The Boy Soldier; Or, Garibaldi's Young Captain — page 213: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE BOY SOLDIER; OR, GARTIBALDIS YOUNG CAPTAIN: - CHAPTE ial iP o.w.4ap JOURNEY THROUGH THE PRAIRIE—THE.WILDER- NESS ON FIRE—THE FLIGHT OF, WILD HORSES —THE BOY SOLDIERS CATCH NUMBERS—SCENES IN THE WOOD—NATURE AT REST—REFLEC- TIONS—CAMP FIRES IN THE FOREST, FRANK’S JOURNAL. “We have now been three days on our travels from Galveston towards the Mexican frontier, which is four hundred miles distant, * All the boys are well and hearty, and most of us mounted on horses or mules, c- The W eather so far is aoe x © Day ‘cftEfP day a8 we jouriey through this grim and trackless space, and its holy calm soothes the soul with a peace and pleasure unknown to the noisy bustle of the world. “The landscape stretches for miles away—a level flat on either hand. ‘ Far to the westward long black lines marl: a timber-shaded stream, whither we are. slowly journeying, while acres of red; white, and» violet- coloured wild flowers deck the cliequered plain with beauty and variety. * * * ,* * “Our camp fires glow in the darkness. of: early morning, long before the wolves have ceased to howl, and hours before the sun shoots up from the, east. “The fragrant cup of coffee and homely meal are, relished with epicurean, taste, the appetite sharpened by the morning breeze... ... ‘‘ We strike camps, harness the teams, and resume our journey through the long, damp prairie grass, in the cool and pleasant grey of dawn. ‘““Mertity the teamsters crack their whips, and merrily the harness, chains, and trappings jingle as we go. “ And as the sun suddenly springs»into view; we are miles upon our way, With joke’ and. tale;.and « tobacco smoke curling in the air. ‘Riding in advance of the waggon trains along the firm sandy road which travellers have made through the grass—for the white sand becomes as hard as brick with moisture of any kind—and gazing upon the many-coloured eastern clouds bursting into a thousand phantastic beauties of’ form and colour, 1orse, Dando with ears fore ‘“My favourite and snorting, betame restless A restive, champ his bit, and danced from side to side in dread of something I could not‘perceive. 4) 911: “Still gazing on the sea of waving eras, dnd noting the effecis of light and shade upon the dew- drops sparkling like brilliants, “TI unslung the short Enfield rifle, which my friend, the old count, had given me, to have ‘@ shot at a fli ght of wild cranes, when Pedro, our Mexican guide, who was in advance of mey shouted out, ** Signor, look out 1” he 9 iL. Po ‘And at the same instant my horse Tanda? jumped out among the grass, and could not be coaxed into the road again with my utmost pers suasion. n e must.Lave been something in his path, I now ebb vinbet-akd BEA atfirst hat resect Acipkdl) it might have been yenomous black snakes, ha not Pedro laughed heartily at Dando’s trick, “He trotted back, and said, ‘ Signor, trantlara | (tarantulas), * Dism pee Ttook.the end of my lasiet (horse rope), a ps He Beats to alk in the>grass,i | 207 and graze at the end of his tethers walked, along. the road in search of these tarantulas. ‘¢ Pedro soon pointed to one, which was lying in the road some few feet distant. . ds It looked like a ball of black silk, which might cover the palm of one’s hand, “I had been frequently informed these little animals had a deadly venomous sting, but as it could not jump more than three ieet long, and abont two feet high, I approached quite near to watch and torment this cunning and sagacious little thing, so as to learn something atout it. “ Disturbing the black silky ball with the end of along whipstock, it rose to its feet; its eyes glowed quite red with rage, “Tt jumped towards me, and fell upon, and clung’ to my heavy riding boots. “Gently loosening its tenacious crab- like hold,” I watched it crawl away several feet along the sand, and then disappear. “T searched and found where it had secreted itself, by the shining of a series of strong webs; which radiated from one particular spot in the road among the prairie grass. ‘The end of each single web or fibrous line was fastened to 4 small trap door, and this [endeavoured to raise with a stick. ‘*But the little creature, who was underneath, clung to it so tightly with its claws, that I must have broken the little trap-door into pieces in order to get at him, ‘This I did not desire to do; for I wished to see and knuw something more of this cunning little savage, “1 gota shovel out of the waggons, and loosened the earth for about a foot: round his subterranean dwelling, in order, if possible, to frighten Mr. Tarantula out of his nest without injuring it. “This, I supposed, had the desired effect. “ For, ‘feeling his walls shaking all around him, he opened the trap door, and jumped out towards the - grass. Pedro did not like tafatitulas, so he took the shovel and killed the venomous little reptile on the spot, while I began to examine its Curious habi- tation, — ; - Casual observers or inattentive travellers would never discover nests of this kind, for the entrance _to one is nothing more than a collection of very small Jeaves and twigs; but the sun-light revealed to me many Single webs radiating to a centre, hence Teasily fonnd it. “This door, then, on the top of which all these Webs united, was ‘made of twigs, and leaves, and moss, and had excellent hinges made of some glutinous substance, which looked to me like web also, and which, from repeated trials, operied and shut with the greatest ease and precision. “So, then, it will be perceived, that when Mr. “Tarantula was at home, he could instantly tell if any victim had been caught in his toils, by the vibration of any single web in the grass; and no grasshopper, however large, or beetle, ant, or even small birds, could ever extricate themselves from the tenacious and firm hold of the tarantula’s net- work of webs. “The interior of the house, or nest, when I came to examine it, was about seven inches in diameter, and as thany deep, being linéd with leaves and grass, and literally covered with the skeletons and _leavings of his many little victims. “Tn trath, a turantula’s nest is like a dead-house, for it is full of skeletons of various sorts, ‘‘T have seen many bones of small birds in them, but imagine that thes only way they were caught QO conmnicooo S CO