CHAPTER XLVII

Ostriches Again—A Hunt and a Capture—Acquisition of Treasure—Euphorbia—Vanilla

At the break of day I was up, and awoke my sons; our labours were almost done—our bears’ meat was smoked, our fat all run out into bamboo vessels; and the rainy season, which was rapidly approaching, warned us to return to our home in the grotto. Nevertheless, I wished to make another excursion into the desert, to see whether a second visit to the nest of ostrich eggs would not succeed better than the first, and I likewise wanted to gather some of the gum of the euphorbia.

As we wished to accomplish this excursion as rapidly as possible, it was resolved to go on horseback. We took with us Turk and Billy, and set off, following the direction of the Green Valley, tracing over again all the places rendered illustrious by some remembrance of our last excursion—the spot where we had encountered the bears, the turtle-marsh, and, at last, the rock from which Fritz discovered the ostriches. To this rock we gave the name of “Arab’s Tower,” in allusion to the mistake he had made in thinking the ostriches to be Arabs of the desert.

Jack and Francis galloped off at full speed, and, as the plain was so level that they could not escape from my eye, I let them go on. I retained Fritz by my side to aid me in gathering the euphorbia which had congealed in the sun. I had provided myself with a vessel to put it in, and I soon filled it with the little drops of hardened gum.

This gum is one of the most violent and subtle poisons, and my son asked me why I took so much pains to collect it.

“I intend to use it,” said I, “to destroy the monkeys—a cruel means, I will allow, but necessity drives us to adopt it. We can also employ the euphorbia in preparing the skins of birds and other animals; it will preserve them from corruption, and keep out all insects. To whatever use, however, we may apply it, the greatest precaution must be observed, as it is capable of producing the most dreadful results.”

During our work, the two cavaliers had almost disappeared in the savanna, and it was with great difficulty that our eyes could follow them, surrounded as they were by a cloud of dust. They had passed far beyond the ostrich nest, to which we directed our course, wishing to see whether the eggs had been abandoned or not.

We had scarcely come in sight of the nest when we saw four noble ostriches rise from the sand and advance toward us. Fritz’s first care was to prepare his eagle for the conflict; and, to prevent it from renewing the former scene of carnage, he fastened its beak so strongly that it was almost harmless. Our dogs were also muzzled, and we stood still, in order that we might not frighten the birds. On they came, with half-extended wings, gliding over the ground with inconceivable rapidity. They seemed to think us inanimate objects, for they came on directly for us until they had arrived within pistol-shot; they were three females and a male—the last a little in advance, with his beautiful tail-feathers floating behind him. The moment of attack was come; I seized my string with balls, and, calling up all my sleight-of-hand, I launched it against the male ostrich. Unfortunately, however, instead of catching him around the legs, as I intended, the balls of my string took a turn round his body, and I only fastened his wings to his sides. It diminished his speed somewhat, but the victory was not complete; and the frightened bird turned round, and, using his long legs, endeavoured to escape: away we dashed after him, I on the onagra, and Fritz on the colt. But we were nearly exhausted, when, happily, Jack and Francis rode up, and cut off his further retreat. Fritz then unhooded his eagle, and, pointing out the ostrich to him, he immediately pounced upon his prey; and now commenced an arduous chase. Jack and Francis on one side, and Fritz and I on the other, tormented him, and harassed him without ceasing; but the most useful combatant was the eagle. The presence of this new enemy troubled the ostrich greatly; he felt him on his head, and heard the flapping of his wings, while, on the other hand, the eagle, furious at finding his beak strongly fastened by a ligature of cotton, was so violent that, by a vigorous stroke of his wings, the ostrich fairly tottered. Jack then threw his string and balls so skilfully that the noble bird bit the sand of the desert. A cry of joy burst from the huntsmen, the eagle was recalled and hoodwinked, and we hastened to our prize in order to prevent his breaking the bonds that confined him; for he was so very violent, and struggled so vigorously, that I hardly dared to approach him. I imagined that by depriving him of light I might reduce his fury, and I threw my hunting-sack, my vest and handkerchief, over his head. I had discovered the secret: no sooner were his eyes covered than he became as quiet as a lamb. I approached, passed a large band of seadog-skin around his body, two other bands were attached as reins to each side, and his legs were fastened with strong cords, long enough to allow him to walk, but which confined him sufficiently to prevent his escape.

I then attached our two coursers before and behind the ostrich with strong cords; and when all was ready, my two cavaliers jumped into their saddles, and I pulled the covering from the head of the ostrich.

The bird remained some time immovable, as if astonished at the return of light. It soon made a start; but the ropes pulled it roughly back, and it fell down on its knees; again it made the attempt, and again it was foiled. It tried to fly, but its wings were tightly fastened by the band I had passed around them: its legs were also restrained: it threw itself from side to side with the utmost violence, but the patient buffaloes did not pay the least attention to the pulling and hauling. At last the bird appeared convinced of the inutility of its efforts, and, submitting to its two companions, set off with them at full gallop. They dashed gallantly on for half an hour, until the buffalo and the bull, less accustomed to the sands of the savanna than the ostrich, forced it to abate its rapid pace, and adopt a slower system of movement.

While the two young cavaliers were thus occupied, Fritz and I set out in search of the ostrich nest. The cross of willows which we had planted in the ground near it, at our last visit, still remained, and, as we approached, a female bird rose up off the nest and fled rapidly away into the desert. Her presence appeared to us a good augury, as it assured us that the eggs still retained the principle of life. I had taken care to bring with me a sack and a quantity of cotton. I now took out six of the eggs, and, enveloping them as carefully as possible in the cotton, placed them in the sack, leaving the others in the nest, in hopes the mother would not discover the theft.

We traversed the Green Valley without perceiving anything uncommon, and soon arrived at the tent, where Ernest and his mother received us with an astonishment they could not find words to express.

I fastened the ostrich securely between two trees, and the rest of the day was devoted to preparations for our departure on the morrow. We had a number of new riches to collect, and I wished to leave nothing behind us.

The next day we set off early. The ostrich took his place between the bull and the buffalo, as before; he was, at first, inclined to be refractory, and threw himself from right to left, but all in vain: his two conductors were like immovable masses, against which all resistance was unavailing.

Fritz mounted the young colt Rapid, and I the onagra, while Ernest directed the car, in the middle of which my wife sat in all her majesty, among the provisions. Our march was slow, but it was very picturesque, as may be imagined.

We halted at the entrance of the defile where my sons had suspended the cord with the feathers attached, to keep back the antelopes and gazelles. In the place of the cord, we erected a solid palisade of bamboo, high enough to keep out all animals that do not climb. We planted a row of thorn bushes on each side, and sprinkled a layer of sand all around, so that we could discover what sort of animals might frequent it. During the construction of this fence we made a new discovery; it was that of the Vanilla bean, which I recognized by its brown pods and balsamic odour.

Our labours at the defile detained us a long time, and it was night when we arrived at the cabin of the Hermitage. We found our smoking-hut the same as before, and our provision of peccary untouched. We lighted a fire, and, after a frugal repast, extended ourselves on our sacks of cotton, and courted balmy sleep.

The next day, we discovered a new treasure: our henhouse had received an addition of twenty young chicks—the product of the eggs Jack had brought home in his hat. My wife was enchanted at this discovery, and caught several pairs to take home with her.

We were so anxious to return to our dear Felsenheim, and to resume all our comforts and luxuries, that we resolved not to stop again until we arrived there. It was long after noon when our weary journey was finished. We were worn out with fatigue; the sun’s rays had been pouring down on our heads all day, and our strength was so exhausted we could scarcely give our animals their evening food.