The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Western World, by W.H.G. Kingston
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Title: The Western World
Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North
and South America
Author: W.H.G. Kingston
Illustrator: D. Yan, W.H. Freeman, Etherington and Others.
Release Date: February 28, 2008 [EBook #24715]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WESTERN WORLD ***
Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
The Western World, by W.H.G. Kingston.
________________________________________________________________________
This rather long book is not a novel: it is a fun-level introduction to
the natural history of the Americas, seen from a late nineteenth century
perspective. Quadrupeds, birds, plants, trees, and the indigenous races
are covered, always in an interesting and readable style. There are
almost 200 engravings, many of them quite excellent, done by a variety
of high-quality artists. Unfortunately all this adds up to additional
size, such that the PDF of the book is close to 100 megabytes, when an
average novel is from 12 to 20 megabytes.
You could not use this book as a full guide to all the natural history
of the Americas, but instead it is intended to be read through in order
to gain an introductory view of it. The book is divided into five parts
of which the first, of nine chapters, covers North America; the second,
of three chapters, covers Central America; the third, fourth, and fifth,
amounting to twenty-five chapters, covers South America.
It is a well-written and absorbing book.
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THE WESTERN WORLD, BY W.H.G. KINGSTON.
PREFACE.
In the following pages I have endeavoured to give, in a series of
picturesque sketches, a general view of the natural history as well as
of the physical appearance of North and South America.
I have first described the features of the country; then its vegetation;
and next the wild men and the brute creatures which inhabit it.
However, I have not been bound by any strict rule in that respect, as my
object has been to produce a work calculated to interest the family
circle rather than one of scientific pretensions. I have endeavoured to
impart, in an attractive manner, information about its physical
geography, mineral riches, vegetable productions, and the appearance and
customs of the human beings inhabiting it. But the chief portion of the
work is devoted to accounts of the brute creation, from the huge stag
and buffalo to the minute humming-bird and persevering termites,--
introduced not in a formal way, but as they appear to the
naturalist-explorer, to the traveller in search of adventures, or to the
sportsman; with descriptions of their mode of life, and of how they are
found, hunted, or trapped. I have described in the same way some of the
most remarkable trees and plants; and from the accounts I have given I
trust that a knowledge may be obtained of the way they are cultivated,
and how their produce is prepared and employed. Thus I hope that, with
the aid of the numerous illustrations in the work, a correct idea will
be gained of the wilder and more romantic portions of the great Western
World.
William H.G. Kingston.
PART ONE, CHAPTER ONE.
NORTH AMERICA.
INTRODUCTORY.--PHYSICAL FEATURES OF NORTH AMERICA.
The continent of America, if the stony records of the Past are read
aright, claims to be the oldest instead of the newest portion of the
globe. [According to some geologists, Labrador was the first part of
our globe's surface to become dry land.] Bowing to this opinion of
geologists till they see cause to express a different one, we will, in
consequence, commence our survey of the world and its inhabitants with
the Western Hemisphere. From the multitude of objects which crowd upon
us, we can examine only a few of the most interesting minutely; at
others we can merely give a cursory glance; while many we must pass by
altogether,--our object being to obtain a general and retainable
knowledge of the physical features of the Earth, the vegetation which
clothes its surface, the races of men who inhabit it, and the tribes of
the brute creation found in its forests and waters, on its plains and
mountains.
As we go along, we will stop now and then to pick up scraps of
information about its geology, and the architectural antiquities found
on it; as the first will assist in giving us an insight into the former
conditions of extinct animals, and the latter may teach us something of
the past history of the human tribes now wandering as savages in regions
once inhabited by civilised men.
Still, the study of Natural History and the geographical range of
animals is the primary object we have in view.
Though the best-known portions of the Polar Regions are more nearly
connected with North America than with Europe or Asia, we propose to
leave them to be fully described in another work. It is impossible, in
the present volume, to embrace more than the continental parts of the
Western World.
Looking down on the continent of North America, which we will first
visit, we observe its triangular shape: the apex, the southern end of
Mexico; the base, the Arctic shore; the sides, especially the eastern,
deeply indented, first by Hudson Bay, which pierces through more than a
third of the continent, then by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and further
south by Chesapeake Bay and the Bay of Fundy. On the western coast, the
Gulf of California runs 800 miles up its side, with the Rio Colorado
falling into it; and further north are the Straits of Juan da Fuca,
between Vancouver's Island and the mainland, north of which are numerous
archipelagoes and inlets extending round the great peninsula of Yukon to
Kotzebue Sound.
Parallel with either coast we shall see two great mountain-systems--that
called the Appalachian, including the chain of the Alleghanies, on the
east, and the famed Rocky Mountains on the west--running from north to
south through the continent.
We shall easily recollect the great water-system of North America if we
consider it to be represented by an irregular cross, of which the
Mississippi with its affluents forms the stem; Lake Superior and the
River Saint Lawrence, including the intermediate lakes, the eastern arm;
the Lake of the Woods and its neighbours, Lake Winnipeg and the
Saskatchewan, the western arm; and the northern lakes of Athabasca, the
Great Slave Lake, and the Mackenzie River, the upper part of the cross.
If we observe also a wide level region which runs north and south
between the Arctic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, bounded on either side
by the two lofty mountain ranges already mentioned, we shall have a
tolerably correct notion of the chief physical features of the North
American continent.
Arriving at the northern end, we shall find it reaching some four
degrees north of the Polar Circle, though some of its headlands extend
stilt further into the icy sea. Beyond it stretches away to an unknown
distance towards the Pole a dense archipelago of large islands, the
narrow channels between them bridged over in winter by massive sheets of
ice, affording an easy passage to the reindeer, musk-oxen, and other
animals which migrate southward during the colder portion of the Arctic
winter.
NORTHERN REGION.
With that end of America will ever be associated the names of Sir John
Franklin and his gallant companions, who perished in their search of the
North-west Passage; as well as those of other more fortunate successors,
especially of Captains McClure and Collinson of the British navy, to the
first of whom is due the honour of leading an expedition from west to
east along that icy shore; while Captain Collinson took his ship, the
_Enterprise_, up to Cambridge Bay, Victoria Land, further east than any
ship had before reached from the west--namely, 105 degrees west--and
succeeded in extricating her from amid the ice and bringing her home in
safety. Captain McClure, not so fortunate in one respect, was compelled
to leave his ship frozen up. The two expeditions, while proving the
existence of a channel, at the same time showed its uselessness as a
means of passing from the Atlantic to the Pacific, as, except in most
extraordinary seasons, it remains blocked up all the year by ice.
The northern end of the American continent is a region of mountains,
lakes, and rivers. Several expeditions have been undertaken through
it,--the first to ascertain the coast-line, by Mackenzie, Franklin,
Richardson, Back, and others, and latterly by Dr Rae; and also by Sir
John Richardson, who left the comforts of England to convey assistance
to his long-missing former companions, though unhappily without avail.
These journeys, through vast barren districts, among rugged hills,
marshes, lakes, and rivers, in the severest of climates, exhibit in the
explorers an amount of courage, endurance, and perseverance never
surpassed. In the course of the rivers occur many dangerous falls,
rapids, and cataracts, amid rocks and huge boulders, between which the
voyagers' frail barks make their way, running a fearful risk every
instant of being dashed to pieces. Not a tree rears its head in the
wild and savage landscape, the vegetation consisting chiefly of lichens
and mosses. Among the former the tripe de roche is the most capable of
supporting life. Here winter reigns with stern rigour for ten months in
the year; and even in summer biting blasts, hail-storms, and rain
frequently occur. Yet in this inhospitable region numerous herds of
reindeer, musk-oxen, and other mammalia find subsistence during the
brief summer, as do partridge and numerous birds of various species.
Here the Esquimaux lives in his skin-tent during the warmer months, and
in his snow-hut in winter, existing on the seals which he catches with
his harpoon, the whales occasionally cast on shore, and the bears, deer,
and smaller animals he entraps.
The numerous rivers flowing from the mountain-ridges mostly make their
way northward. The Mackenzie, the largest and most western, rising in
the Great Slave and Great Bear Lakes, falls, after a course of many
hundred miles, into the Polar Sea. The Coppermine River, rising in
Point Lake, makes its course in the same direction; while eastward, the
great Fish or Back River, flowing from the same lake as the first
mentioned stream, reaches the ocean many hundred miles away from it, at
the lower extremity of Bathurst Islet. It runs rapidly in a tortuous
course of 530 geographical miles through an iron-ribbed country, without
a single tree on the whole line of its banks, expanding here and there
into five large lakes, and broken by thirty-three falls, cascades, and
rapids ere it reaches the Polar Sea. Not far from its mouth rises the
barren rocky height of Cape Beaufort.
It was down this stream that Captain Back, the Arctic explorer, made his
way, but was compelled to return on account of the inclemency of the
weather and the difficulty of finding fuel; the only vegetation which he
could discover being fern and moss, which was so wet that it would not
burn, while he was almost without fire, or any means of obtaining
warmth, his men sinking knee-deep as they proceeded on shore in the soft
slush and snow, which benumbed their limbs and dispirited them in the
extreme. Through this country the unhappy remnant of the Franklin
expedition, many years later, perished in their attempt to reach the
Hudson Bay Company's territory. Here, in winter, the thermometer sinks
70 degrees below zero. Even within his hut, when he had succeeded in
lighting a fire, Back could not get it higher than 12 degrees below
zero. Ink and paint froze. The sextant cases, and boxes of seasoned
wood--principally fir--all split; the skin of the hands became dried,
cracked, and opened into unsightly and smarting gashes; and on one
occasion, after washing his hands and face within three feet of the
fire, his hair was actually clotted with ice before he had time to dry
it. The hunters described the sensation of handling their guns as
similar to that of touching red-hot iron; and so excessive was the pain,
that they were obliged to wrap thongs of leather round the triggers to
prevent their fingers coming in contact with the steel. Numbers of the
Indian inhabitants of the country perish from cold and hunger every
year--indeed, it seems wonderful that human beings should attempt to
live in such a country; yet much further north, the hardy Esquimaux,
subsisting on whale's blubber and seal's flesh, contrives to support
life in tolerable comfort.
To the south of the Arctic Circle stunted fir-trees begin to appear, and
at length grow so thickly, that it is with difficulty a passage can be
made amid them. Frequently the explorer has to clamber over fallen
trees, through rivulets, bogs, and swamps, till often the difficulties
in the way appear insurmountable to all but the boldest and the most
persevering.
MOUNTAINS.
On the western side of the continent rises gradually from the Polar
regions the mighty chain which runs throughout its whole length--a
distance of altogether 10,000 miles. The northern portion, known as the
Rocky Mountains, runs for 3000 miles, in two parallel chains, to the
plains of Mexico, flanked by two other parallel ranges on the west,--the
most northern of which are the Sea Alps of the north-west coast, and on
the southern, the mountains of California. At the north-western end of
the Sea Alps rises the lofty mountain of Mount Elias, 17,000 feet in
height--the highest mountain in North America--not far from Behring Bay;
while another range, the Chippewayan, stretches eastward, culminating in
Mount Brown, 10,000 feet in height, and gradually diminishing, till it
sinks into insignificance towards the Arctic Circle. Point Barrow is
the most northern point of America on the western side. It consists of
a long narrow spit, composed of gravel and loose sand, which the
pressure of the ice has forced up into numerous masses, having the
appearance of rocks. From this point eastward to the mouth of the
Mackenzie River the coast declines a little south of east. The various
mountain ranges existing on the eastern side of the continent, including
the chain of the Alleghanies, form what is called the Appalachian
system. It consists of numerous parallel chains, some of which form
detached ridges, the whole running from the north-east to the
south-west, and it extends about 1200 miles in length--from Maine to
Alabama. Besides the Alleghany Mountains in the western part of
Virginia and the central parts of Pennsylvania, it embraces the Catskill
Mountains in the State of New York, the Green Mountains in the State of
Vermont, the highlands eastward of the Hudson River, and the White
Mountains in New Hampshire. Mount Washington, which rises to an
elevation of 6634 feet out of the last-named range, is the highest peak,
of the whole system. To the north of the Saint Lawrence the lofty range
of the Wotchish Mountains extends towards the coast of Labrador; while
the whole region west and north of that river and the great Canadian
lakes is of considerable length, the best-known range being that which
contains the Lacloche Mountains, which appear to the north of Lake
Huron, and extend towards the Ottawa River. These two great ranges of
mountains divide the North American continent into three portions.
GREAT RIVERS.
The rivers which rise on the eastern side of the Appalachian range run
into the Atlantic; those which rise west of the Rocky Mountains empty
themselves into the Pacific; while the mighty streams which flow between
the two, pass through the great basin of the Mississippi, and swell the
waters of that mother of rivers. The great valley of the Mississippi,
indeed, drains a surface greater than that of any other river on the
globe, with the exception perhaps of the Amazon. The Missouri, even
before it reaches it, runs a course of 1300 miles, while the Mississippi
itself, before its confluence with the Missouri, has already passed over
a distance of 1200 miles; thence to its mouth its course is upwards of
1200 miles more. The Arkansas, which flows into it, is 2000 miles long,
and the Red River of the south 1500 miles in length; while the Ohio, to
its junction with the Mississippi, is nearly 1000 miles long.
North America may be said to contain four great valleys--that of the
Mississippi, running north and south; that of the Saint Lawrence, from
the south-west to the north-east; that of the Saskatchewan, extending
from the Rocky Mountains below Mount Brown to Lake Superior; that of the
Mackenzie, from the Great Slave Lake to the Arctic Ocean. Although a
large portion of the eastern side of the continent is densely-wooded,
there are towards the west, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the
Arctic Ocean, vast plains. In the south they are treeless and barren in
the extreme; while advancing northward they are covered with rich
grasses, which afford support to vast herds of buffaloes, as well as
deer and other animals.
LAKES.
The most remarkable feature in North America is its lake system--the
largest and most important in the world. In the north-west, at the foot
of the Rocky Mountains, are the Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes, which
discharge their waters through the Mackenzie River into the Arctic
Ocean. Next we have the Athabasca, Wollaston, and Deer Lakes. In the
very centre of the continent are the two important lakes of Winnipeg and
Winnipegoos,--the former 240 miles in length by 55 in width, and the
latter about half the size. The large river of the Saskatchewan flows
into Lake Winnipeg, and with it will, ere long, form an important means
of communication between the different parts of that vast district
lately opened up for colonisation. At its southern end the Red River of
the north flows into it, on the banks of which a British settlement has
long been established. Several streams, however, make their way into
Hudson Bay. Between it and Lake Superior is an elevated ridge of about
1500 feet in height; the streams on the west falling into Lake Winnipeg,
while those which flow towards the east reach Lake Superior.
We now come to the site of the five largest fresh-water lakes in the
world. Lake Superior extends, from west to east, 335 miles, with an
extreme breadth of 175. Its waters flow through the Saint Mary's River
by a rapid descent into Lake Huron, which is 240 miles long. This lake
is divided by the Manitoulin islands into two portions, and is connected
with Lake Michigan by a narrow channel without rapids, so that the two
lakes together may be considered to form one sheet of water. On its
southern extremity the waters of Lake Huron flow through another narrow
channel, which expands during part of its course into Lake Saint Clair;
and they then enter Lake Erie, which has a length of 265 miles, and a
breadth of 80 miles. It is of much less depth than the other lakes, and
its surface is therefore easily broken up into dangerous billows by
strong winds. Passing onward towards the north-east, the current enters
the Niagara River, about half-way down which it leaps along a rocky
ledge of 100 feet in height, to a lower level, forming the celebrated
Falls of Niagara, and then passes on in a rapid course into Lake
Ontario. The fall between the two lakes is 333 feet. Lake Ontario is
180 miles long and 65 miles wide. Out of its north-eastern end falls
the broad stream which here generally takes the name of the Saint
Lawrence, and which proceeds onward, now widening into lake-like
expanses full of islands, now compressed into a narrow channel, in a
north-easterly direction. The true Saint Lawrence may indeed be
considered as traversing the whole system of the great lakes of North
America, and thus being little less than a thousand miles in direct
length; indeed, including its windings, it is fully two thousand miles
long. To the north-west of it exist countless numbers of small lakes
united by a network of streams; while numerous large rivers, such as the
Ottawa, the Saint Maurice, and the Saguenay, flow into it, and assist to
swell its current. There are numerous other small lakes to the west of
the Rocky Mountains, a large number of which exist in the Province of
British Columbia, and are more or less connected with the Fraser and
Columbia Rivers. Further to the south are other lakes, many of them of
volcanic origin, some intensely salt, others formed of hot mud. Among
these is the Great Salt Lake, in the State of Utah. To the south of the
Saint Lawrence also is Lake Champlain, 105 miles long, though extremely
narrow,--being only 10 miles in its widest part, narrowing in some
places to half a mile. Near it is the beautiful Lake Saint George, with
several other small lakes; and lastly, in Florida, there is a chain of
small lakes, terminating in Lake Okechodee--a circular sheet of water
about thirty miles in diameter.
We must now proceed more particularly to examine the regions of which we
have obtained the preceding cursory view, but, before we do so, we must
glance at their human inhabitants.
ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS--THE RED MEN OF THE WILDS.
While the white men from Europe occupy the whole eastern coast, pressing
rapidly and steadily westward, the Redskin aborigines maintain a
precarious existence throughout the centre of the continent, from north
to south, and are still found here and there on the western shores. On
the northern ice-bound coast, the skin-clothed Esquimaux wander in small
bands from Behring Strait to Baffin Bay, but never venture far inland,
being kept in check by their hereditary enemies, the Athabascas, the
most northern of the red-skinned nations. The Esquimaux, inhabiting the
Arctic regions, may more properly be described in the volume devoted to
that part of the globe.
INDIAN WIGWAMS.
Here and there, in openings in the primeval forest, either natural or
artificial, on the banks of streams and lakes, several small conical
structures may be seen, composed of long stakes, stuck in the ground in
circular form, and fastened at the top. The walls consist of large
sheets of birch-bark, layer above layer, fastened to the stakes. On the
lee-side is left a small opening for ingress and egress, which can be
closed by a sheet of bark, or the skin of a wild animal. At the apex,
also, an aperture is allowed to remain for the escape of the smoke from
the fire which burns within. Lines are secured to the stakes within, on
which various articles are suspended; while round the interior mats or
skins are spread to serve as couches, the centre being left free for the
fire. In front, forked stakes support horizontal poles, on which fish
or skins are hung to dry; and against others, sheets of bark are placed
on the weather-side, forming lean-tos, shelters to larger fires, used
for more extensive culinary operations than can be carried on within the
hut. On the shores are seen drawn up beautifully-formed canoes of
birch-bark of various sizes--some sufficient to carry eight or ten men;
and others, in which only one or two people can sit.
APPEARANCE OF THE INDIANS.
Amid the huts may be seen human figures with dull copper or
reddish-brown complexions, clothed in rudely-tanned skins of a yellowish
or white hue, and ornamented with the teeth of animals and coloured
grasses, or worsted and beads. Their figures are tall and slight. They
have black, piercing eyes, slightly inclining downwards towards the
nose, which is broad and large. They have thick, coarse lips, high and
prominent cheek-bones, with somewhat narrow foreheads, and coarse, dark,
glossy hair, without an approach to a curl; their heads sometimes
adorned with feathered caps or other ornaments. Often their faces are
besmeared with various coloured pigments in stripes or patches--one
colour on one side of the face, the other being of a different hue.
Their lower extremities are covered with leggings of leather, ornamented
with fringes, and their feet clothed in mocassins of the same material
as their leggings. The men stalk carelessly about, or repair their
canoes or fishing gear and arms; while the women sit, crouching down to
the ground, bending over their caldrons, shelling Indian-corn, or
engaged in some other domestic occupation; and the children, innocent of
clothing, tumble about on the ground. In travelling, the Indian mother
carries her child on her back. It is strapped to a board; and when a
halting-place is reached, the cradle and the child are hung upon a tree,
or on a pole inside the wigwam. Those who have communication with the
whites may be seen clothed in blanket garments, which the men wear in
the shape of coats; while the women swathe their bodies in a whole
blanket, which covers them from their shoulders to their feet.
Though the men assume a grave and dignified air when a stranger
approaches, they often indulge in practical jokes and laughter among
themselves; and in seasons of prosperity, appear good-humoured and
merry. The women, however, are doomed to lives of unremitting toil,
from the time they become wives. They are compelled to carry the
burdens, and to cultivate the ground, when any ground is cultivated, for
the production of potatoes, maize, and tobacco. The men condescend
merely to manufacture their arms and canoes, and to hunt; or they engage
in what they consider the noblest of employments, waging war on their
neighbours. The women, indeed, are often compelled to paddle the
canoes, sometimes to go fishing, and to carry the portable property from
place to place, or an overload of game when captured.
Intelligent as the Indian appears, it is evident that he has cultivated
his perceptive powers to the neglect of his spiritual and moral
qualities. His senses are remarkably acute. His memory is good; and
when aroused, his imagination is vivid, though wild in the extreme. He
is warmly attached to hereditary customs and manners. Naturally
indolent and slothful, he detests labour, and looks upon it as a
disgrace, though he will go through great fatigue when hunting or
engaged in warfare.
WOOD INDIANS.
The northern tribes are known as Wood Indians, in contradistinction to
the inhabitants of the open country, the Prairie Indians, who differ
greatly from the former in their habits and customs. All the tribes of
the Athabascas, as well as those to the south of them, known as the
Algonquins, are Wood Indians. They are nearly always engaged in hunting
the wild animals of the region they inhabit, for the sake of their furs,
which they dispose of to the agents of the Hudson Bay Company and other
traders, in exchange for blankets, firearms, hatchets, and numerous
other articles, as well as too often for the pernicious fire-water, to
obtain even small quantities of which they will frequently dispose of
the skins which it has cost them many weeks to obtain with much hardship
and danger. These Wood Indians are peaceably-disposed, and can always
escape the attacks of their enemies of the prairies by retreating among
their forest or lake fastnesses. They obtain their game by various
devices, sometimes using traps of ingenious construction, or shooting
the creatures with bows and arrows, and of later years with firearms.
They spear the fish which abound in their waters, or catch them with
scoop and other nets. Although their ordinary wigwams are of the shape
already described, some are considerably larger, somewhat of a bee-hive
form, covered thickly with birch-bark, and have a raised dais in the
interior capable of holding a considerable number of people. The
best-known of these Forest Indians are the Chippeways, who range from
the banks of Lake Huron almost to the Rocky Mountains, throughout the
British territory.
THE PRAIRIE INDIANS.
To the south of the tribes already mentioned, are the large family of
the Dakotahs, who number among them the Sioux, Assiniboines, and
Blackfeet, and are the hereditary enemies of the Chippeways, especially
of their nearer neighbours, the Crees and Ojibbeways. These Dakotahs
occupy the open prairie country to the south of the Saskatchewan, and
are the most northern of the Prairie Indians. In summer, they wear
little or no clothing; and possessing numerous horses, hunt the
buffaloes, or rather bisons, on horseback, armed with spears and bows
and arrows. They are fiercer and more warlike than their northern
neighbours, and have long set the whites at defiance. The buffalo
supplies them with their chief support. The flesh of the animal dried
in the sun, or pounded with its fat into pemmican, is their chief
article of food; while its skin serves as a covering for their tents, a
couch at night, or for clothing by day, and is manufactured into bags
for carrying their provisions, and numerous other articles. Physically,
they are superior to the Wood Indians. They are both hunters and
warriors; and though they may occasionally exchange the buffalo robes--
as the skins are called--for firearms; they seldom employ themselves as
trappers, or attend to the cultivation of the ground.
The greater number of the tribes further to the south possess horses,
and hunt the buffalo and deer. Some are even more savage than the
Dakotahs, while others, again, have made slight progress towards
civilisation, and live in settled villages, while they rudely cultivate
the ground, and possess herds of cattle.
Although the Indian languages differ greatly from each other, a great
similarity in grammatical structure and form has been found to exist
among them, denoting a common, though remote origin. They differ,
however, so greatly from any known language of the Old World, as to
afford conclusive proof that their ancestors must have left its shores
at an early period of the world's history.
The governments also differed. In some tribes it approached an absolute
monarchy, the will of the sachem or chief being the supreme law; while
in others it was almost entirely republican, the chief being elected for
his personal qualities, though frequently the leadership was preserved
in the female line of particular families.
When describing the customs of the Indians, we are compelled often to
speak of the past, as the tribes, from being pressed together by the
advancement of civilisation, have become amalgamated, and many of their
customs have passed away. Most of the nations were divided into three
or more clans or tribes, each distinguished by the name of an animal.
Thus the Huron Indians were divided into three tribes--those of the
Bear, the Wolf, and the Turtle. The Chippeways, especially, were
divided into a considerable number of tribes.
RELIGIOUS BELIEF.
Though their language differs so greatly, as do many of their customs,
their religious notions exhibit great uniformity throughout the whole
country. They all possess a belief, though it is vague and indistinct,
in the existence of a Supreme, All-Powerful Being, and in the
immortality of the soul, which, they suppose, restored to its body, will
enjoy the future on those happy hunting-grounds which form the red man's
heaven. They also worship numerous inferior deities or evil spirits,
whom they endeavour to propitiate, under the supposition that unless
they do so they may work them evil rather than good. They suppose that
there is one god of the sun, moon, and stars; that the ocean is ruled by
another god, and that storms are produced by the power of various malign
beings; yet that all are inferior to the Supreme Ruler of the universe.
We can trace in some of the tribes customs and notions which have been
derived from those of far-distant nations. Thus, the tribes of
Louisiana kept a sacred fire constantly burning in their temples: the
Natches, as did the Mexicans, worshipped the sun, from whom their chiefs
pretended to be descended. By some tribes human sacrifices were offered
up,--a custom which was practised by the Pawnees and Indians of the
Missouri even to a late period. Several of the tribes buried their dead
beneath their houses; and it was an universal custom among all to inter
them in a sitting posture, clothed in their best garments, while their
weapons and household utensils, with a supply of food, were placed in
their graves, to be used when they might be restored to life. Several
of their traditions evidently refer to events recorded in Scripture
history. The Algonquin tribes still preserve one pointing to the
upheaval of the earth from the waters, and of a subsequent inundation.
The Iroquois have a tradition of a general deluge; while another tribe
believe not only that a deluge took place, but that there was an age of
fire which destroyed all things, with the exception of a man and woman,
who were preserved in a cavern. Many similar traditions exist; while it
is probable that those mentioned refer to the destruction of the Cities
of the Plain by fire which came down from heaven, and to the confusion
of tongues which fell upon the descendants of Noah in the plain of
Shinar.
AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES.
We are apt to suppose that the wild inhabitants of the New World have
ever existed in the same savage state as that in which they are found.
Vast numbers, however, of remains, and buildings of great antiquity,
have of late years been discovered, showing that at one time either
their ancestors, or other tribes who have passed away, had made great
progress in civilisation. As the white man has advanced westward, and
dug deep into the soil, whilst forming railway cuttings, digging wells,
and other works, numerous interesting remains have been discovered--a
large number of fortified camps of vast extent, and even the foundations
of cities, with their streets and squares, have been brought to light.
Idols, pitchers of clay, ornaments of copper, circular medals,
arrowheads, and even mirrors of isinglass, in great numbers, have been
found throughout the country. Some of the articles of pottery are
skilfully wrought, and polished, glazed, and burned; inferior in no
respects to those of Egypt and Babylon.
In Tennessee, an earthen pitcher, holding a gallon, was discovered on a
rock twenty feet below the surface. It was surmounted by the figure of
a female head covered with a conical cap. The features greatly
resembled those of Asiatics, and the ears, extending as low as the chin,
were of great size. Near the Cumberland River an idol formed of clay
was found about four feet below the surface of the earth. It is of
curious construction, consisting of three hollow heads joined together
at the back by an inverted bell-shaped hollow stem. This specimen also
has strongly-marked Asiatic features; the red and yellow colour with
which it is ornamented still retaining great brilliancy. Another idol,
formed of clay and gypsum, was discovered near Nashville. It
represented a human being without arms. The hair was plaited, and there
was a band round the head with a flattened lump or cake upon the summit.
Numerous medals, also, have been dug up, representing the sun, with its
rays of light, together with utensils and ornaments of copper, sometimes
plated with silver; and a solid silver cup, with its surface smooth and
regular, and its interior finely gilt.
But besides these, and very many similar articles, throughout the whole
country, and especially towards the west, immense numbers of fortresses
of great size have been discovered, with walls of earth, some of them
ten feet in height, and thirty in breadth. There is a vast fortress in
Ohio, near the town of Newark. It is situated on an extensive plain, at
the junction of two branches of the Muskingum. At the western extremity
of the work stood a circular fort, containing twenty-two acres, on one
side of which was an elevation thirty feet high, partly of earth and
partly of stone. The circular fort was connected by walls of earth with
an octagonal fort containing forty acres, the walls of which were ten
feet high. At this end were eight openings or gateways about fifteen
feet in width, each protected by a mound of earth on the inside. From
thence four parallel walls of earth proceeded to the basin of the
harbour, others extending several miles into the country, and others on
the east joined to a square fort containing twenty acres, not four miles
distant. From this latter fort parallel walls extended to the harbour,
and others to another circular fort one mile and a half distant,
containing twenty-six acres, and surrounded by an embankment from
twenty-five to thirty feet high. Further north and east the elevated
ground was protected by intrenchments. Traces of other walls have been
found, apparently connecting these works with those thirty miles
distant. When we come to reflect that there were many hundreds of
similar forts, some of which were of equal size, and others even of
still greater magnitude, we cannot help believing that an enormous
population, considerably advanced in the arts of civilisation, must at
one time have existed in the country, over which for ages past the
untutored savage has roamed in almost a state of nature. And now these
wild tribes are rapidly disappearing before the advancement of a still
greater multitude, and a far more perfect civilisation. Whether these
ancient races were the ancestors of the present Indians or not, it is
difficult to determine, as are the causes of their disappearance. It is
possible that, retreating southward, they established the empires of
Mexico and Peru, or, overcome by more savage tribes, were ultimately
exterminated.
PART ONE, CHAPTER TWO.
NORTH AMERICA CONSIDERED AS DIVIDED INTO FOUR ZONES, WITH THE VARIOUS
OBJECTS OF INTEREST FOUND IN EACH.
The North American continent may be divided into four zones or parallel
regions, which, from the difference in temperature which exists between
them, present a great variety both in their fauna and flora.
THE FIRST ZONE.
Commencing on the east, where the Greenland Sea washes the coast of
Labrador, and Hudson Strait leads to the intricate channels
communicating with the Arctic Ocean, we have on the first-named coast a
low and level region, which rises inland to a considerable elevation,
and then once more sinks on the shores of Hudson Bay. West of that bay
there is a wide extent of low country, intermixed with numerous lakes
and marshes; and then along the Arctic shore is a wild, barren, treeless
district, rising at length into the mountainous region of the Arctic
highlands. Amid them numerous rapid streams find their way into the
Arctic Ocean. Again they sink into the basin of the Mackenzie River,
which separates the in from the northern end of the Rocky Mountains.
Hence westward to the Pacific is a broad highland region, rising into
the lofty range of the Sea Alps.
THE SECOND ZONE.
THE FERTILE BELT OF RUPERT'S LAND.
The next Zone we will consider as commencing at the Gulf of Saint
Lawrence. Westward extends an elevated region, rising in many places to
a considerable height, and forming the water-shed of the rivers which
flow on the south side into the Saint Lawrence, and on the north into
Hudson Bay. Proceeding up the Saint Lawrence, we arrive at a great lake
district, which embraces Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and
Superior, to the extreme west. On the north-western shores of that lake
we find an elevated district with several small lakes and streams
flowing through valleys. This is the water-shed also of two systems.
The streams to the east, flowing into Lake Superior, ultimately enter
the Saint Lawrence; while those to the west make their way into Lake
Winnipeg, the waters of which, after flowing through a variety of
channels, fall into Hudson Bay. To the west of this water-shed range
the first lake we meet with is known as the Lac des Milles Lacs. Two
rivers flow from it, expanding here and there into small lakes, till
another expanse of water is reached called Rainy Lake. This in the same
way communicates by two streams with the still larger Lake of the Woods,
the whole region on both sides being thickly wooded. From the Lake of
the Woods flows the broad and rapid Winnipeg River, which finally falls
into Lake Winnipeg. This large and long lake is connected with several
others of smaller size,--Lake Winnipegoos and Manitoba Lake to the west
of it. Into the southern end of Lake Winnipeg flows the Red River,
which rises far-away in the south in the United States, taking an almost
direct northerly course. Towards the north, about twenty miles from the
lake, is situated the well-known Selkirk settlement. To the west of the
Red River commences a broad belt of prairie land which extends here and
there, rising into wooded heights and swelling hills, with several large
rivers flowing through it, to the very base of the Rocky Mountains. As
we advance westward we find it extending considerably to the north,
where the large and wide river Saskatchewan, rising in the Rocky
Mountains, flows eastward into Lake Winnipeg. Along the southern border
of this region the Assiniboine River, also of considerable size, flows
into the Red River at Fort Garry, in the Selkirk settlement. The
prairie country indeed extends further than the Red River, up to the
Lake of the Woods. The name of the Fertile Belt has been properly given
to it. Commencing at the Lake of the Woods, it stretches westward for
800 miles, and averages from 80 to upwards of 100 miles in width. The
area of this extraordinary belt of rich soil and pasturage is about
40,000,000 of acres. Including the adjacent fertile districts, the area
may be estimated at not less than 80,000 square miles, or considerably
more fertile land than the whole of Canada is supposed to contain. It
rises gradually towards the west, so that the traveller is surprised to
find how speedily he has gained the passes which lead him over the Rocky
Mountains into the territory of British Columbia on their western side--
often indeed before he has realised the fact that he has crossed the
boundary-line. The Fertile Belt is considerably more to the south than
the British Islands, though, as the western hemisphere is subject to
greater alternations of heat and cold than the eastern, there is a vast
difference in temperature between the summer and winter. While in
winter the whole region is covered thickly with snow, in summer the heat
is so great that Indian-corn and other cereals, as well as all fruits,
ripen with great rapidity. The whole of this fertile region, which now
forms part of the Canadian Dominion, is about to be opened to
colonisation; and through it will be carried the great high road which
will connect the British provinces on the Pacific with those of the
Atlantic.
ANIMAL LIFE ON THE FERTILE BELT.
Throughout this fine region range large herds of buffalo,--not extending
their migrations, however, beyond its northern boundary. Here, too, are
found two kind of small deer--the wapiti, and the prong-horned antelope.
Hares--called rabbits, however--exist in great numbers. Porcupines are
frequently found. The black bear occasionally comes out of the
neighbouring forests, while a great variety of birds frequent the lakes
and streams, whose waters also swarm with numerous fish. The white fish
found in the lakes are much esteemed, and weigh from two or three to
seven pounds. There are fine pike also. Sturgeon are caught in Lake
Winnipeg and the Lower Saskatchewan of the weight of 160 pounds. Trout
grow to a great size, and there are gold-eyes, suckers, and cat-fish.
Unattractive as are the names of the two last, the fish themselves are
excellent. Among the birds, Professor Hind mentions prairie-hens,
plovers, various ducks, loons, and other aquatic birds, besides the
partridge, quail, whip-poor-will, hairy woodpecker, Canadian jay, blue
jay, Indian hen, and woodcock. In the mountain region are bighorns and
mountain goats; the grizzly bear often descends from his rugged heights
into the plains, and affords sport to the daring hunter. The musk-rat
and beaver inhabit the borders of the lakes. The cariboo and moose
frequent the Fertile Belt, though the musk-ox confines himself to the
more northern regions. Wolves have been almost exterminated in the
neighbourhood of the Red River settlement. The half-breeds and Indians
possess peculiarly hardy and sagacious horses, which are trained for
hunting the buffalo. Their dogs are large and powerful, and four of
them will draw a sleigh with one man over the snow at the rate of six
miles an hour. Herds of cattle, as well as horses and hogs, are left
out during the whole winter, it being necessary only--should a thaw come
on, succeeded by a frost--to supply them with food; otherwise, unable to
break through the coating of ice thus formed, they are liable to starve.
The farmers of the Red River settlement grow wheat, barley, oats, flax,
hemp, hops, turnips, and even tobacco, though Indian-corn grows best,
and can always be relied on. Wheat, however, is the staple crop of Red
River. It is a splendid country for sheep pasturage, and did easier
means of transporting the wool exist, or could it be made into cloth or
blankets in the settlement, no doubt great attention would be given to
the rearing of sheep.
THE THIRD ZONE--THE DISMAL SWAMP IN THE UNITED STATES.
Returning again to the east coast, about the latitude of Chesapeake Bay
and Cape Hatteras, we find a low level region known as the Atlantic
plain, running parallel to the coast, on which the long-leaved or
peach-pines flourish. This region is generally called the Pine Barrens.
Wild vines encircle the trees, and among them are seen the white
berries of the mistletoe. In winter these Pine Barrens retain much of
their verdure, and constitute one of the marked features of the country.
Amid them are numerous swamps or morasses. One of great size,
extending to not less than forty miles from north to south, and
twenty-five in its greatest width, is called the Great Dismal Swamp.
The soil, black as in a peat-bog, is covered with all kinds of aquatic
trees and shrubs; yet, strange to say, instead of being lower than the
level of the surrounding country, it is in the centre higher than
towards its margin; indeed, from three sides of the swamp the waters
actually flow into different rivers at a considerable rate. Probably
the centre of the morass is not less than twelve feet above the flat
country around it. Here and there some ridges of dry land appear, like
low islands, above the general surface. On the west, however, the
ground is higher, and streams flow into the swamp, but they are free
from sediment, and consequently bring down no liquid mire to add to its
substance. The soil is formed completely of vegetable matter, without
any admixture of earthy particles. In many even of the softest parts
juniper-trees stand firmly fixed by their long tap roots, affording a
dark shade, beneath which numerous ferns, reeds, and shrubs, together
with a thick carpet of mosses, flourish, protected from the rays of the
sun. Here and there also large cedars and other deciduous trees have
grown up. The black soil formed beneath, increased by the rotting
vegetation, is quite unlike the peat of Europe, as the plants become so
decayed as to leave no traces of organisation. Frequently the trees are
overthrown, and numbers are found lying beneath the surface of the soil,
where, covered with water, they never decompose. So completely
preserved are they, that they are frequently sawn up into planks. In
one part of the Dismal Swamp there is a lake seven miles in length, and
more than five wide, with a forest growing on its banks. The water is
transparent, though tinged with a pale brown colour, and contains
numerous fish. The region is inhabited by a number of bears, who climb
the trees in search of acorns and gumberries, breaking off the boughs of
the oaks in order to obtain the acorns; these bears also kill hogs, and
even cows. Occasionally a solitary wolf is seen prowling over the
morass, and wild cats also clamber amid its woods. Even in summer, the
air, instead of being hot and pestiferous, is especially cool, the
evaporation continually going on in the wet spongy soil generating an
atmosphere resembling that of a region considerably elevated above the
level of the ocean. Canals have been cut through this swamp. They are
shaded by tall trees, their branches almost joining across, and throwing
a dark shade on the water, which itself looks almost black, and adds to
the gloom of the region. Emerging from one of these avenues into the
bright sunlit lake, the aspect of the scenery is like that of some
beautiful fairyland.
FOSSIL FOOTMARKS OF BIRDS.
A considerable way to the north of this region, on the banks of the
Connecticut River, are beds of red sandstone, on the different layers of
which are found the footmarks of long extinct birds. The beds in some
parts are twenty-five feet in thickness, composed of layer upon layer;
and on each of these layers, when horizontally split, are found
imprinted these remarkable footmarks. This result could only have been
produced by the subsidence of the ground, fresh depositions of sand
having taken place on the layers, on which the birds walked after the
subsidence. They must have been of various sizes,--some no larger than
a small sand-piper, while others, judging from their footprints, which
measure no less than nineteen inches, must have been twice the size of
the modern African ostrich. The distances between the smaller measure
only about three inches, but in the base of the largest, called the
Ornithichnites Gigas, they are from four to six feet apart. In some
places where the birds have congregated together none of the steps can
be distinctly traced, but at a short distance from this area the tracks
become more and more distinct. Upwards of two thousand such footprints
have been observed, made probably by nearly thirty distinct species of
birds, all indented on the upper surface of the strata, and only
exhibiting casts in relief on the under side of the beds which rested on
such indented surfaces. In other places the marks of rain and hail
which fell countless ages ago are clearly visible. Sir Charles Lyell
perceived similar footprints in the red mud in the Bay of Fundy, which
had just been formed by sandpipers; and on examining an inferior layer
of mud, formed several tides before, and covered up by fresh sand, he
discovered casts of impressions similar to those made on the last-formed
layer of mud. Near the footsteps he observed the mark of a single toe,
occurring occasionally, and quite isolated from the rest. It was
suggested to him that these marks were formed by waders, which, as they
fly near the ground, often let one leg hang down, so that the longest
toe touches the surface of the mud occasionally, leaving a single mark
of this kind. He brought away some slabs of the recently formed mud, in
order that naturalists who were sceptical as to the real origin of the
ancient fossil ornithichnites might compare the fossil products lately
formed with those referable to the feathered bipeds which preceded the
era of the ichthyosaurus and iguanodon.
THE BIG-BONE LICK.
We will now cross the Alleghanies westward, where we shall find a
thickly-wooded country. As we proceed onwards, entering Kentucky, we
reach a spot of great geological interest, called the Big-bone Lick.
These licks exist in various parts of the country. They are marshy
swamps in which saline springs break out, and are frequented by buffalo,
deer, and other wild animals, for the sake of the salt with which in the
summer they are incrusted, and which in winter is dissolved in the mud.
Wild beasts, as well as cattle, greedily devour this incrustation, and
will burrow into the clay impregnated with salt in order to lick the
mud. In the Big-Bone Lick of Kentucky the bones of a vast number of
mastodons and other extinct quadrupeds have been dug up.
This celebrated bog is situated in a nearly level plain, bounded by
gentle slopes, which lead up to wide-extended table-lands. In the spots
where the salt springs rise, the bog is so soft that a man may force a
pile into it many yards perpendicularly. Some of these quaking bogs are
even now more than fifteen acres in extent, but were formerly much
larger, before the surrounding forest was partially cleared away. Even
at the present day cows, horses, and other quadrupeds are occasionally
lost here, as they venture on to the treacherous ground. It may be
easily understood, therefore, how the vast mastodons, elephants, and
other huge animals lost their lives. In their eagerness to drink the
saline waters, or lick the salt, those in front, hurrying forward, would
have been pressed upon by those behind, and thus, before they were aware
of their danger, sank helplessly into the quagmire. It is supposed that
the bones of not less than one hundred mastodons and twenty elephants
have been dug up out of the bog, besides which the bones of a stag,
extinct horse, megalonyx, and bison, have been obtained. Undoubtedly,
therefore, this plain has remained unchanged in all its principal
features since the period when these vast extinct quadrupeds inhabited
the banks of the Ohio and its tributaries. Here and there the Big-bone
Lick is covered with mud, washed over it by some unusual rising of the
Ohio River, which is known to swell sixty feet above its summer level.
Passing on through wide-spreading prairies, we cross the mighty stream
of the Mississippi to a slightly elevated district of broad savannahs,
till we reach a treeless region bordering the very foot of the Rocky
Mountains. Through this region numerous rivers pass on their way to the
Mississippi. Leaving at length the great western plain, we begin to
mount the slopes of the Rocky Mountains, when we may gaze upwards at the
lofty snow-covered peaks above our heads. Hence, crossing the mighty
range in spite of grizzly bears and wilder Indians, we descend towards
the bank of the Rio Colorado, which falls into the Gulf of California,
and thence over a mountainous region, some of whose heights, as Mount
Dana, reach an elevation of 13,000 feet, and Mount Whitney, 15,000 feet.
THE FOURTH ZONE.
The southernmost of the four zones begins on the coast of Florida,
passes for hundreds of miles over a low or gently sloping country toward
the great western plains which border the Rocky Mountains into Texas;
its southern boundary being the Gulf of Mexico. Through this region
flow numerous rivers, the queen of which is the Mississippi. The
western portion is often wild and barren in the extreme, inhabited only
by bands of wild and savage Indians. The Rocky Mountains being passed,
there is a lofty table-land, and then rise the Sierras de los Nimbres
and Madre; beyond which, bordering the Gulf of California, is the wild,
grandly picturesque province of Sonora, with its gigantic trees and
stalactite caves.
PART ONE, CHAPTER THREE.
THE PRAIRIES, PLAINS OF THE WEST, AND PASSES OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
To obtain, however, a still more correct notion of the appearance of the
continent, we must take another glance over it. We shall discover, to
the north, and throughout the eastern portion where civilised man has
not been at work dealing away the trees, a densely-wooded region.
Proceeding westward, as the valley of the Mississippi is approached the
underwood disappears, and oak openings predominate. These Oak Openings,
as they are called, are groves of oak and other forest-trees which are
not connected, but are scattered over the surface at a considerable
distance from one another, without any low shrub or underbrush between
them.
THE PRAIRIES.
Thus, gradually, we are entering the prairie country, which extends as
far west as the Grand Coteau of the Missouri. This prairie region is
covered with a rich growth of grass; the soil is extremely fertile, and
capable of producing a variety of cereals. Over the greater portion of
the prairie country, indeed, forests of aspens would grow, did not
annual fires in most parts arrest their progress. Here and there
numbers have sprung up. The true prairie region in the United States
extends over the eastern part of Ohio, Indiana, the southern portion of
Michigan, the southern part of Wisconsin, nearly the whole of the states
of Illinois and Iowa, and the northern portion of Missouri, gradually
passing--in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska--into that arid and
desert region known as The Plains, which lie at the base of the Rocky
Mountains.
The Grand Coteau de Missouri forms a natural boundary to these arid
plains. This vast table-land rises to the height of from 400 to 800
feet above the Missouri. Vegetation is very scanty; the Indian turnip,
however, is common, as is also a species of cactus. No tree or shrub is
seen; and only in the bottoms or in marshes is a rank herbage found.
Across these desert regions the trails of the emigrant bands passing to
the Far West have often been marked: first, in the east, by furniture
and goods abandoned; further west, by the waggons and carts of the
ill-starred travellers; then by the bones of oxen and horses bleaching
on the plain; and, finally, by the graves, and sometimes the unburied
bodies, of the emigrants themselves, the survivors having been compelled
to push onwards with the remnant of their cattle to a more fertile
region, where provender and water could be procured to restore their
well-nigh exhausted strength. Oftentimes they have been attacked by
bands of mounted Indians, whose war-whoop has startled them from their
slumbers at night; and they have been compelled to fight their way
onwards, day after day assailed by their savage and persevering foes.
Civilised man is, however, triumphant at last, and the steam-engine, on
its iron path, now traverses that wild region from east to west at rapid
speed; and the red men, who claim to be lords of the soil, have been
driven back into the more remote wilderness, or compelled to succumb to
the superior power of the invader, in many instances being utterly
exterminated. Still, north and south of that iron line the country
resembles a desert; and the wild Indian roams as of yore, like the Arab
of the East--his hand against every man, and every man's hand against
him.
Among the dangers to which the traveller across the prairie is exposed,
the most fearful is that of fire. The sky is bright overhead; the tall
grass, which has already assumed a yellow tinge from the heat of summer,
waves round him, affording abundant pasture to his steed. Suddenly his
guides rise in their stirrups and look anxiously towards the horizon.
He sees, perhaps, a white column of smoke rising in the clear air. It
is so far-off that it seems it can but little concern them. The guides,
however, think differently, and after a moment's consultation point
eagerly in the direction of some broad river, whose waters flow towards
the Mississippi. "Onward! onward!" is the cry. They put spurs to their
horses' flanks, and gallop for their lives. Every instant the column of
smoke increases in width, till it extends directly across the horizon.
It grows denser and denser. Now above the tall grass flashes of bright
light can be seen. The traveller almost fancies he can hear the
crackling of the flames as they seize all combustible substances in
their course. Now they surround a grove of aspens, and the fierce fire
blazes up more brightly than ever towards the sky, over which hangs a
dark canopy of smoke. Suddenly a distant tramp of feet is heard. The
very ground trembles. A dark mass approaches--a phalanx of horns and
streaming manes. It is a herd of buffaloes, turned by the fire
purposely ignited by the Indians. The guides urge the travellers to
increase their speed; for if overtaken by the maddened animals, they
will be struck down and trampled to death. Happily they escape the
surging herd which comes sweeping onward--thousands of dark forms
pressed together, utterly regardless of the human beings who have so
narrowly escaped them. The travellers gallop on till their eyes are
gladdened by the sight of the flowing waters of a river. They rush down
the bank. Perchance the stream is too rapid or too deep to be forded.
At the water's edge they at length dismount, when the Indians, drawing
forth flint and steel, set fire to the grass on the bank. The smoke
well-nigh stifles them, but the flames pass on, clearing an open space;
and now, crouching down to the water's edge, they see the fearful
conflagration rapidly approaching. The fire they have created meets the
flames which have been raging far and wide across the region. And now
the wind carries the smoke in dense masses over their heads; but their
lives are saved--and at length they may venture to ride along the banks,
over the still smouldering embers, till a ford is reached, and they may
cross the river to where the grass still flourishes in rich luxuriance.
While, on one side of the stream, charred trees are seen rising out of
the blackened ground, on the other all is green and smiling. These
fearful prairie fires, by which thousands of acres of grass and
numberless forests have been destroyed, are almost always caused by the
thoughtless Indians, either for the sake of turning the herds of
buffaloes towards the direction they desire them to take, or else for
signals made as a sign to distant allies. Sometimes travellers have
carelessly left a camp-fire still burning, when the wind has carried the
blazing embers to some portion of the surrounding dry herbage, and a
fearful conflagration has been the result.
Mr Paul Kane, the Canadian artist and traveller, mentions one which he
witnessed from Fort Edmonton. The wind was blowing a perfect hurricane
when the conflagration was seen sweeping over the prairie, across which
they had passed but a few hours before. The night was intensely dark,
adding effect to the brilliancy of the flames, and making the scene look
truly terrific. So fiercely did the flames rage, that at one time it
was feared the fire would cross the river to the side on which the fort
is situated, in which case it and all within must have been destroyed.
The inmates also had had many apprehensions for the safety of one of
their party, from whom, with his Indians, Mr Kane had parted some time
before, and who had not yet arrived. For three days they were uncertain
of his fate, when at length their anxiety was relieved by his
appearance. He had noticed the fire at a long distance, and had
immediately started for the nearest bend in the river. This, by great
exertion, he had reached in time to escape the flames, and had succeeded
in crossing.
THE BARREN PLAINS IN THE FAR WEST.
On the prairies of the east the eye ranges over a wide expanse of waving
grass, everywhere like the sea. As, crossing the plains, we proceed
west towards the vast range of the Rocky Mountains, the country gives
evidence of the violent and irregular disturbances to which it has been
subjected. Wild rocky ridges crop out from the sterile plains of sand;
and for hundreds of miles around the country is desert, dry, and barren.
Even the vegetation, such as it is, is of the same unattractive
character. The ground here and there is covered with patches of the
grey gramma grass, growing in little cork-screw curls; and there is a
small furzy plant, the under sides of the leaves of which are covered
with a white down, while occasionally small orange-coloured flowers are
seen struggling into existence.
There are insects, however. Ants swarm in all directions, building
cones a foot in height. Grasshoppers in myriads, with red wings and
legs, fly through the air--the only bright objects in the landscape.
Sometimes the reddish-brown cricket is seen. Even the Platte River,
which flows through this region, partakes of its nature. It seems to
consist of a saturated solution of sand: when a handful is taken up, a
grey mud of silex remains in the palm. Dry as this gramma grass
appears, it possesses nutritive qualities, as the animals which feed on
it abundantly prove.
Storms break over these plains with tremendous fury: the thunder roars,
the lightning which flashes from the clouds illumines earth and sky with
a brightness surpassing the cloudless noon. Then again utter darkness
covers the earth, when suddenly a column of light appears, like the
trunk of some tall pine, as the electric fluid passes from the upper to
the lower regions of the world. The next instant its blazing summit
breaks into splinters on every side. Occasionally fearful hail-storms
sweep over the plains; and at other times the air from the south comes
heated, as from a furnace, drying up all moisture from the skin, and
parching the traveller's tongue with thirst.
Here and there are scattered pools of water containing large quantities
of salts, soda, and potash, from drinking which numbers of cattle
perish. The track of emigrants is strewn for many miles with bleaching
heads, whole skeletons, and putrefying carcasses;--the result of the
malady thus produced, in addition to heat and overdriving. Even the
traveller suffers greatly, feeling as if he had swallowed a quantity of
raw soda.
Yet often in this generally desert region, where the rivers wind their
way through the plain, or wide pools of pure water mirror the blue sky,
scenes of great beauty are presented. Nothing can surpass the rosy hues
which tinge the heavens at sunrise. Here game of all sorts is found.
The lakes swarm with mallards, ducks, and a variety of teal. Herds of
antelopes cross the plain in all directions, and vast herds of buffalo
darken the horizon as they sweep by in their migrations.
THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
At length a blue range, which might be taken for a rising vapour,
appears in the western horizon. It is the first sight the traveller
obtains of the long-looked-for Rocky Mountains; yet he has many a weary
league to pass before he is among them, and dangers not a few before he
can descend their western slopes. At length he finds himself amid
masses of dark brown rocks, not a patch of green appearing; mountain
heights rising westward, one beyond the other; and far-away, where he
might suppose the plains were again to be found, still there rises
before him a region of everlasting snow. For many days he may go on,
now climbing, now descending, now flanking piles of rocks, and yet not
till fully six days are passed is he able to say that he has crossed
that mountain range. Indeed, the term "range" scarcely describes the
system of the Rocky Mountains. It is, in fact, a chain, composed of
numerous links, with vast plains rising amid them.
PARKS.
These ranges in several places thin out, as it were, leaving a large
tract of level country completely embosomed in snowy ridges in the very
heart of the system. These plains are known as "parks." They are found
throughout the range. Several of them are of vast extent,--the four
principal ones forming the series called, in their order, "North,"
"Middle", "South," and "Saint Louis" Parks. Portions of them,
thoroughly irrigated, remain beautifully green throughout the year, and
herbage over the whole region is abundant. Sheltered from the blasts to
which the lower plains are exposed, these parks enjoy an equable
climate; and old hunters, who have camped in them for many seasons,
describe life there as an earthly paradise. They abound in animals of
all sorts. Elk, deer, and antelope feed on their rich grasses. Hither
also the puma follows its prey, and there are several other creatures of
the feline tribe. Bears, wolves, and foxes likewise range across them.
In some of them herds of buffalo pass their lives; for, unlike their
brethren of the plain, they are not migratory. It is doubtful whether
or not they are of the same species, but they are said to be larger and
fiercer.
The appropriate designation of the Rocky Mountain-system is that of a
chain. On crossing one of its basins or plateaux, the traveller finds
himself within a link such as has just been described. A break in one
of these links is called a "pass," or "canon." As he passes through
this break he enters another link, belonging to another parallel either
of a higher or lower series. In some of the minor plateaux between the
snowy ridges no vegetation appears. Granite and sandstone rocks outcrop
even in the general sandy level, rising bare and perpendicularly from 50
to 300 feet; as a late traveller describes it, "looking like a mere
clean skeleton of the world." Nothing is visible but pure rock on every
side. Vast stones lie heaped up into pyramids, as if they had been rent
from the sky. Cubical masses, each covering an acre of surface, and
reaching to a perpendicular height of thirty or forty feet, suggest the
buttresses of some gigantic palace, whose superstructure has crumbled
away with the race of its Titanic builders. It is these regions
especially which have given the mighty range the appropriate name of the
_Rocky Mountains_.
THE SAGE COCK.
In some spots, the limitless wastes are covered by a scrubby plant known
as mountain sage. It rises from a tough gnarled root in a number of
spiral shoots, which finally form a single trunk, varying in
circumference from six inches to two feet. The leaves are grey, with a
strong offensive smell resembling true sage. In other places there
appear mixed with it the equally scrubby but somewhat greener
grease-wood--the two resinous shrubs affording the only fuel on which
the emigrant can rely while following the Rocky Mountain trail.
These sage regions are the habitation of a magnificent bird--the Sage
Cock. He may well be called the King of the grouse tribe. When
stalking erect through the sage, he looks as large as a good-sized wild
turkey--his average length being, indeed, about thirty-two inches, and
that of the hen two feet. They differ somewhat, according to the season
of the year. The prevailing colour is that of a yellowish-brown or warm
grey, mottled with darker brown, shading from cinnamon to jet-black.
The dark spots are laid on in a longitudinal series of crescents. The
under parts are a light grey, sometimes almost pure white, barred with
streaks of brown, or pied with black patches. In the elegance of his
figure and fineness of his outlines he vies with the golden pheasant.
His tail differs from that of the grouse family in general by coming to
a point instead of opening like a fan. On each side of his neck he has
a bare orange-coloured spot, and near it a downy epaulet. His call is a
rapid "Cut, cut, cut!" followed by a hollow blowing sound. He has the
partridge's habit of drumming with his wings, while the hen-bird knows
the trick of misleading the enemy from her young brood. He seldom rises
from the ground, his occasional flights being low, short, and laboured.
He runs with great speed, and in his favourite habitat dodges and skulks
with rapidity, favoured by the resemblance of his colour to the natural
tints of the scrub. Though sometimes called the Cock of the Plains, he
never descends into the plains, being always found on the higher
mountain regions.
When the snow begins to melt, the sage hen builds in the bush a nest of
sticks and reeds artistically matted together, and lays from a dozen to
twenty eggs, rather larger than those of the domestic fowl, of a tawny
colour, irregularly marked with chocolate blotches on the larger end.
When a brood is strong enough to travel, the parents lead their young
into general society. They are excessively tame, or bold. Often they
may be seen strutting between the gnarled trunk and ashen masses of
foliage peculiar to the sage scrub, and paying no more attention to the
traveller than would a barnyard drove of turkeys; the cocks now and then
stopping to play the dandy before their more Quakerly little hens,
inflating the little yellow pouches of skin on either side of their
necks, till they globe out like the pouches of a pigeon.
WINTER SCENE AMONG THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
Descending the precipitous slopes of the Rocky Mountains on the west, we
enter on a vast plain no less than 2000 miles in length, though
comparatively narrow--the great basin of California and Oregon. Its
greatest width, from the Sierra Nevada to the Rocky Mountains, is nearly
600 miles, but is generally much less. The largest lake found on it is
4200 feet above the level of the sea, and is connected with the Salt
Lake of Utah. The mean elevation of the plain is about 6000 feet above
the sea. A mountain-chain runs across it, and through it flows the
large Colorado River, amidst gorges of the most picturesque
magnificence.
If the scenes we have described are stern and forbidding in summer, how
much more so are they in winter, when icy blasts blow through the
canons, and masses of snow cover the ground. From one of the outer
spurs on the east, let us take a glance over the region. Behind us
rises the chain of the Rocky Mountains, the whole intermediate country,
as well as the mountains themselves, except where the precipitous rocks
forbid it, being covered thickly with snow. Rugged peaks and ridges,
snow-clad and covered with pines, and deep gorges filled with broken
rocks, everywhere meet the eye. To the east, the mountains gradually
smooth away into high spurs and broken ground, till they join the
wide-spreading plains, generally stretching far as the eye can reach,
and hundreds of miles beyond--a sea of barrenness, vast and dismal. A
hurricane blows clouds of white snowy dust across the desert, resembling
the smoke of bonfires, roaring and raving through the pines on the
mountain-top, filling the air with snow and broken branches, and piling
it in huge drifts against the trees.
The perfect solitude of this vast wilderness is appalling. From our
lofty post on the mountain-top, we obtain a view over the rugged and
chaotic masses of the stupendous chain, and the vast deserts which
stretch away far from its eastern base; while on all sides are broken
ridges and chasms and ravines, with masses of piled-up rocks and
uprooted trees, with clouds of drifting snow flying through the air, and
the hurricane's roar battling through the forest at our feet adding to
the wildness of the scene, which is unrelieved by the slightest vestige
of animal or human life.
THE HORNED FROG.
We must now pass in review some of the numerous animals which inhabit
these regions. In some of the mountain plateaux, among the cactuses and
sand-heaps, we find that singularly-made animal known vulgarly as the
Texan toad or horned frog--a name which in no way properly belongs to
him, as he is more nearly related to the lizards and salamanders. He
lives as contentedly on the hot baked prairies of Texas, as amongst
their snow-surrounded heights; though, from his appearance, we should
expect to see him basking under a semi-tropical sun, rather than in this
region. Yet here he lives, and must often have to spend much of his
time under the snow. These toads, as the creatures are called, have
brown backs, white bellies, small twinkling black eyes, set in
almond-shaped slits, enclosed by two dark marks of the same shape. This
has the effect of enlarging the eye, and giving it a soft look like that
of the antelope. The two retro-curved horns, which rise out of bony
sockets above the eyes, add still more to this odd resemblance.
The skin of the back and the long stiff tail, instead of being warted
like the true toad's upper surface, is set with thorny excrescences.
That of the lower surface is a dry tough tissue, almost horny. Whether
this armour is given him to defend himself from the rattlesnake, it is
difficult to say. The creature itself is of a peaceable disposition;
and so unwilling is he to fight, that he will allow himself to be taken
in the hand, and if placed on it directly after capture, he will not
attempt to get away. It is very easy to catch him in the first place,
for his movements over the loose sand of his haunts are scarcely faster
than those of a land tortoise.
The trappers and other scattered inhabitants of this region describe a
fish with hands as frequenting the brooks and pools. Though there are,
no doubt, some curious fish, it is questionable how far these creatures
possess the members ascribed to them.
FUR-TRAPPERS OF THE FAR WEST.
The fur-trapper of America is the chief pioneer of the Far West. His
life spent in the remote wilderness, with no other companion than Nature
herself, his character assumes a mixture of simplicity and ferocity. He
knows no wants beyond the means of procuring sufficient food and
clothing. All the instincts of primitive man are constantly kept alive.
Exposed to dangers of all sorts, he becomes callous to them, and is as
ready to destroy human as well as animal life as he is to expose his
own. He cares nothing for laws, human or divine. Strong, active,
hardy, and daring, he depends on his instinct for the support of life.
The independent trapper possesses traps and animals of his own, ranges
wherever he lists through the country, and disposes of his peltries to
the highest bidder. There are others employed by the fur companies, who
supply them with traps and animals, and pay a certain price for the furs
they bring.
The independent trapper equips himself with a horse and two or three
mules--the one for the saddle, the others for his packs--and a certain
number of traps, which he carries in a leather bag, with ammunition, a
few pounds of tobacco, and dressed deerskins for his mocassins and
repairing his garments. His costume is a hunting-shirt of dressed
buckskin, ornamented with long fringes; pantaloons of the same material,
decorated with porcupine quills and long fringes down the outside of the
leg. He has mocassins on his feet, and a flexible felt hat on his head.
Over his left shoulder and under his right arm hang his powder-horn and
bullet-pouch, with flint, steel, and other articles, in a bag. A belt
round the waist secures a large knife in a sheath of buffalo hide to a
steel chain, as also a case of buckskin, containing a whetstone. In his
belt is also stuck a tomahawk, a pipe-holder hangs round his neck, and a
long heavy rifle is slung over his shoulder.
Arrived on the hunting-ground, as soon as the ice has broken up he
follows the creeks and streams, keeping a lookout for the signs of
beavers. As soon as he discovers one, he sets his trap, secured to a
chain fastened to a stake or tree, baiting it with the tempting
castoreum. He is ever on the watch for the neighbourhood of Indians,
who try to outwit him, though generally in vain, to steal his traps and
beavers. His eye surveys the surrounding country, and instantly detects
any sign of his foes. A leaf turned down, the slightly pressed grass,
the uneasiness of the wild animals, the flight of birds, all tell him
that other human beings are in the neighbourhood. Sometimes, after he
has set his traps and is returning to his camp, the wily Indian who has
been watching follows, and a home-drawn arrow, shot within a few feet,
never fails to bring the hapless victim to the ground. For one white
scalp, however, that dangles in the smoke of an Indian's lodge, a dozen
black ones surround the camp-fires of the trappers' rendezvous. Here,
after the hunt, from all quarters the hardy trappers bring in their
packs of beaver to meet the purchasers, sometimes to the value of a
thousand dollars each. The traders sell their goods at enormous
profits; and the thoughtless trapper, indulging in the fire-water from
which he has long abstained, is too often induced to gamble away the
gold for which he has risked life and gone through so many hardships.
When all is gone, he gets credit for another equipment, and sets off
alone, often to return and repeat the same process, although the profits
of one or two successful hunts would enable him to stock a farm and live
among civilised men.
Wonders of Nature.--Mammoth Cave of Kentucky.
There are many other wonders of Nature in different parts of North
America well worthy of more notice than we can give them. The most
remarkable, perhaps, is the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. The entrance to
it is situated near Green River, midway between Louisville and
Nashville.
A lonely road leads to the entrance, from which, as we approach it in
summer, we find a peculiarly chilly air issue forth. The sombre gloom
of the entrance does not prepare us for the enormous hall within; long
avenues leading into vast chambers, the smaller, thirty feet in height,
at least, with an area of half an acre, and, as we get lower and lower,
increasing in height. Upwards of eighteen miles of the cavern have been
explored, and it may possibly be of still greater extent. To give an
idea of the height of one of the chambers, we may add that the rocks
from above have fallen, and a hill has been formed one hundred feet in
elevation. Many of the halls are ornamented with the most magnificent
stalactites. One of them is appropriately called Martha's Vineyard, in
consequence of having its tops and sides covered with stalactites which
resemble bunches of grapes.
Several streams pass through the cavern, down the sides of which rush
numerous cataracts. Some of these streams, which are of considerable
depth and width, are inhabited by shoals of eyeless fish, the organs of
sight being superfluous in a region doomed to eternal night. The
atmosphere of this huge cave is peculiarly dry, and is supposed to be
extremely serviceable to persons afflicted with pulmonary complaints.
To visit any considerable portion of the cavern would occupy us at least
a couple of days. It is calculated there are no less than two hundred
and twenty-six avenues, forty-seven domes, numerous rivers, eight
cataracts, and twenty-three pits,--many of which are grand in the
extreme. Some of the rivers are navigated by boats, and, as may be
supposed, they have obtained appropriate names. Here we find the Dead
Sea and the River Styx. One of the streams disappears beneath the
ground, and then rises again in another portion of the cavern. But
after all, as naturalists, the little eyeless fish should chiefly claim
our attention.
OIL SPRINGS.
As coal was stored up for the use of man, formed in ages past from the
giant vegetation which then covered the face of the earth, so the
Creator has caused to be deposited in subterranean caverns large
quantities of valuable oil, which not only serves man for light, but is
useful to him for many other purposes.
Whether that oil was produced from animal or vegetable substances,
appears, even now, a matter of dispute. Some naturalists suppose that
vast numbers of oil-giving creatures had been assembled in the districts
in which these oil wells are now found, and the oil was pressed out of
them by a superincumbent weight of rock. Others assert that the same
result might be produced from a vast mass of oil-giving vegetation
having been crushed by a similar process. Be that as it may, in several
parts of the States, as well as in Canada, enormous pits exist full of
this curious oil. It is obtained by boring in the ground in those spots
where the oil is likely to be found. Often, however, the speculator,
after spending time and capital in the experiment, finds that no oil
appears at his call.
In some spots, where it was first discovered, after the boring was
completed, some hundreds of tons flowed up so rapidly, that it was
difficult to find casks sufficient to preserve the produce. The whole
region round is impregnated with the odour of the oil. Long teams of
waggons come laden with casks of oil on the roads approaching the wells.
Sheds for repairing the casks, and storing the oil, are ranged around.
Every one gives indubitable signs by their appearance of their
occupation, while rock-oil, as it is called, is the only subject of
conversation in the neighbourhood.
MAMMOTH TREES AND CAVERNS OF CALAVERAS.
Gigantic as are the trees found in many of the eastern forests of
America, they are far surpassed by groves of pines discovered a few
years back in the southern parts of California. They are found in small
groves together--in some places only three or four of the more gigantic
in size; in others, as many as thirty or forty, one vying with the other
in height and girth. In one grove, upwards of one hundred trees were
found, of great size, twenty of which were about seventy-five feet in
circumference. One of these trees, of greater size than its companions,
was sacrilegiously cut down. Its height was 302 feet, and its
circumference, at the ground, 96 feet. As it was impossible to cut it
down, it was bored off with pump-augers. This work employed five men
for twenty-two days. Even, after the stem was fairly severed from the
stump, the uprightness of the tree and breadth of its base sustained it
in its position, and two days were employed in inserting wedges and
driving them in; but at length the noble monarch of the forest was
forced to tremble, and then to fall, after braving the battle and the
breeze for nearly three thousand winters.
Many of the trees have received appropriate names. One has fallen, and
has been hollowed out by fire. Through it a person can ride on
horseback for sixty feet. Its estimated height, when standing, was 330
feet, and its circumference, 97 feet. Another of these giants is known
as Hercules. It is 320 feet high, and 95 feet in circumference.
Perhaps the most beautiful group is that of three trees known as the
Three Graces. Each of them measures 92 feet in circumference at the
base; and in height they are nearly equal, measuring 295 feet. Time was
when, perhaps, the whole forest consisted of trees of the same size; but
many have been destroyed by fire, and the time may come when none of
those now standing will remain. The name of Wellingtonia has been given
to the species.
In the same region are numerous magnificent stalactite caverns, which
equal in beauty, if not in size, those of the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky.
There are several waterfalls, unsurpassed for picturesque beauty.
Had we time, we might pay a visit also to the gold-mines of California,
and observe the way they are worked; but we should be prevented from
giving that attention to the animal creation which is our present
object.
PART ONE, CHAPTER FOUR.
GENERAL SURVEY OF THE ZOOLOGY OF NORTH AMERICA.
Having thus obtained a bird's-eye view of the physical features of North
America, we will take a rapid survey of its zoology before we more
minutely inspect the individuals of which it consists.
In a region of extent so vast as the continent of America, reaching from
the Arctic Circle at one end far-away towards the Antarctic Ocean at the
other--with dense forests, under a tropical sun, in some parts; open
plains, lofty mountains, or a network of rivers and streams, vast lakes
and marshes, in others--we shall find all varieties of form in the
animal kingdom. This gives to its study an especial interest. While
the larger number of its members are especially local, confined in
narrow spaces between two streams, others range beyond 50 degrees and 60
degrees of latitude. The puma wanders across the plains of Patagonia,
and ravages the flocks of the settlers on the western prairies of the
United States. The reindeer feeds on the moss-covered moors of the
Arctic islands, and is chased by the hunters far south among the defiles
of the Rocky Mountains. Vast herds of bison darken the plains of New
Mexico, and reach the upper waters of the Saskatchewan. The same wild
fowl which hatch their young among the ice-surrounded cliffs of Northern
Greenland are found sporting in the lakes of Central America; while some
of the smallest of the feathered tribes, the gem-like humming-birds,
have been seen flitting through the damp mists of Tierra del Fuego,
sipping the sweets of Alpine flowers high up amid lofty peaks of the
Andes, and appearing on the hill-sides in sight of Lake Winnipeg, on the
north of Rupert's Land.
However, as we proceed in our survey, we shall be able to note such, and
many other interesting facts connected with the zoology of the districts
we visit.
We shall find in the northern portion of the continent, extending nearly
as far south as the sixtieth degree of latitude, and even beyond that
parallel, several animals which are identical with those inhabiting the
same latitudes in Europe and Asia. The Polar or white bear, the
sovereign of the Arctic world, ranges entirely round the Circle; and
makes his way across the icy seas over the rugged snow-clothed rocks, so
that he belongs as much to Europe and Asia as to America. The cunning
wolverene, the ermine, the pine-marten, the Arctic fox and common
weasel, also inhabit the same latitudes of the three continents. Among
the herbivorous quadrupeds, there are several which have made their way
across the frozen ocean. The American elk, though called the moose, is
identical with the same animal found in Asia and Europe; so is the
reindeer, known here as the cariboo. Both, indeed, are Arctic animals,
though they migrate to southern latitudes when the severer cold and
depth of snow prevents them from obtaining the moss and lichens on which
they feed. The little Polar hare ranges round the Arctic Circle; but
there is one animal, the musk-ox, which, being truly an Arctic
quadruped, is unknown either in Asia or Europe, and therefore belongs
exclusively to America.
Of the feathered tribes, the larger number of individuals, as might be
supposed, are common to the northern portions of the three continents.
Among these are the golden eagle, the white-headed or sea eagle, the
osprey, the peregrine falcon, the gyrfalcon, the merlin goshawk, the
common buzzard, rough-legged buzzard, hen-harrier, long-eared owl,
short-eared owl, great snowy owl, and Tengmalm's owl. Nearly all the
ducks and other swimming families, as might be expected, are also
identical, as they can make their way with ease round the Circle, and
find the same food and conditions of life. The waders, however, are
generally distinct from those of Europe, as are the grouse inhabiting
the same parallels of latitude. Only one or two have been found in
Europe, as well as in America.
We must now take a glance at the animals which are distinctly American.
In the first place, there are three bears--the savage grizzly of the
Rocky Mountains; the cunning black bear; and the bear of the Barren
Grounds. The beaver might take the first rank among American animals,
for his sagacity, if not for his size. Then comes the Canada otter; the
vison or minx; the clever little tree-loving raccoon; the American
badger, differing from his European relative; and the pekan. There are
several varieties of wolves, differing in size and somewhat in habits,
but all equally voracious. There are several species of foxes, and no
less than thirty of lemmings, marmots, and squirrels, all of which are
to be found within the more northern latitudes of the New World. There
are three hares--known as the American, the prairie, and the little
chief hares--which range over the northern continent. Of the large
animals we have the wapiti, a species of deer; two species of the
black-tailed deer; a long-tailed deer; and the prong-horned antelope;
also the wild goat; the bighorn sheep of the Rocky Mountains; and last,
though not least, the American bison, familiarly known as the buffalo--
the inhabitant of the wide-spreading plains and prairies extending from
the Arctic Circle to Mexico.
Among the land birds, especially the birds of prey, there are several
which are spread over the greater part of the northern continent, some
indeed being found also in great numbers in South America. These are
the turkey vulture, the black vulture, the little rusty-crowned falcon,
the pigeon hawk, slate-coloured hawk, red-tailed buzzard, American
horned owl, little American owl, and five other species of falcons. The
perchers are less widely distributed.
There are, however, numerous families of insectivorous birds peculiar to
America, which either permanently inhabit the more genial portions of
the continent, or pay annual visits to those regions where the richest
fruits abound and insect life prevails, affording them an abundant
banquet. These migrating birds, as the winter draws on, take their
departure southward to the warmer climate of Mexico, where they find
abundance of food. As the summer returns, and the fruits of the
orchard, the corn of the field, and wild berries ripen, and insects
increase in numbers, vast flocks of warblers, woodpeckers, maize-birds,
fly-catchers, thrushes, hang-nests, pigeons, blue-birds, and others
return from their southern pilgrimage, to feed on the minute creatures
which now people the plains, the hill-sides and forests, and on the
abundant productions of the earth, enlivening the forests with their
varied plumage, and delighting man by their melodious notes.
The number of gallinaceous birds is extremely limited. America can,
however, boast of its native wild turkey--one of the most magnificent
game-birds in existence. There is also the pinnated or Cupid Grouse.
The Barren Grounds of Kentucky, and a few other districts, are inhabited
by the ruffle grouse, which is also often called the pheasant. It
ranges to a considerable distance northward, and Dr Richardson found it
even on the borders of the Polar regions. There is likewise a
small-sized partridge, which is improperly called the quail.
With the exception of the golden plover, few of the wading birds
resemble those of Europe. The snipe, the woodcock, the curlew, most of
the sandpipers, together with the coot and the water-hen, are distinct
from those of Europe, and are not only peculiar to America, but few of
them have been found to the south of the line. One of the most
magnificent birds is the American flamingo, which is of a more beautiful
and intense scarlet than that of Europe, and fully as tall; another
bird, the wood-ibis, has the same form as the glossy ibis of southern
Europe. In Carolina and Florida is found the magnificent scarlet ibis,
but it seldom makes its way to the northern parts of the Union. There
are several large and beautiful species of herons. Although most of the
duck tribe range throughout the continent, there are some--such as the
summer or tree duck of South Carolina--which range from the States to
the warmer shores of the southern provinces, while the celebrated
canvas-back duck, so highly prized at table, is found chiefly in the
temperate parts of the continent. The rest of the duck tribe inhabit
the northern regions, only quitting them for the United States during
the severity of winter.
PART ONE, CHAPTER FIVE.
DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS ANIMALS--RUMINANTS.
THE MOOSE, OR ELK.
We shall not introduce the animals we are about to inspect according to
a systematic classification, but bring them forward as they appear to
the eye of the traveller or sportsman, giving the largest and the most
important the first place. Our object is rather to view the
characteristic animals of each region we visit than to attempt a
scientific examination of the whole animated kingdom of the world--a
task which must be left to those who have far more time at their
disposal than we possess.
We will begin, therefore, with the animals belonging to the ruminantia--
the eighth in natural order; taking next the carnivora--the fifth; and
the smaller rodentia--the sixth; while the birds and reptiles will
follow in due course. Among these, however, we shall select only the
most notable and curious; for although North America does not teem with
animal life in the same degree as the southern half of the continent,
were we to attempt to introduce all those existing in it we could give
but a meagre account of each.
Without further preface, therefore, we will commence our survey with the
elk.
The monarch of the American pine-forests--the superb moose or elk--
ranges from the mouth of the Mackenzie River to the shores of the
Atlantic, at the eastern extremity of Nova Scotia, and passing the great
lake region, is found even as far as the State of New York. Observe him
as he stands with huge palmated horns ready for action, his vast
nostrils snuffing up the scent coming from afar; his eyes dilated, and
ears moving, watching for a foe; his bristly mane erect; his large body
supported on his somewhat thick but agile limbs, standing fully six feet
six inches in height at the shoulder, above which rise the head and
antlers. The creature's muzzle is very broad, protruding, and covered
with hair, except a small moist, naked spot in front of the nostrils.
He has a short, thick neck, the hair thick and brittle. The throat is
somewhat maned in both sexes. So large is the cavity of the nose, that
a man may thrust his arm right into it. The inter-maxillaries are very
long, and the nasals short. He differs from the European elk only by
having much darker hair,--the coat of the male, when in its prime, at
the close of the summer, being completely black. Under the throat the
males have a fleshy appendage termed the bell, from which grow long
black hairs. The bristles on his thick muzzle are of a lighter colour
than those of the coat, being somewhat of a reddish hue. The neck and
shoulders are covered with very fine soft wool, curiously interwoven
with the hair. Out of this the Indians manufacture soft, warm gloves.
The moose hair is very brittle and inelastic. It is dyed by the
Indians, and employed for ornamenting numerous articles of birch-bark.
The moose is of cautious and retiring habits, generally taking up his
abode amid the mossy swamps found round the margins of the lakes, and
which occupy the low ground in every direction. Here the cinnamon fern
grows luxuriantly, while a few swamp maple saplings and mountain ash
trees occur at intervals, and afford sufficient food to the moose.
It is to these regions the bull retires with his consort, and remains
for weeks together, claiming to be the monarch of the swamp; and should
he hear the approach of a distant rival, he will crash with his antlers
against the tree stems, making sudden mad rushes through the bushes, the
sound of his blows reverberating to a distance. He has also a curious
custom of tearing up the moss over a considerable area, exposing the
black mud by pawing with the fore-feet. He continually visits these
hills, and in consequence a strong musky effluvia arises from them. The
Indian hunter, by examining them, can ascertain without fail when they
were last visited by the animal. He utters loud sounds both by day and
night, described by the Indians in their guttural voices as "quoth,
quoth," but occasionally becoming sharper and more like a bellow when he
hears a distant cow. The cow utters a prolonged and strangely wild
call. This is imitated by the Indian hunter through a trumpet composed
of rolled-up birch-bark, when his dogs are in chase of the animal; and
the bull being by this means attracted towards him, becomes more easily
his victim.
During the early part of the year, and the summer, the antlers are
growing; but this process ceases early in September, when the moose has
got rid of the last ragged strip of the deciduous skin against the young
larch-trees and alder-bushes. He now stands ready to assert his claims
against all rivals. At this season the bulls fight desperately; often
the collision of the antlers of huge rivals, driven with mighty force by
their immense and compact necks, is heard to a great distance, like the
report of a gun on a still autumnal evening. They probably approach
from different directions, regardless of the rugged ground, the rocks,
and fallen trees in their course, bellowing loudly, and tearing up the
ground with their horns. Now they catch sight of each other, and rush
together like two gladiators. Now butting for some time till their
antlers become interlocked, perhaps both fall struggling to the ground.
Frequently portions of skeletons, the skulls united by firmly-locked
antlers, have been found in some wilderness arena, where a deadly fight
has occurred. A magnificent pair of horns thus interlocked is to be
seen in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. Terrible must have
been the fate of the combatants, illustrating Byron's lines:--
"Friends meet to part;
Love laughs at faith:
True foes once met,
Are joined till death."
Captain Hardy says he has twice heard the strange sound emitted by the
moose, which, till he became acquainted with its origin, was almost
appalling. It is a deep, hoarse, and prolonged bellow, more resembling
a feline than a bovine roar. Sometimes the ear of the hunter is
assailed by a tremendous clatter from some distant swamp or burned wood.
It is the moose, defiantly sweeping the forest of pines right and left
among the brittle branches of the ram pikes, as the scaled pines
hardened by fire are locally termed. When, however, the moose wishes to
beat a retreat in silence, his suspicions being aroused, he effects the
process with marvellous stealth. Not a branch is heard to snap, and the
horns are so carefully carried through the densest thickets, that a
rabbit would make as much noise when alarmed. He will also, when
hard-pressed, take the most desperate leaps to avoid his foes.
Though he seldom or never attacks human beings when unassailed, he will
do so occasionally when badly wounded, if nearly approached. An old
Indian hunter had one day followed up a moose, and wounded the animal,
when it turned on him. There being no tree near, he jammed himself for
safety between two large granite boulders which were at hand. The
aperture, however, did not extend far enough back to enable him to get
altogether out of the reach of the infuriated bull, which set on him
with its fore-feet, and pounded him so severely that several of his ribs
were broken; indeed, for several years afterwards he was nearly bent
double by the severe beating he had received.
In the summer, when the plague of flies commences, the moose takes to
the water to avoid their bites. There are several species--one termed
the moose-fly--which are equally annoying to the hunter. The animal
strives to free himself from their irritation by running among bushes
and brambles; and should he reach a lake, he will plunge into the water,
allowing only his nostrils and mouth to remain above the surface.
Sometimes, indeed, he will dive altogether, and is frequently known to
hide himself from his pursuers by remaining for a long time below the
water. He also feeds upon the tendrils and shoots of the yellow
pond-lily, by reaching for them under water. An Indian, on one
occasion, was following the track of a moose, when it led him to the
edge of a little round pond in the woods, whence he could find no exit
of the trail. After waiting for some time, he beheld the head of the
animal rising above the surface in the very middle of the pond. While
hastening for his gun, which he had left at a little distance, the moose
made for the opposite shore, and emerging from the water, regained the
shelter of the forest ere he could get round for a shot. The animals
have been known also to visit the seashore, and one was seen swimming
off to an island over a mile distant, which he reached in safety.
The moose feeds chiefly on the leaves of young shoots and bushes, or the
smaller trees--the red and other maples, the white birch, the balsam,
fur, poplar, and mountain ash; and occasionally, as has been said, on
the roots of the yellow pond-lily, with a bite now and then at a tussock
of broad-leaved grass growing in the dried bogs. To get at the foliage
beyond the reach of his muzzle, he frequently charges a young tree and
rides it down, till he has brought the tempting leaves within his reach.
The horns of the animal begin to sprout in April, the old pair having
fallen some time before. In the middle of this month the coat is shed,
when the animal for some time afterwards presents a very rugged
appearance. The cow towards the end of May produces one or two calves,
generally near the margin of a lake, or in one of the densely-wooded
islands, where they are secure from the attacks of the bull moose, who,
cruel tyrant that he is, often destroys them. Rarely more than two are
born at a time.
Besides its human foes, the moose is attacked occasionally by the bear.
Captain Hardy describes coming upon the traces of a recent struggle
between a young moose and one of these animals. "The bear had evidently
stolen through the long grass upon the moose, and had taken him at a
disadvantage in the treacherous bog. The grass was very much beaten
down, and deep furrows in the soil below showed how energetically the
unfortunate moose had striven to escape from his powerful assailant.
There was a broad track plentifully strewed with moose hair, showing how
the moose had struggled with the bear, to the wood, where, no doubt, the
affair ended, and the bear dined."
As the winter approaches, the cows, with the young bulls and calves,
congregate in small parties on the open "barrens" and hill-sides. When
the snow comes thickly down, they form what is called a yard; and in
Canada, where its depth is very great, they have to remain in it during
the whole winter, feeding round the area on the young wood of deciduous
trees. In Nova Scotia, however, they migrate to other localities when
they have consumed the more tempting portions of food in the yard. In
the morning and afternoon they are found feeding, or chewing the cud;
but at noon, when they lie down, they are difficult to approach, as they
are then on the alert, employing their wonderful faculties of scent and
hearing to detect the faintest taint or sound in the air, which might
indicate the approach of danger. The snapping of a little twig, the
least collision of a rifle with a branch, or crunching of the snow under
the mocassins, will suffice to arouse them. Curiously enough, however,
they are not alarmed by any sound, even the loudest, to which they have
been accustomed. The hunter has, therefore, to approach the yard with
the greatest possible caution, in order to get a shot.
We will, however, start off on a moose hunt, in autumn, with a practical
Indian hunter. The air of the autumnal night is frosty and bracing.
The moose are moving rapidly from place to place. Night is drawing on.
The last fluttering of the aspens dying away, leaves that perfect repose
in the air which is so necessary to the sport. The moon rises, shedding
a broad and silvery light through the forest. Mysterious sounds greet
our ears. The Indian hunter is provided with his trumpet of birch-bark,
in the form of a cone, about two feet in length. He shelters himself
behind the edge of the banks, a clump of bushes, or rocks; and now he
emits the cry of the cow moose, so exactly, that the male animal is
easily deceived by it. He waits: there is no response. An interval of
fifteen minutes elapses; still no reply is heard. Again the Indian
sends his wild cry pealing through the wood. Presently a low grunt,
quickly repeated, comes from some distant hill; and the snapping of
branches and falling trees attests the approach of the bull. The hunter
is now doubly careful; kneeling down, and thrusting the mouth of his
call into some bushes close by, he utters a lower and more plaintive
sound. At length an answer reaches his ears. The snapping of the
branches is resumed; and presently the moose is seen stalking into the
middle of the moonlit "barren." Our weapons are ready; and as the
magnificent animal stands looking eagerly around in the woodland
amphitheatre, a rifle ball, laden with death, brings him to the ground.
In some districts the Indians employ another method of calling. They
conceal themselves in a swamp, in the midst of some damp mossy valley,
during a dark night. One holds a torch of birch-bark with a match ready
for lighting. The hunter calls, and the moose approaches more readily
than towards the open "barren." When the creature is within distance of
the deadly rifle, the match is applied to the torch, which, flaring up,
illuminates the swamp, and discovers the startled moose standing amidst
the trees, and incapable apparently of flight. The Indians declare that
he is fascinated by the light; and though he may walk round and round
it, he will not leave the spot, and thus presents an easy mark to the
hunter's rifle.
Let us set forth on an expedition to "creep" moose, which may be
described as a similar mode of hunting to stalking. The ground we
select is among the "barrens" before described. It is strewed with dead
trees in all directions, amid which briars and bushes have grown up, and
conceal their sharp, broken limbs, and the rough granite rocks scattered
in all directions. Here, collecting wood for burning, we form our camp,
and sit round the blazing fire, on which a well-filled frying-pan is
hissing, while we are covered by our blankets to protect ourselves from
the pattering rain-drops. Our suppers over, we stretch ourselves for
repose, and gradually fall asleep, as the snapping of the logs on the
fire, the pattering of the rain, and the hootings of the owls in the
distant forest become less and less distinct. Our Indian brings us
notice in the morning that two moose have passed close to the camp
during the night. However, in spite of the plaintive call from the
treacherous bark trumpet, they will not approach, having been forewarned
of danger by the smell of our camp-fire. We make our way amid the
bushes, already leafless, except that here and there are seen bunches of
dwarf maples with a few scarlet leaves of autumn still clinging to them.
Presently our companion whispers, "Down--sink down! slow--like me!" A
magnificent bull appears about five hundred yards off. The wind is
blowing from him to us. The Indian utters the usual call; but the moose
does not answer, having already a companion close at hand. Presently he
lies down in the bushes, and we worm ourselves slowly and laboriously
towards the edge of the alder swamp. Gently lowering ourselves into the
swamp, we creep noiselessly through the dense bushes, their thick
foliage closing over our heads. It is an anxious moment!--the slightest
snapping of a bough, the knocking of a gun-barrel against a stem, and
the game is off. "We must go back," whispers the Indian. "Cannot get
near enough on this side. Too open!" The difficult task of retreating
is performed without disturbing the moose. Another half-hour is then
employed in creeping like snakes through the wet bushes. At length, as
we reach the edge of the swamp, the great animal rises directly facing
us, gazing steadily towards us. We fire. A headlong stagger follows
the report; and the creature, turning round, is hidden from sight behind
a clump of bushes. The Indian at the same time fires at a large cow
moose who has, unknown to us, been lying close to the bull. We dash
forward a few paces. On the other side the great bull suddenly rises in
front of us and strides on into thicker covert. Another shot, and he
sinks lifeless at our feet.
The Cariboo, or Reindeer.
We have before mentioned the extensive tracts existing in North America,
which, from their desolate appearance, are appropriately called
"Barrens." Far as the eye can reach the whole ground is seen strewn
with boulders of rock and fallen trees, scattered round in the wildest
confusion. Here and there charred stumps rise from the green-sward; in
some spots clumps of spruce are seen, against which the white stems of
the graceful birch stand out in bold relief; while the bank of some
stream, or the margin of a lake, is marked by fringing thickets of
alder. In many parts are moist, swampy bogs, into which the sportsman
sinks ankle-deep at every step. The ground, however, is everywhere
thickly carpeted by a luxuriant growth of a species of lichen. It
possesses wonderfully nutritive qualities; so much so, that large
quantities of alcohol have lately been extracted from it, as well as
from other lichens growing in sub-arctic regions. It is the chief food
of the cariboo, which animal frequents these desolate-looking "barrens."
Visiting one of these "barrens," we may perchance fall in with several
of the noble-looking animals known in Europe and Asia as the reindeer,
though we must look sharp to recognise them; for so similar are they in
colour to the rocks and general features of the ground, that only the
keen eye of the Indian can easily detect them, especially when they are
lying down. Should we approach them on the weather-side, or should the
slightest noise be made, they will quickly detect us. Up they spring,
and after a brief stare, make off in graceful bounds at a rapid rate.
Now, having got beyond danger, they drop into a long swinging trot, and
proceed in single file across the "barren," till they enter the line of
forest in the far distance.
The cariboo of North America is a strongly-built, thickset animal,
compared to the more graceful of his relatives. He carries on his head
a pair of magnificent antlers, varying greatly in different specimens--
some palmating towards the upper ends, others with branches springing
from the palmated portions. In most instances there is but one
developed brow antler, the other being a solitary curved prong. The
back of the cariboo is covered with brownish hair, the tips of which are
of a rich dun grey, whiter on the neck than elsewhere. The nose, ears,
and outer surface of the legs and shoulders are of a brown hue. The
neck and throat are covered with long, dullish white hair, and there is
a faint whitish patch on the side of the shoulders. The rump and tail
are snowy-white, while a band of white runs round all the legs, joining
the hoofs.
As winter approaches, the hair grows long, and lightens considerably in
hue. Frequently, indeed, individuals may be seen in a herd with coats
of the palest fawn colour--almost white. The muzzle is entirely covered
with hair. The fur is brittle, and though in summer it is short, in
winter it is longer and whiter, especially about the throat. The hoofs
are broad, depressed, and bent in at the tip. The full-grown bucks shed
their horns, and it is seldom that they are seen in a herd after
Christmas. The female reindeer, however, retains hers during winter.
Several theories have been advanced to account for this. There seems no
doubt, however, that the object is to enable the female to protect her
fawns from the males, who are apt to attack the young and destroy them.
The cariboo is gregarious, and males, females, and young herd together
at all seasons; and by this provision of Nature the females are able to
defend the young, who would otherwise be subjected to injury. In
another respect these animals are wonderfully provided for the mode of
existence they are compelled to pursue. Not only have they to cross
wide snow-covered districts, but frequently to pass across frozen
expanses of water. To enable them to do this in the winter, the frog of
the foot is almost entirely absorbed, and the edges of the hoof, now
quite concave, grow out in sharp ridges, each division on the under
surface presenting the appearance of a huge mussel-shell, and serving
the office of natural skates. So rapidly does the shell increase, that
the frog does not fill up again till spring, when the antlers bud out.
With this singular conformation of the foot, it has a lateral spread;
and an additional assistance for maintaining a foothold on slippery
surfaces is given by numerous long, stiff bristles which grow downward
at the fetlock, curving over entirely between the divisions. The
cariboo is thus enabled to proceed over the snow, to cross frozen lakes,
or ascend icy precipices, with an ease which places him, when in flight,
beyond the reach of all enemies, except perhaps the nimble and untiring
wolf.
The cariboo is essentially a migratory animal. There are two
well-defined periods of migration, in the spring and autumn. Throughout
the winter it appears also seized with an unconquerable desire to change
its residence. One day it may be found feeding quietly through the
forests in little bands, and the next, perhaps, all tracks show a
general move in a certain direction. The animals join the main herd
after a while, and entirely leaving the district, travel toward new
feeding-grounds. Though often found in the same woodlands as the moose,
they do not enjoy each other's company. In severe winters the cariboos
travel to the southernmost limits of their haunts, and even sometimes
enter the settlements. Not being aquatic, like the moose, to avoid the
flies in summer they ascend the mountain ranges, where they can be free
from their attacks. The hunter, however, follows them, and their speed
being of no avail among the precipices, many are shot. During most of
the year the flesh of the animal is dry and tasteless; but it possesses
a layer of fat, two or more inches thick, which is greatly esteemed.
This, with the marrow, is pounded together with the dried flesh, and
makes the best kind of pemmican--a food of the greatest value to the
hunter. The cariboo lives in herds, sometimes only of ten or twenty,
but at others consisting of thirty or more individuals. They range
across the whole width of the continent, being found in great numbers to
the west of the Rocky Mountains, especially at the northern end of
British Columbia. Although specifically identical with the reindeer of
Europe, it has never yet been trained by Indians or Esquimaux to carry
their goods or draw their sleighs, as in Lapland and along the Arctic
shores of Asia.
The Wapiti, or Canadian Stag.
In the wilder parts of the Southern States of the Union, herds of the
magnificent Canadian stag or wapiti--popularly called the elk--range
amid the woods and over the prairies. Sometimes three or four hundred
are found in one herd, always led by an old buck, who exacts from them
the strictest obedience--compelling them to halt or move onward as he
judges necessary. Now the superb herd of long-horned creatures are seen
to wheel to the right or left, now to advance or retreat at the signal
he issues.
The wapiti is indeed a grand animal, growing to the height of the
tallest ox, and endowed with wonderful activity, as well as power. See
him as he dashes through the forest, his branched horns separating in
serpentine curves, six feet from tip to tip, laid close over his back as
he makes his way amid the trees. His head is of a lively,
yellowish-brown hue, the neck covered with reddish and black hairs, the
latter of considerable length, descending in a thick bunch below it.
They are among the fiercest of the deer tribe. The bucks often enter
into desperate contests with each other, battling--with their huge
horns--the fight frequently ending only with the death of the weaker
rival. Sometimes their horns have become so inextricably interlocked,
that both have fallen to the ground, and, unable to rise, have perished
miserably. They will frequently, when wounded, attack their human
assailants; and the bold hunter, if thus exposed with rifle unloaded to
their fierce assaults, will rue the day his weapon failed to kill the
enraged quarry at the first shot.
The wapiti, when pursued, will boldly plunge into the lake or broad
river, and breast the rapid current to avoid his foes; or will
occasionally, if hard-pressed, attack the bold hunter who ventures to
follow in his light canoe.
His cry is a sharp whistling sound, which rings through the air far and
wide on a calm day. He feeds on the branches of the trees and grass,
and in winter scrapes, with his powerful fore-feet, deep into the snow,
to obtain the lichens and dry herbage which grow beneath. His flesh for
several months in the year is dry and coarse, but his hide is much
prized by the Indians, who manufacture from it a leather of a peculiarly
soft character, which retains that quality after being wet,--instead of
turning hard, as is the case with that manufactured from other
deerskins. A remarkable feature of the wapiti is that the horns differ
in form almost as greatly as do those of the branches of trees, no two
specimens being found with them exactly alike.
The Karjacou, or Virginian Deer.
The most graceful of the deer tribe, the karjacou, scours in large herds
across the prairies, frequently entering the haunts of man. Yet so
easily is it scared that it takes to flight at the very appearance of a
human being. Curiously enough, however, it will again return to its
favourite feeding-grounds, even though the hunter's rifle may lay low
many of the herd. It is about the size of the fallow-deer, and of a
light brown hue. Its horns are slender, and have numerous branches on
the interior sides, but are destitute of brow antlers.
Let us watch a herd startled by our approach. Away they spring, leaping
into the air, turning their heads in every direction to ascertain the
cause of their alarm, and then rush off at full speed; but in a short
time, if they are not followed, we may see them return, especially as
night draws on, and crouch down in their accustomed sleeping-places.
Should a salt lake be near, they will come in vast numbers to lick up
with their tongues the saline particles adhering to the surrounding
stones, where the salt has crystallised from the evaporation of the
water.
They are at all times thirsty, and they require constant draughts of
pure water, to obtain which they are sure to visit the nearest stream or
spring as night is about to close over the scene. Wherever the
tenderest herbage grows upon the plain, there the karjacou comes to crop
it during summer. In winter he finds an abundant supply of food from
the buds and berries, or fallen fruits; or, when snow is on the ground,
he eats the string moss hanging in masses from the trees. He willingly
takes to the water, and will cross a lake or broad river, swimming at a
rapid rate with his whole body submerged, his head alone appearing above
the surface; thus he will often baffle his pursuers, even though they
may follow him with a boat. He has been known, indeed, when
hard-pressed near the sea-coast, to plunge into the ocean, and buffeting
the waves, to make his way far from the land, rather than be captured.
His flesh affords the Indian a large portion of his winter supply of
food, while his skin is manufactured into clothing, the leather from it
being especially soft and pliable. From the settlers in the western
provinces he receives little mercy, as, without hesitation, he leaps
their fences, banqueting on their growing corn or vegetables; and, after
doing all the mischief in his power, by his activity generally again
makes his escape. No animal surpasses in beauty the young fawn, the fur
of which is of a ruddy brown tint, ornamented with white spots arranged
in irregular lines, merging occasionally into wide stripes.
Like others of his tribe, the male is excessively combative when meeting
others of his own species; and a story is told of three animals thus
encountering each other in a desert, when all their horns becoming
entangled, they remained fixed, unable to separate, till they sank
together on the ground, their skulls and skeletons afterwards being
discovered, thus giving evidence of the combat and its fatal result.
The Antelope.
No animal of the American wilds surpasses the antelope in beauty. The
little creatures congregate in herds of many thousands, though, from the
exterminating war waged against them by the Indians, they have greatly
decreased in numbers. The size of the antelope is about that of the
common red-deer doe; the colour somewhat between buff and fawn, shaded
here and there into reddish-brown, and a patch of pure white on the
hind-quarters. This gives rise to the expression of the hunter, when he
sees it flying before him, that the creature is "showing its clean
linen." The ears are placed far back on the head, are very long, and
curved so much that at a distance they appear like horns, while the
horns themselves appear as if coming out of the animal's eyes; they are
long and slender, curving slightly backwards, and have no branches,
except a little bud, which is developed when the creature is about two
years old. The chief peculiarity of the animal is its lack of a dewlap.
The feet have no rudimentary hoofs like the deer, yet this want in no
way interferes with its speed. Often the creature may be seen for a
moment browsing not fifty yards off, the next it has dwindled to a mere
speck, and is in another lost to sight. They do not leap like deer, but
run with level backs, as sheep do, their legs glancing faster than sight
can follow. In vain the hunter attempts to follow the rapid movements
of the creatures on horseback. Perhaps they will let him approach to
within a short distance, and then away they float on a line at
right-angles to their former retreat. To come up with them, indeed, as
an American writer observes, is as hopeful an undertaking as trying to
run down a telegraphic message. The only way to get near them is by a
stratagem. They are not afraid of horses, and the hunter, by walking
behind his horse, may often approach a herd without being discovered,
provided the wind blows from them. He then pickets his horse with a
sharp stake, and sinking down in the grass he ties a bright-coloured
handkerchief to the end of his ramrod; he then crawls forward on hands
and knees, dragging his rifle, till he approaches still nearer, when he
remains concealed, and lifts his flag in the air. The antelopes, on
catching sight of it, stop browsing, and raising their heads, peer
towards it, exhibiting no signs of fear. For a moment he drops his
flag; the beautiful creatures then resume their repast, but their
curiosity gets the better of their prudence. Again they look forward,
when the flag is once more raised and waved slowly backward and forward.
The antelopes have now their curiosity excited to the utmost; for a
moment they stop irresolute, then advance a few steps snuffing the air.
Once more the flag sinks out of sight; they seem to be asking each other
what is the cause of the strange sight they have seen. Again it is
raised; they draw nearer and nearer, till they are within range of the
hunter's deadly rifle; he fires, and almost to a certainty one of the
beautiful animals springs into the air and tumbles head-foremost on the
ground. For a moment the survivors run off from their fallen friend,
but seldom go far. Once more they return within easy rifle-shot of the
hunter. Unless, however, he requires the meat, he must be greatly
lacking in right feeling if he slaughters uselessly so beautiful an
animal. The antelope becomes so easily confused, that when met on the
prairies it frequently runs headlong into the midst of the travellers.
The creatures are often killed by being surrounded, when the whole herd
are driven into an enclosed spot and become the easy prey of the hungry
hunters.
The Bighorn, or Mountain Sheep.
Amid the almost inaccessible peaks of the Rocky Mountains, herds of
animals with enormous horns may be seen leaping from rock to rock,
sometimes descending at one spring from a height of twenty or thirty
feet--when, the Indians assert, they invariably alight on their horns,
and by this means save their bones from certain dislocation. They are
bighorns, or mountain sheep, and are considered the chief game of these
regions. The animals appear to partake both of the nature of the deer
and of the goat. They resemble the latter more especially in their
habits, and in frequenting the most lofty and inaccessible regions,
whence, except in the severest weather, they seldom descend to the
upland valleys. In size the bighorn is between the domestic sheep and
the common red-deer of America, but is more strongly built than the
latter. It is of a brownish-dun colour, with a somewhat white streak on
the hind-quarters. The tail is shorter than that of the deer, and
tipped with black. As the age of the animal increases, the coat becomes
of a darker tinge. The horns, of the male especially, are of great
size, curving backwards about three feet in length, and twenty inches in
circumference at the roots.
Frequently on the highest spot one of the band is stationed as a
sentinel, and whilst the others are feeding he looks out for the
approach of danger. They have even more acute sight and smell than the
deer. On an alarm being given the whole herd scampers up the mountain,
higher and higher, every now and then halting on some overhanging crag
and looking down oh the object which may have caused them alarm; then
once more they pursue their ascent, and as they bound up the steep sides
of the mountains throw down an avalanche of rocks and stones.
Occasionally the young lambs are caught and domesticated by the hunters
in their mountain homes, when they become greatly attached to their
masters, amusing them by their merry gambols and playful tricks.
Attempts have been made to transport them to the States; but although
milch-goats have been brought to feed the lambs, they have suffered by
the change from the pure air of the mountains to the plains, or they
have not taken kindly to their foster-mothers, and have invariably
perished on the journey.
The creatures reach a height of three feet six inches at the shoulders,
while the horns are of about the same length. In colour they vary
greatly, changing according to the season of the year.
The Bison, commonly called the Buffalo in America.
Throughout the wide-extending prairies of North America, from north to
south to the east of the Rocky Mountains, vast herds of huge animals--
with shaggy coats and manes which hang down over the head and shoulders
reaching to the ground, and short curling horns, giving their
countenances a ferocious aspect--range up and down, sometimes amounting
to ten thousand head in one herd. They commonly go by the name of
buffaloes, but are properly called bisons. Clothed in a dense coat of
long woolly hair, the buffalo is well constituted to stand the heats of
summer as well as the cold of the snowy plains in the northern regions
to which he extends his wanderings.
Let us look at him as he stands facing us on his native plains, his red
eyes glowing like coals of fire from amid the mass of dark brown or
black hair which hangs over his head and neck and the whole fore part of
his body. A beard descends from the lower jaw to the knee; another huge
bunch of matted hair rises from the top of his head, almost concealing
his thick, short, pointed horns standing wide apart from each other. As
he turns round we shall see that a large oblong hump rises on his back,
diminishing in height towards the tail: that member is short, with a
tuft of hair at the tip. The hinder part of the body is clothed with
hair of more moderate length, especially in summer, when it becomes fine
and smooth, and soft as velvet. From his awkward, heavy appearance,
when seen at a distance, it would not be supposed that he is extremely
active, capable of moving at a rapid rate, and of continuing his
headlong career for an immense distance. So sure of foot is he, also,
that he will pass over ground where no horse could follow, his limbs
being in reality slender, and his body far more finely proportioned than
would be supposed till it is seen stripped of its thick coating of hair.
While his thick coat protects him from the cold, he is also provided
with a broad, strong, and tough nose, with which he can shovel away the
snow and lay bare the grass on which he feeds. Sometimes, however, when
a slight thaw has occurred, and a thin cake of ice has been formed over
the snow, his nose gets sadly cut, and is often seen bleeding from the
effects of his labours. It is said that when a herd comes near the
settlements, the domesticated calves, and even the horses, will follow
the buffalo tracks, and graze on the herbage which they have disclosed
and left unconsumed.
The flesh of the buffalo, especially that of the cow, is juicy, and
tender in the extreme. The most esteemed portion is that composing the
hump on its back, which gives it so strange an aspect. It is indeed
frequently killed merely for the sake of this hump, and the tongue and
marrow-bones. Sometimes, also, when parched with thirst, the hunter
kills a buffalo to obtain the water contained within certain honeycombed
cells in its stomach. The buffalo is provided with this reservoir, in
which a large quantity of pure water can be stored, that it may
traverse, without the necessity of drinking, the wide barren plains
where none can be obtained. Vast numbers, without even these objects in
view, are wantonly slaughtered, and the chief part of the flesh utterly
wasted, by the thoughtless Indians of the plain, who have thereby
deprived themselves of their future support. Many tribes depend almost
entirely for their subsistence on the buffalo, of which the flesh is
prepared in several ways. When cut up into long strips, and dried in
the sun till it becomes black and hard, it will keep for a long time.
It is also pounded with the fat of the animal, and converted into
_pemmican_--an especially nutritious food, which, if kept dry, will
continue in good order for several years.
The prairie Indians make use of the hide for many purposes. They scrape
off the hair and tan it, when it serves them for coverings for their
tents. It is also carefully dressed, when it becomes soft and
impervious to water. It is then used for clothing. Some of the tribes
also form their shields from it. The hide is pegged down on the ground,
when it is covered with a kind of glue. In this state it greatly
shrinks and thickens, and becomes sufficiently hard to resist an arrow,
and even to turn aside an ordinary bullet which does not strike
directly.
The buffalo is especially a gregarious animal, and is found in herds of
immense size, many thousands in number. Their dark forms may often be
seen extending over the prairie as far as the eye can reach, a mighty
moving mass of life. Onward they rush, moved by some sudden impulse,
making the ground tremble under their feet, while their course may be
traced by the vast cloud of dust which floats over them as they sweep
across the plain. They are invariably followed by flocks of wolves, who
pounce on any young or sick members of the herd which may be left
behind. They range throughout the whole prairie country, from the
"Fertile Belt," which extends from the Red River settlement to the Rocky
Mountains in British Central America, to Mexico in the south. The bulls
are at times excessively savage. They often quarrel among themselves,
and then, falling out of the herd, they engage in furious combats,
greatly to the advantage of the pursuing wolves. In the summer, the
buffalo delights in wallowing in mud. Reaching some marshy spot, he
throws himself down, and works away till he excavates a mud-hole in the
soil. The water from the surrounding ground rapidly drains into this,
and covers him up, thus freeing him from the stings of the gnats and
flies which swarm in that season.
The buffalo is hunted on horseback both by whites and by Indians, though
the sport is one in which a considerable amount of danger must be
braved. Let us set off from a farm in the Western States, on the border
of the prairie. We have one or two nights to camp out before we reach
the buffalo grounds. Mounting our horses by break of day, after an
early breakfast, we ride on with the wind in our faces, and at length
discover across the plain a number of dark objects moving slowly. They
are buffaloes, feeding as they go. We see through our field-glasses
that there are calves among them. It is proposed that some of our party
should ride round, so as to stampede the herd back towards us, and thus,
by dividing them, enable us to get in the centre. We wait for some
time, when we see a vast mass of hairy monsters come tearing over a hill
towards us. We have shot several of the bulls, but our object is to
secure their calves and cows. As the herd approaches us, it swings
round its front at right-angles, and makes off westward. We dash
forward, and divide it into two parties. We also separate, some of our
hunters following one part of the herd, the others the remainder. The
enthusiasm of our horses equals our own. Away we go; nothing stops us.
Now we plunge with headlong bounds down bluffs of caving sands fifty
feet high,--while the buffaloes, crazy with terror, are scrambling
half-way up the opposite side. Now we are on the very haunches of our
game; now before us appears a slippery buffalo wallow. We see it just
in time to leap clear, but the next instant we are in the middle of one.
Our horses, with frantic plunges, scramble out; and on we go. We get
closer and closer to the buffaloes, when a loud thundering of trampling
hoofs sounds behind us. Looking over our shoulders, there, in plain
sight, appears another herd, tearing down on our rear. For nearly a
mile in width stretches a line of angry faces, a rolling surf of
wind-blown hair, a row of quivering lights burning with a reddish-brown
hue--the eyes of the infuriated animals. Should our horses stumble, our
fate will be sealed. It is certain death to be involved in the herd.
So is it to turn back. In an instant we should be trampled and gored to
death. Our only hope is to ride steadily in the line of the stampede,
till we can insinuate ourselves laterally, and break out through the
side of the herd. Yet the hope of doing so is but small.
On we rush rapidly as before, when suddenly, to our great satisfaction,
the herd before us divides into two columns, to pass round a low hill in
front. Still on we go, pushing our horses up the height. We reach the
summit, the horses panting fearfully, and the moisture trickling in
streams from their sides. But now the rear column comes on. They see
us, not fifty rods off, but happily pay no attention to us. We
dismount, facing the furious creatures. Should they not divide, but
come over the hill, in a few moments we must be trampled to death. The
herd approaches to within a hundred yards of the hill. We lift our
rifles and deliver a couple of steadily aimed bullets at the
fore-shoulders of the nearest bulls. One gives a wild jump, and limps
on with three legs; the other seems at first unhurt; but just as they
reach the foot of the mound, they both fall down. The whole host are
rushing over them. We rapidly reload. The fate of their comrades,
however, sends a panic into the hearts of the herd. Another falls just
when they are so close that we could have sprung on their backs. At
that moment they divide, and the next we are standing on a desert
island, a sea of billowing backs flowing round on either side in a
half-mile current of crazy buffaloes. The herd is fully five minutes in
passing us. We watch them as they come, and as the last laggers pant by
the mound we look westward and see the stampeders halting. We soon
understand the cause. They have come up with the main herd. Yes,
there, in full sight of us, is the buffalo army, extending its deep line
as far as the western horizon. The whole earth is black with them.
From a point a mile in front of us, their rear line extends on the north
to the bluffs bounding the banks of the river on which we had camped.
On the south it reaches the summits of some distant heights fully six
miles away. When it is known that with our field-glasses we can
recognise an object the size of a buffalo ten miles distant, and that
the mass extends even beyond the horizon, some idea may be formed of the
immense number of animals congregated in the herd. To say that there
are ten thousand, would be to give a very low estimate of their numbers.
The same writer from whose work the above is taken, describes an
extraordinary instance of friendship exhibited by a buffalo bull for one
of his comrades. (Generally speaking, the buffalo, even in the pairing
season, will forsake the wounded cow, and the cow will not stay one
moment to protect her hurt calf.) He was out hunting on one occasion,
when, having been for some time unsuccessful, and being anxious to
retrieve his character by bringing home some meat to camp, he caught
sight of two fine buffalo bulls on a broad meadow on the opposite side
of a stream. Dismounting from his horse, he took steady aim at the
nearest buffalo, which was grazing with its haunches towards him. The
ball broke the animal's right hip, and he plunged away on three legs,
the other hanging useless. He leaped on his horse, put spurs to its
flanks, and in three minutes was close on the bull's rear. To his
astonishment, and the still greater surprise of the two old hunters who
came after him, the unhurt bull stuck to his comrade's side without
flinching. He fired another shot, which took effect in the lungs of the
first buffalo. The second moved off for a moment, but instantly
returned to his friend. The wounded buffalo became distressed, and
slackened his pace. The unwounded one not only retarded his, but coming
to the rear of his friend, stood, with his head down, offering battle.
"Here indeed was devotion which had no instinct to inspire it. The
sight was sublime! The hunters could no more have accepted the
challenge of the brave creature, than they could have smitten Damon at
the side of Pythias. The wounded buffalo ran on to the border of the
next marsh, and, in attempting to cross, fell headlong down the steep
bank, and never rose again. Not till that moment, when courage was
useless, did the faithful creature consider his own safety in flight.
The hunters took off their hats as he walked away, and gave three
parting cheers as the gallant buffalo vanished beyond the fringing
timber."
The half-breed hunters of Rupert's Land make two expeditions in the year
in search of buffaloes--one in the middle of June, and the other in
October. They divide into three bands, each taking a separate route,
for the purpose of falling in with the herds of buffaloes. These bands
are each accompanied by about five hundred carts, drawn by either an ox
or a horse. They are curious vehicles, roughly formed with their own
axes, and fastened together with wooden pins and leather thongs, not a
nail being used. The tires of the wheels are made of buffalo hide, and
put on wet. When they become dry, they shrink, and are so tight that
they never fall off, and last as long as the cart holds together. The
carts contain the women and children, and provisions, and are intended
to bring back the spoils of the chase. Each is decorated with some
flag, so that the hunters may recognise their own from a distance. They
may be seen winding off in one wide line extending for miles, and
accompanied by the hunters on horseback. These expeditions run the
danger of being attacked by the Sioux Indians, who inhabit the prairies
to the south. The camps are therefore well surrounded by scouts, for
the purpose of reconnoitring either for enemies or buffaloes. If they
see the latter, they make a signal by throwing up handfuls of dust; if
the former, by running their horses to and fro.
Mr Paul Kane, the Canadian artist, describes one of these expeditions
which he joined. On their way they were visited by twelve Sioux chiefs,
who came for the purpose of negotiating a permanent peace; but whilst
smoking the pipe of peace in the council lodge, the dead body of a
half-breed, who had gone to a distance from the camp, was brought in
newly scalped, and his death was at once attributed to the Sioux. Had
not the older and more temperate half-breeds interfered, the young men
would have destroyed the twelve chiefs on the spot: as it was, they were
allowed to depart unharmed. Three days afterwards, however, the scouts
were observed making the signal of enemies being in sight. Immediately
a hundred of the best-mounted hastened to the spot, and concealing
themselves behind the shelter of the bank of a stream, sent out two of
their number as decoys, to expose themselves to the view of the Sioux.
The latter, supposing them to be alone, rushed upon them; whereupon the
concealed half-breeds sprang up and poured in a volley which brought
down eight. The others escaped, though several must have been wounded.
Two small herds having been met with, of which several animals were
killed, the scouts one morning brought in word that an immense herd of
bulls was in advance about two miles off. They are known in the
distance from the cows by their feeding singly, and being scattered over
the plain,--whereas the cows keep together, for the purpose of
protecting the calves, which are always kept in the centre of the herd.
We will start at daybreak with our friend, and a half-breed as a guide.
Six hours' hard riding brings us to within a quarter of a mile of the
nearest herd. The main body stretches over the plains as far as the eye
can reach, the wind blowing in our faces. We should have liked to have
attacked them at once, but the guide will not hear of it, as it is
contrary to the law of his tribe. We therefore shelter ourselves behind
a mound, relieving our horses of their saddles to cool them. In about
an hour one hundred and thirty hunters come up, every man loading his
gun, looking to the priming, and examining the efficiency of his
saddle-girths. The elder caution the less experienced not to shoot each
other,--such accidents sometimes occurring. Each hunter then fills his
mouth with bullets, which he drops into the gun without wadding; by this
means loading more quickly, and being able to do so whilst his horse is
at full speed. We slowly walk our horses towards the herd. Advancing
about two hundred yards, the animals perceive us, and start off in the
opposite direction, at the top of their speed. We now urge our horses
to full gallop, and in twenty minutes are in the midst of the stamping
long-haired herd. There cannot be less than four or five thousand in
our immediate vicinity,--all bulls; not a single cow amongst them. The
scene now becomes one of intense excitement,--the huge bulk thundering
over the plain in headlong confusion, while the fearless hunters ride
recklessly in their midst, keeping up an incessant fire but a few yards
from their victims. Upon the fall of each buffalo the hunter merely
throws, close to it, some article of his apparel to denote his own prey,
and then rushes on to another. The chase continues for about one hour,
extending over an area of about six square miles, where may be seen the
dead and dying buffaloes to the number of five hundred. In spite of his
horsemanship, more than one hunter has been thrown from his steed, in
consequence of the innumerable badger-holes in which the plains abound.
Two others are carried back to camp insensible. We have just put a
bullet through an enormous bull. He does not fall, but stops, facing
us, pawing the earth, bellowing, and glaring savagely. The blood is
streaming from his mouth, and it seems as if he must speedily drop. We
watch him, admiring his ferocious aspect, combating with death.
Suddenly he makes a dash towards us, and we have barely time to escape
the charge; when, reloading, we again fire, and he sinks to the ground.
The carts bring in the slaughtered animals to the camp, when the squaws
set to work, aided by the men, to cut them up, and prepare them for
drying and for making pemmican. The women are soon busily employed in
cutting the flesh into slices, and in hanging them in the sun on poles.
The dried meat is then pounded between two stones till the fibres
separate. About fifty pounds of it is put into a bag of buffalo skin,
with about forty pounds of melted fat, which, being mixed while hot,
forms a hard and compact mass. Hence its name, in the Cree language, of
pemmican--_pemmi_ signifying meat, and _kon_ fat--usually, however,
spelt pemmican. One pound of pemmican is considered equal to four
pounds of ordinary meat,--and it keeps for years, perfectly good,
exposed to any weather.
The prairie Indians obtain buffaloes by driving them into huge pounds,
where they are slaughtered. The pounds, however, can only be made in
the neighbourhood of forests, from whence the logs for their formation
can be obtained. The pound consists of a circular fence about 130 feet
broad. It is constructed of the trunks of trees laced together with
withies, with outside supports about 5 feet high. At one side an
entrance is left about 10 feet wide, with a deep trench across it, on
the outside of which there is a strong trunk of a tree placed, about a
foot from the ground. The animals, on being driven in, leap over this,
clearing the trench, which of course prevents them from returning. From
the entrance two rows of bushes or posts, which are called "dead men,"
diverge towards the direction from which the buffaloes are likely to
come. They are placed from 20 feet to 50 feet apart, and the distance
between the extremities of the two rows at their outer termination is
nearly two miles. Behind each of these "dead men" an Indian is
stationed, to prevent the buffaloes when passing up the avenue from
breaking out. Meantime, the hunters, mounted on fleet horses, range the
country to a distance of eighteen or twenty miles in search of a herd.
The buffalo has an unaccountable propensity which makes him endeavour to
cross in front of the hunter's horse. They will frequently, indeed,
follow a horseman for miles in order to do so. He thus possesses an
unfailing means, by a dexterous management of his horse, of conducting
the animals into the trap prepared for them. The men also conceal
themselves in hollows and depressions in the ground, so as to assist in
turning the herd, should they attempt to escape in that direction. And
now some three or four hundred head of shaggy monsters are driven to the
expanded mouth of the avenue. The horsemen follow in their rear, and
prevent them turning back. Meantime the Indians stationed behind the
"dead men" rise, shaking their bows, yelling, and urging them on. Thus
they proceed, madly rushing on, the passage growing narrower and
narrower, while they, pressed together, are unable to see the danger
ahead. The foremost at length reach the fatal ditch, and leaping over,
enter the pound, the rest madly following. "The animals now begin to
gallop round and round the fence, looking for some means of escape; but
women and children on the outside, keeping perfectly silent, hold their
robes before every orifice, till the whole herd is brought in. They
then climb to the top of the fence, and the hunters, who have followed
closely in the rear of the buffaloes, spear and shoot with bows and
arrows or firearms at the bewildered animals, rapidly becoming frantic
with fear and terror in the narrow limits of the pound. A dreadful
scene of confusion and slaughter then ensues. The older animals toss
the younger. The shouts and screams of the Indians rise above the roar
of the bulls, the bellowing of the cows, and the moaning of the calves.
The dying struggles of so many powerful animals crowded together, create
a revolting scene, dreadful for its excess of cruelty and waste of
life." [Hind.]
In consequence of this wholesale and wanton destruction, the buffalo has
greatly diminished; and the Indians agree in the belief that their
people, in like manner, will decrease till none are left. It is
computed that for many years past no less than 145,000 buffaloes have
annually been killed in British territory; while on the great prairies
claimed by the United States a still greater number have been
slaughtered. In one year--1855--on the British side of the boundary,
there were 20,000 robes of skins received at York Factory alone; and
probably not fewer than 230,000 head of buffalo were slaughtered in the
previous year. This number would have been sufficient to sustain a
population of a quarter of a million. Yet so vast a number of the
animals are left to rot on the ground, that in all probability not more
than 30,000 Indians fed on the flesh of the slaughtered buffaloes.
The civilised fur-traders, however, with greater forethought, take means
to preserve the flesh of the animals they kill in the neighbourhood of
the forts, so that it may last them through the summer. For this
purpose they dig a square pit capable of containing seven or eight
hundred carcasses. As soon as the ice in the river is of sufficient
thickness, it is cut with saws into square blocks, of a uniform size,
with which the floor of the pit is regularly paved. The blocks are then
cemented together by pouring water in between them, and allowing it to
freeze into a solid mass. In like manner the walls are built up to the
surface of the ground. The head and feet being cut off, each carcass,
without being skinned, is divided into quarters; and these are piled in
layers in the pit, till it is filled up, when the whole is covered with
a thick coating of straw, which is again protected from the sun and rain
by a shed. In this manner the meat is preserved in good condition
through the whole summer, and is considered more tender and better
flavoured than when freshly killed.
Even in the winter the buffalo continues to range over the plains in a
far northern latitude. Mr Kane mentions seeing a band, numbering
nearly ten thousand, at the very northern confines of the Fertile Belt,
where the snow was very deep at the time. They, however, had never
before appeared in such vast numbers near the Company's establishments.
Some, on on that occasion, were shot within the gates of Fort Edmonton.
They had killed with their horns twenty or thirty horses, in their
attempt to drive them from the patches of grass which the horses had
laid bare with their hoofs. They were probably migrating northward, to
escape the human migrations so rapidly filling up the southern and
western regions which were formerly their pasture-grounds.
The Cree Indians use dogs to draw their sleighs. They are powerful,
savage animals, having a good deal of the wolf about them. They are
considered as valuable as horses, as everything is drawn over the snow
by them. When buffaloes have been killed in winter, the dead animals
are drawn in by them to the camp; and two can thus easily drag a large
cow buffalo over the snow. The sleigh or cariole used in these regions
is formed of a thin flat board about eighteen inches wide, bent up in
front, with a straight back behind to lean against. The sides are made
of fresh buffalo hide, with the hair completely scraped off, and which,
lapping over, entirely covers the front part, so that a person slips
into it as into a tin bath. Each carries but one passenger. The
driver, on snow-shoes, runs behind to guide the dogs. Each sleigh is
drawn by four dogs, their backs gaudily decorated with saddle-cloths of
various colours, fringed, and embroidered in the most fantastic manner,
and with innumerable small bells and feathers. Two men run before on
snow-shoes to beat a track, which the dogs instinctively follow. A long
cavalcade of this description has a very picturesque appearance.
While thus travelling, our friend Mr Kane caught sight of a herd of
buffaloes, which did not perceive the approach of the party till the
foremost sleigh was so near as to excite the dogs, who rushed furiously
after them, notwithstanding all the efforts of the drivers to keep them
back. The spirit of the hunt was at once communicated through the whole
line, and the entire party were in an instant dashing along at a furious
rate after the buffaloes. The frightened animals made a bold dash at
length through a deep snow-bank, and attempted to scramble up the steep
side of the river, the top of which the foremost one had nearly reached,
when, slipping, he rolled down and knocked over those behind, one on the
top of the other, into the deep snow-drift, from which men and dogs were
struggling in vain to extricate themselves. It would be impossible to
describe the wild scene of uproar that followed. One of the sleighs was
smashed, and a man nearly killed; but at length the party succeeded in
getting clear, and repairing the damage.
In some districts, where the buffaloes can with difficulty be
approached, the Indians employ a stratagem to get them within reach of
their arrows or rifles. One of the Indians covers himself in a wolf's
skin, another with a buffalo skin. They then crawl on all-fours within
sight of the buffaloes, and as soon as they have engaged their
attention, the pretended wolf jumps on the pretended calf, which bellows
in imitation of the real one. The buffaloes are easily deceived in this
way, as the bellowing is generally perfect, and the herd rush on to the
protection of their supposed young, with such impetuosity that they do
not perceive the cheat till they are quite close enough to be shot.
On one occasion Mr Kane and his Indian companion fell in with a
solitary bull and cow. On this they made a "calf," as the ruse is
called. The cow attempted to spring towards them, but the bull, seeming
to understand the trick, tried to stop her by running between them. The
cow now dodged and got round him, and ran within ten or fifteen yards of
the hunters, with the bull close at her heels, when both men fired, and
brought her down. The bull instantly stopped short, and, bending over
her, tried to help her up with his nose--evincing the most persevering
affection for her; nor could they get rid of him, so as to cut up the
cow, without shooting him also, although at that time of the year bull
flesh is not valued as food when the female can be obtained. This, and
another example which has been given, show that these animals are
capable of great affection for each other.
The Indians also occasionally approach a herd from leeward, crawling
along the ground so as to look like huge snakes winding their way amid
the snow or grass, and can thus get sufficiently near to shoot these
usually wary animals.
PART ONE, CHAPTER SIX.
RODENTS.
THE BEAVER.
Of all mammals, the beaver is the most especially fitted to enjoy a
social life. When in captivity and away from its kind, it appears to
possess but a small amount of intelligence; it forms no attachments to
its human companions, and is utterly indifferent to all around it. But
in its native wilds, associated with others of its race, what wondrous
engineering skill it exhibits, and how curious are its domestic
arrangements!
It is essentially a hard worker. Other animals sport and play and amuse
themselves. What young beavers may do inside their lodges, it is
difficult to say; but the elders, from morn till night, and all night
long, labour at their various occupations, evidently feeling that they
were born to toil, and willingly accomplishing their destiny.
The beaver has fitly been selected as the representative animal of
Canada, on account of its industry, perseverance, and hardihood, and the
resolute way in which it overcomes difficulties. Certain conditions of
country are necessary to its existence, and when it does not find these
ready formed, by a wonderful provision of Nature its instinct enables it
to produce them by its own exertions. Where it can find rivers, brooks,
and swampy lakes which maintain an even level throughout the year, the
beaver has a tolerably idle life; but as in most districts the levels of
rivers and lakes are apt to sink at various seasons if left to
themselves,--whenever an emigrant party of beavers have fixed on a new
locality, they set to work to dam up the stream or outlet of the lake,
to prevent a catastrophe which might bring ruin and destruction on their
new colony. In Nova Scotia, as well as in other parts of North America,
large level spaces are found covered with a rich alluvial soil, from
which spring up waving fields of wild grass. From this the human
settler draws an abundant supply of hay for his stock in winter, and
ought to feel deeply indebted to the persevering beaver for the boon.
They are known as "wild meadows," and are of frequent occurrence in the
backwoods. It is evident that they were formed by the following
process:--They are found in valleys through which, in ages past, a brook
trickled. A party of beavers arriving, and finding an abundance of food
on the side of the hills, would set to work to form a dam of sufficient
strength to keep back the stream, till a pond was created, on the edge
of which they might build their dome-shaped habitations. Extensive
spaces in the woods were thus inundated, and the colony of beavers lived
for long years on the banks of their artificial lakes. They, however,
lacking forethought, like many human beings, did not sufficiently look
to the future. In process of time the trees, being destroyed, decayed
and fell; while the soil, washed down from the surrounding hills, filled
up the pond constructed by the industrious animals, and they were
compelled to migrate to some other region, or were destroyed. The dam
being thus left unrepaired, the water drained through it, and the level
space was converted into the rich meadow which has been described.
Beavers' houses, however, are seen in all directions, sometimes on the
banks of these artificial ponds, at others by the sides of large lakes
or rivers. Though varying in size, they all greatly resemble a huge
bird's-nest turned upside down. Some are eight feet in diameter, and
three feet in height; while others are very much larger, being no less
than sixteen to twenty feet in diameter, and nearly eight feet in height
on the outside, and perfectly circular and dome-shaped. The walls and
roofs of these lodges, as they are called, are several feet in
thickness, so that the measurement of the interior chamber is little
more than half that of the exterior. Several beavers inhabit a large
lodge. Their beds, which are separated one from the other, are arranged
round the walls, a space in the centre being left free. The exterior
also presents a very rough appearance, consisting of sticks apparently
thrown loosely together, and entirely denuded of their bark, as also of
branches of trees and bushes closely interwoven and mixed with stones,
gravel, or mud. They are close to the banks, almost overlapping the
water, into which the front part is immersed. The bottom of the stream
or lake is invariably deepened in the channel approaching the entrance,
thus ensuring a free passage below the ice into the structure. The
tunnel is from two to three feet long. In the inner part of the hut the
materials are laid with greater care, and more firmly bound together--
with mud and grass--than on the outer. Even in one of the larger houses
the chamber--for there is but one--is only between two and three feet in
height, though as much as nine feet in diameter. It slopes gently
upwards from the water. Inside there are two levels: the lower one may
be called the hall. On this the animals shake themselves when they
emerge from the subaqueous tunnel; and when dry, clamber up to the upper
story, which consists of an elevated bed of boughs running round the
back of the chamber. It is thickly covered with dry grass and thin
shavings of wood. The whole of the interior is smooth, the ends of the
timbers and brushwood which project inwards being evenly gnawed off.
There are always two entrances--the one serving for summer, and letting
in the light; while another sinks down at a deeper angle, to enable the
owners during winter to get below the water. Beavers are especially
clean animals, and allow no rubbish to remain in their abode; and as
soon as they have nibbled off the bark from the sticks, they carry them
outside, and place them on the roof of their hut, to increase its
thickness, or let them float down the stream.
During the summer they are employed all day in ranging the banks and
cutting provisions for their winter consumption, all their architectural
occupations being carried on at night. Their winter stock of food
consists of short lengths of willow and poplar,--the bark of which only,
however, they eat. These they sink with mud or stones in some quiet
pool near their lodge, and when required for food they dive down below
the ice and bring up as many as are required for family consumption.
Besides their lodge, they form in the neighbourhood a long burrow
sufficiently broad to enable them to turn with ease. The entrance is at
a considerable depth below the surface of the water, and extends from
ten to twenty feet into the bank. This burrow serves as a safe retreat,
should their house be broken into, and thither they immediately fly when
their permanent abode is attacked. In summer they regale themselves on
the roots of the yellow lilies, as well as on other succulent
vegetation, and any fruits the country affords.
But it is time that we should get a look at the curious animal itself.
We may paddle gently in a birch-bark canoe over a calm lake, and conceal
ourselves among the tall grass in some quiet cove where the yellow
water-lilies float on the tranquil surface. Through the still air of
evening, the sound of the distant waterfall reaches our ears. Wood
ducks fly by in vast numbers; the rich glow of the evening sky, still
suffused with the gorgeous hues of the setting sun, is reflected on the
mirror-like expanse of water. Watching with eager eyes, we see at
length the water breaking some forty yards away, and the head and back
of an animal appears in sight. Now another, and then a third, come into
view. After cautiously glancing around, the creatures dive, with a roll
like that of a porpoise, but shortly appear again. Our Indian, pushing
the light canoe from amid the grass, paddles forward with eager strokes.
One of our party fires, and misses, the echoes resounding from the
wood-covered shores, and from island to island, till lost in the
distance; but the cautious animals, forewarned, take good care not to
appear again during that evening. We find that our only prospect of
examining them is by trapping one in the usual Indian fashion, which we
will by-and-by describe.
Mr Beaver, as the Indians are fond of calling the animal, has a body
about three feet long, exclusive of the tail, which is a foot more. He
wears on his back a coat of long shining hair, generally of a light
chestnut colour, but sometimes of a much darker hue, occasionally
perfectly black. Below the hair, next the skin, is a fine, soft,
greyish-brown wool. He may be known at once by his broad horizontal
flattened tail, which is nearly of an oval form, but rises into a slight
convexity on its upper surface, and is covered with scales. His
fore-feet are armed with nails, and serve for the purpose of hands--
indeed, he vies with the monkey in the use he can make of them. The
hind-feet are webbed, and with these--together with his tail, which acts
as a rudder--he is enabled to swim rapidly through the water. The
beaver is a rodent, with a short head and broad blunt snout, and his
incisor teeth are remarkably large and hard, enabling him to bite
through wood with wonderful ease and rapidity. So great is their
hardness, that formerly the Indians were accustomed to use them as
knives for cutting bone and fashioning their horn-tipped spears.
The beaver, it has been said, always chooses banks by the side of a lake
or river of sufficient depth to escape being frozen to the bottom, even
during the hardest frost. Thus, he can at all times obtain a supply of
water, on which his existence depends; indeed, the bark on which he
lives requires to be moistened before it becomes fit for food. When
instinct teaches a colony of beavers that the water is not of sufficient
depth to escape freezing throughout, they provide against the evil by
making such a dam as has been mentioned, across the stream, or the
outlet of the lake, at a convenient distance from their habitations.
The plan of these dams varies according to the character of the lake or
stream. If the current is but slight, they build the dam almost
straight; but where the water runs at a rapid rate, it is almost always
constructed with a considerable curve, the convex side towards the
stream. Frequently, in such cases, if there is any small island in the
centre, it is taken advantage of, and the dam is built out to it from
either bank. They make use of a variety of materials; employing
driftwood when it can be obtained, to save themselves the trouble of
cutting down trees. This they tow to the spot, and sink it horizontally
with mud and stones. They also employ pieces of green willows, birch,
and poplars, intermixing the whole with mud and gravel, in a manner
which contributes greatly to the strength of the dam. They observe,
however, no order or method in the work, placing their materials as they
can obtain them, except that they make the dam maintain its regular
sweep, and form all parts of equal strength. They carry the mud and
stones in their fore-paws; and in one night will collect as much as
amounts to many thousands of their little loads. When driftwood is not
to be found, they obtain the timber they require from the groves
skirting the lake or pond. To do this, they squat on their hams, and
rapidly gnaw through the stems of trees from six to twelve or fourteen
inches in diameter, with their powerful incisors. Sometimes a tree will
not fall prostrate, the boughs being caught by its neighbours. But the
beaver is not to be disappointed; he sets to work and gnaws away a
little above the first place, thus giving it a fresh start, in order
that the impetus may disengage it from the branches which keep it up.
The tree being cut up, the beavers, uniting, tow the pieces down to the
dam. They then plunge into the water and bring up the mud and small
stones with which to keep it sunk. A long constructed dam, by being
frequently repaired with fresh mud, becomes at length a solid bank,
capable of resisting a heavy rush, either of water or ice; and as the
willow, poplar, and birch generally take root and shoot up, they by
degrees form a regularly planted hedge, which in some places becomes so
tall that birds have been known to build their nests among the branches.
These beaver dams also form bridges, over which two or three men may
pass abreast, and lead their horses, without risk of breaking through.
So rapidly do the members of the industrious community labour, that even
the most serious damage to their dams, or habitations, is quickly
repaired. They always carry the mud and stones in their fore-paws,
pressed against their chins, but they drag the wood with their teeth.
The creature does not employ its broad tail, as was once supposed, to
plaster down its mud-work, nor does it use it as a vehicle for
transporting materials; its sole object being to guide it when in the
water, and as a counterpoise, by moving it in an upward direction, to
the tendency it would otherwise have of sinking head-foremost. The
creatures cover the outside of their houses every autumn with fresh mud
as soon as the frost becomes severe. By this means it freezes as hard
as stone, and prevents their common enemy, the wolverene, disturbing
them during the winter. From the beaver being seen to flap its tail
when moving over its work, but especially when about to plunge into the
water, has arisen the idea that it uses this member as a trowel. This
custom it preserves even when it becomes tame and domesticated,
particularly when suddenly startled.
The beaver, says Captain Hardy, travels a long distance from his house
in search of materials, both for building and food. He mentions having
seen the stumps of some trees which had been felled, at least
three-quarters of a mile from the beaver lodges. Its towing power in
the water, and that of traction on dry land, is astonishing. The
following account shows the coolness and enterprise of the animals,
described by a witness to the fact:--The narrator having constructed a
raft for the purpose of poling round the edge of the lake to get at the
houses of the beaver, which were built in a swampy savannah, otherwise
inaccessible, it had been left in the evening moored at the edge of the
lake, close to the camp, and about a quarter of a mile from the nearest
beaver's house, the poles lying on it. Next morning, on going down to
the raft, the poles were missing; so, cutting fresh ones, he started
with the Indians towards the beaver village. On reaching their abodes,
one of the poles was found deposited on the top of the houses.
In a community of beavers there are frequently some who appear to do no
work, and are called by the Canadian trappers _Les paresseux_, or
Idlers. They live apart from the rest, taking up their abodes in long
tunnels, which they excavate. Several inhabit the same burrow; and
being males, the idea is that they have been conquered in the combats
which take place among the males when seeking their mates, and thus,
like monks of old, have retired from the world,--or perhaps it may be
only for a period, till they have regained sufficient courage and
strength to sally forth, and commence a happier existence with the
partner of their choice. They are far more careless of their safety
than the other beavers, and are thus easily caught by the trappers.
The body of the beaver contains a curious odoriferous substance, called
by the trappers barkstone, but more scientifically "castor," or
"castoreum." It is contained in two little bags about the size of a
hen's egg, and is of a brownish, unctuous consistency. At one time it
was supposed to possess valuable medicinal properties. It is now,
however, chiefly employed by perfumers. The beavers themselves are
strangely attracted by this substance, and when scenting it at a
distance will invariably make their way to it. It is said that the
inhabitants of a particular lodge go forth, and having rid themselves of
their superabundant castoreum at a little distance, return home; when
the beavers of another lodge, scenting the castoreum, proceed to the
same spot, and covering it over with a layer of earth and leaves,
deposit their own castoreum upon the heap. After a time, the former
beavers go through the same process; and this is continued until a mound
of three or four feet in height has been raised. It is difficult to
account for the object of this strange proceeding. It was not, however,
till of late years that the sagacious Indians discovered that the
castoreum was a certain bait for the animals themselves. Formerly, the
bait they employed was a piece of green aspen, beaten up, and placed
near the trap. At length an Indian tried whether a male might not be
caught by adding some of the castoreum. By that time steel traps had
been introduced, instead of the clumsy wooden traps before used. Not
only were the males caught, but the females also; and the trappers were
now able with their steel traps to catch vast numbers of the infatuated
animals. It is said that the creatures, when perceiving the scent, will
sit upright, snuffing about in every direction, and squealing with
excitement. The younger animals, however, are those chiefly caught.
The old ones are often too cunning; and it is affirmed that, instead of
touching the bait, they will cover up the trap with mud and stones till
a mound has been raised, and then, depositing their superabundant
castoreum upon it, take their departure.
We must conclude our account by again quoting Captain Hardy. Of the
infatuation of this animal for castoreum he saw several instances. "A
trap was fastened by its steel chain to a stake, to prevent the beaver,
when caught, taking it away. It slipped, however, and the beaver swam
away with the trap, and it was looked upon as lost. Two nights
afterwards he was again taken in a trap, with the other fast on his
thigh. Another time a beaver, passing over a trap to get the castoreum,
had his hind-leg broken. With his teeth he cut the broken leg off, and
went away. It was supposed that he would not come again; but two nights
afterwards he was found fast in a trap--in each case tempted by the
castoreum. The stake was always licked, or sucked, clean. The
substance seems to act as a soporific, as the creatures, after tasting
it, always remain a day without coming out of their houses. So wary
generally are the beavers, that a trapper is always careful not to leave
his scent on the spot. To avoid this he frequently cuts down a tree,
and walks on its branches towards the edge of the path, afterwards
withdrawing it, and plentifully sprinkling water around."
The Indians and Canadian voyageurs eat the flesh of the beaver,
esteeming it, when roasted with the skin on--the hair having been singed
off--the most dainty of dishes. Early in this century, when beaver fur
was much in demand for the manufacture of hats, upwards of 120,000 skins
were exported from Quebec alone in one year. The warfare long waged
against the unfortunate rodents now goes on with somewhat diminished
activity. A change of fashion--the substitution of silk for beaver--has
probably saved them from utter extermination. The scientific name of
their tribe, _Castor_, was long a popular term for a hat; but now that
their fur has ceased to be employed as formerly, the term itself appears
to have gone out of use.
THE MUSK-RAT, OR MUSQUASH.
Voyaging along the margin of a lake, we may see on the shores numbers of
little flattened oval nests composed of reeds and sedges, while numerous
holes in the bank, with quantities of shells, chiefly of the fresh-water
mussel, scattered round, show the entrance to the habitations of the
musquash, or ondatra, called also the musk-rat. As evening approaches,
the creatures may be seen in fine balmy weather gambolling on the
surface, swimming rapidly here and there, or now and then diving below,
apparently fearless of the passing canoe. The little sedge-built hut of
the water-rat is constructed much in the same way as the beaver's larger
mansion. The creature itself looks somewhat like the beaver, and some
of its habits are also similar. It is rather more than two feet in
total length, of which measurement about ten inches is occupied by the
tail. The upper part of the body is of a dark brown colour, tinged in
parts with a reddish hue, while the lower part is ashy grey. Its tail
is flattened, but vertical. Like the beaver, it is furnished with an
undercoat of soft downy fur. Its safety has been provided for by its
peculiar colour, which is so like that of the muddy bank on which it
dwells, that a keen eye can alone detect it. Its hinder feet are
webbed, the imprint on the soft mud being very similar to that of a
duck. With the exception of the flesh of the water-mussel, its food is
vegetable. It is a great depredator in gardens, which it has been known
to plunder of carrots, turnips, and maize--the stalks of which it cuts
close down to the ground.
It is sought-for on account of its fur, which is very valuable. The
traps are set close to a tree, and when one of the creatures is caught,
its companions will instantly attack it and tear it to pieces.
Generally, however, in its struggles to get free, it carries the trap
under the surface, and is thus drowned.
Audubon, the naturalist, gives us an interesting description of
them:--"They are very lively, playful animals, when in their proper
element--the water--and on a calm night, in a sequestered pool, may
often be seen crossing and recrossing in every direction, leaving long
ripples in the water behind them, while others stand for a few moments
on tufts of grass, stones, or logs, and then plunge over, one after the
other, into the water. At the same time others are feeding on the
grassy bank, dragging off the roots of various kinds of plants, or
digging underneath the edge. These animals seem to form a little
community of social playful creatures, who only require to be unmolested
in order to be happy."
It has been proposed to acclimatise these little rodents in England,
under the idea that thus a valuable addition to the bank fauna of
sluggish English streams would be obtained.
PRAIRIE-DOGS.
Vast cities, with regularly laid streets, are often met with in
extensive level spots on the prairie. The inhabitants are, however, not
men, but creatures the size of a guinea-pig--rodents--a species of
marmot. In their habit of associating together in communities, they put
us in mind of the industrious beaver; but they are idle little fellows,
evidently liking play better than work. Their heads are not unlike
those of young terrier-pups, and their bodies are of a light brown
colour. They have little stumpy tails, which, when excited, they
constantly jerk up and twist about in a curious fashion. Their
habitations are regular cones raised two or three feet above the ground,
with a hole in the apex, which is vertical for the depth of two or three
feet, and then descends obliquely into the interior. From the peculiar
yelp or short squeaky bark which they give, the hunters call them
prairie-dogs.
In each separate community, which consists of many thousand individuals,
there is a president dog, who seems to have especial charge of the rest.
As a stranger approaches, the creatures who are out of their houses
scamper back as fast as their legs will carry them, and concealing all
but their heads and tails, utter loud barks at the intruder. This done,
the greater number dive out of sight with a curious somersault, their
little tails whisking in the air. The chief dog, and perhaps two or
three other sentinels with him, remain on the tops of their houses
barking lustily till the enemy gets within a few paces of them, when
they also disappear, and the town remains silent and deserted. The
traveller who wishes to observe their habits, by lying concealed and
silent for a few minutes, may see after a time some little fellow pop
his head out of his house, when he gives a few barks. It serves as a
signal to the rest that danger has disappeared, and immediately the
others emerge from their houses and begin to frisk about as usual.
The holes of these curious creatures are shared by two very different
species of guests, one of which, at all events, must prove most,
unwelcome. One of these is a little owl, which may be seen sitting in
front of the burrows or flying about near the ground; or, when the sun
sinks low, hopping through the town, and picking up the lizards and
chameleons which everywhere abound. He can apparently do no harm to the
inhabitants, if he fails to benefit them. The other inmates are
rattlesnakes, who, regardless of any objections which may be raised by
the dogs, take possession of their holes, and when the sun shines lie
coiled up at their sides, now and then erecting their treacherous heads
and rattling an angry note of warning, should a thoughtless pup by any
chance approach too near. The Indians suppose that all three creatures
live on the most friendly footing; but as the rattlesnakes when killed
have frequently been found with the bodies of the little prairie-dogs in
their insides, their object in establishing themselves in the locality
seems very evident.
The poor little dog, indeed, leads a life of constant alarm, with
numerous enemies ever on the watch to surprise him. Hawks and eagles,
hovering high in air, often pounce down and carry off unfortunate
members of the community in their powerful talons. The savage cayote,
or prairie-wolf, when pressed by hunger during the winter, frequently
attacks the dome-shaped habitation of the little animal, and with claws
and teeth tears to pieces the walls, plunging his nose into the passage
which he has opened, and working his way down till he seizes the
trembling little inmate, who in vain retreats to the inmost recesses of
his abode.
It has been supposed that the prairie-dog hibernates; but this is not
the case, though he lays in a store of provision for winter
consumption--he being as lively at that period as at any other, though
he wisely prefers keeping within the house while the icy blasts blow
across the plains. The creature is especially tenacious of life, and
even when shot through the body will manage to gain his burrow at rapid
speed. He does not run into it, but, like the rabbit, he makes a jump
in the air, turns what looks like a somersault, and, flourishing his
hind-legs and whisking his tail, disappears as if by magic. In an
instant afterwards, however, his little sparkling eyes and nose may be
seen above the ground; and if no stranger is in sight, he, with the rest
of the community, will commence gambolling and frisking about, forgetful
of his numerous foes and previous alarm. It is very difficult to obtain
a specimen of the prairie-dog, as, even if mortally wounded, he
generally tumbles into his hole before being captured. The inhabitants
of the plain, however, manage to catch the animal alive by dragging a
cask of water to one of their holes which does not communicate with the
rest of the village. They then pour the water down the hole, either
drowning the creature or compelling him to come out. He is very soon
reconciled to a state of captivity, and after two days appears on the
most intimate terms with his captors. Even when turned loose again the
creatures will not leave the neighbourhood of the house, but burrow
under the foundation, making themselves quite at home, and fearlessly
come out to be fed when summoned by a whistle. They become, indeed,
very interesting and pretty little pets.
We shall meet with a similar animal on the pampas of South America, and
which has also the companionship of a little owl.
There are several other species of marmot in America. One is called the
Quebec Marmot, which lives a solitary life, making an almost
perpendicular burrow in dry ground at a distance from water.
The beautiful little, often-tamed Woodchuck, is another American marmot.
It makes a deep burrow in the sides of hills, lining the chamber at the
inner end with dry leaves and grass. It may frequently be seen by the
traveller running rapidly along the tops of fences, as if to keep
company with him--now getting ahead, then stopping and looking back to
see if he is coming, and then going on again, till, growing tired of the
amusement, it gives a last stare and then scampers back the way it has
come.
THE PORCUPINE.
Unattractive as the fretful porcupine appears when considered as a means
of satisfying man's hunger, it is hunted throughout North America for
the sake of its flesh, which forms an especially dainty dish, not only
in the opinion of the Indians, but in that of every European who has
partaken of it. The creature dwells in small caverns, either under a
pile of boulders, or amid the roots of large trees; but it also, with
its sharp claws, easily climbs up the trunks, and may sometimes be seen
reposing on their very summits, where it feeds on the bark of the young
branches, or the berries when they become ripe.
The Canadian porcupine is also known as the cawquaw or urson. It is
nearly four feet long altogether, the head and body measuring upwards of
three feet, while the tail is about three inches in length. It is less
completely defended with spines than the porcupines of other countries--
part of its body being covered with long, coarse brown hair, which
almost conceals the deeply-set, short, pointed quills, except those on
the head, hind-quarters, and tail. The spines are about three inches
long. When the animal is brought to bay, it sets them up in a fan-like
shape, and presents a formidable row of points turned towards its
opponent. When attacked, it defends itself with its thick, muscular
tail; and wherever it strikes, it leaves a number of its easily-detached
quills, with barbed points, sticking firmly in its opponent's body.
These spines are of a dull white colour, the points being dark. Awkward
as the porcupine looks, it can gallop along at considerable speed; and
when surprised, generally escapes to its rocky den--or if it gains a
tree, scrambles up the trunk at a rapid rate. A broad trail leads to
the porcupine's den, by which it is easily discovered, as also by the
ordure outside the entrance. A number of these paths lead from the den
to its feeding-ground: in the autumn to a beech grove, on the mast or
nuts of which it revels; and in the winter-time, to some tall hemlock or
spruce trees. The Indian hunter also discovers it by the marks of its
claws on the bark; and should he be unfortunate in his search for larger
game, he seldom fails to obtain a roast of porcupine. The creature is
hunted by the Indians with little dogs, which seem to take great delight
in the sport, and, in spite of the formidable weapons of their
opponents, will rush in and draw them out of their dens without injury
to themselves. Even the settlers' dogs exhibit the same strong fancy
for hunting porcupines, but are not so successful in coming off without
injury; indeed, they often issue from the combat covered over with
spines sticking in their flesh.
Captain Hardy gives us an anecdote of the extraordinary fancy the Indian
dogs have for hunting porcupines. One of these dogs was quite blind;
and yet, if the porcupine "treed," the little animal would sit down
beneath, occasionally barking to inform his master where lodged the
fretful one. Another dog was not to be beaten when once on a porcupine.
If the animal was in its den, in he went, and, if possible, would haul
it out by the tail; if not strong enough, his master would fasten a
handkerchief round his middle, and attach to it a long twisted withe.
The dog would go in, and presently, between the two, out would come the
porcupine.
By the end of the "fall," the animal becomes loaded with fat, from
feeding on the berries found in the "barrens." Its cry is a plaintive,
whining sound, not very dissimilar to that of a calf moose. The female
produces two at a birth early in the spring. The porcupine can easily
be tamed; and Audubon mentions one which was so entirely domesticated,
that it would come voluntarily to its master, and take fruit or
vegetables out of his hand, rubbing against him as does an affectionate
cat. The same animal, however, showed considerable courage. On one
occasion it was attacked by a ferocious mastiff. One morning the dog
was seen making a dash at some object in the corner of the fence. This
proved to be the tame porcupine, which had escaped from its cage. The
dog seemed regardless of all its threats, and probably supposing it to
be an animal not more formidable than a cat, sprang at it with open
mouth. The porcupine seemed to swell up, in an instant, to nearly
double its size; and as the dog sprang upon it, dealt him such a
sidewise blow with the tail, as to cause the mastiff to relinquish his
hold instantly, and set up a howl of pain. His mouth and nose were full
of quills. He could not close his jaws, but hurried, open-mouthed, off
the premises. Although the servants instantly extracted the spines from
the mouth of the dog, his head was terribly pierced, and it was several
weeks before he recovered. The porcupine, however, suffered severely
from the combat; and as the hot weather came on, showed great signs of
distress, and finally died of heat.
The quills of the porcupine are brilliantly stained by the Indians with
a variety of colours, and are extensively used by their squaws in
ornamenting with fanciful patterns the birch-bark ware which they sell
to the white settlers.
PART ONE, CHAPTER SEVEN.
CARNIVORA.
THE BLACK BEAR.
Several species of the bear tribe inhabit America; the two most numerous
of which are the black bear, or musquaw, and the far-famed ferocious
grizzly bear of the Rocky Mountains. The black bear is found generally
among the forests and plains of the east, though the grizzly also
descends from his mountain fastnesses, and makes his way through the low
country to a considerable distance from his usual abode. Although the
black bear has not obtained the same character for fierceness as his
grizzly relative, he often proves a formidable opponent when attacked by
human foes, and is also dreaded on account of his depredations among
their flocks and herds. He is, indeed, a monstrous and powerful animal,
often reaching six feet in length from the muzzle to the tail--the tail
being only about two inches long--while he stands from three to three
and a half feet in height at the shoulder. He is covered with a smooth
and glossy coat of thick hair, without any wool at the base. He does
not always wear a black suit; sometimes he puts on a brown one. When
his coat is perfectly black, he has a cinnamon patch on his muzzle. He
varies, too, in shape. Occasionally he is long and low, at others his
body is short,--and he has great length of limb. Under ordinary
circumstances, he restricts himself to a vegetable diet, but is very
fond of a small species of snail which feeds on the prairie grass; and,
like others of his relatives, he is greatly addicted to honey. As his
feet are furnished with strong sharp claws, he is able to make his way
up the trunks of trees to reach his favourite food. In this object he
displays great perseverance and acuteness. However high up it may be,
or in positions most difficult of access, he will manage to reach the
combs containing the sweet repast. Should the comb be hidden away in
the hollow of some aged tree, with an entrance too small for admitting
his huge paw, he sets to work with his teeth, and gnaws away the wood
till he has formed a breach of sufficient size to allow him to put it
in. He is utterly regardless of the assaults of the tiny inhabitants of
the comb; and scooping out their honey and young together with his
fore-paws, devours the whole mass. He will sometimes, when pressed by
hunger, break into the settler's barn and carry off sheep, pigs, and
small cattle into the neighbouring woods; and so cunning is he, that it
is not often he is overtaken, or entrapped in the snare laid for his
capture.
The Indians of Nova Scotia call him Mooin, which reminds us of Bruin.
The Indians throughout the country pay great respect to the bear,
having, like the Esquimaux, a high opinion of his intellectual powers,
and believing that he is in some way related to them, and possessed of
an almost human spirit. Still, they do not scruple to kill him; but as
soon as the breath is out of his body, they cut off his head, which they
place ceremoniously within a mat decorated with a variety of ornaments.
They then blow tobacco-smoke into the nostrils, and the chief hunter,
praising his courage, and paying a variety of compliments to his
surviving relatives, expresses regret at having been compelled to
deprive him of life, and his hope that his own conduct has been
altogether satisfactory to Mr Mooin, and worthy of the renown they have
both attained.
The musquaw hibernates, like other bears of northern regions, and is
very particular in selecting a dry cave for his long winter's nap. At
the "fall," he is especially fat, having lived for some time on the
beech-mast, blue-berries, and other fruits which grow in great profusion
in the forest. He then weighs 500 pounds, and even 600 pounds. The
chief part of the fat lies along the back, and on either side, as in the
flitch of the hog. There is no doubt that it is by the absorption of
this fat throughout his winter fast of four months that he is enabled to
exist--at this time evaporation being at a stand-still. Having at
length selected a cavern, or the hollow of a decayed tree, for his lair,
he scrapes out all the dead leaves, till the ground is perfectly clean
and smooth. It must be deep enough to prevent the snow from drifting
into it, and free from any water trickling down from above. He objects
especially to a habitation which has been occupied by the porcupine,
that animal being far from cleanly in its habits. Perhaps also he has
an objection to the quills with which the creature is furnished, from
their being likely to produce disagreeable wounds. He forgets, perhaps,
that the rubbish he has scraped out will betray his abode to the
hunter--which it assuredly does. The Indian, on discovering this
indubitable sign of Mooin's abode, takes steps to arouse him and plant a
bullet in his head, or to batter out his brains with his axe. Mooin,
however, in spite of his usual sagacity, ignorant that his abode may be
discovered, perhaps already overcome with a strange desire to sleep,
crawls in for his winter's snooze. He is frequently accompanied by a
partner, who will add to his warmth and comfort. He there lies down
with his fore-paws curled round his head and nose, which he pokes
underneath his chest. Here he remains asleep till the warm sun of March
or April tempts him to crawl out in search of food to replenish his
empty stomach and strengthen his weakened frame. Madam Mooin is
generally, at this time, employed in the pleasing office of increasing
her family. Her young cubs, when born, are curiously small, helpless
little beings, not larger than rats. Generally there are two of them,
and they are born about the middle of February. She manages to nourish
them without taking any food herself till March or April, when she also,
like her better half, sallies forth in search of provender. The young
creatures grow but slowly, and do not attain their full size till they
are about four years old. Even when about a couple of months old, the
little cubs are not much larger than a retriever puppy of the same age.
The musquaw finds great difficulty at first in satisfying the cravings
of his appetite. He searches for the cranberries in the open bogs, and
is driven even to eat the rank marshy grass. As the snow disappears, he
seeks for wood-lice and other creatures in rotten trunks. Hungry as he
is, he labours very patiently for his food. The prehensile form of his
lips enables him to pick up with wonderful dexterity even the smallest
insect or berry. As the ice breaks up in the lakes, he proceeds thither
to fish for smelts and other small fish, which he catches with wonderful
dexterity with his paws, throwing them out rapidly behind him. When,
however, pressed by hunger, and unable to obtain the smaller creatures
for food, he will attack young deer if he can take them by surprise; but
as he can seldom do this, he is often tempted into the neighbourhood of
settlements. Here he lies in wait for the cattle as they wander through
the woods to their spring pastures; and when once he has taken to this
dangerous proceeding, he is said to continue it. On catching sight of a
herd, should it not be accompanied by a human being, he drives the
animals into some boggy swamp, and there singling out a victim, he jumps
on its back, and deals it a few tremendous blows across the head and
shoulders, till the poor animal becomes an easy prey. He then drags it
off into the neighbouring wood, and devours it at his leisure. This
habit is often the cause of his destruction. On any remainder of the
animal being found, the aggrieved settler sets off, rifle in hand and
axe in his belt, to punish the aggressor. The bear, he well knows, will
revisit the carcass. So cunning, however, is Bruin, and conscious of
guilt, that he is constantly on the watch, as he returns, for an enemy.
He creeps up, accordingly, looking on either side, his caution
increasing as he approaches his prey. The hunter, therefore, to outwit
him, seeks his trail in the direction in which he has retreated, and
conceals himself near it, but at some distance from the carcass. He
waits till the sun is setting, when he is almost sure to see the bear
come tripping nimbly along, not yet thinking it necessary to employ
caution. At this moment a rifle-bullet, placed in his head, deprives
him of his intended feast and his life at the same time.
The black bear possesses wonderful strength--said to be fully equal to
that of ten men. Experiments have been tried, in which so many persons
have attempted to drag off a cask baited with molasses, or other sweet
stuff, secured to a rope, when the bear has carried it away with perfect
ease, in spite of their united efforts to draw it from him.
The most dangerous time to attack a she-bear is in the spring; when she
is accompanied by her cubs. If she has time, she will lead them off to
a place of safety; but if not, she will chase the intruder from her
domains--and woe betide him if he cannot manage to escape her claws!
Bears are easily taken in traps, baited with small bundles of sticks
smeared with molasses. They are hunted in the "fall," when they have
become fat with the ample supply of blue and whortle berries or
beech-mast on which they have been feeding. To obtain the beech-mast,
Bruin will frequently climb a tree, and sometimes, like the orang-outang
of Eastern seas, will build a rough platform for himself among the upper
branches, where he can lie concealed and munch his food at leisure. The
most certain way to obtain the animal in this case is to cut down the
tree and shoot him as he reaches the ground, for, as may be supposed, he
is in no amiable mood when thus disturbed, and, unless speedily killed,
would attempt to wreak a fearful vengeance on his assailants. The black
bear springs on his prey in the same way as does the tiger or panther of
the southern part of the continent. He thus frequently kills the young
moose, though the full-grown animal is too active and powerful to be
thus caught. He will even attack horses in the same way, though the
latter animal often receives him with a furious kick.
In the summer, the black bears unite and hunt in gangs, making the
forest resound with their fearful snarling and loud moaning cries. They
give warning to the hunter to pile fuel on his camp-fire, and to take
his rifle in hand, for, strong in numbers, they will not hesitate to
approach him, and, if pressed by hunger, to make an assault on his camp.
THE GRIZZLY BEAR.
The most dreaded inhabitant of the Rocky Mountains and their
neighbourhood, is the savage grizzly, frequently called by the hunters
Old Ephraim. Even the bravest hunter, when making his way through this
wild region, finds it necessary to call all his courage and hardihood to
his aid, when he sees one of these huge monsters sitting upon its
hind-legs prepared for a rush towards him, and uttering a loud, harsh
sound, like a person breathing quickly. Should he not wish for a
contest, his best plan is to face the monster boldly, moving slowly on,
but ever keeping his eyes fixed on the animal. The bear will, in most
cases, after watching him attentively for some time, turn round and
gallop off. If, however, he should lose his presence of mind, and
attempt to fly--or should he fail, when he fires, to shoot the monster
through the brain--in all probability he will quickly be torn to pieces.
The grizzly frequently attains a length of nine feet, and weighs from
700 to 800 pounds. His head, in proportion to his muzzle, is very
large. He has a long, narrow muzzle, somewhat flattened, with large,
powerful, canine teeth. His eyes are small, and deeply sunk in his
head. His tail is so short, that it is completely concealed by the
surrounding hair. He possesses remarkably long feet, which, in the
full-grown animal, are eighteen inches in length; and they are armed
with sharp and powerful claws five inches long, and so extremely sharp,
that they cut into the flesh like knives. He can also use them
separately like fingers, so that he can grasp a dry clod of earth and
crumble it to dust as a human being could do with his hand. He can
also, with them, dig into the ground; and when the weight of his body is
not too great, they enable him to climb trees, although not with the
speed of his black brother of the plains. As acorns form a portion of
his food, it is said that he will climb a tree and shake the boughs
vehemently to make them fall, when he descends and revels on the fruit
his ingenuity has thus obtained. The hunter who has to fly for his life
may however escape from a bear,--when the monster is filled out with
autumn food, and cannot manage to raise his huge body from the ground,--
by climbing a tree.
The grizzly varies much in colour. Sometimes his fur is of a dullish
brown, freckled over with grizzly hairs; while other specimens are
entirely of a steely grey. In all cases, the grizzly hairs give a
somewhat white appearance to the surface of the fur. When the animal is
young, his fur is of a rich brown, and often very long and thick, and
much finer than that of the adult animal. When the creature walks, he
swings his body in an odd fashion, rolling his head, at the same time,
from side to side, which gives him a remarkably awkward look. Although
the grizzly occasionally satisfies himself with vegetable diet, he will
also attack and devour any animals he can kill. He does not hesitate to
assault the powerful bison; and on overtaking a herd, he will spring
without hesitation on the largest bull, and, with the tremendous strokes
of his powerful paws, speedily bring it to the ground, when he will
without difficulty drag the enormous carcass off to his lair, to devour
it at his leisure. All other animals stand in awe of the grizzly; and
even the largest pack of hungry wolves will not venture to attack him,
nor indeed will they touch his carcass after he has succumbed to the
rifle of the hunter. Horses especially are terror-stricken when they
scent or see a grizzly; and not until they have been carefully trained,
will they even allow the skin of one to be placed on their backs.
The grizzly employs his claws both in digging for roots and in burying
any large animal he may have killed, to preserve the carcass till he
requires it for another meal. An anecdote is given of a hunter who,
pursued by one of these monsters, took advantage of this propensity to
save his life. His rifle was unloaded. Of course he had not wounded
the bear, or his stratagem would have been in vain. Throwing himself on
the ground, the hunter closed his eyes, and stretching out his limbs,
feigned to be dead. It must have been a fearful moment when he felt the
bear lift up his body in his claws to carry him away to the
neighbourhood of his lair. The bear having dug a hole, placed him in
it, and covered him carefully with leaves, grass, and bushes. An
Indian, or hardy backwoodsman, could alone have existed under such
circumstances. The hunter waited anxiously till he heard loud snores
proceeding from the cavern. Then, slipping up, like Jack the
Giant-killer from the castle of the ogre, he scampered off as fast as
his legs could carry him.
Mr Kane--the Canadian artist--mentions meeting a grizzly when in
company with an old, experienced half-breed hunter, Francois by name.
Francois, however, declined firing, alleging that the risk was greater
than the honour to be obtained--his own character for bravery having
been long established. Young hunters might do so for the sake of
proudly wearing the claws--one of the ornaments most esteemed by an
Indian chief--round his neck. Although Kane's gun had two barrels, and
Francois had his rifle, they knew it was ten chances to one they would
not kill him in time to prevent a hand-to-hand encounter. The bear
walked on, looking at them now and then, but seeming to treat them with
contempt.
Some years before this, a party of ten Canadian voyageurs, on a trade
excursion in the neighbourhood of the mountains, were quietly seated
round a blazing fire, eating a hearty dinner of deer, when a large,
half-famished bear cautiously approached the group from behind a
chestnut-tree. Before they were aware of his presence, he sprang across
the fire, seized one of the men, who had a well-finished bone in his
hand, round the waist with his two fore-paws, and ran about fifty yards
on his hind-legs with him before he stopped. The hunter's comrades were
so thunderstruck at the unexpected appearance of such a visitor, and his
sudden retreat with "pauvre" Louisson--the man who had been carried
off--that they for some time lost all presence of mind, and, in a state
of confusion, were running to and fro, each expecting in his turn to be
kidnapped in a similar manner. At length Baptiste Le Blanc, a
half-breed hunter, seized his gun, and was in the act of firing at the
bear, when he was stopped by some of the others, who told him that he
would inevitably kill their friend, owing to the position he was then
in. During this parley, Bruin, relaxing his grasp of the captive, whom
he kept securely under him, very leisurely began picking the bone the
latter had dropped. Once or twice Louisson attempted to escape, which
only caused the bear to watch him more closely. On his making another
attempt, the bear again seized him round the waist, and commenced giving
him one of those dreadful embraces which generally end in death. The
poor fellow was now in great agony, and gave way to the most pitiful
screams. Observing Baptiste with his gun ready, anxiously watching a
safe opportunity to fire, he cried out, "Tire! tire! mon cher frere, si
tu m'aimes! A la tete! a la tete!" This was enough for Le Blanc, who
instantly let fire, and hit the bear over the right temple. He fell;
and at the same moment dropped Louisson. He gave him an ugly claw along
the face, however, which for some time afterwards spoiled his beauty.
After he had tired, Le Blanc darted to his companion's side, and with
his _couteau de chasse_ quickly finished the sufferings of the
man-stealer, and rescued his friend from impending death. On skinning
the bear, scarcely any meat was found on his bones, showing that it was
in a fit of hungry desperation that he had thus made one of the boldest
attempts at kidnapping over heard of in the legends of ursine courage.
WOLVES.
There are several species of wolves in North America: one, a large,
black animal, which inhabits the forests; and another, much smaller,
which hunts the bison and deer in vast packs across the prairie, and is
called the prairie-wolf. Like the wolf of Europe, the black wolf is a
fierce, dangerous creature, and equally cowardly. When driven into the
corner of a hut, as has sometimes occurred, or when caught in a trap, he
will not attempt to defend himself against any person who may enter to
destroy him. Audubon mentions an instance of this. A farmer with whom
he was staying having lost a number of his animals by wolves, dug
several pitfalls in the neighbourhood of his farm. Three large wolves
were found in the morning in one of these traps. The farmer, instead of
shooting them from above, boldly descended into the trap, and seizing
the creatures one by one by the hind-legs, severed the chief tendon,
thus preventing their escaping. He afterwards killed and skinned them
at his leisure, their skins being of sufficient value to repay him for
the loss of his cattle.
The prairie-wolves are considerably smaller than their brethren of the
woods. They travel in large packs, a solitary one being seldom seen.
Their skins are of no value. The Indians will not waste their powder
upon them, and they therefore multiply so greatly, that some parts of
the country are completely overrun by them. They are, however, caught
by; pitfalls covered over with switches baited with meat. They destroy
a great number of horses, particularly in the winter season, when the
latter get entangled in the snow. In this situation, two or three
wolves will often fasten on one animal, and speedily, with their long
claws, tear it to pieces. The horses, however, often bravely defend
themselves; and Mr Goss mentions finding near the bodies of two of
these animals, which had been killed the night before, eight wolves
lying dead and maimed around,--some with their brains scattered, and
others with their legs or ribs broken.
Let us watch from an ambush the manoeuvres of a pack of savage cayotes--
the name given to one species of wolf--while hunting their prey. Our
ears are first assailed by a few shrill, currish barks at intervals,
like the outpost firing of skirmishing parties. These are answered by
similar barks from the opposite direction, till the sounds gradually
approximate on the junction of the different bands. The horses,
sensible of the approach of danger, begin to paw the ground, snort, toss
up their heads, look wildly about them, and exhibit other symptoms of
fear. We prepare our guns ready for action. Three or four stallions
take the lead, and wait, with comparative composure, for the approach of
the enemy. The allies at length enter the field in a semicircular form,
with their flanks extended, for the evident purpose of surrounding their
prey.
They are between three and four hundred strong. The horses, from
experience, know well their object, and, dreading an encounter with so
numerous a force, instantly turn round and gallop off in a contrary
direction. Their flight is the signal for the wolves to advance. The
brutes, uttering a simultaneous yell, charge after the fugitives, still
preserving their crescent form. Two or three horses, much out of
condition, are quickly overtaken, when they commence kicking at the
advance-guard of the enemy; but though several of the wolves receive
severe blows, they will, it is evident--being reinforced by others--
quickly despatch the unfortunate horses.
It is time for us to emerge from our concealment and fire a volley at
the enemy's centre, by which several are brought down. The whole
battalion of cowards instantly wheel about, and fly towards the hills in
the utmost disorder; while the horses, hearing the sound, come galloping
up to us for protection, and by their neighing express their joy and
gratitude at our timely interference.
LYNXES.
Although lynxes are not so numerous in America as wolves, they are
equally destructive, and individually more daring--attacking deer and
smaller animals when they can take them at a disadvantage. They seldom
fly, as wolves do, on the first approach of man. In size, the largest
does not exceed the dimensions of an English mastiff. The Canadian lynx
is frequently termed the Peeshoo, and sometimes "Le Chat" by the French
Canadians. His coat is covered with long hairs of a dark grey hue,
besprinkled with black, the extremities of which are white, with dark
mottlings here and there on the back. Sometimes the fur is of a ruddy
chestnut tinge, and the limbs are darker than the rest of the body--
which is about three feet long. The animal possesses powerful limbs,
and thick, heavy feet, furnished with strong, white claws. When moving
over the ground it leaps in successive bounds, its back being slightly
arched, and all its feet pitching at the same time. It also swims well,
and can cross rivers and lakes a couple of miles broad. Strong as it
is, it appears it is easily killed by a blow on the back with a slight
stick. It ranges throughout the greater part of the continent, and is
shot or trapped for the sake of its fur, which is of considerable value.
THE WOLVERENE, OR GLUTTON.
The wolverene, or glutton, carries off the palm for cunning from all the
other animals. It is also more ferocious and daring for its size than
even the huge grizzly, while for voracity it is unsurpassed. In
appearance, it is somewhat similar to a young bear. It is of a
brownish-black colour, with a black muzzle and eyes of a dark hue, the
space between them being of a brown tint. The paws are also quite
black, contrasting with the ivory whiteness of the claws. It possesses
large and expanded paws, to enable it to pass over frozen snow; indeed,
so large are they, that its footsteps are often mistaken for the tracks
of the bear. In one of its habits it resembles Mr Bruin, having the
custom, when it finds an animal which it cannot devour at one meal, of
carrying off the remainder and hiding it in some secure place.
The glutton moves at a somewhat slow pace, and appears rather deficient
in agility; but at the same time he is persevering and determined, and
will range over a wide extent of country in search of weak or dying
animals, stealing unawares upon hares and birds, etcetera. When he
takes a fancy to some larger quadruped as it lies asleep, he springs
upon it, tearing open the neck and throat. He is supposed to prefer
putrid flesh, and the odour which proceeds from him would lead us to
suppose that such is the case. The trappers look upon him with especial
hatred, as, with his usual cunning, he seeks out their hoards of
provisions in _cache_, and destroys their marten-traps. He himself is
so sly that he is seldom caught in a snare. When he finds one, he
approaches it from behind, and pulling it to pieces from the outside,
carries off the bait. The marten-hunter will go forth and set a line of
traps, extending to upwards of forty miles in length or circumference.
The wolverene, observing what he is about, follows at a distance,
carefully pulling the traps to pieces as he leaves them behind, and
eating off the heads of the partridges or other birds which have been
used as bait, declining all the time to run his nose into danger. When
a sable or marten is entrapped, he tears out the dead animal and carries
it away. It is even supposed that he will attack a hibernating bear in
his den, and manage to kill him before Bruin has aroused himself
sufficiently for his defence.
The wolverene is the fur-trapper's greatest foe, and, as may be
supposed, he has no mercy shown him. The cunning creature, moreover, in
spite of his cleverness, sometimes gets caught. Mr Paul Kane, in one
of his journeys across the country, had left a _cache_ composed of logs
built together, something like a log-house, but not very closely fitted.
Impelled by hunger after a long journey, he and his companion on their
way back reached their _cache_, and began throwing off the heavy logs
which covered the top and concealed it. The Indian, hearing a great
disturbance within, called to Mr Kane to fetch the guns. Just as he
got up, a fine fat wolverene jumped out, but was immediately shot down.
The creature must have been starved and desperately thin to have
squeezed himself through the openings between the logs, and no doubt,
impelled by hunger and the smell of the meat inside, had not thought
much of a slight squeeze. When, however, he was once in, and had
enjoyed a few good meals, he could not get out again, and the idea of
starving himself as long as the meat lasted did not appear to have
occurred to him.
The disappointment to the hungry travellers was very great, as but
little food was left, and that was mangled, torn, and tossed about in
the dirt by the animal.
THE RACCOON.
To obtain a satisfactory sight of the raccoon, we must set out into the
forest by torchlight, accompanied by dogs, with fowling-piece in hand.
As he remains during the day in some hollow tree, it is rarely we can
get a good view of him. Even if by chance found on the ground, he
ascends the tree so rapidly, that he is stowed away before our rifle can
reach the shoulder. The well-trained dog, however, quickly finds him
when roving about the woods at night.
Let us accompany Audubon on a 'coon hunt. Our native companions have
gone before with the dogs, who are baying at the raccoon in an open part
of the forest. On our coming up, a singular scene presents itself to
us. The flare of our torch seems to distress him. His coat is ruffled,
and his rounded tail seems thrice its ordinary size. His eyes shine
like emeralds. With foaming jaws he watches the dogs, ready to seize by
the snout each who comes within reach. His guttural growlings, instead
of intimidating his assailants, excite them the more. He seizes one,
however, by the lip. It is a dangerous proceeding, for, while thus far
victorious, the other curs attack him in flank and rear, while their
companion yells pitifully. The raccoon will not let go, but the other
dogs, seizing him fast, worry him to death. Yet to the last he holds
tightly the dog's lip.
While we stand gazing at the poor animal, all around is, by the flare of
the torch, rendered trebly dark and dismal. It is a scene for a skilful
painter.
The raccoon is about the same size as a small fox, and though somewhat
like it, has also rather an ursine appearance. He has a tufted tail
marked with black and white bands. The head tapers somewhat like that
of the fox, but the ears are short and slightly rounded, the forehead
broad, and the nose sharp. The fore-legs being shorter than the hinder,
when he stands the tail end of his body is lifted higher than the front,
and consequently his back appears curved. He walks like the dog,
putting the tips of his toes to the ground; but when he stops he lays
his feet flat.
He receives no mercy from the farmers, for he is of a sanguinary and
savage disposition, and commits great havoc among domestic as well as
wild birds, always destroying far more than he requires; merely eating
off their heads, or lapping up the blood which flows from their wounds.
He commits occasionally ravages in sugar-cane or Indian-corn
plantations; and, climbing with ease, catches birds, and devours their
eggs. He resembles the squirrel in his movements; and, like that
animal, when eating, sits on his hind-legs, and uses his fore-feet to
carry his food to his mouth. A story is told of a young tame raccoon
let loose in a poultry-yard, when, his natural disposition overcoming
his civilised manners, he sprang on a cock strutting in a dignified
fashion among the hens, and fixed himself on its back. The bird,
surprised at so unusual an attack, began scampering round the yard, the
hens scattering far and wide in the utmost confusion. Still the little
animal kept his seat, till he managed to get hold of the unfortunate
cock's head in his jaws, and before the bird could be rescued, had
crunched it up--still keeping his seat, in spite of the dying struggles
of his victim; and probably, had he not been bagged, would have treated
all the feathered inhabitants of the yard in the same fashion. When out
hunting on his own account, he often hides himself among the long reeds
on the bank of a lake or stream, and pouncing out on the wild ducks as
they swim incautiously by, treats them as he does the domestic fowls on
shore.
He partakes considerably of the cunning of the fox, yet, like that
animal, is frequently outwitted. A raccoon after a long chase managed
to reach a tree, which he quickly climbed, with the aid of his claws,
snugly ensconcing himself in the deserted nest of a crow. In vain the
hunters sought for him, till his long, annulated tail, which he had
forgotten to coil up within the nest, was seen pendent below it; and the
poor raccoon was quickly brought to the ground by a rifle ball.
He has gained the name of the lotor, or the washer, in consequence of
his habit of plunging his dry food into water before eating it. He also
drinks a large quantity of water. When moistening his food, he grasps
it with both his fore-paws, moving it violently backwards and forwards,
as a person does washing clothes in a stream. The German naturalists
call him the washing-bear. Though savage and bloodthirsty in his wild
state, he is frequently tamed; but he is somewhat capricious in temper,
and not easily reconciled when offended. It is curious that he should,
when domesticated, change his usual custom of sleeping in the daytime
and wandering about at night; but this he does, remaining quiet all
night, and making his appearance among the inmates of the house as soon
as the sun sheds its light abroad. Though in his wild state a fit
member for a temperance society, he will when in captivity, as if to
recompense himself for his hard lot, drink fermented liquors of all
sorts--the stronger and sweeter the better. An old writer on American
animals says, in reference to this propensity, that if taken young it is
easily made tame, but "is the drunkenest creature alive, if he can get
any liquor that is sweet and strong." The same writer states that the
cunning raccoon often catches crabs by inserting one of his feet into
their holes, and dragging them out as soon as they seize hold of it.
THE AGOUAHA, OR CRAB-EATING RACCOON.
In the Southern States we find another species of raccoon, somewhat
larger than the former, who is addicted to eating molluscs and
crustaceans, whether marine or terrestrial. It is said, also, that when
other means fail of obtaining food, he seats himself on a branch hanging
low down over some quiet pool, and using his flexible tail as a
fishing-line, waits patiently till its end is caught hold of by a
snapping turtle or other inhabitant of the water, when, whisking it up,
he tears open the creature's shell and devours the luscious flesh with
aldermanic relish. The fur is generally of a blackish-grey hue, washed
with a tinge of yellow. A blacker tint prevails on the head, neck, and
along the spine. His tail, in proportion to the size of his body, is
shorter than that of the common raccoon, and is marked with six black
rings, upon a blackish-yellow ground.
THE ERMINE.
When we see the judge seated in his richly trimmed robe of ermine--
emblem of purity--or call to mind the regal robes of a proud monarch, we
are apt to forget that the fur which we so much admire is but that of
the detested stoat, turned white during his abode amid the winter's snow
of a northern clime. He is not unlike the weasel, especially when
clothed in his darker summer dress, but with a less ruddy hue. The
edges of the ears and the toes always remain white.
He is considerably larger than the weasel, measuring upwards of fourteen
inches, including the tail--which is about four inches long, the tip
almost black. He is a bold hunter, and follows and destroys the hare,
and other animals of equal size. It is said, even, that several
together will venture to attack a man. They are caught in America by
traps, which, giving the animal a sudden blow, kill it without injuring
the skin.
The winter coat of the ermine is produced by the whitening of the fur,
and not, as was once supposed, by the substitution of white for dark
hairs. Probably one cause of this change of hue may be that the
energies of the creature concentrate themselves on the vital organs, to
enable it to resist the extreme low temperature of the icy regions it
inhabits, and cannot thus spare a sufficient amount of blood for the
formation of the colouring matter which tinges the hair. Human beings
as well as animals become weaker as they increase in age; and it has
been observed that their hair also loses its colour, in consequence of
such energies as they possess being required to assist the more
important functions of nature. This corroborates the correctness of the
former remark.
The ermine, like other species of its genus, has the faculty of ejecting
a fluid of a strong musky odour. It is abundant, not only in the barren
grounds of the Hudson Bay territories, but is also found in Norway and
Siberia.
When the fur is used for robes, or similar purposes, the black tuft at
the end of the tail is sewn on at regular distances to the skin, giving
to the ermine fur the appearance we are all familiar with.
THE PINE-MARTEN.
The pine-marten, a species of weasel, obtains its name from being found
amid pine-forests, and from its habit of climbing the trunks of pines in
search of prey. It is a fierce and savage creature, choosing to live
alone, away from the haunts of man. It is from eighteen to twenty
inches in length--with a tail measuring about ten inches--and is covered
with long bushy hair. Moving without difficulty among the branches, it
seizes many an unfortunate bird in its deadly gripe before its victim
can take to flight--robbing also the nest of the eggs within it.
It is common in Europe, as well as in America; but in the cold regions
of the Hudson Bay Company it is hunted for the sake of its skin, which
is, when blanched during the winter's cold, scarcely inferior to that of
the celebrated sable.
When pursued and overtaken, it stands at bay, exhibiting its teeth,
erecting its hair, arching its back, and hissing like a cat. It forms
its burrows in the ground, the female producing, a litter of from four
to seven. Like other animals of its tribe, it emits a peculiar musky
smell.
THE OTTER.
In winter, along the steep banks of the frozen streams, smooth and
shining tracks may be readily detected. They are produced by otters,
which have a curious habit of sliding downwards for their amusement--
much as human beings are accustomed to do in Canada in their toboggans.
To do this, they lie on their bellies, with their fore-legs bent
backwards, and giving themselves an impetus with their hind-legs, down
they glide, at a swift rate, upon the ice. This sport they will
continue for some time, climbing up again to the top of the bank, and
repeating the process over and over again. They are also accustomed to
pass through the woods from lake to lake, making a direct track in the
snow. These tracks are easily known. Then comes a broad trail, as if
made by a cart-wheel. This is formed by the animal throwing itself on
its belly, and thus sliding along over the surface for several yards.
These places are called "otter rubs."
There are two species of otter in North America--one on the east, and
the other on the Pacific slope--differing slightly from each other. The
former is considerably larger than that of the Old World, measuring,
from the nose to the tip of the tail, sometimes from four and a half to
five feet. Like most other water animals, it possesses two sorts of
hair: the one is long and shining, and of a rich brown colour, except on
the throat, which is of a dusky white; the other is very fine and soft,
lying next the skin, and serving to protect it from the extremes of heat
and cold. It has excessively sharp, short teeth, which enable it to
hold fast the fish, on which it chiefly feeds. Its body is elongated
and much flattened, and the tail, which is of great length, is also flat
and broad. The legs are short and strong, and so loosely jointed that
it can turn them in any direction when swimming.
The habitations of otters are formed in the banks of rivers or lakes,
and are not altogether of an artificial character, as they prefer
occupying any deserted hollow or natural crevice to the trouble of
digging burrows for themselves. Though they are very playful animals,
and delight apparently in sport, they are somewhat of a savage
disposition, and must be taken very young to be domesticated. They are
cautious, timid animals, and can seldom be approached unawares. They
eat all sorts of fresh-water fish, such as trout, perch, eels, and
suckers; and will also devour frogs. Occasionally they may be observed
on a rocky islet of some lone stream, resting after a banquet, or about
to plunge into the water in chase of one of the finny tribe, which their
keen eyes detect swimming by. They are trapped, in Canada, by steel
traps, which are submerged close to the bank below their "rubs." They
make a peculiar whistling sound, which the Indian can imitate perfectly,
and thus frequently induces them to approach. Their skins are
manufactured into muffs and trimmings and caps, such as are usually worn
in winter by Canadians.
An otter, when attacked, will defend itself with desperation, snapping
furiously at the Indian, and then shaking its head violently as a dog
does when destroying a rat. Their bite is severe--sufficient indeed to
snap off a man's finger--and when once its jaws are closed, no power is
capable of making it relinquish its grasp. The Canadians do not attempt
to tame the otter; but the persevering Chinese not only contrive to
domesticate the species found in their country, but teach them to
capture fish for their benefit.
THE SKUNK.
Rambling amid the woods, even in the neighbourhood of settlements, we
may occasionally come upon a curious little animal, with a
party-coloured coat and bushy tail, and an amiable and gentle
appearance. The creature appears to be in no way timid, and will very
likely await our approach. As we draw near it, however, it is apt to
turn round and erect its bushy tail perpendicularly. Let us beware of
what we are about, for, in a moment, the creature may send over us a
shower of a substance so horribly odious, that not only may we be
blinded and sickened by the effluvium, but our clothes will be made
useless, from the difficulty of getting rid of the odour.
The creature is the skunk, and is about the size of a cat. It possesses
short round ears, black cheeks, and a white stripe extending from the
nose to the back. The upper part of the neck and the whole back are
white, divided by a black line. Below, it is black, as are the legs;
and it has a full tail of coarse black hair, occasionally tipped with
white. Its legs are short, and it does not possess much activity. Its
feet are armed with claws, somewhat like those of the badger.
It appears to use this horrid effluvium--which is generated in glands
near the tail--as a means of defence. All other animals have a due
horror of it. Anything which it touches is tainted: provisions are
destroyed; and clothes, though often washed, will retain the smell for
many weeks. At one time this substance was used for medicinal purposes.
The mode of defence bestowed on the skunk is somewhat similar to that
employed by the cuttle-fish, which emits a dark liquor when pursued.
Those who have once smelt the horribly fetid odour of the skunk will not
easily forget it.
THE PEKAN, OR WOOD-SHOCK.
Still keeping to the lakes and streams, we may often fall in with a
creature of curious habits, which, unlike those just described, lives
almost entirely among the branches of the trees. In shape it is
somewhat like a weasel, and is the largest of the tree martens. It is
known as the wood-shock or pekan, and is also called the black cat, and
fisher. This last term is inappropriate, as it is not in any way
piscivorous. It is of a dark brown hue, with a line of black shining
hair reaching from the neck to the extremity of the tail. The under
parts are lighter; some entirely white. It possesses also a very large,
full, and expressive eye.
Though spending its time among the trees, hunting for its prey, it forms
a burrow in the ground for its usual habitation. It lives upon
squirrels and rabbits, as well as grouse and other birds and their eggs.
Not only does it venture to attack the well-armed porcupine, but it
kills the animal, and eats it up, quills and all. The difficulty of
accomplishing this appears very great, but there are numerous instances
in which pekans have been killed, when their bodies were found full of
quills, from which they did not appear to have suffered. They eat up,
indeed, both the flesh and bones of the porcupine--the latter being so
strong that a small bird cannot crack them. Mr Downs, the naturalist
of Nova Scotia, states that he has frequently found porcupine quills in
the stomach of the fisher.
The animal is hunted for the sake of its skin, which is of some value--
as also for amusement, especially by boys, as the creature is not
sufficiently formidable to cause any great danger to them or their dogs.
It is about four feet long, including the tail, which measures about
eighteen inches.
THE MINK.
Another denizen on the shores of the fresh-waters of Canada is the mink,
called also the smaller otter, and sometimes known as the water
pole-cat. It may be seen swimming about the lakes, preferring generally
the still waters in autumn to the more rapidly-flowing currents of
spring. It somewhat resembles the otter, and differs in shape slightly
from the marten or ferret. Its teeth, however, are more like those of
the pole-cat than the otter; while its tail does not possess the
muscular power of the latter animal.
Like the otter, it lives upon fish and frogs, but will occasionally make
a marauding expedition into poultry-yards. Its general colour is a dark
reddish-brown, approaching in some specimens almost to black on the
head; while there is a patch of white, varying in size, under the chin.
It is trapped by the settlers both in self-defence and on account of its
fur, which is of considerable value, and greatly resembles sable--a good
skin often fetching four or five dollars.
MARSUPIALS, OR POUCHED ANIMALS:--THE VIRGINIAN OR COMMON OPOSSUM.
The opossum, with its prehensile tail, marsupial pouch, and cunning
ways, stands alone for its singularity among all the animals of the
American continent. Many of the tribe are found in South America; but
the Virginian opossum, the size of a full-grown cat, is larger than all
its relatives. The head and body measure about twenty-two inches; and
the tail, fifteen. It is covered with a light grey hair of wool-like
softness, short on the face and body, but long on the legs. The base
end of the tail is thick and black, and is covered with small scales.
So powerful is this member that the opossum can hold on with it to the
bough of a tree, and even when desperately wounded it does not let go.
Its face is long and sharpened, the mouth very determined, and armed
with numerous sharp teeth. It has thin, naked, round, and blackish
ears, edged with a border of white. It has short legs, the feet being
armed with claws, and the interior toes of the hind-feet are flat and
rounded.
It has the power of emitting a disagreeable odour when chased or
alarmed. When pursued, it makes for the nearest tree; and should it
discover the approach of a hunter and his dogs when already up a tree,
instead of taking to flight, it lies close along the branch,
endeavouring to hide itself. When moving amidst the boughs, it swings
itself from branch to branch by means of its tail; and it may be
observed at times hanging down, with its eyes wide open, on the look-out
for any birds which may incautiously alight on the bough above, or pass
within its grasp.
It is very voracious, feeding on small quadrupeds and birds of all
sorts; while it does not disdain to prey off a brood of young cotton
rats and mice, and devours insects and a variety of reptiles. When
unable to find sufficient food in the forest, or too lazy to look for
it, it will, without hesitation, make a raid into the farmer's
poultry-yard, and carry off or kill his fowls, and eat up any eggs it
may find. The opossum does not always indulge in animal diet,--for he
climbs fruit-trees to carry off their luscious productions; and for the
sake of obtaining maize, of which he is especially fond, he will climb
the tallest stems, and bite them across, so as to bring the heavy ear to
the ground. He will also clamber to some higher branch, and hang down,
in search of the fruit growing on the boughs incapable of bearing his
weight.
The quality for which he is chiefly noted is his habit of feigning
death. Frequently he is brought to the ground, when there he lies,
every limb relaxed, evidently as dead as can be. The knowing hunter
will, however, keep his glance on the creature. If he withdraws it for
a moment, its eyelids will be seen slowly opening; and should he turn
his head for even the shortest space, the creature will be on its feet,
stealing away through the underwood. Though so perfectly an adept at
"'possuming," before attempting to practise its usual ruse it will make
every effort to escape from its pursuers. When chased alone by a dog,
it will content itself by scrambling up a tree, and sitting quietly on a
branch, out of reach, looking down on its canine assailant with contempt
as it runs barking furiously below it. The opossum is thus said to be
"treed;" and before long, the barking of the dog brings his master to
the spot, when the opossum has to fly for its life to the highest branch
it can reach. It is easily captured by the rudest style of trap, into
which it will walk without hesitation. When "feigning 'possum," it will
submit to be knocked about, and kicked and cuffed, without giving the
slightest sign of life. The flesh of the opossum is white, and
considered excellent--especially in the autumn, when, after feeding
amply on the fruits, beech-nuts, and wild berries, of which it is
especially fond, it is very fat.
The female opossum builds a warm nest of dry leaves and moss, sometimes
in the hollow of a rotten tree, or beneath its wide-spreading roots.
She has been known occasionally to take possession of a squirrel's nest;
and at other times, that of the Florida rat. When her young--generally
thirteen to fifteen appearing at a time--are born, they are extremely
small--not an inch in length, including the tail--and weighing only four
grains. After a couple of weeks or so, she places them in her pouch,
when they grow in size and strength, and in about four weeks may be seen
with their heads poked out surveying the world, into which they begin to
wander at the end of five or six weeks. When first-born, they are the
most helpless of little creatures, being both deaf and blind.
The larger number of opossums, however, are to be found in South
America, where we shall have an opportunity of further examining them.
PART ONE, CHAPTER EIGHT.
THE FEATHERED TRIBES OF NORTH AMERICA.
THE BALD OR WHITE-HEADED EAGLE.
The white-headed eagle takes precedence among the feathered tribes of
America,--because he stands first in natural order, and has been
selected by the people of the United States as their heraldic emblem.
Their choice was, by-the-by, objected to by Benjamin Franklin, on the
plea "that it is a bird of bad moral character, and does not get his
living honestly." There was justice in the remark, for the bald eagle
is a determined robber, and a perfect tyrant. He is, however, a
magnificent bird, when seen with wings expanded, nearly eight feet from
tip to tip--and a body three and a half feet in length--his snowy-white
head and neck shining in the sun, and his large, hooked, yellow beak
open as he espies, afar off, the fish-hawk emerging from the ocean with
his struggling prey. Downward he pounces with rapid flight. The
fish-hawk sees his enemy approaching, and attempts to escape; but, laden
with the fish he has just captured, in spite of the various evolutions
he performs, he is soon overtaken by the savage freebooter. With a
scream of despair he drops the fish.
The eagle poises himself for a moment, as if to take more certain aim,
then, descending like a whirlwind, snatches it ere it reaches the water.
The plumage of the bald eagle is of a chocolate-brown, inclining to
black along the back, while the bill and upper tail-coverts are of the
same white hue as the head and neck. He and his mate build their nest
in some lofty tree amid a swamp; and repairing it every season, it
becomes of great size. Its position is generally known by the offensive
odour arising from the number of fish scattered around, which they have
let drop after their predatory excursions. The nest is roughly formed
of large sticks, moss, roots, and tufts of grass. They commence making
fresh additions to their nest early in the year; and the female deposits
her eggs in January, and hatches the young by the middle of the
following month. Robbers as they are, the white-headed eagles exhibit
great parental affection, tending their young as long as they are
helpless and unfledged; nor will they forsake them even should the tree
in which their nest is built be surrounded by flames. Wilson, the
American naturalist, mentions seeing a tree cut down in order to obtain
an eagle's nest. The parent birds continued flying clamorously round,
and could with difficulty be driven away from the bodies of their
fledgelings, killed by the fall of the lofty pine.
Audubon gives us an account of a savage attack he once witnessed made by
an eagle and his mate on a swan:--The fierce eagle, having marked the
snow-white bird as his prey, summons his companion. As the swan is
passing near the dreaded pair, the eagle, in preparation for the chase,
starts from his perch on a tall pine, with an awful scream, that to the
swan brings more terror than, the report of the largest duck-gun. Now
is the moment to witness the display of the eagle's power. He glides
through the air like a falling star, and comes upon the timorous quarry,
which now, in agony and despair, seeks by varied manoeuvres to elude the
grasp of his cruel talons. Now it mounts, now doubles, and would
willingly plunge into the stream, were it not prevented by the eagle,
who, knowing that by such a stratagem the swan might escape him, forces
it to remain in the air by his attempts to strike it with his talons
from beneath. The swan has already become much weakened, and its
strength fails at sight of the courage and swiftness of its antagonist.
At one moment it seems about to escape, when the ferocious eagle strikes
with his talons the under side of its wing, and with an unresisted power
forces the bird to fall in a slanting direction upon the nearest shore.
Pouncing downwards, the eagle is soon joined by his mate, when they turn
the body of the luckless swan upwards, and tear it open with their
talons.
Along all the coasts of North America, as also at the mouths of the
chief rivers, the white-headed eagle is found watching for his prey. An
instance is mentioned of one of these savage birds being entrapped, and
falling a victim to his voracity. Having pursued a wild duck to a piece
of freshly-formed ice, he pitched upon it, and began tearing his prey to
pieces, when the mass on which he stood continuing to freeze, his feet
became fixed in the ice. Having vainly endeavoured with his powerful
wings to rise in the air, he ultimately perished miserably.
THE WILD TURKEY.
The wild turkey, acknowledged to be the finest of game-birds, ranges
throughout the forests of the more temperate portions of America. It is
the parent of the valued inhabitant of our poultry-yards; and in its
wild state utters the same curious sounds which it does in captivity.
This superb bird measures about four feet in length. Its plumage,
banded with black, gleams with a golden brown hue, shot with green,
violet, and blue. Its head is somewhat small, and a portion of its neck
is covered with a naked warty bluish skin, which hangs in wattles from
the base of the bill, forming a long fleshy protuberance, with hairs at
the top.
The bird, in the States, is commonly known as Bubbling Jock, and is
called "Oocoocoo" by the Indians. The female builds her nest in some
dry, secluded spot, guarding it carefully, and never approaching it by
the same path twice in succession. When first her young are hatched,
she leads them through the woods, but returns at night to her nest.
After a time she takes them to a greater distance, and nestles them in
some secluded spot on the ground. At this time they are frequently
attacked by the lynxes, who spring upon them, knocking them over with
their paws.
The wild turkey wanders to a great distance from the place of its birth.
"About the beginning of October the male birds assemble in flocks,"
says Audubon, "and move towards the rich bottom-lands of the Ohio and
Mississippi. The females advance singly, each with its brood of young,
then about two-thirds grown, or in union with other families, forming
parties often amounting to seventy or eighty individuals--shunning the
old cocks, who, when the young birds have attained this size, will fight
with, and often destroy them by repeated blows on the head. When they
come upon a river, they betake themselves to the highest eminence, and
often remain there a whole day; for the purpose of consultation, it
would seem, the males gobbling, calling, and making much ado,--strutting
about as if to raise their courage to a pitch befitting the emergency.
At length, when all around is quiet, the whole party mount to the tops
of the most lofty trees, whence, at a signal--consisting of a single
cluck--given by the leader, the flock takes flight for the opposite
shore. On reaching it, after crossing a broad stream, they appear
totally bewildered, and easily fall a prey to the hunter, who is on the
watch for them with his dogs."
THE OCELLATED TURKEY.
A still more magnificent species of turkey than the one just described
inhabits Honduras. It may be distinguished from the common turkey by
the eye-like marks on the tail and upper wing-coverts. The naked skin
of the head and neck, too, is of a delicate violet-blue, covered with
numerous pea-looking knobs arranged in a cluster upon the crown. This
is of a pale buff-orange, while there is a row of similar marks over the
eye, and others scattered about the neck. The wattle hanging from the
neck is of a light orange at the tip. The greater wing-coverts are of a
rich chestnut, the feet and legs being of a lake colour. It is somewhat
smaller than the wild turkey of the States.
THE CANVAS-BACK DUCK.
The celebrated canvas-back duck, allied to the English pochard, makes
its appearance among the numerous rivers in the neighbourhood of
Chesapeake Bay about the middle of October, as well as in other parts of
the Union. It is at that time, however, thin; but soon grows fat, from
the abundance of its favourite food. It is from two to three feet
across the wings. Its glossy black beak is large. The head and part of
the neck are of a rich glossy reddish-chestnut tint, with black breast.
The wing-coverts are grey, and the rest of the body white, marked with a
number of transverse wavy lines.
It is especially esteemed at table--and those who have eaten it at the
hospitable boards of Americans will acknowledge its excellence; though
when, on several occasions, some braces of these birds have been sent to
England, they have failed to elicit the admiration due to their merits--
in consequence, it is said, of not being accompanied by an American
cook.
THE SUMMER DUCK.
The most beautiful of the duck tribe which visits the States is the
summer or tree duck of Carolina. It bears a strong resemblance in
plumage and habits to the celebrated mandarin duck of China. The birds
are found perching on the branches of trees overhanging ponds and
streams--a habit not usual in the duck tribe--where they may be seen,
generally a couple together, the male in his superb garments of green,
purple, chestnut, and white, contrasting with the homely plumage of his
mate.
THE PINNATED GROUSE, OR PRAIRIE HEN.
On the open "barrens," where a few tufts of stunted brushwood are alone
found, the remarkable pinnated grouse may be seen in great numbers
running over the ground. Their backs are mottled with black, white, and
chestnut-brown; and the male has two finely ornamented feathers on the
neck, streaked with black and brown. It has also a slight crest on the
head, of orange colour, hanging over each eye in a semicircular form;
and naked appendages, which hang down from each side of the neck, and
can be filled at the will of the bird by air, so that when puffed out
they are like two small yellow oranges. As the breeding season
approaches the males appear, uttering strange cries, puffing out these
wattles, ruffling their feathers, and erecting their neck-tufts, as if
wishing to appear to the greatest advantage before their mates. They
occasionally engage in combats with each other, but their encounters are
not often of a bloody description.
They form their nests rudely of grass and leaves, under the shelter of a
bush or thick tuft of long grass. The hen lays about fifteen eggs of a
brownish-white colour.
The most remarkable feature in the history of these birds is the way in
which they assemble, as winter approaches, in vast numbers, to obtain
protection from the biting force of the north-west winds which sweep
over the Missouri country, by huddling close together.
"As evening draws near," says Mr Webber, who has observed their habits,
"they approach the spot they have fixed on, in the usual manner, by
short flights, with none of that whirring of wings for which they are
noted when suddenly put up; but they make ample amends for their
previous silence when they arrive. From the pigeon-roost there is a
continuous roar, caused by the restless shifting of the birds, and
sounds of impatient struggling, which can be distinctly heard for
several miles. The numbers collected are incalculably immense, since
the space occupied extends sometimes for a mile in length, with a
breadth determined by the character of the ground. The noise begins to
subside a few hours after dark. The birds have now arranged themselves
for the night, nestled as close as they can be wedged, every bird with
his breast turned to the quarter in which the wind may be prevailing.
This scene is one of the most curious that can be imagined, especially
when we have the moonlight to contrast with their dark backs. At this
time they may be killed by cart-loads, as only those in the immediate
neighbourhood of the slain are apparently disturbed. They rise to the
height of a few feet, with a stupified and aimless fluttering, and
plunge into the snow within a short distance, where they are easily
taken by the hand. They will, if disturbed when they first arrive at a
resting-place, change it; but after the heavy snows have fallen, they
are not easily driven away by any degree of persecution. By melting the
snow with the heat of their bodies, and by trampling it down, they then
form a kind of sheltering-yard, the outside walls of which defend them
against the winds."
They have, besides human foes, numberless enemies among the foxes,
wolves, hawks, and other birds. The fecundity of the survivors,
however, keeps pace with the many fatalities to which they are liable.
THE RUFFED GROUSE, OR AMERICAN PHEASANT.
"This elegant species," writes Wilson, "is known throughout North
America. Its favourite places of resort are high mountains, covered
with the balsam-pine and hemlock." It prefers the woods--being seldom
or never found in open plains. They are solitary birds; generally being
seen in coveys of four or five, and often singly, or in pairs.
The stranger wandering through the forest is surprised to hear a
peculiar sound, very similar to that produced by striking two full-blown
ox-bladders together, but much louder. It is caused by the ruffed
grouse, who, amusing himself by drumming, is little aware that it will
bring the cruel sportsman towards him. The bird produces it when
standing on an old prostrate log. He lowers his wings, erects his
expanded tail, and inflates his whole body something in the manner of
the turkey-cock, strutting and wheeling about with great stateliness.
After a few manoeuvres of this kind he begins to strike with his
stiffened wings, in short and quick strokes, which become more and more
rapid, till they run into each other. The sound then resembles the
rumbling of distant thunder, dying away gradually on the ear.
The hen is an affectionate mother, and takes every means, when a
stranger approaches her nest, to lead him away from the spot.
Wilson describes observing a hen-pheasant depart from this usual custom.
He came suddenly upon one with a young bird in her company. The mother
fluttered before him for a short time, when suddenly darting towards the
young one, she seized it in her bill, and flew off along the surface of
the ground through the woods, with great steadiness and rapidity, till
she was beyond his sight, leaving him in much surprise at the incident.
He searched round, but could find no other birds.
Here was a striking instance of something more than "blind instinct"--by
the adoption of the most simple and effectual means for the preservation
of her solitary young one--in this remarkable deviation from the usual
manoeuvres of the bird when she has a numerous brood.
The ruffed grouse is of a rich chestnut-brown, mottled with brown and
grey; while on each shoulder are the curious ruffs, or tufts, from which
he obtains his name, of a rich velvety black, glossed with green. The
skin beneath them is bare; the tail is grey, barred with blackish-brown.
Another species of grouse, smaller than the two former, inhabits Canada.
PASSENGER-PIGEONS.
Flights of locusts are often seen passing through the air, like vast
clouds, obscuring the sky. The passenger-pigeon of America appears in
almost equal numbers. The accounts of their vast nights would be
incredible, were they not thoroughly well authenticated.
They are beautiful birds; the males being about sixteen inches in
length, the females slightly smaller, and usually of less attractive
plumage. The head, part of the neck, and chin of the male bird, are of
a slaty-blue colour; the lower portions being also of a slate colour,
banded with gold, green, and purplish-crimson, changing as the bird
moves here and there. Reddish-hazel feathers cover the throat and
breast, while the upper tail-coverts and back are of a dark slaty-blue.
Their other feathers are black, edged with white; and the lower part of
the breast and abdomen are purplish-red and white. The beak is black,
and the eyes of a fiery orange hue, with a naked space round them of
purplish-red.
Its chief food is the beech-mast; but it also lives on acorns, and grain
of all sorts--especially rice. It is calculated that each bird eats
half a pint of food in the day; and when we recollect their numbers, we
may conceive what an immense amount must be consumed.
The female hatches only one bird at a time, in a nest slightly made of a
few twigs, loosely woven into a sort of platform. Upwards of one
hundred nests have been found in one tree, with a single egg in each of
them; but there are probably two or three broods in the season. In a
short time the young become very plump, and so fat, that they are
occasionally melted down for the sake of their fat alone. They choose
particular places for roosting--generally amid a grove of the oldest and
largest trees in the neighbourhood.
Wilson, Audubon, and other naturalists, give us vivid descriptions of
the enormous flights of these birds. Let us watch with Audubon in the
neighbourhood of one of their curious roosting-places. We now catch
sight of a flight of the birds moving with great steadiness and
rapidity, at a height out of gunshot, in several strata deep, and close
together. From right to left, far as the eye can reach, the breadth of
this vast procession extends, teeming everywhere, equally crowded. An
hour passes, and they rather increase in numbers and rapidity of flight.
The leaders of this vast body sometimes vary their course, now forming
a large band of more than a mile in diameter; those behind tracing the
exact route of their predecessors. Now they once more change their
direction--the column becoming an immense front, sweeping the heavens in
one vast and infinitely extended line. Suddenly a hawk makes a sweep on
a particular part of the column, when almost as quick as lightning that
part shoots downwards out of the common track; but soon again rising,
advances at the same rate as before.
We will now hurry on towards their breeding place, a forest on the banks
of the Green River in Kentucky, fully forty miles in length, and more
than three in width. In the neighbourhood are assembled a large number
of persons, with horses, waggons, guns, and ammunition; and a farmer has
brought three hundred hogs to be fattened on the refuse pigeons. As the
vast flight arrives at the spot, thousands are knocked down by men with
long poles. Some place pots of sulphur under the trees; others are
provided with torches of pine-knots; and the rest have guns. The birds
continue to pour in. The fires are lighted; and a magnificent, as well
as almost terrifying, sight presents itself. The pigeons arrive by
thousands, alighting everywhere, one above another, till solid masses,
as large as hogsheads, are formed on the branches all around. Here and
there the perches give way with a crash, and falling to the ground,
destroy hundreds of the birds beneath, forcing down the dense groups
with which every stick is loaded. The pigeons continue coming, and it
is past midnight before there is any sign of a decrease in their
numbers. The ground in all directions is strewed with branches broken
by the weight of the birds which have pitched on them. By sunrise, the
enormous multitude have taken their departure, while wolves, foxes, and
other animals who had assembled to feast on the bodies of the slain, are
seen sneaking off.
Audubon describes the flight of one of these almost solid masses of
birds pursued by a hawk; now darting compactly in undulating and angular
lines, now descending close to the earth, and with inconceivable
velocity mounting perpendicularly, so as to resemble a vast column, and
then wheeling and twisting within their continued lines, resembling the
coils of a gigantic serpent. Their assemblages greatly surpass in
numbers those of the pinnated grouse already described.
HUMMING-BIRDS.
A considerable number of these gem-like members of the feathered tribe
make their appearance in summer, even as far north as Canada, and on the
sides of the hills rising out of the "Fertile Belt," within sight of
Lake Winnipeg,--a region where snow covers the ground for so many months
in the year. The most common, as well as the most beautiful, species of
these minute birds, is the ruby-throated humming-bird--a name given to
it on account of the delicate metallic feathers which glow with ruby
lustre on its throat, gleaming in the sunshine like gems of living fire.
From the tip of the bill to that of the tail it measures about three
and a half inches. The belly is green, and the upper part of the neck,
back, and wing-coverts, are of a resplendent and varied green and gold.
The breast and lower parts are white, the wings purplish-brown, and the
tail partly of the same colour, with the two middle tail-feathers of
vivid green.
In the warm climate of the more southern States, the beautiful little
ruby-throat is found throughout the winter; and as the summer draws on,
the heat in the northern States suiting its delicate constitution, it
migrates in large flocks, appearing in the middle States towards the end
of April. Tiny as they are, they pass through the air at a rapid rate,
and may be seen moving in long undulations, now rising for some distance
at an angle of about forty degrees, then falling in a curve. Their long
flights are performed at night, it is supposed, as they are found
feeding leisurely at all times of the day. Small as they are, from
their rapid flight and meteor-like movements they do not fear the
largest birds of prey; for even should the lordly eagle venture into
their domains, the tiny creatures will attack him without fear: and one
has been seen perched on the head of an eagle, at which it was pecking
furiously away, scattering the feathers of the huge bird, who flew
screaming through the air with alarm, to rid himself of his tiny
assailant.
As they fly, the ruby feathers of their throats may be seen changing,
according to the light, now into a greenish gold colour, now into a deep
brown, again to flash forth with the brilliancy of precious gems. Often
they may be observed flying round the deep, cup-shaped calix of the
scarlet trumpet-flower, which with its rich foliage clings in clusters
round the gnarled stem of some withered oak, clothing it with a verdure
not its own. Into these deep and capacious tubes the ruby-throat, with
its long bill, probes, and draws forth either the sweets it produces, or
picks up the multitude of flies entangled in the nectar.
Although the ruby-throat ventures thus far north, it is very susceptible
of cold, and returns southward immediately the summer green of the
forest gives place to the golden tints of autumn. Brave and
high-spirited as is the little bird, it is easily tamed; and Mr Webber,
the naturalist, after many attempts, succeeded in securing several of
the species. The first he caught did not flutter, or make the least
attempt to escape, but remained quietly in his hand; and he saw, when he
opened it, the minute creature lying on his palm, perfectly motionless,
feigning most skilfully to be dead; indeed, actually playing "'possum."
For some time he watched it with breathless curiosity, when he saw it
gradually open its bright little eyes to ascertain whether the way was
clear, and then close them slowly as it caught his glance upon it. When
a mixture of sugar, water, and honey was brought, and a drop placed on
the point of its bill, it came very suddenly to life, and in a moment
was on its legs, drinking with eager gusto of the refreshing draught
from a silver tea-spoon.
The nest of the ruby-throat is of a most delicate nature; the external
parts being formed of a little grey lichen found on the branches of the
trees, glued together by the saliva of the bird, and neatly arranged
round the whole of the nest, as well as to some distance from the spot
where it is attached to the branch or stem itself. The interior is
lined with a cottony substance; and the innermost, with the silky fibres
obtained from various plants. Within this little nest the female
humming-bird lays two white and nearly oval eggs; generally raising two
broods in the season. In one week, says Audubon, the young are ready to
fly, but are fed by the parents for nearly another week. They receive
their food direct from the bill of their parents, who disgorge it in the
manner of canaries and pigeons. It is my belief that no sooner are the
young able to provide for themselves than they associate with other
broods, and perform their migrations apart from the old birds, as I have
observed twenty or thirty young humming-birds resort to a group of
trumpet-flowers, when not a single old bird was to be seen.
The plumage of the female is in most respects like that of the male,
except that she is not possessed of the brilliant feathers on the throat
which especially distinguish him.
Although there are several other species of humming-birds which live
permanently in the Southern States of the Union, or migrate northward in
summer, we cannot now inspect them. We shall have, however, many
opportunities of examining a number of the species when we come to visit
South America. Although the number of birds and the variety of their
species inhabiting North America is very great, except those we have
mentioned, they do not in general possess any very interesting
peculiarity, which might tempt us to linger longer amongst them, and we
will therefore wander on and inspect some of the curious reptiles which
inhabit various parts of the American States and Canada.
THE COW-BIRD.
The well-known spring visitor to the woods of England,--the cuckoo,--is
undoubtedly destitute of family affection, as are others of its
relatives; but this is not the case with the whole tribe. As the spring
advances, from the sylvan glades of Pennsylvania a curious note,
constantly repeated, is heard, resembling the word "cow-cow." It is the
note of a bird, and from the sound it resembles it is generally known as
the "cow-bird." It is also called the "yellow-billed cuckoo." It is in
no respect behind any of its neighbours of the grove in conjugal and
parental affection, for it builds its nest, hatches its own eggs, and
rears its own young, Wilson assures us. It is about a foot in length,
clothed in a dark drab suit with a silken greenish gloss. A ruddy
cinnamon tints the quill-feathers of the wings; and the tail consists
partly of black feathers tipped with white, the two outer ones being of
the same tint as the back. The under surface is a pure white. It has a
long curved bill of a greyish-black above, and yellow beneath. The
female differs from the male in having the central tail-feathers of a
drab colour, while the under part of her body is of a greyish tinge.
Early in the spring the males frequently engage in desperate battles.
After these contests are decided, the couples, pairing, begin building
their nests, generally among the horizontal branches of an apple-tree.
It is roughly formed of sticks and twigs. On this bed the eggs, three
or four in number, of a uniform greenish-blue, are placed. While the
female is sitting, the male is generally not far off, and gives the
alarm by his notes should any person approach. The female sits so
close, that she may almost be reached by the hand, and then suddenly
precipitates herself to the ground, feigning lameness--to draw away the
intruder from the spot--fluttering her wings, and tumbling over in the
manner of a partridge, woodcock, and some other birds. Both parents
unite in collecting food for the young. This consists, for the most
part, of caterpillars, particularly such as infest apple-trees. They
are accused, and with some justice, of sucking the eggs of other
birds,--like the crow, blue jay, and other pillagers. They also
occasionally eat various kinds of berries; but from the circumstance of
their destroying numbers of very noxious larvae, they prove themselves
the friend of the farmer, and are well deserving of his protection.
THE BLUE-BIRD.
While the robin redbreast cheers us in England during winter with its
song, the beautiful little blue-bird performs the same office with its
rich sweet notes to the inhabitants of the United States; arriving from
Mexico, and still further off regions, as soon as the first signs of
approaching spring appear--even before the snow has melted away.
Associating fearlessly with human beings, it holds the same place in
their affections as the robin.
It is about seven inches long--a rich azure-blue covering the whole
upper surface of the head and neck, while the quill-feathers of the wing
and tail are jet-black. The throat, breast, and sides are of a ruddy
chestnut, the lower portion of the body being white. It builds its nest
in the hollow of a decayed tree, sheltered from the rain and cold, and
there deposits from four to six eggs at a time, generally rearing two,
and sometimes three broods in the season. Its food consists chiefly of
spiders and small worms, and soft fruits and seeds.
It is a hardy little bird, and makes its way through all parts of the
United States; sometimes, indeed, remaining through the whole winter,
when it takes shelter in some warm hollow beneath the snow, from whence,
when the sun shines forth, it comes out to enjoy its warmth, and to sing
a few cheerful notes. It is especially interesting to watch it take
care of its nest and young; perching near them and singing merrily,
occasionally flying off to procure a caterpillar for their gaping
mouths.
So confiding is the blue-bird, that when a box with a hole in it is
arranged in some convenient situation near a house, it will at once take
possession, building its nest in it, and never failing to utter its
sweet music in acknowledgment of the boon.
THE SNOW-BIRD.
As the cold winter approaches, large flocks of little birds about six
inches in length, with snow-white breasts and slaty-brown or blue backs,
make their appearance in the neighbourhood of villages and farmhouses;
sometimes, indeed, coming into towns as familiarly as sparrows. Their
habits are very like those of sparrows; and when the snow deepens, they
mix with them, searching together for the seeds in the sheltered corners
of the fields, and along the borders of creeks and fences. They differ
from the snow-bunting of the far north, with which they must not be
confounded. In the summer they make their way to the northern regions
in large flocks, and build their nests together, being of a very
sociable disposition.
THE CAROLINA PARROT.
While viewing the birds of North America, we cannot pass by the
well-known, handsome Carolina parrot, which is, notwithstanding its
common name, a species of macaw. Large numbers of these beautiful birds
are seen winging their way in compact bodies through the Southern
States, flying with great rapidity and uttering a loud outrageous
scream, not unlike that of the red-headed woodpecker. Sometimes their
flight is in a direct line, but generally they perform a variety of
elegant and serpentine meanders in their course through the air. Often
they may be seen pitching on the large sycamore-trees, in the hollow
trunks of which, as also among the branches, they generally roost--
frequently forty and more together. Here they cling close to the side
of the tree, holding fast by claws and bill. No creatures can be more
sociable, and they may be observed scratching each other's heads and
necks, and always nestling closely together.
Their plumage is mostly green washed with blue, but the forehead is of a
reddish-orange--as are the shoulders, head, and wings, while the neck
and back of the head are of a bright golden yellow. The wing-coverts
are yellow tinged with green. The bird is about twenty-one inches long.
The female is much like the male. She makes her nest in the hollows of
trees.
The Carolina parrot exhibits great amiability of disposition, and is
easily tamed, becoming much attached to those who treat it kindly. It
also exhibits the most extraordinary affection for its own race. Wilson
the naturalist, having obtained one while on a journey to the Far West,
brought it home upwards of one thousand miles in his pocket. It quickly
learned to know its name, and would immediately come when called.
Procuring a cage, he placed the parrot under a piazza, where, by its
call, it soon attracted the passing flocks of its relatives. Numerous
parties frequently alighted on the trees immediately above, keeping up a
constant conversation with the prisoner. One of these was wounded and
captured. Poll evinced the greatest pleasure on meeting with this new
companion. She crept close up to it, chattering in a low tone of voice,
as if sympathising in its misfortune, scratching its head and neck with
her bill--at night, both nestling as closely as possible to each other,
sometimes Poll's head being thrust amongst the plumage of the other.
The stranger, however, died, and Poll appeared restless and inconsolable
for several days. On a looking-glass, however, being procured, the
instant she perceived her image all her former fondness seemed to
return, so that she could scarcely absent herself from it for a moment.
It was evident she was completely deceived. Often when evening drew on,
as also during the day, she laid her head close to that of the image in
the glass, and began to dose with great composure and satisfaction.
On another occasion several of these birds were shot down, when the
whole flock swept rapidly round their prostrate companions, and settled
on a low tree within twenty yards of them. Although many were killed,
the rest, instead of flying away, continued looking down at their dead
companions with manifest signs of sympathy and concern.
They render the farmer great service, by eating the cockle-burs which
grow on the rich alluvial soil of Carolina. This prickly fruit is apt
to come off on the wool of the sheep, which, in some places, it almost
completely destroys. The bird also lives on the beech-nut and seeds of
the cypress. The head--with the brains--and intestines of the Carolina
parrot are said to be poisonous to eat; but how far such is the case
seems to be a matter of doubt.
Its chief abode is along the shores of the Mississippi, and it reaches
the neighbourhood of Lake Michigan; but eastward of the Alleghany
Mountains it is seldom met with further north than the State of
Maryland. Far more hardy than the generality of the parrot tribe, a
flock has been seen facing a snow-storm along the banks of the Ohio.
PART ONE, CHAPTER NINE.
REPTILES.
TORTOISES:--THE LETTERED TERRAPIN.
Taking the reptiles in their natural order, we must begin with the
tortoises. There is a group of these slow-moving reptiles called
terrapins in North America. One of the most common is the lettered
terrapin, which inhabits rivers, lakes, and even marshes, where it lives
on frogs and worms. It is especially detested by the angler, as it is
apt to take hold of his bait, and when he expects to see a fine fish at
the end of his line, he finds that a little tortoise has hold of it.
The back is of a dark brown, the edges being ornamented with scarlet
marks, like some Eastern alphabet in form.
THE CHICKEN TORTOISE.
Large numbers of these little tortoises, about ten inches in length, are
seen basking together on the logs or stones on the borders of lakes or
streams. The slightest noise arouses them, when they slip off,
splashing in all directions into the water. They swim with their little
heads above the surface at a rapid rate, bearing a strong resemblance to
water-snakes. The creature takes its name from the similarity of its
flesh to that of a chicken. It is consequently in great requisition as
food.
THE SALT-WATER TERRAPIN.
Another species--the salt-water terrapin--lives in the salt marshes and
ponds. It is brown above, and generally yellow below--the lower jaw
furnished with a sort of hook. The sides of the head are white,
sprinkled with black spots.
THE BOX TORTOISE.
The peculiarity of this creature is that it can draw its head within its
shell, so that, as few creatures would wish to swallow such a morsel
whole, it has no enemy except man to fear. It might, to be sure, run
the risk of being carried off by an eagle and let drop on a hard rock,
if the savage king of birds ever does perform such a feat; but though
stories are frequently told of his doing so, their truth is greatly
doubted.
The box tortoise lives on shore among the pine-forest lands, away from
water, to which it seems to have an especial dislike. It is frequently
called, therefore, the pine terrapin. It is one of the smallest of its
tribe--being little more than six inches long--and varies very greatly
in its colour. Its head is remarkable for having a somewhat broad hook
at the end of the upper jaw--the lower jaw being slightly hooked.
THE MUD TORTOISE.
The mud tortoise is smaller than the box, being scarcely four inches in
length. It can, however, move with considerable speed, and is seen
floundering about in the ponds and muddy places, where it searches for
aquatic insects, and sometimes even fish, on which it lives. It also
vexes the angler by taking hold of his hook, and remaining so quietly
sucking in the bait, that only when he hauls it up, and the tortoise
begins to pull and kick violently about, does he discover his mistake.
It is remarkable for exuding a strong musky odour, from which
circumstance it has obtained the name of "stink-pot."
THE ALLIGATOR TERRAPIN.
This giant of its tribe, from the great likeness it bears to the
alligator, has appropriately been called after the huge saurian. It has
a large head covered with a hard wrinkled skin, and a long thick neck,
over which are scattered a number of projecting tubercles. On the shell
of the adult animal there is a depression along the centre, which leaves
a sort of keel on each side of the central line.
The creature is exceedingly voracious, feeding on fish, reptiles, or any
animal substance. It generally inhabits stagnant pools or sluggish
streams, living mostly at the bottom. Occasionally, however, it rises
to the surface, and elevating the tip of its pointed snout above the
water, floats along with the current. Sometimes, indeed, it lands, and
makes its way to some distance from the river; but its motions are very
awkward, not a little resembling those of the alligator.
A considerable number are taken by strong hooks, and, as the flesh is
esteemed for food, are sold in the market.
THE SNAPPING TURTLE.
Although the last-named creature is sometimes called the snapping
turtle, the animal to which the name appropriately applies is a very
different creature. Its other name is the fierce trionyx.
It belongs to the family of tortoises, popularly called soft turtles.
Its flattened head is rather oval, with horny jaws, and hanging fleshy
lips, the mouth lengthened into a cylindrical snout. It has an
extremely long neck, which it can contract at will; short, wide feet;
and toes connected by strong webs. It is the most savage and formidable
of its tribe; being terribly destructive, not only among fish, but
smaller quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles, which it can capture. For this
object it lies in wait till they come down to drink, or till some
water-fowl flies too close to its haunt. It is said even to capture and
eat young alligators.
Though devouring so many other creatures, the snapping turtle is often
eaten himself; being hooked and drawn on shore by the fishermen. It
fights, on such occasions, and struggles ferociously, darting its head
here and there, endeavouring to seize the hands of its captors with its
formidable jaws.
It possesses extraordinary tenacity of life; and even after the head is
cut off, the body, it is asserted, will crawl for a short way over the
ground.
LIZARDS:--THE SIX-LINED TARAGUINA.
We shall find several lizards in various parts of America--the greater
number in the Southern States. The first we meet with is the six-lined
taraguina, belonging to the family of teguexins, which are remarkable
for the many-sided shields which cover their heads, and the double
collar on the throat. This little creature is much smaller than the
rest of its family--being only about eleven inches in length--of a
darkish green or brown colour, with six narrow yellow streaks along its
body, one of which on each side reaches from the eye to the middle of
the tail. The lower part is of a silvery white hue, with a bluish tinge
in some parts.
It is an excessively lively, active animal, living in dry and sandy
places, where it may be found searching for insects. As it is very
timid, it takes to flight at the slightest sound, and is not easily
caught.
THE GLASS SNAKE.
As the spring comes on, and the warm sun bursts forth, a formidable
snake-like creature, nearly three feet in length, is often seen
frequenting the plantations of the sweet potato, or coiled up beneath
the roots of an old tree; its keen eye watching for any small reptile or
insect which may be passing. The head is small in proportion to the
body, and of a pyramidal form--mottled at the sides with black and
green, the jaws edged with yellow. Its abdomen is bright yellow; and
the upper part of the ear is marked with numerous lines of black, green,
and yellow.
Altogether, it has a very venomous look about it; but is truly one of
the most harmless of creatures, not being a snake at all, though it goes
by the name of the glass snake. It is in reality a lizard; though--not
having the vestige of limbs--it is appropriately called the
lizard-snake. It has, however, eyelids; and the tongue is not sheathed
at the base, as is the case with serpents; while its solid jaw-bones do
not enable it to open its mouth, as they are capable of doing. It has a
tail, twice the length of its body, from which it can with difficulty be
distinguished.
Its peculiar characteristic is its extraordinary fragility--arising from
the muscles being articulated quite through the vertebras. If struck
with a switch, the body is easily broken in two or more parts.
Sometimes, indeed, the creature breaks off its own tail, by a remarkable
habit it possesses of contracting the muscles with great force. The
common English blind-worm breaks to pieces in a similar manner.
THE ANOLIS.
Among the true lizards is a pretty little creature known as the green
Carolina anolis. It is especially daring; not only refusing to run away
at the approach of man, but will enter houses, and run about the room in
search of flies. It is very active, climbing trees, and leaping from
branch to branch in its search for insects, of which it destroys great
numbers. It is about seven inches long--mostly of a beautiful green
above, with white below; and it has a white throat-pouch, which
generally appears with a few bars of red upon it, but when inflated the
colour spreads over the whole surface.
Mr Gosse describes one which he saw running about among the branches of
a sassafras, just as it had seized a grasshopper. He caught the
creature, which was then of a green hue; but, on placing it on an old
log, the colour changed to a brownish-black. He was told, that if
placed on a green leaf it would again become green. In a short time,
after remaining in the sunshine, it changed once more to green. Again
it became almost black; and shutting it up in a desk, after half an hour
he was no less surprised than delighted to see the lizard of a brilliant
green, the line down the back only being blackish.
When the animal is excited, the pouch, swelling out, becomes of a
crimson colour. It is covered with excessively small--scarcely
perceptible--scales.
These little creatures are at times very quarrelsome, and will fight
together, frequently both the combatants losing their tails in the
contest; while their pouches swell out as they leap at each other and
struggle furiously.
THE CROWNED TAPAYAXIN.
This is the scientific name of a creature generally known under the
title of the horned-toad, though really a lizard. Its head is of a
light brown, marked with dark spots, the under part being of a dull
yellow; and is armed with long conical spines, set round the edge and
pointing backwards. The back is covered with shorter and stouter
spines, of a triangular shape, extending to the very point of the tail--
also armed with a strong row of spines, which gives it a completely
toothed appearance. The colour of this curiously covered back is grey,
with irregular bands of chestnut-brown across it.
Formidable as it looks, it is not only harmless, but never retaliates
when attacked, and remains perfectly quiet when taken in the hand. It
is also easily tamed, and learns to know its owner, and to take food
from his hand--preferring little red ants, though it eats readily
beetles, flies, and other insects. From its small, rounded form, and
the mode of sitting, it has in all likelihood gained its common name of
the horned-toad.
SNAKES:--THE RATTLESNAKE.
Throughout North America there are no small number and variety of
venomous snakes. The rattlesnakes are perhaps the most numerous,
frequenting all parts of the country, though they generally keep to the
uninhabited portions. They are found on the northern shores of Lake
Superior--though the ground is covered for several months in the year
with snow--and often appear in the regions to the west, in the same
latitude, up to the Rocky Mountains. They would render some districts
uninhabitable, were it not for the signal-giving rattles with which they
are armed. Even quadrupeds are alarmed at the sound, and endeavour to
make their escape from them; and horses, it is said, lately arrived from
Europe, show the same dread of these deadly serpents as do those born in
the country, so that nothing will induce them to pass within striking
distance of the creatures.
The wanderer through the forest starts back with dismay as he comes
suddenly upon one of these venomous reptiles, and hears its ominous
rattle when too near to escape. He must muster all his nerve, and
strike it with his stick as it springs; for a wound from its fangs will,
as he knows, bring certain death, far-away from human aid.
The rattlesnake, like others of its tribe in cold regions, hibernates in
winter; and as the autumn comes on, seeks some convenient crevice in
which to pass the cold season--generally in the neighbourhood of marshy
ground, where it can cover itself up in the masses of a peculiar species
of moss growing in such situations. The reptiles are here, during the
winter, frequently hunted out and destroyed. At that time, too, their
bite is much less dangerous than in the summer--the amount of venom
appearing to decrease with the increase of cold.
THE BANDED AND MILITARY RATTLESNAKES.
Besides the common rattlesnake, there is another known as the banded
rattlesnake, and a third species called the small, or military
rattlesnake. The latter is more dreaded, from being of less size, and
not so easily killed as the former. The sound made by its rattle is
extremely feeble, so that it cannot be heard at any great distance.
However, as we shall pay more attention to the serpent tribe when we
visit South America, where the rattlesnake is also found, we will wait
till then to inspect the formation of its rattle, and its other
peculiarities.
THE CORN SNAKE.
There are many more harmless than venomous snakes in North America. One
of the handsomest of its tribe is the corn snake, belonging to the
family of the Colubrinae. As it avoids the daylight, though very
common, it is not often seen in a wild state.
It is, however, frequently tamed by the inhabitants of farmhouses--when
it makes itself perfectly at home, and is even of more service than a
cat in devouring rats and mice; though occasionally, if a young chicken
come in its way, it may gobble it up. This it can easily do, as it is
of great size--varying from five to six feet in length. The colours of
its body are remarkably brilliant; the general tint being a rich
chestnut red, with large patches of a still brighter and deeper red
edged with black running along each side, and a second row of smaller
spots of golden yellow, alternated with larger ones. The lower portion
of the body is silvery white, checkered with black.
THE THUNDER SNAKE.
No fiercer-looking member of the snake family exists in North America--
with its mottled head, and black and white body, four feet at least in
length--than the quarrelsome thunder snake. From the chain-like
markings on its body, it is sometimes called the chain snake; and by
others the king snake, on account of its tyrannical disposition.
Though fangless, it is fierce and bold, and has been known to attack,
kill, and eat a rattlesnake; indeed, it will assault any member of its
family, if not of its own species, even though but little smaller than
itself. It feeds on small quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles; and few
human beings who see it moving amid the shady places it inhabits, would
fail to get out of its way as quickly as possible.
THE CHICKEN SNAKE.
The bright golden brown chicken snake--marked with narrow stripes along
the back, and from four to seven feet in length--in spite of its
beautiful and fangless mouth, is an unwelcome visitor in farmhouses when
it comes as a stranger, for it is apt to carry off fowls from their
roost--as well as their eggs--and will eat up a brood of ducklings
without ceremony.
However, as it is of an amiable disposition, it can easily be tamed; and
then, having learned good manners, it becomes a favourite, and
recompenses its protectors by killing the rats and mice which frequent
their premises.
THE MILK OR HOUSE SNAKE.
The beautiful blue house snake--four feet in length, with rows of spots
on its side--is often mistaken for the corn snake, its habits being very
similar. The lower part of the body is of a silvery white, tesselated
with oblong marks of black. The ignorant fancy that it sucks the milk
from the udders of the cows, and hence its name; though, probably, it
has no objection to a little milk, if it finds it in a pan. Its object,
however, in entering houses and farms, is to search for mice and
insects, on which it in reality feeds, never interfering with the cows
or other animals.
THE BLACK SNAKE.
In many parts of the country, the black snake, on account of its rapid
movements, is called the "racer." Though fangless, it often, in
consequence of the way in which it rustles its tail among the dry
herbage, making a sound similar to that of the rattlesnake, gives no
small alarm to the wanderer among the brushwood near the edges of
streams or ponds. It is also frequently encountered in the fields or on
the roads.
It is generally from five to six feet in length; of a blue-black above,
and an ashy grey below. It climbs trees in search of birds or their
eggs; and if interrupted in its employment, will turn its rage against
the intruder. Sometimes, it is asserted, it will, to his horror, leap
down and give him a bite; though the only injury likely to arise is that
to his nervous system from fright. Its bite is, indeed, perfectly
harmless; and it does good service in hunting rats which live in the
outbuildings, being able to climb walls and insinuate itself into the
most intricate passages when chasing them.
THE COACH-WHIP SNAKE.
The last snake we will mention is the coach-whip snake, belonging to the
family of Dryadidae. No serpent can surpass it in the rapidity of its
movements, as, with its lithe, black body--between five and six feet in
length--and whiplike tail, it makes its way amid the grass in pursuit of
its prey. It seems literally to fly over the ground with the speed of
lightning.
It is curiously like the thong of a whip, being very long in proportion
to its girth, with a remarkably small head and neck; its smooth scales--
so arranged as greatly to resemble the plaited leather of a whip--of a
polished brown-black hue increasing the resemblance.
When about to seize its prey, it darts forward with open mouth, grasping
the animal; in an instant it winds its lithe body and tail round and
round it, so as to make escape impossible. It will thus attack birds of
prey of considerable size, and come off victorious.
Travellers unacquainted with the reptiles which haunt the wilds of
America, on first seeing a whip-snake rapidly approaching, will, with
sensations of alarm, urge on their steeds to escape--for it appears
fully capable of springing up and inflicting mortal injury; but, from
having no fangs, it is unable to harm any one. From the delicacy of its
colour, the elegance of its form, and the rapidity and gracefulness of
its movements, it cannot fail to be admired.
FROGS:--THE BULL FROG.
We shall find no small number of the frog race throughout America.
Worthy of being the president of his nation is that enormous batrachian,
the bull frog, both from his size, the power of his notes, and his
hardihood and endurance. If we visit at night the neighbourhood of some
pool or marsh, we shall soon learn to know the sound of his voice,
especially when perhaps he and five hundred of his family are, with
their heads half out of the water, amusing themselves in the performance
of a concert, each striving to outdo his neighbour in the loudness of
his tones. He is a first-rate swimmer; and when driven out of the hole
in which he passes the warm hours of the day, he plunges into the water,
and skims along the surface some distance before he dives below it.
Only on such occasions, or when, perhaps, a dark thunder-cloud shrouds
the sky, does he appear in the daytime, and give utterance to his notes.
He feeds on snails and water creatures; sometimes on crayfish and other
crustaceans; and occasionally, if a duckling or young chicken come in
his way, he will not scruple to take them into his capacious maw.
His ordinary size is from six to seven inches; but specimens have been
met with which have measured nineteen--and even twenty--inches, from the
nose to the extremity of their feet. He has a smooth black skin above,
with a greenish hue on the head, and lower part of the body
greyish-white--the throat being white, dotted with green. He can take
enormous leaps; and is so admirable a swimmer, that specimens have been
known to exist in the water without once landing for several years.
THE SOLITARY FROG.
Inland, where no water is to lie found, we shall meet with a creature of
an olive colour--the back covered with tubercles--and with a blunt nose.
It might easily be mistaken for a toad, though it is a veritable frog.
Even in winter, before the snow has disappeared, we may see the hardy
little creature making its way over the frozen surface of the ground.
At the breeding season, however, it returns, like other frogs, to the
water. It resides for the chief part of the year in sandy districts, in
which it forms burrows, about six inches in depth, by means of a flat,
sharp-edged spur, with which it is furnished. Into these burrows it
makes its way backwards, very much as a crab crawls into its hole when
seeking shelter from danger. There it sits, with its head poked out,
watching for passing prey.
THE SAVANNAH CRICKET FROG.
Both in the Northern and Southern States we shall find a merry little
creature, with a voice greatly resembling that of the cricket. Living
near the borders of stagnant pools, it frequently takes its seat on the
large leaves of water-lilies and other aquatic plants; being able, by
curious discs on its toes, to crawl easily over their smooth surfaces.
It is among the smallest of its tribe, measuring only one and a half
inches in length. It is of a greenish-brown, variegated with streaks of
green and white, the under surface being of a yellowish-grey, tinged
with pink, and the legs banded. Its body is slender, with the hind-legs
very long, enabling it to take enormous leaps to escape danger.
THE CHANGEABLE TREE FROG.
Throughout all parts of the continent we shall find a curious little
toad, about two inches in length, which possesses the nature of the
chameleon--in being able to change its colour according to the tints of
the object on which it rests. By this means, so completely does it
assimilate its hue to the ground, that it often escapes observation.
The changes of colour it thus rapidly passes through are indeed
remarkable. From a nearly perfect white, it can assume every
intermediate shade to a dark brown. It has a very toad-like look, and
possesses skin glands which secrete an acrid fluid. Thus it is able,
when attacked, to defend itself, as well as escape observation.
It may frequently be found on old plum-trees, where it climbs in search
of the insects which there congregate. We shall frequently hear its
voice, especially before rain, for it is a noisy creature. It has a
liquid note, sounding like "el" frequently repeated, and then ending
with a sharp, short monosyllable.
It leaves its arborial habitation during the breeding season, and makes
its way to the nearest pools, where it joins in the concerts of its
relatives.
It hibernates during winter, burrowing beneath the damp ground.
THE SPOTTED EFT.
Related to the salamanders, we shall find a curious creature in
Pennsylvania, and other parts of the States, known as the spotted eft,
or ambystome. It has a thick, convex head, with a rounded muzzle; and
is of a deep violet-black colour above, and purplish-black below, the
sides being ornamented with a row of large yellow spots. Unlike other
newts, it deposits its eggs in small packets under damp stones. There
is another similar creature with mole-like habits, which burrows under
the ground, found in various parts of the States.
THE MENOPOMA.
Another of the same order--a formidable and savage creature--is the
menopoma, inhabiting the Ohio, Alleghany, and other rivers of the south,
frequently, from its propensities, called the young alligator. It is
also known as the "ground puppy," the "mud devil," and other
well-deserved, if not complimentary names.
It is about two feet in length; but the teeth, for its size, are small.
In appearance, it is ugly in the extreme; and as, from its voracious
habits, it devours a number of fish, and bites fiercely when captured,
it is especially hated by the fishermen, who believe it to be venomous,
and treat it as seamen do the detested shark.
The above names have been given to it in consequence of its voracity,
and its being found generally in muddy bottoms.
THE CONGO SNAKE.
In digging into the mud, sometimes a number of snake-like creatures,
between two and three feet long, are turned up--which have hidden
themselves away, often three feet below the surface--in the Southern
States. On examination, however, they will be found to have legs,
though small and feeble, with only two toes on each foot. They are of a
blackish-grey above, and a lighter hue beneath.
Another species of congo snake is found with three toes,--hence the name
of three-toed congo snake is given to it.
THE NECTURUS.
Related to the curious eyeless proteus, found in the celebrated cavern
of Adelsberg, is an animal very much larger, called the necturus,
inhabiting the waters of the Mississippi, and several southern lakes.
It is a creature nearly three feet in length, with a thick body, and,
being designed to live in daylight, possesses eyes. It is between a
fish and a reptile, as it is furnished with large, well-tufted gills;
and, at the same time, has four legs, and four toes on each foot, though
it is destitute of claws.
It is of an olive-brown colour dotted with black, and a black streak
reaching from one end of the body to the termination of the somewhat
thick, short tail.
THE SIREN, OR MUD EEL.
Another curious batrachian, the mud eel, is found in Carolina, in marshy
situations. Its total length is about three feet. The head is small,
as is the eye, while on each side of it are three beautifully plumed
gill-tufts. It has no hind-legs; while the front pair are very small,
and do not aid it in moving along the ground. This it does in the
wriggling fashion of an eel; indeed, when discovered in the soft mud in
which it delights to live, the creature, at the first glance, would be
taken for an eel. It has many of the habits of that animal, living on
worms and insects; indeed, it is difficult to say whether it should be
classed with eels or batrachians. It is, however, a true amphibian,
respiring either in the water by means of branchiae, or in the air by
means of lungs. It approaches, in the structure of its head, to the
salamanders, though much less so in its general form and proportions.
The curious "axolotl," which we shall meet with in Mexico, belongs to a
closely allied genus.
GRASSHOPPERS, OR LOCUSTS.
When travelling across the prairies, we may, at times, when gazing
upwards at the sky, see what appears to be a vast cloud approaching from
the horizon. It is produced by infinite swarms of locusts, or
grasshoppers, as they are called in North America. [From Professor
Hind's "Red River Exploring Expedition."] About noon they appear to
lessen perceptibly the rays of the sun. The whole horizon wears an
unearthly ashy hue, from the light reflected by their transparent wings.
The air is filled as with flakes of snow. The clouds of insects,
forming a dense body, cast a glimmering, silvery light from altitudes
varying from 500 to 1000 feet. The sky, as near the sun as its light
will allow us to gaze, appears continually changing colour, from blue to
silvery white, ashy grey, and lead colour, according to the numbers in
the passing clouds of insects. Opposite to the sun, the prevailing hue
is a silvery white, perceptibly flashing. Now, towards the south, east,
and west, it appears to radiate a soft, grey-tinted light, with a
quivering motion. Should the day be calm, the hum produced by the
vibration of so many millions of wings is quite indescribable, and more
resembles the noise popularly termed "a ringing in one's ears," than any
other sound. The aspect of the heavens during the period that the
greatest flight is passing by is singularly striking. It produces a
feeling of uneasiness, amazement, and awe, as if some terrible
unforeseen calamity were about to happen.
When the grasshoppers are resting from their long journeys, or in the
morning when feeding on the grass and leaves, they rise in clouds as we
march through the prairie; and when the wind blows, they become very
troublesome, flying with force against our faces, and into the nostrils
and eyes of the horses, filling every crevice in the carts.
Fortunately, comparatively few take flight on a windy day, otherwise it
would be impossible to make headway against such an infinite host in
rapid motion before the wind, although composed individually of such
insignificant members. The portions of the prairie visited by the
grasshoppers wear a curious appearance. The grass may be seen cut
uniformly to one inch from the ground. The whole surface is covered
with the small, round, green exuviae of these destructive invaders.
They frequently fly at an enormous height above the earth. An engineer
engaged in the Nebraska survey, mentions that, when standing on the
summit of a peak of the Rocky Mountains, 8500 feet above the level of
the plains in Nebraska--being 14,500 feet above that of the sea--he saw
them above his head as far as their size rendered them visible.
Grasshoppers are excellent prognosticators of a coming storm. They may
be seen at times descending perpendicularly from a great height, like
hail--a sign of approaching rain. At this time the air, as far as the
eye can penetrate, appears filled with them. Early in the morning they
commence their flight, and continue it till late in the afternoon, when
they settle round the traveller in countless multitudes, clinging to the
leaves of the grass, as if resting after their journey.
They are fearful depredators. Not only do they destroy the husbandman's
crops, but so voracious are they, that they will attack every article
left even for a few minutes on the ground--saddle-girths, leather bags,
and clothing of all descriptions, are devoured without distinction. Mr
Hind says that ten minutes sufficed for them to destroy three pairs of
woollen trousers which had been carelessly thrown on the grass. The
only way to protect property from these depredators is to pile it on a
waggon or cart out of reach.
Two distinct broods of grasshoppers appear--one with wings not yet
formed, which has been hatched on the spot; the other, full-grown
invaders from the southern latitudes. They sometimes make their
appearance at Red River. However, Mr Ross, for long a resident in that
region, states that from 1819, when the colonists' scanty crops were
destroyed by grasshoppers, to 1856, they had not returned in sufficient
numbers to commit any material damage. Their ravages, indeed, are not
to be compared to those committed by the red locust in Egypt; and yet
Egypt has ever been one of the chief granaries of the world.
PART TWO, CHAPTER ONE.
MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA.
MEXICO.
If we glance over Mexico, we shall see that the country is, like the
continent of which it forms a part, of a triangular shape,--the eastern
portion bounded by the Gulf of Mexico, low and flat sandy deserts or
noxious marshes being spread over it, and with a narrow belt of level
land at the base of the mountains on the Pacific shore. A series of
terraces broken by ravines form the sides of a vast table-land,--six
thousand feet above the plain,--which stretches from north to south
throughout the interior, separated here and there by rocky ridges into
smaller plateaux; while vast mountains in several parts rise from their
midst--that of Popocatepetl, the highest in Mexico, reaching to a height
of 17,884 feet, with Orizaba, almost of equal elevation, and several
mountains not much inferior to them, their snowy summits seen from afar,
through the clear atmosphere of that lofty region. Several are active
volcanoes; the most curious being that of Jorullo, surrounded by
miniature mountains emitting smoke and fire, and presenting the wildest
scene of utter desolation. They form pinnacles of the great range of
the Andes and the Rocky Mountains. From the midst of the great
table-land of Anahuac, flows towards the north the river of Santiago,
its course exceeding four hundred miles, passing in its way through the
large lake of Chapala. Some of these table-lands are even eight
thousand feet above the sea. The most lofty is so cold, that during the
greater part of the day the thermometer varies between 42 degrees and 46
degrees. The great table-land to the east of the Sierra Madre has an
elevation which varies from three thousand to six thousand feet. To the
west of that sierra, is the region of Sonora; while eastward, across the
Rocky Mountains, is the great valley of New Mexico, watered by the Rio
Grande del Norte, which has a course of nearly fourteen hundred miles.
We have thus, in Mexico, a region of elevated plateaux with numerous
lofty mountains, steep and broken hill-sides, with deep valleys, watered
by numerous streams, and a wide extent of low, level country under the
rays of a tropical sun. These several regions possess a great
difference in climate, and a corresponding variation in their
productions, and, in most instances, in the animals which inhabit them.
The domestic animals introduced by the Spaniards, have multiplied
greatly, so that vast herds of cattle and horses run wild on the
table-lands and lower tracts. Sheep also abound, especially on the
northern table-lands. The buffalo makes his way to the great plains
bordering the Red River and Arkansas; while deer, in large herds, abound
on the higher plains. They are followed, as elsewhere, by packs of
wolves and foxes or wild dogs; while the puma makes himself at home
here, as he does in Southern America. The bear takes possession of many
a mountain cavern; the beaver and otter inhabit the banks of the streams
and lakes; the raccoon is found in the woods; and the antelope bounds
across the plains.
We know more about the feathered tribes than the mammalia of Mexico.
There are upwards of one hundred and fourteen species of land birds, one
half of which are unknown in other parts of the world. Still, out of
this entire number of species, only one new genus--which connects the
family of the tyrant-shrikes with that of the caterpillar-catchers--has
been discovered. There are two species of this genus, in both of which
the males differ greatly from the females. In this intermediate region
we find numerous genera which exist both in Northern and, Southern
America intermixed. Several South American birds have found their way
into Mexico,--as the mot-mots and trogons, the harpy and carracara
eagles, the hang-nest, the true and red tanagers, parrots, parrakeets,
macaws, creepers, crest-finches, and the fork-tailed and even-tailed
humming-birds. Of the genera peculiar to North America,--but which are
unknown in the South,--found in Mexico, are the fan-tailed wagtails,
titmice, and worm-eating warblers--blue robins, ground-finch and
sand-finch, crescent-starlings and ground-woodpecker. The sand-finch
is, however, found in the Brazils. Vast numbers of aquatic birds
frequent the lakes and marshes of the table-lands of the interior, as
well as the rivers and shores of the coast, nearly the whole of which
are well known in the United States, the greater number also inhabiting
the Arctic regions.
Among the reptiles, there is one curious creature, peculiar to the
country, allied to the siren of Carolina. It is the axolotl, which
partakes of the form of a fish, and abounds in many of the lakes in
Mexico. It is much esteemed as an article of food by the inhabitants of
the neighbourhood.
We cannot speak of Mexico without having our minds drawn to the time of
the Aztec monarchy,--when sumptuous palaces, enormous temples,
fortresses, and other public edifices covered the face of the country.
In the midst of the territory, on the western shore of the large lake of
Tezcuco, stood the city of Tenochtitlan, the superb capital of the
unfortunate Montezuma, on the site of which has arisen the modern
Mexico. Though its glory has long passed away, the enormous ruins which
still remain attest its past grandeur. Vast pyramids, on a scale and of
a massiveness which vie with those of Egypt, still rear their lofty
heads in great numbers throughout the country; while the ruins of other
buildings prove that the architecture of Mexico in many points resembled
that on the banks of the Nile. Some of these pyramids might rather be
called towers. They consist of a series of truncated pyramids placed
one above another, each successive one being smaller than the one on
which it immediately rests--thus standing in reality upon a platform or
terrace. The great pyramidal tower of Cholula is of this character,
resembling somewhat the temple of Belus, according to the description
given of it by Herodotus. It reaches a height of 177 feet, and the
length of each side of its base is 1440 feet. In its neighbourhood are
two other pyramids--teocalles, as they are called--of smaller
dimensions. These temples, or teocalles, were very numerous, and in
each of the principal cities there were several hundreds of them. The
top, on which was a broad area, was reached by a flight of steps. On
this area were one or two towers forty or fifty feet high, in which
stood the images of the presiding deities. In front of the towers was
the stone of sacrifice, and two lofty altars, on which fires were kept
burning, inextinguishable as those in the temple of Vesta. In the great
temple of Mexico there were said to be six hundred of these altars, the
fires from which illuminated the streets through the darkest night.
Deeply interesting as is the subject of the architecture and the
remarkable state of civilisation of the Aztecs, we must not dwell longer
upon it, except to mention the cyclopean roads and bridges, constructed
of huge blocks of stone, and carried on a continuous level, across
valleys, which still remain. There are also, in various parts of the
country, excavations, rock-hewn halls, and caverns, generally
dome-shaped, the centre apartment lighted through an aperture in the
vault. They somewhat resemble the cyclopean fabric near Argos, called
the Treasury of Atreus. Not only the buildings, but the hieroglyphics,
of the Aztecs, so closely resemble those of the Egyptians, that there
appears every reason to suppose they were derived from the same source.
Among the natural curiosities of Mexico, one of the most remarkable is
that of the rock-bridge in the valley Icononzo, which might, from its
form--until closely examined--be mistaken for a work of art.
The great mass of the population of Mexico consists of the descendants
of those tribes which inhabited the country at the time of the Spanish
invasion. The language most extensively spoken, as well by the
civilised as the savage tribes, is still that of the Aztecs. The people
of pure European blood are supposed not to amount to thirty thousand.
About a quarter of the population consists of Creoles, descendants of
Europeans and Indians known as Mestizos, while there is a small number
of Mulattoes, and another race, the Zambos--descendants of Africans and
Indians.
Mexico has long been in a chronic state of revolution. From a province
of Spain it became an independent empire; afterwards a republic; and
once more, under the unfortunate Maximilian, it was placed under
imperial rule, finally to fall into a far greater state of anarchy than
before.
Before we quit Mexico, a remarkable result of hydraulic action must be
mentioned, found on the sea-coast of that region. It is known as the
buffadero. At the termination of a long rugged point, the water of the
ocean, forced by a current or the waves, is projected through a fissure
or natural tube in the rock, forming a beautiful _jet d'eau_ many feet
in height.
BIRDS OF MEXICO:--THE SCARLET TANAGER.
Among the winter inhabitants of Mexico, one of the handsomest is the
scarlet tanager--a small bird, being only six or seven inches in length.
It migrates north in the spring, generally making its appearance in the
United States about the end of April, where it remains till the breeding
season is over.
The colour of the male bird is a brilliant scarlet, with the exception
of the tail and wings, which are deep black. The tail is forked, and
has a white tip. This gay plumage is, however, only donned during the
summer, for when it returns to Mexico in the autumn, its body is covered
with a number of greyish-yellow feathers, giving it a mottled
appearance. Its note is powerful, but not particularly musical.
Wilson describes it as a remarkably affectionate bird. Having captured
a young one, it was placed in a cage high up on a tree. The father bird
discovered it, and was seen to bring it food, roosting at night on a
neighbouring bough. After continuing to do so for three or four days,
he showed by his actions and voice that he was trying to make the young
one come out and follow him. So distressed did he appear, that at last
the kind-hearted naturalist set the prisoner at liberty, when it flew
off with its parent, who, with notes of exultation, accompanied its
flight to the woods.
THE ANIS, OR SAVANNAH BLACKBIRD.
The farmers of Mexico and the Southern States of America whose fields
are frequented by the anis, are much indebted to that handsome and
somewhat conspicuous bird. It is of a black hue glossed with green,
equalling a pigeon in size--its long tail adding to its apparent length.
Its chief food consists of grasshoppers, locusts, and small lizards,
but it rids cows of the ticks and other parasitic insects which fasten
on their backs, where they cannot be rubbed off. So conscious are the
cattle of the service thus rendered them, that they will lie down to
allow the blackbird to perform the operation at its ease. It is even
asserted that, should the cow neglect to place herself in a suitable
attitude, the blackbird will hop about in front of her nose, and allow
her no peace till she does as required.
Large flocks of these birds appear together, uttering deafening cries.
When fired at, even though many of them are killed, the survivors hover
to a short distance, regardless of the danger in which they are placed.
They build remarkably large nests; sometimes, indeed, several pairs of
birds build one together--much in the same way as do the sociable
weaver-birds of Africa--where they live together on friendly terms.
It resembles another African bird in its habit of picking off ticks from
the backs of oxen, the same duty being performed by the South American
goatsucker.
MASSINA'S TROGON--THE MEXICAN TROGON.
These birds are remarkable for their beautiful plumage. The first
measures about fourteen inches in length. The crown of the head, back,
and chest are of a deep, rich green; the ear-coverts and throat, glossy
black; the breast and abdomen, of a rich scarlet. A grey tint covers
the centre of the wings, which are pencilled with jet-black lines. The
quill-feathers are also black, each being edged with white; and the bill
is a light yellow. The females differ considerably from the males.
They are shy and retiring birds, and their habits, consequently, are
difficult to study.
The Mexican trogon is much smaller than the former, being only a foot in
total length, of which the tail occupies nearly eight inches. Few birds
are more beautifully adorned than the male trogon. The head is of a
bright yellow; the upper surface of the body, with the chest, being of a
rich, glossy green; while the whole under surface is a bright scarlet.
The throat and ear-coverts are black, and a white band of a crescent
shape surrounds the throat. The wings are nearly entirely black. The
tail is partly black, the two central feathers being green, tipped with
black. The females and young males differ greatly, but their plumage is
still very handsome.
THE RESPLENDENT TROGON.
The resplendent trogon is a native of Mexico, and, like all its
congeners, is fond of hiding its beauty in the dark glades of the rich
tropical forests. Its skin is remarkably delicate, and so thin that it
has been compared to wet blotting-paper; while the plumage is so lightly
set, that when the bird is shot, the feathers will fall freely from
their sockets, through the force of the blow.
The colour of the adult male bird is a rich golden green, on the crest,
head, neck, throat, chest, and shoulder-plumes. The breast and under
parts shine with as bright a scarlet as the uniform of an English
guardsman; the central feathers of the tail are black, and the exterior
white, with black bars. The resplendent plumes which overhang the tail
are seldom less than three feet in length, so that the total length of
this gorgeous bird will frequently reach four feet. The bill is of a
light yellow.
This species of trogon feeds chiefly on vegetable diet. We may add that
in old times its long plumes were among the insignia of Mexican
monarchy, and none but members of the "blood royal" were permitted to
wear its gorgeous feathers.
REPTILES:--THE RHINOPHRYNE.
The tongues of frogs, instead of pointing outwards, are directed towards
the throat. This species differs from the rest of its tribe, by having
its tongue free and pointing forwards. Its rounded head sinks
completely into the body, the muzzle being abruptly truncated, so as to
form a circular disc in front. So extremely small is the gape, that it
would not be supposed, if separated from the body, to have belonged to a
frog. On each side of the neck there is a gland, deeply sunk, and
almost concealed by the skin.
The body of this curious creature is extremely short and thick, and its
feet are half webbed. At the end of each of the hinder feet is a flat,
oval, horny spur--its only means of offence and defence, as it possesses
no teeth in its head.
It is of a slaty-grey colour, with yellow spots on the sides and back.
Occasionally the latter unite, so as to form a jagged line along the
back.
THE AXOLOTL.
Among the batrachians found in Mexico is the curious axolotl, which
frequents the great lake on which the chief city is built, as well as
numerous other lakes, some at a considerable elevation above the ocean.
It is between eight and ten inches long, of rather a dark greyish-brown
colour, thickly covered with black spots. Those who have seen a newt in
its larva state, may form a correct idea of the gills which project from
either side of the head.
Naturalists differ in opinion as to whether it is really an adult
batrachian, or merely the larva of some much larger creature. In many
localities it is very plentiful; and the flesh being eatable and of a
delicate character, the creature is sold in great numbers in the
markets.
Being furnished with both kinds of respiratory organs, it can breathe
equally well on land or in the water. It has a broad, flat head, blunt
nose, and eyes situated near the muzzle. Though living so much in the
water, its toes are not connected by intermediate membranes--indeed,
they appear only to be intended for service on shore--its tail, nearly
as long as its body, serving as a propeller in the water.
PART TWO, CHAPTER TWO.
CENTRAL AMERICA.
Leaving the continent of North America, which may be said to terminate
at the southern end of Mexico, we enter that extremely irregular portion
of land which, now widening, now narrowing again, stretches in a
south-easterly direction till it unites with the southern half of the
American continent at the Isthmus of Panama. We find in Central America
three marked centres of elevation. The first we reach is the great
plain, nearly 6000 feet above the level of the sea, on which the city of
Guatemala is situated. Numerous volcanic peaks rise from its midst;
from it also flow several large rivers, some falling into the Gulf of
Mexico, others eastward into the Gulf of Honduras, while smaller streams
send their waters westward into the Pacific Ocean. The banks of these
rivers are mostly covered with the richest tropical vegetation--the
scenery of the river Polochie in Guatemala being especially beautiful.
Another high plain occupies the centre of Honduras, and extends into the
northern part of Nicaragua. From it also rise numberless streams, some
emptying themselves into the Caribbean Sea, and others into the Lakes of
Nicaragua and Managua. Further south rises the volcano of Cartago.
Here the Cordilleras resume their general character of a vast mountain
barrier, but once more sink down into low ridges as the chain passes
through the Isthmus of Panama.
As in South America, the Cordilleras run close along the Pacific coast.
In consequence, the rivers which flow from their heights have a long
course on the Atlantic side, and have carried down a large quantity of
alluvial soil. Here, too, rain falls in greater or lesser quantities
throughout the year. The vegetation is consequently rank, and the
climate damp, and proportionately unhealthy. As the trade-winds blow
from the north-east, the moisture with which they are saturated is
condensed against the mountainsides, and flows backwards towards the
Atlantic. The Pacific slope is, therefore, comparatively dry and
salubrious--as indeed are also the elevated table-lands of the interior.
The whole region is subject to earthquakes, and numberless volcanoes
rise in all directions. In the low ridge which separates the Lake of
Nicaragua from the Pacific are several volcanic hills, most of them
active; while further to the north-west, in the district of Conchagua--
scarcely more than one hundred and eighty miles in length--there are
upwards of twenty volcanoes. The two most lofty are found in the
Guatemala range--that of Fuego being upwards of 12,000 feet in height,
and that of Agua, 18,000 feet.
Many parts of the interior of the country have been but very partially
explored, and are, indeed, almost unknown. Of the purely native tribes,
most of them have become mingled with Spaniards or negroes. Parts of
the coast are inhabited by mixed races of Caribs, who have migrated from
Saint Vincent, one of the Leeward islands. These Caribs are known as
the Black and Yellow Caribs--the former being the descendants of the
survivors of the cargo of an African slaver, wrecked in the
neighbourhood of that island. The descendants of the Spaniards are the
dominant race, and they have divided the country into various republics,
though the greater portion is still in almost as savage a condition as
when first discovered.
HONDURAS AND THE MOSQUITO COUNTRY.
The English have, however, a settlement in Honduras; and there is an
Indian state forming the eastern portion of Nicaragua, under the
government--if so it can be called--of a native king. His territory is
known as the Mosquito Country, from the name of the chief native tribe
over which he rules.
The climate is very similar to that of the West Indies. On the lower
lands a variety of tropical productions can be brought to perfection,
while in the high regions cereals of various sorts are abundantly
produced.
FAUNA.
The fauna partakes partly of the character of that of the equatorial
regions of South America, and of the semi-tropical districts of Mexico.
There are several varieties of ant-eaters, similar to those found in the
valley of the Amazon, while the grey squirrel of more northern latitudes
skips playfully amid the forests of the interior. In the woods and wide
savannahs are two or more varieties of deer--one resembling the European
deer in colour, but of less size, and adorned with large antlers. The
other is of a lighter and browner tint, possessing short, smooth-pointed
horns. The peccary is common in the valleys and low ground along the
coast; while the waree, or wild hog, runs in large droves in many
districts. The tapir, similar to that of the southern continent, also
frequents the seashore and banks of the rivers; and another species,
peculiar to the region, is said to have been discovered lately. There
are numerous varieties of monkeys, among which are the brown, the
horned, and the little, playful capuchin. The raccoon, as elsewhere, is
common, and is noted for its thieving propensities. It lives chiefly on
animal food. There is an interesting little opossum of about ten feet
in length, of a grey colour, with a somewhat large head, and a long and
very flexible tail--the feet being provided with sharp claws. When the
young leave the mother's pouch, she can place them on her back, to which
they cling, while she scrambles amid the forest boughs. Besides the
great ant-eater, there is the smaller striped ant-eater, and the little
ant-eater. There is a curious creature, called the quash, resembling
the ichneumon, which possesses a peculiarly fetid smell, and is known
for its powerful, lacerating teeth. There are several species, also, of
the armadillo, distinguished as the three-banded, eight-banded, and
nine-banded. The paca is also very plentiful, and becomes easily
domesticated. It reaches two feet in length, and its thick, clumsy
form, of a dusky brown colour, may be seen scampering through the woods.
The agouti, or Indian cony, or rabbit, frequents the same region as the
paca, and is about the size of an ordinary hare. It does not, however,
run in the same way, but moves by frequent leaps. The jaguar ranges
through the whole of this part of the continent, and is remarkable for
its large size and great strength. Not only does it frequently kill
full-grown cattle, and drag them to its lair far-away in the woods, but,
if irritated, it does not hesitate to attack human beings. The
tiger-cat, or ocelot, which much resembles a common cat, but is
considerably larger, is also found in the forest; but at the sight of
man it takes to flight, and is, therefore, less frequently seen than its
fiercer relatives. The puma also makes its way from one end of the
country to the other; but though destructive to cattle, it is said here,
as elsewhere, to fly from the face of man. The savage wolf, the cayote,
is frequently met with.
A considerable number of the birds of South America, or of allied
species, are found in many parts of the country. This is the home of
the resplendent trogon, called the quetzal--the imperial bird of the
Quiches. It, however, has but a limited range, being found only in the
mountains of Merendon in Honduras, and in the department of
Quezaltenango in Guatemala. There are numerous varieties of the parrot
tribe, many of them of the most magnificent description with regard to
their colouring. Here, also, the forests are adorned with the gay
plumage of the red and blue macaws, as also by a toucan with a yellow
tail. It is remarkable not only for its bright colour, but for its
curious pendent nests, of which frequently fifty are seen hanging
together from the branch of a single tree. Among the birds of prey, the
ever-present turkey-buzzard and other vultures, hawks, owls, and
sea-eagles, are common; as is the Mexican jay, the ring-bird, the
rice-bird, swallow, and numerous varieties of humming-birds. Among the
water birds are the pelican, the muscovy, and black duck; the
spoon-bill, plover, curlew, teal, darter; while herons, ibises, and
cranes, are found in great numbers on the shores of the lagoons and
rivers. In the interior of the country the splendid Honduras turkey, as
well as the curassow, and several varieties of the wood-pigeon and dove,
as also the partridge, quail, and snipe, exist in abundance.
Of the reptile tribes, alligators of great size are found in nearly all
the lagoons and rivers. There is an infinite variety of lizards,--the
most noted of which is the iguana, which frequently attains a length of
four feet;--and its flesh is here, as in other parts of the continent,
esteemed. There are many varieties of serpents, some of which are
harmless. Of the venomous species, there are the golden snake, the
whip-snake, and the tamagas--the bite of which is considered deadly. So
is also that of the corral. It is of the most brilliant colour, covered
with alternate rings of green, black, and red. To this last may be
added the rattlesnake and the ordinary black snake. Most of these
snakes are found in the lower region near the sea-coast.
In all the rivers and lakes, tortoises and turtles of several kinds are
abundant. The land turtle reaches a foot in length. Its shell is of a
dark colour. It is eaten, but is not esteemed of so good a quality as
the sea turtle. The coasts are frequented by various species of sea
turtle, known as the green, the hawks-bill--which affords the best
tortoise-shell to commerce--and the trunk-turtle, which is larger than
either of its two relatives. From its flesh is extracted a kind of oil,
which is of considerable value.
The hawks-bill turtle, which gains that name from its narrow, sharp, and
curved beak, like that of a hawk, is also called the imbricated turtle,
because its scales overlap each other at their extremities, as tiles are
placed on the roofs of houses.
The green or edible turtle is of great size, weighing often six hundred
pounds, and being upwards of five feet in length. It gains its name
from its rich fat, which is of a green colour; and its flesh is
considered very much superior to that of all its relatives.
The variety and kinds of Crustacea are almost numberless, from the
largest lobster to the smallest crab. Two species--the mangrove crab,
and the white and black land crab--are found near the mouths of the
rivers and in all the lagoons; while the curious soldier crabs, which
seem as much at home in one element as in the other, inhabit in vast
numbers the trees which lie rotting half submerged in the water. At
certain times they may be found making their way into the interior, to
return afterwards to the ocean.
The neighbourhood of the ocean, and the rivers and lakes of the
interior, swarm with an endless variety of fish; while the huge manatee,
or sea-cow, is found in most of the rivers.
THE MAHOGANY-TREE.
The most valuable production of the forests of this part of the world is
the mahogany-tree of Honduras, well-deserving, from its magnificent
foliage and vast size, to be called the king of the forest. It is
remarkably slow of growth, its increase during half a century being
scarcely perceptible.
The life of the mahogany-cutter is wild in the extreme, yet he carries
on his occupation in a systematic manner. Parties, or gangs, are
formed, consisting of fifty men, with a captain, or hunter, attached to
each. The business of the hunter is to search out the mahogany-trees
fit for cutting. To do this, he makes his way through the thick forest
to the highest ground in the neighbourhood he can find, and then climbs
one of the tallest trees. From thence he surveys the surrounding
country in search of the foliage, which presents a yellow, reddish hue,
assumed by the mahogany--tree at that season of the year--about August.
Having thus discovered a spot on which a number of the sought-for trees
grow, he descends, and as rapidly as possible leads his party to it,
lest any others on the search should be before them. Huts are now
built, roofed with long grass, or the branches of the thatch-palm. His
furniture consists of a hammock swung between two posts, and a couple of
stones on which his kettle is supported. Stages, on which the axemen
stand, are erected round the trees, which are cut down about ten or
twelve feet from the ground. The trunk is considered most valuable, on
account of the size of the wood it furnishes; but the branches are also
of value, from their grain being closer and more variegated.
While one party is employed in cutting down the trees, another is
engaged in forming a main road to the nearest river, with others from
the various spots where the axemen are at work leading to it. This
operation is concluded by the end of December. The trees are now sawn
into logs of various lengths, and are squared by the axe, in order to
lessen their weight, and to prevent them from rolling in the truck.
When the dry weather sets in--about April or May--trucking commences.
The trucks are drawn by seven pair of oxen. Each is accompanied by two
drivers, sixteen men to cut food for the cattle, and twelve to load the
trucks. In consequence of the hot sun during the day; trucking is
always carried on at night. A wild scene is presented while the trucks
are moving from the forest, each accompanied by several men carrying
torches, the drivers cracking their whips and uttering their shouts.
Thus they go on till they reach the river's brink, when the logs--each
marked with the owner's initials--are thrown into the water, and the
trucks return for a fresh load. When the rains commence, the roads are
impassable, and all trucking ceases.
As the rivers are swelled by the rains, the mahogany-logs are floated
away, followed by the gangs in flat-bottomed canoes, called pit-pans.
Their crews are employed in liberating the logs from the branches of the
overhanging trees and other impediments, till they are stopped by a beam
placed near the mouth of the river. The logs of each owner are now
collected into large rafts, in which state they are floated down to the
wharves of the proprietors. Here they are newly smoothed, and made
ready for shipping to England.
Many other valuable woods come from this region. Rosewood is common on
the northern coast of Honduras. The bushes which produce gum-arabic
abound in all the open savannahs on the Pacific slope. In the forest is
found the copaiba-tree, producing a healing liquid. Here also are found
the copal-tree, the palma-christi, the ipecacuanha--the root of which is
so extensively used in medicine--the liquid amber, as well as
caoutchouc. Here the vast ceiba, or silk-cotton-tree, is abundant, from
which canoes are frequently hollowed out. Indeed, a considerable number
of the trees found on the banks of the Orinoco and Amazon here also come
to perfection.
HUMMING-BIRDS:--THE SLENDER SHEAR-TAIL.
Central America is the home of several beautiful species of those minute
members of the feathered tribe--the humming-birds. Among them is found
the slender shear-tail, which will be known by its deeply-forked black
tail, its wings of purple-brown, and its body of deep shining green,
changing to brown on the head, and bronze on the back and wing-coverts.
The chin is black, with a green gloss; the throat is of a deep metallic
purple; while a large crescent-shaped mark of huff appears on the upper
part of the chest. There is a grey spot in the centre of the abdomen,
and a buff one on each flank, the under tail-coverts being of a greenish
hue.
The female differs greatly from her consort. Her tail is short, the
central feathers being of a golden green; the exterior ones rusty-red at
their base, and black for the greater part of their length, with white
tips. The upper part of her body is also of a golden green; the lower
of a reddish-buff.
THE RUFUS FLAME-BEARER.
The beautiful little rufus flame-bearers belong to the genus
Phaethornis. They are known by their long, graduated tails, all the
feathers of which are pinnated--the two central ones extending far
beyond the others. "They may be seen early in the year, darting,
buzzing, and squeaking in the usual manner of their tribe, engaged in
collecting sweets in all the energy of life, appearing like breathing
gems--magic carbuncles of glowing fire--stretching out their glorious
ruffs, as if to emulate the sun itself in splendour. The female sits
towards the close of May, when the males are uncommonly quarrelsome and
vigilant, darting out as the stranger approaches the nest, looking like
angry coals of brilliant fire, returning several times to the attack
with the utmost velocity, at the same time uttering a curious,
reverberating, sharp bleat, somewhat similar to the quivering twang of a
dead twig, and curiously like the real bleat of some small quadruped.
At other times the males may be seen darting high up in the air, and
whirling about each other in great anger and with much velocity.
"The nests are funnel-shaped, measuring about two and a quarter inches
in depth, and one and three-quarters in breadth at the upper part,
composed of mosses, lichens, and feathers woven together with vegetable
fibres, and lined with soft cotton."
This description is given by Mr Nuttal the naturalist, and quoted by
Audubon.
PRINCESS HELENA'S COQUETTE.
This beautiful little gem--a native of Vera Paz, in Guatemala--is
adorned somewhat after the fashion of the Birds of Paradise, its head
being ornamented with six long, green, hair-like feathers, three on
either side of the body. The upper part is of a coppery bronze colour,
a band of buff crossing the lower end of the back. The face is green;
and the throat is adorned with emerald feathers surrounded with others
long and white. These start from the neck, being edged with blue-black.
Beautifully adorned as is the male, the hen-bird possesses neither
crest nor neck-plumes, her colour being of a dull, bronze-green, and
greyish-white sprinkled with green on the under part of the body.
THE SPARKLING-TAIL HUMMING-BIRD.
The little sparkling-tail is one of the boldest and most familiar of its
tribe, being seen flitting from flower to flower among the gardens in
Guatemala, and remaining with perfect confidence even while people are
moving about near it. It is one of the smallest of its tribe--the nest
being also of a proportionate size, formed of various delicate fibres,
such as spider's webs and cottony down, and covered with lichens.
Within it the female lays two eggs, scarcely larger than peas, of a
delicate, almost transparent, pearly white. This nest is secured to a
slight twig by spider's webs.
The general colour of the male is bronzed green above, with a
crescent-shaped white mark on the lower part of the back. It has a rich
metallic blue throat, changing in certain lights; and the wings are of a
dark purple-brown. The tail is composed of feathers of different
tints--the two central of a rich, shining green; the next, green, marked
with bronze; and the outer, dark brown, with triangular white spots on
the inner web.
The whole length of the bird, with its forked tail, is about four
inches. The hen has a shorter tail, the feathers purple-black, bronzed
at the base, and most of them tipped with white and ringed with buff.
The upper part of the body is of a rich bronzed green; and the lower, a
rusty-red.
Many other beautiful humming-birds appear throughout different parts of
Mexico and Central America; but we may grow weary even when examining
caskets of the most brilliant gems; and we shall have many others to
describe when we reach the southern part of the continent.
LOCUSTS.
Insect life is as active in Central America as in other parts of the
tropics. The most dreaded insect is the locust, which makes periodical
attacks on the plantations, and in a single hour the largest fields of
maize are stripped of their leaves, the stems alone being left to show
that they once existed. This creature is called by the natives the
"chapulin," or langosta. They make their first appearance as little
wingless things, swarming over the ground like ants, when they are
called "santones." In order to destroy them, the natives dig long
trenches, into which they are driven, when, unable to leap out, they are
easily buried and destroyed. Still, vast numbers escape, when they
appear in enormous columns, darkening the air, and as they sweep
onwards, destroy every green thing in their course. They cover the
ground on every side, then rising in clouds, fill the atmosphere with
their multitudes, causing the trees to appear brown, as if seared by
fire. Frequently, as their hosts sweep onwards, they are seen falling
like flakes in a snow-storm from a dark cloud. Every device that the
farmer can think of is employed to prevent their settling: sulphur is
burned, drums beaten, guns fired, and other noises made. Often, by such
means, a plantation is preserved from destruction; but when the columns
once alight, no device avails to save the plantation from speedy
desolation.
This locust or grasshopper is generally from two and a half to four
inches in length, but specimens sometimes appear five inches long; and
it may be conceived what an enormous amount of food such monsters must
consume.
PART TWO, CHAPTER THREE.
RUINS OF CENTRAL AMERICA.
In all parts of Central America are found numerous signs that the
country was, in bygone days, inhabited by a numerous population far more
advanced in civilisation than the tribes which peopled it when first
discovered by Columbus and his companions. In Yucatan and Chiapas,
especially, ruins of numerous houses exist, with elaborately carved
monuments and large buildings, bearing a remarkable resemblance to those
of Egypt and Babylon. Throughout Nicaragua and other districts many
remains--such as tombs, monuments, and edifices--are found, as well as
carved rocks, which were probably the work of a people of still greater
antiquity than those who inhabited the first mentioned region.
Dr Seeman describes some rocks near the town of David, in Chiriqui, on
which characters are engraved similar, or indeed absolutely identical,
with inscriptions which have been found in the northern parts of the
British Islands. The rock is fifteen feet high, nearly fifty feet in
circumference, and rather flat on the top. Every part--especially the
eastern portion--is covered with incised characters about an inch or
half an inch deep. The first figure on the left hand side represents
the radiant sun, followed by a series of heads with some variation.
These heads show a certain resemblance to one of the most curious
characters found on the British rocks. They are followed by
scorpion-like and other fantastic figures. The tops of the stones on
either side are covered with a number of concentric rings and ovals,
crossed with lines. He considers them to be symbols full of meaning,
and recording ideas held to be of vital importance to the people who
used them, and whose names have become a matter of doubt.
In the district of Chontales, a vast number of ancient tombs are met
with in almost every direction. They are found in plains having a good
drainage, such as was generally selected by the Indians for the sites of
their villages. These tombs are of different heights and sizes. Some
are about twenty feet long by twelve feet wide, and eight feet above the
ground. In one which was opened was found a round pillar seven feet
high and eighteen inches across, which was standing upright in the
centre of the tomb. There was a hand-mill for grinding corn--in shape
like those still in use in the country--a knife ten inches long, a
hatchet like a reaping-hook, and a tiger's head of natural size,--all of
stone. In some instances gold ornaments have been found, but not in
sufficient numbers to induce the people to destroy the relics.
The Indians inhabiting Nicaragua in ancient days did not apparently
construct any large temples or stone buildings, as some other natives of
Central America have done. They, however, formed stone figures of
considerable size, which remind us greatly of those which exist in
Easter Island in the Pacific. These stone figures, often of colossal
dimensions, are of two different descriptions--the one having a mild,
inoffensive expression of countenance; while the others, presenting a
combination of both human and animal, have invariably a wild, savage
look, apparently for the purpose of terrifying the beholders. The
first, it is supposed, are the idols which the ancient Nicaraguans
worshipped before the Aztec conquest of their country; while the latter
were introduced when the people had been taught to engage in the bloody
rites practised by the Mexicans.
These stone monuments, though similar, as has been remarked, to those of
Easter Island, and to others found far-away across the Pacific, are
strong corroborative proofs that America was first peopled by tribes who
made their way by various stages from the continent of Asia, though, at
the same time, that long ages have passed away since they first left
that far-distant region--the cradle of the human race. The Indian
priests, like the Druids of old, appear to have chosen the hill-tops and
mountainsides, shady groves and dark ravines, for the sites of their
temples or places of worship.
From the midst of Lake Managua, in Nicaragua, rises the volcanic island
of Momotombita, towering in a perfect cone towards the blue sky. In the
midst of a natural amphitheatre on the slope of the mountain were
discovered a large number of statues (fifty or more), arranged in the
form of a square, their faces looking inwards. Many were cast down, but
others stood erect, though all apparently had been more or less
purposely mutilated. Some of the figures represent males, but others
are undoubtedly those of females. They are cut in black basalt of
intense hardness. The features of the face of one, which has been
conveyed to the Museum at Washington, are singularly bold and severe in
outline. The brow is broad, the nose aquiline, while the arms and legs
are rudely indicated. Other curious idols have been dug up in the
neighbourhood of the town of Leon. The Spanish priests, anxious to put
down the ancient idolatry from the time of their arrival in the country,
have taken pains to destroy these idols, and many have been mutilated
and others buried by their orders.
In the island of Zapetero, rising out of Lake Nicaragua, there are a
still greater number of statues--some from eight to twelve feet in
height, and others of still greater magnitude--elaborately carved out of
hard stone. Sometimes they are placed round mounds which have evidently
served the purpose of altars, on which human sacrifices probably were
offered. One of the most interesting which has been brought to light is
twelve feet high, sculptured from a single block, and representing a
human figure seated on a high pedestal, the stone at the back of the
head being cut in the form of a cross. The limbs are heavy, and the
face large and expressive of great complacency.
Some of the idols represent an animal, apparently a tiger, springing
upon the head and back of a human figure. One--also at the Washington
Museum--represents a man squatted on his haunches, with one hand at his
side, and the other placed on his breast. The head is erect, and the
forehead encircled by a fillet, much carved. The features are unlike
most others--indeed, it seems as if each one had its individual
characteristic. A jaguar appears on the back of this statue, its
fore-paws resting upon the shoulders, and its hind ones upon the hips,
while it grasps in its mouth the back part of the head of the figure.
Although many of the figures represent human beings, others are those of
animals. One, a jaguar, is seated on its haunches, the head thrown
forward, the mouth open,--the attitude and expression being that of
great ferocity. It is very boldly sculptured. Another, a very well
proportioned human figure, is seated on a square throne raised five feet
from the ground. It is remarkable for having on its head another
monstrous head, representing some fierce animal. The heads of several
of the idols are thus surmounted. These symbolical heads were probably
introduced with the same object as those which were so general among the
Egyptian idols.
In the midst of this collection of idols are two or more oblong stones,
on the sides of which are hieroglyphical inscriptions. In the centre
are hollow places, probably designed to receive the blood of the
victims.
It is remarkable that the heads of many of the figures are surmounted
with cross-shaped ornaments similar to the one discovered at Palenque by
Mr Stevens. One of these crosses--which no doubt had their origin in
Babylon, where they are well-known symbols--was set up by the Spaniards
in the convent-church of Tonala, and there venerated.
The Mexicans possessed a symbol called the _Tonacaquahutl_, or "tree of
life," which was represented with branches somewhat in the form of a
cross, surmounted by a bird. This symbol also appears on a tablet
discovered by Mr Stevens at Palenque. In various parts of the country
terra cotta figures have been dug up. Some of them are rude, but others
are extremely artistic; and though not equally graceful, resemble much,
in the form of the limbs, many Egyptian figures. Among them is a figure
from the island of Ometepe, which represents an alligator upon the back
of a human figure, which apparently originally surmounted a large vase.
Mounds similar to those found in the valley of the Mississippi have been
discovered in Honduras. But by far the most interesting remains are
those of Palenque, in Chiapas; of Copan, in Honduras; and of Uxmal and
Chi-chen, in Yucatan. Here are extensive ruins of cities, containing
the remains of pyramids, and the walls of massive buildings, broken
columns, altars, statues, and numberless sculptured fragments, showing
that a large population inhabited this country, and that the people had
attained a considerable knowledge of the arts, though, at the same time,
they seem to have been sunk in the grossest idolatry.
In the western part of Honduras, adjoining the province of Guatemala,
are extensive ruins, which stretch for more than two miles along the
banks of the river Copan. The outer walls, which run north and south
along the margin of the stream, are from sixty to ninety feet high;
while other walls, of a similar character, surround the principal ruins.
Within these walls are extensive terraces and pyramidal buildings,
massive stone columns, idols, and altars covered with sculpture. The
numerous terraces and pyramids are also walled with cut stone, and
ornamented with carved heads of gigantic proportions, and colossal idols
of solid stone from ten to fifteen feet in height. The altars in front
of the statues are of single blocks of stone, many of them richly
carved, but all differing from each other. One of the most remarkable
altars stands on four globes cut out of the same stone. It is six feet
square and four feet high, its top covered with hieroglyphics, while
each side represents four individuals. The figure is sitting
cross-legged, in the Oriental fashion, and the head-dresses are
remarkable for their curious and complicated forms. All have
breastplates, and each holds some article in his hand.
From these carvings we read, though indistinctly, some of the
characteristics of the people. From the absence of all weapons of war,
however, we may suppose them peaceable, though grossly idolatrous, and,
from being unwarlike, easily subdued.
On entering the town, after some adventures, Mr Stevens made his way to
an area, which he ascertained to be a square, with steps on all sides,
almost as perfect as those of the Colosseum. He ascended the steps,
which were ornamented with sculptures, till he reached a broad terrace,
one hundred feet in height, overlooking the river. The whole terrace
was covered with trees, among which were two gigantic cotton-trees of
about twenty feet in circumference, extending their roots fifty to one
hundred feet round, and which had, in many places, displaced the stones.
Among other ornaments were rows of gigantic heads, which, no doubt,
were intended to represent those of apes; for amongst the fragments were
the remains of the body of a colossal ape, strongly resembling in
outline and appearance one of the four monstrous animals which once
stood in front of the obelisk of Luxor, and which, under the name of
Cynocephali, were worshipped at Thebes. This fragment was about six
feet high.
No verbal description can give a correct idea of the elaborate
workmanship of the numberless idols. One, described by Mr Stevens as
the most beautiful in Copan, he considers equal to the finest Egyptian
sculpture; and thinks, indeed, it would be impossible, with the best
instruments of modern times, to cut stones more perfectly. They are
generally from twelve to fourteen feet in height, about four wide, and
two or three deep. On the front is, in all cases, a human head, with
arms and hands, surrounded by the most intricate carving. Frequently
other smaller heads appear below the large one. In many instances the
legs and feet, as well as the body, are represented. The backs and
sides are covered with the most elaborate hieroglyphics, deeply carved--
the whole forming a mass of rich ornamentation. Before several of the
idols stand altars, also carved in the same finished way.
The most interesting figure--which, unlike all the others, is remarkable
for its simplicity--is that of a human being, bearing on its head a
heavy cross-like crown. It cannot fail to remind those acquainted with
the idols of Babylon of the Triune God represented in the sculptured
stones of those far-famed ruins.
STONE QUARRIES.
Some two or three miles from the ruins are the quarries, from which the
stones for the buildings and statues of Copan are evidently taken. Here
still exist huge blocks of stone, in different degrees of preparation.
Near a river was found a gigantic block, much larger than any in the
city, which was probably on its way thither, to be carved and set up,
when the labours of the workmen were arrested. It is difficult to
conjecture how these vast masses were transported over the irregular and
broken surface of the country, and particularly how one of them was set
up on the top of a mountain two thousand feet in height.
A place of this name was captured by Hernandes de Chaves at the time
when its now broken monuments, ruined terraces, walls, and sculptured
figures, were entire, and were all richly painted; and it seems strange
that Europeans could have beheld its wonders without spreading the
report of them throughout the civilised world, yet no account of this
strange city was extant till it was visited by Mr Stevens.
PALENQUE.
Still more curious and interesting than the last described city, are the
ruins of Palenque, in the province of Chiapas, bordering upon Yucatan.
One of the chief structures of this ancient city stands on an artificial
elevation 40 feet high, 310 feet in length, and 260 feet in width. The
sides were originally covered with stones, which have been thrown down
by the growth of trees. On the summit are the ruins of a building,
known as the Palace, about 25 feet in height, with a front measuring 228
feet by 180 feet deep. In front were, originally, fourteen doorways,
with intervening piers, covered with human figures, hieroglyphics, and
carved ornaments. The walls are of stone, laid with mortar and sand;
and the whole is covered by stucco, nearly as hard as stone, and richly
painted. On each side of the steps are gigantic human statues carved in
stone, with rich head-dresses and necklaces.
In one of the buildings is a stone tower of three stories, thirty feet
square at the base, and rising far above the surrounding walls. The
walls are very massive, and the floors are paved with large square
stones. In one of the corridors are two large tablets of hieroglyphics.
There are numerous other buildings, all standing on the summits of
similar pyramids. In several of the buildings the roofs still remain,
and preserve the stuccoed ornamentation with which the walls are
adorned. The colours, in many of them, are still bright; and could the
hieroglyphics with which they are surrounded be read, they would
probably give as clear a history of the departed inhabitants as do those
found in the tombs on the banks of the Nile. The most remarkable
figures are the bas-reliefs, in stucco, representing a woman with a
child in her arms--which forcibly remind us of the statues in ancient
Babylon representing the goddess mother and son (the same worshipped in
Egypt under the names of Isis and Osiris; in India, even to this day, as
Isi and Iswara; and also in China, where Shingmoo, the holy mother, is
represented with a child in her arms, and a glory round her head). It
is impossible, looking at these figures, to suppose otherwise than that
they were derived from the same source whence the idols of Egypt,
Greece, and pagan Rome had their origin.
RUINS OF QUICHE.
In the north-east of Guatemala are the ruins of another city, the
capital of the province of Quiche. It is surrounded by a deep ravine,
which forms a natural foss, leaving only two very narrow roads as
entrances, guarded by the castle of Resguado. The palace of the kings,
which stood in the centre of the city, surpasses every other edifice,
competing in magnificence with that of Montezuma in Mexico. It was
constructed of hewn stones, of various colours. So large was the city,
that it could send no less than seventy-two thousand fighting men to
oppose the Spaniards. The whole palace is now, however, completely
destroyed, and the materials have been carried away to build a village
in the neighbourhood. The most conspicuous portion of the ruins
remaining is called El Sacrificatorio. It is a quadrangular stone
structure, rising in a pyramidal form to the height of thirty-three
feet. At the corners are four buttresses of cut stone. Steps lead up
on the eastern side. On the top it is evident that an altar was once
placed, for the sacrifice of human victims, which struck even the
Spaniards with horror. The whole was in full view of the people who
collected round the base. The ruins differ entirely from Copan and
Palenque. Here no statues, carved figures, or hieroglyphics are seen.
It is therefore supposed that these cities are of a much older date, and
built by another race.
UXMAL.
The most magnificent and perfect remains in the country are those of
Uxmal, about fifty miles south of Merida, the principal city of Yucatan.
Here, amid the dense forest, are found walls of considerable elevation,
with very extensive buildings,--the walls still standing to their full
height, and even the roofs, in some places, perfect. The largest
building--supposed to be the palace of the sovereign--stands on the
uppermost of three terraces, each walled with cut stone. It is 322 feet
in length, 39 broad, and 24 high. The front has thirteen doorways; the
centre of which is 8 feet, 6 inches wide, and 8 feet, 10 inches high.
The upper part is ornamented with sculpture in great profusion, of rich
and curious workmanship. The walls are covered with cement; and the
floors are of square stones, smoothly polished, and laid with as much
regularity as that of the best modern masonry. The roof forms a
triangular arch, constructed with stones overlapping, and covered by a
layer of flat stones. It is remarkable that the lintels of the doorways
are of wood, known as Sapote wood. Many of them are still hard and
sound, and in their places; but others have been perforated by
wormholes, their decay causing the fall of the walls.
Two other large buildings, facing each other, are embellished with
sculpture, the most remarkable features of which are two colossal
serpents, which once extended the whole length of the walls. Further on
are four great ranges of edifices, placed on the uppermost of three
terraces. The plan of these buildings is quadrangular, with a courtyard
in the centre. The walls are, like the others, ornamented with rich and
intricate carving, presenting a scene of strange magnificence. One of
the buildings is 170 feet long, and is remarkable for the two colossal
entwined serpents which run round it, and encompass nearly all the
ornaments throughout its whole length. These serpents are sculptured
out of small blocks of stone, which are arranged in the wall with great
skill and precision. One of the serpents has its monstrous jaws
distended; and within them is a human head, the face of which is
distinctly visible in the carving.
The most tastefully ornamented edifice is know as the "House of the
Dwarf." It stands on the summit of a lofty mound, faced with stone,
nearly ninety feet high, the building itself being seventeen feet high.
Its purpose it is difficult to divine.
Scattered throughout the ruins are a number of dome-shaped subterraneous
chambers, from eight to ten feet deep, and from twelve to twenty in
diameter. The floor is of hard matter, and the walls and ceilings of
plaster. A circular hole at the summit of each, barely large enough to
admit a man, is the only opening into them. It is not known whether
they were used as cisterns, or for granaries, like those of Egypt.
OTHER RUINS.
The whole country to the south of Uxmal is covered with ruins. At a
place called Labra, there is a tower richly ornamented, forty feet in
height, which stands on the summit of an artificial elevation. In
another place there is one forty-five feet high; along the top of which,
standing out from the wall, is a row of deaths' heads--or perhaps
monkeys' heads--and underneath are two lines of human figures, greatly
mutilated.
At Kewick, a short distance from Labra, are numerous other ruins, mostly
remarkable for the simplicity of their architecture and the grandeur of
their proportions. It is still uncertain whether these cities were
inhabited by the unhappy people conquered by the Spaniards, or whether
they were built by a race which, from some unknown cause, had already
passed away. We see how completely the Mexicans and Peruvians, after
the conquest, sunk from their comparatively high state of civilisation
into barbarism; and such might have been the case with the inhabitants
of these cities. Their origin will probably for ever afford matter for
speculation.
The different cities vary in their style of architecture almost as much
as as they do from those of Assyria or Egypt; but when we come to
examine the sculptures, we may be able to trace a much stronger
resemblance. The statues of the woman and child, the cruciform
ornaments, the serpents and gigantic heads of apes, as well as those of
the typical heads of savage animals surmounting the heads of the
statues, are all to be found on the banks of the Nile, and were probably
derived from the same central source. While the tribes who proceeded
westward peopled Egypt, others, among whom a similar system of idolatry
prevailed, may have migrated towards the east, and finally made their
way across the Pacific to the shores of America.
PART THREE, CHAPTER ONE.
SOUTH AMERICA.
SCENES OF ANCIENT DAYS.
Time was when a rocky island, against which dashed the surges of the
Atlantic on the east and of the Pacific on the west, rose in solitude
from the wide-extending ocean where now the highlands of Guiana appear
above the surrounding plains. Not another spot of dry land was to be
found--so geologists affirm--between that point and the hills of Canada
on the north, or for thousands of miles southward towards the pole, over
that portion of the globe's surface now occupied by the vast continent
of America. Then, by slow degrees, the mountains of Brazil, with their
mines of glittering gems, appeared above the surface of the waters, amid
which huge reptile-like whales, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and
cetiosaurs buffeted the billows, and vast saurians, lizards, and
alligators, rivalling the elephant in bulk, and twice his length--such
as the megalosaurus, the iguanodon, and teleosaurus--crawled along the
slimy shores; while giant birds, with wide-spreading feet, stalked
across the newly-formed plains, or flew shrieking, with wings of
prodigious expanse skimming the glittering sea,--the lords paramount of
this lower world. At length the earth, convulsed by mighty throes in
the far-away west from north to south, began to cast up a long line of
rocky heights, now to sink, now to rise once more above the surface,--
till by degrees Pelion piled on Ossa--the vast chain of the Cordilleras
rose towards the skies, forming a mighty barrier between the two great
oceans.
On the eastern side, the waves of the Atlantic, beating continuously,
brought down into the shallow sea the debris from the newly-formed
rocks, gradually filling up the spaces between the already created
islands; and the streams, running down from the mountain heights, formed
the plan of the three great river-systems of the continent--the Orinoco
in the north, the Amazon in the centre, and La Plata in the south.
The Almighty Creator appears always to have worked by mechanical means
in preparing the globe for the habitation of man. There came then a
glacial period. Ponderous blocks of ice, resting not only on the
mountainsides, but extending over the plains, and acting the part of
mighty mill-stones, ground into impalpable powder the pieces of detached
rock of which the lower surface was composed, till a soil was formed
capable of producing a wondrous and varied vegetation to clothe that
Amazonian valley.
[The continent, Professor Agassiz supposes, extended at that time
between 200 and 300 miles further east than it does at present; but the
waters from the rapidly-melting mass of ice, forcing a passage towards
the ocean, carried a large portion away, leaving only certain tracts
which now appear in the form of islands at the mouths of the Amazon and
Orinoco.]
The work has been accomplished--the land prepared for its future
inhabitants! Mighty torrents fall from the lofty mountains, meandering
through the vast Amazonian plain. The age of winter has passed away.
The earth, warmed by the fires beneath and the hot sun above, steams
with vapour. Lofty trees rise from the alluvial soil. A dense mass of
underwood springs up; creepers innumerable hang from the boughs;
countless multitudes of insects have been called into existence--
termites, ants, and beetles--feeding on the leaves and herbage, and on
the giant trunks themselves. It might seem, numerous and voracious as
they are, that they must quickly destroy the clothing of verdure which
covers the soil. But they are not destined thus to triumph over the
wonderful work of the Creator's hand.
A law has been framed by which all things are beautifully and
wonderfully balanced. Monstrous animals have been created to place
bounds on their too great increase. Huge, awkward-looking beasts
covered with shaggy hair, with thick, short limbs, and powerful, sharp
claws bent inwards on soft pads--compelling them to move on the edge of
their paws--are busy with the clay-formed nests of the insects, dashing
them asunder, and devouring their active builders--taking in whole
armies at a mouthful.
See yonder huge creature, its body the size of a rhinoceros, covered
with a coat of armour, a convex oval shield, formed of hexagonal plates
wonderfully fitted to each other! It is an armadillo, the precursor of
a race still abounding in the land, though of diminutive form compared
to its mighty predecessor. See how, with powerful jaws, it crunches up
a fallen tree, perforated through and through by ants,--grinding the
papery partitions of the dry wood, licking in and chewing between its
wonderful cylinder teeth the whole mass into a black pulp!
"But lo! here are mightier creatures yet. See the vast mylodon, the
scelidothere, and the still more colossal megathere! Ponderous giants
these. The very forests seem to tremble under their stately stride.
Their immense bulk preponderates behind, terminating in a tail of
wonderful thickness and solidity. The head is mean, and awakens no
terror. The eye lacks lustre, and threatens no violence, though the
whole form betokens vast power; and the stout limbs are terminated by
the same thick, in-bent, sharp, hoofed claws. One of them approaches
that wide-spreading locust-tree. He gazes up at the huge mud-brown
structures that resemble hogsheads affixed to the forks of the branches,
and he knows that the luscious termites are filling them to overflowing.
His lips water at the tempting sight. Have them he must; but how?
That heavy stern-post of his was never made for climbing. Yet, see! he
rears himself up against the tree. Is he about to essay the scaling?
Not he. He knows his powers better. He gives it one embrace--one
strong hug, as if to test its thickness and hold upon the earth. Now he
is digging away below, scooping out the soft soil from between the
roots; and it is marvellous to note how rapidly he lays them bare with
those great shovel-like claws of his. Now he rears himself again;
straddles wide on his hind-feet, fixing the mighty claws deep in the
ground; plants himself firmly on his huge tail, as on the third foot of
a tripod, and once more grasps the tree. The enormous hind-quarters,
the limbs and the loins, the broad pelvis and thick spinal cord,
supplying abundant nervous energy to the swelling muscles inserted in
the ridged and keeled bones, all come into play as a _point d'appui_ for
the Herculean effort." [Gosse's "Natural History."]
"And now conceive the massive frame of the megathere convulsed with the
mighty wrestling, every vibrating fibre reacting upon its bony
attachments with the force of a hundred giants. Extraordinary must be
the strength and proportions of the tree if, when rocked to and fro to
right and left in such an embrace, it can long withstand the efforts of
its assailant. It yields! The roots fly up. The earth is scattered
wide upon the surrounding foliage. The tree comes down with a
thundering crash, cracking and snapping the great boughs like grass.
The frightened insects swarm out at every orifice, but the huge beast is
in upon them. With his sharp hoofs he tears apart the crusty walls of
the earth-nests, and licks out their living contents--fat pupae, eggs,
and all--rolling down the sweet morsels, half sucking, half chewing,
with a delighted gusto that repays him for all his mighty toil. While
this giant is absorbed in his juicy breakfast, see! there lounges along
his neighbour the macrauchen--equally massive, equally heavy, equally
vast, equally peaceful. The stranger resembles the huge rhinoceros,
elevated on much loftier limbs. But his most remarkable feature is the
enormously long neck, like that of the camel, but carried to the
altitude of that of the giraffe. Thus he thrusts his great muzzle into
the very centre of the leafy trees, and gathering with his prehensile
and flexible lip the succulent twigs and foliage, he too finds abundance
of food for his immense body in the teeming vegetation without intruding
on the supply of his fellows." [Owen on the "Mylodon."]
Emerging from the water appears a great head, with little piggish eyes
set wide apart, with immense muzzle and lips, and broad cheeks armed
with stiff projecting bristles--the sluggish toxodon. The creature
opens its cavernous mouth to seize a floating gourd; and now it tears up
the great fleshy arum roots from the clay bank, and grinding them to
pulp, sinks below to masticate its meal. Numberless other curious
creatures are roaming through the forest, or feeding on the banks; many
others, having run their destined course, disappear from the face of the
globe, to be replaced by a new creation of far less magnitude--the mild
llama, the savage jaguar, the nimble monkey with prehensile tail, the
ant-eater, arborial and terrestrial; the diminutive sloth, thick-skinned
tapir, alligators, turtles, and manatees; lizards, serpents; the
beautiful denizens of the air with superb plumage, numerous species of
humming-birds, gorgeous butterflies and beetles, vieing in their shining
hues with the rich gems hidden within the bowels of the earth.
It is of these, and of many others in wonderful variety; as well as of
their master--man--in his savage state; and of the curious trees and
shrubs, whose fruits afford him and the lower orders abundant
nourishment, that some outline sketches will now be given.
PART THREE, CHAPTER TWO.
A GENERAL VIEW OF SOUTH AMERICA.
Three separate mountain-systems exist in South America:--that of the
Andes on the west, Guiana and Venezuela on the north, and the serras of
Brazil in the centre. The surface of the remainder of the continent is
occupied by vast level, or undulating tracts of different elevations.
The chief portion of the region through which the Amazon flows, but
slightly raised above its surface, is covered with the richest and most
varied vegetation to be found on any part of the globe, extending on
either side of its course, as also along the shores of the Atlantic,
north and south, for many hundreds of miles. Here enormous trees of
many descriptions, of varied shapes and heights, grow in wonderful
profusion. The candelabra, sumaumera, the manicaria, and raphia, with
their enormous leaves, and other palms innumerable, tower towards the
sky. To the south of the Orinoco is another thickly-wooded region,
known as the Silvas; which, united to the woods of Guiana and those of
Brazil, Eastern Peru and Bolivia, form one enormous forest. From the
north bank of the last-named river, the ground gently rises towards the
interior at the rate of five feet in a mile. At a distance of one
hundred miles from its hanks, at a slightly increased elevation, appears
a sandy terrace--the greater portion barren, though in some places
bearing grasses, and supplying water to the wide-extending plains below.
This barren region, which occupies the most northern part of South
America, is called the Llanos Altos. A far wider and more level country
extends between the base of the Andes and the banks of the Orinoco, at a
height of between two hundred and five hundred feet. Not a stone or
rock, not even a pebble, is to be seen on these vast plains. So level
are they, that the currents of the rivers crossing them are almost
imperceptible, and are frequently sent back towards their sources when
met by strong winds. They are covered with grass, which affords
pasturage to large herds of wild cattle--the only other species of
vegetation being a few bushes growing on the banks of the streams; while
here and there, scattered at considerable distances apart, a few tall
palm-trees are seen, reminding the traveller of the deserts of Arabia.
In the southern part of the continent are the treeless plains of the
Pampas, extending from about 20 degrees south latitude for a distance of
fully two thousand miles into Patagonia, and averaging in width five
hundred miles. Stretching, as do these plains, across a large portion
of the South Temperate Zone, they present great varieties of climate.
The northern portion is watered by the River La Plata and its
tributaries. To the south of Buenos Ayres the rivers are fewer and of
less extent. The north-western Pampas consist of slightly undulating
and dry plains, though interspersed with vast tracts on which lofty
thistles rear their heads--useful, however, as fuel to the inhabitants.
Further on, to the west, is a wide-extending pastoral district; and yet
beyond, reaching to the foot of the Cordilleras, the soil is well-suited
for agriculture. The pastoral region is almost a dead level, with large
shallow salt-lakes,--one of them measuring fifty miles in length by
twenty in width. Scarcely a tree is to be found throughout this region,
and but few permanent water-courses. To the north extends a salt desert
for upwards of one hundred miles, with a width of two hundred miles. It
is crossed by the River Salado, which, rising in the Cordilleras, falls
into the Plata, to the south of which rises a number of step-like
terraces, sterile during the heats of summer, but covered with verdure
after the rains of spring. Huge boulders, brown grass growing in tufts,
and low spine-covered bushes, diversify the surface. In this
inhospitable region transitions from heat to cold are very great. Now
the traveller is panting under the intense heat of the sun's rays; and
anon an icy blast rushes across the plain, compelling him to draw close
around his body his thick poncho, for protection against its chilling
influences.
Further to the south are found large swamps and lagoons, one of them
having an area of one thousand square miles, its surface covered with
aquatic plants. In the rainy season, the rivers, overflowing their
banks, inundate the plains--leaving behind, however, a thick deposit of
fertilising soil, from which, as elsewhere, rich crops are capable of
being produced. Further on, to the south, the Pampas, over which the
yet savage and untamed Patagonians roam, and hunt the huanacu and
ostrich, is generally higher and drier.
The South American continent, it will thus be seen, consists of several
distinctly different descriptions of country:--the long line of the
Cordilleras, with their snow-capped peaks and their lofty punas or high
table-lands, and the narrow strip of arid soil at their western base;
the three separate mountain-systems of Venezuela, Guiana, and the
Brazils; the mighty forests bordering the great rivers and their
tributaries, to which must be added the wooded heights of the
inter-tropical regions, where tall trees, including several palms,
flourish at an elevation of many thousand feet above the level of the
ocean; and lastly, the wide-extending regions of the Llanos and the
Pampas. These, as might be supposed, present great varieties of animal
life--though scarcely so great as might have been expected, when it is
remembered that they extend from 10 degrees north to 50 degrees south
latitude. Several species indeed are found far to the north of the
equator, and also near the southern end of the continent. But to give
an idea of these different regions, they must be described in detail.
PART THREE, CHAPTER THREE.
VALLEY OF THE AMAZON.
Standing on the eastern spur of the Andes, between 3 degrees and 4
degrees south of the equator, the eye of the traveller may see in
imagination a vast valley, clothed with a dense forest, stretching
towards the far-distant Atlantic. Behind him, on the west, tower the
lofty peaks of the Cordilleras; on his left, in a northerly direction,
appear the mountains and highlands of Venezuela and Guiana; while to the
south rise the serras and table-lands of the Brazils. It is the Valley
of the Amazon, in which more than half of Europe might be contained.
Down the centre flows a mighty stream, the tributaries of which alone
contain a bulk of water greater than all the European rivers put
together.
Upwards of five hundred miles away to the south of the spot where the
traveller stands, is the little lake of Lauricocha, near the
silver-mines of Cerro de Pasco in Peru, just below the limit of
perpetual snow--14,000 feet above the level of the sea. This lake has
the honour of giving birth to the mighty stream: its waters forming the
River Tunguragua, which, roaring and foaming in a series of cataracts
and rapids through rocky valleys, flows northerly till it reaches the
frontier of Ecuador. It then turns suddenly to the east, which
direction it maintains, with a slightly northerly inclination, for two
thousand miles--its volume greatly increased by numerous large streams,
each of which is by itself a mighty river--till, attaining a width which
may vie with that of the Baltic, it rushes with such fierce force into
the Atlantic as to turn aside on either hand the salt-waters of the
ocean. Thus the seaman approaching the shore of South America, when
still out of sight of land, may lower his bucket and draw up the
fresh-water which, it may be, has issued forth weeks before from the
sides of the Andes. The whole length of the river, following its main
curves, is but little under three thousand miles, while the tributaries
from north to south stretch over seventeen hundred miles.
The basin of the Amazon may be considered like a shallow trough lying
parallel to the equator, the southern sides having double the
inclination of the northern, the whole gently sloping eastward. The
channel of the river lies rather to the north of the basin, some hills
rising directly above its waters; while the falls of several rivers to
the south are two hundred miles above their mouths. Two thousand miles
from its mouth the depth of the river is never less than eighteen feet,
while many of its tributaries at their embouchures are of equal depth;
and at the junction of the great rivers the hollows of its bed attain a
depth of twenty-four fathoms. At Tabalingua, two thousand miles from
its mouth, it is a mile and a half broad; and lower down, at the
entrance of one of its tributaries--the Madeira--it measures three miles
across. Still further to the east its sea-like reaches extend to the
north for ten miles, with still wider lake-like expanses, so that the
eye of the voyager can scarcely reach the forest-covered banks on the
opposite side; while if the River Para is properly considered one of its
branches, its measurement from shore to shore, across a countless number
of islands, is one hundred and eighty miles--equal to the breadth of the
widest part of the Baltic.
After receiving the waters of numerous streams, many of which flow for
considerable distances parallel with its shores, and are united by a
network of channels, it is joined by its most considerable northern
tributary--the Rio Negro. This stream, rising in the mountains of
Venezuela, and passing amidst the Llanos, robbing the Orinoco of part of
its waters, has already, before it reaches the Amazon, flowed for a
course of one thousand five hundred miles. It is called the Negro from
its black colour. It is here not less than nineteen fathoms deep, and
three thousand six hundred paces broad. The next great affluent is the
Yapura, which, rising in the mountains of New Granada, takes a
south-easterly course for one thousand miles, its principal mouth
entering the Amazon opposite the town of Ega; but it has numberless
small channels, the streams of which, two hundred miles apart, flow into
the great river. The upper part of the Amazon is frequently called the
Solimoens, which name it retains as far south as the mouth of the River
Negro.
About sixty miles further east, its largest southern affluent--the
gigantic Madeira--unites its milky waters with the turbid stream of the
main river. One branch, the Beni, rises in the neighbourhood of the
ancient Cuzco in Peru, near Lake Titicaca, its whole extent from the
centre of the province of Bolivia being nearly the length of the Amazon
itself. At its mouth it is two miles wide and sixty-six feet deep; and
five hundred miles up it is a mile wide. Numerous islands are found in
its course: for nearly five hundred miles it is navigable for large
vessels, when a cataract intervenes. Were it not for this, there would
be a free navigation from the centre of the province of Bolivia to the
ocean, embracing islands the size of many of the Old World provinces,
and widening into broad lakes. The monarch of waters flows on between
its low forest-clothed banks till, four hundred miles from its mouth, it
reaches the Strait of Obydos, where it is narrowed to two thousand
paces. Through this channel its waters rush with immense force,
calculated at five hundred thousand cubic feet in one second--sufficient
to fill all the streams in Europe, and swell them to overflowing. No
plummet has hitherto sounded the depth of its bed at this point, the
force of the stream probably rendering the operation almost
impracticable.
Its last two great tributaries are the Tapajos, six times the length of
the Thames, and the Xingu, twice that of the Rhine; while further east a
narrow channel unites it with the River Para, into which flows the broad
stream of the Tocantins. This river, rising in the Minas-Geraes, six
hundred miles from Rio Janeiro, is one thousand six hundred miles long,
and ten miles wide at its mouth. Opposite to Para is the large island
of Marajo; and if Professor Agassiz is right in supposing that the
continent once extended much further to the east than it now does, this
island may properly be considered in the centre of the mouth of the
river, and the River Para might then properly be called one of its true
embouchures. But only a few of the streams which feed the Amazon have
been named. Numberless other rivers swell its waters, united to it by
countless channels which form a wonderful network throughout the whole
region, joining also many of the main rivers together, with the
intricate navigation of which the natives alone are acquainted.
These curious water-paths, or igarapes, as they are called, are often so
narrow that the branches of the lofty trees meet overhead, enabling the
traveller in his canoe to proceed for miles together sheltered from the
noonday sun. Here and there a glimpse of the sky can be discovered
through the umbrageous foliage overhead, while birds of gay plumage flit
to and fro, or sit perched on the branches uttering their strange and
varied cries. In the intervals, or sometimes forming the termination of
the water-path, numerous pools of various sizes exist--some a few yards
across, others expanding into lakes--filled mostly by the overflowing of
the main river during the rainy season. They are the habitations of a
great variety of fishes. Here several species of turtles and alligators
swarm in vast numbers; electric eels, too, abound in them, as well as
many of the other curious water-creatures of that region. Water-fowl
and various other aquatic birds dwell on their banks, while on the
surface of their placid waters float the wide-spreading leaves and
magnificent blossoms of the Victoria Regia, as also of other lilies and
water-plants.
SCENES ON THE AMAZON.
The chief feature of the Lower Amazon is the vast expanse of smooth
water, of a pale yellowish-olive colour, bearing on its bosom detached
masses of aquatic grass floating down like islands, sometimes mixed with
huge trees, their branches and roots interlocked, and often carrying
among them wild animals, which, unconscious of their character, have
there taken refuge from their foes, or have ventured thither in search
of prey. The timid stag and fierce jaguar are sometimes thus entrapped
and carried out to sea. At even and morn flocks of parrots and large
and yellow macaws, fly backwards and forwards, uttering their wild and
hoarse cries; herons and rails frequent the marshes on its banks; while
all night long the cries of gulls and terns are heard over the sandy
banks where they deposit their eggs, while they may be seen during the
day sitting in rows on floating logs gliding down the stream, motionless
and silent, as if contemplating the scenery. There are divers and
darters, too, in abundance. Now and then a huge manatee comes gliding
by, its cow-like head rising to breathe the upper air; while dolphins,
porpoise-like, rear their backs above the surface, or leap half out of
the water as they swim up the stream. On the low banks, huge alligators
with open jaws are basking in the sun, or leisurely swimming across the
river.
THE RAINY SEASON.
This magnificent region enjoys a perpetual summer, its various fruits
coming to maturity, according to their character, at different periods
throughout the year. It has, however, its wet and dry seasons. The
rain occurs at one time in the Upper Amazon, and at another in the
Lower,--greatly swelling the volume of water in the main stream, which,
unable to find its way towards the ocean, rushes through the countless
channels and igarapes, overflowing the lower portions of a vast district
called the Gapo. The waters begin to rise in February, and progress
inch by inch until the middle of June, gradually swelling the rivers and
lakes, when, these becoming filled, the lower lands and sand-banks are
overflowed even far-away in the interior. The forests are traversed by
numerous gullies, which in the dry season are wide dells, but now become
transformed into broad creeks, through which canoes can proceed to great
distances under the shade of the lofty trees.
At this period of the year the inland pools are frequented by swarms of
turtle, as well as alligators, and shoals of fish which leave the main
river; while the flocks of wading birds migrate northerly, thus greatly
dispersing the food on which the natives depend for their existence.
The fishermen who have been employed during the dry months in catching
turtle and fish on the sand-banks return to their villages, though some
employ themselves in collecting the Brazil-nut and wild cacao, which are
now ripe.
About the first week in June, the flood has risen sometimes to the
height of forty feet above the usual level of the river, when it now
begins to subside. The rains, however, do not fall continuously, though
very heavy at times. Several days of beautiful sunny weather generally
intervene. The fine season begins with a few days of brilliant
weather--the rays of the sun breaking forth among the passing clouds.
Towards the middle of July the sand-banks again appear, flocks of gulls
and other water birds fly by, and the gaily-plumaged inhabitants of the
forest come forth into full activity and life.
STORMS.
The navigation of the Amazon is not free from danger. Fierce storms
arise; black clouds gather over the blue expanse, suffused anon with a
lurid yellow tinge, and the fierce whirlwind howls along the
river-banks, tearing the placid stream into masses of foam; the tall
trees bend before the blast, and huge branches are wrenched off and
hurled into the water. The long-legged waders and other water birds,
unable to face it, throw themselves on the ground, and cling with claws
and beak to the sand to escape being carried helplessly away.
THE POROROCCA.
Sometimes, too, the destroying pororocca--a vast wave rising across the
whole width of the stream, to the height of twelve or fifteen feet--
sweeps up the stream. Advancing noiselessly over the deeper portions of
the river-bed, it rises into an angry billow, with a fearful roar when
passing over a shallow, or meeting any impediment in its course. A
French traveller describes an island where he and his companions had
rested on their voyage down the stream. They had happily gone over to
the mainland on the previous evening, when, as they stood on the shore,
the pororocca was heard approaching. Onward it came till the island was
reached, when, with an angry roar, it burst into masses of foam, and
swept over the devoted spot, carrying in its fierce embrace not only the
whole mass of vegetation, but overturning the foundations of the island
itself, so that in a few seconds not a vestige remained. Sometimes,
too, the higher banks of the Upper Amazon, crowned by lofty trees, are
worn away by the rapid current, increased during the rainy season,
continually passing beneath them, till the upper portions, deprived of
their support, fall over with a terrific roar into the stream, dragging
with them their neighbours. The earth trembles with the concussion, the
waters hiss and foam and rush furiously over the impediments in their
course. Sometimes miles of the bank thus give way, the sound being
heard far up and down the stream. Occasionally a canoe and its crew--
who, to avoid the current, have been toiling close along the bank--have
been thus overwhelmed; while others, descending, unaware of the
obstruction, have been dragged by the furious whirlpool thus formed amid
the tangled branches, and destroyed.
PART THREE, CHAPTER FOUR.
CHARACTER OF VEGETATION ON THE BANKS.
A dense vegetation, though somewhat varied in character, rises like a
lofty wall of verdure along the banks of the mighty stream, from the
base of the Andes to its mouth in the Atlantic. There, where the
influence of the sea-breeze is felt, the ever-present mangrove of the
tropics forms a thick belt round the shores of its numberless islands.
Higher up, various palms of many graceful forms appear, interspersed
with numberless other trees, some bearing huge pods a yard long, others
vast nuts and other curious fruits,--the banks below fringed either with
giant grasses and broad-leaved bananas, or here and there with the large
wide heart-shaped leaves of the aninga growing on the summit of tall
stems, or in other places with the murici of a lower growth close to the
water's edge. Among the most remarkable is the white-stemmed cecropia,
the lofty massaranduba, or cow-tree, often rising to the height of one
hundred and fifty feet; the seringa, or india-rubber tree, with its
smooth grey bark, tall erect trunk, and thick glossy leaves. The
assai-palm, with its slender stem, its graceful head and delicate green
plumes, is at first more numerous than any other. Now appears the
miriti, or mauritia--one of the most beautiful of its tribe, with
pendent clusters of glossy fruit, and enormous spreading fan-like leaves
cut into ribbons; the jupati, with plume-like leaves forty feet and
upwards in length, graceful in the extreme, starting almost from the
ground. Here is seen also the bussu, with stiff entire leaves, also of
great length, growing upright from a short stem, close together, and
serrated along their edges. Higher up still, while the palms become
less numerous, other trees take their places. Among them appears
conspicuous the majestic sumaumera, its flat dome rounded, but not
conical, towering high above the forest. The branches of this tree are
greatly ramified and knotty, and the bark is white. Conspicuous, too,
is the taxi, with brown buds and white flowers; while the margin of the
water is thickly fringed by a belt of arrow-grass, or _frexes_--so
called by the Portuguese--six feet in height. Its name is given in
consequence of being used by the Indians in making arrows for their
blowpipes.
Amid this wonderful mass of forest vegetation grows an intricate tracery
of lianas and climbing sipos, some running round and round the trees,
and holding them in a close embrace; others hanging from branch to
branch in rich festoons, covered with starlike flowers, or dropping in
long lines to the ground,--often to take root and shoot upwards again
round a neighbouring stem, or drooping like the loose cordage of a ship
swinging in the breeze. Often they form so dense and impenetrable a
thicket from the ground upwards that a way must be cleared with an axe
to proceed even a short distance from the banks towards the inner
recesses of the forest.
THE GAPO.
On the Gapo, or submerged lands, however, a considerable difference in
the vegetation appears. The palms are here often more numerous than in
other parts. This is the region where the cacao-tree and prickly
sarsaparilla grow. Here the underwood is less dense, the sipos retiring
to weave their tracery among the upper branches alone. Though during
the dry season the vegetation springs up with wonderful rapidity, it is
swept away by the next overflow.
Here the lovely orchis tribe adorn the gloomy shades with their
brilliant flowers. Among the most beautiful is the oncidium, of a
yellow hue, often seen--apparently suspended in air between the stems of
two trees--shining in the gloom, as if its petals were of gold. In
reality it grows at the end of a wire-like stalk a yard and a half long,
springing from a cluster of thick leaves on the bark of a tree; others
have white and spotted blossoms, growing sometimes on rotten logs
floating on the water, or on moss and decayed bark just above it. Still
more magnificent is the Flor de Santa Ana, of a brilliant purple colour,
emitting a most delicious odour.
Peculiar and strange is this region of the Gapo. When the waters are at
their height it can be traversed in all directions. The trees which
grow on it, and the animals which here have their abodes, appear to
differ from those of other districts.
Let us accompany the naturalist Wallace, in his canoe, through a
district of this description; now forcing our way under branches and
among dense bushes, till we get into a part where the trees are loftier
and a deep gloom prevails. Here the lowest branches of the trees are
level with the surface of the water, many of them putting forth flowers.
As we proceed we sometimes come to a grove of small palms, the leaves
being now only a few feet above us. Among them is the maraja, bearing
bunches of agreeable fruit, which, as we pass, the Indians cut off with
their long knives. Sometimes the rustling of leaves overhead tells us
that monkeys are near, and we soon see them peeping down from among the
thick foliage, and then bounding rapidly away. Presently we come out
into the sunshine, on a lake filled with lilies and beautiful
water-plants, little bladder-worts, and the bright blue flowers and
curious leaves with swollen stalks of the pontederias. Again we are in
the gloom of the forest, among the lofty cylindrical trunks rising like
columns out of the deep water; and now there is a splash of fruit
falling around us, announcing that birds are feeding overhead, and we
discover a flock of parrakeets, or bright blue chatterers, or the lovely
pompadour, with its delicate white wings and claret-coloured plumage.
Now, with a whir, a trogon on the wing seizes the fruit, or some clumsy
toucan makes the branches shake as he alights above our heads.
This region, as might be supposed, is not destitute of inhabitants.
Several tribes of Indians dwell within it all the year round. Among
them are the Purupurus and Muras tribes, who, spending most of their
time in their canoes, in the dry season build small huts on its sandy
shores; and when the waters overflow it, form rafts, which they secure
between the trees, sleeping in rude huts suspended from the stems over
the deep water, and lighting their fires on masses of mud placed on
their floating homes. They subsist entirely on fish, turtle, and
manatee.
Several species of trogons are peculiar to this submerged region. The
curious black umbrella-bird is entirely confined to it, as is also the
little bristle-tailed manakin. Several monkeys visit it during the wet
season, for the sake of its peculiar fruits; and here the scarlet-faced
urikari has its home.
For miles and miles together the native traverses this region in his
canoe, passing through small streams, lakes, and swamps, scraping the
tree trunks, and stooping to pass between the leaves of the prickly
palms, now level with the water--though raised on stems forty feet
high--while everywhere round him stretches out an illimitable waste of
waters, but all covered with the lofty virgin forest. In this trackless
maze, by slight indications of broken twigs or scraped bark, he finds
his way with unerring certainty.
"This curious region," says Wallace, "extends from a little above
Santarem to the confines of Peru, a distance of about 1700 miles; and
varies in width on each side of the river from one to ten or twenty
miles."
TRIP UP AN IGARAPE INTO THE INTERIOR.
Let us leave the mighty stream, and wander amidst the picturesque
windings of an igarape, into the depths of the forest, with Professor
Agassiz. Passing into its narrow entrance, the lofty trees arching
overhead shelter the voyager in his light canoe from the glaring heat of
the noonday sun. The air is cool and refreshing. Not a ripple stirs
the water, save that caused by the paddles of the Indian crew. Clumps
of the light and exquisitely graceful assai-palm shoot up everywhere on
either side from the denser forest. Here and there the drooping bamboo
dips its feathery branches into the water, covered sometimes to their
very tips with the purple of convolvuli; yellow bignonias carry their
golden clusters to the very summits of some of the more lofty trees;
while white-flowering myrtles and orange-coloured mallows border the
stream. Life abounds in this quiet retreat. Birds and butterflies are
numerous on the margin of the water. Crabs of every variety of colour
and size sit on the trunks of decaying logs, watching for their prey,--
to make their escape, however, with nimble feet, when pursued.
Or let us start before daylight, on a calm morning, along the banks of a
larger tributary, to proceed towards the heights of the Sierra Erere.
As dawn begins to redden the sky, large flocks of ducks and of a small
Amazonian goose may be seen flying towards the lake. Here and there we
see a cormorant, seated alone on the branch of a dead tree; or a
kingfisher poises himself over the water, watching for his prey.
Numerous gulls are gathered in large companies on the trees along the
river-shore. Alligators lie on its surface, diving with a sudden splash
at the approach of the canoe. Occasionally a porpoise emerges from the
water, showing himself for a moment, and then disappearing. Sometimes a
herd of capybaras, resting on the water's edge, are startled at our
approach.
There sits, on the branch of an imbauba, rolled-up in its peculiar
attitude, a sloth, the very picture of indolence, with its head sunk
between its arms. The banks, covered in many places with the beautiful
capim-grass, afford excellent pasturage for cattle.
Now we turn into an inner stream, or igarape, often having to make our
way with difficulty amid islands of capim-grass. Now we pass through a
magnificent forest of the beautiful fan-palm--the miriti--overshadowing
many smaller trees and innumerable shrubs, bearing light conspicuous
flowers. Among them are numerous Leguminosae--one of the most striking,
the fava, having a colossal pod.
The whole mass of vegetation is interwoven with innumerable creepers,
amid which the flowers of the bignonia, with their open trumpet-shaped
corollas, are conspicuous. The capim is bright with the blossoms of the
mallow growing in its midst, in some places edged with the broad-leaved
aninga--a large aquatic arum. Through these forests, where animal life
is no less rich and varied than the vegetation, our canoe glides
silently for hours.
The sedgy grasses on either side are full of water birds. One of the
most common is a small chestnut-brown wading bird--the jacana--whose
toes are immensely long in proportion to its size, enabling it to run
over the surface of the aquatic vegetation as if it were solid ground.
It is their breeding season--January. At every turn of the boat we
start them up--usually in pairs. Their flat, open nests generally
contain five flesh-coloured eggs, streaked in zig-zag with dark brown
lines. Among the other waders are a snow-white heron, another
ash-coloured, and a large white stork. The ash-coloured herons are
always in pairs--the white always singly, standing quiet and alone on
the edge of the water, or half hidden in the green capim. The trees and
bushes are full of small warbler-like birds. The most numerous and
interesting is one which builds a very extraordinary nest, considering
the size of the bird. It is known among the country people by the name
of _pedreiro_, or the _forneiro_--both names referring to the nature of
its habitation. This singular nest is built of clay, and is as hard as
stone--_pedra_; while it is the shape of the mandioca oven--_forno_--in
which the country people prepare their farina. It is about a foot in
diameter, and stands edgewise upon the branch or crotch of a tree.
Among the smaller birds are bright tanagers, and a species resembling
the canary. Humming-birds are scarce, though here and there a few
appear; while countless numbers of parrots and parrakeets fly overhead
in dense crowds, at times drowning every other sound with their noisy
clatter.
Birds of prey are not wanting. Among them is the red hawk, about the
size of a kite--and so tame, that even when a canoe passes under the
branch on which he is sitting, he does not fly away.
Among the most striking are the gallinaceous birds. The commonest is
the cigana, to be seen in groups of fifteen or twenty perched on trees
overhanging the water, and feeding upon berries. At night they roost in
pairs; but in the daytime are always in larger companies. In appearance
they have something of the character of both the pheasant and peacock,
and yet do not closely resemble either. With the exception of some
small partridge-like gallinaceous birds, the representatives of this
family in Brazil belong to types which do not exist in any other parts
of the world. Here the curassow, the jacu, the jacami, and the unicorn
resemble as much the bustard and other ostrich-like birds as the hen and
pheasant.
The most numerous insects to be met with are dragonflies; some with
crimson bodies, black heads, and burnished wings; others with large,
green bodies, crossed by blue bands.
THE CAMPOS.
Although the forests cover generally the whole length and breadth of the
Amazonian Valley, there are here and there, on the higher ground, open
dry plains with scanty vegetation,--the ground in the water-courses or
gullies, formed of clay, being baked by the heat of the sun into
slate-like masses. One of these spots we now reach. The most prominent
plants of this sandy or clayey region are clusters of cacti and curua
palms--a kind of stemless, low palm, with broad leaves springing,
vase-like, from the ground. Here also grow wild pineapples; and in
broad sunlight numerous humming-birds delight to sport and feed upon the
blossoms of the various plants which find no room to bloom in the darker
shades of the forest.
GEOLOGY OF THE AMAZONIAN VALLEY.
Professor Agassiz remarks that no formation--known to geologists--
resembling that of the Amazon exists on the face of the earth. Its
extent is stupendous. It stretches from the Atlantic shore through the
whole width of Brazil into Peru, to the very foot of the Andes--one vast
extent of red sandstone, capped by a yellow-ochred clay; not only along
the banks of the main river, but forming the sides of those of its
tributaries, to their far-off sources, probably over the whole basin of
the Paraguay and the Rio de la Plata. How are these vast deposits
formed? is the question. The easiest answer, he observes, and the one
which most readily suggests itself, is that of a submersion of the
continent at successive periods--to allow the accumulation of these
materials--and its subsequent elevation. This explanation is rejected,
for the simple reason that the deposits show no signs whatever of a
marine origin. No sea-shells, or remains of any marine animal, have as
yet been found throughout their whole extent--over a region several
thousands of miles in length, and from five to seven hundred miles in
width. It is evident, he considers, that this basin was a fresh-water
basin, these deposits fresh-water deposits. It is true that calcareous
layers thickly studded with shells have been found interspersed with the
clay; but though supposed to be marine fossils, he recognised them for
what they really are--fresh-water shells of the family of the Naiades.
As their resemblance is very remarkable, the mistake as to their true
zoological character is natural: indeed, many travellers have confounded
some fresh-water fishes from the Upper Amazon of the genus of
Pterophyllum with the marine genus Platax. He considers that the
immense glacier which probably existed at the same time that ice,
thousands of feet thick, covered the centre of Europe, must have been
formed in this valley, and then, ploughing its bottom over and over
again, and grinding all the materials beneath it into a fine powder,
must ultimately have forced its way through the colossal sea-wall which
it had built up eastward into the Atlantic.
A DAY AND NIGHT ON THE AMAZON, WITH THEIR SIGHTS AND SOUNDS.
Day is beginning to dawn, the birds are astir, the cicada have begun
their music; flocks of parrots and macaws, and other winged inhabitants
of the forest, pass by in numbers, seeking their morning repast;
beautiful long-tailed and gilded moths like butterflies fly over the
tree-tops. Rapid is the change from the dark night. The sky in the
east assumes suddenly the loveliest azure colour, across which streaks
of thin white clouds are painted. The varied forms of the numberless
trees, imperceptible during the gloom of night, now appear, the smaller
foliage contrasting with the large glossy leaves of the taller trees, or
the feathery, fan-shaped fronds of palms. For a time the fresh breeze
blows, but flags under the increasing power of the sun, and finally dies
away, the heat and electric tension of the atmosphere becoming almost
insupportable.
The heat increases as the day draws on. Languor and uneasiness seize on
every one;--even the denizens of the forest betray it by their motions.
By this time every voice of bird or mammal is hushed. Only in the trees
is heard at intervals the whir of the cicada. The leaves, so soft and
fresh in the early morn, now become lax and drooping. The flowers shut
their petals. The natives, returning to their huts, fall asleep in
their hammocks, or, seated on mats in the shade appear too languid even
to talk. White clouds now appear in the east, and gather into cumuli,
with an increasing blackness along their lower portions. The whole
eastern horizon becomes rapidly black, the dark hue spreading upwards.
Even the sun is at length obscured. Then the rush of a mighty wind is
heard through the forest swaying the tree-tops. A vivid flash of
lightning bursts forth, then a crash of thunder, and down streams the
deluging rain. The storm soon ceases, leaving the bluish-black
motionless clouds in the sky till night. Meantime all nature is
refreshed, but heaps of flower petals and leaves are seen under the
trees.
Towards evening life revives again. The noises of the forest animals
begin just as the sun sinks behind the trees, leaving the sky above of
the intensest shade of blue. The briefest possible twilight commences,
and the sounds of multifarious life come from every quarter. Troops of
howling monkeys, from their lofty habitations among the topmost
branches--some near, some at a distance--fill the echoing forest with
their dismal noise; flocks of parrots and blue macaws pass overhead, the
different kinds of cawing and screaming of the various species making a
terrible discord. Added to them are the calls of strange cicada--one
large kind perched high on the trees setting up a most piercing chirp.
It begins with the usual harsh jarring tone of its tribe, rapidly
becoming shriller, until it ends in a long and loud note resembling the
steam whistle of a locomotive engine. A few of these wonderful
performers make a considerable item in the evening concert. The uproar
of beasts, birds, and insects lasts but a short time; the sky quickly
loses its intense hue, and the night sets in. Then begin the
tree-frogs--Quack, quack! Drum, drum! Hoo, hoo! These, accompanied by
melancholy night-jars, keep up their monotonous cries till late at
night.
The night, however, is not given over to darkness. In every forest
path, across the calm waters of the igarapes, along open spaces, in the
village as well as in spots remote from man's abode, the whole air is
full of bright and glittering lights of varied hue; now darting here,
now there, like meteors flashing through the sky--now for a moment
obscured, to burst forth again with greater brilliancy. Beautiful as is
the English glow-worm, the fire-flies and fire-beetles, the elaters of
the tropics, far surpass them in brilliancy. Their light is redder and
more candle-like, and being alternately emitted and concealed, each of
the tiny vermilion flames performing its part in the aerial mazy dance,
the spectacle is singularly beautiful. In the marshy districts is seen
the large elater, which displays both red and green lights; the red
glare, like that of a lamp, alternately flashing on the beholder, then
concealed as the insect turns his body in flight, but the ruddy
reflection on the grass beneath being constantly visible as it leisurely
pursues its course. Now and then a green light is displayed, and then
the mingling of the two complementary colours, red and green, in the
evolutions of flight, surpasses description. Even the brilliant
elaters, however, will scarcely enable the traveller to find his way
amid the darkness through the forest.
Wallace describes a midnight walk he was compelled to take. He was
barefooted, every moment stepping on some projecting root or stone, or
treading sideways on something which almost dislocated his ankles. Dull
clouds could just be distinguished in the openings amid high-arched,
overhanging trees, but the pathway was invisible. Jaguars, he knew,
abounded, deadly serpents were plentiful, and at every step he almost
expected to feel a cold gliding body under his feet, or deadly fangs in
his leg. Gazing through the darkness, he dreaded momentarily to
encounter the glaring eyes of the jaguar, or to hear his low growl in
the thicket. To turn back or stop were alike useless. Unpleasant
recollections of the fangs of a huge dried snake's head he had just
before examined, would come across his memory; and many a tale of the
fierceness and cunning of the jaguar would not be forgotten. Suddenly
he found his feet in water, and then he had to grope for a narrow bridge
it was necessary to cross. Of its height above the water, or the depth
of the stream, he was utterly ignorant. To walk along a plank four
inches wide, under such circumstances, was a nervous matter. He
proceeded, however, placing one foot before the other, and balancing
steadily his body, till he again felt himself on firm ground. Once or
twice he lost his balance, but happily he was only a foot or two from
the ground and water below--though, had it been twenty it would have
been all the same. Half-a-dozen such brooks and bridges had to be
passed, till at length, emerging from the pitchy shade upon an open
space, he saw two twinkling lights, which told him that the village was
ahead.
But we were describing a tropical day. Night is over. The sun rising
again in the cloudless sky, the cycle is completed--spring, summer, and
autumn, as it were, in one tropical day. The days are more or less like
this throughout the year. A little difference exists, between the dry
and wet seasons. The periodical phenomena of plants and animals do not
take place at about the same time in all the species, or in the
individuals of any given species, as they do in temperate countries.
The dry season here is not excessive, nor is there any estivation, as in
some tropical countries. In these forests the aspect is the same or
nearly so every day in the year--budding, flowering, fruiting, and
leaf-shedding, are always going on in one species or other. The
activity of birds and insects proceeds without interruption, each
species having its own breeding-times. The colonies of wasps, for
instance, do not die off annually, leaving only the queens, as in cold
climates, but the succession of generations and colonies goes on
incessantly. It is never either spring, summer, or autumn, but each day
is a combination of the three. With the day and night always of equal
length, the atmospheric disturbances of each day neutralise themselves
before each succeeding morning. With the sun in its course proceeding
midway across the sky, and the daily temperature the same within two or
three degrees throughout the year, how grand in its perfect equilibrium
and simplicity is the march of nature under the equator!
"Oppressive, almost fearful, is the silence and gloom of the Brazilian
forest," says Bates. "The few sounds of birds are of that pensive or
mysterious character which intensifies the feeling of solitude, rather
than imparts a sense of life and cheerfulness. Sometimes, in the midst
of the stillness, a sudden yell or scream will startle one. This comes
from some defenceless fruit-eating animal, which is pounced upon by a
tiger-cat or stealthy boa-constrictor. Morning and evening howling
monkeys make a most fearful and harrowing noise, under which it is
difficult to keep up one's buoyancy of spirit. The feeling of
inhospitable wildness which the forest is calculated to inspire, is
increased tenfold under this fearful uproar. Often, even in the still
hours of mid-day, there is a sudden crash, resounding afar through the
wilderness, as some great bough or entire tree falls to the ground.
Sometimes a sound is heard like the clang of an iron bar against a hard
hollow tree, or a piercing cry rends the air. These are not repeated,
and the succeeding silence tends to heighten the unpleasant impression
which they make on the mind. The natives believe it is the curupira--
the wild man of the forest--who produces all the noises they are unable
to explain. He is a mysterious being,--sometimes described as a kind of
orang-outang, covered with long shaggy hair, and living in trees; at
others, he is said to have cloven feet and a bright red face. He has a
wife and children, who, as well as himself, come down to the plantations
to steal the mandioca."
Such is a faint outline of some of the more prominent features of the
great Amazonian Valley--the most interesting portion of the southern
half of the New World. No verbal descriptions can do justice to the
reality--although drawn, as some of the above are, by master hands. We
will next range along the mighty Cordilleras to the ancient kingdom of
the Incas, looking down on the Pacific shores; and then, again
descending from the mountain heights, take a brief glance at the debased
human beings who people the valley, and pass in review the more
interesting of the countless wild creatures which inhabit its forests
and waters. Afterwards we will traverse Venezuela, Guiana, the rest of
the Brazils, and the wide-spreading level regions to the south of that
vast country, the river-bound province of Paraguay, the territories of
the Argentine Republic, the wild district of the Gran Chaco, the
far-famed Pampas, and the plains of Patagonia.
PART THREE, CHAPTER FIVE.
THE CORDILLERAS.
The voyager sailing from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean passes a
dark granite headland rising nearly three thousand feet out of the
water, and which may be distinctly seen at a distance of sixty miles.
It is Cape Horn--the southern end, broken off by the Strait of Magellan,
of that range of mighty mountains which runs in a northerly course along
the western coast of South America, rising into lofty pinnacles--the
summits of many covered with perpetual snow--sinking at length only at
the northern extremity, where the narrow Isthmus of Panama unites the
two continents. Again it gradually rises in Mexico, and runs on under
the name of the Rocky Mountains, at a less elevation and a greater
distance from the sea, till it sinks once more into the snow-covered
plains of the Arctic region. We must, however, confine ourselves to the
South American portion of the range. For the entire distance its
summits are distinctly seen from the ocean, many at a distance of
upwards of a hundred miles. Between their base and the shores of the
Pacific there is, however, a level tract, in some parts consisting of
arid plains, from fifteen to fifty miles in width. In crossing them the
traveller finds not a drop of water to quench his raging thirst, nor a
blade of grass to feed his weary steed. Among the rocky caverns of
those mountain heights the savage bear has its abode, the mighty condor
takes its flight from their rugged peaks into the blue ether, and the
cold-looking llama, the vicuna, and alpaca find ample pasturage. In the
lower, the fierce jaguar ranges amidst its forests of graceful
palm-trees, the terrible alligator dwells on the banks of its streams,
and the anaconda watches for its prey; while bananas, yams, mandioc, and
all the fruits of a tropical clime, attain perfection. This mighty
range, however, does not run its length in one distinct line, but
separates; in some parts with deep valleys between them, like that of
the Puncu of Avisca, while at others there are vast table-lands; again,
however, to unite and spread out into numerous rugged sierras.
The western portion of these ranges is properly the Cordilleras; while
the eastern, which slopes towards the wide-extending plains of Brazil,
forms the true Andes. The southern portion skirts the bleak shores of
Patagonia in a single sierra, for a distance of nearly one thousand
miles, in some parts rising to the height of seven thousand feet above
the ocean. Entering Chili, the mountains rise higher and higher, till
they culminate in the mighty peak of Aconcagua, the most lofty height of
the whole range.
At the boundary-line of Bolivia the chain separates into two portions,
enclosing the great table-land of Desuguadero, thirteen thousand feet
above the sea. At one end of this lofty region is the city of Potosi,
rising above the clouds--the highest in the world, erected amid the
groans and tears of the hapless natives compelled to labour at its
far-famed silver-mines. At the other is found Cuzco, the ancient
capital of the Incas. Between them lies the Lake of Titicaca, the
centre of bygone Peruvian civilisation.
Running still parallel with the coast, and looking down upon the modern
city of Lima, the range passes through Peru till it again divides in
three portions at the confines of the equator, where it once more forms
two lines, which rise in that magnificent congregation of mountains
which surround the famous Valley of Quito. Here no less than twenty-one
volcanoes rear their lofty summits, many of them crowned with perpetual
snow, amid which Chimborazo and Cotopaxi are pre-eminent.
To the north of the equator, the Cordilleras again form one vast ridge,
and passing through New Granada, spread out like the branches of a palm
through Venezuela and along the northern shores of the continent washed
by the Caribbean Sea.
The whole of this vast range, from Cape Horn to Panama, gives evidence
of the hidden fires which glow beneath its base, and by which it was
originally created. Fifty-one volcanoes are found along the line. Of
the twenty which surround the Valley of Quito, three are active, five
dormant, and twelve are supposed to be extinct. By far the larger
number rise out of the eastern range; indeed, the western contains only
one active volcano, but out of it tower the peerless Chimborazo, and
Pichincha with its deep crater. The whole region is subject to terrific
earthquakes, which have from time to time shaken down its cities, caused
huge waves to flow over the level land, and destroyed countless
thousands of its inhabitants. Chimborazo was long supposed to be the
most lofty mountain on the globe. It is 21,420 feet high; but Aconcagua
in Chili rises to the height of 23,200 feet. Several of the summits of
the Himalayan range in Asia are over 25,000 feet; and Kilima Njaro, the
most lofty peak in Africa, is about the same altitude as Chimborazo.
Chimborazo, for solitary grandeur--and from the excessive steepness of
its sides, which has prevented the foot of man from reaching its
summit--stands, however, unrivalled.
From the lofty heights over which we have thus rapidly passed,
numberless streams take their rise, rushing and foaming down their steep
sides to feed those mighty rivers which, flowing across the continent,
seek an outlet in the far-distant Atlantic. On the western side,
comparatively few and insignificant rivers cross the narrow plains into
the Pacific. Thus the inhabitants of the tropical portions have to
depend on artificial irrigation for the cultivation of the land.
What mighty force must have been required to raise those mountains to
their present elevation,--and how fearful must be the fires which still
rage beneath their bases! Gigantic, however, as they seem to human
eyes, the most lofty could be represented on a globe six feet in
diameter by a grain of sand, less than one-twentieth of an inch in
thickness. How insignificant then must the proudest works of man
appear--what a mere speck himself--to One who looks down from on high on
this earth of ours!
On examining their sides in various parts, proof is afforded that these
vast mountains have been heaved upwards from beneath the ocean. Shells
are found 1300 feet above the sea, covered with marine mud. On a beach
elevated 2500 feet above the Pacific, numerous species of patella and
other shells can be picked up, identical with those obtained on the
coast with the living animal inhabiting them. At Huanuco, in Peru,
there is a coal-bed existing at the height of 14,700 feet. Shells have
also been found at the height of 13,000 feet; and on the side of
Chimborazo there is a salt spring 13,000 feet above the ocean.
The surface of the great lake of Titicaca--the largest piece of
fresh-water in South America--is 12,795 feet above the Pacific; an
elevation greater than that of the highest peaks of the Pyrenees. In
the neighbourhood of this lake, remains exist which speak of the
advanced state of civilisation of the inhabitants before the appearance
of the Incas, with whose latter history alone we are acquainted. So
completely is the lake surrounded by mountains, that, though fed by
numerous streams, not the smallest rivulet escapes to find its way
either into the Pacific or Atlantic. One large river, however, the
Desaguadero, flows out of its south-west corner, and disappears in the
swampy Lake Aullagas in the south of Bolivia. Its superabundant water
must, therefore, be taken off by evaporation, excessive in that elevated
region. High above it, amid chilling mists and biting storms of driving
snow, are found the silver-mines of Potosi and Pasco.
However, before we wander further amid the giddy precipices and
snow-capped summits of this mighty range of mountains, we will descend
for a time to the lower world, and glance round its southern extremity
and along its western shores, bathed by the waters of the
wide-stretching Pacific.
PART THREE, CHAPTER SIX.
SOUTHERN AND WESTERN SHORES OF THE CONTINENT.
Tierra Del Fuego appears as if a mountain region had been partly
submerged in the ocean, so that deep inlets and bays occupy the place
where valleys would have existed had its base still been above the sea.
The greater portion of the mountainsides are covered, from the water's
edge upwards to the elevation of 1500 feet, by one wide-extending forest
of evergreen beeches. Scarcely a level spot is to be found throughout
the whole country; and so dense is the wood, and encumbered by the
trunks of fallen trees and waterfalls, that it is scarcely possible to
penetrate it. Here and there on the western side, and in the Strait of
Magellan, the forest disappears, and magnificent glaciers extend down to
the very water's edge. The mountains on the north side rise to the
height of 4000 feet, with one peak above 6000 feet high, covered with a
mantle of perpetual snow; while numerous cascades pour their waters
through the woods into the narrow channel below. It is scarcely
possible to imagine anything more beautiful than the beryl-like blue of
these glaciers, especially contrasted with the dead white of the upper
expanse of snow.
The inhabitants of this region are among the lowest in the scale of
human beings, living in wretched hovels, composed often merely of boughs
and leaves, their only clothing scanty pieces of skin, worn on one side,
to defend themselves from the icy winds.
These evergreen forests, consisting of only two or three species of
trees, with several Alpine plants growing on the heights above them,
continue round the coast for six hundred miles or more northward of Cape
Horn, till, in the more northern and warmer latitudes, they give place
to semi-tropical vegetation. Now stately trees of various kinds appear,
with smooth and highly-coloured bark, loaded with parasitical plants;
while large and elegant ferns, and numerous and arborescent grasses,
entwine the trees into one entangled mass. Palm-trees appear in
latitude 37 degrees; and an arborescent grass, very like the bamboo,
three degrees further north.
In many places the ocean washes the base of the Andes, or huge spurs
project from the mountains; and in others a narrow belt alone is left
between them and the water. The whole of Chili, indeed, consists of a
narrow strip of land between the Cordilleras and the Pacific; while this
strip is often traversed by several mountain lines, which in some parts
run parallel to the great range. Extending to the south, between these
outer lines and the main Cordilleras, we find a succession of level
basins, generally blending into each other by narrow passages.
In the neighbourhood of Valparaiso, above which Aconcagua (23,000 feet
in height) looks down on the Pampas on one side and the blue Pacific on
the other, is the beautiful valley of Guillota, thoroughly irrigated and
brought under cultivation. It has, during the whole summer, the hot sun
striking down from a cloudless sky. It is only in these parts where the
nature of the streams affords means of irrigation that vegetation can
exist.
Further north, the western shore is in many parts very arid; and about
latitude 20 degrees south the burning desert commences, extending 540
leagues--almost to the Gulf of Guayaquil--and varying in width from
three to twenty leagues. Over this region of death, heaps of stone or
mounds of sand are alone seen, except where, at wide intervals, some
mountain stream, fed by the melting snows of the lofty peaks, finds its
way into the ocean. It is only in the neighbourhood of these rivers
that man can venture to take up his abode. On the banks of most of them
have been built the few cities which exist near the sea in Peru. For
some miles the traveller finds not a drop of water, no trace of
vegetation. His weary horse sinks, overcome with the pangs of thirst
and the fatigue of dragging its limbs through the soft sand. Through
this region the mule can alone be trusted, as, like the camel of the
Eastern desert, it will longer endure fatigue and want of water. Here,
as in the deserts of Africa, violent winds stir up the sand, forming
vast columns, as terrible in their effects as the flames of the prairie.
Rising to a hundred feet in height, they are seen approaching, whirling
through the air, till the unhappy traveller finds himself surrounded by
an overwhelming mass, and, unable to breathe, sinks exhausted on the
ground. Flight alone can save him. Many have here perished. On
several occasions, troops attempting to cross the desert have been
overwhelmed. Others have lost their way when traversing the sandy
plains, and have wandered about, in vain seeking for water to quench
their burning thirst. On one side is the salt ocean, on the other the
rocky precipices of the mountains. Wandering on for hours and hours, at
length, exhausted, they have abandoned themselves to despair. These
sand-storms occur more especially during the heats of summer, so
completely altering the appearance of the country, by covering it with
large hillocks, that the most experienced guides find it at times
impossible to discover their way; and perhaps, when searching for it,
another storm arises, and once more spreads the mounds over the level
plain.
In some places the whole soil is covered with a thick crust of salt,
white and hard, giving the country the appearance of being covered with
snow. For months and months together, in many parts not a drop of rain
falls. At length a shower descends, and, as if by magic, the grass
springs up in spots where not a blade was before visible; and for a
short time the whole country puts on a green mantle, soon, however, to
be withered up by the burning heat.
Northward of this desert region, the land on the shores of the Gulf of
Guayaquil and its neighbourhood is covered with the richest vegetation,
supported by the numerous streams which descend from the Andes of Quito
and Columbia.
PART THREE, CHAPTER SEVEN.
THE INDIANS OF THE CORDILLERAS.
Leaving the burning sand-coast, we will ascend once more the steep sides
of the Cordilleras to those fertile tracts found at an elevation of many
thousand feet above the ocean; but, before describing the brute creation
and the vegetable products of this interesting region, we should
properly take a glance at the human beings inhabiting it.
When, in 1524, the Spaniards first reached the western coast of South
America, of which they were soon to become the conquerors, they found a
people greatly advanced in civilisation. They consisted of two distinct
races; the one, known as the Incas, showing a decided superiority in
intellectual power over the other. Whence they came is unknown; but a
tradition existed, that two persons--husband and wife--had appeared some
four hundred years before that period in the neighbourhood of Lake
Titicaca, announcing themselves as the Children of the Sun. The
husband, Manco Capac, taught the men the arts of agriculture; and his
wife, Mama Oello (_mama_, meaning mother), initiating her own sex in the
mysteries of weaving and spinning. The wise policy which regulated the
conduct of the first Incas (kings, or lords), was followed by their
successors, and under their mild sceptre a community gradually extended
itself along the surface of the broad table-land, which asserted its
superiority over the surrounding tribes.
Fine cities sprang up in different parts of their kingdom, connected by
well-formed roads, suited to the nature of the country. Their capital
was Cuzco, at some distance to the north of the lake, in latitude 14
degrees south; while the city next in importance to it was Quito, in a
rich valley, beneath the equator. These cities were connected by two
roads; one passing over the grand plateau, and the other along lowlands
at the borders of the ocean. The first was conducted over
mountain-ridges, frequently buried in snow; galleries were cut through
the living rock; rivers crossed by suspension-bridges; precipices scaled
by stairways; and deep ravines were filled up with solid masonry.
This road was upwards of fifteen hundred miles long; and stone pillars,
to serve the purpose of mile-stones, were erected at intervals of about
a league along the route. Its breadth was about twenty feet. In some
places it was covered with heavy flagstones; and in others, with a
bituminous cement, which time has rendered harder than the stone itself.
Where the ravines had been filled with solid masonry, the mountain
torrents have eaten a way beneath it, leaving the superincumbent mass
still spanning the valley like an arch. The suspension-bridges--instead
of which wretchedly inferior ones of wood are now used--were composed of
the tough fibres of the maguey; a species of osier, possessing an
extraordinary degree of tenacity and strength. The fibres were woven
into cables of the thickness of a man's body, which were then stretched
across the water, and conducted through rings or holes cut in immense
buttresses of stone raised on the opposite banks of the river, and there
secured to heavy pieces of timber. Several of these enormous cables
bound together, side by side, formed a bridge--which, covered with
planks well secured, and defended on each side by a railing of the same
material, afforded a safe passage for the traveller. The length of this
aerial bridge, sometimes exceeding 200 feet, caused it--confined as it
was only at the extremities--to dip, with an alarming inclination
towards the centre; while the motion given it by the passenger created
an oscillation frightful to one whose eye glanced down into the dark
abyss of waters, that foamed and tumbled many a fathom beneath.
Over these roads a system of communication throughout the country was
kept up by running postmen, called chasquis. Along the roads small
buildings were erected, within five miles of each other, at which a
number of chasquis were stationed. They were trained to the employment,
and selected for their speed and fidelity. As the distance each had to
perform was small, he ran over the ground with great swiftness, and
messages were carried along all the routes at the rate of a hundred and
fifty miles a day. The chasquis not only carried despatches, but
brought fish from the distant ocean, and fruits, game, and other
commodities, from the warm regions on the coast.
It is not our province to describe the gorgeous temples, palaces, and
convents, in which the Virgins of the Sun resided, and the numerous
other public buildings, extensive remains of which still exist scattered
throughout the region. The glory of the Incas has departed. But few of
their descendants remain, and their blood has generally mingled with
that of their conquerors.
THE NATIVE INDIANS.
The tribes over whom they ruled are still to be found, though in
diminished numbers, and debased by the cruel system of oppression under
which they long groaned. The native inhabitants of the central region
of the Andes are known as the Quichuas, and their chief characteristics
are common to the greater number of the tribes along the whole extent of
the range. Though the languages of the different tribes vary, they are
probably derived from the same source. The head of the Quichua is an
oblong longitudinal, somewhat compressed at the sides. He has a low and
very slightly arched forehead; a prominent, long, aquiline nose, with
large nostrils. The mouth is large, and the teeth very fine, while the
lips are not thick; the chin is short, but not receding; cheek-bones not
prominent, eyes horizontal and never large, eyebrows long, the hair
jet-black--and, though thick, straight and coarse, yet soft. He has
little or no beard. In stature they seldom reach five feet. The chest
is long, broad, deep, and highly arched. The hands and feet are small.
The colour is between olive, brown, and bronze,--somewhat like that of
the mulatto. Though their chests are broad, and their shoulders square,
their arms are weak--their chief strength existing in their backs and
legs. Mild, generous, and submissive, they have existed when a fiercer
race would have been exterminated; but, on several occasions, they have
shown that they can be goaded into revolt. About the year 1770, under
Tupac Amaru, they broke into rebellion, when, had they possessed better
arms and more discipline, they might, with the courage they exhibited,
have driven the Spaniards from the country. The rebellion was put down
with the atrocious cruelties to which the Spaniards have invariably
subjected this unhappy race.
On the eastern slopes of the Andes are found savage tribes, wearing few
or no clothes, painting their skins, and ornamenting themselves with the
coloured feathers of birds. Towards the southern end of Chili, the
fierce Araucanians inhabit the mountains. Beyond them are the
large-limbed Patagonians, clothed in skins; and at the extreme end, the
wretched Fuegans, living in nearly a state of nature, on seals and fish.
The race supposed to have been the most civilised before the time of the
Incas were the Aymaras, whose descendants still inhabit the shores of
Lake Titicaca. Their language differs from the Quichua, though
evidently a sister-tongue.
This expanse of water, already mentioned, is about eighty miles long and
forty broad. Numerous rivers flow into it; in some places it is very
deep, but in others so shallow that there is only just room to force the
balsas through the rushes. It abounds in fish of peculiar form, and in
aquatic birds. Several islands rise above its surface. That of
Titicaca, from which it takes its name, is most celebrated.
During one of the several occasions when the Indians rose against their
taskmasters to free themselves from the mita--a system which compelled
one-seventh part of the male population to labour in the mines--the
lake, for a long time, afforded them a place of refuge. In some places
along the shores, beds of rushes exist nine leagues long and one broad.
In the midst of them there is an island, to which lanes were cut through
the tangled mass. This watery labyrinth was navigated by the Indians in
their balsas; and, secure in their retreat, they contrived to make
inroads on the Spanish towns in the neighbourhood for a length of time.
(These balsas are composed of reeds, tightly fastened together on the
sides, in the form of boats, and are propelled both by sails and
paddles.) Several of the Indian chiefs were at length captured and
executed. This, however, only exasperated the rebels, who, under an
enterprising leader, attacked the bridge over the Desaguadero, and
carried off the heads of their chiefs, which had been stuck on poles
above it. The Spanish troops sent against them waded to some islets,
but the Indians, hovering round them in their balsas, prevented them
from advancing further. At length the Spaniards embarked in twenty
balsas, and came in sight of the native squadron. The Indians, however,
going in and out among the lanes and rushes, baffled their oppressors,
cutting off several Spanish balsas. A party of cavalry also, advancing
into the swampy ground, was suddenly surrounded and cut to pieces, with
a loss to the Indians of only three men.
These outbreaks, and the far more important rebellion under Tupac Amaru,
show that Spanish tyranny had not entirely succeeded in crushing the
spirit of the Indians. During the civil wars which for so long
devastated the Spanish provinces of South America, the Indians fought
with a courage fully equal to that of the whites.
THE PUNA.
An elevated region called by the Quichuas the Puna, or "the
uninhabited," must be described. A scanty vegetation covers these vast
plains. Man can with difficulty breathe on them, or produce the means
of existence. Barley, though cultivated, seldom ripens; the chief plant
which grows to maturity being the _maca_, which has tuberous roots, and
is used like the potato. In consequence of the diminished pressure of
the air, water begins to boil at so low a temperature that neither meat,
potatoes, nor eggs, can be sufficiently cooked. From the same cause,
those unaccustomed to the rarefied air are afflicted with an attack
called the _vela_--consisting of headache, nausea, and producing even
spitting of blood, and other disorders of the mucous membrane. Horses
suffer in the same way; and cats are so affected that they die in
violent convulsions. There is another complaint, called the _chanu_,
affecting the skin of the hands and face, as well as the eyelids; when,
the skin breaking, blood flows from every opening. The _surumpe_, by
which travellers are affected--the inflammation of the eyes caused by
the reflection from the snow--is still more painful. Often the agony
which even an Indian suffers from it is so great, that he has been known
to sit down and utter cries of anguish; while, occasionally, total
blindness has been the ultimate consequence.
But it is time that we should turn to the brute creation existing in
these regions, noticing the interesting specimens of the vegetable
kingdom as we proceed in our survey. As the camel is the characteristic
animal of the sandy deserts of Arabia and Africa, the royal tiger of the
jungles of Bengal, and the kangaroo of the wide-extending plains of
Australia, so the llama brings to our recollection the lofty plateaus of
the Andes, and the mighty condor its still higher peaks.
PART THREE, CHAPTER EIGHT.
THE WILD ANIMALS OF THE CORDILLERAS.
THE LLAMA.
It is on the above-mentioned bleak table-land that the llama, with its
kindred--the alpaca, vicuna, and huanucu--are found. The historian of
the conquest calls them the sheep of Peru, but the llama is more allied
in its characteristics to the camel of the desert. In outward form,
except that it has no hump on its back; in the structure and cellular
apparatus of the stomach, which enable it to abstain for a long time
from water; in the expression of its large full eye; in the mobility and
division of the upper lip; in its fissured nostrils; in the nature of
its teeth; and in its long woolly clothing and slender neck,--the llama
has a strong resemblance to the camel of the deserts of Arabia. While
the camel's feet, however, are formed for passing over the burning sands
or level ground, and are therefore broad and cushioned, those of the
llama, to enable it to climb the rugged crags of the Cordilleras, are
slender, elastic, and claw-tipped. The llama has indeed been rightly
called the camel of the mountains, and was employed by the ancient
Peruvians--as it is at present--as a beast of burden. The load laid
upon its back rests securely upon a bed of wool, without the aid of
girth or saddle. It cannot carry more than from eighty to one hundred
pounds. If overladen it will lie down, and nothing will induce it to
rise till it has been relieved of its burden.
The llamas move in troops of five hundred or even one thousand, and
thus, though each individual carries but a little, the aggregate is
considerable. The whole caravan travels at a regular pace--passing the
night in the open air without suffering from the cold--marching in
perfect order, and in obedience to the conductor. Thus they proceed
over rugged passes from twelve to fifteen miles a day. They were
especially employed in bearing the produce of the mines of Potosi to the
coast, often in places where the hoof of the mule could find no support.
It was estimated, after the conquest, that 300,000 were thus employed.
As they never feed after sunset, it is necessary, when journeying, to
allow them to graze for several hours during the day. They utter a
peculiar low sound, which at a distance resembles, when the herd is
large, the tone of numerous Aeolian harps. On seeing any strange object
which excites their fears, they immediately scatter in every direction,
and are with difficulty reunited. The Indians treat them kindly,
ornamenting their ears with ribbons, and hanging little bells about
their necks. When any of them, over-fatigued, fall to the ground, their
conductors endeavour by every gentle means to induce them to proceed.
In spite, however, of the kind treatment they receive, numbers, from the
heat of the coast region, which they cannot stand, annually perish.
When offended, the llama shows its anger by turning its head at its
driver, and discharging a saliva with a bad odour in his face. It is
about the size of the stag. It carries its long neck upright,
constantly moving its long ears. The animals vary in colour. Some are
of a light brown, the under part being whitish; others dappled; but they
are seldom found quite white or black. In consequence of the
introduction of the mule and horse into the country, which have
superseded them in many places as beasts of burden, their price seldom
exceeds three or four dollars. The flesh of the llama is eaten; and as
many as 4,000,000 were, in days gone by, annually killed for food.
THE ALPACA.
The alpaca is smaller than the llama, and somewhat resembles the sheep.
It has a long, soft, fine fleece of a silky lustre. In the domestic
breeds the wool falls in large flakes reaching down to the knees. This
wool was employed by the ancient Peruvians for weaving a kind of cloth.
It approximates in character to silk, and a large quantity is now
exported to Europe for the manufacture of shawls and other delicate
fabrics. Immense herds of the llama or alpaca were held by the Peruvian
government, and placed under the protection of herdsmen, who conducted
them from one quarter of the country to another, according to the
season. They were exclusively the property of the Incas; as were the
vicunas, which roam in native freedom over the frozen ranges of the
Cordilleras.
THE HUANUCU.
The huanucu is considerably larger than the llama, which it so much
resembles, that it was formerly considered to be the same animal in a
wild state. The body is brown, with the under parts white; the face is
of a blackish-grey, approaching to white about the lips. The fleece is
shorter and not so fine as that of the llama. The huanucus are very
shy, and only when caught young can they be tamed--and even then they
can rarely be induced to carry burdens. They generally live in small
troops of from five to seven. Not unfrequently they may be seen scaling
the snow-covered peaks to a height which no other living thing save the
condor can reach. They find sustenance in the _ychu_, a species of
grass which grows all along the great ridge of the Cordilleras, from the
equator to the southern limits of Patagonia.
THE VICUNA.
The vicunas are very beautiful and graceful creatures, with the habits
of antelopes. They have long, slender necks, and rich fawn-coloured
coats, with patches of white across the shoulders and inside the legs.
The wool is shorter and more curly than that of the three other species,
and, from its extreme fineness, is of much greater value.
During the dry season, when the grass of the plains has withered, they
descend to the swampy ground below. One male is followed by a dozen or
more females, over whom he watches with the most faithful care. Should
he apprehend danger, he utters a loud, shrill cry of alarm, and rapidly
advances. The herd then collecting, moves forward slowly; but
immediately they discover the approach of an enemy they wheel round and
fly--at first at a slow pace, frequently looking round, and then away
they dart, fleet as the wind, the male covering their retreat. Should
their protector be wounded, the females return and keep circling round
him, uttering piercing notes of sorrow, and remain to be shot rather
than desert their companion.
Although it is only when enraged that the llamas and huanucus spit upon
those near them, the vicunas and alpacas invariably eject saliva and
undigested food--which has a peculiarly disagreeable smell--upon all who
approach them.
Vicunas in vast numbers are found ranging over the more remote and lofty
regions of the Puna, where they are able to find a safe retreat from the
attacks of man. They have, however, a very formidable enemy in the
ravenous condor, who frequently robs them of their young.
These two wild species the Peruvian peasants were never allowed to hunt,
they being as much the property of the government as if enclosed within
a park. Only on stated occasions, once a year, great hunts took place
under the superintendence of the Inca, or his principal officers. They
were never repeated in the same quarter oftener than once in four years,
that time might be allowed for the waste occasioned by them to be
replenished. At the time appointed the whole surrounding population--
sometimes, it is said, amounting to nearly ten thousand men--formed a
circle round the area which was to be hunted over. Armed with spears,
they gradually closed in, destroying the beasts of prey, and driving the
huanucus, vicunas, and deer towards the centre, where the male deer and
the huanucus were slaughtered. Their skins were reserved for various
useful manufactures; and their flesh, cut into thin slices, was
distributed among the people, who converted it into chasqui, or dried
meat (constituting then, as it does now, the principal animal food of
the lower classes of Peru).
The vicunas are hunted at the present day. A member from each family of
the Puna villages joins the hunting party, forming altogether a band of
about one hundred persons. They carry poles with cordage. The poles
are placed in the ground, and united by ropes at about the height of two
feet, forming a circle of half a league in circumference, enclosing a
space called the _chasqu_. Coloured pieces of rag are attached to the
ropes, which are moved about by the wind. Some of the hunters are on
horseback, others on foot. Each man is armed with the well-known bolas;
which consists of three balls of lead, two of which are heavy and one
lighter, attached to a long leathern thong knotted together at one
extremity. The hunter takes the lighter ball in his hand, and swings
the other two in a wide circle over his head. When at a distance of
fifteen or twenty paces from the animal, the lighter is let loose, when
the three fly in circles towards it, encompassing it in their snake-like
folds. Thus prepared, the hunters disperse, forming a circle several
miles in circumference, driving all the vicunas before them towards the
entrance of the circle. As soon as the animals have entered, it is
closed. The vicunas, afraid to spring over the ropes with the coloured
rags fluttering in their faces, are attacked by the hunters with their
bolas, the hind-legs being generally aimed at. The huanucus, which are
much wilder, invariably leap the barriers and escape, when frequently
the vicunas follow their example. As soon as the animals within the
_chasqu_ are killed, it is carried off and again erected at a distance
of twelve or more miles, when the same operation is gone through. Thus
from one hundred to three hundred animals are killed during the chase,
which generally lasts for a week.
Notwithstanding the opposition from the Peruvian government, a large
herd of alpacas were, some years ago, successfully carried to the coast
and shipped off to Australia, where, in a high and dry district, they
appear to be flourishing.
THE CONDOR.
The traveller standing on the rocky heights of the Cordilleras, at an
elevation which Etna does not surpass, though still with many a
snow-capped mountain round him, may see, on one of the dizzy pinnacles
amid which he stands, a vast bird. It is the condor, the largest of the
vulture tribe; the monarch of the birds of that region. He may know it
by the glossy black colour, tinged with grey, of its body; the greater
wing-coverts, except at the base and tips, and the quill-feathers being
mostly white. Round the neck is a white ruff of down; the skin of the
head and neck is excessively wrinkled, and is of a dull reddish colour
with a tinge of purple. Surmounting the forehead is a large, firm comb,
with a loose skin under the bill which can be dilated at pleasure. Now
it expands its wings, nine feet from tip to tip. Off it flies from its
rocky perch, now appearing to sink with its own weight; but, gradually
rising, it soars aloft, even above the glittering dome of Chimborazo, no
vibration seen in its powerful wings. Higher and higher it soars, till
it appears a mere speck in the blue ether; then, lost to the sight of
human eye, darts rapidly downwards towards the sultry coast of the
Pacific, there to prey upon the putrefying carcasses of animals it may
espy from afar.
On that lofty pinnacle, or some jutting ledge near it, the female has
laid its two eggs, and here it rears its young. The eggs are large and
white, and laid upon the bare rock. The young are covered with a
whitish down, and, it is said, are unable to fly for an entire year.
Few other birds can fly to so great a distance above the earth. It
appears to respire as easily in the most rarefied air as on the
seashore. They do not live in pairs, like the eagle, but several are
generally found together. When an animal falls dead, a number of the
vast birds are soon seen coming from afar to feast on the carcass.
Great as is the altitude to which the condor can fly, and although it
ranges through clouds and storms to the southern end of the Andes, it is
not found to the north of Panama.
The condor is a true vulture, gorging itself on dead and putrid
carcasses. It will also attack the young llama, as well as lambs and
calves, which it carries away in its powerful talons. This makes it
dreaded and hated by the shepherds of the hills and plains alike, who
seek its destruction by a variety of means. Firearms are, however,
useless, as its thick and strongly-constructed coat of feathers will
turn aside a bullet. Besides, it is so tenacious of life, that one has
been known to receive several bullets in its body, and to have lived a
considerable time afterwards. The shepherds train their dogs to give
notice of the approach of a condor; and the moment one appears in the
sky, they look upwards, and bark violently till their masters appear.
Among other modes which the natives employ to capture it, they kill an
old mare--which they have an idea is better than a horse--and allow the
bird to gorge itself. It then becomes so sluggish, that they can
without difficulty throw their bolas round its neck and legs. It also
sleeps so soundly, that they frequently manage to approach it when at
roost, and capture it in the same way.
In the province of Abacay, in Peru, another method is employed. A
native fastens a quantity of putrid flesh to a fresh cow-skin, under
which he lies hid with a supply of rope. When the condor pounces down
upon the meat, and remains gorging himself, the native fastens its legs
by means of the rope to the skin. As soon as this is done, he creeps
from beneath it. The frightened bird in vain attempts to escape.
Immediately the hunter's companions, rushing forward, throw their bolas
over the bird, and make it captive. Frequently several are thus caught
at the same time.
The cruel and disgusting custom of bull-baiting is still kept up in the
country, and the condors are employed to add to the terror and
sufferings of the unhappy bull. Before the unfortunate animal is driven
into the circus, his back is laid bare with a lance, and one of the
birds, which has been starved for a week or more, is bound upon it. The
famished condor immediately attacks the raw, quivering flesh of the poor
beast; and while it is thus engaged, the bull is driven into the midst
of the arena, to afford amusement to the savage spectators.
There is among the mountains a natural funnel-shaped excavation, sixty
feet in depth, and about eighty feet in diameter at the top. The
Indians place, on the edge of the pit, the putrid body of a mule, so
balanced that it will easily fall over. In a short time it is
discovered by numbers of condors, which, darting down, greedily attack
it. Tugging and pulling at the flesh, they soon draw it over the edge,
when it falls to the bottom of the pit. Not to be disappointed of their
prey, they hold tightly to the body, and descend with it. Here, having
gorged themselves, they are unable to rise again to the mouth of the
pit, and are speedily killed with stones and sticks by the natives who
collect round it, or are drawn captive to the surface. Dr Tschudi, in
his Travels, mentions having seen twenty-eight birds at one time thus
destroyed.
They are caught in a similar manner in other places, and brought down to
the coast, where they are sold for a few dollars; and often thus find
their way to Europe. It was long an unsettled point whether the condor
discovers the dead animals on which it feeds by the power of sight or of
scent; but Darwin, by several experiments, has settled the question in
favour of the bird's keenness of vision.
A number of condors were kept captive in a garden, secured by ropes.
Wrapping up a piece of meat in white paper, and holding it in his hand,
he walked up and down in front of the birds; but they took no notice of
it. He then threw it down in front of an old male bird; but it was
still disregarded. He then pushed it with a stick till it touched the
condor's beak, when the paper was torn off with fury, and every bird in
the row began struggling and flapping its wings to reach the food.
Under the same circumstances, no dog would have been deceived.
The condor is said formerly to have been worshipped in Peru. Perhaps
the Peruvians, seeing it descend through the air from beyond their
sight, supposed it a celestial messenger from the sun, which they
worshipped. If so, their descendants treat it in a very different way
to what they must then have done.
A condor ordinarily measures nine feet from tip to tip of the wings, and
slightly over four feet from beak to tail.
PART THREE, CHAPTER NINE.
THE VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS OF THE CORDILLERAS.
CHINCHONA OR PERUVIAN BARK.
The chinchona (it is erroneously spelt cinchona) tree constitutes the
type of a natural order (Chinchonaceae), which also includes
ipecacuanhas and coffees.
On the western slopes of Chimborazo, and in several other regions
extending from the wooded heights of Merida and Santa Martha, at the
northern end of the Cordilleras, as far as the Republic of Bolivia, 19
degrees south, the chinchona-tree has its range. Vegetation in the
Cordilleras within the tropics reaches to a much greater height than in
higher latitudes. The sun's rays have there great power in heating the
soil; while the mists drawn from the broad Pacific, rising above the
plains, rest upon the lofty sides of the mountains. The warm and humid
atmosphere thus created is especially favourable to the growth of
certain trees and shrubs. Among others is the chinchona-tree, from
which quinine is obtained. It is generally found growing at a height of
from 6000 feet to 10,000 feet above the ocean.
It would have been strange had not the native Peruvians been acquainted
with the qualities of the bark. The Quichua name for the tree,
_quina-quina_--"bark of barks"--shows that they believed it to possess
medicinal properties; indeed, there is little doubt that they were aware
of its febrifugal qualities, though they might not have attached much
importance to them. Through them, probably, the Spanish colonists in
the neighbourhood of Loxa first discovered its virtues. It was,
however, but little known till the year 1638, when the wife of the Count
of Chinchon, Viceroy of Peru, lay sick of an intermittent fever in the
palace of Lima. The corregidor of Loxa, who had himself been cured of
an ague by the bark, hearing of her sickness, sent a parcel of powdered
quinquina bark to her physician. It was administered to the Countess
Anna, and effected a complete cure. She, in consequence, did her utmost
to make it known. Her famous cure induced Linnaeus long afterwards to
name the whole genus of quinine-yielding trees Chinchona, in her honour.
The Jesuit missionaries, who had learned its virtues, also sent parcels
of the bark to Rome, whence it was distributed to members of their
fraternity throughout Europe by the Cardinal de Lugo. Hence it was
sometimes called Jesuits' bark, and sometimes Cardinal's bark. For many
years, however, great opposition was made by European physicians to its
use. Some Protestants, indeed, went so far as to decline taking it,
because it was favoured by the Jesuits. Although the bark was used for
many years, it was not till Dr Gomez, a surgeon in the Portuguese navy,
in 1816 isolated the febrifugal principle, and called it chinchonine,
that its true value became known. But the final discovery of quinine,
as it is now used, is due to the French chemists Pelletier and Caventon,
in 1820. It is a white substance, without smell, bitter, fusible, and
crystallised.
Chinchonine is of less strength than quinine, and is used in mild cases
of intermittent fever; but in severe cases, the use of quinine is
absolutely necessary. Since the discovery of the medicinal properties
of this bark, it has proved an inestimable blessing to the human race.
For many years the bark itself was used as a febrifuge; but quinine,
which is extracted from it, is of still greater value in curing or
preventing ague. On various occasions it has rendered great service by
preserving the health of troops. Many lives were saved by it in the
disastrous Walcheren expedition. In India it is now universally used
with the same beneficial effect; and several African explorers have been
enabled to prosecute their journeys through pestiferous regions by its
frequent use. Dr Livingstone, among others, speaks of it as the chief
remedy he has employed when attacked by sickness on his journeys.
Most of the Chinchonae, when growing in good soil, and under favourable
circumstances, become large forest-trees. When crowded, they frequently
run up to a great height without a branch; while at the upper limit of
their zone, they become mere shrubs.
There are numerous species of chinchona, producing bark of greatly
different values. There are upwards of nineteen different species of
the true Chinchonae, and upwards of seventy once received as such,
though now considered of no commercial value. The three characteristics
by which the true chinchona may be known are--the presence of curly
hairs bordering the laciniae of the corolla; the peculiar mode of
dehiscence of the capsule from below upwards; and the little pits at the
axils of the veins on the under sides of the leaves. The leaves are of
a great variety of shapes and sizes. In the finer species they are
lanceolate, with a shining surface of bright green, traversed by crimson
veins and petioles of the same colour. The flowers are very small, and
hang in clustering panicles like lilacs. They are generally of a deep
roseate colour, paler near the stalk, and dark crimson within the tube,
with white curly hairs bordering the laciniae of the corolla. The
colour of one species is entirely white. They send forth a delicious
fragrance, which scents the air in their neighbourhood.
The region round the little town of Loxa, on the southern frontier of
Ecuador, is the original home of the chinchona. In its sheltered
ravines and dense forests were found those precious trees which first
made known to the world the healing virtues of Peruvian bark. They grow
at a height above the sea of from 6200 to 8200 feet. The trees are
there from 30 to 48 feet high, with three or more stems growing from the
same root. The leaves are like those already described. The bark is
black when exposed to the sun and wind, but of a brownish colour when
surrounded by other trees; and is always covered with lichens. The bark
from the Loxa region is known as crown bark; that from Chimborazo, as
red bark; while in the Huanaco region of Northern Peru grey bark is
produced.
When first the demand for the bark was established, bark-collectors,
called _cascarilleros_, entered the forests in parties of a dozen or
more, supplied with food and tools. At their head was a searcher
(_cateador_), who, climbing a high tree, looked out for the _manchas_,
or clumps of chinchona-trees, which experience taught him to know by
their dark colour and the peculiar reflection of the light from their
leaves amidst those endless expanses of forest. Having marked the spot,
he descended, and led his party, sometimes for hours together, through
the tangled wilderness, using the wood-knife to mark his way to the
chinchona clump. As soon as it was found, rude huts were built, and the
parties commenced their work. Having with their axes laid the tree
level with the ground, cutting it as close as possible to the roots, the
work of stripping off the bark was commenced. The original mode of
doing this is still continued. It is done by dividing the stems into
pieces of uniform length. The bark is then cut lengthwise, so as to
remove the rind without injuring the wood, or severing any of the
fibres. In a few days the bark is taken off in strips as broad as
possible, and is afterwards pressed out into flat pieces. That,
however, taken from the thinner branches is allowed to retain its form,
and is known as quill bark--called by the natives _canuto_; that from
the solid trunk is called _tabla_ or _plancha_. It is sewn up in coarse
canvas, with an outer covering of fresh hide, forming packages called
_serons_. Thus prepared, it is transported to the coast for shipment.
From the careless way in which the bark-collectors have hewn down the
trees, often digging up the roots themselves, the production has greatly
decreased. When the root is allowed to remain, and the stem hewn as
near as possible to it, an after-growth is produced, which, in the
milder regions, in the space of six years again produces bark. In the
colder regions twenty years are required before a tree is fit to be cut
down.
With great care and trouble chinchona plants and seeds have been
transported from South America to India by Professor Markham; and in the
mountainous regions of the East the tree is now cultivated and
flourishing. It had some years before been carried by the Dutch to
Java, where, however, from want of sufficient care at first, its
cultivation has not been so successful as it appears to be in India,
Coca.
The native Indian, as he climbs the dizzy precipice, or passes over the
rocking bridge, in his journey across the rugged mountains, or leads his
troop of llamas to the seashore, or labours in the dark mines, bringing
up vast weights from the bowels of the earth, is enabled to bear the
fatigue he is called on to undergo by putting a few dried leaves into
his mouth, which he chews, and replenishes from time to time. Thus the
coca leaf is a great source of comfort and enjoyment. As he journeys,
his _chuspa_ or coca-bag, made of llama cloth, dyed red and blue in
patterns, is hung over his shoulders. In his bag he also carries small
cakes--composed of carbonate of potash mixed with lime and water--called
_clipta_. Sitting down, he first puts a few leaves into his mouth,
which he chews, and turns over and over till he has formed a ball. He
then adds a small piece of the cake; and, sustained by the wonderful
qualities of the morsel, will go on for many hours without food. He
usually replenishes his mouth about three times in the day.
The smell of the leaf is agreeable and aromatic, and gives out a
grateful fragrance. When, however, used to excess, like other
narcotics, coca--though the least injurious--is still prejudicial to
health.
The coca plant (Erythoxylon coca) grows at an elevation of between 5000
and 6000 feet above the level of the ocean, in the warm valleys of the
eastern slopes of the Andes, where rain frequently falls. It is from
four to six feet high, with straight and alternate branches. The
leaves, which are of a light green, are alternate, and in form and size
similar to tea leaves. The flowers, which are solitary, have a small
yellowish white corolla. It requires careful cultivation. It is
produced from seeds, and the plants are then transplanted into soil
carefully weeded and broken up. It is found growing on terraces on the
mountainsides, which will allow of but a single row of plants. At the
end of eighteen months the plants yield their first harvest, and
continue to yield for upwards of forty years. The green leaves, when
picked, are carefully spread out in the sun to dry. The name of "coca"
is bestowed on them only when they are dried and prepared for use.
Some writers, objecting altogether to stimulating narcotics, assert that
the use of coca produces all the evil results of opium; but this, from
the evidence of many enlightened travellers, seems not to be the case.
Taken immoderately, no doubt it is injurious,--as is tea, coffee,
tobacco, or wine; but used as it generally is by the natives, it is to
them a great blessing. The valleys, however, most suitable for its
cultivation are reputed to be unhealthy.
So valuable was coca considered in the days of the Incas, that divine
honours were paid to it, and it was especially the property of the
sovereign. Even at the present day the miners of Peru throw a quid of
coca against the hard veins of ore, under the belief that they are
thereby more easily worked. The natives also sometimes put coca in the
mouth of the dying man, believing that if he can taste the fragrant leaf
it is a sure sign of his future happiness.
Its moderate use is considered wholesome; and European travellers who
have chewed coca state that they could thus endure long abstinence from
food without inconvenience, and that it enabled them to ascend
precipitous mountainsides with a feeling of lightness and elasticity,
and without losing breath.
PART THREE, CHAPTER TEN.
HUMMING-BIRDS (TROCHILIDAE) OF THE CORDILLERAS AND WESTERN COAST.
We should scarcely have expected to find the smallest specimens of the
feathered tribe inhabiting the same region as the mighty, coarse-feeding
condor; but whereas the latter pounces down on his carrion banquet into
the plains below, the little humming-bird seeks his food from the bright
flowers which clothe the mountainside, or the minute insects which fly
amid them.
Humming-birds are found throughout the whole of the New World, from the
borders of the great Canadian lakes, along the entire range of the
Cordilleras, down to the shores of Tierra del Fuego; also in the West
India Islands, and over the whole wide-extending plains watered by the
Orinoco, the Amazon, and other great rivers which empty themselves into
the Atlantic. The greater number of the species exist about the
equator, and, as might be expected, diminish as we proceed either to the
south or north.
They obtain their name on account of the humming sound which their wings
produce when they are hovering over the flowers in which they seek their
food. The sound, however, varies in the species; and the well-practised
ear of the naturalist is often able to distinguish without difficulty
one from the other. Some are furnished with strong wings, with which
they can extend their flight over a large extent of country; and many
are migratory. Others again have only small wings, and are compelled to
remain always in the same locality. So rapid is their flight, that the
eye can scarcely distinguish the little bird as it cleaves the air; and
when hovering over a flower, the wings appear like filmy grey fans on
either side.
The food of most species consists partly of insects and partly of the
honey extracted from flowers. In order to obtain its food from the deep
recesses of flowers, it possesses a long delicate beak; in some birds
straight, in others curved downwards, while some, again, have a double
curve. These variations in form are undoubtedly to suit the particular
flowers on which they feed. By means of the peculiar structure of its
tongue, which is long, filamentous, and doubled nearly to the base, it
is enabled to project it to a great distance--even into the very depths
of the largest flowers.
There are upwards of three hundred species of these beautiful birds, and
others are being constantly discovered--one vying with the other in
beauty and richness of plumage--truly described as the "feathered gems
of the mountain and forest." Some humming-birds tower, like the lark,
to a great height in the air; while others keep always near the ground,
among the shrubs in which they live.
The nests of humming-birds vary in form and structure, but they are all
of a most delicate nature. The external parts of some are formed of
light grey lichen, and so perfectly arranged round it as to appear at a
little distance as if only forming part of the branch to which it is
attached. The interior consists of the silky fibres of the cotton-tree,
extremely delicate and soft. The female lays a couple of eggs only,
purely white, and about the size of peas. Ten days are required for
their hatching, and the birds raise two broods in a season. When first
hatched they are not larger than an ordinary-sized fly. Small as is the
male humming-bird, he is a brave little fellow, and will courageously
fly at the largest bird which approaches his nest; while, by the
rapidity of his flight, he can avoid the attacks of even the swiftest of
the larger race.
There is a remarkable circumstance connected with humming-birds,
especially in lofty regions, where they are more particularly
susceptible of electric influences. It is well known that in many
regions small birds are found killed after a thunder-storm, in
consequence of the amount of electricity in the air. The humming-birds,
as if conscious of this danger, build their nests of peculiar form, and
of materials which are bad conductors of electricity, within which they
are thoroughly protected. The nests of some are shaped like inverted
cones, tapering to a fine point--that, as is supposed, the electricity
which would destroy the delicate young ones, or the vitality of the
eggs, may pass off into the air.
Their notes are very feeble, rarely rising into a whistle. In one week
after they are hatched, the young birds are ready to fly, but they are
fed by their parents for nearly another week. Their plumage, however,
does not attain its full brilliancy till the succeeding spring.
But we must confine ourselves to the humming-birds of the Cordilleras,
on the western coast.
SWORD-BILL HUMMING-BIRD.
At the north of the range, between Santa Fe de Bogota and Quito, at an
elevation often of 12,000 feet, is found the sword-bill humming-bird.
Its name is derived from the length of its beak, which is nearly as long
as its body, and enables it to seek its food from the long pendent
corollas of the Brugmansae. Nothing can exceed the elegance of its
movements as it probes the pendent blossoms, searching to their inmost
depths. Its nest, woven with wonderful skill and beauty of
construction, is fastened to the end of a twig. The head and upper part
of the body of the male bird are green, glossed with gold in some parts,
and with bronze in others. The wings are dark black-brown, with a
purple gloss; while the tail is dark black, the upper surface being
bronzed. A conspicuous white, slightly elongated spot exists behind
each eye, and on each side of the chest there is a broad crescent-shaped
mark of light green. The under parts are of a bronzed green, and the
under tail-coverts are flaked with a little white.
COPPER-BELLIED PUFF-LEG.
In the neighbourhood of Santa Fe, another very beautiful and curious
little bird, the copper-bellied puff-leg, is found, at an elevation of
about 9000 feet. (Unlike the greater number of birds, the female
humming-birds are generally as richly ornamented as the male.) It is
named from the curious white puffs or ruffs--looking as if formed of
swan's-down--on the legs. The head of the male, the sides of the neck,
and back, are green, with a bronzed tint, except on the tail-coverts,
where the green is pure, and of metallic brilliancy. The tail is black,
with a purple gloss; the throat is of a shining, metallic green; while
the breast and under portion of the body is green, glossed with gold.
This bird, probably on account of the vegetation of the locality, from
which it obtains its food, is restricted to a narrow mountain-ridge, not
three-quarters of a mile in width.
WHITE-BOOTED RACKET-TAIL.
The rapid flying white-booted racket-tail is likewise common near Santa
Fe. It possesses muffs, like the former, and is found at an elevation
of nearly 10,000 feet. It is named from the long, racket-shaped
feathers of the tail, which, when flying, are in constant motion, waving
softly in the air, opening and closing in the most beautiful manner. In
its flight it may vie with the arrow as it darts from a bow; and when
the bird rapidly cleaves the air, the tail-feathers lie straight behind
it.
The chief colour of this bird is a bronzed green, the upper tail-coverts
being of a richer and redder hue. The wings are of a purple-brown, as
is the tail; but the rackets are black, shot with green. The feet are
yellow, with two beautiful white ruffs surrounding the legs.
COLUMBIAN THORN-BILL.
In the same district, invariably keeping at the bottom of the valleys,
is found the Columbian thorn-bill. It does not even mount, as do many
humming-birds, to the tops of the trees, but seeks its food among the
low, flowering shrubs. It is of a golden green colour on the upper
parts, and of a dull green below; except on its curious tuft, which
hangs from the chin, and is of a light green at the base, and a
purple-red towards the points. The wings are of a purple-brown hue, as
is the tail, with a bronzed gloss, while the under tail-coverts are
brown-yellow. It is curious that the hen, though in other respects like
the male, has no beard.
BLACK WARRIOR.
At the height of 13,000 feet above the ocean is found a curious bird,
which, from the pointed plume crowning the top of its head, and the long
beard-like projection from its chin, is very appropriately called the
helmet-crest or black warrior. It inhabits regions immediately below
the line of perpetual snow, where we should least expect to find so
delicate a creature. Its food it gathers from the thinly scattered
shrubs projecting from the ledges of rock near the snow. Its flight is
swift, but very short. When launching itself from the lofty height on
which it is perched, it flies obliquely downwards, uttering at the same
time a plaintive, whistling sound. It is more sedate in its habits than
its brethren, nor does it seem to partake of their joyous spirit. The
head and neck of the male are black, with a line running along the
centre. The long beard is white, and round the neck and back of the
head is a broad band of white. The upper surface of the body and the
two central feathers of the tail are bronzed green, the others being of
a warm reddish bronze. Its length is a little over five inches.
The female is chiefly brown, and possesses no beard or helmet-like
plume; it is also considerably smaller.
THE SICKLE-BILL.
In the humming-birds, we see the same perfect adaptation of their
construction to their peculiar wants which is found throughout the whole
animal creation. This is beautifully exhibited in the sickle-bill,
which is occasionally found in Bogota. Its bill is very short and
sharply curved, in order that it may enter the short, curved flowers of
that region. It is generally of a duller hue than most of its tribe.
Its head and small crest are blackish-brown, each feather having a spot
of buff on its tip. The upper part of the body is of a dark, glossy
green, slightly touched with buff. The under part is a brownish-black,
with a few buff streaks upon the throat and breast. It is about four
and a half inches long.
MARS' SUN-ANGEL.
Mr Gould describes the Mars' sun-angel as among the most beautiful of
the genus Heliangelus inhabiting the northern end of the Cordilleras.
"It has all the charms of novelty to recommend it, and it stands alone
among its congeners; no other member of the genus, similarly coloured,
having been discovered up to the present time. The throat vies with the
radiant topaz, while the band on the forehead rivals in brilliancy the
frontlet of every other species. The male bird has a fiery red mark on
its forehead, and the crown of the head and upper surface of the body
are bronzed green. The throat is ornamented with a gorget of deep fiery
red, and below it is a crescent-shaped band of light buff, while the
under part is of a deeper buff, changing to green at the sides. The
tail is of a bronzed brown, with the two centre feathers of bronzed
green. The female is destitute of the red mark on the throat and
forehead."
HELIANGELUS CLARISSA.
Another sun-angel, the Heliangelus Clarissae, has a deep ruby crimson
gorget.
SNOW-CAP HUMMING-BIRD.
In New Granada is also found the curious little snow-cap humming-bird,
one of the most rare of the Trochilidae. It is of a brown colour, with
a coppery hue, in which, in certain lights, a purple reflection can be
perceived. The crown of the head and the tip of the tail-feathers are
of a dazzling white.
Mr Gould describes one he saw perched on a twig, pluming its feathers.
At first he was doubtful whether so small an object could be a bird. It
was standing over a pool of water. "At first the little creature would
poise itself about three feet or so above the water, and then, as quick
as thought, dive downwards, so as to dip its miniature head in the
placid pool. Then up again it would fly to its original position, as
quickly as it had descended. These movements of darting up and down it
repeated in rapid succession, producing a wonderful disturbance of the
surface of the water for so diminutive a creature. After a considerable
number of dips it alighted on a twig near at hand, and commenced pluming
its feathers."
SPANGLED COQUETTE.
The spangled coquette, like all of its genus, possesses a well-defined
crest on the head, and a number of feathers projecting from the neck.
This singular crest it can raise or depress at will, producing a curious
effect in the appearance of the little bird. When depressed, the crest
lies fiat, and projects on either side, so that the sparkling eyes can
scarcely be seen. The crest and feathers projecting from the neck are
of a light, ruddy chestnut, the latter having dark bronzed green spots
on the tip. The head is of the same colour; the throat and face of a
lustrous green. Below the gorget projects a small crossing from side to
side, and the rest of the plumage is of a dark, ruddy chestnut colour.
The female has neither crest nor gorget.
TRAIN-BEARER (LEOBIA AMARYLLIS).
Professor Orton tells us that the valley of Quito swarms with those
winged jewels--of varied hue--the Trochilidae.
Among them is the train-bearer, which, small as it is, has a straight
tail nearly six inches in length.
HILL STAR.
The neighbouring heights of Chimborazo and Pichincha are adorned with
two beautiful little creatures, well called "Hill Stars;" and it is
curious that the hill star of Chimborazo never visits Pichincha, nor
does the latter ever approach Chimborazo. They are very like each
other; but while that of Chimborazo has a triangular green spot upon the
throat, it is wanting in the Pichincha hill star. The colour of the
upper part of the Chimborazian hill star is of a somewhat dark
olive-green, except the wings, which are of a purple-brown tint. The
under parts are white; but they deepen into a dusky black upon the under
tail-coverts. The head and throat are of the most glorious blue, with
the exception of the before-mentioned emerald-green patch on the centre
of the throat, which is of a triangular form, one angle pointing
upwards. It has a broad collar of velvety black round the neck, the
dark hues of the head contrasting curiously with the dark body. In the
tail there are two white feathers, edged with greenish-black. The hen
is of a more sombre hue, having an olive-green head, and the throat
white, spotted with green.
THE SAPPHO COMET.
Proceeding southwards, we find numerous beautiful humming-birds in
Bolivia. Among them is the sappho comet, or bar-tailed humming-bird.
In winter it descends into the lowlands of Peru, among the abodes of
men, visiting their gardens and orchards with perfect fearlessness. The
larger part of the plumage is of a light green, the lower portion of the
back a deep crimson-red. The throat is metallic green, and the wings
are purple-brown. The base of the tail is brown, but the greater part
is of a fiery hue, tipped with velvety black.
As it darts from flower to flower--now describing a circle, now turning
and performing numberless other evolutions--the eye is unable to follow
it, and it is lost to sight, until it again returns to the flower which
at first attracted its attention.
On arriving at its winter abode, it takes up its residence in the
shrubberies and gardens of the Indian cottages, says Mr Bonelli. The
hill-side of the neighbouring country, clothed with the indigenous trees
and shrubs, also affords it a fit place of abode, whence it descends
several times a day to the cultivated plains below, particularly to the
fields of maize and pulse, and other leguminous plants. The rich
flowers of the large cacti are also frequently visited, as they afford
it a constant and abundant supply of insect food.
The nest is a somewhat loose structure, outwardly composed of vegetable
fibres, slight twigs, and moss, and frequently lined with soft hair.
The lower portion is prolonged considerably below the cup-shaped
interior, which is about an inch and a half in diameter, and an inch in
depth; the total length of the nest being nearly three inches. The nest
is placed against the sides of the walls, supported by any hanging root
or twig that may be best adapted to afford it security. The eggs are
two in number, and oblong in form, of a pure white, half an inch in
length, by about five-sixteenths of an inch in breadth.
THE PHAON COMET--BLUE-TAILED SYLPH.
The phaon comet is considerably larger, but very similar to the former,
except that the whole of its tail is of a crimson-red.
The blue-tailed sylph has a wide range along the temperate regions of
the Cordilleras. The genus of sylph to which it belongs is among the
most beautiful and graceful in form of the humming-birds. The body is
of a bronzed green, and the crown of the head of a metallic golden
green; while the throat is adorned with a gorget of the most intense
purple-blue. It has a superb tail, the two central feathers of which
are of a shining metallic green; the two next are black at their base,
and rich blue towards their extremities, tipped and edged with bright
metallic green, shot with blue.
But we have not space to describe one-tenth part of those wonderful,
bright, and small specimens of the feathered tribe which inhabit the
mountains for their entire length. Darwin found one of the species--the
Trochilus forficatus--flying about amid the snow-storms in the forests
of Tierra del Fuego; while in the wooded island of Chiloe, which has an
extremely humid climate, he saw it skipping from side to side amid the
dripping foliage.
In the same island is found another species, the Trochilus gigas--a very
large bird for so delicate a family. When on the wing, it moves from
place to place with the most rapid flight; but whilst hovering over a
flower, it flaps its wings with a very slow and powerful movement,
totally different from that of the vibratory one common to most of the
species which produces the humming noise. When hovering by a flower,
its tail is constantly opened and shut like a fan, the body being in a
nearly vertical position. This action appears to steady and support the
bird between the slow movements of its wings. It feeds chiefly on
insects. The note of this species, like that of nearly the whole
family, is extremely shrill.
In Bolivia are found the Bolivian violet-ear, Warren's wood-star, and
many others; but we must bring our description of the humming-birds of
this region to a conclusion.
PART THREE, CHAPTER ELEVEN.
MAMMALIA.
THE SAVAGE INHABITANTS OF THE AMAZONIAN VALLEY.
Full of animal life as are the forests of South America, the number of
species of what are generally called wild beasts is remarkably small.
Four only are capable of attacking man--the jaguar, the puma, the great
ant-eater, and the savage little peccary, with its lancet-like tusks.
The first only is universally dreaded; the puma flies when bravely
confronted; the great ant-eater is not dangerous, except to those who
get within its reach; and the peccary is dreaded chiefly when hunting in
a pack, as it does, like the wolf. The burly tapir, the largest animal
of the continent--though a hippopotamus would look at it with contempt--
is perfectly harmless; and, with the exception of a few species of
tiger-cats, nearly all the other Mammalia are rodents, or belong to the
order Quadrumana. The latter are by far the most numerous inhabitants
of its wide-extending forests. It is especially the country of monkeys,
where they have arrived at their highest development. Several of the
species are not only furnished with four hands, but they have tails
which serve them, to all intents and purposes, as a fifth hand. They
can hang by them, or insert them into a hole and pick out a bird's egg,
or a minute insect, with the greatest ease. They are generally, with
the exception of the howlers, amicably disposed, easily tamed, with
beautiful coats of fur, and, if not exactly elegant in their forms, very
agile, and generally attractive, interesting little creatures.
The serpents and insects are far more dreaded and annoying than the wild
beasts. Many of the former are fearfully venomous. The boa
occasionally finds a human being in the forest, sick or wounded, and
unable to fly, and winds its huge coils round his body. The anaconda is
equally dangerous to those sleeping near the river's edge; while the
cunning and savage alligator lies in wait for the unwary bather or
drawer of water who ventures into the stream; and termites and ants
devour the stores of the inhabitants, and, in certain localities,
well-nigh sting them to madness.
THE PUMA.
The gaucho of the Pampas, the llanero of the savannahs in the north, the
herdsman on the slopes of the Cordilleras facing the Pacific, and the
settlers on the eastern shore, dread the wide-ranging puma--or the
American lion, as the creature, on account of its tawny hide, is wrongly
called. Supplied with powerful limbs, capable of climbing tall trees
and swimming rivers, neither mountains, forests, open plains, nor
streams stop its progress. Like the cat, to which genus it belongs, it
stealthily approaches its prey, and, seizing it with a sudden spring,
rends it to pieces. When coming upon a flock of sheep or vicunas, it
deals havoc and destruction on every side, often striking down in mere
wantonness a far greater number than it can carry off or devour. Yet,
though far larger than the jaguar, it is inferior to it in courage, and,
when boldly opposed by man, will always take to flight; though, like the
jaguar, it will track a human being through the forest, in the hope of
springing on him when unobserved. Yet, boldly faced, it plays the
coward, and will creep off, unable to stand man's steady gaze. Like a
wild cat, it climbs a tree with ease; and, taking post on a branch,
crouches down, stretched out at full length along it, its colour
harmonising with the bark, so that it cannot be seen by its unwary prey
moving near it. As the deer or vicuna passes below, it launches itself
on the doomed creature, and, drawing back its neck with its powerful
claws, breaks the vertebra, and instantly kills it. Darwin states that
he has frequently seen skeletons of huanucus with their necks thus
dislocated.
In the Amazonian forests the puma is not so common as the jaguar. The
colour of its fur resembles that of the deer in these forests. The
natives call it the _sassu-arana_, or the false deer, as it frequently,
in consequence, deceives them at first sight. "It was from this name
being misspelt that it is called the _cuguacuarana_, the first _c_ being
soft," observes Bates. Hence the name cougar, employed by French
zoologists, and copied in most works on natural history. The hunters do
not fear it, describing it as a coward; and such, in spite of its
strength, it undoubtedly is. Still, instances have occurred of its
killing human beings.
It is often found at an elevation of upwards of 10,000 feet. After
killing an animal and eating its fill, it covers over the carcass with
bushes, and lies down to watch it. This habit frequently causes its
destruction, for the condors, attracted by the carcass, assemble from
far and near to their expected feast, when the puma springs out to drive
them off. The gauchos of the Pampas, observing the birds rise together
on the wing, hurry with men and dogs to the chase. Whirling their bolas
round their heads, they quickly entangle the animal's limbs, and then,
throwing their lassoes over it, drag it along the ground till rendered
insensible, when its brains are quickly beaten out. In Chili it is
hunted with dogs, or, driven up a tree, is easily shot. It is noted for
its craft. When once it has been betrayed when watching a carcass, and
has managed to make its escape, it is said never to resume that habit.
When pursued it will stop and spring on one side, and wait till the dogs
have passed by. Unlike the jaguar, which is among the most noisy of
beasts of prey, the puma seldom utters any sound, even when wounded, but
silently takes its way, its presence only known as it makes the fatal
spring on its victim.
THE JAGUAR.
The Indian, as he roams through the forest, turns many a cautious look
over his shoulder, lest the savage jaguar, with stealthy feet, may be
following his trail. Meeting the monarch of his forests face to face,
he fears it not, provided he is armed with a bow and poisoned arrows, or
sumpitan and envenomed dart, which will soon compel the fierce creature
to succumb to its deadly influence.
Of the jaguar, or ounce (Felis onca), there are two species--the one of
a palish brown-yellow, variegated on the upper parts of the body with
streaks and regular oblong spots of black; while the other is of a
general black hue, and is considered the more savage of the two. It
reaches a size which may vie with the tigers of India, though it is
often not much larger than a wolf. It is frequently called the tiger or
panther of the New World. The tail is not so long as the body. In
outward appearance it closely resembles the leopard, especially in its
arborial habits, as by means of its powerful claws it can with ease
spring up the trunk of a tree, and make its way along the branches,
ready to pounce down upon a foe. Nearly every creature of the forests
and arid plains over which it roams, and many which frequent the margins
of the rivers and lakes, have to dread its voracious jaws. It will
spring from the bough, along which it lies crouching, on the back of the
thick-skinned tapir, which, with those powerful claws clinging to its
hide, dashes terror--stricken through the thickets, endeavouring to
shake off its foe. It will even fearlessly attack the alligator, in
spite of the latter's enormous jaws,--avoiding which, by its agility, it
will tear open the reptile's side, and devour it before life is extinct.
It lies watching from a projecting trunk for the huge manatee swimming
by, and grappling it with its claws, holds it fast in the struggle for
life and death, by degrees dragging the vast body out of the water, and
never letting go its grasp till it has succeeded in capturing its prey.
Turtles become its easy victims. Watching for them as they crawl up the
sandy banks, it turns them helplessly over with its paws. The capybara,
or water-hog, seems born for the especial purpose of serving it as food,
enormous numbers of that big rodent being devoured by it. Even active
monkeys cannot escape it. It will climb the trees and surprise them
when sleeping; or sometimes, lying in concealment, springs out among a
troop of them joyously gambolling, unsuspicious of danger, when their
shrieks of terror and the hoarse roar of the jaguar may be heard
resounding through the forest.
But where flocks and herds are collected in the neighbourhood of man's
abode, the jaguar is especially dreaded, as it will spring upon a horse
and bring it to the ground with ease; it has been known to drag one many
yards to the water's side, and swim across the river with its prey,
carrying it away on the opposite side to its home in the forest. Sheep
and deer fall easy victims. When seizing a deer or horse, it leaps on
the animal's back, and grasping the head with its claws, wrenches it
back till the vertebrae of the neck are broken.
There are but two animals who do not fear the jaguar. The great
ant-eater is defended from the monster's attacks by its shaggy, thick
coat. It will often grasp the jaguar in its powerful claws, and keep it
in a close embrace, while these formidable weapons tear open its side--
treating it as some chiefs in India were in the habit of treating their
guests, whom they pretended to receive with an embrace of friendship,
their hands armed with the steel-formed claws in imitation of those of
tigers. Though the savage little peccaries, when caught singly, are
quickly despatched by the jaguar, yet when meeting it collected in a
herd, they so fiercely assault it with their sharp tusks, that it is
either pierced to death, in spite of the blows of its claws, or
compelled to take to flight.
It catches fish as it does the manatee, suddenly thrusting forth its
talons as they pass below it; while it scrapes up the turtle's eggs in
numbers. It even pounces on birds and lizards, in spite of their
activity and means of escape; and, when pressed by hunger, it will
attack a native village, and carry off, not only fowls and other tame
animals, but the children, and sometimes full-grown people, whom it may
catch unawares.
Darwin says, that when the floods drive these animals to drier ground,
they are most dangerous; and mentions many instances of people being
destroyed by them. On the Parana they have been known to get on board
vessels at night. He heard of a man who, coming up from below when it
was dark, was seized on the deck by a jaguar. He escaped, however, with
the loss of the use of an arm. At Santa Fe, two padres entering, one
after the other, a church into which a jaguar had made its way, were
both killed. A third, who came to see what was the matter, escaped with
difficulty. The beast was destroyed by being shot at from a corner of
the building which was unroofed.
The gauchos say, that when wandering at night, it is frequently followed
by foxes yelping at its heels. If such is the case, it is a curious
coincidence with the fact, generally affirmed, that jackals accompany
the East Indian tiger.
The jaguar often leaves marks on the bark of trees, which it scrapes for
the purpose of tearing off the rugged parts of its claws; a habit common
also to the puma, as Darwin says he frequently found in Patagonia scores
so deep on the hard soil, that no other animal could have made them.
Brett mentions several instances which came under his notice of human
beings being killed by jaguars. A Carib Indian had gone into the forest
to procure touari,--the inner bark of the sapucaya-nut tree, of the thin
papery layers of which the Indians form the envelopes of their
cigarettes. While employed in cutting off the long strips of the bark,
on turning round he discovered a jaguar stealthily approaching. His
friends, as he did not return, set out in search of him. For a whole
day they searched in vain; but on the second they discovered his
foot-tracks, and those of a large jaguar. Following these for a long
way in anxious suspense, they at length came to a spot where there were
marks of a conflict, and they discovered their comrade's bow lying
broken on the ground. Still it was apparent that the Indian had beaten
off his assailant, for the tracks of both led still further into the
forest. At length they reached the scene of the last desperate
struggle. On the ground lay the man's knife, which he had lashed to the
end of a stick; but it had been loosened and turned aside against the
tough hide of the animal. From the marks on a tree it was evident that
the poor fellow, in dire extremity, at the approach of night, had been
trying to climb it, but ere he had ascended ten feet the jaguar had
sprung after him, and pulling him down, had torn him to pieces. The
remains, terribly mangled and half-devoured, lay near. One of the
Caribs who had found the body described the sickness which came over him
at the sight, and remarked that he had never since felt secure when
traversing the forest with only his knife and bow and arrows. On the
banks of the Pomaroon lived a Carib family, with a number of small
children. The young ones had gone into the water to bathe, when they
were startled by the cry of the smallest of their party--a little boy--
whom they had left seated at the water's edge. On looking round they
beheld a huge jaguar which had been attracted by their noises of
splashing, and which, having come behind the poor child, was standing
with one paw on his shoulder. The elder children, screaming for help,
attempted bravely to drive away the savage beast, but their efforts only
resulted in it seizing the poor little fellow's head with its powerful
jaws. It was a moment of agony. Their father was absent, but another
Carib who was near rushed to the spot, followed by the child's mother
and some other females. The beast, startled at this sudden increase in
the number of its assailants, dropped its victim, whom the man
immediately took up and gave to the mother. But assistance had come too
late. The child gave his last struggle as his mother received him in
her arms. When night set in, the disappointed beast came back to claim
his prey, roaring and yelling through the hours of darkness around the
open shed which formed their dwelling. Females alone were present, as
the man had gone off to call the child's father; and they had great
difficulty, with firebrands and shouting, in keeping the brute off till
help arrived.
Some time after this, another man, of considerable personal strength and
cool courage, was one day in his field, with a little dog playing by his
side, when he saw a jaguar at a distance watching his movements. The
beast slunk away when observed, and as the Carib had no gun, he went on
quietly with his work, clearing away the bush with his cutlass, which
was a new and sharp one. The jaguar had, however, marked the dog for
its prey, and only retreated to execute a flank march through the bush,
and to come unperceived on his rear. Having effected this, it crept
noiselessly forward, and sprang on the dog, which was instantly killed.
The Carib rushed to the assistance of his favourite, compelling the
savage jaguar to relinquish its hold, but the creature turned and sprang
upon him. The man, however, anticipating the attack, dashed forward and
decided the contest by a single blow, which buried his cutlass deep in
the jaguar's skull. The same man, on another occasion, clove the skull
of a second jaguar with an axe with which he was about to fell some
trees.
The jaguar, however, is capable of being tamed. The well-known Captain
Inglefield possessed one, afterwards placed in the Zoological Gardens.
It was so tame that he used to lie down and place his head on its body
as on a pillow. It was allowed to roam at liberty about the ship. It
was remarkable, however, that this creature could never be trusted when
a young child or a dog was present. On such occasions it became greatly
excited, endeavouring to break away from the chain with which it was
secured when on shore. Probably in its native wilds both would have
fallen victims to its natural ferocity.
The Bishop of Demerara witnessed an instance of the way in which these
savage creatures may occasionally be tamed, while on an expedition up
the River Demerara. On approaching the falls, he and his party halted
at an Indian settlement on the left bank, where they saw a young jaguar
only a few weeks old, which appeared to be extremely savage, when any of
them went near it. "But," he continues, "never did I observe such
apparent gentleness and attachment in any animal; as, when one or two of
our party had certainly not gone the way to win the creature's
affections, it allowed itself to be drawn close to us by an Indian
woman, and afterwards by a little child. Not a moment before, it was as
angry and savage as could be; but no sooner did the child draw it
towards her, than, looking up with an expression of intelligence and
trustfulness quite new to me, it nestled itself within the embrace of
its kind protectress."
The Indians are proverbially famous for the facility with which they
attract animals towards them. Bates and Wallace also mention having
seen, on several occasions, jaguars perfectly tame, roaming in and out
of the huts, as their smaller feline relatives would have done.
ANT-EATERS.
Within the recesses of the primeval forest, near the borders of a river
or lake, a large mass of what looks, at a little distance, like a
collection of some long, coarse, curled, fibrous substance, is often
seen by the hunter. The jaguar glances at it askance and passes it
by,--although, when hunger presses him, he may long to obtain the dainty
meal which lies beneath. The huge hairy mass is the tail of the
ant-bear, which serves it as a shelter from the rays of the noonday sun
and from the deluges of the rainy season: spread out over its body, it
is the sole covering it seeks, as it neither burrows, nor takes up its
abode in the hollows of trees nor in artificial caves. With its
elongated toothless head and thin tongue, it seems utterly incapable, at
the first glance, of defending itself, not only against the jaguar or
puma, but, notwithstanding its great size, against even the attacks of
the smallest carnivorous animals of the wilds, as it moves with toilsome
and awkward steps over the ground. It cannot climb the trees; unadapted
for swimming, it dare not seek safety in the water; and incapable of
moving rapidly, it is unable to run from its foes. Its hind-feet,
unlike those of many animals, are valueless for defence; but yet it has
not been left without ample means of protection. Examine its fore-feet,
and on each will be seen two large, powerful, trenchant claws. With
these, aided by its muscular power, and thick hide covered with long
coarse hair, it boldly defies the attacks of the fiercest creatures.
Of a peaceable disposition, it makes its solitary way through the
forest; but woe betide the hunter's dogs, or any other animals, which
venture to assail it! With one blow of these sharp weapons it rips up
its assailant, or hugs it in a close embrace, where its own thick skin
resists the teeth of its foe; and, able itself to endure hunger longer
than any other animal, it keeps it thus till starved to death.
Vast numbers of ants and termites swarm in the tropical forests of South
America, of great varieties of form and mode of life and occupation.
Their business in the economy of nature is chiefly the consumption of
decayed vegetable matter, which would otherwise contaminate the
atmosphere. They are furnished with incalculable powers of increase,
and, to prevent their too great excess, other animals have been created
to prey on them. The chief creature engaged in that work is this most
extraordinary denizen of the forest--the ant-bear, or great ant-eater
(Myrmecophaga jubata), called also the tamanoir. It often measures,
from the tip of its snout to the extremity of its tail, eight feet; and
though it seems wonderful that so large an animal should be able to
subsist solely on such minute insects, yet, from the formation of its
mouth, it is unable to consume any other. It has a long slender head,
with a pointed snout; and its mouth, entirely destitute of teeth, is
furnished with a long flexible tongue, covered with a glutinous saliva.
This it passes lightly over the swarms of ants which rush out when it
attacks their dwelling, and they, adhering to it, are speedily dragged
into its maw.
Its body is covered with long, coarse, shaggy hair, except on the head,
where it is short and close; while its black bushy tail is of great size
and length. It is plantigrade--that is, it stands lower on the
hind-legs than in front. Though its mouth appears so incapable of
enabling it to defend itself, it can do so effectually with the two
long, sharp claws of its fore-feet. With these claws it opens the
ant-hills, on whose inhabitants it subsists. Its hind-feet have five
toes, but they are furnished with short, weak claws, similar to those of
ordinary quadrupeds.
Its favourite resort is the low swampy marshes of the rivers and
stagnant pools; but it also ranges widely in search of its prey. It
lives in solitude; its habits are slothful; it sleeps during the greater
part of the day. Its long claws, when not employed, are folded upon a
thick rough pad, which renders the exertion of walking less difficult.
As, however, it is compelled to step upon the outer edge of its
fore-feet, it progresses in an awkward and painful manner, and it cannot
move for any length of time. Its eye possesses a peculiarly cunning
expression.
Of a peaceable and harmless disposition, the ant-bear, when not
provoked, never attacks any animal; but on the approach of an enemy, it
assumes the defensive in such a way as to make the boldest aggressor
pause. Resting on its left fore-foot, it strikes out its right with a
force sufficient to tear off the hide of the thickest-skinned assailant.
When attacked from behind, it turns round with the rapidity of
lightning; and when assailed from several quarters at once, it throws
itself on its back, fighting desperately with both its fore-legs, and
uttering angry growls of defiance. So thick is its hide, that no animal
has been found with teeth capable of piercing it; and even when the
jaguar, pressed by hunger, dares to assail it, the monarch of the
American forest is often driven off, or left weltering in its blood from
the wounds inflicted by the formidable claws of the ant-bear.
When attacking an ant-castle, the tamanoir strikes a hole in the wall of
clay with his powerful, crooked claws. The warrior-ants then issue out
by thousands to resent the insult, while the labourers retire to the
inmost recesses. The soldiers swarm on every part of their assailant,
but their sharp mandibles are unable to pierce its thick skin. The bear
then putting forth its long tongue, which is lubricated from two large
glands situated below its root, the insects remain sticking in the
glutinous liquid. When a sufficient supply has been thus obtained, it
draws back its tongue within its mouth, and swallows the whole army at a
gulp.
MYRMECOPHAGA TAMANDUA.
While the vast citadels of the white ant formed on the ground are
attacked by the great ant-eater, the too great increase of the arborial
termites is kept under by three smaller species, formed to live among
the branches of the trees.
The tamandua is seen climbing the loftiest monarchs of the forest in
search of its insect prey. It is about the size of a cat. Though its
head is elongated, it is considerably less so than that of the ant-bear;
while its hair is short and silky, resembling fine wool. The feet are
formed in the same manner as those of the larger animal, but, to enable
it the better to climb among the branches, it possesses a prehensile
tail.
Though it cannot be said to possess a sweet tooth--as its mouth is as
destitute of teeth as that of the tamanoir--yet it does not confine its
food to the termites alone, but seeks the nests of the stingless bees,
which form their hives among the loftiest branches of the forest, and
robs them of their honeyed treasures.
LITTLE ANT-EATER.
There is another curious little ant-eater, about the size of a
squirrel,--which animal it resembles very much in its habits, and
somewhat in its appearance. It possesses a prehensile tail, like that
of the ateles and other American monkeys, with which it can swing itself
from branch to branch. The tail is covered with fur, with the exception
of about three inches of the under surface at the extremity. It has a
small head, the snout sharpened and bent slightly downwards. A soft,
curled, and pale yellow-brown fur clothes its body. It has only two
claws on each of its fore-feet, the exterior one being stronger and
larger than the interior. With these weapons it is enabled to hook out
the small insects from the crevices of the bark, or grubs from the nests
of bees or wasps. Like the squirrel, it sits upon its hind-limbs when
eating, supporting itself with its prehensile tail. It may more
properly be called the twisted-tail ant-eater (Cyclothurus didactylus).
There is another small ant-eater found in Guiana, called the striped
ant-eater (Myrmecophaga striata), from the marks on its body. Its
general colour is of a tawny hue, the under parts being white. It is
marked with broad, distinct, blackish transverse stripes, and the tail
is annulated with similar ones. Its whole length, from the tip of its
nose to the end of its tail, is about twenty inches. The snout is
elongated, the upper mandible extending very little beyond the lower.
THE SLOTH.
That shaggy-haired creature, which may be seen hanging from the boughs
of the lofty cecropia--the much-abused sloth--is generally described as
a type of laziness, doomed to a helpless and wretched existence; but
such an animal the all-beneficent Creator has not placed on the earth.
To each animal that he has formed he has given an instinct and
organisation specially adapted to their mode of life and the part they
are destined to perform in the economy of nature. The sloth is formed
to pass its time in trees, and to feed on the superabundant leaves,
which would otherwise impede the circulation of the air, retard their
growth, or bring on premature decay. This duty it shares with
numberless other animals of the luxuriant forests of Tropical America.
Place the sloth out of its natural position, and, as would be the case
with other animals, it finds itself in a difficulty. Its destiny is to
live in the dense forest, where, the branches of the trees meeting each
other, it can move along from bough to bough, and make its way for
considerable distances without difficulty, or having to descend to the
ground. When by force or accident placed on the ground, it is unable to
move along except at a slow and toilsome pace. When by any chance thus
seen, its arms appear much too long, while its hind-legs, which are very
short, look as if they could be bent almost to the shape of a
cork-screw. Both fore and hind-legs, by their form, and the manner in
which they are joined to the body, are incapable of acting in a
perpendicular direction, or in supporting its body. Hence its belly
touches the ground. Even could the animal thus raise itself, it would
be in pain, as it has no soles to its fore-feet, and its claws are very
sharp, long, and curved. Thus, were its body supported by its feet, it
would be on their extremities; just as a man would be were he to go on
all-fours, and try to support his body on the ends of his toes and
fingers. "Were the ground polished like glass," says Waterton, "the
sloth would actually be quite stationary; but as it is generally rough,
the sloth moves its fore-legs in all directions, in order to find
something to lay hold of; and when it has succeeded, it pulls itself
forward, and is thus able to travel onwards, though in a slow and
awkward manner. Indeed, as its looks and gestures betoken its
uncomfortable situation, and as a sigh every now and then escapes it, it
may be concluded that it actually is in pain."
Thus it is evident that the sloth is formed, not to live on the ground,
but in trees; and on further observation it will be seen that, unlike
most other arborial animals, it lives, not on the branches, but under
them. It moves, suspended from the branch; it rests, suspended from the
branch; and sleeps, suspended from the branch. "Hence its seemingly
bundled position is at once accounted for," adds Waterton; "and in lieu
of the sloth leading a painful life, and entailing a miserable existence
on its progeny, it is but fair to conclude that it enjoys life as much
as any other animal, and that its extraordinary formation and singular
habits are but further proofs to engage us to admire the wonderful works
of Omnipotence."
In proportion as the sloth's organisation unfits it for terrestrial
progression, it is wonderfully adapted for climbing trees. With its
long arms it reaches right up, and clings to the branches with its long
and crooked claws. It has thus the power of grasping a tree which no
other mammal possesses. It is indeed the best climber among mammals,
while it is the only mammal that can neither walk nor stand. When
sleeping, the sloth does not hang head downwards, like the vampire, but
supports itself from the branch parallel to the earth. It first seizes
the branch with one arm, and then the other, and then brings up both its
legs--one after the other--to the same branch, so that all four are in a
line.
It is almost tailless. Had it a tail it would be at a loss to know what
to do with it in this position. Were it to draw it up between its legs,
it would interfere with them; and were it to let it hang down, it would
become the sport of the winds.
Waterton observes that he has never seen a tree entirely stripped of its
leaves; indeed, he believes that by the time the animal had finished the
last of the old leaves, there would be a new crop on the part of the
tree it had stripped first, ready for him to begin again, so rapid is
the process of vegetation in that region. In calm weather it remains
tranquil, probably not liking to cling to the brittle extremities of the
branches, lest they should break with it in passing from one tree to
another; but as soon as the wind rises, the branches of the neighbouring
trees become interlocked, and then the animal seizes hold of them, and
pursues his journey in safety, travelling at a good round pace--showing
that he does not deserve the name of sloth.
The head of the sloth is short, the face small and round, the hair
coarse and shaggy. There are several species, differing considerably in
colour, but resembling in general dry, withered grass, or moss. The
species vary in size from two feet to the size of a rabbit. Its face
resembles the human countenance as much as that of the monkey, but with
a very sad and melancholy expression. It brings forth its young and
suckles them like ordinary quadrupeds. The infant sloth, from the
moment of its birth, adheres to the body of its parent, until it
acquires sufficient size and strength to shift for itself. Its cry is
low and plaintive, resembling the sound of "ai." Hence the three-toed
sloth has obtained the name of the ai.
Mr Bates says that the natives consider the sloth the type of laziness,
and that it is very common for one native to call another--reproaching
him for idleness--"beast of the cecropia tree;" the leaves of the
cecropia being the food of the sloth. "It is a strange sight," he adds,
"watching the creature's movements from branch to branch. Every
movement betrays not indolence, but extreme caution. It never loses its
hold of one branch without catching the next; and when it does not
immediately find a branch to grasp with the rigid hooks which serve it
for paws, it raises its body, supported by its hind-legs and claws, and
feels round in search of a fresh foothold." In one of their voyages, he
and Mr Wallace saw a sloth (Bradypus infuscatus) swimming across a
river, at a place where it was probably three hundred yards broad. It
is not generally known that this animal takes to the water.
THE TAPIR.
Throughout the densely-wooded regions on the banks of the rivers from
Demerara, across the Brazils, to Paraguay, the long-nosed tapir has its
range. It and the peccary are the only two Pachydermata, or
thick-skinned animals, indigenous to the southern continent. It is
considered one of the links which connect the elephant and rhinoceros to
the swine; its habits, indeed, are somewhat similar to those animals.
Six feet in length, and four in height, it is the largest quadruped in
South America. In form it is somewhat like the hog; but its snout is
lengthened into a flexible proboscis, which resembles the rudiment of
the elephant's trunk, and serves for the same purpose--that of twisting
round the launches of trees and tearing off the leaves, on which it
partly feeds. Like the rhinoceros, it delights in water, is a good
swimmer and diver, and enjoys wallowing in the mud.
Though in its wild state its food consists of the shoots of trees, buds,
wild fruits, gourds, and melons, when in captivity it is an
indiscriminate swallower of everything, filthy or clean. During the day
it remains concealed in the deep recesses of the forest, issuing out at
night to seek its food. On its front feet are four toes, but there are
only three on the hinder--their tips cased in small hoofs. The eyes are
small and lateral, and the ears long and pointed. The teeth are strong
and powerful, to enable it to crush its food, or defend itself against
its enemies. The hair, of a deep brown, approaching to black, is short,
scanty, and closely depressed to the surface; while it has little or no
tail. It possesses enormous muscular power; and as its body is defended
by a thick, tough hide, it can force its way through the dense underwood
where no other creature can penetrate. Generally it moves in a trot,
but when pursued breaks into an awkward gallop, carrying its head
downwards, like the hog.
Its chief enemy is the fierce jaguar, which, leaping on its back,
endeavours to bring it to the ground. The tapir, on being seized, darts
through the forest, attempting to destroy its foe, and dislodge it from
its back by rushing under the low boughs of the trees. Should this
fail, and water be near, it quickly frees itself by diving down--as the
jaguar, unable to dive, must either let go its hold or be drowned.
Of a peaceful and harmless disposition, it never willingly attacks man
or beast; but when hunted and brought to bay, it will defend itself
desperately, frequently inflicting, with its strong teeth, severe wounds
on its assailants.
THE PECCARY.
The only other pachydermatous animal besides the tapir indigenous to
South America is the little truculent peccary--a herd of which creatures
is more feared by the natives than the jaguar, boa, or anaconda. There
are two species--the Dicotyles tajacu and Dicotyles labiatus, or
white-lipped peccary; the latter being the larger and fiercer of the
two. The peccary is very like a small hog. Its form is short and
compact, thickly covered with strong, dark-coloured bristles, except the
lower part of the body, which is nearly destitute of hair. It has a
somewhat large head, short snout, and short, upright ears; while a
fleshy protuberance is its representative for a tail. At the first
glance it seems harmless enough, but inside its mouth are found some
short tusks, double-edged, and as sharp as lancets, with which the
creature is capable of inflicting the most deadly wounds. It is
remarkable for a glandular orifice at the lower part of the back,
surrounded by strong bristles. From this gland exudes a strong-scented
fluid; so that, as soon as the creature is killed, it is necessary to
cut it out, or the rest of the flesh becomes so imbued as to make it
unfit for food.
In its habits it is like the hog, and lives on the same kind of food,
but its chief duty in the economy of nature is that of destroying
reptiles and snakes of all sorts,--particularly the rattlesnake, which
it attacks without the slightest hesitation; nor does it appear to
suffer in any way when bitten. It gives voice with a sharp, shrill
grunt; but when angry, it smartly clashes its tusks together, making a
sound heard at a considerable distance, and announcing its approach.
The flesh is somewhat dry and insipid, and entirely destitute of fat.
That of the female is considered the best.
The larger species--the white-lipped peccary--is dreaded by the farmers,
as it frequently, in large numbers, attacks their crops, choosing always
the most flourishing fields.
The peccary, though occasionally found by itself, is a gregarious
animal. A herd will attack a jaguar or puma, and even the sturdy tapir,
without fear; and rushing at their antagonist with their sharp tusks,
never fail to come off victorious. Knowing their power, the jaguar,
when meeting a herd, flies through the forest to avoid them. When the
hunter and his dogs encounter one of these armies, his only chance of
escape is to climb the nearest tree, when they can only stand below
gnashing their teeth, and gazing up at him with their vindictive little
eyes. His dogs, however, quickly fall victims to their fury.
On one occasion a party of hunters had brought a bear to bay, when, in
the midst of the fierce contest, a herd of peccaries came charging over
the ground, putting not only the bear, but the men and the dogs to
flight.
The peccary will, indeed, attack man or beast without hesitation, its
assaults being not the less dangerous because it seems utterly ignorant
of the danger it runs itself. It is, however, hunted by the natives for
the sake of its flesh. It frequently takes up its abode in some
forsaken burrow or the hollow of a tree. The creatures back in, one
after the other, till there is no room for more. The outer one then
takes the post of sentinel, and gives notice of the approach of any
desirable quarry. The hunters, aware of this habit, cautiously--
sometimes with firearms and sometimes with pointed weapons--approach the
peccaries' abode. A slight noise draws the sentinel from the hollow,
when it is immediately shot down or transfixed by a spear. Another at
once takes its place, coming out to see what is the matter, when it is
killed in the same way; and thus a whole family may be killed in detail.
HYDROCHAERUS CAPYBARA.
In all parts of the continent,--on the banks of the streams flowing
through the Llanos of Venezuela, as well as by the side of the La Plata
and its tributaries,--the capybara, the largest rodent in existence, may
be seen, seated on its haunches, like others of its family. It is of
the size of a moderately large hog about two years old. It has a large
head, and thick divided nose, on each side of which are long whiskers.
The ears are small and rounded; the eyes are black and of considerable
size; and the upper jaw much longer than the lower,--which gives the
face a curious appearance. The body is thick, covered with short,
coarse brown hair, and destitute of a tail. The neck is short, as are
the legs--with remarkably long feet, which are also very broad, the
claws of a blunt form, and approximate in shape to the hoofs of the
Pachydermata. They are partly webbed, and thus adapted to the aquatic
life it enjoys, and which has gained for it the name of the water-hog.
Though it feeds on vegetables, it is also fond of fish, to catch which
it enters the water, swimming after them with the rapidity of an otter.
When seen at a distance as they run over the ground, from their colour
they look like pigs; but when seen seated on their haunches, attentively
watching any object with one eye, as is their habit, their true
character is known.
Darwin describes his observing a party of several. As he approached
nearer and nearer they made their peculiar noise,--which is a low,
abrupt grunt, not having much actual sound, but rather arising from the
sudden expulsion of air. The only noise like it is the first hoarse
bark of a large dog. Having watched them from almost within
arm's-length and they him for several minutes, they rushed into the
water with the greatest impetuosity, emitting at the same time their
usual bark. After diving a short distance they came again to the
surface, but just showed the upper part of their heads. When the female
is swimming and has young ones, they are said to sit on her back.
The capybara is classed with the Cavidae or guinea-pig tribe. When not
persecuted, it is very tame; but in the regions frequented by the jaguar
it becomes his easy and constant prey. It is of a mild disposition, and
is sometimes tamed. Its flesh is rather dry, and has a somewhat musky
flavour, but affords wholesome food to man.
AGOUTI DASYPROCTA.
Of agoutis there are several species. The larger agouti, mara, or
Patagonian cony--twice the size of a hare--are seen three or four
together, hopping quickly one after the other in a straight line across
the Pampas. It is somewhat like a hare, but has the external covering
of a hog, its long coat concealing its little stump of a tail. It has
also the hog's voracious appetite.
It is fond of occupying the burrows of the bizcacha when it finds them,
but when they do not exist it is compelled to make a house for itself.
It here stores away the food it does not require for present use. When
eating, it sits up like the squirrel, using its fore-paws to convey the
food to its mouth. Its hind-legs being very long, it leaps over the
ground at considerable speed. As it is very fond of the sugar-cane,
wherever plantations exist it is hunted without mercy, and driven from
the district.
The smaller agouti, rather less than a rabbit, generally inhabits forest
districts; and as it is there a nocturnal animal, it spends the chief
part of the day in its hiding-place--usually the cleft of a rock or the
hollow of a decaying tree--twenty or thirty creatures congregating
together. Here their nests are formed of soft leaves, where the young
are placed till they are able to accompany their parents on their
predatory expeditions. It is a gentle little creature, and when caught,
instead of attempting to bite, only gives vent to a piteous cry.
The larger agouti, or mara, is sometimes classed between the agoutis and
the pacas. It is more easily tamed than the smaller species, and the
fur is handsomer--of black, white, and golden brown.
THE PACA (COELOGENYS).
The paca--another rodent--is remarkable for its enormously-developed
cheek-bone, and for the thick pouch which it possesses. Like its big
relation, the capybara, it always takes up its abode in the
neighbourhood of water. It forms a burrow so near the surface, that a
person walking over it suddenly steps through. It generally makes three
openings, which it covers with dry leaves and branches. The Indian
easily discovers the entrances, when he closes up two of the apertures,
and watches till the paca ventures out of the third. The little animal,
however, defends itself bravely, and will severely bite its assailant.
It is of a thick, clumsy form, measuring about two feet in length from
the tip of the nose to the extremity of the body, and about one foot in
height. The hinder limbs are long, the front ones much bent. Its feet
are armed with thick, strong, conical claws, suitable for digging.
Though a clumsy-looking creature, it can run and jump with great
activity. It makes a noise somewhat like the grunting of a young pig.
It lives upon fruits and tender plants, going out from its hole to
forage at night, but generally remaining concealed during the daytime.
When alarmed it readily takes to the water, and dives and swims
remarkably well.
Bates describes a tame cutea, or an agouti, which he found feeding in
the neighbourhood of a village, nibbling the fallen fruits of the
inaja-palm. On his trying to catch it, instead of betaking itself, as
he thought it would, to the thicket, it ran on to the house of its
owners, which was at a distance of about two hundred yards.
The paca and agouti belong to the peculiar family of the rodent order
confined to South America, and which connects the Rodentia to the
Pachydermata--the order to which the elephant, horse, and hog belong.
The fossil toxodon resembled the Rodentia in its dentition, and, at the
same time, was nearly related to the elephant. These facts make it
probable that these animals are living representatives of a group which
existed at a distant epoch of the world's history, and which possessed a
structure partaking of the character of the two great orders--Rodentia
and Pachydermata--now so widely distinct in the majority of forms.
THE ARMADILLO.
In days gone by, huge monsters--their backs covered with bony armour--
ten feet and upwards in length, some perhaps of the bulk of the
rhinoceros, crawled along the plains of South America. They have become
creatures of the past, and their places have been taken by others of a
similarly curious formation, of which even the giant armadillo, when
compared to them, is a mere pigmy. These creatures abound in all parts
of the continent, from Paraguay to Venezuela; but, incased as they are
in coats of complete armour, and running so quickly, and so rapidly
digging into the earth, they can rarely be overtaken by the hunter.
The armadillo (Dasypus) belongs to the order of Edentata. The armour,
which covers the whole body, consists of a triangular plate on the top
of the head, a large buckler over the shoulders, and a similar one
covering the haunches; while between the solid portions a series of
transverse bands intervene in such a manner as to allow the creature to
move its body in a variety of postures. The tail is likewise covered
with a series of calcareous rings. It can, in consequence of this
peculiar conformation of its covering, roll itself up, like the
hedgehog, into a ball, and thus present a solid surface, impervious to
the attacks of birds of prey or small quadrupeds. The part over the
shell is covered with short hairs, which appear between the joints of
the armour. It has a pointed snout, long ears, thick, short limbs, and
powerful claws. With these claws it burrows with extraordinary
rapidity, and can inflict severe wounds.
The common armadillo, or the poyou, is about twenty inches in length,
including the tail. As its hearing is very acute, and it never ventures
far from its home during the daytime, it easily escapes the attacks of
its foes, with the exception of man. It readily takes to the water when
pursued, and swims well, but does not enter it by choice. The Indian
hunter, however, attacks the creature with a skill it cannot escape.
It is a curious fact that mosquitoes often inhabit the burrows of the
armadillo. The Indian, knowing this, as soon as he finds a burrow, puts
a short stick down it. If a number of insects come out, he knows there
is an animal within. When he finds no mosquitoes, he is sure there is
no armadillo. If he is satisfied that the armadillo is at home, he cuts
a long, slender stick, and introduces it into the hole, carefully
observing the line which it takes, and then sinks a pit in the sand to
catch the end of it. This done, he puts it further into the hole, and
digs another pit; till he at last comes up with the poor armadillo--
which has been making a passage in the sand, till, from its exertions,
it has lost all its strength.
The armadillo feeds on all vegetable or animal matter not too hard for
its sharp teeth. It is especially useful in devouring the offal or the
putrid carcasses of animals which might otherwise affect the air. In
spite of this coarse style of feeding, its flesh is esteemed by the
natives--who for the sake of it perseveringly hunt the poor creature
throughout the country.
The species are distinguished from one another chiefly by the number of
bands on the trunk of the body, between the shield on the
fore-shoulders, and that on the rump. Baron Cuvier, however, divides
the whole genus into five small groups,--distinguishing one from another
by the number and form of their teeth and claws.
The great armadillo (Dasypus gigas) has enormous claws and unequal toes,
with twenty-four broad teeth on both sides of its jaws. It measures,
exclusive of the tail, nearly three feet in length.
Darwin describes another, living on very dry soil, the pechy (Dasypus
minutus), which wanders by day over the open plains, and feeds on
beetles, leaves, roots, and even small snakes. So rapidly does it
burrow, that scarcely is one seen before its hind-quarters disappear in
the sand. It likewise tries to escape notice by squatting down close to
the ground.
THE OPOSSUM.
There are numerous species of opossum, most of them marsupial, in the
Brazils, where they take the place of the shrews of Europe. They are
very destructive to poultry. One of the species is aquatic, and has
webbed feet. The terrestrial species are nocturnal. They sleep during
the day in the hollows of trees, and come forth at night to prey on
birds in their roosting-places. Some live entirely on trees.
THE CRAB-EATING OPOSSUM.
The crab-eating opossum is a curious creature, about ten inches in
length; with a prehensile tail, fifteen inches long, in addition. It
has a somewhat pointed nose, and a darkish fur. When born, the young
are transferred by the mother to her cradle pouch, where they live for
some weeks before they are sufficiently developed to venture abroad.
The creature is formed especially for living among the trees, about
which it moves with the activity of a monkey. It advances carefully,
always entwining its tail round one branch before venturing on to
another.
The crabs and other crustaceans on which it lives--from which
circumstance it obtains its name--are found on low marshy soils, in the
neighbourhood of which these species exist.
MERIAN'S OPOSSUM.
A still more curious creature is Merian's opossum (Philander
dorsigerus). It has no true pouch, and the mother, therefore, while her
young are in their infancy, carries them on her back. From this
circumstance the name of _dorsigerus_, or back-bearing, has been given
to it. They cling to her fur with their little hand-like feet, while
they twine their tails round hers, which she places over her back in a
convenient position for that purpose. Other species of opossums carry
their young in the same manner,--some even which are furnished with
well-developed pouches.
YAPOCK OPOSSUM.
The little yapock opossum is a representative of the aquatic species
(Cheironectes yapock). It is of a fawn-grey tint, with dark black
marks. It measures in length about ten inches, with a tail of twelve or
fifteen inches. The hind-feet are furnished with a membraneous web,
which connects the toes together, and serves as a paddle. The fore-paws
possess great grasping powers, and have a hand-like appearance. The
ears are small, sharp, and pointed, and the head tapering. It possesses
also large cheek-pouches, similar in their use to those of monkeys. It
is thus enabled to stow away the creatures it catches on its aquatic
excursions, and to keep them there till it returns to the shore to dine.
It feeds principally on fish, crustaceans, and aquatic insects. So
similar is it in its habits to the otter, that it is frequently
described as one, and has been called the Demerara otter; but it is in
reality a true opossum.
BATS.
No animal's physiognomy can be more hideous, when seen from the front,
than the countenance of the largest South American vampire-bat. Fancy a
creature measuring twenty-eight inches in expanse of wing, its large
leathery ears standing out from the sides and top of the head, and an
erect spur-shaped appendage on the tip of the nose,--the grin, and the
glistening black eye, all combining to make up a figure which reminds
one of some mocking imp of fable. No wonder that imaginative people
have conferred diabolical instincts on so ugly an animal.
Ugly as is the broad leaf-nosed family of bats, it is in reality the
least harmless. The little grey Phyllostoma is the guilty blood-sucker
which visits sleepers and bleeds them in the night. It is of a dark
grey colour, striped with white down the back, and having a leaf-like
fleshy expansion on the tip of the nose. Although they undoubtedly
attack sleeping people, yet they appear to be somewhat partial as to the
individuals they select. Bates, when sleeping in a room up the Amazon,
long unused, was awoke at midnight by a rushing noise made by vast hosts
of bats sweeping round him. The air was alive with them. They had put
out the lamp, and when he relighted it the place appeared black with the
impish multitudes that were whirling round and round. After he had laid
about him well with a stick for a few minutes they disappeared among the
tiles; but when all was quiet again, they returned once more and
extinguished the light. The next night several got into his hammock,
and on waking in the morning he found a wound, evidently caused by one
of them, on his hip. There were altogether four species. One of them
(the Dysopes perotis) has enormously large ears, and measures two feet
from tip to tip of the wings. The natives, however, assured him that it
was the phyllostoma which had inflicted the wound, and they asserted
that it is the only kind which attacks man. But Mr Bates considers
that several kinds of bats have this propensity.
Darwin, when travelling in Chili, noticing that one of the horses was
very restive, went to see what was the matter; and fancying that he
could distinguish something, put his hands on the beast's withers, and
discovered a vampire-bat. In the morning, the place where the wound had
been inflicted was easily distinguished by being slightly swollen and
bloody.
Waterton describes the mode in which the vampire-bat makes the orifice
through which to suck its victim's blood. It does so by pressing gently
the point of its sharp projecting teeth, noiselessly circling round, and
making them act the part of a centre-bit,--performing the operation so
quietly that no pain is felt. He says, however, that at times they
commit a good deal of mischief. A young Indian boy suffered greatly by
being frequently attacked; and the son of an English gentleman was
bitten so severely on the forehead, that the wound bled freely on the
following morning. The fowls also suffered so terribly that they died
fast; and an unfortunate jackass on whom they had set their fancy was
almost killed by inches.
The vampire rises in the air by means of a wide flattened membrane
connecting the whole of the limbs and tail, the thumb of the fore-paws
and the hind-feet alone being left free. This membrane, though
wonderfully delicate, is furnished with minute blood-vessels. It also
possesses a system of nerves of the most exquisite power of sensation,
which enables it to fly rapidly among the boughs and foliage, avoiding
all impediments even in the darkest hours of night. The vampire can run
along the ground and climb trees by means of the sharp hooks on the
fore-paws. They sleep, however, like ordinary bats, hanging by their
hind-feet--being thus able at a moment's notice to take to flight.
Of the other species, some have the fur of a blackish colour, some of a
ruddy hue.
When flying, the larger ones wheel heavily round and round, somewhat in
the manner of a pigeon, so that they may easily be mistaken for birds.
Although they live largely on insects, they also greedily devour fruits;
indeed, some species live chiefly on them. Bates opened the stomach of
several, and found them to contain a mass of pulp and seeds of fruit,
mingled with a few remains of night insects. On comparing the seeds
taken from their stomachs with those of cultivated trees, he found that
they were unlike any of them: he concludes, therefore, that they resort
to the forest to feed, coming only to human habitations in the morning
to sleep, where they find themselves more secure from animals of prey
than in their natural abodes in the woods.
PART THREE, CHAPTER TWELVE.
QUADRUMANA.
MONKEYS.
The American monkeys consist of two chief families,--the Cebidae, and
the Midas or Marmosets--which are again separated into thirteen genera,
consisting of about eighty-six species, greatly diversified among
themselves. In America neither Pithecidae or Lemurs are found: they
exclusively inhabit the Old World.
The Cebidae have thirty-six teeth; the Marmosets possess but thirty-two:
three of them, however, are pre-molar, as are three of those of the
Cebidae, thus distinguishing them both from all the forms of the Old
World.
The Marmosets are a low type of apes--their brain being smooth, and they
having claws instead of nails; but from their intelligent-looking
countenances, and their gentle, playful disposition, they appear to have
as much sense as the larger apes.
The American monkeys differ greatly in size and form. The largest--the
savage black howler--is nearly two feet and a half in length of trunk;
while the beautiful timid marmoset is so small that it may be inclosed
in the two hands. Some have tails twice the length of their bodies; the
caudal appendages of others appear to have been docked, or are
altogether absent. The long tails of some are prehensile, and have a
smooth surface, which enables them to employ it as a fifth hand; others
are covered with thick bushy hair, and are employed apparently only in
balancing the animal. When night comes they roll themselves into a
ball, huddled together as close as may be, to keep themselves warm.
Sometimes it happens that a few little monkeys have not been alert
enough to get into the ball, and are left shivering outside. They keep
up a pitiful howling the whole night through.
One family--the Marmosets--have, as has been remarked, claws instead of
nails. Others are covered with short, coarse hair; while others, again,
have coats of a long, soft silky texture.
Some sport among the branches, seeking their food in the daytime;
others, again, only come forth from the hollows of trees, where they
have their beds during the night season--their eyes being formed, like
those of owls, incapable of meeting the glare of day.
It is remarkable that the smallest of all--the Hapali pygmaeus,
measuring only seven inches in length of body--is among the most widely
dispersed, having found its way into Mexico: the only monkey known to
have wandered far from the great river-plain.
All the monkeys of the New World are arborial; as, indeed, are many of
the animals which, in other parts of the world, live entirely on the
ground. They are mostly furnished with long, prehensile tails. Some
have the under part of the extremity perfectly smooth, so as to serve
the purpose of a fifth hand, by which the creatures can swing themselves
from bough to bough, and hold on securely while their four hands are
actively employed. On passing through an Amazonian forest, sometimes
the branches of the trees are seen alive with active little creatures
swinging backwards and forwards, climbing up the sipos with the agility
of seamen on the rigging of a ship, scampering along the boughs, playing
all sorts of antics, or engaged in plucking the juicy fruit or hard nuts
to be found in ample abundance, even on the tallest monarchs of the
woods.
SPIDER-MONKEYS.
Among the most curious of the monkey tribe are the ateles, or
spider-monkeys,--called also Cebidae, and, by the natives sapajous, one
of the species of the coaita, or quata. As they are seen gambolling
among the trees, with their long limbs, and still longer tails, ever
actively employed, their resemblance to huge spiders is remarkable. Not
that the creature is always in a state of activity, for it will often
sit swinging slowly backwards and forwards, or place itself in the
oddest of attitudes without moving a limb, as if resting after its
exertions, or, in a contemplative mood, watching the proceedings in the
world below. Sometimes a whole colony may thus be seen, when the native
huntsman, approaching with his deadly blow-pipe, can without difficulty
pick them off one by one, and secure his prey. But let them be alarmed,
and away they go through the forest, swinging themselves from bough to
bough, at a rate which no other creature, without wings, can exceed.
In the spider-monkeys, the tail, as a prehensile organ, reaches its
highest degree of perfection, and they may therefore be considered as
the extreme development of the American type of apes. Their tails are
endowed with the most wonderful degree of flexibility. They are always
in motion--except when the animal is perfectly at rest--coiling and
uncoiling themselves, like the trunks of elephants, seeking to grasp,
apparently, whatever comes within their reach.
The coaita can apply its tail to all sorts of uses. So delicate is its
touch, that one would almost think it possessed the power of sight.
Should it discover a nest of eggs or any creature in a crevice too small
for its paw to enter, it inserts the end of its tail and hooks out the
tit-bit.
The animal is of considerable size, and is covered with coarse black
hair--with the exception of the face, parts of which are of a tawny
flesh-coloured hue. There are various species, each of which has its
peculiar district; and they vary slightly in appearance.
In the neighbourhood of Obydos, the Ateles paniscus has its abode; while
in the Upper Amazon the white-whiskered coaita (Ateles marginatus) takes
its place. It is remarkable that animals which apparently have the
means of moving without difficulty at a rapid rate in any direction
should thus be confined to particular localities.
THE CHEMECK.
The chemeck appears to have a wider range. It possesses a thumb,
slightly projecting, and furnished with a nail--though the thumb cannot
be used like that of a human being, as it is incapable of being opposed
to the fingers. It is a gentle creature, and capable of considerable
cultivation. Although playfully inclined, it is seldom spiteful; while
its disposition is very different from that exhibited by the capricious
temper of the Old World monkeys. It soon learns to distinguish its
friends; and will playfully pretend to attack them, but never does any
real harm. It is covered with a long fur, which falls densely over the
body; as is its tail, which at once distinguishes it from its relatives.
The ear is somewhat similar to that of man, but has no lower lobe. The
nostrils open at the sides, and are separated by a wide piece of
cartilage. The habits, however, of the ateles, are so similar, that
they require no separate description.
Wandering through the forest with an Indian guide, we reach an igarape
or stream, where the lofty branches of the trees do not completely meet
overhead, but where the opening is as yet of no great width. Lying
concealed, we hear a strange chattering and rustling among the foliage
in the distance. Pieces of rotten wood, husks, and nuts come dropping
down, and we may see the boughs alive with numberless dark-haired little
creatures, their long lithe tails twisting and twirling, their active
limbs stretched out in all directions, as they make their way through
the forest. We recognise them as a troop of ateles, migrating to some
other district, or on some expedition in search of food.
On reaching the boughs above the banks of the stream, they seem somewhat
puzzled. Several of the elders of the tribe go to the outer ends of the
boughs, and appear to be measuring the distance across. As they have an
especial dislike to wetting their hairy skins--although they would
undoubtedly swim if no other means could be found of getting to the
opposite bank--they have devised a method more suited to their tastes.
They leap from bough to bough, till they find one projecting in a line
with the trunk or branch of any tree inclining over the water from the
opposite side. The larger and stronger members of the tribe now
assemble, leaving the younger ones to gambol and frisk about among the
boughs, and amuse themselves in juvenile monkey fashion. One monkey--
the Hercules probably of the tribe--twisting his tail round the outer
end of the branch, now hangs by it with his head downwards, at his full
length. Another descends by the body of the first, round which he coils
his tail. A third adds another link to the chain: and thus, one by one
they increase its length, till the surface of the water is almost
reached. The chain now begins to oscillate backwards and forwards
towards the opposite bank, each movement increasing the length of the
arc, till the lower monkey, with fore-arms outstretched, reaches the
stem of the tree on the opposite bank. He grasps it tightly, gradually
clambering up, and drawing the line composed of his comrades after him,
till the monkey immediately below him is also able to seize the trunk,
and assist in dragging up the rest. They thus form an almost horizontal
bridge above the water. The rest of the agile tribe, now summoned from
their sports, begin to cross; the younger ones, in the exuberance of
their spirits, taking the opportunity of playing all sorts of pranks
during their passage over the bodies of their self-sacrificing elders--
giving many a sly pinch of the ear, or pull of the hair, for which they
well know they cannot at the moment receive punishment. Thus the whole
party--the mothers with their infants on their backs, and the other
juvenile members--cross in safety, and assemble among the branches to
watch the further proceedings.
The great difficulty now appears to be for the individuals composing the
bridge to get across without touching the water. Trusting to the
muscular power of their tails and limbs, they appear in no way daunted.
The monkeys which have hitherto formed the lower links of the chain,
still holding on by their tails to their friends, work their way up the
trunk and along a branch of equal or greater height than that on the
opposite side, to which the long-enduring Hercules has hitherto clung.
On their attaining the point selected, he at length unwinds his tail,
and swings downwards--with a force which seems sufficient to dislocate
the limbs of those holding on above--and now becomes the lowest in the
line. The force with which he has descended enables him to swing
towards the side which his comrades have reached, and to grasp the
trunk, up which he also climbs, till his neighbour can catch hold of it.
He follows his example, till all, one after the other, have grasped it:
and thus they perform an operation which the most renowned of human
athletes would find it difficult to imitate.
A troop will cross a gap in the forest in the same way, rather than
venture down from the leafy heights they find it safest to occupy. When
compelled to descend to the ground, they scuttle over it in the most
awkward manner--their long limbs straggling out, and their tails in vain
seeking some object to grasp. On these occasions the spider-monkey
turns its hind-feet inwards, and thus walks on the outer sides, while
the fore-paws are twisted outward; thus throwing the whole of its weight
upon their inner edges. It is when thus seen that the appropriateness
of the name given to it is more especially observed. When hard-pressed,
however, the knowing little animal, finding no bough round which to coil
its tail, rears itself up on its hind-limbs, and balances itself by
curling up its tail in the form of the letter S, as high as its head;
thus--by altering the centre of gravity--being enabled to got over the
ground in a posture such as no other member of its tribe can maintain.
It will thus run on towards some friendly stem or low-hanging bough,
which it seizes with its lithe and prehensile limb, and joyfully swings
itself up in its usual monkey fashion, quickly disappearing amid the
foliage.
The ordinary size of the coaita's body is about a foot from the nose to
the root of the tail, while the tail itself is rather more than two feet
in length.
MACACO BARRIGUDO.
Seated among the boughs may often be seen, in the forests of the Upper
Amazon, a number of large, stout-bodied, fat-paunched monkeys, with long
flexible tails, furnished underneath with a naked palm, like the hand,
for grasping. Their faces are black and wrinkled, their foreheads low,
and eyebrows projecting; their features bearing a wonderful resemblance
to those of weather-beaten old negroes. The heads of some are covered
with black hair, and others with grey. They are called by the
Portuguese _macacos barrigudos_, or big-bellied monkeys. They belong to
the species of Lagothrix, and are closely allied to the coaitas. They
are bulky fellows, and though able, by means of their prehensile tails,
to get along at a good rate among the boughs, seldom trouble themselves
to move rapidly.
With the exception of the black howler, which will be described anon,
they are the largest monkeys in America--their bodies measuring about
twenty-eight inches in height. Their flesh being highly esteemed by the
natives, they are unceasingly hunted by the Indians. Though their
manners are somewhat grave, yet, from their mild and confiding temper
similar to that of the coaitas--they are much sought after for pets.
They live exclusively on fruits.
THE UAKARI.
On the western side of the River Yapura, near where it pours its waters
into the Amazon--a forest region inundated during the greater part of
the year--there lives in small troops, high up among the crowns of the
lofty trees,--where it feeds on fruits of various descriptions,--a
small, almost tailless monkey, its face glowing with the most vivid
scarlet hue. Its body, about eighteen inches in height, exclusive of
limbs, is clothed from head to tail with very long, straight, shining,
whitish hair. Its head, nearly bald, is sprinkled over with a short
crop of thin grey hair; whilst round its ruddy countenance, bushy
whiskers, of a sandy colour, meet under the chin. It has reddish-yellow
eyes. It belongs to the Cebidae family. The Indians call it the white
uakari. It inhabits, as far as is known, no other district.
In spite of its want of tail, it is an active little creature, running
up and down the larger branches, but seldom leaping from one to the
other. The mothers, as is the custom with the other monkey orders,
carry their young on their back. They are highly valued as pets; but
being of a delicate constitution, seldom live long when transported from
their native district.
The native hunter, on wishing to obtain one of these creatures alive,
goes forth with his blow-pipe, and arrows tipped with diluted wourali
poison. This poison, though producing so deadly an effect on animals,
as well as human beings who exist without salt, appears to have little
or no effect on salt-consuming Europeans. Salt, indeed, is the great
antidote to the poison. The hunter, in consequence, supplies himself
with a small quantity of salt. As soon as he has shot a monkey, he
follows it through the forest, till, the poison beginning to take
effect, it falls exhausted into his arms. He then immediately puts a
pinch of salt in its mouth, and in a short time the creature revives,
and is led away captive. If old, however, when thus caught, it appears
to be discontented in confinement, and, seldom becoming tame, in a short
time pines away and dies. When a young one is thus caught, it
frequently becomes a playful and interesting pet, and is highly valued
by the Brazilians.
Further to the west, an allied species of this monkey is found, clothed
with red instead of white hair; while, at a still greater distance, a
black-faced and grey-haired species takes the place of the two former.
ALOUATTES, OR HOWLERS.
The voyager up the Amazon, or one of its numerous tributaries, when his
montaria has been moored to the banks, a fire lighted to keep prowling
jaguars or pumas at a respectful distance, his hammock hung up in his
temporary hut, and he is expecting to enjoy a quiet night's rest, is,
ere long, often awoke by the sound of the most fearful howling
proceeding from the recesses of the forest. Now it sounds like the
dreadful roar of the jaguar as it springs on its prey. Now it changes
to the terrible and deep-toned growlings of the wild beast as he is
pressed on all sides by his foes, and now it seems like his last dying
moan beneath a mortal wound. Nothing can be more dismal or dispiriting
than the fearful uproar. Hour after hour it goes on during the night,
increasing as the dawn approaches. Now the howls come from one
direction, now from another, and in far-off parts of the forest. Yet,
terrific as they appear, they are produced by animals not much larger
than a full-grown fox. It is the mycetes, or ursine howler--the largest
monkey of South America.
On advancing into the forest in the morning, three or four may be seen
seated on the upper branches of a tree--shaggy-haired animals, with long
prehensile tails like those of the spider-monkeys--hideous-looking
creatures, with pyramidical heads, the upper jaw descending much below
the cranium, while the branches of the lower one ascend very high, for
the purpose of containing a bony, drum-shaped expansion of the larynx,
which gives to its voice that prodigious volume of sound which makes
night hideous.
They differ somewhat in colour. Some are entirely black, others
brownish-black, while the Mycetes ursinus is of a shiny yellow.
These unmusical howlings are supposed by some naturalists to be merely
the nocturnal serenades of lover mycetes addressed to their mistresses,
seated high on the branches in some distant part of the forest; others
regard them rather as noises which serve to intimidate their enemies,
though not emitted in general for any sudden alarm.
The female howler carries its young on its back. It is the least
attractive in appearance of its western brethren, and is the only one of
the monkey tribe which the natives are unable to tame. Though often
caught, they do not survive many weeks in captivity. It lives on fruits
and nuts, and is hunted for the sake of its flesh, which, though rather
dry, is much esteemed. The natives entrap this monkey in a curious
fashion. They take a large nut, and scraping out the interior, leave
only a small mouth, and, filling it with sugar, leave it near the trees
inhabited by the mycetes. The inquisitive monkey soon descends to
examine the nut, and putting in his hand, grasps the sweet contents.
Knowing that it is well-suited to his taste, he will not let go, but
runs off with his prize, which greatly impedes his progress. Although
he might easily draw out his hand by opening it, this he does not think
of doing; and thus, unable at the best to move rapidly over a level
surface, is soon overtaken by the hunter, and captured.
THE CUXIO (BEARDED SAKI).
Among the host of curiously-shaped, long-tailed, active little monkeys
which inhabit the American forests, the cuxio is one of the most
remarkable. Its general colour is a grizzly-brown; but the head, limbs,
and tail, are black. As the passer-by sees the odd little creature
gazing down on him, he might fancy that it had just escaped from the
hands of the _perruquier_. The black hair of its head is parted
carefully on either side. Its enormous black beard seems as if just
freshly dressed; while its bushy tail looks as if equally cared for.
Notwithstanding its somewhat fierce and Turk-like visage, it lives a
respectable, domestic life, with one partner alone--the sharer of its
home--engaged in the task of rearing its infant progeny.
She is not of so dark a colour as her mate, her hair being chiefly of a
rusty-brown.
The odd little creature's head is of a round form, and considerable
size, greatly increased in appearance by the amount of hair which
surrounds it. The nostrils are wide, and divided by an unusually large
cartilage. It is furnished with large jaws, and teeth so sharp that it
has been seen to drive them, when angry, into a thick plank. When in a
rage it grinds them together, and, rubbing its long beard in a most
curious way, leaps about in every direction. At the slightest cause of
offence, it gives a savage grin, wrinkling the skin of its face and
jaws, and threatening the offender with the most menacing grimaces.
It seems perfectly conscious of the unusual adornment of its head,
treasuring its bushy beard with as much care and pride as does a human
exquisite. When drinking, it dips its paw, curved into the shape of a
spoon, into the water, and thus brings the liquid to its mouth. The
natives declare that it does so to avoid the risk of wetting its long
beard, of which--being generally destitute of such appendages
themselves--they fancy it must be excessively vain. As it is chiefly
nocturnal in its habits, it might be classed among the Nyctipitheci, or
night monkeys. From its fierce countenance, long, sharp teeth, and
savage temper, it has gained its second scientific name--Brachyuras
Satanus.
THE CACAJAO.
The cacajao is a curious contrast to the cuxio. It is called also the
black-headed saki. Unlike most of its brethren, it has but a short,
hairy tail, looking as if it had been docked. The head is perfectly
black, somewhat flattened at the temples, with large ears approaching in
shape to those of the human head, and devoid of hair. The fur on the
body is generally of a bright yellowish-brown. When full-grown, the
animal reaches to upwards of twenty inches in length, while the tail is
from three to five inches long. Its legs are covered with rough hair,
and its fingers are unusually long and slender, giving it an awkward
appearance when feeding. In captivity it is a docile and peculiarly
timid animal. A little creature which had been caught exhibited great
alarm at the appearance of several small monkeys of its own country; and
when a serpent was placed before its eyes, it trembled violently.
It is found on the borders of the Negro, where it is known by several
names--among others, as the mono faio, or ugly monkey.
MARMOSETS, OR MIDAS MONKEYS.
The most active, playful, and amusing of animals are the midas monkeys,
which form the second family of American Quadrumana, several species of
which exist, each in its respective district. As they are seen
gambolling among the branches,--now running round and round the trunk of
a perpendicular tree, now with their sharp claws rapidly mounting the
branches, sending down showers of rotten bark and twigs, and uttering
sharp twittering cries,--they might be mistaken for a troop of
squirrels.
They are restless, inquisitive little creatures, possessed of a large
share of curiosity. When a stranger is passing through the forest, they
invariably stop for a few moments to have a stare at him.
Though in no way related to squirrels, which belong to the rodent order,
they may easily be mistaken for them at a distance. They are all of
small size, and very similar, in their mode of climbing, to squirrels.
Their nails, also, except those of the hind-thumbs, are long and
claw-shaped; and the thumbs of the fore extremities, or hands, are not
opposable to the other fingers. Their bodies are long and slender,
clothed with soft hair; and their tails, though not prehensile, are
nearly twice the length of their bodies.
MIDAS URSULUS.
The midas ursulus is found in the Lower Amazon, frequently in the
neighbourhood of towns, and it seems much less afraid of man than most
other monkeys. It is seldom that more than three or four individuals
are seen together. It moves generally among the larger boughs and
trunks of trees, its long nails assisting it to cling securely to the
bark.
It lives on both animal and vegetable food; the former including various
insects, eggs, and occasionally a young bird--while its vegetable diet
consists of all the sweetest fruits it can find. The smaller insects--
flies, and other soft-bodied creatures--it pops into its mouth whole;
but when eating a larger one--such as a cockroach--it nips off the head,
wings, and legs, before putting it into its mouth.
It has gained the name of oustiti, in consequence of its giving vent to
a little sharp whistle when alarmed or irritated; but it otherwise
generally preserves silence.
The midas ursulus is about nine inches long; and the tail measures
fifteen inches. It is clothed in a thick, long fur, and has a
reddish-brown streak down the middle of the back.
It is often seen in the houses at Para, and when treated kindly becomes
very tame and familiar. When, however, strangers approach it, its dark,
watchful eyes, expressive of distrust, observe every movement which
takes place.
MIDAS LEONINAS, OR JACCHUS ROSALIA.
Another species, the Midas leoninas, or Jacchus Rosalia, inhabits the
Upper Amazon. It is only seven inches in length. It is so named on
account of the long brown mane which hangs from the neck, and gives it
very much the appearance of a diminutive lion.
One of these little creatures, kept tame, became familiar with every
one, and used to climb up the chairs, over their shoulders and heads,
just as a squirrel does. Mr Bates relates that one he met with, having
reached his shoulder, looked into his face, showing his little teeth,
and chattering, as though it would say, "Well, and how do you do?" It
exhibited more affection towards its master than to strangers, and would
climb up to his head a dozen times in an hour, and make great show of
searching for certain animalcule.
Audubon the naturalist possessed a little creature of this species,
which could distinguish different objects depicted in an engraving. On
showing it the portrait of a cat and a wasp, it became much terrified;
but when the figure of a grasshopper or beetle was placed before it, it
precipitated itself on the picture, as if to seize them.
Another, which belonged to a lady, used, when angry, to pull at her
hair, and nibble the ends of her ringlets. It also possessed the
accomplishment of being able to stand on its head.
It is certainly one of the most beautiful of its tribe. It is covered
with long glossy locks of a bright and lustrous chestnut, having a
golden sheen, almost varying in texture with the fine fibres of unwoven
silk. The colour darkens somewhat on the paws. The fur is everywhere
long, but on the head and shoulders it is of extraordinary length in
proportion to the size of the animal, which has thus gained a name very
inappropriate to its disposition, as it is an especially timid little
creature, and unable to do battle with any foe. It is, however, so
active and clever in hiding itself, that it is enabled to escape from
its enemies. When pleased, its voice is soft and gentle; but when angry
or terrified, it utters a somewhat sharp hiss.
MIDAS ARGENTATUS.
Among the rarest of the tribe is the Midas argentatus, measuring only
seven inches in length of body. It resembles a little white kitten,--
being covered with long white silky hair. The tail, however, is
blackish, and the face nearly naked and flesh-coloured. The eyes, which
are black, are full of curiosity and mistrust; and one seen in
captivity--except when in the arms of its owner--shrank back and
trembled with fear, while its teeth chattered, and it uttered a
tremulous, frightened tone, at the approach of a stranger.
SAI CAPICINUS.
The most attractive little creatures in the American forests are the
capucins, the best-known of which is the Sai capucinus. Their tails,
though covered with hair, are prehensile. They are active and lively in
the extreme, leaping about from bough to bough, and eagerly watching all
that goes forward in the world below. There are several species of
similar habits, their quaint ways and general intelligence making them
all great favourites when tamed. They live chiefly on vegetable food,
but they devour insects and eggs, and do not object to a bird when they
can manage to catch one.
HORNED CAPUCIN.
The horned capucin, or sapajou (Cebus fatuellus), is remarkable for two
points of hair which stand out from the forehead, and give it the
appearance of having horns. The colour is sometimes of a deep brown,
and at others of a purple-black, while occasionally it has a chestnut
tint.
THE COMMON CAPUCIN.
The hair of the common capucin is of a golden olive, with white fur
bordering the face.
These curious little creatures are noted for forming a friendship with
other animals when in captivity. Baron Humboldt mentions one which used
to mount on the back of a pig every morning, and continued sitting there
during the whole of the day; and even when the pig went out feeding on
the campos, it still kept its seat, riding back again in the evening to
its home. Others have been known to choose cats for their steeds, and
perseveringly to keep their hold in spite of their active movements--
seeming to enjoy them as much as the llanero does those of a colt he is
engaged in breaking-in.
PARAUACU.
On the dry lands to the north of the Upper Amazon, a little timid
inoffensive monkey is found with a long bear-like coat of speckled grey
hair. The long fur hangs over its head, half concealing a pleasing
diminutive face; the tail--to the very tip--which is of some length, is
also completely covered.
PITHECIA HIRSUTA--PITHECIA ALBICANS.
There are two more species--the Pithecia hirsute and the Pithecia
albicans. They are especially capable of attachment to those who treat
them kindly. Being somewhat dull and cheerless, they seldom indulge in
the usual sportive movements of their race.
Mr Bates relates that a friend of his possessed one of these little
creatures. His friend, accompanied by the monkey, was in the habit of
paying him a daily visit. One day the little animal, having missed its
master, concluded, as it seemed, that he had gone to his house, and
accordingly came straight to it, taking a short cut over gardens, trees,
and thickets. This it had never done before; they learned it, however,
from a neighbour who had observed its movements. On arriving at Mr
Bates's house and not observing its master, it climbed to the top of the
table, and sat with an air of quiet resignation waiting for him.
Shortly afterwards he arrived, and the gladdened pet then jumped to its
usual perch on his shoulder.
SAIMIBI--CALLITHRIX--TEETEE--COLLARED TEETEE.
There is another genus of light and graceful little monkeys, known by
the name of Callithrix, or "beautiful hair." Among them is the Saimiri,
or teetee, of which there are several species. The collared teetee is
among the most attractive--Callithrix torquatus. The general colour is
a greyish-olive, the limbs looking as if washed with a rich golden hue.
The ears are white, and the body whitish-grey. The tip of the long tail
is black.
They are very engaging little creatures, and possess an intelligence
which makes them the most attractive of their race. Their temper, too,
is amiable, and they are never known to get into a passion. Their
countenances express almost an infantine innocence, and this exhibits
itself especially when the creatures are alarmed. Tears fill their
hazel eyes; and, with imploring gestures, they seem to claim the
protection of their human friends. They have also a curious habit of
watching the lips of those who address them, as if they could understand
what is spoken; and apparently wishing the better to comprehend their
master, they will place their fingers on his lips in the most
attractive, confiding way.
The creature's long tail possesses no prehensile power, but it appears
to use it as a lady does a boa,--coiling it round its body to keep
itself warm.
NIGHT APES, OR DOUROUCOULI.
When travelling through some parts of the Amazonian forests, and looking
up into an ancient tree, a number of little striped faces crowding a
hole in the trunk may suddenly be seen gazing inquisitively down at the
intruder who has disturbed their noonday sleep. These are Nyctipitheci,
or night apes, which the Indians call _ei-a_, and are named also
Douroucouli. Sleeping soundly during the day in some dark hollow, out
of harm's way, they come forth at night to prey on insects or small
birds, which they hunt and capture,--as well as fruit. The body of the
creature is about a foot long, and the tail fourteen inches, thickly
covered with soft grey and brown fur. Its face is round, and encircled
by a ruff of whitish fur. The forehead is of a light colour, and
adorned with three black stripes,--which in one species meet at the top
of it, and in another continue to the crown; the muzzle is somewhat
flat, and the mouth and chin small. The ears are very short, scarcely
appearing above the hair of the head; and the eyes are large and of a
yellowish colour, imparting that staring expression observed in owls or
night animals. From this they have obtained the name of owl-faced night
apes. The creature has nails of the ordinary form to its fingers, and
semi-opposable thumbs; but the molar teeth are studded with sharp
points, showing that it lives chiefly on insects.
Though in the daytime it appears torpid and dull, yet at night, shaking
off its drowsiness, its large dull eyes, which shrunk from the rays of
the sun, are full of eager animation as it sets off in quest of its
prey. So active and quicksighted is it, that it catches the
rapidly-flying insects as they flit by, or chases the beetles as they
run over the bark of the trees on which it lives.
Mr Bates describes a tame one he met with, which was excessively
confiding in its disposition, very lively and nimble, and in no way
mischievous. It delighted to be caressed by all persons who came into
the house. It used to sleep in the hammock of its owner, or nestle in
his bosom half the day as he lay reading. From the cleanliness of its
habits, and the prettiness of its features and ways, it was a great
favourite with every one. He himself had a similar pet, which was kept
in a box, in which was placed a broad-mouthed glass jar. Into this it
would dive when any one entered the room, and, turning round, thrust
forth its inquisitive face to stare at the intruder. It was very active
at night, giving vent at intervals to a hoarse cry, like the suppressed
bark of a dog, and scampering about the room after cockroaches and
spiders. Although it preferred insects, it ate all kinds of fruit, but
would not touch either raw or cooked meat. Its brothers, when let loose
about the house, are very useful in clearing the chambers of bats, as
well as insects and vermin.
It is monogamous. The ei-a and its wife may often be discovered
together tending their small family in some hollow trunk. Its cry is
wonderfully loud, considering its small size; and curious as it may
seem, is not unlike the roar of the jaguar. It can also hiss or spit in
the fashion of an angry cat, while it utters a curious mew resembling
the same creature. It sometimes gives a guttural, short, and
rapidly-repeated bark.
There are several species of night monkeys with very similar habits.
It is difficult, except when they are in captivity, to obtain a correct
idea of the habits of these interesting little, animals,--though, of
course, when they are tamed, they must abandon some of those they
possessed in a state of nature. Of their dispositions, however, a very
fair notion may be formed from the way they behave when in captivity.
The above descriptions refer only to a few of the numerous species of
monkeys which exist in the South American forests, but as typical forms
have been selected, a tolerable idea of the whole may be obtained.
PART THREE, CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
BIRDS.
HUMMING-BIRDS.
Most of the humming-birds found on the banks of the Amazon belong to the
genus Phaethornis; remarkable for their long, graduated tails, the
central feathers of which greatly exceed the others. Their nests are
curious and beautiful, being formed in a long funnel-like shape,
tapering below to a slender point. They are woven with great delicacy,
and attached to some twig, or hanging leaf, by means of spider's webs.
They are lined with a soft silky cotton fibre; and composed, externally,
of a woolly kind of furze, bound together with which appears also to be
spider's web.
One of the largest is the Eupetomena macroura, with a swallow tail, and
a livery of brilliant emerald-green and steel blue. When feeding, it
remains a shorter time than usual poised in the air before the flowers,
frequently perching, and occasionally darting after small insects flying
by.
When the orange-trees become fully covered with flowers, the
humming-birds appear in vast numbers. Their motions are totally unlike
those of other birds. So quickly do they dart backwards and forwards,
that the eye can hardly follow them. Even when poising themselves
before a flower, with such inconceivable rapidity do their wings move,
that even then their bright colours are scarcely perceptible; and anon
they shoot off to sip the nectar from another cup. Unlike the
systematic way in which bees proceed, they seem to delight in darting,
now in one direction, now in the other; now for a moment they perch on a
spray, probing, as they sit, the flowers nearest to them; then again
they fly off, in their eccentric course, to another spot.
"Wherever a creeping vine opens its fragrant cluster, or wherever a
flower blooms, may these little things be seen," writes Edwards, in his
usual graphic way; "in the garden, or in the woods, over the water,
everywhere, they are darting about, of all sizes, from one that might
easily be mistaken for a different variety of bird, to the tiny hermit--
T. Rufigaster, whose body is not half the size of the bee's--buzzing
about. Sometimes they are seen chasing each other, in sport, with a
rapidity of flight and intricacy of path the eye is puzzled to follow.
Again, circling round and round, they rise high in mid-air, and then
dart off like light to some distant attraction. Perched upon a little
twig, they smooth their plumes, and seem to delight in their dazzling
hues; then, starting off leisurely, they skim along, stopping
capriciously to kiss the coquetting flowerets. Often two meet in
mid-air and furiously fight, their crests, and the feathers upon their
throats, all erected and blazing, and altogether pictures of the most
violent rage. Several times we saw them battling with large black bees
who frequent the same flowers, and may be seen often to interfere
provokingly. Like lightning our little heroes would come down, but the
coat of shining mail would ward off their furious strokes. Again and
again would they renew the attack, until their anger had expended itself
by its own fury, or until the apathetic bee, once roused, had put forth
powers which drove the invaders from the field."
Bates remarks, that he several times shot, by mistake, a humming-bird
hawk-moth, instead of a bird. This moth (Macroglossa Titan) is smaller
than humming-birds generally are, but its manner of flight, and the way
it poises itself before the flower whilst probing it with its proboscis,
are precisely like the same actions of humming-birds. This resemblance
has attracted the notice of the natives, who firmly believe that one is
transmutable into the other. The resemblance between this hawk-moth and
the humming-bird is certainly very curious, and strikes one, even when
both are examined in the hand. Holding them sideways, the shape of the
head and position of the eyes in the moth are seen to be nearly the same
as in the bird, the extended proboscis representing the long beak. At
the tip of the moth's body there is a brush of long hair-scales,
resembling feathers, which, being expanded, looks very much like a
bird's tail; but, of course, all these points of resemblance are merely
superficial.
He one day saw a little pigmy, belonging to the genus Phaethornis, in
the act of washing itself in a brook. It was perched on a thin branch,
whose end was under water. It dipped itself, then fluttered its wings,
and plumed its feathers, and seemed thoroughly to enjoy itself alone in
the shady nook which it had chosen. "There is no need for poets to
invent," he adds, "while nature furnishes us with such marvellous little
sprites ready to hand."
But these beautiful little creatures require a separate description.
TOPAZ HUMMING-BIRD.
The topaz humming-bird is perhaps the most resplendent and beautiful of
its tribe. The fiery topaz (Topaza pyra) is found on the shores of the
Rio Negro. The larger part of its feathers are of a blazing scarlet,
which contrasts beautifully with the deep velvet-black of the head and
part of the neck. The throat is emerald-green, with a patch of crimson
in the centre. The lower part of the back, and the upper tail-coverts,
are of a resplendent green with an orange gloss; and the wings and tail
of purple-black, the two elongated feathers of the tail excepted--they
being of a purplish-green. Its nest appears as if formed of leather,
and is so cleverly woven that it can scarcely be distinguished from the
bark or fungi growing on the branch to which it is fixed.
ARA HUMMING-BIRD.
The crimson topaz, or ara humming-bird (Topaza pella), vies with it in
beauty. Its hues are of a deeper crimson. The tail is of a
reddish-buff, except the two central feathers, which are of the same hue
as the preceding. Unlike most humming-birds, it is of a shy and
retiring disposition, and seldom ventures from among the deep shades of
the forest; and then only at early dawn, or late in the evening, when it
may be seen darting across the stream in search of insects, on which it
chiefly feeds.
THE RACKET-TAIL HUMMING-BIRD.
The racket-tail humming-bird (Discura longicauda) takes its name from
the curious form of its tail, the feathers of which are forked,--the two
exterior ones being twice the length of the second pair. The colour of
the tail is purple-black; the face, throat, and part of the neck light
green; while under the chin there is a little velvet-black spot. The
upper part of the body is a bronze-green, and a bright buff band crosses
the lower end of the back.
THE CAYENNE FAIRY.
The beautiful little Cayenne fairy (Heliothrix auritus) is often seen
flitting among the flowers which adorn the trees near the mouth of the
Amazon. It may be known by the snowy-white under part of its body,
while the upper surface is of a glossy golden green, extremely light on
the forehead. The middle feathers of the tail are blue-black, and the
three exterior ones are white. Across each side of the face is a
jet-black line, terminated by a small tuft of violet-blue, while below
the black line runs a luminous green one. Few of these beautiful little
creatures have any voice which rises above a mere twitter.
The best songster of the tribe is the Vervain humming-bird, found in the
West India Islands. Those on the Amazon are almost mute. Small as they
are, they are brave little creatures, and several of the species are
tamed without difficulty.
Mr Webber describes one of the means by which nature has gifted these
little creatures of escaping the observation of their foes. On leaving
the spot where a number had perched not far from their nests, he
observed them shoot suddenly and perpendicularly into the air till they
had got out of sight. After a time, down came the hen-bird, like a
fiery aerolite from the sky, upon the very spot where she had built her
nest, so rapidly, as almost to escape observation.
Different species, of great varieties of form and colour, are found
throughout the continent. Although the greater number are confined to
particular localities, others have a wide range.
The Trochilus forficatus is found over a space of 2500 miles on the west
coast, from the hot, dry country of Lima to the forests of Tierra del
Fuego, where it may be seen flitting about in snow-storms; as also in
the humid climate of the wooded island of Chiloe, where Darwin found it
skimming from side to side amidst the drooping foliage. On the mountain
heights, in the thick forests and open plains, wherever flowers and
insects exist, there one or more species make their home throughout the
continent.
COTINGAS.
Lovely as are the humming-birds, the cotingas, belonging to the order of
Passeres, and of which there are several species, almost rival them in
beauty of plumage. The crown of one is of a flaming red, abruptly
succeeded by a shining brown reaching half-way down the back. The
remainder of the back, rump, and tail, the extremity of which is edged
with black, is of a lively red. The belly is of a somewhat lighter red,
the breast reddish-black, the wings brown.
This cotinga is a solitary bird, and utters only a monotonous whistle,
which sounds like _quet_. Another has a purple breast with black wings,
and tail and every other part of a light and glossy blue.
The pompadour cotinga has a purple body and white wings, their four
first feathers tipped with brown.
None of these have any song. The last, however, utters sounds something
like _wallababa_. They feed on the fig, wild guaco, and other
fruit-trees.
THE CAMPANERO, OR BELL-BIRD.
Far-away in the forest a singularly loud and clear note, like the sound
of a bell, is heard; mile after mile, and still the same strange note
reaches the ear. A single toll; then a pause for a minute, then a pause
again, then a toll, and again a pause; then for six or eight minutes no
toll is heard; then another comes strangely and solemnly amid the tall
columns and, fretted arches of the sylvan temple. Sometimes of a
morning, and sometimes in the evening, and even when the meridian sun
has silenced all the other songsters of the grove, that strange toll is
heard. At length, high up on the dried top of an aged maura, a
snow-white bird may be seen, no larger than a pigeon; and yet it is the
creature who is uttering those strange sounds. It is another species of
the cotinga--the well-known campanero, or bell-bird. On its forehead
rises a spiral tube nearly three inches long, which is of jet-black,
dotted all over with small white feathers. Having a communication with
the palate, it enables the bird to utter these loud clear sounds. When
thus employed, and filled with air, it looks like a spire; when empty,
it becomes pendulous. Though, like most of its tribe, it is sometimes
seen in flocks, it never feeds with other species of cotingas.
The witty Sydney Smith, remarking on the account Waterton gives of the
campanero, observes: "This single bird then has a voice of more power
than the belfry of a cathedral ringing for a new dean. It is impossible
to contradict a gentleman who has been in the forests of Cayenne; but we
are determined, as soon as a campanero is brought to England, to make
him toll in a public place, and have the distance measured."
Had the witty dean been aware of the fact--stated by the astronomer and
aeronaut, Mr Glaisher--that a female voice is heard a mile further than
that of the most hirsute and sturdy "tar," he might have been less
sceptical of the powers of the little cotinga to make itself heard for
the distance of three miles through the pure and calm air of the
tropics.
THE UMBRELLA, OR FIFE-BIRD.
In the yearly submerged gapo forests and the plains of the Upper Amazon,
a singularly deep and long-sustained flute-like sound is often heard.
It might be supposed that it was produced by the pan-pipes used by the
natives of that region. It is, however, the note of a bird, named by
the Indians _uira mimbeu_, or fife-bird, from the peculiar tone of its
voice. It is, from the ornament on its head--consisting of a crest,
with long curved hairy feathers, having long bare quills; which, when
raised, spread themselves out in the form of a fringed sunshade over the
head--called the umbrella-bird (Cephalopterus ornatus). It resembles in
size and colour the common crow. In addition to this umbrella-like
ornament on its head, it has what may be called a pelerine suspended
from the neck, formed by a thick fan of glossy steel-blue feathers which
grow on a long fleshy lobe or excrescence. This lobe is connected with
an unusual development of the trachea and vocal organs, undoubtedly
assisting the bird to utter its strange note. While singing, it draws
itself up on the bough, spreads widely out the umbrella-formed crest,
waves its glossy breast lappet, and then, in giving vent to its loud,
piping note, bows its head slowly forward.
The female has only the rudiments of a crest and lappet, and is of a
much duller colour than the male.
THE COCK OF THE ROCKS.
Among the forest highlands at the foot of the sierras to the north of
the Amazon, the magnificent orange-coloured cock of the rocks enjoys
existence. About the size of a pigeon, it belongs to the tribe of the
diminutive manakins, most of which have beautiful and curious plumage.
It, however, surpasses them all.
It has gained its name from the slight external resemblance that it
bears to the gallinaceous form.
Its plumage is of a rich orange tint; with the exception of the
quill-feathers of the wings, which are of a sooty black hue, and those
of the tail, which are brown tipped with yellow. On its head it wears a
peculiar fan-like crest, which, overhanging the forehead, extends to the
back of the head, and which bears a strong resemblance to the plume of
an ancient helmet. The tips of these crest-feathers are tinged with
brown and yellow. Between the wing and upper tail-coverts appear
flowing plumes, which droop gracefully over the firmer feathers of the
tail and sides.
Like some birds of paradise in the Eastern Archipelago, the cocks of the
rocks assemble in numbers to perform a kind of dance for their
amusement, selecting generally the smooth rocks or roots of trees,--
moving here and there, round and round, backwards and forwards, and
erecting their gorgeous plumes, to exhibit their beauty. Wallace
observed a company of birds engaged in this singular way, though he says
that no females or young birds were present.
Schombergh describes a similar scene. A troop of these beautiful birds
was celebrating its dances on the smooth surface of a rock. About a
score of them were seated on the branches as spectators, while one of
the male birds, with proud self-confidence, and with spreading tail and
wings, was dancing on the rock. He scratched the ground, or leaped
vertically in the air; continuing these saltatory movements until he was
tired, when another male took his place. The females, meanwhile, looked
on attentively, and applauded the performances of the dancers with
laudatory cries.
Wallace, in his later work on the Eastern Archipelago, gives an equally
animated picture of the king birds of paradise enjoying a similar
performance on the topmost boughs of the most lofty trees in the Aru
Islands.
GOLDEN-WINGED MANAKIN.
The golden-winged manakin--another tribe--are often seen perched in
large flocks on the summits of the trees, or rapidly moving amid the
branches in search of the rich fruits and numerous insects found in the
gapo forests.
The beautiful little troupiale, arrayed in plumage of rich orange and
shining black, with delicate and well-shaped form, pours forth a variety
of sweet and plaintive notes among the dry forest lands, and has gained
from the Portuguese the name of the nightingale of America.
There is another of a smaller size, and of less rich a colour, which
also sings melodiously. It is a fearless bird, and the hen builds her
nest often in the roofs of cottages, while her mate sings for hours
close by. There are several species, one of which (the oriolus varius)
builds a curious nest like a basket, of a conical form, and of a loose
texture; securing it to the flexible end of a branch, thus enabling it
the better to endure the movement to which it is subjected when agitated
by the wind.
A fourth species flies in flocks--especially when the Indian maize is
ripe--and is looked on with a jealous eye by the farmers, whom it robs,
and whom it does not repay by the melody of its song.
GOATSUCKERS.
Numerous species of the goatsucker, well known as the bird of night,
inhabit the forests of the Amazon as well as the settled districts.
Their pretty mottled plumage is destitute of the lustre which is
observed in the feathers of the birds of day. One is nearly the size of
the common wood owl. Its cry once heard will never be forgotten. It
seems like one in deep distress. "A stranger," says Waterton, "would
never believe the sound to be the voice of a bird. He would say it was
the last groan of a midnight murdered victim, or the cry of Niobe for
her children before she was turned into stone. Suppose a person in
great sorrow, who begins with a loud note, Ha, ha, ha, ha! and so on,
each note lower and lower, till the last is scarcely heard, pausing a
moment or two between every note, and some idea may be formed of the
moaning of the largest goatsucker."
Other species articulate some words so clearly, that they receive their
names from the sentences they utter. One cries "Who are you? who, who,
who are you?" Another bids you "Work away; work, work away." A third
shrieks mournfully--"Willy come, go Willy, Willy, Willy come, go;" and a
fourth exclaims--"Whip poor Willy; whip, whip, whip poor Willy!"
Happily for it, neither the negro nor the Indian--who believe it to be a
bird of ill-omen--will venture to kill it; supposing the bird to be the
receptacle for departed souls, come back to earth, unable to rest for
crimes done in their days of nature.
Ignorance alone has given the goatsucker its name. When the moon shines
bright, it may be seen close by the cows, goats, and sheep, jumping up
every now and then under their bellies. "Approach a little nearer,"
says Waterton; "he is not shy, he fears no danger, for he knows no sin.
See how the nocturnal flies are tormenting the herd, and with what
dexterity he springs up and catches them as fast as they alight on the
bellies, legs, or udders of the animals! Observe how quiet they stand,
and how sensible they seem of his good offices; for they neither strike
at him, hit him with their tails, tread on him, nor try to drive him
away as an uncivil intruder. Were you to dissect him, and inspect his
stomach, you would find no milk there. It is full of the flies which
have been annoying the herd."
CACIQUES.
A species of cacique--of which there are several--like the blue jay of
the northern part of the continent, is celebrated for its imitative
powers. It is one of the handsomest in form of the feathered tribe, in
size somewhat larger than a starling. On each wing it has a yellow
spot; and its rump, belly, and half the tail are of the same colour.
All the rest of the body is black; while the beak is of the colour of
sulphur.
It lives on the fruits and seeds which nature has provided in the
forest; but wherever human habitations are found, it delights to take
_up_ its station on a tree close by, and there, for hours together, pour
forth a succession of imitative notes. Its own song is sweet, but very
short. If a toucan is yelping in the neighbourhood, it drops its own
note and imitates the huge-beaked bird. Then it will amuse itself with
the cries of different species of woodpeckers; and when the sheep bleat,
it will distinctly answer them. Then comes its own song again; and if a
puppy-dog or a Guinea-fowl interrupt it, it takes them off admirably,--
and by its different gestures during the time, it might be supposed that
it enjoys the sport.
The cacique is gregarious, and is generally found in large flocks,--
sometimes one species building their nests on one side of a tree, while
another, with a neighbourly feeling, appears to have selected the
opposite side; and they may be seen working amicably away, without
interfering with each other. They show wonderful instinct in the
selection of trees, sometimes hanging their large pendulous nests to the
extremities of palm branches, that they may thus be as much as possible
out of the reach of enemies who might attempt to take their young brood.
Others are said to select the trees on which the stinging-wasps have
already built their nests, as no tiger-cat nor reptile of any
description would venture to attack such adversaries.
One species (the casicus cristatus) weaves its nest of lichens, bark
fibres, and the filaments of the tillandsias; another (the casicus ruba)
of dry grasses, and always suspends it over the water. This has a
slanting opening in the side, so that no rain can penetrate it.
TOUCANS.
During the dry season, on the topmost boughs of the lofty trees growing
on the gapo lands, large gaily-coloured birds, with huge beaks of the
shape of a banana or pacova, are perched, in bands of five or six,
uttering loud, shrill, and yelping cries, having somewhat the
resemblance to "Tocano! tocano! tocano!" Hence the Indians give them
the name from which we derive _toucan_--a bird especially characteristic
of the forests of Tropical America. The Brazilians also call them
"preacher-birds,"--from their habit of lifting up their beaks, and
clattering them together, and shouting hoarsely. One, mounted higher
than the rest, acts either as the leader of the inharmonious chorus, or
does the duty of sentinel. He keeps a bright look-out on every side,
and as danger approaches, gives a warning cry, when his companions
stretch their necks downwards in an inquisitive manner, to ascertain
what foe is below; and on espying the least movement among the foliage,
fly off to a distance.
Sometimes the whole flock, including the sentinel, set up simultaneously
a deafening loud yell, which can be heard a mile off, and serves to lead
the hunter to their haunts. They are said also to mob any strange bird
which gets among them, surrounding it, and shrieking at it in whichever
way it turns; so that it sees itself surrounded on all sides by huge
snapping bills, and long tails bobbing regularly up and down with
threatening gestures, till it is seized by its foes or manages to make
its escape.
It seems wonderful at first sight that any creature should be encumbered
with so huge a beak; but the toucan knows well how to use it. Though of
great size, it is of light structure, and serrated at the edges. In
some species it attains to a length of seven inches, and a width of more
than two inches. It assists the bird in climbing the branches of the
trees on which he lives, and from which he never willingly descends to
the ground. It enables him to seize the large fruits and small birds
which serve him for food; and enables him to chew the cud--his huge
tooth-bill being useful in holding and re-masticating the food.
As the flowers and fruits which crown the large trees of the forest grow
principally towards the end of slender twigs, which would not bear his
weight; and as he has a heavy body, with feeble organs of flight, he
cannot seize his food on the wing. He therefore sits on some opposite
branch, eyeing the fruit which he thinks will suit his taste, and then
darting off, seizes a mouthful, and returns to his perch.
Though their general diet is fruit, they also devour small birds and
their eggs, as well, probably, as caterpillars, and the larvae of
insects in general. Mr Broderip describes the curious way in which he
saw a toucan seize a small bird, pluck off the feathers, and having
broken the bones of the wings and legs with his beak, continue working
away till he had reduced it to a shapeless mass. He then hopped from
perch to perch, uttering a peculiar hollow, chattering noise, and began
pulling off piece after piece, till he had swallowed the whole, not even
leaving the beak and logs. In a quarter of an hour he had finished,
when he cleansed his bill from the feathers. After a time he returned
his food into his crop, and after masticating the morsel for a while in
his bill, again swallowed it.
The bird mentioned was in captivity; and though his food consisted of
bread, boiled vegetables, and eggs, he showed a decided preference for
animal food when given to him.
The toucan (Ramphastos) belongs to the genus of scansorial birds. There
are several species, five of which inhabit the forests of the Upper
Amazon. The largest of that region is Cuvier's toucan, and is
distinguished from its nearest relatives by the feathers at the bottom
of the back being of a saffron hue instead of red. It lays its eggs in
hollows of trees, at a great height from the ground, and moults between
March and June.
Solitary toucans are sometimes met with, hopping silently up and down
the larger boughs, and peering into the crevices of tree trunks. When
the gapo is flooded, they fly to the drier ground, assembling in large
flocks, when they are easily shot by the hunters. The birds are then
very fat, and their flesh sweet and tender.
In some species the bill is nearly as large and as long as the body
itself. It is light, cellular, and irregularly notched at the edge,
having both mandibles arched towards the tip. The tongue is also of a
singular form, being narrow and elongated, and literally barbed like a
feather. The feet are short--formed, like those of parrots, rather for
grasping than for climbing; the tail long, and the wings moderate. It
has a straight but laborious flight, and seems awkward, except on the
boughs, when it moves lightly and actively from branch to branch. When
eating, it throws up its head, apparently to allow the food to fall down
its throat with greater ease. When the toucan is at roost, it turns its
long tail directly over its back, and thrusts its beak beneath the wing,
so as to appear very much like a large mass of feathers.
The common or crested toucan (Ramphastos dicolorus) inhabits chiefly the
lower part of the Amazon. It is about eighteen inches in length, of a
black colour, with a gloss of green. The cheeks, throat, and fore part
of the breast are either of a sulphur or orange-yellow. Across the
lower part of the breast is a broad crimson bar. The rump is crimson or
orange-yellow. The bill is of a dark olive-green, with a pale yellow
base, bounded by a thick bar.
The tocano pacova has a beak of a rich glowing orange, with a large
patch near the tip, a black line round the base, and a number of dark
red bars upon the sides. The body and head are black, the throat and
cheeks white; while the breast is of a yellow brimstone hue, edged with
a line of blood-red. The upper tail-coverts are greyish-white, and the
under deep crimson. A large orange circle surrounds the eye, and within
it is a second circle of cobalt-blue. A green ring incloses the pupil,
with a narrow yellow ring round it.
Cuvier's toucan inhabits the woods of the Upper Amazon. There are
several smaller toucans, one of which (the Pteroglossus Havirostris) has
the most beautiful plumage,--its breast being adorned with broad belts
of rich crimson and black.
The most curious, however, is the curly-crested toucan (Pteroglossus
Beauharnaisii). The feathers on its head consist of thin, horny blades
of a lustrous black colour, curled up at the ends, and resembling
shavings of steel. The curly crest assumes, indeed, the grotesque form
of a coachman's wig dyed black, and produced apparently by the tongs of
the hair-dresser.
None of the smaller species utter the loud yelping notes of the larger.
The cries of the curly-crested toucan are very singular, resembling
somewhat the croaking of frogs.
Mr Bates had one day wounded one; and on attempting to seize it, it set
up a loud scream. In an instant, as if by magic, the wood seemed alive
with its companions, who descended towards him, hopping from bough to
bough, some of them swinging on the loops of the lianas and sipos,
croaking and fluttering their wings like so many furies. Had he had a
long stick in his hand, he could have knocked over several of them. The
screaming of their companion which he had killed having ceased, they
remounted the trees; and before he could reload his gun, which he had
left at a little distance, they had all disappeared.
He possessed a tame toucan of one of the large species, which was
allowed to go free about the house. Having chastised it for mounting
his work-table, the first time it made the attempt, it never again
repeated it. It slept on the top of a box in a corner of the room, with
its long tail laid right over its back, and its beak thrust underneath
its wing. It ate of everything--beef, turtle, fish, farina, fruit--and
was a constant attendant at meals. It learned the hour to a nicety, and
he found it difficult to keep the bird away from the dining-room at
these hours. When it had become somewhat impudent and troublesome, he
tried to shut it out in the back-yard; but Tocano used to climb the
fence, and hop round by a long circuit, making its appearance with the
greatest punctuality as the meal was placed on the table. One day it
was stolen, and given up for lost; but two days afterwards it stepped
through the doorway at the dinner-hour, with its old gait and sly
magpie-like expression, having escaped from the house of the person who
had stolen it, situated at the further end of the village.
THE REALEJO, OR ORGAN-BIRD.
[Cyphorhinus Cantans; called also the flute-bird.]
While the strange, harsh voice of the goatsucker is hushed, the mycetes
has ceased to howl, and no roar of jaguar is heard, a few slow, sweet,
and mellow notes reach the ear, following one another like the
commencement of an air. The unimpressible natives stop their paddles as
they are floating up an igarape to listen to the dulcet strains. The
sounds appear to be those of a human voice; some young girl gathering
fruit in the neighbouring thicket, it would seem, warbling a few notes
to cheer herself in her solitude. Now the tones become more flute-like
and plaintive,--now they seem to be those of a flageolet. It is
difficult to imagine that they can be produced by a bird. No bird,
indeed, can be seen, however closely the surrounding trees and bushes
are scanned. Yet that sweet voice seems to come from a thicket close at
hand. The listeners are silent, expecting to hear the strain completed,
but disappointment follows. An abrupt pause occurs, and then the song
breaks down, finishing with a number of clicking, unmusical sounds, like
a piping barrel-organ out of wind and out of tune.
This is the organ-bird--the most remarkable songster by far (says Bates)
of the Amazonian forests. When discovered, he seems habited in sober
colours; but he need not envy his gaily-dressed companions--while, as a
songster, he remains unrivalled in his native woods.
THE CURASSOW.
High up among the lofty boughs of the thick forest sit a flock of
magnificent birds, each the size of a turkey. They are the crested
curassow (Crax elector). The plumage is of a deep, shining black
colour, reflecting purple and green shades. The abdomen and
tail-coverts are white, but the tail is black, and generally tipped with
white. On its head it carries a handsome golden crest, the feathers
narrow at the base and broad at the tip, which it raises and depresses
as it moves along. Its voice, far from sweet, sounds like a hoarse
cough, and each time it utters its cry it partially spreads its feathers
and throws up its tail. The hen, however, has another way of expressing
herself, uttering a whining sound.
Among the trees where they are perched are their large nests, roughly
formed of sticks and leaves and plaits of grass. Their eggs, of which
there are six or seven, are about the size of those of a turkey, and of
a pure white. They feed on bananas and other fruits, as well as maize
and rice.
There are several species. One (the mitu tuberosa) has an
orange-coloured beak, surmounted by a bean-shaped excrescence of the
same hue. It lays two rough-shelled white eggs.
Another species (the crax globicera) inhabits the Upper Amazon, and
possesses a round instead of a bean-shaped excrescence on the beak.
These birds are easily tamed. Bates mentions one which used to attend
the family with whom he lived at all the meals, passing from one person
to another round the mat to be fed, and rubbing the sides of its head in
a coaxing way against their cheeks or shoulders. At night it went to
roost in a sleeping-room--beside the hammock of one of the little girls,
to whom it seemed to be greatly attached, following her wherever she
went about the grounds. These birds, however, do not breed in
captivity, and are therefore only kept by the Indians as pets; though
possibly they might be induced, by proper management, to do so, when
they would prove a valuable addition to the poultry-yard in England.
In its wild state it seldom descends from the lofty trees.
MACAWS.
On observing the curious, powerful beak of a macaw, we at once see that
it must be an inhabitant of a region producing hard fruits, which
require the application of considerable strength to break them. At
morning and evening flocks of this large and richly-plumaged bird may be
observed flying across the streams in all directions--their loud, harsh
screams echoing among the forests through the calm air--wheeling and
turning before they alight on the tops of the palms to feed. They
belong to the Psittacidae, or parrot tribe, and are known at once by the
great length of their tails, and by having their cheeks destitute of
feathers.
There are several species which frequent the trees growing on wet and
swampy ground. The red and blue macaw, the largest and handsomest of
the family, is well described by Waterton. Rare in size and beauty
among all the parrots of South America, the macrocercus macao will force
you to take your eyes from the rest of animated nature and gaze at him.
His commanding strength, the flaming scarlet of his body, a lovely
variety of scarlet, yellow, blue, and green in his wings, the
extraordinary length of his scarlet and blue tail, seem all to join and
demand for him the title of Emperor of all the Parrots.
When the coucourite palm-trees have ripe fruit on them, they are covered
with this magnificent parrot. He is not shy or wary. You may take your
blow-pipe and a quiver of poisoned arrows, and kill more than you will
be able to carry to your hut. They are very vociferous; and, like the
common parrots, rise up in bodies towards sunset, and fly, two and two,
to their places of rest. It is a grand sight to see thousands of aras
flying over your head, low enough to let you have a full view of their
flaming mantles. The Indians find the flesh very good, and the feathers
serve for ornaments in their head-dresses.
Bates saw a flock feeding on the fruits of a Bacana palm, and looking
like a cluster of flaunting banners beneath its dark green crown.
They build their nests in the hollows of decayed trees, and lay twice in
the year--generally two eggs at a time, the male and female alternately
watching over them. They are said to increase the size of the hole with
their powerful beaks, should it not be sufficiently large for their
purpose. They fly to a distance of several miles to feed, but--like
rooks in England--return to their homes in the evening.
This macaw frequently measures, from the tip of the bill to the
extremity of the tail, forty inches and more.
There are, besides, several other species of the red and yellow, blue,
and blue and yellow, which equal the scarlet and blue in size,--their
habits being very similar. They are easily tamed, and can be taught to
repeat words, and sometimes even phrases. They are remarkable for their
longevity, some having been known to live to one hundred years.
The magnificent great green macaw is noted for his depredations on the
maize-fields; but, being a sagacious bird, he always places a sentinel
to give the alarm to his marauding associates when danger approaches.
PARROTS.
Parrots much inferior in size and less richly decked fly amid the
foliage in vast numbers. The two most common species are the Amazon
green parrot and the festive green parrot.
Of the former (Psittacus Amazonius) there are several varieties. They
have their homes in the midst of the impenetrable forests. The female
lays four white eggs in the hollow of a tree. The usual length is about
fourteen inches. The bills vary in colour; the plumage is of a bright
green, with the feathers marked by dusky or blackish margins. On the
top or edges of the shoulders there is a brilliant scarlet patch,
bounded by shades of blue, green, and yellow. A bright blue band
reaches from eye to eye, beyond which the feathers of the crown, cheeks,
and throat are of a rich yellow.
The Brazilian green parrot is a large and beautiful bird, of a fine
grass-green, rather paler beneath the feathers, edged with
purplish-brown. The front and round the base of the bill is bright red,
the cheeks rather deep blue, and the top of the head yellow. The edge
of the wings, at some distance from the shoulders, is red. The tail is
especially handsome, the outside feathers being deep blue, tipped with
yellow; the next red, with a similar yellow tip; and all the remaining
ones green, with yellow tips. The bill is of a light colour, and the
legs and feet dark. It is the species most ordinarily brought to
England, and is valued on account of its powers of imitation--
individuals having been taught not only words, but whole sentences.
ANACA PARROT.
One among the most rare of the beautiful parrot family is the anaca
(Derotypus coronatus). It is of a green colour, and at the back of its
head rises a hood of red feathers bordered with blue, which it can
elevate or depress at pleasure. It is the only American parrot which
resembles the cockatoo of Australia. It is of a solemn, morose, and
irritable disposition. The natives often keep the bird in the house for
the purpose of seeing the irascible creature expand its beautiful
feathers, which it readily does when excited. The crest is something
like that of a harpy eagle. It is known also as the hawk-headed parrot.
MARIANNA PARROT.
There is also a beautiful black-headed species--the macai of the
Indians--known as the marianna. It has a white breast, orange neck and
thighs. It is a remarkably lively little bird, and when tamed, shows
its playful and inquisitive disposition.
Wallace describes one which he had on board his canoe, which used to
climb into every crack and cranny, diving into all the baskets, pans,
and pots it could discover, and tasting everything they contained. It
was a most omnivorous feeder, eating rice, farina, every kind of flesh,
fish, and vegetables; and drinking coffee too. As soon as it saw him,
basin in hand, it would climb up to the edge, and not be quiet without
having a share; which it would lick up with the greatest satisfaction,
stopping now and then to look knowingly round,--as much as to say, "This
coffee is very good,"--and then sipping again with increased gusto.
It has a pretty, clear whistle, which the Indians imitate, making it
reply, and stare about in a vain search for its companions.
TROGONS.
Among the smaller birds in these forests, the trogons--a genus of
scansorial birds--are the most beautiful, surpassing their relatives
found in other parts of the world. There are numerous varieties,
differing in size--from the trogon viridis, scarcely larger than a
sparrow, to the beautiful trogon, with its handsome tail, the size of a
rook. Often they are to be seen in the depths of the forest, sitting
motionless for hours together, simply moving their heads, watching
apparently for insects, or sometimes scanning the neighbouring trees for
fruit. Having selected a ripe one, they dart off now and then at long
intervals to secure it, returning always to the same perch.
Their wings are feeble, and they are of a dull, inactive temperament.
They have long spreading tails, and a dense plumage, which makes them
appear larger than they are in reality. They are solitary birds, and
may be seen sitting singly, or in pairs--some species on the taller
trees, and others but a few feet above the ground--occasionally uttering
a mournful note, which sounds like _curucua_,--the name which the
Indians give to them. "This would betray them to the hunter," says
Edwards; "but they are great ventriloquists, and it is often impossible
to discover them, though close above one's head."
Their feathers are fixed in a very loose manner, so that in falling,
when shot, numbers fall off.
THE RESPLENDENT TROGON.
The resplendent trogon--the largest of the species--is one of the
handsomest of birds, on account of the richness and brilliancy of its
colour, the beautiful blending of tints, the flowing grace of its
plumage, and the elegance of its colour. On its forehead is a
curiously-shaped tuft, of slight and elastic feathers which curl over
something like those of the umbrella-bird. This ornament--as also the
head, throat, back, wings, and upper tail-coverts--is of the very
richest green, with a gloss of gold, which glows, when moved by the
breeze, with a changeable sheen. The upper tail-coverts are exceedingly
long, projecting considerably beyond the tail, and flowing gracefully
over the stiffer feathers beneath them. The lower part of the body is
of a rich carmine.
Another species, called by the natives the curucua grande, has a soft,
golden green plumage, a red breast, and an orange-coloured beak.
In the Gapo territory a yellow-bellied trogon, with a back of a
brilliant metallic green colour, and a breast of steel-blue, is found.
The trogon melanurus is remarkable for the beauty of its plumage, having
a glossy green back and rose-coloured breast. Bates found one seated
alone on a branch, at no great elevation, uttering at intervals, in a
complaining tone, its usual cry of "quaqua." It appeared to be a dull,
inactive bird, and even when approached seemed very unwilling to take
flight.
JACAMARS.
Among the characteristic members of the feathered tribe in these forests
are the jacamars, as they are found in no other part of the world. They
have straight, long, pointed bills, with a keel on the upper mandible.
Some species have only three toes, while others possess the usual number
of four. They live on insects, but in many respects resemble the
trogon; being even still less disposed to fly than they are. "Their
stupidity, indeed, in remaining at their posts, seated on low branches
in the shady parts of the forest, is somewhat remarkable in a country
where all other birds are exceedingly wary," observes Bates.
The green jacamar (galbula viridis) is a beautiful bird, about the size
of a lark; the upper parts of the body being generally of an exceedingly
brilliant, changeable green, glossed with copper-gold. The beak is two
inches long, black, slightly incurved, and sharp-pointed. The legs are
short and weak, of a greenish-yellow, and the claws black. It is a very
solitary bird, and delights to take refuge in the thickest parts of the
forest, where insects abound, and is seldom seen in company with others.
It has a short, quick flight, and a sweeter voice than most of its
feathered companions.
The paradise jacamar (galbula paradisea) frequents the more open parts
of the forest, and is generally found in pairs. It is a larger bird
than the former, being nearly a foot long. The prevailing plumage is
green, but the throat, front of the neck, and under wing-coverts are
white.
It seizes its food in the same way that the trogons do. It will sit
silent and motionless on a branch, moving its head slightly, and when an
insect passes by, within a short distance, it will fly off and seize it
with its long beak, and return again to its perch.
Most jacamars are clothed with a plumage of the most beautiful golden,
bronze, and steel colours. They bear a strong outward resemblance to
kingfishers, but are not further united to that group of birds. They
appear to have the same peculiar attachment to particular branches as
many humming-birds possess; and the spot can generally be discovered by
the number of legs and wings and hard cases of the insects they have
caught, and which they have plucked off before eating their victims.
The little three-toed jacamar possesses a few of the brilliant hues
which adorn his brethren.
The great or broad-billed jacamar is very like a kingfisher. The beak
is very broad, while the dilated ridge on the upper mandible is
distinctly curved. It feeds very much like the kingfisher,--darting
down from a branch to secure, with its bill, the active insects as they
fly by. It feeds exclusively on them, however, never attempting to
obtain food from the waters.
THE JACANA.
The light-bodied jacana, supported by its spider-like, widely extended
feet, treads over the floating pan-like leaves of the Victoria Regia,
and other aquatic plants, without sinking them in any perceptible degree
below the surface of the calm pools in which they float. They take up
their dwelling on the borders of the remote lakes and igarapes of the
Amazonian Valley.
They are called by the natives oven-birds, because frequently seen on
the pan-shaped leaves of the before-mentioned magnificent lily.
The common jacana has a black plumage, with a greenish gloss. The legs
are very long and slight,--as are the toes and claws, especially that of
the hind-toe, which is nearly straight. The body is about ten inches
long; and the beak upwards of an inch, and of an orange colour.
The jacana feeds on aquatic insects and vegetable matter. While feeding
it utters a low-sounding cluck, cluck, at short intervals. When flying
it throws out its long legs horizontally to their full length, generally
skimming above the surface, out of danger.
Its body is of a peculiarly light construction, so that, large as it
appears, it weighs but little when pressing the floating leaves, on
which it delights to walk in search of its prey.
FRIGATE-BIRD PELICANS.
Even to the distance of fifteen hundred miles and more from the mouth of
the Amazon, large flocks of the high-flying frigate-birds are descried
hovering at an immense height above the stream, preparing to plunge down
and seize their finny prey.
They measure seven feet from wing to wing, and appear almost to live in
the air. The neck is partly bare, and very extensible; the bill long,
and hooked at the end; the feet small, and webbed. The body of the male
is entirely black, while the hen has the head and neck white.
It is probably a different species from the frigate-bird, or sea-hawk,
of the Eastern tropical seas.
THE HORNED SCREAMER.
On the shores of a sand-bank, flocks of wild gulls may be seen flying
overhead uttering their well-known cries, sandpipers coursing along the
edge of the water, here and there lonely wading birds stalking about,
and among them the curious Palamedea cornuta--the anhima of the
Brazilians, or the horned screamer of Cuvier--called also the kamichi.
Startled by the approach of the canoe, up it flies, its harsh screams
resembling the bray of a jackass--but shriller and louder, if possible--
greatly disturbing the calm solitude of the place.
It is the size of a swan, but more nearly resembles a crane. On its
head it wears a long, pointed horn, surrounded with small black and
white feathers. It has a tail about eight inches long; its wings, when
folded, reaching to more than half the length of the tail. They are
armed with sharp spines, with which it can inflict a wound on its foes,
and which assist it in repelling the attacks of snakes and guarding its
young from their rapacity. Unless when attacked, however, it seldom
uses its weapon of defence. It walks boldly along, as if conscious of
its power; and when on the wing, has a strong and easy flight.
The head and neck are of a greenish-brown colour, and covered with soft
feathers. The back is black, except the upper part, which is brown,
with yellow spots; the whole lower part, with the thighs, of a silvery
white.
It feeds on grain and aquatic plants, in search of which it wades
through the reptile-haunted morasses.
VULTURES.
Monarch of the feathered tribes of the forest, the king vulture fears no
rival throughout his wild domain. While the condor has its home on the
mountain-tops, the sovereign of the vultures confines himself
exclusively to the thickly-wooded regions along the banks of the rivers
or lagoons, where he can more readily obtain the carcasses on which he
feeds.
He is a magnificent bird, of about two feet and a half in length, and
upwards of five feet across the expanded wings. The neck is brilliantly
coloured of a fine lemon tint; both sides of the neck, from the ears
downwards, are of a rich scarlet. The crown of the head is scarlet, and
between the lower mandible and the eye, and close to the eye, there is a
part which has a fine blue appearance; the skin which juts out behind
the neck, like a carbuncle, is partly blue and partly orange. The bill
is orange and black. Round the bottom of the neck is a broad ruff of
soft, downy, ash-grey feathers, and the back and tail-coverts are of a
bright lawn. The middle wing-coverts and tail-feathers are glossy
black.
These superb birds may sometimes be seen seated in pairs on the topmost
boughs of trees, but occasionally in large flocks. The great expanse
and power of his wings enables the king vulture to soar to a prodigious
height, whence he can survey with his piercing sight a wide extent of
his domain; possibly also his exquisite sense of smell enables him to
detect the odour of the putrefying carcass which rises through the pure
air.
He is somewhat of a tyrant among his subjects; for not only will he
allow no other vultures or carrion-feeding birds to approach the carcass
he has selected, but on his appearance the other species, who may
already have discovered it, fly to a distance, and stand meekly looking
on while their sovereign gorges himself.
The king vulture makes his nest in the hollow of a tree, where his queen
lays two eggs.
THE BLACK VULTURE.
The gallinaso, or black vulture (Cathartes atratus), acts the part of a
scavenger, and as such is of great use throughout the whole centre of
South America, as also in the northern continent. Disgusting as are its
habits and appearance, it is carefully protected, on account of the
service it renders to mankind.
It may easily be distinguished from the turkey-buzzard, which it greatly
resembles, by the shape of the feathers round its neck, which descend
from the back of the head towards the throat in a sloping direction;
whereas those of the turkey-buzzard form a ring round the throat. Its
general colour is a dull black. The head and part of the neck are
destitute of feathers, wrinkled, and sprinkled with a few black hairs.
The throat is of a yellowish tint.
It flies high, sweeping through the air with a beautifully easy motion,
and is generally found in the neighbourhood of fresh-water.
The black vultures are gregarious, brought together apparently by the
pleasure they seem to have in society rather than by the attraction of a
common prey. Darwin describes seeing flocks of them on a fine day at a
great height, each bird wheeling round and round without closing its
wings, and performing the most graceful evolutions.
THE TURKEY-BUZZARD.
The turkey-buzzard (Cathartes ora) is similar in its habits to the black
vulture, and is frequently mistaken for it. It is seldom found
southward of latitude 41 degrees. Of late years, however, they have
become numerous in the Valley of the Colorado, three hundred miles
further south. It is not found on the desert and arid plains of
Northern Patagonia, except near some stream; and it is supposed not to
have passed into Chili, although in Peru it exists in great numbers,
where it is preserved to act the part of a scavenger.
It is a solitary bird, and goes in pairs; and may at once be recognised
at a distance, from its lofty soaring and most elegant flight. It
ranges from North America to Cape Horn.
Such are some of the more notable members of the feathered tribes
inhabiting the Valley of the Amazon. There are numberless others,--both
land and water birds,--a description of which would occupy too much
space, some of them also being common to other parts of the world.
Several, likewise, are seen more frequently either in Venezuela and
Guiana, or in the La Plata region, and will be noticed when we visit
those countries.
From the Birds, then, we will pass on to the Reptiles and Insects of
South America; in which, as to number and the variety of their forms and
habits, it equals, if it does not surpass, any portion of similar size
of the Old World, in the same latitude.
PART THREE, CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
REPTILES.
ALLIGATORS.
Along the river-banks, in every igarape, stream, and pool, the hideous
and ravenous alligator lurks for its prey. It is greatly dreaded by the
natives for its treachery and cunning, numbers falling victims to its
powerful jaws. The largest, the jacare-uassu, or great cayman, is often
found from fifteen to twenty feet long, and of enormous bulk.
There is a smaller species, the jacari-tinga, which has a long slender
muzzle, and black banded tail. This, when full-grown, is about five
feet long.
A still smaller one exists, said to be found only in shallow creeks. It
does not attain, when full-grown, a length of more than two feet. Its
eggs are rather larger than those of a hen, and oval in shape, the shell
having a rough, hard surface. So numerous are they, that Bates observes
"it is scarcely exaggeration to say that the waters of the Solimoens are
as well stocked with alligators in the dry season, as a ditch in England
is in summer with tadpoles."
Like the turtle, the large alligator has its annual migrations. During
the wet season it retreats to the interior pools and flooded forests,
and descends to the main river in the dry season. During the hot
months, when the pools are dried-up, and the alligator cannot reach
water, it buries itself in the mud, and becomes dormant, sleeping till
the rainy season returns.
As the alligator cannot turn its head, it is little feared on shore, as
a person can easily leap out of its way; but he must beware of its tail,
which, when angry, it will lash about in a furious manner, sufficient to
break a limb. The alligator never attacks human beings when on their
guard, but, lying in wait, seizes them when he can venture, to do so
with impunity. These savage saurians are called indiscriminately,
though improperly, alligators, crocodiles, and caymans.
The real alligator is distinguished by having its toes only partly
webbed--the outer ones being free. It will never willingly seek an
encounter, and shows great terror, even, when attacked by dogs. The
creatures are often killed by jaguars, who pounce upon them, and with
their powerful claws tear out their entrails. But when aroused to anger
it blindly attacks all opponents, and is then a truly formidable foe.
With a single blow of its tail it can overturn a canoe. The instant it
seizes its prey it sinks with it below the surface, to devour it at its
leisure. It usually feeds on fish, fowl, turtle, or any creature it
finds floating on the surface of the water; but when these fail, it lies
concealed among the sedges on the banks, waiting for any land animal
which may approach to drink. Sometimes it thus retaliates on the
jaguar, and seizing the fierce brute, drags it down below the surface,
where it is soon drowned.
The great alligator usually lays fifty or sixty eggs, rather oblong than
oval, and about the size of those of a goose,--covering them up with
sand, and allowing them to be hatched by the heat of the sun. The
mother, however, does not desert her young, but conducts them to the
water, and watches over them till their scales have hardened, and their
limbs have gained sufficient strength to enable them to take care of
themselves.
Waterton relates an anecdote showing the daring ferocity of the creature
when pressed by hunger. It was on the banks of the Orinoco, near the
city of Angostura. The tale was told him by the governor of that place.
"One fine evening, as the people of the city were sauntering up and down
the alamada by the banks of the river, a large cayman rushed out of the
water, seized a man, and carried him down, before any person had it in
his power to assist him. The screams of the poor fellow were terrible
as the cayman was running off with him. The monster plunged into the
river with its prey, and we instantly lost sight of him, and never saw
or heard of him more."
Bates also relates that a native crew, having arrived at Egga, got
drunk, when one of the men, during the greatest heat of the day, while
everybody else was enjoying an afternoon nap, took it into his head,
while in a tipsy state, to go down alone to bathe. He was seen only by
a feeble old man, who was lying in his hammock in the open verandah at
the rear of his house, at the top of the bank. He shouted to the
besotted Indian to beware of an alligator which had of late taken to
frequenting the neighbourhood. Before he could repeat his warning, the
man stumbled, and a pair of gaping jaws, appearing suddenly above the
surface, seized him round the waist, and drew him under the water. A
cry of agony--"Ai Jesus!"--was the last sound made by the wretched
victim. The young men of the village, going in search of the monster,
came up with it when, after a little time, it rose to breathe, with one
leg of the man sticking out from its jaws. It was immediately
despatched, with bitter curses.
One night Bates and his party were asleep in their hammocks in an open
shed on the banks of the river, with a fire made up in the centre. He
was awoke by his attendants hurling burning firewood, with loud curses,
at a huge cayman which had crawled up the bank, and passed beneath his
hammock towards the place where a little dog lay asleep. The dog had
raised the alarm in time. The reptile backed out, and tumbled down the
bank into the water, the sparks of the brands hurled at him flying from
his back and sides. Notwithstanding this, the next night he repeated
his visit.
The alligator, in its daring attempts to seize human beings, does not
always come off victorious. An Indian and his son had gone down to the
water, when the boy, whilst bathing, was seized by the thigh, and
carried under. The father, rushing down the bank, plunged after the
rapacious beast, which was diving away with its victim. He followed it
unarmed, and overtaking the creature, thrust his thumb into its eye, and
forced it to release its booty. The lad, who was present when the story
was told, exhibited the marks of the alligator's teeth in his thigh.
On another occasion an alligator was shot by one of the passengers on
board a steamer, and hauled up on deck. When the knife was applied, it
showed that it still possessed some sparks of life, by lashing out its
tail, and opening its enormous jaws, sending the crowd of bystanders
flying in all directions. It is extraordinary how tenacious the
creature is of life, and what a prodigious amount of battering it may
receive and still live.
Fortunately for other animals, the young alligators have numerous
enemies, even the males of their own kind occasionally gobbling them up;
while they are terribly persecuted by wild beasts and birds of prey,--
the latter esteeming their soft bodies delicate morsels, and frequently
pouncing down into their midst and carrying them off.
The alligator, far from being a silent animal, as is generally supposed,
makes a hideous noise at times, bellowing with so singular a cadence and
loud a din, that he can even outroar the jaguars and mycetes.
Sir Richard Schombergh describes the way in which the alligator seizes
its prey. He secured a bird or fish to a piece of wood, and then turned
it adrift on the river. No sooner was it seen than a cayman, slowly and
cautiously approaching--without even rippling the surface of the water--
and then curving its back, hurled its prey by a stroke of its tail into
its wide-extended jaws.
It makes also a loud sound, by clacking its teeth, and lashing its tail
on the water. It has a voice not readily to be distinguished from that
of the animals of the forest. It is similar to a hollow suppressed sigh
bursting forth on a sudden, loud enough to be heard a mile off. First
one gives vent to this fearful sound, then another answers from a
distance; and from up and down the river, and across the current, these
horrible noises are heard, showing that the hideous saurians are in a
lively mood, watching for their suppers. It is supposed that when once
they have tasted human flesh they will always endeavour again to procure
it.
Humboldt mentions another instance, where an Indian, landing on the
banks of a shallow lagoon, was seized by a cayman. With wonderful
presence of mind the Indian searched for a knife, but not finding it, he
pressed his fingers into its eyes. The monster, however, did not let
go, but dragged the unfortunate man down into deep water, and, to the
horror of several spectators, was seen swimming off with the poor fellow
in its jaws, to devour him on a neighbouring island.
Humboldt states that during the inundations of the Orinoco, alligators
have been known to crawl into the streets of Angostura and carry off
human beings.
Schombergh once saw an enormous cayman seize one of a smaller species,
and bear it away--not, however, without a desperate struggle. In a
short time the monsters reappeared, wildly beating the surface with
their tails. Now a huge head rose up, now a tail, indistinctly seen in
the seething whirlpool. At length, however, the larger was beheld
swimming off to a sand-bank, where it immediately began to devour its
prey.
THE IGUANA.
See yonder hideous-faced creature, nearly six feet in length, the size
of many alligators, its head covered with scaly plates, a huge dewlap
depending from its throat, its body and long tail covered with small
imbricated scales, its back garnished with a row of spines, and on its
thigh a number of porous tubercles, while its legs and claws are
wide-spreading.
As it crawls along a bough overhead, the bravest man who had never
before seen it would undoubtedly get out of its way, expecting it to
leap down and seize him. Yet the iguana, ugly as is its countenance, is
perfectly harmless; except that it can give a sharp bite with its
compressed triangular and serrated teeth. It lives generally on trees.
When hard-pressed it takes to the water, and swims with ease,--pressing
its legs close to its sides, and sculling itself on with its tail; while
it can remain an hour or more under water without suffering.
The flesh of the iguana, unfortunately for itself, is considered
excellent; and hunters go out to catch it with a noose at the end of a
long stick, which they cast round its neck, and then by a sudden jerk
pull it to the ground. As the creature seems to fancy that it cannot be
reached on the bough, it seldom moves on the approach of the hunter, and
is thus easily caught. It lashes out with its tail, however, and tries
to bite, when once it finds itself entrapped; and being also very
tenacious of life, it is not killed without repeated heavy blows, or a
pistol-shot in its head.
The common iguanas are numerous in the neighbourhood of villages, where
they climb the trees for the sake of their fruit. Some species lay
their eggs--which are about an inch and a half in length, and oblong--in
hollow trees. Others are known to do so in the sand, to be hatched by
the heat of the sun. They are considered delicacies, and are much
sought after in consequence.
The colour of the iguana changes, like that of the chameleon. The
Brazilians, indeed, call it the chameleon. Its food consists almost
entirely of fruits and other vegetable substances, though some species
are supposed to be omnivorous. The natives frequently tame it, when it
willingly allows itself to be carried about by its owner, though it at
once distinguishes strangers.
There are, however, numerous species of iguanas; indeed, the family
contains fifty genera--the true iguanas being all inhabitants of the New
World. To its predecessor, which it closely resembles in bony
structure, the largest is but a mere pigmy--for that extinct monster
must have been about seventy feet in length, the length of the tail
alone being fifty-two feet, and the circumference of the body fourteen
and a half feet; while its thigh-bone was twenty times the size of that
of the modern iguana. Vast as was the inhabitant of the ancient world,
it was herbivorous, like that of the comparatively Lilliputian creature
of the present day.
Everywhere the agile, beautifully-tinted lizards abound, sunning
themselves on logs of wood, or scampering over the sandy soil. Now they
may be seen turning round the trunk of a tree, much as a squirrel does,
watching the passer-by, and trying to keep out of sight. Some are of a
dark coppery colour, others have backs of the most brilliant silky green
and blue, while others are marked with delicate shades of yellow and
brown.
The largest of their family is the teguexin, or variegated lizard.
Sometimes it is called the safeguard, from the idea--probably an idle
fable--that, like the monitors of the Nile, they give notice of the
approach of the alligator by their loud hissing.
There are several species which inhabit the hot, sandy plains, or dense,
damp underwood near the rivers and lakes. One of them exceeds five feet
in length, and is extremely active. It feeds almost entirely on snakes,
frogs, and toads, but occasionally devours poultry, and breakfasts off
their eggs. It is also somewhat of a cannibal, for though it will not
eat its own species, it does occasionally those of a somewhat smaller
lizard allied to it. It possesses strong teeth, and can bite with great
force; indeed, when attacked it defends itself fiercely, and when
seizing a foe can seldom be compelled to let go.
Its colour is variable, but generally the upper parts of the body are
deep black, with mottlings of yellow or green; while on the higher
portions of its sides are a series of white spots, the under part being
chiefly yellow, with black bands.
The little ameiva, on which it occasionally preys, is of a dark olive
colour, speckled with black about the neck.
There is another large lizard, known as the great dragon (Ada
Guianensis). It is of an olive colour, with yellow below, and mottled
with brown; and frequently attains a length of six feet. While the
former cannot climb trees, it is a good swimmer. The great dragon
climbs with wonderful agility, but is said not to be very much at home
in the water. It also bites fiercely.
Both are hunted for the sake of their flesh; while their eggs--of which
thirty or forty are laid--are considered great delicacies.
GECKOS.
Not only in the huts of the natives, but in the abodes of the wealthy
white men, hid during the day in dark corners, are numbers of dark grey,
hideous-looking lizards, which, when night comes on, crawl rapidly over
the walls and ceilings, hunting for the flies and other insects to be
found there. Repulsive as are these little geckos, and undeservedly
possessing a bad name for being poisonous, they are not only harmless,
but render good service by the destruction of numerous household pests.
Their large eyes are so constructed that they can discern objects in the
dark, and are at the same time capable of bearing the rays of the bright
sun. Their colour, too, enables them to escape detection by the
creatures which attack them, while they are thus hid from the prey for
which they lie in wait. They can also bend themselves in an
extraordinary way into hollows and crevices.
But their feet are especially curious, being admirably adapted for
clinging to and running over smooth surfaces. The under side of their
toes is expanded into cushions, beneath which folds of skin form a
series of flexible plates. By means of this apparatus they can run or
crawl across a smooth ceiling with their backs downwards--the soft
soles, by quick, muscular action, exhausting and admitting air
alternately. They are also provided with sharp claws, which enable them
to climb up the trunks of trees, and over rough surfaces.
The Brazilians call them osgas, and believe that they poison by their
touch whatever they pass over. Probably, however, if any annoyance does
arise from them, it is when with their sharp claws they run across a
sleeping man, or small blisters have been raised by the adhering
apparatus at the bottom of their feet. By some "the spider, which
taketh hold with her hands," is believed to be a gecko, as a species of
this creature is very common in the East. The popular prejudice against
them causes the death of many a poor gecko, who, had he been allowed to
live, would have rendered good service to his persecutors. Those in the
houses are of small size; but others, existing in the forest, and living
in the crevices of the trees, are of considerable magnitude. Their
tails are easily struck off--the loss being, however, as is the case
with other lizards, repaired by a new growth, though less perfect than
the original member.
THE ANACONDA.
With its ill-favoured head protruding above the surface of the water
near the banks of slow-flowing rivers, pools, and swamps, the vast
anaconda lies in wait for its prey. The fish swimming along in its
neighbourhood,--the birds which, rising from the reeds, skim by
overhead,--the animals which come to the banks to drink,--even man
himself, have cause to dread a blow from the snout, and the powerful
coils of the huge water-serpent. Its appearance is most hideous, being
very broad in the middle, and tapering abruptly at both ends. Fish, and
the smaller animals, it swallows whole; but a larger animal it seizes by
the nose with its powerful jaws, and surrounds with the mighty coils of
its huge body, pressing one coil upon another till it crushes its prey
to death.
Though generally found from twenty to thirty feet in length, it is said
to attain a length of forty feet; and one of that size is fully capable
of swallowing an ox or horse,--there being many instances of its having
been done. Its voracity is prodigious. The French naturalist Firmin
found in the stomach of an anaconda a large sloth, an iguana four feet
long, and a good-sized ant-bear; all three in the same state almost as
when they were swallowed--a proof that they had been captured within a
short time. Bates relates that an Indian father with his son went one
day in their montario to gather fruit a short distance from Egga, when,
landing on a sloping, sandy shore, the boy was left to take care of the
canoe while the man entered the forest. The boy was playing in the
water under the shade of some myrtle and wild guava trees, when a huge
reptile stealthily wound its coils round him. His cries brought the
father to the rescue, who, rushing forward, seized the anaconda boldly
by the head, and tore its jaws asunder.
This formidable serpent lives to a great age; and Bates heard of a
specimen being killed which measured forty-two feet in length. Those he
measured were only twenty-one feet long, and two feet in girth. He was
a sufferer, on one occasion, from one of these. While on a voyage up
the river, his canoe being moored alongside the bank, the neighbourhood
of which had been haunted for some time past by one of the creatures, he
was awoke a little after midnight, as he lay in his cabin, by a heavy
blow struck at the side of the canoe, close to his head. It was
succeeded by the sound of a heavy body plunging into the water. When he
got up all was again quiet, except the cackle of fowls in the hen-coop,
which hung at the side of the vessel, about three feet from the cabin
door. In the morning the poultry were found loose about the canoe, two
of the fowls being missing; while there was a large rent in the bottom
of the hen-coop, raised about two feet from the surface of the water.
The Indians went in search of the reptile, which, being found sunning
itself on a log at the mouth of a muddy rivulet, was despatched with
harpoons.
It is extremely tenacious of life; and though the head may be nearly cut
off, and the entrails taken out, it will still move about for a
considerable time. It is detested by the farmers on the banks, as it
has the habit of carrying off poultry, young calves, or any animal it
can get within reach of. It is often seen coiled up in the corner of
farm-yards, waiting for its prey.
The statement that the anaconda kills its prey by its pestilent breath,
is wholly fabulous. Waterton altogether denies the existence of any
odour in the snake's breath. It is possible, however, that some species
may produce a horrible stench, from a substance secreted in certain
glands near the tail--a fact which has probably given rise to the fable.
THE BOA.
Among the semi-civilised, idolatrous inhabitants of the continent,
several snakes were objects of worship. The boa-constrictor especially
was regarded as an emblem of strength and power, from its vast size, and
the fearful effect produced by its encircling coils as it winds itself
round the body of its victim.
See the creature as its shining body moves rapidly among the fallen
leaves and dried husks in the forest, rather like a stream of brown
liquid than a serpent, with skin of varied colours! Onwards it goes,
with scarcely a perceptible serpentine movement. Even the huge trunk of
a fallen tree does not stop it, but it glides over the impediment in its
undeviating course, making the dry twigs crack and fly off with its
weight. Now it stops, watching for its prey. An agouti runs by,
regardless of the seeming rivulet; but the hapless creature is seized by
the serpent's jaws, and those terrible folds surrounding the body--coil
above coil--crush the bones, till it becomes a mere mass of flesh. And
now it begins to suck in its prey; not lubricating it, as is generally
stated, although a large quantity of saliva surrounds the animal while
it is descending the monster's throat. After a time the meal is
finished, and the serpent--its body greatly distended--remains at rest,
unwilling to move, when it may be easily captured by the daring hunter.
The body of the boa is of a rich brown colour. A broad chain of large
black spots, alternating with white, runs along its back; while the
scales round the eyes are set in a circle, separated from those of the
lips by two rows of smaller scales. The jaws are not united, but
attached to the skull by muscles and ligaments, which enable it to
dilate the mouth sufficiently to swallow bodies much larger than itself.
The largest grow to a length of thirty feet and upwards; but boas
ordinarily do not attain more than twenty feet in length.
THE SPOTTED BOA.
The boa scytale, or spotted boa, is of a greyish colour, marked with
round spots, and scarcely inferior in size to the former.
THE RINGED BOA.
There is another species--the ringed boa, or boa cenchris--which, though
growing to a considerable size, does not attain that of the former
species.
A curious species (the boa canina) has a large head, shaped somewhat
like that of a dog; the general colour a bright Saxon-green, with
transverse white bars down the back. The sides are of a deeper green,
and the belly is white.
Wallace describes a small one only eleven feet in length, but as thick
as a man's thigh. It was secured by having a stick tightly tied round
the neck. It went about dragging its clog with it, sometimes opening
its mouth with a very suspicious yawn, and sometimes turning its tail up
into the air. Being put into a cage, and released from the stick, it
began to breathe most violently, the expirations sounding like
high-pressure steam escaping from a Great Western locomotive.
The boa, however, is not much dreaded in South America, as it seldom or
never attacks man; which the anaconda is said always to do, if it can
find him unprepared. Stories are told of desperate encounters between
travellers in the forests of the Amazon and pythons or boas. A French
traveller narrates how, on one occasion, the whole of his attendants
took to flight on seeing a huge python approaching,--with the exception
of a gallant native, who, attacking the monster vigorously with a long,
lithe pole, struck it a blow which paralysed its powers; when, the party
returning, it was easily killed.
THE RATTLESNAKE.
Venomous as is the bite of the rattlesnake, and abounding as it does in
all parts of the continent, it is less dreaded than many other serpents.
It is, in the first place, very sluggish in its habits; and it is
happily compelled to bear about it an instrument which gives notice of
its approach and intention of biting. The South American rattlesnake--
the Boaquira crotalus horridus--has the rattle placed at the end of the
tail. It consists of several dry, hard, bony processes, so shaped that
the tip of each upper bone runs within two of the bones below it. By
this means they have not only a movable coherence, but also make a
multiplied sound, each bone hitting against the others at the same time.
The rattle is placed with the broad end perpendicular to the body, the
first joint being fastened to the last vertebra of the tail by means of
a thick muscle under it, as well as by the membranes which unite it to
the skin. Indeed, an idea of this curious structure may be formed by
placing a number of thimbles one within the other. These bony rings
increase in number with the age of the animal; and they are generally
found with from five to fourteen. The sound produced has been compared
to that of knife-grinding. It cannot be heard at a distance, and in
rainy weather is almost inaudible.
The effects of the bite vary according to the season of the year;
indeed, at times it will seldom strike a foe, and the venom is
comparatively mild in its effects. At other times the poison is of
deadly intensity, and, should a large vein be bitten, the victim
speedily dies.
Waterton describes handling a number of rattlesnakes--removing them from
one apartment to the other--with his hands alone. They hissed and
rattled when he meddled with them, but did not offer to bite him.
Possibly this might have occurred during the time when they were
sluggish, and their venom less deadly.
The little peccary is a great enemy of the rattlesnake, as it is of all
other serpents, and ordinary hogs destroy it easily without suffering
from its bite; so that as man makes progress through the country and
introduces these animals, rattlesnakes speedily disappear.
Although the fascinating powers of the rattlesnake have been doubted, it
seems probable that small birds and animals are frequently attracted
when they catch sight of it coiled up on the ground below the branches
on which they are posted--and, if not fascinated, fall through terror
into its open jaws; or it may be that, influenced by the same
overpowering impulse which induces human beings to rush into danger, the
animal or bird, on beholding its deadly enemy, approaches it against its
own will, and is drawn nearer and nearer, till it either falls into the
deadly fangs, or comes near enough to be entrapped.
Bates was one day in a forest with a little dog, which ran into a
thicket and made a dead-set on a large snake whose head was raised above
the herbage. The serpent reared its tail slightly in a horizontal
position, and shook its terrible rattle. It was some minutes before he
could get the dog away. This shows how slow the reptile is to make the
fatal spring.
On another occasion, he heard above his head, as it seemed, a pattering
noise, when the wind, which had been blowing, lulling for a few moments,
he discovered that it proceeded from the ground, and, turning his head,
was startled by a sudden plunge, a heavy gliding motion betraying a
large rattlesnake making off almost beneath his feet.
THE FER DE LANCE.
More dreaded than the jaguar or alligator is the jararaca--the native
name for the terrible serpent, the fer de lance (Craspedo cephalus
lanceolatus). The hideous creature, with brown colour, flat, triangular
head, connected to its olive-tinted body by a thin neck, lies coiled up
among a heap of leaves, from which it can scarcely be distinguished till
the passer-by is close upon it; then suddenly it rears its head, which
is armed with four long poisonous fangs, and, darting forward, strikes
its victim with a deadly blow. Man, as well as all animals, dreads it--
except the hog, and its relative, the little peccary, which are
indifferent to the effects of its poison.
On human beings its bite is generally fatal. Bates mentions several
instances of death from it, and only one clear case of recovery,--but in
that instance the person was lame for life. Although most other
serpents fly from man, the jararaca frequently attacks him; leaping from
its concealment among the leaves, and inflicting a wound which in a few
hours produces death. The first symptoms caused by the poison are
convulsions, pains at the heart, and distressing nausea, the whole
nervous system appearing to be greatly affected. The only known remedy
is the copious use of spirits, a large amount of which is required to
counteract the enervating power of the poison.
The jararaca is generally six feet long, but sometimes reaches the
length of eight feet. It is marked with dark cross bands, while below
it is of a whitish-grey hue, covered with small dark spots.
Even birds seem to have a slight dread of this fearful serpent, and may
be seen hovering about the spot where it lies coiled up, uttering cries
and screams, produced by fear and anger.
THE BUSHMASTER.
Almost as much dreaded as the jararaca is the enormous cuanacouchi
(Lachesis mutus), or bushmaster, as it is called in Demerara. Its
proper name is the curucucu. It sometimes reaches to a length of
fourteen feet, being the largest known poisonous snake. It is equally
remarkable for the glowing radiance of its fearful beauty, displaying as
it does, when gliding amid the sunshine, all the prismatic colours.
Though generally remaining on the ground, it mounts trees with perfect
ease in search of its prey--birds or their eggs; while from the
overhanging bough it can dart down on the unwary passer-by.
It is said that furious battles sometimes occur between snakes of
different species,--that the boa will watch for the rattlesnake as it
issues from its hole,--or that the latter will sally forth, and, relying
on its envenomed fangs for victory, attack the huge boa as it glides by;
though, as no naturalists appear to have witnessed such combats, it may
be doubted whether they ever take place. But we may fancy how desperate
would be the strife between a python and the venomous bushmaster of
Demerara.
LABARRI, OR ELAPS LEMNISCATUS.
The labarri--another beautiful snake, adorned with the colours of the
rainbow--produces certain death by its envenomed bite. It, too, is a
tree-climber, and may be seen lying coiled up on a low, thick branch or
decayed stump, or sometimes on the bare ground, apparently selecting
spots where it can be least easily distinguished. Though generally
smaller than the bushmaster, it attains a length of eight feet or more.
WHIP SNAKES.
There are two or three species of whip snakes, or Dryadidae, remarkable
for the slender elegance of their forms, and in general for the great
beauty of their colouring, as well as for the rapidity of their
movements. The whip snake, having seized its prey, winds its light and
lithe body round its victim, coil upon coil, like the boa and anaconda,
and strangles it in its embrace.
The emerald whip snake (Philodryas viridissimus) is one of the most
beautiful. So slender is its body that, although two feet long or more,
it can coil itself up within a space not larger than the hollow of the
hand. It lives in trees, and may be seen sporting amid the branches;
but the moment it catches sight of a person, away it darts, scarcely
moving the branches and leaves amid which it makes its way.
THE GREEN SNAKE.
Delicate in form, and of the brightest grass-green--while, like the rest
of its family, perfectly harmless--the green snake is a great favourite
with the Brazilians; and as it is easily tamed, young girls may often be
seen carrying it about, winding it round their throats or wrists,
forming it into living necklaces or bracelets. It lives in trees, among
the green foliage, over which it rapidly glides in search of insects--
its usual food.
FROGS AND TOADS.
Frogs abound of all sizes, living in marshes, some on dry ground, and
others inhabitants of trees--many with voices which resound loudly
through the midnight air. Toads, too, are numerous, some of enormous
size. They may be seen on bare, sandy places--huge fellows, seven
inches in length and three in height--crawling over the ground, utterly
indifferent to the appearance of a stranger among them.
Among the frogs is the curious tingeing frog (Hylaplesia tinctoria),
which is an inhabitant of the forest. It may be seen during the day
crawling along the branches, but at night it takes up its abode under
the loose bark. Except during the breeding season, it seldom visits the
water. It then, like the rest of its species, goes there for the
purpose of depositing its eggs. It is generally of a dark colour--
sometimes quite black--with a white spot on the head and two white lines
running along each side.
It gains its name from the use the Indians are said to make of it. They
employ it as they do the parrot-fish, to give a different colour to the
plumage of their parrots. To do this they pull out the feathers from
the spots to which they wish to impart a new tint, and then rub the
blood of the frog into the wounded skin. When the new feathers grow,
they are said to be of a bright yellow or vermilion hue.
The bi-coloured tree-frog (Phyllomedusa bicolour) is of considerable
size, and is the only one of its family at present known. The upper
part of the body is of the deepest azure-blue, while the under parts are
of a pure white, sometimes of a rosy tinge. The thighs and sides are
spotted with the same tinge as the abdomen.
Darwin found a curious little toad, the Phryniscus nigricans, on the dry
sandy soil of the Pampas, "which looked," he says, "as if it had been
steeped in the blackest ink, and then, when dry, allowed to crawl over a
board freshly painted with the brightest vermilion."
Instead of being nocturnal in its habits, as other toads are, and living
in obscure recesses, it crawls about over dry hillocks and arid plains
during the day, where not a single drop of water can be found. It
depends on the dew for its moisture, which is probably absorbed by the
skin. The creature seems to dread water, and is utterly unable to swim.
THE SURINAM TOAD.
The Surinam toad is one of the most curious, though, at the same time,
among the most hideous of batrachians. It is remarkable on account of
the extraordinary way in which its young are developed. The skin of the
female is separated, as is the case with others of its family, from the
muscles of the back, and is nearly half an inch thick. She deposits her
eggs, or spawn, at the brink of some stagnant water, when the male
manages to take them up in his paws and places them on her back, where
they adhere by means of a glutinous secretion, and are pressed into
cells which, at that time, are open to receive them. Gradually the
cells are closed by a membrane which grows over them, when her back
greatly resembles a piece of honeycomb, the cells of which are filled
and closed. Here, in the course of about three months, the eggs are
hatched, and the creatures undergo the usual change of the rest of the
genus; first assuming the form of tadpoles, and gradually acquiring
their complete shape. When perfected, and possessed of their limbs,
they work their way out of the cells; and it is a curious sight to see
them struggling out--their head and paws projecting in all directions
from their mother's back--and sliding down on the ground, when they
begin to hop merrily about.
The cells are considerably deeper than wide, and each would contain an
ordinary bean thrust endwise into it. The head of the creature is of an
unusual shape, as it has a snout with nostrils lengthened into a kind of
tube. The skin is of a brownish-olive above, and white below; and is
covered with a number of small, hard granules, with some horny
tubercular projections among them. After the brood have left the
mother's back, the cells again fill up--the whole process occupying
about eight days.
In spite of the repulsive appearance of the creature, the negroes
occasionally eat it.
TORTOISES.
Tortoises (Testudinata, or Chelonians) belong to a very numerous order
of reptiles, the usual form of which is too well known to require
description. They are shut up, as it were, in a box and breast-plate:
the carapace and plastron, in reality, are external developments of
certain parts of the skeleton.
The land tortoises have the strongest plastrons. In some species it is
slightly movable, but generally fixed by a uniting suture. In one--the
pyxis--the plastron is furnished with a transverse hinge, so that the
animal can retract its head and fore-limbs within the carapace, and
close the plastron upon it, first shutting them in. In another--the
kinixis--the carapace has the posterior portion distinct from the
anterior, and movable, so as to shield the hind-limbs and tail.
In water tortoises, or turtles, as they are generally called, the
plastron is united to the edges of the carapace by intervening
cartilage, and not by suture. The jaws of tortoises are not furnished
with teeth, but are cased in horny coverings, resembling somewhat the
sharp hooked beak of a parrot; which enable them either to crop and
mince the vegetable aliment on which most of them live, or to masticate
the small, living animals, such as birds and reptiles, of which the food
of others consists. Round the outside of this beak are thick fleshy
lips.
In the curious matamata, the jaws of which open very wide, these parts,
instead of being armed by a strong beak, are protected by a sheath of
horn.
In the land tortoises, the feet are stump-like, the toes being enveloped
in the skin, so that they can move but slowly. The marsh and lake
tortoises have their feet palmated, to enable them to move either on the
water or on land. In the turtles, these limbs appear in the form of
broad, flat, undivided paddles, well-adapted for moving in the water,
but awkward as instruments of locomotion, even on the level, sandy
shores to which they resort at the breeding season.
The tortoise has a fleshy tongue like that of a parrot. The brain is
but slightly developed, scarcely filling the cavity of the skull in the
marine species. At the same time, the animal possesses great muscular
irritability, and extreme tenacity of life. All are oviparous, and bury
their eggs, which are hatched by the warmth of the sun. The water
tortoises, when seen below the surface, move like birds in the air, the
paddles flapping like wings.
The order is divided into four groups: first, Chersians, or the land
tortoises; second, the Elodians, or marsh tortoises; third, the
Potamians, or river tortoises; fourth, the Thalassians, or sea
tortoises, generally called turtles. These groups are again variously
subdivided.
The waters of Tropical America abound with the second and third
families. The Elodians, found in the shallow pools of the Amazonian
Valley, swim with facility, and move quickly over the ground. They feed
not only on vegetables, but prey on living animals--river molluscs, and
other water creatures.
The Potamians, which are found in vast numbers in the larger rivers,
grow to a great size,--some weighing seventy pounds. They feed much as
the last described. They swim with ease, both on the surface and at
mid-water. The upper part of the body is generally brown or grey, with
regular dotted spots; while the under parts are pale white, rosy, and
bluish. When they seize their food, they dart out their heads and long
necks with the rapidity of arrows, and bite sharply with their trenchant
beaks, not letting go till they have taken the piece out. The females
are said to be far more numerous than the males; indeed, Father Gumilla,
describing the turtles of the Orinoco, states what might be doubted,--
that "in each nest of eggs there is one, larger than the rest, from
which the male is hatched. All the others are females." The eggs are
spherical; their shell solid, but membraneous or slightly calcareous.
A further description of them will be given when the mode in which they
are captured is described. The species, however, deserves particular
notice.
THE CHELYS MATAMATA.
Grotesque, and unlike what we fancy a reality,--such as those creatures
which the wild imagination of the painters of bygone days delighted in
producing,--is the curious matamata (Chelys matamata), found along the
banks of the Amazon, as well as in Guiana. It is covered with armour on
the back, neck, and head. On its head it wears what looks like a
curiously-shaped helmet, with a long tube in front, which serves as a
snout; while its feet are webbed, and armed with sharp claws at the end
of its thick, powerful legs. From the chin hang down two fringe-like
membranes, and the throat and neck are similarly ornamented. It is
often three feet long; and, from its formidable appearance, it might
easily make a stranger eager to get out of its way. This helmet
consists of two membraneous prolongations of the skin, which project on
either side from its broad and flattened head. A long, flexible, double
tube forms its snout. The shield on the back is marked with three
distinct ridges, or keels, along it, and is broader before than behind.
It has a stumpy, pointed tail.
This curious monster, concealing itself among the reeds on the bank,
lies in wait for its prey, darting forward its long neck, and seizing
with its sharp beak any passing fish, reptile, or water-fowl; or, should
they not come near enough, it swims at a great rate after its prey.
PART THREE, CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
WONDERS OF INSECT LIFE.
TERMITES, OR WHITE ANTS.
The great ant-eater, dozing during the hot hours of the day within the
shady coverts of the forest, sallies forth in the cool of the evening to
search for its insect prey on the open Campos. The surface of the
ground is there, in many districts, raised into conical hillocks, some
five feet in height, and streaked by lines which differ in colour from
the surrounding earth, and lead in all directions, over decayed timber
and the roots of herbage, from one hillock to the other. These hillocks
are the habitations of those curious small pale-coloured and soft-bodied
insects called termites, or white ants. They differ very greatly from
the true ants in their mode of growth, or metamorphosis, though similar
to them in their habits.
The true ant, when emerging from the egg, is a footless grub, and
remains in the pupa, or quiescent stage, inclosed in a membrane, till
its limbs are developed. The termites at once possess the form they are
to bear through life, except that the sexual individuals, during the
latter stages of their growth, gradually acquire eyes and wings. They
belong, indeed, to two very dissimilar orders of insects. The ant-bear,
however, never troubles himself about this matter; but, scraping away
with his powerful claws, soon breaks open the citadel which the
industrious insects have formed during days of unremitting toil.
The mounds of the termites differ in composition. Some, consisting of
earth, are worked into a substance as hard as stone. The coloured lines
on the ground mark the covered ways which lead from the places where the
insects obtain their food, or the materials for their habitations. The
mounds exhibit no openings for egress or ingress. They are often formed
by several distinct species of termites, each of which keeps to its own
portion of the mounds, and uses different materials. Within the
fortress exist a vast number of chambers, with galleries connecting
them, composed sometimes of particles of earth, and at others of
vegetable matter, cemented by the saliva of the insects. As they live
on dry food, and in regions where no water is found, it is supposed that
they may possess the power of combining, by vital force, the oxygen and
hydrogen of their vegetable food, and thus form water. This
supposition, if correct, accounts for the large amount of liquid which
they employ in the construction of their cells. The inhabitants of
these structures consist of differently formed insects, employed in
various distinct occupations. The most numerous are the labourers, who
have to toil for the benefit of the community. They are sexless and
blind; yet, without the power of sight, they are ceaselessly employed in
the construction of these curious mounds, or in taking care of the
young, and in collecting and bringing in food for the support of the
population. Then come the soldiers, who defend the fortress, or, as
more frequently happens, sacrifice themselves for the protection of the
rest. The two most important personages of the community are the king
and queen, who are the parents of future colonies. These are always
found in every perfect termitarium. There are also a large number of
winged termites, male and female, who, at a certain period of the year--
generally at the commencement of the rainy season--issue forth from the
hive into the world. Although a large number are destroyed, a few
escape, and, pairing, become the parents of fresh colonies. The
formation of a new citadel or colony takes place somewhat in the
following manner:--On a mound becoming overstocked, a party of workers,
guarded by a body of soldiers, issue forth, and commence a fresh edifice
at a distance from the old one. Here they form a large cell in the
centre, surrounded by numerous galleries leading to smaller cells. From
thence they run their covered ways, in suitable directions, towards
spots whence they can obtain their necessary supplies of food and
building materials. This being accomplished, they go in search of a
royal pair; whom, when they have found, under a leaf or clod of earth,
they conduct into the interior cell, where they are installed in due
state. The newly-married couple, who have by this time got rid of their
wings, are considerably larger than the rest of the population, but are
helpless individuals, having neither the power of working nor fighting.
The king soon dies; but his consort, instead of pining for his loss,
sets herself to work for the benefit of posterity, by laying a countless
number of eggs. As soon as these are deposited the workers carry them
off, and place them in the cells, where they watch over them with the
most vigilant care, supplying the larvae with food as soon as they are
hatched; and when the nursery becomes full, carrying some off in their
mouths to another cell. While some are thus employed, others increase
the size of their abode by running fresh corridors round the edifice,
and forming new cells; while other parties, protected by soldiers, are
foraging far and wide for food for the ever-increasing population.
In process of time--always within twelve months--the numberless progeny
of the queen become full-grown. Some become developed into labourers,
with smooth, rounded heads, and mouths adapted for carrying loads and
working up the materials for the construction of their abodes; others--
the fighting class--have heads of large size, provided with pointed
weapons of defence of various shapes, resembling, in different species,
horns, pikes, rams; while others are furnished with powerful jaws,
resembling either sabres, swords, or sickles. A third class appear with
eyes, and long, delicate wings--gay, happy creatures, far better formed,
it would seem, to enjoy existence than their hard-working brethren.
These are the males and females of the community. When they are
prepared to issue forth from their birth-place, the labourers busily set
to work to clear a passage to allow of their speedy egress. This takes
place generally on a damp, close evening or cloudy morning. Countless
numbers issue forth at intervals, till the whole progeny of males and
females have emerged from their pupa state. They make a loud rustling
noise as they fly through the air in all directions; but they are
immediately set upon by numberless enemies,--goatsuckers, lizards,
spiders, and ants,--who greedily eat them up. On reaching the ground
they immediately divest themselves of their wings; and the few pairs
which escape from their foes seek safety in some hollow beneath a leaf
or lump of earth, where they await the arrival of the faithful
labourers, who now come forth in search of them, and conduct them, as
has before been said, to the newly-formed abode prepared for their
reception. And thus the wonderful process goes forward year after year.
So utterly helpless are these males and females, that, were it not for
the assistance of other individuals, the race would speedily become
extinct. The warrior termites are utterly regardless of personal
safety. When their castle is attacked, they appear in vast numbers at
the breach, to cover the retreat of the labourers. As the long tongue
of the ant-eater is projected among them, they throw themselves on it;
and no sooner is one regiment swallowed up than another rushes out to
take its place--thus, by the sacrifice of themselves, enabling the rest
of the community to seek safety in flight.
SAUBA ANTS.
Of the numerous true ants which exist in all parts of Tropical America,
the sauba is one of the most remarkable. In all parts of the country--
as well near the abodes of man as in the distant wilds--large mounds are
seen, two feet in length, and often upwards of forty yards in
circumference, and distinguished from the surrounding soil by the
difference of colour. Yet these mounds are merely the domes or upper
works of the vast subterranean galleries which run for enormous
distances and to great depths below the surface. Unlike the termites,
the armies go forth in open daylight in vast hordes, to obtain food or
materials for the construction of their wonderful habitations.
Sometimes, many hundred yards away from these mounds, the whole ground
seems covered with animated leaves, each of the size of a sixpence,
moving at a steady pace over the ground. Each leaf is held vertically
in the mandibles of an ant, which is conveying it for the purpose of
thatching the domes which cover the entrance to its subterranean abode;
the roof thus formed protecting the cells beneath, rilled with young,
from the heavy rains. Going in the direction whence the army is seen
coming, we may find a tree covered by innumerable multitudes employed in
cutting off leaves. Here the labourers are protected by the warrior
class, who appear also to perform the duties of overlookers, and keep
them to their tasks. Each ant, on gaining a leaf, commences with its
scissor-like jaws to make a semicircular incision on the upper side. It
then takes it into its jaws, and detaches it by a sharp jerk. Having
done this, it descends to the ground, and joining its comrades, who have
been similarly employed, they return with their loads to the colony.
Frequently, however, while an ant is up the tree, the piece of leaf
falls to the ground, when it sets to work to cut off another; while
fresh labourers appear, to carry away the pieces which have thus
accumulated.
The sauba ants are greatly dreaded by the inhabitants, as they
frequently attack their coffee and orange-trees, and utterly destroy
them. Sometimes, indeed, plantations have to be abandoned in
consequence of the inroads of these persevering insects.
The body of the sauba ant is of a pale reddish-brown colour, and of a
solid consistency. The head is armed with a pair of sharp spines, while
the thorax has three pairs of the same character.
There appear to be three orders of workers among them, greatly differing
in size. One order has an enormously large head; the head of another is
very highly polished; while that of a third is opaque--to enable it,
apparently, to perform the duties of a subterranean labourer. The earth
of which the domes of the sauba ants are composed is brought up from a
considerable depth below. There are numerous entrances leading to the
galleries, but, under ordinary circumstances, they are kept closed. The
smaller galleries lead, at a depth of several feet, to a broad,
elaborately-worked tunnel of four or five inches in diameter, which
conducts downwards to the centre chamber; the abode of the royal pair,
on whom devolves--as is the case with the termites--the duty of
propagating the species. Here they are guarded much in the same way by
the labourers, who deposit the eggs in the cells, and finally assist in
the exit of the winged males and females--which fly forth to be
destroyed in vast numbers, the few who remain becoming the parents of
other families.
The female winged ants are of considerable size, measuring fully two and
a quarter inches across the wings. The male is very much smaller.
The royal chamber is curiously constructed. As soon as the newly-wedded
pair are conducted within, the workers, who are themselves much smaller,
so diminish the size of the entrance that it is impossible for the king
and queen to escape. Round it are numerous exits and entrances, through
which the workers convey the eggs when laid. The queen, after the death
of her consort, lives for two or three years, employed during the whole
of the time in laying eggs, at the rate of fifty in a minute. This will
give some idea of the rapid increase of the population.
The workers vary somewhat in size and appearance. While a large number
are employed in bringing in leaves and granules of earth for thatching
their domes, as well as various sorts of provision, others are engaged
in tending the royal chamber--carrying the eggs to the cells, and
watching over the young. There is another class, whose heads are
covered with hairs, and who appear to be employed entirely below ground,
probably as excavators or tunnellers.
Like the Cyclops, they have in the centre of their forehead a single
eye, very different in structure to the compound eyes on the sides of
their head. The other workers do not possess this peculiar frontal eye,
nor is it found in any other species of ant.
It is wonderful what extensive tunnels these ants will form. Near Rio
de Janeiro a tunnel was discovered, excavated by the creatures under the
River Parahiba, as broad as the Thames at London Bridge. Near Para
they, on one occasion, pierced the embankment of a large reservoir to
such an extent as to allow the escape of a vast body of water before the
damage could be repaired. In the same neighbourhood an attempt was made
to destroy their colonies, by blowing fumes of sulphur down the
galleries by means of bellows. Mr Bates relates, that he saw smoke
issuing from a vast number of outlets, one of which was seventy yards
distant from the place where the bellows were used.
They wander to a great distance in search of plunder, and enter houses
for the purpose of carrying off the farina or mandioca meal. The same
naturalist relates that he was one night awoke by his servant telling
him that rats were robbing the farina baskets. On listening, he was
certain that the noise was unlike that made by rats. On going to the
storeroom he there found a broad column of sauba ants, consisting of
thousands of individuals, passing to and fro between the door and his
baskets of meal. Most of those passing outwards were loaded each with a
grain of farina, larger and many times heavier than the bodies of the
carriers. The baskets, which were on a high table, were entirely
covered with ants, many hundreds of whom were employed in snipping the
dry leaves which served as a lining; and this had produced the rustling
sound which had disturbed him. He and his servant in vain attempted to
exterminate them by killing them with their wooden clogs. Fresh hosts
came on to take the place of the slain. The next night they returned,
when he attempted to get rid of them by laying trains of gunpowder along
their line to blow them up. Not, however, till he had repeated this
operation several times, did the survivors of the daring depredators
retreat.
THE AMPHISBAENA.
A curious snake, with something the character of the English slow-worm,
the amphisbaena--called by the natives Mai das Saubas, or the mother of
the saubas--is frequently found in these mounds. The natives believe
that the ants treat it with great affection, and will, if the snake is
removed, leave the spot. It is probable, however, that the amphisbaena
takes up its abode in the nest for the convenience of devouring the
inhabitants, whenever unable to procure other food.
Some of the American ants are of great size. One species (the
Dinoponera grandis) is an inch and a quarter in length, and
proportionally stout. It is seen marching in single file through the
forest; but though of considerable size, its sting is not severe, while
there is nothing particularly interesting about its habits.
ECITONS.
There are, however, several species of foraging ants, called ecitons,
which move in vast bodies through the forest in search of prey. They
are carnivorous, and attack not only insects and grubs of all sorts, but
even other ants,--assaulting their citadels and carrying off the
slaughtered inhabitants. The natives, when they meet them in the
forest, hurry out of their way, to avoid their fierce attacks. Their
communities appear to be composed, besides males and females, of two
classes of workers, one with head and jaws very much larger than the
others.
One species of these foraging ants is known as the Eciton rapax, the
larger workers among which are half an inch in length.
The two common species of ecitons are, Eciton hamata and Eciton
drepanophora, which are very similar in their habits and appearance.
They are of the most pugnacious character, and a person incautiously
getting in their midst finds himself furiously attacked. They climb up
his legs, and, holding on by their pincer-like jaws, double in their
tails, and sting with all their might. The natives, on seeing them, cry
out, "Tauoca"--the name which they give to the ecitons--and scamper off
to a distance. The only way of getting rid of them is to pluck them out
one by one; but so securely do they fasten themselves to the skin, that
their head and jaws are left sticking to it.
As they advance through the forest, the creatures on which they prey
endeavour to get out of their way; but vast numbers of maggots,
caterpillars, larvae, and ants of other species fall victims to their
ferocity. They advance in a long column live or six deep, while thinner
columns forage on either flank, till they arrive at a mass of rotten
wood abounding in insect larvae, when they surround it, and do not again
move forward till every particle of food has been carried off!
When they discover a wasp's nest, they attack the papery covering to get
at the larvae pupae and newly-hatched wasps. In spite of the rage of
the parents, who vainly keep flying about them, they carry off their
spoil in fragments; the carriers having their loads apportioned to their
size--the dwarfs taking the smaller pieces, and the stronger fellows the
heavier portions. Sometimes two ants join in carrying one piece.
ROBBER ECITONS.
Another species (the Eciton legionis) has been known to attack other
ants' nests for the sake of plunder. Mr Bates saw an army of them
employed on the face of an inclined bank of earth. They were excavating
mines to get at the nest of a larger species of ant of the genus
Formica. Some were rushing into the passages, others were seen
assisting their comrades to lift out the bodies of the formicae, while
others were tearing them in pieces--their weight being too great for
that of a single eciton. A number of carriers then seized each a
fragment and carried it down the slope. When the naturalist dug into
the earth with a small trowel, the eager freebooters rushed in as fast
as he excavated, and carried off the ants, so rapidly tearing them in
pieces that he had great difficulty in rescuing a few entire specimens.
The little ecitons seemed to be divided into parties, some excavating,
others carrying away the grains of earth. When the shafts became rather
deep, the mining parties had to climb up the sides each time they wished
to cast out a pellet of earth; but their work was lightened by their
comrades, who stationed themselves at the mouth of the shaft and
relieved them of their burdens, carrying the particles to a sufficient
distance from the edge of the hole to prevent them rolling in again.
All the work seemed thus to be performed by intelligent co-operation
among the host of eager little creatures. Still, there was not a rigid
division of labour; for some of them, whose proceedings he watched,
acted at one time as carriers of pellets, and at another as miners, and
all shortly afterwards assumed the office of conveyers of the spoil. In
about two hours, all the nests of the formicae were rifled.
He frequently saw these little creatures engaged apparently in play, in
the neighbourhood of their homes. Some were walking slowly about,
others were brushing their antennae with their fore-feet; but the
drollest sight was to see them cleaning one another. Here and there an
ant was seen stretching forth first one leg, then another, to be brushed
or washed by one or more of its comrades; who performed the task by
passing the limb between the jaw and the tongue, finishing by giving the
antennae a friendly wipe.
There are two species of blind ecitons--which, however, go on foraging
expeditions, and even attack the nests of other stinging species; but,
avoiding the light, they move always under leaves and fallen branches:
when the columns have to pass a cleared space, the ants form covered
ways with granules of earth, arched over and holding together
mechanically.
BLIND ANTS.
Two other species--Eciton vastator, and Eciton erratica--both of which
are blind, move entirely under covered ways in search of promising
hunting-grounds. Their arcades are sometimes two hundred yards in
length, the grains of earth being taken from the soil over which the
column is passing, and fitted together without cement. In this they are
distinguished from the covered ways made by the termites, who use a
glutinous saliva for cementing their edifices. These blind ecitons
build up the side of their convex arcade, and in a wonderful manner
contrive so to fit in the key-stones, without allowing the loose
uncemented structure to fall to pieces. Whenever a breach is made in
any of their covered ways, the workers remain behind to repair the
damage, while the soldiers issue forth in a menacing manner, rearing
their heads, and snapping their jaws with an expression of fiercest rage
and defiance.
The above account will give some idea of the vast numbers and varieties
of the termites and ants of this region, and of the wonderful way in
which Providence has furnished them with the means of sustaining
existence, and taking their part in the economy of nature. Science is
deeply indebted to Mr Bates, for his persevering efforts and acute
observation in making known the varieties and habits of these curious
insects.
CENTIPEDS--COCKROACHES--FIRE-ANTS.
Although the rest of the animal creation is small compared with the
creatures of the Eastern world, insects and reptiles attain a size which
will vie with those of any portion of the globe. Here we have a
centiped nearly a foot in length, with innumerable legs, and two horns
or feelers, which it protrudes with the most venomous expression. These
animals are not only hideous to look on, but their bite is _very_
painful, though not dangerous.
Cockroaches swarm everywhere; but the fire-ant is, for its size,
probably the most terrible of created beings. Its bite produces the
most acute pain; and where they swarm, on the dry sandy shores of the
streams, they frequently compel the natives to desert their villages.
Mrs Agassiz mentions having on one occasion hung some towels to dry on
the cord of her hammock, and was about to remove them, when suddenly her
hand and arm seemed plunged into fire. She dropped the towels as if
they were hot coals, which for the moment they literally seemed to be.
She then saw that her arm was covered with little brown ants. A native
brushed them off in all haste; and an army of them was found passing
over the hammock, and out of the window, near which it hung. He said
they were on their way somewhere, and if left undisturbed would be gone
in an hour or so.
INSECTS--FIRE-FLIES.
Of those diamonds of the night, the fire-flies and fire-beetles, there
are numerous species. One of the most abundant--and of much larger
dimensions than the rest of the elaters or beetles--pyrophorus
noctilucus, called by the natives cocuja, displays both red and green
light. On the upper surface of the thorax there are two oval tubercles,
hard and transparent, like bull's-eye lights let into a ship's deck.
These are windows out of which shine a vivid green luminousness, which
appears to fill the interior of the chest. Then on the under surface of
the body, at the base of the abdomen, there is a transverse orifice in
the shelly skin, covered with a delicate membrane, which glows with a
strong ruddy light; visible, however, only when the wing-cases are
expanded. It is about an inch and a half long, of a brown colour, and
has a strong spine situated beneath the thorax, which fits at pleasure
into a small cavity on the upper part of the abdomen. By means of this
machine it can, when placed on its back, spring up a couple of inches,
and regain its feet. When preparing to do this it moves its head and
thorax backwards, so that the pectoral spine is drawn out and rests on
the edge of the sheath. The same backward movement being continued, the
spine, by the full action of the muscles, is bent like a spring, and the
insect at this moment rests on the extremity of its head and wing cases.
The effort being suddenly relaxed, the head and thorax fly up, and in
consequence the base of the wing-cases strike the supporting surface
with such force that the insect by the reaction is jerked upward, while
the projecting points of the thorax and the sheath of the spine serve to
steady the whole body.
So brilliant is the light of these creatures, that even one moved over
the print of a book wall enable a person to read by it, while eight or
ten placed in a clear glass bottle serve the purpose of a lamp. The
Brazilian ladies ornament their dresses with these fire-beetles, by
securing them so as not to injure the creatures; while they frequently
wear several in the braids of their dark hair, which, when they walk
abroad in the evening, has a curious and beautiful effect. [Gosse and
Darwin.]
Prescott relates that when the Spaniards first invaded America, on
seeing the air filled with cocujas during the darkness of night, their
excited imaginations converted them into an army with matchlocks, and
they waited, expecting to be attacked by an overwhelming force. A
similar story is told of the British, when first landing in the West
Indies, being induced to hastily re-embark on seeing at night
innumerable lights moving about, which they supposed were Spaniards
approaching to defend the shore.
SUSPENDED COCOONS.
The forests of Brazil exhibit numerous beautiful examples of insect
workmanship. Among others is the work of a caterpillar--a cocoon about
the size of a sparrow's egg, woven in broad meshes of either buff or
rose-coloured silk, and seen suspended from the tip of an outstanding
leaf by a strong thread, five or six inches in length. It forms a
conspicuous object hung thus in mid-air. The glossy threads with which
it is knitted are stout, and the structure is not likely therefore to be
torn by the beaks of insectivorous birds; while its pendulous position
makes it doubly secure against their attacks, as the apparatus gives way
when they peck at it. There is a small orifice at each end of the
egg-shaped bag, to admit of the escape of the moth when it changes from
the little chrysalis which sleeps tranquilly in its airy cage.
Other caterpillars form cases with fragments of wood or leaves, in which
they live secure from their enemies, whilst they are feeding and
growing. Some of these, composed of small bits of stick, are knitted
together with fine silken threads, and others make tubes very like the
cadis-worms of English ponds. Others choose leaves, with which they
form an elongated bag, open at both ends, having the insides lined with
thick webs. As the weight of one of these dwellings would be greater
than the caterpillar inside could sustain, it attaches the case by one
or more threads to the leaves or twigs near which it is feeding.
LANTERN-FLY.
There is a large and beautiful insect, with an enormous transparent
prolongation of the forehead, which is supposed to have a resemblance to
a lantern: it is called the lantern-fly (Fulgora laternaria). Though
often described as possessing luminous properties, it is now known to be
destitute of any phosphorescence whatever.
THE TANANA.
[Chlorocelus tanana.]
Often through the woods a loud, sharp, resonant stridulation is heard,
sounding like the syllables "Ta, na, na," succeeding each other with
little intermission. It is produced by a species of wood cricket,
called by the natives after the sound it produces. The total length of
the body is two inches and a quarter when the wings are closed. The
insect has an inflated bladder-like shape, owing to the great convexity
of the thin, firm, parchmenty wing-cases; the little creature being of a
pale green colour. The instrument by which it produces its music is
contrived out of the ordinary nervures of the wing-case. In each
wing-case the under edge of the wing itself has a horny lobe. On one
wing this lobe has a sharp raised margin, on the other the strong
membrane which traverses it on the under side is crossed by a number of
fine and sharp furrows like those of a file. When the insect rapidly
moves its wings, the file of the one lobe is scraped sharply across the
horny margin of the other, thus producing the sounds; the parchmenty
wing-cases and the hollow drum-like space they enclose assisting to give
resonance to the tones. These notes are the call notes of the males,
inviting a mate to his burrow. [Bates.]
WOOD BEETLES.
Enormous as are the trees of the Amazonian forests, and able to
withstand the fiercest storms, they have frequently to succumb to the
attacks of minute insects. Many a monarch of the woods has been brought
low by the efforts of the persevering termites; but they have other
enemies. The palm-trees are assailed by a group of beetles (the
Histeridae) which take possession of the moist interior of their stems.
One of these is an enormous fellow--the hister maximus. Another group
have their bodies as thin as wafers, to enable them to live in the
narrow crevices of the bark. One set of species, however (the
trypanaeus), are totally different, being cylindrical in shape. They
drill holes in the solid wood, and look like tiny animated gimlets when
seen at work; their pointed heads being fixed in the wood, while their
smooth glossy bodies work rapidly round so as to create little streams
of sawdust from the holes.
The caribi, which in Europe perform the important duty of scavengers,
and live on the ground, are in South America nearly always found on
trees. Some are of enormous size.
The Hercules beetle, which lives on the mamma Americana, attains a
length of five and sometimes six inches. It is known by the singular
horn-shaped proboscis rising from the head and thorax, which gives it so
formidable an appearance. Its duty is probably to eat up the rotten
wood.
Other members of the family,--known as the elephant, Neptune, and
typhon,--excavate burrows in the earth, living on the decomposed trunks
of trees during the day, and flying about at night with a loud humming
noise--apparently to enjoy the air, of which they are deprived in the
daytime.
The megasominae is of an enormous size, as is also the beautiful Inca
beetle.
Among the most beautiful beetles in the Brazils is the diamond beetle
(Entrinus nobilis), of a lustrous azure green, and with golden wings.
With it, and other species, the ladies form necklaces, and ornament
their dresses.
In Venezuela, the cactus plants, which grow so abundantly, serve to
nourish the valuable though odd-looking little coccus cacti. The male
and female differ greatly. The female resembles a Lilliputian tortoise,
and is of a dark brown colour, with two light spots on the back covered
with white powder. The male, possessed of a pair of wings, is much
smaller, and roves about at will from plant to plant. The female, a
short time after she has become full-grown, secures herself to a leaf,
where she remains immovable. She now grows to such a size, that she
more resembles a seed belonging to a plant than an insect, all her limbs
being completely concealed by her wide-expanded body. In process of
time, before the young insects are born, the cochineal-gatherers detach
the insect by means of a knife dipped in boiling water, which kills
them. They are then dried in the sun, and appear like small dry berries
of a deep mulberry colour.
SPIDERS.
Fear-inspiring is the appearance of the great crab-spider--the Mygale
avicularia, one genus of the formidable Arachnida family--with a body
two inches in length, and, when the legs are expanded, seven inches
across, covered entirely with coarse grey, reddish hairs. It lives
among the rocks in the drier regions; some dwell under stones, others
form artistic tunnels under the earth, and some build their dens in the
thatch of houses. Bates one day saw some Indian children with one of
these monsters secured by a cord round its waist, by which they were
leading it about the house as they would a dog. The hairs with which it
is covered come off when touched, and cause a peculiar and almost
maddening irritation. This is, however, probably owing to their being
short and hard, and thus getting into the fine creases of the skin, and
not to any poisonous quality residing in the hairs. These monstrous
spiders prey on lizards, small birds, and other diminutive vertebrates.
Their muscular power is very great. When the creature is about to seize
its prey, it fixes its hind-feet firmly in the ground, and lifting up
the front ones, darts them forward, and fastens them with the double
hooks which terminate its feet between the cranium and the first
vertebra, thus preventing the possibility of their escaping. Nothing
will then tear it from its prey. When pressed by hunger, it climbs at
night the trees and shrubs in which humming-birds and other small birds
are perched, or have built their nests, and springing on them, grasps
them with its powerful claws. It seizes the anolis, a kind of
water-lizard, in the same way. The fact of its seizing on birds, so
long doubted, though asserted by Madame Marian, the French naturalist,
has been corroborated by Monsieur Jonnes, her countryman. He states
that it spins no web to serve it as a dwelling, but burrows and lies in
ambush in the cliffs and hollow ravines. It often travels to a
considerable distance, and conceals itself under leaves, thence to dart
out on its prey; or it climbs along the branches of trees to surprise
the humming-birds and other small tree-creepers. Bates still further
settles the point.
With regard to the habits of another species which does spin a web, he
says that, catching sight of one of these spiders, he was attracted by
its movements. It was in the crevices of a tree, across which was
stretched a dense web. The lower portion of the web was broken, and two
small birds,--finches,--were entangled in the pieces. They were the
size of the English linnet, and probably male and female. One was quite
dead, the other lay dying under the body of the spider, and was smeared
with the filthy liquor or saliva exuded by the monster.
The mygale carries its eggs enclosed in a cocoon of white silk of a very
close tissue, formed of two round pieces uniting at their borders. It
supports this cocoon under its corselet by means of its antennulae, and
transports it along with itself. When hard-pressed by its enemies, it
abandons it for a time, but returns to take it up as soon as the combat
is concluded. Nearly two thousand eggs are contained in these cocoons.
The young ones when they appear are entirely white, gradually assuming
the colour of the adult.
The falces, or reaping-hook claws, of the great crab-spider are of
enormous size, and ai-e sometimes set in gold and used as toothpicks,
from the idea that they possess some medicinal virtue to cure the
toothache.
The different species vary very much in their habits. One big fellow--
the Mygale Blondii--forms a broad slanting gallery about two feet in
length, the sides of which he lines beautifully with silk. Just before
sunset he may be seen keeping watch near the mouth of his tunnel,
disappearing suddenly when he hears a heavy foot-tread near his
hiding-place.
Many are of the most showy colours. Some double themselves up at the
base of leaf-stalks, so as to resemble a flower, and thus deceive the
insects on which they prey. One of the most extraordinary in
appearance--the Arosoma arcuatum--has two curved, bronze-coloured
spines, an inch and a half in length, proceeding from its abdomen. It
spins a large web, those huge spikes apparently being no impediment to
its work.
BEES AND WASPS.
Bees and wasps of a countless number of species abound in every region
of the continent. Some build their habitations, composed of a papery
substance, attached to the under side of the broad leaves of the tucuma
and other palms. Others, again, form them in hollow trees, or among
their roots in the earth. Many build in houses, or pierce their mud
walls till they look as if riddled with shot. Others make holes in the
ground, especially in sandy places. Others, again, construct their
habitations of clay, and fasten them to the boughs of trees or to
buildings. There are, indeed, mason bees, carpenter bees, and miner
bees and wasps.
Watch the little, pale green bombex, or sand-wasp, at work, throwing out
with its fore-feet jets of sand from the hole it is forming in the
sloping bank. In a wonderfully short time the female miner has formed a
gallery two or three inches in length. Out she backs, making a few
turns round the entrance to admire her work--or, probably, to take note
of the locality--and then away she flies. She may be absent for a few
minutes, or perhaps for an hour, according to her success in hunting.
At length back she comes with a big fly in her grasp, benumbed by her
sting. She carries it in, lays an egg in the body, which will serve as
food for the soft footless grub soon to be hatched, and then closing the
entrance, sets to work to form a new nursery like the first, which she
will furnish in the same careful manner. It is curious how she can find
her way back, for often she has to go half a mile before she can find a
fly to suit her purpose.
Another species,--the Monedula signata,--as large as a hornet, is
particularly useful in carrying off the teasing flies, the bloodthirsty
motucas, which buzz round the voyager on the Amazon when at anchor near
a sand-bank. Bates was rather startled by seeing one fly directly at
his face, on which it had espied a motuca, and which it carried off,
holding it tightly to its breast.
The pelopaeus wasp builds a nest of clay, shaped like a pouch, two
inches in length, and attaches it to a branch. It forms the clay in
little round pellets, kneading it with its mandibles into a convenient
shape, and humming cheerfully while engaged in its work. On arriving
with the ball of moist clay it lays it on the edge of the cell, and then
spreads it out round the circular rim by means of the lower lip, guided
by the mandibles--sitting astride while at work. On finishing each
addition it takes a turn round, patting the sides with its feet inside
and out, before flying off for a fresh pellet. It feeds on small
spiders, which it reduces to a half dead state by its sting, thus to
serve as food for its progeny.
One bee,--the Trypoxylon aurifrons,--builds a nest of clay like a squat
round bottle or carafe; generally in rows, one beside the other, on a
branch, or in the corners of a building.
The melipona bees are the most numerous of the honey-producing insects,
their colonies being composed of vast numbers of individuals. They are
smaller than the English hive-bee, and have no sting. The workers
collect pollen as do other bees, but a great number are employed in
gathering clay for forming walls as an outer protection to their nests.
They first scrape the clay with their fore-mandibles, passing it on to
the second pair of feet, and then to the large foliated expansions of
the hind-shanks, patting it in the process, till the little hodsmen have
as much as they can carry, when they fly off with their loads to their
nests. One species builds a tubular gallery of clay of a trumpet shape
at the mouth. Here a number of the pigmy bees are stationed to act the
part of sentinels.
Thus the melipona bees are masons as well as workers in wax and pollen
gatherers. Although they have no sting, they defend their habitations,
and bite furiously when disturbed. Bates found forty-five species of
these bees in different parts of the country, and one hundred and forty
of other species. Several of them were attended by drones, which
deposit their ova in the cells of the working bees, some of them having
the dress and general appearance of their victims.
BUTTERFLIES.
This is a region of magnificent butterflies. In the neighbourhood of
Para alone seven hundred species have been found. Many seldom leave the
shady paths which pierce the forests; others, however, occasionally come
forth into the broad sunlight and more open glades. See the slender
Morpho menelaus, with splendid metallic blue wings seven inches in
expanse, flapping them as does a bird as it flies along.
Far surpassing it, however, is the Morpho rhetenor; which, conscious of
its beauty, revels in the sunlight, but seldom ventures nearer than
twenty feet from the ground. So dazzling a lustre have the upper wings
of this butterfly, that when it flaps them occasionally, and the blue
surface flashes in the sunlight, it may be seen a quarter of a mile off.
Another species of the same genus has a satiny white hue; but, infinite
as they are in number, so most diversified are they in their habits,
mode of flight, colours, and markings. Some are yellow, others bright
red, green, purple, and blue. Many are bordered or spangled with
metallic lines and spots of a silvery or golden lustre. Some have wings
transparent as glass.
One of these (the Hetaira esmeralda) is especially beautiful, having an
opaque spot on its wings, of a violet and rose hue; and as this is the
only part visible when the insect is flying low over the dead leaves of
the darker recesses of the forest--where it is alone found--it looks
like the wandering petal of a flower.
Of moths, too, there are great numbers,--among them, the Erebus strix,
the largest of its family, sometimes measuring nearly a foot in expanse
of wing. In the open sunny spots the bright air is often alive with
superb dragonflies. Upwards of one hundred species are found near Para.
Some live only in the gloom of the forest. Often, however, they are
the most beautiful, being more brightly coloured and delicate in
construction than the others. Many delight to flit over the igarapes
and calm pools.
Among these, the Chalcopteryx rutilans has four wings, each
transparent,--while the hind-wings, of a dark colour, glitter with a
violet and golden effulgence. They all wage unceasing war against the
day-flying insects. When one is captured, the dragon-fly retires to a
tree, and there, seated on a branch, devours the body at its leisure.
It is wonderful the number of flies which these beautiful insects
destroy. When evening comes on they eagerly fly off to the chase, amid
the swamps and around the tree-tops, or wherever their victims
congregate.
PART THREE, CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
WONDERS OF THE FOREST.
Of the palms alone, upwards of a hundred species are found in these
forests. These supply the Indian with nearly all he wants to support
existence. Their fruit, or pith, or crowns, furnish him with an
abundance of food. He builds his hut and floors it with their wood, and
thatches it with their leaves. From the trunks of some species he forms
his canoes, of different sizes. He obtains from them oil, cord, thread,
wine--or a beverage which answers the purpose--wax, mats, baskets,
arrows for his sumpitan or bow, and numberless other articles. Pure,
clear oils are made from some of the nuts and palm fruits; while many
palms yield a fibrous material admirably suited for cordage, being
singularly elastic and resistant.
From the curious candella-tree,--called by the Spaniards _arbol de la
manteca_, by the Indians _cuajo_,--he obtains tallow for candles and
excellent oil for lamps, and a beverage which is made from its fruit.
The cow-tree supplies a milk in appearance like that of the animal from
which it takes its name, but thicker. On analysing this product, it is
found to consist of water, animal milk, and wax as pure as that obtained
from bees. By dipping cotton in the liquid, too, candles can be made.
In the hotter regions grows the bajuco d'agua, which supplies the place
of wells and fountains,--each yard of it affording a pint of water.
High up on the mountainside, in the regions of icy wastes, called the
paramos, grows the frailejou, which yields a pure turpentine, and
assists to warm the human body. Of the palms, a few only can be
described. There is the cocoa-nut palm, with its swollen bulb-like stem
when young, its tall straight trunk when full-grown, its cluster of
heavy fruit, its long plume-like drooping flower; the coccoeiro, with
its slighter trunk and pendent branches of small berry-like fruit; the
palmetto, with its tender succulent bud on the summit of the stem, used
as a vegetable, and proving an excellent substitute for cabbage; the
thorny icari, or cari--a variety of fan-palm. Its spiny stems and
leaves, which cut like razors, make it difficult to approach. Its
bunches of bright chestnut-brown fruit hang from between the leaves
which form its crown, each bunch about a foot in length, massive and
compact, like a large cluster of black Hamburg grapes.
The syagrus palm has a greenish fruit, not unlike the olive in
appearance, which hangs in large pendent bunches just below the leaves.
The fruit resembles somewhat that of the bread-tree, but is more slender
and cylindrical in form.
The leaves of different kinds of palms are used for thatching the Indian
huts, the curua palm among others. When young, they grow closely round
the mid-rib attached to the axis by a few fibres only, so that when the
mid-rib is held up they hang from it like so many straw-coloured
ribbons. With these leaves both the walls and roofs are covered. The
mid-rib, which is strong, and sometimes four or five yards long, is set
across to serve as a support, and bind down the pendent leaves. Such a
thatch will last for years, and is an excellent protection from rain as
well as sun.
The Indian furnishes himself with cups and vessels of all sorts from the
cuieira-tree (Crescentia cajeput). It is of immense size, the fruit
being like a gourd. It is spherical, of a light green shining surface,
and grows from the size of an apple to that of the largest melon. It is
filled with a soft white pulp, easily removed when the fruit is cut in
halves. The rind is then allowed to dry. Cups and basins of various
sizes are made from it, which the Indians adorn with a variety of
brilliant colours.
One of the staple productions of the Upper Amazon is the guarana. It is
a trailing plant, a sort of vine; when full-grown, about eight feet
high, and bearing a bean the size of a coffee-bean, two being enclosed
in each envelope. This bean, after being roasted, is pounded in a small
quantity of water till it becomes compact, and, when dry, is about the
colour of chocolate. It is then grated with the rough tongue of the
piraracu, and when mixed with sugar and water makes a refreshing
beverage. It is said to have an excellent effect when administered in
cases of diarrhoea.
ASPECTS OF THE FOREST.
Although at some times of the year the forests present only varied tints
of green and brown, unrelieved by brighter colours; at others, when,
after the rains, nature has revived, the banks of the streams are gay
and beautiful in the extreme. Thousands of brilliant blossoms of varied
colours rise amid the trunks of the trees, or hang in rich festoons from
the branches, while the air is laden with the almost overpowering
perfume of numberless flowers.
"Wild flowers," says Mrs Agassiz, "are abundant; not delicate small
plants growing low among the moss and grass, but large blossoms covering
tall trees, and resembling exotics at home by their rich colour and
powerful odour--indeed, the flowers of the Amazonian forests reminded me
of hot-house plants--and there often comes a warm breath from the depth
of the woods laden with perfume, like the air from the open door of a
conservatory."
"Beautiful as are the endless forests, however," she remarks in another
place, "we could not but long, when skirting them day after day, without
seeing a house or meeting a canoe, for the sight of tilled soil, for
pasture lands, for open ground, for wheat-fields and hay-stacks; for any
sign, in short, of the presence of man. As we sat at night in the stern
of the vessel, looking up the vast river stretching many hundred
leagues, with its shores of impenetrable forests, it was difficult to
resist an oppressive sense of loneliness. Though here and there an
Indian settlement or a Brazilian village appears, yet the population is
a mere handful in such a territory."
Wonderful is the change in the appearance of the tropical
representatives of well-known families in the Old World.
The india-rubber tree belongs to the milk-weed family. The
euphorbiaceae assume the form of colossal trees, constituting a
considerable part of its strange and luxuriant forest growth. The giant
of the Amazonian woods, whose majestic flat crown towers over all other
trees, while its white trunk stands out in striking relief through the
surrounding mass of green--the sumaumera--is allied to the mallows of
the North. Some of the most characteristic trees of the river-shore
belong to these two families.
BUTTRESS TREES.
One of the most striking characteristics of the forest vegetation is the
way in which many of the trunks of the trees are supported by
buttresses. The huge sumaumera is especially remarkable; but this
disposition to throw out supports is not confined to one tree. It
occurs in many families. These buttresses start at a distance of about
ten feet from the ground, separating greatly towards the base, where
they are often ten to twelve feet in depth. The lower part of the trunk
is thus divided into several open compartments, so large that, if roofed
over, they would form a hut with sufficient space for two people to
stand up or lie down in. Others, however, rise to the height of twenty
or thirty feet, and run up in the form of ribs to forty or fifty feet.
Other trees appear as if they were composed of a number of slender
stalks bound together, and are ribbed to their entire height. In some
places the furrows reach completely through them, and appear like the
narrow windows of a tower. The stems of others again rise on the summit
of numerous roots, like the bulging-stemmed palm, apparently standing on
a number of legs at the height of a dozen feet or more from the ground.
Often the roots thus form archways sufficiently large for a person to
walk beneath.
SIPOS OR WILD VINES.
Circling round the stems of trees in innumerable coils, and grasping
them with a deadly embrace, grow in rich luxuriance countless wild
vines, well meriting the name of murdering sipos. They hang in festoons
from their boughs, and form an intricate tracery of network from tree to
tree,--often of sufficient strength to support the falling monarchs of
the forest when time has wrought decay among their roots.
Here are seen tillandsias and bromeliaceae, like the crowns of huge
pineapples; large climbing arums, with their dark green and arrow-head
shaped leaves, forming fantastic and graceful ornaments swinging in
mid-air; while huge-leaved ferns and other parasites cling to the stems
up to the very highest branches. These are again covered by other
creeping plants; and thus we see parasites on parasites, and on these
parasites again. As we gaze upwards, we see against the clear blue sky
the finely divided foliage, many of the largest of the forest-trees
having leaves as delicate as those of the trembling mimosa: among them
appear the huge palmate leaves of the cecropias, and the oval glossy
ones of the clusias, countless others of intermediate forms adding to
the variety of its scenery,--the bright sunshine playing on the upper
portion of the foliage, while a solemn gloom reigns among the dark
columns which support this wondrous roof of verdure.
In truth, in these woods a thousand objects attract the eye, each a
world of varied vegetation in itself; while the ear listens to the quick
rustling breeze moving the palm-leaves fifty feet or more above the
head,--not like the slow gathering, rushing wind among the pine-trees in
northern climes, but like rapidly running water. Now an immense
butterfly of the most vivid blue comes sailing by to alight on a
neighbouring shrub, when, suddenly folding his azure wings out of sight,
it looks merely like some brown moth spotted with white.
As evening comes on, in some districts a strange confusion of sounds is
heard, as from a crowd of men shouting loudly at a distance. Now it
seems like the barking of dogs, then like that of many voices calling in
different keys, but all loud, varied, excited, full of emphasis; and
yet, after all, the rioters are but the frogs and toads uttering their
usual notes.
The Seringa or India-Rubber Tree.
Along the whole extent of the submerged region on the banks of the
Amazon, beginning at a distance of about fifty miles from Para, as well
as on the shores of many of its tributaries, grows a tree with bark and
foliage not unlike that of the European ash. The trunk, however, shoots
up to an immense height before throwing off branches. It is the
valuable seringa-tree (Siphonia elastica), belonging to the family
Euphorbia, which produces india-rubber. As soon as the waters after the
rainy season have subsided, the natives go forth in parties to procure
the sap with large bowls, clay moulds, pans in which to collect it, and
axes for cutting the wood for their fires. They build their huts in the
neighbourhood of the trees.
The first business is to make gashes in the bark, keeping them open by
pegs, under which they place little clay cups, or shells. Each person
has a certain number of trees under his charge. Every morning he goes
round, and pours what has collected in the cups into a large bowl. The
sap is at first of the consistency of cream, but it soon thickens. The
moulds, which are generally in the form of bottles, are then dipped into
the liquid. As soon as the coating is dried, the mould is again dipped
in, and the same process is gone through for several days. The
substance is at this time hard and white. Meantime fires are made with
the nuts of several species of palms--the inaja and others. These
produce a thick black smoke. The india-rubber is then passed several
times through it. By this means a dark colour and the proper
consistency are obtained. The moulds being broken, the clay is poured
out, and the material is ready for the market.
Sometimes it is formed in large flat pieces; and of late years it has
been preserved in a liquid state in hermetically closed vessels.
The seringa-tree differs greatly from the group of plants which furnish
the caoutchouc of Africa and the West Indies; the latter being the
product of certain species of ficus of a climbing character, and
inferior to the india-rubber of South America.
THE COW-TREE.
Among the noblest of the forest monarchs appears a tree with
deeply-scored reddish and ragged bark. Who would have supposed that
from that vast trunk would issue a milky liquid scarcely distinguishable
at first from that of the cow? Yet such is the sap coming from the
opening made by the axe from the massaranduba or cow-tree. When fresh
it serves every purpose of real milk when mixed with coffee; but drunk
pure has a somewhat coarse taste--and it is considered dangerous to
drink much of it, however refreshing a small quantity may be. It soon
thickens, and forms a tenacious glue, which can be usefully employed in
cementing crockery. A decoction of the bark is employed as a red dye
for cloth. The fruit, also, is largely consumed; while the wood is
excessively durable in water.
MONKEYS' DRINKING-CUPS--BRAZIL-NUT TREE.
Two lofty trees, closely allied to each other--the Lecythis ollaria and
the Bertholletia excelsa--produce enormous capsules full of nuts. The
first, called the sapucaya, yields these curious capsules known as
_cuyas de maccao_, or monkeys' drinking-cups. At the top is a circular
hole, to which a natural lid fits exactly. On the nuts becoming ripe
the lid is loosened, and the heavy cup falling to the ground, the nuts
are scattered far and wide, when they are eaten by numerous animals on
the watch for them. The collectors, therefore, have difficulty in
obtaining them. The other tree, known as the Brazil-nut tree, produces
similar wooden vessels; but as they have no lid, they fall entire to the
ground, and are thus preserved till human beings come to collect them,
when they are shipped to England and other parts of the world.
THE VICTORIA REGIA.
On the surface of the tranquil pools, amid the recesses of the forest,
float the wide-spreading circular leaves of the magnificent Victoria
regia, like vast dishes--their edges turned up all round--with beautiful
flowers rising amid them. The colour varies from the velvety white
outer petals through every shade of rose to the deepest crimson, and
fading again to a creamy yellowish tint in the heart of the flower. The
natives call it the _forno do piosoca_, or oven of the jacana--the
leaves being like that of the baking-pans, or ovens, on which the
mandioca meal is roasted. The leaf rises from the root at the bottom of
the pool, on a stock armed with sharp spines.
When young, the leaf may be seen in the form of a deep cup or vase
surrounded with ribs, at that time comparatively small, the whole green
expanse of the adult leaf covered in between them in regular rows of
puffings. As the ribs grow their ramifications stretch out in every
direction, the leaflets one by one unfolding to fill the ever-widening
spaces; till at last, when it reaches the surface of the water, it rests
horizontally above it without a wrinkle--the colossal leaf being thus
supported by a heavy scaffold of ribs beneath it, sufficient not only to
support the light-stepping jacana, but even a young child. Some of the
leaves have a diameter of from four to five feet; some may grow even to
a larger size.
"Here, seen in its own home, it has in addition to its own beauties the
charm of harmony with all that surrounds it," observes Mrs
Agassiz,--"with the dense mass of forest, with palm and parasite, with
birds of glowing plumage, with insects of all bright and wonderful
tints, and with fishes which, though hid in the water beneath it, are
not less brilliant and varied than the world of life above."
PALMS.
Almost countless are the varieties of trees in the Amazonian forests,
and wonderful the diversity in their combination. Rarely is the soil
found occupied for any extent by the same kind of tree. A vast
proportion are yet unknown to science. The palms surpass in number and
variety all their sylvan brethren. They differ wonderfully in form and
size: some, sturdy giants towering up towards the sky with
wide-spreading branches; others, delicate little pigmies with slender
stems and small broom-like crowns; while others assume the form of
creepers, and wind in many folds round the supporting trunks of other
trees.
"Among them are four essentially different forms:--the tall ones, with a
slender and erect stem, terminating with a crown of long feathery
leaves, or with broad fan-shaped leaves," remarks Professor Agassiz;
"the bushy ones, the leaves of which rise, as it were, in tufts from the
ground, the stem remaining hidden under the foliage; the brush-like
ones, with a small stem, and a few rather large leaves; and the winding,
creeping, slender species. Their flowers and fronds are as varied as
their stalks. Some of these fruits may be compared to large woody nuts
with a fleshy mass inside, others have a scaly covering, others resemble
peaches or apricots, while others, still, are like plums or grapes.
Most of them are eatable, and rather pleasant to the taste."
Among the most beautiful is the mauritia, or miriti, with pendent
clusters of reddish fruit; its enormous, spreading, fan-like leaves cut
into ribbons. Contrasted with it appears the manicaria, or the bussu,
with stiff entire leaves, some thirty feet in length, almost upright,
and very close in their mode of growth, and serrated all along their
edges. The leaves all sprout from, a comparatively short stem.
More curious is the raphia, with plume-like leaves, sometimes from forty
to fifty feet in length, starting also from a short stem--almost from
the ground. Its vase-like form is peculiarly graceful and symmetrical.
Among the most curious is the pashiuba barrigudo, or bulging-stemmed
palm (Iriartea ventricosa); which, rising on a pyramid of roots for
several feet, runs up in a single column for some distance, and then
swells in a curious spindle-form, again to assume the same proportions
as below, till its head spreads out in several fan-like branches with
web-shaped leaflets. The tree looks as if supported on stilts, and a
person can stand upright among the roots of old trees with the
perpendicular stem above his head. These roots have the form of
straight rods, and are studded with stout thorns, whilst the trunk is
quite smooth. The purpose of this curious arrangement is probably to
recompense the tree by root-growth above the soil for its inability, in
consequence of the competition of neighbouring roots, to extend itself
underground.
Here, too, grows the slender and graceful assai-palm, with its perfectly
smooth trunk,--the fruit appearing in a heavy cluster of berries just
below the cluster of leaves on its summit. The stem is hard and tough
as horn, and is much made use of, when split into narrow planks, for the
construction of walls and flooring of houses.
The fruit is about the size of a cranberry, and of a dark brown colour.
When boiled and crushed it yields a quantity of juice of about the
consistency of chocolate, somewhat of the colour of blackberry juice,
when it has a sweetish taste--and is eaten, made into cakes with the
flour of the mandioca root. From it also is formed the favourite
beverage of the people. To obtain the fruit, the native fastens a strip
of palm-leaves round his instep, thus binding his feet together, to
enable him to climb the slippery trunk, which he does with wonderful
rapidity, to obtain the fruit at its summit.
Wherever a native village exists, there are seen growing in clusters,
beautiful ornaments beside the palm-thatched huts, the tall and elegant
pupunha, or peach palm--Guilielma speciosa--to the height of sixty feet,
and often perfectly straight. A single bunch of the fruit weighs as
much as a man can carry, and on each tree several are borne. It takes
its name from the colour of the fruit, not from its flavour or nature,
for it is dry and mealy, and may be compared in taste to a mixture of
chestnuts and cheese. It is eagerly devoured by vultures, who come in
quarrelsome flocks to the trees when it is ripe. Dogs often feed on it.
It is one of the few trees which the natives brought with them, it is
said, from their original home, and have here cultivated from time
immemorial. The fruit, when boiled, is nearly as mealy as a potato; and
in perfection is the size of a large peach. It is generally supposed
that there is more nutriment in the fruit than in fish,--about a dozen
forming a meal for a grown-up person. The leaves of its crown are
evenly arched over, forming a deep green vault--the more beautiful from
the rich colour of the foliage. When the heavy cluster of ripe red
fruit hangs under its dark vault, the tree is in its greatest beauty.
The palms are among the most characteristic features of tropical
scenery. The variety of their forms, fruit, foliage, and flowers is
perfectly bewildering, and yet as a group their character is
unmistakable. On the whole, no family of trees is more similar;
generically and specifically, none is more varied. Their leaves follow
the simple arrangement of those of grasses, in which the leaves are
placed alternately on opposite sides of the stem, thus dividing the
space round it in halves. As the stem of the branches elongates, these
pairs of leaves are found scattered along its length, and it is only in
the ears, or spikes of some genera, that we find them growing so
compactly on the axis as to form a close head.
Of this law of growth the palm known as the baccaba is an admirable
illustration, its leaves being disposed in pairs one above another at
the summit of the stem, but in such immediate contact as to form a thick
crown. Its appearance is in consequence totally different from any
other palm, except perhaps the jacitara, which has a slender, winding
stem. Sometimes the crown is more open, as in the inaja--Maximiliana
regia--in which the stem is not very high, and the leaves grow in cycles
of five, separating slightly, so as to form an open vase rising from a
slender stem.
Professor Agassiz remarks that the rest of this tropical forest is as
interesting to the geologist as to the botanist, as it reveals to him
its relation to the vegetable world of past ages, showing those laws of
growth which unite the past and the present.
The tree-ferns--the chamaerops, the pandanus, the araucarias--are modern
representatives of past types. The former is a palm belonging to the
ancient vegetable world, but having its representative in our days. The
modern chamaerops, with its fan-like leaves spreading on one level,
stands, with respect to its structure, lower than the palms with pinnate
leaves, which belong almost exclusively to our geological age, and have
numerous leaflets ranging along either side of a central axis. The
young palms, while their elders tower fifty feet above them, are often
not more than two inches high; and to whatever genus they may belong,
invariably resemble the chamaerops,--having their leaves extending
fan-like on one plane, instead of being scattered along a central axis,
as in the adult tree. The infant palm is, in fact, the mature
chamaerops in miniature; showing that among plants, as among animals--at
least in some instances--there is a correspondence between the youngest
stages of growth in the higher species of a given type, and the earliest
introduction of that type on earth.
More gregarious in their habits than most other palms are the urucuri
palms--Attalea excelsa--groves of which beautify the higher lands, and
grow in vast numbers under the crowns of the more lofty ordinary
forest-trees; their smooth columnar stems being generally fifty feet in
height, while their broad, finely pinnated leaves, interlocking above,
form arches and woven canopies of elegant and diversified shapes. The
fruit, in size and shape like the date, has a pleasant flavoured juicy
pulp, and falls to the ground when ripe.
PART THREE, CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
THE WONDERS OF THE WATERS.
THE MANATEE, OR COW-FISH.
To maintain the claim of its ocean character, the Amazon possesses that
huge, whale-like creature the manatee, or cow-fish, called by the
Brazilians _peixe boi_, or _vacca marina_. It is generally about seven
or eight feet long, though it attains a length of ten feet or more, and
nine feet and upwards in girth. On the upper part the body is perfectly
smooth, and of a lead colour. It tapers off towards the tail, which is
flat, horizontal, and semicircular, without any appearance of
hind-limbs. The head is in reality small, and the neck
undistinguishable; though it has an enormous mouth, with fleshy lips
like those of a huge cow, with an ugly countenance. On the lips are
stiff bristles, while a few hairs only are scattered over the body.
Just behind the head are two powerful oval fins, beneath which, in the
female, are the breasts. The ears are very minute holes, and the eyes
are extremely small. The skin of the back is fully an inch thick; and
beneath it is a layer of fat, also an inch or more in thickness. The
fins of the fore-limbs consist of bones exactly corresponding to those
of the human arm, with five fingers at the extremity--every joint
distinct, although completely encased in its thick inflexible skin.
The manatee ranges from the mouth of the Amazon to the upper waters. It
feeds on the grass growing on the borders of the lakes and rivers. It
swims at a rapid rate, moved by the tail and paddles. The creature is
hunted and killed by the natives with harpoons, the flesh being much
sought after. The taste is somewhat between that of pork and beef. The
natives dress it by cutting the meat into small pieces and sticking them
on skewers, which they place in a slanting position over the flames to
roast.
The female produces one, though sometimes two at a birth, which she
holds in her paddles while giving suck. From twenty to twenty-five
gallons of oil are obtained from each sea-cow. The poor manatee, little
able to defend itself, has other enemies besides man. The jaguar lies
in wait for it on the trunk of a tree overhanging the placid pool, and
seizing it with his powerful claws as it swims by, holds it in a
vice-like grasp, from which in spite of its strength it in vain
endeavours to escape.
Those who have voyaged on the ocean, know the solemn feeling and the
idea of vastness which is conveyed during a calm at night, when monsters
of the deep are heard far and near as they come to the surface to inhale
the air, or "blow," as it is called. The same feeling is experienced by
the traveller up the Amazon when on board his montaria at anchor, when
he hears the splashing and snorting sounds of its numerous inhabitants,
as they rise through the mirror-like plain, in which countless thousands
of bright stars are reflected. Here fresh-water dolphins roam in great
numbers. In the Lower Amazon are two species; one of which,--the
tucuxi,--when it comes to the surface to breathe, rises horizontally,
showing first the back of its fin, and then, drawing an inspiration,
generally diving down head-foremost; and another, called the bonto by
the natives. When it rises, it first shows the top of the head, and
then floating onwards, immediately afterwards dips its head downwards,
its back curving over--exposing successively the whole dorsal ridge
without showing the tail-fin; the well-known mode in which the
sea-porpoise swims, which makes it appear to pitch head over heels. The
natives regard the bonto or largest species with especial awe, and will
never kill one voluntarily. Though their fat yields an excellent oil
for lamps, they believe that blindness would result from its use.
The bonto is supposed to possess the characteristic of the malign
water-nymphs of the Old World. They have a legend that a bonto was in
the custom of assuming the shape of a beautiful woman, with hair hanging
loose down to her heels; who, going on shore, endeavoured to entice
young men to the river. When any unhappy youth, smitten with her
charms, was induced to follow her to the water's edge, she would grasp
her victim round the waist, and plunging beneath the waves with a
triumphant shriek, disappeared with him for ever.
PIRANHA.
There are several kinds of piranha, many of which abound in the waters
of the Tapajos. The piranha, called also the caribe, is a kind of
salmon (Tetragonopterus). They are caught with any kind of bait, their
taste being indiscriminate, and their appetite most ravenous. They
frequently attack the legs of bathers near the shore, inflicting severe
wounds with their strong triangular teeth.
THE DIODON.
The smaller inhabitants of the ocean are also represented in these
fresh-waters. The little mamayacu, a species of diodon, which in the
ocean attains a foot in length, is found in the Amazon three or four
inches long, of a pretty green colour, banded with black. On being
caught--which it easily is--it becomes in the hand as round as a ball.
The natives, when a person gets corpulent, tell him that he has grown as
fat as a mamayacu.
The ocean species, from having the skin about the abdomen looser than
that above, floats, when it becomes distended with air, with its back
downwards. It can thus move about as rapidly as in its usual position,
by aid of its pectoral fins. By the movement of its jaws it makes a
curious noise, and can give with its sharp teeth a severe bite. The
skin is also covered with small spikes, which, when thus inflated,
become erect and pointed.
It thus, though at first sight looking as helpless as can be, is well
able to defend itself.
The diodon has been known to be swallowed alive by a shark, in whose
stomach it was found floating, probably supported by the air with which
it had become inflated. It is asserted that it also frequently eats its
way, not only through the coats of the shark's stomach, but through the
sides of the monster, which is thus killed. Probably the little diodon
of the Amazon has a similar means of revenging itself on the voracious
monsters to whom it falls a prey; and though it might not be able to
liberate itself through the scaly back of an alligator, it would
inevitably kill the monster, or cause him such pain as to make him
repent having swallowed so indigestible a morsel.
The magnificent pirarucu or anatto, of vast size, with its ornamental
coat of mail, and broad large scales margined with bright red, peoples
the waters in immense numbers. It is most frequently caught by the
native fishermen; and when salted, forms the staple food of all classes
on the banks of the Lower Amazon. It swims at great speed, and attains
the length of eight feet when full-grown, and five feet in girth. The
Indian name of pirarucu is given to it from the native words _pira_,
fish, and _urucu_, red; in allusion, says Mr Bates, to the red colour
of the borders of its scales.
Among the other fish most frequently caught are the surubim and
piraepieua (species of Pimelodus); very handsome fishes, four feet in
length, with flat spoon-shaped heads, and prettily spotted and striped
skins--two long feelers hanging from each side of their jaws like
trailing moustaches.
THE ACARA.
The larger animals which inhabit the mighty river and the network of
streams and pools which surround it on both sides, have been described;
but numerous smaller creatures dwell within it, equally curious, and
many totally unlike those to be found in other parts of the world. It
has generally been supposed that, of all creatures, fish are the most
destitute of parental feelings, and that from the moment the eggs have
been deposited in the sand or mud, they are allowed to struggle into
existence as best they can, to do battle with their foes, and the
numerous dangers to which they are exposed. In the acara, however, we
have an example of parental care and watchfulness unrivalled by any
terrestrial animal.
The male of this curious fish has a conspicuous protuberance on the
forehead, wholly awanting in the female and the young. Somehow or
other, the eggs of the female are conveyed into the mouth of the male,
the bottom of which is lined by them, between the inner appendages of
the branchial arches, and especially into a pouch formed by the upper
pharyngeals, which they completely fill. They are there hatched; and
the little ones, freed from the egg, are developed until they are in a
condition to provide for their own existence. In their head there is a
special lobe of the brain, similar to those of the triglas, which sends
large nerves to that part of the gills protecting the young, thus
connecting the care of the offspring with the organ of intelligence. In
this curious cavity of the father's head the young fish are found in all
stages of development,--the more advanced, a quarter of an inch long,
and able to swim about, full of life and activity. These appear to
exist outside the gills, within the cavity formed by the gill-coverts
and the wide branchiostigal membrane. The eggs remain in the back part
of the gills.
The parent's care does not appear to cease even when the young are fully
developed, but he allows them to swim in and out, and try their powers,
if not to search for food; and when danger appears, opens his mouth,
when they all swim back again in a shoal, for safety. The natives
assert that some species, at all events, are not actually developed in
the parent's head, but are laid and hatched in the sand, the male and
female watching carefully over them; and that the father only takes
charge of them when they are hatched, and receives them within his mouth
to protect them from danger. From the observations of Professor
Agassiz, however, there is no doubt that in some species, at least, the
whole process of development is begun and completed in the gill cavity.
The species which lay their eggs in the sand belong to the genera
Hydrogonus and Choetobranchus. They build a kind of flat nest in the
sand or mud, in which they deposit their eggs, hovering over them until
the young are hatched.
Curious also is the little bill-fish--the lymnobellus--with its long
beak.
Another fish (the anojas), common in the Amazon, takes shelter--for it
cannot be said to build a nest--in a hollow log. It belongs to the
genus Auchenipterus. Numbers of this fish are found crowded in dead
logs at the bottom of the river. One examined by the Professor, was
filled with fish of all sizes, from those several inches long to the
tiniest young. The fish were so dexterously packed into the log from
one end to the other, that it was impossible to get them out without
splitting it open, when they were all found alive and in a perfectly
good condition. They could not have been jammed artificially into the
hollow wood in that way without injuring them.
ANABLEPS.
We have heard of blind fish, but here is one--called by the Indians
tralhote, and known to naturalists as the Anableps tetraophthalmus,
signifying "four-eyed"--possessing four eyes. A membraneous fold,
enclosing the bulb of the eye, stretches across the pupil, dividing the
visual apparatus into the upper and lower half; a curious formation,
suited to the peculiar habits of the anableps. These fishes gather in
shoals on the surface of the water, their heads resting partly above and
partly below the surface, and they move by a leaping motion somewhat
like that of frogs on land. Thus, half in and half out of the water,
they require eyes adapted for seeing in both elements, and the
arrangement described just meets this want.
THE PARROT-FISH.
The birds of the air have, in this region, their representatives in the
water. Among them is the curious and handsome pirarara, or parrot-fish.
It is a heavy, broad-headed creature, with a bony shield over the whole
head. Its general colour is jet-black, its bright yellow sides
deepening into orange here and there. The yellow fat of this fish has a
curious property. The Indians assert that when parrots are fed upon it
they become tinged with yellow, and they often use it to render their
papagaios more variegated.
THE GYMNOTUS.
On the Amazonian waters is found the carapus, called by the Brazilians
sarapo, belonging to the genus Gymnotus; though far smaller than the
electric gymnotus. They are very numerous, and the most lively of the
whole group. Their motions are winding and rapid, like those of the
eel; but yet different, inasmuch as they do not glide quickly forward,
but turn frequent somersaults, and constantly change their direction.
LOCALISATION OF FISH.
The researches of Professor Agassiz prove that the localisation of
species of fish in these waters is peculiarly distinct and permanent,
their migrations being very limited--consisting chiefly in removing from
shallow to deeper waters, and from these to shallow again, at those
seasons when the range of the shore in the same water-basin is affected
by the rise and fall of the river. Thus, the fishes found at the bottom
of a lake covering, perhaps, a square mile in extent when the waters are
lowest, will appear near the shores of the same lake when, at the season
of high-water, it extends over a much wider area. In the same way,
fishes which gather near the mouth of a rivulet at the time of
low-water, will be found as high as its origin at the period of
high-water; and those which inhabit the larger igarapes on the sides of
the Amazon, when they are swollen by the rise of the river, may be found
in the Amazon itself when the stream is low. There is not a single fish
known to ascend from the sea to the higher courses of the Amazon at
certain seasons, and to return regularly to the ocean.
The striking limitation of species within different areas does not,
however, exclude the presence of certain kinds of fish simultaneously
throughout the whole Amazonian basin. The piraracu, for instance, is
found everywhere from Peru to Para; and so are a few other species more
or less extensively distributed over what may be considered distinct
ichthyological fauna. But these wide-spread species are not migratory.
They have normally and permanently a wide range--just as some
terrestrial animals have an almost cosmopolitan character--while others
are circumscribed within comparatively narrow limits.
Surprising indeed is the variety of species of fishes contained in the
Amazonian basin. Professor Agassiz, during his expedition, collected
nearly two thousand, "for the most part," as he observes--and which is
still more surprising--"circumscribed within different limits, from
Tabalinga to Para, where the waters differ neither in temperature, nor
in the nature of their bed, nor in the vegetation along their borders.
There are met with, from distance to distance, assemblages of fishes
completely distinct from each other."
Still more curious, perhaps, is the intensity with which life is
manifested in these waters. All the rivers in Europe, from the Tagus to
the Volga, do not nourish a hundred and fifty species of fresh-water
fishes; and yet in a little lake near Manaos, called Lago Hyanuary, the
surface of which hardly covers four or five hundred square yards, more
than two hundred distinct species were discovered, the greater part of
which have not been observed elsewhere.
GYMNOTUS, OR ELECTRIC EEL.
In the forest pools, as well as in the marshy ponds and slow-flowing
rivers of the Llanos, numbers of huge serpentlike heads may be seen
bobbing above the surface; or a huge, thick-bodied, yellow, snake-like
creature may be caught sight of gliding through the water. It is the
gymnotus electricus, or electric eel,--one of the many curious
inhabitants of this region,--from two to five, and even eight feet in
length. Though really a fish, it resembles the eel, but is stouter in
its proportions. It is nearly equal in thickness throughout. It has a
rude, depressed, and obtuse head, and a compressed tail. So great is
the electric power it possesses, that when in full vigour it is able to
kill the largest animal, when it can unload its electric organs in a
favourable direction. All other fish, knowing by instinct the deadly
effects of its stroke, fly from the formidable gymnotus. When fish are
struck, or any animals which enter the pools inhabited by gymnoti--to
drink, or cool their bodies, heated by the burning sun of the Llanos--
they become stupified, and thus easily fall a prey to the electrical
tyrant.
The natives of Venezuela employ a cruel mode of catching the creatures,
which, notwithstanding their nature, they use as food. Placing but
little value on mules and horses, they collect a number of these
animals, and, armed with harpoons and long slender rods, drive them with
shouts towards a pool inhabited by gymnoti. The noise of the horses'
hoofs and the men's shrieks make the fish issue from the mud, when the
huge, hideous creatures swim on the surface of the water, and crowd
under the bellies of the horses and mules. Some of the Indians climb
the trees; others stand round the margin, urging forward the unfortunate
animals, and preventing them from making their escape. The fish defend
themselves by frequent discharges of their electric batteries. At first
they seem likely to prove victorious. Some of the quadrupeds sink
beneath the violence of the invisible strokes which they receive from
all sides, and, stunned by the force and frequency of the shocks,
disappear under water; others, with their manes erect and eye-balls wild
with pain, strive to escape the electric storm which they have aroused,
but are driven back by the shouts and long whips of the excited Indians.
The livid, yellow eels, like great water-snakes, swim near the surface
and pursue their enemy. After the conflict has lasted a quarter of an
hour or so, the mules and horses appear less alarmed. They no longer
erect their manes, and their eyes express less pain and terror. The
eel-like creatures, instead of advancing as at first, swim to the shore,
when the Indians attack them with their harpoons, and by means of a long
cord attached to it, jerk the fish out of the water, without receiving
any shock, as long as the cord remains dry.
Such is the description given by Humboldt, a witness of the
extraordinary scene. The employment of their electric powers is
evidently spontaneous, and exhausts the nervous energy. Like voluntary
muscular effort, it needs repose, and the creatures require an abundance
of nourishment and rest before a fresh accumulation of electricity is
produced.
In the dry season they form deep circular holes for themselves in the
mud of water-courses, and marshes which remain filled with moisture, and
they are thus able to support existence in their usual localities, while
alligators and turtles have to retire to the larger pools or rivers. In
the shallow ponds of the forest they are easily driven out with long
poles.
Bates amused his native companions, who had thus caught some of the
creatures, by showing them how the electric shock could pass from one
person to another. They joined hands in a line, while he touched the
biggest and freshest of the animals on the head with the point of his
hunting-knife. He found, however, that the experiment did not succeed
more than three times with the same eel when out of the water, for the
fourth time the shock was scarcely perceptible.
The limbs even of the strongest man are benumbed, and he is struck down
helpless, by a discharge from the battery of the gymnotus. The organs
which produce this curious electrical effect are placed along the under
side of the tail. They may be compared to a series of columns inclosed
in a thin membrane packed closely together, which, consisting of a
series of fiat discs, may be imitated by placing a number of coins with
their discs parallel to each other, and with a bladder between each,
separated by a gelatinous substance. These columns are technically
called septa; and La Cepede calculates that two hundred and forty
transverse membranes are packed in each inch, thereby giving to an
electric eel eight feet in length an organ cavity of two hundred and
forty-six square feet--an enormous extent, as may be supposed, of
electricity producing surface. The whole apparatus is supplied with
nerves which run through the entire length of the body.
STING-RAYS.
A fresh-water species of sting-ray is an inhabitant of the creeks and
lagoons of stagnant water; and so infested are some of them with the
creatures, that it is almost certain destruction to venture into them.
The sting-ray is circular and flat, with a tail above a foot in length,
very thick at the base, and tapering towards the end. Near the middle,
on the upper part, it is armed with a long and sharp-pointed sting,
finely serrated on two sides, which the fish can raise or depress at
will. When disturbed, by a quick movement of the tail out darts its
sting towards the object, which it seldom fails to reach. The wound
thus inflicted is so severe that the whole nervous system is convulsed,
the person becoming rigid and benumbed in a few moments. Long after the
most violent effects of the wound have subsided, the part affected
retains a sluggish ulceration, which has often baffled the skill of the
best surgeons.
They frequent the shallow banks of muddy pools, where they may be
constantly seen watching for their prey, and, as if conscious of their
powers, scarcely deign to move off when approached. They have their
enemies in vultures and other birds of prey; and as they are considered
fit for food, war with spear and talon is constantly waged upon them.
SERROSALMUS PIRAYA.
In the Orinoco another dangerous creature exists, called by the natives
piraya, with a head shaped somewhat like a sabre. The lower jaw is
furnished with a formidable pair of fangs, not unlike those of the
rattlesnake. With these it inflicts a gash as smooth as if cut with a
razor.
THE CARIBE.
Every feature of the savage caribe denotes the ferocity and sanguinary
nature of its tastes. The piercing eye, surrounded by a bloody-looking
ring, is expressive of its cruel and bloodthirsty disposition. Its
under jaw, lined with a thick cartilaginous membrane, adds greatly to
its strength, protruding considerably beyond the upper, and increasing
the ferocious expression of its countenance. Large spots of a brilliant
orange hue cover a great portion of its body. Towards the back it is of
a bluish ash colour, with a slight tint of olive-green; the intermediate
spaces being of pearly white, while the gill-coverts are tinged with
red.
So sharp are its triangular teeth, arranged like those of the shark,
that neither twine, copper, nor steel can withstand them. At the sight
of any red substance, blood especially, they swim forward to the attack;
and as they usually move in swarms, it is extremely dangerous for man or
beast to enter the water with even a scratch upon their bodies. Horses
wounded by the spur are particularly exposed to their attacks when
fording a stream; and so rapid is the work of destruction, that unless
immediate assistance is rendered, the fish soon penetrate the abdomen of
the animal and destroy it: hence the name given to them by the Spaniards
means "tripe-eater." When a net is drawn on shore, numbers of these
little pests are seen jumping in the crowd, their jaws wide open,
tearing whatever comes in their way, and especially the meshes of the
nets, which they soon render useless.
Some tribes of natives place their dead in the water, when these
creatures speedily eat the flesh off the bones, which are then preserved
in baskets.
Even human beings, when bathing, or fording rivers, are attacked by
these terrible little cannibals;--for cannibals they are, as, whenever
any of their own race are killed, they instantly attack and devour them.
There are other species of this fish,--among them the black caribe of
the Orinoco. There is also a small species--a harmless, pretty little
fish, of a bright green colour on the back, and a white belly streaked
with pink. The teeth are used by the Macoushi Indians for sharpening
the points of their poisoned arrows. This they do by drawing them
rapidly between two of the teeth, in the way that knives are sharpened
by two circular steel files, now in common use.
ADAPTATION OF ANIMALS TO THEIR DESTINED MODE OF EXISTENCE.
Strange and unfitted for existence as are many of the animals formed by
the Almighty to the short-seeing eye of mortals, on a further
acquaintance with them all will be discovered admirably suited to the
life they are destined to enjoy. Following Waterton, we may take five
as an example. The sloth, which has four feet, is unable to use them to
support his body on the earth. They are destitute of soles, and the
muscles requisite for progress in a perpendicular position; yet no
creature is more thoroughly at home when clinging to the trees on which
it has been created to exist. The ant-bear, without a tooth in his
head, roves fearlessly in the forests inhabited by the jaguar and
boa-constrictor. The sharp claws of his fore-feet enable him to
confront the former, and his powerful muscular body and thick hair set
even the boa at defiance. The vampire is unable to use his feet for
walking, but he possesses a membrane, stretched by means of his legs,
which enables him to mount up into an element where no other quadruped
can follow. The armadillo, without fur or wool or bristles, has in
their stead a movable shell placed on his back, so formed that he can
roll himself up in a ball, while with his sharp claws he can dig rapidly
into the earth to escape his foes. The tortoise is compelled to
accommodate itself to the shell, which is hard and inflexible, and in no
way obedient to the will of its bearer; yet that very shell, although so
apparently inconvenient, serves as its protection. The turtle is
protected in the same way; but its delicious flesh brings numerous
enemies to attack it, from whom it has a hard task to escape. The egg
of the tortoise, it may be remarked, has a very hard shell; while that
of the turtle is quite soft.
PART THREE, CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
NATIVES OF THE VALLEY OF THE AMAZON.
A vast number of tribes inhabit the banks of the Amazon and its
tributaries, who, though having a general resemblance, differ in their
habits and customs. Those found on the Lower Amazon are more or less
civilised, and are known as Tupis, or Tapuyas. They speak the lingua
Geral, and sometimes Portuguese. The lingua Geral is the ancient Tupee
language, considerably modified by the Jesuits, who taught it to all
those under their control.
The Amazonian Indians have generally fine figures, their chests
especially being well developed; their skin is of a copper hue, of
various shades, sometimes almost of a dark brown. The hair is
jet-black, straight and thick, and never curled. The eyes are black;
and they have little or no beard. The face is generally wide, and
somewhat flattened, with but little or no projection of the cheek-bones.
Indeed, their features are often very regular; and many, except in
colour, differ but little from well-formed European countenances.
THE MUNDURUCUS.
One of the largest semi-civilised tribes inhabiting the banks of the
Tapajos are the Mundurucus. They are noted for tattooing their bodies
more completely than any other tribe. The whole body is covered with
straight lines in diagonal patterns from the mouth downwards, the upper
part being left free. Some of the women, whose bodies are ornamented in
the same fashion, have lines round their eyes, which look as if they
were intended to represent a pair of spectacles. Even these marks,
however, do not destroy the soft drooping look of the eyes common to
Indian women. The countenances of some of the men are fine; the face,
bold, solid, and square, possessing a passive dignity, with a look of
tranquillity which appears immovable.
The more elaborate style of tattooing is only practised by the chiefs,
as a mark of their birth and rank. It requires ten years to complete
the whole process. The colour is introduced by fine puncturings over
the surface--a painful process, which causes swelling and inflammation.
They are among the most warlike Indians of the Amazon, and keep the
neighbouring and less civilised tribes on their good behaviour. They
are expert agriculturists, and construct canoes and hammocks. They
generally make a foray every year on an adjoining tribe,--the
Parentintins,--when they kill the men, whose heads they preserve by
drying and smoking, while they take the women and children for slaves.
They have regular villages of conical huts, the walls and framework
filled in with mud and thatched with palm-leaves. In the centre is a
large hut in which the fighting men sleep, with their weapons ready for
use. It is ornamented within with the dried heads of their enemies.
They have of late years greatly decreased in numbers.
Some thirty tribes or families are found on the River Uapes. The men
wear their hair in a long tail hanging down the middle of the back,
while the women wear it loose, and cut to a moderate length. The only
dress worn by the men is a small piece of matting passed between the
legs, and secured round the loins by a string. The women wear none
whatever, but paint their bodies in regular patterns,--generally red,
yellow, and black colours. The only ornament worn by the women is a
bracelet on the wrist; while below the knee a garter is fastened from
infancy, for the purpose of swelling out the calf.
The men, however, adorn themselves in a variety of ways. Their hair is
carefully parted and combed on each side. The young men, especially,
wear it in long locks on either side of their necks, with a comb stuck
on the top of the head--their feminine appearance being greatly
increased by the large necklaces and bracelets of beads which they wear,
and by their custom of pulling out every particle of hair from their
beard. As these feminine-looking warriors always carry their large
shields before them, it was but natural, when the Spaniards saw them, or
other tribes similarly adorned, that they should have supposed them to
be women. When, also, they saw in the distance parties of unadorned
persons carrying burdens, they took them to be slaves captured in war.
This, no doubt, was the origin of the fable of nations of Amazons found
on the banks of the river.
GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE NATIVES.
Sometimes these natives wear circlets of parrot and other gay feathers
on their heads, as well as armlets and leg ornaments of the same
materials. Some of these tribes have the horrible custom of baking the
bodies of their dead after they have become decomposed, till only a
black carbonaceous mass is left. This is pounded, and mixed with an
intoxicating liquor, called caxiri, in vats made out of hollow trees.
The relatives having been invited, the whole company drink the mixture,
under the belief that the virtues of the deceased will thus be
transmitted to them. Some of them are cannibals, and make war for the
express purpose of procuring human flesh. They smoke dry what they
cannot at once consume, thus preserving it a long time for food. They
have no definite idea of a God; but they dread an evil spirit, whom they
believe delights in afflicting them, and is the cause of death.
Their houses hold a number of families; sometimes a whole tribe. They
are upwards of 120 feet long, 80 feet broad, and 30 feet high. The plan
is a parallelogram, with a semicircle at the further end. A passage
twenty feet wide leads from one end to the other; while, on the sides,
are partitions, like the stalls in an old-fashioned public room of an
inn, each of which is inhabited by a separate family. The chief, or
tushaua, resides at the semicircular end, where he has a private
entrance. The furniture consists of hammocks, with various pots and
cooking utensils made of clay, as well as baskets. Their canoes are
formed out of a single tree, hollowed and forced open by cross-pieces.
Some are forty feet in length. The dead are nearly always buried in the
houses: a large house having sometimes one hundred graves in it.
From the Rio Negro to the Andes there is a large region, inhabited
entirely by savages of whom little is known, except that they are mostly
cannibals, and kill all their first-born children. On the other side of
the Amazon also is a still larger tract of virgin forest, where not a
single civilised man is to be found.
THE PURUPURUS.
Among these tribes, the Purupurus, although thorough savages, are
perhaps the best-known. They wear no clothes whatever; their
habitations are small huts rudely formed of boughs, which they set up on
the sand. Their canoes are of the rudest construction, having flat
bottoms and upright sides. They use neither the bow nor the gravatana,
but instead have a weapon called the palheta, from which they can cast
an arrow, as from a sling, with wonderful dexterity. In the septum of
the nose and in the ears they bore holes, in which they wear rings.
THE CATAUIXIS.
In their immediate neighbourhood, the Catauixis tribe is found. Though
they go naked, they build houses, and use bows and gravatanas. Their
canoes are constructed of the bark of a tree taken off entire. They are
also cannibals, and murder the people of other tribes whom they can
surprise.
Many of the least barbarous tribes have frequently large meetings, when
they dress up in feather ornaments of parrots and macaws in a variety of
curious disguises. The chief wears a head-dress of toucan feathers,
with the erect tail-plumes rising from the crown. The mask dresses are
long cloaks, made of the inner bark of a tree. Sometimes they
manufacture head-pieces, by stretching the cloth over a basketwork
frame, to represent the heads of monkeys and other animals. When thus
dressed, they perform a monotonous seesaw and stamping dance,
accompanied by singing and drumming. Often this sport is kept up for
several days and nights in succession. During the time, they drink
large quantities of caxiri, while they smoke tobacco and take snuff.
Their chief masker represents their demon Jurupari, but he does not
appear to be treated with any particular respect.
Very little information has been gathered of the history of these
tribes, as they seldom possess any knowledge of their ancestors beyond
the times of their fathers or grandfathers. Few of them have benefited
in any way by their intercourse with white men, but remain in the same
barbarous condition in which they have probably existed for many
centuries. A further description of their savage customs would be more
disagreeable than satisfactory. We can only hope that the true gospel
may be some day carried among them, and that they may be redeemed from
their present barbarous condition.
PART THREE, CHAPTER NINETEEN.
INDIAN WEAPONS AND MODES OF KILLING GAME.
THE BLOW-PIPE.
The Indian, destitute of firearms, ranges through the forest in chase of
the fiercest and largest animals which haunt its shade, armed with a
slender tube, and a quiver full of needle-like arrows. The tube, ten or
eleven feet long, is the celebrated gravatana, or blow-pipe; called also
the zarabatana by the Spaniards. Slight as are the arrows which are
blown through this weapon, they will penetrate the thickest hide; and
being tipped with a deadly poison, carry death through the veins of the
wounded animal in the course of a few minutes.
Blowpipes are formed in various ways,--for one, the stems of a small
palm, the triatea setigera, are used. Outside they appear pointed, from
the scars of the fallen leaves, but within they have a soft pith, which
soon rots in water, and is easily extracted, leaving a smooth, polished
bore. They vary from the thickness of a finger to two inches in
diameter. Each of these stems is slender, the one of a size which may
be pushed inside the larger. This is done that any curve in the one may
counteract that in the other. A conical wooden mouthpiece is fitted on
the one end, and the whole is spirally bound with the smooth black bark
of a creeper. Two teeth, fastened about a couple of feet apart from the
mouth end, serve as sights to enable the sportsman to take better aim.
The end applied to the mouth is bound round with a small silk-grass cord
to prevent it splitting; while the other is strengthened by having the
seed of a nut, with a hole cut through it, secured round it.
The arrows, from nine to ten inches long, are made from the leaves of a
species of palm, or from the spinous processes of the patawa, pointed as
sharp as a needle. The other end is burned hard, and round it is wound
a little conical tuft of tree-cotton, the silky covering of the bomba,
so as exactly to fill up the bore of the tube. They are carried in a
quiver, which holds some hundreds. It is in shape somewhat like a
backgammon dice-box, formed of basketwork, and covered with a piece of
the skin of the tapir. To it is attached a bunch of silk-grass, a small
piece of bone for scratching the point of the arrows, and a basket for
holding wild honey secured round the blunt end. The points of the
arrows are tipped with the deadly wourali or urali poison.
Another kind of gravatana is made of two separate pieces of wood, each
scooped out so as to form one half of the tube. The two halves are then
secured together, by binding round them spirally long fiat strips of the
jacitira, or wood of the climbing palm-tree, the whole being afterwards
smeared over with the black wax of the melipona bee. The tube tapers
towards the muzzle, and a cup-shaped mouthpiece is fitted in the broad
end. It is so heavy that only a strong man, accustomed to its use, can
employ it.
The boys learn to shoot with a smaller and lighter instrument. The
tools used are made of the incisor teeth of the paca and cavy. A light
arrow is put in at the inner end, and when the ball of silk-cotton
secured to the shafts fits tightly, it can be propelled with such force
by the breath that it makes a noise almost as loud as a pop-gun when
flying from the muzzle. An expert Indian can propel arrows so as to
kill at a distance of fifty or sixty yards. It is more useful in the
forest than a gun, for the report of firearms alarms the birds or
monkeys, while the silent poisoned dart brings them down one by one,
until the sportsman has a heap of slain by his side.
WOURALI POISON.
The wourali poison is made chiefly by the natives of the northern part
of the Amazonian valley. It is looked upon as an important and somewhat
mysterious operation. Waterton and Schombergh describe it. The Indian,
when preparing to concoct this deadly compound, goes into the wilds
where grows a vine--the strychnos toxifera. After this he collects a
number of bundles, and then takes up a root with an especially bitter
taste. After this he searches for two bulbous plants, which contain a
green and glutinous juice; and lastly, collects two species of ants--one
very large and black, and so venomous that its sting produces fever, and
another little red ant which stings like a nettle. Having scraped the
wourali vine and bitter root into thin shavings, he puts them into a
sieve made of leaves, which he holds over the earthen pot, pouring water
on them. A thick liquor comes through, having the appearance of coffee.
He then produces the bulbous stalks, and squeezes a portion of the
juice into the pot. He now adds the pounded fangs of the labarri and
counacouchi snakes,--which he generally has in store, as well as the
ants. The ingredients are next boiled over a slow fire, and the scum
being taken off, the liquid remains till it becomes reduced to a thick
syrup of a deep brown colour. It is now fit for use. The arrows are
then dipped into it, and if it is found of sufficient strength, it is
poured into small pots, which are covered over with leaves and a piece
of deer-skin. It is then kept in a dry place, or suspended occasionally
over a fire, to counteract the effects of damp.
The poison must be fresh to kill speedily. A bird dies in a minute or
so, and the largest animals only survive a few minutes after being
struck. Salt is almost a certain antidote to the poison. The Indians,
when they wish to preserve an animal alive, scrape off part of the
poison, and, as soon as the animal falls, put salt into its mouth, when
it speedily recovers. Monkeys are frequently captured in this way.
Europeans accustomed to eat salt seldom suffer from the effects of the
poison; though it is said to produce its usual deadly effects on the
natives, when wounded by it, as they rarely or never consume salt.
The flesh of the animals killed is in no way injured by the poison, nor
does it appear to corrupt sooner than that killed by the gun or knife.
Bows, with arrows four or five feet long, are used to kill the larger
animals. The arrows are made of a yellow reed without joint or knot. A
piece of hard wood is inserted into the end, and in this a square hole
is made, tightly bound round with cotton to keep it from splitting.
Into this square hole a spike is fitted, and dipped in the poison, while
at the butt-end a couple of feathers are fastened to steady it in its
flight. The hunter carries a number of these poisoned spikes. As the
spike easily breaks off, or slips out when the animal is wounded, he
recovers his shaft, into which he can easily refit another spike. The
spikes are cut half through, to facilitate their breaking off.
TIMBO.
The Indian has also discovered the means of poisoning the fish of the
lakes and pools, as well as the birds of the air. He extracts the
poison from a certain liana--the paullinia pinnata--which he calls
timbo. To do so, he collects a few pieces, about a yard long, and
mashes and soaks them in water, which soon becomes discoloured with the
milky poisonous juice of the plant. This he carries in a calabash, and
pours out on the water. In about half an hour, all the smaller fish,
over a wider space than that which he has sprinkled with the juice, rise
to the surface, floating on their sides, with their gills wide open. So
powerful is its nature, that but a slight quantity appeal's sufficient
to stupify them. Some time afterwards the larger fish appear; and even
for twenty-four hours afterwards a number rise floating dead on the
surface. The fish are evidently suffocated by the poison.
MODE OF SHOOTING AND NETTING TURTLE.
Both fish and turtle are shot by the natives with arrows. The Indian
takes his post on a little stage made of poles and cross-pieces of wood,
secured with lianas, on the margin of the pools frequented by the
turtles, armed with his bow and arrows. The arrow used for killing the
latter has a strong lancet-shaped steel point fitted into a peg which
enters the tip of the shaft. The peg is secured to the shaft by twine
made of the fibres of pineapple leaves. The line, some thirty or forty
yards long, is neatly wound round the body of the arrow. When the
muzzle enters the shell the peg drops out, and the pierced animal
descends with it towards the bottom, leaving the shaft floating on the
surface. The sportsman, hastening to the spot in his canoe, sends
another arrow into the turtle, and then humouring it by means of the two
cords, quickly gets it on board. It is extraordinary, the skill the
Indians will display on these occasions. They do not even wait for the
turtle coming to the surface, but watch for the tracks which it makes in
the water when swimming beneath it, and shoot with unerring aim.--At
certain seasons turtle in vast shoals wend their way up the Orinoco,
when, as they come to the surface to breathe, the Indians--who are on
the watch--shoot them with heavy arrows, which, falling perpendicularly,
pierce their thick coats; and they drift on shore, or are picked up by
the canoes kept in readiness for that purpose. Nets also are employed:
the depth is about equal to that of the water; while the floats, buoyed
up on the surface, thus form a complete track. One party takes either
end of the net, while the rest beat the water with poles, in order to
drive the turtles towards the middle. As the beaters advance, numbers
of little snouts suddenly popping above the water show that all is going
on well. The beaters continue shouting and striking the water with
great vigour. The ends of the nets are then seized by numerous strong
hands and dragged quickly forward, forming a circle to inclose all the
body. The canoes being brought up, the turtles are thrown into them.
Mr Bates describes having seen fully eighty turtles secured thus in
about twenty minutes.
ANOTHER MODE OF CATCHING FISH.
The natives on the banks of the northern rivers also employ a poisonous
root for catching fish. It resembles a turnip, with a small plant
rising from it, and is called by them cima. A decoction of it being
made, it is mixed with boiled maize ground into paste. The Indian and
his family go forth to the pool with a number of baskets to carry home
their prey. Besides the poison-paste, he supplies himself with some
pellets of paste free from it. On arriving at the pool or stream, he
throws a quantity of the latter into the water, which attracts a variety
of small fish from all quarters. He then begins to throw in the
poisoned bait, which is no sooner swallowed than the fish begin to leap
out of the water, and tumble about in all sorts of ways, when they are
easily caught by the children, and thrown into their baskets, which in a
short time are filled.
The Indians of the Orinoco also entrap fish in other ways. When the
waters begin to ebb at the end of the rainy season, they form strong
stockades across the outlet of the great lagoons in which a number of
the larger fish, as well as turtles of enormous size, have taken refuse.
The stakes of these stockades are driven into the bed of the channel,
close enough to allow of the exit of the water and the smaller fish
only. It is further secured by cross-beams thrown across the channel.
Sometimes, however, so numerous are the fish, and so enormous their
size, that they break through the stockade in spite of all the
precautions taken.
POISONING BIRDS.
In the neighbourhood of the Apoure, in Venezuela, a poisonous shrub
abounds--the deadly guachamaca--belonging to the family of Apocinese, or
dog-bane. The natives make a strong decoction from it, into which they
dip a number of small fish, and spread them about in the neighbourhood
of lagoons frequented by cranes, herons, and other aquatic birds, hiding
themselves near at hand. Before the bird has fairly swallowed the fish
it drops dead, when the hunter, cutting off the head and neck, carries
off the body as his prize. It is said that when meat has been roasted
on spits made of this wood, it has absorbed sufficient poison to destroy
all who ate it.
THE LONG-BOW.
Some tribes, using a powerful long-bow, shoot birds in the air at a
great distance. The hunter, throwing himself on his back, with his
quiver by his side, places his feet against the bow, raised to the
required elevation, and thus, stretching out his legs, draws the arrow
to his head on the ground. By this means he is enabled to kill wild
fowl and other game at an enormous distance. An amusing writer on
Venezuela mentions an Indian who used to place a piece of money on the
top of a lemon, close to the point of the big toe on his left foot, and
then, leaning backwards, bend his bow with the help of his right one,
and shoot into the air at an angle of 85 degrees,--the arrow never
failing when it turned round to come down and strike the coin. Another
would shoot a bird soaring above his head, without looking at the
bird,--guided only by the shadow cast upon the ground about mid-day.
STALKING GAME.
In the same legion, the Indians form a sort of trumpet out of bamboo,
covering one end with a thick membrane. On blowing through the other, a
sound is produced resembling the bleating of a young fawn. Hiding
himself behind a tree, the hunter decoys the doe towards his place of
concealment, when he easily shoots her with his poisoned arrow.
The following is another device for approaching the deer in the open
plains. These animals seem to have a peculiar fondness for the tall
crane of the Llanos--a large white bird, with long, slender legs, and at
least five feet in height. It has a pouch of a bright scarlet, and a
bill nearly a foot long, and wide at the base, which enables it to
swallow a large fish at a mouthful. The hunter forms a mask to resemble
the head of the crane, and, clothing his own dark body in white, holding
his weapon low down, goes off in the direction of the deer, taking care
to approach it to leeward. He then imitates the movements of the crane.
When the deer stops to look at him, he bends down his head as if
feeding. As soon as the deer again begins to browse, the hunter
carefully approaches it till he gets within range, and can shoot his
deadly dart with certain aim.
MODE OF KILLING ALLIGATORS.
The Indian bravely attacks the huge alligator, fearless of its enormous
jaws, sometimes shooting it with arrows from his bow. The arrows are
fitted in the same way as those used for killing turtle--the head
remaining in the body of the animal, while the shaft, secured to it by a
line, floats on the surface; which showing the direction taken by the
saurian, it is chased and transfixed by either lances or arrows till it
dies from exhaustion. On these occasions it is often attacked, it is
said, by the caribes, and partially devoured, before it can be dragged
on shore.
The creatures are also caught by another device. A piece of hard wood,
pointed at both ends, is covered up with a large fish or lump of meat,
and then thrown into the water, with a strong rope attached to the
middle. The instant it is seized, the hunters, who have hold of the
other end, drag the creature on shore, and despatch it with clubs or
darts.
A story is told of a Llanero, who, accustomed to desperate encounters
with savage bulls and fierce jaguars, determined on one occasion, when
compelled to cross the river, to brave the risk of an attack from an
alligator known to infest it. Plunging into the stream, with his saddle
on his shoulders to prevent its being wetted, and his sharp dagger in
his teeth, he swam on his horse's back. As those who saw him expected,
the crocodile soon appeared. Boldly facing the creature, he approached
its jaws, and, throwing his saddle at it, the alligator jumped partly
out of the water to catch it. At that instant the daring Llanero
plunged his dagger up to the very hilt into the arm-pit--the most vital
part of the monster--when, with a tremendous splash, it instantly sank
beneath the waves.
The tenacity of life exhibited by these monsters is often marvellous.
Sir Robert Schombergh gives an account of shooting one when ascending
the River Berbice. The snout was taken off by one ball, and another
entered the hinder part of the skull, when the Indians, attacking it
with their clubs, appeared completely to have knocked out every spark of
life. It was at last hauled up and placed on the bow of the corial.
While the corial was being drawn across the rapids, two of the Indians
took up the cayman in order to lay it in a more convenient position.
Scarcely had they done so, when at one bound it jumped into the river
and disappeared. They could never afterwards be persuaded to touch a
cayman.
TURTLE-CATCHING AND COLLECTING EGGS.
Both the Amazon and the Orinoco, with their tributaries, are frequented
by several species of turtles. The mode employed for capturing the
animals, as well as collecting the eggs, applies equally to both rivers.
There are several species of fresh-water turtles. The largest in the
upper waters grow to a great size, measuring nearly three feet long, by
two in breadth; so that one is a load for the strongest man. The
Brazilian Government make regulations for protecting the turtles whilst
laying, so that all the inhabitants on the banks may have an equal
chance of procuring a supply of eggs. The natives collect from all
quarters for this object. The turtles select the highest and driest
banks composed of the finest sand, which will be a sufficient time above
water to allow of the eggs being hatched by the heat of the sun. Some
of these banks are of great extent--many miles long, and often one or
more broad. They are the haunts and breeding-places of many different
kinds of animals, and are covered by tracks of alligators and turtles.
Not only do these here make their nests, but birds lay in them their
eggs during the dry season; and different kinds of fish use them for the
same purpose when covered with water. Here, too, the wonderful little
acara are found, with their young in their heads; and there are also
rounded shallow depressions in the mud, which the fishermen say are the
sleeping-places of the skates. They are certainly about the size and
form of a skate, and it can easily be believed that these singular
impressions in the soft surface have been made in this way. The
creatures, however, only frequent certain praias out of the number
existing. When the waters overflow the land, the young turtles move
into the interior, where they remain during their infant days in the
numberless lakes and pools in the forest. As the dry season approaches,
the full-grown turtles descend from the interior pools while the outlets
are still open (between July and August), and seek in countless swarms
their favourite banks. Sentinels are then posted on high lookout
places, situated at the ends of the banks, where they may watch the
proceedings of the creatures, and mark the spots they have chosen. They
also warn off any fishermen who may approach, as the sight of a man or a
fire on the sand-bank would prevent the turtles from leaving the water
that night to lay their eggs; and, if frequently alarmed, they would
forsake the praia for some other place.
The turtles lay their eggs by night--crawling in vast crowds to the
central and highest part of the praia--and are occupied till dawn in the
operation. They excavate with their broad-webbed paws deep holes in the
fine sand. The first which arrives makes a pit about three feet deep,
and lays its eggs--about one hundred in number--covering them with sand.
The next makes its deposit at the top of the former; and so on till
every pit is full. They are so careful in covering up the eggs, that,
when they quit the spot, the only marks distinguishable are those which
they make when returning to the water--as they go round and round the
nest several times in succession to obliterate all traces. The sand,
however, remains so loose, that it gives way under foot, and thus the
Indian easily discovers the spot.
A body of turtles occupy several days in the operation; one party
succeeding the other, night after night, till all have deposited their
eggs. As the season advances, however, those who have arrived late, in
their hurry to lay, appear to take fewer precautions. So powerful is
the effect of the sun on these sand-banks, that a few days only are
required to hatch the young turtles.
It has been so arranged by the Creator, that they always come forth at
night, as the heat of the sun would kill them, and they would be
devoured by birds of prey and other animals on the watch to seize the
dainty morsels. Although the hole from which they emerge may be half a
mile or more from the river, instinct teaches them to go in a direct
line to the water. A number, however, are caught by their enemies;
while enormous quantities of eggs are taken,--both to be used as food,
and for the sake of the oil they contain.
A curious sight is witnessed from the top of the sentinel's stage at
daybreak. The sand appears blackened with the multitudes of turtles--
which, after depositing their eggs, are waddling towards the river; and
often, where the margin of the praia is steep, tumbling down the
declivity into the water.
OIL FROM TURTLES' EGGS.
As soon as the eggs have been laid, the Indians, arriving in their
canoes from all directions, with their families, build reed huts on the
banks--some merely driving poles into the sand, from which to swing
their hammocks. The canoes are then drawn up on the beach and
thoroughly washed out, while the whole praia is covered with natives
with the baskets on their backs in which they collect the eggs. The
eggs are then cleansed from the grains of sand adhering to them, and
emptied into the canoes, when they are trodden on by the children, much
in the same way as grapes are mashed for wine-making. The canoes, when
full, are left exposed to the sun's rays, and in a short time a fine
clear oil rises to the surface. It is then skimmed off with shells and
put into large pots, when it is boiled over the fire and becomes
purified. It is next transferred to jars, and is ready for use. It is
finer and clearer than that produced from olives.
Meantime, any stray turtles which have delayed their departure, as
frequently happens, are turned over on their backs. Holes are dug in
the sand near the water, in which the young turtles are kept till
required for eating. When not actually employed in picking up eggs or
catching turtles, the whole population are engaged in feasting off
them--an enormous quantity being thus consumed. The flesh of the
animals is cut up and dressed in the shells, which serve as pots,
without the danger of burning; and it is washed down with copious
draughts of chica.
The female turtles contain an enormous number of eggs, apparently ready
to be laid during a succession of years--from the large ones covered
with a white membrane, down to a confused mass resembling mustard-seeds.
As it requires five thousand to fill a jar of oil, and as many
thousands of jars are collected, it may be conceived what an enormous
number of eggs are deposited every year. Were it not that many turtles
lay in solitary places, which the Indians have not discovered, the
rivers would soon be depopulated. The Indian children watch for the
creatures as soon as they are hatched, and collect great numbers.
Humboldt calculates that nearly a million turtles annually deposit their
eggs on the banks of the Lower Orinoco. In the Amazon, already the
turtles have greatly decreased in numbers; and Bates states that, where
formerly he could buy one for ninepence, he could with difficulty
procure them latterly for eight or nine shillings each. Every house on
the banks has a little pond, called a corral, or pen, in the back-yard,
to hold a stock of large turtle during the wet months, till a fresh
supply can be procured in the dry season.
The tracaja, or smaller kind, which lays its eggs a month earlier than
the larger species, seldom lives, in captivity, beyond a few days.
The natives cook the turtles in various ways. The entrails make a
delicious soup, called _sarapatel_; while the flesh of the breast is
mixed with farina, and roasted in the breast shell over the fire.
Steaks, cooked with fat, make another dish; and large sausages, composed
of the thick-coated stomach, filled with mince-meat, and boiled, are
considered great delicacies. Bates, however, found, that though the
flesh is very tender, palatable, and wholesome, it becomes cloying after
a person has lived on it for some time; and he at length could not bear
the smell, even though suffering from hunger.
FISHING-NETS AND BASKETS.
The tribes on the River Uape's use several kinds of bows, some from five
to six feet long,--the arrows being still longer. The shaft is made of
the flower-stalk of the arrow-grass. The head is composed of hard wood
pointed, and sometimes armed with a serrated spine of the ray-fish,
covered thickly with poison, and notched, so as easily to break off--a
most deadly weapon. Their arrows for shooting fish are armed with iron
heads, while smaller arrows are used for shooting small game. These
alone have feathers at the base, generally from the wings of the macaw.
They are secured spirally, forming thus a little screw on the base of
the arrow, causing it to revolve rapidly, and assisting to keep it in a
direct course.
They employ also several sorts of hand-nets for catching fish: one is
very similar to the folding nets of entomologists, and another is like a
landing net. Rods and lines are generally used by them. They also
catch fish by means of a small conical-shaped wicker basket. The larger
end is completely open. Into this, which is placed in a current, the
fish enter, and swimming rapidly on, jam themselves into the narrow end,
where, unable to turn, they are completely secured. They also use large
cylindrical baskets, with reversed cones in the mouth like those of
lobster-pots, but of much greater size.
Fish are also caught by means of weirs. These are well built, supported
by strong posts. They are formed when the water is low. As the water
rises, the fish, keeping by the sides of the stream, are guided by the
side wings of the weir into its narrow opening, out of which they cannot
make their way. Not only fish, but turtles find their way into these
weirs, and sometimes electric eels--as also those dreaded fish, the
piranhas. The Indian gets the fish out by diving into the weir armed
with a small hand-net, and sometimes with a knife. He first endeavours,
however, to learn whether any of his foes are within, and gets them out
first. Another kind of weir is formed on a still larger scale,
generally beneath cataracts or waterfalls. It is similar to the
eel-traps sometimes used at mills. As the water pours into it, the fish
are often caught in great numbers. These traps, however, require a
considerable amount of ingenuity and a great exertion of strength for
their construction, as large timbers must be used, to withstand the
strength of the current.
CANOES.
Most of the tribes make their canoes out of single trees, which they
hollow and expand by means of a fire placed beneath them, gradually
inserting wedges and cross-pieces. It is first reared on trestles, with
a slit downwards over the fire--which is kept up for seven or eight
hours. The process requires great and constant attention, to avoid
cracks, and make the canoe bend with the proper dip at the two ends.
Additional planks are often secured to the sides, while the stem and
stern are formed of semicircular boards pegged on to the ends of the
trunk. The seams are then caulked with gum. The paddles have oval
blades, and are about three feet in length, cut out of single pieces.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
A somewhat complicated musical instrument, consisting of twelve pipes or
trumpets, made of bamboos fastened together, with trumpet-shaped
mouthpieces of bark, is used by one tribe of Indians. The sounds are
not disagreeable, resembling somewhat clarionets and bassoons. No
woman, however, is allowed to see them; and as soon as they are brought
out, all the females hurry off to hide themselves. Should any one
attempt to observe the mysterious instrument, she is immediately put to
death,--generally by poison. A father or a husband would not hesitate
on such an occasion to sacrifice his daughter or wife.
The Indians of the Uapes manufacture with great neatness a variety of
articles, such as fine hammocks, baskets, and gourds--which they paint
with elegant devices; also earthenware water-pitchers and pans for
cooking, and clay ovens. They also show skill in making several musical
instruments--like fifes and whistles, as also drums--and all sorts of
ornaments for the person. Their feather dresses are remarkable for
their elegance and the labour bestowed on them.
The Purupurus, one of the most savage tribes, have an instrument--
employed by no others--called the palheta. It is a piece of wood with a
projection at the end, in which the base of the arrow is secured. The
arrow is held with the handle of the palheta in the hand, and thus
thrown as a stone from a sling. The natives exhibit wonderful dexterity
in the use of this weapon, and with the greatest facility kill birds,
fish, and game of all sorts with it.
PART FOUR, CHAPTER ONE.
NORTHERN REGIONS OF SOUTH AMERICA.
VENEZUELA.
New Granada is almost entirely a mountain region, occupied by the
northern end of the Andes, except where it slopes down towards the
Isthmus of Panama and the Caribbean Sea. Venezuela, however, contains
three distinct zones or characters of country--mountains, forests, and
open plains. The mountain regions, which are also three in number, are
separated by wide plains. On the west, the mountains belong to the
Andes--being spurs of that range--a large portion consisting of
table-lands, called paramos, from 10,000 to 14,000 feet above the
sea-level. Among them lies the Lake of Maracaibo, ninety-two miles in
length, and eighty-two in width--the largest in South America. On the
north-east is the Sierra de Bergantin, and in the south-east the Sierra
de Parima. The forests extend from the Orinoco southward, joining that
of the Amazon--a vast tract, but seldom penetrated by the traveller.
The natives call the three zones into which they divide their country
the Tierras Calidas, or hot countries--rising not more that 2000 feet
above the sea, and in which only tropical plants and fruits flourish;
the Tierras Templadas, or temperate country--from 2000 to 7000 feet
above the sea, where the agricultural productions of Europe succeed
best; and the Tierras Frias, or cold countries--which rise above the
former, to the height of 15,000 feet, the summits of the mountains
reaching 148 feet above the snow-line.
Two seasons exist in the tropics, into which the year is divided--the
wet and the dry. Though the heat is greatest in the former, it is
called winter, as the sun then passes twice over the zenith; while
during the dry season, which is called summer, the sun is in the
southern hemisphere. During the whole year the north-east trade-wind
blows across the country, but modified in direction and force by these
seasons.
In consequence of the very different elevations of the land, the
productions of nearly all parts of the world can here be cultivated
successfully. In the hot districts, chiefly bordered by the sea,
cotton, indigo, cacao, coffee, sugar, tobacco, and cocoa-nuts come to
perfection. The cocoa-palm, enjoying the advantage of the sea-breeze,
here grows to a height of seven hundred feet above the ocean. No
tobacco surpasses that of the well-known Varina. Barley and millet, as
well as wheat, are produced on the more elevated tracts; while maize is
cultivated all over the country.
The wide-extending marshes and pools are frequented by pelicans, herons,
and wild geese, ducks, and flamingoes; while other birds--chiefly
belonging to the Falconidae, Ardeidae, Strigidae, and Psittacidae--are
numerous. The savage alligator and fearful anaconda abound in all the
rivers and lakes; while the jaguar, puma, ounce, tiger-cat, monkey,
tapir, capybara, porcupine, wild hog, sloth, and ant-eater range through
its forests and savannahs.
Numerous tribes of the aborigines, driven back by the whites, exist in
the remoter districts. They are generally of a dark copper colour,
while some are of a lighter hue; and though building huts, most of them
go almost naked. They exist on plantains, yucca, batatas, and the
sugar-cane--which they rudely cultivate; and the fish, as well as the
manatees and alligators, which swarm in their waters.
The neighbourhood of the Caraccas is described as a terrestrial
paradise, where spring perpetually reigns. In this favoured region, all
the fruits of the tropics come to the greatest perfection. The
delicious chirimoya takes the first place. It is likened to lumps of
flavoured cream, ready to be frozen, suspended from the branches of some
fairy tree, amidst an overpowering perfume of flowers--for it is in
bearing all the year round. "He who has not tasted the chirimoya fruit,
has yet to learn what fruit is," says Markham.
Here, too, the grandilla, in shape like a water-melon, hangs from its
delicate tendrils. When cut open, it is found filled with a juice-like
nectar, having the flavour of the strawberry and peach. A species, of
cactus--the nopal--produces the tuna or Indian fig.
It is on the fleshy, downy stems of the cactus that the cochineal insect
is reared, producing the valuable crimson dyes which outshine the
vaunted productions of Tyre; and from the same family of plants rises
the magnificent pitahaya,--"those flowers known for size and effulgence,
which begin to open as the sun declines, and bloom during the night,
shedding a delicious fragrance, and offering their brimful goblets,
filled with nectareous juice, to thousands of moths and other
crepuscular and nocturnal insects," as Gosse describes it.
The splendid mammey apple-tree (Mammea Americana), which bears numbers
of round and heavy fruits, brown outside, and of a golden yellow within,
valued for the marmalades and other delicacies formed from them.
Of the same family as the chirimoya is the guanabana (Anona muricata),
or sour sop, an unattractive name for so delicious a fruit. From it a
cooling drink is made, and ices of fine flavour.
A near relative is the custard apple, filled with a ruddy compounded
substance, which no cook can surpass. As also the rinon (Anona
squamosa), a kidney-like fruit in form, with a custard-like interior.
The superb alligator-pear, more properly called percia gratissima; its
first name given probably from its being indigenous to a country
abounding in saurian reptiles, otherwise it is difficult to account for
its inappropriate designation. It resembles in shape a large pear; but
the interior of its rind is lined with a marrow-like substance of a
yellowish colour, somewhat like butter, and used at the breakfast-table.
Among other products is the tamarind, unrivalled either as regards
beauty of foliage, brilliancy of blossoms, or the delicacy of its
acidulous pulpy pods. In blossom the tree is a lovely object. Amid its
feathery dark green foliage issue, in vast numbers, golden yellow
branches with delicate flowers dazzling to the eye; while its fruits in
a green state form a candied sweetmeat, or when ripe, and made into a
decoction, a refreshing drink for fever-stricken patients.
The inaja-palm, of various species, produces pellucid pods, from one to
two feet in length, containing a row of beans--enveloped in white
cottony pulp--grateful to the taste.
The cocoa-palm, though at a distance from the coast, here flourishes in
great perfection, adding to the splendour of the vegetation, with its
glorious crown of monster leaves; while the plantain and banana are
widely cultivated, a few plants of which are sufficient to supply a
family with bread, vegetables, fruit, and preserves of various kinds.
Humboldt observes that an area planted with plantains produces nearly
twenty times as much food as the same space sown with corn.
HUMMING-BIRDS.
Amid this rich and varied vegetation, swarms of tiny and brilliant
humming-birds flutter round the masses of highly-scented blossoms that
perfume the air, and which might be mistaken by the stranger at first
sight for some of the metallic-coloured beetles which dispute with them
the nectar of the fragrant flowers, so brilliant is the lustre shed by
both. As Gosse well remarks: "For that peculiar charm which resides in
flashing light, combined with the most brilliant colours, the lustre of
precious stones, there are no birds, no creatures, that can compare with
the humming-birds, confined exclusively to America." These lovely
little winged gems were to the Mexican and Peruvian Indians the very
quintessence of beauty; and were called by various names, signifying
"the rays of the sun," and the like. Fully four hundred distinct
species of these winged gems are supposed to exist on the continent.
TREES.
Of the trees which have a wide range over the country, especially near
the sea-coast, the lignum vitae is of great value. As from its hard
nature it turns the edge of the best-tempered tools, it serves for the
construction of wharves, as well as for the keels of ships,--the attacks
of the teredo, or sea-worm, being futile upon the iron network of its
fibres. It can remain under water for an indefinite period without
rotting, and eventually becomes petrified.
Here the guayacan, or guayacum of the arts, is found in great abundance.
The alcornoque, a beautiful tree, scarcely inferior to it, here raises
its graceful head above the rest, affording the cattle a permanent shade
during the dry season; while in the Llanos it is used in the
construction of houses and fences.
The Brazileto-wood tree grows in abundance, producing a beautiful dye.
Among others is the tree which yields the precious balsam of copaiba,--
extracted by making incisions in the trunk, when the resinous fluid
pours forth.
The natives form their piroques or canoes from the last which we will
mention, the tacamahaca (the Elaphrium tornentosium), which here attains
great dimensions. The bark is of the nature of the birch-bark of North
America, and is stripped off the trees in a similar manner, the huge
sheets being joined at the extremities by means of slender vines, while
the interstices are filled with resin to keep out the water--the whole
being then bound with stronger vines, and several sticks being fixed
between the borders to prevent the bark from collapsing. The resin of
this tree, an opaque lemon-coloured substance, resembles wax; and when
mixed with algoroba, it forms a torch which burns with great brilliancy,
and emits a delicious odour.
The vast Llanos, already mentioned, in the north cover a surface of
about 110,600 square miles. Over a large portion of this wide-extending
region, even the wild Indian, there unable to find subsistence, but
seldom roamed; and thus for ages it remained a howling wilderness,
inhabited, and that only at certain seasons, by the jaguar, the peccary,
the agouti, and the timid deer. Here, when the summer sun sends down
its burning rays day after day from a cloudless sky, the grass withered
and shrivelled by its heat, the plain presents the appearance of a
desert waste. No cooling breeze passes across it, no shelter is found
from the scorching heat. The pools are dried-up, the surface of the
swamps becomes cracked and dry--the brown stalks of the tall reeds alone
marking the nature of the ground. Here, occasionally, when the blast
sweeps across the plain, columns of dust are set in motion, like those
of the African Sahara, overwhelming and stifling the incautious
traveller, who is hurled senseless to the ground.
Here, too, as in other desert regions, the mirage mocks him as he
journeys across it parched with thirst--often assuming a semblance of
the ocean, slowly moving in wave-like undulations.
The few trees and shrubs which here and there rise from the plain assume
a greyish-yellow tint, showing that the sap which has hitherto nourished
their leaves has ceased to flow,--stopped by the burning heat, which has
dried-up every particle of moisture from which they are wont to obtain
nourishment. At this season even the animals take their departure; here
and there the alligator and anaconda alone remain, in a torpid state,
buried in the clay of the dried-up swamps.
The traveller who ventures across this arid region has not only to
encounter the breath of the simoom, the sufferings of burning thirst,
the attacks of wild beasts, the bite of the matacabello--which may kill
his steed and leave him helpless--and many other dangers, but, more
fearful than all, flames caused by some camp-fire incautiously left
burning, seizing the parched vegetation, traverse the plain with
inconceivable rapidity. He and his Indian guides, without whom he could
not venture across it, discover far-away on the horizon columns of smoke
ascending to the skies. The Indians, standing up in their stirrups,
gaze at it anxiously for a moment to watch its direction, and then
pressing their steeds to their utmost speed, urge him to fly for life.
At first he can scarcely believe that yon distant line of smoke is
menacing them with danger; but soon onwards it comes, the burning
torrent rolling rapidly towards them. Now and then they turn their
heads to watch its progress. In vain they look out in every direction
for a darker patch in the plain, which may indicate a water pool, and
amid which they may seek refuge. None appears. On they rush, urging
their horses by whip and spur--their steeds seeming to know their
danger. Already they see the bright glare of the flames below the dark
mass of smoke. Already the bursting and crackling of the leaves, as the
threatening column rushes on, reaches their ears. A fearful death is
following them. At length the sharp eyes of one of the guides discover
a slight eminence; towards this, though almost despairing of safety,
they direct their course. They reach its base. It is but thinly
covered with vegetation. Scarcely have they urged up their panting
horses to the summit than the flames overtake them. And now the sea of
fire rolls its devouring billows around, and the suffocating smoke,
striking in their faces, compels them to fall on the ground, in the hope
of obtaining sufficient air for breathing, till the flames have passed
by. The fire mounts the hill, but happily, finding little nourishment,
is speedily extinguished. And now the waving mass, rolling onwards,
recedes further and further from their gaze.
Whole swarms of voracious vultures follow in circling flight the smoky
column, like so many hungry jackals, and pounce upon the snakes and
lizards which the blaze has stifled and half calcined in its murderous
embrace. Then, with the rapidity of lightning, they dart on their prey
and disappear in the clouds of smoke, as if they were voluntarily
devoting themselves to a fiery death. Soon the deafening noise of the
conflagration ceases, and the dense black clouds in the distance are the
only signs that the flames are still proceeding on their devastating
path over the wide waste of the savannah.
The travellers thus happily saved may now proceed on their course,
provided they have a supply of water for themselves, and have certain
information of the existence of some deep pool at which their steeds may
quench their thirst. Let them be cautious, however, how they approach
the pool; for beneath its surface the alligator and anaconda lie hid, or
the electric eel--which with its powerful galvanic battery may strike
the steed which ventures within its reach.
Even in this arid region the bountiful Creator has not left his
creatures without the means of sustaining life. Here, on the driest
soil, the globular melon-cactus, measuring a foot in diameter,
flourishes; its tough and prickly skin surrounding a rich and juicy
pulp. It is, however, covered with long, sharp thorns, which must be
broken off before the refreshing juice can be obtained. It is curious
that the wild horse and ox--strangers, as it were, to the region--are
not possessed of the sagacity to do this; while the mule, when it
discovers the melon, sets to work at once with its fore-feet, and then
cautiously sips the refreshing liquid.
Day after day the sun, with a lurid glare spread far and wide over the
cloudless sky, rises above the arid plains, drawing up every particle of
moisture, and withering with the intense heat of his rays every blade of
grass and green leaf, till it seems as if the whole region were doomed
to eternal desolation. At length, however, a wonderful change takes
place over the hitherto arid waste. A thick veil of mist is drawn
across the blue sky. A low bank of clouds appears on the horizon.
Gradually it rises, assuming the form of distant mountain-chains above
the plain. Onwards it advances, increasing in density, while vivid
flashes of lightning dart forth; the thunder is heard rolling in the
distance, and now loud crashing peals burst from the clouds, which
rapidly spreading across the vault of heaven, plenteous showers rush
downwards on the parched earth, filling up the dry cracks in the
marshes, replenishing the pools, and swelling the streams. The grass
springs up on every long-dry spot, the leaves burst forth, while
thousands of flowers of every tint and hue enamel the plain; and, as if
by magic, the whole face of nature is in a few hours changed. In a
short time the thorny bushes of the delicate and feathery-foliaged
mimosas are loaded with masses of canary-coloured blossoms, from their
summits down to the lowest branches, sending forth an almost
overpowering perfume; while the fronds of the beautiful mauritias--the
palm of the Llanos--rising to the height of one hundred feet above the
plain, sprout forth in rich luxuriance.
Animal life, too, wakes up. The savage alligator and the huge anaconda
crawl forth from the bed of clay in which they have passed their summer
sleep, in search of prey; ibises, cranes, flamingoes, and numberless
water-fowl, swarm on the newly-formed pools; the cattle of the Llaneros
luxuriate in the abundant grasses which everywhere appear; while
multitudes of insects crawl forth, seeking refuge from the flood in the
higher grounds. The swollen rivers now inundate the plains, and the
spots where the cattle wandered in vain to quench their thirst can now
be passed for miles together by boats; and alligators lie in wait to
seize in their savage jaws the horses and oxen compelled to swim across
the flooded land in search of pasture.
THE LLANEROS.
Sterile as the Llanos appear during the dry season, numerous
cattle-farms exist, scattered widely over large portions. The Llaneros,
as the inhabitants are called--descendants of the white settlers, with
an admixture of Indians and blacks--are a hardy, bold race, living
almost entirely on horseback, engaged in watching over their herds, and
in battling with the spotted jaguar, the savage cayman, the huge boa and
anaconda, and occasionally the fierce natives of the surrounding
deserts. Often, too, they have to struggle for their lives against the
sudden inroads of the vast inundations which sweep off their herds and
frail habitations. Armed with their unerring lasso and garrocha, or
sharp lance, blunderbuss and sword, they fear no foes. These lances,
formed of the tough stem of a small palm, are weapons of no slight
importance to them. They are sharpened to a point at one end, and
hardened in the fire, or sometimes have an iron head. Round the point a
number of loose metal rings are secured, which when shaken produce a
loud rattling sound.
See a band of these hardy horsemen in chase of the wild cattle which
roam at large over the plains. In bands of six or ten, they form a
circle of fifteen miles or so in circumference--bivouacking during the
previous night at their respective stations. At early dawn they mount
their horses; and now, shouting and shrieking, with their lasso coiled
before them on their saddle, and their garrocha in their hand, whirled
round and round, they advance, closing in towards the centre of the
circle, and driving before them all the animals they meet. The animals,
terrified by the cries and whirling spears, dash madly forward,--some
endeavouring to break away from the circle, when they are speedily
turned back by the sharp goads of the horsemen. Not only the cattle,
but wild boars, deer, and other quadrupeds, starting up from the ground
where they have been resting, dash on amid the confused herd. And now
perhaps several thousand head of cattle are collected within the circle
formed by a hundred or more horsemen. If a fierce bull, turning round,
ventures to encounter them, they shake their rattling spears in his
ears, and quickly again turn him.
When a bull is overtaken, the Llanero thrusts the point of his spear
into the animal's shoulder, and, leaning forward with the whole weight
of his body upon the shaft, overthrows the savage creature, who rolls
headlong on the plain, where he is quickly secured. Sometimes a fiercer
bull than ordinary charges the horsemen, who fly on either side; but
wheeling round speedily, with their lassos whirling round their heads,
the noose is thrown over the animal's horns, and the well-trained steeds
assisting their riders, he is speedily brought to the ground. A hole
being then pierced in the thick cartilage of the nostrils, a thong is
passed through it, the other end being fastened to the horse's tail. A
jerk quickly brings the bull to his feet, and he is led off a captive.
A still bolder manoeuvre is accomplished by the expert horseman.
Galloping after the bull, the rider seizes the animal's tail, giving it
a turn round his own wrist, and then again urges forward his horse till
both are at full speed, when, suddenly turning in an oblique direction,
by a powerful jerk--from the impetuosity imparted by their rapid speed--
the bull is brought to the ground. Here, too, the horse, knowing what
is about to be done, starts forward at the proper moment, and assists in
accomplishing the work. Sometimes the daring Llanero will throw himself
from his seat, still holding on to the tail of the bull, and seldom
fails ultimately to overthrow it.
The whole scene is one of the wildest confusion. Clouds of dust rise
from the dry plain, trampled on by the hoofs of numberless animals. The
bulls, driven to fury, tear up the earth, and with deep, savage
bellowings rush at their fellows as well as at their foes, unable to
distinguish one from the other--often piercing the former with their
sharp horns. The uproar is increased by the yells and shouts of the
Llaneros galloping in all directions over the ground, rattling their
garrochas, waving their ponchos, and whirling their lassos. Yet further
to increase the turmoil and uproar, flocks of cranes and herons,
startled by the hoofs of the horses and shouts of the riders as they
rush onward, rise from the stunted frees of a neighbouring marsh, with
loud cries and clashing of wings, into the air, hovering above the heads
of the actors in such numbers as almost to darken the sky as they circle
round and round.
The object of the hunt is to separate the cattle of the different
owners, and to drive them into their respective corrals or majadas.
Tame cattle are employed to assist in the operation, and are stationed
at various places round the circle. The horsemen, dashing in among the
mass of excited animals, fearless of the points of their sharp horns,
drive out with their lances those they recognise as their own property--
known by the notches on their ears--goading them with their lances. The
animals, now separated with wonderful skill, are, with their calves,
urged towards the groups of their well-trained kindred, who lead them on
towards the destined corral. Often, however, suspecting treachery, they
turn round and attempt to escape, rushing with mad fury towards the
horsemen--many of whose steeds are thus pierced by their horns, and the
riders, overthrown, with difficulty escaping.
Thus they at length reach the entrance of the corral, which is in the
shape of a funnel, composed of stout posts strengthened by thick
rafters. Here the most desperate struggle often ensues; but the bulls
are met by an array of the rattling garrochas; and though some may
escape at the last, the great mass are, by the skill of the Llaneros, at
length secured within the corral,--many of the cattle receiving
desperate wounds.
These farms of the Llanos, built in the roughest and most primitive
style, are surrounded by fences, intended not only to resist the rush of
a herd of cattle, but the attack of human foes. The inclosures are
formed of huge trunks of trees, driven close together into the ground.
It would seem difficult to account for the way in which they are brought
across the plain. This is done, however, during the inundation of the
savannahs, when they are transported to the spot on rafts made of
lighter wood,--the timbers themselves being composed of a species of
acacia of extreme hardness, and from their nature capable of resisting
the effects of alternation of climate for many years. Many of these
corrals are sufficiently spacious to contain three thousand head of
cattle.
When the animal is to be caught for slaughter, the horsemen go in chase,
the one securing it by his lasso over its head and dragging it along,
while the other urges it on with his garrocha till it reaches the
slaughter-post. The first then secures the animal by a few turns of the
lasso round it, while a matador strikes his dagger into the vertebras at
the back of the head, when the animal drops as if struck by an electric
spark.
These wild horsemen, when crossing a river, hesitate not to plunge in,
in spite of the alligators which may be swarming on every side. While
their clothes are carried across in a hide-formed canoe, put together at
the moment, they dash into the stream without clothes or saddles, and
then slipping from the backs of their horses, support themselves on the
animals' haunches with one hand, while they guide them by means of the
halter with the other--their companions on the shore shouting, yelling,
and shaking their ponchos, to drive the rest of the herd into the water.
The caymans, alarmed by the uproar, keep at a distance; but the savage
little caribes frequently attack them, and many thus fall.
Besides cattle, horses, and mules, vast numbers of hogs range over the
plain,--the descendants of those introduced by the early settlers, and
which are now, from their ferocity, and the formidable size of their
tusks, considered foes worthy of the lances of the bold horsemen. These
lances, generally used in hunting, have played no insignificant part in
the hands of the Llaneros, as well as in those of some of the fierce
tribes of the desert, during the civil wars which so long disturbed the
country.
A profusion of fruits in a state of nature grow in the woods and plains.
Among them are several species of wild guavas. Some are of exquisite
flavour and aroma. One sort bears in rich profusion a number of
brilliant scarlet, highly perfumed, and acidulous fruits. There are
various kinds of custard apples, the inside a sweet and highly aromatic
pulp filled with small seeds. Also the madrona, which resembles the
lemon in shape and colour, and filled with a pulp enveloping several
large nuts, the flavour not unlike strawberries. The tree which
produces these fruits attains a height of sixty feet, and has a dense
foliage of a brilliant green.
On a vine grows the monkey cacao bean, which these animals eagerly
devour.
There are many leguminous trees, some bearing pods ten inches long,
filled with rows of black beans enveloped in a snow-white and agreeably
sweet pulp. Here also is the algarobo, or locust-tree of the New World;
bearing pods filled with beans surrounded by a sweet farinaceous
substance, of a highly nutritious quality.
Indeed, Venezuela is behind no other region of the world in the variety
and quality of its natural productions.
PART FOUR, CHAPTER TWO.
GUIANA.
A wide belt of low land borders the ocean side of Guiana on the
north-east of the continent, where white men dwell, in houses elevated
on piles of timber, among sugar-estates and cotton-plantations, tall
windmills, and numerous canals crowded with shipping, which would
present a thoroughly Dutch scene were it not for the stately cocoa-nut
and cabbage-palms rising amid them, the dark-skinned labourers, the blue
sky, and burning heat. The province is, however, for the most part a
region of rugged mountains, dense forests, open savannahs, broad
streams, cataracts, waterfalls, and rapids; where the yet untamed
savage, making war on his neighbours, and sunk in the grossest
barbarism, lives as his predecessors have done for centuries past.
Through the centre of the territory flows the Essequibo, the largest
river between the Amazon and the Orinoco. Its source is among the same
mountains which give birth to some of the tributaries of those mighty
rivers, the one running to the north, the other to the south; thus
adding to the wonderful network which unites the waters of South
America.
It was through this region that the gallant Raleigh, and many bands of
Spanish adventurers in succession, in spite of the most terrific dangers
and difficulties, fought their way amid hostile natives in search of the
far-famed El Dorado. Among the first bands was that led by the
celebrated Philip Von Huten. They had heard that in the interior of the
country there existed a golden region, surpassing even the wildest
descriptions of that of Peru. It was said that some of the royal race
of the Incas, escaping from their Spanish invaders, had established a
new dynasty amid the mountains, on the shores of a beautiful lake, the
sands of which contained gold in prodigious quantities. The houses of
his capital were covered with plates of gold. The vessels of the royal
palace were of the same metal; and so abundant was it, that the natives,
anointing their bodies with a glutinous substance, sprinkled them over
with the dust. The person of the sovereign was especially thus adorned
by his attendants. Oviedo remarks--"As this kind of garment would be
uneasy whilst sleeping, the prince washes himself every evening, and is
gilded afresh in the morning;" thus proving that the empire of El Dorado
is infinitely rich in mines.
Von Huten and his band, after desperate fighting, were compelled to
retire, just as they believed they had seen in the far-off distance the
shining roofs of the splendid city. Their leader was preparing another
expedition when he fell by the hand of an assassin.
Notwithstanding the dangers to be encountered from the fierce Caribs--
who, sheltered by trees and rocks everywhere, attacked their foes with
poisoned arrows--and the numerous disappointments which occurred, fresh
bands of adventurers, age after age, still believing in the fabled
wealth which was to be their prize should they succeed, set forth, in
hope of reaching the wonderful city. Some of Sir Walter Raleigh's
followers declared, indeed, that they saw rocks shining brightly with
gold, and a mountain containing diamonds and other valuable stones, the
lustre of which blazed forth to a considerable distance.
Every marvellous fable found belief. The crew of an English ship, about
that time exploring the Marowyne, stated that they had seen on its banks
a gigantic race of men, who carried in their hands bows made of gold.
Wherever mica was seen glittering on the side of a mountain, it was
supposed to be the same precious metal. Sir Walter Raleigh sent his
faithful lieutenant, Captain Keymis, to carry on the expedition he was
himself unable to undertake. His chief object, and that of his
successors, was to discover the site of the golden city. Keymis, while
sailing up the Essequibo, heard that by ascending one of its
tributaries--the Rupunoony--he would certainly reach it.
Numerous other expeditions were organised by Spaniards and Portuguese.
Many of the unfortunate adventurers fell by the hands of the natives,
others by famine and fatigue; and as late as the year 1776 a large band
set forth, when many hundreds perished, one man only returning to tell
the sad fate of his companions.
At length, in the quarter to which Captain Keymis had been directed, the
small lake of Amucu was discovered, to which a river called the Parinia
is connected; and from the geological structure of the surrounding
country, is supposed to have been formerly much larger than at present.
Within and around it are islands and, rocks of mica, slate, and talc;
"the materials," observes Humboldt, "out of which has been formed that
gorgeous capital, whose temples and houses were overlaid with beaten
plates of gold." Schombergh, who visited the lake, agrees with the
German philosopher. Another traveller, Hillhouse, in 1830 ascended the
Masaruni, which flows from the northern side of the mountains of
Roraima, among which the lake is situated; and believes that its
romantic valley was once the bed of a large lake twelve miles in width,
and upwards of one hundred miles in length,--which long ago burst its
barriers and gave rise to the fable still preserved among the Indians,
and, till within almost the present century, believed in by the
colonists themselves.
RIVERS:--THE ESSEQUIBO.
Let us take a glance over some of the rivers of the land.
The Essequibo, called by the Indians the "younger brother of the
Orinoco," first claims attention. The mouth has rather the appearance
of a vast lake than a river, its shores bordered by thick groves of that
tree of curious structure, the mangrove, whose roots or seeds, borne on
the ocean wave, strike wherever they can find a muddy soil, throughout
every part of the tropics. Rising upwards on the roots, which it shoots
downwards as it grows, the base of its stem is often six or eight feet
from the ground--the stem itself seldom more than a foot in diameter,
and from fifteen to twenty feet in height. Its thick stiff ribs, about
eight inches long and nine inches wide, are of a dark sombre hue. This
broad estuary, extending inland for thirty miles or more, with numerous
picturesque islands covered by tropical vegetation rising out of it, is
joined by the united streams of the Masaruni and Cuyuni, its own and
their romantic waterfalls making a continuous navigation up them
impossible. Yet, notwithstanding its impediments, these rivers afford
the only means of communication, except along the foot-tracks of the
Indians, through the dense forests, into the far-off interior. These
forests commence in many parts close to the ocean, spreading often for
thousands of square miles, broken sometimes by swamps, and at others by
wide savannahs, open spaces covered with grasses, and here and there
clumps of trees. Even the sand-hills of moderate height bordering the
Atlantic are clothed by the superb vegetation of the tropics,--the
forest extending to, and even climbing up the sides of the Rocky
Mountains. Vast timber trees, the purple and green heart, the stately
mora, the locust-tree, raise their heads above their smaller brethren,
conquering in the struggle for room to allow their foliage to expand;
while below, the moist carpet of fallen leaves, fungi, and moss,
increases the richness of the vegetation. Here also are numerous
graceful palms,--the cocorite, from which the Indians form their
poisoned arrows; the troali, with broad and long leaves, used for
thatching their huts. The graceful manicol, rising to a great height,
bends, like the weeping willow, its slender stem over the stream; and,
with several other species of palm, it affords the succulent cabbage.
Beautiful parasites hang in every direction from the trunks and boughs--
sipos ascending and clinging in intricate network, interlacing the
trunks and branches, and often supporting the remnants of the trees they
themselves by their fatal embrace have destroyed; indeed, the same style
of forest here exists as throughout the Valley of the Amazon.
As the flora is much the same on a similar altitude, so there is little
difference in the fauna, although some species are found in Guiana which
are unknown in the latter region. The native tribes, however--the red
men of the wilds--differ considerably. Near the supposed site of the
famed El Dorado at Pirara, situated on the borders of Brazil, some
thirty years ago, an attempt was made to carry, not the gold that
perishes, but the joyful news of salvation, to the long-benighted
Indians in that region. It was blessed, and was prospering greatly, and
gave promise of the speedy conversion of the Macusi tribe and others,
when some Brazilian Roman Catholic priests, hearing of it, determined on
its destruction, and induced their government to claim the region as
Brazilian territory. A detachment of militia was despatched, and took
possession of the village. The Indians, fearing lest the Brazilians
might conduct them into slavery, dispersed into the forests and
mountains, while the missionary with difficulty escaped with his life.
The distance to be traversed from the British capital of George Town to
Pirara is about three hundred miles; and though the scenery is of that
enchanting character which, as the enthusiastic Waterton describes it,
made his soul overflow with joy, and roam in fancy through fairyland,
yet, as it is through an almost uninhabited country, with numerous
rapids and torrents, woods to be traversed, and mountains to be climbed,
the difficulties are not contemptible.
"To surmount these obstacles to navigation," say Mr Brett, "it is
necessary in some places to carry or haul the canoe overland at the
sides of the fall. At others, advantage is taken of the eddies which
are found at the base, and huge rocks that intercept the stream. The
Indians pass from rock to rock by leaping, wading, or swimming, and, by
means of a hawser, haul the boat through the rushing water from one
resting-point to another, the steersman keeping his seat, and--sometimes
lashed to it--striving with his large paddle to guide in some degree her
course. The roar of the water dashing and foaming against the
surrounding rocks renders this operation as exciting as it is difficult.
Still more exciting and difficult is the task of descending these
rapids. The safety of all then depends on their perfect steadiness, and
on the bowman and steersman acting in concert, and with instant
decision. The canoe is kept in the very centre of the current, one of
her best hands kneeling with quick eye and ready paddles in the bow, and
the rest of the crew exerting their strength to give her headway.
Darting swiftly along, she arrives at the head of the fall, and bounding
downward, shoots into the surf below it, dashing it up on either side,
and leaving her crew alone visible. If all be well, rising above the
foam, she obeys the guiding paddles in stem and stern, and dances over
the tumbling waves, while her excited crew exult at their success.
Whole families, however, even of Indians, are sometimes drowned; and in
1805 Captain Beresford, son-in-law of the governor, and four other
gentlemen, with two of their crew, lost their lives in shooting the
lower falls of the Masaruni."
THE BERBICE RIVER.
On the Berbice, which falls into the Atlantic about sixty miles eastward
of George Town, the falls and rapids--which do not, however, reach to
within one hundred and sixty miles of its mouth--are very numerous.
While the scenery round them is highly picturesque, they are extremely
dangerous. Here is found the cascade of Idurewadde; and higher up, the
cataract of Itabru. Above these again are more than forty falls and
rapids, called by Schombergh the Christmas Cataracts, and which cost him
and his companions immense labour to surmount. On their return, one of
the party, rashly standing on the thwarts of the canoe while shooting
the falls, upset it and was drowned.
Huge caymans abound in the river, and lie like logs of wood at the foot
of the cataracts or rapids, watching stealthily to catch and swallow
whatever the fierce current may bring down to them.
Above these falls is a lagoon, on which he discovered the now far-famed
Victoria Regia, before that time unknown to the world. At the head of
the Masaruni rises Mount Roraima, 7540 feet in height. It is the
principal watershed, from which various streams flow in different
directions into the three great rivers--Amazon, Orinoco, and Essequibo.
Hillhouse and Schombergh describe the side of the mountain as composed
of cliffs, fifteen hundred feet in height, of compact sandstone, as
perpendicular as if erected with the plumb-line, and overhung in part
with low shrubs. Though distant, they appear as if in dangerous
proximity. Around are detached masses, apparently torn from those
gigantic walls of nature; and every moment it seems as if one of them
would block up the path, or cut off all retreat. In places the channel
of the stream is so narrow that the canoe can hardly pass, in others it
widens out into a shallow claret-coloured lake. At length a capacious
basin is entered, black as ink, surrounded by a bold and extensive shore
as white as chalk. The roar of the water is heard, but no current
perceived; though there is a foam-like yeast on the surface, which
remains all day without visible alteration. At length, in the distance,
a broken white line is seen struggling through a cluster of granite
rocks at the base of two quartz cliffs of a mixed character. This is
the fall of Macrebah.
THE ARECUNA INDIANS.
In those mountain regions dwell the Arecunas, a fine sturdy race--with
clear copper-tinted skins--unencumbered by clothing, though wearing
feathers and other ornaments; long sticks through the cartilage of their
nostrils, and still longer, richly adorned with tufts of black feathers,
through their ears. Both sexes are much tattooed; some of the women
having dark blue lines across the upper lip, and extending in wavy
curves over each cheek, looking like enormous curled moustaches. Others
have a broad line round the mouth, which gives it the appearance of
being far larger than it is in reality. The men wear the heads of
humming-birds and of a bird of a beautiful blue colour in their ears;
and round their waist, girdles of monkey's hair.
Schombergh, who visited them, says they made a great feast in his
honour, when there was a grand display of gorgeous plumes, and
head-dresses,--the whole winged tribe having apparently been put in
requisition to furnish forth the most brilliant of their feathers. They
had also necklaces of the teeth of monkeys and peccaries, and
porcupines' quills; to which were attached long cotton fringes--which
hung down their backs, and to which toucan and other skins were
suspended securely. Feasting and dancing, kept up by the natives thus
dressed, lasted the whole night; and the constantly-repeated burden of
their song was--"Roraima of the red rock, wrapped in clouds, the
ever-fertile source of streams."
THE CORENTYN RIVER.
Eastward of the Berbice, and greatly inferior in size to the Essequibo,
is the Corentyn, which has its source near the equator, and forms the
boundary of the British colony. A few Indians of various tribes dwell
on its banks near the mouth, but above their last settlement desolation
reigns supreme.
On the rocks near its banks may be seen a few rude carvings, the
handiwork of a race long passed away. Day after day the voyager on its
waters passes amid the wildest and most romantic scenery,--amid numerous
islands, rocks, and rapids; but no human beings are seen--not a light
canoe on its waters, not an habitation on its banks. At length, after a
nine days' voyage, enormous rocks appear heaped together, opposing
progress; vast chasms yawn beneath his feet when he lands, and at
certain places the streams sink into the earth as if by magic, to
reappear where least expected. A thundering noise is heard, and a mist
hovers in the air, in which thousands of birds disport themselves,--
marking the position of the great cataracts of the Corentyn. The scene,
however, is too vast to be beheld in its full grandeur from any single
point of view. No waterfall in the territory surpasses them in
grandeur.
The fierce Caribs, in the days of their power, inhabited the banks of
the river, engaged in carrying into slavery the people of other tribes
from far and near; but they, and those they oppressed, have passed
away--a few families only of their descendants remaining here and
there--the one to boast of the prowess of their ancestors, the other to
tell the tale of their woes.
THE DEMERARA RIVER.
High up the River Demerara--on which George Town, the capital of the
colony, is built--where the river forces its way through the dense
forest, is a fall of great picturesque beauty. Here, says Mr Brett,
the cataract precipitates itself in one body over the rocky barrier; and
huge masses of rock, crowned with stately trees, divide it into channels
ere it reaches its lower bed. Of these channels, there are two large
ones in the centre, with smaller ones on either side. All are filled
with great boulders, over which the dark waters toss and dash until they
roll into the wide basin below, covering its surface and margin with
masses of yeasty foam. The length of the fall appears to be three or
four hundred feet, though the perpendicular difference between the
levels of the river above and below is sixty-five feet. Three-fourths
of this cataract is hid from view by the luxuriant forest which clothes
its sides and covers its islands. The misty spray--rising, when the
river is full, from the channels between the tall trees--the rushing
noise, and a glimpse of the torrent here and there, show imperfectly its
divided course. Could a clear view be obtained of it, it would be found
to contain a spectacle full of beauty and interest.
Between that point and the Essequibo, with which the Demerara runs
parallel, is a remarkable--almost perpendicular--rock called Maboora,
the uppermost of a succession of natural terraces. The ascent to the
summit from the forest below occupies some hours. From hence the broad
Essequibo can be seen flowing, partly hidden by the range of hills. Its
face is broken up by the rains of ages into huge boulders, but the top
is level. In its western base is a large cavern, having an inner
chamber with a narrow entrance. Here the beautiful cock of the rocks,
adorned with golden orange tints and double fan-like crest, makes his
abode. The nests of these brilliant birds are at some distance from the
sandy floor, and attached to the rocky sides.
NATIVE TRIBES.
But we must pass from the scenery of this region of cataracts and
forests, to take another glance at the wild tribes who inhabit it. The
most numerous and ferocious at one time, by far, were the cannibal
Caribs; who for ages had inhabited the country, and were joined by their
brethren, driven by the Spaniards from the islands they had long
occupied. Whether the whole race had originally come from the north,
scattering their bands and taking possession of the islands they passed,
seems uncertain.
When Columbus discovered the islands, to which he gave the name of the
people, he had full evidence of their courage, ferocity, and cannibal
propensities. At the same time, they paid great attention to
agriculture, and brought home seeds and plants from the territories they
overran. They were in the habit of attacking; other islands and the
mainland, and carrying off the women as slaves; making prisoners of the
men, to be killed and eaten. Their arms were clubs, and bows and
poisoned arrows. Even the women were expert archers, and when their
husbands were away remained to defend their homes. The hair of these
savages was coarse and long--their eyes, surrounded with paint, giving
them a hideous expression; while their limbs were bound with bands of
cotton, causing them to swell out into disproportionate size where
unconfined. When attacked by the Spaniards, the men refused to be taken
alive, and the women defended themselves with the fiercest courage after
the death of their husbands.
In the British island of Saint Vincent several bands remained, who
devastated the plantations, and committed many atrocities,--especially
in the revolutionary war, when they were stirred up by the French. They
were removed by the British Government to the island of Ruatan, in the
Bay of Honduras, whence they emigrated to the neighbouring coast.
Meantime, they were extending their power on the Southern Continent, and
became the dominant race on the Orinoco and Essequibo, their excursions
reaching even to the provinces watered by the Amazon. Wherever they
appeared, the other tribes were driven for refuge to the mountains and
forests. They even ventured to attack the white settlers, and
endeavoured to drive out the Spaniards from the city of Valencia when
first established.
They incessantly attacked the natives on the banks of the Orinoco,
sometimes ascending that river in numerous canoes; at other times
crossing the highlands, and descending one or other of its tributaries,
they would come suddenly on their foes, never failing to exterminate all
who were their inferiors in power. They were, however, often fiercely
opposed by some other tribes, and vast numbers cut off. During the
fearful revolt of the negroes in the Dutch provinces, several tribes of
them were engaged by the Dutch Government to assist the whites. Making
their way through the forest, and concealing themselves by day, they
would sally forth by night and attack the villages of the revolters--
setting fire to their roofs, and slaughtering the inmates, who fled from
their burning habitations.
Sir Walter Raleigh describes them as a naked people, but valiant as any
under the sky: and thus they remained, still rude and savage, till the
common fate of other tribes overtook them. Powerful as they were, these
wild hordes could only fight, overrun, oppress, and destroy; and even in
their highest prosperity they were incapable of accomplishing any great
and useful work. Up to the close of the last century they were the most
numerous, as well as the most warlike, of all the tribes.
Though their chiefs were not hereditary, if a son equalled his father in
courage and skill, he succeeded to his power. To attain that office, it
was necessary for him to be acquainted with every art and stratagem of
savage warfare, and to possess more strength and bravery than the rest
of his tribe. When a Carib aspired to be the chief, it was customary to
expose him to the biting of ants; and if he could bear the torture
without flinching, then he was considered fit for the office.
When a band determined on a predatory excursion, they would often,
unlike other tribes, attack their enemies in the daytime, paddling their
canoes against the current in order that the sound of their paddles
should be heard by their enemies, and allow them time to prepare for
battle. That they were cannibals, there appears no doubt; at least,
they feasted on their enemies taken in battle, whose flesh they tore and
devoured with the avidity of wolves. The men were put to death, while
the women and children were preserved to be sold into slavery.
Scattered tribes still exist in different parts of the interior. The
dress of the women is merely a narrow strip of blue cloth; and their
naked bodies are smeared with arnatto, which gives them the appearance
of bleeding from every pore. Some dot their bodies and limbs over with
blue spots. They wear round the leg, just below the knee, a tight strap
of cotton, and another above each ankle. These are bound on when a girl
is young, and hinder the growth of the parts by their compression, while
the calf, which is unconfined, appears in consequence unnaturally large.
Through the lower lip, which they perforate, they wear two or three
pins with the points outwards. Should they wish to use one of them,
they take it out, and afterwards replace it. The men secure a cloth
round the loins, often of sufficient length to form a kind of scarf; and
to prevent it trailing on the ground, throw it in a graceful way over
the shoulder, so that part of it falls on the bosom, while the end hangs
down the back. It is often ornamented with cotton tassels, and is the
most decent and serviceable, as well as the most picturesque, covering
worn by any of the native tribes. Sometimes a coronal of flowers
surrounds the head, which is usually adorned by a large daub of arnatto
on the hair above the brow; while the forehead and cheeks are painted in
various patterns with the same vermilion colour, which adds extreme
ferocity to their appearance. Some of the men also smear their bodies
with arnatto, as do the women. They are generally well-proportioned,
and more elegant in figure than the other races. The women are noted
for weaving excellent and durable hammocks of cotton--a plant which they
cultivate for that purpose.
When a chief died, his bones, after burial for some time, were cleansed
by the women, and carefully preserved in their houses. Several other
tribes follow a similar custom; allowing, however, the bones to be
deprived of flesh by the ravenous little caribes. After being carefully
dried, and tinged with red, they are placed in baskets and suspended
from the roofs of their houses. Among those who have embraced
Christianity, these and many other barbarous customs have been
abandoned.
The object of many of their raids of later years was to obtain captives
to sell to the Dutch. When slavery was abolished by the British, this
incentive to cruelty no longer existed. The fierce Caribs were,
however, very indignant at the new order of things. A Carib chief
arriving with a slave, offered him for sale to the English governor. On
the refusal of the latter to make the purchase, the savage dashed out
the brains of the slave, declaring that for the future his nation would
never give quarter--one of many instances of their fearful ferocity.
The Carib club is made of the heaviest wood to be found. It is about
eighteen inches long, flat, and square at both ends, but heavier at one
than the other. It is thinner in the middle, and wound round with
cotton thread, with a loop to secure it to the wrist. One blow from
this formidable weapon--which is called "patu"--is sufficient to scatter
the brains of the person struck. Sometimes a sharp stone is fixed in
one end to increase its weight.
THE ARAWAKS.
Differing greatly from the Caribs, the Arawaks, who live in the
neighbourhood of the British settlements, have ever been noted for their
mild and peaceable disposition. But still they have been compelled to
fight for their independence, and use bows and arrows and clubs--the
latter formidable weapon being similar to that of the Caribs. More
family affection than other tribes usually exhibit exists among them.
Husbands and wives appear faithful and attached, and live happily
together. The boys are early trained to fish and paddle their canoes;
while the girls assist their mothers, who generally have to do more work
than the men. The power of their chiefs, who were formerly called
caciques, has almost entirely ceased; indeed, their ancient manners and
customs have been greatly changed by their intercourse with the whites.
Those living still further in the country, however, practise many of
their barbarous customs.
Mr Brett describes a scene he witnessed on the Lake Wakapoa--a dance
given in honour of a deceased female, who had been buried in the house
where it took place. A broad plank lay on her grave, and on it were
placed two bundles, containing the refuse of the silk-grass, of which
whips--employed as will be described--were made. There were also two
rudely-carved birds in wood, the other figures intended to represent
infants. Two large tubs of paiwari--an intoxicating liquor--had also
been prepared.
The young men and boys, fantastically adorned, were arranged in two
parallel rows facing each other; each holding in his right hand a whip,
called the maquarri, more than three feet long, and capable of giving a
severe cut--as their bleeding legs soon amply testified. The dance in
which they were engaged takes its name from this whip. They waved them
in their hands as they danced, uttering alternate cries, resembling the
note of a bird often heard in the forests.
At some little distance from the dancers were couples of men lashing
each other on the leg. The man whose turn it was to receive the lash
stood firmly on one leg, advancing the other; while his adversary,
stooping, took deliberate aim, and, springing from the earth to add
vigour to his stroke, gave his opponent a severe cut. The latter gave
no other sign that he was hurt than a contemptuous smile, though blood
must have been drawn by the lash. After a short dance, his opponent
returned the compliment with equal force. Nothing could exceed the
good-humour with which these proceedings were carried on. One of the
men was scarcely able to walk, after the punishment; but, in general,
after a few lashes they drank paiwari, and returned to the main body of
dancers, from which fresh couples were continually falling out to test
each other's mettle.
At length, on a signal from the master of the house, the dancing ceased,
and all the men, arranging themselves in procession, went round the
building with slow and measured steps, the plank and the wooden images
being carried before them.
After this they arranged themselves near the grave, and one of them
chanted something in a low voice, to which the others answered at
intervals with four moans by way of chorus. The articles carried in
procession were then taken to a hole previously dug in the earth, and
buried there. Two or three men appointed for the purpose then drew
forth their long knives, and rushing in among the dancers, snatched the
whips from them, cut off the lash from each, and buried them with the
other articles.
THE GUARANIS.
The tribes of the Guaranis, or Waraus, who once inhabited the eastern
side of the continent, from the La Plata to the Orinoco, still exist,
sunk still lower in barbarism even than formerly. So little do they
care for clothing, that even the females wear only a small piece of the
bark of a tree, or the net-like covering of the young leaf of the
cocoa-nut or cabbage-palm; while their appearance is squalid in the
extreme. They still, however, exhibit the characteristics which
distinguished them in days of yore,--readiness to yield to
circumstances, to labour for wages, and to receive instruction from the
white man. Thus they have continued to exist whilst more warlike tribes
have been exterminated. They cultivate cassava and other vegetables.
From the former they make the intoxicating paiwari--the cause of many
savage murders among them. They depend greatly on the pith of the
mauritia, or ita, as it serves them for bread; while of other parts of
the tree they construct their dwellings.
The younger people possess good features--some of them wearing thin
pieces of silver suspended from the cartilage of the nostrils. They are
generally short, stoutly built, and capable of great exertion. They are
much sought after for labourers. They are also noted for making the
best and largest canoes in the country, and with the rudest implements.
The Spaniards are said to have employed some of their canoes which could
carry one hundred men. Those in use even at the present day are capable
of carrying fifty people.
Though scattered throughout the country, the proper territory of their
nation is on the low swampy country which borders the banks of the
Orinoco; but their lands being completely inundated by the overflowing
of the rivers for some months in each year, they construct their
dwellings above the water, among the mauritia palms, whose crowns of
fan-like leaves wave above their heads and shield them from the rays of
the burning sun. Not only does this palm afford them shelter and the
materials for constructing their habitations, but it gives them an
abundance of food for the support of life. To the upright trunks of the
trees, which they use as posts, they fix the lower beams of their
habitations, a few feet above the highest level of the water. On this
framework they lay the split trunks of smaller palms for flooring.
Above it a roof is formed, thatched with the leaves of the same tree,--
from which they also procure their chief means of subsistence. From the
upper beams the hammocks are suspended; while on the flooring a hearth
of clay is formed, on which fires are lit for cooking their food. Then
their canoes, or woibakas, as they are called, enable them to procure
food from the water, and give them the means of moving from place to
place.
No tree is more useful to the natives than the mauritia. Before
unfolding its leaves its blossoms contain a sago-like meal, which is
dried in thin, bread-like slices. The sap is converted into palm-wine.
The narrow scaled fruit, which resembles reddish pine-cones, yields
different articles of food--according to the period at which it is
gathered--whether the saccharine properties are fully matured, or
whether it is still in a farinaceous condition.
The Guaranis have of late years come under the influence of Christian
Protestant missions.
THE MACUSIS.
In the neighbourhood of the Lake Parima, the Macusis, as well as other
tribes, have their homes. The former are noted for being the
manufacturers of the celebrated wourali poison described by Waterton.
Numerous other tribes, or sections of tribes with different names, exist
in the far interior,--both westward and to the north and south. Those
inhabiting the Lower Amazon possess some degree of civilisation, and are
known under the general name of Tapuyos--from a once powerful nation of
that name, existing towards the southern part of the Brazilian coast,
and driven northward by still fiercer hordes.
Though less cruel, and frequently sparing the lives of their captives,
they had the strange custom of eating a portion of their dead relatives,
as the last mark of affection. Many of the Brazilian tribes were
reclaimed from their more barbarous practices by the Portuguese
missionaries, who from their numerous dialects formed the language now
generally in use--the Tupi, Guarani, or lingua Geral. The remoter
tribes, however, seeing the way the milder races have been oppressed by
unscrupulous traders, and hunted down by government officials to be
taken as soldiers, resolutely defend their territories from all
strangers, and retain the ferocity and cannibalism of their forefathers.
THE ACAWOIOS.
It is pleasing to read of a tribe described by McClintock as superior in
domestic virtues to most of their countrymen. The Acawoios, or Kaphons,
though warlike, differ from other tribes in many points. Polygamy is
not permitted before a suitable age. The women are virtuous, and
attentive both in sickness and old age. After a birth, the mother is
relieved even from the labour of preparing food for her husband, that
she may attend to her child. They are cleanly, hospitable, and
generous, and passionately fond of their children. They seldom talk
above a whisper among themselves, and however intoxicated--which they
sometimes become--never quarrel; nay, more, an angry look is never
discernible. They use tobacco; not chewing it, however, but simply
keeping it between the lips, for the purpose of appeasing hunger and
preserving their teeth. They live towards the head-waters of the
Essequibo. On the whole, a more orderly and peaceably-disposed people
can scarcely be found anywhere.
The customs of the fierce tribes, though differing in some respects,
agree in many others. They are in general indolent, and find clothing
unnecessary; they have little to provide beyond their daily food, and
thus spend much of their time in their hammocks, leaving the women to
labour in the plantations and attend to their domestic concerns. They
are, perhaps, more apathetic in manner than reality, having great
control over their feelings. Like the whole race, their senses are
extremely acute, and kept in constant exercise by following game or
tracking an enemy through the forest. They are keen observers of
natural objects, and have a considerable knowledge of medicinal and
poisonous plants, as well as of the habits of the animals, birds,
reptiles, and insects which inhabit their country. They observe the
virtue of hospitality, and are fond of paying visits to their friends at
a distance--expecting to be treated in the same way. Theft is unusual
among them; and so great is their love of liberty that they can seldom
be induced to follow the customs of civilised life.
Drunkenness drives them often to fearful excesses--most of their
quarrels springing from that cause. Their dances, though in a certain
degree graceful, consist chiefly in stamping on the ground, balancing on
one foot, and staggering in different attitudes as if intoxicated--the
music being generally monotonous and dismal. Mr Brett describes a
curious trial of strength which the Guaranis exercise at their drinking
bouts. Each of the antagonists is furnished with a shield made of
strips of the mauritia, cut into equal lengths, and firmly lashed across
a frame three or four feet in height, but somewhat less in width, and
slightly bending downwards. The front of each shield is painted in
various colours with some peculiar device, while fastened to the upper
edge are elastic stems adorned with coloured tassels and streamers.
Each champion grasps the edges of his shield firmly with both hands,
and, after various feints and grimaces to throw his opponent off his
guard, a clash is heard as one springs forward and his shield strikes
that of his antagonist. The contest is generally one of mere strength,
the shield being pushed forward by the whole force of the body and
supported by one knee, while the other leg is extended firmly behind.
Sometimes one of the players is able to push the other off the ground,
or, by a dexterous slip and thrust on the flank, sends him rolling on
the sand; but more frequently they remain pressing, panting, and
struggling until exhausted, when the contest ceases by mutual consent.
It is then a point of etiquette to shake the shields at each other in a
jeering manner--with a tremulous motion of their elastic ornaments--and
to utter a defiant sound like the whinnying of a young horse. This is
generally followed by a hearty, good-natured laugh, in which the
bystanders join. Another couple then step forward and engage.
Polygamy exists among most of the tribes, and is the great bane of
Indian domestic life. Among the Caribs, especially, the woman is always
in bondage to her male relations. To her father, brother, or husband
she is a slave, and seldom has any power in the disposal of herself.
Among the Macusis, the custom of selling even their near relations
prevails. When a man dies, his wife and children are at the disposal of
his eldest surviving brother, who may sell or kill them at pleasure.
Among their worst features is their proneness to blood revenge, by
which, as among other savages, a succession of retaliatory murders is
long kept up. They believe also, when a person dies, that his death is
caused by the agency of an evil spirit secured by some enemy; and,
having settled who that person is, will follow his steps till they find
an opportunity of assassinating him. They are acquainted with several
poisonous plants, to which they sometimes resort to destroy those whom
they consider their enemies.
Although the savage Indian has some idea of the power of God, which he
deduces from the phenomena of nature--such as thunder and lightning--and
believes in his goodness in supplying him with cassava and other
provisions, yet his whole worship is devoted to propitiate the malignant
spirits, to avert evil which might otherwise overtake him; while he has
great faith in the power of the native sorcerers, who practise on his
credulity. The Guaranis are the most renowned as sorcerers. The huts
which are set apart for the performance of their superstitious rites are
regarded with great veneration. They believe in various spirits--some
of the forests and others of the water--as also in the power of charms
and potions; while they have numerous legends by which they account for
the creation of the world, the deluge, and many natural objects--some of
them apparently derived from the Peruvians and Mexicans, and other more
civilised races.
The languages spoken by different tribes are very dissimilar, many
common objects being called by names which have no approach to each
other in sound. This, however, rather proves the length of time they
have existed in the country, their isolation from each other, and the
admixture which has from time to time taken place, than that they sprang
originally from different stocks. The Guarani appears to be the
simplest and most easily acquired of any of the languages, and is still
spoken as far south as the La Plata, as well as on the banks of the
Orinoco. The Arawak language is remarkable for its softness. The Carib
tongue, somewhat more guttural than the former, is spoken in a smart,
vivacious manner. "Those who speak it in its purity, regard as corrupt
the language of those Caribs who elsewhere have intermarried with other
races," observes Mr Brett. It may easily be understood how an
unwritten tongue can, in the course of ages, be thus totally changed, so
as to bear no resemblance to the original language. Although in some
there is a wide distinction, there are others in which all the Indian
dialects seem to agree. In their method of numeration, especially, the
first four numbers are represented by simple words. Although the Indian
children learn to read and write with facility, they acquire with
difficulty the simplest rudiments of arithmetic. This arises from their
general method of numeration--five is represented by one hand; two
hands, ten; then they use the toes, and call twenty by the name of
"loko," or man. They then proceed by men or scores. Thus forty-five is
laboriously expressed by a word signifying two men and one hand upon it.
Some of the Indian words are of great length. Among the Arawaks, such
words as _lokoborokwatoasia_ (his thought, or remembrance),
_rabuintimen-rutibanano_ (eighteen), are continually used.
"Notwithstanding these," says Monsieur du Ponceau, "the Indian languages
are rich in words and grammatical forms, and in their complicated
construction the greatest order, method, and regularity prevail."
MOUNDS FULL OF HUMAN REMAINS.
Undoubted proof has been discovered of the cannibal propensities of some
large tribe now passed away, in mounds situated on high ground, and in
swamps in the neighbourhood of the coast. On opening one of them--
upwards of 20 feet in height and 130 in diameter at its base--it was
found to be composed of shells mixed with a large number of broken
bones, apparently the relics of meals. The shells were chiefly
periwinkles; there were also mussels, the large claws of crabs, the
bones of vertebrate fishes and land animals, as well as some hard slabs
of pottery resembling the baking-pans used by the wilder tribes at the
present day. Among them, the labourers were startled by coming upon
human bones, in irregular positions and at unequal depths, huddled and
jumbled together. The skulls, some of which were of great thickness,
were in fragments. The long bones had all been cracked open, and
contained sand and dust. Each mass appeared to have been deposited,
without ceremony, in a common heap. Scarcely any were found in natural
juxtaposition. Having dug up the bones of several adults, the labourers
came upon the remains of a little child; one side of its head had been
beaten in, and other bones broken open. With these human relics several
stone axes or tomahawks, most of them broken, were dug up; and a
sharp-edged stone, which might have been used as a knife. The Indians
engaged in the work were very uneasy at having meddled with the human
remains, or, as they said, "troubled the bones of the old time people."
Other mounds of similar appearance were opened, and found filled with
similar contents. Though some of the long bones had been broken up, in
several instances they had not been severed from each other at the large
joints, but merely doubled or twisted one upon the other before they
were cast aside.
Mr Brett continues: "It was impossible to explain by any supposition of
respectful or decent interment the broken condition of these relics, the
violence with which they had been treated, or the apparent contumely
with which they had been cast into the common receptacle for refuse
matter. The great depth at which many of these remains were found,
seemed a convincing proof that they had not been deposited after the
completion of the shell heap, but during its accumulation. An old
Indian with whom I discussed the matter expressed the opinion of his
people very plainly: `That,' said he, `is the way in which the nations
who used to eat men always broke open the bones to get out the marrow;
so our fathers have told us.'" The Caribs anxiously stated that they
knew nothing whatever about the mound, and that their fathers had never
lived in its neighbourhood. Two other mounds were afterwards
discovered; one 250 feet in length and 90 feet in width, and about the
same height as the former, and similarly situated. Among the remains
were the bones of a man who must have been of large stature and of
immense strength. His skull, which was very thick and hard, was found
to have been broken in twenty-seven pieces, which all fitted exactly;
but when built up, a hole still remained in the right side near the
crown, where it would seem the fatal blow--by a pointed stone tomahawk--
had been given. Some of the mounds appeared to be of later formation,
and in them fragments of pottery were found, though in the older ones
none were discovered. While searching over these fragments, the first
personal ornaments yet found were discovered,--two small plates of
silver with holes bored in them, by which they must have been suspended
from the ears. One had lost a corner; but they had originally been cut
or broken to the same size and form, and were evidently a pair. Between
them lay a skull, which had been placed by itself, and was the first
found unbroken. The ornaments, from their position, seemed to have been
detached from the head when deposited there. A few feet from that relic
lay the limbs of a female, of slight and delicate form. They were
unbroken, and much slighter than any others found there. Between the
plates was the fragment of a piece of cotton cord which had attached one
of the plates to the ear.
While everything about the relics from the previous mounds indicated the
savage condition of the people who formed them, these little silver
trinkets, though rude, proved feelings approaching women in a state of
civilisation. They, with the unbroken condition and comparative
soundness of the bones found near them, bring us nearer our own times.
As the state of the remains differed from those of the others, so
probably did the period and circumstances of the poor girl's fate; but
there is a mystery about it which cannot now be explained. After the
mound had been opened, the Indian congregation, neatly dressed, went in
procession, with their pastor and teacher, from the chapel to the mound,
and collecting round and over it, the various tribes joined in singing
the glorious hymn--
"Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
Doth his successive journey run!"
while the lamb, the dove, and other Christian emblems on the banners
borne by the school children, waved over the yawning cavity which had
disclosed such relics of barbarous days, indicated a blessed change in
the life of that long neglected race. May it be extended over the whole
continent!
VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS.
The trees and animals of Guiana afford a more satisfactory subject for
contemplation than the degraded inhabitants. Among them, sin has not
entered. They remain in all their perfection and beauty, as they first
appeared fresh from the hands of the Creator. A large number are so
similar to those found in the Valley of the Amazon, that they need no
separate description. In the upper waters of its streams the
magnificent Victoria Regia, so long unknown to the eyes of civilised
man, was discovered by Schombergh not forty years ago.
Here, too, grows the spotted coryanthes, of the order of the Orchideae--
Coryanthes maculata--hanging from the branches of trees, and suspending
in the air the singular lips of its flowers, like fairy buckets, as if
for the use of the birds and insects that inhabit the surrounding
foliage. In the whole vegetable kingdom a more singular genus than this
does not exist, nor one whose flowers are less like flowers to the eye
of the ordinary observer. The sepals are of the most delicate texture.
When young they spread evenly round the centre, but after a few hours
they collapse and assume the appearance of a bat's wing half closed.
The lip is furnished near its base with a yellow cup, over which hang
two horns constantly distilling water into it, and in such abundance as
to fill it several times. This cup communicates by a narrow channel,
formed of the inflated margin of the lip, with the upper end of the
latter; and this also has a capacious vessel, very much like an old
helmet, into which the liquid that the cup cannot contain runs over.
The cockarito-palm--as it is familiarly called here--grows to the height
of fifty feet, and produces the most delicate cabbage of the palm
species. It is enclosed in a husk in the very heart of the tree, at its
summit. This husk is peeled off in strata until the white cabbage
appears in long thin flakes--in taste like the kernel of a nut. The
inner part is often used as a salad, while the outer is boiled, and
considered superior to the European cabbage. Within such cabbages as
are in a state of decay, a maggot is found--the larva of a black beetle
(urculio), which, growing to the length of four inches, and as thick as
a man's thumb, is called "grogro." This creature, disgusting as it is
in appearance, when dressed is considered a great delicacy--partaking of
the flavour of all the spices of the East.
A curious shrub--if it can be so called--known as the troolies, consists
of large leaves twenty feet long and two broad, of a strong texture, and
straight fibres growing from a small fibrous root; the leaves rising
from the ends of the eight or ten stems which it puts forth. These
leaves are employed chiefly for covering the roofs of buildings.
From the silk-cotton-tree, which grows to the height of one hundred
feet, and is twelve or fourteen in diameter, the Indians form their
largest canoes. The locust-tree grows to the height of seventy feet,
and is often nine feet in diameter. The branches, which only begin to
spread in the higher part of the tree, are covered with leaves about
three inches in length, and of an oval shape and dark green colour. The
blossoms, of the papilionaceous or butterfly form, produce a flat pod,
shaped like the husk of a broad bean, about four inches long, and of a
dark brown colour. When ripe, each pod contains three beans of the same
colour, of a farinaceous consistency, and with a pleasant sweetness.
The silk-grass shrub produces a leaf, the inner substance of which
consists of a number of small strong white fibres running
longitudinally. These the Indians extract by means of a small loop of
cord, through which the leaf is drawn with a jerking motion. They are
then ready for drying and twisting into cord. They make bow-strings of
great elasticity and strength.
PART FOUR, CHAPTER THREE.
CENTRAL BRAZIL.
The centre of Brazil is occupied by a high tableland, crossed by a
series of serras, mostly running north and south. The most eastern,--
the Serra de Espinhaco,--rises about one hundred miles from the coast,
and the table-land extends from it westward for upwards of six hundred
miles. Numerous peaks besides the serras rise amidst it, few of them
reaching a greater elevation than one thousand feet above its surface.
It is mostly clothed with coarse grass and bushes, and single-standing
trees, which in summer shed their leaves, when, the grass being burned
up by the sun, the region has a desert and barren appearance. Here and
there the plain as well as the hills are covered with sand, and at
others with bare rocks.
Still more desert regions exist, which may vie with those of Africa in
barrenness. Almost in the very centre of the continent is a sandy
desert, called the Campos dos Paricis. Here the surface is formed by
long-backed ridges of sandy hills parallel to one another. So loose is
the soil, that even the patient mule with a burden on his back can
hardly make his way across it.
Between the western end of this table-land and the Andes of Bolivia is a
wide plain from one thousand to fifteen hundred feet in height, with
here and there a few hills rising above it. It is mostly covered by
dense forests; but occasionally there are barren districts, in which
only a stunted vegetation appears. This plain is traversed by several
tributaries of the great River Madeira, which falls into the Amazon. In
this wide-extending table-land, and among the serras amidst it, rise
innumerable streams, which flow into the Amazon on the north and the La
Plata on the south--many of them, as they plunge into the plain, forming
foaming torrents and magnificent cataracts. The vegetation of these
highlands offers a great contrast to the dense forest of the great
valley and the seaboard.
The cerrados, as they are called, or scrub--consisting chiefly of
acacias and leguminosae--reach to the height of ten or twenty feet.
Numerous other shrubs and smaller plants, many of which are medicinal,
cover the ground, and send forth a delicious perfume into the pure air.
The tussock, in thick clumps, is also seen growing in various
directions; indeed, altogether, the Campo is far more completely clothed
than either the Llanos or Pampas.
Among these mountains are the celebrated diamond-mines of Brazil. Some
of the mines are reached by shafts of great depth, sunk into the earth,
whence galleries are run along the veins, somewhat in the mode of
gold-mines. Gold is also obtained, by washing in the streams. The
diamonds are procured in the same manner. The strictest watch is kept
over the slaves employed in searching for diamonds, to prevent them from
secreting the precious stones, and for this purpose numerous overseers
are required.
The operations are simple. The loose stones at the bottom of the stream
are first raked up into baskets, and then carefully washed, under the
inspection of the overseers.
In one district it is calculated that, from 1730 to 1830, diamonds worth
upwards of three millions sterling were collected; and in that of
Abaete, in 1791, a diamond weighing 1382 carats--the largest in the
world--was discovered.
Possibly, however, if the labour which is bestowed on mining were
employed in cultivating the ground, it would be productive of greater
profit to the country.
PART FIVE, CHAPTER ONE.
SOUTHERN REGIONS OF SOUTH AMERICA.
GEOGRAPHY AND NATIVE TRIBES.
The vast territory south of the Brazils is watered by a wide-extending
branch-work of mighty streams, having as their main trunk the Rio de la
Plata at their southern end. To the east is the River Uruguay, running
almost parallel with the Atlantic coast. Close to its mouth the far
more important Parana, rising in the mountains of the Brazils, near the
sources of the Tocantins, falls into the La Plata. While the Tocantins
flows north till it reaches the Amazon, the Parana takes a more or less
southerly course for many hundreds of miles, till it turns due west for
nearly two hundred, and then once more runs south and east till it
enters the main trunk. At its extreme western point it is joined by the
River Paraguay, which, from its source in the diamond district of the
Brazils, has an almost southerly course, receiving on its way numerous
large tributaries. One of the most important of these is the Vermejo,
which, rising in the Andes, near the source of the Amazon, affords a
water communication between Bolivia across the whole continent to the
Atlantic. These rivers form the boundaries of several states.
Directly south of the Brazils, between Parana on the east and Paraguay
on the west, is the republic of Paraguay, lately ruled over by the two
savage dictators, Francia and Lopez. It is a thickly-wooded region,
with numerous streams running through it, and a lofty range--the
Cordillera de Caaguazu--at the northern end. The inhabitants are mostly
a mixed race of Spaniards and Indians. To the west of the Paraguay
river is a wide-extended level region, bounded on the north by Bolivia,
and interspersed with lakes and marshes known as the Gran Chaco, and
inhabited by tribes of still savage Indians.
The southern boundary of Paraguay is the River Parana, where it runs
east and west. To the south of it is the state of Corrientes, a woody
but level region between the two rivers, Uruguay and Parana. Further
south is the state of Entre Rios; while, to the west, are a collection
of confederated towns and villages scattered widely over the Pampas,
known as part of the Argentine Confederation; to which the two
last-mentioned, as well as Buenos Ayres, to the south of the La Plata,
belong.
East of the Uruguay, between it and the Atlantic, is the republic of
Uruguay. Through the southern portion of the Argentine Republic flow
the rivers Colorado, Negro, and Chupat. On the banks of the latter a
Welsh colony has been established; while in various parts of the
republic numerous other settlements have been formed by Europeans. The
level Pampas--inhabited by those bold and daring riders, the Gauchos,
and still wilder tribes of Indians--extending to the base of the Andes,
from its peculiar and interesting character demands a separate
description.
THE PAMPERO.
The pampero, dreaded on shore as well as at sea, blows with tremendous
force across this region.
There is not a cloud in the sky. The night may be perfectly calm.
Mosquitoes in vast numbers are busy with their sharp stings. Suddenly a
rustling in the woods may be heard afar off. The noise increases into a
dull roar. Clouds appear above the horizon. Still all is calm. The
mosquitoes vanish. The dogs are howling in anticipation of danger. As
if by magic, dark masses of clouds cover the heavens like a curtain.
They are rent asunder, thunder roars, lightning flashes, and the wind,
like an army of wild beasts, rushes on. Down comes the rain in
torrents, beating furiously against the hapless traveller exposed to its
fury, or on the deck of the ship. Flash succeeds flash; the lightning
in forked streaks darting through the air. In an hour, perhaps, the
heaviest part of the storm may be over, but still the wind blows
furiously; till at length it ceases, the clouds disappear, and the air
becomes delightfully fresh and cool.
The craft on the rivers are, however, often caught in these pamperos,
and driven into the bush, or upset, when the swift current carries down
the best of swimmers to a watery grave.
Houses, also, are frequently unroofed, orange groves stripped of their
golden fruit, and trees uprooted and hurled to the ground.
NATIVES OF LA PLATA AND ITS TRIBUTARIES--THE PAMPAS AND PATAGONIA.
When the Spaniards first arrived in that sea-like river, with shallow
shores--the mighty Parana, to which Sebastian Cabot afterwards gave the
name of La Plata--they encountered a fierce tribe (the Charranas)
inhabiting its shores. The natives endeavoured to repel the invaders by
a system of warfare which the latter, though they describe it as of the
most treacherous character, were not slow to imitate. Step by step,
however, the Spaniards fought their way; though sometimes defeated and
compelled to retreat, they again returned, establishing forts and towns
on the banks of the river, till they finally obtained a firm footing in
the land. They hesitated at no act, however atrocious, to secure their
conquests by the destruction of their foes.
On one occasion being warned that a tribe--the Guaycaruses--with whom
they had formed a treaty of peace, had laid a plot to cut them off, they
formed a counterplot, far surpassing in treachery that of the savages.
The Spanish Lieutenant-Governor, pretending that he had been smitten
with the charms of the daughter of their principal cacique, offered her
his hand in marriage. The proposal was accepted by the delighted
Indians, who, with their chiefs and a large number of people, were
invited into the town to attend the ceremony. Meantime soldiers were
concealed in the houses to which the chiefs were conducted, and orders
were given to supply them amply with intoxicating liquors. While they
were thus deprived of their senses, soldiers were sent across the river
to destroy the remainder of the tribe who had not come to the wedding.
At a given signal the native village was attacked, and every inhabitant
slaughtered; while the hosts of those in the town killed more than three
hundred of their helpless guests.
The invaders were creating a fearful heritage for their descendants by
intermarrying with the native women. From these marriages have sprung
the race which now occupies, in vast numbers, a large portion of that
magnificent territory, and who, by their low moral condition, their
ignorance, and instability of character, have been the chief cause of
the melancholy wars which have so long saturated its plains with blood.
The Jesuits, by the missions they formed in various parts of the
country, introduced a superficial civilisation among some of the tribes;
but their system failing, as it ever has done, to raise the moral
character of the people, and fit them for independent thought and
self-government, has left them as ignorant and superstitious, and
scarcely less savage, than before. Thus they have become the facile
tools of every leader who, by greater audacity, craft, or determination,
has risen to authority among them.
THE GUARANIS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.
The Guaranis were the principal nation dwelling on the eastern portion
of South America. They were probably the same race as the Quichuas, who
inhabited the western shores, and a large portion of the Andes, under
the rule of the Incas. The two languages are still spoken in various
parts of the country. The Guaranis were superior in civilisation to
numerous other intervening and more isolated tribes, who had sunk by
degrees into greater barbarism. Like the Quichuas, they were
agriculturalists--cultivating mandioca, maize, calabashes, and potatoes.
They fed on honey and wild fruit; and hunted birds, monkeys, and other
animals, and caught fish with their bows and arrows. They had also
canoes; and had a better established system of government than their
neighbours. Yet they were among the first to bow their necks to the
yoke of their invaders; while other tribes, who, though less numerous,
fiercely opposed the Spaniards, were swept away from the face of the
earth.
The descendants of the Guaranis exist--some in a semi-civilised
condition, others as barbarous as of yore--in several parts of the
continent; but a large portion became amalgamated with the invaders, and
their language is still spoken throughout Paraguay and the neighbouring
provinces by the mixed race who have descended from them. The
Charruas--the first tribe with whom the Spaniards came in contact--were
barbarous in the extreme. Their arms were lances and arrows, and they
were noted for their expertness in tracking their enemies. They could
bear an almost incredible amount of fatigue, and could subsist for
several days without food or water. They wore their hair long,--the
women allowing theirs to flow down the back, while the young men
gathered up their locks in bunches, and ornamented them with white
feathers. They ate every description of food, even to snakes and
insects, and were especially fond of the parasites of the human body.
They tattooed their faces and limbs; and soon after a boy was born a
hole was made in his lower lip, when a piece of wood was introduced like
a nail, the head being in his mouth, while another stick was fastened to
it outside.
They lived in tree-formed huts, which they entered on all-fours; and
wore no clothes, except in cold weather, when they covered the chest
with a piece of skin. They never washed, huddling together in their
dirty toldas or huts. They subsisted entirely on the produce of the
chase; polygamy was general; their children were not taught to obey
their parents, while they appear to have been destitute of all family
affection. Their beverage, called chicha--a name common throughout
South America--was prepared from honey and water. Although, during
lifetime, relations exhibited no affection towards each other, at the
death of one of them the survivors underwent many cruel funeral
ceremonies. They ultimately assisted the Spaniards in the extermination
of several of the neighbouring tribes, but were eventually either
destroyed, or brought completely under subjection.
THE QUERANDIS OR PEHUELCHES.
The Querandis or Pehuelches--the principal tribe of the Pampas Indians--
were, from the first, the chief opponents of the Spaniards in Buenos
Ayres. They stole their cattle, made captives of their wives and
children, and cut off the soldiers and estancieros, or cattle-farmers,
on numerous occasions. They were vain, haughty, and daring. Unlike the
Charruas, they paid great attention to their dress and appearance,
neither painting nor cutting their hair. The men wore their locks
turned up and secured at the top of the head; while the women divided
theirs in the centre, wearing them on each side in a large clump,
fastened by a ribbon, the ends falling down over each ear nearly to the
waist. They wore combs, and were in every respect cleanly. The women
also wore necklaces, with hanging ornaments. Their costume was a poncho
on festive occasions, highly ornamented; while they wore leather boots.
Although, when galloping across the Pampas, they went totally naked,
they carried their clothes with them--either to put on during cold
weather, or to appear in state when meeting Europeans. Their weapons of
war were lances and the formidable bolas,--by means of which, used as
slings, they could send stones to a great distance,--and combustible
materials, with which they set fire to the Spanish houses. Their huts
were composed of upright poles, four or five feet in height, and as many
apart, on which skins of large animals--such as the huanacus or
ostrich--were fastened, on the side from whence the cold winds blew.
These huts formed long streets; but were used only during cold or rainy
weather, as in fine weather they slept on the uncovered ground.
No sooner did the horses introduced by the Spaniards, escaping into the
wilds, increase and multiply, than the Indians learned to bestride them,
and soon exhibited an uncommon aptitude in their management. Armed with
their long lances, they would charge the Spanish troops,--each man lying
down at his horse's side, though going at full gallop, and jumping up,
turning round, or dropping down again, with wonderful rapidity. Though
even the Gauchos give their horses some preliminary training, the Pampas
Indian catches the animal with the lasso, throws it down, forces a
wooden bit, covered with a piece of hide, into its mouth, from which bit
there is a leathern cord to bind round its lower lip, and gallops off.
They are divided into many tribes, who, even a few years ago, made
frequent incursions into the provinces of Buenos Ayres, Cordova, and
others, and carried off large flocks of cattle--and many Argentines, as
captives. They were pursued to the River Colorado, however, when part
of the stolen cattle was recovered, and several captives liberated.
They are under the belief that when death does not occur, in consequence
of violence, it is owing to sorcery.
THE PAYAGUAS.
Another tribe or nation must be mentioned--the Payaguas, who inhabited
the territory of Paraguay, and from whom the district has taken its
name. They used canoes, and many of their warlike expeditions were
carried on down the river by water. The women had to perform all the
hard work, and were never allowed to eat meat. The boys and girls wore
no clothes, but the young men painted their bodies in a variety of
patterns.
The Tupis, another large tribe, appear either to have extended to the
Amazon, or to have been driven there from the south, as their language
is now spoken by the tribes on its banks.
The Toromonos were the chief tribe inhabiting the territory of Bolivia
to the north of the Gran Chaco. They lived in houses, each man building
one for himself. The men wore no clothes, but ornamented their heads
with a crown formed of feathers; whilst the women wore a small cotton
garment, only partially covering the person. They painted their faces,
and wore rings in their noses and lips. Many of their customs were
cruel and barbarous in the extreme, though they appear to have
cultivated the ground, and used ploughs and wooden implements of
agriculture. They employed bows and arrows in battle, as also for
fishing and killing game. They also showed skill in building canoes.
INDIANS OF BOLIVIA--NATIVE APOTHECARIES.
Even at the present day, as was the case in the time of the Incas, the
people of one of the tribes were distinguished for their medical
knowledge, and sent out travelling apothecaries, who collected herbs,--
traversing the whole of the continent. Markham describes meeting with a
party of them emerging from the forest,--cadaverous, miserable-looking
men, almost worn to death by fatigue and hardship. They wore their long
hair plaited and secured behind in the form of a queue. They came from
the district of Yungas, and are called Yunguenos, or Cherrihuanos.
Formerly they went on foot, but they now ride asses, on which they carry
the herbs and nuts, reputed efficacious for the cure of sickness; as
well as bundles of chinchona, coca leaf, incense, and other articles.
The Bolivian Indians were subdued only in 1843. Each village or toldera
of these tribes is governed by a cacique, generally possessing
hereditary rank; though, as in other cases, much depends upon his
physical powers and wealth. A number of wild tribes still roam over the
country between the western Argentine states and the Andes. There they
live free and independent, though barbarous. When they venture into the
neighbourhood of large towns, they soon degenerate into thieves and
drunkards. Here they come to carry on a trade in furs and panther
skins, or to collect meat at the saladeros, which they dry and carry off
with them. They make money by selling Indian ornaments, and foraging
for the settlers' cattle; or by thieving, which they look upon as an
orthodox mode of gaining a livelihood.
TRIBES OF THE GRAN CHACO.
Several tribes inhabited the Gran Chaco. The principal one--the least
sunk in barbarism--were the Guanas. They lived in towns arranged in
some symmetrical order, composed of palm-trees. Each house formed an
enclosed square composed of posts and arches. To these were fixed
horizontal beams, the whole covered with mud and straw. There was but
one door, and the structure was sufficiently large to contain a dozen
families. They had bed-places on square frames, covered over with
boards and straw and skins, while their houses were kept scrupulously
clean.
They were noted for their hospitality, and subsisted chiefly by
agriculture. They cut off the hair in the middle of the forehead; some
shaved sometimes the front half of the head, and others half-moons over
the ears. Though the marriage ceremony was simple in the extreme, a
contract as to various points was invariably entered into. The men
greatly exceeded the women in number, in consequence of the unnatural
custom prevailing among them of putting to death the female children.
Old women acted the part of doctors.
Their dead were buried outside the doors of their houses, and a
considerable time was spent in bewailing their loss. Though they fought
bravely with bows and arrows, as well as with spears or clubs, they were
of a peaceable disposition, and never made war except in self-defence.
The great ambition of a Chaco Indian is to possess a horse, saddle, and
gun. Once mounted, he soon becomes a bold rider.
Their mode of crossing a river is curious. As their canoes cannot carry
their animals over, they first drive the horse into the river up to his
shoulders in the water, then launch the canoe--after tying the animal's
head to the top of the gunwale--with the children and luggage on board.
As the horse's feet are off the ground, he cannot injure the canoe.
When travelling, however, without canoes, they form small rafts, into
which they put their children; and lance in hand, and with bow and
quiver at their backs, they bestride their steeds and tow them across, a
curious spectacle to witness.
The children go perfectly naked; indeed, so do the people generally,
except those who come into the settled districts. The women wear their
masses of black hair almost covering their heads and shoulders. They
dress in a short skirt, with a scarf over the shoulders. "The old
women," observed Captain Kennedy, "are terrible to behold, they having
all the hard work to do. They even paddle the canoes, while the men and
young women sit looking on."
Their villages consist of rows of wretched hovels. They appear to have
no superstitious ideas, but they believe in an evil spirit, against whom
they try to guard by charms and incantations. They are under a chief
cacique; and after the other chiefs in conclave have determined on war,
or rather, on a plundering expedition, and it is concluded, they
separate into their original tribes, each taking opposite directions
with their share of the plunder, to escape the risk of being captured.
A considerable portion of the almost unexplored district--the Gran
Chaco--which they inhabit is a dreary waste of lagoons and marshes,
traversed by rapid, muddy, and tortuous rivers.
JESUIT MISSIONS.
The missions established by the Jesuits show the impotence of their
system for the civilisation of the wild man. The territory where they
carried on their chief labours exists on the eastern bank of the Parana,
to the north of Uruguay and Corrientes, bordering on the Brazilian
territory. After three hundred years of labour, they left these savages
utterly incapable of self-government.
"The Indian mind, indeed," observes Captain Page--an American--"laying
aside its atrocities, has never emerged from the intellectual
development of childhood. These savages showed the imitative faculties
of the animal. When taught, they delved and ploughed, planted cotton
and sugar-cane, and executed work in carpentry and wove fabrics, and
performed other manual operations; yet their reason and intelligence has
not advanced, even _pari passu_ in any degree with the progress of
European civilisation; nor have the natures of their female population
become modified with the slightest trait of the humanities and
tendernesses which are the brightest attributes of the women of the
present century."
"Among the Jesuit missions in the Gran Chaco," observes another writer,
"are found no remaining evidence of better knowledge, than that the
Indians now prefer horse-flesh to any other kind of meat."
The same writer gives us the derivation of the names of several of the
rivers:--Parana, resembling the sea; Paraguay, from the Payaguas, a
tribe of Indians who were met with by the discoverers navigating the
river; and Uruguay, from a bird--the uru--which is found on the banks of
that stream.
LANGUAGE.
With regard to the two prevailing Indian languages spoken in the
southern part of the continent, it is remarkable that the Quichua, the
language of the Peruvians, is still used by the natives found on the
banks of the River Salado, in the province of Santiago del Estero,
though far-distant from the Andes, in the centre of the Argentine
territory; while it is not in use in the intermediate provinces. This
proves, either the distance to which the Incas extended their conquests,
or perhaps the fact that the natives of Santiago are descendants of a
Peruvian colony. The Guarani language is still spoken in Entre Rios and
Corrientes, while in the Republic of Paraguay it is more generally used
than the Spanish; indeed, paragraphs printed in it appear in one of the
papers published in that province. The Jesuits compiled a number of
grammatical and other works in the Guarani, for the purpose of teaching
the novitiates in their establishments at Paraguay.
The Guarani nation occupied the whole sea-coast, from Uruguay northwards
through Brazil, Cayenne, and even into Venezuela.
PART FIVE, CHAPTER TWO.
PARAGUAY.
THE PARANA.
After entering the Parana, the voyager sails for hundreds of miles up
the mighty stream between lofty clay-banks of a red colour; sometimes
absolutely perpendicular, and at others consisting of broken masses
covered with cacti and mimosa-trees. Here and there may be seen,
projecting from the cliffs, huge skeletons of the toxodon, megatherium,
mylodon, and other monsters which once in countless numbers inhabited
the plains of South America. Now the river expands into lake-like
proportions, its surface dotted with numerous low and wooded islands.
At intervals, towns, villages, or forts may be seen on the summits of
the cliffs, sixty feet above the water. Generally the country on the
western side is a level, treeless plain; but as the river is ascended
woods appear, which gradually become thicker, presenting, as further
progress is made, more and more a tropical character.
As Paraguay is approached, low flat banks appear, which for many a long
league are marshy and impassable. It is the district of the Esteros, as
these flooded lands are called. Beyond them, in the wet season, immense
shallow lakes are formed; but when they are dried-up in the hot weather,
a grey dusty soil, full of cracks, and covered with wiry grass and low
shrubs, is left. Nothing can be more dreary than the appearance of the
country when the river is high; the water extending far and wide beyond
its crumbling banks, with rows of melancholy palms standing as landmarks
above the flood. These districts are, however, valuable for grazing
purposes; and before the war were covered by vast herds of cattle, now
swept away. Above the Tebiquari the country is higher and more
diversified. Vast woods, increasing in breadth and density, appear,
with ranges of distant hills beyond them.
NATIVES.
It is remarkable that the Guarani language, among the peasantry, has
almost superseded that of their Spanish invaders.
The natives, with their Indian blood, have inherited small hands and
feet, and coarse black hair. The women when young, with their long
tresses of jetty blackness, are often pretty; and some, probably
descended from Biscayans, are noted for their remarkable fairness.
Rubias, they are termed, with blue eyes and auburn hair. The men wear
dresses similar to that of the Gauchos. That of the women is
picturesque: a long cotton chemise cut low at the neck, with a deep
border of embroidery; loose lace sleeves; and a skirt of muslin, or
silk, fastened round the waist by a broad sash. Very few wear shoes.
Their hair is sometimes arranged in two long plaits, or formed in a
wreath round the head, or rolled up at the back and fastened by a large
comb. They also wear massive gold chains round the neck, large
ear-rings, and numerous rings. Their great amusement, next to smoking,
is sipping the yerba or native tea.
"Yerba," says Masterman, "is the dried and powdered leaf Ilex
Paraguayensis,--a tree in size and foliage resembling the orange, with
small white, clustered flowers. It belongs to the holly family, but
contains a bitter principle similar to, if not identical with, theine,
or the alkaloid found in tea and coffee."
It is taken in a somewhat singular way. The _mate_, a gourd stained
black, holding three or four ounces of water, is nearly filled with the
coarsely-powdered yerba. The bombilla, a silver tube with a bulbous end
pierced full of fine holes, is then inserted. The gourd is filled with
boiling water, and the infusion is immediately sucked through the tube,
scalding hot.
The bombilla is for the purpose of straining the infusion--which is of a
greenish-brown--as the powder would otherwise get into the mouth. Like
tea, it is slightly stimulating and astringent.
The natives spin the indigenous cotton of the country, and weave it in a
curious way, producing the most intricate lace and needlework. The
thread they manufacture is remarkably fine and strong. Weavers travel
about the country carrying their simple looms on their shoulders, and
may be seen under an orange-tree by the roadside, the warp-roller
suspended from a bough and balanced beneath by stones, the workman
seated on a horse's skull, and producing a fabric as beautiful as it is
durable.
They also manufacture woollen ponchos and saddle-cloths, in patterns of
black and white, or of a fine blue obtained from the native indigo.
They manufacture cigars; and cultivate the sugar-cane in a rude manner,
producing from its root a vile beverage called _cana_, most injurious to
the health.
MOUNTAIN SCENERY.
In the Cordillera, where Masterman describes the scenery as most
beautiful, the cacti grow, bristling with spines, and loaded with
delicate white flowers; as also the wild pineapple, which covers the
ground,--its serrated leaves, of a bright scarlet in the centre, and
barred, all straggling from the root. Its fibre is used by the natives
for making fishing-nets and lines, and a coarse strong cloth. Paper
also has been manufactured from it; and as it can be produced in great
quantities, it may become of much commercial importance.
Game abounds throughout the territory. Herds of deer roam in the open
glades; droves of pigs are found in the forest somewhat similar to those
of England; and a bird, the ynambu guazu, as large as a pheasant; while
quails are seen in flocks in the esteros,--with snipe, wild pigeons, and
other birds.
High up the River Parana is found the magnificent waterfall, El Salto de
Guira, rivalling in splendour Niagara itself. Other fine waterfalls are
found on different rivers.
Here, too, the ant-eater reaches an enormous size. The capybara is also
found. It is obliged to triturate its food--grass, and herbaceous
plants--for a long time, in consequence of the contracted size of the
oesophagus, which will hardly admit a goose-quill, although the animal
is sometimes so large that it weighs more than two hundred pounds. Its
destiny seems to be to feed jaguars, for they live principally on the
creatures.
The chinchilla, another rodent, is very common in the fields and
esteros. There is a large heron, called in Guarani the _tuyuaju_--that
is, one which walks in the mud--nearly as tall as a man, with a bill
more than a foot in length. The puma ranges throughout the country, as
he does much further south; while the jaguar also appears amid the
forests and plains.
GREGARIOUS SPIDERS.
Among the insects, Masterman describes a gregarious spider which, when
full-grown, has a black body half an inch in length--with a row of
bright red spots on the side of the abdomen--four eyes, remarkably
strong mandibles, and stout hairless legs an inch in length. They
construct in concert huge webs, generally between two trees, ten or
twelve feet from the ground. In a garden, among trees forty feet apart,
these spiders had extended two long cables, as thick as pack-thread, to
form the margin of each web, the lower being only four feet from the
ground; and between them was a light, loose network perfectly divided
into webs, each presenting about two square feet of surface. Each of
these sub-webs was occupied by a spider from sunset to a little before
sunrise. Six nets contained two thousand of the creatures. They often
change their location; and a double stream was always passing along the
cables, apparently strengthening them as they came and went.
Sometimes three or four would be lying in wait within a few inches of
each other, the one crawling over or under the other's body without
hesitation. Soon after sunrise they left their webs, and, retreating to
the shade, formed two or three large masses as big as a hat under the
thick foliage of a jessamine-tree. There they remained motionless till
sunset, when the black lump crumbled to pieces. The process was a
curious sight to witness. Then, in a leisurely way, the spiders
scattered themselves to their aerial fishing. The air swarmed with
mosquitoes, which were caught in great numbers. Larger flies, and
especially moths, were at once pounced upon and devoured; a dozen often
feeding amicably on the body of the same insect, consuming not only the
juices, but the abdomen. When a part of the web was broken, the nearest
spider gathered up the loose threads, rolled them into a ball, and ate
it. The great difficulty seemed to be how they could convey the first
thread, often sixty or seventy feet long, from one tree to the other.
This was done by a spider from a tree to windward forming a long line,
which blew out and caught in the leaves of a neighbouring tree to
leeward. This it tightened, and then crossed hastily backwards and
forwards on the line, adding to its thickness on each journey, till it
was strong enough to support a web. The spiders thus employed were
apparently all young, for as they increased in age the ferocity of the
race appeared. There was then a sanguinary battle,--the few survivors,
probably females, devouring some of the slain to provide for a future
brood, and then dying also.
THE CHIGO, OR SAND-FLEA.
Mr Masterman makes some interesting remarks on the chigo, or sand-flea
(Pulex penetrans). It is very minute, not exceeding one twenty-fifth of
an inch in length. It burrows between the cuticle and true skin, and
there lays its eggs--producing a swelling containing a bluish white sac,
about the tenth of an inch in diameter, filled with them. This sac is
the developed abdomen of the flea. It preserves its vitality after the
death of the rest of the parent; and when that event takes place, the
eggs are mere germs, which would ordinarily perish at the same time.
Its cutting apparatus consists of two scimitar-shaped lancets, placed in
a common sheath, with which it slices out a place beneath the skin,
large enough to bury it entirely, anchors itself firmly with its hooked
proboscis, and in a day or two dies. The abdominal section, however,
still lives, absorbing nutritive material through its walls, and growing
rapidly at the expense of the serum poured out by the irritated skin
into which it is inserted. It increases in thickness as well as in
diameter, and the eggs which now fill it grow also,--when mature, each
being half as large as a perfect flea. Thus it is seen why the
sand-flea cannot deposit its eggs as do the rest of the family.
Probably it has no more food than it carries away within itself on
quitting the egg, and therefore cannot provide the material for its
greater development. Not only men and children, but dogs, suffer
greatly from them--the latter almost tearing their feet to pieces in
biting them out, and often getting them in their lips and outer
nostrils, from which they cannot dislodge them.
FISH IN THE PARANA.
Among the many fine fish in the river is the dorado,--something like a
trout in colour, but deeper; in shape, more resembling the snapper. The
natives catch it with unbaited hooks. The fisherman selects a point of
rock jutting over the stream, and having secured three polished hooks,
back to back, attached to a line, throws it as far from him as possible
into the water, giving it several strong jerks to make it look like
small fry darting about. The dorado makes a dash at them, and gets
hooked--generally through the back.
PART FIVE, CHAPTER THREE.
THE PAMPAS.
Westward of the Parana and the Province of Buenos Ayres stretches out
the wide-extended and almost level plain of the Pampas, reaching to the
base of the Andes. It is a wild, savage region, sprinkled over here and
there with salt-lakes and marshes, in which a few streams, traversing it
at considerable distances apart, lose themselves.
The tracks across it are marked by the whitened skeletons of the horses
and bullocks which have succumbed to the fatigues of the journey, or the
want of water, and have been picked clean by the carranchas, and others
of the vulture tribe, or by the active teeth of the voracious little
armadillos, which clear away the refuse of the feast left by their
feathered companions. Here and there forts or post-houses are found,
garrisoned by the wild Gauchos--their appearance in keeping with the
scenery.
The huts are generally built of the stalks of huge thistles, and are
sometimes mere enclosures, destitute of roofs. They are surrounded by
stockades, in many instances formed of thick hedges of cacti, well
calculated to resist an attack from the still savage Indians who roam
throughout the region in search of plunder.
It is on these plains that the little bizcacha in vast numbers form
their burrows; by the side of which, during the day, their small friends
the owls of the Pampas take up their posts, and watch the passers-by.
Vast herds of horses and cattle now roam in unrestrained freedom across
them. Here the tall rhea, the American ostrich, with outstretched wings
runs swiftly across the plain. Towards its southern boundaries the
huanacu and the deer--Cervus campestris--in large herds range at large,
while the pools and marshes are inhabited by enormous flocks of wild
fowl of all descriptions. Here hundreds of beautiful flamingoes may be
seen rising when alarmed, and forming a rosy cloud of plumage in the
blue sky--the tints shading gradually from the delicate pink of their
necks to the deep red of their long wings; while many others of the
feathered tribes,--some with long legs, others with huge beaks,--fly
across the placid pools, their strange cries and varied notes sounding
through the air.
The eastern portion of this enormous district in winter presents a
peculiarly rich aspect--herds of wild cattle grazing in full liberty on
the luxuriant clover which then covers the ground. As spring advances,
a totally different plant takes the place of the clover, and in three or
four weeks an extraordinary change has occurred. The whole region then
appears covered by a dense wood of enormous thistles, which have shot up
to a height of nearly twelve feet, and are now in full bloom. So
densely do they grow, that they present an impenetrable barrier to man
and horse, or even to the strong-limbed cattle or wild beasts of the
plain. The only passage through them is by those paths which have been
kept open by the constant trampling of feet; while certain tracks,
intricate as those of a labyrinth, which exist in some directions, are
the abodes of bands of robbers, to whom alone they are known. From
their recesses they sally forth to attack the solitary rancho, or to
murder the traveller who may be passing through, knowing well that they
can secure a safe retreat, without the risk of being pursued.
Beyond this region of thistles is a second wide district, which produces
long grass, changing only, according to the season, from green to brown;
while beyond it, again, is a third region, reaching to the base of the
Cordilleras, and mostly covered with thick groves of low trees and
evergreen shrubs, with here and there streams passing amid them.
Descending from the Andes, the first view of the Pampas resembles
somewhat the wide-spreading ocean seen from afar; but as the sun rises,
irregularities can be distinguished in the northern portion,--while the
streams which run through it from the mountainsides glitter like silver
threads, till lost in the immensity of the distance.
But to return to the previous region. For several months the tall
thistles hold possession of the plain, but at length the heats of summer
tell upon them. They lose their sap and verdure, their heads droop, the
leaves shrink and fade, the stems become black and dead, though still
they stand rattling one against the other with the breeze. Then dark
clouds are seen in the west; the fierce pampero bursts forth with
irresistible force; they bend before it, and in a few seconds the whole
forest is levelled with the ground. Here, under the influence of the
heat and moisture, they rapidly decompose and disappear, fertilising the
soil. Once more the clover rushes up, and the plain again smiles with a
verdant hue, and welcomes back the cattle, who have been driven to
distant pastures.
GAUCHOS OF THE PAMPAS.
See the inhabitant of this region,--the bold Gaucho, whether owner of
thousands of heads of cattle, or the humble peon or chasqui, servant or
courier,--mounted on his fiery steed. What command he has over it! How
admirably he and the animal seem adapted to each other! If a proprietor
or chief manager, he will probably be habited in a white shirt, with
wide trousers richly embroidered with deep lace; the chiripa--a piece of
cloth covering the body and passing round his legs--being tied with a
band; a poncho over his shoulders; boots of polished leather, or, it may
be, of simple skin; his heels adorned with a pair of enormous spurs, of
silver or less valuable metal, with rowels of prodigious circumference;
with his rebenque, or horse-whip, in hand, made of cow-hide, and set off
by a handle of massive silver. All classes residing on the Pampas,
whether in Uruguay or the Far West, are called Gauchos.
Such in early life was General Urquiza, for some time governor of his
native province of Entre Rios. The term is, however, applied generally
to the lower orders.
Hardy, and sparely built, like the Arabs of the desert the Gaucho lives
on horseback. For most nights the ground is his bed and his saddle his
pillow, a piece of hide or a poncho his only covering. He will gallop
thirty leagues a day without fatigue.
From his infancy he has been taught the use of the lasso and bolas; and
in his boyhood learned to catch the fowls, goats, and sheep about his
father's rancho, or to capture partridges in a similar way. Yet he is
but little fitted for the ordinary hard work of life. In consequence of
his over-exertion and irregular life, his long abstinence from food, and
neglect of a due proportion of vegetable aliment, his body appears to be
dried-up, his vital energies fail, and his term of existence is
shortened.
Impatient of rebuke, he will not brook a hasty word, and will conclude a
connection with a master at a moment's notice, by demanding to have his
account made up. Horse-racing and gambling are his weaknesses. His
knife is ready at hand, and though fatal results seldom follow being
engaged in a quarrel, he attempts to inflict a cut on the face of his
antagonist, and there to leave his mark. His food he cooks on a stick--
the _asadevo_--fixed in the ground before the fire; and eats it without
bread or any kind of vegetable, washing it down with copious draughts of
yerba.
He will gamble on all occasions, either with cards, dominoes, or coin--a
pitch-and-toss style of game. His horse-racing is more for the sake of
obtaining the bets staked on the match. He also delights to bet on the
strength of his horse. This is tried by fastening a pair of horses tail
to tail, but at some distance, so that each end of a short lasso is tied
to the saddle or girth of either animal. They are then mounted, and
urged by whip and spur in opposite directions, until the stronger draws
the weaker over the goal--a line marked on the ground. In spite of his
gambling propensities, he is often intrusted with hundreds of doubloons
for the purchase of cattle by his master.
His mode of catching partridges is curious. Armed with a loop attached
to the end of a thin stick, he will ride on till he sees a covey of
birds on the ground; and then commences circling round them,--the birds,
curiously enough, not attempting to fly, but trying to run away instead.
The horseman keeps on narrowing his circle, till he at last gets near
enough to drop the loop over a bird's head, when he whips it up, a
captive, though in no way injured--so that birds can thus be caught
alive.
BREAKING-IN COLTS.
Witness the operation of breaking-in a wild colt from amidst a herd of a
hundred or more. A Gaucho called the dormador makes his appearance,
dressed in a thin cotton shirt secured by a scarf round the waist, and a
coloured handkerchief bound to his head, while his legs are guarded by a
huge pair of boots, armed with enormous spurs. There he stands, with
his lasso coiled up and thrown carelessly over his arm. He advances
towards the herd, followed by two mounted Gauchos dressed in full
costume. As the colts gallop round the corral, into which they have
been driven, with wild eyes and waving manes, he selects one of them;
and whirling his lasso lightly round, casts it over the animal's head,
sinking down at the same time on his left knee, and holding it with both
hands. No sooner does the colt feel the lasso than it bounds into the
air, and dashes off, the dormador sliding and crouching along the
ground, playing him, as a fisherman does a large salmon, till he has
separated him from the rest of the herd. He then brings him into the
centre of the corral, plunging and rearing, with his tether much
shortened. Another Gaucho throws his lasso on the ground under the
colt's fore-feet, and by an upward jerk tightens it round his legs. At
the same time the dormador lets his lasso out freely; the horse dashes
out till it is brought to the ground by the other lasso, with a shock
sufficient, it would seem, to break every bone in his body. There he
lies motionless, while his fore and hind-feet are secured.
At length restored to consciousness, after some convulsive plunges he
again gets on his feet, and is led by a further relay of Gauchos to a
post, where he is saddled and bridled in spite of his struggles.
Regaining his strength, he plunges, kicks, and bites in all directions,
the Gauchos nimbly getting out of his way. The dormador, watching his
opportunity, now leaps into the saddle, and signs to his companions to
cast off the leg-lasso. Immediately the colt, finding his legs free,
jumps straight off the ground, and then commences to back, plunge, and
dash furiously out. The dormador, however, sticks on; and another
Gaucho, coming behind, administers a lash with his long cutting whip,
which makes the poor animal start off at full speed, with a snort like a
scream. A mounted Gaucho rides on either side of him, to keep him
straight. Off he goes over the level country for miles, occasionally
stopping to back and kick; but each time his efforts grow fainter, till
at length he is ridden back, with eyes bloodshot, covered with foam and
blood, and perfectly bewildered, when he is unsaddled and tied to the
post. "Poor beast!" observes Captain Kennedy, who describes such a
scene, "he looks as much broken down as broken in." Few of the Gauchos,
however, can overcome a horse after the manner of the one whose feat he
witnessed.
PATAGONIANS.
The chief tribe of Patagonians who inhabit the region as far south as
the Strait of Magellan, go under the name of Pehuenches--men of tall and
muscular stature, with thick black hair, high foreheads, and broad
faces, but in no way approaching to what would be called the gigantic.
Their features express passive contentment, but are utterly destitute of
vivacity and intelligence. Their feet are remarkably small. They have
their eyebrows and moustaches plucked so as to contain only a single
line of hairs. The women are of low size, and unattractive--using a
sort of pigment on their bodies, composed of animal blood and soot.
The sole covering of both sexes is a mantle made of huanacu skins--worn
with the hairy side in--which can be thrown off in a moment. Their
habitations are huts of skin, supported on poles sloping to the ground,
towards the direction from whence blows the strong wind or snow from
Cape Horn. They sleep, however, in fine weather,--like other tribes
further to the north,--on the uncovered ground.
Their great delight is smoking--from a pipe made of stone, fashioned
into the shape of a small bowl, in which a long tube is fixed. Each man
takes a pull at the pipe and sends it round, gulping in a huge quantity
of vapour, all the muscles of the body seeming in a fierce convulsion of
straining; and while his neighbour is apparently employed in an effort
to gulp down the whole apparatus, there issues from the nose and mouth
of the first smoker a cloud which quickly renders his face and all
around him invisible.
Like other tribes of the Pampas, they have become expert horsemen, and
with bolas capture huanacus and ostriches.
DEER OF THE PAMPAS.
Besides the huanacus, a deer of considerable size ranges in small herds
throughout the Pampas and northern Patagonia, and is very abundant. It
possesses an overpoweringly strong and offensive odour at some periods
of the year, which is perceptible at a great distance. Should the
Gauchos kill an animal when this is the case, they bury the flesh in the
earth, by which means the taint is removed, and it becomes eatable. A
person can easily approach a herd by crawling along the ground, when the
deer, out of curiosity, apparently, approach to reconnoitre him. They,
however, have learned to fear their enemy, man, when mounted on a horse
and armed with bolas; and as soon as they see a horseman, they
invariably take to flight.
NATA CATTLE.
Darwin mentions a remarkable breed of cows called the nata or niata.
The animal has a very short and broad forehead, with the nasal end
turned up, and the upper lip much drawn back. Its lower jaw projects
below the upper, and has a corresponding upward curve; hence its teeth
are always exposed. Its nostrils are seated high up, and are very open;
and the eyes are projecting. When walking, it carries its head low on a
short neck; and its hind-legs are rather longer compared with the front
ones than is usual.
The breed is supposed to have originated amongst the Indians southward
of the La Plata. It is fiercer than common cattle; and the cow easily
deserts her first calf if molested or visited too often. Now, it is a
singular fact that an almost similar structure to the abnormal one of
the niata breed characterises the great extinct ruminant of India--the
sivatherium. The breed is very true, and the niata bull and cow
invariably produce niata calves. "Can it be that this animal is an
aboriginal of the continent, and existed ages before the European breeds
were introduced?" asks Mr Darwin.
THE BIZCACHA.
The careless horseman on the Pampas soon becomes disagreeably acquainted
with the existence of a little rodent--the bizcacha--into whose
closely-set burrows should his horse step, he will to a certainty find
himself pitched over his steed's head. It closely resembles a rabbit,
but with larger gnawing teeth and a longer tail. It has only three toes
behind, like the agouti. The creatures are seen in great numbers during
the evening seated on their haunches in front of their abodes,--from
which they seldom wander far,--gravely contemplating the passer-by.
When scampering out of danger, their elevated tails and short fore-legs
give them the appearance of large rats.
They have a curious habit of dragging every hard object they find to the
mouth of their burrows; round which bones of animals, stones, and hard
lumps of earth, are found, collected in large irregular heaps.
Although, no doubt, some good reason exists for this habit, it is
difficult to account for it. A gentleman told Mr Darwin, that having
dropped his watch one dark night, he was unable to find it; but
returning the following morning, and searching the neighbourhood of
every bizcacha burrow along the line of road, he at length discovered it
among a heap of rubbish.
THE PERUVIAN BIZCACHA AND CHINCHILLA.
Another little rodent, very similar to the bizcacha of the Pampas, lives
high up on the mountain, often at an elevation of 12,000 feet. It
resembles the rabbit, but its ears are shorter, and its tail is long and
rough.
Nearly related to it, and inhabiting the same region, is the
chinchilla--a pretty little creature, rather larger than a squirrel,
with great brilliant eyes, an erect tail, strong bristles on the upper
lip, and rounded, almost naked ears. Its beautifully soft fur is much
valued by ladies in Europe. It covers in certain districts the slopes
of the Andes with its burrows, which trip up many an unwary horseman--
greatly to its surprise and alarm, as its only object in forming them is
to have a quiet home of its own, where it can bring up its young, and
enjoy the roots which it collects, and on which it feeds at its leisure.
THE TUCUTUCO (CTENOMYS BRAZILIENSIS).
The tucutuco--another small rodent, with burrowing habits something like
those of a mole--gains its name from the short nasal groan which it
repeats about four times in quick succession. It is very abundant, and
may be heard at all times of the day uttering its strange sounds
directly beneath the feet in its burrow. It throws up little hillocks
of earth like those of a mole at the mouth of its abode. So completely
are tracks of country undermined by these animals, that horses in
passing over sink above their fetlocks.
They are gregarious and nocturnal in their habits. Their chief food
consists of the roots of plants, to obtain which they make their
extensive and superficial burrows. From the formation of their
hind-legs, they are unable to jump even the smallest vertical height.
It is a curious circumstance connected with them, that large numbers
become blind,--though apparently the animal suffers but little
inconvenience in consequence, as it exists almost entirely beneath the
surface of the ground.
THE RHEA.
Across the wide Pampas, from the plains of La Plata to the south of
Patagonia, the large rhea, vying almost in size with the African
ostrich, stalks along, generally in pairs, but sometimes in large flocks
of thirty or more. It differs from the real ostrich,--having three toes
instead of two, is smaller, and of a uniform grey colour, except on the
back, which has a brown tint. Like the ostrich, the back and rump are
furnished with long feathers, but of a less rich description than the
former species.
When running, it moves at great speed, alternately raising,
outstretching, and then depressing its wings.
The cock bird emits a singularly deep-toned, hissing note; and he can be
distinguished by being larger, darker coloured, and having a bigger head
than the hen. The cry is so deep and loud, that it resembles that of a
wild beast.
His hens lay their eggs at random round a hole which he digs for the
nest. He then employs himself in rolling them along into it, by
inserting his beak between the egg and the ground, as a boy would roll a
hockey ball along with a stick. He then sits to hatch them, while the
hens feed round at liberty. He lies so close on these occasions, that
he is easily ridden over. He is at this time very fierce, and even
dangerous, and has been known to attack a man on horseback, trying to
kick and leap up at him. Frequently twenty-two eggs, and even more, are
found in each nest.
The rhea, when pursued, readily takes to the water; and sometimes even
of its own accord, when not frightened, will swim across a river. One
has been seen crossing a stream four hundred yards in width.
When swimming, very little of their bodies appear above water, and their
necks are extended a little forward,--their progress being slow.
The rhea is hunted by the Gauchos and Indians on horseback. The
huntsmen form a semicircle, gradually closing in on the bird, which does
not know in which way to escape. It generally runs off against the
wind; at the same time, when it first starts, it expands its wings, and,
like a vessel, makes sail. As the huntsman gets close to it he throws
his lasso over its neck; or if he is using the bolas, he casts them so
as to entangle the bird's-legs, and thus bring it to the ground.
The rhea is easily tamed, and is constantly seen about the huts of the
Patagonians.
In the southern part of Patagonia another species, much smaller,
exists,--the Avestris petise, now called Struthio Darwinii, in
compliment to the naturalist who has described it. He states that not
more than fifteen eggs are found in the nest of the petise, deposited by
two or more females. This bird does not expand its wings when first
starting at full speed, after the manner of the northern kind. It is a
smaller and more graceful bird: its white feathers are tipped with black
at the extremities, and the black ones in like manner are tipped with
white.
A third species, the large-billed rhea (Rhea macrorhyncha), has been
discovered. These birds in vast numbers inhabit the wide-extended
plains, and afford a welcome addition to the food of their roving
inhabitants.
CARACARA POLYBORUS.
The largest caracara--Polyborus Braziliensis--ranges the grassy
savannahs of La Plata. Across the desert, between the rivers Negro and
Colorado, numbers constantly attend the line of road, to devour the
carcasses of the exhausted animals which chance to perish from fatigue
and thirst. It also attends the estancias and slaughtering-houses,
accompanied by its smaller relative, the chimango. "When an animal dies
on the plain the gallinaso commences the feast, and then the two species
of polyborus pick the bones clean," says Darwin. These birds, although
thus commonly feeding together, are far from being friends. When the
caracara is quietly seated on the branch of a tree or on the ground, the
chimango often continues for a long time flying backwards and forwards,
up and down, in a semicircle, trying each time at the bottom of the
curve to strike its larger relative. The caracara takes little notice,
except by bobbing its head. The caracaras are crafty, and steal numbers
of eggs; they also attempt, together with the chimango, to pick off the
scabs from the sore backs of horses and mules. These false eagles
rarely kill any living bird or animal; and their vulture-like,
necrophagous habits are very evident to any one who has fallen asleep on
the desolate plains; for, when he awakes, he will see on each
surrounding hillock one of these birds patiently watching him with an
evil eye. If a party of men go out hunting with dogs and horses, they
will be accompanied during the day by several of these attendants.
The flight of the caracara is heavy and slow, and it is generally an
inactive, tame, and cowardly bird. It destroys young lambs, by tearing
the umbilical cord; and it pursues the gallinaso till that bird is
compelled to vomit up the carrion it may have recently gorged. It is
said, also, that several caracaras will unite in chase of large birds,
even such as herons.
The chimango is tame and fearless; and when an animal is killed a number
soon collect, and patiently wait, standing on the ground on all sides.
Darwin describes seeing one pounce on a dog which was lying asleep close
to one of a party of sportsmen. They had difficulty in preventing their
canine companion from being seized before their eyes.
It will frequently wait, as does the caracara, at the mouth of a
rabbit-hole, and seize on the animal when it comes out. It is also very
mischievous and inquisitive. It will pick up almost anything from the
ground: a large black glazed hat was carried nearly a mile, as were a
pair of heavy bolas. On another occasion a small Kater's compass in a
red morocco case was carried off, and never recovered. These birds are,
moreover, quarrelsome and very passionate, tearing up the grass with
their bills in their rage. They are noisy, too, uttering several harsh
cries--one of them like that of the English rook.
OWLS OF THE PAMPAS (ATHENE CUNICULAEIA).
The traveller across the Pampas will see a number of little owls--
generally seated in pairs, during the evening, on the hillocks near the
burrows of the bizcacha, occasionally uttering their strange wild hoots
to each other. If disturbed, they either run into the holes of their
friends, in which they have their abode; or, uttering a shrill, harsh
cry, they move with a remarkably undulatory flight to a short distance,
and then turning round, steadily gaze at their pursuer.
THE PAMPAS CUCKOO (MOLOTHRUS NIGER).
Among the birds of numerous kinds which abound on the plains, there are
several worthy of notice. One is remarkable from its habits.
It deposits its eggs, like the cuckoo, in the nests of other birds.
Several of them may be seen standing together on the back of a cow or
horse. They also perch on low boughs: and while pluming themselves in
the sun, attempt to sing; but their voice is rather like a hiss,
resembling that of bubbles of air passing rapidly from a small orifice
under water, so as to produce an acute sound.
THE CALANDRIA (MINA ORPHEUS).
The best songster on the Pampas is a species of mocking-bird, called by
the inhabitants calandria. Its song is powerful--similar to that of the
hedge-warbler. It only sings, however, during the spring; at other
times its cry is harsh and inharmonious. They frequent the
neighbourhood of houses; and will boldly peck at the meat which is hung
up on the posts or walls to dry. When any of the other small birds join
the feast, the calandria soon chases them away.
FLAMINGOES.
The flamingo, in large flocks, visits the New World as well as the Old.
On the shores of the great rivers, as also on the banks of lagoons and
marshes, it may be seen feeding with other water-fowl--its beautiful red
and white plumage shining brightly in the sun, and contrasting with the
dark green of the river vegetation.
OVEN-BIRDS.
Of the genus Furnarius there are several species. The best-known is the
oven-bird of La Plata--the casara, or house-maker, of the Spaniards. It
builds its nest in an exposed situation, on the top of a vast bare rock
or cactus. It is composed of mud and bits of straw, and has strong,
thick walls--its shape being precisely that of an oven, or depressed
bee-hive. The opening is large and arched, and directly in front.
Within the nest there is a partition which reaches nearly to the roof,
thus forming a passage or ante-chamber to the true nest.
THE LITTLE HOUSE-BUILDER.
There is another species of Furnarius, which the Spaniards call the
casarita, or little house-builder. This species builds its nest at the
bottom of a narrow cylindrical hole, which extends horizontally to
nearly six feet under ground. It generally chooses the side of a low
bank, but sometimes penetrates the mud walls round the houses, through
which it works its way, frequently--very much to its disappointment--
coming out unexpectedly on the opposite side.
THE SCISSOR-BEAK.
The scissor-beak (Rhynchops nigra) frequents the lakes and streams. It
is about the size of a tern, with short legs, webbed feet, and extremely
long, pointed wings. The beak is flattened laterally, and the lower
mandible is an inch and a half longer than the upper. When flying along
in small flocks, close to the surface of a lake, the birds keep their
bills wide open, the lower mandible half buried in the water. In their
flight they frequently twist about with extreme swiftness, managing,
with their projecting lower mandible, to plough up small fish, which
they retain in the lower half of their scissor-like bills. Each bird
thus leaves its wake on the mirror-like surface. On quitting the water
their flight is wild, irregular, and rapid. They then utter loud, harsh
cries; their tails, as they fly, are much used in steering their
irregular course.
During the day they may generally be seen resting in flocks on the
grassy plains, at some distance from the water, as they usually take to
fishing at night.
PARROTS.
A small green parrot, with a grey breast, frequents the banks of the
Parana. It builds on the higher branches of the taller trees.
These birds fly in large flocks, and commit great ravages on the
corn-fields.
THE BOAT-BILL HERON.
In the same localities the curious boat-bill heron is found,--its short
thick neck and enormous beak giving it a clumsy, ungainly look alongside
the elegant flamingo. The beak may be likened to two boats, laid one
upon the other, gunwale to gunwale, the upper part of the mandible
representing the keel. It feeds on the Crustacea which it picks up on
the shore, as well as on fish--on which it pounces, as they swim by,
from some branch overhanging the water.
It is about the size of a duck, its legs being shorter, in proportion to
its body, than those of waders in general. On the top of its head the
male has a full, long plume of black feathers drooping over the back.
The neck and breast are of a greyish-white. The back also is grey, with
a wash of rusty-red; while there is a patch of a deeper tint of the same
colour upon the middle of the under part of the body. The sides are
black, and the tail white.
Although many other creatures besides those which have been described
are to be found in the vast regions we have rambled over, none of the
larger or more curious have been omitted. We have, however, been able
to take only a very cursory glance at the human inhabitants or the
wonders of the vegetable kingdom; but it is hoped that the reader will
have gained a general and correct view of the various aspects which the
wilder portions of the Western World present, as well as of the animals
with which the Creator, in his infinite wisdom, has thought fit to
people them.
Quitting America, we purpose,--in future volumes,--to wander over the
Eastern portions of the globe, the islands of the Pacific, Australasia,
and the Indian Archipelago, and to visit the Arctic and Antarctic
regions,--where numberless objects are to be found, not less interesting
and wonderful than those described in the preceding pages.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Western World, by W.H.G. Kingston
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