AGAVE, OR SISAL HEMP.
"If introduced into a wound its effect is almost instantaneous, but when taken through the stomach in minute quantities it is comparatively harmless. Now let us hear from Manuel how it is used by the Indians."
HUNTING WITH THE BLOW-GUN.
"They dip the points of the arrows in curari," said the latter, "and project the arrows at the game. If it punctures the skin enough to let the poison enter the blood the work is done. In a few seconds or a few minutes at farthest the animal falls to the ground and dies in convulsions, and it is a curious fact that the flesh is in no way tainted with the deadly substance. A bear or a tapir has died within five minutes after being wounded, and smaller animals in less than one minute. Great care is necessary in using it, as the least scratch with the point of a poisoned arrow may prove fatal to the hunter.
"These Indians will kill more birds in a day with the blow-gun than the most experienced hunter could bring down with a rifle. When they go out for birds they use arrows only a few inches long. Taking a position in the top of a tree, an Indian will often empty his quiver, bringing down bird after bird as fast as he can load and shoot. The weapon is noiseless, and the man remains in concealment till he has finished his work and is ready to pick up his game."
Frank and Fred thought they did not care to practise with these weapons, however effective they might be, and they determined to keep on the friendly side of the Indians, and thus avoid being aimed at with the deadly blow-gun. The Indian was paid for his chicken, and the party separated.
A GIANT OF THE FOREST.
They made a short excursion into the forest, and were greatly impressed with the size of the trees, and the great extent of arborealproductions. Travelling was difficult, owing to the thickness of the under-brush and the vast number of vines that covered the ground and hung in festoons from the trees. Several varieties of mahogany were observed; a rubber-tree was pointed out by Manuel; there were half a dozen kinds of palms, and they were told that many more were to be seen farther down the river; and there were several giant trees with soft wood, whose names are not known to the English language.
One day Manuel took a skiff and rowed out into the river with the avowed intention of bringing in a turtle for dinner; he was accompanied by an Indian, the one who had experimented with the blow-gun, but this time the fellow was armed with a spear, and an ordinary bow and arrow.
Fred wondered how the turtle was to be taken with these implements, buthe had not long to wait before ascertaining.
The Indian stood in the bow of the skiff with the bow and arrow ready, while Manuel paddled slowly along, taking the direction indicated by the marksman. Keeping where the water was shallow, they traversed quite a distance before anything worth shooting was found. After a while the Indian spied a turtle, and the boat was rapidly rowed in his direction.
TURTLE-SHOOTING IN SOUTH AMERICA.
The arrow was skilfully projected, and pierced the turtle through the neck. He tried to get away, but his progress was impeded by the arrow, which gave an opportunity for using the spear; then a cord was passed around the turtle's neck and he was brought triumphantly to land.
On the lower Amazon the hunters have a cord wound around the shaft of the arrow, to which it is fastened; the other end of the cord is tied to the head, which fits loosely in the shaft. When a turtle is struck he dives; the head detaches from the shaft, the cord unwinds, and thestick floats on the water. The hunter can then follow his game, and easily secures it by hauling in the cord.
Our friends supped on turtle as the result of Manuel's hunting adventure. They found it palatable, especially when served up in steaks, though Frank was of opinion that it could not be surpassed in a stew. The next day the hunting-party returned, and the market of the little village was abundantly supplied with turtle meat.
Frank interested himself in the history and statistics of the Amazonian turtle, with the following result:
"Turtles are the most important product of the Amazon and its tributaries, and furnish the sustenance of the majority of the natives of the great valley. Seven kinds of turtles are known to the natives, but only two of them, the tartaruga or charapa, and the charapilla, are eaten. The charapa is the largest, being often found three feet long and broad in proportion, but the charapilla is considered the best.
"The eggs of the turtle are used for making oil or butter, and also for cooking in various ways. They are found along the banks of the rivers or on sand-bars; the charapa lays from one hundred and fifty to two hundred eggs, and the charapilla from thirty to forty. The turtle comes up at night, digs a hole two or three feet deep in the sand with its hind flippers, and then deposits its eggs. It covers them with sand again and returns to the water, unless, as too often happens, it is caught by the native who has been on the watch for it. I say 'too often,' as the indiscriminate slaughter of the turtle and the destruction of the eggs are fast reducing the number and raising the price. The hunters turn theturtles on their backs and there leave them till the next day, when they return and collect them. Once on its back the poor turtle is helpless.
TURTLE-TURNING.
"The natives hunt for turtle eggs by pushing sticks in the sand; if the stick enters easily it reveals the locality of the deposit, and a little digging brings it to light. It is estimated that not fewer than fifty millions of turtle eggs are taken every year on the Amazon and its tributaries, and some authorities think the number is much larger.
"The wonder is that any turtles remain. They are shot in the water or caught when returning from the banks where they have deposited their eggs; young turtles by the thousand are eaten by alligators and large fishes; jaguars and pumas seize them when they are travelling overland, to or from their nesting-places; and the birds of prey by no means let them alone. But they could get along well enough were it not for their human foes, which are the worst of all. The turtles of the Amazon will follow the fate of the buffalo and the salmon of North America whenever the country becomes fully peopled and the demand increases in proportion.
"The Indians have brought back many gallons of oil from turtles' eggs, which they made during their absence. The eggs are thrown into a canoe, and then trampled and beaten up by the feet of men and boys till the mass resembles a Brobdingnagian omelette ready for cooking. Water is poured into the canoe and mixed with the stuff; the oil rises to the surface and is skimmed off. Then it is purified over the fire and put into jars holding about three gallons each, for transportation tomarket."
Negotiations for descending the river could not proceed with rapidity, as the Indians were in no hurry to get away after their return from the turtle-hunt. Everything among these people is connected in one way or another with a festival, and it was necessary to celebrate the success of the expedition with a period of rejoicing. The alcalde did his best, but though he possesses great power, an alcalde is not absolute in his authority at all times; it was finally arranged that the festivity would continue two days, and on the morning of the third our friends could hope to depart.
The morning came, but there were still many things to be done, and it was fully noon before the boats were ready. As there were no rapids to pass, it was decided to lash two boats together side by side and connect them with a platform. The tent could be spread on this platform, in addition to an awning of palm-leaves, to shelter the travellers from the heat of the sun and the not infrequent rains. Two of the largest attainable boats were taken and connected in this way. It proved an excellent arrangement, and the party was unanimous in recommending it to all future travellers descending the tributaries of the Amazon where they are not navigated by steamboats.
The rowers and pilots had little to do beyond keeping the raft (as we will call the combination of boats and platform just described) in the middle of the stream, where the current was strongest. There was a good deal of drift-wood in the river, but it was far less troublesome than if their course had been up the stream. Dr. Bronson explained to the youths that Madeira means "wood," and the Madeira River, into which the Beni flows, was so named by the Portuguese in consequence of the great number of floating trees that were met by the early explorers. The Beni contributes more than its share of this floating material, as theforests extend far along its banks, which are constantly crumbling away through the action of the current. In many places the Beni resembles the Missouri, and seems to be subject to the same forces of nature.
SOUTH AMERICAN RIVER SCENE.
Forests and pampas, pampas and forests, succeeded each other as the raft followed the course of this affluent of the mighty Amazon. Parrots and toucans and other birds flew among the trees, monkeys stared in astonishment, jumped from limb to limb, swung by feet and tail, and kept up a continual chattering as the raft floated by their haunts. Frank made note of the difference between the South American monkey and his Asiatic brother; he had never seen the latter using his tail for anything but ornamental purposes, while with the South American monkey it gave the advantage of an extra hand or foot.
SOUTH AMERICAN MONKEY WITH PREHENSILE TAIL.
"The Asiatic monkey's tail is not prehensile," said the Doctor, "and all monkeys of South America have not this advantage. In the words of a famous naturalist," he continued, "all monkeys with prehensile tails are American, but all American monkeys do not have prehensile tails. The Asiatic monkey does not seem to have heard of such a thing, though some of the varieties of monkey in the far East occasionally use the tail in a bungling sort of way. Professor Wallace lived four years in South America, and in that time he saw twenty-one species of monkey, seven with prehensile and fourteen with non-prehensile tails. All the American monkeys are climbers, and live in the trees, while such is not the case in the old world."
While they were talking on the subject of monkeys a most unearthly yell was heard in the forest to the right of the raft. Both the boys turnedin amazement to Manuel, and asked what it was.
HOWLING MONKEY.
"It's a guariba," said Manuel, "as the natives call it."
"And what is a guariba?" Fred inquired.
"A guariba is a howling monkey," the guide answered, "and that is the noise he makes. You can hear him a long distance, and he howls night and day without seeming to get tired of the amusement."
"There are three kinds of howling monkeys in South America," said the Doctor, "but the difference is more observable in their appearance than in their voices. The braying of a mule is like the note of a violin, compared to the noise of a howling monkey in good health and condition, accompanied by his friends. The howlers, like most others of the Simian family, are gregarious, and if we happen to have our camp near a village of them we shall not sleep much."
Frank thought he would buy one of these brutes and take him home, but Manuel said the howlers could not be tamed.
"A wise provision of nature," remarked Fred. "Imagine your neighbor having a pet howler; it would be worse than all the cats in a dozen blocks of New York city."
Frank agreed with him, and changed his views on the subject of domesticating one of these curiosities. Manuel said further that the natives had repeatedly tried to tame the howlers, but could not; they were the only members of the monkey family in South America that utterly refused to be converted into pets.
They fell into the monkey-market sooner than they had expected. While passing an island, an hour or two before sunset, they saw two or threecanoes drawn up on the shore, and at the Doctor's suggestion Manuel told the pilot to run in and see who and what the owners were. They proved to be a hunting-party of Indians from the other side of the river; they had been successful in killing several monkeys, and offered some of the meat for sale.
Frank and Fred thought it would be too much like cannibalism to eat of monkey meat, and the Doctor agreed with them. Manuel said the flesh of the howler was not to be recommended, as it was dry and tough, but there were some varieties on the lower Amazon which were not to be despised. He particularly mentioned the white-whiskered coaita, one of the thumbless "spider-monkeys," which was held in high repute among the natives. Another variety called the maquisapa was said to be good eating, but he could not speak from personal knowledge. Monkey flesh is an important article of food in many parts of the Amazon valley, and there are certain districts where it is the only meat to be had.
But monkey in its live form was not declined, at least in limited quantity. One of the Indians offered a marmoset, a pretty little creature about eight inches long, and with a soft, silky fur covering its skin. It was restless and timid; at first it shrank from the youth, but quickly seemed to understand that it would find him a better master than the Indian. He took it in his hand and gently stroked its back; in a few moments it clung to him, and when the Indian reached for his property the little creature struggled to remain.
Frank's sympathies were awakened by the affection displayed by the marmoset, and a bargain was quickly made. Manuel conducted the negotiation, and the monkey became the property of the youth for an outlay of fifty cents. He paid a high price, as he afterwards ascertained, but at that time he was not familiar with the market quotations for this kind of live-stock.
Marmosets are the smallest members of the monkey family. The name is confined to the American varieties, and is sometimes restricted to the striated monkey of Guiana or Brazil. This last-named monkey has a tail athird longer than the body, the latter rarely exceeding eight or ten inches. Its fur is long and soft, and of a yellowish-gray color; both tail and body are banded with black, and there is a long tuft of white hairs on each side of the head, which is of a deep black or brown.
The new purchase received the name of Gypsy, and soon became a general favorite with the party, though it always recognized Frank as its master. It was a well-behaved pet, and, contrary to Frank's expectation, it never indulged in mischievous tricks. Manuel said the marmosets were rarely destructive, but the same could not be said of the rest of the monkey tribe in South America. The sapajous, he pronounced the worst of the lot; they are distributed through Brazil, and, though affectionate enough as pets, are too mischievous to be kept in a house or camp.
A MONKEY ROBBING BIRDS' NESTS.
"Three or four years ago," said Manuel, "I was on the Mamoré River with an English gentleman who had bought a sapajou while ascending the Amazon. He kept the fellow in a cage for a while, and then allowed him the run of the boat. The first day he was at liberty he threw overboardtwo of the dinner plates, and was punished by being shut up again.
"When he was free once more, he picked up a book that was lying on the deck, and when discovered he had torn out at least half the leaves, and tossed them into the water. He was again caged, and after a time was let out, but they fastened a chain about him so that he could not run around.
"Under this restraint he behaved very well, and displayed, or pretended to display, a fondness for his owner. The gentleman was one day working at the notes of his journey, and the monkey was chained close to his table, under the awning in the centre of the boat.
"He had a large map on the table, and had been marking his route withred ink along the course of the river. He was called suddenly from the table, leaving the map and the ink-bottle within the monkey's reach.
"As soon as he had gone, the monkey, doubtless in a spirit of imitation, climbed to the table, pulled the map towards him, and with his paw, dipped in the ink, made an imaginary survey of a railway or a steamboat route, at least a thousand miles long, according to the scale of the drawing. Just as he was finishing the performance the master returned, and caught him at it."
"What happened to the monkey?" Fred asked.
"I don't know exactly what became of him," was the reply. "He was given to one of the boatmen, who sold him to an Indian at the next landing. It wasn't safe to mention monkey to that gentleman for the rest of the time he stayed in the country."
HUNTING THE MONKEY.
Sunset came, and they stopped for the night. The raft was tied up at a small island, where there was little prospect of disturbance by hostile Indians; the tribe occupying this part of the country did not have a bad reputation, and there was no real danger, but the pilot was cautious on general principles. Watch was kept through the night, but nothing happened to disturb the slumber of those whose duties did not require them to be wakeful, if we except the visits of the mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes are the pests of the upper part of the entire valley of the Amazon. They are found wherever the rains fall, from the foot of the Andes, eastward, until within a few hundred miles of the Atlantic coast, from which they are kept in great measure, though not entirely, by the force of the trade winds. The middle Amazon swarms with them, and the Maranon, Madeira, and other tributaries are almost uninhabitable at certain seasons of the year, in consequence of these nuisances. They are always on duty, and no manner of objecting to their presence will induce them to leave.
AMAZONIAN MOSQUITOES AT HOME.
There are several varieties of mosquitoes, some working at night, and others in the daytime; between them they divide the hours, and give their victim no chance for rest. The Indians say they always come in greater swarms than usual when a traveller is approaching, and evidently they can scent blood from afar. Frank said "the mosquitoes fairly danced with joy at the arrival of our party." A mass meeting was called, which was attended by some millions of mosquitoes, "very hungry and very thirsty." This mass meeting was kept up as long as they were in the region of the upper and middle Amazon. After passing Manaos, on their way down the river, there were few mosquitoes, and these few were not asvoracious as their more uncivilized brethren.
Parts of Brazil and Bolivia will long remain unsettled, owing to the perpetual annoyance caused by the mosquitoes. Their powers were tested by one traveller, Dr. Spruce, who, in the interest of science, allowed the insects to feed upon him without interruption, and found they took three ounces of blood daily!
Our friends were provided with mosquito nettings, and brought them into use on entering the mosquito-haunted region. At night they surrounded their beds with them, and by day kept their heads enveloped in the small nets made for that purpose; in this way they managed to keep from being devoured bodily, or bled to death, but could not escape the annoyance and constant inconvenience of the presence of the dreaded carapana, as he is called by the Brazilians.
The mosquito is not the only insect pest of the Amazon valley. Professor Orton says the pium, or sand-fly, is almost as bad as the better-known tormentor. He has two triangular, horny lancets, which leave a small circular red spot on the skin. There are several species, all working by day, and relieving the mosquito from sunrise to sunset. Then there is the maruim, which resembles the pium, and inhabits some, but not all, of the valleys; Humboldt estimated that there was a million of them to a cubic foot of air where he was. There is also the mutuca, which resembles a horse-fly; one variety has a lancet half an inch long, and he knows how to use it to advantage.
There is a carapato, or tick, which mounts to the tips of the blades of grass, and attaches himself to any one brushing against them. The carapatas bury themselves so deeply that their heads break off at any attempt to pull them out; their bite is painless, but it often causes sores and ulcers. Happily, their range is less extensive than that of the mosquito, and some parts of the country are wholly free from them.
Frank asked Manuel how the natives, who had no nets, managed to get along in the height of the mosquito season.
AN INDIAN OF NORTHERN BOLIVIA.
"They get along very badly," was the reply. "One plan is to cover their bodies with oil, which the mosquitoes don't like, but it does not drive them away. Smudging or smoking keeps them down, but then it is almost as bad for the people as for the mosquitoes. Sometimes they bury themselves in the sand, leaving only the head exposed; this they cover with a piece of wetted cloth, either wrapped around the head, or supported above itlike a miniature tent. Some of the Indians plaster their bodies with mud, laying it on like varnish, and allowing it to dry, but it has to be pretty thick to keep the mosquitoes from penetrating it. Some of the insects will pierce through any ordinary clothing; I have heard of their going through ordinary shoe-leather, but never saw with my own eyes a mosquito that could do it."
Sheltered by their nettings, they passed the night in comparative comfort, and were off early in the morning. In fact, the raft was in motion before the youths had risen; the Indians were so silent in their movements that they did not disturb the slumber of the travellers. Frank made a comparison with the noisy boatmen of the Nile which was very much in favor of the Indians of the Beni.
BREAKFAST SCENE ON THE RIVER BANK.
About seven o'clock they stopped for breakfast and the scene was so picturesque that Frank made a sketch of it.
The spot they chose was under some lofty trees covered with climbing plants, where previous visitors had removed enough of the undergrowth to render the place suitable for a temporary camp. A fire was kindled, and over it they placed a pot for the concoction of a porridge of meat and mandioca flour mingled with water. A hammock was stretched between two of the trees, and a large fish that had been caught early in the morning was hung up by way of ornament.
While the soup was in preparation, one of the men busied himself with pounding a piece of bast, or the inner bark of a tree, with a wooden hammer. Much of the clothing of the Amazonian Indians is made in this way; the material resembles the famous tappa-cloth of the South Sea Islands, and though not very serviceable, it has the merit of great cheapness.
The breakfast, when ready, was distributed by thecapitanoor first mate, who served each man in turn. It was devoured with a good appetite, and in a little while the crew was ready to resume the journey. The travellers amused themselves by studying the peculiarities of the forest, and took their own breakfast while the boat was floating down the stream.
"If all goes well," said the Doctor, "we shall not be long in reaching the junction with the Madeira, and the falls of that stream."
"Then we have some falls to pass, have we?" Frank asked.
"Yes," replied the Doctor, "and they are a serious hinderance to navigation. In descending we can 'shoot' some of them, though not all; but if we were ascending the river it would be different. The boats must be dragged around the falls, or their cargoes unloaded and transported to other boats beyond the falls.
"The Madeira drains an area of forty thousand square leagues," he continued, "and but for the falls would furnish water communication to the very heart of Bolivia. It is the natural waterway of the country, and its upper affluents traverse the richest agricultural region of South America. They have been partially but not wholly explored, and the actual number of miles open to steamboats is not yet known.
"There are nineteen falls and rapids, having a descent of nearly three hundred feet altogether. They are scattered along a distance of twohundred and thirty miles. Above and below there are no impediments to navigation, with a single exception in the shape of a rapid, which may be passed by a steamboat when the river is high.
"The governments of Bolivia and Brazil have endeavored to overcome these falls by building a canal or a railway around them, and spent considerable money in the preliminary work. It was found that a canal would cost a great deal of money, far more than a railway, and so it was decided to build the latter."
"Did they build it?"
"It has not been built as yet," was the reply, "though a portion of the work has been done. A company was formed in England, principally on paper, with important concessions from the governments interested. Engineers were sent out, together with a small force of laborers, but the project came to nothing. Then the enterprise was taken up by some Americans, who sent Colonel George E. Church, of New York, to complete the surveys and supervise the construction of the line. He reported favorably upon the prospects of business for the completed railway, which would be less than two hundred miles long. The line leaves the Madeira just below the first fall, and comes again to the Mamoré above the last one. It avoids the windings of the stream, and thus saves a considerable distance.
"Colonel Church sounded the Mamoré for six hundred miles above the rapids, and found always a depth of at least fifteen feet, a width of six hundred feet, and an average current of two miles an hour. He visited Santa Cruz, Trinidad, Exaltacion, and some other Bolivian towns and cities, and was everywhere cordially welcomed. I am sorry that our time and facilities will not permit us to repeat his journey, as it is through a region rarely seen by travellers. Colonel Church was preceded by Mr. Keller, a German engineer; and the stories they tell are full of interest.
PLAZA AND CHURCH AT EXALTACION.
"They describe Exaltacion as a dull, and, at first glance, a deserted town, standing a mile or more from the river. Many of its buildings are in ruins, and the walls of the houses are without paint or other ornament. The streets are wide, and the plaza is at least three hundred feet square; the church, with an isolated bell-tower, occupies one side of the plaza, while the other three sides are lined with the dwellings of the Indians, rarely more than a single story in height. The church is a large and well-constructed building; it is more than a century old, and has received very few repairs since the day of its completion.
"The Indians living in the towns of Bolivia are nearly all devout Catholics, and have been carefully trained in the observances of theChurch. It is said that when the first Jesuit missionary penetrated the Beni districts of Bolivia, from the frontier of the country, that had been partially civilized, he was immediately killed. Another followed soon after, and met the same fate, and then came another.
"The Indians were astonished beyond description, as it appeared to them to be the same man they had twice put to death. He was identical in dress, appearance, and words, and evidently he was immortal. It would do no good to kill him a third time, and they held a consultation, and concluded he was a god. Thus concluding, they worshipped him, listened to his teachings, and adopted his religion, to which they have ever since remained faithful.
MOJOS INDIANS CELEBRATING MASS.
"In the church they had an organ which was played during mass by one of the Indians, while another performed on a sort of pan-pipe of enormous proportions. Several tubes were arranged side by side, and fastened together; the largest was about six feet in length, and the opening at its end measured at least four inches. The performer kept his eye on themusic before him, and blew into one pipe after another with great facility. The instrument compassed two octaves, and the sound it gave resembled that of a trombone.
"The church contains several relics, among them a piece of the True Cross, which was brought here by the Jesuits nearly two centuries ago. That the people have degenerated somewhat from their old-fashioned honesty is revealed by a little incident of Mr. Keller's visit to the church.
A MOJOS INDIAN.
"In the pedestals of two of the columns he saw some enormous nails, and asked their use. It was explained that in the time of thePadresall articles found in the streets were hung on these nails, so that anybody who lost anything would know where to find it. 'But to-day,' said the sacristan, 'these nails rust in their places, for no one thinks ofreturning what he finds.' Colonel Church thinks Exaltacion must be an exception to the rest of Bolivia, as he found everywhere the most scrupulous honesty on the part of the people among whom he travelled. The Mojos Indians who inhabit the valley of the Mamoré are an inoffensive race, and have a high reputation for honesty and integrity.
THE CHERIMBITA.
"Some of them wear a curious ornament, known as thecherimbita. It is a little rod with a head, and has a general resemblance to an ordinary screw. It is made of white quartz, or some other hard material, and is worn in the under lip, which is pierced for its admission, just as ladies in America, and other countries, have their ears pierced for the wearing of ornaments.
"The other towns that were visited did not materially differ from the one already described. They had the same kind of population, the same dilapidated churches, and the same devout worshippers who adhered to the religion taught by the Jesuit fathers two hundred years ago. There was said to be a great abundance of silver in all these Bolivian towns, but it is far less than formerly. Everything imported from other parts of the world is enormously dear, while the products of the country are correspondingly cheap. At Exaltacion, English iron was worth four hundred dollars a ton, while gold at ten dollars an ounce was mucheasier to obtain."
One day was much like another in the descent of the river, as the party was not disturbed by hostile natives, and met with no accidents of consequence. Frank was disappointed in his hopes of hunting-adventures, as the jaguars and pumas persisted in keeping out of sight, and utterly deprived the young gentleman of an opportunity to try his weapons.
THE AGOUTI.
Less powerful game abounded, however, since the tapir and the agouti were frequently encountered. The agouti is about the size of a rabbit, which it greatly resembles both in appearance and habits. When pursued it runs rapidly for a short distance and then tries to conceal itself; if it is captured it makes no resistance beyond a plaintive cry.
The tapir deserves a more extended notice than the agouti, as he is much larger, and resists the attacks of his enemies with a good deal of vigor. Fred's account of a fight with a tapir will give an idea of the characteristics of this animal.
"The tapir is very widely distributed through tropical South America, and is probably more generally hunted than any other denizen of the country. His favorite haunts are narrow gorges and moist ravines, and the forests on the banks of all streams, whether large or small, though he prefers the latter. He is like an Englishman in desiring a cold bath in the morning, and the first tapir we saw was seated up to his neck in the water, at a bend of the river. We had told Manuel to call us when a tapir was discovered, and early one morning he roused us.
"Frank threw on his garments very hastily, and seized his rifle for a shot at the beast. As he emerged from the tent our pilot whispered,'anta' (the native name for tapir), and pointed directly ahead of our course. The men had stopped rowing, and were silently urging the raft towards the shore, where it would be concealed from what we hoped to make game of, by an intervening bush.
"The desired position was gained without disturbing the animal at his bath, and under cover of the bank we drew quite near. Only his head was visible; Frank aimed and fired, and the head disappeared. Soon it came to the surface, and there was a loud snort which showed that the beast had been thoroughly alarmed.
"The rowers now did their best, as further concealment was unnecessary. With loud cries they urged the raft forward, but the unwieldy concern could not be turned as quickly as the tapir was able to double on us. Fortunately for us, he only tried two or three times to double, or he would have escaped altogether; after these efforts he struck straight across the river, where we came up to him and were able to throw a harpoon into his back. He had been severely wounded by Frank, and after the harpoon was thrown he was easily secured. It is always desirable to harpoon a tapir after shooting him in the water, as he dives to the bottom, and if he dies there his body does not rise.
"We had tapir steaks for breakfast, and found them very good. They resembled beef, though they were rather more dry than that well-known article of food; we had been rather limited in our supply of fresh provisions, and consequently the tapir steak was not to be despised. The flesh of this animal is highly prized by the natives; it is eaten fresh, like beef or pork, and is preserved by drying or salting.
"But this is not the fight I was going to tell about. One day we stopped at a village where there was a tame tapir running among the houses; it was perfectly docile, and allowed the boys to ride on its back as often and as long as they liked. The alcalde of the village told us how it was caught, a few months' before, in a hunting-excursion, only a few miles from the place.
HUNTING THE TAPIR.
"The alcalde kept several dogs especially for hunting the tapir. The hunter takes his position in a canoe carefully concealed in the bushes near the end of a tapir's road. The tapir lays out his own path with the skill of an engineer; he goes along this path regularly every morning, from his haunt to his bath in the river, and then from the river to his haunt again. The dogs are let loose near the tapir's retreat, and the frightened animal runs to the river for safety.
"He dives and swims with great rapidity, but the hunter is generally successful in capturing him. He is shot or speared as he takes to thewater, evading the dogs only to fall into the hands of his human enemy.
"On the occasion I speak of the alcalde had gone for his customary sport, and roused a tapir. The keeper of the dogs was with these animals, while the alcalde was waiting at the river ready to shoot the game when it appeared. But it happened to be a female anta, this time, and she had a young tapir with her. The male flees before the dogs, but the female with a cub does nothing of the sort; she remains in her lair and defends the little fellow, who crouches beneath her and indicates his alarm by short, shrill whistles. She never yields, and is a terrible foe for the dogs. Her teeth do effective work on any of them that come too near, and her powerful fore-legs crush their ribs as though they were made of paper.
"The alcalde waited, but the tapir did not come. At length one of his men appeared, and said that two of the six dogs had been killed by the tapir and another was severely hurt. They were young dogs, and had not shown proper caution; the old and experienced ones had refrained from venturing within reach of jaws or feet, and confined their attentions to barking at a safe distance.
"The alcalde hastened to the spot, and with his gun soon laid low thedesperate animal. The young tapir was secured unhurt and brought home to the village. It was kindly treated, and in three days it followed its master around like a dog, and was perfectly domesticated. The animal lives on vegetable food (grass, fruit, and roots), and consequently he is easy to keep. This was the tame tapir that we saw; he was perfectly amiable in disposition, but his great size rendered him unsuitable to be maintained as a house pet, and he had been turned into the street to make his own living. I was told that the tame tapir never shows any disposition to return to his native wilds. In this respect he resembles the elephant, and I believe the naturalists class him in the elephant family.
"The alcalde had a houseful of pets, including several birds and monkeys, and, strangest of all, a snake. It was perfectly free, and was kept for killing rats, mice, lizards, and other things that were more destructive of the owner's property than is the snake. Manuel said it was a giboia, a species of boa constrictor; it is not poisonous, and when taken young is easily tamed. Frank was reminded of the rat-snake they had seen in Ceylon, and thought it must be the first cousin of the giboia."
WATER-SNAKES AT HOME.
Snakes are less common in South America than is generally supposed, though they are numerous enough for all practical purposes. There are one hundred and fifty species in all, while a similar area in tropical Asia contains three hundred varieties. Most of them are non-poisonous, but the proportion of venomous snakes is greater than in India or Ceylon.
The largest member of the serpent family is the boa; it has been found twenty-six feet long, though it rarely exceeds twenty feet. The largest of the boas can kill and swallow a small horse, while a goat or sheep forms only a comfortable mouthful. One of the most venomous is the coral, which haunts the cacao plantations, and has a fatal bite. Ammonia is used as an antidote to snake-bites, but the application must be made in a few minutes, before the poison is diffused in the blood. Doses of strong coffee, brandy, or some other stimulant will sometimes keep up the action of the heart and neutralize the effect of the poison until the victim is out of danger.
RATTLESNAKE DISTURBED BY A WILDCAT.
The alcalde showed some of the venomous snakes that he kept as curiosities, but wisely restrained of their liberty. Among them was a rattlesnake, which appeared to be identical with the rattlesnake of North America; a "parrot-snake" of a dull green color, which makes it difficult to discover among the grass and leaves, and a "surucucu," which does not belong to the valley of the Mamoré, but inhabits the lower Amazon and the Rio Negro. The coral snake, already mentioned, wasamong them; he was a pretty serpent (if serpents can be called pretty), of a vermilion hue striped with black bands. The youths stood at a respectful distance while surveying the collection, and did not care for a near acquaintance.
Manuel said that serious accidents from the bites of snakes were far less frequent than might be supposed. Natives are the principal sufferers, partly for the reason that the number of Europeans is not large, and partly because they go constantly clothed, which is not the case with the natives. It is the same as in India and Ceylon, where thousands of natives die every year from snake-bites, while not half a dozen deaths of Europeans from this cause have occurred during the century.
They passed from the Beni into the Madeira, and found the river increased to double its former volume. Frank and Fred looked anxiously up the Madeira, and wished they could explore the stream to its source; but as the wish could not be gratified, they quickly dismissed it fromtheir thoughts. Their pilot said they were in the country of the Caripuna Indians, and it was quite possible that some of these aboriginals would pay them a visit at their next halting-place.
"The Caripunas were formerly quite hostile to the white men," said Manuel, "and used to attack the boats that went up or down the river. With boats going down stream they could not do much, as the pilots keep in the middle of the current and float along with it, but in ascending the river it is necessary to keep close to the bank, and this was the opportunity for them to make trouble. They had a spite against the MojosIndians, and the latter had great fear of the Caripunas, who had the reputation of roasting and eating their victims, whether they did so or not. But since the surveys were made for the railway, and trade on the river has increased, they have made no trouble; they have found that they can do better by being friendly to the white man, and begging what he has to give them."