UC-NRLF
mam
B
llSt .L
THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
PRESENTED BY
PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID
PICTURES OF TRAVEL
FAR-OFF LANDS:
Jl Companion to the <Stttb;D of
SOUTH
Home-keeping youths have ever homely wits ;
1 would entreat your company
To see the wonders of the world abroad."
SHAKSPEARK.
LONDON:
T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW;
EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORK.
1871.
Ps
THIS volume is the first of a Series designed
to render the study of Geography attractive
to the young. Our plan is to present a
bright and vivid picture to the imagination,
instead of dry details of facts to the memory,
which, when learned as a task, are too often
forgotten. We have endeavoured to connect
with the description of each country some
interesting narrative or adventure taken from
works of Travel, Biography, and History,
that may tend to impress upon the reader's
mind some of the characteristic features of
the land in which they took place.
SL'il
dtonitnis.
FIRST DIVISION.
)UTHERN COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA.
TERRA DEL FUEGO.
PATAGONIA.
CHILI AND ITS ISLANDS.
STATES OF LA PLATA,
URUGUAY, BUENOS
AYRES, PARAGUAY.
CHAPTER L
TERRA DEL FDEGO.
Pgc
General Description of the New World. Terra del Fuego Cape
Horn Climate Plants and Animals People Story of the
Martyrs of Fuegia, ... ... ... ... ... 18
CHAPTER II.
PATAGONIA.
Extent Climate Animals People Savage Life- Mode of Hunting
Marriage among the Patagonians Adventures of Mr. Bourne,
or " Life among the Giants," ... ... ... ... 34
CHAPTER IIL
CHILI AND ITS ISLANDS.
Description of Chili Its Mines Animals People Conquest by
the Spaniards The Islands of Chili, Juan, Fernandez
Adventures of Alexander Selkirk, the real " Robinson Crusoe," 53
CHAPTER IV.
THE PAMPAS.
General Description Storms in the Pampas People The Gauchos,
or Indians of the Pampas Other Indian Tribes Terrible Ad-
venture in the Pampas,
7111 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
STATE OF LA PLATA, ETC.
La Plata Republic of Paraguay Uruguay Buenos Ayres Story
of Maldonata, ... 99
SECOND DIVISION.
CENTRAL COUNTRIES.
BRAZIL. BOLIVIA. PERU.
CHAPTER VI.
THE EMPIRE OF BRAZIL.
General Description Its vast Rivers First Discovery and Subse-
quent History Arrival of Don John VI. from Portugal Brazil
Declared a Kingdom Don John Returns to Portugal Revolu-
tion Brazil Acknowledged Independent Don Pedro I.
Crowned Emperor His Abdication The Present Emperor Don
Pedro II. ... ... ... ... ... ... 105
CHAPTER VII.
RIO DE JANEIRO.
First Discovery of the Bay Origin of the Name The Beauty of the
Scenery The Sugar-Loaf The Organ Mountains Commercial
Importance of Rio de Janeiro Its Fine Harbour General
Aspect of the City, ... ... ... ... ... no
CHAPTER VIII.
VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS OF BRAZIL.
Extent of Brazil Its Vast Resources Its Productions, Mineral and
Vegetable The Manioc Root Its Use by the Natives By
the Portuguese Modes of Preparing it Drink made from it
The Palm Tree Its Uses The Caoutchouc, or Gum-Elastic
Tree The Milk Tree, .fee. ... ... ... ... 129
CHAPTER IX.
THE ANIMALS OF BRAZIL.
A River Voyage Birds and Monkeys Food of the Natives Saluta-
tion in Brazil The Jaguar Its Habits A Story from Catlin's
CONTENTS. IX
?
Travels The Feast interrupted The Disturber Killed The
Tapir The Ant-eater The Iguana Birds and Insects, ... 189
CHAPTER X.
M1NAS-GERAE8 ITS DIAMONDS AND ITS COFFEE.
Extent of the ProvinceIts Fertility Its Minerals Precious Stones
Diamonds The Star of the South Cotton and Coffee The
Native Country of the Coffee Shrub First Use of Coffee in
Europe The Ancestor of all the American Coffee Shrubs
Comparative Value of Diamonds and Coffee, ... ... 157
CHAPTER XI.
8ELVA8 OF THE AMAZONS.
Extent of the Selvas Night In the Forest Death-like Stillness
Roar of Wild Beast Wild Chorus at Dawn A Thunder Storm
A Primeval Forest and its Inhabitants Large Locust Trees
Wonderful Fig-tree Rosewood Trees, ... ... ... 168
CHAPTER XIL
THE RIVER AMAZON, AND THE STORY OF MADAME QODIN DBS
ODONNAIS.
Course of the Amazon Its Tributaries Its Various Names First
Discovery Expeditions of Orellana and Telxeira Voyage of
Madame Godin des Odonnais Her Sufferings Death of all
her Companions Ten days alone in the Forest Her Meeting
with the Indians Arrival at Cayenne Return to France, ... 175
CHAPTER XIIL
PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE ON THE AMAZON.
The Turtle of the Amazon Turtle Egg Butter Indian way of Catch-
ing Turtle Indian Shooting The Umbrella Bird The Vic-
toria Regia The Jacana The Fish Ox The Anaconda A
Horse Swallowed by a Snake Narrow Escape from a Boa
Constrictor, ... ... ... ... ... 187
CHAPTER XIV.
THE MINES OF UPPER PERU.
Situation and Productions of Bolivia Maize ChichaQuinoa Coca
Description of the Coca Bush Cultivation and Uses Silver
Mines of Potosi Discovery of the Mine, ... ... 204
X CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XV.
PERU.
Pag
Extent and Productions Guano Dangers of Travelling Poisoned
Springs Storms among the Mountains Peruvian Bridges
Encounter with a Tiger Wonderful Escape, ... ... 214
THIRD DIVISION.
NORTHERN COUNTRIES.
ECUADOR. I VENEZUELA.
NEW GRANADA. QUJANA.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE THREE REPUBLICS ECUADOR, NEW GRANADA, AND
VENEZUELA.
Description of the Country Earthquakes Productions Pearl
Fishery Value of Pearls Pearl Divers Dangers and Labours
of the Divers A Shark Overhead, ... ... ... 222
CHAPTER XVII.
EARTHQUAKE IN QUITO.
Volcanoes near Quito Desolation caused by them Eruption of
Cotopaxi Story of a Sufferer His Former Prosperity A
Sudden and Terrible Storm, ... ... ... ... 233
CHAPTER XVIII.
THREE DAYS IN A TREE.
The Extensive Plains called Llanos The Plains on Fire A Voyage
on the Orinoco A Night in a Mango Tree Imprisoned in the
Tree Unpleasant Visitors A Jaguar at the Foot of the Tree
A Fearful Conflict The Fate of the Jaguar Sufferings in the
Tree Despair A Gleam of Hope Deliverance, ... .... 238
CHAPTER XIX.
GUIANA.
Productions of Guiana Population British Guiana French Guiana
Political Exiles in Guiana Their Attempt to Escape They Build
a Raft Their Sufferings A Second Raft Built A Perilous Voyage
The Exiles Reach a Dutch Colony, and are Kindly Received, 250
SOUTH AMERICA.
A R I B BE: A N>S E A >
f SOUTH
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
1. Cape Horn.
2. Cape St. Roque.
3. Cape Si. Augustii:
4. CapeBlunco.
6. The Orinoco.
7. The Rto de la Plata.
8. The Rio Negro.
9. The Santa Cruz.
10. Valparaiso.
12. Buenos Ayres.
13. Monte Video.
14. Rio de Janeiro.
15. Para.
16. Minas Geraes.
18. Quito.
19. Santa Ke de Bogota,
20. Carthagena.
21. Portobello.
22. Panama.
PICTURES OF TRAVEL
IN FAR-OFF LANDS.
CHAPTER I.
TERRA DEL FUEGO.
General Description of the New World. Terra del Fuego Cape
Horn Climate Plants and Animals People Story of the Martyrs
of Fuegia>
THE Continent of the New World consists of two
great peninsulas, joined by a long narrow isth-
mus. It is 9000 miles long, extending from within
the Arctic nearly to the Antarctic Circle. It
is divided by nature into three parts South, Cen-
tral, and North America and these three are con-
nected by a mighty chain of mountains, called the
Andes in South and Central America, and known
as the Rocky Mountains in the North. It might
seem almost as if the crust of the globe had been
thinner, or had cracked and burst nearly in a line
from north to south, and through this the mighty
Andes had arisen, thrown up by the subterranean
fires still burning so fiercely below them ever and
anon bursting forth afresh, and causing the earth to
14 PHYSICAL VIEW OF THE CONTINENT.
tremble and the hills to shake. And while the
base of the mountains is thus plunged in the burn-
ing depths, their tops, often rising above the clouds,
are covered with perpetual snow, while between
every variety of climate may be found, according to
the height to which you ascend.
" The greatest length of South America, from
Cape Horn to the Isthmus of Panama, is about
4020 geographical miles. It is very narrow at its
southern extremity, but increases in width north-
wards to the latitude of Cape San Roque, on the
Atlantic; between which and Cape Blanco, on the
Pacific, it attains its greatest breadth, of nearly
2750 miles. It consists of three mountain systems,
separated by the basins of three of the greatest
rivers in the world the Orinoco, 1600 miles long;
the Amazon or Maranon, about 4000 miles long;
and the Rio de la Plata, 2700 miles long.
" The great chain of the Andes first raises its
crest above the waves of the Antarctic Ocean, in
the majestic, sombre mass of Cape Horn, the south-
ernmost point of the archipelago of Terra del
Fuego. This group of mountainous islands, equal
in size to Great Britain, is separated from the main-
land by the Strait of Magellan. The islands are pene-
trated in every direction by bays and narrow inlets of
the sea, or fiords, ending often in glaciers fed by the
snow on the summits of mountains 6000 feet high.
" From Cape Horn, the Andes runs along the
western coast to the Isthmus of Panama, in a single
chain of inconsiderable width, but majestic height,
dipping rapidly to the narrow plains on the Pacific,
but descending on the east by huge spires, or off-
TERRA DEL FUEGO. 15
sets, and deep valleys, to plains of vast extent,
whose level is for hundreds of miles as unbroken as
that of the ocean by which they are bounded.
Nevertheless, two detached mountain systems rise
from these plains one in Brazil, between the Rio
de la Plata and the river Amazon ; the other, that
of Parima and Guiana, between the river Amazon
and the Orinoco."*
There are three great tracts of low lands in South
America, known by the names of the Pampas, an
Indian term, signifying flats, mostly treeless plains
in the south, and covered with woods, swamps, and
grassy fields in the north; the Selvas, or forest
plains of the Amazon; and the Llanos, or level
fields, chiefly covered with luxuriant grass. These
plains and their inhabitants will be more minutely
described in the course of the following chapters.
TERRA DEL FUEGO.
The outline of South America may be compared
to a paper kite; and, like a kite, there is attached
to its apex a jointed tail, of which Fuegia and the
South Shetlands are the only fragments seen above
water in other words, the mighty wall of the
Andes is broken through by the sea, and the inun-
dated valley forms the Strait of Magellan; and
after a feeble re-appearance in the Fuegian archi-
pelago, the Cordillera is lost in the ocean.
As seen on a school-room map, this Terra del
Fuego is a dim islet, deriving its chief importance
from its famous headland, Cape Horn. On a nearer
* From "Memoir of Richard Williams," by Re*. Dr. Hamilton.
16
TERRA DEL FUEGO.
inspection, however, this nebulous patch resolves
into a cluster of islands, one very large, with a crow(J
of smaller attendants to the west and south ; and, far
from the mainland, stands the kerbstone of the New
World Cape Horn, with his surf-beaten pyramid.
CAPE HORN.
Though only the fag-end of America a mere
caudal vertebra of the Andes if we had it in
Europe, Terra del Fuego would be a country of
some consideration. Its second-rate islands are
larger than the Isle of Wight or the Isle of Man,
TERRA DEL FUEGO. 17
and the surface of its mainland is equal to the
Lowlands of Scotland. Its climate, however,
renders it one of the most dreary and inhospitable
regions on the face of the globe. In a latitude
corresponding to Edinburgh, the sky seldom clears,
and the rainy squalls of the summer are the only
relief from the sleet and snow of the winter. A
calm sunshine is a great rarity. If we imagined
the mountains of the Hebrides rising to a height of
six or seven thousand feet, with glaciers coming
down to the sea, and a warm tide constantly flowing
at their base ; and if, moreover, we could bring the
north Polar ice into as low a latitude as the Ant-
arctic ice descends, our own Western Isles would be
the counterpart of Fuegia.
The range between the extremes of heat and
cold is small; and this comparative equability, along
with the abundant moisture, is favourable to certain
forms of vegetable life. In most districts of Britain,
the fuchsia is a conservatory plant; but in Devon-
shire and the Isle of Bute it grows luxuriantly in
the open air, and in winter wants no shelter.
Fuegia is one of its native lands ; and there, along
with its equally delicate companion, Veronica decus-
sata, it becomes a tree with a trunk half a foot in
diameter. The potato is indigenous on the adjacent
mainland, although we do not know that it has
been found in these islands where celery, a kind of
currant, the berry of an arbutus, and a fungus, are
the only esculents. The characteristic vegetation is
two sorts of beech-trees. One of these (Fagus betu-
loides) is an evergreen; the other (Fagus Antarctica}
is deciduous. The latter species is more hardy,
(289) 2
18 ITS VARIOUS INHABITANTS.
and can scale the mountain sides to a higher plat-
form than its glossy-green companion; so that in
winter a zone of leafless trees is seen at a lofty
elevation, succeeding to the verdure of the forest.
Except where discouraged by the thin, granitic
soil, these beeches occur everywhere; and except
when stunted by the winds, they attain a goodly size;
and one trunk is mentioned seven feet in diameter.
Land animals are few; even insects are rare;
the gloomy woods are inhabited by few birds. The
most important quadruped is the guanaco, or llama,
that useful compromise between the sheep and the
camel, so characteristic of the South American
mountains. It is found on Navarin island, and on
the main island, or Terra del Fuego proper. Two
species of fox, and a few mice and bats, complete
the list of the land animals.
But the waters largely compensate for the life-
lessness of the land. Seaweeds of gigantic size feed
and shelter a great variety of molluscs and crus~
taceans. Shoals of fishes frequent the shore, and in
the wake of the fishes come armies of seals and
clouds of sea fowl.
The inhabitants of the Fuegian archipelago are
closely allied to their neighbours the Patagonians,
but are both intellectually and physically inferior to
them. Their colour is something between dark
copper and brown ; Captain Fitzroy compares it to
very old mahogany. But owing to the wood smoke
with which they are saturated, the oil and blubber
with which they are smeared, and the earth white,
red, and black with which they are painted, it is
difficult to ascertain a Fuegian complexion. Their
A SAVAGE LIFE.
bodies and heads are large, their legs are crooked
and stunted, their clothing is scanty, and nothing
can be more wretched than their habitations. They
live chiefly on fish and sea-fowl, when they can
catch them; but for a great period of every year
these poor islanders are entirely dependent on
mussels, limpets, and similar shell-fish. Like most
savages, the life of a Fuegian is an alternation of
occasional feasts, with long intervals of famine. In
20 A FEROCIOUS FATHER.
the desperation of hunger, it is fearful to think of
the expedients to which he is occasionally driven.
There can be no doubt that these Indians are can-
nibals, and that when other subsistence fails, they
kill and devour their old women before they kill
their dogs. Those who fall in battle are in like
manner devoured by the victors.
Degraded as the savages are, traces of gentleness
and tenderness may be found among the women,
but the mercies of the men are cruel. The men
are surly tyrants, the women are laborious slaves.
An incident, related by Commodore Byron, shows
their almost incredible ferocity :
" Our cacique and his wife had gone off in their
canoe, when she dived for sea-eggs; but not meet-
ing with great success, they returned a good deal
out of humour. A little boy of" theirs, about three
years old, whom they appeared to be doatingly fond
of, watching for his father and mother's return,
ran into the surf to meet them ; the father handed a
basket of sea- eggs to the child, which being too
heavy for him to carry, he let it fall; upon which
the father jumped out of the canoe, and catching
the boy up in his arms, dashed him with the utmost
violence against the stones. The poor little crea-
ture lay motionless and bleeding, and in that condi-
tion was taken up by the mother; but died soon
after. She appeared inconsolable for some time; but
the brute, his father, showed little concern about it."
Embruted as are these savages, they are not sunk
beyond recovery. Through the mercy of our God,
there is at this moment on the earth a power well
able to cure the worst woes of Fuegia.
THE MARTYRS OF FUEOIA. 21
THE MARTYRS OF FUEGIA.
Captain Gardiner, a Christian officer in the
British navy, became deeply interested in the intro-
duction of the gospel among the South American
Indians. He found that little good could be done
in the north, as the people were on every side
so hemmed in by Spanish Popery. However,
the regions in the south appeared more practi-
cable. There were no Romish priests in Patagonia.
Far away as Fuegia was, and few as were its
hungry barbarians, he could plead their relative
importance. Guiana excepted, of all that mighty
continent, no other spot was accessible to Protestant
missions. It was the Gibraltar of the South
Pacific, and it was of no small consequence to our
mariners, to people with friendly occupants the
Straits of Magellan, and the coasts in the rear of
Cape Horn. Above all, it was the only avenue at-
tainable to the vast tribes of the interior, the ten-
ants of the Andes, and the fierce nomads of the
Pampas ; and as Popery had closed the main gates
against the gospel, it was of paramount urgency to
seize and keep open this postern. After many fruit-
less attempts, the efforts of the earnest and heroic
Captain Gardiner were at last successful in organis-
ing a mission.
Accompanied by Mr. Williams and Mr. Maid-
ment, catechists, a ship carpenter, and three young
seamen from Cornwall, he embarked in September
1850, on board a vessel named the " Ocean Queen,"
bound for San Francisco, California, which, on the
5th December of the same year, landed the little
22 GARDINER'S MISFORTUNES.
party on one of the islands of the Terra del Fuegian
archipelago. They had taken with them two
launches, twenty-six feet long, the one to be used
as a floating mission-house, the other as a store ship
and magazine, with two small boats as tenders, as
Captain Gardiner's plan was to follow from island
to island the migrations of the restless inhabitants,
and also that in case the natives should prove un-
friendly, the missionaries might be able to take
shelter in their boats. On the 19th of December the
*' Ocean Queen " sailed on her voyage, leaving the
small party alone.
A train of disasters soon overtook Gardiner and
his companions. The launches were found unfit
for the navigation of these stormy seas, and soon
became leaky. The small boats and an anchor
were lost; their gunpowder had been left in the
" Ocean Queen." The natives, too, gave them
great annoyance, being kept in good humour only
by presents; and when these were refused, they
seized every opportunity of purloining the mission
property. One of their boats became a wreck,
having been driven on the rocks. The party in this
boat then took to a cavern ; but finding it damp, and
the tide washing into it, they hauled the wreck of
the " Pioneer " (so the boat was named) on the
beach, and, covering her with a tent, made a dor-
mitory of her. Their health suffered from their
continued hardships; their provisions began to fail;
they were weakened both by disease and famine.
Winter weather came on ; snow fell day after day,
covering all around with its white mantle, accom*
panied by fearful storms of wind. They tried in
GARDINER'S MISFORTUNES. 23
vain to catch fish, none were to be seen ; and the
provisions they had brought with them were fast
consuming away. Yet, amid all these outward
hardships, their faith and patience failed not, and
they enjoyed peace through the sustaining power of
divine grace.
Some extracts from their journals may give an
idea of what their sufferings were, and how patiently
these were borne :
" On Friday, May 2d, the captain and Mr. Maid-
ment succeeded in catching a fox, or rather in killing
him. He had frequently paid them visits during
the night, entering the cavern whilst they were in
bed in the boat, and making free with whatever
came to hand. He had carried off pieces of pork,
shoes, and even books ; and, to the great mortifi-
cation of Mr. Maidment, his Bible was among the
latter, which, being bound in morocco, was doubt-
less a booty to the hungry beast. They therefore
laid a bait for him, a piece of pork attached by a
cord to the trigger of a loaded gun, so placed that
when he took the bait he should fire the gun. He
fired it off once, but escaped unhurt ; twice the cap
went off, but the powder did not take fire. At last
he received the whole discharge in his breast. In
his stomach were found feathers, fish, and mice.
He was a fine animal, with a splendid brush.
Albeit the odium attached to a fox, our party on
shore have already so far overcome any fastidious-
ness, that this morning they made a hearty break-
fast of his ' pluck.' His quarters were cut up, and
kept in reserve. This is not the first extraordinary
bonne louche our worthy caterer has put upon the
24 THE HOPE OF THE RIGHTEOUS.
spit, or made into soup for us. The penguin and
shag, and the equally fishy-tasted duck, have all
contributed their quota. The penguin was caught
on shore, without attempting to get away, more
than by a backward movement, as Mr. Maidment
laid hold on him. The shag was asleep on a fallen
tree lying on the beach, so that Mr. M. caught it
also by hand.
"The most formidable drawback of all is the
dampness of the boat. Although I have my Mac-
kintosh spread over my bed, the water from the roof
lodges in pools upon it, and has at length saturated
the counterpane under it. The side of our beds,
and all our clothes there, as well as at the head and
the foot, are all wringing wet."
In the midst of sufferings such as these, from cold
and wet, sickness, disease, and famine, the noble
little band were still patient and resigned. On the
7th of May (eight months after they had left Liver-
pool) Mr. Williams thus writes :
" Should anything prevent my ever adding to this,
let my beloved ones at home rest assured that I was
happy beyond expression the night I wrote these
lines, and would not have changed situations with
any man living. . . . The hope laid up for me in
heaven filled my whole heart with joy and gladness.
To me to live is Christ, to die is gain. I am in a
strait betwixt two, to abide in the body, or to de-
part and be with Christ, which is far better. Let
them know that I loved them, and prayed for every
one of them. God bless them all."
u May 20. I am now, as it were, suspended by
a slender thread betwixt life arid death. Three
THE HOPE OF THE RIGHTEOUS 25
days following I have had attacks which seemed to
threaten a termination in dissolution. But God is
with me. I am happy in the love of Christ. I could
not choose, were it left to me, whether to die or to live."
" May 27. To-day I have perceived new symp-
toms which show the inroads of the disease upon
my system, and strongly point out a fatal termina-
tion. Can I be in any way disappointed at this,
instead of a life of much service and glory to God ?
No, not for a moment ; for God's glory can only be
enhanced by fulfilling the counsels of his own will ;
and to suffer his blessed will as much glorifies my
God as to do it. I am not disappointed; rather
do I rejoice greatly that now it seems manifestly the
design of God to take me hence. . . . Should this,
then, be the will of God, then, my beloved ones,
weep not for me. Let no mourning thought pos-
sess your hearts, nor sigh of sadness once escape
your lips. Say rejoicingly, How good was the Lord !
How greatly was he blessed of God ; and he is gone
to be with Jesus ! "
Frequent mention is made in their journals of the
tide washing into the cavern, carrying away their
stores, and endangering their sleeping boat. This
they endeavoured to counteract by building break-
waters of stones ; but these were often washed away
by the surf in the night. On one occasion Captain
Gardiner and Mr. Maidment were obliged to escape
from the cavern to save their lives ; and taking
refuge on a rock washed by the surf, they knelt
down in prayer.
Early in June, their fishing-net had been swept
away, which lessened their means of procuring food.
26 NOT LOST, BUT GONE BEFORE.
On the 28th of June, Captain Gardiner says:
" Found Mr. Williams and Badcock to-day very ill
Mr. W. considers the latter beyond the hope of
recovery. He is most patient, leaning only upon
his God. . . . Mr. Williams was praying aloud,
when I reached the boat, for himself and his dying
companions, committing themselves to God, and
rejoicing in his faithfulness and truth."
At eleven o'clock on that same evening, John
Badcock died. He requested Mr. Williams to join
him in singing a hymn. He sang it through with
a loud voice, and, a few minutes afterwards, expired.
His companions buried him on a bank under the
trees at Cook's river ; and, after the sad funeral, they
retired to their boat for prayers.
On the 4th of July, after having been for seven
weeks on short allowance, their small rations were
still more diminished. Everything in the shape of
food was eagerly eaten, even a half-devoured fish
washed up on the shore. Captain Gardiner writes :
" We have now remaining half a duck, about one
pound of salt pork, the same quantity of damaged
tea, a very little rice (a pint), two cakes of chocolate,
four pints of pease, to which I may add six mice.
The mention of this last item in our list of provisions
may startle some of our friends should it ever reach
their ears ; but circumstanced as we are, we partake
of them with a relish, and have already eaten several
of them; they are very tender, and taste like a
rabbit."
July 22. They were reduced to living on mus-
sels, and the cravings of hunger were painfully felt.
Captain Gardiner says : " After living on mussels
A MISERABLE COMPANY. 27
for a fortnight, I was compelled to give them up,
and my food is now mussel broth and the soft part
of limpets."
July 28. Captain Gardiner writes of the party
in the other boat : " They are all extremely weak
and helpless. Even their garden-seeds used for
broths are now all out."
August 14. Captain Gardiner is quite exhausted,
and obliged to take to bed; but a rock- weed is
discovered, which they boil to a jelly, and find
nourishing.
August 23. John Irwin died; three days after,
John Bryant died also, and Mr. Maidment buried
them both in one grave ; and John Pearce, the
remaining boatman, was so much grieved at the loss
of his comrades, that his mind became wandering.
From Captain Gardiner's Journal, dated Wednes-
day, 3d September, the following is extracted :
" Mr. Maidment returned (from burying his two
companions) perfectly exhausted. The day also
was bad, snow, sleet, and rain. He has never
since recruited from that day's bodily and mental
exertion. Wishing, if possible, to spare him the
trouble of attending on me, and for the mutual com-
fort of all, I purposed, if practicable, to go to the
river and take up my quarters in the boat. This
was attempted on Sunday last. Feeling that with-
out crutches I could not possibly effect it, Mr. Maid-
ment most kindly cut me a pair (two forked sticks) ;
but it was with no slight exertion and fatigue in his
weak state. We set out together; but soon found
that I had no strength to proceed, and was obliged
to return before reaching the brook over our own
28 A MISERABLE COMPANY.
beach. Mr. Maidment was so exhausted yesterday,
that he did not rise from his bed until noon, and I
have not seen him since; consequently, I tasted
nothing yesterday. I cannot leave the place where
I am, and know not whether he is in the body, or
enjoying the presence of the gracious God whom he
has served so faithfully. I am writing this at ten
o'clock in the forenoon. Blessed be my heavenly
Father for the many mercies I enjoy, a comfort-
able bed, no pain, nor even cravings of hunger,
though excessively weak, scarcely able to turn in
my bed at least it is a very great exertion ; but I
am, by his abounding grace, kept in perfect peace,
refreshed with a sense of my Saviour's love, and an
assurance that all is wisely and mercifully appointed,
and pray that I may receive the full blessing which
it is doubtless designed to bestow. My care is all
cast upon God ; and I am only waiting his time and
his good pleasure to dispose of me as he shall see
fit. Whether I live or die, may it be in him. I
commend my body and soul into his care and keep-
ing; and earnestly pray that he will mercifully take
my dear wife and children under the shadow of his
wings, comfort, guide, strengthen, and sanctify
them wholly, that we may together, in a brighter
and eternal world, praise and adore his good-
ness and grace in redeeming us with his precious
blood, and plucking us as brands from the burn-
ing, to bestow upon us the adoption of children,
and make us inheritors of his heavenly kingdom.
Amen.
" Thursday, September 4. There is now no room
to doubt that my dear fellow-labourer has ceased
LAST ENTRIES IN THE JOURNAL. 29
from his earthly toils, and joined the company of the
redeemed in the presence of the Lord, whom he
served so faithfully. Under these circumstances, it
was a merciful Providence that he left the boat, as
I could not have removed the body. He had left a
little peppermint-water, which he had mixed, and it
has been a great comfort to me ; but there was no
other drink. Fearing I might suffer from thirst, I
prayed that the Lord would strengthen me to pro-
cure some water. He graciously answered my peti-
tion ; and yesterday I was enabled to get out, and
scoop up a sufficient supply from some that trickled
down the stern of the boat, by means of one of my
India-rubber overshoes. What combined mercies
am I receiving at the hands of my heavenly Father 1
Blessed be his holy name !
" Friday, September 5. Great and marvellous are
the loving-kindnesses of my gracious God unto me.
He has preserved me hitherto, and. for four days,
although without bodily food, without any feeling
of hunger or thirst."
The last remarks are not written so plainly as the
previous day ; yet they were not the last, for another
paper, addressed to Mr. "Williams by Captain Gar-
diner, was found, written in pencil, the whole being
very indistinct, and some parts nearly obliterated,
but nearly as follows :
" Mr DEAR MR. WILLIAMS,
" The Lord has seen fit to call home
another of our little company. Our dear departed
brother left the boat on Tuesday afternoon, and has
not yet returned. Doubtless he is in the presence
30 PAINFUL VESTIGES.
of his Redeemer, whom he served faithfully. Yet a
little while, and though .... the Almighty to sing
the praises .... throne. I neither hunger nor
thirst, though .... days without food
Maidment's kindness to me .... heaven.
" Your affectionate brother in ....
" ALLEN F. GARDINER.
"September^, 1851."
Meantime the sufferers were not forgotten. Their
friends in England had been for some time vainly
trying to get a vessel to convey stores to them,
although far from aware of the extreme necessity of
the case, as they hoped that fish and game might
have furnished them with abundant supplies. At
length, on the 21st of October, a pilot-boat, sent by
Samuel Lafone, Esq., of Monte Video, reached
Banner Cove, and finding the words painted on the
rocks, " Gone to Spaniard Harbour," proceeded
thither. They found a boat on the beach, and in-
side of it lay one person dead. There was a large
scar on his head, and another on his neck ; and a
mattress was thrown over him. The name " Pearce"
was found on his frock ; and there can be little doubt
that he was the last survivor of the party. The
Indians, whose naked footprints were observed on
the strand, had no doubt found him still alive, and
had murdered him ; and books, papers, medicine
everything which was of no value to the savages
were found scattered on the deck, or strewn along
the beach. On the shore was found a body com-
pletely washed to pieces, which must have been that
of Mr. Williams, as his three companions had been
already buried. Captain Smyley (the commander
THE LAST RITES PERFORMED. 31
of the pilot-boat) had barely time to bury it, when
a violent gale arose, and drove him from his anchor-
age and out to sea. His little vessel being laden
with the crew of a castaway Danish bark, Cap-
tain Smyley could prosecute the search no further,
but was forced to return to Monte Video.
Unapprised of Captain Smyley's discovery, Cap-
tain Morshead, in H.M.S. Dido, reached these dan-
gerous seas about the middle of January 1852. He
had received instructions to touch at Picton Island,
and inquire after the missionaries; and he prosecuted
the search with the skill and energy of a British
sailor, and with the solicitude of a Christian friend.
He reached Spaniard Harbour on the evening of
21st January, and immediately sent Lieutenant
Pigott and Mr. Roberts on shore. They found the
bodies of Captain Gardiner and Mr. Maidment, and
returned to the ship with a variety of books and
papers. Next morning, amidst threatening weather,
Captain Morshead landed. Mr. Maidment's body
lay in the cavern where he had so often spent the
night, and in which the stores rescued from the
Pioneer were kept. Outside, on the rocks, was
painted, by way of direction to any visitor, a hand,
and under it, " Psalm Ixii. 5-8." Captain Gardi-
ner's body was found lying beside the wreck of the
Pioneer. It seemed that he had left his berth, but,
being too weak to climb into it again, he had died
at the side of the boat. The remains were collected
and buried, the funeral service was read, an inscrip-
tion was placed on the rocks, three volleys of mus-
ketry were fired, the ship's colours were struck
half-mast high, and, having fulfilled her mournful
commission, the Dido went on her way.
32 A " FLOATING MONUMENT."
May we not say of Captain Gardiner, as it was
said of Abel, "he being dead yet speaketh" (Heb.
xi. 4). Many lessons are taught us by the devotion
and self-sacrifice of these noble martyrs of Fuegia.
We see that in the most desolate situation the
Christian need not fear, for the heavenly Comforter
can inspire him with "joy unspeakable and full of
glory," even in circumstances the most forlorn.
But besides their lesson of self-devotion, have not
these good confessors left to the Church a legacy of
duty? Have not their writings, so remarkably pre-
served, come back from the ends of the earth, as
a cry to go over and help these poor degraded
Indians?
This cry has not been unheard. Again a valiant
band of Christian soldiers have gone forth prepared
for the battle-field of these savage lands. The
Patagonian Mission has been revived, and is now
established on a firmer basis, and with fairer pros-
pects, than ever. Captain Gardiner's suggestion of
a mission ship has been adopted, and the " Allen
Gardiner," with a mission family on board, is now
his floating monument among those islands, the wel-
fare of whose inhabitants lay so near his heart.
His only son, Allen Gardiner, Esq., B.A. of Oxford,
has accompanied the mission party as catechist, to
aid in carrying out his father's plans.
Captain Gardiner has not lived in vain, neither
died in vain, although we may not see the immediate
fruits of his labours.
Til K LAND OF FIRE. 33
"THE LAND OF FIRE."*
Far, far away,
Over ocean's spray,
Where the billows roll,
By the icy Pole,
Lies the "Land of Fire!"
What strange forms appear
Hitting here and there
Man! this is no other
Than thy heathen brother
In the "Land of Fire!"
Wl.at so cold is known
As man's heart of stone,
Ere one beam from heaven
Warmth and li^ht have given,
Kindling Sacred Fire I
Though his heart be frozen,
He whom God hath chosen,
He the ice can melt-
Thousands this have felt
With His Word of Fire 1
Take that blessed Word,
Speak of Christ your Lord;
His all-powerful name,
Everywhere the same,
Warms with heavenly Fire!
Not a moment burning,
'Ihc-n to gloom returning;
Light that comes from Jesus,
burns when all else freezes
'Tis a quenchless Fire !
From the " Voice of Pity."
* Tierra del Fuego signifies "The Land of Fire. 1
(289)
CHAPTER II.
PATAGONIA.
Extent Climate Animals People Savage Life Mode of Hunting
Marriage among the Eatagonians Adventures of Mr. Bourne, or " Life
among the Giants."
THE name of Patagonia has been given to the vast
country which occupies the southern extremity of
South America. It is about four times the size of
Great Britain. The western part is traversed by
the Andes; the eastern part is, for "800 miles, a
desert of shingle, occasionally diversified by huge
boulders, tufts of brown grass, low bushes armed
with thorns, salt lakes and saline incrustations, as
white as snow, and by black basaltic platforms, like
plains of iron, at the foot of the Andes, barren as
the rest." Eastern Patagonia is not, however, one
universal flat, but a succession of shingly plains,
rising in long low terraces to the foot of the Andes,
here and there intersected at long distances by a
ravine or a stream. Coarse wiry grass grows luxu-
riantly in the valleys; low thorny bushes, and under-
wood, are tolerably abundant; but nothing is to be
seen in the plains worthy the name of a tree. They
are bleak, barren, and desolate beyond description.
A DARREN REGION. 35
The climate is cold and severe; the icy winds
from the Andes, or from the Pole, sweep over these
inhospitable plains during the greater part of every
year; yet the heat during the short summer is intense.
The greatest misfortune of these regions is want of
water. There are very few streams. Rain falls
only in small quantity, and at rare intervals. The
natives draw their supplies principally from springs
or pools in the valleys, the water of which is gene-
rally brackish and disagreeable.
There are as few animals as plants. The guanaco,
36 THE PATAGONIANS.
a quadruped allied to the llama, is found in con-
siderable numbers. It is larger than the red deer,
very fleet, and is usually found in large herds. The
guanaco furnishes most of the food of the Pata-
gonians, and all their clothing. The skin also
forms their tents, bridles, &c. The enemy of the
guanaco is the cougar, or American lion, a small
but ferocious creature. He is followed in the air
by the hungry vulture, or condor of the Andes,
which can scent a dead or dying animal from a great
distance, and darts with the rapidity of lightning on
the broken remains of the lion's feast.
Another remarkable bird, which roams over the
Patagonian plains, is the cassowary, a species of
ostrich smaller than that of Africa. Like the lion,
it is smaller than its African namesake. Its flesh is
tender and good, and is much prized by the Indians.
It is exceedingly swift, often fleet enough to outstrip
a good horse.
The inhabitants of Patagonia are savage Indians,
so gigantic as to excite the wonder of the first
travellers who saw them. Their height was ex-
aggerated by report till they were magnified into
giants, which is rather beyond the truth. They
are, however, really of great stature ; their average
height is said, by Mr. Bourne (who lived long
among them), to be about six feet and a half; and
he saw several of them seven feet high. They
wear large mantles of guanaco skins, sewed together
with the sinews of the ostrich ; and these fitting
closely at the neck, and fulling round them to below
the knee, serve to increase their apparent height.
Their long, thick, coarse hair hangs over their
THK PATAGONIANS.
37
shoulders and back, giving them a wild fierce
look. They have large heads, high cheek-bones, and
their dark skins are usually painted with a motley
mixture of colours, red, black, and white, in lines
which cross the forehead in ail directions, with
white circles round the eyes.
w
,-
j
3
CASSOWARY, OR AMERICAN OSTRICH.
They lead a wandering and wretched life; often
suffering from hunger, dirty to a revolting degree,
and actually gnawed by vermin. They eat any
kind of meat they can get, but they prefer the flesh
of the horse. The women are treated as slaves, as
is the case among all savages; and, of course, they
38
EMBELLISHING NATURE.
A GROUP OF PATAGONIANS.
are degraded beings, although they possess the only
virtue ever heard of in connection with these wild
tribes, they bear ill-treatment meekly. They are
not beautiful by nature, and make themselves still
more hideous by bedaubing themselves with a mix-
ture of clay, blood, and grease.
Their dwellings are huts or tents made of the
A FAMOUS HUNTING-GROUND. 39
skin of the guanaco, and are open on the east
In the interior, nothing is to be seen except the
skins on which they sleep, and their arms. The
principal of these is the bolas, a missile weapon
used in the capture of all kinds of game. This
consists of two round stones, or lead balls, if they
can be procured, weighing each about a pound, con-
nected by a strap, or thong of leather, ten or twelve
feet long. When engaged in the chase his horse
at the highest speed the rider holds one ball in his
hand, and whirls the other rapidly above his head;
wla-ii it has acquired sufficient momentum, it is
hurled with unerring aim at the object of pursuit,
and either strikes the victim dead, or coils inextri-
cably about him, and roots him to the spot, a help-
less mark for the hunter's knife.
The hunting of the guanaco is not only the chief
reliance for food of the native tribes, but is a >pirit-d
amusement, conducted after a fashion peculiar alike
to hunters and hunted. Patagonia, as before men-
tioned, has no trees, but is covered here and there
in patches, with a kind of underbrush of scrub
growth; and the plains extend back for hundreds
of miles from the Atlantic shore, like a vast rolling
prairie. This affords a clear and excellent hunting-
ground, with nothing to conceal the game, or hinder
the pursuer, except now and then a clump of low
bushes, or the tall grass of the marshes. Two to
four hundred Indians, on horseback, bare-headed,
and with their skin mantles about them 1 , and each
having the bolas and his long knife tucked beneath
his belt, the whole followed by an innumerable
pack of dogs of every kind, down to curs of low
40 HUNTING THE GUANACO.
degree, make up a hunting party; as far as the eye
can reach, their gigantic forms diminished by the
distance, may be seen, projected on the horizon,
their long hair streaming in the wind. Presently a
thickness is perceived in the air, and a cloud of
dust arises a sure indication that a herd of guanacos
has been beaten up, and is now approaching. All
eyes are fixed intently on the cloud; it soon appeal's
as if several acres of earth were alive, and in rapid
motion. There is a herd of from five hundred to a
thousand of these animals, infuriated, rushing for-
ward at their utmost speed ; whatever direction they
may chance to take, they follow in a straight line,
and as soon as their course is ascertained, the
Indians may be seen running their horses at break-
neck pace, to plant themselves directly in the course
of the living tide. As the game approach, the
hunter puts spurs to his horse and rushes across
their track. When within twenty or thirty yards,
he jerks the bolas from his girdle, and whirling it
violently above his head, lets fly. The weapon
usually strikes the head or neck of the animal, and
winds itself about his fore-legs, bringing him to the
ground. The hunter dismounts, cuts the victim's
throat, remounts, and is again in pursuit. The
whizzing missile, unerring in its aim, brings down
another and another, till the party are satisfied with
their chase and their prey. The dogs fall upon the
poor animals, when helplessly entangled by the
bolas, and* often cruelly mangle them before the
hunter has time to despatch them. Seldom does
any one miss the game he marks. It is the height
of manly ambition among them the last result of
A CERTIFICATE OF RANK. -11
The sport being over, then comes the dressing
of the meat. The body is split open, the entrails
are removed, the heart and large veins opened, to
permit the blood to flow into the cavity. The Indians
scoop up with their hands, and eagerly drink the
blood. When their thirst is satisfied, the remainder
is poured into certain of the intestines selected for
the purpose, to become (to their accommodating
tastes) a luxury as highly prized as any surnamed of
Bologna. The ribs are disjointed from the back-
bone, and with the head, are discarded as worthless.
The body is quartered, cutting through the skin ;
the quarters, tied together in pairs, are thrown across
the horses' backs, and conveyed to the camp. Arrived
at their wigwams, the chivalrous hunters never
unlade their beasts, but lean upon the horses' necks
till their wives come out and relieve them of the
spoil. They then dismount, unsaddle their horses,
and turn them loose.
The only wealth of the Patagonians, except their
huts, consists of horses, the stock of which is re-
plenished by stealing from the Spanish and Chilian
settlements. These animals are for the most part
of inferior quality, though there are occasionally a
few good ones among those which are stolen. There
are rich and poor even among these savages; and
riches and rank among them consist in being a good
thief, and having plenty of horses. Mr. Bourne tells
a most amusing story of an Indian who wished to
marry the chief's daughter; but the father said :
"Indian wants a girl for his wife; poor Indian
very poor, got no horses nor anything else. I won't
give him the woman."
42 MARRIAGE IN HIGH LIFE.
Mr. Bourne inquired the claims ot the Indian :
" What does poor Indian say?"
The reply was, " Says he'll steal plenty horses
when we get where they are, and give the woman
plenty of grease. Says he is a good hunter, good
thief."
" Plenty of grease " seerns t6 have been a bribe
that the chief's daughter could not resist, and her
mother pleaded her cause with the old chief, by
saying that perhaps the Indian " might who
knew ? make a fine thief yet, and possess plenty of
horses."
The girl and her mother prevailed, after the
mother had borne a severe beating in the cause,
and the promising thief became the chief's son-
in-law. Such is a " marriage in high life " in Pata-
gonia.
The degraded state of a people, among whom
theft is held in honour, may easily be imagined. Mr.
Bourne says that " the filth of their persons only
too faithfully represents the degree in which ' their
mind and conscience is defiled.' " Mind and body
seem alike ernbruted.
Yet among these savages Mr. Bourne, an Ameri-
can, was long a captive a fate so dreadful that we
can only wonder he survived to relate his adven-
tures, which are told in a most interesting book,
entitled, " Life among the Giants," from which we
extract the following story:
LIFE AMONG THE GIANTS.
Soon after the discovery of gold in California,
Mr. Bourne, among many others, embarked from
TAKEN PRISONER. 43
New Bedford, in the United States, on board a
schooner bound for the gold regions. On account
of the delays and dangers incident to doubling Cape
Horn, the captain determined to attempt the passage
of the Straits of Magellan. The vessel was be-
calmed off the mouth of the Straits, and a party
was sent on shore for fresh provisions under the
command of Mr. Bourne, who reluctantly went to
oblige the captain.
By the treachery of the Indians, Mr. Bourne was
separated from his men, and made prisoner. A gale
came on, the ships were driven from their anchor-
age and carried out to sea, and Mr. Bourne was left
alone in the power of his savage captors. His ad-
ventures are full of interest. We have space only
for two scenes his first repast in a Patagonian
hut, and his escape.
AN' lien he first enteml a Patagonian hut, he says
that he felt " as bacon, if conscious, might be sup-
posed to feel in the process of curing. No lapse of
time," he continues, " was sufficient to reconcile my
eyes, nostrils, and lungs to the nuisance. Often
have I been more than half strangled by it, and
compelled to lie with my face to the ground as the
only endurable position. Talk that is ' worse than
a smoky house,' must be something out of date, or
Shakspeare's imagination never comprehended any-
thing so detestable as a Patagonian hut. The chief
and his numerous household, however, seemed to
enjoy immense satisfaction ; and jabbered, and
grunted, and played their antics, and exchanged
grimaces, as complacently as if they breathed a
highly exhilarating atmosphere.
44 A PATAGONIAN BANQUET.
" My meditations and observations were shortly
interrupted by preparations for a meal. My fancy
began to conjure up visions of the beef, fowls, and
eggs, the promise of which had lured my men from
the boat, had proved stronger than the suggestions
of prudence, and had made me a prisoner. But
these dainties, if they existed anywhere within the
old chief's jurisdiction, were just at present reserved.
The old hag threw down from the top of one of the
stakes that supported the tent the quarter of some
animal, whether dog, guanaco, or whatever, was
past imagining. She slashed right and left, might
and main, with an old copper knife till the meat
was divided into several pieces. Then taking a
number of crotched sticks about two feet long, and
sharpened at all their points, she inserted the forked
ends into pieces of the meat, and drove the opposite
points into the ground near the fire; which, though
sufficient to smoke and comfortably warm the mess,
was too feeble to roast it. At all events, time was
too precious, or their unsophisticated appetites were
too craving, to wait for such an operation ; and the
raw morsels were quickly snatched from the smoke,
torn into bits by her dirty hands, and thrown upon
the ground before us. The Indians seized them with
avidity, and tossed a bit to me; but what could
I do with it? I should have had no appetite for
the dinner of an alderman at such a time and place,
but as for tasting meat that came in such a ques-
tionable shape, there was no bringing my teeth and
resolution to it. While eyeing it with ill-suppressed
disgust, I observed the savages, like a horde of half-
fnrvcf1 rlnrrci rlpvnnrinrr tlioir rrrfirm vvitli tTiA rrront-
" VERY GOOD TO EAT. 45
est relish. The old chief remarked the slight I was
putting upon his hospitality, and broke in upon me
with a fierce speech in his broken Spanish to this
effect: 'Why don't you eat your meat? This
meat very good to eat very good to eat. Eat,
man eat!' Seeing him so much excited, and not
knowing what deeds might follow his words if I
refused, I thought it expedient to try to eat. ]
forced a morsel into my mouth. Its taste was by
no means as offensive as its appearance had been
unpromising, and I managed to save appearances
with less disgust than I had feared. The eating
bring over, a large horn that had once adorned the
head of a Spanish bullock was dipped into a leathern
bucket and passed from one to another. Between
the bucket and the horn, the water had gained a
sickening taste; however, it seemed expedient * to
conquer my prejudices' so far as to drink with the
other guests, and the ceremonies of dinner were
over, for which I felt very thankful. Soon after,
my painful thoughts were interrupted by an order
to prepare for the night's repose. An old skin,
about two and a half feet square, was thrown upon
the cold ground in the back part of our rookery,
and assigned for my couch. I took possession, and
the whole family bestowed themselves in a row near
me. The stifling atmosphere was soon vocal with
their snoring."
Such was Mr. Bourne's first day among the
savages, and his misery daily increased, his life was
constantly in danger, while all attempts to escape
proved vain. The Indians had learned a little
Spanish, and Mr. Bourne also knew something of
46 ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE.
the language, and at first he communicated with
them partly by means of this and partly by signs;
but as he gradually learned to understand something
of the native language, he began to promise them
all manner of good things, especially rum and to-
bacco (the things most highly prized by savages), if
they would take him to any place where there were
white men. Moved by his bribes, the chief at last
promised to take him to " Holland;" and the tribe
accordingly set off on a journey northwards. He
found that " Holland" was an island near the
mouth of the river Santa Cruz. Mr. Bourne sup-
poses that " Holland" might perhaps be the native
corruption of the word " island." Several Euro-
peans were living on the island, engaged in digging
guano'. The Indians hoisted a flag, stolen from an
English ship, as a signal to induce the white men to
come and trade with them, and Mr. Bourne resolved
to make another attempt to escape. As he saw a
hope of deliverance, his anxiety became intense.
He says, " It was a season of deep, suppressed,
silent misery, in which the heart found no relief but
in mute supplication to Him who was alone able
to deliver.
" There lay the little island beautiful to eyes that
longed, like mine, for a habitation of sympathising
men about a mile and a-half distant; it almost
seemed to recede while I gazed, so low had my
hope sunk under the pressure of disappointment and
bitter uncertainty. A violent snow-storm soon
setting in, it was hidden from view ; everything
seemed to be against me. It slackened, and parti-
ally cleared up ; then came another gust, filling the
TIIK rn:<rrr. 47
air, and shutting up the prospect. In this way it
continued till past noon ; at intervals, as the sky
lighted up, I took a firebrand, and set fire to the
bushes on the beach, and then hoisted the flag again,
walking wearily to and fro, till the storm ceased, and
the sky became clear. The chief concealed himself
in a clump of bushes, and sat watching, with cat-
like vigilance, the movements of the islanders.
After some time, he said a boat was coming. I
scarcely durst look in the direction indicated, lest I
should experience a fresh disappointment ; but I did
look, and saw, to my great joy, a boat launched,
with tour or five men on board, and pushing off the
shore. On they came ; the chief reported his dis-
covery, and the rest of the Indians came to the
beach, where I was still walking backward and for-
ward. The boat approached, not directly off whore
I was, but an eighth of a mile, perhaps, to the wind-
ward, and there lay on her oars.
"The Indians hereupon ordered me to return to the
camping-ground ; but, without heeding them, I set
off at a full run towards the boat. They hotly pur-
sued, 1 occasionally turning and telling them to come
on; 1 only wanted to see the boat. 'Stop, stop!'
they bawled. 'Now, my legs,' said I, 'if ever
you want to serve me, this is the time/ I had
one advantage over my pursuers rny shoes,
though much the worse for wear, protected my
feet from the sharp stones, which cut theirs at
every step ; but, under all disadvantages, I found
they made about equal speed with myself. As I
gained a point opposite the boat, the Indians slack-
ened their speed, and looked uneasily at me. The
48 SWIMMING FOR ONES LIFE.
man in the stern of the boat hailed me, inquiring
what Indians these were, what number of them, and
how 1 came among them ? I replied in as few words
as possible, and told him we wished to cross to the
island. He shook his head ; they were Bad fellows,
he said ; he could not take me with the Indians.
They began to pull away. 1 made signs of distress,
and waved them to return, shouting to them through
my hands. The boat was again backed within hail-
ing distance. ' Will you look out for me if I come
by myself? ' ' Yes,' was the prompt reply. The
Indians, all this time, had kept within ten or fifteen
feet of me, with their hands on their knives, and
reiterating their commands to come back, at the
same time edging towards me in a threatening
manner. ' Yes, yes,' I told them, ' in a moment;
but I wanted to look at the boat/ taking care, how-
ever, to make good my distance from them. At the
same moment, I gave a plunge headlong into the
river ; my clothes and shoes encumbered me, and the
surf, agitated by a high wind, rolled in heavy seas
upon the shore. The boat was forty or fifty yards
off; and as the wind did not blow square in -shore,
drifted, so as to increase the original distance, unless
counteracted by the crew. Whether the boat was
backed up towards me, I could not determine ; my
head was a great part of the time under water, my
eyes blinded with the surf, and most strenuous exer-
tion was necessary to live in such a sea. As I
approached the boat, I could see several guns
pointed apparently at me. Perhaps we had mis-
understood each other perhaps they viewed me as
an enemy ! In fact, they were aimed to keep the
SAVED ! SAVED !
40
KSCAPE OF Ma. BOURN K.
Indians from following me into the water, which
they did not attempt. My strength was fust failing
me ; the man at the helm, perceiving it, stretched
out a rifle at arm's length. The muzzle dropped
into the water, and arrested my feeble vision.
Summoning all my remaining energy, I grasped it,
and was drawn towards the boat. A sense of relief
(289) 4
50 A KIND RECEPTION.
shot through and revived me, but revived also such
a dread lest the Indians should give chase, that I
begged them to pull away- I could hold on. The
man reached down and seized me by the collar, and
ordered his men to ply their oars. They had made
but a few strokes, when a simultaneous cry broke
from their lips, ' Pull the dear man in ! pull the
dear man in ! ' They let fall their oars, laid hold
of me, and in their effort to drag me over the side
of their whale-boat, I received some injury. I re-
quested that they would let me help myself; and
working my body up sufficiently to get one knee
over the gunwale, I gave a spring, with what
strength was left me, and fell into the bottom of the
boat. They kindly offered to strip me, and put on
dry clothes ; but I told them, if they would only
work the boat further from the shore, I would take
care of myself. They pulled away, while I crawled
forward, divested myself of my coat, and put on one
belonging to one of the crew. Conversation, which
was attempted, was impossible ; it was one of tho
coldest days of a Patagonian winter. I was chilled
through, and could only articulate, 'I can't talk
now ; I'll talk by-and-by.' Some liquor, bread ? and
tobacco, which had been put on board for my ran-
som, on supposition that this was what the signal
meant, was produced for my refreshment. The sea
was heavy, with a strong head-wind, so that, though
the men toiled vigorously, our progress was slow.
I was soon comfortably warmed by the stimulants
provided, and offered to lend a hand at the oar, but
the offer was declined. The shouts and screams of
(he Indians, which had followed me into the water,
A KIND KIVKl'TIoN. f)l
and rung hideously in my ears while struggling for
lilt- in the surf, wore kept up till distance made them
inaudible.
u The boat at last grounded on the northern shore
of the island. Mr. Hall, the gentleman who com-
manded the party, supported my tottering frame in
landing ; and, as we stepped upon the shore, wel-
comed me to their island. I grasped his hand, and
stammered my thanks for this deliverance, and
lifted a tearful eye to heaven, in silent gratitude to
God. I was then pointed to a cabin near by, where
a comfortable fire was ready for me. 'Now,' I
heard Mr. Hall say, ' let us fire a salute of welcome
to the stranger. Make ready present fire!' Off
went all their muskets, and a very cordial salute it
appeared to be. He soon followed me, took me to
his own dwelling, supplied me with dry clothing,
and, above all, warmed me in the kindly glow of as
generous a heart as ever beat in human bosom.
" I was captured by the savages on the 1st of May>
and landed upon the island en the 7th of August.
" I passed, in the society of my deliverers, one of the
happiest evenings of my whole life. The change
was so great from the miserable and almost hopeless
existence I had so long lived, that my joy exceeded
all bounds. My heart overflowed with gratitude.
Words could not then, and cannot now, convey any
adequate impression of my feelings of the freedom
and joy that animated me on being snatched from
perils, privations, and enemies, and placed, as in a
moment, in security, in plenty, and in the society of
friends."
The name of the island to which Mr. Bourne
52 HOME AT LAST.
escaped is Sea Lion Island. He remained there
some months, and then embarked on board an
American whaler. He afterwards visited California,
and finally returned in safety to New York, after
many strange and interesting adventures in various
countries. He says, "The steamer, State of Maine,
bore me to my home, January 13, 1852 after an
absence of three years lacking a month with a
heart rising gratefully to God for his many interpo-
sitions in my behalf, to deliver me from the perils of
the sea and the perils of the land."
CHAPTER III.
CHILI AND ITS ISLANDS.
Description of Chili Its Mines Animals -People Conquest by the
Spaniards The Islands of Chili Juan Fernandez Adveutures of
Alexander Selkirk, the real " Robinson Crusoe."
IF you cast your eyes on a map of South America,
you will see, between the high mountain chain of
the Ancles or Cordilleras and the ocean, a long,
narrow slip ofland, hilly, volcanic, but well watered.
This slip of land is Chili. It is favoured with one
of the finest and healthiest climates in the world.
As it is situated on the opposite side of the equator
from us, it is summer there when we have winter,
and its spring corresponds in time with our autumn.
The soil is wonderfully fertile ; and the productions
of both hemispheres seem to thrive equally well
there. In the interior, the corn sown often pro-
duces a hundred-fold, and maize is not less produc-
tive. Peaches grow to the weight of a pound, and
apples may sometimes be seen as large as a person's
head. The best kinds of strawberries grow in such
profusion that this delicious fruit is often called in
America " the fruit of Chili." Chili is almost the
54
CHILI AND ITS TREASURES.
only country in the New World where the grapes
yield good wine. Its forests are magnificent, and
furnish many beautiful varieties of wood. The
grass in its rich meadow pastures is often so tall
and luxuriant as to hide the cattle grazing on it.
Chili also possesses valuable mines of gold and
silver. The excellent copper which comes from the
mines of Coquimbo is much esteemed in Europe ;
and there are several mines of coal which are now
of great service.
CONDOR OF THE ANDES.
There are no dangerous animals to be feared in
this highly favoured country; but the condor, the
most powerful of the birds of prey, builds its nest
I. LAMA AND CHINCHILLA.
5ft
on the summits of the Andes. In the same moun-
tains, on the boundary between the inhabited part
of the country and the snow line, live the vicunas
beautiful quadrupeds of the same species as the
llamas, whose fine wool is used in the manufacture of
the most delicate stuffs and the softest cloths. Of
the animals which furnish fur, the chinchilla, a
small grey creature, with long, soft hair, is the best
known and the most valued.
THE CHINCHILLA.
The people of Chili are partly whites of Spanish
origin, along with a considerable number of Indians
and half-bloods all Papists. The Chilians of white
descent are tall and strong, more active than Creoles
usually are ; lovers of liberty ; and more civilized in
some respects than the other Spanish Americans.
As to the natives, the bravery with which they de-
56 DEFEAT OF THE SPANIARDS.
fended their liberties when the country was sub-
dued was the cause of their obtaining better condi-
tions than the other conquered people; and they
have always been better treated than the natives of
the other provinces.
The ferocious Almagro, the companion and rival
of Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru, was the first
European who tried to take possession of Chili in
1535 ; but he soon left it, and was succeeded in the
attempt by Valdivia in 1541. The war lasted ten
years without intermission, and the Indians per-
severed in maintaining their independence, although
constantly losing ground. An Indian chief, who
was so bowed down with old age and infirmity that
he was unable to leave his hut, heard those around
him continually relating some fresh losses and mis-
fortunes which were constantly occurring. The
bitter grief of hearing that his countrymen were
continually being defeated by a mere handful of
strangers seemed to give new strength to the old
man. He was inspired with fresh vigour, left his
quiet hut, succeeded in raising thirteen regiments of
a thousand men each, which he placed one behind
the other, and led them against the enemy. If the
first division should be routed, the men had orders
not to fall back on the second division, but to try to
rally behind the last. These orders, which were
faithfully obeyed, disconcerted the Spaniards. They
broke through division after division, yet seemed to
gain no advantage. At length, both men and horses
having great need of rest, Valdivia ordered his
troops to retreat to a narrow defile, where he
thought he might take up a position which would be
A CELEBRATKD TRIBE. 57
easily defended. But he was not even permitted to
ivarh it. The rearguard <>f the Indians had been
before him. They had gone by a circuitous route
and seized the pass, while the vanguard of the
Indian army followed and watched the Spanish
troops. Thus Valdivia was surrounded and mas-
sacred with the hundred and fifty men who com-
posed his troop. It is said that the Indians poured
melted gold down his throat. " Drink plentifully
of the metal for which you have thirsted so
greedily !" said these savages to their conquered
enemy.
They took advantage of their victory to cany fire
and desolation into the European settlements, of
which they destroyed several. All would have
shared the same fate, if a considerable reinforce-
ment of troops, which arrived from Peru, had not
rnablt.-d the Spaniards to defend their best fortified
posta
At a later period, the conquest of the country was
again attempted by the Spaniards, and this time
with success; but in no country did they meet with
such obstinate resistance : and nowhere were they
obliged to take so many precautions not to offend
thi-ir new subjects, in case of driving them to join
the Indian tribes which still continued independent.
The most celebrated of these Indian tribes are
the Araucanian, who still preserve their freedom
among their native mountains. They are brave and
intelligent men, who live in large villages under
settled laws and a regular government. Proud,
industrious, and courageous, they are reckoned tin-
most civilized of any of the native races of the Ni-\v
58 JUAN FERNANDEZ.
World. They have not only skilful smiths and
carpenters among them, but even jewellers, surgeons,
physicians, and poets. Some of them are occupied
with agriculture; but their chief riches consist in
their flocks and herds.. They have very numerous
herds of horses and oxen, and they do not hesitate to
add to them by making armed incursions into the ter-
ritory of Chili, and carrying off as many as they can.
Chili is now a prosperous republic, containing
about a million and a half of inhabitants. Its prin-
cipal cities are San Jago (St. James), the capital, con-
taining about seventy thousand inhabitants; and
its sea-port, Valparaiso, which is one of the most
important commercial places on the western coast
of America. The sea-port towns of Coquimbo,
Conception, and Valdivia also export many of the
productions of the country.
The large island of Chiloe is attached to the
republic of Chili. It is situated near the coast fur-
ther to the south. It is damp and foggy, but fer-
tile, and is inhabited chiefly by whites. The two
celebrated islets called Juan Fernandez also belong
to Chili. They are situated in the wide ocean, two
hundred leagues from the coast of Chili, and are
the penal settlements of the republic unimportant
in themselves, yet famous as the scene of the "Ad-
ventures of Robinson Crusoe," a book well known
to every one.
In 1572, Juan Fernandez, a Spanish seaman,
who often sailed between Peru and Chili, rightly
calculated that, by keeping far out to sea, he would
escape the contrary winds which often delayed his
voyage along the coast; and by thus going out of
A LONELY ISLAND. fi{)
the usual track, he discovered the island which bears
his name. It is called by the Chilians Mas-a-Tierra
(the nearest the land), as distinguished from the
smaller islet near it, which they have named Mas-a-
Fuera (the furthest off). Fernandez got a grant of
the island which he discovered, and went to settle
there, accompanied by a few families ; but in a very
short time these colonists, either discouraged by the
want of communication with others, or from some
other cause, abandoned the island, leaving no trace
of their residence there, except a few goats, which
increased in number to such a degree, that ships
which passed near these shores occasionally touched
at the island to supply themselves with water and
goats' flesh. A few rats escaped from the ships, and
several cats, which had been forgotten or left upon
the island, considerably increased its animal popu-
lation.
The island, usually called Juan Fernandez, is of
an irregular form, approaching to a triangle, and is
about five leagues in length, from north-west to
south-east, and not more than two at its extreme
breadth. The north-east side consists of lofty
mountains and deep valleys, which are covered with
trees and verdure. The middle of the island is so
high, as to be almost inaccessible; the western end
presents a loose, dry, stony, barren soil all the
harbours are on the north-east side.
Seen from a distance, the island resembles an
immense mass of rugged mountains and rocks of
the most forbidding aspect; but as you approach
nearer, it assumes a more pleasing appearance, and
the eye rests with delight upon the lofty eminences
CO PICTURES AND PICTURES.
covered with wood, and here and there intersected
by valleys. These are clothed in the most beau-
tiful verdure, watered by numerous streams, which
descend from rock to rock in cascades, or glide along
among the underwood in silent loveliness.
Many of the mountains on the north-east side are
inaccessible, but they are in general covered with
wood. They run across the island from the north-
west to the southern side, in which last the trees
are not so numerous, being checked in their
growth by the violence of the wind. Many of the
mountains rise to a great height, and are overspread
with a dense fog, especially in the morning and
evening. The island is subject to sudden gusts of
wind, which rush through the valleys into the bays
with great violence; but they seldom last above two
or three minutes. The air is in general mild, and
the sky serene. During the summer months the
heat is moderate. In the beginning of June, the
winter sets in commonly with a northerly wind, and
continues until the end of July, but it is not severe.
In the worst days there is only a little frost, accom-
panied with hail; but there are occasionally heavy
rains. The water is excellent; the soil upon the
hills and in the valleys is a deep rich mould, and
very fertile. All sorts of European and American
corn, fruit, and quadrupeds, succeed extremely
well, and the sea which washes the shores abound
in fish.
The coast affords an abundance of seals and sea
lions; but there are no native quadrupeds the
goats which, in the time of Selkirk's residence on
the island, were so numerous, having been brought
to it by the first discoverers.
ANIMAL AND IM.VNT I.lFi:. Gl
The ornithology of the island is confined to the
albatross, hawk, oil, pintado, a small humming-
bird, and the pardela : this last burrows like a
rabbit, rendering the ground unsafe to walk upon;
remains torpid in the winter months ; feeds on -fish ;
and has a note, which it utters in the evening,
resembling " Be quiet."
There are spiders, which make strong webs be-
tween the trees; but no venomous creature is found
on the island. A great variety of fish abound on
the coasts.
The trees are palm, cabbage, malagita, pimento,
Guinea pepper, black plums, cotton-trees, Italian
laurels, myrtles, and mountain ash. The cotton-
trees grow to the height of twenty yards, and
planks of forty feet in length can be obtained from
the myrtles.
The vegetables are a long grass, about the height
of a man, that covers all the fertile parts of
the island, very like oats ; water-cresses, wild
sorrel, fern, clover, wild oats, sour-docks, sow-
thistles, mallows, wood-cresses, dandelion, night-
shade; also pumpkins, Sicilian radishes, parsnips,
turnips, parsley, purslain, and a herb that grows by
the water-side, useful in fomentations, resembling
I ever- fern.
STORY OF ALEXANDER SELKIRK.
The island of Juan Fernandez was for a long
time a regular resort of the Bucaneers, and was
also often visited by ships of various nations.
During the Spanish succession war, the crew of an
English privateer, equipped to capture Spanish
02 ALEXANDER SELKIRK'S STORY.
ships, remained there some months to supply them-
selves with fresh provisions and water. One of
the men on board, named Alexander Selkirk, a
Scotchman, having quarrelled with the captain,
resolved to leave the ship and remain upon the
island. Just before the ship sailed, he was landed
with all his effects, which were his chest, con-
taining his clothes, and a quantity of linen ; his
musket, which he afterwards brought home with
him ; a pound of powder, and balls in proportion ; a
hatchet and some tools ; a knife ; a pewter kettle ;
his flip-can, which he conveyed to Scotland (at
present in the possession of John Selkirk, his great-
grand-nephew); a few pounds of tobacco; the
Holy Bible ; some good books, and one or two
works on navigation, with his mathematical instru-
ments. He leaped on shore with a faint sensation
of freedom and joy. Pie shook hands with his
comrades, and barte them adieu in a hearty manner,
while Stradling sat in the boat, urging their return
to the ship, which order they instantly obeyed ; but
no sooner did the sound of their oars, as they left
the beach, fall on his ears, than the horrors of being
left alone cut off from all human society, perhaps
for ever rushed upon his mind. His heart sunk
within him, and all his resolution failed. He
rushed into the water, and implored them to return
and take him on board with them. To all his
entreaties Stradling turned a deaf ear, and even
mocked his despair; denouncing the choice he had
made of remaining upon the island as rank mutiny,
and describing his present situation as the most
proper state for such a fellow, where his example
would not affect others.
TUB CASTAWAY.
63
For many days after being left alone, Selkirk was
under such great dejection of mind that he never
tasted food until urged by extreme hunger, nor did
he go to sleep until he could watch no longer ; but
<at with his eyes fixed in the direction where he
had seen his shipmates depart, fondly hoping that
they would return and free him from his misery.
Thus he remained seated upon his chest until
" ' ~-
ALEXANDER SELKIRK'S DESPAIR.
darkness shut out every object from his sight. Then
did he close his weary eyes ; but not in sleep, for
morning still found him anxiously hoping the return
of tli e vessel.
When urged by hunger, he fed upon seals and
such shell-fish as he could pick up along the shore.
64 WRETCHEDNESS OF SOLITUDE.
The reason of this was the aversion he felt to leave
the beach, and the care he took to save his powder.
Though seals and shell-fish were but sorry fare, his
greatest inconvenience was the want of salt and
bread, which made him loathe his food until recon-
ciled to it by long use.
He was so miserable in his solitude, that at first
he made no effort to improve his situation by
making himself more comfortable. The beauty of
the island was quite disregarded, and his time was
spent watching the ocean, with the hope of seeing
a sail appear in the distance. If we think for a
moment how disagreeable it is to most men to be
left by themselves even for a few days, we may
form a faint idea of his situation, and how painful
it must have been to him, a sailor, accustomed to
enjoy and perform all the offices of life in the
midst of bustle and fellowship. It was with diffi-
culty he could bear the horror of being left in
such a desolate place ; and he became so melan-
choly, that he was nearly sinking into utter despair.
It was then, in the depths of his misery, when
every other hope and comfort was gone, that the
inestimable blessing of a religious education was
felt in all its power. Alexander Selkirk was a
Scotchman, a native of the little village of Largo
in Fife, where he was born in the year 1676. He
was one of a pious family, and had been very care-
fully instructed in his youth, although for a long
time the teaching seemed thrown away. His father,
a religious and very strict man, an elder Jh the
church, attempted to control the wild, wayward
spirit of his son ; but his care was in a great degree
SELKIRK'S EARLY LIFE. 65
counteracted by the mistaken indulgence of a weak
mother, who tried to conceal his faults from his
father. In the records of his early life we read of
constant disputes between him and his brothers,
which got to such a height that the elders of the
church were obliged to take up the cause, and cite
him before them. The records of the session of
Largo record the fact of his appearance before the
pulpit, when "he acknowledged his sin in dis-
agreeing with his brothers, and was rebuked in the
face of the congregation for it ; and promised amend-
ment, in the strength of the Lord, and so was dis-
missed." His promises were not kept ; and at last
casting off all authority, and in disobedience to his
father's command, he went off to sea. Suffering
was needed to tame his rebellious spirit, and it was
a suitable punishment for the quarrelsome brother
and disobedient son, who had despised the pleasures
of a quiet home and his natural friends, to be left
thus alone and desolate, without a human voice to
cheer his dismal solitude. "When misery had sub-
dued the pride of his hard and stubborn heart, he
turned to God against whom he had rebelled,
of whom he had thought so little. His Bible was
in his chest probably put there by his pious
parents' care and he now began to study it, and
to remember the lessons of his early years. The
darkness of the despair that had nearly over-
whelmed him began to clear away. By slow
degrees he became submissive, resigned, and even
cheerful ; and began to do what he could to im-
prove his condition.
The building of a hut was the first object that
(289) 5
66 HIS TWO HUTS.
roused him to exertion; and his necessary absence
from the shore gradually weaned his heart from
that aim which had alone absorbed all his thoughts,
and proved a secondary means of his obtaining that
serenity of mind he afterwards enjoyed; but it
was eighteen months before he became fully com-
posed, or could be for one whole day absent from
the beach, and from his usual hopeless watch
for some vessel to relieve him from his melancholy
situation.
During his stay he built himself two huts, with
the wood of the pimento-tree, and thatched them
with a species of grass that grows to the height of
seven or eight feet upon the plains and smaller
hills, and produces straw resembling that of oats.
The one was much larger than the other, and
situated near a spacious wood. This he made his
sleeping-room, spreading the bed-clothes he had
brought on shore with him upon a frame of his
own construction ; and as these wore out, or were
used for other purposes, he supplied their place with
goats' skins. His pimento bed-room he used also
as his chapel, for here he kept up that simple, but
beautiful form of family worship which he had
been accustomed to in his father's house. Soon
after he left his bed, and before he commenced the
duties of the day he sung a psalm or part of one,
then he read a portion of Scripture, and finished
with devout prayer. In the evening, before he
retired to rest, the same duties were performed. His
devotions he repeated aloud, to retain the use of
speech, and for the satisfaction man feels in hearing
the human voice, even when it is only his own. To
A TAME FLOCK. 67
distinguish the Sabbath, he kept an exact account
of the days of every week and month during the
time he remained upon the island, although the
method he adopted is not mentioned in any docu-
ment we have procured.
The smaller hut, which Selkirk had erected at
some distance from the other, was used by him as
a kitchen, in which he dressed his victuals. The
furniture was very scanty, but consisted of every
convenience his island could afford. His most
valuable article was the pot or kettle he had
brought from the ship to boil his meat in; the spit
was his own handiwork, made of such wood as
grew upon the island; the rest was suitable to
his rudely-constructed habitation. Around his
dwelling browsed a number of goats, remarkably
tame, which he had taken when young, and lamed ;
but so as not to injure their health, while he
diminished their speed. These he kept as a store,
in the event of sickness or any accident befalling
him that might prevent him from catching others;
his sole method of doing which was running them
down by speed of foot. The pimento- wood, which
burns very bright and clear, served him both for
fuel and candle. It gives out an agreeable perfume
while burning.
He obtained fire after the Indian method, by
rubbing two pieces of pimento-wood together until
they ignited. This he did, as being ill able to
spare any of his linen for tinder, time being of no
value to him, and the labour rather an amuse-
ment. Having recovered his peace of mind, he
found out new comforts, and was continually
68 ABUNDANT SUPPLIES.
gaining some new acquisition to his store; he began
likewise to enjoy greater variety in his food. The
crawfish, many of which weighed eight or nine
pounds, he broiled or boiled as his fancy led ;
seasoning it with pimento (Jamaica pepper) ; and
at length he came to relish his food without salt.
As a substitute for bread, he used the cabbage-
palm, which abounded in the island; turnips, or
their tops; and likewise a species of parsnip, of
good taste and flavour. He had also Sicilian radishes
and water-cresses, which he found in the neigh-
bouring brooks ; as well as many other vegetables
peculiar to the country, which he ate with his fish
or goats' flesh.
Having food in abundance, and the climate being
healthy and pleasant, in about eighteen months he
became reconciled to his situation. The time no
longer hung heavy on his hands. His devotions,
and frequent study of the Scripture, soothed and
elevated his mind ; and this, coupled with the
vigour of his health, and a constantly serene sky
and temperate air, made his life a happy one. He
took delight in everything around him ; ornamented
the hut in which he lay with fragrant branches,
cut from a spacious wood, on the side of which
it was situated ; and so made a pleasant bower, in
which he rested when tired with hunting.
During the early part of his residence, he was
much annoyed by multitudes of rats, which gnawed
his feet and other parts of his body as he slept
during the night. To remedy this disagreeable
annoyance, he caught and tamed, after much exer-
tion and patient perseverance, some of the cats that
A NARROW ESCAPE. 60
ran wild on the island. These new friends soon
put the rats to flight, and became themselves the
companions of his leisure hours. He amused
himself by teaching them to dance, and do a
number of antic feats. Their numbers increased
so fast, too, under his fostering hand, that they
lay upon his bed and upon the floor in great
numbers.
The island abounded in goats, which he shot
while his powder lasted, and afterwards caught by
speed of foot. At first he could only overtake kids ;
but his frugal life, with air and exercise, so im-
proved his health and strength, that he could at
length run down the strongest goat on the island.
It was his custom, after running down the animals,
to slit their ears, and then allow them to escape.
The young he carried to the green lawn beside his
hut, and employed his leisure hours in taming
them. They, in time, supplied him with milk, and
even with amusement, as he taught them, as well
a,s his cats, to dance; and he often declared that
he never danced with a lighter heart or greater
spirit anywhere, to the best of music, than he did
to the sound of his own voice, with his dumb com-
panions. On one occasion, when pursuing a goat,
he made a snatch at it on the brink of a precipice,
of which he was not aware, as some bushes con-
cealed it from him. The animal suddenly stopped ;
upon which he stretched forward his hands to seize
it, when the branches gave way, and they both fell
from a great height. Selkirk was so stunned and
bruised by the fall, that he lay deprived of sensa-
tion and almost of life. Upon his recovery, he
70
SELKIRK'S SUFFERINGS.
*-*<?
ALEXANDER SELKIRK.
found the goat lying dead beneath him. This
happened about a mile from his hut. Scarcely was
he able to crawl to it when restored to his senses ;
and dreadful were his sufferings during the first
two or three of the ten days that he was confined
by the injury. He lay stretched upon his bed,
A RUDE ATTIRE. 71
unable to move but with extreme pain. There was
no human being to reach him a drink of cold
water, or to do the smallest service for him; yet he
did not despair; his heart was at ease, and he
poured it forth in prayer ; he felt a peace of mind
which religion can alone bestow ; and even in this
forlorn and painful situation, a ray of hope enlivened
the gloom with which he was surrounded. This
was the only disagreeable accident that befell him
during his long residence on the island.
As to his clothing, it was rery rude shoes he
had none, for they had been soon worn out. This
gave him very little concern, and he never troubled
himself in contriving any substitute to supply their
place. As his other clothes wore out, he dried the
skins of the goats he had killed, to make them into
garments, sowing them with slender thongs of
leather, which he cut for the purpose, and using a
sharp nail for a needle. In this way he made for
himself a cap, jacket, and short breeches. The
hair being retained upon the skin, gave him a very
uncouth appearance; but in this dress he ran through
the underwood, and received as little injury as the
animal he pursued. Having linen cloth with him,
he made it into shirts, sewing them by means of a
nail, and the threads of his worsted stockings, which
he untwisted for that purpose.
One day, in his ramble along the beach, he found
a few iron hoops, which had been left by some ves-
sel as unworthy to be taken away. This was to
him a discovery that imparted more joy than if he
had found a treasure of gold and silver, for with
them he made knives when his own was worn out;
72 DAY AFTER DAY.
and bad as they were, they stood him in great stead.
One of them, which he had used as a chopper, was
about two feet in length, and was afterwards long
kept as a curiosity at the Golden Head Coffee-
house, near Buckingham Gate. It had been then
changed from its original simple form, having,
when last seen, a buckhorn handle, with some verses
upon it.
Notwithstanding the tranquillity and peace of mind
which he now enjoyed, he still anxiously looked out
for a sail. The love of home was strong within
him, and he longed for the means of returning. He
was obliged, however, to be very cautious in observ-
ing the vessels that approached the island, to see
whether they were English or foreign ships, as to
have been taken by the Spaniards would have been
certain misery. He chose rather to stay upon the
island, and run the risk of dying alone, than fall
into their hands, as they would either have murdered
him in cold blood, or caused him to linger out a life
of misery in the mines of Peru or Mexico, unless he
chose to deny his religion and turn Papist; and even
in that case he would have been compelled to re-
nounce his country, and pass his weary days on
board one of their coasting vessels; for it was one
of their maxims never to allow an Englishman to
return to Europe who had gained any knowledge
of the South Seas. On one occasion Selkirk was
very nearly caught by the crew of a Spanish ship
which had anchored near the island. He was pur-
sued, and several shots were fired in the direction in
which he fled ; and he narrowly escaped by getting
up a tree, and remaining hid among the branches.
ENGLISH SHIPS IN SICHT. 73
This adventure made him very cautious in venturing
near the shore when strange ships were in sight.
At length, after he had been about four years on
the island, two English vessels appeared on its coast.
They were armed ships, named the Duke and the
Duchess, fitted out to cruise against the French and
Spaniards. On the 31st of January 1709, they
came in sight of Alexander Selkirk's dominions,
when he was, as usual, anxiously surveying the
watery waste. Slowly the vessels rose into view ;
and he could scarcely believe the sight real, for
often had he been deceived before. They gradu-
ally approached the island; and he at length ascer-
tained them to be English. Great was the tumult
of passions that rose in his mind ; but the love of
home overpowered them all. It was late in the
nfu'rnoon when they first e:mie in sight; and lest
they should sail again without knowing that there
was a person on the island, he prepared a quantity
of wood to burn as soon as it was dark. He kept
his eye fixed upon them till night fell, and then
kindled his fire, and kept it up till morning dawned.
His hopes and fears having banished all desire for
sleep, he employed himself in killing several goats,
and in preparing an entertainment for his expected
guests, knowing how acceptable it would be to them
after their long run, with nothing but salt provisions
to live upon.
His fire had been seen by those in the ships, and
had caused great surprise, as they supposed the
island to be uninhabited; and next day a boat was
sent on shore, with Captain Dover, Mr. Fry, and
six men, all well armed, to ascertain the cause of
74 SELKIRK'S CONDITION.
the fire. Alexander saw the boat leave the Duke,
and pull for the beach. He ran down joyfully to
meet his countrymen, and to hear once more the
human voice. He took in his hand a piece of linen
tied upon a small pole as a flag, which he waved as
they drew near to attract their attention. At length
he heard them call to him, inquiring for a good
place to land, which he pointed out; and flying as
swift as a deer towards it, arrived first, where he
stood ready to receive them as they stepped on
shore. He embraced them by turns; but his joy
was too great for utterance, while their astonish-
ment at his uncouth appearance struck them dumb.
He had at this time his last shirt upon his back;
his feet and legs were bare ; his thighs and body
covered with the skins of animals. His beard,
which had not been shaved for four years and four
months, was of great length, while a rough goat's-
skin cap covered his head. He appeared to them
as wild as the original owners of the skin which he
wore. At length they began to converse, and he
invited them to his hut; but its access was so very
difficult and intricate, that only Captain Fry ac-
companied him over the rocks which led to it.
When Alexander had entertained him in the best
manner he could, they returned to the boat, our hero
bearing a quantity of his roasted goat's-flesh for the
refreshment of the crew. During their repast, he
gave them an account of his adventures and stay
upon the island, at which they were much sur-
prised.
In the afternoon the ships were cleared, the sails
bent and taken on shore to be mended, and to make
HE QUITS HIS ISLAM). 75
tents for the sick men. Selkirk's strength and
vigour were of great service to them. He caught
two goats in the afternoon. They sent along with
him their swiftest runners and a bull-dog; but these
he soon left far behind, and tired out. He himself,
to the astonishment of the whole crew, brought the
two goats upon his back to the tents.
The two captains remained at the island until
the 1 2th of the month, busy refitting their ships,
and getting on board what stores they could obtain.
During these ten days, Alexander was the hunts-
man, and procured them fresh meat. At length,
till being ready, they set sail, when a new series of
diUiculties of another kind annoyed Selkirk, similar
10 those he had felt at his arrival upon the island.
The salt food he could not relish for a long time,
having so long discontinued the use of it ; for which
reason he lived upon biscuit and water. Spirits he
did not like from the same cause ; and besides, he
was afraid of falling into intemperance, for his reli-
gious impressions were as yet strong. From the
confirmed habit of living alone, he was reserved
and taciturn. This frame of mind, and a sedate
expression of countenance, continued longer than
could have been expected. Even for some time
after his return to England these qualities were
remarkable, and drew the notice of those to whose
company he was introduced. Shoes gave him great
inconvenience when he first came on board. He had
been so long without them, that they made his feet
swell, and crippled his movements ; but this wore
off by degrees, and he became once more reconciled
to their use. In other respects, he gradually re-
76 RETURNS TO LARGO.
sumed his old habits as a seaman, but without the
vices which sometimes attach to the profession. He
rigidly abstained from profane oaths, and was much
respected by both captains, as well on account of
his singular adventures as of his skill and good con-
duct ; for, having had his books with him, he had
improved himself much in navigation during his
solitude.
Alexander Selkirk continued with the ships dur-
ing their cruise, and returned with them to England
in the year 1711. On their return, they sailed
round the east coast of Scotland, that country so
dear to Selkirk, which at one time he had despaired
of ever seeing again. His joy was extreme at the
sight of the coast ; and it was with a feeling of great
pain that he saw it disappear from his sight without
being permitted to land. When he arrived in London,
he had been eight years, one month, and three days
absent from his native country. His adventures
excited great interest in London, and made his com-
pany be courted by the curious and the learned ;
but his earnest desire was to return home ; and a3
soon as he had realised the proceeds of his voyage,
he set out for Largo, his native village. It was the
forenoon of the Sabbath-day, when all were in
church, that he knocked at the door of his father's
house, but found not those whom he so earnestly
longed to see. He set out for the church, prompted
both by his piety and his love for his parents ; foi
great was the change that had taken place in his
feelings since he had last been within its walls.
After remaining some time engaged in devotion, his
eyes were ever turning to where his parents and
SELKIRK'S DEATH. 77
brothers sat, while theirs as often met his gaze ; still
they did not know him. At length his mother re-
cognised him ; and, forgetful of all but that she saw
before her her long lost son, she uttered a cry of joy,
and rushed towards him.
After remaining at home for some time, to enjoy
the society of his family and friends, Alexander
Selkirk entered the Royal Navy. He rose to the
rank of lieutenant, and died on board H.M.S. Wey-
mouth some time in the year 1723.
His sea-chest, his cocoa-nut shell cup, and other
relics, were long preserved and prized by his family
at Largo.
In the year 1741, the island of Juan Fernandez
was visited by Lord Anson, who has given an
account of the beauty of the place, and the delights
of the climate.
In the year 1814, the island was used as a state
prison by the patriots of Chili, to which country it
still belongs.
CHAPTER IV.
THE PAMPAS.
General Description-~Storms In the Pampas People The Gauchos, or
Indians of the Pampas Other Indian Tribes Terrible Adventure in
the Pampas.
To the north of Patagonia and of the Rio Negro,
between the Andes and the Atlantic Ocean, lie the
immense plains of the Pampas, stretching away as
far as the eye can reach, and surpassing in majesty
and grandeur all the other wonders of the American
continent. The inexpressible charm of these vast
solitudes is the perfect freedom enjoyed there ; but, on
the other hand, they oppress and almost bewilder the
mind from the air of sadness and monotony of which
they everywhere bear the impress. In some places,
one may travel two or three hundred miles without
seeing the semblance of a rock or even a stone.
On all sides there is excellent and nearly inexhaust-
ible pasturage, a carpet of high grass, diversified
by the blossoms of the clover, or the colossal stems
of the thistle, while here and there appear small
lakes or lagoons, varying in size, and with no visible
outlet. As the traveller approaches the Cordilleras,
THE PAMPAS.
PAMPAS OK AltS.
the aspect of the country is somewhat changed. It
becomes undulating, stony, and adorned with woods
and forests, which grow thicker and finer as they
extend towards the north.
There are few traces of life on the surface of the
Pampas. Here and there, in a crack or crevice of
80 A TERRIBLE STORM.
the earth, the cactus hides its thorny head, or a
solitary tree rises majestically upwards. Sometimes
above you, you may observe a condor describing
innumerable circles in the air, or perhaps you may
see in the distance a nandou (a kind of ostrich, but
with a more slender form), which seems to pass
and disappear in a few moments, so rapid is its
course.
The layer of humus, or good soil, on these plains
varies in depth from one to three feet ; under that
there is a thick layer of clay, then a bed of sand.
The ground is almost everywhere salt on the sur-
face, and the waters brackish ; but fresh, sweet
water springs from the wells, which are dry to a
certain depth.
Perhaps the most wonderful spectacles in the
savannas of South America are the fierce storms
which sweep over them. The pampero is in the
Pampas what the simoom is in the great desert of
Sahara. Masses of sand, raised by the storm, obscure
the light of day, and even at noon thick darkness
covers the earth. The roar of the thunder is mingled
with the howling of the winds and the noise of the
storm. Thousands of animals perish in the plain,
and men lie prostrate with their faces on the ground
till the tempest has passed by.
The population of this country is composed of
whites of Spanish origin; gauchos, half white half
Indian by birth ; and Indians, still savage, and
always much dreaded. The towns are chiefly in-
habited by the whites ; but many of them possess
estancias, or farms, in the country, situated at a con-
siderable distance from each other which must be
THK KSTANCIAS.
constantly provided with arm?, and secured against
the attacks of the Indians. The moderately rich
among the proprietors have not less than fifty thou-
sand head of cattle or horses. These have been
82 THE GAUCHOS DESCRIBED.
astonishingly multiplied since the Spanish conquest,
but they are half wild, and can only be taken when
they are wanted by the help of a good horse and a
lasso.
The true master of the Pampas is the gaucho
a half-savage shepherd, always on horseback.
Covered with his poncho, a sort of cloak which
clothes him from head to foot, still leaving his arms
perfectly free armed with the bola or with the lasso
his hunting-knife by his side he casts over the
plains a proud glance, expressive of his wild inde-
pendence. This king of these solitudes fears only
the Indian and the tiger ; but the Indian is daily
becoming more timid, and less to be feared ; and as
to the tiger, which ventures sometimes to approach
the habitations of men, and to commit great ravages
there, the gaucho dares boldly to wait for him, and
meet him in the open country, and to struggle as it
were in close combat with him. Watching the
spring of the creature, and even his slightest move-
ment with his poncho rolled like a shield round
his left arm, and his right armed with a cutlass
the gaucho bravely stabs the ferocious beast, and
makes his skin into a saddle-cloth for his horse, or
a mantle for his wife.
His own master from his childhood, the gaucho
mounts a horse before he is four years old, and helps
his parents to drive the cattle to their pasture-
ground. When a little older, he spends his time in
hunting, or tries to catch'the wild horse of the plain,
and subdue him. Indefatigable and restless, he
often spends the night in the open air, with no
covering but his cloak ; hence his constitution is
FOLLOW IXC THK TRAIL
83
LASSOING WILD DORSES.
inured to the greatest fatigue, and he becomes
able to ride almost incredible distances. In conse-
quence of such a life, the organs of his senses
become acute to a most extraordinary degree.
Kvcry gaucho is a rastreador ; that is to say, able
to follow any creature by the trace of its steps.
Amid these vast plains, where paths cross each
other in all directions, and where the herds wander
at will, he will distinguish the track of one animal
among a thousand ; he will know by the track of a
84 THE GAUCHO'S LIFE.
horse whether he has been free or captive, whether
loaded or not ; and he will even tell the time
when he has passed. If a theft has been committed
under cover of night, and the rastreador be sum-
moned in the morning, you may see him follow
without hesitation the trace of footsteps across
pathway and plain ; cross or go up the bed of a
stream ; and in spite of all obstacles, reach at length
the hiding-place of the guilty man, and say with
perfect confidence, " Here is the thief!"
He passes his time in sleeping, gambling, hunt-
ing, gathering together the cattle from time to time
to count or mark them, or killing and roasting the
animals necessary for food. Such are his only occu-
pations. He never eats bread, and the only kinds
of fruits or vegetables known to him are the peach
and the gourd. He lives entirely on animal food,
and consumes about eight hundred pounds of meat
in a year. He often roasts a whole animal entire
on a long spit, and invites his friends to partake of
it, when each guest cuts off for himself the piece he
prefers. Water is their only drink. The hut of
the gaucho is small and square, constructed of
stakes wattled and interwoven with willows, covered
with skins, and roofed with reeds or straw, a hole
being left in the middle of the roof to let out the
smoke.
The furniture and ornaments of his dwelling con-
sist of stones for seats, a table, and sometimes a
crucifix or an image of some saint (a memorial, per-
haps, of his half-Spanish descent). Playing at cards
is his greatest delight, and he will often spend whole
days in gambling, seated on his heels, having always
THE INDIAN TRIBES. 85
stuck in the ground at his side his long knife, from
which he never separates, ready to pierce to the
heart any one who should dare to cheat or to pro-
voke him. For the lightest provocation, for a
mere nothing, he hesitates not to draw out this long
knife and stab his adversary. Then he mounts his
horse and takes to flight, while all around him and
on his way warn him of danger, and help him to
escape from justice. When his horse falls down
exhausted, he leaves it to the vultures, and catches
a fresh one. When he is hungry, he dashes in among
the herds of cattle, takes one with the lasso, cuts
out a raw slice of its flesh, and lets the creature go.
As a murderer and a fugitive, he is well received
everywhere ; for among these barbarous peopb,
where neither religion nor law has any power
where the priests are as rude and wicked as their
people the public sympathy is always in favour of
the guilty, and almost never on the side of the
unfortunate victims of cruelty, or of the representa-
tives of law and justice.
Several different nations of Indians, a wild and
miserable race, are also scattered over the vast soli-
tudes of the Pampas; the Puelches, or Indians of the
East; the Huilliches, or Indians of the West; those
near the Rio Negro, &c. These nations are subdi-
vided into several hundreds of tribes, each ruled by
a chief whom they choose, and who are called
caciques. They neither build villages, houses, nor
even huts; but inhabit portable tents, which they
make by covering a frame of canes or reeds, with
the skins of young horses, whose flesh they have
devoured half raw. Horse flesh is their principal
SG THEIR CHARACTERISTICS.
food, with the addition sometimes of a kind of
bread or cake made of the meal of maize or wheat,
which they buy from the Spaniards, giving them in
exchange salt, cattle, and coverings of hair woven
by their wives. They are wanderers, and will not
take the trouble to cultivate the soil. Both men
and women paint their faces with various bright
colours, which adorns them exceedingly in their
own eyes, and renders them most horrible in the
eyes of strangers. They cover their shoulders with
a sort of mantle, and tie round their waists a square
piece of stuff, which they fasten by means of thongs
of leather; several of them complete this dress by a
conical hat, and a great pair of gaucho boots. The
women delight in covering their fingers with rings
of gold and silver, and suspending enormous ear-
rings from their ears.
The love of plunder, drunkenness, and laziness, are
ihe essential characteristics of the Indian of the
Pampas. All the hard work to be done falls to the
lot of his wife, who is, properly speaking, his slave.
The Romanist missionaries who have gone among
them, have never been able to do them the least
good. They profess to believe in a Supreme Being,
and in the immortality of the soul; but their religion
chiefly consists in the practice of sorcery. They are
formidable on account of the frequent razzias, or
plundering expeditions, which they undertake to
carry off the herds of their neighbours. Endowed
with the most piercing sight, they keep a watch
on all that passes in the plains of the Pampas,
keeping themselves out of sight. When they
think that they have a favourable opportunity,
A TRAVELLER'S STORY. 87
they dart like a cloud of vultures on the estancias,
or farms which are ill guarded seize horses,
cattle, and sometimes even women and children,
whom they make their slaves, and after having
stolen perhaps thousands of cattle, they go back to
the Andes to sell their plunder ; for the people of
Chili, with a guilty indifference to right or justice,
encourage these robbers by buying from them the
spoil which they know perfectly well to have been
stolen in the Pampas.
Such are the inhabitants, and such the general
character of the country which was the scene of
the following adventure :
At an early hour (says a traveller) I crossed the
threshold of the farm where we had been hospitably
received on our journey. I longed to breathe the
fresh morning air, and to bathe my feverish limbs in
the cool stream ; for I had been tormented all the
night with the stings of innumerable insects. Put-
ting my pistols in my belt and my rifle on my
shoulder, I descended into a ravine, through which
ran one of the numerous streams which flow down
from the Andes.
Impatient to refresh myself in the clear, cool
water, I did not pause to look at the beauty of the
scene around me ; but hastily undressing, I was
proceeding to bathe, when all at once I heard a
slight rustling among the shrubs and bushes which
clothed the sides of the ravine. I was quite aware
that I was in a dangerous situation. I knew that
the Pampas were infested by bands of Indian
savages, who had shortly before pillaged and deso-
lated several villages situated at the foot of the
88 A NARROW ESCAPE.
Andes. Soon I heard a cry of terror, and I imme-
diately threw myself from the rock where I stood
into the stream. I felt at the moment a sharp pain
in my leg, and I perceived by the red colour of the
water that I. had been wounded. Looking up, I
saw the dark form of an Indian warrior appearing
through the bushes. He was almost naked, and
his head was adorned with feathers. Before he
had time to draw another arrow from his quiver,
and bend his bow, I sprang out of the stream,
seized my rifle, and, sheltering myself behind a
rock, I levelled it at the Indian. He disappeared
like lightning, and hid himself again among the
bushes.
The cry of terror I had heard had been uttered
by one of the servants belonging to the farm who,
alarmed at seeing me go out so early, had followed
me to the brink of the ravine. This cry had aroused
all the inmates of the farm, as well as my travelling
companions, who now came flocking round me.
They beat the bushes, discovered the Indian war-
rior, who, struck by a rifle ball, rolled down to the
bottom of the ravine, and was recognised as one of
the chiefs of the Indian tribes who had laid waste
the villages near the Andes. We soon after heard
that several other Indians belonging to the same
tribe had been seen prowling about in the neigh-
bourhood of the farm. This news caused us some
alarm, and we returned to the hacienda, to consult
as to the measures necessary for safety during the
rest of our journey.
Ten days before we had quitted San Jago, the
capital of Chili, on our way to Buenos Ayres, the
At ROSS THE PAMPAS. 89
capital, or at least the chief city of the Confedera-
tion of Rio de la Plata. Our party consisted of four
travellers, three guides, and four rancheros for ser-
vants. It was necessary for us to cross the Pampas,
and guides are indispensable in a country where
there are no roads; they are also useful in pro-
curing fresh horses for travellers when their own
are worn out. We had arrived the previous even-
ing at the hacienda of San Jacintho, situated about
thirty leagues on the eastern slope of the Andes.
There we found a relay of guides ; those who had
brought us through the defiles and across the preci-
pices of the mountains quitted us here, and a new
set of guides undertook to conduct us across the
Pampas, and were to leave us a few leagues from
Buenos Ayres.
After having held a council, the majority were of
opinion that the Indians who had alarmed us were
only a small band of scouts detached from the main
body of the tribe, and we resolved to continue oui
journey. One of our companions, however, quitted
us, preferring to return to Chili with a numerous
party of travellers, to exposing his life with us to the
attacks of the Indians. I left the hacienda, therefore,
with only two companions and our guides. By the
advice of the latter, we descended into the ravine,
and it was not till after we had followed the course
of the stream for a distance of some leagues that
we again ascended the bank, and entered the
Pampas.
Having reached the plain, we put our horses to
the gallop, and when two hours before sunset we
stopped to rest, we calculated that we were already
90 APPROACH OF INDIANS.
about twenty leagues distant from the hacienda.
Our guides cut the grass round us to form a suffi-
cient space for our encampment ; they lighted a tire,
and we took our evening meal. As a measure of pre-
caution, instead of leaving our horses to graze at
liberty, we tied them to stakes which our guides had
brought with them.
Just as the sun was disappearing below the
horizon, one of the rancheros uttered a cry of alarm,
and drew our attention to a point in the distance,
where we could just distinguish a troop of Indian
horsemen rapidly advancing towards us by the way
we had come.
It was a moment of deep anxiety; what should
we do? Supposing that they were enemies, our
horses were so wearied that flight was impossible ;
we resolved then to wait for the Indians, and to
prepare for a contest. We saddled our horses, we
gave arms to our servants, we loaded our rifles and
our pistols. Meantime the Indians were fast coming
nearer, they were about sixty in number ; their wild
cries resounded in our ears. They stopped at the
distance of about two hundred paces from our little
group. One of them came forward alone ; he was
armed with a bow, a hunting-knife, and a heavy
tomahawk suspended from his shield ; his com-
panions were armed like himself; they had no fire-
arms.
He advanced within the range of our rifles. We
had still some hope that these Indians might not
belong to the tribe whose chief had that morn-
ing fallen by our hands. One of our guides
approached the Indian chief, and said a few words
APPROACH OF INDIANS. 91
to him in the language of the country; the two
others followed him and also spoke, but none of
them received any reply. The Indian continued to
gaze at us tranquilly. At length, as if a sudden
thought had struck him, he turned quickly round
and rejoined his troop. At his command the
Indians spread their ranks, and keeping beyond the
range of our guns, they formed a circle to surround
us. The decisive moment was come ; we mounted
our horses and placed ourselves back to back, so as
to face our enemies on all sides. Assailed by a
shower of arrows, we replied by a discharge of
musketry. One of my companions fell dead at my
side. We put our horses to the gallop, and passed
through the ranks of our enemies. Night was
coming on, and we hoped to profit by the darkness
to escape and return to the hacienda. I saw the
knives of two Indians gleaming over my head. I
knocked down one of them with a blow of my rifle.
My horse, made furious by a wound, rushed wildly
through my enemies, and carried me beyond the
reach of their arrows. I heard their voices behind
me in pursuit, apparently very near. My horse was
staggering faint with loss of blood which was flow-
ing fast from his wound. Hoping that, freed from
my weight, he would run more easily, I dismounted,
and lying down on the ground, I hid myself among
the long grass. A moment after about twenty
Indians on horseback passed on without perceiving
me. When they were at some distance, I rose and
began to make my way through the long grass, not
without great difficulty. A short time after I again
heard the gallop of the Indians' horses. I con-
92 THE PAMPAS ON FIRE.
eluded that they had overtaken my horse, and find-
ing him without a rider, that they had returned to
seek me. I continued to walk on through the dry
grass, when turning for a moment to look round, I
perceived a reddish light.
The Indians had set fire to the grass, in order to
cut off my retreat by surrounding me with a circle
of fire. Numerous as they were, they might set fire
to the plain without much risk to themselves, as they
had been able with great ease to clear a sufficient
space in which they would stand with safety, but a
solitary man could have no hope of escape in this
way. I resolved then to redouble my speed, in
order to escape from the flames which pursued me,
but I was soon forced to abandon this hope. The
fire swept with such rapidity along the dry plains,
that I saw myself condemned to perish in the
flames. They lighted up the plain all around me,
when, all at once, by the merciful guidance of Pro-
vidence, I saw at a little distance the dead body of
the horse which had shared my dangers. A bright
idea flashed across my mind, and it seemed to me
that this poor animal might furnish me with a
means of escape. I took my hunting-knife, and
cut away the grass all round me, so as to form a
small circle within which the flames could not
spread ; but this circle was very small, and the near
approach of the fire prevented me from enlarging it.
Then I cut open my horse, I tore out the entrails,
and sheltered myself within the still warm body.
No words can give any idea of the horror of this
scene. On all sides, as far as I could see, there were
masses of flame more than twenty feet in height
94 A DREADFUL EXPERIENCE.
surmounted by clouds of black smoke. There was
not a breath of air, and yet the fire swept along as
rapidly as if it were driven before a tempest. The
few minutes which elapsed before the flames had
passed by the little circle within which I lay were
a time of inexpressible anguish ; the fire was around
me, above me, within me ; 1 seemed to breathe the
fiery breath of a furnace. My blood was as if dried
up, my brain seemed ready to burst God alone
could save me in this hour of fearful peril, and a
fervent prayer arose to him from the very depths of
my heurt.
At length the danger lessened, my body was no
longer within reach of the flames, but I had lost all
consciousness. When I recovered from my faint, I
was tormented by a burning thirst ; I cut off a morsel
of the flesh of my horse and sucked the blood. A
little revived, I thought of the means of escape. The
country was unknown to me, but I was certain that
I could not fail to be taken if I returned in the direc-
tion of San Jacintho. I had heard the guide say that
towards the south there were numerous ravines
through which flowed the streams which came down
from the mountains. I went in this direction as nearly
as I could guess, with the hope of reaching one of
these ravines before the dawn of day ; but I could
scarcely support myself. I threw down my gun and
everything which I could do without, keeping only
my pistols and a piece of the flesh of my horse.
After having walked for some hours over the
plains blackened by the burning, I at length per-
ceived a few bushes. I went towards them, and
reached the brink of a ravine which formed the bed of
I1KI.P IN NEED. 95
a torrent. I easily quenched the thirst which tortured
me, and I plunged into the cool, refreshing water
dressed as I was. Towards the end of the day I began
to feel hungry, for since the morning I had walked at
least twelve leagues without food. Overwhelmed
with fatigue and hunger, I lay down on the brink of
the ravine, and after having given humble and
hearty thanks to God for this first deliverance, I
fell into a deep sleep. The coldness of the night
air awoke me about an hour before sunrise; my
limbs were stiffened, and I walked on in order to
warm myself. I continued to walk all the morning
under the fiery rays of a burning sun, till at length,
exhausted with fatigue, heat, and hunger, I lay
down on the edge of the stream.
After I had escaped the fire, must I then die of
hunger? I saw neither birds nor animals of any
kind that I could catch my trust in God was be-
ginning to fail, when I perceived a great water
serpent which had come out of the stream, and was
gliding away towards the clefts of the rock. I broke
its back with a blow from a stone, and I finished it
with my hunting-knife. I cut off its head, the only
part which could be venomous, and gathering some
brushwood and dry sticks, plentiful on the edge of
the ravine, I lighted a fire and broiled the body of
the serpent. Excessive hunger made me think this
strange food delicious. Having thus restored a little
my exhausted strength, I took with me the remains
of the serpent which I had broiled whole, and con-
tinued my journey. I passed a whole day and
night without any other food than the serpent's
flesh. The further I advanced, the broader thu
9G NEW DIFFICULTIES.
ravine became, and I at length reached a place
where it received another stream from the north.
The burning of the plain had not extended beyond
this, and I found myself again among the long grass
of the Pampas.
On the fourth day I succeeded in killing a young
buffalo, which, with several other animals of the
same kind, had plunged into the water to get rid
of the myriads of flies and mosquitoes which tor-
mented him. The rest of the troop pursued me, and
I only succeeded in escaping them by scrambling up
a rock which they could not climb. A second pistol
shot frightened them, and they disappeared in the
plains. J cut off some slices of meat from the one I
had killed, and broiled them. Strengthened by such
a good repast, I proceeded on my way, taking with
me a few slices of the broiled beef wrapped in one
of the sleeves of my coat. I had been obliged to
take off my coat and throw it away. It had been
BO saturated with the blood of the horse, that the
heat had brought flies and worms upon it, and it
was so disgusting that I could not keep it on. The
rest of my dress was much in the same state, but I
managed to wash it in the stream.
Through all my difficulties I did not lose courage.
Full of confidence and faith in the merciful Provi-
dence who had preserved me so far, I continued
my march, hoping soon to reach some hospitable
shelter.
On the morning of the eighth day I had reached the
foot of the first mountain ridge, and I was walking in
a direction which I hoped might lead to some village,
when I heard the sound of the bells of a troop of
A WARRIOR RACE. 97
mules. A few minutes afterwards I found myself
in the midst of a party of muleteers, who were
carrying leather and tallow to the little town of
San Juliana. I gave thanks from the very depths
of my heart to God who had so graciously preserved
me through so many dangers.
As I had some money with me, I easily managed
to procure the few things that were absolutely
necessary for the moment from the mule-drivers, and
I agreed to accompany them to the place of their
destination. There, by means of my letters of credit,
I procured what money I needed, and set off again
for the hacienda which I had left eight days before.
The Indians of the Pampas are indeed formidable
foes, from whom it is difficult to escape. The occu-
pation of their lives is war (says Sir Francis Head);
they consider fighting as their noble and most
natural employment; and they declare that the
proudest attitude of the human figure is when,
bending over his horse, man is riding at his enemy.
The profession of the Indian is war; his food is
simple ; and his body is in that state of health and
vigour that he can rise naked from the plain on
which he has slept, and proudly look upon his
image, which the white frost has marked out upon
the grass, without inconvenience. Living in a bound-
less plain, all his occupations and amusements
must necessarily be on horseback ; and from being
constantly accustomed to ride the Indians can
scarcely walk. When they assemble to attack their
enemies they collect large troops of horses, and
littering the wild shriek of war they start at a
gallop. As soon as the horses they ride are tired,
(289) " 7
98 WITHOUT " IMPEDIMENTA."
they vault upon the bare backs of fresh ones, keep-
ing their best till they positively see their enemies.
The whole country affords pasture for their horses;
and whenever they choose to stop they have only to
kill some mares for their repast. The ground is
the bed on which, from their infancy, they have
always slept; the flesh of mares, the food on which
they have ever been accustomed to subsist, without
either bread, fruit, or vegetables. They are,
therefore, unencumbered by baggage or provision
waggons. How impossible would it be for an
European army to contend with such an aerial force!
As well might it attempt to drive the swallows
from the country as to harm these naked warriors.
CHAPTER V.
STATE OF LA PLATA, ETC.
La Plata Republic of Paraguay Uruguay Buenos Ayrea Story of
Maldonata.
THE region of the Pampas is of immense extent, and
comprises a great number of different states. Most of
these united in a vast confederation form the Argen-
tine Republic or confederation of Rio de la Plata.
The chief of these states, called by the name of their
capital town, are those of Mendoza, Cordova, Santa
Fe, Corrientes, &c. Near them, but more towards
the north, is situated the republic of Paraguay; a
country famous for its curious tea, which is made
of the young leaves of a kind of holly known by the
name of mate, used all over South America to make
a drink like the tea of China. Assumption, the
capital of this small state, is an unimportant town.
Upon the frontiers of Brazil, to the east of the
Argentine Confederation, is situated the small re-
public of Uruguay, whose capital, Monte Video, is a
very commercial town, which attracts many foreign
merchants, and exports to Europe an enormous
quantity of raw hides and leather, of wool and tallow,
100 A SOUTH AMERICAN LEGEND.
of the bones and horns of cattle; the produce of
the innumerable flocks and herds which graze on
the Pampas.
The principal city of this country, which was
long its capital and centre, and which, now sepa-
rated from the confederation, forms a republic by
itself, is the city of Buenos Ayres (literally, good
air) a large town containing 100,000 inhabitants,
which is becoming yearly more prosperous; and
which we might suppose destined for a brilliant
future, if in such a country there were any certain
hope of a lasting peace on a solid foundation.
STORY OF MALDONATA:
A LEGEND OP BUENOS ATRES.
There have been great changes at Buenos Ayres
since 1555, the year when the city was founded,
amidst numerous tribes of hostile and warlike
Indians. Many and terrible were the vicissitudes
of the infant settlement; and an interesting legend
is still preserved among the people, which may serve
to give some idea, at least, of the trials and dangers
to which the early colonists were exposed.
A short time after its first foundation, the new
city was threatened by famine. All who attempted
to go out in search of provisions were massacred by
the savages, and it was found necessary to prohibit
any one from leaving the enclosure of the walls on
pain of death.
Yet a woman, to whom hunger had given courage
to brave death, eluded the vigilance of the guards
who had been placed round the colony. The fugitive
THE WOMAN AND THE LION I 101
was named Maldonata. After having wandered for
some time in unknown and desert paths, she entered
a cavern to rest. Imagine her terror when she saw
a lioness in the cave, and her surprise when this
formidable creature approached her, trembling, and
began to caress her and lick her hands, uttering
cries of pain more fitted to excite compassion than
fear. The Spanish woman saw that the poor lioness
was very ill; she at once, with great presence of
mind, returned her caresses, brought her water to
drink in the beaver hat which she wore, and tried
to soothe and relieve the sufferings of the poor
animal. Her cares were well repaid, the lioness
recovered, and soon went in search of food, which
she divided between her young ones and her kind
attendant. Maldonata shared every day the food of
the little lions, which played witli her and amused
her, while their mother provided for all. So time
passed, till the young lions were old enough to go
to seek their own food; the family of the cave then
dispersed in the woods, and the lioness, no longer
summoned home by the wants of her cubs, disap-
peared also, and went further into the desert in
pursuit of her prey.
Maldonata, left alone and without any means of
subsistence, was obliged also to leave the cave,
where her gentle kindness to the sick lioness had
made a temporary home. She wandered away, not
knowing where she went, and she soon fell into the
hands of Indian savages more cruel than wild
beasts. A lioness had cherished and fed her; but
men made her a slave. Soon after she was retake- n
by the Spaniards, who led her back to Buenos
102 MALDONATA'S SAFETY.
Ayres. The governor, more cruel than lions or
savages, did not think her sufficiently punished by
her sufferings, for her escape contrary to his edict.
He sentenced her to be tied to a tree in the midst
of the wood, there either to die of hunger, or to
become the prey of wild beasts.
The cruel sentence was executed; and two days
after, a party of soldiers were sent to see what had
become of their victim. They found her alive, in the
midst of hungry tigers, which were glaring at her
with greedy eyes and open mouths; but which did not
dare to approach her, because a fierce lioness and
several young lions lay at her feet, as if to guard
her from harm. At such a sight the soldiers stood
motionless with terror and surprise. When the
lioness perceived them, she slowly left the foot of
the tree, as if to permit them to approach and
unbind her benefactress; but after they had done
this, the poor animal returned, and again crouched
at Maldonata's feet, licking her hands. The grate-
ful lioness continued to follow the woman to the
very limit of the wood, showing in every possible
way her regret at losing her.
The soldiers on their return reported to the
governor all that had taken place ; and the story of
the humanity of a wild beast recalled to him, in
some degree, the human feelings which he seemed
to have left behind him when he crossed the sea
from Europe to America. He permitted poor
Maldonata to live, as she had been so miraculously
preserved from death by a merciful Providence.
Meantime the Indian tribes, which were hovering
round the Spanish colony, with the intention of
THE COURSE OF EVENTS. 103
blockading, and finally starving the people, drew
their lines closer and closer round them. The only
hope of the Spaniards appeared to be in a speedy
return to Europe; but they had heard that there
was gold to be found in the interior of the country,
and the expectation of finding some of this ever-
valued treasure encouraged them to endure, and
nerved them to a desperate resistance. They quitted,
however, the city of Buenos Ayres, and founded the
town of Assumption, on the banks of the river, at
three hundred leagues' distance from the sea. This
seemed imprudent, as it was cutting themselves off
from all help from the metropolis; but, in their
eyes, it was bringing them nearer the treasures they
so much coveted, and their avarice was still greater
than their foresight.
The savage inhabitants of the country where they
settled, proved to be either less courageous than
the people of Buenos Ayres, or more easy to civilize.
Far from disturbing the Spaniards at their work,
they gladly supplied them with food. This conduct
gave some hope that it might be possible for the
Spaniards to attach them to themselves, and even
to persuade them to learn their religion. In order
to this, everything was done to allure them by cere-
monies, not altogether unlike the heathen rites to
which they had been accustomed. A procession
took place on the great saints' days of the Popish
Church, when all the colonists appeared with their
shoulders bared, and carrying the instruments of
flagellation in their hands. The Indians, who were
invited to be present at this ceremony, so strange to
them, went in a body, numbering eight thousand
104 A MASSACRE AVERTED.
men, armed with bows and arrows, which they
always wore, as they had vowed not to lay them
down till they had drowned the invading strangers
in their own blood.
The moment fixed for the massacre had come,
and its execution seemed certain; when Irala, the
Spanish commander, was warned by an Indian in
his service of the existence of a conspiracy so little
suspected till then.
Upon this the General caused a report to be cir-
culated, that the settlement was in danger of being
attacked by the savage Topiges.
He ordered his troops to arm themselves, and he
summoned the chiefs of the savages, on pretence of
taking counsel with them about the common danger.
As soon as he had thus got the leaders of the con-
spiracy in his power, Irala put some of them to
death, and threatened others with the same fate.
The unfortunate men who survived, threw them-
selves at his feet, and obtained their pardon by
swearing in their own name, and in the name of
their nation, to yield implicit and unquestioning
obedience to the Spaniards. This reconciliation,
which seems to have been sincere on both sides,
was sealed by the several marriages between the
Spaniards and the Indians; and it is from the union
of these races, so unlike each other, that the metis,
or half-bloods are descended, now so numerous
over all South America.
At a later period, the colonisation of Buenos
Ayres was again resumed without difficulty; and
this city has ever since continued to prosper.
CHAPTER VI.
THE EMPIRE OF BRAZIL.
General Description Its vast Rivers First Discovery and Subsequent
History Arrival of Don John VI. from Portugal- Brazil Declared a
Kingdom Don John Returns to Portugal Revolution Brazil Ac-
knowledged Independent-Don Pedro I. Crowned Emperor His Abdi-
cation The Present Emperor Don Pedro II.
BRAZIL is the second country of the western world,
and the leader of the South American States. It is
thirty-live times the size of Great Britain, arid occu-
pies all the eastern part of South America. " It
would seem as if Providence had designed this
land as the residence of a great nation. Nature
has heaped up her bounties of every description :
cool breezes, lofty mountains, vast rivers, and plen-
tiful rains, are treasures far surpassing the sparkling
gems and the rich minerals which abound within
the borders of this extended territory. No burning
sirocco sweeps over this lair land to wither and deso-
late it; and no vast desert, as in Africa, separates
its fertile provinces. That awful scourge, the earth-
quake, which causes strong men to become weak
as infants, and which is constantly devastating the
cities of Spanish America, disturbs no dweller in
106 THE BRAZILIAN RIVERS.
this empire. While in a large part of Mexico, and
also on the west coast of South America from
Copiapo to the fifth degree of south latitude rain
has never been known to fall, Brazil is refreshed
by copious showers, and is endowed with broad
flowing rivers, cataracts, and sparkling streams.
The Amazon, or, as the aborigines term it, Para
" the father of waters" with his mighty branches,
irrigates a surface equal to two-thirds of Europe ;
and the San Francisco, the Parahiba do Sul, the
vast affluents of the La Plata, under the names of
the Paraguay, Parana, Cuiba, Paranahiba, and a
hundred other streams of lesser note, moisten the
fertile soil, and bear their tributes to the ocean
through the southern and eastern portions of the
empire. Let any one glance at the map of Brazil,
and he will instantly be convinced that this land is
designed by nature for the sustenance of millions.
Brazil is aland of rivers and streams, well watered
and fertile ; while in Peru, on the other side of the
great continent, rain never falls, and the country is
dry and comparatively barren. Mr. Fletcher says,
" I have seen the western and eastern coasts of
South America within thirty days of each other,
and the former seemed a desert compared with the
latter." What is the reason of this ?
Captain Maury thus answers the question. He says,
" The coast of Peru is within the region of per-
petual south-east trade winds. Though the Peruvian
shores are on the verge of the great South Sea boiler,
yet it never rains there. The reason is plain. The
south-east trade winds in the Atlantic Ocean first
strike the water on the coast of Africa. Travelling
DISCOVERY OF BRAZIL. 107
to the north-west, they blow obliquely across the
ocean until they reach the coast of Brazil. By this
time they are heavily laden with vapour, which
they continue to bear along across the continent,
depositing it as they go, and supplying with it the
sources of the Rio de La Plata, and the southern
tributaries of the Amazon. Finally, they reach the
enow-capped Andes, and here is wrung from them
the last particle of moisture that that very low
temperature can extract. Reaching the summit
of that range, they now tumble down as cool and
dry winds on the Pacific slopes beyond. Meeting
with no evaporating surface, and with no tempera-
ture colder than that to which they were subjected
on the mountain-tops, they reach the ocean before
they become charged with fresh vapour, and before,
therefore, they have any which the Peruvian climate
can extract. Thus we see how the top of the Andes
becomes the reservoir from which are supplied the
rivers of Chili and Peru."
Brazil was first discovered by Vincent Yanez
Pinzon, who was a companion of Columbus, and
commanded the Nina in that first glorious voyage
which made known to the old world the existence of
the new. He sailed again from Palos in December
1499; and crossing the equator, his eyes were glad-
dened by a green promontory, which he called Cape
Consolation. This is now known as Cape St.
Augustine, the headland just south of Pernambuco,
one of the chief cities in Brazil. He sailed thence
northward, and discovered the mouths of the Ama-
zon and Orinoco. He took possession of this goodly
land in the name of Castile ; but before he reached
108 ITS CONQUEST BY PORTUGAL.
Spain, a Portuguese expedition, under the command
of Pedro Alvarez Cabral, had also reached the
Brazilian coast, and claimed it for Portugal. He
named it Vera Cruz (the true cross), and set up a
large cross as the memorial of his visit. The Pope of
Rome, who, in those days, pretended to the power
of giving away countries he had never seen, accord-
ing to his own good pleasure, decided the disputed
claim, and the Portuguese became masters of Brazil.
Don Emanuel, king of Portugal, sent out another
expedition to his new dominions ; and in one of the
vessels sent was Americus Yespucius, the Floren-
tine, whose name has been given to the whole great
continent. He was also the means of changing the
name of Brazil, which Cabral had named Vera
Cruz. The most valuable part of the cargo which
Americus Vespucius carried back to Europe, on
his second expedition to Brazil, was the well-known
dye-wood, Ccesalpinia Braziliensis, called, in the
Portuguese language, pan brazil, on account of its
resemblance to brazas, "coals of fire; "the land
whence it came was termed the u Land of the Brazil
Wood ;" and finally this appellation was shortened
to Brazil, and completely usurped the names Vera
Cruz, or Santa Cruz.
Brazil was governed by viceroys from Portugal
till the year 1807, when that kingdom was involved
in the troubles of the European continent. Threat-
ened by Napoleon, the vacillating Prince Regent of
Portugal, Don John VI., was induced, after much
hesitation, to declare war against England, too
late to pacify the French emperor. An English
fleet, under Sir Sidney Smith, appeared at the
EMIGRATION OF A ROYAL FAMILY. 109
mouth of the Tagus ; and the British ambassador
left no other alternative to Don John VI., than to
surrender to England the Portuguese fleet, or to
avail himself of the British squadron for the pro-
tection and transportation of the royal family to
Brazil. The moment was critical, for the army of
Napoleon had penetrated the mountains of Beira.
No resource remained to the Prince Regent but to
choose between a tottering throne in Europe, and
a vast empire in America. There was no time for
indecision. The archives, treasures, and most pre-
cious effects of the crown were transferred to the
Portuguese and English fleets ; and on the 29th of
November 1807, accompanied by his family and a
multitude of faithful followers, the Prince Regent
took his departure amid the combined salvos of the
cannon of Great Britain and of Portugal. That
very day Marshal Junot thundered upon the heights
of Lisbon, and the next morning took possession of
the city.
The fugitive royal family were welcomed in Brazil
with every possible manifestation of joy The city
of Rio de Janeiro was illuminated for nine successive
evenings.
From that time may be dated many improve-
ments in Brazil; the whole face of the country
underwent great and rapid changes. Before this
time all commerce and intercourse with foreigners
had been rigidly prohibited by the narrow policy of
Portugal. The printing press had not made its
appearance, books and learning were rare, the
people were in every way made to feel their depend-
ence, and the spirit of industry and enterprise were
alike unknown.
110 REVOLUTION IN BRAZIL.
The first act of the Prince Regent was to give
that carta regia, which opened the ports of Brazil
to the commerce of the world. A printing press
was introduced, and a Royal Gazette was pub-
lished. Academies of medicine and the fine arts
were established. The Royal Library, containing
sixty thousand volumes of books, was opened for
the free use of the public. Foreigners were invited,
and embassies from England and France took up
their residence at Rio de Janeiro. Foreign com-
mercial houses were opened, and foreign artizans
established themselves in Rio and other cities.
This country could no longer remain a colony.
A decree was promulgated in 1815, declaring it
elevated to the dignity of a kingdom, and hereafter
to form an integral part of the United Kingdom of
Portugal, Algarves, and Brazil. Soon after this
the Queen Donna Maria I. (who had long been im-
becile) died, and her son, the Prince Regent, was
crowned King in 1818.
Tranquillity followed the erection of Brazil into
a constituent portion of the kingdom, but it was of
short duration. Discontent was at work. There
were jealousies between the newly-arrived Portu-
guese and the native Brazilians. The revolution
which occurred at Portugal in 1821 in favour of a
constitution, was immediately responded to by a
similar one in Brazil. After much excitement and
alarm from the tumultuous movements of the people,
the King Don John YI. conferred upon his son
Don Pedro, Prince Royal, the office of regent and
lieutenant to his majesty in the kingdom of Brazil.
He then hastened his departure for Portugal, ac-
INDEPENDENCE OR DEATH. Ill
companied by the remainder of his family, and the
principal nobility, who had followed him. He em-
barked on board a line of battle-ship on the 24th of
April 1821. Just as the vessel was ready to sail,
the old king pressed his son to his bosom for the
last time, and exclaimed : " Pedro, Brazil will, I fear,
ere long separate herself from Portugal, and if so,
place the crown on thine own head rather than
allow it to fall into the hands of any adventurer."
The old king's prediction was soon realized.
The prince, had left Portugal so young that his
sympathies and feelings were associated with the
land of his adoption. He found himself surrounded
with difficulties. The Cortes of Portugal, jealous
of his position, ordered him to return to Europe.
The Brazilians entreated him to remain with them,
and urged him to declare the country independent,
and assume the title of emperor. He at first
refused, but the measures of the Cortes of Portugal
continued to be arbitrary in the extreme towards
Brazil; and at length, while the prince was on a
journey to the province of San Paulo, he received
despatches from the mother country, which had the
effect of putting an end to all hesitation and delay.
On the 7th of September 1822, when he read these
despatches, he was surrounded by his courtiers, on
the beautiful campinas in sight of San Paulo, a
city which had ever been, as it is now, celebrated
in Brazil for the liberality and intelligence of its
inhabitants. It was then, on the margin of an
insignificant stream, the Ypiranga, that he made
that exclamation, " Independenda ou morte!" (Inde-
pendence or death) which became the watchword
112 LRAZIL AND ITS EMPERORS.
of the Brazilian revolution; and from the 7th of
September 1822, the independence of the country
has since held its official date. It has been truly
said that, in the eyes of the civilized world, it was
a memorable circumstance, and must ever form an
epoch in the history of the Western continent. It
was indeed a great event, and led to vast re-
sults.
The Brazilian revolution was comparatively a
bloodless one. The glory of Portugal was already
waning, her resources were exhausted, and her
energies crippled by internal dissensions. The
Portuguese forces were soon compelled to withdraw,
and leave Brazil to her own control. In less than
three years from the time independence was declared
on the plains of the Ypiranga, Brazil was acknow-
ledged to be independent at the court of Lisbon.
In the meantime, Don Pedro I. had been crowned
emperor, and an assembly of delegates from the
provinces had been convoked for the formation of a
constitution. A liberal constitution was afterwards
framed, and was accepted by the emperor in 1824.
By this Brazil is still governed.
Jealousies, however, continued between the*
various parties in the state, and after a troubled
rule of ten years, the emperor abdicated in favour
of his son, Don Pedro II., and returned to Europe
in 1831, accompanied by his empress and his eldest
daughter, Donna Maria, the late queen of Por-
tugal.
With all his faults, Don Pedro was a great man ;
and as time rolls on, his merits are more recognised
by the Brazilians. They have erected statues and
TL1K i'UKSKNT SO VKRKICN. 113
public monuments to liis memory, and entitle him,
Washington do Brazil"
The present emperor, Don Pedro II., is a learned
and most accomplished prince. It has been re-
marked that a stranger can scarcely start a subject
in regard to his own country that would be foreign
to the emperor. He is acquainted, so far as
translating is concerned, with every principal Euro-
pean tongue, and can converse in six languages,
lie is an enthusiastic chemist, and a good topogra-
phical engineer, and an artist. There is not a>
session of the Brazilian Historical Association from
which he is absent, and he has been named an
honorary member of the New York Historical
Society. He is familiar with the modern literature
of England, Germany, and the United States to a
degree of minuteness absolutely surprising.
In stature he is indeed a Saul head and shoul-
ders above his people; and in his court dress, with
his crown upon his fine fair brow, and his sceptre
in his hand, whether receiving the salutes of his
subjects, or opening the Imperial Chambers, he is a
splendid specimen of manhood. His height, when
uncovered, is 6 feet 4 inches, and his head and body
are beautifully proportioned. At a glance one can
see in that full brain and in that fine blue eye that
he is not a mere puppet upon the throne, but a man
who thinks. Under his constitutional rule, civil
liberty, religious toleration, and general prosperity
are better secured than in any other government of
the New World, save where the Anglo-Saxon bears
sway. In 1850, the slave trade (which had con-
tinued despite solemn treaties) was effectually put
(289) >t
114 PROGRESS OF BRAZIL.
down, and soon after a number of the leading
dealers in the inhuman traffic men who had
hitherto held a high position in society were
banished. In Brazil, everything is in favour of
freedom; and such are the facilities for the slave to
emancipate himself, that it is probable slavery will
be abolished altogether before another half century
rolls round. By the Brazilian laws, a slave can go
before a magistrate, have his price fixed, and pur-
chase himself; and a man of mental endowments,
even if he had been a slave, would be debarred
from no official station, however high, unless it
might be that of Imperial Senator. In the colleges,
the medical, law, and theological schools, there is
no distinction of colour.
In 1850, the first steamship line to Europe was
established, and now the empire is united to the
Old World by no less than eight lines. England's
commerce with Brazil, since the establishment
of her first steam line in 1850, has increased her
exports more than 100 per cent. In 1856 alone,
Great Britain imported from Brazil 21,830,000
pounds of cotton. The imports of coffee from
Brazil to Britain were 3,000,000 pounds in 1852,
and rose to 52,000,000 in 1853, 59,000,000 in
1854, and 112,000,000 in 1855. Brazil receives
from Great Britain 54 per cent, of all her im-
ports.
For the last ten years the progress of Brazil has
been onward. Her public credit is of the highest
character. Internal improvements have been pro-
jected, and are being executed, and tranquillity has
prevailed. Why must we add that there is a dark
IM'I.rr.NCE OF POPF.HY. 115
side to the picture? Popery, with its accompanying
ignorance, is still hanging like a drag on Diaxil,
keeping the masses sunk in darkness and supersti-
tion, and preventing the more rapid advance of this
great nation. Yet even in this point of view there
is hope. Although Popery is the established religion,
it is not allowed to rule, and to this may be attri-
buted the advance of Brazil beyond Mexico or the
other South American States.*
* In addition to the foregoing sketch, we may remind the reader
that for the last two years Brazil, in conjunction with the Argentine
Republic, has waged war against Paraguay and its Dictator, Lopez,
who has been driven out of all his strongholds.
CHAPTER VII.
BIO DE JANEIRO.
First Discovery of the Bay Origin of the Name The Beauty of the
Scenery The Sugar-Loaf The Organ Mountains Commercial Im-
portance of Rio de Janeiro Its Fine Harbour General Aspect of the
City.
WHAT a glorious spectacle must have presented
itself to those early navigators De Solis, Majellan,
and Martin Affonso de Souza who were the first
Europeans that ever sailed through the narrow
portal which constitutes the entrance to Nitherohy
(Hidden Water), as these almost land-locked waters
were appropriately and poetically termed by the
Tamoya Indians! Though the mountain sides and
borders of the bay are still richly and luxuriantly
clothed, then all the primeval forests existed, and
gave a wilder and more striking beauty to a scene
so enchanting in a natural point of view, even after
three centuries of the encroachments of man. De
Souza, as the common tradition runs, supposed that
he had entered the mouth of a mighty river, rival-
ling the Orinoco and the Amazon, and named it
Rio de Janeiro (River of January), after the happy
month January 1531 in which he made his
imagined discovery. Whatever may have been the
I'.AY OF RIO DK .1 A N I .ll:<-. 1]7
origin of tliis misnomer, it is not only applied to
the large and commodious bay, but to the province
in which it is situated, and to the populous metro-
polis of Brazil, which sits like a queen upon its
bright shores.
The first entrance of any one into the Bay of
Rio de Janeiro forms an era in his existence. Even
the dullest observer must afterwards cherish sub-
lime views of the manifold beauty and majesty of
the works of the Creator. I have seen the most
rude and ignorant Russian sailor, the immoral
and unreflecting Australian adventurer, as well as
the cultivated and refined European gentleman,
stand silent upon the deck, naturally admiring the
gigantic avenue of mountains and palm-covered
isles, which, like the granite pillars before the
temple of Luxor, form a fitting colonnade to the
portal of the finest bay in the world.
On either side of that contracted entrance, as far
as the eye can reach, stretch away the mountains,
whose pointed and fantastic shapes recall the glories
of Alpland. On our left the Sugar-Loaf stands
like a giant sentinel to the metropolis of Brazil.
The round and green summits of the Tres Irmaos
(Three Brothers) are in strong contrast with the
peaks of Corcovado andTijuca; while the Ga\i;i
rears its huge sail-like form, and half hides the
fading line of mountains which extends to the very
borders of Rio Grande de Sul. On the right an-
other lofty range commences near the principal
fortress, which commands the entrance of the bay,
and, forming curtain-like ramparts, reaches away
in picturesque headlands to the bold promontory
118
CAPE FRIO.
J
THK GROAN* MOUNTAINS.
well known to all South Atlantic navigators as
Cape Frio. Far through the opening of the bay,
and in some places towering even above the lofty
coast-barrier, can be discovered the blue outline of
A NOBLE (I TV. 119
the distant Organ mountains, whose lofty pinnacles
will at once suggest the origin of their name.
As far up the bay as the eye can reach, lovely,
little, verdant, and palm-clad islands are to be
seen rising out of its dark bosom ; while the hills
and lofty mountains which surround it on all sides,
when gilded by the rays of the setting sun, form a
befitting frame for such a picture. At night the lights
of the city have a fine effect; and when the land-
breeze began to blow, the rich odour of the orange
and other perfumed flowers is borne seaward along
with it.
The city of Rio de Janeiro, or San Sebastian, is at
once the commercial emporium and the political
capital of the nation. While Brazil embraces a
greater territorial dominion than any other country
of the Nrw \Vorld, together with natural advantages
second to none on the globe, the position, the scenery,
and the increasing magnitude of it! capital, render it
a metropolis worthy of the empire. Rio de Janeiro
is the largest city of South America, the third in
size on the western continent, and boasts an antiquity
greater than that of any city in the United States.
Its harbour is situated just within the borders of
the southern torrid zone, and communient'
before desci il.c.l. with the wide-rolling Atlantic by
a deep and narrow passage between two granite
mountains. This entrance is so safe as to render
the services of a pilot entirely unnecessary. So
commanding, however, is the position of the various
fortresses at the mouth of the harbour, upon it>
islands, and on the surrounding heights, that, if
sufficiently manned by a body of determined men,
120 ITS GENERAL ASPECT.
they might defy the hostile ingress of the proudest
navies in the world.
Once within this magnificent bay of Nitherohy,
the wanderer of the seas may safely moor his bark
within hearing of the roar of the ocean surf.
The aspect which Rio de Janeiro presents to the
beholder bears no resemblance to the compact brick
walls, the dingy roofs, the tall chimneys, and the
generally even sites of our northern cities. Its
surface is diversified by hills of irregular, but pic-
turesque shape, which shoot up in different directions,
leaving between them flat intervals of greater or
lees extent. Along the bases of these piles, and up
their sides, stand rows of buildings, whose whitened
walls and red-tiled roofs are in happy contrast with
the deep green foliage that always surrounds, and
often embowers them. The most prominent emi-
nence, almost in front of us, is the Morro de Cas-
tello, which overlooks the mouth of the harbour, and
on which is the tall signal<-staff which announces,
in common with the telegraph on Babylonia Hill,
the nation, class, and position of every vessel that
appears in the offing. Upon our right we see the
convent-crowned hill of San Bueto; and if we could
have a bird's-eye view from a point midway be-
tween the turrets of the convent and the signal-
staff of Morro de Castello, we should see the city
spread beneath us, with its streets, steeples, and
towers, its public edifices, parks, and vermillion
chimneyless roofs, and its aqueducts spanning the
spaces between the seven green hills, constitut-
ing a gigantic mosaic, bordered upon one side by
the mountains, and on the other by the blue waters
of the bay.
122 THE CAPITAL OF BRAZIL.
From the central portion of the city the suburbs
extend about four miles in each of the three princi-
pal directions ; BO that the municipality of Rio de
Janeiro, containing 300,000 inhabitants, covers a
greater extent of ground than any European city
of the same population.
Here dwell a large part of the nobility of the
nation ; and for a considerable portion of the year
the representatives of the different provinces, the
ministers of state, the foreign ambassadors and
consuls, and a commingled populace of native
Brazilians and of foreigners from almost every
clime. That which, in the popular estimation,
however, confers the greatest distinction upon Rio,
is not the busy throng of foreign and home mer-
chants, sea captains, ordinary government officials,
and the upper classes of society; but it is in the
fact that here resides the imperial head of Brazil,
the young and gifted Don Pedro II., who unites the
blood of the Braganzas and the Hapsburgs, and
under whose constitutional rule, civil liberty, re-
ligious toleration, and general prosperity, are better
secured than in any other government of the New
World, save where the Anglo-Saxon bears sway.
Rio de Janeiro will ever be memorable as the
first spot in the Western Hemisphere where the
banner of the reformed religion was unfurled. A
Frenchman, named Nicholas Durand de Ville-
gagnon, a knight of Malta, aspired to the honour
of establishing a colony in the New World. He
was an officer of distinction in the French service,
and had been appointed to the honourable post of
commander of the vessel which bore Mary, Queen
A HUGUENOT COLONY. 123
of Scots, from France to her own country. He
pretended to be a Protestant, and had the cun-
ning and address to secure the patronage of the
great and good Admiral Coligny, whose persevering
attempt to plant the reformed religion in both
North and South America was a leading feature in
his life up to the time when St. Bartholomew's Eve
was written in characters of blood.
Villegagnon proposed to found an asylum for the
persecuted Huguenots. Admiral Coligny's influence
secured to him a respectable number of colonists.
The French Court was disposed to view with no
small satisfaction the plan of founding a colony
after the example of the Portuguese and Spanish.
In 1555 Henry II. of France furnished three small
vessels, of which Villegagnon took the command,
and sailed from Havre de Grace. After a long and
perilous voyage, he entered the Bay of Nithcrohy
and commenced fortifying a small island near the
entrance, now denominated Lage, and occupied by
a fort. His fortress, however, being of wood, could
not resist the action of the water at flood-tide, and
he was obliged to remove further upward, to the
island now called Villegagnon, where he built a
fort, at first named in honour of his patron Coligny.
This expedition was well planned, and the place for
a colony fitly chosen. The French were welcomed
by the natives, who disliked the Portuguese.
It was upon this island that they erected their
rude plan of worship, and here these French Puri-
tans offered their prayers and sang their hymns of
praise nearly threescore years and ten before a pil-
grim placed his foot on Plymouth Rock, and more
124 A TRAITOROUS PAPIST.
than half a century before the Book of Common
Prayer was borne to the banks of the James
River.
Many colonists from Europe were disposed to
join this honourable bond of pioneers. The Church
of Geneva became interested in the object, and
ministers and students were appointed to go to the?
new colony. Had their leader been true, a noble
and free State might soon have arisen in South
America. But Villegagnon was a traitor a Papist
in disguise. As soon as he dared, he avowed his
real opinions, and began to persecute the truth.
Those who had come to the other side of the globe
to enjoy liberty of conscience, found persecution
where they had hoped for freedom. Many of them
returned, and on their homeward voyage, ill pro-
vided with stores, they were reduced to the greatest
misery. For want of food they not only devoured
all the leather, even to the covering of their trunks,
but in their despair they attempted to chew the
hard, dry Brazil wood which happened to be in the
vessel. Several died of hunger. They arrived in
Europe just in time to undeceive a body of Flemish
adventurers ready to embark for Brazil, arid also
about 10,000 Frenchmen who would have emigrated,
if the object of Coligny in founding his colony had
not been thus wickedly betrayed. Had it not been
for the treachery of Villegagnon to the party to
which he pretended to belong, Rio de Janeiro would
probably have been at this day the capital of a
French Protestant colony or of an independent
State, free from the curse of Popery.
But those who would have joined the infant
A I'oiriTcrKsi-: VKTOKY. 125
colony Laving been deterred, by finding that the
leader was a traitor, the small band who first wrnt
out were left to fight the battle alone. The French
Court was too busy burning and massacring the
Huguenots (as they called the Protestants) to think
of Brazil ; and Coligny, after his generous plans had
been ruined by the treachery of Villegagnon, no
longer regarded the colony. The day for emigra-
tion from his country w as over ; and they who
should have colonized Rio de Janeiro were bearing
arms against a bloody and implacable enemy in de-
fence of everything dear to man.
On the 20th of January 1567 (called by the
Papists St. Sebastian's day), the stronghold of the
French was stormed by the Portuguese, who had
settled on the mainland. All who loved the truth
were either murdered or forced to fly. The Portu-
guese governor traced out the plan of a new city,
which he called St. Seba.-tian, alter the idol of the
day. He celebrated his victory by the death of the
martyrs of the truth ; and thus the new city was
founded in blood. The name of St. Sebastian has
been since changed to Rio de Janeiro, the name ol
the bay.
The author of " Brazil and La Plata" makes the
following remarks in regard to the treachery of
Yillegagnon, and the consequent defeat of the first
French colonists :
" With the remembrance of this failure in estab-
lishing the reformed religion here, and of the direct
cause which led to it, I often found myself specu-
lating as to the possible and probable results which
would have followed the successful establishment of
126 WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN.
Protestantism during the three hundred years that
have since intervened. With the wealth, power,
and increasing prosperity of the United States before
us, as the fruits, at the end of two hundred years, of
the colonization of a feeble band of Protestants on the
comparative bleak and barren shore of the northern
continent, there is no presumption in the belief that,
had a people of similar faith, similar morals, similar
habits of industry and enterprise, gained an abiding
footing in so genial a climate, and on a soil so exu-
berant, long ago the still unexplored and impenetrable
wilderness of the interior would have bloomed and
blossomed in civilization as the rose, and Brazil,
from the sea-coast to the Andes, would have become
one of the gardens of the world. But the germ
which might have led to this was crushed by the
bad faith and malice of Villegagnon ; and, as I look
on the spot which bears his name and perpetuates
his reproach, the two or three solitary palms
which lift their tufted heads above the embattled
walls, and furnish the only evidence of vegetation
on the island, seem, instead of plumed warriors in
the midst of their defences, like sentinels of grief
mourning the blighted hopes of the long past."
But we should not look too " mournfully into the
past;" for though, in the mysterious dealings of
Providence, no Protestant nation, with its attendant
vigour and progress, sways it over that fertile and
salubrious land, may we not, to a certain extent,
legitimately consider the tolerant and fit constitution
of the empire and its good government, the general
material prosperity, and the advancement of the
Brazilians, in every point of view, far beyond all
INSTANCE OF CREDULITY. 127
other South American nations, as an answer to the
faithful prayers with which those pious Huguenots
baptized Brazil more than three centuries ago?
Yes! there is hope for Brazil. Popery, though
established, is despised by all the intelligent natives
of the country. It is there seen undisguised, as it
really is, amixture of heathen rites and Christianity,
idolatry with a Christian name, the worship of idols
under the name of saints, uncovered with the cloak
of dissimulation which wily priests find it advisable
to throw over it in our land of truth and light.
For example, in Bahia, a city of Brazil, they
worship an image which they call St. Anthony,
which was cast on shore by the waves, and which
the people poor ignorant Romanists fancied had
come direct either from heaven or from Rome (had
they ever been in Italy they would have known that
Rome and heaven are far apart). Protestants say
that this was the figure-head of a wrecked ship,
cast on shore by the currents which Lieutenant
Maury has so well described. But Romanists in
Brazil worship it ; it was first promoted to the rank
of captain, and then the bills for its washing, clothing,
&c., are regularly paid by the deluded people to the
Franciscan monks.
It may easily be believed that all intelligent men
despise the Romanist Church, both for the ignorance
and the immorality of the priests. They see that
Romanism is falsehood, but they know not where
to find the truth. An interesting remark waa
made by a Brazilian to an American missionary,
who asked him what report he should give to the
religious world respecting Brazil ? " Say that we
1 28 DIFFUSION OF THE BIBLE.
are in darkness, behind the age, and almost aban-
doned." "But that you wish for light?" "We
wish for nothing. We are hoping in God, the
Father of lights."
They are, at least, ready to receive the light.
They are thankful for the Bibles distributed among
them by the agents of the American Missionary and
Bible Societies. The more the priests oppose the
Bible, the more the people welcome it, ready to
cast off the yoke of falsehood. They appear willing
to receive the joyful tidings of the gospel of Christ.
May the light of truth in all its brightness vet beam
on Brazil!
CHAPTER VIII.
VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS OF BRAZIL.
Extent of Brazil Its Vast Resources Its Productions, Mineral and
Vegetable The Mandioc Root Its Use by the Natives By the
1'ortuRuese Modes of Preparing it Drink made from it The Palm
Tree Its Uses The Caoutchouc or Gum-Elastic Tree The Milk
Tree, Ac.
BRAZIL has neither heen explored nor surveyed,
and its full extent cannot be accurately ascertained;
but according to the best calculations made in 1845
for the " Diccionario Geographico Braziliero," the
empire contains within its borders 3,004,460 square
miles. The United States, by the latest computa-
tions of the Topographical Bureau at Washington,
has an area of 2,936,166 square miles. Brazil is
therefore 68,294 square miles larger than the whole
territory of the Union ; in other words, we should
have to add to the possessions of the United States
an area equal to that of the adjacent States of New
York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont, to
make it of the same dimensions as the land of the
Southern Cross European Russia possesses an
area of 2,142,504 square miles, and the remainder
of Europe 1,687,626. It is by these figures and
comparisons that we may arrive at an approximate
idea of the vastness of Brazil.
(2S9) 9
130 RESOURCES OF BRAZIL.
It has already been seen that the internal resources
of this empire are commensurate with its favoured
position and its wide extent. It is neither the gold
of its mines nor the diamonds that sparkle in the
beds of its inland rivers that constitute the greatest
sources of its available wealth. Although nature
has bestowed upon Brazil the most precious minerals,
yet she has been still more prodigal in the gift of
vegetable riches. Embracing nearly five degrees
north of the equator, the whole latitude of the
southern torrid and ten degrees of the southern
temperate zones, and stretching its longitude from
Cape St. Augustine (the easternmost point of
the continent) across the mountains of its own
interior to the very foot of the Andes, its soil and
its climate offer an asylum to almost every valuable
plant. In addition to numberless varieties of indi-
genous growth, there is scarcely a production of
either India which might not be naturalized in
great perfection under or near the equator ; while
its interior uplands, and its soil in the far south,
welcome many of the fruits, the grains, and the
hardier vegetables of Europe.
It would take volumes, instead of a few pages, to
describe all the rich and varied productions of
Brazil, coffee, cotton, and sugar are the chief.
Its giant forests furnish inexhaustible supplies of fine
wood, and its plains feed vast herds of cattle.
Wheat and rice grow in some parts, but the man-
dioca is the principal farinaceous production of
Brazil, and is as much associated with the sus-
tentation of life in Brazil as wheat in more northern
climes.
THE CASSAVA-PLANT. 131
Tliis vegetable (Manihot utilissima) is deserv-
ing of particular notice. Its peculiarity is the
union of a deadly poison with highly nutritious
qualities. It is indigenous to Brazil, and was
known to the Indians long before the discovery of
the country. The little cultivation to which the
natives attended was that of this root, which, when
planted in burned ground, thrives among the stumps
and roots of trees without further husbandry. It
is difficult to imagine how savages should have even
discovered that a wholesome food might be prepared
from this root.
Their mode of preparation was by scraping it to
a fine pulp with oyster-shells, or with an instru-
ment made of small sharp stones set in a piece of
bark, so as to form a rude rasp. The pulp was
then rubbed or ground with a stone, the juice care-
fully expressed, and the last remaining moisture
evaporated by the fire. The operation of preparing
it was thought unwholesome, and the slaves, whose
business it was, took the flowers of the nhambi and
the root of the urucu in their food, " to strengthen
the heart and the stomach."
The Portuguese soon invented mills and presses
for this purpose. They usually pressed it in cellars,
and places where it was least likely to occasion
accidental harm. In these places it is said that a
white insect was found generated by this deadly
juice, itself not less deadly, with which the native
women sometimes poisoned their husbands, and
slaves their masters, by putting it in their food. A
poultice of mandioc, with its own juice, was con-
sidered excellent for imposthumes. It was admini-
132 ITS MODE OF PREPARATION.
stered for worms, and was applied to old wounds to
eat away the diseased flesh. For some poisons
also, and for the bite of certain snakes, it was
esteemed a sovereign remedy. The simple juice
was used for cleaning iron. The poisonous quality
is confined to the root, for the leaves of the plant
are eaten, and even the juice might be made innocent
by boiling, and be fermented into vinegar, or inspis-
sated till it became sweet enough to serve for honey.
The crude root cannot be preserved three days by
any possible care, and the slightest moisture spoils
the flour. Piso observes that he had seen great
ravages occasioned among the troops by eating it in
this state. There were two modes of preparation by
which it could more easily be kept. The roots
were sliced under water, and then hardened before
a fire. When wanted for use, they were grated
into a fine powder, which, being beaten up with
water, became like a cream of almonds. The other
method was to macerate the root in water, till it
became putrid, then hang it up to be smoke-dried ;
and this, when pounded in a mortar, produced a
flour as white as meal. It was frequently prepared
in this manner by savages. The most delicate pre-
paration was by pressing it through a sieve, and
putting the pulp immediately in an earthen vessel
on the fire. It then granulated, and was excellent
when either hot or cold.
The native mode of cultivating it was rude and
summary. The Indians cut down the forest trees,
let them lie till they were dry enough to burn, and
then planted the mandioc between the stumps. They
ate the dry flour in a manner that baffled all imita-
A FERMENTED LIQUOR. 133
tion. Taking it between their fingers, they tossed
it into their mouths so neatly that not a grain was
lost. No European ever tried to perform this feat
without ])o\vdering his face or his clothes, to the
amusement of the savages.
The manioc supplied them also with the ban-
queting-drink. They prepared it by an ingenious
process, which savage man has often been cunning
enough to invent, but never cleanly enough to reject.
The roots were sliced, boiled till they became soft,
and set aside to cool. The young women then
chewed them, after which they were returned into
the vessel, which was filled with water, and once
more boiled, being stirred the whole time. When
this process had been continued sufficiently long,
the unstrained contents were poured into earthen
jars of great size, and buried up to the middle in
the floor of the house. The jars were closely
stopped, and in the course of two or three (lav-
fermentation took place. They had an old super-
stition that if it were made by men it would be good
for nothing. When the drinking-day arrived, the
women kindled fires around these jars, and served
out the warm potion in half-gourds, which the men
came dancing and singing to receive, and always
emptied at one draught. They never ate at these
parties, but continued drinking as long as one drop
of liquor remained ; and having exhausted all in
one house, removed to the next, till they had
drunk out all in the town. These meetings
were commonly held once in the month. De Levy
witnessed one which lasted three days and three
nights. Thus man in every age and country gives
134
MANIHOT OR MANDIOCA.
proof of his depravity, by converting the gifts of a
bountiful Providence into the means of his own
destruction.
BOOTS OF MANIHOT OB MANDIOCA.
Mandioca is of slow growth, the more com-
mon species requiring from twelve to eighteen
months to ripen. Its roots have a great tendency
to spread. Cut slips of the plant are inserted in large
holes, which at the same time counteract this ten-
dency, and furnish it with a dry soil, which the
mandioca prefers. The roots, when dry, are of a
fibrous texture, corresponding in appearance to
HOW TAPIOCA IS MADE. 13."
those of the long parsnip. The process of prepara-
tion is, first to boil them, then to remove the rind ;
after which the pieces are held by the hand in
contact with a circular grater, turned by water-
power. The pulverized material is then placed in
sacks, several of which, thus filled, are subjected
to the action of a screw-press for the expulsion of
the poisonous liquid. The masses thus solidified
by pressure are beaten fine in mortars. The sub-
stance is next transferred to open ovens, or concave
plates, heated beneath, where it is constantly :md
rapidly stirred until quite dry. The appearance of
the farina, when well prepared, is very white and
beautiful, although its particles are rather coarse.
It is found upon every Brazilian table, and forms
a great variety of healthy and palatable dishes.
The fine substance deposited by the juice of the
mandioca, when preserved, standing a short time,
constitutes the tapioca of commerce, so well known
in the culinary departments of North America and
Europe, and is now a valuable export from Brazil.
But the most generous gift of Providence to
Brazil is the palm-tree. The traveller in the interior
provinces and upon the sea-coast, away from the
cities, is struck by the very great application of
this "prince of the vegetable kingdom" to the
wants of man. And if the prince plays so impor-
tant a part in the domestic economy of Europeans
and their descendants, his highness was, and is,
servant for general house and field work among
the aborigines of Brazil. To this day it furnishes
the Amazonian Indians house, raiment, food, drink,
salt, fishing-tackle, hunting implements, and musi-
136
A TREE OF LIFE.
TAPPING A PALM,
cal instruments, and almost
every necessary of life, except
flesh. Take the hut of a
Uaupe Indian, on one of the
affluents of the Rio Negro.
The rafters are formed by the
straight and uniform palm
called Leopoldina pulchra,
the roof is composed of the
Carana palm, and the doors
and frame-work of the split
stems of the Iriartea exporiza.
The wide bark which grows
beneath the fruit of another
species is sometimes used as
an apron. The Indian's ham-
mock, his bow-strings, and
his fishing-lines are woven
and twisted from the fibrous
portions of different palms.
The comb with which the
males of some of the tribes
adorn their heads is made
from the hard wood of a
palm, and the fish-hooks are
made from the spine of the
same tree. The Indian makes,
from the fibrous spathes of
the Manicaria saccifera, caps
for his head, or cloth, in which
he wraps his most treasured
feathered ornaments. From
eight species he can obtain
USES OF THE PAI.M.
intoxicating liquor ;
from many more (not
including the cocoa-
nut palm, found on
the sea-coast) he re-
ceives oil and a har-
vest of fruit ; and from
one (the Jard assu) he
procures, by burning
the large clusters of
small nuts, a substi-
tute for salt. From
another he forms a
cylinder for squeezing
the mandioca pulp,
because it resists for
a long time the action
of the poisonous juice.
The great woody
spathes of the Maxi-
miliana, regia are
"used by hunters to
cook meat in, as, with
water in them, they
stand the fire well"
(Wallace). These
spathes are also em-
ployed for carrying
earth, and sometimes
for cradles. Arrows
are made from the
spinous processes of
the Patawd, and
THE CAOUTCIIOU
138 SOME NOTABLE TEEES.
lances and heavy harpoons are made from the Triatea
ventricosa; the long blow-pipe through which the
Indian sends the poisoned arrow that brings down
the bright birds, the fearless peccari, and even the
thick-skinned tapir, is furnished by the Setigera palm
the great bassoon-like musical instruments used in
the "devil-worship" of the Uaupe's are also made
from the stems of the palm-trees.
The caoutchouc or gum-elastic tree, called by the
natives borracha, and by learned men SipMlla elastica,
grows to the height of eighty, or even a hundred
feet, with a tall, erect stem, a spreading top, and
thick glossy foliage. From the stem, when cut, a
substance flows, having the appearance of rich yellow
cream. This when collected, dried, and blackened
in the smoke, is our India-rubber. The natives of
Brazil make it into shoes, bottles, toys, &c. Another
tree, the massanderuba, yields a white fluid resembling
milk, much prized by the natives as a beverage.
Here, too, in abundance grows the Bertholletia excelsa,
a giant tree, which produces the Brazil-nuts which
are brought to this country ; but we never taste them
in perfection, as the fruit is much more delicious when
fresh. In the forests are also found the trees which
produce vanilla, annato, cacao, cinnamon, <fec.
CHAPTER IX.
THE ANIMALS OF BRAZIL.
A River Voyage Birds and Monkeys Food of the Natives Salutation
in Brazil The Jaguar Its Habits A Story from Catliifs Travels
The Feast Interrupted The Disturber Killed The Tapir The Ant-
eater The Iguana -Birds and Insects.
FEW things seem pleasanter (in the description at
least) than a voyage at a good season on a Brazilian
river. The wild freedom of life in the canoe would
of itself be an irresistible attraction to many. The
river boats are made so light, that they float gently
along the stream. A thatched hut is erected on
board, which serves for a house; and sometimes, for
a variety, the boat is moored to the shore, and the
hammocks of the voyagers are suspended for the
night from the branches of a shady tree. For miles
and miles unreckoned the river flows on through
dark thick forests, shady even at noonday, rich in
beauty and ever-changing variety eye and ear are
alike charmed by the luxuriant foliage of the trees, the
graceful creepers hanging from bough to bough, and
the full song of the many-coloured birds, flitting
like bright flowers among the dark green leaves.
Numerous animals inhabit the woods. Flamin-
FOOD OF THE N. \TIVKS. 141
goes, spoonbills, herons, and waterhens, live on the
banks of the rivers. Monkeys of all kinds chatter
and whistle in the trees, and flocks of parrots scream
as their enemies the hawks pursue them. Fish and
game abound. The natives eat many things that
seem strange food to us. Their favourite delicacy
is the flesh of the lizard. They eat also the flesh
of the manatee, or sea cow, which is like coarse beef.
Instead of butter they use an oil made from turtle's
eggs, and called turtle-egg butter; and they think a
roasted monkey an excellent dish.
Beautiful as is the scenery on the banks of the
Brazilian rivers, the dangerous currents and other
annoyances spoil the pleasure of the traveller in
some degree. The zancudoes and mosquitoes and
others of their tribe are a continual plague. So
miiniTous and annoying are they, that in some
parts of Brazil the morning salutation is not as
with us, ' How do you do?" or, " It is fine weather
to-day;" but, " How did you find the zancudoes
luring the night?" " How are you to-day for the
mosquito-
Still worse than the mosquitoes, the traveller has
to guard also against the attacks of wild and venom-
ous animals. One of the most common of the wild
Ix-asts of South America is the jaguar or panther.
The jaguar (Felis oncd) is an animal of the feline
kind ; that is to say, it is one of the family of cats.
It partakes of the qualities and habits of the tiger;
it is a native of the hotter parts of South America,
and, from its being the most formidable quadruped
there, it is sometimes called the tiger, or panther, of
the new world. Its colour is a pale, brownish yel-
142
ABOUT THE JAGUAR.
low, spotted with black. It preys not only on the
larger domestic quadrupeds, but also on birds, fish,
tortoises, turtles' eggs, &c. The jaguar is an excel-
JAGUAR FISHING.
lent climber, and is equally expert at swimming, so
that it is not easy to escape from him. He has been
known to climb a tree forty or fifty feet in height in
A SCENE IN THE FOREST. 143
pursuit of monkeys, leaving the mark of his sharp
claws on its smooth bark ; and he has been also
known to swim across a broad and deep river. He
catches fish cleverly in the shallows ; and when he
surprises the turtle asleep on the sand, he turns
them neatly on their backs, so that they cannot rise,
and then devours them at his leisure.
As in illustration of the stirring nature of a life
in the Brazilian forests, we quote a scene from the
travels of the celebrated Catlin, whose whole life was
spent in exploring woods and wilds, and in becoming
acquainted with savage life in all its features. Once,
while he was voyaging on the river Trombutas, in
Brazil, with a few companions, they were resting on
the shore for their mid-day meal. A feast it was to
be ; for they had killed a wild hog, and determined
to have a good banquet. They were roasting it
whole, savage fashion, at a fire kindled on the shore.
But near them there were natives of the woods, who
liked wild hog quite as well as they did, and perhaps
thought that these strangers had no right to the
game in the wild hunting grounds so long all their
own.
However that may be, the panther, the only na-
tive lord of the soil, and proprietor of the game,
came to see who had been poaching on his manor,
attracted by the pleasant odour of the roasting hog.
Before he reached the place where the cooking was
going on, he found one of the poachers, weary with
hunting, asleep on the grass. Not being very hungry,
and surprised perhaps at the unusual form of man,
my lord panther began to examine the intruder on
his territories ; and he gently lifted the legs of the
144 ABOUT THE TAPIR.
sleeping man with his paws, playing with them as
his cousin the cat, in her sly and gentle mood, might
play with a captive mouse before putting it to death.
So this play of the panther would doubtless have
ended in the death of the sleeping man, if his dan-
ger had not been perceived by his companions.
Immediately on seeing it, Catlin hurried from the
fire, where their dinner was cooking, to the boat,
where he had left his revolver. The head of
the panther was behind the body of the sleeping
man. Catlin whistled gently ; the panther looked
up, and received a ball between the eyes, which
stretched him lifeless by the side of his intended
prey. Imagine the surprise of the sleeper, when,
awakened by the shot, he saw how narrowly he
had escaped from the jaws of the panther !
The tapir is the largest animal of South America;
it forms one of the connecting links between the
elephant and the hog. Its snout is lengthened
into a kind of proboscis, and, with the exception of
the trunk of the elephant, which it resembles, is the
longest nasal appendage belonging to any quadruped.
It is, however, devoid of that clever little finger
with which nature has enriched the trunk of the
land leviathan. This curious animal has many
fossil relatives, but only three living species (two of
them belonging to South America) have as yet
been discovered.
The tapir is extensively distributed over South
America east of the Andes, but especially abounds
in the tropical portions. It seems to be a nocturnal
vegetarian, sleeping during the day, and sallying
forth at night, feeds upon the young shoots of trees,
A i-i.\vi:un:L ANIMAL.
145
lunls wild fruits, maize, &c., &c. It is of a deep
In-own colour throughout, approaching to black, be-
t wtM-n three and four feet in hr'mht, and from five to six
in length. The huir of the body, with the exception
of the mane, is scanty, and so closely depressed to
the surface, that it is scarcely perceived at a short
T1IK TAJ-I1U
distance. Its muscular power is enormous; and
this, with the tough, thick hide (almost impervious
to musket ball) which defends its body, enables it to
tear through thickets in whatever direction it chooses.
(289) ]0
146 A GOOD SWIMMER.
The jaguar frequently springs upon it, but is often
dislodged by the activity of the tapir, who rushes
through the bushes and underwood, and endeavours
to brush off his enemy against the thick branches.
Its ordinary pace is a sort of trot ; but it sometimes
gallops, though awkwardly, and with the head down.
It is very fond of the water ; and high up on the
Organ Mountains are pools where it delights to
wallow. Its disposition is peaceful, and, if not
attacked, it will neither molest man nor beast ; but
when set upon by the hunter's dogs, it can inflict
terrible bites. Mr. Heath informed me that each
time it seizes a dog with its teeth, the flesh is cut
completely from the bone of the canine intruder.
The flesh of the tapir is dry, and is often eaten Dy
the Indians of the interior, by whom it is hunted
with spears and poisoned arrows. It takes to the
water, and is not only a good swimmer, but appears
almost amphibious, being enabled to sustain itself a
long time beneath the surface ; hence it has some-
times been called Hippopotamus terrestris. The
largest which Mr. Heath ever shot weighed fourteen
Portuguese arrobas (about four hundred and fifty
pounds), though, doubtless, much larger exist in
the Amazonian regions. Naturalists divide the
American tapir into two species, that of the
lowlands, and that of the mountains, the latter,
found on the eastern slopes of the Andes, differing
but little from the one already depicted and described.
The peccari is often met with in the woods of
Brazil ; and this little native swine is the most pug-
nacious fellow imaginable. Neither men nor dogs
inspire reverence, for he will attack both with im-
BRAZILIAN RODENTS.
147
punity. It is gregarious in its habits, and will with
its companions charge most vehemently, no matter
THE PECCARY.
how great the odds. It is, I believe, one of the
very few animals that has no fear of the detonation
of fire-arms.
The paca, the capybara, and the agouti, abound
in Brazil, and are of the same family as marmots
and beavers. The paca attracts the attention of the
hunter both on account of the difficulty of its cap-
ture (as it takes the water, and swims and dives
admirably), and the esculent nature of its flesh. It
is about eighteen inches in height, and two feet in
length ; and its colour is brown spotted with white.
The hinder limbs (being considerably bent) are
longer than the anterior ones; and its claws are
well formed for digging and burrowing. The paca
is easily domesticated, and makes a lively pet,
eating readily out of the hand of those it is accus-
tomed to, but hiding from strangers.
The great ant-eater is a most curious animal, but
well adapted to the purposes for which it was de-
148
AN INDIAN STRATAGEM.
1. CAPYBARA.
2. AGOUTI.
signed by the Creator. Its short legs and long claws
(the latter doubled up when in motion) do not bin
der it from running at a good pace ; and when the
Indians wish to catch it they make a pattering noise
upon the leaves as if the rain were falling, upon
which the myrmecophaga cocks his huge bushy tail
over his body, and, standing perfectly still, soon
falls a prey. In the northern part of Minas-Geraes
a naturalist once came suddenly upon the great
ant-eater, and, knowing the harmless nature of its
A FINE SPECIMEN.
149
mouth, seized it by the long snout, by which he
tned to hold it, when it immediately rose upon its
hind legs, and, clasping him around the middle with its
powerful fore paws, completely brought him toastand.
It was struck down with a club a number of times,
but soon recovered and ran off; and not until a
pistol-ball was lodged in its breast was the natural-
ist able to add it to his collection. It measured six
feet in length without the tail, which, together with
the long tufts of hair, measured full four feet more.
OREAT ANT-EATEB.
When the great ant-bear sleeps it lies on one side,
rolls itself up so that its snout rests on its breast,
150 THE GREAT ANT-EATER.
places all its feet together, and covers itself with its
bushy tail. When thus curled up it is so exactly
like a bundle of hay that any one might pass it
carelessly, imagining it to be a loose heap of that
substance.
When it walks or runs the claws of the fore feet
are doubled up, causing one side only of the foot to
rest upon the ground. The proper use of these
powerful claws is to obtain the white ant. When
the ant-bear wishes a meal he attacks one of the
hard hillocks raised by the ants, and with his hugo
foi'e paws furiously tears out a portion of the walls,
and thrusting in his long slender tongue, which is
covered with a viscid saliva, and to which myriads oi
ants adhere, he opens his little mouth and draws it
in, then, shutting his lips, he pushes out his tongue
a second time, retaining the ants in his mouth until
the tongue has been completely exserted, when he
swallow r s them. Wallace says that the Indians of
the Upper Amazon positively assert that the great
ant-eater sometimes kills the jaguar by tightly em-
bracing the latter, and thrusting its enormous claws
into the jaguar's sides.
The iguana, a large kind of lizard, is common in
Brazil. " In one of my rides towards Canto Gallo,"
says Mr. Fletcher, " I saw in the road the large
lizard called the iguana. There is nothing to me
disgusting in this clean-looking reptile, whose skin,
composed of bright, small scales, resembles the
finest bead-work. I had often seen them at Rio
spitted and hawked about the city ; for the flesh is
esteemed a great delicacy resembling in its appear-
ance and taste that bonne bouche for epicures, a
A TAME IGUANA. 151
frog's hind leg. The usual pictures of the iguana
do not render it full justice; they represent it as
horrid in appearance as the imaginary baleful-
breathed, javelin-tongued dragon, from which good
St. George is said to have delivered so many devoted
virgins. The iguana is from three to tive feet in
length, and is oviparous. A lady member of my
family possessed one which was a great favourite,
and she has kindly furnished me with some notes
on her pet. I insert them verbatim :
" Pedro (the iguana) afforded me much amuse-
ment. From his close resemblance to the snake-
tribe, it was difficult for strangers to rid their minds
of the impression that he was venomous. Such is
not the case with iguanas. Their only means of
defence is their very powerful tail, and a sportsman
told me that he has had a dog's ribs laid bare by a
stroke of an iguana's tail. My poor pet, however,
was not warlike, having been long in captivity.
He was given me as a * Christmas-box ' by a friend,
and soon became tame enough to go at liberty. He
was about three feet long, and subsisted upon raw
meat, milk, and bananas. He had a basket in my
room, and when he felt the weather cool would take
refuge between the mattresses of my bed. There,
in the morning, he would be found in all possible
comfort. One evening we missed him from all his
usual hiding-places, and reluctantly made up our
minds that he was lost ; but, on rising in the morn-
ing, two inches of his tail hanging out of the pillow-
case told where he had passed a snug night ! My
little Spanish poodle and he were sworn foes. The
moment Chico made his appearance, he would
152 ITS MOURNFUL END.
dash forward to bite Pedro ; but Chico thought
with many others that the ' better part of valour
is discretion.' So he made off from the iguana as
fast as his funny legs could carry him. Then
Pedro waddled slowly back to the sunny spot on
the floor and closed his eyes for a nap. When the
winter (a winter like the latter part of a northern
May) began, he became nearly torpid, and remained
without eating for four months. He would now and
then sun himself, but soon return to his blanket.
" I frequently took him out on my arm, and he
was often specially invited ; but I cannot say that
he was much caressed. It was in vain that I
expatiated on his beautiful bead-like spots of black
and white, on his bright jewel eyes and elegant
claws. They admired, but kept their distance. I
had a sort of malicious pleasure in putting him
suddenly down at the feet of the stronger sex, and
I have seen him elicit from naval officers more
symptoms of terror than would have been drawn
forth by an enemy's broadside, or a lee shore. But
alas for the 'duration of lovely things!' During
the summer months he felt his old forest-spirit
strong within him, and he often sallied forth in the
beautiful paths of the Gloria. On one of these
occasions he met a marauding Frenchman. Pedro,
the caressed by me and the feared by others, knew
no terror. The ruffian struck him to the earth.
It was in vain that a little daughter of Consul B.
tried to save him by crying, '11 est a Madame;'
another blow fractured his skull ! My servant ran
up only in time to save his body from an ignominious
stew-pan ; but life was extinct. The assassin fled,
BRAZILIAN BIRDS. 153
and Rose came back with my poor pet's corpse.
On my return he was presented to view with hi-;
long forked tongue depending from his mouth. He
was sent, wrapped in black crape, to a neighbour
who delighted in fricassed lizard, but who, having
seen him petted and caressed, could not find appetite
to eat him !
" Thus ended the career of poor Pedro, after a
life of pleasant captivity ; and perhaps it might be
said of him, as of many others, ' He was more
feared than loved ! ' "
The plumage of the birds of Brazil is surpassingly
rich and brilliant. From their bright-coloured
feathers artificial flowers are manufactured of very
great beauty. There are few curiosities more
esteemed in Europe and the United States than the
feather-flowers of Rio de Janeiro and Bahiu. They
are made from the natural plumage, though from
time to time the novice has palmed off upon him a
bouquet, the leaves of which, instead of being from
the parrot, have been stolen from the back of the
white ibis and then dyed. This deception can, how-
ever, be detected by observing the stem of the, fea-
ther to be coloured green, which is never the case
in nature. No ornament can surpass the splendour
of the flowers made from the breasts and throats of
humming birds. A lady whose bonnet or hair is
adorned with such plumage seems to be surrounded
with flashes of the most gorgeous and ever-varying
brilliancy. The carnations and other flowers made
from a happy combination of the feathers of the
scarlet ibis and the rose-coloured spoonbill, are also
veiy natural, and are highly prized.
154
A BEAUTIFUL DECORATION.
HUMMING BIRDS.
In adorning themselves with these bright feathers
the Brazilian ladies have followed the fashions of
the native Indians, who have long been accustomed
INDIAN IXCKXUITY. IM
to deck themselves in tins way. On the Rio Negro
the Uuupe Indians have a head-dress which is in
the highest estimation, and they will only part with
it under the pressure of the greatest neeessity. This
ornament consists of a coronet of red and yellow
feathers, disposed in regular rows, and firmly at-
tached to a strong plaited band. The feathers are
entirely from the shoulders of the great red macaw,
but they are not those that the bird naturally pos-
sesses, for the Indians have a curious art by which
they change the colours of the plumage of many birds.
They pluck out a certain number of feathers, and in
the various vacancies thus occasioned infuse the
milky secretion made from the skin of a small frog.
When the feathers grow again they are of a brilliant
yellow or orange colour, without any mixture of
green or blue, as in the natural state of the bird)
and it is said that the much coveted yellow feather
will ever after be produced without a new infusion
of the milky secretion. Artificial flowers are also
manufactured from fish scales and from the wings
of insects, and breast-pins are made by setting a
small brilliant beetle in gold.
It would require volumes to notice the innumer-
able brilliant insects that swarm like living gems in
the forests of Brazil. At night the fire-flies gleam
fike stars in the darkness of the deep woods. When
caught and imprisoned these little creatures give a
brilliant light. " In the mountains of Tijuca," says
Mr. Fletcher, " I have read the finest print of Har-
per's Magazine by the light of one of these natural
lamps placed under a common glass tumbler, and
with distinctness I could tell the hour of the night,
15G NATURAL LAMPS.
and discern the very small figures which marked the
seconds of a little Swiss watch. Indians formerly
used them instead of flambeaux in their hunting
and fishing expeditions, and when travelling in the
night they are accustomed to fasten them to their
feet and hands. In some parts of the tropics they
are used by the senhoritas for adorning their tresses
or their robes, by fastening them within a thin
gauze -work; and through them their bearers be-
come indeed ' bright particular stars.' "
CHAPTER X.
MINAS-GERAES ITS DIAMONDS AND ITS COFFER.
Extent of the Province Its Fertility Its Minerals Precious Stones-
Diamonds- The Star of the South Cotton and Coffee The Native
Country of the Coffee Shrub First Use of Coffee in Europe The
Ancestor of all the American Coffee Shrubs Comparative Value of
Diamonds and Coffee.
THE province of Minas-Geraes is the most im-
portant of all the inland divisions of Brazil, owing
to its mineral and vegetable riches, its immense
herds, its accessibility to market, and its population.
It contains 800,000 inhabitants, and yet is so ex-
tensive that there are within its area of 150,000
square miles, many forests, a perfect wilderness,
overrun with Indian tribes, and where the jaguar
roams in undisturbed independence. Other por-
tions are among the most improved and eligible
parts of the empire. One writer has remarked,
with great emphasis, that if there be one spot in the
world which might be made to surpass all others,
Minas is that favoured spot. Its climate is mild
and healthful; its surface is elevated and undulating;
its soil is fertile, and capable of yielding the most
valuable productions ; its forests abound in choice
timber, balsams, drugs, and dye-woods. But all
HgUATOB." '
MINKKAI. TKKASl'UES. 159
these circumstances together have not given the pro-
vince so much celebrity as the single fact of its in-
exhaustible mineral wealth. Its name signifies the
general or universal mines, and, accordingly, mines
of gold, silver, copper, and iron are found within
its borders, besides quantities of precious stones.
Several of the most valuable gold-mines not far
from Ouro Preto have been wrought by an English
mining company for the last twenty years. This
enterprise has been unquestionably a source of great
profit to its stock-holders, and has rendered great
service to the country generally, by introducing
the most approved methods of mining, and by giving
an impetus to Brazilian industry. This company
constantly employs a large number of miners from
Cornwall, and has established quite an English vil-
lage at its principal mine.
Amethysts, topazes, emeralds, and other precious
stones of great beauty, are found in Brazil ; but the
most valuable of all its mineral treasures are its
beautiful diamonds. They are considered less hard
and not so fine as those of the East Indies, but they
are found in much greater abundance. They are
obtained by washing the sand in the beds of the
rivers. AVhen uncut it is often difficult to distin-
guish them from the little pebbles among which
they are mixed, but when cut their sparkling bril-
liancy exceeds that of any other stone. When large
their value is almost fabulous. The Star of the
South, a large Brazilian diamond which was shown
at the Paris Exhibition, was valued at 5,000,000
francs (about 200,000 sterling). It had been
found by a negro woman in Brazil ; she was a slave,
1GO
AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES.
DIAMOND WASHING BRAZIL.
as it is in general slaves who are employed in search-
ing for diamonds, and she received her liberty as a
reward for her success in finding this rich prize.
The agricultural capacities of the province are
very great. It yields coffee, sugar, tobacco, and
cotton. It indeed produces some coarse manufactures
TIIK roi'i 1:1: IM.XNT. }<}{
of cotton. Large quantities of cotton are grown
also in other provinces of Brazil. Pernambuco alone
exports more than 6,000,000 pounds of cotton to
Liverpool. In the year 1856 Great Britain im-
ported from Brazil 21,830,000 of cotton.
The soilof Minas-Geraes yields Indian corn in great
profusion, and may be made to grow wheat. Upon
its campinas, or upland prairies, innumerable herds
of -at lie and some Hocks of sheep are pastured. The
milk of the cows is converted into a species of soft
cheese, known as the qucijo de Miiu. Imnn-n>e
quantities of them may be seen at Rio de Janeiro,
and from that port they are scattered along the
eoast, being very much esteemed as an article of
food.
The great staple, however, of Minas-Geraes, and
of the whole empire of Brazil, is coffee. AY hat
a history might be written of the voyages, the
naturalization, and. the uses of this member of
the Ituliacece family! The coffee-tree is not, ;
generally supposed, a native of Arabia, but its h<mr.
is Abyssinia, and particularly that district called
Kull'a, whence the name of the beverage berry.
To this day the coffee-plant is found growing as
far as the sources of the White Nile. It was not
taken to Arabia until the lifteenth century, when,
being cultivated extensively, with great success as
to quantity and quality, in the province or kingdom
of Yemen, and embarked from Mocha, the coffee
of that portion of the world obtained a celebrity
which it has never lost. AVhen it was introduced
by the Orientals into Europe we know not ; but as
early as 1538 we find edicts against it, issued by the-
(289) 11
162 INTRODUCED INTO EUROPE.
Mohammedan priests, on the ground that the faith-
ful went more to the coffee shops than to the mosque.
The earliest notice that we have of it in France is
in 1643, when a certain adventurer from the Levant
established in Paris a coffee-house, which did not
succeed. In a few years, however, it became the
mode among the aristocracy, through its inaugura-
tion by Soliman Aga, the Ambassador of the
Sublime Porte at the Court of Louis XIV. Several
of the high personages of the time resisted its intro-
duction ; among them the celebrated Madame de
Sevigne, who had declared that the popularity of
coffee would be merely ephemeral; and in the
intensity of her admiration for Corneille, she
predicted that La Racine passerait comme le cafe
(Racine would be forgotten as soon as coffee), both
of which predictions have proved rather detrimental
to the prophetic reputation of the renowned lady
letter writer. Before the middle of the seventeenth
century it was in vogue in the principal capitals of
Europe. An English merchant from Constantinople
was the first to introduce it to the Londoners, and
his wife, a young and pretty Greek, was a most
attractive saleswoman.
Previous to the eighteenth century, all the coffee
consumed in Europe was brought from Arabia
Felix, via the Levant, and the Pachas of Egypt and
Syria took good care to increase their coffers by
exorbitant transit duties. This exaction was broken
up by the vessels of Holland (first), England, and
France, sailing round the Cape of Good Hope to
Mocha. In 1699, Van Horn, first president of the
Dutch East Indies, obtained coffee plants, and had
Illi; STORY OF A PLANT. 163
tlu'in cultivated in Batavia. where they wonderfully
prospered; and the berries of Java obtaim-d a repu-
tation second only to those of Mocha. One of the
liutavian shrubs was transplanted to the Botanical
Gardens of Amsterdam in 1710, and by great care
succeeded so well that a shoot was sent to Louis
XIV. and placed in the Jardin des Plantes. From
this last plant slips were confided to M. Isambert
to be taken to Martinique ; but M. Isambert died
before the arrival of the ship, and consequently the
coffee plants perished. In 1720 Antoine de Jussieu,
of the Royal Botanical Gardens, sent, by Captain
Declieux, three more coffee shrubs, also destined to
Martinique. The voyage was long ; the vessel was
short of water ; two of the plants died ; but Captain
Declieux shared his ration of water with the sur-
viving coffee plant, and thus succeeded in introduc-
ing it into the West Indies; that plant was the
ancestor, it is said, of all the coffee plantations in
America.
The honour of planting the first coffee-tree in
Brazil belongs to the Franciscan friar Villaso, who
in 1754 placed one in the garden of the San Antonio
convent at Rio de Janeiro. It was not, however,
until aller the Ilaytian insurrection that coffee be-
came an object of great cultivation and commerce in
Brazil. In 1809 the first cargo was sent to the
United States, and all the coffee raised in the empire
in that year scarcely amounted to 30,000 sacks,
while in the Brazilian financial year of 1855 there
\vere exported 3,256,089 sacks, which brought into
the country nearly 25,000,000 dollars. The United
States, during the financial year ending June 30,
164 A COFFEE REGION.
1856, imported from all coffee-producing coun-
tries 235,241,362 pounds of the beverage berry,
180,243,070 pounds (i.e., nearly three-fourths of
the whole) of which came from Brazil. The next
highest country on the United States' list is Vene-
zuela, which sent them 16,546,166 pounds; and
thirdly, Hayti, from which they imported about
13,500,000 pounds. The whole sum paid by the
United States for coffee was 21,514,196 dollars, of
which Brazil received no less than 16,091,714 dol-
lars.
The great coffee region is on the banks of the Rio
Parahiba, and in the province of San Paulo; but every
year it is more widely cultivated, and a considerable
quantity is now grown in provinces further north-
ward. It can be planted by burying the seeds or
berries (which are double), or by slips. The trees
are placed six or eight feet apart ; and those plants
which have been taken from the nursery with balls
of mould around their roots will bear fruit in two
years ; those detached from the earth will not pro-
duce until the third year, and the majority of such
shrubs die. In the province of San Paulo, and the
richest portions of Minas Geraes, 1000 trees will yield
from 2560 to 3200 pounds ; in Rio de Janeiro, from
1600 to 2560. In some parts of San Paulo, 1000
trees have yielded 6400 pounds, but this is extra-
ordinary. In the province of Rio de Janeiro, trees
are generally cut down every fifteen years. There
are some cafiers on the plantation of Senator Ver-
gueiro which are twenty-four years old, and are still
bringing forth fruit. As a general rule, they are not
allowed to exceed twelve feet in height, so as to be
A COFFEE- HAK\
166
within reach. When the berry is ripe, it is about
the size and colour of a cherry, and resembles it, or
a large cranberry ; of these berries a negro can
daily collect about thirty-two pounds. There are
three gatherings in the year, and the berries are
spread out upon pavements or a level portion of
\NTATIOK.
ground (the terreno), from whence they are taken
when dry, and denuded of the hull by machinery,
and afterward conveyed to market. Nothing is
more beautiful than a coffee plantation in full and
virgin bloom. The snowy blossoms all burst forth
simultaneously, and the extended fields seem almost
166 IMPEDIMENTS TO PROGRESS.
in a night to lay aside their robe of verdure, and to
replace it by the most delicate mantle of white,
which exhales a fragrance not unworthy of Eden.
But the beauty is truly ephemeral, for the snow-
white flowers and the delightful odour pass away in
twenty-four hours.
It is by toilsome journeys on mule-back that the
coffee sacks from Minas-Geraes generally reach a
market, and nothing so much hinders the general
prosperity of this province as its lack of good roads
and some feasible thoroughfare to a market. The
province has of late years expended considerable
sums upon the construction of roads, but as yet it
cannot send a single ton of its produce to market
upon wheels. The journey from Ouro Preto, the
capital, to Rio de Janeiro, a distance of about 200
miles, is performed on the backs of mules and horses
only, and ordinarily requires fifteen days.
It is instructive to look at the widely different re-
sults of the mineral and vegetable riches of the em-
pire. After Mexico and Peru (before the discovery of
Australian and Californian treasure), Brazil fur-
nished the largest quantum of hard currency to the
commercial world. Here the diamond, the ruby,
the sapphire, and the topaz, and the rainbow-tinted
opal, sparkle in their native splendour. And yet, so
much greater are the riches of the agricultural pro-
ductions of the empire, that the annual sum received
for the single article of coffee surpasses the results of
eighty years' yield of the diamond mines. From
1740 to 1822 (the era of independence), a period
which was the most prosperous in diamond mining,
the number of carats obtained were 232,000, worth
A WKAI.THY KM I' MM'. 167
not quite 3,500,000 sterling. The exports of
rnHi'o from Rio alone during the year 1851 ainounti'il
to 4,756.794 ] And when we add the sums ob-
tained for the other great staples of sugar, cotton,
seringa (or the India-rubber), dye-woods, and the
productions of the immense herds of the South, we
have, it is true, a better idea of the sources of wealth
in Brazil, but only a faint conception of the vast re-
sources of this fertile empire.
CHAPTER XL
SELVAS OF THE AMAZON.
Extent of the Selvas Night in the Forest Death-like Stillness Roar of
Wild Beasts Wild Chorus at Dawn A Thunder Storm A Primeval
Forest and its Inhabitants Large Locust Trees Wonderful Fig-tree-
Hose wood Trees.
THE Selvas or Forest Plains of the Amazon, lying
in the centre of the continent, form the second
division of the North American lowlands. This
country is more uneven than the Pampas, and the
vegetation is so dense that it can only be penetrated
by sailing up the river or its tributaries. The forests
not only cover the basin of the Amazon from the
Cordillera of Chiquitos to the mountains of Parima,
but also its limiting mountain-chains the Sierra dos
Vertentes and Parima, so that the whole forms an
area of woodland six times the size of France,
lying between the eighteenth parallel of south lati-
tude and the seventh of north consequently inter-
tropical and traversed by the equator. There are
some marshy savannahs between the third and
fourth degrees of north latitude, and some grassy
steppes south of the Pacasaimo chain ; but they are
insignificant compared with the Selvas, which ex-
NIGHT IN THE FOKI 1C!)
tt nd 1 ")00 miles along the river, varying in breadth
fnun 350 to 800 miles. According to Humboldt,
tin- soil, enriched for ages by the spoils of the fon-.-t.
consists of the richest mould. The heat is suffoca-
ting in the deep and dark recesses of these primeval
woods, where not a breath of air penetrates, and
where, after being drenched by the periodical rains,
the damp is so excessive that a blue mist rises in the
early morning among the huge stems of the trees,
and envelops the entangled creepers, stretching
from bough to bough. A death-like stillness pre-
vails from sunrise to sunset, then the thousands of
nocturnal animals that inhabit those fqrests join in
one loud discordant roar, not continuous, but in
bursts. The beasts seem to be periodically and
unanimously roused by some unknown impulse, till
the forest rings in universal uproar. Profound
silence prevails at midnight, which is broken at the
dawn of morning by another general roar of wild
chorus. The whole forest often resounds when the
animals, startled from their sleep, scream in terror
at the noise made by bands of its inhabitants flying
from some night-prowling foe. Their anxiety and
terror before a thunder-storm is excessive, and all
nature seems to partake in the dread. The tops of
the lofty trees rustle ominously, though not a breath
of air agitati-s them; a hollow whistling in the high
regions of the atmosphere comes as a warning from
the black floating vapour; midnight darkness enve-
lops the ancient forests, which soon after groan and
creak with the blast of the hurricane. The gloom
is rendered still more hideous by the vivid lightning
and the stunning crash of thunder. Even
170 A LEAFY LABYRINTH.
are affected with the general consternation, for in a
few minutes the Amazon rages in waves like a
stormy sea.
These primeval forests are interspersed with open
patches of grass and marsh lands, similar in
character to the llanos and prairies. The woods
are composed of large trees of various sizes and
heights, and differing greatly in species. On a
space of twenty square yards there may be found
thirty or forty trees, all of different species. The
intervals between the trees are filled up with grass,
shrubs, and bushes of various kinds and sizes, the
whole being closely interlaced and matted together by
numerous climbing plants and creepers, thus forming
a woody fabric quite impenetrable to the foot of
man. In this mass of tangle and underwood a few
small openings appear, through which the jaguar
and other wild beasts find access to the beds of the
rivers. These immense forests are populated by
monkeys in incredible number, and of various
species, which are hunted by the natives, who dry
and eat their flesh. Birds of various kinds, and of
every variety of plumage, are seen along the banks
of the rivers. This is the grand region of serpents,
some of which are venomous.
This region deserves, in the strictest sense of the
word, to be called a primeval forest, a term that
has, in recent times, been so frequently misapplied.
Primeval or primitive, as applied to a forest, a
nation, or a period of time, is a word of rather in-
definite signification, and generally but of relative
import. If every wild forest, densely covered with
trees, on which man has never laid his destroying
A WONDERFUL SPECTACLE. 171
hands, is to be regarded as a primitive forest, then
the phenomenon is common to many parts both of
the temperate and the frigid zones; it', however, this
character consists in impenetrability, through which
it is impossible to clear with tiie axe, between trees
measuring from eight to twelve feet in diameter, a
path of any length, primitive forests belong exclu-
sively to tropical regions. This impenetrability is
by no means, as it is often erroneously supposed in
Europe, always occasioned by the interlaced climb-
ing " lianes," or creeping plants, for these often
constitute but a very small portion of the underwood.
The chief obstacles are the shrub-like plants which
fill up every space between the trees, in a zone
within which all vegetable forms have a tendency
to become aborescent.
The Picture represents a part of the trunk of one
of the great locust-trees which are to be seen in the
old woods of Brazil. They are thus described by the
traveller Von Martins:
" The place where these prodigious trees were
found appeared to me as if it were the portals of a
magnificent temple, not constructed by the hands of
man, but by God himself, as if to awe the mind of
the spectator with a holy dread of his own presence.
Never before had I beheld such enormous trunks,
they looked more like living rocks than trees; for it
was only on the pinnacle of their bare and naked bark
that foliage could be discovered, and that at such a dis-
tance from the eye that the forms of the leaves could
not be made out. Fifteen Indians with outstretched
arms could only just embrace one of them. At the
bottom they were eighty-four feet in circumference,
172
ANCIENT TREES.
and sixty feet where the boles became cylindrical."
By counting the concentric rings of such parts as
were accessible, he arrived at the conclusion that
they were of the age of Homer, and 332 years old
in the days of Pythagoras. One of his estimates
reduced their age to 2052 years, while another
THE GREAT LOCUST-TREE.
carried it up to 4104; from which he argues that
the trees cannot but date far beyond the time of our
Saviour. Their colossal appearance is well shown in
the picture, a small portion of the lower part of the
trunk only being represented.
Very large trees are also to be seen in other parts
A WIl.K FKi-'l'UKK.
BRAZILIAN TIM:.
of Brazil. At a place called Padre Correar, not far
from Petropolis, is a celebrated wild fig-tree, whose
branches extend over a circumference of 480 feet;
and 4000 persons, it is computed, can stand under
174 ROSEWOOD-TREES.
its shade at noon-day. Near by, on the height east
of the hamlet, can also be seen two rows of the
Brazilian pine (Araucaria Braziliana), so well known
in the large conservatories of Europe and the United
States. When 100 miles further in the interior, I
saw many jacaranda (rosewood) trees. Their re-
semblance to the common locust of the United States
is very striking. There are a number of species of
the jacaranda, varying in tint from a deep rich brown
to a beautiful violet. The latter kind I have never
seen north of the equator, save in small specimen-
pieces ; but at the Fayenda de Governo, Dr Joaquin
A. P. Da Cunha, the amiable proprietor, showed
me, in his establishment for making sugar, a beam,
fifty feet long and three feet in diameter, of the vio-
let-tinted jacaranda. It had performed the menial
office of a connecting beam for fifty years, and. its
exterior was dusty ; but, on chipping it, I found it
to be of the most beautiful violet. The wood of Dr.
Da Cunha's pig-pen consisted of boards and sticks
of rosewood ; but let none of my readers imagine a
highly-polished piano or a splendid centre-table ;
for exposure to the atmosphere renders the jaca-
randa as plebeian in appearance as the commonest
weather-beaten pine. The rosewood-tree is cut
down, deprived of its branches, and conveyed to
market generally by floating it to some seaport-town,
whence it is shipped to North America and Europe.
It is exceedingly hard and durable, cog-wheels made
of this wood lasting longer than those constructed
from any other ligneous substance. The United
States annually purchase of Brazil 80,000 dollars
worth of rosewood.
CHAPTER XII.
TIJE RIVEK AMAZON, AND THE STORY OF MADAME
GODIN DES ODONNAIS.
Course of the Amazon Its Tributaries Its Various Names First Dis-
coveryExpeditions of Orellana and Teixeira Voyage of Madame
in dcs Odonnais Her Sufferings Death of all her Companions
Ten days alone in the Forest Her Meeting with the Indians Arrival
at Cayenne Return to France.
" WHERE can we find on the surface of the globe
a river equal to the mighty Maranon or Amazon,
that giant among the rivers of the earth, gathering
its waters from a surface of a million and a half
square miles, and bearing them to the ocean after a
course of nearly 3000 miles? This mighty monarch
receives in his progress the homage of tributaries,
each of which, by its greatness, and the abundance
of its waters, would suffice for the wants of a whole
vast country. Such are the Ucayah, the Rio Purus,
the Rio Negro ; above all, the Madera, rivalling in
importance the river to which it yields the honour
of giving a name to their united waters. The
further it advances in its majestic course, the more
its proportions increase ; and before arriving at the
ocean, its broad sheet, from the middle of which the
eye cannot reach the banks, seems rather to be a
176 THE RIVER AMAZON.
fresh water sea, flowing sluggishly towards the
ocean basin, than a river of the continent.
" This noble stream, which exceeds in magnitude
the largest rivers in the Old World, takes its rise
from two sources, the one of which is found in the
glaciers of Lauricocha (one of the loftiest of the
Cordillera range) ; the second m the snowy summit
of Mount Cailloma, in the same lofty chain.
Swelled by the tributary streams of the Yupnra
and the Rio Negro on the left bank, and by the
Yavari, the Yutay, and the Yurna, the Mugua, the
Rio de los Capanachuas, and the Pachira on the
right, it flows for a long period through the moun-
tain gorges of prodigious depth and surpassing
beauty. After emerging from the Andes, it winds
in a lazy current through the immense savannahs
of South America, and does not reach the ocean till
it has run a course of 315 leagues after its junction
with the Rio Negro. From its source to the sea
is 1035 leagues or 2700 miles. Its breadth, after
it emerges into the plain, is generally from two to
three miles, and its depth is seldom less than eighty
fathoms. After its junction with the Xuaga, how-
ever, its expanse becomes so great that in mid-
channel the opposite coasts can hardly be seen ; and
it flows in a vast estuary, so level, that the traces
of the tide are seen at the distance of 250 leagues
from the sea coast. A vehement struggle ensues at
its mouth, between the river flowing down and the
tide running up ; twice every day they dispute the
pre-eminence, and animals equally with men with-
draw from the terrible conflict. In the shock of
the enormous masses of water, a ridge of surf and
ITS IMMI:N<K I;\>IN. 177
foam is raised to the height of 180 feet ; the islands
in the neighbourhood are shaken in the strife ; the
fishers, the boatmen, and the alligators withdraw
trembling from the shock. At spring-tide such is
the vehemence of this collision, that the opposite
waves precipitate themselves on each other like
hostile armies ; the shores are covered to a great
distance on either sides with volumes of foam ; huge
rocks, whirled about like barks, are borne aloft on
the surface; and the awful roar, re-echoed from
island to island, gives the first warning to the far
distant mariner that he is approaching the shores
of South America."
A volume of fresh water, constantly replenished
by copious rains, pours forth with such impetus as
to force itself an unmixed current into the
ocean, to the distance of eighty leagues. While the
principal branch of the Ganges discharges 80,000
cubic feet of water every sixtieth part of a minute,
the Amazon sends through the Narrows at Obidos
550,000 cubic feet per second; while the whole
area drained by the Mississippi and its branches, is
1,200,000 square miles, the area of the Amazon and
its tributaries (not including that of the Tocantins,
wlpch is larger than the Ohio Valley), is 2,330,000
square miles. This is more than a third of all South
America, and equal to two-thirds of all Europe.
Mr. Wallace has startled Englishmen with the fact,
that " all Western Europe could be placed in it
without touching its boundaries, and it would even
contain the whole of our Indian Empire."
This " King of waters " is remarkable for its wide
spreading tributaries, which are nearly all navigable
(289) ] 2
178 ITS DISCOVERY
to a great distance, from their junction with the mair
trunk, and, collecting the whole, afford an extent oi
water communication unparalleled in any other part
of the globe. There is a total of ten thousand miles
of steam navigation below all falls; and, these
obstructions once passed, steamers could be run for
four thousand miles.
The native name of Amazon is " Para," which
signifies " the father of waters." It has been also
called " Maranon " from the Portuguese words,
meaning " not the sea" (as it appears to be near its
mouth) ; " Orellana" from the name of the Spaniard
Orellana, who was the first to descend the stream
to its mouth ; and "Amazon," because the Spaniards
believed that the first natives who met them in
battle on its shores were women. Later travellers
have said that this fancy originated in the feminine
appearance of the Indians of that country, who
wear their hair in long locks, sometimes plaited, or
fastened up with a comb and who adorn them-
selves with bracelets and necklaces. The use of
ornaments in these tribes is almost confined to the
men.
The first expedition of Orellana took place in
1541-42, and the second in 1544. About seventy
years afterwards the Portuguese began to settle in
Para. In 1616 the foundations of the present city
of Para were laid by Francisco Cadeira. In 1637
another party descended the Amazon from Quito,
and in the same year the first expedition for the
ascent of the Amazon was organized. It was com-
manded by Pedro Teixiera, and was composed
of 70 soldiers, 1200 native rowers and boatmen.
N \ ,iy \, 17D
V>i<l<-> females and .-laves. \\ ho increa-.-d the
number to about 2000. They embarked in forty-five
canoes. After a voyage of eight months the re-
mains of the party (many of whom had deserted)
readied the extent of navigation. There the com-
mander left his canoes and continued his journey
overland to Quito, where he was received with
distinguished honours. After this voyages upon
the Amazon became more common.
In 1745, Mr. La Condamine, a French Academi-
cian, descended from Quito, and constructed a map
i>f the river, based upon a series of astronomical
observations. His memoir, read before the Royal
Academy on his return, remains to this day a very
interesting work. In modern times the most cele-
brated voyages down the Amazon have been
described at length by those who accomplished
them, e.g. Spix, and Von Martius, Lister Maroe,
Lieutenants Smith, Ilenidon and Gibbon, and Mr.
Wallace. The expeditions to which I have alluded
have generally been prosperous, and not attended
with any peculiar misfortunes. Not so with every
voyage that has been undertaken upon these inter-
minable waters. The sufferings of Madame Godin
des Odonnais have hardly a parallel on record.
The husband of this lady was an astronomer
associated with M. Condamine. He had taken
his family with him to reside in Quito, but
being ordered to Cayenne, was obliged to leave
them behind. Circumstances transpired to prevent
his returning for a period of sixteen years, and when
finally he made the attempt to ascend the Amazon,
he was taken sick and could not proceed. All the
180 A WOMAN'S HEROISM.
messages that he attempted to send his absent wife
failed of their destination. In the meantime a
rumour reached her that an expedition had been
despatched to meet her at some of the missions on
the upper Amazon. She immediately resolved to
set out on the perilous journey. She was accom-
panied by her family, including three females, two
children, and several men, two of whom were
her brothers. They surmounted the Andes and
passed down the tributary streams of the Amazon
without serious difficulties; but the further they
entered into the measureless solitudes that lay before
them, the more their troubles increased. The
missions were found in a state of desolation under
the ravages of the small-pox. The village where
they expected to find Indians to conduct them down
the river had but two inhabitants surviving. These
had no boat, but they engaged to construct one and
pilot it to the mission of Andoas, about twelve days
journey below, descending the river of Bobonaza,
a distance of from 140 to 150 leagues; she paid
them beforehand. The canoe being finished, they
all departed from Canelos. After navigating the
river two days, on the suceeding morning the pilots
absconded; the unfortunate party embarked with-
out any one to steer the boat, and passed the day
without accident.
The next day at noon they discovered a canoe in
a small port adjoining a leaf-built hut, in which was
a native recovering from illness, who consented to
pilot them. On the third day of his voyage, while
stooping over to recover the hat of Mr. R. which
had fallen into the water, the poor man fell over-
A NARROW ESCAPE. 181
board, and, not having sufficient strength to reach
the shore, was drowned. Behold the canoe, again
\\ -itliout a steersman, abandoned to individuals per-
fectly ignorant of managing it. In consequence, it
was shortly overset, which obliged the party to land
and build themselves a hut. They were now but
from five to six days' journey from Andoas. Mr.
R. proposed to repair thither, and set off with
another Frenchman of the party, and the faithful
negro belonging to Madame Godin, taking especial
care to carry his effects with him. " I since blamed
my wife," says her husband who related the story,
" for not having despatched one of her brothers to ac-
company Mr. R., but found that neither of them,
after the accident which had befallen the canoe,
were inclined to trust themselves on the water ajrain
without a proper pilot. Mr. R., moreover, promised
that within a fortnight a canoe should be forwarded
to them with a proper complement of natives. The
fortnight expired, and even the five and twenty days,
when giving over all hopes, they constructed a raft
on which they ventured themselves, with their pro-
visions and property. The raft, badly framed,
struck against the branch of a sunken tree, and over-
set, all their effects perishing in the waves, and the
whole party being plunged into the water. Thanks
to the little breadth of the river at this place, no
one was drowned, Madame Godin being happily
saved, after twice sinking, by her brother. Placed
now in a situation still more distressing than before,
they collectively resolved on tracing the course of
the river along its banks. How difficult an enter-
prise this was, any one may be aware, who knows
182 A DEPLORABLE CONDITION.
how thickly the banKs of the river are beset with
trees, underwood, herbage, and lianas, and that it is
often necessary to cut one's way. They returned to
their hut, took what provisions they had left behind,
and began their journey. By keeping along the
river's side, they found its sinuosities greatly length-
ened their way, to avoid which inconvenience they
penetrated the wood, and in a few days they lost them-
selves. Wearied with so many days' march in the
midst of woods, incommodious even for those accus-
tomed to them, their feet torn by thorns and brambles,
their provisions exhausted, and dying with thirst,
they were fain to subsist on a few seeds, wild fruit,
and the palm cabbage. At length, oppressed with
hunger and thirst, with lassitude and loss of strength,
they seated themselves on the ground without the
power of rising, and, waiting thus the approach of
death, in three or four days, expired one after the
other. Madame Godin, stretched on the ground by
the side of the corpses of her brothers and other
companions, stupified, delirious, and tormented
with choking thirst, at length assumed resolu-
tion and strength enough to drag herself along
in search of the deliverance which providentially
awaited her. Such was her deplorable condition,
she w r as without shoes, and her clothes all torn to
rags. She cut the shoes off her brother's feet, and
fastened the soles on her own. It was about the
period between the 25th and 30th of December
1769, that this unfortunate party (at least seven of
the number of them) perished in this miserable man-
ner; the date I gather by what I learn from the
only survivor, who related that it was nine days
ACROSS THE DESERT. 183
after she quitted the scene of the wretched catas-
trophe described before she reached the banks of
the Bobonaza. Doubtless, this interval must have
appeared to her of great length; and how a female
BO delicately educated, and in such a state of want
and exhaustion, could support her distress, though
but half the time, appears most wonderful. She as-
sured me that she was ten days alone in the wood,
two awaiting death by the side of her brothers, the
other eight wandering at random. The remem-
brance ef the shocking spectacle she witnessed, the
horror incident on her solitude, and the darkness of
night in a desert, the perpetual apprehension of
death, which every instant served to augment, had
such an effect on her spirits as to cause her hair to
turn grey. On the second day's march, the distance
necessarily inconsiderable, she found water, and the
succeeding day some wild fruit and fresh eggs of
what bird she knew not, but which, by her descrip-
tion, I conjecture to have been a species of partridge.
These with the greatest difficulty was she enabled to
swallow, the aesophagus, owing to the want of
aliment, having become so parched and straitened ;
but these and other food she accidentally met with
sufficed to support her skeleton frame. At length,
and not before it was indispensable, arrived the
succour designed for her by Providence. Were it
told in a romance that a female of delicate habit,
accustomed to all .the comforts of life, had been pre-
cipitated into a river ; that, after being withdrawn
when on the point of drowning, this female, the
eighth of a party, had penetrated into unknown and
pathless woods, and travelled in them for weeks.
184 ON THE RIVER-BANK.
not knowing whither she directed her steps ; that
enduring hunger, thirst, and fatigue to very ex-
haustion, she should have seen her two brothers, far
more robust than her, a nephew yet a youth, three
young women her servants, and a young man, the
domestic left by the physician who had gone on before,
all expire by her side, and she yet survive ; that,
after remaining by their corpses two whole days and
nights, in a country abounding in tigers and num-
bers of dangerous serpents, without once seeing any of
these animals or reptiles, she should afterwards have
strength to rise and continue her way, covered with
tatters, through the same pathless woods for eight
days together, till she reached the banks of the
Bobanaza, the author would be charged with incon-
sistency ; but the historian should paint facts to his
reader, and this is nothing but the truth.
It was on the eighth or ninth day, according to
Madame Godin, after leaving the dreadful scene of the
death of her companions, that she found herself on
the banks of the Bobanaza. At daybreak she heard a
noise at about two hundred paces from her. Her first
emotions, which were those of terror, occasioned her
to strike into the wood ; but, after a moment's reflec-
tion, satisfied that nothing worse could possibly be-
fall her than to continue in her present state, and
that alarm was therefore childish, she proceeded to
the bank of the river, and perceived two native
Americans launching a boat into the stream. It is
the custom of these people, on their landing to pass
the night, to draw their canoe either wholly, or par-
tially on shore, as a security against accidents ; for,
should it be left afloat, and the fastening tackle
A HAPPY REUNION. 185
break, it would be carried away by the current, and
leave the sleepers on shore in a truly helpless state.
The natives, perceiving Madame Godin, advanced
towards her, on which she conjured them to trans-
port her to Andoas. They had been driven by the con-
tagion prevalent at Canelos, to withdraw with their
wives to a hut they had at a distance, and were then
going to Andoas. They received my wife on board
with kindness truly affectionate, showed every atten-
tion to her wants, and conducted her to that village.
At Andoas Madame Godin procured a canoe, with
a crew from the village, and thus reached Laguna,
where she remained six weeks to rest after her
dreadful journey having travelled upwards of four
hundred leagues. She had yet four or five times
that distance to pass before she reached Cayenne,
but she refused to return. The rest of her journey
W:H performed in comparative comfort on board a
Portuguese vessel. She met her husband again
after their long separation, and, as soon as her health
would permit, she accompanied him to Europe.
Not all the care and tenderness lavished on her
by her husband would make her lose the remem-
brance of her fearful sufferings in the forest, and
long after she was settled in her quiet and pleasant
home on their estate at St. Amand in Berry, she
shuddered at the slightest word which reminded her
of her travels; and the sudden mention of South
America or the Amazon would cause a nervous fit,
which deprived her of her voice, and left her for
hours pale, cold, silent, plunged in deep thought and
still deeper melancholy.
Steam navigation has now begun on the Amazon.
186 STEAM ON THE AMAZON.
In 1857 there were seven steamers in successful
operation, and two new boats were expected. If
this enterprise succeeds as it ought to do, flourish-
ing cities and cultivated fields may soon replace the
wild forest ; and the jaguar and the alligator may
be gradually exterminated as their haunts are taken
possession of by civilized man.
CHAPTER XIII.
PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE ON THE AMAZON.
The Turtle of the Amazon Turtle Egg Butter Indian way of Catching
Turtle Indian Shooting The Umbrella Bird The Victoria Regiu-
The Jacana The Fish-Cow The Anaconda A Horse Swallowed
by a Snake Narrow Escape from a Boa Constrictor.
" THE tartaruga, or turtle, of the Amazons are to
be found by the thousand in nearly all the affluents,
especially the Madeira, Purus, Napo, Ucayali, and
Huallaga. At the season for them to deposit their
eggs on the ' praiasj the streams will be fairly
speckled with them, paddling their clumsy carcases
up to their native sand-bar, for it is positively
asserted by the natives that the turtle will not de-
posit its eggs anywhere except where it was itself
hatched out. They lay from 80 to 120 eggs every
other year. Of this I have been assured by persons
who have artificial ponds, and keep them the year
round for their own table. September and October
are the months for depositing their eggs."
Dr. Kidder says:
" The turtle-egg butter of Amazonia (manteiga da
lartaruga) is a substance quite peculiar to this quarter
of the globe. At certain seasons of the year the
188 TUKTLE-EGG BUTTER.
turtles appear by thousands on the banks of the
rivers, in order to deposit their eggs upon the sand.
The noise of their shells striking against each other
in the rush is said to be sometimes heard at a great
distance. Their work commences at dusk, and ends
with the following dawn, when they retire to the water.
" During the day-time the inhabitants collect these
eggs and pile them up in heaps resembling the stacks
of cannon balls seen at a navy yard. These heaps
are often twenty feet in diameter, and of a corre-
sponding height. While yet fresh they are thrown
into wooden canoes, or other large vessels, and
broken with sticks and stamped fine with the feet.
Water is then poured on, and the whole is exposed
to the rays of the sun. The heat brings the oily
matter of the egg to the surface, from which it is
skimmed off with cuyas and shells. After this
it is subjected to a moderate heat until ready for
use. When clarified, it has the appearance of butter
that has been melted. It always retains the taste of
fish-oil, but is much prized for seasoning by the
Indians and those who are accustomed to its use.
It is conveyed to market in earthen jars. In earlier
times it was estimated that nearly 250,000,000 of
turtles' eggs were annually destroyed in the manu-
facture of this manteiga. Recently the number
is less, owing to the gradual inroads made upon
the turtle race, and also to the advance of civili-
zation."
But the Government now regulates the turtle egg
harvest, so that their numbers may not be so rapidly
diminished. There are some extensive beaches
which yield 2000 pots of oil annually. Each pot
CATCIJING TURTLE. 189
contains five gallons, and requires about 2500 eggs,
which would give 5,000,000 ova destroyed in one
locality.
Indeed, it is a wonder how the turtles can ever
come to maturity; as they issue from the eggs, and
make their way to the water, many enemies are
awaiting them. Huge alligators swallow them by
hundreds; the jaguars feed upon them; eagles, buz-
zards, and great wood-ibises are their devourers;
and whrii tiny have escaped these land foes, many
ravenous fishes are ready to seize them in the stream.
They are, however, so prolific, that it has remained
for their most fatal enemy, man, to visibly diminish
their number. The Indians take the full-grown
turtle in a net, or catch him with a hook, or shoot
him with an arrow. The latter is a most ingenious
method, and requires more skill than to shoot a bird
upon the wing. The turtle never shows its back
above the water, but, rising to breathe, its nostrils
only are protruded above the surface; so slight,
however, is the rippling, that none but the Indian's
keen eyes perceive it. If he shoot an arrow obliquely,
it would glance off the smooth shell ; therefore he
aims into the air, and apparently " draws a bow at
a venture;" but he sends up his missile with such
wonderfully accurate judgment, that it describes a
parabola and descends nearly vertically into the
back of the turtle. ( Wallace.) The arrow-head fits
loosely to the shaft, and is attached to it by a long,
fine cord, carefully wound round the wood, so that
when the turtle dives the barb descends, the string
unwinds, and the light shaft forms a float or buoy,
which the Indian secures, and by the attached cord
190
INDIAN ARCHERY.
he draws the prize up into his canoe. Nearly all
the turtles sold in the market are taken in this
manner, and the little square, vertical hole made by
the arrow-head may generally be seen in the shell.
In connection with this might be mentioned the
archery of some of the civilized Indians in various
THE UMBRELLA BIRD.
portions of the empire. A large and strong bow is
bent by their legs. In this way they are able to
shoot game at a great distance.
As to the birds of the Amazon, they are every-
INDIAN M01>B OF 8HOOTINO.
192 THE TRUMPET BIRD.
where brilliant beyond birds in any other portion of
the world. Some, like the dancing cock of the
rock and the curious little-known umbrella bird,
are very difficult to obtain. I can only mention the
latter.
This singular bird is about the size of a raven,
and is of a similar colour, but its feathers have a
more scaly appearance, from being margined with
a different shade of glossy Mue. On its head it
bears a crest different from that of any other bird.
It is formed of feathers more than two inches long,
very thickly set, and with hairy plumes curving
over at the end. These can be laid back so as to be
hardly visible, or can be erected and spread out on
every side, forming, as has been remarked, " a
hemispherical or rather a hemi-ellipsoidal dome,
completely covering the head, and even reaching
beyond the point of the beak." It inhabits the
flooded islands of the Rio Negro and the Solimoes,
never appearing on the mainland. It feeds on fruits,
and utters a loud, hoarse cry, like some deep musical
instrument whence its Indian name, Ueramimbe,
" trumpet bird."
Near the margin of the Amazon and its tributaries
is found the giant of Flora's kingdom, whose dis-
covery a few years since is as notable a fact to the
naturalist world as the regular opening of steam
navigation upon the Amazon is to the commercial
world.
Of all the Nymphaeacese, the largest, the richest,
and the most beautiful, is the marvellous plant which
has been dedicated to the Queen of England, and
which bears the name of Victoria Regia. It inhabits
THE VICTORIA REGIA.
193
the tranquil waters of the shallow lakes formed by
the widening of the Amazon and its affluents. Its
leaves measure from fifteen to eighteen feet in cir-
cumference. Their upper part is of a dark, glossy
green; the under portion is of a crimson red, fur-
nished with large salient veins, which are cellular
VICTORIA REOIA.
and full of air, and have the stem covered with elastic
prickles. The flowers lift themselves about six
inches above the water, and when full blown have
a circumference of from three to four feet. The
(289) 13
194 ITS DISCOVERY.
petals unfold toward evening ; their colour, at first
of the purest white, passes in twenty-four hours
through successive hues, from a tender rose tinge to
a bright red. During the first day of their bloom
they exhale a delightful fragrance, and at the end of
the third day the flower fades away and replunges
beneath the waters, there to ripen its seeds. When
matured, these fruit-seeds, rich in fecula, are gathered
by the natives, who roast them, and relish them thus
prepared.
In 1845 an English traveller, Mr. Bridges, as
he was following the wooded banks of the Yacouma,
one of the tributaries of the Mamore, came to a lake
hidden in the forest, and found upon it a colony of
Victoria Regias. Carried away by his admiration,
he was about to plunge into the water for the pur-
pose of gathering some of the flowers, when the
Indians who accompanied him pointed to the savage
alligators lazily reposing upon the surface. This
information made him cautious; but, without abating
his ardour, he ran to the city of Santa Anna, and
soon obtained a canoe, which was launched upon
the lake which contained the objects of his ambition.
The leaves were so enormous that he could place
but two of them on the canoe, and he was obliged
to make several trips to complete his harvest. Mr.
Bridges soon arrived in England with the seeds,
which he had sown in moist clay. Two of these
germinated in the aquarium of the hothouse of Kew.
One was sent to the large hothouses of Chatsworth;
a basin was prepared to receive it, the temperature
was raised, and the plant was placed in its new
resting-place on the 10th of August 1849. To-
rnKJACANA. 195
ward the end of September, it was necessary to
enlarge the basin and to double its size, in order to
give space to the leaves which developed with great
rapidity. So large did they become that one of
them supported the weight of a little girl in upright
position.
The first bud opened in the beginning of Novem-
ber. The flower in bloom was offered by Sir J.
Paxton (the celebrated designer of the London
Crystal Palace) to his monarch, and the great per-
sonages of England hastened to Windsor Castle to
admire the beautiful namesake of their gracious
sovereign.
The name given to this marvellous plant by
Lindley was happily chosen ; but the natives of
Amazon call it " Uape Japona " the Jacana's oven
from the fact that the jacana is often seen upon
it. The jacana is a singular spur- winged bird, twice
the size of a woodcock, provided with excedingly
long and slender toes (from which the French term
it the surgeon-bird) which enable it to glide over
various water-plants. It inhabits the marshes and
woods near the water, and many a time in the in-
terior I have seen it stealing over the lily leaves
on the margin of rivers.
The waters of the great river are scarcely less
productive than the soil of its banks. Innumerable
species of fish and amphibious animals abound in it.
Several kinds of fish are salted and dried for use;
but the commerce in this article of food does not
extend beyond the coast. Owing to the style of
preparation, or to the coarse quality of the fish,
foreigners set no value upon it. The most remark-
196
THE FISH-COW.
able inhabitant of these waters is the vaca marina,
commonly called by the Portuguese peixe boi, or fish
cow. This name is evidently given on account of the
animal's size, rather than from any resemblance to
the ox or cow other than its being mammiferous.
THE VACA MARINA, OR FISH-COW.
The vaca marina cannot be called amphibious,
since it never leaves the water. It feeds principally
upon a water-plant (cana bravo) that floats on the
borders of the stream. It 'often raises its head above
the water to respire, as well as to feed upon this
vegetable. At these moments it is attacked and
captured. It has only two fins, which are small, and
situated near its head. This has been pronounced
A SWARM OF FISH. 107
the largest fish inhabiting fresh water ; but, notwith-
standing its mammoth dimensions, being, according
to various accounts, from eight to seventeen feet
long, and two or three feet thick at the widest part,
its eyes are extremely small, and the orifices of its
ears are scarcely larger than a pin-head. Its skin
is very thick and hard, not easily penetrated by a
musket-ball. The Indians used to make shields of
it for their defence in war. Its fat and flesh have
always been in estimation. It served the natives in
place of beef. Not having salt for the purpose, they
used to preserve the flesh by means of smoke.
The following account of the multitude of fish in
the Rio Madeira, a tributary of the Amazon, is
given by Mr. Nesbitt, chief engineer in one of the
Government steamers : " At the falls of the Rio
Madeira the traveller will halt and gaze with
wonder at the vast multitude of fish of all kinds and
sizes from the huge cow-fish to the little sardine
struggling with might and main to ascend the foam-
ing, dashing current, without the slightest hope of
success. Presently some monster will make a dash
at a school of his small congeners, when suddenly
there will be a cloud of all sorts and sizes leaping in
the air, and trying to dodge their ravenous pursuer.
All that is necessary for one wishing a fish is to take
his canoe paddle and strike right or left, when he
is sure to hit he cannot possibly miss. Here are
almost always to be found great numbers of Indians
collecting, salting, and drying fish. Thepeixe boi is
an excellent fish for food. I would almost as soon
have it for the table in every shape as the best veal ;
indeed, it might be palmed upon the unwary for that
198 GIANT SERPENTS.
article. It is also equal to the best dried beef in the
estimation of many."
The enormous anaconda (Eunectes murinus), or
sucurujii of the natives, a serpent belonging to the
boa family, inhabits tropical America, and par-
ticularly haunts the dense forests near the margin
of rivers. The boa-constrictor, the jiboa of the
Indians, is smaller and more terrestrial. The first
of these creatures which I saw, says Mr. Fletcher,
was a young one, belonging to a gentleman in the
province of St. Paulo. I afterwards saw one in
the province of Rio de Janeiro, that measured
twenty-five feet. Mr. Nesbitt, the engineer who
took the Peruvian Government steamers to the
upper affluents of the Amazon, informed me that
he shot on the banks of the Huallaga an anaconda
which measured twenty-six feet seven inches. An
Italian physician at Campinas (St. Paulo) gave me
an account of the manner in which the sucurujii,
or anaconda, took his prey.
The giant ophidian lies in wait by the river-side,
where quadrupeds of all kinds are likely to frequent
to quench their thirst. He patiently waits until
some animal draws within reach, when, with a
rapidity almost incredible, the monster fastens him-
self to the neck of his victim, coils round it, and
crushes it to death. After the unfortunate animal
has been reduced to a shapeless mass by the pressure
of the snake, its destroyer prepares to swallow it, by
sliming it over with a viscid secretion. When the
anaconda has gulped down a heifer (by commencing
with the tail and hind feet brought together), he
lies torpid for a month, until his enormous meal is
Till. ANACONDAS PREY.
100
di irested, and then sallies forth for another. The
doctor added that the sucurujii does not attempt the
deglutition and digestion of the horns, but that he
lets them protrude from his mouth until they fall off
by decay. It had been said by some casual observers
that the anaconda dies after swallowing a large
ANACONDA KILLING DEER.
animal, that the buzzards seen near him eat him
up; but the doctor added that close observation
shows that this statement was entirely erroneous.
200 A STRANGE STORY.
As to the amount of credence due to the state-
ments of Dr. B., relative to the horns of the swallowed
animal, I leave the reader to form his own opinion ;
but the facts are incontrovertible in regard to the
capacity of the anaconda to swallow animals whose
diameter is many times greater than its own. Of
all the travellers and explorers whose writings I
have read, Wallace and Gardiner are the most
moderate in their account as eye-witnesses, and are
most particular to record nothing of which they
were not fully persuaded after patient and careful
investigation. Mr. Wallace says, " It is an undis-
puted fact that they devour cattle and horses."
In the province of Goyaz, Dr. Gardiner came to
the fazenda of Sape, situated at the foot of the Serra
de Santa Brida, near the entrance to a small valley.
This plantation belonged to Lieutenant Lagoeira.
Dr. G. remarks, that in this valley and throughout
this province the anaconda attains an enormous
size, sometimes reaching forty feet in length, the
largest which he saw measured thirty- seven feet,
but was not alive. It had been taken under the
following circumstances :
"Some weeks before our arrival at Sape," writes
Dr. Gardiner, " the favourite riding horse of Senhor
Lagoeira, which had been put out to pasture not
far from the house, could not be found, although
strict search was made for it all over the fazenda.
Shortly after this, one of his vaqueiros (herdsmen)
in going through the wood, by the side of a small
stream, saw an enormous sucuruju suspended in the
fork of a tree which hung over the water. It was
dead, but had evidently been floated down alive by
ADVENTURE WITH A BOA. 201
a recent flood, and being in an inert state, it had
not been able to extricate itself from the fork before
the waters fell. It was dragged out to the open
country by two horses, and was found to measure
thirty-seven feet in length. On opening it, the
bones of a horse, in a somewhat broken condition,
and the flesh in a half-digested state, were found
within it; the bones of the head were uninjured.
From these circumstances we concluded that the
boa had swallowed the horse entire. In all kinds
of snakes the capacity for swallowing is prodigious.
I have often seen one not thicker than my thumb
swallow a frog as large as my fist; and I once
killed a rattlesnake about four feet long, and of no
great thickness, which had swallowed not less than
three large frogs. I have also seen a very slender
snake that frequents the roofs of houses swallow an
entire bat three times its own thickness. If such
be the case with these smaller kinds, it is not to be
wondered at that one thirty-seven feet long should
be able to swallow a horse, particularly when it is
known that previously to doing so it breaks the
bones of the animal by coiling itself round it, and
afterwards lubricates it with a slimy matter, which
it has the power of secreting in its mouth."
On one occasion, when the sailors from a French
ship landed on the coast of Brazil, one of them had
a very narrow escape from a boa, which is thus
related in the narrative of their adventures :
" One day the captain and his adopted son had
landed on the coast, and were admiring the glorious
trees, and the rich plumage of the birds which were
flitting among them, when they heard on a sudden
202
A CRY OF DISTRESS.
SAILOR SEIZED BY A BOA.
screams and cries of distress, as if from some one in
agony. They knew that one of the sailors had
landed when they did, as they intended to cut wood
for fuel; but they could scarcely believe that the
cries were his, for what could have happened to him
in such a short time ?
I \ STANCE OF TRUE COURAGE. 203
" Richard, with the activity natural to his ajro,
i to run at once to the quarter whence the cnes
came. lie soon outstripped the captain, although he
was running too; and when he reached the place
where they had left the sailor, he found him in
torture. His face expressed the extreme of agony,
his eyes were starting from his head, his hair wa.s
standing on end. An enormous serpent, about
twenty feet In length, was coiled round his body,
and was squeezing him in its folds, so that he could
scarcely breathe.
" When the courageous boy saw the fearful state of
the poor sailor, he hesitated not a moment, but
rushing towards the venomous creature with his
axe in his hand, he seized the moment when its
great head was near him to give it a blow with all
his strength. The monstrous head was bent down-
wards for a moment by the force of the blow,
Richard soon followed it by another, and another,
and at length he succeeded in crushing the enormous
head. The animal, mortally wounded, losing its
strength and its power of injuring, let go by degrees
the body of the sailor, who was thus saved from the
very jaws of death.
" One long hiss announced the death-throes of
the monster, 'Well done, my boy!' said the cap-
tain, laying his hand on Richard's shoulder ; * very
well done! Yours is true courage.'
u 'Richard,' said the rescued sailor, offering him
his hand, " you have saved me from a terrible death,
my life henceforward is yours."
"Richard and the sailor continued close and
constant friends to their lives' end."
CHAPTER XIV.
THE MINES OF UPPER PERU.
Situation and Productions of Bolivia Maize Chicha QumoaCoca
Description of the Coca Bush Cultivation and Uses Silver Mines of
Potosi Discovery of the Mine.
BOLIVIA, or Upper Peru, is, next to Thibet, the
highest country in the world. It was separated
from Peru in 1825, and takes its name from its
liberator Bolivar. It is a plateau situated to the
north of Chili, between two parallel chains of the
Cordilleras. It is nine times the size of England,
and has a population of 1,600,000, three-fourths of
whom are Indians.
In Bolivia the Andes are broad and high, and
form two ranges, enclosing between them a lofty
valley, in the north of which is the large lake Titi-
caca, 12,846 feet above the ocean. At such a
height the soil is, of course, cold and barren the
icy winds descending from the snowy tops of the
Andes, and, sweeping over the plains, hinder the
growth of vegetation. But in the deep and numerous
valleys which intersect the plateau, the soil produces
in abundance all the grains and fruits of Europe,
BENEFITS OF THE COCA. 205
which were introduced by the Spaniards at the time
of the conquest, and also sugar canes, cotton, bana-
nas, &c.
Maize and potatoes form the principal food of the
poorer classes. They eat the maize both roasted
and boiled, and are passionately fond of a drink
which they make from it called chicha. This chicha
is the chief beverage of the country, and contains,
it is said, so much nourishment, that the natives can
live on it for a long time without any other food.
Those who habitually drink the chicha become so
fat that they are scarcely able to walk.
There is a peculiar kind of grain which has been
given by Providence to this country, as it ripens at
a very great height above the level of the sea, where
neither barley nor oats could thrive. this is the
quinoa, a small plant, of which the seeds are eaten,
boiled or cooked in various ways, and whose leaves
are used as vegetables, and also serve to make a
kind of beer. There is another plant of this country
which is still more appreciated by the inhabitants,
and which is the friend and consolation of the
Indian in every trial and difficulty of his life. This
is the coca. While he chews his coca-leaves, the
poor native forgets all his miseries, his rags, and
the cruel treatment of his master. He requires but
a single meal in the day, but he needs to stop his
work at least three times in order to chew his coca.
He believes that it both strengthens him and pro-
longs his life, and that it is, besides, a valuable
antidote to the bad effects of the rarity of the air in
these mountainous regions.
The coca is a bush which attains the height of
206 AN USEFUL CROP.
six or eight feet, and resembles the black-thorn in
its small white flowers and bright green leaves. It
is a native of the tropical valleys on the eastern
slope of the Andes, and grows wild in many parts
of these countries. That which is used by the
people, however, is chiefly the produce of cultivation.
In the inhabited parts of the valleys it forms an im-
portant agricultural crop. Like our common thorn
it is raised in seed-beds, from which it is planted
out into regularly arranged coca plantations. The
steep sides of the valleys, as high up as eight thousand
feet above the level of the sea, are often covered
with these plantations of coca. The leaves are
about the size of those of the cherry-tree, and, when
ripe enough to break on being bent, they are
collected by the women and children, and dried
in the sun. Their taste is not unpleasant; it is
slightly bitter and aromatic, and resembles that of
green tea of inferior quality. It becomes more
piquant and agreeable when a sprinkling of quick-
lime or plant-ashes is chewed along witR it.
The use of this plant among the Indians of South
America dates from very remote periods. When
the Spanish conquerors overcame the native races of
the hilly country of Peru, they found extensive
plantations of coca. The beloved leaf is still, to the
Indian of the mountains, the delight, the support,
and, in some measure, the necessity of his life.
A confirmed chewer of coca is called a " coquero,"
and he is said to become occasionally more thoroughly
a slave to the leaf than the inveterate drunkard is
to spirituous liquors.
The chewing of coca gives a bad breath, pale lips
A LOFTY CITY. 207
and gums, greenish and stumpy teeth, and an ugly
black mark at the angles of the mouth. The in-
vrti-rate " coquero" is known at the first glance,
his unsteady gait, his yellow skin, his dim and
sunken eyes, encircled by a purple ring, his quiver-
ing lips, and his general apathy, all bear evidence
of the baneful effects of the coca juice when taken
in excess.*
Regions so little attractive as the cold and rugged
1'laU-aux of Bolivia might have possibly been desti-
tute of inhabitants had they not possessed an extra-
ordinary number of rich gold and silver mines.
These are often found at a very great elevation,
sometimes as high as the top of the European Alps ;
and round these the population have gathered and
founded cities. Potosi, the highest city in the
world, stands at an elevation of 13,330 feet, at the
foot of a mountain celebrated for its silver mines.
The top of the mountain rises to a height of 15,200
feet, and is pierced with more than 300 shafts.
Since its discovery in 1846, these have produced the
almost fabulous sum of 8,000,258,000,000 of francs,
chiefly in silver.
The mountain of Potosi is very steep, of a conical
form, and is about three miles in circumference.
It is pierced in every direction ; the passages of the
mines are supported by 300 large arches of
columns, which, with innumerous furnaces which
surround it, offer a brilliant spectacle at night It
has been the tomb of many thousands of men, as
for a long time 15,000 persons were constantly
* From " ChemUtry of Common Life.*'
208 THE MINE OF POTOSL
obliged to work there. The veins are now much
less productive than formerly.
The town of Potosi is situated in a barren country,
with a cold climate around it ; nothing is to be seen
but bare rocks, here and there covered with moss.
The surrounding mountains, inhabited only by a
few vicunas and condors, have their summits
covered with perpetual snow. Strangers who are
not accustomed to the climate often suffer much
from the rarity of the air. The population of the
town has been naturally regulated by the prosperity
of the mines. In 1611 it amounted to about
160,000; but of late years, since the mines were
less productive, it has not much exceeded from
10,000 to 12,000. The discovery of the most im-
portant mines has often been owing to circumstances
quite unexpected, and sometimes very strange.
Many singular stories are told about these dis-
coveries, not the least remarkable of which relates
to the finding of the celebrated mine of Potosi. It is
said that an Indian, named Diego Hualea, when
scrambling up the mountains, seized hold of a shrub
to support himself; it yielded under his weight,
was torn up by the roots, and displayed to the eyes
of the astonished hunter a mass of silver, of which
some pieces were mingled with the earth which
was clinging to the roots of the shrub. The Indian
made use privately of this inexhaustible treasure ;
but his good fortune did not remain long concealed,
for his friend Quanca having remarked a great
change in his way of life, became curious to know
the reason of it. He entreated Hualea to tell him,
and succeeded in winning from him the secret of his
SILVER MIXES OF POT
210 A CURIOUS STORY.
riches. For some time this secret was well kept,
but Hualea having refused to teach his friend the
way to purify the metal, Quanca told the whole
story to Villareas, his master, who resided at Porco.
Villareas immediately went to examine the place
on the 21st of April 1545; the mine was opened,
and has continued to be worked ever since.
Another curious story is told of the discovery of
the celebrated silver mines of Pasco, which are
situated on the south-east of the lake of Lauriocha,
one of the sources of the great river Amazon.
About two hundred and thirty years ago an Indian
was keeping the flocks of his master on a little plain
situated in these high regions. One day, having
wandered further than usual from his hut, he felt
bitterly cold. He took shelter under a high rock,
and kindled a good fire to warm himself, near
which he fell asleep. Great was his surprise on
awaking to find that the stone on which he had
kindled the fire was melted arid changed into pure
silver. He immediately hastened to tell his master
of this strange adventure. Without losing a
moment, Ugarte (for so the Spaniard was called)
accompanied his shepherd to the favoured spot, and
discovered the existence of an extremely rich vein
of silver, which he hastened to work, and from which
he derived immense revenues. This valuable mine
is not yet exhausted. No sooner had the news of
this event become known in the country, than a
great number of the inhabitants of Pasco, only two
leagues distant, hastened to the spot, sought, and
found new veins. This mine was so rich that it has
collected and maintains a population of 18,000.
MA KIM: A FORT V NT. 211
The ground upon which Cerro de Pasco lias been
built resembles a fine net-work of silver veins. If
a hole is dug almost anywhere, silver is almost
certain to be discovered. Some of the inhabitants
are even said to work a private mine in the cellars
of their houses. But the mining is, in general, done
both irregularly and imprudently, in consequence
of which the shafts and galleries often fall in and
bury the unfortunate Indian miners under heaps of
earth and stones. In the mine of Matagente alone,
now entirely destroyed, more than 300 workmen
have lost their lives. It is well named, as the
word Matagente means literally kill people.
It is said also that, in another part of America, a
poor Spaniard, entirely destitute and flying from jus-
tice, was one day swimming across a river to escape
from the alguazils who were in pursuit of him.
Just as he reached the opposite bank of the river,
his eyes fell upon a vein of silver in the rock, which
had been laid bare by the constant action of the
water on the bank. He understood at a glance all
the advantages that he might gain from this dis-
covery ; and without delay he hastened to return to
his native place, surrendered himself to justice, and
submitted to the sentence pronounced against him.
Then, after a certain time of imprisonment, he went
back to the place where he had discovered the vein
of silver, and began the working of a mine, which
soon made him one of the richest proprietors in the
country.
Several of the mines in the Upper Cordilleras
have yielded silver to an almost incredible amount.
One of these was the mine of San Jose, in the de-
212 SPANIAftDS AND INDIANS.
partment of Huanvelica, in Peru. The proprietor
of this mine requested his friend, the Spanish gover-
nor Castro, to be the godfather of his first child.
The viceroy, not being able to be absent from his
post, sent his wife in his stead. The proprietor of
San Jose caused the road between his house and the
church (not a short distance) to be laid with a triple
row of ingots of silver ; and, on the departure of the
vice-queen, he presented to her all the silver that
had been used in making this singular avenue, as a
testimony of his gratitude for the honour she had
done him.
The poor Indians were not long in finding out
that they gained nothing by the discovery of the
mines, since they were obliged to labour very
hard, and received almost nothing for their work ;
and it often cost them their lives. It is said that
this was the fate of the Indian who first discovered
the mine of Cerro de Pasco ; for his master, Ugarte,
so far from being grateful to him for his valuable
information, threw the poor man into a dungeon,
where he died. Therefore, although the existence
of numerous veins of silver was known to several
Indians, they did all they could to guard the secret
from the knowledge of Europeans. Such secrets
were often transmitted from father to son for a long
course of years.
A Franciscan monk, of Huanacayo, who was an
incorrigible gambler, and always short of money,
had yet gained the affection of the Indians by his
kindness and good nature to them ; and they very
often brought him small presents of cheese and
poultry. One day, that he had lost a large sum of
A DEVICE DISCOVERED. 213
money at play, he made known his difficulties to an
Indian in whom he had confidence. This man pro-
mised to help him ; and the next evening he brought
him a sack filled with the richest silver ore. This
present was several times repeated ; but the insatiable
monk was still anxious for more, and entreated the
Indian to tell him where he got so much treasure.
After being often asked, the Indian yielded at length
to his importunities. He went one night, accompanied
by two others, to the Franciscan's house, bandaged
his eyes, took him upon his shoulders, and, being
assisted in carrying him by his companions in turn,
he conveyed him to a considerable distance among
the mountains. At length he set him down, un-
bound his eyes, and told him to look. The monk
found himself in a small shaft, of no great depth;
but his eyes were perfectly dazzled with the riches
surrounding him. His curiosity being satisfied, he
was permitted to fill a sack as well as he could, and
his eyes having been again bandaged, he was con-
veyed home in the same way in which he had come.
As he was carried along, he dropped from time to
time a bead of his rosary, hoping that by means of
these he might be able next day to trace the way to
the mine. But two hours had scarcely passed after
he had gone to bed, dreaming of untold riches, when
his brilliant visions were disturbed by his guide :
My father," said the Indian quietly, "you have
lost your rosary!" and, so saying, he handed to the
monk a handful of his beads.
CHAPTER XY.
PEKU.
Extent and Productions Guano Dangers of Travelling Poisoned Springs
Storms among the Mountains Peruvian Bridges Encounter with
a Tiger Wonderful Escape.
PERU, a country in South America, lying north of
Bolivia (which at one time formed part of it), is
composed of high table-land, having, on one side,
immense forests and grass-covered plains, and, on
the other, towards the Pacific Ocean, a skirting of
barren, sandy shores. The vegetation is not so
luxuriant as in some other parts of America,
although the watered valleys, orange-trees, bana-
nas and citrons as large as oaks, are not uncommon,
Indian corn, varieties of wheat, the finest potatoes
in the world, and excellent tapioca, are extensively
cultivated. These, however, are not the productions
which we usually associate with the name of Peru.
The word calls up ideas of rich mines of gold and
other metals; and it is true that for many centuries
this country furnished Spain with fabulous revenues.
But things have changed; and many of our readers
will hardly believe that the guano which fleets of
THE PRECIOUSNESS OF GUANO. 215
ships carry away from its shores is immensely more
valuable than all the gold and silver mines in its
possession.
Every evening, at sunset, innumerable multitudes
of frigate-birds, petrels, gannets, pelicans, &c., may
be seen perched on the rocks which border the
small islands or shores of this, part of America; and
the droppings and other remains of these birds,
mixed with masses of decayed fish, form the guano,
which is one of the richest manures known, and
much sought after by agriculturists, both in England
and the United States. It is found in greatest
abundance on the Chincha Islands, off the coast of
Peru, where the deposits are sometimes twenty and
thirty feet thick; and this natural wealth, which costs
nothing but the trouble of gathering and carrying
away, has yielded to Peru about two millions, while
the exportation of metals has scarcely exceeded a
third of the sum. When we remember how necessary
manure is for agriculture, we can understand why
enterprizing men go to the other side of the globe in
search of it, and why it is more valued in our day
than the productions of gold mines.
Even that part of Peru which lies along the coast is
very hilly. The valleys are little more than ravines,
and the rivers are impetuous torrents, rushing in num-
berless cascades towards the sea. But however diffi-
cult or dangerous a journey in the maritime provinces
may appear, it is only an agreeable promenade com-
pared with an excursion into the interior. Along the
shores there is nothing to be feared but fatigue, the
sun, the sand, and robbers; but an expedition to tho
mountains includes such a variety of dangers, which
216 POISONED WATERS.
even the natives shrink from encountering, that it is
difficult to conceive where travellers could be found
willing to brave them. When such a journey is under-
taken, the traveller must be prepared to risk his life
at almost every step, and to depend on the provi-
dence of God for protection and deliverance. Dangers
from avalanches, precipices, and glaciers are com-
mon to all mountainous countries; but, besides these,
travellers in the Andes have to guard against pecu-
liar diseases even the loss of sight.
Dr von Tschudi, well known by his remarkable
work on the Alps, relates that, one day after a long
journey through one of the valleys leading from the
sea to the mountains, he stopped to refresh himself
and his mule at a spring, and was in the act of
drinking, when an Indian called out, " Take care!
that water is poisoned ! " and, to his disappointment,
he was compelled to remount without having tasted
it; for, if he had done so, he would certainly have
had an attack of fever, and perhaps have died in
consequence.
At some places the valley which we passed through,
says Dr. von Tschudi, was merely a narrow cleft be-
tween two precipitous rocks, 500 or 600 feet high,
whose summits sometimes inclined and touched each
other, so as to form a kind of natural arch. A narrow
and dangerous path, watered by the foaming waves of
a torrent, ran along their base, or rather their steep
sides. When not quite perpendicular, the slopes
were covered with threatening masses of rock, which,
becoming gradually loosened, often fall into the val-
ley, driving everything before them. While passing
through this ravine, one of these immense blocks
MOUNTAIN MALADII & 217
rolled down, and, striking one of my mules, threw
him into the torrent, carrying away my instruments,
some of my principal travelling utensils, and part of
my papers and collections; and, in the inn at Viso,
I met an officer, who told me he had set out from
San Mateo, riding with his two sons, the one be-
fore and the other behind him, and, when about
six miles from Viso, a piece of rock fell down, and,
striking the eldest, a child of ten years old, plunged
him into the torrent.
But these are not the only dangers which tra-
vellers in the high regions of the Cordilleras have to
fear. At the height of 9000 or 10,000 feet above
the level of the sea, they experience the most pain-
ful sensations are often seized with fainting and
bleeding at the eyes, nose, and mouth. This malady
is called puna by the natives, and veto, or mareo
(from its resemblance to sea sickness) by the
Spanish Creoles, who in their ignorance attribute it
to the exhalations from metals ; but the real cause
is to be found in the rarefaction of the air.
Another disease is the surumpe, a violent inflam-
mation of the eyes, caused by the reflection of the
sun upon the snow. In these regions the rarity of
the air and the violence of the wind keep the eyes
in a state of constant irritation. The sky becomes
suddenly darkened with clouds, which is followed
by a heavy fall of snow ; the clouds disappear as
quickly as they came, and the sun shines out again
in all its brilliancy. Almost immediately the tra-
veller feels an acute pain in his eyes, as if a fire
burned within. The eyes become red, the eyelids
swell and bleed, and the pain becomes so intense
218 SUSPENSION BRIDGES.
that delirium comes on, and is in many instances
followed by death. Spectacles and green veils are
an excellent precaution against this malady.
During five months in the year, from November
to March, scarcely a day passes without a storm on
these mountains. It commences almost invariably
between two and three o'clock in the afternoon, and
continues till five or half-past five, and never later
than six. Generally a good deal of snow falls while
it lasts, but the sun of the following day rapidly
thaws it. For several hours the flashes of lightning
follow so rapidly upon one another as to tinge the
mountain cataracts with the hue of blood. The
thunder rumbles incessantly, and the lightning
flashes along the ground, leaving long furrows in
the burned grass behind it. The traveller over-
taken by these terrific tempests is glad to leave his
frightened mule to herself, and seek a shelter unde*
some overhanging rock.
But we must not forget in our enumeration of the
dangers of a journey in Peru the suspension bridges
and huaros. The bridges are constructed of four
thick strips of cow hides, which are fastened to
posts, fixed on the banks of the river or torrent.
A plaiting of smaller strips, covered with branches of
trees, straw, and roots, is laid upon these. Two
other strips, placed at about three feet high, serve
for balustrades, and the traveller, leading his stub-
born mule by the bridle, is obliged to cross upon
this unsteady platform, which swings like a ham-
mock, often at a great height above the water. The
crossing of a river in a huaros is still more unplea-
sant. A rope is stretched from one bank to the
ADVENTURE WITH A TIGRESS. 219
other, to which a rough wooden seat is fastened,
ami by the aid of a second rope the seat with the
travellers on it is drawn across. If the rope should
happen to break, he will to a certainty be drowned.
Sometimes the two banks of a torrent are so very
close to one another, that travellers who have con-
Gdenot in their mules leap over at the risk of their
lives.
Dr. von Tschudi had also dangers to fear from
encounters with wild beasts. One day, on the very
spot where he was going to sit down, he discovered,
and at last succeeded in killing, a little black ser-
pent, whose sting is said to be so very poisonous
that it is useless to try any remedy. Another time
a gigantic condor pounced upon a sheep which had
just been killed, and tried to carry it off, and the
doctor had considerable difficulty in defending him-
self with his hatchet. On another occasion his life
w.-is threatened by a tigress, and it was entirely
owing, under Providence, to his composure and pre-
sence of mind that he was enabled to preserve it.
Fatigued, he says, by a long journey, he had just
sat down under the shade of a tree, laying his
musket, which was his constant companion, by his
side. Suddenly his eyes fell upon some plants which
he had not seen before, and on rising to examine
them with all the enthusiasm of a botanist, his
attention was attracted by a rustling among the
leaves of the trees. lie turned round to find out
the cause, and suddenly a tigress, with two cubs
playing about her, started up between him and the
tree where he had left his weapon. At sight of him
the wild animal stopped, and uttered a dull kind of
220 AN AWKWARD POSITION.
roar ; the little cubs stopped at the same time, as if
astonished at the novelty of the object. Dr. T.
knew that a tigress never appears so formidable as
when she requires to defend her young ; and finding
himself without arms, confronted with such a terrible
animal, a shudder of terror passed over him, and for
an instant he gave himself up to despair; but soon
recovering his courage and presence of mind, he re-
solved to try the power of his eyes, and fixing them
upon those of the tigress, endeavoured to hinder her
from advancing. Strange to say, the expedient suc-
ceeded beyond all his expectation, and the animal,
as if riveted to the spot, did not come one single
step nearer. But her cubs, not knowing the danger,
darted forward, and gambolled about his legs. The
sight of this disturbed the tigress, which began to
roar and lash her sides violently with her tail, ready
to rush upon the traveller if he dared to touch her
little ones. At that instant the doctor, still keeping
his eyes upon the mother, stooped down, and pass-
ing his hand over the back of the young tigers, who
seemed to appreciate the caress as much as if they
had been little kittens, noticed that the ferocious
animal was not insensible to the marks of regard
lavished on her offspring. Her growling ceased,
and she resumed her attitude of calm curiosity.
The two cubs, impelled by their playful and frolic-
some humour, darted off again from the traveller,
biting and chasing each other, and straying beyond
sight or hearing of their mother. She became
anxious about them, and turned her head slowly as
if inclined to follow them. Taking advantage of this
moment, Dr. T. got behind a bush, which concealed
A " GOOD RIDDANCE." 221
him from the tigress, and by a short detour reached
the place where he had left his gun, and prepared to
use it if necessary against the formidable inhabitant of
the forest. But it was in vain that he followed on her
track ; tigers and tigress had disappeared, and it may
be believed that he did not much regret their absence.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE THREE REPUBLICS I ECUADOR, NEW GRANADA,
AND VENEZUELA.
Description of the Country Earthquakes Productions Pearl Fishery
Value of Pearls Pearl Divers Dangers and Labours of the Divers
A Shark Overhead.
ANCIENT Colombia, which occupied in the north-
west of South America all the territory between the
Isthmus of Panama and Peru, is now divided into
three independent republics, that of Venezuela, of
which we shall afterwards speak; that of New
Granada, to the south of the Isthmus ; and that of
Ecuador, or the Equator, the name of which suffi-
ciently indicates its geographical position.
The greater part of the country in the two last
mentioned states is singularly steep and hilly, rent
by deep ravines, so difficult to cross, that it is im-
possible in many places to make any kind of road
for beasts of burden, and rich people are accustomed
to travel seated in chairs carried on men's backs.
With this heavy burden the hardy mountaineers
scramble up terrific precipices and across frightful
ravines, which but for them would be quite inacces-
sible.
BRIDGES OF ICONOZO.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE THREE REPUBLICS : ECUADOR, NEW GRANADA,
AND VENEZUELA.
Description of the Country Earthquakes Productions Pearl Fishery
Value of Pearls Pearl Divers Dangers and Labours of the Divers
A Shark Overhead.
ANCIENT Colombia, which occupied in the north-
west of South America all the territory between the
Isthmus of Panama and Peru, is now divided into
three independent republics, that of Venezuela, of
which we shall afterwards speak ; that of New
Granada, to the south of the Isthmus ; and that of
Ecuador, or the Equator, the name of which suffi-
ciently indicates its geographical position.
The greater part of the country in the two last
mentioned states is singularly steep and hilly, rent
by deep ravines, so difficult to cross, that it is im-
possible in many places to make any kind of road
for beasts of burden, and rich people are accustomed
to travel seated in chairs carried on men's backs.
With this heavy burden the hardy mountaineers
scramble up terrific precipices and across frightful
ravines, which but for them would be quite inacces-
sible.
BRIDGES OF ICONOZO.
224 NATURAL BRIDGES.
There are several remarkable natural wonders to
be seen amidst the bold and picturesque scenery of
this country. Such, for example, as the celebrated
bridges of Iconozo, formed by enormous blocks
of rock, which have fallen across a ravine 125
yards in depth, through which rushes a foaming
torrent. One of these bridges, situated a little
lower down than the other, is formed of three
enormous rocks, which have fallen so as mutually to
support each other, the middle one forming a kind
of keystone to the natural arch.
In another place, one of the rivers of this country
the Rio de Bogota throwing itself into one of the
ravines common in this part of the Andes, forms the
waterfall of Tequendama, one of the most beautiful
in the world, which falls a height of at least 230
yards, and is always crowned with a column of
vapour, which is seen at the distance of more than
twelve miles.
Another cause of wonder and fear to the traveller
in these regions are the numerous and terrible
volcanoes, whose eruptions have often caused the
most dreadful devastation. In 1797 a whole district,
to the extent of 125 miles in length, and 88 in
breadth, was literally torn up and entirely desolated.
Forty thousand persons lost their lives at Quito and
in the neighbouring cities. At the time of the erup-
tion of 1803, the sudden melting of the snows which
covered the summit of Cotopaxi caused terrible de-
vastation. In 1768 the ashes of this volcano dark-
ened the air to a distance of 65 miles. At another
time the flames rose 1000 yards in height above
the crater; and on other occasions its terrible roar-
RESOURCES OF THE COUNTRY. 225
ing was beard at 120 miles, or even 480 miles dis-
tance. If it were not that man gets accustomed to
everything, even to the most dreadful dangers, no
one could live in this country without suffering from
constant terror and alarm.
The climate of the high plateaux, situated on the
equator, ought to have the pleasant temperature of
perpetual spring, and such was formerly the reputa-
tion of the city of Quito, in particular ; but it ap-
pears that this is much modified in consequence of
the terrible earthquakes which have marked the end
of the last century. In the plains which lie on the
sea-coast, or at the foot of the mountains, the heat
in summer is often stifling, the climate unhealthy,
and yellow fever frequent.
The principal productions of this country are ex-
cellent cocoa, vanilla, bark, tobacco, indigo, cotton,
several kinds of balm, and lastly, the cow-tree,
from which flows, when it is cut, a white and abun-
dant beverage, of an agreeable taste, not unlike
milk.
The mines furnish a small quantity of gold, sil-
ver, platina, emeralds, known by the name of Peru-
vian emeralds, salt, and a little quicksilver.
The population, which is not very numerous, is
composed of whites, of Spanish origin, of Indians,
placed in a dependent position, although not actually
slaves, half-bloods, and a small number of negroes.
The principal cities of the Republic of Ecuador
are Quito, the capital of the state, said to contain
70,000 inhabitants, situated about 9540 feet above
the level of the sea, in a country which produces
the best cocoa in the world and Guayaquil, a busy
(289) 15
228 OYSTERS AND PEARLS.
The age of a common oyster can be told by count-
ing the successive layers of plates overlapping each
other. These are technically called " shoots," and
each of them makes a year's growth, so that it is
easy to know how long the creature has lived.
When the oyster is young, the " shoots " are regu-
lar and successive, but as it gets old they become
irregular, and are piled over one another.
The increase of the shell of the pearl oyster pro-
bably takes place in the same way.
The number of oysters which contain pearls, or
at least pearls of any value, is comparatively small;
but the shells of all are of some use, as they are all
lined with a substance of the same nature as pearls,
called mother of pearl, of which buttons, the handles
of penknives, small boxes, paper knives, and various
other articles and toys are made. The outer or
coarser parts of the shell are taken off by means of
sharp cutting instruments, or with a file, and the inner
layers are then formed into many ornamental trifles.
The most valuable pearls are those which are
perfectly round or pear shaped. In Europe white
pearls are preferred, but in the East they prefer the
yellow, the pink, or the black; the last are ex-
tremely rare. A fine necklace composed of pearls
about the size of a pea, would cost from about 150
to 300 ; but a necklace of pearls about the size of
grains of pepper might not cost more than from 15
to 20.
One of the most celebrated pearls is one in the
crown of Spain, which was given to King Philip II.
It was oval, and of the size of a pigeon's egg, and
was valued at 80,000 ducats. A pearl which Pliny
DIVING FOR PEARLS.
valued at about 100,000 of our money, Cleopatra
is said to have dissolved at a banqiu-t, where she
drank it off to Anthony's health, not to be outdone
by him in extravagance.
In Panama every person in easy circumstances
has two or three negroes, or Indians, who dive to
procure pearls for their masters. These divers,
trained to the trade from their earliest years, are
sent to the islands of the bay, where tents and boats
are kept in readiness for them. Eighteen or twenty
of the poor creatures, good swimmers, and able to
hold in their breath, are placed under the orders of
an inspector, and they go out to sea in the boats,
till they reach a place where there is a bed of oys-
ters at a depth of not more than ten, twelve, or fif-
teen fathoms.
When they have fixed on a favourable spot, they
cast anchor ; the negroes, or Indians, fasten a rope
round their bodies, and load themselves with a small
weight to enable them to go down more easily.
They then throw themselves into the water, and
when they reach the bottom they tear off the oys-
ters. They take one under each arm, one in each
hand, and a fifth in the mouth, and, thus loaded,
they ascend again to take breath and throw the
oysters into the boats. As soon as they have taken
breath they dive again, and so continue till they
are quite exhausted, or till they think that they
have collected a sufficient number of oysters.
Their task ended, each negro opens his own oys-
ters in the presence of the inspector, and gives him
all the pearls, small or great, perfect or imperfect,
which they contain, till the number is complete
230 A PERILOUS TASK.
which he is obliged to give to his master. If any
remain, they belong to the diver himself, who may
do what he likes with them ; he generally sells them
to the person who employs him.
The labour of these poor men is very pain-
ful. When they remain long under water blood
often gushes from their nostrils and ears ; some-
times they are struck with apoplexy immediately on
coming up. But the danger they dread most is
falling into the jaws of the shark. If one of these
formidable enemies is known to be near, its presence
completely puts a stop to the fishing for the time.
On these coasts, as well as on the coast of Cali-
fornia, it is usual for the divers to carry with them a
small stick about nine inches in length, pointed with
iron at both ends. Armed with this, an experienced
diver is often successful in a contest with the shark.
He holds the stick by the middle, and when he
is attacked by the monster, he seizes the moment
when it opens its terrible jaws to plunge the sharp
iron point into its mouth.
A native of the country, called Don Pablo Ochon,
who was for many years the superintendent of the
fishery, and who was himself a practised diver, re-
lates the following adventure, which he says hap-
pened to him in one of his submarine excursions.
He had been told of a reef, on which it was said
that a great number of large oysters might be found,
and after a good deal of trouble he succeeded in dis-
covering it. Hoping to pick up some fine specimens
of shells, Don Pablo dived to a depth of eleven
fathcms. The rock was not more than one hundred
and fifty or two hundred yards in circumference.
ANECDOTE OF A PEARL DIVER.
231
TI.- -\vnrn round it and examined it without seeing
anything to induce him to prolong his stay under
water. As there were no oysters to be seen, he
wa* preparing to ascend, and lie looked up, as
divers generally do, to be sure that no monster is
watching them. When Don Pablo raised his eyes
1
DIVER AND KIIARK.
he saw a tintorero (a species of shark) standing
sentinel over him, a few yards above his hoad, which
had probably been watching him from the time he
plunged into the water. The size of this monster
was so great that it was useless to think of
defending himself with his pointed stick, for the
horrible creature had a mouth that could have
swallowed both stick and man at one mouth-
ful. Don Pablo felt ill at ease when he saw his
232 A SHARK OVERHEAD.
retreat so completely cut off; but in the water there
is not much time for reflection ; he swam, therefore,
as quick as he could towards another point of the
rock, hoping thus to deceive the vigilance of his
enemy. Imagine his horror when he again saw it
hovering over his head, like a falcon watching a
little bird. The shark rolled its great fiery eyes,
and opened and closed its formidable jaws in such
a way that for long after the very remembrance of
it made Don Pablo tremble.
The unfortunate diver saw only two alternatives
before him to be drowned or to be eaten. He had
been so long under water that he could not keep in
his breath any longer, and he was on the point of
rising to breathe even at the risk of his life, when
he remembered all at once that he had seen some
sand on one of the sides of the rock. He swam
thither with all imaginable speed, always escorted
by his attentive enemy. As soon as he reached the
point he intended, he began to raise clouds of sand
with his pointed stick, which made the water so
dark and muddy that the man and the fish lost sight
of each other.
Then profiting by the darkness which he had
raised, Don Pablo ascended as speedily as he could
in an oblique direction, and reached the surface safe
and sound, but completely exhausted.
Happily he came up very near one of the boats,
and the boatmen seeing him in such a pitiful state,
guessed that he had escaped by some manosuvre
from an enemy. They accordingly used the ordi-
nary means to frighten away the monster, and Don
Pablo was drawn into the boat in safety, but more
dftad tlmn alive.
CHAPTER XVII.
EARTHQUAKE IN QUITO.
Volcanoes near Quito Desolation caused by them Eruption of Cotopaxl
Story of a Sufferer His Former Prosperity A Sudden and Terrible
Storm.
THE city of Quito, the capital of the Republic of
Ecuador, is situated in the Valley of Quito, one of
the finest in the Andes. It is 200 miles long and 30
wide ; has a mean elevation above the sea of 10,000
feet, and is bounded by the most magnificent series
of volcanic mountains in the new world.
It enjoys perpetual spring, is covered with
orchards and fruitful fields, scattered villages and
numerous flocks and herds, while the high peaks of
the colossal mountains surrounding it are covered
with perpetual snow. Highest among these rises
the celebrated Chimborazo.
Many of the summits of the Andes near Quito are
volcanoes ; and smoke and very often flames may
be seen issuing from the midst of the snow. Among
the most celebrated of these volcanoes are Cay-
ambe*, whose majestic summit is exactly on the
equator ; Cotopaxi, the most formidable of all the
234 TEERIBLE CATASTROPHES.
American volcanoes ; Pichincha and Antisana, the
highest volcanoes in the world. The city of Quito
is situated at the base of Pichincha, at a height of
9540 feet above the level of the sea. In such a
neighbourhood it is easy to imagine that the inhabi-
tants of the town and country often suffer frightful
disasters from the frequent eruptions of the subter-
ranean fire. In 1797 the earth was disturbed and
literally upturned, to an extent of 50 leagues in
length, and 35 in breadth, and 40,000 persons lost
their lives in Quito and the neighbouring towns. At
the time of the eruption of 1803, the sudden melt'
ing of the snows which covered the sides of Goto-
paxi caused terrible desolation. The flames some-
times rises 3000 feet above the top of this volcano,
and its roar has been heard at a distance of 150
miles.
A very interesting history of one of the poor suf-
ferers in the terrible earthquakes that often happen
in Quito, is told by Mr. Mason, who says that he
saw the unfortunate man brought before the magis-
trates in Mexico, and in his defence the unhappy
creature gave a touching account of his sufferings :
He was a miserably feeble object, scarcely
covered by fluttering, many-coloured rags, and his
sunken face was almost blackened by heat and ex-
cessive exposure to the weather. The accusation
against him was twofold, he had feloniously in-
troduced himself, a foreigner into the country with-
out license, carta del seguridad; and having sub-
sisted in a precarious manner on charity during
many months, had satisfied his hunger at length
unlawfully at the expense of others. I was deeply
OUTBURST OF THE TEMPEST. 235
moved (says Mr. Mason) by his appearance, and still
more by the faltering accents and tone of angui.-h
in which the details of his defence were delivered.
I am a native of Quito," he said (I give his
story in a more connected form than his own in re-
lating it), " and would to Heaven I were in my
native country at this moment ; for I love it dearly,
tempestuous and dangerous as it is. Time there
passed joyously with me; I was prosperous and in-
dependent : I had my one-storey cottage (all the
houses there are low, having the whole of their
apartments on the ground) and it was well stored
with tenants and provisions. Health and friends,
family and position, fields, orchards and cattle, all
were mine. But I must not allude to them, or my
heart will burst !
"The land of my birth as perhaps you know,
Senores is nearly 10,000 feet above the level of
the sea, and is liable to the most awful earthquake
and tornadoes. The hamlet in which I resided had
several times suffered from these causes ; often had
our dwellings been unroofed and partially scattered
to the winds, and our fruit-trees torn up by the
roots ; and even whole woods of trees, huge rocks,
and entire houses, had altogether disappeared. It
was long, however, since such an occurrence had
taken place amongst us ; and we lived on without
apprehension of coming evils.
" But in one night, without any warning beyond
an unusual redness in the sky, the horrible and de-
stroying tempest burst upon us. All that was ever
told of the loudest thunder, all that was ever seen
of the most vivid lightning, would fail to picture
236 AN AWFUL SCENE.
the terrific visitation of that night. The earth shook
and groaned, and opened wide beneath us and
around us. Forests of gigantic trees were uprooted
and tossed high in air, to meet in fearful shocks,
and be driven down again upon the ground. Rocks
were riven and swallowed up in yawning chasms, or
scattered into fragments and dispersed like hail be-
fore the tearing wind. Fields of spreading corn
were cut to pieces and set on fire by the lightning ;
while the thunder of the clouds seemed to find an
echo in the vibrating earth below. Cattle were
lifted from their feet and dashed down precipices, or
were hurried off before the blast to perish in the
sea far away. Sheds and buildings were scattered
about on every side, or crushed by falling rocks, and
together with their inmates were ground to dust in
the convulsion. Human bodies were hurled into
the air, and driven from point to point, until they
found a grave fathoms deep below the ground.
Blue and yellow flames burst from the edges of sink-
ing rocks ; while hot springs of water gushed up-
wards from sulphureous caverns. Shrieks and
howls from dying animals, awful in themselves were
drowned in the overwhelming uproar. "Rain poured
down in torrents, and pillars of steaming vapour
seemed to unite both earth and sky. Thick dark-
ness reigned but for a moment, as sheet after sheet
of vivid lightning made the horizon visible, and cast
a burning distinctness over the whole scene. Oh,
what a time it was ! Words cannot express what
an awful time it was !
" My own house was one of the first destroyed ;
it was shivered to pieces in an instant, and the
STORY OF A WANDi:i:n:.
whole of its inhabitants were either buried among
its ruins, or violently precipitated on the rocks. I
was whirled into a yawning cavity, where I long
lay insensible ; I felt it rock and tremble fearfully
when I recovered, but fortunately it closed not no
other member of my family survived. On the morn-
ing of the next day, when the earth had ceased to
vibrate, and the storm had spent its strength, I
feebly rose from my retreat, and sen relied \\ith a
stricken heart among the ruins and bodies around
me. Judge of my feelings at discovering no trace
of any one who had been dear to me, and that I
was the only human being who had been preserved
alive !
" Since that period I have been desolate and a
wanderer. As an alleviation to my misery I re-
solved to travel to other countries. I have kept my
vow ; I have toiled on in difficulty and destitution,
even northwards to this place, and there I think my
wanderings will soon be ended."
Of the remainder of this poor wayfarer's defence
how he accounted for having eluded the officers
nt the city gates, and pleaded guilty to the charge
of theft while in want, I took no notes; nor how
the tears fell in torrents from his cheeks in the
course of his narrative, insomuch that the adminis-
tradores themselves were visibly affected. The
scene closed by his committal to the prison of the
Accordada ; and he would have but little cause
remembering the wretehcd and uncertain liie he had
BO lately led to regret the circumstance.
CHAPTER XVIII. v
THREE DAYS IN A TEEE.
The Extensive Plains Called Llanos The Plains on Fire A Voyage on
the Orinoco A Night In a Mango Tree Imprisoned In the Tree-
Unpleasant Visitors A Jaguar at the Foot of the Tree A Fearful
Conflict The Fate of the Jaguar Sufferings in the Tree Despair
A Gleam of Hope Deliverance.
THE part of South America which lies on the coast
of the Sea of the Antilles which is watered by the
great river Orinoco, and whose principal towns are
Caracas, Maracaibo, and Cumana, now bears the
name of the Republic of Venezuela. On the coast
the country is undulating and hilly, and the scenery
is varied; it is very fertile, produces excellent
chocolate, indigo, tobacco, cotton, and coffee, bark
and sarsaparilla two valuable medicines and
wood for building, cabinet-making, and dyeing.
The population is composed of Creoles of Spanish
origin, of negroes formerly slaves, of half-bloods,
and native Indians.
The most singular characteristic feature of the
Republic of Venezuela are the immense plains which
lie on both sides of the great river Orinoco, and which
are known by the name of llanos. Not a hill, not a
single tree arrests the eye over all these vast plains,
THE AMERICAN LLASOS. 239
and the only rising grounds arc platforms of rocks
a li-w feet in height, on wliich the herds find refuge
during the inundations. The aspect of the country
changes with every season of the year. After the
rainy season, when the plain is almost entirely
under water, the grass springs up green, fresh, and
abundant, to a height of seven or ten feet ; and
when its tall stems are shaken by the breeze, they
uave like the billows of the ocean, and seem like a
stormy sea of green. In the heat of summer the
herbage gets yellow and withered, the springs dry
up, and there is no verdure except upon the banks
of the rivers, to which the herds resort for coolness
and shade.
The heat in summer is overwhelming, and the
glare of light fatigues the weary eyes of the travel-
ler, who is often the dupe of the illusions of the
mirage; clouds of dust rise from the parched soil,
whose poisoned breath sometimes stifles and kills
the animals in thousands. At length autumn comes
to afford some relief, and it is then necessary to
I >urn the dry herbage in order to obtain a fine, fn-.-h
carpet of green turf in the spring. The grass is set
on fire in several places at the same time, and it is
scarcely possible for any one who has not seen it to
imagine the magnificent spectacle of a sea of fire
which destroys all on its path, and supplies an
abundant feast to the vultures of a number of ser-
pents, frogs, and other small animals which are
overtaken and killed by the flames.
The only occupation of the people of tin-
is the care of their large herds of cattle. Kacb
great proprietor possesses fifteen, twenty, fifty, or
240 THE KIVER ORINOCO.
even one hundred leagues of savannas, and from
twenty to fifty thousand head of cattle and horses.
These animals are descended from the original
stock brought into the country by the Spaniards
a short time after their conquest of it, and their
numbers have immensely increased, notwithstand-
ing frequent epidemics, inundations, and the attacks
of wild beasts, by which many are destroyed every
year.
The sale of horses and cattle, or rather of tallow
and leather (for the flesh is scarcely reckoned as
worth anything), is the chief source of income of
the thinly-scattered population who inhabit the
banks of the Orinoco and its tributaries.
This large and beautiful river is an easy mode of
transport for those who wish to travel from one
extremity to another of the vast plain through
which it flows. But its navigation is not always free
from danger, as the following story will show :
On the 20th of April, says a traveller, we em-
barked on the Orinoco, an immense sheet of water,
framed (if we may use the expression) in a succession
of landscapes of the most rare and marvellous beauty.
It was near the end of the hot season, the waters of
the river were very low, and we could perceive, at
little distances along the banks, openings through
the thick copsewood, which had been made by
different kinds of animals as their paths to the river,
to quench their thirst or to seek their prey. Along
the river's brink on both sides we saw enormous
crocodiles lying lazily basking in the sun.
After we had stopped at several places on the
river, and had disposed of nearly all our merchan-
A PLEASANT VOY A 241
disc, not without two or three skirmi.-hcs with tho
robbers of these parts, on the 10th of May, about
the beginning of the rainy season, we came in sight
of a small island, or rather rock of granite, which
rose perpendicularly out of the waters; and near it
we moored our little vessel as we thought that
there the jaguars (or tigers of these countries) could
not reach us.
When our vessel was safely moored, I threw
myself into the water and swam to the rocky islet.
Having scrambled to the top of it, I could reach
with my hand some of the lower branches of a
magnificent mango tree. I drew down one of the
largest of these, which dragged down along with it
several others; and their elasticity, as they bounded
back, lifted me suddenly from the rock on whii-h I
stood, and carried me up into the midst of the triant
tree. u What a delicious night," thought I, " might
I pass here, in this fresh green bower, out of the
reach of the jaguars!" My resolution was soon
taken. I called my " Zambos" (half Negroes half
Indians.) They brought my hammock, and In-
fixed it up in the midst of the branches, they left
me, promising to return the next day at sun-rise.
I was very much fatigued. I soon fell asleep, and
nothing disturbed my repose.
When I again opened my eyes, I became con-
scious of a feeling of extreme pain. I was wet to
the skin. There had been a great deal of rain in
the night, and the leather of my hammock having
stretched, I found myself imprisoned in a kind of
wet sack. I tried to free myself from my prison, and
contrived to rise and look round me. A thick
(289) 16
242 A. PRISONER IN A TREE.
hid the face of the sun; when I looked down I could
not see the ground neither earth nor sky was
visible water, nothing but water everywhere; no
vessel, no Zambos to be seen the sudden rising of
the river had covered the solitary rock, near which
our boat had been moored.
I was then a prisoner in my tree ; but as it was
neither a banana tree nor a bread-fruit tree, it could
supply me with nothing to eat, if pressed by hunger,
but the leaves and young shoots. A sad prospect
for a poor creature whose limbs were stiffened by
cold and damp, and who already felt the cravings of
a keen appetite Robinson Crusoe, in his island,
was much better off than I was. In order to divert
my mind a little from my sad thoughts, I began to
explore my new domain. I crept along the thick
branches of the tree, which were so numerous and
so closely interwoven, as to afford me a solid sup-
port. On a sudden, two fiery eyes glittered through
the leaves, and I saw before me the animal for
which from my childhood I have had the most in-
tense aversion an enormous lizard of the species
called iguana! This harmless creature gave me a
horrible fright, and I retreated backwards, along the
branch on which I was creeping ; but to my great
annoyance I met with a second iguana, whose radiant
tail was describing superb spirals in the air.
Fascinated, if I may call it so, by the sight of
these reptiles, I could not take my eyes away from
them, and I continued to watch their movements
with the most uneasy attention. Imagine the horror
of my situation : fever seized me. Seated upon a
forked branch of the tree, with my aching head sup-
A PRISONER IN A TREE. 243
ported by my hands, trembling in every limb, I
the whole country around me underwater; the vast
extent of the inundation left me but little hope that
my friends would discover where I was; heavy rain
beat against my face ; thunder was roaring and
lightning flashing around me; I was tormented by
hunger, and was obliged, in order to appease it, to
chew a few of the leaves of my tree.
Almost as if they had guessed my despair, the two
lixards ventured to approach me. Fancy the effect
produced on my disordered imagination by their
gigantic size, their fiery, flaming eyeballs, and Un-
varying colours of dark bronze which played over
their large bodies. One of them was almost close
to me, when, collecting all my strength and courage,
I struck him on the head. Both my enemies imme-
diately disappeared with a speed which surpri-r-l
me, and posted themselves on the other side of the
tree.
The long day was at length near a close. Clouds
of vultures hovered over my head ; flocks of herons
and flamingoes skimmed over the waters, and awoke
the crocodiles, who darting up to seize them, fell
themselves a prey to the cruel teeth of the jaguar- ;
whole fleets of tortoises raised their broad shells
above the surface of the river, whilst bands of mon-
keys, chattering and screaming in concert, swung
from tree to tree, balancing themselves on the
branches, and seeming to dance a grotesque ball t
among the waving leaves. In the night, hujro bat<
flapped their heavy wings over me, whilst thousand <
of fire-flies, lighting their tiny lamps all around,
seemed to change my tree into a fairy palace.
244
HIS MISERABLE POSITION.
MONKEYS CROSSING STREAM.
Thanks to my knife, I succeeded in fixing my ham-
mock securely in its place. I lay down, and grief
and weariness, fatigue and heaviness, soon closed
my eyes.
A DANGEROUS ARRIVAL. 245
Day dawned again, but still no vessel, no boat
was in sight; there was no pound but the Avliistling
of the wind and the rush of the waters. My fever
fits became more frequent and severe. A mantle of
mist, ever thicker and thicker, wrapped all around
me in a dark veil, and hid from my eyes even the
nearest trees. I felt as if the tomb were swallowing
me up alive, I bade adieu to hope, and tried to lift
my soul in prayer to God, as one feeling himself
very near eternity. "What hope, indeed, was there
that my companions could now succeed in finding
me? How could they discover me among the thick
leaves and the impenetrable fog ?
All at once, a low growl, very near me, pierced
through the foggy air and struck upon my ear. I
rose : too well I knew the cry of the jaguar. I
heard a rustling among the leaves, then the break-
ing of branches, and a sound as if a living creature
hud fallen from the tree and was struggling in the
water. I hoped that the waves had closed over their
prey, or that the alligators had made an end of it.
By degrees the mist cleared away, a light current
of air seemed to rend away the dark veil which had
hid every object from my sight. AY hen I cast my
eyes on the fatal rock which had led me to the tree
in which I was now a prixmcr, what a terrible sight
was there! The jaguar himself, still wet with his
plunge into the water, had contrived to scramble,
out and escape the death which threatened him.
as sitting on the rock, facing
The jaguar was sitting on the rock facing me, his
eyes were fixed on the tree whose branches fell per-
pendicularly over his head. lie was motionless,
246 THE MAN AND THE JAGUAR.
silently watching me. There was not a space of six
feet between him and the end of the branches, lie
seemed to be calculating the force and the length of
his spring. Deceived in his first attempt to reach the
branches, he darted towards the trunk, in which he
fixed his long claws and began slowly to ascend. I
felt all the advantage that I gained over him by his
position. I cautiously descended, one hand armed
with a branch which I had sharpened, and the other
with my open knife. I let my enemy advance step
by step, plunging his sharp claws into the smooth
bark of the tree, his emerald eye still fixed on me
with a burning and bloodthirsty eagerness. I leaned
my knee for support on the angle formed by the
division of the branches, and looked down. Even
amid the dangers that threatened me, I could not
help admiring the elegance, the strength, and the
suppleness of my adversary. I felt his hot breath
on my face; his forepaws were almost within reach
of my hand. I fixed the point of my knife firmly in
the bark of the tree, and raising the sharpened
branch which was to serve both for club and spear,
I struck him violently on the head. He replied
with a hollow growl, but did not lose an inch of
ground. He only changed his position a little, and
placed his head under a branch which covered and
protected it. I saw that it would be useless to con-
tinue the same plan of defence, and I plunged the
sharp stick into his open mouth, so as to cause him
intense pain: it made him draw back a step, but
did not throw him down. He gathered up his body
like a cat, and put up one of his forepaws so as to
catch a branch which would have placed him on a
THE ENEMY OVERCOME. 247
level with me, and so have given him a great ad-
vantage.
My situation became critical, his five enormous
claws touched my knee, his panting breath told what
a vigorous effort he was about to make. I stooped
down, with my knife in my hand, and plunged it up
to the handle in the creature's eye. He uttered a
long cry of anguish and tried to strike at me with
his claws, while his blood gushed over my hand.
But he had been forced to draw back a little. I
struck him again with my sharp stick, which drove
him still further down, leaving the deep marks of
his claws in the bark of the tree. I had a little re-
covered confidence and courage. I watched him
carefully. Maddened by rage and pain, he forgot
the caution peculiar to his race and strove at any
cost to reach me : he made a wild spring to a branch
within my reach, and received on his head a blow
from my club which sent him tumbling into the
river. His fate was soon decided. Scarcely was
he in the water when several crocodiles, which
had stationed themselves under the tree as if
watching the issue of our contest, attacked him
all at once, and devoured him, to my great satis-
faction.
At last I dared to look round me. The heavy
fog, like a vast dome, hung suspended over the
waste of waters. I was hungry I was cold I
trembled. My companions the lizards, of which I
had once been afraid, but which I now longed to
eat, reappeared no more. I chewed some of the
leaves of my tree; which, although they did not
satisfy my hunger, at least hindered me from feeling
248 HOISTING A SIGNAL.
its pan^s so keenly. I might have descended from
the tree to the rock, in order to be more easily seen
by my zambos; but I dared not do it. My place in
the tree was safer; it would have been madness to
have exposed myself to the teeth of the beasts of
prey below. I saw at once all the horror of my fate.
My zambos, thought I, would have returned long
ago, if the vessel had not been carried by the flood
to a very great distance from my prison. I was
nearly in despair. Mournful vultures, with their
naked ashy-looking heads, perched themselves near
me, and their hoarse cries seemed to foretell my
death. I cut off a long straight branch, to one end
of which I fastened a piece of white linen. This
flag, which I placed at the end of a branch, was seen
by no human eye, and soon became quite useless, as
a violent shower drenched it, and made it hang
down instead of floating in the air.
The third night of my strange imprisonment found
me lying in my hammock, suffering alternately from
violent hunger, intense thirst, and insupportable
sickness: not a light, not even the smallest star,
appeared through the fog. How long that night
seemed ! How slowly its hours dragged themselves
away! No sleep soothed me, sharp pains shot
through all my stiffened limbs; pain was the only
feeling that made me conscious of life. At length,
the whid cleared away the fog in a slight degree,
and my feeble eye could just distinguish a pale and
misty light in the east, the sign of the dawn.
I looked at it without hope, while I listened to
the loud rolling of the thunder at a distance. In the
intervals between the peals I began to fancy that I
SUCCOUR AT HAND. 249
heard another sound, like the noise of fire-arras
echoing on the water. Was it altogether a fancy'
Was my imagination deceiving me?
Several times I heard the same sound repeated.
Perhaps some of the savage tribes on the banks of
the Orinoco were carrying on some of their bloody
fights, but what was that to me? They were not
my companions they would not free me from my
terrible prison. I tried to rise and look around, but
my trembling limbs refused to support me : exhausted,
half-fainting, more dead than alive, if my pulse still
beat, my mind seemed gone.
All at once a loud firing aroused me. I seemed
to awake. I rose, I tried to scream; but it was a
feeble cry, and none replied. Soon I heard shots in
other directions near to me. At the well-known
sound all my hopes revived, the blood seemed to
flow back to my heart. Another and another shot,
and then I saw a canoe coming in sight round the
point of the rocks. My zambos were in it. I could
distinguish the man at the helm. I tried once more
to scream, but my emotion stifled my voice. The
boat coasted about in all directions, my faithful
companions were seeking me, from time to time
firing a shot to tell me they were there, they came
nearer and nearer. I saw them all distinctly, and at
length found strength to utter a loud cry. The
echo of their cheerful voices was soon heard, they
moored the boat at the foot of the tree and landed.
Exhausted with fatigue, I descend, or rather J
fall into the arms of these faithful and compas-
sionate friends, who had spent two days and a
half in searching for me on the trackless waste of
vraters.
CHAPTER XIX.
GUIANA.
Productions of Guiana Population British Guiana French Guiana-
Political Exiles in Guiana Their Attempt to Escape They Build a
Raft Their Sufferings A Second Raft Built A Perilous Voyage
The Exiles Reach a Dutch Colony, and are Kindly Received.
GUIANA, which lies to the north-east of South
America, is principally composed of very fertile
plains. The climate is hot and damp, and in the
neighbourhood of the swamps, which cover a con-
siderable portion of the country, very unhealthy.
The quantity of rain that falls is eight times greater
than in Paris. Those who venture out in the middle
of the day, run the risk of having a sunstroke, and
besides a large straw hat, which is indispensable, it
is necessary to use the precaution of wearing a piece
of wet cloth upon the head. The prevailing diseases
are fever and dysentery, and from time to time,
cholera and yellow fever, which make fearful ravages
among the inhabitants.
The characteristic vegetation of the country is a
variety of beautiful wood used for mosaic work
mahogany, lace wood, rose wood, amaranth wood,
RESOURCES OF GUIANA. 251
satin wood, &c. ; and the caoutchouc or India-rubber
tree, so useful in the arts. Sugar, cotton, coffee, tapioca,
pepper, tobacco, are also much cultivated, and the
rocou, the seed of which yield a beautiful red colour ;
and there are also many useful medicinal plants, be-
sides poisonous ones among which we may mention
the curare, whose effect is so powerful, that a child
is said to have died after having sucked the breast of
its mother, which had heen struck by an arrow
covered with it.
The animal kingdom is not less varied than the
vegetable birds of all sizes, aras, humming birds,
toucans, &c. &c., variegate the forest with their
magnificent plumage. The lakes and rivers abound
with fish, several of which are poisonous ; others are
remarkable for burying themselves several feet
under ground, where they wait for the return of the
water to the pools which may have become dry,
and others, like the electric eel, a fish five or six feet
long, deal out such powerful blows as to paralyze
the most expert swimmer. Crocodiles are not un-
common. The forests are inhabited by wild beasts,
the air by mosquitoes and other injurious insects,
and the marshes by immense boa constrictors, and a
variety of other serpents.
The population is composed of a small number of
whites, English, French, and Dutch, who share the
country between them, and negroes employed in
cultivating the land. The latter, a few years ago,
were all slaves, but in English and French Guiana,
they are now their own masters, and in the Dutch
colony, owing to the zeal of the Moravian mission-
aries, they have the prospect of very soon also being
252 CAYENNE AND ITS TERRORS.
free. Irt the remote forests of the interior, there are
a great many fugitive negroes, known by the name
of marsons, and various small Indian tribes, very
indolent, but quite harmless. British Guiana, the
chief towns of which are Georgetown and Essequibo,
and Dutch Guiana, whose capital is Surinam or
Paramaribo, are important only as regards the cul-
tivation of articles of food. French Guiana, capital
Cayenne, is insignificant in this respect, but has
become celebrated as a place of banishment. Under
the first French Republic, a number of distinguished
political men were transported to it, and for some
years past, this colony has again become a place of
exile for political offenders, who, in spite of the strict
surveillance to which they are subjected, continue
from time to time to effect their escape. Braving
the dangers of both sea and land, the pangs of
hunger across the solitudes of the forests, and the
teeth of wild beasts or venomous reptiles, the con-
victs persevere in attempts to escape, which are
rarely followed by the desired result.
The following account of the dangers and suffer-
ing attending such enterprises has been extracted
from the Nantes Journal :
On a late occasion, several of the political exiles
imprisoned on Devil's Island set about procuring
the means of escape. Cutting down some trees with
which they contrived to build a kind of ship, they
assembled at length to launch it, but the hopes of
the seven exiles who expected by means of this
fragile bark to regain their liberty were cruelly dis-
appointed, for the vessel went to pieces before it
was fairly afloat, and nothing was left but a few
A DARING ENTERPRISE. 2." 3
straiJL r liiig spars. They were not to be discouraged,
however, and with the remains of their sl>ip and the
root of a tree which had been carried down by tho
waters of the Amazon, they constructed a raft and
placed it on four casks, on which these seven men
embarked. After sailing about for four days, they
were driven upon a muddy shore, without food, and
where there was none to be had. Two of them,
Pianauri and Pogenski, one an Italian, the other a
Pole, left their companions in the hope of finding
some habitation, but never returned. Exhausted
with fatigue, they had not sufficient strength to drag
themselves out of the mud into which they sank at
every step, and it was reported by an Indian that
their bodies had been found half buried and eaten
by crabs. The other five who remained upon
the stranded raft, despairing of seeing their com-
panions return, and knowing how vain it would be
to make any attempt to find them, resolved again to
set sail, but before doing so, another raft required
to be constructed, as the one which had brought
them so far was fast in the mud
For eight days they sailed along the shore, with
nothing but salt water to drink, and nothing but
raw crabs to eat; but they at last came upon a
dwelling where they were kindly received by the
inmates.
A fortnight after the date of their escape, the
news and result of their perilous voyage reached
Devil's Island, and excited in several more of the
exiles a desire to follow their example. Setting to
work, they constructed in their turn a raft capable
of carrying fifteen or eighteen persons. But the
254 THE FRENCH EXILES.
love of freedom animated all the prisoners, and
plenty of materials were soon found for a second
raft to carry twenty more. A quantity of wood
had been sent by Government for the purpose of
building a house on the island, which the prisoners
had no hesitation in making use of to carry out
their plans. A square was formed of planks torn
from a hut; bunches of maize stalks solidly bound
together formed faggots which were placed under
the raft, intended to carry twenty of the exiles from
Devil's Island.
The day fixed for their departure was the day
appointed by Government for sending the weekly
supply of provisions for the inhabitants. The pro-
visions arrived at the usual time, and the prisoners,
again left to themselves, and in possession of the
supplies, embarked without delay. The sea was
very tempestuous. But they hoisted their sails,
and two rafts, upon which thirty-four men were
crowded, sailed for the Gulf of Sina Maria.
The first two days were stormy; on the third,
however, the weather improved; but the following
night was a dreadful one, and often the convicts
dreaded being swallowed up by the waves. Towards
morning, the twenty men who were on the larger of
the two rafts, came in sight of land. They landed
among the Indians belonging to a Dutch colony,
who did not give them a very welcome reception,
and they therefore determined to leave the place the
same afternoon on foot.
Having walked ten or twelve miles, they rested
for the night in a wood, where they suffered much
from the attacks of mosquitoes and other insects.
ARRIVAL AT PARAMARIBO. 255
The little band set out again about midnight on
their weary journey, which being made in the dark
and over unknown ground, very nearly proved fatal
to them. At one time they were afraid of perishing
in the mud like their companions Pianauri and
Pogenski; for they had often great difficulty in
getting over the muddy soil of the mangrove woods
througli which they had to pass. Several of them,
indeed, were obliged, in order to extricate themselves,
to leave behind the few possessions they had saved
as well as their provisions. Exhausted by fatigue,
and suffering from agonising thirst, they returned
to the raft, but finding that in their absence, the
sail had been carried away by the Indians, the
prisoners were thankful to pass the night in a de-
serted hut.
On their arrival, the Indians conducted them to
the governor of the Dutch colony of Tibron, who
gave them a hearty welcome, and kindly placed a
ship at their disposal, in which they embarked after
it had been repaired. A messenger from the com-
mander was also sent along with them, bearing a
letter for the Indians, in which they were ordered
to conduct the little band immediately to Parama-
ribo. They accordingly set sail at ebb tide, and a
few days afterwards arrived safely at Paramaribo,
the capital of Dutch Guiana, situated upon the
Surinam.
This town contains 20,000 inhabitants. The
exiles were kindly treated by the authorities, and
taken to meet the other five convicts, whose escape
from the Devil's Island had preceded their own.
They were not a little surprised to see twenty of
their companions arrive at once.
256 THEIR FINAL RELEASE.
The fourteen men who left Devil's Island on the
smallest of the rafts, had arrived at Paramaribo
afterwards, and they found assembled thirty-nine
convicts who had escaped from the penal settle-
ment in Guiana.
The Dutch authorities, however, not being cer-
tain whether they were giving an asylum to con-
victs or political prisoners, thought it their duty as
a precautionary measure to put them all in prison.
They continued there for a short time, but were
soon after liberated.
By a glance at the table of contents our readers will see that,
in accordance with our plan, we have given a brief description of
every country in South America, with some interesting narrative
or adventure attached to each. It is our intention that this
volume should soon be followed by a second, describing in the
game way the countries of Central and North America till, from
the Land of Fire whence we started, we reach the icy regions of
the North Pole. In the belief that our " Travel Pictures" in
America will prove acceptable to our young friends, we have in
preparation a similar " Word Diorama " of other regions of the
globe.
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