THE OCELOT.
During the whole summer, Don Pablo, Guapo, and Leon, continued
bark-gathering. Every day they went out into the woods, excepting Sunday
of course. That was kept as a day of rest; for, although far from
civilised society, there was not the less necessity for their being
Christians. God dwells in the wilderness as well as in the walled city,
and worship to Him is as pleasing under the shadow of the forest leaves,
as with sounding organ beneath the vaulted dome of the grand cathedral.
During week-days, while the others were abroad, Doña Isidora and the
little Leona were not idle at home; yet their whole time was not taken
up by the mere concerns of the _cuisine_. They had an industry of their
own, and, in fact, one that promised to be almost as profitable in its
results as the bark-gathering. This was neither more nor less than
preparing _vanilla_.
Some days after arriving in the valley, while exploring a wood that lay
at the back of the cultivated ground, Don Pablo discovered that every
tree carried a creeper or parasite of a peculiar kind. It was a small
creeper not unlike ivy, and was covered with flowers of a
greenish-yellow colour, mixed with white. Don Pablo at once recognised
in this parasitical plant one of the many species of lianas that produce
the delicious and perfumed vanilla. It was, in fact, the finest of the
kind--that which, among the French, is called _leq_ vanilla; and, from
the fact that every tree had a number of these parasites, and no other
climbing vines, Don Pablo came to the conclusion that they had been
planted by the missionaries. It is thus that vanilla is usually
cultivated, by being set in slips at the root of some tree which may
afterwards sustain it.
In the course of the summer, these vanilla vines exhibited a different
appearance. Instead of flowers, long bean-like capsules made their
appearance. These capsules or pods were nearly a foot in length, though
not much thicker than a swan's quill. They were a little flattish,
wrinkled, and of a yellow colour, and contained inside, instead of
beans, a pulpy substance, surrounding a vast quantity of small seeds,
like grains of sand. These seeds are the perfumed vanilla so much
prized, and which often yield the enormous price of fifty dollars a
pound! To preserve these, therefore, was the work of Doña Isidora and
Leona; and they understood perfectly how to do it.
First, they gathered the pods before they were quite ripe. These they
strung upon a thread, taking care to pass the thread through that end
nearest the footstalk. The whole were next plunged for an instant into
boiling water, which gave them a blanched appearance. The thread was
then stretched from tree to tree, and the pods, hanging like a string of
candles, were then exposed to the sun for several hours. Next day, they
were lightly smeared with an oiled feather, and then wrapped in oiled
cotton of the _Bombax ceiba_, to prevent the valves from opening.
When they had remained in this state for a few days, the string was
taken out, and passed through the other ends, so that they should hang
in an inverted position. This was to permit the discharge of a viscid
liquid from the footstalk end; and in order to assist this discharge,
the pods were several times lightly pressed between the fingers. They
now became dry and wrinkled. They had also shrunk to less than half
their original size, and changed their colour to a reddish-brown.
Another delicate touch of the oil-feather, and the vanilla was ready for
the market. Nothing remained but to pack them in small cases, which had
already been prepared from the leaf of a species of palm-tree.
In such a way did the lady Isidora and her daughter pass their time; and
before the summer was out they had added largely to the stock of wealth
of our exiles.
Although these two always remained by the house, they were not without
_their_ adventures as well, one of which I shall describe. It occurred
while they were getting in their crop of vanilla. Leona was in the porch
in front, busy among the vanilla-beans. She had a large needle and a
thread of palm-leaf fibre, with which she was stringing the long pods,
while her mother was inside the house packing some that had been already
dried.
Leona rested for a moment, and was looking over the water, when, all at
once, she exclaimed,
"Maman--Maman! come out and see! oh! what a beautiful cat!"
The exclamation caused Doña Isidora to start, and with a feeling of
uneasiness. The cause of her uneasiness was the word "cat." She feared
that what the innocent child had taken for a "beautiful cat" might prove
to be the dreaded jaguar. She ran at once out of the door, and looked in
the direction pointed out by Leona. There, sure enough, on the other
side of the water, was a spotted creature, looking in the distance, very
much like a cat; but Doña Isidora saw at a glance that it was a far
larger animal.
Was it the jaguar? It was like one, in its colour and markings. It was
of a yellowish colour, and covered all over with black spots, which gave
it the semblance of the jaguar. Still Doña Isidora thought that it was
not so large as these animals usually are; and this, to some extent,
restored her confidence. When first seen, it was close down to the
water's edge, as if it had come there to drink; and Doña Isidora was in
hopes that, after satisfying its thirst, it would go away again. What
was her consternation to see it make a forward spring, and, plunging
into the water, swim directly for the house!
Terrified, she seized Leona by the hand, and retreated inside. She shut
the door, and bolted it. If it were a jaguar, what protection would that
be? Such a creature could dash itself through the frail bamboo wall, or
tear the door to pieces with his great claws in a moment. "If it be a
jaguar," thought she, "we are lost!"
Doña Isidora was a woman of courage. She was determined to defend the
lives of herself and daughter to the last. She looked around the house
for a weapon. The pistols of Don Pablo were hanging against the wall.
She knew they were loaded. She took them down, and looked to the flints
and priming, and then stationed herself at a place where she could see
out through the interstices of the bamboos. The little Leona kept by her
side, though she knew, that in a struggle with a ferocious jaguar, she
could give no help.
By this time the animal had crossed the river, and she could see it
spring out on the bank, and come on towards the house. In a few seconds
it was close to the porch, where it halted to reconnoitre. Doña Isidora
saw it very plainly, and would now have had a very good chance to fire
at it; but she did not wish to begin the combat. Perhaps it might go
away again, without attempting to enter the house. In order not to draw
its attention, she stood perfectly quiet, having cautioned Leona to do
the same.
It was not a large animal, though its aspect was fierce enough to
terrify any one. Its tiger-like eyes, and white teeth, which it showed
at intervals, were anything but pleasant to look upon. Its size,
however, was not so formidable; and Doña Isidora had understood the
jaguar to be a large animal; but there is also a smaller species of
jaguar. This might be the one.
After halting a moment, the creature turned to one side, and then
proceeded at a skulking trot around the house. Now and then it stopped
and looked toward the building, as if searching for some aperture by
which it might get in. Doña Isidora followed it round on the inside. The
walls were so open that she could mark all its movements; and, with a
pistol in each hand, she was ready for the attack, determined to fire
the moment it might threaten to spring against the bamboos.
On one side of the house, at a few paces distance, stood the mule. The
horse had been taken to the woods, and the mule was left alone. This
animal was tied to a tree, which shaded her from the sun. As soon as the
fierce creature got well round the house, it came in full view of the
mule, which now claimed its attention. The latter, on seeing it, had
started, and sprung round upon her halter, as if badly terrified by the
apparition.
Whether the beast of prey had ever before seen a mule was a question.
Most likely it had not; for, half-innocently, and half as if with the
intention of making an attack, it went skulking up until it was close to
the heels of the latter. It could not have placed itself in a better
position to be well kicked; and well kicked it was, for, just at that
moment, the mule let fling with both her heels, and struck it upon the
ribs. A loud "thump" was heard by those within the house, and Doña
Isidora, still watching through the canes, had the satisfaction to see
the spotted creature take to its heels, and gallop off as if a kettle
had been tied to its tail! It made no stop, not even to look back; but
having reached the edge of the water, plunged in, and swam over to the
opposite shore. They could see it climb out on the other side, and then,
with a cowed and conquered look, it trotted off, and disappeared among
the palm-trees.
Doña Isidora knew that it was gone for good; and having now no further
fear went on with her work as before. She first, however, carried out a
large measure of the _murumuru_ nuts, and gave them to the mule, patting
the creature upon the nose, and thanking her for the important service
she had rendered.
When Don Pablo and the rest returned, the adventure was, of course,
related; but from the description given of the animal, neither Don Pablo
nor Guapo believed it could have been the jaguar. It was too small for
that. Besides a jaguar would not have been cowed and driven off by a
mule. He would more likely have killed the mule, and dragged its body
off with him across the river, or perhaps have broken into the house,
and done worse.
The animal was, no doubt, the "ocelot," which is also spotted, or rather
marked with the eye-like rosettes which distinguish the skin of the
jaguar. Indeed, there are quite a number of animals of the cat genus in
the forests of the Montaña; some spotted like the leopard, others
striped as the tiger, and still others of uniform colour all over the
body. They are, of course, all preying animals, but none of them will
attack man, except the jaguar and the puma. Some of the others, when
brought to bay, will fight desperately, as would the common wild cat
under like circumstances; but the largest of them will leave man alone,
if unmolested themselves. Not so with the jaguar, who will attack either
man or beast, and put them to death, unless he be himself overpowered.
The jaguar, or, as he is sometimes called, "ounce," and by most
Spanish-Americans "tiger," is the largest and most ferocious of all the
American _Felidæ_. He stands third in rank as to these qualities--the
lion and tiger of the Eastern continent taking precedence of him.
Specimens of the jaguar have been seen equal in size to the Asiatic
tiger; but the average size of the American animal is much less. He is
strong enough, however, to drag a dead horse or ox to his den--often to
a distance of a quarter of a mile--and this feat has been repeatedly
observed.
The jaguar is found throughout all the tropical countries of Spanish
America, and is oftener called tiger than jaguar. This is a misapplied
name; for although he bears a considerable likeness to the tiger, both
in shape and habits, yet the markings of his skin are quite different.
The tiger is striated or striped, while the black on the jaguar is in
beautiful eye-like rosettes. The leopard is more like the jaguar than
any other creature; and the panther and cheetah of the Eastern continent
also resemble him. The markings of the jaguar, when closely examined,
differ from all of these. The spots on the animals of the old world are
simple spots or black rings, while those of the American species are
rings with a single spot in the middle, forming _ocellæ_, or eyes. Each,
in fact, resembles a rosette.
Jaguars are not always of the same colour. Some have skins of an orange
yellow, and these are the most beautiful. Others are lighter-coloured;
and individuals have been killed that were nearly white. But there is a
"black jaguar," which is thought to be of a different species. It is
larger and fiercer than the other, and is found in the very hottest
parts of the Great Montaña. Its skin is not quite jet-black, but of a
deep maroon brown; and upon close inspection, the spots upon it can be
seen of a pure black. This species is more dreaded by the inhabitants of
those countries than the other; and it is said always to attack man
wherever it may encounter him.
In the forests of South America, the jaguar reigns with undisputed sway.
All the other beasts fear, and fly from him. His roar produces terror
and confusion among the animated creation, and causes them to fly in
every direction. It is never heard by the Indian without some feeling of
fear,--and no wonder; for a year does not pass without a number of these
people falling victims to the savage ferocity of this animal.
There are those, however, among them who can deal single-handed with the
jaguar,--regular "jaguar-hunters" by profession,--who do not fear to
attack the fierce brute in his own haunts. They do not trust to
fire-arms, but to a sharp spear. Upon this they receive his attack,
transfixing the animal with unerring aim as he advances. Should they
fail in their first thrust, their situation is one of peril; yet all
hope is not lost. On their left arm they carry a sort of sheep-skin
shield. This is held forward, and usually seized by the jaguar; and
while he is busy with it, the hunter gains time for a second effort,
which rarely fails to accomplish his purpose.
The jaguars are killed for many reasons. Their beautiful skins sell for
several dollars; besides, in many places a price is set upon their
heads, on account of their destructive habits. Thousands are destroyed
every year. For all this, they do not seem to diminish in numbers. The
introduction of the large mammalia into America has provided them with
increased resources; and in many places, where there are herds of
half-wild cattle, the number of the jaguars is said to be greater than
formerly. It is difficult for one, living in a country where such fierce
animals are unknown, to believe that they may have an influence over man
to such an extent as to prevent his settling in a particular place; yet
such is the fact. In many parts of South America, not only plantations,
but whole villages, have been abandoned solely from fear of the jaguars!