Just as day began to peep on the following morning, the camp was roused by one of the bear-catchers, a Mexican, who had been away to visit the bear-trap during the night, and now came rushing in among the sleepers1, shouting—
“Hoor-roo! boy, him cotch, him cotch! big as twinty mans! fact!”
At first Ned thought the camp was attacked by savages2, and he and Tom sprang to their feet and grasped their rifles, while they sought to rub their eyes open hastily. A glance at the other members of the camp, however, shewed that they were unnecessarily alarmed. Croft leisurely4 stretched his limbs, and then gathered himself slowly into a sitting posture5, while the others arose with various degrees of reluctance6.
“Bin long in?” inquired Croft.
“No, jist cotched,” answered the Mexican, who sat down, lit his pipe, and smoked violently, to relieve his impatient feelings.
“Big ’un?” inquired Croft, again.
To this the Mexican answered by rolling his eyes and exclaiming “Hoh!” with a degree of vigour7 that left his hearers to imagine anything they pleased, and then settle it in their minds that the thing so imagined was out of all sight short of the mark.
The excitement of the man at last fully8 roused the sleepy crew, and Croft sprang up with the agility9 of a cat.
“Ho! boys,” he cried, proceeding10 to buckle11 his garments round him, “up with you. Ketch the hosses, an’ put to. Look alive, will you? grease your jints, do. Now, strangers, I’ll shew you how we ketch a bar in this lo-cation; bring yer rules, for sometimes he breaks his trap, an’ isn’t there a spree jist!”
We need scarcely remark, that the latter part of this speech was made to Sinton and his comrade, who were drawing the charges of their revolvers and reloading.
“Is the trap far off?” inquired Ned.
“Quarter of an hour, or so. Look sharp, lads.”
This exhortation12 was unnecessary, for the men had already caught three stout13 horses, all of which were attached to an enormous waggon14 or van, whose broad wheels accounted for the tracks discovered in the valley on the previous evening.
“That’s his cage,” said the bear-catcher, replying to Ned’s look of inquiry15. “It’s all lined with sheet-iron, and would hold an ontamed streak16 o’ lightnin’, it would. Now, then, drive ahead.”
The lumbering17 machine jolted18 slowly down the hill as he spoke19, and while several of the party remained with the horses, Croft and our travellers, with the remainder, pushed on ahead. In less than twenty minutes, they came to a ravine filled with thick underwood, from the recesses20 of which came forth21 sounds of fierce ursine22 wrath23 that would have deterred24 most men from entering; but Croft knew his game was secure, and led the way confidently through the bushes, until he reached a spot on which stood what appeared to be a small log-cabin without door or window. Inside of this cabin an enormous grizzly-bear raged about furiously, thrusting his snout and claws through the interstices of the logs, and causing splinters to fly all round him, while he growled25 in tones of the deepest indignation.
“Oh! ain’t he a bit o’ thunder?” cried Croft, as he walked round the trap, gazing in with glittering eyes at every opening between the logs.
“How in the world did you get him in there?” asked Ned Sinton, as soon as his astonishment27 had abated28 sufficiently29 to loosen his tongue.
“Easy enough,” replied Croft. “If ye obsarve the top o’ the trap, ye’ll see the rope that suspended it from the limb o’ that oak. Inside there was a bit o’ beef, so fixed30 up, that when Mister Caleb laid hold of it, he pulled a sort o’ trigger, an’ down came the trap, shuttin’ him in slick, as ye see.”
At this moment the powerful animal struggled so violently that he tilted31 his prison on one side, and well-nigh overturned it.
“Look out, lads,” shouted Croft, darting32 towards a tree, and cocking his rifle,—actions in which he was imitated by all the rest of the party, with surprising agility.
“Don’t fire till it turns over,” he cried, sternly, on observing that two of the more timid members of his band were about to fire at the animal’s legs, which appeared below the edge of the trap. Fortunately, the bear ceased its efforts just at that critical moment, and the trap fell heavily back to its original position.
“By good luck!” shouted Croft; “an’ here comes the cage. Range up on the left, boys, and out with the hosses, they won’t stand this.”
The terrified animals were removed from the scene, trembling violently from head to foot, and the whole band, applying their shoulders to the wheels, slowly pushed the vehicle alongside of the trap until the sides of the two met.
There was a strong door in the side of the trap, which was now removed by being pulled inwards, revealing to bruin an aperture33 which corresponded to another door opening into the iron-lined cage. There were stout iron bars ready to be shot home the instant he condescended34 to pass through this entrance; but Caleb, as Croft called him, shewed himself sadly destitute36 of an inquiring disposition37. He knew that there was now a hole in his prison-wall, for he looked at it; he knew that a hole either conducted into a place or out of it, for life-long experience had taught him that; yet he refused to avail himself of the opportunity, and continued to rage round the trap, glaring between the logs at his foes39 outside. It is unreasonable40 to suppose that he was afraid to go into the hole because it was a dark one, for he was well accustomed to such dark dens41; besides, no one who looked at him could for a moment suppose that he was, or could be, afraid of anything at all. We must, therefore, put his conduct down to sheer obstinacy42.
The men poked43 him with sticks; shouted at him; roared in his face; threw water over him; and even tried the effect of a shot of powder at his flank; but all to no purpose, although their efforts were continued vigorously for full two hours. The bear would not enter that hole on any account whatever.
The shot was fired at his flank, and was received with a ferocious45 growl26, while the strong wood-work of the trap trembled under his efforts to escape.
“Ain’t it vexin’?” said Croft, sitting down on the stump46 of a tree and wiping the perspiration47 from his forehead. Ned Sinton and Tom, who had done their utmost to assist their new acquaintance, sat down beside him and admitted that it was vexing48. As if by one impulse, the whole party then sat down to rest, and at that moment, having, as it were, valiantly49 asserted his right of independent action, the bear turned slowly round and quietly scrambled50 through the hole. The men sprang up; the massive iron bars were shot into their sockets52 with a clang; and bruin was a prisoner for life.
As neither Edward Sinton nor Tom Collins had any particular desire to become bear-catchers, they bade their new friends adieu that afternoon, and continued their journey. The road, as they advanced, became more and more steep and rugged53, so that they could only proceed at a walk, and in many places experienced considerable difficulty, and ran no little risk, in passing along the faces of cliffs, where the precipices54 ascended55 hundreds of feet upwards56 like walls, on the one hand, and descended35 sheer down into an unfathomable abyss, on the other. But the exceeding grandeur57 of the scenery amply repaid their toils58, and the deep roar of that mighty59 cataract60 ever sounded in their ears. At length they reached the head of the valley, and stood under the spray of the fall, which, expanding far above and around the seething61 caldron whence it sprang, drenched62 the surrounding country with perpetual showers.
Here a gap or pass in the mountains was discovered, ascending63 on the left, and affording, apparently64, an exit from the valley. Up this the travellers toiled65 until they cleared the spray of the falls, and then sat down beside a clump66 of trees to dry their garments in the sunshine and to cook their mid-day meal.
“What a glorious thing it is, Tom, to wander thus unrestrained amid such scenes!” said Ned Sinton, as he busied himself roasting a piece of venison, which his rifle had procured67 but half-an-hour before. “How infinitely68 more delightful69 than travelling in the civilised world, where one is cheated at every turn, and watched and guarded as if robbery, or murder, or high treason were the only probable objects a traveller could have in view.”
“‘Comparisons,’ my dear fellow—you know the proverb,” replied Tom Collins; “don’t uphold California at the expense of the continent. Besides, there are many in this world who would rather a thousand times wander by the classic lake of Como, with its theatrical70 villas71 and its enchanting72 sunshine and perfume, or paddle up the castellated Rhine, than scramble51 here among wild rocks, and woods, and cataracts73, with the chance of meeting an occasional savage3 or a grizzly-bear.”
“Go on, my boy,” said Ned, with a touch of sarcasm74 in his tone, “you haven’t read me half a lesson yet. Besides, the ‘many’ you refer to, are there not hundreds, ay, thousands, whose chief enjoyment75 in travelling is derived76 from the historical associations called up by the sight of the ruined castles and temples of classic ground—whose delight it is to think that here Napoleon crossed the Alps, as Hannibal did before him, (and many a nobody has done after him), that there, within these mouldering77 ruins, the oracles78 of old gave forth their voice—forgetting, perhaps, too easily, while they indulge in these reminiscences of the past, that the warrior’s end was wholesale80 murder, and that the oracle79 spoke only to deceive poor ignorant human nature. Ha! I would not give one hearty81 dash into pure, uncontaminated nature for all the famous ‘tours’ put together.”
Ned looked round him as he spoke, with a glow of enthusiasm that neither badinage82 nor philosophy could check.
“Just look around thee,” he continued; “open thine ears, Tom, to the music of yon cataract, and expand thy nostrils83 to the wild perfume of these pines.”
“I wouldn’t, at this moment,” quietly remarked Tom, “exchange for it the perfume of that venison steak, of which I pray thee to be more regardful, else thou’lt upset it into the fire.”
“Oh! Tom—incorrigible!”
“Not at all, Ned. While you flatter yourself that you have all the enthusiastic study of nature to yourself, here have I succeeded, within the last few minutes, in solving a problem in natural history which has puzzled my brains for weeks past.”
“Do you see yonder bird clinging to the stem of that tree, and pitching into it as if it were its most deadly foe38?”
“I do—a woodpecker it is.”
“Well,” continued Tom, sitting down before his portion of the venison steak, “that bird has cleared up two points in natural history, which have, up till this time, been a mystery to me. The one was, why woodpeckers should spend their time in pecking the trees so incessantly85; the other was, how it happened that several trees I have cut down could have had so many little holes bored in their trunks, and an acorn86 neatly87 inserted into each. Now that little bird has settled the question for me. I caught him in the act not ten minutes ago. He flew to that tree with an acorn in his beak88, tried to insert it into a hole, which didn’t fit, being too small; so he tried another, which did fit, poked the nut in, small end first, and tapped it scientifically home. Now, why did he do it? That’s the question.”
“Because he wanted to, probably,” remarked Ned; “and very likely he lays up a store of food for winter in this manner.”
“Very possibly. I shall make a note of this, for I’m determined89 to have it sifted90 to the bottom. Meanwhile, I’ll trouble you for another junk of venison.”
It was many weeks afterwards ere Tom Collins succeeded in sifting91 this interesting point to the bottom; but perhaps the reader may not object to have the result of his inquiries92 noted93 at this point in our story.
Many of the trees in California, on being stripped of their bark, are found to be perforated all over with holes about the size of a musket-ball. These are pierced by the woodpecker with such precision and regularity94 that one might believe they had been cut out by a ship-carpenter. The summer is spent by this busy little bird in making these holes and in filling them with acorns95. One acorn goes to one hole, and the bird will not try to force the nut into a hole that is too small for it, but flutters round the tree until it finds one which fits it exactly. Thus one by one the holes are filled, and a store of food is laid up for winter use in a larder96 which secures it from the elements, and places it within reach of the depositor when the winter snows have buried all the acorns that lie upon the ground, and put them beyond the reach of woodpeckers. The birds never encroach on their store until the snow has covered the ground, then they begin to draw upon their bank; and it is a curious fact that the bills of these birds are always honoured, for their instinct enables them to detect the bad nuts with unerring certainty, so that their bank is always filled with good ones. This matter of selecting the good nuts is a mere97 chance with men, for often those shells which seem the soundest, are found to contain a grub instead of a nut. Even the sagacious Indian is an uncertain judge in this respect, but the woodpecker, provided by an all-wise Creator with an unerring instinct, never makes a mistake in selecting its store of food for winter.
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1
sleepers
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| n.卧铺（通常以复数形式出现）；卧车( sleeper的名词复数 )；轨枕；睡觉（呈某种状态）的人；小耳环 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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4
leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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5
posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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buckle
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| n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲 | |
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exhortation
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| n.劝告，规劝 | |
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waggon
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| n.运货马车，运货车；敞篷车箱 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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streak
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| n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动 | |
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lumbering
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| n.采伐林木 | |
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jolted
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| （使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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ursine
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| adj.似熊的，熊的 | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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deterred
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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condescended
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| 屈尊，俯就( condescend的过去式和过去分词 )； 故意表示和蔼可亲 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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38
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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40
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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41
dens
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| n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋 | |
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42
obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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43
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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44
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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45
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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46
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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47
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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48
vexing
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| adj.使人烦恼的，使人恼火的v.使烦恼( vex的现在分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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49
valiantly
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| adv.勇敢地，英勇地；雄赳赳 | |
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50
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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51
scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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52
sockets
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| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
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53
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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54
precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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55
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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57
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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58
toils
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| 网 | |
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59
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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60
cataract
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| n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障 | |
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61
seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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62
drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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63
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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64
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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65
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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66
clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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67
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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68
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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69
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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70
theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
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71
villas
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| 别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅 | |
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72
enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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73
cataracts
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| n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 )；白内障 | |
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74
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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75
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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76
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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77
mouldering
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| v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌 | |
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78
oracles
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| 神示所( oracle的名词复数 )； 神谕； 圣贤； 哲人 | |
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oracle
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| n.神谕，神谕处，预言 | |
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80
wholesale
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| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
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81
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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82
badinage
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| n.开玩笑，打趣 | |
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83
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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84
sapient
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| adj.有见识的，有智慧的 | |
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85
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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86
acorn
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| n.橡实，橡子 | |
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87
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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88
beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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90
sifted
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| v.筛( sift的过去式和过去分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审 | |
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91
sifting
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| n.筛，过滤v.筛( sift的现在分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审 | |
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92
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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93
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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94
regularity
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| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
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95
acorns
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| n.橡子，栎实( acorn的名词复数 ) | |
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96
larder
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| n.食物贮藏室，食品橱 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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