by Frank Aubrey
CHAPTER V.
IN THE 'DEMONS' WOOD.'
The following day, Monella led the two friends to the road he had begunto cut into Roraima Forest; but first he showed them two llamas thatwere kept in a rough corral near his dwelling.
"I brought them all the way from the other side of the continent," hesaid. "You know that there they are the only beasts of burden, and inthis country there are none. They will be useful to us later."
As to the so-called 'road,' it was really but a pathway; and, inplaces, almost a kind of tunnel. The great trees of this primaevalforest were so high and dense that but little daylight penetrated tothe ground beneath; and on all sides the undergrowth was so thick andtangled that almost every foot had to be cut out with the axe. Here andthere one could see for a few yards between the giant trunks, and atthese spots the path had been made wider. One curious thing Jack noted:the path did not start from that part of the wood opposite to 'MonellaLodge'; nor even from the margin of the wood itself.
Asked why this was, Monella thus made answer: "If in our absence othersshould come here, they might hunt up and down for the path a long timebefore they hit upon it--and very likely never find it. On this stonyground the tracks we leave are very slight and difficult to trace."
"But," said Jack, "your Indians know the way."
Monella smiled.
"Not one of them would ever show another man the way," he replied, "lethim offer what he might."
"But why all these precautions?"
"Later you will understand."
But, when Jack came to look round, his heart sank within him.
"I should not care to have a few miles of railway to cut through woodlike this," he said. "It's the worst I ever saw. I do not wonderyou have found it more than you could manage--only yourself andthese Indians--and it's a wonder you ever got them to join at all,considering all the circumstances."
"Yes; that's where it is," Monella answered. "Many men would havedespaired, I think. We have had trouble, too. Two Indians met withaccidents and were badly hurt; though now they are recovering. Then,some of the small streams that issue from the mountain became suddenlyswollen once or twice, and washed away the rough bridges we had madeacross them; and we have met with many unexpected obstacles, such asgreat masses of rock, or a fallen tree, some giant of the forest thatwas so big it was easier to go round it than to cut through it."
That evening, Monella explained his project, and showed the young menthe plans and diagrams Dr. Lorien had spoken of, and then went on tosay,
"If you decide to join me, you ought to know something of the languagein which these old documents are written. I both read and write it, andI speak it too. You will find it interesting to decipher them, and anoccupation for the evenings."
Jack was not enthusiastic at this suggestion; but Leonard cordiallyembraced it.
"To learn the language of an unknown nation that has passed away willbe curious and _very_ interesting," he declared, "and will, as you say,help to pass the time. You may as well learn it too, Jack. You speakthe Indian--why not learn this? Then we can talk together in a tonguethat no one but ourselves and our friend here can understand."
"And where did these ancient people 'hang out'?" asked Jackirreverently.
"Have you heard of the lake of Titicaca and the ancient ruins ofthe great city of Tiahuanaco; a city on this continent believed byarchaeologists to be at least as old as Thebes and the Pyramids?"Monella asked.
"_I_ have," Leonard answered, "though I know very little about them.But I believe I was in that country when very young, and had a curiousescape from death there."
Monella turned his gaze quickly upon the young man.
"Tell me about it. What do you remember?" he asked.
"Oh, I do not remember anything; I was too young. But I have been_told_ how that my father went somewhere in that district on aprospecting expedition, and, not liking to be separated from my mother,took her with him, and my nurse, Carenna, and myself. Whilst there theycame across a small settlement of white people, as I understand, andremained with them some time. There was amongst these people a child ofmy own age, and so exactly like me, that my nurse grew almost as fondof it as she was of me, and used to like to take the two out together.One day, it seems, we both went to sleep on the grass, and she left usfor a few minutes to gather fruit. When she returned a poisonous snakecrawled hissing away, and she found the other poor little child hadbeen bitten and was dead.
"That's all I know about it. Who the people were, and where the placewas, I cannot say. I have always understood, however, that it wassomewhere in the direction of Lake Titicaca. But Carenna could tell youmore."
"And what about this ancient people of yours?" Templemore asked ofMonella, who still gazed thoughtfully and inquiringly at Leonard.Templemore had heard of Elwood's early adventure many times before.
"High up on the eastern slopes of the great Andes is an extensiveplain, as large as the whole of British Guiana," the old man replied."It is twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea, and there, atthat great height, is also the largest lake of South America, LakeTiticaca, over three thousand square miles in extent, on the shores ofwhich was once a mighty city called Tiahuanaco. It is now in ruins;yet, even amongst its ruins, it boasts of some of the oldest and mostwonderful monuments in the world. Two thousand feet above this again,are another large plain and another lake, little known to the outsideworld, being, indeed, almost inaccessible. It was there my peopledwelt, and tradition asserts that they retired thither when drivenout of Tiahuanaco by some invasion of hordes from other parts of thecontinent."
"Is it a very old language, do you suppose?" Jack asked.
"Undoubtedly one of the oldest in the world; and yet not difficult toacquire by those who know the language of Matava and his tribe--as youdo. It has some affinity to it."
As regards the tongue spoken by the Indians, Leonard had learnt it fromCarenna in his childhood; and Templemore had picked up a good deal fromthe same source, as well as on his hunting expeditions with Leonard andMatava.
When it came to discussing terms, Monella declared that he had none tomake, except that on no consideration whatever should any other whiteman be invited or allowed to join them. As to the rest, he simplysuggested that any wealth they might acquire by their enterprise shouldbe shared equally between them.
"Suppose one of us were to die," observed Jack. "How then? Might notthe survivors choose some one else to join them? Though," he addedthoughtfully, "if it were _you_, we should not be likely to go on."
"_I_ shall not die, my friend, until my task be finished," repliedMonella with conviction.
"You cannot say," was Jack's rejoinder.
"No, I do not say I _know_, yet I can say I _feel_ it. No man diethtill he hath fulfilled the work in life allotted to him by God,"Monella finished solemnly.
The others already knew him, by this time, as a man with deep-seatedreligious convictions; though he made no parade of his beliefs. Heseemed to have a simple, steady faith in an overruling Providence, andshowed it, unostentatiously, in many ways, both in his actions, and inthe advice he gave, on occasion, to the young men.
In the result, the bargain--if it can be so termed--was concluded.Elwood and Templemore formally enrolled themselves under Monella'sleadership, and henceforth performed the duties he assigned to them;amongst other things assisting almost daily in the formation of thepath that was to take them through the forest. When not so engaged,they would go out with some of the Indians on hunting or fishingexcursions in search of food.
Monella had with him, amongst other things, a beautifully finishedtheodolite of wonderful accuracy and delicacy; with this he settledthe direction of the road from day to day. Often, obstacles wereencountered that made it impossible to go straight; these had to beworked round and the proper direction picked up again by means ofMonella's calculations.
Another circumstance worthy of note and that caused the two young menat first some surprise, was the fact that Monel
la had with him somemirrors specially prepared and fixed in strong cases for carryingabout in rough travel, and intended for heliographic signalling. Theyfrequently took these out and practised with them by sending messagesto one another from the ridges of hills far apart. Monella tried alsoto instruct Matava and some of the Indians in the work, but withoutsuccess. They were indeed afraid of the glasses, and looked upon it allas some kind of magic.
"Wouldn't it be simpler to go up the bed of this stream that youseem to have been following more or less all the time, even if it belonger?" observed Jack one day.
Monella shook his head.
"No use, my friend. It divides into so many branches; and then again,in case of a rise of its waters, we should have all our road submergedat once."
On Sundays they always rested. This, it appeared, had been Monella'scustom all along.
In his conversations in the evenings and during their Sunday strolls,he would instruct and amuse his hearers with his reminiscences andadventures in all parts of the world, or with his intimate knowledgeof the wild life around them. From his account, he had undergone, attimes, terrible and extraordinary hardships and privations on theplains and in the forests of India and Africa; of Australia; theSteppes of Tartary; the Highlands of Thibet; the interior of China andJapan; the wilds of Siberia; of Canada; the prairies of North America,and the pampas, plains, and rugged mountains of South America--all,as Dr. Lorien had said, seemed to be alike known to him. Nor was heless familiar with the countries and cities of Europe; yet he spoke ofhis travels and experiences in a simple manner that had in it nothingof boastfulness or ostentation, but as though his sole object were toamuse and entertain his two young friends.
As they penetrated farther into the forest, their work became harderand the progress slower. This latter was unavoidable, since each daythey had to walk farther and farther to and fro. Moreover, the Indians,who had displayed greater courage--so Monella had said--now that theyhad two more white men with them, once more began to show signs ofnervous apprehension and fear.
This was doubtless due to the great difference in many ways--somedefinite enough, others indefinable and vague--between this forest andthose generally to be found in the tropical regions of South America.Not only were the trees still more gigantic--making it gloomier--andthe undergrowths more dense and tangled, but the birds and animals,judging from their cries, were unfamiliar to them. Many of the soundsusual to forest life in British Guiana were absent; the constant noteof the 'bell-bird' was not heard, nor was even the startling roar ofthe howling monkeys. Instead were heard other sounds and noises ofan entirely novel and peculiar kind, unknown even to the Indians whohad been used to forest travelling all their lives; sounds that evenMonella either could not explain--or hesitated to. One of these was ahorrid combination of hiss and snort and whistle, loud and prolongedlike the stertorous breathings of some monstrous creature. Some of theIndians declared that this was the sound traditionally said to proceedfrom the great 'camoodi,' the monstrous serpent that is supposed toguard the way to Roraima mountain; while others inclined to theopinion that it was made by the equally dreaded 'didi,' the gigantic'wild man of the woods,' that also had, as they averred, its specialhaunts in this particular forest. At times, a startling, long-drawncry would echo through the wood, so human in its tones as sometimesto cause them to rush in the direction it seemed to come from, in thebelief that it was a cry for help from one of the party who was indanger. This strange, harrowing cry, the Indians called 'The cry of aLost Soul'[6]; and they were always seized with panic when it was heard.
[6] This strange cry is often heard in the depths of the forests in this region, and has never been accounted for, the only explanation given by the Indians being the one stated above, viz., that it is 'the cry of a Lost Soul.' It is alluded to by the American poet, Whittier, in the following lines:--
"In that black forest where, when day is done,
* * * * *
Darkly from sunset to the rising sun, A cry as of the pained heart of the wood, The long despairing moan of solitude And darkness and the absence of all good, Startles the traveller with a sound so drear, So full of hopeless agony and fear, His heart stands still, and listens with his ear. --The guide, as if he heard a death-bell toll, Crosses himself, and whispers, 'A Lost Soul!'"
There were other cries and sounds equally mysterious and perplexing;and, so the Indians began to declare, strange sights too. Of these theycould give no clear account, but they maintained that, in the shadowsin the darker places, or just before nightfall, while returning fromtheir work, they now and then caught passing glimpses of vague shapesthat seemed to peer at them and then disappear within the gloomyforest depths. And even Elwood and Templemore were conscious of theoccasional presence of these silent unfamiliar shapes, and sometimesfired at them, though without result. These facts they made no attemptto conceal from one another, though, in their intercourse with theIndians, they put a bold face on matters, and affected to disbelievethe stories told them.
Monella alone was--or appeared to be--entirely undisturbed by all thesethings. If conscious of them, he gave no sign of it, but went aboutwhatever he had to do as though danger were to him an unknown quantity.
There was, however, one unpleasant fact that could not be ignored, andthat was the unusual number of 'bush-masters' of large size in thewood. This is a poisonous snake, very gaudily coloured, whose bite iscertain death. It does not--like most serpents--try to get out of theway of human beings, but, instead, rushes to attack them with greatswiftness and ferocity. It is the only _aggressive_ venomous snake ofthe American continent. It usually attains a length of five or sixfeet; but, in this forest, the explorers killed many of eight or ninefeet, and two--that came on to the attack together--were nearly elevenfeet long, with fangs as large as a parrot's claw. In consequence ofthe frequency of the attacks of these reptiles, so much dreaded by theIndians, and indeed by all travellers, one or two of a working party,armed with shot guns, had to be told off to keep watch; rifles being ofno use for the purpose.
Templemore, as it happened, had had a bad fright when a child from anadventure with a snake; and this--as is frequently the case--had leftin his mind, all the rest of his life, a great horror of serpents. Hefound, therefore, the presence of these 'lords of the woods,' as theirIndian name implies, a source of ever-present abhorrence.
Besides the 'bush-masters,' there were the 'labarri'--also a largevenomous snake, but not aggressive like the other--and rattlesnakes.There were also, no doubt, boa-constrictors, or 'camoodis,' of theordinary kind; but, thus far, only one had been seen, and that, thoughlarge, was nothing out of the way as regards size for that country.
Nor were serpents their only visible enemies; there were others of akind new to the two young men. One day, while with the working party atthe farthest part of the track, they heard the whole forest suddenlyresound with a perfect babel of discordant noises. There were shrillcries and squeals, hoarse roars and growls, then a kind of trumpeting.The Indians retreated, throwing down their axes to pick up theirrifles. As they hastily retired, four large animals sprang into theirpath, one after the other, with loud roars and growls. But Monella,who was behind Elwood, stepped forward and rolled two over with hisrepeating rifle, and Jack stopped another of the beasts with his. Thefourth, apparently not liking the way things were going, leaped intothe thicket and disappeared; though, judging from the sounds that camefrom the direction it had taken, there were many more of its fellowsclose at hand. Gradually their cries grew fainter, until they died awayin the distance.
Meanwhile, further shots had given the _coup de grace_ to the threethat had been knocked over, and the victors went up to examine them.They seemed to be a kind of panther or leopard of a light grey colour,approaching white in places, with markings of a deeper colour.
Neither Templemore nor Elwood had ever previous
ly seen any animal, orthe skin of one, at all like these. They were, moreover, of differentshape from either the jaguar or the tiger-cat; larger than the latter,and more thick-set than the former.
"These must be the 'white jaguars' that the Indians say help to guardRoraima," Jack observed, looking in perplexity at the strange creatures.
"Yes," said Matava, who had now come up, "and they are 'Warracabatigers.'"[7]
[7] A vivid account of an adventure with these formidable animals will be found in Mr. Barrington Brown's 'Canoe and Camp Life in British Guiana,' page 71. Very little is known about them, but they are believed to have their haunts in the unexplored mountain districts, from which they occasionally descend into other parts. Mr. Brown states that the Indians fear them above everything; and, while comparatively brave as regards jaguars and tiger-cats of all kinds, give way to utter panic at the mere idea that 'Warracaba tigers' are in their neighbourhood. It is said that nothing stops or frightens them except a broad stream of water--not even fire.
"What on earth are they?" asked Leonard.
"Warracaba tiger," Monella said, "is the name given to a species ofsmall 'tiger' (in America all such animals are called 'tigers') thathunts in packs, and is reputed to be unusually ferocious. They have apeculiar trumpeting cry, not unlike the sound made by the Warracababird--the 'trumpet-bird'--hence their name."
"They look to me more like light-coloured pumas," Jack remarked.
"No; pumas are not marked like that, and do not make the sounds weheard. Besides, you need never fear a puma, and should never shoot atone, unless it is attacking your domestic animals."
Both Templemore and Elwood looked up in surprise.
"I always thought," the latter said, "that pumas were such bloodthirstyanimals."
"So they are, to other animals--even the jaguar they attack and kill.But men they never touch, if let alone. I do not believe there is asingle authenticated instance of a puma's hurting any human being, man,woman or child. In the Andes and Brazil--where I have lived long enoughto know--the Gauchos call the puma 'Amigo del cristiano'--'the friendof man'--and they think it an evil thing to kill one."[8]
[8] A very interesting account of the South American puma will be found in 'The Naturalist in La Plata,' by Mr. W. H. Hudson. He states that the puma has a strange natural liking for, or sympathy with, man; that, though ferocious and bloodthirsty in the extreme as regards other animals, yet it never attacks man, woman, or child, awake or asleep. He quotes many authorities, and gives numerous instances, of a very remarkable character, from the accounts of hunters and others whom he has himself seen and questioned.
A few days after, they were attacked again by these furious creatures,and this time did not come off so well, for two of the Indians werebadly mauled. But for Monella's cool bravery, indeed, matters wouldhave been much worse; and Templemore had a narrow escape. Then, a dayor two later, one of the Indians was stung by a scorpion; and Jack camenear being bitten by a rattlesnake--would have been but for Monella,who, just in time, boldly seized the reptile by the tail, and, swingingit two or three times round his head, dashed its brains out against apiece of rock.
Indeed, upon all occasions where there was any kind of danger,Monella's ready, quiet courage was always displayed in a manner thatwon both the admiration of his white colleagues and the devotion of hisIndian followers. Moreover, as Dr. Lorien had stated, and as Leonardhad found by actual experience, he was skilled in medicine and surgery.To wounds he applied the leaves of some plant, of which he had a storewith him in a dried state, the curative effects of which were reputedamong the Indians to be almost marvellous.
But even these incidents were surpassed by a startling experiencethey had a short time afterwards. On going to their working groundone morning, two or three Indians in advance of the remainder of theparty saw, lying across the path, what they took to be the trunkof a tree that had fallen during the night; and they sat upon it,indolently, to wait for the others to come up. Suddenly, one of themsprang up, exclaiming, "It's alive! I felt it move! It is breathing!"They all jumped up, in alarm, when the great snake--for such it provedto be--glided off into the wood. Most likely the others would haveridiculed their story, but that Templemore happened to come up in timeto witness what occurred. And through the underwood, on both sides ofthe path, was plainly to be seen a sort of small tunnel that marked theplace where the serpent had been lying asleep.
Matava and his fellows, of course, insisted that this was the great'camoodi,' that Indian tradition had long declared existed in thisforest--set there specially, by the demons of the mountain, to guard itfrom intrusion.
These constant dangers and adventures made the task of keeping theIndians from deserting doubly difficult, and rendered the work bothharassing and tedious to the others. Only Monella showed no weariness,no sign of the strain it all involved; so far from that, these troublesseemed only to increase his vigilance, his power of endurance, and hisdetermination.
And all the time they were cutting their way through vegetation thatwould have astonished and delighted the heart of a botanical collectorsuch as Dr. Lorien. Not only within the wood, but in the whole districtround, unknown and wondrous flowers and plants abounded. But theexplorers had neither time nor inclination to take that interest inthem they merited, and would, at any other time, have undoubtedlyexcited.[9]
[9] See extract given in the preface (page viii.) from Richard Schomburgk's book 'Reissen in Britisch Guiana.'