DOWN THE BENI.--PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY.--PLANS FOR DEVELOPING
COMMERCE.--OBSTRUCTIONS TO NAVIGATION.--VOYAGE ON THE MAMORÉ.
Negotiations for descending the river could not proceed with rapidity,
as the Indians were in no hurry to get away after their return from the
turtle-hunt. Everything among these people is connected in one way or
another with a festival, and it was necessary to celebrate the success
of the expedition with a period of rejoicing. The alcalde did his best,
but though he possesses great power, an alcalde is not absolute in his
authority at all times; it was finally arranged that the festivity would
continue two days, and on the morning of the third our friends could
hope to depart.
The morning came, but there were still many things to be done, and it
was fully noon before the boats were ready. As there were no rapids to
pass, it was decided to lash two boats together side by side and connect
them with a platform. The tent could be spread on this platform, in
addition to an awning of palm-leaves, to shelter the travellers from the
heat of the sun and the not infrequent rains. Two of the largest
attainable boats were taken and connected in this way. It proved an
excellent arrangement, and the party was unanimous in recommending it to
all future travellers descending the tributaries of the Amazon where
they are not navigated by steamboats.
The rowers and pilots had little to do beyond keeping the raft (as we
will call the combination of boats and platform just described) in the
middle of the stream, where the current was strongest. There was a good
deal of drift-wood in the river, but it was far less troublesome than if
their course had been up the stream. Dr. Bronson explained to the youths
that Madeira means "wood," and the Madeira River, into which the Beni
flows, was so named by the Portuguese in consequence of the great number
of floating trees that were met by the early explorers. The Beni
contributes more than its share of this floating material, as the
forests extend far along its banks, which are constantly crumbling away
through the action of the current. In many places the Beni resembles the
Missouri, and seems to be subject to the same forces of nature.
[Illustration: SOUTH AMERICAN RIVER SCENE.]
Forests and pampas, pampas and forests, succeeded each other as the raft
followed the course of this affluent of the mighty Amazon. Parrots and
toucans and other birds flew among the trees, monkeys stared in
astonishment, jumped from limb to limb, swung by feet and tail, and kept
up a continual chattering as the raft floated by their haunts. Frank
made note of the difference between the South American monkey and his
Asiatic brother; he had never seen the latter using his tail for
anything but ornamental purposes, while with the South American monkey
it gave the advantage of an extra hand or foot.
[Illustration: SOUTH AMERICAN MONKEY WITH PREHENSILE TAIL.]
"The Asiatic monkey's tail is not prehensile," said the Doctor, "and all
monkeys of South America have not this advantage. In the words of a
famous naturalist," he continued, "all monkeys with prehensile tails are
American, but all American monkeys do not have prehensile tails. The
Asiatic monkey does not seem to have heard of such a thing, though some
of the varieties of monkey in the far East occasionally use the tail in
a bungling sort of way. Professor Wallace lived four years in South
America, and in that time he saw twenty-one species of monkey, seven
with prehensile and fourteen with non-prehensile tails. All the American
monkeys are climbers, and live in the trees, while such is not the case
in the old world."
While they were talking on the subject of monkeys a most unearthly yell
was heard in the forest to the right of the raft. Both the boys turned
in amazement to Manuel, and asked what it was.
[Illustration: HOWLING MONKEY.]
"It's a guariba," said Manuel, "as the natives call it."
"And what is a guariba?" Fred inquired.
"A guariba is a howling monkey," the guide answered, "and that is the
noise he makes. You can hear him a long distance, and he howls night and
day without seeming to get tired of the amusement."
"There are three kinds of howling monkeys in South America," said the
Doctor, "but the difference is more observable in their appearance than
in their voices. The braying of a mule is like the note of a violin,
compared to the noise of a howling monkey in good health and condition,
accompanied by his friends. The howlers, like most others of the Simian
family, are gregarious, and if we happen to have our camp near a village
of them we shall not sleep much."
Frank thought he would buy one of these brutes and take him home, but
Manuel said the howlers could not be tamed.
"A wise provision of nature," remarked Fred. "Imagine your neighbor
having a pet howler; it would be worse than all the cats in a dozen
blocks of New York city."
Frank agreed with him, and changed his views on the subject of
domesticating one of these curiosities. Manuel said further that the
natives had repeatedly tried to tame the howlers, but could not; they
were the only members of the monkey family in South America that utterly
refused to be converted into pets.
They fell into the monkey-market sooner than they had expected. While
passing an island, an hour or two before sunset, they saw two or three
canoes drawn up on the shore, and at the Doctor's suggestion Manuel
told the pilot to run in and see who and what the owners were. They
proved to be a hunting-party of Indians from the other side of the
river; they had been successful in killing several monkeys, and offered
some of the meat for sale.
Frank and Fred thought it would be too much like cannibalism to eat of
monkey meat, and the Doctor agreed with them. Manuel said the flesh of
the howler was not to be recommended, as it was dry and tough, but there
were some varieties on the lower Amazon which were not to be despised.
He particularly mentioned the white-whiskered coaita, one of the
thumbless "spider-monkeys," which was held in high repute among the
natives. Another variety called the maquisapa was said to be good
eating, but he could not speak from personal knowledge. Monkey flesh is
an important article of food in many parts of the Amazon valley, and
there are certain districts where it is the only meat to be had.
But monkey in its live form was not declined, at least in limited
quantity. One of the Indians offered a marmoset, a pretty little
creature about eight inches long, and with a soft, silky fur covering
its skin. It was restless and timid; at first it shrank from the youth,
but quickly seemed to understand that it would find him a better master
than the Indian. He took it in his hand and gently stroked its back; in
a few moments it clung to him, and when the Indian reached for his
property the little creature struggled to remain.
Frank's sympathies were awakened by the affection displayed by the
marmoset, and a bargain was quickly made. Manuel conducted the
negotiation, and the monkey became the property of the youth for an
outlay of fifty cents. He paid a high price, as he afterwards
ascertained, but at that time he was not familiar with the market
quotations for this kind of live-stock.
Marmosets are the smallest members of the monkey family. The name is
confined to the American varieties, and is sometimes restricted to the
striated monkey of Guiana or Brazil. This last-named monkey has a tail a
third longer than the body, the latter rarely exceeding eight or ten
inches. Its fur is long and soft, and of a yellowish-gray color; both
tail and body are banded with black, and there is a long tuft of white
hairs on each side of the head, which is of a deep black or brown.
The new purchase received the name of Gypsy, and soon became a general
favorite with the party, though it always recognized Frank as its
master. It was a well-behaved pet, and, contrary to Frank's expectation,
it never indulged in mischievous tricks. Manuel said the marmosets were
rarely destructive, but the same could not be said of the rest of the
monkey tribe in South America. The sapajous, he pronounced the worst of
the lot; they are distributed through Brazil, and, though affectionate
enough as pets, are too mischievous to be kept in a house or camp.
[Illustration: A MONKEY ROBBING BIRDS' NESTS.]
"Three or four years ago," said Manuel, "I was on the Mamoré River with
an English gentleman who had bought a sapajou while ascending the
Amazon. He kept the fellow in a cage for a while, and then allowed him
the run of the boat. The first day he was at liberty he threw overboard
two of the dinner plates, and was punished by being shut up again.
"When he was free once more, he picked up a book that was lying on the
deck, and when discovered he had torn out at least half the leaves, and
tossed them into the water. He was again caged, and after a time was let
out, but they fastened a chain about him so that he could not run
around.
"Under this restraint he behaved very well, and displayed, or pretended
to display, a fondness for his owner. The gentleman was one day working
at the notes of his journey, and the monkey was chained close to his
table, under the awning in the centre of the boat.
"He had a large map on the table, and had been marking his route with
red ink along the course of the river. He was called suddenly from the
table, leaving the map and the ink-bottle within the monkey's reach.
"As soon as he had gone, the monkey, doubtless in a spirit of imitation,
climbed to the table, pulled the map towards him, and with his paw,
dipped in the ink, made an imaginary survey of a railway or a steamboat
route, at least a thousand miles long, according to the scale of the
drawing. Just as he was finishing the performance the master returned,
and caught him at it."
"What happened to the monkey?" Fred asked.
"I don't know exactly what became of him," was the reply. "He was given
to one of the boatmen, who sold him to an Indian at the next landing. It
wasn't safe to mention monkey to that gentleman for the rest of the time
he stayed in the country."
[Illustration: HUNTING THE MONKEY.]
Sunset came, and they stopped for the night. The raft was tied up at a
small island, where there was little prospect of disturbance by hostile
Indians; the tribe occupying this part of the country did not have a bad
reputation, and there was no real danger, but the pilot was cautious on
general principles. Watch was kept through the night, but nothing
happened to disturb the slumber of those whose duties did not require
them to be wakeful, if we except the visits of the mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes are the pests of the upper part of the entire valley of the
Amazon. They are found wherever the rains fall, from the foot of the
Andes, eastward, until within a few hundred miles of the Atlantic coast,
from which they are kept in great measure, though not entirely, by the
force of the trade winds. The middle Amazon swarms with them, and the
Maranon, Madeira, and other tributaries are almost uninhabitable at
certain seasons of the year, in consequence of these nuisances. They are
always on duty, and no manner of objecting to their presence will induce
them to leave.
[Illustration: AMAZONIAN MOSQUITOES AT HOME.]
There are several varieties of mosquitoes, some working at night, and
others in the daytime; between them they divide the hours, and give
their victim no chance for rest. The Indians say they always come in
greater swarms than usual when a traveller is approaching, and evidently
they can scent blood from afar. Frank said "the mosquitoes fairly danced
with joy at the arrival of our party." A mass meeting was called, which
was attended by some millions of mosquitoes, "very hungry and very
thirsty." This mass meeting was kept up as long as they were in the
region of the upper and middle Amazon. After passing Manaos, on their
way down the river, there were few mosquitoes, and these few were not as
voracious as their more uncivilized brethren.
Parts of Brazil and Bolivia will long remain unsettled, owing to the
perpetual annoyance caused by the mosquitoes. Their powers were tested
by one traveller, Dr. Spruce, who, in the interest of science, allowed
the insects to feed upon him without interruption, and found they took
three ounces of blood daily!
Our friends were provided with mosquito nettings, and brought them into
use on entering the mosquito-haunted region. At night they surrounded
their beds with them, and by day kept their heads enveloped in the small
nets made for that purpose; in this way they managed to keep from being
devoured bodily, or bled to death, but could not escape the annoyance
and constant inconvenience of the presence of the dreaded carapana, as
he is called by the Brazilians.
The mosquito is not the only insect pest of the Amazon valley. Professor
Orton says the pium, or sand-fly, is almost as bad as the better-known
tormentor. He has two triangular, horny lancets, which leave a small
circular red spot on the skin. There are several species, all working by
day, and relieving the mosquito from sunrise to sunset. Then there is
the maruim, which resembles the pium, and inhabits some, but not all, of
the valleys; Humboldt estimated that there was a million of them to a
cubic foot of air where he was. There is also the mutuca, which
resembles a horse-fly; one variety has a lancet half an inch long, and
he knows how to use it to advantage.
There is a carapato, or tick, which mounts to the tips of the blades of
grass, and attaches himself to any one brushing against them. The
carapatas bury themselves so deeply that their heads break off at any
attempt to pull them out; their bite is painless, but it often causes
sores and ulcers. Happily, their range is less extensive than that of
the mosquito, and some parts of the country are wholly free from them.
Frank asked Manuel how the natives, who had no nets, managed to get
along in the height of the mosquito season.
[Illustration: AN INDIAN OF NORTHERN BOLIVIA.]
"They get along very badly," was the reply. "One plan is to cover their
bodies with oil, which the mosquitoes don't like, but it does not drive
them away. Smudging or smoking keeps them down, but then it is almost as
bad for the people as for the mosquitoes. Sometimes they bury themselves
in the sand, leaving only the head exposed; this they cover with a piece
of wetted cloth, either wrapped around the head, or supported above it
like a miniature tent. Some of the Indians plaster their bodies with
mud, laying it on like varnish, and allowing it to dry, but it has to be
pretty thick to keep the mosquitoes from penetrating it. Some of the
insects will pierce through any ordinary clothing; I have heard of their
going through ordinary shoe-leather, but never saw with my own eyes a
mosquito that could do it."
Sheltered by their nettings, they passed the night in comparative
comfort, and were off early in the morning. In fact, the raft was in
motion before the youths had risen; the Indians were so silent in their
movements that they did not disturb the slumber of the travellers. Frank
made a comparison with the noisy boatmen of the Nile which was very much
in favor of the Indians of the Beni.
[Illustration: BREAKFAST SCENE ON THE RIVER BANK.]
About seven o'clock they stopped for breakfast and the scene was so
picturesque that Frank made a sketch of it.
The spot they chose was under some lofty trees covered with climbing
plants, where previous visitors had removed enough of the undergrowth to
render the place suitable for a temporary camp. A fire was kindled, and
over it they placed a pot for the concoction of a porridge of meat and
mandioca flour mingled with water. A hammock was stretched between two
of the trees, and a large fish that had been caught early in the morning
was hung up by way of ornament.
While the soup was in preparation, one of the men busied himself with
pounding a piece of bast, or the inner bark of a tree, with a wooden
hammer. Much of the clothing of the Amazonian Indians is made in this
way; the material resembles the famous tappa-cloth of the South Sea
Islands, and though not very serviceable, it has the merit of great
cheapness.
The breakfast, when ready, was distributed by the _capitano_ or first
mate, who served each man in turn. It was devoured with a good appetite,
and in a little while the crew was ready to resume the journey. The
travellers amused themselves by studying the peculiarities of the
forest, and took their own breakfast while the boat was floating down
the stream.
"If all goes well," said the Doctor, "we shall not be long in reaching
the junction with the Madeira, and the falls of that stream."
"Then we have some falls to pass, have we?" Frank asked.
"Yes," replied the Doctor, "and they are a serious hinderance to
navigation. In descending we can 'shoot' some of them, though not all;
but if we were ascending the river it would be different. The boats must
be dragged around the falls, or their cargoes unloaded and transported
to other boats beyond the falls.
"The Madeira drains an area of forty thousand square leagues," he
continued, "and but for the falls would furnish water communication to
the very heart of Bolivia. It is the natural waterway of the country,
and its upper affluents traverse the richest agricultural region of
South America. They have been partially but not wholly explored, and the
actual number of miles open to steamboats is not yet known.
"There are nineteen falls and rapids, having a descent of nearly three
hundred feet altogether. They are scattered along a distance of two
hundred and thirty miles. Above and below there are no impediments to
navigation, with a single exception in the shape of a rapid, which may
be passed by a steamboat when the river is high.
"The governments of Bolivia and Brazil have endeavored to overcome these
falls by building a canal or a railway around them, and spent
considerable money in the preliminary work. It was found that a canal
would cost a great deal of money, far more than a railway, and so it was
decided to build the latter."
"Did they build it?"
"It has not been built as yet," was the reply, "though a portion of the
work has been done. A company was formed in England, principally on
paper, with important concessions from the governments interested.
Engineers were sent out, together with a small force of laborers, but
the project came to nothing. Then the enterprise was taken up by some
Americans, who sent Colonel George E. Church, of New York, to complete
the surveys and supervise the construction of the line. He reported
favorably upon the prospects of business for the completed railway,
which would be less than two hundred miles long. The line leaves the
Madeira just below the first fall, and comes again to the Mamoré above
the last one. It avoids the windings of the stream, and thus saves a
considerable distance.
"Colonel Church sounded the Mamoré for six hundred miles above the
rapids, and found always a depth of at least fifteen feet, a width of
six hundred feet, and an average current of two miles an hour. He
visited Santa Cruz, Trinidad, Exaltacion, and some other Bolivian towns
and cities, and was everywhere cordially welcomed. I am sorry that our
time and facilities will not permit us to repeat his journey, as it is
through a region rarely seen by travellers. Colonel Church was preceded
by Mr. Keller, a German engineer; and the stories they tell are full of
interest.
[Illustration: PLAZA AND CHURCH AT EXALTACION.]
"They describe Exaltacion as a dull, and, at first glance, a deserted
town, standing a mile or more from the river. Many of its buildings are
in ruins, and the walls of the houses are without paint or other
ornament. The streets are wide, and the plaza is at least three hundred
feet square; the church, with an isolated bell-tower, occupies one side
of the plaza, while the other three sides are lined with the dwellings
of the Indians, rarely more than a single story in height. The church is
a large and well-constructed building; it is more than a century old,
and has received very few repairs since the day of its completion.
"The Indians living in the towns of Bolivia are nearly all devout
Catholics, and have been carefully trained in the observances of the
Church. It is said that when the first Jesuit missionary penetrated the
Beni districts of Bolivia, from the frontier of the country, that had
been partially civilized, he was immediately killed. Another followed
soon after, and met the same fate, and then came another.
"The Indians were astonished beyond description, as it appeared to them
to be the same man they had twice put to death. He was identical in
dress, appearance, and words, and evidently he was immortal. It would do
no good to kill him a third time, and they held a consultation, and
concluded he was a god. Thus concluding, they worshipped him, listened
to his teachings, and adopted his religion, to which they have ever
since remained faithful.
[Illustration: MOJOS INDIANS CELEBRATING MASS.]
"In the church they had an organ which was played during mass by one of
the Indians, while another performed on a sort of pan-pipe of enormous
proportions. Several tubes were arranged side by side, and fastened
together; the largest was about six feet in length, and the opening at
its end measured at least four inches. The performer kept his eye on the
music before him, and blew into one pipe after another with great
facility. The instrument compassed two octaves, and the sound it gave
resembled that of a trombone.
"The church contains several relics, among them a piece of the True
Cross, which was brought here by the Jesuits nearly two centuries ago.
That the people have degenerated somewhat from their old-fashioned
honesty is revealed by a little incident of Mr. Keller's visit to the
church.
[Illustration: A MOJOS INDIAN.]
"In the pedestals of two of the columns he saw some enormous nails, and
asked their use. It was explained that in the time of the _Padres_ all
articles found in the streets were hung on these nails, so that anybody
who lost anything would know where to find it. 'But to-day,' said the
sacristan, 'these nails rust in their places, for no one thinks of
returning what he finds.' Colonel Church thinks Exaltacion must be an
exception to the rest of Bolivia, as he found everywhere the most
scrupulous honesty on the part of the people among whom he travelled.
The Mojos Indians who inhabit the valley of the Mamoré are an
inoffensive race, and have a high reputation for honesty and integrity.
[Illustration: THE CHERIMBITA.]
"Some of them wear a curious ornament, known as the _cherimbita_. It is
a little rod with a head, and has a general resemblance to an ordinary
screw. It is made of white quartz, or some other hard material, and is
worn in the under lip, which is pierced for its admission, just as
ladies in America, and other countries, have their ears pierced for the
wearing of ornaments.
"The other towns that were visited did not materially differ from the
one already described. They had the same kind of population, the same
dilapidated churches, and the same devout worshippers who adhered to the
religion taught by the Jesuit fathers two hundred years ago. There was
said to be a great abundance of silver in all these Bolivian towns, but
it is far less than formerly. Everything imported from other parts of
the world is enormously dear, while the products of the country are
correspondingly cheap. At Exaltacion, English iron was worth four
hundred dollars a ton, while gold at ten dollars an ounce was much
easier to obtain."