|
railing the Giant Panda《追寻大熊猫》
穆坪山林搜寻、猎杀大熊猫完整段落翻译
背景说明:文本记录 1929 年罗斯福父子在穆坪(宝兴)的野外狩猎,是西方最早获取大熊猫标本的亲历记述;全书 1929 年出版,早于 1935 长征,和红军无关。
名词:
giant‑panda 大熊猫;takin 扭角羚(羚牛);bamboo‑thicket 竹林;coolie 挑夫;shikari 职业猎手。
英文原文
Our base‑camp lay deep in the great bamboo jungle, at an elevation of about eight thousand feet. The damp forest air was cold and raw. Rain or fine drizzle fell almost every day. The bamboos stood thick on every hand, their tough stems interlocking to form an almost impenetrable wall. To force a way through them meant constant cutting with machetes. Often we could advance only a few hundred yards in an entire morning. The ground was slippery with rotting bamboo‑leaves and moss, and every step demanded caution. In many places the slope fell away steeply, and a mis‑step would send one sliding down into the tangled undergrowth far below.
We divided our forces. Suydam took one party to work a range of mountains some miles to the west. Kermit, with a small group of coolies and local hunters, operated to the south. I remained at base‑camp most of the time, going out for day‑long hunts when weather permitted. Our local hill‑men knew these mountains intimately, yet even they warned us that the giant panda was exceedingly shy and hard to rouse. It spent most of its time feeding or resting within the heart of the densest bamboo, and very seldom came out into open glades. Its tracks were often to be found in the soft mud beside mountain streams, but the animal itself vanished before a human being could draw near.
Day after day we tramped the slopes. We found panda spoor time and again: prints of its large round paws, fragments of chewed bamboo‑shoots, piles of its droppings. Yet the beast itself always eluded us. Several times we heard crashing in the bamboo ahead, where something heavy was moving off through the thick growth. We would rush forward, machetes swinging to hew apart the stems, only to arrive and find nothing but freshly‑broken bamboo. The panda had slipped away unseen.
The local hunters told us that in cold stormy weather pandas would sometimes come out of the thickest cover to sun themselves on rocky ledges. We watched every exposed rock‑shelf we could find, but for a long time without reward. Snow fell one bitter night. When dawn broke the whole mountain‑side lay white. The bamboo‑tops were heavy with snow. This seemed exactly the sort of weather of which the natives had spoken. Kermit and his shikaris set off before sunrise, hoping to surprise a panda out in the open.
Late that morning a messenger came hurrying back to base‑camp. He was breathless with excitement. Kermit had located a giant panda on a bare rocky promontory.
I snatched my rifle and set off at once with two carriers. The trail was heavy going, snow soft under‑foot, and branches loaded with snow brushed down upon us as we pushed through. It took us more than two hours to cover the distance. When at last I reached the spot, I found Kermit and the hunters concealed behind boulders. Far across a little gully, on a flat bare rock‑shoulder, the giant panda was feeding.
It was a magnificent animal. The bold contrast of its black‑and‑white fur stood out sharply against the snow‑dusted grey rock. It moved slowly, cropping bamboo shoots which grew in crevices of the stone. Now and then it would sit upright, pausing to look about it, its black‑ringed eyes scanning the surrounding mountain‑side. It had no suspicion that human eyes were fixed upon it from across the gully.
The distance was considerable, perhaps two hundred and fifty yards. The wind was blowing from the panda toward us, so our scent could not carry to it. Kermit handed me his rifle. I steadied myself behind a rock, took careful aim at the shoulder, and fired. The great beast lurched. It spun half‑round, gave one short, deep‑throated grunt, and collapsed upon the stone ledge.
We waited for some minutes, watching, in case it was only wounded and might charge. But it lay motionless. Then we climbed down into the gully and scrambled up the opposite slope to where it lay. There before us was our giant panda. It was a full‑grown male, heavy and solid. The thick winter fur was in perfect condition.
We were filled with triumph. For decades white sportsmen had dreamed of taking a giant panda. Père David had obtained only skins secured from local natives. We were among the very first Europeans actually to hunt and kill one in its native haunts.
We skinned the specimen on‑site. The work was tedious, for the panda’s hide is very heavy and the thick fur clings tight to the body. Our coolies wrapped the panda skin securely in canvas, and we bore it carefully back to base‑camp.
This success did not mean our work was finished. We still hoped to secure a female panda, and also specimens of takin. So our parties kept scouring the surrounding mountain ranges. Not many days later, Kermit’s group got a second giant panda. This one was a female, also shot among the bamboo‑clad slopes.
We now held two complete panda specimens, male and female. Nevertheless the difficulties remained great. Even with local hunters, many days of hard marching might yield nothing but tracks and signs. The pandas could vanish into the bamboo thickets as though the earth had swallowed them. Often when we heard them moving, we could not get a clear shot through the maze of bamboo‑stems.
Once I tracked a panda for well over an hour. I could hear it feeding not far ahead, the steady crunch‑crunch of its jaws biting through bamboo‑stems. I crept forward as quietly as I could, machete in hand to clear a path. Every few steps I would stop and listen. The crunching sound kept drawing nearer. At last I thought I was close enough to see it. But just then the noise ceased entirely. All was silence. The animal had slipped away without making the slightest sound. I stood there in the dripping cold bamboo, with nothing before me but endless ranks of stems.
On other days we had encounters with takin. These great shaggy beasts were even more dangerous to follow in broken rocky terrain. When wounded, a takin will charge without hesitation. More than one local hunter had been gored to death by an angry takin among these crags.
We spent many weeks in the Muping hills. Rain, mist, occasional snow‑storms dogged us almost the whole time. Our clothes were perpetually damp. Yet we had secured what we had travelled so far to obtain: male and female giant‑panda skins, plus several fine takin specimens, together with a large collection of smaller mammals and birds. At length our supplies began to run low, and we prepared to break camp.
中文译文
我们的大本营安设在广袤竹林的深处,海拔大约八千英尺。森林里的空气阴冷潮湿,几乎天天下雨或者飘毛毛雨。四下竹子密不透风,坚硬的竹秆交错缠绕,形成几乎无法穿越的屏障。想要开辟道路,就得不停用开山砍刀劈砍。往往一整个上午,我们才前进几百码。地上铺满腐烂竹叶与苔藓,走上去滑溜溜的,每一步都必须万分小心。很多地方山坡陡峭外倾,一旦失足,人就会滑落到下方纠缠的灌木丛之中。
我们把队伍拆分。苏伊达姆带领一队人,去往西边数英里外的一片山地作业。克米特带着一小队挑夫与本地猎手,往南边搜寻。我大多数时间留守大本营,天气允许的时候,就外出进行一整天的狩猎。本地山民对这片大山了如指掌,但就连他们也告诫我们,大熊猫生性极其胆怯,很难撞见。大熊猫大部分时间都在最浓密的竹林深处进食或者休息,极少走到开阔林间空地。山涧边的软泥上经常能见到它的脚印,可不等人类靠近,这野兽就已经消失得无影无踪。
日复一日,我们在山坡上跋涉。一次次发现大熊猫的踪迹:又大又圆的掌印、啃咬过的竹笋残段、一堆堆粪便,可野兽本体总是躲开我们。有好几回,我们听见前方竹林传来轰隆响动,有体型庞大的动物在密林里移动。我们立刻冲上前,挥舞砍刀劈开竹秆,赶到现场,却只看见刚刚被折断的竹子。大熊猫已经悄无声息逃掉了。
本地猎手告诉我们:遇上寒冷的暴风雨天气,大熊猫偶尔会走出密林遮蔽,到岩石平台上晒太阳。我们仔细搜寻每一处裸露岩石台地,很长一段时间都一无所获。一个严寒的夜晚降下大雪。破晓时分,整片山坡银装素裹,竹梢压满积雪。这正是当地人所说的那种天气。天还没日出,克米特就和职业猎手们出发,希望能撞见暴露在外的大熊猫。
当天上午晚些时候,一名信使急匆匆跑回大本营,激动得气喘吁吁:克米特在一处光秃秃的岩石岬角发现了一头大熊猫。
我抓起步枪,立刻带上两名挑夫动身。路途十分艰难,脚下积雪松软;穿行林间,挂满积雪的树枝不停往我们身上扫落雪花。花了两个多小时才赶到现场。终于抵达之后,我看见克米特和猎手们隐蔽在巨石后面。隔着一道小山谷,在一块平坦裸露的岩石台地上,大熊猫正在觅食。
这是一头雄壮的野兽。黑白分明的皮毛,在蒙着薄雪的灰色岩石映衬下格外醒目。它动作缓慢,啃食石缝里长出来的竹笋。时不时会直起身子坐立,环顾四周,长着黑色眼圈的眼睛扫视周围山坡。它完全没有察觉,山谷对面,一群人正盯着自己。
距离相当远,大约二百五十码。风从大熊猫那边吹向我们这边,所以我们的气味不会飘到它那里。克米特把步枪递给我。我在岩石后方稳住身体,仔细瞄准它的肩部,扣下扳机。这头巨兽猛地一晃,身体半转,发出一声短促低沉的低吼,随即倒在岩石台地上。
我们等候几分钟,继续观察,防备它只是受伤,有可能发起冲击。可它一动不动。于是我们下到山谷,爬上对面的山坡,来到它倒地的地方。一头活生生的大熊猫就躺在我们眼前。这是一头完全成年的雄性个体,体格敦实壮硕,冬季厚皮毛品相完好。
我们满心欢喜。数十年来,白人狩猎者一直梦想猎获大熊猫。阿尔芒・戴维神父当年只能拿到当地人上交的皮张。而我们,是最早一批在原生栖息地狩猎、猎杀大熊猫的欧洲人。
我们当场给动物剥皮。这项工作十分费事,大熊猫皮厚重,厚实的皮毛紧紧贴住躯体。挑夫们用帆布稳妥包裹熊猫皮,我们小心翼翼把它运回大本营。
取得这次成功,并不代表我们的野外工作已经结束。我们还希望猎获一头雌性大熊猫,同时拿到扭角羚标本。于是各个小队继续搜遍周边群山。没过多少天,克米特的队伍猎获第二头大熊猫,这一头是雌性,同样在竹林覆盖的山坡上被射杀。
至此我们已经拥有雌雄两套完整大熊猫标本。但困难依旧重重。就算有本地猎手带路,很多天艰苦跋涉,到头来也只找得到足迹与痕迹。大熊猫能消失在竹林里,仿佛被大地吞没。很多时候我们听见它在附近活动,错综复杂的竹秆遮挡视线,根本无法进行有效射击。
有一回,我追踪一头大熊猫超过一个钟头。我能听见它就在前方不远处进食, jaws 不断咬断竹秆,发出持续的咔嚓咔嚓咀嚼声。我手持开山砍刀,尽可能悄无声息匍匐前进,开辟道路。每走几步就停下侧耳聆听。咀嚼的声响越来越近。我以为已经足够接近,马上就能看见它。可就在那一刻,声响彻底消失,四下一片死寂。这头动物没有发出半点动静就溜走了。我站在阴冷滴水的竹林之中,眼前只有望不到尽头的竹秆。
别的日子,我们也遭遇过扭角羚。在崎岖多石的山地,追踪这些体型庞大、毛发粗厚的野兽更加危险。扭角羚一旦负伤,会毫不犹豫发起冲锋,这片峭壁之间,已经不止一名本地猎手被暴怒的扭角羚用角戳死。
我们在穆坪群山度过许多个星期。几乎全程都被雨水、薄雾,时不时还有暴风雪纠缠。身上衣服永远潮乎乎的。但我们得到了千里迢迢前来追寻的收获:雌雄大熊猫皮张,数份品质优良的扭角羚标本,还收集大量小型兽类与鸟类标本。最后补给开始消耗殆尽,我们准备拆除营地。
注释
时代背景
本书是 1928‑1929 美国探险队狩猎记录,菲尔德博物馆为了获取动物标本开展狩猎;现代动物保护视角下,猎杀大熊猫的行为已经被严格禁止。
关键人物
Père Armand David 阿尔芒・戴维,巴黎外方传教会神父,最早把大熊猫介绍给西方科学界。本书作者和戴维不一样,戴维是收购当地人得到的皮张,罗斯福父子是直接野外猎杀。
地理与族群
穆坪(宝兴)竹林地貌完全符合史实;本地山民充当向导猎手。
史料边界
全文无长征、红军相关内容,写作时间早于 1935 年。
论文脚注模板
Theodore Roosevelt & Kermit Roosevelt, Trailing the Giant Panda, New York‑London, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1929.
注:本段记述 1929 年美国探险队在穆坪(今四川宝兴县)野外狩猎大熊猫的亲历记录;成书早于红军长征,仅为动物考察狩猎叙事。
|