CHAPTER XXVI.

CHAPTER XXVI.

_A new country discovered.—The troop of buffalos; a precious

acquisition._

The following morning found us all in good health, and thankful

for the Divine protection we had enjoyed. We breakfasted on some

milk from the cow, some boiled potatoes, and a small portion

of Dutch cheese, and formed during our meal the plan of the business

for the day: we had in vain hoped that night and our bright fire

would bring back the fugitive; we had therefore no resource but to

depend upon our own exertions for recovering him. It was accordingly

decided that one of the boys and myself, attended by the two dogs,

should seek him in every direction through the bamboo plantation;

and if we should not succeed in finding him, I was to return

to the hut, where I knew my wife and the other boys would have

been employed in cutting sugar-canes and collecting a provision

of the different articles we had met with, preparatory to our

return the following day to Falcon’s Stream. As I was to take

both the dogs, it seemed but reasonable that I should leave the

two eldest boys to protect little Francis and his mother, and

to take for my own escort the agile Jack, who was almost beside

himself with joy at this determination.

We took then our hatchets, our fire-arms, a little saw for the

cocoa-nuts we might happen to find, and began our course with

the first dawn of the morning. We soon reached the bamboo plantation,

which we entered, preceded by the dogs, and found means, though

not without difficulty, to force ourselves along its intricate

entanglements. After the most exhausting fatigue, and when we

were on the point of relinquishing all further hope, we discovered

the print of the ass’s hoofs on the soil, which inspired us with

new ardour in the pursuit. After spending a whole hour in further

endeavours, we at length, on reaching the skirts of the plantation,

perceived the sea in the distance, and soon after found ourselves

in an open space which bounded the great bay. A considerable

river flowed into the bay at this place, and we perceived that

the ridge of rocks which we had invariably observed to the right,

extended to the shore, terminating in a perpendicular precipice,

leaving only a narrow passage between the rocks and the river,

which during every flux of the tide must necessarily be under

water, but which at that moment was dry and passable. The probability

that the ass would prefer passing by this narrow way, to the

hazard of the water, determined us to follow in the same path:

we had also some curiosity to ascertain what might be found on

the other side of the rocks, for as yet we were ignorant whether

they formed a boundary to our island, or divided it into two

portions; whether we should see there, land, or water. We continued

to advance, and at length reached a stream which issued foaming

from a large mass of rock and fell in a cascade into the river;

the bed of this stream was so deep, and its course so rapid,

that we were a long time finding a part where it might be most

practicable for us to cross. When we had got to the other side,

we found the soil again sandy and mixed with a fertile kind of

earth: in this place we no longer saw naked rock; and here we

again discovered the print of the ass’s hoofs.

By observing with attention, we beheld with astonishment that

there were the prints of the feet of other animals also, that

they were somewhat different from those of the ass, and much

larger. Our curiosity was so strongly excited by this appearance,

that we resolved to follow the traces; and they conducted us

to a plain at a great distance, which presented to our wondering

eyes the exhilarating image of a terrestrial paradise. We ascended

a hill which partly concealed from our view this delicious scene,

and then with the assistance of the glass we looked down upon

a range of country exhibiting every rural beauty that the mind

could conceive, and where a profound tranquillity had seemed

to take up its abode. To our right appeared the majestic wall

of rocks which divided the island, some of which appeared to

touch the heavens, others seemed to imprint the clouds with wild

fantastic forms, while mists broken into pieces partially concealed

their tops. To the left, a chain of gently rising hills, the

long green verdure of which was tinged with blue, stretched as

far as the eye could discern, and were interspersed at agreeable

distances with little woods of palm-trees of every kind. The

river we had crossed flowed in a serpentine course through this

exquisite valley, presenting the idea of a broad floating silver

ribbon, while its banks were adorned with reeds and various aquatic

plants. I could with difficulty take my eyes from this enchanting

spectacle, and I seated myself on the ground to contemplate and

enjoy it at my leisure. Neither the plain nor on the hills was

there the smallest trace of the abode of man, or of any kind

of cultivation; it was every where a virgin soil in all its original

purity; nothing endowed with life appeared to view, excepting

a few birds which flew fearlessly around us, and a quantity of

brilliantly coloured butterflies, which the eye frequently confounded

with the different sorts of unknown flowers, which here and there

diversified the surface of the soil.

By straining our eyes, however, as far as we could see, we thought

we perceived at a great distance some specks upon the land, that

seemed to be in motion. We hastened towards the spot; and as

we drew nearer, to our inexpressible surprise discovered a group

of animals, which in the assemblage presented something like

the outline of a troop of horses or of cows; I observed them

sometimes run up to each other, and then suddenly stoop to graze.

Though we had not lately met with further traces of the ass,

I was not entirely without hope of finding him among this group

of animals. We accordingly drew near by a path we found in a

plantation of reeds, that we might not give notice of our approach,

being ignorant of the kind of animal we were about to meet. We

had not gone far when the soil became so marshy, and the reeds

entangled to such a degree, that we were obliged to get out of

the plantation and wind along on the outside. We were soon near

the animals, which we perceived consisted of rather a numerous

troop of wild buffalos[14]. This animal is formed at first sight to

inspire the beholder with terror; it is endowed with an extraordinary

degree of strength, and two or three of them were capable of

destroying us in a moment, should they feel the desire of attacking

us. My alarm was so great, that I remained for a few moments

fixed to the spot like a statue. By good luck the dogs were far

behind us, and the buffalos having never beheld the face of man,

gave no sign of fear or of displeasure at our approach; they

stood perfectly still, with their large round eyes fixed upon

us in astonishment; those which were lying down got up slowly,

but not one among them seemed to have any hostile disposition towards

us. The circumstance of the dogs’ absence was most likely, on this

occasion, the means of our safety, for on the least demonstration

from these, no doubt the fierce animals would instantly have

fallen upon us. As it was, we had time to draw back quietly and

prepare our fire-arms. It was not, however, my intention to make

use of them in any way but for defence, being sensible that we

were not strong enough for the encounter, and recollecting also

to have read that the sound of a gun drives the buffalo to a

state of desperation. I therefore thought only of retreating;

and with my poor Jack, for whom I was more alarmed than for myself,

was proceeding in this way, when unfortunately Turk and Ponto

ran up to us, and we could see were noticed by the buffalos.

The animals instantly, and altogether, set up such a roar, as

to make our nerves tremble with the shock of so terrible a noise;

they struck their horns and their hoofs upon the ground, which

they tore up by pieces and scattered in the air. I with horror

foresaw the moment when confounding us with the dogs, which no

doubt they mistook for jackals, they would seize upon and tear

us to pieces. Our brave Turk and Ponto, fearless of danger, ran

among the troop in spite of all our efforts to detain them, and

according to their manner of attacking, laid hold of the ears

of a young buffalo which happened to be standing a few paces nearer

to us than the rest; and though the creature began a tremendous

roar and motion with his hoofs, they held him fast, and were

dragging him towards us. Thus hostilities had commenced; and unless

we could resolve to abandon the cause of our valiant defenders,

we were now forced upon the measure of open war, which, considering

the strength and number of the enemy, wore a face of the most

pressing and inevitable danger. Our every hope seemed now to

be in the chance of the terror the buffalos would feel at the

noise of our musketry, which for the first time would assail

their organs, and perhaps excite them to flight. With, I must

confess, a palpitating heart and trembling hands, we fired both

at the same moment: the buffalos, terrified by the sound and

by the smoke, remained for an instant motionless, as if struck

by a thunderbolt, and then one and all betook themselves to flight

with such incredible rapidity that they were soon beyond the

reach of our sight. We heard their loud roaring from a considerable

distance, which by degrees subsided into silence, and we were

left with only one of their terrific species near us; this one,

a female, was no doubt the mother of the young buffalo which

the dogs had seized and still kept a prisoner; she had drawn

near on hearing its cries, and had been wounded by our guns,

but not killed; the creature was in a furious state: after a

moment’s pause, she took aim at the dogs, and with her head on

the ground, as if to guide her by the scent, was advancing in

her rage, and would have torn them to pieces, if I had not prevented

her by firing upon her with my double-barrelled gun, and thus

putting an end to her existence.

It was only now that we began to breathe. A few moments before,

death, in the most horrible and inevitable form, seemed to stare

us in the face! But now we might hope that every danger was over!

I was enchanted with the behaviour of my boy, who, instead of

giving way to fears and lamentations, as other lads of his age

would probably have done, had stood all the time in a firm posture

by my side, and had fired with a steady aim in silence. I bestowed

freely on him the commendation he had so well deserved, and made

him sensible how necessary it is in times of danger to preserve

a presence of mind, which in many cases is of itself sufficient

to effect the sought-for deliverance. But I had not time for

a long discourse. The young buffalo still remained a prisoner

with his ears in the mouths of the dogs, and the pain occasioned

him to be so furious that I was fearful he might do them some

injury.

I therefore determined to advance and give them what assistance

I might find practicable. To say the truth, I scarcely knew in

what way to effect this. The buffalo, though young, was strong

enough to revenge himself, if I were to give the dogs a sign

to let go his ears. I had the power of killing him with a pistol

at a stroke; but I had a great desire to preserve him alive,

and to tame him, that he might be a substitute for the ass, which

we now had no hope of recovering.

I found myself altogether in a perplexing state of indecision,

when Jack suddenly and unexpectedly interposed a most effective

means for accomplishing my wishes. He had his string with balls

in his pocket; he drew it out hastily, and making a few steps

backward, he threw it so skilfully as to entangle the buffalo

completely, and throw him down. As I could then approach him

safely, I tied his legs by two and two together with a very strong

cord; the dogs released his ears, and from this moment we considered

the buffalo as our own. Jack was almost mad with joy. What a

magnificent creature! How much better than the ass he will look,

harnessed to the cart! How my mother and the boys will be surprised

and stare at him as we draw near! repeated he many and many times.

_Father._—Ah hah! What, you already fancy him exactly to your

wishes, Jack; already you have harnessed him to the loaded cart,

while for my part I have not yet been able to conceive a means

for even removing him from this place! Will you carry him upon

your back?

_Jack._—If I were Sampson or Hercules I would most willingly;

but, father, he will be able to walk if we untie his legs.

_Father._—And if we bid him do so, you think he will implicitly

obey us?

_Jack._—The dogs would make him get on.

_Father._—And the buffalo might kill the dogs, Jack, and then

turn back at a full gallop:—on reflection, the best way I think

will be to tie his two fore-legs together, so tight that he cannot

run, and loose enough for him to walk, as they do to mischievous

horses: I will assist the scheme by trying a method which is

practised in Italy for subduing the buffalo; you will think it

somewhat cruel, but the success will be certain; it shall afterwards

be our study to make him amends by the kindest care and treatment.

Hold you the cord which confines his legs with all your strength,

that he may not be able to move:—I then called Turk and Ponto,

and made each again take hold of the ears of the animal, who

was now keeping his head quite still; I took from my pocket a

sharp and pointed knife, and held a piece of string in my hand

in readiness; I placed myself before the buffalo, and taking

hold of his snout, I made a hole in his nostril, into which I

quickly inserted the string, which I immediately tied so closely

to a tree, that the animal was prevented from the least motion

of the head which might have inflamed the wound and increased

his pain. I drew off the dogs the moment the operation was performed.

The creature, thus rendered furious, would have run away, but

the stricture of the legs and the pain in the nostril prevented

it. The first attempt I made to pull the cord, found him docile

and ready to accommodate his motions to our designs, and I perceived

that we might now begin our march. I left him for a short time

to make some other preparations.

I was unwilling to leave so fine a prey as the dead buffalo behind

us: I therefore, after considering what was to be done, began

by cutting out the tongue, which I sprinkled with some of the

salt we had in our provision-bag: I next took off the skin from

the four feet, taking care not to tear it in the operation. I

remembered that the Americans use these skins, which are of a

soft and flexible quality, as boots and shoes, and I considered

them as precious articles. I lastly cut some of the flesh of

the animal with the skin on, and salted it, and abandoned the

rest to the dogs, as a recompense for the valour of their behaviour,

and I then repaired to the river to wash myself after the performance

of these butcher-like employments.

We now seated ourselves under the shade of a large tree; and

as we ate the remaining portion of our provisions, amused ourselves

with an animated review of the scene which had been passing.

Our dogs were no less busily employed in greedily devouring the

flesh of the buffalo.

As we were not disposed to leave the spot in a hurry, I desired

Jack to take the saw and cut down a small quantity of the reeds,

which from their enormous size might hereafter be of use to us.

We set to work, but I observed that he took pains to choose the

smallest.—What shall we do, said I, with these small-sized reeds?

You are thinking, I presume, of nothing better than providing

a bag-pipe to announce a triumphal arrival to our companions!

You are mistaken, father, answered Jack; I am thinking rather

of some candlesticks to present to my mother, who will set so

high a value on them!

This is a good thought, my boy, said I, tapping him on the shoulder,

I am well pleased both with the kindness and the readiness of

your invention, and I will give you my assistance in trying to

empty the reeds without breaking them; if we should not succeed,

at least we know where to provide ourselves with more. I now

helped him to choose some reeds, and soon after we set out on

our return home.

We had so many and such heavy articles to remove, that I did not

hesitate to dismiss, for that day, all thoughts of looking further

for the ass, that we might return the sooner to our companions

to relieve any uneasiness they might have felt at our long stay,

and also to be myself satisfied respecting their safety during

our absence. I began now to think of untying the young buffalo;

and on approaching him, perceived with pleasure that he was asleep,

which afforded me a proof that his wound was not extremely painful.

When I awaked him he gave a start as I began to pull him gently

with the string; but he afterwards seemed to forget his pain,

and followed me without resistance. I fastened another string

to his horns, and led him on by drawing both together; and he

performed the journey with little inconvenience, and with so

unexpected a docility, that to ease ourselves of a part of the

heavy burdens we had to carry, we even ventured on the measure

of fastening the bundles of reeds upon his back, and upon these

we laid the salted pieces of the buffalo. The creature did not

seem aware that he was carrying a load; he followed in our path,

as before, and thus on the first day of our acquaintance he rendered

us an essential service.

In a short time we found ourselves once more at the narrow passage

between the torrent and the precipice of the rocks, which I have

already mentioned. Near this spot, we met with a large jackal,

who on perceiving us, slunk away, but was stoutly pursued by

our brave dogs, who overtook him at the entrance of a cavern,

and forced him to give them battle. The fight, however, was unequal;

the dogs were two to one, besides being protected by their pointed

collars, which enabled them to resist the most skilful attacks

of the enemy. When we got up to them, the jackal was already

killed. On examining our prey, we found it was a female, which

from appearances had lately brought forth young, and we therefore

concluded that she was going to suckle them in the cavern, where

no doubt they lay concealed. Jack would instantly have entered

to search for them; but I prevented him, from the apprehension

that the male might also be there for the purpose of guarding

them. I accordingly used the precaution of shooting off my piece

into the dark profundity which presented itself, when finding

all quiet, I gave him leave to enter, being myself both proud

and gratified by every proof he gave of personal courage.

For some moments after entering the cavern, the complete darkness

which prevailed prevented him from seeing any thing around him;

but when his eyes had become accustomed to it, he discerned in

a corner a litter of young jackals: the dogs who accompanied

had before discovered them by the smell; they flew upon the creatures

without mercy, and with the exception of one, which Jack found

means to preserve, put an end to their existence. He came out

of the cavern with the young jackal in his arms, asking if he

might have leave to rear it as Fritz had done his monkey; and

to this I made no objection, being unwilling to refuse to one

of my children what I had granted to another; besides that it

appeared to me that nothing could be so cruel as to kill the

innocent little being in cold blood, or to leave it there to

perish. I also felt the inclination to make an experiment on

the effects and power of education, and to observe if it should

be possible to succeed in taming him in such a degree as to obtain

in consequence a race of good running dogs; at all events it

seemed worth while to convince ourselves by the experiment. Jack

therefore obtained leave to keep him, and could scarcely express

the joy he felt: he pressed the animal to his bosom and devoured

it with kisses, and promised to bestow upon him so faultless

an education, that he should become the gentlest and most engaging

little creature in the world.

We now left the cavern. I had fastened the young buffalo to a

tree near the cascade without remarking of what species it might

be; when I went to release him, I saw that it was a kind of small

palm-tree, and on looking about me I observed also some other

kinds of the palm which I had not before met with[15]. One of

the kinds I now remarked was from ten to twelve feet in height;

its leaves were armed with thorns, and it bore a fruit resembling

a small cucumber in form, but which at this time was immature,

so that we could not taste it. The second, which was smaller,

was also thorny; it was now in blossom, and had no fruit. I suspected

that the first of these was the _little royal palm_, sometimes

called _awiva_, or _Adam’s needle_; and the other, the _dwarf

palm_. I resolved to avail myself of both for further fortifying

my enclosure at Tent-House, and also to protect the outer side

of the narrow pass immediately over the torrent of the cascade.

I determined to return and plant a line of them there, as close

to each other as the consideration of their growth would allow;

for my intention, of course, was to effect this by means of the

young shoots which presented themselves in great abundance; we

also hoped by that time to find their fruit ripe, and to ascertain

their kind.

We repassed the river in safety, and accompanied by the agreeable

noise of its foaming cascades, we regained the hazardous and

narrow pass at the turn of the rocks. We however proceeded with

caution, and finding ourselves safe on the other side, we thought of

quickening our pace to arrive the sooner at the hut: we accordingly

had the happiness to rejoin our friends before the close of the

evening; and though we were somewhat fatigued, yet in other respects

we were well and satisfied with the success of our various

undertakings. We were received with the liveliest demonstrations of

joy, and, as usual, a thousand questions asked at once. Where, how

and where did we procure such interesting creatures as the buffalo

and the golden fox? Shall we see the precipice and the cascade

at the end of the wall of rocks?—Questions were so rapidly proposed

to us, that we were obliged to demand on our parts the necessary

time for answering them. This being granted, the story of our

different adventures served for the amusement of the evening:

conversing happily together concerning them, we enjoyed the sober

meal which had been prepared for us; and having warmed ourselves

by the fire, we retired in thankfulness to rest.