IN WHICH INGENUITY, COMICALITY, FEROCITY, ECCENTRICITY, FECUNDITY, AND
SOME OTHER "ITIES" IN MAN AND BEAST ARE MENTIONED.
Plain sailing, fair weather, perpetual calm and sunshine are not the lot
of any man or woman here.
The weather, that fertile source of human intercourse, is occasionally
boisterous as well as serene in the regions of Peru and Bolivia. A day
or two after the events recounted in the last chapter our travellers
experienced a sudden change.
We have said that they had come to a part of the river where there were
occasional stretches of sand, and here they had evidence of the
improvident nature of Indians, in the number of turtle-shells found
lying on the sands with parts of the animals still adhering to them.
On one particular spot they found a space, of about seventy yards in
diameter completely covered with the upper and under shells of turtles.
These had evidently been cut asunder violently with hatchets, and
reddish-brown furrows in the sands told where streams of blood had
flowed during the massacre.
"What wanton slaughter!" exclaimed Lawrence, as he and his friends stood
looking at the scene.
"And it is not long since it was done," said Pedro, "for the flesh--at
least what's left of it--is still fresh."
"Ugh, you brutes!" exclaimed Quashy, referring to a number of urubu
vultures which stood on the shells, all more or less gorged, some still
tearing sleepily at the meat, others standing in apoplectic apathy,
quite unable to fly.
They counted upwards of three hundred dead turtles, and this carnage, it
was afterwards ascertained, had been the work of only a dozen or so of
Indians--not for food, but for the sake of the fine yellow fat covering
the intestines, which formed an article of commerce at the time between
the red men and the white.
That night after supper time the party busied themselves in making
mosquito-curtains out of a small quantity of green muslin obtained from
Spotted Tiger's father-in-law, who had received it from the
missionaries. The supply being quite insufficient to make curtains for
them all, Quashy had set his fertile brain to work and devised a species
of net which, having never been seen in that country before, deserves
special notice. It may serve as a hint to other mortals similarly
situated and tormented.
"You mus' know," remarked Quashy to his friends, who watched him while
he fabricated the first of these curtains, "dat my gran'fadder was a
injineer, an' some ob his geenus comed down to me. Dat's why I's so
clebber wid my hands. Has you got dem hoops tied, massa?"
"All right, Quashy, I'm just finishing the last one. There--are these
the right sizes?"
"Das right, massa. Biggest two one futt six in dameter; oder two leetle
ones, one futt. Now, you looks here, ladies an' gen'lemen. See, I's
made a bag ob dis muzzlin 'bout two futt six long an' 'bout two futt
wide. Well, one end ob de bag is close up--as you see. 'Tother end am
open--as you b'hold. Vwalla! as de Frenchman says. Now, I puts into de
closed end one small hoop--so. Den de two large hoops--so--'bout six
inches apart. Den de leetle hoop--so. Which makes my bag into what you
may call a gauze-barrel, wid de hoops inside 'stead ob outside. Nixt, I
puts it ober my head, lets de bottom hoop rest on my shoulders, shoves
de slack ob de veil--I calls it a veil, not a curtin,--down my neck
under my poncho, so's nuffin can git inside, an' dere you are. No
skeeters git at me now!"
"But, Quash," said Lawrence, who had watched the making of this
ingenious device, as well as lent assistance, "there are mosquitoes
inside it even now; and with such swarms as are about us, how will you
keep them out while putting the thing on."
"Don' call it a `t'ing,' massa," said Quashy, with a dignified look,
"call it a `veil.' Dere's nuflin easier. See here."
He rose, took off the veil, and flattened the hoops down on each other,
so as to drive out all that might be inside. Then he stepped to leeward
of the fire, held his breath for a few seconds while in the smoke,
quickly adjusted his novel head-piece, and stood up fully armed against
the "skeeters."
"But," still objected Lawrence, "how can you lay your head on your
pillow with such a thing--beg pardon, such a veil on?"
"Nuffin easier, massa."
He illustrated his point by rolling over into one of the nearest
hammocks--which had already been hung--and laying his head down, when,
of course, the machine bulged away from his black face, and the
discomfited millions kept thrusting their probosces--and, doubtless,
making faces at him--ineffectually.
"But how if you should want to roll about in your sleep?" asked Pedro.
"_Don't_ want to roll about in your sleep!" replied the negro, curtly.
It is right to say that, in spite of the advice thus firmly given,
Quashy _did_ roll in his sleep that night, with the result that his nose
at last got close to the veil and pressed against it. No malignant foe
ever took advantage of an enemy's weak point more promptly than did the
"skeeters" of Quashy's nocturnal trumpet. They settled on its point
with a species of triumphant hum. They warred with each other in their
bloodthirsty desire to seize on the delicate but limited morsel. It was
"cut and come again"--at least it was "cut away and let others come
on"--as long as the chance lasted. And the consequence was that Quashy
rose next morning with two noses! His natural nose being a mere lump of
fat and the lump raised on it being much the same in form and size with
the original, we feel justified in saying that he had two noses--nearly.
Notwithstanding, it is but fair to add that the veils were afterwards
pronounced a great success.
But to return.
That night, after the veils in question had been made and put on by all
except Tiger, who was skeeto-proof, and the happy wearers were steeped
in blissful repose, a tremendous hurricane burst upon them, with
thunder, lightning, and rain. The wind came in furious gusts which tore
away some of the veils, overturned the hammocks, scattered the bedding,
extinguished the fire, drenched them to the skin, and otherwise rendered
them supremely miserable.
Retiring to a thicker part of the jungle, they cut down branches and
made a temporary erection which they covered with ponchos and blankets;
but as everything had to be done in the dark, it was a wretched affair,
and, at the best, only a partial protection. Into the furthest
extremity of this hut poor Manuela crept. The others followed, and
there they all sat or reclined, shivering, till morning.
About daybreak Lawrence heard Pedro and the Indian girl conversing in
the Indian language and in unusually earnest tones, which were
interrupted once or twice by slight laughter. He wondered much what
they found to laugh at, but having become by that time accustomed to the
guide's little touches of mystery, and being very sleepy, he did not
trouble himself about it long.
The storm happily was short-lived, and when the sun appeared, enabling
them to dry their garments, and a good breakfast had been eaten, the
discomforts of the past night were forgotten, and Quashy even ceased to
growl at the "skeeters" and lament his double nose.
Hitherto they had met with few Indians, and these few were friendly,
being acquainted either personally or by report with Spotted Tiger, for
the man's reputation as a jaguar and puma slayer had extended far beyond
his own tribe. That day, however, several native canoes were passed,
and in the evening they found that the place on which Tiger had made up
his mind to encamp was in possession of Indians.
"Friendly?" asked Pedro, as they approached the shore.
"Yes, friendly," replied Tiger.
"Would it not be better to go a little further and encamp away from
them?" asked Lawrence, who retained unpleasant memories of the dirtiness
of Indian encampments.
"Tiger wishes to speak to them," said Pedro, as the canoe was run on
shore.
It was found that the party consisted of several families of Indians who
were out on a turtle-hunting expedition, for the season had arrived when
turtles lay their eggs.
This laying season of the turtle sets the whole population of those
regions, civilised and savage, in motion, searching in the sands for
eggs, and capturing or killing the animals. The Indians now met with
were on the latter business. Upon the weather depends the commencement
of this season of unwonted activity among the turtles and wild
excitement among the river-side Indians, for the snows must cease to
fall on the summits of the Andes, and the rivers must decrease in volume
so as to lay bare vast spaces of sand, before the eggs can be laid.
No alderman in London city ever equalled--much less excelled--a South
American savage of that region in his love of turtle, or in his capacity
for devouring it. But the savage goes immeasurably further than the
alderman! He occupies altogether a higher and more noble position in
regard to the turtle, for he not only studies, with prolonged care and
deep interest, its habits and manners, but follows it, watches it,
catches it, kills it, and, finally, cooks it with his own hands, before
arriving at the alderman's comparatively simple and undignified act of
eating it.
So exact are these Indians in their observations and knowledge of the
turtle question, that they can tell almost to a day when and where their
unsuspecting victims will land and lay. There was an extensive stretch
of flat sand close to the spot where our voyageurs put ashore, on which
the Indians had observed numerous claw-marked furrows, which had been
traced by the turtles. Here, therefore, they had called a halt, built a
number of ajoupas, or leafy sheds, about two hundred yards from the edge
of the river, under the shelter of which to sit at night and watch for
their prey.
The turtles, it was found, were expected to land that night. Meanwhile,
the savages were regaling themselves with a splendid dish, or rather
jar, containing hundreds of turtles' eggs, mixed with bananas.
These they hospitably shared with their visitors. The mess was very
palatable, though "heavy," and our travellers did justice to it--
especially the negro, whose gastronomic powers were equal to all
emergencies.
"How do they know," asked Lawrence, as he and Pedro busied themselves in
tying up the hammocks in a suitable part of the jungle, "when to expect
the turtles?"
"Who can tell?" said Pedro. "Instinct, I suppose."
"But dey not stink at all," objected Quashy, "anyhow, not till arter
dey's dead, so't can't be dat."
"It's not that kind of stink I mean, Quashy; quite another sort," said
Pedro, who felt unequal to the task of explanation. "But look sharp; we
must lend the Indians a helping hand to-night."
"But I don't know nuffin about it," said Quashy, "an' a man what don't
know what to do is on'y in de way ob oder peepil."
"You take a just view of things, boy," returned Pedro, "but you won't
find it difficult to learn. Five minutes looking at what the Indians do
will suffice, for they only turn the turtles."
"How you mean? Turn 'im upside-down, or outside in--w'ich?"
"You'd find it hard to do the last, Quashy. No, you've only to turn
them over on their backs, and let them lie; that's all."
While the negro was thus gathering useful knowledge, the Indians amused
themselves in various ways until darkness should call them forth to the
business of the hour. Some, with that amazing tendency to improve their
personal appearance, which is common alike to civilised and savage,
plucked out the little beard with which nature had endowed them by means
of tweezers, deeming it no doubt wiser on the whole to pluck up the
beard by the roots than to cut it off close thereto, as indeed it was,
seeing that the former process did not need regular repetition. Others
were still busy with the turtle-egg ragout, unable, apparently to decide
whether or not appetite was satisfied. Two somewhat elderly but deeply
interested savages whiled away the time with a game of cup-and-ball,
turn and turn about, with imperturbable gravity.
This game was different from that of Europe to the extent of being
played on precisely opposite principles. It was not he who caught the
ball on the point of the sharp stick that won, but he who failed to
catch it, for failure was more difficult to achieve than success! The
explanation is simple. The handle was a piece of pointed wood, about
the thickness of a ramrod, and a yard or so in length. To this, by a
piece of string made from fibres of the palm, was attached the ball,
which was formed of the skull of a turtle, carefully scraped. There was
no "cup" in the game. It was all point, and the great point was to
touch the ball a certain number of times without catching it, a somewhat
difficult feat to accomplish owing to the dozen or more natural cavities
with which the skull-ball was pierced, and into one of which the point
was almost always pretty sure to enter.
At last the shades of night descended on the scene, and the Indians,
laying aside ragout, tweezers, cup-and-ball, etcetera, went down to the
sand-flats, and crouched, kneeled, or squatted under the leafy ajoupas.
Of course their visitors accompanied them.
It was a profoundly dark night, for during the first part of it there
was no moon, and the stars, although they lent beauty and lustre to the
heavens, did not shed much light upon the sands. There is a weird
solemnity about such a scene which induces contemplative thought even in
the most frivolous, while it moves the religious mind to think more
definitely, somehow, of the near presence of the Creator. For some time
Lawrence, who crouched in profound silence beside Pedro, almost forgot
the object for which he was waiting there. The guide seemed to be in a
similarly absent mood, for he remarked at last in a low voice--
"How striking would be the contrasts presented to us constantly by
nature, if we were not so thoroughly accustomed to them! Storm, and
noise, and war of elements last night,--to-night, silence, calm, and
peace! At present, darkness profound,--in half an hour or so the moon
will rise, and the sands will be like a sheet of silver. This moment,
quiet repose,--a few moments hence, it may be, all will be turmoil and
wildest action--that is, if the turtles come."
"True," assented Lawrence, "and we may add yet another illustration: at
one moment, subjects of contemplation most sublime,--next moment,
objects the most ridiculous."
He pointed as he spoke to Quashy, whose grinning teeth and glaring eyes
alone were distinctly visible in the background of ebony. He was
creeping on his hands and knees, by way of rendering himself, if
possible, less obtrusive.
"Massa," he said, in a hoarse yet apologetic whisper, "I's come to ax if
you t'ink de turtles am comin' at all dis night."
"How can I tell, Quash, you stupid fellow? Get away to your own ajoupa,
and keep quiet. I wonder the Indians haven't let fly a poisoned arrow
at you. Go,--and have patience."
Poor Quashy shut his mouth and his eyes--it was as if three little
lights had gone out--while his dusky frame melted into its native gloom.
No sound was to be heard on the sand-flats after that until about
midnight, when the moon appeared on the horizon. Just then a sound was
heard on the river.
"Here they come," whispered Pedro.
The sound increased. It was like a swirling, hissing noise. Soon they
could see by the increasing light that the water of the river seemed
actually to boil. Immediately afterwards, thousands of turtles came
tumbling clumsily out of the water, and spread themselves over the
flats.
Evidently egg-laying was no joke with them. The well-known sluggishness
of the creatures was laid aside for this great occasion, and wonderful
activity marked their every movement from first to last. You see, they
had to manage the business in a wholesale sort of fashion, each turtle
having from thirty to forty eggs, or more, to deposit in the sand,--on
which sand, in conjunction with the sun, devolved the duty of subsequent
maternal care.
That the creatures acted on pre-arranged principles was evident from the
fact that they worked in separate detachments, each working-party
devoting its energies to the digging of a trench two feet deep, four
feet broad, and sometimes 200 yards long. Their zeal was amazing; as
well it might be, for they allowed themselves less than an hour in which
to do it all. Each animal dug like a hero with its fore-feet, and sent
the sand flying about it to such an extent that the whole flat appeared
to be enveloped in a thick fog!
When satisfied that their trench was deep enough they stopped work,
deposited their soft-shelled eggs, and, with their hind feet, soon
filled up the trench. So great was their eagerness and hurry, that
during the operation more than one turtle, tumbling over her companions,
rolled into the trench and was buried alive. No sooner was the
stupendous work accomplished than they made a disorderly rush for the
river, as if aware of the fate which threatened them.
And now at last came the opportunity of the savage. The Iron Duke's
"Up, guards, and at 'em!" could not have been more promptly or gladly
obeyed than was the signal of the red-skinned chief. Like statues they
had awaited it. Like catapults they responded to it, with yells of
mingled madness and joy.
But there was method in their madness. To have run between the shelly
host and the river, so as to cut off its retreat, would have been sheer
lunacy, at which Luna herself--by that time shining superbly--would have
paled with horror, for the men would have certainly been overthrown and
trampled under foot by the charging squadrons. What the Indians did was
to rush upon the flanks of the host, seize the animals' tail, and hurl
them over on their backs, in which position they lay flapping
helplessly. Before the retreating "miserables" reached the river,
hundreds of captives were thus obtained.
You may be sure that Lawrence and Pedro and Spotted Tiger acted their
part well that night, and that Quashy was not long in learning his
lesson!
The first tail the negro grasped slipped through his hands, so mighty
was his effort, and, as a consequence, he sat down with that sudden
involuntary flop which one associates irresistibly with nurseries.
Jumping up, and rendered wise, he took a better grip next time, turned
the turtle over, and fell on the top of it, receiving a tremendous whack
on the cheek from its right flipper as a reward for his clumsiness. But
practice makes perfect. Even in the brief space of time at his
disposal, Quashy managed to turn ten turtles with his own hands, besides
turning himself over six times, if not more.
Rendered wild by success, and desperate with anxiety, as the fugitives
neared the river, the negro fixed his glittering eyes on a particularly
huge turtle, which was scuttling along in almost drunken haste. With an
impromptu war-howl, Quashy charged down on it, and caught it by the
tail. With a heave worthy of Hercules he lifted his foe some inches off
the sand, but failed to turn it. Making a second effort, he grasped the
edge of the creature's shell with his left hand, and the tail more
firmly with the right.
"Huyp!" he shouted, and made a Herculean heave. A second time he would
have failed, if it had not been that he was on the edge of a part of the
trench which the turtles had not had time to fill up. The weight of the
creature caused a fore-leg to break off part of the edge, and over it
went, slowly, on its side,--almost balancing thus, and flapping as it
went. To expedite the process Quashy seized it by the neck and gave
another heave and howl. Unfortunately, the edge of the trench again
gave way under one of his own feet, and he fell into it with a cry of
distress, for the turtle fell on the top of him, crushing him down into
the soft watery sand!
Well was it for Quashy that night that Lawrence Armstrong had good ears,
and was prompt to respond to the cry of distress, else had he come to an
untimely and inglorious end! Hearing the cry, Lawrence looked quickly
round, guessed the cause, shouted to Pedro, who was not far-off, and was
soon on the spot,--yet not a moment too soon, for poor Quashy was almost
squashy by that time. They dragged the turtle off, dug the negro out,
and found that he had become insensible.
Raising him gently in their arms, they bore him up to the camp, where
they found Manuela ready to minister to him.
"Dead!" exclaimed the horrified girl when she saw the negro laid down,
and beheld the awful dirty-green colour of his countenance.
"I hope not," replied Lawrence, earnestly.
"I's sh---squeesh!--_sure_ not!" exclaimed Quashy himself, with a
sneeze, as he opened his eyes.
And Quashy, we need scarcely add, was right. He was not dead. He did
not die for many years afterwards. For aught that we know, indeed, he
may be living still, for he came of a very long-lived race.
His accident, however, had the useful effect of preventing his giving
way to too exuberant felicity, and rendered him a little more careful as
to the quantity of turtle-egg ragout which he consumed that night for
supper.
It would be pleasant to end our chapter here, but a regard for facts
compels us to refer to the slaughter of the unfortunate turtles next
morning.
There is in the interior of the turtle a quantity of yellow fat, which
is said to be superior in delicacy to the fat of the goose, and from
which is obtained a fine oil, highly prized as an article of commerce.
To secure this fat, the animals which had been "turned" were killed at
daylight the following morning. The axes of the Indians caused the
shells to fly in splinters; the intestines were then torn out and handed
to the Indian women, whose duty it was to remove from them the precious
fat, after which the carcasses were left to the vultures and
fisher-eagles, which flocked from afar to the scene of carnage with that
unerring instinct which has so often been commented on by travellers,
but which no one can understand.