ll our fears, was still propped up. One after the other
did we squeeze ourselves through the narrow opening, avoiding as
much as possible the least friction, till at last we had all passed
through. Joyous indeed were we on seeing ourselves out of danger after
so perilous an enterprise, and we were already beginning to direct
our steps towards the outlet of the cavern, when suddenly a hollow,
prolonged noise, and below our feet a rapid trembling excited once
more all our fears. But those fears were soon calmed by our Indian,
who came running towards us at full speed, brandishing in his hand
his pick-axe. The imprudent fellow, unwilling to sacrifice it, had
waited till we were some paces distant, and then pulling it to him
most forcibly, while all the while he took good care to keep quickly
moving away, when thanks to Providence, or to his own nimbleness,
he was not crushed to atoms by the fragment of the rock, which,
being no longer buttressed up by the column that had been shaken,
had fallen to the ground, completely stopping up the issue through
which we had passed one after the other: so that no doubt no one,
after us, will be able to penetrate into the beautiful part of that
grotto which we had just passed through so fortunately. After this
last episode we no longer hesitated in returning, and it was with great
delight that we beheld once more the great luminary of the world, and
found our friend Genu sitting upon a block of marble, reflecting on
our long absence, and, at the same time, on our unqualifiable temerity.

CHAPTER X.

Dumont d'Urville--Rear-Admiral Laplace: Desertion of
Sailors from his Ship--I recover them for him--Origin of
the Inhabitants of the Philippine Islands--Their General
Disposition--Hospitality and Respect for Old Age--Tagal
Marriage Ceremony--Indian Legal Eloquence--Explanation of the
Matrimonial Speeches--The Caymans, or Alligators--Instances of
their Ferocity--Imprudence and Death of my Shepherd--Method
of entrapping the Monster which had devoured him--We Attack
and eventually Capture it--Its Dimensions--We Dissect and
Examine the Contents of its Stomach--Boa-Constrictors--Their
large size--Attack of a Boa-Constrictor on a Wild Boar--We Kill
and Skin it--Unsuccessful Attempt to capture a Boa-Constrictor
alive--A Man Devoured--Dangerous Venomous Reptiles.

I shall perhaps be accused of exaggeration for what I say of the
enjo