' BEUIN: BY ACTBOB OF " B07 HTOTEB3," ** THH YOCJCO VOY-iOBDEB,* "ODD PBOMJi," ETC., ETC. NEW YORK: JAMES MILLER, PUBLISHEB, 779 BROADWAY. 1881. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1860, by TICKNOR AND FIELDS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. NEW YORK, January 1st, 1869. MESSES. FIELDS, OSGOOD, & Co. -. I accept the terms offered, and hereby concede to you the exclusive right of publication, in the United States, of all my juvenile Tales of Adventure, known as Boys' Novels. MAYNE REID. AUTHOR'S NOTE CAPTAIN REID acknowledges with pleasure the assistance of an American Author, the results of whose labors he has been kindly enabled to incorporate with his own in the story of " Bruin ; or, The Grand Bear Hunt." CONTENTS. I. THE PALACE GRODONOFF 1 II. THE BARON GRODONOFF 7 III. THE SEALED ORDERS .....11 IV. DISCUSSING THE CONDITIONS ....17 V. TRACING THE ROUTE 83 VI. TO THE TORNEA 83 Til. JACK-IN-THE-BOX ..............89 fill. THE SCANDINAVIAN BEARS 45 IX. BTBERNATION OF BEARS .62 X. BRUIN AT HOME 6 a XI. HAND TO HAND 62 XJL A MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE 67 JOn. A SUBNIVEAN ESCAPE ............74 XIV. RINGING THE BEAB 79 XT. OLD NALLK . C5 XVI. THE STAKED ENCLOSURE ......90 XVII. THE SPITTING DEVIL .............96 XVHI. THE FALOHBIERB 102 XIX. THE PYRENEES 109 XX. AN ODD AVALANCHE 114 XXL A MEETING WITH MULETEERS ..12] iv CONTENTS. XXII. THE PYRENEAN BEAR . 137 XXm. THE IZZARD-HUNTER 182 XXIV. THE AMBUSCADE 137 XXV. A BEAK EN A BIRD'8-NEST 141 XXVI. THE LAMJIERGEYER3 147 XXVII. FIRING THE EYRIE . 161 rxVIII. SOUTH AMERICAN BEARS 157 XXIX. THE AMAZONIAN FOREST 164 XXX. THE PERUVIAN CINNAMON-TREE 171 XXXI. A SKURRT OVER A SAND-BAB 176 XXXII. PURSUED BT PECCARIES .......... 180 XXXIII. SCTLLA AND CHARTBDIS 184 XXXIV. THE OLD MISSIONS 183 XXXV. EATING A NEGRO'S HEAD 102 XXXVL THE TAQUA-TREE 198 XXXVII. NORTHWARD 205 XXXVIII. THE NORTHERN FORESTS . 209 XTnmc. THE LONE LAGOON 213 XL. A DARKEY ON BEAR-BACK 220 XIJ. CUTTING OUT THE BEAR 225 XLII. THE SQUATTER'S BARGAIN 229 XLm. THE POLAR BEAR ............. 236 XLTV. THE OLD SHE SURROUNDED 242 XLV. A WHOLE FAMILY CAPTURED 249 XLVI. THE BARREN GROUNDS 256 XL VII. BRUIN TAKING A BATH 261 KLVIH. THE GREAT GRISLY 268 XLIX. A FUR-TRADER'S FORT 278 L. TREED BY OLD EPHRAIM 278 II. THE KAMSCHATDALE8 286 UL FISHING-BEARS 291 LUL DOG-DRIVING ... . . .297 CONTENTS. T UV. A SLEDGE-CHASE ... 801 LV. THE 8CN BEARS 808 LVI. THE TALL TATANG 818 LVII. THE BRUANO ... 818 LVIII. THE CABBAGE-EATEB 824 LIX. THE SLOTH BEAR 832 LX. BRUIN TAKEN BT THE TONGUE 889 LXI. AN EXTRA SKIN 845 LXH. AN UNHAPFT HORSE 851 LXIII. THE SNOW BEAK 858 LXJ V THE LAST CHAU ..... 861 BRUIN. CHAPTER I. THE PALACE GRODONOFF. ON the banks of the Neva, near the great city of St Petersburg, stands a splendid palace, known as the Palace Grodonoff. It is the property of a Russian nobleman of that name, as it is also his place of resi- dence. Were you to drive up to the front gate of this grand palace, you would see a coat-of-anns sculptured in granite over the entrance. In this piece of sculpture, the principal and most striking figure is a bear, with the blade of a knife buried in his breast, the haft being clutched by a human hand ! Open the gate, and enter the spacious court-yard. Inside, on the right and left, you will observe two live bears both of chestnut- brown color, and each of them as big as a buffalo. You cannot fail to notice them, for, ten chances to one, they will rush towards you with fierce growls ; and were it not that a strong chain hinders them from reaching you, you might have reason to repent having entered the court-yard of the palace Grodonoff. Look around you in the court-yard and over the different doors that open upon it ; you will again see the crest of the bear, 1 A X BBUIK. sculptured in stone ; you will see it over the stables, th& coach-house, the granary, the kitchens, (.very where- You may know by all this, that it is the coat-of-arms of the Baron Grodonoff, whose crest is a bear with a blade bur- ied in its breast, and a human hand clutching the haft. You will naturally conclude that there is some history connected with this singular tableau that it is the com- memoration of some deed done by a Grodonoff, entitling him to use the bear as his heraldic device. This is quite true ; and if you enter the picture-gallery of the palace, you will there behold the deed more explicitly repre- sented, in a large oil-painting hung conspicuously in the centre of the wall. The scene of this painting is a for- est of old trees, whose gray, gnarled trunks stand thickly over the ground. There is only a little open space or glade in the middle ; and this is occupied by three 6gures, two men and a bear. The bear is between the two men ; or, rather, one of the men is prostrate upon the ground where he has been struck down by a blow from Bruin's paw while the huge animal stands over him reared up on his hind-quarters. The other man is upon his feet, apparently engaged in a desperate wrestle with the fierce brute, and likely to prove the conqueror as he has already buried the blade of a large hunting- knife in the animal's breast, and directly over the region of its heart. Indeed, the shaggy monster already shows signs of succumbing. His paw has dropped from the shoulder of his antagonist, his long tongue lolls out, the blood rushes from his mouth and nostrils, and it is evi- dent that his strength is fast forsaking him, and that b* will soon sink lifeless upon the earth. THE PALACE GRODONOPF. 3 You will notice that the two men who figure in the painting are very dissimilar in appearance. Both are young men, and both are in hunting-costume ; but so un- like is their dress, that you could not fancy they followed he same occupation. He upon the ground is richly tttired. He wears a tunic of finest green cloth slashed with sable-fur on the skirt, collar, and sleeves ; his limbs are encased in breeches of white doeskin ; and his boots, reaching nearly to his thighs, are of soft russet leather, ample at the tops. A belt around his waist is richly em- broidered ; and the hilt of a short hunting-sword, pro- truding from the sheath, appears chased and studded with jewels. A light plumed hat lies upon the ground near his head evidently tossed off in the struggle and beside it is a boar-spear that has been jerked out of his fingers as he fell. The whole costume is similar to that used upon the stage when some young German or Sclavonian prince is represented as hunting the wild boar in the forests of Lithuania. In reality it is a prince who is depicted in the group of the gallery Grodonoff but not a German prince. He is a Russian, and the bear is the Russian bear. The other hunter he who has given its death-blow to the fierce quadruped is dressed in a style entirely different It is the costume of a fur-hunter a trapper of sables and consists of skin coat and cap, with a strong leathern belt round his waist, and rough boots of untanned hide upon his legs and feet. The costume ia rude, and bespeaks him a peasant ; but his face, as the painter has represented it, is neither common nor ill- looking. It is not so handsome as that of the prince 4 BRUIW. for he urould be an unskilful artist one utterly reckles* of his own fortune who should paint the features of a peasant as handsome as those of a prince. In Russia, as elsewhere, su^h an imprudent painter would be a rara avis indeed. The picture of which we are speaking is the piece de resistance of the Grodonoff gallery. Ita size and con- spicuous position declare the fact ; and the story attached to it will show that it merits the distinction. But for that picture, or rather the scene which it represents, there would be no Grodonoff gallery no palace no baron of the name. Paintings, palace, title, all have their origin hi the incident there represented the battle with the bear. The etory is simple and may be briefly told. As already stated, he upon his back, hat off, and spear de- tached from his grasp, is a Russian prince or rather was one, for at the time when our history commences he is an emperor. He had been hunting the wild boar; and, as often happens to sporting princes, had become separated from bis courtier attendants. The enthusiasm of the chase had led him on, into the fastnesses of tht forest, where he came suddenly face to face with a bear Princes have their hunter ambition as well as other men t and, in hopes of taking a trophy, this one attacked the bear with his boar-spear. But the thrust that might have penetrated the flesh of a wild boar, had no effect upon the tough, thick hide of Bru n. It only irritated him ; and, as the brown bear will often do, he sprang sav- agely upon his assailant, and with his huge paw gave the prince such a "pat" upon the shoulder, as not only sent THE PALACE GRODONOFF. 5 the spear shivering from his grasp, but stretched his royal highness at full length upon the grass. Following up his advantage, the bear had bounded forward upon the prostrate body ; and, no doubt, in the twinkling of a bedpost would have made a corpse of it either squeezing the breath out of it by one of hia formidable " hugs," or tearing it to pieces with his trench- ant teeth. In another moment the hope of Russia would have been extinguished ; but, just at this crisis, a third figure appeared upon the scene in the person of a young hunter a real one who had already been in pursuit of the bear, and had tracked him up to the spot. On coming upon the ground, the hunter fired his gun ; but, seeing that the shot was insufficient, he drew his knife and rushed upon the bear. A desperate struggle ensued, in which, as may be already anticipated, the young hunter proved victorious having succeeded in sheathing his blade in the heart of the bear, and causing the savage quadruped to " bite the dust." Neither the prince nor the peasant came scathless out of the encounter. Both were well scratched ; but nei- ther had received any wound of a serious nature ; and the amateur hunter rose once more to his feet, con- scious of having made a very narrow escape. I need not add that the prince was profuse in his expressions of gratitude to him who had saved his life The young hunter was not one of his own party, but 8 stranger to tim, whose home was in the forest where tht incident occurred. But their acquaintance did not end with the adventure. The prince became an emperor, the peasant hunter a lieutenant hi the Imperial Guard, 6 BRTTltf. afterwards a captain, a colonel, a general, and finally a baron of the empire 1 His name? Grodonoff, he in whose palace hangs the picture we have described. THE BAUON GRODONOFF. CHAPTER II. THE BABON GRODONOFF. IN one of the apartments of the palace GrodonoflJ behold its proprietor, the baron himself! He is seated in an old oak chair, with a heavy table of the same ma- terial in front of him. On the table is spread out a map of the world ; and by the side of the chair stands a large terrestrial globe. Several shelves standing against the walls contain books ; and yet the apartment is not a library, in the proper sense of the word : rather is it a large oblong saloon ; having three of its sides occupied by spacious glass cases, in which are' exhibited objects of nat- ural history, birds, quadrupeds, reptiles, and insects, all mounted in proper form, and arranged in due order. It is, in fact, a museum, a private collection made by the baron himself; and the books that fill the shelves are works relating to natural history alone. In a man of military aspect, an old veteran with snow-white hair, and grand moustaches of like hue such as he who is seated at the table you would scarce expect to meet the lover of a study so pacific in its character as that of natural history ? Rather would you look to find him poring over plans of fortifications, with the pages of Vauban spread open before him ; tich had been traced for them by the paternal hand. Was it possible, however, to do so ? This was their first query. There were some very nice points in that brief chapter of instructions. LatitudinaUy they might traverse as circumstances required, but not longitudinally. Under these limitations would it be possible to visit the haunts of all the bears, to cover, as it were, the whole area of Bruin's geographical distribution ? That it was possible might be inferred, from the fact of their father having issued the orders ; but it was neces- sary for the young expeditionists to set out with caution : else might they take a wrong route, and be altogether unable to fulfil his injunctions. They must not twice cross the same meridian. It was this quaint condition that puzzled them, and rendered it necessary to guard against making a false start. Lucky it was that Alexis was an accomplished zoolo- gist, and thoroughly understood the geographical distri- bution of the genus ursus. But for this knowledge, they would certainly have been puzzled as to the route they were to take. " Well, brother Ivan ! " said Alexis, with a smile, " had these orders been issued when the great Swede published his Systema Natures, our task would have been easily ac- complished. How far do you suppose our travels need to have extended ? " " I don't quite comprehend you, Alexis. How far ? " " Why, simply into the court-yard of our palace. li DISCUSSING THE CONDITIONS. 21 would have been only necessary to kill and skin one of the great bears chained by the gate, and that would have fulfilled all the conditions papa has imposed upon us." u And yet, I don't understand you," rejoined Ivan, with a puzzled look. u How obtuse you are, brother ! Bead the letter again } note well its terms ! " " Well, I understand them. "We are to travel on, and not come home again till we have killed a bear of every variety known." "There just so. Of course papa means every va- riety known to naturalists, that is, to the 'scientific world,' as it is termed. Now you comprehend my mean- ing?" " 0, yes ! " answered Ivan ; " you mean that when Linnasus published his * System of Nature,' only our own brown bear of Europe was known to naturalists ? " " Precisely so only the ursus arcios ; and conse- quently we should have had but a very short journey to make, compared with what is before us now. It is true that previous to his death, the Swedish naturalist had made the acquaintance of the ' Polar ' bear (urstu maritimus) ; but, strange enough, he regarded this as a mere variety of the ursus arctos an error that one may wonder Linnaeus could have made." " O, they are very different I could tell that mysel To say nothing of the color, they are unlike in shape ; and, as everybody knows, their habits are very dissimilar. Why, one lives in forests, and feeds chiefly upon fruits ; while the other dwells amidst fields of snow and ice, and subsists almost exclusively on flesh, or fish ! Variety, indeed 1 no, tiiey are surely different species." 22 BRUIN. " Undoubtedly," answered Alexis ; " but we shall have an opportunity of comparing them hereafter. For the present we must drop the subject, and find out the route of travel which papa has traced out for us." " But he has not indicated any route has he ? He gives us permission to go where we please, so long as we get the bear-skins, and do not return upon our meridian. We are not to take the back-track ha ! ha ! ha ! " " Of course not ; but you will find, to avoid doing this, we shall have to go by a definite course, and can take no other." " By my word ! brother, I don't see what you mean. I shall trust all to you : so take me where you please which way, then ? " u Ah, that has yet to be determined. I cannot tell myself ; and it will take me some time before I can make quite sure as to what direction we are to take on starting out whether east, west, north, or south. It will be necessary for me to examine a map of the world, and trace out the boundaries of the different countries hi which King Bruin holds sovereignty." u Ah ! that will be an interesting lesson for me. Here is the map ; let me spread it out, and do what I can to assist you in finding our way." As Ivan said this, he drew a large travelling map of the world from its case and opening it out, laid it upon the table. Both the youths sat down ; and running their eyes over the chart, proceeded to discuss the diniction which, by the conditions imposed upon them, they must necessarily take. fKACING THE ROUTE. 38 CHAPTER V. TRACING THE ROUTE. * IN the first place," said Alexis, " there is the broiro kear (ursus arctos). Him we might find in many parta of our own country, since he is emphatically our ' Russian bear ' ; but there is also a black bear, which some natu- ralists say is a variety of the ursus arctos, while others believe it to be a separate species, having given to it the specific name of ursus niger ursus ator it is sometimes called. Now, whether it be a species or only a variety, we must get a skin of it all the same since papa haa definitely expressed it so." " This black bear is to be found in our own northern, forests, is it not ? " " Yes ; it has been observed there ; but more frequent- ly in the mountains of Scandanavia ; and, as we might wander through all the north of Russia without finding one, our best plan will be to proceed at once to Norway or Lapland. There we shall be certain also of finding the brown bear, and thus kill two birds with one stone." " Say Lapland : I should like to see the little Laps ; but where next ? To North America, I suppose ? " a By no means. There is a bear in the Pyrenees, And other mountains of Spain in the Asturias espe- 94 BRUIN. eially. It is also deemed by most naturalists to be only a variety of the ursus arctos, but it is certainly a distinct species ; and papa thinks so. Some naturalists would have it that there are only three or four distinct species in the whole world. They might just as well say there was but one. I think it better to follow papa's views upon this subject, and regard all those bears which have permanent marks of distinction whether it be in size, color, or otherwise as being so many separate species, however much they may approximate in habits or dispo- sition. Why, some naturalists even call the American black bear merely a variety of our brown ; and, as I said a moment ago, Linnaeus himself believed the Polar to be the same species. This is now known to be an erroneous theory. Since papa has given as much time to the study of the bears as perhaps any one else, I shall follow his theory and regard the Spanish bear (ursus pyrenaicus it is called) a distinct species." " You propose, then, to go next to Spam, and kill the Spanish bear ? " " We must. Having started in a westerly course by going to Lapland, we must keep on in that direction." u But how about the white bear of the Alps ? " u You mean the ursus albus of Lesson ? " "Yes. To reach the Alps, where it is said to be found, we should have to recross a meridian of longi- tude?" " We should, if there were such an animal to be found in the Alps ; but there is not. The white bear of Buffon and Lesson (ursus albus) was only a mere accidental variety or albino of the brown bear ; and papa does not TRACING THE ROUTE. 20 mean that we should collect the skins of such as these. He has said so. Indeed, Ivan, were that task imposed on us, we should both be old men before we could complete it, and return home again. It is only the skins of the permanent varieties we are to procure, and therefore the urs-us dibits is scratched out of our list." " Out with him then ! where go we next ? To North America, then, no doubt ? " No." "Perhaps to Africa?" No." " Are there no bears in Africa ? " " That is a disputed point among writers, and has been so since the days of Pliny. Bears are mentioned as hav- ing been exhibited in the Roman circus, under the name of Numidian bears ; and Herodotus, Virgil, Juvenal, and Martial, all mention Lybian bears in their writings. Pliny, however, stoutly denies that there were any of these animals in Africa ; but it must be remembered that he equally denies that stags, goats, and boars existed on the African continent : therefore his statement about the non-existence of the Numidian bears is not worth a straw. Strange enough, the point is as much disputed now as in the days of Pliny. The English traveller, Bruce, states positively that there are no bears in Africa. Another English traveller to Abyssinia, Salt, makes 1.0 mention of them ; while the German, Ehrenberg, says that he has seen them in the mountains of Abyssinia, and heard of them also in Arabia Felix ! Several French and English travellers (Dapper, Shaw, Poncet, and Poiret) bear testimony to the existence of bears in 2 26 BRUIN. different parts of Africa, in Nubia, Babur, and Conga In the Atlas Mountains, between Algiers and Morocco, according to Poiret, bears are common enough ; and this writer even gives some details as to their habits. He says that they are exceedingly fierce and carnivorous, and that the Arabs believe they can lift stones in their paws and fling them at those who may be in pursuit of them ! He relates that an Arab hunter brought him the skin of one of those bears ; and also showed him a wound in his leg, which he had received by the animal having launched a stone at him while he was pursuing it ! Monsieur Poriet, however, does not vouch for the truth of the stone-throwing, though he stoutly maintains the existence of African bears." " What does papa think about it ? " inquired Ivan. " That there are bears in Africa perhaps in all the mountainous parts of Africa but certainly in the Atlas and Tetuan ranges. Indeed, an English traveller of ve- racity has put the question beyond a doubt, by giving Borne points in the description of these African bears. Naturalists thought that if such an animal existed in Africa, it would be the same species as the Syrian ; but although the bears reported in the Arabian and Abyssin- ian mountains are likely enough to be of that species, tho*e of the Atlas are evidently not only distinct from the Syrian bear, but from all other known kinds. One that was killed near Tetuan, about twenty-five miles from the Atlas Mountains, was a female, and less in size than the American black bear. It was black also, or rather brownish black, and without any white marking about the muzzle, but under the belly its fur was of a TRACING THk KOUTE. 27 reddish orange. The hair was shaggy, and four or five inches long, while the snout, toes, and claws were all shorter than in the American black bear, and the body was of thicker and stouter make. The Englishman had learnt something of its habits too. The Arabs said it was rarely met with near Tetuan ; that it fed on roots, acorns, and fruits, but was only an indifferent climber. Indeed, it would be very improbable," continued Alexis, " that the great ranges of the Atlas and Abyssinian mountains should be without these mammalia, since they exist in nearly all the other mountains of the globe. Moreover, it should be remembered that it is only a few years since the bears of the Himalayas, of the Great Andes of America, and those of the East Indian Islands and even the bear of Mount Lebanon became known to the scientific world. Why, then, should there not be a species in Africa perhaps more than one though civilized people are yet unacquainted with it ? " " But you say we are not going to Africa ? " " No ; our instructions relate only to every variety of bear known to naturalists ; and the African bear does not come under this category, since it has not yet been de- scribed by any naturalist. For that reason we shall have no errand into Africa." " Then, surely, North America is our next stage ? " " Certainly not ; you are aware that there is a South American bear." " Yes, the ' spectacled bear,' as he is called." " Just so, the ursus ornatus. I think we shall find two species in South America, though that is also a dis- puted point." Zd BRUIN. - Well, brother, what if we should ? " " Why, both will be found in the Andes of Chili and Peru, and not in the eastern parts of South America." " And how should that affect our route of travel ? " " Very essentially, indeed. Were we to go first to North America, we should find no less than five species, or four species and one well-marked variety. To reach the native haunt of one of these I mean the grisly (ursus ferox) we should have to go farther west than any part of the South American Andes : how, then, could we afterwards reach the spectacled bear without doubling back on our meridian ? " " True, brother ; I see that, by looking on the map. You propose, then, steering first to South America, and afterwards to the northern division of the American continent ? " " We are compelled to do so, by the very nature of our contract. Having procured the skins of ursus orna- tug and another variety we shall find in the Andes, we can then travel almost due north. On the Mississippi we shall be able to pick up a skin of the American black bear (ursus americanus), and by the help of the Hudson's Bay voyageurs we shall reach the shores of the great jjuli from which that territory takes its name. There the ' polar bear ' (ursus maritimus) can be found. Farther westward and northward we may hope to capture the 'barren-ground bear,' which the English traveller, Sir John Richardson, thinks is only a variety of our Euro- pean brown bear, but which papa and good reasons he has believes to be nothing of the kind. Crossing the Rocky Mountains, we shall be ab le, I hope, to knock over TKACING THE ROUTE. 29 the famed and formidable grisly (ursus ferox), and in Oregon, or British Columbia, we shall strip his hide from the ' cinnamon bear ' (ursus cinnamonus), believed to be a variety of the American black. That will finish with the bears of America." " Asia next, I suppose ? " " Yes, straight across to Kamschatka. There we shall meet with the ' Siberian,' or ' collared bear ' (ursus cotta- ris). Of these, two varieties are said to exist, one of which, specified by the name ursus sibiricus, is also found in Lapland and Siberia." u Go on, brother 1 Where next ? " " From Kamschatka we shall make a long traverse to the southwest. Our next hunting-ground will be Borneo." " Ah I the beautiful little bear with the orange-colored breast ! " u Yes ; that is the ' Bornean bear ' (ursus euryspilus) or ' Bruang/ as he is called by the Malays." " But there is another Bruang ? " " Yes, the * Malayan sun bear ' (ursus malaganut). This we shall encounter in Sumatra or Java, whichever we choose to visit." " Well, the list is much larger than I expected : cer- tainly it has been wonderfully lengthened since the days of the good old Linnaeus." " We have not reached the end yet." Where next, brother ? " "Up the Bay of Bengal, and on to the Himalayas. First in the foot hills of these mountains we shall have to search for the curious ' sloth bear,' or 'juggler's bear* (ours de jongleurs} as the French writers term him. 30 BEU1W. He is the ursus labiatus of naturalists ; and we may find him in the plains of India, before reaching the Hima- layas. Having skinned him, we shall proceed to climb the great mountains, and higher up we are certain to come across the ' Thibet bear ' (ursus thibetanus) by some very erroneously described as being one cf the numerous varieties of the European brown bear ! Still higher up we shall, I hope, have the good luck to en- counter and kill a specimen of the ' Isabella bear ' (ursut isabelinus), so called from his color, but termed by Anglo-Indian sportsmen the 'snow bear,' because he frequents the declivities near the snow-line of these stupendous mountains." "That is all, is it not?" ft No, Ivan, one more, and that will be the last" "What is he?" " The ' Syrian ' (ursus syriacus) ; and though the last in our catalogue, this is the very first on record : for they were bears of this species that came out of the wood and 'tare forty and two' of the mockers of the prophet Elisha. We shall have to visit Syria to procure a skin of the ursus syriacus." " Well, I hope their ferociousness has been tamed down since Elisha's time, else we may stand a fair chance of being served in a eimilai fashion." " No doubt we shall have many a scratch before we encounter the bears of Mount Lebanon. When we have obtained a robe from one of them, there will be nothing more for us to do but take the most direct route home. We shall then have gone once round the world" " Ah, that we shall ! " said Ivan, laughing ; " and all TRACING THE ROUTE. 31 over it too. Great Czar ! I think by the time we have captured one of Elisha's bears we shall have had a sur- feit of travel." "No doubt of it; but now, brother, that we know where we are going, let us waste no more time, but signify our acceptance of the conditions, and be off at once." "Agreed," said Ivan; and both returning into the presence of the baron, announced their readiness to take the road. " Are we to travel alone, papa ? " inquired Ivan ; " I think you spoke of an attendant ? " " Yes, one attendant. You must not be encumbered with too many servants to wait upon you." One will be quite sufficient." " Who is it to be ? " asked Ivan. The baron rang the bell, and a servant entered. " Send Corporal Pouchskin to me ! " Shortly after, the door reopened, and a man of about fifty appeared. The tall, well-balanced form and erect attitude the close-cropped hair and enormous grizzled moustache, combined with great gravity of features, de- noted a veteran of the Imperial Guard, one of those grand and redoubtable soldiers who have seen service in the presence of an emperor. Though no longer wearing the military uniform, but dressed somewhat as a park or game-keeper, the silent salute and attitude of " atten- tion" were sufficiently indicative of the profession which Pouchskin had followed : for it was the veritable Pouch- skin who had entered the apartment. He said not a word, nor did he look either to the right or left, only directly forward, and at the baron. 82 BRUIN. ; ' Corporal Pouchskin 1 " General ! " " I wish you to make a journey." " I am ready." " Not quite, corporal. I will give you an hour to prepare." " Where does the general wish me to go ? " " Round the world." " Half an hour will suffice." " So much the better, then. Prepare to start in half an hour." Pouchskin bowed and retired. TO THE TOBNEA. 88 CHAPTER VI TO THE TOBNEA. WE shall nut detail the parting interview between the Baron Grodonoff and his sons ; there was the usual in- terchange of affectionate expressions, with as much feel- ing as is common on such occasions. Neither need we relate the ordinary incidents of travel which befell our expeditionists on their way to the mountains of Lapland. Suffice it to say that they journeyed by post from St. Petersburg direct to Tornea, at the head of the Great Bothnian Gulf. Thence they proceeded northward up the river Tornea till they had reached the mountain- ous region in which this stream takes its rise. They were amply furnished with the means of travelling in the most expeditious manner, and were not encumbered with any great amount of luggage. A bag of roubles, which Pouchskin carried in a safe pocket, proved the most convenient article they could have taken along irith them ; since it enabled them to supply their wants from day to day, without troubling themselves with any cum- bersome baggage. There are few parts of the world in which ready money will not command the necessaries of life ; and as this was all our hunters cared for, they had no difficulty in obtaining supplies even in the remote 2 c 34 BRUIN. regions of uncivilized Lapland. The wild, half-savage Lap perfectly comprehends tha \alue of a coin; and will exchange for it his reindeer flesh and milk, or any- thing else that may be asked from him. Our young hunters, therefore, travelled lightly with little else in the shape of baggage than a pair of knapsacks which they carried on their backs, and which contained only a change or two of linen, and such toilet articles as were absolutely necessary to their comfort. A knapsack of much larger dimensions formed the chief care of Pouchskin ; and although this, with its contents, would have been a heavy load for an ordinary man, the veteran of the Imperial Guard thought no more of it than if it had been a bag of feathers. Each in addition carried an ample fur cloak ; which, on the march, was folded up and strapped to their backs on top of the knapsack, but at night waa wrapped around their bodies, and served both as bed and bedclothes. All three were armed and equipped, in the most substantial manner. They carried guns, though differing in kind. The piece of Alexis was a handsome Jager rifle ; Ivan's was a double-barrelled shot-gun or fowling-piece ; while Pouchskin balanced over his shoulder an immense fusil, the bullet of which weighed a good ounce avoirdupois. All were provided with a knife of one fashion or another. In such guise did our young hunters enter the moun- tains of Lapland ; and commence their search after the " old man in the fur coat," as the Laplanders term the bear. They had taken proper measures to secure success They had secured the services of a guide, who engaged to conduct them to a district where bears existed in great TO THE TORNEA. 85 plenty, and where he himself lived in a state almost as savage as the bears for he was a true Laplander, and lived in a tent in the very heart of the mountains. He was one of those who had no reindeer ; and was there- fore forced to depend on the chase for his subsistence. He trapped the ermine and beaver killed the wild reindeer when he could spent his whole life in battling with wolves and bears ; and with the skins of these animals which he sold to the fur-traders he was able to supply himself with the few necessaries which such a state of existence called for. Under his tent of coarse wadmal cloth the travellers found shelter, and such rude hospitality as the poor Lap could afford them in return for which they had to live in the midst of a smoke that nearly put out their eyes. But they knew they had entered upon an expedition, in which many hardships were to be expected; and they bore the inconvenience with becoming fortitude. It is not my intention to give the details of the every- day life of the young hunters, nor yet an account of the very many curious incidents, which occurred to them during their sojourn in Lapland. Much was noted down in their journal from which this narrative has been drawn interesting only to themselves, or perhaps still more to their father the baron. For him they wrote an account of everything peculiar that they observed such as the odd customs of the Laplanders their mode of travelling in sledges with reindeer their snow-skating on the skidors and skabarger$ and, in short, a full ac- count of the habits and manners of these singular people, Especially, however, did Alexis describe the objects of 36 BETJIN. natural history which came under his notice giving such details as he drew from personal observation, or derived from the native hunters, many of whom they encountered while engaged in the chase of the bear. These details, were they given in full, would fill a book of themselves. We must content ourselves, therefore, with relating only the more interesting incidents, and striking adventures which happened to our heroes. We may here state that it was in the early part of spring that they arrived in Lapland, or rather in the latter part of winter, when the ground is still covered with deep snow. At this season the bears are hidden away in their caves in crevices of the rocks or hollow trees from which they only issue forth when the spring sun makes itself felt, and the snow begins to disappear from the sides of the hills. Every one has heard of this winter sleep of the bears ; and it has been attributed to bears of all species. This, however, is a mistake, as it is only indulged in by a few kinds ; and the climate and nature of the country which the bear inhabits has more to do with his hybernation than any natural instinct of the animal ; since it has been observed that bears will go to sleep, or hybernate, as it is termed, in one part of a country, while individuals of the same species, in another region, will be found roaming about all the winter through. The state of torpor seems to be voluntary with these animals : since it is generally in districts where food could not be procured that they submit themselves to this prolonged siesta. However this may be, the brown bears of Lapland certainly indulge in a period of slumber during whik TO THE TORNEA. 87 they are difficult to find. Never issuing from their places of concealment, they make no track in the snow by which they might be followed. At such seasons it is only by accident, or by the aid of his dog, that the Lap hunter chances to discover the retreat of a bear; and, when one is thus discovered, various methods are adopted for securing the valuable skin and carcass of the animal. It so chanced that, previous to the arrival of the young Russians upon their hunting-ground, there had been a show of spring that is, a few days of warm sun but this had been succeeded by a return of the cold weather, with a fresh fall of snow. The spell of warmth, however, had aroused many bears from their lethargy some of which had ventured out of their caves, and made short excursions among the hills in search, no doubt of the berries, that, preserved all winter by the snow, are sweet and mellow at this season, and a favorite food of the bears. This casual occurrence of the spring having made a promise and not kept it, was just the chance for our hunt- ers ; since it enabled them in a very short time to track a bear to his den. A few days after their arrival upon the hunting-ground, they were able to do this having come upon the foot- marks of a bear, that, followed for a mile or so through the snow, led them to the animal's lair. It led them also to an adventure, which was the first they had yet encoun- tered ; and which came very near being the last that Pouchskin was ever to have in the world Pouchskin was certainly in great peril ; and how he escaped from it will be learnt, by reading an account of the adventure. 88 BUCIN CHAPTER VII. JACK-IN-THE-BOX. IT was early in the morning, shortly after leaving the the tent of the Laplander, they had chanced upon the track of the bear. After following it for nearly a mile, it conducted them to a narrow gorge or ravine, lying between two rocky ridges. The ravine itself was not more than ten or a dozen yards in width, and its bottom was filled with snow to the depth of several feet. Along the sides the snow lay sparsely ; and in fact there had been scarce any in that place before the fall the preceding night. This had only covered the ground to the depth of a few inches: but it was sufficient to show the footmarks of the bear ; and they were able to follow the spar so the Scandinavian hunters call the tracks of an animal as fast as they chose to go. Following it up, then, our hunters entered the ravine. They kept for some distance along one side just by the edge of the deep snow ; but at length the track in- dicated where the bear had crossed to the other side; and of course they were compelled to cross likewise. This deep snow was the accummulated deposits of different storms that had occurred during the winter} JACK-IN-THE-BOX. 39 and, shadowtid from the sun by the long branches of evergreen pines from both sides stretching outward over the ravine, it had remained without melting. There was a crust over it strong enough to carry a man on gkfdors, but not without them, unless he proceeded with care and caution. The bear had gone over it ; but these animals, notwithstanding their enormous weight and bulk, can pass over ice or crusted snow that will not carry a man. Their weight rests upon four points instead of two ; and as they need only lift one foot at a time, they still have three points of support. A man must also lift one foot, which leaves him only one to stand upon ; and therefore his whole weight presses upon a sin- gle point, and so endangers his breaking through. The great length of a bear's body, moreover, and the vast stretch between his fore and hind legs give him an ad- ditional advantage enabling him to distribute his weight over a large surface and this is why he can ohuffle over ice or snow-crust that may be too weak to carry a human being. Every boy knows at least every boy who has skated or ventured upon a frozen pond that by creeping on hands and knees, or, more certain still, by sprawling along on the breast, ice may be passed over, that would not bear the same boy in an erect attitude. Such advantage, then, had the bear which our young hunters were tracking up ; and it would have been well for them at least for Pouchskin had they thought of it. They did not. They supposed that where a great heavy animal like a bear had gone they might go too ; and, without further reflection they stepped out upon the deer bed of snow 40 BRUIN. Alexis and Ivan being light weights passed over the snow safely enough ; but Pouchskin, weighing nearly as much as both of them and further loaded with a pon- derous wood-axe and his huge gun, to say nothing of sun- dry well-filled pockets and pouches was more than the crust would carry. Just when he had got about half way across, there was heard a tearing crash ; and before tho boys could turn round to inquire the cause, Pouchskin had disappeared, and all his paraphernalia along with him ! No, not quite all. There was seen about two feet of the barrel of his gun above the surface ; and as that still pointed upward while it moved around the circular hole through which the old guardsman had fallen the boys concluded that the piece was in his hands, and that Pouchskin was still upon his feet At the same instant a voice reached their ears in a hollow sepulchral tone, like that of a man speaking from the bottom of a well, or through the bunghole of an empty cask ! Notwithstanding its baritone notes, the boys perceived that the exclamations made by the voice were not those of terror, but rather of surprise, followed by a slight laugh. Of course, therefore, their attendant had received no injury, nor was he in any danger ; and, assured of this, Ivan, first, and then Alexis, broke out into yells of laughter. On cautiously approaching the trap-like hole, through which Pouchskin had disappeared, their merriment burst forth afresh, at the ludicrous spectacle, There stood the old guardsman, like a jack-in-the-box in the centre of a JACK-IN-THE-BOX. 41 hollow funuel-shaped cylinder which he had made in the snow. But what was strangest of all, there was no snow among his feet : on the contrary, he was up to his kneea in water, and not stagnant water either, but a current, that ran rapidly underneath the snow, and had swished the crusted fragments from the spot where he was stand- ing! A stream, hi fact, ran down the ravine ; and, although the snow completely hid it from view, there it was, rush- ing along underneath through a tunnel which it had melted out for itself the snow forming a continuous bridge above it. The boys did not know all this for they could only just see the top of Pouchskin's head, with his long arms holding the gun but they could hear the rushing noise of the water, and Pouchskin reported the rest. It did not appear so easy to extricate him from his un- pleasant predicament; for the resemblance between his situation, and that of jack-in-the-box, went no further. There was no jerking machinery by which the ex-guards- man could be jumped out of his box ; and, since his head was full three feet below the crust of the snow, how he was to be raised to the surface required some consideration. Neither of the young hunters dared to approach the circumference of the circular hole through which Pouch- skin had sunk. They might have broken through them- selves, and then all three would have been in the same fix. Of course, under this apprehension, they dared not go near enough to pull him out with their hands even had they been able to reach down to him. It is true he might have got out, aftel some time, by 42 BRUIN. breaking the snow before him, and working his way at right angles to the course of the stream : for it was evident that the ground sloped sharply up in that direction, and the snow became shallower. Except above the water, it was firm enough to have borne his weight, and after a time he might have scrambled out ; but a more expedi- tious plan of relieving him, and one far less troublesome to Pouchskin, suggested itself to Alexis. One of the impedimenta, which the old guardsman carried on his shoulders, was a coil of stout cord almost a rope. This they had brought with them, in the anticipation of being successful in their hunt ; and, with the idea of its being required at the skinning of the bear as also for packing the hide, or any simi- lar purpose. It was the presence of this cord that suggested to Alexis the scheme he had conceived for relieving his faithful follower from his unhappy position ; and the plan itself will be understood by our describing its execution, which took place on the instant, Alexis called to Pouchskin to tie one end of the rope round his body, and then fling the other out upon the snow as far as he could cast it. This request was in- stantly complied with ; and the end of the rope made ita appearance at the feet of Alexis. The latter taking it in his hand, ran up the bank to the nearest tree ; and giving it a turn or two round the trunk, he handed it to Ivan, with the direction to hold it fast and keep it from slipping. A knot would have served the same purpose ; but the whole thing was the work of only a few moments ; and as Ivan was standing by doing JACK-IN-THE-BOX. 43 nothing, his brother thought he might just as well take hold of the rope and save time. Alexis now crept back, as near to the edge of the trap ns it was safe to go. He took with him a long pole, which by a lucky chance he had found lying under the trees. Slipping this under the rope, and placing it cross- wise, he shoved it still nearer to the circumference of the broken circle his object being to give support to the cord, and keep it from cutting into the snow. The contrivance was perfectly correct ; and as scon as Alexis had got all ready, he shouted to Pouchskin to haul upon the rope, and help himself. Meanwhile, the old guardsman had slung his fusil upon his back ; and, immediately on receiving the signal, com- menced his ascent pulling hand over hand upon the rope, and assisting his arms by working his feet against the wall of snow. The moment his head appeared above the surface, the laughter of his young masters, that had been for a while suspended, burst forth afresh. And it was no wonder : for the expression upon the old soldier's visage, as it rose above the white crust, his bent attitude, and the desperate exertions he was making to clamber upward, all combined to form a most ludicrous picture. Ivan screamed till the tears ran down his cheeks. So overcome was he with mirth, that it is possible he would have let go, and permitted Pouchskin to tumble back in- to his trap ; but the more sober Alexis, foreseeing such a contingency, ran up and took hold of the rope. By this means, Pouchskin was at length landed safely on the surface of the snow ; but even his tall boots of 44 BRUIN. Russia leather had not saved his legs and feet from getting well soaked ; and he was now dripping with muddy water from the thighs downwards. There was no tune, however to kindle a fire and dry him. They did not think of such a thing. So eage* were all three in the chase of the bear, that they only waited to coil up the cord, and then continued onward. THE SCANDINAVIAN BEARS. 44 CHAPTER VIII. THE SCANDINAVIAN BEARS. " REALLY, now," said Ivan, pointing to one of the tracks, " if it was n't that I see the marks of claws instead of toes, I should fancy we were tracking a man instead of a bear some barefooted Laplander, for instance. How very like these tracks are to those of a human foot ! " " That is quite true," rejoined Alexis ; " there is a very remarkable resemblance between the footprints of the bear and those of a human being especially when the tracks have stood a while. As it is, now, you can see clearly the marks of the claws ; but in a day or two, when the sun or the rain has fallen upon the snow, and melted it a little, the claw-marks will then be filled up with the thaw, and, losing their sharp outlines, will look much more like the tracks of toes. For that reason, an old bear-track is, indeed, as you say, very like that of a hu- man foot." "And quite as large, too ? " " Quite as large : the tracks of some kinds even larger than those of most men. As, for instance, the white and grisly species many individuals of both having paws over twelve inches in length ! " " The bear does not tread upon bis toes In talking, but 46 BRUIN. lays the whole sole of his foot along the ground does he not ? " asked Ivan. " Precisely so," replied Alexis ; " and hence he is termed & plantigrade animal, to distinguish him from those other kinds, as horses, oxen, swine, dogs, cats, and so forth, that all, in reality, step upon their toes." "There are some other plantigrade animals besides bears ? " said Ivan, interrogatively ; " our badger and glut- ton, for instance ? " u Yes," answered the naturalist. " These are planti- grade ; and for this reason they have been classed along with the bears under the general name ursidce; but in father's opinion, and mine too," added Alexis, with a slight sparkle of scientific conceit, " this classification is alto- gether an erroneous one, and rests upon the very insig- nificant support of the plantigrade feet. In all other respects the different genera of small animals, that have thus been introduced into the family of the bears are as unlike the latter almost as bears are to bluebottles." " What animals have been included in this family ursidte ? " "The European glutton and American wolverene (gulo), the badgers of both continents, and of Asia (meles), the raccoon (procyori), the Cape ratel (mettivora), the panda (ailurus), the benturong (ictides), the coati (nasud), the paradoxure (paradoxurus), and even the curious little teledu of Java (mydaus). It was Linngeus himself who first entered these animals under the heading of bears at least, such of them as were known in his day ; and the French anatomist, Cuvier, extended this incongruous list to the others. To distinguish them from the true bearS| THE SCANDINAVIAN BEARS. 47 they divided the family into two branches the or bears properly so called, and the subursiruB, or little bears. Now, in my opinion," continued Alexis, " there is not the slightest necessity for calling these numerous species of animals even ' little bears.' They are not bears in any sense of the word : having scarce any other re- semblance to the noble Bruin than their plantigrade feet. All these animals the Javanese teledu excepted have long tails ; some of them, in fact, being very long and very bushy a characteristic altogether wanting to the bears, that can hardly be said to have tails at all. But there are other peculiarities that still more widely separate the bears from the so-called ' little bears ; ' and, indeed, so many essential points of difference, that the fact of their being classed together might easily be shown to be little better than mere anatomical nonsense. It is an outrage upon common sense," continued Alexis, warming with his subject, " to regard a raccoon as a bear, an animal that is ten times more like a fox, and certainly far nearer to the genus cam's than that of ursus. On the other hand, it is equally absurd to break up the true bears into dif- ferent genera as these same anatomists have done ; for if there be a family in the world the individual members of which bear a close family likeness to one another, that is the family of Master Bruin. Indeed, so like are the different species, that other learned anatomists have gone to the opposite extreme of absurdity, and asserted that they are all one and the same ! However, we shall see as we become acquainted with the different members of this distinguished family, in what respects they differ from each other, and in what they are alike." 48 BRUIN. " I have heard," said Ivan, " that here, in Norway and Lapland, there are two distinct species of the brown bear, besides the black variety, which is so rare ; and I tave also heard say that the hunters sometimes capture a variety of a grayish color, which they call the ' silver bear.' I think papa mentioned these facts." " Just so," replied Alexis ; " it has been the belief among Swedish naturalists that there are two species, or at least permanent varieties, of the brown bear in North- ern Europe. They have even gone so far as to give them separate specific names. One is the ursus arctos major, while the other is ursus arctos minor. The former is the larger animal more fierce in its nature, and more carnivorous in its food. The other, or smaller kind, is of a gentler disposition or at all events more timid and instead of preying upon oxen and other domestic ani- mals, confines itself to eating grubs, ants, roots, berries, and vegetable substances. In their color there is no perceptible difference between the two supposed varie- ties, more than may be often found between two individu- als notedly of the same kind ; and it is only in size and habits that a distinction has been observed. The latest and most accurate writers upon this subject believe that the great and little brown bears are not even varieties > and that the distinctive characteristics are merely the effects of age, sex, or other accidental circumstances. It is but natural to suppose that the younger bears would not be so carnivorous as those of greater age. It is well known that preying upon other animals and feeding upon their flesh, is not a natural instinct of the brown bear ; it is a habit that has its origin, first, in the scarcity of othe-* THE SCANDINAVIAN BEARS. 49 food, but which, once entered upon, soon develops itself into a strong propensity, almost equalling that of the felidee. u As to the black bear being a distinct species, that ia a question also much debated among both hunters and naturalists. The hunters say that the fur of the black European bear is never of that jetty blackness which characterizes the real black bears of American and Asi- atic countries, but only a very dark shade of brown ; and they believe that it is nothing more than the brown fur itself, grown darker in old age. Certainly they have reason for this belief: since it is a well-known fact that the brown bears do become darker as they grow older. " Ha ! " said Ivan, with a laugh, " that is just the re- verse with us. Look at Pouchskin there ! Your hair was once black, was n't it, old Pouchy ? " " Yes, Master Ivan, black as a crow's feathers." " And now you 're as , gray as a badger. Some day, before long before we get home again, maybe your moustache, old fellow, will be as white as an ermine." "Very like, master, very like, we'll all be a bit older by that time." " Ha ! ha ! ha ! " laughed Ivan ; u you 're right there, Pouchy ; but go on brother ! " he added, turning to Alexis ; " let us hear all about these Scandinavian bears. You have not spoken of the ' silver ' ones." <* No," said Alexis ; " nor of another kind that ia found in these countries, and that some naturalists have elevated into a different species the ' ringed bear/ " u You mean the bears with a white ring round their necks ? Yes, I have heard of them too." 3 D 60 BRUIN. "Just so>" rejoined Alexis. " Well, brother, what do you think ? Is it a distinct species, or a permanent variety ? " "Neither one nor the other. It is merely an acci- dental marking which some young individuals of the brown bear chance to have, and it scarcely ever remains beyond the age of cubhood. It is only very youncc bears that are met with of this color ; and the white r'mff dis- appears as they get older. It is true that hunters now and then meet with an odd ringed bear of tolerable size and age ; but all agree that he is the brown bear- and not a distinct kind. The same remarks apply to the ' sil- ver ' bear ; and hunters say that in a litter of three ci'l*- they have found all three colors the common brow- the ' ringed,' and the * silver,' while the old mothe* herself was a true ursus arctos" "Well, since papa only binds us to the brown an stray that way, they turned back up the ravine ; and, striking off w a path that led towards the tent of the Laplander, rotrVrf their saioky quarters in good time for dinner. RINGING THE BEAR. 79 CHAPTER XIV. RINGING THE BEAR. THE bear thus killed was the true ursus arctos, or brown bear the latter name being given to him from the color of his fur, which, in ninety-nine cases out of every hundred, is a uniform brown. The name, how- ever, is not appropriate, since there other brown bears belonging to very different species. Ha\ing secured his robe, as we have seen, the next care of our hunters was to obtain a skin from the body of his black brother. They were well aware that this would not be so easy of accomplishment, from the simple fact, that the ursus niger, or " European black bear," is one of the rarest of animals indeed, so few of them are obtained, that out of a thousand skins of the European bear that pass through the hands of the furriers, not more than two or three will be found to be of the black variety. It is true that they were just in the country where they would be most likely to fall in with one ; for it is only in the northern zone of Europe (and Asia also) where the black ones are found. This variety is not en- countered in the southern ranges of mountains in the Alps, Pyrenees, and Carpathians. Whether this black 80 bear is a distinct species was not a question with then* They knew that by most naturalists he is recognized as a variety by some a permanent one. It was, therefore, certainly included in the conditions of their father's let- ter ; and a skin must be procured coute qui coute. Tbia done, they would have no further business in Lapland, but might proceed at once to the Pyrenees. It was not necessary to procure skins of the gray or silver bear, nor that with the white ring round its neck known as the ringed or collard bear. As Alexis had said, it is acknowledged by all who know the ursus arctos in his native haunts, that these are mere accidental va- rieties. The true " collared bear " (ursus cottaris) is not found in Lapland, only in northern Asia and Kams- chatka, and it is he that is known as the " Siberian bear." The boys therefore were not " bound " by their covenant to procure these varieties ; but for all that, they were gratified at going beyond the strict letter of their agreement, which good luck enabled them to do ; for, while scouring the country in search of the ursus niger, they chanced upon another brown bear, a female, with three cubs, one of which was brown, like the mother ; the second had the white ring round its neck, and the third was as gray as a little badger! All four were iaken ; and the young hunters not only had the gratifica- tion of being able to send the different varieties of skins to then* father's museum, but an additional satisfaction was afforded to Alexis, the naturalist, by this grand family capture. It proved incontestably, what he already sus- pected, and what, moreover, the native peasants and hunt- ers had told him, that the " silver " and " ringed " bears were identical with the ursus arctos. RINGING THE BEAB. 81 Notwithstanding their joy at the capture of the old she and her particolored pets, they were yet very anxious about the black bear. They had hunted all the foresta and mountains for miles around, and had even succeeded in killing several other specimens of " Brownie," but no " Blackie " was to be met with. It had now got known among the native hunters what they were hi search of; and, as they had offered a lib- eral reward to any one who could guide them to the haunt or den of a real black bear, it was not unlikely they should soon hear of one. In this expectation they were not deceived. About a week after the offer had been proclaimed, a Finnish peas- ant (one of the Quans, as they are called) made his ap- pearance at their head-quarters, and announced that he had " ringed " a black bear. It was welcome tidings ; and the young Russians at once preceded to the indi- cated place. It may be necessary to explain what the man meant when he told them he had " ringed " the bear ; since that is a phrase of specific meaning throughout the countries of Scandinavia. In these countries, when the track of a bear is observed in the snow, it is followed up by the per- son who has discovered it, with the intention of " ring- ing" the animal that is, ascertaining as near as may be, the locality in which it may have halted from its rambles, and lain down to rest. Of course, if the person thus trailing the bear be a hunter or if it be a party of hunters actually engaged in the chase, they will keep on until they have found the bear in his den. But in nine sasea out of ten, bears are not pursued in this fashion. 4* w 82 BRT3IN. Generally, their haunt whether temporary or other TOse has been ascertained beforehand, by some shep- herd or wood-cutter, and a party of hunters then proceeds to the spot, and makes a surround of the animal before rousing him from his lair. This " surround," however, has nothing whatever to do with the " ringing " of the bear, which is an operation of a different character, and is performed by the parti who has first chanced upon the tracks. The mode of proceeding is simply to follow the trail, or spar, of the bear as silently as possible until the tracker has reason to believe that the animal is not far off. This he discov- ers by observing that the spar no longer trends in a direct line, but doubles about in zigzags, and backward turnings upon itself; for when a bear intends to lie down, it is his habit to quarter the ground in every direction, precisely as does the hare before squatting hi her form. Many other annuals observe a similar cau- tion before going to rest. The bear-tracker having reached this point, then leaves the track altogether, and makes a circuit round that part of the forest within which he suspects Bruin to have couched himself. This circuit is of greater or less diameter, according to circumstances depending on the neason of the year, nature of the ground, and a variety of other considerations. While going round this circle, if it should be seen that the track of the bear leads beyond it, then that " ring " is given up, and another commenced further forward. If, on the other hand, the the tracker gets round to the place whence he first started, without again coming upon the spar, he conclude* RINGING THE BEAR. 83 that the bear must be lying somewhere within the cir- cumference which he has traced, and will there be found. This, then, is termed " ringing " the bear. You may wonder why the man does not follow up the spar until he actually reaches the den or lair of the animal. That is easily explained. The tracker is not always a bear-hunter, and even if he were, it would not be prudent for him to approach a bear without assist- ants, who, by surrounding the animal, should cut off its retreat. Were he to go forward direct to the bear's hiding-place, Bruin would, in all probability, discover him before he could approach within shot ; and, making a bolt, might carry him a chase of ten or twelve miles before stopping. The brown bear often does so. The tracker, having ascertained the circle within which the animal has made its temporary resting-place, next proceeds to warn the hunters of his village or settle- ment ; and then a large party go out for the destruction of the common enemy. They deploy around the ring, and closing inward, are pretty sure to find the bear either asleep in his den, or just starting out of it, and trying to get off. The "ring" will usually keep for several days sometimes for weeks for the bear, especially in winter time will remain hi the vicinity of his lair for long spells at a time. Frequently several days will elapse before any hunters arrive on the ground ; but if the bear should have strayed off in the mean time, his tracks in the snow will still enable them to follow and find him. If, how- ever, fresh snow should have fallen, after the bear haa made his exit from the marked circle, then, of course, the 84 BBunf. search will prove a blank, and Bruin make his escape at least out of that " ring." One of the most singular features of this custom is, that he who has succeeded hi " ringing " a bear, is re- garded as the lawful proprietor of the animal or rather of the " ring " and can dispose of his right to any hunt- ing-party he pleases. Of course he cannot guarantee the killing of the bear : that is left to the skill of the hunters, who must take their chance. The tracker only answers for a bear being found within a prescribed circle, of which he gives proof by pointing out the spar. With such conditions, established by long and well-observed custom, it will easily be believed that the wood-cutters and other peasants make a market by ringing bears, frequently disposing of the " ring " to the more ardent hunters for a very considerable price ! It was just with this view that the Finnish peasant had put himself in communica- tion with our young Russians ; and as the bounty they had already offered far exceeded the usual purchase- money in such cases, the Quan at once closed with their offer, and conducted them to the " ring." OLD NALLK 85 CHAPTER XV. OLD NALLE. WHILE proceeding towards the ground where they expected to find the bear, their guide informed them that he had not only ringed the animal, but actually knew the den in which it was lying. This was still bet- ter : it would not only save them a search, but enable them to encompass the beast on all sides, and cut off his retreat should he attempt to bolt before they could get near. On approaching the place, therefore, Pouchskin pro- posed that the three should separate, and, after having deployed into a circle, proceed inward from different directions. But the guide opposed this suggestion saying, with a significant smile, that there was no need of such pre- cautions, as he would answer for the bear not leaving his den, until they had all got up as near as they might wish to be. The hunters wondered at this confidence on the part of their guide, but in a few minutes' time they had an ex- planation of it. Going up to a sort of cliff that formed the side of a little stony knoll, the Quan pointed to a hole in the locks, saying, as he did so : " Old nolle is in there." 86 BRUIN. Now * nalle " is the nickname of the bear throughout the Scandinavian countries, and our Russian huntera knew this well enough ; but that a bear could be inside the little hole to which their guide had pointed appeared utterly incredible, and Ivan and Alexis burst into a loud laugh, while Pouchskin was rather inclined to show a little anger about the matter. The hole which the Quan had pointed out was a crevice between two great boulders of rock. It was about a yard above the ground upon which they stood ; and was cer- tainly not more than six or eight inches in diameter. All round the orifice the rocks were thickly coated with ice ; and from the top of the cliff on both sides huge icicles projected downwards, until their tips touched the earth, looking like enormous trunks of elephants, or such as even mammoths might have carried. One of these im- mense icicles was directly in front of the aperture ; while on the ground just below its point stood up a huge mass of an irregular conical shape, the convex surface of which was coated with snow that had lately fallen. The first impression of the hunters was, that they had been deceived by the cunning Quan. Pouchskin declared that they would not stand being tricked ; and at once de- manded back the ten rix-dollars which his young masters had paid for the " ring " of the bear. " It was all nonsense," he said ; " even if there was a cave, no bear could be inside, for the simple reason that none, even the smallest, could possibly have squeezed his carcass through a hole like that ; a cat could hardly have crept into such an aperture ! Besides, where were the tracks of the bear ? There were none to be seen OLD NALLE. . CHAPTER XVIII. THE PALOJEBIERE. IT is not intended to detail the many incidents that bc- /ell them on the way, the chitchat of steamboats, rail- roads, and hotels. Their father cared not to hear of these trifles; he could read enough of such delightful stuff in the books of whole legions of travellers ; and, as they did not note anything of this kind in their journal, we are left to suppose that they encountered the usual pleasures and desagremens which all travellers must ex- perience on similar journeys. As money was no object, they travelled with expedition making only a short stay in the great capitals through which they passed, in order to have their passports vised, and sometimes for the purpose of using the great emperor's letter for the replenishment of their exchequer. This magic docu- ment proved all-powerful everywhere they went ; and as they knew it would be so in all corners of the habitable globe, they could rely upon it with perfect confidence. Pouchskin's leathern bag was always well weighted with the yellow metal, and specie, whatever stamp it may bear, is current all over the world. Their journal merely mentions the route followed. From then! hunting-ground they returned down the Tor THE PALOMBIERE. 103 nea river, which, running due north and south, of course Hid not compromise the terms of their covenant ; neither were the conditions infringed by their taking at any time the back-track when engaged in the chase, for, as already known, there was a specification in the baron's letter that allowed of this deviation. All that was required of them was that they should not recross a meridian when on their actual route of travel. A ship carried them from Tornea to Dantzic. Hence they passed to Berlin, and on through Frankfort, Stut- gard, and Strasbourg, to Paris. Paris, it is true, was a little out of their way ; but what Russian could travel across Europe without paying a visit to Paris ? Pouch- skin cared little about it. The old grenadier had been there before, in 1815, when he was far from being welcome to the Parisians ; and Alexis would rather have gone by another and more direct route, that is, through Switzerland ; but the gay Ivan would not hear of such a thing. To see Paris he was determined ; and see it he did ; though what he or they did there is not mentioned in the book of the chronicles of our young bear-hunters. From Paris they travelled by rail, almost directly south though still slightly westward to the cele- brated baths of Bagneres. Here they found themselves not only within sight, but actually among the foot-hills of those mountains, for the tourist scarce second in interest to the Alps themselves, but perhaps for the naturalist even more interesting than these. At Bagneres they made but a short stay, only long enough to recruit their strength by bathing in its thermal springs, and to witness a spectacle which is regarded aa the grand lion of the place the PalomUere 104 BRUIN. As you, young reader, may not have heard of the Pa kmbiere, and may be curious to know what it is, I give the account of it which I find recorded in the journal of Alexis. About two miles from Bagneres rises a ridge of con- siderable elevation running parallel with the general direction of the Pyrenees, of which it may be considered an outlying step, or "foot-hill" (pied mont). Along the crest of this hill stands a row of very tall trees, from which the branches have been carefully lopped, leaving only a little bunch at the top of each. On coming close to these trees provided it be in the months of Septem- ber or October you will observe a something between them that resembles a thin gauzy veil of a grayish color. On getting still nearer, you will perceive that this veil is a net or rather a series of nets extended from tree to tree, and filling up all the spaces between them, from the highest point to which the branches have been lopped down to within three feet of the ground. Another singular object, or series of objects, will long ere this have attracted your attention. You will see standing, at certain intervals apart, and about thirty yards in front of the trees, a row of tall tapering sticks so tall that their tops are fifty yards from the ground ! They might remind you of the masts of a ship ; but that there are in each case two of them together, the one stand- ing vertically, and the other bending over to it, with a slight curve. On this account you may be more struck with their resemblance to the " shears " seen in shipyards, by which the masts are " stepped " into their places. These masts, as we may call them, are not all of one stick THE PALOMBIERE. 105 of wood, but of several pieces spliced together and, not- withstanding their prodigious length fifty yards, you will remember they are of no great thickness. In fact, although the two are joined together at the top as we shall presently have occasion to show when a strong wind blows, both bend, and vibrate back and for- ward like an elastic trout-rod. At their bases they are only five feet apart ; and the curving one is intended to act as a stay to the other. Both, as already stated, meet at the top, and looking up you will see while the sight makes you dizzy a little roundish object at the point of the junction. It is a basket set there firmly, and just big enough to hold the body of a man. If you look care- fully you will see a man actually within it ; but, to quote Shakespeare's quaint simile, he will appear to your eyes not half as gross as a beetle ! In all likelihood he is not a man, but only a boy ; for it is boys who are selected to perform this elevated and apparently dangerous ser- vice. How did the boy get there? will probably be your next question. By running your eye along the curved pole, you will perceive a row of projecting pegs extend ing from bottom to top. They are quite two feet apart ; but had you been present while that youth was making the ascent which he d5d by the help of these pegs you would have seen him scramble up as rapidly, and with as little concern, as a sailor would ascend the rat- lines of a ship ! It is his trade to do so, and practice has made him as nimble as he is intrepid ; but you, who are unaccustomed to witness such tall gymnastics, cannot help again recalling Shakespeare, and exclaiming, wi^Jb th 5 106 BRUIN. great dramatic poet, " Fearful trade ! " Quite as fearful, mdeed, as the gathering of " samphire." But what is this trade ? What is all this contrivance for these nets and tall masts, with u crows'-nests " at their tops ? What are the boys doing up there ? And what are they about below those men, women, and children a crowd composed of all ages and all sexes ? What are they doing ? Pigeon-catching. That is what they are doing, or rather what they are aiming to do, as soon as the opportunity offers. These people are simply pigeon-catchers. What sort of pigeons ? and where do they come from ? These questions must be answered. To the first, then, the answer is, the common European wild pigeon (columba palumbis). It is well known in England by the name of " wood-pigeon," and in France it i>* called ramier. In England the wood-pigeon is not migratory. In that country there is a much milder win ter than is experienced in the same or even a more southerly latitude on the Continent. This enables the pigeon to find food throughout all the year, and it there- fore remains in England. In continental countries France among the number the severity of the winter forces it southward; and it annually migrates into Af- rica the supposed limit of its flight being the chain of the Atlas mountains. Of course the wood-pigeon is only one of many birds that make this annual tour, tak- ing, as the rest do, a " return ticket." Now, the ramiers of France, in passing southward, must ply their wings a little more strenuously to mount over the snowy summits of the Pyrenees ; but they only THE PALOMBIERE. 107 commence ascending to this higher elevation when near the mountains. The ridge at Bagneres chances to lie in Jhe line of their flight of course, not ot all of them, but such as may be sweeping along in that particular me- ridian ; and, passing between the tall trees already men- tioned, they get caught in the meshes of the nets. The moment they strike these several of them coming "but" against one at the same instant, a trigger is pulled by the men who are below concealed under screens and this trigger, acting on a string, causes the net to drop, with the fluttering victims safely secured ir its meshes. "When the flight has passed, the women, girls, boys, and even the children, rush forth from their hiding- places ; and, seizing the struggling birds, put a quick termination to their fruitless efforts, by biting each of them in the neck. Old, half-toothless crones for this is especially their part of the performance will be seen thus giving the final coup to the beautiful but un- fortunate wanderers ! And still we have not explained what the boys are doing up yonder. Well, we shall now announce their metier. Each has taken up with him a number of little billets of wood, fashioned something like the letter Y, and about six inches in length. When this billet is flung into the air, and twirls about in its descent, it exhibits some resemblance though not a very close one to a flying pigeon-hawk. The resemblance, however, is near enough to " do " the pigeons ; for when they are within about one hundred yards of the crows'-nest, the boy launches bis billet into the air, and the birds, believing it 108 BROTH. to be a hawk, immediately dip several yards in their flight as they may be seen to do when a real hawk makes his appearance. This descent usually brings them low enough to pass between the trees ; and of course the old women soon get their teeth upon them. The pigeon-catching is not free to every one who may take a "fancy" to it There are pigeon-catchers by trade ; who, with their families, follow it as a regular calling during the season, while it lasts; and this, as already stated, is in the months of September and Octo- ber. The Palombierf, or pigeon-ridge, belongs to the communal authorities, who let it out in sections to the people that follow the calling of pigeon-netting; and these, in their turn, dispose of the produce of their nets in the markets of Biigneres and other neighboring towns. Every one knows how excellent for the table is the flesh of this beautiful bird: so much is it esteemed, that even at Bagneres, in the season of their greatest plenty, a pair will fetch a market price of from twelve to twenty BBS. THE PYRENEES. 109 CHAPTER XIX. THE PTBENEES. SPEAKING geologically, the Pyrenees exterd along the whole north of Spain, from the Mediterranean to the province of Galicia on the Atlantic ; and in this sense the chain may be regarded as between six and seven hundred miles in length. More properly, however, the term " Pyrenees " is limited to that portion of the range which lies directly between France and Spain ; in other words, along the neck or isthmus of the Spanish penin- sula. Thus limited, the range is less than half the above length, or about three hundred miles ; while its average breadth is fifty. Though less elevated than the Alps, the Pyrenees mountains are no molehills. Their highest peak, Mala- detta, towers above 11,000 feet; and several others are of nearly equal height while more than forty summits reach the elevation of 9,000 ! The most elevated peaks are near the centre of the Pyrenees, the range gradually dipping downward as the extremities are approached. For this reason the most practicable passes are found near the eastern and western ends ; though many also exist in the central part of the chain. In all, there are fifty passes or " ports," as they 110 BKUIH. aie called, leading from the French to the Spanish side ; but only five of these are practicable for wheeled vehi- cles ; and a large number are only known (or at all events only travelled) by the smugglers contrabandist tas a class of gentry who swarm on both sides of 'the Pyrenean frontier. The superficial extent of these mountains is about 11,000 or 12,000 square miles. Part of this is French, and the remainder Spanish territory. As a general rule, the " divide," or main axis of the ridge forms the boun- dary line ; but in the eastern section the French terri tory has been extended beyond the natural frontier. The geological formation of the Pyrenees consists both of primitive and secondary rocks, the latter being greater in mass, and composed of argillaceous schist, grauwacke (schistose and common), and limestone. Mines of lead, iron, and copper are found in this for- mation the lead containing a proportion of silver. The primitive rocks are granite ; and run in zones or belts, extended lengthwise hi the direction of the chain ; and it is in the rupture between these and the transition strata that the chemical springs, for which the Pyrenees are so famous, gush forth. Of these remarkable fountains many of them almost at boiling heat no less than 253 have been discovered in different parts of the range. A great number of them are celebrated for their medicinal virtues, and are the favorite summer resorts of invalids, as well as the votaries of pleasure, from all parts of the world but more especially from France and Spain. The botany of the Pyrenees is full of interest. It may be regarded as an epitome of the whole European THE PYRENEES. Ill flora . 3ince scarcely a plant exists, from the Mediterra- nean to the Arctic Sea, that has not a represenative spe- cies in some part of this mountain chain. In the valleys and lower slopes of the mountains the forest is chiefly composed of Lombardy poplars and sycamores ; a little higher, the Spanish chestnut, oaks, hazels, and alders, the mountain-ash and birch-trees abound ; and still farther up you enter the region of the pines the pinus syltes- tris growing in dense continuous forests, while the more graceful " stone-pine " is. seen only in isolated groups or scattered trees. Everywhere a rich flora meets the eye ; flowers of the most lovely hues reflected in crystal rivu- lets for the waters of the Pyrenees are pure beyond comparison, such a thing as a turbid stream being un- known throughout the whole range. Above the pine forests the mountains exhibit a zone of naked declivities, stretching upward to the line of con- gelation which in the Pyrenees is higher than upon the Alps. The former has been variously estimated : some fixing it at 8,300 feet, while others raise it as high as 9,000 ; but indeed, it would be more just to say that the snow-line depends greatly upon the locality of the particular mountain, and its southern or northern ex- posure. In any case, it is more than 1,000 feet higher than on the Alps ; the superior elevation being accounted for, by the more southern latitude of the Franco-Spanish chain. Perhaps the proximity of the sea has more to do with this phenomenon than the trifling difference of latitude. Upon the higher declivities and summits, snow-fields and glaciers abound, as in the Alps ; and even in som& 112 BRUIN. of the passes these phenomena are encountered. Most of the passes are higher than those of the Alps ; but in consequence of the greater elevation of the snow-line, they. remain open throughout the winter. At all seasons, however, they are by no means easy to traverse ; and the cold winds that whistle through them are scarce to be endured. The Spaniards, who have a proverbial expres- sion for almost every idea, have not neglected this one. In the ports (puertos) of the Pyrenees, say they, " the father waits not for his son, nor the son for his father." If the passes across these mountains are higher than those of the Alps, the transverse valleys are the reverse ; those of the Pyrenees being in general much lower. The consequence is, that from the bottom of these valleys the mountains themselves appear far loftier than any of the Alpine peaks, the eye taking hi at one view z. greater angle of elevation. The fauna of the Pyrenean chain, though less full and varied than its flora, is nevertheless of great interest In the more densely wooded solitudes, and higher decliv- ities of the mountains, a large bear is found, whose light fulvous-colored body and black paws pronounce him a different animal from the ursus arctos. If he be the same species, as naturalists assert, he claims at least to be a permanent variety, and deserves his distinctive appellation of ursus pyrenaicus. Wolves abound ; Spanish wolves, long famed for their fierceness ; the common whitish-brown wolf (cants lupus), and a darker and still larger variety in short, a black wolf, designated the " wolf of the Pyrenees," though it is equally a denizen of the other mountain sierras of Portugal and Spain. THE PYRENEES. 118 The European lynx (felis lynx), and the wild-cat, both skulk through the Pyrenean forests ; the former now only rarely seen. Along the naked cliffs leaps the " izzard," which is identical with the chamois of the Alps (antelope rupicaprd) ; and in the same localities, but more rarely seen, the " bouquetin," or " tur " (aigocerus pyrenaicus) a species of ibex, not identical with the copra ibex of Linnaeus and the Alpine moun- tains. Birds of many European species frequent the lower forests of the Pyrenees, or fill the sheltered valleys with their vocal music; while, soaring above the mountain summits, may be seen the great vulture-eagle, or " lam- mergeyer," watching with greedy eye the feeble lambkin, or the new-born kid of the ibex and izzard. With such knowledge of their natural history, it was with feelings of no ordinary interest that our young hunters turned their faces towards that vast serried rampart that separates the land of the Gaul from the country of the Iberian. It was by the Val d'Ossau, literally the " valley of the bear," that they made their approach to the mountains, that valley celebrated as the residence and hunting- ground of Henri of Navarre ; but now, in modern days, noted for its valuable thermal springs of Eaux Sonnet and Eaux Chaudes. Up this mountain gorge went our heroes, then* facea turned southward, and their eyes carried high up to the Pic du Midi d'Ossau the mountain of the bears an appropriate name for that beacon which was now direct- ing their course. B 114 BROTH CHAPTER XX. AN ODD AVALANCHE. IT is needless to say that the young Russians wera delighted with the scenes that met their eyes in this fair southern land; and many of them are found faithfully described in their journal. They noted the picturesque dresses of the Pyrenean peasantry so different from the eternal blue blouse which they had met in north- ern and central France. Here was worn the " barret," of scarlet or white, the rich brown jacket and red sash of the peculiar costumes of the Basque and Bearnais peasants a fine race of men, and one, too, historically noble. They saw carts drawn by large-limbed cream- colored oxen; and passed flocks of sheep and milch goats, tended by shepherds in picturesque dresses, and guarded by numbers of large Pyrenean dogs, whose chief duty was to protect their charge from the wolves. They saw men standing knee-deep in the water, sur- rounded by droves of pigs the latter voluntarily sub- mitting themselves to a process of washing, which resulted in producing over their skins a roseate, pinky appearance. It could be seen, too, that these pachyderm* not only submitted voluntarily to the operation, but with a keen sense of enjoyment, as evinced by their contented AN OOD AVALANCHE. 115 grunts, and by their long tails hanging " kinkless " while the large calabashes of water were poured over their backs. Perhaps to this careful management of the Pyrenean pigs are the beautiful " Bayonne hams " in- debted for their celebrity. Further on, our travellers passed a plumire, or " hen- bath." Here was a tank another thermal spring in which the water was something more than " tepid." In fact, it was almost on the boil ; and yet in this tank a number of women were ducking their hens not, as might be supposed, dead ones, in order to scald off their feathers, but live fowls, to rid them, as they said, of par- asitical insects, and make them feel more comfortable ! As the water was almost hot enough to parboil the poor birds, and as the women held them in it immersed to the necks, the comfort of the thing so thought our trav- ellers was rather a doubtful question. A little further on, another " custom " of the French Pyrenees came under the eyes of the party. Their ears were assailed by a singular medley of sounds, that rose from a little valley near the side of the road. On look- ing into the valley, they saw a crowd of forty or fifty women, all engaged in the same operation, which was that of flax-hackling. They learnt from this that in the Pyrenean countries the women are the hacklers of flax ; and that, instead of each staying at her own home to perform the operation, a large number of them meet to- gether in some shaded spot, bringing their unhackled flax along with them ; and there, amidst jesting and laughing and singing, the rough staple is reduced to its shining and silky fineness. 116 BRUIN. Still another curious custom was observed; but thia was further on, and higher up the sides of the mountains. Their observation of it was attended with some degree of danger, and therefore came very close on being an "adventure." For this reason it found a place among the events recorded in their journal. It should be remarked, that all three were mounted Alexis and Ivan upon stout, active ponies, of that race for which the Pyrenees especially the western section of them are celebrated. Pouchskin's mount was not of the genus equus, nor yet an asinus, but a hybrid of both genera, in short, a mule. It was a French mule, and a very large one : for it required a good-sized quadruped of the kind to make an appropriate roadster for the ex-grenadier of the Impe- rial guard. It was not a very fat mule, however, but rawboned and gaunt as a Pyrenean wolf. Of course these animals were all hired ones ob- tained at Eaux Bonnes, and engaged for the trip across the Pyrenees to the Spanish side as also to be used in any deviations that the hunters should think proper to make, while engaged in the pursuit of the bear. From the nearest village on the Spanish side, the an- imals were to be sent back to their owner ; for it was not the intention of our travellers to return to the French territory. Having crossed the mountains, and accomplishing the object for which they had visited them, their course would then be continued southward through Spain. Along with them also mounted on mule-back was a fourth individual, whose services they had secured. AN ODD AVALANCHE. 117 His mttier was manifold on this occasion combining in his single person at least three purposes. First, he was to serve them as guide ; secondly, he was to bring back the hired horses ; and, thirdly, he was to aid them in the " chasse " of the bear : for it so happened that this man- of-all-work was one of the most noted " izzard-hunters " of the Pyrenees. It is scarcely correct to say it happened so. Rather was it a thing of design than chance ; for it was on account of his fame as a hunter, that he had been engaged for the triple duty he was now called upon to fulfil. The four travellers, then, all mounted as we have de- scribed, were ascending a very steep declivity. They had left the last hamlet and even the last house behind them ; and were now climbing one of the outlying spurs that project many miles from the main axis of the mountains. The road they were following scarcely de- served the name ; being a pack-road, or mere bridle- path ; and so steep was the ascent, that it was necessary to zigzag nearly a dozen times, before the summit of the ridge could be attained. While entering upon this path, and near the base of the ridge, they had noticed the forms of men far above them, moving about the summit, as if engaged in some work. Their guide told them that these men were fag- got-cutters, whose business was to procure firewood for the towns in the valley. There was nothing in this bit of information to produce astonishment. What did astonish our travellers, however, was the mode in which these men transported their fire wood down the mountain, of which, shor'dy after, they 118 BRUIN. were treated to an exhibition. As they were zigzagging up the mountain-path, their ears were all at once saluted by a noise that resembled a crashing of stones, mingled with a crackling of sticks. The noise appeared to pro- ceed from above ; and, on looking up, they beheld a number of dark objects coming in full rush down the decli eity. These objects were of rounded form in fact, they were bundles of faggots and so rapidly did they roll over, and make way down the mountain, that had our travellers chanced to be in their track, they might have found some difficulty in getting out of the way. Such was their reflection at the moment ; and they were even thanking their stars that they had escaped the danger, when all at once a fresh avalanche of faggots was launched from above ; and these were evidently bounding straight towards the party ! It was impossible to tell which way to go whether to rush forward or draw back : for what with the inequality of the moun- tain-side, and the irregular rolling of the bundles, they could not tell the exact direction they would take. All therefore drew up, and waited the result in silent appre- hension. Of course they had not long to wait scarce p second for the huge bundles bounding on, each moment with increased impetus, came down with the suddenness of a thunder-clap and before the words "Jack Robin- son " could have been pronounced, they went whizzing past with the velocity of aerolites, and with such a force, that had one of them struck either mule or pony it would have hurled both the quadruped and its rider to the bot- tom of the mountain. It was only their good fortune that saved them : for in such a place it would have beea AN ODD AVALANCHE. 119 impossible for the most adroit equestrian to hare got out of the way. The path was not the two breadths of a horse ; and to have wheeled round, or even drawn back upon it, would have been a risk of itself. They rode on, again congratulating themselves on their escape ; but fancy their consternation when they found themselves once more, and for the third time, ex- posed to the very same danger ! Again came a set of bundles rolling and tearing down the slope, the billets rattling and crackling as they rolled ; again they went swishing by ; again, by the merest accident, did they miss the travellers, as they stood upon the path. Now, it might be supposed that the faggots were being launched all along the ridge of the hill ; and that, go which way they might, our party would still be exposed to the danger. Not so. The bundles were all rolled down at one particular place where the slope was most favorable for this purpose but it was the zig- zag path, which every now and then obliqued across the line of the wood-avalanche, that had thus repeatedly placed them in peril. As they had yet to "quarter" the declivity several times before they could reach the summit, they were more careful about approaching the line of descent ; and whenever they drew near it, they put their ponies and mules to as good a speed as they could take out of them. Though ail roar succeeded in reaching the summit in safety, it did not ninder Pouchskin from pouring out his vial of wrath on the heads of the offending wood-cutters ; and if they could have only understood his Russian, 120 BRUIN. would have heard themselves called by a good many hard names, and threatened with a second pursuit of Mos cow. " Frog-eating Frenchmen ! " was the very mildest title which the ex-guardsman bestowed upon them ; but as his Russian was not translated, of course the phrase fell harmless else it would have undoubtedly been retaliated by a taunt about "tallow." The " izzard-hunter " swore at them to more purpose ; for he, too, having undergone equal risk with the rest of the party, had equally good reasons for being angry ; and giving utterance to a long string of execrations with all the volubility of sr Be"arnais, he further threatened them with the terrors of the law. As the wood-cutters, slightly stupefied by this unex- pected attack, submitted with tolerable grace, and said nothing in reply, the izzard-hunter at length cooled down, and the party proceeded on their way ; Pouchskin, as he rode off, shaking his clenched fist at the staring log-chop- pers, and hissing out in angry aspirate another Russian shibboleth, which neither could nor should be trans* luted. A. MEETING WITH MULETEERS. 121 CHAPTER XXI A MEETING WITH MULETEEKS. A LITTLE beyond the scene of their encounter with the wood-cutters, the path entered among the gorges of the mountains, and the level plains of France were for a time lost to their view. The route they were following was a mere bridle-track, quite impracticable for carriages, but leading to one of the " ports " already mentioned, by which they could pass through to the Spanish side. Through this port a considerable traffic is carried on be- tween the two countries most of the carrying being done by Spanish muleteers, who cross the mountains conducting large trains of mules all, except those upon which they themselves ride, laden with packs and bales of merchandise. That such a traffic was carried over this route, out Russian travellers needed no other evidence than what came under their own eyes ; for shortly after, on round- ing a point of rock, they saw before them a large drove of mules, gayly caparisoned with red cloth and stamped leather, and each carrying its pack. The gang had baited on a platform of no great breadth ; and the drivers about a dozen men hi all were seen seated upon the rocks, a little way in advance of the animals. Each 6 122 BRUIN wore & capacious cloak of brown cloth a favorite color among the Pyrenean Spaniards ; and what with their swarthy complexions, bearded lips, and wild attire, it would have been pardonable enough to have mistaken them for a band of brigands, or, at all events, a party of contt abandistas. They were neither one nor the other, however ; but honest Spanish muleteers, on their way to a French market, with commodities produced on the southern side of the mountains. As our travellers came up, they were in the act of discussing a luncheon, which consisted sun ply of black bread, tough goafs-milk cheese, and thin Malaga wine the last carried in a skin bag, out of which each indi- vidual drank in his turn, simply holding up the bag and pouring the wine by a small jet down his throat. They were good-humored fellows, and invited our trav- ellers to taste their wine; which invitation it would have been ill-mannered to refuse. Ivan and Alexis emptied some out into their silver cups which they carried slung conveniently to their belts ; but Pouchskin, not having his can so ready, essayed to drink the wine after the fashion of the muleteers. But the goat-skin bag, clumsily manipulated in the hands of the old guards man, instead of sending the stream into his mouth, jetted it all over his face and into his eyes, blinding and half- choking him ! As he stood in his stultified attitude, wine- skin in hand, the precious fluid running down his nose, and dripping from the tips of his grand muslachios, he presented a picture that caused the muleteers to laugh till the tears ran down their cheeks ; shouting out their A MEETING WITH MULETEERS. 123 Iravos and other exclamations, as if they were applauding some exquisite piece of performance in a theatre. Pouchskin took it all in good part, and the muleteers pressed him to try again ; but, not caring to expose him- self to a fresh burst of ridicule, the old grenadier bor- rowed the cup of one of his young masters ; and by the help of this managed matters a little more to his mind. As the wine tasted good to the old soldier's palate, and a? the hospitable muleteers invited him to drink as much as he plea^d, it was not until the goat-skin bag exhibited symptoms of collapse, that he returned it to its owners. Perhaps had Pouchskin not indulged so freely in the seducing Malaga tipple, he might have avoided a very perilous adventure which befell him almost on the in- stant, and which we shall now relate. Our travellers, after exchanging some further civilities with the muleteers, had once more mounted, and were about proceeding on their way. Pouchskin, riding his great French jennet, had started in the advance. Just in front of him, however, the pack mules were standing hi a cluster not only blocking up the path, but barring the way on both sides so that to get beyond them it would be necessary to pass through their midst. The animals all seemed tranquil enough, some picking at the bushes that were within their reach, but most of them standing perfectly still, occasionally shaking their long ears, ot changing one leg to throw the weight upon another. Pouchskin saw that it was necessary to pass among them ; and, probably, had he squeezed quietly through, they might have remained still, and taken no notice of him. But elated with the wine he had drunk, the ex-grenadier 124 BRU1K. instead of following this moderate course, drove his spurs into his great French hybrid, and with a loud charging yell such as might have issued from the throat of a Cossack he dashed right into the midst of the drove. Whether it was because the animal he bestrode was French, or whether something in Pouchskin's voice had sounded ill in their ears, it is not possible to say, but all at once the whole Spanish mulada was perceived to be in motion, each individual mule rushing toward Pouch- skin with pricked ears, open mouth, and tail elevated in the air ! It was too late for him to hear the cry of the izzard-hunter, " prenez-garde ! " or the synonyme, " guarda te!" of the muleteers. He may have heard both these cautionary exclamations, but they reached him too late to be of any service to him : for before he could have counted six, at least twice that number of mules had closed round him, and with a simultaneous scream com- menced snapping and biting at both him and his French roadster with all the fury of famished wolves ! In vain did the stalwart jennet defend itself with its shod hoofs, in vain did its rider lay round him with his whip : for not only did the Spanish mules assail him with their teeth, but, turning tail as well, they sent their heels whistling around his head, and now and then thumping against his legs, until his leather boots and breeches cracked under their kicks ! Of course, the muleteers, on perceiving Pouchskin's dilemma, had rushed instantaneously to the rescue ; and, with loud cries, and cracking of their whips, as mulet- eers alone can crack them, were endeavoring to beat off the assailants But, with all their exertions, backed A MEETING WITH ATCLETEERS. 125 6y their authority over the animals, Pouchskin might ha\e fared badly enough, had not an opportunity offered for extricating himself. His animal, fleeing from the persecution of its Spanish enemies, had rushed in among some boulders of rock. Thither it was hotly pursued ; and Pouchskin would again have been overtaken, had he not made a very skilful and extensive leap out of th saddle, and landed himself on a ledge of rock. From this he was able to clamber still higher, until he had reached a point that entirely cleared him of the danger. The French jennet, however, had still to sustain the attack of the infuriated mules ; but, now that it was re- lieved from the encumbrance of its heavy rider, it gained fresh confidence in its long legs; and making a dash through the midst of the mulada, it struck off up the mountain-path, and galloped clear out of sight. The mules, encumbered with their packs, did not show any inclination to follow, and the drama was thus brought to a termination. The woebegone look of the old guardsman, as he stood perched upon the high pinnacle of rock, was again too much for the muleteers ; and one and all of them gave utterance to fresh peals of laughter. Ilis young masters were too much concerned about their faithful Pouckskin to give way to mirth ; but on ascertaining that he had only received a few insignificant bruises, thanks to the Spanish mules not being shod, they, too, were very much disposed to have a laugh at his expense. Alexis was of opinion that their follower had made rather free with the wine-skin ; and therefore regarded the chastise- ment rather in the light of a just retribution. 1.26 BRUIN. It cost tlie izzard-hunter a chase before Pouchskin's runaway could be recovered ; but the capture of the jen- net was at length effected ; and, all things being set to- rights, a parting salute was once more exchanged with the muleteers, and the travellers proceeded on their way. THE PY RENE AN BEARS. 127 CHAPTER XXII. THE PYRENEAN BEARS. IT was well they had the izzard-hunter for a guide, for without him they might have searched a long time without finding a bear. These animals, although plen- teous enough in the Pyrenees some half-century ago, are now only to be met with in the most remote and solitary places. Such forest-tracts as lie well into the interior gorges of the mountains, and where the lumberer's axe never sounds in his ears, are the winter haunts of the Pyrenean bear ; while hi summer he roams to a higher elevation along the lower edge of the snow-fields and glaciers, where he finds the roots and bulbs of many Al- pine plants, and even lichens, congenial to his taste. He sometimes steals into the lower valleys, where these are but sparsely cultivated ; and gathers a meal of young maize, or potatoes, where such are grown. Of truffles, he is as fond as a Parisian sybarite, scenting them with a keenness far excelling that of the regular truffle- dog, and " rooting " them out from under the shade of the great oak-trees, where these rare delicacies are inexpli- cably produced. Like his near congener, the brown bear, he is frugiv- orous ; and, like most other members of their common 128 BRUIN. family, he possesses a sweet tooth, and will rob bees of theii honey whenever he can find a hive. He is carnivorous at times, and not unfrequently makes havoc among the flocks that in summer are fed far up on the declivities of the mountains ; but it has been observed by the shep- herds that only odd individuals are given to this san- guinary practice, and, as a general rule, the bear will not molest their sheep. On this account, a belief exists among the mountaineers that there are two kinds of bears in the Pyrenees ; one, an eater of fruits, roots, and larvee, the other, of more carnivorous habits, that eats flesh, and preys upon such animals as he can catch. The latter they allege to be larger, of more fierce disposition, and when assailed, caring not to avoid an encounter with man. The facts may be true, but the deduction errone- ous. The izzard-hunter's opinion was that the Pyrenean bears were all of one species; and that, if there were two kinds, one was a younger and more unsophisticated Bort, the other a bear whom greater age has rendered more savage in disposition. The same remark will apply to the Pyrenean bear that is true of the ursu$ arctos, viz. having once eaten flesh, he acquires a taste for it ; and to gratify this, of course the fiercest passions of his nature are called into play. Hunger may have driven him to his first meal of flesh meat; and after- wards he seeks it from choice. The izzard-hunter's father remembered when bears were common enough in the lower valleys ; and then not only did the flocks of sheep and goats suffer severely. but the larger kinds of cattle were often dragged down by the ravenous brutes even men lost tfieir lives in THE PYBENEAN BEARS. 129 encounters with them ! In modern times, such occur- rences were rare, as the bears kept high up the mountains, where cattle were never taken, and where men went very seldom. The hunter stated that the bears were much sought after by hunters like himself, as their skins were greatly prized, and fetched a good price ; that the young bears were also very valuable, and to capture a den of cubs was 3steemed a bit of rare good luck : since these were brought up to be used in the sports of bear-baiting and bear-dancing, spectacles greatly relished in the frontier towns of France. He knew of no particular mode for taking bears. Their chase was too precarious to make it worth while; and they were only encountered accidentally by the izzard- hunters, when in pursuit of their own regular game. Then they were killed by being shot, if old ones ; and if young, they captured them by the aid of their dogs. " So scarce are they," added the hunter, " that I have killed only three this whole season ; but I know where there 's a fourth a fine fellow, too ; and if you feel in- clined " The young Russians understood the hint. Money is all-powerful everywhere ; and a gold coin will conduct to the den of a Pyrenean bear, where the keenest- scented hound or the sharpest-sighted hunter would fail to find it In an instant almost, the bargain was made. Ten dollars for the haunt of the bear ! The Pic du Midi d ' Ossau was now hi sight ; and, leaving the beaten path that passed near its base, our hunters turned off up a lateral ravine. The sides and bottom of this ravine were covered with a stunted growth 6* i 130 BRUIN. of pme-trees ; but as they advanced further into it, the trees assumed greater dimensions until at length they were riding through a tall and stately forest It was, to all appearance, as wild and primitive as if it had been on the banks of the Amazon or amid the Cordilleras of the Andts. Neither track nor trail was seen only the paths made by wild beasts, or such small rodent animals as had their home there. The izzard-hunter said that he had killed lynxes in this forest ; and at night he would not care to be alone in it, as it was a favorite haunt of the black wolves. With such company, however, he had no fear ; as they could kindle fires and keep the wolves at bay. The neighborhood in which he expected to find the bear was more than two miles from the place where they had entered the forest. He knew the exact spot where the animal was at that moment lying that is, he knew its cave. He had seen it only a few days before, going mto this cave ; but as he had no dogs with him, and no means of getting the bear out, he had only marked the place, intending to return, with a comrade to help him. Some business had kept him at Eaux Bonnes, till the ar- rival of the strangers ; and learning their intentions, he had reserved the prize fo r them. He had now brought his dogs two great creatures they were, evidently of lupine descent and with these Bruin might be baited till he should come forth from his cave. But that plan was only to be tried as a last resource. The better way would be to wait till the bear started out on his mid- night ramble, a thing he would be sure to do, then close up the mouth of the cave, and He in ambush for THE ^TBENEAN BEARS. 131 h'v i return. He would " not come home till morning," said the izzard-hunter ; and they would have light to take aim, and fire at him from their different stations. It seemed a feasible plan, and as our adventurers now placed themselves in the hands of the native hun- ter, it was decided they should halt where they were, kindle a fire, and make themselves as comfortable as they could, until the hour when Bruin might be ex- pected to go out upon his midnight prowl. A roaring fire was kindled ; and Pouchskin's capa- cious haversack being turned inside out, all four were, soon enjoying their dinner-supper with that zest well known to those who have ridden twenty miles up mountain-road. 182 CHAPTER XXIII. THE IZZAED-HUNTEB. pas y d the time pleasantly enough, listening tc the stories of the izzard-hunter, who related to them much of the lore current among the peasantry of the mountains tales of the chase, and of the contraband trade carried on between Spain and France, besides many anecdotes about the Peninsular war, when the French and English armies were campaigning in the Pyrenees. In this conversation Pouchskin took part: for nothing was of greater interest to the old soldier than touvenirt of those grand times, when Pouchskin entered Paris. The conversation of the izzard-hunter related chiefly to his own calling, and upon this theme he was enthusi- astic. He told them of all the curious habits of the izzard ; and among others that of its using its hooked horns to let itself down from the cliffs a fancy which is equally hi vogue among the chamois-hunters of the Alps, but which Alexis did not believe, although he did not say so not wishing to throw a doubt on the vera- city of their guide. The latter, however, when closely questioned upon the point, admitted that he had neve* himself been an eyewitness of this little bit of goal gym- THE IZZARD- HUNTER. i33 nasties ; he had only heard of it from other hunters, who said they had seen it ; and similar, no doubt, would be the answer of every one who spoke the truth about this alleged habit of the chamois. The fact is, that this ac- tive creature needs no help from its horns. Its hoofs are sufficient to carry it along the very narrowest ledges; and the immense leaps it can take either upward or downward, can be compared to nothing but the flight of some creature furnished with wings. Its hoof, too, is sure, as its eye is unerring. The chamois never slips upon the smoothest rocks any more than would a squirrel upon the branch of a tree. Our travellers questioned the izzard-hunter about the profits of his calling. They were surprised to find that the emolument was so trifling. For the carcass of an izzard he received only ten francs ; and for the skins two or three more ! The flesh or venison was chiefly pur- chased by the landlords of the hotels of which there are hundreds at the different watering-places on the French side of the Pyrenees. The visitors were fond of izzard, and called for it at the table. Perhaps they did not relish it so much as they pretended to do ; but coming from great cities, and places where they never saw a chamois, they wished to be able to say they had eaten of its flesh. In this conjecture the izzard-hunter was, perhaps, not far out. A considerable quantity of game of other kinds is masticated from a like motive. It was suggested by Ivan, that, with such a demand for the flesh, the izzard should fetch a better price. Ten francs was nothing. " Ah ! " replied the hunter with a sigh, " that is easily 134 BRUIN. explained, monsieur! The hotel-keepers are too cun- ning, both for us and theii guests. If we were to charge more, they would not take it off our hands." " But they would be under the necessity of having 't, since their guests call for it." " So they do ; and if there were no goafs, our izzard- veuison would sell at a higher price." " How ? " demanded Ivan, puzzled to make out the connection between goats and izzard-venison. " Goats and izzards are too much alike, monsieur that is, after being skinned and cut up. The hotel-keeper knows this, and often makes ' Nanny' do duty for izzard. Many an hotel traveller at Eaux Bonnes may be heard praising our izzard's flesh, when it is only a quarter of young kid he 's been dining upon. Ha ! ha ! ha ! " And the hunter laughed at the cheat though he well knew that its practice seriously affected the income of bis own calling. But, indeed, if the truth had been told, the man fol- lowed the chase far less from a belief in its being a remunerative profession, than from an innate love for the hunter's life. So enthusiastic was he upon the theme, that it was easy to see he would not have exchanged his calling fbr any other even had the change promised him a fortune ! It is so with professional hunters in all parts 01 the world, who submit to hardships, and often the greatest privations, for that still sweeter privilege ot roaming the woods and wilds at will, and being free from the cares and trammels that too often attach themselves to social life. Conversing on such topics, the party sat around the THE I2ZARD-HUNTER. 135 bivouac fire until after sunset, when their guide admon- ished them that they would do well to take a few houra of sleep. There was no necessity for going after the bear until a very late hour that is, until near morning for then the beast would be most likely to be abroad. If they went too soon, and found him still in his cave, it was not so certain that even the dogs could prevail on him to turn out. It might be a large cavern. He might give battle to the dogs inside ; and big as they were, they would be worsted in an encounter of that sort : since a single blow from the paw of a bear is sufficient to silence the noisiest individual of the canine kind. The dogs as the hunter again repeated should only be used as a last resource. The other plan promised better ; as the Vear, onue shut out of his cave, would be compelled to take to the woods. The dogs could then follow him up by the fresh scent ; and unless he should succeed hi find- ing some other cavern in which to ensconce himself, they might count upon coming up with him. It was not un- common for the Pyrenean bear, when pursued by dogs and men, to take to a tree ; and this would be all that their hearts could desire : since in a tree the bear would be easily reached by the bullets of their guns. Besides, they might have a chance, when he returned to his closed cave, to shoot him down at once ; and that would end the matter without further trouble. It was not necessary to go to the cave until near morning just early enough to give them time to close up the entrance, and set themselves in ambush before day broke. On this account the guide recommended them to take some sleep. He would answer for it that they should be waked up in time J 36 BROTK This advice was cheerfully accepted and Even Pouchskin required repose, after the rough hand- ling he had received at the mouths of the mules ; and he was now quite as ready as his young masters to wrap himself up in his ample grenadier great-coat, and sur- render himself into the arms of the Pyrenean Mor- phaus. THE AMliUSCAUK. 187 CHAPTER XXIV. THE AMBUSCADE. TBUE to his promise, the izzard-hunter awoke them About an hour before dawn; and having saddled and oridled their animals, they mounted and rode off. Among the great tree-trunks it was very dark ; but the hunter knew the ground ; and, after groping elong for half a mile farther, and somewhat slowly, they arrived at the base of a cliff. Keeping along this for some distance farther, they came at length to the place of their desti- nation the mouth of the cave. Even through the gloom, they could see a darker spot upon the face of the rock, which indicated the entrance. It was of no great size about large enough to admit the body of a man in a stooping attitude but the hunter was under the impression that it widened inward, and led to a grand cavern. He drew his inference, not from having ever explored this particular cave, but from knowing that there were many others of a similar kind in that part of the mountains, where the limestone formation was favor- able to such cavities. Had it been only a hole just big enough for the den of a bear, he would have acted very differently then there would have been a hope of drawing Bruin out with the dogs ; but if the place waa 138 BRUIN. an actual cavern, where the beast might range freely about, the hunter knew there would be no chance of getting him out. Their presence outside once suspected, the bear might remain for days within his secure for- tress ; and a siege would have to be laid, which would be a tedious affair, and might prove fruitless in the end. For this reason, great caution had been observed as they drew near the cave. They feared that they might come upon the bear, by chance wandering about in the woods, that he might hear them, and, taking the alarm, scamper back to his cavern. Acting under this apprehension, they had left their animals a good way off having tied them to the trees and had approached the cave on foot, without mak- ing the slightest noise, and talking to each other only in whispers. The izzard-hunter now proceeded to put his designs into execution. While the others had been sleeping, he had prepared a large torch, out of dry splinters of the stone-pine ; and now quietly igniting this, set it in the ground near the base of the cliff. The moment the bright flame illuminated the entrance to the cave, all stood with their guns in hand ready to fire. They were not sure that Bruin had gone out at all. He might still be abed. If so, the light of the torch might wake him up and tempt him forth ; therefore it was best to be prepared for such a contingency. The izzard-hunter now slipped his dogs, which up to this time he had held securely in the leash. As soon as they were free, the well-trained animals, knowing what was expected of them, rushed right into the cave. THE A3IBUSCADE. 189 For some seconds the dogs kept up a quick continuous jelping, and their excited manner told that they at least scented a bear but the question to be determined was, whether the brute was still in his den. The hunter had surmised correctly. The aperture conducted to a real cavern, and a very large one as could be told by the distance at wliich the yelping of the dogs was heard. Out of such a place it would have been hopeless to have thought of starting a bear unless it should please Bruin to make a voluntary exit. It was, therefore, with no little anxiety that the hunters listened to the " tongue " of the dogs, as it echoed within the cav- ernous hollow. They all knew that if the bear should prove to be inside, the dogs would soon announce the fact by their barking, and other fierce sounds characteristic of canine strife. They were not kept long in suspense; for, after an interval of less than a minute, both dogs came running out, with that air of disappointment that told of their having made an idle exploration. Their excited movements, however, proved that the scent of the bear was fresh, that he had only recently forsaken his den, for the dogs had been heard scratch- ing among the sticks and grass that composed it ; but this only showed clearly that his habitation was untenanted, md Bruin was " not at home." This was just what the izzard-hunter desired ; and ah of them laying aside their guns, proceeded to close up the entrance. This was an easy task. Loose boulders lay around, and with these a battery was soon built across 140 BRUIN. the mouth of the cavern, through which no animal could possibly have made an entrance. The hunters now breathed freely. They felt certain they had cut off the retreat of the bear ; and unless he should suspect something wrong, and fail to return to his cave, they would be pretty sure of having a shot at him. Nothing remained but to place themselves in ambush, and wait for his coming. How to conceal themselves became the next consideration. It was a question, too, of some importance. They knew not which way the bear might come. He might see them while approach ing, and trot off again before a shot could be fired To prevent this some extraordinary measure must b adopted. A plan soon presented itself to the practised hunter of the Pyrenees. Directly in front of the cliff grew several large trees. They were of the pinus sylvestris, and thickly covered with bunches of long needle-shaped leaves. If they should climb into these trees, the leaves and branches would sufficiently conceal them, and the bear would hardly suspect their presence in such a situation. The suggestion of their guide was at once acted upon. Ivan and Pouchskin got into one tree, while the izzard- hunter and Alexis chose another ; and all having secured places where they could command a view of the walled- up entrance without being themselves seen, they waited for daylight and the coming back of the bear. A BEAR IN A BIRD'S-NEST. 141 CHAPTER XXV. A BEAR IN A BIRD'S-NEST. FOR the light they had not long to wait. The day broke aimost as goon as they had got well settled in their places ; but the bear was likely to delay them a little longer though how long it was impossible to guess, since his return to his sleeping-quarters might depend on many contingencies. Formerly the Pyreneac bears so the izzard-hunter said were often met witL ranging about in the daytime ; but that was when they were more numerous, and less hunted. Now that they were scarce, and their skins so highly prized which, of course, led to their becoming scarcer every day, and more shy too they rarely ever left their hiding-place except during the night, and in this way they contrived to escape the vigilance of the hunters. As to the one they were waiting for, the hunter said he might return earlier or later, according to whether he had been much chased of late. The exact time of his return, however, was soon after ascertained, by the bear himself making his appearance right under their noses. All at once, and in the most unexpected manner, the great quadruped cam* shuffling up to the mouth of the 1 42 BRUIN. cave. He was evidently moving under some excitement, as if pursued, or alarmed by something he had seen in the woods. It was perhaps the sight of the horses, or eke the scent of the hunters themselves on whose track he appeared to have come. Whatever it was, the party in the trees did not take time to consider, or rather the bear did not give them tune ; for, the moment he reached the entrance to his cave, and saw that it was blocked up, he gave utterance to a terrific scream ex- pressing disappointment, and turning hi his tracks., bound- ed off, as rapidly as he had come up ! The volley of four shots, fired from the trees, caused some of his fur to fly off; and he was seen to stagger, as if about to fall. The hunters raised a shout of triumph, thinking they had been successful ; but their satisfaction was short-lived : for, before the echoes of their voices died along the cliff, the bear seemed once more to re- cover his equilibrium, and ran steadHy on. Once or twice he was seen to stop, and face round to the trees as if threatening to charge towards them ; but again resigning the intention, he increased his speed, went off at a lumbering gallop, and was soon lost to their sight. The disappointed hunters rapidly descended from their perch ; and letting loose the dogs, started off on the trail. Somewhat to their surprise, as well as gratification, it led near the place where they had left their animals ; and as they came up to these, they had proofs of the bear hav- ing passed that way, by seeing all four, both ponies and mules, dancing about, as if suddenly smitten with mad- ness. The ponies were " whigheering," and the mules A BEAR IN A BIRD's-NEST. 143 squealing, so that their owners had heard them long be- fore coming in sight of them. Fortunately the animals had been securely fastened else there was no knowing whither they would have galloped, so panic-stricken did they appear. Our hunters believed it a fortunate circumstance that the bear had gone that way ; for the guide assured them that there was no telling where he would now stop ; and as the chase might carry them for miles through the mountains, they would have been compelled to take to their saddles before starting upon it. The direction the bear had taken, therefore, was just the one most conven- ient for his pursuers. Staying no longer than to untie their animals, they once more mounted, and kept after the dogs, whose yelp- ing they could hear already some distance in the advance. As the izzard-hunter said, the Pyrenean bear, like his Norwegian cousin, when started from his lair, often scours the country to a great distance before making halt not unfrequently deserting the ravine or mountain-side, where he habitually dwells, and making for some other place, where he anticipates finding greater security. In this way he often puts his pursuers at fault by passing over rocky shingle, along ledges of cliffs, or up precipitous slopes, where neither men nor dogs can safely follow him. This was just what they now had to fear ; for the guide well knew that the forest they were in was surrounded on almost every side by rocky cliffs ; and if the bear should get up these, and make to the bald moun- tains above, they would stand a good chance of losing him altogether. 144 BRUIN. But one hope tlw hunter had. He had perceived as indeed they all had that several of their ehots had hit the bear and that he must be severely wounded to have staggered as he had done. For this reason he might seek a hiding-place in the forest, or perchance take to a tree. Cheered by this hope, the pursuers pushed onward. The oonjscture proved to be a just one ; for before they had gone half a mile farther, a continuous barking sounded on their ears, which they knew to be that of the dogs. They knew, moreover, by this sign, that the bear had done one of three things either taken to a tree, retreated into a cave, or come to a stand in the open ground, and was keeping the dogs at bay. Of the three conjectures, they desired that the first should prove the correct one ; and from the manner in which the dogs were giving tongue, they had reason to hope that U would. In effect so it did ; for, on getting a little Closer, the two dogs were seen bounding about the roots of an enor- mous tree, at intervals springing up against its trunk, and barking at some object that had taken refuge in the branches above. Of course, this object could only be the bear ; and under this belief, the pursuers approached the tree each holding his gun cocked and ready to fire. When they had got quite up to the tree, and stood under it, no bear was to be seen ! A large black mass was visible among the topmost branches ; but this was not the body of a bear : it was something altogether dif- ferent The tree was one of gigantic size tl s very A BEAR EN A BIRI/S-NEST. 145 largest they had seen in the whole forest ; it was a pine, of the species sylvestris, with huge spreading limbs, and branches thickly covered with fascicles of long leaves. In many places the foliage was dark and dense enough to have afforded concealment to an animal of considerable size ; but not one so bulky as a bear ; and had there benn nothing else but the leaves and branches to conceal him, a bear could not have found shelter hi that tree without being visible from below. And yet a bear was actually in it the very same bear they were in pursuit of though not a bit of his body not even the tip of his snout, was visible to the eyes of the hunters ! He was certainly there : for the dogs, who were not trusting to their eyes, but to that in which they placed far more confidence their scent, by their movements and behavior, showed their positive belief that Bruin was in the tree. Perhaps you will fancy that the pine was a hollow one, and that the bear had crept inside. Nothing of the kind : the tree was perfectly sound not even a knot-hole was visible either in its trunk or limbs. It was not hi a cavity that Bruin had been able to conceal himself. There was no mystery whatever about their not seeing him : for as soon as the hunters got fairly under the tree, and looked up, they perceived, amidst its topmost branch- es, the dark object already mentioned ; and as the bear could be seen nowhere else in the tree, this object ac- counted for his being invisible. You will be wondering what it was ; and so wondered our young hunters when they first raised their eyes to it. It looked more like a stack of faggots than aught else ; 7 146 BRUIN and, indeed, very good faggots would it have made : since it consisted of a large mass of dry sticks and branches, resting in an elevated fork of the tree, and matted to- gether into a solid mass. There were enough to have made a load for an ordinary cart, and so densely packed together, that only around the edges could the sky be seen through them ; towards the centre, and for a diame- ter as large as a millstone, the mass appeared quite solid and black, not a ray of light passing through the inter- woven sticks. " The nest of a lainmergeyer ! " exclaimed the izzard- hunter, the moment his eye glanced up to it. " Just so I my dogs are right : the bear has taken she4ter in the nest of the bird* I " THE LAMMERGETEBS. 147 CHAPTER XXVI. THE LAMMERGETERS. THIS was evident to all. Bruin had climbed the tree, and was now snugly ensconced in the great nest of the vulture-eagles, though not a hair of his shaggy hide could be visible from below. The hunters had no doubt about his being there. The chasseur was too confident in the instinct of his well- trained dogs to doubt them for a moment, and his com- panions had no reason to question a fact so very proba- ble. Had there been any doubt, it would soon have been set aside, by an incident that occurred the moment after their arrival under the tree. As they stood looking up- ward, two great birds were seen upon the wing, rapidly swooping downward from on high. They were lammer- geyers, and evidently the owners of the invaded nest. That the intruder was not welcome there, became ap- parent in the next moment ; for both the birds were seen shooting in quick curves around the top branches of the tree, flapping their wings over the nest, and screaming with all the concentrated rage of creatures in the act of being plundered. Whether Bruin, in addition to hia unwelcome presence, had also committed burglary, and robbed the eagles of their eggs or young, could not b 248 BRUIN. told. If he had done so, he could not have received greater objurgation from the infuriated birds, that con- tinued their noisy demonstrations, until a shot fired from below admonished them of the presence of that biped enemy far more dreaded than the bear. Then did they only widen the circle of their flight, still continuing to swoop down over the nest at intervals, and uttering their mingled cries of rage and lamentation. The shot was from the gun of the izzard-hunter ; but it was not till after he had been some time upon the ground that he had fired it. All four had previously dismounted and fastened their animals to the surround- ing trees. They Vrew that the bear was hi the nest ; but although his retreat v/as now cut off, it was still not so certain that they should succeed in making a capture. Had the bear taken refuge in a fork, or even among thick branches, where their bullets might have reached him, it would have been a very different thing. They might then have brought him down at their pleasure, for if killed, or severely wounded, he must have fallen to the ground ; but now ah, now ! what was to be done ? The broad platform of the nest not only gave him a surface on which he could recline at his ease, but its thick mass formed a rampart through which not even a bmiet would be likely to penetrate to his body ! How were they to reach him with their bullets ? That was the next question that came under consideration. The odd shot had been fired as an experiment. It was fired in the hope that it might startle the bear, and cause him to shift his quarters if only a little so that som part of his body might be exposed ; and while the izzard- THE LAMMEBGEYEB3. 149 hunter was discharging his piece, the others had stood watching for a chance. None was given to them, how- ever. The bullet was heard striking the sticks, and caused the dust to puff out, but it produced no further effect, not a move was made by the occupant of that elevated eyrie. Two or three more shots were fired with like effect . and the fusil of Pouchskin was next called into requisi- tion, and brought to bear upon the nest The large bul- let crashed up among the dry sticks, scattering the frag- ments on all sides, and raising a cloud of dust that enveloped the whole top of the tree. But not a sign came from Bruin, to tell that it had disturbed him ; not even a growl, to reward Pouchskin for the expenditure of his powder and lead. It was evident that this mode of pro- ceeding could be of no service ; and the firing was at once discontinued in order that they might take into consideration some other plan of attack. At first there appeared to be no way by which the bear might be ousted from his secure quarters. They might fire away until they should empty both their powder-horns and pouches, and all to no purpose. They might just as weM fire their shots into the ah*. So far as their bullets were concerned, the bear might bid them defiance a cannon-shot alone could have gone through his strong rampart of sticks. What could they do to get at him ? To climb up and assail him where he lay was not to be thought of even could they have climbed into the nest. On the firm ground, none of them would have liked to risk an en- counter with the enemy, much less upon such insecure 150 BRUT*. footing as a nest of rotten sticks. But they could not have got into the nest, however bent upon such a thing Itc wide rim extended far beyond the supporting branch- es ; and only a monkey, or the bear himself, could have clambered over its edge. To a human being, ascent to the nest would have been not only difficult, but impossi- ble ; and no doubt the instinct of the eagles guided them to this while they were constructing it. Not for a mo- ment, then, did our hunters think of climbing up to their eyrie. What, then, were they to do ? The only thing they could think of was to cut down the tree. It would be a great undertaking : for the trunk was several feet in diameter ; and as they had only one axe, and that not a very sharp one, it would be a work of time. They might be days in felling that gigantic pine ; and even when down, the bear might still escape from them for it did not follow that the fall of the tree would result in the consummation of his capture. It might swing over gradually and easily, or, striking against others, let the bear down without doing him the slightest damage ; and in the confusion consequent on its fall, he would have a good chance of getting off. These considerations caused them to hesitate about cutting down the tree, and reflect whether there .might not be some easier and more effective method for secur- ing the skin of the bear. FIRING THE EYRIE. 151 CHAPTER XXVII. FIRING THE EYRIE. AFTER beating their brains, for some time to no pur pose, an exclamation from the izzard-hunter at length announced that some happy idea had occurred to him. All eyes were at once turned towards him ; while the voice of Ivan was quickly heard, interrogating him as to the object of his exclamation. " I 've got a plan, young monsieur ! " replied the hun- ter, " by which I '11 either force the bear to come down, or roast him up yonder where he lies. Parbleu ! I Ve got an excellent idea ! " "What is it? what is it?" eagerly inquired Ivan; though from what the izzard-hunter had said, he already half comprehended the design. " Patience, young monsieur ! in a minute you shall see!" All three now gathered around the chasseur^ and watched his movements. They saw him pour a quantity of gunpowder into the palm of his hand , and then tear a strip of cotton rag from a large piece which he had drawn out of his pouch. This he saturated with saliva and then coated it over with the powder. He next proceeded to rub both rag 152 BRUIN. and powder together until, after a considerable friction between the palms of his hands, the cotton became once more dry, and was now thoroughly saturated with the powder, and quite blackened with it. The next proceeding on the part of the chasseur was to procure a small quantity of dead moss, Which was easily obtained from the trunks of the surrounding trees ; and this, mixed with a handful or two of dry grass he rolled up into a sort of irregular clew. The man now felt in his pouch ; and, after a little fumbling there, brought forth a small box that was seen to contain lucifer-matches. Seemingly satisfied with their inspection, he returned the box to its place, and then made known the object for which all these preliminary manoeuvres had been practised. Our young hunters had already more than half divined it, and it only confirmed their anticipations when the hunter declared his intention to climb the tree and set fire to the nest. It is needless to say that one and all of them approved of the scheme, while they admired its originality and cun- ning. Its boldness, too, did nof escape their admiration, for it was clearly a feat of daring and danger. The bot- tom of the nest might be reached easily enough ; for though a tall tree, it was by no means a difficult one to rlimb. There were branches all along its trunk from bottom to top ; and to a Pyrenean hunter, who, when a boy, as he told them, had played pigeon vidette in one of the " crows'-nests " they had seen, the climbing of such a tree was nothing. It was not in this that the danger lay, but in something very different. It was in the contin- gency, that, while up in the branches, and before he FIRING THE ETBIE. 159 could effect his purpose, the bear might take a fancy to oome down. Should he do so, then, indeed, would the life of the venturesome hunter be in deadly peril. He made light of the matter, however, and, warning the others to get their guns ready and stand upon their guard, he sprang forward to the trunk, and commenced u swarming" upward. Almost as rapidly as a bear itself could have ascended, the izzard-hunter glided up the tree, swinging himself from branch to branch, and resting his naked feet for he had thrown off" his shoes on knots and other ine- qualities, where no branch offered. In this way he at length got so close to the nest, that he could without dif- ficulty thrust his hand into the bottom of it. He was now seen drawing forth a number of the dry sticks, and forming a cavity near the lower part of the huge mass. He operated with great silence and circum- spection taking all the care he could not to make his presence known to the bear, nor in any way disturb whatever dreams or reflections Bruin might then be in- dulging in. In a short time he had hollowed out a little chamber among the sticks just large enough for his purpose, and, taking the ball of dry grass out of his pouch, he loosened it a little, and then placed it within the cavity. It was but the work of another minute to light a luci- fer-match, and set fire to the long strips of tinder rag that hung downwards from the grass. This done, the izzard-hunter swung himself to the next branch below ; and, even faster than he had gone up, he came scramoling down the trunk. 7* 154 BRUIN. Just as he reached the ground, the grass was seen catching ; and amidst the blue smoke that was oozing thickly out of the little chamber, and slowly curling up around the edges of the nest, a red blaze could be distin- guished accompanied with that crackling noiso that announces the kindling of a fire. The four hunters stood ready, watching the progress of the little flame at the same time directing their glances around the rim of the nest They had not long to wait for the denouement. The smoke had already caught the attention of the bear ; and the snapping of the dry faggots, as they came in contact with the blazing grass, had awakened him to a sense of his dangerous situation. Long before the blaze had mounted near him, he has seen craning his neck over the edge of the nest ; first on one side, then on another, and evidently not liking what he saw. Once or twice he came very near having a bullet sent at his head ; but his restlessness hindered them from getting a good aim, and for the time he was left alone. Not for long, however : for he did not much longer remain upon his elevated perch. Whether it was the smoke that he was unable longer to endure, or whether he knew that the conflagration was at hand, does not clearly appear ; but from his movements it was evident the nest was getting too hot to hold him. And no doubt it was too hot at that crisis. Had he remained in it but two minutes longer, an event would have occurred that would have ruined everything. The bear would either have been roasted to a cinder ; or, at FIRING THE EYRIE 155 all events, his skin would have been singed, and, of course, completely spoilt for the purpose for which it was required ! Up to this moment that thought had never occurred to the young hunters ; and now that it did occur, they stood watching the movements of the bear with feelings of keen apprehension. A shout of joy was heard both from Alexis and Ivan as the great quadruped was seen spring- ing out from the smoke, and clutching to a thick branch that traversed upward near the nest Embracing the branch with his paws, he commenced descending stern foremost along the limb ; but a more rapid descent was in store for him. Out of the four bullets fired into his body, one at least must have reached a mortal part ; for his fore arms were seen to relax their hold, his limbs slipped from the bark, and his huge body came " bump " to the ground, where it lay motionless as a log and just as lifeless. Meanwhile the flames enveloped the nest, and in five minutes more the whole mass was on fire, blazing upward like a beacon. The dry sticks snapped and crackled the pitchy branches of the pine hissed and spirted the red cinders shot out like stars, and came showering down to the earth while high overhead could be heard the vengeful cries of the vultures, as they saw the destruction of their aerial habitation. But the hunters tool no heed of all this. Their task was accomplished, or nearly so. It only remained to divest Bruin of his much-coveted skin ; and, having done this in a skilful and proper manner, they mounted their 15ft BRUIN. roadsters, and once more took their route across tha mountains. On reaching the first village on the Spanish side, they parted with the expert izzard-hunter and his hired charge having well remunerated him for his threefold lervice, each branch of which he had performed to their ntire satisfaction. SOUTH AMERICAN BEARS. 167 CHAPTER XXVIII. SOUTH AMERICAN BEARS. OUR travellers passed southward to Madrid, where they only remained long enough to witness that exciting but not very gentle spectacle, a bull-fight. Thence pro- ceeding to Lisbon, they took passage direct for Para, or " Gran Para," as it is called a thriving Brazilian set- tlement at the mouth of the Amazon river, and destined at no very distant day to become a great city. The design of our hunters was to ascend the Amazon, and reach, by one of its numerous head-waters, the east- ern slope of the Andes mountains which they knew to be the habitat of the " spectacled bear." On arriving at Para, they were not only surprised, but delighted, to find that the Amazon river was actually navigated by steamboats ; and that, instead of having to spend six months in ascending to the upper part of this mighty river as in the olden tune they could now accomplish the journey in less than a score of days ! These steamers are the property of the Brazilian Gov- ernment, that owns the greater part of the Amazon valley, and that has shown considerable enterprise in developing its resources much more than any of the Spano- American States, which possess the regions lying )8 BRtmr. upon the upper tributaries of the Amazon. It is but fail to state, however, that the Peruvians have also made an attempt to introduce steam upon the Amazon river ; and that they have been unsuccessful, from causes over which they could scarce be expected to have control. The chief of these causes appears to have been the dishonesty of certain American contractors, who provided them with the steamers three of them which, on being taken to the head of steam navigation on the Amazon, were found to be utterly worthless, and had to be laid up ! This bit of jobbery is to be regretted the more, since its bad effects do not alone concern the people of Peru, but the whole civilized world : for there is not a country on the globe that would not receive benefit by a development of the resources of this mighty river. Our young Russians had been under the belief, as most people are, that the banks of the Amazon were entirely without civilized settlements that the great river had scarcely been explored that only a few trav- ellers had descended this mighty stream ; and that altogether it was still as much of a terra incognita as in the days of Orellana. They found that these notions were quite incorrect ; that not only is there the large town of Para near the mouth of the Amazon, but there are other considerable settlements upon its banks, at different distances from each other, all the way up to Peru. Even upon some of its tributaries as the Rio Negro and Madeira there are villages and plantations of some importance. Barra, on the former stream, is of itself a town of 2,000 inhabitants. In that part of the Amazonian territory which lief SOUTH AMERICAN BEABS. 159 within the boundaries of Brazil, the settlements are, of course, Brazilian the settlers being a mixture of Port- uguese negroes and Christianized Indians. The portion of the great valley higher up towards the Cordilleras of the Andes, belongs to the Spanish- American govern- ments chiefly to Peru. There are also settlements of a missionary character, the population of which consists almost entirely of Indians, who have submitted them- selves to the rule of thx Spanish priests. Years age many of these missionary settlements were in a flourish- ing condition ; but at present they are in a complete state of decay. Our young Russians found, then, that the great South American river was by no means unknown or unex- plored though as yet no great observer has given an account of it. The different travellers who have de- scended the Amazon, and written books about it, have all been men of slight capacity, and lacking powers of scientific observation ; and one cannot help feeling regret that Hurnboldt did not choose the Amazon, instead of the Orinoco, as the medium of his valuable researches into the cosmography of South America. Such a grand subject was worthy of such a man. In ascending the Amazon which our party did by the Brazilian steamer they were fortunate in finding on board a very intelligent travelling companion ; who gave them much information of the great valley and its resources. This man was an old Portuguese trader, who had spent nearly a lifetime hi navigating not only the Amazon itself, but many of its larger tributaries. Hia business was to collect from the different Indian tribei 160 BRUIN. the indigenous products of the forests or montana, as it is called which stretches almost without interruption from the Andes to t e Atlantic. In this vast tropical forest there are many productions that have found then* way into the channels of commerce ; and many others yet unknown or unregarded. The principal articles ob- tained by the traders are sarsaparilla, Peruvian bark, annatto, and other dyes, vanilla, Brazil-nuts, Tonka beans, hammocks, palm fibre, and several other kinds of spontaneous vegetable productions. Monkeys, toucans, macaws, parrots, and other beautiful birds, also enter into the list of Amazonian exports ; while the imports consist of such manufactured articles as may tempt the cupidity of the savage, or the weapons necessary to him either in war or for the chase. In this trade their travelling companion had spent thirty years of his life ; and being a man of intelligence he had not only acquired a considerable fortune, but laid in a stock of geographical knowledge, of which the young Russians were not slow to take advantage. In the natural history of the montana he was well versed ; and knew the different animals and their habits from actual observation for which thirty years of adventure had given him a splendid opportunity. It was a rich store, and our travellers, especially the naturalist Alexis did not fail to draw largely from it. From the information given by this intelligent trader, Alexis was enabled to determine several facts about the bears of South America that had hitherto been doubtful. He learnt that there are at least two very distinct varie- ties of them one, the " spectacled bear " (ursus ornatus] SOUTH AMRICAN BEAKS. 161 * so jailed, on account of the whitish rings around his eyes, suggesting the idea of spectacles ; and another with out these white eye markings, and which has been lately named by a distinguished German naturalist ursics fru- gilegm. The former kind is known throughout the Peruvian countries as the " Hucumari," and although it inhabits the Cordilleras, it does not ascend to the very cold elevar tions known as the " paramos " and " puna." On the contrary, it affects a warmer climate, and is not unfre- quently found straying into the cultivated valleys termed generally the " Sierra." The ursus frugilegu& chiefly frequents the tangled woods that cover the eastern spurs of the Andes, ranging often as far down as the montana, and never so high as the declivities that border on the region of snow. Both of these species are black bears, and termed " oso negro " by the Spanish-Americans ; but the Hucumari is distinguished by a white list under the throat, a white breast, a muzzle of a grayish buff color, and the crescent- like eye markings already mentioned. It is also of a gentler disposition than its congener, smaller in size, and never preys upon other animals. The other does so frequently making havoc among the flocks of sheep, and even attacking the cattle and horses of the haciendas. The ursus frugilegus will give battle even to man himself when baited, or rendered furious by being chased. Both these species are supposed to be confined to the Chilian and Peruvian Andes. This is an erroneous sup- position. They are equally common in Bolivia, and in the sierras of New Grenada and Venezuela, They are K 162 BRUIN. found on both sides of Lake Maracaibo in the sierraa Perija and Merida. One of them, at least, has also been observed in the mountains of Guiana though naturalists have not met with it there. Humboldt, it is true, saw the tracks of what the natives told him was a bear on the Upper Orinoco ; and, reasoning from their size, he drew the inference that it must have been a much smaller species than the ursus americanus ; but in this matter the great philosopher was led into an error by a misap- plied name. He was informed that the animal was the " oso caruero," or flesh-eating bear a title given by the Mission Indians to distinguish it from two other animals, which they also erroneously term bears the " oso pal- mero," or great ant-eater (tamanoir), and the " oso hor- miguero " (tamandua). The animal by whose tracks Humboldt was misled, was, no doubt, one of the smallef plantigrade animals (coatis or grisons), of which there are several species in the forests of South America, Our hunters learnt enough from their travelling ac quaintance to convince them that, in whatever latitude they might approach the Andes from the east, they would be certain to find both varieties of the South American black bear ; but that the best route they could take would be up the great Napo river, which rises not very far from the old Peruvian capital of Quito. In the wild provinces of Quixos and Macas, lying to the east of Quito and to which the Napo river would conduct them they would be certain to meet with the animals they were in search of. They would have been equally sure of meeting bears in the territory of Jean de Bracamoros ; and this would have SOUTH AMERICAN BEARS. 163 been more easily reached ; but Alexis knew that by taking that route across the Cordilleras, they would be thrown too far to the west for the Isthmus of Panama which ii was necessary they should cross on their way to the northern division of the American continent. By keeping up the Napo to its source, and then cross- ing the Cordilleras of New Granada, they would still be enabled to make westerly as far as Panama to which port they could get passage in one of the Grenadian coasting-vessels. On arriving at the mouth of the Napo, therefore, they engaged a periagua, with its Indian crew, and continued their journey up this stream towards the btTQ distant Cordilleras of Quito. 164 BBUIH. CHAPTER XXIX. THE AMAZONIAN FOBEST. THE river Napo is one of the largest of the head* waters of the Amazon, and one of the most interesting since, by it, most of the early expeditionists descended in search of the country of the gilded kings, and the gold- roofed temples of Manoa. Though these proved to be fabulous, yet the existence of gold-dust among the In- dians of the Napo was true enough, and is true to the present hour. On this river, and its numerous branches, gold-washings, or placers, are quite common ; and occa- sionally the savages, who roam over this region, collect the dust, and exchange it with the traders who venture among them. The Indians, however, are of too idle a habit to follow this industry with any degree of energy ; and whenever they have obtained a quill full of the me- tallic sand just enough to purchase them some coveted nick-nack of civilized manufacture they leave off work, and the precious ingots are permitted to sleep undiscovered in their beds. Notwithstanding the length of their journey up the Napo, our travellers did not deem it tedious. The lovely tropical scenery ever under their eyes, together with the numerous little incidents which were constantly occurring THE AMAZONIAN FOREST. 165 relieved the monotony of their daily life, and kept them in a constant state of interested excitement. At every bend of the river appeared some object, new and worthy of admiration some grand tropical plant or tree, some strange quadruped, or some bird of glorious plumage. The craft in which they travelled was that hi general use on the upper tributaries of the Amazon : a large canoe hollowed out from the gigantic bombax ceiba, or ailk-cotton tree and usually known as a periagua. Over the stern part, or quarter-deck, a little "round- house " is erected, resembling the tilt of a wagon ; but, instead of ash-hoops and canvas, it is constructed of bam- boos and leaves of trees. The leaves form a thatch to shade the sun from the little cabin inside, and they are generally the large leaves of the irihai, a species of heli- conia, which grows abundantly in the tropical forests of South America. Leaves of the musacace (plantain* and bananas) serve for a similar purpose ; and both kinds are equally employed in thatching the huts in which the natives dwell. The little cabin thus constructed is called a toldo. In- side it is high enough for a man to sit upright, though not to stand ; and generally it is only used for sleeping in, or as a shelter during rain. At other tunes the traveller prefers the open air ; and sits or reclines upon the roof of the toldo, wliich is constructed of sufficient strength to bear bis weight. The forward part of the periagua is left quite open ; and here the rowers take their stations, so that their movements do not interfere with the comfort of the travellers. Through the influence of the Portuguese trader, our I6er BRUIN. party had the good fortune to obtain a proper periagua and crew. They were Christianized Indians, belonging to one of the Spanish missions situated far up the Napo. They had descended this river with a cargo of the pro- ducts of the mission ; and were just about starting to go back, as our travellers arrived at the river's mouth. An agreement was easily entered into with the capataz, or chief of the periagua ; and as our travellers always paid liberally for such service, and kept the crew well fed, ttey received as good attendance and accommodation as circumstances would admit of. Here and there on the tanks of the river though at very long intervals apart were settlements of the wild Indians of the forest ; and as nearly all the tribes of Amazonia do less or more in the way of cultivation and commerce, our travellers were enabled from tune to time to replenish their larder. Their guns, too, helped materially to keep up the supply : since almost every day game of one kind or another was procured along the banks. For bread they had farinha^ a good stock of which they had brought with them on the steamer from Para. This is the grated root of the manioc plant (iatropha manihof), and forms the staple food of all classes throughout the countries of A ma. conia. Alexis was particularly interested in what they saw. Never had naturalist a finer field for observation. Here was nature presented to the eye in its most normal con- dition. Here could be observed the tropical forest in all its primeval virginity, unbroken by the axe of the lum- berer, and in many places untrodden even by the foot of the hunter. Here its denizens quadrupeds, qvadrv THE AMAZONIAN FOREST. 167 mcota, biitLs, reptiles, and insects might be seen follow- ing out their various habits of life, obedient only to the passions or instincts that had been implanted in them by Nature herself, but little modified by the presence of man. Now would appear a flock of capivaras or chiguiret^ as they are also called the largest of rodent animals, basking upon some sunny bank, raising their great rabbit- like heads, and gazing curiously at the passing periagua. Perhaps before the travellers had lost sight of them, the whole gang would be seen suddenly starting from their attitudes of repose, and in desperate rush making for the water. Behind them would appear the yellow-spotted body of the jaguar the true tyrant of the Amazonian forest, who, with a single blow of his powerful paw would stretch a chiguire upon the grass, and then, couching over his fallen victim, would tear its body to pieces, drink its warm blood, and devour its flesh at his leisure. If by good fortune the flock might all escape, and reach the water, the jaguar, conscious of their superior adroitness in that element, would at once abandon the pursuit; and returning to his ambush, lie waiting for a fresh opportunity. But for all that, the poor chiguires would not be certain of safety; for even hi the water they might encounter another enemy, equally formidable and cruel, in the gigantic jacare the crocodile of the Amazonian waters. Thus assailed in either element, the poor innocent rodents are driven from land to water, and from the water back again to the land ; and eo kept hi a state of continual fear and trembling. The puma, too, assails them, and the jaguarundi, and the fierce coati- mundt; and not unfrequently the enormous anaconda 1 68 BRUIN. infolds them in its deadly embrace ; for the innocuous creatures can make no defence against their numerous enemies ; and but for that fecundity which characterizes the family to which they belong the so-called " Guinea- pigs" their race would be in danger of total extir- pation. The chiguires were not the only gregarious animals observed by our travellers in their ascent of the Napo. Others of a very different order appeared in the peccaries, or wild pigs of the montana. These are true pachyderms, and in reality pigs ; though naturalists have seen fit to separate them from the genus Sits, and constitute far them a genus of their own. It is hardly necessary to say that this is a very useless proceeding since the peccaries are neither more nor less than true wild hogs, the indigenous representatives of the suidee, on the American continent Their classification into a separate genus has been productive of no good purpose, but the very contrary: since it has added to the number of zoological names, thereby rendering still more difficult the study of that interesting science. For such an end- less vocabulary, we are chiefly indebted to the specula- tions of anatomic naturalists, who, lacking opportunities of actual observation, endeavor to make up for it by guesses and conjectures, founded upoh some little tubercle upon a tooth ! Notwithstanding their learned treatises it often proves and very often too that these tubercles tell most abominable stories ; in plainer terms, that the animals "lie in their teeth." The peccary which the old writers were content to regard as a wild pig, and very properly placed under the THE AMAZONIAN FOREST. 169 gen is sus is now termed dicotyles. Two species only are yet known to naturalists the " white-lipped " and " collared" (D. labritus and coUaris) ; and although they are rarely found frequenting the same district of country either one or the other kind can be encountered in all the wilder parts of America from California on the north, to the latitude of the La Plata on the south. Both are nearly of one form and color a sort of speckled grayish-brown; the collared species being so named from a whitish list running up in front of i'. shoulders, and forming the semblance of a collar ; while the white-lipped derives its specific title from having lips of a grayish-white color. In size, however, there is a great difference between the two: the white-lipped peccary weighing 100 Ibs., or nearly twice the weight of the collared species. The former, too, is proportionably stouter in build, and altogether a stronger and fiercer animal ; for although fierceness is not a characteristic of their nature, like other animals of the hog family, when roused, they exhibit a ferocity and fearlessness equalling that of the true carnivora. Both kinds of peccary are preyed upon by the jaguar ; but this tyrant of the wilds approaches them with more caution and far less confidence, than when he makes hia onslaught on the helpless chiguires ; and not unfrequent- ly in conflicts with the peccary, the jaguar comes off only second best. Of this fact our travellers had ample proofs hav- ing frequently witnessed, while ascending the Napo, en- counters between the peccaries and the jaguars. One of these encounters they had watched with an interee* 8 170 BRCJIK. more than common : for in its result their own safety wai concerned ; and the very position of peril in which they were plaed, enabled them to have a full and perfect view of the whole spectacle ; an account of which we find recorded in the journal of Alexis. , THE PERUVIAN CINNAMON-TUBE. 171 CHAPTER XXX. THE PERUVIAN CINNAMON-TREE. THEY had reached a district which lies between two great branches of the Napo river, and which bears the name of Canelos, or the "cinnamon country." The name was given to it by the Spanish discoverers of Peru from the fact of their finding trees in this region, the bark of which bears a considerable resemblance to the cele- brated spice of the East Indies. Camlet is the Spanish name for cinnamon ; and the rude adventurers Pineda and Gonzalez Pizarro, fancying it was the real cinnamon- tree itself, so called it ; and the district in which they found it most abundant thenceforward took the name of Canelos. The tree, afterwards identified and described by the Spanish botanist Mutis, is not the Laurus cinnamomum of Ceylon ; but a species of laurus peculiar to the Amer- ican continent to which this botanist has given the name laurus cinnamomoides. It is not, however, con- fined to the region around the Rio Napo, but grows in many parts of the Great Montana, as well as hi other countries of tropical America. Bonpland identified it on the Upper Orinoco, and again in the county of Caraccas ; iLccgh nowhere does it appear to be in such plenty as to 172 BRUIN. the east of the Cordilleras of Ecuador and Peru - throughout the provinces of Quixos, Macas, and Jaen de Bracamoros. In these provinces it is found forming extensive woods, and filling the air with the delicious aroma of its flowers. The bark of the laurus cinnamo- moides is not considered equal in delicate flavor to that of the Oriental cinnamon. It is hotter and more pun- gent to the taste otherwise the resemblance between the two trees is very considerable, their foliage being much alike, and the bark peeling off of nearly equal thickness. The American, however, becomes more brownish when dried ; and, though it is not equal to the cinnamon-bark of Ceylon, large quantities of it are collected, both for use in the Spanish- American countries and for export to Europe where it is often passed off for the true cinnamon. Were it not that the province of Canelos is rather inaccessible to commerce, no doubt a great deal more of it vrould find its way into the Euro- pean markets ; but there are perils and hardships in the collecting of this bark, which make it unprofitable to deal in, even at the full price of the true cinnamon. The Peruvians believe that, were the tree cultivated in a proper manner, as the Oriental cinnamon is, its bark would prove equal in quality to the latter ; and perhaps this may be true, since occasionally specimens of it have been procured, having all the rich aroma of the spice of Ceylon. These have been taken from trees that grew in favorable situations that is, standing alone, and where the sun had free access to the leaves and flowers. The leaves themselves have the peculiar cinnamon flavor, and the flowers also ; but in a much stronger degree. Indeed, THE PERTTVIAH CINNAMON-IEEE. 178 the flowers are even more aromatic than those of the lauru* cinnamomum. It is said that the wild pigs (peccaries) are very fond of these flowers, as well as the seeds, when ripe ; and a singular habit of these animals is related by some of the early Peruvian travellers the Jesuit Ovalle for one. The old father states that when a flock of the peccaries go in search of the flowers of the canela-tree, they sepa- rate into two divisions, of about nearly equal numbers. The individuals of one division place their shoulders to the different trees ; and, by shaking them violently, cause the flowers to fall down to the earth. While thus em- ployed, the peccaries of the other party stand under the shower, and eat undisturbedly until they have quite filled their bellies, or otherwise satisfied themselves. These last then take the place of the hungry hogs ; and recip- rocating the service by shaking the trees, leave the for- mer to enjoy themselves in their turn ! It is not easy to swallow this story of the Jesuit, though he was himself a native of the country where the scene is laid. That part of it which relates to the hogs shak- ing the trees for one another, is not likely to be true, though it is possible all the other particulars are correct. It may be true enough that the animals shake the trees to bring down the flowers : for this would exhibit a sagacity not greater than hogs of other species are capa- ble of; but it is not according to the laws of their mora? nature to perform the service for one another. Thai they roam in great flocks through the canela forests, and devour with avidity the blossoms of these trees, is un- doubtedly a fact of which our traveller had the evi 174 BRUIN. dence of their own eyes while on thel- journey up the river Napo. They were passing a place where these wild cinnamon- trees lined the banks of the stream ; and, in order to make a closer examination of such an interesting species, Alexis lauded from the periagua. Ivan went along with him taking his double-barrelled gun, in hopes of get- ting a shot at something. In one barrel he had a bullet, while the other was loaded with shot so that he was prepared for any sort of game that might turn up, either beasts or birds. Alexis, as usual, carried his rifle. It was their intention to walk for some distance up the bank. There was a sandy strip between the water and the trees which would enable them to make way with- out difficulty and it is only where this occurs that the banks of the Amazonian rivers can be followed on foot Generally, the thick forest comes down to the very wa- ter's edge ; and there is no pathway except an occasional track followed by the chiguires, tapirs, and other ani- mals ; but, as these creatures only open the underwood to the height of their own bodies, all above that is a mat- ted labyrinth of leaves and llanos, that form an unpene- trable barrier to the passage of anything so tall as a man. The Indians themselves rarely follow these paths, but keep to their canoes or periaguas. Seeing this fine open sand-bar, which appeared to stretch for miles above them, our young travellers, tired of sitting upon the toldo, determined to stretch their lega in a walk; and, directing the capataz to keep up the river and take them in above, they set out along the bank now and then dipping into the woods, wherevei THE PERUVIAN CINNAMON-TREE. 175 an opening showed itself, and examining such rare natu- ral objects as attracted their attention. Pouchskin did not go with them ; and the reason was that, some days before, Pouchskin had encountered a mishap, by which he was laid up lame. The cause of bis lameness was simply that some chigas had got be- tween his toes ; and not having been extracted in tune, had there laid their eggs, and caused a terrible inflamm*. tion to his feet, a misfortune that frequently happens in tropical countries. The wound caused by the chiga, though not absolutely of fatal consequences, is very dan- gerous to be trifled with often leading to the necessity of amputating the part attacked by these diminutive in- sects. Pouchskin, sneering at the insignificance of the enemy, had neglected taking proper precautions not- withstanding that the Indian canoe-men had warned him of the danger. The consequence was a swelling of the parts and an inflammation, that lamed the old grenadier as completely as if his leg had been carried off by a bomb-shell ; and he was now reclining along the top of the toldo, unable to stand upon his feet. For this reason, being in no condition to join his young masters on their pedestrian excursions, he was necessa- rily left behind. It was, perhaps, just as well for him : since it was the means of keeping him clear of a scrape into which both of the young hunters chanced to fall very soon after ; and which, perhaps, had Pouchskin been with them, might have ended worse than it did : since it could Dot have ended much better. 176 BRunc. CHAPTER XXXI. A 8KUBBY OVEB A SAND-BAB. JOURNEYING along the bank, as we have described, Alexis and Ivan had gone some two or thre * miles up the river. They were beginning to get tired of their valk : as the sand was rather soft, and sank under their feet at every step. Just then they descried, a little ahead of them, a long bar, or " spit " of the bank, run- ning out nearly to the middle of the river. They made up their minds to go on until they should reach this bar. At its end appeared a proper place for the periagua to come to, and take them aboard. The craft was still working up-stream, and had got nearly opposite them, so that they could hail it. They did so desiring the popero, or steersman, to put in at the extremity of the sand-bar. This matter having been arranged, they continued on up the bank, going at their leisure. On arriving at that part of the bank where the sand- apit projected into the river, they were about stepping out upon it, when the quick ear of Ivan caught the sound of some animals moving among the underwood. All was game that came to Ivan's gun ; and as he had seen nothing worth wasting a charge upon, during their long A SKURRY OVER A SAND-BAB. 177 walk, he was very desirous to have a shot at something before returning to the periagua. What he heard was a rustling of leaves. It did not appear to proceed from any particular spot, but rather from all parts of the forest. Now and then the sound was varied by a sort of half-squeaking half-grunting noise, that indicated the presence of animals, and a great many of them too : since, at times, several scores of these squeaks and grunts eould be heard uttered simul- taneously. Alexis heard the sounds too ; but being less of a keen sportsman than his brother, cared less to go after the creatures that were making them. He had no objection to Ivan straying a little out of his way ; and promised to wait for him on the open bank. Had he known what soil of game it was that his brother was going after that is, had he been acquainted with the habits of the animals that were making them- selves heard, he would either have gone along with Ivan, or, what is more likely, would have hindered him from going at all. Alexis, however, was under the impression that monkeys of some kind were making the strange noises for not only are there many species of these in the forests of the Napo, but some that can imitate the voices of other animals. Of course, with monkeys, there could be no danger : since none of the American quad- rumana are large enough or strong enough to attempt an attack upon man. Ivan had not left the spot more than five minutes, when a loud report, reverberating among the trees, announced that he had fired his gun ; and, almost in the same instant, a second crack told that both barrels were now empty. 8 i. 178 BRUIN. Alexis was about proceeding to the place to see what fais brother had shot, when all at once his ears were as- sailed by a loud chorus of noises a screaming, and snorting, and grunting that seemed to come from all parts of the wood ; while the cracking of sticks, and the " swishing ' ? of branches, announced a singular commotion - as if some hundreds of creatures were rushing to and fro through the jungle. At the same instant was heard the voice of Ivan, crying out in accents of alarm ; while the boy was himself seen breaking his way through the bushes, and running with all his might in the direction of his brother. His looks betokened terror, as if some dreaded pursuer was behind him. " Run ! brother run ! " cried he, as he got clear of the underwood ; " run for your life ! they 're after me they 're after me ! " It was no time to inquire what pursuers were after him. Evidently, they were of a sort to be shunned : since they had caused to the courageous Ivan such seri- ous alarm ; and Alexis, without staying for an explana- tion, turned, and joined in his brother's flight. Both directed themselves towards the open sand-spit, in hopea of being able to reach the periagua which could be seen just drawing up to its point of the bar. They had not made a dozen steps into the open ground, when the bushes from which they had just parted were seen to vibrate, and from out their trem- bling cover rushed a host of strange creatures : literaUy a host, for, in a few seconds' time, not less than two hun- dred of them made their appearance. They were quadrupeds of a grayish-brown coloi. not A SKTJKRr OVER A SAND-BAB. 179 larger than half-grown pigs ; and pigs they were that is to say, they were peccaries. They were those of the epecies labiatus as could be seen by their white lips. These lips were especially conspicuous, for each indi- vidual was rushing on open-mouthed, with snout raised aloft all of them cracking their teeth like castanets, uttering, as they ran, a confused chorus of short, sharp grunts and squeaks, expressive of anger. As soon as Alexis saw them, he recognized the peril of the situation in which he and his brother were placed. He had read, and heard moreover from the Portuguese trader as well as from the Indian canoe-men of the danger to be apprehended from an attack of these fierce little animals ; and how the hunter, to escape from them, is often compelled to take to a tree. Had he and Ivan reflected for a moment, they would probably have made for the woods, instead of running out on the open sand-bar, as they had done. It was now too late, how- ever. The peccaries covered the whole line of beach behind them ; and no tree could have been reached, with- out passing back again through the midst of the drove. Their retreat in the direction of the woods was completely cut off; and there appeared no alternative, but to make the best use they could of their heels, and, if possible, get on board the periagua. With this determination they rushed on over the aand> bank, closejy yxursxied by f" e peccaries. 180 BRUIN. CHAPTER XXXII. PURSUED BY PECCARIES. IT is needless to say that our young hunters took as long strides as the nature of the ground would permit ; but, unfortunately, they were not long enough. The sand was soft and heavy, and in places so full of holes, where the turtles had had their eggs now empty that the fugitives could make but slow progress, though fear was urging them to do their utmost The pursuers them- selves did not make as good speed as they would have made on firmer ground, but they were going faster than the pursued ; and the boys were beginning to fear that they would never be able to reach the periagua in time. To be overtaken meant the same as to be dragged upon the sand, and to be torn to pieces by the sharp tusks of the peccaries. The periagua was still three hundred yards distant. The Indians saw the chase, and knew the danger knew it so well, that it was not likely they would venture ashore to the rescue ; and as for Pouch- skin, he was unable to budge an inch even had there been no other means of saving his young masters. It was a moment of fearful apprehension for the faithful Pouchskin. He had seized his fusil, and wriggled his body into an erect attitude ; but he felt powerless to io more. PURSUED BY PECCARIES. 181 In this moment of peril an object came under the eyea of Alexis that promised safety. At least it held out the prospect of a temporary retreat from the danger though whether they might succeed in reaching this retreat was not certain. This object was a tree not standing and growing, but a fallen tree dead, and divested of its leaves, its bark, and most of its branches. It lay upon the sand- epit where it had, no doubt, been deposited during the season of floods not exactly hi the line of their flight, but some paces to the right of the track they would have followed in keeping on to the periagua. It was nearer them than the boat, by full two hundred yards ; and Alexis observing this, suddenly conceived a hope that they might yet reach the tree, and find shelter, either upon its trunk or among its branches. Of these the larger ones still remained rising many feet above the surface of the sand, and shrouded under masses of weeds and withered grass, which had been there deposited at the falling of the flood. Indeed, Alexis scarce looked to the capabilities the tree afforded for giving them a secure retreat. There was no alternative. It was Eke the drowning man catching at straws. He only cast a look behind him, to see what time they might have to spare ; and by a quick glance calculating their distance from the pursuers, he shouted to Ivan to follow him, and turned obliquely towards the tree. They had noticed the tree when first starting to run, but had not thought of it as a place of retreat. Indeed, they had thought of nothing except getting back to the boat ; and it was only now, when this had proved 182 BRUIN. clearly impossible, that they determined on taking to tn tree. As they faced full towards it, they were able to note the chances it offered for their safety. They saw that they were not so bad ; and, encouraged by hope, they made efforts more energetic than ever both of them straining every nerve and muscle in their legs and bodies. The effort was needed ; but fortunately it proved suf- ficient to save them. Just sufficient : for scarce had they succeeded in getting upon the log, and drawing their limbs up after them, when the infuriated host ar- rived upon the ground, and in a few seconds surrounded them on all sides. Lucky it was that the log was a large one. It was the dead-wood of a gigantic silk- cotton the bombax ceiba of the tropical forests j and its trunk, being full five feet in diameter, gave them that elevation above the surface of the sand. Notwithstanding this, they saw that their safety was not yet quite assured: for the spiteful peccaries, instead of desisting in their attacks, commenced leaping up against the log, endeavoring to reach its top, and there assail them. Now and then one more active than the rest actually succeeded in getting its fore feet over tte ridge of the dead-wood : and, had it not been for the quick use which our hunters made of the buts of their guns, undoubtedly they would have been reached. Both stood with their barrels grasped firmly now threaten- ing the assailing host, and now punching in the head such of them as sprang within reach the peccaries all the while uttering their angry grunts, and chatter- PURSUED BY PECCARIES. 183 mg them teeth, as if a hundred strings of Christmas wackers were being let off at the same time! In this way the conflict was carried on the hun- ters, bit by bit, working themselves along the log towards the top branches, which, projecting higher, appeared to offer a more secure place of retreat. But at intervals as they advanced, they were compelled to make halt, and deal a fresh shower of blows to their assailants, who still kept leaping up from below. At length the boys succeeded in reaching the pro- jecting limbs of the tree ; and each choosing one strong enough to carry him, they scrambled up towards their tops. This placed them in a position where they could set the peccaries at defiance ; for although the crea- tures could now spring up on the main trunk which several of them had already done the more slender limbs baffled all their efforts at climbing ; and such of them as attempted it were seen to roll off and tumble back upon the sand-bank. The hunters, now feeling secure, could not refrain from a shout of joy, which jsvas answered by a cheer from the periagua, in which the baritone of Pouchskin bore a conspicuous part. Our heroes now believing themselves in for a siege, began to consider the best means of raising it ; when all at once a spectacle came under their eyes, thai guided their thoughts into a far different channel. 1 84 BRUIN. CHAPTER XXXIII. 8CYLLA AND CHAKYBDIS. THEIR retreat upward upon the slanting limbs of the tree had brought a large band of their assailants round to that side ; and, just as they raised their tri- umphant cry, they saw the peccaries dancing among the branches that lay extended along the sand-bar. Many of these were hidden by the flakes of hanging grass already mentioned ; but another fearful creature chanced to have been hidden there also ; who now dis- played himself in all his shining majesty not only to the eyes of the besieged, but likewise to those of the besiegers. The creature was a quadruped one of fearful mien, and dimensions far exceeding that of the Lilliputian peccaries. It was their natural enemy the jaguar! Whether it was the shout that had startled him, 01 the peccaries had trodden him out of his lair, or both, certain it was that he now sprang suddenly out, and with one bound launched himself upon the log For a moment he stood cowering on its top, turning his eyes first upon the branches where the boys had taken refuge, and then in the opposite direction, towards the woods. He seemed irresolute as to which course he 'Jri^r;'- 1 r^'flBMBr* '. ._!; SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS. 185 would take; and this irresolution, so long as it lasted, produced an unpleasant effect upon our young hunters. Should the jaguar also attack them, their destruction might be accounted as certain ; for the great cat would either strike them down from their unstable perch, or elaw them to death if they continued to cling to it. Of tourse, to fall down among the peccaries would be death, equally certain and terrible. By good fortune, however, the jaguar at the moment of showing himself was eagerly assailed by the wild pigs ; and it was to escape from their assault, that hf> had sprung upward to the log. Thither the peccaries had pursued him, and were now endeavoring to reach the top of the dead-wood, just as they had done while after the hunters. The jaguar no longer stood silent and Irresolute ; but, uttering loud screams, he commenced defending himself against the assailing host, striking them with his broad ungulated paws, and flinging one after another back to the ground, where they lay kicking In the throes of death. Perhaps it was the presence of mind exhibited by Alexis that brought matters to a climax, and saved the iiTss of himself and his brother. His rifle was still loaded for it had appeared useless firing into the midst of two hundred assailants. He knew he could kill only one or two ; and this, instead of frightening them ofl^ would but render the others more implacable in their resentment. Partly for this reason, and partly that he had all along held the piece " clubbed " in his hands, ho had reserved his fire. Now was the time to deliver it. The jaguar was even more to be dreaded than the pec- 1 86 BBTJIW. caries for they were now secure from the attacks ol the latter, whereas they were not only within reach of the former, but in the very place to which the brut* might fancy retreating. To prevent this contingency, Alexis resolved to give the jaguar his bullet. It was but a moment's work to turn the gun in his hand and take aim. The crack followed quickly ; and, on the instant, the hunters had the gratification to see the great tawny quadruped spring out from the log, and alight upon the sand where, in a second's time, he was surrounded by the dark drove, that from all sides rushed Bcreaming towards him. It was a bit of good fortune that the bullet of Alexis nad only wounded the jaguar, instead of killing him on the spot. Had he been shot dead, the peccaries would have torn his beautiful skin to ribbons, and reduced his quivering flesh to mince-meat, and that within the space of a score of seconds ; but luckily it chanced that the jaguar was only wounded had only received a broken leg ; and, availing himself of the three that remained sound, he commenced retreating towards the timber. Thither he was followed by his thick-skinned assailants \ who, transferring their spite to this new enemy, seemed to forget all about their original adversaries, who re- mained quietly perched upon the limbs of the tree ! For some time nothing could be seen but a confused crowd, writhing over the sand a dark mass, in the midst of which now and then a bright yellow object ap- peared conspicuous, and was then for a time out of sight ; and thus, like a rolling wave, the great drove went surg- ing on. amidst grunting and screaming, and growling, and 3CTLLA AND CHABTBDIS. 187 chattering of teeth, till it swept up to the edge of the underwood, and then suddenly disappeared from the eyes of the spectators! Whether the peccaries eventually succeeded in de- *troying the jaguar, or whether the wounded tyrant of the forest escaped from their terrible teeth, could never be told. Our young hunters had no curiosity to follow and witness the denouement of this strange encounter. Neither cared they to take up the bodies of the slain. Ivan was completely cured of any penchant he might have liad for peccary pork ; and, as soon as their late assailants were fairly out of sight, both leaped down from the h'mbs of the tree, and made all haste towards the boat. This they reached without further molestation ; and the canoe-men, rapidly pljfing their paddles, soon shot the craft out upon the bosom of the broad river where they were safe from the attack either of wild pigs or wild cats. It was likely the jaguar betook himself to a tree his usual mode of escape when surrounded by a herd of in- furiated peccaries and, as a proof that he had done so, our travellers could hear the wild hogs still uttering their fierce grunts long after the boat had rounded the sand- spit and was passing up the bend of the river. 188 BRUIH. CHAPTER XXXIV. THE OLD MISSIONS. PASSING many scenes of interest, and meeting with several other strange incidents, our travellers at length arrived at Archidona a small town at the head of boat navigation upon the Napo, and the usual port of embar- kation for persons proceeding from the country around Quito to the regions upo% the Amazon. Up to this place they had been journeying through a complete wilderness the only exceptions being some missionary stations, in each of which a monkish priest holds a sort of control over two or three hundred half-christianized Indians. It would be absurd to call these missions civilized settle- ments : since they are in no degree more advanced, either in civilization or prosperity, than the maloccas, or villages of the wild Indians the " infidels," as it pleases the monks to call those tribes who have not submitted to their puerile teachings. Whatever difference exists be- tween the two kinds of Indians is decidedly in favor of the unconverted tribes, who display at least the virtues of valor and a love of liberty, while the poor neophytes of the missions have suffered a positive debasement, by their conversion to this so-called " Christian religion." All these monkish settlements -not only on the Napo, but THE OLD MISSIONS. 189 on the other tributaries of the Amazon were at on time in a state of considerable prosperity. The mis- sionary padres, backed by a little soldier help from the Spanish Government, were more able to control their Indian converts, and compel them to work so that a certain amount of prosperity was visible in the mission settlements, and some of them had even attained to a degree of wealth. This, however, was but an apparent civilization ; and its benefits only extended to the monks themselves. The Indian neophytes were in no way bet- tered by the wealth they created. Their condition was one of pure slavery the monks being their masters, and very often hard taskmasters they proved themselves living in fine conventual style upon the sweat and labor of their brown-skinned converts. The only return made by them to the Indians was to teach the latter those trades, by the practice of which they themselves might be benefited, and that was their sole motive for civilizing them. On the other hand, instead of endeavoring to cul- tivate their intellectual nature, they strove in every way to restrain it inculcating those doctrines of duty and obedience so popular among the priests and princes of the world. They taught them a religion of the lips and not of the heart a religion of mere idle ceremonies, of the most showy kind ; and above all a religion whose every observance required to be paid for by toll and tithe. In this manner they continued to filch from the poor aboriginal every hour of his work and keep him to all intents and purposes an abject slave. No wonder, that when the Spanish power declined, and the soldie* cnuld no longer be spared to secure the authority of the 190 BRUIN. priest no wonder taat the whole system gave way, and the missions of Spanish America from California to the Patagonian plains sank into decay. Hundreds of these establishments have been altogether abandoned their pseudo-converts having returned once more to the savage state and the ruins of convents and churches alone remain to attest that they ever existed. Those still in existence exhibit the mere remnants of their former prosperity, and are only kept together by the exertions of the monks themselves backed by a slight thread of authority, which they derive from the superstitions they have been able to inculcate. In fact, in the missions now existing, the monks have no other power than that which they wield through the terrors of the Church ; and in most cases, these padres constitute a sort of hierarch chieftaincy, which has supplanted the old system of the curacas, or caciques. At one period the missions of the Napo were both numerous and powerful. That was while they were nnder the superintendence of those active apostles, the Jesuit fathers ; but most of their settlements have long ago disappeared ; and now only a few sparse stations exist along the borders of the great Montana. In ascending the Napo, our travellers had an oppor- tunity of visiting some of these old missionary establish- ments ; and observing the odd rigmarole of superstitions there practised under the guise, and in the name of re- ligion a queer commingling of pagan rites with Chris- tian ceremonies not unlike those Budhistic forms ft'ona which these same ceremonies have been borrowed. One advantage our travellers derived from the exirt- THE OLD MISSIONS. 191 enoe of these stations : they were enabled to obtain from them the provisions required upon their long riverina voyage ; and without this assistance they would have found it much more difficult to accomplish such a journey. Beyond Archidona the rest of the journey to Quito would have to be performed on horseback, or rather mule- back ; but they were not going direct to Quito. Between them and the old Peruvian capital lay the eastern cor- dillera of the Andes, and it was along its declivities, and in the valleys between its transverse spurs, facing the Mon- tana, they would have to search for the haunts of the bear. On the Napo itself, still higher up than Archidona where the stream, fed by the snows of the grand volcano of Cotopaxi, issues from the spurs of the Andes there were they most likely to accomplish the object of their expedition, and thither determined they to go. Having procured mules and a guide, they proceeded onward ; and after a journey of three days in which, from the difficulty of the roads, they had travelled less than fifty miles they found themselves among the foot- hills of the Andes the giant Cotopaxi with his snowy cone towering stupendous above their heads. Here they were hi the proper range of the bears a part of the country famous for the great number? rf these animals and it only remained for them to fix their head-quarters in some village, and make arrange- ments for prosecuting the chase. The little town of Napo, called after the river, and situated as it is in the midst of a forest wilderness, offered all the advantagos they required; and, choosing it aa their temporary residence, they were soon engaged in searching for the black bear of the Cordilleras. 192 BRUEW. CHAPTER XXXV. EATING A NEGRO'S HEAD. ACCORDING to their usual practice, they had hired one of the native hunters of the district to act as a guide, and assist them in finding the haunts of Bruin. In Napo they were fortunate in meeting with the very man, in the person of a mestizo, or half-blood Indian, who fol- lowed hunting for his sole calling. He was what is termed a " tigrero," or tiger-hunter which title he derived from the fact that the jaguar was the principal object of his pursuit. Among all Spanish Americans Mexicans included the beautiful spotted jaguar is erro- neously termed tigre (tiger), as the puma or couguar is called Icon (lion). A nunter of the jaguar is therefore denominated a " tiger-hunter," or tigrero. There are no puma or lion-hunters by profession as there is nothing about this brute to make it worth while but hunting the jaguar is, in many parts of Spanish America, a specific calling ; and men make their living solely by following this occupation. One induce- ment is to obtain the skin, which, in common with those of the great spotted cats of the Old World, is an article of commerce, and from its superior beauty commanda a good price. But the tigrero could scarce make out to EATING A NEGRO'S HEAD. 193 live upon the sale of the skins alone ; for although a London furrier will charge from two to three guineas for a jaguar's robe, the poor hunter in his remote wilderness market can obtain little more than a tenth part of this price, notwithstanding that he has to risk his life, before he can strip the fair mantle from the shoulders if its original wearer. It is evident, therefore, that jaguar-hunting would not pny, rf there was only the pelt to depend upon ; but the tigrero looks to another source of profit the bounty. In the hotter regions of Spanish America, the Brazils as well there are many settlements to which the jaguar is not only a pest, but a terror. Cattle in hundreds are destroyed by these great predatory animals ; even full- grown horses are killed and dragged away by them! But is this all ? Are the people themselves left un- molested? No. On the contrary, great numbers of human beings every year fall victims to the rapacity of the jaguars. Settlements attempted on the edge of the great Montana hi the very country where our young hunters had now arrived have, after a time, been abandoned from this cause alone. It is a well-known fact that where a settlement has been formed, the jaguars soon become more, plentiful in that neighborhood: tho increased facility of obtaining food by preying on the cattle of the settlers, or upon the owners themselves accounting for this augmentation in their numbers. It is precisely the same with the royal tiger of India, as is instanced hi the history of the modern settlement of Singapore. To prevent the increase of the jaguars, then, a bounty Q M 194 BRUIN. is offered for their destruction. Tliis bounty is some- times the gift of the government of the country, and sometimes of the municipal authorities of the district. Not unfrequently private individuals, who own large herds of cattle, give a bounty out of their private purses for every jaguar killed within the limits of their estates. Indeed, it is not an uncommon thing for the wealthy pro- prietor of a cattle-estate (hacienda de ganados) to main- tain one or more "tigreros" in his service just as gamekeepers are kept by European grandees whose sole business consists in hunting and destroying the jag- uar. These men are sometimes pure Indians, but, as a general thing, they are of the mixed, or mestizo race. It need hardly be said that they are hunters of the greatest courage. They require to be so: since an encounter with a full-grown jaguar is but little less dangerous than with his striped congener of the Indian jungles. In these conflicts, the tigreros often receive severe wounds from the teeth and claws of their terrible adversary ; and, not unfrequently, the hunter himself becomes the victim. You may wonder that men are found to follow such a perilous calling, and with such slight inducement for even the bounty is only a trifle of a dollar or two dif- fering in amount in different districts, and according to the liberality of the bestower. But it is in this matter as with all others of a like kind where the very danger itself seems to be the lure. The tigrero usually depends upon fire-arms for destroy- ing his noble game ; but where his shot fails, and it is necessary to come to close quarters, he will even attack HATING A NEGRO'S HEAD. 195 the jaguar with his machete a species of half-knife half-sword, to be fouri in every Spanish- American cot tage from California to Chili. Very often the jaguar is hunted without the gun. The tigrcro, in this case, arms himself with a short spear, the shaft of which is made of a strong, hard wood, either a yuaiacum, or a piece of the split trunk of one of the hard-wood palms. The point of this spear is frequently without iron only sharpened and hardened by being held in the fire and with this in his left hand, and his short sword in the right, the hunter advances with confidence upon hia formidable adversary. This confidence has been forti- fied by a contrivance which he has had the precaution ^o adopt that is, of enveloping his left arm in the ample folds of his blanket serape, roana, or poncho, according to the countrv to which he belongs and using this as a shield. The left arm is held well forward, so that the woollen mass may cover his body against the bound of the ani- mal, and thus is the attack received. The jaguar, like all feline quadrupeds, springs directly forward upon his prey. The tigrero, prepared for this, and, with every nerve braced, receives the assailant upon the point of his short spear. Should the jaguar strike with its claws it only clutches the woollen cloth ; and while tearing at this which it believes to be the body of its intended victim the right arm of the hunter is left free, and with the sharp blade of his machete he can either make cut or thrust at his pleasure. It is not always that the tigrero succeeds in destroying his enemy without receiv- 196 BBura. ing a scratch or two in return; but a daring huntei makes light of such wounds for these scars become badges of distinction, and give him eclat among the vil- lages of the Montana. Just such a man was the guide whom our young hunt- ers had engaged, and who, though a tiger-hunter by pro- fession, was equally expert at the capturing of a bear when one of these animals chanced to stray down from the higher slopes of the mountains, into the wanner country frequented by the jaguars. It was not always that bears could be found in these lower regions ; but there is a particuliar season of the year when the black bear (ursus frugilegus) descends far below his usual range, and even wanders far out into the forests of the Montana, Of course there must be some inducement for his making this annual migration from his mountain home ; for the ursus fruyilegus, though here dwelling within the tropics, does not affect a tropical climate. Neither is he a denizen of the very cold plains the paramos that extend among the summits of eternal snow. A mediu'Ji temperature is his choice ; and this, as we have already stated, he finds among the foot-hills forming the lower zone of the Eastern Andes. It is there he spends most of his life, and that is his place of birth, and consequently his true home. At a particular season of the year, cor- responding to the summer of our own country, he makes a roving expedition to the lower regions ; and for what purpose ? This was the very question which Alexis put to the tigrcro. The answer was as curious as laconic : " Comer la cdbeza del negro" (To eat the negro'g head !) BATING A NEGBO'S HEAD. 197 " Ha, ha ! to eat the negro's head 1 " repeated Ivan, with an incredulous laugh. " Just s>o, senorito ! " rejoined the man ; " that is what what brings him down here." " Why, the voracious brute ! " said Ivan ; " you don't mean to say that he makes food of the heads of the poor negroes ? " " O no ! " replied the tigrero, smiling in his turn ; " ii is not that." " "What then ? " impatiently inquired Ivan. " 1 've heard of negro-head tobacco. He 's not a tobacco-chew- er, is he ? " " Carrambo ! no, senorito," replied the tiger-hunter, now laughing outright ; " that 's not the sort of food the fellow is fond of. You '11 see it presently. By good luck, it's just in season now just as the bears fancy it or else we need n't look to start them here. We should have to go further up the mountains : where they are more difficult both to find and follow. But no doubt we '11 soon stir one up, when we get among the cabezas del negro. The nuts are just now full of their sweet milky paste, of which the bears are so fond, and abuuv a mile from here there are whole acres of the trees. I warrant we find a bear among them." Though still puzzled with this half-explanation, oui young hunters followed the guide confident that they would soon come in sight of the " negro's head." 198 CHAPTER XXXVI. THE TAGUA-TREE. AFTER going about a mile further, as their guide had forewarned them, they came within sight of a level val- ley, or rather a plain, covered with a singular vegetation. It looked as if it had been a forest of palms the trunkg of which had sunk down into the earth, and left only the heads, with their great radiating fronds above the ground I Some of them stood a foot or two above the surface ; but most appeared as if their stems had been completely buried ! They were growing all the same, however ; and, at the bottom of each great bunch of pinnate leaves, could be seen a number of large, roundish objects which were evidently the fruits of the plant. There was no mystery about the stems being buried underground. There were no stems, and never had been any except those that were seen rising a yard or so above the surface. Neither was there any longer a my&. tery about the " negro's head ; " for the rounded fruit with its wrinkled coriaceous pericarp suggesting a re- semblance to the little curly knots of wool on the head of an African was evidently the object to which tho tigrero had applied the ambiguous appellation. What our hunters saw was neither more nor less than THE TAGUA-TREE. 199 a grote of Tagua-trees better known as the "vege- table ivory." This singular tree was for a long time regarded as a plant of the Cycas family ; and by some botanists it has been classed among the Pandanaceee, or screw-pines. Growing, as its leaves do, almost out of the earth, or with only a short trunk, it bears a very marked resem- blance to the cycads ; but for all this, it is a true palm. Its not having a tall trunk is no reason why it should not be a palm, since many other species of palmacece are equally destitute of a visible stem. It is now, however, acknowledged by the most expert botanists, that the " Tagua " or " Cabeza del Negro," as the Peruvians style it is a palm ; and it has been honored as the representative of a genus (Phytelephas), of which there are but two species known the great-fruited and little- fruited (inacrocarpa and microcarpd). Both are natives of the hot valleys of the Andes, and differ very little from each other ; but it is the species with the larger fruit that is distinguished by the figurative title of " ne- gro's head." The Peruvian Indians use the pinnate fronds of both species for thatching their huts ; but it is the nuts of the larger one that have given its great celebrity to the tree. These are of an oblong triangular shape ; and a great number of them are enclosed in the pericarp, already described. When young, they are filled with a watery liquid that has no particular taste ; though regarded oy the Indians as a most refreshing beverage. A little older, this crystal-like fluid turns of a milky color and consistence ; and still later it becomes a whit* paste 200 BRUIN. When fully ripe, it congeals to the whiteness and hard* ness of ivory itself; and, if kept out of water, is even more beautiful in texture than the tusks of the elephant. It has been employed by the Indians from time im- memorial in the construction of buttons, heads for their pipes, and many other purposes. Of late years it has found its way into the hands of civilized artisans ; and since it can be procured at a cheaper rate, and is quite equal to the real ivory for many useful and ornamental articles, it has become an important item of commerce. But however much the vegetable ivory may be es- teemed by the Indians, or by bipeds of any kind, there is one quadruped who thinks quite as much of it as they, and that is the black bear of the Andes (ursus frugilegus). It is not, however, when it has reached the condition of ivory that Bruin cares for it Then the nut would be too hard, even for his powerful jaws to crack. It is when it is in the milky state or rather after it has become coagulated to a paste that he relishes it ; and with so much avidity does he devour the sweet pulp, that at this season he is easily discovered in the midst of his depre- dations, and will scarce move away from his meal even upon the appearance of the hunter ! While engaged in devouring his favorite negro-head, he appears indiffer- ent to any danger that may threaten him. Of this our hunters had proof, and very shortly after entering among the tagua-trees. As the tigrero had predicted, they soon came upon_ the " sign " of a bear, and almost in the same instant discovered Bruin him- self browsing upon the fruit The young hunters, and Pouchskin too, were about THE TAGUA-TBEE. 201 getting ready to fire upon him ; when, to their surprise, they saw the tigrero, who was mounted on a prancing little horse, spur out in front of them, and gallop towards the bear. They knew that the killing of the animal should have been left to them ; but as they had given thsir guide no notice of this, they said nothing, but looked on leaving the tigrero to manage matters after his own way. It was evident that he intended to attack the bear, and in a peculiar fashion. They knew this by seeing that he carried a coil of raw-hide rope over his arm, on one end of which there was a ring and loop. They knew, more- over, that this was a celebrated weapon of the South Americans the lazo, in short ; but never having wit- nessed an exhibition of its use, they were curious to do so ; and this also influenced them to keep their places. In a few minutes the horseman had galloped within some twenty paces of the bear. The latter took the alarm, and commenced trotting off; but with a sullen reluctance, which showed that he had no great disposi- tion to shun the encounter. The ground was tolerably clear, the taguas standing far apart, and many of them not rising higher than the bear's back. This gave the spectators an opportunity of witnessing the chase. It was not a long one. The bear perceiving that the horseman was gaining upon him, turned suddenly in his tracks, and, with an angry growl, rose erect upon his hind legs, and stood facing his pursuer in an attitude of defiance. As the horseman drew near, however, he ap- peared to become cowed, and once more turning tail, 9* 202 BRUIN. shambled off through the bushes. This time he only ran a few lengths : for the shouts of the hunter provoking him to a fresh fit of fury, caused him to halt again, and raise himself erect as before. This was just the opportunity of which the hunter was in expectation ; and before the bear could lower himself on nil-fours to charge forward upon the horse, the long rope went spinning through the air, and its noose was seen settling over the shoulders of the bear. The huge quadruped, puzzled by this mode of attack, en- deavored to seize hold of the rope ; but so thin was the raw-hide thong, that he could not clutch it with his great unwieldy paws ; and by his efforts he only drew the noose tighter around his neck. Meanwhile, the hunter, on projecting the lazo, had wheeled, with the quickness of thought ; and, driving hia sharp spurs into the ribs of his horse, caused the latter to gallop in the opposite direction. One might have sup- posed that he had taken fright at the bear, and was en- deavoring to get out of the way. Not so. His object was very different. The lazo still formed a link of con- nection between the hunter and his game. One end of it was fast to a staple firmly embedded in the wood of the saddle-tree, while the other, as we have seen, was noosed around the bear. A the horse stretched off, the rope was seen to tighten .. .m a sudden jerk ; and Bruin waa not only floored from his erect attitude, but plucked clear off his feet, and laid sprawling along the earth. In that position he was not permitted to remain . for the horse continuing his gallop, he was dragged along the ground at the end of the lazo bis huge body now bounding THE TAGUA-TREE. 203 several feet from the earth, and now breaking through the bushes with a crackling, crashing noise, such as he had himself never made in his most impetuous charges. In tlu's way went horse and bear for half a mile over the plain ; the spectators following after to witness the ending of the affair. About that there was nothing par. ticular : for when the tigrero at length halted, and the party got up to the ground, they saw only an immobile mass of shaggy hair so coated with dust as to resemble a heap of earth. It was the bear without a particle of breath in his body ; but, lest he might recover it again, the tigrero leaped from his horse, stepped up to the pros- trate bear, and buried his machete between the ribs of the unconscious animal. That, he said, was the way they captured bears in his part of the country. They did not employ the same plan with the jaguars : because these animals, crouching, as they do, offered no opportunity for casting the noose over them ; and, besides, the jaguars haunt only among thick woods, where the lazo could not be used to ad- vantage. Of course, the skin of this particular bear was not suitable for the purpose for which one was required; and the tigrero kept it for his own profit But that did not signify : another bear was soon discovered among the tagua-trees ; and this being despatched by a shot from the rifle of Alexis, supplemented, perhaps, by a bullet from the fusil of the ex-guardsman, supplied them with a skin according to contract ; and so far as the urnu frugilegus was concerned, their t^ar-hunting hi that neighborhood was at an end. To find his cousin with 204 BRUllf. the " goggle eyes," they would have to journey onward and upward ; and adopting for their motto the spirit-stir- ring symbol, " Excelsior ! " they proceeded to climb the stupendous Cordilleras of the Andes. In one of the higher valleys, known among Peruvians as the " Sierra," they obtained a specimen of the " Hu- cumari." They chanced upon this creature while he was engaged in plundering a field of Indian corn quite close to a " tambo," or traveller's shed, where they had put up for the night It was very early in the morning when the corn-stealer was discovered ; but being caught in the act, and his whole attention taken up with the Bweet milky ears of maize, his " spectacled " eyes did not avail him. Our hunters, approaching with due caution, were able to get so near, that the first shot tumbled him over among the stalks. Having secured his skin, they mounted their mules, and by the great Cordillera road proceeded onward to the ancient capital of northern Peru. KOBTHWABD ! 205 CHAPTER XXXVII. NORTHWAKD! AFTEK resting some days in the old capital of Quito, our travellers proceeded to the small port of Barbacoas, on the west coast of Equador ; and thence took passage for Panama. Crossing the famous Isthmus to Porto Bello, they shipped again for New Orleans, on the Mississippi. Of course, their next aim was to procure the North American bears including the Polar, which is equally an inhabitant of northern Asia, but which, by the con- ditions of their route, would be more conveniently reached on the continent of North America. Alexis knew that the black bear (ursus americanus) might be met with anywhere on that continent from the shores of Hudson's Bay to the Isthmus of Panama, and from the seaboard of the Atlantic to the coast of the Pacific Ocean. No other has so wide a range as this species with the exception, perhaps, of the brown bear of Eu- rope which, as we have said, is also an Asiatic animal. Throughout the whole extent of country above defined, the black bear may be encountered, not specially confin- ing himself to mountain-ranges. True, in the more set- tled districts he has bjen driven to these as affording him a refuge from the hunter; but in his normal condition tC 6 BKUIM. he is by no means a mountain-dwelling animal. On the contrary, he affects equally the low-wooded bottoms of ra- vines, and is as much at home hi a climate of tropical oi sub-tropical character, as in the cold forests of the Canadas* Mr. Spencer Baird the naturalist intrusted by the American Government to describe the fauna of then* territory, and furnished for his text with one of the most splendid collections ever made in speaking of the genus ursus, makes the following remarks : " The species of bears are not numerous, nor are they to be found - except in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. North America possesses more species than any other part of the world, having at least four, and perhaps five." "With the exception of the very idle assertion that "the species of bears are not numerous," every idea put forth in the above categorical declaration is the very reverse of what is true. . Is the polar bear found only in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere ? Is the v.rsus arctos of Europe confined to these limits? Are the bears of South America ? the sloth-bear of India and Ceylon ? the bruang of Borneo ? and his near congener, the bruang of Java and Sumatra? Why, these last are actually dwellers among palm-trees as the cocoa- planters know to their cost ! Even Mr. Baird's own American black bear is not so " temperate " in his hab- its ; but loves the half-tropical climate of Florida and Texas quite as much as the cold declivities of the Alleghanies. And how does North America possess more specie! NORTHWARD ! 207 than any other part of the world? Even admitting the doubtful fifth, on the continent of Asia, there are six species at the very least ; and, if we are allowed to include the Oriental islands, we make eight Asiatic. There are three species in the Himalaya mountains alone unquestionably distinct, dwelling in separate zones of altitude, but with the territory of all three visi- ble at a single coup d'ceil. Mr. Baird is a naturalist of great ce.ebrity in Amer- ica. He is a secretary of the Smithsonian Institution: he should make better use of the books which its fine library can afford him. The United States Government is extremely unfor- tunate in the selection of its scientific employes more especially in the departments of natural history. Per- haps the most liberal appropriation ever made for eth- nological purposes that for collecting a complete ac- count of the Nortibt American Indians has been spent without purpose, the "job " having fallen into the hands of a " placeman," or " old hunker," as the Americans term it a man neither learned nor intellectual. With the exception of the statistics furnished by Indian agents, the voluminous work of Schoolcraft is absolutely worth- less ; and students of ethnology cannot contemplate sucb a misappropriation without feelings of regret. Fortunately, the American aboriginal had already found a true portrayer and historian. Private enter- prise, as is not unfrequently the case, has outstripped Government patronage in the performance of its task. In the unpretending volumes of George Catlin we find the most complete ethnological monograph ever givf n to 208 BRUIN. the world; but just for that reason, Catlin, not School* craft, should have been chosen for the "job." Knowing the range of the black bear to be thus grandly extended, our young hunters had a choice of places in which to look for one ; but, as there is no place where these animals are more common than in Louisiana itself, they concluded that they could not do better than there choose their hunting-ground. In the great forests, which still cover a large portion of Louis- iana, and especially upon the banks of the sluggish bayous, where the marshy soil and the huge cypress- trees, festooned with Spanish moss, bid defiance to all attempts at cultivation, the black bear still roams at wilL There he is found in sufficient numbers to insure the procuring of a specimen without much difficulty. The hunters of these parts have various modes of capturing him. The log-trap is a common plan ; but the planters enjoy the sport of running him down with dogs ; or rather should it be termed running him up ; since the chase usually ends by Bruin taking to a tree and thus unconsciously putting himself within reach of the unerring rifle. It was by this means that our young hunters deter- mined to try their luck ; and they had no difficulty in procuring the necessary adjuncts to insure success. The great Czar, powerful everywhere, was not without his agent at New Orleans. Prom him a letter of introduc- tion was obtained to a planter living on one of the inte- rior bayous ; and our heroes, having repaired thither, were at once set in train for the sport the planter placing himself, his house, his hounds, and his horses at their disposal. THE NOBTHEBN FORESTS. 209 CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE NORTHERN FORESTS. ON their arrival, the hospitable planter sent to hii neighbors, and arranged a grand hunt, to come off at an early day, specified in the invitation. Each was to bring with him such hounds as he was possessed of and in this way a large pack might be got together, so that a wide extent of forest could be driven. Among the planters of the Southern States this is a very common practice : only a few of them keeping what might be called a regular kennel of hounds, but many of them having five or six couples. In a neighborhood favorable to the chase, by uniting a number of these little bands together, a pack may be got up large enough fo* any purpose. The usual game hunted in the Southern States is the American fallow-deer (cervus virginianus), which is still found in considerable plenty hi the more solitary tracts of forest all over the United States. It is the only species of deer indigenous to Louisiana: since the noble stag or " elk," as he is erroneously called (cervus canadensis), does not range so far to the south. On the Pacific coast this animal is found in much lower latitudes than on that of the Atlantic. V 210 BRUIN. Besides the fallow-deer, the fox gives sport to the Louisiana hunter. This is the gray fox (yulpet virgini- anus). The bay lynx also or wild-cat, as it is called (lynx rufus) and now and then, but more rarely, the cougar (felis concolor), give the hounds a run before taking to the tree. Raccoons, opossums, and skunks are common enough in the forests of Louisiana ; but these are regarded as " vermin," and are not permitted to lead the dogs astray. With regard to the other animals mentioned, they all rank as noble game especially the cougar, called " panther " by the backwoodsman and the pack may follow whichever is first " scared up." The grand game, however, is the bear ; and the capture of Bruin is not a feat of every-day occurrence. To find his haunts it is necessary to make an excursion into the more unfrequented and inaccessible soh'tudes of the forest in places often many miles from a settlement. Not unfrequently, however, the old gentleman wanders abroad from his unknown retreat, and seeks the planta- tions where in the night-time he skulks round the edges of the fields, and commits serious depredations on the young maize plants, or the succulent stalks of the sugar-cane, of which he is immoderately fond. Like his brown congener of Europe he has a sweet tooth, and is greatly given to honey. To get at it he climbs the bee- irees, and robs the hive of its stores. In all these re- spects he is like the brown bear ; but otherwise he differs greatly from the latter species, so much indeed, that it ia matter of surprise how any naturalist should have been led to regard them as the same. THE NORTHERN FORESTS. 211 Wot onlj in color, but in shape and other respects, are they totally unlike. While the fur of the brown bear is tossed and tufty having that appearance usually termed shaggy that of the American black bear is of uniform length, and all lying, or rather standing, in one direction, presenting a smooth surface corresponding to the contour of his body. In this respect he is far more akin to the bears of the Asiatic islands, than to the ursus arctos. In shape, too, he differs essentially from the latter. His body is more slender, his muzzle longer and sharper, and his profile is a curve with its convexity up- ward. This last characteristic, which is constant, pro- claims him indubitably a distinct species from the brown bear of Europe ; and he is altogether a smaller and more mild-tempered animal. As the grand " chasse " had been arranged to come off on the third day after their arrival, our young hunt- ers determined to employ the interval in ranging the neighboring woods ; not with any expectation of finding a bear as their host did not believe there was any so near but rather for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the character of the North American sylva. That of South America, Alexis had carefully observed and studied in their long journey across that continent. He had noted the grand tropical trees the palms and pothos plants the mimosas and mmacete the mag- nificent forms of the lombax and bertkoUetia the curi- ous cecropi as and fig-trees the gfant cedrelas and the gum-yielding siphonias. On the Andes he had observed the agaves, the cycads, and cactaceae all strange to the eye of a Russian. He was now desirous of making 212 BRUIN. himself familiar with the forests of North America which, though of a sub-tropical character ha Louisiana, contained forms altogether different from these of the Amazonian regions. Here he would meet with the famed magnolia, and its relative the tulip-tree ; the ca- talpa and flowering cornel, the giant cypress and syca- more, the evergreen oak, the water-loving tupelo, and the curious fan-like palmetto. Of these, and many other beautiful trees belonging to the North American sylva, Alexis had read in fact, knew them botanically ; but he wished to cultivate a still pleasanter acquaintance with them, by visiting them hi their own native home. For this purpose he and Ivan set out alone, with only a negro for then* guide ; the planter being engaged, visit- ing his different friends, and warning them for the grand hunt Pouchskin remained behind. He had been left at the house to do some necessary repairs to the travelling traps both of himself and his young masters, which, after their long South American expedition, needed looking to. At this work had Pouchskin been left, surrounded by a circle of grinning darkies, in whose company the old grenadier would find material to interest and amuse him. It was only for a stroll that our young hunters had sallied forth, and without any design of entering upon the chase ; but they had become so accustomed to carry- ing their guns everywhere, that these were taken along with them. Some curious bird or quadruped might be started vhose fur or feathers they might fancy to make an examination of. For that reason, both shorU- derod their suns. THE LONE LAGOON. 213 CHAPTER XXXIX. THE LONE LAGOON. THE? were soon beyond the bounds of the plantation, and walking under the dark majestic woods the dar- key guiding them on their way. They had heard of a curious lake or lagoon, that lay about a mile from the plantation. There they would be likely to witness a spectacle characteristic of the swamps of Louisiana ; and thither they directed their steps. Sure enough, on arriving at the borders of the lagoon, n singular scene was presented to their eyes. The whole surface of the lake appeared alive with various forms of birds and reptiles. Hundreds of alligators were seen, lying like dead trees upon the water, their corrugated backs appearing above the surface. Most of them, how- ever, were in motion, swimming to and fro, or darting rapidly from point to point, as if hi pursuit of prey. Now and then their huge tails could be seen curling high up In air, and then striking down upon the water, causing a concussion that echoed far through the forest At in- tervals a shining object, flung upward by their tails, could be seen for a moment in the air, amidst the show- ery spray that was raised along with it. It was easy to iee that the glittering forms thus projected were fishes, 214 BRUIN. and that it was the pursuit of these that was causing the commotion among the huge reptiles. Aquatic birds, of a great number of kinds, were equally busy in the pur- suit of the fish. Huge pelicans stood up to their tibia hi the water now and then immersing their long man* dibles, and tossing their finny victims high into the air. Cranes and herons too were there among others th* tall Louisiana crane conspicuous among the smallei species snow-white egrets, the wood ibis, and other* of white and roseate hue the snake-darter, with long, pointed beak and crouching serpent-like neck the qua- bird, of lugubrious note and melancholy aspect and. fairest of all, the scarlet flamingo. Other birds besides those of aquatic habits took part in the odd spectacle. Hovering in the air were black vultures the carrion-crow and the turkey-buzzard and upon the tops of tall dead trees could be seen the king of the feathered multitude, the great white-headed eagle. His congener, the ospray, soared craftily above at intervals swooping down, and striking his talons into the fish which the alligators had tossed into the air thus robbing the reptiles of their prey, to be robbed in turn by his watchful cousin-german upon the tree. The spectacle was far from being a silent one: on the contrary, the confused chorus of sounds was deafen- ing to the ears of the spectators. The hoarse bellowing of the alligators the concussions made by their great tails striking the water the croaking of the pelicans, and the clattering of their huge mandibles the doleful screaming of the herons, cranes, and qua-birds the shrieks of the ospray and the shrill maniac laughter THE LONE LAGOON. 213 of the white-headed eagle, piercing through all other tounds formed a medley of voices as unearthly as in- harmonious. A shot from the gun of Ivan, that brought down a splendid specimen of the white-headed eagle together with the appearance of the hunters by the edge of the water put a sudden termination to this grand drama of the wilderness. The birds flew up into the air, and went soaring off in different directions over the tops of the tall trees ; while the huge reptiles, that had been taught by the alligator-hunters to fear the presence of nan, desisted for a while from their predatory prey, and retreated to the reeds upon the opposite shore. The spectacle was one well worthy of being seen, and one that cannot be witnessed every day even in the swamps of Louisiana. Its occurrence at that time was accounted for by the drying up of the lake, which left the fish at the mercy of their numerous enemies. Having taken up the eagle which Ivan had shot, the young hunters continued their excursion along the edge of the lagoon. They had not gone far when they came upon a batik of mud, that had formerly been covered with water. So recently had the water dried from it, that, in spite of the hot sun shining down upon it, the mud was still soft. They had not gone many steps further, when they per- ceived upon its surface, what at first they supposed to be the tracks of a man. On getting a h'ttle closer, however, they doubted this ; and, now recollecting the resemblance which they had noticed in the snows of Lapland be- tween the footsteps of a human being and those of a beai 216 BRUIN. it occurred to them that these might also be bear- tracks though they knew that the tracks of the Amer- ican bear would be slightly different from those of his European cousin. To satisfy themselves, they hastened forward to ex- amine the tracks ; but their negro guide had anticipated them, and now called out, with the whites of his eyes considerably enlarged, " Golly, young mass'rs ! dat be de tracks ob um ba ! " " A bear ! " " Ya, ya, mass'rs ! a big ba dis child know um track see'd um many de time de ole coon he be arter de fish too all ob dem adoin' a bit ob fishin' dis mornin' yaw, yaw, yaw ! " And the darkey laughed at what he appeared to con- sider an excellent joke. On closely scrutinizing the tracks, Alexis and Ivan saw that they were in reality the tracks of a bear though much smaller than those they had followed hi Lapland. They were quite fresh in fact, so recently did they appear to have been made, that both at the same time, and by an involuntary impulse, raised their eyes from the ground and glanced around them ; as if they expected to see the bear himself. No such animal was in sight, however. It was quite probable he had been on the ground, at their first coming up to the lake ; but the report of Ivan's gun had alarmed him, and he had made off into the woods. This was quite probable. " What a pity," reflected Ivan, " that I did n't leave the sagle alone I We might have got a sight of Master THE LONE LAGOON. 217 Brum, and given him the shot instead. And now," added he, " what 's vO be done ? There 's no snow, therefore we can't track the brute. The mud-bank ends here> and he 's gone off it, the way he came. Of course he would n't be out yonder among those logs. He would n't have taken shelter there, would he ? " As Ivan spoke, he pointed to a little peninsula that jutted out into the lake, some twenty or thirty yards beyond the spot where they were standing. It was joined to the mainland by a narrow neck or isthmus of mud ; but at the end towards the water there was a space of several yards covered with dead trees that had been floated thither in the floods* and now lay high and dry, piled irregularly upon one another. Alexis looked in the direction of this pile as Ivan pointed it out. " I 'm not so sure of that," he answered, after scruti- nizing the logs. " It 's a likely enough place for an animal to lurk. He might be there." " Let us go and see, then ! " said Ivan, "If he 's there he can't escape us, without our having a shot at him; and you say that these American bears are much easier killed than ours. The South Americans were so, certainly. I hope their northern brothers may die as easy." "Not all," rejoined Alexis. "We may expect some tough struggles when we come to the great grisly, and to him of the polar regions ; but the bkck bears are, as you conjecture, not so difficult to deal with. If wound- ed, however, they will show fight ; and though their teeth and claws are less dangerous than the others, they can 10 218 give a man a most uncomfortable hug, I have !aeard But let us go, as you say. If not yonder, he must have taken to the woods. In that case there is no way of following him up, except by dogs ; and for these we must go back to the house." As they continued talking, they advanced towards the narrow isthmus that connected the little peninsula with the mainland. " What a pity," remarked Ivan, " that that great log is there ! But for it we might have seen his track in the mud crossing over." Ivan referred to a prostrate trunk that traversed the isthmus longitudinally extending from the mainland to the higher ground of the peninsula, to which it formed a kind of bridge or causeway. Certainly, had it not been there, either the bear's tracks would have been seen in the mud or not; and if not, then no bear could have passed over to the peninsula, and their exploration would have been unnecessary. But, although they saw no tracks, they had started to examine the wood-pile ; and they continued on, climbing up to the log, and walking along its top. All at once, Alexis was seen to pause and bend his body forward and downward. " What is it ? " inquired Ivan, who was behind, on seeing his brother hi the bent attitude, as if he looked at something on the log. " The bear's tracks ! " answered Alexis, hi a low but earnest tone. Ha! you think so? Where?" Alexis pointed to the dead-wood under his ey