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

by Mayne Reid

  CHAPTER FORTY.

  THE BATTLE OF THE COUGAR AND PECCARIES.

  "Frank and I were rather pleased with the result of the encounter;though I do not see why we should have taken sides with the peccary, whowould have eaten the birds--could she have caught them--and their eggs,too, just as fast as the snake would have done. And why should we havetaken the part of the birds either, who, in their turn, had devouredmany a butterfly as bright and beautiful as themselves? But so it is.From time immemorial, the poor snake--who is comparatively a harmlessanimal, and whose deadly powers have been greatly exaggerated--has beenhated and persecuted by man more than any other creature; thusfulfilling in a remarkable manner the prophecy of the Sacred Book.

  "We began to consider what plan we should take to capture the animal.We desired very much to get possession of the young ones, as we knewthey would be a valuable addition to our stock, and would serve us inthe place of real pigs--though their flesh does not taste much likepork. It is more like that of the hare. In fact, it is not eatable atall, unless certain precautions are taken immediately after the animalis killed. There is a glandular opening on the back, just above therump, that has been improperly called a navel. In this opening, thereis a substance that emits a strong smell of musk; and if the whole partbe not cut out, in less than an hour after the animal has been killed,the flesh becomes so impregnated with the musky odour, that it is quiteunpalatable. If the gland, however, be removed in time, peccary-pork isnot bad eating--though there is no lard in it, as in the common pork;and, as we have said, it tastes more like the flesh of the hare.

  "But my companion and I did not think of these things at the time. Weonly thought of how we could capture the young peccaries.

  "It was plain that, while the mother was with them, the thing would beimpossible. We knew that we dared not encounter the fierce brute. Evenhad we had our dogs with us, she would have been more than a match forboth of them with her sharp tusks, and long crocodile-shaped jaws. Infact, the most courageous dog will lower his tail, and run from theattack of this animal; and if, on the contrary, he should await it, itwould only be to have a leg snapped off, or his side ripped open. Itwas plain, then, as long as the old one was there to guard them, wecould never lay our fingers upon the `shoats.' What was to be done?Should we send a rifle bullet at the mother? Frank thought this wouldbe cruel, and so it would have been. Still I knew that the peccary wasa fierce animal, and not much entitled to the mercy we would have shownto a deer, or any harmless creature like that. I knew, moreover, thatthere were a good many of them in the valley--for we had seen theirtracks in the mud--and it was exceedingly dangerous to come in contactwith them. Indeed, hunters and others have been often surrounded, andtorn in pieces by them. Such, then, being the case, I felt that itwould not be wise to let any of them escape, whenever we could destroythem--else they might at some time destroy one of ourselves. With thesethoughts in my mind, I paid but little attention to the remonstrances ofFrank; but, bending down from the branch, on which we stood, I reachedfor my rifle. I could just lay hold of the muzzle, as it leaned againstthe tree; and, drawing it cautiously up, I prepared to fire.

  "During all this time, the peccary had been busy with the carcass of thesnake. After killing it, she had bitten off the head; and, holding thebody between her forefeet, she had peeled off the skin with her tusksand teeth as adroitly as a fishmonger would have skinned an eel! Shehad just finished this operation as I got hold of the gun; and was nowtearing up the white flesh, and throwing it in small pieces to theyoungsters--all the while uttering low grants, that betokened hersatisfaction and enjoyment.

  "I raised my rifle, and was about to take aim, when an object caught myeye, which caused me to lower it again with a feeling of terror. Thepeccary was about fifty yards from the tree upon which we stood; andabout twenty yards beyond, another animal, of a far different character,was seen coming out of the jungle. It was about the size of a vealedcalf, but shorter in the legs, and much longer in the body. It was allover of a deep red colour, except the breast and throat, which werenearly white. Its ears were erect, short and blackish; its head andmuzzle cat-shaped; and its whole body somewhat resembled the figure of acat--except that its back, instead of being arched, was hollow, and sunkaway below the level of its gaunt muscular shoulders.

  "It would have been a fearful thing to look at, even had we not knownwhat it was; but we did know, and that rendered the sight of it stillmore terrifying. It was the `cougar!'

  "Now, for the first time, since coming upon the spot, we felt fear. Weknew that the peccary, savage as it was, could not climb the tree; andhitherto we had deemed ourselves secure. We were now no longer so. Weknew that the cougar could ascend a tree with the agility of a squirrel,and was as much at home among the branches as upon the ground itself. Iknew all this; and I turned to my companion, and whispered him to remainmotionless and silent.

  "The cougar came on with stealthy tread. His eyes, as we could see,were set upon the unconscious peccary; and his legs were strained downas he moved--so that one would have fancied he was crawling upon hisbelly. His long tail, stretched away behind him, was gently waving fromside to side--exactly after the manner of a cat when stealing throughthe stubble upon the basking partridge.

  "All this time the peccary was greedily devouring the snake, whollyunconscious of the danger that was gathering over her. The ground, forsome distance around her, was clear of weeds and brushwood; but a largetree stood near; and its long, horizontal branches stretched out,casting their shade upon the spot she occupied. On reaching the marginof the weeds, that had hitherto partially concealed him, the cougarsuddenly stopped, and appeared to deliberate. He knew that, unless hecould spring suddenly and unawares upon the back of his victim, he wouldhave to encounter those terrible tusks, the effects of which he sawexhibited at that moment on the carcass of the great reptile. He wasstill too distant to reach the peccary with a single spring; and heappeared to be considering how he might get a little nearer withoutbeing discovered.

  "All at once, his eyes rested upon the over-stretching branches--asudden change took place in his attitude; and, turning slowly andsilently, he crawled back among the weeds. We could see that he wasmaking a _detour_ to get upon the other side of the tree from thatoccupied by the peccary. Presently we saw him approach the trunk, andthe next moment spring up more like a streak of red light than a livinganimal. We could hear the rattle of his claws on the loose bark, as hepassed upward; and the peccary, too, seemed to have heard it, for shethrew up her head with a grunt, and stood for a moment listening.

  "`Only a squirrel, perhaps!' thought she, and again resumed heroccupation.

  "The cougar now appeared coming from behind the trunk; and, afterlooking cautiously about him, commenced crawling out along the branch.On reaching one of its forks, he gathered himself like a cat; and then,with a terrific scream, sprang down upon the back of his victim. Hisclaws were buried in her neck at the first dash; and his long bodycovered hers--his hind-legs and tail warping around her. The frightenedanimal uttered a shrill cry, and struggled to free herself. Both rolledover on the ground--the peccary all the while gnashing her jaws, andcontinuing to send forth her strange sharp cries, until the woods echoedagain. Even the young ones ran around, mixing in the combat--now flungsprawling upon the earth, now springing up again, snapping their littlejaws, and imitating the cry of their mother. The cougar alone fought insilence. Since the first wild scream, not a sound had escaped him; butfrom that moment his claws never relaxed their hold; and we could seethat with his teeth he was silently tearing the throat of his victim.

  "The combat did not last long--only a few moments. The peccary soonceased to struggle, and lay upon her side--still in the embrace of herterrible adversary--who had now torn open the veins of the neck, andwas, silently and cat-like, lapping the warm blood.

  "With all the hostility which we felt for the cowardly cougar, we didnot deem it prudent to interfere. We knew that he would
serve us justas he was doing the peccary, if he only knew that we were so convenientto him; and we therefore remained perfectly still, not daring to moveeven a limb. He was not thirty yards from us, for the struggle hadbrought both him and his victim nearer to our tree. I could have shothim as he lay crouching in the enjoyment of his red meal; but I knew toowell the the uncertainty of killing such a muscular and powerful animalwith a rifle bullet; and I resolved to let him finish his feast, andtake himself off if he would, without any hindrance on our part.

  "We were not allowed much time to think about it; for the combat washardly over, when strange voices reached our ears, coming from thewoods, apparently on all sides of us. They had reached the ears of thecougar, too; for the fierce brute started suddenly to his legs, andstood listening, and, as we thought, somewhat alarmed. He seemed tohesitate a moment, looking around him and down at the fresh-killedanimal. Then, as if suddenly forming a resolution, he buried his teethin the throat of the dead peccary; and, swinging the carcass over hislong back, commenced retreating.

  "He had made only a few steps, when the noises that had been all thistime growing more distinct were heard upon the very edge of theunderwood; and, the next moment, several dark objects bounded out intothe opening. We saw at a glance they were peccaries. There were twentyor thirty in all. They had been summoned by the cries of the one thathad been killed. They came from every side, rushing simultaneouslyforward, and uttering their shrill grants as they ran.

  "They had got between the cougar and trees, before he could reach thelatter; and, in fact, they were upon him on all sides, almost in thetwinkling of an eye. They formed a complete circle around him; and withtheir long bristles erected, their gnashing jaws, and shrill notes, theypresented a most formidable array.

  "The cougar, seeing that his retreat was cut off--at least, so long ashe carried the carcass--flung off his burden, and leaped upon theforemost of his advancing enemies, striking it to the ground with hishuge paws. He had not time to turn himself, however, when severalothers fastened on him from behind; and we could see the red fur flyfrom his sides, torn up by their sharp tusks. Now came the struggle inearnest. For a short while the cougar kept his antagonists at bay--striking them down and tearing them with teeth and claws; but at lengththe whole herd closed upon him, and we could see the blood streamingfrom his torn flanks. He now seemed to fight as if wishing to make hisway through them and escape; but the peccaries, as active as himself,hemmed him in their midst, surrounding him with a dense mass of bodiesand snapping jaws. Twice or three times, the cougar sprang into theair--as if to leap beyond the circle of his antagonists--but at the sametime several of these were also seen to rear upward, and intercept himin the spring. At length, by a desperate effort, he succeeded inclearing himself; and dashed out from among them, striving to escape.What was our horror, on perceiving that he ran directly for the treeupon which we were standing!

  "With a feeling akin to despair, I cocked my rifle; but, before I couldbring it to bear upon his body, he had passed up the tree like a flash;and lay crouching not twenty feet above our heads, and glaring down atus! So close had he been in passing, that his claws brushed my arm, andI could feel his warm breath upon my face! The peccaries had followedto the foot of the tree, and there stopped--being unable to climb it.Some of them ran around, gazing upward. Others tore the bark with theirteeth; and all of them uttered their shrill screams of fury anddisappointment.

  "For some moments, Frank and I stood terror struck. We knew not whatwas best to be done. There, above, was the terrible cougar, his eyesglaring like balls of fire at ourselves, who were within reach of asingle spring! We knew not the moment he might leap down upon us.Below, again, was an enemy, equally terrible, in the peccaries. Theywould have torn us to pieces in an instant, had we attempted to descendto the ground. No wonder, then, we were terrified at the dilemma inwhich we were so suddenly placed. No wonder it was some moments beforeI could gather resolution enough to act.

  "At length, however, I bethought myself that of the two enemies thecougar was certainly the worse. We were safe from the peccaries so longas we remained upon the tree, while we were at the mercy of the other,go where we would. I resolved, therefore, to direct my energies towardthe destruction of the latter.

  "All this time, the cougar had remained where he had first perchedhimself in an upper fork of the tree. He would, no doubt, have attackedus sooner had he not dreaded the peccaries below; but he feared that byspringing at us he might precipitate himself amongst them; and this kepthim for the moment quiet. I knew very well, however, that as soon asthe animals at the foot of the tree should take their departure, ourfate would be sealed.

  "My companion was unarmed. He had brought with him only his bow andarrows. These had been left at the foot of the tree, and were alreadycrunched in pieces by the peccaries. I put him behind me, therefore--sothat he should be out of the way of the cougar in case I should onlysucceed in wounding the latter, and it might spring upon us. All thiswas done in silence, and as gently as possible, so as not to startle themonster that lay above us, glaring and growling.

  "As soon as I was ready, I brought up my rifle slowly and with greatcaution. I steadied myself on the limb of the tree, and took aimdirectly for the head of the cougar--which was the only part of him Icould see for the moss. I pulled trigger. The smoke for a whileblinded me, and I could not tell the effects of my shot; but I heard arustling noise--as of some heavy body falling through the leaves andbranches--then a dull sound as of the same body striking against theearth--and the next instant louder screams, and a sudden rushing amongthe peccaries. I looked below. I saw the red body of the cougarstruggling in their midst; but it did not struggle long, for in a fewmoments it was tossed upon their snouts, and mangled by their longfierce tusks."