The Desert Home Part 23

It had not the shape of any animal we had ever seen: and yet we could see legs and tails, and ears and eyes, and heads--heads, indeed!--there seemed to be a head sticking out of every part of its body, for we counted half a score of them as it moved along. It moved very slowly, and when nearly opposite to us it stopped, so that we had a good view of it. All at once the numerous heads seemed to separate from the main body, becoming little bodies of themselves with long tails upon them, and looking just like a squad of white rats! The large body to which they had all been attached we now saw was an old female opossum, and evidently the mother of the whole troop. She was about the size of a cat, and covered with woolly hair of a light grey colour. She had a snout somewhat resembling that of a pig, though much sharper at the point, and with whiskers like a cat. Her ears were short and standing-- her mouth very wide, and, as we could see, full of sharp teeth. The legs were short and stout, and the feet with their keen claws seemed to spread out upon the ground more like hands than feet. The tail was very peculiar; it was nearly as long as the body, tapering like that of a rat, and quite naked. But the greatest curiosity in the structure of this creature was a pouch like opening which appeared under her belly, and which showed that she belonged to the family of the _marsupialia_, or pouched animals. This, of course, we had known before. The little ''possums' were exact pictures of their mother--all having the same sharp snouts and long naked tails. We counted no less than thirteen of them, playing and tumbling about among the leaves.

"As soon as the old one had shaken them all off, she stepped more nimbly over the ground--going backwards and forwards, and looking up into one of the pawpaws that grew above the spot where she had halted. In this tree the orioles were now fluttering about, chirruping wildly, and at intervals making a dash downward, until their wings almost swept the nose of the opossum. The latter, however, appeared to take all this very coolly; and evidently did not care for the imbecile efforts of the birds to frighten her off, but continued her survey without paying any attention to their manoeuvres. On looking upward, we discovered the object of her search--the nest of the orioles--which was hanging like a large purse, or rather like a distended stocking, from the topmost twigs of the tree.

"After a few moments the old 'possum seemed to have made up her mind; and, approaching the spot where the young ones were scrambling about, she uttered a short sharp note that brought them all around her.

Several of them ran into the pouch which she had caused to open for them. Two of them took a turn of their little tails around the root of hers, and climbed up on her rump, almost burying themselves in the long wool; while two or three others fastened themselves about her neck and shoulders. It was a most singular sight to see the little creatures holding on with 'tails, teeth, and toe-nails,' while some peeped comically out of the great breast-pocket.

"We thought she was going to move away with her cargo; but, to our astonishment, she walked up to the pawpaw, and commenced climbing it.

When she had reached the lowermost branch--which grew nearly horizontal--she halted; then, taking the young ones, one by one, in her mouth, she caused each of them to make a turn or two of its tail around the branch, and hang head downwards. Five or six of the 'kittens' were still upon the ground. For these she returned, and taking them up as before, again climbed the tree. She disposed of the second load, precisely as she had done the others--until the thirteen little 'possums hung head downwards along the branch, like a string of candles!

"It was such a comical sight to see these monkey-looking little creatures dangling by their tails, that my companion and I could not restrain our laughter as we gazed upon it. We took care, however, not to laugh aloud--as we were anxious to observe the further movements of the old 'possum, and we knew that if she should hear us it would spoil the sport at once.

"As soon as she saw the young ones all fairly suspended, she left them, and commenced climbing higher up the tree. We noticed that she caught the branches in her claws, exactly as a human being would have done with his hands, hoisting herself from limb to limb. At length she reached that branch upon which hung the nest, far out at its top. For a moment she stopped and surveyed it. She was evidently in doubt whether it would carry her weight without breaking, and so were we. Should it break, she would have a smart fall to the ground--for the tree was one of the highest, for a pawpaw, we had ever seen; and there were no other branches below to which she could clutch in case of falling.

"The nest, however, full of eggs no doubt, tempted her on; and, after a moment's pause, she started along the branch. When about half-way up it--holding on both with tail and feet--the slender sapling began to creak and bend, and show symptoms of breaking. This, with the screaming of the birds--that now flapped against her very nose--seemed all at once to cow her; and she crept down again, going backwards along the limb.

On reaching the fork, she paused, and looked about with an air that showed she was both vexed and puzzled. All at once her eyes rested upon the branch of an oak-tree, that stretched out over the pawpaw, and directly above the orioles' nest. She looked at this for a moment--as if calculating its height from the nest; then seeming to make up her mind, she ran nimbly down the pawpaw, over the ground that intervened, and up the trunk of the oak. We lost sight of her for an instant among the thick leaves; but the next we saw her crawling out upon the branch that overhung the pawpaw.

"When she had reached a point directly above the nest, she flung herself fearlessly from the branch, and hung to her whole length--suspended by the tail. In this position she oscillated back and forward, with gaping mouth and outstretched claws, endeavouring to seize hold of the nest; but, with all her efforts, and no doubt to her great mortification, she was unable to reach it. She hung for several minutes, clutching, now at the nest, now at the leaves of the pawpaw, and evidently tantalised by the thought of the delicious eggs so near her very nose. We could see that she had lowered herself to the last link of her tail--until only a single turn of it sustained her upon the limb--and we expected every moment to see her fall to the ground. Her stretching was all to no purpose, however; and at length, uttering a bitter snarl, she swung herself back to the limb, and came running down from the oak.

"She seemed to have given up her purpose in a sort of angry despair; for climbing up the pawpaw, she hurried her young from the branch, pitching them somewhat rudely to the ground. In a short while she had gathered them all upon her back and into her pouch; and commenced retreating from the spot--while the orioles changed their terrified screaming into chirrups of victory.

"Frank and I now deemed it proper to interfere, and cut off the retreat of the 'old 'possum;' so, dropping from our perch, we soon overtook and captured the whole family. The old one, on first seeing us approach, rolled herself into a round clump--so that neither her head nor legs could be seen--and in this att.i.tude feigned to be quite dead. Several of the youngsters, who were _outside_, immediately detached themselves, and imitated the example of their mother--so that the family now presented the appearance of a large ball of whitish wool, with several smaller 'clews' lying around it!

"On finding, however, that we were not to be cheated, and being p.r.i.c.ked gently with the point of an arrow, the old one unwound herself; and, opening her long jaws, snapped and bit on every side of her, uttering all the while a sharp noise, like the snarling of a poodle.

"Her snarling did not avail her, for in a few minutes we had muzzled her securely, and made her fast to one of the saplings--intending to take the whole family with us when we returned to the house."

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE.

THE MOCCASON SNAKE AND THE ORIOLES.

"We now climbed back into the live-oak, and recommenced flinging down our moss. We were chatting gaily about the curious scene we had just witnessed. Frank was remarking how lucky he had been in thus finding the nest of the orioles--as he wanted young birds of that species, and he could return for them whenever they were hatched. All of a sudden, these birds--that since the defeat of the 'possum had remained perfectly quiet--again commenced screaming and chattering as before.

"'Another 'possum!' said Frank; 'maybe it's the old father coming to look after his family.'

"We both stopped, and looked down. We soon discovered what was causing this new commotion. Slowly gliding over the gra.s.s, and glittering as it went, was a long monster-looking object. It was a huge serpent--a snake of the most venomous kind--the dreaded 'moccason.' It was one of the largest of its species; and its great flat head, protruding sockets, and sparkling eyes, added to the hideousness of its appearance. Every now and then, as it advanced, it threw out its forked tongue, which, moist with poisonous saliva, flashed under the sunbeam like jets of fire. It was crawling directly for the tree on which hung the nest. Frank and I stood still where we were--determined to watch its movements, as we had done those of the opossum. On reaching the root of the pawpaw, it stopped for a moment, as if to consider.

"'Do you think it is going to climb up to the nest?' inquired my companion.

"'No,' I replied, 'the moccason is not a tree-climber. If it were, the poor birds as well as the squirrels would have little chance; but it cannot climb. Look at it! it is only making pretence--to frighten the orioles still more, if possible.'

"As I said this, the snake had drawn its body closer to the tree, and raised its flat head up against the trunk, throwing out its tongue as if it was licking the bark.

"The orioles, evidently believing that it was about to climb up, had now descended to the lowest branches, fluttering from one to the other, and screaming all the while either with rage, or terror, or both combined.

"The snake, seeing them approach almost within range of his hideous maw, gathered himself into a coil, and prepared to strike. His eyes scintillated like sparks of fire, and seemed to fascinate the birds; for, instead of retiring, they each moment drew nearer and nearer, now alighting on the ground, then flapping back to the branches, and anon darting to the ground again--as though they were under some spell from those fiery eyes, and were unable to take themselves away! Their motions appeared to grow less energetic--their chirping became almost inaudible--and their wings seemed hardly to expand as they flew, or rather fluttered, around the head of the serpent. One of them at length dropped down upon the ground--within reach of the snake--and stood with open bill, as if exhausted, and unable to move farther. We were expecting to see the snake suddenly launch forth upon his feathered victim; when, all at once, his coils flew out, his body was thrown at full length, and he commenced retreating from the tree! The birds, apparently released from the spell that had bound them, flew up to the higher branches, and ceased their screaming!

"For a while, my companion and I stood silent, wondering at this unexpected termination of the scene.

"'What can have driven him off?' asked Frank, turning to me with a look of inquiry.

"Before I could make any reply, an object appeared upon the edge of the thicket which attracted the attention of both of us. It was an animal about the size of a wolf, and of a dark grey or blackish colour. Its body was compact, round-shaped, and covered--not with hair, but--with s.h.a.ggy bristles, that along the ridge of its back were nearly six inches in length, and gave it the appearance of having a mane. It had very short ears, no tail whatever, or only a k.n.o.b; and we could see that its feet were hoofed, not clawed as in beasts of prey. But, whether beast of prey or not, its long mouth, with two white tusks protruding over the jaws, gave it a very formidable appearance. Its head and nose resembled those of the hog more than any other animal; and, in fact, it was nothing else than the _peccary_--the wild hog of Mexico. As it came out from the long weeds and gra.s.s, we saw that two smaller animals, of a dark reddish colour--two young peccaries--were following at its heels.

Like the opossum, it was a mother and her brood.

"The three soon drew near the pawpaws; and the orioles seeing them, once more set up the scolding concert. But the old peccary paid no attention to the birds. They were nothing to her; and she pa.s.sed on with her nose to the ground, occasionally stopping to pick up a seed or a nut.

"In going away from the thicket, she crossed the track by which the serpent had retreated. All on a sudden she stopped, tossed up her nose, and scented the air. The fetid smell of the moccason had reached her, and seemed at once to rouse all her energies. She ran for some moments from side to side with her nose to the ground, and lifting the trail like a hound. She first followed it back to the tree, but there was a double trail--that by which the snake had come, as well as the one he had just made in retreating--and this for a moment puzzled her. She took the wrong trail at first, and galloped nimbly out upon it; but, almost in the same breath, returned to the tree, and then started upon the other.

"During all these manoeuvres, the snake was crawling off as fast as he could--which at best was only a very tardy gait, for the moccason is but a slow traveller. We could see that he kept as much as possible under the gra.s.s, occasionally raising his flattened head, and glaring behind him. He was making for the cliffs, that were only about a stone's throw distant.

"He had got scarce half-way, when the peccary running up the fresh trail almost trod upon him; and, seeing the object of her pursuit, she suddenly stopped, erected her long bristles, and uttered a shrill grunt.

The snake, finding that he was overtaken, threw himself into a coil, and prepared to give battle; while his antagonist, now looking more like a great porcupine than a pig, drew back, as if to take the advantage of a run; and then halted. Both for a moment eyed each other--the peccary evidently calculating its distance,--while the great snake seemed cowed, and quivering with affright. Its appearance was entirely different from the bright semblance it had exhibited but a moment before, when engaged with the birds. Its eyes were less fiery, and its whole body seemed more ashy and wrinkled.

"We had not many moments to observe it, for the peccary was now seen to rush forward, spring high into the air, and pounce down with all her feet held together upon the coils of the serpent! She immediately bounded back again; and, quick as thought, once more rose above her victim. The snake was now uncoiled, and writhing over the ground.

Another rush from the peccary--another spring--and the sharp hoofs of the animal came down upon the neck of the serpent, crushing it upon the hard turf. The body of the reptile, distended to its full length, quivered for a moment, and then lay motionless along the gra.s.s. The victor uttered another sharp cry--that seemed intended as a call to her young ones--who, emerging from the weeds, where they had concealed themselves, ran nimbly forward to the spot."

CHAPTER FORTY.

THE BATTLE OF THE COUGAR AND PECCARIES.

"Frank and I were rather pleased with the result of the encounter; though I do not see why we should have taken sides with the peccary, who would have eaten the birds--could she have caught them--and their eggs, too, just as fast as the snake would have done. And why should we have taken the part of the birds either, who, in their turn, had devoured many a b.u.t.terfly as bright and beautiful as themselves? But so it is.

From time immemorial, the poor snake--who is comparatively a harmless animal, and whose deadly powers have been greatly exaggerated--has been hated and persecuted by man more than any other creature; thus fulfilling in a remarkable manner the prophecy of the Sacred Book.

"We began to consider what plan we should take to capture the animal.

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

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

"It was plain that, while the mother was with them, the thing would be impossible. We knew that we dared not encounter the fierce brute. Even had we had our dogs with us, she would have been more than a match for both of them with her sharp tusks, and long crocodile-shaped jaws. In fact, the most courageous dog will lower his tail, and run from the attack of this animal; and if, on the contrary, he should await it, it would only be to have a leg snapped off, or his side ripped open. It was plain, then, as long as the old one was there to guard them, we could never lay our fingers upon the 'shoats.' What was to be done?

Should we send a rifle bullet at the mother? Frank thought this would be cruel, and so it would have been. Still I knew that the peccary was a fierce animal, and not much ent.i.tled to the mercy we would have shown to a deer, or any harmless creature like that. I knew, moreover, that there were a good many of them in the valley--for we had seen their tracks in the mud--and it was exceedingly dangerous to come in contact with them. Indeed, hunters and others have been often surrounded, and torn in pieces by them. Such, then, being the case, I felt that it would not be wise to let any of them escape, whenever we could destroy them--else they might at some time destroy one of ourselves. With these thoughts in my mind, I paid but little attention to the remonstrances of Frank; but, bending down from the branch, on which we stood, I reached for my rifle. I could just lay hold of the muzzle, as it leaned against the tree; and, drawing it cautiously up, I prepared to fire.

"During all this time, the peccary had been busy with the carca.s.s of the snake. After killing it, she had bitten off the head; and, holding the body between her forefeet, she had peeled off the skin with her tusks and teeth as adroitly as a fishmonger would have skinned an eel! She had just finished this operation as I got hold of the gun; and was now tearing up the white flesh, and throwing it in small pieces to the youngsters--all the while uttering low grants, that betokened her satisfaction and enjoyment.

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

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

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

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

"All this time the peccary was greedily devouring the snake, wholly unconscious of the danger that was gathering over her. The ground, for some distance around her, was clear of weeds and brushwood; but a large tree stood near; and its long, horizontal branches stretched out, casting their shade upon the spot she occupied. On reaching the margin of the weeds, that had hitherto partially concealed him, the cougar suddenly stopped, and appeared to deliberate. He knew that, unless he could spring suddenly and unawares upon the back of his victim, he would have to encounter those terrible tusks, the effects of which he saw exhibited at that moment on the carca.s.s of the great reptile. He was still too distant to reach the peccary with a single spring; and he appeared to be considering how he might get a little nearer without being discovered.

"All at once, his eyes rested upon the over-stretching branches--a sudden change took place in his att.i.tude; and, turning slowly and silently, he crawled back among the weeds. We could see that he was making a _detour_ to get upon the other side of the tree from that occupied by the peccary. Presently we saw him approach the trunk, and the next moment spring up more like a streak of red light than a living animal. We could hear the rattle of his claws on the loose bark, as he pa.s.sed upward; and the peccary, too, seemed to have heard it, for she threw up her head with a grunt, and stood for a moment listening.

"'Only a squirrel, perhaps!' thought she, and again resumed her occupation.