He then sewed up the opening, and enveloped the pig in large leaves to guard it from the ashes and dust of its cooking-place. The fire no longer blazed, but the embers and stones were glowing hot; the pig was carefully placed in the hole, covered over with hot ashes, and the hole with earth, so that it looked like a big mole heap. Dinner was looked forward to with curiosity, as well as appetite; my wife, as usual, distrusting our experiments, was not sanguine of success, and made ready some plain food as a _pis aller_. She was well pleased with the curing-hut, which was roomy enough to hang all our hams and bacon. On a wide hearth in the middle we kindled a large fire, which was kept constantly smoldering by heaping it with damp grass and green wood. The hut being closed in above, the smoke filled it, and penetrated the meat thoroughly; this process it had to undergo for several days. In a few hours Fritz gave notice that he was going to open his oven. 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. 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.