A BATCH OF CURIOUS TREES.
Of course the escape from danger so imminent, after the first moments
were over, produced a sort of reaction in the feelings of all and they
were now rather joyous than otherwise. But with all there was a mixture
of regret when they thought of the fate of little "titi." It had been
their only pet, and had grown to be such a favourite that its loss was
now mourned by every one, and its absence caused them to feel as though
one of the company had been left behind. Several times during that day
poor "titi" was the subject of conversation; indeed, they could hardly
talk about anything else. Little Leona was quite inconsolable; for the
pretty creature had loved Leona, and used to perch on her shoulder by
the hour, and draw her silken ringlets through its tiny hand, and place
its dainty little nose against the rich velvet of her cheek, and play
off all sorts of antics with her ears. Many an hour did "titi" and
Leona spend together. No wonder that the creature was missed.
During the whole of that day they travelled through a country covered
with dense forest. The river was a full half-mile wide, but sometimes
there were islands, and then the current became narrowed on each side,
so that in passing, the balza almost touched the trees on one side or
the other. They saw many kinds of trees growing together, and rarely a
large tract covered with any one species of timber, for this, as already
remarked, is a peculiarity of the Amazon forest.
Many new and curious trees were noticed, of which Don Pablo gave short
botanical descriptions to the others, partly to instruct them, and
partly to while away the hours. Guapo, at the rudder, listened to these
learned lectures, and sometimes added some information of his own about
the properties of the trees, and the uses to which they were put by the
Indians. This is what is termed the popular part of the science of
botany, and, perhaps, it is more important than the mere classification
of genera and species, which is usually all the information that you get
from the learned and systematic botanists.
Among the trees passed to-day was one called the "volador." This is a
large forest tree, with lobed leaves, of a heart-shape. But it is the
seeds which are curious, and which give to the tree the odd name of
"volador," or "flier." These seeds have each a pair of membranaceous and
striated wings, which, when the seeds fall, are turned to meet the air
at an angle of 45°; and thus a rotatory motion is produced, and the
falling seeds turn round and round like little fly-wheels. It is
altogether a curious sight when a large volador is shaken in calm
weather, to see the hundreds of seeds whirling and wheeling towards the
ground, which they take a considerable time in reaching. The volador is
not confined to South America, I have seen it in Mexico, and other parts
of North America.
Another singular tree noticed was a tree of the barberry family known
among the Spanish-Americans as _barba de tigre_, or "tiger's beard."
This name it derives from the fact of its trunk--which is very large and
high--being thickly set all over with sharp, branching thorns, that are
fancied to resemble the whiskers of the jaguar, or South American
"tiger."
A third remarkable tree (or bush) observed was the _Bixa orellana_,
which yields the well-known _arnatto_ dye. This bush is ten or twelve
feet in height, and its seeds grow in a burr-like pericarp. These seeds
are covered with a reddish pulp, which produces the dye. The mode of
making it is simple. The Indian women throw the seeds into a vessel of
hot water, and stir them violently for about an hour, until they have
taken off the pulp. The water is then poured off, and the deposit,
separated from the seeds, is mixed with oil of turtle-eggs, or crocodile
fat, and kneaded into cakes of three or four ounces weight.
It is then "anoto," sometimes written "arnatto," sometimes "arnotto,"
sometimes "onoto," and sometimes "anato." The first is the proper
spelling. In Brazil it is called "urucu," whence the French name
"rocou;" and the Peruvians have still another designation for it,
"achoté." Of course each tribe of Indians calls it by a separate name.
The botanic name, _Bixa_, is the ancient name by which it was known to
the Indians of Hayti, for it is found in most parts of tropical America
growing wild, although it is also cultivated. It is an article in great
demand among all the Indians of South America, who use it for painting
their bodies, and dyeing the cotton cloth of which they make their
garments.
But these people are very skilful in drawing pigments from plants and
trees of many kinds; in fact, their practical chemistry, so far as it
relates to dyes and poisons, is quite surprising, and from time to time
Guapo pointed out trees that were used by them, for such purposes.
One was a climbing plant, whose tendrils reached to the tops of the
highest trees. It had beautiful violet-coloured flowers, an inch long,
and Don Pablo saw that it was a species of _bignonia_. Guapo called it
"chica." When in fruit it carries a pod two feet in length, full of
winged seeds. But Guapo said it was not from the seeds that the dye was
obtained, but from the leaves, which turn red when macerated in water.
The colouring matter comes out of the leaves in the form of a light
powder, and is then shaped into cakes, which sell among the Indians for
the value of a dollar each. This colour has a tinge of lake in it, and
is prized even more highly than the anoto. Indeed, red dyes among all
savage nations seem to hold a higher value than those of any other
colour.
Another dye-tree was the "huitoc." This one is a slender tree, about
twenty feet high, with broad leaves shooting out from the stem, and nuts
growing at their bases, after the manner of the bread-fruit. These nuts
resemble black walnuts, and are of a russet colour outside; but the pulp
inside, which produces the huitoc, is of a dark blue, or purple tint.
The "wild indigo tree," was also seen growing in the woods, with a leaf
narrow at the base, and broad at the extremity. With these and many
other dyes the Indians of the Montaña paint their bodies in fantastic
modes. So much are they addicted to these customs, that, among the
Indians who labour at the missions, some have been known to work nearly
a month to procure paint enough to give their body a single coat, and
the missionaries have made a merchandise of this gigantic folly. But the
paint is not always to be looked upon in the light of a mere folly, or
vanity. Sometimes it is used to keep off the "zancudos," or mosquitoes,
so numerous and annoying in these regions.
Another singular tree was observed, which Guapo called the "marima," or
"shirt-tree." The use of this he explained. The tree stands fifty or
sixty feet high, with a diameter of from two to three. When they find
them of this size, the Indians cut them down, and then separate the
trunk into pieces of about three feet long. From these pieces they strip
the bark, but without making any longitudinal incision, so that the
piece of bark when taken off is a hollow cylinder. It is thin and
fibrous, of a red colour, and looks like a piece of coarsely-woven
sack-cloth. With this the shirt is made, simply by cutting two holes in
the sides to admit the arms, and the body being passed into it, it is
worn in time of rain. Hence the saying of the old missionaries, that in
the "forests of America garments were found ready-made on the trees."
Many other trees were noticed valuable for their fruits, or leaves, or
bark, or roots, or their wood. There was the well-known "seringa," or
India-rubber tree; the great courbaril, the "dragon's-blood" tree, not
that celebrated tree of the East but one of a different genus from whose
white bark flows a red blood-like juice.
They saw, also, a species of cinnamon-tree though not the cinnamon of
commerce; the large tree that bears the Brazilian nut-meg (the Puxiri);
and that one, also, a large forest tree, that bears the nuts known as
"Tonka beans," and which are used in the flavouring of snuff.
But of all the trees which our travellers saw on that day, none made
such a impression upon them as the "juvia," or Brazil-nut tree. This
tree is not one with a thick trunk; in fact, the largest ones are not
three feet in diameter, but it rises to a height of 120 feet. Its trunk
is branchless for more than half that height, and the branches then
spread out and droop, like the fronds of the palm. They are naked near
their bases, but loaded towards the top with tufts of silvery green
leaves, each two feet in length. The tree does not blossom until its
fifteenth year, and then it bears violet-coloured flowers; although
there is another species, the "sapucaya," which has yellow ones. But it
is neither the trunk, nor the branches, nor the leaves, nor yet the
flowers of this tree, that render it such an object of curiosity. It is
the great woody and spherical pericarps that contain the nuts or fruits
that are wonderful. These are often as large as the head of a child, and
as hard as the shell of the cocoa-nut! Inside is found a large
number--twenty or more--of those triangular-shaped nuts which you may
buy at any Italian warehouse under the name of "Brazil-nuts."