The river Napo is one of the largest of the head waters of the Amazon,
and one of the most interesting--since, by it, most of the early
expeditionists descended in search of the country of the gilded kings,
and the gold-roofed temples of Manoa. Though these proved to be
fabulous, yet the existence of gold dust among the Indians of the Napo
was true enough, and is true to the present hour. On this river, and
its numerous branches, gold washings, or _placers_, are quite common;
and occasionally the savages, who roam over this region, collect the
dust, and exchange it with the traders who venture among them. The
Indians, however, are of too idle a habit to follow this industry with
any degree of energy; and whenever they have obtained a quill full of
the metallic sand--just enough to purchase them some coveted nick-knack
of civilised manufacture--they leave off work, and the precious ingots
are permitted to sleep undiscovered in their beds.
Notwithstanding the length of their journey up the Napo, our travellers
did not deem it tedious. The lovely tropical scenery, ever under their
eyes, together with the numerous little incidents which were constantly
occurring, relieved the monotony of their daily life, and kept them in a
constant state of interested excitement. At every bend of the river
appeared some object, new and worthy of admiration--some grand tropical
plant or tree, some strange quadruped, or some bird of glorious plumage.
The craft in which they travelled was that in general use on the upper
tributaries of the Amazon: a large canoe--hollowed out from the gigantic
_bombax ceiba_, or silk-cotton tree--and usually known as a _periagua_.
Over the stern part, or quarter-deck, a little "round house" is erected,
resembling the tilt of a wagon; but, instead of ash hoops and canvas, it
is constructed of bamboos and leaves of trees. The leaves form a thatch
to shade the sun from the little cabin inside, and they are generally
the large leaves of the _vihai_, a species of _heliconia_, which grows
abundantly in the tropical forests of South America. Leaves of the
_musacaae_ (_plantains_ and _bananas_) serve for a similar purpose; and
both kinds are equally employed in thatching the huts in which the
natives dwell.
The little cabin thus constructed is called a _toldo_. Inside it is
high enough for a man to sit upright, though not to stand; and generally
it is only used for sleeping in, or as a shelter during rain. At other
times the traveller prefers the open air; and sits or reclines upon the
roof of the toldo, which is constructed of sufficient strength to bear
his weight. The forward part of the periagua is left quite open; and
here the rowers take their stations, so that their movements do not
interfere with the comfort of the travellers.
Through the influence of the Portuguese trader, our party had the good
fortune to obtain a proper periagua and crew. They were Christianised
Indians, belonging to one of the Spanish missions situated far up the
Napo. They had descended this river with a cargo of the products of the
mission; and were just about starting to go back, as our travellers
arrived at the river's mouth. An agreement was easily entered into with
the _capataz_, or chief of the periagua; and as our travellers always
paid liberally for such service, and kept the crew well fed, they
received as good attendance and accommodation as circumstances would
admit of. Here and there on the banks of the river--though at very long
intervals apart--were settlements of the wild Indians of the forest; and
as nearly all the tribes of Amazonia do less or more in the way of
cultivation and commerce, our travellers were enabled from time to time
to replenish their larder. Their guns, too, helped materially to keep
up the supply: since almost every day game of one kind or another was
procured along the banks. For bread they had _farinha_, a good stock of
which they had brought with them on the steamer from Paru. This is the
grated root of the manioc plant (_jatropha manihot_), and forms the
staple food of all classes throughout the countries of Amazonia.
Alexis was particularly interested in what they saw. Never had
naturalist a finer field for observation. Here was nature presented to
the eye in its most normal condition. Here could be observed the
tropical forest in all its primeval virginity, unbroken by the axe of
the lumberer, and in many places untrodden even by the foot of the
hunter. Here its denizens--quadrupeds, _quadrumana_, birds, reptiles,
and insects--might be seen following out their various habits of life,
obedient only to the passions or instincts that had been implanted in
them by Nature herself, but little modified by the presence of man. Now
would appear a flock of _capivaras_--or _chiguires_, as they are also
called--the largest of rodent animals, basking upon some sunny bank,
raising their great rabbit-like heads, and gazing curiously at the
passing _periagua_. Perhaps before the travellers had lost sight of
them, the whole gang would be seen suddenly starting from their
attitudes of repose, and in desperate rush making for the water. Behind
them would appear the yellow-spotted body of the jaguar--the true tyrant
of the Amazonian forest, who, with a single blow of his powerful paw
would stretch a _chiguire_ upon the grass, and then, couching over his
fallen victim, would tear its body to pieces, drink its warm blood, and
devour its flesh at his leisure.
If by good fortune the flock might all escape, and reach the water, the
jaguar, conscious of their superior adroitness in that element, would at
once abandon the pursuit; and returning to his ambush, lie waiting for a
fresh opportunity. But for all that, the poor chiguires would not be
certain of safety; for even in the water they might encounter another
enemy, equally formidable and cruel, in the gigantic _jacare_--the
crocodile of the Amazonian waters. Thus assailed in either element, the
poor innocent rodents are driven from land to water, and from the water
back again to the land; and so kept in a state of continual fear and
trembling. The puma, too, assails them, and the _jaguarundi_, and the
fierce _coatimundi_; and not unfrequently the enormous _anaconda_
enfolds them in its deadly embrace; for the innocuous creatures can make
no defence against their numerous enemies; and but for that fecundity
which characterises the family to which they belong--the so called
"Guinea pigs"--their race would be in danger of total extirpation.
The chiguires were not the only gregarious animals observed by our
travellers in their ascent of the Napo. Others of a very different
order appeared in the _peccaries_, or wild pigs of the _montana_. These
are true pachyderms, and in reality pigs; though naturalists have seen
fit to separate them from the genus _Sus_, and constitute for them a
genus of their own. It is hardly necessary to say that this is a very
useless proceeding--since the peccaries are neither more nor less than
true wild hogs, the indigenous representatives of the _suidae_, on the
American continent. Their classification into a separate genus has been
productive of no good purpose, but the very contrary: since it has added
to the number of zoological names, thereby rendering still more
difficult the study of that interesting science. For such an endless
vocabulary, we are chiefly indebted to the speculations of anatomic
naturalists, who, lacking opportunities of actual observation, endeavour
to make up for it by guesses and conjectures, founded upon some little
tubercle upon a tooth! Notwithstanding their learned treatises, it
often proves--and very often too--that these tubercles tell most
abominable stories; in plainer terms, that the animals "lie in their
teeth."
The peccary--which the old writers were content to regard as a wild pig,
and very properly placed under the genus _sus_--is now termed
_dicotyles_. Two species only are yet known to naturalists--the
"white-lipped" and "collared" (_dicotyles labritus_ and _dicotyles
collaris_); and although they are rarely found frequenting the same
district of country, either one or the other kind can be encountered in
all the wilder parts of America--from California on the north, to the
latitude of the La Plata on the south. Both are nearly of one form and
colour--a sort of speckled greyish-brown; the collared species being so
named from a whitish list running up in front of its shoulders, and
forming the semblance of a collar; while the white-lipped derives its
specific title from having lips of a greyish-white colour. In size,
however, there is a great difference between the two: the white-lipped
peccary weighing 100 pounds, or nearly twice the weight of the collared
species. The former, too, is proportionably stouter in build, and
altogether a stronger and fiercer animal; for although fierceness is not
a characteristic of their nature, like other animals of the hog family,
when, roused, they exhibit a ferocity and fearlessness equalling that of
the true _carnivora_.
Both kinds of peccary are preyed upon by the jaguar; but this tyrant of
the wilds approaches them with more caution and far less confidence,
than when he makes his onslaught on the helpless chiguires; and not
unfrequently in conflicts with the peccary, the jaguar comes off only
second best. Of this fact our travellers had ample proofs--having
frequently witnessed, while ascending the Napo, encounters between the
peccaries and the jaguars. One of these encounters they had watched
with an interest more than common: for in its result their own safety
was concerned; and the very position of peril in which they were placed,
enabled them to have a full and perfect view of the whole spectacle; an
account of which we find recorded in the journal of Alexis.