At one of our prairie-camps our English comrade furnished us with the
following account of that strange creature, the tapir.
"No one who has turned over the pages of a picture-book of mammalia will
be likely to forget the odd-looking animal known as the tapir. Its long
proboscis-like snout, its stiff-maned neck, and clumsy hog-like body,
render the _tout ensemble_ of this creature so peculiar, that there is
no mistaking it for any other animal.
"When full-grown, the tapir, or anta, as it is sometimes called, is six
feet in length by four in height--its weight being nearly equal to that
of a small bullock. Its teeth resemble those of the horse; but instead
of hoofs, its feet are toed--the fore ones having four toes, while the
hind-feet have only three each. The eyes are small and lateral, while
the ears are large and pointed. The skin is thick, somewhat like that
of the hippopotamus, with a very thin scattering of silky hairs over it;
but along the ridge of the neck, and upon the short tail, the hairs are
longer and more profuse. The upper jaw protrudes far beyond the
extremity of the under one. It is, moreover, highly prehensile, and
enables the tapir to seize the roots upon which it feeds with greater
ease. In fact, it plays the part of the elephant's proboscis to a
limited degree.
"Although the largest quadruped indigenous to South America, the tapir
is not very well-known to naturalists. Its haunts are far beyond the
borders of civilisation. It is, moreover, a shy and solitary creature,
and its active life is mostly nocturnal; hence no great opportunity is
offered for observing its habits. The chapter of its natural history is
therefore a short one.
"The tapir is an inhabitant of the tropical countries of America,
dwelling near the banks of rivers and marshy lagoons. It is the
American representative of the rhinoceros and hippopotamus, or, more
properly, of the _maiba_, or Indian tapir (_Tapirus Indicus_) of
Sumatra, which has but lately become known to naturalists. The latter,
in fact, is a near congener, and very much, resembles the tapir of South
America.
"The tapir is amphibious--that is, it frequents the water, can swim and
dive well, and generally seeks its food in the water or the soft marshy
sedge; but when in repose, it is a land animal, making its haunt in
thick coverts of the woods, and selecting a dry spot for its lair. Here
it will remain couched and asleep during the greater part of the day.
At nightfall, it steals forth, and following an old and well-used path,
it approaches the bank of some river, and plunging in, swims off in
search of its food--the roots and stems of several species of
water-plants. In this business it occupies most of the hours of
darkness; but at daybreak, it swims back to the place where it entered
the water, and going out, takes the `backtrack' to its lair, where it
sleeps until sunset again warns it forth.
"Sometimes during rain, it leaves its den even at midday. On such
occasions, it proceeds to the river or the adjacent swamp, where it
delights to wallow in the mud, after the manner of hogs, and often for
hours together. Unlike the hog, however, the tapir is a cleanly animal.
After wallowing, it never returns to its den until it has first plunged
into the clear water, and washed the mud thoroughly from its skin.
"It usually travels at a trot, but when hard pressed it can gallop. Its
gallop is peculiar. The fore-legs are thrown far in advance, and the
head is carried between them in a very awkward manner, somewhat after
the fashion of a frolicsome donkey.
"The tapir is strictly a vegetable feeder. It lives upon flags and
roots of aquatic plants. Several kinds of fruits, and young succulent
branches of trees, form a portion of its food.
"It is a shy, timid animal, without any malice in its character; and
although possessed of great strength, never uses it except for defence,
and then only in endeavours to escape. It frequently suffers itself to
be killed without making any defence, although with its great strength
and well-furnished jaws it might do serious hurt to an enemy.
"The hunt of the tapir is one of the amusements, or rather employments,
of the South-American Indians. Not that the flesh of this animal is so
eagerly desired by them: on the contrary, it is dry, and has a
disagreeable taste, and there are some tribes who will not eat of it,
preferring the flesh of monkeys, macaws, and the armadillo. But the
part most prized is the thick, tough skin, which is employed by the
Indians in making shields, sandals, and various other articles. This is
the more valuable in a country where the thick-skinned and
leather-yielding mammalia are almost unknown.
"Slaying the tapir is no easy matter. The creature is shy; and, having
the advantage of the watery clement, is often enabled to dive beyond the
reach of pursuit, and thus escape by concealing itself. Among most of
the native tribes of South America, the young hunter who has killed a
tapir is looked upon as having achieved something to be proud of.
"The tapir is hunted by bow and arrow, or by the gun. Sometimes the
`gravatana,' or blow-tube, is employed, with its poisoned darts. In any
case, the hunter either lies in wait for his prey, or with a pack of
dogs drives it out of the underwood, and takes the chances of a `flying
shot.'
"When the trail of a tapir has been discovered, its capture becomes
easy. It is well-known to the hunter that this animal, when proceeding
from its lair to the water and returning, always follows its old track
until a beaten-path is made, which is easily discernible.
"This path often betrays the tapir, and leads to its destruction.
"Sometimes the hunter accomplishes this by means of a pitfall, covered
with branches and palm-leaves; at other times, he places himself in
ambuscade, either before twilight or in the early morning, and shoots
the unsuspecting animal as it approaches on its daily round.
"Sometimes, when the whereabouts of a tapir has been discovered, a whole
tribe sally out, and take part in the hunt. Such a hunt I myself
witnessed on one of the tributaries of the Amazon.
"In the year 18--, I paid a visit to the Jurunas up the Xingu. Their
_Malaccas_ (palm-hut villages) lie beyond the falls of that river.
Although classed as `wild Indians,' the Jurunas are a mild race,
friendly to the traders, and collect during a season considerable
quantities of _seringa_ (Indian-rubber), sarsaparilla, as well as rare
birds, monkeys, and Brazil-nuts--the objects of Portuguese trade.
"I was about to start back for Para, when nothing would serve the
_tuxava_, or chief of one of the maloccas, but that I should stay a day
or two at his village, and take part in some festivities. He promised a
tapir-hunt.
"As I knew that among the Jurunas were some skilled hunters, and as I
was curious to witness an affair of this kind, I consented. The hunt
was to come off on the second day of my stay.
"The morning arrived, and the hunters assembled, to the number of forty
or fifty, in an open space by the malocca; and having got their arms and
equipments in readiness, all repaired to the _praya_, or narrow beach of
sand, which separated the river from the thick underwood of the forest.
Here some twenty or thirty _ubas_ (canoes hollowed out of tree-trunks)
floated on the water, ready to receive the hunters. They were of
different sizes; some capable of containing half a dozen, while others
were meant to carry only a single person.
"In a few minutes the ubas were freighted with their living cargoes,
consisting not only of the hunters, but of most of the women and boys of
the malocca, with a score or two of dogs.
"These dogs were curious creatures to look at. A stranger, ignorant of
the customs of the Jurunas, would have been at some loss to account for
the peculiarity of their colour. Such dogs I had never seen before.
Some were of a bright scarlet, others were yellow, others blue, and some
mottled with a variety of tints!
"What could it mean? But I knew well enough. _The dogs were dyed_!
"Yes, it is the custom among many tribes of South-American Indians to
dye not only their own bodies, but the hairy coat of their dogs, with
brilliant colours obtained from vegetable juices, such as the huitoc,
the yellow raucau (_annato_), and the blue of the wild indigo. The
light grey, often white, hair of these animals favours the staining
process; and the effect produced pleases the eye of their savage
masters.
"On my eye the effect was strange and fantastical. I could not restrain
my laughter when I first scanned these curs in their fanciful coats.
Picture to yourself a pack of scarlet, and orange, and purple dogs!
"Well, we were soon in the ubas, and paddling up-stream. The tuxava and
I occupied a canoe to ourselves. His only arms were a light fusil,
which I had given him as a present. It was a good piece, and he was
proud of it. This was to be its first trial. I had a rifle for my own
weapon. The rest were armed variously: some had guns, others the native
bow and arrows; some carried the gravatana, with arrows dipped in curari
poison; some had nothing but machetes, or cutlasses--for clearing the
underwood, in case the game had to be driven from the thickets.
"There was a part of the river, some two or three miles above the
malocca, where the channel was wider than elsewhere--several miles in
breadth at this place. Here it was studded with islands, known to be a
favourite resort of the tapirs. This was to be the scene of our hunt.
"We approached the place in about an hour; but on the way I could not
help being struck with the picturesqueness of our party. No `meet' in
the hunting-field of civilised countries could have equalled us in that
respect. The ubas, strung out in a long irregular line, sprang
up-stream in obedience to the vigorous strokes of the rowers, and these
sang in a sort of irregular concert as they plied their paddles. The
songs were improvised: they told the feats of the hunters already
performed, and promised others yet to be done. I could hear the word
`tapira' (tapir), often repeated. The women lent their shrill voices to
the chorus; and now and then interrupted the song with peals of merry
laughter. The strange-looking flotilla--the bronzed bodies of the
Indians, more than half nude--their waving black hair--their blue-head
belts and red cotton armlets--the bright _tangas_ (aprons) of the
women--their massive necklaces--the macaw feathers adorning the heads of
the hunters--their odd arms and equipments--all combined to form a
picture which, even to me, accustomed to such sights, was full of
interest.
"At length we arrived among the islands, and then the noises ceased.
The canoes were paddled as slowly and silently as possible.
"I now began to understand the plan of the hunt. It was first to
discover an island upon which a tapir was supposed to be, and then
encompass it with the hunters in their canoes, while a party landed with
the dogs, to arouse the game and drive it toward the water.
"This plan promised fair sport.
"The canoes now separated; and in a short while each of them were seen
coursing quietly along the edge of some islet, one of its occupants
leaning inward, and scrutinising the narrow belt of sand that bordered
the water.
"In some places no such sand-belt appeared. The trees hung over, their
branches even dipping into the current, and forming a roofed and dark
passage underneath. In such places a tapir could have hidden himself
from the sharpest-eyed hunters, and herein lies the chief difficulty of
this kind of hunt.
"It was not long before a low whistle was heard from one of the ubas, a
sign for the others to come up. The traces of a tapir had been
discovered.
"The chief, with a stroke or two of his palm-wood paddle, brought our
canoe to the spot.
"There, sure enough, was the sign--the tracks of a tapir in the sand--
leading to a hole in the thick underwood, where a beaten-path appeared
to continue onward into the interior of the island, perhaps to the
tapir-den. The tracks were fresh--had been made that morning in the wet
sand--no doubt the creature was in its lair.
"The island was a small one, with some five or six acres of surface.
The canoes shot off in different directions, and in a few minutes were
deployed all around it. At a given signal, several hunters leaped
ashore, followed by their bright-coloured assistants--the dogs; and then
the chopping of branches, the shouts of the men, and the yelping of
their canine companions, were all heard mingling together.
"The island was densely wooded. The _uaussu_ and _piriti_ palms grew so
thickly, that their crowned heads touched each other, forming a close
roof. Above these, rose the taller summits of the great forest trees,
_cedrelas, zamangs_, and the beautiful long-leaved silk-cotton
(_bombax_); but beneath, a perfect net-work of sipos or creepers and
llianas choked up the path, and the hunters had to clear every step of
the way with their machetes. Even the dogs, with all their eagerness,
could make only a slow and tortuous advance among the thorny vines of
the smilax, and the sharp spines that covered the trunks of the palms.
"In the circle of canoes that surrounded the island, there was perfect
silence; each had a spot to guard, and each hunter sat, with arms ready,
and eyes keenly fixed on the foliage of the underwood opposite his
station.
"The uba of the chief had remained to watch the path where the tracks of
the tapir had been observed. We both sat with guns cocked and ready;
the dogs and hunters were distinctly heard in the bushes approaching the
centre of the islet. The former gave tongue at intervals, but their
yelping grew louder, and was uttered with a fiercer accent. Several of
them barked at once, and a rushing was heard towards the water.
"It came in our direction, but not right for us; still the game was
likely to issue at a point within range of our guns. A stroke of the
paddle brought us into a better position. At the same time several
other canoes were seen shooting forward to the spot.
"The underwood crackled and shook; reddish forms appeared among the
leaves; and the next moment a dozen animals, resembling a flock of hogs,
tumbled out from the thicket, and flung themselves with a splashing into
the water.
"`No--tapir no--capivara,' cried the chief; but his voice was drowned by
the reports of guns and the twanging of bowstrings. Half a dozen of the
capivaras were observed to fall on the sandy margin, while the rest
plunged forward, and, diving beyond the reach of pursuit, were seen no
more.
"This was a splendid beginning of the day's sport; for half a dozen at a
single volley was no mean game, even among Indians.
"But the nobler beast, the tapir, occupied all our thoughts; and leaving
the capivaras to be gathered in by the women, the hunters got back to
their posts in a few seconds.
"There was no doubt that a tapir would be roused. The island had all
the appearance of being the haunt of one or more of these creatures,
besides the tracks were evidence of their recent presence upon the spot.
The beating, therefore, proceeded as lively as ever, and the hunters
and dogs now penetrated to the centre of the thicket.
"Again the quick angry yelping of the latter fell upon the ear; and
again the thick cover rustled and shook.
"`This time the tapir,' said the chief to me in an undertone, adding the
next moment in a louder voice, `Look yonder!'
"I looked in the direction pointed out. I could perceive something in
motion among the leaves--a dark brown body, smooth and rounded, the body
of a tapir!
"I caught only a glimpse of it, as it sprang forward into the opening.
It was coming at full gallop, with its head carried between its knees.
The dogs were close after, and it looked not before it, but dashed out
and ran towards us as though blind.
"It made for the water, just a few feet from the bow of our canoe. The
chief and I fired at the same time. I thought my bullet took effect,
and so thought the chief did his; but the tapir, seeming not to heed the
shots, plunged into the stream, and went under.
"The next moment the whole string of dyed dogs came sweeping out of the
thicket, and leaped forward to where the game had disappeared.
"There was blood upon the water. The tapir is hit, then, thought I; and
was about to point out the blood to the chief, when on turning I saw the
latter poising himself knife in hand, near the stern of the canoe. He
was about to spring out of it. His eye was fixed on some object under
the water.
"I looked in the same direction. The waters of the Xingu are as clear
as crystal: against the sandy bottom, I could trace the dark brown body
of the tapir. It was making for the deeper channel of the river, but
evidently dragging itself along with difficulty. One of its legs was
disabled by our shots.
"I had scarcely time to get a good view of it before the chief sprang
into the air, and dropped head foremost into the water. I could see a
struggle going on at the bottom--turbid water came to the surface--and
then up came the dark head of the savage chief.
"`Ugh!' cried he, as he shook the water from his thick tresses, and
beckoned me to assist him--`Ugh! Senhor, you eat roast tapir for
dinner. Si--bueno--here tapir.'
"I pulled him into the boat, and afterwards assisted to haul up the huge
body of the slain tapir.
"As was now seen, both our shots had taken effect; but it was the
rifle-bullet that had broken the creature's leg, and the generous savage
acknowledged that he would have had but little chance of overtaking the
game under water, had it not been previously crippled.
"The hunt of the day proved a very successful one. Two more tapirs were
killed; several capivaras; and a paca--which is an animal much prized by
the Indians for its flesh, as well as the teeth--used by them in making
their blow-guns. We also obtained a pair of the small peccaries,
several macaws, and no less than a whole troop of guariba monkeys. We
returned to the malocca with a game-bag as various as it was full, and a
grand dance of the Juruna women wound up the amusements of the day."