The National tribune., 1898-10-27
CHAPTER XXI.

| ooiuc lew udyS d1teIWdfOS VIC pdChCu
up our baggage and took farewell of our
hosts. We shaped our course towards the
Indian cemetery. In the first graves
| we opened we found the bones decayed in
| part, and could only procure two skulls,
| which were not worth the danger to
| which they exposed us. However, we con-
| tinued our researches, and towards the
| close of the day discovered the remains of
a woman who, from the position of the
| body in the grave must have been buried
covered with skin; but the body was dry
and almost like mummy. This was
! fit subject.
| We had taken the body out of the
| grave and were beginning to pack it up
piece by piece into sack, when we
heard small shrill cries at a distance.
The Aietas were coming upon us, and
| there was no time to be lost. We seized
our prize and started off as quick as pos
sible. We had not got hundred yards
about our ears. The Aietas perched on
the tops of the trees waited for US and at
| tackled us without our having any means
! of defense. Fortunately night came to
our aid: their arrows, usually so sure,
were badly directed, and did not touch
us. =
While escaping We fired a gun to
friehten them, and were soon able to
leave them far behind, without having
received any other iaJury than the alarm,
and sufficient notice of the danger to be
encountered in disturbing the repose of
their dead. On enefging from the wood
some drops of blood caused me to remark
slight scratch on the foJefinger of my
right hand. l attributed this to the hurry
of my fight, and did not trouble myself
much about it. it was my practice with
trihes but continued my imarch towards
the sea shore.
we still retained the skeleton, which
we laid on the sandy beach, as well as our
haversacks and guns, and sat down to
rest after the fatigue, of the Journey. My
companions then began to make re-
Elections on our position, and my lieu
tenant inspired by his affection for me
and his sense of the~danger we were ex-
posed to, addressed me in the following
strain:
ooh, master, what have we done, and
what. isg TO become OF us? Tomorrow
morning the enraged Ajetas will come to
attack us for the execrabie booty which |
we have carried off from them at the risk
Of our lives. If they would attack in the |
open ground, with our guns we might de-
fend ourselves; but what can one do |
against those animals perched here and |
there like monkeys in the top branches of
the trees of their forestY Those places are
for them SO many fortresses, from which |
they will tomorrow shower down upon us |
those darts, which, alas, never fail to dc |
mischief. Luckily it was night when they
attacked us lust now. for otherwise we al |
this hour should have a lance through
each of our bodies, and then they would
cut off our heads to serve as trophies for
superb fete. Your head, master, would
first have been laid on the ground and
the brutes would have danced round it,
and as our leader you would have been q
target OF honor for them to practice upon
And now, master, all that which would
have occurred to us if the night had not
favored our escape is but deferred, for,
alas, we cannot remain continually on
this beach, although it is the only spot
where we can protect ourselves against
these black IaScalS. We must go to our
homes, and this we cannot do without
passing through the woods inhabited by
these abOminable creatures, who made
us eat raw meat and seasoned only with
cinders. Well, master, before you under
took this excursion you ought to have |
recollected all that happened to us among
the Tinguians and the lgorrots."
CRITICAL POSITION.
| listened calmly to this touching amen-
tation of my lieutenant who was per-
fectly right in all he said; but when he
finished / sought to rouse his courage,
and replied:
What, my brave Alila, are you afraid?
l thought the Tic-balan, and the evil
spirits could alone affect your courage
Do you want to make me think that men
like yourself, without any arms but bad
arrows, are enough to make you quake?
Come, enough of this cowardicc: to-
morrow we shall have daylight and we
shall see what is to pc done. In the
meantime let us search for Shellfsh for
l am very hungry, notwithstanding the
alarm into which you are trying to throw
me-.
This little sermon gave courage to AIiIa
who Immediately set about making fire.
and then by the aid of lighted bamboo he
"a c0mrade n clxc tn f;,,I |
out the shellfish.
Alila was nevertheless quite right and
/ myself could not disguise the fact that
good luck alone could extricate us from
the critical position lin which we were
placed by my fault, in having thought of
my country, and in wishing to ornament
the Museum OF Paris with skeleton of
an Ajetas. THE skeletOni is now in the
Musee AnatomiQue OftParis.l
From disposition and habit was not a
man to alarm myselt5with any danger
which was not immediate; yet avow that
the last words l hadn said to Alila. TO
morrow we shall have daylight, and we
shall see what is to be done, came back
cupied my thoughts.
My Indians brought hack a large
quantity of shellfish, sufficient for our
supper, and Alila ran up quite GREATNESS,
saying:
Master, l have maaP discovery! A
hundred steps from this' have found a
canoe, which the seaekas~cast upon the ,
beach. 1t is large enough to hold us
three. We can mako; use of it to get to ;
and there we shall be safe
from the poisoned arrows of these dogs
the AjetaS.'
A MEANS TO ESCAPE. )
This discovery was either that Proyi- I
dence had come to our aid or it was a {
of dangers greater than those I
to us on land on awaking in the !
;
went Instantly to the spot where Alila Y
had made his important discovery and :
having disencumbered the canoe from /
the sand with which it was partly covered. !
soon became certain that, with some S
Damboos, and by stopping few cracks. t
1t would be staunch enough to take us | r
over the Pacific Ocean away from the !
Aletas.
" Well, said to Alila, "you see | was a
tight, and you must admit the hand of | '
providence is here. Is it not evident that b
'his One boSt, built. perhaps. several Z