A FIGHT BETWEEN TWO VERY SCALY CREATURES.
When they awoke in the morning they found Guapo busy over the fire. He
had already been at the turtles' nests, and had collected a large
basketful of the eggs, some of which he was cooking for breakfast. In
addition to the eggs, moreover, half-a-dozen large turtles lay upon
their backs close by. The flesh of these Guapo intended to scoop out and
fry down, so as to be carried away as a sort of stock of preserved
meat;--and a very excellent idea it was. He had caught them during his
watch as they came out of the water.
All the turtles had gone off, although this is not always the case; for
frequently numbers that have not finished covering their eggs during the
night may be seen hard at work in the morning, and so intent on it, that
they do not heed the presence of their worst enemies. These the Indians
denominate "mad tortoises."
This morning, however, no "mad tortoises" were to be seen; but when our
travellers cast their eyes along the beach they saw quite a number that
appeared to be turned upon their backs just like those that Guapo had
capsized. They were at some distance from the camp, but curiosity
prompted our travellers to walk along the beach and examine them. Sure
enough there were nearly a dozen large tortoises regularly laid on their
backs, and unable to stir; but, besides these, there were several
tortoise-shells out of which the flesh had been freshly scooped, and
these were as neatly cleaned out as if the work had been done by an
anatomist. All this would have been a mystery but for the experience of
Guapo; but Guapo knew it was the jaguar that had turned the tortoises
on their backs, and that had cleaned out and eaten the flesh from the
empty shells!
Now, it is no easy thing for a man, provided with the necessary
implements, to separate the flesh of a tortoise from its shell, and yet
the jaguar, with his paw, can in a few minutes perform this operation
most adroitly, as our travellers had full proof. All that they saw had
been done that same night; and it gave them no very pleasant feeling to
know that the jaguar had been at work so near them.
This animal, as Guapo said, in attacking the turtles, first turns them
over, so as to prevent their escape--for the "carapas" are of those
tortoises that once upon their backs on level ground cannot right
themselves again. He then proceeds to tear out the flesh, and eats it at
his leisure. Oftentimes he capsizes a far greater number than he can
eat, and even returns to the spot to have a second meal of them; but
frequently the Indians wandering along the river, find the tortoises he
has turned over, and of course make an easy capture of them.
Guapo, upon this occasion, took advantage of the jaguar's skill, and
carried to the camp all that the latter had left. It was Guapo's design
to make a large quantity of "turtle sausage-meat," so that they might
have a supply for many days, as by this time even Guapo himself was
getting tired of the horse-flesh "charqui."
They were about returning to camp, when their attention was drawn to two
dark objects upon the sand-beach a little farther on. These objects were
in motion, and at first they believed they were a pair of "mad
tortoises" that had not yet returned to the water, although they were
close to its edge.
Led on by curiosity our party approached them, and saw that one only was
a tortoise, and one of the largest kind, being nearly three feet in
diameter. The other animal was a small caïman or alligator.
As our travellers drew near they saw that these two creatures were
engaged in a fierce and deadly combat. Now, it is a curious fact that
the larger alligators and crocodiles are among the most destructive
enemies which the turtles have, eating thousands of the latter while
they are still tiny little creatures and unable to defend themselves;
and, on the other hand, that the turtles prey extensively on the young
of both alligators and crocodiles, eating them whenever they can catch
them! I say this is a curious fact in natural history, and it seems a
sort of retaliatory principle established between these two kinds of
reptiles, as if they ate one another's offspring _en revanche_.
There is no feeling of revenge, however, in the matter. It is merely an
instinct of appetite by which both kinds will eat almost any small fry
they come across. In fact, the alligators and crocodiles not only eat
the young of the turtles, but their own young as well. That is, the _old
males_ do; and it has been stated, that the males of some species of
tortoises have a similar unnatural appetite.
The turtle of which we are speaking is one of the most carnivorous of
the whole race, and one of the fiercest in its nature too; so much so,
that it has earned the name of the "fierce tortoise." It will eat fish
and small crustacea, and almost any living thing it finds in the water,
which is not too large for it. It is extremely expert in catching its
prey. It lies concealed at the bottom among the roots of flags and
nymphæ; and when any small fish chances to pass it, by means of its long
neck darts out its head and seizes upon its unsuspecting victim. Once
the bill of the "fierce turtle" has closed upon any object its hold is
secure. You may cut its head off, but otherwise it cannot be forced to
let go, until it has either captured its prey or taken the piece with
it. It will "nip" a stout walking-cane between its mandibles, as if it
was no more than a rush.
A very good story is told of a thief and a tortoise. The thief was
prowling about the larder of an hotel in search of plunder, when he came
upon a large market-basket filled with provisions. He immediately
inserted his hand to secure the contents, when he felt himself suddenly
seized by the fingers, and bitten so severely, that he was fain to draw
back his hand in the most hasty manner possible. But along with the hand
he drew out a "snapping" turtle. To get rid of the "ugly customer" was
his next care; but, in spite of all his efforts, the turtle held on,
determined to have the finger. The scuffle, and the shouts which pain
compelled the thief to give utterance to, awoke the landlord and the
rest of the household; and before the thief could disengage himself and
escape, he was secured and given into custody.
Well, it was just a tortoise of this species, a "snapping turtle," and
one of the largest size, that our travellers now saw doing battle with
the caïman. The caïman was not one of large size, else the turtle would
have fled from it, not that even the largest caïmans are feared by the
full-grown _carapas_. No; the strong plate-armour of the latter protects
them both from the teeth and tail of this antagonist. The jaguar, with
his pliable paws and sharp subtle claws, is to them a more dreaded
assailant than the crocodile or caïman.
The one in question was some six or seven feet long, and altogether not
much heavier than the turtle itself. It was not for the purpose of
eating each other they fought. No--their strife was evidently on other
grounds. No doubt the caïman had been attempting to plunder the new-laid
eggs of the tortoise, and the latter had detected him in the act. At all
events, the struggle must have been going on for some time, for the sand
was torn up, and scored, in many places, by the sharp claws of both.
The battle appeared to be still at its height when our party arrived on
the spot. Neither tortoise nor caïman paid any attention to their
presence, but fought on pertinaciously. The aim of the caïman appeared
to be to get the head of the tortoise in his mouth; but whenever he
attempted this, the latter suddenly drew his head within the shell, and
repeatedly disappointed him. The tortoise, on its part, rose at
intervals upon its hind-feet, and making a dash forward, would dart
forth its long neck, and clutch at the softer parts of its antagonist's
body just under the throat. Several times it had succeeded in this
manoeuvre, and each time it had brought the piece with it, so that the
caïman was already somewhat mangled. Another manoeuvre of the tortoise
was to seize the tail of its antagonist. Instinct seemed to teach it
that this was a vulnerable part, and for the purpose of reaching the
tail, it constantly kept crawling and edging round towards it.
Now, there is no movement so difficult for a reptile of the crocodile
kind as to turn its body on dry land. The peculiar formation of the
vertebræ, both of its neck and spine, renders this movement difficult;
and in "changing front," the reptile is forced to describe a full circle
with its unwieldy body--in fact to turn "all of a piece." The tortoise,
therefore, had the advantage, and, after several efforts, he at length
succeeded in outflanking his antagonist, and getting right round to his
rear. He lost no time, but, raising himself to his full height and
making a dart forward, seized the tail and held on. He had caught by the
very tip, and it was seen that his horny mandibles had taken a proper
hold.
Now commenced a somewhat ludicrous scene. The caïman, though but a small
one, with the immense muscular power which he possessed in his tail, if
not able to detach his antagonist, was able to give him a sound shaking,
and the turtle was seen vibrating from side to side, dragged along the
sand. He held his broad yellow feet spread out on all sides, so as to
preserve his equilibrium, for he well knew that to lose that would be to
lose his life. Should he get turned on his back it would be all over
with him; but he carefully guarded against such a fatal catastrope. Of
course there were intervals when the caïman became tired, and remained
still for a moment; and at each of these intervals the tortoise renewed
his hold, and, in fact, as our party now perceived, was slowly, though
surely, _eating the tail_!
When this had continued a short while, the great saurian seemed to
despair. The pain, no doubt, caused him to weep "crocodile's tears,"
though none were seen, but his eyes glared with a lurid light, and he
began to look around for some means of escape from his painful position.
His eye fell upon the water. That promised something, although he knew
full well the turtle was as much at home there as he. At all events, his
situation could not be a worse one, and with this, or some such
reflection, he made a "dash" for the water. He was but a few feet from
it, but it cost him a good deal of pulling and dragging, and clawing the
sand, before he could get into it. In fact, the tortoise knew that its
position could not be benefited by the change, and would have preferred
fighting it out on dry land, and to do this he set _his_ claws as firmly
as possible, and pulled the tail in the opposite direction!
The strength of the caïman at length prevailed. He got his body into the
water, and, with a few strokes of his webbed feet, jerked the turtle
after, and both were now fairly launched. Once in the river, the caïman
seemed to gain fresh vigour. His tail vibrated violently and rapidly,
throwing the tortoise from side to side until the foam floated around
them, and then both suddenly sank to the bottom.
Whether they continued "attached," or became "separated" there, or
whether the turtle killed the lizard, or the lizard the turtle, or "each
did kill the other," no one ever knew, as it is highly probable that no
human eye ever saw either of them again.
At all events, no one of _our_ party saw any more of them; and, having
watched the surface for some time, they turned in their steps and walked
back to the camp.