CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.
THE VULTURES AND THEIR KING.
They turned their horses' heads westward. It was their intention totravel in that direction, until they should strike the tracks of thebuffaloes, when they would turn to the north, follow upon the trail ofthese animals, and endeavour to come up with the great herd. This wasclearly the best course they could adopt.
As they were riding past the western extremity of the butte, a flock oflarge birds drew their attention. They were vultures. The boys nowremembered the cimmaron that had fallen over the cliff; and, looking up,they beheld its body still swinging from the tree. It was that whichhad attracted the vultures.
There were many of them--over an hundred in the flock. Some weresailing about in the air. Others had alighted on the top of the cliff,or perched themselves on the branches of the pines, while a few hoveredaround the carcass, occasionally settling a moment upon its stiffenedlimbs, and endeavouring to penetrate the hide with their beaks. Theyhad already torn out the eyes of the animal, but the tough skin of thebody still resisted their attacks.
These birds were larger than ravens, and of a dark colour--nearly black.At a distance they appeared purely black; but, upon a nearer view, anadmixture of brownish feathers could be perceived, and this was apparentin some of them more than in others. To a careless observer they wouldall have passed for birds of the same species, although that was not thecase. There were two distinct species of them, the "turkey-buzzard"(_Cathartes aura_), and the black vulture (_Cathartes atratus_). Ourboys knew them well enough--for both kinds are common in Louisiana, andthroughout all the southern part of the United States.
I have said that a careless observer would mistake the one species forthe other. They are nearly of the same size and colour, though thecarrion-crow is of a deeper black than the buzzard; but there are otherpoints of difference that would strike the eye of a naturalist at once.The buzzard is a much more handsomely formed bird, and is more graceful,both upon the ground and while sailing through the air. His wings arelonger and more elegantly plumed, and his tail is more tapering. Theskin of his naked head and neck, as well as that of his legs, is of areddish or flesh colour; while the same parts of the black vulture are amixture of black and grey--the black being caused by a down that growsthinly over the skin. They are easily distinguished in the air. Theblack vulture flies rather heavily--flapping his wings several timeswith a quick repetition, and then holding them horizontally for ahundred yards or so--while his short ill-proportioned tail is spread outlike a fan. The buzzard, on the contrary, holds his wings at rest--notin a horizontal position, but bent considerably upward. In thisattitude he will skim along for a quarter of a mile, without a singlestroke of his wings, and that, too, not downward as may be supposed, butalong a level, or a line often curving upward! How he executes thisupward movement is not known. Some suppose that he possesses the powerof inflating himself with heated air, which enables him to soar upwardwithout using his wings. This theory is not very clear, and requiresdemonstration before it can be accepted as the true one. Others saythat he is carried up by the impetus he has already obtained, by havingpreviously descended from an equal or greater height. This is not true,however, as the buzzard may be often seen to rise in this way after along flight along the level line. It is just possible that the sameprinciple by which the New Holland savages direct their boomerangs, orby which flat stones thrown horizontally often take an upwarddirection--a fact known to every boy--I say it is just possible thatthis principle, as yet but little understood, may be instructively actedon by the buzzard, and have something to do with his flight. Be thefacts as they may, it is an interesting sight to watch one of thesebirds, with broad wings outlined against the blue background of theheavens, now swimming in circles, now shooting off in horizontal lines,and anon soaring upward or tracing the undulating curves of the ogee.It is, to say the least of it, a striking and beautiful sight.
The turkey-buzzard is, upon the whole, a nobler bird than the blackvulture. There is more of the eagle about him. Both, it is true, arecarrion-feeders, like all vultures; but the buzzard also hunts afterother food, such as snakes, lizards, and small quadrupeds. He willattack young lambs or pigs, when a good opportunity offers. So, too,will the black vulture, but not so frequently. Neither of them,however, do much harm in this respect; and their preying on such animalsis an exception, and not a rule. They only do so, probably, when drivento it by hunger. Both species are gregarious, although they do notalways appear in flocks. The buzzards, particularly, are often seenhunting alone, or in twos or threes; but their mode of life brings themtogether in large numbers. They often assemble--both buzzards and blackvultures--to the number of hundreds, over a single carrion. Thebuzzards, however, are not so plenty as the black vultures; and in oneof these flocks more than three-fourths will be found of the latterspecies. The buzzards are the shyer birds; and they are less disposedto keep together in flocks. It has even been said that these are notgregarious, as they are often seen alone in the high regions of the air.But it is certain that not only do numbers of them roost together atnight, but they even associate with the black vultures at such times.
In most countries the vulture is a privileged bird. He is looked uponas a cheap and useful scavenger, clearing away the carcasses of deadanimals, that would otherwise pollute the atmosphere. This is a matterof much importance in hot countries; and it is only in such countriesthat vultures are commonly found. What a beautiful illustration of thecompleteness of Nature's laws! As you get into high latitudes andcolder regions--where the air is not so readily tainted by putridsubstances--the necessity for such a scavenger no longer exists, and heis rarely met with. There the great vulture gives place to the croakingraven, and the small carrion-crow.
Vultures, I have said, are privileged birds. In most countries they areprotected by law. This is the case with regard to the present species,both in English and Spanish America, where there is a fine for killingthem. The consequence is, they are seldom molested; and in many placesare so tame, that they will permit you to come within a few feet ofthem. In the cities and villages of the Southern States they alight inthe streets, and go to sleep upon the house-tops. They do the same inthe cities of Mexico and South America, where both species are alsofound.
As soon as our young hunters had got opposite the cliff where thevultures were, they reined up, determined to remain awhile, and watchthe manoeuvres of the birds. They were curious to see how the latterwould conduct themselves with a prey so singularly situated, as was thecarcass of the cimmaron. They did not dismount, but sat in theirsaddles, about an hundred yards from the cliff. The vultures, ofcourse, did not regard their presence; but continued to alight, bothupon the escarpment of the precipice and upon the loose rocks at itsfoot, as if no one was near.
"How very like the buzzards are to hen turkeys!" remarked Francois.
"Yes," rejoined Lucien, "that is the reason why they are called`turkey-buzzards.'"
Francois' observation was a very natural one. There are no two birds,not absolutely of the same species, that are more like each other than aturkey-buzzard and a small-sized turkey-hen--that is, the commondomestic turkey of the black variety, which, like the buzzard, isusually of a brownish colour. So like are they, that, at the distanceof a hundred yards, I have often taken the one for the other. Thisresemblance, however, extends no farther than to the generalappearance--the shape and colour. In most other respects they differ,as you may imagine, very materially.
"Talking of turkey-buzzards," continued Lucien, "reminds me of ananecdote that is told in relation to one."
"Oh! let us have it, brother," said Francois.
"With pleasure," replied Lucien. "It is intended to illustrate thesuperior cunning of the white over the Indian race; and is a pretty fairsample of the honesty and justice which the former has too oftenobserved in its dealings with the latter. It is as follows:--
"A white man and an Indian went out together
for a day's hunting. Theyagreed that the game should be equally divided at night, no matter whohad killed the largest share of it. During the day the Indian shot aturkey, and the white hunter a turkey-buzzard; and these two birds wereall that either of them were able to meet with. The proceeds of theday's hunt were brought together; and now arose a difficulty about anequal division of the game. Both knew well enough the value of a goodfat turkey; and both were as well acquainted with the utterworthlessness of the buzzard--which was in fact _worth less thannothing_, as its filthy odour was extremely repulsive. It was evidentthat the only way of making a fair division would have been to cut theturkey in two equal parts, and each to take one of the halves. Thewhite man, however, would not agree to this; but proposed that one ofthem should take the whole turkey, and the other the buzzard.
"`It's a pity,' argued he, `to spoil the birds. It's better for each ofus to take one.'
"`Very well,' said the Indian. `Shall we draw lots for the choice?'
"`Oh, no,' replied the other. `It's not worth while to do that. I'lldeal fairly with you. I'll take the turkey, and let you have thebuzzard; or, _you can take the buzzard_, and I'll keep the turkey.'
"The Indian reflected, that in either case the buzzard would fall to hisshare; but the white man's proposition _seemed_ a just one; and, as hecould find no flaw in its fairness, he was constrained, thoughreluctantly, to accept it. The white hunter, therefore, shouldered histurkey, and trudged off homewards, leaving the poor Indian supperless inthe woods."
"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Francois, "what a shallow Indian he must have beento be so easily outwitted!"
"Ah!" said Lucien, "he was not the only one of his race, who has beensimilarly deceived by white men. Many a _pewter_ dollar has been passedupon these simple sons of the forest, in exchange for their furs andpeltries. I have reason to suspect that one very rich fur-trader, nowdead, laid the foundation of his immense fortune in this way; but mysuspicions do not amount to positive proof, and therefore I do notassert it for a fact. Perhaps some historian may one day assail eventhe character of the _good_ Penn; who is said to have purchased from theIndians a territory of three _square miles_, but took care to have itmeasured off as _three miles square_! I hope the story is not a trueone."
"Why, that," said Francois, "is almost the same trick as Dido performedwith the bull's hide."
"Yes," replied his brother; "so you see that dishonesty belongsexclusively to no age or nation. It has existed in the past, and willcontinue to exist, until men, becoming more and more highly educated,will be moved by nobler ambition than the mere spirit of gain. Ibelieve there is such a time in the far future."
The conversation was again directed to the subject of the vultures.These now formed a flock of at least two hundred; and others were stillarriving upon the ground. As fresh ones came, they would wheel aboutfor awhile in the air, and then drop down and perch themselves on thetrees and rocks. Some sat crouching with drooping wings, and headsdrawn in--so that their long naked necks were quite concealed undertheir ruff-like collars. Others stood erect, with both wings raisedfrom the body, half unfolded, and held "a-kimbo," as eagles are oftenseen, and as they are sometimes represented upon coins and standards.It is supposed that both vultures and eagles spread their wings in thisfashion to cool themselves when they are too warm, and sun themselveswhen too cold--for they do so in cold, as well as warm weather; and inthis attitude they exhibit a singular and rather pleasing picture.
Some of the vultures could be seen descending from the very highestregions of the air. They could be noted like little specks against theblue sky, gradually growing larger and larger, until their broad wingscast moving shadows upon the sunlit sward, as the birds floated spirallydownward. Others were observed approaching in a horizontal direction--some of them seeming no bigger than sparrows, as they first caught theeye upon the distant horizon.
"What a distance some of them must have travelled!" remarked Francois;"and how do you think they know where to come? There was not one insight when we killed those big-horns."
"They have been guided by their scent, of course," replied Basil; "theyhave great power in that way."
"Not so, brother," interrupted Lucien; "that is one of the errors ofyour closet-naturalists--your Buffons and Cuviers--propagated by them,until it has become proverbial. Strange to say, it is altogethererroneous. It has been proved that vultures possess the sense of smellin a less degree even than most other creatures. Dogs and wolves farexcel them in this respect."
"How, then, have they found this carrion, for instance?"
"By their sight--for that sense they possess in a high degree ofperfection."
"But how can that be, Luce?" rejoined Basil. "See! yonder are somecoming from the eastward. Now, as the butte is between them and thebig-horn, how is it possible they could have seen it?"
"I do not say they have; but they have seen others, who have seenothers, who in their turn have seen others, who actually _have_ seen thecarrion."
"Oh! I understand; you mean that some one or more have first spied it;and, while making towards it, have been observed by others at a greaterdistance; and those again who have followed them have been followed byothers still more distant, and so on."
"Precisely so; and this at once accounts for the fabulous stories ofvultures scenting carrion at the distance of miles--none of whichstories are true, but have been propagated by men who, perhaps, neversaw a vulture in the air, but who, in order to make their books amusing,have readily adopted the exaggerated tales of every Munchausen theycould meet with."
"Your theory is certainly the more probable one."
"It is the true one. It has been proved to be so by numerousexperiments with vultures; all of which have gone to show, that thesebirds have anything but a keen sense of smell. On the contrary, it isremarkably weak; and I think it is well for them it is so, consideringthe sort of food they live upon."
"This flock must have gathered from all parts," remarked Francois; "wesee them coming in from every point of the compass. No doubt some ofthem have travelled fifty miles."
"As likely an hundred," rejoined Lucien. "Such a journey is a merebagatelle to them. Now, if I knew the precise moment at which thecarrion was discovered by the first one, I could tell how far each ofthe others had come--that is, each of them whose arrival we are nowwitnessing."
"But how could you do that, brother?" demanded Basil and Francois, inastonishment; "pray tell us how?"
"I should make my calculation thus:--In the first place, they have allstarted _at the same time_."
"At the same time!" interrupted Basil; "how can that be, if some of themwere an hundred miles off?"
"No matter what distance," replied Lucien; "it is all the same. Theyhave all commenced their flight hither, not _exactly_, but _nearly_, atthe same moment. Is it not plain? These birds, while hunting for theirfood, sweep through the air in great circles. Each of these circlesoverlooks a large tract of the earth's surface below. Theircircumferences approach or intersect each other--so that, in fact, thewhole country is under a network of them. Now, as soon as one of thevultures, thus sailing about, discovers with far-seeing eye the carrionbelow, he immediately drops from his high orbit, and wings his waydownward. He is observed by that one circling nearest him; who, wellknowing the cause of the altered flight of his companion, at onceforsakes his own orbit and follows; and he, in his turn, is followed byanother; and so on to the end of the chain."
"But how can one of them tell that the other is gone in pursuit ofprey?" inquired Francois, interrupting Lucien in his explanation.
"Suppose you saw Basil at a great distance off on the prairie, could younot tell by his actions when he had started game, and was in pursuit ofit?"
"Oh! yes! I could easily."
"Well, then, the vultures, who have far keener sight than you,understand each other's movements thoroughly--even to the shaking of afeather--so that they can easily tell when one of their number has agood dinner in si
ght.
"I think I have shown," continued Lucien, "that they all start within afew seconds of the same time; and as they fly in a nearly direct linetowards the object, if we knew the rate at which they go, it would onlyremain for us to mark the date of their arrival, to be able to tell howfar they had come. Of course it is supposed that we have already notedthe time when the first one came upon the spot.
"If we suppose," continued Lucien, as he pointed up to the vultures,"that the first of these has alighted here two hours ago, and we allowthem a flight of thirty miles an hour, we may then safely conclude thatsome of those now coming in have made a journey of sixty miles thismorning. What think you of my theory?"
"It is, to say the least of it, a curious one, brother," replied Basil.
"But what are they waiting for now?" demanded Francois; "why don't theyat once fall to, and enjoy it while it is fresh?"
Francois' interrogatory was a very natural one. Most of the vultures,instead of attacking the carrion, were, as we have already seen, sittingperched upon rocks and trees--some of them in listless attitudes, asthough they were not hungry, and did not care to eat.
Basil proffered an explanation.
"No doubt," said he, "they are waiting until the flesh becomes putrid.It is said that they prefer it in that state."
"And that," remarked Lucien, "is another assertion that has nofoundation in fact. They do _not_ prefer it in that state. On thecontrary, it is certain that vultures like their food better when fresh,and eat it so when they can get it."
"And what hinders them now?" inquired Francois.
"The tough hide hinders them. These birds do not possess the greatmuscular power in their claws that eagles do, else you would soon seethe big-horn reduced to a skeleton. They are waiting until its skinbecomes more tender, through decomposition, so that they may be able totear it open. That is why they are waiting."
Such was evidently the true explanation; for each of the new-comers wasseen to attack the carcass; and, after finding he could make nothing ofit, fly off and settle quietly down on the rocks or trees.
As the boys watched them, however, some more eager than the resteffected an incision--at the spot where Basil's bullet had entered thebody of the animal--and were rapidly widening it. The others,perceiving this, began to fly toward the spot; and, in less than fiveminutes, the tree was black with the filthy birds, until they crowdedeach other upon the branches. Several perched upon the limbs and hornsof the animal itself, until there was not a space left for another tostand upon. But their united weight, combined with that of the carcass,was too much for the roots of the pine. A loud crash was heard,followed by the sharp rat-like squeaking of the vultures, as theyflapped hurriedly away; and as the broken tree bent downwards, the bodyof the big-horn was precipitated to the earth, and fell upon the rocksbelow!
There was a great commotion among the assembled birds; and the sound oftheir broad wings, hurriedly beating the air, could have been heard formiles off; but their fright was soon over, and they all settled downagain near the carrion.
The accident was in their favour rather than otherwise. The alreadydecomposing body, by falling from such a vast height upon the sharprocks, was mangled, and the skin burst open! This the foul birds werenot slow in perceiving; and first one, and then another, flapped towardsit, and commenced their horrid meal. In a few moments they werecrowding over the body, hissing like geese, striking at each other withwings, beak, and claws, and altogether exhibiting such a scene ofravenous hunger and angry passion as would be difficult to portray.They soon got in among the entrails of the animal, and commenceddragging them forth. Sometimes two of them would seize a long string ofthese, and each swallowing from opposite ends, would meet each other inthe middle of the piece. Then would be witnessed a singular scene, asthe birds dragged one another over the ground, each trying to make theother disgorge his filthy morsel! The young hunters, amused by thesecurious episodes, agreed to remain and watch them for awhile; and withthis intent they dismounted from their horses, so as to relieve theanimals of their weight.
A new object of interest now presented itself to their attention.Francois discovered it. Francois had been directing his eyes upward,watching the graceful motions of such of the vultures as were still inthe air. All at once he was heard to exclaim,--
"A _white_ buzzard! a _white_ buzzard!"
Lucien and Basil saw that Francois pointed to the sky overhead. Theyraised their eyes in that direction. There, sure enough, was a _whitebird_; but of what species neither of them could make out. It wasflying at a vast elevation--higher, apparently, than any of thebuzzards; but even at that great height it appeared larger than any ofthem. Like them, it seemed to sail about with great ease, as if the skywas its natural home.
When first observed, it appeared about as large as a gull; and the boysmight have taken it for one--not knowing any other _white_ bird likelyto be flying about at such a height--but as there were several buzzardsnear it, and evidently _below_ it, and as these looked no bigger thanswallows, what must be its size? It was not only bigger than a buzzard,but, at least, three times the size of any one of them. Thus calculatedLucien, and his calculation was not far from the truth.
The strange bird then could be no gull. What was it? A swan? No. Itsmode of flight answered that question at once. It bore no resemblancewhatever to the short rapid flapping of the swan, nor to the flight ofany water-bird. Was it a pelican? or perhaps a white ibis (_Tantalusalba_)? or the white egret heron (_Ardea egretta_)? No; it was none ofthese. The slow laborious flight of these great wading birds would havebeen at once recognised by any of the boys, who were accustomed to seethem often hovering over the bayous of Louisiana. But this bird flewdifferently from any of these. It used its wings more after the mannerof the buzzards themselves or the black vultures; but as the boys couldthink of no _white_ bird of similar flight, they were puzzled as to whatit might be. Its size and mode of flying would have led them to believeit was an eagle; but its colour forbade this supposition. There were nowhite eagles, that ever they had heard of.
I have said that, when first seen by Francois, the strange bird appearedabout the size of a gull; but as the young hunters stood gazing up atit, they saw that it was gradually becoming larger and larger. Theyknew from this that it was descending towards the earth, and, to allappearance, directly over the spot occupied by themselves and thevultures. As they had all three grown very curious to know what sort ofa creature it might be, they were expressing their hopes that it wouldcontinue its descent. They knew that _it_ must have seen _them_already; and it would, therefore, be useless for them to attemptconcealing themselves. In fact, there was no cover for them, had theywished to do so.
As they stood watching and waiting, an exclamation, uttered by all threeat the same moment, announced that _another white bird_ was in sight!It was still high up, like a spot of snow upon the sky; but it, too, wasmaking downward, in the track of the former, and appeared to be of thesame species. This soon became evident; for the one last seen,descending more vertically, soon overtook the other; and both togethercontinued to sail downward upon a spiral curve.
In a few moments they had arrived within two hundred yards of the earth;and now they circled slowly around, looking down as they flew.
They were directly over the spot occupied by the vultures; and as theday was one of the brightest, the boys had an opportunity of beholdingtwo of the most beautiful birds they had ever seen. They were notentirely white--although, in looking at them from below, they appearedso; but as, in sailing round the circle, they sometimes held themselvessideways in the air, their backs at intervals could be seen distinctly.It was then noticed that the upper part of their bodies was of a richcream colour, while their wings above--both plumes and coverts--were ofa glossy brown. Their tails were tipped with black; but the whole ofthe under part of their bodies was of a pure milk-like white. But themost singular appearance about these birds was presented on their headsand necks. T
hese were entirely naked of feathers as far down as theshoulders--where the neck was encircled by a large ruff that looked likea tippet--and the naked skin of both head and neck exhibited the mostbrilliant colours of orange and red. These colours were not mixed normottled together; but each belonged to separate parts of the membrane,forming distinct and regular figures--according to the manner in whichthe cartilaginous covering is itself most singularly divided. Theirbeaks were orange-red; and over their bases grew crest-likeprotuberances, like the comb of a cock. Their eyes had dark pupils andwhite irides, encircled by rings of a deep red colour; and, in short,the whole appearance of these beautiful creatures was such that, likethe peacock, when once seen, they could never be forgotten.
"I have never seen one of them before," remarked Lucien, "but I have nodifficulty in telling what they are."
"What?" inquired Basil and Francois, impatiently.
"_King-vultures_."
As Lucien said this, the birds, that did not seem to regard the presenceof the party, swooped suddenly down towards the carrion. The boysfollowed them with their eyes--curious to witness what effect theirarrival would have upon the buzzards and black vultures. To thesurprise of all, not one of the latter was now to be seen near thecarcass! While the attention of the party had been directed to theking-vultures, the others had been regarding them as well; and, knowingfrom experience what these great birds were, both buzzards and blackvultures had scattered precipitately, and now sat upon the rocks at arespectful distance!
The king-vultures, without seeming to heed their presence, hopped up tothe carrion, and commenced tearing it with their beaks. In a fewminutes these creatures, that had appeared so clean and beautiful--forthe king-vultures are as proud of their plumage as peacocks, and usuallykeep it in the best order--exhibited a picture of filth that wasdisgusting to look upon. The brilliant hue of their heads and necks waschanged into a dark blood colour; and their white breasts became dappledwith gore. Their vulturous appetites rendered them regardless of allelse.
"Shall we fire, and kill one?" asked Francois.
"No," said Lucien, "it is not right to deprive the poor creatures oflife. If you wish to get a nearer view of them, have patience, and yourwish may be gratified without the expenditure of powder and lead."
What Lucien said proved correct. At the end of half an hour or so, thebirds appeared to have eaten as much as they could get into theirstomachs; and commenced stalking over the ground with a heavy sluggishgait. The boys, who had waited patiently, now ran forward; and, findingthat the vultures were unable to rise into the air, after a chase--inwhich Marengo took a prominent part--secured them both.
But they did not hold them long; for the moment that Francois, who wasthe most eager to seize them, laid his hands upon one, he let it goagain with an exclamation of disgust; and ran faster from the vulture,than the latter could run from him!
The fetid odour of the creatures--which was quite as strong as that ofthe carrion itself--was too much for the olfactory nerves of our heroes;and they were all three glad enough to let the king-vultures off withouta second encounter.
As they returned to their horses, they observed that the buzzards andblack vultures were once more collecting about the remains of thebig-horn. They had been joined by several prairie-wolves; and thesewere snarling and snapping--now driving off the birds, and now receivinga blow from the long wings of the latter, that caused them to growl morefiercely than ever. Our adventurers did not wait for the _finale_ ofthis hideous scene; but remounting, once more headed their horses to theprairie.