Of the trees which have a wide range over the country, especially near
the sea-coast, the lignum vitae is of great value. As from its hard
nature it turns the edge of the best-tempered tools, it serves for the
construction of wharves, as well as for the keels of ships,--the attacks
of the teredo, or sea-worm, being futile upon the iron network of its
fibres. It can remain under water for an indefinite period without
rotting, and eventually becomes petrified.
Here the guayacan, or guayacum of the arts, is found in great abundance.
The alcornoque, a beautiful tree, scarcely inferior to it, here raises
its graceful head above the rest, affording the cattle a permanent shade
during the dry season; while in the Llanos it is used in the
construction of houses and fences.
The Brazileto-wood tree grows in abundance, producing a beautiful dye.
Among others is the tree which yields the precious balsam of copaiba,--
extracted by making incisions in the trunk, when the resinous fluid
pours forth.
The natives form their piroques or canoes from the last which we will
mention, the tacamahaca (the Elaphrium tornentosium), which here attains
great dimensions. The bark is of the nature of the birch-bark of North
America, and is stripped off the trees in a similar manner, the huge
sheets being joined at the extremities by means of slender vines, while
the interstices are filled with resin to keep out the water--the whole
being then bound with stronger vines, and several sticks being fixed
between the borders to prevent the bark from collapsing. The resin of
this tree, an opaque lemon-coloured substance, resembles wax; and when
mixed with algoroba, it forms a torch which burns with great brilliancy,
and emits a delicious odour.
The vast Llanos, already mentioned, in the north cover a surface of
about 110,600 square miles. Over a large portion of this wide-extending
region, even the wild Indian, there unable to find subsistence, but
seldom roamed; and thus for ages it remained a howling wilderness,
inhabited, and that only at certain seasons, by the jaguar, the peccary,
the agouti, and the timid deer. Here, when the summer sun sends down
its burning rays day after day from a cloudless sky, the grass withered
and shrivelled by its heat, the plain presents the appearance of a
desert waste. No cooling breeze passes across it, no shelter is found
from the scorching heat. The pools are dried-up, the surface of the
swamps becomes cracked and dry--the brown stalks of the tall reeds alone
marking the nature of the ground. Here, occasionally, when the blast
sweeps across the plain, columns of dust are set in motion, like those
of the African Sahara, overwhelming and stifling the incautious
traveller, who is hurled senseless to the ground.
Here, too, as in other desert regions, the mirage mocks him as he
journeys across it parched with thirst--often assuming a semblance of
the ocean, slowly moving in wave-like undulations.
The few trees and shrubs which here and there rise from the plain assume
a greyish-yellow tint, showing that the sap which has hitherto nourished
their leaves has ceased to flow,--stopped by the burning heat, which has
dried-up every particle of moisture from which they are wont to obtain
nourishment. At this season even the animals take their departure; here
and there the alligator and anaconda alone remain, in a torpid state,
buried in the clay of the dried-up swamps.
The traveller who ventures across this arid region has not only to
encounter the breath of the simoom, the sufferings of burning thirst,
the attacks of wild beasts, the bite of the matacabello--which may kill
his steed and leave him helpless--and many other dangers, but, more
fearful than all, flames caused by some camp-fire incautiously left
burning, seizing the parched vegetation, traverse the plain with
inconceivable rapidity. He and his Indian guides, without whom he could
not venture across it, discover far-away on the horizon columns of smoke
ascending to the skies. The Indians, standing up in their stirrups,
gaze at it anxiously for a moment to watch its direction, and then
pressing their steeds to their utmost speed, urge him to fly for life.
At first he can scarcely believe that yon distant line of smoke is
menacing them with danger; but soon onwards it comes, the burning
torrent rolling rapidly towards them. Now and then they turn their
heads to watch its progress. In vain they look out in every direction
for a darker patch in the plain, which may indicate a water pool, and
amid which they may seek refuge. None appears. On they rush, urging
their horses by whip and spur--their steeds seeming to know their
danger. Already they see the bright glare of the flames below the dark
mass of smoke. Already the bursting and crackling of the leaves, as the
threatening column rushes on, reaches their ears. A fearful death is
following them. At length the sharp eyes of one of the guides discover
a slight eminence; towards this, though almost despairing of safety,
they direct their course. They reach its base. It is but thinly
covered with vegetation. Scarcely have they urged up their panting
horses to the summit than the flames overtake them. And now the sea of
fire rolls its devouring billows around, and the suffocating smoke,
striking in their faces, compels them to fall on the ground, in the hope
of obtaining sufficient air for breathing, till the flames have passed
by. The fire mounts the hill, but happily, finding little nourishment,
is speedily extinguished. And now the waving mass, rolling onwards,
recedes further and further from their gaze.
Whole swarms of voracious vultures follow in circling flight the smoky
column, like so many hungry jackals, and pounce upon the snakes and
lizards which the blaze has stifled and half calcined in its murderous
embrace. Then, with the rapidity of lightning, they dart on their prey
and disappear in the clouds of smoke, as if they were voluntarily
devoting themselves to a fiery death. Soon the deafening noise of the
conflagration ceases, and the dense black clouds in the distance are the
only signs that the flames are still proceeding on their devastating
path over the wide waste of the savannah.
The travellers thus happily saved may now proceed on their course,
provided they have a supply of water for themselves, and have certain
information of the existence of some deep pool at which their steeds may
quench their thirst. Let them be cautious, however, how they approach
the pool; for beneath its surface the alligator and anaconda lie hid, or
the electric eel--which with its powerful galvanic battery may strike
the steed which ventures within its reach.
Even in this arid region the bountiful Creator has not left his
creatures without the means of sustaining life. Here, on the driest
soil, the globular melon-cactus, measuring a foot in diameter,
flourishes; its tough and prickly skin surrounding a rich and juicy
pulp. It is, however, covered with long, sharp thorns, which must be
broken off before the refreshing juice can be obtained. It is curious
that the wild horse and ox--strangers, as it were, to the region--are
not possessed of the sagacity to do this; while the mule, when it
discovers the melon, sets to work at once with its fore-feet, and then
cautiously sips the refreshing liquid.
Day after day the sun, with a lurid glare spread far and wide over the
cloudless sky, rises above the arid plains, drawing up every particle of
moisture, and withering with the intense heat of his rays every blade of
grass and green leaf, till it seems as if the whole region were doomed
to eternal desolation. At length, however, a wonderful change takes
place over the hitherto arid waste. A thick veil of mist is drawn
across the blue sky. A low bank of clouds appears on the horizon.
Gradually it rises, assuming the form of distant mountain-chains above
the plain. Onwards it advances, increasing in density, while vivid
flashes of lightning dart forth; the thunder is heard rolling in the
distance, and now loud crashing peals burst from the clouds, which
rapidly spreading across the vault of heaven, plenteous showers rush
downwards on the parched earth, filling up the dry cracks in the
marshes, replenishing the pools, and swelling the streams. The grass
springs up on every long-dry spot, the leaves burst forth, while
thousands of flowers of every tint and hue enamel the plain; and, as if
by magic, the whole face of nature is in a few hours changed. In a
short time the thorny bushes of the delicate and feathery-foliaged
mimosas are loaded with masses of canary-coloured blossoms, from their
summits down to the lowest branches, sending forth an almost
overpowering perfume; while the fronds of the beautiful mauritias--the
palm of the Llanos--rising to the height of one hundred feet above the
plain, sprout forth in rich luxuriance.
Animal life, too, wakes up. The savage alligator and the huge anaconda
crawl forth from the bed of clay in which they have passed their summer
sleep, in search of prey; ibises, cranes, flamingoes, and numberless
water-fowl, swarm on the newly-formed pools; the cattle of the Llaneros
luxuriate in the abundant grasses which everywhere appear; while
multitudes of insects crawl forth, seeking refuge from the flood in the
higher grounds. The swollen rivers now inundate the plains, and the
spots where the cattle wandered in vain to quench their thirst can now
be passed for miles together by boats; and alligators lie in wait to
seize in their savage jaws the horses and oxen compelled to swim across
the flooded land in search of pasture.