The Desert Home: The Adventures of a Lost Family in the Wilderness

by Mayne Reid

  CHAPTER TEN.

  ADVENTURE WITH AN ARMADILLO.

  "Well, my friends, we had arrived on the banks of a rivulet, and werethanking God for bringing us safely there. We soon satisfied ourthirst, as you may believe, and began to look around us. The stream wehad reached was not that which runs into the valley here, but altogetheron the other side of the mountain. It was but a mere rill, and I sawthat several similar ones issued from the ravines, and after running ashort distance into the plain, fell off toward the south-east, andunited with others running from that side. I found afterwards that theyall joined into the same channel, forming a considerable river, whichruns from this elevated plain in an easterly direction; and which I taketo be a head-water of the Great Red River of Louisiana, or perhaps ofthe Brazos, or Colorado, of Texas. I have called it a considerableriver. That is not quite correct; for although, where they all unite,they form a good-sized body of water, yet twenty miles farther down, forthree-fourths of the year the channel is perfectly dry; and that is thecase I know not how far beyond. The water, which passes from themountain at all times, is either evaporated by the hot sun, or sinksinto the sands of its own bed, during a run of twenty miles. It is onlyin times of great rain--a rare occurrence here--or when very hot weathermelts an unusual quantity of the snow, that there is water enough tocarry the stream over a flat sandy tract which stretches away to theeastward. All these things I found out afterwards, and as you, myfriends, know them to be common phenomena of the Desert, I shall not nowdwell upon them.

  "I saw that, where we were, there was but little chance of gettinganything to eat. The sides of the mountain were rugged and grim, withhere and there a stunted cedar hanging from the rocks. The smallpatches of grass and willows that lined the banks of the little rills--although cheering to the eye, when compared with the brown barrenness ofthe Desert--offered but little prospect that we should get any thing toeat there. If the Desert stretched away to the south of the mountain,as we saw that it did to the north, east, and west, then we had onlyreached a temporary resting-place, and we might still perish, if notfrom thirst, from what was equally bad--hunger.

  "This was uppermost in our thoughts at the time,--for we had not eaten amorsel during that day; so we turned our attention to the piece of driedmeat.

  "`Let us cook it, and make a soup,' said Mary; `that will be better forthe children.' My poor wife! I saw that the extreme fatigue she hadundergone had exhausted her strength, yet still she endeavoured to becheerful.

  "`Yes, papa, let us make soup; soup is very nice,' added Frank, tryingto cheer his mother by showing that he was not dismayed.

  "`Very well, then,' I replied. `Come, Cudjo, shoulder your axe, and letus to the mountain for wood. Yonder are some pine-trees near thefoot,--they will make an excellent fire.'

  "So Cudjo and I started for the wood, which was growing about threehundred yards distant, and close in to the rocks where the stream camedown.

  "As we drew nearer to the trees, I saw that they were not pine-trees,but very different indeed. Both trunks and branches had long thornyspikes upon them like porcupine's quills, and the leaves were of abright shining green, pinnate with small oval leaflets. But what wasmost singular was the long bean-shaped pods that hung down thickly fromthe branches. These were about an inch and a half in breadth, and someof them not less than twelve inches in length. They were of areddish-brown, nearly a claret colour. Except in the colour, theylooked exactly like large bean-pods filled with beans.

  "I was not ignorant of what species of tree was before us. I had seenit before. I knew it was the honey-locust, or thorny acacia,--thecarob-tree of the East, and the famed `algarobo' of the Spaniards.

  "I was not ignorant of its uses neither,--for I knew this to be the treeupon which (as many suppose) Saint John the Baptist sustained himself inthe Desert, where it is said, `his meat was locusts and wild honey.'Hence it is sometimes called, `Saint John's bread.' Neither was Cudjoignorant of its value. The moment his eyes rested upon the long brownlegumes, he cried out, with gestures of delight:--

  "`Massa--Massa Roff, lookee yonder!--beans and honey for supper!'

  "We were soon under the branches: and while I proceeded to knock downand collect a quantity of the ripe fruit. Cudjo went farther up amongthe rocks, to procure his firewood from the pines that grew there.

  "I soon filled my handkerchief, and was waiting for Cudjo, when I heardhim shout,--

  "`Massa Roff! come dis away, and see de varmint--what him be.'

  "I immediately ran up among the rocks. On reaching the spot where Cudjowas, I found him bending over a crevice or hole in the ground, fromwhich protruded an object very much like the tail of a pig.

  "`What is it, Cudjo?' I asked.

  "`Don't know, Massa. Varmint I never see in Vaginny--looks sometinglike de ole 'possum.'

  "`Catch hold of the tail, and pull him out,' said I.

  "`Lor! Massa Roff, I've tried ma best, but can't fetch 'im no how.Look yar!' And so saying, my companion seized the tail, and pulled--seemingly with all his might--but to no purpose.

  "`Did you see the animal when it was outside?' I inquired.

  "`Yes, Massa; see 'im and chase 'im 'till I tree him yar in dis cave.'

  "`What was it like?'

  "`Berry like a pig--maybe more belike ole 'possum, but cubberd all oberwi' shell like a Vaginny turtle.'

  "`Oh! then--it is an armadillo.'

  "`An amadiller! Cudjo niver hear o' dat varmint afore.'

  "I saw that the animal which had so astonished my companion was one ofthose curious living things--which Nature, in giving variety to hercreatures, has thought proper to form--and which are known throughoutMexico and South America by the name of `armadilloes.' They are socalled from the Spanish word `armado,' which signifies armed--becauseall over their body there is a hard, shell-like covering divided intobands and regular figures, exactly like the coats-of-mail worn by thewarriors of ancient times. There is even a helmet covering the head,connected with the other parts of the armour by a joint, which rendersthis resemblance still more complete and singular. There are manyspecies of these animals; some of them as large as a full-sized sheep,but the generality of them are much smaller. The curious figuring ofthe shell that covers them differs in the different species. In somethe segments are squares, in others hexagons, and in others, again, theyare of a pentagonal shape. In all of them, however, the figures have amathematical form and precision, that is both strange and beautiful.They look as though they were artificial,--that is, carved by the handof man. They are harmless creatures, and most of the species feed uponherbs and grass. They do not run very nimbly, though they can go muchfaster than one would suppose, considering the heavy armour which theycarry. This, however, is not all in one shell, but in many piecesconnected together by a tough, pliable skin. Hence they can use theirlimbs with sufficient ease. They are not such slow travellers as theturtles and tortoises. When they are pursued and overtaken, theysometimes gather themselves into a round ball, as hedgehogs do; and ifthey should happen to be near the edge of a precipice they will rollthemselves over to escape from their enemy. More often when pursuedthey betake themselves to their holes, or to any crevice among rocksthat may be near; and this was evidently the case with that which Cudjohad surprised. When they can hide their heads, like the ostrich theyfancy themselves safe; and so, no doubt, thought this one, until he feltthe sinewy fingers of Cudjo grasping him by the tail. It was evidentthe animal had run into a shallow crack where he could get no farther,else we would soon have lost sight of his tail; but it was equallyevident, that pulling by that appendage was not the method to get himout. I could see that he had pushed the scaly armour outward andupward, so that it held fast against the rocks on every side. Moreover,his claws, which are remarkable both for length and tenacity, wereclutched firmly against the bottom of the crevice. It would have takena team of oxen to have pulled him out, as Cudjo remarked with a grin.

  "I had heard of a pl
an used by the Indians who hunt the armadillo, andare very fond of his flesh; and as I was determined to try it, I told mycompanion to let go the tail, and stand to one side.

  "I now knelt down in front of the cave, and, taking a small branch ofcedar, commenced tickling the hind-quarters of the animal with the sharpneedles. In a moment I saw that his muscles began to relax, as theshell to separate from the rocks, and close in toward his body. Aftercontinuing the operation for some minutes, I observed that he hadreduced himself to his natural size, and had no doubt forgotten to keepa look-out with his claws. Seeing this, I seized the tail firmly; and,giving it a sudden jerk, swung the armadillo out between the feet of mycompanion. Cudjo aimed a blow with the axe which nearly severed itshead from its body, and killed the animal outright. It was about thesize of a rabbit, and proved to be of the eight-banded species--reckonedmore delicious eating than any other.

  "We now returned to camp with our firewood, our locust-beans, and ourarmadillo--the last of which horrified my wife, when I told her I wasgoing to eat it. It proved a great curiosity to the boys, however, whoamused themselves by running their fingers all over its mottled armour.But I had something that amused the little Mary and Luisa still more--the delicious, honey-like pulp from the pods of the locust-tree, whichthey greedily ate. The seeds we extracted from the pulp, intending toroast them as soon as we had kindled our fire.

  "And now, my friends," continued Rolfe, rising to his feet, "since wehave got to talking about this same locust-tree, I hope you will notrefuse to try a mug of my home-brewed beer, which I made out of itsbeans this very day, while you were wandering about my grounds andthrough the valley. It is, perhaps, not equal to Barclay and Perkins';but I flatter myself that, under the circumstances, you will not find itunpalatable."

  Saying this, our host brought forward a large flagon, and pouring intoour cups a brown-coloured liquid, set them before us. We all drank ofthe "locust beer," which was not unlike mead or new cider; and to provethat we liked it, we drank again and again.

  This ceremony over Rolfe once more resumed his narrative.