That Afternoon The Indian Chief, Who, Though An Old Man, Had Shown
Wonderful Fortitude And Endurance, And Still Led The Way, Shouted:
"Eyoape!
Eyoape!" (Come!
Come!) We were near the lake. With new-
born strength I left all and ran, broke through the brushwood of the
shore, jumped into the lake, and found - nothing but hard earth! The
lake was dried up! I dug my heel into the ground to see if below the
surface there might be soft mud, but failing to find even that, I
dropped over with the world dancing in distorted visions before my
eyes. More I cannot relate.
How long I lay there I never knew. The Indian, I learned later,
exploring a deep gully at the other side, found a putrid pool of
slime, full of poisonous frogs and alive with insects. Some of this
liquid he brought to me in his hands, and, after putting it in my
mouth, had the satisfaction of seeing me revive. I dimly remember
that my next act was to crawl towards the water-hole he guided me to.
In this I lay and drank. I suppose it soaked into my system as rain
in the earth after a drought. That stagnant pool was our salvation.
The horses were brought up, and we drank, and drank again. Not until
our thirst was slaked did we fully realize how the water stank! When
the men were sufficiently refreshed they returned for the abandoned
horses, which were found still alive. Had they scented water
somewhere and drank? At the foot of the mountains, on the other side,
we later discovered much better water, and there we camped, our
horses revelling in the abundant pasturage.
After this rest we continued our journey, and next day came to the
edge of a virgin forest. Through that, the chief said, we must cut
our way, for the royal tribe never came out, and were never visited.
Close to the edge of the forest was a deep precipice, at the bottom
of which we could discern a silvery streak of clear water. From there
we must procure the precious fluid for ourselves and horses. Taking
our kettle and horns, we sought the best point to descend, and after
considerable difficulty, clinging to the branches of the overhanging
trees and the dense undergrowth, we reached the bottom. After slaking
our thirst we ascended with filled horns and kettle to water the
horses. As may be supposed, this was a tedious task, and the descent
had to be made many times before the horses were satisfied. My hat
served for watering pail.
Next morning the same process was repeated, and then the men, each
with long machetes I had provided, set to work to cut a path
through the forest, and Old Stabbed Arm went off in search of game.
After a two hours' hunt, a fat ostrich fell before his rifle, and he
returned to camp. We still had a little chipa, which had by this time
become as hard as stone, but which I jealously guarded to use only in
case of the greatest emergency. At times we had been very hungry, but
my order was that it should not be touched.
Only the reader who has seen the virgin forest, with its interlacing
lianas, thick as a man's leg - the thorns six inches long and sharp
as needles - can form an idea of the task before us. As we penetrated
farther and farther in the selva, the darkness became deeper and
deeper. Giant trees reared their heads one hundred and fifty feet
into the heavens, and beautiful palms, with slender trunks and
delicate, feathery leaves, waved over us. The medicinal plants were
represented by sarsaparilla and many others equally valuable. There
was the cocoa palm, the date palm, and the cabbage palm, the latter
of which furnished us good food, while the wine tree afforded an
excellent and cooling drink. In parts all was covered with beautiful
pendant air-flowers, gorgeous with all the colors of the rainbow.
Monkeys chattered and parrots screamed, but otherwise there was a
sombre stillness. The exhalations from the depth of rotting leaves
and the decaying fallen wood rendered the steamy atmosphere most
poisonous. Truly, the flora was magnificent, and the fauna,
represented by the spotted jaguar, whose roar at times broke the
awful quiet of the night, was equally grand.
As the chief, ignorant of hours and miles, could not tell me the
extent of the forest, I determined to let him and Timoteo make their
way through as best they could, crawling through the branches, to the
Sun-Worshippers, and secure their help in cutting a way for the
horses. After dividing the food I had, we separated. Timoteo and the
Indian crept into the forest and were soon lost sight of, while Old
Stabbed Arm and I, with the horses, retraced our steps, and reached
the open land again. After an earnest conversation my companion
shouldered his rifle and went off to hunt, and I was left with only
the companionship of the grazing horses. I remained behind to water
the animals, and protect our goods from any prowling savage who might
chance to be in the neighborhood. My saddle-bed was spread under a
large burning bush, or incense tree, and my self-imposed duty was
to keep a fire burning in the open, that its smoke might be seen by
day and its light by night.
Going exploring a little, I discovered a much better descent down the
precipice, and water was more easily brought up. Indeed, I decided
that, if a certain deep chasm were bridged over, it might be possible
to get the horses themselves to descend by a winding way. With this
object in view I felled saplings near the place, and in a few hours
constructed a rough bridge, strong enough to bear a horse's weight.
Whether the animals could smell the water flowing at the bottom, or
were more agile than I had thought, I cannot tell, but they descended
the almost perpendicular path most wonderfully, and soon were taking
draughts of the precious liquid with great gusto.
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