PLANTS AND SNAKES.
The wide extent of the savannas composing this cattle farm, and the
dispersion of the herds throughout them, compelled us to remove our
quarters to a more central point, from whence we could sally forth in
their pursuit. Orders were issued accordingly for the men to be in
readiness, and the next morning we quitted with regret our comfortable
quarters at the majordomo’s mansion and started for Mata-Gorda, one of
those delightful primeval groves which dot the prairies here and there.
Some idea of the extent of this huge farm may be gathered from the fact
that one may start at a gallop early in the morning from one end of the
savannas and not reach the other until late at night of the same day.
Its area would measure at least eighty square leagues, or about one
hundred and fifty thousand acres of the richest land, but which under
the present backward and revolutionary state of the country is
comparatively valueless to its owner. The number of cattle dispersed
throughout the length and breadth of this wide extent of prairie land
was computed to be about a hundred thousand heads, and, at one time, ten
thousand horses; but what with the _peste_, revolutionary exactions, and
skin hunters, comparatively very few of the former and none of the
latter have been left.
Our first occupation on arriving at the Mata was to set up a hasty ranch
for the protection of our accoutrements and baggage, a structure which
required little labor or expense, the graceful palms affording the best
kind of thatch for the roof, and the surrounding woods sufficient posts
and rafters for the framework. A convenient apartment was provided in it
for the hammocks of our Leader and worthy Surgeon, while the rest of us
were compelled to seek accommodations among the trunks and branches of
the trees.
These arrangements completed, the necessary timber was next cut for the
corrals to be erected for enclosing the coming herds, a work to which
the hunters devoted themselves, while I found greater attractions in my
daily explorations through the tangled forest. The beautiful palms there
claimed my most particular attention. Apart from the splendor of their
growth and other peculiarities to which I have already alluded in a
former chapter, they are sufficient in themselves to supply many of the
domestic and economic wants of man in a primitive state.
I also observed here many useful species of the extensive family of
leguminous plants, such as the _cañafistula_, (Cathartocarpus,) of which
there were several varieties, all of them beautiful timber trees, whose
pods, two feet long, were filled with a black gummy substance possessing
very medicinal properties. In a natural form it affords one of the
mildest and most agreeable cathartics. Belonging to the same family, the
_caro_, _masaguaro_, and _saman_ acacias can scarcely be rivalled in
durability by any other production of the vegetable world. Their pods
also contain a large proportion of a similar gummy substance which
cattle devour greedily, and which fattens them better than any other
kind of fodder.
The _malagueta_ pepper, or donkey-bean, (_Uvaria febrifuga_,) an
excellent febrifuge and antispasmodic, also grows here in the greatest
abundance. Its aromatic seeds are carefully preserved in the tobacco
bladder of every Llanero, along with the tubers of the snake root,
(_Aristolochia bulbosa_,) a plant possessing the same virtues, and
withal the best antidote against the bite of serpents.
Several other medicinal plants, such as the stately _mora_, the wild
sour-sop, and the _mapurite_, are also met with here; the last owes its
name to the peculiar odor, not unlike that of the skunk, which pervades
the whole plant, rendering it any thing but acceptable in the
neighborhood of an encampment.
Of wild fruits there was also a fine array, and among them the most
delicious of all, in my opinion, is the _manirito_, (Anona muricata,) a
fruit scarcely known to horticulture, and still less to the listless
inhabitant of the country where it grows in wild luxuriance; as no one
there has yet thought of bringing it under cultivation. This plant,
which belongs to the same family as do several of the most celebrated
fruit trees of the tropics--the various kinds of custard apples and the
delicious cherimoyer--attains a height of ten feet, and at the season of
maturity, actually bends to the ground beneath its sweet load.
Unfortunately it all ripens at once, so that in a few days the whole
crop disappears. This fruit, like its congener the sour-sop, is covered
with soft prickles. The inside, a sweet and highly aromatic pulp, is
filled with small seeds, which, when the fruit is eaten in large
quantities, as is generally the case, are apt to produce dangerous
strictures. The whole plant is exceedingly fragrant; and by rubbing the
leaves between the hands, they emit a delightful aroma, not unlike that
of new mown hay.
Another pleasant fruit, that I here met also for the first time, was the
wild _madroña_ of the size of a lemon, which it also resembles in shape
and color. It is filled with a most agreeable sub-acid pulp; this
envelops three or four large nuts, not unlike cacao-beans, and tastes
very much like strawberries. The tree producing this delicious fruit
attains a height of twenty feet. The foliage is very dense, with
coriaceous leaves ten inches long, of a brilliant green. A thick yellow
resin, resembling gamboge, exudes from every part of the tree when
wounded; but whether it has been found useful for any particular
purpose, I was unable to ascertain.
Somewhat similar to the latter, although growing upon a plant of an
entirely different nature, is the _cacaita_, or monkey cacao-bean, a
soft and rather insipid fruit, the production of a vine, which monkeys
devour greedily.
By far the largest proportion of the trees were several species of
_guamos_ (Inga lucida) and others of the same order of leguminous
plants, bearing pods eight or ten inches long; these are filled with a
row of black beans, enveloped in a snowy white and sweetish pulp, most
agreeable to the taste. The ripening season of this mild and wholesome
fruit was just commencing, and every day we gathered and consumed
quantities of it.
Another pod-bearing tree of great utility proper to that region is the
_algarrobo_, (Hymenea curbaril,) the locust tree of the New World, which
bears a thick ligneous pod containing several hard, brown, and rounded
beans. These are surrounded by a sweet farinaceous substance, possessing
great alimentary properties. A fragrant resin exudes from the pericarp
of the pods, which, on being burned, yields a perfume similar to the
odor of frankincense combined with that of balsam of Tolú.
I had almost forgotten to mention, among the agreeable fruits of these
parts, several kinds of wild guavas, from the tiny Arrayan, scarcely
distinguishable among the tufts of grass by which it is surrounded, to
the beautiful _paujil_ shrub, bearing in great profusion quantities of
brilliant scarlet, highly perfumed and acidulous fruits. The berry of
the former exactly resembles Jamaica allspice in shape; is quite sweet,
and possesses in a high degree the exquisite flavor and aroma of the
myrtle tribe, to which indeed all these plants belong.
Great care was necessary in selecting spits for roasting the beef, on
account of a most poisonous shrub, the deadly _guachamacá_, abounding
there. It belongs to the extensive family of Apocineæ or Dogbanes, whose
poisonous qualities are known all over the world. So virulent is this
poison, that meat roasted on spits made from the guachamacá, absorbs
sufficient poison to destroy all who partake of it. The lazy Indians
make use of it to kill without trouble the cranes and herons on the
borders of lagoons. For this they procure a number of sardines, besmear
them with the juice of the plant, and spread them along the places
frequented by those birds. The moment one of them seizes the fish, and
before it is fairly swallowed, the bird drops dead; then the indolent
hunter, issuing from his hiding-place, cuts off the parts affected by
the poison, usually the head and neck, and feels no scruple in eating
the remainder.
A dreadful case of poisoning by means of this plant had just occurred at
Nutrias, soon after our arrival on the Apure, which created for a time
great excitement even amidst that scattered population. A woman who
lived with a man in the vicinity of that town became jealous of the
attentions he bestowed upon a charming neighbor of theirs, and
determined to avenge herself, but in some manner that would not excite
suspicion. In those remote regions where coroners and chemists are
unknown, it is impossible to detect murder except where marks of
external violence are visible. Accordingly, she prepared for her lover a
bowl of _masato_, a favorite beverage of the country, made of Indian
corn boiled, mashed in water, and fermented; in this she soaked chips of
the poisonous plant and offered it to him with smiling grace. Delighted
at sight of the tempting bowl, the unsuspecting lover invited several of
his neighbors--among them the hated rival--to share it with him. The
woman, not intending to destroy any but her perfidious lover, during his
absence prepared another bowl, omitting this time the poison. Llanero
politeness obliged the host, however, to mix his portion with the
others, which having done, he invited the company to dip their calabash
cups into the bowl. Out of eleven persons there assembled, among them
several children, not one escaped except the wicked perpetrator of this
wholesale murder; nor even the donkeys and fowl of the household, as
their attentive master had thrown them the remains of the deadly
mixture.
Such is the dread in which the Llaneros hold this plant, that I was not
even permitted to preserve the specimens of fruit and flowers I had
collected, with the object of ascertaining, on my return to the Valleys,
the botanical characters of the species. They almost threatened to
desert, if I insisted upon carrying the leaves among the baggage.
The propagation of this plant throughout the Apure appears to be of
recent origin, none of the oldest inhabitants recollecting to have met
with it until within comparatively a short period.
* * * * *
The men had no small trouble in clearing our camp of many noxious
reptiles; and it became our regular afternoon business to hunt for
snakes. We succeeded in killing a great number in the vicinity of the
ranch, some very poisonous, while others were quite harmless; of the
latter class I found two species of coral snakes, against which an
unjust prejudice exists, that they are among the most poisonous. Of the
former, the _matacaballo_ is the most to be feared. Although scarcely
larger than a good-sized earthworm, his bite is nevertheless almost
instantaneously fatal to man and beast. Unlike his other sluggish and
torpid congeners, this little snake is the more dangerous because always
on the alert. The tramp of a horse, especially, never fails in rousing
them, against which noble animal they evince an inveterate rancor. I was
once occupied in sketching one of these snakes, which I had permitted to
live for the purpose, and I observed that whenever a horse approached
us, the snake rapidly turned his head in the direction of the sound,
seeming as if anxious to strike the animal with his fangs; but as I had
fortunately taken the precaution of disabling him by partially breaking
his spine, he could make but little progress toward the object of his
dislike.
The tendinous part between the hoof and ankle-joint of the horse being
nearest the ground, is consequently most exposed to the bite of the
_matacaballo_; and although the distance from the ankle to the heart is
very great, it not unfrequently happens that the animal drops as if
touched by the electric spark, from which fact I infer that this poison
acts on the nervous system as well as on the blood. Horned cattle and
pigs are fortunately shielded by the thickness of their skin from the
fangs of this destroyer, which cannot penetrate it. Hence this snake has
been termed, _par excellence_, matacaballo, literally horse-killer.
[Illustration]
It was at one time extremely dangerous to drive horses across the banks
of these savannas where snakes are always most abundant; their numbers,
however, have been considerably diminished since the immense
multiplication of pigs in those regions.
Horses have there also another dangerous enemy--a great hairy spider or
species of the tarantula; this inflicts a very poisonous and painful
sting just above the hoof, which in time drops off, although it is never
followed by death.
But among all these evil creatures, there is none so disgusting or so
dangerous as the rattlesnake. The virulence of its poison, and the great
size attained by some, renders them the terror of every man and beast
where they abound. Fortunately for mankind, they have been provided by
an ever-watchful Providence with what is termed a rattle; this is
composed of a number of horny rings placed at the end of the tail,
which, on being shaken, produce a peculiar sound, and serve as warning.
It is said that Nature every year adds one of these rings, thus marking
the age of the reptile. From its loathsome body is exhaled a strong
odor, somewhat resembling musk, in itself sufficient to warn the most
careless, as it is perceptible at the distance of a hundred feet. The
head is peculiarly flat and broad, and the eyes sparkle in the darkness
like specks of fire. The mouth is a ghastly aperture, whence issues a
black and forked tongue, which the reptile moves incessantly when
irritated. Two long fangs, curved inwardly, project in front of the
upper jaw, and through them the fatal venom is discharged. The poison is
secreted from two glands in the form of small bags at the root of the
fangs, admirably adapted for the purpose, being hollow inside throughout
their whole length, and by their pressure against the glands produced by
the act of biting, the liquid is ejected into the wound. Fortunately,
this snake is the slowest in its motions, and the most torpid of its
kind, otherwise the mischief done by them would be much greater, they
being very abundant also in the Llanos. Their favorite haunts are the
hollow trunks of decayed trees and deep fissures in the ground.
Occasionally they are found coiled among thick clumps of grass, which
shelter them from the glaring sun; but they are always ready to strike
any intruder. At night they issue forth in quest of game, returning
again to their hiding-places before sunrise.
In addition to the foregoing, there are several other kinds in the
Apure; among the harmless ones the _sabanera_ is very abundant in the
savannas, from which it is named. Some of these are ten feet long and
occasionally even more. They glide over the ground with astonishing
rapidity, making all varieties of contortions with their bodies, the
forward part of which they keep all the while raised in a vertical
position. These snakes are very useful, as they destroy all the
poisonous kinds they encounter.
The beautiful coral snake, with alternate rings of red, black, and
white, is occasionally seen in the vicinity of ant-holes. Most persons
attribute to it very poisonous qualities; but I have examined its mouth
carefully and found there no fangs, nor any of the characteristics of
poisonous snakes.
[Illustration]
In the same category is placed another inoffensive reptile, a cecilia,
emphatically styled _culebra de dos cabezas_, or two-headed snake--so
named on account of having both ends of its body of equal thickness,
while the eyes are almost invisible. It seems the connecting link
between snakes and earthworms, partaking of the nature of both, is about
a foot long, and rather disproportionately thick for its length, while
its body is covered with minute scales. As this snake has the power of
moving backward or forward with equal facility, it is supposed by many
to be actually possessed of two heads. There is abundant nourishment for
it in the ant nests which it frequents, but it feeds also on earthworms,
and the larvæ of insects, pursuing them with unrelenting perseverance
through the ground. The double motion of this reptile, its great
muscular powers and flexibility enable it to penetrate the deepest
recesses of a colony of ants, and to pierce the earth with wonderful
expedition in search of prey.
ANTIDOTES.
Several antidotes are recommended for the venomous bite of snakes; some
of them possess real alexipharmic virtues, as the _raiz de mato_, to
which I have already alluded under the name of Aristolochia bulbosa, and
the _guaco_, (Mikania Guaco,) a composite plant which the learned Mutis
has rendered so celebrated through the instrumentality of Humboldt; the
others, however, are nothing more than superstitious imaginings, which
see in the tooth of a crocodile extracted on Good Friday, or in some
unmeaning orison whispered in the sufferer’s ear, greater powers than
in all the resources of medical science. Yet such is the leaning of the
benighted children of Nature in these regions toward the supernatural,
that they always give the preference to whatever savors most of the
miraculous. Somewhat of this has doubtless arisen from the mistaken idea
that all snakes are poisonous. Thus if it so happen that the incantation
is whispered over a person who recovers, having been bitten by a
harmless snake, his cure is of course attributed to magic, which is
accordingly proclaimed a sovereign remedy for all similar cases in
future. Saint Paul, as I have already mentioned, possesses not only the
power of arresting the fatal spring of a snake, if invoked in time, but
can also neutralize the poison, even when it is circulating through the
veins. Notwithstanding my want of faith in the intervention of the saint
in question, I confess myself to have been on an occasion extremely
puzzled by one of these cherished superstitions, the famous _Oracion de
San Pablo_, and up to this period have not been able to account for it
in a manner satisfactory to my common sense. As we were one afternoon
driving home a herd of cattle, the majordomo’s horse was bitten by a
_matacaballo_, when at a short distance from the ranch. The rider
observed his sudden start, and at once mentioned the cause thereof. The
ground, overgrown with grass, was diligently searched, and the snake
discovered and killed on the very spot pointed out by the majordomo, who
in the mean time had hastened forward with his horse to the ranch,
knowing that the strength of the poor animal would soon give way.
Scarcely had he alighted when his horse, covered with a cold sweat,
dropped to the ground. A _curandero_ or snake doctor immediately
presented himself and commenced a series of incantations over the
prostrate animal, which it was supposed would soon counteract the
poison. I was anxious to administer spirits of hartshorn, a
well-authenticated remedy for such cases, but the Llaneros opposed this
resolutely, on the ground that it would interfere with their own. The
_Oracion_ was accordingly whispered in the horse’s ear and the patient
then removed to a convenient pasture, where he could find abundant feed
if fate ever restored his appetite. Here he was left, rolling upon the
ground and moaning piteously, while I was positively assured by the men
that in the course of two hours, at most, he would be completely
restored, and my scepticism confounded. Singularly enough, the remedy
acted in this case like a real charm; at the appointed time the horse
started to his feet and commenced browsing the grass around him with as
much gusto as if he had experienced no ailment whatsoever. Whether the
venom of the snake was not, in this instance, strong enough to kill the
horse; or, what is more probable, the reptile’s fang might not have
penetrated deep enough, are questions which cannot be decided, but
shortly afterward the same horse, a beautiful but wild and vicious young
stallion, came very near kicking to death the _curandero_ who restored
him to health.
The Llaneros are not, however, the only people in the country who have
faith in these miraculous cures. It is more or less entertained
throughout the country by persons more enlightened in other respects
than they. It is asserted of a famous _curandero_ in the Valleys of
Aragua, that in extreme cases, if prevented from going in person to the
patient, it was only necessary to send his hat! By placing this talisman
on the injured man’s head, it would not only afford immediate relief,
but arrest the progress of the venom until the owner could come himself
to perfect the cure.
* * * * *
Another singular practice obtains among Llaneros; it is that of
inoculation with the juice of certain plants possessing alexipharmic
virtues, after which the most poisonous snakes may be handled with
impunity. It is asserted, moreover, that _cerrados_--as individuals thus
inoculated are termed--are not only proof against the bite of these
reptiles, but can attract them around their persons by merely clapping
of hands or whistling for them in fields where they abound. Having never
witnessed any of these experiments, I will neither undertake to uphold
the truth of this assertion, nor will I question its veracity; but there
are hundreds of reliable persons in the country who will unhesitatingly
swear to its efficacy; among them, is the testimony of Dr. Benites, a
professional gentleman who has published the result of his experiments
in a small book on the Materia Medica of the country. With the view of
ascertaining the alleged properties of the guaco he devoted a great
portion of his time while at La Victoria in experimenting with various
kinds of snakes; from him I quote the following passage: “The guaco
possesses in a high degree the faculty of preserving man and animals in
general from the terrible and fatal effects of the bites of serpents.
This valuable secret, discovered in Bogota by the celebrated naturalist,
Don Celestino Mútis, in 1788, remains still as such among some
_curanderos_ of our own country, who, under certain mysterious forms,
and availing themselves of the fangs of serpents, puncture several
slight incisions in certain parts of the body, which they fill with the
powdered leaves of the guaco previously made dry, and administer the
same internally mixed in common rum. This property of the guaco is so
reliable, inoculation by means of the juice such as was practised by
Mútis himself so well authenticated, and the facts concerning it so well
attested, that there cannot longer exist the least doubt in regard to
its efficacy. I wished to convince myself by actual experiment, and can
testify that in a thousand trials of inoculation practised by myself in
different ways on patients whom I allowed to be bitten by various kinds
of snakes, I never knew one to fail. Suffice it to say that the
principal amusement of children in this place is to catch, carry about
and play with snakes, and that even young ladies keep them in their
bosoms or coil them around their necks.”
It appears, nevertheless, absolutely necessary to renew the inoculation
at different epochs of a man’s life, as in the case of vaccination it
loses its power after a time. It was no doubt owing to his neglect of
the rule, that a gentleman in the town of Ocumare some years ago fell a
victim to his blind confidence in this sort of inoculation. Don N.
Ugarte had kept a rattlesnake in a drawer during four years; with it he
occasionally amused himself, no more harm resulting therefrom than if it
had been a kitten. One day on returning home from his rounds in the
plantation, he felt in the humor of playing a little with his old pet,
and accordingly took him out of his berth and placed him upon the
writing desk before him. One of the children who had also been
inoculated happening to be near, the father suggested that he should
kiss the reptile; to this, the child objected very decidedly; the
foolish parent, however, insisting, the mother interfered and begged
that her child should not be compelled to touch the loathsome creature;
whereupon the father exclaimed: “How foolish you are! I will show you
how it kisses me. Now, then, pet, give me a kiss;” and so saying, he
leaned forward toward the snake; true to its instincts, the reptile
sprang to his lips and implanted such a kiss that its master never
recovered from the effects. Both fangs of the snake went quite through
his upper lip, and he at once felt himself to be mortally wounded. A
physician was sent for without delay, but he expired before assistance
could reach him.
The guaco is employed, moreover, in various other disorders of the
system with great success. In chronic rheumatism it is an invaluable
remedy both in the form of poultices made of the fresh leaves, or by
simply rubbing the part affected with a decoction of the plant in
spirits, and taking internally one or two ounces of the expressed juice,
morning and evening. Administered in the latter form it is an
efficacious remedy against hydrophobia, if given immediately after the
person has been bitten by a mad dog. General Paez was thus saved, when a
youth, from this dreadful scourge of tropical countries; he has
nevertheless retained in after life some evil effects of the virus still
in his system manifesting itself in a tendency to severe spasmodic
affections, especially at sight of a snake, which invariably induces
violent convulsions.
[Illustration: ARISTOLOCHIA APURENSIS.--NATURAL SIZE.]
Next to the guaco in importance as an alexipharmic, may be classed the
_raiz de mato_ including several varieties of Aristolochias, the roots
of which are intensely bitter. As its name implies, it is said to afford
the _mato_--a large species of lizard--a prompt antidote against the
bite of his old antagonist, the snake. There would seem to exist some
ancient grudge between these two reptiles, many persons asserting that
whenever they come in sight of one another, they instantly rush to the
attack, the _mato_ never failing to overcome his rival by his superior
botanical knowledge; this, or his instinct, prompts him to seek the
plant, and swallowing some of the leaves, returns recuperated to the
fight.[28]
To the facts adduced above, I now have the pleasure of adding the
testimony of such an authority as Gosse, who has devoted an entire
chapter of his truly romantic book[29] to the consideration of a subject
“well worthy of minute investigation by able and unprejudiced men of
science, willing to receive unscientific information and suggestions, in
various parts of the world, particularly in the intertropical regions of
both hemispheres.” Among the many well-authenticated incidents recorded
by him, I select the following as bearing a striking similarity to the
one just mentioned: “Some animals, especially those which prey upon
serpents, seem to be proof against their bites. The ichneumons, or
mangoustes of Africa and Asia, have long been celebrated for their
immunity, and veritable stories have been narrated of their having
recourse to some herb, when bitten, after which they successfully
renewed the attack. Percival, in his account of Ceylon, relates that a
mangouste placed in a close room where a venomous serpent was, instead
of darting at it, as he would ordinarily have done, ran peeping about,
anxiously seeking some way of escape; but finding none, it returned to
its master, crept into his bosom, and could by no means be persuaded to
face the snake. When, however, both were removed out of the house into
the open field, the mangouste instantly flew at the serpent, and soon
destroyed it. After the combat the little quadruped suddenly disappeared
for a few minutes, and again returned. Percival concludes, not
unreasonably, that during its absence it had found the antidotal herb,
and eaten of it. The natives state that the mangouste resorts on such
occasions to the _Ophiorhiza mungos_, whose root is reputed a specific
for serpent-bites. This is a cinchonaceous plant, so intensely bitter
that it is called by the Malays by a name which signifies earth-gall.”
How wonderful the provisions of bountiful Nature are; and still more
singular the readiness of the human intellect, whether in a rude or a
cultivated state, to make them subservient to its wants! The most
extraordinary antidote against the bite of serpents yet within my
knowledge, is the one employed on the coast of Cartagena, not the
“earth-gall,” which they possess of the bitterest kind in Aristolochia
unguicida, but the gall of the reptile itself, an alcoholic solution of
which, administered to the patient in small doses, rubbing the wound
with the same, or with spirits of ammonia, being sufficient to
counteract the virus of the most deadly serpents of that region.