Every feature of the savage caribe denotes the ferocity and sanguinary
nature of its tastes. The piercing eye, surrounded by a bloody-looking
ring, is expressive of its cruel and bloodthirsty disposition. Its
under jaw, lined with a thick cartilaginous membrane, adds greatly to
its strength, protruding considerably beyond the upper, and increasing
the ferocious expression of its countenance. Large spots of a brilliant
orange hue cover a great portion of its body. Towards the back it is of
a bluish ash colour, with a slight tint of olive-green; the intermediate
spaces being of pearly white, while the gill-coverts are tinged with
red.
So sharp are its triangular teeth, arranged like those of the shark,
that neither twine, copper, nor steel can withstand them. At the sight
of any red substance, blood especially, they swim forward to the attack;
and as they usually move in swarms, it is extremely dangerous for man or
beast to enter the water with even a scratch upon their bodies. Horses
wounded by the spur are particularly exposed to their attacks when
fording a stream; and so rapid is the work of destruction, that unless
immediate assistance is rendered, the fish soon penetrate the abdomen of
the animal and destroy it: hence the name given to them by the Spaniards
means "tripe-eater." When a net is drawn on shore, numbers of these
little pests are seen jumping in the crowd, their jaws wide open,
tearing whatever comes in their way, and especially the meshes of the
nets, which they soon render useless.
Some tribes of natives place their dead in the water, when these
creatures speedily eat the flesh off the bones, which are then preserved
in baskets.
Even human beings, when bathing, or fording rivers, are attacked by
these terrible little cannibals;--for cannibals they are, as, whenever
any of their own race are killed, they instantly attack and devour them.
There are other species of this fish,--among them the black caribe of
the Orinoco. There is also a small species--a harmless, pretty little
fish, of a bright green colour on the back, and a white belly streaked
with pink. The teeth are used by the Macoushi Indians for sharpening
the points of their poisoned arrows. This they do by drawing them
rapidly between two of the teeth, in the way that knives are sharpened
by two circular steel files, now in common use.