"Up, up, my friends!" exclaimed Manco, rushing into our hut one morning,
just before daybreak. "The Spaniards are traversing the mountains with
fire and sword, and we must haste away from this."
We all instantly sprung to our feet, and without exchanging many words,
packed up our goods. By the time we were ready, the horses were caught
and saddled, and we were soon mounted and ready to proceed. Our party
consisted of Ned, Pedro, and I; Manco, Nita, and their child; and three
Indians, of a tribe with whom the latter were going to take up their
residence. We had, besides, two other horses laden with clothing and
provisions. Bidding adieu to our unhappy hostess and the villagers, our
cavalcade was put in motion, and we plunged into the interminable
forest. Without the assistance of our Indian guides, we could not
possibly have found our way among the gigantic trees which shot up like
tall masts from the level soil, often branchless till near the summit,
where their boughs intertwined, and formed a canopy which the rays of
the sun could scarcely penetrate.
"On, on, my friends!" cried Manco; "the enemy may be on us before we are
aware of their approach. They have traitors with them, and will
certainly despatch a force to search us out."
This was sufficient to make us urge our horses to their utmost speed;
and all day we rode on, halting only now and then for a very short time,
to rest our animals or to take food. At night we encamped in the
forest. For our shelter we cut a number of canes which grew near a
stream, and with them formed some huts, which we thatched with palm
leaves. We had supplied ourselves with grass hammocks and Indian
mosquito curtains, and by hanging them up in our huts we obtained very
comfortable quarters. We frequently had streams to pass, which feed the
great arteries running into the Amazon. They were in most instances too
deep to be forded, so we had to wait till we could construct rafts to
convey ourselves and our luggage, our horses swimming alongside. We
took care to make a great noise to keep the caymans at a distance, lest
any of them should think fit to grab at our animals' legs. We had the
satisfaction of feeling sure that, should we be pursued, our enemies
would take much longer time to cross than we did. Still, however, we
pushed on as fast as the nature of the ground would allow. We were now
approaching the river Ucayali, at a spot not far from the banks of which
Manco intended to make his abode. He might, of course, have found
numberless places among the Andes, where the Spaniards could not have
discovered him; but so many of his brother chieftains had already been
betrayed by their own countrymen, that he had resolved to remove himself
far beyond the reach of treachery, among savages who, if they had not
the virtues, were free from the vices of civilisation, and were too
independent to be tempted by a bribe to deliver him into the hands of
his enemies.
Though in general the country was level, here and there mountains and
rocky ledges crossed our path, the far-stretching spurs of the Andes.
We found the country very thinly populated, though we occasionally fell
in with small parties on their hunting expeditions. The first infidel
Indians we met somewhat raised our curiosity. They were short in
stature, and had swarthy complexions and long black hair, without any
beard on their chins. They wore a long frock without sleeves, and when
we first saw them we took them for women. They were armed with bows and
arrows. They had never seen any white men before, and were at first
very much frightened and inclined to run away; but our Indians, who
spoke their language, that of the Panos, assured them that we would not
injure them, and they became very communicative. When they heard where
we were going, they entreated us not to proceed, assuring us that we
should encounter numbers of cannibal Cashibos, who would to a certainty
kill and eat us.
"Tell them that we fear not the Cashibos nor any other wild men," said
Manco. "If they molest us, we will treat them as the beasts of the
forest, though we would willingly pass them peaceably."
As we rode along after we had parted from our little friends, I asked
Manco who were the dreaded Cashibos; and he told me that they were the
most savage and warlike of all the wild tribes in the Pampa del
Sacramento, between the rivers Ucayali and Hualtaga. "We must be on our
guard against them, for they are equally cunning as fierce, and I truly
believe that they really do eat those they can take prisoners."
Our own Indians were evidently very much afraid of these Cashibos, and
kept a much more watchful guard than heretofore, both as we rode along
and after we encamped for the night. Several days after this we were
approaching that part of the Ucayali, where we proposed to embark. I
longed to reach it almost as much as did Ned. "Ah, mate," he exclaimed,
when I told him that we had little more than one day's journey more on
horseback to perform; "let us once get our craft built and afloat, and
we may snap our fingers at the Cashibos, and any other enemies to boot."
It was necessary, before embarking, to lay in a supply of provision,
that we might not be impeded in our passage down the river; and as our
Indians observed signs of an abundance of game, we halted much earlier
than usual to hunt. Ned remained with Pedro and Nita to build the huts
and look after the horses; while Manco and I, with our three Indians,
set out for the chase. At some distance off, between us and the river,
was a lofty, rocky hill, which served as our land-mark; and by taking
the bearings of it with two other heights still farther off, I hoped to
be able easily to find my way back to the camp. Manco and I had the
rifles, the Indians their bows and arrows. While wandering among the
trees, which were here more than usually interspersed with shrubs and
creepers, I very soon got separated from my companions. This did not
alarm me, as I was certain that I could without difficulty find my way
back to the encampment. I soon fell in with a pathway, which I
recognised as one formed by the peccary or wild hog, which traverses the
forests in droves consisting of two or three hundred. I stopped and
listened, for I thought I heard a grunting sound, which showed that some
were not far off. I was not mistaken, for the noise increased in
loudness, and I satisfied myself of the direction from which it was
coming. Hiding behind a tree, I stood ready to fire, in the hopes of
killing one of the leaders, and having time to load and take a second
shot before the herd passed by. As soon as they appeared along the
path, I singled out one and let fly; but my aim was not steady, and I
only wounded the beast. At the same time I had, I suppose, exposed
myself to view; for the whole herd, led by their wounded companion, came
rushing towards me with furious grunts of rage, evidently with the
intention of destroying me. To hope to escape by flight was out of the
question, for they would soon have overtaken me. Fortunately I had
observed a tree, with branches which I could reach; and retreating to
it, I had climbed up a few feet from the ground before the furious herd
reached me. When they found themselves disappointed of their prey, they
dashed their snouts into the ground round the tree as if they would tear
it up by the roots, and thus get at me. They worked so perseveringly,
that at first I had some little apprehension that they would succeed,
and I began to consider how, if the tree fell, I should manage to escape
my assailants. On climbing higher, I saw that the boughs of the tree I
was on interlaced with another, and that I might, by catching hold of
the latter, save myself, should the peccaries succeed in their attempts.
The peccaries grunted and dug away below, and I climbed up higher and
higher. At last I reached a branch on which I could conveniently sit
and load my gun. "Stop," I thought to myself; "before I take more
trouble, I may as well shoot some of these gentlemen. They cannot carry
off their dead, and when they go away, as I suppose they will do some
time or other, they will leave them behind for me."
The execution followed the thought. I tumbled one of my enemies over,
and his companions finding that he was dead, set off to escape from a
similar fate. I had, however, time to load and fire again, and killed
another hog. As the one I had at the first wounded was by this time
dead, to my great satisfaction, the herd scampered off, leaving three of
their number behind. I fired a fourth time, but missed, and then
descended from the tree. How to get the peccaries to the camp was now
my puzzle, for one of them was rather too heavy a load for me to carry,
and I had no knife with me to cut them up. If I left them where they
were, in all probability they would be eaten up by some beasts or birds
of prey before I could return to them. To save them from the former, it
occurred to me that I might hang them up on the branches of the tree
which had enabled me to escape from becoming their food, instead of
their becoming mine.
There were a variety of creepers, out of which I could form ropes; and
selecting some of the toughest and most pliant, I secured them to the
peccaries, which I dragged under the tree. Having, with no little
satisfaction, hoisted up my spoils, I set out to return to the camp. On
my way I stopped to look at a tree which seemed to bear a great variety
of leaves. On examination, I discovered it to be a _mora_, round the
stem of which climbed a number of creepers. On the summit grew a
fig-tree, fully as large as a common English apple-tree; and from its
branches again hung pendant a number of vines, both fig-tree and vines
bearing a quantity of fruit; but the parent _mora_, from the undue
exhaustion of its sap, was already giving signs of decay, and in a short
time both fig-tree and vine, I saw, would inevitably follow its fate. A
little farther on, a couple of sloths were making their progress through
the woods. I watched them passing from one tree to the other, as the
branches met, stirred by the breeze; and having hitherto seen them
hanging lazily by their claws to boughs, I was surprised at the rapidity
of their movements. I have often heard people assert that the sloth
spends his torpid existence in a perpetual state of pain, from the
peculiar sighing noise he makes, and the slowness of his movements when
placed on the ground. In the first place, I cannot believe that God has
created any animal to pass an existence of pain. The fact is, that the
sloth is formed to live in trees, to climb, and to feed on leaves, and
not to walk on the ground. Though he cannot be called a frisky animal,
he certainly does not deserve the name given to him, as, when he
chooses, he can move, as I now had proof, at a great rate. Dogs bark,
donkeys bray, and cocks crow, and the sloth sighs, when he wishes to
speak; while, from his long arms and short legs, with his sharp claws,
he by nature is intended either to be climbing, or, if asleep, hanging,
with his back perpendicular to the ground. I shot one of my friends,
and hanging him over my shoulder, carried him towards the camp.
Scarcely had I resumed my walk, when I saw a large grasshopper, as I
thought, playing about a bush, and on the point of settling. As I was
passing near it, I was about to put out my hand to catch it, to examine
it more minutely, when, just in time, I sprang back; for there I beheld,
to my horror, the head and crest of an enormous rattlesnake. In another
instant I should have been his victim. I did not stop to see what way
he went, but hurried on as fast as my legs would carry me. I listened,
as I advanced, to the notes of the various birds which filled the
forest, and sometimes to the cries of beasts; and I fancied that I heard
others answering them from a distance.
By some means or other I missed the path I intended to follow, and found
myself in a thick mass of trees. In trying to get out of it, I entirely
lost the line I was pursuing; and at length finding a tree I could
climb, I mounted to the top of it, to look out for my land-mark. While
I sat on a bough, concealed by the thick foliage, I found that I had a
view of an open space at some little distance off, a mass of low trees
only intervening. I was about to descend, when my eye caught sight of a
figure moving through the glade. Presently another, and then another,
followed. The stopped and listened attentively, as if they had heard
something to interest them. They were tall men, dressed in long tunics,
and had beards and lank black hair. Each man carried a club by his
side, and a long spear in one hand, and a bow, with an arrow ready for
use, in the other. As one of them turned his face, I saw that he was a
Red Indian; and by the peculiar expression of his countenance, I felt
certain that they must belong to the dreaded _Cashibos_. I trembled for
the safety of Nita and my two friends, for I could not doubt that many
others were in the neighbourhood; and I could scarcely dare to hope that
they could fail to discover our camp, or to fall in with Manco and the
Indians.
They were evidently intent on taking game, for they sounded the notes of
several birds in succession, to try if any were in the neighbourhood.
Two or three answered, and shortly making their appearance, fell,
pierced by the Indians' unerring arrows. Again they sounded their
notes, which were answered from a distance, but no game appeared.
I must own that I was far from comfortable all the time, and afraid to
move or almost to breathe. Every moment I expected to see them turn
their heads, and to be discovered by their sharp eyes; and from the
account I had heard of them, I could hope for nothing better than to be
shot, and cooked forthwith for their suppers. After waiting, however, a
short time, I saw them dart among the trees, and, to my great relief, in
an opposite direction to the camp. Instantly I hurried down from my
lofty perch, and made the best of my way towards the camp, keeping a
bright look-out, lest any of their friends should catch me unawares.
I ran in breathless haste, anxious to warn my friends in the camp.
Twice, in my hurry, I missed my way, and found myself going in the very
direction the Cashibos had taken. At length I saw a column of smoke
curling up among the trees. I felt certain that it must proceed from
the camp; yet, as I got nearer, a horrid idea seized me, and I fancied
that I must be mistaken, and that I might find instead, the cannibals
seated round one of their dreadful banquets. Still I went on, advancing
as cautiously as I could, and taking care to leave as little trace of my
course behind me as possible. After going on in this way for some time,
my ear caught the sound of singing; and looking between the bushes, I
saw a fire burning with a spit before it, and on the spit there was
roasting what I might have mistaken for a small baby, had not my friend
Ned been officiating as cook; and I guessed that it was a monkey which
had been prying too near the camp, and had been shot either by him or
Pedro. The scene I looked on was one of perfect quiet and repose. The
three huts were finished; Nita was concluding some arrangements in the
interior of hers, and her infant lay in a basket at the entrance. Ned,
as I said, was acting as cook, and Pedro was attending to the horses
which were picqueted around. I was very unwilling to be the bearer of
bad news to my friends; but there was no time to be lost, so I walked in
among them.
"Ned," I said, "we must be on our guard, there are Indians in the
neighbourhood; they are fellows who would eat us if they could."
"They must catch us first," said Ned coolly. "If they do, they'll find
some of us tough morsels, I calculate."
On seeing me, Nita rushed out and inquired for her husband, being
alarmed at my having returned alone. I somewhat tranquillised her by
explaining that I had been separated from the rest; but still she saw
that all was not right. Though I was anxious to bring in the peccaries,
Ned agreed with me that it would be imprudent to leave the camp, for we
could not escape being discovered before long by the Cashibos. After a
time I told Nita quietly that I had seen some strange Indians, and that
I thought it wise to be on our guard against them; indeed, as we might
possibly find a large party of them, and be obliged to retreat in a
hurry, it would be better to pack up and be prepared for a start, as we
were not in a spot where we could well defend ourselves if attacked.
Nita agreed with me in the wisdom of this proceeding, and accordingly we
packed up our goods, and saddled and loaded our horses. I loaded my
rifle, and Ned his pistols and musket; and Pedro and Nita got the bows
and arrows and spears ready. I expressed a hope that all this
preparation would not be required.
"So do I," answered Ned; "but you see, mate, a good seaman always gets
his ship snug at night if he thinks a storm is brewing, because he can't
see exactly the time when it may come. So I think we are right to get
ready, for the savages, who may pay us a visit when we least expect
them; and as just now, you see, if the rest don't come back, and we've
only got you and I, and the young Don and the woman and the child, who
won't be much help, the odds will be rather against us. Looking at
these things, I think if we were to build up a bit of a fortification
like, it would be some aid to us in case of need."
Ned's advice was too good to be neglected, and accordingly we set to
work and cut down some young trees and branches; and taking the huts as
a centre, we threw up a sort of breast-work, sufficient to assist in
protecting us while we knelt down to fire.
We had by this time become very anxious at the prolonged absence of
Manco and the Indians; and I greatly feared that they might have been
surprised by the Cashibos, and murdered. The sun was casting the tall
shadows of the trees across the forest glades, and still they did not
come. At length I determined to mount one of the horses and go in quest
of them. Just, however, as I was putting my foot in the stirrup, a shot
was heard close to us, and then another, and several arrows came
glancing between the trees, but falling short of the camp. Directly
afterwards one of our Indians burst through the brushwood, an arrow
sticking in his side. With a look of terror, he pointed towards the
point from which he had come, uttering the words "Cashibos--Cashibos."
Having broken off the head of the arrow, and drawn out the shaft, I told
the poor fellow to run into the camp; I sprung on my horse, and dashing
forward with my rifle in my hand, I saw Manco and the two other Indians
contending with a dozen or more Cashibos. Manco had shot two of them;
but the rest, undaunted by the unexpected effect of the new instrument
of death he held in his hand, were on the point of rushing in upon him
with their clubs. I saw there was not a moment to be lost, and forcing
my way through the tangled mass of creepers and shrubs which lay between
us, I reined up for an instant, and took a steady aim at the leading
savage. He fell to the ground with a yell of rage, and I then, without
stopping to load again, dashed on towards the next.
"Well done, mate, well done," I heard Ned shouting behind me. "Knock
the rascals on the head; that's the way to settle them."
So astonished were the savages with the sudden apparition of me and my
horse, that I had struck one fellow to the ground before he had time to
defend himself. Ned took aim at a third, and wounded him; but the
savages, rendered more furious, still came on with menacing gestures.
Manco had during the interval reloaded his rifle, and singling out
another savage, brought him to the ground. This made the rest once more
halt, and seeing me loading, they were on the point of taking flight,
when some loud cries resounded through the woods, and gave them notice
of the approach of some more of their companions.
"To the camp, to the camp, my friends!" exclaimed Manco, when he was
aware of this; and obeying his order, we all retreated at once towards
the huts. The Cashibos had received too strong a taste of our quality
to follow at that instant, and allowed us to reach the camp unmolested.
We instantly held a council of war, and at first Manco, when he saw the
fortification we had thrown up, proposed waiting where we were to
receive the attack of our enemies; but he soon agreed with me and Ned,
that it would be wiser to escape while we could, on horseback. We could
not tell how many Cashibos there might be, and they would probably
collect ultimately in such numbers as to overwhelm us, even should we at
first succeed in beating them off. Our Indians, I found, were fully
expecting to see their companion drop down dead, from the effects of the
poison they supposed to have been on the arrow; but either it had not
been poisoned at all, or the poison had dried and peeled off, for the
man did not seem to suffer more than from an ordinary wound.
The advantage of our having made our preparations for moving beforehand
was now apparent, and to it we probably owed our safety; for, without
the loss of a moment, as soon as our plan of proceeding was settled, we
mounted and rode off at a rapid rate through the woods. The Cashibos
caught sight of us, and saluted us with loud shouts and war-whoops, and
a flight of arrows came whistling after us; but we were already beyond
their reach, and it only made us gallop the faster.
"Sing away, old fellows!" shouted Ned; "though you've lost your supper,
we've saved ours," and he held out the monkey at the end of the spit
which he had snatched from the fire as we were mounting, and brought
along with him.
Fortunately the country before us was tolerably free of trees, and the
rock I have mentioned served to guide us; but the sun soon sunk below
the horizon, and left as for a time in darkness. The sky was clear, and
a bright star soon came out, by which we steered our course towards the
river. The chief danger now to be apprehended, was from the fallen
trunks of trees, or any soft bogs into which our horses might sink.
After a time the moon got up, and showed us more clearly our way. On we
pushed, therefore, for though the Indians might not follow us in the
dark, we were very certain that they would directly it was day; and our
great aim was to get to some rocky spot by the bank of the river, where
we might, by having the stream on our side, the more easily defend
ourselves. Vampire bats and owls, and other night-birds flew by; and
snakes and noxious reptiles crossed our path as we rode on; but nothing
stopped us.
We pulled up when we reached the rock which had at first guided our
course, and consulted whether we should take up our position there for
the night, and prepare to defend it against the savages; but it was
finally agreed that we would travel on till we reached the river. The
journey would knock up our horses, but as we should have no further need
of them, that could not be taken into consideration. Nita bore up very
well; indeed she seemed to suffer from fatigue as little us any of us.
Sometimes her husband carried her child, and sometimes Ned took charge
of it. About midnight a halt was called, on an elevated spot, whence we
could command a tolerably clear view on all sides. We required to rest
and feed our horses as well as ourselves, though we could not venture to
light a fire, which would have betrayed our position to our pursuers.
While we rested and ate, we kept a vigilant watch; for though it was not
probable that the Indians would have followed close to our heels, it was
just possible that they might have done so, as in consequence of the
numerous impediments in our way, a quick-footed man might have gone
almost as fast as we did.
While I was gnawing away at the leg of the monkey, and looking out at
the same time into the darkness below, I saw something move across an
open glade. It came nearer, and stopped at a spot where the moonbeams
streamed full upon it, when I saw that it was a large jaguar. He sat
upon his hind-legs and looked at us very wistfully, as if he should like
to secure one of us for supper. Presently he moved again and came a
little nearer, when he sat down to look at us as before. I was going to
have a shot at him, but Manco restrained me, observed that it might be
heard by the Cashibos, and lead them to us. Still the jaguar crept
nearer, and once more stopped to watch us. If he was hungry, we must
have been very tempting to him. Our Indians at last thought it was no
joke, for in another moment the jaguar might have picked one of us off;
so they set up so loud a scream that they made him turn about in a
fright, and scamper off into the forest. As this would to a certainty
have led the Cashibos to us, if they were in the neighbourhood, we once
more mounted and continued our journey. Sometimes I thought I heard the
savages behind us; but the sound proved to be the cry of some bird or
beast of prey.
No other adventure occurred, and, as day dawned, the calm waters of the
river appeared shining brightly through the trees. A little further on
rose close to the stream a high rock, the river face of which was almost
a perpendicular precipice, while that inland was steep and rugged in the
extreme. The top was of sufficient extent, it appeared, to enable us to
pitch our huts on it, and to keep our horses there, it necessary.
Having surveyed it, we discovered a path by which we could hope to lead
up our horses, every other side being too difficult for men, even
unencumbered with burdens, to climb up. After some trouble, we reached
the top, whence we found a fine view up and down the river, and over a
wide extent of forest on either side.
"The sooner we turn this place into a castle, the better for us, mate,"
observed Ned. "What say you? We must get some trees down first,
though."
I told Manco what the sailor said, and he instantly agreeing, we set to
work forthwith to cut down all the trees which grew around, and which
might serve as a covert to the enemy, and would form palisades for us.
We set to work with a will with hatchets and knives, and in an hour had
cut stakes enough to fence in the whole rock. Where the soil was of
sufficient depth we drove them into it; and at the other places we piled
up stones, which we brought up from the margin of the river. We gave
ourselves not a moment's rest; even while we were eating we were
sharpening the stakes. Ned set the example, and we all imitated him.
In more important points, as a leader. Manco showed himself fit to be a
chief; but the British seaman, where manual work was concerned, was his
superior. By noon we had a very respectable stockade run up, such as
might withstand an attack for a short time from any ordinary enemy not
possessed of firearms. All the trees and shrubs on the sides of the
rock had been cut away, and stones had been piled up near all the more
accessible points, to serve as a rampart, or to be used as weapons of
defence.
"Now, mates," exclaimed Ned, after he had walked with an air of
satisfaction round our fortifications, "the work is done, so let's pipe
to dinner."
To dinner, accordingly, we went; and one of our dishes was the sloth I
had shot, and we had some more monkeys, and several birds, which we had
brought hung on to our saddles. We were obliged to light a fire, and we
did not fear to do so, as we knew that in daylight the Indians would
just as easily track us without its guidance as with it. After dinner
we began to construct our huts in a more substantial way than usual, as
we should be compelled, we knew, to live here some time to build our
canoe. Everything depended on the rapidity with which we could work, so
as to be in perfect readiness to receive an attack from the cannibals,
should they have ventured to follow us. It was night before all our
arrangements were concluded; and as during the whole time we had not
given ourselves a moment's rest, we were well nigh worn out. It was
necessary, however, to keep a watchful guard during the night, for which
purpose we divided ourselves into three watches. We slept with our
weapons by our sides, ready for instant use. When it came to my turn to
watch, I walked round the ramparts to keep myself awake, for I was well
aware of the cunning of the Cashibos, and that they always make their
attacks at night. As I stopped for a moment, a long, shrill plaintive
cry came through the night air, followed by three others of the same
length, gradually deepening in tone, and which had a peculiarly
melancholy expression. At first I thought the cry must have arisen from
some human being in distress. I remarked it to the Indian who was
watching with me.
"Ah, that sound comes from a little bird," he answered. "We call it the
_alma perdida_. It is bewailing the dead, and good cause has it now to
sound its notes--_Aye de me_!"
The night passed on, and though on several occasions I fancied that I
could distinguish the forms of the savage Cashibos skulking round us,
none appeared, and daylight once more returned.