Great excitement prevailed as he removed the earth, turf, and stones, and a delicious appetizing odor arose from the opening. It was the smell of roast pork, certainly, but with a flavor of spices which surprised me, until I thought of the leaves in which the food had been wrapped up. The peccary was carefully raised, and when a few cinders were picked off, it looked a remarkably well-cooked dish. Fritz was highly complimented on his success, even by his mother. The scented leaves were, I thought, those of a tree which I knew to be found in Madagascar, called by the natives ravensara, or "good leaf." It is said to combine the scent of the nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon. The fruit is a species of nut, possessing the scent of the leaves in a more delicate degree, and from it an oil or essence is distilled, which is highly valued in native cookery. During the process of curing our large supply of hams and bacon, which occupied several days, we roamed about the neighborhood in all directions, finding no trace of the serpent, but making many valuable acquisitions, among which were some gigantic bamboos, from fifty to sixty feet in length and of proportionate thickness. These, when cut across near the joints, formed capital casks, tubs and pots; while the long sharp thorns, which begirt the stem at intervals, were as strong and useful as iron nails. One day we made an excursion to the farm at Prospect Hill, and were grievously provoked to find that the vagabond apes had been there, and wrought terrible mischief, as before at Woodlands. The animals and poultry were scattered, and everything in the cottage so torn and dirtied, that it was vain to think of setting things right that day. We therefore very unwillingly left the disorder as we found it, purposing to devote time to the work afterward. When all was in readiness for the prosecution of our journey, we closed and barricaded the hut, in which, for the present, we left the store of bacon; and arranging our march in the usual patriarchal style, we took our way to the Gap, the thorough defense of which defile was the main object we had in view. Our last halting-place being much enclosed by shrubs, bamboos, and brushwood, we had during our stay opened a path through the cane thicket in the direction we were about to travel; this we now found of the greatest assistance, and the loaded cart passed on without impediment. The ground was open and tolerably level beyond, so that in a few hours we arrived at the extreme limit of our coast territory. We halted on the outskirts of a little wood, behind which, to the right, rose the precipitous and frowning cliffs of the mountain gorge, while to the left flowed the torrent, leaving between it and the rocks the narrow pass we called the Gap, and passing outward to mingle its water with the sea.