Productions of the Province of Guayaquil, Cocoa....cultivation....
Harvest....Tobacco....Timber....Salt....Cattle....Minor Articles of
Trade...._Turbines_ found at Santa Elena....Large Bones, &c....
Animals, _Perico_, _Ligero_....Monkeys...._Iguanas_....Toucanes....
_Trompeteros_....Snakes....Curiquinqui, Snake-eater...._Huaco_,
Antidote for the Bite of Snakes...._Lagartos_, Alligators,
Description of....Methods of Killing....Fishermen....Mineral
Productions.
The following account of the productions of the province of Guayaquil is
partly from my own observation, and partly from statements given to me
by some very respectable natives, on whose veracity I could rely.
The most important production of this rich part of South America, as an
article of exportation, is the cocoa, the utility and delicacy of which,
as an article of food, needs no other encomium than that Linnæus calls
it _Theobroma_, the beverage of the Gods. The _cacao_, so called by the
Indians, and which name it still retains in America, is cultivated here
to a very great extent, and considerable profit; but, like many other
articles, it requires greater care to render it abundantly productive
than what it usually receives. It is sometimes sown in nurseries, on a
good soil, where it can be irrigated and shaded from the sun till the
plants are about two feet high; at which time they are fit for
transplanting; but it is more frequently sown where the plants are to
remain. For this purpose the ground is first prepared by clearing away
the wood, which is allowed to dry and is then burnt, excepting some
lofty trees, which are left to form a shade over the cacao trees; for
this, unlike other fruit trees, must be protected against the rays of
the sun during every period of its existence. The ground is then divided
into compartments, by cutting trenches for the purpose of draining it
during the rainy seasons. The cacao beans, fresh from the ripe pod, are
laid on the ground in pairs, fourteen or fifteen feet asunder; these are
very slightly covered with earth, and a folded leaf of plantain laid
over them to preserve the moisture, or prevent the heavy rains from
destroying the young plants. If the two beans germinate, the weaker
plant is cut down, when both have grown to that height which allows the
planter an opportunity of judging of their strength. At the time that
the cacao is planted, bananas, or plantains, are also sown, ranges of
the young plants being placed between those of the cacao, for the
purpose of procuring a shade for the shrubs; and it is calculated that
on an average the crop of plantains will defray the whole expence of the
plantation.
Until the cacao tree has grown to the height of four feet it is pruned
to the stem, and then allowed to throw out three or four branches, at
equal distances, from which the leaves are stripped, to prevent them
from drooping; all suckers are also removed, and the tree grows to the
height of eighteen or twenty feet.
When the cacao tree begins to bear, which is commonly the third year
after planting, then as well as before that period, it is assaulted by
several enemies of the caterpillar species; one of this tribe is four
inches long, and one in circumference round the body; it is belted
alternately with black and pale yellow stripes; these and all others are
carefully sought for and killed. When the tree begins to bear fruit, the
cavias, monkeys, squirrels, and the parrots, commit the greatest
depredations, and nothing but fire-arms will drive them away; they skip
and fly from tree to tree, and do more damage by breaking the branches,
than if they were allowed to remain and feed quietly on the fruit; some
of the monkey tribes are so impudent, that they will perch themselves on
the branches, break off the ends or the fruit, and throw them at the
person who attempts to disturb them.
The flower of the cacao is white; it is attached by a short stem to the
larger branches, or to the trunk of the tree; the pod which contains the
beans is shaped like a melon, about three inches long; when ripe it is
of a yellow colour; from twenty to thirty beans are closely imbedded in
five rows in each pod, in a soft, moist, downy substance, beautifully
white, and of a very agreeable subacid taste.
The two principal harvests of the cacao are in June and December, but
many of the planters prefer gathering the pods during the whole year,
whenever they are in a state of maturity. When the pods are gathered
from the trees, they are carried in large baskets to a place properly
prepared by cleaning it, and laid on plantain leaves spread for this
purpose; those who are appointed to separate the beans from the pods,
take a small knife-shaped instrument, of bone or hard wood, and make two
or more incisions through the rind, and then throw them to others, who
shake out the beans. These are allowed to remain covered with plantain
leaves, for three or four days, but not more, when they are spread out
to dry; and when they are perfectly so, they are carried to some place
prepared to receive them, where the greatest care is necessary to
preserve them from becoming wet, or from fermenting, which is the case
if they be not completely dry when housed. A small stove would often
save a cacao grower many thousand dollars, particularly in the December
harvest, when the rains prevail.
The cacao plantations generally abound with snakes; for the cutting down
of the brushwood, and the subsequent care requisite to prevent it from
growing and injuring the plants, allow the rays of the sun to penetrate
in many places, and these dangerous reptiles resort to them for the
purpose of basking in the sun, of which they appear very fond. At night
the enormous quantity of fire-flies, _lucernas_, which fly about in all
directions, is truly beautiful, and their united light is sometimes so
great, as to allow a person to see his way along a narrow path.
On an average the quantity of cacao harvested in the province of
Guayaquil is six hundred thousand _fanegas_, of three bushels each; it
sometimes sells at seven dollars the fanega. The cacao of Guayaquil is
of an inferior quality, the bean is large compared to that of Carraccas,
and three times the size of the best cacao, which is that of Soconusco;
it is much drier than either of these, and consequently much lighter,
and has a more bitter taste; however, the demand for it was never below
the quantity produced, and ships from Callao to Spain generally dropped
down to Guayaquil to take in cargoes of it; besides the annual supply to
Peru, Chile, and Mexico. The cacao produced in the lieutenancy of
Machala is considered the best; but I have not the least doubt, that if
due attention were paid to the cultivation and harvesting, such as is
bestowed in England on vegetables of minor importance, the cacao of
Guayaquil would both increase in quantity and improve in quality. No
soil or climate can be better suited to its growth than those of this
province, for it requires heat in this, and moisture in that. At present
(1824) the political changes have opened a fair field to the investment
of British capital, and the exertions of British industry in this rich
and fertile province; in which I hope to see both employed and
prospering, not only in commercial intercourse, but in mechanical and
agricultural improvements.
Very large plantations of tobacco are cultivated in this province,
particularly in the department of Daule and Puerto Viejo; it is packed
in the leaf, and supplies the interior provinces, Peru and Chile; its
quality is mild and good, and although it is a royal monopoly, the King
paying only one and a half real, three-sixteenths of a dollar, per
pound, it employs many of the natives, and pays them moderately well.
Timber is another article of commerce, large quantities being carried to
Peru, besides the great consumption of it here in the dock yard: the
kinds of timber used in ship-building are _roble_, a kind of oak,
_guachapeli_, _balsamo_, cedar, _maria_, _huarango_, and _piñuela_; in
addition to which varieties, there are, for other purposes, saffron,
laurel, negro, _caoba_, a kind of mahogany, ebony, _cascol_, _guayacan_,
_colorado_, _guayabo_, _mangle_, _canelo_, and others of minor
importance.
Salt is another branch of commerce of considerable consequence; it is
produced at the Punta de Santa Elena, and carried to Quito, Cuenca,
Loxa, as well as to every part of the provinces subject to these
capitals; and it is a source of great wealth to this province.
The trade in horned cattle, mules, and horses, of which there is an
excess in the savanas of Guayaquil, is extensive; they are driven into
the interior, where they find a good market, and amply repay the
breeder. The province of Guayaquil also produces many articles of less
moment, but all contributing to enrich its inhabitants; some of these
are bees wax, honey, small quantities of excellent coffee, rice,
_ajonjoli_, cotton, bark for tanning, _vainilla_, coconuts, copal gum,
sarsaparilla, sassafras, anime balsam, cassiafistula, caraña gum, and
_cascol_, a kind of black sealing wax; large quantities of _pita_,
thread, are spun also from the agave Americana, and many thousands of
hats are made annually by the indians in the department of Xipixapa, of
a fine white rush, some of which sell for upwards of twenty dollars
each.
The small shell-fish found on the rocks near to Santa Elena are worthy
of notice, as I believe them to be the true Turbines. They are about the
size of a hazel nut, shaped like a snail, and by different operations
the beautiful purple dye is obtained from them. Some prick the fish with
a needle or cactus thorn, and then press it down into the shell till a
small quantity of milky juice appears, into which a portion of cotton is
dipped; it is put into an earthen jar or cup, and the fish is placed
again on the rock: others take the fish out of the shell, and lay it on
their hands; they press it with a knife from the head towards the tail
or the slender part, which becomes filled with the liquid, and is cut
off, and cotton is applied to absorb the moisture, otherwise thread is
passed through it. When the cotton is soaked in the liquor, and a
sufficient quantity is obtained, it is mixed with as much dry cotton as
it will conveniently make damp, the cotton being well carded or teased;
it is afterwards dried and spun; when thread is used it is only drawn
through the liquor and dried. The colour is at first a pale yellow, it
subsequently changes to a greenish hue, and in the course of a few hours
it acquires the beautiful purple tinge so much admired by the ancients,
and which no future washing or exposure to the air can alter. The thread
dyed by the liquid procured from this small fish is often sold in
Guayaquil, and is called _caracolillo_, from _caracol_, a snail.
At the Punta de Santa Elena, enormous remains of unknown animals have
been discovered, which M. de Humboldt says were cetaceous; and Ulloa,
agreeing with the popular opinion here, calls them the remains of
giants, because the indians are in possession of a tradition, that men
of a colossal stature once landed at this point. I saw a grinder in the
possession of Don Jose Merino, at Guayaquil, which weighed five pounds
three ounces, and the enamel was spotted like the female tortoise shell.
The jaguar is an inhabitant, and may be justly stiled the lord of the
forest; it is called by the natives _tigre_, tiger, and is in size and
fierceness almost equal to the oriental tiger; the fur is short, thick,
and glossy, the colour is a bright yellow, marked along the spine with a
chain of occelated or eye-shaped spots, like black rings, having a black
spot in the centre of each; along the sides are four chains of rings,
but these are rather oval than round, each of them generally containing
two spots; however along the sides the rings are not so regular as along
the back, indeed the rings often appear to be formed of three or four
oblong spots, including two in the centre; the belly is white, with
transverse black stripes. The face and sides of the neck are very
thickly studded with black spots. The fur of the tail is not glossy; on
the upper part the pattern is a zig-zag, and not spotted like the body.
The jaguar preys on the cattle in the savanas, lurking about and
securing a bullock or young horse; after making a hearty meal he retires
to a considerable distance, and never returns to the same place within a
month, being suspicious perhaps of being detected and punished. Pressed
by hunger, he has been known to attack human beings, and even to loiter
about at night, waiting for an opportunity to seize on any one who may
leave the house; having once tasted human flesh, he becomes either more
daring, or averse to other food; but when it is known that a tiger has
destroyed any person, the cause is made a common one, and all the people
in the neighbourhood join and pursue the enemy till they kill it.
In the woods there is found a species of sloth, called by the natives
_perico ligero_, nimble peter; it is also called ahi, probably from the
pitiful noise which it makes. I have seen it several times, but the
following description of it was given to me by Dr. Hurtado, of
Guayaquil:--
"The snout short, forehead high, eyes black, almost covered with long
black eyelashes, no incisors in the under jaw, four legs, ill formed,
thighs ill-shaped and clumsy, hind legs short and thick, the toes
united, having three long curved claws on the hind and fore feet,
twenty-eight ribs, three stomachs, very short intestines, only one
aperture for the emission of excrements, like birds; very short tail,
and the whole length of the body between four and five feet."
This animal in appearance is the very picture of misery; it is covered
with long shaggy hair resembling dried grass; its motion is very slow,
and at each step it howls most hideously, and scarcely walks ten yards
in as many hours. It feeds on leaves and the buds of trees, and when it
has once gained the top of a tree it will remain there as long as a leaf
is to be procured, and even for some time afterwards, crying and
howling, till hunger obliges it to search for food; it then forms itself
into a round lump and drops from the tree upon the ground, as if devoid
of life. The indians sometimes kill and eat it, and if fat they relish
the flesh, which they say is very savoury; but I never had an
opportunity of tasting it.
Many deer, _venados_, similar to those of Peru, some cavias, and four
varieties of the monkey, are also found in the woods; of these, two
species when erect stand four feet high; the one is completely black,
with very long arms, hence called _brasilargo_, and is excellent eating;
the other has a black back and brown belly, and is called _mongon_; the
other two kinds are when erect about eighteen inches high; the one is of
a yellow brown colour, and the other is black with a white face: all the
four species have long tails. Many _iguanas_ are met with in different
parts of the province; the body is about a foot long, with a row of
points along the back like the fins of a fish, the head has a crest
like that of the dunghill cock; the mouth is similar to the beak of a
parrot, the bite of which is very severe, as it divides almost every
thing that comes between its jaws; the legs are short, and the toes are
partly connected by a membrane, like the feet of some water-fowl; the
tail is very slender and as long as the body, having very much the
appearance of a snake; by whipping with it when vexed it can inflict a
very severe wound; its colour is green and yellow, and the natives often
say, that if it had wings it would be the devil himself. They are
oviparous, and the female lays from twenty to thirty eggs at one time:
these are white, and covered with a membrane instead of a shell, and are
most delicate eating. The flesh of the animal too is whiter and more
savoury than that of the barn door fowl. They are chiefly found on the
branches of trees, and when pursued on the ground will betake themselves
to their burrows or to the water.
Among the feathered tribe there are many beautiful parrots, parroquets,
and papagayos; the toucan, called here _dios te dé_, is common in the
woods, particularly in the neighbourhood of the banana plantations, on
the ripe fruit of which it feeds; the back, wings, and tail, are black,
the breast a beautiful bright yellow, and the beak, which is as long as
the body of the bird, is yellow on the upper side, and the rest brown;
the tongue is long, slender and serrated; on the whole the appearance of
the bird is very awkward, owing to the immense size of the beak.
Here are many wild turkeys, some of which are delicate eating;
_huacharacas_, a species of pheasant, and _poujis_, equally or more
delicate; the latter are as large as our turkeys; the male is black,
with a high crest of beautiful black and white feathers on its head; the
hen is brown, spotted with black, having a crest or topping like the
male, which it spreads in the form of a fan when vexed, and then allows
it to fall backward on the neck.
The _trompetero_ is a native of this province, and is often
domesticated, as well as the toucan, poujis, and several different kinds
of parrots; the trompetero is about the size of a barn door fowl, and
entirely black, excepting a few long yellow feathers on the neck; it
becomes very tame, and will follow the people to whom it belongs, making
a noise somewhat like the sound of a trumpet, which, according to the
general opinion, proceeds from the anus; the sound however is so varied
and modulated, that it sometimes appears to proceed from one part and
sometimes from another. On the arrival of a stranger it will immediately
parade the room, and receive him with a musical welcome.
Here are also several varieties of pigeons and other small birds,
particularly humming birds; these beautiful flutterers fly in all
directions, sipping the honey from the flowers, especially those of the
plantain and the banana, which are their favourites, and in which they
are often completely hidden while feeding on their nectareous sweets.
The small birds are more worthy of admiration for the brilliancy of
their plumage than for the sweetness of their notes; indeed very few of
them ever sing; and the continued chattering of the parrots is very
disagreeable. The most useful bird here is the gallinaso, it may be
called the public scavenger, and it is protected by the municipal law,
which imposes a fine of five dollars on any person who kills one of
them.
Numerous snakes infest the whole of the province of Guayaquil, and
individuals are often bitten by them; but the natives are possessed of
remedies, and against the poison of some, of specific antidotes. They
make the patient drink a considerable quantity of olive oil, scarify
round the wound, and apply pieces of calcined stag's horn; but the
safest remedy known among the natives is the leaves of a creeper called
_huaco_, which growls in the woods. The leaves are bruised to the
consistency of paste, which is made into small cakes, each about the
size of half a crown, and then dried in the shade. When a person is
bitten, he puts one of these small cakes in his mouth, and chews it till
the bitter taste is gone, at the same time swallowing his saliva; he is
then bathed, the chewed herb is taken from his mouth and bound over the
wound, and he recovers. The visible effects are a copious perspiration.
When at Esmeraldas I was bitten in the hand by a coral snake, the bite
of which is considered mortal if not immediately cured; the pain which I
felt was a violent burning near the wound; it gradually spread over the
part affected, accompanied with a peculiar sensation, which appeared as
if a large weight were hanging to my hand, and which prevented me from
raising it. A native who was with me having observed what had happened,
immediately gave me a cake of the huaco herb, ordered me to chew it, and
began to press my hand, squeezing the wound; in about five minutes the
pain abated, and the bitter taste of the herb was gone. I bathed in the
river, and laid myself down in a canoe, where I was covered with a
poncho and taken to my home, which was about four miles from the spot
where the accident happened. During the time that I remained in the
canoe I perspired most profusely, and after retiring to my bed, more so;
the pain in my hand was very much allayed, but I felt a general numbness
and great debility, accompanied with nausea; I drank a large glass of
almond milk, _orchata_, and slept about an hour; on waking I found
myself feverish, my tongue parched and hard, and for four days I was
very ill. A poultice of boiled pumpkin was continually kept on my hand,
and the wound began to suppurate on the fourth day, when my health was
gradually restored. All this time I was very apprehensive of danger,
although the natives assured me that as twenty-four hours had elapsed
since the bite, I was perfectly safe. For more than a fortnight I felt
the effects of the poisonous fangs of the reptile, which the natives had
killed almost immediately after it had wounded me, and brought it to my
house. I never saw the huaco herb growing, but I have seen it when
brought from the woods; the leaves are about two and a half inches long
and half an inch broad; the upper surface is of a dark green, with
purple veins running along it, of a glossy appearance and solid texture;
the under side is of an obscure purple hue; the leaves grow singly, two
being placed opposite to each other on the stem, which is slender, hard,
and ribbed, and of a bluish colour. I never saw the flower, and the
natives when I asked them concerning it, told me that it never did
flower, at least that they had never observed any flowers on the plant.
Fortunately, a bird at Guayaquil called _quiriquinqui_, at Esmeraldas
and on the coast of Choco, _huaco_, and at Quito, _beteado de oro_, is a
great enemy to the snakes, and other venomous reptiles and insects, on
which it feeds. It is a species of vulture, about the size of a hen, and
is easily domesticated; its colour is a bright brown, variegated with
stains of pale yellow. It flies about the woods, or runs along the
savanas in quest of its food, and attacks the snakes, opposing its wing
to them as a shield; when the animal is somewhat exhausted by striking
at the bird, it seizes the reptile near the head, and biting it rises on
its wings, and afterwards alights, and observes if it be dead; if not,
it again bites it, and sometimes soaring aloft with it lets it fall, and
immediately drops down after it; when dead the bird devours it. The
natives affirm, that to this bird they owe the discovery of the herb
which they call huaco; they observed that the bird, after fighting with
a snake, would sometimes search for the herb and eat it; hence they
supposed it to be an antidote for the poison, which experience has
proved to be correct.
The poisonous snakes found here are the _bejuco_, about two feet long,
very slender, and of a brown colour, having the appearance of a small
cane; the _cascabel_, one of the varieties of the rattle snake; it is
sometimes five feet long, and spotted with white and yellow; the coral,
of a very beautiful appearance, owing to its bright colours, which are a
deep red, bright yellow, and black, in alternate belts; the head is very
flat, and although the animal is small, seldom exceeding two feet in
length, its bite is considered of the most poisonous kind, and if not
directly cured generally proves mortal in a few hours; the effects are
an immediate swelling, and afterwards an exudation of blood from every
part of the body, accompanied with the most agonizing pain, till death
relieves the wretch from the anguish he endures. Don Pedro Figueroa, to
whose attention I owed my cure, assured me, that he once saw the corpse
of a negro who died of the bite of the coral snake, and that it had
become completely white. The _exis_ is so called on account of the marks
along the back, from the head to the extremity of the tail; its length
is from three to four feet, head flat, colour dark brown, with white
marks like XX along the back. This snake is most active and poisonous,
and is much dreaded. The _sierpe volante_ is very dangerous; it is about
eighteen inches long, very slender, of a dark brown colour, and can
spring to a great distance to inflict its poisonous wound; hence the
natives call it the flying serpent. Here are several kinds of harmless
snakes, which the natives never kill, as they are great enemies of the
poisonous ones; I once saw one of these, called the _sobre cama_,
devouring an exis larger than itself.
The river of Guayaquil and the creeks that empty themselves into it,
abound with alligators, _lagartos_, or _caimanes_, so much so, that on
the banks where they lie basking in the sun they appear like logs of
wood thrown up by the tide, and are so unapprehensive of danger, that a
canoe or boat may pass very near to them without their being disturbed;
when basking in this manner they keep their enormous mouths open, and
owing to the colour of the fleshy substance on the inside of the lower
jaw, as well as to a musky scent which accompanies their breath, great
numbers of flies are allured to enter the mouth, the upper jaw of
which, when a sufficient number are collected, suddenly falls down, and
the deluded insects are swallowed.
The alligator is an oviparous animal; the female deposits her eggs in
the sand, laying in the course of one or two days from eighty to a
hundred; they are much larger than those of a goose, and much thicker;
they are covered with a very tenacious white membrane, and are often
eaten by the indians, who when they take them first open a small hole in
the larger end, and place the egg in the sand with the hole downward; by
this means a peculiarly disagreeable musky taste is destroyed; they
afterwards cook them in the same manner as other eggs. I have tasted
them, and found nothing disagreeable, except their being very tough.
After depositing her eggs the female covers them with sand, and then
rolls herself over them, and continues rolling to the water side, as if
to prevent the spot being found where she has left her deposit; but the
vigilant gallinasos are generally on the alert at this season, and when
they have found the nest, destroy the whole of them. The people who live
near the sides of the river train their dogs to search for the eggs, as
well as to destroy them; and thus thousands are annually broken.
When instinct informs the alligator that the time of ovation is
completed, both the male and female go to the nest, and if undisturbed
the female immediately uncovers the eggs, and carefully breaks them; the
young brood begin to run about, and the watchful gallinasos prey upon
them, while the male alligator, who appears to have come for no other
purpose, devours all that he possibly can; those that can mount on the
neck and back of the female are safe, unless they happen to fall off, or
cannot swim, in which cases she devours them. Thus nature has prepared a
destruction for these dangerous animals, which would otherwise be as
numerous as flies, and become the absolute proprietors of the
surrounding country; even at present, notwithstanding the comparatively
few that escape, their number is almost incredible.
I have frequently seen the lagartos eighteen or twenty feet long. They
feed principally on fish, which they catch in the rivers, and are known
sometimes to go in a company of ten or twelve to the mouths of the small
rivers and creeks, where two or three ascend while the tide is high,
leaving the rest at the mouth; when the tide has fallen, one party
besets the mouth of the creek, while the other swims down the stream,
flapping their tails, and driving the fish into the very jaws of their
devourers, which catch them, and lift their heads out of the water to
swallow them.
When these voracious creatures cannot procure a sufficient quantity of
fish to satisfy their hunger, they betake themselves to the savanas,
where they destroy the calves and foals, lurking about during the day,
and seizing their prey when asleep at night, which they drag to the
water side, and there devour it. The cattle and the dogs appear sensible
of their danger when they go to the rivers to drink, and will howl and
bark until they have attracted the attention of the lagartos at one
place, and then drop back and run to another, where they drink in a
hurry, and immediately leave the water side; otherwise, as has been the
case, an alligator would seize on them by the nose, drag them under the
water, and drown and eat them.
When the lagarto has once tasted the flesh of animals it will almost
abandon the fish, and reside principally ashore. I crossed the large
plain of Babaoyo, where I saw a living one, buried, except the head, in
the clay, beside the remains of several dead ones. On inquiring how they
came there, the _montubios_, a name given here to the peasantry, told
me, that when the rains fall in the mountains the great part of this
savana is inundated, at which time the lagartos prowl about in search of
the cattle remaining on the small islands that are then formed; and when
the waters retire they are left embedded in the clay, till the ensuing
rains set them at liberty; they feed on flies in the way already
described, and can exist in this manner for six or seven months. When
found in this state the natives always kill them; sometimes by piercing
them with lances between the fore leg and the body, the only visible
part in which they are vulnerable; if they be not prepared with a lance,
they collect wood, and kindle a fire as near to the mouth of the lagarto
as they dare venture, and burn him to death.
These animals will sometimes seize human beings when bathing, and even
take children from the shores; after having succeeded once or twice they
will venture to take men or women from the balsas, if they can surprize
them when asleep; but they are remarkably timid, and any noise will
drive them from their purpose. They have also been known to swim
alongside a small canoe, and to suddenly place one of their paws on the
edge and upset it, when they immediately seize the unwary victim.
Whenever it is known that a _cebado_, one that has devoured either a
human being or cattle, is in the neighbourhood, all the people join in
the common cause to destroy it; this they often effect by means of a
noose of strong hide rope, baited with some animal food; when the
lagarto seizes the bait its upper jaw becomes entangled with the rope,
and the people immediately attack it with their lances, and generally
kill it.
The natives sometimes divert themselves in catching the lagartos alive;
they employ two methods, equally terrific and dangerous to a spectator,
at first sight; both of these were exhibited to Count Ruis, when we were
at Babaoyo, on our way to Quito. A man takes in his right hand a
truncheon, called a tolete; this is of hard wood, about two feet long,
having a ball formed at each end, into which are fastened two iron
harpoons, and to the middle of this truncheon a platted thong is
fastened. The man takes this in his hand, plunges into the river, and
holds it horizontally on the surface of the water, grasping a dead fowl
with the same hand, and swimming with the other: he places himself in a
right line with the lagarto, which is almost sure to dart at the fowl;
when this happens the truncheon is placed in a vertical position, and
at the moment that the jaw of the lagarto is thrown up the tolete is
thrust into the mouth, so that when the jaw falls down again the two
harpoons become fixed, and the animal is dragged to the shore by the
cord fastened to the tolete. When on shore the appearance of the lagarto
is really most horrible; his enormous jaw propped up by the tolete,
shewing his large sharp teeth; his eyes projecting almost out of his
head; the pale red colour of the fleshy substance on his under jaw, as
well as that of the roof of the mouth; the impenetrable armour of scales
which covers the body, with the huge paws and tail, all contribute to
render the spectacle appalling; and although one is perfectly aware that
in its present state it is harmless, yet it is almost impossible to look
on it without feeling what fear is. The natives now surround the lagarto
and bait it like a bull; holding before it any thing that is red, at
which it runs, when the man jumps on one side and avoids being struck by
it, while the animal continues to run forward in a straight line, till
checked by the thong which is fastened to the tolete. When tired of
teazing the poor brute, they kill it by thrusting a lance down its
throat, or under the fore leg into its body; unless by accident it be
thrown on its back, when it may be pierced in any part of the belly,
which is soft and easily penetrated.
The other method is, by taking a fowl in one hand, and a sharp strong
knife in the other; the man swims till he is directly opposite to the
alligator, and at the moment when it springs at the fowl the man dives
under the water, leaving: the fowl on the surface; he then holds up the
knife to the belly of the animal, and cuts it open, when the alligator
immediately rolls over on its back, and is carried away by the stream.
Much has been said about the surprizing agility of some of the Spanish
bull fighters, and I have often beheld feats that have astonished me;
but this diversion at Babaoyo, for so the natives consider it, evinced
more bravery and agility than I had ever before witnessed. The teeth of
the alligator are often taken from the jaws, and _yesqueros_, small
tinder boxes, which are generally carried in the pocket for the purpose
of lighting segars, are made from them; they are beautifully white and
equal to the finest ivory; some are four inches long, and I have seen
them most delicately carved, and mounted with gold or silver.
In fishing, the natives also evince extraordinary dexterity, both in the
river and on the sea shores. In the river I have seen them stand up in
small canoes, five or six feet long, and hold a net fastened to a
triangular frame, having a long pole affixed to it; they will dip the
net into the river, inclining the body backwards to preserve a perfect
balance on the canoe, sweep the net along the stream, and draw it to the
surface, raising the body gradually to an erect posture, so that the
equipoise is never lost; this indeed is a wonderful effort, because any
slight tremulous motion would upset the slender foundation on which they
stand. From similar canoes they will also throw the casting net,
_ataraya_, already described. At sea the natives, chiefly indians, mount
astride on logs of balsa wood, and take their large nets with them,
which they let drop; after which they fasten the cord of the two
extremities to the logs and paddle to the shore, dragging the net after
them, maintaining so exact a balance, that although the log is round
they very seldom fall off.
In the sea along the coast of the department la Manta, very large cuttle
fish abound, some of which are twelve feet long and seven feet broad; it
was owing to the accidents which happened by their enveloping and
killing the divers that the pearl fishery on this coast was abandoned,
although some very valuable pearls have been found. This lucrative
occupation, however, if attended with such precautions as science may
suggest, will probably be reassumed; and the expectations of the natives
may be realized, that Providence has made a reserve and hidden treasures
from the Spaniards, that the country may not be unworthy of notice when
they lose it.
The only mineral production in the province of Guayaquil of which any
mention is made, is emeralds, in the district of la Manta; but they have
not been sought for since the conquest; tradition states, that before
that period the indians possessed many of these gems, but it is probable
they obtained them from the neighbouring province de las Esmeraldas,
where I have seen several.
After the foregoing description of Guayaquil and its productions, it is
almost unnecessary to say any thing respecting its importance as a place
of commerce. It is likewise the principal, and till very lately (1824)
was the only port to the provinces of Quito, Cuenca, Paste, and Papayan,
all of which are extensive, well peopled, and comparatively rich
districts. The only thing wanting here is an increase of capital,
activity, and inhabitants; for the climate and the soil are calculated
to produce whatever is found between the tropics; and there is no doubt
but that this will at a future date become one of the most flourishing
countries in the new world.