The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle · Chapter
Hawk's-Head Mountain explained
The search party climbs Hawk's-Head Mountain in search of Long Arrow.
What happens
The search party climbs Hawk's-Head Mountain in search of Long Arrow. After an exhaustive search yields no cave, Polynesia suggests releasing the Jabizri beetle to lead them to its home, which they hope is Long Arrow's prison. The beetle leads them on a slow trek around the mountain before climbing a steep rock face and disappearing into a hidden hole. When the Doctor strikes the rock, three answering knocks confirm that someone inside is alive.
Themes in this chapter
Adventure and Exploration
The chapter centers on the arduous search for Long Arrow, involving climbing, tracking, and the discovery of a hidden cave.
Communication with Animals
The Doctor and his companions converse with Jip, Chee-Chee, and Polynesia, and use the beetle's homing instinct to locate the cave.
Friendship and Loyalty
The group's determination to rescue Long Arrow, despite exhaustion and disappointment, underscores their loyalty and camaraderie.
Characters to notice
- Doctor Dolittle
Leads the search party with determination, devises the plan to follow the beetle, and confirms life inside the mountain with three knocks.
- Tommy Stubbins
Narrates the exhausting climb and the tedious beetle-following, feeling the strain of the slow pace.
- Bumpo Kahbooboo
Participates in the search, makes humorous remarks about the beetle, and grows weary during the long wait.
- Polynesia
Devises the clever plan to use the beetle as a guide, scolds Bumpo, and spots the hidden hole in the rock.
- Jip
Scouts ahead with the other animals but reports that his nose is useless due to the overwhelming spider-monkey scent.
- Chee-Chee
Searches every peak and hollow but finds no sign of hidden men.
Key passages
“We all agreed afterwards that none of us had ever worked so hard in our lives before as we did that day.”
Everyone later said that day was the hardest work they had ever done.
Tommy reflects on the extreme effort of the climb.
“For a fat man, he was certainly the swiftest cross-country runner I ever saw.”
Despite his size, the Doctor was the fastest cross-country runner Tommy had ever seen.
Tommy marvels at the Doctor's speed and agility.
“The trouble is, the whole air is so saturated with the smell of spider-monkeys that it drowns every other scent”
The air is so full of spider-monkey smell that Jip cannot detect any other scents.
Jip explains why his nose is ineffective in the search.
“If he takes to the air, I'll guarantee not to let the little devil out of my sight.”
Polynesia promises to keep the beetle in view if it flies.
Polynesia volunteers to track the beetle if it takes flight.
“And then a cold shiver ran down my spine. For, from within the mountain, back came three answering knocks”
Tommy felt a chill when three knocks echoed from inside the mountain in response.
The dramatic moment when they realize someone is alive inside the cave.
