter in their places. Both were securely lashed to the frame +timbers--that had been notched for the purpose--and to one another, and +then the structure was complete. It resembled an immense cage with +smooth yellow rods, each four inches in diameter. The door alone was +wanting, but it was not desirable to have a door. Although it was +intended for a "trap cage," the "bird" for which it had been constructed +was not to be admitted to the inside. + +Ossaroo now called upon the villagers to provide him with a goat that +had lately had kids, and whose young were still living. This was easily +procured. Still another article he required, but both it and the goat +had been "bespoke" at an earlier hour of the day, and were waiting his +orders. This last was the skin of a buffalo, such a one as we have +already seen used by these people in crossing their rivers. + +When all these things had been got ready it was near night, and no time +was lost in waiting. With the help of the villagers Ossaroo was +speedily arrayed in the skin of the buffalo, his arms and limbs taking +the place of the animal's legs, with the head and horns drawn over him +like a hood, so that his eyes were opposite the holes in the skin. + +Thus metamorphosed, Ossaroo entered the bamboo cage, taking the goat +along with him. The stake, that had been kept out for the purpose of +admitting them within the enclosure, was now set into its place as +firmly as the others; and this done, the villagers, with Karl and +Caspar, retired to their houses, and left the shikarree and his goat to +themselves. + +A stranger passing the spot would have had no other thoughts than that +the cage-like enclosure contained a buffalo and a goat. On closer +examination it might have been perceived that this buffalo held, grasped +firmly in its fore-hoofs, a strong bamboo spear; and that was all that +appeared odd about it--for it was lying down like any other buffalo, +with the goat standing beside it. + +The sun had set, and night was now on. The villagers had put out their +lights, and, shut up within their houses, were waiting in breathless +expectation. Ossaroo, on his part, was equally anxious--not from the +fear of any danger, for he had secured himself against that. He was +only anxious for the approach of the man-eater, in order that he might +have the opportunity to exhibit the triumph of his hunter-skill. + +He was not likely to be disappointed. The villagers had assured him +that the fierce brute was in the habit of paying them a nightly visit, +and prowling around the place for hours together. It was only when he +had succeeded in carrying off some of their cattle that he would be +absent for days--no doubt his hunger being for the time satiated; but as +he had not lately made a capture, they looked for a visit from him on +that very night. + +If the tiger should come near the village, Ossaroo had no fear that he +could attract him to the spot. He had laid his decoy too well to fail +in this. The goat, deprived of her young, kept up an incessant +bleating, and the kids answered her from one of the houses of the +village. As the hunter knew from experience that the tiger has a +particular relish for goat-venison, he had no fear but that the voice of +the animal would attract him to the spot, provided he came near enough +to hear it. In this the villagers assured him he would not be +disappointed. + +He _was not disappointed_; neither was he kept long in suspense. He had +not been more than half-an-hour in his buffalo disguise, before a loud +growling on the edge of the forest announced the approach of the dreaded +man-eater, and caused the goat to spring wildly about in the enclosure, +uttering at intervals the most piercing cries. + +This was just what Ossaroo wanted. The tiger, hearing the voice of the +goat, needed no further invitation; but in a few moments was seen +trotting boldly up to the spot. There was no crouching on the part of +the terrible brute. He had been too long master there to fear anything +he might encounter, and he stood in need of a supper. The goat that he +had heard would be just the dish he should relish; and he had determined +on laying his claws upon her without more ado. In another moment he +stood within ten feet of the cage! + +The odd-looking structure puzzled him, and he halted to survey it. +Fortunately there was a moon, and the light not only enabled the tiger +to see what the cage contained, but it also gave Ossaroo an opportunity +of watching all his movements. + +"Of course," thought the tiger, "it's an enclosure some of these simple +villagers have put up to keep that goat and buffalo from straying off +into the woods; likely enough, too, to keep me from getting at them. +Well, they appear to have been very particular about the building of it. +We shall see if they have made the walls strong enough." + +With these reflections he drew near, and rearing upward caught one of +the bamboos in his huge paw, and shook it with violence. The cane, +strong as a bar of iron, refused to yield even to the strength of a +tiger; and, on finding this, the fierce brute ran rapidly round the +enclosure, trying it at various places, and searching for an entrance. + +There was no entrance, however; and on perceiving that there was none, +the tiger endeavoured to get at the goat by inserting his paws between +the bamboos. The goat, however, ran frightened and screaming to the +opposite side, and so kept out of the way. It would have served the +tiger equally well to have laid his claws upon the buffalo, but this +animal very prudently remained near the centre of the enclosure, and did +not appear to be so badly scared withal. No doubt the coolness of the +buffalo somewhat astonished the tiger, but in his endeavours to capture +the goat, he did not stop to show his surprise, but ran round and round, +now dashing forcibly against the bamboos, and now reaching his paws +between them as far as his fore-legs would stretch. + +All at once the buffalo was seen to rush towards him, and the tiger was +in great hopes of being able to reach the latter with his claws, when, +to his astonishment, he felt some hard instrument strike sharply against +his snout, and rattle upon his teeth, while the fire flew from his eyes +at the concussion. Of course it was the _horn_ of the buffalo that had +done this; and now, rendered furious by the pain, the tiger forgot all +about the goat, and turned his attention towards revenging himself upon +the animal who had wounded him. Several times he launched himself +savagely against the bamboos, but the canes resisted all his strength. +Just then it occurred to him that he might effect an entrance by the +top, and with one bound he sprang upon the roof of the enclosure. This +was just what, the buffalo wished, and the broad white belly of his +assailant stretched along the open framework of bamboos, was now a fair +mark for that terrible horn. Like a gleam of lightning it entered +between his ribs; the red blood spouted forth, the huge man-eater +screamed fiercely as he felt the deadly stab, and then, struggling for a +few minutes, his enormous body lay stretched across the rack silent,-- +motionless,--dead! + +A signal whistle from Ossaroo soon brought the villagers upon the spot. +The shikarree and the goat were set free. The carcass of the man-eater +was dragged into the middle of the village amidst shouts of triumph, and +the rest of the night was devoted to feasting and rejoicing. The +"freedom of the city" was offered to Ossaroo and his companions, and +every hospitality lavished upon them that the grateful inhabitants knew +how to bestow. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +KARL'S ADVENTURE WITH THE LONG-LIPPED BEAR. + +Next morning they were _en route_ at an early hour; and having passed +through some cultivated fields, they once more entered the wild primeval +forest which covers most of the hills and valleys of the Terai. + +Their road during the whole day was a series of ascents and descents, +now running along the bed of a stream; now upon its high bank, anon over +some projecting ridge, and at intervals crossing the stream, sometimes +by fording, and once or twice by natural bridges formed by the long +trailing roots of various species of fig-trees. + +Although they were gradually ascending to a higher elevation, the +vegetation was still of a tropical character. Pothos plants, and +broad-leaved arums, bamboos, wild plantains, and palms, were seen all +along the way, while lovely orchidaceous flowers,--epiphytes and +trailing plants,--hung down from the trunks and branches of the great +trees, forming festoons and natural trellis-work, that stretched across +the path and almost closed it up. + +That was a busy day for the botanical collector. Many rare species were +found in seed, and he gathered a load for all three, to be carried on to +their halting place, and stored until their return from the mountains. +Those species that were yet only in flower he noted down in his +memorandum-book. They would be ripe for him on his way back. + +About noon they halted to refresh themselves. The spot they had chosen +was in a grove of purple magnolias, whose splendid flowers were in full +bloom, and scented the air around with their sweet perfume. A crystal +stream,--a mere rivulet,--trickled in its deep bed through the midst of +the grove, and the movement of its waters seemed to produce a refreshing +coolness in the surrounding atmosphere. + +They had just unbuckled their packs, intending to lunch, and remain an +hour or so on the ground, when some animal was heard moving among the +bushes on the other side of the rivulet. + +Caspar and Ossaroo, ever ready for the chase, immediately seized their +weapons; and, crossing the stream, went in search of the animal, which +they supposed would turn out to be a deer. Karl, therefore, was left by +himself. + +Now Karl felt very much jaded. He had worked hard in gathering his +seeds, and nuts, and drupes, and berries, and pericarps, and he felt +quite done up, and had some thoughts of remaining upon that spot for the +night. Before giving up, however, he determined to try a refreshing +medicine, which he had brought with him, and in which he had been taught +to have great faith. This medicine was nothing more than a bottle of +hot peppers pickled in vinegar, which Karl had been told by a friend was +one of the finest remedies for fatigue that could be found in the +world,--in fact, the sovereign cure,--far excelling rum or brandy, or +even the potent spirit of his native land, the kirschen-wasser. A drop +or two of it mixed with a cup of water would impart instantaneous relief +to the weary traveller, and enable him to continue his journey like a +new man. So Karl's friend had told him, and he was now determined to +give the pickled peppers a trial. + +Taking the bottle in one hand, and his tin drinking-cup in the other, he +descended to the bed of the rivulet to fill the cup with water. + +The little stream ran in a deep cut or gully, and its bed was not more +than a yard or two in width, but it was nearly empty--so that Karl as +soon as he had clambered down the steep sloping bank, found dry footing +among the pebbles. + +He was just in the act of stooping to fill his cup, when he heard the +voices of Caspar and Ossaroo farther up the stream, as if they were in +pursuit of some animal. Presently a shot rang through the woods. Of +course it was Caspar's gun, for Caspar was heard shouting in the +direction whence the shot came. + +Karl had raised himself erect, and was thinking, whether he could give +any help to the hunters, by intercepting the animal if it came his way. +He heard the voice of Caspar crying to him to "look out," and just at +the moment he did "look out," and saw coming right down upon him a large +animal covered with black shaggy hair, and a white patch upon its +breast. At the first glance it had the look of a bear, but Karl noticed +a hunch upon its back, which gave it a very peculiar appearance, and +rendered him doubtful as to what sort of beast it was. He had no time +to examine it very minutely--although it was close enough, for when he +first set eyes upon it, it was within six paces of where he stood. It +was altogether too close to him, Karl thought; and so far from +endeavouring to intercept it, he tried with all his might to get out of +its way. + +His first impulse was to rush up the bank. He saw that the bear, or +whatever it was, was resolved to keep right on; and the only way to +avoid an encounter would be to leave the channel free. He therefore +made a dash at the bank, and tried to clamber out. The clayey slope, +however, chanced to be wet and slippery, and before Karl could reach the +top his feet flew from under him, and he came back to the bottom faster +than he had gone up. + +He now found himself face to face with the bear--for it _was_ a bear-- +and not six feet separated them from each other. Neither could pass the +other in the narrow channel, and Karl knew that by turning down he would +soon be overtaken, and perhaps hugged to death. He had no weapon-- +nothing in his hand but the bottle of red peppers--what could he do? + +There was not a moment left for reflection. The bear reared upward with +a savage growl, and rushed forward to the attack. He had almost got his +claws upon the plant-hunter, when the latter mechanically struck forward +with the battle, and, as good luck guided it, hit his assailant fair +upon the snout. A loud smash, and the rattling of glass among the +pebbles, announced the fate of the bottle, and the red peppers, vinegar, +and all, went streaming about the head of the bear. + +The brute uttered a scream of terror--such as bears will do when badly +frightened--and, wheeling away from the conflict, headed up the sloping +bank. He succeeded in his climbing better than Karl had done; for, in +the twinkling of an eye, he had reached the top of the slope, and in the +twinkling of another eye would have disappeared among the bushes, had +not Caspar at this moment arrived upon the ground, and with his second +barrel brought him rolling back into the channel. + +The bear fell dead almost at Karl's feet, and the latter stepped forward +to examine the carcass. What was his astonishment on perceiving that +what he had taken for a hunch on the bear's back was a brace of young +cubs, that had now rolled off, and were running round the body of their +dam, whining, and snarling, and snapping like a pair of vixens! But +Fritz at this moment rushed forward, and, after a short fierce struggle, +put an end to their lively demonstrations. + +Caspar now related that when he and Ossaroo first came in sight of the +bear the cubs were upon the ground playing; but the moment he fired the +first shot--which had not hit the old bear withal--she seized the cubs +one after the other in her mouth, flung them upon her shoulders, and +then made off! + +The animal that had fallen before the bullet of Caspar's gun was the +"long-lipped," or sloth-bear (_Ursus labiatus_). The first name has +been given to this species on account of the capability it possesses of +protruding the cartilage of its nose and its lips far in advance of its +teeth, and by this means seizing its food. It is called "sloth" bear, +because when first known it was supposed to belong to the sloths; and +its long shaggy hair, its rounded back, and the apparently unwieldy and +deformed contour of its whole body, gave some colour to the idea. These +marks of ugliness, combined with its sagacity--which enables the Indian +jugglers to train it to a variety of tricks--render this species of bear +a favourite with them, and on this account it is also known by the name +of the "Ours de jongleurs," or "Jugglers' bear." + +The sloth-bear is long-haired and shaggy, of a deep black colour, except +under the throat, where there is a white mark shaped like the letter Y. +It is nearly as large as the black bear of America, and its habits in a +state of nature are very similar to this species. It will not attack +man unless closely pressed or wounded; and had Karl been able to get out +of her way, the old she would not have followed him, savage as she was +from being shot at by Caspar. + +No doubt the "pickle" had helped him out of a worse pickle. The peppery +vinegar getting into the eyes of the bear quite confounded her, and +caused her to turn tail. But for that Karl might have undergone a hug +and a sharp scratch or two, and he might well be thankful--as he was-- +that he had escaped with no more serious damage than the loss of his +precious peppers. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +OSSAROO IN TROUBLE. + +Fritz had scarce finished his battle with the young bears, with Karl and +Caspar standing over him, when a loud shouting drew the attention of all +to another quarter. The shouting evidently proceeded from Ossaroo, as +the boys could distinguish his voice. The shikarree was in trouble--as +they could easily understand by his shrill continued screams--and the +words "Help! Sahibs, help!" which he repeatedly uttered. + +What could be the matter with Ossaroo? Had another bear attacked him? +Maybe a panther, or a lion, or a tiger? No matter what it was, both +Karl and Caspar felt it to be their duty to hasten to his assistance; +and without more ado both of them started off in the direction whence +came the shouts. Karl had got possession of his rifle, and Caspar +hastily rammed a load into the right-hand barrel, so that both were in +readiness to offer good help to the guide, if it should turn out to be a +wild beast that was his assailant. + +In a few moments, they came in sight of Ossaroo; and, to their great +relief, saw that no animal was near him. Neither bear nor panther, nor +lion nor tiger, appeared upon the spot Ossaroo, however still continued +his noisy cries for help; and, to the astonishment of the boys, they saw +him dancing about over the ground, now stooping his head downwards, now +leaping up several feet, his arms all the while playing about, and +striking out as if at some imaginary enemy! + +What could it all mean? Had Ossaroo gone mad? Or had he become +suddenly afflicted with the malady of Saint Vitus? His movements were +altogether of a comical nature; no mountebank could have danced about +with more agility; and, but for the earnestness of his cries, evidently +forced from him by fear, both Karl and Caspar would have burst out into +a fit of laughter. They saw, however, that the shikarree was in some +danger--from what, they could not tell; but they very naturally +suspected that he had been attacked by a venomous serpent, and, perhaps, +already bitten by it. It might still be attacking him, _perhaps under +his clothes_, and that was why they could not perceive it. + +This idea restrained them from laughter, for, if their conjecture proved +correct, it would be no laughing matter for poor Ossaroo; and, with fear +in their hearts, both the boys rushed forward to the spot. + +On getting nearer, however, the odd behaviour of the shikarree was +explained, and the enemy with which he was contending, and which had +hitherto remained invisible, came under their view. Around the head of +Ossaroo there appeared a sort of misty halo, encircling him like a +glory; which, on closer view, the boys perceived was neither more nor +less than a _swarm of bees_! + +The whole matter was cleared up. Ossaroo had been assailed by bees; and +it was they that were making him dance and fling his arms about in so +wild a manner! + +Karl and Caspar had forborne to laugh, so long as they believed their +guide to be in real danger; but now that they saw what it was, they +could no more restrain their mirth, and both simultaneously broke out +into a fit of cachinnation, that caused the woods to ring again. + +On seeing how his young companions sympathised with his distress, +Ossaroo was by no means pleased. The stings of the bees had nettled the +Hindoo's temper, and the laughter of the boys exasperated him still +more. He resolved, therefore, that they should both have a taste of the +same trouble; and, without saying another word, he rushed between the +two; of course, carrying the swarm of bees along with him. + +This unexpected manoeuvre on the part of the guide, at once put, an end +to the merriment of his companions; and the next moment, instead of +enjoying a laugh at Ossaroo's expense, both of themselves exhibited a +spectacle equally ludicrous. The bees, on perceiving these new enemies, +at once separated into three distinct swarms, each swarm selecting its +victim; so that not only Ossaroo, but Karl and Caspar as well, now +danced over the ground like acrobats. Even Fritz was attacked by a +few--enough to make him scamper around, and snap at his own legs as if +he had suddenly gone mad! + +Karl and Caspar soon learnt, that what had so lately amused them was by +no means a thing to be amused at. They were stung about the face, and +found the stings to be exceedingly virulent and painful. Besides, the +number of their assailants rendered the affair one of considerable +danger. They began to feel that there was peril as well as pain. + +Where was it to end? All their demonstrations failed to drive off the +bees. Run where they would, the enraged insects followed them, buzzing +about their ears, and alighting whenever an opportunity offered. Where +was it to end? + +It was difficult to tell when and how the scene would have been brought +to a termination, had it not been for Ossaroo himself. The cunning +Hindoo had bethought him of a plan, and, calling to the others to follow +him, was seen to run forward in a direct line through the woods. + +Karl and Caspar started after, in hopes of finding relief from their +tormentors. + +In a few minutes, Ossaroo approached the bank of the stream, at a place +where it was dammed up, and formed a reach of deep water--a pool. +Without hesitating a moment, the Hindoo plunged into the water. The +boys, flinging down their guns, imitated his example; and all three +stood side by side, neck-deep in the pool. They now commenced ducking +their heads under, and continued this, at intervals; until at length the +bees, finding themselves in danger of being drowned, gave up the attack, +and, one after another, winged their way back into the woods. + +After remaining long enough in the pool, to make sure that their enemies +had gone quite away, the three smarting hunters climbed out, and stood +dripping upon the bank. They would have laughed at the whole adventure, +but the pain of the stings put them out of all humour for enjoying a +joke; and, out of sorts altogether, they quietly wended their way back +to the place of their temporary encampment. + +On their way, Ossaroo explained how he had chanced to provoke the attack +of the bees. On hearing the report of Caspar's gun, and the noise of +the conflict between Fritz and the bears, he had started in great haste +to get up to the spot, and give assistance. In running forward, he +scarce looked before him; and was dashing recklessly through among +trees, when his head came in contact with a large bees' nest, which was +suspended upon a vine that stretched across the path. The nest was +constructed out of agglutinated mud, and attached only slightly to the +vine; and Ossaroo, having become entangled in the latter, shook it so +violently that the nest fell down, broke into pieces, and set the whole +swarm of angry bees about his ears. It was just then that he had been +heard crying out, and that Karl and Caspar had run to his rescue; which +act both of them now said they very much regretted. They were hardly in +earnest, however; and Ossaroo, having procured an herb from the woods, +the sap of which soon alleviated the pain of the stings, in a short time +the tempers of all three were restored to their usual equanimity. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. + +THE AXIS AND PANTHER. + +The maternal solicitude displayed by the bear in endeavouring to carry +her young out of danger, had quite won the admiration of the +plant-hunters; and now that the excitement of the conflict was over, +they experienced some pangs of regret at having killed the creature. +But the thing was done, and could not be helped. Besides, as Ossaroo +informed them, these bears are esteemed a great nuisance in the country. +Descending from their mountain retreats, or issuing out of the jungle +during the season of the crops, they commit very destructive +depredations upon the produce of the farmer, often entering his very +garden without fear, and in a single night laying waste the contents of +a whole enclosure. On hearing this, both Karl and Caspar were more +contented with what they had done. Perhaps, reflected they, had these +two cubs lived to grow up, they or their mother might have devastated +the paddy-field of some poor jemindar, or farmer, and he and his family +might have been put to great distress by it. + +Whether or not their reasoning was correct, it satisfied the two boys, +and quieted their consciences about the killing of the bears. But as +they continued their journey, they still conversed of the curious +circumstance of the old one carrying off her cubs in the manner she was +doing. Karl had read of such a habit in animals--which is common to +many other sorts along with the bears--such as the great ant-eater of +South America, the opossum, and most kinds of monkeys. Both agreed that +it was a pretty trait in the character of the lower animals, and proved +even the most savage of them capable of tender affection. + +It chanced that upon that same day they had another illustration of this +very nature, and one that by good fortune did not have so tragical an +ending. + +They had finished their day's journey, and were reclining under a great +_talauma_ tree--a species of magnolia, with very large leaves--by the +edge of a little glade. They had not yet made any preparations for +their camp. The day's march had been a severe one, for they were now +among the foot-hills of the great Himalaya chain; and though they +appeared to travel as much down hill as up they were in reality +ascending, and by evening they were really more than five thousand feet +above the plains of India. They had arrived in a new zone of +vegetation, among the great forests of magnolias which gird the middle +parts of the mountains. It is in this part of the world that the +remarkable genus of magnolia is found in its greatest vigour and +variety; and many species of these trees, in forests of vast extent, +cover and adorn the declivities of the lower Himalayas. There are the +white-flowered magnolias, at an elevation of from four thousand to eight +thousand feet, which are then replaced by the still more gorgeous purple +magnolia (_Magnolia Campbellia_)--the latter being the most superb +species known, its brilliant corollas often arraying the sloping sides +of the hills as with a robe of purple. Here, too, our travellers +observed chestnut-trees of rare species, and several kinds of oak-- +laurels also, not in the form of humble shrubs, but rising as tall +trees, with straight smooth boles, to the height of the oaks themselves. +Maples, too, were seen mingling in the forest, and the tree +rhododendrons growing forty feet high! + +What appeared singular to the eyes of the botanist, was the mingling of +many European forms of plants among those of a strictly tropical +character. For instance, there were birches, willows, alders, and +walnut-trees, growing side by side with the wild plantain, the Wallich +palm, and gigantic bamboos; while the great _Cedrela Toona_, figs of +several species, _melastomas_, balsams, _pothos_ plants, peppers, and +gigantic climbing vines and orchids, were intermixed with speedwell, +common bramble, forget-me-not, and stinging-nettles, just such as might +have been met with in a European field! Tree ferns were seen rising up +and towering high above the common brake-fern of the English moors; +while the wild strawberry of Britain was seen covering the ground in +patches of large extent. Its fruit, however, in the Himalayas is quite +insipid, but a fine yellow raspberry--one of the most luscious fruits +met with in these mountains--was found growing in the same districts, as +if to compensate for the absence of flavour in the strawberry. + +Under one of these magnificent magnolias, whose large wax-like corollas +filled the air with their odorous perfume, our travellers had just +stretched themselves--intending, after a few minutes of rest, to make +the necessary arrangements for passing the night there. + +Ossaroo was chewing his betel-nut, and Karl and Caspar, both very tired, +were doing nothing and saying as little. Fritz, too, lay along the +ground, with his tongue out, and panting after the hot day's rambling +among the bushes. + +Just at that moment, Caspar, whose sharp hunter eye was always on the +alert, caught Karl by the sleeve, and in a hurried whisper, said-- + +"See, Karl! see!--Isn't it a beauty?" + +As Caspar said this, he pointed to an animal that had just come out of +the jungle, and stood within a few feet of its edge. The creature in +question had the shape, size, and general appearance of a fallow-deer, +and its slender limbs and well proportioned body bespoke it to be a near +kin to that animal. In colour, however, it essentially differed from +the fallow-deer. Its ground-colour was much the same, but it was +spotted all over with snow-white spots that gave it a very beautiful +appearance. It looked somewhat like the young of the fallow-deer, and +might have been taken for an overgrown fawn. Karl, however, knew what +it was. + +"A spotted deer," he replied, also in a whisper. "It is the _axis_. +Hold back Fritz, and let us watch it a moment." + +Karl had guessed correctly what kind of animal it was. It was the axis, +one of the best known of the Indian deer, and closely allied to the +_linsa_ group of Asia as well as to the fallow-deer of Europe. There +are several species of the axis in eastern Asia, more or less marked +with spots, and in no part are they more common than in the country +through which the plant-hunters were passing--the country of the Ganges +and the Burrampooter. + +Caspar caught Fritz as desired, and held him fast; and the travellers, +without making any noise, sat watching the movements of the axis. + +To their surprise, another axis now showed itself upon the ground, but +this one was of such small dimensions that they saw at once it was the +young of the first. It was a tiny little fawn, but a few days old, and +speckled all over with similar snow-white spots. + +The deer, unconscious of the presence of the travellers, walked several +paces out upon the meadow, and commenced browsing upon the grass. The +little fawn knew not, as yet, how to eat grass; and occupied itself by +skipping and playing about its mother, like a kid. + +The hunters, all speaking in whispers, now counselled among themselves +as to what they should do. Ossaroo would have liked a bit of venison +for supper, and, certainly, the fawn was a tempting _morceau_. Caspar +voted to kill; but Karl, of gentler nature, opposed this design. + +"A pity!" he said. "Look, brother, how gentle they appear? Remember +how we felt after killing the savage bear, and this would be far worse." + +While engaged in this undertone discussion, a new party made his +appearance upon the scene, which drove all thoughts of killing the deer +out of the minds both of Caspar and Ossaroo. + +This intruder was an animal quite as large as the axis, but of an +entirely different form. Its ground-colour was not unlike that of the +deer, with a deeper tinge of yellow, and it, too, was spotted all over +the body. Herein, however, a striking contrast existed between the two. +As already stated, the spots upon the axis were snow-white; while those +upon the new comer were just the reverse--black as jet. Spots they +could hardly be termed, though, at a distance, they presented that +appearance. When closely viewed, however, it would have been seen that +they were rather rosettes, or rings; the centre part being of the same +yellowish ground-colour as the rest of the body. + +The animal had a stout, low body; short, but strong limbs; a long, +tapering tail, and a cat-like head. The last is not to be wondered at, +since it was in reality a cat. It was the _panther_. + +The attention of the hunters was at once taken away from the axis, and +became fixed on the great spotted cat, which all three knew to be a +panther; next to the lion and tiger, the most formidable of Asiatic +_felida_. + +All knew that the Indian panther often attacks man; and it was, +therefore, with no very comfortable feelings that they hailed his +appearance. The boys grasped their guns more firmly, and Ossaroo his +bow, ready to give the panther the volley, should he approach within +range. + +The latter, however, had no design of molesting the travellers. He was +unaware of their presence. His whole attention was occupied with the +axis; upon whose ribs, or, perhaps, those of the fawn, he intended to +make his supper. + +With crouching gait and silent tread he approached his intended victims, +stealing along the edge of the jungle. In a few seconds, he was near +enough to spring, and, as yet, the poor doe browsed unconsciously. He +was just setting his paws for the leap, and, in all probability, would +have pounced next moment upon the back of the deer, but, just in the +nick of time, Caspar chanced to sneeze. It was not done designedly, or +with, any intention of warning the deer; for all three of the hunters +were so absorbed in watching the manoeuvres of the panther, that they +never thought of such a thing. Perhaps the powerful odour of the +magnolia blossoms had been the cause; but, whether or no, Caspar +sneezed. + +That sneeze was a good thing. It saved the tender mother and her gentle +fawn from the fangs of the ferocious panther. She heard it, and, +raising her head on the instant, glanced round. The crouching cat came +under her eyes; and, without losing a second of time, she sprang up to +the fawn, seized the astonished little creature in her mouth, and, +bounding like an arrow across the glade, was soon out of sight, having +disappeared into the jungle on the opposite side! + +The panther, who had either not heard or not regarded the sneeze, sprang +out, as he had intended, but missed his aim. He ran a few stretches, +rose into the air, and, a second time, came down without touching the +deer; and then, seeing that the latter had sped beyond his reach, +according to the usual habit of all the _felidae_, he desisted from +farther pursuit. Trotting back whence he had come, he entered the +jungle before the hunters could get within shooting distance of him, and +was never more seen by any of the three. + +As they returned to camp, Karl congratulated Caspar for having sneezed +so opportunely; though Caspar acknowledged that it was quite accidental, +and that, for his part, he would rather he had not sneezed at all, and +that he had either got a shot at the panther, or had a bit of the fawn +for his supper. + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN. + +THE PESTS OF THE TROPICS. + +Much has been said and written in praise of the bright sun and the blue +skies of tropical countries; and travellers have dilated largely upon +the magnificent fruits, flowers, and foliage of tropical forests. One +who has never visited these southern climes is disposed to indulge in +very fanciful dreams of enjoyment there. Life would seem to be +luxurious; every scene appears to be _couleur de rose_. + +But Nature has not designed that any portion of her territory should be +favoured beyond the rest to such an extreme degree; and, perhaps, if a +just comparison were instituted, it would be found that the Esquimaux, +shivering in his hut of snow, enjoys as much personal happiness as the +swarth southerner, who swings in his hammock under the shade of a banyan +or a palm-tree. + +The clime of the torrid zone, with its luxuriant vegetation, is also +prolific of insect and reptile life; and, from this very circumstance, +the denizen of a hot country is often subject to a greater amount of +personal discomfort than the dweller in the Arctic zone. Even the +scarcity of vegetable food, and the bitter, biting frost, are far easier +to endure than the plague of tipulary insects and reptiles, which swarm +between Cancer and Capricorn. + +It is a well-known fact, that there are large districts in tropical +America where human life is scarce endurable, on account of the +mosquitos, gnats, ants, and other insects. + +Thus writes the great Prussian geognosist:-- + +"Persons who have not navigated the rivers of equinoctial America can +scarcely conceive how, at every instant, without intermission, you may +be tormented by insects flying in the air, and how the multitudes of +these little animals may render vast regions almost uninhabitable. +Whatever fortitude be exercised to endure pain without complaint, +whatever interest may be felt in the objects of scientific research, it +is impossible not to be constantly disturbed by the mosquitos, zancudos, +jejens, and tempraneros, that cover the face and hands, pierce the +clothes with their long, needle-formed suckers; and, getting into the +mouth and nostrils, occasion coughing and sneezing, whenever any attempt +is made to speak in the open air. + +"In the missions of the Orinoco, in the villages on the banks of the +river, surrounded by immense forests, the _plaga de las moscas_, or +plague of the mosquitos, affords an inexhaustible subject of +conversation. When two persons meet in the morning, the first questions +they address to each other are: `How did you find the zancudos during +the night?' `How are we to-day for the mosquitos?' + +"An atmosphere filled with venomous insects always appears to be more +heated than it is in reality. We were horribly tormented in the day by +mosquitos and the jejen (a small venomous fly), and at night by the +zancudos, a large species of gnat, dreaded even by the natives. + +"At different hours of the day you are stung by different species. +Every time that the scene changes, and, to use the simple expression of +the missionaries, other insects `mount guard,' you have a few minutes-- +often a quarter of an hour, of repose. The insects that disappear have +not their places instantly supplied by their successors. From half-past +six in the morning till live in the afternoon the air is filled with +mosquitos. An hour before sunset a species of small gnats--called +tempraneros, because they appear also at sunrise--take the place of the +mosquitos. Their presence scarcely lasts an hour and a half. They +disappear between six and seven in the evening. After a few minutes' +repose, you feel yourself stung by zancudos, another species of gnat, +with very long legs. The zancudo, the proboscis of which contains a +sharp-pointed sucker, causes the most acute pain, and a swelling that +remains several weeks. + +"The means that are employed to escape from these little plagues are +very extraordinary. At Maypures the Indians quit the village at night +to go and sleep on the little islets in the midst of the cataracts. +There they enjoy some rest, the mosquitos appearing to shun air loaded +with vapours. + +"Between the little harbour of Higuerote and the mouth of the Rio Unare +the wretched inhabitants are accustomed to stretch themselves on the +ground, and pass the night buried in the sand three or four inches deep, +leaving out the head only, which they cover with a handkerchief. + +"At Mandanaca we found an old missionary, who told us with an air of +sadness that he had had his `twenty years of mosquitos' in America. He +desired us to look at his legs, that we might be able to tell one day +beyond sea `what the poor monks suffer in the forests of Cassiquiare.' +Every sting leaving a small darkish brown spot, his legs were so +speckled that it was difficult to recognise the whiteness of his skin, +through the spots of coagulated blood!" + +Just such torments as the great Prussian traveller suffered from insects +in the forests of South America, our plant-hunters had to endure while +passing through the humid woods of the Lower Himalayas. By night and by +day the air seemed filled with insects, in countless swarms,--large and +small moths, cockchafers, glow-flies, cockroaches, winged ants, +may-flies, flying earwigs, beetles, and "daddy longlegs." They +experienced the bite of ants or the stings of mosquitoes every moment, +or they were attacked by large ticks, a species of which infests the +bamboo, and which is one of the most hateful of insects. These the +traveller cannot avoid coming in contact with while brushing through the +forest. They get inside his dress, often in great numbers, and insert +their proboscis deeply, but without pain. Buried head and shoulders, +and retained by its barbed lancet, this tick can only be extracted with +great force, and the operation is exceedingly painful. + +But of the tortures to which they were subjected by insects and +reptiles, there was one more disagreeable and disgusting than all the +rest, and on their first experience of it the three were quite +horrified. + +It happened to them on the very day after their adventure with the bear +and the bees. They had walked several miles for their morning stage, +and the sun having grown quite hot, they agreed to rest for some hours +till afternoon. Having thrown off their packs and accoutrements, all +three lay down upon the grass close by the edge of a little stream, and +under the shadow of a spreading tree. The fatigue of the walk, combined +with the heated atmosphere, had rendered them drowsy, and one and all of +them fell fast asleep. + +Caspar was the first to awake. He did not feel quite comfortable during +his sleep. The mosquitos or some other kind of insects appeared to be +biting him, and this had prevented him from sleeping soundly. He awoke +at length and sat upright. The others were still asleep close by, and +the eyes of Caspar by chance rested upon Ossaroo, whose body was more +than half naked, the slight cotton tunic having fallen aside and exposed +his breast to view; besides, his legs were bare, as the shikarree had +rolled up his trousers on account of the damp grass they had been +passing through. What was the astonishment of Caspar at perceiving the +naked part of Ossaroo's body mottled with spots of dark and red--the +latter being evidently blotches of blood! Caspar perceived that some of +the dark spots were in motion, now lengthening out, and then closing up +again into a smaller compass; and it was only after he had drawn closer, +and examined these objects more minutely that he was able to determine +what they were. They were _leeches! Ossaroo was covered with leeches_! + +Caspar uttered a cry that awoke both of his companions on the instant. + +Ossaroo was not a little disgusted with the fix he found himself in, but +Karl and Caspar did not waste much time in condoling with him, for upon +examination they found that they themselves had fared no better, both of +them being literally covered with the same bloodthirsty reptiles. + +A scene now ensued that would not be easy to describe. All three pulled +off their garments, and went to work to extract the leeches with their +fingers--for there was no other mode of getting rid of the troublesome +intruders--and after a full half-hour spent in picking one another +clean, they rapidly dressed again, and took the route, desirous of +getting away from that spot as quickly as possible. + +Of all the pests of warm Oriental climates, there are none so +troublesome to the traveller, or so disgusting, as these land-leeches. +They infest the humid woods on the slopes of the Himalaya Mountains from +about two thousand to eleven thousand feet of elevation; but they are +not confined to the Himalayas alone, as they are common in the mountain +forests of Ceylon, Sumatra, and other parts of the Indies. There are +many species of them--and even upon the Himalayas more than one kind-- +the small black species swarming above the elevation of three thousand +feet, while a large yellow kind, more solitary, is found farther down. +They are not only troublesome and annoying, but dangerous. They often +crawl into the fauces, noses, and stomachs of human beings, where they +produce dreadful sufferings and even death. Cattle are subject to their +attacks; and hundreds perish in this way--the cause of their death not +being always understood, and usually attributed to some species of +vermin. + +It is almost impossible to keep them off the person while travelling +through a track of woods infested by them. If the traveller only sit +down for a moment, they crawl upon him without being perceived. They +are exceedingly active, and move with surprising rapidity. Indeed, some +fancy they have the power to spring from the ground. Certain it is that +they possess the powers of contraction and extension to a very great +degree. When fully extended they appear as thin as a thread, and the +next moment they can clue themselves up like a pea. This power enables +them to pass rapidly from point to point, and also to penetrate into the +smallest aperture. They are said to possess an acute sense of smell, +and guided by this they approach the traveller the moment he sits down. +They will crowd up from all quarters, until fifty or a hundred crawl +upon one person in a few minutes' time, so that one is kept busy in +removing them as fast as they appear. + +They occur in greatest numbers in moist shady woods, and cover the +leaves when heavy dew is on them. In rain they are more numerous than +at other times, and then they infest the paths; whereas in dry weather +they betake themselves into the streams, or the thickly-shaded interior +of the jungle. + +Those who know not their haunts, their love of blood, their keenness and +immense numbers, cannot understand the disgust and annoyance experienced +from them by travellers. They get into the hair, hang by the eyelids, +crawl up the legs, or down the back, and fasten themselves under the +instep of the foot; and if not removed, gorge themselves with blood till +they roll off. Often the traveller finds his boots filled with these +hideous creatures when arrived at the end of his day's journey. Their +wound at the time produces no pain, but it causes a sore afterwards, +which is frequently months in healing, and leaves a scar that remains +for years! + +Many antidotes are adopted, and tobacco-juice or snuff will keep them +off when applied over the skin; but in passing through moist woods and +the long wet jungle-grass, such applications require to be continually +renewed, and it becomes so troublesome and vexatious to take these +precautions, that most travellers prefer wearing long boots, tucking in +their trousers, and then keeping a good lookout for these insidious +crawlers. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY. + +THE MUSK-DEER. + +A few days' more journeying up the mountains brought our travellers to +the limits of the forest. They once more looked upon the snowy peaks of +the great central chain towering up into the clouds. I say once more-- +for they had already seen these peaks from the plains of India while +still more than a hundred miles distant from them; but, as they +approached nearer, and while advancing through the foot-hills, the +snow-covered mountains had no longer been in sight! + +This may appear a puzzle, but it is very easily explained. When very +near to a house you will be unable to see the steeple of a church that +is behind it; whereas by going to a greater distance from the house, the +higher steeple comes at once before your eyes. + +So is it with mountains. From a great distance their highest peaks are +those that may be seen, but as you draw nearer, their lower range, or +foot-hills, subtend the angle of vision; and it is only after having +passed through, or over these, that you again behold the more elevated +summits. + +Our travellers were now in sight of the snowy summits of the Himalayas, +several of which rose to the stupendous height of five miles above the +level of the sea--one or two even exceeding this elevation. + +Of course it was not the design of the plant-hunters to attempt to climb +to the tops of any of these gigantic mountains. That they well knew +would not be possible, as it is almost certain that at such an elevation +a human being could not live. Karl, however, was determined to proceed +as far as vegetation extended; for he believed that many rare and choice +plants might be found even as high as the snow-line; and indeed there +are several species of beautiful rhododendrons, and junipers, and pines, +which grow only in what may be termed the "Arctic zone" of the +Himalayas. + +With this idea, then, the travellers kept on--each day getting higher, +and farther into the heart of the great chain. + +For two or three days they had been climbing through wild desolate +valleys, quite without inhabitants; yet they were able to find plenty of +food, as in these valleys there were animals of various kinds, and with +their guns they had no difficulty in procuring a supply of meat. They +found the "talin," a species of wild goat, the male of which often +attains to the weight of three hundred pounds, and a fine species of +deer known in the Himalayas as the "serow." They also shot one or two +wild sheep, known by the name of "burrell," and an antelope called +"gooral," which is the "chamois" of the Indian Alps. + +It may be as well here to remark, that in the vast extended chain of the +Himalayas, as well as throughout the high mountain steppes of Asia, +there exist wild sheep and wild goats, as well as deer and antelopes, of +a great many species that have never been described by naturalists. +Indeed, but little more is known of them than what has been obtained +from the notes of a few enterprising English sportsmen. It would be +safe to conjecture that there are in Asia a dozen species of wild sheep, +and quite as many belonging to the goat-tribe; and when that continent +shall be thoroughly explored by scientific travellers, a very large +addition will be made to the catalogue of ruminant animals. Nearly +every extensive valley or chain of the Asiatic mountains possesses some +species of the sheep or goat-tribe peculiar to itself, and differing +from all others of the same genus; and in ascending the stupendous +heights of the Himalayas you find that every stage of elevation has its +peculiar species. Some dwell in dense forests, others in those that are +thin and open. Some prefer the grassy slopes, while others affect the +barren ridges of rock. There are those that are found only upon the +very limits of vegetation, spending most of their lives within the +region of eternal snow. Among these are the famed ibex and the large +wild sheep known as the _Ovis ammon_. + +There was none of the Himalayan animals that interested our travellers +more than the curious little creature known as the "musk-deer." This is +the animal from which the famous scent is obtained; and which is +consequently a much persecuted creature. It dwells in the Himalayan +Mountains, ranging from an elevation of about eight thousand feet to the +limits of perpetual snow, and is an object of the chase to the hunters +of these regions, who make their living by collecting the musk and +disposing of it to the merchants of the plains. The animal itself is a +small creature, less in size than our fallow-deer, and of a speckled +brownish grey colour, darker on the hind-quarters. Its head is small, +its ears long and upright, and it is without horns. + +A peculiarity exists in the males which renders them easy to be +distinguished from other animals of the deer kind. They have a pair of +tusks in the upper jaw projecting downwards, each full three inches in +length, and about as thick as a goose's quill. These give to the animal +altogether a peculiar appearance. The males only yield the musk, which +is found in grains, or little pellets, inside a sac or pod in the skin, +situated near the navel; but what produces this singular substance, or +what purpose it serves in the economy of the animal, it is not easy to +say. It has proved its worst foe. But for the musk this harmless +little deer would be comparatively a worthless object of the chase; but +as it is, the valuable commodity has created for it a host of enemies, +who follow no other occupation but that of hunting it to the death. + +The plant-hunters had several times seen musk-deer as they journeyed up +the mountain; but as the animal is exceedingly shy, and one of the +swiftest of the deer kind, they had not succeeded in getting a shot. +They were all the more anxious to procure one, from the very difficulty +which they had met with in doing so. + +One day as they were proceeding up a very wild ravine, among some +stunted juniper and rhododendron bushes, they started from his lair one +of the largest musk-deer they had yet seen. As he kept directly on, and +did not seem to run very fast, they determined to pursue him. Fritz, +therefore, was put upon his trail, and the others followed as fast as +they were able to get over the rough ground. + +They had not gone far, when the baying of the dog told them that the +chase had forsaken the ravine in which they had first started it, and +had taken into a lateral valley. + +On arriving at the mouth of this last, they perceived that it was filled +by a glacier. This did not surprise them, as they had already seen +several glaciers in the mountain valleys, and they were every hour +getting farther within the region of these icy phenomena. + +A sloping path enabled them to reach the top of the glacier, and they +now perceived the tracks of the deer. Some snow had fallen and still +lay unmelted upon the icy surface, and in this the foot-prints of the +animal were quite distinct, Fritz had stopped at the end of the glacier, +as if to await further instructions; but without hesitation the hunters +climbed up on the ice, and followed the trail. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. + +THE GLACIER. + +For more than a mile they toiled up the sloping glacier which all the +way lay between two vertical cliffs. + +That the musk-deer was still in advance of them, they had evidence from +the imprint of its tracks. Even without this evidence they could not +doubt that the game was still before them. It would have been +impossible for it to have scaled the cliffs on either side, so far as +they had yet seen them; and as far before them as they could see, both +sides appeared equally steep and impracticable. + +As the hunters advanced, the cliffs gradually converged; and at the +distance of a few hundred yards before them, appeared to close in--as if +the ravine ended there, and there was no outlet in that direction. In +fact they appeared to be approaching the apex of a very acute angle, the +sides of which were formed by the black granite cliffs. + +This singular formation was just what the hunters desired. If the +valley ended in a _cul-de-sac_, then the game would be hemmed in by +their approach, and they might have a chance of obtaining a shot. + +In order the more surely to accomplish this, they separated, and +deployed themselves into a line which extended completely across the +valley. In this formation they continued to advance upward. + +When they first adopted this plan, the ravine was about four hundred +yards in width--so that less than one hundred lay between each two of +them. These equal distances they preserved as well as they could, but +now and then the cracks in the icy mass, and the immense boulders that +lay over its surface, obliged one or other, of them to make considerable +detours. As they advanced, however, the distance between each two grew +less, in consequence of the narrowing of the valley, until at length a +space of only fifty yards separated one from the other. The game could +not now pass them without affording a fine opportunity for all to have a +shot; and with the expectation of soon obtaining one, they kept on in +high spirits. + +All at once their hopes appeared to be frustrated. The whole line came +to a halt, and the hunters stood regarding each other with blank looks. +Directly in front of them yawned an immense crevasse in the ice, full +five yards in width at the top, and stretching across the glacier from +cliff to cliff. + +A single glance into this great fissure convinced them that it was +impassable. Their hunt was at an end. They could go no farther. Such +was the conviction of all. + +The glacier filled the whole ravine from cliff to cliff. There was no +space or path between the ice and the rocky wall. The latter rose +vertically upward for five hundred feet at least, and no doubt extended +downward to as great a depth. Indeed, by looking into the fissure, they +could trace the wall of rock to an immense distance downward, ending in +the green cleft of the ice below. To look down into that terrible abyss +made their heads reel with giddiness; and they could only do so with +safety by crawling up to the edge of the lye, and peeping over. + +A glance convinced one and all of them that the crevasse was impassable. + +But how had the deer got over it? Surely it had not leaped that fearful +chasm? + +But surely it had. Close by the edge its tracks were traced in the +snow, and there, upon the lower side of the cleft, was the spot from +which it had sprung. On the opposite brink the disarrangement of the +snow told where it had alighted, having cleared a space of sixteen or +eighteen feet! This, however, was nothing to a musk-deer, that upon a +deal level often bounds to more than twice that length; for these +animals have been known to spring down a slope to the enormous distance +of sixty feet! + +The leap over the crevasse, therefore, fearful as it appeared in the +eyes of our hunters, was nothing to the musk-deer, who is as nimble and +sure-footed as the chamois itself. + +"Enough!" said Karl, after they had stood for some minutes gazing into +the lye. "There's no help for it; we must go back as we came--what says +Ossaroo?" + +"You speakee true, Sahib--no help for we--we no get cross--too wide +leapee--no bridge--no bamboo for makee bridge--no tree here." + +Ossaroo shook his head despondingly as he spoke. He was vexed at losing +the game--particularly as the buck was one of the largest, and might +have yielded an ounce or two of musk, which, as Ossaroo well knew, was +worth a guinea an ounce in the bazaars of Calcutta. + +The Hindoo glanced once more across the lye, and then turning round, +uttered an exclamation, which told that he was beaten. + +"Well, then, let us go back!" said Karl. + +"Stay, brother!" interrupted Caspar, "a thought strikes me. Had we not +better remain here for a while? The deer cannot be far off. It is, no +doubt, up near the end of the ravine; but it won't stay there long. +There appears to be nothing for it to eat but rocks or snow, and it +won't be contented with that. If there's no outlet above, it must come +back this way. Now I propose we lie in wait for it a while, and take it +as it comes down again. What say you to my plan?" + +"I see no harm in trying it, Caspar," replied Karl. "We had better +separate, however, and each hide behind a boulder, else it may see us, +and stay back. We shall give it an hour." + +"Oh!" said Caspar, "I think it'll tire of being cooped up in less time +than that; but we shall see." + +The party now spread themselves right and left along the lower edge of +the crevasse--each choosing a large rock or mass of snowy ice as a +cover. Caspar went to the extreme left, and even to the edge of the +glacier, where a number of large rocks rested on its surface. Having +entered among these, he was hidden from the others, but presently they +heard him calling out-- + +"Hurrah! come here!--a bridge! a bridge!" + +Karl and Ossaroo left their hiding-places, and hastened to the spot. + +On arriving among the boulders, they saw, to their delight, that one of +the largest of these--an enormous block of gneiss--lay right across the +crevasse, spanning it like a bridge, and looking as though it had been +placed there by human hands! This, however, would have been impossible, +as the block was full ten yards in length, and nearly as broad as it was +long. Even giants could not have built such a bridge! + +A little examination showed where it had fallen from the overhanging +precipice--and it had rested on the glacier, perhaps, before the great +cleft had yawned open beneath it. Its upper end overlapped the ice for +a breadth of scarce two feet, and it seemed a wonder that so huge a +weight could be sustained by such an apparently fragile prop. But there +it rested; and had done so for years--perhaps for ages--suspended over +the beetling chasm, as if the touch of a feather would precipitate it +into the gulf below! + +If Karl had been near, he might have warned his brother from crossing by +such a dangerous bridge; but before he had reached the spot, Caspar had +already mounted on the rock, and was hurrying over. + +In a few moments he stood upon the opposite side of the crevasse; and, +waving his cap in the air, shouted to the rest to follow. + +The others crossed as he had done, and then the party once more +deployed, and kept up the ravine, which grew narrower as they advanced, +and appeared to be regularly closed in at the lop, by a perpendicular +wall. Surely the deer could not escape them much longer? + +"What a pity," said Caspar, "we could not throw down that great stone +and widen the crack in the ice, so that the deer could not leap over it! +We should then have it nicely shut up here." + +"Ay, Caspar," rejoined Karl, "and where should _we_ be then? Shut up +too, I fear." + +"True, brother, I did not think of that. What a terrible thing it would +be to be imprisoned between these black cliffs! It would, I declare." + +The words had scarce issued from Caspar's lip, when a crash was heard +like the first bursting of a thunderclap, and then a deafening roar +echoed up the ravine, mingled with louder peals, as though the eternal +mountains were being rent asunder! + +The noise reverberated from the black cliffs; eagles, that had been +perched upon the rocks, rose screaming into the air; beasts of prey +howled from their lurking-places; and the hitherto silent valley was all +at once filled with hideous noises, as though it were the doom of the +world! + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. + +THE GLACIER SLIDE. + +"An avalanche!" cried Karl Linden, as the first crash fell upon his ear; +but on turning, he saw his mistake. + +"No," he continued, with a look of terror, "it is not an avalanche! My +God! my God! _the glacier is in motion_!" + +He did not need to point out the spot. The eyes of Caspar and Ossaroo +were already turned upon it.--Away down the ravine as far as they could +see the surface of the glacier appeared in motion, like sea-billows; +huge blocks of ice were thrown to the top and rolled over, with a +rumbling crashing noise, while large blue fragments raised high above +the general surface, were grinding and crumbling to pieces against the +faces of the cliffs. A cloud of snow-spray, rising like a thick white +mist, filled the whole ravine--as if to conceal the work of ruin that +was going on--and underneath this ghostly veil, the crushing and tearing +for some moments continued. Then all at once the fearful noises ceased, +and only the screaming of the birds, and the howling of beasts, +disturbed the silence of the place. + +Pale, shuddering, almost paralysed by fear, the hunters had thrown +themselves on their hands and knees, expecting every moment to feel the +glacier move beneath them,--expecting to sink beneath the surface, or be +crushed amidst the billows of that icy sea. So long as the dread sounds +echoed in their ears, their hearts were filled with consternation, and +long after the crashing and crackling ceased, they remained the victims +of a terrible suspense; but they felt that that portion of the glacier +upon which they were did not move. It still remained firm; would it +continue so? + +They knew not the moment it, too, might commence sliding downward, and +bury them under its masses, or crush them in some deep crevasse. + +O heavens! the thought was fearful. It had paralysed them for a moment; +and for some time after the noises had ceased, they remained silent and +motionless. Indeed, absurd as it may seem, each dreaded to stir, lest +the very motion of his body might disturb the icy mass upon which he was +kneeling! + +Reflection soon came to their aid. It would never do to remain there. +They were still exposed to the danger. Whither could they retreat? Up +the ravine might be safer? Above them the ice had not yet stirred. The +ruin had all been below--below the crevasse they had just crossed. + +Perhaps the rocks would afford a footing? They would not move, at all +events, even if the upper part of the glacier should give way; but was +there footing to be found upon them? + +They swept their eyes along the nearest cliff. It offered but little +hope. Yes--upon closer inspection there was a ledge--a very narrow one, +but yet capable of giving refuge to two or three men; and, above all, it +was easy of access. It would serve their purpose. + +Like men seeking shelter from a heavy shower, or running to get out of +the way of some impending danger, all three made for the ledge; and +after some moments spent in sprawling and climbing against the cliff, +they found themselves standing safely upon it.--Small standing-room they +had. Had there been a fourth, the place would not have accommodated +him. There was just room enough for the three side by side, and +standing erect. + +Small as the space was, it was a welcome haven of refuge. It was the +solid granite, and not the fickle ice. It looked eternal as the hills; +and, standing upon it, they breathed freely. + +But the danger was not over, and their apprehensions were still keen. +Should the upper part of the glacier give way, what then? Although it +could not reach them where they stood, the surface might sink far below +its present level, and leave them on the cliff--upon that little ledge +on the face of a black precipice! + +Even if the upper ice held firm, there was another thought that now +troubled them. Karl knew that what had occurred was a _glacier slide_-- +a phenomenon that few mortals have witnessed. He suspected that the +slide had taken place in that portion of the glacier below the crevasse +they had just crossed. If so, the lye would be widened, the huge gneiss +rock that bridged it gone, and their _retreat down the glacier cut off_! + +Upward they beheld nothing but the beetling cliffs meeting together. No +human foot could scale them. If no outlet offered in that direction, +then, indeed, might the jesting allusion of Caspar be realised. They +might be imprisoned between those walls of black granite, with nought +but ice for their bed, and the sky for their ceiling. It was a fearful +supposition, but all three did not fail to entertain it. + +As yet they could not tell whether their retreat downwards was in +reality cut off. Where they stood an abutment of the cliff hid the +ravine below. They had rushed to their present position, with the first +instinct of preservation. In their flight, they had not thought of +looking either toward the crevasse or the gneiss rock.--Other large +boulders intervened, and they had not observed whether it was gone. +They trembled to think of such a thing. + +The hours passed; and still they dared not descend to the glacier. +Night came on, and they still stood upon their narrow perch. They +hungered, but it would have been of no use to go down to the cold icy +surface. That would not have satisfied their appetite. + +All night long they remained standing upon the narrow ledge; now on one +foot, now on the other, now resting their backs against the granite +wall, but all night, without closing an eye in sleep. The dread of the +capricious ice kept them on their painful perch. + +They could bear it no longer. With the first light of morning they +determined upon descending. + +The ice had remained firm during the night. No farther noises had been +heard. They gradually recovered confidence; and as soon as the day +began to break, all three left the ledge, and betook themselves once +more to the glacier. + +At first they kept close to the cliff; but, after a while, ventured out +far enough to get a view of the ravine below. + +Caspar mounted upon a rocky boulder that lay upon the surface of the +glacier. From the top of this he could see over the others. _The +crevasse was many yards wide. The bridge-rock was gone_! + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. + +THE PASS. + +The philosophy of the movement of glaciers is but ill understood, even +by the most accomplished geologists. It is supposed that the under +surface of these great icy masses is detached from the ground by the +thaw which continually takes place there, caused by the radiating heat +of the earth. Water is also an agent in loosening their hold; for it is +well-known that currents of water--sometimes large streams,--run under +the glaciers. The icy mass thus detached, and resting on an inclined +surface, is carried down by its own weight. + +Sometimes only a very small portion of a glacier moves, causing a +fissure above the part that has given way; and at other times these +fissures are closed up, by the sliding of that portion next above them. +An unusually hot summer produces these effects upon the glacier ice, +combined with the falling of avalanches, or mountain slides, which, with +their weight, serve to impel the icy mass downwards. + +The weight of our three hunters was but as a feather, and could have had +no effect in giving motion to the glacier; but it is possible that the +gneiss rock was just upon the balance when they crossed it. Thawed +around its surface, it had no cohesion with the ice on which it rested; +and, as a feather turns the scale, their crossing upon it may have +produced a motion, which resulted in its fall. + +So vast a mass hurled into the great cleft, and acting as a driven +wedge, may have been the feather's touch that imparted motion to a +section of the glacier, already hanging upon the balance, and ready to +slide downwards. + +Whether or not they had any agency in producing this fearful phenomenon, +our travellers reflected not at the time. They were far too much +terrified at the result to speculate upon causes. One after another +they mounted upon the great boulder, and satisfied themselves of the +facts that the crevasse had widened,--the bridge-rock had disappeared,-- +and their retreat was cut off! + +After a little, they ventured closer to the fearful chasm. They climbed +upon a ledge of the precipice, that gave them a better view of it. + +From this elevation they could partially see into the cleft. At the +surface it was many yards wide. It appeared to be hundreds of feet in +depth. Human agency could not have bridged it. All hope of getting +back down the glacier was at an end; and with consternation in their +looks, they turned their faces away, and commenced ascending towards the +head of the ravine. + +They advanced with timid steps. They spoke not at all, or only in low +murmuring voices. They looked right and left, eagerly scanning the +precipice on both sides. On each side of them towered the black cliffs, +like prison walls, frowning and forbidding. No ledge of any size +appeared on either; no terrace, no sloping ravine, that might afford +them a path out of that dark valley. The cliffs, sheer and smooth, +presented no hold for the human foot. The eagles, and other birds that +screamed over their heads, alone could scale them. + +Still they had not lost hope. The mind does not yield to despair +without full conviction. As yet they were not certain that there was no +outlet to the ravine; and until certain they would not despair. + +They observed the tracks of the musk-deer as they went on. But these +were no longer fresh; it was the trail of yesterday. + +They followed this trail with renewed hopes,--with feelings of joy. But +it was not the joy of the hunter who expects ere long to overtake his +game. No, directly the reverse. Hungry as all three were, they +_feared_ to overtake the game; they dreaded the discovery of fresh +tracks! + +You will wonder at this; but it is easily explained. They had reasoned +with themselves, that if there existed any outlet above, the deer would +have gone out by it. If the contrary, the animal would still be found +near the head of the ravine. Nothing would have been less welcome than +the sight of the deer at that moment. + +Their hopes rose as they advanced. No fresh tracks appeared upon the +glacier. The trail of the musk-deer still continued onward and upward. +The creature had not halted, nor even strayed to either side. It had +gone straight on, as though making for some retreat already known to it. +Here and there it had made detours; but these had been caused by lyes +in the ice, or boulders, that lay across the path. + +With beating hearts the trackers kept on; now scanning the cliffs on +each hand, now bending their eyes in advance. + +At length they saw themselves within a hundred paces of the extreme end +of the ravine, and yet no opening appeared. The precipice rose high and +sheer as ever, on the right, on the left, before their faces. Nor break +nor path cheered their eyes. + +Where could the deer have gone? The ground above was pretty clear of +_debris_. There were some loose rocks lying on one side. Had it hidden +behind these? If so, they would soon find it; for they were within a +few paces of the rocks. + +They approached with caution. They had prepared their weapons for a +shot. Despite their fears, they had still taken some precautions. +Hunger instigated them to this. + +Caspar was sent on to examine the covert of rocks, while Karl and the +shikarree remained in the rear to intercept the deer if it attempted to +retreat down the ravine. + +Caspar approached with due caution. He crawled silently up to the +boulders. He placed himself close to the largest; and, raising his +head, peeped over it. + +There was no deer behind the rock, nor any traces of it in the snow. + +He passed on to the next, and then to the next. This brought him into a +new position, and near the head of the ravine; so that he could now see +the whole surface of the glacier. + +There was no musk-deer to be seen; but a spectacle greeted his eyes far +more welcome than the sight of the largest herd of deer could have been +to the keenest hunter; and a cry of joy escaped him on the instant. + +He was seen to start out from the rocks, shouting as he ran across the +ravine-- + +"Come on, brother! we are safe yet! There's a pass! there's a pass!" + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. + +THE LONE MOUNTAIN VALLEY. + +A pass there was, sure enough, that opened between the cliffs like a +great gate. Why they had not perceived it sooner was because the gorge +bent a little to the right before opening to this outlet; and, of +course, the bend from a distance appeared to be the termination of the +ravine. + +A hundred yards from the bend brought them into the great gate between +the cliffs, and there a view opened before their eyes that filled their +hearts with joy and admiration. + +Perhaps in all the world they could not have looked upon a more singular +landscape. Right before their faces, and somewhat below the level on +which they stood, lay a valley. It was nearly of a circular shape, and, +perhaps, a league or more in circumference. In the middle of this +valley was a lake several hundred yards in diameter. The whole bottom +of the valley appeared to be a plane, but slightly elevated above the +water level, consisting of green meadows, beautifully interspersed with +copses of shrubbery and clumps of trees, with foliage of rich and varied +colours. What appeared to be droves of cattle and herds of deer were +browsing on the meadows, or wandering around the copses; while flocks of +waterfowl disported themselves over the blue water of the lake. + +So park-like was the aspect of this sequestered valley, that the eyes of +our travellers instinctively wandered over its surface in search of +human dwellings or the forms of human beings; and were only astonished +at not perceiving either. They looked for a house,--a noble mansion,--a +palace to correspond to that fair park. They looked for chimneys among +the trees--for the ascending smoke. No trace of all these could be +detected. A smoke there was, but it was not that of a fire. It was a +white vapour that rose near one side of the valley, curling upward like +steam. This surprised and puzzled them. They could not tell what +caused it, but they could tell that it was not the smoke of a fire. + +But the form of the valley--its dimensions--its central lake--its green +meadows and trees--its browsing herds--its wild fowl might have been +seen elsewhere. All these things might occur, and do occur in many +parts of the earth's surface without the scene being regarded as +singular or remarkable. It was not these that have led us to +characterise the landscape in question as one of the most singular in +the world. No--its singularity rested upon other circumstances. + +One of these circumstances was, that around the valley there appeared a +dark belt of nearly equal breadth, that seemed to hem it in as with a +gigantic fence. A little examination told that this dark belt was a +line of cliffs, that, rising up from the level bottom on all sides, +fronted the valley and the lake. In other words, the valley was +surrounded by a precipice. In the distance it appeared only a few yards +in height, but that might be a deception of the eye. + +Above the black line another circular belt encompassed the valley. It +was the sloping sides of bleak barren mountains. Still another belt +higher up was formed by the snowy crests of the same mountains--here in +roof-like ridges, there in rounded domes, or sharp cone-shaped peaks, +that pierced the heavens far above the line of eternal snow. + +There seemed to be no way of entrance into this singular basin except +over the line of black cliff. The gap in which our travellers stood, +and the ravine through which they had ascended appeared to be its only +outlet; and this, filled as it was by glacier ice, raised the summit of +the pass above the level of the valley; but a sloping descent over a +vast _debris_ of fallen rocks--the "moraine" of the glacier itself-- +afforded a path down to the bottom of the valley. + +For several minutes all three remained in the gap, viewing this strange +scene with feelings that partook of the nature of admiration--of +wonder--of awe. The sun was just appearing over the mountains, and his +rays, falling upon the crystallised snow, were refracted to the eyes of +the spectators in all the colours of the rainbow. The snow itself in +one place appeared of a roseate colour, while elsewhere it was streaked +and mottled with golden hues. The lake, too--here rippled by the +sporting fowl, there lying calm and smooth--reflected from its blue disk +the white cones of the mountains, the darker belting of the nearer +cliffs, or the green foliage upon its shores. + +For hours Karl Linden could have gazed upon that fairy-like scene. +Caspar, of ruder mould, was entranced by its beauty; and even the hunter +of the plains--the native of palm-groves and cane fields--confessed he +had never beheld so beautiful a landscape. All of them were well +acquainted with the Hindoo superstition concerning the Himalaya +Mountains. The belief that in lonely valleys among the more +inaccessible peaks, the Brahmin gods have their dwelling and their home; +and they could not help fancying at that moment that the superstition +might be true. Certainly, if it were true, some one of these deities, +Vishnu, or Siva, or even Brahma himself, must dwell in that very valley +that now lay before them. + +But poetical and legendary sentiment soon vanished from the minds of our +travellers. All three were hungry--hungry as wolves--and the ruling +thought at the moment was to find the means for satisfying their +appetites. + +With this intent, therefore, they strode forward out of the gap, and +commenced descending towards the bottom of the valley. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. + +GRUNTING OXEN. + +There were several kinds of animals in sight, but it was natural that +the hungry hunters should choose those that were nearest for their game. +The nearest also chanced to be the largest--though in the flock there +were individuals of different sizes, from the bigness of a large ox to +that of a Newfoundland dog. There were about a dozen in all, evidently +of one kind, and the difference in size and other respects arose from a +difference of age and sex. + +What sort of animals they were, not one of the party could tell. Even +Ossaroo did not know them. He had never seen such creatures on the +plains of India. It was evident to all, however, that they were some +species of oxen or buffaloes, since they bore a general resemblance to +animals of the family of _bovidae_. First there was the great massive +bull, the patriarch of the herd, standing nearly as tall as a horse, and +quite as tall reckoning from the top of the stately hump on his +shoulders. His curved horns spreading outward rose from a mass of thick +curled hair, giving him the fierce aspect which characterises animals of +the buffalo kind. But his chief peculiarity lay in the drapery of long +silky hair, that from his sides, flanks, neck, belly, and thighs, hung +downward until its tips almost dragged upon the grass. This singular +appendage gave the animal the appearance of being short-legged, and the +massive thickness of the legs themselves added to the effect. + +Karl could not help remarking in the old bull a considerable resemblance +to the rare musk-ox of America; an animal with which he was acquainted, +from having seen stuffed specimens in the museums. He noted, however, +that there was one point in which the musk-ox differed essentially from +the species before him--in regard to the fail. The musk-ox is almost +tailless; or, rather, his fail is so small as to be quite inconspicuous +amidst the long masses of hair that adorn his croup; whereas the strange +creature before them was remarkable for the large development of this +appendage, which swept downward, full and wide, like the tail of a +horse. The colour of the bull's body appeared black in the distance, +though, in reality, it was not black, but of a dark, chocolate brown; +the tail, on the contrary, was snow-white, which, from this contrast in +colour, added to the singularity of the animal's appearance. + +There was but one large bull in the herd; evidently the lord and master +of all the others. These consisted of the females or cows, and the +young. The cows were much smaller, scarce half the size of the old +bull; their horns less massive, and the tails and long hair less full +and flowing. + +Of the young, there were some of different ages; from the half-grown +bull or heifer, to the calves lately dropped; which last were tearing +about over the ground, and gambolling by the feet of their mothers. +About these little creatures there was a peculiarity. The long hair +upon their flanks and sides had not yet made its appearance; but their +whole coat was black and curly, just like that of a water-spaniel, or +Newfoundland dog. In the distance, they bore a striking resemblance to +these animals; and one might have fancied the herd to be a flock of +buffaloes, with a number of black dogs running about in their midst. + +"Whatever they be," remarked Caspar, "they look like they might be +eatable. I think they're beef of some kind." + +"Beef, venison, or mutton--one of the three," rejoined Karl. + +Ossaroo was not particular at that moment. He could have picked a rib +of wolf-meat, and thought it palatable. + +"Well, we must stalk them," continued Karl. "I see no other way of +getting near them but by crawling through yonder copse." + +The speaker pointed to a grove, near which the animals were browsing. + +Caspar and Ossaroo agreed with this suggestion, and all three, having +now reached the bottom of the descent, commenced their stalk. + +Without any difficulty, they succeeded in reaching the copse; and then, +creeping silently through the underwood, they came to that edge of it +which was closest to the browsing herd. The bushes were evergreens-- +rhododendrons--and formed excellent cover for a stalk; and, as yet, the +game had neither seen, nor heard, nor smelt the approaching enemy. They +were too distant for the arrows of Ossaroo, therefore Ossaroo could do +nothing; but they were within excellent range of the rifle and +double-barrel, loaded, as the latter was, with large buckshot. + +Karl whispered to Caspar to choose one of the calves for the first +barrel, while he himself aimed at the larger game. + +The bull was too distant for either bullet or buckshot. He was standing +apart, apparently acting as sentry to the herd, though this time he did +not prove a watchful guardian. He had some suspicion, however, that all +was not right; for, before they could fire, he seemed to have caught an +alarm, and, striking the ground with his massive hoofs, he uttered a +strange noise, that resembled the grunting of a hog. So exactly did it +assimilate to this, that our hunters, for the moment, believed there +were pigs in the place, and actually looked around to discover their +whereabouts. + +A moment satisfied them, that the grunting came from the bull; and, +without thinking any more about it, Karl and Caspar levelled their +pieces, and fired. + +The reports reverberated through the valley; and the next moment the +whole herd, with the bull at their head, were seen going in full gallop +across the plain. Not all of them, however. A calf, and one of the +cows, lay stretched upon the sward, to the great delight of the hunters, +who, rushing forth from their cover, soon stood triumphant over the +fallen game. + +A word or two passed between them. They had determined on first cooking +the calf, to appease their hunger, and were about proceeding to skin it, +when a long, loud grunting sounded in their ears; and, on looking +around, they beheld the great bull coming full tilt towards them, his +head lowered to the ground, and his large, lustrous eyes flashing with +rage and vengeance, he had only retreated a short distance, fancying, no +doubt, that his whole family was after him; but, on missing two of its +members, he was now on his return to rescue or revenge them. + +Strange as was the animal to all three, there was no mistaking his +prowess. His vast size, his wild, shaggy front and sweeping horns, the +vengeful expression of his eyes, all declared him a powerful and +dangerous assailant. Not one of the hunters thought for a moment of +withstanding such an assault; but, shouting to each other to run for +their lives, all three started off as fast as their legs would carry +them. + +They ran for the copse, but that would not have saved them had it been +mere copse-wood. Such a huge creature as their pursuer would have +dashed through copse-wood as through a field of grass; and, in reality, +he did so, charging through the bushes, goring them down on all sides of +him, and uttering his loud grunting like a savage boar. + +It so happened that there were several large trees growing up out of the +underwood, and these, fortunately, were not difficult to climb. The +three hunters did not need any advice, as to what they should do under +the circumstances. Each had an instinct of his own, and that instinct +prompted him to take to a tree; where, of course, he would be safe +enough from an animal, whose claws, if it had any, were encased in +hoofs. + +The bull continued for some minutes to grunt and charge backward and +forward among the bushes, but, not finding any of the party, he at +length returned to the plain, where the dead were lying. He first +approached the cow, and then the calf, and then repeatedly passed from +one to the other, placing his broad muzzle to their bodies, and uttering +his grunting roar, apparently in a more plaintive strain than before. + +After continuing these demonstrations for a while, he raised his head, +looked over the plain, and then trotted sullenly off in the direction in +which the others had gone. + +Hungry as were the hunters, it was some time before they ventured to +come down from their perch. But hunger overcame them at length, and +descending, they picked up their various weapons--which they had dropped +in their haste to climb--and, having loaded the empty barrels, they +returned to the game. + +These were now dragged up to the edge of the timber--so that in case the +bull should take it into his head to return, they might not have so far +to run for the friendly trees. + +The calf was soon stripped of its skin--a fire kindled--several ribs +broiled over the coals, and eaten in the shortest space of time. Such +delicious veal not one of the three had ever tasted in his life. It was +not that their extreme hunger occasioned them to think so, but such was +really the fact, for they were no longer ignorant of what they were +eating. They now knew what sort of animals they had slain, and a +singular circumstance had imparted to them this knowledge. As the bull +charged about in front of the thicket, Ossaroo from his perch on the +tree had a good view of him, and one thing belonging to the animal +Ossaroo recognised as an old acquaintance--it was his _tail_! Yes, that +tail was not to be mistaken. Many such had Ossaroo seen and handled in +his young days. Many a fly had he brushed away with just such a one, +and he could have recognised it had he found it growing upon a fish. + +When they returned to the quarry, Ossaroo pointed to the tail of the +dead cow--not half so full and large as that of the bull, but still of +similar character--and with a significant glance to the others, said-- + +"Know 'im now, Sahibs--_Ghowry_." + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. + +THE YAKS. + +What Ossaroo meant was that he knew the tail; but he was as ignorant of +the animal to which it was attached, as if the latter had been a dragon +or a comet. Ossaroo saw that the tail was a "chowry," in other words, a +fly-flapper, such as is used in the hot countries of India for brushing +away flies, mosquitos, and other winged insects. Ossaroo knew it, for +he had often handled one to fan the old sahib, who had been his master +in the days of his boyhood. + +The word chowry, however, at once suggested to the plant-hunter a train +of ideas. He knew that the chowries of India were imported across the +Himalayas from Chinese Tartary and Thibet; that they were the tails of a +species of oxen peculiar to these countries, known as the yak, or +grunting ox. Beyond a doubt then the animals they had slain were +"yaks." + +Karl's conjecture was the true one. It was a herd of wild yaks they had +fallen in with, for they were just in the very country where these +animals exist in their wild state. + +Linnaeus gave to these animals the name of _Bos grunniens_, or grunting +ox--seeing that they were clearly a species of the ox. It would be +difficult to conceive a more appropriate name for them; but this did not +satisfy the modern closet-naturalists--who, finding certain differences +between them and other _bovidae_, must needs form a new genus, to +accommodate this one species, and by such means render the study of +zoology more difficult. Indeed, some of these gentlemen would have a +genus for _every_ species, or even variety--all of which absurd +classification leads only to the multiplication of hard names and the +confusion of ideas. + +It is a great advantage to the student, as well as to the simple reader, +when the scientific title of an animal is a word which conveys some idea +of its character, and not the latinised name of Smith or Brown, +Hofenshaufer or Wislizenus; but this title should usually be the +specific one given to the animal. Where a genus exists so easily +distinguished from all others as in the case of the old genus "_bos_," +it is a great pity it should be cut up by fanciful systematists into +_bos, bubalus, bison, anoa, poephagus, ovibos_, and such like. The +consequence of this subdividing is that readers who are not naturalists, +and even some who are, are quite puzzled by the multitude of names, and +gain no clear idea of the animal mentioned. All these titles would have +been well enough as specific names, such as _Bos bubalus, Bos bison, Bos +grunniens_, etcetera, and it would have been much simpler and better to +have used them so. Of course if there were many species under each of +these new genera, then the case would be different, and subdivision +might load to convenience. As it is, however, there are only one or two +species of each, and in the case of some of the genera, as the musk-ox +(_ovibos_) and the yak or grunting ox, only one. Why then multiply +names and titles? + +These systematists, however, not satisfied with the generic name given +by the great systematic Linnaeus, have changed the name of the _Bos +grunniens_ to that of _Poephagus grunniens_, which I presume to mean the +"grunting poa-eater," or the "grunting eater of poa grass!"--a very +specific title indeed, though I fancy there are other kinds of oxen as +well of the yak who indulge occasionally in the luxury of poa grass. + +Well, this yak, or syrlak, or grunting ox, or poa-eater, whatever we may +call him, is a very peculiar and useful animal. He is not only found +wild in Thibet and other adjacent countries, but is domesticated, and +subjected to the service of man. In fact, to the people of the high +cold countries that stretch northward from the Himalayas he is what the +camel is to the Arabs, or the reindeer to the people of Lapland. His +long brown hair furnishes them with material out of winch they weave +their tents and twist their ropes. His skin supplies them with leather. +His back carries their merchandise or other burdens, or themselves when +they wish to ride; and his shoulder draws their plough and their carts. +His flesh is a wholesome and excellent beef, and the milk obtained from +the cows--either as milk, cheese, or butter--is one of the primary +articles of food among the Thibetian people. + +The tails constitute an article of commerce, of no mean value. They are +exported to the plains of India, where they are bought for several +purposes--their principal use being for "chowries," or fly-brushes, as +already observed. Among the Tartar people they are worn in the cap as +bridges of distinction, and only the chiefs and distinguished lenders +are permitted the privilege of wearing them. In China, also, they are +similarly worn by the mandarins, first having been dyed of a bright red +colour. A fine full yak's tail will fetch either in China or India +quite a handsome sum of money. + +There are several varieties of the yak. First, there is the true wild +yak--the same as those encountered by our travellers. These are much +larger than the domestic breeds, and the bulls are among the most fierce +and powerful of the ox tribe. Hunting them is often accompanied by +hair-breadth escapes and perilous encounters, and large dogs and horses +are employed in the chase. + +The tame yaks are divided into several classes, as the ploughing yak, +the riding yak, etcetera, and these are not all of the dark brown colour +of the original race, but are met with dun-coloured, mottled red, and +even pure white. Dark brown or black, however, with a white tail, is +the prevailing colour. The yak-calf is the finest veal in the world; +but when the calf is taken from the mother, the cow refuses to yield +milk. In such cases the foot of the calf is brought for her to lick, or +the stuffed skin to fondle, when she will give milk as before, +expressing her satisfaction by short grunts like a pig. + +The yak when used as a beast of burden will travel twenty miles a day, +under a load of two bags of rice or salt, or four or six planks of +pine-wood slung in pairs along either flank. Their ears are generally +pierced by their drivers, and ornamented with tufts of scarlet worsted. +Their true home is on the cold table-lands of Thibet and Tartary, or +still higher up among the mountain valleys of the Himalayas, where they +feed on grass or the smaller species of carices. They love to browse +upon steep places, and to scramble among rocks; and their favourite +places for resting or sleeping are on the tops of isolated boulders, +where the sun has full play upon them. When taken to warm climates, +they languish, and soon die of disease of the liver. It is possible, +however, that they could be acclimated in many European countries, were +it taken in hand by those who alone have the power to make the trial in +a proper manner--I mean the governments of these countries. But such +works of utility are about the last things that the tyrants of the earth +will be likely to trouble their heads with. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. + +CURING THE YAK-MEAT. + +Our travellers found the yak-veal excellent, and the three consumed a +quarter of it for their breakfasts before their appetites were +satisfied. + +This business being brought to a conclusion, they held a council as to +what was best to be done next. Of course they had already made up their +minds to spend some days in this beautiful valley in plant-hunting. +From the glance they had had of it, Karl had no doubt that its _flora_ +and _sylva_ were exceedingly rich and varied. Indeed, while passing +through the underwood he had noticed many curious kinds that were quite +new to him, and he would be likely enough to find some altogether +unknown to the botanical world. These thoughts filled him with joyful +anticipations--bright visions of future triumph in his beloved science +passed before his mind's eye, and he felt for the moment contented and +happy. + +The peculiar situation of the valley led him to expect a peculiar flora, +surrounded as it was by snowy mountains--isolated apparently from other +fertile tracts, and sheltered from every wind by the lofty ridges that +encircled it. Among other peculiarities he had observed plants of +almost tropical genera, although the altitude could not be less than +15,000 feet, and the snowy mountains that towered above it were some of +the highest peaks of the Himalayas! These tropical forms had puzzled +him not a little, considering the altitude at which he observed them; +and to account for the apparent anomaly was one of the thoughts that was +passing through his mind at the moment. + +As for Caspar, he was pleased to know that his brother desired to remain +there for some days. He had less interest in the rare plants, but he +had observed that the place was very well stocked with wild animals, and +he anticipated no little sport in hunting them. + +It is just possible that Ossaroo sighed for the warm plains, for the +palm-groves and bamboo thickets, but the shikarree liked the look of the +game, and could spend a few days well enough in this region. Moreover, +the atmosphere of the valley was much warmer than that of the country in +which they had been travelling for several days past. Indeed, the +difference was so great as to surprise all three of them, and they could +only account for the higher temperature by supposing that it arose from +the sheltered situation of the valley itself. + +Having determined on remaining, therefore it became necessary to make +some provision against hunger. Though the game seemed plenty enough, +they might not always be so successful in stalking it; and as the yak +cow offered them beef enough to last for some days, it would not do to +let the meat spoil. That must be looked to at once. + +Without further ado, therefore, they set about preserving the meat. +Having no salt this might appear to be a difficult matter, and so it +would have been to the northern travellers. But Ossaroo was a man of +the tropics--in whose country salt was both scarce and dear--and +consequently he knew other plans for curing meat besides pickling it. +He knew how to cure it by the process called "jerking." This was a +simple operation, and consisted in cutting the meat into thin slices, +and either hanging it upon the branches of trees, or spreading it out +upon the rock--leaving the sun to do the rest. + +It happened, however, that on that day the sun did not shine very +brightly, and it was not hot enough for jerking meat. But Ossaroo was +not to be beaten so easily. He knew an alternative which is adopted in +such cases. He knew that the meat can be jerked by the fire as well as +by the sun, and this plan he at once put into operation. Having +gathered a large quantity of fagots, he kindled them into a fire, and +then hung the beef upon scaffolds all around it--near enough to be +submitted to the heat and smoke, but not so near as that the meat should +be either broiled or burnt. When it should hang thus exposed to the +fire for a day or so, Ossaroo assured his companions it would be cured +and dried so as to keep for months without requiring a pinch of salt. + +The skinning of the yak, and then cutting its flesh into strips--the +erection of the scaffold-poles, and stringing up of the meat, occupied +all hands for the space of several hours, so that when the job was +finished it was past midday. + +Dinner had then to be cooked and eaten, which occupied nearly another +hour; and although it was not yet quite nightfall, they were all so +sleepy from their long vigil, and so tired with standing upon the ledge, +that they were glad to stretch themselves by the fire and go to rest. + +The cold air, as evening approached, caused them to shiver; and now for +the first time they began to think of their blankets, and other matters +which they had left at their last camp. But they only thought of them +with a sigh. The road, to where these had been left, could no longer be +traversed. It would no doubt be necessary for them to make a long +detour over the mountains, before they could get back to that camp. + +Ossaroo had prepared a substitute for one of the blankets at least. He +had stretched the yak-skin upon a frame, and placed it in front of the +fire, so that by night it was dry enough for some of the party to wrap +their bodies in. Sure enough, when Caspar was enveloped in this strange +blanket--with the hairy side turned inward--be obtained in it, as he +himself declared, one of the pleasantest and soundest sleeps he had ever +slept in his life. + +All three, rested well enough; but had they only known of the discovery +that awaited them on the morrow, their sleep would not have been so +sound, nor their dreams so light. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. + +THE BOILING SPRING. + +They ate their breakfasts of boiled yak-steak, washing it down with a +draught of water. They had not even a cup to hold the water. They +knelt down and drank it out of the lake. The water was clear enough, +but not as cold as they might have expected at such an elevation. They +had noticed this on the preceding day, and now expressed their surprise +at finding it so warm. They had no thermometer with which to test it, +but it was evidently of much higher temperature than the air! + +Whence came this water? It could not be from the melting snow--else it +would certainly have been colder than it was. Perhaps there was a +spring somewhere? Perhaps there was a hot spring? + +This was not at all improbable, for, strange to say, hot springs are +numerous on the Himalaya Mountains--often bursting out amidst ice and +snow, and at very great elevations. + +Karl had read of such springs, and this it was that led him to infer the +existence of one in the valley. How else could the water be warm? + +Now they recollected that on the previous morning they had noticed a +singular cloud of vapour that hung over the tops of the trees on one +side of the valley. It was no longer visible, after they had descended +from the elevation at which they then were; but they remembered the +direction in which it had been seen, and now went in search of it. + +They soon reached the spot, and found it just as they had conjectured. +A hot spring was there, bubbling out from among the rocks, and then +running off in a rivulet towards the lake. Caspar thrust his hand into +the water, but drew it back again with an exclamation that betokened +both pain and surprise. The water was almost boiling! + +"Well," said he, "this is convenient at all events. If we only had a +teapot, we should need no kettle. Here's water on the boil at all +hours!" + +"Ha!" ejaculated Karl, as he dipped his fingers into the hot stream; +"this explains the high temperature of the valley, the rich luxuriant +vegetation, the presence of plants of the lower region; I thought that +there was some such cause. See, yonder grow magnolias! How very +interesting! I should not wonder if we meet with palms and bamboos!" + +Just at that moment the attention of the party was called away from the +hot spring. A noble buck came bounding up until he was within twenty +yards of the spot, and then halting in his tracks, stood for some +moments gazing at the intruders. + +There was no mistaking this creature for any other animal than a stag. +The vast antlers were characteristics that left no room to doubt of his +species. He was about the size of the European stag or red-deer, and +his branching horns were very similar. His colour, too, was reddish +grey with a white mark around the croup, and his form and proportion +were very like to those of the English stag. He was, in fact, the +Asiatic representative of this very species--known to naturalists as the +_Cervus Wallichii_. + +At sight of the party around the spring, he exhibited symptoms more of +surprise than of fear. Perhaps they were the first creatures of the +kind his great large eyes had ever glanced upon. He knew not whether +they might prove friendly or hostile. + +Simple creature! He was not to remain long in doubt as to that point. +The rifle was brought to bear upon him, and the next moment he was +prostrate upon the ground. + +It was Karl who had fired, as Caspar with the double-barrel was standing +at some distance off. All three, however, ran forward to secure the +game, but, to their chagrin, the stag once more rose to his feet and +bounded off among the bushes, with Fritz following at his heels. They +could see that he went upon three legs, and that the fourth--one of the +hind ones--was broken and trailing upon the ground. + +The hunters started after, in hopes of still securing the prize; but +after passing through the thicket they had a view of the buck still +bounding along close by the bottom of the cliffs, and as yet far ahead +of the hound. It was near the cliff where the animal had been wounded, +for the hot spring was close in to the rocks that bounded that side of +the valley. + +The dog ran on after him, and the hunters followed as fast as they were +able. Karl and Ossaroo kept along the bottom of the cliff, while Caspar +remained out in the open valley, in order to intercept the game should +it turn outwards in the direction of the lake. + +In this way they proceeded for more than half-a-mile before seeing +anything more of the stag. At length the loud baying of Fritz warned +them that he had overtaken the game, which was no doubt standing to bay. + +This proved to be the case. Fritz was holding the buck at bay close to +the edge of a thicket; but the moment the hunters came in sight, the +stag again broke, dashed into the thicket, and disappeared as before. + +Another half-mile was passed before they found the game again, and then +the dog had brought him to bay a second time; but just as before, when +the hunters were approaching, the stag made a rush into the bushes, and +again got off. + +It was mortifying to lose such noble game after having been so sure of +it, and all determined to follow out the chase if it should last them +the whole day. Karl had another motive for continuing after the deer. +Karl was a person of tender and humane feelings. He saw that the ball +had broken the creature's thigh-bone, and he knew the wound would cause +its death in the end. He could not think of leaving it thus to die by +inches, and was anxious to put an end to its misery With this view as +well as for the purpose of obtaining the venison, he continued the +chase. + +The stag gave them another long run, before it was again brought up; and +again, for the third time, it broke and made off. + +They began to despair of being able to come up with it. All this while +the deer had kept along the base of the cliffs, and the hunters as they +ran after it could not help noticing the immense precipice that towered +above their heads. It rose to the height of hundreds of feet, in some +places with a slanting face, but generally almost as vertical as a wall. +The chase of the wounded stag, however, occupied too much their +attention to allow of their observing anything else very minutely; and +so they pressed on without halting anywhere--except for a moment or so +to gain breath. Six or seven times had they seen the wounded stag, and +six or seven times had Fritz brought him to bay, but Fritz for his pains +had only received several severe scores from the antlers of the enraged +animal. + +The hunters at length approached the great gap in the cliff, through +which they had first entered the valley, but the chase was carried past +this point and continued on as before. + +Once more the loud barking of the dog announced that the deer had come +to a stand; and once more the hunters hurried forward. + +This time they saw the stag standing in a pool of water up to the +flanks. The ground gave Caspar an opportunity to approach within a few +yards without being observed by the game, and a discharge from the +double-barrel put an end to the chase. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY NINE. + +AN ALARMING DISCOVERY. + +You will naturally suppose that this successful termination of the chase +gave great satisfaction to the hunters. It might have done so under +other circumstances, but just then their minds became occupied by +thoughts of a far different nature. + +As they came up to the spot where the stag had fallen, and were +preparing to drag it from the pool, their eyes rested upon an object +which caused them to turn toward one another with looks of strange +significance. This object was no other than the hot spring--the place +where the chase had begun. Within less than a hundred yards of the spot +where the stag had received his first wound was he now lying dead! The +pool in fact was in the little rivulet that ran from the spring to the +lake. + +I have said that the hunters on observing this exchanged significant +glances. One fact was evident to all of them--that they had got back to +the spot whence they started. A very little reasoning taught them +another fact--that in the pursuit of the stag they must have made the +full circuit of the valley. They had not turned back anywhere--they had +not crossed the valley--they had not even been in sight of the lake +during the whole chase. On the contrary, Karl with Ossaroo had kept +continually along the bottom of the cliffs, sometimes in the timber, and +at intervals passing across stretches of open ground. + +What was there remarkable about all this? It only proved that the +valley was small, and of roundish form; and that in about an hour's time +any one might make the circuit of it. What was there in this discovery +that should cause the hunters to stand gazing upon one another with +troubled looks? Was it surprise at the stag having returned to die +where he had received his wound? Certainly there was something a little +singular about that, but so trifling a circumstance could not have +clouded the brows of the hunters. It was not surprise that was pictured +in their looks--more serious feelings were stirring within them. Their +glances were those of apprehension--the fear of some danger not fully +defined or certain. What danger? + +The three stood, Ossaroo lightly grasping his bow, but not thinking of +the weapon; Karl holding his rifle with its butt resting on the ground, +and Caspar gazing interrogatively in the face of his brother. + +For some moments not one of them spoke. Each guessed what the other was +thinking of. The stag lay untouched in the pool, his huge antlers alone +appearing above the surface of the water, while the dog stood baying on +the bank. + +Karl at length broke silence. He spoke half in soliloquy, as if his +thoughts were busy with the subject. + +"Yes, a precipice the whole way round. I saw no break--no signs of one. +Ravines there were, it is true, but all seemed to end in the same high +cliffs. You observed no outlet, Ossaroo?" + +"No, Sahib; me fearee de valley shut up, no clear o' dis trap yet +Sahib." + +Caspar offered no opinion. He had kept farther out from the cliffs, and +at times had been quite out of sight of them--the trees hiding their +tops from his view. He fully comprehended, however, the meaning of his +brother's observations. + +"Then you think the precipice runs all around the valley?" he asked, +addressing the latter. + +"I fear so, Caspar. I observed no outlet--neither has Ossaroo; and +although not specially looking for such a thing, I had my eyes open for +it; I had not forgotten our perilous situation of yesterday, and I +wished to assure myself. I looked up several gorges that ran out of the +valley, but the sides of all seemed to be precipitous. The chase, it is +true, kept me from examining them very closely; but it is now time to do +so. If there be no pass out of this valley, then are we indeed in +trouble. These cliffs are five hundred feet in height--they are +perfectly impassable by human foot. Come on! let us know the worst." + +"Shall we not draw out the stag?" inquired Caspar, pointing to the game +that still lay under the water. + +"No, leave him there; it will get no harm till our return: should my +fears prove just, we shall have time enough for that, and much else +beside. Come on!" + +So saying Karl led the way toward the foot of the precipice, the others +following silently after. + +Foot by foot, and yard by yard, did they examine the beetling front of +those high cliffs. They viewed them from their base, and then passing +outward scanned them to the very tops. There was no gorge or ravine +which they did not enter and fully reconnoitre. Many of these there +were, all of them resembling little bays of the ocean, their bottoms +being on the same level with the valley itself, and their sides formed +by the vertical wall of granite. + +At some places the cliffs actually hung over. Now and then they came +upon piles of rock and scattered boulders--some of them of enormous +dimensions. There were single blocks full fifty feet in length, +breadth, and height; and there were also cairns, or collections of +rocks, piled up to four times that elevation, and standing at such a +distance from the base of the cliff, that it was evident they could not +have fallen from it into their present position. Ice, perhaps, was the +agent that had placed them where they lay. + +None of the three were in any mood to speculate upon geological +phenomena at that moment. They passed on, continuing their examination. +They saw that the cliff was not all of equal height. It varied in this +respect, but its lowest escarpment was too high to be ascended. At the +lowest point it could not have been less than three hundred feet sheer, +while there were portions of it that rose to the stupendous height of +one thousand from the valley! + +On went they along its base, carefully examining every yard. They had +gone over the same path with lighter feet and lighter hearts. This time +they were three hours in making the circuit; and at the end of these +three hours they stood in the gap by which they had entered, with the +full and painful conviction that that gap was the only outlet to this +mysterious valley--the only one that could be traversed by human foot! +The valley itself resembled the crater of some extinct volcano, whose +lava lake had burst through this gate-like gorge, leaving an empty basin +behind. + +They did not go back through the glacier ravine. They had no hope of +escaping in that direction. That they knew already. + +From the gap they saw the white vapour curling up over the spring. They +saw the remaining portion of the precipice that lay beyond. It was the +highest and most inaccessible of all. + +All three sat down upon the rocks; and remained for some minutes silent +and in a state of mind bordering upon despair. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY. + +PROSPECTS AND PRECAUTIONS. + +Brave men do not easily yield to despair. Karl was brave. Caspar, +although but a mere boy, was as brave as a man. So was the shikarree +brave--that is, for one of his race. He would have thought light of any +ordinary peril--a combat with a tiger, or a gayal, or a bear; but, like +all his race, he was given to superstition, he now firmly believed that +some of his Hindoo gods dwelt in this valley, and that they were all to +be punished for intruding into the sacred abode. There was nothing +singular about his holding this belief. It was perfectly natural,--in +fact, it was only the belief of his religion and his race. + +Notwithstanding his superstitious fears, he did not yield himself up to +destiny. On the contrary, he was ready to enter heart and soul into any +plan by which he and his companions might escape out of the territory of +Brahma, Vishnu, or Siva--whichsoever of these it belonged to. + +It was in thinking over some plan that kept all three of them in +silence, and with such thoughts Ossaroo was as busy as the others. + +Think as they would, no feasible or practicable idea could be got hold +of. There were five hundred feet of a cliff to be scaled. How was that +feat to be accomplished? + +By making a ladder? The idea was absurd. No ladder in the world would +reach to the quarter of such a height. Ropes, even if they had had +them, could be in no way made available. These might aid in going +_down_ a precipice, but for going _up_ they would be perfectly useless. + +The thought even crossed their minds of cutting notches in the cliff, +and ascending by that means! This might appear to be practicable, and +viewing the matter from a distance it certainly does seem so. But had +you been placed in the position of our travellers,--seated as they were +in front of that frowning wall of granite,--and told that you must climb +it by notches cut in the iron rock by your own hand, you would have +turned from the task in despair. + +So did they; at least the idea passed away from their thoughts almost in +the same moment in which it had been conceived. + +For hours they sat pondering over the affair. What would they not have +given for wings; wings to carry them over the walls of that terrible +prison? + +All their speculations ended without result; and at length rising to +their feet, they set off with gloomy thoughts toward the spot where they +had already encamped. + +As if to render their situation more terrible, some wild beasts,--wolves +they supposed,--had visited the encampment during their absence, and had +carried off every morsel of the jerked meat. This was a painful +discovery, for now more than ever should they require such provision. + +The stag still remained to them. Surely it was not also carried off? +and to assure themselves they hurried to the pool, which was at no great +distance. They were gratified at finding the deer in the pool where it +had been left; the water, perhaps, having protected it from ravenous +beasts. + +As their former camp ground had not been well chosen, they dragged the +carcass of the deer up to the hot spring; that being a better situation. +There the animal was skinned, a fire kindled, and after they had dined +upon fresh venison-steaks, the rest of the meat Ossaroo prepared for +curing,--just as he had done that of the yak,--but in this case he took +the precaution to hang it out of reach of all four-footed marauders. + +So careful were they of the flesh of the deer, that even the bones were +safely stowed away, and Fritz had to make his supper upon the offal. + +Notwithstanding their terrible situation, Karl had not abandoned one of +the national characteristics of his countryman,--prudence. He foresaw a +long stay in this singular valley. How long he did not think of asking +himself; perhaps for life. He anticipated the straits in which they +might soon be placed; food even might fail them; and on this account +every morsel was to be kept from waste. + +Around their night camp-fire they talked of the prospects of obtaining +food; of the animals they supposed might exist in the valley; of their +numbers and kinds,--they had observed several kinds; of the birds upon +the lake and among the trees; of the fruits and berries; of the roots +that might be in the ground; in short, of every thing that might be +found there from which they could draw sustenance. + +They examined their stock of ammunition. This exceeded even their most +sanguine hopes. Both Caspar's large powder-horn and that of his brother +were nearly full. They had used their guns but little since last +filling their horns. They had also a good store of shot and bullets; +though these things were less essential, and in case of their running +short of them they knew of many substitutes, but gunpowder is the _sine +qua non_ of the hunter. + +Even had their guns failed them, there was still the unerring bow of +Ossaroo, and it was independent of either powder or lead. A thin reed, +or the slender branch of a tree, were nearly all that Ossaroo required +to make as deadly a shaft as need be hurled. + +They were without anxiety, on the score of being able to kill such +animals as the place afforded. Even had they been without arrows, they +felt confident that in such a circumscribed space they would have been +able to circumvent and capture the game. They had no uneasiness about +any four-footed creature making its escape from the valley any more than +themselves. There could be no other outlet than that by which they had +entered. By the ravine only could the four-footed denizens of the place +have gone out and in; and on the glacier they had observed a beaten path +made by the tracks of animals, before the snow had fallen. Likely +enough the pass was well-known to many kinds, and likely also there were +others that stayed continually in the valley, and there brought forth +their young. Indeed, it would have been difficult for a wild animal to +have found a more desirable home. + +The hope of the hunters was that many animals might have held this very +opinion, and from what they had already observed, they had reason to +think so. + +Of course they had not yet abandoned the hope of being able to find some +way of escape from their singular prison. No, it was too early for +that. Had they arrived at such a conviction, they would have been in +poor heart indeed, and in no mood for conversing as they did. The birds +and the quadrupeds, and the fruits and roots, would have had but little +interest for them with such a despairing idea as that in their minds. +They still hoped, though scarce knowing why; and in this uncertainty +they went to rest with the resolve to give the cliffs a fresh +examination on the morrow. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. + +MEASURING THE CREVASSE. + +Again, on the morrow, every foot of the precipitous bluffs was minutely +scanned and examined. The circuit of the valley was made as before. +Even trees were climbed in order the better to view the face of the +cliffs that soared far above their tops. The result was a full +conviction, that to scale the precipice at any point was an utter +impossibility. + +Until fully convinced of this, they had not thought of going back +through the gap that led to the glacier; but now that all hopes of +succeeding elsewhere had vanished from their minds, they proceeded in +that direction. + +They did not walk towards it with the light brisk step of men who had +hopes of success; but rather mechanically, as if yielding to a sort of +involuntary impulse. As yet they had not examined the ice-chasm very +minutely. + +Awed by the terror of the glacier slide, they had retreated from the +spot in haste. One glance at the crevasse was all they had given; but +in that glance they had perceived the impossibility of crossing it. At +the time, however, they were not aware of the resources that were so +near. They were not aware that within less than five hundred yards of +the spot grew a forest of tall trees. Indeed, it was not until they had +fully reconnoitred the cliffs, and turned away from them in despair, +that such a train of reasoning occurred to tha mind of any of the three. + +As they were entering the portals of that singular passage, the thought +seemed for the first time to have taken shape. Karl was the first to +give expression to it. Suddenly halting, he pointed back to the forest, +and said,-- + +"If we could bridge it!" + +Neither of his companions asked him what he contemplated bridging. Both +were at that moment busy with the same train of thought. They knew it +was the crevasse. + +"Those pine-trees are tall," said Caspar. + +"Not tall enough, Sahib," rejoined the shikarree. + +"We can splice them," continued Caspar. + +Ossaroo shook his head, but said nothing in reply. + +The idea, however, had begotten new hopes; and all three walked down the +ravine with brisker steps. They scanned the cliffs on either side as +they advanced, but these they had examined before. + +Treading with caution they approached the edge of the crevasse. They +looked across. A hundred feet wide--perhaps more than a hundred feet-- +yawned that fearful gulf. They knelt down and gazed into the chasm. It +opened far away into the earth--hundreds of feet below where they knelt. +It narrowed towards the bottom. They could see the crystal cliffs, +blue at the top, grow greener and darker as they converged towards each +other. They could see huge boulders of rock and masses of icy snow +wedged between them, and could hear far below the roaring of water. A +torrent ran there--no doubt the superfluous waters of the lake escaping +by this subglacial stream. + +A sublime, but terrible sight it was; and although the nerves of all +were strung to an extreme degree, it made them giddy to look into the +chasm, and horrid feelings came over them as they listened to the +unnatural echoes of their voices. To have descended to the bottom would +have been a dread peril: but they did not contemplate such an +enterprise. They knew that such a proceeding would be of no use, even +could they have accomplished it. Once in the bottom of the chasm the +opposite steep would still have to be climbed, and this was plainly an +impossibility. They thought not of crossing in that way--their only +hope lay in the possibility of bridging the crevasse; and to this their +whole attention was now turned. + +Such a project might appear absurd. Men of weaker minds would have +turned away from it in despair; and so, too, might they have done, but +for the hopelessness of all other means of escape. It was now life or +death with them--at all events, it was freedom or captivity. + +To give up all hope of returning to their homes and friends--to spend +the remainder of their lives in this wild fastness--was a thought almost +as painful as the prospect of death itself. + +It was maddening to entertain such a thought, and as yet not one of them +could bring himself to dwell upon the reality of so terrible a destiny. +But the fact that such in reality would be their fate, unless they could +discover some mode of escaping from their perilous situation, sharpened +all their wits; and every plan was brought forward and discussed with +the most serious earnestness. + +As they stood gazing across that yawning gulf, the conviction entered +their minds that _it was possible to bridge it_. + +Karl was the first to give way to this conviction. Caspar, ever +sanguine, soon yielded to the views of his brother; and Ossaroo, though +tardily convinced, acknowledged that they could do no better than try. +The scientific mind of the botanist had been busy, and had already +conceived a plan--which though it would be difficult of execution, did +not seem altogether impracticable. On one thing, however, its +practicability rested--the width of the chasm. This must be +ascertained, and how was it to be done? + +It could not be guessed--that was clear. The simple estimate of the eye +is a very uncertain mode of measuring--as was proved by the fact that +each one of the three assigned a different width to the crevasse. In +fact, there was full fifty feet of variation in their estimates. Karl +believed it to be only a hundred feet in width, Ossaroo judged it at a +hundred and fifty, while Caspar thought it might be between the two. +How, then, were they to measure it exactly? That was the first question +that came before them. + +Had they been in possession of proper instruments, Karl was scholar +enough to have determined the distance by triangulation; but they had +neither quadrant nor theodolite; and that mode was therefore impossible. + +I have said that their wits were sharpened by their situation, and the +difficulty about the measurement was soon got over. It was Ossaroo who +decided that point. + +Karl and Caspar were standing apart discussing the subject, not dreaming +of any aid from the shikarree upon so scientific a question, when they +perceived the latter unwinding a long string, which he had drawn from +his pocket. + +"Ho!" cried Caspar, "what are you about, Ossaroo? Do you expect to +measure it with a string?" + +"Yes, Sahib!" answered the shikarree. + +"And who is to carry your line to the opposite side, I should like to +know?" inquired Caspar. + +It seemed very ridiculous, indeed, to suppose that the chasm could be +measured with a string--so long as only one side of it was accessible; +but there was a _way_ of doing it, and Ossaroo's native wit had +suggested that way to him. + +In reply to Caspar's question, he took one of the arrows from his +quiver, and, holding it up, he said,-- + +"This, Sahib, this carry it." + +"True! true!" joyfully exclaimed the brothers; both of whom at once +comprehended the design of the shikarree. + +It cost Ossaroo but a few minutes to put his design into execution. The +string was unwound to its full extent. There were nearly a hundred +yards of it. It was stretched tightly, so as to clear it of snarls, and +then one end was adjusted to the shaft of the arrow. The other end was +made fast to a rock, and after that the bow was bent, and the arrow +projected into the air. + +A shout of joy was raised as the shaft was seen to fall upon the snowy +surface on the opposite side; and the tiny cord was observed, like the +thread of a spider's web, spanning the vast chasm. + +Ossaroo seized the string in his hand, drew the arrow gently along until +it rested close to the opposite edge; and then marking the place with a +knot, he plucked the arrow till it fell into the chasm, and hand over +hand commenced winding up the string. + +In a few moments he had recovered both cord and arrow; and now came the +important part, the measurement of the string. + +The hearts of all three beat audibly as foot after foot was told off; +but a murmur of satisfaction escaped from all, when it was found that +the lowest estimate was nearest the truth. The chasm was about a +hundred feet wide! + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY TWO. + +THE HUT. + +Karl felt confident they could bridge the crevasse. The only weapons +they had were their knives, and a small wood hatchet which Ossaroo +chanced to have in his belt when they set out in chase of the musk-deer. +True they had their guns, but of what service could these be in making +a bridge? + +Ossaroo's knife, as already described, was a long-bladed one,--half +knife, half sword,--in fact, a jungle knife. The hatchet was not larger +than an Indian tomahawk; but with these weapons Karl Linden believed he +could build a bridge of one hundred feet span! + +He communicated to his companions his plan in detail, and both believed +in its feasibility. I need hardly say that under such a belief their +spirits rose again; and, though they felt that success was far from +certain, they were once more filled with hope; and having taken all the +necessary steps, in regard to measuring the narrowest part of the +crevasse, and noted the ground well, they returned to the valley with +lighter hearts. + +The bridge was not to be the work of a day, nor a week, nor yet might a +month suffice. Could they only have obtained access to both sides of +the chasm it would have been different, and they could easily have +finished it in less time. But you are to remember that only one side +was allowed them to work upon, and from this they would of necessity +have to project the bridge to the other. If they could even have got a +cable stretched across, this would have been bridge enough for them, and +they would have needed no other. A cable, indeed! They would soon have +found their way over upon a cable or even a stout rope; but the stoutest +communication they had was a slender string, and only an arrow to hold +it in its place! + +The genius of Karl had not only projected the bridge, but a mode of +placing it across the chasm, though many a contrivance would have to be +adopted, before the work could be finished. Much time would require to +be spent, but what of time when compared with the results of failure or +success? + +The first thing they did was to build them a hut. The nights were cold, +and growing colder, for the Himalaya winter was approaching, and +sleeping in the open air, even by the largest fire they might make, was +by no means comfortable. They built a rude hovel therefore, partly of +logs, and partly of stone blocks, for it was difficult to procure logs +of the proper length, and to cut them with such tools as they had would +have been a tedious affair. The walls were made thick, rough, and +strong; the interstices were matted and daubed with clay from the bed of +the rivulet; the thatch was a sedge obtained from the lake; and the +floor of earth was strewed with the leaves of the sweet-smelling +rhododendron. The hole was left for the smoke to escape. Several +granite slabs served for seats--tables were not needed--and for beds +each of the party had provided himself with a thick mattress of dried +grass and leaves. With such accommodations were the hunters fain to +content themselves. They felt too much anxiety about the future to care +for present luxuries. + +They were but one single day in building the hut. Had there been +bamboos at hand, Ossaroo would have constructed a house in half the +time, and a much handsomer one. As it was, their hovel occupied them +just a day, and on the next morning they set to work upon the bridge. + +They had agreed to divide the labour; Karl with the axe, and Ossaroo +with his large knife, were to work upon the timbers; while Caspar was to +provide the food with his double-barrelled gun, helping the others +whenever he could spare time. + +But Caspar found another purpose for his gun besides procuring meat. +Ropes would be wanted, long tough ropes; and they had already planned +it, that these should be made from the hides of the animals that might +be killed. Caspar, therefore, had an important part to play. Two +strong cables would be required, so Karl told him, each about a hundred +feet in length, besides many other ropes and cords. It would be +necessary to hunt with some success before these could be obtained. +More than one large hide, a dozen at least, would be required; but +Caspar was just the man to do his part of the work, and procure them. + +For the timbers, the trees out of which they were to be made had already +been doomed. Even that morning four trees had been marked by the axe +and girdled. These were pine-trees, of the species known as Thibet +pines, which grow to a great height, with tall trunks clear of branches +full fifty feet from the ground. Of course it was not the largest trees +that were chosen; as it would have cost too much labour to have reduced +their trunks to the proper dimension, and particularly with such tools +as the workmen had. On the contrary, the trees that were selected were +those very near the thickness that would be required; and but little +would have to be done, beyond clearing them of the bark and hewing the +heavier ends, so as to make the scantling of equal weight and thickness +all throughout their length. The splicing each two of them together +would be an operation requiring the greatest amount of care and labour. + +All their designs being fully discussed, each set about his own share of +the work. Karl and Ossaroo betook themselves to the pine-forest, while +Caspar prepared to go in search of the game. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY THREE. + +THE BARKING-DEER. + +"Now," said Caspar to himself, as he shouldered his double-barrelled +gun, and started forth, "now to find that same herd of grunters! +They're the biggest animals here I fancy, and their beef's not bad--the +veal isn't, I know. Besides, the hide of the old bull would make--let +me see--how many yards of rope." + +Here Caspar entered into a mental calculation as to what length of +rawhide rope, of two inches in diameter, might be twisted out of the yak +bull's skin. Karl had said two inches in diameter would be strong +enough for his purpose, provided the hide of the animal was as tough as +ordinary cow's hide; and this the skin of the yak really is. + +The young hunter, after much computation, having stripped the great bull +of his skin, and spread it out upon the grass, and measured it--all in +fancy of course--and cut it into strips of near three inches in width-- +had arrived at the conclusion that he would get about twenty yards of +sound rope out of the hide. + +Then he submitted the skins of the cows to a similar process of +measurement. There were four of them--there had been five, but one was +already killed. To each of the four Caspar allowed a yield of ten yards +of rope--as each of them was only a little more than half the size of +the bull--besides their skins would not be either so thick or so strong. + +There were four half-grown yaks--young bulls and heifers. Caspar +remembered the number well, for he had noted this while stalking them. +To these he allowed still less yield than to the cows--perhaps thirty +yards from the four. So that the hides of all--old bull, cows, and +yearlings--would, according to Caspar's calculation, give a cable of +ninety yards in length. What a pity it would not make a hundred--for +that was about the length that Karl had said the cable should be. True, +there were some young calves in the herd, but Caspar could make no +calculation on these. Their skins might serve for other purposes, but +they would not do for working up into the strong cable which Karl +required. + +"Maybe there is more than the one herd in the valley," soliloquised +Caspar. "If so it will be all right. Another bull would be just the +thing;" and with this reflection the hunter brought his double-barrel +down, looked to his flints and priming, returned the gun to his +shoulder, and then walked briskly on. + +Caspar had no fear that he should be able to kill all the yaks they had +seen. He was sure of slaughtering the whole herd. One thing certain, +these animals could no more get out of the valley than could the hunter +himself. If they had ever been in the habit of going out of it to visit +other pastures, they must have gone by the glacier; and they were not +likely to traverse that path any more. The hunter now had them at an +advantage--in fact, they were regularly penned up for him! + +After all, however, it was not such a pen. The valley was a full mile +in width, and rather better in length. It was a little country of +itself. It was far from being of an even or equal surface. Some parts +were hilly, and great rocks lay scattered over the surface here and +there, in some places forming great mounds several hundred feet high, +with cliffs and ravines between them, and trees growing in the clefts. +Then there were dark woods and thick tangled jungle tracts, where it was +almost impossible to make one's way through. Oh, there was plenty of +covert for game, and the dullest animal might escape from the keenest +hunter in such places. Still the game could not go clear away; and +although the yaks might get off on an occasion, they were sure to turn +up again; and Caspar trusted to his skill to be able to circumvent them +at one time or another. + +Never in his life before had Caspar such motives for displaying his +hunter-skill. His liberty--that of all of them--depended on all his +success in procuring the necessary number of hides; and this was spur +enough to excite him to the utmost. + +In starting forth from the hut, he had taken his way along the edge of +the lake. Several opportunities offered of a shot at Brahmin geese and +wild ducks but, in anticipation of finding the yaks, he had loaded both +barrels of his gun with balls. This he had done in order to be prepared +for the great bull, whose thick hide even buckshot would scarce have +pierced. A shot at the waterfowl, therefore, could not be thought of. +There would be every chance of missing them with the bullet; and neither +powder nor lead were such plentiful articles as to be thrown away idly. +He therefore reserved his fire, and walked on. + +Nothing appeared to be about the edge of the lake; and after going a +short distance he turned off from the water and headed the direction of +the cliffs. He hoped to find the herd of yaks among the rocks--for +Karl, who knew something of the natural history of these animals, had +told him that they frequented steep rocky places in preference to level +ground. + +Caspar's path now led him through a belt of timber, and then appeared a +little opening on which there was a good deal of tall grass, and here +and there a low copse or belt of shrubbery. + +Of course he went cautiously along--as a hunter should do--at every +fresh vista looking ahead for his game. + +While passing through the open ground his attention was attracted to a +noise that appeared to be very near him. It exactly resembled the +barking of a fox--a sound with which Caspar was familiar, having often +heard foxes bark in his native country. The bark, however, appeared to +him to be louder and more distinct than that of a common fox. + +"Perhaps," said he to himself, "the foxes of these mountains are bigger +than our German reynards, and can therefore bark louder. Let me see if +it be a fox. I'm not going to waste a bullet on him either; but I +should like just to have a look at a Himalaya fox." + +With these reflections Caspar stole softly through the grass in the +direction whence issued the sounds. + +He had not advanced many paces when he came in sight of an animal +differing altogether from a fox; but the very one that was making the +noise. This was certain, for while he stood regarding it, he perceived +it in the very act of uttering that noise, or _barking_, as we already +called it. + +Caspar felt very much inclined to laugh aloud, on perceiving that the +barking animal was neither fox, nor dog, nor yet a wolf, nor any other +creature that is known to bark, but on the contrary an animal of a far +different nature--a deer. Yes, it was really a deer that was giving +utterance to those canine accents. + +It was a small, slightly-made creature, standing about two feet in +height, with horns seven or eight inches long. It might have passed for +an antelope; but Caspar observed that on each horn there was an antler-- +a very little one, only an inch or so in length--and that decided him +that it must be an animal of the deer family. Its colour was light red, +its coat short and smooth, and, on a closer view, Caspar saw that it had +a tusk in each jaw, projecting outside the mouth, something like the +tushes of the musk-deer. It was, in fact, a closely allied species. It +was the "kakur," or "barking-deer;" so called from its barking habit, +which had drawn the attention of the hunter upon it. + +Of the barking-deer, like most other deer of India, there are several +varieties very little known to naturalists; and the species called the +"muntjak" (_Cervus vaginalis_) is one of these. It also has the +protruding tushes, and the solitary antler upon its horns. + +The "barking-deer" is common on the lower hills of the Himalaya +Mountains, as high as seven or eight thousand feet; but they sometimes +wander up the courses of rivers, or valley gorges, to a much higher +elevation; and the one now observed by Caspar had possibly strayed up +the glacier valley in midsummer, guided by curiosity, or some instinct, +that carried it into the beautiful valley that lay beyond. Poor little +fellow! it never found its way back again; for Caspar bored its body +through and through with a bullet from his right-hand barrel, and hung +its bleeding carcass on the branch of a tree. + +He did not shoot it upon sight, however. He hesitated for some time +whether it would be prudent to waste a shot upon so tiny a morsel, and +had even permitted it to run away. + +As it went off, he was surprised at a singular noise which it made in +running, not unlike the rattling of two pieces of loose bone knocked +sharply together; in fact, a pair of castanets. This he could hear +after it had got fifty yards from him, and, perhaps, farther; but there +the creature suddenly stopped, turned its head round, and stood barking +as before. + +Caspar could not make out the cause of such a strange noise, nor, +indeed, has any naturalist yet offered an explanation of this +phenomenon. Perhaps it is the cracking of the hoofs against each other, +or, more likely, the two divisions of each hoof coming sharply together, +when raised suddenly from the ground. It is well-known that a similar, +only much louder noise, is made by the long hoofs of the great +moose-deer; and the little kakur probably exhibits the same phenomenon +on a smaller scale. + +Caspar did not speculate long about the cause. The creature, as it +stood right before the muzzle of his gun, now offered too tempting a +shot, and the right-hand barrel put an end to its barking. + +"You're not what I came after," soliloquised Caspar; "but the old stag's +no great eating, he's too tough for me. You, my little fellow, look +more tender, and, I dare say, will make capital venison. Hang there, +then, till I return for you!" + +So saying, Caspar, having already strung the kakur's legs, lifted the +carcass, and hung it to the branch of a tree. + +Then, reloading his right-hand barrel with a fresh bullet, he continued +on in search of the herd of yaks. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR. + +THE ARGUS-PHEASANT. + +Caspar proceeded with increased caution. His design was to _stalk_ the +wild oxen; and he had left Fritz at the hut, as the dog could be of no +use in that sort of hunting. + +He intended to stalk the animals with more than ordinary caution, for +two reasons. The first was, of course, in order to get a shot at them; +but there was another reason why he should be careful, and that was, the +fierce and dangerous nature of the game. He had not forgotten the way +in which the old bull had behaved at their last interview; and Karl had +particularly cautioned him, before setting out, to act prudently, and to +keep out of the way of the bull's horns. He was not to fire at the +yaks, unless there was a tree near, or some other shelter, to which he +could retreat if pursued by the bull. + +The necessity, therefore, of choosing such a point of attack, would make +his stalk all the more difficult. + +He walked silently on, sometimes through spots of open ground; at +others, traversing belts of woodland, or tracts of thickety jungle. +Wherever there was a reach, or open space, he stopped before going out +of the cover, and looked well before him. He had no wish to come plump +on the game he was in search of, lest he might get too close to the old +bull. Fifty or sixty yards was the distance he desired; and, with the +large bullets his gun carried, he would have been near enough at that. + +Several kinds of large birds flew up from his path, as he advanced; +among others, the beautiful argus-pheasant, that almost rivals the +peacock in the splendour of its plumage. These rare creatures would +whirr upward, and alight among the branches of the trees overhead; and, +strange to say, although nearly as large as peacocks, and of a most +striking and singular form, Caspar could never get his eyes upon them +after they had once perched. + +It is the habit of these birds, when aware of the presence of the +hunter, to remain perfectly silent and motionless, and it requires the +keenest eyes to make them out among the leaves. In fact, the very +beauty of their singular plumage, which makes the argus-pheasant so +marked and attractive an object when side by side with other birds, is +the very thing which, amid the foliage of trees, renders it so difficult +to be seen. Ocellated as the bird is all over its body, wings, and +tail, the general-effect is such as rather to conceal it. A disk of the +same size of an unbroken colour, even though the tints be less +brilliant, is far more likely to arrest the eye-glance. Besides, the +collected foliage of the trees, when gazed at from beneath, presents a +species of ocellation, to which that of the argus-pheasant is in some +way assimilated. This may be a provision of nature, for the protection +of this beautiful and otherwise helpless bird; for it is no great +creature at a flight, with all its fine plumes; and, but for its power +of thus concealing itself, would easily fall a prey to the sportsman. + +Naturalists often, and, perhaps, oftener hunters, have noted this +adaptation of the colour of wild animals to their haunts and habits. +The jaguars, the leopards, and panthers, whose bright, yellow skins, +beautifully spotted as they are, would seem to render them most +conspicuous objects, are, in reality, the most difficult to be perceived +amid the haunts which they inhabit. An animal of equal size, and of the +dullest colouring, provided it were uniform, would be more easily seen +than they. Their very beauty renders them invisible; since their +numerous spots, interrupting the uniformity of colour, breaks up the +large disk of their bodies into a hundred small ones, and even destroys, +to the superficial glance, the form which would otherwise betray their +presence. + +For some such reason then the argus-pheasant is most difficult to be +seen, when once settled on his perch among the leaves and twigs of the +trees. But though himself not observed, he sees all that passes below. +He is well named. Although the eyes all over his body be blind, he +carries a pair in his head, that rival those of the famed watchman from +whom he borrows his surname. He keeps the sportsman well in sight; and +should the latter succeed in espying him, the argus knows well when he +is discovered, and the moment a cock clicks or a barrel is poised +upward, he is off with a loud whirr that causes the woods to ring. + +But, as already stated, he is no great flyer. The smallness of the +primary quills of his wing--as well as the unwieldy size of the +secondaries, forms an impediment to his progress through the air, and +his flight is short and heavy. He is a good runner, however, like all +birds of his kind; and he passes rapidly over the ground, using his +wings in running like the wild turkey, to which bird he is kindred. +When the argus-pheasant is at rest or unexcited, his plumage is neither +so bright nor beautiful. It is when showing himself off in the presence +of his females that he appears to best advantage. Then he expands his +spotted wings, and trails them on the ground in the same manner as the +peacock. His tail, too, becomes spread and raised erect, whereas at +other times it is carried in a line with the body with the two long +feathers folded over each other. + +The argus-pheasant (which closet-naturalists now say is not a pheasant, +but an _argus_) is peculiar to the southern parts of Asia, though the +limits of its range are not well understood. It is found in all parts +of India, and also, as is supposed, in China, even in the northern +provinces of that country. + +But the argus is not the only beautiful pheasant of these regions. +India, or rather southern Asia, is the true home of the pheasant tribe. +Already nearly a dozen species of these birds, some of them far more +beautiful than the birds of paradise, are known to naturalists; and when +the ornithology of the Indian Islands has been thoroughly investigated, +a still greater number will be found to exist there. + +The Impeyan pheasant, larger than the common fowl, rivals the crested +peacock in the brilliancy of its hues. No words can give any adequate +idea of the splendour of this bird. Nearly the whole surface of its +plumage is resplendent--dazzling with changing hues of green and +steel-blue, of violet and gold. It looks as if its body was clothed in +a scale armour of bright shining metal, while the plumage is soft and +velvety to the touch. This magnificent bird is a native of the Himalaya +Mountains; where is also found another splendid species, the +peacock-pheasant of Thibet, the latter closely allied to a still more +gorgeous bird, the crested polyplectron of the Moluccas. + +One cannot look upon these lovely winged creatures without a feeling of +gratitude to Him who sent them to adorn the earth, and give pleasure to +all who may behold them. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE. + +STALKING THE YAKS. + +Caspar was not out pheasant-shooting, and therefore these beautiful +birds were permitted to fly off unscathed. Caspar's game was the +grunting bull. + +Where could the herd be? He had already traversed half the extent of +the valley without finding the yaks; but there was nothing singular in +this. There was plenty of covert among the rocks and woods; and wild +animals, however large, have an instinct or a faculty of concealing +themselves that often surprises the hunter. Even the gigantic elephant +will get out of sight amidst thin jungle, where you might suppose his +huge body could hardly be hidden; and the great black buffalo often +springs unexpectedly out of a bushy covert not much bigger than his own +body. Just as partridges can squat unseen in the shortest stubble, or +squirrels lie hid along the slenderest branch, so have the larger wild +animals the faculty of concealing themselves in a covert proportionately +scanty. + +The young hunter was aware of this fact; and therefore was not so much +surprised that he did not at once come in sight of the yaks. The former +attack upon them, resulting in the loss of two of their number, had +rendered them wary; and the noises made in building the hut had, no +doubt, driven them to the most secluded corner of the valley. Thither +Caspar was bending his steps. + +He was calculating that they would be found in some cover, and was +beginning to regret that he had not brought Fritz, instead of trying to +stalk them, when all at once the herd came under his eyes. They were +quietly browsing out in a stretch of open ground--the young calves, as +on the former occasion, playing with each other, tearing about over the +ground, biting one another, and uttering their tiny grunts, like so many +young porkers. The cows and yearlings were feeding unconcernedly-- +occasionally raising their heads and looking around, but not with any +signs of uneasiness or fear. The bull was not in sight! + +"Where can he be?" inquired Caspar of himself. "Perhaps these may be a +different herd; `one, two, three;'" and Caspar went on to tell over the +individuals of the flock. + +"Yes," he continued, muttering to himself, "they are the same, I fancy: +three cows--four yearlings--the calves--exactly the number--all except +the bull.--Where can the old rascal have concealed himself?" + +And with his eyes Caspar swept the whole of the open space, and looked +narrowly along the selvedge of the timber which grew around it. No +bull, however, was to be seen. + +"Now where can the old grunter have gone to?" again inquired Caspar of +himself. "Is he off by himself, or along with some other herd? Surely +there is but the one family in this valley. Yaks are gregarious +animals: Karl says so. If there were more of them, they would be all +together. The bull must be ranging abroad by himself, on some business +of his own. After all, I suspect he's not far off. I dare say he's in +yonder thicket. I'd wager a trifle the knowing old fellow has a trick +in his head. He's keeping sentry over the flock, while he himself +remains unseen. In that way he has the advantage of any enemy who may +assail them. A wolf, or bear, or any preying beast that should want to +attack the calves where they now are, would be certain to approach them +by that very thicket. Indeed, I should have done so myself, if I didn't +know that there _was_ a bull. I should have crouched round the timber +and got under cover of the bushes, which would have brought me nicely +within range. But now I shall do no such thing; for I suspect strongly +the old boy's in the bushes. He would be on me with a rush if I went +that way, and in the thicket there's not a tree big enough to shelter a +chased cat. It's all brush and thorn bushes. It won't do; I shan't +stalk them from that direction; but how else can I approach them? +There's no other cover. Ha! yonder rock will serve my purpose!" + +Caspar was not half the time in going through this soliloquy that you +have been in reading it. It was a mental process entirely, and, of +course, carried on with the usual rapidity of thought. The interjection +which ended it, and the allusion to a rock, were caused by his +perceiving that a certain rock might afford him the necessary cover for +approaching the game. + +This rock he had observed long before--in fact, the moment he had seen +the herd. He could not have failed to observe it, for it lay right in +the middle of the open ground, neither tree nor bush being near to hide +it. It was of enormous size, too--nearly as big as a hovel, +square-sided and apparently flat-topped. Of course, he had noticed it +at the first glance, but had not thought of making it a stalking-horse-- +the thicket seeming to offer him a better advantage. + +Now, however, when he dared not enter the thicket--lest he might there +encounter the bull--he turned his attention to the rock. + +By keeping the boulder between him and the yaks, he could approach +behind it, and that would bring him within distance of the one or two of +the herd that were nearest. Indeed, the whole flock appeared to be +inclining towards the rock; and he calculated, that by the time he could +get there himself they would all be near enough, and he might make +choice of the biggest. + +Up to this time he had remained under cover of the timber, at the point +where he first came in sight of the yaks. Still keeping in the bushes, +he made a circuit, until the rock was put between him and the herd. Big +as the boulder was, it hardly covered the whole flock; and much caution +would be required to get up to it without alarming them. He saw that if +he could once pass over the first one hundred yards, the rock, then +subtending a larger angle of vision, would shield him from their sight, +and he might walk fearlessly forward. But the first hundred yards would +be awkward stalking. Crawling flat upon his breast appeared to be his +only chance. But Caspar had often stalked chamois on his native hills; +and many a crawl had he made, over rocks and gravel, and ice and snow. +He thought nothing, therefore, of progression in this way, and a hundred +yards would be a mere bagatelle. + +Without farther hesitation, therefore, he dropped to his marrow-bones, +and then flat upon his breast, and in this attitude commenced wriggling +and shuffling along like a gigantic salamander. Fortunately the grass +grew a foot or more in height, and that concealed him from the view of +the yaks. On he went, pushing his gun before him, and every now and +then raising his eyes cautiously above the sward to note the position of +the herd. When it changed, he also deflected slightly from his course-- +so as always to keep the centre of the rock aligned upon the bodies of +the animals. + +After about ten minutes of this horizontal travelling, the hunter found +himself within thirty paces of the great boulder. Its broad sides now +appeared sufficient to cover the whole flock; and as crawling along the +ground was by no means pleasant, Caspar was fain to give it up, and take +once more to his feet. He rose erect, therefore; and running nimbly +forward, in another moment he stood behind the rock. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY SIX. + +CASPAR RETREATS TO THE ROCK. + +Caspar now perceived that the rock was not all in one piece. In other +words, there were two rocks--both of them immense boulders, but of very +unequal size. The largest, as already observed, was of the size of a +small house, or it might be compared to a load of hay; while the smaller +was not much bigger than the wagon. They lay almost contiguous to each +other, with a narrow space, about a foot in width, forming a sort of +alley between them. This space resembled a cleft, as if the two blocks +had once been united, and some terrible force had cloven them asunder. + +Caspar only glanced at these peculiarities as he came up--his eye +mechanically searching for the best point of the rock to shelter him +from the game, while it afforded him an opportunity of aiming at them. +It was altogether a very awkward cover--the rock was square-sided as a +wall, with no jutting point that he could crawl behind and rest his gun +over. In fact, at the corners it rather hung over, resting on a base +narrower than its diameter. There was no bush near to it--not even long +grass to accommodate him. The ground was quite bare, and had the +appearance of being much trampled, as if it was a favourite resort--in +fact, a "rubbing-stone" for the yaks. It was their tracks Caspar saw +around it--some of them quite fresh--and conspicuous among the rest were +some that by their size must have been made by the hoofs of the bull. + +The sight of these large fresh tracks conducted Caspar, and very +suddenly too, into a train of reflections that were anything but +agreeable. + +"The bull's tracks!" muttered he to himself. "Quite fresh, by thunder! +Why he must have been here but a minute ago! What if--" + +Here Caspar's heart thumped so violently against his ribs, that he could +scarce finish the interrogation. + +"_What if he be on the other side of the rock_?" + +The hunter was in a dilemma. Up to that moment he had never thought of +the probability of the bull being behind the rock. He had taken it into +his fancy, that the thicket must be the place of his concealment, but +without any very good reason did he fancy this. It was assigning more +cunning to the animal than was natural; and now on second thoughts +Caspar perceived that it was far more probable the bull should be +sunning himself on the other side of the great boulder! There he would +be near to the herd,--and likely enough there he _was_. + +"By thunder!" mentally exclaimed Caspar, "if he be there, the sooner I +get back to the timber the better for my health. I never thought of it. +He could run me down in half a minute. There's no place to escape to. +Ha!--what!--good!" + +These ejaculations escaped from the hunter as he cast his eyes upward. +It was a peculiarity in the form of the rocks that had caused him to +utter them. He noticed that the lesser one had a sloping ridge that +could be easily ascended; and from its highest point the top of the +larger might also be reached by a little active climbing. + +"Good!" repeated he to himself; "I'll be safe enough there, and I can +easily get up if I'm chased. The top of the rock's equal to any tree. +It'll do if I am put to the pinch; so here goes for a shot, bull or no +bull!" + +Saying this, he once more looked to his gun; and kneeling down close in +to the great rock, he commenced shuffling round one of its impending +corners, in order to get within view of the herd. + +He did not move one inch forward without looking well before him into +the plain where the yaks were feeding, but quite as anxiously did he +bend his eyes around the edge of the boulder, where he surmised the bull +might be. He even listened at intervals, expecting to hear the latter +breathing or giving a grunt, or some other sign, by which his presence +might be made _known_. + +If behind the rock at all he must be very near, thought Caspar--near +enough for his breathing to be heard; and once Caspar fancied that he +actually heard a grunt, which did not proceed from any of the herd. + +The hunter, however, had less fear now, as he believed he could retreat +to the rock before even the swiftest animal could overtake him. He +therefore moved on with sufficient confidence. + +You are not to suppose that all these thoughts and movements occupied +much time. There were not five minutes consumed from the time Caspar +arrived at the rocks, until he had taken all his measures; and another +minute or two were occupied in creeping round within view of the herd-- +where at length Caspar arrived. + +As yet no bull was seen. He might still be there, but if so, he was +farther round the corner of the rock; and the sight of the others now +fair before the muzzle of Caspar's gun drove all thoughts of the bull +out of his mind. He resolved to fire at the nearest. + +Quick as thought the gun was to his shoulder, his finger touched the +trigger, and the loud report echoed from the distant cliffs. The ball +told, and a cow was bowled over, and lay sprawling on the plain. Bang +went the second barrel, and a young bull with a broken leg went hobbling +off toward the thicket. The rest of the herd tore away at top speed, +and were soon lost sight of in the bushes. + +A little calf alone remained by the cow that had fallen. It ran +frisking around, uttering its singular cries, and seemingly astonished +and unable to comprehend the catastrophe that had befallen its mother! + +Under other circumstances Caspar would have pitied that calf--for though +a hunter, he was not hard-hearted. But just then he had something else +to do than give way to pity. + +He had scarce aimed his second shot--even while his finger was still +resting on the trigger--when a sound reached his ears that made his +heart leap. It spoiled his aim in fact, or the yearling would have had +it between his ribs instead of in his hind-leg. That sound could be +nothing else than the grunt of the old bull himself; and so close to +Caspar did it appear that the hunter suddenly dropped the muzzle of his +gun, and looked around thinking the animal was right by him! + +He did not see the bull on looking around; but he knew the latter could +not be many feet off, just behind the angle of the boulder. Under this +impression Caspar sprang to his feet, and ran with lightning speed to +ascend the rock. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN. + +FACE TO FACE WITH A FIERCE BULL. + +Caspar leaped on to the lower one, and scrambled up its sloping ridge. +His eyes were turned more behind than before him, for he expected every +moment to see the bull at his skirts. To his astonishment no bull had +yet appeared, although as he was running around the rock twice or thrice +had he heard his terrific grunting. + +He now faced toward the summit, determined to climb up to the safest +place. From the top he would be able to see all around, and could there +watch the movements of the bull, as he fancied, in perfect security. He +laid his hand on the edge of the rock and drew himself over it. It was +as much as he could do. The parapet was chin high, and it required all +his strength to raise himself up. + +His attention was so occupied in the endeavour, that he was fairly upon +the top ere he thought of looking before him; and when he did look, he +saw, to his amazement and terror, that he was not alone. _The bull was +there too_! + +Yes! the bull was there, and had been there all the while. The top of +the boulder was a flat table, several yards in length and breadth, and +upon this the old bull had been quietly reclining, basking himself in +the sun, and watching his wives and children as they browsed on the +plain below. As he had been lying down, and close to that edge of the +table which was most distant from Caspar, the latter could not have +perceived him while approaching the rock. He did not even think of +turning his eyes in that direction, as he would as soon have thought of +looking for the old bull in the top of one of the trees. Caspar had +quite forgotten what Karl had told him,--that the summits of rocks and +isolated boulders are the favourite haunts of the yaks,--else he might +have kept out of the scrape he had now fairly got into. + +On perceiving his dilemma, the young hunter was quite paralysed; and for +some moments stood aghast, not knowing how to act. + +Fortunately for him the bull had been standing at the farthest extremity +of the table, looking out over the plain. The trouble he was in about +his family occupied all his attention, and he stood loudly grunting to +them as if calling them back. He was unable to comprehend what had +caused such a rout among them; although he had already experienced the +dire effect of those loud detonations. He was "craning" forward over +the edge, as if half determined to leap from the summit, instead of +turning to the easier descent by which he had got up. + +As Caspar scrambled up to the ledge, the rattle of his accoutrements on +the rock reached the ears of the bull; and just as the former had got to +his feet the latter wheeled round, and the two were now face to face! + +There was a moment's pause. Caspar stood in terror; his antagonist, +perhaps, also surprised at the unexpected rencontre. It was a very +short pause, indeed. Almost in the next instant the fierce yak, +uttering his terrific cry, charged forward. + +There was no chance to evade the shock by springing to one side or the +other. The space was too circumscribed for such a manoeuvre, and the +most adroit matador could not have executed it where Caspar stood. He +was too near the edge of the rock to make the experiment. His only hope +lay in bounding back as he had come; which he did almost mechanically +upon the instant. + +The impetus of the leap, and the slanting surface of the lower boulder, +carried him onward to the bottom; and, unable any longer to retain his +feet, he fell forward upon his face. He heard the rattle of the bull's +hoofs upon the rock behind him; and before he could recover his feet +again he felt the brute trampling over him. + +Fortunately he was not hurt, and fortunately the same impetus that had +flung him upon his face also carried his antagonist far beyond him; and +before the latter could turn from his headlong charge, the young hunter +again stood erect. + +But whither was he to run? The trees were too far off;--oh! he could +never reach them. The fierce beast would be on him ere he could half +cross the open ground, and would drive those terrible horns into his +back. Whither?--whither? + +Confused and irresolute, he turned and rushed back up the rock. + +This time he scaled the slope more nimbly; more lightly did he leap upon +the ledge, but without any feeling of hope. It was but the quick rush +of despair,--the mechanical effort of terror. + +The manoeuvre did not yield him a minute's respite. His fierce +antagonist saw it all, and went charging after. + +Lightly the huge brute bounded up the slope, and then leaped upon the +table, as if he had been a chamois or a goat. No pause made he, but +rushed straight on with foaming tongue and flaming eye-balls. + +Now, indeed, did Caspar believe his last moment had come. He had rushed +across the table of granite, and stood upon its extremest end. There +was no chance to get back to the place where he had ascended. His +vengeful antagonist was in the track, and he could not pass him. He +must either spring down from where he stood, or be tossed from the spot +upon the horns of the fierce bull. Dizzy was the height,--over twenty +feet,--but there was no alternative but take the leap. He launched +himself into the air. + +He came down feet foremost, but the terrible shock stunned him, and he +fell upon his side. The sky was darkened above him. It was the huge +body of the bull that had bounded after, and the next moment he heard +the heavy sound of the animal's hoofs as they came in contact with the +plain. + +The hunter struggled to regain his feet. He rose and fell again. One +of his limbs refused to perform its functions. He felt there was +something wrong; he believed that his leg was broken! + +Even this fearful thought did not cause the brave youth to yield. He +saw that the bull had recovered himself; and was once more approaching +him. He scrambled towards the rock, dragging the useless limb behind +him. + +You will suppose that there was no longer a hope for him, and that the +wild ox rushing upon him must certainly gore him to death. And so he +would have done, had not Caspar been in the hands of Providence, who +gave him a stout heart, and enabled him to make still another effort for +his safety. + +As he turned toward the boulder, an object came before his eyes that +filled him with fresh hopes. That object was the cleft between the +rocks. It was, as already described, about a foot in width, and +separated the two boulders at all points,--except along the top, where +they rested against each other. + +Caspar's quick mind at once perceived the advantage. If he could only +reach this crevice, and crawl into it in time, he might still be saved. +It was big enough for his body; it would be too narrow to admit that of +his huge antagonist. + +On hands and knees he glided along with desperate speed. He reached the +entrance of the crevice. He clutched the angle of rock, and drew +himself far inward. He had not a moment to spare. He heard the horns +of the bull crash against the cheeks of the chasm; but the charge was +followed by a grunt of disappointment uttered by the furious animal. + +A cry of joy involuntarily escaped from the lips of the hunter,--who +felt that he was saved! + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT. + +CASPAR IN THE CLEFT. + +Caspar breathed freely. He had need; for the peril he had passed, and +the rushing backward and forward, and springing over the rocks, had +quite taken away his breath. He could not have lasted another minute. + +The bull, thus balked of his revenge, seemed to become more furious than +ever. He rushed to and fro, uttering savage grunts, and at intervals +dashing his horns against the rocks, as if he hoped to break them to +pieces, and open a passage to his intended victim. Once he charged with +such fury that his head entered the cleft till his steaming snout almost +touched Caspar where he lay. Fortunately, the thick hairy shoulders of +the bull hindered him from advancing farther; and in drawing back his +head, he found that he had wedged himself; and it was with some +difficulty that he succeeded in detaching his horns from the rock! + +Caspar took advantage of his struggles; and seizing a stone that lay +near at hand, he mauled the bull so severely about the snout, that the +brute was fain to get his head clear again; and although he still stood +madly pawing by the outside of the cleft, he took care not to repeat his +rude assault. + +Caspar now seeing that he was safe from any immediate danger, began to +feel uneasiness about his broken limb. He knew not how long he might be +detained there--for it was evident that the yak was implacable, and +would not leave him while he could keep his eyes upon him. It is the +nature of these animals to hold their resentment so long as the object +of their vengeance is in sight. Only when that is hidden from them, do +they seem to _forget_--for it is probable they never _forgive_. + +The bull showed no signs of leaving the ground. On the contrary, he +paced backward and forward, grunting as fiercely as ever, and at +intervals making a rush towards the entrance as if he still had hopes of +reaching his victim. + +Caspar now regarded these demonstrations with indifference, he was far +more concerned about his limb; and as soon as he could turn himself into +a proper position, he began to examine it. + +He felt the bone carefully from the knee downward. He knew the thigh +was safe enough. It was his ankle-joint, he feared, was broken. The +ankle was already swollen and black--badly swollen, but Caspar could +detect no evidence of a fracture of the bones. + +"After all," soliloquised he, "it may be only sprained. If so, it will +be all right yet." + +He continued to examine it, until he at length arrived at the conviction +that it was "only a sprain." + +This brought him into good spirits again, though the leg was very +painful; but Caspar was a boy who could bear pain very stoically. + +He now began to ponder upon his situation. How was he to be rescued +from his fierce besieger? Would Karl and Ossaroo hear him if he were to +shout? That was doubtful enough. He could not be much less than a mile +from them; and there were woods and rough ground between him and them. +They might be chopping, too, and would not hear his calls. Still, they +would not always be chopping, and he could keep up a constant shouting +till they did hear him. He had already noticed that in the valley, shut +in on all sides as it was by cliffs, sounds were transmitted to a great +distance--in fact, the cliffs seem to act as conductors somewhat after +the manner of a whispering-gallery. No doubt, then, Karl and Ossaroo +would hear him--especially if he gave one of his shrill whistles; for +Caspar knew how to whistle very loudly, and he had often made the +Bavarian hills ring again. + +He was about to make the Himalayas ring, and had already placed his +fingers to his lips, when the thought occurred to him that it would be +wrong to do so. + +"No," said he, after reflecting a moment, "I shall not call them. My +whistle would bring Karl, I know. He would come running at the signal. +I might not be able to stop him till he had got quite up to the rocks +here, and then the bull! No--Karl's life might be sacrificed instead of +mine. I shall not whistle." + +With these reflections, he removed his fingers from his lips, and +remained silent. + +"If I only had my gun," thought he, after a pause,--"if I only had my +gun, I'd soon settle matters with you, you ugly brute! You may thank +your stars I have dropped it." + +The gun had escaped from Caspar's hands as he fell upon his face on +first rushing down from the rock. It was no doubt lying near the spot +where he had fallen, but he was not sure where it had been flung to. + +"If it was not for this ankle," he continued, "I'd chance a rush for it +yet. Oh! if I could only get the gun here; how I'd fix the old grunter +off, before he could whisk that tail of his twice--that I would." + +"Stay!" continued the hunter, after some minutes' pause, "my foot seems +to get well. It's badly swollen, but the pain's not much. It's only a +sprain! Hurrah!--it's only a sprain! By thunder! I'll try to get the +gun." + +With this resolve, Caspar raised himself to a standing attitude, holding +by the rocks on both sides. + +The lane between them just gave him room enough to move his body along; +and the cleft being of a uniform width from side to side, he could get +out on either side he might choose. + +But, strange to relate, the old bull, whenever he saw the hunter move +towards the opposite side, rushed round to the same, and stood prepared +to receive him upon his horns! + +This piece of cunning, on the part of his antagonist, was quite +unexpected by Caspar. He had hoped he would be able to make a sally +from one side of the rock while his adversary guarded the other; but he +now saw that the animal was as cunning as himself. It was but a few +yards round from one side to the other, and it would be easy for the +bull to overtake him, if he only ventured six feet from the entrance. + +He made one attempt as a sort of feint or trial; but was driven back +again into the crevice almost at the point of his antagonist's horns. + +The result was, that the yak, now suspecting some design, watched his +victim more closely, never for a moment taking his eyes off him. + +But withal Caspar had gained one advantage from the little sally he had +made. He had seen the gun where it lay, and had calculated the distance +it was off. Could he only obtain thirty seconds of time, he felt +certain he might secure the weapon; and his thoughts were now bent on +some plan to gain this time. + +All at once a plan was suggested to him, and he resolved to make trial +of it. + +The yak habitually stood with his head close up to the crevice--the +froth dropping from his mouth, his eyes rolling fiercely, and his head +lowered almost to the earth. + +Caspar could have thrust his head with a spear--if he had been armed +with one--or he could even have belaboured it with a cudgel. + +"Is there no way," thought he, "that I can blind the brute? Ha! By +thunder, I have it!" exclaimed he, hitting upon an idea that seemed to +promise the desired result. + +As quick as thought he lifted over his head his powder-horn and belt; +and, then stripping off his jacket, took the latter in both hands, held +it spread out as wide as the space would permit. He now approached the +edge of the cleft in hopes of being able to fling the jacket over the +horns of the bull, and, by thus blinding him, get time to make a rush +for his gun. The idea was a good one; but, alas! it failed in the +execution. Caspar's arms were confined between the boulders, and he was +unable to fling the jacket adroitly. It readied the frontlet of the +bull; but the latter, with a disdainful toss of his head, flung it to +one side, and stood fronting his adversary, as watchful of his movements +as ever. + +Caspar's heart sunk at the failure of his scheme, and he retreated +despairingly back into the cleft. + +"I shall have to call Karl and Ossaroo in the end," thought he. "No! +not yet!--not yet! Another plan! I'll manage it yet, by thunder!" + +What was Caspar's new plan? We shall soon see. He was not long in +putting it to the test. A youth quick in action was Caspar. + +He seized his huge powder-horn, and took out the stopper. Once more he +crept forward towards the bull, and as near the snout of the latter as +it was safe for him to go. Holding the horn by its thick end, and +reaching far out, he poured upon the levellest and driest spot a large +quantity of powder; and, then drawing the horn gradually nearer, he laid +a train for several feet inward. + +Little did the grunting yak know the surprise that awaited him. + +Caspar now took out his flint, steel, and touch-paper, and in a moment +more struck a fire, and touched off the train. + +As he had calculated, the exploding powder flashed outward and upward, +taking the bull by surprise with the sudden shock, at the same time that +it enveloped him in its thick sulphury smoke. The animal was heard +routing and plunging about, not knowing which way to run. + +This was the moment for Caspar; who, having already prepared himself for +the rush, sprang suddenly forth, and ran towards his gun. + +With eagerness he grasped the weapon; and, forgetting all about his +sprained ankle, ran back with the speed of a deer. Even then, he was +not a moment too soon in reaching his retreat; for the bull, having +recovered from his surprise, saw and pursued him, and once more sent his +horns crashing against the rocks. + +"Now," said Caspar, addressing his fierce besieger, and speaking with a +confidence he had not hitherto felt, "that time you were more scared +than hurt; but the next time I burn powder, the case will be rather +different, I fancy. Stand where you are, old boy. Another minute allow +me! and I'll raise this siege, without giving you either terms or +quarter." + +As Caspar continued to talk in this way, he busied himself in loading +his gun. He loaded both barrels--though one would have been sufficient; +for the first shot did the business clear as a whistle. It tumbled the +old bull off his legs, and put an end to his grunting at once and for +ever! + +Caspar now came forth from the cleft; and, placing his fingers to his +lips, caused the valley to ring with his loud whistle. A similar +whistle came pealing back through the woods; and, in fifteen minutes' +time, Karl and Ossaroo were seen running forward to the spot; and soon +after had heard the particulars of Caspar's adventure, and were +congratulating him on his escape. + +The yaks were skinned and quartered, and then carried home to the hut. +The young bull, that had been wounded, also turned up close at hand; and +was finished by the spear of Ossaroo. Of course, he too was skinned and +quartered, and carried home; but all this labour was performed by Karl +and Ossaroo; for Caspar's ankle had got so much worse, that he had +himself to be carried to the hut on the backs of Ossaroo and his +brother. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY NINE. + +THE SEROW. + +Karl and Ossaroo had their adventure, though it was not of so dangerous +a character as that of Caspar. They were spectators rather than actors +in it. Fritz was the real actor, and Fritz had come off only second +best, as a huge gash in his side testified. + +They had chosen a pine, and were busy hacking away at it, when a +confused noise--a mixture of yelping and barking--fell upon their ears, +and caused them to hold their hands, and listen. It was a thin piece of +woods, where they were--composed principally of straggling pine-trees +without underwood, and they could see to a distance of several hundred +yards around them. + +As they stood looking out, a large animal, evidently in flight, came +dashing past the spot. He did not appear to be a fast runner, and they +had a good view of him. He was nearly as large as a jackass, and had +something of the appearance of one, but a pair of stout horns, twelve +inches in length, and very sharp-pointed, showed that he was a +cloven-hoofed animal. His hair was coarse and rough; dark brown on the +upper part of his body, reddish on the sides, and whitish underneath. +Along the back of the neck he was maned like a jackass, and the neck +itself was thick with rather a large head to it. The horns curved +backwards so as to lie close along the neck; the legs of the animal were +thick and stout, and he appeared to be altogether a stupid creature, and +ran with a clumsy ungainly gait. + +Neither Karl nor Ossaroo had ever seen such an animal before, but they +guessed it to be the "thar," or "serow,"--one of the tribe of antelopes, +known as the _goat-like_ antelopes,--of which there are several species +in the East Indies. + +They guessed aright. It was the serow, (_Capricornis bubalina_). + +But the creature was not alone. Although we have said he was not +running very swiftly, he was going as fast as his thick legs would carry +him. And he had good reason too, for, close upon his heels, came a pack +of what Karl supposed to be red wolves, but which Ossaroo recognised as +the wild dogs of India. There were about a dozen of these, each nearly +as large as a wolf, with long necks and bodies, somewhat long muzzles, +and high, erect, round-tipped ears. Their general colour was red, +turning to reddish white underneath. The tops of their long bushy tails +were black, and there was a brown patch between the orbits of their +eyes, which added to the fierce wolf-like expression that characterised +them. It was from them that the howling and yelping had proceeded. +They were in full cry after the serow. + +Fritz, on hearing the music, would have bounded forth and joined them; +but to keep him out of harm's way, Karl had tied him to a tree before +commencing work, and Fritz, _nolens volens_, was compelled to keep his +place. + +The chase swept by, and both dogs and antelope were soon lost to the +sight, though their howling could still be heard through the trees. + +After a time it grew louder, and the wood-cutters, perceiving that the +chase was again coming in their direction, stood watching and listening. +A second time the serow appeared crossing the open tract, and the dogs, +as before, close at his heels. + +Once more all disappeared, and then, after a short interval, "hark back" +was the cry; and, to their surprise, Karl and the shikarree again saw +the wild dogs pressing the serow through the woods. + +Now it appeared to both that the dogs might easily have overtaken the +antelope at any moment; for they were close up to his heels, and a +single spring, which any of them might have given, would have launched +them upon its flanks. Indeed, it appeared as if they were running it +only for their amusement, and at any moment could have overtaken it! + +This observation of our wood-cutters was partially true. The wild dogs +could at any moment have overtaken the antelope, for they had done so +already; having turned it more than once. But for all that, they were +not running it out of mere sport. They were thus chasing the _game_ +back and forward in order _to guide it to their breeding-place, and save +themselves the trouble of carrying its carcass thither_! This was in +reality what the wild dogs were about, and this accounted for their odd +behaviour. Ossaroo, who knew the wild dogs well, assured the Sahib +Karl, that such is their practice, that--whenever they have young ones-- +they hunt the larger animals from point to point until they get them +close to their common burrowing place; that then they all spring upon +the victim, and worry it to death, leaving the puppies to approach the +carcass and mangle it at their pleasure! + +The plant-hunter had already heard of this singular practice having been +observed in the "wild honden," or hunting-dogs of the Cape, and was +therefore less surprised at Ossaroo's account. + +Of course it was not then that Karl and Ossaroo conversed upon these +topics. They were too busy in watching the chase, which once more +passed within twenty yards of the spot where they were standing. + +The serow seemed now to be quite done up, and it appeared as if his +pursuers might at any moment have pulled him down. But this they +evidently did not wish to do. They wanted to drive him a little +farther. + +The creature, however, was not going to accommodate them. He had run +enough. A very large tree stood in his way. Its trunk was many feet in +diameter, and great broad buttresses stood out from its flanks, +enclosing angular spaces between them, any of which would have made a +stall for a horse. It was just the sort of place which the serow was +looking out for; and making a sharp rush for the tree, he entered one of +these divisions, and wheeling around, buttocks to the stump, stood +firmly to bay. + +This sudden manoeuvre evidently disconcerted his fierce pursuers. There +were many of them that knew the serow well, and trembled at the sight of +his horns when brought too close to them. They knew his tactics too, +and were well aware that once in a position, like that he had now taken +up, he became a dangerous customer to deal with. + +Knowing this, most of the old dogs held back. But there were several +young ones in the pack, rash, hot-blooded fellows, who, vain of their +prowess, were ashamed to hang their tails at this crisis; and these, +without more ado, rushed in upon the antelope. Then ensued a scene that +caused Ossaroo to clap his hands and shake his sides with laughter. A +desperate struggle was carried on. Right and left pitched the wild +dogs, some yelping, some skulking back, crippled and limping; while one +or two soon lay stretched out dead; transfixed as they had been by the +pointed horns of the antelope. Ossaroo enjoyed this scene, for the +shikarree had a great dislike to these wild dogs, as they had often +interfered with his stalking. + +How the battle would have ended, or whether the bold buck would have +beaten off his numerous enemies will never be known; for while the +contest was raging, the great boar-hound, Fritz, contrived somehow or +other to slip his fastening, and the next moment he was seen rushing +like a streak of fire towards the _melee_. The wild dogs were as much +terrified by his sudden appearance in their midst as the quarry itself +could have been, and, without staying to examine the interloper, one and +all of them took to their heels, and soon disappeared behind the trees. + +Fritz had never seen a serow before, but taking it for granted it was +fair game, he sprang at the creature on sight. Better for Fritz had it +been a Saxon boar, for it cost him several sharp rips, and a long +struggle before he became master of the field; and it is doubtful +whether he would not have suffered still worse, had not a pea of lead +from the rifle of his master aided in bringing the strife to an end. + +The game, but for its hide, was hardly worth faking home; as the flesh +of the serow is very coarse, and poor eating. For all that, the animal +is eagerly hunted by the natives of the Himalayas; partly because it is +not difficult to come up with, and partly that these poor people are not +very epicurean in their appetites. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY. + +OSSAROO CHASED BY WILD DOGS. + +If Ossaroo hated any living creature more than another, the wild dogs, +as already hinted at, were his particular aversion. They had often +spoiled a stalk upon him, when he was in the act of bringing down an +axis or an antelope with his arrows, and they themselves were not worth +bending a bow upon. Their flesh was not fit to be eaten, and their +skins were quite unsaleable. In fact, Ossaroo regarded them as no +better than filthy vermin, to be destroyed only for the sake of +exterminating them. + +Hence it was that the shikarree was so delighted, when he saw the old +serow dealing death among his canine antagonists. + +But it was written in the book of fate, that Ossaroo should not sleep +that night until he had done penance for this exultation. + +Another adventure was in store for him, which we shall now relate. + +From the place where the yaks had been killed to the hut was a very long +distance--full three quarters of a mile; and, of course, transporting +the skins and meat thither required Karl and Ossaroo to make many +journeys backward and forward. Caspar was laid up with his sprained +ankle, and could give them no assistance. As we have said, they had to +carry _him_ home as well as the meat. + +The work occupied them all the rest of the day, and, when twilight +arrived, there was still one joint to be got home. For this joint +Ossaroo started alone, leaving the others at the hut to cook the supper. + +On cutting up the meat, they had taken the precaution to hang the pieces +upon high branches, out of the reach of beasts of prey. Experience had +taught them, that there were many of these in the place, ravenous enough +to devour a whole carcass in a few minutes. What kind of wild beast had +carried off the flesh of the cow-yak, they knew not. Karl and Caspar +believed they were wolves, for the wolf, in some form or other, is found +in every quarter of the globe; and in India there are two or three +distinct species--as the "landgah," or Nepaul wolf, (_Canis pallipes_), +and the "beriah," another Indian wolf, of a yellow colour, slenderly +made, and about the size of a greyhound, with long, erect ears, like the +jackal. The jackal, too, which is only a smaller wolf, and the common +or brindled hyena, inhabit these countries; so that it was difficult to +say which of all these ravenous creatures had committed the depredation. +Ossaroo's opinion was, that it was done by _dogs_, not wolves; and, +perhaps, by the very pack that had that day been seen in pursuit of the +antelope. It made no great difference, as far as that went; for these +same wild dogs are in reality more wolf than dog, and in habits quite as +ferocious and destructive as the wolves themselves. But to return to +Ossaroo and his adventure. + +When the shikarree arrived on the ground where the meat had been left, +he was not much surprised to see a number of wild dogs skulking about. +Half a dozen of them were standing under the joint, where it hung from +the branch; some of them in the act of springing upward, and all of them +regarding the tempting morsel with fierce, hungry looks. The offal and +"giblets" they had already disposed of, so that not the smallest +fragment could be seen lying about. What Ossaroo regretted most was, +that he had brought with him neither bow nor arrow nor spear, nor, in +short, any thing in the shape of a weapon. Even his long knife he had +left behind, in order that he might carry the large joint with greater +ease. + +On seeing the hated dogs, however, he could not resist the temptation of +having a shy at them; and, gathering up a handful of bulky stones, he +rushed into their midst, and pelted at them right and left. + +The dogs, startled by this sudden onslaught, took to their heels, but +Ossaroo could not help observing that they did not appear to be so badly +frightened; and, some of them that left the ground sulky and growling, +stopped at no great distance from the spot, and appeared half inclined +to come back again! + +It was the first time in his life that Ossaroo felt something like fear +of the wild dogs. He had been in the habit of chasing them on sight, +and they had always scampered off at the sound of his voice. These, +however, seemed to be larger and fiercer than any he had before +encountered, and it was evident there was fight in them. It was nearly +dark, and at night such animals are much bolder than during the +daylight. Night is, in fact, their true time for rapine and desperate +deeds. Ossaroo reflected, moreover, that these dogs had, in all +probability, never before encountered man, and were, therefore, less +inclined to fear or flee from him. + +It was not without some misgiving, therefore, that he found himself in +their presence, thus unarmed and alone. + +When his armful of stones was exhausted, some of the dogs still remained +within sight, looking in the grey twilight much larger than they +actually were. + +Ossaroo reflected for a moment whether he would gather some more rocks, +and give them a fresh pelting. On second thoughts, he concluded it +would be more prudent to let them alone. They were already almost at +bay, and any farther demonstration on his part might provoke them to +turn upon him in earnest. He determined, therefore, to leave them as +they stood, and hurry off with his load. + +Without more ado, he took down the quarter of yak-beef, and, placing it +upon his shoulders, turned homeward toward the hut. + +He had not gone very far when he began to suspect that the dogs were +after him. In fact, he more than suspected it, for the pattering of +feet upon the dead leaves, and an occasional low growl that reached his +ears, convinced him they _were_ after him. The heavy burden upon his +shoulders, pressing his head forward and downward, prevented him from +seeing either to one side or the other, and to look behind, it would be +necessary for him to turn quite round. + +But the pattering of the feet sounded nearer, and the short half-bark, +half-growl, became more frequent, until Ossaroo found himself at length +constrained to turn, from sheer apprehension of being attacked in the +rear. + +The sight that met his eyes was enough to have terrified the stoutest +heart. Instead of half a dozen of the wild dogs which he expected to +see following him, there were far above a score of them, and they +appealed to be of every age, sex, and size. In fact, all the dogs of +the valley were trooping at his heels, as if they had been all summoned +to join in the attack. + +But the stout shikarree was not yet dismayed. He had been accustomed to +hold the wild dogs in too great contempt to be so easily frightened, +even by such numbers of them, and he resolved to make another attempt to +drive them off. + +Leaning the beef, therefore, against a tree, he stooped down and groped +the ground, until he had again armed himself with pebbles as big as +paving-stones; and rushing some paces backward, he flung them with all +his might in the teeth of his tormentors. Several of the pebbles +happened to hit in the right place, and more than one of the dogs ran +howling away; but the fiercer and older ones scarce yielded their +ground, and only answered the assault by a fierce grinning and +jabbering, while their white teeth could be distinguished under the +moonlight set in angry menace. + +Upon the whole, Ossaroo gained but little by this new demonstration; and +as he reshouldered his load, he saw the dogs gathering thick as ever +behind him. + +Perhaps he would not have taken up his burden again, but an idea had +suddenly entered his mind; he had conceived a plan of getting rid of his +ugly followers. + +He knew that he was near the edge of the lake. He remembered that +between him and the hut there lay a long reach of water, where the lake +ran up into a sort of branch or bay. He knew that this bay, even at its +neck, was quite shallow and fordable. He had, in fact, waded across it +that very day in order to shorten the path. He was just then within a +hundred yards of the fording-place; and if the dogs contemplated +attacking him, he would be able to reach the water before they were +likely to begin their attack. He would take to the water, and that +would throw them off. With all their fierceness, they surely would not +follow him into it? + +Acting under this impression, he reshouldered his load and hurried +forward. He did not waste time to look about. He need not have looked +around to convince himself that he was still followed, for the thick +pattering of the feet, the snarling, and chattering, were behind him as +before. Every moment it sounded nearer and nearer, and at length when +Ossaroo arrived by the water's edge he fancied he could hear the +breathing of the brutes close to his very ankles. + +He made no halt, but dashed at once into the lake, and plunged wildly +across. The noise made by himself in wading knee-deep prevented him +from hearing other sounds; and he did not look to see whether he was +followed until he had climbed out on the opposite shore of the bay. +Then he paused and turned around. To his chagrin the whole pack were in +the water, crossing like hounds after a stag! Already they were half +over. They had no doubt hesitated a moment before taking to the water, +and this gave Ossaroo some advantage, else they would have landed as +soon as he. As it was, they would soon take up the distance. + +Ossaroo hesitated a moment as to whether he should abandon his burden, +and retreat towards the hut; but the thought of yielding to a pack of +wild dogs was too much for his hunter pride; and, wheeling suddenly into +the path, he hurried onward with his load. It was now but a short +distance to the hut. He had still hopes that he might reach it before +his pursuers would make up their minds to assail him. + +On he hastened, making his limbs do their best. Once more came the +pattering feet; once more the growling, and yelping, and jibbering of +the wild dogs from behind; once more their hot breathing seemed to be +felt close to his heels; and then, all at once, the quarter of yak-beef +appeared to increase in weight, and grow heavier and heavier, until it +came suddenly to the ground, pulling Ossaroo upon his back. Several of +the ravenous brutes had seized upon and dragged both burden and bearer +to the earth! + +But Ossaroo soon recovered his feet; and, seizing a large pole, that +fortunately lay near, commenced laying around him right and left, at the +same time making the woods echo with his yells. + +A terrible _melee_ ensued, the dogs showing fight, seizing the pole in +their teeth, and springing forward upon the hunter whenever an +opportunity offered. The latter, however, handled his _improvised_ +weapon so well, that for a long time he kept the whole pack at bay. + +He was growing very tired, and no doubt in a few minutes more would have +been obliged to succumb, when he, as well as the joint of yak-beef, +would soon have disappeared from the world; but, before this terrible +event could happen, the large spotted body of Fritz was seen rushing +into the midst of the crowd. Fritz was followed by his master, Karl, +armed with the double-barrelled gun, which soon opened fire, scattering +the wild pack like a flock of sheep, and laying out more than one of +their number at the feet of Ossaroo. + +The scene was soon over after the arrival of Karl and Fritz, and Ossaroo +was delivered from his peril; but if ever a follower of Brahma swore +vengeance against any living creature, Ossaroo did that very thing +against the wild dogs. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY ONE. + +OSSAROO'S REVENGE. + +So indignant was Ossaroo with these animals that he vowed he would not +lie down till he had taken wholesale revenge, and Karl and Caspar were +curious to know how he intended to take it. They knew the dogs would be +like enough to come round the hut during the night. Indeed, they heard +them yelping not far off at the moment; but for all that how were they +to be killed, for that was the sort of revenge the shikarree meditated +taking? It would never do to expend powder and shot on such worthless +animals; besides firing at them in the darkness would be a very +uncertain mode of killing even a single one of them. + +Did Ossaroo intend to sit up all night and shoot at them with his +arrows? The chances were he should not hit one; and from the way +Ossaroo talked he had made up his mind to a whole hetacomb! Certainly +he could not do it with his bow and arrows. How then was he going to +take the wholesale vengeance he had rowed? + +They knew of no sort of trap that could be arranged, whereby more than a +single dog might be captured; and it would take some time with such +weapons as they had to construct the rudest kind of trap. True, there +was the "dead-fall" that might be rigged up in a few minutes from logs +that lay near; but that could only fall once, crushing one victim, +unless Ossaroo sat up to rearrange it. Besides, the cunning dogs might +not go under it again, after one of their number had been immolated +before their eyes. + +Karl and Caspar could not conceive what plan Ossaroo intended to pursue; +but from experience they knew he had some one; and therefore they asked +him no questions, but watched his proceedings in silence. + +The first thing that Ossaroo did was to collect from the antelope all +the tendons or sinews that he could lay his fingers on. Some, also, he +obtained from the barking-deer, which Caspar had killed in the morning; +and others he took from the limbs of the yaks that had been brought home +in their skins. In a short while he had a goodly bunch of these tough +strings; which he first dried before the fire, and then twisted after +his own fashion into slender cords. In all he made more than a score of +them--Karl and Caspar of course acting under his directions, and lending +him all necessary help during the operation. These cords, neatly twined +and dried by the heat, now resembled strings of coarse catgut; and it +only remained for Ossaroo to knot and loop them, and form them into +snares. + +Of course Karl and Caspar now knew what Ossaroo purposed--to snare the +dogs of course. Yet how the snares were to be set, or how a wild dog +could be captured with a piece of catgut, was more than they could +comprehend. Surely, thought they, the dogs will gnaw such a string to +pieces in half a minute, and set themselves free again? So it would +have appeared, and so they would doubtless have done had the snares been +set for them in the ordinary manner. But Ossaroo had a plan of his own +for setting snares, and it was by this plan he intended to succeed in +capturing the dogs. + +The next thing Ossaroo did was to provide himself with an equal number +of stoutish thongs, which his knife and the numerous raw hides that lay +about soon enabled him to do. When these were all prepared, about +twenty small skewer-like rods were obtained from the bushes and +sharpened at one end. Then a like number of "griskins" were cut from +the antelope venison--it being esteemed of least value; and thus +provided, Ossaroo started forth to set his snares. + +Karl and Caspar of course accompanied him, the latter limping on one +leg, and carrying a large pine-torch--for as the moon had gone down, and +it was now quite dark, they required a light to do the work. Karl was +loaded with the thongs, skewers, and griskins, while Ossaroo himself was +in charge of the snares. + +Now it so happened that not far from the hut, and all around it, there +grew numbers of low trees, with long branches that extended horizontally +outward. They were a species of the _pyrus_, or mountain-ash, sometimes +known as "witch hazel." The branches, though long, were thin, tough, +and elastic, and not much burdened with either branchlets or leaves. +They were the very things for Ossaroo's purpose, and he had observed +this before it had become quite dark, and while he was meditating upon +some plan to get square with the wild dogs. Upon these branches he was +now to operate. + +Reaching up he caught one of them in his hand, drew it downwards, and +then suddenly let it go again, in order to try the "spring" of it. It +appeared to satisfy him; and, once more laying hold of it, he stripped +off its leaves and twigs, and then tied the rawhide thong to its upper +end. To the other end of the string was next adjusted the skewer-like +rod, and this last was fastened in the ground in such a way as to hold +the branch bent downward with considerable force, while a very slight +jerk upon the pin itself would set the former free. The shikarree now +arranged his piece of venison for a bait, fixing it so that it could not +possibly be dragged away or even slightly tugged without setting free +the rod-trigger, and consequently the bent branch. Last of all, was +arranged the snare, and this was placed in such a position with regard +to the bait, that any animal attempting to seize the latter must +necessarily have the whole or part of its body encircled by the ready +running noose. + +When all these matters were arranged to his satisfaction, Ossaroo +proceeded to another tree, and went through a similar process of +snare-setting; and then to another, and so on till the whole of his +snares were disposed of, when the party returned to the hut. + +They sat for half-an-hour longer, listening in hopes that before +retiring they might enjoy the sport of seeing a wild dog snared. +Whether it was that the torch-light had frightened them off for a while, +or from some other cause, neither yelp, nor growl, nor noise of any +kind, gratified the ears of the listeners; so they gave it up, and, +shutting the rude door of the hut, one and all of them went soundly to +sleep. + +The fact is, the day's work had been one of the hardest of their lives. +All were as tired as hod-carriers; and they were glad to stretch +themselves once more on the fragrant leaves of the rhododendrons. + +Had they not slept so soundly, they might have heard a considerable +confusion of noises throughout the night. What with barking and +growling, and yelping and howling, and snapping and snarling, and the +creaking of branches and the rattling of twigs, there was a constant +medley, that ought to have awakened the three sleepers long before +daylight. It did awake them, however, at last; and as the light +streamed through the apertures of the hut, all three sprang to their +feet and rushed out into the open air. It was still only grey light; +but as soon as they had rubbed their eyes clear of sleep, a sight was +before them that caused Karl and Caspar to break out into loud laughter, +while Ossaroo jumped about vociferating his delight in wild yells of +triumph. Nearly every snare they had set had caught its victim--nearly +every tree around the hut carried a dog swinging to its branches--some +by the neck hanged quite dead--some round the body alive and +struggling--while there were others suspended by a single leg, their +snouts almost touching the earth, and their tongues hanging from their +frothy jaws! + +It was the strangest of all scenes; and Ossaroo had, as he had vowed, a +full measure of vengeance--which he now carried to its completion, by +seizing his long spear, and putting an end to the struggles of the +hideous brutes. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY TWO. + +THE CREVASSE BRIDGED. + +Young reader, I shall not weary you by relating every little +circumstance which occurred during the time that the bridge was being +constructed. Suffice it to say, that all hands were busy,--both night +and day, I might almost say,--until it was finished. Although they were +in no want of any thing, and might have lived their lives out in this +place, yet the thought that they were imprisoned--cut off from all +fellowship with mankind--weighed heavily upon their spirits, and not an +hour was wasted in idle amusement. The whole of their time was given up +to that which engrossed all their thoughts--the construction of the +bridge--that link, which was wanting to unite them once more with the +world, and free them from their lonely captivity. + +They were a whole month in getting their bridge ready; which, after all, +consisted only of a single pole of about six inches in diameter, and +better than a hundred feet in length. It was nothing more than two +slender pine-trees spliced together by means of rawhide thongs. But +then these trees had to be shaved down to a nearly uniform thickness, +and this had to be done with the small hatchet and knives; and the wood +had to be charred by fire until it was quite dry and light; and the +splicing had to be made with the greatest neatness and strength, so that +there would be no danger of its yielding under a weight; and, moreover, +a great many ropes had to be twisted, and many animals had to be +captured and killed, to obtain the materials for these ropes; and other +apparatus had to be made--so that the getting that bridge ready was a +good month's work for all hands. + +At the end of a month it was ready; and now behold it in the gorge of +the glacier, and lying along the snowy surface of the ice, one end of it +within a few feet of the crevasse! Thither they have transported it, +and are just preparing to put it in its place. + +The first thought that will strike you, will be how that piece of timber +is to be placed across that yawning chasm. It is quite long enough to +reach across--for they calculated that before making it--and there are +several feet to lap over at each end; but how on earth is it to be +extended across? If any one of the party was upon the opposite side, +and had a rope attached to the end of the pole, then it would be easy +enough to manage it. But as there could be nothing of this kind, how +did they intend acting? It is evident they could not push it across +before them; the end of such a long pole would naturally sink below the +horizontal line before reaching the opposite side; and how was it to be +raised up? In fact, as soon as they should push it a little more than +half its length outward, its own weight would overbalance their united +strength, and it would be likely to escape from their hands and drop to +the bottom of the cleft--whence, of course, they could not recover it. +This would be a sad result, after the trouble they had had in +constructing that well-balanced piece of timber. + +Ah! they were not such simpletons as to have worked a whole month +without first having settled all these matters. Karl was too good an +engineer to have gone on thus far, without a proper design of how his +bridge was to be thrown across. If you look at the objects lying +around, you will perceive the evidence of that design. You will +understand how the difficulty is to be got over. + +You will see there a ladder nearly fifty feet in length--several days +were expended in the making of this; you will see a strong pulley, with +block-wheels and shears--this cost no little time in the construction; +and you will see several coils of stout rawhide rope. No wonder a month +was expended in the preparation of the bridge! + +And now to throw it across the chasm! For that purpose they were upon +the ground, and all their apparatus with them. Without farther delay +the work commenced. + +The ladder was placed against the cliff, with its lower end resting upon +the glacier, and as close to the edge of the crevasse as was reckoned +safe. + +We have said that the ladder was fifty feet in length; and consequently +it reached to a point on the face of the cliff nearly fifty feet above +the surface of the glacier. At this height there chanced to be a slight +flaw in the rock--a sort of seam in the granite--where a hole could +easily be pierced with an iron instrument. + +To make this hole a foot or more in depth was the work of an hour. It +was done by means of the hatchet, and the iron point of Ossaroo's +boar-spear. + +A strong wooden stake was next inserted into this hole, fitting it as +nearly as possible; but, in order to make it perfectly tight and firm, +hard wooden wedges were hammered in all around it. + +When driven home, the end of this stake protruded a foot or more from +the wall of the cliff; and, by means of notches cut in the wood, and +rawhide thongs, the pulley was securely rigged on to it. + +The pulley had been made with two wheels; each of them with axles strong +enough to bear the weight of several hundreds. Both had been well +tested before this time. + +Another stake was now inserted into the cliff, within a few feet of the +surface of the glacier. This was simply to be used as a belaying-pin, +to which the ends of the pulley-ropes could be fastened at a moment's +notice. + +The next operation was the reeving of the ropes over the wheels of the +pulley. This was the work of but a few minutes, as the ropes had +already been carefully twisted, and had been made of just the thickness +to fit the grooves of the wheels. + +The ropes--or cables, as the boys called them--were now attached at one +end to the great pole which was to form the bridge. One to its end, and +the other to its middle, exactly around the place where it was joined. + +The greatest pains was taken in adjusting these knots, particularly the +one in the middle; for the duty which this cable was called upon to +perform was, indeed, of a most important character. + +It was to act as the main pier or support of the bridge--not only to +prevent the long pole from "swagging" downward, but in fact to keep it +from breaking altogether. But for Karl's ingenuity in devising this +support, a slender pole, such as that they had prepared, would never +have sustained the weight of one of them; and had they made it of +heavier scantling, they could not have thrown it across the chasm. The +centre support, therefore, was the chief object of their solicitude; and +this cable, as well as the pulley-wheel over which it passed, were made +much stronger than the other. The second rope was intended to hold up +the end of the pole, so that, on approaching the opposite side of the +chasm, it could be kept high enough to be raised above the ice. + +The ropes being now completely rigged, each man took his place. +Ossaroo, who was the strongest of the party, was to push the bridge +forward; while Karl and Caspar attended to the pulley and the ropes. +Rollers had already been laid under the poles; for, although but six +inches in diameter, its great length rendered it no easy matter to slide +it forward, even with the advantage of the slippery surface of frozen +snow. + +The word was given by Karl, and the pole commenced moving. Soon its end +passed over the brink of the chasm, close by the edge of the black rock. +Slowly and gradually it moved forward, and not one of them uttered a +word. They were all too much absorbed in attending to their various +duties to speak a sentence. + +Slowly and gradually it moved onward, creeping along the cliff, like +some huge monster, and protruding its muzzled snout far over the deep +chasm. + +At length the nearest roller approached the brink, find it became +necessary to stop the motion till these could be rearranged. + +This was easily done. A few turns of the cables around the +belaying-pin, and all stood fast. The pulley-wheels worked admirably, +and the cables glided smoothly over the grooved blocks. + +The rollers were soon readjusted--the cables again freed from the pin, +and the bridge moved on. + +Slowly and gradually--slowly but smoothly and surely, it moved, until +its farther end rested upon the opposite cheek of the crevasse, lapping +the hard ice by several feet. Then the cables were held taut, and +securely fastened to the belaying-pin. The nearer end of the pole was +tied with other ropes--so that it could not possibly shift from its +place--and the yawning abyss was now spanned by a bridge! + +Not till then did the builders rest to look upon their work; and, as +they stood gazing upon the singular structure that was to restore them +to liberty and home, they could not restrain themselves, but gave vent +to their triumphant feelings in a loud huzzah! + + + +CHAPTER FORTY THREE. + +THE PASSAGE OF THE CREVASSE. + +I know you are smiling at this very poor substitute for a bridge, and +wondering how they who built it were going to cross upon it. Climbing a +Maypole would be nothing to such a feat. It may seem easy enough to +cling to a pole six inches in diameter, and even to "swarm" along it for +some yards, but when you come to talk of a hundred feet of such +progression, and that over a yawning chasm, the very sight of which is +enough to make the head giddy and the heart faint, then the thing +becomes a feat indeed. Had there been no other mode of getting over, +like enough our heroes would have endeavoured to cross in that way. + +Ossaroo, who had "swarmed" up the stem of many a bamboo and tall +palm-tree, would have thought nothing of it; but for Karl and Caspar, +who were not such climbers, it would have been rather perilous. They +had, therefore, designed a safer plan. + +Each was provided with a sort of yoke, formed out of a tough sapling +that had been sweated in the fire and then bent into a triangular shape. +It was a rude isosceles triangle, tied tightly at the apex with rawhide +thongs; and thereto was attached a piece of well-twisted rope, the +object of which was to form a knot or loop over the pole, to act as a +runner. The feet of the passenger were to rest on the base of the yoke, +which would serve as a stirrup to support the body, while one arm would +hug the pole, leaving the other free to push forward the runner by short +gradations. In this way each was to work himself across. Their guns, +and the few other things, were to be tightly strapped to their backs. +They had only those that were worth bringing along. As for Fritz, he +was not to be left behind, although the transporting him across had +offered for some time a serious difficulty. Ossaroo, however, had +removed the difficulty by proposing to tie the dog up in a skin and +strap him on his (Ossaroo's) own back, and thus carry him over. It +would be nothing to Ossaroo. + +In less than half-an-hour after the bridge was in its place, the three +were ready to cross. There they stood, each holding the odd-looking +stirrup in his hand, with his _impedimenta_ strapped securely on his +back. The head of Fritz, just showing above the shoulder of the +shikarree, while his body was shrouded in a piece of shaggy yak-skin, +presented a very ludicrous spectacle, and his countenance wore quite a +serio-comical expression. He seemed quite puzzled as to what was going +to be done with him. + +Ossaroo proposed crossing first; and then Caspar, brave as a lion, said +that he was the _lightest_, and _ought_ to go _first_. Karl would not +listen to either of them, Karl alleged that, as he was the builder of +the bridge, by all usage it was his place to make trial of it. Karl +being the Sahib of the party, and, of course, the man of most authority, +carried his point. + +Stepping cautiously to the point where the pole rested on the ice, he +looped the rawhide rope over it, and then suffered the yoke to drop +down. He then grasped the pole tightly in his arms, and placed his feet +firmly in the stirrup. For a moment or two, he pressed heavily upon the +latter, so as to test its strength, while he held on by the beam above; +and then, disengaging his left arm, he pushed the runner forward upon +the pole, to the distance of a foot or more. This, of course, carried +the stirrup along with it, as well as his feet; and then, throwing +forward the upper part of his body, he swung himself out above the +abyss. + +It was a fearful sight, even to those who watched him, and would have +been too perilous a feat for idle play; but the very nature of their +circumstances had hardened them to undergo the danger. + +After a time, Karl was far out from the ice, and seemed to hang upon a +thread between heaven and earth! + +Had the pole slipped at either end, it would have precipitated the +adventurous Karl into the chasm; but they had taken every precaution +against this. At the nearer end, they had rendered it secure by rolling +immense rocks upon it; while, on the opposite side, it was held in its +place by the cable, that had been drawn as tight as the pulley could +make it. + +Notwithstanding the mainstay in the middle, it sank considerably under +the weight of Karl's body; and it was plain that, but for this +contrivance, they could never have crossed. When half-way to the point +where this stay was attached, the pole bent far below the level of the +glacier, and Karl now found it up-hill work to force the runner along. +He succeeded, however, in reaching the stay-rope in safety. + +Now he had arrived at one of the "knottiest" points of the whole +performance. Of course, the runner could go no farther, as it was +intercepted by the stay. It was necessary, therefore, to detach it +altogether from the pole, and then readjust it on the other side of the +cable. + +Karl had not come thus far to be stopped by a difficulty of so trifling +a kind. He had already considered how he should act at this crisis, and +he delayed only a moment to rest himself. Aided by the mainstay itself, +which served him for a hand-rope, he mounted cross-legs upon the timber, +and then, without much trouble, shifted his runner to the opposite side. +This done, he once more "sprang to his stirrup," and continued onward. + +As he approached the opposite edge of the chasm, he again encountered +the up-hill difficulty; but a little patience and some extra exertion +brought him nearer and nearer, and still nearer, until at last his feet +kicked against the icy wall. + +With a slight effort, he drew himself upon the glacier; and, stepping a +pace from the brink, he pulled off his cap, and waved it in the air. A +huzza from the opposite side answered his own shout of triumph. But +louder still was the cheer, and far more heartfelt and joyous, when, +half-an-hour afterwards, all three stood side by side, and, safe over, +looked back upon the yawning gulf they had crossed! + +Only they who have escaped from some terrible doom--a dungeon, or death +itself--can understand the full, deep emotions of joy, that at that +moment thrilled within the hearts of Karl, Caspar, and Ossaroo. + +Alas! alas! it was a short-lived joy,--a moment of happiness to be +succeeded by the most poignant misery,--a gleam of light followed by the +darkest of clouds! + +Ten minutes had scarce elapsed. They had freed Fritz from his yak-skin +envelope, and had started down the glacier, impatient to get out of that +gloomy defile. Scarce five hundred steps had they taken, when a sight +came under their eyes that caused them suddenly to hall, and turn to +each other with blanched cheeks and looks of dread import. Not one of +them spoke a word, but all stood pointing significantly down the ravine. +Words were not needed. The thing spoke for itself. + +Another crevasse, far wider than the one they had just crossed, yawned +before them! It stretched from side to side of the icy mass; like the +former, impinging on either cliff. It was full two hundred feet in +width, and how deep. Ugh! they dared hardly look into its awful chasm! +It was clearly impassable. Even the dog appeared to be aware of this; +for he had stopped upon its edge, and stood in an attitude of fear, now +and then uttering a melancholy howl! + +Yes, it was impassable. A glance was sufficient to tell that; but they +were not satisfied with a glance. They stood upon its brink, and +regarded it for a long while, and with many a wistful gaze; then, with +slow steps and heavy hearts, they turned mechanically away. + +I shall not repeat their mournful conversation. I shall not detail the +incidents of their backward journey to the valley. I need not describe +the recrossing of the crevasse--the different feelings with which they +now accomplished this perilous feat. All these may be easily imagined. + +It was near night when, wearied in body and limb--downcast in mien and +sick at heart--they reached the hut, and flung themselves despairingly +upon the floor. + +"My God! my God!" exclaimed Karl, in the agony of his soul, "how long is +this hovel to be our home?" + + + +CHAPTER FORTY FOUR. + +NEW HOPES. + +That night was passed without much sleep. Painful reflections filled +the minds of all and kept them awake--the thoughts that follow +disappointed hopes. When they did sleep it was more painful than +waking. Their dreams were fearful. They dreamt of yawning gulfs and +steep precipices--of being suspended in the air, and every moment about +to fall into vast depths where they would be crushed to atoms. Their +dreams, that were only distorted pictures of the day's experience, had +all the vividness of reality, and far more vivid in their horror. Often +when one or other of them was awakened by the approaching climax of the +dream, he endeavoured to keep awake rather than go through even in a +vision such horrible scenes. + +Even the dog Fritz was not free from similar sufferings. His mournful +whimpering told that his sleep like theirs was troubled and uneasy. + +A bright sunshiny morning had its beneficial effect upon all of them. +It aided the reaction--consequent on a night of such a dismal +character--and as they ate their breakfasts of broiled meat they were +again almost cheerful. The buoyancy of Caspar's spirits had well-nigh +returned, and his fine appetite showed itself in full vigour. Indeed +all of them ate heartily, for on the preceding day they had scarce +allowed themselves time to taste food. + +"If we must remain here always," said Caspar, "I see no reason why we +need starve ourselves! There's plenty to eat, and a variety of it, I +can say. I don't see why we shouldn't have some fish. I am sure I have +seen trout leap in the lake. Let us try a fly to-day. What say you, +Karl?" + +Caspar said this with the intention of cheering his brother. + +"I see no harm in it," answered the quiet botanist. "I think there are +fish in the lake. I have heard there is a very eatable kind of fish in +all the rivers of the Himalayas, known as the `Himalayan trout'--though +it is misnamed, for it is not a trout but a species of carp. It may be +found here, I dare say; although it is difficult, to imagine how fish +could get into this sequestered lake." + +"Well," rejoined Caspar, "we must think of some plan to get them out of +it. We have neither nets, rods, hooks, nor lines. What's to be done? +Can you think of any way of taking the fish, Ossaroo?" + +"Ah! Sahib," replied the shikarree, "give me bamboo, me soon make net +to takee fish--no bamboo--no net--no matter for net--Ossaroo poison the +water--get all da fish." + +"What! poison the water? how would you do that? Where is the poison?" + +"Me soon find poison--bikh poison do." + +"`Bikh' poison--what is that?" + +"Come, Sahib! me show you bikh plant--plenty grow here." + +Both Karl and Caspar rose and followed the shikarree. + +They had not gone many paces when their guide stooped and pointed to a +plant that grew in plenty about the place. It was an herbaceous plant, +having a stem nearly six feet high, and rather broad digitate leaves, +with a loose spike of showy yellow flowers at the top. + +Caspar rather hastily took hold of one of the plants; and, plucking off +the spike, held it to his nose, to see whether the flowers had any +perfume. But Caspar dropped the nosegay as hastily as he had seized it, +and with an exclamation of terror turned towards his brother, into whose +arms he staggered half swooning! Fortunately he had taken but a very +slight "sniff" of that dangerous perfume, else he might have been laid +up for days. As it was he felt giddy for hours after. + +Now this singular plant the botanist Karl recognised at a glance. It +was a species of aconite, or wolf's-bane, and _very_ similar to the +kindred species, _Aconitum napellus_, or "monk's hood," of Europe, whose +roots furnish the most potent of poisons. + +The whole plant--leaves, flowers, and stem--is of a poisonous nature, +but the roots, which resemble small turnips, contain the essence of the +poison. There are many species of the plant found in different parts of +the world, and nearly a dozen kinds in the Himalaya Mountains +themselves; but the one pointed out by Ossaroo was the _Aconitum ferox_ +of botanists, the species from which the celebrated "bikh" poison of the +Hindoos is obtained. + +Ossaroo then proposed to poison the fish by throwing a sufficient +quantity of the roots and stems of the plant into the lake. + +This proposal, however, was rejected by Karl, who very properly +observed, that although by that means they might obtain a plentiful +supply of fish, they would destroy more than they could use at the time, +and perhaps leave none for the future. Karl had already begun to talk +about a "future" to be spent on the shores of this lovely lake. The +belief that they might never go out of the valley was already taking +shape in the minds of all three, though they did not care to give +expression to such sad imaginings. + +Karl tried to be cheerful, as he saw that Caspar was gay. + +"Come," said he, "let us not mind the fish to-day. I own that fish is +usually the first course, but go along with me. Let us see what kind of +vegetables our garden has got. I am sure we may live better if we only +try. For my part I am getting tired of broiled meat, and neither bread +nor vegetables to eat along with it. Here I dare say we shall find +both; for whether it be due to the birds, or its peculiar climate--or a +little to both most likely--our valley has a flora such as you can only +meet with in a botanic garden. Come then! let us see what we can find +for the pot." + +So saying Karl led the way, followed by Caspar, Ossaroo, and the +faithful Fritz. + +"Look up there!" said the botanist, pointing to a tall pine that grew +near. "See those large cones. Inside them we shall obtain seeds, as +large as pistachio-nuts, and very good to eat. By roasting them, we can +make an excellent substitute for bread." + +"Ha, indeed!" exclaimed Caspar, "that is a pine-tree. What large cones! +They are as big as artichokes. What sort of pine is it, brother?" + +"It is one of the kind known as the `edible pines,' because their seeds +are fit for food. It is the species called by botanists _Pinus +Gerardiana_, or the `neosa' pine. There are pines whose seeds are +eatable in other parts of the world, as well as in the Himalaya +Mountains,--for instance, the _Pinus cembra_ of Europe, the `ghik' of +Japan, the `Lambert' pine of California, and several species in New +Mexico, known among the people as `pinon' trees. So you perceive that +besides their valuable timber--to say nothing of their pitch, +turpentine, and resin--the family of the pines also furnishes food to +the human race. We shall get some bread from those cones whenever we +desire it!" + +So saying, Karl continued on in the direction of the lake. + +"There again!" said he, pointing to a gigantic herbaceous plant, +"rhubarb, you see!" + +It was, in fact, the true rhubarb, which grows wild among the Himalaya +Mountains, and whose great broad red-edged leaves, contrasting with its +tall pyramid of yellow bracts, render it one of the most striking and +beautiful of herbaceous plants. Its large acid stems--which are hollow +and full of pure water--are eaten by the natives of the Himalayas, both +raw and boiled, and its leaves when dried are smoked as tobacco. But +there was a smaller species that grew near, which Ossaroo said produced +much better tobacco; and Ossaroo was good authority, since he had +already dried some of the leaves, and had been smoking them ever since +their arrival in the valley. In fact, Ossaroo was quite out of +betel-nut, and suffered so much from the want of his favourite +stimulant, that he was glad to get any thing to smoke; and the "chula," +or wild rhubarb-leaves, answered his purpose well. Ossaroo's pipe was +an original one certainty; and he could construct one in a few minutes. +His plan was to thrust a piece of stick into the ground, passing it +underneath the surface--horizontally for a few inches, and then out +again--so as to form a double orifice to the hole. At one end of this +channel he would insert a small joint of reed for his mouth-piece, while +the other was filled with the rhubarb tobacco, which was then set on +fire. It was literally turning the earth into a tobacco-pipe! + +This method of smoking is by no means uncommon among the half-civilised +inhabitants of India as well as Africa, and Ossaroo preferred a pipe of +this kind to any other. + +Karl continued onward, pointing out to his companions several species of +edible roots, fruits, and vegetables which the valley contained. There +were wild leeks among the number. These would assist them in making +soup. There were fruits too,--several species of currants, and +cherries, and strawberries, and raspberries,--kinds that had long been +introduced to European gardens, and that to Karl and Caspar looked like +old acquaintances. + +"And there!" continued Karl, "see the very water produces food for us. +Look at the lotus, (_Nelumbium speciosum_). Those large pink and white +flowers are the flowers of the famed lotus. Its stalks may be eaten, +or, if you will, their hollow tubes will serve us as cups to drink, out +of. There, too, is the horned water root (_Trapa bicornis_), also +excellent eating. Oh! we should be thankful. We are well provided with +food." + +Yet the heart of Karl was sore while thus endeavouring to talk +cheerfully. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY FIVE. + +NEW SURVEY OF THE CLIFF. + +Yes, the hearts of all three were far from being contented, though they +returned to the hut laden with fruits, and roots, and nuts, and +vegetables; out of which they intended to concoct a better dinner than +they had been lately accustomed to. + +The rest of that day was spent about the hut, and a good deal of it was +given up to culinary operations. Not that any of the party cared so +much for a good dinner; but being thus engaged prevented them from +reflecting as much as they would otherwise have done upon their painful +situation. Besides, they had no other work to do. They had no longer a +motive for doing any thing. Up to that moment the preparing the ropes +and timbers of the bridge had kept them employed; and the very work +itself, combined with the hope which they then felt, enabled them to +pass the time pleasantly enough. Now that these hopes were no more,-- +that their whole scheme had ended in failure, they felt restless,--and +could think of nothing upon which to employ themselves. Preparing their +dinner, therefore, out of the new and varied materials that had come +into their hands, was, at least, some distraction to their gloomy +thoughts. + +When dinner was ready, all of them ate heartily, and with a relish. +Indeed, they had been so long without vegetables that these tasted to +them as fine as any they had ever eaten. Even the wild fruits appeared +equal to the best they had ever gathered from an orchard! + +It was a little after midday, as they were enjoying this dessert. They +were seated in the open air, in front of the hut, and Caspar was doing +most part of the talking, he was doing his best to be cheerful, and to +make his companions so as well. + +"They're the best strawberries I've eaten for a month," said he; "but I +think a trifle of sugar and a drop of cream would be an improvement. +What say you, Karl?" + +"It would," he replied, nodding assent. + +"We did wrong to kill all our cows," continued Caspar, with a +significant look at one of the yak-skins that lay near. + +"By-the-bye," said Karl, interrupting him, "I was just thinking of that. +If we are to stay here all our lives,--oh!" + +The painful reflection, again crossing Karl's mind, caused him to +exclaim as he did. He left his hypothetic sentence unfinished, and +relapsed into silence. + +Several days after this Karl left the hut, and, without telling his +intention to either of his companions, walked off in the direction of +the cliffs. Indeed, he had no very definite nor determined aim in so +doing; a sort of hopeless idea had come into his mind of making the +circuit of the valley, and once more surveying the precipice all round +it. + +Neither of the others offered to accompany him, nor did they question +him as to his object in setting out. Both had gone about business of +their own. Caspar had become engaged in making a wash-rod for his gun, +and Ossaroo a net to catch the large and beautiful fish that abounded in +the lake. Karl, therefore, was permitted to set forth alone. + +On reaching the precipice, he turned along its base, and walked slowly +forward, stopping every yard or two, and looking upward. Every foot-- +nay, I might say every inch, of the cliff did he scan with care,--even +with more care than he had hitherto done; though that would appear +hardly possible, for on the former occasions on which the three had +examined it, their reconnoissance had been most particular and _minute_. + +But a new idea had shadowed itself in the mind of Karl; and it was in +obedience to this, that he now proceeded with a fresh examination of the +precipitous enclosure that imprisoned them. It is true it was but a +sort of forlorn hope that he had conceived; but a forlorn hope was +better than no hope at all, and therefore Karl was determined to be +satisfied. + +The thought that had been forming in his mind was, that after all it +might be possible for them to _scale the cliff_. That they could not do +so by climbing he was already satisfied; as were all three. Of this +their former examinations had convinced them. But there were other ways +of getting up a precipice, besides merely climbing with one's hands and +feet; and one of these ways, as already said, had for some time been +shadowing itself in the mind of Karl. + +What plan, you will ask, had he now conceived? Did he design to make +use of ropes? + +Not at all. Ropes could be of no service to him in going up a cliff. +They might, had they been fastened at the top; for then both he and his +companions would soon have contrived some way of getting up the ropes. +They could have made a ladder of a single rope by which they might have +ascended, by simply knotting pieces of sticks at short intervals, to +serve as rests for their feet, and they knew this well. Such a +contrivance would have suited admirably, if they had been required to +_descend_ a precipice, for then they could have let the rope down, and +fastened it at the top themselves. But to go up was altogether a +different operation; and it was necessary for at least one to be above +to render it at all practicable or possible. Of course, if one could +have got to the top by any means, the others could have done so by the +same; and then the rope-ladder would not have been needed at all. + +No. Such a contrivance could not be used, and indeed they had never +thought of it--since to the meanest comprehension it was plainly +impossible. Karl therefore was not thinking of a rope-ladder. + +Nevertheless it was actually about a _ladder_ that he was thinking--not +made of ropes, but of timber--of sides and rounds like any other ladder. + +"What!" you will exclaim, "a ladder by which to scale the cliff! Why, +you have told us that it was three hundred feet in sheer height? The +longest ladder in the world would not reach a third of the way up such a +precipice. Even a fireman's ladder, that is made to reach to the tops +of the highest houses, would be of no use for such a height as that?" + +"Quite true! I know all that as well as you," would have been Karl's +reply to your objections. + +"What, then, Master Karl? Do you design to make a ladder that will be +taller than all we have ever seen--tall enough to reach to the top of a +precipice three hundred feet high? We know you have both energy and +perseverance; and, after witnessing the way that you worked at the +building of your bridge, and the skill with which you built it, we are +ready to believe that you can accomplish a very great feat in the +joiner's line; but that _you_ can make a ladder three hundred feet in +length, we are not prepared to believe--not if you had a whole chest of +tools and the best timber in the world. We know you might put a ladder +together ever so long, but would it hold together? or even if it did, +how could you set it up against the cliff? Never. Three of the +strongest men could not do it,--nor six neither,--nor a dozen, without +machinery to assist them; therefore scaling the cliff by means of a +wooden ladder is plainly impracticable; and if that be your idea, you +may as well abandon it." + +"Quite true, I know all this as well as you," would have been Karl's +reply; "but I had no idea of being able to scale the cliff by means of a +ladder. It was not of _a ladder_, but of _ladders_, I was thinking." + +"Ha! there may be something in that." + +Karl knew well enough that no single ladder could be made of sufficient +length and strength to have reached from the bottom to the top of that +great wall; or if such could be constructed, he knew equally well that +it would be impossible to set it up. + +But the idea that had been forming in his mind was, that several ladders +might effect the purpose--one placed above another, and each one resting +upon a _ledge of the cliff_, to which the one next below should enable +them to ascend. + +In this idea there was really some shadow of practicability, though, as +I have said, it was but a very forlorn hope. The amount of its +practicableness depended upon the existence of the _ledges_; and it was +to ascertain this that Karl had set forth. + +If such ledges could be found, the hope would no longer have been +forlorn. Karl believed that with time and energy the ladders might be +constructed, notwithstanding the poor stock of carpenter's tools at +their service; though he had scarce yet thought of how the holes were to +be made to receive the rounds, or how the ladders themselves might be +set upon the ledges, or any other detail of the plan. He was too eager +to be satisfied about the first and most important point--whether there +were ledges that would answer the purpose? + +With his eyes, therefore, keenly scanning the face of the cliff, he kept +on along its base, walking slowly, and in silence. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY SIX. + +KARL CLIMBS THE LEDGE. + +He continued on until he had reached that end of the valley most remote +from the hut, and along the whole of the cliffs that he passed his +reconnoissance had been fruitless. He saw many ledges, and some of +considerable width--quite wide enough to rest a ladder upon, and also +allow it a proper lean to the wall. Some were higher and some lower; +but unfortunately they were not above one another, as Karl desired to +find them. On the contrary, they were far apart--so that if one of them +could have been reached by means of a ladder, as many of them might, +this would in no way facilitate communication with the one that was +higher up. + +Of course then, for Karl's purpose, these ledges were of no avail; and, +after observing their relative situations, he passed on with looks of +disappointment. At the farthest end of the valley--that is, the place +farthest from the hut--there was a little bay, or indentation, in the +cliffs. As already stated, there were several of these at intervals +around the valley, but the one in question was the largest of any. It +was very narrow, only a few yards in width, and about a hundred in +depth--that is, a hundred yards from the line, which indicated the +general outline of the valley, to the apex of the angle where the +indentation ended. Its bottom was nearly upon the same level with that +of the valley itself, though it was raised a little higher in some +places by loose rocks, and other _debris_ that had fallen from the +impending cliffs. + +Karl had entered this bay, and was regarding its cliffs all around with +intense eagerness of glance. Any one who could have seen him at that +moment would have observed that his countenance was brightening as he +gazed; and that pleasant thoughts were springing up within his bosom. +Any one who had seen that face but the moment before, and had looked +upon it now, could not fail to have noticed the change that had so +suddenly come over it--a perfect contrast in its expression. What had +produced this metamorphosis? Something of importance, I warrant; for +the young botanist, naturally of a sober turn, but now more than ever +so, was not given to sudden transitions of feeling. What, then, was the +cause of his joy? + +A glance at the cliff will answer these interrogatories. + +At the first glance it might be noted that that part of the precipice +surrounding the bay--or ravine, as it might more properly be called--was +lower than elsewhere,--perhaps not quite three hundred feet in height. +It was not this peculiarity, however, at which Karl was rejoicing. A +ladder of three hundred feet was not to be thought of any more than one +of three thousand. It was that he had just observed upon the face of +the cliff a series of ledges that rose, shelf-like, one above the other. +The rock had a seamed or stratified appearance, although it was a +species of granite; but the strata were not by any means regular, and +the ledges were at unequal distances from each other. Some, too, were +broader than the rest, and some appeared very narrow indeed; but many of +them were evidently of sufficient width to form the stepping-place for a +ladder. The lower ones especially appeared as though they might easily +be scaled by a series of ladders, each from twenty to thirty feet +long,--but with regard to those near the top, Karl had great doubts. +The shelves did not seem more distant from each other than those below, +but their horizontal breadth appeared less. This might possibly be an +optical delusion, caused by the greater distance from which they were +viewed; but if so, it would not much mend the matter for the design +which Karl had in view--since the deception that would have given him an +advantage in the breadth would have been against him in the height, +making the latter too great, perhaps, for any ladder that could be got +up. + +If you have ever stood by the bottom of a great precipice, you may have +noticed how difficult it is to judge of the dimensions of an object far +up its face. A ledge several feet in width will appear as a mere seam +in the rock, and a bird or other creature that may be seen upon it, +will, to the eyes of the beholder, be reduced far below its real bulk. +Karl was philosopher enough to understand these things, he had studied +in an elementary way, the laws of optics, and therefore was not going to +come to conclusions too hastily. + +In order the better to form judgment about the breadth of the ledges, +and the height of the respective intervals between them, he stepped back +as far as the ground would permit him. + +Unfortunately this was not far, for the cliff on the other side, as +already stated, was but a few paces distant. Consequently he was soon +stopped by the rocks, and his situation for viewing the upper portion of +the cliff was anything but an advantageous one. + +He scrambled up one of the highest boulders, and took his survey from +its top, but he was still not satisfied with his "point of view." He +saw, however, that it was the best he could obtain; and he remained for +a good while upon his perch--with eyes bent upon the opposing precipice, +now fixed upon a particular spot, and now wandering in one long sweep +from bottom to top, and back again from top to bottom. + +During this operation the expression upon his face once more changed to +one of deep gloom, for he had discovered an obstacle to his designs that +appeared insurmountable. One of the spaces between two of the ledges +was too great to be spanned by a ladder, and this, too, was high up the +cliff. It could never be scaled! + +He noticed that the first ledge from the bottom was about half as high +from the ground as this one was from that immediately below it. + +Hitherto he had been but guessing at the height; but it now occurred to +him that he should throw conjecture aside, and ascertain by actual +measurement the distance from the ground to the first ledge. This might +be easily accomplished--Karl saw that,--and once done, it would give him +a better idea of the distance between the ledges high up. + +It has been stated that the measurement could be easily made, and that +Karl knew this; but how? The ledge appeared to be full forty feet from +the ground, and how was it to be reached by a measuring rule? But Karl +had no measuring rule; and it was not in that way he intended to go +about it. + +You will be conjecturing that he looked out for a tall sapling, of +sufficient length to reach the ledge, and then afterwards ascertained +the number of feet and inches of the sapling. Certainly this mode would +have done well enough, and Karl would very likely have made use of it, +had not an easier offered itself--or one that at the moment appeared +readier to him. He could have told the height by triangulation, but +that would also have involved the procuring of a sapling--and some +tedious calculation besides, which would have required time, with not +the most certain results either. + +Both these plans had occupied his thoughts for a while. The first was +rejected on account of the difficulty of obtaining a rod of sufficient +length,--the second was set aside by Karl just then perceiving that +without much difficulty, he might climb up to the ledge itself. There +was a portion of the rock below with a slanting face, and here and there +some broken hollows and jutting points that would serve him as +foot-holds. + +Once upon the ledge, the measurement would be simple enough. It would +be only to let down a string with a small stone at the end, like a +plumber's line; and then mark how much string it required to reach the +ground. + +He chanced to have about him a longish piece of rawhide thong, that +would serve admirably, and to carry out his purpose, he at once +determined upon ascending to the ledge. + +Drawing the thong from his pocket, and attaching to one end of it the +piece of stone, he approached the cliff, and commenced scrambling +upward. + +He found it a more difficult task than it had appeared, and it was just +as much as he could do to reach the ledge in safety. Had it been +Caspar, the climbing would have been a mere bagatelle, used, as the +young hunter had been, to the precipices of the Alps while following the +rock-loving chamois. + +But Karl was no great hand at such gymnastic exercises; and he was all +out of breath, and a little bit frightened at his rashness, before he +had placed himself safely on the shelf. + +Stepping along it, therefore, till he reached a point where the cliff +below was vertical, he dropped his stone and line, and soon completed +his measurement. Alas! it proved to be far higher than he had +conjectured in viewing it from below. His spirits fell as he +contemplated the result. He was now certain that the space higher up +could not be spanned by any ladder they might be able to construct. + +With sad heart, he returned to the place where he had made the ascent, +intending to go down again. But it is sometimes easier to say go down +than to do it; and to Karl's great consternation he saw at the first +glance that he could no more go down than fly upward into the air. +Beyond a doubt he was in a fix; regularly "nailed" upon the cliff. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN. + +KARL IN A FIX. + +It is not difficult to comprehend the reason. Any one who has ever +climbed up a steep ascent,--such as a piece of wall, the mast of a ship, +or even an ordinary ladder,--will have noticed that the going up, is +much easier than the getting down again; and where the ascent is very +steep and difficult, it is quite possible that a person may make their +way to the top, without being able to get back to the bottom. The +difficulty of descending is much greater than that of ascending. In the +latter, you can see where you are to set your feet, and also what you +are to take hold of with your hands; whereas, in the former you have not +this advantage; but must grope your way downward, and are therefore +continually exposed to the danger of missing your footing, and being +precipitated to the bottom. + +This was just the situation in which the plant-hunter found himself. It +was as much as he had been able to pull himself up; it was more than he +could do to let himself down again; this he perceived at a single +glance. + +It is true that the rock slanted a little, and he had clearly seen this +from below. Now that he looked at it from above, he could scarcely +perceive any slant. It appeared almost vertical, and it was full forty +feet to the bottom; a fearful height when viewed from above; he wondered +how he had been able to climb up at all, and he was now vexed with +himself for having been so rash and foolish. + +But he could not stay there all night. Something must be done, to free +him from his unpleasant situation; and, gathering resolution, he made an +attempt to descend. + +He knelt down upon the ledge, with his face turned toward the cliff and +his back outwards. Then, grasping the rock, in his hands, he allowed +his feet to slip over. He succeeded in finding the uppermost steps, but +then came the difficulty. He dared not let go with his hands, so as to +get another step downward; and, on lowering his feet to feel for a fresh +foothold, he could not discover any. Repeatedly he ran his toes over +the face of the rock, groping for a notch or jutting point, but he could +find nothing upon which to rest either foot, and he was at length +obliged to draw them up, and place himself back upon the ledge. + +He now bethought him that there might be a better place for making the +descent; and, rising to his feet, he proceeded to search for it. He had +no difficulty in passing along the ledge; it was several feet in width, +and he could walk erect upon it without danger. It extended for nearly +fifty yards along the face of the cliff, and was of nearly equal breadth +all the way. + +Karl proceeded along it from one end to the other, at every step or two +stopping and looking downward. + +But his examination ended in disappointment. There was no path leading +from it, at all practicable for any other creature than a cat, or some +other animal with crooked claws,--at all events, there was no place +where Karl himself could get down,--and he turned to go back to the +point where he had ascended, with a feeling of apprehension that he was +not going to get down at all! + +On proceeding along the ledge, he had not yet bent his eyes upon the +cliff that rose behind,--his attention being altogether occupied with +the part that lay below; on going back, however, his eye ranged more +freely, and he now noticed a dark hole in the rock, a few feet above the +level of the ledge. This hole was about as big as an ordinary doorway, +and upon closer examination, Karl perceived that it was the mouth of a +cave. He noticed, moreover, that it appeared to grow wider beyond the +entrance, and was no doubt a cavern of large dimensions. He had no +further curiosity in relation to it; only that the reflection crossed +his mind that he might be compelled to pass the night there. This was +probable enough; unless, indeed, Ossaroo or Caspar should come in search +of him before nightfall, and relieve him from his elevated prison. But +it was just as likely they might not; for frequently one of the party +was out for hours together, without causing any uneasiness to the rest, +and it would be after night before they would feel any apprehension +about his absence. In the darkness, too, they might go in the wrong +direction to search for him, and might wander about through the woods a +long time before coming near the place where he was. He was in the very +farthest corner of the valley, and shut up in the ravine, with rocks and +high woods between him and them; and thus his shouts could not be heard +at any great distance. + +These were the reflections that passed through his mind, as he returned +along the ledge to the point where he had climbed up. He did not enter +the cave to examine it--as he would certainly have done under other +circumstances--but his curiosity was now controlled by the apprehension +he very naturally felt in the dilemma in which he was placed. + +That he could do nothing to free himself from it was clear enough to his +mind. He must wait, therefore, until either Caspar came, or Ossaroo, or +both; and, summoning all his patience, he sat down upon the ledge and +waited. + +Of course, he did not wait in silence. He had the sense to know, that +if he kept silent they might not find him at all; and therefore, at +short intervals, he rose to his feet, and shouted at the top of his +voice, causing the cliffs to reverberate in numberless echoes. + +The echoes, however, were the only replies he received. Loud as were +his cries, they were not heard either by Caspar or Ossaroo. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT. + +THE TIBET BEAR. + +For full two hours sat Karl, chewing the cud of impatience. As yet the +feeling he experienced was only one of impatience, mingled with a +considerable amount of chagrin at being in such a scrape, and having got +himself into it in so simple a manner. He had no very painful +apprehensions about the result--since he made quite sure that his +companions would come to his relief in the end. They might not find him +that day, or that night, and he might have to remain all night upon the +ledge. This, however, would be no great hardship. He might suffer a +little from want of his supper, and he might have to sleep in the cave, +but what of that to one so inured to hunger, and to sleeping in the open +air, as he was? Even had there been no shelter, he could have stretched +himself along the ledge, and slept that way without much minding it. +Certainly in the morning the others would be after him, his shouts would +guide them to the spot, and then it would be all right again. + +Such was the reasoning of Karl, and therefore, knowing that he had but +little to fear, he was not acutely anxious. + +While he was thus comfortably communing with himself, however, his eyes +rested upon an object that rendered him anxious enough--nay, more than +anxious--badly frightened, would be nearer the words. + +His ears first guided him to this new cause of alarm. While sitting on +the ledge, and not saying a word, he heard a sound that resembled the +snort of a jackass, just as one commences to bray. + +There were some bushes growing at no great distance from the bottom of +the cliff, and it was from the midst of these bushes the sound appeared +to proceed. + +After hearing the snort, Karl kept both eyes and ears acutely bent--the +former fixed upon the bushes; and in a minute after, the sound was +repeated, though he did not see the creature that uttered it. He saw, +however, by the motion of the twigs, that something was passing through +the thicket; and the loud snapping of dead sticks, and crackling of +branches, proved that it was an animal of great weight and dimensions. + +Karl was not long in doubt as to the dimensions; for the instant after +he beheld the body of a large beast emerging from the thicket, and +moving out into the open ground. + +It required no skill to tell what sort of animal it was--a bear beyond +the probability of a doubt--and yet it was of a species that Karl had +never before seen. But there is such a similitude between the members +of the Bruin tribe, that he who has ever seen one--and who has not?-- +will easily recognise all the rest of the family. + +The one which now presented itself to the observation of our +plant-hunter, was of medium size--that is, less than the great polar +bear, or the "grizzly" of the Rocky Mountains, but larger than the +Bornean species, or the sun-bear of the Malays. It was scarce so large +as the singular sloth-bear, which they had encountered near the foot of +the mountains, and with which they had had such a ludicrous adventure. +It was but little less, however, than the "sloth," and, like it, was of +a deep black colour, though its hair was neither so long nor shaggy. +Like the latter, too, its under lip was whitish, with a white mark on +its throat resembling a Y--the stem of the letter being placed upon the +middle of its breast, and the fork passing up in front of the +shoulders--for this is a mark which belongs to several species of +Southern Asiatic bears. In other respects the bear in question was +peculiar. It had a neck remarkably thick; a flattened head, with the +forehead and muzzle forming almost a straight line--and on this account +distinguishing it from the sloth-bear, in which the forehead rises +almost abruptly from the line of the muzzle. Its ears were of large +size--its body compact, supported on stout but clumsy limbs--and its +feet armed with claws of moderate dimensions, and blunted at their +points. Such were the markings of the bear now before the eyes of Karl; +and although he had never seen one of the kind before, he had read of +one; and by these peculiarities he was able to recognise the species. +It was the Tibet bear (_Ursus Tibetanus_)--more commonly styled by +closet-naturalists _Helarctos Tibetanus_--one of the bears that inhabit +the high table-lands of Tibet, and is supposed to range through the +whole of the Upper Himalayas, since it has been found in Nepaul and +elsewhere. + +I have said that Karl was badly frightened with this black apparition. +This was at the first sight of it, as it came out of the bushes; and, +indeed, it is not at all surprising that he was so. There is no one,-- +not even a bear-hunter himself,--who can encounter a bear upon the +bear's own ground without feeling a little trembling of the nerves; but +when it is remembered that Karl was quite unarmed--for he had left his +gun at the bottom of the cliff--it will not be wondered at, that the +appearance of the bear caused him alarm. + +His fright, however, was of short duration; and for two reasons. First, +he remembered having read that this species of bear is of a harmless +disposition; that it is not carnivorous, but feeds only on fruits, and +in no instance has it been known to attack man unless when wounded or +assailed. Then, of course, it will defend itself, as many animals will +do that are otherwise gentle and harmless. + +Another reason why he soon got over his fright was, that he chanced to +be in such a position that it was not likely the bear would attempt to +come near him. He was quite out of its way; and if he only kept +silent--which he would be careful to do--the animal might not even look +in that direction, but go off again without perceiving him. In hope +that such would be the result, Karl sat without stirring, and kept as +quiet as a mouse. + +But Karl chanced to be building his hopes on a false foundation. The +bear had no notion of going off as it had come--it had other designs +altogether; and, after shuffling about over the stones--now and then +uttering the same asinine snort that had first called attention to it-- +it marched straight forward to the cliff, just under the spot where Karl +was seated. Then, rearing its body erect, and placing its fore-paws +against the rock, it looked up into the face of the astonished +plant-hunter! + + + +CHAPTER FORTY NINE. + +AN AWKWARD DESCENT. + +It is probable that the bear at this moment was quite as much astonished +as Karl, though perhaps not so badly scared. It must have felt alarm +though, for on seeing him it permitted its paws to drop suddenly to the +ground, and appeared for a moment undecided as to whether it should turn +tail and run back into the thicket. It did actually make a turn or two, +growling and looking up; and then, as if it had got over its surprise, +and was no longer afraid, it once more approached the cliff, and planted +itself to spring upward. + +On first perceiving the bear, Karl had been seated upon the ledge, just +above the path by which he had climbed up, and it was by this path that +the animal was threatening to ascend. On perceiving its intention, Karl +sprang to his feet, and set to dancing about on the ledge, uncertain +what to do, or whither to flee. + +As to opposing the ascent of the bear, he did not think of such a thing. +He had no weapons,--not even a knife; and had he attempted to wrestle +with it, trusting to his strength alone, he very well knew that the +struggle would end either by his being hugged to death in the arms of +the great brute, or pushed off the ledge and crushed to atoms in the +fall. He had no idea, therefore, of standing on the defence--he thought +only of retreating. + +But how was he to retreat? whither was he to run? It would be of little +use going along the ledge, since the bear could easily follow him; and +if the animal meant to attack him, he might as well keep his ground and +receive the assault where he stood. + +Karl was still hesitating what to do, and the bear had commenced +crawling up, when he chanced to remember the cave. This suggested an +idea. Perhaps he might conceal himself in the cave? + +He had no time to consider whether or not this would be a prudent step. +If he hesitated any longer, the great black brute would lay hold of him +to a certainty; and therefore, without reflecting another moment, he ran +off along the ledge. + +On arriving opposite the cave, he turned into it; and, groping his way +for a pace or two, squatted down near the entrance. + +Fortunately for him he had, upon entering, kept well to one side before +he squatted. He had done so, in order to place himself under the +darkness. Had he remained in the central part of the "entrance-hall," +he would either have been run over by the bear, or gripped between its +huge paws, before he could have pronounced those two famous words, "Jack +Robinson." As it was, he had scarcely crouched down, when the bear +entered, still snorting and growling, and rushed past him up the cave. +It made no stop near the entrance, but kept right on, until, from the +noises it continued to make, Karl could tell that it had gone a good way +into the interior of the cavern. + +It was now a question with the plant-hunter what course he should +follow--whether remain where he was, or pop out again upon the ledge? + +Certainly his present situation afforded him no security. Should the +bear return to the attack, he could not expect it to pass without +perceiving him. He knew that these animals can see in a very obscure +light--almost in the midst of darkness; and therefore he would be seen, +or if not seen, he would be scented, which was equally as bad. + +It was no use, then, remaining inside; and although he might be no safer +outside, he determined to go thither. At all events, he would have +light around him, and could see his antagonist before being attacked; +while the thought of being assailed in the cave, and hugged to death by +an unseen enemy in the darkness, had something awful and horrible in it. +If he were to be destroyed in this way, neither Caspar nor Ossaroo +might ever know what had become of him--his bones might lie in that dark +cavern never to be discovered by human eyes: it was a fearful +apprehension! + +Karl could not bear it; and, rising half erect, he rushed out into the +light. + +He did not pause by the entrance of the cave, but ran back along the +shelf to the point where the path led up. Here he stopped, and for +several minutes stood--now looking anxiously back towards the cavern's +mouth, and now as anxiously casting his glances down the giddy path that +conducted to the bottom of the cliff. + +Had Karl known the true disposition of the Tibet bear, or the design of +the particular one he had thus encountered, he would not have been so +badly frightened. In truth, the bear was as much disinclined to an +encounter as he, at a loss, no doubt, to make out the character of its +adversary. It was probable that Karl himself was the first human biped +the animal had ever set eyes on; and, not knowing the strength of such a +strange creature, it was willing enough to give him a wide berth, +provided he would reciprocate the civility! + +The bear, in fact, was only rushing to its cave; perhaps to join its +mate there, or defend its cubs, which it believed to be in danger, and +had no idea whatever of molesting the plant-hunter, as it afterwards +proved. + +But Karl could not know this, and did not know it. He fancied all the +while that the bear was in pursuit of him; that, to attack him, it had +sprung up to the ledge; and that it had rushed past him into the cave, +thinking he had gone far in; that, as soon as it should reach the +interior, and find he was no longer there, it would come rushing out +again, and then-- + +It is well-known that one danger makes another seem less, and that +despair will often lend courage to cowards. + +Karl was no coward, although in calm blood the descent of the cliff had +cowed him. But now that his blood was up, the danger of the descent +appeared less; and, partly inspired by this belief, and partly urged on +by the fear of Bruin reissuing from the cave, he determined once more to +attempt it. + +In an instant he was on his knees, and letting himself over the edge of +the rock. + +For the first length of himself, he succeeded beyond his expectations, +having found the steps below readily enough. He was gaining confidence, +and the belief that it would be all right yet, and that, in a few +seconds more, he would be at the bottom, where he could soon escape from +the bear by taking to a tree, or defend himself with his gun, which was +lying, ready loaded, on the ground. All the while, he kept his face +upward, except during the moments when it was necessary to glance below, +to discover the position of the steps. + +No wonder he looked upward, with eyes full of anxiety. Should the bear +attack him now, a terrible fate would be his! + +Still there were no signs of the animal, and Karl was gradually getting +lower and lower in his descent. + +He was yet scarce half-way down, and full twenty feet were between his +heels and the ground, when he arrived at a point where he could find no +resting-place for his feet. He had found one upon a knob of rock; but +unfortunately it proved brittle and gave way, leaving him without any +thing broad enough to rest even his toe upon. He had already shifted +his hold with the hands; and was, therefore, compelled to support the +whole weight of his body by the strength of his arms! + +This was a terrible situation; and unless he could immediately get a +rest for his feet, he must fall to the bottom of the cliff! + +He struggled manfully; he spread out his toes as far as he could reach, +feeling the rock on both sides. + +Its face appeared smooth as glass; there was nothing that offered +foothold; he believed that he was lost! + +He tried to reach the notches above him; first with one hand, then with +the other. He could just touch, but not grasp them; he could not go up +again; he believed that he was lost! + +His arms were dragged nearly out of joint; his strength was fast going; +he believed that he was lost! + +Still he struggled on, with the tenacity by which youth clings to life; +he hung on, though certain that every moment would be his last. + +He heard voices from below--shouts of encouragement--cries of "Hold on, +Karl! Hold on!" + +He knew the voices, and who uttered them. They had come too late; a +weak scream was all the answer he could make. + +It was the last effort of his strength. Simultaneous with its +utterance, his hands relaxed their hold, and he fell backward from the +cliff! + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY. + +A MYSTERIOUS MONSTER. + +Karl, poor fellow! was killed, of course; crushed to death upon the +rocks; mangled-- + +Stay--not so fast, reader! Karl was not killed; not even hurt! He was +no more damaged by his tall, than if he had only tumbled from a chair, +or rolled from a fashionable couch upon the carpet of a drawing-room! + +How could this be? you will exclaim. A fall of sheer twenty feet, and +upon loose rocks, too! How could he escape being killed, or, at the +very least, badly bruised and cut? + +But there was neither bruise nor scratch upon his body; and, the moment +after he had relinquished his hold, he might have been seen standing by +the bottom of the cliff, sound in limb, though sadly out of wind, and +with his strength altogether exhausted. + +Let us have no mystery about the matter. I shall at once tell you how +he escaped. + +Caspar and Ossaroo, having expected him to return at an early hour, took +it into their heads, from his long absence, that something might be +wrong; and, therefore, sallied forth in search of him. They might not +have found him so readily but for Fritz. The dog had guided them on his +trail, so that no time had been lost in scouring the valley. On the +contrary, they had come almost direct from the hut to the ravine where +he was found. + +They had arrived just at the crisis when Karl was making his last +attempt to descend from the ledge. They had shouted to him, when first +coming within hail; but Karl, intently occupied with the difficulty of +the descent, and his anxiety about the bear, had not heard them. It was +just at that moment that he lost his foothold, and Caspar and Ossaroo +saw him sprawling helplessly against the cliff. + +Caspar's quick wit suggested what was best to be done. Both he and +Ossaroo ran underneath, and held up their arms to catch Karl as he fell; +but Ossaroo chanced to have a large skin-robe around his shoulders, and, +at Caspar's prompt suggestion, this was hurriedly spread out, and held +between the two, high above their heads. It was while adjusting this, +that Karl had heard them crying out to him to "hold on." Just as the +robe was hoisted into its place, Karl had fallen plump down into the +middle of it; and although his weight brought all three of them together +to the ground, yet they scrambled to their feet again without receiving +the slightest injury. + +"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Caspar, "just in the nick of time! Ha! ha! ha!" + +Of course there followed a good deal of rejoicing and congratulation +upon this narrow escape. Narrow it certainly was, for had not Caspar +and Ossaroo arrived in the "nick of time," as Caspar expressed it, and +acted as promptly as they had, poor Karl would never have lived to thank +them. + +"Well," said Caspar, "I think I may call this one of my lucky days; and +yet I don't know about that, since it has come so near being fatal to +both my companions." + +"Both?" inquired Karl, with some surprise. + +"Indeed, yes, brother," answered Caspar. "Yours is the second life I've +had a hand in saving to-day." + +"What! has Ossaroo been in danger, _too_? Ha! he is quite wet--every +rag upon his body!" said Karl, approaching the shikarree, and laying +hand upon his garments. "Why, so are you, Caspar,--dripping wet, I +declare! How is this? You've been in the lake? Have you been in +danger of drowning?" + +"Why, yes," replied Caspar. "Ossy has." (Caspar frequently used this +diminutive for Ossaroo.) "I might say worse than drowning. Our comrade +has been near a worse fate--that of being _swallowed up_!" + +"Swallowed up!" exclaimed Karl, in astonishment. "Swallowed up! What +mean you, brother?" + +"I mean just what I have said--that Ossaroo has been in great danger of +being swallowed up,--body, bones, and all,--so that we would never have +found a trace of him!" + +"Oh! Caspar, you must be jesting with me;--there are no whales in the +lake to make a Jonah of our poor shikarree; nor sharks neither, nor any +sort of fish big enough to bolt a full-grown man. What, then, can you +mean?" + +"In truth, brother, I am quite serious. We have been very near losing +our comrade,--almost as near as he and I have been of losing you; so +that, you see, there has been a double chance against your life; for if +Ossaroo had not been saved, neither he nor I would have been here in +time to lend you a hand, and both of you in that ease would have +perished. What danger have I been in of losing both? and then what +would have been my forlorn fate? Ah! I cannot call it a lucky day, +after all. A day of perils--even when one has the good fortune to +escape them--is never a pleasant one to be remembered. No--I shudder +when I think of the chances of this day!" + +"But come, Caspar!" interposed the botanist, "explain yourself! Tell me +what has happened to get both of you so saturated with water. Who or +what came so near swallowing Ossaroo? Was it fish, flesh, or fowl?" + +"A fish, I should think," added Karl, in a jocular way, "judging from +the element in which the adventure occurred. Certainly from the +appearance of both of you it must have been in the water, and under the +water too? Most undoubtedly a fish! Come, then, brother! let us hear +this _fish story_." + +"Certainly a fish had something to do with it," replied Caspar; "but +although Ossaroo has proved that there are large fish in the lake, by +capturing one nearly as big as himself--I don't believe there are any +quite large enough to swallow him--body, limbs, and all--without leaving +some trace of him behind: whereas the monster that did threaten to +accomplish this feat, would not have left the slightest record by which +we could have known what had become of our unfortunate companion." + +"A monster!" exclaimed Karl, with increased astonishment and some little +terror. + +"Well, not exactly that," replied Caspar, smiling at the puzzled +expression on his brother's countenance; "not exactly a monster, for it +is altogether a _natural_ phenomenon; but it is something quite as +dangerous as any monster; and we will do well to avoid it in our future +wanderings about the lake." + +"Why, Caspar, you have excited my curiosity to the highest pitch. Pray, +lose no more time, but tell me at once what kind of terrible adventure +is this that has befallen you." + +"That I shall leave Ossy to do, for it was his adventure, not mine. I +was not even a witness to it, though, by good fortune, I was present at +the `wind up,' and aided in conducting it to a different result than it +would otherwise have had. Poor Ossy! had I not arrived just in the +right time, I wonder where you'd have been now? Several feet under +ground, I dare say. Ha! ha! ha! It certainly is a very serious matter +to laugh at, brother; but when I first set my eyes upon Ossaroo--on +arriving to relieve him from his dilemma--he appeared in such a forlorn +condition, and looked the thing so perfectly, that for the life of me I +could not help breaking out into a fit of laughter--no more can I now, +when I recall the picture he presented." + +"Bother, Caspar!" cried Karl, a little vexed at his brother's +circumlocution, "you quite try one's patience. Pray, Ossaroo, do you +proceed, and relieve me by giving me an account of your late troubles. +Never mind Caspar; let him laugh away. Go on, Ossaroo!" Ossaroo, thus +appealed to, commenced his narration of the adventure that had occurred +to him, and which, as Caspar had justly stated, had very nearly proved +fatal; but as the shikarree talked in a very broken and mixed language, +that would hardly be intelligible to the reader, I must translate his +story for him; and its main incidents will be found in the chapters that +follow. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY ONE. + +"BANG." + +It so happened that Ossaroo had made for himself a regular fish-net. +Not being permitted to poison the lake with wolf's-bane, and having no +bamboo to make wicker-work of, he looked around for some other substance +wherewith to construct a net; and soon found the very thing itself, in +the shape of a plant that grew in abundance throughout the valley, and +particularly near the shores of the lake. + +This plant was a tall single-stemmed annual, with a few digitate and +toothed leaves, and a loose panicle of greenish flowers at its top. +There was nothing _very_ remarkable about its appearance, except that +its stem was covered with short rigid hairs, and rose undivided to a +height of nearly twenty feet. Many plants were growing together, and +when first discovered--all three of our adventurers were present at the +discovery--Caspar had said that they reminded him of hemp. It was not a +bad comparison Caspar had hit upon, for the plant was _hemp_, as Karl +immediately made known--the true _Cannabis sativa_, though the variety +which grows in India, or rather a drug extracted from it, is called +_Cannabis Indica_, or "Indian hemp." It was the tallest hemp either +Karl or Caspar had ever seen--some of the stalks actually measuring +eighteen feet in length, whereas that of the northern or middle parts of +Europe rarely reaches the height of an ordinary man. In Italy, however, +and other southern portions of the European Continent, hemp attains a +much greater height, rivalling that of India in the length of its stalk +and fibre. It was noticed that nearly one half of the plants, although +growing side by side, and mingled with the others, were much riper, and, +in fact, fast withering to decay. The botanist explained this to his +companions, by saying that these were the male plants, and the growing +ones the females; for hemp is what is termed by botanists "dioecious"-- +that, is, having male flowers on one plant, and female ones upon +another. Karl farther observed that the male plants, after having +performed their office--that is, having shed their pollen upon the +females--not only cease to grow taller, but soon wither and die; whereas +the females still flourish, and do not arrive at maturity until several +weeks afterwards. In consequence of this peculiarity, people who make a +business of cultivating hemp pull the male plants at the time they have +shed their pollen, and leave the females standing for four or five weeks +after. + +It is well-known that hemp is one of the finest articles in the world +for the manufacture of coarse cloth, and every sort of cordage and +ropes. The material used for the purpose is the fibrous covering of the +stalk, which is separated almost by the same means that are employed in +obtaining flax. The hemp, when pulled up, is tied in bundles, and for a +time submitted to the action of water. It is then dried and broken, and +afterwards "scutched," and rendered still cleaner and finer by a process +called "hackling." It makes no difference in the fineness of the fibre +whether the stalks be small or large, since the great coarse stems of +the Italian and Indian hemp produce a staple equally as fine as the +small kinds grown farther north. + +The Russians extract an oil from the seeds of hemp, which is used by +them in cooking, and by painters in mixing their colours. + +Hemp-seed is also given to poultry--as it is popularly believed that it +occasions hens to lay a greater number of eggs. Small birds are +exceedingly fond of it; but a singular fact has been recorded in +relation to this--that the effect of feeding bullfinches and goldfinches +on hemp-seed alone, has been to change the red and yellow feathers of +these birds to a total blackness! + +Notwithstanding the many valuable properties of this plant, it has some +that are not only deleterious, but dangerous. It contains a narcotic +principle of great power; and, strange to say, this principle is far +more fully developed in the Indian or Southern hemp than in that grown +in middle Europe. Of course this is accounted for by the difference of +temperature. Any one remaining for a length of time in the midst of a +field of young growing hemp, will feel certain ill effects from it--it +will occasion headache and vertigo. In a hot country the effect is +still more violent, and a kind of intoxication is produced by it. + +From observing this, the Oriental nations have been led to prepare a +drug from hemp, which they make use of in the same way as opium, and +with almost similar results--for it produces a drowsy ecstatic feeling, +always followed by a reaction of wretchedness. This drug is known by +the Turks, Persians, and Hindoos, under a variety of names, such as +"bang," "haschish," "chinab," "ganga," and others; but under any name it +is a bad article to deal in, either for the health of the body or the +mind. + +But Ossaroo was not deterred by any considerations about its baneful +effects; and as soon as he saw the hemp growing in the valley, he +recognised the plant with a shout of joy, and proceeded to prepare +himself a dose of "bang." This he did by simply powdering some of the +dry leaves, which he obtained from the withered male stalks, and then +mixing the powder with a little water. An aromatic substance is usually +added to give flavour to the mixture, but Ossaroo did not care so much +for flavour as strength; and he drank off his "bang" without any +adulteration, and was soon in the land of pleasant dreams. + +The discovery of the hemp had made Ossaroo unusually happy. He had been +suffering for the want of his "betel" for a long while, and the rhubarb +tobacco had proved but a poor substitute. But the hemp was the very +thing, as it not only afforded him an intoxicating drink, but its dry +leaves were also good for smoking; and they are often used for this +purpose when mixed with real tobacco. Of course Ossaroo had none of the +genuine "weed" wherewith to mix them, else he would not have troubled +his head about the rhubarb. + +Ossaroo, however, was glad at discovering the hemp for another reason. +From its fibres he could make cordage, and with that cordage a net, and +with that net he would soon provide their table with a supply of fish. + +He was not long about it. The hemp was soon pulled, tied in bundles, +and carried to the hot spring. There it was immersed under the water, +and soon sufficiently "steeped;" for it is well-known that hot water +will bring either flax or hemp to the same state in a few hours that can +be obtained by weeks of immersion in water that is cold. + +Ossaroo soon prepared a sufficient quantity for his purpose, having +separated the fibre by "hand-scutching;" and working continually at the +thing, in a few days he succeeded in making a complete mesh-net of +several yards in length. + +It only remained for him to set it, and see what sort of fish were to be +caught out of that solitary mountain lake. + +And now for Ossaroo's adventure! + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY TWO. + +SETTING THE NET. + +Karl had not been very long gone when Caspar and Ossaroo both left the +hut, but not together. They parted from each other, taking different +directions. Caspar had his gun, and went forth to search for game; +while Ossaroo proceeded towards the lake, with the intention of +capturing fish. + +As nothing particular happened to Caspar--not even so much as the +starling of a head of game, or the getting a shot at any thing--there is +nothing to tell about him; and I shall therefore proceed at once to +Ossaroo and his adventure. + +The shikarree, on arriving at the lake, soon found a proper place to set +his net in. There was a little bay on one side that ran for some twenty +or more yards into the land, and ended just at the embouchure of the +little rivulet that came from the hot springs. + +This bay was narrower at its mouth than elsewhere, where it formed a +kind of miniature "straits." The water in the bay was of considerable +depth; but just at its entrance, where the straits were, it was not over +three feet, with a white sandy bottom that could be seen shining like +silver. Any one standing near this point, in clear weather, could +easily observe fishes of several sorts and different sizes passing into +the bay and out of it, and disporting themselves over the white sand bed +that shone sparkling beneath them. It was an interesting sight to watch +them at their innocent gambols, and the boys had more than once gone +down to the edge of the straits to observe them. + +But Ossaroo had always regarded the sight rather with feelings of +chagrin than pleasure; for plainly as these beautiful fish could be +seen, not one of them could he capture. Even the shoal-water of the +straits, where there was a sort of bar, was too deep to be dammed up in +any way, and Ossaroo had tried one or two plans for taking the fish, +without effect. He had used his bow, and endeavoured to kill them with +arrows; but they swam too deep, and, somehow or another, he always +missed them. The fact was that Ossaroo was not practised in shooting +fish with the arrow; and not understanding any thing about optics or the +laws of refraction, he missed his mark by aiming too high. + +Had he been an Indian of North or South America, instead of an Indian of +the "East Indies," he would have pierced those fishes with an arrow at +every twang of his bow. + +Instead of that, he only missed them, and was constantly wading in to +recover his arrows, but never to bring out any fish. He was, therefore, +rather chagrined than pleased to see them so fearlessly and freely +playing about over the silvery sand; and this very chagrin had caused +him to work with greater diligence while preparing his mesh-net. + +The net was now ready, and Ossaroo walked along chuckling and +congratulating himself on the prospect of speedy revenge--for he had +actually become inspired with a revengeful feeling against the poor +fish, because he had not been able to capture and kill them! + +The place where Ossaroo intended to set his net was across the strait +that formed the mouth of the aforesaid bay. He had designed the net for +this very place; and had made it of such length, that when at full +stretch, it would just reach from one side to the other. + +The upper edge of the net was attached to a strong piece of raw hide, +for this was more easily attainable than a rope of hemp; and on the +lower edge there was another strip of hide, to which were fastened the +sinkers. These, with the floats at the top--made out of a sort of +light-wood that he had found in the valley--would keep the meshes fully +spread, and hold the net in a vertical position. + +It would thus form a complete gate, shutting up the little bay, and +leaving neither egress nor ingress for any fish that could not squeeze +itself through the meshes. These last had been made very large; for +Ossaroo did not care for the "small fry." + +It was the big fishes he was desirous of capturing--some of those large +fellows who had so often glided from under his arrows, and put him out +of temper by their saucy sporting. + +He would see now if they would so easily escape the meshes he had so +cunningly contrived for them. + +Proceeding, therefore, to the straits, he set his net across the +narrowest part, and just by the entrance to the bay. The thing was +easily accomplished, he tied the rawhide rope to a sapling on one side, +that grew down by the edge of the water. Then holding the upper edge-- +so that the net would settle regularly in the water--he waded across, +carrying the line along with him, and made it secure on the other side. +Of course the sinkers did their work by dragging the lower selvage +downward, while the floats kept the upper edge from dipping below the +surface of the water. + +There was a large tree upon the opposite side--so large that its great +branches spread half-way across the little strait--and when the sun was +on that side, which it always was after the hour of noon, this tree, +covered with thick foliage, quite shadowed the water, rendering it of +darkish colour, and somewhat obscure. At this hour the fish could not +be so easily seen, even against the background of the silvery sand at +the bottom. + +Now Ossaroo had chosen the hour when the sun was gone behind the tree, +for he knew that in a very clear sunshine the fish would perceive the +net, and of course put about, and shy off from it. He had, therefore, +waited for the afternoon to make his first essay. + +Having fastened both ends, and adjusted the whole matter to his liking, +he sat down upon the bank; and, summoning all his patience, awaited the +result. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY THREE. + +OSSAROO STUCK FAST. + +For more than an hour sat the shikarree watching every ruffle upon the +water, and every motion of the floats, but no movement, either of wood +or water, seemed to indicate that there were fish in the lake. Once or +twice there appeared a little "purl" on the surface, near the line of +the floats, and Ossaroo fancied he had made a "take" of it; but, on +wading in and examining the net, not a fin could be found, and he had to +wade out again with empty hands. These "purls" were occasioned either +by very small fish passing through the meshes, or else by large ones who +came up, and touching the net with their snout, had taken the alarm and +beat a retreat back to the pools whence they had come. + +Ossaroo was beginning to grow very impatient with his ill-fortune, and +was thinking, too, what a sorry figure he would cut in the eyes of his +companions, after returning to the hut. He had calculated on a great +triumph to be obtained by means of this net; and now he began to doubt +whether it might not turn out a humiliation rather than a triumph. + +At this crisis, however, an idea occurred to him which promised success. +It was simply to _drive the fish into the net_, by wading into the +water, and making as much noise and commotion as he could. This was +certainly a very good plan, and Ossaroo lost no time in putting it into +execution. Having procured a long stick, with an armful of large +stones, he entered the bay above the point where the net was placed, and +then plunging through the water, at the same time beating it with his +stick, and flinging his stones into the deepest part, he succeeded in +making noise enough to have frightened all the fishes in the lake. + +His plan succeeded admirably. In less than five minutes--nay, in less +than half that time--the violent shaking of the floats told to the +attentive eyes of the shikarree that one or more large fishes were in +the net and struggling within its meshes. He now gave up beating the +water and ran to make sure of the prey. On approaching the strait, he +perceived that a very large fish had been caught. It was near the +middle of the net, and Ossaroo, wading out, soon "grabbed" and secured +it. The strong creature struggled hard, and endeavoured to escape from +the grasp of its captor; but the latter put an end to its efforts, by +giving it a sharp knock on the head with one of the stones which he +still carried. + +He next proceeded to release it from the meshes; but these, on account +of the desperate struggles which the fish had made, were warped and +twisted around its gills and fins, and worked into such a labyrinthine +puzzle, that Ossaroo found it no joke to get them clear. He was full +ten minutes in accomplishing this feat, but he at length succeeded, and, +holding the huge fish triumphantly in his hands above the surface of the +water, he uttered a shout of victory. + +He was about to wade out to the bank with his prize, when, to his +astonishment, he found that he could not move a step! He tried to lift +first one leg and then the other, but without success. Both were held +as fast as if screwed in a vice! At first he was only puzzled and +astonished, but his astonishment soon changed to dismay, when he found +that, exert himself as he might, he could not move a limb! He at once +perceived the cause, for there was no mystery about that. He perceived +that both his legs were fast in a quicksand, into which, while engaged +with the meshes of the net, he had been gradually sinking. The surface +of the sand was already above his knees, so that he could not even bend +the joints, and there he stood as firmly as if he had been planted! + +For some time he struggled to relieve himself, but his struggles were of +no avail--he could not drag out one foot or the other. The sand was +wedged around his limbs, and held him as firmly as if it had been Roman +cement. He could not stir from the spot! + +At first, I have said, Ossaroo felt only astonishment, but this feeling +soon changed to dismay. It became absolute terror when he perceived +that he was _still gradually sinking_!--yes, beyond a doubt, he was +going down deeper and deeper. The sand was already up to his thighs, +and, as the water was nearly a yard in depth, his chin almost touched +the surface. Six inches more, and _he would drown_! Drown, thus +standing erect, with part of his head above the surface, and his eyes +wide open and gazing upon the light of heaven! It was an awful +situation--a fearful fate that threatened him! + +It would not be true to say that Ossaroo remained silent during all this +terrible trial. He did nothing of the kind; on the contrary, as soon as +he became aware of his danger, he set up a continuous screaming, and +yelling, and shrill piping, that caused both the woods and rocks to ring +around him, to the distance of a mile at least. + +Fortunately for the shikarree, Caspar chanced to be within the +circumference of that mile, wandering about with his gun. The quick ear +of the hunter caught the sounds, and knew that they were signals of +distress. Without a moment's delay, therefore, he set off; and, guided +by the cries, soon arrived upon the ground. + +It was some time, however, before Ossaroo was relieved from his perilous +position, for although Caspar could wade in to his side, he was quite +unable to drag him out of the sand. In fact, Caspar himself sank so +rapidly, whenever he stood still, that he was compelled to keep +constantly moving, and changing from one foot to the other. His +strength, then, was quite unequal to the task, and both began to be +uneasy about the result. + +Up to this time Caspar had been laughing heartily at the ludicrous +spectacle which Ossaroo presented, with only his head above the water, +and his face wearing the most lugubrious of looks; but Caspar's mirth +was soon dissipated, when he perceived the real danger in which the +shikarree was placed; his laughter was brought abruptly to an end, and +an expression of anxiety now clouded his countenance. + +But Caspar was just the one for quick thought and action in a ease of +danger like this, and, almost in an instant, he conceived a plan by +which Ossaroo might be saved. Crying to the latter to keep still, he +dashed out of the water and loosed the net at both ends. He then drew +out the long rope that formed its upper border, cutting away the meshes +and floats. This done, he rapidly climbed the great tree, and sprawled +out along one of its horizontal limbs that stretched right over the +place where the shikarree was fixed. He had taken the rope along with +him; and, now throwing one end to Ossaroo, and directing him to fasten +it around his body, he passed the other over the branch, and slipped +down it into the water. + +In a few seconds the rope was made fast upon the body of Ossaroo--just +under his armpits--and then both laid hold of the other end, and +commenced pulling with all their might. + +To their great joy their united strength proved sufficient for the +purpose. It out-balanced the weight and tenacity of the sand; and after +a good spell of pulling and tugging, Ossaroo's limbs were drawn upward +and once more set free. Then both rushed out to the bank, and the same +trees and rocks that so lately echoed the mournful cries of the +shikarree, now rang with shouts of joy. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR. + +A DEMAND FOR BEAR'S GREASE. + +The peril from which he had just escaped, drove all thoughts of fishing +out of Ossaroo's head, for that day at least. Moreover, the net was +damaged by the rope having been so rudely taken out, and would require +repairs before it could be set again; so, taking up the fish that had +been caught and the net also, Caspar and the fisherman walked off toward +the hut. + +On arriving there, they were surprised to find that Karl had not +returned, for it was getting late; and fearing that some accident might +have happened to him, they lost no time in setting forth in search of +him. + +As already known they were guided upon his trail by Fritz, and arrived +just in time to save Karl's life. + +"But tell us, brother," inquired Caspar after a while, "what took you up +there anyhow?" + +Karl now entered into a detail of _his_ afternoon's adventures--telling +them at the same time of the hope he had conceived of their being able +to scale the precipice with ladders. + +When he came to the bear, Caspar was all ears. + +"What! a bear?" he exclaimed; "a bear, you say, brother?--Which way did +it go?" + +"Into the cave--it is still there." + +"Still in the cave! Good! we'll have him out--let us go after him at +once." + +"No, brother, it is better not,--it might be dangerous to attack, him in +the cave." + +"Not a bit of it," replied the daring hunter; "Ossaroo says that these +bears are great cowards, and that he would not be afraid to attack one +single-handed with his spear. You think so, shikarree?" + +"Yes, Sahib, he bear--big coward, me no fear him anywhere." + +"You remember, Karl, how the other one ran from us--just like a deer +would have done." + +"But this one is a different kind," suggested Karl; and Karl proceeded +to describe the bear which he had encountered. + +Ossaroo, however, knew the animal by the description given, and declared +that it was quite as timid a creature as the sloth-bear. He had hunted +this kind in the Sylhet Hills--where he had been upon an expedition--and +where, he asserted, the Tibet bear was to be found in considerable +numbers. It would not be dangerous, therefore, to attack it in the +cave, or anywhere else. Such was the opinion of the shikarree. + +Karl at length ceased to urge his objections. He began to think that +the bear had not been in pursuit of him, after all,--else it would have +returned out of the cave on not finding him--most likely the cave was +its den, and it was to hide itself there that it had rushed so +determinedly past him. This appeared probable enough, since they had +been waiting a good while, and Bruin had not yet condescended to show +himself upon the ledge. + +It was resolved, therefore, that they should all enter the cavern, and +kill the bear if possible. + +This resolve, however, was not made without considerable deliberation; +but two reasons were at length brought forward that not only decided the +point in favour of killing the bear, but rendered it a matter of some +consequence that they should succeed in this design. + +The first reason was that they really wanted the animal, and it was of +importance to them that it should be killed. + +It was not for its fine skin they wanted it--though that might be of use +to them in the cold winter, now near at hand--nor did they want to kill +the bear merely for the pleasure and excitement of the thing. No. They +had a very different object in view. They wanted the carcass, or rather +that portion of it that is termed the "fat." They wanted the "bear's +grease." + +For what purpose? you will ask. To make their hair grow? Nothing of +the sort. The hair of all three, from late neglect, was long enough-- +quite as long as they could have wished it. Caspar's curls hung over +his shoulders, and Ossaroo's snaky black tresses dangled down his back +like the tail of a horse. Even Karl's silken locks were long enough to +have satisfied the most romantic of refugees. No. They wanted the +bear's fat, not for their hair, but for their kitchen. They wanted it +to cook with, for one thing, but a still more important use they +intended to apply it to,--and that was for making candles! For both of +the above purposes they had need of the bear's fat, since the other +animals which they were accustomed to hunt and kill were chiefly +ruminant animals, with very little fat upon them, and never enough of it +to cook their own flesh. + +You who live in a land where there is plenty of lard and butter, can +hardly understand what it is to be without these essential articles of +the _cuisine_. In most civilised countries that valuable pachyderm,-- +the pig,--supplies the desideratum of lard; and you will scarce +appreciate the importance of this article until you have travelled in a +country where the hog is not found among the domesticated animals. In +such places the smallest morsel of fat is highly prized, for without it, +good cooking is a dry and difficult business. + +Such considerations as these determined the fate of the bear. The +hunters well knew that animals of this kind yield large quantities of +the very best fat, which they then stood in want of, and would need +still more during the long nights of winter. Perhaps there might be +more than one bear in the cave; so much the better; one or more, they +must be attacked and killed. + +But there was another reason why they had determined to enter the cave; +one of far greater consideration than the killing of the bear. It was +Caspar who had suggested it. + +"Why," asked he, "why might we not get out by this very cave? What if +it should prove to run upward, and have an entrance above, or on the +other side of the mountain?" + +Both Karl and Ossaroo were startled at the suggestion. The idea put all +of them into a flurry of excitement. + +"I have read of such things," continued Caspar; "of great caverns that +extended from one side of a mountain to the other. There is one in +America that has been traced for twelve miles; the Mammoth, I mean! +This might be one of the same kind. You say you saw far into it, Karl? +Let us explore it then, and see where it leads to." + +It was but a slight hope, still it was a hope; and it could not cost +much trouble to give the cave a thorough exploration. It would be but a +small matter compared with the construction of ladders to scale the +cliff; besides, they were now convinced by a farther examination of the +precipice that this was not practicable, and had quite abandoned all +thought of it. Should the cavern prove to be of vast extent, and have +another opening elsewhere than in the valley, they might escape from +their terrible prison, and their troubles would be at an end. + +With such hopes,--that were indeed little better than fancies,--they +consoled themselves for the moment. + +It was resolved, then, that on the morrow the cave was to be entered. +For all the assistance they would have from the light of the sun, they +might as well have begun their exploration at night. But they were not +ready to begin. Torches had to be procured; and a notched tree by which +to ascend the cliff; and to obtain these required time. They would have +them ready by the morrow. + +With this determination, they returned to their hut; and at once set +about making the torches, and preparing the notched tree for their +ladder. There were other little preparations to be made, but most of +them were completed before they thought of retiring to rest. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE. + +BEAR-HUNT BY TORCH-LIGHT. + +As soon as it was daylight again, they went to work once more, and +finished their preparations for entering the cave, and at a tolerably +early hour they took the route for the ravine. + +Two of them carried the _improvised_ ladder; which was only a slender +pine-tree, of about forty feet long, notched by the axe, the notches +being at intervals of a foot to eighteen inches apart. At its more +slender part, there were no notches required, as the natural branches of +the tree, lopped into short stumps, were to be used as foot-holds, and +would serve the purpose better than any notches. + +Forty feet of even the slenderest tree when green would be load +sufficient for a couple of stout men. This one was not green; for they +had been fortunate enough to find one that had fallen long ago, and that +was now quite dead and dry. For all that, it "tied" the united strength +of Caspar and Ossaroo to carry it along, for it was they who performed +this duty. Karl was loaded with the guns, torches, and the great spear +of the shikarree. Fritz carried nothing except his tail; and this he +bore aloft in a swaggerish manner, as though he knew that something more +than common was designed, and that grand game was to be killed that day. + +They moved but slowly; but after about two hours' walking, including +many stoppages and rests, they arrived within the ravine and under the +ledge. + +It occupied about another hour to erect the ladder. It was placed +nearly opposite the mouth of the cave, instead of by the path; for there +appeared a favourable crevice in the rocks, which promised to hold it +steady, and keep it from turning round; an important consideration with +so rude a ladder. The upper end of the tree was laid into the crevice, +and fitted exactly. The lower end was rendered firm by something like a +cartload of heavy boulders being built around it. It could neither +shift nor turn. It was fast as a shut trap. Nothing now remained but +to ascend, light the torches, and enter the cave. + +A question, however, arose, whether Bruin might still be inside? It was +doubtful enough, and there was no means of knowing. He had ample time +to have gone out, since they left the place on the preceding evening, +and, very likely, had wandered forth for a nocturnal ramble; but, had he +returned? was he now "at home" to receive them? or, was he still abroad, +robbing the bushes of their fruit, and the bees of their honey? + +No one could tell; there was no sign visible; no hint far visitors. The +door was open, and all who came night enter or not, as they pleased. + +For a while, our hunters had some hesitation about this matter, and +debated the point as to whether it might not be better to lie in ambush, +and watch for Bruin going out or returning home. Most certainly the +cave was his home. The path leading up had all the appearance of being +much used. The rocks were scratched by his claws, and discoloured by +his feet--his, or those of other animals. Karl had noticed all this, +when making his first ascent; therefore, there need be no fear but that +the bear would come back in one direction or another. + +He might be trapped, and that would save a struggle; but this mode was +not to the liking either of Caspar or Ossaroo, and Fritz apparently +voted for a bear-fight. + +Ossaroo, especially, declared that there was not the slightest danger in +attacking him, armed as they were; not so much as there would be in an +encounter with a sambur stag. He suggested, moreover, that it might be +days before they would set eyes upon him; that he might go to sleep in +his den, and lie there for a week without showing himself; and, +therefore, it would never do to wait for him. He must be looked for +within the cave, and assailed in his gloomy stronghold. So counselled +the Hindoo hunter. + +But it needed no argument. Karl alone was for the prudent way of +setting a trap, and capturing the animal without risk; but Karl was as +anxious as either of the others to explore the cave. The words of +Caspar had made a deep impression upon him; and, slight as was the hope +that Caspar's conjecture might be true, still there was something in it. +It _might_ be so. Once more, it was like the drowning man catching at +the straw. + +Without farther hesitation the ladder was set up, as already described; +and, shortly after, all four--for Fritz is to be counted in this +adventure--stood upon the ledge in front of the cavern's mouth. + +Each had now possession of his own weapons: Karl, his rifle; Caspar, the +double-barrel; and Ossaroo, his spear, bow and arrows, hatchet and +knife. + +There were two torches, each one nearly a yard in length, with handles +that measured nearly another yard. They were made of splints from the +pine-trees, that had been shared off while dressing the latter for the +bridge. They were now quite dry, and, tied together in a bundle, would +burn splendidly. They were no novelty, these torches. They had made +similar ones before, and tried them; and, therefore, they could depend +upon them to give them light within the cave. + +They entered without lighting the torches, intending only to use them +when it became necessary. Perhaps, after all, the cave might be of +small extent, though Karl believed that such was not the case. He had +noted that the bear had gone a good way back, as he was able to judge by +his snorts and growling. + +This point was soon settled. When they had proceeded many paces from +the entrance, and the light of the sun began to fail them, they could +perceive that the cavern grew wider and higher, and, like a great, black +gateway, yawned far back into the rocks. Apparently, there was no +termination to it! + +The tinder which they had prepared was now set on fire; and the ends of +the torches, touched with pine-tree resin, were soon ignited, and began +to blaze. + +All at once the cavern shone with a thousand lights, which had not been +hitherto observed. The sparkling stalactites projecting downward from +the roof, with here and there the drops of clear filtered water, gave +back the glare from the torches in a thousand coruscations. It seemed +to our young hunters as though they were treading the famed halls of +Aladdin's palace. + +On they marched along the wide passage, holding their torches on high, +and, at intervals, pausing to examine some nook or chamber that opened +right or left--still searching for the bear. As yet, they had seen no +traces of the animal; though, from the excited baying of Fritz, it was +plain to them that either Bruin himself, or some other quadruped, had +passed up the cave before them. The dog was evidently upon a hot scent, +and lifting it as fast as they could follow him. + +A little after, Fritz doubled to one side, and appeared busy with some +object by the side of the cave. The hunters were under the impression +that the game had been found, and halted, each bringing his piece to the +ready. + +After a moment, however, Fritz glided out, and again sprang forward on +the trail. The torches were carried up to where Fritz had made his +temporary pause, and, under their light, a large pile of withered leaves +and grass was made visible. It was the snug den of Bruin--still warm +where his huge carcass had lain; but the cunning brute was no longer +"abed." He had been roused by the noises of his enemies, and had +retreated farther into the cavern. + +Fritz was again moving forward along the trail, uttering an occasional +"growl" as he went. He was by no means a fast dog at taking up a scent, +nor yet on the run. These were not his qualities. But he was stanch +and sure, and desperate when once he grappled with the game. So sure +was he, that, whenever he started off upon a trail, you might rely upon +it, with perfect confidence, that the game was before you. + +The three hunters thought no longer of looking for the bear anywhere +else than before the snout of Fritz; and, therefore, the chase became +simplified to keeping the hound in view. The nature of the ground--here +covered with blocks of loose stone, there with huge stalagmites-- +prevented the dog from making rapid progress. The bear had often +doubled and halted, no doubt having some difficulty himself in making +way in the darkness; and this doubling caused much delay to Fritz; so +much, that the torch-bearers could generally keep him in sight. + +Now and again, he became lost to view; and then there was a halt, and +some moments of indecision, which were ended only by the long howl of +the hound echoing through the cavern, and guiding them to his +whereabouts. + +You will be surprised that they should at any time have lost the chase. +You will fancy that, by keeping on, they must overtake Fritz in time, or +meet him returning. + +Such might have been true, had there been only one passage through this +stupendous cavern; but, instead of one, they saw scores of vaulted +aisles forking at intervals, and traversing in very different +directions. They had long since turned both to the right and the left-- +more than once turned--without any other guide than the baying of the +hound, or the view of his yellow body, as he scrambled along the trail. +An immense cavern if was, full of ways, and passages, and halls, and +chambers; many of them so like each other, that the hunters could not +help thinking they were running in a maze, and going repeatedly over the +same ground! + +By this time Karl had begun to reflect, and his reflection was, that +they were proceeding rashly. Certain ideas were rising in his mind-- +ideas somewhat undefined--but one among the rest was, that, going as +they were, without taking either "bearings or distances," they might get +lost! + +Before he had time to call his companions to a halt and take some +deliberation about the matter, a peculiar noise struck upon their ears-- +a noise that was easily recognised as being made by the united voices of +two angry animals--a dog and a bear. + +Beyond a doubt it was Bruin and Fritz--beyond a doubt they were "in +grips!" + +The Plant Hunters--by Captain Mayne Reid + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY SIX. + +LOST IN THE CAVE. + +The scene of their encounter was at no great distance--about twenty +yards off; and, guided by the loud growling and "worrying," the hunters +easily directed themselves towards the spot. After stumbling over +stalagmites, and now and then hitting their heads against the projecting +points of the stalactites, they arrived upon the ground; and the glare +of the torches was thrown upon two animals--a dog and a bear. They were +near the middle of an immense open hall, or chamber of the cavern. Both +were in fighting attitudes; the bear standing upon the flat top of a +rock--about three feet above the surrounding level--and the dog +assailing his leg, now on one side of the rock, and now upon the other. +The bear was defending himself with his huge paws; and at intervals +flung the forepart of his body downward, with the design of seizing the +hound in his hug. + +Fritz well knew the danger of being embraced in the fore-arms of a bear, +and therefore made his attacks from behind; springing up at the +hind-quarters of Bruin, and biting him in the hams. To avoid these +assaults upon his rear, the bear kept turning round and round, as though +he was spinning about upon a pivot! + +It was altogether a laughable sight to witness the curious contest +between the two quadrupeds, and had the hunters been pursuing the bear +for mere amusement, they would have permitted the fight to go on for +some time without interfering in it. But amusement was just then out of +the question. The fat of Bruin was a thing of far more importance; and +now that the hunters had become aware of the vast size and endless +labyrinths of the cavern, they perceived that it was quite possible in +such a place to lose both the bear and his fat. He might have escaped +them as easily as if he were in the open woods. + +With these ideas, therefore, they were only too anxious to put an end to +the struggle, and secure the game. + +The bear could not have offered them a better opportunity. His position +upon the rock rendered him a conspicuous mark, both for the bullets of +the guns and the arrows of Ossaroo. Besides, there was no danger of +wounding Fritz, if good aim was taken by the marksmen. + +Good aim _was_ taken--a couple of loud reports echoed through the cave-- +one of Ossaroo's arrows whistled, and penetrated the thick shaggy skin-- +and the next moment the huge black mass rolled down from the rock, and +lay back uppermost, kicking his paws about in the last throes of death. +Then Fritz leaped upon his upturned breast, seized the white throat +between his jaws, and choked and worried at it till the last breath was +squeezed out of poor Bruin's body, that the next moment lay quite limp +and motionless. + +Fritz was now scolded off, and the torches were held near, in order that +the hunters might examine the game they had killed. A splendid specimen +the bear was--one of the biggest and fattest of his kind; and no doubt +would yield them a large amount of the precious "grease." + +They had scarcely made this reflection when another of far different +character forced itself upon their minds, and compelled them to stand +gazing at each other with looks of mute inquiry. Each waited for one of +the others to speak; and although no one had yet said a word, all +equally felt that they were in a dilemma. + +What dilemma? you will ask. The game had been secured--what difficulty +would there be in dragging it out of the cave, and afterwards taking it +home to their hut? + +All this may appear easy enough to you, because you do not yet +understand the situation in which the hunters were placed--you do not +comprehend why they stood gazing upon each other with troubled looks. + +Why they did so was simply this:--while examining the carcass of the +bear, they observed that their _torches were burnt out_! Not quite to +the ends, it is true; but so near that they could not be depended on to +light them a score of yards. They were already flickering and burning +dimly--in a few seconds more they would be quite extinguished; and what +then? + +Ay, what then? that was the thought that was troubling them--that it was +that caused them to stand looking anxiously towards one another. + +Even they themselves did not fully comprehend the peril of their +situation. They saw that they were going to be left in darkness--the +perfect darkness of a dungeon--but it had not yet occurred to them that +_they might never again see the light_! That appalling thought had not +yet shaped itself in their minds--they only believed that the want of +torches would put them to much inconvenience--they would have great +trouble, and perhaps difficulty, in finding their way out of the cave, +and getting the bear along with them--they might first have to grope +their way out, and then get fresh torches, and return for the game; and +all this would take a good deal of time, and give them a large amount of +trouble; but never mind that--the prize they had obtained in the fat of +the bear, and his fine hide--which would make a grand winter robe--would +repay them for all. + +Ha! it was only after their torches had gone quite out, and they were +left in total darkness--only after they had groped and groped, and +wandered about for hours--now sprawling over loose rocks, now tumbling +down into deep clefts--only after they had gone through all this, and +still saw no light--no sign by which they could even guess at their +whereabouts, that they became fully alive to the peril of their +situation, and began to experience the awful apprehension already +expressed--that _they might never again see the light_! + +And such in reality was their fear, when, after hours spent in fruitless +wandering, they stood holding each other's hands, crouching and cowering +together in the midst of that amorphous darkness! + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN. + +A RAMBLE IN THE DARK. + +Their dread was not at all unreasonable, considering the vast extent of +the cavern--considering the distance which they knew they had +penetrated--considering the various devious and like ways through which +they had passed while in pursuit of the bear--and, above all, +considering the absolute darkness that now reigned around them. Of +course they could see nothing, not even each other; not one of them +could have seen the nose upon his own face, had he been looking for it. + +Place yourself in the midst of complete darkness, and you will wonder +how little progress you can make in any direction. Indeed, you cannot +follow a right line even were there no impediment in your way. + +After you have advanced a few steps, your face will begin to turn in a +new direction, and perhaps keep turning, until you have gone round the +four cardinal points! You need not be told this; "blind man's buff" +will have imparted to you the idea, long ere now. You will remember +that, after having made a turn or two, you could not tell to which side +of the room you were facing, unless you laid your hand upon the piano, +or some piece of furniture, and recognised it by the touch. + +How just like the blind man in the game, so the three were situated; +with the exception that they had no piano--no furniture--no object of +any kind--to guide them. They knew not where to turn--they knew not +which way to advance--which way to go back. + +For many minutes, they stood paralysed by the confusion. As already +stated, they held each other by the hand, and in this way they stood. +Each feared to let the others go, lest he might lose them! Of course +this was but an idle tear, as their voices would enable them to keep +together; but there was something so awe-inspiring in their situation, +that they all felt childish and helpless, and they needed the support of +one another. + +After remaining at rest a while, they started off afresh; holding each +other by the hands, as they moved. This precaution was more necessary +while they were in motion than at rest. They dreaded that one of their +number might fall over some high steep or into a deep hole; and while +thus clinging together, the danger would be less--that is, if all three +did not go over together. + +For several hours they wandered about, and, according to their own +belief, must have walked many miles; but of course their progress was +slow, as they had to feel their way at _every_ step. They grew tired +with the effort they had to make, and at intervals sat down to rest +themselves; but their feelings would not permit them to pause long; and +they would up to their feet again, and scramble on as before. + +For many hours--and many miles, say they--they walked, but saw no ray of +light to cheer them--saw nothing, felt nothing that they could +recognise. At times they thought they must be far into the mountain-- +perhaps miles from the entrance of the cavern; at other times they +fancied they had gone several times through the same passage; and once +or twice they knew they had done so, by recognising the rocks over which +they had passed. + +This gave them a hope that in time they might get acquainted with the +different turnings and passages,--and that would have been possible +enough; but it would have taken a long time, and what were they to +subsist upon while acquiring this knowledge? They thought of this, and +saw at once the foolishness of the hope they had conceived. + +The dog Fritz moved along, sometimes before, sometimes by their side, +and sometimes in the rear. He kept silent, seemingly as much frightened +as they. They could tell he was there, by hearing at intervals the +scratching of his claws upon the rocks, when some boulder lay in the +way, and compelled him to scramble over it. What could Fritz do more +than they? In such darkness he could not see his nose any more than +they? No--but he could make use of that nose to direct himself, which +was more than any of his masters could do. + +"Ha!" shouted Caspar, as this idea passed through his mind. "Ha, +brother! Ossaroo! why might not Fritz guide us? Why might he not scent +his way out of this horrid dungeon? Surely he must be as tired of it as +we are!" + +"Let us try what may be done," rejoined Karl, by his tone showing that +he had no great hope in the experiment. "Call him up, Caspar! He knows +you best." + +Caspar addressed the dog by name, adding a few coaxing words, and in an +instant Fritz was by his side. + +"How shall we manage? Leave him to himself?" inquired Caspar. + +"I fear he will stand still, and not attempt to go ahead of us," replied +Karl. + +"We can try him." + +And as Caspar made this suggestion, all stood silent and listening. + +They stood a long while to give the dog a fair trial, but he knew not +what they wanted, and he remained patiently beside them without +manifesting any disposition to leave. The experiment was a failure. + +"Now," suggested Karl, "let us urge him forward and follow after-- +perhaps he will lead us in that way." + +Fritz was now commanded to advance, and obeyed the command--for they +could hear him start off with a slight whimper; but to their chagrin +they found that they could not tell in what direction he had gone. Had +he been running on the scent of some animal, his occasional baying would +have served to guide them, as it had done while they were chasing the +bear. Now, however, the dog ran without noise; and although they could +hear an occasional scrape of his claws, yet it was not sufficiently +frequent or continuous to guide them. The experiment again failed, and +Fritz was whistled back. + +But it was not without result. Like many other failures, it led to +reflection and a rearrangement of the machinery. A better plan soon +offered itself to the quick wit of Caspar; and Ossaroo had been thinking +of something similar when he cried out-- + +"Tie string to ee tail!" + +"No," replied Caspar, "not to his tail, for then he would not go +forward; but let us hold him in a leash with the string round his neck, +in a regular way. That will be better, I warrant." + +No sooner said than done. Thongs and belts were loosed from +powder-horns and pouches; a leash was constructed and fastened round the +neck of the dog, and he was then hunted forward as before. + +Caspar handled the straps, and the others followed, guided by Caspar's +voice. + +In this order they had scrambled along for a hundred yards or more, when +the dog began to whimper, and then to bay, as if going upon a trail; and +in a moment or two after, he came, all of a sudden, to a stop. + +Caspar felt by his strong pulling on the leash, that the dog had sprung +forward and seized something. He stooped down and felt before him. +Instead of the hard cold rocks, his fingers came in contact with a mass +of long shaggy hair. + +Alas! their hopes were dispelled. Instead of conducting to the mouth of +the cave, Fritz had only brought them back to the carcass of the bear! + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT. + +CAVERN-LIFE. + +They were all filled with disappointment, and particularly that the dog, +having arrived at the spot where the bear had been killed, would go no +farther. Drive him as they would by commands, or coax him by words of +encouragement, he would not part from the carcass. Even when carried +off to some distance, and let go, he always drew Caspar back to the same +spot. It was very vexatious. + +So thought they at first; but after a little reflection, they began to +think better of it; and to recognise in this incident something more +than chance. Karl especially thought so, and pointed out to his +companions that the hand of Providence had to do with it; and that that +same hand would yet conduct them safely out of the dismal dungeon into +which they had so imprudently ventured. + +Karl's words had a cheering effect; for he pointed out how fortunate it +was for them that they had once more found the carcass. But for that +they should have had nothing to eat, and, as a matter of course, would +have soon perished of hunger. + +Now, however, that the bear was found, they could subsist upon his flesh +for days; and during one of these days they might succeed in reaching +the entrance. They would take care not to lose the knowledge of the +place where the carcass lay; and whatever excursion they might make from +that spot, they should always arrange some clue by which they might +return to it. + +Fortunately for them there was water in the cavern. In many places it +dripped from the rocks in sufficient quantity to give them as much as +they wanted for drink; and not far off they had crossed a little rivulet +that ran down the bottom of one of the great galleries. This they knew +they could find again; and, consequently they felt no apprehensions on +the score of water. + +It was a question, then, how long they would be in finding the entrance, +and how long they could live upon the flesh of the bear. + +The finding of Bruin's carcass had considerably bettered their +prospects; and as they gathered around it to dinner, they felt more +cheerful than they had done since the moment when they had laid it low. + +As they ate, it was dark enough around them to have called the meal a +supper; and it was long enough since they had eaten their breakfast-- +though they could not guess how long--but as they had eaten nothing +since breakfast, they styled this first meal upon the bear-meat their +dinner. + +No dinner or supper was ever cooked like that--_it was not cooked at +all_! for they had no fire wherewith to cook it. + +They were not squeamish. A very long interval had transpired since they +had eaten their slight breakfast. Karl and Caspar had refrained from +the uncooked viand until their appetite could resist no longer; and then +the raw flesh of the bear became palatable enough. It was supper time +with Ossaroo. His stomach had more easily got over its scruples, and he +had bolted his dinner long, long ago; so that when the others sat down +to their first meal, Ossaroo was able to join them at his second. + +Both Karl and Caspar ate heartily enough,--quite as heartily as if a +chandelier with its wax-lights had been sparkling over their heads. +Perhaps the absence of light was a circumstance in their favour. The +huge paws--those "titbits" of the bear's flesh--constituted their +dinner; and hunters will tell you that, boiled, roasted, or _raw_, a +bear's paw is not bad eating. + +When they had finished their meal, all three groped their way to where +they heard the trickling of water. + +They found a place where it oozed in a rapid and continuous dripping +through the rocks; and, applying their mouths to this subterranean +fountain, they were enabled in a few moments to slake their thirst. + +They then returned to where they had dined; and, being now much wearied +with their long-continued exertions, they stretched themselves upon the +rocks with the intention of having some sleep. Though their bed was a +hard one, it was not cold; for in the interior of great caverns it is +never cold. There the temperature is more equable than that of the +atmosphere without--being cooler in summer and warmer in winter, so that +variety is scarcely known--at all events, the extremes of heat and cold +are never felt. This is the ease with the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, and +other large caverns; and on this account it has been thought that +persons suffering from pulmonary complaints might derive benefit by +dwelling in caves. There are many such patients who make their home in +the Mammoth; and where a commodious hotel enables them to live in +comfort, and even luxury! It is possible enough that the mild and +equable temperature that exists under ground may enable the victim of +consumption to prolong life for a considerable time: but it is doubtful +whether any radical cure can be effected in this way; and the +unfortunate sufferer, once he emerges from his subterranean dwelling, +will be in as much danger from the insidious disease as before. + +Little did Karl, Caspar, and Ossaroo, care for the mild atmosphere that +surrounded them in the cavern. They would gladly have exchanged it for +the hottest country in the torrid zone, or the coldest spot in all the +Arctic regions. Biting mosquitos in the former, or biting frost in the +latter, would have been more welcome than that mild and gentle climate +that surrounded them--that gloomy atmosphere, where sun had never shone, +and where snow had never fallen. + +Notwithstanding their anxiety of mind, their weariness at length +overcame them, and all three fell fast asleep. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY NINE. + +EXPLORATION OF THE CAVE. + +They slept a good long while, though, whether if was by night or by day, +they had no means of judging. They could only guess at it, by +remembering how much time had transpired since they first entered the +cave; but to show how little trust can be placed in any conjectures of +this sort, they differed from one another in their estimates full twelve +hours! + +Karl thought they had been wandering about nearly two days and a night; +while the others believed the time not so long by twelve hours at least. + +Karl adduced a reason for his belief--the ravenous appetite which they +had acquired, and which must have taken a long time to grow upon them; +moreover, they had slept so long that he thought it must be in the +night-time--the natural time of rest, which the nerves would understand +without any clock to guide them. Karl admitted that his second reason +was somewhat lame, since, having missed one night of sleep, their nerves +on the day following would not be very nice about what hour they should +feel inclined towards slumber. + +It is probable, however, that Karl was right in his conjecture. They +had been long hours wandering to and fro, and had rested many times. +The fuelling of horrid anxiety under which they had been suffering +always impelled them to press on; and no wonder they had lost all +definite recollection of the distance they had gone, or the time thus +fruitlessly spent. It had taken them a good while to get the ladder in +place; and the first day had been far spent before they were ready to +penetrate the cave. It was, therefore, quite probable that their first +sleep had been during the second night, after entering their gloomy +chamber. + +Whether or not they had slept long and soundly enough--though not +without troubled dreams--in which they had encountered bears, fierce +shaggy yak-bulls, deep dangerous pits into which they were about to +fall, and high cliffs they were trying in vain to climb--it was quite +natural they should dream of such things. + +It was the awaking that was most unnatural. Instead of a bright +sunshine to greet their eyes, or the soft blue light of morning, they +saw nought--all around was gloom. Instead of the music of birds, or +even the cheering sounds of active life, they heard nought. All around +was the silence of the tomb! + +A tomb it might yet be to them--for a short while, perhaps, a living +tomb; but, sooner or later, a tomb for their dead bodies--a sepulchre +for their bones! + +Such were their reflections on awaking. Their dreams while asleep were +even less horrid than the reality to which they awoke! + +If the sense of sleep regards not the absence of light, still less is +the appetite of hunger affected by it. Once more the bear's paws were +drawn upon for a meal, and afforded it without boil or broil, bread or +salt. + +As soon as they had eaten to their satisfaction, they rose to their +feet, and set about the work which Karl had already traced out in his +thoughts. Of course, before going about it he had fully communicated +his plans to his companions. + +They were to make excursions in every direction from the spot where the +bear had been killed. There were many galleries leading from the +place--they had noticed that while their torches were yet burning. All +these they designed to explore, one after another. The explorations +were at first to be for short distances, until they had made themselves +familiar with the passage extending in some one particular direction. +This they would accomplish by _feeling_ the rocks on either side, until +they became thoroughly acquainted with the protuberances, or other marks +that could be used as guides. If none existed, they would make them, by +piling up stones at such places, or chipping a piece from the +stalactites with the hatchet. Their design, in effect, was to "blaze" +the passages, so that they would know them again, just as a woodman +marks his way through the pathless forest. + +It was altogether an ingenious idea, and one that with time and patience +promised success. Indeed, it seemed the only plan that held out a hope +beyond mere chance--for amidst so many devious ways, to have proceeded +without some plan would have been to trust to chance, and that they had +tried already. + +They well knew that to carry out their design would require both time +and patience; but by this, all three were well drilled in the lessons of +patience. The bridge-building had been a school for them. It might not +take much time, but it might; and for either result had they made their +minds ready. + +In all probability, however, they might be long before they should set +their eyes upon a ray of the sun's light--before they should see that +bright disk of the cavern's mouth, that they had scarce looked at while +leaving it behind them. + +It was their intention then, first, to take one particular direction, +and thoroughly explore that before penetrating into any other. When the +first should be traversed, either to its termination, or to such a +length as might influence them in believing they were in the wrong way, +they would then leave it, and set to exploring some other. Sooner or +later, they believed that this would bring them into the passage that +would conduct them out of their gigantic prison. + +Before setting about the execution of their plan, they once more made +trial of Fritz, as upon the day before; but the dog would not part from +the spot; and though, encouraged by the voice of Caspar, he would beat +about for a certain space--it always ended by his returning to the +carcass of the bear. + +As soon as they became convinced that Fritz would not guide them, they +released him from the string; and then, in real earnest, set about +carrying out the design of Karl. + +Their mode of proceeding was quite ingenious. They groped about until +they found a large passage that led from the chamber or opening in which +they were. This gallery they resolved to explore first. + +Lest by any mistake they might not find their way back, one always +remained at a certain point; while the other two went ahead--stopping at +intervals to blaze their way. Of course should the two who acted as +pioneers make a wrong turn, so as not to know the route back, the voice +of the third would at once guide them. + +In this manner they proceeded without much difficulty, though with great +slowness. You will fancy they might have gone fast enough, their +retreat being thus secured for them. But there were many obstacles to +prevent a rapid advance. Each lateral passage they came to--and there +were numbers of these--had to be marked for future examination, and the +mark had to be made distinct and recognisable--this operation sometimes +requiring a considerable time to effect. They had also to make their +blazes at short intervals, so that these might be the more easily found +upon their return. Another impediment was found in the clambering over +sharp boulders, and getting across clefts that everywhere intercepted +their path. + +Ay, slowly and with great caution were they compelled to make their +advance, and when _night came_--that is, when they had grown wearied and +hungry, and wanted food and rest--they calculated they had not proceeded +above half-a-mile from their place of departure. Of course no light had +cheered them throughout those long working hours; but for all that they +returned to the resting-place with their hearts still buoyed up with +hope. To-morrow,--or the morrow after, or still another morrow, what +mattered it?--they felt high confidence that on some morrow they would +look once more upon the sun. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY. + +PRESERVING THE BEAR'S-MEAT. + +There was one thing, however, about which they were apprehensive, and +that was about their larder--how long would it last? The bear was large +and fat, they could tell by the "feel" of him; and if they drew upon the +carcass for moderate rations, it would hold out for many days; but then +how was the meat to be preserved? Lying as it was--still unskinned--it +must soon become unfit for food, though not so soon as in the open air; +for meat will keep much longer in a cave,--that is, if it be a very deep +one, than it will when exposed to the full light of the sun. + +This is easily explained. The principle of decomposition exists in the +atmosphere itself, as is well-known to every one who deals in the +hermetically-sealed airtight canisters of preserved meats; and if you +can but remove the atmosphere entirely from a piece of fish, flesh, or +vegetable, it is supposed that it will keep for ever! + +In the interior of a cavern, of course there is still an atmosphere, but +it is rarer and of a less changeable sort, and, most probably, less +active in its powers to cause decay. Hence it is that within the cave +decomposition is slower than without; and, indeed, there are some +caverns where, instead of being decomposed, the bodies of men and +animals have been found still retaining their proper forms, only +shrivelled into smaller size, and dried up like mummies. + +Though there was water here and there in the cavern, in all other places +it was exceedingly dry. They could tell that the air was so, because +the rocks felt dry, and in some places there was dust that was perfectly +ready to puff up at the touch. They had noticed this while in pursuit +of the bear. Both bear and dog had more than once been found enveloped +in a cloud of dust as the hunters came near them with the torches. +Indeed, they could tell that the atmosphere of the cavern was dry by +simply breathing it in,--it felt dry to the throat. + +Under the keen apprehension which they had lest the meat should spoil +before they could find the entrance of the cave, their wits were set to +work to find some means of preserving it. Salt they had none, and +therefore pickling was out of the question. Had they been able to +procure the material to make a fire, they could have managed without +salt by smoking the meat; but fire-wood was just then as difficult to be +got at as salt. Even without either, had they only been in the open +air, with the warm sun shining down upon them, they could have cured +that bear-meat so that it would have kept good for months. + +Alas! the sun's rays were as inaccessible as either the salt or the +fuel. + +Preserving the meat by any one of the three different modes of salting, +smoking, or jerking, was alike out of their power. + +Having already noticed the extreme dryness of the atmosphere, it +occurred to them that if the meat were cut into very thin slices or +strips, and then hung up, or spread out upon the rocks, it might not +spoil at once--at all events, it might keep for a longer period than if +suffered to lie as it was in one great mass. This was Ossaroo's +suggestion, and a good one it was. At all events, nothing better could +be thought of, and after some consideration, they determined to act upon +it. + +Where were they to procure lights? How was the bear to be skinned +without light? How was the flesh to be cut up and spread out? + +These were questions that did not present the slightest obstacle--our +adventurers scarce gave thought to them. They had by this time almost +learnt to work in the darkness; and as for the skinning of the bear, +Ossaroo could have performed that operation if it had even been +darker,--supposing this to be possible. There was no difficulty about +lights; and the shikarree, having been assisted by the others to place +the carcass in a proper attitude, set to work with the keen blade of his +knife, and, almost as readily as if a dozen candles had been held by +him, he stripped off the shaggy hide, and laid it back upon the rocks. + +The cutting the flesh into slices and strips would be easily effected, +though it would require more time, and should be done with great nicety. +If not sliced very thin, the meat would be liable to spoil the sooner. + +But the Hindoo hunter was a very adept at this sort of thing, and his +skill enabled him to complete the business in such a manner that had his +"griskins" been submitted to the light, no one could have told they had +been "carved" in the darkness. + +The strips, as they were cut by Ossaroo, were passed into the hands of +the others, who having already spread out the hide with the hairy side +undermost, laid the pieces upon it. + +As soon as Ossaroo had stripped the bones pretty clean, it was then time +to dispose of the flesh. A question now arose as to whether it would be +better to spread the pieces out upon the rock or hang them up upon +lines. + +Decidedly better to hang them up, thought Ossaroo; and the others agreed +with him. They would dry sooner in that way, it was thought; besides, +as Caspar suggested, they would be out of the way of Fritz, who, if not +looked after, might steal a march upon them, and devour half the meat at +a single meal. By all means they should be hung out of his reach. + +But how was this to be accomplished? Where were the ropes and lines to +be obtained? They had neither poles to serve as uprights, nor ropes to +be stretched between them. True, there was a long piece of cord in the +possession of Ossaroo, which he had manufactured from the Indian hemp, +while making his fish-net; but this would not be enough. It would take +many yards of cord to carry such a quantity of meat. What was to be +done? + +"Cut the hide into strips!" cried Caspar, in answer to the question. + +The very thing; and no sooner suggested than carried into effect. + +The sliced meat was removed--the raw hide was stretched out, and cut +into thongs of about an inch in thickness, and these being knotted +together, a rope was soon made that reached from side to side of the +great chamber. The ends of this were fastened to the rocks; one was +looped around a jutting point, and the opposite was held by being placed +upon a little shelf with a heavy stone on top of it; and thus a line, +something after the fashion of a clothes-line, was carried across the +chamber. + +When they had tried its strength, and were convinced that it would serve +the purpose intended, they carried the meat slice by slice, and laid it +carefully across, until the string was full. + +Another line had to be made before all was hung up; and this was made +and fastened to the rock, in a similar manner as the first. The +remainder of the slices were suspended upon it, and all hands now +desisted from their labour. Their day's work was done; for whether it +was night or day, they had been busy for a long time, and on the +completion of the job were fain to betake themselves once more to rest. + +They ate their meal, and lay down intending to sleep only for a few +hours, and then to rouse themselves and with renewed energies continue +their search after the light of the sun. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY ONE. + +DREAMS. + +Karl in his sleep had a dream, "Let there be light, and there was +light!" + +This highly poetic passage of Scripture had been running in his mind +during the past hours. He was thinking of chaos before the creation; +and their own situation might well suggest the chaotic age. He was +thinking--and reverentially--of the wonderful power of the Creator, who +out of such darkness could cause light to shine forth by the simple +expression of his will, "Let there be light, and there was light!" + +Karl dreamt that a form had appeared to them,--the form of a beautiful +man,--and that from his body a bright light, similar to that of the sun, +radiated on all sides. Around his head and face the rays were +distributed in the form of a glory, such as Karl had seen upon many old +pictures of the Saviour. Looking more attentively at the face, Karl +also recognised its resemblance to the same pictures;--the gentle and +benign expression, the noble forehead, and fair curling hair,--all were +the same. Karl, who was of a religious turn, believed it was the +Saviour he saw in his dream. The cave was no longer in darkness; it was +lit up by the coruscations of light that emanated from the beautiful +vision, and Karl could see all around him. + +After regarding him for a while, the bright form turned and moved off, +beckoning Karl and the others to follow. + +They obeyed; and, after traversing numerous passages and chambers,--some +of which they recognised as having passed through while in chase of the +bear,--they were guided to the mouth of the cavern, where the strange +apparition, meeting the light of the sun, melted into the air and +disappeared from their sight! + +The delight which Karl felt, at this _denouement_ of his dream, caused +him to awake with a start, and with a joyful ejaculation upon his lips. +It was suddenly suppressed, and followed by an expression of pain and +disappointment. The happy passage had been only a dream,--a false +delusion. The reality was as dark and gloomy as ever. + +The interjections of Karl awoke his companions; and Karl perceived that +Caspar was greatly excited. He could not see him, but he knew by his +talk, that such was the case. + +"I have been dreaming," said Caspar, "a strange dream." + +"Dreaming! of what?" + +"Oh! of lights, brother,--of lights," replied Caspar. + +Karl was deeply attentive,--almost superstitious. He fancied that +Caspar had seen the same vision with himself,--it must have been +something more than a dream! + +"What lights, Caspar?" + +"Oh! jolly lights,--lights enough to show us out. Hang me! if I think I +dreamt it after all. By thunder! good brother, I believe I was half +awake when the idea came into my mind. Capital idea, isn't it?" + +"What idea?" inquired Karl in surprise, and rather apprehensive that +Caspar's dream had deprived him of his senses. "What idea, Caspar?" + +"Why, the idea of the _candles_, to be sure." + +"The candles! What candles?--Surely," thought Karl, as he asked the +question,--"surely my poor brother's intellect is getting deranged,-- +this horrid darkness is turning his brain." + +"Oh! I have not told you my dream,--if it was a dream. I am confused. +I am so delighted with the idea. We shall group no more in this hideous +darkness,--we shall have light,--plenty of light, I promise you. Odd we +did not think of the thing before!" + +"But what is it, brother? What was your dream about?--Tell us that." + +"Well, now that I am awake, I don't think it was a dream,--at least, not +a regular one. I was thinking of the thing before I fell asleep, and I +kept on thinking about it when I got to be half asleep; and then I saw +my way clearer. You know, brother, I have before told you that when I +have any thing upon my mind that puzzles me, I often hit upon the +solution of it when I am about half dreaming; and so it has been in this +case, I am sure I have got the right way at last." + +"Well, Caspar,--the right way to do what? The right way to get out of +the cave?" + +"I hope so, brother." + +"But what do you propose?" + +"I propose that we turn tallow-chandlers." + +"Tallow-chandlers! Poor boy!" soliloquised Karl; "I thought as much. O +merciful Heaven, my dear brother! his reason is gone!" + +Such were Karl's painful surmises, though he kept them to himself. + +"Yes, tallow-chandlers," continued Caspar, in the same half-earnest, +half-jocular way, "and make us a full set of candles." + +"And of what would you make your candles, dear Caspar?" inquired Karl, +in a sympathising tone, and with the design of humouring his brother, +rather than excite him by contradiction. + +"Of what," echoed Caspar, "what but the fat of this great bear?" + +"Ha!" ejaculated Karl, suddenly changing his tone, as he perceived that +Caspar's madness had something of method in it, "the fat of the bear, +you say?" + +"Certainly, Karl. Isn't his stomach as full of tallow as it can stick? +and what's to hinder us to make candles out of it that will carry us all +over the cave,--and out of it, I fancy, unless it be the greatest maze +that Nature has ever made out of rock-work?" + +Karl was no longer under the belief that his brother had gone mad. On +the contrary, he saw that the latter had conceived a very fine idea; and +though it did not yet appear how the thing was to be carried out, Karl +fancied that there was something in it. His sweet dream recurred to +him, and this he now regarded as ominous of the success of some plan of +escape,--perhaps by the very means which Caspar had suggested,--by +making candles out of "bear's grease!" + +These were pleasant thoughts, but to Karl the pleasantest thought of all +was the returning conviction that Caspar _was still in his senses_! + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY TWO. + +HOPES. + +Ossaroo now joined in the general joy; and the three placed their heads +together, to deliberate upon Caspar's suggestion, and to discuss its +feasibility in detail. + +But neither Karl nor Ossaroo had much need to spend their opinion on the +details; for the original "promoter" of the plan had already conceived +nearly the whole of them. It was, in fact, these that he had got hold +of while half asleep; and which, on first awaking, he believed to have +occurred to him in a dream. But there was no dream in the matter. The +idea of making candles from the bear's fat had been in his mind before +he lay down--he had even thought of it while they were at work in curing +the meat. + +"Yes," said he, commencing to tell them in detail all that had passed +through his mind upon the subject; "I had thought of the candles, while +assisting Ossaroo to cut up the bear. I could tell, by the touch, that +many pieces of the meat were almost pure fat; and I wondered to myself +whether it would not burn and make a light. I knew, of course, that +there was plenty more in the great stomach of the animal, and that of +the real sort of which candles could be made. Would it burn? that was +the question that puzzled me. I feared that it would not burn without +first being rendered to grease or lard, and a wick put into it,--in +fact, I knew it could not; and there arose the difficulty, since we had +no fire wherewith to render the fat, and no vessel to render it in, even +if we had been provided with fire in plenty." + +"Ah! that is too true," assented Karl, rather despairingly. + +"Well, so thought I, Karl, and I had well-nigh given up thinking about +the matter--of course, I said nothing about it to either of you--as I +knew you could not create fuel out of stones any more than I, and there +was an end of it." + +"Yes--an end of it," unconsciously echoed Karl, in a desponding tone. + +"Not yet, brother! not yet!" rejoined Caspar, as he proceeded in his +relation. "You see the thing had got into my thoughts, and, after a +while, I found myself once more speculating upon it. How were we to +make a fire that would melt that fat? That we could strike a light, I +knew--we could do that with our tinder or gunpowder; but where were we +to get sufficient fuel to make a fire with, and where was the vessel to +be obtained, in which to render the lard? At first, I thought only of +the fire. If we could once raise fuel for that, the vessel would not be +of so much importance--we might contrive to heat a flat, thin stone, and +melt some of the fat in that way. If we could not make fine candles, we +might dip some wick in the grease, and thus have a kind of taper that +would serve almost as well. I knew we had wick--I remembered the long +hempen string which Ossaroo has got, and I knew that that would serve +admirably for the purpose. All that would be easy enough--at least it +appeared so--all except the stuff for the fire." + +"Very ingenious of you, Caspar; these things had never entered my mind. +Go on, brother!" + +"Well--to make a long story short, I have got the fuel." + +"Bravo! good! good!" exclaimed Karl and Ossaroo in a breath, and in +accents of joy. "You have got the fuel?" + +"Yes--I found it, at length; just as I was bobbing over asleep, the idea +crossed my mind; though I fancied I was only dreaming, and must have +afterwards fallen asleep. But I partially awoke shortly after, and took +to thinking again; and then I found the vessel in which we can render +our tallow--I think we can." + +"Hurrah! better than all!" + +"And now, listen to my plan; for I have been thinking while I have been +talking, and I have it _more_ complete than ever. Maybe you can both +add something, but here is what I propose." + +"Tell us, Caspar--all right, go on." + +"We have with us two guns--Ossaroo has his spear, his hatchet, his bow, +and a good quiver of arrows--fortunately his quiver, too, is of thick +bamboo, and dry as a chip. First, then, I propose that, with Ossaroo's +axe, we break up the stocks of our guns, ramrods, and all--we can soon +make others, once we get out--also the shaft of Ossaroo's spear, his +bow, arrows, and quiver--never mind, Ossaroo, you can replace them from +the forest. This being done, we can make a fire large enough to melt as +much fat as will make us no end of dips." + +"You are right, brother," interposed Karl; "but how about the vessel to +melt it in?" + +"That puzzled me for a while," replied the ingenious Caspar; "but I got +over the difficulty, at length, by thinking of my powder-flask; you know +it is a patent one, and the top screws off. Well--we can take off the +top, empty the powder into one of our pockets, and make use of the +bottom part for the lard. I am sure it will stand the fire, for it is +stout copper without a flaw. The only difficulty is, that it is small; +but we can fill it over and over again." + +"And you propose to make the string which Ossaroo has got into wicks, +and dip them in the hot grease?" + +"Nothing of the sort," replied Caspar, in a triumphant tone; "we shall +have no dips. I was contented with them at first, but not any longer. +We shall have candles--real mould-candles!" + +"How? Mould-candles? How?" + +"Oh! that you shall see by-and-by. Ossaroo would only disclose part of +his plans when he went to trap the tiger, and I mean to keep a little of +mine to myself, in order to have a _revanche_ upon him. Ha! ha! ha!" + +Caspar finished his speech with a laugh. It was the first time any of +them had laughed since they entered that cave--no doubt, the first laugh +that ever echoed through its gloomy aisles. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY THREE. + +LIGHT IN DARKNESS. + +Without losing farther time, the three set to work to make the fire, +Caspar of course taking the direction. The barrels were first taken out +of their guns, the locks unscrewed, and then the other iron-work was +removed from the stocks. By dint of a little hammering with stones, and +cleaving with the hatchet, the butt of each was separated from the +heel-piece, and then broken up into small fragments. Even the two +ramrods were sacrificed--the heads and screws being carefully preserved. +In no reckless humour did they act, for they had now very definite +expectations of being able to escape from the cave; and prudence +whispered them that the valuable weapons they were thus dismantling +might be needed hereafter, as much as ever they had been. Nothing, +therefore, was damaged that could not be afterwards replaced--nothing +thrown away. Only the wood-work was sacrificed to present necessity. +Every article of iron, to the smallest nail or screw, was carefully +preserved; and when all were separated from the wood-work, they were +placed together and tied into a bundle, so that they might be easily +carried along. + +Ossaroo's weapon went "to the hammer" next. The spear-head was knocked +off, and the long shaft broken into a dozen pieces. The bow was +unstringed and cut into chips, and then the arrows were snapped across, +and the quiver split up. All these would be excellent materials, and +from their age and dryness would ignite and burn like touch-wood. + +An important addition to their stock of fuel was obtained from a source +up to this time quite unthought of. They now remembered the two large +handles by which they had carried the torches; for they had made them +with handles something after the fashion of a stable-broom. These had +been dropped at the time the torches went out, and were lying somewhere +near the spot. All three set to "grambling," and soon found both of +them; and better still, found them with a considerable quantity of the +resinous splits of the pine still attached to their ends. + +This was a bit of good luck, for the pine-chips thus obtained would be +the very thing wherewith to kindle the fire. Already well seasoned, and +covered with the resin, that had run over them from the burning torches, +they would catch like gunpowder itself. + +The whole of the fire-wood was now collected together, and formed a +goodly pile. There would be enough for their purpose, even without the +handle of Ossaroo's hatchet, which was still left in its socket. It +could be drawn out at any time, but very likely would not be required. + +Now it was clear to all of them, that their little stock of fuel, if set +fire to in the ordinary way, would burn too rapidly, and become +exhausted long before their candle-making operations could be completed. +This would be a sad dilemma, and would leave them in a worse situation +than ever. Means, therefore, must be taken to avoid such a catastrophe, +and means were adopted, as follows:-- + +They first set to work, and constructed a little furnace of only six or +eight inches in diameter. This they easily built out of the loose +blocks of stone that were lying about. In this furnace they placed a +portion of their fire-wood--for it is well-known that the furnace is the +best plan for economising fuel. The whole of the heat is thrown +upwards, and a vessel placed on top will receive double the heat that it +would, if hung over a scattered fire that is open on all sides. + +But another important consideration led them to the building of the +furnace. + +They saw that when the light-wood should be fairly kindled, they could +prevent it from blazing too rapidly, by casting upon it pieces of the +bear's fat; and in this way not only prolong the burning of the wood, +but make a much stronger fire. This idea was a very happy one, and at +once secured them against a scarcity of fuel for their purpose. The +furnace was made very narrow at the top, and two stones were placed so +that the powder-flask,--emptied of its contents of course--should rest +between them, and catch the full strength of the upward blaze. + +All these things were arranged without light, but when they had +proceeded thus far, they worked no longer in the darkness. The chips +were placed in the bottom of the furnace--the tinder was ignited by +means of flint and steel--its burning edge was placed in contact with +the fine resin-covered shavings of pine-wood; and in another instant the +great vault, that had so late been buried in amorphous gloom, was +sparkling like a chamber set with diamonds! + +The light enabled all three to do their work with rapidity and sureness. + +Ossaroo was seen over the skeleton carcass cutting out the huge masses +of tallow, and placing it upon the rocks. Karl was busy in attending to +the fire, which, now that it had received several pieces of the fat, +burned brightly and steadily--while Caspar stood near occupied with the +barrels of his gun. + +What was Caspar doing with the gun? Surely it could be of no service +now, without either stock or lock? Ah! you mistake. It was just now +that it became of service, and of great service. Only watch Caspar a +little, and you will see that he has an object in handling that brace of +barrels. Observe!--he has unscrewed both the nipples, and is drawing +the end of a string through each of them. The other end of these +strings may be seen protruding from the barrels at the muzzle. Those +strings are wicks already prepared from the hempen cord of Ossaroo, and +you need not now be told what use Caspar intends to make of his +beautiful smooth bores, for by this time you will have guessed it. + +"Candle-moulds of course!" I hear you exclaim. + +"Candle-moulds of course," I reply; and most excellent moulds they will +make, almost as good as if that had been the original design in their +construction. + +Well, the work went on--the wicks were got into their places--and as +soon as the first flask of fallow was rendered into grease, it was +poured into one of the barrels. This process was repeated again and +again, and several times more, until, to the great delight of all, both +barrels were observed to be full to the muzzle. + +Of course the barrels were hot, and the grease inside them still in a +liquid state. It would be necessary, therefore, to wait patiently until +they should cool, and the candles become "frozen" and firm. In order to +hasten this result, they carried them to the place where the water +dripped from the roof of the cavern; and, resting them in an upright +position--so that the drops might fall upon, and trickle along the +barrels--they there left them, and returned to the fire. + +This was instantly put out--all excepting a slight spark or two to +assist in rekindling it. It was a wise precaution, for they knew they +would have a long while to wait for the cooling of the candles, and they +designed making at least another cast, before attempting to stir from +the spot. On examining their stock of fuel, they saw that it would be +sufficient to melt the tallow for another pair--they had string enough +for wicks--and of the grease the great carcass afforded them an +abundance. + +You will wonder why the barrel of Karl's gun was not also brought into +requisition. That is easily explained. Karl's piece was a rifle, and +on account of the grooves inside would not have served at all for such a +purpose. Had they attempted to mould a candle in it, the candle could +not have been drawn out, and they would only have wasted their labour. +This they knew, and therefore did not make the attempt. + +During the interval they employed themselves in "flaxing out" the +remainder of the hempen cord, and preparing it for wicks. They also +enjoyed a meal of the bear's-meat--this time properly cooked--for during +the continuance of the little fire, they had taken the opportunity to +broil themselves a steak or two; and after eating this, they felt in +much better case to continue their labours. + +They waited patiently until the time came round for drawing the candles. +It was a good long while, but the time arrived at length, when the +barrels became cold as ice, and the tallow inside appeared to be frozen +as hard. + +The fire was now rekindled--the iron moulds were slightly heated in the +blaze; and then the pull was given, slow and steady. A shout of joy +hailed the appearance of the long white cylinder as it came softly +gliding from the muzzle, until full three feet of a beautiful candle +were revealed to the eyes of the delighted trio. The second "draw" +succeeded equally well; and a brace of huge candles, each as big as +three "sixes," were now completely moulded and ready to be lit. + +A trial was immediately made, when it was found that both burned +beautifully. + +After a short while, another brace was added; and they had now at their +command light enough to last them for a period of nearly a hundred +hours! They could still have moulded more candles--for neither their +fat nor their fuel was exhausted--but surely they had enough? Surely in +a hundred hours they would look upon a far lovelier light--the light of +the glorious sun? + +And they did so in far less time--in less than the twentieth part of a +hundred hours, they gazed upon the orb of day. + +I shall not detail their wanderings backward and forward, upward and +downward, through the vaulted galleries of that stupendous cavern! +Suffice it to say, that the bright spot indicating the entrance at +length flashed before their eyes like a meteor; and dropping the candles +from their fingers they rushed forth, and once more gazed with delighted +eyes upon the shining face of heaven! + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY FOUR. + +CONCLUSION. + +You will imagine that after such a perilous adventure in the great cave, +they would never again set foot within its gloomy precincts. Neither +would they, had any mode of escaping from their other prison--the valley +itself--been offered. But they could think of none, and there still +lingered in their mind some slight hopes that one or other of the many +passages of the cave might lead through the mountains, or have an +opening at the top of the cliffs. + +Slight as were the grounds for hope, they could not give them up until +they should satisfy themselves by a complete, and thorough exploration; +and for more than a week after their adventure, they employed themselves +in making huge torches and moulding candles for this purpose. + +A large quantity of both were at length prepared, and the exploration +commenced. + +Day after day they entered the cavern--each day making an excursion that +lasted for several hours. Day by day they continued their fruitless +search--fruitless, since no outlet could be found. + +But it was not till after weeks thus spent--till after they had +traversed every vault of that stupendous cavern, and traced every +passage to its termination in the rocks, that they resigned all hope, +and gave up in despair. + +When the last day's search was ended, and they had emerged from the +cave, never to enter it again, all three might have been seen seated +upon the rocks near its mouth, in attitudes and with looks that +betokened a deep and hopeless despair. + +For a long time they sat in silence. The same thought was in the minds +of all--the one painful thought, that they were hopelessly cut off from +all communication with the world, and would never again look on human +faces save their own! + +Caspar was the first to break silence. + +"Oh!" groaned he, "it is an awful fate--an awful fate--here must we +live--here must we die--far away from home--from the world--alone, +alone, oh!" + +"Not alone, Caspar," replied Karl, making an effort to look +cheerful,--"not alone, for God is with us. From this time forth let us +strive to forget the world, and make Him our companion. _Let God be our +world_!" + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Plant Hunters, by Mayne Reid + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PLANT HUNTERS *** + +***** This file should be named 27981.txt or 27981.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/7/9/8/27981/ + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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