THE ANIMALS.
[Animals of South America—Jaguar—Water Hog.]
The same day that we went to the egg harvest, as we were sailing along on the river, we saw a jaguar feasting on a chiquire or water hog, and a large flock of vultures hovering round him, as if they grudged him every mouthful he swallowed. Finally they troubled him so much, that he took up his prey and carried it off into the adjacent forest.
But I found creatures in South America, more terrible than serpents, jaguars, or crocodiles. You will wonder, perhaps, what they could be. Then I’ll tell you. They were musquetoes, white flies, and ants.
Musquetoes are indeed troublesome every where; but nowhere that I have been—and I have been in all parts of the world—so much so as in South America. Why, we seemed to breathe them, almost, instead of air. We were never free from them except at midnight; and then other insects, huge bats, and jaguars, kept us in continual alarm.
Sleeping rooms there, are sometimes built on poles, or scaffolding, higher than these cruel insects ever fly, which is found to be about twelve feet from the level of the rivers; and in these apartments we were able to obtain a little breathing comfort. Vast regions of the country are rendered uninhabitable by the different species of tormenting animals which infest it. When two persons meet in the morning, the first question often is, “How are you to-day for the musquetoes?” I have had both my legs swelled to a most enormous size, by the bites of these animals.
In some parts of the country the Indians bury themselves,all but their heads, in the sand while they sleep; in others, they assemble all the cows in the village, and pass their nights among them, for it is found that they are not so troublesome in the neighborhood of cattle.
Sometimes they build a kind of oven, without doors or windows, having only a little hole, through which they creep on their hands and knees. They then light a fire in it of wet brushwood, which makes a great smoke and drives off the insects; then closing the door of the oven, they go to sleep. But I could not endure the smoke as well as I could the musquetoes.
As to thewhite flies, they are so very small, that if you were to use musquetoe curtains, they would have to be wetted to prevent these tiny creatures from making their way through the threads. Their sting is exceedingly painful.
Thetermitesare a sort of ant that eats paper, pasteboard, parchment, &c, so that there are no ancient records of the countries in which they are found. But there is another species of ant which devours juicy green leaves, such as salads; so that when the inhabitants wish for a few dishes of pleasant cooling herbs, they make a gardenin the air.
You will smile, but I assure you that I state nothing but what I have seen. They procure an old boat, or some frame of that description, raise it on dry poles, then fill it with earth, and sow their seeds. The destructive ants, travelling as they do in bands, not knowing there is any thing growing above, pass by these bare poles or supporters, and the plants are saved.
Person sitting under tree