CHAPTER SEVEN.
OUR DISAPPOINTMENT, DANGER, AND ANXIETY.
The tributary of the Amazon, down which we were proceeding, was in manyplaces more than half a mile wide: what must be the width of the mightyriver itself! This comparatively small stream was often tossed intowaves, and we were thankful that we had the prospect of embarking in alarger vessel, with more experienced boatmen, for our further voyage.On either side of the river were clay banks, above which the lofty treesformed impenetrable walls; while here and there islands appeared, thesoil of some raised but little above the river, while in others we couldsee evidences of the stream having separated them at no great distanceof time from the mainland. We continued our custom of landing atnight--indeed, whenever we had to put to shore--at one of these islands.They all supplied us with wood to light our fires, and poles for ourhuts: some were large enough to furnish game.
Thus several days passed away. We were, by our calculations,approaching the spot at which our father had led us to expect that weshould find him. It may be supposed how eagerly we all looked out forthe expected marks. At length the curiously-coloured bluff hill he hadmentioned appeared in sight.
"There it is! there it is!" exclaimed Ellen. "I am sure it must be thespot papa speaks of."
We surveyed it with eager eyes, and agreed that there could be nomistake about the matter. With redoubled energy we paddled on, thebreeze, though light, being in our favour. And now in a short time wecame in sight of the expected group of bamboos. We quickly rounded it;and there, before us, appeared the hill. We looked out for the huts onits summit, but none were visible.
"Oh! perhaps papa thought it better to build them lower down, under theshade of that group of palms," said Ellen; and we agreed that she wasprobably right.
A small stream ran at the bottom of the hill, connected, probably, withone of the larger rivers we had passed. We paddled up it a shortdistance, hoping to find a convenient place for landing. Our heartsmisgave us on finding no one come down to welcome us on shore.
"They probably do not observe us coming," observed Ellen. "Mamma andFanny are in the house, and papa and the servants are out shooting."
I saw by the cheerful way she spoke she felt none of the apprehensionswhich John and I were experiencing. We soon found a clear spot, wherethe waters in the rainy season had carried away the trees and shrubs.Securing our canoe, we eagerly stepped on shore. The bank was somewhatsteep; but we managed to climb up it, and, cutting our way through theintervening jungle, reached the foot of the hill. Even now I began todoubt whether, after all, this could be the spot our father spoke of.Not the slightest sound was heard, and there was no appearance of humanhabitations being near. True, as soon as we had got into the more openground, went scampering along in high glee at finding himself on shore.John led the way, anxiously looking about on very side. We soon reachedthe top of the hill, gazing eagerly down towards the group of palm-treesEllen had espied. No huts were to be seen.
"They cannot have been here!" exclaimed Ellen.
Just then John gave a start, and immediately hurried forward. We allfollowed. Before us we saw several posts standing upright, but theywere blackened and charred, while several others lay scattered about.The grass around was burned, and the ground covered with ashes. It wastoo evident that a hut had stood there, which had been destroyed byfire; but whether it had been inhabited by our family or not, we in vainendeavoured to discover. No traces of them could we find. We looked ateach other with anxious eyes. Ellen burst into tears, fully believingthat something dreadful had happened. We wished to reassure her, butour own fears made this a hard matter. John stood silent for some time.Then again he walked over the spot, and examined narrowly the ground,looking among the neighbouring trees.
"Perhaps this was not their house," suggested Arthur; "or if it was,they may have escaped. Surely we should not give way to despair."
"I think the master is too cautious a man to have been taken bysurprise," observed Domingos. "He is probably not far off, and we shallsee him soon."
Maria did her best to comfort her young mistress.
"Do not cry, Dona Ellen; do not cry. We shall soon see them all," shesaid, putting her arms round her as she used to do when she was a child,and trying to comfort her.
Wishing to ascertain John's opinion, I went towards him.
"We must proceed further on," he said. "I am surprised that our fatherhas not left any sign by which we might learn where he has gone."
"Perhaps he had to retreat in too great a hurry for that, yet he mighthave escaped in safety," observed Arthur.
"Do you think they were attacked by natives, and driven away?" I askedof John.
"About that I am doubtful," he answered, in a low voice, so that Ellenshould not hear. "Yet had the hut simply been burned by accident, theywould have rebuilt it. Our friend Naro gave the Indians of this part ofthe river a bad name. He called them _Majeronas_; and said that theyare cannibals, and attack all strangers. I did not believe the accounthe gave of them; and had I done so, I would not have mentioned it, forfear of unnecessarily alarming Ellen. Still, Harry, I confess I amvery, very anxious."
"So indeed am I, now you tell me about the _Majeronas_," I observed;"but still we must hope for the best. I cannot believe that anything sodreadful has happened as our fears suggest. Our poor mother, and sweetFanny and Aunt Martha, to have been carried off and killed! Oh, Icannot think it true!"
"Don't you think it possible they got notice that they were about to beattacked, and made their escape in good time?" observed Arthur, in amore cheerful voice. "The natives, when they found that their prey hadescaped them, would very naturally burn the house; and if they found anysignals which Mr Faithful might have left, would have destroyed themalso. I will ask Domingos; I think he will agree with me."
When we told Domingos what Arthur had said, he declared that he thoughtthat was the most likely thing to have occurred. The suggestion raisedour spirits. Domingos, however, advised as not to remain on the spot,lest the natives might discover us. Having made another search round,we accordingly took our way back to the canoe.
Shoving off, we went down the stream into the main river. As we paddledslowly along the shore, we examined it carefully, still in hopes offinding some signals which might direct us. We had gone on for someshort distance, when Arthur, looking up at the hill, exclaimed, "See!who can those be?"
There we saw several figures with bows in their hands and high featheryplumes on their heads.
"They must be the _Majeronas_," exclaimed John. "We have indeed onlyjust retreated in time."
"Oh, perhaps they will follow us!" cried Ellen.
"I do not think we need fear that," said Arthur, "as we have seen nocanoes."
The Indians appeared only just to have discovered us. We saw themgesticulating to each other; and then they hurried down towards theriver. We at once turned the canoe's head away from the bank, andpaddled out into the centre of the stream, where we should be beyond thereach of their arrows.
By working away with our paddles we soon ran out of sight of them.
Having rested for some minutes to recover from our exertions, wecontinued on down the stream. As the day was drawing on, it wasnecessary to look out for an island on which to encamp, as we hadreceived so strong a warning not to land on the main shore. We kept abright look-out, but no signs of an island could we see. The wind,which had hitherto been light, now increased to a gentle breeze; and asit was in our favour, we hoisted our sail and stood on, glad to berelieved from the labour of paddling. Thus we continued our progress,hoping to get before night to a distance from our savage enemies.
The night came on, but there was still sufficient light to enable us tosteer down the centre of the river. John proposed that we should formtwo watches; he and Arthur in one, Domingos and I in the other. This,of course, was agreed to. After some difficulty, we persuaded Ellen andMaria to lie down on the hammocks which were spread in the mid
dle of thecanoe under the awning. John and Arthur took the first watch; Domingoscoiling himself away in the stern of the canoe, and I in the bows; to beready for service should we be required.
Tired as I was, it was some time before I could manage to go to sleep.I lay looking up at the dark sky--out of which thousands of bright starsshone forth--and listening to the ripple of the water against the bowsof the canoe. At length the sound lulled me to sleep, though I feltconscious that Arthur had covered me up with a piece of matting. Itseemed but a moment afterwards that I heard his voice calling me to getup and take his place. I raised myself, and saw Domingos at the helm,and the sails still set. Arthur then lay down in the place I hadoccupied; and I did him the same service he had rendered me, by coveringhim carefully up so as to protect him from the night air.
It was the first time we had voyaged at night; and as we glided calmlyon, I could not help regretting that we had not oftener sailed at thesame hour, and thus escaped the heat of the day, the mosquitoes onshore, and enjoyed the cool breeze on the river. As I did not feel atall sleepy, I proposed to Domingos that we should allow John and Arthurto rest on, and continue ourselves on watch till daylight, when perhapswe might find some spot on which to land with safety.
We thus glided on for some hours, and were expecting to see the dawnbreak over the trees on our larboard bow, when the channel became evennarrower than before. Had it not been that the current still ran withus, I should have supposed that we had entered some other stream; butthe way the water ran showed that this could not be the case. Wetherefore continued on as before. A bright glow now appeared in theeastern sky. Rapidly it increased till the whole arch of heaven wassuffused with a ruddy light. Suddenly John awoke, and uttered anexclamation of surprise on finding that it was daylight. His voicearoused the rest of the party. Just then the sun, like a mighty arch offire, appeared above the trees; and directly afterwards we saw, runningacross the stream down which we were sailing, another and far broaderriver. The mighty Maranon, as the natives call the Upper Amazon--or theSolimoens, as it is named by the Portuguese--was before us, havingflowed down for many hundred miles from the mountain lake of Lauricocha,in Peru, 12,500 feet above the sea-level.
As we gazed up and down the vast river, no object intervened till skyand water met, as on the ocean; while, on either side, the tall forestwalls diminished in the perspective till they sank into thin lines.Even here, however, it is narrow, though already very deep, compared tothe width it attains lower down. Our satisfaction at having escapedfrom the savages and arrived at the high road, along which we were toproceed, was counterbalanced by our anxiety for our family. We might,after all, have passed the spot where they were waiting for us; and yetit was not likely they would remain in the neighbourhood of such savagesas the Majeronas had shown themselves. We agreed, therefore, at allrisks, at once to row in towards the shore, and examine it carefully aswe proceeded downwards.
We had not gone far, when we came in sight of a sand-bank, which offereda favourable spot for landing. We accordingly rowed in, lookingcarefully about for any signs of natives. As no huts or any humanbeings were to be seen, we landed.
While Domingos and Arthur were collecting wood for a fire, John and I,followed by True, with our guns, made our way through the forest, thatwe might survey the country, so as not to be taken by surprise. We hadnot gone far when I caught sight of three animals, which I should havetaken for young hogs, from their brown colour, long coarse hair, andtheir general appearance, had they not been sitting up on theirhaunches, as no hog ever sat. They had large heads, and heavy bluntmuzzles, and thick clumsy bodies without tails. They cast inquisitivelooks at me, and would have sat on apparently till I had got close up tothem, had not True dashed forward, when, uttering low sounds, between agrunt and a bark, they rushed towards the water. I fired at one ofthem, and knocked it over. The rest reached the river, though pursuedby True, and instantly dived beneath the surface. John came up, and onexamining the animal's mouth, we found it to be a rodent, and thus knewit to be a capybara, the largest of its order. When alarmed, it rushesto the water, swims as well as the otter, and takes its prey in asimilar manner. It is, from its aquatic habits, often called thewater-hog. It had short legs, and peculiarly long feet, partiallywebbed, which enable it to swim so well.
Directly afterwards, True turned a smaller animal out of a hollow trunk.It made off through the forest at great speed; but John shot it just asit was running behind a tree. It proved to be an agouti, also a rodent.It is in some respects like a hare or rabbit, with the coarse coat of ahog, but feeds itself like a squirrel. It is classed with theguinea-pig. It feeds on vegetables, and is very destructive tosugar-canes, which it rapidly gnaws through, and does not object toanimal food.
While I carried our prizes down in triumph to Domingos, that he mightprepare a portion of them for breakfast, John continued his searchthrough the woods. I was on the point of joining him, when I heard himcry, "Look out!" and at the same instant another animal burst throughthe wood with True at his heels. I fired, and killed it. This also wasa rodent; and John said that it was a paca, which lives always in theneighbourhood of water, to which it takes readily when chased. It hasits habitation in burrows, which it forms a short distance only beneaththe surface. The opening it conceals with dried leaves and smallbranches. Once in the water, it swims and dives so well that itgenerally escapes from the hunter. It was of a thick and somewhatclumsy form, about two feet in length and one in height. The hinderlimbs were longer than the front ones, and considerably bent. The clawswere thick and strong, fitted for digging. It had rigid whiskers, andthe ears were nearly naked.
Presently I heard John cry out.
"Harry, I believe that I have been bitten by a snake on which I trod,"he said, in his usual calm way. "I killed the creature, and I think itis poisonous; so go and call Domingos, for he will perhaps know what todo. But get him away if you can, so as not to frighten Ellen."
I ran off as fast as my legs could carry me, and was thankful to findthat Ellen and Maria were sitting under the awning in the canoe, whileDomingos was cooking at the fire, assisted by Arthur. In a breathlessvoice, my heart sinking with alarm, I told him what had happened.
"There is a bottle of agua ardente, and there is another thing we willtry," he said, and rushed to the canoe.
I was afraid that he would tell Ellen; but he stepped on board with anunconcerned manner, as if he wanted something for a culinary purpose,and returned with two of the paddles, and a bottle and cup.
We found John seated on the bank, taking off his boot and sock.
"Here, Senor John, drink this," he said, giving him the cup full ofliquid. "Senor Arthur will hold the bottle for you, while Senor Harryand I are making a grave for your leg. We must bury it. Don't despair,my dear master. The remedy is a wonderful one."
We were digging away, while he spoke, with the paddles, and in a fewmoments John's leg was buried deep in the earth, which was pressed downover it.
"Why, this is brandy," exclaimed John, as he swallowed the contents of asecond cup which Arthur gave him.
"Of course, my dear master," answered Domingos, who, folding his arms,stood by, watching the effect of his treatment. "Some people think oneremedy the best, some another. It is wise to try both. The brandydrives, the earth draws the poison forth."
Oh, how anxiously we watched John's countenance! No change took place.
Arthur and I went back, lest Ellen might be alarmed at our absence,leaving Domingos, who stood unmoved, in the same attitude as at first,watching his patient. At last Ellen put her head out from under thetoldo, and asked when breakfast would be ready, as she and Maria werevery hungry.
"What shall we tell her?" asked Arthur.
Just then I looked up, and saw Domingos coming towards us, waving thedead snake in his hand, and John following, walking as briskly as ifnothing had been the matter with him.
"A wonderful cure has been wrought," he exclaimed, as he re
ached us."But don't tell Domingos yet. Finding myself much as usual, I bethoughtme, as I sat with my leg in the hole, of looking into the reptile'smouth; and though it has a set of sharp teeth, I could discover nopoisonous fangs. I am only sorry that so much good brandy was expendedon me, which may be wanted on another occasion."
We now summoned Ellen, and told her in English what had occurred.Arthur and I having examined the head of the snake, to assure ourselvesthat John was right, cut it off and threw it into the river, while Truebreakfasted off the body, which we cooked for him. Domingos did notdiscover the truth till some time afterwards; and we heard himfrequently boasting of the certain cure he knew for snake bites. Icannot, however, say that his remedy would not prove efficacious.
Having made a good breakfast on the agouti, we once more embarked, andglided down the stream.
I have not dwelt much on our anxiety, but, as may be supposed, we feltit greatly, and our conversation could not fail to be subdued and sad.Ellen, however, after her first grief had subdued, did her utmost, dear,good little sister that she was, to cheer our spirits. Often she keptrepeating, "I am sure they have escaped! We shall before long findthem. Depend on it, papa would not allow himself to be surprised! Ihave been praying for them ever since we commenced our journey, and Iknow my prayers will be heard."
Although I had felt great despondency, I could not help being influencedby Ellen's hopeful spirit. Still it seemed to me that the probabilityof our discovering them along the wide-extended banks of the river wasbut small indeed. They, too, how anxious they must be feeling on ouraccount; for if they had been in danger, as we supposed, they must knowwe should be subjected to the same. However, I will not dwell longer onthis subject, but only again repeat that our parents and our aunt andFanny were never absent from our thoughts. A light breeze springing up,we hoisted our mat sail, and glided down the river. Nothing could bemore delightful. The light air cooled us, and kept off the mosquitoes;and as the nights were bright, had we not been anxious to examine theshore, we agreed that we might have continued our voyage till it wasnecessary to land and procure food.
Suddenly, however, the wind again dropped. The sun, which had hithertobeen casting his undimmed rays down on our heads, became obscured, as ifa thick curtain had been drawn across it. The whole sky assumed ayellow tinge. Domingos looked anxiously round.
"I do not like the look of the weather," he observed. "It would be wiseto lower the sail."
We had just got it down, when a low murmur was heard in the distantwoods, increasing rapidly to a subdued roar. A white line appearedacross the river. It came rapidly towards us. Now we could feel thewind blowing against our cheeks, and the whole surface of the waterbecame suddenly rippled into wavelets, from which the white foam flewoff in thick sheets. The sky had again changed to a greenish hue. Thewaves every moment increased in height.
"A hurricane is coming on," observed Domingos. "We cannot face it."
We put the canoe's head towards the shore.
"Paddle, my masters! paddle!" exclaimed Domingos. "We must reach theshore before the storm breaks with its full violence, or we may belost!"
We had not paddled many strokes before we felt the canoe driven forwardby the wind at a rapid rate. We exerted ourselves, running before thewind, and edging in at the same time towards the northern shore. Everyinstant the hurricane gained strength; and as we looked upward, thewhole sky, we saw, had assumed a red and black appearance. A littleahead appeared a sand-bank, on which stood a number of tall-leggedbirds, cormorants, white cranes, and other waders, large and small. Wemight land on the island, and save our lives; but the wind settingdirectly on it, we might lose our canoe, or, at all events, the waterwould break into her and destroy our goods. Domingos steered the canoeadmirably, while we made every effort to keep off the island. Presentlydown came the blast with greater fury than before. Some of the smallerbirds were carried off their legs and borne away by the wind. Others,throwing themselves down, stuck their beaks into the sand, and clung onwith their long claws, their feet extended. In spite of our danger,Arthur and I could not help laughing at the extraordinary appearance ofthe birds, as they thus lay in great numbers along the sand, looking asif they had been shot, and were lying dead till the sportsman could pickthem up. On we drove, narrowly escaping being thrown upon the bank, onwhich the foaming seas broke with terrific force.
"Here it comes again!" cried Domingos. "Paddle bravely, and be notalarmed."
As he spoke, another blast, still more violent, struck us, and in aninstant the covering of our canoe was torn away and lifted up. In vainwe attempted to catch it. It was borne off by the wind towards theshore. So high were the waves which thus suddenly rose up, that weexpected every moment to be overwhelmed; while we feared that unless wecould manage to anchor we should be driven on the bank to leeward, wherethe canoe would be filled with water, and everything in her carriedaway. To resist the fury of the waves was impossible. In vain westrove to get under the lee of the island. Destruction yawned beforeus, when we saw, amid the thick forest trees which lined the bank, anarrow opening. It was the entrance, we hoped, to an igarape,--one ofthose curious water-ways, or canoe paths, which form a network of canalsmany hundred miles in extent, on either bank of the Amazon. We exertedourselves to the utmost to reach it, although the seas which struck theside of the canoe threatened every moment to upset her before we coulddo so. Ellen and Maria had got out their paddles, and laboured awaywith all their strength, Maria's stout arms indeed being a veryefficient help. Domingos kept working away with his paddle, now on oneside, now on another, now steering astern as he saw was requisite,twisting his features into a hundred different forms, and showing hiswhite teeth as he shouted out in his eagerness. The tall trees werebending before the blast as if they were about to be torn from theirroots and carried bodily inland. My fear was, on seeing them thusagitated, that should we get beneath them they might fall and crush us.Still we had no choice. It seemed doubtful whether we should reach themouth of the igarape.
We redoubled our efforts, and just grazing by a point which projectedfrom the shore, on which, had we been thrown, we should have been upset,we darted into the canal. Even there the water hissed and roared as itwas forced into the narrow channel. As an arrow flies through thezarabatana, so we sped up the igarape. For a few seconds Domingos hadto exert himself to steer the canoe in mid-channel, to prevent her beingdashed against the roots of the tall trees which projected into it. Atfirst the roar of the wind among the trunks and branches was almostdeafening. Gradually it decreased, and in a short time we could hearonly the distant murmur of the tempest on the outside of the woodyboundary. We were not, however, to escape altogether from it, for downcame the rain in a pelting shower, to which, from the loss of ourawning, we were completely exposed. We quickly, however, rigged anotherwith our sail, which afforded shelter to Ellen and Maria. Havingsecured the canoe, we all crept under it, and consulted what we shouldnext do. What with the mantle of clouds across the sky, and the thickarch of boughs over our heads, so great was the darkness that we couldscarcely persuade ourselves that night was not coming on. We satpatiently, hoping that the rain, which pattered down with so loud anoise that it was necessary to raise our voices to make each other hear,would at length cease. In about half an hour, the shower-bath to whichwe had been exposed came to an end. But still drops fell thickly fromthe boughs, and the darkness proved to us that the clouds had not yetcleared away.
After our unsatisfactory meeting with the natives, we were anxious notto remain longer on that part of the shore than necessary. Accordinglywe once more paddled down the igarape. We soon found, however, that thewind was blowing too hard to allow us to venture out on the main stream.
On passing downwards we observed a somewhat open space on the northside, and despairing of continuing our voyage that night, we determinedto encamp there. Securing our canoe, in which Ellen and Maria sat undershelter, the rest of us, with axes in our hands, se
t to work to clearthe ground and build a couple of huts. We had become such proficientsin the art that this we soon accomplished. On account of the weather webuilt one of them, not only with a roof, but with back and sides, inwhich Ellen and her attendant could be sheltered. To our own also webuilt a side on the quarter from which the wind came. Our difficultywas to light a fire. But hunting about, we found some dried leaves inthe hollow of a tree, and there was no lack of wood, which, afterchopping off the wet outside, would burn readily.
Having made all preparations, we conducted Ellen and Maria to their hut,and carried up our goods, which we placed within it, under shelter. Wefelt somewhat anxious at our position; but we hoped that the rain wouldkeep any natives who might be in the neighbourhood from wandering about,and by the following morning we should be able to proceed on our voyage.Should we not meet with our father on our way down, we resolved to stopat the nearest Brazilian town on the banks, and there obtain assistancein instituting a more rigid search than we could make by ourselves. Ofone thing we were certain, that had he escaped, and got thus far, hewould stay there till our arrival. Still we did not abandon all hopesof finding him before that.
We had taken everything out of the canoe, with the exception of thepaddles, even to the sail, which served as a carpet for Ellen's hut. Wenext turned our attention to cooking further portions of the animals wehad killed in the morning. In spite of the storm raging outside, andour anxiety, as we sat round the blazing fire, Ellen and Maria havingjoined us, the smoke keeping the mosquitoes somewhat at bay, we all feltmore cheerful than might have been expected. Midnight had now come on;and having cut up a further supply of wood to keep the fire burning, weslung our hammocks and turned into them, trusting to True to keep watchfor us.