diff options
Diffstat (limited to '24715.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 24715.txt | 16867 |
1 files changed, 16867 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/24715.txt b/24715.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f4c76f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/24715.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16867 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Western World, by W.H.G. Kingston + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +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 + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** 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. + +________________________________________________________________________ +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 + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WESTERN WORLD *** + +***** This file should be named 24715.txt or 24715.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/7/1/24715/ + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |