The next morning found the "Dolphin" lying quietly at anchor in the
harbor in the inlet around which are the principal towns of the
island--Spanish Town, Port Royal and Kingston.
All were well enough to enjoy little excursions about the island, in
carriages or cars, and some weeks were spent by them in the mountains,
all finding the air there very pleasant and the invalids evidently
gaining in health and strength.
The change had been a rest to them all, but early in March they were
glad to return to the yacht and set sail for Trinidad, which they had
decided should be their next halting place. It was a pleasant morning
and, as usual, old and young were gathered upon the deck, the two
children near their grandmother.
"Grandma," said Elsie, "I suppose you know all about Trinidad, where
papa is taking us now, and if it won't trouble you to do so, I'd like
very much to have you tell Ned and me about it."
"I shall not feel it any trouble to do so, little granddaughter," was
the smiling rejoinder, "and if you and Ned grow weary of the subject
before I am through, you have only to say so and I will stop.
"Trinidad is the most southerly of the West India Islands and belongs
to Great Britain. It was first discovered by Columbus in 1498 and given
the name of Trinidad by him, because three mountain summits were first
seen from the masthead. But it was not until 1532 that a permanent
settlement was made there. In 1595 its chief town, San Josede Oruha,
was burned by Sir Walter Raleigh; but the island continued in Spain's
possession till 1797, when it fell into the hands of the British and it
was made theirs by treaty in 1802."
"How large is it, grandma?" asked Ned.
"About fifty miles long and from thirty to thirty-five wide. It is
very near to Venezuela, separated from it by the Gulf of Paria, and
the extreme points on the west coast are only the one thirteen and
the other nine miles from it. The channel to the north is called the
Dragon's Mouth; it is the deepest; the southern channel is shallow,
owing to the deposits brought down by the Orinoco, and the gulf, too,
is growing more shallow from the same cause."
"Are there mountains, grandma?" asked Ned.
"Yes; mountains not so high as those on some of the other Caribbean
islands; they extend along the northern coast from east to west; they
have forests of stately trees and along their lower edges overhanging
mangroves, dipping into the sea. There is a double-peaked mountain
called Tamana, and from it one can look down upon the lovely and
fertile valleys and plains of the other part of the island. There are
some tolerably large rivers and several good harbors."
"Are there towns on it, grandma?" asked Ned.
"Yes; the chief one, called Port of Spain, is one of the finest towns
in the West Indies. It was first built of wood, and was burned down in
1808, but has since been rebuilt of stone found in the neighborhood.
The streets are long, wide, clean, well paved and shaded with trees.
"San Fernando is the name of another town, and there are, besides, two
or three pretty villages. Near one of them, called La Brea, is a pitch
lake composed of bituminous matter floating on fresh water."
"I don't think I'd want to take a sail on it," said Elsie. "Trinidad is
a warm place, isn't it, grandma?"
"Yes; the climate is hot and moist; it is said to be the hottest of the
West India islands."
"Then I'm glad it is winter now when we are going there."
"Yes; I think winter is the best season for paying a visit there," said
her grandma.
"I suppose we are going to one of the towns," said Ned. "Aren't we,
papa?" as his father drew near.
"Yes, to the capital, called Port of Spain. I was there some years ago.
Shall I tell you about it?"
"Oh, yes sir! please do," answered both children, and a number of the
grown people drew near to listen.
"It is a rather large place, having some thirty or forty thousand
inhabitants. Outside of the town is a large park, where there are
villas belonging to people in good circumstances. They are pleasant,
comfortable-looking dwellings with porches and porticoes, gardens in
front or lawns with many varieties of trees--bread-fruit, oranges,
mangoes, pawpaws--making a pleasant shade and bearing delightful
fruits; and there is a great abundance of flowers."
"All that sounds very pleasant, Captain," said Mr. Lilburn, "but I fear
there must be some unpleasant things to encounter."
"Mosquitoes, for instance?" queried the Captain. "Yes, I remember
Froude's description of one that he says he killed and examined through
a glass. Bewick, with the inspiration of genius, had drawn his exact
likeness as the devil--a long black stroke for a body, a nick for a
neck, horns on the head, and a beak for a mouth, spindle arms, and
longer spindle legs, two pointed wings and a tail. He goes on to say
that he had been warned to be on the lookout for scorpions, centipedes,
jiggers, and land crabs, which would bite him if he walked slipperless
over the floor in the dark. Of those he met none; but the mosquito of
Trinidad was enough by himself, being, for malice, mockery, and venom
of tooth and trumpet, without a match in the world."
"Dear me, papa, how can anybody live there?" exclaimed Grace.
"Froude speaks of seeking safety in tobacco-smoke," replied her father,
with a quizzical smile. "You might do that; or try the only other means
of safety mentioned by him--hiding behind the lace curtains with which
every bed is provided."
"But we can't stay in bed all the time, papa," exclaimed Elsie.
"No, but most of the time when you are out of bed you keep off the
mosquitoes with a fan."
"And if we find them quite unendurable we can sail away from Trinidad,"
said Violet.
"Perhaps we are coming to the island at a better time of the year than
Froude did, as regards the mosquito plague," remarked Grandma Elsie.
"Ah, mother, I am afraid they are bad and troublesome all the year
round in these warm regions," said Harold.
"But we can take refuge behind nets a great deal of the time while we
are in the mosquito country, and hurry home when we tire of that,"
remarked Violet.
"Ah, that is a comfortable thought," said Mr. Lilburn. "And we are
fortunate people in having such homes as ours to return to."
"Yes, we can all say amen to that," said Chester, and Lucilla started
the singing of "Home, Sweet Home," all the others joining in with
feeling.
The next morning found the "Dolphin" lying quietly in the harbor of the
Port of Spain in the great shallow lake known as the Gulf of Paria, and
soon after breakfast all went ashore to visit the city.
They enjoyed walking about the wide, shaded streets, and park, gazing
with great interest upon the strange and beautiful trees, shrubs and
flowers; there were bread-fruit trees, pawpaws, mangoes and oranges,
and large and beautiful flowers of many colors. Some of our friends had
read Froude's account of the place and wanted to visit it.
From there they went to the Botanical Gardens and were delighted with
the variety of trees and plants entirely new to them.
Before entering the place, the young people were warned not to taste
any of the strange fruits, and Grandma Elsie and the Captain kept
watch over them lest the warning should be forgotten or unheeded;
though Elsie was never known to disobey father or mother, and it was
a rare thing, indeed, for Ned to do so. They were much interested
in all they saw, the glen full of nutmeg trees among the rest; they
were from thirty to forty feet high, with leaves of brilliant green,
something like the leaves of an orange, folded one over the other, and
their lowest branches swept the ground. There were so many strange and
beautiful trees, plants and flowers to be seen and admired that our
friends spent more than an hour in those gardens.
Then they hired conveyances and drove about wherever they thought the
most attractive scenes were to be found. They were interested in the
cabins of the negroes spread along the road on either side and overhung
with trees--tamarinds, bread-fruit, orange, limes, citrons, plantains
and calabash trees; out of the last named they make their cups and
water-jugs.
There were cocoa-bushes, too, loaded with purple or yellow pods;
there were yams in the garden, cows in the paddocks also; so that it
was evident that abundance of good, nourishing, appetizing food was
provided them with very little exertion on their part.
Captain Raymond and his party spent some weeks in Trinidad and its
harbor--usually passing the night aboard the "Dolphin"--traveling about
the island in cars or carriages, visiting all the interesting spots,
going up into the mountains and enjoying the view from thence of the
lovely, fertile valleys and plains. Then they sailed around the island
and anchored again in the harbor of Port of Spain for the night and to
consider and decide upon their next movement.
"Shall we go up the Orinoco?" asked the Captain, addressing the
company, as all sat together on the deck.
There was a moment of silence, each waiting for the others to speak,
then Mr. Dinsmore said: "Give us your views on the subject, Captain. Is
there much to attract us there? To interest and instruct? I am really
afraid that is a part of my geography in which I am rather rusty."
"It is one of the great rivers of South America," said the Captain. "It
rises in one of the chief mountain chains of Guiana. It is a crooked
stream--flowing west-south-west, then south-west, then north-west, then
north-north-east and after that in an eastward direction to its mouth.
The head of uninterrupted navigation is seven hundred and seventy-seven
miles from its mouth. Above that point there are cataracts.
"It has a great many branches, being joined, it is said, by four
hundred and thirty-six rivers and upward of two thousand streams; so it
drains an area of from two hundred and fifty thousand to six hundred
and fifty thousand square miles, as variously estimated. It begins to
form its delta one hundred and thirty miles from its mouth, by throwing
off a branch which flows northward into the Atlantic. It has several
navigable mouths, and the main stream is divided by a line of islands,
into two channels, each two miles wide. The river is four miles wide at
Bolivar, a town more than two hundred and fifty miles from the mouth of
the river, which is there three hundred and ninety feet deep."
"Why, it's a grand, big river," said Chester. "Much obliged for the
information, Captain. I had forgotten, if I ever knew, that it was so
large, and with its many tributaries drained so large a territory."
"And do you wish to visit it--or a part of it?" queried the Captain.
"How is it with you, Cousins Annis and Ronald?"
"I am willing--indeed, should prefer--to leave the decision to other
members of our party," replied Mrs. Lilburn, and her husband expressed
the same wish to let others decide the question.
"What do you say, Grandma Dinsmore?" asked Violet. "I think you look as
if you would rather not go."
"And that is how I feel--thinking of the mosquitoes," returned the old
lady, with a slight laugh.
"They certainly are very objectionable," said the Captain. "I can't
say that I am at all desirous to try them myself. And I doubt if they
are more scarce on the Amazon than on the Orinoco. One traveler there
tells us, 'At night it was quite impossible to sleep for mosquitoes;
they fell upon us by myriads, and without much piping came straight to
our faces as thick as raindrops in a shower. The men crowded into the
cabins and tried to expel them by smoke from burnt rags, but it was of
little avail, though we were half suffocated by the operation.'"
"That certainly does not sound very encouraging, my dear," said Violet.
"The Amazon is a grand river, I know," said Harold, "but it would not
pay to visit it under so great a drawback to one's comfort; and I am
very sure encountering such pests would be by no means beneficial to
any one of my patients."
"And this one of your patients would not be willing to encounter them,
even if such were the prescription of her physician," remarked Grace,
in a lively tone.
"Nor would this older one," added Grandma Elsie, in playful tones.
"Then we will consider the Orinoco as tabooed," said the Captain; "and
I suppose we shall have to treat the Amazon in the same way, as it was
at a place upon its banks that one of the writers I just quoted had his
most unpleasant experience with the mosquitoes."
"Well, my dear, if there is a difference of opinion and choice among
us--some preferring scenery even with mosquitoes, others no scenery
unless it could be had without mosquitoes--suppose we divide our
forces--one set land and the other remain on board and journey on up
the river."
"Ah! and which set will you join, little wife?" he asked, with playful
look and tone.
"Whichever one my husband belongs to," she answered. "Man and wife are
not to be separated."
"Suppose we take a vote on the question and settle it at once," said
Lucilla.
"A good plan, I think," said Harold.
"Yes," assented the Captain. "Cousins Annis and Ronald, please give us
your wishes in regard to rivers and mosquitoes."
"I admire the rivers, but not the mosquitoes, and would rather do
without both than have both," laughed Annis, and her husband added,
"And my sentiments on the subject coincide exactly with those of my
wife."
Then the question went round the circle, and it appeared that every
one thought a sight of the great rivers and the scenery on their banks
would be too dearly purchased by venturing in among the clouds of
blood-thirsty mosquitoes.
"I'm glad," exclaimed Ned; "for I'm not a bit fond of mosquitoes;
especially not of having them take their meals off me. But I'd like
to see those big rivers. Papa, won't you tell us something about the
Amazon?"
"Yes," said the Captain; "it has two other names--Maranon and
Orellana. It is a very large river and has a big mouth--one hundred and
fifty miles wide, and the tide enters there and goes up the stream five
hundred miles.
"From the wide mouth of the Amazon, where it empties into the ocean,
its water can be distinguished from the other--that of the ocean--for
fifty leagues. The Amazon is so large and has so many tributaries that
it drains two million, five hundred square miles of country. The Amazon
is the king of rivers. It rises in the western range of the Andes, and
is little better than a mountain torrent till it has burst through
the gorges of the eastern range of the chain, where it is overhung by
peaks that tower thousands of feet above its bed. But within three
hundred miles from the Pacific is a branch, Huallagais, large enough
and deep enough for steamers, and a few miles farther down the Amazon
is navigable for vessels drawing five feet; and it grows deeper and
deeper and more and more available for large vessels as it rolls on
toward the ocean. The outlet of this mighty river is a feeder of the
Gulf Stream. It is only since 1867 that the navigation of the Amazon
has been open, but now regular lines of steamers ply between its mouth
and Yurimaguas on the Huallaga."
"Are there not many and important exports sent down the Amazon?" asked
Mr. Dinsmore.
"There are, indeed," replied the Captain, "and the fauna of the waters
have proved wonderful. Agassiz found there, in five months, thirteen
hundred species of fish, nearly a thousand of them new, and about
twenty new genera. The Vacca marina, the largest fish inhabiting fresh
waters, and the Acara, which carries its young in its mouth, when there
is danger, are the denizens of the Amazon."
"Oh," exclaimed Elsie, "I'd like to see that fish with its babies in
its mouth."
"And I should be very sorry to have to carry my children in that
way--even if the relative sizes of my mouth and children made it
possible," said her mother.
"Brazil's a big country, isn't it, papa?" asked Ned.
"Yes," said his father; "about as large as the United States would be
without Alaska."
"Did Columbus discover it, and the Spaniards settle it, papa?" he asked.
"In the year 1500 a companion of Columbus landed at Cape Augustine,
near Pernambuco, and from there sailed along the coast as far as the
Orinoco," replied the Captain. "In the same year another Portuguese
commander, driven to the Brazilian coast by adverse winds, landed, and
taking possession in the name of his monarch named the country Terra da
Vera Crux. The first permanent settlement was made by the Portuguese
in 1531 on the island of St. Vincent. Many settlements were made and
abandoned, because of the hostility of the natives and the lack of
means, and a Huguenot colony, established on the bay of Rio de Janeiro,
in 1555, was broken up by the Portuguese in 1567 when they founded the
present capital, Rio de Janeiro.
"But it is hardly worth while to rehearse all the history of the
various attempts to take possession of Brazil--attempts made by Dutch,
Portuguese and Spanish. French invasion of Portugal, in 1807, caused
the royal family to flee to Brazil, and it became the royal seat of
government until 1821, when Dom John VI. went back to Portugal, leaving
his eldest son, Dom Pedro, as Prince Regent.
"The independence of Brazil was proclaimed September 7, 1822; and on
October 12th, he was crowned emperor as Dom Pedro I. He was arbitrary,
and that made him so unpopular that he found it best to abdicate, which
he did in 1831 in favor of his son, then only a child. That boy was
crowned in 1841, at the age of fifteen, as Dom Pedro II."
"Gold is to be found in Brazil, is it not, papa?" asked Grace.
"Yes," he said, "that country is rich in minerals and precious
stones. Gold, always accompanied with silver, is found in many of the
provinces, and in Minas-Geraes is especially abundant, and in that and
two other of the provinces, diamonds are found; and the opal, amethyst,
emerald, ruby, sapphire, tourmaline, topaz and other precious stones
are more or less common."
"Petroleum also is obtained in one or two of the provinces, and there
are valuable phosphate deposits on some of the islands," remarked Mr.
Dinsmore, as the Captain paused, as if he had finished what he had to
say in reply to Grace's question.
"Papa," asked Ned, "are there lions and tigers and monkeys in the
woods?"
"There are dangerous wild beasts--the jaguar being the most common
and formidable. And there are other wild, some of them dangerous,
beasts--the tiger cat, red wolf, tapir, wild hog, Brazilian dog,
or wild fox, capybara or water hog, paca, three species of deer,
armadillos, sloths, ant-eaters, oppossums, coatis, water-rats, otters
and porcupines. Squirrels, hares and rabbits are plentiful. There
are many species of monkeys, too, and several kinds of bats--vampires
among them. On the southern plains, large herds of wild horses are to
be found. Indeed, Brazil can boast a long list of animals. One writer
says that he found five hundred species of birds in the Amazon valley
alone, about thirty distinct species of parrots and twenty varieties
of humming-birds. The largest birds are the ouira, a large eagle; the
rhea, or American ostrich; and the cariama. Along the coasts or in the
forest are to be found frigate birds, snowy herons, toucans, ducks,
wild peacocks, turkeys, geese and pigeons. Among the smaller birds are
the oriole, whippoorwill and the uraponga, or bell bird."
"Those would be pleasant enough to meet," said Violet, "but there are
plenty of most unpleasant creatures--snakes, for instance."
"Yes," assented the Captain; "there are many serpents; the most
venomous are the jararaca and the rattlesnake. The boa-constrictor and
anaconda grow very large, and there are at least three species of cobra
noted as dangerous. There are many alligators, turtles and lizards. The
rivers, lakes and coast-waters literally swarm with fish. Agassiz found
nearly two thousand species, many of them such as are highly esteemed
for food."
"And they have big mosquitoes, too, you have told us, papa," said
Elsie. "Many other bugs, too, I suppose?"
"Yes; big beetles, scorpions and spiders, many kinds of bees,
sand-flies and musical crickets, destructive ants, the cochineal insect
and the pium, a tiny insect whose bite is poisonous and sometimes
dangerous."
"Please tell us about the woods, papa," said Ned.
"Yes; the forests of the Amazon valley are said to be the largest in
the world, having fully four hundred species of trees. In marshy places
and along streams reeds, grasses and water plants grow in tangled
masses, and in the forests the trees crowd each other and are draped
with parasitic vines. Along the coasts mangroves, mangoes, cocoas,
dwarf palms, and the Brazil-wood are noticeable. In one of the southern
provinces more than forty different kinds of trees are valuable for
timber. On the Amazon and its branches there are an almost innumerable
variety of valuable trees; among them the itauba or stonewood, so named
for its durability; the cassia, the cinnamon-tree, the banana, the
lime, the myrtle, the guava, the jacaranda or rosewood, the Brazilian
bread-fruit, whose large seeds are used for food, and many others too
numerous to mention; among them the large and lofty cotton-tree, the
tall white-trunked seringa or rubber-tree, which furnishes the gum of
commerce, and the three or four hundred species of palms. One of those
is called the carnaubu palm; it is probably the most valuable, for
every part of it is useful, from the wax of its leaves to its edible
pith. Another is the piassaba palm, whose bark is clothed with a loose
fiber used for coarse textile fabrics and for brooms."
"Why, papa, that's a very useful tree," was little Elsie's comment
upon that bit of information. "Are there fruits and flowers in those
forests, papa?" she asked.
"Yes; those I have already mentioned, with figs, custard-apples and
oranges. Some European fruits--olives, grapes and water-melons of fine
flavor are cultivated in Brazil."
"If it wasn't for the fierce wild animals and snakes, it would be a
nice country to live in, I think," she said; "but taking everything
into consideration I very much prefer our own country."
"Ah, is that so? Who shall say that you won't change your mind after a
few weeks spent in Brazil?" returned her father, with an amused look.
"You wouldn't want me to, I know, papa," she returned, with a pleasant
little laugh, "for I am very sure you want your children to love their
own country better than any other in the world."
"Yes, my child, I do," he said. Then turning to his older passengers
and addressing them in general, "I think," he said, "if it is agreeable
to you all, we will make a little stop at Pará, the maritime emporium
of the Amazon. I presume you would all like to see that city?"
All seemed pleased with the idea, and it was presently settled that
that should be their next stopping-place. They all enjoyed their life
upon the yacht, but an occasional halt and visit to the shore made an
agreeable variety.