Johann David Wyss

“ On summoning my sons to accompany me to the marsh, I found neither Ernest nor Jack very eager to do so, the latter vowing he had the cold shivers each time he thought how his ribs might have been smashed by the last flap of the snake's tail; but I did not yield to their reluctance, and we finally set about crossing the marsh by placing planks and wicker hurdles on the ground, and changing their places as we advanced.
Nothing was discovered beyond tracks in the reeds and the creature's lair, where the rushes, grass, and bog-plants were beaten down. ”

“ To my no small consternation, an enormous bear made his appearance, quickly followed by another. With levelled guns, my brave Fritz and I advanced slowly to meet them. Jack was also ready to fire, but the shock had so unnerved Ernest that he fairly took to his heels. We fired together, one at each bear; but though hit, the monsters were unfortunately only wounded. We found it most difficult to take aim, as the dogs beset them on all sides. ”

“ This great bird guarded the entrance to the cave, occasionally retiring into it himself for a few minutes, but as soon as the other birds came pressing in after him, he hurried out again and they were forced to retire.
We stopped to observe this curious scene, and were startled suddenly by a mighty rush of wings in the air above us. We looked up; at the same moment Fritz fired, and an enormous bird fell heavily head foremost on the rocks, by which its neck was broken, while blood flowed from a wound in the breast. ”

“ Determining to smoke the meat on the spot, we cut magnificent hams, and took off the rest of the meat in slices after the manner of the buccaneers in the West Indies, preserving the paws entire to be cooked as a delicacy, and obtaining from the two bears together a prodigious supply of lard, which my wife gladly undertook to melt and prepare for keeping.
The bones and offal we drew to some distance with the help of our cattle, and made the birds of the air most welcome to feast upon it. ”

“ We shall have to be on our guard, whatever they are!”
“I cannot see distinctly enough to be sure,” said he presently, “and imagination supplies the deficiency of sight in most strange fashion. I could fancy them wild cattle, loaded carts, wandering hay-cocks, in fact almost anything I like.”
The spy-glass passed from hand to hand; Jack and Ernest agreed in thinking the moving objects were men on horseback; but when it came to my turn to look, I at once pronounced them to be very large ostriches. ”

“ These melons, however, do not constitute his entire diet; he feeds freely on grasses, dates, and hard grain, when he can obtain them.”
“Does the ostrich utter any cry?”
“The voice of the ostrich is a deep hollow rumbling sound, so much resembling the roar of the lion as to be occasionally mistaken for it. But what does Jack mean by waving his cap, and beckoning in that excited fashion? What has the boy found, I wonder!”
He ran a little way towards us, shouting:
“Eggs, father! Ostriches' eggs! a huge nest-full—do come quick!” ”

“ When these birds are pursued, they will run for hours in a wide circle; the hunter gallops after them, but describes a much smaller circle, and can therefore maintain the pace for a longer time, waiting to make the attack until the bird is fatigued.
“Among the bushmen, the hunter sometimes envelopes himself in the skin of an ostrich, his legs doing duty for those of the bird, and his arm managing the head and neck so as to imitate the movements of the bird when feeding. The enterprising hunter is thus enabled to get among a flock of ostriches, and to shoot them with arrows one after another. ”

“ Jack carried in his hat about a dozen eggs; and Fritz had shot a couple of heath fowls, a cock and hen.
We sat down to supper, Franz eager to partake of his capybara. Even he himself made a face at the peculiar flavour of the meat.
“It is the musk which you taste,” said I; and I described to them the various animals in which this strange liquid is found; called the musk-deer, musk-ox, crocodile, musk-rat of India (also soudeli, which taints a corked bottle of wine, if it only runs across it) , concluding with an account of the civet, called also civet-cat. ”

“ I exclaimed; “we must try to secure one of these magnificent birds; the feathers alone are worth having."
“A live ostrich, father! that would be splendid. Why, we might ride upon him!”
As the ostriches approached, we began to consider in what way we should attempt a capture. I sent Fritz and Jack to recall the dogs, and placed myself with Ernest behind some shrubs which would conceal us from the birds as they came onwards. ”

“ Nothing worse than wild cats was discovered. We disturbed several of these creatures in their pursuit of birds and small game, but they fled at our approach.
By the time dinner was ready we felt much fatigued, and some hours of unusually sultry and oppressive heat compelled us to rest until towards evening, when returning coolness revived our strength. We pitched the tent, and then occupied ourselves with preparations for the next day, when it was my intention to penetrate the country beyond the defile, and make a longer excursion across the Savannah, than had yet been undertaken. ”

“ Emerging beyond the thicket we found ourselves on firm ground, near the precipitous wall of rock, and perceived a clear sparkling brook flowing from an opening, which proved to be a cave or grotto of considerable size. ”

“ Ernest came back with Jack and the cart, and told us that the procession of peccaries had passed near the hut, and that he, with Juno's help, had secured three of them.
I was glad to hear this, as I had determined to cure a good supply of hams, and we made haste to load the cart; the boys adorned it with flowers and green boughs, and with songs of triumph which made the woods ring they conveyed the valuable supply of game to the hut, where their mother anxiously waited for us.
After dinner we set to work upon our pigs, singeing and scalding off the bristles ”

“ The ostriches continued to come in our direction, varying their pace as though in sport, springing, trotting, galloping, and chasing each other round and round, so that their approach was by no means rapid.
I could now perceive that of the five birds one only was a male, the white plumes of the wings and tail contrasting finely with the deep glossy black of the neck and body.
The colour of the females being ashen brown, the effect of their white plumes was not so handsome.
“I do not believe we shall have a chance with these birds,” said I, “except by sending Fritz's eagle in pursuit ”

“ The fruit is a species of nut, possessing the scent of the leaves in a more delicate degree, and from it an oil or essence is distilled, which is highly valued in native cookery.
During the process of curing our large supply of hams and bacon, which occupied several days, we roamed about the neighbourhood in all directions, finding no trace of the serpent, but making many valuable acquisitions, among which were some gigantic bamboos from fifty to sixty feet in length, and of proportionate thickness. These, when cut across near the joints, formed capital casks, tubs, and pots ”

“ We presently reached a marshy place surrounding a little pool evidently fed by the stream which Knips had discovered. The soft ground was trodden and marked by the footsteps of many different sorts of animals; we saw tracks of buffaloes, antelopes onagas or quaggas, but no trace whatever of any kind of serpent: hitherto our journey in search of monster reptiles had been signalized by very satisfactory failure. ”

“ The noise creatures make depends more on the construction of the windpipe, its relation to the lungs and the strength of the muscles which force out the breath, than on their size. As for example, how loud is the song of the nightingale and the little canary bird. ”

“ Examining it carefully and noticing its webbed feet, and its curious teeth, I decided that it must be a capybara, a water-loving animal of South America, and Franz was overjoyed to find that he had shot “a new creature," as he said. It was difficult to carry it home, but he very sensibly proposed that we should open and clean the carcase, which would make it lighter—and then putting it in a game-bag, he carried it till quite tired out; he asked if I thought Bruno would let him strap it on his back. We found the dog willing to bear the burden, and reached Woodlands soon afterwards. ”

“ All these things were packed on the cart, which was drawn by Storm and Grumble. Jack and Franz mounted them, and acted at once the part of riders and drivers. My wife sat comfortably in the cart, Fritz rode in advance, while Ernest and I walked; we were protected in flank by the dogs and Fangs, the tame jackal.
Directing our course towards Woodlands, we saw many traces of the serpent's approach to Rockburg. In some places, where the soil was loose, the trail, like a broad furrow, was very evident indeed. ”

“ BEAVER RAT.
“Musk-rat, Musquash, and Ondatra are other names given to them. They have, you see, webbed feet and flattened tails, and we shall find that they carry two small glands containing the scented substance called musk. The sooner we strip off the skins the better, they will be useful for making caps.”
We went back to the house, and met Fritz and Jack just returned from their excursion, reporting that no trace of serpents, great or small, had been met with. ”

“ The bears' meat, which was being cured in a smoking shed such as that we set up for the peccary hams, required a good deal of attention from my wife. Ernest had a fancy for making ornamental cups from the ostrich eggs, while I investigated the interior of the cave. ”

“ When aware of an enemy they defend themselves desperately, using their powerful legs as weapons, always kicking forwards, and inflicting dreadful injuries on dogs, and even on men if attacked without due precaution. ”

“ This odoriferous substance is secreted, i.e. formed, in a double glandular pouch near the tail, and the Dutch keep the creature in captivity, so that it shall afford them a continual supply.
“The method of removing the civet perfume is ingenious. The animal is very quick and elastic in its movements, and having sharp teeth it is not pleasant to handle. ”