ANIMAL LIFE IN THE PRAIRIES OF THE NEW WORLD:--BIRDS AND REPTILES.
We have seen in a preceding chapter that the great terrestrial and
aquatic birds ("Waders") of the wild plains of the Ancient World have
few analogues in America, and that the small number of genera which are
represented therein are represented by much smaller species. I have
cited the Ostrich and the Phenicopterus. The American Ostrich, or Nandou
(_Rhea_), is not above half the size of his African congener, from which
he differs in having the feet three-toed, and each toe armed with a
claw. Moreover, his head and neck are more fully clothed with plumage;
the wings are plumed, and more perfectly developed; and he is tailless.
The neck has sixteen vertebræ. Though endowed with more perfect wings
than the Ostrich of Africa, he is nevertheless incapable of flight,
representing another grade in Nature's slow ascent from the wingless
bird to the bird possessed of full powers of flight. He inhabits the
wide grassy plains of South America below the Equator, and as far south
as latitude 42°. He is never seen across the Cordilleras, but roams in
great numbers the banks of La Plata and its tributaries. He is generally
seen in small troops.
There are at least three species: the _Rhea Americana_, about five feet
high; the _Rhea macrorhyncha_, distinguished by its large bill; and the
_Rhea Darwinii_, the smallest, which inhabits Patagonia.
The Flamingoes proper to the New World are: the Red Flamingo, all whose
plumage glows with a more or less vivid red; and the Fiery Flamingo,
probably only a variety of the preceding. Both are natives of the dreary
Patagonian desert, of Chili, and some other southern districts.
[Illustration: 1. Cathartes-Urubu. 2. King of the Vultures.]
The order of Waders, and that of Palmipeds, include, in the low marshy
levels of this continent, some characteristic species: notably, the
Jacanas and the Kamichis; the Agami or Trumpet-Bird, remarkable for its
pastoral instinct, its domestic aptitudes, and the ringing sound of its
voice; the Savacou, which, in the structure of its enormous beak and its
general habits, is allied to the African Balæniceps. Here, as in Africa,
a species of rapacious Grallator flourishes, the _Cariama_, delivering
"a war to the knife" against the reptile legions. Raptores more
accurately defined--such, for example, as the _Falco cachinnans_, or
Laughing Vulture--share in the destructive campaign against frogs,
toads, lizards, and small serpents. And in the New, as in the Old World,
Nature does not neglect the work of purification, intrusting it in the
savannahs and the pampas to various kinds of Vulturidæ, which devour the
putrid carcasses that would otherwise pollute the atmosphere. The
_Cathartes-Urubu_ and the _Aura_ are the most common species; the
Mexicans call them _Zopilotes_. They are found in all Central and
Southern America, and frequently range to very high latitudes. They are
of small size, very social, easy familiarized with man, and may be seen
in great numbers, not alone in the deserts and plains, but in the great
towns, where they efficiently play the part of great sanitary reformers.
They are gifted with extraordinary delicacy of scent; they detect the
existence of carrion at great distances, and flock from the four
quarters of heaven to banquet upon it. The _Sarcoramphus Papa_, or "King
of the Vultures," a species closely allied to the great Condor of the
Andes, is likewise encountered very frequently in the plains of Tropical
America, but only where the herbage has been set on fire; which is a
common enough occurrence, either through lightning, or by accident or
design on the part of the Indians. Then he arrives on rapid pinion to
prey upon the lizards, and frogs, and serpents which are destroyed by
the scathing and consuming flames. His attire is more elegant than his
mission in creation would seem to render necessary. The plumage on the
upper part of the body is of a reddish hue, the neck and head of a
delicate bluish-violet, the beak red, the crest orange, the eyebrows
white, and the wings black. He is about the size of the domestic
Turkey. The tawny _Caracara_, a bird of the genus _Polyborus_, as large
as the common Kite, and with a tail nine inches long; and the _Harpy
Eagle_ (Thrasaëtus), distinguished by its formidable beak and legs, its
erect crest and flashing eyes--both widely distributed in all the hot
regions of the New World--belong to the _Falconidæ_ family (in the
latest classification), as well as the great white-headed Fishing Eagle,
or Pygargue (_Haliaëtus Leucocephalus_), which inhabits the northern
continent. The latter has been eloquently described by the Paisley
ornithologist, the celebrated Wilson:[140]--"Elevated on the high dead
branch of some gigantic tree that commands a wide view of the
neighbouring shore and ocean, he seems calmly to contemplate the motions
of the various feathered tribes that pursue their busy avocations below;
all the winged multitudes that subsist by the bounty of this vast liquid
magazine of Nature. High over all these hovers one whose action
instantly arrests his attention. By his wide curvature of wing and
sudden suspension in the air, he knows him to be the Fish Hawk, settling
over some devoted victim of the deep. His eye kindles at the sight, and,
balancing himself with half-opened wings on the branch, he watches the
result. Down, rapid as an arrow from heaven, descends the distant object
of his attention, the roar of his wings reaching the ear as he
disappears in the deep, making the surges foam around! At this moment,
the eager looks of the eagle are all ardour, and, levelling his neck for
flight, he sees the fish hawk emerge struggling with his prey, and
mounting in the air with screams of exultation. These are the signals
for our hero, who, launching into the air, instantly gives chase, and
soon gains on the hawk; each exerts his utmost to mount above the other,
displaying in these rencounters the most elegant and sublime aërial
evolutions. The unencumbered eagle rapidly advances, and is just on the
point of reaching his opponent, when, with a sudden scream, probably of
despair and honest execration, the latter drops the fish; the eagle,
poising himself for a moment, as if to take a more certain aim, descends
like a whirlwind, snatches it in his grasp ere it reaches the water, and
bears his ill-gotten booty silently away to the woods."
A similar picture, let me add, has been painted by the poet Spenser,
though he refers, of course, to the British Eagle:--
"Like to an eagle, in his kingly pride,
Soaring through his wide empire of the air
To weather his broad sails, by chance has spied
A goshawk, which hath seizèd for her share
Upon some fowl that should her feast prepare.
With dreadful force he flies at her again,
That with his voice which none endure or dare
Her from the quarry he away doth drive,
And from her griping pounce the greedy prey doth rive."
The _Reptilia_ are represented in America by a very great number of
species, many being remarkable for their great size or the terrible
venom with which they are provided. The crocodiles of the American
continent form a distinct genus, sometimes designated _Alligator_, and
sometimes _Caiman_. The Alligators, or Caimans (_Alligator lucius_), are
Saurians of huge bulk; with a long flat head, thick neck and body, a
cavernous mouth suggestive of infinite voracity, dull cruel eyes, and a
long taper tail, which, strongly compressed on the sides, is surmounted
with a double series of strong plates, that unite about the middle, and
form a single row to the extremity. It is this tail that gives them most
of their progressive power in the water, and though it obstructs their
movements on land, it is useful even then as a powerful weapon of
defence. Transverse rows of square bony plates, rising in the centre
into keel-shaped ridges, protect the body, and render the hideous animal
exceedingly formidable as an antagonist. It frequently attains the
length of eighteen, and is seldom less than fifteen feet. Its teeth are
numerous, sharp, and strong; its claws long and tenacious. It feeds
generally on fish, turtle, fowl, or whatever other prey may fall within
its reach; and woe to the unfortunate animal that comes to the
river-bank in quest of water within the range of this ferocious saurian.
[Illustration: ALLIGATORS, OR CAIMANS.]
The caiman never attacks man if his intended victim is on his guard, but
he is cunning enough to know when this may be done with impunity. Mr.
Bates records an affecting instance. The river Amazons at Caiçara had
sunk one season to a very low point, so that the port and bathing-place
of the village now lay at the foot of a long sloping bank, and a large
caiman made his appearance in the shallow and muddy water. "We were all
obliged," says our traveller,[141] "to be very careful in taking our
bath; most of the people simply using a calabash, pouring the water over
themselves while standing on the brink. A large trading canoe, belonging
to a Barra merchant, arrived at this time, and the Indian crew, as
usual, spent the first day or two after their coming into port in
drunkenness and debauchery ashore. One of the men, during the greatest
heat of the day, when almost every one was enjoying his afternoon's nap,
took it into his head whilst in a tipsy state to go down and bathe. He
was seen only by the Suiz de Paz (Justice of Peace), a feeble old man
who was lying in his hammock, in the open verandah at the rear of his
house on the top of the bank, and who shouted to the besotted Indian to
beware of the alligator. Before he could repeat his warning the man
stumbled, and a pair of gaping jaws, appearing suddenly above the
surface, seized him round the waist and drew him under the water. A cry
of agony was the last sign made by the wretched victim. The village was
aroused; the young men, with praiseworthy readiness, seized their
harpoons and hurried down to the bank; but of course it was too late, a
winding track of blood on the surface of the water was all that could be
seen. They embarked, however, in light boats, determined on vengeance;
the monster was traced, and when, after a short lapse of time, he came
up to breathe, one leg sticking out from his jaws, was dispatched with
bitter curses."
In the temperate regions of North America, where crocodiles still exist,
these animals pass the entire winter in lethargic torpor. In the Pampas
of tropical America, on the contrary, it is during the hot season that
they remain inert in the mud of the dried-up marshes. "According to the
statements of the natives," says Humboldt, "you may sometimes see, on
the return of the rainy season, the humid clay slowly uplifted and
loosened in great clods. A violent detonation soon makes itself heard,
and the earth is flung up into the air to a great height, as in
eruptions of small mud volcanoes. If you understand the cause of this
phenomenon you will quickly take to flight, for from this retreat
immediately emerges a monstrous water-serpent or a plated crocodile,
which the first shower has awakened from his lethargy." The great
water-serpent here spoken of is, in all probability, the gigantic
Boa-Constrictor, one of the most dangerous denizens of the marshy plains
of equatorial America. Travellers of unimpeachable authority assert that
this frightful reptile often attains the length of thirty-six to
forty-five feet. Day and night he lurks among the tall rank herbage; in
the morning and the evening he places himself in ambush on the border of
some lake or water-course to surprise the quadrupeds which flock thither
to quench their thirst. By means of his prehensile tail he suspends
himself to a tree on the shore, and patiently awaits the coming prey.
When an animal passes within his reach, he swiftly seizes it, enfolds it
in his spiral coils, crushes it against the tree which serves for his
_point d'appui_, compresses its bleeding mass into a convenient form,
covers it with a glutinous saliva, and swallows it. In this fashion the
boa will devour a stag or even an ox entire, nor does he fear to attack
the puma and the jaguar. Whether he is dangerous to man may reasonably
be doubted; his immense size, at all events, renders it easy to avoid
him. He preys upon fish in default of other provision, and to catch his
victims often remains for a considerable time with his head and a
portion of his body plunged under water.
The true scourges of tropical America and the Antilles are the
_Rattlesnake_ and the lance-headed _Viper_.
The Rattlesnake (_Crotalus horridus_) is one of the deadliest of
venomous serpents, is frequently six feet in length, and as thick as a
man's leg. But Providence has furnished it with an antidote against its
own poison, or, at least, with an instrument which makes it its own
betrayer, and warns man involuntarily against its formidable presence.
This is the _rattle_ to which it owes its vulgar appellation. The rattle
is situated at the end of the tail, and consists of several hard, dry,
bony processes. Imagine a string of hollow, dry, semi-transparent bones,
nearly of the same size and figure, and resembling to some extent the
shape of the human _os sacrum_: imagine these so placed that the tip of
every uppermost bone runs within two of the bones below it; imagine
these constantly clattering against each other, as the reptile moves,
with a hoarse, dull, echoing sound, and you will be able to form some
idea of the permanent warning of its approach which the Crotalus carries
about with it. The rattle is placed with the broad part perpendicular to
the body, and not horizontal; and the first joint is attached to the
last vertebra of the tail by means of a thick muscle beneath it, no less
than by the membranes which unite it to the skin. The bony rings
increase in number with the reptile's age, and it gains an additional
one, it is said, at each casting of the skin.
[Illustration: CROTALUS, AND BOA-CONSTRICTOR.]
The _Crotalus horridus_ is of a yellowish-brown colour, varied with
patches of a deeper hue, and from the head to some distance down the
neck run two or three longitudinal stripes of the same. Its habits are
sluggish; it moves slowly, and only bites when angered, or for the
purpose of killing its prey. It is provided with two kinds of
teeth--viz., the smaller, which, planted in each jaw, serve to catch and
retain the food; and secondly, the fangs or poisonous teeth, which kill
the prey, and are placed outside the upper jaw. It feeds principally
upon the smaller mammals and upon birds, which it seems certain it
possesses a peculiar power of fascinating--the effect, it may be, of
intense fear. "When the piercing eye of the rattlesnake is fixed on
them," says Mr. Murray, "terror and amazement render them incapable of
escaping; and, while involuntarily keeping their eyes fixed on those of
the reptile, birds have been seen to drop into its mouth, as if
paralyzed, squirrels descend from their trees, and leverets run into the
jaws of the expecting devourer." Hogs and peccaries, however, are
unaffected by this panic, and feed greedily upon the reptile which
causes it, whose venomous fangs cannot penetrate their formidable hide.
Its poison, once imbibed, is very fatal, acting upon man and the larger
mammals, such as the horse or ass, in a few hours.
[Illustration: TRIGONOCEPHALUS PURSUED BY BIRDS.]
The lance-headed Viper or Trigonocephalus (_Bothrops lanceolatus_), is
most common in the West Indian Islands, where it is justly dreaded. It
has been computed that, at Martinique, fifty persons out of a population
of 125,000 souls die annually from the bite of these odious reptiles.
Their fecundity is frightful. Every female bears sixty young, which on
their very advent into the world are completely formed and able to
wound. This viper, moreover, carries no warning rattle; nothing
indicates its presence; and in the countries which it inhabits, the
wayfarer, if prudent, will beat the herbs and bushes as he advances with
a switch. Then the Trigonocephalus, if there be one in the way, will
take flight and reveal itself, for it is too large to glide away unseen.
Therefore, the negroes of Martinique, who, of necessity, are assiduous
reptile hunters, state as an incontrovertible axiom, confirmed by
immemorial experience, that "a serpent seen is a serpent dead." In
truth, the serpent is only formidable to man when not perceived, and
when one treads upon it accidentally. In the open field its defeat and
death are inevitable, however little coolness or skill its assailant may
possess. And to warn us of the presence of the Trigonocephalus, Nature
has supplied us with numerous watchful sentinels in the small birds,
whose not unreasonable hate against this serpent is a remarkable proof
of their intelligence. If ever your destiny conduct you to the Antilles,
says a naturalist, cold-blooded sportsman as you may be, do not slay the
little bird which the grateful negroes, though he sings but little, have
wished to name the nightingale; for if you do so, they will regard you
with suspicion and dislike. He is their protector, and he watches also
over you. No sooner does he see, from his aërial station, the scales of
the reptile gliding into the herbage or glittering among the large
leaves, than he can no longer control himself. He flies to and fro, he
leaps from branch to branch, summoning with a lamentable cry all the
feathered tribe from the neighbouring trees. From far and near the cry
widens and is repeated; from all directions flock nightingales, and
thrushes, grosbeaks, and humming-birds, and hovering above the assassin,
furiously denounce it, and indicate its lurking-place to man. Irritated
by such a concert of maledictions, the serpent elevates its crest, but,
lo! they are far beyond its reach! And the cries, the murmurs, the
insults are redoubled! It seeks to conceal itself, but these cries
persistently accompany it. Wherever it drags its slimy shining bulk,
they follow, they harass, and they denounce it. Either night comes on,
or it succeeds in completely hiding itself from their watchful gaze,
before they reluctantly leave it to its own devices. Great the
consternation if their enemy escape them! But what joy, what triumphal
sounds, if man appears upon the scene and slays it!
* * * * *
I have previously alluded to the enormous toads found in South America,
and to the gigantic frog which belongs to the northern continent. Among
the former I may particularize as one of the largest known species, the
_Agua_; and, as remarkable for its mode of gestation, the _Pipa_. The
Surinam Toad, or _Pipa Surinamensis_ (the _Bufo Pipa_ of Linné), is
distinguished by its large triangular head, and horizontally flattened
body, with a granulated back. It is now ascertained that the female
deposits her spawn at the brink of some shallow or stagnant pool; the
male then collects the heap and cautiously places it on the back of the
female, where, after impregnation, they are pressed into cellules
produced by the tumefaction of the skin. In rather less than three
months the eggs are hatched, and the young emerge in a complete state.
The Bull-Frog (_Rana pipilus_), of North America, is from six to eight
inches long and from three to four inches broad. When his limbs are
fully extended he measures about eighteen inches in length. Its back is
of a sombre green colour, varied with black; the under-parts being of a
whitish hue, tinged with green, and thickly spotted. The fore-feet have
only four toes, and are unwebbed; the hind-feet are large, long, and
widely webbed. Its voice may be compared to the distant lowing of a
bull, and a chorus of them at night is sufficient to arouse the soundest
sleeper. They prey upon ducklings, goslings, and small birds, drowning
before devouring them. Spite of its size and ungainliness, it is very
nimble, and can accomplish a leap of upwards of six feet in height.
[Illustration: 1. Bufo Agua. 2. Pipa Surinamensis.]
Incomplete as is this rapid survey of the Fauna of the New World
Deserts, I cannot terminate it without referring to the strange and
formidable fish which haunt the pools, lakes, and marshes of South
America--those _Gymnoti_, or Electrical Eels, sometimes five, six, and
even eight feet long, which emit electrical discharges of sufficient
violence to strike down a man, a horse, or an ox. It is by this singular
property the gymnotus supports its existence; its shocks stupify the
smaller fishes and other animals that come within its range, so that
they fall an easy prey to its voracity. The electrical organs consist of
four bundles of parallel membranaceous laminæ arranged along the inner
side of the tail, and constituting a remarkably powerful battery.
[Illustration: FISHING FOR GYMNOTI.]
In hunting the gymnoti the Indians adopt a cruel expedient. They drive a
herd of horses and mules into the ponds which these eels inhabit, and
harpoon them when they have spent their electrical force on the unhappy
quadrupeds. The fish swim on the surface of the water like serpents, and
skilfully glide beneath the animal's body, discharging the whole length
of their electrical battery, and attacking simultaneously the digestive
viscera, and, above all, the gastric plexus of nerves. Fain would the
horses escape their enemies' attacks, but the Indians drive them back
into the water with stout canes of bamboo and long whips. After awhile
the eels grow exhausted; the animals show less alarm; and the Indians
begin to ply their harpoons with equal agility and success. There are
several species of this remarkable fish, and most, if not all, are
valued as wholesome food. The Gymnotus Electricus, however, is the only
one which possesses any electrical powers.