CALABOZO.
While quietly absorbed one day in the pleasures of the angler by the
banks of a creek not far from the camp, I was startled in my peaceful
occupation by the report of fire-arms in that direction. There were
rumors concerning the depredations of a band of robbers in that
neighborhood, and therefore I had every reason to suppose they had been
bold enough to attack our little band of resolute men with a view to
plundering the camp. To pack up lines and portfolio was the work of an
instant, and hurrying toward the camp, I arrived breathless and panting
with fatigue in time to get the last glimpses of the cause of this
uproar in the shape of a _lancha_ gliding quickly down the river. It
seems that the boatmen, delighted with the presence of the beloved
Chieftain of the Llanos, immediately recurred to the usual way of
expressing their enthusiasm, whether in peace or war, through the means
of the all-potent gunpowder. In the afternoon of the same day a
detachment of horse, composed for the most part of citizens from
Calabozo, arrived at the pass to invite the general to their city, and
to offer him protection, in case of need, from the band of desperadoes
above mentioned; these had already been bold enough to attack the prison
guard of Calabozo, with the object of carrying off one of its inmates, a
prominent citizen of the place who had been implicated in the robbery of
a large drove of mules. Although it was currently reported that his two
sons were the perpetrators of this unworthy act, yet, the fact that the
animals were found on his estate, and his stout refusal to implicate his
sons, made him responsible for the robbery; he was therefore
incarcerated and his trial had commenced when his sons, adding sedition
to theft, attacked the prison during the night with a band of peons from
their own and other cattle estates. The result was most disastrous to
the assailants; one of the sons having been badly wounded in the strife
was taken prisoner and shot in the public square; while the other
forfeited his life soon after during the vigorous persecution undertaken
by the citizens against his band. Yet, this handful of men, badly armed
and without leaders, but with a wide field of forest and savannas for
retreat, and plenty of cattle for subsistence, continued for a long time
to engage the serious attention of the government; and finally, when the
following revolution broke out, they formed the nucleus around which the
rebel party mustered very strong. In this manner many depredators not
only evade the punishment of justice for their crimes, but eventually
rise in importance, and even become leading spirits in the land where
the laws are powerless in repressing their excesses.
With this encouraging prospect before us, we bade adieu to the gay
brunettes of La Portuguesa and took the straightest route to Calabozo,
across the great _estero_ or swamp of Camaguan. An entire day was spent
in wading through this refreshing transit route, which, owing to the
increasing rise of the river, had already acquired the aspect of a broad
lake. Our horses were most of the time immersed in the water up to the
saddle girths, and few of them escaped total submersion, wherever there
were any depressions of the ground. Many of the baggage mules
especially, having no rider to guide them, lost their footing and rolled
in the water, to the great discomfort of those who had any articles of
apparel in their loads. Toward the afternoon we emerged from this dismal
swamp and made a landing at a place called Banco Largo, celebrated in
the annals of the horse epidemic as the cattle estate upon which the
wrath of Heaven fell after the blasphemous boasting of its owner.
We were beginning to appreciate the comfort of riding again upon firm
ground, when we observed a group of horsemen emerging from the palmar on
our right, galloping in the direction of our scouts, as if threatening
to cut them off. Fearing lest they might be the band of robbers whom we
had every reason to suspect of evil intentions, we put spurs to our
horses in hot chase of them. Mistaking us in turn for those gentry, the
strangers pushed on ahead of us to evade our pursuit. Our scouts
observing their retreat cut off by a larger force, were not slow in
their endeavors to reach the farm-house, where they could defend
themselves against the supposed robbers until we could come up to their
assistance. The suspected party being mounted on fresh horses, we found
it difficult, however, to overtake them. Fortunately one of their horses
stumbled accidentally in a hole, throwing down the rider, which
circumstance placed him in our hands; from him we ascertained that they
were not _salteadores_, but _vaqueros_ from a neighboring cattle farm,
whom the annoyances of the _mosquilla_ had compelled to ride through the
palmar at robber’s speed. His companions observing that we permitted him
to depart in peace, now slackened their pace, and had their fears
dispelled before they could carry the alarm to other places that the
_salteadores_ were close at hand.
At Venegas, a cattle State not far from Calabozo, we parted company with
our herds, abandoning their care and guidance to the efficient caporals,
while we proceeded direct to the Palmyra of the Llanos, always escorted
by the citizen-guard who had come so far to meet us. Another deputation
from the city, composed of the most prominent persons in the place, met
us at the pass of the Guárico, and after a few congratulatory
compliments, we rode on without stopping until we reached the village of
the Mision de Abajo. Here we remained long enough to change our wet
garments and partake of a collation prepared at the summer residence of
an old soldier of Independence. This village is famous on account of
several crystalline springs issuing from deep gullies made by the water
on a hard conglomerate composed of sand, pebbles, and nodules of
beautiful agates; the whole cemented together by a calcareous substance,
consisting probably of minute shells of infusoria.[69] Some of the
pools measure several fathoms in depth; yet the water is so transparent,
that the smallest pebble can be clearly discerned at the bottom; I also
noticed many small fish. These sparkling natural fountains were shaded
by groves of balsamiferous plants, such as copaiferas, amyris, and
carob-trees, the dark foliage of which was relieved by a carpet of green
grass extending for miles around, the whole presenting an appearance of
a well-cultivated and beautifully laid out English park. Thither resort,
during the sultry months of summer, the inhabitants of Calabozo, who now
came out in vast numbers to welcome us to their beautiful city.
The procession was formed on the extensive natural lawn, three miles in
length, between the village and the city, which rose in the distance
amidst the towering foliage of the fan-palms surrounding it in oriental
magnificence. As we entered the narrow, but cleanly streets, the firing
of muskets, pistols, and blunderbusses commenced amidst the _vivas_ of
the population, while a shower of roses fell on the favored head of the
“Lion of the Llanos,”[70] as he passed under the windows of the houses.
The city of Calabozo, capital of the province of El Guárico, is situated
upon the northern extremity of the _mesa_ or plateau of the same name,
commanding an extensive view of the picturesque country watered by the
beautiful river which gives its name to the province. Unlike all the
other towns of the Llanos, Calabozo is an extremely well-built city,
with streets running at right angles. The houses are neat and
commodious, ranking with the best in the capital of the republic. It
contains a number of fine churches, one of which was built at the
expense of a wealthy cattle proprietor of the place; it is one of the
finest temples in the country.
Words cannot do justice to the enthusiastic reception and boundless
hospitality extended to us on this occasion by the generous inhabitants.
In addition to the regular entertainments, such as breakfast and
dinner-parties, balls, and _fandangos_ provided daily in their city
residences, we were occasionally treated to a _fête champêtre, á la
llanera_, in their _quintas_ or country-houses. Most of these are
situated on the banks of the beautiful Guárico, on the slopes of the
plateau upon which the city is built; and there, amidst the most
luxuriant groves of orange, lemon, and other tropical fruits, the
abundant fare was served to us in true Llanero style. In the mean time
the _trovatori_ of the Llanos did not fail to enliven the scene with
their never-ending _trovas llaneras_, in which especial mention was made
of the most prominent persons to whom we were indebted for this
munificent hospitality; but more particularly to the past deeds of the
personage who prompted it. The broad fan-shaped leaves of the
_moriche_-palm. (Mauritia flexuosa)--the celebrated Tree of Life of the
Warraoun Indians--supplied the most appropriate table-cloths on these
occasions, spread in the vicinity of some murmuring spring, issuing in
most cases from the foot of the palm-trees. The natives believe that
this plant possesses the power of pumping water from the ground by means
of its matted roots: they evidently confound cause and effect in this,
as well as in many other cases; for this luxuriant palm will not thrive
except in moist ground. The slopes of the _mesa_ acting as a vast drain
to the plain above, offer this desideratum to the _moriche_-palm. Some
of the springs are of a thermal character, but not too warm to prevent
persons enjoying a most refreshing bath. I noticed, in one instance, two
springs running side by side, one of which was cold and the other warm.
The tide-flooded lands on the Lower Orinoco and Amazon rivers seem to be
particularly adapted to the development of this noble[71] species of
palm. “In those places,” says Wallace,[72] “there is no underwood to
break the view among interminable ranges of huge columnar trunks, rising
unbroken by branch or leaf to the height of eighty or a hundred feet, a
vast natural temple, which does not yield in grandeur and sublimity to
those of Palmyra or Athens.”
A full-grown leaf of this tree is quite a load for one man to carry. The
petiole, or leaf-stock, is a solid beam ten or twelve feet long, while
the leaf or fan itself measures nine or ten across. The fruit, in
bunches of three hundred and upward, perfectly resembles the cones of
the white pine. When arrived at its maturity, it is yellow within and
scarlet without, covered with scales.
The benefits of this life-supporting tree may be reckoned as numerous as
the number of days in the year. From the unopened leaves the wild man of
the forest obtains a fibre remarkable for its toughness, and which he
twists into cordage for his bow-string and fishing tackle, or weaves it
into elegant hammocks and aprons for himself and family; he also plats
them neatly into mats and cloaks, and even sails for his canoe; when
fully expanded, these leaves form the best thatch for his hut. From the
terminal bud or inner layer of leaves, commonly styled the cabbage of
the palm, the Indian procures a vegetable quite analogous to, and more
tender and delicious than a similar production of the garden. The fruit
in like manner affords a variety of alimentary substances, according to
the season in which it is gathered, whether its saccharine pulp is fully
mature, or whether it is in a green state. Like the plantain and the
celebrated peach-palm of the Rio Negro, it is either eaten raw, when
fully ripe, or roasted--in the latter case tasting very much like
chestnuts. Soaked in water and allowed to ferment, it forms a pleasant
drink somewhat resembling _pulque_. The ripe fruit also yields by
boiling in water, an oil which is readily converted into soap by means
of the ashes of a Clusia, (_quiripití_.) “The spathe, too--a fibrous bag
which envelops the fruit before maturity--is much valued by the Indian,
furnishing him with an excellent and durable cloth. Taken off entire, it
forms bags in which he keeps the red paint for his toilet, or the silk
cotton for his arrows, or he even stretches out the larger ones to make
himself a cap, cunningly woven by nature without a seam or joining. When
cut open longitudinally and pressed flat, it is used to preserve his
delicate feather ornaments and gala dresses, which are kept in a chest
of plaited palm-leaves between layers of smooth _bussú_ cloth.”[73] The
trunk of the male tree contains a farinaceous meal, _yuruma_, resembling
sago, and like the fecula of the tapioca-root, it is readily converted
into bread by simply drying it on hot earthen plates. Allowed to rot in
the stem, this meal gives birth to numerous fat worms, highly esteemed
by Indian gourmands. Tapped near the base of the leaves, the trunk
yields also an abundance of a sweet liquor, which, when fermented, forms
one of the various kinds of palm-wines. Such are in substance some of
the most useful products of this veritable tree of life, with which the
existence of a rude people is as intimately connected, as that of
civilized man is with the luxuries and comforts that surround his home.
“When the Tamanacks,” says Humboldt, “are asked how the human race
survived the great deluge, the ‘age of water’ of the Mexicans, they say:
‘a man and a woman saved themselves on a high mountain, called Tamanacu,
situated on the banks of the Asiberu, and casting the fruit of the
moriche-palm, they saw the seeds contained in these fruits produce men
and women who repeopled the earth.’ Thus we find in all its simplicity,
among nations now in a savage state, a tradition which the Greeks
embellished with all the charms of imagination.”
To protect themselves from the attacks of mosquitoes and wild beasts,
the tribes roaming over the great delta of the Orinoco, are in the habit
of raising between the huge trunks of the palm-trees hanging platforms
skilfully interwoven with the foliage, which allow them to live in the
trees like monkeys. The floor of these aërial habitations is covered
with a coating of mud, on which the fires for household purposes are
made. Thus when the first explorers of the Orinoco River penetrated for
the first time into that exuberant _terra incognita_, they were
surprised to observe, among the tops of the palm-trees, flames issuing
at night as if suspended in the air. “The Guaranis still owe the
preservation of their physical, and perhaps their moral independence, to
the half-submerged, marshy soil over which they roam with a light and
rapid step, and to their elevated dwellings in the trees, a habitation
never likely to be chosen from motives of religious enthusiasm by an
American Stylites.”[74]
I also met for the first time at Calabozo with the most splendid
rose-bush, or rather tree, I had ever seen, and which appears to be
indigenous to that hot region, as I am told that the same grows in great
luxuriance at San Fernando and Ciudad Bolívar, but was unknown to the
rest of the country previous to our visit to the Llanos. Being
passionately fond of flowers myself, I did not neglect to bring along
with me this beautiful new variety to our home in the Valleys of Aragua,
where it soon displayed its countless blossoms to the admiring gaze of
the passers by. From thence it was also carried by me to Caracas, where
it soon became the general favorite of the fair dames of the Capital,
who by unanimous accord named it, not as might be supposed after the
introducer, but after his father, with which the former was equally well
satisfied; and certainly no more beautiful compliment could have been
paid their favorite champion, than by associating his name with the
acknowledged Queen of Beauty among flowers. The size attained by this
plant surpasses any thing of the kind with which I am acquainted. When
favored by a dry and hot climate like that of Calabozo, its shoots
attain a height of fifteen to twenty feet with a corresponding
thickness; so that a hammock with its usual load can be supported
between two trees; and as these put out a great number of branches, each
of them loaded with flowers or buds ready to expand, they present a
sight truly splendid. A hundred blossoms may be plucked each morning of
the year without marring its luxuriant beauty. I have myself counted
over one thousand buds on a single plant. These flowers are of a
delicate pink color, with very regular petals of a deciduous nature; so
that in detaching themselves from the calix, they cover the ground upon
which the parent grows, with a rosy carpet.
“Sin flores y sin hermosas
Qué fuera de los mortales?
Bien habeis nacido, rosas,
Sobre el lodo de los males.”
--AROLAS.
TRANSLATION.
“Without beauty, without flowers,
What would be this world of ours?
Well, that e’en in misery dire
Find we roses ’mid the mire.”
The truth of the above sentiment we soon realized; from this time a
succession of misfortunes, commencing with a violent attack of fever
which nearly carried us all to the grave, and ending with the
destruction of our property and peaceful homes, followed one another
without intermission.
The fever was doubtless induced by our previous exposure on the journey
and subsequent dissipations at Calabozo, although the city itself is one
of the healthiest spots in the republic. Unfortunately, our physician,
who was blessed with a very jealous wife, had been summoned home by his
better half on hearing of our approach to the fairy metropolis of the
Llanos. However, there were two or three medical gentlemen in the place,
and these, with the unremitting kindness and assistance of the ladies,
managed to keep us alive until a skilful physician, who had been sent
for, arrived from the Valleys of Aragua. The critical condition of our
respected Leader and sire particularly gave them serious fears, as the
fever in his case had commenced to assume a malignant character. Courier
after courier was despatched across the miry plains to hasten the
arrival of the doctor, while the generous inhabitants vied with each
other in the anxious cares with which they surrounded the sick-bed of
their beloved guest. Years have rolled on, and many changes have since
taken place, both in the affairs of the nation and in the fortunes of
the subject of these remarks; yet, their love for the “Martyr of San
Antonio,”[75] far from diminishing, seems to have increased during his
protracted exile; for, as late as 1861, after the overthrow of Monagas,
a petition addressed to Pres. Tovar asking his recall, and signed by all
the inhabitants of Calabozo, has come to hand, protesting in the
strongest terms against the impolicy and injustice of leaving him still
in exile when the nation most needs his counsel and influence. Justly
deprecating the horrors of civil war and the want of unity which have
existed in the republic since the downfall of the Monagas party, the
petitioners conclude with this feeling outburst of patriotic solicitude
for the absence of their favorite champion: “From the far-off shores of
the Arauca, to the sources of our own Guárico, our anxious horsemen
watch incessantly the far horizon, inquire from the passing breezes of
the destinies of the Hero, who has condemned himself to voluntary exile,
and then exclaim with a sigh: ‘Were he again to lead us on to battle,
Victory would be forthcoming, strengthened by Peace, and blessed by the
vanquished.’”
CONCLUSION.
Here, courteous reader, end our rough journeys across the Llanos, and
our real troubles commence; for having been involved--contrary to my own
inclination, it must be owned--in the political strifes so prevalent in
Spanish America, I have been compelled to wander ever since, from land
to land, like the mysterious Jew of the French novelist, Eugene Sue,
with neither settled home nor abiding place of rest. What I saw and
learned worth relating during my peregrinations, hither and thither,
will make the subject of the _Second Series_ of these sketches, which,
if your patience is not exhausted or my repertoire does not give out, I
trust to lay before you at no distant day. In the meantime you must
excuse any imperfections in the style and composition of this book,
considering that I write in a language which is not my own, and which
often perplexes even those who have more claims to it than myself, so
many are its grammatical irregularities.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Vide_ New York “Herald,” of July 17th and Aug. 5th, 1867.
[2] _Vide_ New York “World,” of Aug. 5th, 1866.
[3] Author of “Brazil and the Brazilians.”
[4] “Such is the state to which colonial politics and
mal-administration have during three centuries reduced a country
which, for natural wealth, may vie with all that is most wonderful on
earth.”
HUMBOLDT, _Travels_, vol. iii., c. 27.
[5] The late discoveries made in Venezuelian Guiana prove that the
statements of Sir Walter Raleigh and other adventurers of his time
were not without foundation, as gold of the finest quality and in
the greatest abundance, is now gathered over an extent of territory
surpassing in richness and natural resources the famous California and
Australia placers.
[6] “Rambles and Scrambles in North and South America.”, by Edward
Sullivan, Esq. London, 1852.
[7] Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America.
[8] The writer is mistaken; the Saddle stands four or five miles east
of this point, which is called _La Cumbre_, or the Summit.
[9] Centigrade thermom.
[10] Humboldt--Travels.
[11] Travels in Peru and India.
[12] Gosse’s “Romance of Natural History.”
[13] Romance of Natural History.
[14] A species of Mimosa.
[15] Slavery has since been abolished in Venezuela.
[16] “Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America.”
[17] Andres Bello.
[18] Sullivan.--Rambles and Scrambles in North and South America.
[19] Linnæus, in his enthusiasm for the delightful beverage
obtained from the cacao bean, named the plant that produces it
_theobroma_--food for the gods.
[20] Journeys across the Pampas.
[21] Mons. de Lavayesse, in his interesting work on Venezuela, makes
some pertinent remarks on this subject worthy of the consideration
and study of learned physiologists. “Why is it,” he says, “that
individuals proceeding from a mixture of African and indigenous
American blood, have greater strength, finer forms, more intellectual
faculties and moral energy, than the Negro or Indian? Why, although
the white be, in general, superior in strength of body, mental powers,
and in moral force, to the aboriginal American and to the negro--why,
I ask, are the individuals born of the union of a white with an Indian
woman, (the Mestizos, for instance,) inferior in mental and corporeal
qualities to the Zambos? Why are the Mestizos generally distinguished
by finer figures, agreeable countenances, and in mildness and
docility of their dispositions? Why is the mulatto, son of a white
and a negress, superior to the Zambo in intellectual faculties,
but his inferior in physical? Why is it, that when those races are
mixed, their progeny is remarkable for a more healthy and vigorous
constitution, and for more vital energy, than the individuals born
in the same climate of indigenous European or African blood, without
mixture?”
[22] See Humboldt, Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America.
[23] Since the above first appeared in print, I find this fact
corroborated by Sir J. Emerson Tennent, in his interesting “Sketches
on the NAT. HIST. OF CEYLON,” as practised by the natives of that
island.
[24] _Rastrero_--a native of El Rastro--literally, a mean rogue.
[25] The eyes of crocodiles are green.
[26] Centigrade Thermom. = 97° to 126° Fah.
[27] Wanderings in South America.
[28] Dr. Lindley, speaking of the properties of Aristolochias in
general, and more especially of A. serpentaria--a North American
species--observes: “As its name implies, it is used as an antidote to
serpent bites, a quality in which several other species participate,
among which may be mentioned A. trilobata, a Jamaica plant, also
employed as a sudden and powerful sudorific; and the Cartagena
A. unguicida, concerning which Jaquin writes, that the juice of
the root, chewed and introduced into the mouth of a serpent, so
stupefies it that it may for a long time be handled with impunity;
if the reptile is compelled to swallow a few drops, it perishes in
convulsions.”--_Vegetable Kingdom._
[29] The Romance of Natural History--Second Series, chap. ix.
[30] _Tio Tigre_ and _Tio Conejo_--Uncle Tiger and Uncle Rabbit. These
are the heroes of endless adventures, the mother’s never-failing
source of amusement to her children, supposed to have taken place in
the woods of Venezuela.
[31] Waterton’s “Wanderings in South America.”
[32] Gosse: The Romance of Natural History.
[33] The pulpy covering of the seeds of Bixa orellana.
[34] Gosse: The Romance of Natural History--First Series, p. 281.
[35] Raised by a warlike tribe of Indians inhabiting the peninsula of
La Goagira, on the Gulf of Maracaibo.
[36] The pig-pen.
[37] Amateur.
[38] Sheep-skin.
[39] For explanation, see page 231.
[40] Howling monkey.
[41] Horsemen furnished with lazos.
[42] Nevertheless, Paez took particular care to preserve the breed of
cattle on the plains of Apure. Notwithstanding that he was continually
engaged in war, he issued most effective orders to prevent its
extinction. The origin of all the cattle estates which are at present
to be found in Venezuela is to be traced to the Apure plains.
[43] Uncle. A name by which the Llaneros frequently address Paez.
[44] _Recollections of a Service of Three Years during the War of
Extermination in the Republics of Venezuela and Colombia._ London,
1828. See also _Campaigns and Cruises in Venezuela_. London, 1831.
[45] Autobiografia del General José A. Paez. Nueva York, 1867.
[46] See page 62.
[47] _Natural History of Ceylon._
[48] Gosse, _Romance of Natural History_.
[49] Travels on the Rio Negro.
[50] “Piscidea erithryna and Jacquinia armillaris.”--_Humboldt._
[51] Guerior? This was the name of a town founded at the confluence
of the Paragua and Caroni rivers, long since destroyed or
abandoned.--_The Author._
[52] Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America.
[53] Keymis, the lieutenant of Raleigh.
[54] The first of the voyages undertaken at Raleigh’s expense was
in 1595; the second, that of Laurence Keymis, in 1696; the third,
described by Thomas Masham, in 1597; and the fourth, in 1617. The
first and the last only were performed by Raleigh in person. This
celebrated man was beheaded October the 29th, 1618.--HUMBOLDT.
[55] The predictions of the old Missionary of the Orinoco have been
singularly verified in these latter times by the still more recent
discoveries in Peru; for, as I write this, the news comes from that
country that, in the mountains of Chanchamayo, Upper Amazon, “some
gold mines have been discovered, which, for their abundance and
richness, surpass those of California.”--_Nacional_, of Lima.
[56] Jorge de Spira (George von Speier) and Felipe de Utre (Utre, Von
Huten), as well as Federmann, were all Germans.
[57] See map, at frontispiece.
[58] Conquest of Peru, vol. ii., p. 164.
[59] “All fables have some real foundation; that of El Dorado
resembles those myths of antiquity which, travelling from
country to country, have been successively adapted to different
localities.”--_Humboldt_, vol. iii., p. 26, _Bohn’s Edition_.
[60] Travels to the Equinoctial Regions.
[61] The Naturalist on the Amazon.
[62] A kind of beer made from Indian-corn.
[63] Humboldt, Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America.
[64] The Naturalist on the Amazons, vol. ii., p. 260. London, 1863.
[65] See London Athenæum of August 3, 1863, which contains a full
review of both books.
[66] South American Sketches, by Thos. Woodbine Hinchliff, F. R. G. S.
[67] Rambles in North and South America.
[68] _La Terre avant le Déluge._
[69] See Darwin, Geology of the Pampas, pp. 129-171. Murray, 1852.
[70] Leon de los Llanos, or Leon de Payara--the appellation given
to General Pæz by the people after the action of San Juan de Payara
in 1837, when he defeated with his body-guard of sixty Llaneros the
forces of the rebel chieftain Farfan, numbering one thousand.
[71] Linneus, in his enthusiasm for the splendid family of palms,
calls them the princes of the vegetable kingdom.
[72] Palms of the Amazon and Rio Negro.
[73] Wallace, Palms of the Amazon and Rio Negro.
[74] The followers of a sect founded in Syria by the fanatical
pillar-saint, Simeon Sinanites.--HUMBOLDT.
[75] _San Antonio_, an old castle in Cumaná, where General Paez was
kept in durance for nine months by the late ruler of Venezuela,
General José T. Monagas.