*XVI*
*FIELD WORK OF A NATURALIST*
That night Ken talked natural history to the boys and read extracts froma small copy of Sclater he had brought with him.
They were all particularly interested in the cat tribe.
The fore feet of all cats have five toes, the hind feet only four.Their claws are curved and sharp, and, except in case of one species ofleopard, can be retracted in their sheaths. The claws of the great catspecies are kept sharp by pulling them down through bark of trees. Allcats walk on their toes. And the stealthy walk is due to hairy pads orcushions. The claws of a cat do not show in its track as do those of adog. The tongues of all cats are furnished with large papillae. Theyare like files, and the use is to lick bones and clean their fur. Theirlong whiskers are delicate organs of perception to aid them in findingtheir way on their night quests. The eyes of all cats are large andfull, and can be altered by contraction or expansion of iris, accordingto the amount of light they receive. The usual color is gray or tawnywith dark spots or stripes. The uniform tawny color of the lion and thepanther is perhaps an acquired color, probably from the habit of theseanimals of living in desert countries. It is likely that in primitivetimes cats were all spotted or striped.
Naturally the boys were most interested in the jaguar, which is thelargest of the cat tribe in the New World. The jaguar ranges fromnorthern Mexico to northern Patagonia. Its spots are larger than thoseof the leopard. Their ground color is a rich tan or yellow, sometimesalmost gold. Large specimens have been known nearly seven feet fromnose to end of tail.
The jaguar is an expert climber and swimmer. Humboldt says that wherethe South American forests are subject to floods the jaguar sometimestakes to tree life, living on monkeys. All naturalists agree on theferocious nature of jaguars, and on the loudness and frequency of theircries. There is no record of their attacking human beings withoutprovocation. Their favorite haunts are the banks of jungle rivers, andthey often prey upon fish and turtles.
The attack of a jaguar is terrible. It leaps on the back of its preyand breaks its neck. In some places there are well-known scratchingtrees where jaguars sharpen their claws. The bark is worn smooth infront from contact with the breasts of the animals as they stand up, andthere is a deep groove on each side. When new scars appear on thesetrees it is known that jaguars are in the vicinity. The cry of thejaguar is loud, deep, hoarse, something like _pu, pu, pu_. There ismuch enmity between the panther, or mountain-lion, and the jaguar, andit is very strange that generally the jaguar fears the lion, although heis larger and more powerful.
Pepe had interesting things to say about jaguars, or _tigres_, as hecalled them. But Ken, of course, could not tell how much Pepe said wastruth and how much just native talk. At any rate, Pepe told of oneMexican who had a blind and deaf jaguar that he had tamed. Ken knewthat naturalists claimed the jaguar could not be tamed, but in thisinstance Ken was inclined to believe Pepe. This blind jaguar wasenormous in size, terrible of aspect, and had been trained to trailanything his master set him to. And Tigre, as he was called, neverslept or stopped till he had killed the thing he was trailing. As he wasblind and deaf, his power of scent had been abnormally developed.
Pepe told of a fight between a huge crocodile and a jaguar in which bothwere killed. He said jaguars stalked natives and had absolutely nofear. He knew natives who said that jaguars had made off with childrenand eaten them. Lastly, Pepe told of an incident that had happened inTampico the year before. There was a ship at dock below Tampico, just onthe outskirts where the jungle began, and one day at noon two bigjaguars leaped on the deck. They frightened the crew out of their wits.George verified this story, and added that the jaguars had been chasedby dogs, had boarded the ship, where they climbed into the rigging, andstayed there till they were shot.
"Well," said Ken, thoughtfully, "from my experience I believe a jaguarwould do anything."
The following day promised to be a busy one for Hal, without any timefor tricks. George went hunting before breakfast--in fact, before theothers were up--and just as the boys were sitting down to eat heappeared on the nearer bank and yelled for Pepe. It developed that foronce George had bagged game.
He had a black squirrel, a small striped wildcat, a peccary, athree-foot crocodile, and a duck of rare plumage.
After breakfast Hal straightway got busy, and his skill and knowledgeearned praise from George and Pepe. They volunteered to help, whichoffer Hal gratefully accepted. He had brought along a folding canvastank, forceps, knives, scissors, several packages of preservatives, andtin boxes in which to pack small skins.
His first task was to mix a salt solution in the canvas tank. This wasfor immersing skins. Then he made a paste of salt and alum, and afterthat a mixture of two-thirds glycerin and one-third water and carbolicacid, which was for preserving small skins and to keep them soft.
And as he worked he gave George directions on how to proceed with thewildcat and squirrel skins.
"Skin carefully and tack up the pelts fur side down. Scrape off all thefat and oil, but don't scrape through. To-morrow when the skins are drysoak them in cold water till soft. Then take them out and squeeze dry.I'll make a solution of three quarts water, one-half pint salt, and oneounce oil of vitriol. Put the skins in that for half an hour. Squeezedry again, and hang in shade. That 'll tan the skin, and the moths willnever hurt them."
When Hal came to take up the duck he was sorry that some of thebeautiful plumage had been stained.
"I want only a few water-fowl," he said. "And particularly one of thebig Muscovies. And you must keep the feathers from getting soiled."
It was interesting to watch Hal handle that specimen. First he tookfull measurements. Then, separating the feathers along the breast, hemade an incision with a sharp knife, beginning high up on breast-boneand ending at tail. He exercised care so as not to cut through theabdomen. Raising the skin carefully along the cut as far as the musclesof the leg, he pushed out the knee joint and cut it off. Then heloosened the skin from the legs and the back, and bent the tail down tocut through the tail joint. Next he removed the skin from the body andcut off the wings at the shoulder joint. Then he proceeded down theneck, being careful not to pull or stretch the skin. Extreme care wasnecessary in cutting round the eyes. Then, when he had loosened theskin from the skull, he severed the head and cleaned out the skull. Hecoated all with the paste, filled the skull with cotton, and thenimmersed them in the glycerin bath.
The skinning of the crocodile was an easy matter compared with that ofthe duck. Hal made an incision at the throat, cut along the middle ofthe abdomen all the way to the tip of the tail, and then cut the skinaway all around the carcass. Then he set George and Pepe to scrapingthe skin, after which he immersed it in the tank.
About that time Ken, who was lazily fishing in the shade of thecypresses, caught one of the blue-tailed fish. Hal was delighted. Hehad made a failure of the other specimen of this unknown fish. This onewas larger and exquisitely marked, being dark gold on the back, whitealong the belly, and its tail had a faint bluish tinge. Hal promptlykilled the fish, and then made a dive for his suitcase. He producedseveral sheets of stiff cardboard and a small box of water-colors andbrushes. He laid the fish down on a piece of paper and outlined itsexact size. Then, placing it carefully in an upright position on a box,he began to paint it in the actual colors of the moment. Ken laughedand teased him. George also was inclined to be amused. But Pepe wasamazed and delighted. Hal worked on unmindful of his audience, and,though he did not paint a very artistic picture, he produced the vividcolors of the fish before they faded.
His next move was to cover the fish with strips of thin cloth, whichadhered to the scales and kept them from being damaged. Then he cutalong the middle line of the belly, divided the pelvic arch where theventral fins joined, cut through the spines, and severed the fins fromthe bones. Then he skinned down to the tail, up to the
back, and cutthrough caudal processes. The vertebral column he severed at the baseof the skull. He cleaned and scraped the entire inside of the skin, andthen put it to soak.
"Hal, you're much more likely to make good with Uncle Jim than I am,"said Ken. "You've really got skill, and you know what to do. Now, myjob is different. So far I've done fairly well with my map of theriver. But as soon as we get on level ground I'll be stumped."
"We'll cover a hundred miles before we get to low land," replied Hal,cheerily. "That's enough, even if we do get lost for the rest of theway. You'll win that trip abroad, Ken, never fear, and little Willie isgoing to be with you."