AMONG THE CROCODILES.
Having by this time completed our arrangements at Mata Totumo, we broke
up our camp on the 15th of March and departed for Los Laureles, the
ancient site of another cattle farm, now quite deserted, on the banks of
the river Matiyure.
We found the house in ruins, and only a few remaining posts marking the
boundary of the former corrals. The first duty, therefore, was that of
repairing the fences, an operation which necessitated several days’ hard
labor. Meanwhile I found much enjoyment in exploring the woody banks of
the river, the wildness of whose aspect had for me a peculiar charm.
They were my daily resort, where, encompassed by the glorious solitude,
I essayed to picture for others those lovely scenes which still perfume
the shrine of memory in all their dewy freshness. To one who loves “the
cool sequestered haunts of Nature,” no spot could be more charming,
nothing more inspiring than to recline under the venerable shade of some
wide-branched guamo uplooking to the many-tinted clouds as they sweep
in solemn majesty beneath the blue veil of heaven, and seem to melt into
the tree tops in the distance--trees whose gigantic height and size,
wall with magnificent vegetation the steep banks rising on either side
of the river, mirrored in its tranquil surface. The harsh scream of the
heron, or the ominous hootings of the tiger-owl, alone wake the echoes
where else
“All things are calm, and fair, and passive--Earth
Looks as if lulled upon an angel’s lap
Into a breathless, dewy sleep.”
Yet is this beautiful river celebrated for the number and size of its
crocodiles. As I sat sketching on the banks, I could perceive them
gliding slowly under the still waters, the upper part of the head alone
visible, and seeming to watch me with an evil eye. The beach being
strewn with their egg shells, I concluded this to be a favorite resort
with them during the breeding season. The female lays about forty eggs
in a hole which she digs in the sand, leaving to the hot sun the care of
hatching them. These eggs, twice as large as those of the turkey, are
considered a great delicacy by the Indians and jaguars, who frequently
purloin them before they are hatched.
The _caricari_ is another great enemy of young crocodiles, attacking
them as they come out of the shell. After they betake themselves to the
water, the older ones, prompted no doubt by motives of family pride to
keep them within their own circle, swallow these tender members, thus
preventing all other intimacies. Notwithstanding this admirable
provision of Divine Wisdom, and a constant war maintained by man and
beast against them, they are so numerous in some charcos of the river
that, if stationary, their bodies would completely bridge its surface
from bank to bank.
[Illustration]
Despite their great voracity, the mother exhibits some degree of
tenderness toward her offspring. Possessed, in this case, of an instinct
almost infallible, she returns at a period when incubation is completed,
and assists her young in extricating themselves from the shell. Unlike
the eggs of birds, crocodiles’ eggs are soft and pliable as those of the
turtle, yielding, when handled, to the pressure of the fingers, yet so
tough, that it is difficult to break them, and in appearance resembling
white parchment. At the very moment of liberation, the young crocodiles
display their savage nature in a wonderful degree, biting at every
object within reach; also the same vicious propensity is exhibited by
those extricated even before the completion of incubation. I was once
greatly amused in watching a struggle between two caricaris and one of
these youngsters not larger than a good-sized lizard. Each time the
birds made a dash at him, this little saurian, grunting savagely, darted
forward with wide-open jaws, looking for all the world like a young
dragon. During ten minutes the struggle continued without decided
advantage on either side, when one of the assailants, changing his
tactics, suddenly seized the crocodile by the neck with his sharp claws
and soared triumphantly with him into high air. There loosing his hold,
the bird followed his descent with wonderful rapidity, prepared, when he
reached the ground, to repeat the blow; but already half stunned, the
victim soon yielded to superior cunning.
When the savannas are overflowed by the swollen rivers, these
carnivorous and malicious reptiles spread themselves over the face of
the country, committing great havoc among young animals. So destructive
had they proved to the calves and foals on this estate, that the owner
on one occasion offered a reward of half a dollar a head for every
crocodile killed upon his lands, it being sufficient for the claimant to
produce, in evidence of success, the two great tusks of the upper jaws.
The result of this _ukase_ was, that before the expiration of a month,
more than four hundred crocodiles had been destroyed; yet no sensible
diminution was observable, neither did the persevering dragonade against
them quench in the least their boldness. This expedient proving useless,
they had been suffered to remain unmolested until our arrival at Los
Laureles, when we determined to exterminate those at least which
infested that pass of the river where we performed our daily ablutions
and watered the horses. Accordingly, one day a party of us, well
provided with every necessary, started for a bend of the river where the
water appeared to be very still and deep. None of the usual angling
implements were required in this sport; we used only a strong lazo and a
hoop about three feet in diameter made from a light vine common on the
banks of these rivers. Around this hoop the fresh lungs of a bullock,
cut into thin strips, were twisted and securely fastened. The running
noose of the lazo was then laid over the bait and tied there with
tendrils from the same vine. All being ready, this simple decoy was
launched into the middle of the stream, we retaining on shore the other
end of the lazo. Aroused by the splash, two large crocodiles soon
appeared and rushed for the bait with open jaws. The successful one, in
his eagerness to escape with his prize, burst the slender vines that
secured the noose to the hoop, which last projected beyond his snout,
and the noose on its recoil sliding over, firmly lazoed his upper jaw.
With shouts of exultation we hastened to the assistance of the man who
held the lazo, seeing him unable to cope with the monster, more than a
match for half a dozen men. By our united efforts we finally succeeded
in dragging him to within a few feet of the embankment, when, catching
sight of our earnest faces watching him over the cliff, he tossed up his
head with such sudden violence as to pull the thong through our hands to
its full length, and retreated in triumph to the middle of the stream.
The tough hide, however, from which the thong was twisted, proved equal
to the emergency, and with one more strenuous effort we succeeded in
landing him upon the beach, while
“Le flot qui l’apporta, recule épouvanté.”
Some of us who never before had so near a view of these vicious
creatures, were astonished at its size and strength, and our Esculapius,
assuming an appearance of bravery, approached among the first to
contemplate the vanquished foe, but evidently quaking with apprehension
of the huge tusks before him. His terror at length proving stronger than
the dread of his companions’ gibes, he seized the lazo, tugging with
such desperate energy to close the fearful chasm that the thong slipped
from his hands, he lost his balance, and the next moment found himself
lying almost within reach of the still open jaws. From these,
notwithstanding a considerable corporeal impediment, he escaped by
springing with the agility of a cat up the embankment, where he
remained, perhaps to ascertain whether the poet’s statement that
“distance lends enchantment to the view,” was correct by the crocodile
case before him. At length the object of his regards almost ceased
struggling, sure sign that his strength was failing; then with one more
pull we hauled him partially out of water, but no power could force him
entirely therefrom, as each time on reaching the bank he braced his fore
feet with unconquerable strength against it, so forcing himself back
into the stream. In this predicament we had no other resource than to
despatch him, and two or three sharp blows of a hatchet administered by
the roguish Roseliano, severed the upper jaw, with its beautiful row of
teeth, from the head, a surgical operation performed under the
supervision of our eminent Esculapius. The patient expired--no doubt to
the Doctor’s relief--not on his hands, and the “subject” was abandoned
to the myriads of caribes which, although their teeth could produce
little impression upon his tough cuirass, feasted with avidity on his
blood so long as it flowed from his mutilated head.
We prepared a large supply of bait in like manner to the former, all of
which was seized by the hungry crocodiles with the same fatal results to
them. In the short space of three hours we succeeded in killing six
large ones, and could no doubt have destroyed a greater number, had not
the lazo been gnawed through by caribes, that pest of all rivers in this
region.
The Indians of the Orinoco river, where the crocodiles are said to be
still larger and more savage, if possible, than those of its tributary
streams, make use of other devices for ridding themselves of those at
least that infest the places frequented by them. One of these
contrivances is as novel as most of the productions of their fertile
imaginations are for ministering to their wants, and consists in
shooting at the monsters’ eyes arrows tipped with a wild cane said to be
very poisonous to crocodiles, so much so that a few minutes after they
are seen floating on the water quite dead. Another device, equally
effective, consists in securing a strong rope, or lazo, to the middle of
a short but stout stick of hard wood, which is then covered up with a
large fish or piece of meat, and thrown in the water: not many minutes
elapse before the crocodile seizes and swallows the bait, stake and all,
when it is quickly hauled on shore by means of the lazo in the hands of
the Indians.
By way of sport, these people avail themselves of the same artifice to
_torear_, as they call it, a crocodile on shore when sunning itself, but
this time without the bait, as the man alone is sufficient allurement to
rouse the monster’s appetite, especially if it is a man-eater
(_cebado_), the only improvement made on the stake being that of
sharpening both ends of it. The Indian now seizes the stick by the
middle, and fearlessly approaches the crocodile, which at once makes a
dash at its antagonist with its jaws wide open; but the _toreador_
easily evades the onset by stepping aside a little, as the reptile, on
account of the configuration of its spine, cannot turn round upon him,
except after describing a long circle; a second and a third onset are
equally unsuccessful, as the sportsman purposely avoids the collision by
moving off when the animal comes up close to him. Having by this time
proved his dexterity the Indian gives it the _coup de grace_ by plunging
the stick in a vertical position into the ghastly jaws of the fierce
monster, which, feeling confident of crushing its enemy this time
between its powerful tusks, shuts them with a crash which only assists
in forcing both ends of the stake into the upper and lower jaws; thus
transfixed, the once terror of the river now becomes the sport of the
Indian boys, who eagerly seize upon the thong, and ignominiously drag
the reptile powerless over the sand.
Our men secured a large supply of fat from the intestinal membrane of
the crocodiles: a sovereign remedy for bruises and cutaneous diseases
among horses. By exposing this fat to the sun, in horns slightly
punctured at the end, a fine oil equal to that of the whale, is obtained
by percolation and collected in basins placed under the horns.
Selecting the jaws of the dead crocodiles containing the finest tusks,
we distributed the latter among our friends for tinder boxes and
amulets. It is universally believed throughout the Llanos that the
tusks, when worn next the flesh of man or beast, will preserve the
wearer from the poison of snakes, especially if obtained on Good Friday.
For this reason the smaller ones, set in gold or silver, are worn
suspended from the rosaries which form one of the principal ornaments of
the people in those parts. It is further believed that rings made of the
same material will apprise the wearer, of poison mixed in any draught by
causing an instantaneous effervescence of the liquid. The supposed
efficacy of these potential talismans was once peculiarly tested in our
own camp.
Among the few luxuries carried by our commissariat into the Llanos was a
basket of champagne, which was reserved for state occasions. One
afternoon, while almost every person was enjoying his siesta, the
temptation seized one of our men to search for aguardiente among the
_petacas_. His good fortune discovered to him our little treasure of
champagne, and grabbing a bottle he at once commenced cutting with his
dagger the wires that secured the cork. Up this flew at last with a loud
report, which broke the dead silence of the camp and started to their
feet more than one drowsy slumberer.
Our thief, seeing the profuse effervescence gushing out with great
force, endeavored at first to arrest it by clapping his hands over the
mouth of the bottle; but suddenly recollecting that he had on one of
those mysterious tusk-rings, the suspicion flashed to his mind of poison
intended for _el amo_, the master; and when in addition to this the
bewildered knave perceived that apparently the more he endeavored to
confine the liquid, so much more it frothed and bubbled, he was
overpowered with terror, shrieking out in an ecstasy of horror, “Ave
Maria Purisima! Help! Help! _cristianos_; this aguardiente must be
poisoned, or else the devil is in it.”
On hearing these cries, every one sprang from his hammock, imagining the
camp attacked by a band of _malhechores_, and the would-be thief was
thus caught in the very act.
As he was, however, out of his wits with fright, he escaped with only a
mild reprimand, the more especially that we enjoyed several hearty
laughs at his expense. Futile were our efforts at convincing the
frightened fellow that champagne was very good drink; he evidently
distrusted all our assertions. Some was then poured out and drank, and
the bottle passed round; but when it came to his turn, he persistently
refused to touch it. On being asked whether his surprise and repugnance
arose from seeing the liquid rushing out of the bottle, his reply was,
“Oh, no, _Señores_; I am not surprised to see it coming out, but how the
devil did it get in?”
With the intention of finishing a sketch of one of the crocodiles, I
next day revisited the battle field, and to my surprise discovered the
absence of one of the dead bodies; but presently perceived the mailed
carcass floating at some distance on the water. I was for some time at a
loss to discover what had occasioned his change of position, and I
finally concluded that its comrades must have given him honorable
interment in the deep. Desiring to ascertain, if possible, the facts of
the case, I determined to conceal myself near by and keep close watch. I
had been in hiding only a few moments when at least half a dozen
crocodiles approached the deceased, not, as I had imagined, to mourn his
loss, but to feast upon the many fish in their turn gorging themselves
upon the body. Then, almost to my horror, I beheld these monster
insatiates rend in pieces and devour the melancholy remains of the dear
defunct with grunts of revolting satisfaction. Nor did I perceive in
this case any of those “crocodile tears” with which travellers tell us
it is their hypocritical habit to bedew the head of a human victim. It
is said that when they have devoured a man, finding themselves unable to
swallow his head, they convey it to some secluded spot on the river
banks, there to weep over and bewail their inability with cries which
make night hideous.
The size and appearance of crocodiles must be sometimes most
extraordinary, if we may credit our adventurous friend B., who boasted
so intimate an acquaintance with their habits, that one could easily
imagine such familiarity might breed contempt. Judge, O reader, if I
speak not truly.
He related that one day, having labored successfully until noon in his
piscatory pursuit, overcome by fatigue and the intense heat of a
tropical sun, he turned his longing eyes toward shore in search of some
friendly shelter; but perceiving that, between him and the only copse of
trees which relieved the glaring scene, there stretched a dreary waste
of burning sand, he had not courage to traverse, even to reach so
tempting a goal--he sought a refuge more accessible. This to his great
joy he just then discovered in the form of what appeared to be the wreck
of an old canoe thrown on its side near the water’s edge. Here was a
cool retreat wherein to enjoy his siesta; so hastening toward it, his
satisfaction was complete on finding it sufficiently capacious to admit
of slinging to the protruding ribs his _chinchorro_, or grass hammock,
which, with his guitar and gourd of aguardiente, were his inseparable
companions. Refreshing himself with a good pull at the gourd, and
stretching himself in his hammock, he soon slept the profound sleep of
the weary. He awoke to find himself enveloped in a darkness which he
might have supposed that of midnight, but that it was unrelieved by moon
or friendly star. Completely bewildered, he sought a clew to this dark
mystery by moving forward with cautious steps and extended hands,
uncertain into what horror his next movement might betray him, when his
surprised attention was attracted, first to the spongy nature of the
ground, then to the clammy yet warm and sticky walls that on all sides
encountered his extended fingers. The discovery of these facts was
accompanied by the very unpleasant
[Illustration: CROCODILE BASKING IN THE SUN.]
conviction that he had mistaken the open jaws of some sleeping crocodile
for an old bongo. However, with his recovery from the first shock of
surprise returned the stoicism so characteristic of his race, which was
the more entirely reinstated by finding his well-filled gourd with his
beloved guitar lying near. Notwithstanding, however, a reviving draught
from the former, he soon became conscious of a void in his internal
economy, which he at once determined to fill at Mr. Crocodile’s expense;
thereupon drawing his knife, he without the least compunction made a
meal from the tenderest morsels within reach. And so eating, drinking,
sleeping and tuning his diminutive guitar to the cheering strains of
some lively ballad of the Llanos, he remained for days, he knew not how
many, an uncomplaining prisoner within those slimy walls. At length,
while mournfully draining the last remaining drop within his faithful
gourd, his dungeon walls were suddenly made visible to him by a faint
ray of light which penetrated his very soul with the desire once more to
behold its source. Snatching at the dear companions of his imprisonment,
without another moment’s delay he rushed for the opening that admitted
the life-giving ray, and discovered to his delighted surprise that his
jailer, having deserted the water for a siesta upon the sands--which he
recollected was the occasional habit of these monsters--had left
wide-open his prison doors. These he lost no time in passing, seizing
with firm hand as he flew, his _chinchorro_, still suspended from the
crocodile’s tusks he had so almost fatally mistaken for the ribs of an
old canoe.