Читать книгу The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part Third - Thomas Wallace Knox - Страница 21

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A little while after the incident with the snake the party came to where the servants were waiting for them with breakfast: according to the custom of the East, the early meal taken at the house was a slight affair, so that by the middle of the forenoon one is apt to get fairly hungry. They sat down under a shady tree, and discussed the good things before them with a relish that came from the walk and ride through the open air and the excitement of the scenes of the morning. The boys were much amused at seeing the way the natives cooked their rice in a piece of bamboo, and served it up all fresh and hot. This is the process:

A green bamboo is cut in the forest, and one of the hollow joints is separated from the rest of the stalk; the rice is put inside the bamboo, with a sufficient quantity of water to cook it, and then both ends are loosely closed. The bamboo is then laid in the fire as if to burn it; it gets somewhat charred on the outside, but, before it reaches the point of burning through, the rice is cooked and ready to be poured out. Thus you can always be sure, in the region of the bamboo, of having a kettle for cooking your rice, although you have not brought one along.

When breakfast was over the hunters were assigned to their various stands, as the hunt was to be of the kind known as a battue. The beaters go out and drive up the game, which is induced to run in the direction where the marksmen are standing to receive it; the latter have nothing to do but remain quiet, and shoot at the animals as they go past them. There was a sufficient number of guns for the three strangers as well as their host, and so the boys were assigned to places by themselves, instead of standing with their elders. Quite naturally, they were proud of the honor thus shown them, and each was hoping very earnestly, though he did not say so aloud, to do something worthy of the occasion.

They were instructed not to fire except in certain directions, lest they might endanger the lives of others, and they faithfully promised not to violate the order; then, when the horn was blown in a particular way, they were not to fire at all, as the beaters would be close upon them, though invisible through the underbrush, and might be hurt through carelessness.

"It is an even chance," the Doctor remarked, "whether we get a deer or a wild boar first. The latter are the more numerous in this forest, but the others are the best runners, and the more easily disturbed. We will see."

A HOWLING MONKEY.

So saying, he went to his post, while the boys went to theirs. For half an hour or so there was nothing to indicate the possibility of game, with the exception of some monkeys in a neighboring tree, that kept up a perpetual chatter on account of the disturbance of their seclusion. There were several varieties of these brutes, but they kept so far away that their character could not well be made out. There was one kind, larger than the rest, that appeared to be a champion howler, as he occasionally set up a most unearthly noise that could have been heard for a long distance. Frank had a good view of one, and said he was a sort of maroon color, with a red beard, and had a swelling under his neck, from which he brought out the music. "He seems to enjoy it," said Frank, "and if he can be happy by making such an outrageous tumult, by all means let him have his fun."

DEER IN A TROPICAL FOREST.

By-and-by the barking of the dogs was heard in the distance; it slowly approached, and then everybody made ready to do the best possible work with his weapon. A crash was heard among the brushwood, and soon a fine deer came bounding out of the wood, and ran directly toward Fred's place.

Fred brought his gun to his shoulder, and when the deer was not more than twenty feet away the youth fired. The aim was good, and the whole charge passed into the shoulder of the animal just over the region of the heart. With one bound he fell dead at the feet of the young hunter.

A moment later came the report of Frank's gun, and with a result equal to that of Fred's shot. The two boys were about to give a loud

hurrah, when the Doctor motioned them to silence; it was his turn and that of their host to have a chance at something.

In less than ten minutes two other deer appeared, and were brought down by the guns of the elders of the party. Another deer ran past them, but he was too far away for a good shot, and as they now had plenty of venison, they allowed him to go unharmed.

The beaters soon appeared, and then the deer-hunt was declared at an end. "We will now go," said Mr. Segovia, "to a place where there are plenty of wild boars and fewer deer. Unless you have a most excellent opportunity for a shot, do not trouble yourself about deer, but devote your attentions to the wild boars, which you will find no easy brutes to kill."

"And perhaps," the Doctor added, "you may as well let the largest of them go undisturbed, and only shoot the young fellows; the old boars are dangerous when wounded, and we don't want to go home with holes torn in our skins by their tusks."

POND SCENE IN LUZON.

The boys promised to obey the directions that had been given, and took the places assigned to them. They were not far from a little pond, which had a thick growth of tropical trees and plants all round it, and there was so little wind blowing that the water was like a mirror, and reflected its banks with great distinctness. Frank was so intent upon studying the picture that he did not pay proper attention to the hunt, and before he was aware of it a fair-sized pig had dashed by him, and disappeared in the thick underbrush.

A moment later a shot was heard from the Doctor's gun, and then another came ringing through the woods, followed by a shout from Fred for assistance. Frank ran to his cousin, and found that he had wounded a boar, but had not killed him, and while he was reloading his gun the weapon became clogged, and the cartridge would neither go back nor forward. The boar was dashing wildly about, and threatening danger to the youth; the latter was endeavoring to keep a tree between himself and the infuriated beast, and, with his disabled gun in his hand, was somewhat awkwardly situated.

"Finish him! finish him!" said Fred, "and be quick about it!"

Frank performed the finishing touch almost as soon as Fred pronounced the words. The boar fell dead at the shot, and gave Fred the opportunity to devote his entire attention to putting his gun into a serviceable condition again. In a few minutes the refractory cartridge was removed, and then the boys surveyed their game.

"Seems to me he's a good-sized one," said Fred; "and see, he has a pair of tusks; they are not large, but we must keep them as a trophy of our day's hunting in Luzon."

"Yes," replied Frank, "but how shall we divide a pair of tusks? We must shoot another like him, and then we can have a fair trophy for each of us."

"We'll stay here together," Fred answered, "and when the next one comes we'll both shoot him, and the honors will be equal."

Just as he spoke there was another crash in the bushes, and a boar, that might have been a brother of the dead one, made his appearance. Frank was first to fire, and Fred immediately followed with a shot. Between them they killed the animal, and in such a way that neither could claim all the glory of the slaughter. As Fred had predicted, the honor was divided, and they were partners in possession of the game.

Other shots soon followed from the Doctor and their host; and then there was a long interval, with not a sound to break the stillness. Then the beaters made their appearance; the horn was blown to announce the end of the hunt, and the party assembled for the return homeward. Everybody was in fine spirits, as the chase had been successful, not only for the party collectively, but for each individual. The attendants went to collect the game, and, when it was all brought together, there was a goodly amount of it. Four deer and seven wild hogs comprised the result of the day's shooting, without counting the snake; Frank thought the latter should be included, and remarked that snake-shooting was fairly entitled to be ranked as hunting, when the snake was a large one.

A PAVAVA.

The transportation of the game was something to be considered. Mr. Segovia solved the problem by suggesting that he had sent to an Indian village, a mile or so away, for a pavava. This and the pack-horses would be sufficient; but he had told the attendant to bring a couple of pavavas if he could get them.

One of the boys very naturally inquired what a pavava was, as he had never heard the word before.

"We shall meet it on our way to the boat," was the reply. "It is a sort of sled or cart made by the Indians, and used for purposes of transportation, and it is drawn by a single buffalo. There are a couple of runners which curve so that their rear ends only rest on the ground, while the front of the vehicle is supported by the shafts. The frame and body of the pavava are of bamboo, and so are the shafts; the collar of the buffalo is of heavier wood, and the roof of the concern is of pandanus-leaves, over a frame of light bamboo. It is so light that a man can easily lift it, and it will hold as heavy a load as one buffalo can draw."

Having acquired this information, the boys next wished to know something about the wild boar, and especially about those they had killed—whether they were to be considered first, second, or third class. On this subject the Doctor enlightened them.

"The ones you have killed," said he, "are probably about two years old, and therefore are not first class. The boar does not attain his full size and strength till he is four years old; the proper classification is like this: first year, pig of the saunder, or briefly 'pig;' second year, hog of the second, or 'hog;' third year, hog-steer; and fourth year, and afterward, wild boar, or sanglier. You have killed a pair of 'hogs,' and very good ones they are. They probably weigh about two hundred pounds each, and when we get to Jala-jala we will put them on the Fairbanks scales we saw there yesterday, and see how far out I am in my guessing."

Frank wished to know if these animals were natives of the Philippine Islands, or had been brought there from some other country.

"The hog was originally unknown in a natural condition in America, Australia, and the Pacific islands," replied Doctor Bronson, "and his presence there is due to the early navigators, who turned pigs loose in the forests, and allowed them to shift for themselves. The Spaniards did so in the Philippines three hundred years ago, and it is to them that we owe the great number in the forests of Luzon. Those you have killed are descended from the original importations of the Spaniards, just as the wild hogs in the forests of South America, and on the many islands of the Pacific, are descended from those left by Captain Cook and other explorers."

Fred asked how large these animals became when left to themselves for years in the forest.

"That depends on circumstances," the Doctor answered. "Some of them have been known to weigh four hundred pounds, and occasionally you hear of one that tips the scale at five hundred. I saw one in India that weighed four hundred and fifty-six pounds, and had tusks about ten inches long. The peculiarity of the wild boar is his powerful tusks; they have an awkward appearance, but he can do terrible execution with them, ripping up the flank of a horse as though the horn of a bull had passed through it, and tearing a dog or man to pieces in a few moments. As I told you, when we started in on the hunt, it is well to be cautious about attacking a full-grown boar, on account of the danger from his tusks."

SKULL OF BABIRUSA.

"In some of the islands of the Malay Archipelago," he continued, "there is a species of wild hog called the babirusa, that does not seem to belong to the hog family as we know it. Its legs are longer, and its body is more slender than in the rest of the swine species; it does not root in the ground, but lives on the fruit which falls from the trees. The tusks of the lower jaw are very long and sharp, but the upper ones, instead of growing downward in the usual way, are curved upward and backward to near the eyes, and sometimes they attain a length of eight or ten inches. These tusks do not seem to be of any use, except to protect the eyes from the thorns of the trees and bushes where the animal lives. The babirusa is quite as fierce as the ordinary wild boar, and is more fond of the water. He will take to a pond or river when pursued, and is said to swim with great ease."

"The chase of the wild boar has been a recognized sport in all ages; we read of it in ancient histories as well as in modern ones, and in certain periods of the world it was more fashionable than any other form of hunting. During the Middle Ages it was highly popular in England and on the Continent, but in our day the wild boar has disappeared from England entirely, and is only found in a few parts of Europe. The best localities for hunting him in Europe are in Greece and Italy, but if you want the sport in all its glory you must go to India. One of the great amusements of the British officers in India is "pig-sticking," as it is called, and those who have indulged in it say that the excitement of a pig-chase equals anything they have ever seen."

The conversation was here interrupted by meeting the pavava that had been sent for to bring home the game from the forest. Mr. Segovia gave some directions concerning the work in hand, and then the party rode rapidly to the boat that lay waiting for them. There was a light breeze blowing in the right direction, and so a quick passage was made back to Jala-jala. There was enough to talk about for the evening, and neither of the boys could keep his thoughts away from the fact that he had shot a deer and a boar on the same day, and assisted in the slaughter of a boa-constrictor. It was glory enough for twenty-four hours at least, Frank said, as he went to bed; Fred thought it could be spread over three or four days without becoming too thin, and even a month would not be too much.

"A deer, a hog, and a share in a snake," murmured Fred, as he settled his head on his pillow.

"A wild hog, a deer, and a share in a snake-fight," whispered Frank to himself, as he dropped off to sleep. "Wonder what Miss Effie and Mary will say to that? I declare I haven't written home since we left Java; but then there hasn't been time, and besides we've had no chance to send letters. I must ask the Doctor in the morning when there is a mail for America, and how it goes."

A moment later he was in the land of dreams.

The question relative to the postal facilities of the Philippines was duly propounded in the morning, and received the following answer:

"There is a steamer once a fortnight each way between Manilla and Hong-Kong; the distance is 650 miles, and the voyage usually occupies about three days. It is nearly the same distance to Singapore; in the busy season there is a semi-monthly steamer to Singapore, but it is not generally maintained through the whole year. For letters to America the quickest route is via Hong-Kong, whence there is a mail twice a month to Yokohama and San Francisco. The last mail for Hong-Kong left Manilla a day before your arrival, and so you have plenty of time to get your letters ready for the next.

"At the time of year when the crops have been harvested, and the product is going forward to the European market, there are many irregular steamers from Manilla to Singapore, and also to Hong-Kong. There are also sailing-ships bound for European and American ports, though not as many as from one of the great ports of China or Japan. We shall have no difficulty in getting away from the islands, as we had no difficulty in getting here; though we may possibly be compelled to wait a few days after we are ready to start."

At this moment a servant came to call our friends to breakfast, and the conversation came to an end. During breakfast it was announced that an excursion would be made on the lake that day, and would start in half an hour.