Rapids of the Madeira River—Journey undertaken—Canoes, Indians,
and other requirements for the journey described—Articles good
for trading with savages—Provisions, etc.
The journey onwards becomes rather laborious, as canoes must now be
the means employed for the ascent of the rapids and the upper riverine
systems of Eastern Bolivia and Western Brazil. I made this journey in
1874, starting from San Antonio on the 24th of April, in company with
some Bolivian merchants who were returning to their country with general
stores purchased in Pará, for sale in the department of the Beni in
Eastern Bolivia. When prosecuting my journey, I endeavoured to note down
whatever might have called for notice during the day’s run, and although
incurring, perhaps, the risk of being rather tedious, I think it will now
be the best plan to copy the notes I then entered in my diary, in order
that the rapids and other portions of the route travelled over may be
described in proper order.
[Illustration: GARITEA, OR TRAVELLER’S CANOE, RIVER MADEIRA.]
But, first, it is necessary to describe the arrangements requisite for
the ascent of the rapids and the Mamoré to the most eastern towns of
Bolivia. Large canoes, called on the river “batelãos,” or “igariteas,”
are the craft required, a good and useful one being from eight to ten
yards in length, by about four or five feet beam; they draw from two to
four feet of water, and will carry from three to six tons. A crew of not
less than ten peons and a captain is required for a canoe laden with, say
three tons, and the Bolivian Indians of the Beni are the best paddlers
or “marineros,” the Brazilian peons not being so expert in getting the
canoes over the many miles of broken water that have to be encountered.
It is unwise to attempt to make either the upward or downward journey
with single embarkations, because at, at least three of the rapids,
the canoes have to be totally unladen and dragged over the portages,
which invariably have to cross a small but steep hill, and one crew is
quite unable to haul the canoe over any one of these hills. It is best,
therefore, always to arrange a party of three or more canoes, before
commencing the ascent or descent of the rapids. Canoes travelling singly
are also much exposed to attacks from the wandering families of savages
on the river banks, while parties of three or more canoes in company
have rarely if ever been molested. A small canoe, or “montaria,” is
extremely useful for the purpose of sending the cable ahead of the large
canoe, when a strong current is met with that the paddles are unable to
overcome. This cable should be about fifty or sixty yards long, and may
be of good hemp or piassava; there should be one for each canoe, and
the test of the strain of at least thirty men should be applied to each
cable before the journey is commenced, as breakages of bad cables cause
an immense amount of vexation, and a great deal of danger. The canoes
have a cabin at the stern end, made of palm leaves, covered with a raw
hide if possible. In this cabin the “patron,” or owner, arranges his
small stores, guns, books, etc., and, with the addition of a narrow hair
mattress, manages to make of it a very snug abode, which serves for his
parlour by day, and sleeping quarters at night, except when amongst the
rapids, when it is always safer to sleep on shore, for fear of the canoe
breaking away during the night, and taking its sleeping occupant over
the nearest rapid below. Besides, it is not advisable to trust one’s
self too implicitly in the hands of the Indian marineros, for cases
are on record where an Indian, to be revenged on his patron for some
well-deserved punishment perhaps, has cut the rope by which the canoe
has been made fast, and has sent his patron to his last reckoning in a
brutal and treacherous manner; and it must be borne in mind that, in a
crew of Indians, there may easily be one black sheep, however tractable
and good-natured the majority are. I have never had cause to complain
of treachery or vindictiveness on the part of the Bolivian Indians, and
believe that if they are kindly and honestly dealt with they are most
trustworthy in every way; but discretion is the better part of valour,
and it is well to be on the safe side, which is, amongst the rapids, the
river bank, and not the cabin, or “camarota,” of the canoe. It is also
well to provide each canoe with a short length of chain and a good stout
padlock, for securing it to a tree at nightfall.
The traveller will naturally furnish himself with firing-irons after
his own heart, but I would recommend him to add to his own particular
fancy, a Winchester sixteen-shot repeating rifle, for they make splendid
shooting, are light, portable, and carry a good armament ready at hand
in case of a brush with savages. A double-barrelled shot-gun; a pair
of revolvers (not fitted with cartridge extractors, which invariably
get rusted and clogged up unless they are taken to pieces and cleaned
thoroughly every day—an almost impossible task), a good hunting knife, or
“machete,” for clearing one’s path amongst the reeds on the river bank
or through the forest, and a good assortment of fish-hooks and lines,
will about complete the inventory of “materiel de guerre” advisable. To
preserve one’s guns and knives from the rust which covers them completely
in one night if they are left ungreased, I found that the best thing was
“Andiroba oil,” which can be obtained in any quantity in Pará or Manáos.
This oil is expressed from the nuts of the Andiroba tree (_Xylocarpus
caropa_), and is used in Brazil for lighting purposes principally. It
makes, however, a first-rate lubricant for machinery, and the way it
protects steel or iron from rust is simply marvellous. Guns and pistols
should be rubbed clean about twice a week, and then, if the oil is laid
on lightly with wool or tow, they will keep their polish and browning in
the dampest spots. A stock of knives, axes, machetes, beads, fish-hooks,
and ready-made canvas or common flannel shirts should also be taken, in
readiness for the chance of an amicable “pow-wow” with the “barbaros,” as
the traveller will naturally be desirous of bringing away a record of his
visit, in the shape of arrows, bows, necklets of seeds, feathers, teeth
ornaments, etc., from these gentry. As for provisions, it is well not to
despise the humble farinha, charqui, or bacalao, although most Europeans
find it difficult to bring their palates to this plain diet; but when
the ducks have been wild, or the exigencies of the journey have hindered
the traveller from procuring his supper from the fresh meats afforded by
the forest or the river, he will find that the good appetite his day’s
work with the canoe has given him, proves a good sauce, even to a dish
of charqui soup, rice, and farinha. I found that a spoonful of “Liebig’s
Extract,” added to the “chupe,” or thick soup, which is the only dish
known to Bolivian peons, rendered it both palatable and nutritious. Some
live fowls and a few tins of vegetables, salmon, herrings, or sardines
would not be amiss, as one must prepare for a voyage of about seven
weeks between San Antonio and Exaltacion, the first town arrived at in
Bolivia. For liquors, the river affords good potable water for those that
are teetotally inclined; but temperance principles are good for those
only that cannot keep their drinking propensities within bounds, and I
do not think that a European can keep his health in any tropical climate
without a small and regular supply of some stimulant. A bottle or two
of brandy in case of illness, a box of claret, or a garrafão of “vino
verde,” will be as much as the traveller can find space in his canoe for,
especially as it is vitally necessary to have a good supply of cachaça
(ordinary white rum, made from sugar cane, and called aguadiente, caña,
pisco, or cachaça, according to locality) for the Indian crew, who need a
ration, about a wine-glassful, night and morning, and also whenever they
have to work at hauling the canoes in the water for any length of time.
The traveller also will not despise a nip of cachaça when the wind blows
coldly, and at night a little in a bowl of tea is very agreeable. As a
preservative against fever, I have found it a good plan to take, every
morning at daybreak, before coffee or eating, a small quantity, say about
two and a half or three grains, of quinine, in a small glass of any kind
of spirit; and this plan, if carried out regularly, will, I believe,
take a man safely through any of the most malarious districts of South
America. A capital preparation which a traveller in the tropics should,
in my opinion, always be provided with, is Angostura bitters, which are
made at the city of Angostura, on the river Orinoco, in Venezuela. These
bitters, besides having great preservative properties against fever,
for cascarilla or quinine bark is doubtless their principal ingredient,
are about the finest appetizers that I ever met with. A small cocktail
made with Angostura will give any one an appetite for the roughest and
plainest meal that can be imagined, and I am confident that the immunity
that I have enjoyed from ague has been mainly owing to my use of these
bitters, as I have thereby been enabled to keep up my appetite, and make
a square meal where others have been quite unable to do more than look
at, and perhaps turn away from, the dishes of charqui and farinha which
are often the only fare to be met with in Brazil.