Day after day we sailed down the mighty Amazon, often the opposite shore
appearing like a blue line in the distance, and yet we were upwards of
twelve hundred miles from the mouth. Now it again narrowed into more
river-like proportions. Sometimes we found ourselves navigating between
numerous islands, cut off from the mainland by the rush of waters; but
along the whole extent, often for a hundred miles together, not a hut
was to be seen, not a sign of a human habitation. Whenever we came near
the abode of man we landed, and Domingos or John and one of the natives
approached cautiously to make inquiries; but hitherto without success.
Here and there we came to a mission establishment of the Portuguese.
They consisted generally of the priest's house, a larger building for
the church, and a few huts scattered about, inhabited by natives. As
far as we could judge, these so-called Christian natives were but little
raised above their still heathen countrymen, while the effect of the
religion they had assumed was to make them more idolatrous and
superstitious than before. The priests, however, were very civil, but
there was nothing to tempt us to remain at their stations; we therefore,
after gaining the information we required, pushed on and camped in our
usual way. We agreed that our father had probably acted in the same
way, for we could gain no certain news of him. We heard, however, what
gave us some anxiety--that the country was in a greatly disturbed state,
and that the natives had, in several places, risen against the
Portuguese, and driven them from their settlements. The poor priests,
indeed, seemed unhappy about themselves, and not at all confident that
their flocks might not rise and treat them in the same way. One,
indeed, gave out strong hints that he would like to accompany us, and
would undertake to pilot us down the river; but our canoe had already as
many on board as she could carry, while our provisions were so greatly
diminished that they would not hold out much longer.
We frequently avoided the main channel, the navigation of which in bad
weather is dangerous, and made our way through some of the numerous
channels filled by the rising waters on either side. Thus we paddled on
through channels sometimes so narrow that the boughs arched almost
overhead, at other times spreading out into lake-like expanses. I have
already so frequently described the vegetation, the numberless palms and
other trees, some of enormous size, with their festoons of air-plants
and climbers of all sorts, that I need not again draw the picture.
Emerging from a narrow path, we entered a calm and beautiful lake, when
there appeared before us, floating on the water, a number of vast
circular leaves, amid which grow up the most gigantic and beautiful
water-lilies.
"Oh, what flowers!" exclaimed Ellen; "do gather some."
"Surely those cannot be leaves!" exclaimed Arthur. "See, a bird with
long legs is walking over them!"
John fired, and the bird fell in the centre of the leaf on which it was
standing, and which still supported it in the water; and taking it off
the leaf, alongside which we paddled, we found it to be a jacana,
remarkable for the great length of its toes, especially the hinder one,
and their spine-like claws. It was a wonderfully light bird also, and
these peculiarities enable it to walk over the leaves of the
water-plants and procure its food, which consists of worms. The beak
was orange colour, but the greater part of the body black, with the back
and wing-coverts of a bright chestnut, with a few yellow touches here
and there, and the legs of a greenish-ash colour. We heard the shrill
and noisy notes of its fellows in the trees near us. "Ah, that is a
_piosoca_!" said Duppo, "and that leaf is its oven;" and so it was in
shape like the pans in which the natives roast their mandioca meal.
Ellen had, in the meantime, been examining one of the beautiful flowers
which the boatmen picked for her. The outside of the leaves was of a
delicate white, deepening in colour through every shade of rose to the
deepest crimson, and then fading again to a creamy-yellowish tint at the
heart. Many of the leaves were five feet and upwards in diameter, and
perfectly smooth on the upper surface, with an upright edge of an inch
to two inches all the way round. We managed, though not without
difficulty, to pull up some stalks, and found them covered with long
sharp spines. The construction of the leaf was very curious, it being
supported below by a number of ribs projecting from the stalk, and
giving it greater buoyancy and strength. One of the boatmen, plunging
down, brought up a young leaf from the bottom. It had the form of a
deep cup or vase, and on examining it we discovered the embryo ribs, and
could see how, as they grew, their ramifications stretched out in every
direction, the leaf letting out one by one its little folds to fill the
ever-widening spaces. At last, when it reaches the surface of the
water, its pan-like form rests horizontally above it without a wrinkle.
This beautiful lily, then unknown to science, has since been called the
Victoria Regia.
Nothing could exceed the beauty of this calm lake, covered for a
considerable distance with these magnificent flowers. Among the lilies
appeared a variety of other water-plants, some gracefully bending over
like bamboos, others with large deep serrated leaves, while the
different forest trees in varied forms rose round us, fringed by a broad
band of feathery grass. Several trees floated on the borders covered
with water-fowl, among which were many ducks and ciganas, while amid the
lofty branches of the living forest flew numerous macaws of a red,
green, and yellow species, and one of the small flock of the still more
beautiful blue macaw, appeared to add their lovely tints to the
landscape. Such was the scenery through which we passed during the
greater part of the day. Had we felt sure about the safety of our
family, how much more should we have enjoyed it. Our anxiety again
increased. We had good reason to be anxious about ourselves. Our stock
of provisions was almost exhausted; all our luxuries except coffee had
come to an end, and of that we had very little, while we had only a
small supply of farinha remaining.
We encamped at the end of our day's voyage through that labyrinth of
canals on the only spot we could find free from trees, the rising waters
having covered nearly all the ground. While looking for some poles for
our hut, I saw on the branch of a tree overhanging the water, gazing
down upon us, a hideous monster, fully five feet long, which at the
first glance I took to be a species of alligator with which I was
unacquainted. Presently, as I gazed at it, it filled out a large bag
under its throat, and opened its hideous mouth. It was covered with
scales, had a long tail, the point of which was hid among the branches,
and enormous claws at the end of its legs. I beat a quick retreat,
calling to John to come to my assistance with his gun, for I fully
believed that the creature would leap off and attack me. The Indians,
hearing my voice, came towards me, and cut down some long thin sipos, at
the end of which they formed a running noose. Thus prepared, they
boldly advanced towards the creature, and one of them throwing up the
noose, adroitly caught it round the neck. The others, taking the end,
gave it a sudden jerk, and down it came to the ground. As soon as it
regained its feet it boldly made at them, but they nimbly leaped out of
its way; and as its movements were slow, there seemed but little risk of
its catching them.
"Why, that must be an iguana!" exclaimed John.
While some kept hauling at the creature's neck, turning it when it tried
to get away, others ran to the canoe and brought their spears, with
which they ran it through the neck, and quickly killed it. It was an
iguana (_Iguana tuberculata_). Though the head was very different from
that of the alligator, being blunt, yet, from having a number of sharp
teeth, it could evidently have given a severe bite. Its head was
somewhat large, and covered with large scales. It had an enormous wide
mouth, while under its chin was a sort of big dew-lap, which, as it had
shown me, it could inflate when angry. At the sides of the neck were a
number of tubercles, while the tail was very long, thin, and tapering.
It was of a dark olive-green, but the tail was marked with brown and
green in alternate rings. The creature was nearly six feet long. The
Indians seemed highly delighted with their prize, and as soon as our
huts were built, commenced skinning and cutting it up. Domingos assured
us that it was very good to eat, and produced a fricassee for supper,
which we could not help acknowledging was excellent. A part also was
roasted.
Shortly afterwards I saw another iguana on the ground. True darted at
it, and I shouted to him to come back. Fortunately for itself, my
shouts startled the iguana, which took to the water, and swam away,
sculling itself forward by meant of its long tail at a rapid rate.
Arthur had manufactured a net for catching insects. As soon as we were
seated in front of our hut, enjoying the cool air after the sun had set,
Ellen exclaimed, "Oh, see what beautiful fireworks!" At a short
distance from us there appeared suddenly to rise thousands of sparks of
great brilliancy. Arthur ran forward with his net, and quickly
returned, placed the hoop on the ground, and lifted up the end, when so
bright was the light which came from the interior that we could without
difficulty read a page of the book on natural history we had been
examining a short time before. On taking out some of the insects he had
caught to look at them more narrowly, Arthur placed one on its back,
when it sprang up with a curious click and pitched again on its feet.
On examining it we found that this was produced by the strong spine
placed beneath the thorax, fitting into a small cavity on the upper part
of the abdomen. It brings this over its head, and striking the ground
with great force, can thus regain its natural position. The creature
was about an inch and a half long, and of a brown colour. The light
proceeded from a smooth, yellow, semi-transparent spot on each side of
the thorax. We found that even with a single one passed over the page
we could see the letters clearly. Ellen ran and brought a vial, into
which we put a dozen, when it literally gave forth the light of a bright
lamp, sufficient to write by. It is known in the country as the cocuja.
It is the elater, or still more scientifically, the _Pyrophorus
noctilucus_. The forest behind the hut was literally filled at times
with brilliant sparks of light, now vanishing, now bursting forth with
greater brightness than at first. The Brazilian ladies wear these
beetles alive secured in their hair, and sometimes on their dresses,
which thus glitter brightly as they move about in the dusk.
The next morning at daylight Duppo was busily employed hunting about in
the neighbourhood, and at length shouted to us to bring a basket. We
found he had just discovered the nest of an iguana, filled with eggs.
He assured us that they were excellent. On boiling some for breakfast,
we agreed with him. Like those of the turtle, they did not harden by
boiling, but only became somewhat thicker, and were filled almost
entirely with yellow, having very little albumen. We all set to work to
hunt for more, and were fortunate in finding another nest, the eggs
being a welcome addition to our scanty supply of food. The Indians
meantime, while we were finishing breakfast, set off into the forest,
and just as we were ready to start came back with another iguana.
We were constantly employed in trying to teach Duppo English. Arthur
was explaining to him the animals of our country, and was mentioning the
cow, and describing its milk. He seemed much interested, and then gave
us to understand that they also had cows in their land, which, instead
of walking about on four legs, grew in the ground, and were of great
size. After this he was constantly looking out along the banks, and at
length he shouted out to the men, "Massaranduba!" and they at once
paddled in for the bank. One of them accompanied us with an axe. As we
passed along we found on the ground a number of woody vessels, which had
evidently contained seeds. Duppo picked up one of them, and found
another piece close by which fitted on to it, and then told us that they
were called monkeys' drinking-cups; the Portuguese call them _cuyas de
macaco_. These shells had contained nuts. When falling off the tree--
the sapucaya--the tops split off, and the nuts are scattered on the
ground. Duppo made us understand that these cups would serve well to
collect the milk from the cow he promised to show us.
I may observe that the trees which bear the monkey drinking-cups are
closely allied to the Brazil-nut tree, the fruit of which we had often
seen sold in England under that name. Its seeds are also enclosed in
large woody vessels, but they, having no lid, fall entire to the ground,
and are thus easily collected by the natives.
Supplied with these vessels, we went on a few yards further, when we
stopped under an enormous tree, one of the giants of the forest. Its
trunk was covered with deeply scored reddish and rugged bark. Duppo
patted it, saying, "This my cow." Another tree of the same species, but
much smaller, grew near. He ran to it, and saying, "Small cow give
better milk," began to attack it with his axe. After making a few
strokes, out flowed a perfectly white liquid, which John, kneeling down,
caught in the monkey-cup. As soon as it was filled I handed him
another, the milk continuing to flow in great abundance, so that we soon
had four cups filled full of the tempting liquid. On tasting it we
found it sweet, and of a not unpleasant flavour, and wonderfully like
milk.
We returned to the boat with our prize. Domingos had meantime been
boiling some coffee; as we had now no sugar, the fresh milk proved a
most valuable acquisition. The Indians, however, recommended us not to
take much of it. We kept it, intending to use it again in the evening,
but on taking off the lid of one of the monkey-cups, we found that our
milk had thickened into a stiff and excessively tenacious glue. "My cow
good?" asked Duppo, as he saw us tasting the liquid. When we showed him
the gluey substance in the evening, he inquired sagaciously whether the
milk of our cow would keep so long, and we confessed that, in that
climate, it would be very likely to turn sour. After this, on several
occasions we obtained fresh milk from the cow-tree for our breakfasts
and suppers.
We encamped at night on a bank, and found two sorts of tiger-beetles,
with very large heads, running about on the sand. It was extraordinary
how rapidly they moved. Arthur and I tried to catch them, but each time
they baffled us. One was very similar in hue to the sand over which it
runs, the other was of a brilliant copper colour. Arthur, who was very
acute in his remarks, observed that the white species ran far more
swiftly than the copper-coloured one. As they only appear in the gloom
or night, the white is far more easily seen than the darker one; and
this has by the Creator greater means afforded it of escaping from its
enemies. The dark-coloured one, however, he discovered, is not left
without means of defence; for when at last Duppo caught one for him, he
found that on touching it it emitted a strong, peculiar, and offensive
putrid odour, which is not the case with the whiter one.
"How delightful it is!" he exclaimed, "to examine the habits of God's
creatures, and see how admirably adapted they are to the life they are
destined to lead."
I must not, however, attempt to describe the numberless insects and
creatures of all sorts we met with on our voyage. Duppo brought us a
large wood-cricket, called the _Tanana_, the wonderfully loud and not
unmusical notes of which we had often heard. These sounds, we found,
were produced by the overlapping edges of the wing-cases, which they rub
together. In each wing-case the inner edge, near the lower part, has a
horny expansion. On one wing this horny expansion is furnished with a
sharp raised margin; on the other, the strong nervure which traverses it
on the other side is crossed by a number of short, sharp furrows, like
those of a file. When, therefore, the insect rapidly moves its wings,
the file of one expansion scrapes sharply across the horny margin of the
other, thus producing the curious sounds. The wing-cases, which are of
a parchment-like nature, and the hollow drum-formed space which they
enclose, assists to give resonance to the tones. The music they make is
employed undoubtedly to serenade their mates, for the same object which
induces the feathered tribe to utter their varied notes in the forest.
We had once more entered the main stream, which, after the confined
navigation of the last few days, appeared to our eyes almost like the
wide ocean. We landed rather earlier than usual, as a favourable spot
appeared, and we could not tell how far off another might be found. We
had formed huts as usual, our camp-fire was lighted, and Domingos and
Maria were engaged in cooking our evening meal, making the most of the
scanty fare we had remaining. A point was near from which we believed
we could get an uninterrupted view for a great distance down the river.
As we found we could make our way to it without much difficulty, we
begged Ellen and Oria to accompany us.
On reaching the point we sat down on a bank. A small object appeared in
the distance on the water. Arthur was the first to espy it. I thought
it was but a log of wood. We pointed it out to Oria. She at once
declared that it was a canoe. It was certainly approaching, and at
length we made out a small canoe gliding over the smooth water; and as
it came near we saw a white man in the stern steering, and ten natives
urging her on with rapid strokes. "What if those people should be able
to give us news of our father!" exclaimed Ellen. "Do call them, lest
they should pass by." John hailed the canoe. Presently we saw the
white man stand up and look towards us. Instantly the head of the canoe
was turned in our direction. We hastened down to the point where they
would land, and the white man stepped on shore. He gazed first at one,
then at the other, with an inquiring glance.
"Can you tell me, my friend," asked John, "if an English family are
stopping anywhere on the banks down the river?"
"Indeed I can, senor," answered the white man; "for I have been sent up
by the master to look out for some part of his family who ought long
since to have arrived. He has already sent two messengers to inquire
for them; and his heart, and those of the senora and senorita, are
well-nigh worn out with anxiety on their account. At last I begged that
he would let me go; and I promised not to return without gaining tidings
of them."
"Why, then you must be Antonio, and we are those you are looking for!"
said John.
"Heaven be praised!" exclaimed Antonio, our father's old servant, who,
rushing forward, seized John in his arms, and gave him a warm embrace.
He then turned to me, and gave me the same affectionate yet respectful
greeting. "And this is the senorita!" he exclaimed, turning to Ellen.
"Oh, it does my old heart good to see you. How little did I think that
before the sun set I should behold those I so longed to find. And
Domingos and Maria; surely they have come with you!"
"Oh yes," said John; "they are at the camp. Send your montaria round
the point, and come with us. We shall soon be there."
As may be supposed, we had numberless questions to ask about our father
and family; how far off they were from us, and all that had happened.
"Oh, senor, I should like to have a dozen tongues in my head to reply to
you," answered Antonio. "They are well and safe now, though the times
are perilous. And, Heaven be praised, they have passed numberless
dangers unharmed. It has taken me two weary weeks to come thus far, but
I hope that we may descend the river to them in far less time. How
could I have expected to meet with you when others, we had cause to
fear, had failed. First, a Brazilian trader, who was proceeding up in
his montaria, undertook the task, promising without fail to find you,
and speedily to send down notice; but after waiting and waiting some
weary weeks, no news came, and my master, your father, was resolved to
go himself, though unwilling to leave the senoras without his
protection, when, just then, two young Englishmen arrived from Para, and
made themselves known to your father as friends of yours; and hearing
that you were missing, agreed to go up in search of you."
"Why, those must be our two school-fellows, Houlston and Tony Nyass!" I
exclaimed.
From the description which Antonio had given of them, we had no doubt
that this was the case. But what had become of them? A few minutes
before I had thought all our anxieties were over, but now they were
again aroused on account of our friends. What if they had fallen into
the hands of the Majeronas, or been exposed to some of the storms we had
so narrowly escaped! "You forget how easily they may have passed us,"
observed Arthur. "We might have been not a quarter of a mile apart, and
yet have passed without seeing or hearing each other."
Dear Ellen was so agitated with the thoughts of meeting those we loved
so soon, that she could scarcely speak. She overheard, however, the
remarks between Arthur and myself. "And why do you doubt that all will
come right in the end?" she exclaimed. "Think of the many dangers we
have gone through, and how we have been preserved from them all. Let us
hope the same for our friends."
Domingos was standing over the fire with his frying-pan when we came
round the point with Antonio. At that moment he happened to look up,
when, forgetting what he was about, he let the frying-pan and its
contents fall into the middle of the fire, thereby spoiling a delicious
fricassee of iguana, and sprang forward to welcome his fellow-servant,
and to make inquiries for their master. The two rushed into each
other's arms, and the tears fell from the black man's eyes when he heard
that our father was well.
We spent the evening at our encampment, hearing from Antonio all that
had occurred: how our father had received information of the intended
attack of the Majeronas, and had embarked just in time to escape them.
He would have waited for us higher up the river had he not been
compelled, for the sake of obtaining assistance for our mother, to
proceed downwards. They had all been hospitably received at the farm of
a Brazilian family, where she having recovered, he determined to wait
for our arrival. The first messengers he had despatched not having been
heard of, on the arrival of Houlston and Tony Nyass, they had insisted
on proceeding upward. As they also had not returned, Antonio, with the
party we had met, had been sent to search for us.
It was the happiest evening we had spent since the commencement of our
journey. Anxiety about our friends did not damp our spirits, as we
hoped that they would hear of us at some of the places at which we had
called; and that we should soon all meet, and continue our adventures in
company. "Fancy Tony and I, and old Houlston, after all, sailing
together on the Amazon, just as we used to talk about at school!" I
acclaimed. "It will be jolly, will it not, Arthur?"