On the banks of the Orinoco, a short distance above the point where that
mighty river makes its second great sweep to the eastward, dwells a
remarkable people,--a tribe of savages that, even among savages, are
remarkable for many peculiar and singular customs. These are the
_Ottomacs_.
They have been long known,--and by the narratives of the early Spanish
missionaries, rendered notorious,--on account of some curious habits;
but although the missionaries have resided among them, and endeavoured
to bring them within "sound of the bell," their efforts have met with a
very partial and temporary success; and at this present hour, the
Ottomacs are as savage in their habits; and as singular in their
customs, as they were in the days of Columbus.
The Ottomacs are neither a stunted nor yet a weak race of men. Their
bodies are strong, and their arms and limbs stout and muscular; but they
are remarkably ill-featured, with an expression of countenance
habitually stern and vindictive.
Their costume is easily described, or rather cannot be _described_ at
all, since they have none. Both, sexes go entirely naked,--if we except
a little belt of three or four inches in width, made from cotton or the
bark of trees, and called the _guayuco_, which they wear around the
waist,--but even this is worn from no motives of modesty.
What they regard in the light of a costume is a coat of paint, and about
this they are as nice and particular as a Parisian dandy. Talk about
"blooming up" a faded _belle_ for the ballroom, or the time spent by an
exquisite in adjusting the tie of his cravat! these are trifles when
compared with the lengthy and elaborate toilette of an Ottomac lady or
gentleman.
The greater part of a day is often spent by them in a single dressing,
with one or two helpers to assist in the operation; and this is not a
_tattooing_ process, intended to last for a lifetime, but a costume
certain to be disfigured, or entirely washed off, at the first exposure
to a heavy shower of rain. Add to this, that the pigments which are
used for the purpose are by no means easily obtained: the vegetable
substances which furnish them are scarce in the Ottomac country; and it
costs one of these Indians the produce of several days of his labour to
purchase sufficient paint to give his whole skin a single "coat." For
this reason the Ottomac paints his body only on grand occasions,--
contenting himself at ordinary times with merely staining his face and
hair.
When an Ottomac wishes to appear in "full dress" he first gives himself
a "priming" of red. This consists of the dye called "annotto," which is
obtained from the fruit pulp of the _Bixa orellana_, and which the
Indians knew how to prepare previous to their intercourse with
Europeans. Over this red ground is then formed a lattice-work of lines
of black, with a dot in the centre of every little square or diamond.
The black dye is the "caruto," also a vegetable pigment, obtained from
the _Genipa Americana_. If the gentleman be rich enough to possess a
little "chica" which is a beautiful lake-coloured red,--also the produce
of a plant,--the _Bignoni, chica_, he will then feel all the ecstatic
delight of a fashionable dandy who possesses a good wardrobe; and, with
half a pound of turtle-oil rubbed into his long black tresses, he will
regard himself as dressed "within an inch of his life." It is not
always, however, that he can afford the _chica_,--for it is one of the
costliest materials of which a South-American savage can manufacture his
suit.
The Ottomac takes far less trouble in the building of his house. Very
often he builds none; but when he wishes to guard his body from the rays
of the sun, or the periodical rains, he constructs him a slight
edifice--a mere hut--out of saplings or bamboos, with a thatch of
palm-leaves.
His arms consist of the universal bow and arrows, which he manages with
much dexterity; and he has also a harpoon which he employs in killing
the manatee and the alligator. He has, besides, several other weapons,
to aid him in the chase and fishing,--the latter of which forms his
principal employment as well as his chief source of subsistence.
The Ottomac belongs to one of those tribes of Indians termed by the
Spanish missionaries _Indios andantes_, that is "wandering," or
"vagabond Indians," who instead of remaining in fixed and permanent
villages, roam about from place to place, as necessity or inclination
dictates. Perhaps this arises from the peculiarity of the country which
they inhabit: for the _Indios andantes_ do not live in the thick
forests, but upon vast treeless savannas, which stretch along the
Orinoco above its great bend. In these tracts the "juvia" trees
(_bertholletia_ and _lecythys_), which produce the delicious
"Brazil-nuts"--and other plants that supply the savage spontaneously
with food, are sparsely found; and as the savannas are annually
inundated for several months, the Ottomac is forced, whether he will or
no, to shift his quarters and try for subsistence elsewhere. When the
inundations have subsided and the waters become settled enough to permit
of fishing, the Ottomac "winter" is over, and he can obtain food in
plenty from the alligators, the manatees, the turtles, the _toninas_ or
dolphins, and other large fish that frequent the great stream upon which
he dwells. Of these the _manatee_ is the most important in the eyes of
the Ottomac--as it is the largest in size, and consequently furnishes
him with the greatest amount of meat.
This singular semi-cetaceous creature is almost too well-known to
require description. It is found in nearly all the large rivers of
tropical America, where it feeds upon the grass and aquatic plants
growing along their banks. It is known by various names, according to
the place and people. The Spaniards call it _vaca marina_, or
"sea-cow," and the Portuguese _peixe hoi_, or "fish-ox,"--both being
appellations equally inappropriate, and having their origin in a slight
resemblance which there exists between the animal's "countenance" and
that of an ox.
The _West Indian_ name is the one we though the true orthography is
_manati_, not _manatee_, since the word is of Indian origin. Some
writers deny this, alleging that it is a derivative from the Spanish
word "mano," a hand, signifying, therefore, the fish with hands,--in
allusion to the rudimentary hands which form one of its distinguishing
characteristics. This is the account of the historian Oviedo, but
another Spanish missionary, Father Gili, offers a more correct
explanation of the name,--in fact, he proves, what is neither more nor
less than the simple truth, that "manati" was the name given to this
animal by the natives of Hayti and Cuba,--where a species is also
found,--and the word has no reference whatever to the "hands" of the
creature. The resemblance to the Spanish word which should signify
"handed," is merely an accidental circumstance; and, as the acute
Humboldt very justly remarks, according to the genius of the Spanish
language, the word thus applied would have been written _manudo_, or
_manon_, and not _manati_.
The Indians have almost as many different names for this creature as
there are rivers in which it is found; but its appellation in the "lingo
ageral" of the great Amazon valley, is "juarua." Among the Ottomacs it
is called the "apoia." It may be safely affirmed that there are several
species of this amphibious animal in the rivers of tropical America; and
possibly no one of them is identical with that of the West Indies. All
have hitherto been regarded as belonging to the same species, and
described under the scientific title of _Manatus Americanus_--a name
given to the American manati, to distinguish it from the "lamantin" of
Africa, and the "dugong" of the East-Indian seas. But the West-Indian
species appears to have certain characteristic differences, which shows
that it is a separate one, or, at all events, a variety. It is of much
larger size than those of the South-American rivers generally are--
though there also a large variety is found, but much rarer than those
commonly captured by the fishermen. The West-Indian manati has nails
well developed upon the outer edge of its fins, or forearms; while those
on the other kinds are either not seen at all, or only in a very
rudimentary state. That there are different species, may be deduced
from the accounts of the natives, who employ themselves in its capture:
and the observations of such people are usually more trustworthy than
the speculations of learned anatomists. The Amazon fishermen all agree
in the belief that there are three kinds of manati in the Amazon and its
numerous tributaries, that not only differ greatly in size--from seven
to twenty feet long--and in weight, from four hundred to two thousand
pounds,--but also in the colour of their skin, and the shape of their
tails and fins. The species found in the Orinoco, and called "apoia" by
the Ottomacs, is usually about twelve feet in length, and weighs from
five hundred to eight hundred pounds; but now and then a much larger
individual is captured, perhaps owing to greater age, or other
accidental circumstance. Humboldt heard of one that weighed eight
thousand pounds; and the French naturalist D'Orbigny speaks of one
killed in the Bolivian waters of the Amazon that was twenty feet in
length. This size is often attained by the _Manatus Americanus_ of Cuba
and Hayti.
The manati is shaped somewhat like a large seal, and has certain
resemblances to a fish. Its body is of an oval oblong, with a large,
flat, rounded tail, set horizontally, and which serves as a rudder to
direct its course in the water. Just behind its shoulders appear,
instead of fins, a pair of flippers, which have a certain resemblance to
hands set on to the body without arms. Of these it avails itself, when
creeping out against the bank, and the female also uses them in carrying
her young. The mammae (for it must be remembered that this creature is
a mammiferous animal) are placed just below and behind the flippers.
The muzzle is blunt, with thick lips,--the upper projecting several
inches beyond the lower, and covered with a delicate epidermis: showing
evidently that it avails itself of this prominence--which possesses a
keen sense of touch--just as the elephant of his proboscis. The lips
are covered with bristles, or beard, which impart a kind of human-like
expression to the animal's countenance,--a circumstance more observable
in the "dugongs" of the Oriental waters. "Woman fish," too, these have
been called, and no doubt such creatures, along with the seals and
walruses, have given rise to many a story of sirens and mermaids. The
"cow-face," however, from which the manati obtains its Spanish and
Portuguese epithets, is the most characteristic; and in its food we find
a still greater analogy to the bovine quadruped with which it is brought
in comparison. Beyond this the resemblance ceases. The body is that of
a seal; but instead of being covered with hair, as the cetaceous animal,
the manati has a smooth skin that resembles india-rubber more than
anything else. A few short hairs are set here and there, but they are
scarce observable. The colour of the manati is that of lead, with a few
mottlings of a pinkish-white hue upon the belly; but in this respect
there is no uniformity. Some are seen with the whole under-parts of a
uniform cream colour.
The lungs of this animal present a peculiarity worthy of being noted.
They are very voluminous,--being sometimes three feet in length, and of
such a porous and elastic nature as to be capable of immense extension.
When blown out, they present the appearance of great swimming bladders;
and it is by means of this capacity for containing air that the manati
is enabled to remain so long under water,--though, like the true
_cetaceae_, it requires to come at intervals to the surface to obtain
breath.
The flesh of the manati is eaten by all the tribes of Indians who can
procure it,--though by some it is more highly esteemed than by others.
It was once much relished in the colonial settlements of Guiana and the
West Indies, and formed a considerable article of commerce; but in these
quarters manatis have grown scarce,--from the incessant persecution of
the fishermen. The flesh has been deemed unwholesome by some, and apt
to produce fevers; but this is not the general opinion. It has a
greater resemblance to pork than beef,--though it be the flesh of a
cow,--and is very savoury when fresh, though neither is it bad eating
when salted or dried in the sun. In this way it will keep for several
months; and it has always been a stock article with the monks of the
South-American missions,--who, in spite of its mammiferous character,
find it convenient, during the days of Lent, to regard it as a fish!
The skin of the manati is of exceeding thickness,--on the back an inch
and a half at least, though it becomes thinner as it approaches the
under-parts of the body. It is cut into slips which serve various
purposes, as for shields, cordage, and whips. "These whips of manati
leather," Bays Humboldt, "are a cruel instrument of punishment for the
unhappy slaves, and even for the Indians of the missions, though,
according to the laws, the latter ought to be treated as freemen."
Another valuable commodity obtained from this animal is oil, known in
the missions as manati-butter (_manteca de manati_). This is produced
by the layer of pure fat, of an inch and a half in thickness, which,
lying immediately under the skin, envelops the whole body of the animal.
The oil is used for lamps in the mission churches; but among the
Indians themselves it is also employed in the _cuisine_,--as it has not
that fetid smell peculiar to the oil of whales and salt-water cetaceae.
The food of the manati is grass exclusively, which it finds on the banks
of the lakes and rivers it frequents. Of this it will eat an enormous
quantity; and its usual time of browsing is at night,--though this habit
may have arisen from its observance of the fact, that night is the
safest time to approach the shore. In those places, where is has been
left undisturbed, it may be often seen browsing by day.
I have been thus particular in my account of this animal, because it is
more nearly connected with the history of Ottomac habits than perhaps
that of any other tribe of South-American Indians,--the Guamos alone
excepted, who may themselves be regarded as merely a branch of the
Ottomac family. Though, as already remarked, all the tribes who dwell
upon manati rivers pursue this creature and feed upon its flesh, yet in
no other part of South America is this species of fishery so extensively
or so dexterously carried on as among the Ottomacs and Guamos,--the
reason being, that, amidst the great grassy savannas which characterise
the Ottomac country, there are numerous streams and lagoons that are the
favourite haunts of this herbivorous animal. In one river in
particular, so great a number are found that it has been distinguished
by the appellation of the _Rio de Manatis_ (river of manatis). The
manati, when undisturbed, is gregarious in its habits, going in troops
(or "herds," if we preserve the analogy) of greater or less numbers, and
keeping the young "calves" in the centre, which the mothers guard with
the tenderest affection. So attached are the parents to their young,
that if the calf be taken, the mother can be easily approached; and the
devotion is reciprocated on the filial side; since in cases where the
mother has been captured and dragged ashore, the young one has often
been known to follow the lifeless body up to the very bank!
As the manati plays such an important part in the domestic economy of
the Ottomacs, of course the capturing of this animal is carried on upon
the grandest scale among these people, and, like the "harvest of
turtle-eggs," hereafter to be described, the manati fishery has its
particular _season_. Some writers have erroneously stated this season
as being the period of inundation, and when the water is at its maximum
height. This is quite contrary to the truth; since that period, both on
the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, is just the time when all kinds of
fishing is difficult and precarious. Then is the true winter,--the
"blue months" of the South-American river Indians; and it is then, as
will presently be seen, that the Ottomac comes nearest the point of
starvation,--which he approaches every year of his life.
There are manati and other kinds of fish taken at all times of the year;
but the true season of the manati-fishing is when the waters of the
great flood have considerably subsided, and are still continuing to
diminish rapidly. When the inundation is at its height, the manati
passes out of the channel current of the great river, and in search of
grass it finds its way into the lakes and surrounding marshes, remaining
there to browse along their banks. When the flood is rapidly passing
away from it, it begins to find itself a "little out of its element,"
and just then is the time when it is most easily captured.
Sometimes the Indians assemble in a body with their canoes, forming a
large fleet; and, proceeding to the best haunts of the "cow-fish," carry
on the fishery in a wholesale manner. The monks of the missions also
head the _tame_ tribes on these expeditions,--as they do when collecting
the eggs of the turtle,--and a regular systematic course is carried on
under the eye of discipline and authority. A camp is formed at some
convenient place on the shore. Scaffolds are erected for sun-drying the
flesh and skins; and vessels and other utensils brought upon the ground
to render the fat into oil. The manatis that have been captured are all
brought in the canoes to this central point, and delivered up to be
"_flensed_," cured, and cooked. There is the usual assemblage of small
traders from Angostura and other ports on the lower Orinoco, who come to
barter their Indian trinkets for the _manteca de manati_ in the same
manner as it will presently be seen they trade for the _manteca de
tortugas_. I need not add that this is a season of joy and festivity,
like the wine-gatherings and harvest-homes of the European peasantry.
The mode of capturing the manati is very similar to that employed by the
Esquimaux in taking the seal, and which has been elsewhere described.
There is not much danger in the fishery, for no creature could be more
harmless and inoffensive than this. It makes not the slightest attempt
either at defence or retaliation,--though the accident sometimes occurs
of a canoe being swamped or drawn under water,--but this is nothing to
the Ottomac Indian, who is almost as amphibious as the manati itself.
At the proper hour the fisherman starts off in search of the manati.
His fishing-boat is a canoe hollowed from a single trunk, of that kind
usually styled a "dugout." On perceiving the cow-fish resting upon the
surface of the water, the Ottomac paddles towards it, observing the
greatest caution; for although the organs of sight and hearing in this
animal are, externally, but very little developed, it both hears and
sees well; and the slightest suspicious noise would be a signal for it
to dive under, and of course escape.
When near enough to insure a good aim, the Ottomac hurls his harpoon
into the animal's body; which, after piercing the thick hide, sticks
fast. To this harpoon a cord is attached, with a float, and the float
remaining above water indicates the direction in which the wounded
animal now endeavours to get off. When it is tired of struggling, the
Indian regains the cord; and taking it in, hand over hand, draws up his
canoe to the side of the fish. If it be still too lively, he repeatedly
strikes it with a spear; but he does not aim to kill it outright until
he has got it "aboard." Once there, he ends the creature's existence by
driving a wooden plug into its nostrils, which in a moment deprives it
of life.
The Ottomac now prepares himself to transport the carcass to his home;
or, if fishing in company, to the common rendezvous. Perhaps he has
some distance to take it, and against a current; and he finds it
inconvenient to tow such a heavy and cumbrous article. To remedy this
inconvenience, he adopts the expedient already mentioned, of placing the
carcass in his canoe. But how does he get it there? How can a single
Indian of ordinary strength raise a weight of a thousand pounds out of
the water, and lift it over the gunwale of his unsteady craft? It is in
this that he exhibits great cunning and address: for instead of raising
the carcass above the canoe, he sinks the canoe below the carcass, by
first filling the vessel nearly full of water; and then, after he has
got his freight aboard, he bales out the water with his gourd-shell. He
at length succeeds in adjusting his load, and then paddles homeward with
his prize.
On arriving at his village,--if it be to the village he takes it,--he is
assisted in transporting the load by others of his tribe; but he does
not carry it to his own house,--for the Ottomacs are true socialists,
and the produce both of the chase and the fishery is the common property
of all. The chief of the village, seated in front of his hut, receives
all that is brought home, and distributes it out to the various heads of
families,--giving to each in proportion to the number of mouths that are
to be fed.
The manati is flayed,--its thick hide, as already observed, serving for
many useful purposes; the strata of fat, or "blubber," which lies
beneath is removed, to be converted into oil; and finally, the flesh,
which is esteemed equal to pork, both in delicacy and flavour, is cut
into thin slices, either to be broiled and eaten at the time, or to be
preserved for a future occasion, not by salt, of which the Ottomac is
entirely ignorant, but by drying in the sun and smoking over a slow
fire. Fish and the flesh of the alligator are similarly "cured;" and
when the process is carefully done, both will keep for months.
The alligator is captured in various ways: sometimes by a baited hook
with a strong cord attached,--sometimes he is killed by a stab of the
harpoon spear, and not unfrequently is he taken by a noose slipped over
his paw, the Ottomac diving fearlessly under him and adjusting the
snare.
Some of the Indian tribes will not eat the musky flesh of the alligator;
but the Ottomacs are not thus particular. Indeed, these people refuse
scarce any article of food, however nasty or disagreeable; and it is a
saying among their neighbours--the Indians of other tribes--that
"nothing is too loathsome for the stomach of an Ottomac."
Perhaps the saying will be considered as perfectly true when we come to
describe a species of food which these people eat, and which, for a long
time, has rendered them famous--or rather infamous--under the
appellation of "dirt-eaters." Of them it may literally be said that
they "eat dirt," for such, in reality, is one of their customs.
This singular practice is chiefly resorted to during those months in the
year when the rivers swell to their greatest height, and continue full.
At this time all fishing ceases, and the Ottomac finds it difficult to
obtain a sufficiency of food. To make up for the deficiency, he fills
his stomach with a kind of unctuous clay, which he has already stored up
for the emergency, and of which he eats about a pound per diem! It does
not constitute his sole diet, but often for several days together it is
the only food which passes his lips! There is nothing nourishing in
it,--that has been proved by analysis. It merely _fills_ the belly,--
producing a satiety, or, at least, giving some sort of relief from the
pangs of hunger. Nor has it been observed that the Ottomac grows thin
or unhealthy on this unnatural viand: on the contrary, he is one of the
most robust and healthy of American Indians.
The earth which the Ottomac eats goes by the name of _poya_. He does
not eat clay of every kind: only a peculiar sort which he finds upon the
banks of streams. It is soft and smooth to the touch, and unctuous,
like putty. In its natural state it is of a yellowish-grey colour; but,
when hardened before the fire, it assumes a tinge of red, owing to the
oxide of iron which is in it.
It was for a long time believed that the Ottomac mixed this clay with
cassava and turtle-oil, or some other sort of nutritive substance. Even
Father Gumilla--who was credulous enough to believe almost anything--
could not "swallow" the story of the clay in its natural state, but
believed that it was prepared with some combination of farinha or fat.
This, however, is not the case. It is a pure earth, containing
(according to the analysis of Vauquelin) silex and alumina, with three
or four per cent of lime!
This clay the Ottomac stores up, forming it into balls of several inches
in diameter; which; being slightly hardened before the fire, he builds
into little pyramids, just as cannon-balls are piled in an arsenal or
fortress. When the Ottomac wishes to eat of the _poya_, he softens one
of the balls by wetting it; and then, scraping off as much as he may
require for his meal, returns the _poya_ to its place on the pyramid.
The dirt-eating does not entirely end with the falling of the waters.
The practice has begot a craving for it; and the Ottomac is not
contented without a little _poya_, even when more nutritious food may be
obtained in abundance.
This habit of eating earth is not exclusively Ottomac. Other kindred
tribes indulge in it, though not to so great an extent; and we find the
same unnatural practice among the savages of New Caledonia and the
Indian archipelago. It is also common on the west coast of Africa.
Humboldt believed it to be exclusively a tropical habit. In this the
great philosopher was in error, since it is known to be practised by
some tribes of northern Indians on the frigid banks of the Mackenzie
River.
When the floods subside, as already stated, the Ottomac lives better.
Then he can obtain both fish and turtles in abundance. The former he
captures, both with hooks and nets, or shoots with his arrows, when they
rise near the surface.
The turtles of the Ottomac rivers are of two kinds the _arau_ and
_terecay_. The former is the one most sought after, as being by far the
largest. It is nearly a yard across the back, and weighs from fifty to
a hundred pounds. It is a shy creature, and would be difficult to
capture, were it not for a habit it has of raising its head above the
surface of the water, and thus exposing the soft part of its throat to
the Indian's arrow. Even then an arrow might fail to kill it; but the
Ottomac takes care to have the point well coated with _curare_ poison,
which in a few seconds does its work, and secures the death of the
victim.
The _terecay_ is taken in a different and still more ingenious manner.
This species, floating along the surface, or even when lying still,
presents no mark at which a shaft can be aimed with the slightest chance
of success. The sharpest arrow would glance off its flat shelly back as
from a surface of steel. In order, therefore, to reach the vitals of
his victim, the Indian adopts an expedient, in which he exhibits a
dexterity and skill that are truly remarkable.
He aims his shaft, not at the turtle, but up into the air, describing by
its course a parabolic curve, and so calculating its velocity and
direction that it will drop perpendicularly, point foremost, upon the
back of the unsuspecting swimmer, and pierce through the shell right
into the vital veins of its body!
It is rare that an Indian will fail in hitting such a mark; and, both on
the Orinoco and Amazon, thousands of turtles are obtained in this
manner.
The great season of Ottomac festivity and rejoicing, however, is that of
the _cosecha de tortugas_, or "turtle-crop." As has been already
observed, in relation to the manati fishery, it is to him what the
harvest-home is to the nations of northern Europe, or the wine-gathering
to those of the south; for this is more truly the character of the
_cosecha_. It is then that he is enabled, not only to procure a supply
of turtle-oil with which to lubricate his hair and skin, but he obtains
enough of this delicious grease wherewith to fry his dried slices of
manati and a surplus for sale to the turtle-traders from the Lower
Orinoco. In this petty commerce no coin is required; harpoon spears,
and arrow-heads of iron, rude knives, and hatchets; but, above all, a
few cakes of _annotto_, _chica_, and _caruto_, are bartered in exchange
for the turtle-oil. The thick hide of the manati,--for making
slave-whips,--the spotted skin of the jaguar, and some other pelts which
the chase produces, are also items of his export trade.
The pigments above mentioned have already been procured by the trader,
as the _export_ articles of commerce of some other tribe.
The turtle-oil is the product of the eggs of the larger species,--the
_arau_,--known simply by the name _tortuga_, or turtle. The eggs of the
_terecay_ would serve equally as well; but, from a difference in the
habit of this animal, its eggs cannot be obtained in sufficient quantity
for oil-making. There is no such thing as a grand "cosecha," or crop of
them--for the creature is not gregarious, like its congener, but each
female makes her nest apart from the others, in some solitary place, and
there brings forth her young brood. Not but that the nests of the
_terecay_ are also found and despoiled of their eggs,--but this only
occurs at intervals; and as the contents of a single nest would not be
sufficient for a "churning," no "butter" can be made of them. They are,
therefore, gathered to be used only as _eggs_, and not as _butter_.
The _arau_, on the other hand, although not gregarious under ordinary
circumstances, becomes pre-eminently so during the "laying season."
Then all the turtles in the Orinoco and its tributaries collect into
three or four vast gangs--numbering in all over a million of
individuals--and proceed to certain points of rendezvous which they have
been in the habit of visiting from time immemorial. These common
breeding-places are situated between the cataracts of the river and the
great bend, where it meets the Apure; and are simply broad beaches of
sand, rising with a gentle slope from the edge of the water, and
extending for miles along the bank. There are some small rookeries on
tributary streams, but the three most noted are upon the shores of the
main river, between the points already indicated. That frequented by
the Ottomacs is upon an island, at the mouth of the Uruana River, upon
which these people principally dwell.
The laying season of the _arau_ turtle varies in the different rivers of
tropical America,--occurring in the Amazon and its tributaries at a
different period from that of the Orinoco. It is regulated by the rise,
or rather the fall of the inundations; and takes place when the waters,
at their lowest stage, have laid bare the low sand-banks upon the
shores. This occurs (in the Orinoco) in March, and early in this month
the great assemblages are complete. For weeks before, the turtles are
seen, in all parts of the river near the intended breeding-places,
swimming about on the surface, or basking along the banks. As the sun
grows stronger, the desire of depositing their eggs increases,--as
though the heat had something to do with their fecundation. For some
time before the final action, the creatures may be seen ranged in a long
line in front of the breeding-place, with their heads and necks held
high above the water; as if contemplating their intended nursery, and
calculating the dangers to which they may be exposed. It is not without
reason that they may dwell upon these. Along the beach stalks the
lordly jaguar, waiting to make a meal of the first that may set his foot
on terra firma, or to fill his stomach with the delicious "new-laid"
eggs. The ugly alligator, too, is equally _friand_ of a gigantic
omelette; and not less so the "garzas" (white cranes), and the "zamuros"
(black vultures), who hover in hundreds in the air. Here and there,
too, may be observed an Indian sentinel, keeping as much as possible out
of sight of the turtles themselves, but endeavouring to drive off all
other enemies whose presence may give them fear. Should a canoe or boat
appear upon the river, it is warned by these sentinels to keep well off
from the phalanx of the turtles,--lest these should be disturbed or
alarmed,--for the Indian well knows that if anything should occur to
produce a panic among the araus, his _cosecha_ would be very much
shortened thereby.
When at length the turtles have had sun enough to warm them to the work,
they crawl out upon the dry sand-beach, and the laying commences. It is
at night that the operation is carried on: for then their numerous
enemies--especially the vultures--are less active. Each turtle scoops
out a hole, of nearly a yard in diameter and depth; and having therein
deposited from fifty to one hundred eggs, it covers them up with the
sand, smoothing the surface, and treading it firmly down. Sometimes the
individuals are so crowded as to lay in one another's nests, breaking
many of the eggs, and causing an inextricable confusion; while the
creaking noise of their shells rubbing against each other may be heard
afar off, like the rushing of a cataract. Sometimes a number that have
arrived late, or have been slow at their work, continue engaged in it
till after daybreak, and even after the Indians have come upon the
ground--whose presence they no longer regard. Impelled by the instinct
of philo-progenitiveness, these "mad turtles," as the Indians call them,
appear utterly regardless of danger, and make no effort to escape from
it; but are turned over on their backs, or killed upon the spot without
difficulty.
The beach being now deserted by the turtles, the egg-gatherers proceed
to their work. As there are usually several tribes, who claim a share
in the _cosecha_, the ground is measured out, and partitioned among
them. The regularity with which the nests are placed, and the number of
eggs in each being pretty nearly the same, an average estimate of the
quantity under a given surface is easily made. By means of a pointed
stick thrust into the sand, the outline of the deposit is ascertained--
usually running along the beach in a strip of about thirty yards in
breadth.
When the allotments are determined, the work of oil-making begins,--each
tribe working by itself, and upon the social system. The covering of
sand is removed, and the eggs placed in baskets, which are then emptied
into large wooden troughs, as a common receptacle. The canoes, drawn up
on the sand, are frequently made to do duty as troughs. When a
sufficient number of eggs have been thrown in, they are broken and
pounded together, and whipped about, as if intended for a gigantic
omelette. Water is added; and then the mixture is put into large
caldrons, and boiled until the oil comes to the top; after which it is
carefully skimmed off and poured into earthen jars ("botigas,") provided
by the traders.
It takes about two weeks to complete the operations, during which time
many curious scenes occur. The sand swarms with young turtles about as
big as a dollar, which have been prematurely hatched; and have contrived
to crawl out of the shell. These are chased in all directions, and
captured by the little naked Ottomacs, who devour them "body, bones, and
all," with as much gusto as if they were gooseberries. The cranes and
vultures, and young alligators too, take a part in this by-play--for the
offspring of the poor arau has no end of enemies.
When the oil is all boiled and bottled, the trader displays his tempting
wares, and makes the best market he can; and the savage returns to his
palm-hut village,--taking with him the articles of exchange and a few
baskets of eggs, which he has reserved for his own eating; and so ends
the _cosecha de tortugas_.
It is in this season that the Ottomac indulges most in good living, and
eats the smallest quantity of dirt. The waters afford him abundance of
fish and turtle-flesh, beef from the sea-cow, and steaks from the tail
of the alligator. He has his turtle and manati-butter, in which to fry
all these dainties, and also to lubricate his hair and skin.
He can dress, too, "within an inch of his life," having obtained for his
oil a fresh supply of the precious pigments. He indulges, moreover, in
fits of intoxication, caused by a beverage made from maize or manioc
root; but oftener produced by a species of snuff which he inhales into
his nostrils. This is the _niopo_, manufactured from the leaves of a
_mimosa_, and mixed with a kind of lime, which last is obtained by
burning a shell of the genus _helix_, that is found in the waters of the
Orinoco. The effect of the _niopo_ resembles that produced by chewing
_betel_, tobacco, opium, or the narcotic _coca_ of Peru. When freely
taken, a species of intoxication or rather mania is produced; but this
snuff and its effects are more minutely described elsewhere. It is here
introduced because, in the case of the Ottomac, the drug often produces
most baneful consequences. During the continuance of his intoxication
the Ottomac is quarrelsome and disorderly. He picks a hole in the coat
of his neighbour; but if there chance to be any "old sore" between him
and a rival, the vindictive feeling is sure to exhibit itself on these
occasions; and not unfrequently ends in an encounter, causing the death
of one or both of the combatants. These duels are not fought either
with swords or pistols, knives, clubs, nor any similar weapons. The
destruction of the victim is brought about in a very different manner;
and is the result of a very slight scratch which he has received during
the fight from the _nail_ of his antagonist. That a wound of so
trifling a nature should prove mortal would be something _very_
mysterious, did we not know that the nail which inflicted that scratch
has been already enfiltrated with _curare_,--one of the deadliest of
vegetable poisons, which the Ottomac understands how to prepare in its
most potent and virulent form.
Should it ever be your unfortunate fate therefore, to get into a
"scrimmage" with an Ottomac Indian, you must remember to keep clear of
his "claws!"