The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1930-08-29
A Home
In The Wilderness

Continued from page 81


while listening to these strang
sounds, and knowing that 7, il
this frail canoe, was the only hu
man being near. Giving myself u.
to contemplation, / rested my pad
die, and allowed my canoe t.
drift slowly on.
LAS | neared the shore, | no
ticed a large number of strange
looking birds, who would some
times flutter round me, and Their
dart back again to the border OF
the forest, where they were feed
ing on what appeared to be the
pepper plant; they seized the Der
ries in their great, %ponderous
beaks, threw them up into the
air, and then dexterously caught
them in their fall. Their beaks
were really something eXtraordin-
airy: they looked as though they
must give their owners a perpet-
ual headache, from their i'm
mense weight. The only thing that
relieved the extreme ugliness Of
these great appendages vas their
gorgeous color, which was only ri
vailed by the gay hue of their
plumage. l wished now that l had
brought home a specimen; but at
the time l was SO much amused
by watching the grotesque antics
of the birds that l did moi think
of obtaining one. When l left the
spot, I settled in my own mind
that they were toucans: was |
right, Ernest?"
The Professor, unwilling to in
terrupt the narrative, merely gave
an oracular nod, and Fritz con-
tinued:
For some hours after this l
padded quickly on, sometimes
passing the mouth of a stream,
sometimes that of a broad river.
Had l been merely on an explor-
ing expedition, I should have been
tempted, doubtless, to cruise a lit
tie way up one of these pathways
into the forest; but nov such an
idea did not enter my head. On,
on, on, / felt l must go, until l
should reach the goal of my voy-
age.
THE shades of night at length
drew on, and, finding a sheltered
cove, l moored my cajack, and
stepped on shore. You may mag
inc how pleasant it was to stretch
my legs, after sitting for so long
in the cramped position which
my cajack enforces. 1t would not
do, however, to sleep on shore;
SO after preparing and enjoying
my supper, l returned on board,
and there spent the night.
Next morning Pounce and I
again landed for breakfast. l lit
my fire, and hung before it a
plump young parrot to roast. Az
l was SO doing, I Aeard a slight
rustic among the long grass be-
hind me. l glanced around, and
there. with glazing eyes and his
great tail swaying to and fro,
saw an immense tiger.
I'm another moment his spring
would have been made. / should
have been no more, and our young
guest would have been doomed
to, God only knows how many,
years of frightful solitude!
my gun was lying by my side.
Before / could have stopped to
pick it up, the monster would
have seized me.
"Pounce saw and comprehended
my danger: the heroic bird darted
upon my enemy, and so blinded
him with his Tapping wings, and
the fierce blows of his beak, that
his spring was checked, and l had
time to recover my self-possession.
| seized my gun, and fired; and
the brute, pierced to the heart,
gave one spring, and then rolled
over al my feet.
my enemy was dead; but be-
side him, alas! lay poor Pouncc,
and lifeless. One blow of
he great beasts paw had struck
lin down, never to rise again!"
Fritz's voice shook as he came
O this point; and, after remain
ng silent for a moment or two,
lie continued hurriedly:
with a sad and desolate feel
ng at my heart, I buried the
bird where he had met his
and then, unable longer
o continue near the spot, | re-
.urned to my cajack, and leaving
The great tiger lying where he
ell, padded hastily away.
my thoughts were gloomy. /
.elt as though, nov that my com
was gone, l could no long
sr continue the voyage. The al
Datross, l thought, may have flown
Tor hundreds of miles before it
me. This stranger may
be on different shores from these
entirely; every stroke of my pad
die may be carrying me further
the blazing signal. Who
knows?
This feeling of disbursement
was not, however, to be of long
duration; for in a moment more
a sight presented itself which
banished all my doubts and fears,