ACRES OF EGGS.
The next evening our travellers encamped on a sand-bar, or rather a
great bank of sand, that ran for miles along one side of the river. Of
course they had nothing to hang their hammocks to, but that was a matter
of no importance, for the sand was dry and soft, and of itself would
make a comfortable bed, as pleasant to sleep on as a hair-mattress. They
only wanted wood enough to cook with, and to keep up their fire during
the night--so as to frighten off the wild beasts.
This night they kept watch as usual, Leon taking the first turn. In
fact, they found that they must do so every night--as in each of the
camps where they had slept some danger had threatened; and they thought
it would be imprudent for all to go to sleep at the same time. The
heaviest part of the sentinel's duty fell to Guapo's share; but Guapo
had long accustomed himself to go without sleep, and did not mind it;
moreover Don Pablo took longer spells at the stern-oar during the day,
and allowed Guapo many a "cat-nap."
Leon seated himself upon a pile of sand that he had gathered up, and did
his best to keep awake, but in about an hour after the rest were asleep
he felt very drowsy--in fact, quite as much so as on the night of the
adventure with the vampire. He used pretty much the same means to keep
himself awake, but not with so good success, for on this occasion he
fell into a nap that lasted nearly half-an-hour, and might have
continued still longer, had he not slid down the sand-hill and tumbled
over on his side. This awoke him; and feeling vexed with himself, he
rubbed his eyes as if he was going to push them deeper into their
sockets.
When this operation was finished, he looked about to see if any creature
had ventured near. He first looked towards the woods--for of course that
was the direction from which the tigers would come, and these were the
only creatures he feared; but he had scarcely turned himself when he
perceived a pair of eyes glancing at him from the other side of the
fire. Close to them another pair, then another and another, until having
looked on every side, he saw himself surrounded by a complete circle of
glancing eyes! It is true they were small ones, and some of the heads
which he could see by the blaze, were small--they were not jaguars, but
they had an ugly look--they looked like the heads of serpents! Was it
possible that an hundred serpents could have surrounded the camp?
Brought suddenly to his feet, Leon stood for some moments uncertain how
to act. He fully believed they were snakes--anacondas, or water-snakes
no doubt--that had just crept out of the river; and he felt that a
movement on his part would bring on their united and simultaneous attack
upon the sleeping party. Partly influenced by this fear, and again
exhibiting that coolness and prudence which we have already noticed as a
trait of his character, he remained for some moments silent and
motionless.
Having already risen to his feet, his eyes were now above the level of
the blaze, and, as they got the sleep well scared out of them, he could
see things more distinctly. He now saw that the snake-like heads were
attached to large oval-shaped bodies, and that, besides the half
hundred or so that had gathered around the fires, there were whole
droves of the same upon the sandy beach beyond. The white surface was
literally covered as far as he could see on all sides of him with black
moving masses; and where the rays of the moon fell upon the beach, there
was a broad belt that glistened and sparkled as though she shone upon
pieces of glass kept constantly in motion!
A singular sight it was; and to Leon, who had never heard of such
before, a most fearful one. For the life of him he could not make out
what it all meant, or by what sort of odd creatures they were
surrounded. He had but an indistinct view of them, but he could see that
their bodies were not larger than those of a small sheep, and from the
way in which they glistened under the moon he was sure they were
water-animals, and had come out of the river!
He did not stay to speculate any longer upon them. He resolved to wake
Guapo; but in doing so the whole party were aroused, and started to
their feet in some alarm and confusion. The noise and movement had its
effect on the nocturnal visitors; for before Leon could explain himself,
those immediately around the fires and for some distance beyond rushed
to the edge, and were heard plunging by hundreds into the water.
Guapo's ear caught the sounds, and his eye now ranging along the sandy
shore, took in at a glance the whole thing.
"Carapas," he said laconically.
"Carapas?" inquired Leon.
"Oh!" said Don Pablo, who understood him. "Turtles is it?"
"Yes, master," replied Guapo. "This is, I suppose, one of their great
hatching-places. They are going to lay their eggs somewhere in the sand
above. They do so every year."
There was no danger from the turtles, as Guapo assured everybody, but
the fright had chased away sleep, and they all lay awake for some time
listening to Guapo's account of these singular creatures, which we shall
translate into our own phraseology.
These large turtles, which in other parts of South America are called
"arraus," or simply "tortugas," assemble every year in large armies,
from all parts of the river. Each one of these armies chooses for itself
a place to breed--some sandy island, or great sand-bank. This they
approach very cautiously--lying near it for some days, and reconnoitring
it with only their heads above the water. They then crawl ashore at
night in vast multitudes--just as the party saw them--and each turtle,
with the strong crooked claws of her hind feet, digs a hole for herself
in the sand. These holes are three feet in diameter and two deep. In
this she deposits her eggs--from seventy to one hundred and twenty of
them--each egg being white, hard-shelled, and between the size of a
pigeon's and pullet's. She then covers the whole with sand, levelling it
over the top so that it may look like the rest of the surface, and so
that the precious treasure may not be found by vultures, jaguars, and
other predatory creatures. When this is done the labour of the turtle is
at an end.
The great army again betakes itself to the water, and scatters in every
direction. The sun acting upon the hot sand does the rest; and in less
than six weeks the young turtles, about an inch in diameter, crawl out
of the sand, and at once make for the water. They are afterwards seen in
pools and lakes, where the water is shallow, far from the place where
they have been hatched; and it is well known that the first years of
their life are not spent in the bed of the great river. How they find
these pools, or whether the mothers distinguish their own young and
conduct them thither, as the crocodiles and alligators do, is a mystery.
With these last the thing is more easy, as the crocodile mothers deposit
their eggs in separate places, and each returns for her young when they
are hatched, calls them by her voice, and guides them to the pool where
they are to remain until partly grown.
But among the thousands of little turtles hatched at one place and time,
and that seek the water altogether, how would it be possible for the
turtle mother to distinguish her own young? Yet an old female turtle is
frequently seen swimming about with as many as a hundred little ones
after her! Now are these her own, or are they a collection picked up out
of the general progeny? That is an undetermined question. It would seem
impossible that each turtle mother should know her own young, yet amidst
this apparent confusion there may be some maternal instinct that guides
her to distinguish her own offspring from all the rest. Who can say?
It is not often, however, that the turtle is permitted to have offspring
at all. These creatures are annually robbed of their eggs in millions.
They have many enemies, but man is the chief. When a turtle hatching
place is discovered, the Indians assemble, and as soon as all the eggs
have been deposited, they uncover and collect them. They eat them--but
that is not the principal use to which they are put. It is for the
making of oil, or "tortoise-butter," they are collected.
The eggs are thrown into a large trough or canoe, where they are broken
up with a wooden spade and stirred about for awhile. They then remain
exposed to the sun, until the oily part collects on the surface, which
is then skimmed off and well boiled. The "tortoise-butter" is now made,
and after being poured into earthen jars or bottles, it is ready for
market. The oil is clear, of a pale yellow colour, and some regard it as
equal to the best olive oil, both for lamps and for cooking. Sometimes,
however, it has a putrid smell, because many of the eggs are already
half hatched before the gathering takes place.
What would be the result were these eggs not gathered by the Indians?
Perhaps in the different rivers of South America more than an hundred
millions of them are deposited every year! In the Orinoco alone, in
three principal hatching places, it has been calculated that at least
thirty three millions are annually destroyed for the making of
tortoise-butter! Fancy, then, one hundred millions of animals, each of
which grows to the weight of fifty or sixty pounds, being produced every
year, and then the increase in production which these would make if left
to themselves! Why the rivers would be crowded; and it would be true
what old Father Gumilla once asserted, that "It would be as difficult to
count the grains of sand on the shores of the Orinoco, as to count the
immense number of tortoises that inhabit its margins and waters. Were it
not for the vast consumption of tortoises and their eggs, the river,
despite its great magnitude, would be unnavigable, for vessels would be
impeded by the enormous multitude of the tortoises."
But nature has provided against this "over-population" of the turtles
by giving them a great many enemies. The jaguars, the ocelots, the
crocodiles, the cranes, and the vultures, all prey upon them; and,
perhaps, if man were to leave them alone, the result would be, not such
a great increase in the number of the turtles, but that the creatures
who prey upon them would come in for a larger share.
The "carapa," or arrau turtle, is, when full grown, forty or fifty
pounds in weight. It is of a dark green colour above and orange beneath,
with yellow feet. There are many other species of fresh-water turtles in
the rivers of South America, but these breed separately, each female
choosing her own place, and making her deposit alone. Indeed, some of
the smaller species, as the "terekay," are more esteemed both for their
flesh and eggs; but as a large quantity of these eggs is never found
together, they are not collected as an article of trade, but only to be
roasted and eaten. The white does not coagulate in roasting or boiling,
and only the yolk is eaten, but that is esteemed quite as palatable as
the eggs of the common fowl.
The flesh of all kinds is eaten by the Indians, who fry it in pots, and
then pour it with its own oil into other vessels and permit it to cool.
When thus prepared, it will keep for a long time, and can be taken out
when required for use.
Most of the above particulars were communicated by Guapo; and when he
had finished talking, all the others went to sleep, leaving Guapo to his
midnight vigil.